Missionary Renegade: The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, United States Grow Pray Study Guide for Thursday, 22 March 2018 "Malicious hypotheticals and great commandments" Mark 12:13-34

Thursday, March 22, 2018

The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, United States Grow Pray Study Guide for Thursday, 22 March 2018 "Malicious hypotheticals and great commandments" Mark 12:13-34

The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, United States Grow Pray Study Guide for Thursday, 22 March 2018 "Malicious hypotheticals and great commandments" Mark 12:13-34

Daily Scripture

Mark 12:13 Next they sent some P’rushim and some members of Herod’s party to him in order to trap him with a sh’eilah. 14 They came and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you tell the truth and are not concerned with what people think about you, since you pay no attention to a person’s status but really teach what God’s way is. Does Torah say that taxes are to be paid to the Roman Emperor, or not?” 15 But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why are you trying to trap me? Bring me a denarius so I can look at it.” 16 They brought one; and he asked them, “Whose name and picture are these?” “The Emperor’s,” they replied. 17 Yeshua said, “Give the Emperor what belongs to the Emperor. And give to God what belongs to God!” And they were amazed at him.

18 Then some Tz’dukim came to him. They are the ones who say there is no such thing as resurrection, so they put to him a sh’eilah: 19 “Rabbi, Moshe wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no child, his brother must take the wife and have children to preserve the man’s family line.[Mark 12:19 Deuteronomy 25:5–6] 20 There were seven brothers. The first one took a wife, and when he died, he left no children. 21 Then the second one took her and died without leaving children, and the third likewise, 22 and none of the seven left children. Last of all, the woman also died. 23 In the Resurrection, whose wife will she be? For all seven had her as wife.”

24 Yeshua said to them, “Isn’t this the reason that you go astray? because you are ignorant both of the Tanakh and of the power of God? 25 For when people rise from the dead, neither men nor women marry — they are like angels in heaven. 26 And as for the dead being raised, haven’t you read in the book of Moshe, in the passage about the bush, how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Avraham, the God of Yitz’chak and the God of Ya‘akov’?[Mark 12:26 Exodus 3:6] 27 He is God not of the dead, but of the living! You are going far astray!”

28 One of the Torah-teachers came up and heard them engaged in this discussion. Seeing that Yeshua answered them well, he asked him, “Which is the most important mitzvah of them all?” 29 Yeshua answered, “The most important is,

‘Sh’ma Yisra’el, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai echad [Hear, O Isra’el, the Lord our God, the Lord is one], 30 and you are to love Adonai your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your understanding and with all your strength.’[Mark 12:30 Deuteronomy 6:4–5]

31 The second is this: ‘You are to love your neighbor as yourself.’[Mark 12:31 Leviticus 19:18]

There is no other mitzvah greater than these.” 32 The Torah-teacher said to him, “Well said, Rabbi; you speak the truth when you say that he is one, and that there is no other besides him; 33 and that loving him with all one’s heart, understanding and strength, and loving one’s neighbor as oneself, mean more than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34 When Yeshua saw that he responded sensibly, he said to him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” And after that, no one dared put to him another sh’eilah. (Complete Jewish Bible)

Reflection Questions

Jesus' enemies tried hard to ask him “no win” questions, for which either answer would get him in trouble. Taxes were as much or more a hot button then as now. But Jesus said it wasn’t as simple as a “yes” or “no” answer. There was a valid realm for “Caesar” (human authority), and a citizen’s duty to pay taxes fit into that. Yet God’s kingdom was larger and higher than human authority, and Jesus clearly indicated that God’s kingdom held his (and our) ultimate loyalty.

The Sadducees didn’t believe in resurrection, and they tried their best to make the idea sound ridiculous. Jesus replied by challenging their earthbound assumptions. What made absolute conviction that death was not the end, that “the worst thing is never the last thing,” crucial to Jesus in that week before the cross? Do you share his confidence? If so, in what ways does that assurance shape your day-to-day life for the better?
Scholar William Barclay noted that there were two schools of thought among rabbis. Some believed “there were lighter and weightier matters of the law… great principles which were all-important to grasp.” Others “held that every smallest principle was equally binding.”* When asked, Jesus was clear about that—he saw some principles as far more vital than others, central to understanding God’s will. What are the implications of Jesus' answer for how you read your Bible, and how you let it guide your life?

