Feb. 07, 2021 – Mark 1:29-39
“Come and
hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul.” (psalm 66; v. 16)
Pre-Covid19 whenever I listened
to music that had lyrics, I tended to listen carefully to the music but pay
little attention to the lyrics. In fact, I was often hard pressed to discuss
what a song had offered in the way of words; but I could discuss the musical
accompaniment in detail.
Interestingly, now in Covid19
real time, I hear primarily the lyrics, not the music. This is especially true
of gospel and country western music. And, more than that, as I listen to the
songs I love most, my mind, and my soul, go directly from the song’s lyrics to
thinking about Jesus and passages in Scripture that parallel what the song’s
lyricist has been writing about. Music and Scripture have come alive for me in
a completely new way.
You might say to yourself, “Wow,
that is wonderful. How exciting.” Well, I suppose it is wonderful and exciting,
but, frankly, it is also annoying and exhausting.
With Jesus as the center of our
lives; with Jesus as our guide; with Jesus as the one who lights the way for us
– with all of these gifts that have been so freely given to us – how can we demonstrate
in an urgent and powerful way Jesus’ command to not only, “Love one another.
As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13:34), but also
to “Render to Caesar only the things that are Caesar's,
and to God all of the things that are God’s." (Mark 12:17) How do we
make clear that for us Christians it is Jesus who directs our hearts, our
minds, and our souls; Jesus who drives our decisions and our actions.
It is in the midst of these
questions that I find myself with a newly discovered sensitivity to the lyrics
of songs that relate to these challenging issues. And it is from the
inspiration of the music and the lyrics that I begin my search through
Scripture for parallel messages, in one of the four gospels, or one of Paul’s
Letters.
It may sound tedious, but as I
indicated earlier, the isolation and the tragedy of Covid19 has brought Christ
into my life in ways that I never imagined. And that most certainly is not
tedious.
Keeping all of this in mind, the
moment I read today’s passage from 1 Corinthians I thought of the song I
Love to Tell the Story – the Gospel Processional that we just heard. What
better accompaniment to Paul’s words in this urgent message to his Corinthian
church currently beset by doubt, strife, and temptation.
If you recall, Paul writes, “If
I proclaim the gospel, this gives me no ground for boasting, for an obligation
is laid upon me and woe to me if I do not proclaim the gospel.”
“An obligation is laid upon me
and woe to me if I do not proclaim the gospel.” The key
word here is “obligation.” Paul does not mince words. He is direct and fearless
as he spells out the consequences of failing to meet his obligation. An
obligation that stems from his earlier statement in the Letter – one that you
heard last week. “There is no God but one…even though there are many gods
and many lords – yet for us there is One God…and one Lord, Jesus Christ,
through whom are all things and through whom we exist.”
Paul is quite clear – there is
but one God and we are obliged to proclaim that one God to the world. Jesus did not give us a choice. He was most
direct in his commandment to “Go and make disciples of all nations.” The
directive is abundantly clear, we are obliged to bring Christ to the world and
to keep him there. If we forsake our obligation the consequences will be bleak.
“Woe to me”, says
Paul. Woe to those who fail in the obligation laid upon them by Jesus. The
obligation to proclaim the gospel.
Paul goes on to say, “I am
entrusted with a commission. What then is my reward? Just this: that in my
proclamation I may make the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use
of my rights in the gospel.”
A commission. Paul is commissioned
to deliver the gospel free of charge – free of charge to all. Everyone –
everyone should have the benefit of hearing the gospel, the good news. Everyone
should have the opportunity to share in the love and saving grace of God. No
one should be excluded – no one.
All should have the opportunity
to be witness to the psalmist's words, “Come and hear, all ye that fear God,
and I will declare what he hath done for my soul.”
