Mark 14:32-52 Pacing and Praying

Mark 14:32-52
Completely oblivious to the inner torment that Jesus was experiencing; rather than pray with or for Him, the disciples fall asleep.

How many times have we paced the floors in the middle of the night or fell on our faces praying throughout the night, asking God to deliver us or someone else while everyone else was fast asleep oblivious to the trouble around them or about to come upon them? We pace, we pray, until peace comes upon us, the resolution is at nigh. We are prepared to face whatever must come.

The resolution for Jesus is to be betrayed with a kiss by a friend, a follower. What comes for Jesus is death and ultimately resurrection. Sometimes, (OK - often) the resolution that comes is not an immediate reprieve, but a journey through even darker times; a place where even our friends will desert us. What comes is a journey through the valley of the shadow of death so that ultimately, not our; but, God's will is done.

In order to get to the place where we can know peace no matter what God's will is for us, we pray. We find solace in His presence.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Mark 14:27-31 You Will Fall Away

Mark 14:27-31 NIV
“You will all fall away.”

On the night in which he was betrayed, he predicted that all of his followers would fall away. Peter did not believe it. Yet, they did. Judas betrayed him. The rest stayed hidden in the background so as not to end up on trial and crucified like Jesus. Peter flat out denied knowing him.

How many times do we hide in the background? Afraid to speak the truth because someone might not want to hear the truth and ridicule you or ignore you or maybe just unfriend you? Maybe, they might start ugly rumors about you and your faith. They might even call you something like "fanatical Christian!"

One of the rites of the church that I do not appreciate fully is confirmation. It makes me most uncomfortable knowing that these young people (teens) affirm their faiths, and promise to, with the help of God, to serve Him in the church and in the world. I warn them, that they will fall away and that they should really work on avoiding that. I ask them to please not make the commitments asked of them at their affirmations (confirmations) if they already intend not to keep them. I ask them to, please, not attempt to lie to God. Yet, they insist (most of them) that they will not fall away. They are convinced (or try to convince me) that the commitments they will make will not fall by the wayside.  In almost all cases they do fall away immediately following the rite of confirmation. Most fall away at least for a time, till they have children of their own and desire to have them baptized and confirmed. Some will return, long enough, for their children to be baptized and affirm those baptisms. 
The disciples returned, too. But, they stayed. They did not show up for a rite here and there. They stayed and committed their whole lives to following in Jesus' footsteps. May God help all who have been baptized in Christ Jesus to continue to live with and in Him and if we have turned our backs on Him, help us to return.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Mark 14:12-26

Mark 14:11-26 NIV
Recently, we participated in a rarity at our congregation: a Memorial Service that included the Sacrament of Holy Communion. Not that Memorial Services are rare; but, receiving the Sacrament at one is. It was such a relief for me, to see so many whom I have not seen in a very long time, receive this gift from God. My hope is that they are worshipping God with another congregation. But, I am pretty sure most are not. For some reason, gathering together with the community of Saints, today, is an option.

For Jesus it was not. He traveled (on foot and a bit on the back of a donkey) to participate in the Passover in Jerusalem. As he broke the bread and poured the wine at His last supper, he prayed a prayer of thanksgiving. When they were finished with the meal, they sang a hymn and then went out to the Mount of Olives where he would be betrayed by his friend and handed over to be crucified.

Even as He faced His own death for the sake of His friends and followers, He gathered with them to worship and give thanks to God. May God grant us hearts that would desire to gather together as a community of Saints to remember, to celebrate, and to give thanks for our God.

God's Peace - Pr. J