Why Would You Want to Move a Mountain?

Last Sunday, I preached on the first part of this passage from the book of Mark, and I emphasized how Jesus looked deep into the core of the fig tree and deep into the heart of the Temple system and found them to be rotten.  The fig tree should have been producing paggim, the Hebrew term for small figs that sprout even before the leaves.  It wasn’t.  Therefore, it was a bad tree.  Jesus cursed it because it was taking up valuable soil in the arid Middle-East.

Likewise, when Jesus entered into the Temple, He overturned tables and prevented the buying and selling because the chief priests and the scribes had allowed their greed and desire for the safety, security, and freedom that money could by override the purpose of the temple.  The chief priests and the scribes had turned the Courtyard of the Gentiles into a marketplace preventing the vast majority of the world’s people from being able to worship and pay their respects to the God of Israel.  As I quoted N.T. Wright last week, so I do again, “The Temple had been intended to symbolize God’s dwelling with Israel for the sake of the world; the way Jesus’ contemporaries had organized things, it had come to symbolize not God’s welcome to the nations but God’s exclusion of them.”

The next day, Jesus and His disciples pass by the fig tree that Jesus cursed the day before.  Peter takes note because the fig tree is withered from the root up.  Peter points this out to Jesus, and the symbolism is clear: when you are rotten at the core, you will wither and die.

And, of course, no one really likes to think that they are rotten at the core. We’d all like to believe we are good and gracious in our hearts.  But that is generally not the case.  Sure, we may be kind to others.  We may do a lot of good.  We may try to be moral and upright and worship regularly and give to charity, and the like. We may look very good on the outside, but what really counts is our heart’s motivation for doing the things we are doing.  It is our hearts that God is really interested.  It is our hearts that Jesus wishes to turn into temples of the Living God.  The fig tree looked good on the outside, but it wasn’t good after all.  The temple looked good on the outside, but it wasn’t good at all.  For the most part, we could say the same thing about our hearts.

Last week, I talked about the Powerball and how millions of people spent billions of dollars in search of the safety and security and freedom that money supposedly would buy, but money is just one of the things that we believe will give us such things.  In the exact same vein, I would like to now turn to politics.  Don’t worry, I’m not going to be pushing any candidate or ideology, but I want to show how politics and Powerball are related.  If you listen to the debates and the candidates’ speeches, there is a common thread that runs through them all: this is how I promise to keep you safe; this is how I promise to keep money in your pocket and get you jobs; this is how I promise to make this country a better place for you to live so that you don’t have to worry about the future.  Each candidate has a plan which basically seeks to secure these things in exchange for your vote, and while trying to appeal to your self-interest in this manner, each candidate also appeals to fear in trying to show how the other candidate will not keep you as safe, as secure, as wealthy, etc., etc.  Politicians appeal to the exact same things the Powerball appeals to.

And there are other things.  Whether it is the appeal of sexuality, the empowerment of possessions, the acquisition of knowledge, or what have you, the objects of desire are safety, security, and freedom.  We all crave these things at a very deep level.  And we put our trust in myriads of things thinking they will give us all these things.  Money demands our trust.  Politicians demand our trust.  Education demands our trust.  Science demands our trust. The economy demands our trust. Sex demands our trust.  Each promises fulfillment.  Each woos us continuously.  And if we pursue them as our deepest heart’s desire, we will end up dead.

Let’s turn to these final verses to see how this works.  For after Peter points out the withered fig tree to Jesus, a very interesting set of teachings come forth from Jesus’ mouth.  Jesus doesn’t make any straightforward appeal to the disciples to change their ways.  He doesn’t tell them, “You’d better not be like the fig tree or the people in the temple.”  Such commentary would make the disciples tremble in fear.  Instead, Jesus begins talking about prayer.  It seems out of place, but it is not.  Here’s why:

Jesus first says, “‘Have faith in God.  Truly I tell you, if you say to this mountain, “Be taken up and thrown into the sea”, and if you do not doubt in your heart, but believe that what you say will come to pass, it will be done for you.”

Now, let me first be clear about what it means when Jesus says, “Have faith in God.”  Jesus is not saying simply, “Believe in God.”  Faith indeed has a component of belief–thinking with your head that God exists, but faith is much, much deeper than that.  Faith is trusting in God with your entire being.  Here’s the difference I am trying to illustrate.  Let’s go back to politics for just a moment.  Think about the candidate you are NOT voting for.  Got that candidate in your head?  First question: do you believe that candidate exists?  Second question: do you trust him or her?  Do you see the difference?  Faith in God is not simply assenting that God exists.  Faith in God means you cast your vote in with God.  You trust that He will provide exactly as He says He will provide and do as He says He will do.  It has a tremendous impact on your entire life.

This is why Jesus follows up with the statement, “Truly I tell you, if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and if you do not doubt in your heart, but believe what you say will come to pass, it will be done for you.”  Think about this for just a moment.  If you trust in yourself to cast a mountain into the sea, what will happen?  First, off that mountain isn’t going very far, is it?  But, let’s get even more technical, because is it possible for you to begin shoveling one pile of dirt at a time and taking it to the sea?  Is it possible for you to remove one rock at a time and put it into the sea?  Of course it is.  How long would it take you?  Of course, it would depend upon the size of the mountain, but in all reality, you would probably die before you finished.  So, why not pay someone to move the mountain?  Imagine doing that.  Again, how much would it cost you?  How many years would you have to be enslaved to the dollar to have that mountain moved for you?  You would probably die before you could save or earn enough.  If you are trusting in yourself to have that mountain moved, you will not get it very far.  But if you trust in God, things are different.

But there is a catch here.  Jesus is very clear: if you do not doubt in your heart.  In other words, if you trust God with your entire heart, this can and will be done for you.  Let me ask you this question, do you trust God with your whole heart?  Be honest and truthful.  You know, I had several college professors and seminary professors who railed against pastors who told people that they needed to trust God and have total belief in God and they would be healed.  They said that when people were not healed, their trust in God would be damaged; therefore, we should never preach and tell people they needed to believe without doubt.  Well, I’m going to disagree with my professors.  I’m going to tell you that if you truly believed–again, in the sense of trusting–in God with your whole heart, whatever you asked would be given to you.  But before you go out and ask God to move a mountain or let you win the next Powerball, I’m going to confront you and ask you this–what reasons do you have for wanting to move that mountain or win that Powerball?  What are the motivations of your heart?  Are those motivations in line with trusting God?

Let me push this a little deeper with Jesus’ next comment because it is intimately related.  However, I’m going to offer up a little different translation that what you have from the New Revised Standard Version.  The original Greek would probably be better translated this way, “Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”  Again, I want you to think about this from the aspect of trusting God rather than trusting in money or politicians or what have you.  For instance, if you believed that you already won the Powerball, would you go out and buy a ticket?  I’m waiting for the answer on that one. :-) If you believed that your political candidate already won, would you go around smearing the other one?  Of course, both of those questions are a bit superficial, so let’s dig down to the root causes that I outlined earlier: if you already believed that you had obtained safety, security, and freedom, how would that change your prayer?  How would that change your life?  If the Jewish authorities were trusting in God for their safety, security, and freedom to worship, would they have ever opened a marketplace in the courtyard of the Gentiles?  You know the answer.  If you were trusting in God for your livelihood, would you need to tell a mountain to move?  Would you need to buy a Powerball ticket?  Would you worry about which politician won the election?  Of course, you wouldn’t.  You would trust fully and completely in God, and you would know that He provides you with safety.  He provides you with security.  He provides you with freedom.  You have already received riches beyond your wildest dreams!

Ah, but you and I sure don’t act that way, do we?  You and I sure don’t live that kind of life, do we?  We still worry and fret.  We still try to obtain money and worldly goods.  We buy guns to ensure our safety.  We get worked up about elections.  We complain about who gets richer and who gets poorer.  We are never satisfied.

Jesus concludes with a statement that seems even more unrelated than the previous two: “And whenever you stand praying, forgive if you have something against someone, so that your Father in heaven may also forgive you.”  Why, all of a sudden, do we go from praying and believing we already have received to the thought of forgiveness?  Why does Jesus even insert this here?  What is this all about?

Now, we actually come to the crux of this teaching. We come to the crux of the lesson of the fig tree.  We come to the crux of Jesus’ actions in the temple.  Forgiveness is at the heart of why Jesus came to earth.

