07/09/2018
Scripture Readings: Mark 6: 1 - 13, 2 Samuel 5: 1 - 10
Mark 6:5 reads: “And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people
and cured them.”
"The Message” translation is even more poignant here:
"Jesus wasn’t able to do much of anything there.”
This verse stresses the role of faith in Christ’s work. It reveals the hard truth - that God’s ability is limited to
our willingness to believe. If we don’t believe then God essentially is powerless to do any mighty work.
Again, this is a jarring verse, for it shows that our faith is a necessary ingredient in God’s acts of power. While
some translations try to soften its impact it does not and should not be watered down, for often these difficult
verses are the ones that reveal the true nature of our faith and our own responsibility.
This verse says something about God’s role in our lives and the affairs of the world. God can and does act
unilaterally but it appears that in the majority of cases, indeed in almost every case, God chooses to use a
human to exhibit and exercise God’s power. A brief survey of scripture shows this to be the case.
God chose Noah to save a remnant of humanity from destruction, an individual who it says “found favor in the
eyes of the Lord.” God chose Abraham and Sarah to be the parents of the nation of Israel and ultimately, the
spiritual father of all faithful. Moses is called to rescue the Hebrews from the hand of Pharaoh. And the list
goes on, all the way to Christ and the apostles.
God demands that we believe, something that seems very small, but in fact is the very source of our lives and
actions. At the tomb of Lazarus God tells the people to roll away the stone. Martha protests that after four
days Lazarus’ body will stink. Christ responds, "Didn’t I tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of
God?”
When the resurrected Christ appears to Thomas and tells him to place his hands in the wounds in his hands
and side, he says, “Be not faithless, but believe.”
Faith is obviously something far more than a mere mental exercise. It is, to quote from Hebrews, chapter 11,
the “substance of things hoped for , the evidence of things not seen.” This chapter is worth a thousand words,
but today we merely mention the central role that faith plays in the history of God’s acts with humankind.
Faith is both individual and corporate. Individual in that we have to make a choice in our hearts. We see thisin scripture, as Moses alone is called to return to Egypt and bring God’s people out. Paul alone sees the risen
Christ and throughout his ministry he insists that his calling is “not from human beings but from God.”
Yet it is also corporate. Today’s reading from Mark attests to this fact. It also is alluded to in the OldTestament reading about King David. His leadership is affirmed by the voice of the people. Now we mustremind ourselves that ancient Israel was far from a democracy. David’s reign is not affirmed by a popularvote, yet we recognize that without the voice and support of the people, David’s rule is dubious and uncertain.
True he possessed an army of fierce soldiers at his command but as we know from history, leaders who rely
solely on the sword will ultimately perish.
I remember shortly after Jimmy Carter took the office of president, he was interviewed by the news and asked
his first impressions of the presidency. What struck him, he said, was the powerlessness of the office. Indeed,
as any US president, whether bad or good, has had to accept, is that their power is limited, not only byCongress but by the voice of the people.
Some years ago I watched a PBS documentary on Queen Elizabeth the First. It was troubling, as this queen
could be fierce and even cruel in executing her opponents. But what struck me more than anything else was
the fact that this monarch. who in her day wielded absolute power, had constantly to be on the alert for
enemies both without and within. Her power depended on her allies and also in the ability to keep her
enemies at bay.
Returning to Mark, we here are also reminded that even Christ, in his earthly ministry, was dependent on the
support of his disciples. Without their faith and support, it is dubious that he could have accomplished what
he did. Indeed, he would have been seen as little more than a lone wolf, even a deranged fanatic.
Christ was aware of this and so after being rejected in his hometown he sends his apostles out on the
mission to spread the good news. The instructions are simple yet all important.
‘Jesus called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean
spirits. He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their
belts; but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics. He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay
there until you leave the place. If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave,
shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.”’
Even Jesus, when he walked this earth, the Son of God incarnate, did not do his ministry alone. He relied on
the support of others and commissioned them to do their ministry.
The last part of this lesson and the last thing we need to hear today is the fact that they went outside the safe
confines of their community. Our faith is outward and always outward moving. I’m not talking about business
here. We’re not merely trying to increase our sales or even increase our membership. Rather we recognize
that our citizenship, our identity, our being is not rooted in this world, but in God. Again, returning to the 11th chapter of Hebrews, we read:. "All of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted
them. They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth, for people who speak in this way
make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of the land that they had left behind,
they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one.
Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed, he has prepared a city for them.”
This not only has spiritual but political implications as well. Our mission, our ministry and or identity as people
of faith is rooted in something not of this world and indeed we are pilgrims and refugees not only in this nation
or where ever we may reside, but on this very planet. It is out home yet as we realize it is not our eternal
home.
