"Moving Out of Our Comfort Zones"
Sermon Presented February 5, 2006
Mark 1:29-39
People who are introverts usually experience discomfort when attending a cocktail party or a large social gathering with strangers. When I attended the Project Focal Point dinner at Calvary a couple of months ago, I saw no one I knew for the first 30 minutes I was there. Later, a couple of familiar faces appeared, but they sat at another table. I had the choice of either inserting myself into the conversation or being miserable all evening. I went outside of my comfort zone and chose the former. Neither Beulah nor Ed Lydolph would have any discomfort in a similar situation, because extroverts are energized by being in a crowd.
When I planned a week-long silent retreat at Lake of the Ozarks several years ago, a neighbor expressed her horror at this prospect. She's an extrovert, and a silent retreat would be as uncomfortable for her as a cocktail party is for me. It's hard to move outside of our comfort zones.
When Jesus chooses his first four disciples, he asks them to leave their comfort zone and follow him. They will no longer work and live with their families, but will accompany Jesus into unknown territories as he prepares them to share the good news of the Kingdom of God. This story takes place one Sabbath day in Capernaum, after Jesus has just amazed the crowd at the synagogue with his teaching and healing. (That was last Sunday's text.) From there, he moves to the home of Simon Peter and Andrew where people again congregate, claiming his time and energy.
Mark 1:29-39 (Read text.)
The momentum of Jesus' ministry builds as he, Simon Peter, Andrew, James and John move from the synagogue to Simon and Andrew's home. Remember, these two are brothers. We assume that Simon is married, because when they enter the house, they learn that Simon's mother-in-law is in bed with a fever. When Jesus "lifts her up," her fever disappears and she is able to resume her role of serving the guests.
That evening, people in the community hear of Jesus' presence and gather at the door, begging for healing. Many are healed. It's been a long and exhausting day!
Can you imagine how tired and overwhelmed Jesus must have been? It takes great spiritual, emotional and physical energy to give of yourself so completely to needy people, as Jesus has done all day and evening. For this reason, he's probably so keyed up that he has difficulty sleeping. So, very early in the morning, while it's still quite dark, Jesus slips out of the house to find a quiet place to pray. When he doesn't show up for breakfast, the disciples search for him.
When they find him, Jesus explains what God revealed during this time of prayer. They are to leave this comfort zone where Jesus is idolized and they are close to their families to go to new places where Jesus can proclaim the message of the Kingdom of God. Jesus won't be able to take advantage of the newly gained popularity that his works there have generated.
I doubt if this revelation is good news for the disciples, as the scope of their commitment to follow Jesus becomes clearer. What did they agree to do? This is their home! But even though they have no sense of what a positive response to Jesus' call entails, they are willing to follow him. They have seen God in Jesus, and that is enough to propel them to move out of their comfort zones.
Jesus receives direction during times of prayer, as we have observed from scriptural writings. After his baptism, he spent 40 days in a fasting retreat before he started his ministry, and it was in prayer at the end of his life that he surrendered to God's will. At this early morning time of prayer, God leads him to move from a place where he is adulated to an unknown location and an unknown response to his ministry.
Sometimes we move to new locations as a result of prayer and sometimes things just seem to fall into place when we didn't think to pray about it. The three new ABC women ministers who came to Milwaukee in 2003 came from unfamiliar territories of Texas, Seattle and Kansas as a result of prayer. In this congregation, Frances moved from Urbana, IL to live with her family; Sara came from Kansas by way of Missouri to take a new job; Grisana came from Thailand via Kansas City and married Jim; Lawrence moved from Iowa via Kansas City because of Amy's new job; and Les and Wilanna came from Kentucky to take a symphony job. Each time we move out of our comfort zones into unknown territories our lives are challenged and changed. Sometimes we change willingly and sometimes we come kicking and dragging our feet. I am convinced that even though we experience difficulties, when we rely on God we will see positive results from the change. It may not be what we expect, but it will bring blessings.
God's plans for us are greater than our own hopes. Given a choice, we often settle for less than is possible. We want comfort, peace and security for our lives and for the lives of our family members, and for these reasons, we often stay in our comfort zones.
Jesus came out of that time of prayer with a sense of purpose. He said: "Let's go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do" (v. 38.) So they follow God's direction to new territory and eventually to death. You see, obedience doesn't always lead to wealth, popularity or longevity. It doesn't necessarily lead to comfort, peace and security, if we're considering exterior rather than interior conditions. When Jesus and the disciples leave their place of comfort, they find adventure, God's presence, persecution, and a new frontier for proclaiming the Kingdom of God.
What is the challenge here for us? Do you sense a call to move into unfamiliar territory - literal, spiritual or emotional? Do you sense there is a new direction for us as a church? How much time do you spend seeking God's direction for yourself or for the church?
Jesus got up early to pray and God met him there with direction and an affirmation of purpose. God invites us to open our hearts to the grace of new possibilities through prayer. And wherever that leads, God will accompany us through the ups and downs of life. God guides us to new life by allowing us to open our eyes to new possibility and find it - outside of our comfort zones.
To move from our comfort zone, we may need a changed attitude or the boldness to take that first step over the line. When we submit our lives to God as we follow Jesus, we may not see impressive results. In other words, when someone preaches our funerals the pastor may not have a list of monumental accomplishments to proclaim about us. But isn't it enough to know that we tried our best to move forward to follow Jesus' direction for our lives? Isn't it enough to have the internal peace that this generates? That's sufficient for me!
