Mark 3:7-12

Mark 3:7-12

The Message 

  I wonder what it was like to be alive back then.  

  It's easy for us now to look back and assume that we would've been one of the faithful streaming to Jesus, leaving everything behind to listen to him teach, to watch him heal.  Even the evil spirits knew who he was.  The crowds poured to him... until they didn't.  

  At certain points, everyone turned and left him, often for challenging teachings.  The Pharisees saw the same things as everyone else and hated him.  The masses watched him perform miracles and yet shouted for his crucifixion.

  We look back and wonder how this could have happened, how this miraculous teacher who came with grace could have been opposed by so many and worshiped by so few. 

  That reality certainly does put an end to the idea that Jesus was nothing more than a nice teacher.  If that's all he was, then he surely wouldn't have roused such opposition.  

  Jesus came with Truth, and that is challenging for us all.  Martin Luther called the human heart a factory of idols, and we come up with countless things to worship other than God.  I'll confess that I worship comfort, health, and a good reputation, among other things.  If I had lived then and ran to see Jesus, how would I have reacted when he challenged me to give those false idols up?  It's hard to do that, even when the Truth, when something far greater, is being held out and offered as a free gift.  Our hands are often so full that it's hard to let go of anything to take on something new.  I wonder if this isn't why Jesus was so successful at converting tax collectors and others who were forgotten by society -- their hands weren't so full that they were prevented from grasping what Jesus offered.  

  The crowds rushed to Jesus, and we rush to him, too.  I pray that we hear his challenges, but that through it all, we hear the grace, too.  May we know that there is healing, true healing, on the other side of those challenges, and that the one who teaches wants the best for us, wants eternity for us, and will pay any price, even his own life, to be in full relationship with us.

Mark 3:1-6

Mark 3:1-6 

The Message 

  I feel sorry for the Pharisees.  They'd been reduced to watching every move of Jesus, hoping they could ensnare him in some wrong move or word, using this as a catalyst to have him thrown from the community.  It's not a great way to live -- doing nothing but watching your enemy in a chance you can catch them in the wrong and evict them from your life.

  Instead, think of how Jesus lives.  He meets freely with enemies and casual acquaintances.  He doesn't show up with an attitude to condemn, but rather is usually inviting the stranger into a new relationship, defined by grace.  The future is possibility, not eviction.  

  When you go into the world, do you do so with hope in your heart?  When you encounter others, are you looking for common ground, for a place where you might encourage one another?  Or are you watching the actions of the other, waiting to ensnare them in their words, looking for an opportunity to prove that they are wrong and you are right?  

  It's way more fun to be right than wrong.  I get that.  But to live one's life with the sole focus on finding fault in others is surely exhausting, and it tears down community.  Let us hold each other accountable, and always seek the Truth, but may we do so with grace in our words and our hearts, always looking for a way to build bridges between communities, humbly extending a hand and inviting others to the table to break bread and be transformed by what God does between us.

Mark 2:23-28

Mark 2:23-28 

The Message

  The Pharisees loved rules.  They loved having countless rules, using each one to remind people how broken they were.  They used these rules to keep themselves in power, creating separation between themselves and others. 

  Jesus comes along and reminds us what those rules are about.  The rules that exist are there to orient us towards God.  If the rules are separating us from God, then the rules aren't working properly.  If the rules aren't animating our hearts to love God, if the rules aren't helping preventing us from making mistakes that distance us from God, then we need to look at the rules.

  What we know is that Jesus fulfilled the ritual laws, but left the moral law in place.  Jesus tells us to love our neighbors as ourselves, to love God above all else, but leaves many of the details up to us.  I think he raises the standard rather than lowering the bar.

  So when you step back and look at your life, at the structures that are there to orient your heart and life toward God, what is helping?  What needs more work?  How can the Spirit lead you closer to God?  How is God calling you to put things in place to draw you closer to God?

Mark 2:18-22

Mark 2:18-22 

The Message

  I don't envy the Puritans, and not just because they didn't have indoor plumbing.  Certain religious orders have been so afraid of pleasure and the temptations it might bring that they shun them all.  I understand the basic idea -- when you shun all temptation, it's hard to make a certain kinds of mistakes, although I imagine the temptation to self-righteousness is on the other side of that line.  But if you shun all pleasure, there's the reality that you miss much of the richness the world has to offer -- and God designed many things to be good and to be enjoyed.  We're called to feast at times, just as we're called to fast at other times.  We're called to celebrate with laughter and joy, just as there are other times to mourn and weep.  

  So where's the line between enjoying the good things in the world and being self-indulgent?  When we stop recognizing the good things in the world as pointing to God and to God's ultimate glory, this is when we start erring.  The sweetness of an apple and the beauty of a sunset are meant to point us to God, to lead us to worship, to teach us that God is good and can be trusted and intends good things for us.  

  I don't always get this right.  Jesus feasted with his friends and with strangers, and he fasted in the wilderness.  All of this was undergirded by prayer.  His life had a constant dependence on God, and that led him into closer relationships with others and a closer relationship with God.  I pray for the wisdom to know how to balance, how to choose, how to understand my life as something to be lived for the glory of  God, to enjoy the good things in creation while avoiding those temptations that might lead me away from God.  

  The faithful life is a daily renewal of God's mercies and a daily reminder that our faith depends on God's grace, not our efforts.