Jesus is asked to leave

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Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were overcome with fear. So he got into the boat and left.

Luke 8:37

I’ve never really “got” magic.  I used to despair when I was younger that Paul Daniels always seemed to be on television, when I’d much rather have been watching a comedy or a drama.  When I worked in London and David Blaine locked himself in a glass box, I couldn’t really understand the point of his actions.  Even recently, I happened to be flicking through the channels on my television and caught a bit of a “100 Greatest Magic Tricks” show.  A couple of the tricks I caught involved a guy being chained up, tied up in a mail bag, locked in a cage – and then being thrown out of a plane, with a parachute tied to the outside of the cage.  Another involved a man seemingly plunging swords into himself.  All a bit weird really.

I think part of my dislike of magic comes from the fact that I don’t understand how – or why – the magician is doing the trick.  Sometimes I actually get nervous about something going wrong and wonder why someone would even attempt these crazy acts.

It was similar for the people of Gerasenes.  They had just witnessed Jesus casting out demons from a possessed man – a man considered dangerous – and sending them into a group of pigs.  The people watching had no idea who Jesus was, and were fearful of his powers.  They no doubt wondered where he got his power from, and whether he was good or bad.  They also would probably have worried what Jesus might have done next.  Maybe he’d do something to them!  Much easier, they thought, if Jesus just left them alone.

What was Jesus’ response when asked to leave?  He quietly got back into the boat he had crossed the sea in, and left the people of Gerasenes alone.

It is worth reflecting on where Jesus draws his power from.  If you believe, like me, that Jesus is the Son of God, then he draws his power directly from the creator God, in which case we had better pay attention to him.  If we decide that we want Jesus to leave us alone, he will do.  But surely it is in our interests to have him stick around and listen to him more closely!

Power over demons, power over the devil

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Power over demons, power over the devil

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.

Matthew 4:1

“I can resist everything except temptation.”  So said one of Oscar Wilde’s characters.  I’ve been trying to think what my temptations are.  I suspect most of my friends would say that I am tempted by gadgets; I waste far too much money buying ridiculous items that I think will make my life easier.  Invariably they don’t and I end up sticking them in the back of a drawer or flogging them on eBay.  I really should know better by now.  There are a lot better ways of handling my money!

In this respect, as with so many others, I should learn something from Jesus.  Right at the very beginning of his ministry, as we have seen, he went out to the wilderness for forty days and forty nights, where he was tempted by Satan.  Satan tried to get him to turn stones into loaves of bread, to jump off a mountain so that the angels would save him, and with all the kingdoms of the world.  Jesus manages to resist all of these, however.  He finally commands Satan to be gone, thereby demonstrating that he has far more power than the devil.

In our current Mark Marathon article, we see the crowds reacting with shock when Jesus demonstrates that he has power over demons when he expels them from a possessed man.  It stands to reason that this should not prove a challenge to Jesus, however.  He has, after all, demonstrated that he has power over the chief demon, the devil, Satan himself.  The demons who go by the name of Legion are small fry in comparison.

Throughout the gospels, Jesus demonstrates that he has significant power over all kinds of things.  He has this power precisely because he is the Son of God, the Word made flesh.  If Jesus is the son of God, is there anything that he cannot do?

A giant leap of faith

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A giant leap of faith

He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

Mark 4:40

I think most people have a phobia of some kind.  Lots of people are afraid of heights, and even more seem to be afraid of spiders.  My particular phobia is very strange; I am afraid of spiral staircases.  I find it very, very hard to climb up to the top of castles or towers, and if I do I get extremely panicky.

On one occasion, however, I was invited to climb the Clock Tower at the Palace of Westminster in London.  I knew that this was a very special privilege, and so decided that I would force myself to do it.  I also hoped that it would cure my fear.  (Sadly it didn’t!)  So it was that I forced myself up the 334 steps to the top of the tower, arriving next to Big Ben itself just in time to hear probably the world’s most famous clock strike midday.  It was quite an experience, and I am very glad I did it.

One of the reasons I was able to drag myself up the stairs was by telling myself that thousands of people had climbed to the top of the tower, and it was still standing; it must surely be safe.  I had faith in the structure of the tower and the people who had built it, and reasoned that it must be safe.

