Jesus Raises a Widow’s Son 11 Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. 12 As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. 13 When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.”
14 Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” 15 The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.
16 They were all filled with awe and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people.” 17 This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country.
What did the dead man say?
To this question we normally answer, Nothing. He’s dead.
But this “dead man” in Luke’s gospel is no longer dead. He’s alive! Jesus raised him from the dead. Then, “The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother” (v. 15).
I wonder what he said. Perhaps, Why did you raise me up? If so, that’s a tough question for Jesus to answer. The reason: Jesus brought him back to life not really for him but his mother.
Why did Jesus perform a miracle for the dead man’s mother?
In the preceding narrative (7:1-10) Luke tells about the centurion whose faith was so great. Jesus “was amazed at him and turning to the crowd following him, he said, ‘I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel’” (v. 9).
As to this high ranking Roman soldier, it’s easy to see why we might think that Jesus granted his request and healed his servant: because of his faith.
How about this woman? Nothing is said about her faith or lack of it. All we know about her is that she is a widow and she just lost her only son.
In the Jewish society during that time, a woman’s source of support was solely her husband. If her husband was dead, then her son. Very sadly, however, they’re both dead! Her helplessness and need, not her worthiness, is why Jesus “gave him back” (v. 15) to her.
Like any other biblical narrative, this story is not really about the son, nor the mother, but about Jesus who has a heart of compassion. Jesus gives–and does so generously–not really because of who we are but because of who he is: a compassionate Savior and Lord.
So, what did the dead man say?
What did he who was perhaps already quite all right “up there” (but whose mother was not “down here”) said? I would like to think that he said something like this:
Thank you, Lord, for bringing me back to life for the sake of my mother. Thank you for seeing her and her need. Thank you for your heart of compassion.
41 Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover. 42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival. 43 When the festival was ended and they started to return, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it.44 Assuming that he was in the group of travelers, they went a day’s journey. Then they started to look for him among their relatives and friends. 45 When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48 When his parents[a] saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, “Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety.” 49 He said to them, “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”[b]50 But they did not understand what he said to them. 51 Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart.
52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years,[c] and in divine and human favor.
Today is “Holy Family Sunday.” But today is also called “Sunday after Christmas.” So Christmas is over… well, except of course if you are Filipino. You see, for us Pinoys Christmas does not only begin early, in September, but it also goes on until January 6, the Feast of the Epiphany or The Feast of the Magi or Wise Men or “The Three Kings.” So even after New Year’s Day, Pinoys keep their Christmas decorations in their front yard or they still go out caroling even if the rest of the world think they’re nuts!
We may enjoy extended holiday celebrations but as they say it, “Even good things must come to an end.” The question that I think you and I should ask is, “What must we do then?” Should we just go back to a hum-drum existence and wait until something special comes and live again?
Happily we don’t have to do that. The reason is because each day can be lived to the full. Yes, we can celebrate each day—not just special days—and we can wake up each day excited. Why? Because each day can be a new adventure if we are willing to go and grow with Jesus!
Have you been wanting to grow more mature in your faith but you seem to be facing a high wall and you’re stuck? If so, then perhaps the word of the Lord to us today would help jumpstart your spiritual growth.
Our Gospel reading is quite a big leap from last Christmas Day’s reading: the birth of Jesus. Now Jesus is twelve years old—just one year short of the age of manhood in the Jewish culture then. Technically Jesus is just a child but what the narrative tells us is that at twelve—when kids just play around—Jesus appears to have already begun to act and think like a grown man. He does what he thinks he is supposed to do and speaks wisdom and his words are as, if not more, intelligent than those of the teachers of the law. At the end of the scene Luke, the narrator, describes to us how Jesus grows by leaps and bounds!
What lessons can we learn from Jesus? What does the life and words of the only perfect man who ever walked on the face of the earth can teach us? If we are to imitate him as the Apostle Paul did and said we ought to, what are some of the things that we must do or become?
Breaking away from the motions of religion (41-43)
One of the things we immediately notice—or what you are about to see if you haven’t seen it yet—is how Jesus breaks away from the motions of ritualistic religion.
No, Jesus does not see religion or its rituals as necessarily bad or evil as some perhaps do. As we see, he goes through the motions of religion just as you and I probably have with ours. If his religion’s rituals are bad, would Jesus participate in them? Of course not!
Indeed, I imagine that the annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover, one of the most important Jewish pilgrimage festivals, must be a lot of fun! Perhaps just as, if not more, fun than our Christmas rituals and celebrations. So what kid wouldn’t look forward to this yearly march with family and friends to Jerusalem? I could just imagine Jesus’ wide-eyed excitement whenever he and his family get ready to join the caravan. He’s excited because he would not just boringly march but play and socialize with like-minded people all the way from Nazareth to Jerusalem! In Jesus’ world where there are no smart phones and tablets and phablets, the pilgrimage is definitely a lot more fun than just riding “in a one-horse-open sleigh”!
Jesus must have been very happy to just go along with family and enjoy the company of friends and playmates… until now. This this time—at the age of twelve—he’s no longer content with just going through the same ritualistic motions as he’s done over the years, and over again! So he breaks away from the rituals. He breaks away from them not because he despises them or wants to have nothing to do with them. He breaks away from them because he wants to make sense of them… to understand their significance and meaning. The fact that he asked the teachers of the law questions is I think a telltale sign that points toward that direction and explanation.
What do you call a man who does not just keep on mindlessly going through the rituals of religion? I think that man is a wise person. He stops and thinks about them. He seeks to understand them. He asks the question, “Why am I doing what I am doing?” And that’s what Jesus, the wise man, does. He breaks away from the rituals, and he does it big time! While his family and friends and town folks ritualistically march home and do the same things all over again, Jesus stays in Jerusalem and gets lost!
Getting “lost” in order to find and be found (44-47)
Jesus intentionally and purposely gets lost. The so-called “purpose driven life” is really a nothing new. Jesus does not write about it. He does it better. No, he does it perfectly… and powerfully. He lives and shows it!
To sometimes get lost from family, friends, and other people who are usually with and around us is a very good thing. If we want to find answers to our questions, indeed, if we want to find ourselves and give other people the opportunity to find our real selves, you and I may need to get away from them. Yeah, for a while.
No, it’s not easy to get away from people and the fun associated with them. But we’ve got to do it if we want to grow as individuals. To be in community is good. Indeed, very good. But to be a good part of the community we may need to get away from people we love or hang out with. If we do, we may not only find ourselves but also find answers to not only our questions but also the questions that people in our community may have been asking and wanting answers for.
That’s what Jesus does! I’m sure it’s not easy for him to let his mother, father, family members and friends leave him. He’s not only letting go of fun, he’s also letting go of protection and provision. And now he’s got to fend for himself. This is something that only adults and mature people usually do. So obviously Jesus has grown very fast.
This day, when Jesus stays behind in Jerusalem and asks and answers questions, marks a pivotal point in his growth as a person. This may be a troublesome day for his parents because his action made them understandably anxious. But this day is also important to their own growth, especially his mother’s, because the momentary trouble he’s caused them has served its purpose. It allows them to rediscover who their son really is—that he is not just their son but that, more importantly, he is the Son of God!
Letting God be God in your life (49-50)
What a day this is for Jesus and his parents! For the past twelve years or so, Mary and Joseph have been used to their role as parents to Jesus. But today they get the shock of their lives. But shouldn’t they have expected for this day to come? If so, why get anxious about him? Have they forgotten what the angel told them about their son? Maybe, because after Jesus reminds them of his other Father and that he’s supposed to be in his house, “…they did not understand what he said to them” (v. 50). But what makes it a real shocker is that those strange and enigmatic, if not disrespectful, words comes from Jesus, a mere child, and, more important, their child.
