Follow Me (Mark 1:14-20)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
Come Follow Me, by Jorge Cocco Santángelo 

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the good news of God and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”

As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea, for they were fishers. And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of people.” And immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. Immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him. (New Revised Standard Version)

For all the talk of leadership, developing leaders, and being a leader, there is precious little conversation these days about becoming a follower. Perhaps we have such a dearth of leadership for this very reason, because one can only become a good leader if they experientially know what being a follower is.

The Call of Jesus

The call of Jesus is to pursue him, and he will develop us. Follow Jesus, and he’ll show you how to fish for people. All of Christ’s original disciples listened to Jesus, dropped everything they were doing, and immediately followed him.

I am wondering what would make you drop literally everything you are presently doing to pursue an entirely new life. I am curious what would cause you to follow Jesus without any conditions attached whatsoever. 

I am impressed that Peter and Andrew immediately responded to Jesus. They didn’t question Jesus as to whether this was a short term project or a long term assignment he was calling them to. They did not seek a contract with Jesus or ask how he would impact their stock portfolio. 

The first disciples simply dropped everything and left with Jesus.

I suspect they followed Jesus for the same reason I originally decided to follow him – because Jesus is such a compelling person, so gracious, interesting, and loving, that it was really no decision at all. Everything else pales in comparison with Jesus.

Read all four Gospels and the book of Acts and you will find that believers in Jesus follow Jesus; and those who do not follow Jesus are not believers. Followers follow, and those who do not follow are not Christ’s followers.

Jesus still calls people. He calls us to follow him and he will make us fishers of humanity. Maybe you are concerned about this and say, “I have no idea how to fish for people.” The good news is that Jesus said he would make us fishers of people. Jesus is not looking for people with skills he can use; instead, he calls, then develops people into fishers.

Christ always forms people with the ability to follow his call. Jesus will train us; we only need to answer the call to follow. 

When I was five years old my Dad took the training wheels off my bike and told me to ride it. I told him I couldn’t. He told me to get on the bike and he would run beside me. I got on the bike and started to ride with him holding it. When I began to panic, approaching a tree, I started talking to my Dad. But he didn’t answer… because he wasn’t beside me. He dropped out from shagging me a long way back.

We are not called to follow Jesus based on our skills, but on the lack of them so that Jesus will do in us a work of total allegiance and loyalty to the kingdom of God. 

Jesus will make sure to develop the skills we need in order to do what he has called us to do. We only need to hear and answer the call of Jesus to follow. The following is a parable about the church and being fishers of people: 

“Now it came to pass that a group existed who called themselves fishermen. Week after week those who called themselves fishermen met in meetings and talked about their call to fish, the abundance of fish, and how they might go about fishing. They discussed the importance of fishing and that fishing is the task of every fisherman.  They listened to special speakers talk about fishing and they promoted fishing and looked at all the latest equipment for fishing. They built large buildings called ‘Fishing Headquarters’ so that they could tell as many people as possible about fishing. They organized boards of people to send out fishermen to other places. They offered teaching and classes on how to fish and the best and latest fishing methods. With much training a good many persons got their fishing licenses and became upstanding members of Fishing Headquarters. There was just one thing that they did not do: They didn’t fish. When one person dared to suggest that those who do not catch fish are really not fishermen, the group became angry and kicked that crazy person out their group.”

The Message of Jesus

Jesus said the kingdom of God is near, so repent and believe the good news. For Jesus, the word “kingdom” means God’s intentions and will for this world to come true. Jesus was saying that he is creating a new society – which meant Caesar was not Lord and that people’s loyalty was not ultimately to the Roman Empire. 

The kingdom of heaven, God’s dream society, will eventually spread across the entire earth so that the whole world is God’s sacred space, devoted to love, shaped by justice, living in peace, and abounding with wisdom.  Jesus encouraged us to pray consistent with this idea saying, “May your kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10)

If we find ourselves not really working toward Christ’s idea of kingdom, then we need to “repent and believe the good news” that God is working toward restoring all things to their original beauty and luster. The word “repent” means a change of mind which leads to a change of behavior. And “believe” means to put all your eggs in God’s kingdom basket.

None of this is a suggestion, but is rather a straightforward call to follow Jesus in his kingdom building enterprise on this earth. It would, therefore, be a travesty to simply think about the message for a while and follow Jesus if we feel like it, or get around to it.

