Introduction
A new year has begun. What could the first sermon of the new year be about?
About good intentions? I actually did that once before, 12 years ago. I chose a song by the Austrian band EAV as an introduction: "Tomorrow, yes tomorrow, I'll start a new life." Maybe someone remembers the sermon.
"Good resolutions" are always a welcome topic at the beginning of the year, but somehow this time it didn't appeal to me.
Then there is another thankful topic at the beginning of the year and that is the annual motto. I always take care of the homepage at the beginning of the year and update the watchwords, weekly sayings and monthly sayings there. It doesn't take me very long, but there are hardly any other sources where you can access these Bible verses in a clearly organised way. That's why others are also grateful for it and the weekly verse page is the part that is most frequently accessed from our homepage. We are in fourth place on the first page of Google when you enter the verse of the week 2020.
And when I updated it, I also entered the motto for the year and it really appealed to me, so today it's about the motto for the year from Mark 9:24; LUT:
Faith, unbelief, what is meant here? To understand this better, I would like to take a closer look with you at the incident where these words were spoken.
Shortly before this event, Jesus was on a mountain with the disciples Peter, John and James and there they experienced something wonderful. Elijah and Moses appeared and God himself spoke audibly. Peter was so enthusiastic that he wanted to build a hut for Moses, Elijah and Jesus and they were determined to stay there. Alongside other spiritual meanings, this seems to me to symbolise a super-Christian event where you have a great experience in the community and where you have really heard God speak. And you don't really want to leave this event, but an event is only temporary.
I once became particularly aware of this time limitation when I was on a youth worker training course at GjW-Norddeutschland (an A-course, the older ones will remember) and left my guitar at the Freizeithaus. I had visited someone after the course and went back to the Freizeithaus a few days later to get the guitar.
Of course, there was no one left from the course. The empty leisure centre seemed so unreal, as if nothing was left of the course. Everything had vanished into thin air.
I had hopefully learnt a few things there and brought them back with me, but of course it's not easy to transport such event results into everyday life.
The situation of the disciples
And the three disciples will have felt the same way (Mark 9, 14-18; NL):
After the mountain of transfiguration, something like this! You don't really feel like it. You'd rather talk a bit more about the great experience.
But that's often the way it is. You were at the great event, now you're in the depths of everyday life and then there are the others who weren't there and can't quite get it right. At the time, they probably don't have an ear for the great experiences of the three summit disciples.
They were surrounded by a large crowd as they argued with scribes. And their master was far away on a mountain. And they were unable to help the man and his son.
Is this a picture for a community? Surrounded by curious gawkers, attacked by know-it-alls and failing in the process. They can't heal the boy.
Perhaps the other nine disciples felt this way, but we can only guess.
Let's compare this situation with our church today.
There are everyday situations where some things don't work. We know that. People don't get well, aren't renewed, even though the Bible says so. Of course, it happens from time to time, but not when we pay attention to it and not as often as we would like.
Then there is resistance, which we also know from time to time, although nowadays people feel more indifferent than resistant.
Then there is a difference between then and now: people seek help from Jesus. Unfortunately, that is no longer the case today. And the onlookers are happy when they see Jesus and greet him.
If we could manage that: People seek help from Jesus Christ, that would be great. Of course, we can't make that happen, but ultimately it is our mission to contribute to this.
The whole situation was triggered by a man's search for help for his son, and the disciples were unable to help him.
Perhaps we sometimes feel the same way. People expect some form of help from the church and are often disappointed. But there are also many expectations that we simply cannot fulfil. For example, it irritates me when people complain that no one from the church calls them, but they never call anyone themselves.
Or sometimes there is an unspoken expectation here and there: "You are Christians, you have to help me." No, we don't have to do anything.
But often enough, Christians help anyway. Why is that? But even people who don't call themselves Christians are often happy to help. Philosophers and psychologists often ponder the meaning of altruistic behaviour. I don't want to talk about it in such general terms, I'll just try to do it for Christians.
Christians are helpful through their new heart that they have received from Jesus and remain so when they repeatedly bring their missteps to him and receive forgiveness.
Perhaps this explanation is a little too simple, but somehow it has to be.
However, outsiders will always be disappointed by the church at some point if they do not understand that real help is only available from Jesus Christ.
The man with the sick son did turn to the disciples, but only because Jesus was not there. He actually wanted to see Jesus.