Doesn’t Mary’s relationship with Jesus also pictures our relationship with the Lord? Maybe for some, sometimes. Isn’t it true that when we get familiar and comfortable with the Lord we are also tempted to think that we can domesticate him? That we do everything for him? That we can take care of him, rather than him taking care of us? And perhaps that’s why we’re tempted to say to him,
Lord, I thank you for making me a great person. Now you just sit back and relax and let me do things for you… I will preach, I will sing, I will dance, I will lead, I will feed people, and I will do whatever is necessary. I can handle this, Lord. Just let me take full control. And oh, and that guy who wants to share the scene with me? I can handle him too. And you know what, with me, Lord, nobody messes with the way we do things. We do it right. You know why? We have you and, of course, nobody else possesses you the way I do! You’re mine, Lord, mine and mine alone.
I’m sure we have not really said those words but if we are to be honest with ourselves we have desired something like those words express. We have desired, in one way or another, to domesticate Jesus, or keep him in our house when he’s supposed to be in the Father’s house, where he is accessible to all!
Let me remind ourselves that a domesticated Lord is not Lord at all! That’s why Jesus also reminds his parents who he also is and what God his Father expects him to do. And that’s why when Mary complained about how Jesus has treated them he said to his parents, “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” (v. 49).
I think it is a sign of God’s love and care that when you and I forget to let God be God, the Lord sends us a shocker. Today it comes to us in the form of the message of this Gospel narrative! And you and I should take it positively. Yes, even if it would hurt our ego. Or, even if it would hurt the ego of the people we love.
Jesus is young person who does not want to displease his parents. But he is also a young person who does not want to displease God. As we see in this narrative, he obeys his parents. But in doing so he sees to it that he does not disobey God. Inasmuch as he loves and wants to obey his parents, Jesus lets God be God and live his life according God’s will and according his calling as the Son of God. And I believe it would help us grow in a noticeable way if we do the same.
Being a treasure to be treasured (51-52)
I think it’s quite remarkable that although Jesus is wholly committed to the will of the Father yet he is able to live a life that is pleasantly attractive. He may be wise but he does not allow his superior wisdom to get into his head. Instead, it appears that his wisdom has successfully reached the hearts of people so that, as Luke reports, Mary treasured Jesus’ being a nice and obedient boy (v. 51) and also that he “increased… in divine and human favor” (v. 52). So even though nothing is written about Jesus until he shows up again as a grown man in his early 30s, we kind of know him because of this day at the temple and what Luke tells us about him.
What a well-balanced life! What is Jesus’ secret? He really has no secret. If you’ve been listening to (yes, even if you’re reading it!) this message, then you know by now how he’s able to live a life that is both pleasing to God and people. The things we have observed in Jesus—his breaking away from people and the usual motions of religion, his getting lost to find answers to life’s important questions, his letting God be God—all add up to make him the person God wants him to be.
In other words, Jesus has grown to be a treasure to be treasured, both to his parents and the rest of the people. He does good because he is good. Jesus’ life reminds us, spiritual growth is not primarily about doing things but about becoming. Indeed in Christ we become new persons. As the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation…” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
When you and I put our faith in Jesus, we become like Jesus. Then we do good things. But the good things you and I do are not forced performances because doing good things come naturally out of a person who has been born again and made new.
So what do you think? Do you think that walking with and following Jesus can jumpstart your spiritual growth? Well, how would you really know unless you do? How would you know unless you put God’s word into practice? So go… walk with Jesus… follow him.
A parent and a child walk away from the Sandy Hook Elementary School following a shooting inside the school in Newtown, Connecticut, USA 14 December 2012. EPA
Luke 3:7-18
New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
7 John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. 9 Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
10 And the crowds asked him, “What then should we do?” 11 In reply he said to them, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.” 12 Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?” 13 He said to them, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.” 14 Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what should we do?” He said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.”
15 As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah,[a]16 John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with[b] the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
18 So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people.
This is what not to do if you’re a preacher and you don’t want your church to fire you: call the people brood of vipers—which is tantamount to calling them children of the devil—and scare the hell out of them saying that if they do not change their hypocritical ways they’d go to hell. But that’s exactly what John the Baptist did!
As a preacher I have to deal with the question about whether or not I am willing to preach such fire-and-brimstone sermon and lose my job; or, since I am not “hired” by some church or religious institution, whether or not I am willing to lose people—especially friends—who would be offended by such message. Since I want to remain true to my calling, I too have to preach the message that John preached which, in our world today, is quite offensive.
Does Luke say John “proclaimed the good news”? Yes he does (see. v. 18)! But how can John’s rather venomous declaration be considered good news?
It is good news in two ways. One, it is good news because it is a message of warning. A warning is meant for the good of those being warned. Its goal is their safety, not their harm, even if it sounds quite offensive and harsh. Two, it is good news because if the warning is heeded then a pitfall or danger may be avoided.
But did John have to call them “brood of vipers”? Let me answer that question with a question. If John did not, could he have gotten their attention? I doubt.
The crowds were not just some pagans who did not recognize the one true God. Their ancestor was Abraham (v.8) and so they were part of “God’s chosen people.” They were “children of God.” The trouble with them, however, was that they did not live their lives according to their identity. They had more semblances with the devil than with Yahweh. Thus, John appropriately called them brood of vipers.
One good thing about the crowds in John’s day, however, was that they were not like some of “God’s people” today. Onion-skinned and easily offended, they might angrily retaliate and throw some nasty and demeaning words at you. Yes, even if you try to speak the truth in love. Sometimes, even if you explain your point in a logical and theological way, they wouldn’t pay attention to what you’re saying. So they misunderstand you. They are more eager to speak than listen. For some strange reason, their minds are apparently already made up. And if your conversation happens to be on Facebook, they might unfriend you. I know—I’ve already lost at least two!
Are God’s people today like God’s people then? I think so. Just as God’s people in John’s day were quick to participate in religious rituals—like baptism—so God’s people today are also quick to do the same. Why? Because “that’s what God’s people are supposed do.”
The baptism that John baptized people in was a baptism that signified one’s repentance. But the people—whom Luke appropriately called “the crowds” because that’s what they really were and not “God’s people”—came to John to be baptized not because they had truly repented. Their intention for baptism was just for show! How similar to “Christians” today who do “Christian activities” and use “Christian lingo”—Amen, Hallelujah, Praise the Lord, God bless, etcetera—just for show!
That’s why I think John the Baptist dealt with them boldly and directly. Without flinching and mincing words he called them in a way that reflects who they really were: brood of vipers.
One good thing about the crowds, however, was that, instead of turning into a mob against John, they agreed with John’s assessment of them and took John’s message positively. Knowing that they could be disinherited and cut off from God’s promise and blessing, they heeded the warning. And as a sign that they truly repented and were committed to change their ways, they asked the question, “What then should we do?” (v. 10).
It is quite remarkable that the question “What should we do” is repeated two more times in this narrative by specific groups: the tax collectors and the soldiers (vs. 12 and 14). And all of these answers tell us that repentance is not just something we experience inwardly—like feeling sorry for our sins—but that it means doing something for the sake of others; that repentance is not just turning away from an egotistic and narcissistic way of living but that it is to live for and love God in a way that such single-minded devotion to God is expressed in loving one’s neighbor, not through mere words but concrete positive action.
To the crowds John said, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise” (v. 10). To the tax collectors he said, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you” (v. 13). And to the soldiers, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages” (v. 14).
If there is such a thing as a “timely message” I think this one is. It comes to us at a right time when something so wrong has just taken place, again! The massacre in Newtown, Connecticut was an evil act committed by an insane person and we rightly condemn it. But we should also condemn ourselves. Why? Because, based on similar crimes that were committed before, we knew that the Newtown massacre was bound to happen, and we needed to do so something, but we did nothing!
