Tag: Parables

Today’s Word Is HEARING

Fri-Jul-3-2020
It’s Humor Day!

An elderly gentleman named Frank is having a regular checkup at Dr. Jones’ office.

At the end of the exam the doctor says, “Everything looks OK. Do you have any questions or other concerns?”

Frank replies, “Well, Doc, there is one other thing. My wife Beulah is hard of hearing and I’m having trouble talking her into going to get it checked. Any ideas how to convince her?”

Dr. Jones suggests, “Try this. When you get home and get in the door, say something to her while her back is turned. If she doesn’t hear you, get closer and try again. Keep doing this until you figure out how close you have to be before she can hear something. This should help her to realize that she has a problem.”

Frank gets home and Beulah is facing the kitchen sink doing dishes. So, Frank says, “What’s for supper, honey?” … No response …

Frank moves halfway to the kitchen and repeats, “What’s for supper, honey?” … Still no response …

So, Frank gets right behind her and rather firmly repeats, “What’s for supper, honey?”

Beulah wheels around, hands on her hips, gives him a glare, and says, “For the third time, chicken!!!”

Oops …

By the way, not all hearing is with the ears. Many times in the Scripture, the idea of hearing has to do with whether what was said not only got into someone’s ears, but went further … into the heart and mind. Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” (Matthew 11:15) Obviously he meant both to hear and to understand!

By the way, a similar phrase … “Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” … appears seven times in Revelation … once at the end of each of the letters to the seven churches. There are church folks who hear but don’t hear.

In the Parable of the Sower, Jesus calls a person “good soil” if they are able to hear the word, understand, and act. “But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.” (Luke 8:15)

Sometimes things that are said to us “go in one ear and out the other.” I am sure I have missed some of God’s whisperings because I didn’t pay enough attention to what he was trying to convey through something I heard or saw or read. It takes effort and concentration to hear these subtle inputs from the Lord. Thankfully, once we practice and understand how it works, we can develop a habit of hearing his voice better.

My elderly grandfather was kindly referred to by everyone as “hard of hearing.” You had to get right next to his ear and speak loudly and hope for the best.

I certainly would not want to be considered by others as “hard of hearing” in a spiritual sense. That’s something worth thinking about for a minute of your time. Am I hearing God well? Does he have to shout in my ear from up close? Am I tuned in to his voice so that I can hear him, even if it’s a whisper?

Blessings!

Chaplain Mark

Today’s Word Is CONTENT

Wed-May-6-2020

I’ve spent a lot of time in my life wishing I had more money. Somewhere along the way I began to think about the people I had known who had a whole lot of it, very little of it, or were just somewhere in between. And honestly there seems to me to be little or no connection between happiness and money. There are wealthy folks who seem to be pretty miserable. And there are very poor folks who are quite content with life. I am not belittling the blessing of provision, as long as the level of resources does not create a constant sense of discontent.

Jesus once told a story of “The Rich Man and Lazarus,” in which the eternal result of their earthly lives was reversed from what his Jewish listeners would have expected. (Luke 16:19) How could a poor beggar like Lazarus be carried away to be with Abraham, while the rich man ended up being tormented in Hades? Wealth and abundance were signs of God’s blessing in the biblical culture; whereas, poverty was normally an indication that God did not want to favor you.

And our culture looks at it pretty much the same … the clear message is “you’ll be happier if you have more money” … whereas, “if you’re in poverty you’re going to be miserable” … but … Not so, says Jesus. Believe it or not, Jesus had more to say on the topics of money and possessions than any other subject matter.

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:19-21)

“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink …“ (Matthew 6:25)

Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” (Matthew 19:21)

The Apostle Paul had times of abundance and times of extreme lack, through which he developed this attitude: “… for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” (Philippians 4:11-12)

One way of putting it is this … we should probably focus less on wanting what we don’t have and more on enjoying what we do have. This is contentment, the blessed state of trusting God rather than money or anything else, and being satisfied with the presence of God and the blessings of love, hope, family, and purpose, rather than riding the roller-coaster of abundance and lack.

