Convicted of Sin

When criticized and judged by the scribes and Pharisees because He was eating at a table filled with sinners and tax collectors, Jesus said, "I have come to call not the righteous, but sinners."  (Mark 2:17)  Who are the righteous?  Who are the sinners?  No man or woman knows themselves as a sinner apart from the convicting work of the Holy Spirit.  We know ourselves and others as good people, moral people, decent people, but the general consensus does not speak of any of us being sinners.  

Is it not true that being convicted of our sins is a spiritual experience?  John 16:8 speaks of the Holy Spirit convicting people of their sins.  One of the things the Spirit does is to help us see the truth about who we are.  It could be said that His work in our heart enables us to not only see who we are, but who we are created to be.  This reality does not just come to us because we have decided to consider it, but because of the Spirit's work.  His work is like grace.  

Grace comes to us long before we realize it is being given to us and so it is with the work of the Spirit.  His work begins long before we are consciously aware of it.  When we think about what it means to be convicted of our sins, we often think of Isaiah who became aware of the holiness of the Lord and cried out, "Woe is me!  I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!"  (Isaiah 6:5).  Being convicted of our sins is akin to the spirit of David as he cried out to the Lord, "...I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.  Against You, You alone, have I sinned, and done what is evil in Your sight." (Psalm 51:3-4).  When the Spirit shows us how we have separated ourselves from the God who brought us into being, it is not a moment of casual regret, but a moment of a broken heart.

Intercessory Faith

The value of the care we offer to others and the prayers we offer in their behalf is immeasurable.  As the second chapter of Mark begins, thre is a wonderful story told about four friends who bring a paralyzed friend to Jesus. The place where Jesus was staying was overflowing with those who were listening to His teaching.  The friends who carried their friend on his mat could not push through the crowd so they went up on the flat roof, listened for the voice of Jesus, and tore open a big enough hole to lower their friend into His presence.  

It is a story which opens the door of our imagination.  We can imagine the room becoming quiet as roof debris started falling into the room and a small hole became a larger hole filling up the room with blue sky.  Suddenly the light from above was filled with the mat being lowered into the room and then when the man on the mat was on the ground, the hole was filled with the faces of the four caregivers peering down to see their friend and Jesus.  The paralyzed man had his sins forgiven and then was healed with the words, "...stand up, take up your mat, and go to your home."  (Mark 2:18).  What we must not miss is that all this happened without any reference to the faith of the man on the mat.  Instead, the Word says that every good thing which happened to the paralytic began when Jesus saw the faith of the four men peering through the hole in the roof.  

We must not grow weary in well doing.  We must not cease in our praying.  We must not let our faith be replaced by skepticism.  Other people are depending on us.  They are depending on our acts of compassion and our prayer.  They are also depending on our faith to hold them up in those moments when their own faith may be wavering.  We must not forget the importance of carrying our hurting friends into the presence of Jesus through our praying.

A Vile Thing

While John Wesley's preaching was received with open hearts by the masses of England, the church which ordained him found it to be offensive and soon one pulpit after another was closed to him.  After watching George Whitefield preaching to great crowds outdoors, Wesley who had always been hesitant to do that kind of preaching wrote in his journal, "At four in the afternoon, I submitted to be more vile and proclaimed in the highways the glad tidings of salvation, speaking from a little eminence in a ground adjoining to the city, to about three thousand people."  Such preaching became the norm for the rest of his preaching years as well as the norm for Francis Asbury and the circuit riders who rode into the history of frontier America.  

As they did so, thy followed in the footsteps of Jesus.  When we read the gospel of Mark, we see Jesus preaching in the synagogues (Mark 1:21, 39),  but in the last verse of the first chapter we read about a movement in a different direction.  After healing a leper, the man made whole went out telling everyone he met what Jesus had done for him.  The result of his testimony was such a popularity that Jesus, "..stayed out in the country and people came to Him from every quarter."  Certainly, others had preceded Him in this practice, but to see Jesus preaching in such a way reminds us of our call to take the gospel beyond the walls of the church building.  

One of the reasons for the rapid growth of Methodism in the eighteenth century was because it became a spiritual movement not bound by walls.  It was a movement that did not wait for the coming of people, but one that moved into the places where ordinary and common folks gathered.  It was movement that welcomed the poorest, the dirtiest, and the most despised social outcasts of the day.  Whether our church sends out street preachers or not, it is called to find a way to make the overlooked and ignored people of our day know that they are a part of the people of God.

The New Taboo

As Mark unfolds the ministry of Jesus, he brings us to the moment when He healed a leper.  "A leper came to Him, begging Him, and kneeling he said to Him, 'If You choose, You can make me clean,'  Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, 'I do choose.  Be made clean!' "   (Mark 1:40-41)  While it was amazing that Jesus healed this leper who had been sentenced to community ostracism until his death, what must have shocked the disciples from the top of their heads to the bottom of their feet was seeing Jesus stretch out Hand to touch this man who had been declared untouchable.  To see Jesus in this moment is to not only see Him healing, but also touching.  

