March 7, 2021 Third Sunday in Lent

John 2:13-17  (The Message)

¹³ When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. ¹⁴ In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. ¹⁵ So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. ¹⁶ To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” ¹⁷ His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

Jesus had two faces.  He was “meek and lowly in heart”;  and  “he looked at them with anger”.  (Mk 5:5)  He was gentle but not anemic,  as when he called Herod a “fool” or told Peter “Get behind me, Satan!”

Nor was He anemic when he cleansed the temple.  He was a violent intruder, disrupting their comfortable little set up.  It must have been a wild scene!  The disciples must have been stunned, even embarrassed.  The people likewise.  

Jesus was not always an easy person to be with.  For example, when he said:

“Leave the dead to bury their own dead; for as for you, go and proclaim the                kingdom of God.”  Lk. 9:60

“No own who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”  Lk. 9:62 

“He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me is not
worthy of me.”  Mt. 10:37, 38

This may sound harsh and in some ways it is.  It is also an expression of God’s awesome love which will not let us off easy, but expresses itself even in punishment for sin.  It is as Luther prayed, “Ah, God, punish us, we pray Thee...but be not silent...toward us.”

Jesus, would be an Intruder in our lives, harsh though it may seen, to awaken in us our need for a Savior, and then Jesus would be the  Savior we need.

“Ah, God, punish us, we pray Thee…

but be not silent...toward us.”

           Martin Luther

Prayer though for the week:  “Lord, open my heart to your ‘tough love’ and help me change who I am to who you would have me be.”

February 28, 2020 Second Sunday in Lent

Mark 8:34- 35

³⁴ Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. ³⁵ For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.

When I try to find life I end up loosing it.  When I give up trying to find it or save it and simply lose myself in it, I find it.

This is also true of faith .

It is not the purpose of faith to take all the uncertainty out of life.  To have all the answers; to save life from its human experience of surprise, shock, disillusionment, fear, doubt, perplexity, confusion and all the rest of the uncertainties which come our way.  To do so would be to destroy the human experience of life.

For it is in the face of the uncertainties of life that we discover the truth that life is to be found by getting lost - lost in something bigger than ourselves.  Lost in living as one who is following Jesus. 

“He/she who would take all the      

uncertainty out of life, will lose it.  

He/she who would live with 

uncertainty, in faith, will find it.”

Prayer thought for the week: “Lord, help me to get lost in something bigger

than my self, so I can find life and live it.  Help me get lost in being a servant of love, following Jesus.”

Feb. 21. 2021 First Sunday in Lent

Mark 1:12-15  (The Message)

12 At once, this same Spirit pushed Jesus out into the wild. 13 For forty wilderness days and nights he was tested by Satan. Wild animals were his companions, and angels took care of him. 14 After John was arrested, Jesus went to Galilee preaching the Message of God: 15 "Time's up! God's kingdom is here. Change your life (REPENT) and believe the Message.”

The word repent is a pivotal word between us and the Kingdom of God.  It means to turn around; to change one’s mind, to let go of something so something better can come.  It may be stimulated by something negative or positive, yet it is the first positive step towards the Kingdom of God.

What we believe is in need of repentance as much as what we don’t believe.  For our beliefs can keep us from seeing the Kingdom of God in our midst as much as our disbelief.  Jesus had more difficulty with the religious than with any other group.  What they believed kept them from seeing what he called them to believe. 

To repent and believe the good news is to let go of what ever it is that keeps us from living in the Kingdom now.   Not just with our heads, but more deeply with our hearts.  For true repentance leads to “understanding hearts”, which opens us to walking in love and making the changes needed “in our hearts” so something of God’s kingdom can happen here and now. 

“Every change of mind is first 

of all a change of heart, and 

if the heart does not change, 

new ideas do not last long.”  

Richard Roar

Prayer thought for the week: “Lord, help me to repent of that which keeps me from seeing and believing with all my heart that your Kingdom can come on earth even through me.  We can have peace and unity!”

