Daily Devotions

And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word. These are the ones on the path where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them.

And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: when they hear the word, they immediately receive it with joy. But they have no root, and endure only for a while; then, when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away.

And others are those sown among the thorns: these are the ones who hear the word, but the cares of the world, and the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it yields nothing.

And these are the ones sown on the good soil: they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.” Mark 4:13-20

Jesus taught like the favorite teachers you had while growing up. The kind of teacher you loved, not just because of what he or she said, but how he or she said it. Fun teachers wouldn’t refer to someone who didn’t like to waste their money as “thrifty”, they would say the person is “tighter than Dick’s hat band.” You might not know what a hat band is, certainly not who Dick is, but you’d catch the meaning and you would laugh.

Or maybe you wouldn’t have much of a sense of humor. You would miss the point and ask a friend, “I don’t get it. What is a hat band?” Something would get lost in translation. The point would lose the punch. The response to the explanation might be “Oh. I still don’t get it.”

Using words to paint pictures is the art of communication. Sometimes Jesus taught – like here with the sower and the seeds parable – using allegory where the words used are symbols carrying a different or deeper meaning. The meaning emerges in the interpretation.

I never knew, for example, while watching “The Wizard of Oz” that it was a satirical take on various political issues like the argument between the gold or silver standards for money. Once you start playing with interpretations you realize the depth of the original allegory. The fun, the power, and the danger, come in the interpretation.

We could, for example, play with what Jesus (or Mark) means using the word “word.” Someone could say that “word means ‘Jesus himself’ like it will be later used at the beginning of the gospel of John.” Another could say it means “the message that Jesus teaches as summarized in the beginning of Mark, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.’” And that might lead still someone else to see the political implications of Jesus’ message – how the good news that Jesus brings differs from the good news that Caesar brings.

See what happens when a story starts to cook in the conversations about it?

However we understand “word”, it is clear from the parable that Jesus is comparing it not only to a seed but to what happens when that seed lands. The seed itself – like any of our interpretations of “word” – is a bundle of potential. Where it lands leads to what happens next.

We could, as I did in my earliest years, turn this parable back onto itself and start categorizing people based on how they respond to Jesus. I remember feeling very guilty about being rocky ground, knowing full well that I really ought to try much harder to be good soil. As if “soil” had the moral agency to change itself or as if seeds had the ability to escape the bird that snatches it before it has time to germinate.

Now I’m older and I’m much more comfortable with the mystery of how we are all the types of soil at the same time and the real surprise is always that any seed finds that soil which yields an abundant harvest.

Let us pray: Dear Lord, thank you for bringing meaning into our lives in ways which engage us, make us think, guide us to wonder, invite us to play. We confess those times when we are resistant, superficial, or distracted, and we thank you for those moments when we glimpse you at work in the depths of who you have created us to be. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

When he was alone, those who were around him along with the twelve asked him about the parables. And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything comes in parables; in order that ‘they may indeed look, but not perceive, and may indeed listen, but not understand; so that they may not turn again and be forgiven.’” Mark 4:10-12

I’ve never been in a club with a secret handshake. Frat life for me in college was playing on the basketball team. I was a Cub Scout washout. We didn’t have gangs in North Dakota…we had cliques. There was nothing secretive about them….they were just selective.

Sometimes the church feels like that kind of secret society clique but it really isn’t. Most congregations will take anybody. Maybe some are so close to death that they might actually invite someone new to come someday. We can wish, can’t we?

But there was a time when there were very few Jesus followers in the world. Experts in the first century church suggest (ignoring the numerical hyperbole of Acts) that there might have been as few as 5000 Christians in the entirely of the Roman Empire at the end of the 1^st century. There were times of relative peace but there were also periods of significant persecution of the earliest Christians. Nero blamed the great fire in Rome on the Christians in 64 CE.

Mark was written in the aftermath of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans between 66-70 CE. That horribly dark time was quite likely the trigger that said, “We need to be writing some of this stuff down!”

Probably the greatest challenge in those early years came from within as commitment to Jesus usually met the painful breaking of ties with family and community. Christianity began as an internal family squabble within Judaism. The communal cracks that formed during and after the ministry of Jesus became much greater divisions after Jerusalem as sacked and the temple destroyed.

