“Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary…” (Luke 10:41,42a)

Economic recession, inflation, global pandemic, wars, rumors of wars, racism, political and social tensions, gun violence and natural disasters.  

News media makes a living by exposing us to the worst of the worst events in the world (the sensational), with little, if any exposure to the good, normal and best events in the world (the mundane and mildly sensational).  

This of course is because the sensational sells.  

Most people wouldn’t read an article about how a pastor remained faithful to his wife for 50 years, and continues to be a blessing to his local church and community.  And this may well account for 99% of local church pastors.  

But find that one in a million exception of scandal and disgrace, and whoa buddy, you’ve got some readers.

One of the things we know about the human brain and neuro-pathways is that the more we think and act in a particular way, the more natural and easy it becomes.  We even use the expression “second nature”.  This applies, of course, to our habits and disciplines, but it also applies to our influences and inputs.  In physics, the simple equation states that “input = output”.  In other words, what we input – or what we allow in to our mind, life, body, etc., will inevitably determine our output.

So when we are spending regular time in the Scriptures and prayer, in study and in uplifting community, this is what emerges when we are faced with pressure.

Likewise, when we are spending regular time eating junk food, watching trashy tv shows, and immersing ourselves in the hyper negative sensationalism of the news media, this is what emerges when we are faced with pressure.

If we don’t like the output, we must change the input.

There is plenty to be distracted by; plenty to be worried and bothered about, if that’s what we’re looking for.  What are you looking for?

“Martha was distracted… But the Lord answered and said to her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:40-42)

We tend to think in extremes, such as “all or nothing,” and I think that causes us to miss the point of this passage. 

Jesus wasn’t condemning hospitality, or any of the good things Martha was doing, but rather He was making a statement about prioritization.  Our one necessity – our greatest assignment is to sit at the feet of Jesus, enjoy His presence, and allow His Words to fill our soul.  Other things can come later, but this first thing must be first.

When our priorities are wrong, we easily slip into anxiety – we easily become worried and bothered about many things.

Perhaps we can take this simple lesson and follow Mary’s example to choose the most important thing first.  Perhaps we can give up our right to be worried and bothered.

We’ve been deceived, misled, duped into believing a lie from the enemy.

The social, philosophic and religious traditions continue to spread the hoax that sin is fun, enjoyable, pleasurable and really only bad if we get caught, or if we hurt someone in the process – although nobody seems willing to agree on what classifies as “hurt”.

The accuser (that is, the devil) has conned us into misunderstanding, and then falsely teaching that God the Father simply doesn’t like it when we have fun sinning.  It’s as if we’re a bunch of irresponsible children drinking from a chocolate fountain and then making a mess of the white furniture as we do.  We’re having the time of our life until the big bad mean God shows up and starts punishing everyone.

We’ve been conned into believing that God is actually the accuser, rather than satan, which is, of course, completely ludicrous.  

The Penal Substitution view of the Atonement has done great damage to the popular understanding of not only God’s character, but also of the nature of sin, salvation and the Great Commission.  This common view now demonizes God as the judge, jury and executioner for every “black mark” on our record, and effectively brings us back to the very human conception of “salvation by works,” where the goal seems to be simply doing more good than bad during our lifetime, and hoping it’s enough.  This is precisely what we would expect from a human religion or philosophy.  This is precisely what we should expect from the “father of lies,” whose goals are to deceive and to accuse.

But fortunately for us, God’s Word is full of light, truth and clarity.

In Matthew 1:21 we see that the Messiah would be called “Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

Notice here that He doesn’t save people from the punishment of their sins, but from the sins themselves.

In John 3:17 we are reminded that God didn’t come into to the world to condemn the world, but rather to save the world.

And of course Jesus’ whole ministry told a consistent narrative that we are not condemned for our sins, but encouraged to repent – to leave sin in the rear view mirror and not turn back.

It turns out that God is concerned about sin, but perhaps not for the reasons we thought.

The biblical word for sin roughly translates to “missing the mark”.  The natural question that emerges is “what is the mark?”  And unfortunately this is another thing people have a hard time agreeing on.

One way to answer this question is to look back to the Creation account and attempt to understand the original purpose of creation in general, and the purpose of humans in particular.  Among other things, we read that humans were made in the image of God, given meaningful work in the garden, and then walked/lived in close relationship with God.  So however else we would define each of these, we could argue that the “mark” involves bearing God’s image well, stewarding creation and walking in unbroken relationship with God.

