Glossa Water: Mark 2

Showing posts with label Mark 2. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Four, By Two.

Now there were four men with leprosy at the entrance of the city gate. They said to each other, “Why stay here until we die? If we say, ‘We’ll go into the city’—the famine is there, and we will die. And if we stay here, we will die. So let’s go over to the camp of the Arameans and surrender. If they spare us, we live; if they kill us, then we die.” (Second Kings 7:3-4)

It’s very interesting that over the past two Sundays, our morning sermons have featured four unnamed men. On March 15, we considered the Mark 2 account of the paralytic whose healing was appropriated through the faith of four friends. This past Sunday, we read the story of a nation rescued from famine by the hope of four men. As we continue this week's reflection on Second Kings 7, let’s take time to consider one of the points shared by Pastor Joy (paraphrased here): When we are besieged, and it seems there is no way out, we must remember that the Lord is nigh.

Our pastor noted that these four men found a “ray of light” in the midst of famine and despair. On the surface, it was a crazy idea: go and surrender themselves to the enemy. But their hope was evident in their logic: If they spare us, we’ll live. If they kill us, it’s okay—we were going to die anyway.

Pastor Joy reminded us that we are able to have hope even in the darkest situation. The four men certainly could have focused on the sufferings they had endured: they were lepers, they were outcasts, and they were starving to death. Their choice to take hold of hope changed their outlook on life.

What a radical hope they professed: There's a possibility we might be sustained by our nation’s enemy for the duration of this siege. The four lepers didn’t add on hopes for healing, or acceptance, or understanding. They simply expressed their hope for a basic need, food, and God came through with far more than they had hoped for. I wonder if we, today, would express a hope so bold… so simple… so radical.

Are you hopeful?

Lord God, You are the God who moved four men to make a radical move that saved not only themselves, but their nation. Help us to have hope so that we, like them, will see a “ray of light” emerge out of our darkest circumstance. Help us to understand that You can provide sustenance from our enemies just as easily as You provided manna from heaven. Help us to petition You with the words You gave us: "Give us this day our daily bread." Help us to be one of the "four" whose hope can save a nation. We ask this in Jesus's name, thankful for the basics, and conscious of Your ability to do the miraculous. We love You, Lord.

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Martha. Mary. Michael. Henry. Delia. Samuel. Ronald. Joseph.

A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. (Mark 2:1-4)

During Sunday’s sermon, Andrew Palau asked us a question: “Who are your ‘four’?”

It’s a great question. Some of us know, by name, men and women who were instrumental in bringing us into contact with the presence and power of Christ. Others of us may have forgotten names, but we remember a face, a moment, a God-ordained and God-arranged encounter that changed our lives forever.

In the Mark 2 narrative, the four men who carried their friend to Jesus displayed certain characteristics:

v They were unified in objective. Their purpose was to carry their friend into the presence of Jesus. This endeavor required the agreement and cooperation of everyone involved.

v They were unfazed by obstinacy. Instead of being angry at the crowd who would not make way for their friend in need, the men instead turned to their own resourcefulness to get into the home.

v They were undeterred by obstacles. While the narrative does not contain any dialogue between the men, the actions recorded indicate that these men overcame every challenge they encountered.

Time has passed… methods have changed… but we still have the privilege of being instruments of God. We can have a role in bringing others to the Lord for salvation, healing, and deliverance. And though Sunday’s question was “Who are your ‘four’?”, I’d like to flip the question for our reflection today: Is there someone that you have carried, lifted, and placed at the feet of Jesus?

Lord God, we have looked back on our faith-journey and we are so grateful for the men and women You used to draw us to Yourself. Lord, how we pray that You will use us to be one of the “four” for someone else. Give us Your grace to bear the burdens of others. Give us Your grace so that we are not discouraged by the insensitivity of those who block the path that leads to You. Give us Your grace to stay on task, not giving up until we have placed at Your feet those who need Your word spoken into their lives. Thank You for helping us. We pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Mark His Words.

On Sunday our guest speaker, Andrew Palau, spoke on Mark 2:1-12. This second chapter shows us key aspects of Jesus's earthly ministry: teaching, fellowship, forgiveness, and healing.

For today let's read all of Mark 2, the lens through which we'll consider this week's reflections.

Mark 2

Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”

Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him. While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and asked Jesus, “How is it that John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?” Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast. No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Otherwise, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins.”

One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain. The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?” He answered, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.” Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”