Rev. Bill's Sermons

MARK 1:29-39FEBRUARY 5, 2006 “KEEP YOU EYE ON THE BALL”

This being Super Bowl Sunday, sports is on the minds of many people – maybe some of you. Maybe some of you have stories you can tell of when you played sports. Stories of accomplishments on the field. Stories of times you won a game for the team. My stories of when I played sports are not all that impressive. I have never been that great of an athlete. I have tried – but have usually not done so well. Concentration was usually my problem – along with poor eye to hand coordination. I would swing at a ball long before it got to me – or long after it had reached the catcher’s mitt. I remember one time I played on a baseball team. I played in the outfield where the coach thought there would be the least chance of my getting hurt – or hurting the team. I remember one game my team was getting beat badly – the pitcher having a rough time of it – and an inning seemed like an eternity. I finally got so bored I sat down in the field. Needless to say I did not play for that team very much any more! Concentrating on the game is one thing one who plays team sports needs to do. “Keep your eye on the ball” they say. Concentration. The ability to focus. These are things needed of people who play sports. These are things needed of people in everyday life, also. We would think that Jesus would be able to concentrate and focus on the task at hand, also – but the Gospel passage before us this morning is a story that – at first glance – may look like Jesus was not able to focus or concentrate on the tasks at hand. Jesus has healed many people – including Peter’s mother in law and many more – and many are wanting to see Him -- but instead of reveling in His success He moves on. I don’t know about you – but if I had the amount of success Jesus had – I would be tempted to stay in the place where I had experienced success – not move on to somewhere else where success is not guaranteed. It defies human logic – goes against our way of thinking – to achieve great success and then move on instead of “cashing in” on it. But instead of “cashing in” – so to speak -- on His great success – instead of staying where He had gained a great amount of popularity in a very shore amount of time -- Jesus moves on. There’s an old saying that comes to mind when I consider what the disciples might have thought about Jesus as He healed crowds of people and then went elsewhere instead of sticking around to make something out of his newfound congregation. "He doesn't have the sense that God gave a goose." I don't know where that saying came from, but it suggests that geese don't have much sense -- and that some people have even less. That might be what the disciples thought. Jesus came to Capernaum. He attended the synagogue and drove out a demon. He went to Simon's house and healed Simon's mother-in-law. The people flocked to him so that he might heal them. He healed lots of people, and the crowd couldn't get enough of Him or what He was doing. And then, just as he had them eating out of his hand – just when He was so popular He could have spent a lot of time there and had an extremely successful ministry -- He went off to a deserted place to pray. Of course, I would be the last person to criticize anyone for praying. We might think that Jesus would not require prayer. But Jesus gave out spiritual energy all day every day, so he needed time for renewal -- time alone with the Father -- opportunity to recharge his spiritual batteries so that he could face the challenges that he encountered every time he entered a new town. But His disciples lost patience with Jesus. He was AWOL – so to speak – as far as they were concerned. Absent – and they did not know where He was. How dare He leave in the midst of such success? Where did He go? They began searching for him. In verse 36 the NRSV says that they "hunted" for him. A good translation of the original Greek. That word is katedioxen. That is the word that would be used to speak of hunting animals. It was as if the disciples had gone on a manhunt looking for Jesus -- trying to figure out where he went -- searching everywhere to find him. They finally found him in a lonely place -- all by himself -- praying -- seemingly oblivious to the crowds clamoring for his attention back in Capernaum. This might have been when the disciples began to wonder if Jesus had the sense that God gave a goose. This might have been when they had trouble believing that Jesus had gotten the people so stirred up and had then walked out on them. It didn't make sense. They had marveled at Jesus' teachings --and everyone was in awe of His healing power -- but the disciples silently wondered what Jesus was doing out here in the middle of nowhere when they thought he was needed back in Capernaum! I can imagine how they felt. Can’t you? Jesus had raised people's expectations -- and then had disappeared. With nobody else to turn to, I am sure that the people turned to the disciples. As far as we know there were only four of them at this point -- Peter, Andrew, James, and John. But what could they do? They didn't know how to handle these crowds. They didn't know how to heal the sick. They had only recently begun to follow Jesus, and they certainly weren't qualified to stand in for him. I'm sure that the disciples were feeling the pressure -- that they were mystified and angry when Jesus disappeared -- when He walked off and left them holding the bag. When they found him, they said "Everyone is searching for you." Maybe they really wanted to say: "What's the matter with you Jesus! Everyone's searching for you. Come on! Let's get back to town! Let's take care of business! This is not the time for prayer – it’s the time for action! Come on!” Maybe they also wanted to say: "Furthermore, don't do that again! Don't leave us alone! Don't get the crowds all stirred up and then disappear. It's not fair! It's not fair to them -- and it's certainly not fair to us!" But – what did Jesus do? Did He apologize and go back to town – back to where He had a great ministry started – back to where He was wildly popular? No. Jesus would have none of that. Instead He answered: "Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do." The