Mark 8:27-32

Mark 8:27-32 

The Message 

  The disciples are asked two questions -- who do the crowds say that Jesus is, and who do they say he is.  There's a charge for us here -- we need to pay attention to the world, and we need to pay attention to ourselves.

  It's tempting to shut the door to the outside world, to lock out all the bad and form a tight-knit Christian community that is only inward-facing.  And Christian community is a wonderful thing, but it needs to be engaged with the outside world in some way.  We're called to know what the outside world thinks.  How else can we frame our message if we don't know the recipients of the message?

  We're also called to have an answer for ourselves, to build our own faith.  We can't live off the faith of a family member or friend or pastor.  We need to build our own faith.  This may mean we have to ask some tough questions to figure things out for ourselves, to dig a little deeper to ensure a solid foundation.  It may mean we need to grow in certain directions.  It might mean we need to work a little harder.  But we need to know the answer to the question, each and every day -- who do you say that Jesus is?

Mark 8:16-26

Mark 8:16-26

The Message 

  Stop for a moment right now and think about the thing that is worrying you more than anything else...  Got it?  

  The disciples were with Jesus, who had just demonstrated a superhuman ability to produce abundant bread miraculously, and they were arguing with each other about not having bread.  The solution to their problem was directly in front of them, and yet they were completely missing the point.

  And so Jesus asks, "Do you still not get it?"

  Jesus asks the same of us.  We worry about all sorts of things... we worry about big things and little things and unimportant things and things that are vitally important.  We worry about ourselves and our family members and our neighbors and complete strangers on the other side of the world.  We worry.  

  And Jesus assures us that God provides for us, that God cares for us, that we are loved and treasured and safe for all of eternity.  This doesn't mean that bad things won't happen to us here on earth (just look at the suffering Jesus endured), but it does mean that in the big picture, we can entrust our worries to God because things really will turn out better than we can ask or imagine.  We will find our ultimate rest in God, and so we can sleep easier, trusting in the God who abides and the God who provides.

  Cast your cares upon Christ, for God cares for you.  You matter eternally, and you matter here and now.  Do not let your worries overwhelm you, rather pray them into the hands of God and live faithfully, with the confidence of a person who has read the end of the story and know that we emerge victorious.

Mark 8:11-15

Mark 8:11-15 

The Message 

  The Cincinnati Bengals started off the year with lots of promise, but a massive injury to their star QB ended any hopes of the season.  There have been other injuries, and any number of other obstacles, and the season hasn't gone according to plan.  They haven't proven to be very adaptable, so the obstacles have been too much.  

  I'm willing to bet this past year has presented a number of obstacles for your life.  Could be illness, or perhaps unemployment, or isolation.  You likely had an idea of what the year would look like, and you've had to adapt as the year went on.  Sometimes we adapt well.  Sometimes, I feel like the world changes faster than my ability to adapt.  

  Jesus faced opposition throughout his ministry.  The Pharisees were constantly pushing him, opposing him, probing for weaknesses, hoping to catch him in his words.  They despised him, and sought to discredit and destroy him.  In the end, they likely thought they had been victorious... until the resurrection happened, and Jesus demonstrated to the entire world that no opposition would overcome the power of God.

  In your baptism, you are claimed by God and marked as Christ's own forever.  Whatever forces oppose you in the world, they will not overcome you.  They will not destroy you.  Jesus' victory over sin and death covers you as well, and through his victory, we are victorious as well.

Christmas Eve Meditation

Mark 8:1-10

Mark 8:1-10 

The Message 

  We all have a pretty short memory when it comes to God's blessings.  I doubt that the modern world is any more anchored to the idea of 'What have you done for me lately?', but it's certainly a pervasive way of thought. We pretty easily gloss over the memories of the good times and often find ourselves holding onto faults, thinking about how unfair some things can be.

  The apostles had seen Jesus feed large crowds miraculously, and yet when Jesus begins talking about the hunger of the crowd, they are dismayed at the prospect of feeding the people.  They see only obstacles, as though their faith has been left to history and only pragmatism is allowed.  They'd seen Jesus perform miraculous feedings, so why were they unable to look expectantly to Jesus to perform the miraculous again?