Mark was written in the midst of all of that. As I have shared before, the great “secret” theme that runs through Mark will be resolved at the end…in a very interesting way. For now, let’s not read any more into these verses than we need to. From the very beginning, some got it and some didn’t. Some believed and some didn’t. And even among those who believed, not all believed the same thing. Not much has really changed, has it?

In fact, Mark quotes from Isaiah 6:9-10 in the poetry about looking but not seeing, hearing but not understanding, and thus, not repenting or being forgiven. Then, as now, the great mystery is how some people get it, some people get it wrong, and some just don’t get it.

It always intellectually troubling to read passages like this. It seems counter to us when Jesus tells someone not to say anything to anyone or when Jesus makes it sound like he is purposely obscuring the truth lest it change anyone’s mind.

But there is also an inherent challenge when we read such verses. Mark writes in a way that gives us inside status. We join the disciples as Jesus challenges them. Jesus asks us, “Am I seeing? Am I understanding? Am I open-minded or am I shut down? Am I willing to be humble and surrender my life to God’s care and keeping – to repent and be forgiven – or am I content just to do my own thing, go my own way?”

Let us pray: Lord, sometimes it feels like we just don’t get it. We confuse faith with certainty and we run rather than wrestle. There are times when are heads are confused and our hearts are hard. Forgive us. Renew us. Direct us. Use us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Again he began to teach beside the sea. Such a very large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat on the sea and sat there, while the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. He began to teach them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them:

“Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up quickly, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched; and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. Other seed fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.”

And he said, “Let anyone with ears to hear listen!” Mark 4:1-9

This probably has nothing to do with this text but I’m going to write it anyway. Just now, as I sat at my keyboard, my imagination swirling with memories stirred up by this parable, for the very first time in my entire life, I noticed that the “F” key and the “J” key on my keyboard each have tiny little raised up bars on them. I have never noticed that before. Ever. Weird.

I type a lot. Every day. And I have for years. Thanks to the North Dakota State Board of Education, typing was a required class when I was in high school. It was the only real world skill I developed in high school that continues to be a blessing in my life today. I can type pretty fast. Without looking at the keys. Just today I noticed these little bars on the “home base” keys where my index fingers go.

Why have I never noticed that before?

Now that I’ve noticed them, I’ll never forget them. I’ll actually be grateful for them because they are what help me get my fingers in the right places to type. Why haven’t I noticed them before? I don’t know. It is a mystery. Maybe it was just my time.

Jesus says “Listen!” and I remember every coach I have ever had preparing to tell the team something important, “Listen up you guys!” I want to hear what he has to say.

I remember a drunken old farmer outside of Mooreton, North Dakota, who used to plant the most crooked rows of crops in the county. My mom’s boyfriend was a farmer. I remember a Sunday afternoon drive when he took up past one of Howard’s fields and laughed about it.

Careless planting offends the sensibilities of North Dakota farmers. And the sower in this story is certainly a careless planter. He just scatters his seeds to the wind. He just throws them out there rather than carefully planting them in the good soil.

Why is it that some people have excellent hearing and can’t hear a thing?

This parable of the sower and the seeds was a popular text at the Bible camp I worked at in college and seminary. The director used it in teaching us to love all the kids, even when it seemed like we weren’t reaching anyone, because you just never know how the Holy Spirit will cook inside of them. Along with typing in high school, this was probably the most helpful advice I received to prepare me for my vocation as a pastor.

“When the student is ready, the teacher appears.”

Today was my day to discover the home key ridges on my keyboard. I can’t explain it. I don’t know why I have never noticed those little ridges before. I don’t know why God grabbed me by the neck and dumped a load of faith into my life. I also don’t know why I keep having those moments when the faith just doesn’t land in me. Those times I forget.

You, my reader, are a precious child of the Creator of the universe. You are a one off work of art. The world is incomplete without you. God loves you and continues to work out God’s purposes in your life. God will use you today to bless the world. That is the good news of the kingdom. That is the seed planted in your soul as you read these words.

When the student is ready, the teacher appears.

