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Wednesday Jan 26, 2022
Wednesday Jan 26, 2022
JOHN MARK'S GOSPEL
Today we begin to explore the Gospel of Mark.
Let me introduce you to Mark the author and tell you what we know of him. His name is John Mark. John is his Greek name, and Mark is his Jewish name. His mother (whose name is Mary) owned a house in Jerusalem, where the early church met to pray while Peter was imprisoned. John Mark himself travelled with Barnabas and Saul on their missionary journeys, but he turned back to return home to Jerusalem. Paul and Barnabas were readying for a second journey, but they split over whether or not to include John Mark with them. Paul strongly felt they should not bring John Mark with them, since he had left before, but Barnabas strongly disagreed. In the end, Barnabas and Mark sailed together to Cyprus, while Paul went on his own with Silas.
Later, Mark travelled with Peter and helped him while Peter was imprisoned in Rome. Mark did much of his writing there in Rome, and it has many internal evidences that his book is, in effect, ‘The Gospel of Peter.” We see Peter’s fingerprint in many of the details. You know how we see Peter being impetuous and speaking quickly? All those details are part of Peter’s personality and communication style.
For example: Mark tells the whole story of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, packed into a rapid and brief account. What takes the other gospel writers 28, 22 or 21 chapters, Mark says in only 16.You will notice the word “Immediately” far more than other gospels. He includes more of Peter’s self-deprecating confessions. So for the most part we will be reading this as the stories told the way Peter would have said it.
The Gospel begins with John the Baptist fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah the prophet. Jesus is baptized by him, then immediately sent into the wilderness, calls Peter and his brother Andrew, who immediately leave their nets and follow, then without delay calls James and John, and they follow, too, heals a man with an unclean spirit on the Sabbath, and the news spreads quickly throughout the region, then right away heals Peter’s mother-in-law of her fever. That evening after sunset the whole town gathers at their door to be healed. Very early the next morning, Peter and the others run to search for Jesus, find Him praying, He tells them they must go to other villages, so they all travel throughout Galilee. Jesus heals a man with leprosy, that man goes out and tells everyone about what happened, so Jesus could no longer enter a town but had to stay in lonely places, yet the people came to Him from everywhere.
And that’s just chapter one.
Frankly, Mark includes most of the accounts of mistakes that Peter infamously made, especially his impetuous sayings, such as his offer at the Transfiguration to build three booths for Jesus, Elijah and Moses, and including the confession that Peter had no idea what he was saying.
If Peter is going to refer to himself, you can be sure he will be self-deprecating in his descriptions. He was truly a man turned upside down by the teachings of the Master, and he freely compared his own weaknesses with the strength of Jesus. Peter shows us that spiritual maturity is not measured in sinning less, but in confessing sooner. So his testimony is that of being awed by how great a sinner he was and how great a Savior Jesus is.
Friday Jan 28, 2022
Friday Jan 28, 2022
LIGHT WINS!
Today we are reading chapter two. But there is an event in chapter one that is one of my favorite moments of Jesus. Because I was doing an overview, we didn’t cover it yesterday. Here is the moment: Mark writes, And a leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, "If you will, you can make me clean." Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, "I will; be clean." And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. ~Mark 1:40-42
Let’s imagine it: Jesus and his followers are walking along when a man with a full-blown case a leprosy comes walking right up through the group, straight to Jesus. The twelve are getting a bad collective case of the heebie-jeebies, on account of that fella was supposed to be more than half a football field away, if he’s upwind of anybody. (Granted, it’s a bit more difficult to judge that distance, since football wasn’t invented yet, but you get the point).
He’s required to spend the rest of his pitiful life banging on a pot and yelling, “Unclean! Unclean!” All that so nobody else catches his cooties and has to spend the rest of their own pitiful lives doing the same.
Now, understand that there are several laws in the Old Testament that talk about when a holy thing comes in contact with an unclean thing. In every case, the result is that the holy thing is made unclean and is rendered unholy. That’s how it works; cooties win. Everyone knew that when light comes in contact with darkness, darkness wins. Every time.