  Maybe they were blinded by the limitations of their vision.  We're all guilty of this -- we see what we expect to see sometimes, in people and situations and places.  Rather than expect the miraculous or wonder about what might be, we assume we understand what can and cannot happen.

  As we collectively peer into 2021, may we do so with hearts ready to be amazed by God's grace and God's ability to provide.  Who knows what God has in store for the coming year?

Matthew 1:18-25

Matthew 1:18-25 

English Standard Version 

  Reading the whole story, it's a beautiful tale with a joyous ending -- the birth of a Savior, Immanuel, God with us.  Knowing how the story ends, we hear it with joyous anticipation.  It's like re-reading your favorite novel -- when you get to the stressful parts, you push through, knowing that the resolution will be favorable.  I've read The Count of Monte Cristo three or four times, and I don't worry about the darkest parts, because I know how it will end.  I can read with hope.  I'm reading another book now, and it's hard to carry on, because things look as dark as can be.  I don't know how the story ends.

  There's a moment here when all seems lost.  Joseph is planning to divorce Mary quietly.  Hope doesn't seem to abound.  

  There are moments like that in all of our stories.  You may well be in one now.  You don't know what will happen next.  Circumstances seem overwhelming.  Fear is abundant.  What will happen next?

  I'm not going to promise that everything always resolves neatly.  I will assure you, though, that God is at work in your life, and there is hope for your future.  The light shines in the darkness, and your darkness, whatever it is, will not overcome the light.  Cling to hope, friend, because hope clings to you.  There is light, no matter how dark the night, and we know that on the other side of fear and pain, the joyous light shall continue to shine, for life triumphs over death and hope over despair. 

  Have a merry Christmas!!!

  

Mark 7:31-37

Mark 7:31-37 

The Message 

  Mark's Gospel is fascinating for many reasons, one of the many being the urging of people to keep quiet the miraculous things Jesus is doing.  Jesus is healing the deaf and mute -- there is no way word won't get out!  The people were thrilled with excitement, and so they told everyone about the miracles being performed -- the Pharisees must have been beyond frustrated with every additional story that was told.

  How do you tell the story about what Jesus has done for you?  Do you have a clear concept in your mind about how Jesus has intervened in your life?  Can you think of the ways you have been changed?  Sometimes I wonder if the decline of the church in America isn't partially due to the inability of Christians to talk about the things Jesus has done for them.  Maybe we're too fixated on salvation of the individual and have lost the focus on how the salvation of one impacts an entire community.  Maybe we've put too much emphasis on the benefits of faith after death and haven't focused enough on how faith should impact our day-to-day lives -- we're called to pick up our cross and die to ourselves daily.  Maybe we don't look at our resources through a sacrificial mindset, focused on how we can give what we have.  

  Just as Christ reaches out his hands to this man, Christ reaches out to you.  May we tell our story, for no matter if you have been in the church since birth or wandered every road and only recently found the Christian way, it is a dramatic story of Christ conquering sin to claim you as Christ's own forever.

Mark 7:20-30

Mark 7:20-30 

The Message 

  Preachers tend to avoid this passage when possible -- it's a hard one to explain.  Depending on how you read it, it might be easy to read it as Jesus lacking compassion.  Jesus is telling this woman that any food on the table goes to the children at the table, and only afterwards to the dogs.  It's never good to compare people to dogs.  At the end of the story, the woman's child is healed.

  What the passage is reminding us is that God first made a covenant with the Jewish people.  God came to Abraham, and the idea was that the Israelites would be a light on a hill, and that other communities would come to know God through their relationship with God.  Jesus then comes as a Jew, but while he is rooted in that community, the Gospel is not contained there -- it spreads, eventually to every country on earth.  What started with Abraham and the very specific Israelite community has spread to us all.

  So we stand as having inherited the faith from those who have come before us, and so our responsibility is to think about others who haven't heard the Good News, those who might standing at the edge of the table, and to invite them to taste and see that the Lord is good.

