EZEKIEL 2:1-5

THE BACKGROUND

Ezekiel got stuck with a lousy job.  Sure, he was God’s spokesperson to Israel.  But the timing was not the best.  He was a prophet at the time of the first deportation of Israelites to Babylon. In fact, he was one of those deported. His life would be a good candidate for an episode on that TV program about the dirtiest jobs.  But God drafted him into service, and serve he did. 

Chapter One of Ezekiel starts out with a bang.  Ezekiel is already in exile, when he sees visions of God.  The rest of the chapter is his description of what he saw.  Our reading begins with God speaking to Ezekiel.

THE DETAIL

• God calls Ezekiel “mortal”.  He tells him to stand up, because He’s got something to tell him.  Ezekiel must have been a little shaky, because a spirit helps him to his feet.  Wouldn’t you be?.  (vv. 1-2)
• God gives Ezekiel an assignment.  He’s sending him to the people of Israel.  God’s description of these people is not kind.  He uses words like “impudent” and “stubborn” to describe them. (vv. 3-4a)
• When a prophet speaks for God, he (or she) always started with the phrase “Thus says the Lord God…”  This is a verbal signal to the listener that the prophet is no longer speaking for himself, but is relaying a message directly from God.  (v. 4b)
• God tells Ezekiel that when he prophesies to Israel for God, they may or may not listen.  But at least they will have been told, and they will know that a prophet has been among them.  (v. 5)

THE TAKEAWAY

Ezekiel had a difficult task. Often, his prophesies fell on deaf ears. But that did not deter him.  He had a job to do.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

How often are we rebellious, stubborn and impudent; not willing to obey the Lord’s command.  For example, how well are we doing to love everyone, including our enemies?  How good are we doing at sharing our abundance?  Remember that Jesus said that if you have two coats, give one away.  (I have more than two coats in the closet, by the way.)  We regularly push back from God’s commands.  This is not good, is it?  We need to continually re-examine our lives and actions, to see how we measure up to God’s expectations.  By His grace we know that we are forgiven these sins, but it is also very important to work to do better.

2 CORINTHIANS 12:2-10

THE BACKGROUND

As we have seen, these past few weeks, Paul was being sharply criticized by many in the church in Corinth. Other preachers came in, were more eloquent in preaching, and even boasted about their superiority over Paul. We know that this bothered him greatly, because he keeps coming back to it in this letter.  Here, he zeroes in on the boasting of his adversaries, and compares that to what he boasts about.

THE DETAIL

• The opening verse reminds me of my childhood.  My mother would say “’SOMEBODY’ forgot to…” make their bed, pick up after themselves, etc. I always knew who that somebody was. Here, Paul talks about “somebody”. He’s obviously speaking about himself. It only takes a few verses to discover this.  In any case, this “somebody” was taken up into the third heaven*, and stood before God. Things were said, but they are not repeatable.(vv. 1-4)
• Paul says that he could brag about that, but that would be foolish.  It was a gift from God, and not to be shared with others. He subtly calls those other braggart preachers “fools” when he says this.  (vv. 5-7a)
• Plus, to keep from “getting the big head”, as Minnesotans might say, he was given some sort of affliction.  We’re not sure what this “thorn in the flesh” was.  Many have made guesses, but Paul never tells us.  But the point is that while he’d like to be elated about the privilege of seeing the throne of God, he was also humbled.  (v. 7b)
• In verses 8-9a, he begged for the thorn to be removed.  God’s answer is key.  He said:
  • “My grace is sufficient for you…”
  • …power is made perfect in weakness.”
• So, Paul decides to take the low road, and brag about his weakness.  Take that, you braggarts!  (vv. 9b-10)
   

THE TAKEAWAY

It is easy for us to be swept away by a grand worship production and a powerful preacher dressed in an expensive suit.  But what is it that we truly need, but good preaching, plain and simple.  The grace of God is all we need to hear about. About how he loved us so much that He sent His son to die for us.  There is power in this simple message.  It is our task to examine ourselves (2 Corinthians 13:5) and what we are being taught. Sure, it is what we would like to hear; but does it ring true to Jesus’ teachings?

* THIRD HEAVEN

In Hebrew, the word “heaven” was always plural (“heavens”).  There are various numbers given throughout scripture.  But here, Paul is using the 3-heaven descriptor.  What might these three heavens be?  One explanation is:

First Heaven      From earth to the upper limits of the atmosphere.

Second Heaven  From the atmosphere to the outer limits of all the stars.

Third Heaven     Beyond the stars.  God’s home.  Paradise.

We have all heard stories about people having near-death experiences.  Maybe Paul’s experience was similar.  What do you think?
 

MARK 6:1-13

THE BACKGROUND

This passage follows last week’s reading.  Jesus was on the west side of the Sea of Galilee.  He has now gone to his home town of Nazareth, some 30 miles to the west, on foot.

