I'm All In

 As the gospel of Mark reaches its halfway point, Jesus is surrounded by a committed bunch of followers, who are, if nothing else, confused.  Their lack of understanding does not disqualify them from following him, but Jesus knows that they do not fully know what they are getting into.  In fact, it won't be until after the resurrection that Jesus' disciples will truly understand what his kingdom is all about (and even then, in a still limited fashion).  Peter confesses Jesus to be the Messiah at this middle point of the story, but it is clear that Peter does not fully comprehend what it means for Jesus to be the Messiah.  Let's jump into the story in Mark 8:31-38 (ESV).

"And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again.  And he said this plainly.  And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.  But turning to Peter and seeing his disciples he rebuked Peter and said, 'Get behind me Satan!  For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.'

And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, 'If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.  For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it.  For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?  For what can a man give in return for his soul?  For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with his holy angels.'" 

Though the disciples, including Peter didn't know it, their commitment to Jesus would cost them their lives.  It would cost them every single thing that they considered precious.  It would cost some of them friends, family, and their standing in their communities.  It would cost others of them their vocations.  But it would cost all of them their lives - their souls - their very selves!  The decision to follow Jesus is an "all-in" move.  There's no going back, there's no hedging bets, it's his way or the highway.  Dietrich Bonhoeffer said it like this, "When Christ calls a man, he bids him, 'Come and die!'."  

Peter and many of the earliest followers of Jesus did suffer death for their faith.  But even the disciples who did not die for their commitment to Jesus, were still required to alter their whole way of living.  Each morning when they woke up, the question that would have (or at least should have) come to their mind was not, "What's this day have in store for me?", but rather, "Where is Jesus and his Spirit leading me this day?".  

Please don't misunderstand me.  I am not saying that the earliest disciples always understood what Jesus and his Spirit was doing in their lives.  Nor am I suggesting that they always followed Jesus in complete fidelity or perfection.  One only needs to read the previous thirty verses in Mark 8 to see this.  One only needs to read the rest of the New Testament to grasp this.  And one only needs to look at his or her own life to be made painfully aware of this.  But what I am suggesting is that when one decides to follow Jesus, this cannot be a half-hearted endeavor.  We may not get it right all the time, but if we get it at all, we will not get it by only going half-way.  

According to Jesus, our decision to follow him is a life and death decision.  It is the life and death decision.  If we bet on Jesus - if we are willing to go all in with the belief that he is the Messiah, the King, the Son of God, then we will suffer loss and defeat according to how the world keeps score.  But we will win the ultimate prize in the end.  We'll enjoy eternal life under his rule and reign in the age to come.  But if we hedge our bets, or if we simply deny that Jesus is Lord, though we might win our fair share in this life, we'll miss out on eternal life in the world to come.  

Jesus doesn't require us to get it right all the time.  Discipleship is a journey and a process with a fair amount of stumbles and false steps along the way.  And following Jesus does not depend on us fully understanding everything now - or ever.  But the decision to follow Jesus is not one to be taken lightly.  Either, we are in, or we are out.  I'm all in! - Shay 

Tradition?

In religious circles, it seems "tradition" has fallen on hard times.  And this makes sense.  Throughout his ministry, Jesus consistently called out the religious leaders of his day for their reliance on human teaching or tradition at the expense of God's larger re-creational intention for people and society.  It seems they had missed the forest for the trees.  

Mark 7 gives us some insight into Jesus' battle with the Pharisees.  "Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him, they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is without washing them.  (For Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands, thus observing the tradition of the elders; and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash it; and there are many other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles.)  So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, 'Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?'  He said to them, 'Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written, 'This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines.'  You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.'" (Mark 7:1-8).

The rest of Mark 7 deals with the issue of human tradition vs. God's commands and what it actually means to be "unclean".  Later in the chapter, after Jesus journeys north to Gentile territory, he encounters a Syrophoenician woman whose daughter is possessed by an unclean spirit.  Being a Gentile, many Jews would have considered the woman to be unclean as well.  Jesus hits this issue head-on, even using a common "racial" slur that Jews would throw around regarding Gentiles (dogs).  Jesus' tactic really brought the message home!  He points his disciples ahead to a time when the global reign of the kingdom of God will extend far beyond the borders of Israel.  God's kingdom will be for male and female, slave and free, Jew and Gentile.  His disciples needed to know that it wasn't just the religious leaders who had held onto some cherished traditions that Jesus was more than happy to dismantle.

