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Category Archives: Mark

Judas and Barabbas Revisited

05 May

Judas and Barabbas

Matthew

26 When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, 2 “As you know, Passover begins in two days, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”

3 At that same time the leading priests and elders were meeting at the residence of Caiaphas, the high priest, 4 plotting how to capture Jesus secretly and kill him. 5 “But not during the Passover celebration,” they agreed, “or the people may riot.”

6 Meanwhile, Jesus was in Bethany at the home of Simon, a man who had previously had leprosy. 7 While he was eating, a woman came in with a beautiful alabaster jar of expensive perfume and poured it over his head.

8 The disciples were indignant when they saw this. “What a waste!” they said. 9 “It could have been sold for a high price and the money given to the poor.”

10 But Jesus, aware of this, replied, “Why criticize this woman for doing such a good thing to me? 11 You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me. 12 She has poured this perfume on me to prepare my body for burial. 13 I tell you the truth, wherever the Good News is preached throughout the world, this woman’s deed will be remembered and discussed.”

14 Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve disciples, went to the leading priests 15 and asked, “How much will you pay me to betray Jesus to you?” And they gave him thirty pieces of silver. 16 From that time on, Judas began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus.

Matthew 26:1-16

27 Very early in the morning the leading priests and the elders of the people met again to lay plans for putting Jesus to death. 2 Then they bound him, led him away, and took him to Pilate, the Roman governor.

3 When Judas, who had betrayed him, realized that Jesus had been condemned to die, he was filled with remorse. So he took the thirty pieces of silver back to the leading priests and the elders. 4 “I have sinned,” he declared, “for I have betrayed an innocent man.”

“What do we care?” they retorted. “That’s your problem.”

5 Then Judas threw the silver coins down in the Temple and went out and hanged himself.

Matthew 27:1-5

15 Now it was the governor’s custom each year during the Passover celebration to release one prisoner to the crowd—anyone they wanted. 16 This year there was a notorious prisoner, a man named Barabbas. 17 As the crowds gathered before Pilate’s house that morning, he asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you—Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?” 18 (He knew very well that the religious leaders had arrested Jesus out of envy.)

19 Just then, as Pilate was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him this message: “Leave that innocent man alone. I suffered through a terrible nightmare about him last night.”

20 Meanwhile, the leading priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas to be released and for Jesus to be put to death. 21 So the governor asked again, “Which of these two do you want me to release to you?”

The crowd shouted back, “Barabbas!”

22 Pilate responded, “Then what should I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?”

They shouted back, “Crucify him!”

23 “Why?” Pilate demanded. “What crime has he committed?”

But the mob roared even louder, “Crucify him!”

24 Pilate saw that he wasn’t getting anywhere and that a riot was developing. So he sent for a bowl of water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood. The responsibility is yours!”

25 And all the people yelled back, “We will take responsibility for his death—we and our children!”

26 So Pilate released Barabbas to them. He ordered Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip, then turned him over to the Roman soldiers to be crucified.

Matthew 27:15-26

Mark

14 It was now two days before Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread. The leading priests and the teachers of religious law were still looking for an opportunity to capture Jesus secretly and kill him. 2 “But not during the Passover celebration,” they agreed, “or the people may riot.”

3 Meanwhile, Jesus was in Bethany at the home of Simon, a man who had previously had leprosy. While he was eating, a woman came in with a beautiful alabaster jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard. She broke open the jar and poured the perfume over his head.

4 Some of those at the table were indignant. “Why waste such expensive perfume?” they asked. 5 “It could have been sold for a year’s wages and the money given to the poor!” So they scolded her harshly.

6 But Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. Why criticize her for doing such a good thing to me? 7 You will always have the poor among you, and you can help them whenever you want to. But you will not always have me. 8 She has done what she could and has anointed my body for burial ahead of time. 9 I tell you the truth, wherever the Good News is preached throughout the world, this woman’s deed will be remembered and discussed.”

10 Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve disciples, went to the leading priests to arrange to betray Jesus to them. 11 They were delighted when they heard why he had come, and they promised to give him money. So he began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus.

