Epiphany 6
Devotional
Pause Before The Pulpit
Personal Reflections For Pastors On The Lectionary Readings
Mark 1:40-45
This passage is a beautiful word picture of Christ's compassion. As we picture the man with leprosy kneeling and begging, we get a real sense for the desperation of his situation. The man's life was being consumed by an illness that no one had been able to cure. It ruled his life, his relationships, and his future. It robbed him of most everything that was near and dear to him, including his hope.
As the picture of this scene unfolds in our mind's imagination, "watch" the face of Jesus as he looks intently at the pitiful, unclean, leprous beggar. Can you see the emotion? Can you see the compassion in his eyes, moistened by what could easily become tears?
Our text goes on to say that Jesus was moved with pity. The pity he felt throughout his very being moved him to do something shocking: He reached out to the man and touched him! That was unthinkable! The risk of Jesus getting leprosy, at that time, was like one of us deliberately exposing ourselves to an HIV infection. But that's what makes this word picture so powerful. Pity for others means nothing unless we are willing to touch them.
I see two powerful truths in this text for those of us who are actively ministering to broken people. First of all, remember that Jesus has taken pity on us. We will never, truly, sincerely have compassion and pity on others until we realize just how much compassion and pity Jesus has for us. And we will not know the full extent of that, until we agree with him on the full extent of our sinfulness. It doesn't matter how good a life we have lived up to this point, or how faithfully we have served our Lord; the truth of the matter is, we are all (as the Apostle Paul put it so bluntly in his letter to the Romans) under the power of sin, as it is written:
There is no one who is righteous, not even one and all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:9, 10, 23).
Apart from the grace and mercy of God through Christ Jesus, we are all as damned and spiritually lost as the worst imaginable sinner who has ever lived. That neither sounds good nor feels good, but is true. Like the man with leprosy, apart from Christ, we are in a desperate situation -- bound by a sin problem that no one but Christ can cure. It rules our life, our relationships, and our future. It robs us of most everything that is near and dear to us, including our hope. When we see who we are in this light, it helps us better comprehend the tremendous compassion and pity that Christ has had on us. May we rejoice in this, as the man did, when he realized he was not only healed, but declared clean in the eyes of everyone! May we respond to this as he did by going out and proclaiming freely the good news of the gospel so others might experience this same compassion and pity from Christ.
The other truth, which this text subtly brings out, is the example which Jesus set for those of us in ministry. Let's be quick to notice the "lepers" around us, who, like the man in our text, are desperate for the help that only Jesus can give. I'm not referring to those who come to our office desperate for financial help, or desperate for some favor, or desperately ashamed because they were caught in sin but are not sorry for it. I'm referring to those who have hit bottom spiritually, have lost all hope, and are desperate for what Jesus has to offer them. Maybe they know of Jesus, but just need someone to clearly explain the way of salvation to them and give them God's word of absolution after genuine confession of sin. Or, as is sometimes the case, maybe they don't know a thing about Jesus and we have to start from the beginning.
Bringing the healing of Christ to the "lepers" in our life is one of the most fulfilling things a pastor can do in his or her ministry. Pray that, by God's power, you can "heal" a leper today.
A Pastor's Prayer:
Dear Jesus,
I thank you and praise you for touching me and making me clean from sin! Lord, I ask that you would, through me, touch others, that they, too, might be clean from sin and know the joy of having you in their heart and life. Thank you. Amen.
1 Corinthians 9:24-27
In ministry, we often feel more like we are running a "rat race" than the race that Paul described in this text. Paul was a master of illustration. Good preachers and teachers know the power of illustrations to communicate truth, so we can appreciate this illustration from Paul.
In the preceding verses, which were last week's Epistle Lesson, Paul wrote about how his approach to spreading the gospel was in becoming all things to all people. He saw similarities between his ministry and that of the sport of competitive racing. His emphasis, however, was not on competition, for there is far too much of that in the church already. Pastors are guilty of this, too, as we often feel pressure to do better than other pastors in the area, or better than the pastor who served before us, or better than other pastors in our district. The more competitive we are by nature, the more likely we are to fall to this temptation. So, Paul was not encouraging churches to compete with each other, but calling Christians to be disciplined and self-controlled.
First of all, he urged us to run in such a way that [we] may win [the] race. This race is different from competitive races. In competition, only one runner wins and it is the one who finishes first. In the race that God would have us run, everyone who runs in a disciplined, self-controlled way, and crosses the finish line, is a winner! Are you running your race this way, so that you will be a winner?
