Mark 11:27-33 (NRSV)

Again they came to Jerusalem.  As he was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to him and said, "By what authority are you doing these things?  Who gave you this authority to do them?"  Jesus said to them, "I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things.  Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?  Answer me."  They argued with one another,  "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will say, 'Why then did you not believe him?'  But shall we say, 'Of human origin'?"- they were afraid of the crowd, for all regarded John as truly a prophet.  So they answered Jesus, "We do not know."  And Jesus said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things."

“By what authority are you doing these things?”  The chief priests, elders, and scribes ask Jesus about his authority again, wanting to trick him.  The tensions are building as the religious leaders become more threatened by Jesus’ teaching.  They want him out of the way because he is gaining a following and people are beginning to believe in him.

Most of the questions from the leaders in this passage are about authority.  They ask how Jesus has authority to do the teaching, healing, and casting out demons that he is doing.  By asking the question the leaders attempt to defame Jesus, and cause the his followers to become skeptical.  As believers, we know his power is of God.  However, if Jesus were to answer, he would risk committing blasphemy according to their standards.

Jesus tells the leaders that if they will answer one question, he will tell them where his authority comes from.  If they don’t, he will not answer them.  Jesus presents them with a catch-22 situation in his question about the baptism of John.  The leaders opt not to answer.  Therefore, Jesus doesn’t reveal to them the source of his authority.  This buys him a bit more time to carry out his mission.

The call that I hear today is have faith.  Those of faith know Jesus’ authority comes from God.  Mark’s audience would realize that.  The encounter with the religious authorities is a victory for Jesus and makes the leaders appear weak.  By pleading ignorance, the leaders give Jesus a silent affirmation.  If we hold onto the faith, we are not able to be tricked by those who would rather we not believe in Jesus because it doesn’t suit their agenda.  

Mark 8:11-26 (NRSV)

The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, asking him for a sign from heaven, to test him.  And he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, "Why does this generation ask for a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to this generation."  And he left them, and getting into the boat again, he went across to the other side.  Now the disciples had forgotten to bring any bread; and they had only one loaf with them in the boat.  And he cautioned them, saying, "Watch out beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod."  They said to one another, "It is because we have no bread."  And becoming aware of it, Jesus said to them, "Why are you talking about having no bread?  Do you still not perceive or understand?  Are your hearts hardened?  Do you have eyes, and fail to see?  Do you have ears, and fail to hear?  And do you not remember?  When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?"  They said to him, "Twelve."  "And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?" And they said to him, "Seven."  Then he said to them, "Do you not yet understand?"  They came to Bethsaida. Some people brought a blind man to him and begged him to touch him.  He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village; and when he had put saliva on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, "Can you see anything?"  And the man looked up and said, "I can see people, but they look like trees, walking."  Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he looked intently and his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.  Then he sent him away to his home, saying, "Do not even go into the village.”

The phrase that jumps out today is when Jesus says, “Why does this generation ask for a sign?  Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to this generation.”  A few days ago, I made a remark about the Pharisees and Scribes wanting Jesus to perform a “dog and pony” show to prove that he is who he says he is.  People seem to want to be entertained by the wondrous power and works of God.

Today, the Pharisees confront Jesus to test him and ask for a sign.  He doesn’t give them one and goes from that place and gets into a boat with the twelve.  They didn’t bring with them any bread with them in the boat and that spawns a conversation about bread.  Jesus cautions them about the influence of Herod and the Pharisees and calls it “yeast.”

Yeast causes bread to “rise.”  The Pharisees and Herod were rising up against Jesus and trying to influence others not to believe in him and what he taught.  The disciples still don’t understand.  Jesus then explains that the answer is in plain sight by their experience of the feeding of the 5000 and 4000.  They gathered leftovers, proving that the true word which comes from him is the true bread which gives life to the world.  When they arrive in Bethsaida, Jesus heals a blind man and makes him see clearly.  I still don’t think the disciples are seeing very clearly.

The call that I hear today is to pay attention what is plain sight.  To let Jesus bring us into focus, so we can see the whole forest, and not just concentrate on the trees.  We wonder around sometimes with tunnel vision, unable to see what God is trying to do around us.  If we focus on the big picture, we can get a better vision of where Jesus might be leading us.

