Books of the Bible in 5 Minutes: 2 Kings

Mark 11:27-33

Mark 11:27-33 

The Message 

  Credentials are fascinating things.  If you've traveled overseas, you know the feeling of using a US Passport returning through customs -- the passport is what gets you home, what validates your identity, what allows you in.  To walk up to that desk without it, you'd feel exposed, fearing rejection.

  There are other credentials.  Credentials like degrees that you earn in college.  Credentials you pick up in your career or in other places, that say you belong in whatever organization you're in.  

  The Pharisees were desperate to expose Jesus as a man without credentials.  They felt like their practices, their purity, gave them all the credentials they had, and Jesus' refusal to pick up those same practices, however empty they were to the Pharisees, infuriated them.

  As Christians, we know that we are sinful, and we look to Jesus as the only credential we need.  To try and earn our own credentials would be folly -- we can never be perfect enough to credential our own way into heaven.  

  How do you know you belong?  In Christ, through faith, we have access to the heavenly throne.  We are washed clean, forgiven, and given the greatest gift of hope, a credential we could never earn and can only receive.

Mark 11:20-25

Mark 11:20-25 

The Message 

  Imagine with me that someone handed you 15 snapshots, frozen in time, from Jurassic Park.  Could you figure out the entire plot of the movie?  Could you piece everything together?  Depending on which snapshots, you could probably have a sense of the movie, but the drama, the tension, the anxiety -- much of that would be lost.

  Someone described the Gospels as snapshots of the Kingdom of God.  We get glimpses, samples, of what the Kingdom is like, but we can't have the entire picture -- we only end up with pieces.  

  Jesus is trying to help us understand the Kingdom, but in this world, we cannot capture the fullness of the Kingdom.  It's like trying to taste a milkshake by watching it be made, or trying to listen to a symphony by reading the notes, one by one.  We fall short.

  So when Jesus teaches us to pray, he's trying to lead us into a life that depends completely on God.  He's pointing and encouraging and reminding us that God is everything we could want and everything we need and that there is so much more than we imagine, but we simply cannot wrap our minds around the immensity of the Gospel.  

  So let us look for the snapshots, and study them, and then give thanks that God is so much greater, that heaven is so much richer, that true life is so much more wondrous than we can imagine.  What a gift it is to trust in a God who has made good things here on earth and then filled heaven with even better.

Mark 11:15-19

Mark 11:15-19 

The Message 

 Much has been said about Jesus driving the money-changers out of the temple.  There was much profit to be made selling items to those coming to worship, and when the focus changes from how much worship the temple generates to how much wealth the church generates, then there's a problem.  When a church becomes better known for its wealth and influence more than its service, there's a problem.  When Christians amass fortunes for themselves and do not think of others, there's a problem.  

  What interests me about this passage is that Jesus doesn't come here as an occupying force.  Jesus comes and clears out the temple, but then he leaves the city in the evening.  Jesus didn't show up to occupy Jerusalem and conquer Rome -- Jesus has much bigger fish to fry.  Jesus has come for hearts and minds, for lives, not for geopolitical power.  That's not the intent of the Gospel -- the Kingdom of God is far more than a nation with borders.  The Gospel transcends all of that, and invades every part of our lives and every corner of our hearts.  

Mark 11:12-14

Mark 11:12-14 

The Message 

  I've always thought this little intercession was interesting, and I'm relying heavily upon the notes in my study Bible for interpretation here.  

  So a fig tree bears fruit and leaves at the same time -- so a fig tree in full leaf should have fruit.  In the same way, the Christian's life should bear fruit -- I think that fruit looks different for each of us, depending on the unique gifts each of us have, but when Christians lie and cheat and steal, it brings shame on the church, and we have to remember that in the living of our lives, we are pointing beyond ourselves.  This is a great responsibility, and to treat it carelessly is very, very dangerous.

  The fig tree is a symbol of the Israelites throughout the Old Testament, so Jesus here is reprimanding Israel for their unfaithfulness to God.  It's a harsh word, and one that is heard throughout the Old Testament.  Just as a child needs to hear words of rebuke at times from a parent, we have to look at the bigger picture as well -- despite the rebelliousness, despite the larger sin of the people, God comes to save.  There is salvation that arises out of the rebelliousness.

  So we should remember the fig tree, and remember the Savior who stands before it, and remember that the God who comes as Judge is the same God who comes as Savior, to stand in our place of judgment to secure for us a place of salvation.

