Mark 9:38-50
38 “Teacher,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.”
39 “Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “For no one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, 40 for whoever is not against us is for us. 41 Truly I tell you, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to the Messiah will certainly not lose their reward.
42 “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them if a large millstone were hung around their neck and they were thrown into the sea. 43 If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. 45 And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. 47 And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, 48 where “‘the worms that eat them do not die,
and the fire is not quenched.’
49 Everyone will be salted with fire.
50 “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with each other.” “
Whoever Is Not Against Us Is For Us”
First a seeming contradiction: cf Mt. 12:30 “Anyone who is not for me is really against me; anyone who does not help me gather is really scattering.”
Look to the context in which both words are spoken. Is Jesus not saying the same thing?
And what is Jesus saying? - “No one can bottle God up and keep God contained. God manifests himself in unexpected places and people; God’s spirit blows where it will and we know not where it comes from or where it goes.”
Any effort on our part to try contain God is futile. God is with those who know not God as well as those who claim to be for God. In fact, they may well be some of God’s best servants!
This is part of the mystery and miracle of God’s spirit at work in our world. We can be astonished by the irregularity of God. It is not ours to judge others; it is ours to recognize the love of Jesus at work where ever it happens in whom ever it comes.
Our idolatry may well be our blindness to this truth.
For example, a Christian leader of a large denomination saying: “God does not hear Jewish prayers, because they don’t pray in the name of Jesus.”
The one thing which becomes clear as we struggle with these words is that it is not ours to determine who is in and who is out. It is ours to be open to the many ways in which something of Jesus is hidden “in, under, and with” the most surprising places and people.
Ours is not to exclude anyone from being a part of God’s Kingdom or even try to test who is a true believer. Ours is to be open to God working in the strangest ways and the strangest people to do something of his thing - which is always something of love breaking out in our world of hate, pride and greed.
We are not to loose our saltiness - become complacent or indifferent; live our own wasted existence with no love at work in our lives. We are to affirm God’s love at work where ever, how ever, and in whom ever it appears.
Those who are against Jesus are those who would rather have it than share it, keep it than give it away, find it than lose it. Who would rather be secure, comfortable, and safe, rather than in danger, want or risk. And this is all of us who profess to love Jesus yet so easily forget that we have been blessed by grace so we can be a blessing.
When we lose sight of our call to discipleship, servant hood, and compassion, we loose the essence (the salt) of our life in Christ - which is worse then loosing a hand, foot or eye for then we are of little good to God no matter how religious we are.
Sunday, September 20, 2015
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
September 20, 2015 17h Sunday After Pentecost
Mark 9:30-37
30 They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, 31 because he was teaching his disciples. He said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.” 32 But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it.
33 They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” 34 But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest. 35 Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.” 36 He took a little child whom he placed among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, 37 “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”
“Be The Servant Of All”
It isn’t always easy to be a servant of God. It wasn’t for Jeremiah, the disciples, nor those to whom James wrote. It didn’t come naturally for them nor does it for us. It is almost contrary to our basic nature - self-preservation; taking care of #1.
It is easier to condemn and judge than to serve.
We never know enough about God to pronounce judgment on another person.
Our task as servants is to work and pray for forgiveness, understanding, reconciliation, peace. And to learn to appreciate differentness.
To be a servant is to place oneself last and not worry about what I am going to get out of it.
It is to be like Jesus who “did not regard equality with God something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant.” (Phil. 2:6,7)
“Celebrity Or Servant”
“Two centuries ago when a great man appeared, people looked for God’s purpose in him; today we look for his press agent.”
“We can make a celebrity, but we can never make a hero.”
“We loose sight of the men and women who do not simply seem great because they are famous but who are famous because they are great.”
The hero was distinguished by his achievement; the celebrity by his image or trademark.
The hero created himself; the celebrity is created by the media. The hero was a big man; the celebrity is a big name.”
“A celebrity is a person who is known for his well-knownness. He is the human psedo-event.”
