Month: June 2019

We play a part in God’s work. This seems to be a theme in the divine curriculum for Suzanne just now. Ministry is not about God playing a part in our work, nor should prayer primarily be about asking God to bless what we think is a good idea. When we act like it is our efforts that matter, it suggests that we have an inflated view of our own importance in the cosmic scheme of things.

I have also been challenged by a couple of things I’ve read this past week. The first was an article by a secular anthropologist (ask me if you want the reference). He was critical of Christians working in a particular part of Asia in the past who didn’t take time and make an effort to understand a very complex Tibetan Buddhist worldview. The second thing I read which challenged me was a suggestion by blogger Jerry Jones. He says that when we’re trying to understand another culture and we learn something new, we should respond by asking questions rather than try to figure out even as we’re listening how to use what is said as a jumping point to what we want to communicate. The whole post is well worth reading, actually – you can find it here: http://www.thecultureblend.com/how-to-ask-great-cross-cultural-questions/

And now, with that background in mind, come with me to a language lesson yesterday.

A Language Lesson

We’re sitting on two chairs, the Tibetan word for chair,་རྐུབ་ཀྱག, literally meaning ‘to hold up one’s buttocks’. (Such things amuse me.) There is a small table for my books. Scattered around the room are a computer, printer, overflowing bookshelves, a coffee table, study materials … and a shrine.

There are lots of unlit candles on and in front of the shrine and today there is an offering of what looks like a jar of coconut oil. Prayer flags hang above it.

Today, along with the usual practical vocabulary, the textbook contains a Tibetan proverb. My teacher’s eyes light up. 

A Proverb

ཡ་རབས་མ་རབས་སྤྱ྄ོད་པས་ཤེས།

By observing virtues, good or bad, one can glimpse the character of another.

This isn’t a good translation, my teacher declares. But it is impossible to express its meaning in English without a background of Buddhist philosophy. 

Buddhism teaches that we are born ‘good’, he explains. Our nature is like a vast blue sky without a single cloud in sight. As we make our way through life and do bad things, we contaminate this purity. We can clean it up a bit, though, by earning merit. 

Nobody is entirely good or entirely bad, however, which is one problem my teacher sees with the English translation of this proverb. We’re all a work in progress. Not that we are even really us … our bodies are just a transient illusion. 

Nor can we judge one another, and this is another problem with the English translation of the proverb. We are all flawed. Only the Buddha is in a position to judge, because his perspective comes from one who is ultimately pure. Like a lotus flower which emerges from mud, so the Buddha has come through the murkiness that is life and emerged pure. 

My dream response

Even as I listen, one part of my brain is trying to formulate responses while another is struggling to keep up. What follows is how I dream of responding. 

The Bible teaches that we were created ‘good’, like the blue sky without a single cloud in it. But God’s enemy tempted our ancestors to rebel by crossing the limit God had instituted. And so we became flawed. Every generation since is cursed. 

The Bible teaches that nothing – no sacrifice, no penance, nothing – can undo the damage of sin. We are entirely dependent on God’s mercy for salvation. It’s not something we achieve, but something bestowed on us. 

As for our bodies being temporary, the Bible has something to say about that too. It’s a mystery how, but our weak and temporary bodies will one day be transformed into heavenly resurrection bodies if we are saved through Jesus.  We can read more about that in 1 Corinthians 15:35-58. 

As for judgement, Jesus talked about that too. He said that we cannot judge one another because we are flawed. (See Matthew 7:1-5.) Only Jesus has lived a perfect life, without blemish.

 My actual response

I try as best I can to focus on my teacher’s explanation, to prayerfully request the Holy Spirit’s wisdom and words, and to push my ‘clever responses’ (so I like to think) to a back burner of my brain. 

And then I glance at my watch. Class should have finished five minutes ago. 

In response to what I sense is the Spirit’s nudging, I point out the time. I’m not just being a wimp when I suggest that we wrap up. 

