Catching Fog

A demon-possessed man who was blind and unable to speak was brought to Him. He healed him, so that the man could both speak and see. And all the crowds were astounded and said, “Perhaps this is the Son of David!”

When the Pharisees heard this, they said, “The man drives out demons only by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.”

Knowing their thoughts, He told them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is headed for destruction, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, who is it your sons drive them out by? For this reason they will be your judges. If I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you. How can someone enter a strong man’s house and steal his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can rob his house. (Matthew 12:22-29)

If God can do anything, can he make a rock so heavy he can’t lift it? The religious establishment of Israel thought they had just such a way to show up Jesus. They brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute. Since communicating with him was essentially impossible, they figured there was no way Jesus would be able to cast out the demon. According to widespread Jewish belief at that time, only the Messiah would be able to fix such a person and the religious establishment had decided Jesus wasn’t the Messiah. His failure would then prove them right.

But Jesus healed the man easily. The crowd was astonished. They couldn’t help but think that Jesus must indeed be the Son of David—that is, the Messiah—though due to the presence of their religious leaders, they posed it as a question rather than making a clear statement.

Jesus consistently refused to take up residence in the box the religious establishment had created for the Messiah. But Jesus did wonders that only the Messiah could do. So they finally accused Jesus of being powered by the Devil. Otherwise, they’d have to acknowledge he was the Messiah, and that seemed more impossible to them than their ridiculous suggestion. A suggestion that Jesus easily dismantled. People are willing to go to remarkable lengths to shore up their beliefs, especially when their pride is on the line.

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“I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.

“The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.

“Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.

“O righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me; and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.” (John 17:20-26)

One evening, nearly two thousand years ago, Jesus himself got down on his knees and prayed specifically for you and asked his Father to give you the glory that the Father had given to him.

What is glory? Glory is the consequence of actual accomplishment. True glory belongs to victors, to those who perform admirably far beyond expectation or what is required. The basic sense of “glory” is the radiance and brightness of light.

What is the glory that God has given you? The glory that Jesus has from the Father. How so? Because what we do, our accomplishments, are all thanks to him. We have become one with him and one with the Father. What they have, we have. What they are, we are. The glory that Jesus got the Father to give you is the glory of accomplishing his will, just like Jesus did. Of living righteously, just like Jesus did. Of living for others, just like Jesus did. Our righteousness isn’t our doing, it is his doing.

You do not think too highly of yourself. You do not think highly enough!

Pride, boasting, arrogance grow not from genuine greatness, but from insecurity. When the gold medal winner tells his mom that he won, he is not boasting. He is merely describing what is. True glory eliminates boasting.

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“This is what I want you to do: Ask the Father for whatever is in keeping with the things I’ve revealed to you. Ask in my name, according to my will, and he’ll most certainly give it to you. Your joy will be a river overflowing its banks!

“I’ve used figures of speech in telling you these things. Soon I’ll drop the figures and tell you about the Father in plain language. Then you can make your requests directly to him in relation to this life I’ve revealed to you. I won’t continue making requests of the Father on your behalf. I won’t need to. Because you’ve gone out on a limb, committed yourselves to love and trust in me, believing I came directly from the Father, the Father loves you directly. First, I left the Father and arrived in the world; now I leave the world and travel to the Father. (John 16:23-28)

When we pray, who are we really talking to? It’s not Jesus. We don’t actually ask Jesus for anything. Instead, we ask his father. In essence, we’re telling the Father that “Jesus sent me and said you’d do this.” And why do we ask for things from God? Jesus said so we can be completely happy. And it’s not that by invoking Jesus’ name that somehow Jesus then intercedes on our behalf with a reluctant deity. God is not reluctant. Jesus wants us to understand that God loves us as much as he loves Jesus.

God knows what we really want and he knows what we really need. Too often, we don’t actually know what we want or need. We may think we do. But chances are, we’re missing the big picture and are not asking for as much as God wants to give us.

