What You Don’t Know That You Don’t Know

Acts 19:1-10
It was in Ephesus that the Apostle Paul encountered some disciples whose knowledge of the faith was limited. “(Paul) said to them, ‘Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?" They replied, ‘No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit’” (Acts 19:2). According to Acts, Paul quickly shared the gospel with them, and when they were baptized in the name of Jesus “the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied - altogether there were about twelve of them” (v. 6b-7).

It seems significant that the number of these “disciples” was twelve. That of course is the number of the original disciples called by Jesus. It is also the number of the tribes of Israel. The number twelve also shows up in accounts of the feeding of the five thousand as the number of baskets needed to collect the leftovers (Matthew 14:20, and John 6:13). This is a fairly common number associated with the Christian faith, and not to oversimplify the point, but when the author of Acts tells us there were “about twelve” of these disciples it would seem to indicate that they, as a group, are representative of the gospel enterprise as a whole, all those who have been called, set aside, and tended to by God through Jesus Christ. In other words they represent you and me as people of faith. If this group of twelve had more to learn about what they believed (in their case, the existence of the Holy Spirit), then it appears that all of us have more to learn.

What is it that we need to know? Sometimes the only way to answer that question is to pay attention. A friend of mine is fond of saying, “It’s amazing what you know that you didn’t know you knew.” The reverse of that would also be valid: it’s amazing what we don’t know that we don’t know. The best way to deal with this lack of knowledge is to study, and to ponder, and to pray, and to share, and to consider, and to ask, and to compare notes, and to attend church and Sunday school, and to read, and to reflect, and to do all sorts of other things in order to learn what it is we didn’t know we didn’t know. Then we, like the twelve disciples of Acts 19, may live more fully for God because we, like them, will have more of the tools we need to do the work of God’s reign.

Prayer: God, help us to open our hearts and minds to your word, humbly receiving its truth for our lives. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Faith on the Fringe

Matthew 14:22-36

We call the outermost edges of a crowd or gathering the fringe because it is on the outermost edges of a garment that the fringe is found. In our reading from the gospel today the two ideas come together in a profound way. “…(A)nd (they) begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed” (Matthew 14:36).

Those in need of healing have often been the ones pushed to the edges of society. In the time of Jesus’ ministry those who suffered from disease or infirmity were frequently looked down on or overlooked all together. These were the people on the fringes. Jesus’ arrival in a community brought hope for such people. Matthew tells us that by touching even the edge of his cloak men and women found restoration and wholeness. In other words Jesus willingly interacted with those too often pushed aside and brought to them the message of God’s mercy and love.

Now it is our turn. This passage offers a challenge to those who would follow as disciples of Jesus Christ. It calls us to live out the good news and the blessings of God in such a way that those in our communities who have been set aside, neglected, or ignored may find hope and healing. It implores us to turn away from our own mindset so that we may see through the eyes of those in need. It seeks to shake us from our apathy and to lift us from our lethargy so that needs might be met and lives might be restored. It asks us to live our faith on the fringe of society where Jesus, too, spent much of his time.

Prayer: Lord, send us to the places we are needed and give us the strength to serve you there. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

They Had Nothing To Do With It

Matthew 14:13-21

According to Matthew, as Jesus prepared to feed the 5,000 with five loaves and two fishes he made an interesting request. “Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass” (Matthew 14:19). Obviously, if you are getting ready to eat a meal you will be more comfortable if you are seated. But usually when my family does manage to dine together someone is always running to the kitchen to get something; salt, napkins, more bread, whatever. Jesus has the crowds sit down, and while not much is made of it I think this is a clear sign that no one is running back and forth to the kitchen. What I mean is that just in case we thought there was anything else going on (for example, a catering truck just happened to appear at that moment) Matthew makes the point that Jesus and the disciples are the only ones who are standing, the only ones who are active in this scene. Jesus has brought forth the miracle and the disciples are handing out the results. The crowds had nothing to do with it.

For us as the people of God there will be times when we need to be on our feet, sharing God’s grace with others. (There’s a Crop Walk in my town in a few days, a good example of God’s people getting on their feet.) But there will also be times when we need to sit on the grass and let God work, times of pure grace over which we have no control. Call them “Mary-or-Martha” moments, situations when the better choice is to be still and listen to what Jesus has to say, or see what God is going to do.

The crowds had nothing to do with the miracle they witnessed that day. They simply received what Jesus offered them, and Matthew helps to make that clear. Sometimes we can only receive as well and acknowledge that God is at work in our midst.

Prayer: Lord, when it is time, help us to be still, to listen, to watch, to let you work in our lives and in our world. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

On Understanding

Mark 6:47-56

Mark tells the familiar story of Jesus walking on the Sea of Galilee. Unlike Matthew’s account (Matthew 14:22-33), however, Mark indicates that the disciples still did not grasp what was going on, even after Jesus had fed the multitude with just a few loaves and fishes. “And they were utterly astounded, for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened” (Mark 6:51b-52). Indeed, it would seem that two miraculous events so close together (feeding the crowd and walking on the sea) would be enough to convince anyone of Jesus’ divinity. But according to Mark the disciples still didn’t get it. Their hearts were hardened and they lacked faith.

I can’t say that I blame the disciples all that much. I doubt I would have caught on any quicker than they did to who Jesus was. So it helps me to learn of their hardheartedness, of their failure to see what was happening right in front of them. If they, the disciples, Jesus’ own followers, were confused then there is hope for me as well, hope that God will stick it out with me giving me opportunities to learn and to grow in faith, to come to a better understanding of who God is and what Jesus was all about. And here is as good a reason to study scripture as I can think of. When we read the word of God we find that we and others like us are a part of the story. We sit with the crowds on the green grass waiting for bread and fish, wondering where it comes from. We find our place in the boat with the disciples, struggling against the wind one moment and terrified by a “ghost” the next. We follow Jesus into marketplaces, seeking to touch the fringe of his garment so that we might be healed of our infirmities. We accept that our hearts are hard, our minds are clouded, our wits are dull, but that Jesus welcomes us all the same and that God claims us.

The events in scripture are not limited to times gone by, they are our stories as well. And in them we find greater understanding and deeper faith, because in them we finally may see ourselves.

Prayer: Lord, open our hearts and minds to hear and to understand your word for us. And help us to live according to your will, for it is in the name of Jesus Christ that we pray. Amen.