Bread and a broken heart

Today: Mark 8-9

If I said or wrote, "I have a broken heart," what would you think?

You may think that I fell in love and lost it. You might think I got laid off. Or you could assume that some serious health issue was plaguing me, my family or a close friend.

But would you ever guess that I'd say, "I have a broken heart" because my friends were hungry?

Didn't think so.

(And by the way, I don't have that kind of a broken heart at the moment. These are the little mind games you can play as a writer for dramatic effect...mwah ha ha.) :)

But in today's chapters in Mark, Jesus did:

At about this same time he again

found himself with a hungry crowd on his hands.

He called his disciples together and said,

"This crowd is breaking my heart.

They have stuck with me for three days,

and now they have nothing to eat.

If I send them home hungry,

they'll faint along the way—

some of them have come a long distance."

Interesting. Most of the time when I think of Jesus having a broken heart, it's because of something more serious-- a man who is blind, a woman bleeding non stop, a little girl who is dead. But He gets a broken heart when people are hungry?

Let's be clear--the kind of hunger in this chapter doesn't even seem as compelling as those ads for World Vision with starving children with wide-eyed pain staring at you from the screen. The hungry people Jesus saw were not suffering because of a famine or widespread poverty. They were mostly regular people who just listened to Him and were so drawn into His message that they didn't stop to eat. That's all. But their hunger breaks Jesus' heart.

So what does He do? He multiples seven loaves of bread and feeds thousands. It's a miracle--but it's a miracle that meets a very basic, practical need.

When I think about this story, I think of people who believe God doesn't really care about them. They may believe God exists, but feel like He's got bigger issues (world poverty, war, famine, etc.) to deal with than providing them with a job, a roof over their heads, transportation or food for their family. But Jesus is different--this chapter shows us that His heart breaks over things like that. He cares--about the big things in our lives, but also the basic things.

It's interesting in these chapters that the topic of bread comes up again. A few paragraphs later, the disciples start arguing because they forgot to bring food on a trip. Here's Jesus' interesting reaction:

Jesus overheard and said,

"Why are you fussing because you forgot bread?

Don't you see the point of all this?

Don't you get it at all?

Remember the five loaves I broke for the five thousand?

How many baskets of leftovers did you pick up?"
They said, "Twelve."
And the seven loaves for the four thousand—

how many bags full of leftovers did you get?"
"Seven."
He said, "Do you still not get it?"

I think Jesus' questions show us that He was trying to teach the disciples...and us...something through these stories. What do you think it was?

I'm guessing that it's something like this--God cares about you and your specific needs. He takes care of you. Remember that He took care of you before. He'll do it again. And He's bigger than your expectations--He can give you more than you need. He keeps His promises. Believe it--and remember.

Tomorrow: Mark 10-11

When the truth hurts...

Today: Mark 6-7

Have you ever had someone tell you the truth--like REALLY tell you the truth?

Particularly if it's about something that's not right about you or your life, the truth is not always easy to hear. You can choose to be angry. You can choose to cry. You can try to ignore it. But you can't deny the fact that you heard.

When this has happened to me, I've had different responses. Sometimes, I'm really angry at the person speaking the truth. But usually, I am more angry at myself. I know the truth is right and so is the person who speaks it. And I HATE not being right. :)

I also know that people who tell me the truth are the same people who REALLY love me. And as much as I could try to shake off what they say, I don't want to let go of their love...their willingness to speak the truth is part of how they love me. In those cases, the truth binds us closer together.

I was a bit surprised to learn in this passage that Herod experienced something similar with John the Baptist. Take a look:

Herod was the one who had ordered the arrest of John,

put him in chains,

and sent him to prison at the nagging of Herodias,

his brother Philip's wife.

For John had provoked Herod

by naming his relationship with Herodias

"adultery."

Herodias, smoldering with hate,

wanted to kill him,

but didn't dare because

Herod was in awe of John.

