Lent 2009 #19

Mark 11:15-19  15 Then they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling and those who were buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves; 16 and he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. 17 He was teaching and saying, "Is it not written,

'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations'? But you have made it a den of robbers."

18 And when the chief priests and the scribes heard it, they kept looking for a way to kill him; for they were afraid of him, because the whole crowd was spellbound by his teaching. 19 And when evening came, Jesus and his disciples went out of the city.

THOUGHTS:

All 4 gospel writers describe Jesus walking into the temple and getting not just angry, but table-flipping furious when he sees people using its courts as a marketplace.  These passages depict our savior, who is usually so composed and compassionate, as being in need of some serious anger management counseling.  Think about it.  He walks into what is functioning as a market and goes on a rampage flipping over display tables and driving everyone out even as their coins were probably still rolling across the floor!  In John's version, Jesus even take the time to make a whip to drive them out!  

I'm sure the disciples were absolutely mortified.  It can also be a bit embarrassing for us.  I mean, isn't this the same Jesus who seems to effortlessly absorb interruptions by children and the untouchable?  What could have possibly made him lose his cool?

It appears the culprit is the commercialization of religion.  People were selling animals for sacrifice in the temple, essentially selling forgiveness!  Martin Luther called out the church for a similar crime against God in the selling of indulgences 1500 years later.  The "Christian entertainment" market is now valued at over $5 billion annually...

How do we see the commercialization of religion around us?  Where do we draw the line?

PRAYER:

Lord God, enlighten the sometimes dark recesses of our minds.  Fill us with faith, root us in hope, and enable us to work in humble service to you in all that we do.  May your will be done, and may we do our part in illuminating your kingdom on earth.  In Jesus name, AMEN.

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TODAY:

+ discuss faith in SUB I Patriot's Lounge at 4:30pm with Pastor Lisa Hufford.

+ worship with us at 7:47pm in SUB I room B (3rd floor).

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Lent Day #35

Mark 11:12-14,20-25 (ESV)

12 On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry. 13 And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. 14 And he said to it, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again." And his disciples heard it.

20 As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots. 21 And Peter remembered and said to him, "Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered." 22 And Jesus answered them, "Have faith in God. 23 Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be taken up and thrown into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. 24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. 25 And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses."

THOUGHTS:
It feels to me like when Jesus encounters the fig tree, we see a different side of Jesus. Hungry, he approaches a tree in the hopes of eating figs. Since it isn't fig season he finds none. Therefore, he curses the tree so that no one will ever eat from it again.

What emotions were running through Jesus that day?

Does it seem silly to you? Imagine a farmer who owned an orchard of apple trees in Maryland going out today, finding no apples, and therefore cutting down all the apple trees. What does this mean?

I expect Jesus to recognize that it isn't fig season and he's ruining a perfectly good fig tree. I expect him to think about all the hungry people the tree might be able to feed when fig season rolls around. He apparently doesn't.

Is the whole thing just an illustration of the power of faith for the disciples? Maybe, but couldn't that have been accomplished just as effectively by saying "Next time I see you, I want a few dozen figs." The next morning as they walk by, the disciples would be equally shocked. The teaching about the power of faith would pack the same power.

That brings me right back to wondering what emotions Jesus was dealing with the day he encountered the fig tree. Scripture records this event as happening within a couple of days after Palm Sunday. Is Jesus so focused on the end of his life that he lashes out in anger and bitterness at the world around him?

I consulted some resources that seem to chalk it up to "parabolic action" -- a lived out parable. My Bible commentary fumbles around a little bit, suggesting that maybe the fig tree represents the Jewish people -- that the unfruitful tree represets an unfaithful people symbolizing that this was not the proper time for the Jewish leaders to bear fruit by accepting Jesus.

Think about it. Pray about it. What do you think?

PRAYER:
Dear Lord, we admit that we sometimes struggle to understand. We ask that you guide us to understand those things you want us to know, and to help us to accept on faith those things that are beyond us. For Jesus sake, AMEN.

Lent Day #30

Ephesians 4:25-32 (NRSV)
25 So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another. 26 Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and do not make room for the devil. 28 Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labor and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy. 29 Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. 31 Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, 32 and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.

THOUGHTS:
Verse 26: "Be angry but do not sin ..."
Verse 31: "Put away from you all ... anger ..."

Sometimes it seems we are given mixed messages. Yet, maybe we aren't. Jesus appears to get angry (for example with the moneychangers in the temple ... and in other passages with the Pharisees). Yet we are told he never sinned. The key may be that the feeling passes: "... do not let the sun go down on your anger ..." Is there a righteous anger?

Anger seems so negative to me. It can eat me up inside. It can lash out in damaging ways. It can certainly be a factor in my sin, but maybe it isn't the anger that is sinful, but how I deal with it. How do we find constructive and positive ways to deal with our anger?

This passage is so jam-packed. Look back at the beginning -- why do we speak truth to our neighbors (fellow humans)? Verse 25 says that "we are members of one another." Think about that. Doesn't it mean that you are part of me and I am part of you? That you are part of your enemy and your enemy is part of you?

How does that make you feel? How does it affect the way you think about your actions?

Does that allow you to follow verse 31, putting aside all anger, bitterness, and malice. Does seeing yourself in others help you to be kind and forgiving?

Verse 32 is so powerful to me. It says to forgive one another as God in Christ has forgiven. We are told that God forgives in such a way that the sin is not even remembered. (Look back at to Isaiah 43:25 - discussed Lent Day #24). 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 says:

18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

Through Christ, God reconciled the world to God -- effectively erasing all of our shortcomings from the mind and memory of God. Take a minute to let that soak in -- it still blows my mind sometimes. Now look at verse 32 again: that's the kind of forgiveness we are to practice.

Read the passage above one last time. There is more there than I touched upon. What details are still tugging at you?

PRAYER:

Dearest God, your forgiveness is so vast that we sometimes forget to acknowledge it. We struggle to accept the knowledge that your forgiveness of us is so complete. We also have trouble embracing the thought that might immerse our enemies in this same forgiveness. Help us to forgive all those around us with your kind of forgiveness. Help us to see the world through your loving eyes. In Christ. AMEN.

NOTES:

Remember that you can always find the devotions for past days at http://lentendevotions.blogspot.com/

You may even find more hyperlinks in the posts there to help you cross reference past posts or get more information on a person that gets quoted in a post.