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There's a story about a remote village on a mountainside, that was one of the last in its region to receive electricity. 

The Power in Balance - Isaiah 40: 27-31; Mark 1: 29-39 - February 8, 2009 - Cicero United Methodist Church - Everett 1. Bassett

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            There's a story about a remote village on a mountainside, that was one of the last in its region to receive electricity. People who lived in the village looked for years upon the lights in the valley below, and wondered if they would ever experience the miracle of electrical power in their own homes and streets. Then, one summer, they watched with anticipation as the power company laid poles, and strung line up the side of the mountain toward the village. They hired electricians to come and wire their houses. Then the big moment came, and the juice flowed into the houses, and people went out into the streets and danced and laughed, singing over and over: "The power is on! The power is on!"

            That could be an image of what we're doing here. We're not dancing in the aisles this morning - yet - but what brings us here is a sense that the power is on. What else would Easter faith be other than a belief at our core that God's power is at work here and now?

            Over the last few Sundays, we've been reading scripture lessons from the biblical book of Mark, describing the beginning of Jesus' ministry on earth, with images of great power. We read about his baptism, and how the sky was torn open. We read about his personal power in calling disciples to drop everything to follow him. We read last week about the authority of his teaching, and his ability to cast out demons. And today we read about how people brought to him all who were sick, and he healed them, and continued to cast out demons. And the undercurrent of these stories is the groundswell of enthusiasm among people whose lives had seemed defeated and downtrodden. Suddenly there was Good News from God, and if they could get close to this Jesus they were in touch with something they had not experienced before. The power is on! The power is on!

            This is such a significant message for us to hear, because we live in a time when many people are feeling powerless. "There's nothing we can do," were the words of a woman interviewed on a street corner somewhere in the Midwest - but she could have been most anybody in any place in the U.S.A. She was talking about the economy. She was saying how she used to try to manage her retirement portfolio. She thought her decisions had an impact on how much she would have when she retired. But now, she said, she doesn't even look at the statements anymore. All her research and maneuvering seems futile as her investments nosedived, and companies have closed their doors, and people lost their jobs and homes, and so on. Who can blame us for feeling helpless? And it's not just the economy - it's so many demons that can possess us. It's depression and addictions and abusive behaviors and conflicts that spin out of control. There are so many areas of life where we can feel helpless, futile.

            But 'helpless' and 'Jesus' don't even sound right in the same sentence. When people came in proximity to Jesus they experienced power. And I believe that's still true.

Our Old Testament lesson is from Isaiah 40, and it brings words that were written to people who were seemingly powerless. The people of Israel were in exile in Babylon ­totally defeated, their homeland decimated, their leaders humiliated, families separated, their whole way of life and belief system in shambles. Next to the might of their Babylonian captors, the people of the Bible were helpless. And yet, Babylon is now an ancient and lost civilization. And the Jewish people survived. Because it turned out that the power was not at all in the sword of the Babylonian soldier. The power was in the faith of the downtrodden Hebrew. And it was words like those we read this morning that gave them power, and those words are worth hearing again - maybe this time listening to them with our own lives in mind, and where it is that we feel defeated, or helpless:

            Here's Isaiah 40: 27-31: "Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, "My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God'? Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary ... he gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless. Even youths will faint and grow weary ... the young will fall exhausted; but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, ... shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint." The power is on!

Sometimes we may feel despair, or exile. Sometimes we can feel hidden or disregarded by God. Even the youngest and strongest can fall exhausted., And some of us feel helpless or exhausted this very morning. But there is power in faith. And God has been renewing the strength of the exhausted ones for a long, long time. And we are never powerless standing next to God.

            That's the message that comes loud and clear in our Old and New Testament lessons for today. Those words of Isaiah came true in the person of Jesus. People exhausted and defeated by life found their strength and their hope renewed by Jesus. We can, too.

