WATCHWORD:
32 And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves. 33 Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. 34 As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things. 35 When it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is now very late; 36 send them away so that they may go into the surrounding country and villages and buy something for themselves to eat.” 37 But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.” They said to him, “Are we to go and buy two hundred denarii[a] worth of bread, and give it to them to eat?” 38 And he said to them, “How many loaves have you? Go and see.” When they had found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.” 39 Then he ordered them to get all the people to sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat down in groups of hundreds and of fifties. 41 Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and he divided the two fish among them all. 42 And all ate and were filled.” Mark 6:32-42
Meditation:
A People Person
Jesus died, and the world was changed forever! The world has changed and will continue to change, influenced by Jesus, subtly, like a gentle breeze, but also like a hammer, as in war and violence.
John Ortberg in his book, Who Is This Man?, makes this statement: “His life and teaching simply drew people to follow him. His influence has swept over history…bringing his inspiration to influence art, music, literature, science, government, medicine, education. He taught humans about dignity, compassion, forgiveness, and hope.”
Ortberg concludes with a tongue-in-cheek statement which contains this: “Maybe Jesus was just a kind, simple, innocent soul with a good mom and a knack for catchy sayings, who showed up in the right place at the right time. Sort of a Jesus Gump. Maybe his place in history is a remarkable accident. But maybe it isn’t!”
So, maybe it wasn’t dumb luck or a remarkable accident. Think about the span of time from Jesus birth to this very moment. Think about the slow passage of time, of movements, of influences, of thought. The evolution of what we would call Christian thought. The changes that have happened, century after century. Sometimes driven by inspiration, sometimes driven by violence, as in the crusades. Sometimes driven by rebellion against injustice. Sometimes driven by faith, compassion, love.
Jesus was a people person. People were always on Jesus’ mind. Even while on the cross, where was his focus? People. The thief on his right, his mother and a disciple at the foot of his cross. Yes, His mind was on people.
What’s on our minds? When we are at rest, what do we think about? Do we think about the people around us? Those people in the car next to you on the busy highway? The homeless man or woman? The unemployed, there at the corner, with the sign, “will work for food”? How about their children?
What do we hear or see, all around us? Right here in the halls of Timbercrest or Peabody or Pine Hills, where ever we live? Do we think about those “others”? At our core, are we people persons?
Several years ago, I wrote an essay for the 500th anniversary of the Reformation entitled, “Am I Good Enough?” It was a logical question for Martin Luther to raise. For most of his young life he feared the wrath of God and the question, was he good enough? This was part of the reason that drove him away from his practice of law into seminary and the study to become a priest. All that lead to the recasting of Christianity, the Reformation.
Are we good enough? Ortberg tells this story: Two brothers lead a miserable life. They were self-centered, money grabbing, mean spirited, intolerant scoundrels. Then one of them died. His brother paid a minister a lot of money to do the funeral on the condition that the minister must call his dead brother a saint. Ministers sometimes do a lot of gymnastics at funerals. So, the minister did the eulogy – I have to tell you the truth. This man who died was a liar, a bully, a cheat, and a thief. But, compared to his brother, he was a saint.
Jesus knew the heart of the father. Jesus knew the reality of eternity. Jesus knew that people last forever. Did you get that? People last forever. These bodies won’t, but the spirit will. Jesus saw the potential that is in every one of us. He knew that we, you and I, have the mind of God within us. That great commission? Sharing Jesus with others, that should come, that will come, naturally, for we have the mind of God within us. So be it.
Prayer Request:
Some of you know that my family has been shaken by the violent deaths of Jessica, my son’s wife, my daughter-in-law, and Jessica’s sister, Jamie. They were ours and they still are. With so many others out there needing prayers, I feel a little uncomfortable asking, but I do. Please pray for us over the remaining days of April, the travel some of us are doing to be in California, to comfort one another, the memorial services. In Jessica’s short, 34 years, she touched and changed so many lives for the better. We thank God for our loved ones. We are Easter People!
An Easter Prayer from the Jesuits:
Good and gracious God, Our most glorious Creator, As we greet the signs in nature around us:
Of Spring once again regaling us in bloom, In the songs of returning birds and fields soon to be planted,
We give you praise for an even greater sign of new life: the resurrection of your Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, that we especially celebrate at this time.
The sadness and despair of his death has given way to the bright promise of immortality.
For the Resurrection is our guarantee that justice will triumph over treason, Light will overcome darkness, and love will conquer death.
As we celebrate, we also dare to ask for your grace that we may live the promise given to us, By imitating the life of Jesus in reaching out to the poor, the marginalized, the least among us, As we strive to be neighbor to all those we meet,
We ask your special blessings each and every day on our President.
Working with him may we strive to make this great country of ours a beacon of hope and justice in a world hungry for peace and so in need of your love.
We praise you in this Easter season. Change our lives, change our hearts to be messengers of Easter joy and hope. We make our prayer through Jesus Christ, our risen Lord forever. Amen.