My teacher’s next words surprise me. “How about you sing me one of those Tibetan Christian songs I’ve been helping you learn before you go?” Never before has he asked me to actually sing. Usually we just go over the words and discuss the vocabulary.

I open the book to the song I’ve learnt most recently – one with a hauntingly beautiful Tibetan melody. I hear the patter of feet – my teacher’s wife is hurrying down the hallway. She stands in front of us with a broad smile as I stumble my way through a song in her language. It’s a very simple song, calling on all people on earth to praise Jehovah. 

And perhaps that is the best response I could give. This couple know about God, even though the concept of a Creator God is not part of their worldview.

That’s the bottom line. Jehovah exists – the pure one – the one who purifies us if only we throw ourselves on his mercy. He calls on us to recognise and praise him. What a privilege I have to sit in front of that shrine and do just that in stumbling Tibetan.

Homework

And that, my friends, was the story of the last ten minutes of my lesson yesterday. Now of course, I have to do a lot of homework. Much of it relates to language. But I also sensed God’s divine nudging to get this story down right away. I did that almost immediately in a voice-to-text note on my phone. And now I am writing it up in the form of a blog post.

Having been reminded again this past week that we participate with God in his work, and not the other way round, I hope that I will continue to act accordingly. I want to pay close attention both to the hospitable people I meet along the way as well as the one whose Spirit indwells me. I will keep learning to praise Jehovah in the language of the people from the mountaintops of Asia. And I will just be myself. That’s all I can do. That’s all God is asking of me. It’s his work, after all. 

I used to consider myself reasonably responsible in terms of creation care. I carry a keep cup for coffees on the road, everything recyclable goes into the correct bin and I spend extra on environmentally friendly tissues, paper towels and toilet paper rather than buy the cheaper alternatives. 

But all that fades into insignificance compared to what some others do. Last week I attended an inspirational evening focused on creation care*. It got me thinking … exploring Scripture … composting … shopping with awareness … and writing up this blog post. 

Rule and subdue

Right back in Genesis 1, man was given a mandate to ‘subdue’ the earth and to ‘have dominion over’ every living thing (Genesis 1:28 ESV). As God’s image-bearers, we care for creation. We don’t exploit it. But what struck me that evening, something which I had never noticed before, was the necessity of placing limits on that for which we care.

The next day, I sat on the porch in my little backyard with a modern Bible study tool as good as any which scholars centuries ago had at their fingertips … the iPhone. Noting the gangly roses in need of pruning and the weeds poking through the garden, not to mention the long grass, I opened BibleHub.com on the phone. Setting it to Genesis 1:28, I was able to see other ways the original Hebrew words had been translated. ‘Subdue’ and ‘rule’, ‘govern’ and ‘reign’, ‘bring creation under your control’ and ‘be master of creation’ – they all had a similar sense of man having a leadership role in creation, and, as such, imposing appropriate limits on creation.

Next I moved to the Hebrew terms for ‘rule’ and ‘have dominion’. Not being a Hebrew scholar, I clicked on the Strong’s Hebrew numbers to see how these terms were used in other parts of the Bible. I found a common idea of rule and dominion in the way that government leaders rule us common citizens, or as a victor rules a country it has taken. Within that is a sense of discipline, intended to keep that over which we rule within proper limits. 

Looking at the fat cat sitting by my feet, I gently but firmly told her, “It’s my job to care for you, Puss, so you are going on a diet.”  It will be hard. The cat spells ‘love’ like this: ‘F-O-O-D’. Next, I got up from the seat, slipped on gardening gloves and picked up the secateurs. If my roses are to enjoy exuberant growth next season, I must be prune them. The long grass can wait until a day when it hasn’t rained.

Caring for our environment 

If we are to ‘subdue’ and ‘have dominion’ over creation, we need to do so appropriately. We must not exploit creation for our own greed … our own wants … our own wealth. There are times when we need to step in, though, and keep things within appropriate limits, whether than be cane toads or blackberries or desertification … or household rubbish. 