We want a job, for instance, but what we really need is food and clothing and our expenses taken care of. A job may be the way to do it, but God knows the root cause of what we’re asking for and will satisfy that need, rather than giving us what we think will satisfy that need. We’re only human. God knows us better than we know ourselves. Don’t doubt that God has the best of intentions for us; but it’s not just all about us. There’s a whole world interconnected to us as well, and many people involved in the project.

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“If the world hates you, be aware that it hated me before it hated you. If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own. Because you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world—therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘Servants are not greater than their master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you; if they kept my word, they will keep yours also. But they will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my Father also. If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not have sin. But now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. It was to fulfill the word that is written in their law, ‘They hated me without a cause.’” (John 15:18-25)

Jesus actually did promise us a rose garden. But we need to remember, roses have thorns, and they need pruning, and watering, and fertilizing. And they go dormant in the winter. And the blossoms wilt and die eventually.

We’d like to believe that Jesus has promised us a life of ease and physical prosperity, because ease and physical prosperity is what most of us want. But Jesus promised thorns along with the rich blessings. Jesus wanted us to be just as happy as he was. He was happy, even though all his life he knew he’d someday die—just as all of us know a similar fate. Jesus experienced a violent and painful death upon a Roman cross. Jesus promised his disciples that the world would treat them no better than it had treated him.

Does this mean that if you’re happy and prosperous that somehow you’ve been disobedient? No more than being miserable and suffering demonstrates a sinful condition. Rather, Jesus simply promises that life happens and that we have no guarantees of anything beyond what Jesus endured. He had a happy life, and he endured the cross because in doing so, he saved the world. And his death was only temporary, anyhow, just like our own suffering and death. It really is all good. We can see that if we can gain the same perspective on life that Jesus had.

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“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever. He is the Spirit of truth. The world is unable to receive Him because it doesn’t see Him or know Him. But you do know Him, because He remains with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you.

“In a little while the world will see Me no longer, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live too. In that day you will know that I am in My Father, you are in Me, and I am in you. The one who has My commands and keeps them is the one who loves Me. And the one who loves Me will be loved by My Father. I also will love him and will reveal Myself to him.” (John 14:15-21)

Doing what you’re told is easy if you love the one telling you to do it—and you’re confident he loves you, too. And what did Jesus tell his disciples to do? To love their neighbor and to love God. Every law ever given by God could be wrapped up in those two commands.

What did Jesus promise his disciples? That he wouldn’t leave them to their own devices. He promised to send them the Counselor. Who is that? The Counselor is the Holy Spirit. But why did Jesus say the Holy Spirit was the Spirit of Truth? Because the truth is what sets people free from sin. The truth is what allows us to see clearly what to do versus what not to do. The truth is what allows us to overcome temptation.

Had the disciples really understood what was about to happen that dark night that Jesus was betrayed, would they not have been able to resist the temptation to sleep? If they knew the truth, would they not suddenly have been wide awake and praying desperately for Jesus?

Would you give in to the extra piece of chocolate cake if you saw the truth of what it would do to you? The extra pounds, the need for exercise, the rise in your cholesterol, the heart attack, the shortened life? If you saw the whole truth of sin, would you then sin? Of course not. The indwelling Spirit offers that kind of wisdom, that sort of truth, if we will only listen.

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Then they arrived at the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. As he stepped out on land, a man of the city who had demons met him. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he did not live in a house but in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he fell down before him and shouted at the top of his voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me”— for Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many times it had seized him; he was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the wilds.) Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” He said, “Legion”; for many demons had entered him. They begged him not to order them to go back into the abyss. (Luke 8:26-31)

What’s in a name? Sometimes much less than first appears. The country of the Gerasenes was in northern Israel, just to the southeast of the Sea of Galilee. The Roman Emperor Augustus had given the region to Herod the Great when he made him king. The population of the region seems to have been mostly made up of non-Jewish people.

