You Were There (1/17/07-1/18/07)
While Mary and her sons could not reach Jesus as they desired, it seems likely that they were within range to hear His reaction. Given what we are told of His family’s reaction to His ministry in this period, it is likely that their reason for wanting to talk to Him was in an effort to put a stop to what seemed to them the shaming of their family. That being the case, they would hardly be inclined to shout to Him across the crowds to get His attention. They hoped to pass word to Him more discretely, that they might speak to Him in private. Jesus, however, was having none of that. As His words reveal, it was not that He was rebellious, nor that He wished to embarrass His family all the more. It was simply that He answered to a higher Authority.
That said, I have to wonder what His relatives in the natural must have been thinking and feeling as they heard this. I suppose we have some inkling of their reaction by what we see amongst our own unbelieving family members when we try and bring up matters of faith and ministry. Face it. They tend to think we’re loons, off the deep end. A real commitment to God’s work tends to look like the delusions of the cult follower to the outsider. They think us an embarrassment and worse. They talk of us when we’re not around to hear, sorrowing for our madness.
Well, if they think that way of us now, can you imagine their response were we to stand up in the midst of some public place and proclaim that our real family was this other crew? To really get the taste for it, picture the family that consists of, as we might say, ‘social’ Christians – determined to be seen in church of a Sunday, but having no particular commitment to the Christ of the Church. Picture the reaction should you join them in the pews one week and in the midst of service, rise up and proclaim the words we hear from Jesus on this occasion? Whew! You can just forget about your place in the will, can’t you! And, don’t be looking for any invitations to family events in the near future.
I have to believe that Mary and her other sons were painfully ashamed in that moment, shamed to the point of anger, no doubt. I suspect they were very quick to depart that scene, that they had very heated commiseration with one another as they returned home. The sons were no doubt doing their best at feeding Mary’s indignation at being treated so by her own firstborn. As much as we tend to view Mary in a very idyllic light, I expect she had plenty of indignation without their efforts. It is not in the nature of humans to suffer such insult without reacting.
Now, let me add a word of hope. Look at the latter years of Mary, and of James and Jude, the brothers of Jesus. All of these were, at a later date, to be counted amongst those whom Jesus declares His true family. The insult of that moment bore fruits of righteousness in their lives. I really think there was a direct connection. They went home licking their wounds, displaying them like badges of honor, but the seeds of rebirth had been planted. As they ruminated on this terribly rude Brother of theirs, and on those parting words, the Truth began to take root in them. Recall that Mary, in particular, was of the sort to tuck such words away, to chew on them, turn them over and over in her mind until the meaning was made clear to her.
We may not feel like our words, our lives, our examples are making a difference. We may feel that we are laboring in vain to see friends and family saved. We may see nothing but offense and rejection in their eyes. What we do not and cannot see is what the future holds for those we have touched. Looking at the behavior of Mary and James and Jude while Jesus was active in ministry gives little hint of what they would become after His departure. Yet, all three are found to be of great importance to the early church. We, likewise, may see little in the present to suggest our words and actions are having an impact, but seeds are planted, thoughts are there to be pondered by those we have touched, and some of those seeds will bear fruit in time.
New Thoughts (1/19/07-1/21/07)
The point Jesus is making here ties neatly with what He said to the woman who declared His mother blessed to have Him. His response then, was, “Blessed are those who hear God’s word, and act accordingly” (Lk 11:28). His declaration here is no different. They who do as God has said are they who are blessed to be part of His family, God’s family.
It strikes me, as I compare these two points, that if I am correct in associating both events with the same occasion as I have done, then Mary must have also heard that woman’s outburst and Jesus’ response. I am also reminded, in starting to consider this current passage, that Mary was convinced of her Son at the start. In Cana, before He had really begun to minister, she was there paving the way for Him. It seems, however, that her convictions, even those angelic visitations that had carried her through the challenge of being pregnant with no husband, were not enough to keep her faith strong as Jesus’ ministry took off. She simply wasn’t prepared for what her son had become. That’s not terribly surprising, nor is it a blot on her record. It’s really pretty typical that we, too, become overwhelmed at times, when we are in the midst of watching God’s work unfolding. However much we may know that impossible doesn’t apply to God, it still looks impossible. However much we may know that all His ways are good, we still tend to see things happening to us that don’t seem good, at least not at the time.
