Alison Williams
May 9th 2012 at LSTC
Augustana Chapel
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Mark 3:1-6
(ESV) Again [Jesus] entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a
withered hand. 2 And they watched Jesus, to see whether he would
heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. 3 And he
said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.” 4 And
he said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do
harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. 5 And he
looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart,
and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it
out, and his hand was restored. 6 The Pharisees went out and
immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to
destroy him.
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I've always struggled with the ELCA's
catch phrase, “God's work. Our Hands.” I always picture some God
on high, sitting on a throne, a cranky old man with his arms crossed,
glaring down at us. “Go on. Work. I'm waiting for you. Have you
done it yet? Get going. Work faster. Keep working.”
And most of us are Lutherans so we know
our salvation is not wrapped up in that work. But I still feel
exhausted with the work of life. Of all the shoulds I should do. From
picking up that piece of trash in the grass to remembering to call my
mother. I will admit I am occasionally (or often!) motivated by
guilt. Let's not call it Catholic guilt. We Lutherans have enough.
So sometimes, I find it is easier to
stay silent. Don't worry – I have guilt about that, too. But come
on. I have a lot to do. These hands, this voice, my body is already
tired and I haven't started my first call yet! One more task? Another
job to do? One more person or group to be an ally for? Another person
I have to explain to what it means to be a woman called to ministry
from the very buckle of the bible belt!
Thanks but no thanks. It's easier to
stay with the status quo. Keep our welcome statement as it is and not
take one more step to become a Reconciling in Christ seminary. To not
invest in what it would really mean to welcome all people. Not only
our brothers and sisters in Christ of all sexual orientations and
gender identities, but our international students, every student,
staff, and faculty who doesn't fit that Anglo-Scandinavian-German
mold is most commonly expressed here in the ELCA.
And there there are those with
disabilities. Some we can identify immediately upon meeting a person,
whether someone has a temporarily broken arm or a permanent limp in
their walk. Most look like “normal” people and have what we call
an invisible disability. Mental health or physical illnesses that
cripple the body from within. To assume we must be able to discern a
disability by looking at someone is far from true.
We know that Jesus healed many people,
most likely with a range of health issues, but in this story, Jesus
chooses to approach a man with a withered hand. But this withered
hand could just have easily been an internal battle with diabetes or
the very thing that you struggle with each day.
So this is when we turn to Jesus,
right? Where we begin to watch him. But we aren't the only ones
watching and waiting for healing. There are the people of the
synagogue, the pharisees, waiting for Jesus. And they're holding
their breath to see if he'll break the law. To see if this Jesus will
dare defy the law that governs every single aspect of their very
lives. I wonder if they looked at Jesus and delighted at the idea of
him on a cross??
I picture them standing there, with
their arms crossed, mumbling under their breath, “Are you gonna do
it? Go on. Work. We dare you. We're waiting.” Looks on their faces
that say they've got the law on their side and do not fear this
Jesus.
Until Jesus pipes up, knowing exactly
what the laws say about doing any work on the Sabbath. It's
forbidden. Jesus says, “Is it within the law to do good or bad, to
save life or to murder?” There is no easy response to this
question. To say anything in response would begin a debate that would
shake the very core of the Pharisees faith. The laws that govern
their world would no longer have such power. They would have to enter
into a relationship with this Jesus. It is easier to stay silent.
Stay with the system the way it is. Leave the withered hand withered.
But of course Jesus doesn't play by our
rules. Jesus goes and breaks our rules of who can do work in this
kingdom and who is incapable. Who is, we might say, handicapped to do
God's work with their withered hands.
And while we are not actively plotting
against Jesus, I wonder if we doubt God. If we look at this
mismatched, rag tag body of Christ that we are and snicker at the
thought of Go ddoing work through us. Or maybe it is that the body of
Christ has a withered hand and we stay silent.
Jesus speaks into that silence. Tells
the man: stretch out your hand.
Can you imagine the emotion passing
over the man's face as his pulse quickens? His eyes darting from
pharisee to pharisee, from silent face to silent face before casting
his eyes to the ground and drawing his withered hand closer. Stretch
out this hand? Impossible.
Then he looks up at Jesus, this command
to stretch out his hand still hanging in the air, dripping with an
authority no one can name.
I imagine the anger and grief that
Jesus had at the gathered room melting as he looks in the man's eyes.
And then slowly, the man's hand.....
stretches.
God's work. Our hands.
Jesus stretches out our withered hands.
God restores our hands! Everything that is withered, God
restores. Takes our very lives and stretches them out.
The Pharisees and Herodians conspired
against him, yes. The people of God conspired and stretched Jesus out
on a cross, yes. But even death cannot defeat Jesus. That body of
Christ was raised up on the 3rd day. It was restored.
And we too are restored. This is God's
work of restoring. This is our hands.
And as the body of Christ, we do not
stay silent. We do not accept laws and rules that exclude ANY people
from God's work. From God's church. From a life in Christ.
As you go from this place, as you stay in this place, as you do God's
work with your hands, restore other hands. Enable all people to enter
this place. Welcome ALL people into Christ. Declare the good news
that God has done in you – God's work. Our hands.
Amen. +
