Reflection on Mark 1:9-15

 

Just after Jesus hears the voice from heaven say, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased,” the Bible says that the Spirit immediately drove Jesus out into the wilderness.  And, while in the wilderness for forty days, not only was Jesus tempted by the Satan (also known as “the adversary,” “the accuser,” or “the obstructer”), Jesus also spent time among the “wild beasts.” 

I do not know about you, but I try not to spend too much time with the wild beasts.  I have trouble enough staying alive with four children running around the house, one is even 13 years old. 

But, the “wild beasts” here are so much worse.  This story evokes biblical images such as the chaos dragon that brings with it the chaotic waters that flood, drown, and destroy.  The story evokes an image of that snake in the garden that led Adam and Eve to stop trusting in God.  The story also evokes a more down to earth image of that great, African beast with a mane that hunches down in the tall grass and waits to pounce on its prey.  The wild beasts.

We have seen this image in the Bible before.  When Cain is unhappy that God accepted Abel’s gift but not his, God responds to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has the look on your face fallen?  If you do well, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; its craving you, but you must master it” (Genesis 4:6-7).

As you can see, even sin crouches, like a lion in the field, waiting to attack and consume.  Unfortunately, sin does attack and devour Cain, leading to tragedy.  Right after God promises that Cain will always have another chance to make things right, Cain refuses to listen, and the Bible says that, “Cain said to his brother Abel, ‘Let us go out to the field.’ And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel, and killed him” (Genesis 4:8).  Cain is so consumed by sin that Cain himself becomes the wild beast in the field that crouches, pounces, and then kills his enemy, Abel.

And, this wilderness with wild, crouching animals is where we find Jesus.  Satan, the adversary, and the wild beasts of sin and death are all crouching in the long grass, like a lion, waiting to attack.

One day I talked with a man who, to his shame, cheated on his wife.  And, he talked like the sin of cheating just sprang on him from nowhere. 

“I had not ever planned to cheat on her,” he told me. 

“Really, pastor.  I mean it.  We were actually pretty happy, my wife and I.  But, that night at the company party I had a couple of drinks and this girl was very nice and it just happened.  I had no intention of doing something that would hurt my family and my marriage so much.”

I believed him.  Sin is like that.  It is like a crouching lion, waiting to spring.  That is what happened to Cain.  Sin sprang out of the grass at Cain, having waited for the right time to spring; a time that Cain stopped trusting God’s promises. 

As soon as that happened, the sin of envy sprang and Cain gave into something more primal within.  He killed his brother out of envy for Abel’s good relationship with God.  Mind you, God promised that Cain could have such a relationship also.  But, sin had pounced like a wild beast.

Again, that is where Jesus finds himself, out in the wilderness with those wild beasts.

But, Jesus does not succumb to the wild beasts, and that is where my interest was piqued while reading the story.  After-all, I succumb to temptation and fail in my testing all the time.  You do not want to begin to hear all of the times.  You want to go home and have a life.  I am affected by the beasts of temptation all the time, but, Jesus is not.  Instead of getting distracted by the temptations in the wilderness, the Bible says that “the angels waited on [Jesus]” (Mark 1:13).

“The angels waited on him.”  I cannot help but notice that in this story Jesus is literally surrounded by love and care.  Before, Jesus is driven out into the wilderness, he is reminded by a heavenly voice concerning who he is: “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased” (Mark 1:11).

A voice booms out from heaven, shouting that Jesus is loved and that Jesus makes God the Father proud.  That is how Jesus starts his ministry.  That is how Jesus starts his day.

I do not think that we always stop to consider just how vital this is, because not everyone in this world has been reminded that they are beloved.  Not everyone in this world walks around knowing that they are loved.  Not everyone in this world knows that there is always someone there, rooting for them no matter what happens. 

Some people walk around with the words “alone” and “damaged” bouncing around in their heads.  How easy it is for the wild beasts to pounce on someone who already feels attacked and wounded. 

How essential it is to have the words, “love” emblazoned upon your heart before you walk out into the wilderness of this world.

And, you will walk in the wilderness.  There is no doubt about that.  And, it will always take far too long.  Anyone who has been alive for any amount of time will tell you that you will walk through the wilderness of struggle and heartbreak, and it will seem like an eternity; at least 40 days. 

