A Dog's Tongue

 

13 For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us,

ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.

     1 Thessalonians 2:13 (KJV)

The word “received” is used twice in this passage.  I’ve read that in Greek, the first reference simply means hearing the word of God. True, faith comes by hearing the word of God (Romans 1:17).  But we aren't to stop there. The second reference is more specific and means taking it in, digesting it, welcoming it.  We are to let the word of God work in our hearts and apply it to our lives.  I find visuals helpful, so I thought I’d share one I heard recently that has brought clarity and conviction to me on this concept:

There is a fountain in a city and on the front of it, there is the face of a dog and its tongue is hanging out.  Water from the fountain runs over and over down the tongue of the dog and into the basin below.  The dog is exposed to all that water but it doesn’t actually benefit from any of it because the tongue doesn't take it in.

How often are we exposed to the word---it flows through our ears and into our eyes--but does it actually reach our hearts?  Do we really take it in and benefit from it?  This sure cuts at my pride.  I can be diligent about reading the Bible every day, but am I letting it work in my life?  Reading it isn’t enough; the word of God should change us.  Scripture is sharper than any two-edged sword, bringing conviction, rebuke, exhortation and correction.  It can be salt that stings when it exposes sin in our lives.  The word of God is also light and guides us in truth. 

I don't want to be like that dog and hope you don't either.  Let's make sure we really receive the word of God and respond to it, obey it, let it change us every day.

Can You Imagine?

In storytelling, one foundational rule is "show, don't tell". It means that, in a scene, don't tell the reader about the setting, a character, or an action. You show the scene, what would the reader see? You show the character demonstrating their...well, character. You describe the action as it happens rather than simply stating that it happened. Of course, you have to know when to break the rules.

The idea of writing this way is that you draw the reader into the story. They should be able to imagine being there and seeing it, smelling it, feeling the wind on their skin. The more senses involved, the more vibrant the engagement of the reader. Which is great when the scene is important, the character central, and the place meaningful to the plot. Sometimes, the writer simply doesn't have the time for all that.

This entry is being written during COVID-19 restrictions. So, the scene about to be described has a whole new feeling about it. But, remember back to large sporting events, tens of thousands of people, food vendors, crowds? You remember those? Well, this is like that, only with more stink. You see, like those events, people came from all over. Like those events, people moved in massive "herds". 

But unlike those, these people included many sick and "demon possessed". There was a smell of the diseased on top of already pungent smell of sweat, the heightened stress of mentally and emotionally unstable people and caretakers trying to manage moving their charges in such conditions. It was chaos, all centered on Jesus.

Then Jesus went away with his disciples to the sea, and a great multitude from Galilee followed him. And from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, beyond the Jordan River, and around Tyre and Sidon a great multitude came to him when they heard about the things he had done. Because of the crowd, he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him so the crowd would not press toward him. For he had healed many, so that all who were afflicted with diseases pressed toward him in order to touch him. And whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.” But he sternly ordered them not to make him known. (Mark 3:7-12 NET)

There's a lot going on here, but not a lot of detail is given. But let's see if we can unpack some of it. Mark says that the disciples and Jesus traveled to "the sea", which might imply the Mediterranean, except for the instructions "to have a small boat ready". Now we know the "sea" is the Sea of Galilee.

The crowd is next. It's HUGE! And it's made up people, literally, from all over. Look a the map below. These people came from the north, south, east and west. They came because they heard Jesus about the things Jesus was doing. In order to manage His ability to minister to the crowd, Jesus tells His disciples to have a boat ready so He can teach, possibly heal, from just off shore. But it is basically, an escape plan.

The sick pressed toward Him to touch Him and be healed. It is pandemonium around Jesus, and the noise had to be deafening. Normal business along the shore was probably disrupted, which means normal "tax collecting" was probably interrupted, which tends to bring the attention of the authorities. And yet, with all this going on, it seems that the region simply rolls with it. Perhaps this isn't the first time, Jesus isn't the first "messiah" to roll through town, or they're not actually in town, but along the shore outside of a city.

And then there are those possessed by demons. Why are they even there? Don't the demons know what will happen when they get close to Jesus? They cry out who He is, and He silences them. Obviously, Jesus does not what that sort of advertising, but it only adds to the mayhem around Him.

