The Twelve: St. Thaddaeus or St. Jude

St. Thaddaeus or St. Jude

Identity: Before we start to talk about the meaning of the name and life story, we need to identify who he really was. Modern scholarship (especially secular) make a big deal out of “confusion” with three lists of the apostles we have in the Gospels of Matthew (10:1-4), Mark (3:16-19), and Luke (6:13-16). Luke gives one more list in the Book of Acts (1:13). While Matthew and Mark talk about Thaddaeus, Luke mentions Judas the son of James in both of his books. Along with this John mentions Judas (not the Iscariot) as a part of the fellowship at the Last Supper (John 14:22). We also have the Letter of Jude – the last of the 7 General or Catholic Epistles. Therefore, if we believe that the Apostles and Gospel writers knew what they were talking about. We just need to assume that Judas, Jude, and Thaddaeus is the same person. This should not surprise us for we have multiple instances of people having more than one name – Simon being also called Peter would be a parade example.

Meaning of the name(s). Let us start with Thaddaeus. Depending on the origins it can mean “courageous heart” (if derived from Aramaic), or “gift of God” (if derived from Greek).

Judas – Greek form of Hebrew name Judah – means “praise the LORD.” It was the name of the fourth son of Jacob by Leah (Genesis 29:35). As you might remember Leah and Rachel got into to a racing competition for the love of their husband. Bible simply states that Jacob loved Rachel – it was the love from the first sight, and he was ready to serve seven years for her (Genesis 29:20). Leah was trying to gain Jacob's love by bearing him sons. First came Reuben, then Simon, then Levi – every time she hoped and hoped... Then Judah was born, and she praised the LORD. She finally can to the ultimate type of relationship – relationship with God. She stopped bearing.

Story: Part of the Twelve. We don't have many stories for Judas (Jude), but the fact that Lord Jesus Christ selected him to be one of the Twelve means something. What were the criteria? Apart from personal assessment of Jesus, St. Luke left us the list of features the apostles paid attention to when they replaced the traitor. In the first chapter of the Book of Acts the apostles are looking for someone else to be “on the team.” Let's see what they considered right to be qualified. There are two basic conditions: (1) be with the group from the very beginning (from the baptism of/by John [Baptizer]) (2) until the day of Jesus's ascension. Covering the time-span of the ministry of Jesus. But within this the apostle should be a witness of resurrection. For sure, when Jesus selected the Twelve, they didn't have the resurrection yet. But what we can certainly know is he was with the disciples from the time of Jesus being baptized by John. This means that he heard the voice from heaven: This is my beloved Son, in Whom I'm well pleased (Mark 1:10-11).

Conversation at the Last Supper. We also see Judas as an active participant at the Last Supper (John 14:22). It is very interesting that Judas listens very carefully, takes his time to process a very rich “spiritual food” of Jesus' sermon, and then asks the question. His question related to what the Lord said a couple sentences prior. But he didn't want to leave it alone, having “I'll ask later” attitude. And Jesus response to his question, taking him very seriously. The distinction between the disciples and the world is maintained by faith through the reception of the word, the word that came through the Son from the Father. When the disciples will receive the word and follow Jesus' commands, the love of Jesus will be manifested among the disciples – that's how the world will know about the Savior (John 13:34-35). This was the driving force for Jude's ministry – be it writing his Letter or preaching of the Gospel to unknown lands (Armenia included).

The Letter of Jude was written around 60AD. The apostle encourages the church not giving in to the evils of the world as it tries to penetrate the church and corrupt the church from within. But imminent judgment on the ungodly IS coming. Though it looks like the wicked prevail (at times and places), there is a greater judgment that is ultimately coming to the world (cp. Ps. 73).

As long as the Church is present on earth, the forces of evil will attack her from the outside and try their best to penetrate corrupting from the inside. The Letter of Jude is very helpful with the identification of these attempts, encouraging the “beloved” to hold fast to faith once delivered to the saints. Also, regardless of the difficulty and severity of the spiritual and life combat, we eagerly await the Second Coming of Christ which will complete the ultimate deliverance.

