Moses Disobeyed.

Numbers 19:1-20:29

I tend to think of Moses as a man who did God’s will. I know that he was raised in the Pharaoh’s household. I know that he killed a man who was harming a Jew. Moses then left and went into the desert.

After 40 years God told Moses to go back and get the people and bring them out of Egypt. Moses didn’t want to do as God asked, but he did with Aaron’s help.

And so the people wandered in the wilderness, and they griped and groaned, got angry with Moses, wanted to return to Egypt, and didn’t trust God.

In fact they disobeyed God to the point that God said that not one of generation of adults who left Egypt would end up in the Promised Land. There were two exceptions that He specified; Joshua and Caleb.

They wandered for years, but not too long before they arrived in the Promised Land, they were wanting water again. Moses talked to God, and God told Moses to talk to the rock. Water would emerge. In his frustration, Moses hit the rock. The water came out. But Moses disobeyed God, and he was not allowed in the Promised Land.

I think Moses’ punishment was extreme. Just consider all the things he had done correctly in getting the people where they were. But he disobeyed…and was not allowed in the Promised Land.

You think that is just a story? I used to think so. Poor Moses. But Moses and I, and you as well, are called upon to obey God…period. And we are not to question which I find very difficult to do. I am a curious person, and I always want to know why. I find obeying very difficult when anyone says, “Because I said so,” and that applies to God as well.

And I doubt that I am alone in my disobedience. We like to think we are obeying Him, but I think we are kidding ourselves. We say, “We will try to obey God,” and that is what we end up doing…trying. What if we said, “We will obey God.” Do you think it would make a difference? I do. When we try, we give ourselves an out. When we say, “We will,” we have made a commitment.

As we come upon Easter, let us all make the commitment to obey God. It will be difficult…but I think we can all do better than we are now. At least, I know that I have lots of room for improvement.

Carol

Bible Breath: Trust the Lord / Keep Him Holy

The Women

Mark 16:1-8

The disciples ran away at the time of Jesus’ crucifixion. The women in Jesus’ life stayed. I would think that they could have been in as much danger as the disciples, but they stayed.

As I said before, I would have been long gone. But the women came to the tomb to do the honorable thing which was to anoint Jesus’ body. They were unable to anoint him when he was first placed in the tomb because it was the evening of the Sabbath. But they came when they could, and even on the third day the men were nowhere to be found.

Throughout his life Jesus treated women as equals. It is a wonderful part of the story to me. It has taken the some of the rest of the world 2000+ years to catch up to him…and we really aren’t there yet.

All through Mark Jesus has told the apostles and the disciples that he would rise from the dead. No matter what kind of miracles he performed…even raising Lazarus from the dead, nobody seemed to believe that Jesus was going to be resurrected. And if the people were familiar with the Hebrew Bible, they knew that Elijah raised a woman’s son from the dead. I Kings 17:17-24.

But today we are the same. If we don’t see something happen, it is difficult for us to believe it has happened. That is why faith is so important for all of us. The Samaritan woman believed because she saw. We read the Bible, our book of faith, and are required to step out and believe on faith alone.

If we can do that, we will experience joy like we have never experienced before. I am not talking about happiness. Happiness and joy are two very different things. Joy lives within us. Happiness comes and goes and is dependent upon various situations in our lives. But the joy lives deep within us.

For much of my life I did not have that joy. I do now. It is wonderful. I have been blessed.

Carol

PS In my Bible it says that “the most reliable manuscripts and other ancient witnesses do not have Mark 16:9-20.” I just noticed that this time through this scripture.

Bible Breath: He has risen / He is not here

Were You There When They Crucified, My Lord?

Mark 15

Were you there when the Roman soldiers were crucifying Jesus? If you were there, what did you do? Did you leave; did you pray; did you demand his release; did you yell, “Crucify Him,” along with the crowd;” or were you afraid to do anything at all? Did you understand what was happening? Did you know who Jesus was?

We all have those kinds of options. We read the words again and again. But put yourself in Jesus shoes. People mocked him. Many of us take offense at the smallest criticism another person makes which does not come close to mocking.

