Reflection on Mark 5:21-43

 

With Jesus Christ there is always enough time.  Go ahead and say it with me, “With Jesus Christ there is always enough time.” 

It is true.  Speaking against the sentiment that goes something like this, “My troubles are nothing compared to others, I’m sure that God has more important things to do in this world than help me,” we are given a story from scripture that teaches us clearly that Jesus Christ certainly has enough time for each of us. 

And, I do not mean this in just the chronological sense of time.  The time that Jesus provides for us goes much deeper than just the 24 hours in the day.  But, before I get to how deeply Jesus has the time for us, I want to explore the amount of time that we give to Jesus.

Now, the Apostle Paul, in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, encourages the followers of Jesus Christ to, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 

Paul has this idea that every moment of our lives can and should be devoted to God.  He has this idea that we can make our lives a living prayer to Jesus Christ; that our entire lives will radiate the love of the neighbor and the love of the world shown on the cross. 

Martin Luther, the reformer of the church, put the idea in very easy terms that anyone can understand.  When talking about living this kingdom life Martin Luther gave this example:

“The Christian shoemaker does his duty not by putting little crosses on the shoes, but by making good shoes, because God is interested in good craftsmanship.”

In other words, living the Christian life is not about labeling everything with crosses.  Rather, it is about living a life that reflects the love of the cross; a life that loves the neighbor in every single thing that we do.  A Christian car dealer is not Christian because he puts a fish symbol on the dealership sign, but rather because he deals in quality cars and refuses to cheat or mislead people in order to gain an extra buck. 

It is about loving the neighbor.  It is about praying without ceasing.  It is about living as if we were standing in the kingdom of God, because “the kingdom of God has come near,” (Mark 1:15). 

Now, this sort of living is hard.  People admit to me all the time that they just do not have the concentration to live a “pray without ceasing” sort of life.  They just do not have the time.  I get it.  I feel it too.  We just do not have the time.  But, we have already heard: “With Jesus Christ there is always enough time.”

Let us not even go as far as “praying without ceasing” in our discussion.  Let us just look at this hour-ish amount of time that we devote to Jesus Christ on Sunday mornings.  I looked up to top reasons that believers say they do not come to church.  Just to be clear, we are only talking about believers here. 

Top Reasons That Believers Say They Do Not Come To Church (In no particular order):

No house of worship in their area.

Poor health or mobility.

They do not feel welcome.

They do not like the sermons.

They have not found a house of worship that they like.

It is just not very important in their lives right now.

They do not actually believe.

They practice their faith in other ways.

They do not have the time.

That is us.  We, everyday people cannot find the time.  But, that is not true with Jesus.  With Jesus Christ there is always enough time.

That same study from 2018 also looked at the top reasons that people do come to church. That is interesting.  Do you want to hear that?

To please their family, spouse, or partner.

To meet new people and socialize.

They feel obligated to go.

To continue their family’s religious traditions.

To be a part of a faith community.

They find the sermons valuable.

For comfort in times of trouble or sorrow.

To become a better person.

So their children will have a moral foundation.

To become closer to God.

That last one, “To become closer to God,” was the number one reason, by the way.  That makes the preacher’s heart feel good.  It means that those people actually desire to spend time with God.  For them, they have enough time for God, at least for one hour out of the week.  But, for Jesus Christ, there is always enough time.

You see, one day Jesus was just climbing out of the boat when a man named Jairus fell at Jesus’ feet and begged Jesus to lay his hands on his little daughter, who was dying.  I do not know what Jesus’ plans were for that day, but he had enough time to go and heal this influential man’s daughter.  The man was a leader of a synagogue, and Jesus went with him.

Now, while on the way, with crowds of people swarming around him, a woman approaches Jesus.  This woman had been suffering from menstrual bleeding for twelve years.  Doctors had bled her dry of funds, to no avail, and she had lost the life of companionship with other people for twelve years. 

Twelve years is a long time for no one but doctors to touch you because you are unclean.  Twelve years is a long time to be isolated from everyone else because the blood will not stop.  She has been sick as long as Jairus’ daughter has been alive.

