Mark 5:14-20, Take Two

One thing that initially bothered me about this passage is how Jesus says, "No."

Look at it in verse 18-19. The formerly demon-possessed guy wants to follow Jesus. Who wouldn't want that guy around as a walking testament to Jesus' power?! Yet Jesus sends him home and tells him to let his family and friends know how much the L-RD has done for him and how He has had mercy on him.

And the guy does it.

The next time we see Jesus on that side of the lake, the crowds are not pleading with Him to leave, but begging Him to heal!

I wonder if I have that same kind of passion that this demon-possessed guy had. He left Jesus not disappointed that he couldn't follow the L-RD around, but infused with life for what Jesus had done for him. He couldn't contain himself!

How about you? Do you have that same drive? When G-D says, "No" to your idea, do you say, "YES!" to His? This demon-possessed guy changed his whole area by saying "Yes" to Jesus and telling everyone he could about how the L-RD had mercy on him.

I want to be like that.

Standing

Before class Wednesday night, I had people stand up and recite the Sh'ma from Deut 6 and Lev 19, and I asked everyone why I had them stand.

"Out of reverence," was the response.

"Then why do we not stand the entire time?" I asked.

Orthodox congregations stand during the entire 2-3 hour liturgy. We stand up and cheer for our favorites teams at games. As we come before our most holy L-RD, should we not in our own meager ways offer Him our physical all?

Thoughts?

Mosques

There have been many musings floating around on the Internet regarding the building of a mosque near Ground Zero. Here are a few of my thoughts regarding Islam:

First, it amazes me the level of fear expressed by America in general, and specifically Christians. I received an email just this week which spoke of different percentages of Muslims in different countries and what different percentages mean for that country. (For example, France with 8% has Muslims pushing for clean food in Supermarkets - called halal; while a place like Ethiopia with a 32.8% Muslim population has rioting, jihad militia formations and sporadic killings.) Have we forgotten already that perfect love drives out fear? I know several muslims (not so devout) who would give me the shirt off their back. Just like in Christianity, 80% do 20% of the work and 20% do 80%. In other words, just as all Christians are called out to be passionate followers of Jesus does not mean that all are. Same in Islam.

Second, what would happen if they took over the world? Does that mean Jesus will not continue to shine His light through underground Christians? So what if they kill us as believers in Jesus? There are few greater privileges than this: dying for your Friend! What an honor!

Third, Jesus did not seem very interested in politics. If He had been, He would have ousted the Romans from Israel and the world! Don't forget that the people wanted to make Him king, and He declined the offer.

Fourth, retaliating with violence and bigotry does not seem to be the answer. So we boycott our dealings with Muslims? We kill them? Sounds like we are doing the same thing to them that they are doing to us. This is not the way of Jesus.

Anyway, these are a couple of my thoughts.

What do you think?

Gone but not Forgotten

I apologize for my absence. Jamie and I have been enjoying family and friends in beautiful (and cool) Colorado this past week. I am still recuperating from the exhaustion (emotional, spiritual, and physical) we experienced, but know that it was exhaustion of a good kind.

We began our "vacation" on Saturday night with a wedding, traveled all night to baptize 3 young guys and their mother Sunday morning (in a VERY cold river), met and stayed in the homes of many people we hold dear, taught an adult class on Wednesday night, cut enough dead aspen trees to make loads of furniture, met a new "niece" (what is the daughter of your wife's first cousin called?) and spent time with great family, and then culminated the weekend with a funeral for Jamie's great-granddad on Saturday morning (he was 97!). Are you now tired for us?

A near perfect way to celebrate life (only Sabbath was missing).

To those out there in blog-sphere whom we encountered, thank you for all you do to make Jamie and my life so full of G-D's rich blessings.

And thank you, Father, for all the blessings we have in and through Jesus!!!

Mark 5:14-20, Take One

So many things jump out of this passage that I will actually have two posts for it.

The aspect I wish to address here regards fear. We noticed at the end of chapter four that after Jesus calms the storm the disciples are terrified. Their worst fears were probably confirmed at the beginning of chapter 5 when after they cross over to the other side they are immediately confronted by a possessed, wild, crazy, strong, naked guy who is shouting at the top of his voice, "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High G-d?! (Welcome to the other side, disciples.)

After Jesus drives out the legion of demons, people come from the town and countryside. And suddenly, the fear transfers to them. So much so, that they PLEAD with Jesus to leave! They beg the Son of G-D to leave their homeland.

It actually reminds me of another story we find in the Tanakh (Old Testament): Exodus 20:18-19. This one regards the Israelites who stand at Mt. Sinai and are consumed with dread. They are so terrified that they ask Moses to stand as mediator and speak with G-D on their behalf.

And thus, we have two peoples who, when they encounter the L-RD, plead in some way to have Him remove Himself from their presence. First the Israelites; now the foreigners.

That same fear plagues us today. We don't want an encounter with G-D - our comfort zones stretched, our assumptions about life challenged, our lives changed. We like things the way they are. We have our freedom, our things, our friends. What more do we need?

Yet G-D continues to come. Jesus shows up where we least expect Him, and we get scared. But we cannot allow our fear to consume us. We must give room for G-D to come in and change us.

So, how has fear kept you from encountering G-D? What have you done to combat those fears?