Mark 14:1-11

6 Now it was the governor’s custom each year during the Passover celebration to release one prisoner—anyone the people requested. 7 One of the prisoners at that time was Barabbas, a revolutionary who had committed murder in an uprising. 8 The crowd went to Pilate and asked him to release a prisoner as usual.

9 “Would you like me to release to you this ‘King of the Jews’?” Pilate asked. 10 (For he realized by now that the leading priests had arrested Jesus out of envy.) 11 But at this point the leading priests stirred up the crowd to demand the release of Barabbas instead of Jesus. 12 Pilate asked them, “Then what should I do with this man you call the king of the Jews?”

13 They shouted back, “Crucify him!”

14 “Why?” Pilate demanded. “What crime has he committed?”

But the mob roared even louder, “Crucify him!”

15 So to pacify the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He ordered Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip, then turned him over to the Roman soldiers to be crucified.

Mark 15:6-15

Luke

22 The Festival of Unleavened Bread, which is also called Passover, was approaching. 2 The leading priests and teachers of religious law were plotting how to kill Jesus, but they were afraid of the people’s reaction.

3 Then Satan entered into Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve disciples, 4 and he went to the leading priests and captains of the Temple guard to discuss the best way to betray Jesus to them. 5 They were delighted, and they promised to give him money. 6 So he agreed and began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus so they could arrest him when the crowds weren’t around.

Luke 22:1-6

13 Then Pilate called together the leading priests and other religious leaders, along with the people, 14 and he announced his verdict. “You brought this man to me, accusing him of leading a revolt. I have examined him thoroughly on this point in your presence and find him innocent. 15 Herod came to the same conclusion and sent him back to us. Nothing this man has done calls for the death penalty. 16 So I will have him flogged, and then I will release him.”

18 Then a mighty roar rose from the crowd, and with one voice they shouted, “Kill him, and release Barabbas to us!” 19 (Barabbas was in prison for taking part in an insurrection in Jerusalem against the government, and for murder.) 20 Pilate argued with them, because he wanted to release Jesus. 21 But they kept shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”

22 For the third time he demanded, “Why? What crime has he committed? I have found no reason to sentence him to death. So I will have him flogged, and then I will release him.”

23 But the mob shouted louder and louder, demanding that Jesus be crucified, and their voices prevailed. 24 So Pilate sentenced Jesus to die as they demanded. 25 As they had requested, he released Barabbas, the man in prison for insurrection and murder. But he turned Jesus over to them to do as they wished.

Luke 23:13-25

John

12 Six days before the Passover celebration began, Jesus arrived in Bethany, the home of Lazarus—the man he had raised from the dead. 2 A dinner was prepared in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, and Lazarus was among those who ate[a] with him. 3 Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance.

4 But Judas Iscariot, the disciple who would soon betray him, said, 5 “That perfume was worth a year’s wages. It should have been sold and the money given to the poor.” 6 Not that he cared for the poor—he was a thief, and since he was in charge of the disciples’ money, he often stole some for himself.

7 Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. She did this in preparation for my burial. 8 You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”

John 12:1-8

2 It was time for supper, and the devil had already prompted Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus.

John 13:2

38 “What is truth?” Pilate asked. Then he went out again to the people and told them, “He is not guilty of any crime. 39 But you have a custom of asking me to release one prisoner each year at Passover. Would you like me to release this ‘King of the Jews’?”

40 But they shouted back, “No! Not this man. We want Barabbas!” (Barabbas was a revolutionary.)

John 18:38-40

Dear God, I came across this prayer from December 2023 recently, and I wondered if it wouldn’t make a good Sunday school lesson. I’m teaching this Sunday and then I’m also starting a weekly Bible study next Monday the 14th so I want to dust this off and sit with it again for a bit.

The prayer I did back in December 2023 was long. Honestly, I’m surprised I spent that much time with it. I wonder how long it took me to put all of the scriptures together from all four gospels. Regardless, it’s interesting to think about and then compare the world then and the world now. Are we really that much different? Does the perceived weakness in Jesus then still frustrate us today. Is his way (read: your way) too soft? Don’t you realize the only way to get things done is to do this like Barabbas tried, but with your power?

