Epiphany 7
Devotional
Pause Before The Pulpit
Personal Reflections For Pastors On The Lectionary Readings
Mark 2:1-12
Every time I read this text, I find myself dreaming and thinking, "Wouldn't it be great if we had this problem in our churches?" Can you imagine if your church was packed to the door, not for a funeral or wedding, but because people wanted to listen to your preaching? And to top it off, some would be so desperate to reach you; they would tear a hole in the roof and lower themselves down in front of the pulpit! We laugh, perhaps, at imagining a scene such as this in our own ministry. But this is what happened that day in Jesus' ministry.
There is a big difference, of course, between our ministries and that of Christ's. There was something about Jesus that drew people to him. In part, it was the message of the words he spoke and the authority with which he spoke them, but in large part, it was the miracles he was doing. Oh, if only we could preach like Jesus! If only we could do miracles like Jesus! Then people would flood into our churches and tear holes in the roof to get to us!
But wait a minute; is there really that much difference between our ministries? Granted, we will never be the Son of God, but by faith in him we are sons and daughters of God. True, we can't forgive people their sins on the basis of our blood and righteousness, but we can declare to people that their sins are forgiven on the basis of Christ's blood and righteousness. Maybe we can't tell people to rise up and walk, as Jesus could, but we can pray for them to receive healing, in the powerful name of Jesus, and the outcome of that prayer is ultimately in God's control.
So, this text is about more than a day in the life of Christ's ministry, and is not something to merely covet from a distance and wish we could see something similar in our church. This text is about the power of God's Word to change people's lives. The Epiphany portion of this text is the revealing of Christ's identity as God and having the same power as God to forgive sins and heal the sick.
Coming through the doors of our churches are people who need the forgiveness of sins. Maybe they have been worshiping there for years and are regarded as dear old saints in the church, but they still need to hear the good news of the gospel that their sins are, indeed, forgiven by faith in Christ.
In addition to this need for forgiveness, maybe there is overwhelming pain that exists in the lives of those who consider your church to be their church. There are unhappy and broken marriages, there are strained relationships between parents and children, there are those who are struggling through a health crisis, some are dealing with financial crisis, some are living with a secret sin that is troubling their conscience, others are living under the oppressive load of bitterness and unforgiveness. The list goes on and on. Do we have anything to offer them? Can we hold out hope of healing for them? Most certainly!
He who has the authority to forgive sins also has the authority to heal broken lives and take away the pain. This healing comes to our parishioners the same way forgiveness comes to them -- through God's timeless, living, powerful word. As we faithfully proclaim God's Word to these hurting people, week after week, God creates faith within them. He opens the eyes of their hearts to see the meaning of his word and how it applies to their situation. He gives them ideas of things to say or do differently that might take away the pain in their particular situation. He comforts them in the midst of their hardship, so even if things don't get better, they get stronger and they put their hope more fully in the promises of God for this life and for all eternity.
Some of the greatest miracles in the church today are those of changed lives. Not only changed lives in terms of inward change, when people come to faith in Christ for salvation, but also in terms of outward change, when they start thinking, talking, and acting more and more like Christ. Don't ignore or downplay these miracles, for they are often the greatest evidence of God's power at work in your church.
A Pastor's Prayer:
Dear Lord,
Thank you for the power and authority of your word that not only changes my life, but the lives of those I minister to. Please continue to do your powerful work in and through me. Amen.
2 Corinthians 1:18-22
Have you ever been accused of not keeping a promise? I'm sure we all have. I recall one incident in my own ministry where a parishioner had felt strongly that I had promised to be their pastor for a long, long time. They were extremely hurt and angry when I resigned from their church, after seven years of successful ministry, to accept a call to serve a congregation in another state.
In this text, the Apostle Paul was addressing a similar issue that had arisen in the church at Corinth. Apparently some had felt that he had broken a promise in regards to visiting them. As a result, they assumed that perhaps his preaching shouldn't be trusted either, since that was coming out of the same mouth! A ridiculous assumption, perhaps, but it was what Paul faced.
Dealing with broken promises is a difficult issue for pastors, especially for those of us who don't want people to be upset with us. I personally hate it when I have to break a promise to my wife, one of my children, a parishioner, or an entire congregation, but we don't have as much control over things as we, and others, would like.