Anyhoo, this man falls down at Jesus’ feet. Jesus stops and looks him over good. The man’s covered in white powdery patches of skin, with bloody, seeping spots in the middle. Around most of the red spots are black patches of gangrenous dead skin, that looks and smells like four-day-old meat that’s gone way bad. The man’s hands are wrapped up with dirty, lymph-soaked rags. He’s missing half of his left nostril, and it looks like you can see right into his brain. It’s about the most disgusting sight you can imagine. And the smell is overpoweringly awful, like the man’s been dead for days already. They all don’t know whether to run or stare.
But Jesus don’t run. And He don’t stare. He squats down in front of the man and looks at him with unimaginable love.The leper speaks with his gravelly, half-eaten-up voice: “Lord, if you’re willing, You can make me clean.” Tears are streaming down the man’s face, he’s so desperate and full of pent-up hope.
Then, Jesus did the bravest, most compassionate thing imaginable: Jesus reaches out and caresses that man’s eaten-up face in both of His hands. You know, it’s one thing to talk about God’s ways or even to cast out a demon with a word. It’s another thing altogether to touch something, someone so contagious that it would cause Jesus to have to go into isolation for a week, and then be inspected by a priest and declared clean.
With His thumbs, He’s gently brushing away some of the white powder and the tears, like a momma with the face of her little boy, like He’s known the man as a brother for years. No doubt, it’s the first time in years this man has ever been touched by any human. Jesus gets teary-eyed Himself and says real gently, “Of course I’m willing. Be clean.”
He hugs that smelly man there in the Galileean dirt, and then He helps the man unwrap his hands. To their amazement, his hands aren’t missing fingers or even covered in sores! Neither are his feet! Or his face! The man is clean! He’s looking like a little boy unwrapping presents on Christmas morning, giddy and reeling from the pure delight of having his greatest wish come true. Him and Jesus are both laughing and crying, and soon all of the disciples finally get over their shock, and start laughing with them.
After a bit of this, Jesus helps the man stand up and He gives the man some serious instruction: “Now, quickly go straight to the priest, so that he can declare you clean and you both can give glory to God. Then go find your family, man!”
I’ll tell you, that man run off, like a calf released from his stall. Gravity’s having a bit of a time keeping him stuck to the ground, if you want to know the truth. Jesus has got His hands on His sides, laughing at the whole scene in pure delight.
As the man heads around the bend, a silence falls over his followers. Of course, we’d already been silent most of the time already, trying not to inhale. But it become clear that it’s time to debrief a bit with the Master over this event.
Maybe Peter tried to ask a clarifying question that might have come out sort of like, “Jesus, You . . . (the words are coming hard, even for a talker like Pete) . . . You just . . . Touched . . . A leper! Wh . . . H . . . ?”
“Don’t you know? When light comes in contact with darkness, light wins. Every time.”
Friday Jan 28, 2022
Friday Jan 28, 2022
SHUT UP, SATAN!
Mark 3:10-12
…for he had healed many, so that all who had diseases pressed around him to touch him. And whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.” And he strictly ordered them not to make him known.
This moment reminds me of what we read back in chapter one, Mark tells us this: [the demon said], “What do You want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!” But Jesus rebuked the spirit. “Be silent!” He said. “Come out of him!” At this, the unclean spirit threw the man into convulsions and came out with a loud shriek.
Does this strike you as unusual for Jesus to tell someone to be silent? I have lived so long with the image of Jesus saying, “Go and tell” or “Make disciples of all nations,” that I really can’t imagine him saying to someone, “You must not make me known.” In particular, Jesus “strictly ordering” someone not to tell about being changed and healed. But sometimes that’s exactly what Jesus said. Let’s explore who is NOT to go, stand and tell about what God has done.
Children in the temple were singing his praises, and Jesus said it fulfilled the verse, From the lips of children and infants God has ordained praise. They who are too young to know what their song means are encouraged to declare truths about Jesus. But not the demons. What’s the difference between ignorance and evil?
There are times when Jesus gives the order of silence that seems to be strategic for the sake of practical matters of publicity. For example, in chapter one he healed a leper and then tells him not to go around spreading the word. But (of course) how can the man keep quiet about his complete healing and spiritual turnaround? But the result of people spreading the news was that Jesus was no longer able to go into a town, but had to stay out in open areas because he was being so overrun with miracle-seekers.