Let me share a practical step I have taken since attending the creation care evening last week. It involves limitations on what goes where in my home. No, I haven’t become super tidy all of a sudden … I wish that were so. It’s more down-to-earth than that. 

It’s about the compost bin. 

I used to refrain from putting coffee grounds in it because I thought it would make the soil too acidic. And so I would put my coffee grounds in the rubbish bin. I hadn’t thought about the fact that when I send coffee grounds to landfill, they don’t get aerated nor do worms get to them. They don’t break down well. That’s not responsible creation care. 

So now I am putting both coffee grounds and shredded paper waste into my compost. Perhaps a corner of my backyard will be a little acidic. So be it. I will accept that limitation on my ‘right’ to have non-acidic non-alkaline compost. I wonder if the worms and slugs will get caffeine highs?

Don’t think that I am doing well, though. I have a long way to go in accepting limitations as I care for creation. As I cooked dinner last night, with eyes freshly opened to the importance of creation care, I was aghast at how much waste was involved. 

Putting together a tasty meal of chicken curry on rice, I used a green plastic tray and cling wrap (from the chicken thighs … chicken which was, incidentally, supposedly organic and free-range), a tin (from the coconut milk), a plastic tub (from the curry paste), plenty of vegetables (which are environmentally more-or-less okay – I take my own bag to a local vegetable shop) and a thick plastic bag (from the microwavable rice). That’s shocking! 

Caring for ourselves

Mankind was originally created from the soil, although with a special role and the breath of God in us. As creatures rather than the Creator, we need to be ‘ruled’ and ‘subdued’ too. When we work night and day, trying to be everything to everyone, eating fast rather than well, we are not living within the limits of our human-ness. Our actions suggest that we are trying to be God rather than God’s representatives. 

Just as I prune my roses and threaten to put the cat on a diet, so I must ‘rule’ and ‘dominate’ my own body. Taking a weekly day of rest, eating healthily, exercising appropriately, filling my mind with good stuff rather than rubbish – all this is part of living out my faith.

Parents are usually careful about what goes into a child’s mind and body, and ensure that they get adequate rest, exercise and relaxation. But it seems ‘selfish’ to do it for ourselves as adults.

It’s not selfish. It’s part of accepting our limitations, and of ruling and having dominion over ourselves. 

Caring for one another

Caring for others also means imposing limitations at times. This isn’t something that our society always likes to hear. 

As a community, we sometimes act like we are God rather than God’s representatives. There are times our society oversteps God-ordained limits in matters including, though not limited to, sexuality, the ‘right’ to choose life (before birth or as death approaches), unhealthy things we put in our minds (what we watch, read, listen to, online games, gambling etc), and food and beverage options promoted by big businesses.

As Christians, we must care for creation. It’s part of our Biblical mandate. And that means impacting our society, doing what we can to place healthy limits on our fellow humans. We don’t want to be old fuddy-duddies, but as far as we can, we need to be a voice in our workplaces, community groups, action groups and government. We need to agitate appropriately for what is right, good and healthy.

Where do we start? 

At home.

Since attending that inspirational evening on creation care last week I have imposed a few more limits on my garden, on my body, and continue to do what I can in society. The cat’s weight, however, remains a challenge.

And now, as I write, it is time for dinner … chicken fried rice … using up the leftover chicken and rice from yesterday, albeit it with all the plastic packaging. That is a challenge for another day. I will enjoy my meal in front of a favourite TV show. (I think ‘The Voice’ falls within the limits of what is healthy for my mind.) The cat will gaze at my bowl and beg, and I daresay I will succumb. I usually do when there is meat on the plate. I still have a long way to go in imposing limits on myself, my immediate environment and on the cat.

At least the compost bin is filling up. It’s a start. 

* The evening event on the topic of creation care to which I referred, Kingdom Gardeners, was put on by Interserve Australia and La Rocha. Don’t blame them for everything in the blog post, though. They just got me thinking.

