Tag: christian faith

Don’t Fear, Believe! (Mark 5:21-43)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
Jesus heals the daughter of Jairus, by Hyatt Moore

When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered around him, and he was by the sea. Then one of the leaders of the synagogue, named Jairus, came and, when he saw him, fell at his feet and pleaded with him repeatedly, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live.” So he went with him.

And a large crowd followed him and pressed in on him. Now there was a woman who had been suffering from a flow of blood for twelve years. She had endured much under many physicians and had spent all that she had, and she was no better but rather grew worse. She had heard about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, for she said, “If I but touch his cloak, I will be made well.” Immediately her flow of blood stopped, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. 

Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my cloak?” And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, ‘Who touched me?’ ” He looked all around to see who had done it. But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”

While he was still speaking, some people came from the synagogue leader’s house to say, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?” But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the synagogue leader, “Do not be afraid; only believe.” He allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. When they came to the synagogue leader’s house, he saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. When he had entered, he said to them, “Why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him.

Then he put them all outside and took the child’s father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was. Taking her by the hand, he said to her, “Talitha koum,” which means, “Little girl, get up!” And immediately the girl stood up and began to walk about (she was twelve years of age). At this they were overcome with amazement. He strictly ordered them that no one should know this and told them to give her something to eat. (New Revised Standard Version)

Christ Healing the Hemorrhaging Woman, by Ivan Rutkovych, 1698

Hopeless. That’s how two people felt in today’s story. One of them a woman, and the other the father of a little girl.

To have a sense of hopelessness is perhaps one of the worst feelings a person could ever have; it is to suffer with the despair that your suffering isn’t going to end.

It was still early in Christ’s earthly ministry. Jesus had already performed amazing exorcisms and healed people. His fame was spreading, and crowds began to form everywhere he went.

The Hemorrhaging Woman

The woman had suffered for 12 years with hemorrhaging. She went through a string of doctors with no answers to her malady. Her condition drained her not only bodily, but also emotionally and financially. Despite everything she tried, not only did things not get better, but they got worse.

She likely didn’t get out much because of her situation. But even if she did, the woman would have to literally remain on the margins of the community because of all the blood. In other words, she was unclean, and anyone who touched her would be, as well.

I see many folks in my line of work who have had an adverse health condition for years. Some of them have had a debilitating illness for so long that the sickness is what now defines them. Their daily schedule is ruled by doctor appointments and therapy sessions. Their health maladies have taken over their identity.

Despair and desperation are close cousins. The woman’s desire to gain back her life aroused the courage to seek out Jesus. And she believed that by resolutely getting through the crowd of people, that even if the edge of his cloak could be touched, restoration would happen.

True faith leads us to act in a way that seems irrational to others.

The woman pushed and wormed her way close enough to Jesus to touch just the edge of his cloak… and the effect was immediate. She felt it in her body. The woman was cured with but a simple touch.

Then the woman became afraid, realizing that Jesus was aware that someone touched him. And a woman, no less, who had a hemorrhaging issue. Christ looked around, trying to find out who did it.

The extreme awareness of Jesus contrasts with the blatant unawareness of his disciples. They dismissed their Teacher’s investigation because of all the people who clamored around him. But Jesus was determined to find the person who touched him.

The woman realized she could not hide what she did, and what happened. With her robust faith in Jesus, she was willing to face any consequence for touching the rabbi. She was so scared that she trembled as she talked to Jesus. The woman revealed her story to him of who she is and what brought her to this point.

Genuine faith and healing always brings light, because grace and redemption will have its way in this fallen dark world.

Whereas we might expect a religious leader to respond with disdain or shock, and likely a firm rebuke, Jesus honored the woman by calling her “daughter.” He truly saw her, and publicly bestowed blessing and peace upon her.

Jesus confirmed and affirmed the woman’s healing in front of everyone. She was hopeless no more.

The Sick Young Girl

Christ continued his journey to young girl’s house. Her faither, Jairus the synagogue ruler, appealed to Jesus to come and heal her. She was at the end of life. As the father of three daughters myself, I can easily imagine the despair and desperation of Jairus concerning his precious little girl’s condition.