But I get the sense that in this particular incident in chapter three, and a few others like it, Jesus commands silence as an act of spiritual warfare, not practical publicity. While the unclean spirit is active in the person’s life, Jesus says, “Be silent!” But after the person is delivered of their oppressive spirit, they are free to speak up.
In the book of Acts, Paul is followed by a girl who has a spirit of divination. This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation!” She continued this for many days. Eventually Paul grew so aggravated that he turned and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” And the spirit left her at that very moment.
There was a practical reason for Paul to have put up with this girl’s proclamation for several days before casting it out. Once he freed her of that spirit of divination, she no longer made money for her masters, and they had Paul and the others beaten for it.
But beyond that practical reason, why was her message so disturbing to Paul? It was not because he discerned that she had wrong motives. Elsewhere, Paul says that whether from good motives or bad, he is glad when Christ is preached. No, I think it’s the same matter of spiritual warfare.
Here is my theory: When the enemy praises, it is in mockery.
Satan cannot praise Jesus, for he is opposed to him. Satan is the father of lies, so he is always saying the opposite of truth. So, when a demon declares the truth about Jesus, we might consider it sarcasm. “It’s fine,” you say, clearly meaning the opposite.
“You will not surely die,” was the serpent’s claim. But the devil is the father of lies. So even when he says what is partially true (they didn’t die that day), he is convincing Eve to do what leads to death. Similarly, with the temptation to Jesus to throw himself down from a high point of the temple, the devil quoted Scriptures about the relationship between the Father and the Son. But even as he quoted Scripture he was tempting the Lord, using the words of God to do battle against God.
So when a demon begins to speak, Jesus shuts it down. Every time. He says to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan!” He says to the unclean spirit, “Be silent! Come out!” He says to the tempter in the wilderness, “Be gone, Satan!”
The Bible says, Do not be deceived. God is not to be mocked. Or God cannot be mocked. Or God is not mocked.
Sunday Jan 30, 2022
Sunday Jan 30, 2022
FAITH OF OUR FATHERS
Frederick William Faber (altered by Ken E. Read)
c. 2007 CByond Music, Inc.
The faith of our fathers is still alive
Surviving dungeon fire and sword
O how our hearts beat high with joy
Whenever we hear that glorious word of God
Faith of our fathers holy faith
Faith of the martyrs
We will be true to you till death
Our brothers now are chained in prisons dark
Yet still in heart and conscience they are free
How sweet will be their children's fate
If they like them will choose to live and die for Thee
Faith of our fathers holy faith
Faith of the martyrs
We will be true to you till death
Faith of the martyrs
We will be true to you till death
Faith for our children we will choose to love
Both friend and foe for all our lives
And live for God as only love knows how
By kindly words and by our holy lives
Faith for our children lasting faith
Life sent from heaven
We will be true to you
Faith of our brothers living faith
Hope of our sisters
We will be true to you
Faith of our mothers loving faith
Faith of our fathers
We will be true to you
We will be true to you
We will be true to you to death
Sunday Jan 30, 2022
Sunday Jan 30, 2022
DOES JESUS NOT CARE?
Among the many healings and teachings and other events in this chapter is an account of Jesus and the disciples in the boat (Peter’s fishing boat) on the Sea of Galilee. It is evening, and Jesus is having them all go to the other side of the lake. While they are sailing, Jesus, being tired as he was, goes to sleep on a cushion near the back of the boat. So far, so good.
It’s actually sort of encouraging to me that Jesus was willing to sleep while someone else was doing the work once in a while. Balance and boundaries are needed in everyone’s life. If it’s not your area of skill, let someone else who has the skill and experience take the helm. It can actually be a way of caring for someone when you let them lead in their area of competency.
But suddenly things change, as they can on a large body of water. A very bad storm arises. So bad that these fishermen are to the end of their skills at getting through it. Imagine that they have tried everything they know how to do in trying to keep themselves afloat, but the waves are washing over the sides, filling the boat! It could be just a matter of seconds before the big gust or waves capsizes them completely. And especially in the dark of night, things can turn deadly any moment.
