John 6:52-58

The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’ So Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of my food me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so  whoever not live for ever.’


I don’t believe Jesus who is to have said these words, or John who is to have written
them down for our benefit believes that we are to shave thin slices off the corpse of the
crucified Jesus and eat it.  For one thing, the resource is limited and I don’t think the
work of Jesus was limited in its flesh or its humanity!

The Right Reverend William Temple, 1881-1944, served as Bishop of
Manchester, Archbishop of York and Archbishop of Canterbury.

William Temple writes in his book Readings in St. John’s Gospel: “The life that gives itself gifts without which you have no life within you. But he who receives and makes his own those gifts has eternal them and makes them their own abides in me and I in them.”

Those words, according to William Temple, express in completeness the substance and the goal of the Christian life.  I think Temple is saying, it is not the momentary eating but That we should “take” and “eat” is an indispensable aid which the sincere Christian cannot omit; but the one thing that matters is that we should “feed upon Jesus in our hearts”.

Our dependence for life upon the Son corresponds to the dependence of the Son upon the Father.  For Jesus is our true Mediator and Advocate with God the Father.  Only the Father and lives because God lives.  As creatures, humans, we owe all to our Creator.  We have no life in ourselves.


Jesus is the bread which came down from heaven in all God’s power at the Incarnation.  His life, in all its human likeness, in the flesh and in the blood, is like the manna in that God gave it, but it is a better gift.  The people who ate the manna died; the one that eats this bread will live for ever.

What do you think?  What does communion mean to you?  Is communion a regular part
of your worship?

The Rev. Sandi Mizirl
College Missioner, Texas A&M University

Mark 1:9-15

9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. ¹⁰And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. ¹¹And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved;with you I am well pleased.’

12 And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. ¹³He was in the wilderness for forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.

14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, ¹⁵and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.’ 

This year we are focusing on Mark's account of Jesus' baptism.  The interesting thing is that, unlike Matthew and Luke, Mark doesn't mention Jesus fasting while he is in the wilderness.    We are all on a journey this Lent to the cross (and beyond!).   The absence of Jesus fasting here in this account begs the question, "how important is fasting?".    

Some sacrifice something of import this time of year so they can feel a sense of sacrifice in trying to be at one with the sacrifice made on the cross (i.e. giving up Facebook).   Others sacrifice with the intent of establishing a new healthy habit (i.e. giving up fatty foods).   Still others may sacrifice to establish a habit of greater justice (i.e. giving up all put fair trade products when possible).   Others might actually take on something that adds to their personal or spiritual walk (i.e. exercise or daily prayer).  Many find great spiritual value in some sort of "fasting" during this time for whatever reason.

Then there are those who feel such "works" are constrictive to a liberated spiritual walk.  Reformer Ulricht Zwingli was so proud of throwing out Lenten fasting the he actually passed out sausage intentionally to snub the practice of refraining from pork!   This might be like me eating Hershey's chocolate in front of my friend Nelis who has given up all chocolate unless it is fair trade!   

The point is this.  You have 40ish days (Sundays make it longer) to make a shift in your life that brings you closer to God.  Maybe it is to be liberated from restrictions that have stifled your walk with God.  Maybe it is to embody in some manner within your own life the sacrifice Christ made for all of us.  Maybe it is to take this time to set forth a healthier lifestyle in the image of Jesus's life and ministry. 

Whatever you decide to do or not do, don't let this time pass by without seeking to be closer to God.  The Kingdom of God is truly near.   Take step closer and you might be surprised how your life is revolutionized in the process.

Loving God, teach us this Lent how to live in your likeness.  You have come near to us.  May we now take this opportunity to come near to you.  In the name of Christ who walks with us even in the wildernesses of life, Amen.

Have a great week!

Kyle

The Transfiguration & Our Fear Mark 9:2-10

Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!” Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus. As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead. So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the dead could mean.

Sheesh! There’s so many themes in this week’s text: transfiguration and transformation, saying the wrong thing, seeing the dazzling glory of God with one’s own eyes, coming down the mountain, listening for the voice of God, keeping secrets. Where to even begin?

Although I’ve heard and read this text many, many times, this year something else popped out. Something I have not noticed much before… and that’s fear, more specifically, Peter’s fear.

The text tells us, “He did not know what to say, for they were terrified.”