Mark 7:1-23 (NRSV)

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 the 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 also 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."  Then he said to them, "You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition!  For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother'; and, 'Whoever speaks evil of father or mother must surely die.'  But you say that if anyone tells father or mother, 'Whatever support you might have had from me is Corban' (that is, an offering to God ) then you no longer permit doing anything for a father or mother, thus making void the word of God through your tradition that you have handed on.  And you do many things like this."  Then he called the crowd again and said to them, "Listen to me, all of you, and understand:  there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile."  When he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about the parable.  He said to them, "Then do you also fail to understand? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile, since it enters, not the heart but the stomach, and goes out into the sewer?" (Thus he declared all foods clean.)  And he said, "It is what comes out of a person that defiles.  For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly.  All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person."

The fact that the disciples were “eating with defiled hands” stands out to me.  My grandmother would have a fit!  She always insisted on us washing our hands prior to eating anything!  (Maybe she was a Pharisee?)  Anyhow, Jesus uses this situation and the ridicule by the Pharisees to teach them.

The Pharisees and scribes have joined the crowds that continue to gather around Jesus.  Mark uncharacteristically provides much detail in the interaction between the Pharisees and Jesus, giving us a chance to feel the tension between them.  The Pharisees ask why the disciples don’t wash before they eat as the elders did.

Jesus calls them hypocrites for teaching human precepts as doctrine.  The Pharisees were strict about keeping the letter of the law, careful not to do anything outside of Torah.  However, they get mixed up sometimes in their pious practices and confound the law with human traditions.  Jesus uses the example of Corban.  Jesus shows how the Pharisees sidestep one of the Ten Commandments -- "Honor your father and your mother" (from Exod. 20:12).  This particular commandment required financial support and care to aging parents.  Corban is a form of deferred giving.  A person could declare something Corban (dedicated or sacrificed to God) and then tell his or her parents that their old-age support has been given to God.  In truth, the property has only been promised to God, but that promise gives the child an excuse to dodge his or her obligation to parents.

Jesus further explains that it isn’t the foods that we eat or ritual defilement that makes us unclean, but the thoughts and feelings of our hearts.  This is received as strong language in the context of the Jewish culture that honors food laws and other ritual observances.  The Torah goes into great detail regarding clean and unclean foods, and Jewish people distinguish themselves from their pagan neighbors by observance of these food laws.

We are called today to “nurture holy things.”  This should not be confused with pious practice.  We live in a culture that tells us that we must honor our feelings rather than to control them, and fiercely resist any constraints that Christ or common sense would place on behavior.  The result is that we live in a world characterized by evil thoughts, (adulteries, sexual sins, murders, thefts, covetings, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, blasphemy, pride, foolishness, and etc., etc…)   Jesus’ teaching points us in a radically different direction.  He tells us that "evil things come from within;" within our human heart, and implies that we have a responsibility to nurture holy things rather than evil things in our hearts.

Mark 2:23-3:6 (NRSV)

One sabbath he was going through the grainfields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain.  The Pharisees said to him, 'Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the sabbath?’  And he said to them, 'Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need of food?  He entered the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and he gave some to his companions.'  Then he said to them, 'The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath; so the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.'

Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there who had a withered hand.  They watched him to see whether he would cure him on the sabbath, so that they might accuse him.  And he said to the man who had the withered hand, 'Come forward.'  Then he said to them, 'Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the sabbath, to save life or to kill?'  But they were silent.  He looked around at them with anger; he was grieved at their hardness of heart and said to the man, 'Stretch out your hand.'  He stretched it out, and his hand was restored.  The Pharisees went out and immediately conspired with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.

Lawful is the word that comes out in the reading today.  Mark continues to be on the move while telling the story.  The Pharisees are getting upset and worried that Jesus’ teaching is going to upset the status quo.  Their legalistic views on what you can and can’t do on the Sabbath come across strongly.

The scripture today takes us through the Pharisees challenging Jesus because they see his disciples plucking heads of grain on the Sabbath.  Jesus quickly responds with antidotal reasoning from the stories of David from Hebrew scripture.  He explains that common sense should prevail – that the laws regarding the Sabbath should trump human decency.

