Jesus knows how you feel!

(In some parts of the world, today is Corpus Christi feast. If so, use last Thursday's food for thought)

Mark 3:20-35


When Jesus returned to the house where he was staying, the crowds began to gather again, and soon it was so full of visitors that he couldn’t even find time to eat. When his friends heard what was happening, they came to try to take him home with them. “He’s out of his mind,” they said. But the Jewish teachers of religion who had arrived from Jerusalem said, “His trouble is that he’s possessed by Satan, king of demons. That’s why demons obey him.” Jesus summoned these men and asked them (using proverbs they all understood), “How can Satan cast out Satan? A kingdom divided against itself will collapse. A home filled with strife and division destroys itself. And if Satan is fighting against himself, how can he accomplish anything? He would never survive. Satan must be bound before his demons are cast out, just as a strong man must be tied up before his house can be ransacked and his property robbed. “I solemnly declare that any sin of man can be forgiven, even blasphemy against me; but blasphemy against the Holy Spirit can never be forgiven. It is an eternal sin.” He told them this because they were saying he did his miracles by Satan’s power instead of acknowledging it was by the Holy Spirit’s power. Now his mother and brothers arrived at the crowded house where he was teaching, and they sent word for him to come out and talk with them. “Your mother and brothers are outside and want to see you,” he was told. He replied, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” Looking at those around him he said, “These are my mother and brothers! Anyone who does God’s will is my brother, and my sister, and my mother.”

Food for thought!

There is a day in the life of Jesus that you and me need to know about. Aside from the Crucifixion, it is probably the most difficult day of his life. It was a day of roaring sequence of bad events. It all started as soon as he came home for a long deserved rest. But instead of rest, the crowds pressed. The people demanded. The enemies accused. The relatives doubted. All in one day.

Life can go from calm to chaos in a matter of moments. No warnings. No announcements. No preparation. The gospel says, "When he returned to the house where he was staying, the crowds began to gather again, and soon it was so full of visitors that he couldn’t even find time to eat. When his friends heard what was happening, they came to try to take him home with them. “He’s out of his mind,” they said. But the Jewish teachers of religion who had arrived from Jerusalem said, “His trouble is that he’s possessed by Satan, king of demons. That’s why demons obey him.” Then his mother and brothers arrived at the crowded house where he was teaching, and they sent word for him to come out and talk with them.

The demands of the crowds, the friends consider him out of his mind, the Jewish teachers of religion take him to be possessed by Satan, and his own mother and brothers want him to stop whatever he is doing and go home. Whatever you call it, call it real. Call it a day in which Jesus experiences more stress than he will any other day of his life — aside from his crucifixion.

If you’ve ever had a day in which you’ve been suffocating from your workplace's demands, a day you have been misunderstood by the people you try your best to help, a day you have been misunderstood even by your family, relatives and friends, a day you wonder if God in heaven can relate to you on earth, then read and reread today's gospel about this pressure-packed day in the life of Christ. And take heart. Jesus knows how you feel. He was labeled to be out mind, to be an agent of Satan, to be crazy. And probably you too have been labeled many things. Take courage.

Today's food for thought is that Jesus knows how you feel, when you're accused, when you're misunderstood, when your world goes from calm to chaos. So whenever your life seem to fall apart, go to him and let him comfort you. (Hebrews 4:16) "So let us come boldly to the very throne of God and stay there to receive his mercy and to find grace to help us in our times of need."

She has given more than any of them!

Mark 12:41-44

41 Jesus sat down near the collection box in the Temple and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Many rich people put in large amounts. 42 Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins. 43 Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions. 44 For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on.”

Food for thought!

The story has many lessons, for both the rich and the poor, for both men and women, for both giving and getting. First, the gospel says "Jesus sat down near the collection box in the Temple and watched as the crowds dropped in their money." This means what, if not that Jesus cares about our giving? This is evident from the fact that Jesus was observing the people casting their money into the treasury. He was watching them as they gave. How many believe that Jesus still watches the people as they give? That he watches us as we pray? That he watches us as we give and get? The first lesson is, therefore, that JESUS WATCHES!