People who do not yet know anything about Jesus naturally turn to the church first, but that is not enough in the long term. The church is limited. That is why we must also point people to Jesus, because salvation is only in his name.
There are two other interesting points in this situation. One person has problems and others are arguing about them.
I think constructive disputes are sensible and important, constructive and not this shitstorm culture of outrage that is becoming more and more prevalent these days. If the fact that Greta sat on the floor of the ICE takes up more space in the media than the search for solutions to climate change, then the bourlevardisation of the so-called quality media is already well advanced. And it's important that lots of people are upset about something, because that's the only way to get clicks.
But back to the situation: does the argument between the disciples and the scribes make sense here? It did not seem to be important to the evangelist Mark in terms of content, because he did not directly write down what they were arguing about.
In such situations, it seems to me that help is more important than the struggle for the truth.
It is interesting that the person concerned, the father and the sick son, was not involved in the dispute, although the dispute was somehow about him.
It reminds me a bit of talk shows where highly paid politicians, economics professors and social experts talk about the situation of poor people.
I believe that the people affected must always be involved when help is provided.
The second point in this situation is the son's symptoms. I've already used the term "sick" a few times, but perhaps that's not quite right. The father says that he has a mute mind. That's his diagnosis now. The symptoms are reminiscent of epilepsy, apart from the muteness.
I do believe that demons and possession exist, even if I have never personally encountered them. Other passages in the Bible describe such cases quite clearly.
Whether that is the case here is not entirely clear to me. We will see later how Jesus heals the boy.
The belief
I read on (Mark 9, 19-24; NL):
"You unbelievers", a harsh word! In another translation it stands for this statement:
If you just read over here, you get the impression that Jesus is rounding on his disciples in front of the whole crowd. But he scolds the whole generation (other translations use the word "generation", which here means generation).
As far as I know, Jesus never belittled his disciples in front of outsiders and therefore he is not just referring to his disciples here, but to everyone present. This is not about performance Christianity, along the lines of: you have to believe a lot and do a lot and if you don't make it, you are a failure.
The displeasure that Jesus expresses here seems somehow human. Have you still not got it? You've seen so many miracles and you still don't believe it?
But then Jesus devotes himself to the individual, which I always find fascinating. Not just the big picture, but the individual, you personally are important.
You bring the boy to him and he looks at the problem and asks questions. Sometimes it is necessary to analyse the problem. The father describes it as he has experienced it. And then comes an important statement:
The request for help is fine, but the request with integrated doubt (do something if you can) sounds almost impertinent. The New Geneva Translation says:
That sounds unintentionally polite and so I wouldn't translate it that way, but it does express the question: "Is it possible for Jesus to help"?
That is the central question. Are we just an association for the cultivation of Christian customs, or does what we say and do here have any meaning?
Is it really possible for Jesus to help you and me? Next to this question, all other questions fade into insignificance.
How does Jesus respond to this?
Jesus' answer here is not, "Of course I can!". Instead, he also assigns responsibility to the boy's father: "Everything is possible for the one who believes!" And "believes" of course means trusting in God.
It is also interesting to note the root of the Greek word for "can". It is "dynamai", which also occurs in the German word "Dynamo". It is about being able to bring about, to make possible. Can you do that, Jesus?
And his answer is: anyone who trusts in God can do it. Everything is possible for those who believe. And the word translated here as "possible" has the same root as "can": dynatos
This answer is certainly unexpected for the father. In a comfortable situation, one would first hesitate, think, reflect, but the boy's father was desperate. He screamed:
The New Living Translation does not translate here as briefly and concisely as Luther does:
Doubt, unbelief, is that the same thing? The other translations I have looked at also write "unbelief", but some with the phrase "help me out of unbelief".
And then Jesus takes care of it, so he doesn't leave the father alone.
When we look at the coming year for ourselves personally and also for our congregation: What do we expect from God for us and for the church? What do we believe God can do?
Perhaps it is now on the tip of some people's tongues: What does "can" mean here? Everything is possible for those who believe.
Yes, of course, but what do we really think? What do we hope, what do we fear for our community?
To what extent is the attitude of the boy's father similar to ours?
"Have mercy on us and help us. Do something if you can."
I think this man didn't really believe, he wasn't sure, but he saw no other way and that's why he came to Jesus.