Yes we grieve every time tragedy strikes, but our grieving has become hypocritical. And yes like the crowds in John’s day we, too, are brood of vipers! It makes me sick to my stomach that some of my so-called Christian friends would rather argue to keep existing gun laws—and politicize the issue—than directly respond to my specific question about what we can do to minimize, if not put an end, to mass killings, particularly in schools which appears to be the target of preference by some trigger-happy lonely lunatics.
I don’t really know the answer to my own question but if the higher purpose of guns is to protect people from the hands of those with evil intent to kill —perhaps for reasons that their insane mind do not understand—then let’s put these God-damned guns to good use!
America takes pride in her military might and deploys soldiers abroad to “protect Americans” against regimes and terrorist groups and “make America safe.” That’s good. But let’s not forget that America also needs to be protected from insane, if not evil, Americans! So why not use some of them to protect our schools? I think rather than let some enlisted service people just do the drills and sit around (some are actually jobless), giving them the job of securing our schools and other key places is a very good use of military funds.
Perhaps my suggestion is naïve. If it is, then let’s do something else. Honestly, I really don’t know what’s the best way to approach the problem. Perhaps, gun laws need to be changed to stricter ones. But, knowing America’s love affair with guns, the suggestion may be unrealistic, especially if we have to come up with something now. In the meantime, we should just do what we can already do: work to secure schools and other shooting targets. And doing what we have to do might entail our sacrificial support.
What I’m really trying to say is that I’m asking the wise and godly among us, “What should we do?”a If indeed we are children of a loving God who truly care, we have to do something. If we do nothing, then we too are brood of vipers who deserve to go to hell. But if we heed this warning and truly repent and do something, whatever that is, then that’s good news.
Candles are lit among mementos at a memorial for victims of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School Monday in Newtown, Conn. (Photo: Mario Tama, Getty Images)
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aIn an attempt to start a movement I wanted to call Secure Our Schools (SOS) I checked if the domain name was available. In the process, I discovered that the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (the COPS Office) has already a program called Secure Our Schools (SOS). It appears to be a program that need not only our support but also our watchful eyes. For more details read SOS’s Fact Sheet. Thank you.
3 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene— 2 during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 4 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:
“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him. 5 Every valley shall be filled in,
every mountain and hill made low.
The crooked roads shall become straight,
the rough ways smooth. 6 And all people will see God’s salvation.’”[a]
When we listen to this Scripture text today we may imagine a prophet whose thunderous voice captures the attention of all: the poor, the priests, the Pharisees, the politicians and the powerful.
We picture it that way perhaps because that’s how it’s been depicted in so-called Christian movies. Or, that’s how preachers may have been heard whenever they read the narrative.
Some preachers start reading by simply cruising through the first part of the passage. Sometimes in a monotone that can elicit yawns.
But then, suddenly and dramatically, they raise their voice when they get to the second part, they thunder:
“A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.
But remember that the “voice” is just a voice. Besides, the voice was only heard within earshot by those who were there. Where? In the wilderness, where people expect to hear not a human voice but those of wild animals.
And let’s not forget that the voice was set in the midst of very powerful voices of men, of which the most powerful was the emperor’s: Tiberius Caesar.
To be sure, none of us is John the Baptist. And none–then and now–can replace his unique role as Christ’s forerunner.
But like John we are to proclaim a message to a world that appears to be controlled by powerful people and whose voices seem to dominate and drown out other voices.
The question is, Will your voice and mine be heard?
The world may scoff at us for our wishful thinking, but this Gospel narrative should give us a great reason to be optimistic. John’s voice may be as insignificant as a fox’s howl in the wilderness, but whose voice is it that the world has been hearing again and again?
If fact, none of these very powerful people’s voices have been heard again. But John’s voice have been heard over and over again. And it is his voice–not the voice of the powerful people–that has really changed the world!
Why? Because John’s voice was not just a voice from the wilderness but a voice from God!
You and I are definitely not John. But like John, you and I are also messengers of God. The message we bring is not just a message of a man or woman but the message of God. Therefore, when we speak forth the message of God, people should hear not just a mere human voice but the voice of God as well!
So knowing that, should we allow the voice of the powerful and influential who do not represent God drown out our voice?
To borrow from a Jennifer Hudson song, “No, no, no, no way!”* And if we truly voice the message of God, no one can drown out that voice!
Why? Because no one can drown out the voice of God!
So let’s see to it that the message we voice is the message from God. And what is God’s message to us today?
As the people in John’s day needed to repent and be baptized so they could see and experience God’s salvation, so must the people in our day!
John was not talking about a repentance that some consider a requirement for salvation, or a baptism that the Apostle Paul is talking about in Romans 6. John was talking about God’s people’s need to repent–and show such repentance through baptism–so that they may be ready for the Lord, the Messiah, who was about to be revealed.
In doing so they would be ready to welcome the Messiah. And in doing so they could gratefully and gladly–not ashamedly–appropriate the grace of God that comes through Christ Jesus.
To repent meant turning away from self and sin and turning to the Lord and trusting him to save them from anything that they needed saving from!
Our message is the same today! But before we can preach to the world, we ought to preach John’s message to ourselves and to our fellow believers first.
Why? Because as in John’s day, the people of God have been listening to the voices of the powerful rather than the voice of the All Powerful!
The last elections have shown some of us our real selves and who we really trust. Perhaps our words and actions have revealed that we trust our political parties and politicians more than God to solve our problems.
God’s Word may have decorated our words but it may be that the real intention was not to reveal the will of God but to demonize others whose politics differ from our own. Or, perhaps we just use God’s words to lend authority to our fallible human words.
If we have done so, then we need to repent so we can once again bask in the warmth of the love and grace of God, guiltlessly.
It is only after we have preached to ourselves and each other and repented of our sins that we can preach to the world with a powerful voice.
Why? Because it is only after we have repented of our sins and experienced the grace of God in our own lives that we can truly know what we’re talking about!
After we have done so, our voice is going to be a very powerful voice. Our voice will be heard and, echoed by others, it will be heard again and again and will reverberate to the ends of the earth!
And that, my sisters and brothers, might just change our world as it did John’s.
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*”And I Am Telling You”, written by Krieger, Henry D. / Eyen, Tom
Note: Updated 12/04/2016; Aside from few edits, the article has remained basically the same, which is amazing considering the timeliness of the message. The 2012 and 2016 Presidential elections make the connection.
14 “‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will fulfill the good promise I made to the people of Israel and Judah.
15 “‘In those days and at that time
I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line;
he will do what is just and right in the land. 16 In those days Judah will be saved
and Jerusalem will live in safety.
This is the name by which it[a] will be called:
The Lord Our Righteous Savior.’
1 The Lord reigns, he is robed in majesty;
the Lord is robed in majesty and armed with strength;
indeed, the world is established, firm and secure. 2 Your throne was established long ago;
you are from all eternity.
3 The seas have lifted up, Lord,
the seas have lifted up their voice;
the seas have lifted up their pounding waves. 4 Mightier than the thunder of the great waters,
mightier than the breakers of the sea—
the Lord on high is mighty.
5 Your statutes, Lord, stand firm;
holiness adorns your house
for endless days.
“The Lord reigns!”
Some of us use the expression to console ourselves in times of defeat: We lost but it’s OK because the Lord still reigns anyway.
But the rest of us also use the same as the reason for victory: We won because the Lord reigns and will not allow injustice to rule.
So, who’s got it right? But perhaps that’s not the question to ask. So, instead of answering that question, let us take a closer look at the expression “The Lord reigns” as found in Psalm 93.
Psalm 93 was written in Hebrew which is considered a dead language. And the truth of the matter is, although I took courses in biblical Hebrew–and passed!–I still am a “dead-language-impaired” student of the Bible.