Jesus enters the synagogue and heals a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath.  Even though he doesn’t touch the man, and just said, “stretch out your hand,” the Pharisees are upset and conspire against him with the Herodians, a political party of King Herod Antipas, the corrupt son and successor of Herod the Great.

The call that I hear today is to use common sense with regard to humanity.  The Sabbath should remain the Sabbath, and should be a holy day of rest and re-creation.  However, if one is in need then that one’s need shouldn’t be ignored just because it is Sabbath.  The disciples that were plucking heads of grain so that they could eat (probably the only meal that they had that day) did nothing wrong according to Jesus.  In the healing of the man’s withered hand, Jesus did not “work” in the conventional sense – he spoke to the man and restored his dignity, status, and position.  His hand was healed, because Jesus spoke and it happened.

Mark 2:13-22 (NRSV)

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.'  Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting; and people came and said to him, 'Why do John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?'  Jesus said to them, 'The wedding guests cannot fast while the bridegroom is with them, can they?  As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.  The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day.  'No one sews a piece of un-shrunk cloth on an old cloak; otherwise, the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made.  And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost, and so are the skins; but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins.'

Sinners and tax collectors.  It is interesting to me that the sinners are lumped together with the tax collectors.  Are tax collectors sinners?  Well, maybe not today.  However, in ancient times they were not so desired.  In fact there were hated because they were thought to betray their own people.  Therefore, the tax collectors and sinners are lumped together.

In today’s passage, Jesus is running around and having dinner with the “wrong” people.  Jesus responds to accusations by articulating his call is to be with those who need him most – those that need to be restored to society.  When asked why he doesn’t fast like the Pharisees and the disciples of John, he answers comparing himself to the bridegroom at a wedding feast.

Jesus follows this comparison with the images of the new and old, shrunk cloth and wineskins.  I think that this means that the newness of His teachings and ministry are  "breaking through" into the world.  It all looks different, and it is all different.  Jesus’ unexpected message brings with it new ideas about renewal and restoration of life within us.  New life, new patches, new wineskins...

Our Lenten call today is one of deeper repentance and change of mind or heart (metanoia).  To hold the new wine, we need become anew.  We need a change of mind or transform, from a "legalistic" framework of thinking to a way of joy.  The joy of being with and in Christ.  It is expansive and will burst the old skins.  It contains joy, love, and more.  It is thinking “outside” the old box, of our old mindset of prescribed acts or works.  In our practice as Christians, we are always called to remember to change our hearts.  It's time for new wineskins as we are all recreated anew.

Luke 18:9-14 (NRSV)

[Jesus] also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: 'Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, "God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.  I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income."  But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner!"  I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.'

Today is Ash Wednesday, and the word that comes to the forefront is contempt.  I’m not sure why the word stood out, it just did.  Jesus is talking to the folks who disapprove of, and are judgmental of the way others live their lives.  They are self righteous and think they are superior.  Jesus is speaking this parable to “some” who considered themselves righteous and regard others with contempt.

The Pharisees are a political party of religious lay persons who specialized in Torah (Jewish Law).  They were in conflict with Jesus because Jesus often used them as examples of how not to act.  The Pharisees were worried about keeping the letter of the law, and thought that keeping the law alone sanctified their daily life and would bring about the redemption of Israel.  This was in contrast to what Jesus was trying to teach people about the intent of the law, to create a framework for the right relationship between God and God’s people.  Therefore, Jesus is an obstacle for the Pharisaic influence in society and they want Jesus out of the way.

Tax collectors were the Jews who collected taxes from the people on behalf of the Roman government.  They were considered scoundrels because they took money from their own people for a foreign power.  They were often corrupt, and took money to pad their own pockets.

Jesus’ parable of the tax collector and the Pharisee creates a sharp comparison and contrast for the hearer to ponder.  The Pharisee is set up as the one who considers himself righteous and the Tax Collector as the humble repentant sinner.