Another way to answer this question is to lean into the invitation to discipleship.  “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”  In Jewish culture the disciples of a particular teacher/Rabbi would do everything within their power to mimic/mirror/reflect the actions, words and character of their Rabbi.  So we could view the “mark” as “Christ-likeness”.  

Still others may choose different priorities as the “mark,” such as the pursuit of happiness, pleasure, accomplishment, or the old classic “eat, drink and be merry.”  

What if we started to hold up the definition of sin next to each of these “marks”?  

When we are missing the mark, we are failing to reflect God’s image, we are failing to steward creation, we are failing to walk with God.  

When we are missing the mark, we are failing to model our lives after our Rabbi.

When we are missing the mark, we are failing to find happiness, failing to find pleasure, and failing to accomplish our goals.  

Sin is antithetical to happiness.  

Sin bears no similarity to pleasure.  

Sin is not cute, funny or fun.

Sin is vile, wretched dog vomit (2 Pet. 2:22).  By grace we can eject poison from our system through vomit.  So how disgusting and dumb would it be for us to start lapping up poisonous vomit?

Paul sheds some wonderful light on the subject: “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom. 6:23)

For years I had misread this text to say that the “punishment for sin is death.”  But that’s not what it says!  It’s the “wages”, not the punishment.

Picture a job interview.  When all goes well and the employer wishes to offer the job to a given candidate, they can then negotiate the terms of employment.  Both parties must be in agreement in order for the employee-employer relationship to begin.  A part of these negotiations inevitably revolves around wages/compensation.  What is fair?  What is expected?  When all parties agree, the work can begin, and over time the agreed-upon wages are given in accordance with the work.

The wages of sin is death.

We aren’t punished FOR our sins, but BY our sins.  But it’s even worse than that, because our fair wages are antithetical to the very core of our nature as beings created in the image of God – who of course is the creator and sustainer of life.  Sin isn’t just a problem because it hurts us.  Sin is a problem because it unravels God’s good creation.  Sin is a problem, because we were created to LIVE!

Many years ago I heard about a tactic that Arctic hunters would use to fend off dangerous wolves.  They would take a sharp knife and coat it in blood (from elk or some other game), and then wait for the blood to freeze.  After it had frozen, they would coat it in more blood, and repeat the process several times.  After several coats, they would go out into the tree line and secure the knife to the ground with the blood-coated blade sticking up.  Drawn by the scent of blood, a wolf would discover the blade and begin to lick it.  As the licking continued, the wolf’s tongue would get cut open, and before long, the blood it was tasting was its own.  Eventually the wolf would bleed to death from licking the bloody knife.

This is perhaps the best picture of sin that I’ve ever come across.

Sin is never good, never enjoyable, never cute and never fun.  But we can be deceived by the enemy into thinking that it is – just like the blood-coated knife.  

“But God so loved the world that He sent His one and only Son so that whosoever believes would not die, but have eternal life.”

I love how Paul finished his statement in Romans 6:23 – “The free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  

We work for sin.  We work for death.  We work hard for disappointment.

But Christ offers us every good and perfect gift for free.

“Go and leave your life of sin.”  “Repent, for the kingdom [of life] is here.”

There really is good news in the Gospel, but it’s hard to find it until we’ve unmasked the real face of sin.

Some bright morning when this life is over, I’ll fly away.  To that home on God’s celestial shore, I’ll fly away.

Despite the myriad of teaching and instruction on the nature of heaven both in Scripture and early church literature, there persists much confusion about it.  

Even among many professing christians today, the dreadfully prominent view of heaven seems to be a mashup of cartoons and secularism – of harp-playing, cloud-hopping, winged cherubs playing around like fairies, flitting between their massive mansions and the pearly gates.

We’ve fallen for the trap of thinking that heaven is “far away”, somewhere “out there”.

We’ve fallen for the trap of thinking that if we say (fill in the blank) or do (fill in the blank), that we get to “go to heaven” when we die.

We’ve fallen for the trap of thinking that heaven is perfect, and outside of time, and somehow infinitely different from our life on earth.  “Earth is here, but it’s messed up, and heaven is “there”, and it’s perfect – we’ll know everything when we die, and never again experience challenges, never have to learn, never have to improve, never have to exercise free-will again.”

But this is un-biblical utopian escapism.

Perhaps one of the greatest contributors to the Western Church’s decline over the past century stems from a rise in practical escapist theology within the Church.  We’ve given up much of the personal responsibility for learning and growing in our biblical knowledge, heaving the burden onto the shoulders of a secular culture, with occasional  input from our local pastor or priest.  And as a result we’ve diluted and distorted the Gospel message.

We have sacrificed what is difficult and necessary for what is simple and easy.