Quotes from Daniel Boorstien’ “IMAGE”, pp. 45-76
Chapter “From Hero to Celebrity: the Human Pseudo-Event”
We all have a desire hidden within us to be a celebrity. We would like to do our thing in a big way. Yet it is as a servant that we have been called, to do our thing in a small way, often unnoticed but by God, and maybe those who are on the receiving end of our serving.
We are called to be servants and to get lost in doing good, without keeping score.
To be a servant is to place oneself last and not worry about what I am going to get out of it.
It is to be like Jesus who did not count equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant.
This is how it is in the Kingdom of Heaven!
Wednesday, September 2, 2015
Sept. 13, 2015 16th Sunday after Pentecost
Mark 9:14-29
14 When they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and some scribes arguing with them. 15 When the whole crowd saw him, they were immediately overcome with awe, and they ran forward to greet him. 16 He asked them, "What are you arguing about with them?" 17 Someone from the crowd answered him, "Teacher, I brought you my son; he has a spirit that makes him unable to speak; 18 and whenever it seizes him, it dashes him down; and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid; and I asked your disciples to cast it out, but they could not do so." 19 He answered them, "You faithless generation, how much longer must I be among you? How much longer must I put up with you? Bring him to me." 20 And they brought the boy to him. When the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. 21 Jesus asked the father, "How long has this been happening to him?" And he said, "From childhood. 22 It has often cast him into the fire and into the water, to destroy him; but if you are able to do anything, have pity on us and help us." 23 Jesus said to him, "If you are able!—All things can be done for the one who believes." 24 Immediately the father of the child cried out, "I believe; help my unbelief!" 25 When Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, "You spirit that keeps this boy from speaking and hearing, I command you, come out of him, and never enter him again!" 26 After crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, "He is dead." 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he was able to stand. 28 When he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, "Why could we not cast it out?" 29 He said to them, "This kind can come out only through prayer.”
I have no record of ever having preached on this text. Ether I was not scheduled to preach on the Sundays it came up, or it never was used. Which ever, I find it a bit amusing as it contains one of my favorite confessions, the farther of the boy who says honestly, out of the depths of his heart, “I believe; help mine unbelief!”
It’s like it is too much to swallow so fast yet it is so vital to his deepest needs that he lets Jesus know that he does have faith, even though he still has questions.
Don’t we all!
Faith is always accompanied by doubt, questioning, wondering, speculating, even uncertainty.
I think this is the most honest expression of faith in the New Testament! Listen to these words from Ellie Wiesel, who lived through the fanaticism of the Holocaust born of the blind belief in the superiority of the Arian race.
“I turn away from persons who declare that they know better than anyone else the only true road to God....My experience is that the fanatic hides from true debate...He is afraid of pluralism and diversity; he abhors learning. He knows how to speak in monologues only...The fanatic never rests and never quits; the more he conquers, the more he seeks new conquests....A fanatic has answers, not questions; certainties, not hesitations,(and ) as the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche expressed it, (it’s) ‘Madness is the result not of uncertainty but certainty’.”
Parade Magazine, April 19,1992
A second observation I would make of this text has to do with Jesus last statement, “This kind can come out only through prayer.” Yet it doesn’t say Jesus prayer as he healed him.
What does Jesus mean?
Could it be - (and this is a speculation based on years of struggling with prayers which didn’t seem to make any difference . i.e.lots of faith healing on TV which often raised havoc with the individual involved) - is it possible that by prayer Jesus means being in touch with God so deeply and intimately, as he was, that things happen which otherwise would never happen?
If this is close to what is hidden in these words, we need to keep prayer at the center of our lives but not at the center of our actions. Jesus often when away alone to pray. His disciples
had to ask him to teach them to pray. Prayer is not a religious action by which we let others know how religious we are. It is a secret action in which we draw strength to be compassionate as our heavenly Father is compassionate.
Something to wonder about as we wander out under the stars.