In the parable, the Pharisee is not the least bit introspective in his prayer.  He does not acknowledge his own sin, but is self righteously thankful that he is “not like other people.”  In contrast, the Tax Collector is humble and asking God for mercy, knowing that he is a sinner.

At the beginning of this season of Lent, the call in this passage is humility and self-awareness.  If we are humble in our prayers and honestly bear before God our shortcomings and ask for mercy, God hears us and forgives us.  Only then are we able to grow and learn and live in right relationship with God.

John 10:31-42 (NRSV)

The Jews took up stones again to stone him.  Jesus replied, "I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these are you going to stone me?"  The Jews answered, "It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you, but for blasphemy, because you, though only a human being, are making yourself God."  Jesus answered, "Is it not written in your law, 'I said, you are gods'?  If those to whom the word of God came were called 'gods'-and the scripture cannot be annulled-  can you say that the one whom the Father has sanctified and sent into the world is blaspheming because I said, 'I am God's Son'?  If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me.  But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father."  Then they tried to arrest him again, but he escaped from their hands.

He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing earlier, and he remained there.  Many came to him, and they were saying, "John performed no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true."  And many believed in him there.

Blasphemy…  So, the “Jews” claim that Jesus is guilty of blasphemy.  He isn’t guilty for the works he has performed, but they say he is guilty of irreverence or impiety to God.  They thought Jesus was making himself God.  Little did they know what they were up against.  Nevertheless, they once again reach for the stones.

Jesus lets the works testify to who he is, and that he does them only by the power that has been bestowed upon him by God.  He is the one that God has made holy and sent into the world, yet he is not believed by the religious powers.  Jesus reminds them of the prophets (the ones to whom the word of God came), and how the prophets were treated.

Escaping arrest, Jesus slips away across the Jordan river, to where his ministry began – where he was baptized.  People still came to him, testifying to the signs, and believing everything that John said about him.

The Pharisees and scribes (the Jews) who challenge Jesus continue to feel the pressure of their own creation.  Jesus is upsetting the apple cart, and making life difficult for them.  However, Jesus has done nothing wrong but continues to be blamed with trumped up charges and false accusations.

The call I hear today is be who you are.  Jesus is just being who he is – God.  We are not God and shouldn’t try to be God.  I feel that the leaders are challenged because they think that they have the only path to God, and therefore get to control who comes to God and how.  Jesus provides the true way to God, through belief in him.  Only if we are true to who we are can show others the way to God.

We are working hard at putting together our Lenten series at Trinity called “Outward Signs.”  In this series, small groups will discuss what it means to be an visible sign of Christ in the world.  This takes the church gathering beyond the 4 walls, and puts it in the context of the world.

John 10:19-30 (NRSV)

Again the Jews were divided because of these words.  Many of them were saying, "He has a demon and is out of his mind. Why listen to him?"  Others were saying, "These are not the words of one who has a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"  At that time the festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem.  It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon.  So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, "How long will you keep us in suspense?  If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly."  Jesus answered, "I have told you, and you do not believe.  The works that I do in my Father's name testify to me; but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep.  My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand.  What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father's hand.  The Father and I are one."

The word “plainly” sticks out to me like a sore thumb.  I’m not sure why.  Maybe it’s because Jesus has not only told them and told them, he has shown them, and many have testified to his great works.  However, the “Jews” still don’t believe.  (I really have a hard time with the way the writer of John uses the word Jews - please see some of my previous posts on the subject).

The Pharisees are at the point of pressuring Jesus, to the point of using the phrase, “If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”  Jesus claims to have told them and they just don’t understand because they do not yet believe.  He tells them that believers follow him and believers receive eternal life.  No one can take a true believer away from Jesus.

John is filled with more explanations to the Pharisees about who Jesus is and what he came to do.  This has gone on for a few chapters and will go on for a few more.  We have heard many calls along the way.  I feel today would be believe.  We are called to believe because it is “plain” to us that Jesus is the Lord, He is the Good Shepherd, He is God (as said in the last sentence of the passage).  We are called to believe and testify to that belief not only with our word, but with our lives.