Have you as a child been switched on your legs when you were naughty? Hurt, didn’t it? Can you imagine having your clothes stripped off and being flogged with a cat-o’-nine tails with metal at the end of each of the nine cords. The marks they make on a person’s back are sometimes called stripes…as in “By his (Jesus) stripes, we are healed.”

And then to make matters worse, the soldiers made a crown of thorns and jammed it on Jesus’ head. You can believe that “the crown” was not gently placed on his head. Do you know how big, sharp, long, and ugly thorns can be? Jesus’ crown was made of big, nasty thorns which would tear his scalp.

It is hard for us to grasp the torture and abuse Jesus went through to save us. Just think. He could have said, “No.” Jesus also had free-will. But he went through the crucifixion to save us from ourselves and to bring us to the Kingdom of God.

I do not know what I would have done at the time of the crucifixion. I would like to think I would be a brave soul and stand up for Jesus…even if it would have meant my downfall or death as well. But I cannot imagine that I would have done so if I am really honest about it. I am not a very brave person.

To have stood up with Jesus at the time of his trial and crucifixion would have taken some brave souls. I think I would have done as the disciples did. I would have run away.

But Jesus is “crucified” all the time…even now. We have the opportunities of standing with Jesus every day. I am found wanting. How are the rest of you doing?

Carol

Bible Breath: He died for us / Live for Him

Peter Wept.

Mark 14:53-72

Can you imagine such a strong, vital and faithful servant of Jesus weeping? When I see that rugged fisherman, I don’t think of Peter as a person who weeps…cries buckets of tears maybe, but I don’t picture him as weeping. It just doesn’t sound quite right, does it?

We know that Jesus wept. However, the circumstances were quite different. Jesus wept because his friend Lazarus had died, and Mary and Mary were in distress. He wept because he was sad.

Peter is a different story. In Mark 14: 29-31 “Peter declared [to Jesus], ‘Even if all fall away, I will not.’ ‘I tell you the truth’, Jesus answered, ‘today…yes, tonight…before the rooster crows twice you yourself will disown me three times.’

But Peter insisted emphatically, ‘Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.’ And all the others said the same.”

I feel certain that many of us have said that we would not disown Jesus. But I think we do so all the time. And I think perhaps we deny him by omission as much as by commission. We have ample opportunity in our daily lives to stand by/with/beside/for Jesus in our relationships with friends, acquaintances, and strangers as well.

But do we take advantage of those opportunities? I don’t think so. How often do you hear people standing up for Christ? If we are not standing up for him, we are denying Him.

I know I have done that very thing…and I am not at all proud of it. I didn’t realize how often I denied Jesus until recently. But I have backed away from discussions of our Lord. I have neglected to praise him. I have kept my mouth shut about his glory and the glory of God. In doing so I deny him. If we are not for Jesus, we are denying him. There is no gray area.

I understand why Peter wept after realizing that he had denied Jesus three times. He said he would follow Jesus anywhere, and many of us say the same. We generally are not in physical danger as Peter was when he denied Christ. But he understood that Jesus not only predicted but knew of his denial, and Peter wept. If we would have been in Peter’s shoes at the time, we undoubtedly would have wept too. It was upon Peter that Jesus was building the church.

Today Jesus is building the church upon us. We either accept that challenge of building the body of Christ, of fulfilling the Great Commission…or we do nothing and in doing so, we deny Christ.

Carol

Bible Breath: I will never / Disown You

Is it I, Lord?

Mark 14:1-21

Here we are with Jesus at Passover. He and the disciples are having what we now call the Last Supper. Much to the disciples’ surprise Jesus says that one of them will betray Him.

Can you imagine what that would have felt like? Each of the men except for one must have felt as if he had been smacked in the head. Jesus had chosen these men…they learned from Him, they taught, they learned some more, they followed Him…and one of them was going to betray Jesus?

Does that sound right to you? It doesn’t sound right to me. Why would a person do such a thing?

I know that I wouldn’t nor would you, I feel certain, But, you know what? Every time we are unkind, gossip, cuss, swear, ignore people, let people go hungry…a multitude of things…we betray Jesus.

Not so long ago a person asked if she could visit me. I do not love this person sufficiently because I made every excuse a person could possibly make for her not to visit. She did come to my home, but she called me from outside my apartment and said she had something for me…but that she would not come inside the door. I said okay begrudgingly.