Tradition: Commemoration date for Jude and Simon (the Zealot, we'll talk about him next week) is October 28. Traditionally, the symbols for St. Jude is ship – for traveled extensively – or a spear – reflecting of the record of St. Michael's spiritual engagement with the devil.

Prayer: Almighty God, You chose Your servants Simon and Jude to be numbered among the glorious company of the apostles. As they were faithful and zealous in their mission, so may we with ardent devotion make known the love and mercy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

The Twelve: St. James, the Minor

St. James, the Minor

Meaning of the name: James is actually Jacob – don't ask me why the translators changed it. Jacob means “holder of the heel” or “supplanter.”

Mark (2:14) mentions that the tax collector's name is Levi, the son of Alphaeus. Comparing it with Matthew 9:9, makes it possible that Matthew (the Levi) and James were brothers. But, unlike James and John, they are not put together. This might mean that the connection to Jesus was stronger that the family ties.

A possible explanation to this might be a fact of rejection of Matthew's “vocation.” In those days the tax-collector was employed by Roman occupational government. No wonder that St. Luke, giving his list of the Twelve, places James together with Simon the Zealot (an extremist terrorist organization, trying to subvert or get rid of the Roman rule). It is possible that James was way closer with Simon in his political views than with his own brother. There are at least two lessons to learn here. First, we do not have a record of a single conflict between the brothers, regardless of the reason of their estrangement. Second, Jesus is the Lord for those who had or have good family life, and those whose family life is not the best.

Life story: We don't have much information about the apostle. He is present in all of the lists of the Twelve. This means that he was part of the first apostolic instruction and “deployment” (Matthew 10).

It also means that he was present at the calming of the storm (Mark 4:35-41) and feeding of 5000 (Mark 6:30-44). He was actively engaged in the life of Jesus' community. The apostles talked to one another after the storm about the exhibition of Christ' power. To participate in this conversation one need to know Psalm 107: 23-32. Which shows the depth of James' knowledge and reverence of the Scriptures.

His constant presence among the Twelve means his partaking of the Last Supper. Unlike Peter, who argued with Jesus about washing of the feet and then about the power to withstand the temptations (we know it didn't end well), James is a deep thinker, who takes the offered gifts contemplating the amazing measure of the love and care of the Lord toward fallen humanity.

This love led him to become a leader of Jerusalem church at the time of the First Jerusalem counsel (Acts 15), as well as St. Paul's return from the Third Mission trip (Acts 21). The reason we know it should him is the fact that James the brother of John was killed by Herod (Agrippa) a few years earlier to please the Jewish leadership of the capital (Acts 12:1-2).

This makes even more possible that he is the author of the Letter of James. For the letter addresses biblical principles of the Christian community in a hostile environment.

The epistle is important to us for at least three reasons. It sets the patterns of order in the congregation – not quarrelling, but relying on the wisdom from above, all matters should be solved in peace and reason (3:17). Second, the orderly life also can be reflected in the way the church treats the powerful figures of this world. James/Jacob argues for avoiding partiality. Which leads to the third lesson of the Epistle. The rich will assault the church, therefore, in the light of forthcoming tribulations, we need to learn and train ourselves to set aside zealotry, but practice patience in sufferings, confessing our sins, and calling back the wanderers.

Prayer: May 1, St. Phillip and St. James.

Almighty God, Your Son revealed Himself to Philip and James, and gave them the knowledge of everlasting life. Grant us perfectly to know Your Son, Jesus Christ, to be the way, the truth, and the life, and steadfastly to walk in the way that leads to eternal life; through Jesus Christ, out Lord, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, not and forever. Amen.

