Grow! Pray! Study! Daily Guide from the United Methodist Church
of the Resurrection - Friday, 24 January 2014 and Saturday, 25 January 2014 – "Here
comes God's kingdom!" and "Announcing the good news of the
kingdom"
Daily Scripture: Mark 1:
The
Beginning of the Galilean Ministry
14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee,
proclaiming the good news[a] of God,[b] 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled,
and the kingdom of God has come near;[c] repent, and believe in the good
news.”[d]
Jesus Calls the First Disciples
16 As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and
his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. 17 And
Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.” 18 And
immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19 As he went a little farther,
he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat
mending the nets. 20 Immediately he called them; and they left their father
Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him.
Footnotes:
a. Mark 1:14 Or gospel
b. Mark 1:14 Other ancient authorities read of the kingdom
c. Mark 1:15 Or is at hand
d. Mark 1:15 Or gospel
Reflection Questions:
Some of Jesus' sayings were hard to understand—a few may even
have been misreported. But what Mark reported as Jesus' central point came
through clearly. "Here comes God's kingdom! Change your hearts and
lives," he said. "Come, follow me!" Sometimes a focus on Jesus'
"hard sayings" is a cover for what Mark Twain reportedly said,
"It ain't those parts of the Bible that I can't understand that bother me,
it is the parts that I do understand."
The Common English Bible renders the Greek word metanoia, often
translated as "repent," with the phrase "change your hearts and
lives." The Greek literally meant "to change directions, turn
around." "Change your hearts and lives" conveys that Jesus
didn't call us to a one-time emotional experience, but to an ongoing commitment
to living in a new way. What are some of the most significant ways you have
changed your heart and life in response to Jesus?
One of the more striking parts of Mark's report is verse 18:
"RIGHT AWAY, they left their nets and followed him." How easy or hard
do you find it to respond "right away" when you sense God calling you
to make some change in your life? Have you ever finally responded to God, and
then thought, "I wish I'd done this long ago"?
Today's Prayer:
Lord Jesus, there must have been something so appealing about
your invitation for these busy fishermen to drop everything to follow you! Make
me ever more ready to be a person who responds to you "right away."
Amen.
Friday, 24 January 2014 and Saturday, 25 January 2014 – Insight
from Melanie Hill
Melanie Hill is the Visitor Connections Program Director in
Resurrection’s Guest Services Ministry.
I often feel like I live under the tyranny of the
immediate. I woke up this morning to my
two year old standing next to my bed telling me, “Mama, I want chocolate
milk. Mama, I want chocolate milk. Mama,
I want chocolate milk.” She didn’t seem
to care that it was 5:45am or that I was previously sound asleep. In fact, her response to “give me a minute”
was to make her request into a song. A
song she sang over and over and over again until I got out of bed and got her
some chocolate milk. By 6:15am, my other
three children had also made their way downstairs to politely demand their
chocolate milk. When dealing with
children, the demand for instant attention is expected. Although, I confess I
hope mine grow out of it quickly or at least learn to curb it until after
7am. That or I might start locking my
door.
I wish I could say that only my children struggle with the need
for an instant response, but that just wouldn’t be true. I often find myself in the same boat. Sending an email and expecting an immediate
response, wanting the drive thru line at Starbucks to move quicker, or feeling
frustrated that I’ve worked out four days in a row and I’m still not
skinny! We live in a culture that has
trained us to want immediate attention to our requests. So if this is true of me (and I’m guessing you
too), why then do I find myself wondering if Jesus wasn’t being a little
unreasonable when he told the disciples to “come and follow me”? As I read through the passage, I instantly
started making excuses for the disciples.
“I would love to follow you, Jesus, but I have a report due that
really needs to get done.”
“I would follow you now, Jesus, but this dinner isn’t going to
cook itself.”
“I would love to follow you, Jesus, but I have to run the kids
to soccer practice.”
“I would follow you now, but then who would fold all this
laundry?”
Okay so that last one isn’t really a reason not to follow
immediately. Any excuse to get out of
laundry is a good one. Seriously though,
what stops me from immediately dropping my nets and following Jesus? And what does “dropping my net” look
like? Most often in my life, my nets
have been opportunities to show God’s love to others. Daily I am presented with opportunities to be
the hands and feet of Jesus and to follow in his example. Catching those opportunities means I have to
be present in each moment of life.
Stopping to chat with a neighbor who seems upset means I have to first
notice they are upset and then sacrifice whatever else is going on to meet that
need. And sacrifice is perhaps the wrong
word because, when I stop and immediately follow Jesus, I am often more blessed
than whomever I am helping. I believe
there are times when God makes the big ask of us. Take this job. Move here.
Give here. I hope that when those
times come I am able to quickly follow.
Until then, I can practice my response time in the daily opportunities
that I am called to follow in. In doing
so, I pray that I develop a heart that leaps at the words “come and follow”.
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"Announcing the good news of the kingdom"
Daily Scripture: Matthew 9: The Call of Matthew
9 As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew
sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and
followed him.