I was talking with a guy on Friday, and he was rattling off presidents he thought were too week and wimpy. It was basically everyone since Reagan with the exception of the current president. H.W. and W. were to wimpy. I pushed back a little on W., saying I hadn’t heard that or thought that about him, but he was saying W. was too nice.

Oh, Father, help us. I get the feeling that’s what the church now thinks is true: nice gets you nowhere. Nice leaves you vulnerable. Nice is weak. Nice will lead to your destruction. We need tough. We need warriors. We need to fight. I said a couple of years ago that the logical fulfillment of Christian Nationalism is the Spanish Inquisition and, ultimately, the Crusades. As I look at what is happening now and how we are trying to nationalize Christianity and punish our allies for not being more like us I think it’s happening faster than I thought it would. And oh, how it will destroy trust in you. The first- and second-century churches were seen as loving and caring. That’s all they had to offer, and that’s still all we should have to offer because that’s who you are. You are loving and caring. Do you judge? Sure. Do you condemn? Yes. But that’s up to you to do. Our job is to love you with everything we have and love our neighbors as our selves. That includes our enemies. So help me to do that today. And help me to take that attitude into the world. I love you. I want to love like you.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on May 5, 2025 in John, Luke, Mark, Matthew

 

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Mark 9:1-6

16 Mar

2 After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. 3 His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. 4 And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus.

5 Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 6 (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.)

Mark 9:1-6

Dear God, it’s Transfiguration Sunday in the Catholic church, so it makes sense that Sister Miriam would have chosen this passage for today’s verse in Restore: A Guided Lent Journal for Prayer and Meditation. However, she only did the first sentence of verse 5, and I am drawn to verse 6. In it, Peter confesses through Mark that he had no idea what he was saying or doing because he was so scared. It’s a little like me when I describe myself looking like an idiot. “This is what I said, but I had no idea what I was saying.” For me, the reminder here is to just allow myself to be in the moment. Don’t try to take control of it. Don’t try to make more or less of it than it is. Just be in the moment and let the Holy Spirit drive my response.

But going back to Sister Miriam’s sentence for the day, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here,” it is a reminder that this is an important story for us to know. I don’t know if or how many other times Jesus met with Moses and Elijah (or others) during his earthly journey. He got away to pray by himself a lot, including the 40 days in the wilderness and several other examples. But at least one of them was captured for posterity. So that there were witnesses to your true deity as represented in the flesh in Jesus, all man and all God. It’s so awesome to consider. And I’m sure Peter, James, and John remembered this event even at the end of their lives.

Father, it is good that I am here this morning. And I am in the midst of a local tragedy, and I do not know how to respond. There is a 9,000-acre fire near my home, and while I am not personally threatened, many I know are in some way or another. Some are without power from downed power lines. Some need to evacuate from their homes. Some who I don’t know have already lost their home, livestock, barns, etc. So in this moment, as I consider my response, it is good that I am here. To pray. To not freak out and get in the way of others who have a job to do, but to seek to support in any way that I can. I worship you, Father. I pray for rain. I pray for a change in the weather to reduce the wind. I pray for your supernatural hand to move and protect the firefighters, the homeowners, and the livestock. I pray that you will not let this pain be wasted, but make it count for your glory and to draw all of us, including me, closer to you.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on March 16, 2025 in Mark, Restore: A Guided Lent Journal for Prayer and Meditation

 

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Mark 10:17-28

04 Mar

17 As Jesus was starting out on his way to Jerusalem, a man came running up to him, knelt down, and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked. “Only God is truly good. 19 But to answer your question, you know the commandments: ‘You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. You must not cheat anyone. Honor your father and mother.’[e]”

20 “Teacher,” the man replied, “I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young.”

21 Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. “There is still one thing you haven’t done,” he told him. “Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

22 At this the man’s face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

23 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God!” 24 This amazed them. But Jesus said again, “Dear children, it is very hard[f] to enter the Kingdom of God. 25 In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!”

