In Jesus Holy Name June 2, 2024
Text: Mark 2:23-24,27-28 Pentecost II Redeemer
“The Bad Habits of Jesus”
Each Sunday in this liturgical calendar year our gospel readings are from the Book of Mark. Mark begins by saying. This is the beginning of the good news about Jesus ….the Son of God.” Each chapter is designed and written by Mark to prove that Jesus is the Son of God. Not only who He is but what He will accomplish by His death and resurrection.
In chapter 1 Jesus expelled demons from people. The demons knew who He was, the Holy One of God. They thought His arrival was the final day of judgment. In Chapter 3 the Pharisees tried to “cancel” Jesus. In chapter 4 the disciples have to decide if Jesus is more than a Jewish prophet who heals people when He displays authority over a storm.
This event in chapter 2 finds Jesus and his disciples walking in the grain fields and grabbing a little grain to eat. The same event appears in the Gospel of Matthew in chapter 12. The Pharisees are tagging along with Jesus and looking for ways to accuse Jesus of being a very “bad” Rabbi.
Jesus has healed many, but his biggest mistake was forgiving a paralytic man his “sins”. Therefore the Pharisees rightly accuse Him of blasphemy because only God has the right to forgive sins at the Temple in Jerusalem. If Jesus was a good Rabbi, He would know that.
Then to prove His point that He had the authority to forgive sins and thus replace the “temple” as the only place where God forgave sins, Jesus told the paralytic, “Get up and walk.” To their consternation the man got up and walked.
Even though Jesus esteemed Rabbi in Israel Jesus had habits and behaviors that were considered bad in the eyes of the culture of his day. However His bad habits reveal truths about God’s love and message That God loves the sinner and calls us to repentance. (“the Bad Habits of Jesus” Leonard Sweet p. xv)
On this particular Sabbath, as Jesus and His disciples are walking through the grain fields it is obvious that the Pharisees had a serious “chip” on their shoulder.
Today it seems that there are many who are quick to take offense or to expect others to follow rules that they have created. We live in a world where people are in a constant state of frustration and anger. They might be upset about the economy, gas prices, food prices, college protests, any number of things….even things they can not put their finger on… leads to frustration and anger. Road rage is not just a chip on someone’s shoulder it is an entire forest.
It may seem like a long time ago when morality and conscience provided a compass for correct behavior. Now it’s politics and the PC crowd which makes language a minefield. If the culture rejects the values of God as expressed in the scriptures and thru the person of Jesus, then the culture will collapse or it will seek to find a replacement. The replacement is the PC crowd of cancellation. It is what happened to the children of Israel after Joshua died. The Jewish historian wrote: “Every man did what was right in his own eyes.”
Take for instance the recent uproar that the KC Football kicker, Harrison Butker,
stirred up by giving a commence address at the small Benedictine Roman Catholic College.
What was so offensive in his commence address that has kept the culture from “The View” to “Facebook” in an uproar? Just like Jesus, Harrison put people in an uncomfortable position, asking questions people did not want to answer. Making them face moral choices that they were unwilling to face for fear of culture rejection. “The fear of rejection, the fear of cancelation” is now suppose to be the “fence” around human behavior instead of the “words of Jesus”., the 10 commandments.
During his commencement speech Harrison said. “I think it is you, the women, who have had the most diabolical lies told to you.” “Some of you may go on to lead successful careers in the world, but I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world.”
He also called Pride Month a “deadly sin”, then adding that a woman’s
accomplishments in the home are more valuable than any academic or professional goals. He took aim at President Joe Biden's policies, including his condemnation of the Supreme Court's reversal of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.
In response to all the criticism and PC hatred he responded: “Over the past few days, my beliefs, or what people think I believe, have been the focus of countless discussions around the globe.”
Harrison reaffirmed his commitment to his Catholic faith, saying, “Our love for Jesus and thus our desire to speak out should never be outweighed by the longing of our fallen nature to be loved by the world.” “If it wasn’t clear that the timeless Catholic values are hated by many, it is (visible) now.” His statements, his moral values are indeed a reflection of Paul’s advice in Romans 12. “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world,” ….for you know what is good, and pleasing to God’s will.
