Renewed in Serving

OT Lesson: Isaiah 40:21-31 (CEB)

Don’t you know? Haven’t you heard?
Wasn’t it announced to you from the beginning?
Haven’t you understood since the earth was founded?
God inhabits the earth’s horizon—
its inhabitants are like locusts—
stretches out the skies like a curtain
and spreads it out like a tent for dwelling.
God makes dignitaries useless
and the earth’s judges into nothing.
Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown,
scarcely is their shoot rooted in the earth
when God breathes on them, and they dry up;
the windstorm carries them off like straw.
So to whom will you compare Me,
and who is My equal? says the Holy One.

Look up at the sky and consider:
Who created these?
The One who brings out their attendants one by one,
summoning each of them by name.
Because of God’s great strength
and mighty power, not one is missing.
Why do you say, Jacob,
and declare, Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
my God ignores my predicament”?

Don’t you know? Haven’t you heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He doesn’t grow tired or weary.
His understanding is beyond human reach,
giving power to the tired
and reviving the exhausted.
Youths will become tired and weary,
young men will certainly stumble;
but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength;
they will fly up on wings like eagles;
they will run and not be tired;
they will walk and not be weary.

NT Lesson: Mark 1:29-39 (NRSV)

As soon as they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told Him about her at once. He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.

That evening, at sunset, they brought to Him all who were sick or possessed with demons. And the whole city was gathered around the door. And He cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew Him.

In the morning, while it was still very dark, He got up and went out to a deserted place, and there He prayed. And Simon and his companions hunted for him. When they found Him, they said to Him, ‘Everyone is searching for You.’ He answered, ‘Let us go on to the neighbouring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do.’ And He went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons.

Sermon

Introduction

Good morning! Do you know what special day is coming this Saturday? It’s New Year’s Day according to the lunar calendar. So, a very Happy New Year to you all! Chinese people call it Chinese New Year. Koreans call it Korean New Year. Vietnamese call it Vietnamese New Year. But the lunar calendar itself was invented by the Ancient Sumerians. Hence, it might be most accurate to call it the Sumerian New Year. This year, according to the Asian Zodiac, we enter the Year of the Dragon. In contrast to European culture, where dragons are often associated with evil, in Asian cultures, dragons symbolise divinity and royalty. For instance, in Korean, a king’s face is referred to as dragon’s face.

Calculating Ash Wednesday and Easter

Speaking of calendars, let’s delve a bit deeper into the subject. Today marks the first Sunday in April. And as many of you are aware, the 14th of this month is Ash Wednesday, signalling the start of Lent. Do you recall when Ash Wednesday fell last year? It was on February 22nd, and interestingly, next year it will be on March 5th. The date of Ash Wednesday evidently shifts each year. Have you ever pondered why? The date for Ash Wednesday is directly linked to Easter. The reason Ash Wednesday’s date varies annually is because Easter’s date also changes. So, how do we determine Easter’s date? In the Bible, Jesus was crucified on Passover, symbolising the Passover Lamb. Ideally, Easter should be the first Sunday after Passover. Passover is calculated using the Hebrew lunisolar calendar, which wasn’t used by early Christians in Greece and Rome. Thus, the early church fathers established a new method to calculate Easter, independent of the Hebrew calendar:

1. Identify the date of the Spring Equinox.
2. Then, find the date of the first full moon following the Equinox.
3. The first Sunday after this full moon is Easter.
4. Ash Wednesday falls 46 days before Easter.

The duration is 46 days, not 40, because Sundays are excluded from the count. Every Sunday is a celebration of the resurrection, so it is not a day for sorrow or gloom, even during Lent. Thus, Lent is a 40-day journey, albeit spread over 46 days. To determine the date of Passover, which is April 22nd this year, almost 3 weeks after the Easter, you first need the Hebrew Calendar. Passover falls on the 15th day of the month of Nisan. Speaking of Nisan, that makes me wonder if there are months named Honda, Mitsubishi, Mazda, and Toyota. Well, speaking of Toyota, Toyota and its subsidiaries were recently found to have tampered with several hundreds of safety tests and issues over the past 34 years. A “Do Not Drive Toyota” advisory has been issued for over fifty thousand Toyota vehicles. If you own a Toyota, please exercise caution for your safety. All I want is you being safe.

Another intriguing aspect of the Hebrew calendar is its leap year system, where an entire month is added, compared to our addition of just one day, February 29th. This year is a leap year, and it raises a curious question: for those born on February 29th, do they celebrate their birthday only once every four years? And what about their age—are they effectively four times younger than their peers?

