The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness.
Mark 1:12
Upon first reading this passage, I was struck by its brevity and power. The Gospel of Mark relates the Temptation of Christ in the first chapter, using only two sentences. Unlike the Gospel of Matthew, where the story is related in 11 verses in the fourth chapter, or Luke, who uses 13 verses in the fourth chapter, Mark notes the event and moves quickly on. Why this difference, I wondered? This passage is harsh. The use of the words "immediately," and "drove," are not at all as gentle as those used in Matthew or Luke's versions. In Matthew, Jesus is led by the Spirit into the wilderness. In Luke, Jesus wanders in the wilderness, led by the Spirit.
The Gospel According to Mark, is widely considered to be the oldest of the gospels. Did Matthew and Luke, who must have been familiar with Mark's work, decide he left too much to the imagination? Did they think Mark moved too quickly past this important event which introduces the conflict between Jesus and Satan? Or, were they trying to make a readable version of Jesus' life and death?
The remainder of Mark's Gospel clearly reveals that Mark is greatly concerned about this conflict between Jesus and Satan. Life in Jesus's time was much different than our present world. It is difficult for us to relate to that world. In his brevity, Mark conveys the stark reality of the powers of evil that so often make an appearance when we least expect them.
Mary Hoffman (2010)
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Monday, March 10, 2014
Lenten Reflection - March 10, 2014
Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly; your vindicator shall go before you, the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
Isaiah 58:8
That is a nice thought but what do I have to do before the "Then"? God's prophet is speaking what the Lord tells him to say. One of our anthems asks "How could I not have known Isaiah would be there?" And one of the praise songs we sing tells us "He will bear us on the breath of dawn and make us to shine like the sun." That is surely to be desired. What must I do? I read back and find Isaiah is describing the way God wants me to spend a day of fasting. (Definitely not in black, with a long face) God wants me to break the chain of injustice, free the oppressed, cancel debts, feed the hungry, cloth the naked, be available to my own family—I'm thinking, two out of six isn't too bad, but it's not good either. It is just a beginning. That is what I have to do before the "then."
Caroline Chisum (2009)
Isaiah 58:8
That is a nice thought but what do I have to do before the "Then"? God's prophet is speaking what the Lord tells him to say. One of our anthems asks "How could I not have known Isaiah would be there?" And one of the praise songs we sing tells us "He will bear us on the breath of dawn and make us to shine like the sun." That is surely to be desired. What must I do? I read back and find Isaiah is describing the way God wants me to spend a day of fasting. (Definitely not in black, with a long face) God wants me to break the chain of injustice, free the oppressed, cancel debts, feed the hungry, cloth the naked, be available to my own family—I'm thinking, two out of six isn't too bad, but it's not good either. It is just a beginning. That is what I have to do before the "then."
Caroline Chisum (2009)
Sunday, March 9, 2014
Lenten Reflection - March 9, 2014 The First Sunday of Lent
John saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, "Here is the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!"
John 1:29
Jesus was a lamb of God like us - He was one of us! Like us, He was baptized by John (even though He had no sin) just as all of us were baptized. For all of us and for Jesus too, baptism reaffirms God's love for each of us and reminds us of our inherent worth. We need to remember this message every day! During all baptisms, we, the congregation, promise to nurture and support the newly baptized. The Godparents promise to take special care of the person. As a Sunday school teacher of three, four, and five year olds, I take this promise very seriously. I want all my children to absolutely know that Jesus loves them and that they are marked as God's own forever! In a sense, I am their Godparent for awhile on Sundays. Jesus is our shepherd, always taking care of us—never abandoning any of us. We can have total faith in his love and care. This is the kind of commitment I try to bring to my class each week. We learn about Jesus' life - His birth, His teaching (as shown in the Parables), the Eucharist, and His death and resurrection. We emphasize over and over that Jesus is the Good Shepherd and He loves us unconditionally and forever. It is an awesome responsibility and a wonderful privilege to be entrusted with the first church teachings these children receive. I pray I always let them know with words and actions how much Jesus loves them. In truth, they show me God's love every Sunday!
Julie Cornellier (2010)
John 1:29
Jesus was a lamb of God like us - He was one of us! Like us, He was baptized by John (even though He had no sin) just as all of us were baptized. For all of us and for Jesus too, baptism reaffirms God's love for each of us and reminds us of our inherent worth. We need to remember this message every day! During all baptisms, we, the congregation, promise to nurture and support the newly baptized. The Godparents promise to take special care of the person. As a Sunday school teacher of three, four, and five year olds, I take this promise very seriously. I want all my children to absolutely know that Jesus loves them and that they are marked as God's own forever! In a sense, I am their Godparent for awhile on Sundays. Jesus is our shepherd, always taking care of us—never abandoning any of us. We can have total faith in his love and care. This is the kind of commitment I try to bring to my class each week. We learn about Jesus' life - His birth, His teaching (as shown in the Parables), the Eucharist, and His death and resurrection. We emphasize over and over that Jesus is the Good Shepherd and He loves us unconditionally and forever. It is an awesome responsibility and a wonderful privilege to be entrusted with the first church teachings these children receive. I pray I always let them know with words and actions how much Jesus loves them. In truth, they show me God's love every Sunday!