Mark 11:1-11

Mark 11:1-11 

The Message 

  Running ahead and following after -- there is consistently a group of followers surrounding Jesus, hanging on his every word, eager to be first to his destination, some a little late but still leaving behind whatever they were doing and chasing after.  There's an energy, an enthusiasm, an expectation.

  Do we still have that today?  Are you eager to hear what God has to say to you today?  Are you looking for what God might do next?

  Much of our life is lived in the ordinary, in the usual.  God is there, calling you to faithfulness in the midst of what is often routine.  God is also working in extraordinary ways, calling us to keep our eyes open to know how to join in with God's incredible efforts to continue building God's Kingdom.  

  In both the ordinary and the extraordinary, the routine and the unexpected, may we be ready to follow Jesus wherever he may lead, listening for God's voice, running ahead and chasing after, always looking for the Holy Spirit at work.

January 24 Sermon

This sermon is from James 4, and the book mentioned is Benjamin Pratt's Ian Fleming's Seven Deadlier Sins and 007's Moral Compass.

 

Mark 10:46-52

Mark 10:46-52 

The Message 

  They describe the church as a place where one beggar tells another where to find bread.  The last verse in this is the picture of the Gospel to me -- a man who has been healed by the Savior, who can now see, goes from stationary beggar to someone following Jesus down the road.  He doesn't know where the road leads or what encounters him beyond the next rise, but he knows he has been healed, and so the natural next thing to do is follow Jesus down the road.

  Christ comes to us, extending grace and mercy and peace, given as a free gift to restore our relationship with God.  We who were blind are offered sight, we who were dead are offered life, we who were hopeless and in despair are offered joy and the boldness to hope.

  Once we receive that, what else are we to do but follow Jesus down the road, no matter how uncertain it may be?

  Later on, further down the road, it's easy to think that the road has grown harder, and to wonder if the journey is still worth it.  We only think that because we've forgotten that we were once stationary, sitting as blind beggars beside the road.  No one wants to go back there.  May we remember how amazing the gift is, realize who it is that is giving us the gift, and may the memory of that wonder and awe continue to compel us to follow down the road, wherever that may lead.

Mark 10:41-45

Mark 10:41-45

The Message 

  This goes back to the conversation from yesterday -- Jesus understands power better than we realize.  We think of Jesus as meek and lowly, going to the cross out of submission.  We don't often think of Jesus as the all-powerful God who crafted the universe with his words.  We don't think of Jesus as the Lord and Master who will destroy sin and death.  Jesus is power.  Jesus knows power, and yet Jesus warns the disciples, because Jesus sees what power does to humans, each of us who can be corrupted by its influence.  Jesus uses power to love, to serve, and in so doing sets a model for us.  We who have power in any form in this life should prayerfully seek to do the same -- to use our power to serve, to lift up, to encourage, to embrace, to celebrate.  In giving power away, we model the Gospel to the world, for we acknowledge that as long as any are suffering, the entire community is suffering.

  This is the beauty of the Gospel.  It is a collective message -- it's not just about me and Jesus, but it impacts our entire communities, and when we begin to see how our redemption impacts our neighbors and families, then we are reaching out as Jesus did, seeking to serve, seeking to love.

  The Gospel changes everything.

Mark 10:35-40

Mark 10:35-40 

The Message 

  When we think of kingdoms, we think of something tremendously hierarchical.  My in-laws got me The Lord of the Rings for Christmas, which I've been re-reading.  It's been 20 years since I've read them, and they're fantastic as ever.  Tolkien captures evil so well -- there is a definite source, and yet the way it creeps across the land and invades every corner of the world is so accurate.  Evil corrodes relationships and transforms people and places, and yet there are people who boldly go forward, sent on a mission, and do not cower in the face of evil, providing courage to all those who falter...  it's a great story.  

  Anyway, I digress... Tolkien captures hierarchy so well.  There are kings who reign and have titles and swords that date back centuries and it's always clear who is in charge and who isn't.  

  The Kingdom of God isn't like that, because it's rooted in the Trinity, which is a concept that is so hard for me to grasp.  God exists in three persons, and is yet one, and it's based on mutual love and service where each member of the Trinity exists to serve the others and finds delight and joy in it.  This is the Kingdom of God, in which there is no evil, for everything is based on selfless love and joyous service.  The Kingdom of God isn't about striving for power and honor for the self, but instead it's about serving another and being fulfilled in the opportunity to do so.

