Daily Devotions

And he said to them, “Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see that the kingdom of God has come with power.”

Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus.

Then Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” He did not know what to say, for they were terrified.

Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!” Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus. Mark 9:1-9

I don’t “time” these readings each morning. I don’t even wake up any more feeling obligated to think aloud about the Bible in writing daily devotions. Some days I do. Some days I don’t. So I find it very timely that these verses are the ones that popped up on a Wednesday morning as we slowly walk through Mark.

Wednesday is hump day. The middle of the week. Like a little chronological mountaintop experience as we move through the calendars of our lives. This story, the story of the transfiguration, is like Wednesday in the story of Jesus.

Some scholars suggest that this is a misplaced “post-resurrection” story. Whatever. I personally think that Mark put this exactly where he thought it should go. And even if that wasn’t a conscious decision, I believe the Holy Spirit thought so too.

Immediately after Jesus’ radical call to discipleship and surrender, and immediately before the clamoring crowds wanted another piece of him, Jesus takes his disciples to the top of a mountain. The view was probably beautiful. It usually is. But what they saw wasn’t just once familiar land off in the distance, they saw the history of God’s presence among people. God mediated through God’s mediators – Moses and Elijah – and now God’s only son as well.

Peter wants to stay. But there is no staying. There is only full speed ahead or beating a hasty retreat. It is a tipping point. They were terrified – not an unknown feeling when we reach the edge of our capabilities and understanding. The unknown is always scary along with interesting.

Then thunders, or whispers, the voice: “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!”

And they do. The story continues. Trembling, they make their way down the mountain. Trembling, we too keep the faith. We keep following. We keep listening. This reminds me of something else Peter has to say in another gospel: “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”

Let us pray: Lord, you give us glimpses of the beauty of your way in the world, often when we can only see the struggle. Still our fears. Speak your encouraging words into our spirits when we falter. You have the words of eternal life. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

And he said to them, “Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see that the kingdom of God has come with power.”

Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus.

Then Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” He did not know what to say, for they were terrified.

Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!” Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus. Mark 9:1-9

I don’t “time” these readings each morning. I don’t even wake up any more feeling obligated to think aloud about the Bible in writing daily devotions. Some days I do. Some days I don’t. So I find it very timely that these verses are the ones that popped up on a Wednesday morning as we slowly walk through Mark.

Wednesday is hump day. The middle of the week. Like a little chronological mountaintop experience as we move through the calendars of our lives. This story, the story of the transfiguration, is like Wednesday in the story of Jesus.

Some scholars suggest that this is a misplaced “post-resurrection” story. Whatever. I personally think that Mark put this exactly where he thought it should go. And even if that wasn’t a conscious decision, I believe the Holy Spirit thought so too.

Immediately after Jesus’ radical call to discipleship and surrender, and immediately before the clamoring crowds wanted another piece of him, Jesus takes his disciples to the top of a mountain. The view was probably beautiful. It usually is. But what they saw wasn’t just once familiar land off in the distance, they saw the history of God’s presence among people. God mediated through God’s mediators – Moses and Elijah – and now God’s only son as well.

Peter wants to stay. But there is no staying. There is only full speed ahead or beating a hasty retreat. It is a tipping point. They were terrified – not an unknown feeling when we reach the edge of our capabilities and understanding. The unknown is always scary along with interesting.

Then thunders, or whispers, the voice: “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!”

And they do. The story continues. Trembling, they make their way down the mountain. Trembling, we too keep the faith. We keep following. We keep listening. This reminds me of something else Peter has to say in another gospel: “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”

Let us pray: Lord, you give us glimpses of the beauty of your way in the world, often when we can only see the struggle. Still our fears. Speak your encouraging words into our spirits when we falter. You have the words of eternal life. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.

For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life?

Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” Mark 8:34-38

If you want to sell something today, your odds are greatly improved if your widget saves time, saves money, and makes everything easier and more convenient. Even better, give it away free. Everybody loves shortcuts, loopholes, head starts, and getting an edge on everybody else. I don’t think that is a modern invention – in fact, that is precisely the thinking that got us out of caves and into cars and condos. It is the kind of thinking that drives invention and innovation. Like a river, when it stays within its banks it is a blessing.

But it is also the kind of thinking that rings hollow when Jesus shows up with his invitation to a difficult life without shortcuts or an easy way out. “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”

Yet this is, and always will be, the tension of our lives as we seek to follow Jesus. Most of the time we come to realize that Jesus is far more likely to lead us THROUGH the challenges, difficulties, heartaches, and growth plates of life rather than AROUND them. But then, and only then, do we discover the strangely paradoxical truth that the hard way is not only the right way, it is ultimately the easier way too.

This is also why Christianity is a team sport. We can’t live this life alone. We need help, encouragement, and support. We need a whole lot of reminders that “God is with us” and “we can do it” and “YES, it is worth it!”

As for “gaining the whole world”, it reminds me of that old story about John Rockefeller, then the richest man in the world. When asked how much money he truly wanted and needed, he replied “Just a little bit more.” Great story – I just doubt that Jesus had Rockefeller in mind. Far more likely, at least in my opinion, Jesus puts his finger on how all of us carry in our minds the idea that life will finally be good when we get “this” or when “that happens.” Nothing is ever enough.

Until we take a moment to get quiet. To settle our minds. To truly take stock. To count our blessings. To realize that we are children of God, deployed into the world for good. And then we suddenly realize that it is always enough. That the narrow way is the best way.

Let us pray: Today, dear Lord, we will do the best we can with what we have to be, not only your children, but your witnesses in the world. We will be grateful for your many gifts in our lives and we will be mindful of the opportunities that you give us to be a blessing to others. If that proves difficult, we trust that you will see us through and forgive us when we falter or fail. In Jesus’ name.

Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” And they answered him, “John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” He asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Messiah.” And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him.

Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.” Mark 8:27-33.

If you live in Texas, there is no other town quite like Austin. It literally lives “deep in the heart of Texas.” It sits on the edge of the Texas Hill Country. It is naturally beautiful and that beauty only gets better as you head further west. It is the governmental capital of Texas. The economy is strong. It is Austin.

In Jesus’ day, people could say the same things about Caesarea Philippi. It was both an imperial city, a seat of Roman power, and a religious site, with a long history dedicated to the Greek god, Pan. Sitting at the foot of Mount Hermon, the primary source of fresh water in Israel, the headwaters of the River Jordan, it was a very special place. It still is.

That’s where Jesus led his disciples to before asking his million dollar questions. “Who do people say that I am?” “Who do you say that I am?”

As a pastor, I have long learned to be very suspicious when anyone begins a comment with the words, “A lot of people are saying…” Invariably, that needs to be translated into “I am saying…” with the added rhetorical trick of amplifying my own opinion by suggesting it is shared by others. Like that other person in the parking lot who agreed with them…to be polite.

I don’t think that is what Jesus is doing here. There is nothing in the gospels that suggest that Jesus’ intentions were to build a personality cult around himself. Unlike Philip, the local Roman ruler, who built a city in honor of Caesar…and included his own name in its name. And unlike the earlier Greeks, who dedicated the cave out of which the waters from Mount Hermon gushed forth, to the Greek god, Pan. The first question Jesus poses is not a poll or a popularity contest. It is actually a reflection of peoples’ expectations of Jesus.

Was he a fiery populist like John? A miracle worker like Elijah? A social reformer like the prophets? Just who did people expect Jesus to be?

But more importantly, who did his closest followers, his closest friends, understand him to be?

Peter impulsively blurts, “You are the Messiah.” You are the embodiment of God’s promises to Israel. You are the one. The chosen one. Peter has no idea what that means but he has his hopes.

So Jesus tells him. He will suffer. He will be rejected. He will be murdered. He will rise from the dead.