THE DETAIL

• Jesus did what he often did, and preached in the synagogue, this time in his own home town. He must have spoken well, because they were astounded.  But it backfired.  They played the “hometown boy card” on him.  He was just a carpenter—where’d he get all this fancy preaching from?  They point out that his family was present.  (But there is no mention of Joseph.)  This could only increase the level of tension in the room.  (vv. 1-3)
• Jesus reminds them that prophets always have it tough in their home towns and with their family. (v. 4)
• Interestingly, Jesus finds it difficult to perform miracles there.  This makes sense, because his healing requires that the person have faith.  It seems that there was little of that to be found there in Nazareth.  (vv. 5-6)
• In the second paragraph, we learn that Jesus is on the road again.  You can’t blame him, given the poor reception at home.  (v. 6b)
• He sends out the apostles in groups of two, to spread the Word.  The instruction he gives them tells me that he wants them to be poor but honest.  They must rely on the hospitality of others. They are not to shop around for finer accommodations, but stay put in the first place that offers them a room.  (vv. 7-10)
• The apostles’ task was to preach and heal.  They were not to concern themselves with the results.  That would be the Holy Spirit’s work.  (v. 11)
• Their simple methods bore fruit, and many were healed.  Many repented. (vv. 12-13)

THE TAKEAWAY

Jesus led a dual life. He was both the son of Mary & Joseph and the son of God.  He was both a carpenter and a divine messenger.  In today’s reading, we see these two worlds collide.  It is time for Jesus to either toe the line as a Nazarene carpenter, or get on with his divine mission.  His choice is made clear in the second half of today’s reading.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Just as Jesus lived in two worlds, so do we.  We all walk by faith, yet live in the harshness of the world around us. Without faith, our lives would be cold and empty.  Let us put our faith and trust in God to help us make good choices, and live to the glory of His name.

LAMENTATIONS 3:22-33

THE BACKGROUND

Imagine that a foreign, godless nation had invaded your homeland, destroyed your homes and churches, and executed the leadership.  This is what happened to Judah in 587 B.C.  Babylon overran Jerusalem, destroying the temple and city, and executing everyone in the Davidic royal line.  Many were hauled off to become captives living in Babylon.  Can you imagine the feelings of devastation?  “God Yahweh was supposed to protect us from this! Where is he???”  The book of Lamentations was written from this despair. Most of the book is a downer.  But chapter 3 offers a glimmer of faith and hope. Part of this chapter is today’s reading.

THE DETAIL

• The first sentence is a beautiful expression of faith, on the part of the writer.  It is also a beautiful expression of God’s love and faithfulness.  “Steadfast love” is “chesed” in Hebrew.  It is one of those words that is a treasured description of God’s love for his people.  Chesed is the undying love that God continues to show his people in the Old Testament despite their repeated failure to live up to His expectations.  It is this same love that we see manifested in Jesus’ suffering on the cross for our sins.  This is chesed, God’s steadfast love for us.  This love is “new every morning”.  How poetic and true!  God’s faithfulness in us, in spite of ourselves, is truly great.  I’m thinking of the hymn “How Great Thou Art” as I write this.  (vv. 22-23)
• The word “portion” for me seems to apply more to food than God.  (That might tell you something about me.)  In this context, it signifies the writer’s commitment to God, in spite of his situation.  He places his hope and trust in Yahweh, even though his world is falling apart.  (v. 24)
• Next, comes the pill that is hard to swallow.  In spite of all that has happened, and the hopelessness that lies ahead, they are to wait. God will fix this.  I’m sure that there were a lot of skeptics, when this was read to them.  (vv. 25-26)
• The writer even goes so far as to call this a learning experience for the youth in their group. He seems to say “Take it like a man! God will save you in the end.” (vv. 27-31)
• And here’s the clincher.  “Although he causes grief… he does to willingly afflict or grieve anyone.” This sounds a little like last week’s study of the book of Job.  God allows bad things to happen, but does not cause them.  That’s a tricky walk, isn’t it?  But there in between these two statements is God’s chesed, his steadfast love.  (v. 33)

THE TAKEAWAY

The entire Old Testament is one huge story of:

1. God’s expectations of us.
2. Our failure to meet these expectations.
3. God’s mercy and forgiveness, in spite of our failures—God’s chesed. 

If we do nothing else, we need to remind ourselves of this steadfast love for us.  Sometimes, we must wait patiently for God to act.  In the meantime, we remember how God sent his son to die on the cross for us.  Let us try to be as faithful to Him as He is to us.

2 CORINTHIANS 8:7-15

THE BACKGROUND

As we have seen the past few weeks, Paul and his worship team are receiving some sharp criticism from some of the members of the church in Corinth.  Other preachers have come in and put Paul down in order to elevate themselves.  Paul has been defending his ministry.  But Paul has an additional objective.  He is appealing to all the churches to send money to the impoverished Christians in Jerusalem.  He has just received a large donation from the relatively poor church in Macedonia. (2Cor. 8:1-6)  Now, he is appealing to the wealthy church in Corinth. He does this delicately, rather than forcefully, given his precarious situation.

THE DETAIL

• Many students of Paul’s writings, including myself, detect a little sarcasm or irony in this first sentence.  From Paul’s first letter to this church, and what we have just learned about the criticism he received, I’m not totally convinced that Paul genuinely felt that they excelled in all these things.  At the end of this sentence, he slips in a little “we love you, too, don’t forget” phrase. They were a unruly children, but he still loved them.  (v. 7)
• Now, he delicately reminds them of the sacrifice that Jesus made for us all.  That though Jesus was financially poor, he made the Corinthians spiritually rich.  (vv. 8-9)
• Verses 10-11 say it so nicely.  I would have blurted out “You guys—finish what you started!”
• Verse 12 is a nice perspective on giving.  The gift is acceptable according to what you have.  If you don’t have it, you aren’t expected to give it.  They have it, as we read in verse 14, where Paul calls it “your present abundance”.  Paul is only calling for “balance”.  “Look”, he seems to say, “the Macedonians gave a lot, and they don’t have much abundance. You guys, on the other hand, have a lot, and aren’t stepping up.”  (vv. 12-15)

THE TAKEAWAY

It is good for us to periodically step back and examine our giving.  Who are more like—the Corinthians or the Macedonians?