I get it. I get fear. Catching a glimpse of the vision of God and the power of God and the reign of God = utterly terrifying.  Had I seen the vision that Peter had seen, I, too, would have been babbling nonsense  (if anything came out of my mouth at all).

But I also get fear on a more basic level – fear of the wrong major, fear of putting yourself out there, fear of being one’s self, fear of speaking aloud, fear of being counter-cultural, fear of fully being the glorious self that God created you to be. If I had to guess, I would say that a major part of Peter’s fear is that he is catching a glimpse of something so much bigger than himself. It’s not simply that the dead were talking with Jesus in the whitest clothes he had ever seen (which, let’s be honest, would be terrifying on its own), it’s that Peter is realizing that he doesn’t have it all figured it.  And that is terrifying.

But the text does not leave us in fear. In fact, Jesus never leaves us in fear, and Jesus never leaves you in fear.

For there, in Peter’s fear, comes not simply the voice of God, but also the presence of God. He’s not only told to listen to Jesus, but also gets the very presence of Christ, walking beside him down the mountain. He’s been stunned by a vision, but then The Vision journeys beside him.

I can’t imagine better news.

Which leaves us with a couple questions: One, what is your fear? You know, the thing you find paralyzing, even if you can’t articulate it?

And two, how does this text speak to your fear? How is this text Good News for you?

This week’s Bible Blog is written by Pastor Mindy Roll, the ELCA Lutheran Campus Pastor at Texas A&M and Blinn. For more information on the ELCA ministry here, see www.treehouseministries.com.

Mark 1:40-45

A leper came to him begging him, and kneeling he said to him, ‘If you choose, you can make me clean.’ Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, ‘I do choose. Be made clean!’ Immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. After sternly warning him he sent him away at once, saying to him, ‘See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.’ But he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the word, so that Jesus could no longer go into a town openly, but stayed out in the country; and people came to him from every quarter.

Chapters 13 and 14 of Leviticus provide specific directions for unclean diseases.  Lepers were considered “unclean” and condemned by law to live solitary lives outside the community.  The “unclean” were restricted from the ritual and social life of the community.  They believed that leprosy was a punishment for sin.  Sadly, many still believe some disease and horrific weather events are punishment for sin, ie. AIDs and the hurricane in New Orleans.

The Gospel story from Mark tells of the healing of a leper.  The leper comes to Jesus in trust and faith.  He says, “If only you will, you can cleanse me.”  Jesus is moved with pity for the leper.  In healing the man, Jesus reaches out and touches him.  Someone who no one could or would touch because they would become unclean, Jesus touches.  Jesus then tells the leper to do what must be done in order that the former leper will be recognized by the community as clean. 

Jesus also tells him not to tell anybody, but the leper cannot contain his joy.  There is not one word of reprimand spoken to or about the man’s disregard of the injunction to silence.  This does not mean the man was right in doing what he did.  But it points to the fact that the messianic identity of Jesus could not be hidden. 

Mark is trying to show that Jesus did not come primarily as a wonderworker, but as a proclaimer of the Kingdom of God.  For Mark, it is only in his crucifixion that the secret of his identity is fully disclosed.  But even before his crucifixion, when people reached out in faith they found his healing love.

The following from C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity, quoted in A Year with C.S. Lewis:Daily Readings from His Classic Works, edited by Particia S. Klein, we read:

FOR NO OTHER PURPOSE

This is the whole of Christianity.  There is nothing else.  It is so easy to get muddled about that.  It is easy to think that the Church has a lot of different objects --- education, building, missions, holding services.  Just as it is easy to think the State has a lot of different objects --- military, political, economic, and what not.  But in a way things are much simpler than that.  The State exists simply to promote and to protect the ordinary happiness of human beings in this life.  A husband and wife chatting over a fire, a couple of friends having a game of darts in a pub, a man reading a book in his own room or digging in his own garden --- that is what the State is there for.  And unless they are helping to increase and prolong and protect such moments, all the laws, parliaments, armies, courts, police, economics, etc., are simply a waste of time.  In the same way the Church exists for nothing else but to draw men into Christ, to make them little Christs.  If they are not doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy, missions, sermons, even the Bible itself, are simply a waste of time.  God became Man for no other purpose.  It is even doubtful, you know, whether the whole universe was created for any other purpose.

What do you think?

The Rev. Sandi Mizirl

College Missioner for the Episcopal Diocese of Texas

Texas A&M University