Let us pray: in the mystery of our lives, O Lord, you move like the wind. Sometimes a gentle wind. Sometimes a fierce gale. We are grateful for the seeds of faith that you continue to cast within and among us. May they take root and grow. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Then his mother and his brothers came; and standing outside, they sent to him and called him. A crowd was sitting around him; and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers and sisters are outside, asking for you.” And he replied, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” And looking at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.” Mark 3:31-35

When we speak of “family” today we have to pay attention to what we mean. The word is slithery. There isn’t a single definition that captures precisely how people experience “family” in their lives today. Even “family of origin” can’t be traced through biology because adopted children are children too.

“Family of choice” is a recent, and necessary, way of speaking about family. As we are discovering, and finally admitting, that people come in lots of shapes and sizes beyond cisgender heterosexuals, peoples’ experience of family continues to expand.

My grandchildren have friends of their mother’s who have never missed a birthday party. Doris might not be related to us biologically but she has been involved in my daughter’s life since Kate was in middle school. She is family. Jay is a gay man who has never married nor fathered a child but he is one of my grandson’s baptismal sponsors and he is part of my family.

I know it might make those who cling to Mary’s perpetual virginity a bit uncomfortable to see these passages of scripture that refer to Jesus’ siblings. But they are there and there is no reason to assume that Jesus was an only child (as theologically convenient as that might be.) But I can well understand how that could have made things a bit more complex.

While it is highly unlikely that the “James of Jerusalem of Acts 15” or “James of the New Testament book” are the same person, not to mention whether he or they were actually a biological brother of Jesus, when it says “James, the brother of Jesus” it does bring a heightened sense of authority to both his words and actions. And that is the dangerous side of “family.”

As vital and important as “family” is, and it is vitally important, it is truly the building block of society, it can also prove an unhelpful smokescreen. “Let’s keep this within the family” is very closely connected to “secrets make us sick.” “But we are family” can be the highest leverage for emotional manipulation. And, of course, there is always the possibility of family members going at each other when the question of settling an inheritance arises.

The death of Muhammed brought a crisis to his followers. The fight over succession divided them into what we know today as Sunni’s and Shia’s. They still don’t much get along. It was normal for Roman Catholic priests to be married with families until 1123 CE when they were officially forbidden to marry. Why? Complications and fights over inheritance.

So yes, “family” is a beautiful and important concept in our lives, and it was an important concept for Jesus. In fact, Jesus invented and introduced the concept of “family of choice” when he declared that “Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”

This declaration wasn’t a slight against his biological family members, it was an inclusive statement of the welcoming mat to Jesus’ family being extended to all people. Even us.

Let us pray: Gracious Lord, we experience some of the best parts of our lives, and honestly some of the most painful parts of our lives, in relation to our families. You know it isn’t good that we are alone. You created us to live in families, in relationships that endure. Thank you for welcoming us into your family. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

“And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but his end has come. But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man; then indeed the house can be plundered.”

“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.” Mark 3:26-30

It bugged me all day yesterday. After sending out yesterday’s devotion, I kept thinking about that last line, vs. 27, “But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man; then indeed the house can be plundered.” I just had a sense that I was missing something. Then it came to me.

I have always understood that line as part of Jesus’ defense against those who thought he was an agent of Satan. That Jesus was the “strong man” who needed to be tied up so that Satan could do his thing. But what if that isn’t what Jesus meant?

What if the “strong man” is instead the religious leaders who stand opposed to Jesus? What if they were the ones entrusted with the care of God’s house, God’s home, God’s family (the Greek word used is “οἰκίαν”)? And thus, for Satan to have his way, the religious leaders would be the ones who needed to be tied up so that the “οἰκίαν” could be plundered.

If that is the case, then the meaning of the following verses, including the notorious “unforgiveable sin” – is much clearer.

“Sin” is the radical brokenness in our relationships with God and one another. It runs much deeper than “the naughty stuff we do.” Those are symptoms. Sin is the disease, the incurable disease, that leads to death, which is the ultimate broken relationship. Forgiveness is the balm that heals the brokenness. Forgiveness opens the door to reconciliation, to restoration, to the beginning of a new relationship.

This understanding of sin is what led the Apostle Paul to write about baptism as “death.” In Romans 6:4 he writes, “Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.” The “newness” of God’s gracious love for us comes to us as a gift as we die to ourselves so that we can live in a new, restored, relationship with God.