MARK 5:21-43

THE BACKGROUND

In today’s reading, Mark serves us a sandwich!  This is what theologians call it—a Markan Sandwich.  By this it is meant that we have a story within a story.  In the middle of one story, Mark hits the pause button, and tells us another story.  After that, he hits “resume”, and goes back to the original story.  More on that later.  But for now, let’s look at this sandwich.

THE DETAIL

• Jesus has just spent some time on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee.  I believe this is Gentile territory, but don’t hold me to that. But after performing some miracles and teaching, Jesus heads back home to the west side of the lake.  He is greeted by a crowd.  A man comes forward, stating that his daughter is near death. He has faith in Jesus’ healing powers, and asks Jesus to come and heal her.  (vv. 21-24)
• Along the way, Mark hits the “pause” button to this story.  We learn of a woman who has been suffering with a condition for twelve years. This condition, according to Leviticus 15:25-27 makes her “unclean”.  Anything she sits on or even touches is unclean.  Furthermore, if anyone else touches these unclean things, they are also unclean!  Do you think she might also be suffering from social exclusion?  (v. 25)
• Verse 26 describes her frustration.  She has gone from doctor to doctor, and nobody could help her.  (Haven’t we been there as well?)  The funny thing here is that in Luke’s telling of this story, Luke 8:43, he doesn’t mention anything about how instead of getting better, the doctor’s only made her worse.  (Luke was a doctor.)
• In a combination of faith, hope, and desperation, she approaches Jesus.  Her only hope is to touch his garment.  She is convinced that this will do the trick, and it does! (vv. 27-29)
• Next comes something odd and interesting.  Jesus senses that “power had gone forth from him”.  What was this power?  The woman comes forward, and confesses that she touched him.  Remember, she was “unclean”, and was forbidden to touch anyone. Jesus doesn’t care about that.  He is concerned about her well-being, more than he is about keeping the law.  He recognizes pure faith when he sees it, and she is made well because of her faith. (vv. 30-24)
• Now, Mark hits the “resume” button, and we return to our regularly scheduled program.  While Jesus talking to the healed woman, someone approaches and says that the daughter is dead; don’t bother coming to her aid. Jesus has other plans, however. The key verse here is “Do not fear, only believe.”  (vv. 35-36)
• Jesus sheds most of his entourage, and only enters the house with a select few.  They are mourning the loss of their daughter. They think it ridiculous that Jesus would tell them that she is only sleeping.  He calls to the child, and she rises from her bed.  (vv. 37- 42a)
• Everyone was amazed. The girl was dead, and now she lives! Interestingly, Jesus tells them to keep a lid on this.  Do you think they did?  I doubt it. Word must have spread like wildfire, given the crowd and commotion that was described earlier.  Finally, Jesus attends to practical matters, and tells them to feed the girl.  (vv. 42b- 43)

THE TAKEAWAY

In both stories of this “sandwich”, the lesson is the same.  We are urged to have faith in Jesus.  In the face of hopeless suffering and death, we should have faith in Jesus. He will save us.  Sometimes we are healed.  But our main confidence is that through his life, death, and resurrection, we no longer fear death.  He has saved us—“Do not fear, but believe.” 

If you are still hungry for more Markan Sandwiches, here are four more.  The middle of the sandwich is noted in the parenthesis. 

3:19b-21, (22-30), 31-35 

6:6b-13, (14-29), 30 

11:12-14, (15-19), 20-25 

14:53, (54), 55-65. 

JOB 38:1-11

THE BACKGROUND

An old friend of mine had a saying that is appropriate to the book of Job.  He would say that we needed to “zoom out to 30,000 feet”, to get a clear perspective on a certain situation.  If you have ever flown in an airplane, you know that the perspective from that altitude makes you think about things differently. 

With the book of Job, we need to zoom out to 30,000 feet, and look at the big picture.  In the beginning of the book, God is bragging to the devil about the faithfulness of Job.  The devil says something like “Sure he’s faithful, he’s rich, and everything is going well for him!”  So they decide to make terrible things happen to him, to test his faithfulness.  That was the first two chapters. 

Chapter 2 ends with three of Job’s friends coming to sit with him to “console” him.  They do so for seven days and nights.  They take turns telling Job what was wrong with him, and why this happened to him.  Their discussion takes up 36 chapters!  By the way: we know that it was nothing that Job did or didn’t do, because we have already read the first two chapters.  So these three friends didn’t know what they were talking about—they were full of baloney.

Finally, after a week of this, God speaks up.  God’s answer is today’s reading. 

THE DETAIL

• God gets their attention by speaking out of a whirlwind.  (v. 1)
• God tells Job that his friends don’t know what they are talking about.  (“…darkens counsel by words without knowledge?”) (v. 2)
• God tells Job to prepare for a little question and answer session with God.  (v. 3)
• In the whole next paragraph, God describes the work he did, creating the world.  The description here (“shut the sea with doors”, “set bars and doors”, “sunk the bases [for the firmament]” made sense to people of Job’s time. This is how they thought the world was formed.  The main point is what God says in verses 4 & 5.  The key phrases are “tell me if you have understanding” and “surely you know!” God is telling Job “If you’re so smart, then you know who it was who created the earth and everything in it!”  God is making fun of the so-called wisdom of Job and his friends.  (vv. 4-11)
• Actually, God’s questions for Job comprise the rest of chapter 38 and all the way to 42!  They are, of course, unanswerable questions. Only God knows the answer to these questions, and that is His point. 
• In chapter 42, Job humbly answers God.  Then God criticizes Jobs friends, and tells them what they must do.  There is also a happy ending for Job.  Because of his faithfulness, his fortunes are restored.