Jesus wants to make fishers within family systems, workplaces, neighborhoods, and all the places within a typical sphere of living: This requires the following:

  1. Go where the fish are. Fishing would be easy if we could put a basket by the water and have the fish jump into them! But that is not how it works. Rather, it takes intentional activities that connect people together.
  2. Cast the nets. Peter and Andrew did more than take their boat out to the middle of the lake. To catch fish, they threw their nets into the water. Here is what I believe this means for us: We do what is fair and just to our neighbors. We extend compassion to them and are steadfast in our love, even when others are unlovely. And we do not take ourselves too seriously.
  3. Obey Jesus and walk with him. After Christ’s resurrection, Jesus came to some of the disciples, who had fished unsuccessfully all night. He told them to throw their nets on the other side of the boat – which seemed like nonsense, but they did it anyway. It resulted in a great catch (John 21:1-14). During the three years of Christ’s earthly ministry, the disciples did everything with him – they walked, talked, and ate with Jesus. And when he ascended to heaven, they acted on the Great Commission given to them by Jesus to make other disciples.

May God cleanse our lips and our lives so that we might proclaim the good news of Christ’s kingdom with glad and sincere hearts to the glory of Father, Son, and Spirit.

Eternal God, the refuge and help of all your children, we praise you for all you have given us, for all you have done for us, for all that you are to us. In our weakness, you are strength, in our darkness, you are light, in our sorrow, you are comfort and peace. We cannot number your blessings; we cannot declare your love: For all your blessings we bless you. May we live as in your presence, and love the things that you love, and serve you in our daily lives, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Overwhelmed with Grief (Jeremiah 20:14-18)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment

Cursed be the day
    on which I was born!
The day when my mother bore me,
    let it not be blessed!
Cursed be the man
    who brought the news to my father, saying,
“A child is born to you, a son,”
    making him very glad.
Let that man be like the cities
    that the Lord overthrew without pity;
let him hear a cry in the morning
    and an alarm at noon,
because he did not kill me in the womb;
    so my mother would have been my grave
    and her womb forever pregnant.
Why did I come forth from the womb
    to see toil and sorrow
    and spend my days in shame? (New Revised Standard Version)

Perhaps you feel as though you must put on a good face, a decent front for others to see. It could be that you don’t like other people seeing you upset or cry because it can be embarrassing. Maybe you believe others don’t need to be burdened with your sadness. The last thing you want is to be a killjoy.

Sometimes you might even put up a front with God. Maybe you think God wants everyone to be perpetually happy and always sing with the birds in blissful joy and gladness, or whistle while you work. However, that would not be an accurate view of God.

One of the most faithful people in Holy Scripture, Jeremiah, freely and unabashedly lamented before God – to the point of wishing he were dead. Jeremiah, the incredible prophet of God, closer to the Lord than anyone of his generation, was so despondent and ashamed that he wished he had never even born. The suffering and the shame were just too overwhelming.

To say that Jeremiah had a difficult ministry is a gross understatement. He literally had the ministry from hell, prophesying to people who neither liked him, nor his message to them. In the middle of it all, Jeremiah threw up his hands and let out his complaint to God. Jeremiah was in such ministerial misery that he wished he had been a stillborn baby.

Lest you think Jeremiah was sinfully depressed or just cuckoo, he is far from alone in the Bible. King David had no scruples about letting God know how he felt about his dire circumstances. Job, likely the most famous sufferer of all, spent time doing nothing but lamenting his terrible losses for months. What all three of them have in common is that they openly grieved with great tears, yet neither cursed God nor forsook the Lord.

Lamentation is the sacred space between intense grieving to God without blaming the Lord for our significant changes and losses in life. I would even argue that lamenting and grieving before God is a necessary spiritual practice which needs full recognition in the Body of Christ. Please sit with that last statement for a bit and consider how it might become a reality in your own life and context.

Grief can and does attach itself to any change or loss. It is the normal emotional, spiritual, physical, and relational reaction to that injury of the heart. There is only one way through grief. We must tell our story to another. It is both biblical and quite necessary.

Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

Galatians 6:2, NRSV

We need our own spirituality to support us in such times – not drive us away through a misguided theology of believing you must keep a stiff upper lip. It is critical to have safe and supportive persons in our lives when going through overwhelming circumstances.

“Spirituality is recognizing and celebrating that we are all inextricably connected to each other by a power greater than all of us, and that our connection to that power and to one another is grounded in love and compassion.”

Brené Brown

Our tears are holy. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. The prophet Jeremiah was doing a very godly thing in expressing his grief. And Jeremiah’s lament is what helped steel him for the several attempts on his life that he faced.

Let the tears do their intended work in your life.