Prayer

O God, you spoke to the human family in many times and many ways. But supremely you spoke to us through a Son (cf. Hebrews 1:1-2). Help me to ground all my service to you in the great commandments Jesus identified. Amen.

* William Barclay, Daily Study Bible Series: The Gospel of Mark (Revised Edition). Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1976, p. 294.

Read today's Insight by Ginny Howell

Ginny Howell serves as the Mobilization Program Director at Resurrection Leawood. She has a passion for helping people get engaged in the life of the church, and she oversees Community Events, Member Engagement and our ReConnection Team.

The three stories in our reading today offer an opportunity for us to recognize how easily we lose track of our real priorities. Jesus gives clear instructions and offers powerful illustrations about where our focus should be, but we don’t always get it right, much like the Sadducees. How often do we get preoccupied with something insignificant or so far out of reach that we miss a valuable opportunity right in front of us?

I think our achievement-loving, outcome-expecting, instant-gratification culture plays a vital role in how our priorities can quickly become misaligned. So many distractions move us away from what we say really matters. I can say that following Jesus’ greatest commandment is at the top of my priority list, but how does that align with how I spend my time? If I’m being totally honest, I often get way too wrapped up in busy of all sorts that distracts me from living into loving God with all my heart, mind and soul.

My friend, Hal, reminded me recently (as he often does) what it means to have your priorities in order, and your focus on the greatest commandment. Hal is a long-time Resurrection volunteer who has faced multiple health issues over the past few years. He's never let that take his focus off loving God and loving others. Despite not being able to attend worship in person, he has been dedicated to his leadership position in a key volunteer role. Hal calls the volunteers who serve on his team each week, prays for them, encourages them to pray for each other, helps remind them of the reasons they serve and the valuable impact of their ministry together.

He was in the hospital last week, and when asked if there was anything we could do for him, or anything he needed, his response spoke volumes about his priorities. He said he didn’t need anything, but sure wished he hadn’t been in the hospital over the weekend because he missed Pastor Scott’s sermon. Hal has taught me over the years that when your focus is on loving God, whatever other situations you have going on in life are more manageable and the busyness so many of us are addicted to doesn’t have to overwhelm us.

I decided to set my busy aside for the morning and go visit Hal. I took my laptop with me so we could watch the sermon he missed, using our church web site's worship online feature. We watched Pastor Scott’s sermon “Do You Still Not Understand?” and Hal couldn’t have been happier. I’ve included (with Hal’s permission) a picture we took after we finished watching the sermon, because the joy on Hal’s face says it all.

When I called Hal and asked his permission to share this story, he didn’t disappoint in sharing some important words of wisdom that seem timely for this reading. He told me he hoped it would make a difference in someone else’s life to hear about his love for God. He said, “You just have to try to focus on what’s important. Jesus is walking with us all the time, we all just have to be reminded of that because we’re human.”

How can you step away from your busy to focus on loving God and others? I honestly can’t remember the tasks I completed that day, but I will forever remember the time I got to spend with Hal and the love for Jesus he shared with me as we visited in his hospital room.

***
The United Methodist Church Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, United States Grow Pray Study Guide for Wednesday, 21 March 2018 "The fearful tenants abusing God's vineyard" Mark 11:27-12:12
Daily Scripture
Mark 11:27 They went back into Yerushalayim; and as he was walking in the Temple courts, there came to him the head cohanim, the Torah-teachers and the elders; 28 and they said to him, “What s’mikhah do you have that authorizes you to do these things? Who gave you this s’mikhah authorizing you to do them?” 29 Yeshua said to them, “I will ask you just one question: answer me, and I will tell you by what s’mikhah I do these things. 30 The immersion of Yochanan — was it from Heaven or from a human source? Answer me.” 31 They discussed it among themselves: “If we say, ‘From Heaven,’ he will say, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 32 But if we say, ‘From a human source, . . . ’” — they were afraid of the people, for they all regarded Yochanan as a genuine prophet. 33 So they answered Yeshua, “We don’t know.” “Then,” he replied, “I won’t tell you by what s’mikhah I do these things.”
12:1 Yeshua began speaking to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the wine press and built a tower; then he rented it to tenant-farmers and left. 2 When harvest-time came, he sent a servant to the tenants to collect his share of the crop from the vineyard. 3 But they took him, beat him up and sent him away empty-handed. 4 So he sent another servant; this one they punched in the head and insulted. 5 He sent another one, and him they killed; and so with many others — some they beat up, others they killed. 6 He had still one person left, a son whom he loved; in the end, he sent him to them, saying, ‘My son they will respect.’ 7 But the tenants said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours!’ 8 So they seized him, killed him and threw him out of the vineyard. 9 What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come, destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others! 10 Haven’t you read the passage in the Tanakh that says,
‘The very rock which the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone!
11 This has come from Adonai,
and in our eyes it is amazing’?”[Mark 12:11 Psalm 118:22–23]
12 They set about to arrest him, for they recognized that he had told the parable with reference to themselves. But they were afraid of the crowd, so they left him and went away. (Complete Jewish Bible)

