As I said at the beginning of worship, the next few weeks are going to be focused on how small changes, changes that we don’t think even matter, can build up over time to make a big difference.

James Clear, in his book Atomic Habits, writes, “It’s so easy to overestimate the importance of one defining moment and underestimate the value of making small improvements on a daily basis.” (Atomic Habits, page 15)

I believe that it true for individuals as much as it is for organizations. We want the magic bullet… and advertising plays on this desire… Lose 30 pounds in 30 days! How many ads have you seen for this since the beginning of the year? Learn how to play the piano with like a pro with my simple numbering system.

Churches are not immune to this kind of thinking… whether it’s conscious or not… If there was no Sunday shopping… If there were no sports on Sunday… If we only had the right minister, the pews would be full and everything would be great. 😉

What if instead we intentionally cultivate habits that could perhaps bear fruit, but it won’t happen overnight.

James Clear also writes that our habits are tied up in our identity, but our identity is not fixed. The key to building lasting habits is focusing on creating a new identity first.

Our current behaviors are simply a reflection of our current identity. What we do now is a mirror image of the type of church we believe we are, (either consciously or subconsciously). To change our behavior for good, we need to start believing new things about ourselves. We need to build identity-based habits. (Paraphrasing and making it about organizations)

I want to tell you the story about how your identity can change. When I visited your church last October, the only two people who acknowledged my mother and I were Joyce and Jackie, both of whom I knew already from presbytery. Nobody else said good morning, invited us for coffee, or even said good-bye, it was as if we were invisible. If I were ‘church shopping’ I wouldn’t have come back. Now, I contrast that with what I see when a newcomer arrives… I see people greeting them… I see people interacting with them… I see them being invited for coffee… I see people extending and experiencing hospitality. Your identity has shifted… from a church that keeps newcomers at a distance to one who goes out of their way to welcome them. And it’s a beautiful thing.

Today we’ll hear a snippet of Jesus receiving hospitality from an unexpected source, one that got him into trouble with the religious authorities. Last week, we heard the story of Jesus’ baptism and how that was the beginning of this ministry… today we are going to hear stories of healing, of discipleship, of challenge, of hospitality and of new wine and old wineskins, but how did we get from Jesus’ baptism to this point.

First, you need to know that right after Jesus was baptized, the ‘Holy Spirit’ sent him out into the wilderness for forty days and nights? How do you like them apples after being called beloved? That’s not what usually happens after we baptize someone is it? There’s usually a celebration of sorts. 😊

He comes out of the wilderness clear on his mission… proclaiming the good news of God. He starts his Galilean ministry, calling Simon, Andrew, James, and John to be disciples, teaching with authority, and performing miraculous healings. Jesus urges secrecy about his miracles, adding mystery, while consistently displaying compassion in healing the afflicted. He is passionate about moving around, spreading his message beyond his hometown to neighbouring towns. So then we come to today’s reading; it’s Mark 2: 1-22

When he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. ² So many gathered around that there was no longer room for them, not even in front of the door, and he was speaking the word to them. ³ Then some people came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. ⁴ And when they could not bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and after having dug through it, they let down the mat on which the paralytic lay. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Child, your sins are forgiven.” 

⁶ Now some of the scribes were sitting there questioning in their hearts, ⁷ “Why does this fellow speak in this way? It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 

⁸ At once Jesus perceived in his spirit that they were discussing these questions among themselves, and he said to them, “Why do you raise such questions in your hearts? 

⁹ Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Stand up and take your mat and walk’? ¹⁰ But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic— ¹¹ “I say to you, stand up, take your mat, and go to your home.” 

¹² And he stood up and immediately took the mat and went out before all of them, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”

¹³ Jesus went out again beside the sea; the whole crowd gathered around him, and he taught them. ¹⁴ As he was walking along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax-collection station, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him. ⁵ And as he sat at dinner in Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were also sitting with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 

¹⁶ When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 

¹⁷ When Jesus heard this, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician but those who are sick; I have not come to call the righteous but sinners.”

¹⁸ Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting, and people came and said to him, “Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” 

¹⁹ Jesus said to them, “The wedding attendants cannot fast while the bridegroom is with them, can they? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. ²⁰ The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day. ²¹ “No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old cloak; otherwise, the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. ²² Similarly, no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost, and so are the skins, but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins.”

So, what’s the connection between Atomic Habits and faith and the stories we heard? I think of all the formation that took place before Jesus was 30, before he was baptized. All the holy scriptures he learned, all the customs and rituals and all the law. I also think of the time in which he lived… oppressive Roman rule, taxation without representation to use a phrase from south of the border.

What if we imagine how his ministry was shaped by the habits that were formed from childhood to the age of 30. First learned from his mother and father, then from the elders of the temple and from life itself. What habits did he cultivate… and how long did it take? The long journey for his habits to shape his identity into the man we know as Jesus… the Messiah… the Saviour… the friend… the healer…

Because nothing good and solid and lasting happens overnight, does it? They take time and attention and INTENTION.

The themes that are present in this passage: faith and healing, authority, inclusivity and criticism, and the nature of his ministry wouldn’t have, couldn’t have sprung up overnight. They would have been formed over time until they became part of who he was, until they became WHO he was.

So, what habits do we want to cultivate? I think we look at our Core Values Statement

United in Faith, Strengthened by Friendship, Building a Community of Love and Justice

What do you think some of the habits that we might cultivate for faith?

What about friendship?

What about love and justice?

We are going to do some more work with the Listening Circles material on February 4^th.

As we move forward and decide on a project or two, I hope we keep in mind the kind of church we want to be.

Thanks be to God for the challenge and the opportunity of following Jesus… amen.

© Catherine MacDonald 2024

Mark 2: 1-22

January 21, 2024 – SJ