Jesus engaged in a very brief conversation there with a demon possessed man—or rather, with the demons that had taken control of him and destroyed his life. They referred to themselves collectively as “Legion.” In the Roman army, a legion consisted of between 3000 and 6000 soldiers. Does this mean that this poor man was tormented by that many demons? Or were they lying and pretending to be more than they were? I think it’s very unlikely they were telling Jesus the truth, since Satan is known to be a liar; I doubt his demons are noted for their veracity. So Jesus was not intimidated or impressed by what they chose to call themselves. And the demons realized they were in trouble. They asked Jesus for mercy, begging him not to send them into the abyss.

What is the abyss? The book of Revelation describes it as a place of fire and smoke, where Satan will be confined for a thousand years.

Jesus didn’t care about the demons. He only cared about the man they inhabited. Jesus doesn’t care about what has a hold of you. Like that demonized man, he’s only concerned about setting you free from it.

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This week my youngest daughter is studying poetry for her English class. She is on independent study (due to her mental health issues), and goes to the high school only for her tests. Therefore, I have to prepare her study sheets and help her with her work. I have enjoyed and appreciated poetry for most of my life and I’m trying to instill the same enjoyment in my children. Thus far, however, only my oldest shares my enjoyment. In fact, when she was barely in kindergarten she had already memorized one of Edgar Allen Poe’s poems, Annabel Lee and announced to her teacher that Poe was her favorite author. I don’t think many kindergartners would pick Poe for that honor.

The poetry my youngest daughter is reading this week are all classics and generally well known: such poems as The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost, a sonnet by Shakespeare, and poems by Poe, Neruda, and e.e. cummings.

Much of the Bible, particularly in the Old Testament, is poetry. Semitic poetry differs from the poetry most people are accustomed to. Rather than rhyming sounds, Semitic poetry rhymes ideas, repeating the same concept but using different, synonymous words, thus making biblical poetry sound repetitious. Besides the obvious book of Psalms, most of the prophetic books of the Bible—Jeremiah, Isaiah, Ezekiel, the twelve minor prophets—are all written in poetry.

Poetry appeals to the intellect; it also, more strongly, appeals to the emotions. One passage from the Bible that particularly affects me and put me in a thoughtful mode is one that forces me to consider my place in the universe—and the place of the human race as a whole:

When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them? (Psalm 8:4)

The science fiction author Vernor Vinge wrote a book with the title, A Deepness in the Sky that won the Hugo award in 2000. Today, scientists speak about “deep time” and “deep space.” The two concepts are related. It is generally believed that the universe is about 13.8 billion years old, while the most distant object visible from Earth is about 13.42 billion light years away. That these two concepts of deep time and deep space are related becomes obvious when one considers that distance in space is also distance in time. Light travels about 186,000 miles per second (or if you prefer, about 300,000 kilometers per second). The moon is about 240,000 miles away; thus, when the astronauts on the moon talked to mission control in Houston, their words took more than a second to reach Earth. If you listen to transmissions of the Apollo astronauts, you’ll hear mission control and the moon walkers occasionally talking over each other as a result. If you’ve ever made an international phone call, you may have experienced something similar if your call was routed through a satellite. The geosynchronous communication satellites are about 25,000 miles above the surface of the Earth. When you make a call, your voice is routed up 25,000 miles to the satellite, then goes down 25,000 miles to the person you’re chatting with. Your caller’s response must make the same trek in reverse. So, a bit less than a third of a second passes between your speaking and you being heard, and another third of a second or so passes before the response can reach you if it comes immediately. You can easily notice those sorts of delays.

It gets worse the further you travel. Light from the sun, traveling 186,000 miles per second requires about 8 minutes to travel the 93 million miles to the Earth. Voyager 1, which just passed the edge of our solar system and is now in interstellar space, is more than 13 light hours from Earth, meaning a radio signal from the spacecraft takes more than 13 hours to get to us.