Feb. 14. 2021 The Transfiguration of Our Lord

 

Mark 9:2-9  (The Message)

2 Six days later, three of them did see it. Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up a high mountain. His appearance changed from the inside out, right before their eyes. 3 His clothes shimmered, glistening white, whiter than any bleach could make them. 4 Elijah, along with Moses, came into view, in deep conversation with Jesus. 5 Peter interrupted, "Rabbi, this is a great moment! Let's build three memorials - one for you, one for Moses, one for Elijah." 6 He blurted this out without thinking, stunned as they all were by what they were seeing. 7 Just then a light-radiant cloud enveloped them, and from deep in the cloud, a voice: "This is my Son, marked by my love. Listen to him." 8 The next minute the disciples were looking around, rubbing their eyes, seeing nothing but Jesus, only Jesus. 9 Coming down the mountain, Jesus swore them to secrecy. "Don't tell a soul what you saw. After the Son of Man rises from the dead, you're free to talk.”

There are some things too precious and holy to shout from the mountain tops.   First there has to be a relationship and an experience through which this special moment can be understood.  For Peter, James and John, that relationship was with Jesus and the experience which would make sense of the mystical experience of the transfiguration was the resurrection.

They are to tell no one, just stay with Jesus and listen to Him.  Later they can tell the whole story, in word and deeds.

We are called to be bold in our witness to the transforming power of God in Jesus Christ.

We cannot always shout it out, but we can and are empowered by that which we cannot tell to do that which is very telling -  which causes people to recognize that we have been with Jesus.

To have had a transforming experience, is to have a spirit within which empowers us to live as those who know we are loved by God.  And that means someone else is going to be better off!

 

"It is no use walking anywhere to preach unless our walking is our preaching."        

St.  Francis of Assisi

Prayer thought for the week:  “Lord help me to live so that my living is the telling of your love and grace.”

Feb. 7, 2021 Fifth Sunday after Epiphany

 Mark 1:29-35  (The Message)

29 Directly on leaving the meeting place, they came to Simon and Andrew's house, accompanied by James and John. 30 Simon's mother-in-law was sick in bed, burning up with fever. They told Jesus. 31 He went to her, took her hand, and raised her up. No sooner had the fever left than she was up fixing dinner for them. 32 That evening, after the sun was down, they brought sick and evil-afflicted people to him, 33 the whole city lined up at his door! 34 He cured their sick bodies and tormented spirits. Because the demons knew his true identity, he didn't let them say a word. 35 While it was still night, way before dawn, he got up and went out to a secluded spot and prayed.

Jesus needed to get away from it all. To be alone. To pray.  To keep in touch with himself, his purpose, and his Father who sent him.  This was no game he was playing.  He needed this to stay on target!

This is what prayer is, at its deepest level.  It is being with God, and letting the energy which pours forth from God renew us, as pure love can. 

Silence and solitude are lost arts in our noisy, crowded lives.  We don’t make much room for quiet and time alone.  There is so much to do and so far to go.  We want action not peace and quiet.

Henri Nouwen, a Catholic theologian of renown,  suggests that solitude - time alone with God - helps us get in touch with a oneness with all people, which leads to less judgment and more compassion on our part.

“In solitude we realize that nothing human is alien to us, that the roots of all conflict, war, injustice, cruelty, hatred, jealousy, and envy are deeply anchored in our own heart!  In solitude our heart of stone can be turned into a heart of flesh, a rebellious heart into a contrite heart, and a closed heart into a heart that can open itself to all suffering people in a gesture of solidarity.”   The Way Of The Heart, p. 20 

“In solitude our heart of stone can 

be turned into a heart of flesh, 

a rebellious heart into a contrite heart, 

and a closed heart into a heart 

that can open itself to all suffering 

people in a gesture of solidarity.”  

