What’s the difference between a “Tattle Tale” and a “Whistle Blower?”

A “Tattle Tale” tells a powerful figure about the minor offenses or negligence of a peer, with the hope that the offender will be punished and they will be rewarded.

A “Whistle Blower” tells a powerful figure or publicly reveals the harmful and corrupt practices of a peer or a superior with the hope that the offender will be brought to justice and victims can experience restoration. The reporter often faces personal loss and sacrifice for the sake of justice.

In this week’s reading John becomes a “Tattle Tale.” He tells Jesus about someone who wasn’t one of the twelve disciples, but was casting out demons through the power of Jesus. It seems John wanted it to be clear that only those closest to Jesus could act on behalf of the Kingdom of God. Jesus defied John’s expectations and encouraged his disciples to see the possibility that God could work through even the most unexpected people and circumstances.

For years I worked at a summer camp in Nebraska. Camp is the best place on earth to be with daily worship and amazing speakers 2-3 times a day, 5 days a week for a summer. It was amazing, I highly recommend it. At meal time all the cabin groups would line up outside the cafeteria, and wait for their groups to be called to go in to eat. It seemed like my group tended to be one of the last group to go in on a regular basis. This would always cause my campers to ask the question, why are we always last? To which I would reply if you want to be first in the kingdom of God, you have to be last of all. The kids didn’t appreciate my answer, no matter how biblical it was, because well, they were hungry.

In our scripture passage this week, Jesus overheard his disciple talking about who is the greatest while they were walking along the road. Later when Jesus asked them what they were talking about, the disciples were too embarrassed to tell Jesus what they talking about. When they reached Capernaum Jesus said to them “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” (Mark 9:36). Jesus’ message is so backwards, so contrary to our human desire to be noticed, to be the best, to have everyone love us and want to be around us. But God’s Kingdom is contrary to our natural instincts. God loves the unlovable, and forgives the unforgivable, and he commands us to do the same.

Join us this Sunday as we talk more about this upside down principles of God’s Kingdom.

I was waiting in line at a pharmacy counter and I overheard the gentleman in front of me speaking with the Pharmacist about getting a flu shot. (I try not to eaves drop, but sometimes you can't help but hear other people's conversations in public spaces.) The gentleman said he thought he would wait another month or two before getting the flu shot because he didn't want it to wear off before the end of the flu season. The pharmacist explained that flu shots don't wear off, but are good for the entire flu season. Flu shots don't wear off because they aren't a medicine. They are an inoculation, a small non-potent amount of a virus injected into the body. As a result of that small infection, the body's natural defenses learn how to defeat the virus so that when a more significant exposure happens those defenses quickly and efficiently defeat it. It is a little exposure to an illness meant to prevent significant illness.

We also can become inoculated in other parts of our lives. If you're used to young children crying and running around your home, a screaming toddler at the grocery store isn't a big deal. If you're used to a 20 minute commute to work, a 30 minute drive to a restaurant isn't a deal breaker. If you have a talkative person in the office, your chatty neighbor doesn't seem so bad.

The Bible has so many bizarre situations, so many stories that seem to come from a different reality, and so many moments when God is intervening in human history, that we can become inoculated to God's activity. If we're not careful this can become one of those inoculated moments. This is an important moment in Jesus' life and ministry.

From time to time a meme will make the rounds on social media that goes something like this: “Click ‘Like’ if you believe God cares about the the smallest details of your life.” The phrase is usually accompanied by an intricate picture of a flower, or a person in deep prayer. It can be encouraging to have that assurance that God cares about even the common or little things in life. It makes the rounds on social media because it is encouraging to be reminded that God is with us in both the big life moments and all the small ones too. How often do we consider the flip side of this intimate relationship with God? God is with us, even in the small things; are we with God, even in the small things?

Our Scripture this week captures an incredible scene. In a powerful moment Jesus likens Peter to Satan. Often we pay so much attention to that power proclamation that we miss the teachable moment that follows. Jesus admonishes Peter that his concerns are about things that matter to humans, but God has concerns that Peter has ignored. God cares about the things that matter to us, but do we care about the things that matter to God?

What good would it be to be healed of blindness, only to walk around with your eyes closed?

In this week’s scripture Jesus healed a blind man’s vision. The man who was blind, because of Jesus, was able to see. Shortly after this miracle Jesus asked his disciples two questions: “Who do people say I am?” and “Who do you say I am?” Peter, apparently answering for all the disciples, said that Jesus was, “the Messiah.”

These stories aren’t just next to each other, they’re related to each other. Jesus gave the blind man sight, and the disciples saw Jesus was God’s Holy One (the Messiah). What good would it have been to know Jesus was the Messiah if the disciples lived as if they didn’t know?