Mark 7:14-19

Mark 7:14-19 

The Message 

  The speed limit isn't there just to keep you from speeding -- it's to keep you safe.  That's the ultimate purpose of it -- so you don't harm yourself or others.  In the same way, we keep our kitchen knives on top of the fridge not because we want to deprive our children of the joy of playing with knives, but because we don't want them to hurt themselves or someone else -- our goal is to deliver our children into adulthood with all fingers and toes still attached. 

  The dietary laws were initially established as part of the overall law -- it's a small part of how every single piece of Christian life was oriented around God.  The point was never just about the food -- it was about the people's relationship to God.  The Pharisees were using the dietary laws to keep themselves in power, but they'd lost sight of the purpose.

  When Jesus came, that relationship shifted.  Jesus fulfilled the Law, and so while we are still obligated to serve the moral law, the ceremonial laws no longer were in force.  Jesus tried to strip away what had been built up that was obstructing the worship of God.  Jesus wants our eyes and hearts fully focused on God.  

  So what would your day be like today if you fully focused yourself on God?  Can you pray while you work?  Set aside time to be in silence before God?  Who can you call?  How can you serve?

Sermon for December 20, 2020

Mark 7:5-13

Mark 7:5-13

The Message 

  So Jesus could, on occasion, be quite confrontational.  Jesus wasn't afraid to confront the Pharisees on their hypocrisy.  On the surface, they were very religious, but Jesus saw that in their hearts, they were twisting everything for their own benefit, using people as pawns to advance their own agendas.  It was all about them, and Jesus called them on it.

  It's a little harder for us to take the same position, given that we can't see into the hearts of others in quite the same way Jesus can, but we can pay attention to people to see if their words and lives match.  Other people are watching us, and it's especially important within the church that we set a good example.  When Christians, especially Christian leaders, fail to match their lives and their words, it only gives society yet another reason to turn their back on the church.  I doubt you have to think very hard to come up with recent examples.

  So in the church, let us be faithful to one another by having a willingness to hold each other accountable.  When we see other Christians, may we find a way to confront each other.  This has to be done carefully, with humility, so that it's not about grinding someone down but rather about restoring the faithful practice of the community.  Don't do this on your own, but join with a community in love.  It's a fine line -- but it's worth walking.

Mark 7:1-4

Mark 7:1-4 

The Message 

  We can approach one another in one of two ways.  We can look for things to criticize, for ways to tear them down, or we can look for things to encourage, ways to build them up.  The Pharisees saw Jesus as a threat, and so they looked to tear him down.  How their lives and their worship might have been enriched if they'd chosen a different approach!  

  We build bridges into the lives of those around us through our words and actions.  May we choose a way of humility and kindness, reaching for encouragement, and in so doing, may we choose to be a people of hope and light in an often dark world.  May we speak of our hope and live out our hope, inviting others to come and see what God is doing in our lives and in the world.

Mark 6:50-56

Mark 6:50-56

The Message 

  If we're being honest, there's a lot of things I don't understand.  There are evenings where I sit on my couch and just wonder... 

  I wonder about the power of death and evil in the world.  (If you ever want to experience despair, just read social media arguments -- nothing quite like reading people arguing on the internet.)  Things on this world are not the way they're supposed to be, and it doesn't always feel like they're getting better, does it?  COVID has been brutal, both in devastation to personal health as well as economically to millions who are out of work or facing impossible decisions with businesses they own.  

  I wonder about eternity.  It's so far beyond what I can comprehend -- my mind is limited by the time and space that I inhabit, and yet I try and grasp what heaven is like, and it is so far beyond me that I am sometimes left with nothing but questions.

  I wonder about a lot of things, and yet the reality is that no matter how stunned I sometimes am, shaking my head at what is going on, not understanding what is going on in the world around me, there are times when the reality of the Holy Spirit penetrates my heart and I'm left with nothing else but to fall on my knees and praise God.  

  The disciples saw Jesus perform countless miracles, and yet it didn't always penetrate their hearts.  They didn't always get it.  So let's not pretend that we'd be in a different place if we had walked with Jesus on dusty roads in 32 AD and seen him perform miracles.  Even the people who did that didn't always believe!  It takes an act of the Holy Spirit to help the Truth penetrate our hearts.  Only then can we perceive that there is a God in heaven who is not only all powerful but also all loving.  

