130127 Be There

Have you ever spent a season really nailing it? Your walk with God was pegging the faith-o-meter, you felt like you were living the life you were created to live, and it was like you were riding the crest of the wave that joined all of God’s Kingdom and our very tangible daily world. Ever had one of those seasons? Maybe it lasted weeks, or days or fifteen minutes. Maybe it was brought on by some retreat, or worship service, or project, or crisis. When you are on a high like that, the last thing you expect is to be brought back to your former reality. But it happens, and often in unexpected places.

At the beginning of Mark’s sixth chapter, we get a surprise. After an absolutely amazing season of ministry along the shores of the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus displayed just how powerful and accessible God’s Spirit is as it flowed through him, he went back to Nazareth, his hometown. The disciples were probably looking forward to meeting his family, and learning about Jesus’ life before his fame. So they showed up, and Jesus took a turn teaching the next Sabbath in the synagogue. He likely talked along the same themes he had before, where he experienced incredibly positive feedback from those who heard the Good News. But in Nazareth it was crickets. And complaints. And criticism. They didn’t buy his message because they didn’t buy him. Where other people could see what God was doing in and through him, all the Nazareth villagers could see (including his own family) was a lowly carpenter who had no business pretending to be anything more than that. This was Jesus’ homecoming experience.

We should expect no less. The people who have known us and been around us before we found ourselves in Christ sometimes have the greatest difficulty embracing what has happened to us. They can only see our former identifiers – it’s all they’ve known. While there is a natural part of us that gets upset at our “base” for not being supportive, the reality is that this is reality. The early disciples certainly experienced this phenomenon. They would have received much comfort from this story, and would have affirmed by their own experience Jesus’ words: “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his relatives and his own family.”

Not much happened in Nazareth while Jesus was there. It takes two to tango. Much of what God wanted to do there didn’t happen because the people could not see what was before them.

So Jesus and the boys left. Tragic. But sometimes the only way we can become our Truest Self is to leave the environment that will not allow us to grow and thrive. Seek counsel on this before making a drastic move, of course, but be aware that you may be restricted because of the voices closest to you.

Once out of town, Jesus sent out the disciples to do the same kind of stuff he was doing. In essence, he was telling them that the very same Spirit that was enabling him to say and do all the cool God stuff was now at their disposal. So they went. And they did. And their Truest Selves began to take root and grow in ways they simply could not have imagined.

You and I are called by the same God that flowed so powerfully through Jesus and his disciples. And we are given the same potentiality. And the same charge. What does that mean for us?

One thing for sure, it does not mean to sit on our duffs and watch life pass by. It means we go. It means that we heed the call to “be there” as a bearer or God’s Good News and sharer or God’s Spirit.

A great thing about God’s call is that he is calling you and me to be who we are made to be where we are called to be. In other words, God is not asking us to put on a mask or a cape. He is asking us to go as we have been made and gifted, to bring hope and presence – to be there – not as someone else, but as ourselves holding God’s hand as we reach to take another’s hand in ours. You and I get to be part of something beautiful, grand, life-giving, healing, renewing, restoring. Amazing stuff if we’ll embrace it. Will you embrace it? Will you “be there”? Where is that for you today? What are you waiting for?

130113 Two Daughters, Twelve Years

Jesus got terrible news when he came ashore: a young girl was very ill. Jairus, her father and a leader in the local synagogue, knew Jesus might be able to do something about it. Any parent can empathize. Any parent can picture the look of panic in that dad’s eyes. He had loved his little girl from the start – all twelve years of her life.

Jesus went, and lots of people followed to watch (and maybe get something healed, too).
On the way to Jairus’ house, a strange thing happened. Jesus came to a dead stop because someone touched him. The disciples were confused, because it was likely that many people touched him, and they wondered out loud about it. So Jesus clarified, and said he sensed power flowing out of him with the touch. Everybody just sort of looked around not knowing what to say or do, I suspect, until that “someone” claimed responsibility.

She came forward with her confession. Instead of every month for a few days, she had been bleeding incessantly every day for twelve years. This meant a lot of things for her. It meant she couldn’t have any (more) children, and that she would have only limited exposure to the Jewish rituals which were designed to help people experience relationship with God. It meant she was probably financially broke, too. Historians note that there were plenty of hucksters in Jesus’ day that claimed to be able to heal for a price.