THE TAKEAWAY

OK, the reading was eleven verses, and I explained the whole book!  But that’s what must be done sometimes to understand a passage.  The point of Job’s story is simple.  Bad things happen to good people.  Some try to find explanations.  Maybe it was God’s will.  Maybe God is testing you.  Maybe you did something bad, and God is punishing you.  God says that it’s all baloney!  Only God holds the answer.  We should stop looking for the reason.  Instead, we should be like Job, who was faithful to God throughout the whole ordeal. Have faith and trust in God, and let “life” happen.  God will sort it out, because He loves us.  God’s got our back!
 

2 CORINTHIANS 6:1-13

THE BACKGROUND

The church in Corinth was a real bag of worms, right from the beginning.  There is conflict and bad behavior throughout the story.   Corinth is also where Paul met Priscilla and Aquila. They were refugees from Rome and fellow tent makers.  They accepted Jesus as the Messiah, and assisted Paul in his work.  Acts 18:1-17 gives the beginning of the story of the founding of the church in Corinth.

But we’re talking about Paul’s second letter to Corinth.  Paul had left in a huff, after he confronted a church member about that member’s sinful ways (2 Cor. 13:2).  This caused a stir.  Other preachers stepped in to fill the void that Paul created.  They were more eloquent in speech than Paul.  They also were not ashamed to put Paul down and elevate themselves.  Paul sarcastically calls these preachers “super-apostles”.  This is the situation under which this letter was written. Paul is very descriptive about his difficulties in this portion of the letter.  Let’s take a closer look.

THE DETAIL

• Paul begins this section of this letter by saying that he doesn’t want them to lose sight of the grace of God.  If so, Paul, Silas, and Timothy’s work would have been in vain.  (v. 1)
• Paul quotes Isaiah here (Is. 49:8a), but he applies it to the time between Jesus’ first and second coming. “Grasp salvation now, before Jesus returns.”  (v. 2)
• Beginning with verse 3, Paul defends his team’s ministry work in Corinth.  They had been the subject of sharp criticism from the “super-apostles” and others in the church.  (See the footnote on the next page for a list of some of the things they were saying about Paul and his team.)  Paul then says that his message provided no obstacles to faith, no stumbling blocks. He says that they must “commend themselves” about this.  I had to look this up and think about it.  To commend someone means to praise or present someone as being worthy of regard, kindness, etc.” In other words, Paul says that they must “brag on themselves”. I guess that was true, because it seems that nobody in Corinth was going to stick up for Paul and his team.  He actually says this in 2 Cor. 12:11b.  (v. 4a)
• From verse 4b through 10, we get a glimpse of some of the hardships that Paul, Timothy, and Silas have endured for the sake of spreading the Good News.
• He lays all of this before the people of Corinth.  Paul’s, Silas’, and Timothy’s hearts are wide open.  They are simply looking for love in return.  What a heartbreak!  (vv. 11-13)

THE TAKEAWAY

Why did Paul do it? Would you or I have had this level of determination and strength?  One key to Paul’s motivation with this difficult church can be found in Acts 18:9-10. “One night the Lord said to Paul in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent; for I am with you… for there are many in this city who are my people.” 

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

How often do we shy away from spreading the Good News, for one reason or another?  Why do we do this?  Would Paul have been so shy in these circumstances? 

FOOTNOTE

Here are a few of the things that were being said about Paul and his team.  All of these are found in 2 Corinthians, although more can be found elsewhere.

• They said “His letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible.”  (10:10)
• They said that Paul does not love them.  (11:11)
• They said that Paul is inferior to the “super-apostles”.  (12:11b)
• Paul said “Let it be assumed that I did not burden you.  Nevertheless (you say) since I was crafty, I took you in by deceit.”  (12:16)
• Paul said “…you desire proof that Christ is speaking in me.”  (13:3)

MARK 4:35-41

THE BACKGROUND

Last week, Jesus taught two parables about sowing seed.  The second was the parable of the mustard seed.  Today’s Gospel reading begins with the verse immediately following these parables. 

THE DETAIL

• So, Jesus had been teaching near his home town.  They were on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, probably in Capernaum.  That was the home town of many of the apostles.  Jesus suggests that they do some night sailing, and go across the lake.  (v. 36)
• So, they headed out, leaving the crowd behind.  Other boats tagged along.  During the night, a storm came up.  The waves were breaking over the front of the boat, and the boat was taking on water. (v. 37)
• Jesus was sleeping in the back of the boat, and unaware of the situation.  The apostles woke him, evidently fearful for their lives. (v. 28)
• You know the rest. Jesus wakes up, calms the sea, and rebukes the disciples.  (vv. 39-40)
• Now, comes the punch line— The disciples say “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”  (v. 41)

THE TAKEAWAY

I called verse 41 the punch line because it is a recurring question that is asked throughout the Gospels—“Who is this man Jesus?” Mark, and the other Gospel writers want to challenge the reader.  They want the reader to decide.  They want the reader to proclaim Jesus as the Messiah, our Lord.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Why did Jesus perform these miracles?  Was he just trying to keep the boat from sinking?  Was he just showing off?  No, I don’t think so.   I believe that the miracles were an integral part of his ministry.  They alert the observer to the fact that this is no ordinary person.  This person is very special.

Who do you say that Jesus was—the son of a Galilean carpenter, or more?