This woman secretly makes her way through the crowd and hopes that touching at least Jesus’ clothes will heal her of her twelve year affliction.

It works.  Jesus feels the power drain from him and the woman is made clean. 

“Who touched me?”  Jesus asks. 

Of course, hundreds of people have bumped against the guy as he traveled to heal the little, twelve year old girl.  The disciples say as much, but Jesus stops his journey in order to find the one.

The woman came in fear and told the whole truth.  She was the unclean one who dared touch him.  She was the unclean one who put the entire crowd at risk of un-cleanliness as she made her way through the crowd.  She told the whole, selfish truth.

But, Jesus did not rebuke her.  Jesus did not find her selfish.  He did not shout at her for stopping him on his important mission.  He did not ignore her as the low life that she seemed to appear.  Rather, Jesus stopped, looked at her with mercy and peace and said, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.” 

Jesus had time for her.  With Jesus Christ there is always enough time.

Of course, Jesus’ detour with the old woman had some tragic consequences.  The little, twelve year old girl was apparently dead.  And, this is where we go deeper, because, the reality for us is that there are only 24 hours in the day.  For us, we can only do so much in the time that we have.  For us, time needed for children does come in conflict with time needed for others.  What parent does not struggle with that?  For us human beings there is never enough time. 

But, Jesus is the Son of God.  And, when you are the Son of God, there is always enough time.

Jesus comes to the little girl, says, “Little girl, get up,” and the little girl gets up.  For Jesus, time is not a barrier to love.  For Jesus, even death is not a barrier that cannot be overcome.  With Jesus Christ there is always enough time.

And so, living in the kingdom of God is all about that.  It is all about living as if Jesus Christ has enough time.  He has enough time for little, twelve year old girls.  He has enough time for outcast women who have suffered tragedies.  He has enough time for you.

Some Christians in the world understand this better than others.  In Tanzania some Americans showed up promptly for worship at the designated time.  And, after sitting around, and waiting for over an hour, those who were expected to come had finally arrived and the worship service began.  When asked afterward about the lateness of worship, which would never be tolerated in the United States, the Pastor said, “You westerners have watches, but we have time.  We have time for our people.”

You see, in the kingdom of God there is always enough time.  With Jesus Christ there is always enough time.  Though others may fail, Jesus will always have enough time for you.

Reflection on Mark 4:35-41

 

My youth ministry professor leaned forward, hands on the desk in the front of the classroom, looked us all straight in the eye and said, “Never forget, especially in youth ministry, that some people’s rain storms are other people’s hurricanes.”  He said it again, slowly, for emphasis, “Some people’s rain storms are other people’s hurricanes.” 

It is true.  Just weeks later, my own pastor left in the middle of a meeting at the church when he had received a phone call that a youth in the congregation had just broken up with her boyfriend, and she was contemplating ending her life.  After the pastor left the room, a couple of people in the meeting questioned the importance of leaving an official meeting of the church to deal with the heartbreak that comes when puppy love is over.  And, as they talked the words of my youth ministry professor came back to me, “Some people’s rain storms are other people’s hurricanes.”

I think of my young cousin, years ago, who started flipping out when the boat we were in started rocking back and forth in the waves.  “We’re going to sink!” he cried and hid his face.  The waves and rocking were actually being generated by the other cousins behind him in the boat.  They may have even thrown some water over his head for effect.  And, by “they” I mean to say it definitely was maybe not me and my brother helping in the torment. 

Of course, we knew that the boat was fine.  At that point we were expert boaters…on calm waters; but my younger cousin did not know that the boat was fine.  It was his first time in a boat!  “Some people’s rain storms are other people’s hurricanes.”

Then there are the times when other people’s hurricanes are everyone’s hurricanes.  Take the disciples for example.  As they set off across the lake along with some other boats, a great storm arose on the sea and fear set in. 

This is no little thing.  These disciples are the expert boaters in troubled waters.  They know how to set the boat into the waves.  They know how to recover from the swells.  They know how to preserve the sails.  So when the waters begin to beat into the boat and the waves swamp their only means of survival with drowning waters, the disciple’s concern must have been well founded. 

