(Preceded by the song Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better from Annie Get Your Gun)
That song has no theological meaning whatsoever, and yet I can’t help thinking about it every time I hear someone trying to make a deal with God over something. Perhaps it’s something selfish like, “God if I win the lottery I’ll donate so much to charity.” Or the ridiculous: “God, if we win this game I’ll go to church on Sunday.” Or even the deeply sincere: “God, help me develop this skill,” Or, “God save him through this surgery,” “…because through that I can serve you better.” To all of which God can genuinely reply, “Why? Anything you can do I can do better. I can do anything better than you.”
While we may not get into a childing argument over it, the truth is just the same. We are reminded of the doctrine of the utter depravity of the soul. There is nothing, absolutely nothing, that we can offer to God. We have no talents, no skills, no resources, no wealth that God can’t get better some other way. You know the old saying, “If you want something done right you’d better do it yourself.” The saying could easily go for God! If God wants creatures better than humans it is a simple matter of creating them.
Perhaps your mind wanders to scriptural passages like Hosea 6:6 where God says, “For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.” Or Psalm 51:17, “The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”
These passages make it sound like God is pleased by us having a certain life attitude or direction before God. But that is not what these passages mean. God does not need nor desire our praise, or a certain attitude from us. That would suggest God is some sort of egotistical maniac wanting proper adoration from his creatures. We’ll come back to these passages later. For now, we turn to our gospel reading where we meet a young man who asks Jesus about inheriting eternal life.
It is easy to turn this man into a caricature of greed, but that is a mistake. I like to describe him as a model citizen. If you are a parent, this man is the sort you want your children to grow into. He is polite, reverent and obedient. He addresses Jesus as, “Good Teacher.” And he does that multiple times. He has kept all of the commandments. He is successful. Clearly he is a critical thinker, hard-working, and reliable. He is a model of integrity and authenticity. You want to have him on your team at work. You want to have him in your neighborhood. You want to have him in your church!
But despite all of these superb attributes, he sees things the wrong way.
The clue to his wrong way is his first address to Jesus, “…what must I do to inherit eternal life.” “Inherit” is legal language. That is the way his faith operates. If you are going to inherit something it means that you are somehow close to a person who has died. Most likely you share family ties. You are a blood relative, or maybe adopted into the family. You have exhibited some qualities the deceased appreciates, and/or trusts with their life’s work. Or perhaps you are a charity or a church or some organization whose principles align with the life goals of the deceased. You don’t just inherit money from a person you have no connection with! Even though you haven’t actually earned what you are going to inherit there is something about you that makes you favored.
So the young man comes to Jesus and asks, what must I yet do to get God’s favor so that God rewards me? What does God want from me?
God could very easily reply, “Anything you can do I can do better. I can do anything better than you.” Despite the superbness of who he is, he still has nothing to offer God.
Jesus’ reply yanks the rug out from under his entire life. Jesus says, “Go, sell what you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”
Said differently: lose your ability to do anything better than others. Give up your self-reliance. Then you will in a place for a genuine relationship with God.
Let’s be clear. This is not a different relationship with God that will then get him eternal life. This is about chucking out that whole way of being. The new way of being wouldn’t even ask, “What must I do to inherit eternal life.”
The passage turns to the disciples asking who then can be saved if not rich people. We have to remember that in those days wealth was generally considered to be a sign of being blessed by God. A person was obviously living the right way and God was rewarding them. Sure, wealth could be corrupted. Wealth wasn’t a guaranteed sign of God’s love. But in the case of this upright and hard-working young man, the cultural assumption was that he was doing life right; and being rewarded by God for it.
So if those who are doing things right are not being rewarded by God with eternal life for living their lives right, then who can be saved?
We return again to the idea that we have nothing to offer God. God created us and loves us. That’s all there is to it.
God does want to be in relationship with you. But that is not a transactional sort of relationship at all. It is the sort of relationship where by you recognizing that you are created, held, and loved by God, you then interact with the world in a way that is healthy and fulfilling. It is that you recognize God’s love coming to you and you sharing it outwards.
I can’t come up with a good example that fits in our age of digital technology, artificial intelligence, and virtual reality. Perhaps though, if you’ve ever driven an old car that has just been perfectly tuned up, you can get it. Or the example that works for me is when I operate my family’s antique John Deere Model B tractor in the fields. (If my uncle is online, as he sometimes is, he’ll get it.) It takes some skill to do it, but when you are working in the fields you are tying to adjust things such that every gauge on the instrument panel points exactly straight upward. That’s ideal engine temperature and ideal oil pressure, and everything else monitored operating exactly where it was designed to operate. The entire machine is operating exactly where its designers intended it to operate for maximum power and efficiency. When you reach that point you can hear it in the way it runs. You can feel it in the controls. You can even smell it. It feels strong, responsive, and unstoppable.
That is what God wants for you for your life. God does not want you to live being motivated by what would make God happy, or what would put you in the place to inherit eternal life. Of what value is that to God? God can do anything better than you.
