Monday, March 18, 2024

Listen to Jesus

 


Listen to Jesus (Mark 9:1-13)

...a voice from the cloud said, ‘This is my Son. Listen to him.’” (Mark 9:7)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~



A few days after Jesus totally confused us by telling us that the Son of Man would suffer and be killed, and that any who would follow him must lose their lives in order to find real life, Jesus took three of his disciples – Peter, James, and John – up to a mountain. I didn’t get to see what happened on the mountain, but the three who did witness it told of something pretty amazing. 


Evidently, while they were on the mountain, Jesus’ appearance suddenly changed. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became brilliantly white. As if that wasn’t amazing enough, out of nowhere Moses and Elijah appeared, standing with Jesus and talking with him! Peter, James, and John were awestruck. Peter said something about building three booths – one each for Moses, Elijah, and Jesus. 


Then a cloud covered all of them, and Peter, James, and John heard a voice coming from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son. Listen to him.”


Then, as quickly as it started, it was over. Moses and Elijah were gone. It was just Jesus and his three disciples once again. Jesus told them not to say anything about what they had seen until after the Son of Man has risen from death.


So, obviously Peter, James and John told us about what they had seen. Nobody has been able to keep quiet about anything regarding Jesus.


I replayed the account in my mind over and over. Moses and Elijah, the two great figures of Israel that represent God’s Law and the prophets – their appearance couldn’t be coincidental. Peter obviously recognized that when he suggested that he build three booths to honor the occasion. Peter rightfully put Jesus right up there with Moses and Elijah.


But there’s more to it than that, I think. Jesus is more than simply a peer of Moses and Elijah. Maybe that’s why the voice from the cloud – clearly, the voice of God – spoke and singled out Jesus: “This is my Son. Listen to him.” The more I think about it, the more I begin to realize that everything in God’s Law and the Prophets regarding Messiah and God’s plan for God’s kingdom were pointing to Jesus. He is the One of whom Moses had spoken when he said another would come after him. He is the One through whom all the messianic visions of the new heaven and new earth would come to pass.


In my mind, the affirmation of God’s voice – This is my Son, listen to him – confirms the fact that Jesus is not equal with Moses and Elijah, rather, he supersedes them. It’s not as if I don’t need to pay attention to God Law and the Prophets, though; it’s just that if I really want to understand them in all their fulness, I need to listen to Jesus.


I also realize that God’s affirmation of Jesus comes to all of us at just the right time. I mean, Jesus has been saying some really hard and bewildering things, like predicting his death, telling us that the way to life is to lose our lives and carry our cross every day. The fact that God says of Jesus, “listen to him,” encourages me to stick with Jesus, because Jesus is the One who will reveal all of God’s truth to me.

In my walk with Jesus, sometimes the only clarity I get is that I have to trust him. I think that’s what it means to listen to him – to trust him. Even when things are confusing. Especially when things are confusing.



Dear Jesus, I am so glad to know that I don’t have to wonder about where to turn for truth, because you are truth incarnate. Help me, I pray, to hear your voice among the myriad of voices that clamor for my attention and loyalty, and to listen to you. Amen.



Saturday, March 16, 2024

Who Do You Say That I Am?

 


Who Do You Say That I Am? (Mark 8:27-38)


Your thoughts don’t come from God but from human nature…” (Mark 8:33)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~



As we set out from Bethsaida on the north end of Lake Galilee, we walked toward Caesarea Philippi. I never really liked that place. Many generations ago, my people turned away from God and set up places to worship Baal there. Then later on, the Greeks erected a magnificent shrine to their god of the shepherds, Pan. And now the city has been named after Caesar, and every year the citizens are required to declare that Caesar is Lord.


I was thinking about these things as we drew near to the city, wondering how the people would receive Jesus there. Jesus turned to us and asked, “Who do people say that I am?” A few of the twelve disciples offered answers: “Elijah,” “John the Baptist, returned from the dead,” “one of the prophets,” they said. Then Jesus looked right at us and asked us, “And who do you say that I am?” Against the backdrop of a place of various pagan influences, I don’t think Jesus’ question was coincidental; I think he really wanted us to decide who we believe he is, among all the deities that people worship. Peter spoke the words that I think most of us were thinking: “You are the Messiah.”


This was a very big moment! Finally, one of us had put words to what we were thinking – to what we were hoping. Everything that Jesus had been doing and saying up to now pointed to this revelation. Curiously enough, there were no trumpets from heaven, no angelic choruses singing his praises at this revelation. Jesus simply told us to keep it to ourselves.


