"The 12th Man"
Mark 1:21-28
January 29, 2012

Next Sunday, the most watched event on television will take place - the Super Bowl. The championship game of professional football. The site for the Super Bowl is always determined several years in advance. In fact, I think the sites for the next 3 Super Bowls are already set. Now unless the team from that area actually makes it to the Super Bowl, and I don't know if that has ever happened, the game is usually played on a neutral field - meaning neither team has any particular advantage. Unlike basketball, baseball, and hockey, where championships are played at the home location of each team, the pro football championship is usually played indoors or in a warm part of the country at a site away from each team's home city so that the setting can be relatively equal for both teams. In other words, in some cities the home fans for some teams are so loud and enthusiastic that they can actually make the teams feel like they are part of the game. In football this is known as the "12th man" concept. Only 11 players on each team play on the field at one time, but the supportive cheering and energy of the home fans in some cities can make it feel like the home team has 12 players on the field at all times.

Feeling the support of those around us is often the difference between success and failure. Remember as a child how we all wanted our parents, our relatives, or our friends to watch us do different things. "Watch me! Watch me!" were words we would say as we rode our bikes without training wheels or did cartwheels across the living room or tried to hit a softball with a bat. Even teenagers, who sometimes don't like to have their parents around, will often glance into an audience, wanting to know if mom or dad are there. Knowing that the crowd is with you is exciting and empowering. That cushion of support sometimes makes athletes a little faster, musicians a little more creative, and teachers a little more confident. The home town advantage gives invisible, but authentic authority to the home team's actions.

In our Gospel lesson for today, Jesus and His new disciples have made their way to Capernaum - the home town of Peter, Andrew, James, and John - and immediately on the Sabbath they entered the synagogue where Jesus began to teach. Now teaching in the synagogue was probably something Jesus was very familiar with. While a synagogue was a place where Jews could study Scripture and worship God, they never had any resident ordained ministers assigned to them. Therefore, visiting teachers or rabbis who were in the area were usually invited to teach lessons, and Jesus was probably invited to teach. So, in a sense, the synagogue became the home field, you could say, for Jesus.

Now we don't know exactly what Jesus said or taught, but what we do learn from Scripture is that the people gathered around Jesus in that synagogue, I'm going to call them the "home crowd" were amazed at his teaching. Apparently it was not necessarily what Jesus said, but how He said it - with authority they had never heard before. Whenever the local scribes or visiting rabbis taught, they would quote God's Law, as written by Moses, or they would mention words spoken by Old Testament prophets, like Isaiah, or they would make reference to certain interpretations of Scriptures offered by rabbis from the past. But Jesus didn't quote anyone. His teaching was new in that He personified what He said. He fulfilled what had been said or predicted in the Old Testament.

So the first lesson Jesus teaches us here in this text is that we have to find a way to personify what we believe. We must let God's Word live in us and through us. We can know the Bible backward and forward, but unless we live it, unless people can see God's Word living in us and through us, it doesn't do anyone any good.

For example, we see in this text that an evil spirit knew who Jesus was; but that knowledge certainly didn't help him in any way. It only filled him with fear. The presence of Jesus and the "home crowd" of amazed people around Him was enough to antagonize that evil spirit to cry out in fear - "What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth?" Have you come to destroy us?"

Notice that no one brought the possessed man to Jesus to have him healed. The evil spirit, seeing Jesus and the crowd's "12th man" kind of support of Jesus, reveals himself out of fear and then announces Jesus' true identity before everyone in that synagogue. In verse 24 the evil spirit says, "I know who you are - the Holy One of God!" Notice, as well, that it's not the home crowd that reveals Jesus' identity, but the visitor - the enemy. Though what that evil spirit said was true, Jesus was not going to accept his words as a testimony for everyone there to hear. In other words, Satan was not a proper witness, because those who heard him could easily have said, "Well, if Satan is the father of lies, how can we believe what he says." So that's why Jesus immediately told that evil spirit to "Be silent!" But Jesus doesn't stop there. Moved with compassion for this man, Jesus heals him by commanding the evil spirit to come out. The "home crowd" that saw this were once again amazed. They had never seen such a teaching, with authority, that also produced such powerful, compassionate action.

And this is the second lesson we learn from Jesus in this text. Jesus touched people with a higher level of compassion. He didn't just say, "I'm sorry." He demonstrated God's love and He calls us to do the same. It doesn't do us any good to talk about the love of God unless that love is a living reality in our lives. Jesus gave help, hope, love, encouragement, and forgiveness to everyone He encountered and He calls us to do the same. We are not to be people who simply talk about God's Word and His love, we are to demonstrate His Word and His love by reaching out to everyone we meet with a higher level of compassion.