Convinced that he was a holy man,

he gave him special treatment.

Whenever he listened to him

he was miserable with guilt -

and yet he couldn't stay away.
Something in John kept pulling him back.

What's really sad about this situation is the fact that Herod eventually ordered John the Baptist's beheading. Although part of him KNEW John spoke the truth, he tried to ignore it--allowing the seductive voice of a woman to take precedence over a voice that spoke truth. (Note to guys--this too can happen to you. Note to women--Use your influential power carefully.)

I think there's something interesting in this example for all of us. Telling the truth can be a risk (John paid for it with his life). But if we really care about others, telling the truth (good things, too!) is essential.

I've heard people talk about "telling the truth in love" and I get what they're saying...it's about having the right approach and motivation, choosing words carefully, etc. But I think it's time we started to believe that, "telling the truth is love."

Tomorrow: Mark 8-9

Seeing the story

Today: Mark 4-5

Telling stories was a skill Jesus mastered. Most often, I think that His stories were designed to give people a tiny glimpse of what the kingdom of God means, what God is like and how God desires people to respond to Him.

In these two chapters, the Story of the Scattered Seed really exemplifies that. But it's interesting how some people just don't get it...even after Jesus explains what the story means. He tells the disciples:

"You've been given insight into God's kingdom—

you know how it works.

But to those who can't see it yet,

everything comes in stories,

creating readiness, nudging them toward receptive insight.

These are people—

Whose eyes are open but don't see a thing,

Whose ears are open but don't understand a word,

Who avoid making an about-face and getting forgiven."

Sometimes I think Jesus could have been frustrated. If I would have been in His shoes, at times, I would have wanted to say, "HELLO? Don't you people get it yet?!?"

But He had this overwhelming love for people. He had insight and understanding to try and meet them where they were at. I think in some cases, He felt saddened by their disarrayed states of blindness, deafness or stubborn pride. He made an effort to connect with these people through stories...hoping that the simplicity of examples would help them to see, hear and turn toward the truth.

Tomorrow: Mark 6-7

Patients and persistence

Today: Mark 1-3

I hate waiting. More specifically, I REALLY hate waiting at doctors' offices, hospitals or dentists' offices. They all have this weird...medicinal...smell (or maybe it's a smelly fish tank in the lobby?). And as much as I love reading magazines, why is it that at these medical offices, I still end up stuck with Sports Illustrated, Highlights or something utterly fascinating...like Chiropractic Today? (Note to self: Stash a copy of InStyle or People in your purse next time!)

Fact: I'm a patient without much patience.

The people Jesus encountered weren't like me. At all. Many of them waded through thick crowds just to touch Him. One guy in this passage had friends that tore off part of a roof just so they could lower him to Jesus. Some of the people in this passage are what Jesus called "sin-sick"--"disreputable" people who "unlikely as it seems" became His followers. But there's one guy, a leper, whose story spoke to me today:

A leper came to him, begging on his knees,

"If you want to, you can cleanse me."
Deeply moved, Jesus put out his hand, touched him, and said,

"I want to. Be clean."

Then and there the leprosy was gone,

his skin smooth and healthy.

The leper's words are interesting, "If you want to, you can cleanse me." I don't believe these words were spoken out of timidity, but confidence--like, "If you choose, I know you can heal me." The words and the heart "deeply moved" Jesus (Wow! What would that be like?). I love how in this story, Jesus doesn't just display His power, but His desire to heal the leper. There's a difference between the capability and the will to help others...and Jesus had both.

The next part of the story was also interesting:

Jesus dismissed him with strict orders:

"Say nothing to anyone.

Take the offering for cleansing

that Moses prescribed and present yourself to the priest.

This will validate your healing to the people."

But as soon as the man was out of earshot,

he told everyone he met what had happened,

spreading the news all over town.

So Jesus kept to out-of-the-way places,

no longer able to move freely in and out of the city.

But people found him, and came from all over.

