Don’t Let Rejection Get the Best of You (Mark 6:1-13)

On July 7, 2024June 5, 2024 By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment

He left that place and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. On the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded. They said, “Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands! Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.

Then Jesus said to them, “Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown and among their own kin and in their own house.” And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them. And he was amazed at their unbelief.

Then he went about among the villages teaching. He called the twelve and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff: no bread, no bag, no money in their belts, but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics.

He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place. If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.” So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent. They cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them. (New Revised Standard Version)

Homecooked Rejection

Jesus was well into his ministry, with the disciples in tow, and had made quite a splash around Judea. Eventually, he made it back to the region of Galilee and to his hometown. Having grown up in a small town myself, I can testify how any sort of celebrity status from one of their own is a really big deal. Anticipation was high amongst the townsfolk.

Knowing Jesus as they did, the people were downright slack-jawed at his wisdom and the way he taught – which is also a typical response of the hometown boy made popular. The town knew Jesus differently – as simply another nice, but normal, Jewish kid from a nice but scandalous family.

The homecoming turned sour as the crowd believed they knew more than Jesus. After all, they knew him as a little kid. And they knew where he came from. He’s the carpenter, the son of Mary. They remembered what was up with Jesus. Mary and Joseph weren’t yet together and she ended up pregnant. This guy is no Son of God, but son of who knows?

They took offense at Jesus. He was the one with the curious conception and birth. And now he was trying to teach them, the ones who “really knew” his origins – or so they thought.

Jesus was just too uppity for the hometown folks. He considered himself more than the people he grew up with would concede. By providing the self-reference of “prophet,” Jesus was placing himself in the company of many revered men of God who went against the grain of their own contemporary cultures. And the folks in Galilee most certainly did not think they needed a prophet, especially one with illegitimate origins.

For the townsfolk, Jesus was claiming more honor and status for himself than was warranted in the old hometown. It meant that others got knocked down to size. So the people in the town were not having it. They took offense.

Ironically, the people who ought to know better, don’t. Jesus was amazed at their lack of faith, their unbelief. So little could be done in such a place as this. After all, you cannot heal someone if they believe they don’t need healing.

Heaven-sent Mission

Rejection didn’t stop Christ’s mission on this earth. Jesus prepared his disciples for their initial ministry, sending them in pairs. Up to this point, he taught them about God’s kingdom, handled a good deal of one-on-one instruction, and demonstrated for them what healing is like and why he did it. And they also needed to understand that rejection from others is part of the ministry.

Jesus instructed the disciples to take only a few essentials; the hospitality of others would be a significant aspect of their ministry – especially since much of their work would take place from household to household. Synagogues were not always receptive places to a new kind of ministry. So, the grassroots efforts of the disciple pairs were important.

Rejection and judgment tend to go hand-in-hand. Those who spurned the disciples were judging the veracity of their work. And also, that same rejection was a sign for the disciples to not spin their wheels trying to persuade the already convinced. Instead, the disciples were to do their own action of shaking the dust off their feet, letting the stubborn people know they were not carrying the bad judgments with them.

All in all, Christ’s disciples had an effective ministry and a positive experience. They were able to bring their message and healing to many.

We can observe through this story that rejection from others and a failure to make inroads with some is not necessarily a reflection on us. Some people are going to misunderstand us and make judgments about us, regardless of how well we go about our work.

After all, if Jesus experienced it, how much more will we? Don’t let rejection get the best of you.

To never face rejection and judgment may be a sign that little to no action is actually taking place – or maybe that the avoidance of conflict is assigned a value much too high than Jesus would give it.

If you are working toward loving both God and neighbor, showing justice and mercy in all you do, then any sort of rejection isn’t worth getting upset about.

Gracious God, I release my grip on needing to be understood by everyone, and instead choose to hold onto you and your grace. Therefore:

I lay down my need to understand why things happen the way they do.
I lay down my fears about others judging me.
I lay down my desire to prove my worth.
I lay down my resistance to suffering.

I take up my cross daily, and seek to walk according to your ways, and to live into your words; through Jesus Christ my Lord, in the enablement of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Victory Over the Power of Evil (Luke 4:31-37)

On June 29, 2024May 28, 2024 By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment

He went down to Capernaum, a village in Galilee. He was teaching the people on the Sabbath. They were surprised and impressed—his teaching was so forthright, so confident, so authoritative, not the quibbling and quoting they were used to.

In the meeting place that day there was a man demonically disturbed. He screamed, “Stop! What business do you have here with us, Jesus? Nazarene! I know what you’re up to. You’re the Holy One of God and you’ve come to destroy us!”

Jesus shut him up: “Quiet! Get out of him!” The demonic spirit threw the man down in front of them all and left. The demon didn’t hurt him.

That knocked the wind out of everyone and got them whispering and wondering, “What’s going on here? Someone whose words make things happen? Someone who orders demonic spirits to get out and they go?” Jesus was the talk of the town. (The Message)

During his earthly life and ministry, Jesus was a Deliverer and a Liberator; he came to save people from their guilt and shame, and to free the world from the clutches of evil.