It’s the end of semester and time to review. Revision is important for consolidation of learning. That’s what I tell my English language students. Their end-of-semester test is next Friday.

Saturday was, for me, a scheduled mini-retreat. It was a lovely day and I had a hankering for the beach. So I packed my journal, Bible and pen and headed to Mornington. Often a significant theme emerges when I take time like this, but this past weekend, it was more a review of lessons from the past four years. 

How do we know if God is speaking to us personally? We cannot categorically say ‘Thus says the Lord’ unless it is a direct quote from God’s Word. However, aware of the gentle nudges of God’s spirit within me, especially when I consciously stop and quieten my mind before God, I sometimes have a sixth sense of what he wants to communicate. It is nothing audible – nothing written – nothing black-and-white. 

That’s the disclaimer. Now let me share with you some lessons which I sensed God reviewed with me down on the Mornington Peninsula, near Melbourne, on Saturday. 

Walk in the light

“Walk in the light as he is in the light….” (1 John 1:7). I meditated long and hard on this verse by this same body of water about four years ago when I had just returned from Asia. I blogged about it then too*.

If you look up 1 John in your Bible, you will see that the context of this verse about walking in the light is being vulnerable about our weaknesses and sin rather than pretending to have it all together. John, the writer, urges us to admit our weaknesses and faults to God. Vulnerability is something I’ve practised plenty these past few years, with health hassles and related weaknesses.

Four years ago, I was challenged that my call was to ‘walk in the light’ rather than to go somewhere specific or be someone important. The work is God’s and not mine.

This past weekend, it seems that God had a slightly different application for me. I need to live well in the light of God, hiding nothing nor pretending to ‘have it all together’.

This was confirmed the next day.  A visiting speaker at my church preached on these words of Jesus:  “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). 

Our speaker pointed out that Jesus spoke those words to religious leaders, among others. He went on to explain that part of that call to ‘walk in the light’ is to call on the Spirit’s help to free us from habits and other things that enslave us.

 It’s not all about me, but I love it when ‘co-incidences’ such as this happen.

Time to play

I was prepared for a full day of deep and meaningful ponderings – pleasurable, yes, but not playful. However, that isn’t what happened.

Leaving the waterside for some shade and space to journal, I came across a live band on a street corner! It turns out that this weekend was the annual winter music festival in Mornington.

But I had serious work to do, so after ten minutes of soaking in the atmosphere and admiring the uninhibited dances of children in the crowd, I continued on my way.

Then I saw a movie theatre. A film I’d wanted to see and missed in my area (Red Joan – historical fiction) was playing. The next showing was about to start.  

A quick prayer and I was convinced. God was giving me a lovely gift of a day out. Who was I to say, “No thank you … my work is more important than your gift”?!

This reminded me of a lesson that I keep coming back to. ‘Ministry’ is not about me and my work. It’s about God and his work. He gives us the privilege of taking part in his work, yes, but ultimately it’s his work. 

And along the way, he blesses our socks off!

Shells

Shells have been a precious symbol to me for several years now. Their beauty, even when broken, reminds me of how God sees us. I wrote about that on another blog site a few years back*.

A year later, on a beach at Avoca (on the Central Coast of NSW), I admired shells which were firmly attached to rocks. Despite the battering of the ocean, the little creatures within those shells remained secure, not because of their own abilities, but because they clung to the immovable rock.

Here is a little haiku, written just today and inspired by the shells on rocks at Mornington:

Clinging to firm rocks 
Sea slugs in shells – weak but strong
In calm or tumult

Flight Feathers

Six months ago, flight feathers became a theme in my contemplations. I kept stumbling across them, whether in my backyard or when out walking. On a half-day retreat at Mt Dandenong (very near home), I tried to photograph a kookaburra but instead captured just his flight feathers as he took off. (That’s written up in an earlier blog post on this site.)

