On Message

Lectionary Scripture: Mark 13:1-8

Christians spend a lot of time pouring over everything Jesus is recorded to have said. We would be better off if we paid attention to the things he didn’t say. Things like:

“Oh, Peter, I just said that to make her feel better. I don’t REALLY think she has a great faith.”

Or

“Blood is thicker than water, help yourself first.”

Or

“The Kingdom of God thrives on competition. Only the best get in.”

Most importantly, a phrase I notice Jesus never said was:

“Everybody Panic!”

In fact, he frequently said the opposite – “Do not be afraid”. However, in our modern age, fear and panic are quite popular. The news is full of H1N1 statistics, unemployment numbers, and nuclear missile tests. Popular television shows deal with biological warfare, government conspiracies, and alien oppression. At the movies this week, we get to see the Mayan prophecy that the world will end in 2012 (End of the world complete with storms, earthquakes, fire and ice). In short whether we turn to news, entertainment or fantasy – the message is the same:

“Everybody Panic!”

Of course, before we all started focusing on 2012, there was a great deal of speculation (due largely to a miscalculation of the word “thousand”) that the world would end in 2000 but it didn't. (Even Y2K computer prophecies fizzled out by half past midnight). During the cold war, Russia was supposed to trigger the end of the world. Prior to that, World War II was seen by many to be the “wars and rumors of wars” and on and on throughout history. Some folks don’t even bother naming a date. The popular “Left Behind” series of books about the rapture and events of Revelation try to tell us what will happen (in the writer’s minds), but don’t bother to tell us WHEN it might happen. The message is still clear: Everybody Panic!

Our lectionary passage from Mark today shows Jesus trying to undo the fear and beef up the faith and it points us to a more powerful message.

Keep Perspective

Walking around Jerusalem the people with Jesus are very impressed by the large stone buildings. In some ways it would be like a person from the country walking through the National Mall in Washington DC – big impressive stone buildings everywhere you turn. But Jesus is not impressed. He knows that inside some of the stone buildings of Jerusalem are greed, corruption, judgment, self-serving leaders and things that won’t stand the test of time. (again, maybe like some certain buildings in Washington DC…).

Jesus points out to them that a day will come when not one stone will be left. Jesus is reminding them, and us, to keep perspective. Buildings don’t have glory; God does. Pageantry doesn’t last forever, love does. The work of God isn’t to be set into stone, but carried from person to person to person. Let’s never get so caught up in the big and impressive that we forget the real mission and focus of Christ is to meet each person on the road where they are, let them know he loves them, and save them. The message Jesus is giving the disciples is:

“Focus, people, FOCUS!”

Discern Reality

I remember being about 13 years old and seeing a commercial on a local station about a show called “The World Tomorrow” in which the pastor was going to talk about the world ending and when that would happen. Although our family didn’t go to church, my mother confidently told me that the world would end in 2000. I sat for a minute counting up my future years and said with some measure of fear, “But I’ll only be 35 when the world ends.” Noticing my obvious distress she replied, “If you don’t finish your homework and clean your room – your world is going to end a lot sooner than that!” My mom had a grip on what was real.

Not only do we need to keep a good grip on what is important and what isn’t, we also need to keep a good eye on what is real and what isn’t. Jesus warns his disciples privately that in the time to come many will come claiming to be Christ (or at least claiming to speak for him) and they will be false prophets. How do we know the real Jesus from the “claims” that aren’t right?

The best way to discern if someone is truly following Christ is to know Christ well. Invest in your day-to-day relationship of prayer, bible reading, and reflection. When someone claims to be acting on the authority of Jesus – look for the things you know are attributes of him – is that person wise, devoted, in touch with God, in touch with humans, forgiving, sacrificing, and loving? Before we can know who is NOT Jesus – we must learn who Jesus is.

We should also avoid fear. Fear is not based in reality but frequently is a prediction, perception, or expectation with no basis in fact. Fear tells us what “might” happen, but makes it seem to us that it IS happening. Fear is what keeps us awake half the night when the bump we heard was just the cat. Fear is what makes us clutch our abundance and avoid sharing our gifts because of the scary tapes of rejection playing only in our head.

Jesus warns the disciples that scary things are going to happen. There will be wars and rumors of wars. That is a usual state of being with our human species. “These things happen,” Jesus tells the disciples. Do not be alarmed. He wants us to keep a grip on what’s real (wars are real, and they happen) and not get lost in the forest of fears, sign reading, and panic driven faith.

An End is Really a Beginning

Finally, to teach and prepare his disciples for whatever the future may hold he puts forward a simple, beautiful truth: “There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.”

We are not being told to prepare for the end. We are being told to prepare for a beginning. Jesus didn’t say “This is the death rattle.” He said “These are the birth pains.” He is already paving the way for our understanding: Change is not a form of death, but birth. Death is not the end but the beginning. Pain is not the result, but the path through which new things, new life, new hope comes to us.

So in a world where even Christians are prone to say, “Everybody Panic” we need not heed that call. That’s not the message. The message is “Look and see, watch and work, but do not be alarmed, new life is coming.” Now that’s a message I can live with!