She came to the door, did not come in, but handed me a card in a bright red envelope. It was a valentine. Never before had I received a valentine from her. Besides that, there was some money in it…and I had been praying for a small amount of money to give to a good cause.

That day, among others, I betrayed Jesus. Lord, it was I.

Carol

Bible Breath: Grant me mercy / A sinner

The Sanhedrin

Today we continue our walk towards Holy Week and the activities which transpired during that time. The Sadducees and the Pharisees had a work venue called the Sanhedrin.

(sănhĕd‘rĭn) , ancient Jewish legal and religious institution in Jerusalem that appears to have exercised the functions of a court between c.63 B.C. and c.A.D. 68. The accounts of it in the Mishna do not correspond to those in Josephus or in the New Testament. Rabbinic sources generally portray it as a body of Torah scholars presided over by the leader of the Pharisees. Greek sources view it as an aristocratic council led by the high priest. Some sources describe a body of 71 members, others of 23 members. Some scholars maintain that there probably were two Sanhedrins—one political and civil, and the Great Sanhedrin, purely religious. In 1807, Napoleon appointed a “French Sanhedrin” of 71 members, made up of both rabbis and laymen, to consider the relationship between Jews and the state.BibliographySee H. Mantel, Studies in the History of the Sanhedrin (1961).

Early Christianity

In the Gospels

Main article: Sanhedrin Trial of Jesus

The Sanhedrin is mentioned frequently in the Gospels. According to the Gospels, the council conspired to have Jesus killed by paying one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, thirty pieces of silver in exchange for delivery of Jesus into their hands. When the Sanhedrin was unable to provide evidence that Jesus had committed a capital crime, the Gospels states that witnesses came forward and accused the Nazarene of blasphemy — a capital crime under Mosaic law. But, because the Sanhedrin was not of Roman authority, it could not condemn criminals to death, according to John 18:31, but this claim is disputed, for example Acts 6:12 records them ordering the stoning of Saint Stephen and also James the Just according to Antiquities of the Jews 20.9.1. The Jesus Seminar’s Scholars Version translation notes for John 18:31: “it’s illegal for us: The accuracy of this claim is doubtful.”

Circa 30 CE, the Gospels continues, Jesus was brought before the Roman governor of Judaea Province, Pontius Pilate, for decision. The Christian account says that Pilate disagreed with the Sanhedrin’s decision, and found no fault — but that the crowd demanded crucifixion. Pilate, it is speculated, gave in because he was concerned about his career and about revolt — and conveyed the death sentence of crucifixion on Jesus. For more information on this subject, see Jesus’ Roman Trial.

It should be noted, however, that the New Testament also claims certain members of the Sanhedrin as followers of Jesus. Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea are two such men that are named in the Gospels.

The Christian accounts of the Sanhedrin, and the role the council played in the crucifixion of Jesus, is frequently cited as a cause of Christian anti-Semitism, and is thus normally considered a sensitive topic.

A Sanhedrin also appears in Acts 4-7 and 22:30-23:24, perhaps the one led by Gamaliel.

As you might have guessed by now, the main reasons I placed these topics on the blog was because I knew I had a vague grasp of this material.

There is an abundance of fascinating material on the internet. I got this material from www.answers.com and www.wikipedia.com. I hope you enjoyed this material

Carol

Bible Breath: Preach gospel / To all nations

Who Were the Pharisees?

Mark 12:38-13:13

Holy week begins on March 16, 2008. During this time the Sadducees and the Pharisees try to figure out a way to find Jesus guilty of a capital offense. Many of us have heard of these two groups, but some of us know very little about them. Yesterday, I presented material on the Sadducees. Today, it is the Pharisees’ turn.

Bible Dictionary - Pharisees

(far-uh-seez)A group of teachers among the Jews at the time of Jesus; he frequently rebukes them in the Gospels for their hypocrisy. Jesus says they are like “the blind leading the blind,” or like “whited sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.