We are never satisfied because we do not trust God with our whole heart.  We become greedy because we do not trust God with our whole heart.  We become anxious about the future because we do not trust God with our whole heart.  And nothing we do will make us trust God more.  Let me say that again: nothing we do will make us trust God more.

Let me illustrate this with a story about my kids.  For the longest time, my kid would not jump into a swimming pool on their own.  They had to jump to me.  Each kid was the same.  They were afraid to go under the water.  They were afraid they wouldn’t pop up.  I would stand in the water and tell them, “Jump.”  And they wouldn’t jump.  They would look at the distance between the edge of the pool and me.  They would calculate whether or not they thought it was safe.  And if they figured it wasn’t, there was no amount of cajoling I could do.  There was no amount of reassurance I could give.  There was no amount of exhortation I could offer.  The kids wouldn’t jump until I moved toward them.  Until I broke down the distance between the two of us, the kid was going to stand at the edge of the pool wanting to come in, but too scared to actually commit.  I had to close the gap.  I had to show them I would catch them.  I had to help them know I would not drop them and they were safe leaping into my arms.  It actually cost me very little other than a bit of energy to do this, but imagine the gap between God and man.  Imagine the distance between the creator of the universe and His creation.  Imagine then that as we who are created look around the world and see the violence and hatred and animosity we have toward one another.  Imagine how we see an uncertain future.  Imagine how we see the fragility of life.  Imagine we see how quickly what we have can be taken.  And imagine God saying, “Just trust me.”  Do you know how difficult that really and truly is?  Do you know how it simply goes against nearly everything our hearts and minds actually tell us?  We would rather buy Powerball tickets.  We would rather put our trust in politicians. We would rather work to buy our happiness and joy.  It seems less fearful.  It’s easier to trust in ourselves and the things that we can see.

And so, our heavenly Father must look at us and say, “Why don’t they trust me?  Why don’t they see what I have given them?  Why do they not believe I will care for them?  Why are their hearts so far away?”  Our actions break our Father’s heart, so rather than compel us and punish us for not putting our trust in Him, He forgives us and then moves toward us.  He bridges the gap to earn our trust, to capture our hearts, not with a crown but with a cross.

For it is on that cross that true forgiveness is given.  It is on that cross where true trust is earned.  For Jesus, the God made flesh, laid down His life for you and me when we did not trust Him.  Jesus offered Himself as the true sacrificial lamb to take away our self-centeredness; our desire to trust in ourselves rather than in God.  He stretched out His arms and said, “Look at the lengths I will go for you to love you, to catch you, to bring you unto myself.  I will die for you, and those aren’t just words.  I really am dying for you.”

If someone goes to those kinds of lengths for you, what does that do to your heart?  If someone lays down His life for you with no questions asked, would you trust them?  Would you believe they will offer what they say they will offer?  Would your heart be captured by that kind of love?

When it is, your heart is indeed changed.  You still know that you are in this world.  You still know this world needs a lot of work.  You still know that you need money to live; that you need safety and security; that you want freedom, but you know also where it is truly found.  It’s found in Jesus.  Amen.

When Troubles Beset Us...

    Perhaps you recognize the title of this post as part of the Gospel hymn “On the Wings of a Dove.”  The entire verse is as follows:

When troubles beset us; When evils come
The body grows weak, and the spirit grows numb
When these beset us; well He doesn’t forget us
He sends down His love, on the wings of a dove.

    I share this with you in the knowledge that many, many within our congregation have been beset with such troubles.  There are many who are struggling with dealing with loved ones who are sick and dying.  There are some who have lost spouses.  There are some who are fighting illness themselves.  There are some who are recovering from surgery.  There are some who have had weird life circumstances cause stumbling and falling.  One wonders why such things happen.

    There is no perfect answer.  Believe you me.  If there was, I would write the book and sit back and enjoy the royalties.  But I haven’t written that book because no answer is satisfactory.  I can tell you a couple that are flat out wrong.  Wrong answer number 1: “Jesus wants you to have victory over such matters.”  One need be reminded, Jesus’ victory came on the cross–through suffering and persecution.  The victory is won, no doubt, but not without a great cost.  Wrong answer #2: If you just had enough faith, things would turn out right.  Please, no one has enough faith.  No one.  This is why we are saved by sheer grace.  We are dependent upon the mercy of God for all that we get.  We don’t earn it by our faith.  Wrong answer #3: God is causing this to test me.  God knows you would fail.  God knows we would all fail.  Our human nature is weak.  Furthermore, if you look at the life of Jesus, you will not see God testing Jesus (that would be a bit redundant).  You will see the Enemy testing Jesus.  It is the Enemy who tries to bring about our downfall by tests.

    Which leads me to offer a few answers that I think help us grapple with trials and tribulations.  Answer #1: When you are seeking to follow Jesus and the Gospel begins to take root in your heart, the Enemy works to steal you away.  The Enemy sets up road blocks and trials to make you question your commitment to Jesus.  Over and over again, we see this plainly in scripture.  Answer #2: We cannot escape our choices.  This is not a popular answer, but it is reality.  It does not cover everything, but if you have lung cancer after smoking for 30 years, this is no surprise.  One must make a distinction between things that we have some part in and things we don’t.  Answer #3: I have no idea what-so-ever.  This is the hardest one to accept because we want a reason.  We want a clue as to why things are happening.  Sometimes, there is just no good answer, and we must hope that God is in the midst of our trials and tribulations working to bring about a positive solution.

    That last sentence is an important one because it demands trust in God.  It demands that we have hope.  It’s a hard thing to have at times, but it is central to our faith.  The cross was the darkest day for the Christian, but it was followed by the light of the resurrection.  Cross.  Resurrection.  Death.  Life.  God worked to bring hope from tragedy, and it is this that we hold onto desperately in the midst of our trials.  May that hope find its way into your heart and mind.  Amen.

A Lack of Trust

    As I begin this morning, I would like to let you know that because of recent events, I modified my sermon.  What I preach now will be different from my original, written text.

    As the news of the school shooting in Oregon began to flash across my computer screen, I became very troubled by the eyewitness reports of the gunman targeting Christians.  Apparently, he held a deep seeded animosity toward us.  And I wondered why?  I mean, first off, don’t get me wrong, I believe that this shooter had something deeply wrong within him.  You just don’t go and shoot unarmed people who have no chance to fight back.  That is a cowardly act.  The man bears the full responsibility of his actions.

    Yet, I cannot help but wonder why Christians.  I mean, at the heart of our ethics are two commands: love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself.  Jesus says that upon these two commands rest all of the rest of the Law and the Prophets.  And if we are loving the Lord with all our heart and mind and soul and strength, and if we are pouring ourselves out in love to our neighbor, why in the world would anyone target us?  Hate us?  Desire to kill us?  Well, maybe, just maybe, we don’t love God and our neighbor as much as we think.  I believe our gospel lesson helps us see this.

    Too often today, we define faith is believing something that we cannot prove.  Essentially, we make faith an intellectual pursuit.  Faith is striving to make our brain accept something we have little or no evidence for, i.e. I cannot see God.  I have not experienced God.  I see no evidence for God, but I am terrified of what happens to me if I die.  If I can wrap my head around believing in God, and if there is life after death, then I can assure that I will not end up in the fiery pit of hell.  For your information, I do not like this definition.  I think this definition and understanding falls far, far short of what faith truly is, and it is rightly criticized and mocked by people who do not believe in God.  Why would I say such a thing.

    I think I can actually illustrate it quite well with an old joke.  It’s a joke about an atheist who decides to take a walk in a remote part of a national park.  While he is admiring the scenery, the trail suddenly gives way and he is hurled off a cliff.  He manages to grab a branch that is extended from the cliff wall.  He looks up, and he knows he cannot climb the sheer face.  He looks down, and it is a drop that will certainly kill him.  He begins crying for help.  Being the rational sort, he knows no one is likely to come by for quite a while given the remoteness of the area.  Being the rational sort, he also knows he is quite run out of options, so he does something that is against much of his nature.  This atheist cries out, “Well, God, it seems as if I am in a pickle.  If you are up there–and most of my life I haven’t believed that you are–can you give me a hand?”

    A voice boomed out, “I am here.  I will help.  Let go.”

    The atheist then retorted, “Anyone else up there?”

