Reflection on John 6:1-21 (Reprinted from July 29th, 2018)

What are your expectations of God?

What do you expect God to do for you?

The people who ate their fill of the bread on the grassy side of that mountain came away with lots of expectations of Jesus.

What are yours?

The disciples who saw Jesus walking across the water wanted to grab a hold of Jesus and pull him close.

Do you?

What are your expectations of God?

What do you expect God to do for you?

I know of a couple who, quite a number of years back, expected to get a baby. They prayed and prayed for a baby to call their own.

The man envisioned some hoop time and preemptively bought a basketball. The woman had dreams of her own, buying cute little baby shoes that she saw on an end cap in the baby section of Target.

They both dreamed of the day that their little ones would eventually walk down the graduation and wedding aisles, but, the basketball remained in the closet and the shoes stuffed away safe in their boxes. You see, despite their prayers and the cries of their desires, they did not conceive and have a baby. Their expectations never lined up with reality.

What are your expectations of God?

What do you expect God to do for you?

Have your expectations played out like you had hoped? Have your expectations come about differently? Perhaps, if I even dare ask it out loud, have your expectations been completely ignored…as if Jesus just decided to get up, turn his back, and walk away?

It is OK to venture into that question. It is OK to at least wonder if God has been ignoring your concerns because we see, right here in Holy Scripture, that Jesus does sometimes flee the scene of our expectations.

After feeding the 5000, the people sitting on that soft, green mountain grass see in Jesus the makings of a great king. They have visions of an abundant nation. They have visions of a defeated Rome. They have visions of green pastures and still waters. They have visions of a good king who might shepherd them in all the right ways.

The 5000 get up from their seats and seek to make Jesus the earthly king that they need, and Jesus turns his back and walks away.

It happens again as the disciples see Jesus walking across the turbulent waters of the sea. They desire to bring him into the boat. They desire to have that power with them. But, as soon as they reach out to grasp him, Jesus sends them straight to the shore. They did not even have a chance to grasp his hand.

It happens again, this refusal of Jesus to be grasped and controlled, at the end of the gospel of John where we find an elated Mary discovering that her teacher, Jesus, is not dead, but has been raised. She wants to grasp a hold of her Lord. She wants to hold tight to the teacher that she loves, but Jesus stops her and asks her not to hold on.

It seems that John wants us to understand that Jesus does not want to be grasped. Jesus does not want to be controlled. Jesus does not want to be told what to do. It seems that John needs us to understand that Jesus is Jesus, and Jesus will decide what is right and good. Jesus will instruct us, not the other way around.

What are your expectations of God?

What do you expect God to do for you?

There is another way to live this thing that we call faith. Rather than defining for God what life should look like and what life should be about, perhaps we could quiet our minds, open our hearts, and, instead, open our eyes to where God takes us in this life. Past experience suggests that some amazing things can be discovered when we allow God to be God, and we simply wait to discover all that God is up to.

If we drop our expectations, we just might find ourselves following Jesus up a mountain towards the divine heavens, sitting down on that promised soft grass that is usually reserved for green pastures, and see the unexpected. If we drop our expectations, we just might see Jesus take the offering of a little boy, (five loaves of bread and two fish) and start handing it out to all 5000 people sitting around. There is even some left over!

If we drop our expectations, we might just see something that we would have never, in our wildest imaginings, considered possible.

If we drop our expectations, we just might see the grace and mercy of our almighty God play out all around us in unexpected and amazing ways.

God’s grace is a gift after-all. And, we all know that the greatest gifts that we get at Christmas are those gifts that were not even on our Christmas lists, but are still, amazingly, just what we needed.

God will take 5000 hungry people and surprise them with the gift of unending, everlasting bread. God will take a boat that is floundering in the waves of a troubled sea and immediately send it to safe to shore. God will do the great and unexpected, that is a promise, but we will only be able to see it when we release our expectations into the wind and open ourselves to whatever unexpected gift that God has in store.