If we are to have an effective ministry, I believe we must do as Paul did to help people distinguish the difference (and there is a huge difference!) between the human promises that we make, but have to break from time to time, and the divine promises of God, which we preach and teach from the same mouth, but which can never be broken. Oh, how we wish our word could be as good as that of God's Word, but it can't, for we are ministering on the basis of a human, finite mind where we cannot see and know all the possible scenarios of the future as God can.
So we turn our attention to God's promises, as Paul did. Notice what he said in the opening verse: As surely as God is faithful.... Paul's appeal was not on the basis of his faithfulness, but on that of the most faithful person that exists -- God himself. Then, in verse 20, he went on to write: For in him every one of God's promises is a "Yes." That is a powerful truth for us and our parishioners! First of all it is powerful for us, because we desperately need all of God's promises to back us up in our ministries. Without them, we would be a mess and so would our churches. I urge you to take a moment and list some of God's promises to you as a pastor. I'll give you one for starters from the Great Commission: Remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age (Matthew 28:20). Oh, how we need that promise in order to keep going from day to day and week to week! After listing some of his great and precious promises to you, take a few minutes and thank him for each one.
Secondly, the fact that every one of God's promises are "Yes" in him, is a wonderful message to give to our parishioners. They need to know that we, as their pastors, are human and finite. We can't possibly measure up to God in terms of keeping all our promises, but that in no way weakens the certainty of God's Divine promises. Help them to know how significant it is for them that God's promises are always "Yes" and what that means for their everyday lives.
Paul summed up this issue by writing: For this reason it is through him that we say the "Amen," to the glory of God. "Amen" basically means "so be it." It is a term of acceptance and a statement of trust. When coming at the end of a prayer, it indicates that we want to leave all that we have prayed about in God's hands on the basis of his grace and promises to us. When using "Amen" as a statement of agreement with something that someone has just said (for example, saying "Amen" to something we just heard in a sermon or Bible study), we are indicating that we believe that what was said is true. We agree with it and want it to continue to be that way.
May that be our attitude, to God's promises to us; and may we set an example for our parishioners in this too, to fully trust in God's promises to them and say "Amen" to all of them!
A Pastor's Prayer:
Dear Lord,
Thank you for your great and precious promises to me, and that they are always "Yes" in Christ! Help me to be, as best I'm able, a promise keeper to my loved ones and parishioners. May my "Amens" to your promises set an example for those who watch and listen to me, that they, too, will agree that all your promises deserve a hearty "Amen!"
Every time I read this text, I find myself dreaming and thinking, "Wouldn't it be great if we had this problem in our churches?" Can you imagine if your church was packed to the door, not for a funeral or wedding, but because people wanted to listen to your preaching? And to top it off, some would be so desperate to reach you; they would tear a hole in the roof and lower themselves down in front of the pulpit! We laugh, perhaps, at imagining a scene such as this in our own ministry. But this is what happened that day in Jesus' ministry.
There is a big difference, of course, between our ministries and that of Christ's. There was something about Jesus that drew people to him. In part, it was the message of the words he spoke and the authority with which he spoke them, but in large part, it was the miracles he was doing. Oh, if only we could preach like Jesus! If only we could do miracles like Jesus! Then people would flood into our churches and tear holes in the roof to get to us!
But wait a minute; is there really that much difference between our ministries? Granted, we will never be the Son of God, but by faith in him we are sons and daughters of God. True, we can't forgive people their sins on the basis of our blood and righteousness, but we can declare to people that their sins are forgiven on the basis of Christ's blood and righteousness. Maybe we can't tell people to rise up and walk, as Jesus could, but we can pray for them to receive healing, in the powerful name of Jesus, and the outcome of that prayer is ultimately in God's control.
So, this text is about more than a day in the life of Christ's ministry, and is not something to merely covet from a distance and wish we could see something similar in our church. This text is about the power of God's Word to change people's lives. The Epiphany portion of this text is the revealing of Christ's identity as God and having the same power as God to forgive sins and heal the sick.
Coming through the doors of our churches are people who need the forgiveness of sins. Maybe they have been worshiping there for years and are regarded as dear old saints in the church, but they still need to hear the good news of the gospel that their sins are, indeed, forgiven by faith in Christ.
In addition to this need for forgiveness, maybe there is overwhelming pain that exists in the lives of those who consider your church to be their church. There are unhappy and broken marriages, there are strained relationships between parents and children, there are those who are struggling through a health crisis, some are dealing with financial crisis, some are living with a secret sin that is troubling their conscience, others are living under the oppressive load of bitterness and unforgiveness. The list goes on and on. Do we have anything to offer them? Can we hold out hope of healing for them? Most certainly!