No one is exempt.  There are no free passes, even for those who are “beloved” by God.  Jesus is driven out into the wilderness and has to face temptations and testing.  The beasts wait to pounce on him.  But, knowing that you are “beloved” helps.

Do you know what also helps?  God’s angels.  God’s presence.  Having God’s angels present with you out in the wilderness helps a lot.  The Bible says, “the angels waited on him.”

It is so true that you cannot always sense that divine presence with you while you are struggling out in the wilderness.  But, how many of you, after the fact, after you have had the opportunity to sit and think back and ponder have said, “I didn’t know it at the time, but I know that God was doing something during that moment of struggle.  I know that God was with me!”

It is amazing to me that in this simple, two sentence story in the Bible, we find such a strong promise from God.  “The angels waited on him.” 

God does not leave you alone when struggling in the wilderness.  God was present through the angels when Jesus faced temptation in the wilderness.  God was present, right there, when Cain faced the temptation of eliminating his brother, giving him words of promise.  Of course, Cain ignored those words, but God was right there talking to him.  And, God is present in some way, shape, or form as you face your temptations and fears.  God is present with you when the lion crouches nearby, ready to pounce. 

God is present with those God loves. 

Can I say that again, God is present with those God loves.  You are loved. 

No matter what wilderness in which you find yourself, know that you are loved.  No matter what sin crouches and tempts, know that you are loved.  No matter what sin has attacked and won, know that you are loved. 

I read a quote the other day that said, “Ponder how valuable your soul must be for Satan to tirelessly pursue it, and the King to lay down his own life for it.”  You are so valuable that both the beasts and angels have their eyes on you.  You are valuable to God.  You are beloved. 

That will always be true.  You will always be a beloved creation of God.  In the Bible you find that God continued to love and protect Cain, even after he wiped away the life of his brother.  God protected Cain against abuse from others with a mark.  God’s love is always true.  God’s desire for you to be close will never go away, even on the dark days that it feels like God is distant.  Even when wandering in the wilderness, remember that God is there.  God’s angels are ready.

Do you know what also helps when wandering in the wilderness?  Having someone with you who has been through it before.

I once watched a documentary where a western tourist was exploring the grassy plains of Africa.  It was an amazing trip, with lots of firsts.  He looked up and saw his first wild giraffe.  He looked on the horizon and saw his first elephant family.  And, when he looked just yards ahead in the grass he saw the face of a lion, ready to pounce.

The guy would surely have never returned home to tell the story if it were not for his guide who gently told the man not to turn or run.  “Look at the lion.  Put your arms up and look big.  Slowly back away.  Now, shout with me at the lion!”  The man did so.  And, even when the lion charged at them the guide told the man to keep standing and shouting.  “Do not run!  Be big!  Shout!”

The guide saved both of their lives that day.  It is very good advice if you want a chance at saving yourself from a crouching lion, but it is pretty good advice in general.  “Stare at the crouching beast.”  Stare at the temptation.  Stare at the sin.  It cannot get power over you if you see it and refuse to look away.  “Look big.”  Know that with God’s presence, you are bigger and stronger than you ever feel.  “Shout.”  Make your desire to live heard!

After-all, God desires nothing more than for you to continue to live and thrive as one of God’s beloved.  So much so that God sent someone to be with you; one who has been through the wilderness before. 

There is someone with you who has faced the wild beasts crouching in the grass.  There is someone with you who knows who you are: a beloved child of God. 

And, there is only one person who is allowed to tell you who you are; not the ads on television, not the mean teacher from your past who told you that you would amount to nothing, not even your own self-critical voice that tell you that your are unlovable and not good enough; only Jesus gets to tell you who you are.  You are beloved.  You are worth dying for. 

There is someone with you who can sit with the wild beasts and the angels alike in a field of eternal peace: Jesus Christ, the one who made it through the wilderness, the one who is beloved, and the one who loves us enough to save us all.

Reflection on Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

Ash Wednesday

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus commends almsgiving, prayer, and fasting, but emphasizes that spiritual devotion must not be done for show.

