Hebrews 4:1-10 (NRSV)

Thursday in the First Week of Lent - Reflections on the Letters During Lent

Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest is still open, let us take care that none of you should seem to have failed to reach it. For indeed the good news came to us just as to them; but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened. For we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said, "As in my anger I swore, 'They shall not enter my rest,'" though his works were finished at the foundation of the world. For in one place it speaks about the seventh day as follows, "And God rested on the seventh day from all his works." And again in this place it says, "They shall not enter my rest." Since therefore it remains open for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, again he sets a certain day-- "today"-- saying through David much later, in the words already quoted, "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts." For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not speak later about another day. So then, a sabbath rest still remains for the people of God; for those who enter God's rest also cease from their labors as God did from his.

"Rest..." I get the image of lying fallow, sleeping, vegging out, doing absolutely nothing, all focused on restoration, rejuvenation, and gaining strength. 

Today, the writer to the Hebrews continues his diatribe toward those who his says, "shall not enter rest." I feel that he is talking about the folks who don't find comfort and restoration in the love of God in Jesus. But yet, those who have not hardened their hearts and are united by faith and listened to the good news find rest. I can't help but think about those folks who have decided to sever relationships based on disagreement over an issue. To leave and not wrestle with or try to understand makes me feel like the folks have hardened their hearts. These folks cannot find rest... In fact, they become restless as they continue to search for the "perfect community" which in itself is an oxymoron. I'm more of the understanding that the church is a hospital for sinners (of which we are all) than a country club for saints. 

We all need rest. I sense the reading today calling us to a holy rest. As God rested on the seventh day, we are called to seek restoration, and gain strength in order to continue the work God has given us to do. If we pay attention to the word of Jesus, also called the "comfortable words" in our liturgy, "come to me all who travail and are heavy laden and you will find rest. My yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Mark 10:46-52 (NRSV)

They came to Jericho. As he and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside.  When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"  Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"  Jesus stood still and said, "Call him here." And they called the blind man, saying to him, "Take heart; get up, he is calling you."  So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus.  Then Jesus said to him, "What do you want me to do for you?" The blind man said to him, "My teacher, let me see again."  Jesus said to him, "Go; your faith has made you well." Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way.

Again, Jesus says “What do you want me to do for you?”  It is interesting that in the span of a few verses, the Gospeler has Jesus saying the same words.  It stands out to me again as the prominent phrase.  The blind man, Bartimaeus, answers directly that he wants his sight back.

Jesus and the crowd are on their way out of Jericho on their way to Jerusalem when they encounter Bartimaeus, a blind beggar.  This time the man that hey come across has a name, Bartimaeus.  His name literally means, “son of Timaeus,” so it’s almost redundant to say that he is the son of Timaeus.  He must have had some significance for his name to be mentioned.  The scriptures don't often reveal the names of the people Jesus heals.

Bartimaeus cries out to Jesus for mercy and is heard by the crowd passing by.  He acknowledges Jesus by his birthright as a descendant of the great King David.  Jesus sends for Bartimaeus and the disciples retrieve him.  Bartimaeus leaves the security of his cloak and goes to Jesus.  Jesus asks Bartimaeus “what do you want me to do for you?”  He doesn’t lift a finger (unlike before) and tells the man that his faith has made him well.  Bartimaeus immediately follows Jesus on the way to Jerusalem.

When we get to the low points in our lives, it’s then that realize that we so desperately need God.  Bartimaeus realizes that he needs the healing power of God in Jesus to regain his eyesight.  His condition has caused him not to be able to function normally in society so he is forced to beg for a living on the outskirts of town.  Jesus restores him to society without any effort but a word.  We are called today to understand that we need God always; in the good times and the bad.  When we are “with God” we have a full, rich, and fulfilling life regardless of our handicaps.  Bartimaeus realized that he continued to need God after he regained his eyesight, because even after he was healed, he followed Jesus on the way.

Mark 5:21-43 (NRSV)

When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered around him; and he was by the sea.  Then one of the leaders of the synagogue named Jairus came and, when he saw him, fell at his feet and begged him repeatedly, "My little daughter is at the point of death.  Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and live."  So he went with him.  And a large crowd followed him and pressed in on him.  Now there was a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years.  She had endured much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had; and she was no better, but rather grew worse.  She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, for she said, "If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well."  Immediately her hemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease.  Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, "Who touched my clothes?"  And his disciples said to him, "You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, 'Who touched me?'"  He looked all around to see who had done it.  But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the whole truth.  He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease."  While he was still speaking, some people came from the leader's house to say, "Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?"  But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue, "Do not fear, only believe."  He allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James.  When they came to the house of the leader of the synagogue, he saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly.  When he had entered, he said to them, "Why do you make a commotion and weep?  The child is not dead but sleeping."  And they laughed at him.  Then he put them all outside, and took the child's father and mother and those who were with him, and went in where the child was.  He took her by the hand and said to her, "Talitha cum," which means, "Little girl, get up!"  And immediately the girl got up and began to walk about (she was twelve years of age).  At this they were overcome with amazement.  He strictly ordered them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.

