Healing



Daily reading: Mark 1:21-45
Sunday January 17, 2016

Focus passage: “Silence!” Jesus said, speaking harshly to the demon.  “Come out of him!”  The unclean spirit shook him and screamed, then it came out. Mark 1:25-26

In this passage of scripture we begin to see what it means for Jesus to be the Christ.  Jesus is immediately on the scene seeking out illness and immediately healing people. 

Jesus is about healing the brokenness of the community which is manifest in themes of un-cleanliness, possession, and chaos.  Jesus is able to come on the scene and restore order, remove that which is unclean, and drive away that which possesses or consumes us: Which ultimately breaks down the barrier that separates individuals from fully participating in community.

We all have something in our life that creates barriers that hinder us from fully participating in community and/or we participate in a way to keep others out.  The lesson for today tells us that Jesus comes in and breaks down those barriers with his words.  There exists then brokenness in our own lives as well as a brokenness in our community.

What word does your community need to hear that would bring about healing and restoration?

Prayer: Help me to mend what is broken in the world.  Amen.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Praying the psalms with gratitude

Friday June 30, 2017
Psalm 23 TheLordis my shepherd.
I lack nothing.
2 He lets me rest in grassy meadows;
he leads me to restful waters;
3 he keeps mealive.
He guides me in proper paths
for the sake of his good name. 4 Even when I walk through the darkest valley,
I fear no danger because you are with me.
Your rod and your staff—
they protect me. 5 You set a table for me
right in front of my enemies.
You bathe my head in oil;
my cup is so full it spills over!
6 Yes, goodness and faithful love
will pursue me all the days of my life,
and I will livein theLord’s house
as long as I live.

Pray a prayer of gratitude today and allow the psalm to be your guide.  Take time to think about your day, what are you grateful for?  Write down all of these moments as way to capture your gratitude.   Offer up prayers of gratitude throughout your day.
Read more

The radical act of Communion

Daily reading: 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 Saturday, September 2, 2017
In his letter to the church in Corinth, Paul reminds us that there is something fundamentally broken and out of alignment in society that goes against the nature of God’s relationship with us and with one another.  When we participate in Communion, it is an act of prophetic proclamation.  It is a moment to proclaim the liberation we find in God through Christ Jesus, it is a moment in enact our fundamental belief that nothing can separate us from the love of God found in Christ Jesus. 

Prayer: God, help me to be mindful of your presence in my life: help me to see your presence in everyone I encounter today.  May my words and actions embody your radical welcome and love for Your creation.  Amen.
Read more

Grace

Daily reading: Luke 3:1-22 Sunday, January 8, 2017
Focus passage: John went throughout the region of the Jordan River, calling for people to be baptized to show that they were changing their hearts and lives and wanted God to forgive their sins.  Luke 3:3
Grace is such a rich word; it doesn’t happen in isolation, it happens in community. 
The gospel writer, Luke, likes to ground his testimony in history, a place and time, when someone can see the movement of God, a moment of grace.
Whenever I read the third chapter of Luke, I always think of the beginning of a Star Wars movie.  (Not Rogue One, which doesn’t offer you the scroll to place you in a particular time and place, but you know what I mean, you see the yellow letters in a black outer space scene scrolling; saying: “long, long ago in a galaxy far, far away” and then you read a bunch of details.)
Luke begins by listing names of political and religious leaders so that we can pinpoint a specific time in history.  He is setting the stage…
Read more