Have you ever been working hard at something while someone else is nearby? Have you ever had unexpected difficulty, and this is costing you a much greater sacrifice than the other person seems to notice? Do you feel bitterness wanting to well up in you? Maybe you want to say, “Don’t you notice that I am working hard here? How about a little help?” Now, multiply that by having this be about the scariest moment of your life, in which you genuinely think you might die.
And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”
That’s our question, isn’t it? Not just of the person who is not helping, but of God himself. “Do you not care? Are you just going to let me die here?”
Life can change that quickly, can’t it? Sudden events change everything. Unexpected crises can turn everything upside down. The disciples wake the Master. Their cry is not simply “we COULD perish” but it is “we ARE PERISHING!” In this moment they project themselves just a few moments into the future and tell Jesus they are dying. Does he not care?
What do you think? Did he not care?
There are two kinds of people who can sleep in a boat in the middle of a storm. One is Jonah, who is running away from God and really wouldn’t mind if the storm kills him and everyone else on board. It is the sleep of depression. The other kind is the one who has a clear conscience before God and who is confident of being in the center of God’s will, so genuinely not afraid of death or other problems. We can’t control the future. Why be afraid of what you can’t control?
So Jesus wakes up. He rebukes the wind and the waves with the kind of rebuke I wouldn’t mind hearing myself: “Peace! Be still!” It’s a command, not a prayer request. Jesus is not asking the Father “if it be thy will.” He commands nature. Just like he said anyone could do. The faith of a mustard seed can move a mountain.
And so Jesus asks the most pertinent question to be asked in this moment: “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?”
Actually, why AM I afraid? Am I afraid of death? Afraid that bad things will happen that I can’t handle? Afraid that God will abandon me in my hour of need? Afraid of being out of control? That’s kind of the center issue for all of us, really: CONTROL. When I am not in control, I am at the whim of another, and that is frightening.
Jesus tells us that God cares for the sparrows of the field, and that none of them fall to the ground without the knowledge of his Father. And then he says that we are worth far more than many sparrows. Oh, we of little faith!
In one sentence each, here is the conversation that is worth all of us breaking down in our lives:
“Do you not care?”
“Why are you afraid?”
We ask God, “Do you not care?” We ask because we think if he cared he wouldn’t let trials come. But God answers, “Why are you afraid?” He asks because we behave as if we were the ones in charge of the universe, rather than him. We don’t trust his providence, his timing, or his care for us.
The answer is YES. Yes. Jesus cares. And he is able to deliver us. So why should we be afraid?
Why, indeed?
Sunday Jan 30, 2022
Sunday Jan 30, 2022
SAVING SHORTY
And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes. And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit
~Mark 5:1-2
IT SEEMS THE SON OF GOD was exceptionally—well—average in most every way. Except for His exceptional grasp of the Scriptures, of course. That, and the game of chess, of all things.
Chess is a game of strategy, in which a player must see several moves ahead, take calculated risks, and follow a flexible long-term strategy. It requires discipline, concentration and patience, and Jesus had those qualities in abundance.
Jesus brought us all the way across Lake Gal’lee one day, in order to witness a rather odd confrontation in the spiritual realm—a game of chess with the devil himself.
Chess is a game for kings, not for fishermen. So I don’t know much about it. But this I learned from watching Jesus, and it is perhaps the most basic lesson in chess: you’ve got to know the difference between a pawn and a king. Always sacrifice the little old pawn to keep the big old king. As I see it, in chess, the taller the better. If it’s short, you can give it up.
We had set sail from Capernaum and Jesus pointed us southeast, toward the uninhabited region of The Bluff of Gadera. The bluff was like a wall of sandstone and shale rising up from the water, pockmarked with caves that were used as tombs. Clearly, we were not there to have a picnic.
As we approach the shore, it seems the only sign of life here is a large herd of pigs on top of the bluff. You’ve heard of pigs. There’s a pig pig here and a pig pig there. Here a pig . . . You know. And not a single one is kosher.
As we anchor just off shore and begin to wade to the narrow rocky beach, we all hear an eery howl from up on that bluff somewhere. Whatever is making that sound sure doesn’t sound human, and definitely doesn’t sound safe. Jesus hears it, too, but He doesn’t even slow down. It’s almost like He is coming in answer to the call.