Once again, it would seem, what the Bible shows us in Mary is a real person. She has not been idealized, all her failings airbrushed out of the picture. Her triumphs are clearly on display, but so are her moments of weakness and unbelief. She is, in the end, much the same as you or me. We, who have been reborn into the kingdom of God, yet suffer our moments of doubt. It ought not be doubts as to our salvation. That is a settled matter for us, having acknowledged Jesus as our Lord and Redeemer. The gift God gives is not rescinded. Still, there are those times. There are those times when, as I said, the impossible still looks impossible, the painful good still looks bad. We all have our moments of looking upon insurmountable problems, incorrigible sins, and in those moments, it is not uncommon to forget our Father, and His influence.
It is likewise a danger for us that, were it not for those moments that shook us, we would forget about Him altogether. We were discussing this in home group this week. It is the model that Israel’s history presents for our learning. Were it not for the trials, the impossibilities, we would as quickly forget our need for a Savior as did they. The trials, while they may not be welcome at the time, are sent for our betterment. They are sent for our good, to turn us back onto the course set for our lives and to strengthen us for the journey that still lays ahead. That we suffer our moments of frustration and even anger during those times of course correction should not really come as a great surprise to us. The same feelings are in evidence amongst the greatest saints of God. He is careful to let us see this truth, lest we be crushed by those feelings.
Turning my attention to the end of the message, I hear Jesus declaring His definition of family. I have recently been blessed by an increased collection of study resources as a present from Christmas. So, I have new translations to consider as I study. One of these is the Weymouth translation of the New Testament ‘in modern speech.’ I’m generally not a huge fan of these heavily interpretive translations, but in this case, I am really touched by their version of Jesus’ conclusion. “To obey my Father who is in Heaven--that is to be my brother and my sister and my mother” (Mt 12:50).
The obedience spoken of is the doing of what the Father has willed. Our tendency (mine at least) is to think of this in terms of obedience to the Law. That is surely a fine goal, but we ought to understand by now that it is also an impossible goal, insomuch as it falls to us to accomplish. That is where the Pharisees began and it is where they fell. Absolute obedience to the absolute of the Law is just not a possibility for this fallen flesh. If that were the point of Jesus’ words, He would be as much as declaring Himself an only child, and an orphan at that. However, this is a case of the English language just not being up to the task of translating the Greek.
We are not talking about the commands or commandments God may decree. We are talking about the things He has decided upon seeing accomplished. We are talking about God’s desire. Let me attempt to demonstrate the difference. God’s command, contained in the Law, is that the penalty for any breach of that Law is death. No other penalty is provided for in the Law. Death is the command. It was His determined desire, however that this death be accomplished in His Son, though His Son in no way deserved the penalty. It was His determined desire that His Son should pay this great price not because of Dad’s coercion, but of His own free will. It comes to this: The Father’s will, as we are discussing it here, is that desire He is determined to see accomplished. The family members Jesus welcomes are those who are equally determined to see the Father’s desire accomplished. That is what set the Son apart. That is what sets the true Christian apart. Everything else in our life, while we may continue to pursue it, becomes subjugated to pursuing God’s purposes.
Of course, we can hardly go about doing the Father’s will unless we have heard what it is He desires. Thus, when Luke writes of this account, he writes of hearing God’s word and doing it. Well, what is God’s word, after all, but the expression of His thoughts? He has thought about what He desires to see done, and He has spoken to us regarding that desire. He has spoken to us through the Scriptures, which are the revelation of His plan and His purpose. He has spoken to us more directly through His Son, the Word. It is because of this that Jesus is declared the Living Word of God. He is the Divine Expression of God’s purpose and desire. We are quite likely hearing from our Father in more immediate ways, as well. He is, after all, a very personal and involved Father. He has not simply given us our inheritance and cast us out of the house to make our way as best we can. He is still guiding, still advising, still directing our path. These are the directions perhaps hardest to hear, and yet in their way, they are the ones most important to pursue.
Lest I be thought to be promoting personal revelation above the words of Scripture, far be it from me! Let it be said and said plainly that what God whispers to us for personal direction will never contradict what He has revealed of Himself in the Scripture and the Word. Never! Let is also be said that every odd idea that pops into my head is not necessarily Dad giving direction. To fall into that way of thinking is great danger, for who knows what whisperers may take advantage of such thinking? Just as we are called to test the message of any teacher and confirm it by the Truth of Scripture, so, too, the thoughts and impressions we may have. Test the spirits. That is the instruction of the Word. Make sure of who you’re hearing before you just take off on that directive. Make sure it’s the voice of the Shepherd, and follow no other. Once we have confirmed that it is our Shepherd directing us, though, let us be quick to commit ourselves to the desire expressed.