And that brings us back to the value, or lack-there-of, of tradition.  Are traditions valuable?  Do they play an important role in society and church?  Or are they "merely" human teachings that must be discarded at the first opportunity?  It depends.

It's been said that "tradition" is the living faith of dead people and that "traditionalism" is the dead faith of living people.  In other words, if we hold to tradition, simply for the sake of the tradition itself, we've probably missed the point.  But if we utilize the tradition to either remind us of the main point, or to use the tradition to aid us in achieving the main point, then the tradition is probably worthwhile and a benefit to us and our communities.

I've also heard tradition being described as a vessel.  Let's imagine that you have some very valuable cargo that you want to get from one side of the river to the other.  The water is deep, and the current is fast and there's no way you can get these valuable goods across without some reliable boat.  So, you use the barge as long as it's in good condition.  If it springs a leak, you fix the leak.  But if it gets to a point where the boat is no longer river-worthy, then it might be time to get a new vessel - a new tradition.  You see, what's most valuable is the cargo that you are transporting across the river, not the vessel.  The vessel is valuable, because of the purpose it serves, but it isn't valuable in and of itself.  It exists for the sake of the cargo, not vice versa.

The Pharisees that Jesus confronted in Mark 7 had flipped the script.  They had made the "tradition" the main thing.  They believed the cargo existed in order to facilitate the use of the vessel.  But their boat had sprung an unfixable leak, and it was time to get a new watercraft that might better handle the loads of the coming kingdom of God. 

So, what about us?  How do we discern the value of our traditions?  How do we know when it's time to fix a leaking vessel and when it might be time to get a brand-new boat?  How do we avoid making the tradition "the thing" - in other words, how do we continue to see the forest for the trees?  I think it takes three things.  Study, reflection, and prayer (in the context of community).

To understand what we believe and what we do, we need to understand why we believe it and why we do it.  It is unwise to simply discard traditions that have served God's people well simply for the sake of novelty.  So, we need to dig down to the roots under the tree, before we uproot the tree.  To mix metaphors, we need to uncover and test the foundation, before we demolish the building.

And then we need to reflect on what we've learned.  We need to consider God's larger purposes and how our past traditions may have faithfully served those purposes.  And then we would want to critically examine our current world and context, to see if those past traditions are capable of continuing to serve their older purposes.  It may be that we need to uproot an old plant, it may be that we need to bulldoze a dilapidated structure, and it may be that we need a brand-new boat.  Or maybe the tree just needs to be groomed a little.  It may be that we should restore the old building - renovate it.  Our old barge might simply need some TLC.  

As we reflect, we must commit ourselves to prayer, individually, and even more importantly, collectively.  We must never forget that traditions serve whole communities, not just us as individuals.  Any changes we make affect more than ourselves, and so we must be wise in making those changes.  Some of those changes will happen swiftly, while others may take more time.  No two situations are exactly alike, so we must consistently study, reflect, and pray as our communities evolve.

And at the end of the day, we are not involved in building our own personal, or even our own collective kingdoms.  For followers of Jesus, it's all about him and his Father.  It's God's kingdom, not ours.  That's why we pray, "Your kingdom come and your will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven."  That's a tradition we should definitely hold onto! - Shay 

More Than We Think We Are

 

Are people capable of changing?  Is it possible to understand the inner workings of another's thoughts and motivations?  Do we really know other people like we think we do?  Do we even know ourselves?

There's an idea in Ireland (and probably other places around the world as well) that you shouldn't put yourself too far out in front of the pack.  You should be satisfied with your place in life and not aspire to greatness.  Self-confidence is only one step removed from hubris.  The tallest poppy is the first to get cut down.  

If you combine the ideas from these two paragraphs together (that we sometimes don't even fully understand ourselves, let alone others, that we as well as others are capable of change, and that there is a human tendency to want to pull others back to the pack when they venture too far out in front), then we might have a pretty good idea of what was going on in the minds of Jesus' neighbors from his hometown of Nazareth in Mark 6:1-6a (NRSV).

"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 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."