To reject Jesus, to refuse to see God at work in Jesus, to reject Jesus’ way of being in the world in relationship with others, is to cut ourselves off from the healing work that God’s love, that God’s forgiveness, would do in our lives. And that is precisely what is going on with Jesus’ opponents.

In denying Jesus, they are denying the work that God is doing through Jesus. (Remember, the Holy Spirit is a verb. The Holy Spirit is God in action.) And in their denial – caused by how fiercely they cling to their earthly power and position – they are cutting themselves off from the good that God would do in their lives. They are living in unforgiveness.

Let us pray: O God, help us be mindful of whatever it is that “ties us up” and leads us to reject you and the power of your love in our lives. May your Spirit, poured into our lives in our baptism, be our guide, our comforter, and our teacher. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat. When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, “He has gone out of his mind.” And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons.”

And he called them to him, and spoke to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but his end has come. But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man; then indeed the house can be plundered. Mark 3:20-27

What do people tend to do when they don’t like the message? If they are thoughtful, they will closely examine the message. But that requires both an inquiring and open mind. It is so much easier to just attack the messenger.

The opponents of Jesus have shown up in full force. Very quickly we see that they have no interest in looking more closely at what Jesus says and does. They just attack him. Some say he is crazy. On what grounds? Others say he is possessed by the very demons he has cast out. How can they prove that?

We see this moment in our imaginations and we know we can hear their opposition. That is the normal next move – just get louder. If you can’t out-argue someone with logic, then just out-shout them with slogans.

Jesus answers their protests, not with shouts, slogans, or slurs but with a counter-argument. With a simple observation. If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand…

We read that line and our brain clicks…I know I’ve heard that somewhere before…. Yes, you have. It was a line that President Abraham Lincoln included in the speech he gave while running for the United States Senate from Illinois. His law partner, William Herndon, tried to talk him out of quoting the Bible verse. He thought it was too radical. People wouldn’t like it. His opponents would use it against him. It would lead to Lincoln’s defeat. He was right. Lincoln lost the race to Stephen Douglas. Lincoln lost the battle but won the war.

Where do we stand?

Is Jesus crazy, or does he know something his opponents refuse to see?

Is Jesus an agent of Satan (the liar, the deceiver, the opposite of God) or is Jesus battling Satan?

What is crystal clear at this point is where Jesus’ opponents stand. They stand against him.

Jesus too might lose the battle but win the war.

Let us pray: Dear Jesus, hold us close to the truth even in the face of voices that oppose your way of being in the world. Make us look closely at our own reactions, question our own deeply held convictions, that we might not be found opposing your will. At some level we realize that love and understanding, that justice for all, is the only path toward healing all that divides us from you and one another. In Jesus’ name. Amen.,

He went up the mountain and called to him those whom he wanted, and they came to him. And he appointed twelve, whom he also named apostles, to be with him, and to be sent out to proclaim the message, and to have authority to cast out demons.

So he appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); James son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. Mark 3:13-19

Let’s notice the obvious stuff going on here…

Jesus goes up on a mountain (like Moses did.)

Jesus “called to him those whom he wanted” (like God called Moses, assuring him that Aaron would be along to help him.)

Jesus appointed twelve (like the twelve tribes of Israel.)

He names them “apostles” which means “sent out ones.”

He says these twelve would both be with him (a close community) and be sent out (to touch the wider community.)

They would use words (proclaim the message) and they would perform actions which would bring those words to life (cast out demons.)

And then we get the names. Some we recognize and some we think “I don’t think I ever heard of Thaddaeus before….” And always we are surprised to see that Judas Iscariot made the cut given his ultimate role in betraying Jesus. Quite the cast of characters.

When you were baptized, your name was linked to God’s name. You were marked. You were called. You were set aside and you were sent out. YOU are the apostles sent into the world today. Sure, Peter is a big Christian name….but you will touch the lives of dozens of people today in and through your daily work that Peter can’t. Because Peter is dead but you remain alive in Christ!

YOU are the one given the responsibility today to use your words in assuring people they are worthy of God’s love and capable of affecting the world toward justice and wholeness.

YOU are not an accident or a mistake. God needed you in the world to be you in the world and today I invite you to see yourself the latest in the long list of disciples that Mark began and is still being added to in our age.