disciples were probably stunned by this. They may have wanted to respond: "But what about all these people who are searching for you, Jesus? They want to see you. Everyone wants to talk to you. There are people who need healing -- and there is a young man who wants to be your disciple -- there's a rich man who wants to build you a synagogue. You don't need to travel all over Galilee, Jesus. There are more opportunities right here in Capernaum than you can shake a stick at -- opportunities to last a lifetime!" Another old phrase comes to mind at this point: "Let's strike while the iron is hot!" In other words: "Let's take advantage of this opportunity! Let's not let this one slip through our fingers!" But Jesus said: "Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do." "That is what I came out to do." "That is what I came out to do." One way to put it is that Jesus "had his eye on the ball." He was focused – - but not on the things that seemed important – but on the thing that was most important. He did not let His immediate popularity – or the opinions of the disciples – keep Him from focusing on the most important thing. He kept His eye on the ball, so to speak. Keep your eye on the ball Concentrate Keep your eye on the ball. A baseball player who keeps his eye on the ball is more apt to hit it – or catch it – than one who does not. A basketball player who keeps his eye on the ball is more apt to get a rebound than one who glances away. A tennis player who keeps their eye on the ball is more apt to hit it than one who gets distracted. Have you ever tried to hit a golf ball when you suddenly take your eyes off it? You usually get more dirt than ball that way! A football player who keeps his eye on the ball is more apt to catch it than one who becomes distracted. Some of the best players in the game have dropped passes because they took their eyes off the ball –- and some of the best players of the game have not reached the goal because they became distracted. One of the most memorable plays in Super Bowl history was a flop. A runner broke loose and was heading to the goal line – but as he neared it he slowed down to “show off” for the TV cameras – stuck the ball out to make a “pretty picture” – and one of the opposing players came up from behind him – hit the ball and jarred it loose – and recovered the fumble. Defeat snatched from the jaws of victory – because the runner did not keep his “eye on the ball” – did not focus on the task at hand. If you watch the Super Bowl this afternoon, you might see a lot of examples of what happens when a player keeps his eyes on the ball – and what happens when they don’t! Jesus – in a manner of speaking -- had His eye on the ball. He did not get bored with what He was supposed to be doing – as I did out there in the field playing baseball. He did not lose His concentration on what was really important. He stayed focused. He “kept His eye on the ball” so to speak. "That is what I came out to do," He said. What was it that he came to do? He goes on to explain that He came to preach -- to proclaim the message to the neighboring towns. And what message was that? The good news of God – of salvation – of God’s love that – through Him – had come into the world. So – instead of not having the sense that God gave a goose – Instead of not taking care of business – Instead of not striking when the iron was hot – Jesus was using plenty of sense – Jesus was taking care of His business -- Jesus was keeping His eye on the ball – keeping His concentration on what God had called Him to do – and was not letting anyone divert His attention from what He knew was His task. He “kept His eye on the ball”. He stayed focused on what was the most important thing before Him. He stayed focused on what God has sent Him to do – regardless of what others wanted Him to do. He “kept His eye on the ball”. There is a lesson here for us. We, as Christ's people, have a lot of things we need to be doing. What is to be our first priority? What is that thing we should not take our eyes off of? Our relationship with God. Jesus did not let anything distract Him from His relationship with God. In the midst of great popularity Jesus pulled away to pray – to nurture His relationship with God. When He did this, He discovered what He was called to do -- and did not let His popularity or the opinions of the disciples keep Him from this. Keep your eye on the ball. Stay focused. Stay focused on your relationship with God – and this will make it clear to you what God would have You to be doing. Keep your eye on the ball. Stay focused. Find time every day to pray – to be in conversation with God – and to let God be in conversation with you about what you can be doing for His glory in the world. Keep your eye on the ball. Stay focused. This will help you understand what are the most important things God wants you to be doing. It may not be what others may want you to do – it may not be what others feel is important – but it will be what God deems important and what God wants you to do. Keep your eye on the ball. Stay focused. Don’t let things take your concentration away from this. Don’t let things distract you from this. Don’t take your “eye off the ball”! A colleague tells of a funeral he conducted for a member of his congregation. This man was very successful – made a lot of money – and he shared most of what he made with others. He had given a lot of money to a local orphanage, helped pay for a lot of kids to go to college, and had supported the local mission that helped those in need. Many people wanted to know how he had been so successful – and how he had done so much for so many. At his funeral his wife made a comment that my colleague said gave the man’s secret – She said that not a day went by that he had not prayed before he left the house for the day. This – my colleague said – is what helped him stay focused on what God wanted him to do. When the disciples found Jesus He said that He had to do what He had come to do – what God had in mind for Him to do. He “kept His eyes on the ball” – He stayed focused on what God would have Him to be doing. We can do that, also. Keep your eye on the ball. Amen.