Scriptures for January 29
Thu, 01/26/2012 - 7:17pm — Trina
The scriptures for January 29 can be found at this link:
http://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts.php?id=63
I like this prayer also from the Vanderbilt Library site:
Holy and awesome God,
your Son's authority is found in integrity and living truth,
not the assertion of power over others.
Open our imaginations to new dimensions of your love,
and heal us of all that severs us from you and one another,
that we may grow into the vision you unfold before us. Amen.
Comments
The UMC General Board of
The UMC General Board of Discipleship web site has this to say: 'for this week and the next two weeks, the gospel is front and center, and the Old Testament is "color commentary."
We begin here a shift in the gospel readings from Jesus calling disciples to Jesus giving his disciples "on-the-job training." Our readings from Mark's gospel starting today and for the next two weeks portray Jesus performing miracle after miracle in the presence of his disciples. Being discipled by a master, after all, means learning to say and do what the master says and does so that the disciple becomes like the master. It does not mean simply oohing and aahing at how amazing your master is!'
Hmm, I think I've focused on
Hmm, I think I've focused on "oohing and aahing" for years. I have not rushed to try out everything Jesus showed the disciples. I've always known that (at least for me) doing God's work requires two things: solid connection to God as the power and direction source, and acting as a vessel, that is, getting my own ideas and self out of God's way. When I'm missing one or the other of those, I tend to hang back and remember that I'm not Jesus.
Again, from the GBOD website:
Again, from the GBOD website: "But as disciples of Jesus, we expect nothing less than to encounter directly and learn how to call upon the presence, power, and voice of God ourselves. The people in Deuteronomy wanted someone else, someone special, to be a prophet for them. Disciples of Jesus expect to be made special by becoming like their master in "all his offices" -- including, as we see this week, his office as prophet."
Uh oh, did I know that was part of walking Jesus' path? Well, actually, yes I did. When I was admitted to Harborview Medical Center's Chaplain training program, it was made clear that I was expected to use my "prophetic perspective" to challenge people when needed. It was the most difficult assignment for me. I hadn't gotten very good at it when the term ended, but I had made some progress.
Enough about me (or maybe
Enough about me (or maybe already too much). More importantly, from the BFOD site, try this on for size:
"This is to be noted: What was remarkable in this story was not that Jesus cast out a demon, or even that he talked to the demon. There were plenty of other exorcists in his day. What was remarkable was the authority with which he did so. He did not call upon any other authority in the spirit world to act. Jesus spoke the word, "Shut up, and come out of him!" The demon immediately complied.
What do we as disciples learn from a master who teaches, prophesies, and casts out demons "as one having authority, and not as the scribes" (Mark 1:22)? What does it mean for us, as individual disciples and as the body of Christ, to do the same, here and now?
Remember that Jesus spent several years with his disciples, training them in the ways of the kingdom of God. They were certainly not expected to see this happen once, and immediately do the same thing. Indeed, Mark's gospel, more than any other, shows just how poorly the disciples were "getting it" at nearly every turn.
But eventually they did. And so may we, if we continue to follow Jesus as they did. "
All of us seeking to be
All of us seeking to be disciples of Jesus need to be clear that Jesus intends to equip us "to be prophets with such authority." Not our own counterfeit authority; God's. But as with everything else that matters in life, we'll have to trust and try and fail, and learn and trust and try again. Becoming a disciple means both baby steps and leaps of faith, just as learning to walk did. Ever watch an about-to-be-toddler clinging to a chair and eyeing the gap between her chair and the next one? She'll try to cross that gap, and miss, time and again, but one day she'll suddenly make it all the way. And at that moment, she's got Authority; she *gets* it. An hour later she may fall at the next attempt, but she won't give up, and in a few months it's hard to remember she wasn't always walking and running.
How do we
How do we about-to-be-disciples emulate that learning?
Do you have any friends or
Do you have any friends or family members who have demonstrated it for you? Anyone in your church?
I think of the many church
I think of the many church friends who have stepped forward to take on roles they never sought. If we have served on the staff-parish relations committee, or cared for the children in the nursery, or taught Sunday school for a class of 4-year-olds (8 boys, 1 girl), we have probably had some practice speaking hard truths in love. Maybe we didn't do it perfectly, maybe we need more practice, but if we listened and responded to God's call to that ministry, by showing up we asked Jesus to teach us.
I think this scripture
I think this scripture reminds us to not back away from the tough stuff, to keep placing ourselves on that uncomfortable edge, so that as we let go of our pride and desire to "do it right" every time, we can empty ourselves to be vessels for God's power passing through us.
Here are some great questions
Here are some great questions for us from Douglas Wengeier's book _Keeping Holy Time_:
What kinds of authority do you see in the story in Mark?
What kind of authority is valid for us?
How would we react if someone came in preaching a new message, doing things in an entirely different way, or challenging all the existing structure of authority?
My time is up. If any of you
My time is up. If any of you have tried to enter your own comments but had trouble, please catch me at church or send an email to the church office and they'll forward it to me, and let me know. We had to toughen the process for entering comments because automated "junk" comments were getting posted and I spent significant time deleting them each week. But, we don't want to prevent human beings from participating!
Let's finish with the prayer again:
Holy and awesome God,
your Son's authority is found in integrity and living truth,
not the assertion of power over others.
Open our imaginations to new dimensions of your love,
and heal us of all that severs us from you and one another,
that we may grow into the vision you unfold before us. Amen.
May the Glory of the Lord rise among you. -Trina
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