***
Reflection Questions
Jesus’ vineyard story drew on a beloved Scripture (Isaiah 5:1-7), which called Israel God’s vineyard. Jesus told it in sadness, answering people who assumed that their positions and titles gave them the authority to rebuke and refuse him. Jesus loved the people of Jerusalem (cf. Luke 19:41-42), but their heedless leaders did not love him. As they plotted his death, Jesus told a story that pointedly exposed the murder in their hearts.

Mark 11:18, 28 and 12:12 graphically showed the atmosphere charged with hatred that surrounded Jesus during his last week. We’re tempted to look down on the Jerusalem leaders, but like them we’re subject to blind spots. Is there anything God’s spirit is nudging you to face honestly in your life? Do you have the courage to face it, to grant Jesus the authority to guide you in tending the vineyard of your life?

The temple priests and legal experts held all the visible, human power at the Temple. Why didn’t they just arrest Jesus on the spot? “They were afraid of the crowd.” Jesus didn’t blindly follow “the crowd” (cf. John 2:23-25), but in this case they saw more clearly than the religious leaders. What blocked the leaders’ vision? How can you keep your spiritual eyes and ears clear to recognize God’s work in either expected or unexpected places?

Prayer
Lord Jesus, you’ve entrusted the gift of life to me, and you ask me to lead that life in a way that bears fruit for your kingdom. Make me a faithful tenant farmer, one who respects and values your lordship. Amen.

Read today's Insight by Dr. Amy Oden
Dr. Amy Oden is Professor of Early Church History and Spirituality at Saint Paul School of Theology at OCU. Teaching is her calling, and she looks forward to every day with students. Her latest book (Right Here, Right Now: The Practice of Christian Mindfulness, Abingdon Press, 2017) traces ancient mindfulness practice for Christians today.
The GPS Guide challenge us to live authentic lives, real and true. This can mean God nudges us to stop hiding from ourselves or to dismantle assumptions about church or about faith or about our lives, just as it did for the Jerusalem leaders Jesus is talking about in Mark 12. Far from easy or comfortable!
So back to the question. “Is there anything God’s spirit is nudging you to face honestly in your life?” How can you know? Nudges can show up as a stray thought, an “aha” moment of insight, a flash of emotion or a longing ache. We will miss it if we aren’t paying attention. Jesus invites us to have “eyes to see and ears to hear” all the ways God is present with us here and now. When we are mindful, God’s nudges can become invitations into abundant life.
For me, a key source of holy nudges is my body. Too often, I spend the day stuck in my head and miss God’s persistent nudges in my body. But when I get still and listen to my body, really listen for only a few minutes, God draws my attention, for example, to renewed energy I feel as I look at spring blooming, or the tension in my upper body that suggests I’m spending my time on the wrong things.
These holy nudges may happen in other ways for you. Mindfulness practice invites us to pause and notice the way God’s spirit is nudging us, moment by moment, toward abundant life. Try a short Christian mindfulness practice:
1. Pause and take 3-4 slow, deep breaths. Close your eyes to focus on your breathing.
2. Turn your awareness to your body. Give loving attention to each part of your body, moving from your head to torso to limbs to feet, attentive to even minor sensations or feelings.
3. What do you notice? Invite God to notice it with you. Don’t evaluate, judge or fix anything you identify. Simply notice it and let God hold it with you for a moment.
What do you discover? How is God offering a holy nudge?Like this post? Share it!

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