Gospel of John: First Passover

First Passover

text: John 2:13-25

Structure:

A. 2:13, Passover at Jerusalem

  B. 2:14-16, Jesus is in the Temple

    C. 2:17, Disciples remembered

  B'. 2:18-21, Jesus talks about the Temple

    C'. 2:22, Disciples remembered

A'. 2:23-25, Passover at Jerusalem

Comments: The Gospel of John is structured around three Passovers. First one is here, in chapter 2. The second one is a Passover-related – chapter 6. And thirst one is the longest of Gospel's story, John 12 – 20. There are four main themes in the first Passover: Passover itself, the Temple, signs of Jesus, and people coming to faith.

Passover of the Jews. The original Passover happened about 1400 years prior. Since then the Feast was a commemoration of the Exodus (remembering the past) and celebration of the work of God in the present. Even secular master minds use this paradigm – Isaac Asimov's short story “Anniversary” (1959) sets the plot in a house where three friends “recreate” the events of their rescue, living through them year after year as a symbolic ritual. The Sons of Israel supposed to live through the events of the first Passover as one of the three “required” feasts to attend (Deuteronomy 16:16-17).

Temple. This is the Second Temple. The first one – as everyone knows was built by king Solomon. And it was destroyed in the time of Jeremiah (587 BC). The Second Temple was built after the exile (see Books of Ezra and Nehemiah) and really beautified and expanded by king Herod (at least something good done by him). He ended up creating a large complex about 36 acres. Pilgrims from the whole world would come there. Therefore, the people who provided the possibility for fitting sacrificial animals were a blessing to worshiping community. But (!) as usual, people, being very creative in perverting the God's gifts, subverted the whole purpose of the sacrificial system into the money flowing enterprise.

Again, the problem was not with the money per se, the problem was that they would sell the animals in the sanctuary. What is the problem with this? Two things. People were more concerned with the getting the right/perfect lamb or ox than the meaning and reason for these sacrifices.

Also, the altar of the LORD WAS a place of exchange – people confessed their sins, getting absolution in return. But (!) having a trading outpost in the sanctuary created a sense of even exchange – I paid money, got an animal, then got my blessings. This procedure clouded the sense of grace that was engraved into the system. That's why Jesus rebukes them “do not make my Father's house a house of trade” (John 2:16).

Signs of Jesus. The theme of signs began in the previous passage (the first sign – turning water into wine in Cana of Galilee, John 2:1-12). Surprisingly, the Jews (the leadership of the community) were not upset with Jesus, they were looking for an explanation (John 2:18). They took His cleansing right – as a symbolic act. Now, can Jesus give them an explanation? Yes, He can, and He did. But – as we say – it went over their heads. It went over the heads of the Jews, but also went over the heads of the disciples. That's why St. John points out that the disciples remembered His phrase when they witnessed the resurrection of Jesus (John 2:22).

So, what was the meaning of His “sign”? Destruction of the Temple corresponds to the Temple's restoration in three days (John 2:19). Just on the surface, there are at least three aspects that should be taken into an account. First, when Jews emotionally respond to Christ statement, they bring up the factor of 46 years of previous construction project activities. They are not ready to see in the Temple anything but stones, furniture, etc. Jesus talks about [the Temple of] His body (John 2:21). The divine interpretation of His words points to two other aspects. First of all, His bodily resurrection – that's what disciples remembered. But remembrance in the Bible is the verb of action – making steps based on what was remembered. Therefore, third aspect is formation of the Temple of Jesus or Body of Christ – the Church.

People coming to faith. These bold actions (words included) brought many people to faith. Yet, Jesus didn't trust them. He knew their nature... even His disciples left Jesus at the Garden of Gethsemane, and the denial of Peter is a factor for an interpretation of this phrase. Also, they believed seeing His glorious actions. They did not witness the trial, flogging, and crucifixion yet... again, even His disciples did not interpreted the empty tomb right. At best, they were puzzled... Therefore, the fact of Jesus being the Christ is not based on the testimony of man – His actions, words, and testimony of the Father and the Holy Spirit are the formative reasons for our faith. 

