Lent Day 12 – March 15/22

Mark 6:7-29

These were his instructions: “Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. ⁹ Wear sandals but not an extra shirt. ¹⁰ Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. ¹¹ And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”

¹² They went out and preached that people should repent. ¹³ They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.

I don’t know about you, but as I head out the door to work, I like to know that I have everything I made need with me.  Because of this, I carry a backpack each day.  At times it’s quite heavy, but I know that nothing will happen during the day that will find me caught without necessary things.  It’s not quite as compact as the culture of “Everyday Carry” but it’s a similar concept.

As I read today’s passage, the instructions Jesus gives his disciples in this passage are an alarming contrast.  “Wallet, keys, phone…” Many of us have a mantra we recite as they leave home, to ensure we are ready for the day. Jesus sends us out with less, inviting us to trust, to be ready to engage with and respond to the world around us.  What if I lived like that every day?

We head into the world around us with so much more than needful things though, don’t we?  We leave the safety of our homes with our attitude – be it good or bad.  We carry our sadness or our defensiveness with us, and that is often reflected in our interactions.  And then, we with our reactions meet other people who are also carrying around their own issues.

I recently had an interaction with someone that at first, I felt quite accused.  But, as I quickly prayed and took a deep breath, I realized that she was simply on the defensive in anticipation of a reaction she was not going to get.  I did not respond as she expected, and her anticipated conflict never materialized.   Many people allow themselves to become defensive and protective, aware of slights and insults. Jesus invites his followers to shake off and leave behind acrimony, resistance, and unfriendliness. We ask Jesus to help us to keep our eyes on him and his heart rather than letting our hearts be restricted or narrow.

Had our interaction gone the direction she was obviously expecting, would I have been able to simply walk away?  I’d like to think so, but I can’t be sure.  It’s not in our nature to do so.  But Jesus’ wisdom for his disciples in this passage is to do just that. No pouting, pleading, or demanding – simply walking away.  It’s a rather peaceful option, isn’t it?

Our behaviour is often the Gospel we present to people.  So often, Christians are seen as confrontational, angry, and known for what they oppose than what they believe.  These instructions today are good and wise.  If people welcome you, share your life with them, if not, walk away but do so without insulting or harming them.  Good advice for these times.

 

Lent Day 11 – March 14

Mark 5:35 – 6:6

While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher anymore?”

³⁶ Overhearing^[c] what they said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”

(This encounter happens as the woman (from Friday’s reading) is still realizing the full extent of her healing.)  Jairus could have just walked away. He could have turned from Jesus after he heard his daughter was dead. But he didn’t. When Jesus said, “Do not fear; only believe.” By what can only be God’s intervention, Jairus did! He went with Jesus! 

Faith goes with Jesus no matter how unbelievable it may seem at the moment. Just as Abraham hoped against hope that he would be the father of many nations, so Jairus hopes against hope that Jesus has something more for him. That’s the kind of faith He still longs for us to know; the kind of faith that saves.

When Jesus arrives at Jairus’ house, the mourners are there. The girl is dead. Everyone knows it. She’s not mostly dead. She’s all the way dead. Can’t you just feel the tension in the house when Jesus says in verse 39, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but sleeping,”.   His point is totally lost on them. They laugh at him. But he knew what he was saying. Death to Jesus is no unconquerable enemy. 

Watch as the scene changes…He enters the room, takes the child by the hand, and says to her, “Talitha, cumi,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” And she gets up immediately. She is healed. She eats, proving she’s really alive. This is no illusion. 

When his little girl died, did Jairus’ faith die with her? Biblical faith is more than trusting Jesus for physical healing. Biblical faith is trusting Jesus for resurrection healing. Jairus was looking for a quick fix to his crisis. Jesus was directing a lasting hope, a resurrection hope. Jesus will ask more of us than we may want to give, but He’ll give more than we could ever imagine. 

Every circumstance in your life, in God’s hands, becomes a building block of faith in Him. He is faithful, and he will never fail you, no matter what the circumstances may say. “Do not fear; only believe!”  

 

Shine brightly

Lent Day 8 – March 10/22

Mark 4:21-34

He said to them, “Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand? ²² For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. ²³ If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.”

No matter what news you follow, these days there is much to have an opinion about.  And depending on the source of that news, they may well include statements from people who are Christ followers.  I have to admit, their statements are often not helpful to the cause of the Gospel.  Then, when the newsmaker is a leader in The Church, and their actions are problematic, it breaks my heart.  