Secondly, Paul emphasized the importance of self-control. In his letter to the Galatian church, he identified self-control as a fruit of the Spirit. Without self-control, we will never win the race. We need it for our tempers, our tongue, our thoughts, the use of our time, and our appetites. If we don't practice self-control we will get distracted and seriously hinder our ability to run the race.
Paul went on to point out that a competitive racer practices self-control in order to receive a wreath that perishes. Seems pointless, doesn't it? However, in our ministries, we are running for a prize that is imperishable! We are not running for salvation, for that comes through faith in Christ, who ran the race perfectly for us. Instead, we run the race with self-control; for in doing so, we will receive imperishable prizes in heaven that we cannot even begin to imagine. And trust me, we will not be disappointed!
Last of all, Paul urged us, by way of his own example, to not run aimlessly, nor ... box as though beating the air. All too often I have been guilty of this in ministry, either because I was so busy I didn't know where to turn next, or because I did not have a plan or a set of goals. Blessed is the pastor who has leaders who work with him or her on this. Planning and goal setting is a wise, strategic way to bring direction and focus into our lives and ministries. If a competitive runner had no plan as to where to run and how to get to the finish line, or worse yet, if they did not set the finish line as their goal, they would never win the race, much less cross the finish line. So, too, if we in Christian ministry have no plan as to what we are going to accomplish for Christ or how we are going to accomplish it, we will get little or nothing done for his kingdom.
Therefore, Paul's approach was to punish [his] body and enslave it, so that he might effectively proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ, and avoid, at all cost, being disqualified in this race which God had called him to run. We ought not hear punish and enslave in a negative sense of self-abuse, but rather in the context of discipline. Paul would not let himself be distracted and dragged away by any sins that would hinder him from running the best race he possibly could. May it be our daily prayer and desire to run the same kind of race that Paul so faithfully ran; so that we, too, might win the imperishable prize that God has reserved for all who do so.
A Pastor's Prayer:
Dear Lord,
Please help me run the race you've called me to run with discipline and self-control. Forgive me for all the times I have run aimlessly and have merely been beating the air. Help me to make plans and goals for today that are in accordance with your will for me and my ministry. Thank you for the imperishable prizes that await me in glory for faithfully running and finishing the race. Amen.
This passage is a beautiful word picture of Christ's compassion. As we picture the man with leprosy kneeling and begging, we get a real sense for the desperation of his situation. The man's life was being consumed by an illness that no one had been able to cure. It ruled his life, his relationships, and his future. It robbed him of most everything that was near and dear to him, including his hope.
As the picture of this scene unfolds in our mind's imagination, "watch" the face of Jesus as he looks intently at the pitiful, unclean, leprous beggar. Can you see the emotion? Can you see the compassion in his eyes, moistened by what could easily become tears?
Our text goes on to say that Jesus was moved with pity. The pity he felt throughout his very being moved him to do something shocking: He reached out to the man and touched him! That was unthinkable! The risk of Jesus getting leprosy, at that time, was like one of us deliberately exposing ourselves to an HIV infection. But that's what makes this word picture so powerful. Pity for others means nothing unless we are willing to touch them.
I see two powerful truths in this text for those of us who are actively ministering to broken people. First of all, remember that Jesus has taken pity on us. We will never, truly, sincerely have compassion and pity on others until we realize just how much compassion and pity Jesus has for us. And we will not know the full extent of that, until we agree with him on the full extent of our sinfulness. It doesn't matter how good a life we have lived up to this point, or how faithfully we have served our Lord; the truth of the matter is, we are all (as the Apostle Paul put it so bluntly in his letter to the Romans) under the power of sin, as it is written:
There is no one who is righteous, not even one and all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:9, 10, 23).
Apart from the grace and mercy of God through Christ Jesus, we are all as damned and spiritually lost as the worst imaginable sinner who has ever lived. That neither sounds good nor feels good, but is true. Like the man with leprosy, apart from Christ, we are in a desperate situation -- bound by a sin problem that no one but Christ can cure. It rules our life, our relationships, and our future. It robs us of most everything that is near and dear to us, including our hope. When we see who we are in this light, it helps us better comprehend the tremendous compassion and pity that Christ has had on us. May we rejoice in this, as the man did, when he realized he was not only healed, but declared clean in the eyes of everyone! May we respond to this as he did by going out and proclaiming freely the good news of the gospel so others might experience this same compassion and pity from Christ.