For those who have some understanding of this, there are two opposing dangers to be aware of. Some of us become so paralyzed waiting to hear Dad’s directions that we never act. The point being made by this passage is not that we must never do anything without first seeking out our Father and making absolute sure that this is what He wants us doing right now. What parent would raise their child in such a fashion? Is it not a sign of rather poor parenting that the child still can’t manage to make any decision on their own, still doesn’t understand the parent’s example well enough to know the right answer in most situations? Yes, there will come those challenges in a child’s life where the right choice is not clear, where the lines look a little blurry. In those cases, of course we would want our own kids to ask our advice. Of course, we hope and pray that they will take the benefit of our wisdom when we impart it.
As parents, we also know that we sometimes find it necessary to impart our wisdom even when we haven’t been asked. We see the way our child is going, and we know what’s down that road, so we do our best to convince them to change course. Of course, we also know from experience that it is quite likely that they will ignore what they hear from us, that they will insist on discovering the danger for themselves. This is the opposing danger. We do the same thing still, though we are officially mature adults. God, in His wisdom, points out what must inevitably come of the things we are doing, shows us a better way to go, but we all too often insist on continuing as we were.
The good news is that He hasn’t given up. Neither have we finished growing up. We are not without hope. We just have some skills that we need to exercise and improve, the skills of hearing and discerning His voice and of setting aside our habit of making excuses for ignoring Him. We also need to recognize that there are going to be occasions in our life when we dare not make a move until we really do have clear direction from our Father. Life demands some really big decisions from us – jobs, spouses, homes, and any number of other decisions that may impact us for years to come, perhaps for a lifetime. Those choices are often clouded by emotions. But, God has created each one of us for a specific purpose. That is His word on the subject. He has a purpose in mind for you and a purpose in mind for me.
Let me put that in line with the passage under study: He has a desired goal for your life that He is determined to see accomplished. He is not keeping that some deep, dark secret to see if you can guess what it is. He is speaking it to you. How? It may be through any number of means. It may be through the Scriptures themselves. It may come through things you are being told by others who know you. As much as it will shock some people, it may even come from unbelievers who know you. It may come in seemingly random thoughts out of the blue. God is training us up to recognize His words however they may be delivered to us. He is revealing His purposed desire for you, and He is training you to not only recognize that revealing of purpose, but to act on it.
“My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.” They hear what He is saying, and they recognize and understand the thought behind it. I’m sure I’ve written of it before, but this whole Caleb project I have been working on has been an experience in just this issue. I have heard His thoughts in a number of ways, from unexpected quarters. Hearing is one thing. Understanding, however, is quite another. It required some thought, and a great deal of inspiration, to put together what He was expressing. It took accepting the means He chose to deliver His thoughts. It took a desire on my part to seek His thoughts and to understand His directions. Then there is that other part: doing it.
There is something powerful in that idea of doing the word. Poieo the logos. Let me attempt to convey what I see in the combined definitions of those two words. The one speaks of putting thoughts into words. The other follows closely. It has the concept of expressing one’s thoughts and feelings in deeds. Now, when I combine these two ideas as Luke has done, I see that God has put His desires into words. The family of Christ consists of those who have internalized the desires God expresses, makes them their own, and then – most importantly – having made God’s desires their desires, the take action to see their common desire accomplished!
God has determined to see His desire accomplished in you and I. He has expressed His desire to you and I so that we may join in the happy task of fulfilling His desire. He invites us to not just make common cause with Him, not just enter into covenant treaty with Him. He invites us to share His desire, to be of one purpose with Him. He directs and equips us for that shared desire, not as a coercive dictator but as a loving, caring Father. We are, as Bishop Choate was teaching, arrows in His quiver (Ps 127:4), in His hands and aimed at a target. His aim is true, and He fashions His arrows well. His logos, His rhema word to us is intended to impart His aim. Our poieo is intended to be the effort to fly at the target He has set.
May it be said of us that our aim was to see His purpose in us accomplished, to see it accomplished in ourselves, in our families, amongst our friends, in our communities, and in our nation. Wherever He may aim us, let us seek out and pursue His purpose and do it! As my pastor has said, far better to seek out what God is blessing and take up our part in it than to do what seems good to us and beg God’s blessing upon it.
