Mark 11:27-33

“By what authority are you doing these things?”

The chief priests, scribes, and elders confront Jesus as he enters the temple with an intellectual trap, for they are fearful of his growing strength, miraculous acts, and subversive teachings. This is a remarkable triumvirate of Jewish leaders who normally do not collaborate on issues, but Jesus poses a particular threat to the various institutions of leadership within the fabric of Jewish life. If they can get Jesus to slip up and prove that he is acting without authority, they hope they can turn the crowds against him and then bring him up on charges. Jesus brilliantly answers the question with a question, an old rabbinical debating technique, and he stymies the Jewish leaders into a non-answer, embarrassing them in front of the crowds.

I find myself admiring Jesus’ quick wit, penetrating comeback, and open-ended response. I might even say that I am envious of his intellectual prowess and command of the situation. As a father, an educator, a coach, and a counselor, I find that my authority is questioned fairly often. Obviously, no one is challenging the divine origin of my authority, but its source and relevance can be open game for a precocious teenager or demanding parent. Jesus inspires me to truly listen to the questioner, assess the deeper meaning of the inquiry, and not seek an immediate resolution to the challenge, nor to take it personally. By creating some space and a bit of dissonance, Jesus draws the Pharisees out into the open, and they reveal their true intentions and the real meaning behind their questioning.

O Lord, you are a God of unlimited patience in the face of our questioning, our unfaithfulness, and our ignorance. Inspire us to listen, to comprehend, and to grasp the meaning behind the questioners in our lives. Your wisdom is at our fingertips if we are willing to heed your words. Amen.

~Matt

Mark 11:15-20

“After entering the temple, he threw out those who were selling and buying there. He pushed over the tables used for currency exchange and the chairs of those who sold doves. He didn’t allow anyone to carry anything through the temple” (vv. 15-16).

Uprising

What is this work we do—
Aligning the mind,
The body,
And the spirit?

It has taken 40 years to learn,
And yet even longer still,
To integrate into my heart,
Only that which has come through,
The prophets and the priestesses,
Those stone cairns,
So graciously set
Upon my path.

I have left behind,
The capital and wastes
Of uniform religion.
Guilt and corrupt priests,
Burn in their own recoil.
They degrade love and other lovers,
Dethroned or decomposed,
In entropic waves of fear.

Jesus was not passive with an S—
No, not sleeping,
But a pacifist with a C,
Compassionate Christ.

Turning the other cheek
In challenge to the authorities,
Beckoning them to examine
Their shadows, their low selves.
Yes, Jesus was wide awake,
Until he was not.
What is this work we do?
Growing strong the flesh and the blood.

We ride into Jerusalem—
Although we hardly want to.

We prepare to shed
The mind and the body.
We kneel in thanks,
Giving to the Spirit,
Ascending into something powerful,
Something useful as a tree,
Or if we have lived rather well,
A prayer.

When we carry nothing—no baggage, grudges, or fears—we become light, empty, and open, and thereby freed to step outside the city, and inside of prayer.

~Marjorie

Matthew 21:1-11

“The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!’”

Every pew was taken. Folks were standing in the aisle and perched on the windowsills of Mason Temple in Memphis, Tennessee on April 3, 1968. They were there to hear Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. preach. The words that evening still ring in America’s ears, not only for his storied eloquence but also for their haunting prescience of the following day:

Well, I don’t know what will happen now. We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn’t matter with me now. Because I’ve been to the mountaintop… And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people will get to the promised land. And I’m happy, tonight. I’m not worried about a thing. I’m not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.

In much the same way, a multitude had gathered in the streets of Jerusalem, perched on tree branches, crowded in doorways. Like the people of Memphis, they were there to greet the one they believed would set them free. Like the people of Memphis, they too had lived under the heavy yoke of oppression. “Hosanna,” they shouted, which means “save us.” And in Memphis, the people said “Amen.” And like the Liberator in Memphis, that One too would be killed because of what he said and did.

Did Jesus know what he was in for as he entered the city? Was he aware that his days on earth were numbered?

I will never know the answer to that question, nor whether Dr. King was prophesying his own death. Nonetheless, what does seem clear is that each remained faithful to the call to which God had called him, to the end.