I didn't grow up around anyone who has "hit the big time!"  No one from my hometown or the schools I attended has become famous.  I can imagine that though there would be great pride held by others on behalf of a local guy or gal done well, there might also be some level of envy directed towards them.  I played basketball my senior year in High School with a teammate who excelled in baseball and who pitched in college, the minors, in the Chinese league, had a brief stint in the majors.  Successful, yes, but a household name, no.  I should also mention that he's one of the most likeable and humble people I've ever met.  So, I don't personally know what it would be like to have grown up around someone who became renowned or acclaimed, but it must illicit mixed feelings on behalf of those who knew, or at least thought they knew them well.

Humans sometimes struggle with envy, but we also tend to put others in boxes.  We categorize people.  Someone is either introverted or extroverted.  They are either logical or creative.  They are a jock or a nerd.  Rather than acknowledging that most people reside somewhere on a spectrum in all of these categories (and that it is possible that these categories can be blended together), it's tidier to keep others safely behind the lock and key of our own, often imagined cages of categorization.  It might be hard to believe that the shy kid in the far corner, might have people skills just waiting to be unlocked at the right time and in the right situation.  It's easier to assume that the star football player, probably can't play an instrument, would never be an avid reader, or isn't possibly a gifted actor.  It's also easy to assume that what we see now, is what we'll get forever.  We often forget that people can and do change.  We are all capable of evolving and becoming more tomorrow, than what we are today.

So, for the people of Nazareth, it was hard to believe that Jesus, the local carpenter, had not only become a famous rabbi, but that his powerful teaching and his powerful acts of healing were legitimate.  They had seen this young man when he was but a toddler.  They had witnessed him, and his younger siblings attend synagogue and other local events with their parents through the years.  He might have been an awkward adolescent, as many precocious young people are.  Like every human being who has ever lived, it would have taken time for Jesus to develop and to slowly figure out this complex world and his place within it.  As the people of Nazareth attested, Jesus' upbringing was not extraordinary - probably no more extraordinary than most of ours.  Like all of us, Jesus could and did change.  He wasn't exactly the same person at the age of 30, as he had been at the age of 12, much less at those younger ages.  He was not one who fit easily into a box.

This story reminds us that it's probably unwise to try to fit anyone neatly into a box.  People are complex.  People are diverse.  People have the ability to change.  And people are also capable of achieving great things, even unexpected things if given the opportunity.  Who knows what might be possible if a person is in the right place at the right time under the right circumstances!!? 

This story also alerts us to the danger of envy and incredulity.  In Jesus' case, these two reactions went hand in hand.  The fact that the local carpenter's son was capable of far more than his friends, neighbors, and even family members were willing to give him credit for, reminds us that seeing isn't always believing.  They heard with their own ears his eloquent and wise teaching.  Some of them saw with their own eyes his ability to lay hands on people and cure them of their illnesses.  But their jealousy prevented them from even considering that God might actually be at work in the ministry of this young local upstart.  Rather than being amazed at what God was doing through Jesus, Jesus was amazed at their almost supernatural ability not to believe.

So, if you have put your faith in this humble, regular guy from Nazareth.  If you have imagined that it might be possible for the creator of everything, in the person of his Son, to incarnate himself and live a most ordinary, and yet extraordinary life.  If you believe that Jesus of Nazareth really is the Son of God, then you owe your brother and your sister, your friend and your neighbor an open mind.  Not only should you not chain them to a real or imagined past, but you should also allow them the freedom to become more than you or even they might imagine they can be.  God is at work in our world, and he usually does his most important work through people.  Many times, it's those we least expect through whom God does his greatest work.  As we interact with those whom God places in our path, may we be open enough to avoid placing people in a box, may we be humble enough to celebrate his work through the unexpected, and may we be hopeful enough to embrace our own possibilities for the future. - Shay  

Twelve Years A Slave

As we move through the gospel of Mark, we come to a story from chapter 5:21-43.  In my old blog, Near St. Anne's and the Sea, http://northdublinsmiths.blogspot.com/, I wrote a post a few years back that I believe is still worth a read.  In this post, I try to imagine what a couple of the characters in the story may have experienced as they encountered Jesus in trying circumstances.  The first character, I call Martha, though we do not know her name.  The second character is Jairus.  Let's discover the amazing ways these two individual's stories intertwine.  