As they bail out the terrorizing waters, they look to the back of the boat at the sleeping Jesus.  Waking Jesus they cry out, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”

You have no idea how many times I have heard those words.  The young woman, in pain from a life altering car accident, cries out, “Why did God let this happen?”  In other words, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”

The man who lost his job, his wife, and the custody of his children in the course of just a couple of months, in a bewildered state asks, “Has Jesus abandoned me?”  In other words, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”

And, faith communities that once thrived as the cultural centers of their towns now look out the doors on Sunday morning, seeing all of the cars drive past on their way to someplace else, and cry out, “What happened to this world?  Are not the people of God supposed to thrive?” 

And, though they will not say it out loud because it sounds like an inappropriate lament, the pressing thought that they tuck away is: “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”

The truth is that some storms are just too big for us to handle.  In our gospel writer’s time it was the fall of the Jewish temple that shook people to the core, even Christians.  Remember, most early Christians were Jews and the destruction of the temple, God’s home on earth, had them also asking, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” 

It was their 911.  It was their WWII.  It was their pandemic.  It was their fall of civilization as they knew it.  It was hell, delivered in a hand basket.  It was Satan, the strong man of the earth, taking over with his crawling demons by his side and threatening complete annihilation.  And, where was Jesus?  I do not know.  Apparently, he was sleeping!

“I guess that God just formed the earth and planets and then went on a permanent vacation,” some would argue.  “Maybe, God just doesn’t care.  Maybe, God just doesn’t love like we thought,” others would claim.  “Maybe, God’s just isn’t there,” the doubters threaten. 

“Jesus, why are you sleeping?”  “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”

Wait a second. 

Let us just pause right there.

Jesus, why are you sleeping? 

Will you grant us the time to just take a second to pause?  Let us pause all of our fears.  Let us pause all of our accusations.  Instead, can we just to stare at the back of the boat at the sleeping Jesus?   Can we take a moment to honestly ask, not out of accusation, but out of curiosity, “Jesus, why are you sleeping?”  “Why is none of this bothering you?”

You see, it is so easy for us humans to take our eyes off of Jesus and focus on ourselves.  We focus on our fears: “Will we lose what we have?”  “We focus on our desires: “I wish we could figure out how to have more!”  We focus on ourselves, “Don’t you care about us?”  And, in all of that self-focus, whether it be during a simple rainstorm or during a devastating hurricane, we lose sight of Jesus.  Or, more to the point, we forget to look at Jesus.

But this morning, Jesus, you have our attention.  We are going to push all of that other stuff (our fears and desires) aside and just look at you.  Show us what you want us to see.

So, through these scriptures, Jesus does.  Jesus desires us to focus closely on the details of the story. 

Jesus is in the boat, just as he is.  In other words, this story is about who Jesus is.  There is nothing mysterious about him.  Just look at him.

When we look at him, we see that he is peacefully asleep in a storm that we may view as a hurricane.  But, we should never forget, “Some people’s rain storms are other people’s hurricanes.”  Or, more to the point here, “Some disciples’ hurricanes are Jesus’ gentle rains.” 

Here is the problem: the disciples trusted in themselves to defeat these storms of chaos and evil with buckets in hand as they tried and failed to bail out the water.  Little did they realize, they had the savior of the entire universe in the boat with them.  If only they would stop the accusations of not caring and take a good look at him.  Jesus is asleep.  Jesus has no fear of the storm. 

Maybe, the Holy Spirit will urge us to take a pause as we struggle in the middle of the storms that rage against us, and maybe the Holy Spirit will encourage us to take a good look at Jesus. 

He is asleep.  Jesus has no fear of the storm.

In fact, for Jesus the hurricane force winds and rain appear to be a mere drizzle.  The Bible says that Jesus “woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm.” 

In the same way that Jesus rebukes those smaller demons in the chapters before this story, freeing people from their ailments, Jesus too is more than able to rebuke the major forces of evil and calm the waters.  Maybe, the problem is a lack of faith.

But, it might be too much for me as your pastor to just expect you to, “Just have more faith.” 