In today’s verse, Jesus rebukes the disciples after he has calmed the storm.  They are afraid of what they have just seen, and this upsets Jesus.  He questions whether they have any faith.  This, then, can be seen as the answer to their fear; if they just had faith in Jesus, and trusted that he was the Son of God, they would not be so afraid.  They had seen him conduct many miracles by this point, they had heard his amazing teaching, and they had seen the effect that he had on the crowds.  Surely, then, they had enough evidence to trust in him, and to put their faith completely in him?

I think if I had been one of the disciples, I think I would have found it hard to accept who Jesus seemed to be.  It wasn’t every day that one meets the messiah.  Even if they recognized that there was something special about him when they packed up their jobs to follow him, it would have been a huge jump of faith to recognize Jesus as the Christ, rather than simply a good teacher.  That, though, is precisely the jump of faith that Jesus asks his disciples to make.  He asks us to make the same jump.  It is not as easy leap to make, but we need to look at the evidence and work out for ourselves whether we truly accept that Jesus was the Son of God.

Jesus – lord of nature

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Jesus – lord of nature

If he holds back the waters, there is drought; if he lets them loose, they devastate the land.

Job 12:15

With global warming seemingly in the news every week, rising sea levels have become a real concern in recent years.  We’re always being told that if things continue as they are at the moment, in just a few decades the centre of London – including the Houses of Parliament – will be underwater.

On the east coast of England, though, encroaching seas have long been a problem, largely due to erosion rather than rising sea levels, but flooding is very much a concern.  Every year, a new section of sea defence is built, whilst just along the coast another is smashed to bits by the forces of nature.  I often find myself thinking that those who design and build sea defences are fighting a losing battle – no one can stop the force of the sea.

That view is precisely what the disciples find themselves questioning in our current Mark Marathon article, after Jesus, with a few words, succeeds in calming the waters of the Sea of Galilee.  Surely no-one can do what they have just seen Jesus do.  It must have been at this point that they must have really been wondering who, precisely, Jesus is.

Throughout the New Testament, the claim is made that Jesus is the Son of God – and indeed, is God himself – one third of the Trinity.  By demonstrating that he has power over nature in this incident, Jesus makes it all the more clear to his disciples who he is.  In this passage from Job, we see the power that God has over the seas – he can cause droughts simply be stopping water, and he can flood the land simply by releasing the water.  Since he, during creation, created land and water, and separated the land from the water, it stands to reason that he can control it.  Since God can do this, and Jesus is in fact God, there is no reason why he shouldn’t be able to simply quell a small storm.

The disciples were left wondering just who Jesus was after this adventure on the water.  Maybe it’s a good time for us to reflect likewise

Keep calm, don’t panic!

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A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion.

Mark 4:37-38a

One of the things that I’ve learnt as an estuary sailor is just how quickly storms can appear – almost from nowhere.  One minute, you can be out in a boat in glorious sunshine and a gentle breeze, the next minute you can be hit by a terrible squall that can be very scary indeed.  There have been times when I’ve been out in a boat and got caught out by the weather and have found myself wondering if perhaps I would ever make it back to sure.  I speak about it matter of factly, but it can actually be really scary indeed.

I’m just an occasional sailor, unlike many of the disciples, who ate fishermen would have been used to working out boats on the Sea of Galilee.  When they are hit by a storm in our current Mark Marathon article, they panic, and their fear is evident.  Jesus, however, is calmly sleeping in the back of the boat.

There’s a great deal that we can glean from these short verses.  I’m going to pick out just two points today.  First of all, just like the rest of us who are wholly human, Jesus got tired.  He had been working extremely hard, and was now taking the opportunity to have a quick rest.  Sometimes we can be inclined to focus on Jesus’ divinity, but he was human – just like you and me – and had the same needs that we have.

Secondly, Jesus is completely unfazed by the storm – to the extent that he can happily sleep through it.  Whilst the disciples are panicking, Jesus sleeps.  Jesus remains calm while those around him lose their heads.  Perhaps as we strive to be like Christ we can reflect on this, and try to remain calm ourselves.  I know myself that I can sometimes get anxious over the smallest things, but Jesus is the model of a calm and relaxed man.

So today, reflect on just who Jesus was.  He might be God, but he is also human, and he knows our worries, concerns and needs.  Secondly, think about how calm Jesus remains under pressure.  Why not strive to do the same yourself – whether you should find yourself in a squall at sea, or just in a busy period at work or school?

God’s kingdom, within us

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God’s kingdom, within us

Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you.”