The Gospel According to Martha

My name is Martha and I can still remember the month it happened.  It was like any other month, maybe just a bit heavier than usual, but nothing to be alarmed about.  I did what I would usually do – what I was required to do by the Law of Moses.  I kept myself separate and I made sure that I didn’t touch anyone or anything that might cause someone else to become unclean.  But at the end of the week, my period didn’t stop.  It seemed like it would get lighter, but then, it would come back heavy.  It went like this for days and days.  I began to get worried.  I was in my unclean state for weeks and so I began to see healers, physicians, anyone who could help me.  I spent all I had trying to be cured, but I never got any better, I only got worse.  I never could have imagined that this ailment, this affliction would stay with me for months, even years.  I struggled so much just to have enough energy to get through the day.  No matter how much I would eat, I always felt weak.  And isolated.  I got so lonely.  I gave up on ever trying to have a husband.  No man in his right mind would ever want to marry me.  They would be unclean, unable to live a normal life, unable to have children, or even be able to enjoy making love to their wife.  Eventually, after a few years, I learned to accept my status as an outsider, as one unclean -   unable to worship at the temple and unable to be in normal fellowship with the rest of my countrymen and women.  For 12 long years, this was my reality.  I was a slave, 12 years a slave, until…

The Gospel According to Jairus

My name is Jairus and I will never forget the day my little girl was born.  I was so proud!  She was my firstborn – my only child.  My wife and I wanted other sons and daughters, but she was the only one that God had seen fit to give us.  But, oh, did we love her.  Our nickname for her was Talitha – little girl.  Even as she grew older, we affectionately called her by this name.  She was a daddy’s girl, though she loved her momma too and wanted to be just like her.  Sometimes, I would take her with me to the Synagogue as I would prepare for our worship the day before the Sabbath.  I also remember taking her on walks along the shore at the sea.  We would walk along the rocky beaches, taking time to skip rocks or wade out into the shallows.  As she got older, I could see that she was becoming more and more like her mom.  She was beautiful.  I'll never forget the day she got sick.  It wasn’t long after her 12^th birthday.  She had complained of a headache that morning and a few hours later, she collapsed in our kitchen.  We took her into the back room of our home and tried to cool her fevered body with wet rags.  Nothing seemed to work.  We tried to give her every herb and every medicinal concoction that we could find, but she only got worse.  And then it hit me.  I had heard of a miracle worker, a rabbi from Nazareth who had become famous across Galilee for his healing abilities.  In fact, once, when Talitha and I were out on one of our seaside walks, we had witnessed a crowd who had gathered to hear him teach.  The crowd was so large he had got into a boat and floated out on the water to give himself some room.  I knew that he frequently crossed the sea.  In fact, some of his disciples were fisherman, so maybe if I went down by the shore I could find him.  Maybe, just maybe he would be able to do something!

According to Martha

I saw the crowd swarming him down by the sea as he climbed out of the boat.  But then, he paused.  In the middle of this mass of humanity, a man had fallen at Jesus’ feet and seemed to be desperately begging him for something.  Jesus lifted the man up and began to follow him.  The crowd also pressed in and went with them.  I struggled to catch up and as I wedged my way in-between the people a thought crossed my mind.  “This rabbi is so godly, so righteous, so full of God’s power, that if I only touch his clothes, then God will heal me through that single touch.”  I anxiously approached, weaving my way through the herd, until finally, I was able to reach out and skim the edge of his cloak with my fingertips.  I immediately felt a feeling I hadn’t had for 12 years.  My bleeding stopped and I felt a rush of energy cascade through my body.  I was healed!  But before I could make my way out of the crowd, Jesus turned around and shouted, “Who touched my clothes?”  What was I to do?  I was so afraid.  Maybe I shouldn’t have gone about things this way?  I had hoped to make a quiet escape, to draw no attention to myself, but it was obvious that Jesus realized that power had left him.  He wanted to know who had been healed and though I was scared to death, I slowly pushed my way through the people and fell down at his feet and told him everything.  With a tear in his eye and the sound of hope in his voice he simply said, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”  For 12 long years I had been a slave to my bleeding womb.  What God had designed to be an instrument of life, for me had become an instrument of death, until - until that day when I reached out to Jesus and he spoke those words of life.

