Contemplative Bible Reading

Mark 5:22-23 (New Living Translation)

22 Then a leader of the local synagogue, whose name was Jairus, arrived. When he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet, 23 pleading fervently with him. “My little daughter is dying,” he said. “Please come and lay your hands on her; heal her so she can live.”

Jairus is a leader of the local synagogue. The synagogues were, and are to this day, schools where the Jewish law was taught.

Leaders of synagogues didn’t get along well with Jesus. Jesus often taught the synagogue leaders the errors of their ways. The synagogue leaders didn’t like that. We have several examples of that in scriptures.

This synagogue leader, however, ignores all that. He falls at the feet of Jesus and pleads with Jesus to come to his home. His daughter is ill beyond their means to restore her health.

Note how local political disagreements disappear when your child is dying. There is something about the health of your child that renders all other issues mute.

The child died. Jesus arrived and made her alive again.

No more trouble in this local synagogue.

Sometimes we need something close and real to help us to understand what is important and what is petty. Please God, let me understand the difference without having to experience the agony of Jairus.

2 Timothy 2:24 (New Living Translation)

A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people.

Servants of God must be able to teach. Pretty plain statement here.

“I’m not a school teacher. I don’t know how to teach.”

Someone should be teaching teaching. Someone should be ensuring that servants of the Lord can teach.

There are many forms of teaching. Many of the best teachers were never educated and are not “school teachers.”

Still, some servants of the Lord need to be teaching teaching.

Isaiah 59:9-10 (New Living Translation)

9 So there is no justice among us,
and we know nothing about right living.
We look for light but find only darkness.
We look for bright skies but walk in gloom.
10 We grope like the blind along a wall,
feeling our way like people without eyes.
Even at brightest noontime,
we stumble as though it were dark.
Among the living,
we are like the dead.

Pardon the reference to the TV show of the same name.

The prophet Isaiah is describing the situation among God’s people. They have drifted so far from God that they live in gloom. What a tragedy. Given a close relationship with the Creator, they have looked for something else and found nothing. Now they live in nothing.

They have forgotten what it means to live right with one another. Be honest, be fair, be just. They forgot the meaning of those words. They grope and stumble in the dark.

This isn’t poetry, it is a stark description of the horror of their lives.

It is the horrible existence of anyone at any time when living apart from God.

Thank you God that someone taught me of your justice and loving mercy. Thank you God that I can live in your light instead of stumbling around like the walking dead in eternal darkness.

Isaiah 57:11a (New Living Translation)

“Are you afraid of these idols?
Do they terrify you?
Is that why you have lied to me
and forgotten me and my words?

God is speaking to the people through the prophet Isaiah. The people have been lying to God. That is odd in itself as God knows our thoughts, so we might as well just tell God to truth, anyways.

The people have been frightened by idols, that is their reason for lying to God the Creator.

I want to meet those idols. Those idols are so powerful as to scare people so much that they attempt to lie to God. Wow. Those must be some idols!

I guess what really happened is the representatives of the idols—some type of priest of the god of the tree or something—scared God’s people. That makes some sense. I mean if some persons came to me and threatened to kill all my relatives if I didn’t bow to the tree, I would be scared. Not all of us have the faith that suppresses fear like Daniel (of the lion’s den history).

Once again, we return to the situation where what we can see and touch immediately takes precedence over what is spiritual. That is one of our many human failings.

Malachi 1:7-8 (New Living Translation)

…“You defile them by saying the altar of the Lord deserves no respect. 8 When you give blind animals as sacrifices, isn’t that wrong? And isn’t it wrong to offer animals that are crippled and diseased?…

A long time ago in a prior millennium, we had this saying—Sunday best. We wore our best clothes, our best shoes, etc. on Sunday to “go to church.” Women wore dresses and men wore ties or they were turned back at the door (I exaggerate, but only a little).

Then we entered a new era in the 1970s or somewhere back when and decided that such dress was superficial and we needed to relax “at church.” Of course we did. God was interested in our hearts, not our clean shirts and neatly combed hair. And that was right; God is interested in our hearts.