Which “tent” do you live in? “Con-tent” or “Discon-tent”?

May the Lord help us to be content,

Chaplain Mark

Today’s Word Is … EQUAL

Martin Luther King, Jr Day
Created Equal
Mon-Jan-20-2020

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in the USA, declared so by President Reagan in 1983. King was born Jan. 15, 1929 and was shot and killed 52 years ago on April 4, 1968. Like many people, it is for me a day of reflecting about his legacy. Somehow there is something ominous and significant about MLK Day and today’s date … January 20, 2020.

I grew up in small towns in Tennessee and Virginia, and being the son of a pastor, somehow I escaped much exposure to various forms of prejudice. My father was as close to being purely unprejudiced as anyone I ever knew. He befriended everyone, and the churches he pastored often had people from other cultures than our own. This was probably unusual in the 1950’s and 60’s.

My first real encounter with the shunning of someone of a different skin color came in college. My black friend, and frequent meal-mate in the dining hall, described rejection he had experienced. It bothered me that skin color mattered in evaluating someone. After he told me this, I began to notice that when he and I shared a table for supper, a few people would watch us. Rarely did someone come and join us at our table for eight. It made me even more determined to retain and develop this friendship, and to expand my “other culture” circle of friends, Black, Hispanic, Asian, etc.

MLK had just the right combination of a passion for equality and an insistence on non-violence in pursuit of it, the reason being that both of those qualities were based on the Bible. I have visited the Historic Ebenezer Church in Atlanta, home church and burial site of MLK. One time I stood in the pulpit where he preached in the Dexter Avenue Church in Montgomery, AL, and raising my hands, I said, “I have a dream!” That’s all I could get out, as tears began to flow. More recently, I made friends with Dr. Albert Brinson, who as a young person was befriended and partially raised by the Rev. Martin King, Sr. family; and who eventually walked alongside Dr. King, Jr. in many freedom marches. His stories were always fascinating and sometimes tragic.

I had more than one person during my early pastorates who told me they couldn’t help being prejudiced, because they were “raised that way.” The only answer I could think of was … “in my Bible, prejudice is sin.”

I am thankful for all persons of every race and culture who have helped us to move closer to a day in which hatred and racial prejudice will have been put aside. Or as Dr. King put it …

“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.’” – (from his “I Have a Dream” Speech on Aug 28, 1963 at the Lincoln Memorial)

I pray that no one will be prejudiced against you for being who you are, and that you will join others in rising above prejudice. I also pray that you will forgive people who are prejudiced against you, because forgiveness is taught in the Bible, and unforgiveness is just as wrong as prejudice.

If you think about it, the parable of the Good Samaritan is not just about helping others, it is about racial/cultural prejudice. A priest and a Levite passed by a wounded man on the road, possibly because they did not know the person and feared robbers might overtake them if they stopped to help. But also, not knowing whether the man might actually be dead already, these official leaders knew that touching a dead body would make them “unclean.” The hero of the story was a “foreigner” from Samaria, not of pure Jewish blood, and thus hated by the Jews.

This story would have been “offensive” to the audience Jesus was addressing. But clearly, he was teaching them that prejudice is “offensive” to God! To rid ourselves of prejudice, it is good to make a conscious declaration to ourselves and to God that we will not harbor prejudice. But to take that a step further, why not make an action plan! Visit a church of a different culture. Befriend someone of a different color at work, school, or wherever. Perhaps invite them to dinner at your home or a restaurant. I’m sure you can think of something. And if you do so, would you report back to me how it went?

Blessings,

Chaplain Mark

Prayer for the Day:

Gracious God, I know that you are the creator of every man, woman, and child on this earth. We are a variety of colors and cultures. May I never think of my culture as being superior to any other, and may my words and deeds reflect your love for every person. Forgive my past thoughts and acts of prejudice. Show me someone today who is racially different from me and who might be surprised to hear my words of affirmation of their value. If there is anyone from whom I should ask for forgiveness, give me the courage to do just that. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.