How do you respond faced with that same question from Jesus, “Who do you say I am?”

What does your answer to that question mean for how you live?

When I was in Kindergarten my pastor was called to my small, home town church. (He really hasn’t been my pastor for about 18 years, but yet he will always be!) Not only is he my pastor, he is a second dad to me. He dropped me off at college, and seminary, he attended my CBC, Undergrad and seminary graduation, as well as my ordination ceremony. He has been at every important milestone in my life. His daughter is my best friend, and so we’ve done a lot of life together.

In the midst of life with PB, I discovered something about him. There are times when he’s talking directly to me, and I have no clue what he’s talking about. No clue what so ever… and he’s going on and on like I know what he’s talking about. Over the years, I’ve started to process back through conversations and things we’ve done together…eventually I catch up to him, and realize he’s finishing a conversation from the last time we were together. It’s so much easier to do now that I’m aware of this habit, but I use to get so frustrated not knowing the context, because what was coming out of his mouth was good stuff, but not knowing where it was coming from was just frustrating!

I think Jesus and the disciples had similar issues in their relationship. In our scripture for this week, Jesus say “Be careful…watch out for the Yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.” The disciples had no clue what Jesus was getting at. So they talked about it trying to understand, Jesus overheard them and tried to clue them in. Jesus had already taught them this concept, but they missed the point or hadn’t caught up yet.

On the flip side, here’s Jesus, who has walked with his disciples for a few years. He has taught them so much, and yet the disciples are still missing the point. I can’t imagine how frustrating this has to be for Jesus (that’s not true, I can imagine. I’m a parent and I work with teens).

Join us this week as we dig into Jesus’ words and open our eyes to the way Jesus is working in our lives.

In front of 4000 people, Jesus yet again shows a wondrous work, feeding all 4000 people with just few breads and fish. This miraculous work started with His loving heart, "I have compassion for them." In contrary, Pharisees demand yet another signs from the heaven like some kind of magic tricks. And, Jesus refuses to show with great sorrow. See, Jesus' miraculous works come from His selfless and true act of love. In Christianity, miracles are defined as an act of love not a magic tricks.

Secrets make for exciting and compelling entertainment. There are something like 24 films featuring James Bond working to reveal secret conspirators bent on world domination or destruction. Bond is just the tip of the espionage entertainment iceberg. As a culture, we eat up stories about conflict over keeping and revealing secrets. As we’re entering the most contentious season of the presidential election cycle we can be assured there will be ample political claims concerning secrets. Secrets will be used as both political weapons and political defenses. This use of secrets will likely inspire strong emotional responses among the public. Secrets have a visceral quality.

There is a reoccurring theme to the Gospel of Mark that we have yet to explore in our preaching series. Throughout Mark’s Gospel Jesus seeks to keep many of his miraculous actions secret. Mark tells of Jesus preaching and teaching publicly and a few public miracles, but as Mark tells the story of Jesus’ ministry, most of his miracles happen in fairly private situations. Jesus seems to be intent on the accounts of those miracles being kept secret, but why? Jesus was doing incredible things, why keep those stories secret?

For the past forty plus years economists and academics have been arguing about an idea called the “Easterlin Paradox.” Developed by economist, Richard Easterlin, the paradox claims that there is not a direct link between a nation’s economic growth and an increase in happiness of its citizens. One of the reasons that there is so much unresolved debate on this issue is that happiness is incredibly hard to objectively measure.

Typically, we measure our own happiness by comparing ourselves to others. We are happy if financially, relationally, and medically we are better off than our neighbors. If we aren’t able to keep up with the Jones' we become unhappy.

In our scripture this week we have a very odd story in which Jesus calls a non-Jewish woman a dog. Even in Jesus’ culture this was an insult, but the woman was unfazed. She turned this insult into leverage and was able to convince Jesus to heal her daughter. Her happiness wasn’t a matter of comparison with her neighbors. She didn’t even seem discouraged in being insulted by Jesus, as long as her daughter was healed, she apparently would endure any indignity.

This story raises the question; is there something that you are focused on and passionate about regardless of what else happens, or is your happiness and purpose a matter of keeping up with the Jones'?

“[Jesus] saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them.” Mark 6:48a

I have been inundated lately with the observation that people who become extraordinary have faced great challenges in life. It seems that struggle produces valuable skills and depth of character.

I would observe that it isn’t just that people who face great challenges become admirable. Rather, all of us in some way have the wind against us. Suffering and strife are the rule in life, not the exception. Those we admire don’t necessarily face unusual difficulties, rather we admire the strength and courage with which they strain against the oars.