The Twelve: St. Philip

St. Philip

Meaning of the name: Philip is a Greek name. It comes from two words: phileo – “to love” or “to be fond of” or “to be friend of” (Philadelphia – Brotherly Love), and hippos – “horse.” Therefore, a person, who is fond of horses. The name got historical significance after Philip II – ruler of Macedon (northern part of modern Greece), father of Alexander the Great. I am not sure that the horse plays any role in the life of Philip, but the fact that he has Greek name (along with Andrew) will be an important fact duting the Triumphant Entry of Jesus to Jerusalem.

Life story: In all of the lists of apostles Philip always has 5^th place (Matthew 10:1-4; Mark 3:13-19; Luke 6:12-16). First, the list has the triumvirate of Peter, James, and John. Then Andrew (we talked about him first, for he was called first). Then – always – Philip. Jesus picked the Twelve out of many disciples. Some have more stories – some have less, but each of them has a special place in the ranks of His followers.

The Twelve: St. Peter

St. Peter

Meaning of his name: At his birth he got the name Shimon, which literally means “the one who was heard.” To some extend it is a reflection on the suffering of matriarch Leah who said “[God has] heard...” when she conceived and bore the second boy (Genesis 29:33). The apostle was named after the forefather – one of the sons of Jacob (which begs a question, maybe Andrew was the first and Simon – the second).

There is a famous passage (Matthew 16:18) that people identify as a moment when the apostle was renamed. (Close but no cigar). Actually, he was called Simon Peter prior to his confession, and after. But Jesus changed Simon's name – when the LORD called him as a disciple (John 1:41-42). Peter is a Greek word for “Rock” or a “jewel.”

Life story: The New Testament has many stories about St. Peter. I am not going to talk about his denial of Jesus, or cutting of an ear of the High priest servant, or multiple times in the prison, or conflict with St. Paul. We will pick a few of the most known ones to paint a picture of the apostle.

The Twelve: St. Andrew

St. Andrew

Meaning of the name: Let me begin with a quote from Origen of Alexandria – Church father of III century AD: a name is a designation that sums up and describes the particular character of the one named (ACCS NT, II:41).

Andrew means manly, brave. He had to be brave to switch allegiance from John the Baptizer to the One John was pointing to. He had to be brave to invite his brother. Also, his name is Greek, unlike Simon. This is an indicator that Jesus' mission has a worldwide direction from the very beginning.

Life Story: He was born in Bethsaida, Galilee (John 1:44). When Jesus called him, he lived in the same house with Simon' (Peter) family [note that Simon mentioned first] (Mark 1:29). According to the Gospel of John, he actually was called the first. Then he invited Simon, and then the rest of the disciples joined the band (John 1:37-42).

Gospel of Mark: The True Family

 True Family: Disciples and Immediate Family

Text: 3:7-35

Comments:

1. 3:7-12, Leaving the great crowd behind. Beginning from this point Jesus will concentrate His effort on His disciples. We used to think that He was available to anyone at any giving moment. Looks like Mark’s records identify the limits on Savior’s time with the crowds. On one hand, we see that all who had diseases were trying to touch Him (v. 10); on the other hand, Jesus ordered His disciples to get the boat ready (v. 9) – sounds like a story from a spy or detective movie. This creates a contrast or juxtaposition between His fame that covers a wide range of territories: Galilee [North] – for sure, He was raised there, that’s where the first miracle appeared; Judea and Jerusalem [Center] – people from the capital and capital region: that’s a pleasant surprise; Idumea [South] – that’s the country of Herod’s origine: a real surprise; looks like the real people recognized who is the real King of the Jews; beyond the Jordan [East] – He re-unites the 12 tribes, like no one before, cp. Numbers 32 and Joshua 22;10-35; and [the final ones on the list] Tyre and Sidon [West] – this is the lands that provided the cypress trees for the Temple building project. Now, they send people to acknowledge Messiah.            