And so, it was inevitable that Jesus would come into conflict with the forces of darkness.

In today’s story, Jesus had a confrontation with an unclean spirit, that is, a demon who is an ally of the devil. The particular demon was not only speaking for himself, but also for his fellow band of wicked spirits.

Christ’s ministry put him in direct opposition to the hosts of Satan. The nub of the issue for the demon was whether Jesus had come for their immediate destruction. Jesus, however, wasn’t in the habit of answering questions from demons.

So, Christ rebuked the demon, told him to get out of the person he was influencing. And that is exactly what happened. The writer, Luke, pointed out that this demonstrated Christ’s authority, that it even includes the power to command unclean spirits, and out they go.

And that is how the liberating and saving ministry of Jesus began.

In the Gospel of Luke, this account of Jesus being confronted by a demon happens just after Christ’s 40 days of being tempted in the desert, even by Satan himself. So, the entire demonic realm was alert to beginning ministry of Christ. They went after Jesus right away, perhaps trying to trip him up before he could get any ministerial momentum.

Jesus was teaching on the Sabbath in the town of Capernaum. We ought not to be surprised that a demonized man was among those observing the Sabbath. The wise believer will be savvy to this reality.

Furthermore, we aren’t told who the man was or of any symptoms he may have had. Apparently, he presented himself as a normal Jewish villager. So, we ought not to think that anyone being demonized will necessarily demonstrate madness or illness of some sort.

The demon was perhaps more aware of who Jesus was than anyone else there on that Sabbath Day in Capernaum. He acknowledged Christ’s power and mission. Jesus indeed came to destroy the power and influence of evil in the world.

You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
James 2:19, NIV

Since Jesus Christ is the rightful authority over all, that means Satan and his wicked spirits are not; and they must submit to that true and real power.

Truth and doctrine are not only about objective facts and right belief. Even though our thinking is important and critical, there is more to it than that: Orthodoxy (right belief) requires orthopraxy (right actions).

A right truth that is only described is not the whole truth. In reality, a false witness and a liar may state the truth, but not entirely, withholding important information; thus, impairing any sort of right action from taking place.

Gaslighting relatives, oppressive bosses, and tyrannical rulers who tell some truth, and even support some good things, are still gaslighting and oppressing others with their narcissistic brand of leadership.

Truly, believers in and followers of Jesus can sometimes be duped into supporting evil leaders who use all sorts of unjust tactics, just because that leader tells the part of truth I want upheld.

Jesus saves; he is Savior of the world – but that is only part of the truth. We must also ask: What has Christ come to save us from? Not just our mistakes, mess-ups, and sins. Christ came to deliver us from the very power of evil that supports injustice and unrighteous behavior to begin with.

If we merely view Jesus as our personal Savior from hell after we die, then we will likely focus almost exclusively on heaven. But if we see all the freedom we need from unhealthy behaviors and unjust ways, then we view Christ as so much more than a fire insurance policy.

We need a more expansive understanding of Christ’s cross. Yes, Jesus died for our sins. Yet, he also died to conquer evil; Christ made it possible for us to become liberated from the shackles of systemic sin and structural evil, as well as personal guilt. In other words, Christ came to topple all evil, and not just human foibles.

And this was why the dark powers of Satan, and his demons, were so afraid of Jesus. They knew their time was short. There is yet another power that has a hold on us today – and that is the reality that many people no longer believe in demons and devils and dark forces.

Since we are a technically advanced people with great understanding of medical science, we now know all sorts of things which cause physical and mental illness. Ancient people did not know about human hormones and chemicals, and the impact of genetic codes on our health. They had no idea about bacteria and viruses, microbes and hygiene.

Therefore, we can jettison all this mumbo-jumbo about demons, right?… Not so much.

Even with all of our modern (and postmodern) explanations for the body and brain, we are still finding ourselves having to contend with the mystery of evil, and the malevolent suffering it causes us.

We modern folk can certainly provide a lot of insight into the cause and effect of particular symptoms a person has according to their biology. And yet, that doesn’t take away the presence of malevolent forces on this earth.

Even with all of our understanding, evil still resides within organizations, institutions, and even faith communities. The meanness and malevolence, the injustice and the ingratitude, and the profound violence (both verbal and physical) which one human being can exact on another is still here – and some would argue that it’s worse than ever.

Knowing something isn’t the same as doing it. If that were true, then education ought to deliver us from evil. Even some intelligent and objective people, who are fluent in facts and figures, still use their calculations for evil.

No matter our creeds or convictions, whether we are religious or not, all of us seem to have a collective sense that this old world of ours is profoundly broken.

All the research dollars in the world has not produced a solution to fix evil. And even if we could completely understand evil, that isn’t the same as ridding ourselves of it.

What’s more, those who put all their trust in changing things through modern means (which means without God) have been some of the worst offenders of producing wars, political tyranny, and gross injustice.

To put all of this perhaps more succinctly in the form of question: We know and understand a lot in combating disease, disaster, and death; but does all of that insight do away with the evil of it? Are things less tragic now?