    I find that joke quite humorous, but I also find it deeply true.  Once the voice spoke, the atheist could no longer say that he didn’t believe in God.  The voice confirmed the existence of God.  However, it is quite one thing to believe in something and quite another thing to actually trust in that something.  Let me say that again.  It is quite one thing to believe in God, and it is quite another thing to actually trust in God.  For far too long, we in the Church have simply talked about believing in God.  We have not done a very good job in convincing people to trust in God nor have we done a very good job in trusting God ourselves.  We suffer from the same condition the disciples suffered from and the same condition the father in the Gospel lesson suffer from.  How so?  Let’s turn to the text.

    Jesus, Peter, James and John come down off the mountain where Jesus was transfigured.  They run smack dab into conflict.  The scribes and the rest of Jesus’ disciples are in a heated argument.  It is quite interesting that when Jesus appears, people come running to him with utter amazement–the Greek word here is extremely strong indicating an overwhelming sense of awe.  Given the context of this verse, I can only think that the crowd is not awestruck in the sense of Jesus has done some sort of mighty act, but they are extremely, extremely glad that He has arrived.  Why would they be so glad?

    The story, I think gives us the clues as Jesus addresses everyone by asking, “What are you arguing about with them?”  I think Jesus’ question is addressed to the disciples, but they are strangely quiet here.  It is quite surprising that they say absolutely nothing, and it is a person from the crowd who speaks.  It is a man who says, “Rabbi, I brought to you my son [Luke tells us that this is the man’s only son] who has a demon, and your disciples were not able to heal him.”  This is an important point because in the rabbinic tradition of ancient Judaism, it was well believed that a rabbi’s followers–a rabbi’s disciples–would be able to do the things the rabbi did.  And that’s exactly what had happened in the past.  In Mark, chapter 6, Jesus had sent the disciples out to proclaim the Gospel, to cast out demons, and heal the sick.  Mark 6 verses 12 and 13 read, “12So they [the disciples] went out and proclaimed that all should repent. 13They cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.”  So, the disciples had been able to cast out demons in the past, but they were unable to do so now.  This would have called into question Jesus’ teaching.  This would have called into question whether or not Jesus was legitimate, and this would indeed precipitate a heated argument between the scribes and Jesus’ disciples.  It would also have caused quite a bit of embarrassment to the disciples–they were unable to do the things that Jesus did; that they once had did.  Something was wrong. 

    Jesus reacts rather harshly at this point.  I mean, His words are poignant!  
“You faithless generation, how much longer must I be among you? How much longer must I put up with you?”  This is not a nice comment.  This is not a comment that makes you feel good.  This is not a “Jesus loves you just the way you are” comment.  No one wants to hear this kind of rebuke, and no one escapes it.  Not the disciples.  Not the crowd.  Not the scribes.  Every one of them is included in Jesus’ comment.  Every one of them.  Why?  Why are they all included?

    Let’s push on. We will get there.  Jesus concludes His questions of anger with the command.  “Bring him [the boy] to me.” 

    They obey, and the demon throws the boy into a convulsion.  We look at this and we see a classic example of a grand mal seizure.  The medical profession may simply see epilepsy here, but Mark calls us to look deeper.  What drives the epilepsy is not something physically wrong with the boy–there is something deeper.  There is something malevolent.  There is something that not only causes grand mal seizures, but causes them while the boy is around fire or water.  There is something that is seeking to destroy the boy, and when that something comes close to Jesus, it begins reacting once again.  It begins trying to destroy the boy once again.  Evil cannot stand in the presence of God incarnate. 

    Jesus looks at the boy, and in great compassion, He turns to the father and says, “How long has he been this way?”  You see, Jesus is tapping into the father’s deep grief here.  Jesus is tapping into the years of this father trying to keep his son from dying at the hands of this demon.  Jesus is tapping into the frustration, the pain, the sorrow, the anger, the toil, and the exhaustion that has built up over the years.  Jesus wants this father to know that He cares.

    You can almost see the father’s grief become manifest as he sighs and says, “From childhood.”  And then as the father continues to explain, “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.” 

    Jesus catches this father’s slip up.  “IF you are able?  All things are possible–and I’m going to change the translation here–for the one who trusts.”

    The father replies, “I do trust.  Help my distrust!”  This is such an important statement.  Hold it in the back of your heads for a little while as I finish going through this text. 

    When Jesus sees that the crowd is starting to expand, He rebukes the demon and casts it out.  He demands that the demon never, ever again enter into the boy.  The demon makes the boy have one, final, tremendous convulsion–it’s like a convulsion of all convulsions, and then the boy appears dead.  I can only imagine at this moment what the crowd; what the disciples; what the father; and what the scribes are thinking.  They are thinking Jesus has failed.  The father is probably standing there fighting back tears.  The crowd is standing in disbelief thinking this miracle worker has finally met his match.  The disciples are frightened that they have indeed tied in with the wrong rabbi.  The scribes are secretly rejoicing that Jesus has been shown to be a fraud.  But Jesus, takes the boy by the hand, and He raised him up–just so you know, the same word Mark uses for Jesus raising the boy is the same word Mark uses for Jesus being raised from the dead.  Sometimes, when it looks like all is lost, that death has won, there is more to the story.  There certainly was here. 

    When all was said and done, Jesus and His disciples retired into a house, and the disciples’ curiosity got the best of them.  “Why couldn’t we cast that one out?” they asked Jesus.

    “That kind can only come out with prayer,” Jesus responds.  Mark leaves us right here.  There is no more explanation.  What does this mean? 

     I think, given the context of this story and the trajectory of the book of Mark, I would like to suggest to you that the disciples were still struggling to see.  They were still partially blind.  They believed that Jesus was the Messiah, but they hadn’t learned to trust in Him.  They hadn’t learned that following Him meant submission to Him.  Why do I say that?

    First off, let me ask you this question: do you know what position the Bible most recommends for prayer?  Do you think it’s with head bowed and hands folded?  No.  It’s not.  The position of prayer most employed by people in the Bible is laying down prone on the floor with arms outstretched.  The second position most mentioned for prayer?  Kneeling.  The first position is a position of extreme vulnerability–of ultimate submission.  The second position, on one’s knees is also one of vulnerability and submission but not quite as much as the first–the point being, prayer is a position of ultimate submission and vulnerability.  Prayer is the place where we come before God to admit our inability, our powerlessness, our lack of control over anything and everything.  Prayer is the place where we come and place our complete trust in Jesus.  Prayer isn’t about our belief–prayer is about trust.  To go back to the joke of the atheist on the branch: prayer isn’t hearing God’s voice and saying, “I’m glad to know you exist;” prayer is letting go of the branch trusting that the voice knows what it is talking about.  The disciples were not submitting to God.  The disciples were trying to do it all on
their own with disastrous results.

    Oh, and at this point, you might expect me to urge you to put your trust in Jesus.  At this point you might think I am going to stand up here and tell you that you should stop just believing and allow your faith to migrate all the way to your heart so that you put your trust only and solely in Jesus.  And that once you put your trust completely and totally in Jesus you too will experience peace, joy and satisfaction.  You too will be able to face illness and death and evil and overcome it.  You might expect me to announce to you that this is what the Christian life is all about, and you need to practice this.

    You know, this is all true, but if I were to start proclaiming all of this, I would expose myself as the ultimate hypocrite.  I mean, if I trusted solely and only in Jesus, I would never take my children to the doctor.  If I trusted only and solely in Jesus I would not worry about saving for retirement.  If I trusted only and solely in Jesus, I wouldn’t worry about offending anyone by what I said and what I did.  If I trusted only and solely in Jesus, I wouldn’t worry about burning out.  But when my kids get sick, I take them to the doctor.  When I think about growing old, I worry about whether or not I will have saved enough.  When I think about what I say, I worry about if I offend anyone.  When I think about working, I strive to ensure I do not burn out.  And this is just the tip of the ice berg.  I believe in Jesus.  I believe that He is the Son of God, incarnate, who died and rose from the dead.  I believe this with my whole heart and my entire being, but I do not trust Him completely.  Over and over again, I trust my self; I trust science and technology; I trust my bank account.  “Oh Lord, I trust, but I don’t trust you fully.  Help my distrust.”  Do you see why I said that statement is crucial?  It captures the reality of living the Christian life.  It captures every one of us who profess to believe in Jesus Christ.  It points us out as those who indeed have some bit of trust in Jesus, but it also condemns us that we don’t trust as we should.  We too don’t quite see as we should.  We do not have the hearts that we should.

    And if we do not trust God in the manner that we should...