Columbia Encyclopedia - Pharisees

(fâr’ĭsēz) , one of the two great Jewish religious and political parties of the second commonwealth. Their opponents were the Sadducees, and it appears that the Sadducees gave them their name, perushim, Hebrew for “separatists” or “deviants.” The Pharisees began their activities during or after the Hasmonean revolt (c.166–142 B.C.). The Pharisees upheld an interpretation of Judaism that was in opposition to the priestly Temple cult.

They stressed faith in the one God; the divine revelation of the law both written and oral handed down by Moses through Joshua, the elders, and the prophets to the Pharisees; and eternal life and resurrection for those who keep the law. Pharisees insisted on the strict observance of Jewish law, which they began to codify. While in agreement on the broad outlines of Jewish law, the Pharisees encouraged debate on its fine points, and according to one view, practiced the tradition of zuggot, or pairs of scholars with opposing views.

They developed the synagogue as an alternative place of worship to the Temple, with a liturgy consisting of biblical and prophetic readings, and the repetition of the shma, the basic creed of Judaism. In addition, they supported the separation of the worldly and the spiritual spheres, ceding the former to the secular rulers.

Though some supported the revolt against Rome in A.D. 70, most did not. One Pharisee was Yohanan ben Zakkai, who fled to Jamnia, where he was instrumental in developing post-Temple Judaism. By separating Judaism from dependence on the Temple cult, and by stressing the direct relation between the individual and God, the Pharisees laid the groundwork for normative rabbinic Judaism.

Their influence on Christianity was substantial as well, despite the passages in the New Testament which label the Pharisees “hypocrites” or “offspring of the vipers.” St. Paul was originally a Pharisee. After the fall of the Temple (A.D. 70), the Pharisees became the dominant party until c.135.

Carol

Bible Breath: Oh, breathe on me / Breath of God

Bibliography

See L. Finkelstein, The Pharisees: The Sociological Background of Their Faith (3d ed., 2 vol., 1963); A. Finkel, The Pharisees and the Teacher of Nazareth (1964); L. Baeck, Pharisees (1947, repr. 1966); J. Neusner, From Politics to Piety (1973) and The Pharisees (1985).

Who Were the Sadducees?

Mark 12:18-37

I have heard about the Sadducees all my life. But who were they. I decided to check them out. I share with you some of what I discovered.

Columbia Encyclopedia: Sadducees

(săj‘ʊsēz, săd‘yʊ–) , sect of Jews formed around the time of the Hasmonean revolt (c.200 B.C.). Little is known concerning their beliefs, but according to Josephus Flavius, they upheld only the authority of the written law, and not the oral tradition held by the Pharisees. They are believed to have had a small following, drawn primarily from the upper classes. Eventually, they reached an accommodation with the Pharisees, which allowed them to serve as priests in exchange for acceptance of Pharasitical rulings regarding the law. Their sect was centered on the cult of the Temple, and they ceased to exist after its destruction in A.D. 70.

History

While little or none of their own writings have been preserved, the Sadducees seem to have indeed been a priestly group, associated with the leadership of the Temple in Jerusalem. Possibly, Sadducees represent the aristocratic clan of the Hasmonean high priests, who replaced the previous high priestly lineage that had allowed the Syrian Emperor Antiochus IV Epiphanes to desecrate the Temple of Jerusalem with idolatrous sacrifices and to martyr monotheistic Jews. The Jewish holiday of Hanukkah celebrates the ousting of the Syrian forces, the rededication of the Temple, and the installment of the new Hasmonean priestly line. The Hasmoneans ruled as “priest-kings”, claiming both titles high priest and king simultaneously, and like other aristocracies across the Hellenistic world became increasingly influenced by Hellenistic syncretism and Greek philosophies: presumably Stoicism, and apparently Epicureanism if the Talmudic tradition criticizing the anti-Torah philosophy of the “Apikorsus” אפיקורסוס (i.e., Epicurus) refers to the Hasmonean clan qua Sadducees. Like Epicureans, Sadducees rejected the existence of an afterlife, thus denied the Pharisaic doctrine of the Resurrection of the UnDead.

The Dead Sea Scrolls community, who are probably Essenes, were led by a high priestly leadership, who are thought to be the descendents of the “legitimate” high priestly lineage, which the Hasmoneans ousted. The Dead Sea Scrolls bitterly opposed the current high priests of the Temple. Since Hasmoneans constituted a different priestly line, it was in their political interest to emphasize their family’s priestly pedigree that descended from their ancestor, the high priest Zadok, who had the authority to anoint the kingship of Solomon, son of David.

