Tag: christ’s teaching

If You Ask a Question, Be Ready for the Answer (Mark 12:18-27)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
The Pharisees and Sadducees Come to Tempt Jesus, by James Tissot (1836-1902)

Some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him and asked him a question, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no child, the man shall marry the widow and raise up children for his brother. There were seven brothers; the first married and, when he died, left no children,and the second married the widow and died, leaving no children, and the third likewise; none of the seven left children. Last of all the woman herself died. In the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be? For all seven had married her.”

Jesus said to them, “Is not this the reason you are wrong, that you know neither the scriptures nor the power of God? For when people rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like angels in heaven. And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the story about the bush, how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is God not of the dead but of the living; you are quite wrong.” (New Revised Standard Version)

Two-thousand years ago, in the first century C.E. (Common Era) the Jewish Sadducees learned the hard way that trying to discredit Jesus in public with silly questions is a bad idea.

Somehow, probably in a back room and perhaps drinking too much wine, they came up with a story designed to show, once and for all, that Jesus was nothing but a hayseed yokel from the bumpkin village of Nazareth who believes in a crazy notion like resurrection.

The Sadducees wanted a very public and definitive display that Jesus was a backward hick, not worth the time of day. So, they concocted a bizarre hypothetical story meant to discredit the supernatural. 

The Sadducees went to the Old Testament, and pointed out in the law that if a man dies without having children, the brother must marry the widow, thus keeping the legacy and land of the dead man in his family. By conjecturing that if this were to happen seven times over, they posed a hypothetical question: Whose wife would she be among all the brothers at this supposed resurrection?

As they were snickering to themselves believing that they had demonstrated the absurdity of resurrection, Jesus turned the tables on the Sadducees. Here are some observational lessons from this Gospel reading for today:

  1. Think again before you try and trip-up Jesus with philosophically ethereal questions.
  2. Consider that you will receive a rebuke from Jesus for being ignorant, mistaken, and wrong, if you try to posture yourself and control how a conversation with him ought to go.
  3. Be aware that Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Jesus are all alive. The Sadducees, however, no longer exist.
  4. Realize that Jesus will take the time and attention to listen and give feedback – maybe the kind you weren’t looking for.
  5. Understand that many things we get hung up on, Jesus doesn’t – and what Jesus sticks on, we may act like Teflon and let it slide.

And the lessons could keep coming, because there is always something to learn and discover when being with Jesus.

To deny resurrection is to deny Jesus. Christ died. He’s now alive. Hence, there is a resurrection. More than that, because Christ lives, others live. This is the Christian’s hope. 

I fully understand plenty of people don’t believe in resurrection. That’s their prerogative. I will simply point such a person no further than their own mind and heart. “Search your feelings,” as the Jedi would say, “What do they tell you?” The evidence you need, you already have.

And this was the penultimate lesson of Jesus to the inquisitive Sadducees. They already had the answer to their question for Jesus. It was right under their noses the entire time – right their in the law that they valued so highly. They just plain didn’t see it.

You already have everything you need for life and godliness in this present evil age. There’s no need to play philosophical games with Jesus.

One of the great sages of the last century, Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz, wisely said:

“If I ever go looking for my heart’s desire again, I won’t look any further than my own backyard. Because if it isn’t there, I never really lost it to begin with.”

Resurrection has always been there because God has always been around – even when we don’t see, perceive, or acknowledge the divine. Just because one may not believe in life arising from death, doesn’t mean it isn’t there or doesn’t exist.

It probably would not be a good idea to procrastinate the inevitable end-of-life scenario that awaits us all. Anytime is the right time to do a bit of personal funeral planning. Yet, if we mire it all with the esoteric hypothetical questions about what would happen in the most far-fetched of scenarios, methinks God is big enough and smart enough to see through our puny charade.

Better to ponder what is truly within your own soul, and how Jesus might already be present within and around all things, without us even knowing it. 

A good place to start in peering within is to give a straightforward honest reading of the New Testament Gospels and discover what resonates deeply with you about the person and work of Jesus.

Feel free to question Jesus about anything you want; just brace yourself for what kind of answer you might receive.

Maundy Thursday (John 13:1-17, 31b-35)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
Jesus Washing the Disciples’ Feet, by Leszck Forczek (1946-2019)

Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The devil had already decided that Judas son of Simon Iscariot would betray Jesus. And during supper Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands and that he had come from God and was going to God, got up from supper, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. 

Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus answered, “You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.”

Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.” Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” Jesus said to him, “One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.” For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had reclined again, he said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. Very truly, I tell you, slaves are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them.If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them….

“Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (New Revised Standard Version)

Today is Maundy Thursday. It is a time in Holy Week to reflect upon the great love of Christ for humanity, as well as much of humanity’s great resistance to that divine love.

The word “Maundy” is the Latin word for “commandment.” It’s a reference to Christ’s mandate for his followers to love one another. And Jesus gave his disciples an example of this love in a way they would never forget.

The jaw-dropping illustration of love for each other is preceded by setting the stage. It is the Last Supper, the final meal of Jesus with the disciples. Christ’s imminent crucifixion is very much tied to the Jewish Passover. Just as the festival is about to happen, dominating the spiritual landscape of Jerusalem, so the cross of Christ looms heavy in the Upper Room. The hour is nearly upon them.

Washing of the Feet, by John August Swanson, 2000

And only Jesus seems to know the brevity of the moment. He knows that Judas is about to betray him. Events that were prophesied centuries earlier are about to be set in motion. Every word and action of Jesus at this Supper is formed and informed by what is about to take place in the next few days.

We are meant to understand, as observers to this Upper Room meal, that Jesus not only knows what is happening, but that he also has control over the unfolding events. Satan may believe that he knows what’s going on and can influence Judas for diabolical purposes; but Jesus is really the One in charge. Even the workings of the devil are used for the divine agenda. Every event – whether meant for good or for ill – shall be bent toward the will of God.

The example, the capstone of all Christ’s teaching, is now divulged and acted out. The disciples themselves are participants in the drama; and they are aghast at what Jesus is doing. Christ proceeds to divest himself, humble himself, and serve them all by washing their feet.

Jesus intends his actions to be followed. Whereas the disciples likely believed that, over the past three years, they were being groomed for ruling in God’s new government, Christ was informing them that they will be servants in that new rule and reign of God. Yes, they will be leaders; but it will be a servant-leadership that uses its authority to love others.

Not everyone was immediately on board with this type of leadership and service. That’s because there were those who found it extremely hard to accept such a love as this.

Peter had serious difficulties with this foot washing thing. Maybe Peter thought that the roles should be reversed; he should be serving Jesus, and not the other way around. It could be that Peter was simply clueless or confused. Or perhaps he believed this action to be socially inappropriate and foolish. Yet, no matter what was going through Peter’s mind, he blatantly resisted the love of Christ.

Jesus would have none of this resistance to his loving service. Sharing in Jesus involves being served by him, even in so lowly and intimate a form as foot washing. Bottom line: the disciples of Jesus must be washed by him.

Peter (bless his extrovert mouth and heart) totally changes from rejection to the foot washing, to wanting a complete bath. Even in this, however, Jesus brings the zealot spirit down a few notches. He brought Peter to where he needs to be, and not where Peter wants to be.

Jesus Washing the Feet of His Disciple by Japanese artist Sadao Watanabe (1913-1996)

The whole washing of feet is an act of love and service that Jesus performed for them. Judas is there, too, getting his feet washed, as well. The example Jesus set was not simply one of service to an elite group of believers. The love of disciples for one another includes even those people we might prefer to forget.

Slaves were the ones who performed the service of washing feet whenever guests arrived at the master’s house. For the Christian, since our own Master initiated this practice, we ought also to love one another through meeting even the most mundane and stinky of needs. After all, we are not above our Master.

Yet, Christ considers us friends, and not necessarily as slaves, and even grants us an inheritance with him. Meeting needs requires the utilization of love.

It seems that Peter wanted to make the symbolic practice of washing feet something it was not meant to be. He asked for a lavish display of cleanliness for his entire body. Perhaps Peter thought that if you’re going to make a mark and a statement, then really go all out and do it!

For sure, Peter didn’t really know what he was saying. Jesus told Peter as much. But later, Jesus assured Peter, and all the disciples, that they indeed would, in time, understand all that he was opening up for them.

Of utmost value to Jesus was to have his disciples be driven by what drives he himself: love. Being a Christ follower is only secondarily about what one knows, and primarily about how one loves.

Christians have been profoundly loved by God through Jesus Christ. And what we do with that received love is of great importance to Jesus. As the Apostle Paul would say later to a young Corinthian Church, “Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.” (1 Corinthians 8:1)

On this Maundy Thursday, it is more than appropriate to contemplate the incredible love shown to the original disciples, and toward us, all these centuries later. Let this contemplation compel us to put a great deal of thought and conversation into the best ways of loving the people in front of us with actions that have real meaning for them.