The third lesson we learn from this ext is that Jesus takes people to a higher level of service. We will see next week that when Jesus and His disciples left the synagogue that day they went to Peter's house, where they found Peter's mother-in-law in bed with a fever. Jesus went to her and immediately healed her. And then, as soon as she was healed, she started to serve them as her way of expressing her gratitude. When our lives are touched by Jesus, He takes us to a new level of service.

Several years ago I remember talking to a couple who had been visiting our church and they asked me, "What does your church have to offer us?" And I responded by saying, "Well, first, I would like to know what you have to offer our church?" I wasn't suggesting that our church was selective in who we accept as members, but the couple had been telling me in our discussions that they weren't sure if they would join, they just hadn't gotten that feeling yet from God. My response to them was that feeling would only come as a result of being committed to Jesus and dedicated to His church. In other words, our focus should not simply be on how can the church meet my needs, but what goal does my church need me to meet. How can I be a 12th man or a 12th woman to others?

When I was in college our football coach loved the 12th man concept and he even gave it a special twist. During my senior year, the coach decided that he would pick a senior, who was not a member of the team, to come and practice with the team for a week and to play in the next game. That senior was given a different color helmet to wear so that everyone could see this ordinary person play. He usually played only on the opening kickoff, but sometimes he played a little bit more if there was an injury. But every week that 12th man stood on the sidelines during the game ready for duty in the event that the 11 players on the field needed his assistance. That spirit of readiness for service and desire to support should be alive in all of us.

That couple that was trying to decide whether or not to join our church eventually joined. Now they have since moved away, out of the state, but a few months after joining the church they told me, "Pastor, we've got that good feeling now." Not so much because they simply joined, but because they changed their thoughts from "What can I get out of the church" to "What can I put into it." Their lives had been lifted to a new level of compassion and service. That doesn't mean they were necessarily leaders or very visible in their service. They were more like a 12th man or 12th woman, ready to serve if called and always willing to stand on sidelines to offer encouragement to others.

Are you a 12th man or 12th woman to your children, your parents, your teachers, your neighbors, or your co-workers? Can people see the love and compassion of Jesus alive in you? Can they see your commitment to God? Are they amazed at it? I know that Holy Cross is a church that functions as a 12th man or 12th person to others, I thank God that I am a part of this church, and I pray that God's Word and Love will always be clearly visible in us for everyone to see.

"Sharing God's Powerful and Positive Message"
Jonah 3:1-5,10
January 22, 2012

I'm sure we all remember the first time we tried riding a bike without training wheels. We got on, with our mom or dad holding the bike, and then as we started pedaling, with our parents running next to us, they eventually let go. But I would guess that all of us, at some point after our parents let go, probably fell down. Now, when that happened, did our parents get upset with us and criticize us for falling down? No, of course not. Instead they picked us up, brushed us off, patched us up (if necessary), and helped us back on that bike for us to try again. In other words, our failure was only temporary.

That's what happened with Jonah in our Old Testament lesson. On his first attempt at following God's instructions, he veered off course and fell into the mouth of a big fish, where he stayed for 3 days. God wanted Jonah to go to Nineveh to proclaim a powerful message to all of the people. But Jonah didn't want to go, so he tried running away from God. However, after the fish spit Jonah out, our text says that God came Jonah and gave him a second chance. He didn't yell at him, He didn't criticize him; He simply picked Jonah up (like a parent picking up their child when they fall off a bike) and in essence said, "Let's try this again."

Time and time again we see people in the Bible who fell and failed God. But instead of criticizing them, God picks them up, blesses them, and does amazing things through them. For example, God told Abraham and his wife, Sarah, that He would give them a son. But after waiting several years, and with Sarah well past her child bearing years, they thought it would never happen. So, they both decided that it was a good idea for Abraham to sleep with another woman in order to have a child. And sure enough it worked, Abraham had a son with this other woman, because he failed to believe God's promise. But even though Abraham and Sarah failed to trust God, God kept His promise and eventually blessed Abraham and Sarah with a son. Peter, in the New Testament, promised that he would never turn away from Jesus, even if everyone else turned away, but soon after saying that Peter denies that he ever knew Jesus, not once, not twice, but 3 times when questioned in front of others. Peter failed Jesus miserably, but Jesus still treats him special after He rose from the dead and in essence says to Peter, "Let's try this again." And Peter then goes on to become one of the greatest leaders of the early church.

Abraham, Peter, and many others in the Bible failed God as some point in their lives, but God did not give up on them. He picks them up and sends them out to share His Word and His love. Just as God did not give up on people in the Bible, He never has and never will give up on us. That is great news; that is God's message that we need to share with others. But sometimes, Christians are reluctant to tell others, because they don't know how others will react - and that's a problem.