Loving and Ever-present One, you have sent men and women to us to show us your Way of justice, peace and reconciliation. As we look to the week ahead, with its sorrow and its surprise, keep us faithful to our call as we too do our part to heal a hurting world. Amen.

~Polly

Psalm 42

“As the deer pants for the streams of water
so my soul pants for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
Where can I go and meet with God?” (vv. 1-2).

I love going to church and during worship I seek messages from God that inspire me to live more fully as he wants. One Sunday it was extremely cold and icy and not really safe for me to attend church. So I decided to spend worship time with God in my own home.

I sang some favorite hymns, and read a psalm and a passage from Luke. Next I finished a book I had received as an early Christmas gift about Elizabeth and Mary as they faithfully obeyed God and together awaited the births of John and Jesus. I rejoiced. I prayed that I, too, will seek to become as faithful and obedient in listening for God’s commands.

No, I couldn’t attend church that Sunday, but my soul was refreshed and fed after I had worshiped with God at home.

O living, loving God, help me to remember that you are ever-present, always waiting to quench my thirst and feed my soul. Amen.

~Fran

Mark 10:46-52

“And Jesus said to him, ‘Go your way; your faith has made you well.’ And immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way.”

The Bible is filled with miracles like this one. Jesus makes the lame walk, and the deaf hear. God parts the Red Sea and turns water into blood. He causes frogs to fall from the sky. Skeptics say these miracles are scientifically impossible.

God made the world, so surely He has the power to create miracles. Each little baby who is born is evidence of a miracle. The story in the Bible is told by many people, and heard by even more. In its telling and in its hearing it is subject to individual interpretation by many. Aren’t there other things equally mysterious that we don’t question, the contents of the universe, the depths of human kindness, our hearts full of love? How do we measure these? Is it necessary to do so in order to know they are real?

We don’t need to understand how these miracles happened; what we need to think about is what they mean in our lives. God listens to every one of us. He will stand by us through good times and bad, but He expects us to do our part in the healing. He has power over the big miracles, but the little ones are up to us.

Holy One, help us to see your legacy of daily miracles in our lives: the cardinal who comes to my empty feeder, full of hope; the whisper of wind that sometimes feels like a kiss on my cheek; the dog that lies on my lap in surrender, with love in her eyes. Your touch is everywhere, your miracles real. Amen.

~Marcia

Psalm 133

“How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity” (133:1).

How simple that is! Sometimes we get caught up in all the complexities of our lives and make things more complicated and tangled up than they need to be. I keep coming back to this passage for a number of reasons. For one, it reminds me of another basic Biblical admonition, “love one another.” Simple, right? No ambiguity. “How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!” Yes, it is pleasant! There has been strife and war in the world since before the Bible was written down. People very likely read this passage and nod their heads in agreement: “yup, it sure would be nice to have that unity I read about in the Bible.” And then they go right back to strife, war, and tumult among nations. Peace is better. Unity is better. Love is better. Let’s keep it simple: love one another, and live in unity. How good and pleasant that is!

Lord, hear our prayers and bring peace to all nations. Amen.

~Ellie G.

Mark 10:1-16

Jesus was a radical. In this passage, both the Pharisees and the disciples test Jesus. At first the Pharisees confront Jesus asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” Jesus turns the question back at them asking, “What did Moses command you?” They allege that Moses permitted this possibly as a special case. The query prompts Jesus to explain that a man shall leave his mother and father (and his village/tribe/ethnicity) and be joined to his wife. The man must accept his wife completely; they become one. Jesus sums the matter up saying, “What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.”

Consider this, if a man does not stay married to his wife and she to him, forsaking birth family and tribe, then perhaps this is a union created by humans. How many human unions are based on a need for togetherness, lust, politics, or convenience? Such unions are announced in the presence of God but are not of God. A union truly created by God, must not, perhaps cannot, be sundered. Sound radical?

The next two verses are just as radical as the disciples challenge Jesus on the same matter and he says, “whosoever divorces his wife and marries another, commits adultery against her. (Note that he says “against her” and not “against God.”) This is not consistent with the customs of that time which allowed a husband to take more than one wife. The text becomes even more radical as Jesus continues, “and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.” A husband divorcing his wife is controversial in the eyes of both Pharisees and disciples. A wife divorcing her husband is unthinkable and they do not even ask about it. But Jesus, radical in approach, treats man and woman alike and assigns responsibilities to each partner in a relationship..