“Doubt isn’t the opposite of faith, it is an element of faith”
Paul Tillich, 20 Century Theologian
14 When they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and some scribes arguing with them. 15 When the whole crowd saw him, they were immediately overcome with awe, and they ran forward to greet him. 16 He asked them, "What are you arguing about with them?" 17 Someone from the crowd answered him, "Teacher, I brought you my son; he has a spirit that makes him unable to speak; 18 and whenever it seizes him, it dashes him down; and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid; and I asked your disciples to cast it out, but they could not do so." 19 He answered them, "You faithless generation, how much longer must I be among you? How much longer must I put up with you? Bring him to me." 20 And they brought the boy to him. When the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. 21 Jesus asked the father, "How long has this been happening to him?" And he said, "From childhood. 22 It has often cast him into the fire and into the water, to destroy him; but if you are able to do anything, have pity on us and help us." 23 Jesus said to him, "If you are able!—All things can be done for the one who believes." 24 Immediately the father of the child cried out, "I believe; help my unbelief!" 25 When Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, "You spirit that keeps this boy from speaking and hearing, I command you, come out of him, and never enter him again!" 26 After crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, "He is dead." 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he was able to stand. 28 When he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, "Why could we not cast it out?" 29 He said to them, "This kind can come out only through prayer.”
I have no record of ever having preached on this text. Ether I was not scheduled to preach on the Sundays it came up, or it never was used. Which ever, I find it a bit amusing as it contains one of my favorite confessions, the farther of the boy who says honestly, out of the depths of his heart, “I believe; help mine unbelief!”
It’s like it is too much to swallow so fast yet it is so vital to his deepest needs that he lets Jesus know that he does have faith, even though he still has questions.
Don’t we all!
Faith is always accompanied by doubt, questioning, wondering, speculating, even uncertainty.
I think this is the most honest expression of faith in the New Testament! Listen to these words from Ellie Wiesel, who lived through the fanaticism of the Holocaust born of the blind belief in the superiority of the Arian race.
“I turn away from persons who declare that they know better than anyone else the only true road to God....My experience is that the fanatic hides from true debate...He is afraid of pluralism and diversity; he abhors learning. He knows how to speak in monologues only...The fanatic never rests and never quits; the more he conquers, the more he seeks new conquests....A fanatic has answers, not questions; certainties, not hesitations,(and ) as the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche expressed it, (it’s) ‘Madness is the result not of uncertainty but certainty’.”
Parade Magazine, April 19,1992
A second observation I would make of this text has to do with Jesus last statement, “This kind can come out only through prayer.” Yet it doesn’t say Jesus prayer as he healed him.
What does Jesus mean?
Could it be - (and this is a speculation based on years of struggling with prayers which didn’t seem to make any difference . i.e.lots of faith healing on TV which often raised havoc with the individual involved) - is it possible that by prayer Jesus means being in touch with God so deeply and intimately, as he was, that things happen which otherwise would never happen?
If this is close to what is hidden in these words, we need to keep prayer at the center of our lives but not at the center of our actions. Jesus often when away alone to pray. His disciples
had to ask him to teach them to pray. Prayer is not a religious action by which we let others know how religious we are. It is a secret action in which we draw strength to be compassionate as our heavenly Father is compassionate.
Something to wonder about as we wander out under the stars.
“Doubt isn’t the opposite of faith, it is an element of faith”
Paul Tillich, 20 Century Theologian
Sunday, August 30, 2015
September 6 2015 15th Sunday After Pentecost
Mark 7:31-37
31 Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis] 32 There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged Jesus to place his hand on him.
33 After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue. 34 He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, “Ephphatha!” (which means “Be opened!”). 35 At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly.
36 Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it. 37 People were overwhelmed with amazement. “He has done everything well,” they said. “He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”
“The Power To Open”
Life is full of interesting and exciting possibilities. We have to be motivated or inspired to seek them. Our spiritual lives also need to be opened to all the possibilities God has in store for us.
Faith opens our hearts and minds to the love of God at work for and in us.
