Living in the Spirit

September 18, 2021

Scripture Reading: Mark 9:30-37

They went on from there and passed through Galilee. He did not want anyone to know it; for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, ‘The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again.’ But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him. –Mark 9:30-32

Denial and isolation are the first stages of the grief process. The disciples most likely basked in Jesus’ teaching, but according to Mark, from the beginning, Jesus was open about the end of his earthly ministry. How often do we hear what we want to hear? How often do our relationships begin with seeing in the other only what we want to see? Jesus wanted these disciples to understand fully who he was and why he came to be with them. It took his resurrection and, perhaps even, the arrival of the Holy Spirit for his followers to perceive who they had encountered,

I fear we humans experience the same process to this day. I cringe when I hear some practices and ideologies spoken in the name of the One who preached the Sermon on the Mount, told his followers they would be judged by how they fed the hungry/welcomed the stranger and indicated that loving God and loving one’s neighbors as oneself were the most important commandments.

Of course, all Christ-followers have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). What an incredible Savior we have who knows us each better than we know ourselves and forgives us when we recognize our downfalls and repent from them. God is a god of second chances. God rejoices when we grow in wisdom and truth as Jesus did. God with us came in the form of an infant and grew in understanding of humanity through a child’s experience. God continues to be with us as we stumble through the challenges of our world today. God feeds our hope as well as our endurance and innovation.  We need now to work toward the better world ahead of us as we accept the role of people of the cross with the knowledge that God is working God’s purpose out, and we must discern what our part of that mission is and work toward it with all our hearts, minds, and souls.

Let us go forth in the strength of God,
with the banner of Christ unfurled,
that the light of the glorious gospel of truth
may shine throughout the world.
Let us all fight with sorrow and sin
to set the captives free,
that the earth may be filled with the glory of God
as the waters cover the sea*

Prayer: Lord, help us understand what you are saying to us and show us how to serve you. Amen.

*The third verse of the hymn God is Working His Purpose Out by Arthur Campbell Ainger see at https://hymnary.org/text/god_is_working_his_purpose_out#Author

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.