[Jesus said to the disciples:] ¹“Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.
 ²“So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. ³But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
 ⁵“And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. ⁶But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
 ¹⁶“And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. ¹⁷But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, ¹⁸so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
 ¹⁹“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; ²⁰but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

 

Reflection

You are dust.  From dust you were shaped and molded into being, and back to dust you shall return.  You are dust.

But, you are God’s dust.  God formed you from the dust of the land, mixed with some holy water; the same way a potter forms a pot or a bowl out of the clay.  You are a wonderful creation of God.  And, just as the pot and the bowl have a purpose, God formed and molded you with a purpose in mind.  After God took the clay and formed your every leg, finger, and eye, God looked at the creation that God held in hand, you, and God smiled and said that it was very good. 

God made you to look just like God, like an artist crafting a self-portrait.  And, then God took a deep breath, and filled you with the active wind of the Spirit.  Releasing you into the world, God set you free to walk, and talk, and be God’s dust…God’s living, breathing, loving dust.  You are the image of God.  You are the breath of God’s love walking in this world.  You are God’s dust.

But, sometimes we forget.

Like a bowl that has been turned up-side-down and is good to hold nothing, we get ourselves turned up-side-down and we forget our loving, holy purpose.  We forget that the purpose of giving to and supporting others is to breathe new life into cracked vessels who have lost their wind and need repair.  Sometimes we forget that we are holy bowls, intended to transport God’s love and healing.  Sometimes we forget and giving to others becomes all about ourselves, and whether or not we are seen to be giving rather than simply being giving. 

Sometimes, we need to be reminded that we are dust.  We are nothing more than dust.  We will return to the ground and be trampled underfoot.  But, we are God’s dust.  So, our giving is to be done in secret.  And, when done in secret, we have the reward of being God’s precious dust.

Sometimes we forget.

Like a flower pot that wants to outshine the flowers that it supports, sometimes we forget that the purpose of our prayers is to hold up beautiful, broken people.  Sometimes, our prayers become all about us, and whether or not we are seen to be praying people rather than being praying people.  Sometimes, we forget that our purpose is to hold up and nourish with water those beautiful, withered people.

Sometimes, we need to be reminded that we are dust.  We are nothing more than dust.  We will return to the ground and be trampled underfoot.  But, we are God’s dust.  So, our praying is to be done in secret.  And, when done in secret, we have the reward of being God’s precious dust.

Like a statue that has forgotten that it was created to look just like its creator, sometimes we forget our creator entirely.  Our attempts to return to the Lord, like fasting and dedicating time to be with God, end up being all about ourselves.  We forget that we were created, not to become whatever we desire, but to become the image that God desires.  Sometimes we forget that our purpose is to be God’s image.

So, God sends us an image, another clay vessel with powerful breathed Spirit, which not only looks like God, but is God; for us to see, and follow, and to help us remember who we are.  God sends us the Son, Jesus.  God chooses to come and be with us so that we can remember that not only are we dust, we are God’s dust. 

You are God’s dust.  You are God’s holy, Spirit breathed dust.  And your destination is heaven.  Your very existence is to be the love of heaven.  And, Jesus will use a cross to remind you what that love looks like, and how far that sort of love is willing to go in order to repair broken, clay vessels.  Jesus does that because he has never forgotten who you are.  You are God’s dust.  And to God you shall return.

“Return to the Lord your God, who is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love” (Joel 2:13).

Reflection on Mark 9:2-9

 

Up on that mountain with Jesus, Peter is ready for a feast!  But, it is not just any feast, he is ready for “the feast;” the eternal feast.  It is the feast that God’s people celebrate after the final harvest is done and the world is restored.  It is the feast without end. 

When Peter sees Elijah standing there with Jesus, his mind races to the final Sukkot, or the final, eternal harvest feast.  Of course, Peter sees that even the great Moses is there, and the whole situation strikes Peter and the other disciples with fear (who would not be blown away by seeing a dead prophet right in front of you…“I see dead people”). 

Though he is fearful, the book of Malachi has prepared him for the sight of Elijah and Moses standing before him.  Malachi 4:4-5 says, “Remember the teaching of my servant Moses, the statutes and ordinances that I commanded him at Horeb [God’s holy mountain] for all Israel. Lo, I will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes.” 

With a bright and shiny Jesus also standing before him, Peter assumes that the great and terrible day has come.  Peter is more than ready to set up some Sukkot, some tents, and enter into those glorious final days of eternity.  “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here;” Peter says, “let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah” (Mark 9:5).

