{"id":1252,"date":"2021-02-07T07:59:51","date_gmt":"2021-02-07T12:59:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.firstreflection.org\/?p=1252"},"modified":"2021-02-07T08:00:18","modified_gmt":"2021-02-07T13:00:18","slug":"the-first-resurrection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.firstreflection.org\/index.php\/2021\/02\/07\/the-first-resurrection\/","title":{"rendered":"The First Resurrection"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Mark 1:29-39<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

by Rev. James Eaton, Pastor<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Fifth Sunday in Epiphany\/B \u2022 February 7, 2021<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

\u00a9 2021 All Rights Reserved <\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Lost and Found<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, 4<\/sup>and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures…<\/p>1Corinthians 15:3f<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Not long after I moved to Albany, Jacquelyn and I got lost. We\u2019d gotten the parsonage transformed from a house to a home and it was time to explore, so we went to Thatcher Park, out near the mountains, where you can see for miles and miles. It was a great trip and as we came down the mountain we were excited about our new home, talking, and taking what turned out to be the wrong turn. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, we didn\u2019t know it was the wrong turn, so we kept going. We had a GPS on the cell phone, after all. But soon it became clear we weren\u2019t where we thought and the phone lost its signal and we had no idea how to get home. We finally did the most important thing to do when you\u2019re lost: stop. When you\u2019re lost, the most important thing you can do is stop getting more lost and figure out where you\u2019ve been so you can get back to where you are going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I thought of that recently as we moved again, this time to a new home in Harrisburg. One of the good things about moving is that you pull out all the old pictures you packed away and look at them before you put them away again. It reminds you of where you\u2019ve been. So we\u2019ve been seeing snapshots of the past, our past. There\u2019s Paris, where we got engaged, our wedding, endless pictures of May when she was a cute little girl and more as she became a wonderful young woman. There\u2019s Amy graduating from college and holding Maggie, her first chid, my first grandchild. There\u2019s Jason as a boy, long before he had boys of his own. This is a time when so many of us feel lost; it\u2019s good to stop and remember where we\u2019ve been and it reminds me this is a moment that will not last, that we have somewhere still to go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus On the Way<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Today\u2019s Gospel reading is about Jesus on the way, Jesus just beginning his journey. He\u2019s been baptized by John, he\u2019s spent time in the wilderness. He\u2019s started his mission, proclaiming, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news. <\/p>Mark 1:15<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

He\u2019s begun to gather disciples in the port town of Capernaum. He preached his first sermon there and cast out a demon. Now Jesus and his friends have gone to Peter and Andrew\u2019s home. But there\u2019s trouble there; Peter\u2019s mother-in-law is sick. I\u2019ve always been fascinated with this brief narrative because it raises all kinds of questions. Think about it: your son-in-law, his brother, some friends and a new preacher all come to your house and you\u2019re in bed with a fever. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the last few months, many of us have learned to be efficient at quarantines and distancing.  Last March, Jacquelyn was very sick for three weeks. We never knew if she had Covid-19 but we were careful. She stayed in the bedroom; I slept in a guest room. I brought her meals and left them outside the door; she texted to warn me if she was going to use the bathroom to shower. We know how this goes and along with the aches and pains of the fever, I know she must have had the crushing loneliness of a sickness that confines you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So it\u2019s strange to find Jesus going to this woman\u2019s bed side. When we add on the barriers of gender, it becomes even stranger. Men in Jesus\u2019 culture simply don\u2019t have anything to do with women they don\u2019t know. We see this gender conflict several times in the story of Jesus, from his encounter at a well with a Samaritan woman to the story of a woman washing his feet with perfume. But Jesus banishes barriers: between sick and well, men and women, clean and unclean, righteous and sinner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He goes to her and Mark says he took her by the hand and raised her up. It\u2019s important to pay attention to the language here, to every single word. Because the word we read in English as \u201craised her up\u201d is the same verb used for Jesus\u2019 resurrection. Here he is, fresh off his first sermon, not long after making his first disciple, and now: the first resurrection. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Resurrection has become a term we only use about Easter, about Jesus himself, but that\u2019s not the way the New Testament uses it. Resurrection is a reality meant for all to share, according to Paul. He says about his own life, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The First Resurrection<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I want to know Christ*<\/sup> and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, 11<\/sup>if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; <\/sup> but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.<\/p>Philippians 3:10ff<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Peter\u2019s mother-in-law is the first resurrection and an invitation to all of us to live in a resurrection reality. The gateway is knowing that Jesus has taken your hand and taking his, recognizing in his resurrection the possibility of your own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finding Jesus<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

