January 17 | Mark 3:7-12

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DAILY READING

Mark 3:7-12

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REFLECTION

Getting Away

by David Thompson

Have you ever been in a crowd? Perhaps at a parade or concert with festival seating. The people just bump and push to get a better view. Sometimes the pushing and bumping are not physical, but emotional. I remember serving three superintendents of schools during my tenure as assistant superintendent. The first two were pure educators and pushed me to be the best I could be, as I led the district's efforts at instructional excellence by writing and revising the academic curriculum. This included all the district's efforts to carry out testing and the smooth integration of instructional technology.

The third was not an academic at all and was more inclined to work around me with sports' coaches to plan how they might add new bleachers, improve practice fields and add additional assistant coaches. This superintendent wanted me to continue to get academic results without his support or the finances that were required to move the needle to excellence. Now I didn't climb into a boat and pass to the other side, but I did quit working through my lunch hours, quit coming in early and stopped working late. I escaped to get mental rest to be able to perform better in the future.

Jesus likewise needed to get away from all the good He was doing. He needed to rest and recuperate as we all do. He also knew that the listeners in the crowd needed rest and often food as they met with Christ in remote areas. For Jesus, He got a good sleep and ate some food and again was ready to do His best for others.

The second part of this passage talks about Jesus stating that when the "impure spirits" (demons) saw Him they would yell out and reveal His true identity. It was not time yet that this should be revealed. He shushed the demons and "gave them strict orders not to tell others about Him." Christ knew that the popular misconception, that He was going to be some political leader and overtake the Romans, was just not what He wanted spread around. He came to save people from sin and not to rid the people of all of their misconceptions. Christ's kingdom was to be spiritual and not political.

PRAYER

Jesus, thank you for your example of being 100% man and being 100% God. You, like me and all of us, came to a point of needing rest, or health could suffer. I am always amazed when I see your actions are part of God's plan. I know that the things in each of our lives are there for a purpose and you can work them all together for good. Amen!

January 16 | Mark 3:1-6

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DAILY READING

Mark 3:1-6

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REFLECTION

The Point Is...

by Mary Kate Hipp

I love rules. I have always been a rule follower. Once when I was little, after calling my older brother nasty names, my parents warned me that if I kept talking that way, they would wash my mouth out with soap. I, being a rule follower, took this to mean "Wash your mouth out with soap now." So I did just that. My parents did not mean for me to put soap in my mouth in that very instant. My mother was rather confused when I came out of the bathroom coughing and gagging and blowing bubbles. What my parents desired more than for me to literally put soap in my mouth, was for me to figuratively clean my speech. They wanted me to speak lovingly to my brother (and anyone else for that matter).

Sometimes we do a similar thing in our relationship with the Lord. We miss the point of His parables and stories and rules. The Pharisees certainly missed the point. In this passage, Jesus is not entirely abolishing the law. He is challenging us rule-followers to see the bigger picture. Is it more important that we abide by the sabbath than it is to heal the sick? Questions Jesus may ask us in the 21st century: is it more important that we wear nice clothes to church than it is to join in community for worship? Is it more important that the worship sounds a certain way or that we are praising God nonetheless? Is it more important that we "win" the political argument than it is to love others well?

I certainly have been guilty of missing the point of the Gospel on more than one occasion. As much as I want to read this passage and laugh at how wrong the Pharisees are, I see a scary resemblance of the Pharisees in my life. Good news, friends: just as Jesus healed the shriveled hand, He heals our shriveled hearts. We all need healing. Some need physical healing, and all need spiritual healing (Romans 3:23). He cleanses us from our sins, our shortcomings, and anything that separates us from Him...except I have a suspicion that when Jesus says He cleanses us, He doesn't mean by putting soap in our mouths...

PRAYER

God, I am sorry for how I have tried to put you in a box or play "God" to appease my rule-following tendencies. I struggle to love my neighbor on my own. I need you, God.

January 15 | Mark 2:23-28

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DAILY READING

Mark 2:23-28

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REFLECTION

How Do Christians Observe the Sabbath?

by Pr. Dave Mann

The keywords of this passage are “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.” The main point is that Jesus, the 2nd person of the Trinity, has the authority over the Law in which the Sabbath, the 7th day of the week, was dedicated to a day of rest. But the Pharisees had become overly preoccupied with rules upon rules to make sure that the commandment not be broken, that they had missed the whole point.

There was no definitive and sudden change of emphasis from the Sabbath to The Lord’s Day, but the shift from the 7th day to the 1st day of the week happened over time during the early church. See 1 Corinthians 16:1-4; Acts 20:7; and numerous church fathers. The energetic might choose to read the words of several of these early church leaders. Click here. 

Early on, the Christian church shifted the emphasis from the Sabbath, the 6th day of the week, to The Lord’s Day, the 7th day of the week. Why did this happen? The church saw that God, through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead on the 1st day of the week, had hallowed and sanctified that day. As a result, the gathering of the believers now occurred on The Lord’s Day, and some even began calling the 1st day of the week “the Sabbath.”

Martin Luther’s words in The Small Catechism clarify the Christian purpose of the 3rd Commandment.

Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy.

What does this mean for us?

We are to fear and love God so that we do not neglect his Word and the preaching of it, but regard it as holy and gladly hear and learn it.

I fear, however, that in this day we have wandered far afield from remembering The Lord’s Day to keep it holy. Rather than prioritizing gathering together so that the Word of God can shape us, we often yield to other claims-–sports, travel, other social gatherings, etc. It is not just checking the box of “I attended church this Sunday,” a legalistic requirement, but it is gathering with an attitude of fear, reverence, and love for the Word of God.

Let’s gather at least weekly with an attentive heart to apply ourselves to the Word of God, as we follow the Lord of the Sabbath.

PRAYER

Thank you, heavenly Father, for the weekly reminder that your Word has authority and gives grace in our lives. Let me love your Word more and more. Help me hear it gladly and put it into practice, in the name of the Lord of the Sabbath. Amen.