with devotion

In order to establish your tradition!

And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban”’ (that is, given to God)—then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.”

Yesterday I mentioned that there are traditions that the modern day church holds sacred. I thought that I might discuss a few of them and hope I do not offend anyone in the process:

Money Changers: Jesus evicted them from the temple. I wonder what he would think about the book and DVD tables that adorn church hallways these days?
Communion: Wonder what the Lord thinks about church services that seem to exclusively focus on the Lord's supper and speak of sacrificing Christ each week?
Capital Campaigns: What would He who spoke of every stone of the temple being torn down think of the ornate edifices that occupy the poorest of neighborhoods?
Suits, Ties and Sunday Dresses: When did church become a place to display your Sunday best? Isn't this emphasis on externals contrary to the gospel message?

I am sure that I could list many more traditions that permeate Christianity these days but the message that I am trying to convey is that we all embrace a bit of Pharisaic hypocrisy in the ways that we walk out our faith. The message is to focus more on the internals of the faith.

Lord help me to find ways to embrace the internals of the scripture.

Their heart is far from me ...

And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?” And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written,

“‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me;
in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’

You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”

I think that there has always been a tension between following tradition and following God because many traditions have their origins in the ways that people followed God. When I look at the church today, and many of the things that we hold as sacred, I wonder about fleshly traditions. Sometimes traditions are fairly recognizable but sometimes they are not. Such is the case here where Jesus confronts the religious leaders with their hypocrisy.

Hypocrisy is at the core of the issue because of the way that man made traditions can be followed with the flesh. It is so easy to outwardly follow the rules and keep your heart in check never fully committing it to follow the Lord. But God is not interested in our religious gymnastics. He does not want sacred performances. He wants us! He desires that we seek him and trust him with all of our heart. It has always been God's way. He wants our heart.

Teach me Lord not to lean on my traditions but to follow you with my heart.

Do not be afraid.

Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray. And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea.

He meant to pass by them, but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.

Do you ever wonder how Jesus knew that he could walk on water? Or why he felt the need to walk so close to the disciple's boat? The image of him coming towards the boat captivates one's imagination. In it we see how the Lord was not constrained by natural laws. When the wind stops blowing we are confronted by the idea that He is greater than nature.

I think that the fearful response by the disciples is pretty normal - I am pretty sure that I would have freaked out. Yet I wonder about the commentary offered in that last sentence. Is a fearful response to the miraculous a sign of a hardened heart? Perhaps not but it does make me wonder how much of my fear has its roots in a heart that refuse to believe.

Soften my heart Lord and help me to not be afraid.

You give them something to eat.

And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late. Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.”

And they said to him, “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?” And he said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” And when they had found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.” Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties.

And taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven and said a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And he divided the two fish among them all. And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish.

And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.

The disciple's words "Send them away" are echoing in my head this morning. It reminds me a bit of Cain's retort to God when he is questioned about his slain brother Abel. He defiantly replied: "Am I my brother's keeper?" The answer to the disciples tells us that God's answer is "Yes, you are your brother's keeper". When our brother hurts we are often God's answer to his prayer. When he is hungry God calls us to love him with a meal or sack of groceries.

Christ's answer to this need of sustenance is breathtakingly divine. Ever wonder why God didn't just materialize the fish and bread out of thin air? Seems like he could have but instead he took something natural turned it into something supernatural. Perhaps that is one of the messages in the story? Perhaps the answers to our prayers for supernatural intervention begin when take our meager fishes and loaves and give them to the Lord?

Direct me Lord to those who are hurting and need someone to help.

Come away ... and rest a while.

The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves. Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.

I have often said that if a person does not take care of themselves they are of no use to others. This was very true in my life when my wife was disabled at the end of 2007 and could no longer walk. For months I continued to work at church trying to hang on to my ministry to the church. Eventually I began to understand that, for my own well being, my ministry focus needed to change to care for my wife. In leaving the pastorate I took care of myself and her.

So interesting to see the Lord's reaction to the throngs of hurting people. He could have become angry at their presence but instead the Lord allowed compassion to arise. The persistence of the crowds reminds me that it is the will of God that we pursue him in prayer and of how He longs to be compassionate on us and show us mercy. I think that persistence in prayer is sometimes the means by which we experience the compassion of Christ.

Help me Lord to understand the balance of caring for myself and for others.

Shake off the dust ...

And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts—but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics. And he said to them, “Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there. And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.” So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent. And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.

I love the mission that the disciples were given: a simple message of repentance blended with a powerful response of deliverance and healing. What do you think of when you hear the word repent? Perhaps images of religious meetings and activities come to mind? I think of a heart that says a simple yes and turns to the Lord. Such repentance is beautiful and powerful because it comes not from a changed mind but from a soft heart.

And yet to those who refuse to repent.. those who will not receive the words of God's messengers.. the Lord's instruction is not to tarry with such people but to shake the dust off and leave. This can sometimes be a very difficult thing to do because of our human desire to debate with such people and try to win them with intellectual arguments. Such debate is rarely successful because repentance is not about the head but about the heart.

Help me Lord to understand that repentance is an issue of the heart.

Except in his hometown ...

He went away from there and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. And on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works 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. And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.” And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. And he marveled because of their unbelief. And he went about among the villages teaching.

Anyone who has spent any time in the church understands that there is an unhealthy familiarity that lives in and among those who regularly attend there. Many see it most in the children who have been a part of their parents religious life since birth. For these kids, and many adults, there is no fresh wonder or astonishing awe when they think about God.

Such is the case with the people in Christ's hometown. They had known and seen Jesus all his life. The leaders in the synagogue, like everyone else, watched him grow into manhood and had a difficult time accepting his teaching and understanding his miracles. Because of familiarity their hearts were closed and they did not believe in Jesus or what he taught.

Lord help my faith in you to stay fresh. Please keep me from the sin of familiarity.

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