God Cares Even About Our Small Problems

Mark 1:29-39 February 4, 2024 Series B Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God, our Father, and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who loves you with his very life. Amen. 

“If it’s not too much trouble.” You ever said that before? I know I have. It’s one of those phrases the we use up here in the north country quite a bit. There is this, I don’t know, culture I guess of trying to be as self-sufficient as possible. I can take care of myself, and this almost, inner hostility, like, you get mad at yourself, if you want to, or even need to ask for help. And so when we do finally bring up the courage to ask for help we say, “If it’s not too much trouble.” As if even our need for help is so less important than the comfort of others. 

Basically, we don’t want to be a burden on anyone. Like, if there is a big project than we are comfortable, sometimes, admitting we need help, but for the little things, we don’t want to ask for help, we don’t want to admit that we need help.

And this extends not just in our social lives, but all the way into how we perceive our interactions with God. We have this, like, dichotomy, this Jekyll and Hyde moment, where we separate the things that we think God needs to know about and the things that God doesn’t need to know about. That somehow, we don’t need God in all aspects of our lives. We have these sections of our lives that sometimes overlap, but often they don’t. More than that we have this inner conflict where at the same time, we are very willing to help other people, and we are only sometimes, rarely willing to ask others for help, but even less willing than that to talk about the problems we face in our daily lives, and talk about those problems with God in prayer.

So we have this story today from the Gospel of Mark, like, very early in the Gospel of Mark, Chapter 1. In this account we see something frightening and powerful. It’s Jesus. So if you were with us last week, in our Gospel lesson, Jesus was at church, preaching and teaching, like a Rabbi would, and suddenly in the midst of the service, a demon possessed guy stood up and shouted at Jesus. Jesus then cast the evil spirit out of the dude and the text tells us that Jesus frame spread all over the place. 

That night, Jesus went back to Simon, or Peter as he is more often called, went back to his house and Simon’s mother in law was sick. Jesus healed her. And somehow between being at church, healing the mother in law, the grapevine of Galilee was impeccable and bunches of people show up at Simon’s door step, looking for Jesus.

And not like, because they are doing well. Just imagine being Simon, or his wife, for a moment. This Jesus guy, again we are in Chapter 1, this Jesus guy is in your house, you are still getting to know him, and suddenly a bunch of super sick people, contagious people, not to mention crippled, injured people, and even more than that, people who are literally possessed, demons, real actual demons, are there on YOUR DOORSTEP. Kind of frightening. 

But not as much as Jesus just taking care of it. Jesus, the great physician gets to work. The creator is at work restoring creation. Jesus speaks to people, he reaches out and touches the sick contagious people, even the ones with gross, icky wounds, and he heals them. People who were hurt in farming accidents are restored. Health is restored. And those demons? They don’t stand a chance. They try to fight, but they cannot stand up to God himself and they are completely subject to his powerful word of authority. Just imaging being a fly on the wall on that front porch that night, seeing what Jesus would do, seeing how

God really, truly cares about his people, his creation, and he works to make it right.

But there is a problem when we read this text. It’s not with Jesus or Simon, it’s with us. When we read this text, we like to focus on the big complaints, the things that we feel would be worth bringing to Jesus’ attention. Our minds jump at the thought of the spooky parts of demon possession. We think about maybe walking for the first or hearing for again, that kind of thing. But so many of the people who came to Jesus that day, didn’t come with the biggest problems.

No. They came with the little things. Like St. Peter, Simon, whose mother in law had a fever. Just a fever. And Jesus went and healed her too. God isn’t God of just the big, the flashy problems. God is God over all problems, even the little fevers.

But we don’t often bring our small problems to God. We would just rather handle them on our own. I have even heard it said, out loud, “I don’t want to bother God with this.” While that thought comes from a good place, it really isnt a good thought. Because that sentiment makes God to be just like you. You don’t want to be bothered by it. You don’t want someone else to come and ask for help with the little things. So you think that’s how God operates. So you make God to be just like you.

But God isn’t like us. God is something so much more. God has such concern even over the little things. When Jesus died on the cross, he die for just the big sins, he died for all the little ones too. The ones that we say, “don’t worry about it” instead of, “I forgive you.” Jesus died for all of our pettiness. 

Even more than that, when Jesus rose from the dead opening to us heaven’s gates, paradise is a place where the little things won’t be anymore. No more fevers, or colds, or sniffles. God himself has taken care of everything. Every sad tear wiped away from your eyes as God himself tends to you like the Good Shepherd he is, as he cares for you like our Good and True Heavenly Father. 

In first Thessalonians, God tells us to pray without ceasing. God wants us to bring to him all of our problems. In Matthew 11, Jesus himself tells us, “Come to me all you who are weary or heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Jesus wants you to bring to him your problems. God invites you to commend to him all of your cares, your burdens, even the small ones, even the fevers.

The love that God has for us is so incomprehensibly big. God has given to you everything, even his life. How much more then, does God want to care about the little things. You are never too much of a burden for God. Your troubles are never too unimportant for God. God knows everything you need, God knows even the number of the hairs on your head. So cast your burdens on the Lord, both big and small. Trust that God is always here for you bringing forgiveness and life, and comfort.