What you can do is live according to your designer’s design for you. You are not an accident. You are not a careless collection of molecules that happen to be animated for a span of time called life. It is as if you are precision engineered by God. God wants his love to be the fuel that makes you perform at your best. And God does not want you to sacrifice that for poor substitutes.
Our gospel scene concludes with Jesus saying, “Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sister or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age – houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields with persecutions – and in the age to come eternal life.”
That is life as God intended it for you.
Wednesday, February 28, 2024
Monday, February 19, 2024
February 18, 2024 Lent 1 Mark 9:9-10:16
In the first scene of our gospel reading the man of the epileptic boy says to Jesus, “I believe; help my unbelief!” The statement makes no sense at all… and yet, it gets at a truth that we all know well: We believe. We want to believe. But there are still doubts. We need to believe more strongly. We want proofs for affirmation.
In the case of the epileptic boy the father has just said previously to Jesus, “…if you are able to do anything, have pity on us and help us.” Jesus says to him, “If you are able! – All things can be done for the one who believes.” To which the man says his statement of belief but wanting help with his unbelief.
In this case the setting of belief is based on the need to perform a healing miracle. I think we all wish we could perform miracles. We’d solve a lot of the world’s problems – or at least we’d try! And yet, this idea of “believing” but wanting help with “unbelief” has a big effect on everyday life; not just the miraculous. After all, most of Jesus’ teachings about faith and belief are not aimed at making people capable of doing miraculous things.
“Belief” in everyday life centers around the idea of trusting God’s love for you. At the Ash Wednesday service I preached that whether we like it or not, we are completely and forever entirely dependent upon God for existence. John’s gospel tells us that all things came into being through God. And without God not one thing came into being. It doesn’t matter whether you believe in God or not, and it doesn’t matter whether you love God or even hate God, you are still dependent upon God for existence. The entire universe exists only because God created it and sustains every-last inch of it; and for as long as God wants it to.
We talk about relying on God while we are alive. But what about after death? Do you ever realize that even then we depend upon God. There will never be a time when we will exist on our own as ourselves.
That offends many people. Those who want to be their own creators (and sustainers) are never going to be okay with being eternally dependent upon God’s goodness for existence. Yet that is true. We have nothing that we can give to God that God cannot get otherwise. You can’t make deals with God. Any deal means that you have offered something of value to the other and you are leveraging that value for getting something for yourself in return. But, anything that we can do God can do better. Also, God is not a narcissist sitting on a throne and wanting the adoration of his creatures. God has simply created the universe, and life, and humans, out of God’s own sense of creativity and delight.
That is all easy to believe… in theory. It is harder to believe in the scrapes and bangs of day-to-day life. Where wealth and luck and popularity and limited resources all come into play in very tangible ways. We too cry out, “We believe. But God, if you really want us to live by this, help our unbelief!”
When we cNtruly and fully believe that God made us, and that God loves us, it shows in all our life’s priorities. And when we do not believe that, the ways of the world take over.
Let’s look at the rest of the gospel reading with that in mind.
The scene after the curing of the epileptic boy is the scene where Jesus and the disciples return to Capernaum. Jesus asks them what they were arguing about along the way. It turns out they were arguing about who was the greatest.
If you know deep in your heart that your value and your existence are forever entirely secure in God, then do you care about earthly greatness? Does earthly rank matter at all? No. But… the dynamics of status and rank impact every aspect of life.
We believe. Help our unbelief!
Then the disciple John tells Jesus about others casting out demons in Jesus’ name. John says he tried to stop them. It is as if someone else is benefitting from the ‘Jesus brand’ and they haven’t bought the licensing rights. Or, they are using the name without full understanding. Doesn’t Jesus want to keep an eye on those who act in his name? What if they use it wrongly? Jesus says no, let them do it. No one who does a deed of power in Jesus’ name will soon after be able to speak evil of Jesus.
This strikes close to home. I am often bothered by a lot of what people do in Jesus’ name in our country today. I see conservative evangelicals using language about Jesus that is embarrassing and insulting to anyone with intelligence. Plus, Jesus’ name is used for endorsing political ideas. On the other side I see liberals using the name of Jesus to support their own brands; the concepts and teachings of Jesus being used to endorse all sorts of critiques. And it is used to build ivory towers of superiority from which liberals can throw stones at those they vilify.
I suppose I have my own ideas of what the Jesus brand is and is not. Maybe mine are more accurate. But maybe they are not. Ultimately we have to realize that we use the name of Jesus with humility, and know it represents something beyond ourselves, even as we don’t understand or control it. And so we say we believe, but help our unbelief!
Jesus then goes on to teach about having millstones hung around your neck, and hands cut off, and feet cut off, and eyes gouged out if they cause you to “stumble.” Stumble meaning a scandal to faith – either your faith or the faith of others.
Of course Jesus is using highly exaggerated language here. Don’t take this literally! We can get his point. Earthly ways, earthly priorities, earthly limitations seem completely absolute to us. But they are not. It is so easy to get hung up on them. They drive our lives! We believe that who we are is measured by what we can do. That belief is reinforced for us all the time.