After this exchange, Mark reports (v. 13) that “they” brought young children to Jesus that he should touch them. The disciples rebuked those that brought them (creating a parallel to the Pharisees who like the disciples saw themselves as the guardians of propriety), but Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whosoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” Perhaps this too is radical, too. Consider it!

Lord, as this day begins, let me be mindful of the way Jesus saw both men and women, each with rights and responsibilities toward the other. Let me see and respect the unions God has made and let me approach all with the love, curiosity, and openness of a small child—that I may see You more clearly. Amen.

~Ellie H.

Psalms 121-123

I grew up in the age of Simon and Garfunkel. One of my very favorite songs of theirs is “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” Although I can’t imagine that the song has Christian origins, it is a song of comfort and support when times are tough. “When you’re weary, feeling small, when tears are in your eyes, I will dry them all. I’m on your side, when times get rough …”

Psalm 121 reflects the same feelings of comfort and support in hard times, “My help will come from the Lord, who made heaven and earth … The Lord will guard you, he is by your side to protect you” (vv. 2, 5). Although the association here is supposed to be the Israeli oppression and escape from Egypt, how many times in our lives have we felt beaten down, oppressed by circumstances, and in need of comfort? This is our assurance of God’s vigilance and protection in all times of our life. As Simon and Garfunkel say, “If you need a friend, I’m sailing right behind.”

Psalms 122 and 123 tell us how to seek a relationship with the Lord. “I was glad when they said to me, let us go to the Lord’s house” (122:1). In this case it is Jerusalem, which to people of that time was the ultimate center of worship in a city of strength and importance. We are not really alone in our troubled waters when we can seek our Protector in our house of worship, as our church is a symbol of God’s strength.

Psalm 123:1 gives us our prayer:
“Lord, I look up to you, up to heaven, where you rule. As a servant depends on his master, as a maid depends on her mistress, so we will keep looking to you, O Lord our God, until you have mercy on us.” Amen.

~Barbara G.

Mark 9:33-41

“Then John said to him, ‘Master, we saw somebody driving out evil spirits in your name, and we stopped him, for he is not one who follows us.’ But Jesus replied: ‘You must not stop him. No one who exerts such power in my name would readily say anything against me. For the man who is not against us is on our side.’”

The writer of the gospel does not explain Jesus’ reasoning, but I immediately struggled and began to reflect upon the meaning of forgiveness, tolerance and love for one another. I thought about Our Lord’s Prayer: “forgive our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” I wonder about the meaning of forgiveness and the fact that Christians read the Gospels and read the Lord’s Prayer many times. It appears that the words of Jesus, even those who claim that by faith we will be saved, did not prevent many wars and the death of millions. So, forgiveness, love and tolerance must be always in our innermost hearts. Let us all unite in prayer to be always aware of the true meaning of this passage of Mark’s gospel.

~Edmond

Ezekiel 37:1-14

“Thus says the Lord God: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people … I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil” (vv. 12-14).

Most of us have heard this story before. The Prophet Ezekiel stands in a valley full of dry bones and God asks him, “Mortal, can these bones live?” Ezekiel replies, “O Lord God, you know.” But Ezekiel’s uncertainty gives way to action as he speaks the words that God gives to him. Ezekiel prophesies, and as he prophesies, sinews, flesh, and skin come over the bones, and breath fills the lungs of the people. A mass grave becomes a living multitude through the power of God.

This story must have been powerful for its original audience: Israelites in exile in Babylon. Their culture, their religion, their homeland, and their lives were all in danger. Their future looked hopeless, like a valley of dry bones. But Ezekiel spoke to them of God’s promise of renewal and return. Many years later, followers of Jesus must have remembered this sacred text as they began to trust that Jesus had found new life.

Have you ever had a dry time, in which all hope seems gone? Have you travelled to a valley of bones with someone that you love? Has your heart been broken by reports of the suffering of strangers? God promises us, more than once, that this is not the end of the story. Even dry bones can live.

God, we call to you from the grave. Pour your spirit on us, and help us live.
Put your spirit within us, and help us hope. Amen.

~Hannah