    If we do not live as though we were totally and completely dependent upon God...

    How in the world will we ever love Him with our entire heart and mind and soul and strength?

    How will we ever love our neighbor as we love ourselves?

    We can’t.

    We won’t.

    Do you feel very small right about now?  I hope you do.  I do too.

    But the good news is that there is One who indeed trusted His heavenly Father that much.  There was One who loved His Father with His entire heart and mind and soul and strength.  There was One who loved His neighbor as Himself.  There was One who fulfilled the Law and its demands and became the perfect Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world.

    For Jesus’ obedience and trust in His Father led Him straight to the cross where upon it, Jesus looked down at a world that deserved God’s wrath and punishment; Jesus looked down at a world that deserved condemnation.  Jesus looked down at you and I in our distrust; our disbelief; our enmity toward God and toward one another and said, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.  Do not let your wrath burn hot against them.  Do not forsake them.  Forsake me.  Let your wrath be turned toward me.”  And the wrath of God was satisfied as Jesus took our place on the cross loving us with a love beyond measure.

    “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that all those who believe in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God sent the Son into the world not to condemn the world but that the world might be saved through Him.”

    This is the core of the Christian message.  The Christian message is not, “Go out there and follow the law better.”  The Christian message is not, “You’d better do justice!”  The Christian message is not, “You’d better get your sexual morals in line.”  The Christian message is, “Look at how much God loves you.  Look at how He died for you!”  And if we are leading with that message and are still targeted, so be it.  For we are leading with the love of God and not striving to tell everyone what to do.  We are leaving it up to God to change others’ hearts.  May this message be on our lips today and every day.  Amen.

Who do You Trust?

    It is little wonder to me anymore as to why we fail to see miracles.  It is little wonder to me anymore as to why the church continues to decline in the U.S.  It is little wonder to me anymore as to why there is a rise of those who call themselves spiritual but not religious or the “nones.”  When you believe that everything hinges upon what you do, things will fall apart.  When you fail to trust in Jesus, everyone walks away hungry.  I hope that caught your attention.  Let’s see why.

    Today we have the only miracle story other than the resurrection that is recorded in all four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John each record this tremendous act of Jesus, and each add certain details that flesh out the whole story.  Today, we focus on Mark’s version, but we will refer to the others as well as we walk through this event.

    It is important to note that the feeding of the 5000 men comes right after Mark tells us of the beheading of John the Baptist.  In that snippet, the events play out at a banquet full of depravity: drunkenness, gluttony, power, prestige, status, empty promises, child porn, premeditated murder, and disobeying God’s commands darken that story and lead to a horrible conclusion–a conclusion that leaves everyone empty.

    And then we arrive at the beginning of our text today as the disciples return from a mission Jesus had given them.  The disciples had been charged with going out in to the community and healing the sick, preaching the Word, and casting out demons.  They return and begin giving their reports to Jesus.  However, the disciples aren’t the only ones around.  There are many people gathering around as well.  Many are coming to be healed and to hear the preaching.  They know they are witnessing something tremendous, and they want to be a part of it.  This keeps Jesus and the disciples busy.  Very busy.  How busy?  So busy they do not have time to eat.  They are empty.

    This raises some very important points as it addresses life.  First, no matter how hard you work in helping people out, there will always be a need.  There will always be those clamoring for your services.  There will always be those clamoring for your attention.  As the singer for Confederate Railroad once sang in the song, “Daddy Never was the Cadillac Kind,” “It took a while but now I’m grown.  Settled down with kids of my own. The more I give them, the more they want.”  That is not only true of kids.  It’s true of humanity.  That’s point one.  Point two is this: if you try to satisfy everyone, you will run yourself ragged and be completely empty.  You can work to heal everyone and care for everyone, but in the long run, you will run out of time and energy.  The disciples had become so busy trying to meet everyone’s demands that they were not able to eat.

    Jesus assesses this situation and says, “Okay everyone, time for a rest.  Let’s go to a deserted place.”  Jesus and His disciples get into their boat and head across the lake to find a place of seclusion.  Jesus knows His closest friends desperately need some time away.  He knows they need a break, but they are not going to get it–at least not yet.

    People see Jesus and the disciples going around the lake.  They know what Jesus is capable of.  They want to continue to be a part of this ministry, so they begin spreading the word.  People run around the lake.  They tell others in the surrounding villages.  People begin gathering.  A crowd builds as they expectantly wait for Jesus.  And as the boat approaches the shore, Jesus sees that crowd.  I can see the disciples’ eyes grow wide at this point.  I can see them in the midst of their exhaustion thinking to themselves, “Didn’t we just leave this crew?  Not only that, did they go out and bring all their friends?  How are we ever going to take care of them?  Will we ever get any rest?  Will we ever get any food?  Will we ever be filled ourselves?”

    Jesus could have had the same reaction, but He didn’t.  He looked upon that crowd and thought, “They are like sheep without a shepherd.”  Now, this phrase is very important.  It’s not just an agricultural term.  It’s not just about how sheep desperately need a shepherd–which they do.  There are some Kingdom of God principles coming into play.  Throughout the Old Testament, there are many references to God sending His promised King who will shepherd the people.  Let that sink in for a moment.  Remember, Mark has just told us about Herod’s banquet–Herod, the puppet king who was supposedly ruling over the people–dare I say supposed to be shepherding them?  He’s obviously not doing a very good job.  As Jesus looks at the crowd, He sees them as members of the Kingdom who do not have a King.  They need a King.  They need one who will shepherd them; who will lead them in paths of righteousness; who will lead them to green pastures; who will let them sit down beside still waters.  Do you hear a little bit of Psalm 23 there?  You should.  You should also hear Ezekiel 34:23 which is a lesser known passage, but still rings loudly here.  That passage reads, “I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd.”

    Mark is drawing a stark contrast here between the supposed king of Galilee who is seeking power and prestige and wealth and status, and Jesus who will feed His people.  There is a contrast between Herod who only thinks of those who will help him further his ambitions and Jesus who has compassion on the multitude.  There is a sharp division.

    And the first thing Jesus feeds is their soul.  He begins by feeding them with the Word of God.  He
begins teaching.  For those of you who might complain about my sermons, please take note, Jesus preaches all day–well into the evening.  Aren’t you glad I am not like Jesus?  The hour begins getting late, and the disciples begin to wonder about provision.  The people will be getting hungry.  They need food.  There’s a lot of people.  So, they come to Jesus and think of the most compassionate thing that comes to mind, “Jesus, send them away to the surrounding villages so that they can get something to eat.”  In other words, let them fend for themselves.

    This indeed is the easy way out.  Indeed, this is the path of least resistance.  Wash your hands of responsibility.  We will take care of our needs.  Let each person take care of his or her own needs.  We do the same thing today.  Let’s not fool ourselves.  Every time we point at someone who we think should be working instead of asking for help, we are doing exactly what the disciples are doing here.  Let everyone fend for themselves.  We have our own problems to worry about.

    But Jesus doesn’t let them off the hook.  He looks at the disciples and says, “You give them something to eat.”

    Now, here is a very interesting response.  Let’s dwell on it for a moment.  Philip responds, “Are we to go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread, and give it to them to eat?”  Now, this was just over half a year’s wages.  John records that this would barely give everyone gathered a bite of food–surely not enough to satisfy them.  And whether or not the disciples actually had 200 denarii is questionable as well.  For we are about to find out just how much food the disciples really had.  For Jesus brushes aside the question of paying for the food by asking, “How many loaves do you have?”

    They respond, “Five loaves and two little fish.”  Now, if you remember the parallel account from the book of John, where did these five barley loaves and two fish come from?   Were they the property of the disciples?  No, they were not.  There was a little boy who was among those gathered whose mom had sent a lunch.  The food didn’t even belong to the disciples.  It was someone else’s!  Which means this: the disciples had nothing.  They had no food at all.  And what they had appropriated wasn’t even enough to satisfy one of them.  For you see, the five loaves of bread were essentially flat biscuits.  Several could be eaten in one setting.  Five loaves of these and two fish were enough to satisfy one boy.  The disciples were young men, and this would barely touch their appetites. 

    Which means this: Jesus had given the disciples an impossible command.  Jesus had told them to give the crowd something to eat.  The disciples did not have the resources to do this.  The disciples did not have enough food to do this.  They didn’t even have enough food to feed themselves.  Remember the very beginning of the story?  They were hungry and tired themselves, and now Jesus is commanding–not asking–commanding them to do the impossible.  It’s not printed in Mark, but I am quite sure the disciples were saying to themselves, “We can’t do this.  It is beyond us.”