John 9:18-41 (NRSV)

The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight and asked them, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind?  How then does he now see?"  His parents answered, "We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but we do not know how it is that now he sees, nor do we know who opened his eyes.  Ask him; he is of age.  He will speak for himself."  His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that anyone who confessed Jesus to be the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue.  Therefore his parents said, "He is of age; ask him."  So for the second time they called the man who had been blind, and they said to him, "Give glory to God!  We know that this man is a sinner."  He answered, "I do not know whether he is a sinner.  One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see."   They said to him, "What did he do to you?  How did he open your eyes?"   He answered them, "I have told you already, and you would not listen.  Why do you want to hear it again?  Do you also want to become his disciples?"  Then they reviled him, saying, "You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses.  We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from."  The man answered, "Here is an astonishing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes.  We know that God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will.  Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind.  If this man were not from God, he could do nothing."  They answered him, "You were born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?" And they drove him out.  Jesus heard that they had driven him out, and when he found him, he said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?"  He answered, "And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him."  Jesus said to him, "You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he."  He said, "Lord, I believe." And he worshiped him.  Jesus said, "I came into this world for judgment so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind."  Some of the Pharisees near him heard this and said to him, "Surely we are not blind, are we?"  Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, 'We see,' your sin remains.

The phrase that immediately jumps out at me in this long passage is, “I have told you already, and you would not listen.  Why do want to hear it again?”  The continuous questioning is obviously getting on the man’s nerves.  The Pharisees are pushing the buttons again, scheming and trying to find something that Jesus has done wrong.

I have got to say that I appreciate the once blind man’s boldness with the leaders.  He answers their inquiries completely, and somewhat sarcastically.  The whole banter following the phrase, “Here is an astonishing thing…” offers the Pharisees an irrefutable explanation of the circumstances.  The leaders refute and claim that the man is trying to teach them (like they are beyond learning something new).  Maybe that’s the problem.

The encounter between Jesus and the blind man is intriguing (then again, wouldn’t an encounter with Jesus always be intriguing?).  In this meeting, Jesus gives the once blind man an opportunity to believe.  The man believes, and worships Jesus.

The leaders overheard Jesus and the man talking and then fall into the conundrum with Jesus over what it means to see.  That is where I feel that the call lies today.  We are called to see.  In order to see we need adequate light and we need to take the time to focus.  Jesus is the light.  He illuminates to dark places in our lives and allows us to see our real selves so that we can deal with it.

John 9:1-17 (NRSV)

As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth.  His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"  Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God's works might be revealed in him.  We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work.  As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."  When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man's eyes, saying to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see.  The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, "Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?"  Some were saying, "It is he." Others were saying, "No, but it is someone like him." He kept saying, "I am the man."  But they kept asking him, "Then how were your eyes opened?"  He answered, "The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, 'Go to Siloam and wash.' Then I went and washed and received my sight."  They said to him, "Where is he?" He said, "I do not know."  They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind.  Now it was a sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes.  Then the Pharisees also began to ask him how he had received his sight. He said to them, "He put mud on my eyes. Then I washed, and now I see."  Some of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from God, for he does not observe the sabbath." But others said, "How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?"  And they were divided.  So they said again to the blind man, "What do you say about him?  It was your eyes he opened."  He said, "He is a prophet."

“What do you say about him?”  The blind man declares Jesus a prophet, the Pharisee’s are split and his followers continue to be dazed and amazed at Jesus’ wondrous works.

We are just coming off Jesus narrowly escaping being stoned when he was preaching in the temple. (Saturday’s reading)  Jesus is on his way somewhere else and sees a blind man.  The man doesn’t ask to be healed, it is the disciples who are asking about the cause of the man’s blindness.  Jesus uses the opportunity to teach the disciples with the action of healing the man’s eyes.  In a very human, almost crude act, Jesus spits in the dirt and makes mud to apply to the man’s eyes.  Then he sends the blind man to wash.

It is an incredible miracle.  However, the Pharisee’s don’t get past the fact that Jesus may have violated the Sabbath.  Evidently, one cannot make mud from spit on the Sabbath.  The Pharisees question the man as to how his sight was restored and who did it.  The strange fact to me is the blind man did not know where Jesus was (or what he looks like), and yet the Pharisees are quick to assume there was some violation that rendered this act of healing as not from God.  The scripture tells us that they were divided over the decision.

