For Preachers and Other Sinners

For Preachers and Other Sinners

 
     Years ago I started collecting books, not necessarily because of their content, author or whether they were first editions or not. I collected books based on their titles. The first of these was titled, The Runaway Pants. I can’t recall the authors’ name but the title I’ll never forget. Others were; Cruisin’ With the Tooz, by John Matuszak, Mooses Come Walking, by Arlo Guthrie, It Was On Fire When I Lay Down On It, by Robert Fulghum,  Promises for a Jesus Freak, by dc Talk and  The Stray Shopping Carts of Eastern North America, A Guide To Field Identification, by James Grahame. But, my all time favorite was, For Preachers and Other Sinners, a book I misplaced somewhere down the line, thus I can’t recall that authors’ name, either. That’s the title I would give to the first sermon preached by Jesus.
     His first sermon is found in Mark 1:15. “The time has come… The Kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news.” It’s short, sweet and to the point. A get in, get out, no one gets hurt, kind of sermon. It’s the kind of sermon that puts you at the dinner table by noon and not mid-afternoon. But, if one doesn’t pay close attention, the depth of that sermon will pass you by like a speeding bullet. That well aimed bullet is one word – repent. The original language indicates that to repent means to have a change of mind, to think differently. To believe in something I cannot see, touch, taste or smell; requires me to think differently. I can’t begin to experience life in the kingdom until I think differently. In other words, I must think outside of the box.
     Mark chapter 2 tells the story of four great friends who thought outside of the box. Jesus had returned home to Capernaum. News of His return had spread like wildfire and soon the home in which He was staying was filled to full capacity, standing room only. So many had gathered to hear what He had to say that the house was entirely surrounded by a vast crowd. Mark tells us that four men carrying a paralytic approached the crowd and tried to get inside to see Jesus. But, the crowd wasn’t to be swayed and they were forced to back off. This did not deter the paralyzed man and his friends, one iota. The crowd was a barrier. They just had to think differently.
     I read somewhere that it was the tradition of the day to take the dead out through the roof, as opposed to the front door. If that is the case, then these four friends, not only thought differently regarding the treatment of another’s home, but also thought differently regarding tradition. Instead of tearing a hole in the roof to lift out the dead, they tore a hole to lower the living. Why? I think it was because their friend felt that he may as well be dead if unable to reach the Master Healer. Not because he just wanted physical healing but because he needed something more. He desired healing of the soul and that’s exactly what Jesus gave him, because when He saw the faith of this young man and his four friends, he said, “Son, your sins are forgiven” (Mk. 2:5).
     No sooner had Jesus finished saying those words, than the teachers of the law began thinking, who does He think He is? In their hearts they began bantering around the idea that Jesus was nothing more than a blasphemer. I imagine they nearly died of heart failure when Jesus, who had obviously read their minds, said, “Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk?’ But that you may know that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins… I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” Immediately, the man stood up, took his mat and walked out through the front door.
     When we think differently, there are no barriers. When we think differently, we experience the Kingdom of God in ways we never could have imagined.
~ Pastor Al