    And it is.  It was.  It was beyond anything any of them could do.  Remember, Mark records that this crowd is composed of 5000 men.  Matthew says, this excludes women and children.  This crowd could easily have been 17 to 20 thousand.  There is no way 12 men could feed that multitude.  No way at all...if they trust themselves to do it.  Let me say that again: if they trust themselves with the task.

    Jesus orders His disciples to tell the crowd to sit down into groups of fifties and hundreds.  This detail is more important than you think, for it hearkens back to the Exodus when Moses divided the people into such groups.  It hearkens back to the promises that the Messiah would so divide the people of Israel in His Kingdom.  Jesus is presenting Himself as the Shepherd of the sheep: the King in the Kingdom of God as the people are divided into these groups.

    Then Jesus looks up, blesses the loaves and fish, and keeps breaking them.  I use the term breaking purposely because there are some who say that the real miracle is that when Jesus started sharing the food, everyone else broke out their own food and shared with one another.  The text does not say that.  The text here indicates that Jesus kept breaking the bread and dividing the fish and the disciples kept distributing it.  Jesus broke and broke and broke and the disciples gave and gave and gave.  All were satisfied.  17 to 20 thousand people were completely satisfied.

    But that is not the end.  Mark records one more small detail.  The remains were gathered, and it was enough to fill 12 baskets.  Now, these baskets were essentially traveling baskets that one carried upon one’s person.  They were like lunch kits, and there were exactly 12 of them filled up.  For who?  Remember the one’s who had nothing at the beginning of this story?  Remember the ones who were hungry and had no time to eat?  Remember the ones who had to take a little boy’s lunch just to have a meager supply?  Yes, that’s right.  The disciples now also were filled.  They now had provision.  Jesus didn’t just provide for those gathered on the hillside; He provided for those closest to Him.  ALL were now satisfied and provision was now made–not by anything that the disciples had done, but through the work and person of Jesus.

    My question to you this morning is this: when you look at the world and everything that is in it; when you see the need of people who are hungry, who are homeless, who need clean drinking water, who live in poverty, who experience oppression and racism and sexism; when you see a church declining and hurting, who do you trust to bring healing and satisfaction?  Who do you trust to bring fullness and healing?

    Be careful here, because I am not suggesting that we simply put all the responsibility with Jesus.  No.  His command to the disciples is His command to us: you take care of it. You feed the hungry.  You provide clean drinking water.  You clothe the naked.  You heal society’s wounds of racism, sexism, and the like.  This is His command to you and me.  We are not off the hook.  We are on it and cannot get off, but here is the deal.  Do you arrogantly think that you can fix the problem?   Do you look at things and say, “We can do it!”?  Or do you admit, “We can’t do it.  It is beyond us and our capability.  It is beyond the scope of any person or human entity.”

    It has become the unfortunate tendency that we look only to ourselves to fix the world’s problems.  It has become the unfortunate tendency of the church to believe everything hinges upon what we do.  Now, why would I say this?  Because of the truth of the human condition.  We do not have a hunger problem.  Let me say that again.  We do not have a hunger problem.  We have a distribution problem.  We produce more than enough food for everyone in the world to have something to eat, but it doesn’t get to those in need.  Why?  Because some believe they need more than others.  We don’t have a homeless problem.  There are so many deserted houses and buildings that we could house every person without trouble, but we fail to send the resources that direction and make provision.  We don’t have a poverty problem.  There are ample resources in this world to give everyone a sustainable life, but we tend hoard our wealth and fail to share.  These are not problems that can be completely solved by law.   These are not problems that can be solved by people lobbying the government to change the way things are handled because governments are easily corrupted by that same power and wealth.

    What must change is the heart.  What must change is the selfish nature of humanity.  What must change is the understanding that our hearts are never satisfied with wealth, status, privilege, possessions, or any earthly thing.   What must change is our own sinful nature.  And God’s command to us; Jesus command to us is “Change it!!” 

    Now, are we so arrogant to think that we can?  Are we so arrogant to think that we can change our very nature to make ourselves do the right thing?  Are we so arrogant to think that it is within our power and capability to change our own hearts?  I say arrogant because history has shown that we are sorely incapable of achieving this.  No matter how hard we work to be good, oftentimes we look with contempt upon others who do not do as good as us.  Our hearts may be compassionate toward those in need, but they are hardened and contemptuous of those we think should be doing more.  We still are selfish.  No matter how hard we try, our selfish; self-centered; self-righteous nature will rear itself.  What can break us out of it?

    Not what.  Who.  Jesus.  For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that all those who believe in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God sent the Son into the world not to condemn the world, but that the world may be saved through Him.

    You see, when Jesus looked at that crowd, He had compassion on them.  When Jesus looks at us in our selfishness, He has compassion on us.  He knows the hardness of our hearts, and He knows that breaking that hardness cannot be done by command.  Only love can break such a hard heart.  And so, He allowed His body to be broken as He paid the price of our Sin.  He became the bread of life which was broken and given out to each and every one of us despite our sinfulness. 

    And He says to us, stop trying to change yourself.  Stop trying to overcome your selfishness.  Trust in my work.  Trust in what I have accomplished on your behalf by dying for you.  Place your hope in me, and you will see something marvelous happen.  You will find yourself being satisfied.  You will find yourself being full.  To the extent you put your trust in me, your selfish nature will be overthrown, and you will find that you have in abundance. 

    It is my firm belief that if we admit our inability to accomplish such change on our own–whether in our personal lives; our church life; or in society–if we accept our failure and turn to Jesus, then and only then will the world’s hunger be satisfied, and our baskets will be full as well.  Amen.

Limiting Jesus

    I would like to take a few minutes as I begin this morning to do a couple of flashbacks.  Most of you, I hope know what a flashback is.  It’s a technique used by movie directors and authors to take you back in time to help you understand what is going on in their movie or novel.  Sometimes, in the midst of a particular story, these things can be annoying, but more often than not, they are extremely enlightening.  It is my hope that the next few flashbacks are more enlightening than annoying.

    The first flashback actually is found two chapters prior to the lesson we have before us in the sixth chapter of the book of Mark.  Jesus has finished a long day of teaching and preaching, and He tells His disciples that He wants to cross the lake.  A huge storm descends upon the group of boats as they cross.  Jesus is asleep, and His followers panic.  They wake Him up, and Jesus calms the wind and the water.  It was truly a mighty act of power, and Jesus chides His followers by saying, “Why do you have such little faith?”  I want you to note that Jesus doesn’t say, “Why don’t you have any faith?”  The disciples have faith, but only a little bit.

    Let’s move to the next chapter.  Jesus and His followers have crossed over the lake, and they are confronted by a man who is possessed by a demon.  This is no ordinary demon, but one named Legion.  The picture Mark paints about this demon is that it is particularly nasty and horrible.  Yet, Jesus has the power to cast it out, and it scares everyone in the countryside.  They are terrified because they witnessed an act that only God could achieve.  It was a massive deed of power.

    Then, because of the people’s fear, Jesus and the disciples cross back across the Sea of Galilee.  When they arrive, there is a large crowd awaiting them.  In that crowd, Mark makes particular mention of two people a man named Jairus whose daughter was dying and a woman who had been suffering from bleeding for 12 years.  Now, the woman had endured all sorts of treatments from the doctors; she had spent everything that she had; and nothing had worked.  But, she believed that if she simply touched the tassels hanging from Jesus’ clothes, she would be made well.  She touches Jesus’ tassels, and she indeed is healed.  Jesus tells her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well.” 

    Jesus and His disciples continue to Jairus’ house, but those inside inform the group that Jairus’ daughter is dead.  There is no more need to bother Jesus.  However, Jesus has none of it.  Once again, we see a link between faith and healing as Jesus says, “Do not fear, only believe.”  Jesus enters the little girl’s room and brings her back to life.  It is a huge deed of power. 