Most of what is known about the Sadducees comes from Josephus, who wrote that they were a quarrelsome group whose followers were wealthy and powerful, and that he considered them boorish in social interactions (see Josephus’s Wars of the Jews, Book II, Chapter VIII, Paragraph 14). We know something of them from discussions in the Talmud (mainly the Jerusalem),1 the core work of rabbinic Judaism, which is based on the teachings of Pharisaic Judaism.

(Wikipedia)

From what I have read what makes the Sadducees stand out, at least to us, is their not believing in the resurrection and their belief only in the Torah…the first five books of the Bible.

Carol

Bible Breath: Love your neighbor / As yourself

1 Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: Talmud

In Judaism, the systematic amplification and analysis of passages of the Mishna, the Gemara, and other oral law, including the Tosefta. Two Talmuds exist, produced by two different groups of Jewish scholars: the Babylonian Talmud (c. AD 600) and the Palestinian Talmud (c. AD 400). The Babylonian Talmud is more extensive and thus more highly esteemed. Both Talmuds formulate their own hermeneutics to convey their theological system by defining the Torah and by demonstrating its perfection and comprehensive character. The Talmud remains a text of central importance, particularly in Orthodox Judaism. Intensive modern Talmudic scholarship is pursued in Israel and the U.S.

Give unto Caesar

Mark 11:27 - 12:17

The Pharisees and Herodians were a bit dense, don’t you think so? They had watched as Jesus preached, healed, performed miracles. But they insisted at picking at Him at every turn. They wanted so badly to trap Him in His own words. And they did try…oh, yes, they did try.

But Jesus was a very bright man besides being the Son of Man and the Son of God. He would have made a wonderful lawyer. As the Pharisees were trying to get Jesus to tangle Himself in words, Jesus put them into a position of not being able to answer at all. Anything they said could be used against them.

I think the example I like best is the following:

13Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words. 14They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? 15Should we pay or shouldn’t we?”

But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. “Why are you trying to trap me?” he asked. “Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” 16They brought the coin, and he asked them, “Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?”
“Caesar’s,” they replied.

17Then Jesus said to them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.”
And they were amazed at him.

I think that brings up a good point for all of us. We must pay “Caesar,” or we will be jailed and/or fined.

But what happens when we don’t give to God. Actually, I don’t believe we can give to God as such. All we are doing is returning to Him what is already His. We make such a deal out of it, but without the blessings of God, where would we all be.

It does not sound that we are being asked too much to bring to God what He has already bestowed upon us so that His work can be continued. May we all do so and with joy it our hearts.

Carol

Bible Breath: Return to God / His bounty

I Want to See.

Mark 10:46 - 52

If someone were to ask you if you want to see, what would you say? Would you say, “I can already see?” What is it that you see?

Bartimaeus wanted to see. He was blind. He shouted to Jesus, who was on His way to Jerusalem, to have mercy on him. People tried to quiet him, but he persisted. Again he asked Jesus to have mercy on him.

Jesus had Bartimaeus brought to him. He told Bartimaeus that his faith had healed him. And Bartimaeus could see and followed Jesus.

Those of us who have literal vision…what do we mean when we ask Jesus to make us “see”. Perhaps it is that God truly exists; that Jesus is the Son of Man and Son of God; that we need to follow the commandments; that we need to become aware of our failures; that we need to confess them sincerely.

We need to “see” how to follow Jesus in our lives so that other people “see” Jesus in us as well. We need to step outside our doors and walk the walk that Jesus would have us walk in our daily lives…not just in our “church-lives”. We seem to try to separate church and society. Jesus didn’t nor can we. Our religion needs to be our lives…not just part of it and for many of us, it is secondary at that.

We cannot see Jesus through fog and smog. We need to see him clearly face to face so we can truthfully say, “I see you, Jesus. Have mercy on me, a sinner.”