Imagine it. See Jesus along the shore, the crowd, the arms, the shouts, Jesus' disciples trying, in vain, to make space around Him. Is Jesus at peace amidst the chaos? Do you hear His voice yelling in frustration or calmly commanding the unclean spirits? What do you smell among the sick? What are they sick with, the sniffles or a retching, wasting disease? What are those with unclean spirits like? Can you see them?

Jesus gives instructions to His disciples to commandeer a small boat just in case. So, are they walking along the shore, or is Jesus still, standing beside a boat as the mass crowds around Him? Is it a clear day, or cloudy with rain? Is it windy and hot, made more hot and smelly by the mass of humanity?

How do you feel to be among the crowd? How do you feel seeing Jesus? What emotions does His voice invoke in you? 

This is simply a passage linking Jesus' work and teaching about one thing to another set of teachings. Mark mentions it in passing. Yet, so much is packed into it, that when you allow yourself to wander into it through your imagination it can be an overwhelming experience. If you are an introvert, it's terrifying. If you are an extrovert, it's exhilarating. For both, Jesus may bring peace amidst the chaos.

Jesus entered into this intentionally. He wades into the mass of humanity doing exactly what they came to see, healing physically and spiritually. What do you learn by seeing Him beside the sea? What do you learn by following His example?

Precious Life

 26 Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."

27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

     Genesis 1:26-27 (NKJV)

Human life is precious to God.  Out of all His creation, He formed us in His image.  But the world devalues human life by promoting abortion, euthanasia and assisted suicide, by marginalizing the elderly, sick and disabled.  But what about those with what some consider “defects,” such as babies with Downs Syndrome or adults with congenital conditions?  This was an issue even in Jesus’ day and He affirms God’s love and purpose for them.

 1 Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth.

2 And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"

3 Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.

     John 9:1-3 (NKJV)

Jesus explains that the important thing is not how these conditions came about but to trust in the sovereignty of God.  He assures the disciples that God has a good purpose for permitting such things.  For reasons that we don’t understand, God uses sickness, disease and deformities so that His works would be revealed. God created all human life to glorify Him. If we miss that, we miss the entire aim of God’s creation.

Every person—including the born and the unborn, the elderly and the disabled, the orphan and the widow—is cherished in God’s eyes.  By showing love and compassion to those with vulnerabilities, we manifest God’s glory. By protecting and caring for those who are the “least” among us, we honor God.  By affirming and supporting the precious gift of every life, we align ourselves with God’s heart.

Choose Life, a song by the Hyssongs.

So, Which Is It?

 One of the things that drives me nuts is inconsistency. Yet, I work with computers all day, nearly every day. If insanity is defined as, "Trying the same thing over and over expecting different results", then computers breed insanity. With what other invention of humans can you do exactly the same points, clicks, and keystrokes, but get different results?

And yet, inconsistency seems to be part of this world in which we live, even the natural elements we, humans, did not make. In fact, most languages have a word for "inconsistency", some have several. It is a universal element to our existence.

So, when Jesus gives two, seemingly incompatible, reasons for something, it should not be a surprise. If our Creator worked that sort of thing into everything He made, why not make it part of His answers?

Spoiler alert: Fasting is a Christian behavior our Savior refuses to clarify. So, you're not unrighteous if you don't, but there are benefits if you do. Confused? Then think through this segment of Mark with me:

Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. So they came to Jesus and said, “Why do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples don’t fast?” (Mark 2:18 NET)

Mark first wants us to know that both the disciples of John (i.e. the "good guys") and the Pharisee's disciples (i.e. the "bad guys") fasted. How did they know that each other were fasting? And how did they know that Jesus' disciples did not?

To our modern ears, this may sound like these two groups asking Jesus how His disciples get away with not fasting. I can almost hear them whining. To their ears, it was not quite like that. There was an assumption about fasting, and the assumption applied to both John's disciples and the Pharisees.

In the Mosaic law and the prophets, fasting was tied to remorse for sin or to sanctify (or re-sanctify) (see 1 Samuel 7:6 for one, and 31:13 for the other). So, to not fast was to declare yourself unremorseful, or unsanctified. Unless, of course, you are constantly in the presence of God. In which case, you are constantly sanctified by His presence, and forgiven by His "hospitality".