One of the things Covid taught us was how to do ministry without touching.  It taught us how to practice long distance service.  We learned how to take worship out of the pews to sofas and recliners.  Zoom calls transformed church meetings.  Even though six years away from those days, we still see evidence of the change it had on our society and our church. Many people are still uncomfortable with the moment of congregational mixing and greeting at the beginning of worship.  Actually, some people have never returned to the church.  In many places fist pumps have replaced the handshake.  Communion Tables have the Holy Meal plus liquid sanitizer and disposable gloves. The small individual sealed packs of bread and juice are still available for the germ conscious at the altar rails.  

We have become a society and church afraid of touching.  It is an unfortunate shift for a church with the laying on of hands as a part of its spiritual heritage.  While there is always a concern that our touching be appropriate and welcomed, human touch has the inherent power to communicate a sense of fellowship and care that goes beyond the ability of the spoken word.  Many have been the times when I have entered a room filled with grief and brokenness and the only words which could be spoken were words spoken by a hug and the feel of hot wet tears being passed from the face of the caregiver to the face of the broken.  Jesus was not afraid to touch others, neither should we.

Praying Early

As is always the case, Jesus points the way for us.  "In the morning while it was very dark, He (Jesus) got up and went out to a deserted place, and there He prayed." (Mark 1:35). I have always heard that those who pray best pray early.  I have learned again and again through reading about some of the spiritual giants that early morning prayers were a regular part of their day.  My head has always shook itself in agreement, but the rest of my body has never really been on board with what is best.   

I find myself too much like those disciples who kept falling asleep when told by Jesus to stay awake.  I have gotten up many an early hour, settled into my place of prayer, and fallen asleep long before it was time for the "Amen."  Many have been the times I have said to the Lord, "Well, at least I fell asleep in the place where obedience took me," but I have never been convinced it was a rationalization which impressed Him.  For those who decide to pray in the early morning, know that there will likely be a battle between body and spirit in the beginning.   

I say "in the beginning" because as our body has time to adjust to a different schedule, the physical part of this discipline will not be so difficult.  Back when I was an avid and dedicated runner, I learned that my commitment to running longer and not as slow directed what I ate, when I went to sleep, what I read, and with who I hung out.  So, here is my guarantee.  Making early morning praying a core commitment will change not only your spiritual life, but will spill over into other areas as well.  Praying early is good for the soul and the body. 

A Place to Pray

While there can be no doubt that Jesus prayed when He was led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit, the first time we see a picture in Mark's gospel of Jesus praying is in the 35th verse of the first chapter.  After spending the night in the home of Peter and Andrew, the Scripture says, "In the morning while it was still very dark, He (Jesus) got up and went out to a deserted place, and there He prayed."  As we read those words, "a deserted place," we see the importance of place.  Jesus could have rolled over on His mat when He woke and prayed as we sometimes might do.  Or, He could have gone outside and sat down on the ground.  Instead, He went to a deserted place.   

What this tells us is that where He went was not just any place. The place He went satisfied several criteria.  He could be alone.  It was a place empty of possible distractions.  The act of going to it was as intentional as the act of praying.  It was a place quiet enough that listening to what could not be heard was possible.  It speaks of a single mindedness.  The reason He went was to be alone with the Father.   It may not be possible or practical for us to physically leave the place were we sleep to pray, but such a restriction does not prohibit us from knowing a place within our home as a place of prayer.  

We have a place for preparing our meals. We have another place for eating. We have a place for entertainment and study.  If we choose, we could also have a place that we go to pray.  It could be a chair in a not so used room, or something like a self created worship center in the corner of a room.  Maybe one of the things suggested to us by the story of Jesus finding a place to pray is that having such a place would be a good thing for us as well.   

A Model for Praying

If we find ourselves too busy to pray, or if we find ourselves wondering if praying really makes any difference, we only need to read the first chapter of the gospel of Mark.  As we come to the 35th verse of that chapter we read, "In the morning while it was still very dark, He (Jesus) got up and went out to a deserted place, and there He prayed."  The day before had been an extremely busy and full day.  The Scripture speaks of the whole city being gathered around his door and in response to such great need, "He cured many who were sick with various diseases."  (Mark 1:34).  

After a day and evening which must have been physically and emotionally draining,  Jesus was up long before the sun rose to pray.  He not only rose early to pray, but he sought out a place where He could pray without any distractions or disturbances.  As we read this passage of Scripture, we see Jesus modeling His own life of prayer.  His prayer life underscores the importance of prayer.  It is obvious to us that if Jesus found it important to do, it surely is important for us.  In His prayer life He received not only the strength to sustain Him, but also the direction for His life.  Through His prayer life, He was able to go forward iwth the will of the Father to direct Him.  

Surely, one of the things we want to do in our life is to live within the will of our Father God.  When Simon Peter found Jesus, it was his intent to bring Jesus back to the place of yesterday, but Jesus was ready to go into the future as He said, "Let us go to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came to do." (Mark 1:38).  Our praying enables us to move into the future God has planned for us.  It is a spiritual discipline that enables us to live in sync with that plan.