God of all, you feel deeply about a great many things. As your people, we also feel a great depth of emotion when our lives go horribly awry from our dreams and expectations. Hear our lament as we pour out our grief before you, through Jesus, our Savior, with the presence of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Loneliness and Silence (Jeremiah 20:7-13)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year B1 Comment
The Prophet Jeremiah, by Marc Chagall, 1956

O Lord, you misled me,
    and I allowed myself to be misled.
You are stronger than I am,
    and you overpowered me.
Now I am mocked every day;
    everyone laughs at me.
When I speak, the words burst out.
    “Violence and destruction!” I shout.
So these messages from the Lord
    have made me a household joke.
But if I say I’ll never mention the Lord
    or speak in his name,
his word burns in my heart like a fire.
    It’s like a fire in my bones!
I am worn out trying to hold it in!
    I can’t do it!
I have heard the many rumors about me.
    They call me “The Man Who Lives in Terror.”
They threaten, “If you say anything, we will report it.”
    Even my old friends are watching me,
    waiting for a fatal slip.
“He will trap himself,” they say,
    “and then we will get our revenge on him.”

But the Lord stands beside me like a great warrior.
    Before him my persecutors will stumble.
    They cannot defeat me.
They will fail and be thoroughly humiliated.
    Their dishonor will never be forgotten.
O Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
you test those who are righteous,
    and you examine the deepest thoughts and secrets.
Let me see your vengeance against them,
    for I have committed my cause to you.
Sing to the Lord!
    Praise the Lord!
For though I was poor and needy,
    he rescued me from my oppressors. (New Living Translation)

Jeremiah was a lonely man.

In reality, loneliness has little to do with geography. A person can be surrounded by people, and yet still be lonely. Loneliness is the personal sense that either no one cares, or that nobody is taking me seriously. To be alone means that a person doesn’t have another human being to share their thoughts, feelings, and beliefs with. Nobody wants to listen.

That’s how the prophet felt. Jeremiah was called by God to preach a message to the city of Jerusalem. He was faithful to do it. However, the message was very unpopular. Jeremiah was discounted, dismissed, and dissociated from others.

So, how would you feel in a similar situation?

The Prophet Jeremiah by Michelangelo, c.1545

Jeremiah felt almost betrayed by the Lord. He understood that the message would be tough to swallow by the people. What’s more, God even promised Jeremiah that no one would respond, nobody was going to repent, and not one person would listen and take the prophet seriously. In short, God let Jeremiah know up front that he was embarking on a very lonely ministry. (Jeremiah 1:4-19)

And it was this loneliness that began to gnaw at the prophet Jeremiah. Yet, what was he really going to do about it? After all, Jeremiah was compelled to speak. He just could not simply hold it in. The message was like fire in his belly; he had to let it out!

The prophet’s calling and life’s work bubbled up and out of him, no matter what he did to try and keep a lid on it. Whenever Jeremiah would try and walk away and say, “Forget it! No more God-Messages to the people from me!” then the words from God burned inside of him.

The hot furnace within had to find the outlet of preaching because Jeremiah was worn out trying to keep God’s words domesticated within him.

Maybe you can relate in some small way. It isn’t always easy talking about God to others, let alone talking about some subject other people really don’t want to hear. Yet, as the people of God, we discover it’s more painful to keep it inside than it is letting it out and taking the consequences as they may come.

Or it could be that you resonate with Jeremiah’s trying to distance himself from God. You were hurt, wounded in some way, and no matter how hard you run from God, your inner sacred space will not leave you alone – it relentlessly tracks you down and hounds you, barking to be heard and expressed.

What then should we do? How, then, shall we live? Don’t keep silent. Speak! Let your voice out. Say what is important to you. Because ignoring it, wishing that it would go away, or believing God will give-up on you isn’t going to happen.

At some point, there must be an acceptance of the way things are, and not what we want them to be. If others are not taking me seriously, nor listening at all to what I am saying, then this doesn’t mean that I remain silent. There are plenty of folks around who want that; they just want you to keep your mouth shut. But you have a voice – and your voice needs to be heard.

When the blind man, Bartimaeus, voiced his need out loud in the crowd, nobody took him seriously. People told him to shut up and leave Jesus alone. But Bartimaeus wasn’t having it. He simply lifted his voice louder. He wanted to be heard by Jesus, and he didn’t care if it upset the folks around him. (Mark 10:46-52)

Perhaps you will have to go it alone, or speak without anyone’s help. Well, then, that’s what you do. If your gut is crying out inside of you to speak, then speak! Not all silence is golden. Sometimes silence is a sign that someone is being oppressed and not allowed to talk – or, at least, isn’t being listened to.

God called Jeremiah to proclaim some very inconvenient interruptions to the people’s delusional thoughts. It left the prophet alone and hurt. But there was a message that needed proclaiming.

There are times when silence only ends up protecting the privileged over the underprivileged. The Old Testament prophets speak into this environment of unjust actions and unloving words.

Unspoken words that need to be heard by others will only fester inside your gut, that is, until you speak out. Then, when we do let the words out, let’s make sure it is precisely the message that has been locked up and kept silent. It doesn’t matter whether it is unpopular, or not; what matters is that the voice God gave you has a chance to be heard.

