St. Mark 6:1-6; St. John 15:5
Sermon for 7/23/2006
Rev. Ronald Fink

?¨Apart From Jesus We Can Do Nothing Jesus. Apart From Us Jesus Chooses To Do Next-To-Nothing!?Æ

I want to get into the words of Jesus I just read from John??s Gospel, as well as today??s appointed Gospel from Mark with a simple, yet sometimes slippery riddle. You may have heard it. If you haven?´t, play along with me and think it through.

What is more powerful than God,
And, at the same time, more evil than the devil?
The poor have it,
The rich need it
And, if you eat it, you will surely die.

For those still thinking, I will repeat it. 

What is more powerful than God, 
And, at the same time, more evil than the devil?
The poor have it.
The rich need it.
And, if you eat it, you will surely die.

NOTHING! That??s it! NOTHING! Tell me, what is more powerful than God? NOTHING! What is more evil that the devil? NOTHING! The poor have NOTHING! The rich need NOTHING! You will surely die if you eat NOTHING! The Gospel text I read from John reminds us that apart from Jesus, the Vine, we, the branches, can do NOTHING! Finally, today??s appointed Gospel from Mark informs us that in respect to His ministry in His own hometown, Jesus was able to do NEXT-TO-NOTHING. My goal is that before we quit this morning you will in faith understand two things. First, in respect to our walk with God apart from Jesus we can do NOTHING of significance. NOTNING!! Secondly, apart from us Jesus CHOOSES to do NEXT-TO-NOTHING!. 

I.

The Gospel imagery of a vine and its branches suggests that people who follow Jesus are intimately connected to Jesus in the same way that a living branch is intimately connected to a healthy vine. It??s obvious that a branch cannot exist on its own apart from the source of its life. Sever the branch from the vine and you kill the branch. It is as simple as that in respect to our walk with God. Separate yourself from Jesus, the source of your life with God, and in no time at all you will be gasping for spiritual breath. That is precisely what happened to those in Jesus?? hometown. Their offense concerning Jesus grew out of their separation from Jesus. The point is that apart from Jesus, there is no spiritual life of any consequence. It??s all about Jesus, the Vine. We are the branches. And this is where we connect with today??s appointed Gospel. 

II.

Jesus and His disciples re-visit Nazareth, the place where He grew-up. The townspeople are astonished by His teaching and offended by His wisdom. Something about Jesus brings discomfort to His boyhood acquaintances who remember when He was only a ?¨carpenter?Æ. For whatever reason, they are not able to take in the greatness of Jesus and, as a result, Jesus?? ministry crawls to a standstill. It is not altogether obvious how we are to understand Mark??s observation that Jesus ?¨could not do any miracles there, except lay His hands on a few sick people and heal them. And He was amazed at their lack of faith.?Æ It seems certain that among the people who had the opportunity to get close to Jesus and know Him best Jesus?? ministry is in some way hindered by a lack of faith. Not a weak faith, or a questioning faith. But, a lack of faith. 

For people like us who through faith have the opportunity to get close to Jesus and know Him best, it is important to take note of a not-so-happy thought! Apart from faith, many mighty works that Jesus might do in your life and mine, are left undone. It is not that God cannot do them. The fact is, Jesus chooses not to minister to a life that claims loyalty to more than one master. The Lord chooses not to go where He is not welcomed by faith. And, what is true of individual believers is also true of a congregation. No mighty work will be done in a congregation that is not passionately possessed by a corporate trust that the Lord Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega of God, the grace of God made known in the Cross, which is the power of God for forgiveness and salvation for anyone who believes. Without that passionate corporate trust, a congregation is destined to go nowhere of significance. Today??s Gospel texts confirm that as we apart from Jesus can do NOTHING, apart from us, Jesus CHOOSES to do NEXT-TO-NOTHING. 

In June of this year Warren Buffet shocked the world of philanthropy by pledging thirty billion dollars to the Gates Foundation. I am impressed by his generosity and I truly admire and respect the tremendous good he desires to do with his fortune. I was less impressed by a comment that the Charlotte Observer picked up earlier this month. When asked about the motivation behind his generosity, Warren Buffet is quoted as saying, ?¨There is more than one way to get to heaven. And this is a great way.?Æ Perhaps he said it ?¨tongue-in- cheek?Æ as a way of expressing his joy at the good he is able to do. I will not judge his comment. But, I will say that if he meant it literally, the world??s smartest man in respect to financial wizardry is the dumbest man in respect to God. Because whether it is thirty billion or thirty cents, you can??t buy God, or the forgiveness of sins. Remember your catechism? I believe that He, Jesus, has purchased and won me, not with gold or silver, but with His holy precious blood and His innocent suffering and death. That we may be His own and live under Him, and serve Him.?Æ If we hear today??s Gospel texts correctly, apart from Jesus we can do NOTHING. And, apart from us, Jesus CHOOSES to do NEXT-TO-NOTHING.

These texts offer a powerful description of what it means to walk with God. We are people of faith who know Jesus best. So, what in heaven??s name are we waiting for? I hope you are ready to respond, ?¨NOTHING!!?Æ Absolutely NOTHING!!

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Emmanuel, Asheville, NC, 
Pentecost 7, July 23, 2006 
Disk #120