Carol

Bible Breath: Seeing Jesus / Walk you faith

Leap Year

I don’t know if you are as surprised as I am to discover that there is no scripture reading for today…but I am surprised. It is as if this day does not biblical or scripturally exist. We have a little glitch in time. And so it is ignored. However, even though our scripture readings may take no notice of this day, you can be certain that God is watching.

The “3:16 Promise” is still in effect:

“For God so loved that world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16 KVJ

That verse is what Max Lucado calls “the Hope Diamond” of verses in the Bible. It is our promise…even on February 29.

Carol

Bible Breath: Believing Son / Life forever

Divorce - commentary

Mark 10:1-12

Divorce. What were you taught about divorce when you were a child? Do you remember? Or were you taught anything at all about it? Maybe the answers to those questions depend upon your age.

I was taught that divorce was sinful. People who married did so “til death do us part,” and they meant that. And most people stayed married. I cannot know for certain whether that was for the best or not, but I am glad I grew up with two parents. Most of my peers did as well. People talked in hushed tones about people getting divorces.

When I was five, a couple whom I loved dearly where going to get a divorce. It was Mom’s job to explain it to me. When she told me I cried and cried. I was inconsolable. I did not understand the entire thing, but I did realize that I was not going to be able to see one of my friends again. That was in 1946. To this day I still love the husband who remarried. But I never saw his first wife again nor did I ever know what happened to her. And to this day, I don’t know. It is as if she disappeared off the face of the earth. For me, she has died.

And then I got married when I was 29. I loved my husband, and he loved me. But he went into rages and became physically abusive. He said he would kill me. I knew through experience that he was capable of doing so. Therefore, I divorced him. He stalked me for six weeks. Some friends stayed with me and did not let me out of their sight for an instant.

Once again, I cried and cried and cried. I thought I was the only person on either side of the family who had ever been divorced. I thought I had brought disgrace upon everyone’s name. And I had sinned as well…big time. Then I remembered one other person in the family who was divorced. But to this day our family marries to stay married.

I am distressed when I hear someone say that he/she isn’t too certain whether to get married, but if it doesn’t work out, he/she can get a divorce. What a way to think!

In Jesus’ time women’s liberation had not taken place, but He valued women as much as He valued men which was quite different from Moses’ time.

It is a curious thing that some of us think we are fine upstanding Christians who don’t break commandments. However, just look at how many people commit adultery as defined by Jesus: “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery. (Mark 10:11-12)

God help us all.

Carol

Bible Breath: Forgive and help / Oh, my God

“If you can…?”

Mark 9:14-29

The father had a son with epilepsy (a spirit) which had robbed him of his speech, made him rigid, foam at the mouth, and threw him into water and into fire.

I don’t know if any of you have experienced a grand mal seizure (clonic-tonic seizure), but I have. Everything that is described above is accurate. I might add that if a person has a grand mal seizure and falls face down in the snow, he/she can suffocate. I take medicines to control my seizures.

However, the unnamed boy in this story did not have that advantage. He had seizures over and over again. And at that time and for thousands of years afterwards people thought that he and others were inhabited by spirits…usually evil spirits. But in some parts of the world, very few though, a person with epilepsy was worshiped as a god.

This was not the case here, however. The disciples had not been able to cast out the spirit. They could enact other cures, but they were unable to get this spirit to depart. Do you think it had anything to do with their confidence in their ability to do so…faith in themselves and what they had learned as well as faith in Jesus and God?

But I am absolutely amazed by the father’s saying to Jesus, “If you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” And Jesus replied, ” ‘If you can’? “Everything is possible for him who believes.” Wow! I don’t know whether I would have had the nerve to say that to Jesus. Perhaps I would ask if He would take time to heal my son.

But giving the father a break is necessary. The people were just beginning to learn of Jesus, what He could and would do…and who He was/is. The disciples failed to heal his son already. Therefore the father said, “If you can…?” to Jesus.

The father’s reply was a classic response for us all…yesterday, today, and tomorrow. “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief.”

Carol

Bible Breath: Believing you / Help me God

Pick Up the Cross

Mark 8:11-38

Yesterday I received a letter from a pastor in the Philippines. We have been corresponding and working on projects for at least two years.

In this country we seldom pay much attention to the Philippines. But they are having terrible problems with an extremely corrupt government. The inflation runs rampant.

