Tuesday, March 13, 2018

The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection Grow Pray Study Guide in Leawood, Kansas, United States for 13 March 2018 "I have faith; help my lack of faith!" Mark 9:14-29

The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection Grow Pray Study Guide in Leawood, Kansas, United States for 13 March 2018 "I have faith; help my lack of faith!" Mark 9:14-29
Daily Scripture
Mark 9:14 When they got back to the talmidim, they saw a large crowd around them and some Torah-teachers arguing with them. 15 As soon as the crowd saw him, they were surprised and ran out to greet him. 16 He asked them, “What’s the discussion about?” 17 One of the crowd gave him the answer: “Rabbi, I brought my son to you because he has an evil spirit in him that makes him unable to talk. 18 Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground — he foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth and becomes stiff all over. I asked your talmidim to drive the spirit out, but they couldn’t do it.” 19 “People without any trust!” he responded. “How long will I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring him to me!” 20 They brought the boy to him; and as soon as the spirit saw him, it threw the boy into a convulsion. 21 Yeshua asked the boy’s father, “How long has this been happening to him?” “Ever since childhood,” he said; 22 “and it often tries to kill him by throwing him into the fire or into the water. But if you can do anything, have pity on us and help us!” 23 Yeshua said to him, “What do you mean, ‘if you can’? Everything is possible to someone who has trust!” 24 Instantly the father of the child exclaimed, “I do trust — help my lack of trust!” 25 When Yeshua saw that the crowd was closing in on them, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You deaf and dumb spirit! I command you: come out of him, and never go back into him again!” 26 Shrieking and throwing the boy into a violent fit, it came out. The boy lay there like a corpse, so that most of the people said he was dead. 27 But Yeshua took him by the hand and raised him to his feet, and he stood up.
28 After Yeshua had gone indoors, his talmidim asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” 29 He said to them “This is the kind of spirit that can be driven out only by prayer.” (Complete Jewish Bible)
***
Reflection Questions
In Jesus' day, most of today’s medical and psychological insights into human pain didn’t exist. People called nearly all inexplicable ills—like the probable case of epilepsy reported in today’s reading—“demon possession.” (Note that in this story, the “demon” didn’t speak at all, unlike in many of the other demon confrontations—e.g. Mark 5:1-9). The father’s plea in verse 24 resonates with most Christ-followers at some points in their journey.
  • Scholar David E. Garland noted, “Jesus’ answer [in verse 29] reveals that prayer is not a magical incantation but a total openness to God’s action in and through us…. Disciples do not need to learn better techniques but must make themselves more receptive to the action of God… effective prayer is a continuous posture, not simply an emergency procedure.”* What has helped you to make prayer a “continuous posture” in your life, rather than a “magical” or “emergency” technique to control God?
  • Scholar N. T. Wright said Jesus came to rescue people “from the destructive forces that enslaved them. So whether it was shrieking demons, a woman with a fever, or simply whatever diseases people happened to suffer from, Jesus dealt with them all…. Jesus had joined in a struggle against the forces of evil and destruction.”** Are you ever tempted to shrug off the forces of evil that cause suffering as “the way things are”? In what ways, as a follower of Jesus, have you joined in his struggle against those forces?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, you did not stay comfortable and safe while destructive forces were loose in the world you created. Give me the caring and courage to enlist as one of your servants, working with you to help those who hurt for any reason. Amen.
* David E. Garland, Reflection comment on Mark 9:14-29 in Matthew, Mark, Luke: Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary, Volume 1 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002).
** N. T. Wright, Mark for Everyone. (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004, p. 13.)
Read today's Insight by Brandon Gregory
Brandon Gregory is a volunteer for the worship and missions teams at Church of the Resurrection. He helps lead worship at Vibe, West and Downtown services, and is involved with the Malawi missions team at home.
In today’s passage (Mark 9:14-29), we see Jesus heal a boy with what is described as a demon, but what we know today was probably epilepsy. This was a condition that had plagued the boy his entire life, and may have eventually killed him had Jesus not stepped in. The boy’s father initially approached Jesus apprehensively, asking if he could do anything about it rather than simply asking him to heal him. Jesus has a snappy retort: “ ‘If you can do anything?’ All things are possible for the one who has faith!”
It’s easy to assume that the man didn’t have faith in God—and that’s part of it—but I think there’s more to it. The man also didn’t have faith that things could get any better, by any means. And that’s something I can relate to. There are a lot of times I don’t doubt God, but I don’t even think to ask Him because I assume that the way things are now are the way things will always be—I don’t always spot opportunities for positive change or believe that a better tomorrow is possible.
I’m reminded of a story about a man who hears that his town will be flooding. The rains pour down and he goes up to his roof to pray to God to save him from the flood. A boat comes along and offers to take him to safety, and the man says, “No! I’m asking God to save me!” An hour goes by and the waters are halfway up to the roof. Another boat comes by and offers to take the man to safety, but he similarly refuses, saying, “No! I’m waiting for God to save me!” Another hour goes by and the man’s house is now under water. The man’s legs are submerged in water even as he stands on his roof. A third boat comes by and offers to bring him to safety, but the man exclaims, “No! I know my God will save me!” Soon after that, the waters keep rising and the man drowns. When the man gets to Heaven, he exclaims to God, “Why didn’t you save me from the flood?” God responds, “What do you mean? I sent three boats!”
It’s a humorous story, but it illustrates that point perfectly. We can have total faith in God’s power, but still not hope for a real solution to our problems.
Growing up, I slowly had to come to grips with the fact that I was a bit different than my peers. I had trouble paying attention in classes and focusing on homework assignments. I had a lot of trouble socializing and having fun with peers. I was tired most of the time and didn’t have the energy to get involved in activities like most of my friends. I was very smart, but I had a lot of trouble thinking of myself as smart or capable—I just assumed I was a failure.
What I discovered at age 21 was that I wasn’t a failure. I had a medical condition that caused all of those things: chronic depression. In one semester of college, I went from nearly failing out to making straight As and acing every assignment. For me, the difference was medical treatment: I found an antidepressant that was, for me, life-changing and allowed me to live a normal life that had not been possible before. I have no doubt that this solution was one that God led me to, much like the boats that were sent to the man in the story above. But my road to recovery began not with believing in the power of God—I had plenty of that kind of faith—but in believing that things could get better, and that the way things were didn’t have to be the way things continued to be.
If you’re struggling in your life right now, in any way, take heart that things can and probably will get better. Healing and recovery can take a lot of forms—it could be a miracle that turns things around, or something much more tangible like a boat or an antidepressant—but things aren’t going to get better unless you believe that it’s possible for things to get better and seek out a solution. God has the power to fix any problem, including yours, no matter how big or small. Have faith not only in God but also in a brighter future. You might be surprised by what that leads you to.
***
Like this post? Share it!

***
You might also like
***
©2017 Church of the Resurrection. All Rights Reserved.
Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The United Methodist Church of the Church of the Resurrection
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)