    In each of these cases, Jesus performs tremendous deeds of power, and there is a link to faith.  Now, remember, I have said previous, and I say again, that faith is very much the equivalent of trust.  In each of these episodes, a tremendous amount of trust is placed in Jesus.  The disciples know they cannot save themselves, and they turn to Jesus.  No one has been able to help the demoniac, and he certainly cannot save himself–Jesus cures him.  The woman who was bleeding cannot cure herself, and the doctors have been no help.  She trusts in Jesus.  Finally, Jarius cannot help his daughter, and she dies.  No one can rectify that.  Yet, Jesus says, “Do not fear, believe–trust.”  And Jairus’ daughter is restored to life.  There is an implicit link between trusting Jesus and great deeds of power.

    Then, Jesus goes home.  Our flashback is complete as we arrive at the text printed before us today, and a stark contrast is painted.  Jesus enters the synagogue on the Sabbath day.  It was customary in a synagogue to allow a visiting rabbi to take the floor and offer his words of wisdom, and the people of Nazareth give this custom to Jesus.  After all, they have heard the rumors going around about Jesus’ teaching and preaching.  They have heard about His deeds of power.  They are curious.

    Now, Mark does not record for us exactly what Jesus said in the synagogue, but I think we can pretty much assume it had something to do with Mark 1:14-15.  Let me read for you that snippet quickly, “Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”

    This proclamation is Messianic in nature–meaning, Jesus was proclaiming that God was establishing His kingdom now.  The promises of the Old Testament were being fulfilled now.  Jesus encouraged everyone to change their entire being and orientate their lives toward this good news. 

    The obvious question many would have is this: how do we know the kingdom of God is at hand?  How can we trust your message?  How can we come to believe this when all we see are Roman soldiers maintaining rule and fellow Jews who support them with collecting taxes and keeping us oppressed?

    Jesus began to show them as He unleashed a flurry of healing and demonstrations of God’s power.  Among them were the ones I just listed in the previous chapters.  Indeed God was doing something new.  Indeed Jesus was the one through whom this was happening, but it had little effect upon those in Jesus’ hometown.

    When everyone in the synagogue heard what Jesus announced, they were amazed.  Some might see this as a positive reaction, but I do not.  It doesn’t seem to fit the context.  I tend to see the amazement in this fashion: can you believe this guy is saying this?  They are amazed because they don’t believe Jesus could or should be bringing this message?  Why?  Well, they see Jesus in a very different light.

    How so?  Well, let’s start with a few demographics.  Nazareth is a town built upon 60 acres of rocky outcropping.  The town is only 60 acres in extent.  Archaeologists estimate that at the max–at the max–mind you, it had 500 residents.  What does that mean?  It means everyone knew everyone.  Everyone knew everyone’s business.  Everyone was familiar with all that was happening.  There was no such thing as anonymity.   Which means, the townsfolk knew Jesus.  They had watched Him grow up.  They knew His family, and that leads us right up to the series of questions they asked about Him.

    “Where did this man get all of this?  What is this wisdom that has been given to him?”  Meaning, they had seen Jesus grow up.  They knew Jesus didn’t study under any famous rabbi or otherwise.  They wondered if Jesus was making all this stuff up.

    “What deeds of power are being done by His hands?”  Meaning, is he doing all of this through the power of God or through the power of demons?

    “Is not this the carpenter?”  Meaning, his qualifications are to work wood and stone not preach.  Yes, this is an insult to Jesus.

    So is the question, “Is this not the Son of Mary?” In that day, it was customary to refer to a person as the son of their father, hardly ever the mother.  It’s truly insulting and could even be calling Jesus an illegitimate child. 

    “And aren’t his brothers and sisters here?”  Meaning, we know the family, and the family has told us about Jesus.

    And they took offense at Jesus.  He was too familiar to them.  They could only see Jesus in a particular fashion.  They could not see Him as a prophet.  They could not see Him as the Son of God.  They could not see Him as God incarnate.  Jesus had no right to tell them how to live their lives or what to believe.

    Jesus responds with an adage, “Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house.”  And He could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them.  And he was amazed at their unbelief.

    Now, some wonder why Jesus wasn’t able to do any deeds of power.  Some believe Jesus’ power was somehow limited by the people’s unbelief.  I don’t think that’s the case.  Not in the least.  Jesus could have done a deed of power.  Jesus could have done something massive.  I mean, it’s not like curing a disease is a minor detail–Jesus was able to do that, but He wasn’t able to calm a storm; cast out a demon; cure a disease that had been ongoing for 12 years or raise someone who had died.  Why? 

    Because the people didn’t trust Him to do such a thing.  They didn’t believe He had the authority or right to do so, so they didn’t bring anyone to Jesus who suffered from such maladies.  They didn’t trust Him to take care of such business, and they were quite content to trust in themselves; in their doctors; in their leaders.  Jesus was someone they knew: a carpenter; a Son of Mary who might be illegitimate; the brother of folks they knew.  He was not one to trust with Godly matters.  He was not one to trust with healing or the casting out of demons or the raising of the dead.  We know you too well to trust you, Jesus.  Hence only a few were brought to Jesus.  Only a few were healed, and Jesus marveled at their distrust.

    Would there be anything that would change the people of Nazareth?  Would there be anything that would break their hearts of stone?  Would there be anything that could bring about them doing a complete 180 in their belief and thought?  Would there be anything that could happen to bring them to trust in Jesus?  Is there anything that can bring about our trust?

    Oh, you knew I would get to us sooner or later.  I mean, it would be one thing for me to stand up here and point the finger at all those people there at Nazareth and say that they just didn’t get it.  It would be one thing for me to say that they needed to see what was right before their eyes.  It would be one thing for me to say that they had a problem and needed to get over it.  It would also be one thing for me to point around our culture and society and say the same thing.  It would be something for me to say that atheists and “spiritual but not religious” and agnostics have the problem of not being able to recognize Jesus of not trusting Jesus, but then I would be limiting a very severe problem we all face.  Because it is my contention that generally we all have a problem with trusting Jesus. 

    You see, I don’t think we are at all particularly fond of the Jesus we find in Scriptures.  We aren’t particularly fond of what He tells us about how we should live our lives.  We aren’t particularly fond that He tells us that we should give all our possessions away.  We aren’t particularly fond that He tells us that we should not get divorced.  We aren’t particularly fond that He tells us to give to everyone who begs.  We aren’t particularly fond that He tells us to trust Him above our money, our skin color, our gender, our job, and our very identity. 

    And so we limit Him.  We turn Him into a political revolutionary who undermines our systems of governance–which He is, but He is much more than that.  We limit Him to a wise sage who gave us great instructions on how to live–which He is, but He is much more than that.  We limit Him to a historical figure who introduced some new ethics particularly in how to recognize our humanity in even our enemy–which He is, but He is much more than that.  We limit Him to an extension of ourselves using some of His teaching to bolster our own particular points of view and explaining away or completely ignoring His other teachings. 

    Why do we do such a thing?  Because if Jesus is who He says He is, then we have to give up everything and follow Him.  If Jesus is who He says He is and has done what the biblical writers say He has done, then we have no choice but to bring our entire lives under His authority.  We have to bring our wallets as well as our sexuality under Him.  We have to trust Him in our work; in our play; and we must fall on our knees in worship and adoration. 

    Why?  Because He died for us when we were still sinners.  He loved us when we were His enemies.  He endured the wrath of God so that we didn’t have to when He was lifted up on the cross.

    For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that all those who believe in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God sent the Son into the world not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.

    When you realize that Jesus did this for you by sheer grace, there is no limiting Him.  When you realize Jesus laid down His life so that you may be justified before God, you cannot define Him in the way you want to see Him.  He becomes the Lord of your life.  He becomes more than just a carpenter.  He becomes more than just a political revolutionary or great moralist.  He becomes your Savior.  You put your trust in Him, and the deeds of power follow.  Amen.

A Family Intervention

    We all have that one relative.  You know the one I am talking about.  It’s generally the relative that you absolutely loved when you were a kid.  Maybe it was that crazy uncle or the cousin who was always doing risky stuff.  This relative always pushed the boundaries and brought some excitement into your life.  As a kid, you absolutely, positively loved it!  You couldn’t wait to see this particular relative, but as life moved on and you matured, you started viewing things a bit differently.  As you matured, you found out that your relative didn’t.  While you stopped acting like a child, your relative never did.  The risks actually became greater.  The behavior became more self destructive.  You wondered why you ever thought your kin was so cool.

    Sometimes, such family members begin to have very destructive behavior.  Sometimes they begin to drink heavily or delve into drugs.  Sometimes they become abusive.  Sometimes they begin gambling or neglecting themselves or the rest of their family.  In such cases, family members get together and work to change their loved one’s behavior.  We have such a word for this process.  It’s called an intervention.  These can be very important times in a family’s life.  They can bring healing and wholeness and restoration–not only for the one committing the destructive behavior, but for the entire family as a unit.  Interventions are sometimes very, very necessary.