But it’s time to arise.

“Wake up o sleeper, rise from the grave.”

In the creation account, the word for “heavens” effectively translates to “sky” or “skies”.  We don’t get any impression of a distinct location where God’s presence is more manifest and His will more honored.  We rather get the impression that heaven and earth were conjoined aspects of a single reality – a reality wherein the physical and the spiritual were united and cohesive.

It’s not until after the Fall that we see a “rift”, “chasm” “divide” enter in and distort the true, original order of reality.  It’s not until after the Fall that we begin to see a separation between spirit and matter.

And as we read through the Scriptures from the Old Testament to the New Testament, we discover a story of God’s relentless pursuit of His creation, and the attempt to reunite and reconcile reality back to wholeness.

Isn’t it curious how the enemy always seeks to divide, to separate and to distinguish? 

In His earthly ministry, Jesus encouraged His disciples to engage in the ministry of reconciliation – of manifesting and promoting God’s will on earth as it is in heaven.

At this point, the people had developed a theology to the effect of heaven being a spiritual place where God’s presence is more fully expressed and where God’s will is honored more completely.  But Jesus makes it clear that the physical realm – “earth” – remains a top priority for God’s kingdom.  

And of course as we read through the rest of the New Testament and come to the great hope at the end of the age, what we see is a portrait of ultimate redemption – the re-fusing of heaven and earth as a single reality once again.  

That leaves us to piece the “puzzle” together regarding our current status.  If the original created order is effectively the same as the “final” created order at the end of the age (namely that of a single, unbroken reality), we can draw the conclusion that neither heaven nor earth in their current broken state are perfect.  This is why there is good work for us to do, that we are invited into – the ministry of reconciliation, to be ambassadors of Christ, to bind and loose on earth so that it may also be bound and loosed in heaven.  We get to be a part of the work of bringing heaven and earth back together.  This is what it means when Peter says that we can “speed the Lord’s coming” in 2 Pet. 3:12.  The current, broken/divided relationship between heaven and earth will pass away, and the original created reality will be reunited as a “new heaven” and “new earth”.

And if we want to see what this perfected reality will look like, we can take clues from pre-Fall Genesis.  There will be growth, free-will, meaningful work, and plenty of nature to explore and beauty to appreciate.  There will be intimacy with God, opportunities for creativity (think of Adam naming the animals), and beautiful relationships with the animals, plants and other people.

If I dare say so myself, that is a reality worth fighting and working for.  It’s a ministry worthy of our effort and energy.  It’s a portrait of heaven and earth that makes sense.  And it’s a future that we can truly look forward to.

A lot of our disagreements originate from a failure to establish a shared understanding of the words we use.  A modern example of this is the word reconciliation.

Oh, we’re able to agree on a definition for the word – however you spin it, reconciliation is about bringing together rather than pulling apart – but the ability to agree on a definition is different from sharing an understanding of the word.

This goes back to the inductive nature of our world view formulation.  There is no such thing as a purely logical or unbiased person – our biases and opinions are much of what it means to be a thinking, free moral agent (we aren’t robots acting out a script).  

It is inductive because the many parts inform and shape our view of the whole, creating the “lens” through which we view the world.

Some of these inputs are logical, factual, historical, scientific.  Some of these inputs are  emotional, experiential, social and relational.  When any of these inputs differ from the inputs of another individual, there is a low probability of sharing an understanding without intentional effort.

Let’s look at an example.

Marxism – the precursor of Communism and Critical Theory (including Critical Race Theory) – presupposes an overly simplified and binary world view wherein a person is either categorized as an oppressor or as the oppressed – neutrality does not exist, and morality is effectively irrelevant.  If a thing could be said to be moral, it would be the endeavor of class and race and influence “reconciliation”.  

In practice, this looks like the “oppressed” rebelling against the “oppressors” and seeking to displace them, reversing their roles until the formerly oppressed are now the oppressors, and the former oppressors are now the oppressed, and then the cycle begins again.

The great and dangerous deception of this view of course is found in the misuse of the word “reconciliation”.  Practical Marxism/Communism/Critical Theory is actually all about creating and reinforcing divisions/separation, and it does so in a way that encourages/requires its subjects to be forever discontented.

And this is precisely what we’re seeing in our own country right now – a great discontentment with perceived injustices with regard to class, race and influence among others.  Many of the proposed “solutions” look like they could be coming directly out of a Marxist brochure and heavily emphasize “reconciling” the gap between the “haves” and the “have-nots”.  As long as you are the “oppressed”, you are the “good guy”, and as long as you are the “oppressor”, you are the “bad guy”.