Katherine Hankey, an English missionary and nurse who died in 1911 took most seriously her commission to proclaim the gospel. She gave her life to the task of nursing in a remote area of South Africa in the late 1800s. While there she became seriously ill. From her hospital bed, she wrote the poem The Old, Old, Story. The original poem which had approximately 100 verses quickly became legendary and was used in evangelical activities throughout England and America. Today we are, unfortunately, familiar with only the first two or three verses. Alan Jackson, the country western singer who seems to have the most popular rendition, chooses to sing only two verses.
1. I love to
tell the story of unseen things above,
Of Jesus and His glory, of Jesus and His love;
I love to tell the story, because I know ’tis true,
It satisfies my longings as nothing else would do.
o
Refrain:
I love to tell the story,
’Twill be my theme in glory,
To tell the old, old story
Of Jesus and His love.
2. I love to
tell the story, for those who know it best
Seem hungering and thirsting to hear it like the rest;
And when in scenes of glory I sing the new, new song,
’Twill be the old, old story that I have loved so long.
Not only is it our mandate to
proclaim the gospel; it is to do so with gratitude and with joy. Our
proclamation must be as Hankey wrote our theme of glory. A theme of glory that
stems from the knowledge that we are loved by a forgiving God who, if we can
only, stick with it, with him, will pull us through to glory – to salvation –
and for the here and now, to a more peaceful world.
Now comes the point at which I
say, "What does all of this mean for St. Simon's?" Before you moan
and say, "Oh no, not another sermon telling us what we should be doing",
and then tune out altogether, please give me just a minute. You might be surprised.
First of all, Both Fr. David and
I want to say, "thank you – thank you everyone." From the first
moment of this Covid19 surreal experience right up to and including today, you
have all been doing nothing but proclaiming the gospel. You have worked
together in new ways to make uninterrupted worship possible – to make it
possible for your worship leaders to proclaim the gospel.
I wish we had been bright enough
to develop a journal that depicted the stories and the pictures of St. Simon's
in Covid19 time. The scramble to make a digital Holy Week and Easter Sunday. The
hours of figuring out how our sound system works. By the way, I don't think
anyone really yet knows – just ask Fr. David and Jennifer. The many intricacies
of greeting and ushering in a masked, socially distanced world, including those
wicked six-foot red sticks. The hours and hours spent developing and delivering
Flock Notes to the entire congregation and Healing Touch cards, food, and
flowers to those who are isolated or recovering from surgery or illness. The
growing ministry of sound engineering for our outdoor services. Early rising to
provide inspirational Morning Prayer services, and flower and altar
preparations more beautiful than ever. Music that has never been more exquisite.
If only we had all of these wonderful moments somehow recorded and put into a
time capsule – they would tell a wonderful, a blessed story of St. Simon's
proclaiming the gospel in Covid19 times.
I hope that my point has been
taken. If it takes a village, you the village of St. Simon's have kept God
alive both in our midst and over the Facebook and YouTube Internet airwaves.
Over the course of the past eleven months – eleven months think of it – you
have taken most seriously your obligation to make it possible to proclaim the
gospel. No one need worry about saying, "Woe is me."
On Thursday, February 17 we begin
our 2021 Lenten Journey. During this period Morning Prayer will resume. I will
offer a book study group that examines in detail Jesus' last week. Fr. David's
class will continue, and we will embark on a 40-day journey of intentionally saying
"thank you" to the many people who make our lives possible – the
people of our community – all of them – all who have and are uniting to pull us
through this time of Covid19.
How will we do this – Well, the
Lenten Flock Notes are here – right here in this little bag that contains
several items for your Lenten journey. Right now, I want to highlight this
excellent list of ways in which throughout the 40 days of Lent you can say
"thank you" to all whom you encounter. It's a great list. Saying
"thank you" – expressing gratitude - proclaiming the gospel through demonstrating
love of neighbor - could not be easier. Please join us in doing so.
o
I love to tell the story,
’Twill be my theme in glory,
To tell the old, old story
Of Jesus and His love.
