When we are disappointed with God

Scripture: Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16  • Psalm 22:23-31  • Romans 4:13-25  • Mark 8:31-38 or Mark 9:2-9 

As I read the Scripture for this week, it made me think of how fragile we are - in mind, body and spirit. Peter is rebuked by Jesus when he himself rebukes Jesus after being told that the one Peter has recognized and acknowledged to be the Messiah, the Holy One of Israel, must suffer and die. Imagine Peter's disappointment. Think about our own disappointments with God, ourselves, and others.

Why did Jesus rebuke Peter? What did Jesus say one must do to be his follower? What about our doubts and fears? Where is God in all of this? Consider The Rev. David Lose's "Disappointment with God."

Peter eventually gets it, as can we. See "Oops, Wrong Savior!," by The Rev. Michael Coffey. Upon this πέτρα (Petra - Greek for large mass of rock), Jesus built his church, and to Peter he gave the keys to the kingdom. He calls to us, and offers us the kingdom, as well. The ever-present Lord. God with us. Emmanuel. Again, what must we do to follow Jesus? "Let them deny themselves, and take up their cross and follow me."

One of the lessons we learn is that it is okay to doubt, to ask God why, to tell God our frustrations, vent our anger, and cry. None of us is perfect. Things certainly don't always go the way we want them to go. See The Rev. Sharron R. Blezard's "Of Saints and Sinners." God goes before us. God suffers with us and goes with us. All the way - home.

How can we stretch our faith to reach the kingdom. See 2 Peter 5-7: For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge;  and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness;  and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.

How can we prevent our enemies from getting the best of us?

Scripture: Genesis 9:8-17  • Psalm 25:1-10  • 1 Peter 3:18-22  • Mark 1:9-15

Every Lent we begin with Jesus' baptism, going into the wilderness and being tempted. What can we learn this Lent as we journey with Jesus into the wilderness, and from temptations?

Some of you may know or remember the famous saying of Pogo, Walt Kelly's cartoon possum, "We have met the enemy, and the enemy is us." Both of our authors remind us that Jesus also told us to pray for our enemies.

Who and what are your enemies? Loving our enemies isn't easy. What happens if we let our enemies get the best of us? How can we prevent our enemies from getting the best of us? See The Rev. Geoffrey Hoare's "Enemies."

Read what The Rev. Kate Matthews says about the Noah reading in Genesis, and about learning from the Psalms during Lent in her "God Loves Us," (which also includes her  Reflection on Psalm 25). She would have us share the heart of the Psalmist working through battles that we wage in our lives, calling us to take into account our prayer life, our thoughts, and actions, and how this effects our lives, our work, and the lives of others. What disciplines can we use to create within us clean hearts, and which will renew a right spirit within us?

Crossing Thresholds, When Everything Changes

Scripture: 2 Kings 2:1-12  • Psalm 50:1-6  • 2 Corinthians 4:3-6  • Mark 9:2-9

This is the last Sunday of Epiphany before the season of Lent, and before Ash Wednesday.

Our Scripture gives us accounts of the passing of the mantle from the prophet Elijah to Elisha as Elijah is caught up in the whirlwind in a chariotof fire, and three disciples experience the transfiguration of Jesus on a mountain before they accompany him on his journey off tge mountain to the cross.  Both awesome and terrifying.

But the real significance of these events is not in the whirlwind, or fire, or the heavenly glow.  It is the thresholds Elisha,  the disciples, and you and I are called to take when everything changes. From comfort, security and certainty, to vulnerability, questions and uncertainty in the hills and valleys, and sometimes wildernesses of our lives. How will we respond? Read Debie Thomas' "When Everything Changes." 

Called to Healing - Miracle, Mystery, or More

Scripture: Isaiah 40:21-31  • Psalm 147:1-11, 20c  • 1 Corinthians 9:16-23  • Mark 1:29-39

In this week's gospel, Jesus, without a word, takes her hand, and "lifts up" Dorcas, Peter's mother-in-law, who has been ill. Immediately she gets up, and without a demand or request, begins serving others. She understands Jesus, his mission, and call to discipleship when the crowds, his disciples, and yes, us, misunderstand what Jesus is about.

What is Jesus all about? What are we called to do, as a church, and as individuals, all beloved of God? See The Rev. Kate Huey's "Called to Healing" reflection.

"Love not expressed, love not felt," P.C. Ennis writes, "is difficult to trust....God knew the human need for nearness. Jesus is the incarnation of God's love, which makes it all the more demanding (if frightening) to realize that for some people, we are the only Jesus they will ever meet" (Feasting on the Word Year B, Vol. 1). What if your church, and the people within it, are "the only Jesus" some people will ever meet? Would they recognize him?

Is healing miraculous, to be expected as popular prosperity preachers profess? Is it, and Jesus' healing presence, something more? What if the miracles we pray for do not happen? See The Rev. Debie Thomas' "Mystery, Not Magic." Where is Jesus in all of this? What should we pray for? What are we, as Christians, called to do, to be?