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Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Today's Frontline Devotion February 25, 2007 |
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Frontline Devotion for Sunday, February 25, 2007 by Matt Pensinger
Mark 1:21-34
Jesus strides into Capernaum, all authority and decision and forthrightness… “not quibbling and quoting like the religion scholars,” as it says. And Jesus shuts up demons, and casts them out, and teaches with confidence, and heals people, snap of the fingers, just like that. We’re off and running, in the gospel of Mark; you get the image of a Jesus that’s moving really FAST, and of disciples that are struggling to keep up.
Do you think, in the midst of all this confidence and speed, that Jesus was ever scared? Do you think he ever hesitated? Do you think he ever suffered from a lack of confidence? Do you think he was ever at a loss for what to do? I like to think about things like that… and what I suspect is that yes, sometimes Jesus wasn’t quite as confident and ready to go and sure of himself as he’s portrayed here. That’s borne out, I think, in the rest of the gospel; Jesus often stops to rest, or ducks away from the crowds to think and pray, or gets drawn into side conversations and unexpected opportunities for healing where he doesn’t seem as sure of what the right thing to say or do is. Many of these seem to involve women; draw from that what you will!
Confidence and the lack of it are familiar themes in our own lives. We might be confident in some settings, or with some people, and not so much in or with others. We might speak or act assertively in some matters, but hesitate or cede the floor to others when confronted with other challenges. Sometimes we feel authoritative; other times we feel scared. Sometimes we seem to accomplish things with a snap of the fingers; other times we feel as though we’re going around in circles. These are familiar themes for us. What strikes me in this beginning of Jesus’ ministry is how his confident teachings and decisive actions are received: people are amazed. They can’t stay away. They have to see Jesus for themselves, hear the teachings, receive the healing. Jesus himself may or may not feel as confident and forthright as he appears to be, but the fire that is in him spreads to all who see and hear him; they are empowered by his power.
It makes me think about the ways we talk about Jesus, and about the amount of time we spend on seeking for God’s plans for us, and about the ways that we show the depth of our faith and our commitment to it to other people. Sometimes, oftentimes maybe, we feel scared about those things, or at a loss, or lacking in confidence. And then we don’t talk about them, or we gloss over them, or we just assume that other people know about them. Maybe Jesus was scared sometimes too. And maybe Jesus can be an example for us, in this as in all things.
Prayer: Strengthen us, Lord, to witness to you. Give us confidence to be the people you know we can be, everyday. This we pray in Jesus’ name, amen.
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