All Stirred Up

Luke 11:53-12:12
Imagine the stress that Jesus was forced to live under. Luke offers us a glimpse in our reading from today. “When (Jesus) went outside, the scribes and the Pharisees began to be very hostile toward him and to cross-examine him about many things, lying in wait for him, to catch him in something he might say. Meanwhile, when the crowd gathered by the thousands, so that they trampled on one another, he began to speak first to his disciples, ‘Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, that is, their hypocrisy’” (Luke 11:53-12:1).

Jesus’ enemies were trying to trap him, the crowds were climbing over one another to reach him, and the disciples needed almost constant instruction. The gospel message is one of good news, certainly, but it is nonetheless full of agitation and upheaval. But what would you expect? In Jesus Christ God was not only reconciling the world to God’s self, but was transforming the world, reshaping it into what God had intended. The minute things begin to change, the minute old institutions and old ideas are set aside, turmoil erupts. We see it in our lives and throughout our culture. Even positive change is met with resistance. As Newton’s Third Law of Motion tells us, “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” According to Luke, Jesus encountered this phenomenon even as he went about doing the will of God.

We may turn to Jesus Christ as a source of peace, but until we are ready to let go of everything in our lives that we value more highly than our relationship with God we, too, will experience turmoil and confusion. Nor may we simply point to others and blame them. This is as true for you and me as anyone. Even as Jesus seeks to change us, the sinfulness inherent in our nature pushes back. It is only by grace that God is able to move us to the place where we need to be. Thanks be to God for the willingness to stand firm in the midst of turmoil and to lead us—kicking and screaming if need be—toward the coming reign of God.

Prayer: Lord, help us to let go of everything that stands between us and your will for our lives, and help us to willingly accept what you are doing in our midst. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

What’s the Connection?

Matthew 19:23-30

There is an exchange between Jesus and his disciples in our reading from Matthew today that seems somehow out of sync. “Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Truly I tell you, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.’ When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astounded and said, ‘Then who can be saved?’” (Matthew 19:23-25). For some reason the disciples hear Jesus’ warning about the rich entering heaven and apply it to all people. Why would the disciples make such a connection? Why would they take Jesus’ words about the rich to apply to rich and poor, young and old, male and female alike?

Perhaps the disciples assume that Jesus is talking about wealthy people who are righteous, who actually strive for the kingdom of God. With resources to share and with opportunities to give such people could do much that was good. But if even they could not enter the kingdom, what hope would there be for the poor who have little to offer? In a song called “I’m Not Down” The Clash, a band from the 70’s and 80’s, ask a somewhat similar question:

If it's true that a rich man leads a sad life

That's what they say, from day to day

Then what do the poor do with their lives?

On Judgment Day, with nothing to say?

But here is the bottom line. Jesus has offered a warning about the dangers of wealth and the challenges of serving God and mammon. The truth is that even those who have little but who aspire to wealth can be as hindered in their lives of faith as those who possess riches and do not use them to God’s glory. Put another way, we all have those things we value, that we hold as precious. If we are not careful these items may come between us and God’s will for our lives. The disciples’ amazement is not without cause and perhaps helps us to remain focused on what is really important in our lives.

Prayer: Lord, help us to serve you with all we have and to put aside our regard for wealth and possessions. For it is in Jesus’ name that we pray. Amen.

What Were They Thinking?

Matthew 16:1-12

At this point in the gospel of Matthew the disciples have witnessed Jesus miraculously feed a multitude of people not once, but twice. And in each case there were leftovers. And yet, “When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread” (Matthew 16:5). What were they thinking? What made them forget to bring food with them on a journey? We might say that the disciples’ eyes were so filled with heavenly visions that they simply had no time for the mundane things of life. We might say that these followers of Jesus were completely out of their element and easily distracted which made it natural to forget bread. Or we could say that the poor dears just weren’t very smart. Frankly I have no idea. It may be none of these, or maybe all of them together. The point is that when they should have had bread on their minds they did not, and when Jesus tried to use the incident as a teaching moment they still didn’t get it.

