Looking at the Unseen

Mark 3:20-35

I once knew a little boy, who at six years old seemed to be quite intelligent. I mean, the little guy could really carry on a pretty good conversation about some of the most interesting things, often with quite a bit of imagination. However, one day his parents and grand parents became somewhat concerned when they saw the little boy moving his forefinger in the air, as though he was drawing pictures. His grandmother thought that there must be something wrong with the little boy's mind. She thought that he might be crazy, so she told him to stop doing it. But, the little guy persisted, until one day his parents, at the grandmother's urgings, took him to see a child psychologist.

Well, the doctor talked with the little boy, ran a few tests on him and discovered that the young man actually had a pretty high IQ and a fairly well developed photographic memory. For instance, the boy could look at a picture for a few moments and then five minutes after looking at it could very accurately tell you what was in the picture, describe the color of the objects, and then explain their location within the picture.

Following his examination of the boy the doctor explained to his parents that when the boy was drawing with his finger in the air, it was as if he was drawing with a crayon on a piece of paper; that he could see that picture in his mind as clearly as if it was, indeed, on paper. He told them not to worry about it; that the boy wasn't crazy, but actually had a wonderful gift they should celebrate and encourage.

And, sure enough, when the boy grew up he became a heart surgeon whose hobbies included painting and playing the piano.

Now, why have I told you a story like this? It's quite simply because in our scripture lesson for this morning Jesus found himself in a similar situation as this little boy. The only difference, however, was that Jesus was 30 years old. But, just like in my story about the little boy, Jesus' family, (in this case his mother and his brothers) couldn't understand him. They couldn't see what Jesus was seeing. They didn't share his vision. Afraid that he was losing his mind, they tried to come and get him to take him home, perhaps thinking that all he needed was some rest or at least a good "talking to" by his mother.

Of course, this scripture passage from Mark is a challenge to those theologians, mainly in the Roman Catholic Church, who believe that Mary didn't have any other children than Jesus; for the scripture clearly says that Jesus' brothers came to get him. And it also seriously challenges the ill conceived notion that Mary the Mother of Jesus fully shared in the person and work of Jesus Christ, because if this was true, then she would not have thought that her son had lost his mind, but would have told Jesus' brothers to leave him alone.

But, perhaps more than anything else, this scripture offers encouragement to those of us who are followers of Christ even while our friends, or families, or spouses, or peers may not share that vision with us. And this is important for us to think about, especially when as a church we sending graduating seniors out into the world. Certainly, we have raised our young people to share the vision that Jesus had. And in this world, even in our own once- Christian nation, persons who hold to the vision and to the teachings and to the Way of Jesus Christ are becoming more and more subject to ridicule and scorn and misunderstanding from significant others. Our youth who go off to college may not be understood by roommates who see them take the Bible off the shelf and read it, several times a week. They may not be understood by fellow students who find out that they are going to a Bible study or attending a church. Girlfriends or boyfriends may not understand it when our youth, raised in the Christian faith, refrain from abusing drugs and alcohol, or abstain from sexual intercourse, or refuse to cheat on tests. They may even be accused, as was Jesus, of being completely out of their minds. And that's when they will really need the encouragement of others of the Christian faith. Hopefully, wherever our youth go as they leave our community for other places, there will be churches with programs for youth of that age group. And, certainly, having such a program in our own church may be something we should really think about.

But the thing we need to think about is, how can we encourage people to see the unseen? Jesus had a vision. Christ was the very Wisdom of God sent into the world. So, certainly, the things he said and the things he did were often surprisingly contrary to what everyone thought a Messiah should be. For many persons who had become entrenched in the fundamental religion of the day, the sayings of Jesus were clearly "off the wall." His words and actions challenged them to look beyond the horizons of what they had always believed to be true to see an even greater and more liberating truth: the Gospel of God's acceptance of the despised and rejected, the lowly and the humble of the earth.

And perhaps we need to ask ourselves, now and then, how God may be asking us to stretch our own spiritual horizons. Some of us may believe, for instance, that going to church on Sunday for an hour or two is enough spiritual exercise for one week. However, remember that God may be asking us to stretch our spiritual muscles! Maybe there's a Bible study or a prayer group in our church you should get into! Or, perhaps some of us may believe that one of the purposes of the Christian faith is to exclude certain people from the ranks of the acceptable, forgetting that Christ's call goes out to everyone, no matter what their race, or age, or creed, or position, or gender may be. So, remembering that God wants us to stretch our spiritual horizons, perhaps we need to look around at the people who we see every day, some of whom we've always believed would never step foot into a church, and seriously consider asking them to come to church with us. We might be surprised! And it might be a life-changing experience, not only for them, but for us, as well.

Yes, we need to spend a little more time trying to take a look at the unseen things that God has put into our midst. Some of you may have heard that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA, has had a program under way, using large arrays of radio telescopes to tune into the stars of our galaxy to see if there might be radio or television signals coming from those places. I mean, it would be funny, wouldn't it, to see reruns of alien versions of "Leave It To Beaver" and "I Love Lucy" coming from outer space! Millions of dollars have been appropriated to scientists all over the world to see if this might be happening. For, imagine what we might learn from watching an Alpha Centauri version of "Sesame Street," not to mention "Mr. Roger's Neighborhood!"

I guess the point is this: If NASA is willing to spend millions of dollars looking for something as "out of this world" as radio play-by-plays of hockey games being played on the planet Krypton, then shouldn't we be a little more serious about looking for the so often unseen evidences of God in our lives and in our universe?

The Apostle Paul, writing to Christians living in the city of Corinth, put it very aptly when he wrote: "We look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal."

Or, to put it another way: What is often unseen is often only overlooked. There is the old story of how on a wintry day at twilight, a ragged man entered a little music shop on a side street in London. Under his arm was an old violin.

"I'm starving," he said to the proprietor of the shop. "I'd like to sell this old violin so I might get something to eat."

The proprietor offered him a few pounds, or only about $25 dollars. The man gratefully accepted the money and then shuffled out into the frigid night.

When the owner of the music store drew a bow across the strings of the old violin, it produced a rich mellow tone. He was astonished! Lighting a candle, he peered intently into the inside of the instrument. There he found the magic name -- Antonio Stradivari -- and the date, 1704! He knew instantly that this was the famous Stradivarius that had been missing for a hundred years. The attics of Europe had been diligently searched for this missing violin, but in vain.

Since then the famous violin has changed hands several times and has brought in as much as $500,000.

For years, the penniless man didn't know the value of what he possessed. He lived in poverty on the edge of starvation.

How God wants us to open our eyes to see and to accept that which God freely offers to each of us. Why do we live our lives, so often on the edge of spiritual starvation when the treasures of heaven are so easily within our reach?

PRAYER:	O God, help us to watch with Spiritual eyes for the gifts and for the Wisdom you continually offer to us. Give us the vision to be open and accepting, waiting and wondering. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.