Mark 2:23 - 3:6: Is Compassion The Reason I Worried About This?

One Sabbath he was going through the grainfields, and as they made their way, his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. And the Pharisees were saying to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God, in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?” And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”

Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. And they watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. And he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.” And he said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him. - Mark 2:23 - 3:6

"The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him." The Pharisees didn't like Herod--they did not believe that Herod was the true king of Israel and firmly believed that he was too friendly with the Sadducees and the Romans--he was, in fact, Caesar's good friend and childhood playmate. The Herodians were on the opposite end of the political spectrum. They thought Herod kept Rome's anger away from Israel and allowed Israel-or at least some of Israel-to prosper under Rome's peace. Now, in these verses, we see that the Pharisees and Herodians "held counsel" about how to destroy Jesus. The Herodians were odious but Jesus was dangerous so they adopted common cause against him. Jesus was a danger to both. If Jesus won, the Pharisees control over the religious life of the average Jew was threatened. He didn't seem strict enough for them. If Jesus won, the Herodians control over the political life of the average Jew was threatened. He didn't line up in support of the political and secular power brokers. 

 Both groups had litmus tests-questions on certain issues that determined if you were acceptable. In these verses, Jesus failed both tests. It seems to me that when people create an "in or out" test, it is almost always a false dichotomy. Again and again, Jesus showed that there was a third way, neither this or that. This third way didn't avoid that fact that Jesus' way is hard, not always clear and often messy. One key item was the Pharisees had lost compassion for people who were suffering. What made Jesus angry? "he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart." In both stories, they placed rules above compassion. Yes, the rules were important. They placed guidelines that were to be aimed for. But they weren't boundary markers designed to indicate who was in or out. In many cases, the rules were more important in justifying my hardness of heart. I need to do a compassion check when I enforce important rules. Ultimately, I need to let God decide what he will accept. He did not make me the border guard on the kingdom of heaven.

 

2 Corinthians 4:5-12: They Should Get The Credit

For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you. - 2 Corinthians 4:5-12

 It is very tempting to redirect conversations to reflect what we know and how special we are. I know because I am a master at it. I can find a connection between anything you say to something I've done, someone I know or some dumb joke that I heard. At the center of all of those things is "I" Even self-deprecating jokes still center on me-my failure, my inadequacies, my faux pas. 

But Paul says here that "what we proclaim is not ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants." The key here is related to the word "servants" and its not even Jesus' servants but "your servants" 

It seems that servants should not upstage the one that they are serving. That is: the butler should not look more important than the head of the household and the waiter at a restaurant should not look more important than the head chef. But in this case we are not supposed to look more important than Jesus--that's pretty easy to track with--but also we are not supposed to look more important than "you"--the people we are serving--"with ourselves as your servants" Now that's a tough one. 

Making God look like the star of the show is one thing, but making you look like the start of the show is a level of humility that I struggle with. God gives me many opportunities to show this level of humility--at home, at work, at the checkout counter, in like at the hotel or on the road in my car--and I fail regularly. So I will pray the dangerous prayer--Lord, give me opportunities to give you and them the most credit without hinting that I deserve some too. 

1 Samuel 3:1-10: When The Voice of God Breaks Through

Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision.

At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his own place. The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was.

Then the Lord called Samuel, and he said, “Here I am!” and ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” So he went and lay down.

And the Lord called again, “Samuel!” and Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.

And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

And the Lord came and stood, calling as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant hears.” - 1 Samuel 3:1-10

 How to differentiate between God speaking and something else? In these verses, Samuel is hearing God speak but he doesn't know that it is God speaking. So he attributes what he is hearing to some other source, a source that he imagines as possible or even likely: the voice of Eli. Why was it difficult for Samuel to distinguish? 

First, it wasn't common for God to speak to anyone directly. "And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision." Eli and Samuel are living at the end of the period of the judges in Israel's history--a chaotic period where Israel was a fragmented people where each tribe was doing what it felt was best. God spoke to the judges but at the end of that period, even the judges weren't getting a clear signal from God.

Second, even if Samuel was the right one to hear God, he didn't know what God sounded like. "Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him." It is normal what when you hear a voice, you look around to see who spoke.  Since Samuel wasn't familiar with how God spoke, he would assume some other explanation and Eli speaking seemed a lot more likely than Almighty God speaking. 

Third, even for seasoned saints like Eli, the voice of God wasn't his first guess as to what was going on. I'm not sure what Eli thought was going on with Samuel. Maybe he thought Samuel was hearing things or misinterpreting what he was hearing. The temple was quiet and dark so maybe he thought Samuel was being imaginative or playful. But whatever the reason, it took three tries before Eli guess that something was going on.

I think that it is difficult for us to hear the voice of God. Maybe it is because God doesn't speak as often. Or maybe we aren't in the right season of life where God would speak more often. Or maybe it is just because distinguishing God's voice from all of the other possibilities is just difficult. But the main thing is to listen and do what he says. Samuel asked God to speak and he prepared himself to hear and he made it a pattern for the rest of his life. So I won't whine about how difficult it is to know the voice of God, but when God does break through my ignorance, insensitivity or selfishness so that I can hear, that I will listen and do what he says.