The call I hear in the context of this reading is the one that comes from Jesus to the blind man.  Go and wash!  Be made clean!  I think I am going to refer to the gospel according to John as a gospel of participation.  Our first act of full participation in the Christian life is Holy Baptism.  It is the initiatory rite that makes us participants with Christ in his life, death, and resurrection, and it includes us as full members of Christ’s body, the church (it makes us Christian - not members of any particular denomination, but that is another argument for another day).  I feel that we are called in this scripture to be made clean in the waters of baptism, and then have our eyes opened so that Jesus can lead the way.

John 8:47-59 (NRSV)

Whoever is from God hears the words of God. The reason you do not hear them is that you are not from God."  The Jews answered him, "Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?"  Jesus answered, "I do not have a demon; but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me.  Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is one who seeks it and he is the judge.  Very truly, I tell you, whoever keeps my word will never see death."  The Jews said to him, "Now we know that you have a demon.  Abraham died, and so did the prophets; yet you say, 'Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.'  Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died?  The prophets also died.  Who do you claim to be?"  Jesus answered, "If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, he of whom you say, 'He is our God,' though you do not know him.  But I know him; if I would say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know him and I keep his word.   Your ancestor Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day; he saw it and was glad."  Then the Jews said to him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?"   Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, before Abraham was, I am."   So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.



“They picked up stones to throw at him.”  I think that Jesus has finally reached a point with the leaders that he had no other choice other than to hide and then duck out.  The continued dialogue upsets the Jews to the point of accusing Jesus of having a demon.  They also call him a Samaritan, which is understandable because the Samaritans thought they were the true keepers of the Abrahamic religion prior to the Babylonian exile.

In the past few days, the readings have been leading up to this scene. The Jews (notably the Pharisees and scribes – the leaders) who want to trap Jesus on one side, and Jesus preaching and teaching and offering a new way to everlasting life on the other. The leaders of the community have their authority put into question. 

Jesus thwarts the Jews with his claim to be from God.  They don’t believe him and continue to challenge him bringing up Abraham and the prophets.  Jesus infuriates them by telling them that he was before Abraham.  This leads to the threat of the stones.

The call today is to be firm in our faith; be not only hearers of the word but doers.  Jesus is the perfect teacher and does not base his claims on what he says but on what he does (healing, forgiving, teaching).  The word of Jesus is the word of God and gives life and power to those who believe.  Jesus shows us the way that leads to truth and holiness.  And he anoints us with his power to live the gospel with joy and to be his witnesses in the world.  Are we doers of God's word, or hearers only?

John 8:33-47 (NRSV)

They answered him, "We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone.  What do you mean by saying, 'You will be made free'?"  Jesus answered them, "Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.  The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there forever.  So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.  I know that you are descendants of Abraham; yet you look for an opportunity to kill me, because there is no place in you for my word.  I declare what I have seen in the Father's presence; as for you, you should do what you have heard from the Father."  They answered him, "Abraham is our father." Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would be doing what Abraham did, but now you are trying to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God.  This is not what Abraham did.  You are indeed doing what your father does." They said to him, "We are not illegitimate children; we have one father, God himself."  Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now I am here.  I did not come on my own, but he sent me.  Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot accept my word.  You are from your father the devil, and you choose to do your father's desires.  He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him.  When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.  But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me.  Which of you convicts me of sin?  If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me?  Whoever is from God hears the words of God.  The reason you do not hear them is that you are not from God."

My initial thought surrounds Jesus’ statement, “there is no place in you for my word.”  Jesus continues to banter with the Pharisees and scribes who don’t understand what he is trying to tell them.  They seem like they aren’t even trying to understand.

Jesus continues to explain his identity in this passage - and how his word is from God and contains truths that not everyone understands (especially the scribes and Pharisaic leaders).  This his because of who he is.  The leaders are quick to assert their Abrahamic heritage, claiming their inheritance of God’s favor as God’s chosen people.  Jesus is aware of the schemes to trap him and kill him and in turn points out that the leaders have no idea what it means to love God, because they do not love him.   He then compares them to children of the devil.  The lies about Jesus and deception has clouded their minds and made them unable to comprehend the truth that is right in front of them.