  Last evening, I was talking to some children about their mother.  She had been quite a woman, and her son said something remarkable -- he said that she was a woman who always had answers, but when she didn't, she went searching -- she had to find the Truth.

  It's what we're all looking for.  And yet we sometimes miss it.  Even when it happens in front of it, we see but we don't perceive.  

  May the reality of Jesus Christ penetrate our hearts, and may it do so in a way that it awakens our sleeping hearts, that we may go and tell others to bring their sickness, to bring their brokenness, to bring their lives to the Savior, the One who walks with us and heals us, the One who enters into our despair and gives us hope, the One who goes to death to find life for us, the One who comes to our darkness and brings light.

Mark 6:45-49

Mark 6:45-49 

The Message 

  Here's the pattern for life:  Pray, then go into community.  Repeat.

  For my whole life, I'd always read "He intended to go right by them" as meaning that Jesus intended to go by without them noticing.  It was only recently that I read something that made me realize that makes no sense.  If Jesus didn't want to be noticed, he wouldn't have been noticed.  No, he intended to go close enough for them to see.  It was dark, they were alone on the sea, and they were having a rough time, and so Jesus went to be with them.

  The same is true for you, and for me.  In our lives, it is often dark, the world is against us, and we feel alone.  In worship on Sunday, we prayed for the lonely.  We are all lonely at times, right?  In those times, we can be sure that Jesus notices, that Jesus cares, and that Jesus comes to be with us.  

  You are not alone.

  Now, the challenge to us is to go into the world and remind others that they, too, are not alone.

Mark 6:37-44

Mark 6:37-44 

The Message 

  God has the ability to feed people without starting with anything.  Remember the manna in the wilderness?  That came down every morning as bread from the heavens.  It was miraculous, and yet the people grew tired of the miracles.  They complained about eating manna everyday.  

  Here, though, Jesus is teaching the crowds.  He's starting with the five loaves and two fish.  It feels meager in the face of five thousand, but Jesus uses what is already there.  

  In the same way, Jesus starts with us where we are.  What we have may feel meager.  You may feel inadequate.  You might not believe that God can do something amazing through you.  I promise you, God can do miraculous things starting from ordinary places.  Jesus consistently creates abundance in places of scarcity, and God will do so in your life, as well.

Sermon for December 13, 2020 -- Third Sunday of Advent

Mark 6:30-36

Mark 6:30-36 

The Message 

  A few things to note here.

  First, Jesus cares for more than just the task at hand.  The apostles are reporting back on all that they have done, and yet Jesus' priority is getting them some rest.  Jesus can tell that they are weary, exhausted, worn down, and so they are invited, commanded even, to set some time aside to rest.  

  I doubt that many of us manage to care for ourselves in that way.  We push and we push and we push to go faster and do better and then we feel guilty for not being perfect, for not getting it all done.  Take some time, rest.  It's critical. Jesus cares for the needs of your soul.  

  Second, Jesus' heart breaks for the people who are lost, like sheep without a shepherd.  I've heard so much in my life that fits the expectation of the old 'Sinners in the hands of an angry God.'  People get so caught up on judgment, ready for God to rip people apart.  I don't get that impression when I read the Gospels.  Jesus genuinely has compassion on the people.  He cares for them.  He cares for your.  Fear not, little children,.  Jesus gets to work teaching us, leading us.

  Finally, what amuses me about this passage is the crowd is gathered around Jesus, learning from the Master, drinking from the fountain, receiving the one thing they need most, and when it grows late and the needs shift from spiritual  to physical, the apostles propose to send them away.  They haven't yet grasped that Jesus can meet every need.  They have in front of them the one man who can cure everything, who can supply every need, and they're ready to send the crowd away from the solution to their problems.  They don't get it.

  The apostles often got it wrong.  I do, too.   You may as well.  We perhaps don't fully understand what it means for Jesus to be Lord of all.  We try, but we struggle to wrap our minds about Jesus as Lord and Savior.

  It's ok. The teacher has compassion on us.  The Lord loves us, and invites us in, where we may find a full rest, and peace for our wearied souls, and mercy for our aching hearts.