The Super Bowl puts the world’s ways on full display. The Super Bowl is a test of the best of the best. It is a combination of a team’s talent on the field, the skill of coaches, and the thinking of strategists. It is a mix of strength and skill and cunning. Who has put together the best combination? Those who do win. Everyone else loses. That is the way of the world.
But let’s not pick on sports. The Super Bowl is ultimately a stage for entertainment. It gets far more serious.
Put yourself in a dry wilderness. You live in a village. If the village well dries up you have to find water. If the well in the neighboring village still works, and if they let you get water from it, all well and good. But what if they don’t? What about when the competition is about food and water; not a Super Bowl ring? What about when it is about who will get the life-saving resources and who will die?
If you are in a village where the water runs dry, and a neighboring village has water, but won’t let you have any… and your children are going to die, and you have a gun and the neighboring village has none, what are you going to do?
God, we believe. Help our unbelief!
Further into our gospel reading Jesus is asked about divorce. He doesn’t get into the technicalities of the situation. He roots it in God’s creative intentions; and the breakdown thereof. He doesn’t give an easy way out. His followers are not to be changing relationships based on whims, new desires, or by finding technical loopholes. The practical effect of Jesus’ teaching is to create families where children grow up in safety and security, and so that people feel stable in their lives.
And yet many people do say you only live once, so get as much out of life as you can get away with. But that is not Jesus’ teaching.
A person who knows that fulfillment and happiness rest in knowing they are loved by God, is not frustrated when relationships and families are troubled.
Lord, we believe. Help our unbelief.
Our gospel reading wraps up with children being brought to Jesus. These days children are given far higher priority in society than then. Then a child had no status, other than their potential to grow up. Nothing was to be gained by paying attention to children. Nothing was to be gained by giving them priority over adults. If an important person like Jesus was around then the important adults should get access. Children could learn from their parents from there.
But in God’s kingdom where all recognize that their existence is forever and securely held by God, no adult is above another and no child is lesser. Children become the example Jesus uses. Though they have no present practical value, they are valued by God.
They are an example of faith because they are needy and they know it. They know they depend upon their family for everything they need. Their very existence depends upon their family.
Similarly, our existence depends upon God. We know that. We believe that. But it is so hard when the limits of life hit us. God seems far away. The world seems so absolute.
We believe. God, help our unbelief.
I suspect we will never reach a point in life when we are truly beyond feeling our hearts tugged by the ways of the world. But we are still in God’s care. We pray for more faith. And we live in the hope of God’s promises of full unity with him, when all our doubts are forever gone.
In the case of the epileptic boy the father has just said previously to Jesus, “…if you are able to do anything, have pity on us and help us.” Jesus says to him, “If you are able! – All things can be done for the one who believes.” To which the man says his statement of belief but wanting help with his unbelief.
In this case the setting of belief is based on the need to perform a healing miracle. I think we all wish we could perform miracles. We’d solve a lot of the world’s problems – or at least we’d try! And yet, this idea of “believing” but wanting help with “unbelief” has a big effect on everyday life; not just the miraculous. After all, most of Jesus’ teachings about faith and belief are not aimed at making people capable of doing miraculous things.
“Belief” in everyday life centers around the idea of trusting God’s love for you. At the Ash Wednesday service I preached that whether we like it or not, we are completely and forever entirely dependent upon God for existence. John’s gospel tells us that all things came into being through God. And without God not one thing came into being. It doesn’t matter whether you believe in God or not, and it doesn’t matter whether you love God or even hate God, you are still dependent upon God for existence. The entire universe exists only because God created it and sustains every-last inch of it; and for as long as God wants it to.
We talk about relying on God while we are alive. But what about after death? Do you ever realize that even then we depend upon God. There will never be a time when we will exist on our own as ourselves.
That offends many people. Those who want to be their own creators (and sustainers) are never going to be okay with being eternally dependent upon God’s goodness for existence. Yet that is true. We have nothing that we can give to God that God cannot get otherwise. You can’t make deals with God. Any deal means that you have offered something of value to the other and you are leveraging that value for getting something for yourself in return. But, anything that we can do God can do better. Also, God is not a narcissist sitting on a throne and wanting the adoration of his creatures. God has simply created the universe, and life, and humans, out of God’s own sense of creativity and delight.
That is all easy to believe… in theory. It is harder to believe in the scrapes and bangs of day-to-day life. Where wealth and luck and popularity and limited resources all come into play in very tangible ways. We too cry out, “We believe. But God, if you really want us to live by this, help our unbelief!”
When we cNtruly and fully believe that God made us, and that God loves us, it shows in all our life’s priorities. And when we do not believe that, the ways of the world take over.
Let’s look at the rest of the gospel reading with that in mind.
The scene after the curing of the epileptic boy is the scene where Jesus and the disciples return to Capernaum. Jesus asks them what they were arguing about along the way. It turns out they were arguing about who was the greatest.
