Sermon Series: Encounter Jesus
Sermon Title: ISWYDT (I See What You Did There)
Sermon Text: Mark 6.1-6a
Sermon Style: Buttrick’s 3 Moves (variation). Visuals here used on screen during sermon.
SOIL THAT CANNOT SEE
Last week, we heard a story about a seed-scattering farmer and different types of soil. The quality of the soil directly impacted its ability to receive the seed. Asked to explain this strange saying Jesus said to the disciples: 11 God has let you in on the inside story regarding the workings of the Kingdom—the hidden meanings. But the crowds—I teach them in parables 12 as the prophet Isaiah predicted, “ So that when they look, they see and yet do not understand. When they hear, they listen and yet do not comprehend. Otherwise, they might really turn and be forgiven.
The soil was bad because it couldn’t see. Apparently, Jesus liked to mix his metaphors for effect. How can soil (which is dirt) have vision, hearing, or be repentant? If the soil has no part to play, how can it be responsible for its condition? Doesn’t Jesus want everyone to get the message? Is forgiveness for everyone? Important questions, indeed.
Read in isolation, the verses above are pretty hopeless. Yet Mark’s writing is based on his understanding of Isaiah (whom he is quoting). Mark’s describing Jesus’ fulfillment of prophecy. Specifically, the inability to see is the RESULT not the PURPOSE of Jesus ministry. How one responds to Jesus and his message reveals what kind of soil they are already. Simply put – the inability to see or inability to receive the seed of the good news is the result of a “self-limiting” hardness of heart.
There’s an old adage that goes like this: “To the person who only has a hammer, everything begins to look like a nail.”
Psychologists talk about confirmation bias, which means our ideas are often based on paying attention to the information that upholds our ideas and ignoring the information that challenges our existing beliefs. For example, if I told you left-handed people were more intelligent, you’d naturally notice “smart thing” left-handed people did and you’d start to find evidence to correspond to the supposition.
Confirmation bias explains things like being a sports fan – where in Spring training you always see evidence of your team getting better. It explains why your politics are always right and others are always wrong. Confirmation bias is even at the root of conflict when an “event” happens that disrupts relationship, we look for meaning as to why it happened. If we believe the other person “meant” to hurt us, we’ll go back and find evidence to support that such as being ignored in the hallway, being inconsiderate by not refilling the copier paper, not opening the door for us. In all these events – we all see the same thing but they mean something different to each one of us. The truth is, what you believe about the world, you see in the world.
The same holds true with Jesus. What we already believe about Jesus is what we often see in Jesus. We fashion Jesus in our own image. As this image demonstrates, that can have terrible consequences. We sometimes have a difficult time truly encountering Jesus because he’s different that our preconceived expectations.
Our sermon series is “ENCOUNTER JESUS.” The question is: Are we REALLY SURE we want to encounter Jesus as he really is or not?
You see, we best be careful when we say we want to ENCOUNTER JESUS. Look & don’t see. Hear & don’t listen. Because IF you do, IT will change the direction of your life and you’ll receive forgiveness!
SEEING ISN’T ALWAYS BELIEVING
We see what we want to see. The same was true for the people who encountered Jesus in his time, like the people in his hometown of Nazareth. At first, they were amazed by the spectacle: Jesus was the local boy made who made good! He taught with authority. He healed people with compassion. This trip back to his hometown of 200-300 people was something of a celebration of success for all of them, like a hometown heroes parade. All of Jesus family and extended family was present. You can imagine Mary, a proud mom setting up a table with pictures of Jesus, all his ribbons from gymnastics (even the participant ribbons), his certificate for acceptance into the Hebrew National Honor Society. Jesus was a big deal.
Mark’s gospel, neither wise teaching or mighty works compel belief. One can encounter Jesus and be amazed but never come to faith. We know this to be true. One can be around the spectacle of the church, (even all their lives)can see miracles, the experience the love of the community, and can be subject to amazing teaching and yet still never choose to believe, to follow Jesus. When we don’t see what we want to see in Jesus, the response is often disappointment or worse. In Nazareth amazement quickly become scandal (Greek word: eskandelizo).
They don’t see what they want to see so they begin to question: Where did he get this? They don’t trust the source of his teaching and ability, because they don’t ever remember seeing someone bestow it upon him when he was growing up. Isn’t he a handyman? This is the beginning of insult. They’re calling Jesus a poor day laborer, nothing special, an unrefined bumpkin. Isn’t this Mary’s son? No one referred to a Jewish man by association with his mother. This is meant to taunt him – “momma’s boy” or worse “illegitimate child.” Aren’t these his brothers – and sisters here? Finally, guilt by association. Whatever the reputations and shortcomings of Jesus’ siblings, they were now thrust upon him. The irony of this situation shouldn’t be lost on us. The people who know Jesus don’t trust him and are offended by him.
People say familiarity breeds contempt. (Whoever said that must’ve worked in a cubicle).