26 The disciples were astounded. “Then who in the world can be saved?” they asked.

27 Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.”

28 Then Peter began to speak up. “We’ve given up everything to follow you,” he said.

Mark 10:17-28

Dear God, Peter reveals in verse 28 that they all had the same question this man had: What must I do to inherit eternal life? The same is true today. This can be a preoccupation for some. It can be what everything is all about. Why do I worship God? So I can have eternal life. Why do I do nice things for others? Go to church? Because I think there is a carrot for me at the end of it. There is eternal bliss. Power.

So why am I here this morning? Is that my goal? Am I trying to check a box and justify myself to you like Peter did in verse 28? Or am I just here to worship the God of the universe? Am I here because this is where I find peace, comfort, and direction for my life? Like most things in my life, the majority of the time I am here for the right reasons, but I know there are times when I’m here because I’m trying to justify myself before you.

Father, you are my God. I worship you. My life is worth nothing to me (mostly). At least, I want my life to be worth nothing to me. If the reality is that I lived this one life on earth and I used it to worship you and love others and there is no eternal reward at the end of it, then I’m okay with that. It’s not about me anyway. It’s about you. I don’t know what being with you one day will be like. “I can only imagine.” But I trust you that, if that is what you have for me, then it will be an existence that transcends everything I can know now. And I recognize that I will be the least in your new earth. But I welcome that if it means I get to keep worshipping you. So, for however many days I have left on earth, I offer then to you with no reservations or regrets. Prepare my heart today for Ash Wednesday and the Lenten season. Be glorified through me.

I pray all of this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on March 4, 2025 in Mark

 

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Mark 9:38-49

26 Feb

38 John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone using your name to cast out demons, but we told him to stop because he wasn’t in our group.”

39 “Don’t stop him!” Jesus said. “No one who performs a miracle in my name will soon be able to speak evil of me. 40 Anyone who is not against us is for us. 41 If anyone gives you even a cup of water because you belong to the Messiah, I tell you the truth, that person will surely be rewarded.

42 “But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone hung around your neck. 43 If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one hand than to go into the unquenchable fires of hell with two hands. 45 If your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one foot than to be thrown into hell with two feet. 47 And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out. It’s better to enter the Kingdom of God with only one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, 48 ‘where the maggots never die and the fire never goes out.’

49 “For everyone will be tested with fire. 50 Salt is good for seasoning. But if it loses its flavor, how do you make it salty again? You must have the qualities of salt among yourselves and live in peace with each other.”

Mark 9:38-49

Dear God, I was listening to the beginning of the Voxology Podcast this morning, and I heard them reference a new book called The Sin of Empathy by Joe Rigney. I’ve heard about interviews with Mr. Rigney on this topic before, and I didn’t agree with a lot of what he said, but when I read the Gospel reading for today from Mark 9, which actually stopped at 40, it made me think of this disagreement I have with Mr. Rigney and should I be giving him more of the benefit of the doubt since he does what he does in your name. So I went to the entire passage, read it, and thought I would spend some time with it here to see if I have perhaps been wrong about this.

First, let me say that I don’t want to spend this entire time comparing Mr. Rigney to this passage, but this is a good reminder to be gentle about him and not judge him too prematurely. Ironically, to maybe even have a little empathy and try to see the world through his lens. While he is afraid of “woke” culture, I think he and I probably define “woke” differently, and, therefore, we look at being “woke” differently. We often start off looking for the worst in people, but I can assume that as he wakes up this morning, he is a man who wants to make the world a better place today. It’s just that he comes at it through a different lens that I do. So I can love him even though we disagree and then try to use the art of persuasion to argue for the perspective of my worldview and the lens through which I see the world.

Now, back to the passage. It is interesting that the church stopped with verse 40 because there is so much more here. Why didn’t they go to the end of the chapter? Nine more verses give you a lot of information.