Just as in our country investigations are established which rarely develop any kind of concrete useful plans which will benefit anyone. Or if a useful set of plans is developed, they often sit unused for years. But one of the investigations in the Philippines found a witness who would testify in court against the President of the country.

Pastor Alex in the Philippines has picked up the cross that Jesus talks about. He has written about the government and its ways. And I have from time to time been concerned that he would be arrested for what he has written.

In his letter which I received yesterday, he said that I might not hear from him for awhile. At least some of the people have decided to march in protest to the fraud and corruption which is ruining so many people’s lives. He joined the protest and doesn’t know what will happen, but he wanted me to know what he was doing in case I didn’t hear from him for awhile.

He asked for my prayers, and he has them. To anyone who may read this, I ask that you pray for Alex and the other marchers and the country itself.

Thanks,

Carol

Bible Breath: Believing You / Pick up the cross

Bread Crumbs

Matthew 7:24-30

24Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre.^[a] He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret. 25In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an evil^[b] spirit came and fell at his feet. 26The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter.

27“First let the children eat all they want,” he told her, “for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.”

28“Yes, Lord,” she replied, “but even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”

29Then he told her, “For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.”

30She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone. NIV

Over the years I have read this passage and was puzzled by what it meant. I was not so certain that I understood how Jesus, the woman, her child, other children, bread crumbs, and dogs fit together.

However, I am getting a glimmer of the picture…kind of like one of the very first movies that Thomas Edison made…black and white; herky-jerky; and no sound. In fact, it seems to me that we see lots of things around us that way today.

But here is a woman, a Greek, a gentile who approaches Jesus with her problem. It sounds as if He is trying to get away, but she throws herself at His feet. She stopped His leaving. And she asked Him to drive the demon from her daughter.

But Jesus tells her that first the Jews (the children) are fed. This, however, is a very bright lady. She replies that even the dogs get to eat the crumbs which fall on the floor as the children eat.

In other words, we are all at the table together. There is enough for us all in Jesus. What great delight Jesus must have taken in her response! And her faith enabled Jesus to heal her daughter.

Jesus’ table is large enough for us all. I hope we always invite people to join us at His table. Jesus included everyone. Can we do less?

Carol

Bible Breath: Having faith / Jesus responds

Feed the People

Mark 6:30-56

Jesus and the disciples had been around people all day, and they were tired. Jesus directed them to come with him to a quiet place and get some rest. But the people would not leave them alone. More and more came.

Jesus was a compassionate man so He began teaching them. Eventually, the disciples suggested to Jesus that the people leave before it became too late for them to obtain food.

The disciples sound very modern to me. I am sure that most of have been in the situation in which we have wished diligently that a visitor would leave so we could eat. We have almost prayed that the person would leave. We did not feel that we had enough food…or perhaps we didn’t think the food was “good enough” for our visitor. I have had that happen a three or four times in the past.

Jesus just told the disciples to get some food…in other words go into action and see what you can find. And they found the bread and the two measly fishes (or fish). But what could be done with such a pitiful amount? In the Bible it says 5000 men ate…and that, of course, does not count the women and children who were also fed.

If we offer what we have to Jesus, it will be sufficient. In fact, it will be more that sufficient. There will be left-overs. We tend to underestimate God and Jesus. When we restrict the Trinity to what we think it can do for us, with us, and through us, that is all that can be done. Our witness is as strong and expansive as our faith.

How many people will you be able to feed?

Carol

Bible Breath: Giving God thanks / He broke bread

Jesus Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Lack of Faith

Mark 6:1-6

What if Jesus had been born in Wabash, grew up as a carpenter, and went away…and when he returned, he was able to perform miracles, teach with authority, and had disciples?

I have no doubt that we would have reacted very much like the people in Nazareth did. There is a saying among speakers that you have to go 20 miles from your home town in order to be an authority. And it tends to be true today. We rarely look at those people in our midst as people who are truly special. And we are absolutely wrong.

There are special people with all kinds of gifts. We have known them all their lives. We just take them and their gifts for granted.

