[Propertalk] 5 Epiphany b 2018 - part 2

[Robert P Morrison]

Part 2.

	 You and I may not know what lies ahead for us this week, yet we feel
drawn to express something, anything; and to hear something, anything,
that may settle our anxieties, soothe our pain and discomfort, and
address our frustration. 

	 So, today, just as two thousand years ago, Jesus speaks in so many
different way, through so many different cultural manifestations.
Jesus speaks, He takes the time to be personal with every one of those
who came and come to listen and be moved. But, as He does this, He
asks us not to be so hung up with our presuppositions that we’ll
expect only what we tell Him we expect. In other words, Jesus invites
us to let go of the things which may be controlling us, the things
which may be poisoning our systems, the things which may be making is
incapable of being who God wishes us to be. 

	 It’s important to note that after Church; after healing Simon’s
mother-in-law and releasing her from whatever was inhibiting her;
after comforting and helping what sounds like half the village on
Simon’s doorstep; after that, Jesus rested Himself before getting up
early to take care of His spiritual needs. He prayed; He listened; He
meditated; He had His alone-time with God until Simon and the others
finally tracked Him down. 

	 Jesus, it seems, told the disciples neither that He was going out
not where He was going. So, obviously, He didn’t sneak into the
Church building to light a candle. He didn’t go to ANY of the
village haunts. He kept His spiritual place of refreshment to Himself,
so that He could enjoy that time, and to be invigorated there. 

	 How often may we have longed for a place and a time like that? Do we
realise that it was out of such times and places that Jesus found the
energy and the will to be with others and help them? You and I, just
like Jesus, need to cherish such times and places for ourselves. We
can’t afford NOT to find where we can be comfortable and silent. We
simply CAN’T be on the go all the time if we want to look after our
spiritual and physical health. And if we don’t look after our own
selves, then our ability to be there, to be present for others,
possibly even to be able to be there when Jesus comes to our side; if
we don’t do this, then we may be severely impaired and the gifts
that we have may lose their bloom and their utility. 

	 It seems that what gives us the ability to exercise the resources
and talents with which God has blessed us is tied very closely to
careful attention to spiritual health – to praying, to listening, to
thinking about what it is that’s exciting or troubling us that that
time. And it seems also that the ability to be who God CALLS everyone
to be comes not only from our openness, but from the sensitivity of
those around us. Nor do we need to be in the presence of anyone but
God and those whom God has anointed for us to be refreshed to be able
to minister to others. In fact, there are times when simply being
quiet, reflecting on the needs of the community which is on our
hearts, is what is required. 

	 In Ken Follett’s book about late medieval village, market and
cathedral life, he said this about the master builder who’d finally
found steady work and the gift to explore and use his skills.  

	 “Tom was enjoying building the wall. It was so long since he had
done this that he had forgotten the deep tranquility that came from
laying one stone upon another in perfect straight lines and watching
the structure grow. 

	 “When the volunteers started to arrive by the hundred, and he
realized that (the Prior) Philip’s scheme was going to work, he
enjoyed is all the more. These stones would be part of Tom’s
cathedral; and this wall that was now only a foot high would
eventually reach for the sky. Tom felt he was at the beginning of the
rest of his life.” 1 

	 Whatever it was the Simon’s unnamed mother-in-law did after Jesus
raised her to new life; whatever it was that all those nameless people
who came to Simon’s home did after Jesus renewed them; whatever it
is that Jesus does for you and for me, this morning, and every
morning; those in the biblical story and we are all invited to
experience the enjoyment, the satisfaction, the sheer exhilaration of
working to build something – call it God’s Realm, if you will –
and to be assured that what we do will work, just like Tom felt that
his cathedral would work, to bring Glory to God, such Glory as will
sweep us up into the joyful healing and renewal of Jesus. Even daily
routines take on a new significance in the Power and Love of Jesus! 

	NOTE: 

	[1] _“The Pillars of the Earth” _ by Ken Follett.  New American
Library, a division of Penguin Group (USA), New York, N.Y. © 1989.
Page 429.
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