Here is a thoughtful article by Randal Neighbor, someone who has devoted his life to Small Group Ministry.
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Jesus Is Surprised
Posted on 5/11/10 by On the road with Jesus.
Jesus left there and went to his hometown,…And he was amazed at their lack of faith. Mark 6:1a, 6a
I once was pastor of a church in Wall Lake, Iowa. Now Wall Lake is just a little place, as was the church, but they were proud of the fact that Wall Lake is the hometown of singer Andy Williams.
Towns make big deals of famous people who were born or lived there or had any connection. As a boy growing up in North Carolina, I knew of a town in Pennsylvania, where I’ve never been. But instantly, Donora, Pa. came to mind just now. The reason for that—it was the home of baseball legend, Stan Musial. Some towns even become famous—Plains, Georgia—home of President Jimmy Carter.
So when Jesus came home to Nazareth (pop.=500-2000), one could easily imagine that the local headlines would herald: “Local Boy Makes Good–Comes Home For A Visit” And what a home coming it should have been.
It follows some great success, remarkable demonstrations of Jesus’ power—the healing of the man of Gadera (demons), the woman cured of bleeding, the raising of Jairus daughter. He comes accompanied by his “disciples.” He has followers, an entourage. He is in fact recognized as a rabbi, an honored teacher.
He made his big début in the local synagogue and he “wows” the people. Many who heard him were amazed/astonished at his teaching and the wonders. They have heard about him. And then the surprise—Jesus is not welcome here—they took offense at him. The literal word is “scandal.” No ticker-tape parade for him.
There are, no doubt, lots of explanations for it but what it all “boils down to” is a lack of faith. And Jesus is surprised—amazed, astonished. In Jesus’ eyes unbelief is amazing. We should not be surprised at faith but the lack of it. God signs are everywhere—creation, works of grace, the life of Jesus and perhaps unexpectedly in His people—a community, the church.
We may be surprised at unbelief but it should not deter us. Jesus’ response was “to get on with it.” His work did not depend on acceptance, praise, recognition. Neither should we.
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When Jesus says, “Follow me.”
Posted on 3/9/10 by On the road with Jesus.
Luke 5:1-11
v11 So they … left everything and followed him.
Empty nets
It has been a long frustrating, fruitless night for Simon and his two partners, James and John. All night long they have fished. They have let down their nets, time and again and gone through the back-breaking process of drawing the nets to shore—empty! They have tried different angles, different places, everything they can think of, every trick they know after many years fishing this lake. Nothing worked. Finally as the sun rises, exhausted and in a poor mood they pull their boats up on shore and begin the job of washing their nets—a final blow to their spirits—washing the nets which have remained empty all night.
Some nerve
As they go through the motions of this difficult and monotonous routine, out of the corner of Peter’s eye, a crowd appears by the lake. In the center is a man surrounded by people pressing to get as close as possible to hear what he is saying.
As they watch and strain to hear what he’s saying, he walks over to Simon’s boat and gets in it. “He’s got some nerve, Simon thinks to himself.” Then he realizes who it is. It’s the man Jesus he has been hearing about.
“Simon, could I trouble you to put your boat into the water and move out a little way from the shore?”
I’ll do it
For some reason, Simon does what he asks. And he listens to what he says. And he has never heard the likes of it before—no one every spoke like him. Nice words, but just words! Then he finishes speaking and Simon hears him speaking to him. “Go out into deeper water. Over there, cast your nets.” Simon is too tired to argue and senses the easiest way to get out of this is to humor him. Still he can’t resist protesting. “We’ve fished all night and caught nothing, but I’ll do it.”
Fish and more fish
And then as they begin to draw the nets in they see fish—more fish then they’ve ever seen in a net. It’s more than they can handle. Some of the strands of the net begin to break. The call for help—the second boat comes and the weight almost sinks them but finally they get the catch to shore. They are astonished, frightened, elated, mystified. Suddenly they realize they are in the presence of the holy and they are reminded of their Un holy lives.
Don’t be afraid, from now on you will catch people.
And they left everything and followed Jesus.
This story reminds us that GOD OFTEN INTERUPTS OUR LIFE—“Can I borrow your boat?” God gets our attention often in the middle of something else. It is not always when we would expect—in church, a Bible study, or even during prayer. It may be on the job (like here), on a journey (The Apostle Paul) or maybe in the midst of our sleep. A cousin of mine was on a business trip in a hotel room when God called him to ministry.
So it can be a little inconvenient. I don’t have time right now. Can’t this wait until later? Inconvenient, perhaps, but not all that difficult or earth-shaking—it’s something that stops us just long enough— for God to make Himself known—“Try again.”