  It's hard to wrap our minds around -- even when we do selfless things, we often find a way to seek glory for the self.  But Christianity is a continual pouring out of the self for the glory of another, and in so doing, we find that we, ourselves, are being filled by God.  It's a continual cycle, and rather than fear that there is not enough glory to go around, there is delight at the wild abundance that God offers us.  

  There is perfect joy in selfless service -- this is the reality of the Trinity, and it's to what God invites us all.  I don't know that we can drop our concepts of kingdom and structure and power in this world, but we can marvel at what God promises -- even if we cannot wrap our minds around it, we can give thanks that we worship a God who is perfectly rooted in perfect love, and has been and will be for all of time.

Mark 10:32-34

Mark 10:32-34 

The Message 

  It interests me to read this passage and then think about Holy Week.  During Holy Week, the apostles, who were essentially the hand-picked individuals intended to lead the church after Jesus ascends to heaven, flee when Jesus is arrested and then don't go visit the tomb on Easter morning -- despite Jesus' assurances that he would rise from the dead, they seem surprised (which is perfectly natural, given that people don't rise from the dead) when the women bring back the report that Jesus has done exactly what he said he was going to do!  So they spent three years with the Son of God, walking and talking with him, and even then, Jesus was clearly still a mystery to them, despite his clear statements predicting exactly what would happen to him.

  Faith is hard.  It was hard for the disciples, and it is hard for us, too.  It's hard to know exactly what we are called to do.  It's often hard to clearly understand the next step in faith.  Don't be too hard on yourself for not having perfect clarity as to your faith -- the disciples didn't have it either.  What they had was certainty that Jesus was different, and they continued to show up, day after day, to hear what he had to say and to learn from him. 

  May we have the same curiosity, to continue to show up in our faith, to set time aside to listen for God's voice, and to trust that spending time with Jesus is worth sacrificing whatever else we might do with that time.  Jesus is working, even when we don't perfectly understand it -- the wheels of salvation continue to turn, and God continues to build God's Kingdom, and we are invited, through Christ, to be a part of that.  Thanks be to God!

Mark 10:23-31

Mark 10:23-31

The Message 

  What's your greatest need?  If you're in the desert and dying of thirst, you need water. A salesman selling bow ties isn't going to interest you. If you're stranded on the side of the road in an avalanche, you need heat.  Someone who calls and offers to sell you a timeshare won't be seen as useful.

  If you're facing death and have a breached relationship with God, then you are in desperate need of a solution for that.  This is the condition we're all in.  We often live in denial, pretending that our youth or our health will last forever.  We isolate ourselves from death or from any thoughts of our mortality.  But Jesus reminds us that we are in desperate need of a solution to our greatest problem.  

  The other half of the equation is that we cannot solve this problem on our own.  God has prepared a solution and offers it to us freely.  Will you accept?  Will you live in light of this solution, even if it costs you something in the short term?  

  To live in denial of such a problem, to always live for the now without any thought of the future, is one half of the great reversal.  The other half is to live with a heart set on God's Kingdom, investing in an eternal future and accepting that the only way forward, today and forever, is to depend on the grace of God and to die to the self daily.  

  Which path will you choose?  How will you live?  

Sermon for 1/17/2021 on Matthew 18 (Parable of Unforgiving Servant)

Mark 10:17-22

Mark 10:17-22 

The Message 

  If Jesus isn't good, then I certainly don't stand a chance!  Which is kinda the point.... we don't have a chance at being good on our own, so isn't it incredible and awesome and amazing that we worship a God who comes to us in the person of Jesus Christ and makes it possible for us to be good through the selfless love of God!

  This exchange with the man is fascinating.  The temptation is to make it a rule, but that's not what Jesus is doing.  Jesus is looking at the man, prideful because he believes his achievements can make him good, and pities him.  Jesus recognizes the biggest obstacle in his life, and so Jesus asks the man to give up what he loves most, in the hopes that he'll realize it's God he needs to love most.  

  The man goes away sad, but we don't know the end of the story, do we?  

  What's the end of our story?  What do we love most?  How do you spend your free time?  What do you daydream about?  

  As Bonhoeffer says, when Christ calls a man, he bids him to come and die.  Each of us are called to set everything down before our King, for only in emptying our hands can we grasp the immeasurable riches of the Kingdom of God.  Fortunately, because we are not able to take hold of this due to our own sin, God gives it as a gift, opening our hands and hearts to receive!