            But if that's the only common thread we notice between those scriptures in Isaiah and Mark, we have passed over something essential. It's important to ask of Isaiah's words, "Just where does this power come from?" Yes, it comes from God, but what unlocks it so it can flow into our lives? It turns out there's a pretty important key, one that may be somewhat surprising to us, so much so that we might miss it.

            Our image of power usually has to do with momentum and energy and action and 'shock and awe.' Power overwhelms. It's like a half-time pep-talk in the locker room:

This is our moment of destiny; you have the power; let's go out and get 'em! And so it's surprising to us that when Isaiah describes the greatest power in the world, it's not for those who are ready to rush out onto the field and overwhelm the opponent, overcome the obstacles - instead it's for those who 'wait for the Lord.' This is so counterintuitive to us. It's not about rushing forward; it's about holding back and waiting with God.

            Consider Jesus. The momentum was building. Word had gone out. He's casting out demons. He's healing the sick. He's teaching with authority. The excitement had built to the point where now they are crowding around him, bringing all the sick. This was what he and the disciples wanted. This was the launching point. Seize the moment!

And Jesus, right at the key moment, disappears. He goes to a deserted place. And Mark 1: 36-37 says, "And Simon and his companions hunted for him. When they found

him, they said to him, 'Everyone is searching for you.'" And there's almost an accusation in those words. What are you doing? The power is on! People are ready! Seize the moment! But again and again in the life of Jesus we see him seizing the moment by drawing back. Because it's they who wait for the Lord who find the power.

            It would be hard to imagine anything more challenging to our faith. We see it over and over - we are people of action, and not much patience. Our schedules are full. We fill our lives with noise and speed. One of the hardest things a preacher can ask of people nowadays is to take time to pray. To balance action with prayer. We are so busy. So we squeeze prayer in, a few minutes here and there, or we multi-task prayer - we do it while we're ironing clothes, or exercising, or driving. And all those can be good. They are certainly better than nothing - although, if you're driving, please don't talk to God on the cell phone. But catching God on the fly is much different than 'waiting for the Lord.' Waiting for the Lord implies giving God priority time - investing in spiritual time because that's where the power is. If Jesus and Isaiah have anything to say about it, the power is in the balance between action and prayer. And for most of us, it really comes down to setting priorities. And I think prayer is worth it. I think downgrading prayer on the priority list, and feeling helpless, are two sides of the same coin.

            Many of you will remember the comedy team of George Burns and Gracie Allen.

And one time George asked Gracie what time it was. And she took a clock out of her purse, plugged it in, looked at it, and told him it was half past two. And he said, "It can't be half past two. The sun's just going down. And why don't you keep your clock plugged in?" And she replied that she was trying to save electricity, so she only plugged in the clock when she wanted to know what time it was.

            That's how we try to use prayer. We plug it in when we need to decide something, or when we have someone on our hearts, or when we can spare a few minutes - instead of cultivating an ongoing relationship of power. There is nothing certain in this world - in this economy - in this nation - in this church - in your relationships - in your emotions. There can be a lot of good in those things. They can bring joy and blessing and even a sense of security. But in the end, the only thing that is certain is the power of God. And God offers us the promise of that power. The power is on. But we have to plug into it.

            In his book Everything Must Change, the Christian writer Brian McLaren describes very vividly how the world has strayed far from the path of justice that God intended. His descriptions of the injustices in the world make you wonder if there is any hope. But then he writes this: "If it weren't for my faith in God, I would conclude that it is already too late, that the moment for transformation has long passed. But despair is boring and uncreative, and to succumb to it is to empower it. So I turn from (despair) and turn to Jesus, to believe his narrative and to join his peace insurgency, to stop figuring out how to get him on our side, and instead to try to cross over to his side." Those are words of power. And if we embrace them - if we dedicate ourselves to a life of balance between action and prayer, I believe that not only will we persevere through any storm, but there will be no limit to what God can accomplish. With God all things will be possible.