"hoping to catch Jesus in a Sabbath infraction." what a phrase. What an implication, that the letter of the law is more important than the person in need. Oh Lord, that you might catch me in a sabbath or other love motivated infraction. "Doing evil or doing good? Helping people or leaving them helpless?"On Sabbath or any day, catch me in a love infraction! "He looked them in the eye, one after another, angry now, furious at their hard-nosed religion."
"His friends went to rescue him after they'd heard all that. They suspected he was getting carried away with himself."
"The person who obeys God's will is my brother and sister and mother."
"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."
What kind of listener to God's word are you?
EP: "The word that God speaks to us isn't an easy word. The Word of God speaks of the massive eternal event of our redemption-there must be a serious grappling by the listener if it's to take deep root in his life...the way to listen to the Word of God: The preparation of silence as we clear our minds of the heavy traffic of the world, the preparation of discipline as we train our minds to meditate upon and assimilate truths that reach to the ultimate meaning of our life with God, the process of discrimination as we listen with intent to hear God's words, not permitting human opinions or irrelevancies to choke out its life."
He never was without a story when he spoke. The heavenly meaning of stories is right here, now, not some heavenly ever after. Kingdom was proclaimed and initiated by Christ. The Kingdom has come among us-it comes by grace, and we must respond to it now.
Romans 16
Who would be on your farewell list, or your thank you list? Who would you recognize as co-laborers, as sharers of faith in Jesus, of transformers of the world with you?
"Keep a sharp eye out for those who take bits and pieces of the teaching that you learned and then use them to make trouble. Give these people a wide berth. They have no intention of living for our Master Jesus Christ. They're only in this for what they can get out of it, and aren't above using pious sweet talk to dupe unsuspecting innocents...be smart, making sure every 'good' thing is the real thing. Don't be gullible in regard to smooth-taking evil. Stay alert like this, and before you know it the God of peace will come down on Satan with both feet, stomping him into the dirt. Enjoy the best of Jesus!"
"All our praise rises to the One who is strong enough to make you strong, exactly as preached in Jesus Christ, precisely as revealed in the mystery kept secret for so long but now an open book through the prophetic Scriptures. All the nations of the world can now know the truth and be brought into obedient belief, carrying out the orders of God, who got all this started, down to the very last letter. All our praise is focused through Jesus on this incomparably wise God! Yes!"
My heart is still heavy over the words spoken toward the end of last night's evening with Bishop Ough and Cap South district. Anger. Hate. Distrust. Lack of love and misuse of scripture. What if love is what God is most concerned with? What if, at the final judgment, God's question to us is something like, "Why didn't you love that one?" Whomever our "that one" is, whether a people group, one for whom we didn't stick up, one whom we didn't forgive? What if God's judgment has to do with the misuse and abuse of love? My prayers go to Bishop Ough, Char, Hank, Sue, Bill, Myron, those who lead us and who seek to call us to a higher level of love, less divisive, less abusive, less ugly, more beautiful. How might God be honored as we reflect on that evening? And for the gift of re-connecting with Greg Pearson, so awesome so many years later. I love God's redemptive, restorative love. I love knowing and trusting that God calls and uses folks from the margins, and it saddens me that many who have seemingly been in the center of God's places want to keep others who aren't like them out. Help us, Jesus!
Ok so today's question :)
ReplyDelete1. Who was Mark. When we read the list of apostles, he wasn't there.
No one is certain. Some have suggested he was Peter's companion in Rome (1 Pet 5:13). Others connected him with "Mark" in Col 4:10, 2 Tim 4:11, Philem 24, or with "John Mark" in Acts 12:12, 15: 37-39. No where in the gospel of Mark is the writer identified, nor identified with the above named possibilities. No sure answer.
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