Now, armed with that, we are ready for Jesus' two-pronged answer:

Jesus said to them, “The wedding guests cannot fast while the bridegroom is with them, can they? As long as they have the bridegroom with them they do not fast. But the days are coming when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and at that time they will fast. (Mark 2:19-20 NET)

The first "prong" is that He is with the disciples, so it isn't the right time. Does this speak to the "remorse for sin" or the "sanctification" aspect of fasting? Flip a coin, and either way, you are probably right. It's most likely both. Jesus sanctifies by His very presence, and, as He tells Peter later, in the upper room, they are already clean (or most of them are) (John 13:10).

But, in case that was actually clear, Jesus continues with His explanation:

"No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; otherwise, the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and the tear becomes worse. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins; otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the skins will be destroyed. Instead new wine is poured into new wineskins." (Mark 2:21-22 NET)

Now we have another two options, unshrunk cloth and new wine into old garments and old wineskins. But think about that for a moment: How is what Jesus does/teaches like a new "patch" for old ripped garments? Typically, I am a huge fan of overanalyzing Scripture, but this may be a place it does us little good. I don't think there is an easy correlation to be found between the elements of cloth (old and new, ripped and patch), Jesus' ministry, and that of John and the Pharisees. I believe the point is simply that putting new over old isn't a good idea.

A lot more ink has been applied to the wine and wineskins "parable". In fact, modern worship music loves the imagery. The thing is, it is also possible that this can be over thought as well. Keep in mind that, in Luke, we're told the old is good, so this isn't necessarily criticizing the old but rather, another illustration of how new things and old things do not mix well. 

What we're sure about is that it was not the right time for Jesus' disciples to fast, but that the time would come. What isn't quite as clear is how the meaning and practice of fasting will change. Perhaps what Jesus says on the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6:16-18 is the "new" aspect of fasting, making it more "authentic". 

We're not told that the old is qualitatively bad, only different, in fact, Luke 5:39 says the old is good. So, which is it? How should disciples of Jesus view fasting? Is it an old thing that doesn't belong in Jesus' new teaching? No, He says the time will come. Is it a new thing not to be done the old way? Possibly. But how many ways are there to fast? Don't eat. Next. It's the other stuff that goes with fasting that could be the difference.

With fasting, let's make sure it's the right time, and make sure we do it for reasons that build our walk with our Savior. If we do that, we will fast correctly, the right wine in the right wineskins, the right patch on the right garment.

Lean Not

 

5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;

6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.

     Proverbs 3:5-6 (NKJV)

 I shared these verses in an email to a colleague recently on his last day of work here. I’d like to pass on part of his response in hopes that it will encourage your heart as it did mine: 

 “WE ALL have that problem of leaning too much on our OWN understanding.  ALL that has happened in the world this past year as well as to myself personally has placed me in that position MANY times throughout 2020.  That quote is SO comforting because if you’re a person of faith (even if that faith has taken a back seat lately) it wakes you up immediately and just makes you want to fall into the arms of the Lord, saying, ‘Thanks Lord, I had forgotten about that’.”

It's good to reassess our lives occasionally and get back to the basics of our faith, as these verses call us to do.  Make sure we’re trusting in the Lord, not in ourselves or another person or political party.  Trust with all our heart and always, not just when we have a problem or just on Sundays.  Jesus is to be Lord of our lives, we bow our will to His. 

Lean not on our own understanding, not what the culture or media want us to believe, but on what God says.  There’s a lot of noise everywhere, with diverse perspectives on the every issue.  Where is truth found?  God’s word.  Test everything through the lens of Scripture.  Acknowledge Him in all our ways, seek His wisdom in all we do.  Keep our eyes and our focus on Jesus, for He is the life, the truth and the way.  Let Him direct our path.

Whether you’re a committed Christian or if your faith has taken a back seat lately, I urge you to fall into the Lord’s arms today.  Trust in Him at all times with a devoted heart.  Lean not on anything but Christ's firm foundation.  Seek His perspective rather than looking to the world for truth. Acknowledge Him as Lord of your life. And be sure to thank Him for who He is and all He has done for you.