Locking Jesus Out

Lectionary Reading: John 20:19-31

One of the things I’ve liked most in ministry is it allows you to encounter people in the full cycle of life. Each person is at a different place in the circle but its amazing to see the cylinders of life go round and round

You are there to bless, praise and celebrate on their very best days:
The day they born
The day they a baptized
The day they graduate from high school, college, grad school…
The day they marry
The day they tell you they are having a baby
The day they retire and tell you their grandchildren are born
The day you hold their hand as they pass from this life into God’s heaven

You are there to hold, pray and comfort on their very worst days:
The day a miscarriage occurs
The day a disappointment happens
The day a crash occurs or an Emergency Room visit is needed
The day a job is lost or a dream goes up in flames
The day a divorce splits a couple in two
The day a family becomes estranged
The day a loved one makes that journey into God’s heaven

The thing I like about counseling is that it puts me in the lives of people in all the other days:
Days after a great event is forgotten and hope needs to come back
Days after a sorrow has occurred
The long never-ending days of bickering that threaten a relationship
Sheets of dark, depressing days of grief
The years of days after a trauma – where resolutions and solutions are finally found
Days of light and inspiration where guidance is a pathway
Days of laughter breaking through rain
Days of being whole again

Pretty much between ministry and counseling – you’re busy every day! What’s even more amazing than that? The presence and power of God. God is present every second of every day of every life span – including the seconds before and the eternity after. There is not a second God is not a part of. There is no way to shield yourself from that presence. As Carl Jung said so well “Bidden or not bidden, God is present”. In other words – there is simply no way to lock God out. Jesus is the same way.

Locking Jesus Out in Fear

Our scripture takes place after the resurrection when Mary of Magdala and the others return to tell the disciples Jesus is alive. News and whispers are everywhere. Of course – no one quite has a handle on that truth yet. Some say his body was simply stolen. Others think the women are mad with grief. Romans don’t like all this disorder in their neatly ordered world. Pharisees don’t like the scrutiny this affair has shined onto their laws and behavior – including some backdoor deal that ended in the arrest of a rabbi and the suicide of his disciple. In all the rumor and ideas floating around – the group closest to Jesus knew one thing: as disciples of the Christ - it is not safe for them to be anywhere.

So they do what any sane person would do when they are being pursued by forces known and unknown, they hide away behind a locked door. For whatever reason, Thomas is not with them. Perhaps they sent him out to learn what’s going on or maybe he was just doing a run for some daily bread. Either way, they send him on a dangerous mission carefully locking the door behind them. When suddenly, they will see not just the news – but the truth standing before them. Jesus is there.

You know as they looked to their messiah it was like walking into bright afternoon sun after being in a small dark room. They squinted and blinked, their eyes now unaccustomed to the sight of him – but there he stood. What’s the next thing they do? Look over at the door. It was LOCKED. But here stands Jesus. And they learn the most wonderful way – no matter how afraid you are, you can’t lock Jesus out.

We build walls in our fears too. We keep people at arm’s length or simply don’t tell them how we feel. We decide not to reach out for a dream because we are afraid of failure. We don’t seek out folks who could help us because we are afraid to appear vulnerable. We pray about what we want, not who we are – because deep down we aren’t so sure we want to be that honest with God. Yet through all the walls from our all fears, Jesus walks right into the room of our lives. Never let yourself be fooled. You can keep people at bay for a while, but Jesus Christ who saves you and loves you is going to walk right in. Count on it.

Locking Jesus Out in Anger

So Thomas comes back with the latest edict or a couple of loaves of bread and finds everyone stirring with light and joy. You know he is going through an energy rush of his own. He just risked everything to run this errand and now he’s back but instead of being thankful or listening to him – they are all blathering about seeing Jesus who came through a locked door. Thomas figures 1 of three things has happened:

1. They have gone as mad with grief as the women and the people on the street saying Jesus is alive. He is now the only sane one left.

2. They are playing some kind of mean joke on him. They have all made up this wild story to make him look like a sucker.

3. Jesus really is alive and did see them. Everyone got to be with their beloved Lord but Thomas. Even his twin brother got to see Jesus. Imagine how that could come between two so close in everything else. Thomas feels left out in the cold.

If its door number one: He’s all alone
If its door number two: He’s a laughing stock
If its door number three: He has been purposefully left out. He is “less than”

No matter which it is, he feels angry – and lets face it, we would too. No one wants to be left outside the circle, or laughed out, or alone. So in anger Thomas does what we do – he closes all the doors. Not just to the room – but the door to his heart, the door to his mind and the door to his faith also. “I don’t care what you say – unless I see his hands and I see touch his side with my own two little hands – I will not believe this.” In other words – Thomas is CLOSED.

A week later, Jesus appears again. This time Thomas is there. Jesus repeats the words Thomas uses and allows him to see his hands and touch his side. Most people think Jesus did that to chide Thomas for his hasty words, but I don’t. I think Jesus did it for one reason alone. To show Thomas that even though he couldn’t see Jesus in the room when he spoke his angry monologue, Jesus was there and heard every word. Jesus words and actions were saying:

“I’m not just around when you see my wounds or speak to me. I’m around even when you can't see me at all. I’m always here. Blessed are you when you realize you don’t have to see me, but you know I’m there anyway.”

In our anger, hurt and distress we sometimes lock Jesus out too. We get caught up in a situation, sorrow or feeling of helplessness that we decide that we just can’t see God in this. We react instead of act. We strike out instead of let in. We suffer alone at night because we won’t risk reaching to anyone anymore. We might even say we know Jesus is with us – but the truth is – we aren’t always so sure what good that does.

Yet Jesus is not kept out by our locked minds, strong wills or stone hearts. Jesus is in, and Jesus will keep speaking, appearing, helping (and sending helpers), until you touch his hands and touch his side and KNOW that the fact he is alive makes all the difference in your world.

This Eastertide, make a commitment to unlock the doors of your heart (since you aren’t keeping Jesus out anyway) and be open to seeing Christ in working, walking, healing ways all around you. Hear for yourself the words Jesus says when he comes through every locked door - Peace be with you.