All Things to All People

I think it was Abraham Lincoln that reminded us of something we already know: 'you can't please all the people all the time.'  I wonder if Abe next said under his breath, 'If you don't believe me, try it."  I bet many of us have and all of us have come to President Lincoln's conclusion, we can't be all things to all people.  Or can we?

 

Tomorrow's Gospel lesson from Mark brings us to the beginning of Jesus' ministry, and since we are in Mark, Jesus is very busy.  He heals Peter's mother-in-law (yes, the first pope was married), the whole city gathers around him at sunset and he heals those possessed by demons and those sick with various diseases.  And then the next morning Jesus and the disciples head out to the surrounding towns doing the same thing.

 

What strikes me in reading tomorrow's Gospel is that Jesus addressed so many people with so many different issues (that's why I italicized whole and various).  Jesus wasn't just an exorcist, he was also a physician.  He was a counselor.  He was a friend.  He was whatever they needed.

 

Then let us meander over to St Paul and his first letter to the Corinthians and we catch him saying something similar: When I'm with the Jews, I become a Jew.  When I'm with the Gentiles, I'm a Gentile, etc. St Paul gave us that famous line, "I have become all things to all people." I don't think St Paul is being disingenuous.  Instead I think he is trying to translate the good news of God's love in whatever emotional, spiritual, or psychological dialect is spoken.

 

Put together and we have a hopeful message that whatever is ailing us – personal demons, our past, our health, our relationship, you fill in the blank, Jesus is whatever we need.  The challenge for the church is one of translation.

--
Fr. Steve Rice
Rector, St Timothy's Episcopal Church
Winston-Salem, NC
www.sttimothys.ws
www.sttims.blogspot.com
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