Just so you know, Sukkot are temporary tents that ancient people constructed during the harvest so that they and their field workers did not have to leave the field until the harvest was done.  No one wants to walk miles home each day, only to turn around and make the walk again in the morning.  So, they put up tents so they could live in the fields and celebrate with fresh food when the harvest was done.  The tents are similar to the tents that the Israelites used as they wandered in the desert for 40 years, so using them during the harvest actually made God’s people feel connected with God’s amazing rescue from Egypt. 

Even to this day the Sukkot are constructed during a yearly festival by that name, Sukkot, so that family and friends can gather together with good food and dancing as they enter their tents and celebrate the anticipated final harvest of God.  Peter is ready to get some tents up and start the final harvest feast!

Oh, you can already taste the heavenly food that God would provide on that great and glorious day!  Our mouths start to drip in anticipation of food that is the best of the best.  As Isaiah describes:

“On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear. And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations; he will swallow up death forever. Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces, and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.”  (Isaiah 25:6-8)

“Well-aged wines!”  “Rich food filled with marrow!”  Wine and steak!  Who can go wrong with that?  And, this stuff is prepared by the Lord himself.  Move over Outback Steakhouse, get out of the way Texas Roadhouse, the Lord of hosts is at the grill with a steak knife in one hand and a bottle opener in the other.  When can this sermon be over, I am ready to eat! 

We are to imagine the best of the best food.  I ask you, what food do you truly hope and pray will be at that holy feast? 

A pastor, preaching on this feast text from Isaiah once asked his congregation what food they wanted at that final, glorious feast without end.  “What food do you want to make sure you eat throughout eternity?” he asked.  A little boy raised his hand and excitedly said, “Goldfish!”  The boy meant the little crackers shaped like goldfish, of course.  So, an eternity spent eating Goldfish?  To each their own!

Oh, how glorious it could have been, feasting up on that mountain with the Lord, except that Jesus brings no food with him, nor do Elijah or Moses for that matter.  But, the cloud of the Lord shows up.  Surely, the feast has come?  Surely, God the Father has his grill and stock of the finest wine ready?

But, no feast of rich food and fine wine arrives; not yet anyway.  Instead, Peter, James, and John get to feast on the words of God the Father.  “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!” And, then, just as suddenly as it started, it is done.  The three disciples are left standing with Jesus, and no one else. 

“Where’s the steak?  Where’s the wine?” I would have asked Jesus.  “Where’s the Goldfish?” the little boy would have asked beside me.

“Tell no one about what you have seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead,” Jesus commands.

Here we go with the death talk again.  Just before they went up the mountain, Jesus was full of all of this death talk, spouting something about suffering, being put to death and rising again on the third day.  Why can’t we just get to the feast?  Why can’t we just get to the good stuff?  Why is all of this pain and suffering standing in the way of the good life?

Those who have lost a child or spouse would ask the same thing.  “Why can’t we just be together again?  Why is this suffering in the way of the good life?”

Those who feed their last morsels of food to their children while their own stomachs ache from the hunger also wonder, “Why can’t we just get to the feast?  Why is there all of this suffering beforehand?  Why can’t we just get to the good stuff?

I wonder the same thing.  If there is a great and glorious feast at the end, why does all of this suffering have to come first?  To tell you the truth, I do not really know.  I do not know.  But, it might have something to do with a meal that God needs to eat first.

We were so focused on imagining the great food at that final feast that we kind of overlooked some very important words in that Isaiah text.  After talking about God’s feast of great food, Isaiah says this, “And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations; he will swallow up death forever. Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces, and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken” (Isaiah 25:7-8).

God will “swallow up death forever.”  God will feast on death so that it will harm us no longer.  God will chew up and destroy the thing that steals our beloved spouses and adored children.  God will grind and pulverize the thing that steals those we love out of our hands.  The Lord will swallow up death forever, and then “God will wipe away the tears from all faces.”  The days that we feast on our tears as the Psalmist so painfully put it in Psalm 42:3 will be done. 

