Mark 1:14-20, “The Light calls us to change our hearts and lives”

This is the sermon for Wichita Trinity Church of the Nazarene, January 25, 2009.

In the early 1800s lived a family of girls who became more famous than they ever dreamed. They would write novels together, sharing chapters every evening—offering suggestions to each other.

One of the sisters wrote the classic novel—“Jane Eyre.” Another sister wrote some famous poems I never read, and still yet another sister wrote the classic novel “Wuthering Heights.”

I can remember reading Jane Eyre in High School; my senior year. I can also remember various references about “Heathcliff” from “Wuthering Heights” in culture since 1845 (when the young 27 year old girl, Emily Bronte, began writing this book) but until this week—I never read the book for myself.

I spent time this week reading the "other" Bronte sister-- flipping through the pages of Wuthering Heights faster than normal. It was fascinating. It was absolutely thrilling—that a book written in the 1800s could still keep my attention today. No wonder it is a classic.

The book is filled with rivalry. At the turn of every page someone is trying to exert their selfishness through violent words and actions.

If you were not required to read this classic in school, allow me to summarize parts of the story pertinent for these moments.

The plot begins with a nice gentleman who had a son and a daughter; Hindley and Catherine.

The nice gentleman goes out to a nearby town where he finds a young orphaned boy he feels compelled to take in his home and raise as a son. His name is Heathcliff.

Hindley hates Heathcliff with passionate fury. He would beat up the young boy and persecuted him merciless. The rivalry between Hindley and Heathcliff pokes its ugly head with anger and rage. But young Catherine and Heathcliff become the best of friends.

Hindley goes off to school and Heathcliff and Catherine fall for each other. Until Catherine is injured in front of the house of a young man, Edgar, who takes her in for 5 weeks caring for her wounds. And thus, the rivalry between Heathcliff and Edgar begins.

Page after page of rivalry. Page after page of being so selfish each character takes what they want, when they want it without a care in the world for the next character.

And when I got to page 61 (of 326) I actually wrote on the top of the page, “What would happen if they forgave and lived differently than rivalry?”

What would have happened to this story if just ONE character decided to give up what they wanted for a moment? If just one character would be redeemed, to care more about the people they (claimed to) love, than themselves?

What would happen to this story if one character looked at the person they did not like and acted like Jesus had made a difference in their life? That rivalry no longer guided them—but the call to be a disciple of Jesus did guide them?

What would happen if redemptive power hit Wuthering Heights?

If just one character answered the call to be a disciple, as Jesus calls the disciples… if they changed their hearts and lives to model Jesus’ values, saw the “other”—the one completely different from them through Jesus’ eyes instead of manipulating the “other” for their own purposes?

What would happen to Wuthering Heights?

Our scripture passage for this week is Mark 1:14-20.

Verse 15 catches my attention the most. Verse 15 lays it out there for us—on what it means to be a disciple. How to live a life very different than the world of characters enveloped in rivarly that Ms. Bronte created for us.

Verse 15 reads, Jesus “said, ‘the right time has come. The kingdom of God is near: Change your hearts and lives and believe the Good News’” (NCV).

Verse 15 will shock you to your core and shake up your world.

Jesus will mess with your life if you keep coming to church and opening your heart to God’s Word.

I am warning you now—the message of Scripture is not changing. Jesus is going to mess up your world and turn everything upside down if you keep listening. Every passage of scripture is about a God who calls us to be disciples, to answer the call by being different than a world guided by rivalry and violence.

I know plenty of people with perfect lives; just the way they wanted them. Their lives were fantastic—and then Jesus came and messes with their life.

Verse 15 calls us to become disciples, to change our hearts and lives.

Just like an athlete will do the most difficult workout to get stronger (and not the easiest), verse 15 calls us to work really hard. To let Jesus shake up our world.

So join me as we delve into verse 15—the verse that shocks you to your core and shakes your world—if you really want to be who you were meant to be; a disciple of Jesus Christ.

“Change your Hearts and Lives”—that is a fascinating translation. I love it.

“Change your hearts and lives;” well, how do we do that?

In the context of this passage, where Jesus is calling his disciples, we imitate Jesus; we follow Jesus’ example.