Somehow he knew there was only one hope for his daughter; Jairus needed Jesus because there was nothing he could do, or anybody could do, to save her. And once he got to Jesus, his poverty of spirit was evident, his humility palpable.

Jairus fell to his knees and became a spiritual beggar. He pleaded with Jesus to come and lay healing hands on his dear girl.

But his hope morphed into hopelessness; while on the way, Jairus received the devastating news that his daughter had died. All is lost… or is it?

Jesus didn’t think so. He simply gave a hopeful reassurance, “Don’t fear. Believe!” To the unbeliever, those words must seem cruel – giving a father whose child has died false hope. But for God, nothing is impossible. In God’s kingdom, death never has the last say on a person’s life.

It’s hard to have faith and hope whenever everyone else is mourning and crying and grieving. Arriving at the house, Jesus said yet another possibly cruel thing: “The child’s not dead but sleeping.” Christ understood that she was not all dead, just mostly dead.

The nervous and stressed laughing of the people in the house did nothing to deter Jesus. He was supremely confident about what would happen – a future that no one else could yet see.

A simple command, just a few words, was all it took. Taking the girl’s mother and father into the room, I imagine Jesus saying with a combination of authority and compassion, “Little girl, get up!”

Since Christ’s authority knows no bounds, the girl immediately got up. She was alive – so alive that it’s as if nothing ever made her ill to begin with.

Only a Story?

You may think this is only a story. Perhaps you believe there’s nothing to this, other than an ancient follower of Jesus trying to make his Teacher look like a healer, a savior.

For me, the story confirms what I know and believe to be true from my own experience as a church pastor, hospital chaplain, and follower of God: The impossible happens with Jesus. Christ is more powerful than anything life throws at us. Jesus is enough.

Amen. Soli Deo Gloria.

Jesus Stills the Storm (Mark 4:35-41)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
Calming the Storm #1, by Tigran Ghulyan

On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. 

A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion, and they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” 

And waking up, he rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Be silent! Be still!” Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” (New Revised Standard Version)

Jesus taught the people all day beside the sea. So many of them crowded around that he ended up getting into a boat and speaking from the water to the folks on land. It was an eventful day of telling memorable parables.

Then, evening came. Jesus told his disciples they were crossing over to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. In doing this, they were also crossing boundaries from Jewish to Gentile territory.

Christ’s disciples had not yet gotten used to Jesus crossing over to places they’ve never been to before. For them, it might as well be an ancient version of Star Trek, going boldly where no Jew had gone before. Following Jesus was like a science fiction trip into the unknown in which they had already seen things beyond their imagination.

Although Jesus respected people’s personal boundaries, he continually crossed both social and spiritual boundaries galore. Christ ate with the wrong kind of people; broke Sabbath laws and healed people at the wrong time; and was leading his motley band of disciples to the wrong sort of place.

Jesus kept going to where the religious establishment had firm boundaries not to cross. Hanging out with Christ meant taking risks at unpredictable times in unknown places.

The disciples were not quite ready for crossing a weather boundary, and they were understandably scared. Although they evidenced a certain lack of faith, conversely, it took some faith to even listen to Jesus and do what he told them to do and get in a boat to cross the sea.

There’s really nothing safe about being a follower of Jesus Christ, at least from a human existential perspective. Jesus put his disciples in all sorts of different situations that were downright dangerous. So, I’m not sure why any Christian would be surprised whenever they face trouble and danger in their lives; it’s part of following Jesus.

Christ Asleep During the Tempest, by Eugene Delacroix, 1853

A big windstorm popped up as the ship crossed the sea at night. A lot of people I know get scared and anxious when a thunderstorm hits; and they’re in a safe place within their own house. So, to be in a wooden ship with old school sails and oars at night, and a storm strikes, we can see that panic quickly set into the disciples. They, of course, cried out in their fear and distress.

But where is Jesus? Lo and behold, it turns out he was asleep, down in the hold of the ship, without a worry in the world. That struck the disciples the wrong way (much like talking to the wrong people and going to the wrong places and doing the wrong things). They interpreted this event of a peaceful sleeping Christ as calloused and insensitive to their collective plight.