The second lesson is that no one is too poor to give, just as no one is too rich to get. No one should say that I am too poor to give. No, you are not. You may not have money, like the widow, but you have the time, the health and may be the wealth. Someone once said, “Those who think they have nothing to give should remember that they can always give themselves, and that they can always render some kind of service even if it be nothing more than a few words of cheer.” The gift of ourself, our time, and energy may often be one of the most important and wonderful things we can give.

The third lesson is that the best gift is not your money or your dollars; the best gift you can give is YOU! The Lord prefers you to your gift. And I am sure your spouse, your friend, your children prefer you to your other gifts. The best gift you can ever give to your spouse is not money, is not material things; it is YOU, your heart, not your wealth. Many of us want love and companionship and forgiveness and understanding, but it is a law of life that we must first be loving and friendly and forgiving and understandind; if the approach is good, the response is good; if it is bad, the response is bad. If you shout at people, people will shout at you; if you're rude to others, they'll be rude to you. So the third lesson is that YOU'RE TREATED THE WAY YOU TREAT OTHERS.

The fourth lesson is that real giving must be sacrificial. The amount of the gift never matters so much as its cost to the giver, not the size of the gift, but the size of the giver; the attitude of the giver is more important than the gift itself. The manner of giving is worth more than the gift.

Real giving has a certain recklessness in it. The woman might have kept one coin. It would not have been much but it would have been something, yet she gave everything she had. There is a great symbolic truth here. It is our tragedy that there is so often some part of our lives, some part of our activities, some part of ourselves which we do not give to Christ. Somehow there is nearly always something we hold back. We rarely make the final sacrifice and the final surrender.

It is a strange and lovely thing that the person whom the New Testament and Jesus hand down to history as a pattern and example of generosity was a person who gave a gift of, not a million dollars, but half a penny. We may feel that we have not much in the way of material gifts or personal gifts to give to Christ, but, if we put all that we have and are at his disposal, he can do things with it and with us that are beyond our imaginings.

The law of giving and receiving also asks us to be good receivers. As we give of ourselves, our time and resources, our positive attitudes and loving thoughts and actions, it is also important to be able to receive the gifts of others in a graceful way. Everyone truly loves to give, and there are times when we are being of service by graciously receiving what another would give us—when we find a way to say, “Thank you, I accept your thoughtful gift.”

President John F. Kennedy advised Americans, ”Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” And Viktor Frankl nored, "Ask not what you can expect from life; ask what life expects from you."

The crowd listened to Jesus with great interest!

Mark 12:35-37


Later, as Jesus was teaching the people in the Temple area, he asked them this question: “Why do your religious teachers claim that the Messiah must be a descendant of King David? For David himself said—and the Holy Spirit was speaking through him when he said it—‘God said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.’ Since David called him his Lord, how can he be his son?” This sort of reasoning delighted the crowd and they listened to him with great interest.

Food for Thought!

Today's words of Jesus were spoken on the Tuesday of the Holy Week. Jesus is making his way to the cross to die. As he approaches the end, his enemies intensify their attack on his person.  These people (the scribes, the Pharisees and the Sadducees) are busy looking for a way to discredit Jesus in the eyes of the people. Now they're discrediting Jesus by saying that he's just a son of David,  thus negating his divinity. Jesus is just a man, they argue. Their effort is designed to trap Jesus and cause him to lose his influence with the people. Unfortunately, the more they try to discredit Jesus the more fame he gets from the people. The gospel says that Jesus delighted the crowd and they listened to him with great interest.

Did you know that the more you hate someone the more you turn him into your hero, thinking of him all the time? The more you try to discredit your enemy the more sympathisers you make for him. This is what Jesus' enemies are doing: the more they want to destroy Jesus the more people they make who admire him.