Take note: it was when that barren couple had given up all hope of giving birth to a child, and had no expectations of ever giving birth, that they received the call from a friend who worked at the county’s Children and Youth Services asking if they would be willing to take in an infant who needed a home.

The woman scrambled to find those small shoes in the closet.

A quick side note: all that stuff in the closet can come in handy some day...it is not hording...it is preparation.

Back to the couple: getting that first small child soon turned into getting a small family of foster kids. The basketball was soon retrieved and pumped up. And, finally came the day that the woman got to see the man walk not just one, but eventually four beautiful brides down the aisle to their new lives with their new husbands.

The children's own biological parents had not been there for them, but this couple had. This couple had been placed there by God, and they were, for these kids, an amazing and unexpected miracle.

The situation was a miracle for the couple too.

The couple had once thought that God had forgotten them as they struggled with their barrenness. But, God does not forget.

God may walk away from our plans and expectations, that is true, but God does not walk away from us. God just might have something completely unexpected in store. God might have a path in mind that is completely unknown to us.

That is what the feeding of the 5000 is all about. It is about Jesus’ unexpected grace filling up people’s lives.

What are your expectations of God?

What do you expect God to do for you?

Maybe, we should forget those questions and instead ask, “What does God have in store?”

“What does God have in store for us?” To find out, all that is required is that we just wait and see.

Reflection on Psalm 23:5 (A Reprint from 4/18/16)

 

“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.”

Who you are allowed to eat with says a lot about you; who you are; what kind of people you hang out with; and who cares about you. The table you are allowed to eat at says a lot.

I had a lot of experience with this in school. My parents moved a lot, and I had to find a new place to sit each time I wandered into a new school cafeteria.

Who am I allowed to sit with I wonder? The well dressed give me a cold glare. I continue with my tray. The football guys thrash around dangerously, paying no attention. I continue with my tray, and look around desperately trying to find a seat. A group of girls, apparently friends because they all wear those matching fake gold friendship necklaces, giggle at me as I keep turning around, scanning for a place to sit. I am not sure that I find the humor in it. I don’t care if I eat with anyone…as long as I can find a place to sit. Maybe, I will forgo eating today. Maybe, I will just throw the food away and leave. “God, please prepare a table for me.”

When caught in such a situation, we pray simply for a lonely table to be prepared for us off in a corner somewhere, where we can just gulp down our food and go. Of course, a table with people who would take an interest in us and care would be glorious, but you do get to a point where simply any table would do. It is often hard to find a place to sit.

Can the newly divorced find a place to sit at the family table, or are they now excluded?

Can the newly widowed find a person to eat with at all, or are they simply forgotten and alone?

Can the loud mouthed destroyer of the community find a place to sit after all have turned against him or her?

Can the town drunk find a place to sit after it is known that he destroyed his family?

Can the person riddled by a hidden guilt and pain find a place to sit where they do not have to pretend to be “doing great.”

Where do these people find a place to sit?

Most often, we find ourselves sitting at the tables of those we know and like. Of course this sort of selective table company never happens within the church. "Nope, never," sarcasm dripping from these words. Careful of the puddle.

Unfortunately, it is so much a part of human nature that it happens everywhere. Because of that, it still shocks us that Jesus ate each day with those who would betray him and abandon him in the end. We would tell our children to forget those backstabbing idiots and move on to someone better, but Jesus did not move on. He prepared a table for them.

If that is true, and it is, then he even prepares a table for you…no matter what sort of darkness your past holds.

Never forget, along with those who would betray and abandon him, Jesus ate meals with the drunks of the town, with the prostitutes, with the losers, with the socially challenged, with the loud children who were supposed to be at the kids table, with those who would rob others, with the irritatingly judgmental, and with the obviously hungry and physically deformed (those people who are easily overlooked because their mere existence is too uncomfortable). Jesus chose to eat with them all.

