Publications 
Memorial United Methodist Church
White Plains, New York 10605
Source of Strength
A Sermon by Joe Agne, Pastor
Based on Mark 1:28-39
February 8, 2009 (Not edited or proofread)
Mark 1:28-39
28At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.
29 As soon as they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 30Now Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. 31He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.
32 That evening, at sunset, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. 33And the whole city was gathered around the door. 34And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.
35 In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. 36And Simon and his companions hunted for him. 37When they found him, they said to him, ‘Everyone is searching for you.’ 38He answered, ‘Let us go on to the neighbouring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do.’ 39And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons.
Jesus rejects the temptation of popularity as a source of strength
This just in – Jesus’ fame is spreading throughout the whole region of Galilee. According to a poll from National Palestinian Radio (NPR) and the Jerusalem Times, taken over the weekend, Jesus has the support of 60% of the public in his teaching and healing ministries.
Jesus performed an exorcism in a synagogue and the whole region was agog about him. When interviewed about his fame he remembered one of the temptations he had faced in the wilderness. In a vision, Satan showed him all the kingdoms of the world and offered Jesus to be the sovereign of the world. Satan promised him the majority of the popular vote. Jesus thought about this and decided to decline the offer. He would serve and worship God – only. God would be the source of his strength. Popularity and polls would not be the source of his strength.
Now, just a short time later he is very successful in his healing and teaching and his popularity is soaring. Again, popularity might be tempting. Jesus says to Simon, I need some rest. Can we go to your home so I can get away from all of this clamor? They leave the public sphere and head to a private home. When they get there Simon asks Jesus to heal his mother-in-law. Jesus does. By the evening the word spread everywhere that this teacher and healer was in town. They brought to Simon’s house all who were sick or possessed. The whole city was outside of Simon’s door.
This just in – Jesus’ fame is spreading throughout the whole region of Galilee. According to a poll from National Palestinian Radio (NPR) and the Jerusalem Times Jesus has the support of 70% of the public in his teaching and healing ministries.
For Jesus his source of strength was in his relationship with God, not in popularity. He decided to leave the clamor of support and went off to pray. His closest friends didn’t understand Jesus. They saw all the need around for people to be taught and for people to be healed. They searched for Jesus in the desert and hunted him down. They interrupted his conversation with God and told him that everyone was looking for him.
This just in – Jesus’ fame is spreading throughout the whole region of Galilee. According to a poll from National Palestinian Radio (NPR) and the Jerusalem Times Jesus has the support of 80% of the public in his teaching and healing ministries.
When he finished his prayers, Jesus didn’t go back to the crowds. He headed on to other villages to do his teaching and healing. The reports say he was confronted by demons. They may have been the demons of popularity. After their conversation Jesus silenced them.
This just in – Jesus’ fame is spreading throughout the whole region of Galilee. According to a poll from National Palestinian Radio (NPR) and the Jerusalem Times Jesus has the support of 90% of the public in his teaching and healing ministries.
Who knows, by the time Jesus reaches Jerusalem he might have a 100% popularity rating? It didn’t seem to matter to Jesus. The source of his strength was with God, not from popular support.
We can resist the temptation of popularity
One of the congregations we know was hit very hard by the Madoff scam. They lost close to 3/4s of a million dollars. I wrote to offer my concern and to thank them for the way they handled the matter in the press. They were open publicly about their loss but pointed out that many other people were facing far greater loss in this national and global economic crisis. They reported they were grateful for the support but wanted people to also support people who were up against the deepest difficulties of life. One of their leaders responded to my reaching out to them by saying, “Yes - these days challenge us to distinguish between what we thought was real and what might be more real.” They know their source of strength is in their relationship with God and not anything else. Popularity and success can appear real. Relationship with God is more real.
I was once part of a set-building crew for a play. The set called for a large rock. We built it with chicken wire and papier-mâché. Have you ever done anything like this? You build a frame with wood and shape the chicken wire like a large rock. Then the fun is soaking strips of paper in paste and placing them all over the chicken wire. When these strips dry the painters come in and paint the rock, adding in shadows and highlights. When you put it on the stage with just the right lighting, it looks to the audience just like granite – an indestructible rock. When the play was over, we had no place to store the rock so it had to be destroyed. One of the stage crew climbed up a ladder and jumped on the granite-appearing rock. It was not granite. It was only papier-mâché. It collapsed. The illusion was broken. We distinguished between what “was real and what might be more real.”
We put our trust in all kinds of illusions. We think our source of strength is in popular support or even the approval of others. It is not. Our source of strength is our relationship with God.