Jesus states clearly that the disciples had “no faith.”  I find that oddly comforting.  We tend to say, if only Jesus were just right here we would be able to trust more…but those who were right beside Jesus also had “no faith.”  So, I guess it is not the end of the world if I also lack faith at times.  I am quite certain that Jesus can overcome even that.  After-all, the “no faith” disciples did eventually become Jesus’ blessed apostles.

So, I am not going to tell you to just have more faith.  But, is it too much to ask you to at least look at Jesus? 

When the hurricane force winds overtake our lives and our fear sets in, that is your cue to look to the back of the boat.  Stare at the sleeping Jesus.  See the peace of God, even in the middle of the storm.  See Jesus.  Truly see him, just as he is, and maybe the gift of faith will come. 

Maybe, we will remember that we do not live to ourselves; rather we follow the one who does not fear storms, or demons, or the strong man, or Satan, or crosses, or graves.  And, maybe, we will proclaim along with the psalmist in Psalm 107:

 

            You stilled the storm to a whisper

    and silenced the waves of the sea.

         Then were they glad when it grew calm,

    when you guided them to the harbor they desired.

         Let them give thanks to you, Lord, for your steadfast love

    and your wonderful works for all people.

    (Psalm 107:29-31)

Reflection on Mark 4:26-34

 

I was supposed to be Sherry.  What I mean to say is that I was supposed to be a born as a girl.  My parents had already had their boy, and in their two child family plan, I was supposed to come out as their beautiful, delicate, baby girl, named Sherry.  Of course, God has a way of taking our plans and completely ignoring them.  Thus, a baby boy named Jira was born.  I guess that if there are not any boy names prepared, you get named “Jira.” 

Now, I do not know what Sherry was supposed to be when she grew up, maybe a teacher, maybe a nurse, maybe a glass ceiling breaking, high paid CEO (One can always hope for a rich child, right?), but what God brought about was a rural pastor, named in such a way as no one even knew if he was a man or a woman before he arrived.  And, with a wife with a name that looks a lot like Randal (her name is spelled Randele) on paper, that did not help the situation any.  

Despite all of this, God is able to use those who are completely unexpected…faulty as Pastor Jira may be.  Yes, Jira did just speak of himself in the third person…it is a character flaw.

What I mean to say in all of this is that the kingdom of God functions in ways that we do not expect at all.  The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed, Jesus says, that was sown into the ground.  It is a tiny seed.  The shrub that it grows into is considered by some to be a weed. 

Just thirty years after Jesus’ death, Pliny the Elder, in his Natural History says this about mustard: “it is extremely beneficial for the health. It grows entirely wild, though it is improved by being transplanted: but on the other hand when it has once been sown it is scarcely possible to get the place free of it, as the seed when it falls germinates at once." 

In other words, it sprouts quickly and grows and expands quickly, and it endures forever and ever.  It sounds a lot like the thistle in my yard.

None-the-less, Jesus says that the mustard seed is like the kingdom of God.  It has humble, tiny beginnings.  And, as it grows you might not actually be certain if it is beneficial, or a noxious weed. 

But, what we think about it as it grows and spreads means nothing because it is what God thinks about it that truly matters.  And, God uses the mustard shrub as a home in which the birds can grow and do bird things, and God uses the kingdom of God as a home for us, and a home for those who we may not expect.  It is a weedy sort of home where we can all grow together and do Godly things. 

But, do you see?  All of this goodness is unexpected.  God does things in the most unexpected of ways and through the most unexpected of characters.

It is almost as if someone spreads seeds all over the place, not knowing where it is all going to fall.  And, it is almost as if that person, as Jesus teaches, goes to sleep, and then goes about his day not knowing what the seed is going to do or where it is going to sprout. 

But, mysteriously, the seed does sprout and grow; “first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head.”  Now, as it grows, it does not come into full bloom all at once, it takes time.  But, this seed of God, this good news of God, that was generously spread all over the place, does eventually grow, bearing big heads of grains, which are good as food, which are life-giving, and which are able to fall into the ground and grow more and more.

And, I do not know if all of this metaphor of scattering seeds is helping or hurting your understanding, but if you are anything like me and you are right now screaming in your heads, “Just spit it out man,” here it is: God puts God’s truth and God’s love in unexpected places and within unexpected people. 