Then we see the source of the sound. A creepy wild man comes screaming down the hill, running right at the Lord with a crazed look in his eyes. He lives there among the tombs, which of course makes him unclean from the start.
So between the graves and the pigs and this man screaming toward us, we’re all getting a collective case of the Jewish heebie-jeebies here. But the Lord doesn’t even flinch, and walks toward the man, unafraid of getting spiritual cooties.
So the chess board seems to be set and the first moves made. Jesus and twelve followers on one side, and this man and a mess of pigs on the other. It seems the devil has made the first move, leading with this curious feller.
I look him over. Short guy. Definite Pawn material. Very poor personal hygiene, if I can say so.
He howls at the moon and cuts himself with rocks. Eats by raiding the herd of pigs, killing and eating whatever parts of a hog seem edible. The man is practically naked, has iron shackles around his ankles and wrists, with broken chains jangling from them—remnants of the many attempts to control him. Clearly, the man does not keep his curfew, and not even a gang can take him on.
The man’s charging toward Jesus with a human leg bone as a club in his hand. He has incredibly intense eyes that seem to show insanity, or worse.
Then I realize what the man is actually screaming about. He’s pleading for mercy! Somehow he had known, even from a distance, that Jesus had come to deal with the demons in him. He falls before the Master and screams, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to torture us before our appointed time?”
There are things a demon-filled man is not as aware of as an ordinary man might be. Time of day. Physical comfort. Kosher food products. To name a few. And yet, supernatural revelation isn’t something that only belongs to God. Demons know the end game. They know who is going to win, though they might not know quite when or how it will happen.
When the man gets close to Jesus, he drops the shin bone and drops to his knees. Pleads for mercy, calling the Lord, “Jesus of Nazareth!” The demons know Him as “Jesus of Nazareth.” And they tremble.
And so the game unfolds, one move at a time. Which strikes me as odd, because we have seen Jesus heal hundreds of people and cast out demons before. Quick and easy: Tell them to be gone, and off they go to—wherever demons run to. It don’t matter. He sets people free. End of game. Checkmate Jesus.
But this man is a special case—as they all are, it turns out.
I’m confused by this game He’s playing. Jesus takes an hour or more identifying each of those demons by name, and somehow allowing them to negotiate terms for this man’s release.
Boomer Jim and me are about to have a demonic attack of our own if Jesus don’t send down some fire and brimstone on this bad guy pretty quick. What is going on here? Is Jesus even having mercy on demons now?
If this is a chess match, it seems like Jesus has already given up a lot of ground in order to save this one unkempt pawn here. I’m thinking the devil’s smiling just a might. This match is going his way.
At last, the legion of demons looks around for some place local where they can all hide out for a while. They spy the herd of pigs on the ridge. "send us into the pigs,” they beg.
Jesus agrees, and then He gives a one-word command: "Go!” They-all leave the man—they had no choice but to obey—and they enter the pigs. The man is free for the first time in whenever. We can see it in his eyes, hear it in his voice. There is peace and sanity at last. Jesus smiles.
He’d done saved Shorty.
Sunday Jan 30, 2022
Sunday Jan 30, 2022
PIGS, PAWNS AND KINGS
Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding. And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them. And forthwith Jesus gave them leave.
~Mark 5:11-12
EVER WONDER WHAT HAPPENS when a demon enters a pig? Well, I’ll tell you: it ain’t pretty. Hogs ain’t pretty to begin with. But hogs under the influence of demons are downright nasty. The demons follow Satan’s first rule: destroy anything you inhabit. And so, with the innate grace and beauty of two thousand demon-possessed hogs, them pigs squeal and slide down the hill into the lake, and drown.
Jesus glances over at the devil. The devil’s face twitches. He lost a model citizen in this crazy dude, and now his side of the board has been cleared in one move.
Then a slow smile breaks over the face of the devil. He was thinking a move ahead, and this is working according to plan. He just lost him a pawn, but he’s zeroing down on capturing the King Himself.
It turns out, it is written in the fine print that demons only inhabit the pigs for the duration of the pigs’ lives. And he has destroyed them all at once. The devil’s chuckling to himself. Now he’s got two thousand of his crackerjack demons out roaming the countryside again. He leans back, locks his hands behind his pointy head, and says, “check.”