10 And as he sat at dinner[a] in the house, many tax collectors
and sinners came and were sitting[b] with him and his disciples. 11 When the
Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with
tax collectors and sinners?” 12 But when he heard this, he said, “Those who are
well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 Go and learn what
this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have come to call not the
righteous but sinners.”
Footnotes:
a. Matthew 9:10 Gk reclined
b. Matthew 9:10 Gk were reclining
9:35 Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching
in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing
every disease and every sickness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion
for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a
shepherd
Reflection Question:
For many self-righteous religious leaders in Jesus' day, the
hardest thing to understand about Jesus was not some obscure statement, but his
crystal clear message that God loves and has compassion for all
people—including those they called "sinners." Jesus lived that
message out, and voiced it in stories like the Good Samaritan (cf. Luke
10:25-37) and in the greatest commandments (cf. Matthew 22:34-40). Some things
about Jesus we may not fully understand—but the central "good news"
of his kingdom is clear. And for all of us who are willing to recognize our
standing as "sinners," it's incredibly good news.
In Jesus' day "tax collectors" (like Matthew) were
Jews who got rich helping finance the Roman occupiers. Most Israelites hated
them as traitors and cheats. Yet Jesus called them into his kingdom, and even
invited them to join in his work. Matthew changed thousands, probably millions,
of lives, particularly by writing the Gospel of Matthew. Have you ever been
surprised by any of the things God has done in your life? Has any part of your
spiritual journey seemed unexpected, even illogical to you or others?
Family Activity:
Last weekend we remembered that Martin Luther King, Jr. followed
in Jesus' footsteps by seeking to serve others. How does your family work
together sharing God's love with others? Select a way to serve others together.
Ask an older child or youth to research some volunteer opportunities in your area.
He or she could explore the church website (www.cor.org) for mission ministries
in which your family can participate. Also brainstorm less-structured ways you
can serve others with God's love, such as helping a neighbor or a schoolmate.
At a family gathering, ask the child or youth to present these ideas to the
rest of the family. Pray, asking God's guidance as you discuss the options.
Choose one or two ways your family will share God's love with others.
Today's Prayer:
Lord God, you come to me when I'm busy at my daily tasks, as you
came to Matthew. I pray that I may always be as ready to respond as he was when
your eternal love and compassion break into my daily routine. Amen.
Insight from Yvonne Gentile
Yvonne Gentile serves on The Church of the Resurrection staff as
the Director of Connections. Yvonne directs the team that helps people get
connected into the life of the church through service, studies, group life, and
other ways of involvement.
I heard a friend say once, “It’s not the passages that I don’t
understand in the Bible that bother me so much – it’s the ones I DO understand,
because they’re convicting.” The
Scripture in our reading today is a passage that challenges me in that way
(specifically verses 10-13, below from the New Living Translation):
10Later, Matthew invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as
dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners.
11But when the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your
teacher eat with such scum?”
12When Jesus heard this, he said, “Healthy people don’t need a
doctor—sick people do.” 13Then he added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this
Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’ For I have come to
call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are
sinners.”-–Matthew 9:10-13, NLT
Last year a group of our staff completed a training program
called Dignity Serves. It’s designed to help those going out to serve others
see the people they plan to serve through God’s eyes, so they can both give to
and receive from the community they are serving. Then they can build authentic
relationships and work together for good in a way that preserves the dignity of
the individuals living in the community.
In one of the exercises, the facilitator (Phil) had us imagine a
number of people and then write one-word descriptions of them on index cards.
The people were: a homeless man pushing a shopping cart, a prostitute, a drug
dealer, and the person in your life that you are having the most difficulty
with right now. I gave those folks the same kind of unflattering labels you
probably did as you read the descriptions. Then Phil had us write down 7 key
facets of our identity, and imagine how we would feel if we were stripped of
those parts of ourselves one-by-one until there was no “me” left. What unexpected turns might our lives take?
That exercise brought up some powerful feelings for me, and made me realize how
quickly I judge others without considering the cascade of circumstances that
might have led them to their current situation. I was, and still am more often
than I’d like, a modern-day Pharisee.
The ironic thing is: I’ve been in their shoes. I have been one
of “them.” I’ve been homeless. When I
was teenager, pregnant with my daughter, I lived for several weeks in a blue
1970 Volkswagen station wagon. I have begged for money for food. I’ve
experienced how a person’s life can be impacted by bad choices and even
circumstances beyond their control. Yet I still tend to label first without
really seeing the person in front of me. I think I am righteous, but I am not.
When I am mindful of that I say, “Oh God, be merciful to me, for I am a
sinner.”
Our Scripture passage today still challenges me, but I’m working
on it. When I see someone who’s
different from me, I’m learning to ask, “What’s this person’s story?” Even
imagining a story for them brings forth mercy and compassion, rather than
judgment. There’s a prayer I’ve adopted because it gets to the heart of how I
want to treat others: Dear God, the people I will interact with today are your
children, made in your image. Help me see them with your eyes, listen to them
with your ears, love them with your heart, and serve them with your hands. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, KS 66224 United States
(913)897-0120
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