EZEKIEL 17:22-24

THE BACKGROUND

Ezekiel was a prophet to Judah during the time when the people of Judah were deported to Babylon. 2 Kings 24 gives the details of the defeat of Judah, the deportation and the plunder.  When a country was defeated in Old Testament times, not only did it mean that your army was weak, but that your god was also weaker than the victorious army’s.  This prophecy of Ezekiel reassures God’s people of God’s mighty power in spite of their defeat.

THE DETAIL

• The passage is written in the form of an allegory.   The lofty cedar represents the Davidic line of the kings of Judah. In 2 Samuel 7:13-16, Nathan tells David that his line would last forever.  With the defeat of Judah, it was feared that the Davidic line would come to an end.
• God himself with “take a cutting” from this “lofty cedar”, and cause it to grow and flourish. (vv. 22-23)
• More importantly, all the “trees” of the field will know that Yahweh is Lord.  In other words, other kingdoms will realize that the god of Judah is the one and only God. (v. 24a)
• God summarizes by stating that he is in control.  He makes nations flourish or wither.  He has the power to do this.  (v. 24b)

THE TAKEAWAY

Even in today’s world, with constant power struggles between China, Russia, North Korea, and the USA, it is difficult to comprehend that God is in control.  But this is exactly what He tells us through Ezekiel.  The proof of the pudding is that Judah survives 60 years of exile, and is allowed to return home as promised. 

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

In this prophecy, we hear that God’s kingdom grows like a large tree, providing shelter and comfort for “every kind of bird”.  God’s kingdom has indeed spread worldwide, through the work of his son Jesus.  As his children, we not only work for the growth of his kingdom, we find shelter and comfort within its branches.
 

2 CORINTHIANS 5:6-10, 14-17

THE BACKGROUND

Paul is under attack for his preaching to the people of Corinth.  In today’s and next week’s lesson, we get to hear his side of why he does what he does.

THE DETAIL

• In verses 6-9, Paul talks about being “at home” and “away”.  He is talking about his physical versus his spiritual being.  Since he is living, he is “at home in the body”. Paul would, apparently, much rather be finished with the body, and be spiritually in God’s presence (“away”). But since he is here, he has a job to do—preach the Gospel. 
• We are now reminded that Jesus will indeed sit on his judgement seat, and judge each one of us. We will be held accountable.  This should encourage all of us to be good disciples!  (v. 10)
• But accountability is not the main motivational factor, it is Jesus’ love that drives us onward.  After all, he died for us, and was raised for us!  (vv. 14-15)
• Since we have all died with Jesus in our baptism, and are reborn, we are new creations.  We must look at everyone and everything through this perspective.  (vv. 16-17) 

THE TAKEAWAY

It is sometimes difficult to look at everyone through the eyes of Jesus, but that is indeed what we are to do.  We must love everyone, sharing the good news of Jesus with everyone.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

What do you think about appearing before Jesus’ judgement seat?  What do you think will happen?  In my working days, I would receive an annual performance review from my manager.  We would sit down, and review the goals I had set, and the corporation’s expectations of my performance to them.  Sometimes I achieved my goals, sometimes I fell short.  I like to think that my appearance before Jesus will be a bit like this review.  Jesus has expectations for all of us.  Sometimes we succeed, and sometimes we do not.  In the end, we will lay all our failures at Jesus’ feet, knowing that we are forgiven by His blood.
 

MARK 4:26-34

THE BACKROUND

This reading follows last week’s.  Jesus tells two parables about God’s kingdom.  Let me say something about this “Kingdom of God” subject.  The people of Jesus’ day were yearning for the Messiah to come, roust out the Romans, and re-establish Judah, and bring back the old Kingdom of David days. When Jesus starts a parable with “the kingdom of God is like…” all would have been eagerly waiting for him to give the details of the battle plan.  I’m sure there was a lot of head scratching after he taught them these parables.

THE DETAIL

• The first parable is about someone who plants seed, and waits for it to grow.  An important phrase in this paragraph is “…he does not know how…” it grows.  He knows that the seeds will grow; he just doesn’t know how that happens.  But once the grain is ripe, he harvests his crop.  (vv. 26-29)
• The second parable is similar, but has a different point.  A small seed is sown, and grows into a very large bush.  Just like our passage from Ezekiel, many birds find shelter in its branches.  (vv. 30-32)
• Then we learn that he always taught the crowds in parables, but explained them all to his disciples in private.  (vv.33-34)

THE TAKEAWAY

This isn’t exactly a lesson in politics and revolution, is it?  Do you think his listeners were a little confused? 

So, what exactly is the kingdom of God?  One thing for sure, it is definitely not a country with borders, a ruler, and an army.  I believe that Jesus is telling us the same thing that Ezekiel told us.  That it is God’s desire for everyone, regardless of nationality or race, to be one great community of believers.  It is a community that finds shelter and comfort within the kingdom.  Sometimes this comfort comes directly from God.  Other times it comes from the community around us.  But we find shelter and grow within this community.

GENESIS 3:8-15

THE BACKGROUND

This is part of the familiar old story of The Fall. The scene is in the Garden of Eden.  Adam and Eve have everything they could possibly want, including a loving intimate relationship with God their creator. Everything is perfect.  There is only one rule in the entire, perfect world—stay away from one tree, and don’t eat the fruit!  They eat the fruit. 