Jesus asked the leper to stay quiet, but his joy was overwhelmingly contagious. He actually disobeyed Jesus' instruction...but I don't think Jesus was mad. He likely understood the leper's gratitude and joy. News of the leper's healing became so widespread that Jesus couldn't stay undercover. But was He ever meant to?

Tomorrow: Mark 4-5

What stood out most to you?

Today: Matthew 27-28

"What stood out most to you?" is probably one of the best questions for starting a discussion. (Try it some time after a movie, art exhibit, vacation or at a small group meeting).

After I read today's passage, I asked myself that question. I can't think of a specific theme today, so this will be a somewhat random collection of things that stood out:

• What would it be like to be infamous--marked by history as part of something evil? I'll admit--this is a really odd question. But I thought of it after reading about how the Pharisees purchased a field with the money Judas was paid to betray Jesus. Their actions were prophesied by Jeremiah--but a priest part of the situation probably felt like he was just "part of the crowd."
  
  
• The actions of one generation impact the next...and beyond. The people who demanded Jesus' death pleaded with Pilate to crucify Him. They said, ""We'll take the blame, we and our children after us." What kind of actions are we taking today that will impact the next generation?
  
  
• The patient love of Jesus. It baffles my mind to think of what He endured--unjustly--on the cross. He was beaten, mocked, misunderstood, and tortured by people who just didn't see Him for who He is. Yet through it all, He remained strong, kind, compassionate and determined. Wow.
  
  
• Something I never noticed before--people who came to life as Jesus died. This was an interesting thing to discover. What would it have felt like to be one of those people or one of their family members? What would be like to suddenly come to life again because someone else lost His? How would your life be changed?
  
  
• The resurrected Jesus first appeared to women. This is kind of interesting to me because of the culture at the time--women were second-class citizens. Why would God in the flesh show up first to them? Why would He entrust the message of His resurrection to them? Maybe it's just because they were there and they were faithful. I honestly don't know--but I think it's interesting.
  
  
• Some of the disciples missed out on seeing and worshipping Jesus after He came to life. I never really noticed this before, either. It says, "Some, though, held back, not sure about worship, about risking themselves totally." Hmm...this reminds me of the "What kind of investor is God?" post from a few days ago. All of Jesus' friends and followers weren't ready to go "all in" or live "all out" for Him.
  
  Can you imagine being one of those people...a few days or a few years later? I think I would have always wondered, "What would have happened if I would have been there? What if I could have seen Jesus one more time? What if I had lived on the edge and worshipped Him?"
  
  
• Before He left for heaven, Jesus made a promise. When I started reading Matthew, one of my first posts was about how God keeps promises...and how the writer of Matthew continually reminded us of them. It's interesting that as Jesus left the earth, His last recorded words in Matthew are a promise to us, "I'll be with you...day after day after day, right up to the end of the age."
  

Tomorrow: Mark 1-3

Pride, prejudice, payment, and passing out

Today: Matthew 26

Today's passage illustrates some of the saddest parts of Jesus' story. As I read, it occurred to me that the actions taken by some of Jesus' followers are tragic not only because they happened many years ago, but because they occur every single day.

I hope that by thinking about these issues, we can make a point to avoid falling into the same paths--allowing pride, prejudice, payment or passing out--to block us from seeing God's promises fulfilled.

Pride

In this chapter, Peter's actions illustrate how pride can separate us from God and His plan for our lives. I'll highlight a few of Peter's actions here:

• He said, "Even if everyone else falls to pieces on account of you, I won't."
  
• Peter cut off the ear of the Chief Priest's servant (note that Peter's name isn't given explicitly here, but is listed in John's version of the story...which we'll see later).
  

It's interesting to me that even with this intense passion or pride, Peter succumbs to denying Jesus. I think there have been many Christians who have sadly fallen into the same boat.

Prejudice

To me, the priests really represent prejudice. They are bitter at Jesus because He called them out on their sin--they have a bias against him. Some have prejudice because He's not the kind of Messiah they expected to see and therefore, they believe He's blaspheming against God.