Life Is Tiring

We have discussed quite a bit about calendars. Now, let us shift our focus to the Bible. Today’s OT lesson tells us that even youths will grow tired and weary, and young men will stumble and fall. The challenge is, young people often don’t see it that way. They tend to think of themselves as invincible and bulletproof. I remember feeling somewhat similar in my twenties. During the dot-com bubble, I worked at a software company in Korea and was earning a substantial income. For the first time in my life, I was not struggling with hunger. I had enough to buy my mother a new refrigerator, washer, and dryer. I even gifted a friend an iPod. Do you know iPod? Twenty years ago, if you knew iPod, you were young generation. Now if you know what iPod is, you are an old generation. My colleagues and I, all well-compensated, would go out to bars or clubs three or four times a week, indulging in imported—and expensive—whiskeys and tequilas. Our nights often stretched until 4AM, at which point we’d switch to beer. By 6AM, we were back at work, sneaking in an hour’s nap at our desks, then resuming our duties as if nothing had happened. None of us felt tired; we believed our health was unassailable. We worked tirelessly like bulls, partied hard drinking like whales, and skimped on sleep, thinking we could maintain this lifestyle indefinitely, even into our 80s. However, reality struck; now in my 40s, I couldn’t imagine keeping up with that routine even for a single day. Not because I am a pastor but because my body is not like when I was in my 20s. So, the Scripture rings true: youths do indeed grow tired and weary, and young men will inevitably stumble. This may not happen immediately, but it does happen eventually. Even the healthiest person will get tired at work, and then he or she may get tired again and again. Then is when to retire.

Peter’s Mother-in-Law

Simon Peter’s mother-in-law, too, was tired and tired again. But she couldn’t retire because there is no retirement for household labours. For thousands of years, housework was predominantly the domain of women. The kitchen was one of the few places where men were traditionally unwelcome. In fact, my grandmother explicitly forbade me from entering the kitchen, believing that men should not cook, wash dishes, or engage in any household chores. However, in her absence, my five older sisters would often coerce me into doing all these tasks, threatening me with dire consequences if I ever disclosed this to my grandmother.

Imagine the daily life of Simon Peter’s mother-in-law. She likely had to prepare meals for many people—Jesus, His twelve disciples, and possibly a few others, easily amounting to twenty or more. Cooking for such a large group everyday is no small feat, especially considering the lack of modern conveniences. In those times, there were no vacuum cleaners, refrigerators, electric stoves and ovens, washers, or dryers. Her relentless work took a toll on her, weakening her immune system until she fell ill. She got COVID-19.

Today’s NT lesson tells us Simon’s mother-in-law was bedridden with a fever. One might envision a scene where she says to Peter, “Simon, I don’t feel well today. I’m going to rest in bed. Just find whatever you can in the refrigerator.” However, a literal translation of the original Greek Bible presents a more dramatic picture: “Simon’s mother-in-law was being thrown onto the ground.” This suggests that she was actively working in the kitchen, despite her severe illness, when people arrived, possibly clamouring for food, “We are starving. Where’s the food?” It was in this moment of overwhelming demand and physical weakness that she collapsed and fainted in front of the disciples.

The Lord Renews

The disciples were understandably alarmed to see Simon Peter’s mother-in-law collapse and faint from fever. Their immediate concern was not only for her well-being but also, pragmatically, for food because she was the one who cooked for them. They quickly informed Jesus about the situation. In response, Jesus came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Usually, in such instances, Jesus would say something. For example, when He raised a young girl from the dead, the Bible recounts that He took her by the hand and said, “Talitha cumi.” But in this case, the Bible does not record any words from Jesus. I earnestly hope it was not as mundane as, “Get up. You need to cook.” Miraculously, her fever vanished. Hallelujah! She was revitalised and healed. In serving the Lord, she was renewed in strength, echoing the profound message from today’s OT lesson: those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint.

This event reminds us of a commandment in Deuteronomy, where God instructs not to muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain. The principle behind this is that the labouring and working oxen must be fed. In other words, God promises to provide for us as we serve Him. Thus, those who hope in the Lord, those who serve in the Lord, those who love in the Lord, will have their strength renewed. The prophet Jeremiah, amidst his lamentations, also reassures us of this truth: the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.

Conclusion

Friends, in His faithfulness, God has promised to provide for us as we serve Him. So, let us hold onto this faith and actively serve God. First of all, serving God is an act of worship, which is why our Sunday morning gatherings are called worship services. Serving God often takes place within the church doing God’s works, but it is not confined to this physical location. Our service extends beyond these walls. When we feed the hungry through the Caring Centre, we are serving God. By supporting vulnerable women in shelter through Live for Life Indiana, we are serving God. Our efforts to aid impoverished pregnant women in Malawi through the Malawi Project also constitute serving God. Loving our neighbours, offering encouraging words to children, and above all, loving our families, are all profound ways of serving God.

In our service, God promises to provide for us, renew us, and replenish us. Even as we navigate the challenging valleys of life, reminiscent of walking through the valley of the shadow of death, we can trust that God will guide us safely to our Saviour through His resurrection, when we actively serve and love God. Amen.