Friendship and Faith

"When Jesus saw their faith . . ."  --Mark 2:5

The story of Jesus and the paralyzed man in Mark 2:1-12 is a powerful one.  Jesus is in Capernaum, the fishing town at the north end of the Sea of Galilee that is home base for him.  When people learn that he is at home, they flock to the house and fill it to the point of overflowing.  Jesus is "preaching the word" of God's love to those in the house when four men arrive carrying a paralyzed man.(he is described with a label: paralytic).  Because of the crowd, the four are unable to bring their friend directly to Jesus; there seems to be no "room."  Instead of becoming discouraged, or waiting until another day, they climb up on the roof of the house, lift the paralyzed man up, and then "remove the roof."    They make a hole in the ceiling!  The artwork above depicts the four as having removed planks and lowering their friend to a place directly in front of Jesus.  Mark's gospel is even more descriptive, indicating that they may have dug through the roof (which would have been made of saplings, branches, and clay) with great determination!
The story says that "when Jesus saw their faith," he tells the paralyzed man that God's saving power is at work in his life through the faith of his friends.  "Faith" is our relationship with God , expressed in our beliefs and actions. It is the way we share love.
By the end of the story, the man is able to stand and walk, carrying the pallet that once carried him.  He is no longer paralyzed, or labeled.
--What does this story tell us about friendship?
--What kind of power is at work when we practice true friendship with one another?  Can you describe it?
--What role does our faith--our relationship with God, lived out in daily life--have in our friendships?
--There are different ways that we can be "paralyzed" in life, aren't there?  We can be paralyzed by fear, confusion, lack of confidence, worry about how others will judge us, nasty ways we have been labeled.  How can friends help one another overcome these kinds of paralysis?
Share your thoughts and reflections here, and bring them to class next Wednesday.

Lord, Teach Us to Pray

"Jesus was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord teach us to pray . . ." --Luke 11:1

The prayer that we call "The Lord's Prayer" is found in two places in the gospels:  Matthew 6:9-13, and Luke 11: 2-4.  In Matthew, the prayer is part of Jesus' "Sermon on the Mount," his core teachings to the people who would follow him.  Jesus cautions his people not to pray empty words, but to pray trusting that God already knows our needs.In Luke's gospel, his disciples have watched him pray, noticing how Jesus centers himself in God's will.  One of them asks, "Teach us how to pray."
We pray a version of the Lord's Prayer every week in our worship service.  See if you can recite the prayer from memory.
Even when we know the words, it is the substance of prayer that Jesus calls us to.  We are urged to put ourselves into our prayer.
Let's take a look at some of what Jesus teaches us:
(1)   "Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."  Jesus is teaching us to pray for God's will rather than just our own will, in the expectation that God's will be done in the midst of our lives here and now.  Jesus expects the community of God's people to be answers to our own prayers and the prayers of others.  We will take part in what God is doing in the world.  The prayer s hope-full. How will God's will shape our lives?
(2)  "Give us this day our daily bread."  The prayer focuses us on God's daily provision, rather than long-term security.  We trust that God will provide, and we take time to give thanks for God's gifts daily. This is a less defensive and more grateful way of living.
(3)  The words "our," "we," and "us" throughout the prayer remind us that we pray to God as a community, and that we are praying for God's blessing and encouragement for everyone. So when we pray for, and participate in, God's love for all people, we practice that love in intentional, specific ways with all the people in our lives!  It is a constant process of learning and growing.  One of the ways that we grow is in our willingness to share our "daily bread" generously with others!
What else do you notice about the prayer?  Take some time.  Does this become a model for all of our prayers?  How will you make it your own?

Prayer

"Prayer is acknowledging that we are always in the presence of God."  --Desmond Tutu

We  began with a question:  What is prayer?
--Connecting with God
--Talking with God
--Asking for help, guidance, direction
--Sharing your feelings and thoughts with God
--"Something you do in church."
--"You can pray anywhere."
--Offering thanksgiving to God
--Something you do during hard times
--When you are worried for someone
--Prayers are said out loud; you speak your mind
--Done with folded hands and bowed head; reverence

There is a richness in these initial responses.  Prayer is an expression of relationship.  It is a time of sharing.  In prayer, we take the time to give language to our thoughts, our feelings, our hopes, and our needs.  Taking care to express ourselves clearly is something that can be very important for us.  C.S. Lewis used to say that he didn't pray because he thought the prayer would change God; he prayed because the expression, the relating, the sharing, the thoughtful articulation of his prayers to God changed him!  We pray for other people and for our world--this is called intercession.  We pray for ourselves and ask for help and guidance--this is a petition. Though we didn't mention it in this first discussion, another important part of prayer is talking to God about our mistakes, our struggles, the ways that we have hurt others,the times we have ignored what we have learned from Jesus or the difficulty we have doing the good things that deep down we really want to do.  This is called confession. Also thanksgiving, gratitude to God, is a good way of paying attention to the many blessings in our lives.
Listening is an important part of any relationship.  In prayer we take time to listen, to meditate on what Jesus has taught us, to be sensitive to the movement of God's Spirit.  As with any healthy relationship, communication must go both ways.  Respect for God is also an expression of respect for self.  And when we have a strong relationship with God or with someone else,we won't just go to God --or them--when we get into trouble!

Our second question: How often do you pray?
A couple people said one time a week; another 3 times a week.  Someone said every night before bed.
Someone else mentioned a moment of silence in school.  Sundays, at worship, and Wednesday evenings, at Confirmation, were identified as common times.  Each week at Confirmation we join hands and close in prayer, with each person offering a thanksgiving or petition.  On Sundays we are usually saying prayers that other people have composed.  On Wednesday each of us speaks for ourselves.  I wonder if there are other times when we can explore freer communication with God. If,as Bishop Tutu says, "Prayer is acknowledging that we are always in the presence of God," then we have opportunity all of the time!
It seems as though most of our experiences with prayer are "formal" times where prayer is expected. This leaves much territory for us to explore in our personal relationships with God and the relationship with he have as a people together.