 

         Henri Nouwen 

Prayer thoughts:  “Lord, help me find a quiet spot…place…moment in my busy day when I can be alone with you. Where I can hear your “still, small voice” above the noise of my day.”

Jan. 31, 2021 Fourth Sunday of Epiphany

 Mark 1:21-28  (The Message)

21 Then they entered Capernaum. When the Sabbath arrived, Jesus lost no time in getting to the meeting place. He spent the day there teaching. 22 They were surprised at his teaching - so forthright, so confident - not quibbling and quoting like the religion scholars. 23 Suddenly, while still in the meeting place, he was interrupted by a man who was deeply disturbed and yelling out, 24 "What business do you have here with us, Jesus? Nazarene! I know what you're up to! You're the Holy One of God, and you've come to destroy us!" 25 Jesus shut him up: "Quiet! Get out of him!" 26 The afflicting spirit threw the man into spasms, protesting loudly - and got out. 27 Everyone there was incredulous, buzzing with curiosity. "What's going on here? A new teaching that does what it says? He shuts up defiling, demonic spirits and sends them packing!" 28 News of this traveled fast and was soon all over Galilee.

There are two places to stand in this text:  With the people who were amazed or with the man possessed by an evil spirit, who experienced the power of Jesus Words.

We probably see ourselves with the first choice - for we are not demon possessed!  Yet it is the demonic who goes home with something.  So what might it mean if we stood with him?

It would mean we have our own demons which need to be recognized and confessed.  Obvious ones: alcohol, drugs, tobacco, caffeine, money,; less obvious: greed, pride, selfishness, dishonesty, lust for power and prestige.  We need to be exorcised, cleansed, changed if we are to “put on the new nature”, that is, if we are to put on “compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, and patience, for bearing one another, and forgiving each other, ...putting on love...”

Eph. 3:12-14 

We have our own demons 

which need to be 

recognized and confessed.

Prayer thoughts for the week:  “Lord, help me recognize my own demons,  confess them, and be set free, ‘putting on love’.”

Mark 1:14-20 (The Message)

 Jan. 24, 2021  Third Sunday of Epiphany

14 After John was arrested, Jesus went to Galilee preaching the Message of God: 15 "Time's up! God's kingdom is here. Change your life and believe the Message." 16 Passing along the beach of Lake Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew net-fishing. Fishing was their regular work. 17 Jesus said to them, "Come with me. I'll make a new kind of fisherman out of you. I'll show you how to catch men and women instead of perch and bass." 18 They didn't ask questions. They dropped their nets and followed. 19 A dozen yards or so down the beach, he saw the brothers James and John, Zebedee's sons. They were in the boat, mending their fishnets. 20 Right off, he made the same offer. Immediately, they left their father Zebedee, the boat, and the hired hands, and followed

This is where the action comes; the doing; the getting involved in that which disturbs our otherwise complacent lives and causes us to stand up for something, do something, say something it would be easier to leave unsaid or undone.

It means getting involved in life for God.  Or better yet, letting God get involved in life through us.  It means we are called to do what Jesus would have us do, not what we want to do.  And that means compassion will be at the core of all we do.

To follow Jesus is to be led where we would not otherwise go and to be doing what we would otherwise not be doing.  And it would be doing this now!  Ours is not to reason why God loves so.  Ours is but to do and die to self so we can live in the grace which delights in being gracious and merciful.  Not judgmental but compassionate!

As we enter a new year with great potential we need to hear Jesus call to follow him into the issues and challenges which we face, daring to trust that “the goodness of God” is at the heart of it all, and needs to be in our hearts too!   

“The process of signing on with Jesus 

consists of relinquishing what is old 

and treasured and receiving what 

is promised in the goodness of God.”  

Walter Brueggemann

Prayer thought for the week:  “Lord, help me to be less judgmental, more compassionate; that your goodness may be reflected in my living.”  Amen