I can imagine Peter thinking, “This won’t work. I’m a life-time fisherman, for goodness sake. I know how to fish.” I know how to live my life.
“Try Again.”
“For most people the disaster of life is that they give up just one effort too soon.” Carl F.H. Henry
There is no perfect set of circumstances. To wait for that is to never begin. Jesus often asks us attempt the impossible. This is the first step and when we take it, we find out THIS IS GOD. We have met the Almighty. And when we do, like Peter, we realize how unworthy we are.
Now the invitation…
Leave it all.
Nothing less will do. The issue is not everyone leaving your occupation or residence but making your self available to God. For most of us it is about living a new way where we are—job, school, neighborhood.
But make no mistake, God’s call is not to ease and comfort but to adventure/challenge/meaning. Some time ago I read this story:
The great explorer, Sir Francis Drake, was attempting to recruit a number of young men for an upcoming exploration. He gathered them around and told the group that if they came with him they would see some of the most marvelous things their eyes could ever behold—sandy white beaches, juicy fruits, foreign peoples, priceless treasures, and gorgeous landscapes. And he told them that this wild adventure could be theirs if they came with him. Not one of them enlisted for the journey.
The next day a different group came out. Drake told them that if they came with him they would encounter storms that would terrify them into tears. Tiger winds would hammer them and blow them off course for months. Water would frequently be scarce. At times they will be so thirsty that their very souls would cry out for simply one drop of water. In short, danger would always be their constant companion. Drake concluded by declaring that if they could handle these things, the joys of exploration would exceed their wildest dreams. Every single one of them in the group joined Sir Francis Drake that day, some did not even go home to say goodbye to their families, they just boarded the boat eager for the journey.
This is how God calls us. Jesus promises not ease and comfort but a cross and, in the end, incredible joy. He says, “Follow me.”
Picture from the Web Gallery of Art
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His Eye Is On the Sparrow
Posted on 1/27/10 by On the road with Jesus.
In the two weeks since the earthquake in Haiti we have heard so many words–sorrow, anger, courage, hero, fear, weary, shock, miracle, unbelievable. We have heard explanations, promises, assurances, warnings. Some of them have been wise, some foolish, some sinful and evil. In these words there have the words from God, but also from fallible humans, and some straight out of the mouth of Satan himself. Sometimes it is hard to know which are which.
The Bible helps us put things in perspective.
First, we are reminded that we cannot rid the world of suffering. Someone has said, “This is a world where robins die, and sparrows, and people: the ones we love, the ones Jesus loves.” The Peanuts characters put it this way:
Charlie Brown: “I have a new philosophy…’Life is like a golf course.’
Snoopy: “And ‘a sand trap runs through it.'”
The Biblical view says that God’s original creation has been damaged. It is defaced, messed up. And earthquakes happen. We can endlessly debate the philosophical and theological issues here, but the reality is clear. This is a world where people, innocent people, get hurt.
However, in the midst of this, God is paying attention. God listens, God sees, but most importantly God cares. In the Old Testament God promises Soloman and the people just that–My eyes and my heart will always be here. (II Chron 7:16b-NLT) Jesus says that even the fate of sparrows is not lost on God (Matt. 10:29). And in the defining text of the Bible He says, For God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only son. (John 3:16)
God is not just an observer, but, in fact, is in the midst of all this—in the Salvation Army relief worker, World Vision, UMCOR and scores of other Christian groups and individuals. But, also in secular groups—the Red Cross, Chinese disaster teams, American military units—any one there with the will to help is doing God’s work whether they know it or not.
Finally, hope is intrinsic to the Christian message. Along with faith and love, hope makes up the triangle of the Christian’s attitude. A pastor dying of cancer took a leave from his church. He was able to return and in a sermon he said, “We want to worship God in this church, and for our worship to be real, it doesn’t have to be fun, and it doesn’t have to be guilt-ridden. But it does have to be honest, and it does have to hope in God.”
Hope is the future tense of faith. Though we cannot deny what God has done and is doing, we must keep our perspective. In our lives and those around us, much of the Gospel is promise of what is yet to be. But God is here, God is at work and is preparing a better place for us. It is called heaven and without it, disasters/tragedies cannot be reconciled with a loving God.
Sisters, brothers keep the faith.
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Serious Advice on Stewardship (Not): “Getting Out of Debt”
Posted on 3/31/09 by On the road with Jesus.
Click here, watch the video, laugh and think about it.
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Discipleship at Messiah 