We read together the story of Jesus in prayer in the first chapter of Mark's gospel (Mark 1:29-39).  Jesus has been healing many people in the town of Capernaum. He heals not only illness but great burdens that people are carrying, hurts and wounds to their spirits, labels that other people have placed on them, expectations that are crushing.  It seems as if everyone needs healing in one way or another.  Jesus sees people late into the night.  Early in the morning, while it is still dark, Jesus goes out by himself to a deserted place to pray to God without distractions.  He might have done all of the things on our list above. And there is one more thing:  He centers himself in God's will. He takes the time to reopen himself to God's will, which is very important in the midst of all the activity and demands.  So when Peter and the other disciples find him and complain, "Everyone is looking for you,"  Jesus is clear.  He says that they will not return to Capernaum until they have visited other towns, too.  Because Jesus' God-given mission is to proclaim the good news of God's love to everyone, not just one town or congregation (no matter how much he cares about them!).  Prayer helps Jesus to be clear and helps his spirit to be rested.  Maybe it can be that way for us too!

Before finishing, we took a quick journey into the Book of Psalms, where just about every kind of prayer imaginable is recorded.  More about that later.

A Disciple Learns

What is a "disciple?"  Last Wednesday our responses included:
-- a person who follows Jesus
--someone who teaches others how to be disciples
--someone who spreads the Word of God
A previous class contributed these understandings:
-- someone who lives according to what they believe
--a disciple learns by being with the teacher, following their example
In the New Testament the term is mathetes:  we might translate it "learner."  We noted that a person following Jesus would be constantly learning and would not be stuck in the same place: "following" is impossible without some kind of movement.  Also, the best teachers are good learners, so anyone who would be teaching others how to follow Jesus would be someone who knows by experience.
People often speak of the "twelve disciples"  Even the gospels make references to "the twelve."  But when our class investigated, we found fifteen names!  I guess it is good to do some of your own research!!
Here they are:
James
John  (brother of James; both sons of Zebedee; fishing partners of Simon and Andrew)
Simon ( Peter)
Andrew
Bartholomew
Philip
Thomas
Matthew
Levi
Judas Iscariot
Judas, son of James
James, son of Alphaeus
Simon the Zealot
Thaddeus
Nathaniel
Historically, Levi has been associated with Matthew, the second Judas with Thaddeus,and Nathanael with Bartholomew, perhaps to harmonize the "twelve."  In Luke's gospel, the number of Jesus' followers is much larger--he chooses the "twelve" from the larger group for the role of apostles (the ones who are sent).

We considered what we knew about the people on our list:
--  James and John are brothers;  they are fishermen, the sons of Zebedee.
-- Likewise, Simon and Andrew are brothers who are fishermen.   Simon will also be known to us as "Peter (petros/"rock")."  Andrew is the "St. Andrew" of our church's name.  In Matthew, Mark, and Luke, these are the first disciples called.  Jesus calls them to leave their nets and "fish for people."
--Matthew is identified as a tax collector (Matthew 9). In two other gospels, the same man is called "Levi." This is a local person who would have collected taxes for the Roman Empire.  The tax collectors were notorious and hated by everyone.  In other words, Jesus even calls people that everyone hates!  Jesus calls Matthew away from a business that is very profitable for him but that steals money from the poor; Jesus offers him a life with less money but full of meaning and solidarity with others.
--The second Simon was a Zealot.  The Zealots fought against the Roman army occupying Israel. They hated collaborators like the tax collectors and might have killed them. But Jesus calls Simon into a community with the one he hates, having him renounce violence and recognize that he and Matthew are brothers in God's family. Both of them change as they work together for the peace of God.
--Judas Iscariot is the disciple who turned Jesus over to the authorities; he is later consumed with pain and regret.
--Thomas has been unfairly called "Doubting" Thomas, because he had a hard time believing what the other disciples told him about seeing the resurrected Jesus.  But his life was about far more than doubt.

One of the things members of the class noticed was the absence of women on the list.  More than one person commented that women were second-class citizens in that culture--they were not seen as leaders or equal partners. They did not get a chance to go to school.  But did this mean that Jesus behaved like the rest of the culture?  No!
Together we read Luke 8:1-3.  There, women are mentioned as Jesus' followers along with "the Twelve:"  Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna, and "many others."  Amazingly, it is the women who are identified as "the providers!"  Jesus is gathering a community that looks and acts very differently than people expected!
We were reminded that it was Mary Magdalene and other women who were the first witnesses to Jesus' resurrection, reporting to the men who were in hiding. Joanna is someone whose discipleship is risky, given her husband's employment with the king who opposes Jesus. In John's gospel, a Samaritan woman who is shunned by everyone becomes an evangelist for Jesus with her people.
Weren't there other Marys, someone asked?  Mary of Bethany, along with her sister Martha and brother Lazarus, were very close to Jesus.  When Jesus and his followers were in Jerusalem, they stayed at Mary and Martha's in Bethany (Poortown).  Of course, Jesus' mother was also named Mary; she was from Nazareth.
In Luke Chapter 10, Jesus sends out seventy others-- in pairs of two-- to prepare the way for Jesus' coming, sharing the good news and planting seeds for future Christian communities.
Are we the disciples of Jesus today? This is what we are considering.  Disciples are everyday people.  They are also people who answer Jesus' call when he says, "Follow me."  What does it mean for each of us, even in our teen years, to be "followers" of Jesus, "learners" who together are discovering a way of life molded by God's love.