Religious Abuse

Remember back to a movie you watched, or a book you read, where, at the end, it was a total shock. The butler didn't do it after all, or the bad guy repents and destroys the really bad guy, or the girl gets the other guy (who's not a "frog" after all), and so on. It's about to happen to you again...

Then Jesus entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand. They watched Jesus closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they could accuse him. So he said to the man who had the withered hand, “Stand up among all these people.” Then he said to them, “Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath, or evil, to save a life or destroy it?” But they were silent. (Mark 3:1-4 NET)

The scene is a synagogue, no surprise there. The man with a withered hand is where he can't be missed as Jesus entered, weird, but not a problem. There is a "they" watching Jesus closely to see if He would heal him on the Sabbath, as if Jesus would hide it. This is a trap...obviously (see Proverbs 1:17-18).

 You see the setup, you can probably guess what will happen next, but notice a few interesting details:

After looking around at them in anger, grieved by the hardness of their hearts, he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. So the Pharisees went out immediately and began plotting with the Herodians, as to how they could assassinate him. (Mark 3:5-6 NET)

Notice how Jesus feels. He is grieved and angered by their "hardness of heart". The people had used a human being with an obvious problem, a problem they probably assumed was the result of sin. They may have even told him this was a way to "atone" for such a sin, but probably not. It's likely they didn't care, even that much for him. 

The man stands there "among all the people", probably hiding his withered hand in his cloak, embarrassed and ashamed, wishing very much to be somewhere else. He is on display, something he probably avoided. And Jesus asks those people whether it was "lawful" to do good or evil on the Sabbath, to save a life or destroy. 

Time for the reversal: Who are you in the story? Are you one of Jesus' bewildered disciples? Are you the embarrassed man on display? Do you see yourself as Jesus? Or are you "those people"? It is probably a good exercise for all of us to spend some time viewing ourselves as "those people".

What do you do on Sunday that seems holy but is actually quite profane or common? What does your church do that uses the gathering of people, rather than experiences our Savior's presence? At what point has your worship become more about you than your Creator? In short, when has your worship grieved and angered your Savior?

For "those people" in the synagogue that day, the Sabbath was more about their rules than a man who needed help. Their rules about the practice were more important than those practicing. This grieved and angered their Creator. And in many ways, we are they. And we often worship among them.

Jesus leaves them empty and frustrated. They wanted to accuse Him. Instead, He tells the man to stretch out his hand. There's no rule against that. Jesus didn't make mud, which is like the potter. No one was carrying anything. There was no rabbinic writing specifically prohibiting stretching out your hand, or miraculous healing on the Sabbath. But in their minds and hearts it was obviously WORK! How dare He!

Frustrated in their desire to accuse Jesus according to their traditions and interpretations of the Sabbath, they opt for assassination plots with the local Roman collaborating politicians. That is what these "faithful Jews" were reduced to in order to overcome Jesus. It is almost as if they said in their hearts, "If he will break the law, so will we!" But it is more likely that the law was never in view here, only their status based on how they used the law.

So, what frustrates us? Is it how people abuse the church, or how the church abuses others? Which option glorifies our Savior? Actually, I think it's fairly obvious that neither option does. Those aren't the only two options. Sometimes we can't see the flaw until we view ourselves from the uncomfortable position. 

Here's a better question: What did Jesus want to see in "those people" that He didn't see? That's what we are supposed to be, how we are to respond. We are to be the people our Savior wants to see. Let's make our Savior smile. 

Keep Trusting

1 A Psalm of David. Do not fret because of evildoers, Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.

2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, And wither as the green herb.

3 Trust in the LORD, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.

4 Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

5 Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass.

6 He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your justice as the noonday.

7 Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.

8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret--it only causes harm.

9 For evildoers shall be cut off; But those who wait on the LORD, They shall inherit the earth.

10 For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more; Indeed, you will look carefully for his place, But it shall be no more.

11 But the meek shall inherit the earth, And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

     Psalm 37:1-11 (NKJV)

 

This is a favorite psalm and it speaks to my heart today. The psalmist acknowledges that the world is full of evil and sin, that men bring wicked schemes to pass and that they seem to get away with it.  But believers are told not to fret, because that only causes harm.  Instead, we are exhorted to trust in the Lord and keep trusting Him. 