It makes no sense. It seems ludicrous, pointless. You can see the wheels spinning in the minds of the disciples, “Then what is the point of following you? What am I going to get out of this?” Peter takes Jesus aside and maybe asks: “Are you nuts or something?”

Jesus literally puts Peter in his place. Get behind me! Jesus immediately senses that the direction of Peter’s thinking takes him away from the path he wants to walk through life. It will never be about “What do I get out of this?” or “What do I want?” It will only be, and it only remains, “What does following God’s will toward justice and righteousness in the world, always rooted in love, look like?” and “Am I willing to pay the price to doing my part in making that happen?”

Let us pray: Thank you Lord for your courage and love in paving the path for us. Thank you for encouraging us on the journey. Forgive us for the distractions of our self-centeredness and fear and free us to follow willingly. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

They came to Bethsaida. Some people brought a blind man to him and begged him to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village; and when he had put saliva on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, “Can you see anything?” And the man looked up and said, “I can see people, but they look like trees, walking.”

Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he looked intently and his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. Then he sent him away to his home, saying, “Do not even go into the village.” Mark 8:22-26

There is an old joke (that I can never remember) about how all the people who had been healed by Jesus showed up at a convention. Then began arguing about the correct way to be healed by Jesus since their experiences were each slightly different. The punchline is that this was the beginning of modern denominationalism. Today’s reading features a man who would argue that healing is a two-stage process.

It is a strange reading, isn’t it? The surprise comes when Jesus doesn’t get it right the first time. This is the only time this happens. The rest of the story has all of the elements that we have come to expect – people bringing a friend for healing, Jesus taking time to respond, restoring his sight, sending him home with instructions not to say anything to anyone. But what’s with the two tries before he sees clearly?

I honestly don’t know. But I think the surprise is worth pondering.

The last thing we should do with this story is to get all literal about it. I can well imagine someone in a Bible study asking, “But if the guy was blind, how could he recognize that people look like walking trees, if he had never seen trees or people before?” Then it is off to the speculation races on how the guy might have lost his vision in a childhood accident with an Official Daisy Red Ryder Range Model 1938 Shepherd’s Staff.

Maybe today we should just live with the question. We can ponder ideas like these:

• There is a difference between looking and seeing, just like the difference between hearing and listening.
• We don’t always see as clearly as we think we do.
• No one is as blind as the one who refuses to see.
• There is always more to learn, more to discover. More meanings emerge over time as we make our way through life.
• We simply don’t look at things the way we used to…which is a good thing.

Let us pray: Open our eyes, Lord, that we might truly see. Heal the blindness we can’t see. Restore your vision to our eyes. Give us the patience that healing sometimes requires. And thank you for friends who aren’t content to leave us to our struggles but encourage us to get the help we need. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Now the disciples had forgotten to bring any bread; and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. And he cautioned them, saying, “Watch out—beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.” They said to one another, “It is because we have no bread.”

And becoming aware of it, Jesus said to them, “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes, and fail to see? Do you have ears, and fail to hear? And do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?” They said to him, “Twelve.”

“And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?” And they said to him, “Seven.” Then he said to them, “Do you not yet understand?” Mark 8:14-21

Sometimes, in reading the gospels, the disciples come off looking pretty clueless. Especially in Mark. Matthew goes out of his way to clean that up. For example, in Mark 10, James and John come forward with an inappropriate request to be given seats of honor in Jesus’ kingdom. Matthew softens that in Matthew 20 where he says it was the mother of the boys who made the request.

But in this passage I think we need to give the disciples a break. Forgetting to pack enough lunch is one thing, understanding what Jesus means in talking about “yeast” is another. What is Jesus saying?

We know something about the Pharisees and Herod and their unholy alliance. The only thing they have in common is mistrust about Jesus and his followers. Herod has already dispatched with John the Baptizer. The Pharisees are countering Jesus at every turn. But what is the deal with “yeast”?