Luke 17:20-21

Every year I take a group of about eighty schoolboys to the battlefields of the First World War in Belgium.  It’s always a great trip; the boys respond very well to the sights that we see, and gain a much better understanding of the horrors of war than simply sitting in a warm classroom in Sussex.  During the course of the trip, we visit two locations – the Somme, in France, and Ypres in Belgium.  As we drive through northern France to Belgium, the boys always want to know where one country ends and the next begins.  Most of the time, they simply cannot tell, because the countryside, landscape and buildings all look pretty similar.  They had been expecting to see some great change in their surroundings, but it doesn’t happen.  Most of them, unless they’re looking particularly closely, even miss the small road sign that announces we are arriving in Belgium.

The boys’ expectations as we travel from one country to another in some way replicate the expectations of the Pharisees when God’s kingdom arrives.  They are expecting fanfares, maybe someone descending from heaven on a cloud, and perhaps even a triumphal king who takes over the world and declares that God’s kingdom has arrived.  They are mistaken, however.  As suggested in the parable of the mustard seed in our current Mark Marathon article, God’s kingdom arrives slowly and gradually.  Unless you were looking very closely, you might miss the discrete signs that, in fact, God’s kingdom has already arrived!  Rather than being a large earthly kingdom, however, God’s kingdom is found in all who truly believe.  Those little acts of love and generosity that believers show to one another, that willingness to love a neighbour, even if that neighbour is not particularly loveable, that act of friendship to a lonely person – all of these things are actually small signs that the kingdom of God is already here!

That’s quite a difficult idea to grasp – that we are in some way a part of God’s kingdom, right here and right now.  It’s difficult to take it in that God’s kingdom is within us.  Ponder on that a little today, and think about what the implications of this might be for us all – as individuals and as members of the global community.

The great harvest

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The great harvest

Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, trample the grapes, for the winepress is full and the vats overflow—so great is their wickedness!”

Joel 3:13

When I was little, I used to love watching the enormous combine harvesters cutting the wheat in the fields around my home.  I say when I was little – the truth is I still do!  They’re such fascinating machines, combine harvesters; enormous great things with giant rollers on the front that draw the ears of corn towards the rolling blade.  After the harvester has cut the wheat, it almost magically extracts the grain, and then periodically dumps a load into a trailer pulled by a tractor.  I really could watch all day!

Things have changed since the days of Joel the prophet, and also since Jesus told the parable of the sower.  In those times, grain was cut by hand using a sickle.  In this passage, Joel is prophesying of the “end times,” when the living and the dead will be judged.  At the judgement, the harvest will be made, and all those who have followed Jesus will be part of a new creation, whilst all those who have not will die.  In this particular passage, we have an image of a full winepress, and vats that are overflowing as a consequence of the large numbers of people who have turned from Christ, and dedicated their lives to following their own wicked ways.  This is a powerful reminder of the need to ensure that we dedicate ourselves to God’s teaching, renounce evil, and seek to live our lives in a way that honours Jesus.  If we do, then we will bear fruit, and be part of the great harvest.  If, instead, we prefer to dedicate our lives to following money, pleasure, and the evil ways of the world, then the winepress and eternal death waits for us.

I don’t know how you feel about this, but I reckon that’s a pretty good reason to ensure that we commit ourselves completely to God.  Less selfishly, I think it’s also a spur to personal evangelism.  As I’m sure you do, I have some very dear friends who are not Christians, who are destined for the winepress and the overflowing vats.  I don’t want to see them there.  I think it’s time I focused on praying for them and sharing my faith with them.

The overflowing container

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Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

Luke 6:38

I’m a teacher.  My mum was also a teacher.  She still takes great delight in recounting a story of when she was doing a day of supply teaching at my school when I was little.  (I stress – very little!)

We were doing a practical investigation into volume.  We had various containers which we filled up with water, and we had to say whether the water would go into other containers.  I had a large jug of water, and my mum asked if the water would fit into the smaller container.  I said of course it would, to which my mum asked me if I was sure.  When I said I was, she suggested I try pouring it into the other container to find out.  I did and as my mum was expecting, it overflowed.  I kept pouring however.  When my mum questioned me, I said that the water filled the container.  I had a slightly different understanding of the question to my mum, clearly!  She thought I was being stupid, but I still think I was being very clever!

