Sunday, week one: The beginning of Jesus’ ministry (Devotions for Lent from the Gospel of Mark)

Once John has been removed from Galilee, Jesus takes his place center stage in Mark’s story.

He is an angellos (see Thursday, week one, to refresh your memory), but not an angellos of the ruling authorities. He hasn’t come with a trumpeter or an edict from the emperor. He has come alone, with the edict of God. He comes proclaiming a new world order, to which the whole world must bend its will.

Make no mistake. Jesus’ proclamation is not about sin. It’s not about spiritual righteousness. It’s not about guilt, shame, or right religion. It’s not about asking God to cleanse our auras and put a right spirit within us. It’s not even about individuals. Jesus’ proclamation is about empire. It’s about world order. It’s about everyone, altogether. Mark writes about Jesus using empire language and puts a message of empire proclamation in his mouth.

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the euagellion.” Believe not in the messages heralded by trumpeter’s and announced from unrolled scrolls from Caesar. Believe not in taxes, control, force, or earthly rule of any kind.

Jesus calls people to bend their wills on their own. Away from Caesar. Away from Herod. Away from Pilate. Away from them and toward someone else. The empire of God, which trumps the Roman Empire, and all other empires, is near.

Jesus’ ministry is a ministry of proclamation. He hasn’t come to teach, or heal, or cast out unclean spirits. He has come to proclaim. He will reiterate that. He has come to tell everyone to align their loyalties with the One who just split the heavens open.

Text for the day:

Mark 1:14-15

Things to think about:

Jesus has come to proclaim, and not to teach or heal. What do you think of that?

How much power and promise do proclamation hold?

How much authority do you give to earthly authorities? Which parts are appropriate and which are inappropriate?

Have you relegated Jesus to the spiritual realm?

Things to do:

Spend some time in prayer for the world’s political leaders, especially the ones you don’t like.

Spend some time in prayer for those who suffer at the hands of political powers.

Jesus Christ, proclaim the euangellion to all the world.

Saturday, week one: Jesus’ repentance and formation (Devotions for Lent from the Gospel of Mark)

In those days, Jesus came from Nazareth to the Jordan River to be baptized by John. He would have walked 8 ½ hours, from inland city to lakeshore to river inlet, covering the terrain across which word of John’s powerful presence had spread.

Apparently Jesus thinks that he, too, needs the word from the wild, that reordering of mind and soul that sets the creation in right relationship with the Creator. But something surprising happens as Jesus emerges from the waters of the Jordan. He sees the heavens ripped apart, a schism opening between the divine and the earthly, never to be mended. Across the divide, the Spirit like a dove, the smallest of creatures used for sacrifice in God’s holy Temple, wafts downward upon him. And from heaven a voice only he can hear blesses him, “You are my beloved Son, with you I am well pleased.” It’s unclear that anyone else witnesses what he does.

Then, the same Spirit that descended like a dove drives him immediately into the wild places John knows so well. This Spirit has both gentleness and power. From city, to lakeside, to river, to wilderness, Jesus now knows what John knows. Wild places are not necessarily kind. Mark does not tell us exactly what Jesus encounters in the wild, only that it is satanic and dangerous; wild and yet still infused with divinity. Mark does, however, tell us how long he is there, forty days. Forty days calls to mind other 40s from sacred story:

40 days and nights the earth flooded while Noah found safety in the ark

40 days Joseph spent embalming his father Jacob’s body

40 years the wandering Israelites ate manna in the wilderness

40 days and nights Moses spent atop Mount Horeb with God

40 days the Israelite spies scoped out the promised land

40 years the Israelites spent captive to the Philistines

40 days Goliath takes his stand and issues his challenge to the Israelite army

40 years of David, Solomon, and Joash’s kingly reigns

40 days and nights Elijah fled from Jezebel’s wrath

40 days God grants Ninevah to repent

In sacred story, forty is significant. In every case, it represents a time of spiritual cleansing, a really long time of contemplation and re-ordering.

Text for the day:

Mark 1:9-13

Things to think about:

What could it mean that a schism opened between heaven and earth?

What significance can forty days of Lent hold for you?

Things to do:

Hold these forty days as a time of spiritual cleansing for you, your communities, and world. During these days, look for modern sacred story.

God, re-order things according to your will.

Friday, week one: The proclamation of John (Devotions for Lent from the Gospel of Mark)

John appears in the wilderness dressed like a wild man. He is not wild in the sense of being out of his mind or untouchable, but in the sense of having spent a great amount of time in wild and untamed places. He has been living close to the land, feasting on all the things the land provides.