Jesus had countered every attack his enemies had used against him. He answered their question about paying tribute money to Caesar, 12:13-17. He answered their question about the resurrection and the nature of life in Heaven, 12:18-27. He answered their question about which commandment in the Law was the greatest of all, 12:28-34. Each time Jesus was asked questions that were designed to make him look foolish in the eyes of the people. Every question they asked was an attempt to prove his ignorance of the Word of God. They were trying everything in their power to unmask Jesus and prove that he was an imposter. But the opposite happened: Jesus is accepted even more by the people. 

Most people in our world are like the scribes and the Pharisees. They will believe the Bible stories about Jesus. They love the image of that baby in his manger. They enjoy reading about him feeding multitudes, healing the sick, preaching sermons, raising the dead and walking on water. They even like the story of the cross and the resurrection.

But, most people in our culture cannot grasp the truth that Jesus Christ is more than a baby in a manger, or a man who got Himself crucified on a cross. They cannot seem to grasp the truth that He is God in human flesh! They cannot get their minds around the truth that He is the only way to God; that He is the only hope of salvation. Manh people will go so far, but they often will not go far enough! Don't be one of them. Believe in Jesus!

A man carrying an earthen pitcher of water!

(In some parts of the world, today is the Feast of Corpus Christi.  In other parts, this feast is transferred to next Sunday) 

Mark 14:12-16.22-26


On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, when they were sacrificing the Passover Lamb, Jesus' disciples said to him, "Where do you wish us to go and make the necessary preparations for you to eat the Passover?" He despatched two of his disciples, and said to them. "Go into the city, and there will meet you a man carrying an earthen pitcher of water. Follow him, and wherever he enters in, say to the householder, `The teacher says, "Where is my room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?"' He will show you a large upper room, furnished and prepared. There get things ready for us." So the disciples went away, and they came into the city, and found everything just as he had told them. And they got everything ready for the Passover Feast.

As they were eating, Jesus took bread and asked God’s blessing on it and broke it in pieces and gave it to them and said, “Eat it—this is my body.” Then he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it and gave it to them; and they all drank from it. And he said to them, “This is my blood, poured out for many, sealing the new agreement between God and man. I solemnly declare that I shall never again taste wine until the day I drink a different kind in the Kingdom of God.” Then they sang a hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives.

Food for thought!


It may seem an unusual word to use in connection with Jesus, but, as we read today's gospel, we cannot help being struck with his efficiency of arrangement. Again and again we see that he did not leave things until the last moment. Long before, we saw on Palm Sunday that Jesus had arranged that the colt should be ready for his ride into Jerusalem; and here again we see that all his arrangements for the first Eucharist had been made long beforehand. Every Eucharistic should remind us the Lord of Preparedness.

His disciples wished to know where they would eat the Passover. Jesus sent them into Jerusalem with instructions to look for a man carrying an earthen pitcher of water. That was a prearranged signal or password. As in many parts of the world,  carrying a water-pot was a woman's duty. It was a thing that no man ever did. A man with a water-pot on his shoulder would stand out in any crowd as much as, say, a man on a wet day with a lady's umbrella, or to find a man on high heels shoes wearing a skirt and blouse. Jesus did not leave things until the last minute. Long before, he had arranged a last meeting-place for himself and for his disciples, and had arranged just how it was to be found.

It has been expressed that “order is Heaven’s first law.” Jesus acknowledged this when he said, “The earth produces of itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear” (Mark 4:28). If we are to succeed in life, it becomes necessary to bring our methods of operation into an orderly process. And preparedness can often be considered the first step in the order of success. Another adage is that “chance favors the prepared.” Opportunity knocks at the door many more times than people may realize. If the moment of opportunity is not seized, it may be because people don’t recognize it or are unprepared to seize it. Preparedness is the first step to success.

"Victory awaits him who has everything in order — people call this luck. Defeat is certain for him who has neglected to take the necessary precautions in time; this is called bad luck.” — Roald Amundsen, The South Pole.

