Miracles on the Sabbath

~~~ Colossians 1:24–2:3 ~~~ Psalm 62 ~~~ Luke 6:6-11 ~~~

 

The Lord of the Sabbath cures the crippled hand of a man.

He does this within the temple right before the glaring eyes of the elders.

 

“I ask you, is it lawful to do good on the sabbath
rather than to do evil,
to save life rather than to destroy it?”

 

Basically the scribes and the Pharisees did not want Jesus to be seen

as more desirable than they were.

They did not want any competition on their 'holy' ground.

They were the important men of the temple, not this non conformist.

They felt Jesus had come just to stir up trouble for them.

He was undermining their positions of authority.

 

 

Jesus made known the power and the glory of God the Father

with each miracle he performed.

God was manifesting his glory through Jesus.

 

 ...God chose to make known the riches of the glory...

 

The scribes and Pharisees wanted the honor and glory for themselves.

They had established themselves as having the final word

concerning the temple rules and laws.

Jesus demonstrated a message of hope; the scribes and Pharisees

had no clue what that meant.

 

...the knowledge of the mystery of God, Christ,
in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

The scribes and the Pharisees could not see

beyond their own understanding much less the mystery of God.

They were so consumed in finding fault

with Jesus that the hidden treasures remained hidden to them.

In their stubbornness they prevented

 themselves from what was being revealed before their eyes.

 

The person of Jesus was giving them a view of who God really was,

but most of them never opened their eyes long enough to see.

 

I know people today who have no hope because

they refuse to open their eyes.

They want to remain bitter and critical.

They want to blame God for all that is not going as they want it to go.

When you keep your heart locked up with anger and bitterness

the hope from the Lord waits outside.

 

May our blessings today come in the form of praying

for those who have no hope in their life.

May we be the tiny spark of hope they are longing for now.

Amidst Crashing Waves

~~~ 1 John 4:11-18 ~~~ Psalm 72 ~~~ Mark 6:45-52 ~~~

 

Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.

 

We have a God who breaks the rules of science

and defies the laws of nature.

His own rules and laws, I might add.

 

What other 'human' could keep a basket bread a fish

filled to the brim while continually giving from its contents?

 

What other 'human' would even attempt to believe

a liquid surface could support their weight?

 

Jesus did all of these and more.

He had to make an indelible impression.

He needed to get the attention of those who came to him.

He had to render them breathless.

And this he did many times during his public ministry.

 

It is because of these actions and words that we still believe today;

that we still cherish these accounts and hold them dear to our hearts.

It is the very essence of these stories that restores our faith

in stormy times.

These stories keep us believing in trust and hope.

Trusting that our God is watching over us from the mountain top;

and that he will come down to save us.

Hoping that our God will come to us especially

when the waters are churning all around us.

 

Today Jesus has us to carry on his phenomenal feats through

our faith...it is our faith that keeps his actions alive today.

It is in our hour of darkness when we grasp hold of these

beautiful stories...it causes us to have courage.

 

“Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid!”

 

 

Jesus will come to us even in our times of doubt.

The frightened disciples needed the reassurance of his voice

before they were able to trust.

 

Lord, intimes of doubt give us the grace to trust that you are with us.