The scripture says, “they laughted at him.”  It is strange to me that the family, being worried about their little girl, would go so quickly from weeping and wailing loudly to laughing at Jesus.  The leader, Jarius, who went to get Jesus had the faith that Jesus would be able to help.  This obviously wasn’t the case with the rest of the family.  Their tears and their laughs were very quickly overcome with amazement.

This scripture passage is a healing story within a healing story.  Jarius goes to get Jesus so that Jesus can come heal his daughter who is near death.  They are making their way through the crowd and Jesus encounters a woman that has been suffering from hemorrhage for 12 years who comes up and touches his cloak.  She is immediately healed.  Jesus senses the power “go forth from him.”  He asks his followers who touched him and finds out that it is the woman.  He declares her healed of her disease by her faith.

They finally get the home of Jarius and takes in Peter, James, & John (brother of James).  He tells them that she is not dead, but only sleeping.  That’s when the laughing starts.  However, Jesus pays it no mind and tells the little girl in Aramaic, “Talitha cum,” which means little girl, arise.  The ones that were laughing are amazed.

Jesus is busy healing and restoring.  The preservation of the Aramaic words in the scripture leaves us with the mystery and power that surrounds this ancient saying.  We know that it is more than words that brings about the healing power of Jesus, but knowing the words he said makes it that much more awe-inspiring.

The call I hear is to be brave in our faith.  I feel that it was faith and bravery that allowed both of these healings to take place.  The woman who suffered from hemorrhage was brave enough to come up and touch Jesus, knowing that it would make him “ritually unclean.”  However, Jesus doesn’t rebuke her, but testifies to her faith.  The leader of the synagogue, Jarius, has the faith that Jesus can save his daughter.  Jesus raises her up after people think that she has already died.  We too should be brave in our faith.  Be brave enough to not only touch Jesus, but let Jesus touch us and heal us and raise us up.

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 1:29-45 (NRSV)

As soon as they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.  Now Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once.  He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.  That evening, at sundown, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons.  And the whole city was gathered around the door.  And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.  In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed.  And Simon and his companions hunted for him.  When they found him, they said to him, 'Everyone is searching for you.'  He answered, 'Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do.'  And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons.  A leper came to him begging him, and kneeling he said to him, 'If you choose, you can make me clean.'  Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, 'I do choose. Be made clean!'  Immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean.  After sternly warning him he sent him away at once, saying to him, 'See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.'  But he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the word, so that Jesus could no longer go into a town openly, but stayed out in the country; and people came to him from every quarter.

You’ve really got to love the Gospel according to Mark.  He gets it done in record pen-strokes.  The Greek is even more concise than the English.  The phrase that stands out today is “everyone is searching for you.”

This passage contains much of Jesus' actions as he traveled around healing and casting out demons.  Jesus is busy doing the “work” of the kingdom, showing the folks that are gathering what he has come to do in ways they can understand.  He is cleansing and restoring the world through his actions, and preaching a gospel of reconnection, restoration and peace.  Toward the end of the passage, when the leper is healed, he can’t contain himself.  The leper goes about spreading the word freely.

I discern that the call today is to “restore the world.”  If the Church is Christ’s body, and we are acting as Christ’s hands in the world, then we should be going about doing the work he has given us to do.  If we are to love our neighbor fully, then we act by restoring those on the fringes of society that are lost and forgotten.  We do this by reaching out and connecting, offering them a place of comfort and community, food and shelter.  When people are touched by Jesus, then they can’t contain themselves.  They go about proclaiming it freely in the streets!

Mark 1:14-28 (NRSV)

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 sea 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, convulsing him 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.

In the context of all the information in this passage, I hear the word “called.” Jesus immediately calls James and his brother John, and they left their father Zebedee and followed him. It is interesting to me that the call narrative is in the middle of Jesus returning to Galilee, and then going into the synagogue to teach and perform an exorcism.

Keeping with the fast pace at which Mark tells us the good news, Jesus is on the move. He returns with a message of good news for the people, he secures some assistance in his mission, and then proceeds to teach in the synagogue. While he is in the synagogue, he encounters an unclean spirit that knows him. He calls out the unclean spirit, and amazes the crowd with the first miracle in the Gospel of Mark. Word about him spreads as quickly as Mark’s story unfolds.

There is an urgency to Mark’s telling of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He gets to the point and teaches in high context language, meaning that the hearers would be able to put together the story very easily in their situations. Mark uses language and forms of telling the story that his hearers would understand.

The call that I hear today is “follow.” When Jesus calls, the disciples follow to see where he leads. If we follow Jesus, especially through the scriptures, we see him do some amazing things. In the season of Lent, we follow Jesus through the desert that that we can experience a wilderness period of self examination and awareness. This lets us root up and deal with our demons and reminds us of our dependence on God.