Mark 10:13-16

Mark 10:13-16 

The Message 

  Ever watch a kid play with bubbles?  We have spent hours playing with balloons with the kids -- my children receive more joy from an hour with a balloon than I get from a week.  There seems to be an abundance of joy and laughter that kids are tapped into that we forget -- they can find such deep satisfaction at times.

  As adults, this is easy to forget.  Responsibility can weigh heavily upon us, and joy often seems elusive.  Think of all the products and services in the world that promise joy, when a child would wonder why we can't find it in a balloon.

  The Kingdom of God is everything we ever need and more.  God will care for us, tending to our every need.  God invites us to relax into that, to delight in that, to receive it with joy.  May we learn from our children and find delight in what God offers us.  May there be joy in the depths of our hearts.  

  As G.K. Chesterton wrote in Orthodoxy:

“Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, "Do it again"; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, "Do it again" to the sun; and every evening, "Do it again" to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we.”

Mark 10:1-12

Mark 10:1-12 

The Message 

  Isn't it interested that Jesus tells us this was created by God as a concession to our sinful ways?  There are so many people trying to tell the world that God is constantly angry and just looking for a reason to condemn people, and yet here is Jesus telling us that thousands of years ago, God made a way for the waters of grace to flow through our parched souls.

  Friends, God isn't in a big rush to condemn.  God created you and loves you, and when God saw you suffering due to sin, God sent Jesus Christ to make a way through the wilderness, to create the possibility of redemption, to open a way forward for you.  God is eager to forgive and filled with hope for a future where joy wins over sorrow.

Mark 9:38-50

Mark 9:38-50 

The Message 

  Big and small.  The Gospel is filled with big and small actions.  Sometimes it is as simple as giving someone a cup of cold water.  Sometimes it will feel more like chopping off a hand or a foot.  Either way, think of the refining fire.  Do you trust the refiner? The one who sits before the fire and puts us into the heart of it?  Do you trust that he's looking out for your interest?  Do you believe that you're being preserved?  That you're being protected?

  If so, you're able to lean into grace.  In those moments, you're able to point beyond yourself to the grace of God at work.  God is at work, in any and all things, in the biggest and smallest moments of your life.  Even in the ordinary, God is there.

Mark 9:33-37

Mark 9:33-37 

The Message 

  Christianity involves entirely different thinking -- winning doesn't look like it does in a football game or an election.  In Christianity, winning looks like serving, like selflessness, like humility.  Individuals don't seek or achieve notoriety, but the acts of service become the goal.  If it worked like the stock market, we'd invest in others without any thought of any return for ourselves, for we have a God who so entirely looks out for our every need that we need not think of ourselves.  There are no standings, no winning, no losing, no fear of embarrassment or unworthiness, for our attention is centered beyond ourselves, drawn into the glory of God, transfixed by beauty beyond compare.  We are lost in wonder, love, and praise, and the idea of being elevated above another doesn't even enter our minds, for the joy we find in another, for the peace we find in Christ, is sufficient to feed our souls for eternity.

Sermon for Sunday, January 10

Mark 9:30-32

Mark 9:30-32

The Message 

  Ask your questions!!  

  The disciples heard Jesus talking about his resurrection, but they were afraid to ask.  If they'd spoken up here, perhaps they would have been at the tomb early on Easter morning, perhaps they wouldn't have fled in fear.  Perhaps not, but one never knows.

  So ask your questions.  Perhaps as a child you were discouraged from asking questions.  I think the church should encourage questions -- that's how we learn, how we grow.  I don't have the answer to every question, but I believe the questions should be asked -- God is big enough for our questions.  If you have doubts, express them, honestly, with humility, and find someone to seek the answers with.  There are not answers to every question, but leaving them in the dark, pretending they'll go away if you ignore them, is not a good solution either.  

  So ask your questions.  Asking now might help later in ways you can't understand now.

Mark 9:19-29

Mark 9:19-29 

The Message 

  This might be one of my favorite stories in the Bible.  It's so human.  Jesus is so frustrated with the struggles humans have with faith.  The father believes, and yet confesses to Jesus that he is filled with doubts.  The boy is healed, and yet is seems for a moment that all hope is lost.  At that very moment, at the point of despair, Jesus restores the boy to life.  The disciples are then confused as to why they weren't the heroes of the story, when Jesus reminds them that true power is found in humble prayer.

  Does that sound like anything you can relate to?

  Do you ever struggle to have faith, despite your faith?

  Do you ever think all hope is lost?

  Do you ever get confused as to who the true hero of the story is?

  Do you ever doubt the power of prayer?

