4th Sunday after Epiphany
February 4, 2018
Isaiah 40:21-31; Psalm 147; Mark 1:29-39
I often read Compline, a form of Evening Prayer, from the
Book of Common Prayer at bedtime. The Book of Common Prayer is full of
beautiful prayers for all seasons of life. It’s kind of like the saying,
“there’s an app for that”; the Book of Common Prayer has a prayer for that,
whatever that is. One of my favorites is the one I often prayed when doing
midnight and 3 a.m. feedings with my children:
Keep
watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night, and give
your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest
to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield
the joyous; and all for your love's sake. Amen.[1]
I used that as part of
Evening Prayer with the youth group last fall and they really liked it. One of
them said she loved that phrase ‘give rest to the weary’ because she felt
weary. There’s another one in the Order of Compline that talks about weariness,
too:
Be
present, O merciful God, and protect us through the hours of this night, so
that we who are wearied by the changes and chances of this life may rest in
your eternal changelessness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.[2]
“We who are wearied by the
changes and chances of this life.” What a way to word it. Are you weary from the
changes and chances of this life? Life is always changing, it has to, to be
life. Our bodies are always changing. Crops grow. The seasons change. The
weather changes, sometimes by the season and sometimes by the day. And most of
that we adjust to. Those are changes we expect. But the surprises can get us.
When our bodies betray us and don’t work how they’re “supposed to.” When
there’s extreme weather, like a hurricane or a blizzard. Facebook reminded me
of the anniversary of the blizzard we had two years ago. I was snowed in with a
one year old and a dog for two and a half days. I didn’t really appreciate
being reminded of it. The one year old didn’t really appreciate the snow being
as tall as he was.
 |
| The one year old when we first went outside and five minutes later. |
We were weary, and so grateful when the snow plow finally
came and then two days later when the rest of our family came home.
The truth is that weariness
is part of the human condition. There’s a reason the word pops up so much
when you say Evening Prayer. In the psalms of lament, the psalmist is constantly
weary with moaning and crying out to God to hear him.[3]
How long, O Lord? When are you going to hear my prayer? When are things going
to change for the better? In the book of Lamentations, the author cries out, “Those
who pursue us are at our heels; we are weary and find no rest.”[4]
Anyone feel worn out? Wearied by the changes and chances of this life? What are
you wearied by this week? [Allow space for answers]
Thank
you for sharing. So, here’s the thing. Growing weary is normal. The problem
comes in what do you do in weariness? Do you curse God? Do you lose hope? Are
you inclined to give up? When we don’t feel well, when we are weary, we are not
our best selves. We often don’t act how we would if we were feeling refreshed,
we don’t respond to problems the same way, molehills become mountains, and our
memory fails us. We can’t recall words as well and sometimes we forget what God has already done for us and that
God is still acting now. We are not our best selves when we are overwhelmed
and sometimes we have some amnesia.
In
Isaiah 40, Isaiah is addressing God’s people in exile in Babylon. Talk about
being overwhelmed and weary: being conquered, being forced from your home and
taken to another country. It’s no wonder they need reminding. “Do you not know?
Have you not heard?” Because obviously God’s people do know God’s power and
God’s might and sovereignty and providence. But
they’re acting as if they don’t. “Why do you say, Israel, ‘My way is hidden
from the Lord; my cause is disregarded by my God’?” Because you know it’s not. Because you know God is with you. We
just celebrated Christmas, the coming of Emmanuel, God with us.
And
that’s why God has to remind us again and again, whether through Isaiah, “He
gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak,”[5]
or through our psalm this morning, “The Lord builds up Jerusalem; he gathers
the exiles of Israel. He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”[6]
Or Jesus, who says, “Come to me, all you
who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.”[7]
In this morning’s Gospel reading, Jesus heals lots of people. Mark says, “That
evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and
demon-possessed. The whole town
gathered at the door, and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also
drove out many demons.”[8]
If our whole town were to gather and bring all the sick together, can you
imagine how many people would be there? Frederick Hospital is turning away
visitors because of the flu. I told you how long we had to wait at urgent care
the other Sunday and we got there when they opened! There are lots of people
who are sick; there are lots of people who are weary. We need reminding that
God doesn’t grow weary.[9]
We need reminding that Jesus offers rest and healing and renewal, for both body
and soul.