John certainly knows the struggle to find enough food for each day. He has learned to forage. He knows the edible plants around him, takes his protein from an abundance of flying locust, and has a source for honey. He shelters in local caves, finding respite there from rain and cold, and basks in the sun at river and wadi edge. He is skilled in the tanning of animal hides, and clothes himself in camel skin.

In tune with flower, bee, insect, animal, day, night, season, and terrain, John is a man of the land, a man close to creation, and one who knows how to flourish from the provision of the earth alone.

Our prophets all come from such places, in tune with the wild nature of creation and having spent time close to the earth in solitude. There, without any distraction from the civilized world, they clear their heads and gain perspective. They re-learn the created order: There is God, the Creator; and us, the creation. They suffer no illusion about power or greed.

Then they come to us, clear in heart and soul, with proclamation and action.

John comes proclaiming an examination of conscience and offering baptism for the forgiveness of sin. He calls people to a new way of life, ordered less from civilization and more from the wild. People flock to him, understanding that he knows something they don’t. There is something holy and even right about this wild man.

And then he says, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie his sandal strap.” Don’t come to me, but to him.

Text for the day:

Mark 1:2-8

Things to think about:

What happens in you when you spend time in the wild or thinking about the wild?

What kind of life do you think God is calling you to live? What will it require of you?

Things to do:

Begin the day by remembering your baptism. Take some water, ask God to bless it with the power of the wild and the power of repentance, and mark yourself with the sign of the cross on your forehead, hands, and feet.

God, send One more powerful than a prophet from the wild.

Thursday, week one: The beginning of the euangellion (Devotions for Lent from the Gospel of Mark)

Mark’s gospel begins with a sentence fragment, “The beginning of the euangellion of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”

That word, euangellion, has become for us the word “gospel” or “good news.” A derivative form of the word, angellos, has become for us the word “angel.” We associate both of these with heavenly revelations, lofty aspirations, and divine callings. Angels bring a saving word to us, a word with the power to grace and transform a broken world.

Mark’s hearers, however, would have heard these words quite differently. An angellos was quite simply a messenger. And euagellion? That was an edict from the emperor or other ruler over a particular territory.

To put things in the context of Mark’s hearers, we might think of the messenger with a scroll, accompanied by a trumpeter. The trumpet sounds, the people gather, the scroll is unrolled, and the official messenger begins, “Hear ye, hear ye….” What follows is not necessarily good news, but rather a pronouncement of how things are going to be from now on. Military drafts, increased taxes, moral and social standards, obligatory tributes and festivals, and more were all announced in this way. A euangellion was carried to the people by an angellos, as a primary communication from an empire exerting its authority, yet again.

If there were any doubt about Mark’s intent here, one could look closely at the title he uses for Jesus. Mark makes it abundantly clear that what follows is an edict from the empire when he calls Jesus “Son of God.” That title in Mark’s time was a title for Caesar, and Caesar alone.

Text for the day:

Mark 1:1

Things to think about:

How would the ruling empire have reacted to this pronouncement of Mark’s?

How do you react?

The word evangelical also comes from this root word euangellion. What does that word mean to you? What could it mean?

Things to do:

Hallow out a space in you for the euangellion of Jesus Christ, emperor. How might you do this? Rest, pray, intentionally take some quiet moments, recover your lost art, meditate, do yoga…. There are as many ways as there are people. Make a beginning today as part of your Lenten journey.

Ask Jesus Christ, the Son of God, to give you a euangellion during these Lenten days.

Jesus Christ, Son of God, help me to hear and understand.

Ash Wednesday: We begin…and end (Devotions for Lent from the Gospel of Mark)

The Gospel of Mark is the earliest and shortest of the four gospels.

It is a ground-breaking literary work, the first in a new genre of literature. The gospel writer (hereafter called “Mark”) draws upon the structure of the epic Greek tales of his era, stories of gods, demi-gods and heroes who overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles, usually in the form of natural disasters, angry gods, and/or terrifying beasts, to rescue the lost, forsaken, innocent, or defenseless. In this way, a “gospel” is true to the epic Greek form. In another way entirely, Mark gives us new literature. His “gospel” is new piece of art. His “hero” is not a god, demi-god, nor one with super-human intellect and power fighting supernatural forces of one sort or another, but Jesus, the flesh and blood of the one true God. This Jesus comes not to save us from powers outside ourselves, but from ourselves.

