Rev. Molly F. James, PhD
St. James’s, West Hartford, CT
5th Sunday after Epiphany, February 4, 2024
Isaiah 40:21-31; Mark 1:29-39; Psalm 147:1-12, 21c
May God’s Word be spoken. May God’s Word be heard. May that point us to the living Word who is Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Our reading from Isaiah ends with the lines: “but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”
They shall run and not be weary? Really? I want to say, Isaiah, are you paying attention? Have you read the news headlines? Have you seen our calendars? Do you know that we still have not figured out what it means to have lived through a pandemic? Can’t you see that we are exhausted? From work, from school, from the stress and strain of all that we are supposed to be doing. Also, it’s February. It’s cold outside and the days are still short. It’s hard to be energetic when we can’t get enough sunshine.
And then I pause. I take a deep breath. I think about what I know of the world in Isaiah’s time. The plagues. The persecutions. The stress and strain of everyday life where you had to walk to get your water and there was no such thing as food security for anyone. Oh. Maybe instead of arguing with Isaiah, I should listen more deeply, because if he can talk about running and not being weary then maybe he really does know something.
So, how could we keep going and not burn out? What is it that allows us to be capable of more than we think we are? Well, our faith, for sure. And there’s more to it than that.
A story my brother told me kept coming back to me this week. In high school, he did a number of NOLS wilderness trips in the summers. One of his leaders told a story of leading a group in the tundra of Alaska. The leader was out ahead of the group. He came up over the crest of a hill to discover that he was only yards away from a mother grizzly bear and her cubs. He froze. He stood absolutely stock still. The mother bear rose up on her hind legs and stared. He thought: Well, this is it. Not sure how I can get out of this one. Then she returned to all fours and quietly walked away with her cubs. The leader was stunned. How could that possibly be? And then he turned around and realized that the entire group of 20 people had come up behind him. With their arrival instead of being a lone person far smaller than the bear, he had become something enormous that frightened the bear.
I have held onto the image of that story for years and years now. Whenever I have had to go into a difficult situation, I have thought about who I am bringing with me. My family, my friends, my mentors, those people in my life who incarnate God’s love for me, whose wisdom has always helped me be grounded - sure of who God is and who I am.
And if we turn to the Gospel for today, we see that Jesus is not doing his ministry alone either. He is with his disciples. He does his healing ministry with others. He sends them out two by two to minister on his behalf. Jesus takes time for himself, of course, but he does not stay on his own. He knows that success only comes with shared power and authority - with shared ministry.
Oh. That. Not doing it all alone. Not thinking we are on our own to face this challenge or that crisis. Hmm. Maybe that is what Isaiah meant? We won’t grow weary as long as we stay connected to God and to each other.
So, my friends, just in case you have been or are ever tempted to go ahead on your own like that NOLS leader, may I remind you that there truly is safety in numbers. You might think you are just fine out on your own. I might think that too. I often have - usually with poor results. So may I recommend that whatever challenges lie ahead, you do not face them alone. Look around. See? You are surrounded by people who care about you and would drop everything to help. That’s what it means to be community. That’s what it means to be Church. We hold the faith for each other. We incarnate God’s love for you. This community is here. Day after day. Week after week to remind us that we are never alone. And we are beloved of God. Amen.
