“Lost in the Crowd”

Mark 1:29-39

Sunday, February 9, 2003

St. Paul United Methodist Church

Rev. John Fleming

I wonder if you have ever had the experience of being lost in a crowd? I think that as long as I live, I won’t ever forget a vacation that I took with my family. I cannot tell you where we went on that vacation. I do not know if it was up north, out west, down south, or over east. I suspect that it took place in Kentucky. I cannot tell you where we were, but I can tell you about an experience that I had on that trip. I must have been five or six at the time. I remember that one of the things that we did while we were on vacation was to go to an outside play at an amphitheater. You know how an amphitheater is set up, don’t you? The stage was down a hill and the seats went up and were divided into several sections both longways and up and down. There was a concession stand to your left as you came into the complex. I can remember that my sister and I begged for something from that stand. I can’t tell you what we ate, but I can tell you what I drank. My dad bought me what we might now call a super-sized coke. I do not mind telling you that it was so big and tall that I had trouble carrying it to my seat. I recall that it was nearing dusk when we took our seats, all five of us Flemings. We went down a main aisle and then up ten or so rows and then over to our seats. By the way, did you know that the size of a super sized Coke and the size of a six year olds bladder don’t really go together? The play was only minutes old when my bladder spasms began. My dad was sitting next to me, close to the aisle. When I told him where I needed to go, he offered to go with me. But I told him that that was not necessary. After all, I was grown. I was all of five or six years old. I had seen the bathroom on my way to my seat. I knew exactly where it was. So, I started walking towards it. I counted how many rows it was down to the main aisle and then how many sections it was over to our seat. I should have put out flares! I found the bathroom with no problem and then I started making my way back to my seat. The problem was that when we went to our seats, it was near dark. When I went to the bathroom, it was almost dark. And when I went to find where my family was, it was dark. It wasn’t pitch black dark. It was not the kind of dark where you could not see the hand in front of your face, but it was dark. I found the main aisle without any problem, but when it came time to head up to the row where my family was, I headed down. I counted the rows down and looked for my dad’s familiar face, but it was no where to be found. For a few minutes I did not worry, but then I panicked. I looked all over for the four familiar faces that I knew. But I couldn’t find them. The longer I looked, the more panicky I got. Finally, after what seemed like forever, I heard my dad’s familiar cough and then his well-known voice called out to me. And for some reason, ever since then, I have been leery of crowds!

Just before my last year of seminary, Susie and I married and then we moved to Dallas. We had a great apartment not far from Southern Methodist University’s campus. It was close to where Susie was going to work and close to where my classes were. We rented furniture and set up our life together there. And when Sunday morning came, we went looking for a church. I had been to a church or two in Dallas before Susie came along, but I wanted us to have a new church home together, so we went looking. Out on Northwest Highway there was a church whose name I thought was perfect. On the sign outside it simply read, Lover’s Lane United Methodist Church. I thought, “This is perfect. Susie and I haven’t been married long. This church has the perfect name for newly weds.” Pretty soon I learned that it was not the perfect church for us. The church had parking lot ushers, men in reflective vests who told us where we were to park. I looked over at Susie and said, “Any church that has parking lot ushers directing traffic is too big for me!” It was too late to go anywhere else and so we parked and went inside. The sanctuary was huge. There were not many empty pews. There were people everywhere. The sermon was good, but there were so many people and no one said a word to us. We did not make Lover’s Lane United Methodist church our church home for our year in Dallas.

What I heard people say over and over again when I was appointed to this church and when we had our meet and greets at the parsonage, was that they liked the size of St. Paul. It could be a little bigger, they said, but they like the size of the church. I agree. There was just something about the crowd at Lover’s Lane that overwhelmed me. Have you had that feeling, been in a crowd and lost, looking for your place? Or have you been in a large group of people and been overwhelmed? Maybe this is your experience, there you are in a crowd and yet you feel all alone.

If you are with me on how I feel about crowds, then you might like our scripture lesson for this morning taken, again, from the first chapter of Mark’s gospel. When you read this gospel, it is not hard to get the impression that Jesus, too, was not enamored with crowds. Which, I think, is strange considering that He is the Messiah, the Savior, who came to save the entire world. There is something in these words that I think is even a little more bizarre than that. Not only does Jesus not like crowds, he also tries to hide the fact that He is the Messiah. When the demons recognize him, he says, “Don’t tell anyone. Keep it quiet!” Which I think is curious because here Jesus is at the beginning of his ministry. He is there with his disciples. He is preaching to people who are enthusiastic to hear him. His popularity is just beginning. Mark puts that idea this way, “At once his fame spread throughout all the surrounding territory of Galilee.”

That is our text for this morning, found in this first chapter of Mark’s gospel that introduces Jesus’ ministry. Mark gives us three stories, three tales that help us to see why Jesus is so popular.

In the first one, Jesus goes to Simon and Andrew’s house, Jesus’ newest disciples and there, unable to serve them because of a fever, was Simon’s mother-in-law. Mark tells us that Jesus enters the house, takes her by the hand, lifts her up, and heals her. Just like that! It is a dazzling feat! It astounds everyone who sees it and then hears about it. It’s definitely a miracle! The word is getting out about Jesus. This is the one who removed the demon from the man in the synagogue. Now he heals another woman and the word is spreading and because it is, the crowds are getting larger. Who could ask for anything better, especially if you are the Messiah who has come to save the world? If you can perform a miracle, take my word for this, the whole world will come calling.