THE DETAIL

• For the first time in their lives, they feel shame and guilt, and hide from God.  (v. 8)
• God, knowing full well what has happened, engages in a little question and answer with Adam.  (vv. 9-11)
• Then, the blame game begins.  Adam blames Eve.  Eve blames the serpent.  (vv. 12-13)

THE TAKEAWAY

With Old Testament stories, I’m always looking for the God Lesson.  All too often, we get so wrapped up in the detail that we miss that lesson. I believe that this story teaches us the truth about our basic human nature.  If you or I were given a perfect life, without a care in the world, but had to obey only one rule, we would break that rule.  Don’t believe me?  When you see a sign that says “Do not touch.  Wet Paint”. What is your first inclination? You probably wonder if that paint is still wet.  You want to touch it.  It is our nature!  But it is also in God’s nature to be loving and compassionate.  Sure, He gets angry in verses 14 & 15, but in the end, He makes clothes for them.  His love and mercy are far greater than His anger.  (v. 21, not part of today’s selection)

2 CORINTHIANS 4:13-5:1

THE BACKGROUND

In the verses ahead of today’s passage, Paul talks about the sufferings that the believers in Corinth, as well as Paul himself, are enduring.  In the previous verses 8 & 9 we find words like afflicted, perplexed, and persecuted.  The overall message is upbeat, but their suffering was genuine.

THE DETAIL

• Paul begins by quoting from Psalm 116.  (The words don’t match exactly, because he is quoting from a Greek translation common at the time.)  But the writer of Psalm 116 kept his faith through a time of severe illness.  Paul lifts up this example to his readers, who are suffering for their faith.  Paul simply says that we can’t NOT speak about Jesus, because we really believe this stuff!  And best of all, we know that whatever happens to us, we will be raised with Jesus.  (vv. 13-14)
• If Paul were Southern, verse 15 would read “Yes, everything is for y’all’s sake…”  In the original text, Paul’s “your” is plural.  He is talking about the whole church, and not just one person. All of our talking is so that the church will grow, and more and more will glorify God. 
• So, the point here is there to encourage us to keep talking.  We should keep talking about Jesus, even though we might suffer “momentary affliction”. We keep our focus on the horizon (the eternal) and not on today’s troubles.  (vv. 16-18)
• I love this cute illustration.  Paul calls our bodies ”earthly tents”.  We all know how temporary and frail a tent is.  We also know how solid and permanent a well-built house is.  Keep your focus on the house, and not the tent!

THE TAKEAWAY

We all will experience troubled times in our life. And, as we get older, our old “tent” seems more and more frail.  Let us refocus our attention on sharing the Good News to those around us, and not worry about our silly old tent.  Someday, we’re gonna get a real nice house!

MARK 3:20-35

THE BACKGROUND

Even though Mark’s gospel is only 16 chapters long, this passage is very early in the story.  Already, Jesus has been baptized an tempted.  He has healed people, taught people, and called disciples.  He is drawing more and more attention.

THE DETAIL

• Jesus is drawing a crowd, and his family decides to “restrain him”.  (As if they could restrain him!)  The family reappears at the end of today’s lesson.  (vv. 20-21)
• Religious authorities from Jerusalem intercept him, and start calling him names.  They claim that he is from the devil.  Beelzebul (or Baal-zebub) is a foreign, false god.  Jesus employs some crafty logic to show the folly of their accusations. (vv. 23-27)
• Jesus then tells them that all sins are forgivable, except blaspheming against the Holy Spirit.  This they had indeed done, when they called the Holy Spirit “unclean”. (vv. 28-30)
• Jesus’’ biological family renters in verse 31. It is clear that they are here to perform an intervention.  They want Jesus to tone it down, or cease altogether.  Jesus must have been aware of this, because he does a peculiar thing. He sort of half-disowns them! Instead, he makes a foundational statement—“Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister.”  This statement reinforces what we learned last week. We, Jesus disciples in this time and place, are the adopted children of God, and Jesus is our brother!

THE TAKEAWAY

At first, I found it shocking that Jesus would turn his back on his own family.  But consider this.  Jesus’ #1 mission was to preach, teach, heal, and die for us.  Anything that stood in the way of that was going to suffer the consequences.  The scribes from Jerusalem were just another example of the resistance he experienced. But in this case, his own family was standing in the way of his mission. 

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

God has a purpose for each one of us.  Our task is to determine what that is, and do it.  Nothing should stand in our way, not even our dearest relatives.  Do we have this level of conviction?

DEUTERONOMY 5:12-15

THE BACKGROUND

This is part of the Ten Commandments, as presented in the book of Deuteronomy.  The Ten Commandments appear twice in the bible.  In Exodus, they are presented as part of their journey in the wilderness.  Here, they are part of Moses’ giving of the law, before Israel’s entry into the Holy Land. There are slight differences between the two, but they are basically the same.  

THE DETAIL

• Today’s lesson is about the fourth commandment, keeping the Sabbath.  To Jews, the Sabbath begins at sundown Friday, and lasts until sundown Saturday.  Christians moved this observance to the day of our Lord’s resurrection, Sunday.   (v. 12)
• In the Deuteronomy version, there is great detail on who the commandment applies to.  It is not just for devout Jews, but to everybody—even foreigners and slaves.  (There is no mention of housewives, who must have prepared their meals!)  Even beasts of burden are required to rest on the Sabbath! (vv. 13-14)
• Also unique to Deuteronomy is the reason given.  In Exodus, the reason was due to God’s resting on the seventh day of creation. Here, they are reminded of their slavery in Egypt, and that God rescued them from this fate.  (v. 15)

THE TAKEAWAY

Whatever the reason, it is God’s desire and commandment for us to observe a day of rest.  And not only us, but everyone around us.  How then do we justify shopping and eating in restaurants on Sunday after church?  (I do this every Sunday!)