God Almighty, you have your ways in this world, and they don’t always make sense to me. Sticking my fingers in my ears trying to pretend you are not there isn’t working – my heart burns within me. So, help me to speak with all the confidence of the message I have, through Jesus Christ my Lord, in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Against Injustice (Jeremiah 19:1-15)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment

This is what the Lord says: “Go and buy a clay jar from a potter. Take along some of the elders of the people and of the priests and go out to the Valley of Ben Hinnom, near the entrance of the Potsherd Gate. There proclaim the words I tell you, and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, you kings of Judah and people of Jerusalem. This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says:

Listen! I am going to bring a disaster on this place that will make the ears of everyone who hears of it tingle. For they have forsaken me and made this a place of foreign gods; they have burned incense in it to gods that neither they nor their ancestors nor the kings of Judah ever knew, and they have filled this place with the blood of the innocent. 

They have built the high places of Baal to burn their children in the fire as offerings to Baal—something I did not command or mention, nor did it enter my mind. So beware, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when people will no longer call this place Topheth or the Valley of Ben Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter.

“‘In this place I will ruin the plans of Judah and Jerusalem. I will make them fall by the sword before their enemies, at the hands of those who want to kill them, and I will give their carcasses as food to the birds and the wild animals. I will devastate this city and make it an object of horror and scorn; all who pass by will be appalled and will scoff because of all its wounds. I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and daughters, and they will eat one another’s flesh because their enemies will press the siege so hard against them to destroy them.’

“Then break the jar while those who go with you are watching, and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: I will smash this nation and this city just as this potter’s jar is smashed and cannot be repaired. They will bury the dead in Topheth until there is no more room. This is what I will do to this place and to those who live here, declares the Lord. I will make this city like Topheth. The houses in Jerusalem and those of the kings of Judah will be defiled like this place, Topheth—all the houses where they burned incense on the roofs to all the starry hosts and poured out drink offerings to other gods.’”

Jeremiah then returned from Topheth, where the Lord had sent him to prophesy, and stood in the court of the Lord’s temple and said to all the people, “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘Listen! I am going to bring on this city and all the villages around it every disaster I pronounced against them, because they were stiff-necked and would not listen to my words.’” (New International Version)

When God wants to get someone’s full attention, the Lord engages the people’s full senses in order to communicate an important message. Through the prophet Jeremiah, we get symbolic action that does just that.

The symbolism, in this case, is a judgment speech, visually and viscerally depicted through the breaking of a pottery jug. The point of the action, and the words, was meant to convey a singular message: God will bring disaster and destruction against Jerusalem and its surrounding towns.

The act of breaking the pottery took place at the entrance to the Potsherd Gate – which was also known as the Dung Gate because that is where the garbage and refuse came out of the city to a dump located in the Valley of Ben Hinnom. It just so happened that this valley was also the location of altars to false gods other than Yahweh. Idolatrous practices – including child sacrifice – were carried on there.

In the ancient Near East, smashing pottery was a ritual act that depicted the destruction of enemies.

I will proclaim the Lord’s decree:

He said to me, “You are my son;
    today I have become your father.
Ask me,
    and I will make the nations your inheritance,
    the ends of the earth your possession.
You will break them with a rod of iron;
    you will dash them to pieces like pottery.” (Psalm 2:7-9, NIV)

The prophet Jeremiah was going to make his oracle against the people both unforgettable and irreversible. He wanted to be clear about what God truly thinks about harming children in religious rituals. But more than that, that it’s absolutely unacceptable for people who worship Yahweh to let it happen, just outside their own city gates, and to even participate in it.

The pottery jar represented Jerusalem. And when a piece of pottery is broken and smashed, there is no opportunity of remaking it from all that destruction. That’s what it would be like for the city who turned their backs on the Lord’s holiness.

Sometimes contemporary people may struggle with the reality that God gets angry – even angry to the point of pouring out wrath on a city. Yet, perhaps we fail to notice the gross and terrible injustice that has been done in the name of religion. The anger of God is always a reflection of God’s love. For love cannot contend with evil perpetrated on innocent people, especially children.

Love is purely subversive. It declares that harming others and hurting people by means of religious violence is not to be accepted nor tolerated. Love is an absolute refusal to settle for the injustice that exists in the world.

Today, and every day, is our opportunity, purpose, and privilege to put love where love is not – to upset the status quo of injustice and establish love as the supreme ethic of God’s commands.

Grant us, Lord God, a vision of your world as your love would have it:
a world where the weak are protected, and none go hungry or poor;
a world where the riches of creation are shared, and everyone can enjoy them;
a world where different races and cultures live in harmony and mutual respect;
a world where peace is built with justice, and justice is guided by love.
Give us the inspiration and courage to build it, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.