Mark 2:23-28; Lordship

I think the Pharisees often get a bad rap. We put them down as the bad guys that Jesus stood up to; rarely are they painted in a good light. Yet they were people trying to do their best to serve God. They knew the word of God better than anyone I can think of now. Still, they missed the point so often that it is scary to think of how I, someone with less knowledge than they, must miss the point so frequently.

So what would be the law or issue that I would point out to Jesus regarding other followers? What little thing do I miss the point on? Maybe it would be that they are undisciplined? How can someone be serving God if they let themselves go physically and don't practice any discipline in their life? Maybe it would be that they don't dress in the right way to show respect or moral integrity? Maybe it would be that they are less focused upon knowing scripture than I think is healthy or that they focus on parts of scripture that I don't think are as relative? Maybe I would point out that their personality is too abrasive or not outgoing enough or in some way does not seem Christ-like?

Maybe in that same conversation Jesus would turn to me and proclaim that the Son of Man is Lord of whatever area I am complaining about. Maybe today my primary job is to back off of my critical nature and just be a faithful follower. Maybe my job is to let Jesus rather than me be Lord of everything and everyone.

Mark 2:13-22; I Wonder

I wonder. I wonder if Jesus felt any different around the morally upstanding and the morally depraved. He could see the faults of everyone and he chose to spend his time with those whom we call sinners. I wonder how they felt in his presence? Did they feel uncomfortable or encouraged as he ate with them?

He recognized the crowd called the "sinners" as being in need and did not argue that they were "sick". He granted that fact to the Pharisees but he reacted to them so differently. I wonder if that made them feel more sinful or more accepted?

I wonder if they cleaned up their language, stopped drinking and acted more ethical around Jesus? I wonder if it mattered as much to him as it did the Pharisees? I wonder if Jesus told jokes with them? I wonder if he toasted with them? I wonder if they hated to see him leave?

I wonder how close I come to making others feel the way he did? I wonder.

Mark 2:1-12; Popular

So why was Jesus so popular? In chapter one people flooded the house where he was, searched for him early in the morning and followed him in such numbers that he could not enter towns. Chapter two begins with the crowd overflowing from the house into the street. When they could not reach him, people dug through the roof to see him.

So why do so many church buildings sit vacant today? Why are so many people angry with Christians? Gandhi once said "I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. They are so unlike your Christ."

Ouch but amen at the same time. People flocked to Jesus or tried to kill him. He had a polarizing effect. That is not a description of most North American Christians. I wonder how he feels about the phenomenon?

Why are we not comfortable being polarizing agents in society? I have to ask myself if it Jesus that we really want to be like or something / someone else?

Mark 1:40-45; Risk

Many things amaze me about this story. The faith of the leper was impressive. He basically stated his total confidence in the power of Jesus and said the prayer that Jesus said in the garden, i.e., "your will be done." Jesus reached out and touched the man before saying a word. It should have made him unclean as well; every person standing there probably held his / her breath. What would happen to the great teacher if he contracted leprosy? Five words later the man was redeemed. It was more than healing his skin, it was giving him life again. He could leave the caves, reconnect with family and resume his place in society. With his touch and his words, Jesus radically transformed the man and touched everyone he knew.

The leper took a chance in approaching Jesus. Every other Jew would have rejected him. He knew he was breaking the Levitical law in approaching Jesus. Yet he came.

Jesus took a chance in touching the man. He knew that contracting an infectious disease would end his ministry. Yet before saying a word, he touched the man.

Risk. Society, tradition and fear all tell us to avoid it. Yet both characters in this story took a chance. And a miracle resulted. Being vulnerable, taking a chance is to give room for God to work. Without taking a chance, we have no hope of a miracle story. I wonder how many lives will NOT be touched today because we will not take a chance.

Mark 1:29-39; The Quiet

Jesus drew a crowd. They followed him from the synagogue to Peter's house and brought more people with them. Early the next morning, the crowd was back. Peter and the others surely thought that this meant success. They wanted Jesus to show up for the crowd; but Jesus left. He left to spend time alone in prayer. Then he left with the apostles to introduce the kingdom to other villages. The crowd meant nothing to him.

It seems to me that North Americans seek to be busy. We seek it like Jesus sought the quiet. We seek the crowd and events while he left them behind. We act like Peter attempting to get Jesus back on stage, though we should act like Jesus leaving the stage behind. As long as we measure success by popularity and numbers, we will never experience the peace that comes from time alone in quiet places with the Father.

I have often looked at Jesus' solitude moments and contemplated what went on. As God, did he need to express a list of petitions to the rest of God? Surely not. Yet isn't that what we commonly believe prayer to be? We use it like a Christmas list of needs, e.g., "I want, I need . . ." Yet it must be much more. Jesus sought it when life became busy. Instead of energizing off of the crowd, he energized from his time in communion with the Father. He experienced a relationship that filled his soul, gave him peace and clarified his purpose. I don't think that can happen in a crowd.

Mark 1:14-27; The Kingdom

Jesus announced a new world; he called people to change their lives in order to live in the kingdom of God, which was imminent. Jesus said that the coming of the new world was good. Peter, Andrew, James and John all believed the message enough to walk away from their daily life. A demon possessed man even recognized it. But what was he doing in the synagogue? What kind of a world is it where the demon possessed sit together with the God seekers to study the Torah? How serious could he have been or the other followers around him have been? Indeed Jesus was calling for something different.

I wonder what it looks like to Jesus now? As he looks at the church, does he still see the demon possessed blending in with the God-seekers? Are we any more serious about following God than they were? Are we living in the kingdom of God?

Jesus was amazing. People were stunned by him. I don't want to live a life that makes me indistinguishable from the demon possessed. I don't want to live in a community where someone with such a core of evil blends in with the rest. I want to live in a kingdom ruled by God where amazing things happen.

Mark 1:9-13; Spiritual Lows

Jesus went from the spiritual high of heaven being torn open, the Spirit descending on him and the Father speaking his approval to the spiritual depths of isolation, not eating for 40 days and Satanic temptation. From one extreme to the other overnight.

So what makes me think that my life should be any different? Somehow most of us have come to believe that we should have "normal" days or even "good" days. We expect God to take care of most of my problems and let me bump along without too much effort. Yet, if Jesus went from highs to lows so quickly, why should I expect to be more privileged than him?

Also it seems that the lows are when we question God's presence and concern. Yet his concern for the life of Jesus never wavered. So when I so often feel abandoned by God or question his concern, what does that say about me? Am I unable to recognize a desert experience? Do I think that I should be given an easier life than Jesus? Why do I think my life should be so easy when his was not?