A Day in the Life

Mark 1: 29-39

February 5, 2006

A Day in the Life

Seven hundred and fifty years ago, St. Francis of Assisi, the founder of the Franciscan monastic order, wrote a book called The Imitation of Christ. The title alone has inspired the thoughts and actions of countless Christians who have sought a simple answer to this question of deepest yearning "How can I live a God-fearing, God-pleasing life?"

What a simple idea! Let us imitate Christ! Yes, Jesus died on the cross for us and we should be ready to die, whether literally or figuratively, for him. We must, as Jesus commanded, be ready to take up a cross to follow him. But we have a record of his living for the three years preceding the cross that serve as a perfect model of how God intended all his children to live. We are called not only to die with him; we are called to live like him. Jesus is the example we are meant to follow.

With the title of that 750 year old book before us we turn our attention to the gospel text for today. Here we have a "day in the life of Jesus" and by carefully noting what he does we find examples we can follow.

It begins, "And immediately Jesus left the synagogue." Jesus, the Son of God, did not neglect the synagogue, the church of his day. In numerous places in the gospels we find Jesus in the synagogue on the Sabbath.

The synagogue was a place for corporate, community worship. It was where the teaching of God could be heard. It was a symbol of unity where religious persons with a common belief could gather for mutual support and encouragement. Jesus was not blind to the shallowness of love and the hypocrisy that was often present, but he judged the benefits of that gathering together regularly far outweighed its faults. I believe he would say the same of the church today.

Jenny was a bright-eyed, pretty five-year-old girl. One day when she and her mother were checking out the grocery store Jenny saw a plastic pearl necklace priced at $5.00. She wanted that necklace very much. She asked her mother if she would buy it for her and her mother said, "Well, it is a pretty necklace, but it costs an awful lot of money. I'll tell you what. I'll buy you the necklace and when we get home we can make up a list of chores that you can do to pay for it.

"Okay," Jenny agreed, and her mother bought the necklace. Jenny worked on her chores every day and soon had paid off the pearls. Jenny loved those pearls. She wore them everywhere.

Jenny had a very loving daddy. When Jenny went to bed he would get up from his favorite chair every evening and read Jenny her favorite story. One night when he finished the story he said, "Jenny, do you love me?"

"Oh Daddy, not my pearls!" Jenny said, "But you can have Rosie, my favorite doll. You gave her to me last year for my birthday. And you can have her tea party outfit, too. Okay?"

"No darling, that's okay." Her father brushed her cheek with a kiss. "Good night, little one."

A week later her father once again asked Jenny after her story, "Do you love me?"

"Daddy, not my pearls! But you can have Ribbons, my toy horse. She's my favorite. Her hair is so soft, and you can play with it and braid it and everything. You can have Ribbons if you want her, Daddy."

"No, that's okay," her father said and brushed her cheek again with a kiss. "God bless you, little one. Sweet dreams."

Several days later, when Jenny's father came in to read her a story, Jenny was sitting on her bed and her lip was trembling. "Here, Daddy," she said, and held out her hand. She opened it and slipped her beloved pearl necklace into her father's hand.

With one hand her father held the plastic pearls and with the other he pulled out a blue velvet box from his pocket. Inside of the box was a necklace of beautiful, genuine pearls. He had had them all along. He was waiting for Jenny to give up the cheap ones so he could give her the real thing.

In worship God invites us to give all that we are, a total commitment of body, mind and spirit, as we pray and praise and express gratitude. He receives these gifts of self, as inadequate as they are, so that he can give in their place true life, peace and grace of incalculable worth. In worship we receive a treasure beyond all measuring.

"...Jesus left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon's mother-in-law lay sick with fever, and immediately they told him of her. And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her. Then, following supper, he turned his attention to those brought to him; "all who were sick or possessed with demons" and he healed them.

Jesus took what he preached, "The kingdom of God is at hand," and gave it physical expression wherever he went. Jesus never met a need that he didn't satisfy and in doing so gave a taste of God's heavenly kingdom in the earthly lives of those he met. He fed the hungry because, in heaven, there is no lack of food. He healed the sick and the lame because in heaven there are no physical infirmities. He cast out demons because in heaven Satan and his minions do not exist. He raised the dead for in heaven there is neither dying nor sorrow.

If we are to do what Jesus did, our actions Monday through Saturday must reflect our words from Sunday. What we say in church must find tangible expression in the world. If we speak of unconditional love in church we can place no conditions on our love outside its doors. If we pray on Sunday "forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us," then forgiveness must be our guiding star toward our neighbor Monday through Saturday. If we preach a Jesus of compassion within these walls, compassion for the poor, the hungry, the oppressed, we must live lives of compassion and healing toward all whom today share that plight. If we ask Jesus into our hearts sitting in these pews, don't think that we can drop him off at the door when we leave.

"And in the morning, a great while before day, Jesus rose and went out to a lonely place, and there he prayed." Here, Jesus, the very Son of God, whose closeness to God no other human can approach (“If you have see me, you have seen the Father”), did not neglect personal devotions.

Can you imagine a busier schedule than the one Jesus had? No mass media (newspaper, radios, television) and he had the most important message ever for humankind. One can sense the urgency of his task when he tells Simon, "Let us go on to the next towns that I may preach there also for that is why I came out." So much work to do, yet he made time regularly for an intimate one-on-one encounter with God.

A story that came out of the West Virginia logging days was of a new recruit to the logging crew who set a record of trees felled on Monday but was fired on Friday because of low productivity for the week.

"But I'm the hardest worker you've got," the young man protested. "I arrive first. I leave last. I even work through my coffee breaks. And no one can swing an axe more times per minute than I can. I can't understand why I fell short"

The foreman thought for a minute, and then asked, "Have you been sharpening your axe?" The young man replied: "I've been working too hard to take the time."

No matter how busy our schedules, and maybe for the very reason we are so busy, we need to take time to sharpen our spiritual axes, actively tend our daily relationship with Jesus through Bible reading and prayer. If Jesus found that a need, how much more is it for us needful?

For those who look at their lives perplexed by the question What Would Jesus Do, consider first What Did Jesus Do. In this single day in Jesus' life Jesus gives us a model to follow: regularly gather for corporate worship, take what is preached on Sunday and live it Monday through Saturday, and daily find time for a personal devotions, an intimate encounter with God. These three give balance and support to the Christian life, a three-legged stool of faithful living. Here is a holy trinity of Christian piety.

May the peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amen.