Monday, December 5, 2022

 

Monday, December 5, 2022


Psalms 82; 84

Isaiah 7:1-17

Mark 6:30-56


Observance: Second Monday in Advent


But immediately He spoke to them and said, “Be courageous, I AM, do not fear.”


You may find that the sentence for this morning reads differently to your Bible. That is because this is a personal translation of the original Greek. When Jesus calls out to the disciples and identifies Himself, He uses the Greek term ego eimi: I Am. It is the same term that John records Him using in that Gospel, which is exactly the same way God referred to Himself when Moses met Him at the Burning Bush: “I Am who I Am.”


The fact that the disciples did not understand about the miracle of the loaves is coupled with the fact that Jesus self-identifies as God. That is, there is something about the miracle of the loaves that reveals something about who God is like as a Person. Perhaps we can understand quite easily the first half of the miracle of the loaves. Jesus had just lost His good friend, servant and cousin John the Baptist. He just wanted to get some space to Himself, to mourn the death of the Baptiser, to sit with His heavenly Father and be comforted by the Holy Spirit. But when Jesus, the Second Person of God, sees the crowd of people waiting for Him, He has compassion for them and thinks nothing of Himself and His own interests, but goes to serve them.


But the loaves and fishes reveal something really special. Look at how Jesus performs the miracle: He takes the bread, looks to heaven and gives thanks, breaks it, and then gives it to the people. And there is more than enough for everyone.


Richard Rohr looked at the Gospel of Mark and claimed that the text reveals a “cruciform pattern of reality”. He is incorrect in the specific, that the cruciform pattern refers to heartbreak and disappointment. However, in the main, he is correct that the reality described in this gospel is explicitly cruciform: Jesus feeding the hungry crowd looks forward to the Last Supper, which itself looks forward to the crucifixion: the defining act of both human history and who God truly is.


Jesus took our human flesh; yes, all our heartbreak and disappointment. Then He showed us what to do with it: He gave thanks to God (1 Thess 5:18). Then Jesus broke: broke the loaves, broke the Passover bread, allowed His body to be broken, died of a broken heart. Finally, He gives: He gives life to all who would come. Everyone on that hill that day got some bread and fish. Everyone who comes to Him today receives peace and salvation. This is the cruciform pattern of reality, and the nature of God: He knows from experience exactly what we are going through, and His heart is filled with compassion, so He gives Himself to us, more than we could ever need.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Monday, September 12, 2022

  Monday, September 12, 2022 Psalm 33 Habakkuk 1:1-11 Ephesians 1:1-14 In Christ we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us. The lectionary has taken us from the beloved disciple to one of the most beloved of Paul's epistles: Ephesians. Paul must have loved this church very much: we get a sense of his fondness for them and their shared sense of purpose and worship just from the introduction. In what is likely just an introduction to a letter in the style of the ancient Roman world, Paul has managed to squeeze in the entire, wondrous story of God's work of redemption. Paul has framed it the way it ought to be framed: in a pastoral, encouraging tone. He has three main points here (remember, Paul proceeds logically to build up an argument, unlike John who circles around his main point). First: God intended to save us before the world was formed. Think back to the first l
Read more

“Short time or long – I pray to God not only you but all who are listening become like I am, except for these chains.”

  Monday, September 11, 2023 Psalms 28; 29 1 Kings 7:51-8:21 Acts 26:19-32 Observance: Deiniol, bishop (d. 384) “ Short time or long – I pray to God not only you but all who are listening become like I am, except for these chains.” The great many blessings of being under the protection of the blood of the Lamb fill our hearts with joy and peace. To have the Almighty Creator of the universe, the One who sits above the flood, filling the temple of our being with the cloud of His presence is what it truly means to be human. Every day is filled with adventure; every night turns to the rest of the victor. Certainly there are chains: sometimes they are physical chains, the suffering of being a Christian among people who do not love the Lord. Sometimes they are spiritual; the attacks of the powers of the air who try to distract us from the One we love. But they always fall away. Our Rock of Ages always frees us; always brings us out of the pit of despair. A won
Read more

Monday, September 19

  Monday, September 19 Psalm 45 Nahum 1:15-2:9 Ephesians 4:17-28 ...be renewed in the spirit of your minds... It is far too easy to read some of these Pauline lists of virtues and vices and feel like we have gone back to the dark days before the Reformation. The idea that if we behave ourselves then we can call ourselves “good people” is pagan, not Christian. Paul feels very strongly about how Christians behave, he “affirms and insists” upon it. But it is because of what has already happened that we should mind our step, not because of where we are going. Christ's resurrection is many things, but one aspect relevant for Paul's teaching this morning is that it demonstrates to us the radical new reality in which we now live. We too have passed (spiritually) from death to life; therefore, we experience a “renewal of our minds”. Instead of treading water until we die, we live lives. Everything now makes sense: God has spoken, so we have logic. God made us in His im
Read more