Mark 6:21-29

Mark 6:17-29

The Message 

  I heard somewhere that there have been around 108 billion people to have ever lived.  It's a lot, and I'd be lying if I didn't say that my life felt pretty small after that.  That, and this story, make me think of the saying that one death is a tragedy and 1,000 deaths is a statistic.  It's easy to get lost in the numbers -- even COVID seems so big that it's hard to wrap your head around, but then you hear about friends and family and it becomes very real, very fast.  

  I don't know how God keeps track of us all.  Scripture tells us how intimate each and every one of us are to God.  I often quote the Augustine idea that Jesus Christ would have died for you, even if you were the only one.  The individual matters to God in a way we have a hard time grasping.  We get lost in ourselves, lost in the numbers.

  It's a challenge to each of us -- how can you reach out to one person today, just one person, and treat them like the most important person in the world?  Listen to them, care for them, pay attention to their needs.  Put them first.  I don't know what it might look like for you -- could be a relative or spouse or a friend.  Just try and pay attention to them like they are the unique treasure that they are.  Your attention is a gift you can give to another person and in doing so, you honor them, and in honoring them, you honor the God who created them.

Books of the Bible in Five Minutes: 1 Kings

Mark 6:14-20

Mark 6:14-20

The Message 

  There's something about the Holy Spirit that gets inside of us, that worms deep into our hearts, and doesn't let go.  It's happening here to Herod -- Herod would have had everything he ever could have desired, and yet he's spending time listening to John, curious about what John has that Herod doesn't.  When the Holy Spirit digs in, all of those big questions that are unanswered sit in the front of our minds, and we seek out answers, we seek out Truth.  John had Truth, and Herod wanted it.

  Everyone, at some point, reaches a point in life where they discover that many answers are inadequate.  They realize that money and power or whatever else they were seeking don't answer the questions that keep us awake deep at night.  At some point, we ask questions about Truth, and what is truly transcendent.  

  If we're lucky, there are people like John around to point to the Truth.  The Holy Spirit places people like that, uses people like that, so that when we are wrestling, truly wrestling, with the most fundamental questions in life, we find that there are people around us to remind us that God is at work in this time and place.  

Mark 6:7-13

Mark 6:7-13 

The Message 

  I pray for the ability to preach with joyful urgency, to proclaim the truth that life can be radically different.  I think we forget that in the church -- that life can be radically different.  That joy can exist within you, anchored in the reality of what Christ has done for you, offering you living water when the entire world around you can leave your soul parched.  Everyone and everything can let you down, and yet there is still eternal life and a God who treasures you.  Life can be radically different -- the things that weigh us down don't have to keep us down.  The setbacks in life don't have to be devastating, because an eternal hope can carry us forward.  Joyful urgency can fill us as we leave the church doors, having been reminded of the incredible things that God has done for us!

Mark 6:1-6

Mark 6:1-6

The Message 

  I'll admit that I don't watch much news these days, but I see a lot of negativity.  The way up the mountain has never seemed, in my opinion, to be climbing over everyone on the path.  Seems like it's much more productive to find fellow travelers and be a voice of encouragement, a voice of hope, along the way.  

  Jesus encountered those who were so focused on where he came from that they were unwilling to consider who he might be.  They thought they understood everything about him based on his past, and so they tried to limit his future.  They talked down about him based on what they thought they knew.

  You'll encounter people like this along the way.  I can promise you that.  Find voices that encourage you, that remind you of the promises of Scripture, that remind you that light shines in the darkness and that God treasures you as a handcrafted child made in the image of God.  

  And as you go, remind others that they, too, are beloved by God.  Serve willingly.  Elevate and encourage.  Don't assume that you understand someone's future based on where they came from.  Who knows who you might meet along the way...

What are we Waiting for? An Advent Hope in the face of Disease

Mark 5:37-43

Mark 5:37-43 

The Message 

  A parent's worst nightmare is to lose a child.  It's unfathomable.  To have a child, the saying goes, is to decide to spend the rest of one's life with your heart outside of your body.  This Father, at the depth of his despair, is given his child back.  They were all, as it says, beside themselves with joy.  The understatement of the century!  What could they have possibly said, possibly done, that would express their gratitude?  

