Epiphany 3
Devotional
Pause Before The Pulpit
Personal Reflections For Pastors On The Lectionary Readings
Mark 1:14-20
Last week's Gospel Lesson was about Christ's call to Philip and Nathanael to follow him. I pointed out how their first response to his call revealed a lot about who they were and what they believed. Today's lesson is similar: we find Jesus calling four more men to follow him. They are Simon, Andrew, James, and John. It's interesting to note that preceding their call, Jesus came to them, proclaiming the good news of God, which contained his purpose and his main message: The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.
Jesus was there, in the fulfillment of time, to bring the kingdom of God to earth. If this message had not preceded their call, these men would have had no idea what they were being invited to join. So it is today, when we are called to serve God in his kingdom work. He clearly lays out for us in his word what his purpose and message is. Then he calls us to join him in fishing for men, women, and children who do not know him in a personal and intimate way for salvation and eternal life.
When was the last time you reflected upon God's call in your life to follow and serve him? Do you know why you were called? Do you know what you were called to do? Do you even know if you were called? Maybe you simply chose the ministry as a career choice because you like to help people, or you've always wanted to work in the church, or because you've had, for a long time, a curiosity in regards to spiritual matters. Dear friend, if you are in the ministry without a clear sense of call from God, you may be doing his church more harm than good.
Personally, I fought the call of God for a long time. It first came when I was eighteen years old, but I ignored it for thirteen years. Time and again God called me, in one way or another, but I ran from his call until I couldn't run anymore. Finally, in the midst of losing my dream -- a beautiful dairy farm in west central Minnesota -- I yielded my life to God and left everything, to follow him and fish for people. The thought of preaching and teaching was frightening, but I was willing to learn, for I now clearly understood God's will for me and my desire to listen to, and follow, his will. All who hear and heed the call of God to follow him and fish for men, find it to be a life-changing experience and very rewarding. It's not always easy (in fact, it seldom is!), but God daily gives us everything we need to carry out this call.
I've often wondered what Zebedee must have thought as he watched his sons walk away, leaving him with the nets and boats. Maybe he was very understanding, but there is no way of knowing for sure. Unfortunately, many men and women follow the call of God into ministry, only to have their families show little or no support. Maybe that was your experience, and you still need some assurance from God that you really did hear his call and did the right thing.
Dear friend, if you understand and agree with God's purpose and mission here on earth, and if you have unmistakably sensed his call upon your life to serve him in parish ministry, then you can continue to serve him with confidence that you are in the center of his will for you. With that confidence before you, you don't have to worry about what others are thinking or saying about your decision to follow and serve God. It was hard work and often frightening for the disciples, too, but look at how God was able to use them to start and build the Christian church. In the same way, God is using you to grow his church and will continue to use you in ways that you can't even imagine at this time in your life.
A Pastor's Prayer:
Dear Lord,
If I am in the ministry for the wrong reasons, please forgive me and help me know what to do now. If you have called me, continue to give me reassurance of that and help me not to worry about what others think. Thank you that you can, and will, continue to use me to grow your church as I faithfully fish for people. Amen.
1 Corinthians 7:29-31
This is an interesting text for the season of Epiphany (or for any season of the church year, for that matter!). If taken all by itself, without understanding the context, it sounds like warped, legalistic advice from a pietist; but it isn't. Paul had a good reason for what he wrote, and although the specific advice may not apply directly to us today, at the heart of the text is a central truth that we would do well to take seriously and allow the Holy Spirit to apply to our hearts.
The larger context in which this passage is set, has to do with marriage, but there is another issue in the background that is driving Paul's advice. The issue is mentioned in verse 26 as an impending crisis. We are not told specifically what that crisis was, but it may well have been religious persecution, for that was an ongoing crisis for the first-century church. Due to the increasingly harsh treatment that Christians were receiving, it was commonly believed that the Lord might return at any time. We might laugh at that, but when you think about it, due to the fact that his return is imminent, we live with the same sense of expectancy as they did. The Lord could have returned at that time, if that had been God's will, just as he could return at any moment now. So they did not hold that belief due to ignorance, but due to the nature of the imminent return of Christ.
