Mark 1:14-28

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.’ As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake—for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, ‘Follow me and I will make you fish for people.’ And immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him. They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, ‘What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.’ But Jesus rebuked him, saying, ‘Be silent, and come out of him!’ And the unclean spirit, throwing him into convulsions and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, ‘What is this? A new teaching—with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.’ At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee. (NRSV)

Mark doesn't waste any time and gets on with the story of Jesus' call to the first disciples and his first acts of teaching and casting out demons. The thing that stands out for me today is that the "unclean spirit" knows who Jesus is and it knows that Jesus has authority over it and will destroy it. Jesus doesn't waste any time and does just that. He casts out the unclean spirit from the man. This causes the man to convulse and cry out and the scriptures say that all were amazed. The crowd had not seen anything like Jesus. They had never seen anyone that had authority over unclean spirits. The word of his teaching spread fast.

To me, this makes me consider Jesus' ministry and actions a little closer. In Mark's gospel account, Jesus is very much "on the move" and goes about teaching and preaching where the people are, where the hurt is, where the demons are. As we are being taught to "fish for people," we should go out to where the people are, show them that they are loved by God, and help them cast out the demons in their lives that control them.

It is shocking to me how much the "modern church" doesn't look like a fellowship of Jesus' followers that is working to fish for people who need their love. It looks more like an institution or organization that mostly worships together. People constantly speak of the decline in the modern church and fail to see that the fish just need to be fed. In order to feed the fish, we need to go to them instead of expecting them to swim to us. I pray that we continue to become more of the body of Christ, reaching out to the world in love and reconciliation.

Hebrews 5:1-10 (NRSV)

Saturday after the first Sunday in Lent - Reflections on the Letters of Lent

Every high priest chosen from among mortals is put in charge of things pertaining to God on their behalf, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He is able to deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is subject to weakness; and because of this he must offer sacrifice for his own sins as well as for those of the people. And one does not presume to take this honor, but takes it only when called by God, just as Aaron was. So also Christ did not glorify himself in becoming a high priest, but was appointed by the one who said to him, "You are my Son, today I have begotten you" as he says also in another place, "You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek." In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him, having been designated by God a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

Appointed...  You are appointed! Selected to do something that you probably otherwise wouldn't do. You have been given a task to complete, a vocation, a duty that you cannot turn down. I have always liked the old Mission Impossible episodes: "Your mission Jim, should you choose to accept it, ... As always, should you or any of your IM Force be caught or killed, the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions. This tape will self-destruct in five seconds." (I used to watch the series with my dad) Now, maybe you think my head is far off of this scripture but hang on, I'll get there. 

I love the Parker Palmer quote, "Vocation is something that you can't not do." I believe the talented educator used the double negative on purpose. He used it to show us that one cannot turn down a vocation (our true mission) as impossible as it seems. It's something within us that we must do. It is of a higher calling, a higher purpose... more than just a job, it is your reason for being in this world.

Now, that's a bit deep for some folks to go, but I believe that is what the writer to the Hebrews was trying to get across. The writer was trying to give the people a sense of their calling a purpose as believers in Jesus. He was trying to get them to understand their place in the world and the vocation that they have been given to do. They have a higher calling to connect people to God through their faith in Jesus. That's what some of them were appointed by God to do. 

The call to action that I hear today is, once you've discerned with prayer and struggle, "do what you have been appointed to do." Do it with urgency, sincerity, and faith. Do it, not to glorify yourself, but to bring glory to God in the restoration of the world. Do it, and God will make the mission possible.