If you know deep in your heart that your value and your existence are forever entirely secure in God, then do you care about earthly greatness? Does earthly rank matter at all? No. But… the dynamics of status and rank impact every aspect of life.
We believe. Help our unbelief!
Then the disciple John tells Jesus about others casting out demons in Jesus’ name. John says he tried to stop them. It is as if someone else is benefitting from the ‘Jesus brand’ and they haven’t bought the licensing rights. Or, they are using the name without full understanding. Doesn’t Jesus want to keep an eye on those who act in his name? What if they use it wrongly? Jesus says no, let them do it. No one who does a deed of power in Jesus’ name will soon after be able to speak evil of Jesus.
This strikes close to home. I am often bothered by a lot of what people do in Jesus’ name in our country today. I see conservative evangelicals using language about Jesus that is embarrassing and insulting to anyone with intelligence. Plus, Jesus’ name is used for endorsing political ideas. On the other side I see liberals using the name of Jesus to support their own brands; the concepts and teachings of Jesus being used to endorse all sorts of critiques. And it is used to build ivory towers of superiority from which liberals can throw stones at those they vilify.
I suppose I have my own ideas of what the Jesus brand is and is not. Maybe mine are more accurate. But maybe they are not. Ultimately we have to realize that we use the name of Jesus with humility, and know it represents something beyond ourselves, even as we don’t understand or control it. And so we say we believe, but help our unbelief!
Jesus then goes on to teach about having millstones hung around your neck, and hands cut off, and feet cut off, and eyes gouged out if they cause you to “stumble.” Stumble meaning a scandal to faith – either your faith or the faith of others.
Of course Jesus is using highly exaggerated language here. Don’t take this literally! We can get his point. Earthly ways, earthly priorities, earthly limitations seem completely absolute to us. But they are not. It is so easy to get hung up on them. They drive our lives! We believe that who we are is measured by what we can do. That belief is reinforced for us all the time.
The Super Bowl puts the world’s ways on full display. The Super Bowl is a test of the best of the best. It is a combination of a team’s talent on the field, the skill of coaches, and the thinking of strategists. It is a mix of strength and skill and cunning. Who has put together the best combination? Those who do win. Everyone else loses. That is the way of the world.
But let’s not pick on sports. The Super Bowl is ultimately a stage for entertainment. It gets far more serious.
Put yourself in a dry wilderness. You live in a village. If the village well dries up you have to find water. If the well in the neighboring village still works, and if they let you get water from it, all well and good. But what if they don’t? What about when the competition is about food and water; not a Super Bowl ring? What about when it is about who will get the life-saving resources and who will die?
If you are in a village where the water runs dry, and a neighboring village has water, but won’t let you have any… and your children are going to die, and you have a gun and the neighboring village has none, what are you going to do?
God, we believe. Help our unbelief!
Further into our gospel reading Jesus is asked about divorce. He doesn’t get into the technicalities of the situation. He roots it in God’s creative intentions; and the breakdown thereof. He doesn’t give an easy way out. His followers are not to be changing relationships based on whims, new desires, or by finding technical loopholes. The practical effect of Jesus’ teaching is to create families where children grow up in safety and security, and so that people feel stable in their lives.
And yet many people do say you only live once, so get as much out of life as you can get away with. But that is not Jesus’ teaching.
A person who knows that fulfillment and happiness rest in knowing they are loved by God, is not frustrated when relationships and families are troubled.
Lord, we believe. Help our unbelief.
Our gospel reading wraps up with children being brought to Jesus. These days children are given far higher priority in society than then. Then a child had no status, other than their potential to grow up. Nothing was to be gained by paying attention to children. Nothing was to be gained by giving them priority over adults. If an important person like Jesus was around then the important adults should get access. Children could learn from their parents from there.
But in God’s kingdom where all recognize that their existence is forever and securely held by God, no adult is above another and no child is lesser. Children become the example Jesus uses. Though they have no present practical value, they are valued by God.
They are an example of faith because they are needy and they know it. They know they depend upon their family for everything they need. Their very existence depends upon their family.
Similarly, our existence depends upon God. We know that. We believe that. But it is so hard when the limits of life hit us. God seems far away. The world seems so absolute.
We believe. God, help our unbelief.
I suspect we will never reach a point in life when we are truly beyond feeling our hearts tugged by the ways of the world. But we are still in God’s care. We pray for more faith. And we live in the hope of God’s promises of full unity with him, when all our doubts are forever gone.
Monday, February 12, 2024
Sunday School Children’s Worship, February 11, 2024
This creative dialog was part of what the Sunday school children presented as the sermon when they led worship on February 11
Cast: Peter
God
Set: Peter at a microphone. God at the pulpit.
Peter: Jesus, this is awesome that we are here with you and Moses and Elijah! Moses is the one who received the Law from God. Elijah is the greatest of the prophets and who was taken up into heaven. And you, Jesus, are the Lord’s Anointed!
