June 11th, 2017
Devotional
“The Gospel of Mark: Follow Me” - Mark 2: 13-17
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Monday: “He Taught Them” - Mark 2: 13
While this scene takes places early in Jesus’s ministry in the Gospel of Mark, crowds are already starting to gather around him. But I want us to pause this day and ask who was in this crowd who came to hear Jesus teach as it will help us more fully examine this text the rest of the week.
There are multiple groups represented in the crowd that day. First, we would have the disciples. By this point Jesus has already invited four of the disciples to follow him - Simon, Andrew, James, and John. They are probably in awe of this crowd that is starting to gather to hear the man who they are to follow. Then we have the folks who have either heard Jesus’s teaching in the synagogues or those who had heard about the miraculous healing taking place and want to be healed as well. Next, there are the religious leaders. Jesus is starting to get some notoriety, so they probably want to come hear Jesus for themselves to make sure he is teaching the right things to the right people. Lastly, we have those who just are attracted to the crowd. They may not know what all the fuss is about, but they are being drawn in.
To this mixed crowd, Jesus taught - seekers, believers, disciples, and skeptics alike. The problem with to many of our churches today is that we are only preaching and teaching one or two of these categories - chiefly the believers and the disciples. But we are also called to reach out to those who are skeptical, seeking, and may just be drawn in.
Who do you identify with most in the crowd that Jesus taught?
How can we reach out, as the Church, beyond those who already believe and already are disciples to spread the Good News?
Prayer: Loving God, we confess that all too often we want you to reach out to people only like us. To teach those who already believe and follow you. But, when we accept your call on our lives, you ask us to reach out beyond, to those who do not yet know you or aren’t sure about you. Equip us for the crowds, we pray. Amen.
Tuesday: “Levi son of Alphaeus” - Mark 2: 14
I love that today’s scripture says that as Jesus walked along he saw Levi son of Alphaeus and called to him to follow. Levi was probably rarely referred to by his whole name, his proper lineage. In fact, he was probably rarely referred to as Levi. Instead, he was probably identified by his discredited occupation, tax collector, or the names that people associated with it, including thief and swindler. But when Jesus looked at Levi, he didn’t see him as he was in the moment, but instead saw who he could be.
When I was in seminary I took a class inside of a women’s prison. The first rule was not to ask the ladies who were inside students what made them be in prison; if they wanted to share, they certainly could, but it was not our place to ask. So we got to know the ladies by their names, not what they had done or who they once were.
I’m not a big fan of when people start to identify people chiefly by their sins. Murder. Thief. Prostitute. When we do this, we miss seeing people like Jesus sees them and miss seeing that Jesus is calling them, too, to follow as disciples.
Tell of a time that you missed seeing the beauty of a whole person, not just who they once were. What did you learn from this experience?
Prayer: Lord, we confess that we often boil down people to their sins instead of their potential. Help us to see people as you see them Lord. Open our eyes and our hearts to see that you invite all people, regardless of their past, to follow you. Amen.
Wednesday: “Sat Down to Dinner” - Mark 2: 15
In ancient Jewish culture one of the most intimate things that you could do with a person is share a meal. When you broke bread around the table together it symbolized that you cared for one another, that you were friends or family.Who you ate with mattered.
Who is Jesus eating with in this passage? “Many tax collectors and sinners”. Not folks that most people, especially religious people, would be caught eating with. Yet, it is exactly who Jesus came into contact with.
If you had to choose who you were going to eat with who would it be? Those that the world deems to be misfits or people who could make you feel more important? Jesus didn’t particularly care what other people thought about him eating with the misfits of society - it was exactly where he was called to be. And it is exactly those who have no other place in society that Jesus continues to open the table up to today, as he prepares for the heavenly banquet.
I often tell people that the Church and the communion table are not mine. I may serve at them, but they are God’s and we welcome all who God welcomes - which is everyone who is seeking to grow in their relationship with God.
Do we truly live as if the table is open to everyone?
Would you eat with those whom Jesus dined with? Why or why not?
Prayer: Lord, at times we act as if your table, the table of life and grace is closed. We act as if it is our to decide who is welcome and who is not. Reminds us anew who you ate with long ago and who you invite to be with you today, Precious Lord. Amen.
Thursday: “Why Does He Eat with Them?” - Mark 2:16
Predictably, the religious leaders were displeased by the choice of company Jesus kept. They weren’t the right people. Jesus wasn’t eating in the right places. So they turned to the disciples and asked ‘Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?’.
You can almost hear the questions beneath their question can’t you? Why did Jesus choose them over us? Isn’t he worried about what other people are going to think? Doesn’t he know that keeping such company will make him unclean? But everything encompassed in their original question isn’t directed at Jesus, who could explain to them exactly why this was the place he was called to be. Instead, the religious leaders directed their questions to the disciples, who were probably just as confused as the religious leaders.
Are we people who have that ancient question asked of us as well? Do people look at us and ask essentially why we are hanging out with the people that others deem undesirable and avoidable? Because if we aren’t, if we are only associating with people who can help us advance or those who are like us, we may be missing the point of Jesus’s ministry.
How can you reach out to different people with the love of Jesus Christ?
Prayer: Lord, you call us to be your Church and to reach out beyond ourselves in order to share your love with the world. Lord, sometimes we need a little push to get going. Sometimes, we would rather be comfortable. And sometimes we join in with the religious leaders asking “why them?” of other people. Help us to love with your love, the love that breaks down barriers and restores souls. Amen.
Friday: “I Have Come” - Mark 2: 17
I used to dislike going to doctors. Growing up my brothers and I seemed to be prone to strep throat, so going to the doctors outside of wellness visits, was all to often for a throat swab that would make me gag. However, as undesirable as that situation may be, I also knew that when I was sick I needed the doctor and medicine to make me well.
Jesus, in today’s scripture passage reminds folks that he is the Great Physician. While, yes, up to this point he had healed many people from physical and mental burdens, they were only a glimpse of what the heart of his ministry is about - healing sin sick souls.
Here’s the thing about going to the doctor though: you have to realize that you are in need of healing to go. You have to realize that something is wrong and want to be made whole in order to seek out a doctor’s care. So it is with Jesus. Jesus came for sinners, came for those with sickness in their heart and soul, but we have to realize that we are in need of Jesus and in need of his healing in order to come to him.
How do we realize that we are in need of Jesus? How can we share this message in our community?
Prayer: God, we are in need of Jesus. We are in need of his healing. Help us to fully realize and claim that Jesus came into the world to heal our sin sick souls and then send us out to share that message anew. Amen.
Saturday: Preparing for the Word
You are invited to read and pray this week’s text and topic: “The Gospel of Mark: Honor Me” - Mark 7: 1-23
Family Activity: Play follow the leader with everyone getting a chance to be both a leader and follower. Do you prefer being the leader or the follower? Why? How can we be excited to follow Jesus?
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