The other truth, which this text subtly brings out, is the example which Jesus set for those of us in ministry. Let's be quick to notice the "lepers" around us, who, like the man in our text, are desperate for the help that only Jesus can give. I'm not referring to those who come to our office desperate for financial help, or desperate for some favor, or desperately ashamed because they were caught in sin but are not sorry for it. I'm referring to those who have hit bottom spiritually, have lost all hope, and are desperate for what Jesus has to offer them. Maybe they know of Jesus, but just need someone to clearly explain the way of salvation to them and give them God's word of absolution after genuine confession of sin. Or, as is sometimes the case, maybe they don't know a thing about Jesus and we have to start from the beginning.
Bringing the healing of Christ to the "lepers" in our life is one of the most fulfilling things a pastor can do in his or her ministry. Pray that, by God's power, you can "heal" a leper today.
A Pastor's Prayer:
Dear Jesus,
I thank you and praise you for touching me and making me clean from sin! Lord, I ask that you would, through me, touch others, that they, too, might be clean from sin and know the joy of having you in their heart and life. Thank you. Amen.
1 Corinthians 9:24-27
In ministry, we often feel more like we are running a "rat race" than the race that Paul described in this text. Paul was a master of illustration. Good preachers and teachers know the power of illustrations to communicate truth, so we can appreciate this illustration from Paul.
In the preceding verses, which were last week's Epistle Lesson, Paul wrote about how his approach to spreading the gospel was in becoming all things to all people. He saw similarities between his ministry and that of the sport of competitive racing. His emphasis, however, was not on competition, for there is far too much of that in the church already. Pastors are guilty of this, too, as we often feel pressure to do better than other pastors in the area, or better than the pastor who served before us, or better than other pastors in our district. The more competitive we are by nature, the more likely we are to fall to this temptation. So, Paul was not encouraging churches to compete with each other, but calling Christians to be disciplined and self-controlled.
First of all, he urged us to run in such a way that [we] may win [the] race. This race is different from competitive races. In competition, only one runner wins and it is the one who finishes first. In the race that God would have us run, everyone who runs in a disciplined, self-controlled way, and crosses the finish line, is a winner! Are you running your race this way, so that you will be a winner?
Secondly, Paul emphasized the importance of self-control. In his letter to the Galatian church, he identified self-control as a fruit of the Spirit. Without self-control, we will never win the race. We need it for our tempers, our tongue, our thoughts, the use of our time, and our appetites. If we don't practice self-control we will get distracted and seriously hinder our ability to run the race.
Paul went on to point out that a competitive racer practices self-control in order to receive a wreath that perishes. Seems pointless, doesn't it? However, in our ministries, we are running for a prize that is imperishable! We are not running for salvation, for that comes through faith in Christ, who ran the race perfectly for us. Instead, we run the race with self-control; for in doing so, we will receive imperishable prizes in heaven that we cannot even begin to imagine. And trust me, we will not be disappointed!
Last of all, Paul urged us, by way of his own example, to not run aimlessly, nor ... box as though beating the air. All too often I have been guilty of this in ministry, either because I was so busy I didn't know where to turn next, or because I did not have a plan or a set of goals. Blessed is the pastor who has leaders who work with him or her on this. Planning and goal setting is a wise, strategic way to bring direction and focus into our lives and ministries. If a competitive runner had no plan as to where to run and how to get to the finish line, or worse yet, if they did not set the finish line as their goal, they would never win the race, much less cross the finish line. So, too, if we in Christian ministry have no plan as to what we are going to accomplish for Christ or how we are going to accomplish it, we will get little or nothing done for his kingdom.
Therefore, Paul's approach was to punish [his] body and enslave it, so that he might effectively proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ, and avoid, at all cost, being disqualified in this race which God had called him to run. We ought not hear punish and enslave in a negative sense of self-abuse, but rather in the context of discipline. Paul would not let himself be distracted and dragged away by any sins that would hinder him from running the best race he possibly could. May it be our daily prayer and desire to run the same kind of race that Paul so faithfully ran; so that we, too, might win the imperishable prize that God has reserved for all who do so.
A Pastor's Prayer:
Dear Lord,
Please help me run the race you've called me to run with discipline and self-control. Forgive me for all the times I have run aimlessly and have merely been beating the air. Help me to make plans and goals for today that are in accordance with your will for me and my ministry. Thank you for the imperishable prizes that await me in glory for faithfully running and finishing the race. Amen.