Julie Cornellier (2010)
Saturday, March 8, 2014
Lenten Reflection - March 8, 2014
The Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day raised.
Luke 9:22
Jesus was praying with the disciples when Peter professed his belief that Jesus was Christ. Immediately after this, Jesus hits the disciples with the biggest test of their belief and faith in Him, and prophesied that he would be rejected, killed, and raised from the dead on the third day. He advised the disciples to live selflessly and not be ashamed of following Him. What strikes us about this passages is that the same message is repeated verbatim in Matthew, Mark, and Luke—three times in their Gospels! We can conclude that the disciples were not getting Jesus' message of His death and resurrection because He repeated himself three times. In Matthew 16, Peter rebuked Jesus saying, "Never, Lord! This shall never happen to you!" In turn, Jesus said to Peter, "Get behind me Satan! You are a stumbling block for me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things, but on human things." In our lives, we see denial every day. As high school students, we see our peers neglect "the right thing" and do what they see as fit. As adults, we make excuses, enable each other, and we set standards based on our own beliefs and values rather than God's. We need to turn our denial into listening to God. The disciples had three warnings of Jesus' treacherous death and resurrection. Let us direct our focus on "divine things" this Lenten season and listen to God when He is talking to us.
St. James' YAC Sunday School Class
Young Adults in the Church, grades 11-12 (2008)
Luke 9:22
Jesus was praying with the disciples when Peter professed his belief that Jesus was Christ. Immediately after this, Jesus hits the disciples with the biggest test of their belief and faith in Him, and prophesied that he would be rejected, killed, and raised from the dead on the third day. He advised the disciples to live selflessly and not be ashamed of following Him. What strikes us about this passages is that the same message is repeated verbatim in Matthew, Mark, and Luke—three times in their Gospels! We can conclude that the disciples were not getting Jesus' message of His death and resurrection because He repeated himself three times. In Matthew 16, Peter rebuked Jesus saying, "Never, Lord! This shall never happen to you!" In turn, Jesus said to Peter, "Get behind me Satan! You are a stumbling block for me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things, but on human things." In our lives, we see denial every day. As high school students, we see our peers neglect "the right thing" and do what they see as fit. As adults, we make excuses, enable each other, and we set standards based on our own beliefs and values rather than God's. We need to turn our denial into listening to God. The disciples had three warnings of Jesus' treacherous death and resurrection. Let us direct our focus on "divine things" this Lenten season and listen to God when He is talking to us.
St. James' YAC Sunday School Class
Young Adults in the Church, grades 11-12 (2008)
Friday, March 7, 2014
Lenten Reflection - March 7, 2014
And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased." And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.
Mark 1:11-13
Unlike Matthew, Luke or John, Mark gives us a minimal description of Jesus' baptism and temptation in the wilderness. There is no elaboration here; we have only the barest details. How was Jesus tempted? How did he respond? Were the beasts friendly or menacing? What did Jesus think of his baptism or God's words? Mark allows our imaginations to fill in the details.
As we make our journey through life, we know there are many twists, turns, detours and surprises. We may find ourselves in an unfamiliar wilderness without a road map, where we cannot rely on our past experiences as a guide to the present. And if we ask ourselves "what would Jesus do?" Mark seems to give us little comfort.
But our God is a God of possibilities, not predictabilities. When we enter unfamiliar, even scary space, God allows us to fill in the details ourselves. Jesus did not enter the wilderness unprepared and abandoned by God. Nor will God desert us when we are in the wilderness.
At our baptism, God spoke to us also, to tell us that we are God's children and how much God loves us. God delights in who we are and who we will become. God knows we will be scared, confused and tempted as we venture into new and unfamiliar places. But God will always be with us, whispering in our ear "you are my beloved child and you always make me happy!" With God's love, we have nothing to fear.
Patrick Arey+ (2008)
Mark 1:11-13
Unlike Matthew, Luke or John, Mark gives us a minimal description of Jesus' baptism and temptation in the wilderness. There is no elaboration here; we have only the barest details. How was Jesus tempted? How did he respond? Were the beasts friendly or menacing? What did Jesus think of his baptism or God's words? Mark allows our imaginations to fill in the details.