This leads me into the other thought I’d like to pursue here. Looking at the combined account that we have from these three writers, certain parallels and contrasts become evident between the actions of Mary and the reply of Jesus. Mark says that Mary sent to Jesus to call Him. That sending was a commissioning of this person who carried her message. It has direct ties to the title later given to twelve from amongst the disciples of Christ: Apostle. An apostle is, as this runner was, a man commissioned to complete a particular mission – a man with an assignment, and the authorization to get it done.
Then there is the message that was sent. As Luke records it, word came that, “Your mother and Your brothers are outside, wishing to see You.” That wishing of Mary’s is a small step away from willing. It lies at the root of that will which Jesus says belongs to the Father and which we ought to be doing. It is that will which is an expression of desire, but more than that, an expression of the determination to see that desire fulfilled. It is not quite a demand, but it is not far from it. It is an expression of purpose. They purposed to have audience with Him.
By way of contrast, God the Father, by Whose authority the Apostles were commissioned, expresses His purposes, the things that He desires to see accomplished. It is His determination to see those desires fulfilled that leads Him to appoint Apostles, men with an assigned mission of getting the job done. In fact, as Jesus makes clear, we are all of us apostles in this sense. We were created with a purpose. We are designed to hear God’s voice, to seek His guidance in knowing what He would have us to do. The wisdom that begins in the fear and reverence of God is shown to be maturing by its commitment to doing what we were designed to do.
So, I find this contrast. Those who claim family ties come to Jesus insistent. They insist that they shall have audience with Him, and their concern is with expressing to Him their own desires. These are the ones that have come looking for a blessing after the fact. They have already decided their course, and care not a whit what God may think about it. They’re not looking for direction. They’re not even looking for confirmation, just the blessing. These are also the ones who will come to hinder the work. They will come flashing credentials, holding up their proof of relation. See? We are His family, you have to listen to us! I tell you, you mustn’t do as you are doing. People will talk! You are bringing shame upon our heads! In the end, it will be seen that their interest is not in God’s glory, but in their own comfort and position.
Jesus points to a different group: those who take time to hear God’s plan for them. They hear the logos of God, and this is what they set themselves to do. They have made a point of finding out what God desires, and they have made that very thing the desire of their own heart. Honestly, when we are finally willing to find out what God created us for, when we finally begin to focus on fulfilling the reason for our being, it won’t take any real effort to make His desire our desire. We were created with that desire already in place, but we have been conditioned to think it beyond us. We have been trained to pursue any number of other things. We have been conditioned to make a living rather than to live a passion. God, the giver of passion, the Provider of Purpose, has designed each one of us to serve a part in fulfilling His desire. He has spoken in general terms of that desire, as He reveals His ways to us in the Word. He has spoken in specific terms in the way He designed each one of us, in those things that ‘make us tick’. Now, He defines His family as those who have taken time to hear His desire, to see their part in His plan, and have set themselves about the task of doing what they were created to do.
In another sense, in Mary and her boys we can find all the proof we need that we were created in the image of God. God wills. He decides and He determines that His decision shall be accomplished. Mary likewise wills. She has decided to talk to her Boy, and she is determined to see that accomplished. God sends Apostles to do as He has decided. Mary has likewise sent her apostle to tell Jesus of her decision. Indeed, we are created in His image. What we see here is also indicative of our greatest problem. We are not satisfied with being the image. We want to be the gods. We want to tell God how things are going to be, rather than hearing His instructions. We are, as often as not, determined that our will be done, and God can just go along with it.
This is, I believe, what has been called the city of man. From the earliest records in the Scriptures, we see the conflict grow. There are those few who are determined to live as God directs, and then there are the many who are determined to control God. The city of man, those who say, ‘my will be done’, may dare to come to God and seek His blessing, but they are not really concerned with His blessing. His blessing or His cursing really aren’t going to change their course in the least. They have determined their choice and they intend to stick with it.
We were once citizens of that city. We, too, used to give little or no thought to our Designer. But, something happened. God willed. In spite of our inflated sense of self, when God willed, our opinions really didn’t count for much. When He wills, when He calls, we are sure to answer. And, what a blessing in the answer! All that time we have spent chasing our own agenda, we discover – like Solomon before us – has been ‘vanity and wind’. We have been throwing all manner of effort into avoiding our purpose, into hiding from our purpose. Suddenly, with the call of God’s will, we are given to understand the passion within us. We are given the great joy of discovering in ourselves the seeds of that thing God created us to be.