I was sitting quietly on a low wall on Saturday, trying to meditate on God as I watched the sun set over the bay. A seagull landed just a few feet from where I sat. I snapped a few shots on my phone camera, none of which turned out well. However, I did get reasonably clear pictures of its flight feathers and feet when it took off. I laughed to myself at the ‘bad’ photos that were special again because of the flight feathers.

Four years ago, a quote from a book jumped out at me (so it seemed) in quite significant circumstances. I have blogged about this before too*.

J.I Packer wrote, “One of the disciplines to which the Lord calls us is the willingness, from time to time, not to be used in significant ministry…. Imagine, now, a devoted and gifted Christian woman, whose ministry has been precious to her, finding that for quite a long period the Lord sidelines her so that her potential is not being used. …. The Lord is reminding her that her life does not depend on her finding that people need her…. Regarding her ministry, what matters is that she should be available to Him. Then He will decide when and how to put her to service again and she should leave that with Him.”  (J.I. Packer, 1994, Rediscovering Holiness pp199-200.) 

More seagulls swooped over the bay as the sun grew lower in the sky. Could it be that God was whispering to me, “It’s time to fly again”?  Is my period of being metaphorically ‘grounded’ coming to an end? Or was I just hearing what I wanted to hear?

Only time will tell. But it was surely no coincidence that my phone (which I had set to silent but was using as a camera) lit up right then with a significant message about planned travel in Asia later this year.

Summary

My retreat day felt like a review of the past four years. Beauty – leisure – shells – birds – the day held a healthy dose of each.

My takeaway message from the day was this:  God is on the throne. I don’t need to save the world. I just need to walk in the light, cling to the rock, and enjoy all that he has for me. And I wonder, I just wonder, if my ministry ‘usefulness’ is about to increase again. 

The review retreat day is done. I hope that the test, should there be one, is straightforward. 

(* Footnote:  I have referred a few times throughout to experiences which I wrote up in earlier blog posts on another site. That’s a blog which I kept throughout cancer treatment and which I hope to turn into a small book one day:  https://developingpassionatepatience.blogspot.com  )

It’s Dragon Boat Festival today! This Chinese holiday falls on the 5th day of the 5th month of the lunar calendar. Although most people in China enjoy special foods, a public holiday, and some watch exciting dragon boat races today, the origins of this holiday are sombre. The Dragon Boat Festival commemorates the tragic passing of an ancient patriotic poet, Qu Yuan. 

What does Dragon Boat Festival have to do with Christians? It’s a secular holiday, but there are points of connection with the gospel in a back-to-front sort of way. Let me explain. 

A good heart … a bad king

Qu Yuan, so the story goes, ardently loved his country. Even when he was misunderstood, doubted and exiled from the capital after trying to warn his king against an unwise political alliance, he still loved his country. 

This man lived in what is now part of China. His tragic story took place about three centuries before Jesus’ birth. That was the era when, much further west, Greeks ruled Israel and the Hebrew Scriptures were translated into the lingua franca of the day, Greek. 

Poetry was how Qu Yuan expressed his love and fears for his country. When it became apparent that his land was doomed, Qu Yuan drowned himself.

The Dragon Boat Festival is named such because local people went out in boats looking for his body.  

Tragic. 

Pathetic. 

Hopeless. 

Deceitful hearts … an all-seeing king

The God-above-time spoke the following words about 300 years before the day of the good-hearted Qu Yuan.

The heart is deceitful above all things
and beyond cure.
Who can understand it?
“I the Lord search the heart
and examine the mind,
to reward each person according to their conduct,
according to what their deeds deserve.”  (Jeremiah 17:9-10)

Wait. 

What? 

That’s not the stuff of modern injunctions to ‘Follow your good heart’. And yet it is God’s word. It seems that even the heart of the hard-done-by Qu Yuan was not pure. I know that my heart is far from pristine.

Language and Culture- an Aside

In English, we read in Jeremiah 17:10 that the Lord searches our hearts and examines our minds. 