O God of love,
giver of concord,
through your only Son
you have given us a new commandment
that we should love one another
even as you have loved us,
the unworthy and the wandering,
and gave your beloved Son for our life and salvation.
Lord, in our time of life on earth
give us a mind forgetful of past ill-will,
a pure conscience and sincere thoughts,
and hearts to love one another;
for the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen. – A Prayer of St. Cyril of Alexandria, 5th century

Tuesday of Holy Week (John 12:20-36)

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

Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” Philip went and told Andrew, then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. 

Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain, but if it dies it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.

“Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say: ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.”The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” 

Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die. The crowd answered him, “We have heard from the law that the Messiah remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?” 

Jesus said to them, “The light is in you for a little longer. Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you. If you walk in the darkness, you do not know where you are going. While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light.”

After Jesus had said this, he departed and hid from them. (New Revised Standard Version)

We continue to journey with Jesus during this Holy Week, on Tuesday. A mix of both Jews and devout Gentiles made their way to Jerusalem for the Passover festival. It was amongst this group of people that Jesus delivered his final public teaching to the crowd.

There were some Greeks who really wanted to see Jesus, and they saw an opportunity to do so when everyone was gathering at Passover time. They asked some of Christ’s disciples if they could do so, and the word was passed to Jesus. This occasion prompted Jesus to let the disciples know that the time has come for death, and therefore, life.

For those with the eyes to see what was happening, many of the people were being drawn to Jesus, rather than the temple. The Lord Jesus was gathering the nations – foreigners and outcasts – to the holy mountain to meet with him. Salvation would be found in him.

Do not let the foreigner joined to the Lord say,
    “The Lord will surely separate me from his people,”
and do not let the eunuch say,
    “I am just a dry tree.”
For thus says the Lord:
To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths,
    who choose the things that please me
    and hold fast my covenant,
I will give, in my house and within my walls,
    a monument and a name
    better than sons and daughters;
I will give them an everlasting name
    that shall not be cut off.

And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord,
    to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord,
    and to be his servants,
all who keep the Sabbath and do not profane it
    and hold fast my covenant—
these I will bring to my holy mountain
    and make them joyful in my house of prayer;
their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
    will be accepted on my altar,
for my house shall be called a house of prayer
    for all peoples.
Thus says the Lord God,
    who gathers the outcasts of Israel:
I will gather others to them
    besides those already gathered. (Isaiah 56:3-8, NRSV)

Jesus does the work of connecting the disconnected, of bringing together disparate humanity into a needed and peaceful wholeness and integrity. Christ is the ultimate gatherer, fostering get-togethers that bring the opportunity for divine/human connection, as well as the chance for unity and reconciliation between people.

Christ was about to die on behalf of the nations. He was sacrificing himself in order to bring Jews everywhere scattered in diaspora together. And he was giving himself for the sake of Greeks and all sorts of ethnicities, so that both Jew and Gentile might be gathered together as the one people of God. In other words, Jesus Christ offers himself for the life of the whole world.

There was certainly a gathering of people on Palm Sunday with Christ’s triumphal entry. Yet, this was not the event that truly brings everyone together. It is the death of Christ that does that.

Up to this point, on Holy Tuesday, Jesus had already communicated several times in various ways about his upcoming death. (i.e. John 2:20; 3:14-15) On this day he refers to it again through the cryptic language of stating that the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.

Using an agricultural metaphor that surely connected with his hearers, Jesus let the gathered ones know that he is the seed who will fall, and die, yet produce an incredible harvest. He is the one who willingly gives up his soul on behalf of the world. Jesus does this in obedience to his Father’s will.

In fact, Jesus is so sure about his mission as Savior of the world, that he confidently proclaims he will face death without asking for divine deliverance from it.

The confused and divided crowd of people were given a direct voice from heaven. This was not to assure or reassure Jesus, but was for the sake of the gathered folks in Jerusalem. They were provided some light, so that there was some guidance in the midst of the darkness which was about to happen in a few days.

Wanting to see Jesus needs to become more than a desire to meet a celebrity, or to fawn over him as a fan or a groupie following him around. Our ears need unclogging. Our eyesight requires some correction. The crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus will unclog us and correct us.

The darkness will always be around the corner, this side of heaven. And death will persist, too, until Christ returns. Therefore, we must trust that God will bring about life through death. In the darkest of times, a light will illumine the path.

Holy and immortal God, from earliest times you have named us and called us into discipleship. Teach us to follow the One whose light scatters the darkness of our world, so that we may walk as children of the light. Amen.