According to Jairus

“Jesus, I know that if you will just come and lay your hands on my little girl, she’ll be healed, she’ll live.”  Those were the words I uttered as I fell on my face and begged Jesus to come and do something for my dying daughter.  Jesus immediately went with me, no questions asked - he just agreed and followed me.  I didn’t even notice the large crowd that was following us as we hurriedly made our way to my home, until – until Jesus all of the sudden froze.  He spun around and shouted “Who touched my clothes?”  “What’s going on?” I thought.  Why is he stopping?  Doesn’t he know my daughter will die if we don’t get there soon!  Jesus and his disciples seemed to be arguing about something and then a woman fell down at Jesus’ feet and began to timidly tell him how for 12 years she had lived in a state of uncleanness, bleeding, living in isolation, but that now, after having touched his clothes she was free from her affliction.  While Jesus responded to the woman, all I could do was think about my 12 year old daughter who laid dying in our home.  And then I saw them approaching us - some of the local professional mourners.  They had already begun to gather at our house.  That could only mean one thing.  Our little Talitha had died.  They confirmed the bad news and told us that Jesus shouldn’t be bothered any longer.  There’s nothing that could be done now.  Our girl who had emerged from the womb only 12 years prior would soon enter the cold dark womb of a tomb.  Death had stung.  Death had won. 

But Jesus turned back towards me, overhearing the mourners’ lamentation.  He grabbed me by the shoulders and looked me in my tear-filled eyes and said, “Do not fear, only believe!”  Then he motioned for me and three of his disciples to follow him.  When we arrived at the house, the professional mourners were in full flight.  They were weeping, wailing, hollering, and screaming.  What a production they were putting on!  But Jesus calmly eyed the scene and confidently said, “Why are you making such a commotion?  The child isn’t dead, she’s just asleep.”  Even professionals sometimes slip up.  They went from crying for my daughter to laughing at Jesus.  I didn’t know what to think at this point – was I to hope or was I to fear?  I feared the worst and hoped for the best as Jesus dismissed the mourners and took my wife and his disciples in to see our lifeless little girl.  Jesus gently grasped her hand and softly spoke the words, “Talitha cum – little girl, get up.”  Talitha gasped for breath, opened her eyes, and began to walk around the room.  My little girl was alive!  For 12 short years, I had raised my daughter, expecting that one day she would be married and have children of her own.  But death had come and done its worst and for a moment, my hopes and dreams were shattered.  I had lost my only daughter and the hopes of grandchildren had vanished as well.  Until…until he took her by the hand and he spoke those words of life. - Shay

Why Are You Afraid?

Descending through a thunderstorm into Miami on a short flight from Orlando, our plane suddenly dropped several hundred feet.  About 5 or 6 rows in front of me, a young man flew out of his seat, smashing his head into the overhead compartment.  Maybe he was "stunned" or just slow to react, but he didn't immediately fasten his seatbelt and when the plane dropped another several hundred feet, he again smashed into the overhead compartment!  It would have been funny, had I not been white-knuckle gripping my seat's armrests.  I was terrified.  I don't like the feeling of free-falling, even on amusement park rides. So, to unexpectedly drop twice in a matter of seconds on this flight was disconcerting to say the least.  My prayer at that moment was short, simple, and on repeat: "Lord, please help us land safely and quickly, but not too quickly!  God, just get this plane on the ground!  But again, not immediately!"

Jesus' disciples must have felt similar emotions as they traversed the chaotic Sea of Galilee in the middle of a terrifying storm.  "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?'  He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, 'Peace!  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 awe and said to one another, 'Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?'' (Mark 4:35-41, NRSV).

Have you ever been there - in the middle of a sheer moment of terror?  Fear is one of the most visceral emotions we feel.  Our heartrate explodes, our palms sweat profusely, our thinking rapidly speeds up, while time seems to slow down.  Every resource our body can muster is devoted to this one moment, this one issue, this one crisis.  It's no wonder that we feel "spent" when the moment passes.

But sometimes fear doesn't come and go in quite such a rush.  There are moments in our lives when instead of being unexpectantly tossed into terror, we are forced to labor through a long, slow sense of dread.  But this feeling is just as real as the more visceral feelings of fear, and quite possibly, more damaging.  Persistent anxiety can be even more toxic as the most frightening of scares. 

But maybe the worst kind of fear is the kind of fear that develops out of perfectionism and the desire to be a "control freak".  When we are afraid to fail, and so fail to try, we have allowed fear to win.  When we are unwilling to relinquish control, we again have handed fear a victory.