But hey, even Mark Throntveit who has taught the dead-language-impaired for almost thirty years does not have an easy time interpreting the text either! Throntveit may beProfessor of Hebrew and Old Testament but the first two words of Psalm 93 seem to have already given him a headache! He writes, “I still marvel at the problems associated with the first two words of Psalm 93, two of the very first words one learns in the study of Hebrew.”1
The first two words in question are Yahweh malak, which the NIV translates “The Lord reigns,” or, as Throntveit puts it, “Virtually every translation simply and elegantly renders these words…, ‘The LORD (‘Yahweh’) is king.’”
However, Throntveit points out that “Yahweh has become king,” as an alternate translation, “is frequently encountered in the commentaries and scholarly literature…” and that “the discussion centers on important theological implications.”
Honestly, Throntveit’s explanation of the problem gave me a headache! But maybe it’s just me. At the end of what was like a dark tunnel, however, I saw the light. Regardless which translation one might prefer, the meaning of Psalm 93 is straightforward and clear: it is a hymn of praise that reasserts Yahweh’s kingship, which is eternal and established.
The Lord reigns and his kingship which has no beginning or end and is well-established. And thus “the world is established, firm and secure” (v. 1). Now that sounds pretty good until we look at what’s going on in our own life and in our world where evil or the kingdom of darkness seems to have the upper hand.
Not long after after Israelis and Hamas agreed to stop killing each other through a cease-fire that Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi helped broker, the Egyptians took to the streets, again, and violent protests broke out across Egypt. This time they are mad at Mursi’s use of “expanded” power. With angry chants they demand the “downfall of the regime”– the same rallying cry in the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak last year.
In our world today, chaos and conflict seem to be the rule rather than the exception. And you and I can just shake our heads and wonder when this insanity is going to end, or if it is going to end at all.
So if the Lord really reigns how come this is the kind of world we have? Why is it that evil seems to triumph over good? And if the Lord is King, how come people do not seem to acknowledge him or see his rule?
Before we let ourselves give in to despair and hopelessness, let us remind ourselves that the reason why this psalm of praise was written and sung by God’s people was to reassert the truth that Yahweh reigns despite what was going on in their world, which I assume was no better than our world today.
Because the Lord’s reign is eternal and secure, the people of the Lord, the king, should then have the confidence to not only proclaim it but, more importantly, to live under God’s rule! There is a need for us to live a certain kind of life–a kingdom life–that would help make the kingdom of God visible.
And that need is urgent. We need to live and work for God’s kingdom not tomorrow or next year. We need live and work for the Lord and his kingdom right now! Through the life and work of God’s people, the eternal reign of the Lord can be made manifest in time and space and in a world that badly needs it!
That’s why I think the reading “Yahweh has become king” makes perfect sense. If this is how God’s people originally read it, and it seems that there is good reason to think it is because syntactically it is the more natural reading,2 then we can assume that although people of Israel knew that the Lord reigns eternally and securely, yet to make the rule of God visible in a world of chaos and conflict they had to reassert the the Lord’s reign and enthrone him again.
We, the people of the Lord, the King, can do the same today. How? Maybe by proclaiming together “The Lord has become king,” but certainly by rededicating our lives wholly for the Lord and devoting our time and resources in service of the King of kings and Lord of Lords!
And what does it mean to make the Lord king? It means that as God’s people the object of our faith and trust is ultimately the Lord–the good and gracious king who is personally interested in us, in our world and its redemption. Our trust should be in the Lord who is not only able but willing to rescue us. Our confidence should be in him who has power even over nature and who said to the raging sea, “Peace, be still” and, as a result, “there was a great calm” (Mark 4:39, KJV).
It means that we should not put our leaders above our king and political parties above the kingdom of God. If we do, then we may not only go against God but also against each other. And we are supposed to work together for the Lord and his kingdom!
It means that as people who recognize the Lord as king and have enthroned him as king, we are to take his kingdom of light to the world and dispel the darkness. Yes we need to pray and we need to pray hard! But we need to go beyond prayers.
And yes we need to work together and we need to work hard. But we need to work smart as well. The world may be in spiritual darkness but that doesn’t mean people are ignorant. Scaring people with the prospect of spending eternity in hell no longer works. And why resort to such tactic when many people don’t believe in hell anyway? Most Americans don’t.3
In a pluralistic world, we can gain a hearing and succeed if we are committed to the truth as well as follow Jesus who is not only Lord or king but also “the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6). The Twelve and other disciples did and that’s why it’s been said that these men “have turned the world upside down” (Acts 17:6).
What might prevent us from making the Lord king of our lives? Having selfish goals and worrying about life and needs and wants? Perhaps. But as our Lord Jesus himself said, “… do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matt. 6:31-33).
So as angry crowds who are mad at their leaders shout, “Down with the dictator!,” or as jubilant free people celebrate and hail their newly-elected President with “Four more years!” or sigh because deep within they wished only “Four more days!” for him, we the people of God, regardless of who are in power or who are not in this chaotic and conflicted world, proclaim, “The Lord has become king!”
2Throntveit: “Yahweh is king” is unusual in that if the subject precedes the verb, that the verb would normally be an imperfect (Proverbs 8:15), an active participle (Psalm 22:28, but with mashal not malak), or, usually, simply a noun, (melek).
28One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, “Which commandment is the first of all?” 29Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; 30you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ 31The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” 32Then the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that ‘he is one, and besides him there is no other’; 33and ‘to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength,’ and ‘to love one’s neighbor as oneself,’ —this is much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” After that no one dared to ask him any question.
“Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”
You might wonder why the scribe asked Jesus such question. Well, there were 613 commandments in the Torah: 248 that were positive, 365 that were negative. With so many commandments, it’s not surprising that he did ask the question. In fact, there were extensive discussions among the rabbis about which commandments were heavy and light, that is, which were of greater and lesser importance.
The Babylonian Talmud tells many stories about two great Sages, Hillel and Shammai, who lived in the first century B.C.E. They were colleagues but rarely agreed with one another and they had temperaments that were greatly different, perhaps one was fiery hot and the other icy cold.
Talmud records that one day a gentile who knew nothing about Judaism came before Shammai and said, “I will become a convert if you teach me the entire Torah while standing on one foot.” Shammai took the man’s challenge as a joke and chased him away. The gentile then came to Hillel with the same challenge. Hillel responded, “Whatever you find hateful, do not do to your neighbor. That is what the whole Torah is all about. Everything else is commentary. Go and learn this.” With such wise response, the man became a devoted follower of Hillel.
Jesus responds to the scribe in a way that is similar to Hillel’s. But Jesus’ answer was different in that instead of using the Golden Rule or what was called the “Silver Commandment,” he cites the most central tradition of Israel, the Shema, from Deuteronomy 6:4. “Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”
But to the Shema, Jesus adds the phrase, “with all your mind.” For the ancient Hebrews, to love God with all your mind was included in the phrase “with all your heart.” But that was no longer the case in Jesus’ day—people no longer assumed the heart, but rather the mind, to be the center of understanding. So he added “with all your mind” just to make sure it was understood properly.
The most distinctive aspect of Jesus’ interpretation of the law, however, is that he combines the Shema with the commandment from Leviticus: “love your neighbor as yourself” (19:18). The significance of this is that Jesus neither neglected the love of God nor the love of neighbor. So, in this story, Jesus provides both a theological answer and an ethical answer. In Jesus’ teaching, love of God cannot be divorced from love of neighbor, and vice versa. You cannot have one without the other!
The early church knew the greatest commandment. It’s just that they sometimes failed to apply it, just as as you and I also fail to do it today. Thus in 1 John 4:20 there is this reminder: “Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.”
Today, just a couple of days before election day and in the heat of the election debates, can we truly say we love that sister or brother who does not agree with us and who will not vote for our candidate of choice? If we can honestly say yes, then perhaps we are not far from the kingdom of God. Or perhaps it takes one who has truly become a child of God and one who has already entered the kingdom of God to love both God and neighbor.