The danger for us, living 2,000 years later, is to slip into apathy, thinking, "They thought he would return very soon, but he didn't. It has now been 2,000 years and he still hasn't returned. Who knows, it could be a long time yet, so why get excited?" True, it could be a long time yet, but we don't know that for sure. Regardless of when he comes, it will be without warning and it will catch all people by some degree of surprise. For those who are ready and watching for his return, it will be a pleasant surprise! For those who are not prepared or watching for his return, it will be a horrific surprise!
So, due to persecution, Paul's advice to those living at that time was to avoid intimate relationships, if at all possible, and to not hold tightly to the things of this world, for such attachments -- both to people and to things -- can make faithfulness to Christ more difficult when facing death for that belief. For example, it would be easier for a man to face death for his faith in Christ if he were single, than if he had just gotten married; or worse yet, if he had children. The same held true for women and children.
We may not be facing an impending crisis, like that of the early church, but we may have a problem with holding too tightly to people and things. Unfaithfulness to Christ is a huge problem in the church today. People put others before Christ in terms of their love, time, and devotion. They put work and pleasure before serving Christ. They will spend money they don't have on things they don't need, which are things that won't last. Instead, they could be giving sacrificially to Christ out of gratefulness for all he has given them, thereby laying up treasures in heaven that can never be destroyed.
It is important for pastors to hear the heart of this text. The eyes of our congregations are upon us, watching our attachments to people and to things; they often pattern their attachments after ours. Are we setting a biblical example for them to follow? Are we living as if the Lord could return any day? Not in neglect of our loved ones, nor self-imposed poverty, nor even self-righteous celibacy for that matter, but in loose attachment to all that is temporal, and in an intimate, tight relationship with him who is eternal.
Neither Paul nor I am proposing a heavenly mindedness that makes us of no earthly good, but rather cautioning us from being so attached to people and things that it hinders our love for, loyalty to, and faith in, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
A Pastor's Prayer:
Dear Lord,
Please help me to see if any of my relationships with people, and my attachments to temporal things, are in any way hindering my love for, loyalty to, and faith in, you. I desire you above all else and ask that you forgive me for those times when I haven't put you first. Amen.
Last week's Gospel Lesson was about Christ's call to Philip and Nathanael to follow him. I pointed out how their first response to his call revealed a lot about who they were and what they believed. Today's lesson is similar: we find Jesus calling four more men to follow him. They are Simon, Andrew, James, and John. It's interesting to note that preceding their call, Jesus came to them, proclaiming the good news of God, which contained his purpose and his main message: The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.
Jesus was there, in the fulfillment of time, to bring the kingdom of God to earth. If this message had not preceded their call, these men would have had no idea what they were being invited to join. So it is today, when we are called to serve God in his kingdom work. He clearly lays out for us in his word what his purpose and message is. Then he calls us to join him in fishing for men, women, and children who do not know him in a personal and intimate way for salvation and eternal life.
When was the last time you reflected upon God's call in your life to follow and serve him? Do you know why you were called? Do you know what you were called to do? Do you even know if you were called? Maybe you simply chose the ministry as a career choice because you like to help people, or you've always wanted to work in the church, or because you've had, for a long time, a curiosity in regards to spiritual matters. Dear friend, if you are in the ministry without a clear sense of call from God, you may be doing his church more harm than good.
Personally, I fought the call of God for a long time. It first came when I was eighteen years old, but I ignored it for thirteen years. Time and again God called me, in one way or another, but I ran from his call until I couldn't run anymore. Finally, in the midst of losing my dream -- a beautiful dairy farm in west central Minnesota -- I yielded my life to God and left everything, to follow him and fish for people. The thought of preaching and teaching was frightening, but I was willing to learn, for I now clearly understood God's will for me and my desire to listen to, and follow, his will. All who hear and heed the call of God to follow him and fish for men, find it to be a life-changing experience and very rewarding. It's not always easy (in fact, it seldom is!), but God daily gives us everything we need to carry out this call.
I've often wondered what Zebedee must have thought as he watched his sons walk away, leaving him with the nets and boats. Maybe he was very understanding, but there is no way of knowing for sure. Unfortunately, many men and women follow the call of God into ministry, only to have their families show little or no support. Maybe that was your experience, and you still need some assurance from God that you really did hear his call and did the right thing.