    Jesus’ family thought so too.  Jesus’ family believed they needed to intervene in His life as well.  We have a very interesting bibilical snippet before us this morning from the book of Mark.  It’s actually two stories sandwiched together by the writer Mark.  Now, I personally believe Mark is a tremendous writer and storyteller.  I believe there is very much a purpose behind much of Mark’s writing.  Details are important to Mark as he conveys to us the story of Jesus’ life and teaching.  There is a reason Mark puts these two stories together.  He is trying to tell us something very important.

    As I said before, the story begins with Jesus’ family deciding they need to perform an intervention.  The translation from the Greek we have before us is a little muddied.  The English in the NRSV is not exactly what is portrayed in the Greek.  It should read, “21When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for they were saying, ‘He has gone out of his mind.”  The Greek does not add any extra “people.”  Jesus’ family believes He has gone out of His mind.

    This presents a bit of a conundrum as we take a look at the rest of the Gospel stories.  I mean, included in Jesus’ family, we find just a few verses later, is Jesus’ very own mother.  Mary is included in those who are coming to arrest–that’s literally what it says later–Jesus.  This is the Mother of our Lord who had the angel announce to her that she would give birth to the Savior.  This is Mary who heard the witness of the wise men and pondered these things in her heart.  This is Mary who had stood up at the wedding at Canaan and pronounced, “Do whatever He tells you to do.”  If Mary knew her child was the Son of God; if she knew He was the Messiah; then why did she allow the rest of the family to proclaim Jesus crazy?  Why did she go with them to arrest Him and participate in the intervention?

    As I thought about it, I wondered if Mary didn’t quite understand exactly how her son would fulfill His Messianic duties.  I wonder if the rest of the family had the wrong idea about what Jesus was supposed to be doing as the promised Messiah–I mean you don’t really think Mary would have kept that a secret from the rest of them, do you?  Before I get too convoluted with the questioning, let me explain.

    You see, Jesus was going around the region proclaiming, “The Kingdom of God is at hand.  Repent and believe in the good news.”  Jesus had also been proclaimed the Son of God at His baptism, and as Jesus went about the region casting out demons, the demons would shout out, “You are the Holy One of God!”  Even though Jesus commanded them to be silent, word was spreading.  Jesus was also coming into conflict with the religious authorities.  He was forgiving people of their sins even though they had not offered the appropriate sacrifices.  He was healing on the Sabbath.  Such behavior was a recipe for disaster.  How so?

    Well, if Jesus was going around saying, “The Kingdom of God is at hand,” He was directly undercutting the ruling, Roman authorities.  The Romans had instituted the Kingdom of Caesar.  Proclaiming the Kingdom of God was seen as sedition.  It carried the death sentence.  By casting out demons; healing the sick; making the lame to walk; and proclaiming a forgiveness of sins while undercutting some of the laws of the Old Testament, Jesus placed himself squarely in opposition to the religious authorities.  They would not have been pleased with one undercutting thousands of years of tradition.  They would not have been happy with one who was teaching things which were borderline blasphemy.  If they believed Jesus was leading the people astray, they could try Him and convict Him of blasphemy and ask that the Romans put Him to death.  Do you find it interesting that this is exactly what happened to Jesus later?

    His family could see this.  They could see the end.  They could see Jesus’ self-destructive behavior.  They could see where this path was leading.  They knew that He knew this as well.  “He must be crazy!” they thought.  “This is not how the Messiah is supposed to act.  We’ve got to put a stop to this.  It’s time for an intervention.”

    And now we have a break from this story as Mark inserts a related anecdote.  The scribes send a delegation from Jerusalem to deal with Jesus.  Remember what I said earlier about Jesus’ teaching and healing.  The scribes are not happy with Jesus, and they want to discredit Him.  They begin to tell the people, “He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of demons, Jesus casts out demons.”  They are obviously trying to paint Jesus as evil–as outside the bounds of the Law and the Prophets.  They are saying Jesus is not from God and anyone who associates with Jesus is buying into such deceit.

    Jesus points out the flaw in their logic.  “How can Satan cast out Satan?”  In other words, “We can all agree that getting rid of a demon and freeing a person is a good thing.  No one would argue that.  Why would evil seek to do good?  If evil seeks to do good, then it is divided and its kingdom will fall.  If Satan is casting out Satan, then he is ushering in his own demise.  Do you really think Satan would do that?”  The answer is obviously no.  Not a chance.  Satan would do no such thing.  But Jesus isn’t finished.  He makes one more pronouncement, “Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter; 29but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin’— 30for they had said, ‘He has an unclean spirit.’” 

    This passage gives some folks difficulty.  It’s not surprising.  What is such an eternal sin?  Have I committed an unforgivable sin?  Several commentaries noted, “If you are asking whether or not you have committed this sin, then you haven’t.”  That’s a bit comforting, but it still leaves us asking, “What is it?  What is this unforgivable sin against the Holy Spirit?” 

    I think Mark closes things out and brings us full circle by bring us back to Jesus’ family and their attempts at intervention.  I think Mark gives us an answer to that question.  Let us turn there now.

    As I said earlier, Jesus’ family, including His mother, show up to arrest Him.  They didn’t just show up to restrain Him.  They want to arrest Him; seize Him; stop Him from this insanity.  They can’t get into the house because of the crowd, so word spreads through the crowd that Jesus’ family has arrived.  Jesus hears, and He makes a startling pronouncement:

    33And he replied, ‘Who are my mother and my brothers?’ 34And looking at those who sat around him, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers! 35Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.’

    Now, if you aren’t shocked by that statement, then you really don’t understand the ancient world.  For family was everything in that world.  From your family, you received your identity.  You received your value.  You received your worth.  Think about that for a moment as you hear Jesus say, “Who are my mother and my brothers?”  Essentially, Jesus is denying His origin!  He is denying where everyone would find the source of their identity; their value; and their worth.  No one in His right mind would do such a thing!!  At least in that time and place.

    But then, Jesus does something more.  Looking at those around Him–most commentaries suggest that Jesus looks at His disciples–Jesus says, “Here are my mother and my brothers!  Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”

    Let’s think about this for just a moment.  Jesus points to those sitting around Him–they may be the disciples.  They maybe the entire crowd in the house.  It doesn’t really matter in my estimation.  The question that I want to ask is, “What are they doing?”  Jesus says they are doing the will of God, so what are they doing?  What activity are they participating in?  Are they living perfect and upright lives?  Are they staying free from any and all sexual sins?  Are they doing justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly with God?  Are they loving God and loving neighbor?  Are they offering sacrifices for sin and atoning for their wrongdoings?  Are they feeding the hungry; giving drink to the thirsty; visiting the sick and imprisoned; and trying to transform the world into the Kingdom of God.  No.  They are doing no such things.

    What are they doing?  They are turning to Jesus for healing.  They are turning to Jesus for identity.  They are turning to Jesus to understand God.  They are placing their trust in Him and following Him.  They have made Jesus the most important thing in their lives.  Jesus’ family was placing a higher value upon the status of the family and their own expectations of what Jesus should be.  The scribes were putting a higher value upon Jewish law and upholding their status as religious leaders.  Neither were letting Jesus be who He was intended to be: The Lord and Savior of the world.

    Which leads us to the sin against the Holy Spirit.  What is that sin?  It is the Holy Spirit which brings us to the knowledge that Jesus is no lunatic or liar.  It is the Holy Spirit which calls us through the Gospel to see Jesus as the Savior and Redeemer of the world.  It is the Holy Spirit which leads us to place our trust in Him above any and every other thing.  To sin against the Holy Spirit is nothing less than to place our trust in something other than Jesus–to desire something else more than Jesus–to trust in our own selves and our own actions or in the actions and promises of something other than Jesus.  And why should you put your trust solely in Him?

    No other God is willing to die for you.  “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that all those who believe in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God sent the Son into the world not to condemn the world but that the world might be saved through Him.”

    C.S. Lewis once said the following, “A man who said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God.”  Jesus’ family thought He was a lunatic.  The scribes thought Him a liar.  The crowd and the disciples saw Him as Lord.  What about you?  Amen.

