Mark 6:30-34, 53-56
The author Flannery O’Connor once told a story which, the first time I read it, was retold by the late Lutheran theologian Joseph Sittler. Sittler loved the story and after retelling it, reflected on its meaning.
It’s the story of an elderly couple who lived in the Appalachian Mountains, surrounded by breathtaking views. They were accustomed to sitting in rocking chairs on the front porch of their home for as long as the weather allowed, simply taking in the same sights they’d seen hundreds of days before in their long married life. One spring day, they were doing the same thing, silently rocking and looking.
“Well, Sarah,” the husband said to his wife. “I see there’s still some snow up there on the mountain.” [Sittler then reflects:] “Now they both knew that there would still be some snow on that mountain at this time of the year; there always was. So why did he say so? Because just to know that at times there’s snow, while at other times there isn’t, was to be able to embrace the shifting but eternal rhythms of life that had made them so content with each other’s company. In any marriage or intimate relationship you may say the same things, just like that, time after time; you may share a profound and compassionate interest in the same people. And while, on the one hand, this might seem so...boring; on the other hand it is simply breathtaking in its way of affirming the joy of life, and of living with someone that you love.”
They say that familiarity breeds contempt. It can also breed indifference. But if we let it, as was true of this old couple, familiarity can also breed things that are wonderful--”breathtaking,” as Sittler puts it, things like comfort, confidence, and assurance.
One of the most familiar chapters in the entire Bible is Psalm 23. To prove it, a preacher I read about once did something I’m going to do right now. I’ll recite the first clause of a phrase and out loud, you finish it. Out loud. (I know that's hard for you to do as Lutherans, but give it a rip anyway.)
“The Lord is my shepherd....”
“He makes me lie down in...”
“Even though I walk through the valley of...”
“Surely goodness and mercy shall...”
You see, you are familiar with Psalm 23.
And yet, I wonder if our familiarity with Psalm 23 and with the entire Bible from which it comes has bred in us comfort, confidence, and assurance, as it should do, or indifference?
Almost everybody owns a Bible. But not many of us read it, digest it, study it, absorb it, or give it a central place in our lives.
We don’t allow the Bible the time it needs to help us know the God Who wants to be our good shepherd or to teach us what difference that makes in our everyday lives.
If we did, more churches would be vibrant centers of mission.
More of we Christians would be making sounder decisions about our lives.
More of us would be saying no to sin and yes to God.
More of us would be loving and serving our neighbors.
More of us would be engaged in ministries, serving Christ through our churches.
And more of us would be inviting others to worship and to know Jesus Christ.
Authentic faith, faith that helps us face everyday living and gives us hope forever, is strengthened when we read God’s love letter to the human race: the Bible.
Another familiar passage from the Psalms confesses to God, “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and light to my path.”
And in the New Testament, the apostle Paul reminds a young pastor named Timothy, “There’s nothing like the written Word of God for showing you the way to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Every part of the Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another--showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God’s way. Through the Word we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us.”
There is power in God's Word. And that's a good thing because we have a real need of God's power.
Today, world leaders are holding their breath, waiting for a viral strain known as the H1N1 to mutate over these summer months, with possibly deadly consequences. It’s out of a desire to avoid disaster that the World Health Organization is working with governments throughout the world to develop flu shot sera in larger amounts than usual.*
Christians who don’t read and study the Bible regularly are setting themselves up for disaster, foregoing one of the best means of thwarting personal, relational, or eternal disaster.
We live in an imperfect world.
Bad things happen.
Temptations come to us.
Accidents and disease may come to us.
Relational discord may come to us.
If we’re not reading God’s Word as a regular part of our daily routine--or engaged in the other habits of Christians discipleship like service in Christ’s Name, regular worship, prayer, and telling others about Christ--life will knock us down more quickly and with even direr consequences than any infection could. Physical disease can, at its worst, only take this life from us. Separation from the God we know in Jesus Christ separates us from eternity with God and all His saints!
In a way, the message of the whole Bible is summed up well in Psalm 23. Psalm 23 tells us five important things about God, our good shepherd. It tells us...
- that God provides for us;
- that God allows us to be at our ease, confident that if we God into our lives, God will be with us no matter what;
- that God gives us life;
- that God stands with us in dark times, even when we die;
- and that God wants us to be with Him forever.
Let me tell you a true story. Shortly after I learned how to ride a bicycle, I begged my Mom to send me on an errand to Gus’ IGA near the corner of Central and Sullivant Avenues in the section of Columbus called the Bottoms, where we lived at the time. I had a little twenty-four inch, beat-up blue Schwinn bike, a hand-me-down from my cousins. I’d grown tired of using it just to tool around the neighborhood or the blacktop in front of the warehouse behind our house.
Besides, Gus had a daughter named Mary Ann and she absolutely made my eight year old heart go pitter-pat. My mother was resistant to the whole idea of my trekking to Gus' store. Sullivant and Central were busy thoroughfares.
But one day she’d started to fix something and realized that she didn’t have a key ingredient on hand, tomatoes--for one of my favorite dishes to this day, Johnny Marzetti. My two year old sister, Kathy, needed attending and we were down to one car at the time. So, Mom felt she had no choice but to send me to Gus’ for the tomatoes.
She called me in from playing baseball out in the alley next to our house in order to give me my mission. I was psyched out of my mind! Here was an important errand I could run on my own...and I might get to see Mary Ann in the bargain. “Remember, sliced tomatoes in the can,” my mother called out to me as I climbed onto my bike and pedaled off.
By the time I got to Gus’ five minutes later, I had completely forgotten what I was supposed to buy. I had to ask Gus to dial my home number--BR9-0502--so that I could ask my mother to repeat her order.
After I got off the phone and had paid for the tomatoes, I asked where Mary Ann was and learned she wasn’t even around. A little disappointed, but still proud to be on such an important mission, I started riding back home.
I decided to approach my street, Thomas Avenue, by way of an alley that had a major incline to it. I suppose you'd say a major decline because it sloped down to Thomas. I started riding down that hill without looking to my right or left, just rolling downhill to the street. A car came along just as I approached the end of the hill. Boom! I hit the side of that passing car.
Fortunately, I came through unscathed, as did the car I hit. But I didn’t tell my mother what had happened until years later.
Now, here’s the point: In the blink of an eye, I had forgotten that I was supposed to get tomatoes. I’d forgotten that I should look both ways when turning onto a street. I’d even forgotten, apparently, how to use my brakes. I was so consumed with thoughts of being a big shot and of seeing Mary Ann, that the important things I knew and needed to remember got crowded out of my brain.
The same thing can happen to you and me when it comes to the most important thing in the world, our relationship with Jesus Christ. We can become so consumed with everyday life that we forget our Good Shepherd and our daily need of Him.
Reading and studying God’s Word is one important tool God uses to daily remind us to keep building our lives on Him and His promises.
The people I know who read God’s Word regularly do it because they know we all need to be regularly reminded of things like God’s love, forgiveness, commands, and offers of guidance and life.
In a bad news world, it’s too easy to forget the Good News of God’s love, given to us through Jesus Christ.
Make daily Bible reading a regular part of your life. Let familiarity with the Word of God lead, not to contempt or indifference, but to the most rewarding experience of all: familiarity with God, friendship with God. Amen
*It's also why the Parish Health Ministry at Saint Matthew is reminding people to wash their hands frequently and to use their elbows and/or sleeves to sneeze or cough into. It's also why we are offering people hand sanitizer as they go to the altar for Holy Communion. And it's why I've told people that it's healthier to embrace than to shake hands during the Sharing of the Peace.
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