2. 3:13-19, Selection of 12 apostles. Three things: (1) He calls them to the mountain and on the mountain; (2) the list of names; (3) the purpose of calling them or apostleship. So, the first. Notice the order: He goes to the mountain, then calls the ones He desires, they come. This is important in at least two aspects – Jesus reveals Himself as the LORD, as YHWH (once more). It is obvious (for example) from the title of the Book of Leviticus. Va-yikra – and He called (to Moses). Second, He is in charge, He calls, as later we will see the purpose of the call.

Names: We have 3+8+1 structure: Simon (comment on his name change), James and John (John is identified by his brother – interesting, right?), they are called brothers of Thunder. Three main guys Jesus will involve in His ministry, see Mark 9:2-8. Even though we know that Andrew is the brother of Simon, in Markian account he is detached from the higher leadership, from the brother… He is in the same list as the 8: Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alpheus, Thaddaeus, and Simon the Zealot. The final guy – Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Him.       

The purpose (v. 14-15): so He can send them – they represent Him, like ambassadors, they don’t “play” on their own accord. They will be sent out to preach and have authority over demons – just like Jesus. Cp. John 20:21-23.      

3. 3:20-21, Family thinks He is off. Knowing that James (the brother of the LORD) converted (apparently, after resurrection 1 Corinthians 15:7), it’s interesting to see that initially all the members of the family (including the Mother) thought that He was mad… Overall, the passage is too complicated…  

4. 3:22-30, Scribes are accusing Him being demon possessed

There is an interesting structure to the passage:

vv. 22-30 overall:	Block b., 23-27
a. 3:22, Beelzebul   b. 3:23-27, separation of the kingdom and the house   b’. 3:28-29, the ultimate sin a’. 3:30, unclean spirit	a. 23, satan   b. 24, kingdom     c. 25, house a’. 26, satan     c’. 27, house

Main idea – unity within the house/home. See how the word is used. Therefore, the ultimate sin is an attempt to separate the work and persons of the Holy Trinity.   

5. 3:31-35, The true family. Note, that the Mother and brothers (who came to seize Him) are outside. Same as the Older Brother in the Prodigal Son parable (Luke 15:11-31). Jesus identifies his mother and brothers (v. 34) as the ones who do the will of God (v. 35). This is can be a strong argument for the authorship of Epistle of James being James, the brother of Jesus (who at this point stood outside but heard it). He insists that it is not a repetition of creed that saves, but creed realized in the works of sanctification (James 2:14-26). 

1 Timothy: on Christology

1 Timothy on Christology

1. Creedal confession, 3:16. Let us begin with the fundamentals. St. Paul wants to come to Timothy. Yet, preparing the younger pastor for a possible delay, he provides the confessional statement – what should the Church know about godliness. Before we go into text itself, let’s touch on two words: confession and mystery.   

Confession – Greek homologeon, means speaking together out loud. This is what the church should say as a statement of faith. This is what we believe – it should not be changed, adjusted, or improved. Later confessions: Apostle’s creed, Nicaean creed etc. used the very same form – a collection of short statements revealing the elements of doctrinal teaching about God, Christ, Holy Spirit, or Church. We repeat it TOGETHER every Sunday.

The word Mystery reflects the revelatory aspect of our faith. It is given to us, given from above. Therefore, we can recite it, we can study it, we can proclaim it. But we never will come to the full understanding of Who God is, and What exactly happened on the Cross, in the Tomb, and on Resurrection Sunday morning. Both Old and New Testament speak of the mystery – not magic, but mystery – something beyond our understanding (Proverbs 25:2, Psalm 131:1).           