An Invitation to Dance

    I remember when I was a teenager.  Just about every weekend, we went dancing.  A group of friends and I followed a band named “Country Breeze,” and we would travel back and forth between Fiesta Marina on the shores of lake Corpus Christi and the Orange Grove Rifle Club.  It was always nice to have those friends along because I knew I’d have dance partners throughout the night.  I never went to dances alone.  I wanted to make sure I knew someone who would be there.  Why?  Well, you may not believe this, but deep down inside, I am quite insecure.  I have a deep seated fear of rejection, and when you go to a dance alone, you are forced to ask complete strangers if they’d like to dance.  And you never know how they will respond.

    Every once in a while, I would screw my courage up just enough to go ask a girl who I did not know to dance.  Most of the time, the answer was in the affirmative, but there were those other times.  There were those times when the answer was a firm and definite no, and even though the no was not emotionally devastating, it caused a series of questions to rumble through my heart.  “Why didn’t she want to dance with me?  Is it because of the way I look?  Do I have a booger hanging out of my nose?  Does she think I am a poor dancer?  Is it because of the way I dress?  What am I doing wrong or what did I do wrong?”  I don’t like it when these questions rumble through my heart and my head.  I don’t like it at all.

    I’m going to break from this train of thought for just a moment and recall another memory from those dances I went to.  I can remember a few times when I would sit out a dance or so and just watch the other couples dance around the floor.  There were a few couples who I would stand in awe of.  If you have been dancing, you know the types of couples I am talking about.  These are the couples who seem to be inside each others’ heads.  They move with an incredible amount of grace and precision.  They know exactly what moves they are going to make.   They anticipate one another’s footsteps.  They spin and twirl effortlessly because they know each other so well.  Watching them brought several things to the surface.  There was awe and wonder at the beauty of the dance.  You couldn’t help but appreciate such an effort.  Yet, there was a jealousy and a sense of inadequacy which rose to the surface as well.  I wanted to be able to dance like that, and I was all too aware of my inability to move in such a fashion. 

    Why all this talk about dancing?

    I would like you to imagine today looking at the fullness of God.  I want you to imagine the Holy Trinity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.  I want you to imagine the Godhead as a divine dance.  The three in one; one in three dancing in an endless circle of joy.  As you watch, you know, beyond a doubt you have never seen anything like this before.  The three move so well as one that they could never be separated, and you cannot simply focus on one without compromising the beauty of the three.  You cannot grasp the beauty of the scene.  You cannot grasp the stunning way the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit work and move with each other.  Everything they do is seamless.  Perfect.  There are no flaws.  There are no missed steps.  Their timing is beautiful and wonderful.  And it should be.  They invented the dance.  From eternity, they have been dancing.

    Yes, you are awed by the beauty of the dance, but there is something else that wells up within you.  For as you watch, you would like to dance like that as well.  You would like to experience the same kind of joy you see before you.  You would like to experience the same kind of perfection.  You would like to become a part of that dance because it seems like nothing could ever be the same once you experienced it.

    But you are all too aware of your flaws.  You look down at your feet and know they will stumble.  You look down at your feet and know they could never keep up.  You know that it would be an impossibility to even come close to matching what you see happening before you.  It would ruin the beauty.  It would ruin the perfection.  Your own flaws and imperfections come rising to the surface.  In some ways, you even feel like you shouldn’t be watching the divine dance.  It’s simply too marvelous for imperfect eyes.

    And yet, today, Jesus prays a prayer.  Jesus in conversation with His heavenly Father, one of the partners of the divine dance, says, “20 ‘I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, 21that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, 23I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”

    Jesus prays that we might be a part of the divine dance.  Ponder that for just a moment.  Jesus invites you and me to come into the divine dance of God.  Jesus wants us to know that kind of joy; that kind of completeness; that kind of perfection.  Jesus wants us to experience what it is like to have wholeness and contentedness and well-being.  Jesus wants us to know what it is like to be in the midst of the divine love and glory that the Father, Son, and Spirit share with one another.

    And we know we don’t belong there.  We know we shouldn’t even get the chance to dance like that.  We know our steps are feeble.  We know they are off.  We know that when the divine music starts playing, we are more than a few beats off.  We know we misstep time and time again. Our hearts are not tuned to the music.  Deep down inside each and every one of us is the sense that we don’t measure up.  Deep down within each and every one of us is the sense that we are inadequate.  Deep down within each and every one of us is the sense that even though we have been told time and again that we are okay just the way we are–we are not.  We’re not.

    Oh, I know there are those voices in society which tell us we are fine just the way we are.  They tell us repeatedly that we don’t need to change anything about ourselves and we are worthy of love and affection just the way we are.  But, remember, the same voices that are telling you that you are okay just the way you are, are telling that person over there who has hurt you by his or her actions; who has gossiped about you; who has cheated you; who has lied to you–those voices are telling him or her she is okay just the way he or she is too.  Those voices are liars.  They are telling each and every one of us what we want to hear.  They are telling us lies so that we will feel good about ourselves and become content with who we are.  It is always everyone else who has the problem.  It is always everyone else who can’t dance right.  And when this starts weaseling into your heart, it turns you into a self-righteous, indignant sort.  You look with contempt upon everyone else, and you do not love.  You do not have complete joy.  We must understand we are imperfect.  We must understand our brokenness.  It’s a requirement to know them before we can begin the dance.  For if we try to get into the dance ourselves, our imperfections will prevent us.  Our hearts aren’t in the right place.  Our own work to get into the dance will be rejected, but it is the Son who gives us the invitation through His work.

    For the invitation to the dance comes through the cross.  The invitation to join the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit comes through the blood of the Son as He lives the life we should live; dies the death we deserve; and is raised to eternal life.  The invitation is the Gospel:

    For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that all those who believe in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God sent the Son into the world not to condemn the world but that the world may be saved through Him. 

    I usually try to explain such things in my sermons.  I usually try to show how this all comes together, but today, I would like to do things a little differently.  I would like to take a moment to simply ask you to believe the Savior has given you an invitation to the dance.  I would like to ask you to believe and trust in His work.  And then I would like to ask you to enter into the dance by praying John chapter 17 as you have it before you in the bulletin insert:

    ‘Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, 2since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3And this is eternal life, that we may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 4Jesus glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave Him to do. 5So now, Father, glorify Him in your own presence with the glory that Jesus had in your presence before the world existed.

    6 ‘Jesus has made your name known to those whom you gave him from the world. We were yours, and you gave us to Him, and we have kept your word. 7Now we know that everything you have given Him is from you; 8for the words that you gave to Him, Jesus has given to us, and we have received You and Jesus and know in truth that Jesus came from you; and we have believed that you sent Him. 9Jesus is asking on our behalf; Jesus is not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave Him, because we are yours. 10All that are His are yours, and yours are His; and Jesus has been glorified in us. 11And now Jesus is no longer in the world, but we are in the world, and Jesus is coming to you. Holy Father, protect us in your name that you have given Jesus, so that we may be one, as You and He are one. 12While Jesus was with us, He protected us in your name that you have given Him. Jesus guarded us, and not one of us was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled. 13But now Jesus is coming to you, and He speaks these things in the world so that we may have His joy made complete in us. 14Jesus has given us your word, and the world has hated us because we do not belong to the world, just as Jesus does not belong to the world. 15Jesus is not asking you to take us out of the world, but Jesus asks you to protect us from the evil one. 16We do not belong to the world, just as Jesus does not belong to the world. 17Sanctify us in the truth; your word is truth. 18As you have sent Jesus into the world, so Jesus has sent us into the world. 19And for our sakes Jesus sanctified Himself, so that we also may be sanctified in truth.

    20 ‘Jesus asks not only on behalf of us, but also on behalf of those who will believe in Him through our word, 21that we may all be one. As you, Father, are in Jesus and Jesus is in you, may we also be in You and Jesus, so that the world may believe that you have sent Him. 22The glory that you have given Jesus He has given us, so that we may be one, as the Father and the Son are one, 23Jesus in us and the Father in Jesus, that we may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent Jesus and have loved us even as you have loved Jesus. 24Father, Jesus desires that we also, whom you have given Him, may be with Him where He is, to see His glory, which you have given Him because you loved Him before the foundation of the world.  25 ‘Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but Jesus knows you; and we know that you have sent Him. 26He made your name known to us, and He will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved Him may be in us, and Jesus in us.’  Thank you Father, for the invitation to dance.  Amen.