“WATCH OUT FOR FLYING MOUNTAINS”

MARK 11:11-14, 20-24

11 And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.

12 On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry.

13 And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.

14 And he said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it.

20 As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots.

21 And Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.”

22 And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God.

23 Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.

24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

Doubt is a serious spiritual disease.  That’s because if you’re not careful doubt can turn into despair which can then lead you straight to defeat.  Too much doubt and you’ll end up with a Charlie Brown complex.  As Charlie Brown once said, “There’s no problem so big that I can’t run away from it

Do you ever doubt yourself?  Sometimes, with everything that’s going on these days it’s hard not to doubt yourself.  Consider the person who’s been looking for a job for a year or more.  It’s hard not to doubt yourself when you receive rejection letter after rejection letter.  Even if you’re lucky enough to still have a job you may be dealing with the doubt that comes from trying to do the work that used to be done by two people.  For those of you who are now in your golden years you know that doubt can also do a number on you as you do your best to cope with all those aches and pains and you discover that you can’t do all the things that you used to be able to do. Even our teenagers with all their energy and enthusiasm aren’t immune to the temptation to doubt themselves.  After all they’re under constant pressure to be involved in all kinds of extra-curricular activities while still getting good grades so they can get into a good college and then get a really good job so they can settle down and experience the good life. 

Sometimes it’s hard not to doubt yourself.  Jesus though doesn’t want you to underestimate yourself.  That’s the message that he gave to the disciples after he cursed that fig tree.  It happened shortly after Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.  Jesus was hungry.  So, he goes over to this fig tree and when it doesn’t have any figs for him to eat he gets angry.  He curses the fig tree and says, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.”  The next day when Jesus and the disciples go back to the Temple lo and behold the fig tree has withered down to the roots and is dead.  Peter is amazed and says, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.”

Now some people don’t like this story because in it Jesus curses the fig tree and causes it to wither and die. If you’re one of those people it’s important to remember two things.  First of all, it’s important to remember that it wasn’t a baby or a child playing in the street.   It was a fig tree and if we can kill a tree by cutting it down so we can decorate it for Christmas then we should be too hard on Jesus for cursing a fig tree because he was hungry.

Not only that but it’s important to remember that part of the reason why Jesus cursed the fig tree was so he could teach the disciples and us an important lesson. That’s why Jesus responded the way he did.  When Peter notices that the fig tree has withered right down to the roots Jesus says, “Have faith in God.”  Jesus then says something really interesting. He says something that is important to remember the next time doubt begins to get the best of you.  Jesus says, “Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.” 

In other words when you have a problem don’t let that mountain get the best of you.  Instead of doing that let that mountain bring out the best in you!  Have faith in God and have faith in the abilities that God has given you.  So, don’t underestimate yourself.  

You can do the same thing three men did while they were out hiking.  After a while they came to a raging river.  They needed to get to the other side of the river but had no idea how to do it.  So the first man bowed his head and said, “God, please give me the strength I need to cross this river.”  Poof!  God gave him strong arms and legs and the man was able to swim across the river.  It took him a couple of hours but he made it.  After seeing that the second man bowed his head and said, “God, please give me the strength AND the ability to cross this river.”  Poof! God gave him a rowboat and the man paddled his way across the river.  It took him an hour but he made it.  After seeing that the third man bowed his head and said, “God, please give me the strength AND the ability AND the intelligence that I need to cross this river.”  Poof! God turned him into a woman who looked at the map and then walked across the bridge.

Don’t underestimate yourself.  Jesus said that you can move mountains.  The key is to have faith in God but to also have faith in the abilities that God has given you.  Those abilities may be greater than you think.  Consider if you will what happened to Derek Amato.  His amazing story began six years ago when he suffered a serious head injury after diving into a swimming pool.  He lost 35% of his hearing and he also experienced some short term memory loss but it’s what he gained that has scientists baffled.  You see, after he got out of the hospital Derek went to visit a friend and while he was there he found himself inexplicably drawn to his friend’s piano.  Even though Derek had never taken a piano lesson in his life he sat down and started playing like a concert pianist.  In an interview with USA Today he said, “It was one of those moments when you just know.  It was just drawing me to it…My fingers began to scale the piano keys as if I had played all of my life. I can't explain the feeling of awe that overcame my entire being, although I can tell you the expression on my friend's face was enough to put us both in tears."   Derek can’t read music but he now sees black and white squares moving from left to right in him mind.  According to Dr. Andrew Reeves of the Mayo Clinic, Derek Amato is one of the few people in the world who has what scientists refer to as Acquired Savant Syndrome.  As Derek puts it, “I'm convinced it's all for a reason and I think it's my job to do it right…"

Isn’t that an amazing story?  I don’t know about you but it tells me two things. The first thing it tells me is that there is a mysterious power out there in the universe that is greater than you and me.  The second thing it tells me is that this Superior Being or Creator if you will has given us the ability to do amazing things, the ability to move mountains.  So, don’t let that mountain get the best of you.  Let that mountain bring out the best in you.

Now some of you may be thinking that story about the piano player is really cool but if it’s just a great big hoax? If that’s what you’re thinking let me share with you another story that might be a little harder to dismiss as a hoax.  Back in January of 1971 I had an amazing dream.  I was a teenager in high school and in the dream I saw a football stadium full of people.  The two teams were on the field and the clock showed just five seconds to go in the game.  In my dream one of the teams then kicked a field goal to win the game and everyone went crazy. Now I didn’t follow football back then but I do remember this.  A few days later I was walking through our living room and the television was tuned in to the Super Bowl.  Dallas was playing the old Baltimore Colts and everything I saw on the television screen was exactly the way I saw it in my dream.   The fans, the clock and the winning field goal that Baltimore kicked with five seconds left in the game.

“Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.” 

What Jesus said that day makes me think of a story about George Mallory and his attempt to be the first person to make it to the top of Mount Everest.  His first expedition ended in failure as did his second expedition.  On his third attempt to make it to the top of Mount Everest Mallory and one of his fellow climbers were killed in an avalanche.  When the survivors of the expedition got back to England they held a banquet to honor the brave men who perished on the mountain. A really poignant moment that evening came when one of the survivors stood up to speak.  He looked at the pictures of his fallen comrades and then he turned and looked a giant picture of Mount Everest.  The picture was right behind the banquet table like a silent, unconquerable giant.  Then with tears in his eyes he said, “I speak to you Mount Everest, in the name of all brave men living and those yet unborn.  Mount Everest, you defeated us once. You defeated us twice; you defeated us three times.  But Mount Everest, someday we shall defeat you, because you can’t get any bigger and we can.”

Don’t let your mountains get the best of you.  Let them bring out the best in you.  Amen.

Rev. Dr. Richard A. Hughes

October 6, 2013