Dealing with Disrespect and Disbelief (John 12:34-50)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
Christ and the Pharisees, by Anthony van Dyck (1599–1641)

The crowd spoke up, “We have heard from the Law that the Messiah will remain forever, so how can you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this ‘Son of Man’?”

Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going. Believe in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of light.” When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them.

Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him. This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet:

“Lord, who has believed our message
    and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”

For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere:

“He has blinded their eyes
    and hardened their hearts,
so they can neither see with their eyes,
    nor understand with their hearts,
    nor turn—and I would heal them.”

Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him.

Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved human praise more than praise from God.

Then Jesus cried out, “Whoever believes in me does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. The one who looks at me is seeing the one who sent me. I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.

“If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day. For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken. I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.” (New International Version)

It seems that nowadays, the more one rises in popularity and garners national attention, the more some folks want to disrespect them.

Out of the many examples of this phenomenon, consider the case of a young woman from my home state of Iowa. Sportswriter Mike DeCourcy recently mused on why the University of Iowa’s Caitlin Clark has discovered that not all the greats of women’s college basketball welcome her success.

Several women – who ought to know better – have cynically reacted to Clark’s legitimate college greatness with a sort of “Why her, why not us?” attitude. They’ve indulged in misinformation and cheap shots that clearly say more about them than Caitlin Clark.

This is especially curious, since Clark has elevated women’s basketball to a level of attention that her now detractors and others have envied for decades. DeCourcy writes, “None of this [delegitimizing Clark] is a good look for NCAA women’s basketball, and neither does it appear to be the most prudent way to continue growing the sport.”

The same type of thing could be said about Jesus and the movement he was sparking during his ministry on this earth. Many of the religious leaders refused to acknowledge his greatness, nor believe in the words he was saying. Instead, they sought to knock down Jesus and the good work he was doing.

It seems the religious leaders wanted the praise and attention Jesus was getting. Even many who believed in what was happening, kept their mouths shut and let the misinformation spread, because they, too, loved the praise of others instead of praise from God.

Playing with the game of darkness, nobody wins. People end up only being a mere shadow of the person they could be. Trying to disrespect others in order to shine the light on yourself is a convoluted and misguided way of handling anyone or any situation.

Carl Jung (1875-1961) described this hidden shadow self as an unconscious aspect of the human personality. In other words, the shadow results from the conscious self being unaware or unconscious concerning areas of its own personality. Without the light of conscious awareness, the shadow self runs amok within the psyche of a person and far too often calls the shots in speaking and behavior.

“Everyone carries a shadow,” Jung wrote, “and the less it is embodied in the individual’s conscious life, the blacker and denser it is.” (Psychology and Religion, 1938)

According to Jung, the shadow side of a person is prone to psychological projection, in which a perceived personal inferiority is recognized as a perceived moral deficiency in someone else. If those projections remain hidden, they eventually come out sideways by harming others because there is a dark illusion, even delusion, that others are stealing what is rightfully mine.

Hence, the sinless Jesus is denigrated, disrespected, and disbelieved. And it is what led to him being tortured and killed by those who thought they are doing a good thing.

It’s easy to be hard on the religious rulers in the New Testament, but this is the Christian season of Lent, and so, we must shine the light of Scripture upon ourselves. This is the time to deliberately gain awareness of our own shadow selves.

Perhaps the burning question for all believers at this time of year is: Do I seek the presence of God more than the presence of anything or anyone else?  

Maybe you live in fear at work and are more concerned about the presence of people around you than the presence of God, so you keep quiet when you ought to speak up or turn a blind eye to the shadows of an organization. Or worse, you talk bad about someone good, just because they’re getting the attention you feel you deserve.

In these remaining days of Lent, as we journey with Jesus to Jerusalem, let’s let the light of his gracious ministry dispel the dark shadows of our hearts and make us aware of who we are, and what we need to change.

If we can learn to appreciate the God-given and hard-earned talents of a young woman playing basketball, then perhaps we can then also learn to glory in One who is greater than any sports celebrity, and celebrate the great work done on this earth for us and for our salvation.

Good and gracious God, we are far too often influenced by what others think of us. We sometimes pretend to be either richer or smarter or nicer than we really are. So, prevent us from trying to divert attention from others to ourselves. Don’t let us gloat over praise received from others, nor be discouraged by criticism from another. Show us, instead, how to be humble of heart, like the Lord Jesus, in whose name we pray. Amen.