Mark’s gospel begins with a sentence fragment, “The beginning of the euangellion of Jesus Christ, the Son of God,” and ends-mid sentence, “And they said nothing to anyone; fear seized them, for….” Both the beginning and the ending of Mark’s gospel have been massaged and smoothed over for modern readers, as translators worked to make sense of ancient document fragments and puzzled over Mark’s motives.  For sure, this is a weird way to start and a weird way to end. More about that as we go.

This Lenten journey will work with the entire gospel of Mark, asking questions of his style, choice of words, characters, and intent. We will look at his original words and wonder together. Along the way, perhaps, this story will live in us, as Mark intended.

Text for the day:

Mark 1:1 and Mark 16:8b

Things to think about:

What have you massaged or smoothed over to make things more palatable for yourself and the people around you?

What have you been idolizing instead of God?

Things to do:

Receive ashes today, as a reminder of the disciplines of Lent and the possibility of being restored to right relationship with God and your true self.

God, remind me who you are. Remind me who I am.

you are healed of your ailment

Much suffering is healed when people realize they are seen. 

Jesus sees a woman bent over; he says to her, "Woman, you are set free from your ailment." Then he lays his hands on her, she stands up straight, and immediately begins praising God.

This story has me thinking about healing in general. Somehow, when we are hurting, the experience of being alone, going unnoticed, and remaining unseen, makes matters worse. However, when we feel important, like we matter, things shift. Even if our situation or our circumstances remain awful, somehow we find hope and new strength when we realize we are known; when we are seen. 

The story of the women "bent over and quite unable to stand" occupies my attention for another reason. When Jesus says, "Woman, you are set free from your ailment," that word "ailment" can mean many things. In the New Testament in the original Greek, that word is used in various places to describe illness, weakness, helplessness, lack of energy, sickliness, affliction, distress, oppression, calamity, inefficiency, dubiousness, and hesitancy.

Thank God.

Because this word has so many uses, we can hear Jesus saying to the woman quite unable to stand, "Woman, you are set free from whatever it is you are carrying that is too heavy for you."

Thank God, because Jesus does the same for you and me.

Jesus sees you. He sees what you are carrying and your bent-over-quite-unable-to-stand-ness. He pronounces, "You too, are set free from your ailment." 

Jesus sees you. 

You matter.  Want more? Click here to read Luke 13:10-17, the story of the woman quite unable to stand. 

give us our daily bread

Jesus went to a certain place to pray, and when he returned, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray the way John taught his disciples.” Jesus proceeded to teach them.

The words of his teaching are famous amongst Christians; we call them “The Lord’s Prayer.”

In the midst of that prayer, however, is something startling and less famous. Jesus teaches the disciples to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.” Like almost every other phrase in the New Testament, this line is translated from the ancient Greek. However, unlike almost every other phrase in the New Testament, scholars have little idea what this phrase actually means. That’s because the word that is translated “daily” only exists in two places in all of the ancient Greek literature, biblical and otherwise. That word, Greek transliterated “epiousion,” occurs only in The Lord’s Prayer. (It has two occurrences, because it appears in both Matthew’s and Luke’s versions of the prayer.)

So we could say Jesus taught his disciples to pray for “epiousion” bread; or to pray for “what we don’t know that we need.”

It reminds me of the wandering Israelites, who cry out to God for sustenance. God delivers “manna” in the wilderness, which in the Hebrew literally means God delivers “what is it?”

God seems to be in the habit of gifting us with things we don’t even know we need and feeding us with unusual things that defy our naming. God feeds us with “what is this stuff?”

Might we learn to pray, “God, each day give to us the things you see that we need, even though we don’t know what they are”?

“Give to us each day our epiousion bread.” Want more? Click here to read Luke 11:1-13.
To listen to the sermon, click here.

even the demons

When the demons "Legion" met Jesus in the country of the Gerasenes, they begged not to be cast back into the abyss.

Catch that! The demons begged Jesus not be sent back where they came from!

Now that makes me think.

Even the demons don't like where they came from. The thousands of them would prefer to dwell on top of each other inside of one man than be where they came from. They would even prefer to be in a herd of pigs than be where they came from. And they beg Jesus to do something other than send them back. They beg Jesus.

Even more surprising? Jesus listens to them and grants their request!

The pig farmers see it all. They watch the demons come out of the crazy man and enter the pigs; they watch the pigs race down the hill and drown in the lake; they see the crazy man clothed for the first time in years, seated at Jesus' feet, and in his right mind. And they are terrified. They beg Jesus, too. They ask him to leave, and he grants their request, too.

Now that really makes me think.

Who is this Lord?

In the country of the Gerasenes, Jesus is not only Lord over the demons, but the Lord of the demons. He is not only Lord over fear, but the Lord of the fearful. He is not only Lord over the demon-possessed, but the Lord of the demon-possessed. He takes everyone at their word, exactly as they are. He hears them all. Even the demons.