He who has the authority to forgive sins also has the authority to heal broken lives and take away the pain. This healing comes to our parishioners the same way forgiveness comes to them -- through God's timeless, living, powerful word. As we faithfully proclaim God's Word to these hurting people, week after week, God creates faith within them. He opens the eyes of their hearts to see the meaning of his word and how it applies to their situation. He gives them ideas of things to say or do differently that might take away the pain in their particular situation. He comforts them in the midst of their hardship, so even if things don't get better, they get stronger and they put their hope more fully in the promises of God for this life and for all eternity.
Some of the greatest miracles in the church today are those of changed lives. Not only changed lives in terms of inward change, when people come to faith in Christ for salvation, but also in terms of outward change, when they start thinking, talking, and acting more and more like Christ. Don't ignore or downplay these miracles, for they are often the greatest evidence of God's power at work in your church.
A Pastor's Prayer:
Dear Lord,
Thank you for the power and authority of your word that not only changes my life, but the lives of those I minister to. Please continue to do your powerful work in and through me. Amen.
2 Corinthians 1:18-22
Have you ever been accused of not keeping a promise? I'm sure we all have. I recall one incident in my own ministry where a parishioner had felt strongly that I had promised to be their pastor for a long, long time. They were extremely hurt and angry when I resigned from their church, after seven years of successful ministry, to accept a call to serve a congregation in another state.
In this text, the Apostle Paul was addressing a similar issue that had arisen in the church at Corinth. Apparently some had felt that he had broken a promise in regards to visiting them. As a result, they assumed that perhaps his preaching shouldn't be trusted either, since that was coming out of the same mouth! A ridiculous assumption, perhaps, but it was what Paul faced.
Dealing with broken promises is a difficult issue for pastors, especially for those of us who don't want people to be upset with us. I personally hate it when I have to break a promise to my wife, one of my children, a parishioner, or an entire congregation, but we don't have as much control over things as we, and others, would like.
If we are to have an effective ministry, I believe we must do as Paul did to help people distinguish the difference (and there is a huge difference!) between the human promises that we make, but have to break from time to time, and the divine promises of God, which we preach and teach from the same mouth, but which can never be broken. Oh, how we wish our word could be as good as that of God's Word, but it can't, for we are ministering on the basis of a human, finite mind where we cannot see and know all the possible scenarios of the future as God can.
So we turn our attention to God's promises, as Paul did. Notice what he said in the opening verse: As surely as God is faithful.... Paul's appeal was not on the basis of his faithfulness, but on that of the most faithful person that exists -- God himself. Then, in verse 20, he went on to write: For in him every one of God's promises is a "Yes." That is a powerful truth for us and our parishioners! First of all it is powerful for us, because we desperately need all of God's promises to back us up in our ministries. Without them, we would be a mess and so would our churches. I urge you to take a moment and list some of God's promises to you as a pastor. I'll give you one for starters from the Great Commission: Remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age (Matthew 28:20). Oh, how we need that promise in order to keep going from day to day and week to week! After listing some of his great and precious promises to you, take a few minutes and thank him for each one.
Secondly, the fact that every one of God's promises are "Yes" in him, is a wonderful message to give to our parishioners. They need to know that we, as their pastors, are human and finite. We can't possibly measure up to God in terms of keeping all our promises, but that in no way weakens the certainty of God's Divine promises. Help them to know how significant it is for them that God's promises are always "Yes" and what that means for their everyday lives.
Paul summed up this issue by writing: For this reason it is through him that we say the "Amen," to the glory of God. "Amen" basically means "so be it." It is a term of acceptance and a statement of trust. When coming at the end of a prayer, it indicates that we want to leave all that we have prayed about in God's hands on the basis of his grace and promises to us. When using "Amen" as a statement of agreement with something that someone has just said (for example, saying "Amen" to something we just heard in a sermon or Bible study), we are indicating that we believe that what was said is true. We agree with it and want it to continue to be that way.
May that be our attitude, to God's promises to us; and may we set an example for our parishioners in this too, to fully trust in God's promises to them and say "Amen" to all of them!
A Pastor's Prayer:
Dear Lord,
Thank you for your great and precious promises to me, and that they are always "Yes" in Christ! Help me to be, as best I'm able, a promise keeper to my loved ones and parishioners. May my "Amens" to your promises set an example for those who watch and listen to me, that they, too, will agree that all your promises deserve a hearty "Amen!"