And again, this is the exact opposite of reconciliation.

Let’s contrast this with a Biblical depiction of reconciliation.

“Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer.  Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.  Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.  Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.  He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Cor. 5:16-21)

It would appear that many things occurred in the Fall in Genesis 3.  One of the things that happened was a breaking of fellowship with God and His creation (which includes our relationships with each other).  From that time, and even today, our tendency has been to divide, separate, compartmentalize both in our interactions with the world, and our interactions with ourselves – the “inner man”.

In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul is expressing the nature of God’s pursuit of reconciliation with us and all creation.  Paul is also inviting the Church to take an active role as Christ’s ambassadors of reconciliation – to be “co-laborers” with Christ in undoing the curse of the Fall.  

Jesus gave us the same invitation as He was outlining the model prayer.  “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”  We are wrong to think of this as a passive request for God to “do what He will.”  Jesus’ original audience would have recognized this as an interactive request – “may Your Spirit  be glorified in me as I work with you to manifest Your kingdom and will here on earth in the same way that your kingdom and will are manifest in heaven.”  

N.T. Wright makes an excellent observation in his book, The New Testament in its World, 

“Jesus himself was all about the coming together of heaven and earth.  Splitting them apart, as has so often been done, is a sign of our times, more specifically of the Enlightenment’s separation of timeless truths from contingent historical realities, whether by skeptics of by their devout opponents.” (pg. 79)

It is remarkably strange that many modern Christians hold a belief in a remarkably separated heaven and earth, and conduct their lives so as to suggest an ever-widening gap between the two rather than the radical reconciliation of heaven and earth that Jesus lived, taught, and empowered us to live and teach.

So what does Biblical reconciliation mean?  Not Communism.  Not Socialism.  Reconciliation is not a social construct, but rather a spiritual construct.  It’s a spiritual movement – the reconciling of heaven and earth within us, in the inner man.  Then we can live as kingdom ambassadors, honoring all, and worshipping God alone.

I recently had the privilege to attend a wedding ceremony for some long time friends.  During the processional (when the bridesmaids and groomsmen walk down the aisle, climaxing with the entrance of the bride), I couldn’t help but think about words our pastor has spoken many times before.  Having officiated many weddings through the years, he commented that he has never seen an ugly bride (at least not on their wedding day).

Oh, sure there’s make up, and hair styling, and ornate garments, but it’s more than just that.  There’s an “inner glow” that is unmistakable.  It tells the tale of anxiety, nerves and doubts, as well as hope, joy and love.  It is the knowledge of two imperfect people coming together, but the faith that it can work so long as God is God in their relationship.  It is the fear of commitment and the sanctity of covenant.  It is the ending of one chapter, and the beginning of another.

Many passages in Scripture draw an analogy for the relationship between God and His covenant people to that of a groom and his bride.  Whether it’s the Israelites (Old Testament) or the Church (New Testament), the biblical language is unmistakably intimate, sacrificial and hopeful.  

Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians puts it this way: “…Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, have cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.” (Eph. 5:25-27)

Intimacy.  Sacrifice.  Hope.

“That He might,” and “that we may.”

But the testimony of Israel (see the Old Testament), the testimony of the church’s history, and even our own testimony as the contemporary church have not always been  particularly flattering.

In fact, the last of the northern prophets (prophesying to Israel), Hosea, provides us with a stunning and convicting account of the unfaithfulness of God’s covenant people, Israel:

“The land (of Israel) commits flagrant harlotry, forsaking the Lord.” (Hos. 1:2)  “You are not My people, and I am not your God.” (Hos. 1:9)

Hosea is called to love and marry a wife of harlotry (Gomer) as a prophetic analogy to the love of God for His harlot people.  The short book of Hosea unfolds much as we might expect.

First there is love and excitement – “someone loves me in spite of what I’ve done!  I’ll never take this for granted!”

Then comes familiarity, complacency and a return to former habits.

In Hosea 2, God speaks of His relentless pursuit of His people, and the way He tracks us down with love and tenderness (see verses 14-23).  Quickly following suit, Hosea goes and redeems/buys back his wife, Gomer, who had a left her family and sold herself back into harlotry.  

Then the cycle repeats.  Gomer (and Israel) return to their love and commit to remaining faithful.  But then they grow complacent again (Hosea 5) and turn away from Him.  

And then they return (Hosea 6).

And then they turn away (Hosea 7).

And so the cycle continues for them and for us.

