The Ruined Snail

My parents divorced when I was 34. I was not surprised. Things had been extraordinarily dysfunctional for a long time. I tried to help for years, but unless people want to change, they just won’t. I have had to figure out how to interact with them as separate individuals. Things have normalized to some degree, but it will always be a little weird. My mother has since remarried and is very happy. Her husband is a good man who treats her very well. My father is in a better place in his life now, after six years. He talks about getting remarried some day.

Mark 10:1-16
"Jesus then left that place and went into the region of Judea and across the Jordan. Again crowds of people came to him, and as was his custom, he taught them. 2 Some Pharisees came and tested him by asking, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?"3 "What did Moses command you?" he replied. 4 They said, "Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away." 5 "It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law," Jesus replied. 6 "But at the beginning of creation God 'made them male and female.'   7'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife,   8 and the two will become one flesh.' So they are no longer two, but one. 9 Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate."  10 When they were in the house again, the disciples asked Jesus about this. 11 He answered, "Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. 12 And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery."  13 People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. 14 When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."  16 And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them." 

When I was a kid, I played in my backyard a lot, especially with bugs and other creatures I would find. One time I came upon two snails in the process of mating. Snails are hermaphroditic, they have both male and female sexual organs. When they mate, snails put out these long tendrils that look a lot like tiny roots and literally lace themselves together. In my sadistic boyhood manner, I pulled them apart. I tore them from each other, breaking  the bonds they had so intricately woven. In doing so, I destroyed them both.

God hates divorce, he says so in Malachi 2. God hates division, he hates separation, walls, and exclusion, and therefore he hates divorce as the pinnacle of division. It was not his intention for man and woman, once joined, to be ripped apart. It destroys them both. Divorce also has a tremendous impact on children. The damage done depends on the age of the child and the circumstances involved, both before and after. Adolescence is the worst possible time for parents to divorce. The broad consensus is that adolescent children will be irrevocably altered, in mostly negative ways, by divorce.  Children derive a good deal of their worldview and identity from their parents, and divorce disrupts these things in a massive way.

Jesus didn’t like the disciples acting like his minders and gatekeepers. It says he was indignant, but the Greek word means a combination of anger and grief. He was angry and grieved because the disciples weren’t letting those kids through. I like to think it was because the disciples still weren’t getting the idea, but I think Jesus was also angry and grieved because no one, then or today, takes kids and their feelings very seriously. Even parents, sometimes.

The Holy Spirit is in Your Genes

I have often wondered at the path the Lord has led me on. I did not end up anywhere near where I initially set out from. For most of my childhood and adolescence, I wanted to be a genetic engineer. I wanted to help decipher the codes that make up who we are as human beings. I love science, particularly biology.

But halfway through an undergraduate program in biology, God changed the direction in which I was heading. I did not end up being a genetic engineer, I ended up being a pastor, something I had not even conceived of when I started college.

Mark 9:30-37
“They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, 31 because he was teaching his disciples. He said to them, "The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise."  32 But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it. 33 They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, "What were you arguing about on the road?"  34 But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest. 35 Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all."  36 He took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms, he said to them, 37 "Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me."  

Now, its not like I received a vision or anything like that, although sometimes I wish I would. I started out with a certain set of assumptions about who I was and where I was going, but as my life cohabitated with the Holy Spirit, those assumptions began to transform. I began to realize that what God had in store for me was so much more than my little plans could contain. Slowly, I began to understand the path He wanted me to take. My assumptions began to totally recede into the background, until for the most part I let God guide me into where He wanted me to be.

The disciples had a certain set of assumptions as well. Every student of ancient history knows that the Jews were waiting for a political savior to throw off the iron yoke of the Romans. But while this may have been in the background, I really doubt the disciples were focused on Jesus as the next President of Palestine. It becomes clear in this passage that their ambitions and desires were much smaller, much more embarrassingly self-centered. They were each vying for position as favored one in the New Regime. And, typically for us humans, it was poorly timed, since Jesus had just told them He was going to be killed. Jesus had revealed much bigger plans for the human race, but their grasping, miserly little minds couldn’t handle it.

The Sugary-Coated Truth

I sometimes wonder if I am too blunt with people. I was raised in a family that spoke what they were thinking, a lot of the time to their detriment. As I have matured I have been able to reign in that impulse to a pretty great degree, but there are times when I wonder if I said something a little too soon or a little too harshly. Because compassion is not at the top of my list of spiritual gifts, I have a tendency to only go so far with people before I cut to the chase.

