The Shepherd’s Voice

Readings for February 8^th:
Is 40:21-31
Ps 147
1 Cor 9:16-23
Mk 1:29-39

A few years back Sharon and I were the primary caretakers for her dad, Joel Swiggum. Joel had Parkinsons and for the last 10 – 11 years of his life his body became less and less able to do what Joel wanted it to do. His shaking was not too bad, but the disease was catastrophic when it came to freezing his body’s motion. Gradually, he had a hard time walking, then it influenced his speech, then it affected his swallowing, and for the last couple years of his life he could not talk, he could not eat as a normal person might, nor could he take care of himself.

We tried many things to improve his ability to communicate. His mind was clear, but his body would not cooperate. He liked computers and was pretty good in using one before his disease. Close to the end he couldn’t even touch a key consistently to tap out a message to us. We tried an ABC board with words on it, but that became useless as well because his arm and hand motions were not steady enough to get to the right letter. Eventually, we would says words or write down words to see if he could at least respond with a yes or no, but in his waning days that was even impossible for him to respond to affirmatively.

Sometimes the world around us, even when we are healthy physically, drives us to a similar state of spiritual Parkinsons. We may know the difference between right and wrong, but our body fails to listen and we end up with our heart frozen from despair.

What’s your spiritual condition this morning? How’s your prayer life?

A father took his small son with him to town one day to run some errands. When lunchtime arrived, the two of them went to a familiar diner for a sandwich. The father sat down on one of the stools at the counter and lifted the boy up to the seat beside him. They ordered lunch, and when the waiter brought the food, the father said, “Son, we’ll just have a silent prayer.” Dad got through praying first and waited for the boy to finish his prayer, but he just sat with his head bowed for an unusually long time. When he finally looked up, his father asked him, “What in the world were you praying about all that time?” With the innocence and honesty of a child, he replied, “How do I know? It was a silent prayer.”

Is your prayer life, your spiritual life silent too? It wasn’t for Jesus and his disciples. In our Gospel text Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever. Jesus came took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.

Might this be an example, or perhaps a metaphor or image for us so we might better understand the power of God and what God can do in each of our lives? It also suggests what we are to do once we experience the power of God in our life.

Last week in our Bible study we talked about how many of us don’t recognize God or God’s existence until we are down on our luck. Until we are having that fox hole experience where everyone is shooting at us, and we think death is eminent it’s hard for some of us to put our life in perspective and hard for us to realize that ultimately God is in control.

It doesn’t matter that on more than one occasion God has told us this. In our 1st reading this morning Isaiah says:

“Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless.”

Isaiah, in a little bit of a mocking way, or a sarcastic way says that God is in control. God created us, God is everlasting, God has the power we need when we are down, and when you feel powerless God will give you strength.

When my father-in-law was first diagnosed with Parkinsons Disease it was troubling for him, but as he understood this, as he recognized the issues associated with parkinsons he began to cope with them through the power of God’s mercy. What surprised me was that he never gave up. His faith in God, his trust in the saving grace of Jesus Christ served his spirit until the very end. Nurses who had to wait on him hand and foot during those last days, months, and years remarked about the sparkle in his eyes and the tenacity of his character. Honestly, I don’t know if I could show that same spirit of hope.

Perhaps you’re a young person, a youth and much of your life is still ahead of you. You don’t want to talk about these old people’s diseases, your invincible, you have the power. I remember a time when I felt that way. Insurance – who needs it, speed limits – there for the elderly, sleep – I can do all nighters, let’s party like there’s no tomorrow. Isaiah has something to say about youth as well.

“Even youths will faint and be weary,
and the young will fall exhausted;”

Scholars believe Isaiah was speaking in a time when Israel and Judah, the whole of the Jewish people were struggling for their very existence. As the remnant in Babylon looked back, they saw failure and sin; and they needed encouragement. They had been overrun, they were clinging to life as life was slipping away, now they didn’t even have a homeland in which to live. If you study Israel’s long and deep history you see why the Israeli conflict today is so complicated.

In this text Isaiah is saying that even the youth, those who can fight; those who are in their prime will eventually be overcome. There is a real sense of desperation here. When we are feeling alone, overwhelmed with life the whole world seems bleak.

A father and son were walking along a road when they came across a large stone. The boy looked at the stone and thought about it a little. Then he asked his father, “Do you think if I use all my strength, I can move that rock?”

The father thought for a moment and said, “I think that if you use all your strength, you can do it.”

That was all the little boy needed. He ran over to the rock and began to push on it. He pushed and he pushed, so hard did he try that little beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. But the rock didn’t move — not an inch, not half an inch. After a while, the little boy sat down on the ground.

His face was sad. His whole body seemed to be just a lump there on the earth. “You were wrong,” he told his dad. “I can’t do it.”

His father walked over to him, knelt beside him, and put his arm around the boy’s shoulder. “You can do it,” he said. “You just didn’t use all your strength. You didn’t ask me to help.”

The world in which we live tells us that it is all up to us. It tells us that we have to be strong, independent, pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps. It tells us we can’t and shouldn’t count on anyone or anything else. And yet, what faith tells us and what Jews and Christians have known forever is that we have a ready resource in God, strength for those who ask.

Strength for the journey that’s what coming here, to church today is all about. God offers you encouragement, in this place; we all need it.

Look at what we did thus far today. We confessed our sin together and found out that God is more powerful than sin and forgives us all of our sin.

We sang – the Kryie – Lord Have Mercy – this is us crying out to God for peace, for health, for justice in our world, and for unity of all. We want peace in our hearts, peace in our homes and we want God to be in control. We found out the Spirit guides and gives peace to our soul.

Lutheran worship is centered on the Word of God. We read from Isaiah, from Paul’s letter to the Corinthian church, and from Marks Gospel. When we are feeling down, when we are laid low and this world causes us to despair we can find peace as we read God’s Word of encouragement.

In a few moments, we will be gathering around the altar for communion. Our Lutheran tradition tells us that God meets us in, under and with the bread and the wine. Jesus instituted this meal. Jesus told his disciples that they were to love one another as he loved them. Breaking bread together is a reminder of how we need to show our love to one another as well.

Jesus tells us through parable, through word, and through his actions of healing the sick, loving the poor, and dying on the cross that we have a God of love. Jesus said (Matt 11:28) come to me all who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens and I will give you rest.
Do you believe what he said?

God told us this through Isaiah.

“but those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength,
they shall mount up with wings like eagles,
they shall run and not be weary,
they shall walk and not faint”

wait on the Lord and rise up like an eagle!

We can’t do it on our own. We can’t measure up to what the law demands of us. Wait on the Lord today so that you might rise up like an eagle, run and not be weary, with God’s help.

I mentioned earlier that Jesus lifted Simon’s mother-in-law and the fever left her she began to serve them. When God lifts us out of spiritual parkinsons, the case of a frozen heart he also gives us a willingness to serve. God promises we won’t feel faint as we wait on the Lord and rise up like an eagle! What can we do? Wait on the Lord and rise up like an eagle!
Amen

The Shepherd’s Voice – Sermon Audio

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