Faith in Jesus Christ opens our senses to the deep stimuli of life. We see what we could never otherwise see; hear what we could never hear; speak what we never dared utter.
Jesus words of forgiveness and love open us up to all the possibilities of life.
Faith is giving God permission to have at us.
“Be Open”
They couldn’t keep quiet about it; but they didn’t say all there was to say about it.
They missed the most important point - that these miracles, as with all miracles, means that salvation has come to our earth! God has come to dwell with us in human from, in the man Jesus to heal ALL our infirmities, not just of the body but of the spirit as well!
There is a healing and a wholeness which is deeper then the physical. He has come that all might be saved (be made whole from within) and come to the knowledge of the truth.
To be so saved is to be open to God’s love moving in our lives and through our lives into our world. It is to be able to smile, no matter what, and to be a beautiful, healing person for others. Physical handicaps cannot keep a ‘whole person’ down. They simply radiate joy and love, and bring healing into living. This is Christ in us, the love of God making us whole!
31 Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis] 32 There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged Jesus to place his hand on him.
33 After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue. 34 He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, “Ephphatha!” (which means “Be opened!”). 35 At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly.
36 Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it. 37 People were overwhelmed with amazement. “He has done everything well,” they said. “He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”
“The Power To Open”
Life is full of interesting and exciting possibilities. We have to be motivated or inspired to seek them. Our spiritual lives also need to be opened to all the possibilities God has in store for us.
Faith opens our hearts and minds to the love of God at work for and in us.
Faith in Jesus Christ opens our senses to the deep stimuli of life. We see what we could never otherwise see; hear what we could never hear; speak what we never dared utter.
Jesus words of forgiveness and love open us up to all the possibilities of life.
Faith is giving God permission to have at us.
“Be Open”
They couldn’t keep quiet about it; but they didn’t say all there was to say about it.
They missed the most important point - that these miracles, as with all miracles, means that salvation has come to our earth! God has come to dwell with us in human from, in the man Jesus to heal ALL our infirmities, not just of the body but of the spirit as well!
There is a healing and a wholeness which is deeper then the physical. He has come that all might be saved (be made whole from within) and come to the knowledge of the truth.
To be so saved is to be open to God’s love moving in our lives and through our lives into our world. It is to be able to smile, no matter what, and to be a beautiful, healing person for others. Physical handicaps cannot keep a ‘whole person’ down. They simply radiate joy and love, and bring healing into living. This is Christ in us, the love of God making us whole!
Sunday, August 16, 2015
Aug 23 & 30. 2015 13th & 14th Sundays After Pentecost
Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23
1 The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus 2 and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. 3 (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. 4 When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.)
5 So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?”
6 He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:
“‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 7 They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’
8 You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.”14 Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. 15 Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.” 21 For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, 22 adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23 All these evils come from inside and defile a person.”
“Living From the Heart”
Words can be cheap and deceiving. We often sound different then we are inside. This is what makes communication so difficult and hypocrisy so easy, for all of us!
No one sets out to be a hypocrite. We too easily become one when we let our greed, jealousy, pride, folly keep us from being congruent from the inside out.
When our hearts are right with God, our words and deeds are going to be right for others. Such is the Kingdom of God in our midst.
Hypocrisy is anything in our lives which is not right for others, but only for us, no matter how we try to cover up what is in our hearts by words and pious platitudes.
This is not pleasing to God, nor is it of the Kingdom of God.
“A Call For Deep Things”
“The most apparent meaning of this (text) could be summarized as a criticism of surface things and a call for deep things.” (Source unknown)
Religion is not meant to be something we play at; it is not meant to be superficial, mechanical, ritualistic. It is meant to be something which comes from the heart - a heart touched by the love and grace of God.
Observing the traditions of the elders is not what is important. Living as one who has been touched by the love of God is.
This means we need to see the spiritual quality of everything we do and I mean everything!
God is in the business of changing us and deepening us. Opening us up and making us real. To be truly religious is to let God have my heart. When God has my heart, God is going to change things and rearrange my priorities and cause me to do things I otherwise would never do.