  We've all been there.  Doubt is part of life.  Fear is present in all of our lives.  Hope doesn't always seem to be bearing down on us.  Sometimes we wonder where Christ is.  

  The church should, I believe, always speak words of hope, grace, and peace into the midst of every situation.  We are, at our best, ambassadors of another kingdom, reminding the world around us that true power is found in humility, that peace wins over violence, that light wins over darkness, that hope is never a foolish choice.  

  In chaotic times, it is my humble prayer that the church can speak a word of confidence into troubled hearts, that we can remind the world that there is a kingdom that cannot be shaken and a king who comes to us now, despite our troubles, despite our doubts, and will do whatever necessary to win our hearts.  

  We speak in grace and in peace, and yet we will not cower in the face of those who speak in fear, for we will stand with the confidence of a people who have read the end of the story and know that Christ comes on a white horse in victory.  In 2 Kings, the King  of Syria was threatening Elisha and it seemed as though his horses and chariots would win.  Elisha's prayer was that his servants' eyes be opened to see the army of fire that surrounded Elisha.

  May we see the reality of God in our midst and go out as the church to serve all people with grace and humility, in prayer for peace and in prayer for order and in prayer for all who need hope -- the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness shall not overcome it!

Mark 9:14-18

Mark 9:14-18

The Message 

  This man goes to the disciples to heal his son, but ultimately, only Jesus can offer the healing his son needs.

  With some of your problems, some of my problems -- only Jesus can solve some of them.  Often these are the biggest problems we face.  When we realize that not only can Jesus solve them, but also that he already has, freely, acting out of grace... then we can find a peace that passes all understanding.

Mark 9:1-13

Mark 9:1-13 

The Message 

  What's the most amazing thing you've ever seen?  

  I can't decide...  I've seen the Reds come from behind to win a game on a grand slam in the bottom of the 9th.  I've stood at the end of the tunnel in Yosemite and looked out over that valley.  I've seen a newborn child taste the air of the world for the first time.  I've seen an entire stadium react to the preaching of Billy Graham.  I've seen sandy beaches so beautiful it'll make your heart ache.

  I could go on.  I'm blessed to say I have a lot of choices.  But whatever it is, it pales in comparison to the Kingdom of God.  

  Here, Peter, James, and John get a glimpse of it, and they were so stunned they couldn't think what to say.  What I love about the book of Revelation is that John is clearly at a loss for words, because there aren't words to describe what he sees, so he describes things as what they are like, but words fall short.  In the Gospel of Mark, the women run from the empty tomb because they're so stunned at the glimpse of the Kingdom's power over death.  

  Our words fail us when we try and describe the Kingdom.  Our eyes cannot take in tis beauty.  Our hearts cannot beat quickly enough when we anticipate the Kingdom.

  It's like the most beautiful things in the world, only moreso.  It's like the purest love, the greatest joy, the most wondrous beauty, only richer, deeper, grander.  I cannot tell you what the Kingdom is like -- Jesus used parables to help us see snapshots of what it was like, but he knew we weren't ready for it.  We struggle to imagine a place where the hungry are fed and love has conquered all and people of every race and creed sit at a table together and do not want for anything.  

  The Kingdom is greater than we can imagine, and so we pray for the Kingdom to come, and we pray for the Kingdom to lead our hearts, that we may live in such a way as to both sample the foretaste of the Kingdom and to invite others to come and see the wonders of God's Kingdom.

Top Books of 2020

   I've never done this before, but I've been recording every book I've read for the last decade, and so I decided to do a top books of 2020 post before I get too deep into 2021.  I read 42 books (nearly 19k pages) in 2020.  I'm usually between 35-45 books on the year, with 56 being the high water mark (in 2011, before I had kids) and last year being the first year I broke 20k pages.

  My in-laws got me the Lord of the Rings trilogy (I know, it's not really a trilogy but 1 book split into 3 parts) and I'm already too deep into that to stop, so while I hadn't planned on those being the first books of 2021, it'll ensure the year starts out on a good note.  Without further delay --

Top Ten Books of 2020:

10)  Deacon King Kong by James McBride.  I almost gave up on this book in the early stages, as I had no idea where this tale was going.  It's based in the projects and the characters are unique souls, but I warmed to them quickly. This poignant tale of relationships and crime and religion and despair and redemption leaves your rooting for the entire community.

9) Moonflower Murders by Anthony Horowitz.  I find everything Horowitz writes captivating.  His mysteries are always tightly woven and I try to avoid starting them when I know I have other commitments.  He doesn't reach the same heights as he did with Moriarty, but Moonflower Murders is a fun read.