First, the disciples were fussed because the man was not part of the “Jesus traveling party.” They had developed quite a clique, and I think they were feeling like the cool kids with Jesus. The special ones. Where did this guy come off doing this. In fact, this story is even out of context. Mark tells it as part of the story where they disciples are arguing about who is the greatest in the kingdom, and Jesus tells them “whoever welcomes these little children in my name welcomes me…” So the very next sentence someone speaks to him after that is John saying, “Teacher, we saw someone using your name to cast out demons, but we told him to stop because he wasn’t in our group.” Tone of voice is almost always lost when we read. Perhaps there was a shamed tone in John’s voice when he said this.

Then Jesus answers him, and goes on to talk about the importance of not being the cause of others sinning. Oh, how this is a scary teaching. I’m not a pastor and I only to a little teaching, but the idea that I could be part of causing someone else to sin is scary to me. And then just in my personal life, I could be a bad influence on someone, and if they justify their own sin because they see me, a Christian, doing it I could be responsible for that. It’s a pretty heavy teaching from Jesus. And I know there is mercy. I know there is grace and redemption. I just don’t want to be part of that in someone else’s life.

Father, give me your eyes. We talk about seeing the world through the lens of other people, and I think that can be a very good thing, but all of us are limited. We need to see the world through your lens–to the extent we are able. Obviously, I have limitations on how close I can get to your worldview, but I humbly submit to you that, at the very least, I know that I don’t know. Help me to be loving. Help me to be humble. Help me to be discerning when I hear bad teaching or heresy. Help me to see what is really behind it. Is it fear? Is it idolatry? Are they hungering for you and they don’t realize it? Are they simply in pain and searching for your peace? Help me to be a minister of your peace today. And give me your peace, Father, Jesus, and Holy Spirit.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on February 26, 2025 in Mark

 

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Mark 9:14-29

24 Feb

When they returned to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd surrounding them, and some teachers of religious law were arguing with them. When the crowd saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with awe, and they ran to greet him.

“What is all this arguing about?” Jesus asked.

One of the men in the crowd spoke up and said, “Teacher, I brought my son so you could heal him. He is possessed by an evil spirit that won’t let him talk. And whenever this spirit seizes him, it throws him violently to the ground. Then he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast out the evil spirit, but they couldn’t do it.”

Jesus said to them, “You faithless people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”

So they brought the boy. But when the evil spirit saw Jesus, it threw the child into a violent convulsion, and he fell to the ground, writhing and foaming at the mouth.

“How long has this been happening?” Jesus asked the boy’s father.

He replied, “Since he was a little boy. The spirit often throws him into the fire or into water, trying to kill him. Have mercy on us and help us, if you can.”

“What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.”

The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!”

When Jesus saw that the crowd of onlookers was growing, he rebuked the evil spirit. “Listen, you spirit that makes this boy unable to hear and speak,” he said. “I command you to come out of this child and never enter him again!”

Then the spirit screamed and threw the boy into another violent convulsion and left him. The boy appeared to be dead. A murmur ran through the crowd as people said, “He’s dead.” But Jesus took him by the hand and helped him to his feet, and he stood up.

Afterward, when Jesus was alone in the house with his disciples, they asked him, “Why couldn’t we cast out that evil spirit?”

Jesus replied, “This kind can be cast out only by prayer.”
Mark 9:14-29

Dear God, Lent is coming and I need to find what you’d like me to fast from. As I look at the end of this story and see Jesus’s statement that prayer and fasting (depending on the translation) are required for this much of your power, I feel compelled that for some of the things I want to see happen in life I must fast and pray.

Of course, there are things for me to pray about today. I have a relative undergoing a fairly important medical procedure. I pray that you will be with him and help him. Comfort him. Care for him. Use this to heal him. Make his life effective. Make his time count. Be glorified in his life. Be glorified through all of this, I pray. Help him to feel loved and cared for.

I have another friend who is struggling today. I’m not sure what exactly upset them, but I know they are deeply bothered by something. Comfort them. Heal them. Show me how to minister to them.

I have my own issues as well. I have work issues. Family issues. People in my family who are struggling and about whom I care. Help each situation. Help me. Holy Spirit, show me what to do at any given time.