A man once said to Mother Teresa,“I wouldn’t do what you do for a million dollars.” To which she replied, “Neither would I. But I will for the love of God!”
To worship is to open our hearts to change from the inside out. It is to be challenged to be sensitized over and over again as to what it is God really desires - justice rolling down like waters and human kind truly loving one another, seeking to understand, accept differences, and live in peace.
1 The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus 2 and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. 3 (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. 4 When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.)
5 So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?”
6 He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:
“‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 7 They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’
8 You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.”14 Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. 15 Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.” 21 For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, 22 adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23 All these evils come from inside and defile a person.”
“Living From the Heart”
Words can be cheap and deceiving. We often sound different then we are inside. This is what makes communication so difficult and hypocrisy so easy, for all of us!
No one sets out to be a hypocrite. We too easily become one when we let our greed, jealousy, pride, folly keep us from being congruent from the inside out.
When our hearts are right with God, our words and deeds are going to be right for others. Such is the Kingdom of God in our midst.
Hypocrisy is anything in our lives which is not right for others, but only for us, no matter how we try to cover up what is in our hearts by words and pious platitudes.
This is not pleasing to God, nor is it of the Kingdom of God.
“A Call For Deep Things”
“The most apparent meaning of this (text) could be summarized as a criticism of surface things and a call for deep things.” (Source unknown)
Religion is not meant to be something we play at; it is not meant to be superficial, mechanical, ritualistic. It is meant to be something which comes from the heart - a heart touched by the love and grace of God.
Observing the traditions of the elders is not what is important. Living as one who has been touched by the love of God is.
This means we need to see the spiritual quality of everything we do and I mean everything!
God is in the business of changing us and deepening us. Opening us up and making us real. To be truly religious is to let God have my heart. When God has my heart, God is going to change things and rearrange my priorities and cause me to do things I otherwise would never do.
A man once said to Mother Teresa,“I wouldn’t do what you do for a million dollars.” To which she replied, “Neither would I. But I will for the love of God!”
To worship is to open our hearts to change from the inside out. It is to be challenged to be sensitized over and over again as to what it is God really desires - justice rolling down like waters and human kind truly loving one another, seeking to understand, accept differences, and live in peace.
Sunday, August 9, 2015
August 16, 2015 12th Sunday After Pentecost
John 6:51-58
51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”
52 Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
53 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”
This is a troublesome text. As one theologian said of it -
“The language in this text is raw and probably ought to shock our sensibilities.”
Because of these words more then one person has accused the church of advocating cannibalism. And nothing could be further from the truth!
What ever we do with these words, we dare not take them literal - for then we will miss the point of what Jesus is saying - as is often the case when the Bible is take literally. We end up with a distorted, disconnected message which leads to distorted and disconnected living.
Perhaps this is why Karl Barth said, ”I love the Bible too much to take it literal.”
These words have to be taken in context and they have to be understood in a deeper way - a way which goes beyond our rational capacity to understand and grasps mystery.
So what is it Jesus is trying to say to us today?
Robert Kyser, a Biblical scholar of today makes a good point as to what Jesus might be getting at here. in his book, “Preaching John”. He suggests that Jesus is telling the hearers that they literally need to take Jesus into themselves, make him “part of their essence”
“No arm’s-length relationship here, no safe distance between us. As (those) who long for the abundant life, we have no other way to such a life except by taking Jesus in, having him become so intermingled with our own being that we cannot separate one from the other. “ Adele Resmer, Proc. B,’06,p.179
Then, in the words of the great preacher of the past, P.T. Forsythe, faith will become “a power and passion in authority among the powers and passions of life” - our lives.
We will no longer be able to live indifferent to callings of the spirit to place faith, hope, and love at the center of our living and let nothing take its place.
51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”
52 Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
53 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”
This is a troublesome text. As one theologian said of it -
“The language in this text is raw and probably ought to shock our sensibilities.”
Because of these words more then one person has accused the church of advocating cannibalism. And nothing could be further from the truth!