In Chinese, we read that the Lord searches our hearts and examines our 肺腑 – literally lungs and internal organs, though metaphorically that means ‘the bottom of our hearts’.  

In Hebrew, we read that the Lord searches our hearts and examines our כְּלָי֑וֹת (kə·lā·yō·wṯ), which literally means kidneys, though metaphorically means minds. 

Hearts, minds, lungs, kidneys and any other parts of the body that represent what is truly ‘us’, the Lord knows it all. 

Comfort or Calamity?

Under the gaze of the holy One, who can stand? To the one who stands in his own strength and uprightness, this examination must surely end in calamity.

And yet, thankfully, the words about God examining our hearts and minds come in the broader context of Jeremiah 17. We learn there that the person who throws him or herself upon God’s mercy is preserved. 

God sees our hearts and accepts us, despite ourselves, when we trust in him. 

God sees us just as we are. No pretences are needed. False bravado is pointless. External sweetness and light won’t conceal internal negativity and knots. 

Not only that, but the Bible is full of precious promises about the transformation of our hearts and minds as we look to our Lord.

Hope

On this day, many people in Asia commemorate the patriotism of an ancient tragic character with a good heart. Despite his integrity, Qu Yuan was doubted and exiled by his beloved king. He died without hope. 

In contrast, modern Christians live as citizens of the kingdom of heaven. Our beloved king sees our confused hearts and accepts us just the same. We may well die, but we die with hope of a future resurrection, of imperishable spiritual bodies, and of pure hearts.  

There is still a battle waging, but ultimately, our king is victorious. Even now, he sees our hearts … our minds … our kidneys … our lungs … our organs … our all … and still he loves us and saves us. 

That’s worth celebrating! 

Change. It never stops. Is it possible that the rate of change is faster than ever these days? The internet, for example, has revolutionised many of our lives. Communications – written, spoken, face-to-face, one-to-one, in community and one to many – all this often happens over the internet now. Banking and payments, books, movies, TV shows, music to listen to, music notation to play, maps, notes, games, access to almost unlimited information, educational tools, coffee shop loyalty cards and more … all this is available on my phone wherever I have internet access. Also on my phone are the ever-watching eyes of big companies who want my business.

God, however, doesn’t change. That’s reassuring.

Our unchanging God is constantly at work in our ever-changing world, though. I’ve been reminded of late of the importance of keeping spiritually current as we participate in his work. Let me elaborate, referring to Mark 3:20-35 along the way. 

Pursuing Purity

I feel sorry for those teachers of the Law back in Jesus’ day. Jesus blasted them, and rightly so. But they tried so hard…….. I’m looking at the sorry tale recorded in Mark 3:22-30 as I write this blog post.

The people of first century Israel had learnt their lesson … finally. After centuries of repeatedly turning from God to idols, being divinely disciplined, eventually repenting and a remnant returning to God and to the land, they had finally got their act together, or so it seemed. No more idolatry. The Law of God was kept to the nth degree. The teachers of the Law held prestigious positions in society, reflecting the value that the people placed on their role as guardians of the faith. 

Then along came Jesus. “New wine in new wineskins,” he said (Mark 2:22). He “… went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. ‘The time has come,’ he said. ‘The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!’” (Mark 1:14b-15)  The people were mesmerised, exclaiming, “A new teaching – and with authority!” (Mark 1:20) Jesus evicted evil spirits, healed people, claimed to be divine in roundabout ways … and made enemies amongst the religious leaders of the day. 

That’s not the way God had worked in the past. Oh yes, Jesus had power. That was indisputable. But, the religious leaders surmised, it couldn’t be of God. This left them with the so-very-wrong conclusion that earned them Jesus’ scathing indictment: “… but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin” (Mark 3:29). 

Those religious leaders had become so caught up in their vital roles as preservers of the purity of God’s people that they had lost focus of the God they served.