In reality, it’s not just leaders in the Church that the world is watching, and it’s not just people who are seeking ratings or readers for their news outlet.  People watch to see our reactions all the time.  We are people of the light – that light being Jesus.  When you read these passages about light, you cannot overlook the fact that we are light, and that we have a responsibilityto walk as children of light. This means that goodness, righteousness, and truth ought to characterize the way we live our lives as believers.

Friends, we are to shine the light of God’s kingdom to the world in which we live. We benefit our world only when we live as light. How are we respond to each other, to the situations we are finding ourselves in, do you shine the Light through you in your interactions? Let Jesus love show through your actions and interactions this week, this season. 

Years ago, I was on my way to a concert in Atlanta. I chose to take a cab from my conference site to the concert hall. My cabbie was a gentleman who had come to the U.S. from Africa and was telling me about the challenges of life there. As our conversation continued, he realized that I didn’t treat him like most of the people he drove. Then, looking in the rear-view mirror, with the most wonderful smile on his face he said, “You must know my Jesus”. With tears in my eyes, I assured him that I did, and we carried on our chat.

May I always treat people in a way that tells them I am a friend of Jesus before they have to ask…may you shine that light before people have to ask you. Live out the answer to Jesus’ prayer. More than ever, people need to know God, and to see Him in us.

 

Lent Day 7 – March 9/22

Mark 4:1-20

“Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. ⁴ As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. ⁵ Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. ⁶ But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. ⁷ Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. ⁸ Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.”

I have never been a farmer.  I have lived in farming communities and have been fascinated to watch the process of seeding huge sections of acreage.  I can’t imagine how the farmers did that job before the advent of driveable machines.  The seeding is a precise action these days.  Laying to down in specific patterns, so as not to waste any of the future crop.

For centuries, the crops were seeded by hand.  It was not a neat process.  Jesus knew that his first hearers would have understood this.  The action was a slinging of the seed.  More than was necessary was flung across the ground, trusting that some of it would take roots and provide a harvest.

Jesus wasn’t giving a lecture on attaining better yields of grain.  His parable (an earthly story with a Heavenly meaning) was teaching us how to share the Good News of God’s Kingdom.  So often in the church we try to use neat, and precisely “planted” moments.  

This picture of seed slinging reminds us of a very important part of sharing the Message.  We are not responsible for people’s reaction.  Some will ignore it, some will refuse to hear it, some will receive it but be quickly distracted by new “shiny” things.  But some will hear, respond and become Jesus followers.  We cannot know who will respond, we are called to share the news and let God do the rest of the work.  

Today, go and be a sloppy seed slinger.  Share the Good News of what Jesus means to you and pray that some of the seed will take root and grow into a new harvest for the Kingdom.

 

Lent Day 6 – March 8/22

Mark 3:20-35

Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! ³⁵ Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”

Currently, 8 of the top 100 Billboard songs come from the movie “Encanto”.  It’s the latest release from Disney, and the music was written by Lin Manuel Miranda (the same mind that gave us “Hamilton” and “Moana”, among others).  The center of the movie is a young girl, Mirabel and her place in the family, Madrigal. 

Like every other family, they have troubles.  One of their biggest issues is how they “don’t talk about Bruno”.  Bruno has a gift, and while he speaks truth, it greatly upsets the rest of the family.  His ability to see into the inevitable future has caused so many problems that Bruno has removed himself from the tight knit family, and they have lived as if he doesn’t exist.

We all have that one (maybe more than one?) relative we think lives outside of our understanding of reality.  Today’s passage shows us one more way Jesus understands our lives.  He has been travelling through the Galilee.  It’s still quite early in His ministry, and His fame is growing.  But His family, not quite sure about what is happening to the boy they watched grow up, is sure that something is wrong with Him. 

The house where He was teaching was full, and the crowds tell Him that his family is outside to see him.  Jesus doesn’t stop what He is doing and go.  Instead, He says, “Who are my mother and brothers?”  This surely will have confirmed His family’s theory that He was out of his mind – how could he not know them?  In that moment, Mark tells us that Jesus looked around the gathering and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”

Friends, when we make the decision to become a Jesus follower – we are adopted into the larger family.  Even with all of its bumps and bruises, the family of God is a beautiful thing.  I’m so glad we are in it together!

 

Withered No More

Lent Day 5 – March 7, 2022

Mark 3:1-19

⁵ He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. 

We live in a society that tells people that life has to be perfect.  We are to have things all figured out, to have our live put together in a neat little package.  It couldn’t be further from the truth!