As I prepared for this week’s message I did a great deal of reading and reviewing documents written by our
nation’s founders. It is, after all, the Fourth of July weekend. What struck me was the fact that the leaders of
the American revolution were visionaries, not only in a civil sense but in a religious sense as well. Their vision
went far beyond the mere political struggles with England. The leaders in England knew that.
King George and others blamed the Revolution on the Presbyterians whom they regarded as religious
fanatics. King George III referred to the American Revolution as "That little Presbyterian rebellion.” He later
told Parliament, "Those damned Presbyterians are behind this, they always defy the monarchy no matter
where they hail from."
Probably more than any other individual, the spirit of a free America captured the heart Rev. John
Witherspoon, who had the vision of representative government. He became involved politically as he
witnessed the oppression of the colonists by the British crown, believing their rights as Englishmen were
being violated. In 1774, Witherspoon was part of the state convention in New Brunswick, NJ, and soon was
thrust headlong into the War for Independence.
His first political sermon, preached in May 1776, urged resistance to tyranny as obedience to God and
encouraged listeners to trust in God to bring good out of evil. The published sermon was dedicated to John
Hancock, president of the Continental Congress. The sermon drew praise for Witherspoon as a patriot, but
British loyalists hated him, burning him in effigy. A member of the British Parliament exclaimed, “Cousin
America has run off with a Presbyterian parson.”
When the Second Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia, Witherspoon served as the only clergy
delegate and signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. Witherspoon also signed the Articles
of Confederation (1778), helped ratify the Constitution (1787) as a member of the New Jersey convention,
and served on the Board of War and Board of Foreign Affairs.
The War for Independence cost Witherspoon dearly; he lost two of his sons in battle. He was keenly aware of
God’s providence in the conflict and wrote several proclamations on behalf of Congress, calling on Americans
to offer God thanksgiving for His mercy.
"If your cause is just—you may look with confidence to the Lord and intreat him to plead it as his own. You
are all my witnesses, that this is the first time of my introducing any political subject into the pulpit. At this
season however, it is not only lawful but necessary, and I willingly embrace the opportunity of declaring my
opinion without any hesitation, that the cause in which America is now in arms, is the cause of justice, of
liberty, and of human nature. So far as we have hitherto proceeded,. I am satisfied that the confederacy of the
colonies, has not been the effect of pride, resentment, or sedition, but of a deep and general conviction, that
our civil and religious liberties, and consequently in a great measure the temporal and eternal happiness of us
and our posterity, depended on the issue. The knowledge of God and his truths have from the beginning of the
world been chiefly, if not entirely, confined to those parts of the earth, where some degree of liberty and
political justice were to be seen, and great were the difficulties with which they had to struggle from the
imperfection of human society, and the unjust decisions of usurped authority. There is not a single instance in
history in which civil liberty was lost, and religious liberty preserved entire. If therefore we yield up our
temporal property, we at the same time deliver the conscience into bo***ge."
I conclude with this not to ignore the other truths about faith which I stated previously. Indeed, Christ calls us
to love our enemies and to pray for those who persecute us. Christ warns that he who lives by the sword shall
die by the sword. And Christ told us that our first reaction to assaults committed against us thought be to turn
the other cheek.
Our founders, including Witherspoon, were not unaware of these scriptures. Perhaps it is why they
deliberated for so long before signing the Declaration of Independence. While they respected authority and
civility, they saw that there were times when we had to resist authority and to embrace causes which are not
always on the side of power. Indeed, as Witherspoon wrote nearly 250 years ago: "If your cause is just—you
may look with confidence to the Lord and intreat him to plead it as his own."
This is the final message today - that God’s message is one of liberation. But liberation begins in our hearts
and souls, for sometimes the things that enslave us are not powers without, whether they be in England or
even in Washington, but the demons within and the powers that prevent us from exhibiting our freedom in
Jesus Christ. Again, turning to the apostle Paul, we see the message that we are free in Christ. And as Jesus
himself said, “If you abide in my word you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free."
Freedom begins here, in church and in our hearts. It begins with a small but all important step of faith, a faith
that says as our Presbyterian Book of Order says in its preface: "God alone is Lord of the conscience." What
is God calling us to do? Where is God calling us to witness? To whom is God calling us to share the good
news? And finally, in whom is God calling us to believe and trust?
We know God can act unilaterally. We could, therefore, just sit around and wait for God to act. But the
question is, if we fail to act in faith now, where will we be when God does finally act? Perhaps God is calling
us now, calling us to act in faith and to be followers, despite the voices of doubt and fear that hold us back.
Perhaps God is urging us to be faithful, to be disciples who are willing to risk all for God's sake.
As Witherspoon said: "If your cause is just—you may look with confidence to the Lord and intreat him to plead it as His own."
AMEN