It has taken me some forty odd years to come to see this. It took an inordinate amount of time for me to hear Him calling. It took more time to accept what His calling was going to mean. There are still those scraps of the past that don’t particularly want to let go. The dust of the streets of the city of man still clings to me. But, over time, He has shown me that the passions I have always known were not just things to excite the senses. They were the things I was shaped for. I had just been misguided in how I was pursuing things. Some days it was pursuing the right things for the wrong reasons. Others, more so in recent years, it was pursuing the wrong things for the right reasons. As Charlie Peacock wrote a few years back, these were ‘things that weren’t so bad, it’s just that they were never things that we could trust.’
It takes time to grow up. That’s as true after rebirth as it was after birth. How we want to rush the process! We were determined, as young teens, to rush our way to adulthood, to force our way, if necessary. We had no patience for those who had been that way before. We had no interest in learning from anybody with a clue. Why should it come as a surprise that this same thing happens again with rebirth? We have discovered real life, and we want to be instant adults with full privilege in that real life. In our youthful fervor, we want to do it all. Whatever mission is at hand, we’re all over it, whether we know what we’re doing or not. The truth is, as we grow and calm down a bit, and we see these new members of the family coming in, we want to raise them up as fast as we wanted to raise ourselves up. After all, as the family gets bigger, the task of taking care of the family gets greater and we’d really appreciate the help. A two year old is a handful. A teen would be far more helpful. So, we try and rush the process, still, just as we were trying to rush it when we were the youngster. But, God just asks us to listen for His direction, recognize His purpose for us individually and corporately, and to pursue it with the passion that is already within us.
One last point to pursue here: I noted elsewhere that I fully suspect Mary and her other sons were within earshot when Jesus proclaimed His response to their message. He was teaching a crowd, after all, so He must have been speaking so as to be heard. Knowing how I would react, I can imagine how they reacted. They took umbrage. They were insulted. No doubt, they left that place as quickly as they could, greatly offended by the way this Jesus had dealt with His own flesh and blood. Were there an inheritance involved, I could easily imagine His oldest sibling working to have Him disowned for this offense. Even Mary, who ‘treasured these things in her heart’, was going to need some time to come to grips with this. Where was the obedient boy of earlier years? What had caused Him to grow up into this brash, insulting young man? Where had she gone wrong?
Oh! But, the insult of that moment bore incredible fruit! They may not have believed in that moment. They may not have been able to hear Him in that moment, but the Word, the living Word that flows from the springs of life, had made its way into their being. It was planted, and in time it would grow. The end of their story shows that, as insulting as the planting process may have been, the seeds of salvation had been sown. They would understand in time, and the end of their days would find them serving the Lord, seeking His will and pursuing it whole heartedly. The end of their days would find them proclaiming the lordship of this One who had so offended them.
How often does this turn out to be the case, that the seed of salvation is planted by offense? It strikes me that the normal process of planting, as we know it, is an offense to the ground. Before we plant, we dig. We pierce the soil with sharp objects, poke holes in the skin. We disrupt the soil. But, it is by these things that the seed which will bring life is planted in the soil. How many of us were insulted at that moment when word of a real God who provides for our real need was spoken? How many were offended by the very idea that we needed forgiveness for something? Oh, but look where we are now! We get past the offense and we discover a loving Father who has only been scolding us for our own good, that we might grow up and be fine upstanding sons.
So, hear the word of comfort. When our words are rejected, when our relatives seem to be turning a deaf ear, don’t let it dissuade you. When your coworkers insist that they have no use for God, don’t let it bother you. The soil sees no use for the seed, but the seed still takes root. We are not always given to see the end of the story. We don’t know what becomes of the seeds we plant. We pray that they will get the water they need, not so much as to drown, but enough to really take hold and flourish. We pray that the light of the Son will give life to that seed as it grows, that the owner of the Vineyard will come and prune its branches when it becomes needful. But, unless those tasks are put into our hands, we must entrust them to the Lord’s care, knowing that His perfect plan will be done, for He has said it. Don’t measure the insult of their reaction, look to the Author and Perfecter of every good thing to bring forth fruits of righteousness.
That is by no means an invitation to be purposefully insulting. It is not to suggest that we should measure our success by how offended people are with us. It is only to take comfort in knowing that neither can we measure failure in that way. The insult of a moment may yet bear fruits of righteousness.