Confession proper:

1. God (!) manifested in the flesh

2. Justified in the Spirit

3. Seen by the angels

4. Preached in/among the nations

5. Believed in the World/Cosmos

6. Taken up/received in glory.

2. Global function of the Christ, 2:3-7. Christ is the Savior of the world. All people are justified and should come to the knowledge of (this) truth. There is a need to differentiate between General and personal Justification. The difference is obviously seen in 1 Timothy 4:10 and 1 John 2:1-2. This passage talks about salvation and justification in a general way – what Jesus accomplished for the fate of the world on the Cross. Note the distinction of to be saved and to know. True knowledge follows salvation. Same as teaching follows baptism – Matthew 28:18-20. These elements of godliness should not be separated, but knowledge doesn’t HAVE TO precede salvation. That’s why we baptize infants – to be saved (1 Peter 3:21, AC V:1-2).      

3. Function of Christ on the personal level, 1:12-17. Regarding personal aspect of Justification, we can see St. Paul’s own example. He describes his actions toward the Church before his conversion as blasphemy etc. (v. 13). His resistance was conquered by the grace of our LORD, providing the faith and love in Christ Jesus. The apostle goes from general to personal – the task for Messiah is “to save the sinners, of whom I am the foremost” (v. 15). Knowing that people like Saul (former name of St. Paul) can be saved, gives us example of God’s patience and encourages us to pray for our “friends” who don’t know about salvation they can enjoy (v. 16).     

4. Christology is complete in training others in godliness, 4:6-11. Let me start with an example of Old Testament saint, Ezra (7:10): three steps – (1) he recognition of the WORD, given to the world; (2) personal “conversion” by studying and doing; (3) teaching others. St. Paul approaches teaching of Timothy in a similar way. We’ve talked about the first two, here is the third: command and teach these things (v. 11). 

Advent Readings: Luke 11

Luke 11

The chapter is part of a larger portion. Two parts of the central part of the block are dedicated (d) to the Lord’s prayer and prayer in general and (d’) to teaching on an unclean spirit. Many words have been said and written about prayer life. Jesus gives an exemplary prayer and a lesson on persistence in prayer.

In a parallel passage we see Jesus’ exorcism and teaching on the unclean spirits. The main lesson for today is persistence in the life of sanctification. When unclean spirit is cast out of life of a child of God through the Word and/or Sacrament of Baptism, the life of discipleship assumes a progress. It doesn’t mean that we constantly will go uphill only. For sure, there will be setbacks, but a Christian should keep his house filled with Holy Spirit to withstand attacks of the evil ones.

I am not talking about some kinda mystical non-biblical experiences. There are four main exercises any Christian should repeat on a regular basis. The Book of Acts 2:42 describes the regular life of a believer, following a four aspects pattern: being in the Word (teaching of the apostles), in fellowship with other believers, a regular participation in the Sacrament of the Altar (breaking of the bread), and in prayers.

As Jesus was teaching on the unclean spirits, a women raised a voice with a glorification of a mother who raised Him. In stead of concentrating on His family, He points out the true blessing: “Blessed rather are those who hear the Word of God and keep it!” (Lk. 11:28). Assuming Jesus was speaking with His disciples and the crowd in Judea on Hebrew or Aramean, the root shamar – to keep means not only keeping or observance, but also a guarding. We are encouraged by Jesus Himself to defend a purity of the Word proclaimed and practiced in our churches, in our homes, and in our lives. 

Advent Readings: Luke 7

Luke 7

One of the most controversial passages in the whole Gospel is the sending of the messengers by John the Baptizer. He sends them with a question: “are you the one? Or should we wait for another?” We know that he jumped in the womb of Elizabeth, he was the one who pointed to Jesus saying: “This is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world,” he was the one who baptized Jesus and saw the dove descending on the Messiah… There are so many facts describing faithfulness of John.

Then why did he send his disciples with the question. I believe we have one of the most glorious examples of a disciple promoting the Master, the LORD. John sent his followers to see for themselves Who is in front of them. The One who would help the blind to receive sight, the lame to walk, who cleansed the lepers, and deaf received their hearing, death were raised up and the good news was preached to the poor [of spirit] (Lk. 7:22). John tells them to ask the question from the first person: “should WE wait another?” And the answer is no, you shouldn’t for “blessed is the one who is not offended by me” (Lk. 7:23).