I argue that is has not. Evil is still evil. Chronic pain, homelessness, poverty, injustice, and health inequities are still wreaking their evil on people.

I believe that evil really does exist, even if it has different language today than it did in the ancient world.

There is real opposition, conflict, and confrontation from evil today. The victory Christ has achieved over the forces of evil has a 2,000 year track record of helping people experience renewed lives, even when their bodies are wasting away.

In the end, the victory of Jesus Christ shall become evident to all the world. Overcoming evil doesn’t come from us, but from God. We can and we must deal with evil in this world. But we are not the Savior or the Liberator.

We need faith in the Son of God who loved us and gave himself for us. Amen.

Jesus Stills the Storm (Mark 4:35-41)

On June 23, 2024May 23, 2024 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.

Are You Looking for Healing? (Mark 3:7-12)

On February 7, 2024January 9, 2024 By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment

Jesus departed with his disciples to the sea, and a great multitude from Galilee followed him; hearing all that he was doing, they came to him in great numbers from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, beyond the Jordan, and the region around Tyre and Sidon. He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, so that they would not crush him, for he had cured many, so that all who had diseases pressed upon him to touch him. Whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and shouted, “You are the Son of God!” But he sternly ordered them not to make him known. (New Revised Standard Version)

A man’s shriveled hand was restored in full view of all the public. From then on, throngs of people came to check out what was happening. Jesus was well into his earthly ministry and created quite a buzz amongst everyone in Palestine. The ancient paparazzi even started following him around.

There were more fans rushing to see Jesus than Swiftys at a sighting of Taylor Swift. Like having the limousine ready after a concert to get away from the huge crowds, so Jesus instructed his disciples to have a boat ready for him in order to avoid the great crush of people.

Christ’s reputation of curing the sick and infirmed had reached such a critical mass that thousands were determined to at least touch him and experience long-awaited healing. And, really, you can’t really blame them, can you?

Maybe you’ve never experienced debilitating chronic pain – day after day not being able to get away from it’s awful effects in both body and soul. Or perhaps you have no idea what it’s like to live with depression constantly dogging you, just waiting to take a bite out of your life and devour you like some piece of meat.

A lot of people know what it’s like to live with infirmities that they don’t want and didn’t ask for. And they’ve tried everything to either get rid of it, or cope with it, somehow.

In fact, there are so many such persons living on planet earth, that when they had a snowball’s chance at getting to Jesus, they dropped everything and took it – going after him and not caring one bit if they themselves got crushed from all the other people trying to get help.

That, my friend, is how many people there are with great physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual needs on this planet.

We could go the route of playing arm chair observer and criticize the great crowd of people for being nothing but a bunch of fans who wanted to see the latest fad in Jesus. But, if you get up close with boots-on-the-ground, you will see a different picture: thousands of people looking for hope, health, and wholeness, wanting to be “normal” like everyone else.

The problem? Normal is nothing more than a social construct. For the infirmed, it’s likely not going to happen. For those believing they’re normal, in truth, they have a profound lack of awareness to their own great need.

No, we’re all abnormal; all of us are disordered, or diseased, or distressed in some sort of way. It turns out that we all need Jesus; some of us just know it much more profoundly than others.

Jesus was not only about to be crushed from physical bodies pressing in on him; he was going to be crushed by the sheer weight of the world’s tremendous need for healing.

But he was pierced for our transgressions,
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
    and by his wounds we are healed.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
    each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:5-6, NIV)

At this point in Christ’s ministry, a significant shift began. Rather than entering a synagogue and speaking only to Jews, Jesus started addressing Gentiles, as well. In fact, the crowds wanting to see him came not only from exclusively Jewish locations, but also from other places.

This ministry of Christ raised the attention of the demonic realm. It was a major threat to the demons’ influence on people. Identifying him as the Son of God and calling Jesus out by that name was a way for the demons to reassert their power and try to get some leverage. Names are actually a big deal. Which is why, for example, Jesus once asked a demoniac in the cemetery what his name is.

That’s one way a name is powerful. Yet, when it comes to you and me, the fact that Jesus knows your name, and my name, is a mighty thing in a very different way. Rather than having demons making the Son of God known, Christ grants us the authority to make the name of Jesus known throughout the world.

Even though the redemptive events of Jesus happened two thousand years ago, great crowds of people still come to Jesus, clamoring for but a touch of his grace. And the forces of darkness are still hanging around, knowing that their time is short.

Yes, there is still healing and wholeness to be found in Jesus, even today. And even though there remain some forces of darkness in opposition to it, the victory has already been achieved.

O God the Father, whose will for us and for all your people is health and salvation,

Have mercy on us.

O God the Son, who came that we might have life and have it in abundance,

Have mercy on us.

O God the Holy Spirit, whose indwelling makes our bodies the temples of your presence,

Have mercy on us.

O Triune God, we pray you to hear us, and that you will grant your grace to all who stand in need of healing both of body and spirit, and lead them to look with confidence in you;