I am so grateful that the book of Hosea ends with God’s unending pursuit, and the unending invitation to “those with ears to hear”:

“Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them.  For the ways of the Lord are right, and the righteous will walk in them, but transgressors will stumble in them.” (Hos. 14:9)

Despite the Israelites’ cycles of unfaithfulness, and despite the flaws and stains in the church’s history, and despite our imperfections even now, God is faithful, loving, relentless, and hopeful that we will be His beautiful bride, cleansed with the word, presented to Him as holy and blameless, without spot or wrinkle.

“On this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades (death) will not overpower it.” (Matt. 16:18)

Not only are we beautiful, but we are equipped with the power to overcome the gates of death (sin/evil/meaninglessness), to live in victory – even in this life.

About a year ago, I was driving up to Pinetop, Arizona but had to take a detour due to wildfires.  Among other places, this detour brought me through the “humble” town of Superior, which frankly had me feeling depressed – that is, until I saw a church located near the main road.  I became overwhelmed with gratitude for the faithful ministers of the Gospel, those who will probably never be famous or wealthy, but who share the joy and hope of life – the Good News of victory over death, shining light and truth in the darkness – a beacon – the beautiful bride of Christ!

May we follow suit.  Not for the accolades and aplomb of people, but from the abundance of our heart, knowing that we are loved unconditionally, pursued relentlessly and empowered unendingly by the Creator and Sustainer of the heavens and the earth.

Question: How many guitarists does it take to change a light bulb?  Answer: Only one, but ninety-nine to stand around and say “I could do that”.

That’s one of the silly jokes I learned back in music college, and I think of it every time I come across Matthew 14:22-33.  

You’ll recognize the scene.  

The twelve were in a boat on the Sea of Galilee, and had been battered by the waves “for the wind was contrary.”

Jesus came to them, walking on the sea, which was met with alarm and fear.  After reassuring them that He was Jesus, and not a ghost, Peter called out, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to you on the water.”  And He said, “Come!” So Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water, and came toward Jesus.

But the other disciples stayed in the boat.

Peter walked on water.

But the other disciples stayed in the boat.

Peter WALKED ON WATER!!!

But the other disciples stayed in the boat.

And then I go back to the ninety-nine guitarists standing around saying “I could do that.”  

That passage should have read that all of the disciples got out of the boat and walked on the water with Jesus, but it was only Peter.  

Perhaps the other disciples were content to merely watch the miracle.  Perhaps they weren’t interested in being A PART of the miracle.

And perhaps that describes most of us most of the time.

Ouch!

We can pray for miracles; we can pray for revival; we can pray for a mighty, “earth-shaking” move of the Holy Spirit – but if we’re doing it from the boat, we ought to lower our expectations.

God invited Abram to leave behind the land and people he knew and then to sojourn with God into a new land he would later be shown.  Abram accepted the invitation and moved before he knew his destination.  (Gen. 12:1-4)

The Israelites had to first step into the Jordan before the waters were parted. (Josh. 3:15-17)

Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah had to first stand up for their beliefs, refusing idol-worship in Babylon (which got them thrown into the fire, by the way) before they experienced the miracle in the fiery furnace.  (Dan. 3)

And Jonah had to first preach in Ninevah before he got to witness the miracle of revival. (Jon. 3)

Revival…

Did you know that the word “revive” literally means “to restore to life”?

That sounds an awful lot like the Gospel message, and the central theme of Jesus’ mission, doesn’t it?

“I have come that you may have life abundant.” (John 10:10)  “The water I give him will become in him a well springing up to eternal life.” (John 4:14)  “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.” (John 6:35)  “The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.” (John 6:63)  “In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.” (John 1:4)

Indeed one of the major objectives of the Incarnation was to show us the way to live – the way to truly live, wide awake and full of abundant life.  It’s no coincidence that the early church referred to themselves as followers of The Way.

Part of what it means to be a follower of The Way (following the examples and teachings of Jesus in our every day lives) is to bring revival wherever we find spiritual death.  In fact, to experience this revival in one’s life is a very good description of what we mean by the word “salvation”.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old is gone, the new has come.” (2 Cor. 5:17)

This brings us to a critical revelation, revival isn’t something we should be asking to happen in the Church (for indeed to be in Christ is to be revived, full of abundant life and light), but rather it’s the spiritual “job-description” of the Church.  

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matt. 28:19-20)

“Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” (Eph. 5:14)

So let us pray for the continual spread of revival – not in the Church, for it is (or ought to be) full of life and light (salvation) – but revival in the world around us – that people would “taste and see that the Lord is good.”

And this is no passive revival that we can observe from the boat.  

This is an active revival that requires us to step out of the boat and rely on Jesus.