People who suffer sometimes become extremely knowledgeable about their situation and potential cures. She certainly would have researched her faith tradition for any clues. Someone probably shared with her a prophecy that was made that had been associated with God’s anointed rescuer or Israel, also known as the messiah. The prophet Malachi wrote that there would be “healing in his wings.” The word wings in Hebrew is also translated as tassels. So, some thought that the tassels on the end of the robe worn by the messiah would carry healing power for some who would touch them.

Broke and broken, what did she have to lose? Why not reach for the tassels of the guy who some say just might be God’s anointed rescuer?

She hadn’t experienced not bleeding for twelve years. She certainly had to have been elated to not bleed once she touched his robe. But that all seemed in jeopardy when Jesus stopped moving. Would he judge her for being so presumptuous? Would he reverse the healing, or make her bleed even more?

No.

In fact, Jesus commended her for her faith, calling her “daughter”, and insuring her that her suffering was over. Pretty amazing, really, that the woman experienced God’s healing presence without Jesus’ awareness, without any sort of ritual or confession or hoops to jump through. The love was just there for the taking. God was with her, up close and personal, like a good father cradling his daughter.

The daughter! Oh, that’s right! Jesus was on his way to see another daughter. And, unfortunately, as Mark tells the story (Mark 5:21-43), his delay with the bleeding daughter was to the detriment of the dying daughter. Messengers came to Jesus and Jairus to call off the visit – the little girl apparently succumbed to the illness and was dead.

Now Jairus was probably stopped in his tracks by grief, but Jesus pressed on with words calling for hope and faith. The crowd followed, and upon arrival, scoffed at Jesus’ hopeful remarks. So he told them to leave.
Jesus went into the room where the girl’s lifeless body laid. He simply took her hand and said, “Little girl, get up!” And she did. This, by the way, was quite a contrast to some of the great prophets of old who went through quite a ritual to perform such a miracle (Jairus would have known this). Jesus’ word and touch brought the healing presence of God to the little girl. The mood of the house changed a but after that…

Two stories of daughters, both loved by God. One knowing it for twelve straight years because her father and mother and synagogue told her so. One doubting it for twelve straight years because her body told her so. One unwittingly relied on someone else’s faith to get the healing power of God to her bedside, because she was unable to do anything on her own. One who took a leap of faith as she audaciously reached for that robe as it passed by. Intriguing story. Amazing. Lot’s to talk over. No single point in this narrative. But I would like to tie them together with an obvious observation.

Both daughters discovered in their own way that they were not alone, that God was really with them. Not because of anything about them, either. Just there to bring presence, peace, hope, healing, restoration and renewal. And that hasn’t changed for any of today’s daughters. Or sons, for that matter.

Application.
1. How do you relate to this story? How do you apply the stories we see here with your own need for God’s presence? As one in need of God’s presence, what do you feel compelled to do?
2. As the ambassadors of God’s grace, what do we learn from this story about what it might mean to follow Jesus? What hoops do we make people jump through before we “let” them know they are loved by God? How are we like Jesus in being conduits for God’s power to work through us? Has anybody experienced healing from our touch? How can we increase the flow of God’s love in our lives so that more people might experience the healing, restoration and renewal God brings?

130106 It Ain't Over

Before you read much about what I have to say, read the following passage – a funny, yet incredible story about Jesus on the other side of the lake…

Mark 5:1-20 (NLT)

So they arrived at the other side of the lake, in the region of the Gerasenes. When Jesus climbed out of the boat, a man possessed by an evil spirit came out from a cemetery to meet him. This man lived among the burial caves and could no longer be restrained, even with a chain. Whenever he was put into chains and shackles—as he often was—he snapped the chains from his wrists and smashed the shackles. No one was strong enough to subdue him.  Day and night he wandered among the burial caves and in the hills, howling and cutting himself with sharp stones.