Then he began to say things that made us wonder if we were right in believing him to be the Messiah. He began to say that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be turned over to the officials, who would kill him; and then he would rise from the dead. Peter, again voicing concerns that all of us were having, told Jesus he shouldn’t be talking like that. 


That sparked a fire in Jesus. Immediately turned and looked at Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! Your thoughts don’t come from God, but from human nature!” And then Jesus said more things that seemed harsh, and that confused us. He spoke of us needing to forget ourselves – to deny ourselves and carry our crosses (what on earth does he mean by that?). He said that the only way to find life is to lose our lives for him and the Good News. Then he drew a line in the sand by saying, “Anyone who is ashamed of me and my message – well, the Son of Man will be ashamed of you when he comes.”


I think all of us felt like Jesus had sort of punched us in the gut. Not sort of, but really. His words took the wind out of us. Had we got it all wrong? Was he not the Messiah after all?


As I reflected on this incident later, I remembered what Jesus had said to Peter: “Your thoughts don’t come from God, but from human nature.” It made me realize that we weren’t wrong in believing Jesus is the Messiah; but we were wrong in our thoughts of what the Messiah would be like. Our thoughts and hopes for the Messiah were not the same as God’s plans for the Messiah. It made me remember what God had said through the prophet long ago: “My thoughts are not your thoughts, and my ways are different from yours. As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are my ways and thoughts above yours.” (Isaiah 55:8-9)


Walking with Jesus means I have to be willing to put aside my own preconceptions of who Jesus must be as the Messiah, as my Lord. Apparently, walking with Jesus means walking down a road that leads to rejection of him. It means, apparently, following him to his death. Walking with Jesus also means, apparently, that I must be willing to sacrifice my own plans for the future and for my life, for the sake of following him.


And somehow, mysteriously, walking with Jesus on his terms will also mean that I will find life in all its fullness. By losing my life for his sake, by carrying my cross (whatever that means) – by sticking with Jesus even when I don’t understand all of his ways, I will experience true life as God intends for me.


I’m still confused by it all. The claims that Jesus makes and the demands that he puts on me are heavy, and I don’t understand it all. But so far I have trusted Jesus, and he hasn’t let me down. Even though I don’t understand it all, trusting that Jesus will show me the way as I walk with him is enough.



Dear Jesus, I wish I knew everything there is to know about you. I wish I could know exactly what it means that you are Messiah, the Anointed One of God. Help me to put aside my own preconceptions, so that I can embrace you as you truly are. Help me to accept the difficult truths and the demands that are place on everyone who chooses to walk with you. Help me to believe, to really believe. Amen.

Friday, March 15, 2024

More than One Way to See





More than One Way to See (Mark 8:11-26)

You have eyes – can’t you see?” (Mark 8:18)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Today in my walk with Jesus I learned that there is more than one way to be blind. There is the obvious way to be blind – to be physically unable to see, that is. And Jesus addressed this kind of blindness by healing a man who couldn’t see. Jesus literally made the man able to see things again. It was amazing!


There is also a blindness of the heart, an inability to understand or discern important spiritual truths. For example, earlier in the same day that Jesus had made the blind man see again, he accused us of our own blindness, because we couldn’t understand what he was talking about when he said, “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees.” We thought Jesus was referring to the fact that we didn’t have but one loaf of bread with us. After just having fed 4,000 people with seven loaves of bread (not to mention the other time when he fed 5,000 people with just five loaves), Jesus was incredulous that we would be concerned about not having enough bread. “You have eyes – can’t you see?,” he said, astounded at the blindness of our hearts. “You still don’t understand, do you?” We later realized that Jesus’ remark about the yeast of the Pharisees was a warning against the tendency of unbelief to take root and spread so easily.


Just as there are more ways than one to be blind, there are also more ways than one to be able to see. There is the kind of seeing that our eyes provide for our bodies, and there is a seeing of the heart. We can physically see things with our eyes, but at the same time we can miss the truth of what we see. I realize that it is the second kind of seeing – the ability to discern and understand the truth of who Jesus is – that is critical in my walk with Jesus. What good does it do any of us if we see the kinds of things that Jesus does, and hear the things he says, but we are clueless as to their meaning? What good does it do any of us if we can’t apply what Jesus does and says to our own everyday lives?


Every miracle of Jesus points to something beyond the miracle itself. Every word that Jesus speaks is full of meaning. There is more to Jesus than meets the eye. Way more.



Open my eyes, dear Jesus. Not just the eyes on my face, but even more importantly, open the eyes of my heart. I want to see you – really see you. I want your words and your actions to take root and grow within me, that I may begin to comprehend the immeasurable truth of who you are, and so I may be more and more faithful as I walk with you. Open my eyes, Jesus. Help me to see. Amen.