Let me build a football stadium for you. We’ll call it High Mountain Stadium.
I’ll include three luxury boxes:
One for you.
One for Moses.
One for Elijah.
You can watch the games in style and comfort. The TV cameras can zoom in on your reactions when there are big plays.
We’ll form a football team and call it the Galilee Bills.
I’ll be the quarterback.
Andrew can be a back as well.
James, and John are fast and good with their hands. They can be receivers.
Simon the Zealot, well he’s as big as a mountain. He can be center.
Philip and Bartholomew we’ll make guards.
Matthew the Tax Collector is good with number but not much good in the way of athletics. But we’ll throw him in as a tackle.
We’ll do the same with James, the son of Alphaeus.
Thaddaeus, he’s versatile. We’ll make him a tight end.
That’s eleven of us.
Which leaves out Judas. Let’s put Judas on special teams. He can be the kicker. He’d better have thick skin, though. If he were to…, say…, miss a field goal that would tie a game during the playoffs, he’ll be known throughout history for that failure!
God: Peter.
Peter: Who’s that? I only see Jesus, Moses, and Elijah in front of me.
God: This is God.
Peter: Whoa, you’re here too!
Cast: Peter
God
Set: Peter at a microphone. God at the pulpit.
Peter: Jesus, this is awesome that we are here with you and Moses and Elijah! Moses is the one who received the Law from God. Elijah is the greatest of the prophets and who was taken up into heaven. And you, Jesus, are the Lord’s Anointed!
Let me build a football stadium for you. We’ll call it High Mountain Stadium.
I’ll include three luxury boxes:
One for you.
One for Moses.
One for Elijah.
You can watch the games in style and comfort. The TV cameras can zoom in on your reactions when there are big plays.
We’ll form a football team and call it the Galilee Bills.
I’ll be the quarterback.
Andrew can be a back as well.
James, and John are fast and good with their hands. They can be receivers.
Simon the Zealot, well he’s as big as a mountain. He can be center.
Philip and Bartholomew we’ll make guards.
Matthew the Tax Collector is good with number but not much good in the way of athletics. But we’ll throw him in as a tackle.
We’ll do the same with James, the son of Alphaeus.
Thaddaeus, he’s versatile. We’ll make him a tight end.
That’s eleven of us.
Which leaves out Judas. Let’s put Judas on special teams. He can be the kicker. He’d better have thick skin, though. If he were to…, say…, miss a field goal that would tie a game during the playoffs, he’ll be known throughout history for that failure!
God: Peter.
Peter: Who’s that? I only see Jesus, Moses, and Elijah in front of me.
God: This is God.
Peter: Whoa, you’re here too!
God: Yes Peter. I’m here too. And you need to stop talking.
Peter: Why? I’ve got lots of ideas just pouring out of my head. I’m in a real stream of consciousness here! Don’t you realize how brilliant my idea is of the disciples creating a football team. And we’ll build a luxury stadium right here on the mountain. I tell you, God, this is genius!
God: You don’t know what you’re saying. Now is not the time for talking. Now is the time for listening.
Peter, you and the disciples are all on a team. You are on the team of my kingdom. You all have different talents. And yes, like a football team, different talents fill different roles. Some are preachers and teachers. Some are artists and musicians. Some build things. Some grow things. Some are managers. Some make rope or cloth. Some are cooks or cleaners. There are many talents and many tasks. They are all essential. All are important. No football team can win if positions are unfilled. No quarterback can be good without good receivers and good linemen.
Peter: (in a singsong voice) Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know. But some positions are more glorious than others. And some take more talent than others.
God: No Peter. In my team all positions take a person’s full talent. And all positions are glorious.
Peter: (defiantly) Okay, fine. If you say so.
God: Peter, I told you to stop talking because you don’t know what you’re saying.
Peter: But I do know what I’m saying!
God: No, you don’t. And you’re still talking too!
All are equal in my kingdom because all need my love. All fall short of deserving it. But I love them anyway.
Peter: I don’t fall short!
God: You’re still talking! You don’t know what you’re saying. So now is the time to be silent.
You, Peter, will fall short.
You will fail, Peter. At a time not too far in the future you’ll make boasts and promises about your commitment. And then you will fall apart when the going gets tough.
You will deny that you know Jesus. You’ll even call a curse upon yourself denying that you know Jesus.
Then when you fail you will feel ashamed. You’ll wonder how I could ever love you after such a failure.
But I will still love you. I will welcome you back. You will be restored.
Then you’ll understand. Then you will know.
Then you’ll know that being loved and accepted by me is the greatest thing.
Everyone in my kingdom will feel the same way and know the same thing.
Stadiums and luxury boxes and winning big games are ultimately not important at all.
We’re not here for earthly glory.
What is important is being on my team. My team works to bring about my kingdom.
For now, until these things happen, listen to Jesus. He is my beloved Son. Learn from him. Follow him. He will make you a true victor. It many not happen in the world’s eyes, but you will in my eyes.
Peter: I don’t understand.