When Jesus was still some distance away, the man saw him, ran to meet him, and bowed low before him.  With a shriek, he screamed, “Why are you interfering with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In the name of God, I beg you, don’t torture me!”  For Jesus had already said to the spirit, “Come out of the man, you evil spirit.”

Then Jesus demanded, “What is your name?”

And he replied, “My name is Legion, because there are many of us inside this man.”  Then the evil spirits begged him again and again not to send them to some distant place.

There happened to be a large herd of pigs feeding on the hillside nearby.  “Send us into those pigs,” the spirits begged. “Let us enter them.”

So Jesus gave them permission. The evil spirits came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the entire herd of about 2,000 pigs plunged down the steep hillside into the lake and drowned in the water.

The herdsmen fled to the nearby town and the surrounding countryside, spreading the news as they ran. People rushed out to see what had happened.  A crowd soon gathered around Jesus, and they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons. He was sitting there fully clothed and perfectly sane, and they were all afraid.   Then those who had seen what happened told the others about the demon-possessed man and the pigs.  And the crowd began pleading with Jesus to go away and leave them alone.

As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon possessed begged to go with him.  But Jesus said, “No, go home to your family, and tell them everything the Lord has done for you and how merciful he has been.”  So the man started off to visit the Ten Towns of that region and began to proclaim the great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed at what he told them.

Sandy Hook Elementary School, Newtown, CT.  In one day, this sleepy small town most people had never heard of became familiar to everyone in the US, and in other parts of the world as well.  While the headlines and politics have focused on gun control, the story is much more about mental illness.

The man in the story above was undoubtedly one who suffered from mental illness.  Schizophrenia, perhaps?  Hard to be sure.  Primitive minds, however, upon witnessing such a mental breakdown would naturally assume possession by an evil spirit.  The guy was not under his own control any more.  He needed help that nobody had to give.  The community did what comes naturally: they isolated him.

Mental illness causes a similar reaction to this day.  We don’t know how best to respond to people who struggle mentally and emotionally.  We play it safe, too, and keep people at a distance.  It is impossible to understand what leads to mental illness.  Genetics?  Trauma of some sort?  Both?

What’s your experience with this kind of stuff?  How have you encountered people who struggle with mental illness?  What was your reaction?

Whatever was the case for this guy, his brokenness was not helped by his being ostracized by the people he knew.  His paranoia certainly only increased, as did his rage over his predicament.

Jesus found out the hard way, as the guy ran out to meet him.  Jesus did not get back in the boat.  He did not cower.  He did not order his disciples to hold him down.  He just met him there, found out some key things about his struggle, and brought grace. 

How are you like this guy?  How have you struggled with your brokenness?  How have you been isolated by your community?

When the guy found himself made whole by Jesus, his immediate reaction, as we might guess, was total allegiance.  But going back to Galilee wouldn’t accomplish near as much as walking around the Ten Towns would, letting everyone know how he got his health back.

How have you experienced healing from God?  How has God come alongside you in your struggle?  When he was there, how did you respond?  How have you shared the message of hope that God actually cares?

The response of the crowd is interesting, isn’t it?  They would have rather had Jesus gone.  They were terrified of him.  Odd.  But sometimes we are more afraid of an unknown future than we are our present circumstances.  We would rather manage our bad reality than risk on a new one.

How has this been true for you?

C.S.Lewis once said, It would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak.  We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at sea.  We are far too easily pleased.

How about we make a move in response to this passage.  How about we decide to trust God with our wellbeing now, our relationships today, our vocations, and even our emotional health as much as we trust God for our inevitable Tomorrow?  Why not trust this Jesus with your allegiance and see where it takes you?  Would the one who brings such healing lead you to misery?

May God make your year a happy one!
Not by shielding you from all sorrows and pain,
But by strengthening you to bear it, as it comes;
Not by making your path easy,
But by making you sturdy to travel any path;
Not by taking hardships from you,
But by taking fear from your heart;
Not by granting you unbroken sunshine,
But by keeping your face bright, even in the shadows;
Not by making your life always pleasant,
But by showing you when people and their causes need you most,
and by making you anxious to be there to help.
God's love, peace, hope and joy to you for the new year.

- Anonymous (from Red Letter Christian weekly newsletter)