Thursday, March 14, 2024

Quick-Acting Yeast

 


Quick-Acting Yeast (Mark 8:1-21)

Be very careful. Keep a sharp eye out for the contaminating yeast of Pharisees and the followers of Herod.” (Mark 8:15)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~



Everywhere Jesus goes, large crowds seem to find him. Earlier today, about 4,000 people gathered around Jesus. Just like that other time when about 5,000 people came to hear him teach, Jesus had compassion on this crowd, too. So he took the few loaves of bread that we had, along with several fish, and he fed the entire crowd. One day I’m sure people will talk about having a power lunch, but they will have no idea what a real power lunch looks like!


Because we’ve been in the region of Lake Galilee, we spend a lot of time in the boat. So, after we fed the 4,000 people (and by “we,” I really mean Jesus, because he was the one who miraculously fed the people; we just gave him what little bread we had), we got into the boat and went to the region of Dalmanutha. We were met by a bunch of Pharisees who wanted to put Jesus to the test. I’m sure they must have heard about everything Jesus had been doing, including the latest mass feeding. But the word of others wasn’t good enough for them; they demanded that Jesus prove himself to them by showing them their own private miracle.


Jesus just rolled his eyes and let out a heavy sigh. Looking to nobody in particular, he vented his frustration. “Why does this generation clamor for miraculous guarantees?,” he said. If I have anything to say about it, you’ll not get so much as a hint of a guarantee.” Then we got back into the boat and headed toward the other side of the lake.


While we were in the boat, Jesus said to us, “Watch out, be careful and be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.” Being the dull-headed dolts that we can be at times, we misunderstood what Jesus was saying about when he spoke of yeast. But that’s a story for another day. 


Later in the evening, I did go back in my mind and think about Jesus’ warning against the yeast of the Pharisees and Herod. Given the Pharisees’ persistent refusal to believe or even acknowledge that Jesus is sent from God, and given the Herod’s propensity to act with evil and violence against anyone who poses a threat to his power, I have concluded that the “yeast” of which Jesus speaks is the contaminating influence of unbelief and evil. 


I know that yeast, when it is mixed into a batch of flour and water, will cause the whole mixture to grow. A ball of dough the size of a fist can grow into the size of a large melon in only a matter of a few hours. It’s pretty amazing. If Jesus is comparing the unbelieving and evil spirit of the Pharisees and Herod to yeast, then I feel like he’s saying that their influence can quickly become very contagious, and their influence can quickly spread.


As I walk with Jesus, I realize that I must be careful not to let even a little bit of a bad influence to creep into my heart, because in no time at all it can take hold and spread into every aspect of my faith. And it’s not only my faith that is threatened by the “yeast,” but the faith of everyone else with whom I associate. The whole movement surrounding Jesus and the kingdom he is establishing can quickly become infected if any of us lets the unbelieving and coercive spirit of the Pharisees and those who follow Herod get a foothold in our lives. 


I need to be very careful. It doesn’t take much of a bad thing to ruin all the good things about my walk with Jesus. 



Dear Jesus, I pray for a spirit that is able to discern things that would become a bad and infectious influence within me and everyone else who walks with you, because we know how quickly the bad influences can overtake us.

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Putting Together the Pieces

 


Putting Together the Pieces (Mark 7:31-37)

A deaf man with a speech impediment was brought to him, and everyone begged Jesus to lay his hands on the man and heal him… Then, looking up to heaven, [Jesus] sighed and commanded, ‘Open!’ Instantly the man could hear perfectly and speak plainly!” (Mark 7:32, 34-35)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~



Jesus decided it was time to return to the region by the sea of Galilee, back to the area known as Ten Cities. Some people came to Jesus, bringing with them a man who was deaf and who had a severe speech impediment. They desperately wanted Jesus to heal the man. (It seems that everyone wants Jesus to heal them. I get it, he can do things that no one else can do.)


Jesus took the man aside. I watched as Jesus put his hands on the man’s ears and then put some spittle on the man’s tongue. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and cried out, “Be opened!” Instantly the man’s hearing and speech were perfectly restored!


The healing miracles are becoming commonplace. But I never cease to be amazed at what Jesus can do. I have begun to realize that the miracles aren’t just for the sake of the individual people whom Jesus has healed, but that the miracles are pointing to something bigger than just the healings. It’s as if the miracles themselves are sending a message about who Jesus is.