I have to admit, though I would provide a table for many of these people, I would still protect the sanctity of my table from at least some in this list of losers. How do you fare?

But, Jesus prepared a table for them. In the presence of their enemies, in the presence of those who would judge and condemn them, Jesus prepared a table for them. Heck, Jesus went to the cross for them.

“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.”

“You can come sit with us,” says an enormous guy dressed in a football jersey.

“No, he can sit with us, you guys just sit back down, we got this one…he’s ours,” says an equally huge guy dressed in the same jersey.

This is the response newcomers to the cafeteria will find when they stumble across one amazing high school football team who has been taught to live by the words, “you prepare a table before me.”

This team has been challenged by the Christian coaches to play better off the field than on the field. The team has been challenged to live the words of God. The team has learned to share the truth of God through one simple statement, “you can come eat with us.” In other words, “there is a table prepared for you.”

Of course, there is a catch, the team is given an incentive to do so, because if anyone is ever seen eating alone in the cafeteria by the coaches (who just happen to be the cafeteria monitors), the football players who are sitting at the nearest table will not be allowed to play in the next game. It does not matter if you are the star quarterback, you will not play…no exceptions.

So, it is not all together altruistic. Despite that, imagine being the one with the tray who prays to God that someone…anyone might prepare a table for you. Imagine only having to have that feeling for a split second before you realize that you are not alone; that you are not excluded. There is something about sharing a table that is so very powerful and holy.

As the Psalm indicates, the Lord leads us through dark places and brings us life by sitting at a table.

Have you ever considered that you have one of the most holy places on the planet right in your own home?

The Church of the Holy Sepulcher (the spot where Jesus died and was buried) does not even come close to the holy place that you have in your home. That church is a dead relic of history.

Your dinner table is living space where Jesus does wonders.

Do not have a dinner table? Heck, even a table at McDonald’s is holy, as long as it is shared with someone else who could use a place prepared for them. I bet you did not know that even a 1980s aluminum, trailer house dinner table could be holy. But, it is.

Christ’s table is your table. And, your table is Christ’s table. There is no easier way to allow someone to meet the grace of God than to invite them to your holy table. Every meal is an opportunity to have a holy conversation. Want to be a part of God’s kingdom? All you have to say is: “You can come eat with us.”

Reflection on Mark 6:14-29

 

For those of you who are science fiction nerds, you will know that when asked “What is the meaning of life, the universe, and everything?” the supercomputer in Douglas Adams' “The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy” answers, “42.”   The computer is not able to elaborate; it just knows that the answer is 42.  Why is 42 the answer?  We do not know; it remains a secret. 

Similarly, when I asked my high school pal, Joel, “What is the meaning of life?” he confidentially responded, “Bean burritos.” 

“I hope not!” my mother quipped when I relayed the story. 

Even though “the meaning of life” seems to be vague and allusive, God seems to like revealing truth more than remaining in the shadows.  God seems to like coming down to us, rather than hiding far above.  God does not keep “the meaning of life” a secret to those who follow. 

In fact, it is revealed to us right in the letter to the Ephesians.  Through the scriptures you are taught that, “With all wisdom and insight ⁹[God] has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, ¹⁰as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth” (NRSV, Ephesians 1:9-10).

What is the meaning of life?  What is the purpose of it all?  It is for all things in creation to be gathered up together in God. 

This should be no surprise to us!  We see this clearly on the cross.  Jesus extends his arms wide through suffering, to gather everything and everyone to him, through the love of the cross.

As followers of Jesus Christ, why are we here?  To gather everything together in love. 

Just think about it.  Jesus’ healing ministry gathers people near him to be healed and made whole, just as God wanted them to be.  Jesus’ forgiveness on the cross gets rid of the sin, the wrongs, and the divisions, that divide us.  The forgiveness of the cross allows us to live together again with each other and with God. When Jesus fed the 5,000, it was a gathering of many, many people on the green pastures of God’s kingdom in order to be fed by the one who draws all creation together. 