 Because He is faithful, we can rest in the Lord. Because He is righteous, we can wait patiently for the Lord to make things right in His time.  Instead of giving up, we can delight ourselves in the Lord.  Instead of getting angry, we can be meek as followers of Christ.  Instead of worrying, we can know His peace in our hearts. Instead of making our own plans, we can commit our way to the Lord and seek His will.

God has brought us through a difficult year and He will bring us through this one also.  Because of Him, we are never without hope.  I've heard it said that the world is growing gloriously dark and everything is falling into place according to the Bible.  So trust in the Lord and keep trusting Him, for He is sovereign and He is faithful.

Resting

 The sheer volume of possible puns and clever titles dealing with the Sabbath is overwhelming. It seemed good to go with simple. When it gets right down to it, Sabbath is really about rest anyway. There is a very good chance that, even from Genesis 2, the Sabbath has been a metaphor.

By the time Jesus walked the very ground He created, the Sabbath had become anything but restful. In those days, due to the violent oppressive history of the Jewish people, they had gradually turned a day of rest into one of the most stressful practices of any religion.

The sheer volume of rules surrounding the practice of the Sabbath was so overwhelming, it is difficult to imagine how anyone kept track of all of them. For instance, there seems to be a prohibition to pick heads of grain and eat them on the Sabbath:

Jesus was going through the grain fields on a Sabbath, and his disciples began to pick some heads of wheat as they made their way. So the Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is against the law on the Sabbath?” (Mark 2:23-24 NET)

So, there's this law, among the Ten Commandments, that says: "Remember the Sabbath day to set it apart as holy." (Deuteronomy 20:8 NET). Notice the total absence of picking heads of grain and eating them. "Oh", but you say, "There's more!" Which is true. Here's the "more":

For six days you may labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God; on it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, or your male servant, or your female servant, or your cattle, or the resident foreigner who is in your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them, and he rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy. (Exodus 20:9-11 NET)

So, do your occupation for six days (not five, by the way), and on the sixth, rest from it. I still don't see anything about picking heads of grain to eat as you pass through a field. The Sabbath is for everyone, even servants, but the rationale given by our Creator is creation. He rested after making everything. So, He created the Sabbath too.

The religious leadership had tried to define the term "occupation" so tightly they might not unintentionally miss keeping the Sabbath. They over did it to protect from not doing it at all. But it started by asking, "what does it mean to 'not do any work'?" When we start looking for "loopholes", the answer isn't a tighter net.

Jesus brings up another view to show the Pharisees the problem of their own. Notice that the Pharisees were right there with Jesus, close enough to see what His disciples did. They saw the activity of the disciples, but they were missing their own problem of perspective.

He said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and he and his companions were hungry— how he entered the house of God when Abiathar was high priest and ate the sacred bread, which is against the law for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to his companions?” Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for people, not people for the Sabbath. For this reason the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.” (Mark 2:25-28 NET)

The event being described here is probably from 1 Samuel 21:1-6, and it is not exactly how it is written there. Even so, the point remains, David ate what was devoted to God, and reserved for the priests to eat. Jesus' take away from this event is that "...the Sabbath was made for people, not people for the Sabbath."

What sort of "holy rules" have you, or those with whom you worship, instituted over time? Is there a ritual of music, of preaching, of lighting, or seating? One of the most amazing surprises of 2020 was how resilient even small churches were, adapting to "distance worship", learning to do live webcasts with little or no warning.

The damage done to congregations has yet to be calculated, but the stories of impressive surprising adaptation are easy to find. The story of your congregation is probably your favorite (or should be). And what this taught us is that the "Sabbath" or "holy day of worship" need not be defined as we have always done it.

Our worship, practiced by congregations of called out ones gathered to declare the worthiness of our Savior corporately, is actually a rather flexible concept. Who knew? But it is also a gift from our Savior to us. We were not created for the Sabbath, but, rather, the Sabbath was created for us. And one day, disciples of Jesus will enter into an eternal Sabbath.