According to the gospel of Mark, fear, not doubt is the enemy of faith.  Any of us who trust in God have at times doubted.  In fact, if we've never experienced a doubt, I doubt our faith is mature and tested.  Doubting is normal.  When doubts arise, I can still act in faith.  I can hold my faith and my doubts in tension.  In fact, faith isn't the absence of doubt, but the capacity to trust and to act despite our doubts.  But fear on the other hand, can be crippling.  Fear has the power to leave us in a perpetual state of floundering.

When Jesus called his disciples, he invited them to join him on the adventure of a lifetime.  It was an adventure that would take them, at least temporarily, away from their friends and family.  It was a calling that would force them to reevaluate all they previously held dear.  It was a journey that would place them in challenging circumstances, physically, mentally, relationally, and spiritually.  Essentially, Jesus was calling them to take a leap of faith, to put their trust in him, and to be willing go "all in" for his kingdom movement.  The majority of their kinsmen would think they were nuts, but if Jesus was right and God's kingdom really was coming through this ministry, then their role in this mission had the power to not only change their own lives, but the world!  Would this require faith?  Absolutely!  Would this inevitably be accompanied by doubt?  Surely.  Was this a scary proposition?  Totally.  But, if through faith, they could manage their doubt, while overcoming their fear, they would be a part of the greatest revolution in human history.  One that still resonates in our world today!

The fear the disciples faced on that boat that stormy evening so long ago wasn't the biggest test their faith would face.  That would come later.  But it was a great opportunity for Jesus to plant tiny seeds of faith in their hearts.  Jesus knew that those tiny seeds had the power to grow into massive plants of faith in the future (Mark 4:30-32).  He knew that faith isn't the absence of fear, it's the ability to overcome that fear.  And slowly, but surely the disciples would begin to take those faithful steps that evening on the Sea of Galilee.  

What about us?  What are we afraid of?  Is there some gnawing fear that's holding us back?  Is God calling us to take a step of faith - maybe even a leap of faith into the unknown?  If so, Jesus asks us this question: "Why are you afraid?  Have you still no faith?" - Shay 

To Be With

There's an epidemic - even a pandemic - that has spread across the world to every continent, country, and people.  It's not Covid 19, but no doubt the Coronavirus played a role in this other pandemic.  It's the disease (dis-ease) of loneliness and isolation.  And make no mistake, isolation and the loneliness it carries with it are as big a health and mental threat to our world as any contagious disease.  

Every technology has benefits and costs.  When we adopt and adapt to new technologies, we should weigh both the costs and the benefits.  Maybe this leads us to reject a new tool.  Or maybe we just put it on hold until we have more comprehensive information about it.  We might hesitantly embrace it, but with some caveats and safeguards.  Maybe we limit its use and continue to also use older methods and technologies.  Or, in some cases we might wholeheartedly embrace this new development.  But again, we must always remember that there will be losses, as well as gains when we shift away from one way of living to another.

Unfortunately, when smartphones were introduced about 15 years ago, it seems as if they were unreservedly and uncritically embraced.  Only the benefits of these powerful new devices were considered.  Not many stopped to imagine how the unreflective adoption of these tools would change our lives.  But in short order it became obvious that smartphones present as many problems for us even as they provide solutions.  

In no particular order, there are questions about diminished attention spans, developmental distortion of developing brains in adolescents, the loss of face-to-face interaction and compromised communal participation.  I would like us to consider the last two issues - the loss of face-to-face interaction and diminished communal participation.  

The toothpaste isn't going back into the tube.  But that doesn't mean that the issues arising from portable computing machines (however they continue to be developed) don't exist or need to be addressed.  And when it comes to the lack of in person relationships and shared communal experience, an ancient story might offer some solutions to these very modern problems.

"He (Jesus) went up the mountain and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him.  And he appointed twelve, whom he also named apostles, to be with him, and to be sent out to proclaim the message, and to have authority to cast out demons.  So he appointed the twelve..." (Mark 3:13-16a, NRSV).

The twelve apostles of Jesus were critical to his mission.  They were to be extensions of him - to follow in his footsteps, learning from him, their rabbi, and imitating his ministry among the people.  They were called "apostles", because they were to be "sent out" with the message of Jesus.  He chose 12 apostles because they symbollicaly represented the 12 tribes of Israel.  They were a sign to the people that God was reconstituting the people of God.  But maybe, even more critical than the "sent" and symbolic aspect of their role, was what these twelve individuals brought to Jesus himself.  There was a personal function for these men to fulfill.  