Sometimes this is about this.  Sometimes this is really about that or the other.  But sometimes, it’s actually about this, that AND the other.

Aside from the events of the Passion narrative, it’s incredibly rare to find an occasion where all four gospel writers covered the same event.  One of these occasions is the familiar story of Jesus feeding the 5,000. 

(See Matt. 14:15-21; Mark 6:35-44; Luke 9:12-17; John 6:4-13 for full text)

I’ve heard dozens of sermons on this passage over the years, and they tend to focus almost exclusively on the miracle – Jesus’ provision for his disciples, as well as for the large crowd of roughly 5,000 men (which many scholars speculate could translate closer to 20,000 after accounting for women and children).

And THIS is what the passage is about.  But it’s not ALL this passage is about.

We have to remember that Jesus was a teacher and therefore sought every opportunity to instruct His disciples, knowing that these disciples would go on to build the Church.

So what was the lesson that Jesus wanted His disciples to gain from this experience?  

Mark’s account provides us with critical insight in the preface to this event.

And He (Jesus) said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while.” (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.)  They went away in the boat to a secluded place by themselves.  The people saw them going, and many recognized them and ran there together on foot from all the cities, and got there ahead of them.  When Jesus went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and He felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things. (Mark 6:31-34)

If we back up in the text just a little further, we realize that these events are occurring in the wake of the wicked tetrarch’s (Herod Antipas) party.  His party was exclusive, pagan, and resulted in the death of John the Baptist, whom many of the Jews revered and respected.  With political leadership like this, and the apparent silence from Jewish religious leadership after these events (probably due to their fear of Herod), Jesus recognized that the people were like sheep without a shepherd – both politically and religiously.

As an interesting aside, it’s curious to note that Jesus’ “feast” was INCLUSIVE where Herod’s was EXCLUSIVE.  Jesus’ “feast” was centered on compassion and instruction in the ways of life where Herod’s was centered on hedonism and resulted in death.  Jesus’ focus was on others while Herod’s focus was on himself.

In light of the preceding events, and especially in light of Mark 6:31-33, I am amazed by Mark 6:34.  I can imagine the disciples feeling completely exhausted from their extensive ministry efforts, and looking forward to a day “off”, to rest and recuperate – only to arrive at shore and be greeted by even more work and ministry.  Even just reading the passage makes me feel spent, and maybe even inconvenienced for the disciples.

And yet, Jesus’ response was compassion!

How!?

Surely this is the lesson that Jesus had intended to teach his disciples – compassion, even when we don’t feel like it; compassion that is too great for our own efforts, and requires the grace of the Holy Spirit working in and through us.

And so this passage is also about THAT.  But this passage is not ONLY about this (the miracle) and that (the teaching).

Prior to crossing the Sea of Galilee, Jesus and His disciples were likely in Capernaum – a predominately Jewish trading village.  Crossing near the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee would have kept them near enough land to recognize and for regional towns people to amass on the other side of the shore, in the region of Bethsaida.

Bethsaida and the surrounding region were predominately Gentile (non-Jewish).  In addition to this, all four Gospel writers specify that they docked in a remote/“desolate” place, rather than in or near a large town or city.  Although there were several small villages in the region, even the largest towns would have only had about 3,000 people.

Well this leads to a problem.  When the day gets late and the people get hungry, what do you do?  To disperse a crowd of 5,000 – 20,000 people into small hamlets and villages would be absolutely crushing to the locals, who simply weren’t equipped to feed such a large group at such a short notice.  Add to that the likely resentment towards Jesus’ ministry that would have arisen in the minds of these gentiles – a resentment that could have even impacted their willingness to hear/receive the Gospel message from the Church.

In a best case scenario, the Gentiles would simply have to turn away the Jewish crowd, which would leave them with a long journey home on an empty stomach.

So Jesus’ compassion was for the Jewish crowd’s spiritual health, and also for their physical health, but it was also for the surrounding region – for the health and well-being of the Gentiles.  And that was always a difficult lesson for His Jewish audience to receive.

So there was a miracle (this), and a lesson (that), and a great consideration for how these few actions would affect a great many people (the other).  

So may we learn and grow from Jesus’ example in faith, compassion and wisdom.

Have you ever smelled a high-quality perfume?  

I’ve had and worn many different colognes over the years, but only just recently learned that there is a difference between cologne and perfume.  It’s not that one is masculine and one is feminine, but rather it is a designation of quality.  There are other designations as well, but the point is that the word “cologne” refers to a lower-grade fragrance while “perfume” refers to a higher-grade fragrance. 