Sirius, the Dog Star, and the brightest star in the night sky, is about 8 light years from Earth. That is both distance and time: light from that star requires about 8 years to reach us. What we see in the sky now is how Sirius looked when George Bush was still living in the White House. Telescopes become not just portals to distant realms in the sky, but are also time machines reaching back into history.

If you look north tonight, you’ll see Polaris—also called simply the North Star. The light you see now left that star before the Pilgrims left England for Plymouth Rock. The universe is enormous, beyond our comprehension. It is deeper than the deepest sea, higher than the highest mountain, older than human history. The Psalmist wondered in an era before anyone understood just how deep the sky and deep was time, how it is that God would notice us. Our greater understanding of the universe today, makes the Psalmist’s question even more profound. Not only am I insignificant beyond comprehension, the entire human race, from its beginning to future end, is a droplet of water in an endless ocean. And yet, the Psalmist tells us that God is mindful of us, and cares about us—each and every individual.

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One of the religion scholars came up. Hearing the lively exchanges of question and answer and seeing how sharp Jesus was in his answers, he put in his question: “Which is most important of all the commandments?”

Jesus said, “The first in importance is, ‘Listen, Israel: The Lord your God is one; so love the Lord God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence and energy.’ And here is the second: ‘Love others as well as you love yourself.’ There is no other commandment that ranks with these.”

The religion scholar said, “A wonderful answer, Teacher! So lucid and accurate—that God is one and there is no other. And loving him with all passion and intelligence and energy, and loving others as well as you love yourself. Why, that’s better than all offerings and sacrifices put together!”

When Jesus realized how insightful he was, he said, “You’re almost there, right on the border of God’s kingdom.”

After that, no one else dared ask a question. Mark 12:28-34)

Right after watching a movie, if someone asked you what it was all about, you probably wouldn’t have too much trouble giving an answer. What if someone caught you living your life and asked you that same question?

Loving God and loving people is the theme of the entire Bible and what life is all about. But what is love? Too often for the Israelites, they imagined that God could be manipulated in the same way they manipulated everything else in life. They were nice to their neighbors who were nice to them, and they expected kindness in return. So they thought God worked the same way. Rather than understanding their sacrifices and religious rituals as an expression of their love for God, they saw them as merely payments rendered in exchange for the stuff they wanted. Rather than a relationship with God, they had a superstition.

But the sort of love that Jesus was talking about means being nice to people regardless of how they respond and giving without expecting anything back. It is the sort of love we have for our babies. We change their diapers and feed them at three in the morning, yet they never offer to mow the grass or wash the dishes. But we love them all the same.
God’s kingdom is near to those who understand the centrality of love. And far from those who don’t.

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Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, ‘You will become free’?”

Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are Abraham’s descendants; yet you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. I speak the things which I have seen with My Father; therefore you also do the things which you heard from your father.”

They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.”

Jesus said to them, “If you are Abraham’s children, do the deeds of Abraham. But as it is, you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God; this Abraham did not do. You are doing the deeds of your father.”

They said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father: God.” (John 8:31-41)

What we think we already know often blinds us to the truth. When a teacher teaches, three things can happen to his words. First, and most commonly, his words get tucked into an already existing box where they can be safely ignored. Second, the words may just go in one ear and out the other. Third, and most rarely, the words are really heard for the new and radical thing they are and a life is forever changed.

Jesus’ audience was made up of those who had accepted his teaching. But they were missing his point to such an extent that he had to tell them that rather than acting like the children of Abraham, they were acting like the children of the Devil.

When Jesus told them that the truth could set them free, they thought he was talking about slavery. Since they were not slaves, Jesus’ words seemed pointless. But Jesus meant that the truth could set them free from sin. How so? Sin comes from believing lies: like the lie that God doesn’t want what is best for us, or the lie that makes us believe today’s pleasure matters more than tomorrow’s consequence.

The truth can free us from all the lies that bind us to misery.

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