And, you have been gathered by Christ Jesus too.  You have been drawn to Jesus and adopted into the eternal family of God.  Ephesians continues, 

“¹¹In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, ¹²so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory” (NRSV, Ephesians 9:11-12). 

Would you like that in simpler terms?  I have to admit, I need it in simpler terms.  You might be smarter than me...actually I know you are.  I once thought of a smart…wait, keep me on track. 

For those of you who are like me, here it goes.  The Bible teaches that we are adopted children of God, not because we earned it but because God wanted it that way. 

Further, as adopted children, we do things together that eternal families do.  If God wants to draw all creation together in love, then we desire that too.  And doing that is what lifts Jesus up for all to see.  We believe in Christ, so, we live like Christ. 

Gathering all things together in love is the meaning of life for Christians.

Now, I wanted you to understand that clearly before we dug into this story from Mark about Herod and his family because it is easy to be distracted from our purpose when the powerful become involved. 

Remember from last week that Jesus has just sent his disciples to minister to people in the same ways that he does…casting out demons, healing, and preaching the good news of God.  In other words, they are sent to gather to God all who have been pushed away by illness, or evil.  And, they will soon return to Jesus astounded that their ministry actually worked!  People were healed and came to believe.  People were gathered back together because of God’s love.

But, right in the middle of the disciples leaving to minister, and the fulfilling their purpose in life, you find the story of Herod; the story of how the forces of the world can make our ministry go all wrong. 

You see, John the Baptist also taught the truth.  He also desired everyone to repent…to think in a different way than the world thinks, and to be drawn back to God.  But, sometimes this word of truth is too hard for the world to hear.

In Herod’s case, Herod had created a disjointed, family mess by marrying his brother’s wife (his brother was not dead by the way).  His brother’s wife also happened to be Herod’s own niece. 

That sounds more hillbilly to me than royal, but that is just me. 

This arrangement broke at least 3 laws from God.  The guy married someone who belonged to another, he married inappropriate kin, and his new wife, Herodias, wrote a certificate of divorce to make it all happen, which also is not allowed. 

But, bigger than breaking laws, Herod had broken the spirit of the meaning of life: to draw all things together.  Through his marital indiscretion everything and everyone in his family was being pushed apart.

You know how this works.  You all have families.  You all have the relative who either divorces a spouse who was beloved by all, and then asks you not to have any contact with them, or you have a relative who hates someone you love and the relative gives you an ultimatum that you either side with them or hit the road. 

You have seen the numerous ways that sin pushes us all apart rather than drawing us together.  I once had an aunt who…wait, keep me on track.

You did not need to know about my aunt.  But, what you do need to know is that preaching this word of truth did not turn out too well for John the Baptist.  There will always be people who call evil what is good, and make what is right look wrong. 

Interestingly, if you read close you will see that Herod was not all that disturbed by John’s word of truth.  It was Herodias, his new wife, who had the problem.  In retribution, and through the manipulation of a young girl who is just trying to please everyone with her dancing and please her mother, Herodias convinces Herod to kill John the Baptist.  John the Baptist ends up with his head on a platter and that is the end of his story. 

But, it is not the end of “the story.”

Remember, the story of Herod was a disruption to the story of the disciples going out and ministering as Jesus instructed. The story of Herod and John the Baptist is an example of the dangers that come when fulfilling the purposes of God.  Though the disciples are amazed at how great living out the purpose of God can be; healing many, many people and bringing them the good news; the story is a stark reminder that the world does not always like God’s purpose. 

The world does not necessarily want all creation to be drawn together in love. 

It might go against corporate interests to care too much. 

It might go against individual vendettas to love too much. 

It might go against political will to care for the wrong people. 