A few years back I was gifted a sample assortment of high-end men’s perfumes, and since then I’ve purchased a full bottle of the one I liked the best.  Now I have this one perfume as well as one older cologne (that I can’t bring myself to throw away).  I used to be fine with the old cologne – several sprays of that and I was good to go.  It’s not a bad scent – probably still about 10 times nicer than Axe body spray.  But ever since I’ve experienced the higher quality perfume, the cologne just seems too harsh and cheap.

The first time I tried the new perfume, I tried two sprays… and was completely over-powered!  Come to find out that it takes much less of the better quality fragrances to accomplish the optimal accent.  And not only that, but one spray in the morning will last me the entire day, and still smell good in the evening, where my old cologne seemed to last only a few hours.  

I was pulling a shirt out of the closet a couple of weeks back, and realized that I must’ve gotten some of the perfume on the shirt, because it still carried the fragrance even weeks later.  I couldn’t even imagine how much more significant that might have been if I had poured out the entire jar!

And that brings me to Luke 7:36-50, with the “sinful” woman who brings a costly alabaster vial of perfume and anoints Jesus’ head and feet with it.  Mark’s account mentions that she broke the vial and poured out the entire contents.  John’s account records that the entire house was filled with the fragrance.  John’s account goes on to comment that this quantity of this particular perfume was worth roughly a year’s wages.  In modern terms, think of this as costing roughly $50,000.  (I didn’t spend that much for my perfume, in case you were wondering).

Now this was of course a beautiful and extravagant act of worship, as we’ve all read and heard.  But perhaps what we haven’t thought about before is: how long did this fragrance of worship last?  A day?  Several days?  Perhaps a week?  Maybe even several weeks?

Imagine walking through the supermarket wearing the residual fragrance of worship.

Imagine coffee breaks at the office while reeking of worship.

There’s an old tribal word that we’ve adopted into our western culture in recent years called “Ethos.”  While there are several definitions for the word, one of the ones that I like is simply: “The fragrance of a life.”  I suppose you could substitute “life” with “lifestyle” as well.

What is the fragrance of your life?  What is your ethos?

Would that we may be a people who’s ethos is the pure and lasting fragrance of worship – worshipping our Creator, and walking more closely with Him (Jesus) each day.

Many of the Psalms include the invitation to give thanks, or praise God.  In honor of our Thanksgiving holiday, let’s take a brief look at a couple of the lessons we can learn from the Psalms with regard to the “how” and “why” of thanksgiving.

Sing for joy in the Lord, O you righteous ones; praise is becoming to the upright.  Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre; sing praises to Him with a harp of ten strings.  Sing to Him a new song; play skillfully with a shout of joy.  For the word of the Lord is upright, and all His work is done in faithfulness.  He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the lovingkindness of the Lord. (Psalm 33:1-5)

Let’s take a quick look at five “how’s” and five “why’s” of thanksgiving from this passage:

1. Sing – music is a language that connects with our soul on a different level than words alone.  We can all sing or “make a joyful noise” to God.  It may not be a sweet sound to our ears, but a song of thanksgiving is always a sweet sound to God’s ears.
2. Shout – sometimes when we think of what God has done for us we feel an overwhelming sense of joy, and the best way to let it out is with a joyful shout.  We often see this with less important things like sporting matches, so why not practice it with the greater things?  Also, we can choose to shout for joy even when we don’t fee like it, as this shout will often help to repel the enemy and his distractions.
3. Use your talents – the psalmist emphasizes the musical talents, but we can apply this more broadly to our own lives.  Do you have a creative talent (drawing, sculpting, wood-working, building, refurbishing, baking, running a business, balancing budgets, teaching others, writing, cleaning, sports, etc.)?  Be creative and think of ways to express thanksgiving through that.
4. With Excellence – “play skillfully”.  As Christ-followers, we should endeavor towards greatness in all things.  Not only can our excellence – cultivated through ongoing dedication, hard-work and sacrifice – be a form of worship, but also an expression of thanksgiving.
5. Live Righteous – it’s not enough to simply be excellent and express thanksgiving through our songs, shouts and talents, but we ultimately express our thanksgiving to God in the way we live.  Practice righteousness at all times and in all situations – worship God in spirit and in truth.