We
need reminding that weariness in and of itself is not bad. You see, when we’re
not our best selves, we are more vulnerable. Vulnerable to cursing and losing
hope, yes, but also “vulnerable enough to experience the power and grace of God.”[10]
In 2 Corinthians 12, Paul talks about the paradox of “when I am weak, then I am
strong.” He wrote that “[the Lord] said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you,
for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more
gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why,
for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in
persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”[11]
This is not to glorify suffering and weariness or saying that we should seek it
out. This is acknowledging the reality that sometimes life is hard. Sometimes
we are weary and worn out from the changes and chances of this life. Yet they
are opportunities for us to turn to the Lord. They are opportunities for us to
grow in our faith. They are opportunities for us to say, “Lord, I can’t [even].
You can.” And God does. “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power
of the weak… Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will
soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and
not be faint.” They will have enough energy to do what needs to be done. Some
“times are so difficult and the challenges so severe that even the young will
faint and grow weary. Hope may be hard to sustain, but if [we] depend on God
and trust in [his] story, [we] will receive the ability to meet the challenges,
and, indeed, to rise above them.”[12]
But
it doesn’t end there. Why does Jesus offer rest and renewal and healing? So that we can faithfully continue to
“run with perseverance the race marked out before us.”[13]
So that we are encouraged and can encourage others. Remember, we’re not here
just for ourselves. We’re here for the next generation. We’re here for the sake
of the world. The gifts God gives us aren’t for us to keep to ourselves,
they’re to share. So, as Paul writes to the Galatians, “Let us not become weary
in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give
up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially
to those who belong to the family of believers.”[14]
Be renewed and strengthened by Jesus, and then go out and serve.
I
remember the very first sermon I wrote on today’s Gospel passage. I didn’t want
to focus on it, because I was ticked off that the first thing Simon Peter’s
mother-in-law does after Jesus heals her is to serve the men. It struck me as
very patriarchal and sexist. But because it rubbed me the wrong way at first
glance, I knew the Holy Spirit was nudging me to wrestle deeper with the story.
Serving Jesus and the others is how Peter’s mother-in-law responds to her
healing. It’s how she says thank you to Jesus for healing her. Yes, she’s a
woman serving men, but she’s also a healed child of God serving the Son of God
out of thanksgiving for her healing, out of thanksgiving for her renewed
strength. Now, you may not be there. You may be on the other end of the
spectrum, too weary to think about what you’re going to do when you’re no
longer weary, in which case, turn to Jesus. Rest in his eternal changelessness.
Or you may be starting to get your strength back. Give thanks. Don’t overdo it.
Work your way back up to full steam, or whatever your new normal is. Lean on
the everlasting arms. Or maybe you’re at a great place right now, in which case
you can encourage the rest of us and thank God for renewed strength, not just
through words but through actions, too.
One
final prayer to leave you with, another favorite from the Book of Common
Prayer, this one is labeled, “For use by a sick person, in the morning”:
This
is another day, O Lord. I know not what
it will bring forth, but make me ready, Lord, for whatever it may be. If I am to stand up, help me to stand
bravely. If I am to sit still, help me
to sit quietly. If I am to lie low, help
me to do it patiently. And if I am to do
nothing, let me do it gallantly. Make these words more than words, and give me
the Spirit of Jesus. Amen.
[1]
BCP 134
[2]
BCP 133
[3]
Psalm 6:6, 69:3
[4]
Lamentations 5:5
[5]
Isaiah 40:29
[6]
Psalm 147:2-3
[7]
Matthew 11:28
[8]
Mark 1:32-34
[9]
Isaiah 40:28
[10] Feasting on the Word, Year B, Volume 1, 315
[11] 2
Corinthians 12:9-10
[12] Feasting on the Word, Year B, Volume 1, 319
[13]
Hebrews 12:1b
[14]
Galatians 6:9-10
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