Father, I’m here this morning. I’m here to worship you. I’m here to lay down my life for you. You are my God. I love you.

I pray all of this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on February 24, 2025 in Mark

 

Mark 7:1-13

11 Feb

7 One day some Pharisees and teachers of religious law arrived from Jerusalem to see Jesus. 2 They noticed that some of his disciples failed to follow the Jewish ritual of hand washing before eating. 3 (The Jews, especially the Pharisees, do not eat until they have poured water over their cupped hands, as required by their ancient traditions. 4 Similarly, they don’t eat anything from the market until they immerse their hands in water. This is but one of many traditions they have clung to—such as their ceremonial washing of cups, pitchers, and kettles.)

5 So the Pharisees and teachers of religious law asked him, “Why don’t your disciples follow our age-old tradition? They eat without first performing the hand-washing ceremony.”

6 Jesus replied, “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote,

‘These people honor me with their lips,
    but their hearts are far from me.
7 Their worship is a farce,
    for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’

8 For you ignore God’s law and substitute your own tradition.”

9 Then he said, “You skillfully sidestep God’s law in order to hold on to your own tradition. 10 For instance, Moses gave you this law from God: ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and ‘Anyone who speaks disrespectfully of father or mother must be put to death.’ 11 But you say it is all right for people to say to their parents, ‘Sorry, I can’t help you. For I have vowed to give to God what I would have given to you.’ 12 In this way, you let them disregard their needy parents. 13 And so you cancel the word of God in order to hand down your own tradition. And this is only one example among many others.”

Mark 7:1-13

Dear God, I was thinking recently about what Jesus would say if he could follow us through the day. If he could follow me through the day. How would he challenge me? How would he correct me? At what times would he say, “You have heard it said…, but I say…”? How would he raise the standard on me? How would he scoff at the standards I’ve set?

Going back to the Old Testament, what would Jesus have had to say to Solomon or David? Naomi? Jacob? Even Abraham? Even Moses or Elijah? How would he have corrected any or all of these people at any given moment? Jesus set such an interesting standard. On the one hand he tore down the idols of manmade ceremony and rituals, but on the other hand he raised the bar even higher. Even in this passage with the Pharisees, I’d like to say that I’ve followed the letter of the law and honored by parents through caring for them, but is this an example of where Jesus would tell me, “You have heard it said to honor your father and mother, but I say do it not only with your actions but with your lips”?

Father, help me to hear your Holy Spirit, and Jesus speaking to me through your Holy Spirit today. Help me to see what is happening around me at any given time. Help me to love you well. Help me to love others well. Help me to worship you with my life.

I pray all of this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on February 11, 2025 in Mark

 

Mark 6:6b-11

06 Feb

Then Jesus went from village to village, teaching the people. 7 And he called his twelve disciples together and began sending them out two by two, giving them authority to cast out evil spirits. 8 He told them to take nothing for their journey except a walking stick—no food, no traveler’s bag, no money. 9 He allowed them to wear sandals but not to take a change of clothes.

10 “Wherever you go,” he said, “stay in the same house until you leave town. 11 But if any place refuses to welcome you or listen to you, shake its dust from your feet as you leave to show that you have abandoned those people to their fate.”

Mark 6:6b-11

Dear God, there seem to be so many things happening around me that disappoint me. I don’t like how some things are unfolding in the culture. They concern me. And there is so very little I can do about them. That’s what I thought about this morning when I read this story. I would guess that if I had asked any of Jesus’s disciples or even Jesus himself how they felt about what they saw happening around them and unfolding in their culture, they would have been concerned too. So what did Jesus tell them to do? Go out and cast out demons and, I assume, preach repentance and reconciliation with God, although, ironically, they still did not even come close to grasping what all you had in mind through Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection.

So here I am today. I have work to do. I have a job that needs me to be loving and compassionate. I have a friend who needs some comforting today. I have a wife who needs my love and support. I have children who need my prayer. I have these writing projects I’ve felt led to, wondering what exactly I’m supposed to do next.