Who would have ever thought that words of healing could come out of the mouth of dirty looking woman whose car broke down on the side of the road and she just needed to hitch a ride?  But, in the conversation along the way, the woman brought the right words at the right time.  Who would have ever thought?  But, God has made it happen. 

Who would have thought that a prostitute would team up with a church to save the lives of hundreds of AIDS patients who were thrown out of their families and thrown out of their homes in the early 80s?  Who would have ever though?  But, God has made it happen.  

Who would have thought that a single death in Minneapolis would have us all thinking about, in one way or another, how to be better brothers and sisters in Christ to our neighbors of color?  Who would have ever thought?  But God has taken a terrible event, sown words of grace and justice within, and has made it happen. 

And, who would have thought that a faulty, imperfect guy that was supposed to be named Sherry would be standing in front of you, talking about the unexpected ways of the God’s love and God’s kingdom?  Who would have ever though?  But, it is happening.

You are no different.  In you I see someone upon whom Jesus’ seed of grace has fallen and taken root.  As impossible as it may seem, God’s word of grace has grown in you.  And it has endured, even through the terrible days.  You know which days those are.  You know the dark days.  But, notice that the grace of Jesus has endured and grown in you anyway.  Maybe, the dark days made that grace even stronger.  And, maybe it did not.  Maybe, that grace is still little, like the stalk of a plant, just at the beginning of growth.  But, it is there none-the-less because Jesus is generous in giving us his truth and his grace.  We have seeds of the kingdom spread all around us, and like a weed, it sprouts up everywhere.

Maybe, the grace of Jesus Christ is sprouting in you right now?  Maybe, God is using you as a bush to harbor life?  There I go again with the bush metaphor! 

In real words: maybe God is using you in a way that helps a person, or a non-human member of God’s creation, to know what it is to be loved with an unconditional love…to be supported in an unconditional way…to be given a second and third and fourth chance…to grow into the grace-filled person or being that God has created them to be? 

Maybe, you look like a weed to the outside world, but God knows better.  God has filled you with the self-less love of the cross. 

Maybe, you are already walking with Jesus in the kingdom of God.

Reflection on Mark 3:20-35

 

The family of Jesus Christ is so much bigger than his critics could ever realize.  Think about it: Jesus gathered simple, working-class fisherman to be some of his first disciples.  No one dreams of being working class.  No one dreams of being 325th best.  Yet, when following Jesus, these men did the will of God.  They were a part of Jesus’ family.

Jesus gathered a tax collector to be one of his disciples.  Tax collectors were the telemarketers and bill collectors of their time.  They aligned themselves with a fraudulent corporation, otherwise known as Rome, collecting money for an evil empire and skimming a portion of that blood money off of the top in order to pad their own pockets and pad their own homes.  Like I indicated, our own telemarketers and bill collectors are not viewed any better than tax collectors or slugs.  Yet, when following Jesus, this tax collector did the will of God.  He was a part of Jesus’ family.

Jesus gathered a thief and traitor, Judas, to be one of his disciples.  Judas kept track of the community purse and would steal from it.  He betrayed Jesus in the end of the story for a bag of coins.  Judas was selfish and narcissistic.  Yet, during the times that he was actually following Jesus, this thief and traitor did the will of God.  He was a part of Jesus’ family.

Jesus gathered a woman of the city who wasted costly perfume and scandalously used her hair to wipe Jesus’ feet.  She had no right to interrupt the diner conversation of the men.  She had no right to approach a holy man in that way.  Yet, Jesus says that she was doing the will of God.  She was a part of Jesus’ family.

And, Jesus draws near countless, filthy, demon possessed individuals with their bad breath and their foaming mouths, all desiring to be a part of the life of the divine.  Most of these people probably deserved their lot in life, after-all bad things happen to bad people, so the very religious thought.  Yet, these people came in faith, and in faith Jesus healed them and cast out their demons.  When following Jesus, their faith revealed the will of God.  They were all invited to be a part of Jesus’ family.

As you can see, Jesus’ family was a messed up crew of people with varying amounts of faith and varying amounts of clean backgrounds.  Many would not pass the background check of employers today, and most others would only qualify for entry level employment.  Yet they were the family of Jesus Christ because, when following Jesus, they were doing the will of God.