So, let's work our butts off, and then, enjoy the rest of our Savior. Cue the massive pipe organ and the "four-creature" quartet! Holy Holy Holy is Yahweh Elohim El-Shaddai! All the earth is filled with His glory! I'm almost too excited to rest, but it sure beats working!  

Most Prized Possession

 

Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.  He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession.  James 1:17-18

My youngest daughter is quite a challenge.  Because of those challenges, my heart is a bit burdened today. I worry about her.  I ask God if I have given her the right direction.  She is not a wild child.  But today, she seemed to weigh on me.  When she wanders off the right path and makes a mistake, you ask yourself if you could have done something differently or pointed her in a direction that would have made everything alright.  Was I too harsh?  Will she make the right choices when she grows up?  Will she reach out to her mother and me when she cannot pick up the pieces?  It is difficult to know like God knows.  When I said that to myself, I then realized something.  She is a gift.

Through all that she has put me through, the many years of tireless arguments over the same things and pressing her repeatedly about what she should do, I’m still thankful to have her as my child.  She could have been any number of places.  But God gave her to Loretta and me.  Through all sixteen plus years, she has been a gift to us.  I am humbled and blessed to have that opportunity to be her Dad, and I need to remember how God saw me.  I certainly was not His best child, but He still loved on me, and He patiently waited to mold and grow me.  And when I was distant from Him, He did not leave me out in the wilderness.  He pursued me until I found my way back to His house.  Despite all our daughter puts us through, we always helped her find a way home.  That is what a good shepherd does with prized possessions.

We are all gifts to God.  When I say ‘gifts,’ I am not saying it in the sense we are to feel entitled or privileged.  Instead, it means to be viewed as something valuable.  If we understand who God is, then we know anything that He values is ultimately priceless, and above all things, we are those who He values most.  Another way to look at God’s value of us is to think of Jesus’s Parable of the Lost Sheep.  Listen how Jesus describes it:

If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it?  And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders.  When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’  Luke 15:4-6

God does not have favorites or sees anyone either more or less valuable.  He sees all of us as His prized possessions not wanting to lose even one of us.  As such, all that we are and all we are given are from Him.  This is amazing to know and more importantly, invaluable to remember particularly at this time of the year.

Our greatest gift is the life God has given us.  Whether it is a child, spouse, family, and friend, all of it comes from Him, and no matter where you see yourself, take a moment to see yourself as God sees you.  The reason Jesus called it The Greatest Commandment is that we are to not only love God but to love our neighbors as … ourselves.  Thus, if we do it right, we do not see others as lesser nor greater.  We see what God sees: an abundance of gifts.  Let us celebrate this Christmas knowing the best gift was not gift wrapped.  It was wrapped in swaddling clothes.  Whose lives will you acknowledge as a gift to you?  How can you value your life as God values it?  My prayer is today we spend time remembering we are God’s most prized possession.  Amen, and Merry Christmas!

Almost Anyone Welcome

 We sometimes like to believe we are special, because we are disciples of Jesus. And, in very important ways, we are. Ironically, we are rarely special in the ways some disciples think. Jesus had to deal with this issue among His disciples, but also among "religious people" on the outside looking in.

Rather than Jesus being on the outside, looking in on the Pharisees, as they expected Him to be, they found themselves on the outside looking in at Him. That had to be very difficult for them to process. Sometimes, we can find ourselves in the same position, and, when we do, Scripture contains several calls to repent.

In such instances, repentance amounts to joining Jesus, not abstaining from something, turning around, or whatever. Repentance is first a change of mind and heart before it is a change of action. In the account of the call of Levi (Matthew), there is a call to the Pharisees to accept the perspective of their Creator, so He might become their Savior.

Jesus went out again by the sea. The whole crowd came to him, and he taught them. As he went along, he saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus, sitting at the tax booth. “Follow me,” he said to him. And he got up and followed him. Mark 2:13-14 NET)

I know, where are the Pharisees? But, trust me, they are there! Matthew is one of those "office" tax collectors, where people come to him, not him going door-to-door with a contingent of soldiers, robbing his own people. He still has the soldier(s), but not the requirement to trapes all over Galilee. So, he's kind of important, even among tax collectors. And He's probably "successful" (think "wealthy") as well. According to the NET translation and "study note" for verse 14, the "tax booth" was for the collection of trade duties on merchants. The belief in the note is that Levi collected them for Herod Antipas, the regional ruler on behalf of Rome.