I wonder what the citizens of Nazareth missed by not recognizing Jesus and having faith in Him. It is an intriguing thought to me. I have no doubt that had their faith been in Jesus, wonderful things would have happened. The scripture says the following:

“He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed at their lack of faith.” 6:5-6 NIV That is surprising to me: “He could not…it doesn’t say whether Jesus wanted to do more, but lack of faith prevented His doing more for the people of Nazareth.

I think it is clear that we can apply that to our own lives. If Jesus is going to be able to do what we wish, we must have faith in Him. Otherwise, it will not happen. Whatever we ask for, we have to ask for in faith. Nothing else will do.

Carol

Bible Breath: Having faith / enables Christ

Touch His Robe

Mark 5:21-43

How solid is your faith? Have you ever wondered? I know I have. I do know a couple of things. I have more faith than in the past. Spiritual growth in faith takes me and probably other people a long time. It is a wondrous and sometimes perplexing journey. I have never had to test my faith as the people in the Bible had theirs tested.

One thing that constantly impresses me about the woman who was bleeding is her faith…her certainty that she did not need to have Jesus speak to her or touch her. If she could touch His robe, she knew she would be healed. As some pastors put it, she “claimed” her healing, and with because of her great faith, Jesus healed her.

The same was true with Jarius who believed with all his heart that Jesus would heal his daughter. Even when told that the daughter had died, Jesus told Jarius, the synagogue ruler, “Don’t be afraid. Just believe.” And He brought the little girl back to life.

What does this tell us? It certainly says that we need to believe in Jesus and what He can do. But it also shows us through miracles that He is the Son of God…and remember it. Mark, it seems to me, is determined to make that point…that we not miss it.

Jesus is the Son of the Most High God. He has God-given Authority over the earth and all who live on it.

Therefore, we also need to “touch His robe” and know that we too can be healed through His authority.

Carol

Bible Breath: Having faith / Jesus heals us

The Mustard Seed

Mark 4:30-34

I think most of us are familiar with the parable of the mustard seed. If you have that small amount of faith, you can bloom. I have wondered what Jesus would use for a comparison in this day and age…an atom, a neutron, a nano-machine. I don’t know. I have also wondered whether the story of the mustard seed was used in any other religions and cultures and how it was used. I found the following in Wikipedia:

Cultural references

In the Parable of the Mustard Seed, Jesus compares the Kingdom of Heaven to a mustard seed. Although having some of the smallest seeds, the mustard plant grows to a large size, providing shelter for birds: Mark 4:31-32. The story has been interpreted to mean that grand things can grow from tiny actions.

Inspired by this parable, aristocrat Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf founded the Order of the Mustard Seed in Germany in 1715. [2] The aims of the order were to be true to Christ, kind to all people and to spread news of the Gospel to the world.

Buddha also told the story of the grieving mother and the mustard seed. When a mother loses her only son, she takes his body to the Buddha to find a cure. The Buddha asks her to bring a handful of mustard seeds from a family that has never lost a child, husband, parent or friend. When the mother is unable to find such a house in her village, she realizes that death is common to all, and she cannot be selfish in her grief. [3]

In the Quran, God states that the scales of justice will be established on the Day of Judgment, and no soul will suffer the least injustice. Even the equivalent of a mustard seed will be accounted for. God is the most efficient reckoner [4]

Wherever we are, we need to plant our “mustard seed” and nurture it until we realize the Kingdom of God.

Carol

Bible Breath: Kingdom of God / In our grasp

Relatives

Mark 3:31-35; Matthew 12:46-50; Luke 8:19-21

31 Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. 32 A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.” 33 “Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked. 34 Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”

I have read this scripture from time to time through the years, but I have read it much more frequently in the last few years. In Matthew, Mark, and Luke this passage is stated in similar ways. John does not contain a passage like this that I have found.

I have found this passage odd because it sounds so rude to me. However, it does not make any sense that Jesus would be rude to his family. That is not His character; therefore, it is my misunderstanding and misreading of this passage.

What is Jesus saying? At first glance it would appear that He is leaving his mother and brothers standing outside in the cold so to speak. But I think what Jesus is saying is that nobody is special including His own family; and everyone is special if we do God’s Will. Doing God’s Will makes us all mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters in Christ…and that includes our blood relatives as well. In God we are all His beloved family

Carol

Bible Breath: Doing God’s Will / God’s beloved