Even in prison, even fighting for life, even under pressure St. John the Baptizer points everyone to Jesus the Messiah. Not to himself, not appointing the successor from among his followers, none of that. Living or dying he completes his task – helping the world to recognize and follow the One who came to save the world. 

LIFE of DISCIPLESHIP

Life of discipleship

We are at a regular time of the Church year. Regular time might sound like a boring idea – non-eventful, every Sunday our beautiful Zion altar is covered with green, many familiar faces left for their vacation places… On the other hand, it is a good time to think about the walk in Christ or life of the discipleship (Col. 2:6-7). When you read the Bible, you do not find a verse about napping in Christ or – take an another extreme – running in Christ. The discipleship is a walk in Christ – steady, sometimes non-eventful, sometimes with no familiar face around or even alone…

When you come to our Fellowship Hall, you’ll find a passage from the Book of Acts 2:42 on the back wall of the stage: and they devoted themselves to the apostle’s teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the praying. “They” to be the members of the First Messianic congregation in Jerusalem – Jewish believers who recognized Jesus as the promised Christ, the foretold Messiah. They formed the community being moved by the Holy Spirit, for their hearts were pierced when St. Peter told them that the Messiah was killed because of their sins. Actually, he was more poignant: Let the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God made Him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified (Acts 2:36). First congregation was built on this very message: every one of them and every one of us was a reason for the crucifixion, but God in Him won the battle with the death and devil, resurrecting Jesus, and reconciling the whole world to Himself. Whole world! Every one of us!   

This happened about 2000 years ago miles and miles away from our beloved Zion Lutheran church. How the Good News of Jesus was able to make it to the Central Coast? The answer is both simple and difficult. The difficult part is discussed in the books on the Church History – thousands upon thousands of names, places, and dates can and should be remembered, faith heroes honored (not worshiped), and great ideas that shaped our theology and practice commemorated. The simple option sounds like this: daily, weekly, monthly, every year in every century the Church of Christ continued in the same manner. They were studying the Holy Scriptures, meeting with one another, partaking in the sacrament at the Table of the LORD, and spending time in prayer (both communal and private).

The thing is – the reach of Good News to the Central Coast is not a matter of milage only, it is a generational challenge – I’ll repeat myself, 2000 years. So, the life of the discipleship is a life of acquiring deep Biblical convictions, practicing them in daily life, teaching them to your children and to your children’s children or – as psalmist put it – “from generation to generation” (Ps. 78:6), and also sharing these convictions with others.

Therefore, there are three basic challenges to godly discipleship. First, a church can stop sharing the Good News with others, living comfortably as a good family of believers. The second one, is stopping to teach our children. And the third one, going through gestures and motions with no reflection on what the deep conviction of forgiveness is about.

Life at Zion IS a life of overcoming these challenges – we share the love of Jesus distributing the gifts provided via Harvest Bag, Zion Preschool should become a center of godliness. LWML is reaching out to organizations like Fort Hope that look for the lost and/or abandoned. Our Sunday School is full of laughing, singing, and studying children of our families. And we have many opportunities for adults to dive into the Word, enjoy the Fellowship and Communion of the Saints. Recently, the Bord of Elders decided to begin a prayer service – every Wednesday at 11:30. We will hold them in the sanctuary, but if you are unable to attend – join us wherever you are, praying to the needs of the church, giving thanks for the outpouring of His love in our lives, and praising His holy name, giving glory to God, creator, redeemer, and provider. 

Gospel of Mark chapters 2 and 3

Gospel of Mark 2 and 3

Sometime ago I wrote about a possibly of 7 days of creation pattern in the Gospel of Mark chapter 1. Here are some thoughts on structure of the next block of the narrative – chapters 2-3.