Who is this Lord?

Jesus is the one who has "power over" and "compassion for." No suffering is beyond his healing. No place is beyond his reach. No creature is outside of his care. Not even the demons. Want more? Click here to read Luke 8:26-39.  
Click here to listen to the sermon

we are one

When we moved to San Antonio 15 years ago, the heavens opened. Ten inches of rain fell on a single day in October of that year, creating a massive wall of water that worked it's way from the edge of the Texas hill country, across the coastal plain, and into the Gulf of Mexico. Cities and towns in its path were submerged; destruction was rampant.

Here we are now in Calgary, beginning a new chapter in our lives and ministry, and again the heavens have opened. Heavy rain in the Rockies has swelled the creeks and rivers from Banff eastward. Downtown Calgary is submerged; the Bow River has been described as an ocean; there is massive flooding over much of Central and Southern Alberta. Time will tell the story of loss and damage.

At times like these, and in amazing personal coincidences like ours, people often turn to the clergy for meaning. People want to know why things happen and why they happen to the way they happen. Much of the time, I give the only answer I have: I don't know.

I don't know why sometimes it floods and sometimes it doesn't. I don't know why people suffer. I don't know why bad things happen to good people, or why good things happen to bad people.

I think that's just how life is. But I, along with my clergy colleagues do have meaning to offer when the world seems to be falling apart. I can offer meaning and assurance that we are cared for in this life and that we are not alone.

For I know that God is the source of life and love.
I know that Jesus has promised to be with us always, whether it's flooding or not, whether it's sunny or not, whether we're good or not, whether we are in San Antonio, Calgary, or anywhere else.

I also know God gives us good gifts in the midst of whatever life brings. We certainly have seen that this week in Calgary. One estimate says up to 100,000 people were displaced from their homes; emergency shelters are reporting a population less than 2000. Why? Friends, family, neighbors, and strangers have opened their homes to the evacuees. Rescue and emergency workers worked 18 - 20 hour shifts to ensure the safety of Calgary's citizens. As of this morning's report, there were no reported injuries of any kind.

It may rain and flood and devastate, but destruction does not have the final word. Goodness wins. Compassion wins. Companionship wins. Love wins.

Out of Calgary this week, you will no doubt hear devastating news. But if you listen and watch closely, you will see humanity come together as one for comfort, shelter, support, restoration, companionship, wholeness.  We covet your prayers, well wishes, and support of all kinds as we journey through these days. We ask for them wherever and whenever anyone is suffering, no matter the circumstances; but perhaps especially in the circumstances that are without media coverage.

Remember that God is good and that we are one.

prayer on the mountain

Sometimes I think Peter was a bumbling idiot.  He missed obvious things. He did silly and hurtful things. And he said some really ridiculous things.

Jesus had led Peter, John, and James up a high mountain to pray. When Jesus’ glory is revealed to him, and when Moses and Elijah appear (These two, by the way, have been gone from the scene for hundreds of years), Peter says to Jesus, “It’s good for us to be here; let’s build three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

Hadn’t he been following Jesus on the way? Hadn’t he witnesses Jesus’ care for the sick and the suffering? Hadn’t he watched Jesus confront those in power on behalf of those who really needed help? And maybe more to the point, what did Peter think they were going to eat and drink on top of that lonely, isolated peak without any resources? And where was he going to sleep?

There was a reason Jesus had taken his friends to this mountaintop in the first place; to pray. They went to experience peace and isolation. Jesus chose a place away from his ministry, known to be close to God, to rest, renew, and gain some perspective.

While there, they are visited by Israel’s greatest prophet, the one God chose to lead people from slavery into freedom, and by the presence of God in a cloud!

Now, I like to think that I’m not like Peter at all. I like to think that if this were to happen to me, I would understand what’s happening, react appropriately, and say eloquent, empowering things. I like to think that the experience of meeting Jesus glorified, Elijah, Moses, and the voice of God from a cloud would embolden me and empower my ministry.

But maybe I’m more like Peter than I care to admit. I like my comfort zone. I like to revel in great experiences. When I’m on vacation, my favorite parts are the beginning and the middle; I hate the end.

But God calls us to the places where life and relationship are happening. God calls us to accompany one another, to care for one another. God calls us to enter into the joys and the messes of other people’s lives, bearing a word of grace, a shoulder to cry on, a presence to share the load. The purpose of the mountaintop is for the valley. Want more? Click here to readLuke 9:28-36.