Lent Devotions: Broken Pieces - Mark 6 v 43

Mark 6:43       And the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish.

Yesterday, a controversy was brewing at a Texas College where atheists were running an exchange program. They offered to exchange Bible for pornographic magazines to students on the campus in order to protest First Amendment Rights. The atheists believed that because Bibles were placed in dorm rooms, then they should be allowed to distribute pornography. They argued that the Bible’s puritanical statements about sexuality needed to be vehemently challenged and opposed, so they offered to exchange Bibles for sex magazines.

I guess that kind of behavior and controversy highlights the society that we are living in. I was visiting with an elderly church member at the time and she was angered by this news. However, I pointed out to her that God is big enough to take care of this kind of an issue on His own. We don’t need to get enmeshed in a maelstrom of indignity and self-righteousness. There’s more than enough suffering and trouble in Haiti and Chile for us to focus upon instead of being distracted by atheists.

I think that the hurt that she was feeling was for God and Christ’s Church. We keep thinking that the world is fragmenting, diminishing, and belittling all of our cherished beliefs. We are afraid and anxious that the divisions amongst us will break the Church into pieces and end our faith entirely. That’s never going to happen.

Look at the Gospel passage again (Mark 6: 37-44) and re-read today’s highlighted verse. Even the broken pieces that are left over are more than sufficient to meet our needs and to keep Christ’s ministry going on. Jesus specializes in broken pieces, broken people, and even a broken world. He is the great faith provider and godly healer that we all need, so instead of becoming anxious and indignant about what atheists do or don’t do in Texas, we just need to remind ourselves that in all of history and all over creation, Christ is victorious and He will eternally endure.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, we are all broken people, belonging to a broken Church, and living in a broken world. You have the divine capacity to lovingly heal us through forgiveness and faith, godliness and grace. Help us to remember that the Church has always been attacked by the world. Remind us that Your words, ways and works will endure from this time forth and into all eternity. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Today’s image is the latest drawing in John’s Bird Art Series. It’s called “Peacock Pride.” A larger version of the image can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/traqair57/4402879204/sizes/l/in/set-72157623366524553/

Daily Devotions: Being Bold - Mark 1:40-45

Mark 1:40       A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, "If you are willing, you can make me clean."

I think I read somewhere that there are 300,000 new cases of leprosy each year in the world and that most of these illnesses occur in the poorest parts of the planet. Towards the end of January in Scotland, a lot of churches have a special offering for the Leprosy Mission, which was established in the 19^th century. Its sole purpose is to help those who have contracted the disease, as well as supporting their families.

In Christ’s time, leprosy was deemed as a punishment from God and lepers were outcasts. They could not approach their families and friends directly for help because people were afraid of catching the disease. So the lepers lived outside of city walls, towns, and villages and were dependent upon charitable donations of food, which their relatives left at certain predetermined places. Physical contact like hugging was prohibited, so lepers were completely isolated from their loved ones.

In today’s passage, the leper who comes before Jesus is doing a bold thing and is making an outrageous request. He is bold because he leaves his designated place of isolation and breaks the community quarantine. His request is outrageous because only God can heal a sinful leper; at this point the people thought that Jesus was just a local preacher and exorcist. To ask Jesus to heal leprosy was a major leap of faith, for it meant that the leper was equating Christ with God Himself.

The leper also doesn’t presume to be healed. He places himself in Christ’s hands. “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” The leper has faith in Christ’s power to heal, but he puts the burden on Jesus to do something about it. Christ can do this, but only if He wants to heal the man.

The good news is that the leper’s bold and outrageous request is fulfilled. Jesus is willing to heal the man and make him clean.

Sometimes we want to change things about our lives and we need Jesus to help us.  We suffer from the emotional leprosies of bitterness and anger, fear and anxiety. These things separate us from God, our loved ones, and our friends. We need Christ to heal us from within and to restore us to our relationships. The challenge that faces us today is this: are we willing to boldly and outrageously ask Christ to clean our hearts and minds, as well as our bodies and souls?

Prayer:            Lord Jesus, sometimes we isolate ourselves from our loved ones, our churches, and our communities because we allow resentment and hurt, insecurity and anxiety to overwhelm our emotions and ruin our relationships. The leprosy of loneliness overshadows our souls and we feel so alone. Come among us today and heal our hearts, mend our minds, and restore our souls to God. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.