YOU are the one and NOW is the time. Claim it. Own it. Act like it. Be it.

Let us pray: Sometimes Lord we can’t help but think that you are either a little crazy or maybe a little sloppy. Surely you could have done better than us. Peter, we get, but Judas? But me? But people I always disagree with? They are on the team too? Yes, Lord, we know you have called us into your mystical body. May we be ambassadors of your love sent into your world today.

Jesus departed with his disciples to the sea, and a great multitude from Galilee followed him; hearing all that he was doing, they came to him in great numbers from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, beyond the Jordan, and the region around Tyre and Sidon. He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, so that they would not crush him; for he had cured many, so that all who had diseases pressed upon him to touch him.

Whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and shouted, “You are the Son of God!” But he sternly ordered them not to make him known. Mark 3:7-12

Maybe you learn a lot about a leader by looking more closely at who follows them…

The Pharisees left a worship service and looked for some co-conspirators to plot the death of Jesus.

Jesus left with his friends and a huge crowd of people from all over the place. Including the sick and the outcast.

It is interesting that the Pharisees and the unclean spirits both saw Jesus as a threat. One because they thought Jesus was a charlatan and the other because they saw that he wasn’t.

And those huge crowds? Who did they think they were following? What were they looking for?

We imagine those huge crowds following Jesus and we see in our minds’ eye the crowds of screaming fans at rock concerts, sporting events, movie premieres. What is that about? Why do we continue to see actors and athletes and musicians as larger than life heroes worthy of worship and admiration? Are we that eager to escape the reality of our lives that we dive ever deeper into the unreality of entertainment?

They all exist to sell stuff. Not that there’s anything wrong about that but let’s be clear: Take away advertising and commercials and ticket sales and monthly subscriptions and it would all come crashing down. Just follow the money.

It is interesting also that we so quickly associate money with “value” as easily as we do with “cost”. If we connect value and money, what does it say about us that the head coach of a state college football team likely makes much more money than the school’s teachers or the school’s president or the state’s governor?

The crowds followed Jesus because he gave them hope. Hope that he could help them. Hope that he could make life better for them. They followed Jesus because of what they could get from him. Even if what they could get would just be the feeling of hope, the exhilaration of being swept up with the rest of the crowd.

Because that is also the power of our cult of celebrity. People gather around celebrities and, in their gathering, they experience a powerful sense of community, for good or ill. They feel connected. It really is a liminal, almost spiritual, experience to sit in the crowd when the performer on the stage is really “working it.” But it is also empty. Illusory. And then you go home. You hit the bathroom, then the bed, and you get up the next morning for school or work. Real life.

Jesus tells the unclean spirits not to tell anyone what they know. There will come a time for that but that time is yet to come. Maybe Jesus doesn’t want to be associated with a “celebrity cult.” Maybe Jesus doesn’t want people to get the wrong idea – he doesn’t want fans who show up to get what they want from him, he wants followers who will do what he does through them. That’s not the same thing. It might not draw a crowd but it could change the world for the better.

Let us pray: Dear Jesus, selfishness dogs us. Self-centeredness betrays us. We are prone to gravitate toward whatever promises to give us what we want, when we want it. We are far more likely to remember you as Savior than to obey your call to us to be servants. Deliver us from the cult of celebrity and drive us toward real community. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Jesus departed with his disciples to the sea, and a great multitude from Galilee followed him; hearing all that he was doing, they came to him in great numbers from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, beyond the Jordan, and the region around Tyre and Sidon. He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, so that they would not crush him; for he had cured many, so that all who had diseases pressed upon him to touch him.

Whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and shouted, “You are the Son of God!” But he sternly ordered them not to make him known. Mark 3:7-12

Maybe you learn a lot about a leader by looking more closely at who follows them…

The Pharisees left a worship service and looked for some co-conspirators to plot the death of Jesus.

Jesus left with his friends and a huge crowd of people from all over the place. Including the sick and the outcast.

It is interesting that the Pharisees and the unclean spirits both saw Jesus as a threat. One because they thought Jesus was a charlatan and the other because they saw that he wasn’t.

And those huge crowds? Who did they think they were following? What were they looking for?