Following God’s purpose, following Jesus Christ, doing the things that he did and caring about those that he cared about might land your head on a platter or your body on a cross.  In the least it might land a pastor without a pulpit or a parishioner without a job or a friend. 

The world likes its own purposes.  The world thrives on pushing apart in order to gain success.  The world does not want to know our not so secret, secret. The world does not care about the meaning of life.  The world does not care about God’s “plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things…things in heaven and things on earth.”  The world would rather that we just throw up our hands and nonsensically say that the meaning of life is “42” or “bean burritos.”  I like burritos by the way, especially when you pour some red…wait keep me on track.

Actually, we ask Christ to keep us all on track; to remind us that we are not people of the world. 

You are not of the world.  You are in the world, but you are not of it.  You are a people who know the truth as revealed by God in the scriptures.  God intends to save.  God intends for resurrection to disrupt the power of death.  God intends that enemies be gathered as friends.  God intends that those of you who are excluded be drawn into a heavenly family.  God intends the poor and the rich to eat together at the same table.  God intends for there to be no distinctions between people, rather, that we are all one in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

God intends “to gather up all things in him.” 

God intends to gather everything and everyone together in love. 

Never forget, nothing in all creation stopped Jesus from gathering us all together through the power of his cross and resurrection.  And, nothing in all creation can separate us from the purpose of gathering everything and everyone together in love through in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Reflection on Mark 6:1-13

 

Today is July 4^th, Independence Day.  When we think about grit on a day like today, we think of a man like George Washington who lead the Continental Army for eight years until independence was won from the British.

Grit, of course, is a passion and perseverance toward a long term goal.  It is a determination to win independence, no matter how hard or how long the fight.  It is fighting, and retreating, and reformulating a better battle plan, and trying again, for eight long years. 

There is no doubt that George Washington had grit, and many patriots have looked to him for their inspiration as they continually work toward the fulfillment of the dream of freedom for all.  But, did you know that grit is also at the heart of the Christian faith?   Christian grit, though, has a different source.  It is driven by a more eternal source.

Actually, we can see this Christian grit at play in today’s gospel lesson.  It all starts out when Jesus visits his hometown in order to minister to the people there. 

Jesus enters the synagogue of his hometown and begins to preach.  Those who hear him are astounded.  They say things like, “Where did this man get all this?,” and “What is this wisdom that has been given to him?,” and “What deeds of power are being done by his hands!”  The people of his hometown are honestly impressed by all that Jesus teaches and does.  Then, it all turns sour rather quickly.

It turns sour in the same way that things turn sour when you have hit the homerun, brought the baseball team to the win, are hoisted on the arms of your teammates, and your Aunt Edna pipes up in front of everyone, “Look how wonderful you are!  I remember when you were little and instead of playing the outfield you took down your pants and…”  “Well…that’s quite enough Aunt Edna!  Thanks for coming to see the game.”

This sort of evisceration is precisely what happens to Jesus.  One minute those who know him and love him are congratulating him, and the next minute they put Jesus in his place.  “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?” 

Now, this sentence is much more biting than it may seem on the surface.  Jesus came into town, teaching in the synagogue as a Rabbi, a teacher of divine things, but the people of his town are quick to remind him that he is only a carpenter, a day laborer, a simple fix-it man.  Like Aunt Edna, they are putting Jesus in his place. 

And, to make matters worse, they get pretty personal.  They call him “the son of Mary” and “brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon,” and they point to more relatives stand nearby saying, “are not his sisters here with us?” 

Do you know who they fail to mention?  Joseph!  Did you catch the fact that they refuse to call him the son of Joseph?  That is biting.

Recall that Jesus’ beginnings are rather sketchy.  Jesus is conceived before marriage.  We know that he was conceived through the power of the Holy Spirit, but the townspeople do not know this…or they refuse to believe it.  The townspeople consider Jesus illegitimate, and illegitimate people stay in their illegitimate places in society. 