What ever we do with these words, we dare not take them literal - for then we will miss the point of what Jesus is saying - as is often the case when the Bible is take literally. We end up with a distorted, disconnected message which leads to distorted and disconnected living.
Perhaps this is why Karl Barth said, ”I love the Bible too much to take it literal.”
These words have to be taken in context and they have to be understood in a deeper way - a way which goes beyond our rational capacity to understand and grasps mystery.
So what is it Jesus is trying to say to us today?
Robert Kyser, a Biblical scholar of today makes a good point as to what Jesus might be getting at here. in his book, “Preaching John”. He suggests that Jesus is telling the hearers that they literally need to take Jesus into themselves, make him “part of their essence”
“No arm’s-length relationship here, no safe distance between us. As (those) who long for the abundant life, we have no other way to such a life except by taking Jesus in, having him become so intermingled with our own being that we cannot separate one from the other. “ Adele Resmer, Proc. B,’06,p.179
Then, in the words of the great preacher of the past, P.T. Forsythe, faith will become “a power and passion in authority among the powers and passions of life” - our lives.
We will no longer be able to live indifferent to callings of the spirit to place faith, hope, and love at the center of our living and let nothing take its place.
Sunday, August 2, 2015
August 9 , 2015 11th Sunday After Pentecost
John 6:35, 41-51
35 Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst...
41 The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, "I am the bread which came down from heaven." 42 They said, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, 'I have come down from heaven'?" 43 Jesus answered them, "Do not murmur among yourselves. 44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.' Every one who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. 46 Not that any one has seen the Father except him who is from God; he has seen the Father. 47 Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that a man may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh."
“The Offense Of The Incarnation
Jesus was too human for the people of his day. He was Joseph’s son who lived in their midst. He was too human, too real, too common for them to believe he was God’s son.
We want God to be something other then human. We are not inclined to see God in the common. We don’t think of God being “ in, under, and with” everyday activities.
We want God to be a miracle worker who does things in unnatural ways.
Who takes care of the tough stuff so we don’t have to deal with it.
This is a subtle form of idolatry.
One writer called it “the offense of the Incarnation.”
We believe Jesus was spiritual; we struggle with him being human. The truth is, as a friend often said, ”To be spiritual is to be human; to be human is to be spiritual.” The most spiritual things we can do are also the most human. We dare not be afraid to be human for that is the essence of what it means to eat of the Bread of Life - it is to be humanly open, honest, compassionate, intimate.
God became so human we can’t separate God from that which is human. Every time we touch intimately, lovingly, compassionately in the midst of the pain and joy of being human, God is there with life giving bread to impart eternal life. This is a miracle beyond all miracles!
35 Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst...
41 The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, "I am the bread which came down from heaven." 42 They said, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, 'I have come down from heaven'?" 43 Jesus answered them, "Do not murmur among yourselves. 44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.' Every one who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. 46 Not that any one has seen the Father except him who is from God; he has seen the Father. 47 Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that a man may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh."
“The Offense Of The Incarnation
Jesus was too human for the people of his day. He was Joseph’s son who lived in their midst. He was too human, too real, too common for them to believe he was God’s son.
We want God to be something other then human. We are not inclined to see God in the common. We don’t think of God being “ in, under, and with” everyday activities.
We want God to be a miracle worker who does things in unnatural ways.
Who takes care of the tough stuff so we don’t have to deal with it.
This is a subtle form of idolatry.
One writer called it “the offense of the Incarnation.”
We believe Jesus was spiritual; we struggle with him being human. The truth is, as a friend often said, ”To be spiritual is to be human; to be human is to be spiritual.” The most spiritual things we can do are also the most human. We dare not be afraid to be human for that is the essence of what it means to eat of the Bread of Life - it is to be humanly open, honest, compassionate, intimate.
God became so human we can’t separate God from that which is human. Every time we touch intimately, lovingly, compassionately in the midst of the pain and joy of being human, God is there with life giving bread to impart eternal life. This is a miracle beyond all miracles!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)