I think there are people today who are prejudiced against God--they don't believe in Him because He doesn't fit into their ideal boxes. Some people are also prejudiced against God because they know their lives don't line up with His Word or His will--and because He called them out on their sin, they despise Him--just like the Pharisees.

Payment

Judas shows us how a love of money can block someone from God. I never noticed before that Judas first approached the high priests with his "Let's make a deal..." speech right after a woman anointed Jesus' feet with expensive perfume. There's a quote from the passage where disciples complain:

"That's criminal!

This could have been sold for a lot

and the money handed out to the poor."

I would guess that Judas was one of the disciples appalled at the money "wasted" on Jesus' feet. It's interesting to think that may have been one of the reasons why he approached the priests. Yes, Judas was probably greedy. But I think he was also appalled at extravagant generosity toward Jesus.

It's interesting that the disciples' shock actually could have merit--most people think it's a good thing to give to the poor and it is (Jesus even taught that). However, Judas' love for money (even if it was for a good cause) was greater than his desire to see Jesus worshipped...and I believe that was part of his downfall.

There are many people who allow a love for money to separate them from God. These people could have too much or too little. Many people, like Judas, chase payment while betraying God and their own consciences. Others get indignant when asked to tithe, give offerings or when they see generosity in the House of God. But Judas' example shows us that allowing your personal view of money to trump worshipping God is wrong.

Passing out

Another thing that can block people from God's promises is what I'm calling "passing out." In this passage, it was illustrated by the disciples who fell asleep when Jesus wanted them to pray with Him.

"Passing out" can be a literal sleep or laziness that stops us from being part of God's plan. I think it could also be a clueless, zombie-like Christianity--a person who believes in God, but may be clueless about what He's doing or how to be part of it. It could be a person who is passion-less, going through the motions of "doing" Christianity instead of just being the person God wants them to be.

Living in God's plan doesn't have to be difficult--we saw a few chapters back where Jesus said it takes faith like that of a small child. However, I really believe that pride, prejudice, payment or passing out can hold us back from living in God's promises. Let's instead be humble, open with our hearts and minds toward God, generous and passionate.

Tomorrow: Matthew 27-28

What kind of investor is God?

Today: Matthew 24-25

In the world of investing, there's a "risk and return" principle. Typically, investments like bonds offer lower risk, but less opportunity to earn return (sometimes they don't beat inflation, for example). On the flip side, investments like stocks usually have higher risks (as anyone invested during 2008 knows!), but greater odds for higher returns.

Financial planners often assess their clients' levels of "risk tolerance." So here's my question of the day: What kind of investor is God? What is His risk tolerance?

In today's passage, The Message includes "The Story About Investment" (commonly referenced as the Parable of the Talents). In the story, the Master gives three servants various amounts of money to invest while he is away. Two of the servants double their investments. The last servant buries the money in the ground because he was afraid to disappoint the master.

However, the master is absolutely furious with this decision. He says:

'That's a terrible way to live!
It's criminal to live cautiously like that!
If you knew I was after the best,
why did you do less than the least?
The least you could have done
would have been to invest the sum with the bankers,
where at least I would have gotten a little interest.
"'Take the thousand and give it to the one who risked the most.
And get rid of this "play-it-safe" who won't go out on a limb.
Throw him out into utter darkness.'

Hmm...so it sounds like God definitely isn't a "play-it-safe" investor. But this passage is about so much more than money.

Most of this chapter talks about the coming of God's kingdom, what it will look like and how He will judge mankind. I believe this passage is talking about life (again!)--God is looking for people who live and give their best for Him. He's looking for people who don't just play it safe--but who are willing to take risks and step out on a limb for His purpose.

I've heard my pastor say it like this, "God went 'all in' for us--He wants wants us to live 'all out' for Him."

Tomorrow: Matthew 26