Rev. William G. Lamont, Pastor

In the morning, while it was still very dark, Jesus got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed.  And Simon and his companions hunted for him.  When they found him they said to him, “Everyone is searching for you.”  He answered, “Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do.”  Mark 1:35-38

Tom Long--the Bandy Professor of Preaching at the Chandler School of Theology in Atlanta, seems to be focusing more attention on the gospel of Mark recently... workshops, articles, sermons.  I’m anticipating a new commentary from him but so far nothing.  In any case, at the Festival of Homiletics last May he made the following statement about Mark: “For Mark, doing ministry is not “gently encouraging spirituality in a benign culture.”  For Mark it is holy apocalyptic combat between the gospel and the demonic.  And every single action of Jesus in the gospel of Mark is an exorcism...every single one of them, every sermon, every healing, every stilling of the storm.

“And the interesting thing in Mark is it’s hard to tell the difference between the holy and the demonic.  If the demonic would behave like it’s supposed to, like it does in the movies, where little girl’s heads spin around, and throw up pea soup, then it would be easy.  But in Mark, if you want to see where the demonic is, look at where the society thinks it is sane.  Look at the synagogue, look at the Temple, look at the golf club, look at the Chase Manhattan Bank, look at First Community Church”.

If it’s hard to tell the holy from the demonic in Mark’s gospel, then Jesus has to scrutinize everyone’s actions, everyone’s words and intentions, to discern which are from God and which are not.  Even his own disciples come under scrutiny...but I’m getting ahead of myself.

Today’s passage takes place in the seaside town of Capernaum.  Jesus has just exorcised a demon from a man in the synagogue and leaving there he learns that Simon’s mother-in-law is sick with a fever.  He attends to her and the fever leaves her body.  Word gets around about Jesus and that same night, he is inundated with requests for healing and exorcism.  “And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons.” (vs. 34a)

We don’t know how much sleep Jesus got that night, probably not much, and still he’s up the next morning before light and he goes off to a deserted place.  Now, to our ears, “a deserted place” may have a sentimental ring to it... we might think of Jesus sitting on a log by the seashore watching the waves lap up against the shore as the sun comes up, or sitting atop a rocky outcrop overlooking the Capernaum, staring up at the brilliant night sky.  But that’s not Mark’s intention.  A deserted place is just that – deserted, a place where wild beasts roam and evil lurks.  This is the domain of the unholy One.  How do we know that?  If we look back to verse 12 of this same chapter, we see that Jesus has been here before.  Immediately after his baptism we’re told that the Spirit drove him out into the wilderness, “and he was there for 40 days tempted by Satan.”

Interesting that in Mark’s Gospel, it doesn’t say how Jesus was tempted.  In Matthew and Luke we’re told there were three temptations...first with food (he was tempted to turn stones into bread), then with power (all the kingdoms will be yours if you’ll bow down and worship me), and finally tempted to test God’s love (jump off the pinnacle of the Temple and God will save you).  In Mark’s gospel, no details about the temptation of Satan are given so we’re left to wonder how Satan might have tempted Jesus.  Well, we’re not left to wonder long - because here in the same chapter, Jesus is back in the wilderness and his struggle is obvious:  He has achieved celebrity status among the people of Capernaum.  He knows if he stays put in the city, he can live out his life with comfort and ease because he is so popular here and because he isn’t seen as a threat to the religious or political authority in Jerusalem.  It’s a tempting thought...after all, he can still do some good work here - he can continue to heal people and cast out demons and really make a difference for God. 

The only problem is that is not Jesus’ calling.  He’s not called to be the rabbi of Capernaum but savior of the world, and if he’s going to be savior he’s got to take the gospel message to other towns and villages and eventually to the city of Jerusalem itself.   

Enter the disciples, Simon and his companions.  They’ve been hunting for Jesus, excited by the reception Jesus has received in Capernaum.  They say to Jesus, “Everyone is searching for you.”  In other words:  “You’re popularity precedes you, Jesus; you can have it all back there!  Let’s go back and claim the prize.”  And Jesus with level gaze says, “Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also, for that is what I came out to do.”  And without so much as a backward glance, Jesus moves on to the next town and the next, proclaiming the good news, exorcizing demons, and re-claiming lost lives for God. 

Today’s passage is pivotal in Jesus’ ministry because he understands that temptation isn’t always the difference between good and bad...sometimes it’s the difference between good and great.  Staying in Capernaum would be good but moving on was great.  He chose the road less traveled which led him to accept a call beyond the city limits of one town to take the gospel to others…to more and more people. 

In many ways, Hidenwood faces a similar pivotal moment itself:  The elders and deacons have all read the book “The Externally Focused Church” and have held two retreats to discuss how Hidenwood can become more externally focused as a congregation.  The term “externally focused” is well defined in this book:  It means to be internally strong as a congregation but to be oriented externally – focused beyond the walls of the church, on those who are not members of the church.  Not a club but a mission outpost.  Externally focused congregations seek to engage with their community with good works and good news.  They build bridges to the communities instead of walls around themselves.  The work that goes on inside externally focused churches is equipping...they equip members to be disciples who share good news and do good deeds beyond the walls of the church.

The book highlights the mission and ministry of several churches, most large but some small,   that fully embrace this external focus.  They exude an excitement for ministry that is contagious even on paper and the book encourages us to re-imagine what we could be doing in the name of Christ.  

One thing the elders all agree on is that the congregation needs to be brought along with us as we re-imagine the mission and ministry of our church.  So you will be hearing more about this in the months ahead and be asked for your input, too.  But it all begins with answering the question why?  Why do we want to become more externally focused in the first place?  The answer is found in today’s passage - because that is the call of Jesus.  The call of Christ is always forward to take the gospel to those who don’t know it yet.  Christ did not retreat to the safe confines of Capernaum, but took the good news out into the world that did not know him.  He calls us to follow him where he goes: “Let us go on to the neighboring towns so that I may proclaim the message there also.”

There are people outside our walls who have no clue of the gospel...never really encountered it.  Now how will they ever experience it, unless we take it to them?  It’s the call to be disciples - to proclaim the good news of Christ to a world in need, and Christ sends you and me!  Will we follow? Amen.