"Listen Up!"

Debbie Cato

Deuteronomy 18:15-20 and Mark 1:21-29

Peace Presbyterian Church

February 1, 2015

Listen Up!

Our Scripture passages today are concerned about who God’s people are listening to. That’s a good question. We are living in an age where there is more information available to us than ever before. Who are we listening to? Who are you listening to?

In Deuteronomy, the 40 year journey through the wilderness is almost over for God's people. The Promised Land is getting closer and Moses is beginning to transition out of his role as leader of the Israelites. Moses leads God’s people out of slavery in Egypt. He performs great signs and wonders in Egypt while securing the liberation of the Israelites from Pharaoh. He serves as the mediator between YHWH and the people.  Deut. 5:5 tells us that Moses “stood between the LORD and the people and spoke the words of the LORD to them”. As a prophet, Moses is unequaled.

YHWH promises His people that he will not leave them without a prophet after Moses is gone. YHWH will raise up a prophet like Moses from among them. The prophet who God calls to replace Moses will be one of them – he will be familiar with their journey; their history. He will know their story. He will know their needs; their fears; their dreams. He will speak to God on behalf of Israel and he will speak to Israel on behalf of God. Just as Moses has done, “He will stand between the LORD and the people and speak the words of the LORD to them.”

The meaning of the Hebrew root for prophet is uncertain but is most likely “one who is called” or the “one who calls.” The prophet is the moral and ethical agent who summons God's people to repentance. “You have sinned against God,” the prophet tells the people. “You must change. You must turn back. You must repent.” YHWH’s prophet holds us accountable.

YHWH’s prophet represents the single, legitimate mediator of God; whose ultimate word is one of hope and promise for the people. The prophet, who is called by YHWH, calls the community back to the covenant. YHWH’s prophet brings the presence of God when God seems absent; when we ask questions like – where and who is the God who let this happen to me? We hunger for a word from God and we want YHWH’s prophet to have a deeply personal and fervent experience with YHWH and then come back and share His word with us. A word that creates justice, brings hope, and brings God’s promise to fruition.¹ A word that has authority, is revolutionary and radical.

Jesus’ invitation to the kingdom is radical and overwhelms the very being of those he encounters. Accompanied by the four fishermen Jesus’ called to follow him, Jesus begins his “kingdom campaign.” He invites the neediest to come along; to follow him. He doesn’t notice the great ones, nor does he call those who pose as the great ones or the important ones. He comes to the desolate places, and there he summons for the kingdom those who are far away from the powerful kingdoms of the world.

Mark tells us that “they entered Capernaum.” Jesus and Simon and Andrew, James and John, have left the bank of the sea that is a fishing and calling place of the messengers of the kingdom and have come to the space of security and tradition, where the old religious teachings have been shared for ages. There in the synagogue, Jesus takes advantage of the Sabbath, the day the faithful ones meet, to teach them. Jesus’ communication style creates vitality. “He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes!”

The people listening to Jesus teach are delighted to hear a new teaching. Why? What was so new about Jesus’ teachings? He teaches from the same Scriptures that the scribes taught – the Hebrew Scriptures. Why were his teachings considered revolutionary and radical?

This word – this new teaching with authority – defines Jesus. It’s the reason crowds gather around him everywhere he goes. It’s the reason the scribes and the Pharisees feel threatened by him. In Mark it’s the reason Jesus’ fame grows. He’s getting a reputation as an up-and-coming prophet, someone who speaks as “having authority.” Perhaps someone who “stands between the LORD and the people and speak the words of the LORD to them.” Quite unlike the scribes of the day who were good at quoting Scripture, but perhaps not so good at living it. Who were good at quoting Scripture but didn't live it.

But not so with Jesus. He has a “new teaching – with authority!” Jesus’ teaching; his gospel message is a healing word and action. He's passionate about the words He speaks. His words are the very fiber of His being. You might say, he practices what he preaches. He preaches God’s truth; God’s timeless promises to the people and He teaches through his actions. The ways he loves the people; the ways he respects and treats those who are considered worthless and lowly and oppressed by the rest of the world, is different. Jesus teaches through healings and miracles and exorcisms.  Even the evil spirits in possession of a man in their midst obey him. Jesus’ actions; his very being, give his teachings authority.

There’s a story about a pastor who preached an eloquent sermon one Sunday. It was brilliant and fascinating. The people in her congregation were deeply moved by it and said it was the best sermon they had ever heard. The next week that pastor preached the same sermon, and again the people were excited to hear it. But when that pastor preached the very same sermon, word for word, the third week in a row, the congregation began to wonder. Finally, one of the members, shaking the pastor’s hand after the service, with a small crowd gathered around him said, “Preacher, that was a great sermon; thoughtful, insightful, even inspiring. But some of us wanted to know why you keep preaching the same sermon again and again.” The pastor smiled and replied, “Because I haven’t seen anyone do anything about what I said.”²

The role of faithful people is to listen – not simply to hear, but to listen thoughtfully and courageously. By learning to recognize and trust God’s true word, the we learn to trust God’s own self. But unless we hear, listen, and then heed, nothing is gained. God is not obeyed without heeding His word.

Where have all the prophets gone? Where is this century’s Martin Luther King Jr.? Where are the great prophets and preachers of old who challenged the establishment and called the people to faithfulness? Why must we reach back forty years to find the voice crying in the wilderness that changed the world?³

Who are our prophets today? To whom do we listen? Whose counsel do we value?⁴ When and why did the Church stopping being the prophetic voice in the world?

Perhaps if we actually lived and acted and treated people as Jesus taught us; if we actually practiced the teachings of Jesus, the church would still be the prophetic voice of the world today? Perhaps the teachings of Jesus; our Holy Scriptures would be revered today if we lived as we believe. Or even, if we really believed what we hear. Perhaps if we stood up for justice; if we brought healing through our words and actions. Perhaps people would see vitality in our churches if people saw us as people of faith; practicing what we preach. Perhaps people would say of our churches, “they teach as one having such authority!”

We can still be that voice. The voice of Christ in a world that is sorely hurt and broken and in need of healing. A world that needs a prophetic voice. It’s not too late.

1 Feasting on the Word. Year B, Volume 1. Theological Perspective. P290, 292.

2 Feasting on the Word. Year B, Volume 1. Homiletical Perspective. P295.

3 Ibid. Pastoral Perspective. P290.

4 Homiletics. January-February 2012. Volume 24, Number 1. P 41.