Jesus appointed these 12 to be with him.  Jesus needed these relationships.  He desired these friendships.  He yearned for the face-to-face interaction that these people could provide him.  He wanted the community that these followers would create.  Later in chapter three of Mark's gospel, Jesus says that these 12, along with anyone else who does the will of God, are his family.  Jesus needed followers to participate and assist in his mission, but even more so, Jesus longed for people to live in relationship with him.  Jesus wasn't just providing us with a model for ministry, he was affirming a blueprint for life.  He endorsed a way of living that has enriched humanity for thousands of years - a way of living that if abandoned for the convenience of "virtual" relationships or "online" communities, has the power to diminish, if not destroy some of the essential traits that make us human.  We were created for community, and we must not let the proliferation of these new technologies isolate us from the relationships we critically need to thrive.  

I offer three suggestions that might help us navigate this rapidly changing environment.  First of all, let's create some healthy boundaries around our technology.  Too much of anything can be a bad thing.  Too much caffeine, too much alcohol, and even too much water can have negative effects on our health.  Too much screen time (whether on a laptop, tablet, phone, or TV) is unhealthy.  Like alcohol or coffee, each person must decide how much is too much and make appropriate plans.  Being aware of how much media we are consuming is important and putting in safeguards or limits is wise.  If we meet a friend for coffee or lunch, it might be appropriate to put away our phones for the duration of the meeting.  If this is not possible, it might be wise to only attend to the devise in the case of an emergency.  Maybe families create designated times where digital technology is off-limits?  Shared meals around tables instead of in front of televisions are positively formative.  Whatever limits or boundaries are established is less important than the fact that they are established.  

Second, let's be intentional in our relationships.  The busier we get, the easier it is to become isolated from our friends and families.  Unless we carve out time to be with others, we might find ourselves living day to day and week to week in increasing isolation.  There's nothing wrong with scheduling time for the important people in our lives.  We schedule dentist appointments because they are crucial to our oral hygiene.  Scheduling space and time for community is crucial to our mental health and hygiene.  

Finally, let's be willing to expand our social circle.  Jesus was intimately close with three of his apostles (Peter, James, and John), and he was quite close with the other nine (including Judas who later betrayed him).  But he did not limit himself to these twelve.  He made personal connections with many different people throughout his ministry, and he was open to wining and dining with people from every conceivable background.  Sometimes we need to invite others into our existing communities and at other times, we should be open to explore other's circle of friends.  We won't always have the same level of relationship with each and every person we encounter, but we all need friends, and there might be quite a few people who need us to be their friends.  

Mark 3:13 & ff, reminds us that we were created for community and our full humanity is realized in relationship.  Our personal devices have the power to enhance our lives, but there's a danger that they might also diminish them when they interfere with our friendships and when they isolate us from our communities.  We want face-to-face connections, and we need fruitful relationships.  There's no doubt that the twelve needed to be in relationship with Jesus, but let's not forget that Jesus needed to be in relationship with them too. - Shay 

Tax Collectors, Sinners, and Postal Workers

 

The situation grew tense.  There was no easy way out and there was a real chance that blood would be shed.  It wasn't so much a misunderstanding, as a miscalculation.  The two brothers, born and raised in Glasgow, Scotland to Irish Catholic parents from County Donegal had made a pilgrimage to the Emerald Isle to visit their father's grave (he had died after being struck by a car on his walk home one evening while in his home county).  Before catching the ferry in Belfast on their way home to Scotland, they had asked their taxi driver to drop them off at a pub.  They had some time to kill, so they decided to enjoy a pint or two before hopping on the boat back to Britain.  The taxi driver had encouraged them to visit a different pub.  "You don't wanna be goin' in their lads - that's an IRA bar."  But the older brother, insisted that this was exactly the place to be.  So, the two Irish/Scottish men enjoyed a couple of scoops while shooting some pool, not expecting any other kind of shots to ring out.

While the other brother relieved himself in the toilets, the situation for the younger brother went from calm to uncomfortable to dangerous in a matter of moments.  "So, what do you do over in Scotland?"  It seemed like an innocent question, but the answer would not bring a measured response. "I'm a postman, I deliver the Royal Mail."  

Cue the scratched record sound effect.  Zzzp!  You could have heard a pin drop in the pub.  The silence - awkward and frightening - was broken by the thick West Belfast accent of one of the patrons.  "So, you work for Lizzy?  You work for the Queen?"  