Life is messy.  It comes with bumps and bruises, broken hearts, mistakes, and failures, all mixed in with the joys, wins and triumphs.  It’s hard to present the broken or bruised side of ourselves.  It makes us seem weak and vulnerable, and that is truly uncomfortable.  

Jesus knew that, and in this encounter He’s at the synagogue (we don’t know which one) on the Sabbath.  A man with a shriveled hand as there, and Jesus’ opponents were watching.  Watching to see if Jesus would do something to break this Holy Day.  So, in front of the accusers, Jesus invites the man to come forward.

Now, in those days, physical flaws were seen to be as the result of sin and would typically mean that the afflicted individual was pushed out of the community.  This man would have been brave in even coming into the Synagogue, and now he’s being singled out!  Can’t you just feel how awkward and embarrassed he was feeling?

The tension in the room heightens, as Jesus asks those gathered, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?”  Their stony silence works to make Jesus angry, and he takes this stand – “Stretch out your hand.”  Complying, he does so and is healed.

I love this passage.  Not because of the miracle, but because of what Jesus doesn’t ask the man to do.  The direction was not to stretch out both hands, but to offer to Jesus that which needed healing.  You see, Jesus doesn’t want to take from our lives that which is whole, that which is good, that which is as God designed it.  No, He asks for that which is broken, that which is less than in our lives, that which the world sees and shames us.

Offer Him your “hand” today.  Bring Him the very things Society tells you to be ashamed of, He longs to make you whole and restored.  To take that which you feel ashamed of and make it beautiful.  In doing so, you show the world that God is still in the business of making things whole and perfect again.

 

Keeping the Sabbath

Lent, Day 4 – March 5/22

Mark 2:13-28

²⁵ He answered, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? ²⁶ In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.”

²⁷ Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. ²⁸ So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

Sabbath keeping.  It’s a concept so important that it made it into the top 5 of God’s Big 10.  The fourth commandment is to keep the Sabbath holy.  What that looks like has been debated for millennia.

When I was quite young, we had a family at our church who did nothing – truly nothing – on Sunday other than church.  No T.V., newspapers, games, homework, crafting, etc.  I was never in their home on a Sunday, but I think they either slept or just sat and look at each other.  Now that I’m older, I realize just how little joy there must have been in their home on those Sundays.  I’m pretty sure, that stance brought little enjoyment of the God they were following.

When travelling in Israel, I am always amazed at the strict following of Sabbath rules.  It is most obvious in the Hotel, and inevitably, when we are leaving to head home.  The elevators run on autopilot, so that no one has to work by pushing the buttons!  They stop at every floor, even if there is no one there to get on or off that level.

Jesus reminds us in this passage that “the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”  God gave us the directive for us to take a day of rest each week.  It’s an important part of the life rhythm He designed.  Sleep each night restores the brain and body and Sabbath each week restores our soul.  It’s a time for us to draw near to Him and to renew that connection. 

When we take a Sabbath, it’s not a sign of weakness.  I know some pastors who never take a day off – and for them it’s a badge of honour.  It is no such thing.  We honour God when we follow the design He set before us.  Sabbath lets us live from it, not for it.  A weekly break gives us more energy to do what the coming week holds.  If we live for it, we spend so much time focused on what we cannot do, as opposed to what we get to do.

When’s the last time you took a true Sabbath.  A day where the only appointments on your calendar are you, your family and God?  If you’re not sure, put that on your calendar now.  Stop reading and block out a day.  Enter into true Sabbath and experience the blessing God had in mind when he told us to keep it!

 

Shh!

Lent, Day 3 – March 4/22

^{Mark 1:40 – 2:12}

⁴³ Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: ⁴⁴ “See that you don’t tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” ⁴⁵ Instead, he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.

Social Media has certainly changed how we share news, hasn’t it?  Something exciting or heartbreaking happens, and the first thing we do is pull out our phone.  Don’t get me wrong, I love to stay up to date with friends and loved ones.  Right now, I’m a part of a group on Facebook that keeps us up to date in regards to a serious health situation.  It’s a way to stay current without having to bombard folks with phone calls and questions.

Imagine you are the leper that Jesus healed in our focused passage today.  You’ve been diagnosed with a disease that keeps you from your family and community.  Your body develops sores and your sense of touch disappears as your limbs slowly disintegrate.   Then this man, who heals with just a word or a simple touch, gives you your very own miracle.

“Don’t tell anyone this.  Go straight to the priest and offer a sacrifice as testimony”.  In today’s terms – Keep this to yourself, instead, go and praise God in worship.  Let that be how you share your joy.