Because (of):

1. It is Becoming – as God’s righteous ones in the earth, it is appropriate, becoming, and natural for us to regulate our lifestyle to the rhythms of thanksgiving.
2. His Word – “The Word of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul” (Ps. 19:7) See also Psalm 119.  God has chosen to uniquely interact with us, in part through the written witness of His Word.  Here we find the “words of life”, the good news of the gospel of the kingdom of God – and that is much to be thankful for.
3. His Faithfulness – “Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and named it Ebenezer, saying, ‘Thus far the Lord has helped us.’” (1 Sam. 7:12)  When we recall the Lord’s faithfulness, we should be filled with thanksgiving, joy, and continued hope.
4. His Love – “God proves His love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom. 5:8) Never lose the wonder of your salvation.  Never lose the joy of your daily walk with God.  His infinite yet personal agape love provides endless inspiration for our thanksgiving.
5. His Kindness – not only is God good and loving, but He is also personal and kind.  Think of the examples in Jesus’ ministry when we paused in the masses to recognize and engage with an individual in healing or teaching.  Think of His radical messages on inclusion and kingdom living.  Think of when He defended those who were condemned by others.  And think of the many kindnesses He has given to you.

Many of us are altogether too good at compartmentalizing the various aspects of our lives, and as a result we can find ourselves lacking integrity (from the root “integer”, which refers to whole numbers).  I’m not making a moral assessment or judgement when I refer to integrity, so please don’t receive the wrong message.

Integrity refers to the integration – the interconnected whole – of a person.  

Any time we pause to focus on a given aspect or element of our life, it is important to think about how the part factors into the whole.  Not only will this ensure a more profitable and useful introspection, but it will also expand our ability to apply helpful analogous paradigms.

For example, physical fitness evaluations typically assess cardio endurance, muscle strength, muscle endurance, flexibility and body composition.  Each of these can be improved or diminished by our habits and discipline in diet and exercise.

Analogous thinking would encourage us to assess/evaluate our mental and spiritual health in much of the same way.

How flexible are you mentally?  How strong are you spiritually?  What is your mental endurance – how much can you manage for a prolonged amount of time before growing weary?  What is your mind composition, or your spirit composition?  

On the surface these can all feel like abstract metaphors, but that probably has more to do with the fact that we’ve developed into a culture that obsesses over matter to the near exclusion of everything else.  It makes sense to make a regular assessment of our physical health and abilities, but it’s less common to make a regular assessment of our mental and spiritual health and abilities.  

Just as we can improve or diminish our physical health through our diet and exercise, we can also improve or diminish our mental health and our spiritual health through our diet and exercise.

In the general sense, “diet” simply refers to what we are taking in – what we are feeding ourselves.  As with physical health, we determine our goals and then adjust our diet accordingly.  Our input largely determines our output.

One person may determine to “bulk up” their muscle mass and strength, and so may opt to take in more calories, proteins, fats, etc., while another person may determine to emphasize their body composition and would then opt to take in fewer calories, sugars and fats, etc.  The goal informs the diet.

In the same way, we can determine our mental goals.  Perhaps our goal for a season is to bulk up our logic, puzzle and problem solving skills, or perhaps our goal is to refine our emotional intelligence, or perhaps our goal is to exercise and cultivate our ability to think and act creatively.  Our goal should then inform our mental diet.  What are we taking in?  And is that what’s going to most effectively help us to reach our goals?

The same is true of our spiritual health and goals.  

Observe the wisdom of Solomon in Proverbs chapter 2 (verses 1-10):

“My son, if you will receive my words and treasure my commandments within you, make your ear attentive to wisdom, incline your heart to understanding; for if you cry for discernment, lift your voice for understanding; if you seek her as silver and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will discern the fear of the Lord and discover the knowledge of God.  For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.  He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice, and He preserves the way of His godly ones.  Then you will discern righteousness and justice and equity and every good course.  For wisdom will enter into your heart and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.”

If…. Then.   If….. Then.

There is a natural order of events – we don’t start off with good health and then decide to start practicing good disciplines.  The discipline comes first.  The struggle, the challenge, the pain comes first.

In the same way that our goals inform/determine our diet, our goals also inform/determine our exercise.

How are you exercising your mind?  Have you cultivated the skills, knowledge and abilities to achieve your goals?  

How are you exercising your spirit?  Are you already where you want to be?  Or is there work to be done?

Exercise is how we train and what we put out.  

Just like our bodies, our minds/spirits are made to be used, exercised, worked and grown, but also rested intentionally.

No one works out five times and immediately achieves lasting physical health – even if they do “power workouts” for hours on end.  In the same way, no one works out their mind or spirit a few times only to find that they’ve achieved lasting health.  

It’s an ongoing, disciplined process, and the majority of our decisions in diet and exercise over time is going to play the biggest role in our lasting health, be that physical, mental or spiritual. 

Choose well, and choose often.