Mister Pawn’s finally in his right mind. We find him some clothes, and he sits down, talking in his right mind, so soberminded he could be a judge.
But that legion of demons are set free to run around the area at will. Some of them whisper in the ears of the owners of the pigs. And now it’s the owners’ turn to start running down the hillside—straight towards—us, as it were!
These men had spent their lifetimes building up this huge herd, which was worth a fortune. And these pigs were their entire inventory. And you know pigs ain’t kosher, right? So, why would any God-fearing person want to raise hogs in the first place? Hint: These fellers are not God-fearing people. And everything they valued in life was suddenly and unrecoverably lost, and they are a might upset about it.
Now they are the ones begging Jesus. Begging Him to get out of their region. Or threatening Him to get out or else! That’s how tense the air was in that moment.
Old Satan leans forward and smiles at the board. His demons’ power base has only increased through this little diversion. The devil still has all his pieces on the board, save one, and now he has his opponent backed into a corner.
Looks like Jesus has gambled it all on this one man, and now He has lost everything else. I can’t believe it! What’s more, Jesus agrees to the wishes of the enemy. Without a word, He turns to leave. Is this a retreat in spiritual battle? Is He knocking over His king and conceding a loss?
His reputation sure took a beating. Hard to live down the label of a pig killer and a fortune-destroyer. So Jesus has gone and traded 2000 pigs, plus His own reputation, all for just one soul.
As Jesus begins His withdrawal, Mister Pawn comes running after us, begging again. This time, he begs to come along! After all, those demons had been plaguing him for years, and now that they are still active in this region, he is in danger. This boy is still spanking new to the faith, and he needs more training, or protection, or something, at least.
But Jesus tells the man, "Go back home and tell your friends and family about what God did for you.” And Jesus gets into the boat and leaves. The devil chuckles. “It’s been fun playing, Jesus.”
The ol’ devil’s smile fades as Jesus calls back from the boat: "Oh, by the way . . . Checkmate."
The evil one can’t believe it. Over the next few weeks, Satan can only watch, powerless, while the holy plan unfolds: that one man of peace whom Jesus has rescued heads back home and tells his family and friends about it all. The testimony of one changed life brings spiritual revival to the whole county.
In fact, a few months later, when we all return to the area, Jesus does many miracles here because in Decapolis County this one former-demoniac-turned-evangelist has piqued a spiritual interest in everybody, perhaps including the former pig owners!
The devil had been thinking a move ahead. But our Lord is a master at spiritual chess, and He was working a long-term strategy. Jesus knows that one soul’s worth way more than two thousand hogs. One soul’s worth even more than Jesus’ own reputation on this earth. His own reputation ain’t worth no more to Him than a little old pawn.
Satan reluctantly admits defeat in this region for a good long time.
Jesus calls to him from the boat, "Never, ever underestimate the value of one soul. In my game, one soul is king."
Wednesday Feb 02, 2022
Wednesday Feb 02, 2022
A PROPHET WITHOUT HONOR
IN today’s reading we find Jesus back in his hometown of Nazareth, doing miracles and teaching with authority. He was doing the same thing He had been doing all around Galilee, and the crowds grew with every action. But here in the town where he had grown up, it was a very different reception. Here, it says, “they took offense at him.” After all, they knew him as “the carpenter’s son.” They knew his mother, Mary. They knew his brothers and sister. So, in Nazareth, the very things that strengthened faith everywhere else caused doubt. And Jesus marveled, he was amazed, as we noted a few days ago.
How could that be? Jesus summarizes the truth in a sentence. He says, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” A prophet is not without honor. That’s a double negative, I suppose. He’s saying a prophet is honored everywhere, because what he says and does comes from God. So crowds follow. Women provide support. People bow down and worship. Hearts rejoice. And behind closed doors, the conversation is marveling at the great things of God. The prophet is not without honor, to be sure.
But not here. Here, they think they know his limits, because they saw him when he was a toddler, before he knew how to read. They saw him as an awkward young teen, still growing into manhood. They saw his mom and his siblings at the grocery store, and they saw his first attempts at helping Joseph with carpentry projects. This could not be the Messiah. Nathaniel had asked it: “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” But here in Nazareth, the question went unanswered.