As we make our journey through life, we know there are many twists, turns, detours and surprises. We may find ourselves in an unfamiliar wilderness without a road map, where we cannot rely on our past experiences as a guide to the present. And if we ask ourselves "what would Jesus do?" Mark seems to give us little comfort.
But our God is a God of possibilities, not predictabilities. When we enter unfamiliar, even scary space, God allows us to fill in the details ourselves. Jesus did not enter the wilderness unprepared and abandoned by God. Nor will God desert us when we are in the wilderness.
At our baptism, God spoke to us also, to tell us that we are God's children and how much God loves us. God delights in who we are and who we will become. God knows we will be scared, confused and tempted as we venture into new and unfamiliar places. But God will always be with us, whispering in our ear "you are my beloved child and you always make me happy!" With God's love, we have nothing to fear.
Patrick Arey+ (2008)
Thursday, March 6, 2014
Lenten Reflection - March 6, 2014
Use your heads as you live and work among outsiders. Don't miss a trick. Make the most of every opportunity. Be gracious in your speech. The goal is to bring out the best in others in a conversation, not put them down, not cut them out. (The Message)
Colossians 4:2-6
This passage is an encouragement to pray and be ready for opportunities that arise for us to share Christ and His love with others, often found under a heading aptly referring to "Christian Graces." It is useful to understand the context, as the preceding portion of Colossians is labeled in most Bibles as "Rules" or "Guidelines" of a Christian Home. It speaks about how we should relate to others in a variety of relationships: husbands and wives, parents and children, employees and employers. Then this particular passage moves on to how we interact with others - in some translations it says "outsiders." This may be a casual acquaintance or a stranger. We are to be prayerfully ready to make the most of every opportunity to serve Christ in the people we encounter on a daily basis. We need to be equipped with speech filled with grace, which is not always easy in this hectic life. How many times have we said, "I should have said this." or "I should have done that"? In other Bible translations, the passage emphasizes "continuing in prayer" in order to have the wisdom to "know how to answer each one." Perhaps during Lent we can all take extra time to pray and be aware of the opportunities God is giving us to be like Christ to the people He puts in our path. Also remember, it's up to us to take action and carry out what He is inspiring us to do. The ball is in our court, what will we do with it?
Laura Miller (2011)
Colossians 4:2-6
This passage is an encouragement to pray and be ready for opportunities that arise for us to share Christ and His love with others, often found under a heading aptly referring to "Christian Graces." It is useful to understand the context, as the preceding portion of Colossians is labeled in most Bibles as "Rules" or "Guidelines" of a Christian Home. It speaks about how we should relate to others in a variety of relationships: husbands and wives, parents and children, employees and employers. Then this particular passage moves on to how we interact with others - in some translations it says "outsiders." This may be a casual acquaintance or a stranger. We are to be prayerfully ready to make the most of every opportunity to serve Christ in the people we encounter on a daily basis. We need to be equipped with speech filled with grace, which is not always easy in this hectic life. How many times have we said, "I should have said this." or "I should have done that"? In other Bible translations, the passage emphasizes "continuing in prayer" in order to have the wisdom to "know how to answer each one." Perhaps during Lent we can all take extra time to pray and be aware of the opportunities God is giving us to be like Christ to the people He puts in our path. Also remember, it's up to us to take action and carry out what He is inspiring us to do. The ball is in our court, what will we do with it?
Laura Miller (2011)
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Lenten Reflection - March 5, 2014 Ash Wednesday
But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing so that your giving may be in secret.
Matthew 6:1-6
When Jesus says not to let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, he is teaching us that our motives for giving to God and to others must be pure. It is not for show or to do something for someone, if it will benefit us in return. We should do good deeds quietly or in secret with no thought of reward. Jesus says we should check our motives in three areas: generosity, prayer, and fasting.
This passage takes me back to a time as a small child when there was no money for Christmas. At that time our father was ill and was unable to work. My mother got a phone call from the local department store telling her to come to the store and do her Christmas shopping for her three children. We awoke Christmas morning with packages under the tree, never ever knowing who called the department store.
Betsy Hillery (2008)
Matthew 6:1-6
When Jesus says not to let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, he is teaching us that our motives for giving to God and to others must be pure. It is not for show or to do something for someone, if it will benefit us in return. We should do good deeds quietly or in secret with no thought of reward. Jesus says we should check our motives in three areas: generosity, prayer, and fasting.
This passage takes me back to a time as a small child when there was no money for Christmas. At that time our father was ill and was unable to work. My mother got a phone call from the local department store telling her to come to the store and do her Christmas shopping for her three children. We awoke Christmas morning with packages under the tree, never ever knowing who called the department store.
Betsy Hillery (2008)
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