60 On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”
61 Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you? 62 Then what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! 63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit[a] and life. 64 Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. 65 He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.”
66 From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
67 “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve.
68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”
Jesus asked the Twelve, “You do not want to leave too, do you?”
The Twelve Disciples answered, “Where on earth would we go?”
I’m very much tempted to use the “hell” word. But just less than a week ago Oklahoma valedictorian, Kaitlin Nootbaar, was reported to be “having a devil of a time receiving her high school diploma” for using “hell” in her graduation speech (USA Today, August 20). So, I’d rather not use the word in the same way that Kaitlin did.
I used to carry a Red Letter Edition Bible, so called because the words of Christ are printed in red. Now that Bible is gathering dust somewhere. But every time I come to this passage, there are words of Christ here that stand out from the rest, as if these words have been printed in the reddest of red.
When “many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him,” Jesus asked the Twelve: “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Now there is the bloody question that would haunt anybody who’s not sure about what to do with Christ and his words.
Why did many of Christ’s disciples leave him? They left because they were offended by the bloody words of Christ. Earlier, Jesus offered his flesh and blood to them. He said,
56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”
These words of Jesus are especially provocative because he said them in the synagogue and to people for whom eating flesh and drinking blood was sickening. Only evil people (Zech. 11:9) and vultures and wild animals do that (Ez. 39:17). The words of Jesus were offensive. No wonder many of his disciples left him.
The reason why these disciples find Jesus’ words offensive was because they did not believe in him as the Word of Life who had come down from heaven and whose words are life. If they did, then they would have believed the words of Jesus. Yes, even if they did not understand the full meaning of the words of him who would suffer and die on the cross.
Today, we may not have any problem with the words of Jesus—we understand better what it means to eat his flesh and drink his blood—but do we believe that he truly came down from heaven and, after the resurrection, ascended to where he came from?
Modern minds may find that hard to swallow. Some may say that only those who have the ability to scrutinize the claims of Jesus are the ones who can make the right judgment. But Jesus thinks differently. He declared, “…no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.”
Some theologians call that “prevenient grace.” Whatever, you might call it, it is clear that it is God the Father that enables sinners to come to Christ or believe that he is God made flesh and the source of eternal life.
Sounds like a fairy tale? Well, C.S. Lewis wrote, “Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again” (The World’s Last Night: And Other Essays). I’m not saying that all these stories about God becoming flesh in Jesus are fairy tales or myths. What I’m saying is that it is in these stories about Christ that our desire to “live happily ever after” finds its greatest hope… if we believe.
The Psalm, through David, invites us to “Taste and see that the Lord is good…”
How good is the Lord? Well, he rescued David. David killed Goliath and people praised him through a song: “‘Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands’?” But after those courageous exploits, David embarrassingly feared for his life. He ran away from Saul and, to survive, he lied to Ahimelek the priest (as a man “on a mission” so he could be seen as “holy” and so he could eat the consecrated bread) and he pretended be insane before king Achish of Gath because he was afraid he might kill him. (Read 1 Sam 21:11)
Need God to rescue you? Trust in God… then you will “Taste and see that the Lord is good…”
30 The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught.31 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”
32 So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. 33 But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.
35 By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. “This is a remote place,” they said, “and it’s already very late. 36 Send the people away so that they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”
37 But he answered, “You give them something to eat.”
They said to him, “That would take more than half a year’s wages[a]! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?”
38 “How many loaves do you have?” he asked. “Go and see.”
When they found out, they said, “Five—and two fish.”
39 Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass.40 So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. 41 Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all.42 They all ate and were satisfied, 43 and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. 44 The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand.
I wonder how you reacted to those words of Jesus. Yes, I can see your faces but I can’t read them. I lost the ability since I came to Vegas.
Why? Well, tell me, can you really read a poker face?
Kidding aside, perhaps the moment you heard those words, you immediately felt the weight of responsibility. Or, maybe, you wondered whether or not those words are also addressed to you.
However we respond to these words of Jesus, or however we take them, to the people at the receiving end—those who will be fed—those words are like music to their ears. Well, that is, if they are hungry or need food.
Where I originally came from, the Philippines, foods—especially if there are lots of them—have been the main attraction for any gathering. That’s why we’re not surprised if, for example, some people who were not present at the church for the wedding would show up at the reception!
When I was a child, our family attended a relative’s wedding. There were not a lot of people at the ceremony, but at the reception, the whole village was there!
Food remains a great attraction to people. The casinos know that and that’s why they offer free buffets to potential gamblers. Churches and Christian ministries know that, too. That’s why they may offer food to those in need, sometimes not in a good way because food is used as bait to would-be converts.
Feeding the hungry is a very important subject. But today our emphasis is not only on the theology of feeding—or the right way to use food, or other stuff for that matter, to minister to people. Our text today also speaks loudly about our involvement or participation in what the Lord wants to do through us.
In addition, I think that this narrative challenges us to get involved in ways that our participation affects people in a very real way and in ways that involve more than just words on our part.
So let’s begin with the first emphasis.
“You give them something to eat.”
You, yes you, give them something to eat. The emphasis is on the subject: you.
In the Gospel of Mark, the disciples are portrayed as lacking in faith and thus also lacking in involvement. In the previous chapters, we read about them following the Lord but they had not really done anything. They were mere companions. It is only in chapter 6, after Jesus called “the Twelve” and sent them out, two by two, that they preached, drove out demons and healed many who were sick (vv. 7-13).
Surprisingly, the Twelve did not seem to have any problem doing the Lord’s directives at this point. They went as the Lord sent them and they did an excellent job!
Today, some of us may have already responded to the call of Jesus as the Twelve did. You and I may not be call ourselves Apostles (with a capital “A”), and rightly so because the Twelve had a unique role, nevertheless we, too, have responded to the call of Jesus to serve and not just be served.
Sadly, however, there many more of us who continue to be in the receiving end and, like party crashers or those people who showed up at my cousin’s wedding reception, they are there not also to serve but only to be fed.
I think it’s a shame that some believers even want positions of honor, but not the responsibility. In my ministry, I’ve encountered a few people who love to be elected officers. But that’s about it because, afterwards, they don’t really do anything to serve.
Isn’t that a stark contrast to the goal that our Lord Jesus had when he walked upon this earth? If we say we follow Jesus, then we should be like him who “did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many (or all)” (10:45).
When the Lord calls, he also gives gifts to equip them in service. Ephesians 4:11-12 reads, “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service….”
But is this calling only for a special group of people who would be apostles or missionaries, prophets or preachers, evangelists, and pastor/teachers? No!
The calling to serve is for everyone. Apostle Peter declares that believers “are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession.” If you believe in Jesus as Savior and Lord, you, too, have been called together with other believers. And here’s the goal of our calling: “…that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9).
Have you responded to the call to serve? If not, do so today. And don’t you worry; the Lord has given you spiritual gifts or abilities to equip you to serve. But you need to find out what your gifts are. If you don’t know how, we’re here to help.
But there are things that you and I can do together regardless of our spiritual gifts. This leads us to our next emphasis.
“You give them something to eat.”
The emphasis this time is on the predicate: “give them something to eat.”
If you recall, the disciples did not have any trouble doing what they did when Jesus sent them two by two. They preached, exorcised the demon-possessed, and healed those who were sick.
Now, which is harder to do, to preach, exorcise and heal or to feed the people?
Well, that depends on a number of things. One is the number of people involved. Many of us may find preaching, exorcising, or healing harder to do than feeding people until we find out that there are more than 5,000 people to feed. We, preachers, would rather preach to a multitude than give them food!