2 CORINTHIANS 4:5-12

THE BACKGROUND

This is a difficult passage to understand and apply.  I thank you for giving me the opportunity to dig into it. 

Paul was being sharply criticized by many in the church in Corinth.  Other preachers came in, were more eloquent in preaching, and even boasted about their superiority over Paul.  We know that this bothered him greatly, because he keeps coming back to it in this letter.  But underneath this defense are some rich lessons for our daily living.

THE DETAIL

• Our reading begins with Paul stating that he and his disciples were not out to promote themselves, but to promote Jesus as Lord.  To this task they considered themselves slaves, in a good way.  (v. 5)
• This is a reference to Genesis 1:3, when God created light.  The insinuation is that the Christian church is God’s new creation, and Jesus is the Light.  Paul’s task, as is ours, is to let this light shine; we are to share it with others.  (v. 6)
• Remember those red clay flower pots?  They were easy to break, and didn’t last forever.  Our minds and bodies are just as prone to breakage.  Remarkably, God has entrusted the spreading of the Gospel to fragile human beings.  (v. 7)
• The life we lead is full of difficulties.  The road of life is chock-full of potholes, but we press on.  (vv. 8-9)
• We press on, keeping Jesus’ death on the cross in our hearts.  We remember and share the story of his suffering.  It is part of the Good News message.  Many of us even wear jewelry that serves as a remembrance of his horrible death for us.  (v. 10)
• Elsewhere, Paul has taught us that in our baptism we die to our old selves, and are now alive in Jesus.  We live our fragile lives as living examples of his Gospel message.  (v. 11)
• In this way, Jesus’ death is actively at work in us as we live our lives in service to him.  (v. 11)

THE TAKEAWAY

Paul starts out on the right foot—“It’s not about me, my preaching is about Jesus, and Jesus crucified!” He cautions all of us to be wary of preachers who amass fame and fortune, rather than those who simply preach the gospel.  In our daily walk, we should be Jesus to those around us, in spite of the bumps in the road.

MARK 2:23-3:6

THE BACKGROUND

This pair of stories occurs early in Jesus’ ministry.  They are two of the many confrontations that he will have with the authorities. 

Israel was full of a variety of believers and non-believers, just as exist in our community today.  The Pharisees of Jesus’ day were devoted to the keeping of God’s Law as given by Moses.  They, along with the scribes, were doing their best to please God by living godly lives, just as many (not all) Christians do today.  We are, therefore, the modern equivalent of Pharisees.

THE DETAIL

• The first scene is of the disciples passing through a grain field on the Sabbath.  They pick heads of grain as they walk, which is considered work.  They have broken the fourth commandment.  (v. 23)
• The Pharisees alert Jesus to this infraction.  (v. 24)
• Jesus gives them a history lesson.  He reminded them of the story of David eating the holy bread of the temple.  The story is found in 1 Samuel 21:1-6.  (vv. 25-26)
• Then, he makes a proclamation.  It doesn’t win him any friends, and probably raised a few eyebrows.  (v. 27)
• The second scene is in the temple, God’s holy house.  The Pharisees were poised a ready for Jesus to do what Jesus has done before. (vv. 1-2)
• Jesus is unfazed by their contempt, and asks the man with the withered hand to come forward. He asks a loaded question, which goes unanswered.  (vv. 3-4)
• Jesus is angry with them, and heals the man.  (v. 5)
• The Pharisees got what they came for, and ran off to find the Herodians, to conspire against Jesus. Herodians were conservative Jews who were politically aligned with Herod.  (v. 6)

THE TAKEAWAY

Interesting to note that in the second story, the man with the withered hand did not ask Jesus for healing.  Also, Jesus’ question is a life or death question, not something less urgent such as a withered hand.  That could wait until the next day. 

But what is at question here is the importance of keeping rules over demonstrating love to a person in need.  What makes Jesus angry is that the Pharisees chose compliance over compassion. 

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

While it is important to do our best to obey God’s commandments, the most important one is loving God and one another.  It’s easier to stick to the rules, but sometimes God would prefer us to love someone who needs our help.

HOLY TRINITY SUNDAY

The first Sunday after Pentecost is the day we set aside to explore the concept of the Holy Trinity.  This is a subject that is like peeling an onion.  The more you peel, the more intense it becomes.  Let’s peel off a few layers.  Hopefully we’ll stop before there are any tears.

ISAIAH 6:1-8

THE BACKGROUND

This takes place back in the middle 700’s BC in the kingdom of Judah.  God’s people were behaving badly.  Judah’s peace was being threatened by neighboring countries.  King Uzziah died, and Ahaz took the throne.  Neither Uzziah nor Ahaz had much respect for God and His prophets.  This is the story of Isaiah’s call from God to be His spokesperson, His prophet to King Uzziah. 

THE DETAIL

• Isaiah has a vision of God sitting high on his throne. His robe fills the temple.  Six-winged seraphs are attending and guarding him, flying above.  Seraph means “fiery ones”, by the way.  Their six wings require explanation.  Two, of course are for flying, and with two their cover their faces.  They cannot gaze upon God’s face without perishing. With the last two, they cover their “feet”.  In the Old Testament, the word “feet” is a polite way of saying the genitals.  One example of this is found in Ruth 3.  So, the seraphs were using their third pair of wings to be modest before God. (vv. 1-2)
• They sang praises to God as they flew.  It was so moving, that the whole place shook, and was filled with smoke.  Wow! (vv. 3-4)
• Did you ever feel like you were somewhere that you didn’t belong?  This was Isaiah’s predicament.  He knew that he had no business being there (or so he thought).  He knew that sinful beings did not belong in God’s presence. (v. 5)
• But something special happened.  A seraph cauterized Isaiah’s lips with a coal from the fire on the altar.  “There you go.  All clean now!”  (My translation, v. 7)
• The Lord calls out for a helper; Isaiah raises his hand, and says “Send me!” (v. 8)

THE TAKEAWAY

Nowadays, it seems we are fixated on God’s friendly side. We sing songs about walking in a garden, alone with our friend Jesus.  In today’s second reading, we are even invited to call God the Father “Daddy”! In Isaiah’s reading, we get a glimpse of the other side.  We see the fearsome power and might of our God on His throne. 