We imagine those huge crowds following Jesus and we see in our minds’ eye the crowds of screaming fans at rock concerts, sporting events, movie premieres. What is that about? Why do we continue to see actors and athletes and musicians as larger than life heroes worthy of worship and admiration? Are we that eager to escape the reality of our lives that we dive ever deeper into the unreality of entertainment?

They all exist to sell stuff. Not that there’s anything wrong about that but let’s be clear: Take away advertising and commercials and ticket sales and monthly subscriptions and it would all come crashing down. Just follow the money.

It is interesting also that we so quickly associate money with “value” as easily as we do with “cost”. If we connect value and money, what does it say about us that the head coach of a state college football team likely makes much more money than the school’s teachers or the school’s president or the state’s governor?

The crowds followed Jesus because he gave them hope. Hope that he could help them. Hope that he could make life better for them. They followed Jesus because of what they could get from him. Even if what they could get would just be the feeling of hope, the exhilaration of being swept up with the rest of the crowd.

Because that is also the power of our cult of celebrity. People gather around celebrities and, in their gathering, they experience a powerful sense of community, for good or ill. They feel connected. It really is a liminal, almost spiritual, experience to sit in the crowd when the performer on the stage is really “working it.” But it is also empty. Illusory. And then you go home. You hit the bathroom, then the bed, and you get up the next morning for school or work. Real life.

Jesus tells the unclean spirits not to tell anyone what they know. There will come a time for that but that time is yet to come. Maybe Jesus doesn’t want to be associated with a “celebrity cult.” Maybe Jesus doesn’t want people to get the wrong idea – he doesn’t want fans who show up to get what they want from him, he wants followers who will do what he does through them. That’s not the same thing. It might not draw a crowd but it could change the world for the better.

Let us pray: Dear Jesus, selfishness dogs us. Self-centeredness betrays us. We are prone to gravitate toward whatever promises to give us what we want, when we want it. We are far more likely to remember you as Savior than to obey your call to us to be servants. Deliver us from the cult of celebrity and drive us toward real community. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there who had a withered hand. They watched him to see whether he would cure him on the sabbath, so that they might accuse him. And he said to the man who had the withered hand, “Come forward.”

Then he said to them, “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the sabbath, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. He looked around at them with anger; he was grieved at their hardness of heart and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored.

The Pharisees went out and immediately conspired with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him. Mark 3:1-6

Suppose you are a Pharisee. You are part of the Jewish fundamentalist movement. You are a real back to the Bible kind of person. Unlike those Sadducee priests you truly despise, who have sold their souls to the Romans so they can enrich themselves from the temple treasury, you see yourselves as a purifying movement for the good of the people.

You are a reformer.  You value all of the ancient writings, not just the Torah. You “know your Bible” through and through. You believe you are quite loving in your interpretation of God’s words.

You are well aware that there is a man with a deformed hand among you in your Sabbath worship. You know what it says in Leviticus 21 about those who aren’t welcome in the tabernacle: For no one who has a blemish shall draw near, one who is blind or lame, or one who has a mutilated face or a limb too long, or one who has a broken foot or a broken hand, or a hunchback, or a dwarf, or a man with a blemish in his eyes or an itching disease or scabs or crushed testicles.” You might even feel good about yourself for letting one of “those people” join you.

Then Jesus shows up. There he is again. You’ve heard about him. He and his stinky fisherman friends don’t know enough to stay away from obvious “people in sin.” He doesn’t respect God’s word. But he is developing a following amongst the people and that is threatening to you so you watch him closely. You just know he is going to do something wrong. And he does.

He heals the man’s withered hand on the Sabbath!!!!!

And you think that is such a bad thing that you leave the group and start plotting how you can kill him and get him out of the way.

Is it possible? Can it be true? Can it really happen that people with a deep and abiding faith in God, who know their Bible through and through, can end up utterly blind to the healing, liberating action of God in the lives of those they deem deformed and unclean?

What the Pharisees missed was that Jesus didn’t show up just to heal a guy’s hand, he showed up to heal a community’s broken faith, including the broken faith of the Pharisees who had locked God into a little box they controlled.

Let us pray: Dear Lord, may we always put people first and may we always be open to your healing power. The power than can open hearts and minds and move us from certainty to trust. In Jesus’ name. Amen.