January 29, 2012

 

 

We just heard the dramatic story of Jesus healing a man with an unclean spirit in the synagogue in Capernaum. When I saw that this is location mentioned I was inspired to dig out my diary for the day that I visited that very same building. I remembered the synagogue of Capernaum clearly but wanted to refresh my memory.

 

I’m glad I did. At this remove it is hard to believe was what a full day December 2, 2010,

was for me! Let me tell you about it. Visiting Capernaum came at the very end. The day began for me and my companions, a group of about 30 Church of England pilgrims, in the city of Tiberias next to the Sea of Galilee. Our hotel was only a block from the water. After breakfast it was on to the bus for an hour’s drive to the northern tip of Israel and the ancient city of Caesarea Philippi. This is where Peter recognized Jesus as the Messiah. He was the first disciple to do so. (See picture on this page). Our leader read that story aloud from Matthew, we looked around, and then piled back into the bus.

 

Our next stop was back near where we had started, on a hillside overlooking the Sea of Galilee. It was the traditional site of the “multiplication of the loaves and fishes.” There Jesus took two fish and five barley loaves and made them into a meal for thousands. A church now adorns the spot. Its central altar is right over a large rock on which Jesus is said to have placed the loaves and fishes. We read that story aloud also, looked around, and got back onto the bus.

 

A very short trip brought us to another church complex overlooking the sea. This one was the traditional site of the Sermon on the Mount. You know how that sermon begins: “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” and so forth. Because of all the blessings pronounced there it is called the Mount of the Beatitudes. This was the location for that day’s celebration of the Holy Eucharist. My diary notes, scribbled later that night, describe the scene: “Our service was on a small plaza outdoors, beneath palms, flowers, banana trees. Birds sing, Sea is visible. Humphrey (our leader) talks about blessings: an earthly paradise here! Read Matthew chapter 5. This is what the life of the world to come will be. Perfect union of creation and salvation.”

 

But we had to press on. My diary continues, “then a short trip down the hill to site of resurrection appearances on the lakeside… Humphrey reads the account in John 21.” We walked on the beach where Jesus prepared a fish breakfast for his friends after Easter.

 

Next, we had fish ourselves: lunch at a restaurant near Migdal, the home of Mary of Migdal, also called Mary Magdalene. After lunch was a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. We had to hurry because we were running late. The boat company plays the national anthem of whatever group is onboard. My group was mostly from England so we heard “God Save the Queen” as we motored out onto the waters. My notes read, “Atmosphere of silliness followed, until crew turns off the engine and we drift in silence. Our guide points out the Golan Heights, the site of the story of the demoniac and the pigs that rushed into the sea. Next town over is Capernaum. Church of Loaves and Fishes is amazingly close on the hill. Half the Gospels took place in one little section of northern lake, easily comprehended in one view. We read the story of the stilling of the storm then sang “Dear Father of Mankind, forgive our foolish ways,” this hymn apparently a favorite to the church of Englanders I am travelling with. All are deeply moved.

 

“Back to bus, on to Capernaum.” It was getting late but we went to the church built over the house said to belong to Peter’s mother-in-law. Here is where the paralytic was lowered through the roof to Jesus for healing. Mark’s Gospel says the whole village gathered outside the house at sundown. Amazingly, the sun is setting for us also, as Humphrey reads the passage from Mark.”

 

Then on to the synagogue, the one mentioned in today’s Gospel. Hani, our Palestinian guide, says that certainly here we are in the footsteps of Jesus. Some sites are known only through tradition but this one is certain: it is the only synagogue in Capernaum. This must have been the place where the man with an unclean spirit was healed.  We walk where Jesus walked. They are only ruins now, but impressive nonetheless. My notes read, “One last photo of sunset over the sea.” I have this photo in my office, and look at occasionally, and will pass it around this morning. It captures, I believe, the quiet beauty of the scene.

 

One reason I am mentioning all these vistas is that the time has come to get serious about deciding whether there are enough pilgrims among us to pull off a proposed trip to Israel in April. I have been mentioning this possibility in the Tidings and so forth for about a month, and hopefully many of you have at least pondered the possibility. The February Tidings has more information and it asks you to let me know for sure by February 15. My travelogue in the sermon will have given everyone a notion of what the trip would be like.

 

But that isn’t the only reason I’m sharing my diary notes. I realize most of us will not be able to go on that trip. What I want to say to everyone, whether you can go to Israel in April or not, is that the stories in the Bible really do take place in the actual world. This is obvious but still it is worth insisting upon. If you noticed, at each of the stops that I told you about, we read aloud the story of what took place there. The people who were in those stories didn’t have to use their imaginations to get it. There were just living there doing their normal lives. But we do have to use our imaginations to get it. We have to see that for Peter’s mother-in-law, to walk from her house a few blocks over to the synagogue is exactly like when one of us goes a few blocks from home to St. Thomas’ church. For Peter to go out on the water in his boat is exactly like one of us getting into the car and driving to work in the morning.

 

So whenever we read a Bible story about something happening in that world, the Bible world, one point of comparison is that it really is exactly like the way you and I go places in our daily rounds. The other comparison is that for us, exactly as it was for Peter and his mother in law, Jesus has walked into our lives too. Wherever 2 or 3 are gathered in his name, He is there. We have to take the amazing stories of Jesus into account, just like Peter did, and we have to take into account our own experiences of Jesus, just like that man did who was healed by Jesus in the synagogue at Capernaum.

 

I haven’t said too much about that man so far, the one with the unclean spirit. Many people are offended by the Bible’s frequent mention of demons and so forth. It all sounds medieval and unscientific. I won’t argue the point. What I do know however, is that all of us are subject to moods and ideas and actions that are negative in character. If there is anyone here who does not have times of negativity, please see me afterwards so I can learn your secret. Having never met such a person thus far however my belief is that we all have fits of mental negativity. In this way we can identify with the man with the unclean spirit. Jesus walks into our lives because he wants to help us with our spiritual darknesses, and he can help. This is as true for us at St. Thomas’ church in 2012 AD as it was in the synagogue in Capernaum back around 27 AD. Jesus can help us clean up our act, and be more like the persons we really want to be.

 

Most of us are not in acute spiritual disorder, as was the man in the synagogue. We may have been at times in the past, but for now the important thing for most of us is more like managing a chronic condition. The best way to manage chronic spiritual conditions is analogous to the way we manage chronic physical ones. Stability of life, good habits, regular use of medications, and so forth are all indicated for bodily conditions. On the psychic level, normal Christian life with regular church going, regular fellowship with other believers, regular prayer, regular communion, and so on, is the best way to make spiritual progress. All of these are ways of letting Jesus be part of our lives, and deploy his healing powers in us, day in and day out.

 

When we are in acute distress, then it is wonderful to know that God is near. In Christ has drawn near to us, just as he drew near to the man in the synagogue in Capernaum. In the real world, just like the Bible world, God continues to seek us out, for our healing. We should call out to God, every day, and see what God will do for us.