We note one thing more. In the last paragraph we see again the two things we have so often seen. Jesus was sure of two things. He knew he was to die, and he knew his Kingdom would come. He was certain of the Cross, but just as certain of the glory. And the reason was that he was just as certain of the love of God as he was of the sin of man; and he knew that in the end that love would conquer that sin.

Do you believe in the resurrection or life after death?

Mark 12:18-27

Some Sadducees – who deny that there is a resurrection – came to Jesus and they put this question to him, ‘Master, we have it from Moses in writing, if a man’s brother dies leaving a wife but no child, the man must marry the widow to raise up children for his brother. Now there were seven brothers. The first married a wife and then died leaving no children. The second married the widow, and he too died leaving no children; with the third it was the same, and none of the seven left any children. Last of all the woman herself died. Now at the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be, since she had been married to all seven?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Is not the reason why you go wrong, that you understand neither the scriptures nor the power of God? For when they rise from the dead, men and women do not marry; no, they are like the angels in heaven. Now about the dead rising again, have you never read in the Book of Moses, in the passage about the Bush, how God spoke to him and said: I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob? He is God, not of the dead, but of the living. You are very much mistaken.’


Food for thought!


Do you believe in the resurrection? Do you believe in the continuity of life after Death? This is the issue at hand in the gospel story of today.  And, thus is the issue behind the Uganda martyrs. Do you believe that those Uganda believers who died in defence of their faith live? The question of life beyond death is not new. In today's gospel a set of people came to Jesus with a test question designed to make the belief in resurrection look ridiculous. The question of the Sadducees was simply this, if there is at all any resurrection of the dead, whose wife will be a woman who in life got married to seven men? They thought that by asking that question they rendered the idea of resurrection completely ridiculous.

Jesus' answer really falls into two parts. First, he deals with the manner of the resurrection. He lays it down that when a person rises again, the old laws of physical life no longer apply. The risen people are like angels and physical things like marrying and being married no longer enter play. In other words, Jesus is saying that marrying and get married is for this life alone. And this is because this life ends. And so, in order to prolong themselves, people marry and get married to get offspring, which is another way of living on after death. The dead continue to live on in their children. However, this is not all.

It means that the reason why there is marriage is death; where there's death there is marriage; where there's no death (like in heaven) there's no marriage. In the life to come, there's no more death, and by extension, there cannot be marriage. No death, no marriage. Why would people marry and get married if they live on forever? This is the reason angels never marry; but humans do. God made marriage for this life, and this life alone.

Second, Jesus deals with the fact of the resurrection. He uses the Bible to prove the resurrection. From Exodus 3:6, God calls himself the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. If God is the God of these dead men, it means that they must still be alive somewhere, for the living God must be the God of living people, and not of those who are dead. And if Abraham, Isaac and Jacob do live then the resurrection is proved.

Jesus comforts us that the relationship between God and good people is everlasting; it survives death; it goes beyond death. God was the friend of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when they lived. That friendship could not cease with death. As the Psalmist said, «But I am always with you. You hold me by my right hand. You give me wise advice to guide me. And when I die, you will take me away into the glory of heaven. (Ps.73:23-24.)

Before we go, many of us are many times wrong just because we are many times wrong with the Scriptures (the Bible) and that is because we under estimate the power of God. Ignorance of the Bible and of the power of God is at the origin of our mistakes and errors and blunders. Many people believe the Bible from cover to cover, but very few people have read the Bible from cover to cover! We too have made a big mistake.

By believing in Jesus and his good news, the Uganda martyrs didn't die when they died,  for Jesus assured us that, "Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die." ( John 11:26).

Citizen & Christian!