I do not know about you, but I find hope and comfort in the idea that the Lord has seen the tears that have stained our faces and our hearts and then comes down the mountain to do something about it.  I find comfort and hope in the Lord who carries our pain with him as he walks toward the cross to swallow up death forever.  Because, if his suffering can lead to his being raised in three days, maybe your suffering is not the last word either.  Maybe, your suffering is just the plating of God’s meal, where he will take a bite and eliminate your suffering for good.  Maybe, your suffering is just the hunger that comes before that final feast where we will set up some tents with Elijah, Jesus, and Moses and feast at God’s eternal table.

Hear the voice of the one who calls you to the feast.  Listen to the voice of the one who calls you out of the darkness of suffering and into the light of new life and good food.  Hear God when God says from the cloud, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!”   Listen to Jesus, who brings you from death to life. 

Jesus’ promise to us makes me think of the song, “All Who Are Thirsty.”  The lyrics go:

“All who are thirsty

And all who are weak

Come to the fountain

Dip your heart in the streams of life

Let the pain and the sorrow

Be washed away

In the waves of His mercy

As deep cries out to deep, we sing

Come Lord Jesus, come.”

Songwriters: Jonathan Lindley Smith / Lindsey Mccaul

All who are thirsty lyrics © Essential Music Publishing, Integrity Music

Reflection on Mark 1:29-39

 

The Bible says that Jesus took Simon’s sick mother-in-law “by the hand and lifted her up” (Mark 1:31a).  Jesus took her “by the hand.”

I cannot tell you too often how important some of these little details are in the Bible.  There are other instances in the scriptures where Jesus does not take the person, “by the hand,” but rather just speaks the words and the person is healed.  That has a meaning in and of itself that I will not get into here.  Rather, I just want to point out that these little details have layers of deep meaning and should be taken seriously.

The first thing I think about when hearing that Jesus “took her by the hand” is how often we take children by the hand to deliver them from one place to another.  It is so natural that we do not even think about it.  When walking through the parking lot I take Isaac by the hand, to deliver him safely from the van to the store. I do not want him to wander off and get hit. And, he grasps me by the hand, trusting that he will be safe as we walk.

The Bible says that Jesus “took her by the hand.”  Jesus is taking her from one place to another so that she can be safe, and better, and healed.

I also think of the time that I was taken “by the hand” of the pastor in the dimly lit church where we sat.  At the time, I was really struggling with a lot.  I was struggling with some close relationships.   I was struggling over guilt and shame having to do with sin.  I sat in the partial darkness, confessing my reality to the pastor.  At one point, the pastor took me by the hand, and prayed with me.  He said to me while holding my hand, “Your sins are forgiven.  Now, be healed.”

I had heard that phrase many, many times before; “Your sins are forgiven.”  We hear it nearly every Sunday morning at the beginning of the church service.  And, though it is always true, our sins are truly forgiven, this time around with my hand in his, it was different.  It was as if he was walking with me from one place to another.  It was as if he was leading me from sin and the other struggles of life, to a new place of healing, forgiveness, and wholeness.

Jesus came to Simon’s sick mother-in-law, “took her by the hand and lifted her up” (Mark 1:31a). Jesus took her by the hand, took her from a place of illness and lifted her safely to a new place of healing.

This is an image that has very deep and very specific resonance in the scriptures.  We actually do not hear about people taking other people by the hand very often.  A little later in the gospel we see Jesus taking the hand of a young girl who had died bringing her back to life in Mark 5:41.  We also see Jesus taking the hand of a boy whose mind and body had been taken over by a spirit, making him foam at the mouth (Mark 9:27).  He too is brought back from the brink of death and is healed.  Then, famously In Matthew 14:31, Jesus stretches his hand out to Peter as the waters overwhelm him, failing to walk on the water.

But, the true bedrock underneath all of these stories of being “taken by the hand” can be found in a beautiful Bible passage from Isaiah 42:6-7.  In it God promises:

“I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness, I have taken you by the hand and kept you; I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness” (Isaiah 42:6-7). 

As you just heard, the Lord calls God’s people in righteousness, or by creating a “right relationship” with them.  And, that right relationship includes taking us “by the hand” and keeping us safe.  God is our parent out in the parking lots of the world.  God takes us by the hand to deliver us from one place to another in love and safety.

