01272021 – Mark 1. 14-20
Do you know – the name – of the guy who first came up with dynamite?
“Dynamis” is a Greek word and it means the state of that which is not yet fully realized as in – “POWER,” “POTENTIAL” — it is contrasted with the word “energeia.”
It might sound familiar once you hear it, his name was ALFRED NOBEL. Yep, that guy!
In 1867, Nobel, who was a Swedish chemist invented a new high explosive which he named “DYNAMITE.”
Some hoped his invention would make war SO HORRIBLE that it would NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN because it would become so AWFUL, so TERRIBLE, that no one in their right mind would be willing to inflict THAT KIND OF TERROR on somebody else…sadly, they were wrong. VERY WRONG!
Instead of ending wars, dynamite made them MORE DEVASTATING and WIDE-RANGING than they had ever been before.
Nobel continued making EXPLOSIVES and he made a FORTUNE doing so. I guess there is always a market for things that go “BOOM!”
And then SOMETHING interesting happened. One morning, around the TURN OF THE CENTURY, he awoke to read, his own obituary in the morning paper, it read: “Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, who died yesterday, devised a way for more people to be killed in a war than ever before. He died a very rich man.” (it went on to say!)
The newspaper had made a MISTAKE– Alfred’s OLDER BROTHER was the one who died. But, as you could probably imagine, the OBITUARY had a chilling…life altering effect on him.
He realized he didn’t want to be known primarily as the person who developed “THE MOST EFFECTIVE KILLING MACHINE OF HIS GENERATION” and amassed a HUGE FORTUNE doing so…that sounds more like the VILLAIN in a story rather than “the good-guy”…and Nobel ALWAYS considered himself to be a GOOD GUY.
So, what did Nobel do…WELL, he founded the NOBEL PRIZE—an award for scientists and WRITERS who work TOWARD PEACE.
Nobel said, “Every [person] ought to have the chance to CORRECT his [or her] EPITAPH in midstream and write a new one.”
Nobel was given a chance to make a change…and he quickly did so, leaving a wonderful legacy FOR OTHERS behind him.
THIS IS may have been WHAT WAS GOING ON: WITH Simon, Andrew, James and John and Philip and Nathanael before or after them…and all the rest. They were given a NEW CHANCE…a SECOND CHANCE AT WRITING, “HOW” they would be forever remembered.
So, when the chance presented itself, they jumped at it.
From its earliest days on…the CHURCH has always been the place of “SECOND CHANCES!”
They each saw something in Jesus.
In all probability, something different.
It probably wasn’t the same for any of them.
Jesus had and has that kind of an effect on people. Our needs all differ. Our needs all change over time.
Some days, you need a friend.
Someone to listen to you. Jesus is there.
Sometimes you need a savior. Someone to save you from your sins or from your- self. Jesus is there.
Sometimes you need a messiah. A wise religious leader. Someone to unite you as a people. Jesus is there.
Sometimes you need a teacher. Someone to lead you into NEW AREAS of exploration. Jesus is there.
Sometimes you need someone to physically or spiritually feed you and take care of you. Jesus is there.
Sometimes you need someone to teach you how to pray. Because you feel inadequate and at a loss when it comes to praying. Jesus is there.
Sometimes you may need someone to come and heal you or just to reach out to you. Someone to bind up your wounds. And Jesus is there.
Sometimes, you may just need someone who is hopeful and positive. Someone to offer to you hope, when everything seems more-or-less hopeless, and Jesus is there.
And sometimes, it would be nice if you could be at peace…and stop the warring within you and around you. Serenity, solitude, restfulness and tranquility would be so awesome. And Jesus is there. Always reaching out…
If you are looking for someone to rule over and to reign over your heart and your very life. The King of Kings, the Lord of Lords and the Very God of Very Gods is there.
He reaches out to you humbly, offering his hand and the simplistic words, “Follow me!”
The rest is entirely and completely up to you!
Amen.