What about us? Do I ever find myself so caught up in a God-given role that I lose focus of the God I serve? Do I ever miss being a part of what he is doing here and now because I am committed to preserving the way he did things in the past? 

I wonder, too, how these questions relate to brothers and sisters in a country I love in which Christian ministry is increasingly limited. Or to my role as a middle-aged woman with various limitations as opposed to the bouncy young woman who first visited that country 25 years ago.

One thing I do know is this: we need to keep spiritually current. May I keep my focus on my Lord, regularly taking time to put aside my own agenda and worship him, seeking him as each opportunity, threat or change of circumstance comes along. 

A Mother’s Heart

Oh Mary, dear Mary, how your heart must have throbbed the day your son – your special son – ignored you. It seems, even, that he disowned you that day. Ouch.

I’m thinking, of course, of the time that Jesus’ mother and brothers tried “… to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind’” (Mark 3:21).  Rather than go along with their well-meaning but oh-so-wrong intentions, Jesus identified those sitting around him that day as his mother and brothers. They were family, he said, and not his blood relatives waiting outside the door (Mark 3:34). 

Mothers know best, right? Not only that, but Mary was hand-picked by God to raise the Messiah. Mary knew God, and had a good track record of submitting to and participating in his work.

And yet, on this occasion, she lost focus. 

Mary was Jesus’ mother … but Jesus was Messiah. Mary was so focused on her God-given role that she lost focus of what matters … the work of her son, our Lord. 

How often do I focus on the role God has given me rather than God himself? I love my role and value my calling. I have a reasonable track record in my walk with God. That’s all well and good. But may living out that role never get in the way of focusing on my Lord. May it never be that my futile efforts to bring about what I think is best be out of line with what he is doing right here right now. 

Don’t worry. I’m not about to quit my role or anything. I’m just challenged to stay focused on him and be open to new ways he is working.

Devoted Disciples

“Then he (Jesus) looked at those seated in a circle round him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother’” (Mark 3:34-35). 

Who was seated around Jesus in that emotion-charged house, outside which Jesus’ mother and brothers waited, and inside which Teachers of the Law steamed with indignation at Jesus’ stunning rebuke?

Most likely, it was Jesus’ 12 disciples. In Mark’s gospel, we read of Jesus choosing them from amongst all those who followed him right before this scene in the house. (See Mark 3:13-19.) We read, “He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons” (Mark 3:14-15).

Oh, those were the heady early days of the devoted disciples’ ministry. That was the season for them to ‘be with him’. The years ahead would be challenging. Judas Iscariot would betray Jesus, though his remorse would be pathetic and tragic. Peter would deny him though he would be restored. Later, Peter would be led unwillingly to his death in a way which would glorify God. Interestingly, the only disciple who seems to have lived a long and relatively settled life (until exile near the end) is the very one to whom Jesus entrusted the care of his beloved mother. Ah … Mary … I’m so pleased. 

But all that was yet to come. At this stage in the tale, the twelve sat around Jesus watching, wondering, waiting…… And it was them that Jesus called family. Even, it must be noted, the one who would betray him. 

What about us? I don’t know what is ahead, but I do know that, as we do God’s will, Jesus calls us ‘family’. And that massively motivates me to spend time in worship and prayer, looking to him to show me what he is doing in this day and hour, and asking how he would have me work with him. 

Doing God’s Will

What does it mean to do the will of God? That is a topic for books rather than a paragraph at the tail end of a blog post. For now, let me just say that being still from time to time and looking to God for direction in the busyness of life is important.

The Teachers of the Law in Jesus’ day did things as they had always been done. And in so doing, they missed the coming of the very God they strove so ardently to serve.

Mary, mother of our Lord, was focused on her God-given mothering role. So much so that she unwittingly sought to stand in his way and keep him from his work.

The disciples, however, at this point in the story, were simply focused on Jesus, following him step-by-step in his work of preaching and powerful actions. And, that day, at least, they had it right. 

What about us?