How many times have we thought the same thing, and uttered along with the disciples, “Don’t you care that we are perishing!?” O you of little hermeneutic.

The truth is, those who wish to save their life will lose it – it will perish, be destroyed. But those who lose their life and let it perish for Christ’s sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.

Yes, the dangers of death and destruction are very real; but taking up our cross and following Jesus turns out to be the safest option we have. It’s the deliberate choice of walking by faith, not sight.

Jesus, awakened by his disciples, proceeded to rebuke the wind and told the sea to settle down. That’s the same sort of language Jesus used when doing an exorcism.

Just as crowds marveled that the demonic realm obeyed Jesus when he healed persons of bad spirits, so Christ’s disciples were amazed at the authority which calmed a wild storm. Yet, no matter the situation or the reality, Jesus can and does bring orderly calm from disruptive chaos.

The eerie resemblance to exorcism in calming the storm let’s us know that Christ has power and authority over all evil in this world. Therefore, the teaching and ministry of Jesus is authoritative. Christ rules with a great power of benevolence and mercy over everything.

This understanding of Christ’s power and authority is the believer’s basis for faith and not fear. The lack of courage points to the lack of faith. To be both a coward and a Christian is incompatible and nonsensical.

We all become afraid, at times, because of various things. And some of that fear is warranted; it’s part of being human. Cowardice, however, is a different thing. Both the courageous and cowardly are fearful – the difference is that the former acts despite the fear, and the latter does not act because of the fear.

What matters is what the person of faith does in the face of a fearful situation, and not because they are afraid. There is no sin in the actual emotion of fear; it’s what we do with being afraid that makes the difference.

Following Jesus is no guarantee of a fear-free or a storm-free life. We may, especially in times of high stress, find ourselves blurting out to Jesus to wake up and help us because we feel he isn’t paying attention or doesn’t care.

The reality is that the power and authority of Jesus is needed most in fearful places. So, the Christian (and especially Christ’s Church) better get used to having courageous encounters and conversations with others.

Wherever there is pain, suffering, and neediness, that’s where the words and touch of Jesus are found. So then, if we are looking for Jesus, we ought to know where to find him.

Christianity is a religion which will send us where we’ve never been before – both externally and internally – into the violent storms. Entering the fray takes faith. And feeling afraid is expected. But this is where real needs are met, as well as the place of genuine spiritual development.

No matter what or who we face, we have the confidence that Jesus is with us. And even if he is sleeping during a storm, we are in a good place of peace.

Almighty and everlasting God, preserve us from faithless fears and worldly anxieties, and grant that no clouds of this mortal life may hide from us the light of that love which is immortal, and which you have manifested to us in your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Parable of the Sower (Mark 4:1-20)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
The Sower, by Mike Moyers

Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge. He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said:

“Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.”

Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”

When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables so that,

“‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,
    and ever hearing but never understanding;
otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’”

Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? The farmer sows the word. Some people are like seeds along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.” (New International Version)

The Sower, by Johne Richardson

All four of the New Testament Gospels have their own particular angle and focus upon the life of Jesus Christ. For Mark, he wrote to demonstrate and prove the established authority of Christ over everything.

God’s power is expressed in and through Christ. So, when Mark tells a story, he is concerned to communicate that God’s kingdom – God’s rule and reign on this earth – comes through Jesus as the Sovereign over this realm of the universe and our world.

By means of a parable – a farmer going out and scattering seeds – Jesus was making some points about the kingdom of God: it will be successful; it is thoroughly under divine control; and it’s inclusive.

God’s Reign Will Succeed

History is inexorably moving toward a climax. God’s sovereign rule has broken into human history. Christ’s authoritative rule is taking root, growing, and shall eventually envelope all the world.

It may not presently seem as if that’s going to happen. But appearances can be deceiving. Although much, if not most, of the good gospel seeds spread about this earth never produce a harvest of righteousness, there is enough good soil for those seeds to succeed.

Even though there is a lot of unproductive and ineffective soil in this world, good seeds in good soil will germinate and take root. They will grow, develop, mature, and ripen. An abundant yield of crops will more than satisfy the needs of the earth. And it will blow the imagination of even the wisest and best farmer.

