Sermon for the Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany
The Whole City Gathered At the Door Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ! In today’s Gospel, while Jesus visited the home of Simon and Andrew, “the whole city was gathered at the door.” Dear Christian friends, When Mark says, “the whole city,” he is referring to the city of Capernaum, which sat on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee. Archaeologists say that the population of Capernaum was about 1,500 people. That means there were plenty of people in town whom you would not have liked too much. Certainly, there were also many people whom you would have liked and enjoyed being around, but you know what life is like in a relatively small group of people: · Some are a little too rough around the edges for your taste or preference; · Some are downright offensive and rude with their words or actions; · Some people say the wrong things to you; even worse, they fail to say anything at all, especially when you need them to speak; · Some people hurt your feelings or anger you, or they seem to treat others more respectfully than they treat you; · Some people routinely make bad decisions and appear to have all the wrong priorities, no matter what good advice you would have liked to give, or perhaps already gave; · Some strike you as irresponsible or selfish or necessary-to-avoid for countless other reasons. All of the above were gathered at that doorway in Capernaum. While Jesus visited the home of Simon and Andrew, “the whole city was gathered at the door.” The good, the bad, and the ugly joined together in one place, shoulder-to-shoulder, and Jesus sat in the center of their complete and undivided attention. “That evening at sundown they brought to [Jesus] all who were sick and oppressed by demons.” Whole and healthy people were certainly there also, watching, listening, believing, and receiving their own benefits from being with Jesus. Jesus poured out grace and mercy in great abundance, giving to each according to his or her need. “He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons.” Jesus undoubtedly preached the Kingdom of God, with all of its rich forgiveness, to everyone who had gathered there. After all, Jesus Himself explains at the end of today’s Gospel that the preaching of the kingdom is the reason why He “went throughout all Galilee.” Jesus sits in the house of Simon and Andrew. Grace, mercy, and forgiveness of sins all shine brightly in the darkness, even beaming out of its doorways and windows. Jesus in this Gospel is like the bulb on your back porch that draws the moths out of the darkness and gathers them into the light: “the whole city was gathered at the door,” friends sitting with enemies, polite sitting with uncouth, reputable with disreputable, wise with foolish, generous with selfish. No one has any time—and in that moment, no one has any interest—in focusing on the strengths or weaknesses of those other people who gather. “The whole city was gathered at the door” and everyone was focused upon Jesus: Jesus’ Words; Jesus’ miracles; Jesus’ riveting presence among them. While Jesus is there, who really has time for the pettiness and the banality of everyday judgment and disgust? Who has time to nurse a grudge, when the Great Victim of all grudges sits present? Who wants to resent old wounds while the Healer of the Nations is reaching out His hand? Who would dare to withhold forgiveness from someone else while forgiveness itself showers down upon you in Jesus’ Words and gifts, soaking you like rain upon parched ground? Peace reigns while Jesus is present. “The whole city was gathered at the door.” All eyes are upon Him, all ears bent toward Him, and nothing else matters. There is no single Word written anywhere in God’s Bible that is meaningless. There is no sentence that is merely a passing comment or a useless detail. It was for us and for our salvation that God’s Gospel-writer Mark took pains to say in today’s Gospel, “the whole city was gathered at the door.” With these Words, was Mark really only talking about the city of Capernaum and its plus-or-minus 1,500 inhabitants? What happened in today’s Gospel sounds very much like what happens in our worship every Sunday: here in this place, Jesus’ Words and Jesus miracles must remain the sole focus of our attention. “The whole city was gathered at the door.” If you ask me, these Words sound like a description of a Christian congregation, perhaps even the one that sits perched at the corner of Dekalb and Burke Streets in Versailles. _______________________________________________ Sermons mailing list Sermons@cat41.org http://cat41.org/mailman/listinfo/sermons