The older brother sensed something was wrong as he returned from the toilets.  The patron, turned interrogator, resumed his speech.  "You know what we do with people who work for the Queen around here?  We take 'em up to the top of that hill and we put a bullet in the back of their heads."  The man wasn't joking and for these two brothers, getting back to Scotland had just become astonishingly complicated.  

But this wasn't the first time the older brother had been in an intense situation.  He was raised in Castlemilk, one of the roughest neighborhoods in Glasgow and he had been involved in his fair share of ventures with people of "questionable" backgrounds and motives.  Seeing that this was no time to play nice, the older brother grabbed a barstool and smashed it over the head of one of the locals, knocking him out cold.  He then grabbed one of the legs from the smashed stool and wielded it like a club/knife.  In his thick Glaswegian accent, he exclaimed, "Me brother and I are over here to pay respects to our dead father.  We are Catholic and we are proud of our Irish heritage.  We're walking out of this pub and anyone who follows us will pay for it."

The brothers were able to walk out of the pub, unscathed, just.  But I doubt they ever visited that bar again on any return journeys.  And though this event happened years ago and things in Northern Ireland are in a much better state today, this story paints a picture of how things used to be in Belfast.  It was one thing for Irish people to emigrate to the UK, but it was something else for them to actually work for the government.  To "collude" with the British authorities, even in a role as seemingly innocuous as a postal worker, was seen as a betrayal to the cause of Irish nationalism in some extreme circles.  

This little anecdote gives us a window into how the tax collectors in Jesus' day were viewed by their fellow Jewish countrymen and women.  At best, they were seen as greedy and dishonest opportunists.  At worst, they were considered traitors to the cause of Jewish nationalism, having sold out to Rome, selling their souls in the process.  For a would-be Messiah, it would have seemed strange indeed to have recruited a tax collector to his cause.

"Jesus went out again beside the sea; the whole crowd gathered around him, and he taught them.  As he was walking along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, 'Follow me.'  And he got up and followed him.  And as he sat at dinner in Levi's house, many tax collectors and sinners were also sitting with Jesus and his disciples - for there were many who followed him.  When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples, 'Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?'  When Jesus heard this, he said to them, 'Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous, but sinners.'" (Mark 2:13-17, NRSV).

The Pharisees and their scribes believed that if God's kingdom was to come, then the people needed to clean up their lives and their practices.  Sin and idolatry had led to the exile 600 years before and if God was to heed the cry of his people and reverse what exile had done, then those living in the land of promise must live their lives as strictly and regimented as even the priestly caste.  Those living dubious lives of sin had no chance of participating in the kingdom of God.  Tax collectors!  They had sold their souls to the pagans and their gods, so they were beyond the pale - they might as well have turned in their Jewish card for good.  There was no place reserved for tax collectors in God's kingdom! 

But this didn't stop Jesus from calling a tax collector and inviting him to become one of his followers.  Jesus didn't shy away from eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners, in fact, this was the company that Jesus preferred to keep!  His mission was one of renewal and restoration, not exclusionary conservation.  He sought to bring those on the margins back into the mainstream, and to force those in the mainstream to reevaluate their assumptions and prejudices.  

Throughout history, humans have been quite adept at making distinctions and drawing boundary lines.  We excel at exclusion.  Whether its race, economic status, education, vocation, or political persuasion, we often see the world through the lens of "us" and "them".  We highlight our differences, instead of leaning into our similarities.  Rather than finding common ground and celebrating our shared humanity, we sometimes home in on distinctives and we decry our differences.  

And this story also reminds us that we are all in need of restoration and renewal.  We are all in need of the healing that the great physician Jesus freely offers.  But sometimes, in the midst of our busy lives, we forget that we too are sick.  Like an a-symptomatic carrier of a disease, it's easy to forget that without our healer's sympathetic touch, we too are dying.  Often, it's the less obvious, but just as deadly sins like pride, ingratitude, and jealousy that trip us up and cause us to fall, rather than the more obvious sins like adultery, theft, and hatred.  The good news of the kingdom is that through Jesus we can be cleansed from all of the above, provided we humbly and graciously accept his gift of healing.  None of us are well, but we are through the gospel, invited to move towards a time when "all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well."  And as we move towards that time, following in the footsteps of Jesus, we shouldn't be surprised if our fellow pilgrims include a few tax collectors, sinners, or even postal workers. - Shay