Times change. Fashions change. “Sunday best” change.

And then we read something like the verses above about “respect” and offering defective things to God. Perhaps we should consider things like “best” and “less than best” and such. Is relaxing defective?

I don’t have the answers, just a few questions. Please forgive my awkward words.

This post is different from the vast majority of them in this blog.

There is much talk, yelling, demonstrating, banner carrying, and such this past month or two in the name of social justice.

Search this blog for the word “justice.” I don’t know how many posts in this blog are about justice and righteousness—several dozen at least.

Social justice is a theme of the Bible. A theme that is repeated everywhere.

Somewhere along the line, we have forgotten a basic. We are suffering the consequences.

Zephaniah 1:6 (New Living Translation)

And I will destroy those who used to worship me
    but now no longer do.
They no longer ask for the Lord’s guidance
    or seek my blessings.

The prophet is relaying a message from Jehovah God the Creator to the people. God will not tolerate those who do not worship God. The people had fallen into the worship of all sorts of things. (NOTE: This is the worship of things, not the love of things. We can love money, but not worship it.)

And we find that these people no longer seek God’s blessings.

Consider that for a moment. Consider the blessings that come from God—everything from sleeping in a bed with a roof over our heads to drinking a cup of hot coffee on a cool morning to the smile on the face of a child to…there isn’t enough space to list God’s blessings.

These people had turned so far from God that they no longer wanted any of God’s blessings. It hurts my head to attempt to think of such a situation.

Please God. Help me to always realize the blessings you give me. Please help me to always know the source of these blessings and to seek You.

Habakkuk 1:3b (New Living Translation)

I am surrounded by people
    who love to argue and fight.

I copied title from the news today. No, not really. I copied it from this verse. The prophet wrote this a few thousand years ago. Someone at the Washington Post or whatever could copy these words and put them where ever it is that “newspapers” put words these days.

Trouble is, the “new”spapers have little that is new. It is all repeats from several thousand years, and it is all about us.

What is wrong with us? Why is it that after several thousands years of fighting wars that stem from arguments about the color of the grass or the direction the wind blows that we still do these things? Won’t we ever learn from any of this?

Questions, questions, questions. We know the answers. We don’t like the answers. So we keep asking the questions hoping someone will give us a new answer. Hasn’t happened in 20 or 30 or 40 centuries.

We rejected God. God gives us a way to return to God. Will we accept God’s way? Maybe we will simply argue and fight about it for a few more centuries.

2 Timothy 4:5a (New Living Translation)

But you should keep a clear mind in every situation.

Paul is dictating a letter to Timothy. He is encouraging Timothy to tell people about Jesus, the Christ or Messiah, the one appointed to take away all our sins.

In the preceding lines, Paul warns Timothy that people will yawn when he talks. People will walk away from the message and find other things that are more interesting at the moment. Some people will even throw rocks at you (literally, not figuratively).

Expect this.

Above all, keep a clear mind. Always be able to think and discuss patiently and peacefully.

Consider this. Someone is throwing big rocks at your head. You are supposed to have a clear mind in such circumstances. Really? Sounds difficult. It is difficult. It is practically impossible without the help of God.

Thank you God for giving us the ability to do what we cannot do.

2 Timothy 2:8 (New Living Translation)

Always remember that Jesus Christ, a descendant of King David, was raised from the dead. This is the Good News I preach.

Paul is dictating a letter to Timothy. Perhaps this is a translation twist, but Paul tends to say things backwards—it seems that way to me. It would be easier for me to understand had this been written as:

This is the Good News: Jesus, the fellow from Nazareth whom we know descended from King David, he was raised from the dead. He is the one appointed to take away the sins of the world.

Pretty darn good news, huh?

Perhaps we all know this so well that we forget it. Simple, powerful, and almost unbelievable.

And that simple message is what Paul preached. Paul urged Timothy to preach it. Timothy passed it on to someone else, and this train continues today.

Praise God. Thank you God.