Jesus’ point seems to have been that bread is only so important, but that a right relationship with God is essential. No bread? Too bad, yet life goes on. Being led astray by the Pharisees? Now you have BIG trouble. Pay attention, Jesus is saying, and don’t lose sight of the vital issues or of the really important aspects of life and faith. But mostly Jesus is saying, stick with me. I’ve fed multitudes with food left over, I’m capable of feeding you, too.

Prayer: Lord help us to focus on the proper issues of our lives and to listen for your guidance, for it is in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Clearing Things Up

Mark 8:22-33

The interrelatedness of our reading from Mark is fascinating to me. First we read of Jesus healing a blind man (Mark 8:22-26). Oddly, the first attempt at healing is only partially successful. The man could see, but not fully. People looked like “trees walking” (v. 24). But when Jesus “put his hands on his eyes again…[the man’s] sight was restored and he saw everything clearly” (v. 25).

Next Mark relates a conversation about Jesus’ identity. Though the crowds around him have a number of guesses as to who Jesus is, Peter is able to correctly answer, “You are the Messiah” (v. 29). But as it turns out Peter’s “vision” is not quite as clear as it seems. When Jesus begins to talk about what lies ahead of him Peter objects (v. 32b). Peter can only grasp Jesus’ identity about as clearly as a man who sees “trees walking.” He and the other followers still have much to learn about discipleship, about God’s will, about the nature of their own faith and where it will take them. Their spiritual eyes are not fully open. Not until the events of Holy Week will Peter and the others finally begin to “see,” to understand what Jesus was talking about.

We may marvel at the lack of comprehension that the disciples showed, but we have the advantage of living well after the resurrection. We know how the story goes. And still we do not fully acknowledge Jesus’ identity. If we did we would make better decisions, interact with one another more lovingly, support the community of faith more generously, live more righteously. As it is, our “vision,” like that of Peter, is still blurred by the expectations of the world, by our own sinfulness, by our unwillingness to let go of our possessions and rely on God.

The good news is that just as in the case of the blind man Jesus is still at work helping us to see. Our vision is not yet crystal clear, but by God’s grace it is getting better and better. And like Paul’s reflection in 1 Corinthians 13, the mirror may be dim now, but in God’s time we will finally see face to face.

Prayer: Lord, open our eyes that we may see, and clear from our vision all that blinds us to your will and your way. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Something That May Be Of Interest Only To Me

Mark 6:30-46

Look at this verse from the gospel reading for today. “Taking the five loaves and the two fish, [Jesus] looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and he divided the two fish among them all” (Mark 6:41). After Jesus blessed and broke the bread he had the disciples pass the food out among the crowd. Luke tells the same story in very similar language (Luke 9:16). But in the book of Acts—also written by the author of Luke—we find that serving food has taken on a different perspective. After complaints arise about certain widows not getting as much food as others, the twelve—also known as the apostles—say, “It is not right that we should neglect the word of God in order to wait on tables (or keep accounts)” (Acts 6:2b).

Now we should note that in the gospels the term disciple does not always refer specifically to one the twelve. But notice how some of the individuals who distributed food for Jesus were later so focused on spiritual matters that they were not able to minister in that way for the early church. As the title of this posting implies, I may be the only person to find this at all interesting. But here’s what I think this development in the role of discipleship has to say to us today. What you and I are called to do one day may not be the thing we are needed to do on another day.

I understand that Walt Disney was very concerned that the special effects in his movies not become predictable or stale. “Change the trick,” he would say, “before folks catch on.” For very different reasons what I have to offer the church has changed over the years. I have grown and matured and could not remain president of the youth group forever. Instead I have worked or volunteered as a youth leader, church secretary, substitute sexton, Sunday School teacher, committee member, co-pastor, pastor, interim pastor… you get the idea. At times I have been needed to pass out the food, but at other times I have had to let someone else wait tables while I took on other responsibilities. For all of us, a willingness to do what is needed, to use our talents to their best effect, is essential to a meaningful journey of faith.