Once again, my mind goes back to some of the things I have heard from our holy scriptures. I remember words written long ago by the prophet Isaiah, words that describe how the world will be transformed when the Messiah comes to rule, when God’s kingdom is truly established. Isaiah spoke of the dry, arid, and barren wilderness being transformed into a place of lush beauty and vegetation, much like the garden where God placed Adam and Eve. And amazing things will happen to those who live there. I remember these words from the prophet:


The blind will be able to see,
    and the deaf will hear.
The lame will leap and dance,
    and those who cannot speak will shout for joy. 
(Isaiah 35:5-6)


I begin to put some pieces together. So far I have watched Jesus tell a paralyzed man to get up and walk – and the man did just that; and I have seen Jesus restore hearing and speech to a deaf and mute man. I’m pretty sure that Jesus is perfectly capable of healing people of blindness, too; who knows – maybe he’ll even heal a blind man some day. Each individual miracle is amazing on its own. But when I put the miracles together, I begin to see a much bigger picture start to emerge.


It makes me realize that Jesus is more than a miracle worker. He’s the Messiah! He’s the One for whom the whole world has been hoping and longing, the One who will make the world right again! My head is spinning at this realization. I’m not sure I can wrap my head around what this really means for me, for Israel, for the world. 


As I walk with Jesus, I am starting to see that every glimpse into who he is and what he can do is exactly that – just a glimpse, a foretaste of sorts. If I’m going to truly grasp the depth, width, height, and breadth of Jesus and the ways he will come to rule the world, every once in a while I need to take a step back and see how the glimpses fit together to make a bigger, more true picture of Jesus come to light.


I’ll have to keep walking with Jesus, because I know he has so much more to show me. There are a whole lot more glimpses I need to see before I get anything that resembles an accurate picture of who Jesus is. I’ll just have to take it one day at a time. When you’re walking with Jesus, one day at a time is enough.



Dear Jesus, thank you for pulling the scales off of my eyes and helping me to see who you are. Continue to help me see you better and better every day. Amen.

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Rethinking the Things I Have Been Taught

 


Rethinking the Things I Have Been Taught (Mark 7:24-30)

So Jesus said to her, “Because of that answer, go back home, where you will find that the demon has gone out of your daughter!” (Mark 7:29)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~


Our walk with Jesus took us from the area around Capernaum, northwest to the coastal city of Tyre. That far north in Israel there is a greater concentration of Gentiles, and so I feel like we need to be careful. Good Jews like us, after all, are not to mingle with Gentiles.


As usual, Jesus wanted his visit to be low-key. He didn’t want to draw attention to himself. But as usual, that was impossible. Word quickly got out that Jesus was in town.


We were at dinner in someone’s house when, suddenly, a woman came in and threw herself at Jesus’ feet, begging him to cast the demon out of her daughter, who was at her home. And this woman, she was a Gentile. Ugh.


Jesus looked at the woman and said to her, “Let the children eat first. It isn’t right to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” The silence in the room was palpable. Did Jesus, a man of compassion and care, really call this woman a dog? Is that what we heard?


But the woman didn’t seem insulted by what Jesus said. In fact, she jumped right into whatever word game Jesus was playing, and she said to Jesus, “That’s true, sir, but even the dogs under the table get the scraps and crumbs that fall to the floor.”


A smile came across Jesus’ face at this Gentile woman’s response. “Good answer! Go on home, and you will find that your child’s demon has left her.” So the woman left. I heard later on that her daughter’s demon had, in fact, left the child.


I can’t stop thinking about the conversation between Jesus and this Gentile woman. So many things swirling about in my head. For one thing, I was shocked to hear Jesus call this woman a dog. I mean, that is how we refer to the Gentiles – as dogs. But I have not heard a derogatory word come from Jesus’ lips. For him to call her a dog really seems uncharacteristic of Jesus. Because it sounds so uncharacteristic, I choose to believe that Jesus is, in a mysterious way, communicating with this woman in a compassionate manner. I have never known Jesus not to show compassion to people who suffer, even people we’re supposed to avoid; I don’t think I need to assume that he was speaking cruelly with the Gentile woman.


I realize that the language of “children” and “dogs” is also the common way that Jews speak of Jews and Gentiles. The Jews are the children of God, and the Gentiles are, well, dogs. Could Jesus have been saying that he needs to help the Jews before he turns his attention to the Gentiles? I don’t know. It still bothered me, but it didn’t seem to bother the woman, so clearly something was going on that I don’t fully understand. 


Something else that strikes me is that when the woman came into the room, I reacted with revulsion, because she was a “despised Gentile.” That was my instinct, because it was so ingrained in my being to think that way about Gentiles. But the more I think about it, the more I feel convicted for feeling that way about anyone who is different in a way that I have been taught is not good. It was just yesterday that Jesus told me I need to rethink what “unclean” means. I realize that it was wrong for me to consider this Gentile woman “unclean.” I also realize that Jesus came, not just for Israel, but for the whole world.


