EPIPHANY V
Susan N. Blue

"Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. God does not faint or grow weary; God's understanding is unsearchable. The Holy One gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless. Even youths will fall exhausted; but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint." (Isaiah 40:28-31)


We are still in the season of Epiphany, the time when we celebrate the manifestation or showing forth of who Jesus was and is. For many of us this morning, however, it feels more like Ash Wednesday. This week we lost three women who were very important to this parish: Meg Graham, Iris Eaton and Madge Pendleton. Each gave us something unique, something special, and each will be sorely missed. The endless five day period can make us wonder what will happen next and certainly calls us to question where God is in all of this loss. Further, it raises the issue of mortality for each of us and reminds us of the brevity of our time on earth.


I would suggest that the Gospel for today has something to say to us that may be of comfort and hope. Mark's Gospel tends to be spare and to the point. There is no birth narrative. In this first chapter Jesus is baptized, tempted, calls his disciples and exorcises a demon in the temple on the Sabbath. He then travels to the home of Simon and Andrew where he is told that Simon's mother-in-law is ill with a fever. Without being asked he stretches out his had to her, lifts her up, she is healed and begins to serve them the Sabbath meal. At sundown with the Sabbath ended, the entire village appears bringing the sick and the possessed to be healed.


In a very short time Jesus became a wonder-worker, a miracle man, and could well have rested on his laurels setting up shop, if you will, in Capernaum. Instead he withdrew to a quiet place to pray. When the disciples discovered him he insisted that they move on, that his mission was to preach the "message," the message of the Kingdom of God to all people. He had embarked on a pattern that was to mark his three years of ministry, one that was always emerging from prayer.


Healing, exorcism and preaching were all manifestations of the power of God over evil. Jesus was an agent of that power, always returning to prayer for renewal and guidance. His healing and ministry was to be both personal, as in the healing of Simon's mother-in-law, and public, as in the exorcism in the temple and the healing of many that evening.


There was an incredible urgency about him as he set off to preach the Kingdom throughout the Galilee. He had very little time, life was short and the message was critical. The luxury of celebrating his successes was denied him. The message is evident to us who follow him: each moment is precious, each person matters, and it is urgent that we get on with preaching and living the Gospel. The shadow of the cross, the shadow of death, loomed over Jesus throughout those years of preaching, and it does so over us as well.


The Rev. Richard A. Wing wrote: "I went to Oberammergau in 1980. As you know, the passion play takes all day and includes a lunch break. One special part of the experience is the fact that many of the players make themselves available to talk with visitors in the village. That year, as always, the main attraction was to speak with the man who played the role of Jesus. One man asked, 'That big cross you carried had to be hollow, was it not?' The man who played Jesus said quickly, 'Oh, no. It is solid and heavy.' Then he said, 'You can't play the role of Christ without feeling the full weight of the cross." (First Community Church, Columbus, Ohio, 2/6/04)


We are blessed for we know that the cross preceded the resurrection and ultimately return to oneness with God. It means that life is not ended by death and that the power of love will overcome all obstacles, even the final one of death. We have choices - we can, in the face of evil or painful loss, choose for despair, cynicism or unbelief. On the other hand, we can make these losses an opportunity for hope and transformation. We can redirect our lives into the patter of Christ - one of knowing who and whose we are, praying for strength and guidance, and reaching out to those in need as partners with Jesus in bringing about the Kingdom.


The lesson from the prophet, Isaiah, reassures us that those who "…wait for and believe in God will renew their strength and shall mount up with wings like eagles…" I commend to you, as we walk through this week of funerals, Psalm 139:1-17. I won't read the entire psalm, but would share with you a few verses: "Where can I go then from your spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I climb up to heaven, you are there; if I make the grave my bed, you are there also. If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand will lead me and you right hand will hold me fast…" (Ps. 139:6-9)


We shall be given what we need to carry the cross and partner with God to bring in the Kingdom. Our strength will be renewed, and we shall mount up with wings like eagles as we take the wings of the morning. Ultimately, God will welcome us as, Meg, Iris and Madge were welcomed, into that "…kingdom where there is no death, neither sorrow nor crying, but the fullness of joy with all of God's saints…" (BCP p. 498). AMEN