This young upstart was getting too big for his britches, they might say. Did he think he was too good for them? He wasn’t doing those things when he was a kid. We’re proud that a local became a celebrity, but around here nobody asks for an autograph, because we want to keep him in his place, let him know that we are all deserving of his celebrity status, I guess. I mean, I was the one who taught him to haltingly memorize the Scriptures he now quotes so freely. Or I helped him when he was sick as a youngster, and now he thinks he can come in here and better me by overriding my authority as the local medical expert. Why not put our names up in lights? Didn’t Jesus himself say that a student is not above his teacher?
Jesus also said that a prophet is not without honor except in his own household. And, sure enough, we find that his mother and brothers come to get him and bring him back home because they conclude that he has lost his mind, living with that crazy schedule and workload of his. We also find his brothers come to see him to give him some career advice to go to Jerusalem and make himself known at the feast there. They were saying that because they didn’t believe in him, and they treated him as a person who wanted to become a famous personality, not as if he were coming to bear the sins of the world on his shoulders.
So, Mark writes here, “And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.” Jesus could not perform miracles, because the people viewed him differently, scrutinizing his actions and being offended by his authority.
It caused me to remember my own insight into this truth, after the fact. I want to share it with you here. I became the music minister of my home church when I was in college and seminary. It was at that church that I met Ellen, and where she and I were married. We were loved and respected there. I was even elected a deacon in the church. But my position there was part-time, and as we were expecting our first child, it was clear that I needed to find a full-time ministry. I did, and we moved to Illinois to settle in as the Minister of Music and Drama at Central Christian Church of Rockford.
Within a few weeks of moving there, I went to my first joint board meeting, and then to a meeting with the elders. I had never been invited to be in an elders’ meeting before, and it was quite an honor to be there.
That’s where it happened. They were all talking about something. I don’t remember what it was. In any case, after the idea had been kicked around the room, I had some idea to add to the conversation. And the most shocking thing happened: the elders all listened to what I said, and the whole direction of the meeting shifted as they said, “That’s a good idea.”
I was in shock. They . . . Listened . . . To me! That had never happened before.
A few months later at my ordination back at my home church, I mentioned my experience to one of the elders there. He simply said, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown among his own people.” And I saw that he was right.
I had been loved. On a certain level, I had been respected. But I was not really “honored” because they knew the boy that I had been. But these new people, strangers to me, treated me as if I had earned a seat at the table, not as if they were doing me a favor to allow me to sit there.
That’s my first story. But we will visit this concept again in a later month, so I won’t belabor it.
Wednesday Feb 02, 2022
Wednesday Feb 02, 2022
THE FORMULA OF JESUS
Mark 7:31-35
Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged him to lay his hand on him. And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue. And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly.
Jesus has returned to the region where the man whose name was Legion had been delivered. And because of that demoniac-turned-evangelist, there are many who come to Jesus, seeking deliverance and truth from him.
This is a unique healing that has several actions to it. The actions are strange, with several steps. And these are not things that he is recorded to have done with anyone else. In fact, it strikes me that all of Jesus’ healings are individualized events. He did not follow a simple formula, but he custom-fit each deliverance or healing to best serve the needs of that person.
I’m impressed with the individual attention Jesus gave to each person. The gospels are filled with healings from Jesus, and the variety of methods is staggering.
Sometimes he speaks a word and someone is healed some distance away. Sometimes he makes mud for blind eyes, or he touches the leper, or he asks a question (“What do you want me to do for you?” “Do you want to get well?” “How long has he been like this?” “What is your name?”). Other times he tells someone to do something (“Stretch out your hand.” “Go wash.” “Pick up your bed and walk.”). Still other times they touch the hem of his robe, they kneel down in worship, they scream and fall down in convulsions, they ask him to come to see someone in need. Jesus touches the hand of a girl who was dead, he calls forth a dead man, addresses a demon, or he rebukes a fever. Or he might heal blindness part of the way, and it takes a second touch to bring full sight.
This is not what we would call good business practice today. I know Henry Ford hadn’t come along yet, but assembly line miracles would not have been Jesus’ choice, I’m sure.