This attitude is not so wrong now. It is not ideal, but his previous journey with his son's suffering has driven him to Jesus. And he realises that he is actually doubting and asks for help.
How much do we believe that Jesus wants to bring a little more vigour to our church, more worshippers, more staff? Do we believe that Jesus can do this in Leichlingen?
I deliberately use the word "can" here so that it grates on us a little. Of course we know that Jesus, as the Son of God, can do everything, as basic biblical knowledge, but does this correspond with our personal faith and experience?
We are just a small group and most of us are somehow involved and some of us may have already reached their limit.
It's nice here in our community, the people are nice, but somehow everything has become a little less in recent years; it could become more again.
This reminded me of another biblical passage (Matthew 9:35-38; NL):
Many people with great concerns and few co-workers - our problem is not that new. I believe that this should be our main prayer request, that God would send new co-workers for the kingdom of God in Leichlingen.
Where are they supposed to come from, you can't bake employees?
God has completely different possibilities. At the entry into Jerusalem in Luke 19: 37-40, Jesus' followers praised God loudly and jubilantly for the great miracles they had seen. The Pharisees were disturbed by this and asked Jesus to stop it. And then Jesus said (Luke 19, 40;NL):
God can awaken worshippers from stones and he can also awaken co-workers from stones. This image impressively shows that no human being is too cold, too hardened, too dismissive or too lost for God.
We have trouble believing that if we are honest, at least I often do, but I want to believe that, Lord, help my unbelief.
The cure
For the sake of completeness, I would like to say a few words about the healing or perhaps better liberation.
The individual, the sufferer, is at the centre of Jesus' attention. As more and more onlookers arrive, he quickly brings the matter to an end in order to protect the boy as well.
And afterwards he takes him by the hand and helps him to stand up. This is a beautiful image of the fact that it is not just about conversion, about salvation, but that Jesus takes the liberated person by the hand and helps him to stand up.
Is it really a demon or is it a disease like epilepsy? On the one hand, I find it very difficult to explain away all cases of possession in the Bible in biological terms, because there really are demons in the Bible. The invisible world, the evil as well as the good, is real, even if it is perhaps not the way we imagine it.
On the other hand, in this specific case I wonder who made the diagnosis of obsession. The father witnessed what happened to the boy the whole time and probably made the diagnosis of "obsession" from this observation. He had probably also consulted priests and doctors who had made similar judgements about the symptoms. Today's knowledge of such epileptic convulsions was completely unknown at the time.
In addition, such an assumed possession made the child unclean in the eyes of those around him and excluded him from many things. Jesus may therefore have regarded this illness as an evil spirit and carried out the healing through a pronounced threat in order to make it clear to those around him that the boy was now healed. He freed the boy as more and more onlookers arrived.
But that's just a guess on my part, maybe it was a simple exorcism.
What is interesting in this story is the difference between Jesus and the disciples. Jesus actively drove it out, whereas the disciples could only drive it out through prayer.
That is another question that arises here: What else can only be solved through prayer? Where can you not get any further with active action, where can you only pray?
Summary
I'll come to the end:
- Sometimes it goes straight from the mountain of transfiguration into the valley of everyday life.
- Similar to the disciples' experience, the church is sometimes surrounded by onlookers, antagonised by know-it-alls and does not get its problems solved. However, many people sought help from Jesus back then. Today, most people are rather indifferent to Jesus or have exaggerated expectations of the church.
- Nevertheless, the church is the first point of contact for people who do not yet know Jesus. And pointing people to Jesus is our very first mission.
- Regarding disputes: Constructive disputes can be useful, but those affected must be involved. But help is more important than the struggle for truth.
- The unbelieving generation: they have seen so many miracles and still don't believe. We have probably also all experienced a lot and yet we are often of little faith.
- Jesus devotes himself to the boy, even does a kind of problem analysis and helps him.
- "Have mercy on us and help us. Do something if you can." What can Jesus do? What do we trust him to do?
- "Everything is possible for the one who believes!" The boy's father realises his limitations and cries out: "I believe, help my unbelief." What do we believe Jesus can do in our lives and our church in the coming year?
- We need more people for what needs to be done. Therefore, one of the most important prayers for our church seems to be that we need to ask the Lord of the harvest for workers. Where they come from is God's business. He has many options.