Today is the 39th anniversary of the Roe vs. Wade decision that legalized abortion. And many are reluctant to talk in church about things such as abortion or assisted suicide. But let's lay aside for a moment this morning all of the political baggage that goes with these issues and think of the message we have to share concerning life. It is a positive message and a powerful message of life, that no one should be reluctant to share.

Jonah was a reluctant messenger, because he had an unpopular message from God to share with the people of Nineveh - "You've got 40 days Nineveh to change your sinful ways or God will destroy you." That was the message, and that's not exactly a message anyone would be anxious to share with others. So, the first time God told Jonah to share that message, he ran away and ended up being swallowed by a fish for 3 days. But God didn't give up on Jonah. He came to him a second time and told him to go to the city of Nineveh and proclaim the message I gave you.

While the message given to Jonah was not a popular message, it was a powerful message, because it was God's message. Notice in verse 5 that it wasn't Jonah whom the people believed, it says, "The people of Nineveh believed God." Now there was probably more to Jonah's message than just those 8 words listed at the end of verse 4 and there's no way Jonah could have preached this message to the entire city of Nineveh at one time, but those who were there to hear Jonah understood the source of his message, the truth of his message, and the power of his message. The word then spread very quickly throughout the city and the people then responded by changing their ways, turning their lives around, repenting of their sinfulness, and humbling themselves before God by fasting and putting on sackcloth.

Then, in verse 10, we see the power of God revealed - not through threats of destruction, but through compassion. Verse 10: "When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it." The power of God seen here is in what He did not do. He did not punish the Ninevites. He did not give them what they deserved. God's great love for them prevented Him from carrying out His great judgment.

Now, oddly enough, this frustrated Jonah. The one who had been given a second chance doesn't seem to want these people of Nineveh to be given a second chance. The very next verse after our Old Testament lesson says, "But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry." In other words, Jonah is angry at God for showing mercy, because he wanted these sinful people to get what they deserved.

Whenever we see a movie that contains good guys vs. bad guys, we usually want the good guys to win and the bad guys to be punished at the end, right? But if the bad guys win or get off at the end, we might say something like, "That's not fair, what a strange ending." But our God is the master of the strange ending. The bad guys in this text do not get what they deserve; and Jonah knew this first hand, and then confesses in the next verse saying, "God, You are gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, and abounding in love." Jonah may have been a reluctant messenger, but he had a powerful message from God, and God worked through that message to reveal His compassion.

Reluctant though we may be to talk about abortion and other life issues, God has something to say about them. The message we have to share on life is God's message, not ours; and it is a powerful and positive message. God loves human life so much that He wants to protect it from harm, so He says in the 5th Commandment: "You shall not murder." The unborn child in a mother, a child on a playground, a child with Down Syndrome on that same playground, the professional athlete, the paraplegic in a wheelchair, the young energetic businesswoman, the young man with MS, grandpa on the golf course, grandma in the nursing home - all of these people are created by God, and all of these are people for whom Jesus died. Therefore, they all have value, dignity, and purpose.
The message we have to share is a message through which God reveals His compassion and love. There are a lot of people in our world who have made mistakes when it comes to decisions about life and death; and they are filled with guilt and regret - don't we want them to know about God's comfort and forgiveness?

There are people in our world who have the attitude of Jonah. The "bad guys" should get what they deserve, because of their actions. However, the reality is that we are all "bad guys." All of us have sinned. It is not the magnitude of our sin that puts us under God's judgment. Sin itself puts us there. Like the Ninevites, we deserve God's wrath. But like the Ninevites, we do not get what we deserve. God's "strange ending" for us is that Jesus gets what we deserve, that being death, and we get what we do not deserve - that being life. In God's strange ending, the good guy, Jesus, is declared to be the bad guy and the bad guys, you and I, regardless of the magnitude of our sin, are declared to be the good guys.

Why should people, then, be so reluctant to share such a powerful and positive message of life, concerning a God who promises never to leave us? There are no circumstances, whether it is a crisis pregnancy or a terminal illness, that we face alone. There are no circumstances beyond God's power to help. There are no circumstances that can ever separate us from God's love.

Have you ever been reluctant to tell someone something? Sure, who hasn't? There's a little bit of Jonah in all of us. But our text reminds us, and our Gospel lesson reminds us, that we are all called to share the message of what God has done for us in Jesus. In the verses leading up to our second lesson for today, Paul reminds us that we were bought at a price. Not with silver or gold, but the the holy, precious blood of Jesus. That gives life value. Our God knows that we will fall and fail, but each time He picks us up and never gives up on us. The message we have to share is God's message, and it is one that reveals His love and compassion. Therefore, as God's forgiven children, may we never be reluctant to share such a powerful and positive message of life.