God: No, you don’t understand because you don’t know enough in order to understand. But you will understand. For now, just listen.
Peter, you and the disciples are all on a team. You are on the team of my kingdom. You all have different talents. And yes, like a football team, different talents fill different roles. Some are preachers and teachers. Some are artists and musicians. Some build things. Some grow things. Some are managers. Some make rope or cloth. Some are cooks or cleaners. There are many talents and many tasks. They are all essential. All are important. No football team can win if positions are unfilled. No quarterback can be good without good receivers and good linemen.
Peter: (in a singsong voice) Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know. But some positions are more glorious than others. And some take more talent than others.
God: No Peter. In my team all positions take a person’s full talent. And all positions are glorious.
Peter: (defiantly) Okay, fine. If you say so.
God: Peter, I told you to stop talking because you don’t know what you’re saying.
Peter: But I do know what I’m saying!
God: No, you don’t. And you’re still talking too!
All are equal in my kingdom because all need my love. All fall short of deserving it. But I love them anyway.
Peter: I don’t fall short!
God: You’re still talking! You don’t know what you’re saying. So now is the time to be silent.
You, Peter, will fall short.
You will fail, Peter. At a time not too far in the future you’ll make boasts and promises about your commitment. And then you will fall apart when the going gets tough.
You will deny that you know Jesus. You’ll even call a curse upon yourself denying that you know Jesus.
Then when you fail you will feel ashamed. You’ll wonder how I could ever love you after such a failure.
But I will still love you. I will welcome you back. You will be restored.
Then you’ll understand. Then you will know.
Then you’ll know that being loved and accepted by me is the greatest thing.
Everyone in my kingdom will feel the same way and know the same thing.
Stadiums and luxury boxes and winning big games are ultimately not important at all.
We’re not here for earthly glory.
What is important is being on my team. My team works to bring about my kingdom.
For now, until these things happen, listen to Jesus. He is my beloved Son. Learn from him. Follow him. He will make you a true victor. It many not happen in the world’s eyes, but you will in my eyes.
Peter: I don’t understand.
God: No, you don’t understand because you don’t know enough in order to understand. But you will understand. For now, just listen.
Monday, February 5, 2024
February 4, 2024 Feeding of 5000 Mark 6:30-44
“Panem et circenses.” I’m not a Latin scholar so I don’t know if I’m pronouncing that correctly. It is a line I am hearing more and more. Panem et circenses; bread and circuses. The line is attributed to Roman poet Juvenal from late in the first century. It means that in order to get public approval leaders do not have to show good public service, or appeal to morality, or have good public policies. What they really have to do is offer diversions and instant gratification. Give the general population food and entertainment and they’ll love you!
That phrase may be from almost 2000 years ago, but the fact that it endures to today shows that it is getting at something fundamental in humans. We like to be told what we want to hear. We want to be fed without hard work. We want comfort. We want entertainment. Give people that message and they’ll be happy.
Given the incredible luxuries we have in our lives today that not even the wealthiest could have dreamed of 150 years ago – think air conditioning, hot and cold running water, electricity, automobiles – you’d think we’d all be the happiest people to ever live in human history!
But, wait… no. Why?
Because people want ever more, and think they are entitled to ever more. And when they can’t get it they turn on each other and start blaming each other so as to get more.
I think that is a fair depiction of American culture, perhaps western culture, today.
I hear a lot about people in our own nation who do not have enough food, or about food deserts and food insecurity. I understand the dynamics they are getting at. And yet it is missing the point. We have a glut of food. It is cheap. It is easy. We wouldn’t have a public health crisis of obesity (and all that goes with it) otherwise! There may be poor nutrition, but there is food. It is economically possible – and not even all that expensive - for government agencies to make available to every person who wants it: milk, apples, potatoes, and walnuts. But I’m pretty sure people wouldn’t take it and they wouldn’t be satisfied.
As for circuses, well, literal circuses seem to be a thing of the past. But we do have our live entertainment. Sports! We build cathedrals to all sorts of sports and call them stadiums. We build new ones every few decades.
And look at the success of Dick’s Sporting Goods. Eastview Mall outperforms most malls, but its stores still struggle. Dick’s doesn’t.
There’s also fantasy sports; sports betting.
And of course there is youth sports – all too easy to pick on! They run our society. I’m not going to go bashing the dynamics that many parents struggle to navigate. Most parents I talk to feel like they’re in a bind. The sports are essential for their kids to not feel left out, but the sports really aren’t benefitting them all that much, if at all.
The ugly truth about our culture-wide obsession with sports is that it really doesn’t do anything to build us up. You certainly don’t want to build your sense of self-worth on the success of the Buffalo Bills! (Or the Cowboys, Eagles, or Steeles for that matter!) Some say that, where youth sports are concerned, they develop teamwork and discipline. But I’d say that’s a stretch. Sure, sports are fun to play. I don’t want to undermine that at all. But at the end of the day, they accomplish little that is tangible. They’re entertainment. They’re diversions. We need some of that, but not a culture built on it!