One person, having realized the incredible fruit of the Spirit, makes a broad, deep, and expansive impact on dozens, hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands, and even millions of people. It certainly doesn’t happen overnight; but goodness, truth, beauty, and righteousness are making their way slowly – and will overtake and overwhelm all evil.

If you make disciples who make more disciples, that is multiplication. Jesus made disciples, and called his followers to do the same. He spent three years training twelve men; and then commissioned them to go out and reproduce the process with others. (Matthew 28:18-20)

Beginning in Jerusalem, the earliest disciples of Jesus began making more disciples, following Christ’s ascension, and that movement has never stopped. Jesus started a movement of a few seeds multiplying into many seeds, so that the Church would grow exponentially. Not even the gates of hell can stop the process from happening. (Acts 1:1-8; Matthew 16:17-19)

God’s Reign Is Ruled by God

That may seem like a ridiculously obvious statement, yet it still needs to be said. God is authoritatively in control, not only of God’s own kingdom, but of all things. This means that God’s rule and reign is the result of God’s action, not ours. The only thing we need to do is scatter the seed and be a simple farmer. Everything else is up to God.

Our ability to do anything is animated by God’s gracious work in our lives. The power to effect making disciples comes from the Lord. Since we are dependent upon God for our next breath, we are also completely under the authority and sustaining presence of God for everything in life.

Both the subject and object of every biblical story is God. In this unfolding drama of redemptive history that we are experiencing, God is the writer, producer, director, and lead actor; we only have some bit parts in the whole thing. It’s our job to respond – and not to try and take over the show.

God’s Reign Is Inclusive

When gospel seeds are established in good soil, eventually producing an abundant harvest, it will feed the entire world. It will include all kinds of people. The produce which is available is not limited to a particular group of people. God’s grace and goodness are shown to people without prejudice or favoritism.

The best things in life begin as small as a mustard seed. That’s because every good thing we have is a result of humility. And from that place – the hummus of the earth – God creates life, gives new life, and does the improbable and the impossible of transforming a tiny little seed into a tall expansive plant which blesses many.

Conclusion

As simple humble farmers of faith, we need to pay attention to what we have, so that we don’t become complacent. The forces of evil – the spiritual tornados and tsunamis – are still very much active on this earth. Those powers temporarily oppose the good power and authority of Christ.

The good word spread to us can be snatched and taken away by the ravens of Satan. Although other good words make some effective headway, all the weeds around them can choke the plants until they wither and die. All sorts of existential conditions surrounding the plants can cause a failure to thrive.

Whenever Christians face opposition – or when they observe young believers lost to those surrounding forces – they need not become discouraged. Why? Because this is all a part of the ministry to which every follower of Jesus is called. Our part is to keep sowing and planting. The rest is up to God.

Sovereign and almighty God:
Give me strength to live faithfully this day;
Let me not turn coward because of difficulties, or become irresponsible to my duties;
Let me not lose faith in other people;
Keep me sweet and sound of heart, in spite of ingratitude, treachery or meanness;
Preserve me from minding little stings or giving them;
Help me to keep my heart clean and to live so honestly and fearlessly that no outward failure can dishearten me or take away the joy of conscious integrity;
Open wide the eyes of my soul that I may see good in all things;
Grant me this day some new vision of your truth;
Inspire me with the spirit of joy and gladness, and make me the fertilizer to suffering souls; in the name of the strong Deliverer, our only Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Accomplishing the Mission, No Matter What (Acts 25:1-12)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
Saint Paul before Festus and Agrippa, by Philip Galle (1537-1612)

Three days after arriving in the province, Festus went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem, where the chief priests and the Jewish leaders appeared before him and presented the charges against Paul. They requested Festus, as a favor to them, to have Paul transferred to Jerusalem, for they were preparing an ambush to kill him along the way. Festus answered, “Paul is being held at Caesarea, and I myself am going there soon. Let some of your leaders come with me, and if the man has done anything wrong, they can press charges against him there.”

After spending eight or ten days with them, Festus went down to Caesarea. The next day he convened the court and ordered that Paul be brought before him. When Paul came in, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him. They brought many serious charges against him, but they could not prove them.