I feel that our call today is trust.  Trust in Jesus to lead the way; trust in his truth; trust in his leadership and his teaching.  Trust that he is God that came to reconcile the world.  If we are receivers of Jesus’ words with an open mind, and let them resonate in our soul, then we uncloud our minds and hear the word of God.       

John 8:1-11 (NRSV)

… Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.  Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him and he sat down and began to teach them.  The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery; and making her stand before all of them, they said to him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery.  Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such women.  Now what do you say?"  They said this to test him, so that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground.  When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her."  And once again he bent down and wrote on the ground.  When they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the elders; and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him.  Jesus straightened up and said to her, "Woman, where are they?  Has no one condemned you?"  She said, "No one, sir."  And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again."

“He bent down and wrote on the ground.”  I realize that we are all in different places.  Our thinking and reading these reflections are through the different lenses of our own experience.  I think that the sentence about him writing on the ground jumps out because, to me, it doesn’t otherwise belong.  Why did he write on the ground?  Why is it important to mention?

I would like to make the suggestion that Jesus gives us the image of a challenge, as if he were drawing a line in the sand saying, “Let anyone among you who wants to stone her come cross this line – and then you will deal with me!”  We can almost see the Jesus meek and mild puff out his chest for a minute and get tough in order to protect the woman.  It must have worked, because everyone dispursed and none were left but her and Jesus.

At the beginning of the passage, I want to yell out, “It’s a trap, Jesus…  don’t answer them!”  When the woman is brought to him, it's one of their schemes that they use in order to trap Jesus.  It's a catch-22.  He is doomed either way.  The Pharisees are keeping the letter of the law rather than the intent of the law.  They want to trick Jesus into going against what is prescribed in the law of Moses, but Jesus uses this opportunity to teach them in a very simple way that the complete law is intended for all – and that all fall short of keeping the law.  It obviously works, because they all leave.  Instead of condemning another, they turned the condemnation inward and started to think of their own sin.

We, like the Pharisees are quick to condemn and judge the way others act, rather than first look at ourselves.  I think that our call today is to be introspective of our outward actions.  Examine ourselves, prior to accusing another.  Without condemnation, but with forgiveness and guidance, Jesus offers the accused woman another chance.  Are we quick to condemn, and want to immediately pick up the stone and right the world, or do we come from a place of forgiveness – having first forgiven ourselves and then extending that forgiveness to others – and offering guidance rather than condemnation?

John 7:37-52 (NRSV)

On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, "Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink.  As the scripture has said, 'Out of the believer's heart shall flow rivers of living water.'"  Now he said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were to receive; for as yet there was no Spirit, because Jesus was not yet glorified.  When they heard these words, some in the crowd said, "This is really the prophet."  Others said, "This is the Messiah."  But some asked, "Surely the Messiah does not come from Galilee, does he?  Has not the scripture said that the Messiah is descended from David and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?"  So there was a division in the crowd because of him.  Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.  Then the temple police went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, "Why did you not arrest him?"  The police answered, "Never has anyone spoken like this!"  Then the Pharisees replied, "Surely you have not been deceived too, have you?  Has any one of the authorities or of the Pharisees believed in him?  But this crowd, which does not know the law-they are accursed."  Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus before, and who was one of them, asked, "Our law does not judge people without first giving them a hearing to find out what they are doing, does it?"  They replied, "Surely you are not also from Galilee, are you?  Search and you will see that no prophet is to arise from Galilee."

“Why did you not arrest him?” – The leaders are at it again, and are afraid of Jesus and his prophetic message.  The festival has ended and Jesus offers us an invitation again to believe in him and the message that he brings.  He is the source of ‘living water’ – and offers the world a drink.

The Pharisees and scribes continue to question his authority and the source of Jesus’ message.  They get tied up in the semantics of where he is from and whether he fits the prophecy that has been handed down from the patriarchs and prophets.  It is interesting that they still havent done anything about Jesus who is obvoiusly upsetting the apple cart.