Finally, I am inspired by the determination of the woman. She was courageous enough to break taboo by entering the house and coming up to Jesus. She was persistent, and wouldn’t be put off easily. Her persistence and determination were evidence of a strong faith. Her example is something I want to imitate.


Sometimes my walk with Jesus just makes me rethink things. I don’t always get blinding revelations. But walking with Jesus does make me look at things differently because Jesus is different, very different from anyone I have ever known. He really does shake up my sensibilities. And I’m glad that he does shake things up for me. I’m beginning to believe it is making me a better person.



Open my heart and my mind, Jesus. Make me willing to rethink everything I have been taught, so that I can see things from your pure, unpolluted perspective. Amen.

Monday, March 11, 2024

Create in Me a Clean Heart, O God



 Create in Me a Clean Heart, O God.

These people, says God, honor me with their words, but their heart is really far away from me. It is no use for them to worship me, because they teach human rules as though they were my laws!” (Mark 7:6-7)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~


Pharisees. They’re really sticklers for the rules. They know every command from God’s Law, and they have set up mountains upon mountains of complicated rules to make sure we know how to obey the commands exactly. They are obsessed, not only with God’s Law, but also with the rules they have made up. It’s no fun being around them, because they’re always correcting us, telling us how bad we are because we don’t follow their rules to the letter.


Here’s an example. We were eating lunch, but we hadn’t dipped our hands in the basin that was specifically set aside for ceremonial washing. The Pharisees must have been watching us, because they just barged in and accused us of eating with “unclean” hands (The truth is, we did wash our hands, but we used the vessel that collects rain water, and not the one with the “special” cleansing water; and maybe we didn’t do all the hand motions that the Pharisees’ rules require). They confronted Jesus – rather rudely, I might say – and demanded that he explain why we didn’t wash our hands according to the rules that had been handed down from generation to generation.


Well, Jesus didn’t answer their question. Instead, he leveled an accusation of his own at them. He recited words of the Lord spoken through the prophet Isaiah: “These people claim to worship me, but their words are meaningless, and their hearts are somewhere else. Their religion is nothing but human rules and traditions, which they have simply memorized.”(Isaiah 29:13) Then Jesus went on to point out how the Pharisees put more importance on their own traditions than they do on God’s Law itself. In fact, they use some of the rules that they have made up in ways that actually contradict God’s Law.


God’s Law says to honor your father and your mother,” Jesus said. “But you have this way of designating your money as ‘holy money, set aside for God,’ and then when your parents need your help you say, ‘Oh gee, I’m sorry. I would help you if I could, but I’ve designated that money as holy money, so I can’t use it for you.’ Sheer hypocrisy!”


Later on, when we were alone with Jesus, we were rehashing the debate about unclean hands. Jesus told us that it’s not what’s on the outside that makes us unclean, but what’s in our hearts. He told us, from the inside, from your heart, come the evil ideas which lead you to do immoral things, to rob, kill, commit adultery, be greedy, and do all sorts of evil things; deceit, indecency, jealousy, slander, pride, and folly—all these evil things come from inside you and make you unclean.”


It made me realize that the rules and rituals don’t mean anything if they don’t address what is in my heart. God’s Law was given to us, not so we could rigidly adhere to a bunch of rules, but so we could cultivate in our hearts a deep and abiding love for God and for everyone we encounter. I remember how God spoke through the prophets and told the people that the sacrifices and elaborate worship they observed meant nothing to him because their worship failed to make the people help the oppressed, provide for the orphans and widows, or pursue real justice for everyone.


Now that I think about it, I realize that when King David wanted to be right with God, he prayed, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” It’s always been about our heart.


The longer I walk with Jesus, the more I am convinced that walking with him – following him, obeying him – is not worth anything unless my walk with him is changing my heart. Unless my heart is becoming more and more conformed to the heart of Jesus, then any way that I act like Jesus is no better than the way of the Pharisees.


Becoming “clean” in the eyes of the Lord goes way beyond washing my hands and avoiding lepers and women with issues of blood, because it’s not the dirty hands or leprosy or issue of blood that the Lord sees. It’s the heart that he sees.


If you want to know if you’re “clean” before the Lord, you don’t need to look at how well you adhere to the rules. You just need to look into your heart.



Dear Jesus, I don’t want my walk with you to consist of rigidly going through the motions of doing the things you tell me to do. What I do want is for my walk with you to make me more and more like you – not just looking like you on the outside, but really being like you deep in my heart. Amen.