Mark 6:12-29
“They went out and preached that people should repent. 13 They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them. 14 King Herod heard about this, for Jesus' name had become well known. Some were saying,"John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him." 15 Others said, "He is Elijah." And still others claimed, "He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of long ago." 16 But when Herod heard this, he said, "John, the man I beheaded, has been raised from the dead!" 17 For Herod himself had given orders to have John arrested, and he had him bound and put in prison. He did this because of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, whom he had married. 18 For John had been saying to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife." 19 So Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she was not able to, 20 because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man. When Herod heard John, he was greatly puzzled; yet he liked to listen to him. 21 Finally the opportune time came. On his birthday Herod gave a banquet for his high officials and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. 22 When the daughter of Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests. The king said to the girl, "Ask me for anything you want, and I'll give it to you." 23 And he promised her with an oath, "Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom." 24 She went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask for?" "The head of John the Baptist," she answered. 25 At once the girl hurried in to the king with the request: "I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter." 26 The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. 27 So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John's head. The man went, beheaded John in the prison, 28 and brought back his head on a platter. He presented it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother. 29 On hearing of this, John's disciples came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.” 

John the Baptist had a bluntness issue as well. As the last of the “old school” prophets, John was not one to beat around the bush. Everything he said was right to the point. Perhaps this is why Herod kept him around so long, as it says “he was greatly puzzled; yet he liked to listen to him.” But John’s role was to speak the truth, and it got him killed. People don’t like to hear the truth in undiluted form. People like to hear the truth padded with niceties and flattering words so it is easier to swallow. John the Baptist is one of the most interesting people in the Bible. His prophetic career as it is recorded was short, perhaps even shorter than Jesus’. But his fiery words and unforgettable persona reach out and grab you by both ears and pull you in close. He spoke the truth, it would be nice if we could too, but it might get us killed.

Wear some heavy boots this time

I believe, as Friedrich Nietzsche shrewdly pointed out, that humanity’s primal sin is the lust for power. The Garden of Eden story tells us the real temptation for Adam and Eve was not that the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil looked just so yummy they couldn’t resist, rather it was what the serpent said eating the fruit would allow them to do. "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." Genesis 3:4-5. 
And so begins millennia of humans’ attempts at domination.

Mark 6:6-13
“Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village. 7 Calling the Twelve to him, he sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits. 8 These were his instructions: "Take nothing for the journey except a staff-no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. 9 Wear sandals but not an extra tunic. 10 Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. 11 And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave, as a testimony against them."  12 They went out and preached that people should repent. 13 They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.” 

But we have been deluded and deceived by the serpent ever since as well. Most of us quickly forget that Jesus is the only authentic source of power in the universe. And that power can be given to us, but never taken by us. He remains in control even as we become mighty in the Spirit. We become like rays of the sun, shooting across the darkness of space.

And our mission? It is serious business: to destroy the strongholds of the serpent, to release the slaves he has captured, to proclaim a message that hope remains firmly within our grasp, and to grind under millions of faithful heels the head of that ancient snake. Eat dust, serpent!

Your hometown is only a memory

When I was sixteen, our family moved from southern California to southern Oregon. This was good and bad. The good part was I wasn’t happy with who I was in California and needed a way to reinvent myself. The bad part was the person I became was even worse. Let’s just say you wouldn’t have wanted to know me back then, and leave it at that, ok?

Pretty soon I had burned what few bridges I had and was a loner, this time of my own doing. In my adolescent brain I became convinced that my entire town hated me. This, I felt, was deserved. It took several years of not living there to realize that most people neither knew nor cared about me or my lack of moral fiber. Even today, when I return home, I still have lingering fears of meeting someone who knew the Ryan of the past.

Mark 6:1-6
“Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. 2 When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed. "Where did this man get these things?" they asked. "What's this wisdom that has been given him, that he even does miracles! 3 Isn't this the carpenter? Isn't this Mary's son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren't his sisters here with us?" And they took offense at him. 4 Jesus said to them, "Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor."  5 He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. 6 And he was amazed at their lack of faith.” 

I recently heard someone speak who grew up in a town of 98 people, most of them related to him somehow. My own hometown runs around 3,000. Nazareth was probably similar in size. Small towns, like mine and maybe Jesus’, are often touted in nostalgic terms. People remember the close-knit community of their childhood, where everyone had time to sit out on the front porch and lean over backyard fences to chat with the neighbors. I imagine Nazareth being this way.

Unfortunately, that kind of town only exists in memories whitewashed with time. While there are undoubtedly many good things about living in a small town, there are many problems too. One of these problems is that a person can never really escape their past in a small town. No matter how many years go by or whether you stay or move away, you remain to a large degree who you were before. This is exactly what Jesus is facing here. The Greek word for the townspeople’s reaction to Jesus the Messiah is the same word we use for scandal. They considered it a scandal that this carpenter’s son comes home all high and mighty with notions of being One with authority. They found it offensive to their definition of who Jesus was.

The text says Jesus was unable to perform many miracles there, outside of a few healings. He was amazed at their lack of faith. He didn’t come back very often after that. I suspect that is one reason so many today don’t either.