  It's the position we're all in -- we've been given back our own life, our own future.  How can we express our gratitude, our own joy, at what we have been given?  It's impossible. 

  Let's not forget the other side of the equation.  God knit us together in our mother's wombs.  God knows us intimately, as a mother hen knows her chicks.  God is a parent to us, and so think of the inexpressible joy God has at restoring us to himself!  God is, of course, beside himself with joy (which is funny to me when I think of the Trinity and maybe God could actually be beside himself, but that's neither here nor there)!  

  I'd imagine we're all a little guilty of forgetting the level of joy we bring to God.  It's easier to feel guilty about not doing enough to express our gratitude.  I, like many others, can do a better job of that.

  But what if we spent more time imagining the joy of God at the knowledge that God's children have been restored?  That kind of joy is what led God to pay the ultimate price on Calvary.  That kind of joy made Christ willing to stay on the cross when suffering and pain and despair were piled on Christ's shoulders.  God knew the reward, and knew we could never pay it, and so rather than see his children lost due to sin, God paid the price to restore us to life.

  God delights in you.  No matter what.  Like a mother delights in her child, God delights in you.  And God cries tears of joy at the thought of your restoration in Jesus Christ our Lord.  

  

  Thanks be to God

Mark 5:30-36

Mark 5:30-36 

The Message 

  Mark's Gospel is known for the structure -- it's stories within stories, with interruptions throughout the book.  This is the clearest example, with Jesus distracted from healing the child by a woman with a great need.  I sometimes picture Jesus like a modern-day athlete, unable to walk anywhere without being constantly hounded for autographs.  In those days, everyone would have been crowding Jesus, begging for healings, for miracles, for help.  Jairus and the woman here are two examples, and each of them have reasons to fear.  The woman fears that she is caught, Jairus fears the worst when people from his house come and announce that his daughter has died.  For a second, you can imagine the light in their eyes going out, their souls going dark, as the worst hits them.

  But with Jesus, the very worse never lasts.  This is the Good News of the Gospel -- that our story ends in hope, that any darkness ultimately ends in light.  Lighting the Advent candles are visual reminders that the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness cannot overcome it.

  For each and every one of us, there are moments where we despair.  It may be because we get caught in the midst of something, or it could be tragic news that we fear but hope it will not come to pass.  2020 has brought moments of despair to all of us, and the Gospel message is that these do not have the final word in your life.  Do not listen to the voices that tell you that the darkness will win, no matter how loudly they may shout in your soul.  Trust Jesus, and our ultimate hope will not betray us.

Mark 5:21-29

Mark 5:21-29 

The Message 

  The leaders of society reach the end of their resources and realize that help comes only through Jesus, and so they come, in desperate need.

  The poor and downtrodden in society, long at the end of their meager resources, realize that help comes only through Jesus, and so they come, in desperate need.

  The question, for so many of us, is when do we realize that the resources that we are told will sustain us are not strong enough to deliver us from all the things that torment us?  When do we realize that we, too, are at the end of our resources and that true  help comes only through Jesus, and will we come, recognizing our desperate need?

Mark 5:18-20

Mark 5:18-20 

The Message

  Does God ever say no to your prayers?

  Or, I suppose it would be more accurate to ask how often God says no to your prayers?  We've all experienced it.  We've prayed and prayed and prayed... only to see life take a different course than the one we would've chosen.

  Here, this man who has just been miraculously cured by Jesus wants nothing more than to get in the boat with Jesus and go along with him.  There are likely leadership books written about how you just need to get in the boat and leave the old behind, but that's not the lesson here.  Jesus says no, and sends him on a different mission, one that involves going away from Jesus and telling his story.  It's not what he would've chosen, but it's how Jesus tells him that he is most useful to the Kingdom.

  The same is true for us.  When God tells us no, it's not because we are rejected.  It's because there is another path for us.  The hard part is keeping the eyes and ears of our hearts open to hear what the Holy Spirit is saying to us, that we may find the most faithful path when life redirects us another way.