So, thinking like a modern-day entrepreneur, I ask, what is scalable about what Jesus is doing? If he has a formula, then it can be mass produced, multiplied, and truly turn the world upside down. But if he has to take time like he does here with each individual, and it takes direct interaction with each one, then he is limited to a private practice, but not to multiplication.
And what about finances? Why not charge people for your services? How do you provide for yourself and your staff so that you can eat today and be available for the people who need you tomorrow?
I think we will have to talk about what a poor businessman Jesus was some other day. Today, we’re just talking about scalability.
So, Jesus treated each person as an individual. Loving all, showing mercy to all, it took a different form with every healing. Got it. But what about scalability? What was Jesus’ plan to reproduce this moment?
In a name, His plan was the Holy Spirit. Jesus left, so that the Father could send the Holy Spirit, who would do all the things Jesus himself had done, and even greater works. The things they had learned they would be able to teach others, also. Jesus gave himself completely to a system of making disciples for about three years, and then he left. He entrusted the system to the disciples who had learned from him.
And so, we walk in the footsteps of the Master, serving each individual according to their needs. Each time we tell the gospel story, each time we counsel or advise, each time we pray, we start over and speak and do what the Spirit directs us to do.
This is the way.
Thursday Feb 03, 2022
Thursday Feb 03, 2022
WHEN IS IT MY TURN?
Today we are reading chapter 8 of Mark, and most of the wording in this chapter is also found in Matthew. There is one passage in here that causes me to remember a significant life lesson, and I want to share that with you today. In verses 34-38, Mark writes,
And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
May I use this platform to tell you a very personal secret?
First, a bit of background. I am a very self-absorbed person. From the time I was an early adolescent, I imagined myself to be the central character of my own personal movie. I remember consciously wondering in sixth grade if everyone else was really real, the way I was. Were they all just bit players in my movie? What did they do when they weren’t around me? So when I first saw the movie, “The Truman Show,” it was strikingly familiar to me. That’s my background story.
Now fast-forward this narcissist to my adult self with adult responsibilities.
As a minister, a father, a husband and a friend, I am constantly called upon to sacrifice my wants and desires for someone else. The needs of others seldom occurs at a “convenient time” for, well, me (or for them, but that is not what I’m talking about right now—which may be the point. I’m not sure.).
That might look on the surface as if I am being selfless and sacrificial at any given moment, but I had a secret plan. You see, I spent many years with a theme running in the background of my mind. The persistent question behind everything was, “When do I get my turn?” The unspoken answer to the question was, “Wait for now. Do the right thing, and you can be selfish later.” Then I could fish all day without guilt, or sleep late and not cause someone else to have to cover for me, or do whatever I felt like doing with no consequences. But for now, do the right thing and wait for your turn to come.
When I became aware of the question, “When is it my turn?” it made me discontent. Here I was, serving other people, putting off my own wants, doing what I thought Jesus wanted me to do, but I kept waiting. Waiting. Waiting. Asking, “When is it going to be MY turn? How many times do I have to put others before myself?”
That is when the Holy Spirit whispered to me these sweet and comforting words: “Ken, it’s NEVER going to be ‘your turn.’ Then he said, You don’t just postpone selfishness, ya dummy. You DIE to yourself. Dead people don’t get ‘their turn.’”
I have often thought back to this harsh phrase that struck me so hard that day. For as discouraging as it may sound to some, it is actually freeing. When I give to others, it is not a loan. It is a gift. When I do for others, it must be done without expecting anything in return. When I serve the Lord, it is not even to gain an eternal reward of stars in my crown or a bigger mansion in the sky. It is enough to simply hear, “Well done. Enter my joy.”
More recently I have heard the illustration that if this is a movie and I am in it, the truth is I am only a bit part. Jesus is the hero of the movie. I am the storm trooper who gets shot as he walks around the corner, and I appear briefly on the floor as someone steps over me. If you stick around long enough after the move, you’ll see my name in the credits. That’s me: Storm Trooper number 17.
So I read this teaching of Jesus with a deeper understanding. If I would follow him, He calls me to deny myself. Take up my cross. Follow. Lose my life for Christ’s sake and the gospel’s. Give up the whole world in exchange for my soul. Do not be ashamed of Jesus.
And, by the way, when time on earth is over, it’s worth it all.