Luther’s Small Catechism contains basic questions and answers about the Christian faith.  One section works through each of the Ten Commandments.  A commandment is stated, and the question to each is raised: “What does this mean?”  The answer always begins with “We should fear and love God that we…”  We had to ask our pastor about this, when we were in our confirmation class.  Why fear?  The answer was that we should have an awesome respect for God’s mighty power. So, I suggest that while we enjoy singing about what a friend we have in Jesus, we also should never lose sight of His mighty power.

ROMANS 8:12-17

THE BACKGROUND

Paul gave us an excellent illustration of our relationship with God, using a relationship that was very common in his time and place. But this relationship no longer exists today, and it needs to be explained.

Slavery was a regular part of life in the Roman Empire. It is estimated that 30-40% of the population were slaves at this time.  These slaves came from many different countries, and were not limited to one nationality or race.  Slaves were bought and sold.  A slave could not buy his freedom.  When the master died, his heirs inherited the slaves, or they were sold off.  The slaves had no legal rights; family members gained everything.

Earlier in chapter 6, Paul explains that before Jesus came, we were all slaves to sin.  Sin was our master, and there was no escape.  Here in chapter 8, Paul builds upon that metaphor.

THE DETAIL

• This first verse is a little odd.  Paul starts out talking about how we are debtors, but veers off to talk about living “according to the flesh”.   By this he means living as we would if God were not present in our lives, following our own instincts and urges with no help from above.  But since we live by the Spirit, we put to death the deeds of the body.  God is our guide.  If we do this, we will live our lives indebted to the Spirit for saving us. (vv.12-13)
• Next, Paul makes a startling announcement.  He says that if we are “led by the Spirit”, we are children of God.  What does that give us?  It gives us everything.  He uses the slavery metaphor as an illustration.  If we fall back to our old master, and are slaves to sin, we gain nothing. But if we are led by the Spirit, we are adopted children of God.  We are so loved by God that we may call Him “Abba”, which is an Aramaic word meaning “Daddy”.  Not father, but the intimate family word daddy. (vv. 14-16)
• Since we are God’s children, Jesus is now our brother.  Along with Jesus, we have full rights of inheritance to God’s kingdom.

THE TAKEAWAY

If we look at this passage through the lens of the Holy Trinity, we see the whole team at work.  Through the sacrifice of our (now) brother Jesus, we live our lives “in the Spirit”.  This brings about our adoption as God’s children.  As his children, we inherit the kingdom, and may call him Daddy!

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Try using the name “Daddy” or “Dad” in your prayers instead of Father.  It might seem weird, but you would be telling yourself just how close a relationship God wants to have with you.
 

JOHN 3:1-17

THE BACKGROUND

This is the familiar story of the after-dark meeting between Jesus and Nicodemus.  Today, we will focus on what this lesson teaches us about the Holy Trinity. 

There’s a lot of word play going on in this passage. Here’s a little Greek lesson, to aid in your understanding of this.  The same word translated as “spirit” can also mean “wind”.  The same Greek word for “again” can also be used to mean “anew” or “from above (heaven)”.

THE DETAIL

• Nicodemus comes to Jesus after dark.  We do not know the reason.  But Nicodemus was an important Pharisee, and perhaps wanted to avoid the backlash he’d receive from his colleagues.  We do not know.  What we do know is that he sought Jesus out, and paid him a compliment. (vv. 1-3)
• Jesus, according to the narrative, gets to the meat of the matter—you must be born again/anew/from above to see the kingdom of God.  Because of all the possible meanings, Nicodemus has questions.  (v. 4)
• Jesus makes it clear that he’s not talking about one’s body being reborn physically, but being reborn of one’s spirit.  He says that we must be born of water and the Spirit.  He is saying that the Holy Spirit is an essential part of our spiritual rebirth. We need the Spirit as much as we need the Son and Father.  (vv. 5-8)
• Verses 14-16 make the point that eternal life comes through belief in Jesus as the Son of God.
• Verse 17 tells us that it is the work of the Father through the Son that saves us from condemnation.

THE TAKEAWAY

We know that Jesus died for our sins, and that he was sent by God the Father.  But we often overlook the role of the Holy Spirit.  It is the Holy Spirit who breathes life into our daily lives.  The Spirit provides understanding, motivation, opportunity, words, and the courage to be God’s helpers in the world around us.  The whole Trinity is needed.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

How do you describe God in human terms, let alone a triune God?  Is it even possible?  I thought the book “The Shack” did a fairly good job of it. In this book, the Father, Son, and Spirit were very separate.  Only their thoughts were common.    In the early church, it didn’t take long for various groups to describe the Triune God in some very peculiar ways.  Since it was important back then for everyone to believe one true belief, creeds were created.  In 325 A.D., a council of bishops (church leaders) met in Nicaea to craft one such creed. We call this creed the Nicene Creed. It is still used today.  Other creeds were also formed, some of which are still in use.