8) Titan by Ron Chernow  I didn't know much about John D. Rockefeller, despite having gone to college in Cleveland.  The most interesting part of this doorstop of a book was the way Rockefeller didn't seem to have a conflict between his Christian faith and the ruthless (and often illegal) methods he used to grow Standard Oil.  The dissonance seemed to escape him as he built Standard Oil into a behemoth and became extraordinarily wealthy.  This book makes me think about wealth and what good stewardship looks like of any amount of money.

7) The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson.  Larson's story of the first year of Churchill's term as Prime Minister was heartbreaking.  Over and over again, the German bombers tear across the British skies, devastating London and other cities with the relentless bombing.  I don't know how the British managed to endure the tireless bombing, and Churchill's ability to resist despair is remarkable.  It certainly puts my daily struggles in perspective.

6) Edison by Edmund Morris.  Did you know Edison was nearly deaf and often 'listened' by biting instruments with his teeth and letting the vibrations travel up his jawbone?  Edison was truly a brilliant man who never reaped the full financial benefit of his inventions, partly because he continued to invest in mining operations.  How do you recognize a sunk cost?

5) This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger.  What a book.  Krueger's tale of four orphans taking a canoe down the Mississippi is hard to read at times, as the kids are betrayed by a system larger than them that seems infested with people caring only for themselves, and yet they find a way to push forward, fighting with some of the country's biggest demons along the way.  Not a book that can be put down once you start it.  This book helps me think about how we care for one another.

4) The Accidental Superpower by Peter Ziehan.  A friend of mine recommended this book to me, and it'll make you think.  Ziehan goes back to Bretton Woods and explains how America's rise to power was a unique road, as America's willingness to guarantee free trade post WWII has shaped so many global events in ways I hadn't thought about.  What does the future hold if America withdraws from such a position, and how do demographics influence global politics?  Ziehan's book challenged me to think about what America's role in the world should be going forward.

3) Where the Crawdads Sing, by Delia Owens.  As this book currently has 127,000 reviews on Amazon, I don't think there's much else I need to say about it.  Fascinating story about the relationship between people and the land, about betrayal, about intrigue.  Highly recommended, and the ending is masterfully done.

2) The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling.  I don't think I need to say much about this -- Rowling's universe that she creates pulls you in, and the struggle between good and evil in a magical land makes for a great adventure.  I hadn't read these since they came out.  Rachel has been reading them to the kids and I decided to re-read them in the midst of the pandemic, and they were a great escape.  

1) The Overstory by Richard Powers.  Without a doubt, this was the most captivating book I read in 2020.  Powers interweaves several human stories of tragedy and beauty with illuminating depth on the capabilities and characteristics of trees.  The trees are the central characters in this story of relationships that sometimes break your heart, and it'll change the way you notice the humble trees in your yard and the towering giants you pass by in a forest.

And because it was the last book I read and I'm still bitter about it, the easiest ranking of the year:  

The single worst book I read in 2020:  The Wandering Jew, by Eugene Sue.  It's nearly 1,400 pages and basically everyone dies (I know it's a spoiler, but as the book was written in 1844, I don't feel that guilty about it).  Don't read this book.  There were so many moments of crushing disappointment along the way that my greatest regret is not stopping at the first one.  The moment of redemption I was waiting for never came.  Ugh.

Mark 8:32-38

Mark 8:32-38 

The Message

  Most motivational speeches don't lead with "Don't run from suffering, embrace it."  But Jesus wasn't trying to be a motivational speaker -- he was trying to get the apostles, and us, to fundamentally shift our perspective.  Jesus is trying to help us see the growth of our relationship with God as the single most important thing in the world, and anything that opposes the growth of the soul needs to be rooted out.  This is hard work, unglamorous work, and much of the world will call us foolish for pursuing it.

  But's it's the most important work we can do in our lives, to receive the grace of Christ and allow it to transform us from the inside out, causing us to examine everything in our lives and remove the obstacles to growth in Christ.

  Take some time to see where the obstacles are in your life.  What are the routines or habits that you don't even notice anymore?  What needs to change?  How can you sacrifice?  There are plenty of small places for us to start.  Let's choose to do the hard work of discipleship, and embrace whatever suffering comes our way,  knowing that in Christ, our goals are not limited by this world but are wrapped up in the eternal Kingdom of God.

Sermon for Sunday, January 3, 2021 -- Matthew 2:1-12