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October 15, 2006

Mark 2:1-12

"Faith in Action"

I am a detail person. The saying, “You miss the forest because of the trees” fits me completely. I get so caught up in the details of a project that I sometimes forget that I need to step back and take a look at the whole picture.

I have learned a huge lesson from the “Dinners for 8” that we have been having at our house. Each week, I search through cookbooks over my breakfast in the mornings, trying to find fun, new recipes to try out for the dinners. That’s Monday morning. Then on Tuesday, I start thinking what tablecloth am I going to us? It needs to be washed and dried to get the wrinkles out. Then on Wednesday night, it is usually off to the store to buy the groceries to make for dinner. Then Thursday morning rolls around and it is time to clean house! Then I start wondering is the house clean enough? Is my tablecloth ready? Do I have everything that I need to make for dinner?
The first dinner, I was so worried about the details that I forgot the purpose of these dinners. I was so worried about is there enough food that I almost missed out on the fellowship that was happening around the table. It wasn’t until I sat down at the table and took a breath and realized that things were fine. People were enjoying themselves. They were eating the food and there was plenty for everyone.

I stepped back and saw the whole picture. I realized that there was community around the table without me creating it. The community around the table was thriving regardless of my dilemma of what to cook that night.

The details of our lives distract us from the whole. The details of our lives block our vision of what is really going on around us. The details of our lives become our focus rather than the whole picture of our lives.

As I study the scripture and prepare for the sermons, I like to put myself in the stories and see where God is leading the message. I was unable to do that with this story. There was something that was preventing me from really becoming a part of the story. As I read the story, I tried to picture that this was my house where Jesus was teaching to a crowd. At first it was easy. In my mind, I could see the crowds, their eyes and their faces were in wonder at this man Jesus. He is preaching and teaching a message of grace, peace, and hospitality. But I became distracted and I couldn’t focus on the story. I kept starting over in my head trying to play out this scripture, “Okay, There is Jesus teaching. Good. There are some murmurs by the door. A few people are jostled. A cry “Let us through. We need to see Jesus”. But the crowd doesn’t move. And I am thinking to myself, okay, I am on tract. I am picturing this story but every time I came to the part where the group lowers the friend down through the roof, I would lose the picture. My mind wouldn’t let me get beyond this point in the story. I couldn’t even let Jesus tell this man to stand up and take your mat and walk.
I really did try. I wanted the man to be able to walk again in my mind but it wasn’t happening, until I hear myself ask the question. “What am I going to do about that hole in the roof?” Don’t they know that I am going to have to replace it? The least they could have done was to apologize about the hole in my roof.”
I was dumbfounded. How could I be worried about the roof in the story when this man needed to be healed, when this man is seeking forgiveness? I couldn’t believe that I was so worried about a tiny detail about a roof which isn’t even my roof or real to begin with rather than seeing the miracle in the story, rather than experiencing the Good News that Jesus brought to that group through his healing ministry.
It wasn’t until I realized that the details had taken over my experience and I had blocked the Good News from coming through to this man and this crowd. I took a step back and reread the Scripture and I realized that I was just like the scribes in the story. I had missed the point of the whole story. I was so caught up in the details of the story that I had missed the whole picture. I had missed the opportunity to really converse with the Holy as I was studying and preparing this sermon.

I caught up in the details just like the scribes. In our story, the scribes had come to Jesus’ house to hear him preach, to make sure that Jesus is sending the right message to everyone. They sit and listen but do not really hear. When Jesus heals the man, the scribes only see and hear that Jesus believes that he can forgive sins. That Jesus believes that he is able to something that only God can do. They began to discuss this among themselves, murmuring and doubting, worried about the details about how Jesus is preaching and worried about the details that Jesus is speaking blasphemy.
They missed the point. The scribes are so caught up in the details that they do not see the miracle that has just happened in front of them. They do not see that a man’s life has been changed, that a man’s life has been given back to him, and that a man is forgiven by the grace of God.

They are so caught up in the details that they do not see that this man who was paralyzed can now walk, that this man is healed, that this man is made whole.

The details make us blind to the whole picture of God. The details block our vision and prevent us from really knowing what God is intending for the Kingdom of God. The details distract us from the whole community of God.

Our story today is a miracle story that reminds us that faith is a condition for healing. The friends bring a person to Jesus to be healed but they are not worried about the details. They know that Jesus can heal their friend. The house is crowded. No problem. They try to push their way through the door but no one lets them through. A minor detail. They climb up on the roof and lower their friend down to Jesus. An act that takes courage, loyalty, grace, and faith. These friends could have easily walked away after they couldn’t get through the door but no. They forgot the details and saw the whole picture. They know that Jesus could heal their friend and nothing was going to stand in their way.
So while I am worried about the roof in the story and the scribes are worried about whether or not Jesus could really forgive sins, these friends acted out of compassion and didn’t let the details distract them from their mission. They wanted their friend to walk again. They wanted their friend to be an active part of the community again and nothing, not crowds, not roofs were going to stand in their way, to prevent them from showing compassion and grace to their friend.

For you see, it was their faith that allowed them to look beyond the minor details. It was their faith that prevented the details from blocking the friends’ vision of the Kingdom of God. Their faith allowed them to see the whole picture of God. Their faith allowed the friends to look beyond the details and understand that the community of God is not complete until all find hope, healing, and the peace of God and nothing should prevent us from striving towards that goal. All details are minor when compared to the fact that our community is not truly the community of God as long as there are children who are hungry in this world, as long as there are children who do not have medical insurance, as long as there are children who do not have safe welcoming homes. Our community is not complete and we must not get distracted by the details that block our vision of the Kingdom of God.

It has been a very interesting month for Midway Christian Church. I was looking over our newsletter and seeing that there is so much going on at the church. So many details on the calendar. Children Worship and Wonder has started. We are planning on serving a meal at the Hope Center for Women. Dinners for 8. Committee meetings and renovations outside of the church. Board retreat and what the future holds for Midway Christian Church. There are so many details to distract us but my hope is that we take a step back and see the whole picture. My prayer is that we take a step back and realize that we are helping to bring about the Kingdom of God. There is life here. There is energy here. There is compassion for our fellow brothers and sisters here.
We must not let the details distract us from seeing the healing of God is taking place at Midway Christian Church. We must not let the details distract us from seeing that we are a vital, loving community that is a part of the larger body of Christ. We must not let the details prevent us from offering grace and peace to all.

Everything else are just minor details that make up the whole picture of God. Everything else are just minor details as we continue to build up the Kingdom of God. Everything else are just minor details compared to the Big Picture that offers hope, healing, and love for all.

May we always step back and look at the Big picture, not just the details. Amen.

Rev. Heather McColl
Midway Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

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