Why Facebook depresses people

Through the tremendous leap in communication that is the Internet, we have the ability to interact with people from all over the world. Here you are, sitting in your room in front of your computer, and you are chatting away with someone from Stockholm, Paris, Tokyo, or Sydney. You get the chance to involve yourself in myriad ways in the thoughts of others you will probably never meet. The Internet community has arrived! The problem is, there is no real Internet community, it is only a virtual community. That means its not really a community, but only a fake one. How so? Because, in the privacy of your own home, you don’t have to be the person you really are but instead can be anyone you want to be. The Internet community is only a virtual one because people only see what you want them to see or what they want to see in you. There was a recent study conducted in which Facebook users reported feeling depressed after reading other people's posts, because it always seems like everyone else is having a great life online, even though we know that in real life, that can't be true all the time.

Mark 8:27-9:1
“Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, "Who do people say I am?"  28 They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets." 29 "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Peter answered, "You are the Christ." 30 Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him. 31 He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. 32 He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. "Get behind me, Satan!" he said. "You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."  34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36 What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? 37 Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? 38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels."  9:1 And he said to them, "I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power.” 

So it is with Jesus. People have always wanted Jesus to fit their mold of what He should be. In their minds, Jesus is someone who fills their needs, and that is all. Even His own disciples did not understand His true nature, even after hearing Him predict His trial, death, and resurrection. Despite Jesus telling people not to spread the word about who He was or what He did, people basically looked at Him as a wonder-worker, a magician. As long as the bread kept coming and the sick and demon-possessed were being healed, this would be the only perspective people would have of Jesus. But Jesus is so much more than that. True, His compassion compels Him to respond to the pleas of the suffering, but His ultimate goal is redemption of the universe. With Jesus, the Kingdom of God has come, a Kingdom where there is no virtual reality, no misunderstanding, no mistake, only communion and  real connection.

The Scarcity of the Miraculous

There are people who have witnessed many miracles. Some people see miracles everyday. I am not one of them, although I believe that miracles do occur. By definition, a miracle is an event that occurs contrary to the natural laws of the universe. I wish I could see more miracles, like other people, but it is extremely rare for me to see one with my own eyes.

Mark 6:32-56
“So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. 33 But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things. 35 By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. "This is a remote place," they said, "and it's already very late. 36 Send the people away so they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat." 37 But he answered, "You give them something to eat." They said to him, "That would take eight months of a man's wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?" 38 "How many loaves do you have?" he asked. "Go and see." When they found out, they said, "Five-and two fish." 39 Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. 41 Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. 42 They all ate and were satisfied, 43 and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. 44 The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand. 45 Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46 After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray. 47 When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. 48 He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. About the fourth watch of the night he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them, 49 but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, 50 because they all saw him and were terrified. Immediately he spoke to them and said, "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid."  51 Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed, 52 for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened. 53 When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret and anchored there. 54 As soon as they got out of the boat, people recognized Jesus. 55 They ran throughout that whole region and carried the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was.   56 And wherever he went-into villages, towns or countryside-they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched him were healed.”

Sometimes we think Jesus was always performing miracles, and the people in other parts of the Bible witnessed miracles all the time. They got to speak with God on a face to face basis; they saw for themselves that God was real and breaks into history on a seemingly regular basis. But when you stand back from these miraculous events and look at the sweep of history, miracles are still incredibly rare. Even in Jesus’ ministry, the miracles He performed were a regular part of everyday activity. The Gospel writers record multiple miracles – water into wine, raising the dead, walking on water, feeding thousands, healing lepers, the blind, the demon-possessed, the epileptic, the hemophiliac. But these miraculous events serve to provide evidence of what Jesus claimed to be: the Messiah Son of God. Put them against the backdrop of the whole of His recorded ministry, and even with Jesus miracles are still irregular events. There were people who were never healed by Jesus, people He walked by for whatever reason and did not stop. There were pairs of people carrying stretchers all over the place, trying to guess where Jesus would show up. If they guessed wrong, they missed the only chance in their lifetime for their loved one in the stretcher to be healed.

People sometimes wonder why God just doesn’t part the heavens and show Himself, thus proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that He is there and loves us. The best answer I have heard of is if He did that, the ability to choose to believe and love Him would be forever lost. There would be no question of God’s existence, and therefore no choice. God seems to honor His gift of freewill in human beings so much that He hides Himself sometimes. I think Jesus operated in the same manner while on earth. He could have revealed Himself from birth, or instead of waiting thirty years to begin, just come riding out of the clouds. But Jesus chose the subtle approach, even telling people not to reveal Him too soon. The people who made it to Him with their sick and possessed, the ones that Jesus healed, all seemed to have one thing that set them apart from everyone else clamoring about in search of Jesus: they believed in Him first, before the miracle occurred. God wants our faith first, then and only then will understanding and the miraculous come.