Prayer: Lord, help us to serve you as we are needed. Do not allow our resistance to change hamper our faithfulness, but open our eyes to the new things you are doing and the ways we can participate. Amen.

The Lord of Leftovers

Luke 24:36-53

"While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, 'Have you anything here to eat?' They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate in their presence" (Luke 24:41). It is tempting to make some significant assumptions based on these few verses. After all, this is an account of the risen Christ appearing to the disciples. And in the face of their wonder and disbelief Jesus goes so far as to ask for food. Can a resurrected person actually eat? Would he or she need to?

We can leave those very interesting questions for another time. What strikes me today is the relative mundaneness of the event - as mundane as a risen Savior can be. Any number of things might have happened, and a number of important things did, but the resurrected Jesus is Lord of more than just the big stuff, the healing and the storm-calming. Jesus is also the Lord of leftovers, of broiled fish eaten among friends. Whatever that piece of fish may have meant at that moment it was still fish. Someone had caught it, someone had cleaned it, someone had cooked it, all in ordinary, everyday ways. And now Jesus was eating it, and the sacredness of the everyday took on a new clarity. Or maybe we can look at it this way, that the same man who fed a multitude with just a few fish ("big stuff") is not above eating a little fish himself ("small stuff").

Whatever may be going on in your life, whatever issues you may face, they are neither too big nor too small for Jesus' attention. Even the leftovers.

Prayer: Lord of all creation, both great and small, both cosmic and earthbound, your love is offered in our most profound moments of wonder and awe and in our seasons of forgetfulness, of disregard, of self-importance. Help us to recognize your presence. Help us to see the sacred potential in every person and event and that we are constantly on holy ground. In the name of the risen Savior. Amen.

When Is a Sword Not a Sword?

Luke 22:31-38

(I’d like to wish my daughter, Lindsay James Freeman, a happy and blessed 21st birthday. May she always recognize the love and grace of God’s presence in her life.)

I’ll admit to a great deal of consternation about a section of the Luke passage for today. “(Jesus) said to them, ‘But now, the one who has a purse must take it, and likewise a bag. And the one who has no sword must sell his cloak and buy one’” (Luke 22:36). The comments about the purse and the bag are one thing, but for Jesus to talk about the disciples arming themselves has long troubled me. I am indebted, therefore, to the footnotes of the Oxford Annotated Study Bible (NRSV). The suggestion there—and a good one, I think—is that Jesus was telling his followers to use their resources for living in a time filled with hostility. Jesus is not speaking of an offensive weapon, but of a commitment to remain faithful to Jesus’ teachings. That the disciples misunderstood the comments should not surprise us, they have been doing that from the very beginning.

The question we need to ponder, no matter where we live, is what does the sword represent for us today? Some Christians are despised or persecuted for their faith. For them a renewed commitment to the faith and a willingness to take up “spiritual arms” is essential. But for many of us it is almost too easy to be a Christian. In fact, for many of us there is no threat at all. For us the sword becomes a confusing image of violence. I want us to rethink the sword in Jesus’ words. I want us to arm ourselves for living a life of commitment, not against hostility, but in the face of apathy and disregard. For us the sword is the willingness to study scripture, to pray, to participate in worship, to give to those in need, to look ahead with confidence to the fullness of God’s reign. If we will “steel” ourselves for the long haul, if we will focus our lives on the meaning of Jesus Christ for the world, I believe we will find ourselves enlivened by the faith and full of joy and hope. The sword for us is a life of faith for which we should be willing to sacrifice everything.

Prayer: Lord, help us to remain focused on you throughout our lives. Grant us the insight and the wisdom to perceive your word at work in our midst. In Jesus’ name. Amen.