Father, help me to not look to the world or the culture for my comfort or my peace. It’s okay to lament. It’s okay to see things and prayerfully take action. But you are my hope. You are the only thing that is the same yesterday, today, and forever. You are the only thing in which I can rest. So I start this day just loving you. Appreciating you. Thanking you for the blessing my wife and I got yesterday and praying over it and what we are trying to pass to someone else through that blessing. Cover our actions, Father. Guide my wife and me. Care for our children, siblings, nieces, and nephews. My parents. Lord, be glorified in this earth.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on February 6, 2025 in Mark

 

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Mark 9:33-37

29 Jan

33 After they arrived at Capernaum and settled in a house, Jesus asked his disciples, “What were you discussing out on the road?” 34 But they didn’t answer, because they had been arguing about which of them was the greatest. 35 He sat down, called the twelve disciples over to him, and said, “Whoever wants to be first must take last place and be the servant of everyone else.”

36 Then he put a little child among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, 37 “Anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes not only me but also my Father who sent me.”

Mark 9:33-37

Dear God, why is greatness our default position? I mean, really, at the time, those disciples were just a few of the hundreds of millions of people who were probably in the world. Now, I am one of 7-ish billion people on this world. And I’m just a human. Jesus even said as great as John the Baptist was, he is less than the least in your kingdom (Matthew 11:11). So, there are 7-ish billion people currently on this earth who are less than the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. I am just one of those 7-ish billion and I am not a great or powerful one. I live in the United States, and we think a lot of ourselves, but we only make up about 5% of that 7-ish billion. And not even a powerful person in this country. I’m just a man in a small town. And these twelve men to whom Jesus was talking were small men until they hitched their wagon to Jesus’s train, and Jesus decided it was time to humble them a little.

What I take from this is quite the inverse of what the disciples felt that day. First, it is the reality of how small I am, but second it the fact that I am truly that small and yet you love me so much. How can that be? You love your creation. You love me. You not only say you love me. You show you love me. You show you love others as well. Just this last Sunday, my wife and I decided to go to an early lunch on a whim. We then randomly picked a restaurant we maybe go to once every two or three months. One block away, at just the right time, we saw a woman from our church walking in the drizzle with one of her daughters. The woman was actually going to be part of an upcoming church service which started in 13 minutes and she was four blocks away. We were able to pick them up and take them to the church. I could see the stress in her eyes, making the best of a difficult situation, but it certainly felt like a divine appointment for us to be in that place at that moment. You cared about this woman. You cared about the church service. You cared about the little girl. And you used my wife and me. All of us so small, and yet you cared.

Father, there are a lot of people who need your care today. There are a lot of small people who are powerless and insignificant in the world who are scared. I really can’t imagine what that fear would be like. Some of them are children. Some of them are adults. Some of them are the elderly and even the infirm. I don’t know what to do to minister to them. To comfort them. Then there are those who aren’t targeted, but could be assumed to be part of them and are nervous about being attacked. Then there are those who aren’t targeted, but they are related to the targeted. All of us so small. All of us so insignificant in the grand scheme of things. But all of us so loved by you. I don’t know where all of this is going, but I pray that you will guide me in it. And love and comfort your people. And for those who aren’t yours, use this pain to make them yours. Don’t let this pain be wasted. Use it for your glory.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on January 29, 2025 in Mark

 

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Mark 3:1-6

22 Jan

3 Jesus went into the synagogue again and noticed a man with a deformed hand. 2 Since it was the Sabbath, Jesus’ enemies watched him closely. If he healed the man’s hand, they planned to accuse him of working on the Sabbath.

3 Jesus said to the man with the deformed hand, “Come and stand in front of everyone.” 4 Then he turned to his critics and asked, “Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?” But they wouldn’t answer him.

5 He looked around at them angrily and was deeply saddened by their hard hearts. Then he said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” So the man held out his hand, and it was restored! 6 At once the Pharisees went away and met with the supporters of Herod to plot how to kill Jesus.