I like the old line, “The shortest distance between two points begins with the first step, hopefully in the right direction.” The right direction is the key. If you head off in the wrong direction, you can walk forever and never get there. Maybe the world of ideas works the same way.

What fuels the Pharisees and Herod are fear, mistrust, self-centeredness, and pride. No doubt they think they are doing the right thing in opposing Jesus but they are blind to their own motivations. And if they aren’t blind, then they are just making a brazenly self-serving political calculation that they can just get rid of him and they’ll be just fine.

Jesus reminds his disciples of his ability to meet the needs of those who follow him. The crowds were fed. Jesus didn’t need the cooperation of the Pharisees or the authority of Herod to do what he had come among them to do. What Jesus wants from his disciples is their trust.

Maybe, when it comes to trusting Jesus, the problem might be more than misunderstanding. Maybe the problem is hedging our bets. We want to follow Jesus but we are fearful of riling up the “Herods and the Pharisees” in our own lives. We want to dip our toe into the water instead of diving in headfirst. In this light, Jesus is doing more than cautioning his disciples. He is inviting them to dive in.

Let us pray: Gracious Lord, help us, especially now as we move into this new week and this busy season, to trust the “enoughness” of our lives. To trust that we are enough. To trust that you are enough. Save us from veering off to the many enticing dead-end paths that would take our eyes off of following you in all things. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Now the disciples had forgotten to bring any bread; and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. And he cautioned them, saying, “Watch out—beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.” They said to one another, “It is because we have no bread.”

And becoming aware of it, Jesus said to them, “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes, and fail to see? Do you have ears, and fail to hear? And do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?” They said to him, “Twelve.”

“And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?” And they said to him, “Seven.” Then he said to them, “Do you not yet understand?” Mark 8:14-21

Sometimes, in reading the gospels, the disciples come off looking pretty clueless. Especially in Mark. Matthew goes out of his way to clean that up. For example, in Mark 10, James and John come forward with an inappropriate request to be given seats of honor in Jesus’ kingdom. Matthew softens that in Matthew 20 where he says it was the mother of the boys who made the request.

But in this passage I think we need to give the disciples a break. Forgetting to pack enough lunch is one thing, understanding what Jesus means in talking about “yeast” is another. What is Jesus saying?

We know something about the Pharisees and Herod and their unholy alliance. The only thing they have in common is mistrust about Jesus and his followers. Herod has already dispatched with John the Baptizer. The Pharisees are countering Jesus at every turn. But what is the deal with “yeast”?

I like the old line, “The shortest distance between two points begins with the first step, hopefully in the right direction.” The right direction is the key. If you head off in the wrong direction, you can walk forever and never get there. Maybe the world of ideas works the same way.

What fuels the Pharisees and Herod are fear, mistrust, self-centeredness, and pride. No doubt they think they are doing the right thing in opposing Jesus but they are blind to their own motivations. And if they aren’t blind, then they are just making a brazenly self-serving political calculation that they can just get rid of him and they’ll be just fine.

Jesus reminds his disciples of his ability to meet the needs of those who follow him. The crowds were fed. Jesus didn’t need the cooperation of the Pharisees or the authority of Herod to do what he had come among them to do. What Jesus wants from his disciples is their trust.

Maybe, when it comes to trusting Jesus, the problem might be more than misunderstanding. Maybe the problem is hedging our bets. We want to follow Jesus but we are fearful of riling up the “Herods and the Pharisees” in our own lives. We want to dip our toe into the water instead of diving in headfirst. In this light, Jesus is doing more than cautioning his disciples. He is inviting them to dive in.

Let us pray: Gracious Lord, help us, especially now as we move into this new week and this busy season, to trust the “enoughness” of our lives. To trust that we are enough. To trust that you are enough. Save us from veering off to the many enticing dead-end paths that would take our eyes off of following you in all things. In Jesus’ name. Amen.