Truth be told, not all familiarity breeds contempt. Familiarity is also the breeding ground of intimacy, love, contentedness. What type of familiarity breeds contempt? The problem is not with familiarity, but more about how we’ve chosen to acclimate our lives. For example, disrespectful, dishonoring, and negative energy all too often become familiar territory in relationships (especially with the people we are closest too). We take people and things for granted. We put them in our categories and label them. These are the elements that cause contempt.
The result is sadness: He couldn’t do anything remarkable there, cured a few sick people. This interesting tidbit reveals to us God’s desire, God’s will. He wants to do something remarkable in us, among us, and through us. Even when we try to thwart him we cannot hold back healing grace completely. But our own self-imposed limitations keep us from being open to God’s greater work. To be CLEAR. Mark DOES NOT think that Jesus power is dependent on the belief or unbelief of the people – i.e., that their lack of faith is why they aren’t healed. Jesus miracles are important for establishing Jesus’ identity & proclamation of the good news. Ultimately, it’s whether or not the news is “good news” to us depends on whether or not we receive it.
It’s Jesus’ turn now to be “amazed” by the people. He’s surprised at the hardness of their hearts. John 1.11 says, “He came to his own & they didn’t recognize him.” Jesus nation, family, and hometown reject him. Their opposition to the good news stems from his challenges to their strongly held convictions that are simply a part of religious culture. Jesus didn’t fit their preconceived religious categories so they try to cast him out of their sight (by throwing him off a cliff)!
It’s easy to see why people rejected Jesus. These accounts are meant to explain to the early Church why the Jews rejected Jesus. How the insiders became outsiders. It’s also meant as a warning to the early Church – the insiders can still become outsiders. We can encounter Jesus but if we cannot see past our own preconceived religious and cultural worldview about God we’ll never see Jesus.
This reminds me of a modern day parable, which might help explain what’s happening here. The night before Hurricane Katrina struck, a man had a dream. He had a vision in his head of God’s hand reaching down from heaven and lifting him to safety. The day of the flood, as the water started to rise in his house. His neighbor drove up in his monster pickup truck pulled up and urged him to leave and offered him a ride to safety. The man yelled back, “I’m going to stay here. I saw a vision of God’s hand reaching down to save me from the flood.” The neighbor drove off in his pick-up truck.
The water began rising in his house, he had to climb up on the porch awning. A boat came by with some people heading for safe ground. They yelled at the man to grab the side of the boat and climb into safety. The man yelled back, “I’m going to stay here. I saw a vision of God’s hand reaching down to save me from the flood.” Their boat moved on.
The man prayed, believing with all his heart in the vision he saw. The flood waters continued to rise and he climbed to the roof and clung to the chimney. A helicopter flew by and a voice came over a loudspeaker offering to lower a basket to take him to safety. The man waved the helicopter away, shouting back “I’m going to stay here. I saw a vision of God’s hand reaching down to save me from the flood.” The helicopter flew away.
The flooding water came over the roof and swept him away and he drowned. When he reached heaven and asked, “God, why did you not save me? I saw a vision of God your hand reaching down to save me from the flood.” God replied, “I sent you a pick-up truck, a boat, and a helicopter and you refused all of them. What else did you need to see?
Friends, could it be that the people of Nazareth were like the man in this parable? Could it be that we are like the man. Oftentimes we go to God in prayer looking for answers – but we’re not truly open to the way God wants to answer our prayers. Perhaps our forgiveness, healing, and new life is RIGHT HERE BEFORE OUR EYES but we cannot see because we already have decided how God can and cannot save us.
You see, the people at Nazareth were very careful when they ENCOUNTERED JESUS. They looked & didn’t see.They heard and didn’t listen. The direction of their lives wasn’t changed. The didn’t receive forgiveness.
BELIEVING IS SEEING
If the story ended there, it would just be a sad story with no good news. Yet, even in the midst of the rejection of Jesus, there is good news. But it requires a different way of looking at things, it involves a fresh sight – like when Jesus told Thomas (John 20.29) “Blessed are all those who never see Me and yet they still believe.” The truth is – BELIEVING IS SEEING. We trust our sight. We trust our senses. We trust our history. We trust religion. We trust ourselves. As we’ve found, that often doesn’t bring us to faith. It’s trusting who Jesus is that makes all the difference in the world. When we learn to trust we see that:
Unbelief need not be permanent. Consider that the rejection of Jesus of Nazareth was not an irrevocable sentence for his Mother Mary who stood by him at the foot of the cross or his brother James who became one of the early leaders of Christianity. Our present circumstance isn’t the last word on our lives. As long as there is breath in our lungs there is hope!
Ultimate purpose of God is not thwarted (still time). While there is a connection between our faith and reception of the good news, God’s ultimate purposes cannot be thwarted. God still heals, still forgives, still brings new life.
But these things are hard to see. We need what Walter Brueggeman calls the PROPHETIC IMAGINATION. Think of the Valley of Dry Bones in Ezekiel. Can these bones live? YES!
This means we must ask God to help us see our family, neighbors, church, community, world with the eyes of faith and a heart full of grace.
You see, we need to be careful when ENCOUNTERING JESUS. Look – and SEE! Hear – and LISTEN! The direction of our lives, our homes, our church, and our world can be changed! We can walk every day in forgiveness! Thanks be to God!