Mark 3:1-6

Dear God, the part of this story that strikes me today is verse 6. It wasn’t enough for the Pharisees to be upset with Jesus or challenge him. When they ran out of convincing arguments as to why Jesus was dangerous, they decided to partner with the government to increase their authoritarian power. They wanted him dead because they could no longer argue convincingly against Jesus. They were losing the people and instead of either 1.) improving their argument against Jesus or 2.) admit they were wrong and reassess their attitude toward him, they chose door #3: Eliminate him through government power.

There’s a lesson here for us. In my mind, a lot of the Evangelical Church today has lost its ability to articulate and persuasively present its arguments regarding the things it thinks are important [insert your morally questionable activity/attitude here]. So about 40 or 50 years ago it started to seek the power through politics. If it could just get the right laws passed then people would have to see it their way. That would stop this nonsense from happening! And although I’m not saying that liberal ideology is on the side of Jesus, I am saying that the keepers of the faith are no better at arguing against liberal ideology than the Pharisees were against Jesus, so they decided political power over the nonbelievers is the way to go. In my mind, that will only lead to hard hearts on both sides. Door #1 is open to them (persuasion). Door #2 is open to them (admission). They are opting for Door #3, which is power over others.

Father, help me to know how to embrace Door #1 and persuasively argue for your morality in a way that will draw others towards you and not away from you. Help me to be open to consider Door #2 when appropriate. Holy Spirit, counsel me and teach me when I am wrong. And help me to completely reject Door #3. I do not want power over anyone else. I want to simply be their brother in Jesus.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on January 22, 2025 in Mark

 

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Mark 13:1-2

17 Nov

13 As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!”

2 “Do you see all these great buildings?” replied Jesus. “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”

Mark 13:1-2

Dear God, is it bad that I just don’t care about end time prophecies? The Gospel reading for the Catholic church this morning is verses from later in Mark 13 when Jesus is describing end times. Is it bad that I’m incurious about them?

I guess it makes me think of the Rich Mullins song “Be With You.”

“Be With You” by Rich Mullins

Everybody each and all
We’re gonna die eventually
It’s no more or less our faults
Than it is our destiny
So now Lord I come to you
Asking only for Your grace
You know what I’ve put myself through
All those empty dreams I chased

And when my body lies in the ruins
Of the lies that nearly ruined me
Will You pick up the pieces
That were pure and true
And breathe Your life into them
And set them free?

And when You start this world over
Again from scratch
Will You make me anew
Out of the stuff that lasts?
Stuff that’s purer than gold is
And clearer than glass could ever be
Can I be with You?
Can I be with You?

And everybody all and each
From the day that we are born
We have to learn to walk beneath
Those mercies by which we’re drawn
And now we wrestle in the dark
With these angels that we can’t see
We will move on although with scars
Oh Lord, move inside of me

And when my body lies in the ruins
Of the lies that nearly runied me
Will You pick up the pieces
That were pure and true
And breathe Your life into them
And set them free?

And when You blast this cosmos
To kingdom come
When those jagged-edged mountains
I love are gone
When the sky is crossed with the tears
Of a thousand falling suns
As they crash into the sea
Can I be with you?
Can I be with you?

I have this down as one of my funeral songs. Whatever happens. However this all works out, I simply just want to be with you. I really don’t want to use any mental energy trying to gain this knowledge because, even if I were the one person who could figure this out (which Jesus says in Mark 13:32), what good would the knowledge gain me? Maybe I could use it to scare people into faith in and worship of you. But that doesn’t seem to be how you motivate people. At least, I don’t think selling people “fire insurance” is a good way to motivate them.

Father, I’ll be fascinated to hear this morning how the priest applies the daily reading (which is actually Mark 13:24-32) here in a little bit. One of the things I’ve decided is a “floor” for my life is that I need to get some good teaching at least once a week. Be with the priest this morning and teach me through him. Teach me through the songs we sing. Teach me through the people I encounter. Teach me through your still small voice as I worship you.

I pray all of this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 17, 2024 in Hymns and Songs, Mark

 

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