I have to say, these are my people.  This collection of blue collar, misguided, everyday dirt of the earth people, with broken pasts, who are whispered about behind their backs, can all be found in God’s family.  These are my people.  I have tried to dine with the fine, silver dinnerware of the righteous, but I always end up saying something in the conversation to reveal my true, dirt-filled nature.

As most of you know, my roots are found in the theatre.  And, if you want to find where the misfits of culture hide out, away from the abuses of the world, just take a wander back stage.  You will see every kind of misfit you can imagine in the back of the stage, waiting to perform.  Misfit, lost, and broken we all may be behind the scenes, but when we are gathered together, with the one purpose and the one goal of putting on the best show possible, these misfits can pull off great productions. 

I think that Jesus would have loved the theatre family.  I think that he would have been drawn to the secret desires to be healed and the secret desires to be accepted that can be found in the darkness backstage.  In Mark 2:17, Jesus teaches us that "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."  So, I have no doubts that he would be there.

In the same way that Jesus hangs out where demons of the past and present dwell, where the imperfect gather for a sense of family; the self-righteous will always gather against him. 

Jesus’ relatives will think that he is out of his mind, gathering with the wrong crowd, presenting himself to be more than he is: a peasant carpenter.  And, the really religious, the scribes, will mistake, again and again, Jesus’ touching of the lowly as a sign of loving the demonic.  After-all, they think that they know the will of God.  They think that dwelling in purity, and cleanliness, and pure holiness is the realm of the eternal.  Only Satan would hang out with demons.  Only Satan would hang out with such misguided mortals.

But, this is where the self-righteous of yesterday and the self-righteous of today are wrong and have always been wrong.  Revelation 21:3-4 tells us the truth about God and the truth about mortals.

“See, the home of God is among mortals.

He will dwell with them;

they will be his peoples

and God himself will be with them;

he will wipe every tear from their eyes.

Death will be no more;

mourning and crying and pain will be no more,

for the first things have passed away.”

God cares about us mortals.  God cares about the wayward.  God loves the lowly.  And, God makes a family of anyone, no matter their past and no matter their future (think Judas), who follow God’s will.  He makes a family with those who follow him to seek out the wayward and love the lowly.

The self-righteous love to condemn and punish.  The self-righteous love to throw an adulterer out onto the dirty street and pick up rocks to bring about her death.  The self-righteous have no regard for those who are lost out on the streets.  The self-righteous have no compassion for those with checkered lives, and because they refuse to hang out in the same places, are not able to see the will or work of God.  The self-righteous call evil those who minister to the lowly and lost, including Jesus himself. 

But, brothers and sisters in Christ, the scriptures teach that they are the ones who are lost.  They have called the Spirit, “evil.”  They have called the desire to show mercy on the world, “evil.”  They have cast themselves away from God.  They have cast themselves away from mercy because they have no idea what it looks like. 

Jesus says, “Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”—for they had said, “He has an unclean spirit.”

Those who refuse to see the Spirit of God cannot possible be found in the Spirit.  They have cast themselves away.

But, we are the family of God.  We know what mercy looks like. 

It looks like a contractor giving a felon a chance to work because they too have a checkered past and know what it is like to be lost and needing to be found.  They know mercy. 

It looks like the child asking the new, dirty looking classmate, over to their home after school to play.  And, it looks like the Mom who gives the child a hug and a snack.  They know what it is like to be lost and needing to be found.  They know mercy. 

It looks a lot like Jesus, tying up the strong man of this world, Satan.  Jesus plunders the strong man’s house, looking for the lost and lowly; looking for the dirty and imperfect.  After-all, ministering to them is the will of God.  And, if you understand that, then Jesus looks directly at you and says, “Here are my mother and my brothers!  Whoever is doing the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”

We are the family of God.  We heal the hurt.  We welcome the stranger.  We welcome the misfit.  And we will be accused of loving the wrong people.  And, our accusers will be wrong.  Jesus has clearly shown us the will of God.  It looks a lot like mercy.  I looks a lot like a cross.