Because of the number of people, it is not surprising that the disciples gave Jesus a very practical suggestion: “This is a remote place,” they said, “and it’s already very late. 36 Send the people away so that they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”
We can’t blame the disciples. We could have easily come up with the same smart idea. But Jesus had a better idea: you feed them.
Better? How could that be a better idea? Jesus himself said, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill” (John 6:26).
It may be difficult to understand why feeding the people is a better idea than sending them away to fend for themselves until we see the important things that, I believe, Jesus wanted to impart to his disciples, and us. The first:
The importance of faith-building
Oftentimes the practical solution is just an excuse to do it the easy way or to avoid responsibility. But what does the easy way produce in return? Well, easy-go-lucky believers whose faith has not really grown.
So how is faith built? Do you think it would help grow faith if people witness signs and wonders? We seem to think so.
But that did not happen in the case of the disciples of Jesus. After they witnessed the miraculous things that Jesus did, they did not really grow in faith. After calming the storm, Jesus said to these terrified men, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” (Mark 4:40).
And you’d think that after Jesus demonstrated his lordship over nature that these guys would be bold enough to face even the fiercest demons? Well, nothing could be father from the truth. In fact, in Mark 5:1-20, encountered Legion, an army of demons who possessed the man who made his home among the tombs, they did absolutely nothing.
So I think it’s just right that Mark wrote the narrative as if the disciples were not there at all. Take a look, for example, at the beginning of the narrative. He wrote, “When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him” (v. 2). He wrote as if only Jesus got out of the boat!
Jesus and the disciples came to this Gentile country for a mission. But who accomplished it? Definitely not the disciples. It is the ex-demon possessed Gentile who proclaimed Jesus in all of the ten cities of the region!
Because of their non-involvement, they did not “shine … like stars in the sky” (Philippians 2:15) in that foreign land whose inhabitant Josephus, a 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian, called Syrians.
That leads us to the second thing that I believe Jesus wants to impart to us:
A life characterized by compassion
Believers do not grow in faith and do not shine like stars in this world of darkness because they do not let God work “in them in order to fulfill his good purpose” (v. 13). Such kind of selfish living runs counter with the life of love and compassion and lived “not looking to your own interests but … to the interests of the others” (v. 4) that the Apostle Paul talks about at the beginning of Philippians 2.
The Lord we say we follow is full of love and compassion. In our Scripture text today we read, “When Jesus … saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd.” In Mark 8, where our Lord also fed about 4,000 people who had “nothing to eat,” he called his disciples to him and said to them, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat” (vs. 1-2).
Unlike some Christians today who feed people to make converts out of them, Jesus fed the multitude because he had compassion on them. So should we. But this same motivation applies not just to feeding the physically hungry but also to other ministries that seek to minister to the physical needs of people.
I’m sure there are other things that may be as important as these things I’m pointing out here, but let me give the third and last thing that I think Jesus wants to impart to us based on our Scripture passage:
When serving, the secular becomes sacred
To say that the disciples tried to avoid feeding people because it was not a spiritual activity is really forcing it. But I think the fact that Jesus insisted doing it shows that he did not see feeding or other forms of social work as less important or less spiritual. I don’t even think that Jesus had in mind the dichotomy—that is, the distinction of spiritual and secular—that we have today.
Jesus, spontaneously followed his heart. Now that does not mean he was not thinking. In fact he knew that feeding could give people the wrong idea for following him, which it did! Nevertheless, he followed his heart of compassion.
So, anything we do that flows out from the compassionate heart of Jesus and through our hearts is sacred. And so, even the so-called secular work that many of us do, when done in the name of Christ and in service to others, becomes sacred as well.
In his book, The Pursuit of God, A.W. Tozer, a pastor who lived a simple and non-materialistic lifestyle, wrote, “Let every man abide in the calling wherein he is called and his work will be as sacred as the work of the ministry. It is not what a man does that determines whether his work is sacred or secular, it is why he does it” (italics mine).
So as you and I look ahead to Monday, let us not regard it a day to dread. Instead, let us look forward to it as the second day to worship, as we do today. And let us seek to glorify the Lord by serving others, perhaps by feeding them or meeting a need, all throughout the week. Amen.
Today, we commemorate the landing of man, via Apollo 11, on the surface of the moon. Astronaut Neil Armstrong said what is perhaps one of the most memorable quotes of all time: “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”
But as mankind moves forward through scientific endeavors and technological progress, we still ask the question, Has mankind really improved? Today the rampage in Aurora, Colorado seems to tell us, NOT REALLY.
Let me share the desperation I expressed elsewhere:
In The American Dream Lost, Tom Chatham, a combat veteran and small business owner who grew up on the Chesapeake Bay, has put it this way: “A gun ban will not work because I own a gun and will use it to enforce my right to keep it.” Other proponents of gun ownership may not defend “their right” that forcibly, nevertheless they, too, probably believe that owning a gun (or guns) is part of being American.
Regardless of how one uses the statistics (either for or against gun control), there is obviously something wrong with how some people use this lethal weapon. We may think that education helps, but the Dark Knight shooting suspect was a PhD student. Those of us who are religious might say faith in God is the answer, but some of the most vicious crimes were committed in the name of religion.
Man, Oh man (and woman, too)! What’s wrong with you?
“Oh, no, you think to yourself, I just broke the third Commandment and used the Lord’s name in vain!” -Amanda, in Winds_of_Change
“Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.” -Exodus 20:7 KJV
This message was aired in Taglish (Tagalog/Engish) over…
For some time now I’ve been wondering about whether or not the popular interpretation of the third commandment is accurate. The reason why I doubt the accuracy of the common interpretation is because of the way the commandment is being applied: shallowly.
How often have we heard people say to not curse or swear because it violates the third commandment? But is that all to it?
I am not saying that it’s OK to use profanity. Far from it! In fact, I feel embarrass if someone would, in his or her unguarded moment would utter expletives. This is especially so when that person is someone I know personally.
Perhaps people have been focusing on cursing or swearing as the violation of “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain…” not only because it is obviously bad or disgusting, but also because it is often committed.
There may be other acts that are also violations of the third commandment but they may have been ignored perhaps because they appear to be OK. This is especially so when such violation is camouflaged in the practice of piety.
I think the way some people are using the name of God in prayer is also a violation of the commandment. I’ve heard people, including pastors, pray in a way that the Lord’s name is misused. The pray may go like this:
Father God, Jesus, we bless your name…Father God. We praise you, Lord… Father God. We adore you… Father God. We come to you in the name of Jesus… Father God. We pray, Lord, for our ministry, Father Gdo. Bring more souls to your kingdom, Lord…Father God. Yes, Lord… Father God… in Jesus name, amen and amen!
This kind of praying just drives me nuts! We don’t use each other’s names as many times when we’re talking to each other, so why use the Lord’s name as filler when talking to him? (And two “amens”? Why? One is not enough?)
The reason why I am pointing these things out is to show that there may be other and perhaps less obvious ways that people use the name of the Lord in vain. But I must also confess that I have an ulterior motive for doing so, and that is to make us think that perhaps the reason why we have not really truly grasped the meaning of the third commandment is because we quickly jump into the application of the commandment when we need to understand what it is really all about in the first place.
To do that, it is necessary that we need to look at the third commandment within the context of Israel’s Exodus experience, as well as in view of what the New Testament and our Lord Jesus have to say about the commandments, including the third commandment, of course.
The Context of the Exodus
We have to bear in mind that the giving of the Decalogue, or Ten Commandments, does not begin immediately with dos and don’ts. Rather, it begins with a reminder that the Lord that issues these commands is the one that “have brought (Israel) out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.”
It is, therefore, important that we look at the Ten Commandments as proceeding from the gracious act of God and, as a result of it, the freedom of Israel.