Harrison went on to say: “I can’t help but tremble at the thought of the courage many saints have shown in their lives,” Daniel was thrown into the Lion’s Den because he opposed false worship. He was spared by God due to his commitment to faith, according to the Old Testament. In my present reality, if I have shown any courage in standing for God’s word, and (yes) it has led to some small suffering in my life, …. if my words lead some people to never liking me, then that is God’s will. (portions of Harrison Butker speech at Regina Caeli Academy )
Jesus was not afraid to do things that conflicted with political correctness of the Pharisees.
The bad habits of Jesus finds unusual people following Him around. Some followed him as they would any charismatic individual. His words were compelling and intriguing. Some lived just to see Him in another verbal confrontation with the Temple authorities.
Jesus often told stories and parables causing people to rethink their relationship with God. When a teacher tells a story, it's common for the student to ask, "What's the point?" Because that's what teachers do. They tell stories to make a point, an illustration of some topic or theme or lesson.
When Jesus visits the town of Jericho He finds a hated tax collector sitting in a sycamore tree. Everyone thought they knew what was coming. They expected a good Rabbi to shame the man for being a thief, stealing from his own people a collaborator with Rome. instead, Jesus calls Zacchaeus down and invites Himself to his house for a meal. The people muttered because Jesus was going to share a meal with a “sinner”,
Jesus said: this man was lost. “I have come to seek and save those who are lost.” Zaccheaus needed to stop cheating people and get his relationship with God back on track. He was accepted by the love of the Messiah, Jesus. He repented. Jesus shifted the town’s hostility towards Zacchaeus to Himself. This is the message of the cross. Jesus has shifted God’s hostility against our broken commandments to Himself.
Jesus wasn’t just terrible at breaking “Sabbath” rules. These rules were meant to help Jewish people honor and worship God. But the rules had become a way to earn God’s favor. Jesus was breaking the rules created by men.
Jesus told the Pharisees, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” What does the phrase “the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” mean? Jesus means that He Himself was the “creator” of the Sabbath laws which were created to give human beings rest from labor. The “creator” is always greater than what He created. As Creator He had the authority to over rule the traditions and rules created by the Pharisees.
As Lord of the Sabbath He came to give us rest from laboring to achieve our salvation by our works. Mark chapter 3 begins with the same message.
“Another time when Jesus entered the Sabbath a man with a shriveled hand was there.” Some were looking for reason to accuse Jesus of breaking the Sunday rules. Jesus asks the man to stand up and asked: “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil to save a life or kill?” They remained silent. Jesus looked around at them in anger and deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts.” “Stretch our your hand.” And the man was healed.
The result. “The Pharisees went out and began to plot how they might kill Jesus.” They were the “PC” crowd of the 1st century canceling the voice and message of the Messiah who did not fit into their box.
When you challenge the PC crowd, standing for the morality of God’s kingdom; or when you speak truth at a school board meeting or at a family social event, or at a Benedictine College expect rejection.
The kingdom of God calls me and you to restore life and hope to women breaking out of prostitution through our local “Breaking the Chains.” The kingdom of God calls me and you, like Harrison Butker, to help restore the truth of family values in a culture that seeks to cancel the traditional family. The “church” becomes the disrupter of a broken culture, calling society back to God, there may be a personal cost.
During His life Jesus encountered one unreceptive audience after another. Many of these unsympathetic individuals were compelled to put aside their preconceptions when confronted with the truth of the Savior's words and actions. They found it impossible to say He was a fake, when at His command a dead girl was restored to life; it was impossible to brand Him a charlatan when a lifelong cripple began to walk; it was impossible to count Him a fraud when a possessed man was freed from a demon which had run and ruined his life.
Sadly, our age has many skeptics, cynics, disbelievers, and doubters who deny the Christ, His work and the forgiveness, faith, and salvation which He alone can give On the cross, He forgave them. Three days later He rose from death and the grave so that those who “believed in Him” would escape the eternal wrath of a righteous Creator and Judge.” (Philip Yancy “The Jesus I Never Knew” p. 143-24)