So, that is what Levi left to follow Jesus. In a similar way to Andrew, Simon, James, and John leaving their occupation, Jesus has called this guy from his. The massive irony to anyone familiar with the Roman practice of tax collection would be that, "you just don't do that." And Levi did. Not only did he leave the lucrative business, but he throws a party for all his "tax collecting" buddies, and other "sinners"...

As Jesus was having a meal in Levi’s home, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. (Mark 2:15 NET)

Matthew (Levi) is not only leaving his "occupation", but is happy about it. I suppose, but don't know, that he could have had someone collect for him while he is off following Jesus. It never says that. Like it never says someone works the fishing business for Andrew, Simon, James, and John. We aren't told they continue to get anything from it while following Jesus. The impression is that they truly left it, and all the benefits thereof, to follow Jesus.

Now, enter the Pharisees...

When the experts in the law and the Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” When Jesus heard this he said to them, “Those who are healthy don’t need a physician, but those who are sick do. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Mark 2:16-17 NET)

The Pharisees are, unexpectedly for them, on the outside, looking in at Jesus. And, to His undying shame, He's obviously having fun, which He should never do, no self-respecting rabbi would. I just can't help but think of the line from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, where what really irritated the physicists was that they didn't get invited to those sorts of parties. I suspect the Pharisees, deep down, felt the same way. They were caught between the life of "respect" they maintained fraudulently, and the life of "shame" they witnessed Jesus and His disciples enjoying authentically.

Don't think for second, it was easy for the other disciples here. It had to be somewhat awkward for them as well. They were fishermen, sure, but still respectable Jewish men. Here Jesus was accepting into their number this guy, and then partying with him. The other four probably were more in agreement with the Pharisees than Jesus, at just that moment. And their feelings of "superiority" were about to be dashed by Jesus' response.

Jesus had not come to call the "righteous" but "sinners"? Think that through for a moment. How "righteous" do you suppose Jesus thought the Pharisees really were? If you are not sure about that, look over Matthew 23 and Luke 11. So, if Jesus knows these Pharisees are not righteous, what does He mean? Obviously, "self-righteous". Jesus has not come to call the "self-righteous".

So, the question for you to mull over is, "how am I self-righteous?", and you (and I) need to mull that over from time to time. Self-righteousness creeps in insidiously, and taints our walk with our Savior. Every time I make some headway in a struggle with sin, I feel proud of myself. How ridiculous is that? It wasn't me, not at all, but I'm so proud of myself for taking a few steps with my Savior, as if, for the first time on my own. I'm a bonehead. You may not be, and good for you if not.

In this account, I find that I can drift into the lane of the Pharisees, only to discover that I'm now on the outside looking in at my Savior having authentic fun with "those people". So, what do I do? What should I do? If I'm not in there with my Savior, then I'm not in a "right relationship" with my Creator. The corrective to such a situation is what we call "repentance". In this case, for this particular problem, the answer (repentant activity) would be to join the fun. 

The Pharisees were actually invited to the party, but declined (see any number of parables on that one). They would not shame themselves to eat with "sinners", and, in so doing, chose to be unrighteous. They could not make the paradigm shift to God's paradigm, a paradigm that accepted anyone who authentically sought their Creator. There sat Jesus, the answer to every question their hearts held tight, and they could not let go of their perspective. He was too different.

What is too different for you? What is shaking up your world that you simply can't wrap your head around? Okay, honestly that can happen a lot, in a whole host of circumstances that have nothing to do with God. So, let's be more specific: Where do you see your Creator working as Savior that you struggle to accept? Who is He working with that you believed could never be reached? For you, who are "those people"? Are they defined politically? Are they defined economically? Socially? 

When faced with your Savior working with "those people", the lesson from this passage in Mark is to go in and join the party. So, the message this morning is to "Party On!", because Jesus only calls those willing to humble themselves, shift their paradigms, and enter into the party. Be one of those. Those who won't, won't be called. Don't be that guy.

Party on!