In other words, because of what God has done, Israel is now free to worship the Lord their God, a God that has given them a new identity: as a people belonging to the Lord and each other. It is, therefore, not surprising that the first four of the Ten Commandments have to do with Israel’s relationship with God and the rest have to do with their relationship with one another!
It seems obvious then that the Commandments are given to nourish these relationships. And as far as the third commandment is concerned, it is given so that the “saved” people of Israel might respond to the great “I am,” the LORD their God, who saved them from slavery in the land of Egypt. How? Among other things, by not using God’s name in vain.
The name of the Lord is too holy to utter that even today some Jews avoid speaking it. Obviously, to utter God’s name in vain is even a worse thing to do. But a name in the ancient world functions more than it does today—it tells more about the one that bears the name.
In the context of the Exodus, the Lord was clearly shown as a God who was superior to all the gods of Egypt. The Lord was the almighty God that saved Israel. Thus the Lord deserves worship and honor from those who have been saved. Vain use of the Lord’s name is therefore absolutely inappropriate.
The Lenses of New Testament and the Words of Jesus
That obeying the commandments, or whatever it is that believers need to do, should be done in response to the saving act of a gracious God is made even clearer in the New Testament. In Ephesians 2, after declaring, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not the result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9), the Apostle Paul goes on to say, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (v.10).
The saved ones take on a new identity and, as a people “created in Christ Jesus,” they are expected to behave in a way that expresses that identity. If one identifies himself or herself as a believer in Jesus, then that person should live in a way that expresses such faith or relationship with Jesus, or that he or she is truly “in Jesus” (which, by the way, what we should have in mind when we end our prayer with “in Jesus’ name,” and not just think of it as some magical formula).
So rather than just a commandment that is there to discourage people from cursing or swearing or other ways of literally using the Lord’s name in vain, the third commandment behooves us to take a deeper look at our relationship with the Lord—to ask the question whether we have truly experienced the saving act of our gracious Lord who died on the cross for our sake… whether or not we are truly in Jesus, a name which means, “the Lord is salvation.”
Jesus himself warns against faking it:
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’will enter thekingdom of heaven,but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.Many will say to me on that day,‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ (Matthew 7:21-23, NIV).
On the other hand, those that have been truly saved have their identity planted securely in Christ. In an authentic way, they respond to his grace as they live out the life of a people who have been saved and set free from the bondage of sin and, by doing so, honor the Lord’s name.
A large crowd followed and pressed around him. 25 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26 She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27 When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” 29 Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.
30 At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”
31 “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ”
32 But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”
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We usually talk about Jesus touching us, but this Sunday’s Gospel text talks about a woman touching Jesus.
Whatever it is that you and I are suffering from, the story of this unnamed woman appears to be a source of hope. She touches Jesus. And she gets well. The question we may ask is, Are we going to have the same positive result if we come to Jesus and, in our own way, touch him? That, I think, is a good thing to find out.
Let’s begin by taking a closer look at the physical condition of this woman. According to the narrative, she “had been subject to bleeding for twelve years.” Whatever the true nature of her illness was, the doctors did not help. In fact, they made her condition worse. In other words, they caused her condition to be untreatable, a hopeless case.
What would you do if you are suffering greatly and you’ve been in pain for a long time? Some think it doesn’t make sense to prolong the suffering, and so the best alternative is to end it. But how? End life. I think it isn’t improbable to imagine that this woman thought of that solution as well.
But today is not the day for that. Today is her lucky day! She encounters Jesus!
But perhaps we think of her encounter with Jesus as divinely arranged. But even if we do, I don’t think we should discount the part she plays in her healing. So, OK, if it would make us feel better, let’s say it’s a “blessed” day for her.
She heard about Jesus
It’s a blessed day for this woman because today Jesus is in the area, and she hears about him.
However, it may be too late for her. Jesus is going somewhere to help someone else, the daughter of Jairus, a leader in the synagogue and, apparently, a respectable man.
Does Jairus’ girl deserve it more than her? Perhaps that’s how she feels because with the blood gushing out of her body, she is unclean and, according to the “purity code,” anybody who simply brushes against her is rendered unclean as well.
So it looks like she has no chance at all. But just as many of us would probably give up, she does the unthinkable! She touches Jesus’ cloak!
“Who touched me?”
Why does she do that forbidden thing and, maybe, lose her chance of getting a proper appointment with Jesus? I think that, for her, it was now or never! Either she does it now or she just suffers forever, if not, and perhaps better, just end it all. Besides, I think that she thinks she has already lost everything, and now she really has nothing more to lose!
At the very core, however, her reason for doing what she does is neither desperation nor that she has nothing to lose, but because she thinks, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” She believes touching Jesus could heal her.
So she touches Jesus!
Immediately her bleeding stops and she feels in her body that she is freed from her suffering.
Wow!
But then the dreaded question comes like a deadly arrow: “Who touched me?”
The woman becomes apprehensive.
It probably helps that she is given the chance to think about what to say as the disciples try to brush away Jesus’ seemingly unreasonable question. And it may be that the little window that gives her the opportunity to think properly has shed ample light on her thoughts so that she’s able to say the right thing. She falls at Jesus’ feet and, “trembling with fear,” tells him the whole truth.
Perhaps part of her thought process is this: Since I’m healed then perhaps Jesus doesn’t really mind that I touched him. And perhaps I wouldn’t be charged for contaminating others because now I am clean.Even if so, that is just her thoughts. Still, she and the people need to hear Jesus’ judgment.
I could imagine everybody standing motionless and quiet as they wait for what Jesus would say. The moment of truth has come. Jesus speaks the word.
“Your faith has healed you”
The woman is right! The words that came out of the mouth of Jesus are not words of condemnation but commendation. Jesus praises her for her faith and in the midst of an astounded crowd declares, “Be freed from your suffering”!
Obviously, faith is an important ingredient in our healing, whatever it is that we suffer from. But is it merely a formula that goes: have Jesus in your life and have faith in him, and then you will be healed? It appears to be that way if we base it solely on the story of this unnamed woman. But the thing is, not all stories in the Bible end like that, not all stories end like a fairy tale.
The Apostle Paul, for example, had faith in the Lord and he prayed that the “thorn in his flesh,” whatever it was, might be taken away from him. But the Lord did not grant his request because, according to the Lord, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:7-10).
The Lord Jesus, too, did not get what he desired. In Gethsemane, Jesus prayed that he might not go through suffering and death:“Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me…” (Mark 14:36). But we know that Jesus was not spared—he did suffer and die.
So is this story of the unnamed woman really a source of hope for us, especially those of us who are suffering greatly?
It appears that, ultimately and despite our faith, it is all up to the Lord. But that should not get us discouraged. Why? Because if we look at the number of people in the Bible the Lord heals because of their faith, that number is much greater than those whose requests were denied! In fact, the number of “unanswered” (or “waitlisted,” if there is such a thing) prayers is negligible! And that should encourage us.
How do we know if the Lord will grant our request? Really, we don’t. But unless we, through faith, touch him, how would we know if he will?
19When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 20After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”22When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” 24But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25So…
35On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” 36And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him.37A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. 38But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” 39He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. 40He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” 41And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
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I’m going to tell you a secret about Ruth, my wife. Don’t worry, I have her permission and she doesn’t mind me telling it. Besides, she’s not really embarrassed by it. Just a bit!
Whenever we go out shopping, Ruth has the tendency to go ahead, as if she always knows where she is going. This is particularly true when she’s done shopping and we’d head for the car. She would go ahead, but toward the wrong direction! Then I’d throw the question, “Where are you going?” She would then laugh at herself and let me go ahead!
Isn’t that like all of us? Don’t we all think we know where we are going, or know what to do and that’s why we like to take charge? Uh-huh? Don’t you worry, you’re not alone. In fact, the disciples who literally walked with Jesus were no better!