Nicodemus, a friend and follower of Jesus, moves in and returns the challenge.  He reminds the leaders that the law requires a hearing to determine if there is any quilt.  (We should remember that what Jesus is doing is not illegal.  It's upsetting the leadership, but it's not illegal)  The leaders are quick to challenge and dismiss Nicodemus too, stating that he must be a supporter because he is from the same place.

It seems that this texts has a lot to do with location.  Why is that where Jesus lives have so much bearing on who he is?  It kind of reminds me of someone (possibly from a small town in the south) saying to someone else, "hey boy - where are you from?" -- followed by "you ain't from around here are you!"  There are already folks that are outwardly calling him prophet and messiah and I think that the leaders are feeling more threatened than ever.  I feel that this text has a call to us to believe.  Not listen to the leaders who are condemning Jesus, but be willing to fully believe and then take a drink from the source of the living water, which is our salvation.

John 7:14-36 (NRSV)

About the middle of the festival Jesus went up into the temple and began to teach. The Jews were astonished at it, saying, ‘How does this man have such learning, when he has never been taught?’  Then Jesus answered them, ‘My teaching is not mine but his who sent me.  Anyone who resolves to do the will of God will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own.  Those who speak on their own seek their own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and there is nothing false in him.

‘Did not Moses give you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. Why are you looking for an opportunity to kill me?’ The crowd answered, ‘You have a demon! Who is trying to kill you?’ Jesus answered them, ‘I performed one work, and all of you are astonished. Moses gave you circumcision (it is, of course, not from Moses, but from the patriarchs), and you circumcise a man on the sabbath. If a man receives circumcision on the sabbath in order that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because I healed a man’s whole body on the sabbath? Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgement.’

Now some of the people of Jerusalem were saying, ‘Is not this the man whom they are trying to kill? And here he is, speaking openly, but they say nothing to him! Can it be that the authorities really know that this is the Messiah? Yet we know where this man is from; but when the Messiah comes, no one will know where he is from.’  Then Jesus cried out as he was teaching in the temple, ‘You know me, and you know where I am from. I have not come on my own. But the one who sent me is true, and you do not know him.  I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me.’  Then they tried to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him, because his hour had not yet come.  Yet many in the crowd believed in him and were saying, ‘When the Messiah comes, will he do more signs than this man has done?’

The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering such things about him, and the chief priests and Pharisees sent temple police to arrest him.  Jesus then said, ‘I will be with you a little while longer, and then I am going to him who sent me.  You will search for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.’  The Jews said to one another, ‘Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? Does he intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?  What does he mean by saying, “You will search for me and you will not find me” and, “Where I am, you cannot come”?’



Frustration! I hear frustration in Jesus’ voice, in his teaching, and in his message. It's easy to get frustrated when you feel that your message is falling on deaf ears. This passage is a continuation from yesterday’s “undercover Jesus” trying to get a new prospective on things and assess the situation by being in disguise at the festival. It is possibly his frustration with the situation that pushes him to the point of getting up and teaching in the middle of the festival.

In his teaching, Jesus has very challenging words for the folks that are critical of his message. He points out that others have been quick to jump to conclusions about who he is and what he has come to do.  Some people gathered at the festival think that Jesus may be the messiah, and they are trying to figure out who he is.  The Pharisees and scribes feel challenged.  The status-quo is being upset by Jesus' prophetic teaching, and they are getting nervous, needing to put an end to Jesus’ popularity and make a spectacle of him.  They need to squelch his influence before he gets too politically powerful and becomes able to overthrow them. The scripture says that they tried to arrest him, but it wasn’t Jesus’ time.

My first thought is how often we get twisted into thinking something about someone else based on another’s testimony.  The leaders want the people to think that Jesus’ teaching is bad because it is against what they are teaching.  They want others to think that Jesus is a threat to their well being, so they create trumped up accusations of blasphemy and heresy.  In this context, I feel that we are called to make up our own mind.  We need to decide for ourselves who this prophetic teacher, Jesus really is.  He is revealed to us as very human and gets as aggravated and frustrated as we do (especially when people don’t listen to us) - yet his teaching is unlike any that has ever been before him or any that has come since.