Well, how do we imitate Jesus?

We imitate Jesus by sharing Jesus’ values. We imitate Jesus by seeing the world through Jesus’ eyes. We heal the sick. We touch the untouchable. We extend love to people who are very, very different from us. People we would not choose to hang out with for fun. People we would not stand and talk to if it was not for Jesus. People we would not invite into our midst or go out into their midst if it wasn’t for this Jesus who shakes everything up.

How do we answer Jesus’ call to be a disciple?

You let Jesus mess with your life. You imitate the Jesus who did not draw lines in the sand to call someone so different, so disgusting, so exhausting- they were unworthy of his love. Which means... we really need to focus on this “other.” Those people who we would call “other.”
The one who is so different from ourselves.

It seems these days good church people do not want to talk about the “other.” We want to only talk about us, we want to talk about our holiness and transformation of heart and life. And although these are good things—holiness is a VERY good thing; it cannot be separated from acting like Jesus.

If you look at Jesus, it is impossible to talk about holiness without talking about the “other.”

Because if you truly want to be holy, if you truly want to be transformed in your heart, you must see others the way Jesus saw others.

If you really want to be fulfilled, if you really want to be called unto holiness, you must follow the call to be a disciple... and view the "other" in radical ways.

So let us focus on the “other” for awhile. That yucky subject we all hope does not make it in sermons.

1. The “other” is that person who gets under your skin.

There was a non-mentioned (and never will be mentioned) person I worked with once who drove me absolutely crazy. If you asked me to spend time with her this afternoon or be her pastor, I would probably need to be checked into a hospital. She was nuts and drove everyone around her nuts. Once she took my notes, tore them up, and threw them in the trash. Another time she riled up people around her to turn them on me just for kicks. She was the best example of the “other” I could ever come up with for you.

The “other” is that person who gets under your skin and jumps on your nerves.

2. The “other” is that person who does not agree with anything you believe.

I have a few friends I try really hard not to get in conversation with because they are so far opposite end of understanding Jesus. You know what I mean? They are just crazy in their ideas of faith and what it means to be a Christian. If their idea of God is the actual God, I do not want any part of religion—you know what I am saying?

The “other” is that person who does not agree with anything you believe and you do not agree with them either.

3. The “other” is that smelly person who does not bathe as much as you think they should. That “yucky” person who does not dress the way a good Christian should dress. The “other” is that person you do not want to be around.

As a minister (and preparing for ministry) the last ten years there are a few times I stepped into places where I wanted to gag (not with any of you, of course—you are perfect). But times where you really want to hold your nose or gag. The “other” is that person who looks, smells, and sounds different than you think they should.

4. The “other is that person you would rather talk ABOUT than WITH.

There are a few people in my life, the last 28 years, who I would dread talking with and need long, long vacations from in order to relate to them. I would rather talk about how they annoy me than talk with them and get annoyed. You’ve been there, right?

The “other” is that person you would rather talk about them than with them.


But if we decide to look at the “other” not as an annoying waste of space we avoid… but look at our relating with those “others” as a means to become real disciples, our lives get shaken up.

If we look at the "other" as a means of grace, a way God is developing WHO WE ARE AND WHO WE ARE BECOMMING, our world gets shaken up.



Because the radical truth of being called to be a disciple of Jesus Christ and "change our hearts and lives" is that the more difficult people are, the more different people are—the more of an opportunity you have for the most beautiful holy spiritual discipline to come to life.



The more complicated someone is to be around, the more of an opening you have to become like your heavenly Father.


It is quite the "means of grace," as Wesley would call it.


If we really want to reflect the character of God, if we really want to be a disciple of Jesus, then we need to look at every conflict we have as a spiritual discipline; a holy spiritual discipline ready to shake up your world and make you more like God.




For your attitude, your words, and you actions towards the “other” form a mirror—for us to look at ourselves. We see who we really are in relationship with the “other”—the one very different from us whom we are not inclined to like.




We must have the courage to relate to the “other” one whom is so different—to show us where we are not so holy. Show us where we are slightly faulty. Show us where maybe we are not as perfect as we think we are.