“Let us go across to the other side”
One day Jesus said to the disciples, “Let us go across to the other side.” That sounds like just a nice boat ride until we read not just what actually happens next or realize the worrisome prospects on the other side of the sea, which is really a lake. Let’s take the second one first.
The prospects on “the other side”
The thought of going “across to the other side” must have sent a chilling message to the disciples. For these “all-Jew boys” (as in all-American boys) to leave their crowd—fellow Jews—and go to the territory of the other crowd, namely, the “pork-eating pigs” or Gentiles, was a troublesome prospect!
With the advantage of hindsight, we can fast-forward and jump to chapter 5 and there find out what actually happened on the other side of the lake. Jesus and his disciples came to “the country of the Gerasenes.” That Jesus simply “stepped out of the boat” appears as if coming to this foreign territory was no sweat. In reality, however, the shore on which they landed was no vacation beach! They faced a steep slope that descended swiftly almost into the water and which they had to negotiate before they can get to the top of this country on a plateau! And, as if that was not enough, the city was surrounded entirely by towering walls and they’d be lucky if they could get their passports stamped with visa at the gate! But we’re really going ahead of, indeed way beyond, the story. Let’s see what happened as Jesus, and his disciples, stepped out of the boat.
Before they could even shake the sticking sand off their wet feet, “immediately” a demon-possessed man came out of the tombs and met Jesus. This man who lived in the tombs was possessed by some nasty demon that made him howl like a werewolf and injure himself with stones. When Jesus asked for his name, he said “Legion” because, according to him, they were many. If one demon was already too much to deal with, how much more if there was 3,000 to 6,000 of them?
A very interesting thing happened in this encounter with the demon-possessed man. The demon in the man recognized Jesus in a way that the disciples at first did not: “When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and bowed down before him” (v. 6) and acknowledged Jesus as “Son of the Most High God” (v. 7). Legion and his army of demons acknowledged Jesus as, in contrast to the disciples, the one in charge!
Legion begged Jesus not to send them out of the country but instead to send them to the herd of swine. For some reason, that I don’t understand, Jesus “gave them permission” (v. 13). There must have been a weird rushing of the wind as the unclean spirits came out and entered the swine; and the oinks and squeals of the herd of about two thousand pigs that rushed down the steep bank into the sea must have been deafening before they finally went down and drowned!
With this scary experience that made every hair of the disciples stand on end, can they now say they’re in charge? I’m not surprised that we do not hear any word from them again! Who fulfilled this mission? Not one of them did anything. In fact they were not able to enter the town because the townsfolk who heard about what Jesus had done were so afraid that they begged him to leave their neighborhood, and he granted their request. So who evangelized the country? Well, Jesus did. But who helped Jesus execute the mission in Gerasenes?
As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed by demons begged him that he might be with him. But Jesus refused, and said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and what mercy he has shown you.” And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed (vs. 18-20).
This gentile and ex-demoniac who was born-again in a very dramatic and powerful way, preached Jesus in the 10 cities of the region! So it’s quite obvious that Jesus is in charge. As far as the Gospel of Mark is concerned, apart from Jesus, this gentile, not Jew, became the first evangelist! But, as in a movie, let’s go back to the scene we left off earlier.
The disciples: the experts at sea
Let’s pick up where we started: As I said, the thought of going “across to the other side” must have sent a chilling message to the disciples. But these men, who perhaps were no different from those foul-talking macho men in the reality TV show, “Deadliest Catch,” seemed to have overcome their fear because the mode of transportation happened to be a boat, and the toughest guys among them were fishermen!
So although it was Jesus who was taking them along to his mission, ““Let us go across to the other side,” his lake-rated followers appear to want to take charge, execute, the plan and, perhaps, take this Carpenter’s son for the ride of his life!
That’s why, I think, they actually took charge by takingJesus, “just as he was” (a mere man? a rabbi?) in theirboat, instead of letting Jesus take them. And that’s why, I think, to some extent, they felt they owned Jesus because he was in their boat, while those losers in otherboats did not, although their boats were also with Jesus! Aren’t the disciples like some Christian groups today?
How did Jesus respond to the attitude of these presumptuous men? Well, he let them take charge and went to sleep! I could almost hear him say, OK guys, you think you can take charge? Go ahead, make my day—I’m going to sleep!So sleep Jesus did. But Jesus’ sleep was suddenly interrupted. He was awakened by these supposed-to-be macho men, yelling like terrified girl scouts and waking him up!
Why wake Jesus up? Weren’t they in charge? But they yelled, Rabbi, get up! Don’t you care that our boat is being swamped by this son-of-a-storm? Don’t you care that we’re drowning? They did not say those exact words, of course, but what they said was probably close to that. So Jesus woke up and calmly but authoritatively rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” The “wind ceased, and there was a dead calm” (v. 38).
Then Jesus said something revealing: “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” What were they afraid of? The storm? Perhaps some of them were. Maybe the ex-white collar guys among them were scared of the storm. But some of them were tough fishermen who probably experienced a wicked storm like that one, perhaps many times. So what were these tough guys really afraid of? Guys who want to look tough may deny they’re afraid of anything but they, too, get afraid! But more than the storm, I believe these “tough” guys were afraid of this man who slept in their boat. Why? Because by now they realized that he was not just an ordinary man. Thus, we read that “they were filled with great awe and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?’”
Indeed, who is Jesus? Well, if they opened their ears wider earlier, they could haveheard, in a deeper sense of the word, that the Prof was not just an ordinary teacher. He was, and is the Lord of all, including of nature, and he’s the one in charge. Obviously, they needed the raging sea to rock their boat and let them see Jesus as the Lord of the storm! And they also needed the scare of their lives when they got across the lake and met Legion, the lord of demons, to make them see Jesus as Lord of lords! Jesus was definitely in charge!
Who’s in charge now?
In applying this passage, the boat has been used as an image of the Church, and I think that’s a good way to do that. The Church, too, has been called to go “across to the other side.” And for us to effectively participate in the work of Jesus, we need to remind ourselves that we’re not the ones in charge. Jesus is!
So whenever we’re tempted to think that we’re in charge of the boat or a church or in accomplishing the mission of Jesus, well, think again! Whenever we’re tempted to think that we should be in charge because we are the experts, that we have lots of experience or that we’ve “been there, done that,” think again. If we’re tempted to think that we can be in charge because we have the faith to believe that we can do the impossible, think again. The disciple’s faith, or lack of it, had nothing to do with the calming of storm. Jesus, the gracious Lord, did it alone.
We may be tough enough to face a storm, but can we survive it without Jesus? We may be tough enough to face our own demons, but if Jesus is not in charge, do we have the power beat demons or their manifestations go away? Without Jesus, can we set people free? Obviously the answer is no!
So, again, if we’re tempted to think that any of us is in charge of the Church or its mission, well, think again. Even better, don’t even think about it! Yes, we may be called to lead but let’s not forget that ultimately Jesus is the Leader. Jesus is the one in charge and he’s is the one taking us in “his boat” and to the other side, wherever and whatever that might be.
And with Jesus in charge, he’ll gladly let us participate; perhaps as leaders or perhaps, sometimes, as mere spectators, but nevertheless we’ll be with Jesus, the one in charge. The experience may be a roller-coaster, but with Jesus in charge, we’ll be on top of everything and, like the demon-possessed man in Gerasenes, Jesus we’ll change us and use us to effectively proclaim the Good News and help fulfill Jesus’, and the Church’s, mission in the world!
Just as it was by his grace that the Lord saved the disciples from the storm and took them safely across the lake and back, so it is by the amazing grace of God that we’ve been saved; it is also by the same grace that the Lord continues to save us from our troubles as we participate in his mission; and it is by the same grace that the Lord will lead us to our eternal home. Therefore, it just makes a lot of sense if we let the Lord be in charge!
Luke 7:11-17 (NIV)