Compassionate God

~~~ Isaiah 25:6-10a ~~~ Psalm 23 ~~~ Matthew 15:29-37 ~~~

 

The Lord is my shepherd...psalm 23

one of the most well known

and often quoted scripture verses.

Not because we know much about sheep and shepherds,

but because we find comfort in trusting that God will take care of us.

None of have had the experience of tending for a herd of sheep, but

we believe that the shepherd only wants what is good for his sheep.

It is an analogy that gives us comfort when we consider

our relationship with God.

A shepherd watches over his flock night and day.

He does not allow the dangers of darkness access to his sheep.

When we contemplate God as our shepherd we somehow know

 that even in our darkness he is there watching over us.

 

God will provide for all of our needs.

We must keep admit that our 'needs' may not always be what we think.

We have the human tendency to be selfish.

Often our 'needs' are nothing more than 'wants'.

 

 

~~ Compassionate God ~~

 

Great crowds followed Jesus.

They were attracted to him for many reasons;

one being his compassion for others.

You cannot be selfish and compassionate at the same time.

 

The last few weeks I have been listening to a series on compassion and our brain.

It was produced by Sounds True titled The Compassionate Brain.

I invite you to check it out on their site.

 

The latest research confirms the positive effect compassion has on our brain.

When we step away from ourselves and think of others

we are actually improving our mental and spiritual welbeing.

 

Jesus exhibits his compassion through most of his miracles and

interactions with those around them.

"...Great crowds came to him,
having with them the lame, the blind, the deformed, the mute,
and many others.
They placed them at his feet, and he cured them."

 

Up on the mountain the sick and the lame were carried to him for healing.

He could have just extended his compassion in healing to those before him,

but he went a step farther.

 

Jeus was also concerned about all of the people present...

even those who dod not come to be healed.

Jesus was sensitive to their real physical hunger.

 

Jesus summoned his disciples and said,
"My heart is moved with pity for the crowd,
for they have been with me now for three days
and have nothing to eat.
I do not want to send them away hungry,
for fear they may collapse on the way."

 

 

Climbing up the hill in the heat to see and hear Jesus

was exhausing, especially if you are now also very hungry.

 

Coming to Jesus may require sacrifice, but not starvation.

Jesus healed the lame and he nourished all those present.

 

Today food trucks would have swarmed to the area

hoping to sell a few thousand tacos.

Hoping to make their monthly quota in a couple hours.

 

There were no such luxuries during the time of Jesus.

He took it upon himself to provide for the needs of the crowd

because of his compassion for others.

 

Then he took the seven loaves and the fish,
gave thanks, broke the loaves,
and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds.
They all ate and were satisfied.
They picked up the fragments left over--seven baskets full.

 

Jesus used what was gathered from the people...

through his blessing the meager amount of food

was more than enough to feed the large crowd.

 

Jesus took the time to be mindful of his surroundings.

He was aware of more then just those who had come for healing.

We miss the fact that God is always aware of our needs.

He is the Good Shepherd who cares for his flock day and night.

He is the Good Sheperd who protects his little sheep

from the attack of the wolf.

 

I invite you to find ways during the Advent time to reach out

to those around you who are less fortunate.

Now is the time to put aside selfishness.

Now is the time to put compassion into practice.

You may even need to begin with compassion for yourself...

this is not being selfish, by the way.

All that Jesus gave he already had within...

given to him from the Father.

We have a Compassionate God

who loves us.

Do You Have a Heart of Stone?

~~~ James 1: 12-18 ~~~~  Mark 8: 14- 21 ~~~

"Do you not yet understand or comprehend?" I can hear the frustration in the voice of Jesus. The disciples are still missing the point of his words. "Do you have eyes and not see, ears and not hear?" We are in chapter eight and Jesus has been performing miracles. Everywhere he went people were crowding around him so he is loosing patience with his disciples lack of understanding.

James sums it up in the very first chapter "...all good giving and perfect gift is from above..."

In other words everything good comes first through the goodness of our hearts. If we persevere in temptation we will receive the"crown of life"

It seems the disciples were also forgetful. They had forgotten to bring the bread. I guess they were so excited to be on the go with Jesus they were not thinking clearly. Actually they just have a misunderstanding with Jesus. He tells them to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Herod; the rules and the rulers. The disciples are thinking only on the literal level thus being out in left field, which causes Jesus to start his litany of questions. He does not even give them a chance to answer, which does happen when you are trying to communicate with someone who just does not get it. At this point Jesus is about to throw up his hands and walk away, but instead he reminds them of his earlier miracle of the seven loaves. It is as if Jesus is trying to communicate with a group of young children, but they are not children they have been with him days if not weeks now.