Mark 12:13-17


But they sent other religious and political leaders to talk with him and try to trap him into saying something he could be arrested for. “Teacher,” these spies said, “we know you tell the truth no matter what! You aren’t influenced by the opinions and desires of men, but sincerely teach the ways of God. Now tell us, is it right to pay taxes to Rome, or not?” Jesus saw their trick and said, “Show me a coin and I’ll tell you.” When they handed it to him he asked, “Whose picture and title is this on the coin?” They replied, “The emperor’s.” “All right,” he said, “if it is his, give it to him. But everything that belongs to God must be given to God!” And they scratched their heads in bafflement at his reply.

Food for thought!

Jesus never laid down rules and regulations, but principles; that is why his teaching is timeless and never grows old; rules and regulations and laws are born, live for some time and then die. Principles are neither born nor die. Here he lays down a very great and very important principle.

Every Christian man has a double citizenship. He is a citizen of the country in which he happens to live. To it he owes many things. He owes the safety against lawless men which only settled government can give; he owes all public services. To take a simple example, few men are wealthy enough to have a lighting system of their own or a cleansing system or a water system of their own. These are public services, belonging to all. In a welfare state the citizen owes still more to the state--education, medical services, provision for unemployment and old age. This places him under a debt of obligation. Because the Christian is a man of honour, he must be a responsible citizen; failure in good citizenship is also failure in Christian duty. A bad Christian is always a bad citizen, and a bad citizen is first a bad Christian. 

That is not all. The coin had Caesar's image upon it, and therefore belonged to Caesar. Man has God's image upon him, because God created man in his own image (Gen.1:26-27), and therefore man belongs to God and owes allegiance and obedience to God. In other words, it is our duty and our salvation to adore and praise and thank and glorify the Lord. It means that when we pray, when we go to church, when we obey God's commandments, we simply fulfill our obligation to the Lord.

A real Christian--and this is the permanent truth which Jesus here lays down--is at one and the same time a good citizen of his country and a good citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven. He will fail in his duty neither to God nor to man. He will, as Peter said, "Fear God. Honour the emperor" (1Pet.2:17).

The stone rejected by the builders!

Mark 12:1-12

Jesus went on to speak to the chief priests, the scribes and the elders in parables: ‘A man planted a vineyard; he fenced it round, dug out a trough for the winepress and built a tower; then he leased it to tenants and went abroad. When the time came, he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them his share of the produce from the vineyard. But they seized the man, thrashed him and sent him away empty-handed. Next he sent another servant to them; him they beat about the head and treated shamefully. And he sent another and him they killed; then a number of others, and they thrashed some and killed the rest. He had still someone left: his beloved son. He sent him to them last of all. “They will respect my son” he said. But those tenants said to each other, “This is the heir. Come on, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.” So they seized him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard. Now what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and make an end of the tenants and give the vineyard to others. Have you not read this text of scripture:

It was the stone rejected by the builders that became the keystone. This was the Lord’s doing and it is wonderful to see?

And they would have liked to arrest him, because they realised that the parable was aimed at them, but they were afraid of the crowds. So they left him alone and went away.

Food for thought!

Jesus uses stories we know to teach us eternal truths we do not know. Today's Food for thought is enshrined in a story. This story has much to teach us in three directions, that is, about God, about us, and about Jesus.

(i) It has much to tell us about God.

(a) It tells of God's trust in men. The owner of the vineyard is God, the vineyard is all the earth. The farmhands are you and me; we are the cultivators. Jesus is saying, God made the earth, entrusted it to men and women and went away. He did not even stand over them to exercise a police-like supervision. He went away and left them with their task of looking after the earth. God pays us the compliment of entrusting us with his work. Every task we receive is a task given us to do by God. Therefore, “whatever you do or say, let it be as a representative of the Lord Jesus.” (Colossians 3:17)

(b) It tells of God's patience. The master sent messenger after messenger (the prophets). He did not come with sudden vengeance when one messenger had been abused and ill-treated. He gave the cultivators chance after chance to respond to his appeal. God bears with us in all our sinning; God is patient with us. The Lord “is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).

