In today’s reading from Mark, we have a story of Jesus
healing a man with an unclean spirit.[1] Stories of Jesus’ healing are not uncommon in
our scriptures. They can be found in each of the gospels: the man born blind,
the woman with the hemorrhage, the ten lepers at the side of the road, the sick
man lying by the pool of Bethzatha for 38 years, even one of the slaves of the
high priest who has come to arrest Jesus – each of them and more healed by
Jesus.[2]
Many of us have ourselves known the healing power of Jesus. We may use different words to tell the story,
but we know something about healing. Times when fear has been lifted,
apprehension has been replaced by confidence as we rise to the occasion, our
anxieties vanishing – even for a moment – as we find a center of calm, or
experiencing relief from feelings of shame or guilt, broken places in our lives
are mended. These are stories we know
and we tell. And, they are stories that
go deep across the centuries.
But there is another side to the stories of healing in
Scripture. The story is not only about the healing we receive. It is also about the healing we offer when we
respond to the needs of the world. In
Eucharistic Prayer C, one of the many options for our weekly celebration of the
Lord’s Supper, there is a fabulous section:
“Deliver us from the presumption of coming to
this Table for solace only, and not for strength; for pardon only, and not for
renewal. Let the grace of this Holy Communion make us one body, one spirit in
Christ, that we may worthily serve the world in his name.”[3]
For me it offers a reminder of the communal nature of being a
Christian. A reminder that “it’s not about me; it’s about us.” Talk about a narrative that runs counter to
the narrative of the world around us!
It’s not about me. It’s about us.
This is so much the case that we are reminded in this prayer that we come to
this place, to this table, to gather for solace, for strength, for pardon, and
for renewal so that we (not I) may
be made one body, the Body of Christ; so that we (not I) may go forth from this place to serve the world in
Christ’s name.
2017 was a year in which St. Mark’s did some soul
searching. Last spring the vestry shared information about the state of this
building now nearly 125 years old and we talked about the organ that is failing
and is literally beyond repair. In
November we had a series of forums to look at church statistics at the local
and national level, to consider the demographics of St. Mark’s and of our
neighborhood, to consider the mission of this church in the context of the
diocese and in the larger context of The Episcopal Church. Much of that work was inward focused – an
assessment of where For some,
the reality was overwhelming and depressing for others it was news met with
ideas about new possibilities and fresh hope – for most of us, the experience
of this inward look fell somewhere between these two extremes. And so we ended 2017 with a series of
Conversation Cafes in which was invited you to join together to respond to
three questions:
1.
What keeps you coming back to St. Mark’s?
2.
Where do you see God at work at St. Mark’s?
3.
What are your aspirations for St. Mark’s?
I am grateful to the nearly 60 people who participated! I am grateful
to the vestry members who served as Conversation Café hosts – most of them had
no idea they’d be working in a coffee shop as part of their ministry. And I am especially grateful for the hard
work of Deacon Scott who compiled all of your responses and then brought
together a team - Anne Heinz, Doug Sondgeroth and myself – who met to review
the responses and learn from what you had to say.
We’ve already been sharing those responses with you in
bulletin inserts over the past 3 Sundays and more will be shared during our
annual meeting today. But here is what I
heard loud and clear through the cafes and through going through your
responses. St. Mark’s is Becoming the
Story We Tell and St. Mark’s wants to continue becoming and telling that story
for years to come. You have told us that
you want to invest money in the upkeep of this building and you’ve also told us
that you want to increase the outreach impact that we have in our
neighborhood.
At the end of 2017 we began with a pretty major
building improvement as, in the week before Christmas, we had a new roof put
over Cunningham Hall – for some leaks a bucket will do – but, once you run out
of buckets, it’s time for Plan B. We
also began obtaining bids – and in some cases started work – on projects that
simply cannot wait much longer. For
example, the garage door at the rectory was replaced when it could no longer be
operated due to broken boards (thank you), the heating cables along the roof of
the parish house are being replaced and in the spring heating tape along the
gutters around the sanctuary will be installed to prevent future ice damming,
safety improvements to the youth room are in progress because keeping our
children safe – and meeting our insurance company’s requirements – are both
highly valued. Other projects are being prioritized and priced.
Maintaining and repairing the building were expressed
as a priority for our future. But it was 
coupled with an even greater
enthusiasm and desire for more outreach. When asked “Where do you see God at
work at St. Mark’s?”, the largest number of responses could be categorized as
outreach described by Deacon Scott as “a desire to reach beyond our walls, to
partner with others, to support the Evanston community and to continue our
support of the hospitality center and the ministry of our Wednesday lunch
program.”
When it comes to your aspirations for St. Mark’s –
your hopes for our future – the number one answer was growth! You want more people here on Sunday mornings,
more children in the congregation – the teens want more teens, more sharing of
the ministries of St. Mark’s with the broader community. One parishioner summed it up neatly by saying
she wishes that more people at St. Mark’s would tell others about what is going
on here, to show them that St. Mark’s has something valuable to offer. I have an idea for how we might do that. And you’ve been hearing about it all
month. Throughout the month of January
our theme has been Becoming the Story We
Tell. And I know you are hearing the
message loud and clear because several people commented last week, “I was
waiting for you to say it in your sermon!”
My work will be complete when I start hearing the words come out of your
mouths as well.
·
When someone asks you, “Why do you volunteer at
the Wednesday lunch program?” Your answer might be, “My faith – our faith –
teaches us that Jesus fed those who were hungry. So I do this because I am part
of a community that is becoming the story we tell.”
·
When someone asks you, “Why do you go to
church?” Your answer might be, “Our faith teaches us that Jesus went away with
his disciples to pray and I am one of Jesus’ disciples. So I go to church
because that is where I practice becoming the story we tell.”
·
When someone asks you, “Why do you call or write
letters to your elected officials?”
This Lent – which, it is hard to believe, is only a
couple weeks away – we will be offering small groups called Our Story, Our Calling – groups where 4 to
8 people will gather together each week to practice a discipline of reflecting
on the gospel text appointed for the coming Sunday, to talk with one another
about the ways in which the drama of the Gospel story connect to the everyday
living of our lives. There is a sign-up
sheet in the Parlor that we can pass around during the Annual Meeting. I hope that everyone will choose to take part
in a group because it will be a great opportunity to see how we already are
becoming the story we tell and to get more comfortable talking about our
faith.
“Deliver us from the
presumption of coming to this Table for solace only, and not for strength; for
pardon only, and not for renewal. Let the grace of this Holy Communion make us
one body, one spirit in Christ, that we may worthily serve the world in his
name.” It’s not about me; it’s about us – serving the world in Christ’s name. St. Mark’s, we are a congregation who gather each week
for solace, for strength, for pardon and for renewal so that we can go out to
our schools, to the playgrounds and parks, to work and throughout the
communities we touch to Become the Story We Tell in all that we do. And my friends, I am grateful. Because you
are Becoming the Story We Tell and
you are helping me each day to do the same.
“A lawyer stood up to test
Jesus. ‘Teacher,’ he said, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ Jesus said
to him, ‘What is written in the law? What do you read there?’ He answered, ‘You
shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and
with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.’
And he said to him, ‘You have given the right answer; do this, and you will
live.’” – Luke 10:25-28
God
invites us to become the story we tell.
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