February 1, 2004

Mindekirken, February 1, 2004
Pastor Jens Arne Dale

More than miracles

I’m proud to be Norwegian. We were the best nation of the winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. We have the highest standard of living in the world. Norway gives out the Noble peace prize, and contributes to peaceful solutions to conflicts several places in the world. We have Ibsen and Munch, and we love to listen to Edvard Grieg. Is there anything in the Norwegian heritage that we should not be proud of? After all I’ve said so far, it might be that we boast too much. I believe the author Axel Sandmose described a worse characteristic of Norwegians when he, in 1933, launched the expression "the law of jante". The law of jante says among other things: You shall not believe that you are something. You should not believe that you are as much as we are. You should not think that you’re wiser than we are….

When the first Norwegian settlers came to Minnesota and Dakota 150 years ago, they had left narrow fjords and farms with poor soil. The wide open prairie offered good soil, and maybe also freedom from narrow-mindedness and gossip. There was no law of jante in the New World. It’s typically American to be confident in oneself.

What about Nazareth? Was magnanimity or narrow-mindedness prevalent among people there? In John 1.46 we read about Nathaniel who got confused because Philip got so excited about Jesus of Nazareth. Can anything good come out of Nazareth? He said. The small town in the Galillean mountains was not regarded a metropolis. It was not where the great stars came from. But the text today tells about something special which happened exactly in Nazareth. The carpenter’s son who had made a sensation by healing in the rural district north of Lake Kinneret, was back in his hometown. This Sabbath he had read from the book of the prophet Isaiah in the synagogue:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. … and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. Then Jesus had sat down and said the strange words: Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing. In other words, Jesus said that he was the Messiah God had promised. This was more than Iowa and New Hampshire at once. All spoke well of him for the gracious words that came from his mouth. The atmosphere was as if their own candidate were about to take the White House.

But Jesus was a strange Frontrunner. Here people were about to roll out the red carpet for him, and then he hits them in the back with harsh criticism. In minutes the synagogue atmosphere of revival turned into rage. They got up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill, it’s written. I have been to Nazareth. It’s built by a wooded hill. Maybe it was there that they tried to hurl him off the cliff. There is no limit to what a raging crowd might accomplish. But it’s even more impressive to read that Jesus, at the critical time, turned, and then he passed through the midst of his enemies and went on his way.

What wrong had Jesus done? Why were they so furious at him? Jesus accused them of unbelief. Matthew tells in plain words that it was due to their unbelief that he didn’t do many deeds of power in his hometown, Matt 13.58. When the first excitement was passed, Jesus met the law of jante in his hometown. It’s as if they said: You must not believe that you are something, Jesus.

In some way Jesus confirmed that by the words: No prophet is accepted in the prophet’s hometown. And as if he wanted to make the scandal complete, Jesus began to praise gentiles. He reminds them that the favor of God in its time was given to the widow at Zarephath. All the widows in Israel were neglected during the great famine. And Naaman the Syrian was cleansed, but none of the lepers in Israel. Were not the Jews the chosen people of God? How then could God help those others?

It’s not far from Nazareth to Norway, not to say Mindekirken, when we talk about struggling with our faith. We so desperately want God to hear our prayers. And when it doesn’t happen, we easily begin to doubt. After the sermon we’ll sing a hymn which describes the feeling of powerlessness when we cry without hope. Svein Møller, who wrote the melody, was the organist at our church sometimes. I remember how strongly we prayed to God when he got cancer. And I remember how difficult it was when he died and left a wife and four small children behind. Why didn’t God intervene?

Six days ago a lot of people assembled at the cemetery at Gjøvik. It’s located in a beautiful spot where Lake Mjøsa stretches like a blue ribbon from the north to the south in the snow-white winter landscape. My friend and colleague Martin Woller has been there often in the last few weeks. They have had 25 funerals just since Christmas. But it had never been so busy that they have had to use Mondays for funerals. That’s the day off for pastors.

But just because of that, they used Monday this week. All the pastors and the bishop were present when Martin officiated at the casting of the earth. He read the words over his own wife Laila. She had passed away suddenly at the age of 50. In situations like this we sometimes wonder if God can afford this. We don’t understand why God didn’t prevent this. It’s so meaningless when sickness, disaster and death hit. Is it possible to believe in a God who hears prayers when we ourselves are left empty-handed?

An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah, Jesus said according to Matt 12.39. We won’t receive proof of faith. God gives no guarantees of miracles. Christians can experience evil things just as well as others. But does that mean that God doesn’t care? No way, he‘s never indifferent to us. But it might be that his answer is limited to the sign of Jonah. But that sign says it all.

For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so for three days and three nights the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth. Matt 12.40. The sign that God cares, is the word about the death and the resurrection of Jesus. Even if disasters, grief and death cast a dark shadow on our lives, the hope of eternal life shines. The widow at Zarephath and Naaman the Syrian got to know that God is able to help and heal in a supernatural way.

But Jesus said that those were the only ones in that situation who experienced supernatural help. But that doesn’t rock the faithfulness of the Lord. Paul states it like this: Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress…or peril, or sword? Rom.8.35. When the Titanic was wrecked, the orchestra played entertaining music. Right before the ship sank, they changed the repertoire. The last piece they played was the hymn Nearer, My God to Thee . The hymn underlines that also what is evil in our eyes, even a cross, might draw us nearer to God.

There are answers to prayers which are more important than food and health as the widow at Zarephath and Naaman the Syrian experienced. God gives more than miracles. The greatest answer to prayers is to get ones eyes of faith opened to see who Jesus really is. In Nazareth they rejected Jesus. They didn’t understand who he was, and they met him with the law of jante: You must not believe that you are something. May God give us grace to believe who Jesus is; the Messiah, Son of God, our only hope.

Glory to God, The Father, Son and Holy Spirit, one true God, now and forever. Amen.

The Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church ·  924 E. 21st St, Minneapolis, MN 55404-2952 ·  (612)874-0716