Which is exactly what happens in the second of these snapshots of Jesus’ first few days of ministry. It is sundown of that same day, which means that the Sabbath is over. The word about what Jesus has done all day has spread and when the sun sets, Mark tells us that the whole town gathered at Peter’s house. Mark uses these words to describe it, “They brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. And he healed the sick and cast out the demons.” The demons recognize Jesus. That is something that we heard last week. Jesus has authority over the demons, but he does not allow them to speak. I want to ask Jesus, “Why all the secrecy, Lord?” After all, he has got it made. Really, it was all over. Everyone knows who he is. It is just a matter of time before he mops up the enemy. He is the Messiah, the only one who can defeat the demons of this world. But he won’t let them speak. What kind of a Savior travels incognito?

Then there is this third tale. It is the early morning hours of the next day. Mark tells us that it was a great while before day, when Jesus went off to pray by himself. Peter and his companions went to look for Jesus. The Greek word here literally means that they chased him down. They rudely and abruptly came upon Jesus while he was alone and praying. Peter might have said, “I’m glad that I found you, Jesus. Where have you been? The whole countryside is looking for you. You are the biggest thing to hit Galilee ever! You’re bigger than even John the Baptist! So come on. They’re all down in the valley waiting for you.” Jesus says, “Then it’s time for us to go to another town, so that I may proclaim the message there also, for that is what I came out to do. "And with that Jesus turned his back on the crowd and he walked away. When everyone was looking for him, he leaves. When he is recognized, he says, “Keep it quiet.” What kind of a Messiah is this? What are we to make of these words?

I think that I can understand Jesus’ hesitation with the crowds. In our world, a crowd is a measure of success. It has always been that way. Preachers know how many people were in church by the time the postlude is over. But in the Bible, a crowd means something different. In the Bible, crowds use Jesus. You might recall that it was a crowd in Jerusalem that sang out, “Hosanna in the highest.” It was the same crowd, a week later that cried out again, but this time it was, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” You have to watch out for a crowd. The problem with a crowd is that they can quickly turn on you!

Maybe Jesus wasn’t all that fond of crowds because they were attracted to him for the wrong reasons. You work a miracle or two and the crowd gathers. Our Jesus did not want to be known just for his miracles. It is a great temptation, I don’t mind telling you. It’s the one that the devil offered to Jesus in the wilderness, “Do something spectacular and the whole world will be yours. Turn stones to bread. Jump off a tower and land on your feet.” I don’t mind telling you, it’s a great temptation.

Just this week, I heard a story that Phil Donahue tells about his early days in broadcasting. He tells that he was covering a mining disaster, much like the one that happened in Pennsylvania last year. He tells that it was late one night. It was cold. There was frost on the ground. The rescue team was down in the mine. The relatives were gathered near the opening of it hoping for some word of encouragement. Then someone began to sing, “What a friend we have in Jesus.” Then others joined in, “...all our sins and griefs to bear...” Finally everyone, including family members joined in, “...what a privilege to carry, everything to God in prayer.” Out of the crowd, a preacher walked up and led everyone in a prayer. It was a short but powerful prayer for the people gathered there and for the miners. Donahue says that it was a powerful moment. He tells that goose bumps popped up all over his arms. But the problem was that his camera was not on. He reached for it, but it was too late. So he went over to the minister and said, “Will you repeat that prayer?” The minister said that he wouldn’t. Donahue said, “I don’t think that you understand. I represent two hundred television stations. Millions of people will see you and hear your prayer.” The preacher said, “No.” Donahue persisted. “I’m from CBS. The whole nation will see this!” The preacher said, “No.” and he walked away. It wasn’t until later that Donahue understand. Here was a country preacher who wouldn’t show biz for Jesus. I think that that is what Jesus was after. He didn’t want to be known for the miracles. This really says something to us about Jesus. It says to us that if you want to know him, then you’ll understand that you won’t find in the crowds performing miracles. If you want to see Jesus, you will have to go to another town, and see him on a cross. If you want to know him, you must take up your cross and follow him. He said that to his disciples and not to the crowd. The crowds are in Galilee. The crowds are full of people who have real illnesses and who have real needs. Jesus had compassion for them. He did whatever was necessary to heal them, but made no real demands on them. But to the healthy and to the strong and to the able he said, “Take up your cross and follow me.”

Could it be that for us this morning, the question really is, “Who do we identify with more, the crowds, who simply received grace and then went back to living their lives? Or are we more like the disciples, who heard the command and took the first stop in helping to change the world, one person at a time? How does Jesus put this? "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.”

I heard of a minister who went to the altar to pray early one Sunday morning. It was his practice to do that. There was a woman just down from him who was doing the same thing. The preacher prayed, “Lord, I want to do great things, powerful things.” The Lord answered him, “Great, I’ve got something in mind for you to do today.” The preacher said, “Wonderful. What is it? Do you want me to go down to the television station and preach to the masses? Or maybe what you had in mind is that I could go down to the stadium and preach to thousands and thousands of people. Just use me, Lord, I’m ready.” God said, “That’s not exactly what I had in mind.” The preacher said, “Well, okay, what did you have in mind?” God asked, “Do you see that lady over there?” The preacher answered, “Yes, I know her well.” God said, “She’s got a lot on her mind. She needs to talk but is afraid to bring up a tough subject. Why don’t you go by her house this afternoon? Tell her that I sent you there and maybe she will open up.” The preacher protested, “But God I want to change the world.” God said, “Friend, think about it.”

I believe in a God who uses people like you and people like me to help people, one at a time. "Let us go on to the neighborhood, so that I may proclaim the message there too, for that it what I came to do.” Let us pray.