Try to picture his face. Do you see it as hard, coarse, and set with wrinkles? Or do you see it as smooth, fine-featured, and more on the soft side? Try to picture his personality. Do you see Jesus as warm, congenial, and winsome? Or do you picture him as more stern, outspoken, direct, and forceful? Try to picture how he operated. Do you picture him as the kind of person who was up at the crack of dawn to catch the 6:56 express donkey into Jerusalem? Or do you see him as an easy-going itinerant who roamed about the countryside preaching, teaching, and healing?
Now I will grant that your image of Jesus may not be like what I just described. I was only trying to start you thinking. But my point is that each of us does need to have some kind of image of the person who stands at the center of our faith. You've heard the old saying, "Seeing is believing." I would suggest that the reverse is true: "Believing is seeing" -- for how can we follow someone whom we do not know?
Let me give you an example that has been taking place in the world of politics. The biggest issue during the recent campaigns has been the extent to which a political figure's private life ought to remain private. I would suggest that the very fact that it has been an issue indicates people's need to know those individuals who would serve as their leaders. The very same thing is true of those who would follow Jesus. How can we follow someone whom we don't really know? Hence, I propose that my initial question to you was relevant: How clearly can you see Jesus?
From time to time in my life I have experienced what the "experts" call a "crisis of faith." I'm sure I'm not the only one these have happened to. Typically they have been times when doubts have crept in and when the teachings of the church have seemed to be only "words on a page" rather than "realities of life." They're not the kinds of experiences one can plan for or even be prepared for. They just happen. And while they are unsettling experiences at the time they take place, they ultimately become the occasion for gaining new strength and understanding. Looking back over these times of struggle in my own life, I've discovered that when they occur, I've not had a clear picture of Jesus. I've not had a clear image of him as a person to whom I can relate with confidence, and with whom I can be free and open. Strangely enough, it was as I began to "see" him again and began to be open to him again, my crisis of faith began to pass. It is important how clearly we can see Jesus!
Another illustration: a story about a small seacoast village in England that routinely would become covered by dense fog. The pride of that village was a lighthouse that had been built on the north end of town where the harbor was navigable and free from the huge rocks that dotted the rest of the coast. One night the villagers had gathered on the south end of town to celebrate a local holiday. Part of that celebration included the building of a large bonfire on the beach.
That same night, a ship in the vicinity developed engine trouble. The ship's captain, after checking his maps and charts, decided to locate on the beam from that village lighthouse and put in at that harbor for repairs. As he scanned the horizon through the fog, he caught sight of a faint glimmer of light. Thinking it to be the beam from the lighthouse, he set his course on it to go ashore.
As he came closer to land, he began to see the light more clearly and realized it was not the lighthouse but the bonfire. Quickly he changed course, later discovering that he had been only 100 yards away from one of the largest sunken boulders in that area and certain destruction of his ship. It made a difference how clearly he could see!
How clearly can you see Jesus? What do you see? I would like to turn your attention back to Mark's Gospel text for this morning. The season of the Church year is the Epiphany Season, and in a way, the theme of this season might be called: "Pictures of the Holy One." Today's Gospel is meant to be included in our "picture albums" of how we see Jesus.
This morning we see a picture of Jesus, the friend. The picture has a personal touch to it as Mark recounts Jesus' concern for a family member of one of his disciples. While all of Mark's Gospel is told with fewer words than the others, the fact of Jesus' concern for the families of his followers was significant enough for him to record the incident. If we did not know this side of Jesus, I am afraid that God would be more like a benevolent authority figure, rather than a trusted confidant with whom we can share our deepest feelings and concerns.
"What a friend we have in Jesus, All our sins and grief to bear!" This cherished hymn captures beautifully a vital dimension of our relationship with the Holy One. Not only is God the ultimate power over the universe, God is personal. God is my friend. I can turn to God as one friend turns to another. Is this picture part of your image of the Master?
The second picture Mark shows us is of Jesus, the healer. "And the whole city was gathered -- at his door -- and he healed many who were sick with various diseases and cast out many demons." Again, note that Mark wants us to know Jesus as one who restores persons to health and wholeness. In an age dominated by medical science and high-tech health care, I need to be reminded of this dimension of who Jesus is.
Why? I must confess that I sometimes hesitate to pray for certain kinds of healing because modern medicine tells me that it is impossible. I suspect it is because I am afraid that the person I want to pray for will not be healed, suggesting that God really can't do anything about it. It is as if I am "testing" God, afraid that if what I pray for doesn't happen, God will have failed. Of course, that is the human side of my feelings. It is the side of me which forgets that God's healing comes in many forms and includes the spirit as well as the body. It is the "modern" side of me that needs to see this picture of Jesus again and again -- showing me that I can dare to pray for healing, even when science tells me it is not possible. Is this picture included in your image of the Master?
The third picture of Jesus is as God's person for the entire world. "Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also; for that is why I came out." Again, Mark wants us to see that Jesus does not confine himself to some "favored few," but his concern and compassion are extended to everyone. This is a picture that we often do not see, especially those of us who have invested time and energy in the church. Because of our humanness, we have a secret tendency to think that all our efforts have gained us a special place in the kingdom. It is offensive to think that someone who is different from us, or less dedicated than we are, would have a place of favor in God's eyes.
The Bible makes it crystal clear that God wants all humanity to be "saved." That's another way of saying that God wants to bring all people back into a relationship with God. The piety that we practice may be a wonderful way of expressing our faith, but when we use that piety as the criteria by which we expect God to include or exclude others, we have turned that piety into a pitfall. "Pious people" have a special need to be reminded of this dimension of who Jesus is! Is this picture included in your image of the Master?
I realize what I have described for you is not new. I also realize that Mark's "pictures of Jesus" may well already be part of your own images of the Master. So let's just say that today has been "picture album day." We do that in our family, occasionally getting out the family albums and remembering all the times we have shared together. I suspect that you do, too. Just as that experience renews our image of who we are as a family, looking at our "picture album of faith" can renew our images of who Jesus is and who we are in relationship to him. How clearly do you see Jesus?