I’m sure if this healed man were alive today, he would have it up on Instagram and Facebook before he’d taken another step.  It’s just how we do that these days.  What if we took Jesus’ direction to heart?  What if, when something significant happens to us, our first action become praise?  If it’s something that burdens or breaks us, could we offer broken hallelujahs first?  How would that change our understanding of just what God is doing with and through us?

Then, once you and God have had your time of praise and/or prayer together, bring in your support system.  Every system needs its own base or foundation.  Don’t let yourself build the sidewalls of support of external congratulations until that Rock of Faith is securely in place.  Worship – in your favourite chair, in the car, on your face on the carpet, by a lake… – is never the wrong way to begin our thanks (or pleases) to God.

 

Alone

^{Lent, Day 2 – March 3/22}

^{Mark 1:21-39}

^35 “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.”

There is so much we could talk about today in this passage.  Jesus confronts a demon in church (wouldn’t that be quite the morning!)  He left the synagogue and “as soon as” they had, they went to Peter’s mother-in-law’s house.  Today’s first picture is taken from the steps of the synagogue, and you can see how close his house was.

The scenes, however, end with Jesus taking some needed quiet time to pray.  Mark tells us that He went to “a solitary place” to pray.  To spend some focused and much needed time with His Father.  It’s one of my very favourite places in the Galilee.  While much of the shore has been built up with churches commemorating Biblical events, the shore behind Peter’s house is much like it was 2000 years ago. 

It’s an awesome moment to be able to sit here.  Usually, the day has been busy and we’ll still have more to do, but for 30+ minutes we can all spread out and just be.  Quiet and prayer are restorative.  For many of us (raised hand here…) quiet time is uncomfortable.  Silence seems eternal and awkward.  But there is a deep life lesson in this one simple verse.

Jesus, having completed miracles, was spent.  He had given of his powers, and needed to recharge.  So, He goes off by himself and communes with His Father.  He withdraws from the crowd in the house, and he prays.  This, friends, is the best way to recharge your batteries when ministry and life have drained us.  Quiet and prayer.  Time to not just offer our shopping list of concerns, but to be in holy conversation with the Creator of the Universe.  To be still enough to hear and feel His answers.

Carve out some time today (if not today, but this week) to be quiet.  To simply be in the presence of God Himself and to chat.  Your words don’t have to be eloquent, they just need to be real and honest.  Recharge your batteries – it’s never a bad use of your time!

 

A 40 Day Walk Through Mark’s Gospel

Ash Wednesday – March 2/22

Mark 1:1-20

At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. ¹⁰ Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. ¹¹ And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

This Lenten season we are going to journey through the book of Mark.  It will take us all 47 days, (that’s 40 days plus the Sundays), beginning today and our final day will be Easter Sunday.

As we begin, we meet John, Jesus’ cousin.  He is preparing his listeners for the coming of the Messiah.  Part of what he is doing is baptizing them and calling for their repentance from their sins.  On this particular day, he is continuing his preaching, when his cousin arrives at the river.

Mark tells us that as Jesus was coming out of the water, the heavens opened and as The Spirit descended a voice was heard.  That voice, being God the Father, pronounced that Jesus was His Son, and that He loved him.

When children are learning to talk, we take time to introduce them to new things.  To be certain that the learn the right names for those new things, so that they know how to recognize them and call them by the right word.  A child who has never seen a bird, isn’t able to just call that winged creature a bird- they have to be taught. 

The people of Israel had never seen a Messiah.  They had ideas about what he would look like, and certainly were sure about what he would do.  But this man who was related to John had come from a backwater community – Nazareth.  Surely, there was nothing special about him!

Imagine their surprise when the very voice of God spoke and introduced His Son to the world.  Other gospels used the phrase, “This is my Son”.  He made Jesus’ identity very clear to us.  

Just as a point of theology, this incident is the first place where the Trinity is referenced.  “Just as Jesus [ the Son] was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit [the Holy Spirit] descending on him like a dove. ¹¹ And a voice came from heaven [ the Father]: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

That same Son is the One we will follow to Jerusalem and the Cross over these next 7 weeks.  If you’ve never met Him, this is a very good place to start.  God himself tells us who we are meeting.  His Son, the one who was promised by the Old Testament prophets.  The One who was with God at Creation, and the One who makes it possible for us to have eternal life.  He’s a personal, forever friend of mine, and wants to be a forever friend with you, too.  This Lent let’s get to know Him better, together.