Panem et circenses – bread and circuses.
There should be little wonder why depression rates are high and people feel purposeless in life.
Alright, that’s a long enough introduction to get into Jesus’ great Feeding of the 5000 Miracle. Your mind may easily jump to, “Didn’t Jesus just give them bread? And weren’t the miracles ultimately a great show?” Indeed, that would be a logical ‘bread and circuses’ response! But that is a misunderstanding.
If you can remember our gospel readings from the last few weeks, you’ll remember that Jesus is being hounded by the crowds. He tries to get away for some time of restoration. He also wants to get away for some time with his disciples, but he isn’t having much luck.
Our gospel reading today opens with the disciples returning from their first missionary trips. They are tired. Jesus says to them, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” But despite going to a deserted place the crowds follow them. Mark’s gospel tells us they were like sheep without a shepherd.
Now what are they supposed to do? Jesus is tired. The disciples are tired. What Jesus does is have compassion for the crowd. He somehow digs up whatever strength is necessary within himself to continue ministering to them.
I think people today are like sheep without a shepherd. Like I said before, depression rates are high. People’s lives feel pointless. They don’t know where they’re going in life; if they’re going anywhere at all!
They have their bread. They have their circuses. And many say they are, “spiritual but not religious,” but that sort of self-made faith isn’t giving them what they need.
They need Jesus! Jesus is the true bread of life.
They need Jesus and we are Jesus’ disciples, whose role it is to give them that bread.
Notice what happens in the Feeding of the 5000 Miracle. Jesus says to the disciples, “You give them something to eat.” Remember, the disciples have just gotten back from their first missionary journeys and they need a place to rest. Jesus’ instructions to them before he sent them out were, “…take nothing for their journey except a staff: no bread, no bag, no money in their belts.”
They’ve just gotten back and Jesus says, “You give them something to eat.”
How?!? How could they possibly do that? They have no bread. They have no money… at Jesus’ command!
Somehow, out of nothing, in their tiredness they manage to come up with five loaves and two fish.
Then, Jesus like a shepherd, orders them to get all the people to sit down in orderly groups on the green grass. The crowd sat in groups of hundreds and fifties. This is not a crazy mob. This is an organized event.
Then Jesus blesses the food and he gives them to the disciples, who in turn give it to the crowds. Notice that: from Jesus, to the disciples, to the crowds. That’s our pattern for discipleship.
Our translations overlook a verb in verse 41 that is in Greek is in the imperfect tense. It would more accurately read, “and [Jesus] was continuously giving [the bread] to his disciples to set before the people.” It wasn’t a situation of – Poof, a huge pile of bread! It is a situation of the disciples giving to the people and then coming back to Jesus over and over again to get more bread.
So there we have the picture for our discipleship. Jesus is still Jesus. We are the disciples. We may feel like we have nothing of value to give. We’re spent. We’re tired. There’s no way we can come up with what is needed to solve the problem. Perhaps people today are like sheep without a shepherd. Yet they don’t realize it. They have their bread and circuses. They don’t want to hear anything about commitment and discipline and discipleship. How do we respond to that?
We respond to it by letting that be God’s problem! It is not our problem to fix. I think that is where a lot of good intentions fail. People don’t see how it can really help and so they give up. But that is the wrong approach. Jesus fixed the feeding problem, not the disciples. What we do is focus on our own discipleship. We put effort into on our own spiritual journeys and needs. We continue to listen, to learn, to pray, and also to serve. What we do is be faithful disciples in the midst of the world’s ongoing problems.
We entrust Jesus with the meagerness that we do have. Just like the feeding miracle, with an insignificant amount Jesus turns it into an abundance. We prioritize our own lives towards the goodness of God. As the disciples of today we then return to Jesus over and over and over again, and we set his abundance before those who need it. God is still providing abundantly.
That phrase may be from almost 2000 years ago, but the fact that it endures to today shows that it is getting at something fundamental in humans. We like to be told what we want to hear. We want to be fed without hard work. We want comfort. We want entertainment. Give people that message and they’ll be happy.
Given the incredible luxuries we have in our lives today that not even the wealthiest could have dreamed of 150 years ago – think air conditioning, hot and cold running water, electricity, automobiles – you’d think we’d all be the happiest people to ever live in human history!
But, wait… no. Why?
Because people want ever more, and think they are entitled to ever more. And when they can’t get it they turn on each other and start blaming each other so as to get more.
I think that is a fair depiction of American culture, perhaps western culture, today.
I hear a lot about people in our own nation who do not have enough food, or about food deserts and food insecurity. I understand the dynamics they are getting at. And yet it is missing the point. We have a glut of food. It is cheap. It is easy. We wouldn’t have a public health crisis of obesity (and all that goes with it) otherwise! There may be poor nutrition, but there is food. It is economically possible – and not even all that expensive - for government agencies to make available to every person who wants it: milk, apples, potatoes, and walnuts. But I’m pretty sure people wouldn’t take it and they wouldn’t be satisfied.