Then Paul made his defense: “I have done nothing wrong against the Jewish law or against the temple or against Caesar.”

Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, said to Paul, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and stand trial before me there on these charges?”

Paul answered: “I am now standing before Caesar’s court, where I ought to be tried. I have not done any wrong to the Jews, as you yourself know very well. If, however, I am guilty of doing anything deserving death, I do not refuse to die. But if the charges brought against me by these Jews are not true, no one has the right to hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar!”

After Festus had conferred with his council, he declared: “You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you will go!” (New International Version)

The Story Up to Now

Paul was in a pickle. Earlier in his life, as an up and coming star amongst the Jewish Pharisees, he had a life-changing encounter with the risen Christ. Paul did a complete 180 degree turn from opposing and persecuting Christians to becoming a Christian himself.

As you might imagine, this did not go over well with the Jewish establishment, and especially the Pharisees. From the event of Paul’s conversion and onward, he was a marked man. And he knew it.

But Paul didn’t care. He embraced his new life and calling with as much or more zeal than his old life. Paul dedicated himself to missionary journeys, proving that Jesus is the Christ, and establishing churches. Some of the Jews (by no means all) hated him for it. As a result, the Apostle Paul was whipped, stoned, and left for dead more than once. Finally, the upset Jews were able to get Paul arrested and jailed.

And that is where we pick up Paul’s story. And it’s also likely why he appealed to Ceasar instead of staying in Palestine; he knew he wouldn’t survive for too long surrounded by the same sort of people whom he used to run with in trying to stamp out the Christians.

The Present Story

Paul originally dealt with Felix (Acts 24) but then with a change in administration, he faced Festus. The Jews who opposed Paul wanted him transferred to Jerusalem from Caesarea. But Festus was no dummy; he knew this was an age old trick to try and ambush the Roman guards on the way and assassinate Paul. So, Festus went and saw Paul in Caesarea.

Things went as one might expect: Unsubstantiated charges are leveled against Paul in court; Paul maintains his innocence; Festus asks Paul if he wishes to go to Jerusalem for trial, or not; and Paul refuses. But the thing that no one expected is that Paul took the further step of appealing directly to the emperor himself.

We aren’t told why Paul made this appeal – although it certainly appeared as if he may not get a fair trial in Palestine. Yet, we do know that Paul had a desire to fulfill his calling of bearing witness to the gospel of Christ in the West, and to Rome.

It seems to me that, at this point, Festus saw an opportunity to rid himself of all this Jewish weirdness (as he saw it) and send Paul off and out of his own jurisdiction. One less difficult Jewish problem to have to deal with in this far off Roman outpost in the Middle East.

The Story to Come

As Bible readers, we know what is upcoming for Paul – all of the dramatic events and twist and turns of his life getting to Rome and under house arrest in the city. Yet, even though none of us really know what another day will bring, the Apostle Paul was driven by his purpose of gospel proclamation and bringing the message of Christ to the farthest western reaches of the Roman Empire. And to that end, he was not going to be dissuaded or deterred, even when he had little to no control over his life as a prisoner.

A person with meaning and purpose is a person with faith and hope. And when love is the thing animating the purpose, then it doesn’t much matter what the outward circumstances are. Perseverance and resiliency always find a way where there seems to be none.

Half of life is spent discovering, learning, and developing our skills, gifts, and abilities. The other half is applying and honing those skills in new and different contexts. As long as we know what we’re about, and we keep putting in the hard work and practice it takes for continued and sustained excellence, then each situation we encounter becomes an opportunity to extend my purpose in a new experience.

And that is what the Apostle Paul did. It wasn’t about changing or manipulating situations or people; rather, it was about finding pathways to accomplishing his mission on this earth with the calling he received from God. I would say that Paul did a pretty dang good job at that.

I also believe that you and I can do it, too.

Holy God, you search us out and know us better than we know ourselves. Help us to discern your voice and your calling. We seek to listen and learn from the wisdom of Christ. Raise up faithful people who will speak words of life with clarity and grace, with justice and true compassion; in the strength of the Holy Spirit. Amen.