Sunday 6, Time After Epiphany
2006

Sometimes we find ourselves lamenting the fact that our parish is a relatively small one. We have fewer than 500 active members, even when we define “activity” as having communed and contributed something of record in a year’s time. And so, it was with design that I chose the hymn, Have No Fear, Little Flock. So much in the church today points to the large and powerful. Programs are designed to bring in the masses with the lowest common denominator. We don’t tell “seekers” too much lest they no longer be interested. We want to appear successful at all costs. The so called “mega churches” are built like huge arenas that will seat many hundreds. Folks don’t really know each other and there is a kind of superficial atmosphere, with the uniting feature being the sheer size of the group.

Today’s texts would seem to speak to these concerns. The hymn speaks of the little flock of the Lord. The First Reading from 2 Kings tells of a great and mighty general who was used to the trappings of power and authority, and yet a slave girl whom he had torn from her home during a raid tells him that he might be cured of a disease that separates him from everyone and everything by going to the very place he had raided and from whom he had stolen the young girl and made a slave of her. The story is a wonderful one that includes a feisty prophet and a dirty little stream called the river Jordan and a dip that makes the mighty general clean. Human pretension and greed are unmasked in this story. The little, the simple prevail. The grace and power of an almighty God are translated into what is a humble faith and the result is a great epiphany.

So often in today’s church we are content with what the great Lutheran martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer called “cheap grace.” It happens when we take for granted what has been won at such a high price. This kind of thinking woos us into thinking that we are free to do what we please as long as we don’t hurt anybody else, or presuming that God will always look the other way or forgive us anyway. There is nothing distinct about the way we live our lives. We claim to be “spiritual” or have Christ in our hearts, and what that means is that Christ is not manifest in the way we live. We are a “little flock” we have the opportunity to grow in grace and make a difference where we are and in the circumstance in which we find ourselves.

Jesus begins his healing with one person. Remember Peter’s mother-in-law? He comes into the house, takes her by the hand, and she stands up and goes about her work. When the daughter of Jairus was sick and had actually died, Jesus went into the house, took her by the hand and she got out of her sick bed and sat down to a snack. When Peter was trying to follow Jesus out of the boat and onto the lake he began to sink. Jesus stretched out his hand and caught Peter. He deals with us one at a time. He is not impressed with size, power, or grandeur.

We need never be self-conscious about the size of our congregation. We have the Spirit of God dwelling within us; Christ is truly present among us each time we celebrate the Holy Eucharist. We are healed and strengthened by God so that we can do likewise where we find ourselves. And so, have no fear little flock. It has pleased God to give you the kingdom. Amen

--KTS
02/12/2006

First Reading: 2 Kings 5:1-14
Psalm 30
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 9:24-27
Gospel: Mark 1:40-45

Postscript: During the Holy Season of Lent, let us spend less time on “regretting” our shortcomings, but rather in “turning around.” Repenting means just that!

Let us enrich the core of our congregation by faithfully attending the Eucharist, praying daily, giving up something meaningful, and assessing our Christian stewardship. Easter will then dawn with a whole new meaning as you have spent forty days in the blessed company of the Crucified One.

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