We Know Who You Are

•July 3, 2012 • Leave a Comment

Character assessment – we all do it.  Whenever we meet someone we immediately start weighing them up.  Do we like them?  Can we trust them?  Do we want to hear more of what they say?

Sometimes our snap decisions are wrong.

Mark 6:1-6

A prophet without honour

6 Jesus left there and went to his home town, accompanied by his disciples. 2 When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed.

‘Where did this man get these things?’ they asked. ‘What’s this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing? 3 Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?’ And they took offence at him.

4 Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is not without honour except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.’ 5 He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few people who were ill and heal them. 6 He was amazed at their lack of faith.

How often have you missed something because you have dismissed someone because of their appearance, the way they talk, something you’ve heard about them, or some other feeling that doesn’t give them a chance?

Are we missing hearing the voice of Jesus?

Thank you Lord,

that it’s not who we are,

where we’re from,

who our parents are,

our occupation,

or anything else that matters

– but that we speak of you.

May we allow others to speak

and hear what you are saying to us through them

Posted in bible, Jesus, Lectionary, Religion
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Strength in Weakness

•July 2, 2012 • Leave a Comment

Several years ago I was planned to preach for an important service.  It had all been planned carefully with others taking part.  During the night I came down with an awful kidney infection.  I was in agony, but felt it was too late and too complicated to pull out and ask someone to cover.  People said afterwards what a great sermon it had been – I had no idea, I was so ill.  But that I think is the point.  I had nothing to give that day, fortunately God did.  In my total weakness, he was able to get a word in and he spoke.  It was a sobering reminder.

 

2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know – God knows. 3 And I know that this man – whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows – 4 was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell. 5 I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses.

6 Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, 7 or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

I suppose this is the other side of the healing stories we have had in recent weeks.  Paul has prayed for healing, for his “thorn” to be taken from him, but God has chosen to use him in and through his weakness.  We don’t know what Paul’s weakness is, but in a sense it doesn’t matter, it is how it effects him that is his story.  For Paul it was a constant reminder that he could do nothing without God, I suppose we would say it kept him humble.

It’s an encouragement to me that “even” Paul was not physically healed by God.  God does not always work that way.  He can, and he does, but not always.  Sometimes we are left to live and grow with the pain, and it is in that that our healing comes, and our call is worked out.   God does not wish illness or weakness on us to keep us in our place, but it is in our weaknesses that we find God’s strength, in the times we realise what we can’t do, that we discover what he can – in and through us.

By John Desjarlais from Pasadena, USA (Flickr) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons

Lord,

I offer you my weaknesses,

that in you may be my strength.

Thank you that you never fail,

work in and through me

I pray

 

Posted in bible, God, Lectionary
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Hurry Up Jesus

•June 27, 2012 • Leave a Comment

He’s here, he’s here at last.  He can help, I know he can.  My daughter is so ill, but I just know that he is the one who can help.

I’ve heard so much about this Jesus – the amazing things he’s done in people’s lives – freeing them from all kinds of things that have held them and crushed them.

If he can’t help then my daughter will die, I know she will.  But he’s so busy, there is so much need and so many people want a bit of him.

Yet he comes with me!

Lots of others followed too.  I suppose they wanted to see what miracle he would achieve this time.  There was lots of pushing and shoving, people wanting the best spots, wanting to talk to him as we jostled along.

Then Jesus stopped.  He wanted to know who had touched him.  Silly question if you ask me, there’s so many crowding round.  Doesn’t he realise the seriousness of my daughter’s condition, how dire the situation?  Time is of the essence here, and Jesus wants to ask daft questions.  But then I saw it was important to him.  This wasn’t just pushing or grabbing he was asking about.  He knew that someone had reached out to him in their need and their life had been changed.  He wanted to stop and talk to them.

But what about my daughter?

Come on, come on!  Time is short.

But Jesus has time.  Healing is more than about removing the physical symptoms, he wants to talk to the woman and make sure she is wholly OK.  I can’t begrudge her – It’s what I want for my daughter.

Then the worst news comes.

It’s too late.

My daughter has gone.

I’d better leave Jesus to the people he can help…

But no, “Don’t worry!”, he says.

“Don’t worry?”. that’s a bit hard.  My precious daughter is dead and Jesus says don’t worry?!

But he insists it isn’t too late.  My daughter is not going to suffer because he stopped to help someone else along the way.  Jesus has time for everyone who needs him.

So he carries on with me to my house.  What a commotion there was, but Jesus pushes through it.  He takes my little girl by the hand and told her to get up.

And she did.

He was right.  She was not beyond his reach and his touch.

I wondered if Jesus had time for me and my daughter; I thought it was too late – but it wasn’t; Jesus was just in time, his time.  I thought others were getting in the way with their needs, but Jesus gave them the same time he gave me and my daughter.  He met them in their need – and he met me in mine too.

Mark 5:21-43

A Dying Girl and a Sick Woman

21 Once again Jesus got into the boat and crossed Lake Galilee.Then as he stood on the shore, a large crowd gathered around him. 22 The person in charge of the Jewish meeting place was also there. His name was Jairus, and when he saw Jesus, he went over to him. He knelt at Jesus’ feet 23 and started begging him for help. He said, “My daughter is about to die! Please come and touch her, so she will get well and live.” 24 Jesus went with Jairus. Many people followed along and kept crowding around.

25 In the crowd was a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years. 26 She had gone to many doctors, and they had not done anything except cause her a lot of pain. She had paid them all the money she had. But instead of getting better, she only got worse.

27 The woman had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind him in the crowd and barely touched his clothes. 28 She had said to herself, “If I can just touch his clothes, I will get well.” 29 As soon as she touched them, her bleeding stopped, and she knew she was well.

30 At that moment Jesus felt power go out from him. He turned to the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”

31 His disciples said to him, “Look at all these people crowding around you! How can you ask who touched you?” 32 But Jesus turned to see who had touched him.

33 The woman knew what had happened to her. She came shaking with fear and knelt down in front of Jesus. Then she told him the whole story.

34 Jesus said to the woman, “You are now well because of your faith. May God give you peace! You are healed, and you will no longer be in pain.”

35 While Jesus was still speaking, some men came from Jairus’ home and said, “Your daughter has died! Why bother the teacher anymore?”

36 Jesus heard what they said, and he said to Jairus, “Don’t worry. Just have faith!”

37 Jesus did not let anyone go with him except Peter and the two brothers, James and John. 38 They went home with Jairus and saw the people crying and making a lot of noise. 39 Then Jesus went inside and said to them, “Why are you crying and carrying on like this? The child isn’t dead. She is just asleep.” 40 But the people laughed at him.

After Jesus had sent them all out of the house, he took the girl’s father and mother and his three disciples and went to where she was. 41-42 He took the twelve-year-old girl by the hand and said, “Talitha, koum!”  which means, “Little girl, get up!” The girl got right up and started walking around.

Everyone was greatly surprised. 43 But Jesus ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened. Then he said, “Give her something to eat.”

Thank you Lord

that you have time for me.

You know my need –

and how to meet it.

Forgive me when I get impatient

that you aren’t doing what I want

in the time I want it.

Forgive me

when I think you are looking after others,

when you could be doing something for me.

Thank you that you care for us all,

and are present in our lives,

when we see it and when we don’t.

Reach out,

Lord I pray,

to those who especially need to know your touch this day,

let them know you are there with them,

as they see all that you can do.

Posted in bible, Jesus, Lectionary
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