Essay

Busy week. I've got a number of assignments due and they're eating up all of my time. One in particular is a preaching assignment that I'll be doing tomorrow. I put a rough essay together that I'm going to sort of extemporaneously deliver, if that makes any sense. (I hate outlines - too linear.) Anyway, I thought it came out well enough to share - any comments are appreciated, as I'll be delivering this in class tomorrow night! (It's supposed to be 15-20 minutes, so if it seems sort of condensed, there's a reason...)

Mark 2:1-3:6

Read It

As usual, Mark doesn't mince words here. He tells of four specific instances that set up Jesus' ongoing conflict with the religious authorities of his day. By the beginning of the third chapter of Mark's gospel, Jesus has earned enemies who want him dead.

This is a difficult passage to hear, I think, because we've been conditioned to read it knowing the ending. Set aside your understanding, your knowledge of the story, for a moment. Read it again and think about what exactly Jesus did that put him on the Pharisees' hit list. He healed a couple of people, ate some grain, and had dinner at the home of an unreputable man. And for this he must die? What's really going on here?

Remember back to chapter 1 - the response of the people to Jesus was amazement at his teaching and his authority. Now, in this chapter, Jesus calls out the Pharisees. With his talk of new cloth and new wineskins, Jesus proclaims loudly that the winds of change are blowing. "These guys no longer have a claim to speak for God," he says. "Authority belongs to me, and I'm going to wield it in surprising ways. The insiders? They're out. You'll find me with the outcasts."

Make no mistake - the conflict here is about control, about who can speak for God and control access to God. Jesus doesn't play by the rules, doesn't cooperate with the religious mafia, and for that he must die.

The scary thing about this passage? Walk into a Christian bookstore and tell me whose words are plastered across the covers you see. Sobering, I think.

News

Jeff, who posted the Jesus of My Day essay a couple of weeks ago in the comments here, now has a blog called So I Go. Chapter 2 is up, and it's great stuff - make sure to check it out! Best of luck with the blog, Jeff!

Rhythm

I've been musing about rhythm lately, about having it or not having it, about living in it, and about knowing God through it. I think the universe is built on rhythm, from the rhythm of the rotation and revolution of celestial bodies, keeping time in a grand, cosmic waltz, to the staccato beat of day and night, relentlessly and ceaselessly plodding forward in time to some unseen metronome. Music lives in the heart of creation, a tune crafted and composed by a grand Author, the beauty of which may only be appreciated by those who take the time to listen. Sometimes, I feel as though, if I were to just tilt my head ever so slightly or still my breathing just a bit, I'd catch a hint, the merest suggestion of a melody on the wind, there one moment and the next carried away to the ear of some other, less hurried listener.

I have noticed over the past few months that I am most at peace when I try to attune myself to this rhythm. This, however, is no mean feat, for it is not the only rhythm vying for my attentions. Another music plays its accompaniment to my steps, hoping to lure me into the beat that it sets. It is a more hurried melody, more loud, repetitive and vain, carrying none of the soft, haunting beauty of the deeper song. But far too often I find my feet slipping into the louder rhythm set by society, a dance that is more enticing but that eventually becomes impossible to maintain. Its steps are full of nervous energy and its tempo frenzied at best.

Busyness is idolatry. It sings a seductive song that lures me away from the slower, deeper rhythms of the Creator. It often masquerades as a healthy tempo, even coming disguised in religious practices or church bulletins, but in truth it drowns out the voice of God.

If I cannot hear the Singer sing, then perhaps I am listening to the wrong tune.

Request

Hey all - I'm a bit behind in comments / posts. I had a minor collision last week that's put my Jeep more or less out of commission, and this weekend my back has started to act up. I even had to miss work today because of the pain. Fortunately, my chiropractor is optimistic that some adjustments should take care of everything, but in the meantime it's hard to concentrate when you're moving like Frankenstein. I'll have some stuff I've been working on up within the next few days, but if you could keep me in your prayers, I'd be most appreciative. Blessings all!