In today’s verse, it is clear that God is tremendously generous to his people.  Just as I overflowed the container when I poured the water in, so God’s gifts to us will overflow when he gives them to us.  All we have to do is show the same generosity to those around us.  If we show the love of God to all we encounter in a practical way, God will more than match the love we show to other people with his love for us.

God’s love is a bit like the pick and mix I buy from WHSmith.  It is sold per cup rather than by weight, and so I always press the sweets down to compress them as much as I can.  I drop in smaller sweets and shake the cup around to fill any gaps that might be left.  Ultimately, though, I have to get the plastic lid onto the cup.  There is no lid as far as God’s love for us is concerned, though; once we are filled, God allows it to overflow and pour all around us.

Finally in this verse, Jesus tells us that with the measure we use, it will be measured for us.  If we are generous and loving to those around us, God will reward us.  His generosity knows no bounds.

Just remember how generous God is to us – and how important it is for us to show that same love to those that we encounter.

Actions speak louder than words

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Actions speak louder than words

In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

Matthew 5:16

A few years ago, I was out night sailing with some friends.  Okay – I’ll admit it – we were sailing back from the pub, but none of us is in the habit of drinking to excess.  Whilst we were in the pub, it got dark.  We had to try and navigate ourselves home across a two-mile wide river estuary.  Unable to see the other side of the sail, I tasked one of my friends, who shall remain nameless, responsibility for acting as look out.  He wasn’t very good at it, and we almost hit a twenty-foot high post with a flashing light on top of it, which was marking the depth of water in the channel.  We rib my friend about this incident mercilessly to this day!

Of course, if it had been day, we would have seen the post.  If the light on the post had not been intermittently flashing, but had a constant beam, I’m sure that my friend would have noticed it.  As it was, the fact that it was painted black and not particularly effectively lit meant my friend didn’t notice it.

Some Christians are like that, too.  You meet them at school or at work, and you would not know that they are Christians; there is nothing distinctive in their actions that marks them out from the sea of non-believers around them.  You could meet them and be none the wiser that they had a faith.

Jesus often refers to himself as the Light of the World, illuminating the darkness of our sinful planet.  Here, though, he commands his disciples to do the same; he tells them to let their light “shine before men.”  It’s no good hiding away our faith – it should be obvious to all those we meet.  Jesus here explains the reasoning for this; people should see the disciples’ good deeds “and praise your Father in Heaven.”  People should recognize the reason we are acting as we should, and through our actions we should point them to God.

Actions, it is often said, speak louder than words.  Jesus recognizes the importance of action.  Do you?

A Plentiful Harvest

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A Plentiful Harvest

Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the LORD blessed him. The man became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy.

Genesis 26:12-13

Last week I visited Kew Gardens – an amazing place dedicated to plants from all over the world.  I had no idea until I was taken on a tour that plants could be so interesting.  Our guide carefully picked out plants and explained them to us in a way which made them seem like the most amazing things on God’s planet.  I was particularly impressed by the carnivorous plants, which typically live in soil that could not sustain ordinary plants, so they trap flies and other small animals and draw in their nutrients from their rotting bodies.  I was so impressed that I even  bought myself a Venus Flytrap.  How long it will last, though, I could not guarantee.  I am renowned for my ability to kill off plants!  So much so, in fact, that I dug up my front garden and replaced it with shingle…

Isaac was clearly had much greener fingers than I have.  A good crop at this time would have seen a harvest of roughly ten times the amount of grain planted.  Isaac, however, managed to harvest a hundred times the amount of grain that he planted.  That’s a pretty respectable harvest – and one that enabled him to become a very rich man!

It was not just because Isaac had green fingers that his harvest was so remarkable, however.  We see here in Genesis the reason for his success was “because the Lord blessed him.”  God was pleased with Isaac as he had served him faithfully.  As a result of this, God ensured that Isaac had everything he needed, and became successful.

In our current Mark Marathon passage, Jesus tells us exactly how we, too, can we receive a harvest as incredible as Isaac’s.  In Mark 4:20, Jesus says, “those who were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold, and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”

What must we do, then, to receive God’s blessings?  We must hear the word, accept it and bear fruit.  We must listen carefully what God says to us, acknowledge that it is true, and then must act on it.  It’s not enough simply to say that we are Christians; that won’t earn us God’s blessings.  Instead, we need to ensure that we are living our lives for him in every respect.