For really, “What is humility?” Humility is childlike willingness to acknowledge all our faults” (Sacred Marriage, Gary Thomas, Zondervan, 2000, page 96).


Most of us good Christians would be quick to say we are not proud… but most of us really do not know what humility is either. We are so convinced for our perfect holiness (especially in my particular and beloved, sacred tradition), we are scared to confront our faults.



However, the “other” forces us to confront our faults. The “other” forces us to see where we might not be as perfect as we once assumed.




Holiness is so much more than being nice to people who are easy to be nice to (people who are like us). Holiness is so much more than throwing money at people who have less than we do.
Holiness—is about true humility. Submitting our life before God, open and ready to see any faults—confront any faults we might have.


Which would mean then… that every time we threaten to quit a relationship, every time we flirt with the notion of leaving the presence of another person because they are too ridiculous (because they are not what you want or do what you want), then (besides abuse situations), we are responding in a non-follower of Jesus way.


We are running away from a spiritual discipline of learning how to live and relate to people completely different from us; learning how to love the “other” truly and purely. Learning how to love God through loving the "other."


It is like divorce, when we say “I can’t live with you anymore." When what we should be saying is, “I’m a little too feeble to love even my enemies—and you are my enemy.”


Never thought of divorce like that, did you? Marriage is the perfect example of learning to really love the "other," someone completely different from you.


In “Sacred Marriage” Gary Thomas writes, Except in abuse—when a person leaves their spouse they often say, “I never loved you” and what they mean is “I never found you lovable.” When what they should be saying is I’m failing “to be a Christian,” I am failing to love you in spite of the fact you are now my enemy (40-41).




And we can apply this right back to the Church of Jesus Christ.


The Church... is also a perfect example on how we can learn to really love the "other."


When we threaten to divorce, split-up, break off from, separate from someone who is different from us (except in instances of abuse) because they just are not who we want them to be, we are failing to be Christian; Christ followers. We are failing to love even our enemy. And the Jesus I read about in scripture screams out, “love your enemies.”




How much have we, the Church of Jesus Christ, fallen prey to this? We think we are holier than the “other” and thus do not need the “other.”


We think we are so good we do not need "them." When the truth is that "them" is what makes us good.


How often do we write off the “other” instead of seeing them as a beautiful opportunity to grow into the person God has called us to be; to be disciples. To follow Christ’s call to be a disciple; to imitate Jesus.




I cannot help but imagine if Hindley (the brother who hated the new stray foster kid) had uttered the words to Heathcliff, knowing he did not like him or want to be anywhere near him and said, “lets pray together brother. Even though you are completely different from you and we do not get along, let’s use our friendship as a means to grow closer to God.”




YEAH RIGHT. We would have no book lasting since the 1800s! Things like that do not happen in our culture.




BUT, they do happen in God’s culture. In God’s Kingdom that “is near” and calls us to “change” our “hearts and lives” (verse 15).


God calls us to be real disciples. To change our hearts and lives.


God calls us to look at the “other” as a means of grace. As a means of being formed into the person God is calling us to be.




God calls us to view that annoying, rotten, dirty, frustrating person with different eyes.


* * * * * *

For how can we EVER preach God’s reconciliation to the sinner if we cannot even reconcile with Christians?


How can we EVER tell the sinner, the person who chooses what they want over what God wants, "God can redeem you"—if we are not even willing to be fully redeemed ourselves... to continue allowing God to redeem us through our experience of the "other?"


How can we EVER show the world who they COULD BE, if we refuse to participate in life alongside the “other?”


* * * * * * *


WHEN we love each other well—when we love the “other” (that annoying disgusting person) really well, we are loving God well.


WHEN we change our view of the “other” to see them as a way God will transform our hearts and lives, we love God enough to change us.


WHEN we learn to love someone so difficult, so different—we are called outside of ourselves, called outside of our selfishness—towards really loving God.




The CHURCH is full of “others,” people different from us. The WORLD is full of “others,” people different from us… And what an opportunity! What a way to truly learn how to love—than by participating in life with someone completely different from us.

Yes, they might be difficult to love. That is the point!

If you can love the difficult, you are more like the One who calls you to follow him; to become fishers of people, to change your heart and life, to believe the Kingdom of God is near and shakes up everything.