The Lutheran Hour Ministries Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries b
y Pastor Ken Klaus, Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour
Daily Devotion - Friday, May 18, 2018 "Pigeonholing"
Matthew 16:13-15 - Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
It's a dangerous thing to pigeonhole people.
Great Britain's Sir Douglas Bader loved to fly. He was quite good at it until a plane crash prior to WWII cost him his legs. Those who loved Bader were sorry to see such a brave, bold man become earthbound and give up his beloved flying. Still, everybody knew his flying days were done.
Everybody knew this except Sir Douglas Bader.
Bader refused to be pigeonholed. He refused to let a small thing like losing his legs keep him out of the air. Bader had himself fitted with artificial legs and climbed back into the cockpit. In 1939, when Britain and Germany went to war, Bader thought his man-made limbs shouldn't disqualify him from flying in the Battle of Britain. Recruiters told him, "Piloting a plane in an aerial dogfight is something challenging.... Only the bravest, the boldest, the best and fittest can do that job."
Bader refused to be pigeonholed and eventually talked his way into the cockpit of a British fighter. Bader surprised everyone by bringing down 22 enemy planes before he himself was shot down over France in 1941. Bader survived the emergency parachute jump, but his artificial legs didn't.
Recognized as a hero in his native land, Bader was accepted as an honorable enemy by his Nazi captors. So great was the Germans' respect for Bader, they sent an unusual request to the British Government and asked them to airdrop Bader's spare set of artificial legs. The request was honored.
Of course, once more Bader refused to be pigeonholed.
As soon as he had strapped on his legs, he began planning his escape. Four times Bader tried to get away, and four times he was recaptured. Finally, Bader's jailers decided that every night, when Bader went to bed the prison authorities would take away his legs and lock them up; every morning they would return his artificial limbs.
It occurs to me the world has always tried to pigeonhole the Savior: "Aren't You a Samaritan, a devil, a blasphemer, a false teacher, a man possessed by a devil?" Those were the holes into which they tried to push the Savior back then. Today it is not much different. Today critics and scoffers ask, "Jesus, were You ever real? Aren't we right in saying You were invented by the disciples? Didn't You steal all Your teachings from Eastern religions? Didn't You fake Your resurrection after You revived in that damp, cool tomb?"
But Jesus won't be pigeonholed. After His death, His lifeless body was put into a borrowed grave. A seal was placed on the stone, a guard was set, and His enemies rejoiced that Jesus had become a failure. His dead body showed Him to have been a false prophet. But Jesus wasn't ready to be pigeonholed. Death couldn't hold Him in its grip. The grave's great stone couldn't keep Him from showing to all the world that He was exactly whom He had said: He was the Son of God, our Savior, our Redeemer, and our Friend.
THE PRAYER: Lord, grant that I may see the Savior of the Scriptures rather than the pale, pitiful Jesus humanity would like Him to be. Let me see Him, trust in Him, and have faith in Him, for in Him is salvation. This I ask in the Savior's Name. Amen.
In Christ I remain His servant and yours,
Pastor Ken Klaus
Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour
Lutheran Hour Ministries
Today's Bible in a Year Reading: Psalm 64; Psalm 70; John 6:1-21
Psalm 64:1 (0) For the leader. A psalm of David:
2 (1) Hear my voice, God, as I plead:
preserve my life from fear of the enemy.
3 (2) Hide me from the secret intrigues of the wicked
and the open insurrection of evildoers.
4 (3) They sharpen their tongues like a sword;
they aim their arrows, poisoned words,
5 (4) in order to shoot from cover at the innocent,
shooting suddenly and fearing nothing.
6 (5) They support each other’s evil plans;
they talk of hiding snares
and ask, “Who would see them?”
7 (6) They search for ways to commit crimes,
bringing their diligent search to completion
when each of them has thought it through
in the depth of his heart.
8 (7) Suddenly God shoots them down with an arrow,
leaving them with wounds;
9 (8) their own tongues make them stumble.
All who see them shake their heads.
10 (9) Everyone is awestruck —
they acknowledge that it is God at work,
they understand what he has done.
11 (10) The righteous will rejoice in Adonai;
they will take refuge in him;
all the upright in heart will exult.
70:1 (0) For the leader. By David. As a reminder:
2 (1) God, rescue me!
Adonai, hurry and help me!
3 (2) May those who seek my life
be disgraced and humiliated.
May those who take pleasure in doing me harm
be turned back and put to confusion.
4 (3) May those who jeer, “Aha! Aha!”
withdraw because of their shame.
5 (4) But may all those who seek you
be glad and take joy in you.
May those who love your salvation say always,
“God is great and glorious!”
6 (5) But I am poor and needy;
God, hurry for me.
You are my helper and rescuer;
Adonai, don’t delay!
John 6:1 Some time later, Yeshua went over to the far side of Lake Kinneret (that is, Lake Tiberias), 2 and a large crowd followed him, because they had seen the miracles he had performed on the sick. 3 Yeshua went up into the hills and sat down there with his talmidim. 4 Now the Judean festival of Pesach was coming up; 5 so when Yeshua looked up and saw that a large crowd was approaching, he said to Philip, “Where will we be able to buy bread, so that these people can eat?” 6 (Now Yeshua said this to test Philip, for Yeshua himself knew what he was about to do.) 7 Philip answered, “Half a year’s wages wouldn’t buy enough bread for them — each one would get only a bite!” 8 One of the talmidim, Andrew the brother of Shim‘on Kefa, said to him, 9 “There’s a young fellow here who has five loaves of barley bread and two fish. But how far will they go among so many?”
10 Yeshua said, “Have the people sit down.” There was a lot of grass there, so they sat down. The number of men was about five thousand. 11 Then Yeshua took the loaves of bread, and, after making a b’rakhah, gave to all who were sitting there, and likewise with the fish, as much as they wanted. 12 After they had eaten their fill, he told his talmidim, “Gather the leftover pieces, so that nothing gets wasted.” 13 They gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten.
14 When the people saw the miracle he had performed, they said, “This has to be ‘the prophet’ who is supposed to come into the world.” 15 Yeshua knew that they were on the point of coming and seizing him, in order to make him king; so he went back to the hills again. This time he went by himself.
16 When evening came, his talmidim went down to the lake, 17 got into a boat and set out across the lake toward K’far-Nachum. By now it was dark, Yeshua had not yet joined them, 18 and the sea was getting rough, because a strong wind was blowing. 19 They had rowed three or four miles when they saw Yeshua approaching the boat, walking on the lake! They were terrified; 20 but he said to them, “Stop being afraid, it is I.” 21 Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and instantly the boat reached the land they were heading for. (Complete Jewish Bible).
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CHANGE THEIR WORLD. CHANGE YOURS.
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING.
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