The short way to put all of this is that Jesus’ ministry to his own people is a complete failure.

To not be supported by your own people is enough to make most people quit.  How many people have quit because their spouse or friends or parents did not support them in their interests?  But, Jesus not only lacked support, he was actively taunted.

With that said, this is not the end of Jesus’ ministry.  In fact, it is just the beginning. 

Not only did Jesus immediately heal some people of his hometown who were sick after these demoralizing events, but Jesus went further and encouraged his disciples to set out in this same ministry of healing and good news. 

Jesus kept going.  That is grit.

So, what is behind all of this grit that Jesus displays?  We are given some clues right in the Bible. 

First, when Jesus sends the disciples out doing the same ministry as he, Jesus instructs them “to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics.”  Now, considering what Jesus just went through, making his disciples depend on the goodwill of others rather than making sure they can support themselves appears to be crazy.  But, if you read a little further it will all come into focus. 

Jesus says that if the disciples are not accepted by those to whom they are ministering, the disciples are to “shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.” 

In other words, they are to trust that God will take them wherever they need to go, and they are to trust that God will provide for all their needs.  And if evil gets in the way, and the disciples are not provided for?  If they are not accepted?  If they are taunted in the way that Jesus was taunted?  Then they are to shake it all off.  They are instructed to refuse taking even a single grain of negativity with them.  Not even the dust of the town should remain on their feet.

A part of the wisdom of grit is knowing when something is someone else’s problem, that way you can continue despite the setback. 

The townspeople of Jesus’ hometown just were not ready to hear the good news.  Their lack of faith was their own problem.  Their lack of faith should in no way hinder Jesus’ ministry. 

A person refusing to be hospitable to Jesus’ disciples is that person’s own problem of being stuck-up, and lacking empathy.  It has no bearing on the importance of the mission of Jesus Christ.

After-all, Jesus’ mission is to tell the good news of freedom from sin and evil; a freedom that comes from trusting in him. 

It is a mission of healing people of all that keeps them down. 

It is a mission of releasing people from all that holds them back and keeps them from being the people that God created them to be. 

It is a mission of salvation. 

It is a mission that has the potential to change the world. 

It is a mission that shows the world exactly what God’s heavenly kingdom is all about. 

It is a mission of eternal, everlasting love.

And, Jesus has the grit that it takes to overcome the setbacks of stuck up neighbors and relatives. 

In the same way, Jesus hopes that the disciples have the grit to trust God and just move on when the negativity seems to be overbearing. 

Jesus has the grit that it takes to face death on a cross, to face the sins of the world, to bear them all, to drag them all to the grave so that the world might be forgiven and might be free from all that holds it down and holds it back.  Jesus believes in this mission of love so much that nothing, not even death on a cross, and burial in a grave can hold him down.

And that, my friends, is the substance of Christian grit.  It is the conviction that freedom and love has the power to save the world.  It is the conviction that the good news of Jesus Christ, that the good news of healing, that the good news of freedom from chains, and that the love of all others, is the answer to the world which has been ravaged by the evil one. 

Will evil try to get in the way?  Will the accusers and pessimists try to drag the people of God down?  Will they try to drag Jesus down?  Of course!

But, Jesus Christ has given his followers the gift of a sort of grit that can overcome it all. 

It is a grit that believes evil will not get the last word.  It is a grit that believes that death cannot win.  It is a grit that trusts God and trusts in God’s mission above all else.  It is a grit that defines who we are and gives us meaning and purpose. 

It is the grit that can only come from an eternal love which does not give up trying to set everyone free: free from illness, free from sin, free from walking in the wrong ways, free from chaos, free from oppressive people and systems, free from unsupportive relatives and neighbors, free to be the people of God who walk around as if the kingdom of God has come near, because it has. 

Jesus has given his followers the gift of a kind of grit that only comes from faith…that comes from trusting in the one who is never held down for good or destroyed; Jesus Christ our Lord.