The disciples are only able to answer simple questions like how many baskets of fragments they collected after the second multiplication miracle feeding the four thousand. Here we begin to really notice that even the disciples were not quite sure Jesus was the messiah. They too were sort of anticipating an earthly king to make all things better. They were expecting more than a soup kitchen for the hungry. Perhaps they had something a little grander in mind for serving their king than collecting leftover scraps. You probably have seen the mess left behind after a large crowd has been 'picnicing' together in the same space. There is a pile of trash and garbage...not what they signed up for... So basically everyone was confused except Jesus. He knew he was sent to serve those in need.

Jesus cuts with the harshest  question of all, "Are your hearts hardened?" Which is a very good uestion for us to end with as Lent quickly approaches. Jesus is asking us the same question today, "Are your hearts hardened?" What does it mean for you today? What is keeping you from having the heart God needs? What causes the heart to harden? Is it like clay once exposed to the air?

Psalm 94

When I say, "My foot is slipping," your mercy, O Lord, sustains me.

When cares abound within me, your comfort gladdens my soul.

This original picture is of a red glass heart cradled in the hands of a person.
During life our hearts can become hard before we even realize what has happened.
God is always holding our heart even if it grows cold and turns to stone.
This kaliedoscope image I captured reminds me of the light that available to soften my heart. This light can dispel the root of hardness within my heart.

Happy Valentine's Day!
May your heart be filled with unending love.

  

Rejected at Home

2 Samuel 24: 2, 9-17

Mark 6: 1-6

Through the book of Samuel we continue to witness the life of David. We are privileged to see David with all of his short comings and sinfulness. We see in spite of his poor choices God does not withhold his mercy. David humbly accepts responsibility for his lack of wisdom. Again we see David begging the Lord to only punish him and not the innocent. It is because of David's fears that he orders the census of all males who can enter into battle on his behalf. Pride continues to dominate his life's decision. David is constantly being called to change his heart.

The gospel, however, presents a very different picture.

Mark brings into the scene where Jesus is returning to his home town. Surely by now the news has spread back to his tiny village of all the good he has been doing. But the people can only think of one thing; he was the son of a carpenter. Who does he think he is? They could not accept that anything good could come out of his native town, much less from the son of a carpenter.

Whenever I encounter feelings of rejection I remember this scene where Jesus too felt the sting of rejection. So often it happens that those within your own family cannot accept who you are. I think this is especially true if you have had some personal conversion or significant change of heart. You may even be made fun of or ridiculed for the positive changes you have made in your life.

Jesus was clearly surprised by this reception of rejection. It affected him so profoundly that he was only able to preform minor miracles of healing only a few. When your loved ones do not believe in you it can give rise to feelings self doubt.

Now I am not trying to imply that Jesus was suffering from self doubt, but he did not expect this response from those he had known his whole life. He was so shocked that he comments on their lack of faith...in Mark 6:6 "He was amazed at their lack of faith."

This is such a contrast from the examples of faith we saw in yesterday's readings with the hemorrhagic woman and Jairus. We can all be encouraged through their examples of faith. They cooperated in their heart with Jesus' healing power.

I think perhaps Jesus could not work as many miracles while among his childhood friends because of their lack of faith. In order for something positive to take place in your life you must first believe that it is possible. Our faith works hand and hand together with the power of Jesus. When we exercise our faith we complement what the Lord can accomplish. We are working together with him, not against him.

I am not trying to imply that Jesus will only heal those who believe, because after all he is God and God can do all things. God can use all things for good.

When you are feeling rejected by those who love you, remember this time period in the life of Jesus. Remember that in spite of the great things he had been doing he was still rejected at home. He was still rejected by those who had known him the longest. He was rejected by those who also knew his parents.

Jesus, because he was human, experienced the same feelings that you and I experience. "He was amazed at their lack of faith."

We tend to forget that whatever feelings we may experience; we can come to the Lord with those feelings because he knows our pain. He has, through his own personal experience, been in our place. Talk to the Lord about your heart aches and feelings of rejection. Believe that He will be there for you.

I chose this original picture with the word faith spelled out in large letters because these five letters have great meaning for my life.

I chose this kaleidoscope image because the solid blue circle reminds me that my faith supports me both inside my heart and outside through my actions.

Dear Lord, only you know where my faith needs to be increase. Help my unbelief!