But how do you find Jesus? He says that in the final reckoning, we will be called together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCome, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.\u201d Then the righteous will answer him, \u201cLord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?\u201d And the king will answer them, \u201cTruly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.\u201d<\/p>Matthew 25:39-40<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s a story floating around Facebook that illustrates this. A man went out riding a nice bike one day. He\u2019s practiced at this: it\u2019s an expensive bike, he\u2019s wearing the proper pants for riding and he puts his earphones in and has some great music playing while he rides. But something on the path punctured a tire; a piece of glass, a sharp stone, something, and he left his patch kit home. So instead of enjoying a swift, exhilarating ride, he\u2019s forced to walk the bike, limping along, grumbling in his head. Along the way, the path goes under a bridge and there he encounters a guy who\u2019s dirty and perhaps homeless. The guy says something but the bike rider doesn\u2019t hear him, he just wants to get by. But he can\u2019t, so finally he takes the earphones out and brusquely says, \u201cWhat is it you want?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At that point, the homeless guy says, \u201cI was trying to tell you I have a patch and some glue for your tire if you want to fix your bike.\u201d They fix the bike; the rider goes on his way. But he can\u2019t get over the encounter. He gets some food and clothing together and goes back to the bridge and gives the things to the man. Perhaps they talk; \\you can imagine the rest. The bike rider experienced a resurrection that day. But he didn\u2019t get it until he started listening. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paying Attention<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve come through a hard time and it\u2019s not over yet. There\u2019s sickness and grief and the threat of more. We\u2019ve been passing through a wilderness. Even our life as a community has become sick. This past week, we saw the spectacle of a member of Congress having to be told that yes, children were really murdered in a school in Connecticut and yes, 9\/11 really happened. We are hearing more and more about a conspiracy that sought to overturn an election through violence and lies. It\u2019s a difficult time, a wilderness time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are some lessons here for us. One is: Jesus raises up, Jesus intends resurrection. Over the last fifty years, we\u2019ve seen an amazing decline in many churches. One reason is our fascination with guilt. It\u2019s a paradox: Jesus preaches forgiveness but many churches encourage guilt. But guilt beats us down. Jesus intends to raise us up. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A second lesson is that when Peter\u2019s mother-in-law is raised, the text says that she served. Actually, the word used is the root of the word we use for Deacon, a common office in churches. Our own raising isn\u2019t the end of the story, it\u2019s the beginning. We are meant to go out, we are meant to go on, as Jesus sent his disciples, to raise others, heal others, give hope to others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a wilderness time but we are not meant to live in the wilderness; we are meant to keep moving in hope, keep moving on the way toward God\u2019s promise, keep following the star of Bethlehem with which the season of Epiphany began. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus says at several points, let those who have ears to hear, hear. That\u2019s all the bike rider  had to do: listen. When you are lost, the first thing to do is to stop so you don\u2019t get even more lost. The second thing is to remember you have ears to hear and listen for directions. We are not meant to live lost in the wilderness. Open your ears: hear the news of resurrection. Press on, press on to make it your own, Look for Jesus: he\u2019s looking for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mark 1:29-39 by Rev. James Eaton, Pastor Fifth Sunday in Epiphany\/B \u2022 February 7, 2021 \u00a9 2021 All Rights Reserved  Lost and Found For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, 4and that he was buried, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[77,7,39,146,3,2,130],"tags":[183,98,303,33,304,152],"class_list":["post-1252","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-1corinthians","category-epiphany","category-exegesis","category-mark","category-sermon","category-worship","category-year-b","tag-grief","tag-hope","tag-listening","tag-resurrection","tag-serving","tag-wilderness"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.firstreflection.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1252","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.firstreflection.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.firstreflection.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.firstreflection.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.firstreflection.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1252"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.firstreflection.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1252\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1261,"href":"https:\/\/www.firstreflection.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1252\/revisions\/1261"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.firstreflection.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1252"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.firstreflection.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1252"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.firstreflection.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1252"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}