But, according to Isaiah, God takes us by the hand and delivers us into safety for a reason.  “I have given you as a covenant (or promise) to the people, a light to the nation, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness” (Isaiah 42:7). 

God takes us by the hand and saves us so that we can be a part of his life, which includes healing others, helping others to see and understand, bringing prisoners out from dark places, and showing God’s light and love.  In other words, God takes us by the hand so that we can be healed, and so that we can follow God in a life of healing and love.  We are taken by the hand so that we can serve.

And, that is where we again pick up the story of Simon’s mother-in-law.  Because, after Jesus lovingly takes her by the hand the Bible says that, “the fever left her, and she began to serve them.”  And, the type of serving described here is not Simon saying to his mother, “Great, you’re healed, now go get me a beer.  All of this worrying has made me thirsty.”  Rather, it is the same “serving” that the angels did at the end of the temptation story as they attended lovingly to Jesus.  It is the type of serving that is described in Isaiah in which God’s people are envisioned as helping those who suffer from bodily problems.  It is loving and serving those who struggle in the dark and need healing and guidance.  It is the sort of serving that Jesus showed Simon’s mother-in-law as he took her by the hand and pulled her up into health and wholeness again.

We need that sort of healing.  I mean it.  Taking a pill is one thing.  It can work.  It can heal.  But, it fails to make us whole.  Someone taking us by the hand while we take the pill: that is true healing and wholeness.  Someone walking with us through the illness is so powerful.  Jesus gives Peter’s mother-in-law just that.  He gives the gift of both the bodily healing (like the pill) and the hand that makes us whole again.  Jesus gives us that healing and wholeness.  And, we need it.

The world does not lack people who cry out to be made whole.  After Jesus healed Simon’s mother-in-law, the whole town shows up in order to be “taken by the hand, “ and “lifted up.”  The Bible says:

“That evening, at sunset, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. And the whole city was gathered around the door. And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons…” (Mark 1:32-34).

How great is that?  Not only does Jesus take us by the hand, but Jesus also takes the time to care for all of those others as well.  Is that not great!

But, what can feel not so great about it is that Jesus turns his attention to someone else.  Once while at the park, playing with the kids, I watched as a little boy had a full blown, lay down in the dirt screaming and kicking, meltdown because this mother dared help push another child on the swings.  Oh the horror!  He has a nice mother!

But, she was “his” mother.  We have a tendency to cling to those with whom we are close.  We have a tendency to put a claim on those who we love, and we refuse to share their love and their gifts.

This happens to Jesus as he goes away to pray, likely exhausted after helping all of those people.  The disciples hunt him down and declare:

“Everyone is searching for you” (Mark 1:37).

Jesus answers them, “Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do” (Mark 1:38).

The great thing about Jesus’ life-giving healing is that it is for everyone.  But, it is also the hard thing.  How many churches out there refuse to welcome people outside of their church to Jesus’ table?  How many churches out there refuse to welcome people who have sinned in ways that they deem as “too much”?  How many of us bristle when Jesus says, “love your enemy”?  How many of us are left struck by confusion when Jesus says that God sends rain on both the wicked and the good?  How many of us are happy to have Jesus as our savior, but do not even give a passing thought to sharing his salvation with others?

Simon’s mother-in-law was healed, and then “served.”  She was healed so that she could be a blessing.  Jesus’ blessings do not stop with us, rather they start with us.  Jesus’ blessed healing is like a bucket of healing and love being poured into our little Dixie cup.  It overflows, so we might as well start tossing that stuff over to others who could use it also.

We are given the gift of healing, to heal.

We are blessed, to be a blessing.

We are served, so that we can serve.

We are loved, so that we can be love.

Dan was a kid with special needs.  He loved Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.  You can see why I liked this kid so much.  Other people would make sure that he was amply provided with his favorite treat because the smile he gave back was worth so much more than the candy.  And, every time that he was given the treat in abundance, he would eat one and would then walk around, handing out all of the other pieces to surrounding people.  If you tried to tell him that it was all for him, he would get very upset and mad. 

He wanted everyone to be a part of the love.  He wanted everyone to be a part of the happiness.  He wanted to make sure that that everyone got a taste of the good life.  Just like his savior; he wanted everyone to be taken by the hand with a very real and tangible love; the love of Jesus Christ our Lord.