As for circuses, well, literal circuses seem to be a thing of the past. But we do have our live entertainment. Sports! We build cathedrals to all sorts of sports and call them stadiums. We build new ones every few decades.
And look at the success of Dick’s Sporting Goods. Eastview Mall outperforms most malls, but its stores still struggle. Dick’s doesn’t.
There’s also fantasy sports; sports betting.
And of course there is youth sports – all too easy to pick on! They run our society. I’m not going to go bashing the dynamics that many parents struggle to navigate. Most parents I talk to feel like they’re in a bind. The sports are essential for their kids to not feel left out, but the sports really aren’t benefitting them all that much, if at all.
The ugly truth about our culture-wide obsession with sports is that it really doesn’t do anything to build us up. You certainly don’t want to build your sense of self-worth on the success of the Buffalo Bills! (Or the Cowboys, Eagles, or Steeles for that matter!) Some say that, where youth sports are concerned, they develop teamwork and discipline. But I’d say that’s a stretch. Sure, sports are fun to play. I don’t want to undermine that at all. But at the end of the day, they accomplish little that is tangible. They’re entertainment. They’re diversions. We need some of that, but not a culture built on it!
Panem et circenses – bread and circuses.
There should be little wonder why depression rates are high and people feel purposeless in life.
Alright, that’s a long enough introduction to get into Jesus’ great Feeding of the 5000 Miracle. Your mind may easily jump to, “Didn’t Jesus just give them bread? And weren’t the miracles ultimately a great show?” Indeed, that would be a logical ‘bread and circuses’ response! But that is a misunderstanding.
If you can remember our gospel readings from the last few weeks, you’ll remember that Jesus is being hounded by the crowds. He tries to get away for some time of restoration. He also wants to get away for some time with his disciples, but he isn’t having much luck.
Our gospel reading today opens with the disciples returning from their first missionary trips. They are tired. Jesus says to them, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” But despite going to a deserted place the crowds follow them. Mark’s gospel tells us they were like sheep without a shepherd.
Now what are they supposed to do? Jesus is tired. The disciples are tired. What Jesus does is have compassion for the crowd. He somehow digs up whatever strength is necessary within himself to continue ministering to them.
I think people today are like sheep without a shepherd. Like I said before, depression rates are high. People’s lives feel pointless. They don’t know where they’re going in life; if they’re going anywhere at all!
They have their bread. They have their circuses. And many say they are, “spiritual but not religious,” but that sort of self-made faith isn’t giving them what they need.
They need Jesus! Jesus is the true bread of life.
They need Jesus and we are Jesus’ disciples, whose role it is to give them that bread.
Notice what happens in the Feeding of the 5000 Miracle. Jesus says to the disciples, “You give them something to eat.” Remember, the disciples have just gotten back from their first missionary journeys and they need a place to rest. Jesus’ instructions to them before he sent them out were, “…take nothing for their journey except a staff: no bread, no bag, no money in their belts.”
They’ve just gotten back and Jesus says, “You give them something to eat.”
How?!? How could they possibly do that? They have no bread. They have no money… at Jesus’ command!
Somehow, out of nothing, in their tiredness they manage to come up with five loaves and two fish.
Then, Jesus like a shepherd, orders them to get all the people to sit down in orderly groups on the green grass. The crowd sat in groups of hundreds and fifties. This is not a crazy mob. This is an organized event.
Then Jesus blesses the food and he gives them to the disciples, who in turn give it to the crowds. Notice that: from Jesus, to the disciples, to the crowds. That’s our pattern for discipleship.
Our translations overlook a verb in verse 41 that is in Greek is in the imperfect tense. It would more accurately read, “and [Jesus] was continuously giving [the bread] to his disciples to set before the people.” It wasn’t a situation of – Poof, a huge pile of bread! It is a situation of the disciples giving to the people and then coming back to Jesus over and over again to get more bread.
So there we have the picture for our discipleship. Jesus is still Jesus. We are the disciples. We may feel like we have nothing of value to give. We’re spent. We’re tired. There’s no way we can come up with what is needed to solve the problem. Perhaps people today are like sheep without a shepherd. Yet they don’t realize it. They have their bread and circuses. They don’t want to hear anything about commitment and discipline and discipleship. How do we respond to that?
We respond to it by letting that be God’s problem! It is not our problem to fix. I think that is where a lot of good intentions fail. People don’t see how it can really help and so they give up. But that is the wrong approach. Jesus fixed the feeding problem, not the disciples. What we do is focus on our own discipleship. We put effort into on our own spiritual journeys and needs. We continue to listen, to learn, to pray, and also to serve. What we do is be faithful disciples in the midst of the world’s ongoing problems.
We entrust Jesus with the meagerness that we do have. Just like the feeding miracle, with an insignificant amount Jesus turns it into an abundance. We prioritize our own lives towards the goodness of God. As the disciples of today we then return to Jesus over and over and over again, and we set his abundance before those who need it. God is still providing abundantly.
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