Dear friend, if you understand and agree with God's purpose and mission here on earth, and if you have unmistakably sensed his call upon your life to serve him in parish ministry, then you can continue to serve him with confidence that you are in the center of his will for you. With that confidence before you, you don't have to worry about what others are thinking or saying about your decision to follow and serve God. It was hard work and often frightening for the disciples, too, but look at how God was able to use them to start and build the Christian church. In the same way, God is using you to grow his church and will continue to use you in ways that you can't even imagine at this time in your life.
A Pastor's Prayer:
Dear Lord,
If I am in the ministry for the wrong reasons, please forgive me and help me know what to do now. If you have called me, continue to give me reassurance of that and help me not to worry about what others think. Thank you that you can, and will, continue to use me to grow your church as I faithfully fish for people. Amen.
1 Corinthians 7:29-31
This is an interesting text for the season of Epiphany (or for any season of the church year, for that matter!). If taken all by itself, without understanding the context, it sounds like warped, legalistic advice from a pietist; but it isn't. Paul had a good reason for what he wrote, and although the specific advice may not apply directly to us today, at the heart of the text is a central truth that we would do well to take seriously and allow the Holy Spirit to apply to our hearts.
The larger context in which this passage is set, has to do with marriage, but there is another issue in the background that is driving Paul's advice. The issue is mentioned in verse 26 as an impending crisis. We are not told specifically what that crisis was, but it may well have been religious persecution, for that was an ongoing crisis for the first-century church. Due to the increasingly harsh treatment that Christians were receiving, it was commonly believed that the Lord might return at any time. We might laugh at that, but when you think about it, due to the fact that his return is imminent, we live with the same sense of expectancy as they did. The Lord could have returned at that time, if that had been God's will, just as he could return at any moment now. So they did not hold that belief due to ignorance, but due to the nature of the imminent return of Christ.
The danger for us, living 2,000 years later, is to slip into apathy, thinking, "They thought he would return very soon, but he didn't. It has now been 2,000 years and he still hasn't returned. Who knows, it could be a long time yet, so why get excited?" True, it could be a long time yet, but we don't know that for sure. Regardless of when he comes, it will be without warning and it will catch all people by some degree of surprise. For those who are ready and watching for his return, it will be a pleasant surprise! For those who are not prepared or watching for his return, it will be a horrific surprise!
So, due to persecution, Paul's advice to those living at that time was to avoid intimate relationships, if at all possible, and to not hold tightly to the things of this world, for such attachments -- both to people and to things -- can make faithfulness to Christ more difficult when facing death for that belief. For example, it would be easier for a man to face death for his faith in Christ if he were single, than if he had just gotten married; or worse yet, if he had children. The same held true for women and children.
We may not be facing an impending crisis, like that of the early church, but we may have a problem with holding too tightly to people and things. Unfaithfulness to Christ is a huge problem in the church today. People put others before Christ in terms of their love, time, and devotion. They put work and pleasure before serving Christ. They will spend money they don't have on things they don't need, which are things that won't last. Instead, they could be giving sacrificially to Christ out of gratefulness for all he has given them, thereby laying up treasures in heaven that can never be destroyed.
It is important for pastors to hear the heart of this text. The eyes of our congregations are upon us, watching our attachments to people and to things; they often pattern their attachments after ours. Are we setting a biblical example for them to follow? Are we living as if the Lord could return any day? Not in neglect of our loved ones, nor self-imposed poverty, nor even self-righteous celibacy for that matter, but in loose attachment to all that is temporal, and in an intimate, tight relationship with him who is eternal.
Neither Paul nor I am proposing a heavenly mindedness that makes us of no earthly good, but rather cautioning us from being so attached to people and things that it hinders our love for, loyalty to, and faith in, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
A Pastor's Prayer:
Dear Lord,
Please help me to see if any of my relationships with people, and my attachments to temporal things, are in any way hindering my love for, loyalty to, and faith in, you. I desire you above all else and ask that you forgive me for those times when I haven't put you first. Amen.
