Monday, week five: Who’s your friend? (Devotions for Lent from the Gospel of Mark)

Jesus has called himself the “Son of Man” half a dozen times already. 

This time he says the Son of Man will be betrayed and killed. Then after three days, the Son of Man will rise again. His disciples have no idea who or what he is talking about. Worse than that, they are afraid to ask him anything about it. Although Jesus has given them his own power and authority, they failed to heal a convulsing boy. Maybe that failure has something to do with their silence on the matter. So, as they journey through Galilee, they talk to one another, but not to him.

They arrive back at Capernaum, the Galilean town where Jesus first cast the unclean spirit out of the man in the synagogue. Capernaum is the town where he healed Peter’s mother-in-law of her fever. In this town the crowds first gathered and from here his fame began to spread.

They enter the house and Jesus discovers that while he has been talking about his own death and walking along in silence, his disciples have been arguing with one another about their greatness. Jesus is facing the certainty of his suffering and death, and they are having a fight about who among them is his best friend.

Jesus says they know nothing about friendship. They think Jesus’ power and notoriety are going to land them in a palace somewhere. They think friendship with him will be glitzy and glamorous. They think his empire will make things easier for them.

Jesus seizes the moment. He sits them down and breaks the news to them. Friendship with him doesn’t make anything easier. Friendship with him means putting others before yourself. It means putting everyone before yourself.

Friendship with him means humility, service, compassion. Friendship with him means noticing the people no one notices. Friendship with him means extending welcome. It means crossing boundaries and challenging your own prejudices.

Jesus says that when you’ve done that, you’ve welcomed God.

Text for the day:

Mark 9:30-37

Things to think about:

Our prejudices are in our blind spots.

Things to do:

Welcome somebody you wouldn’t ordinarily gravitate toward.

Jesus, help me welcome others as you have welcomed me.

Saturday, week two: The faith of friends (Devotions for Lent from the Gospel of Mark)

Jesus returns to Capernaum after proclaiming the message in synagogues and casting out unclean spirits throughout the Galilee region. He draws a crowd wherever he goes, and his own hometown is no exception. Once word gets out he’s there, it’s standing room only at Jesus’ house. The crowd is so large that the entrance is blocked. No one is getting in or out.

Some friends of a paralyzed man approach the house, four of them carrying him on a mat. Seeing no way to get near Jesus, these friends climb onto the house, dig a hole through the clay and thatched roof, and lower their friend down to Jesus.

Jesus looks up at the man’s friends. Seeing their faith, he says to the man on the mat, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

What a miraculous moment. Jesus doesn’t forgive the man’s sins because of his faith; he forgives them because of the faith of his friends. It’s a miraculous moment for everyone who believes, because this moment tells us that our faith matters. This moment tells us that when we pray and act faithfully on behalf of others, Jesus is moved to make a difference for them. That is a miracle indeed.

The religious leaders in Jesus’ day miss this entirely. They argue about authority and blasphemy. They get bent out of shape because Jesus is talking like God.

Of course, Jesus sees right through them. If it’s rhetoric they want, it’s rhetoric they’ll get. Jesus can play that game, too. He responds by calling himself “the Son of Man,” a title the prophet Daniel used to speak about the One given eternal dominion by God. Then, to demonstrate the extent of his power, he tells the paralyzed man to get up and walk. The man gets up and makes his way out of the house. That shuts everyone up.

In total amazement, they begin to praise God.

Text for the day:

Mark 2:1-12

Things to think about:

Daniel has a vision of the Son of Man interacting with the Ancient of Days. Read about it in Daniel 7.  In chapter 1, Mark calls Jesus “Son of God.” In chapter 2, Jesus calls himself “Son of Man.” What does this mean?

Things to do:

Pray for your friends. Pray for your enemies. Keep faith.

Jesus, be king and God in our world.