Gone to the Dogs

Mark 7:24-30

North Americans inhabit the largest melting pot on earth. I know. Now you're supposed to call it a salad bowl or stew or whatever. But for across an entire continent, we have one currency, one culture, one language (more or less), one nation.

That wasn't true in Jesus' day. People of different races, nationalities, and religions lived cheek by jowl in that tiny land, and still do. To cross the street was to cross a border.

So on Jesus little excursion to the north, he encountered an (a) Greek (b) woman (c) living in (what is now) Leabanon. In terms of boundary busting, this was a hat trick.

Some people may see Jesus' response to her as a bit odd, as if he didn't care whether he daughter lived or died. I think he was simply pointing out to her the gravity of her request.

"You're way outside your comfort zone here, lady. You sure about this?"

This woman understood better than we often seem to that everybody is equal in God's sight, and equally in need of compassion.

For the record, this event marks the innauguration of one of Jesus greatest ministries--he has become a "light to the Gentiles" (i.e., to non-Jews).

The church has gone to the dogs ever since.

Which trifecta of race/gender/nationality would it surprise you to see talking with Jesus?

Inside Out

Mark 7:1-23

I don't think the Pharisees thought they were being lousy creeps. Handwashing, after all, is not a bad thing to do. Where I live, it's required by law after taking a bathroom break while working at a restaurant.

But it's not required by God.

All the while these good folk were scrupulously cleaning their fingernails, their parents were rotting away at the county home because their kids were too stingy to take care of them.

It's weird how people can get all wrapped up in doing something "for the Lord" that really means nothing, while at the same time breaking one of the Big Ten.

Ever done that?

What tradition are you holding onto unnecessarily?
Which commandment do you like to weasel out of, thinking you're "too spiritually mature" to be bothered with little things like that?

Puh-leeze

Mark 6:45-56

Here we are on that darn lake again. By this time, you'd think the disciples would know enough to stay out of the boat. Slow learners, if ever there were such.

This time, however, I think the doleful dozen have a right to be a teeny bit chapped. Here they are struggling against the wind, and Jesus tries to slip by unnoticed.

What's up with that?

On the other hand, he had just told them to feed 5,000 people and expected they could pull it off. Dealing with a little headwind should have been child's play.

What's the thing you keep expecting Jesus to do for you that he keeps expecting you to do for yourself?

You Give Them Something to Eat

Mark 6:30-44

Jesus is a human being, don't forget that. True, he is God; he is also one of us. And John the Baptist was no mere contemporary of Jesus'. He was the Lord's cousin, the first witness to the Christ. "Who is this?" people asked everywhere Jesus went, but John knew.

Imagine the comfort Jesus drew from the knowledge that John recognized him for who he was. Imagine the pain Jesus felt at the news that his boyhood friend and coworker in the Kingdom had been killed.

Yet it was on this day that Jesus performed his most celebrated miracle. No matter that Jesus was tired and hungry himself. He spent the day surrounded by people, teaching them, then fed them until they were satisfied.

Even that is not the most extraordinary thing about this incredible day. It was this statement, made in the most casual way to the disciples who saw the impossiblity of providing adequately for so vast a crowd. Jesus told them:

"You give them something to eat."

What a Way to Go

Mark 6:14-28

It makes me sick to think of John, the great man of God, last of the fire-breathing Old Testament prophets, being done in by the jealosy of this calculating whore and her brazen, depraved daughter.

Is this a righteous end for a truth-teller, a prophet, a man of God?

Actually, it is. The world exacts a heavy price upon those who speak truth to power. Many people have a vested interest in preserving the status quo, however corrupt it may be.

Et tu?

The Eighth Day

Luke 2:21-40

There are a lot of threads here, and a good preacher only needs one to spin a sermon. Take your pick. If you were to preach on this passage, what would you talk about?

1. The Example of Mary and Joseph.

They were good parents. While their little family began in unusual circumstances, they were eager to "do it right" as parents, carefully following the requirements of God's law.

I think we're all parenting in unusual circumstances these days. What's the best thing we can do to bring our kids up right?

2. The Patience of Simeon.

What has God promised you? How long have you been waiting for it? How long are you willing to wait? If seeing your son or daughter saved was the last thing you did, would you be content with that hope?

3. The Discernment of Anna.

How do spiritually minded people "just know" things? What was there about Anna's life or spiritual practice that kept her so in tune with God that she was drawn to Jesus with, apparently, no other witness?

What are you doing to keep yourself in tune with God's Holy Spirit?

4. The Blessed Life.

We have few snapshots of Jesus' early life, but here is one. He grew strong, became wise, even as a child, and enjoyed the grace of God. Can we hope for as much for our children? For ourselves?

What is your greatest prayer for the lives of your children?

Dig in, gang. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this super-rich passage.

Totally Cool

John 1:1-14

Luke is all about the baby. Matthew is all about the intrigue. And John is all about the fact.

To John, it doesn't seem to matter that it happened in a stable, that angels foretold it, or that Herod opposed it. The only thing that matters is this unbelievable fact: God became a man.

It's such a weird thing to say that John reaches for new language. It's a San Francisco-psychedelic-yippie-beat sort of introduction to who Jesus is.

"It's like this word, man, this word was like, God, can you dig it? And then, man, like this word thing became a man, man. It was like so totally far out that the up-tight establishment freaks and all the pigs and haters, man, like the Man, can you dig it? couldn't get it, man. It was a total happening when the word made the scene, man. And everybody who dug it, I mean to the hipsters and the cool cats, he became like the ultimate big Daddyo. It was like the most, man, a total groove."

Yeah.

Who can blame John for pushing the limits on vocabulary when a totally new happening makes the scene? (Sorry. The flashbacks are hard to shake.)

If you had to describe the birth of Jesus Christ in just one word or prhase, what would it be?

Psycho I

Matthew 2:13-18

Herod the Great was a first class psychopath. I mean top of the line. Here's a guy who had his first wife sent into exile so he could marry his teenage niece. The two wives produced a total of four sons. Herod executed all of them in order to secure his position as "King of the Jews." He married at least 8 more times, making a piker of Henry VIII.

Politics can be a rough trade, so to speak.

Herod I (not to be confused with his son Herod Antipas, Psycho II, who had John the Baptist beheaded and mocked Jesus) was right about this much: there's no room in the world for two kings; somebody's got to go. With Herod, that tended to be the other guy.

How many people have you ousted in order to call the shots in your own life? Parents? Siblings? Kids? Cops? God?