(c) It tells of God's judgment. In the end the master of the vineyard took the vineyard from the cultivators and gave it to others. God does not entertain unproductivity. God designed us to create wealth, to produce wealth; he designed us to be productive people. God wants you to be productive, and his plan for your life includes abundancy. He said, “I am come that you may have life, and may have it more abundantly. (John 10:10)

(ii) The gospel also has much to tell about us.

(a) It tells of human privilege. The vineyard was equipped with everything--the fence, the wine press, the tower--which would make the task of the cultivators easy and enable them to discharge it well. God does not only give us a task to do; he also gives us the means with which to do it; God does not ask us to do the impossible, He equips each one of us with talents, gifts and life. You and me were equipped by God, not to fail, but to succeed in life.

(b) It tells of human freedom. The master left the cultivators to do the task as they liked. God is no tyrannical task-master; he is like a wise commander who allocates a task and then trusts a man to do it.

(c) It tells of human answerability. To all people comes a day of reckoning. We are answerable for the way in which we have carried out the task God gave us to do in this life.

(d) It tells of the deliberateness of human sin. The cultivators carried out a deliberate policy of rebellion and disobedience towards the master. Sin is deliberate opposition to God; it is the taking of our own way when we know quite well what the way of God is.

(iii) The gospel still has much to tell us about Jesus.

(a) It tells of the claim of Jesus. It shows us quite clearly that Jesus is not any prophet. Those who come before him were the messengers of God; no one could deny them that honour; but they were mere servants; Jesus was THE Son. This parable contains one of the clearest claims Jesus ever made to be unique, to be different from even the greatest of those who went before him.

(b) It tells of the sacrifice of Jesus. It makes it clear that Jesus knew what lay ahead. In the parable the hands of wicked men killed the son. Jesus was never in any doubt of what lay ahead. He knew that they would kill him one day. He did not die because he was compelled to die; he went willingly and open-eyed to death.

31 May All authority in heaven and earth has been given to him!

Matthew 28:16-20


Then the eleven disciples left for Galilee, going to the mountain where Jesus had said they would find him. There they met him and worshiped him— but some of them weren’t sure it really was Jesus! He told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and earth. Therefore go and make disciples in all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and then teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you; and be sure of this—that I am with you always, even to the end of the world.”

Food for thought!

As we mark the Holy Trinity Sunday, Jesus tells us his last revelation. He says to us, "All authority in heaven and earth has been given to him." With this revelation, we come to the end of the gospel story, according to Matthew; here we listen to the last words of Jesus to his followers. In this last meeting Jesus not only tells us his authority but also assures that he has authority both in heaven and on earth; he has authority there in heaven as he did have here on earth. Now that he is in heaven, Jesus is still able to do and be for us what he was and what he did here on earth. Surely nothing was and is outside the power of Jesus. We can approach him now with the same confidence as those people we read about in the gospels did. The powerful Jesus stands before our Father in heaven, representing us, introducing us, pleading for us. "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace—that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:16)

Here's Jesus' last revelation to his disciples: All authority in heaven and earth has been given to him.

This revelation is good news for us because it means that Jesus is still the same, as the letter to the Hebrews 13:8 puts it: "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." He is the same here on earth as he is heaven; he is the same both yesterday, today and tomorrow. It means that that Jesus that healed people, that taught people, that stayed with his disciples is the same Jesus that we follow today. This is why in today's gospel he assures us: "be sure of this — that I am with you always, even to the end of the world."

So, whenever you kneel down in prayer, whenever you call upon Jesus, remember this promise. Whenever you fall into sin remember this promise of Jesus. Whenever you find yourself amidst hardships and problems and suffering of any kind, remember this great promise of Jesus.

This promise is great because it is the last one recorded in the gospel of Matthew. After this, Jesus did not say anything more because he immediately left for heaven thereafter. It is as if Jesus said to his disciples: "You heard me say many things. Even if you forgot all of them, don't ever forget this last one: REMEMBER THAT I HAVE ALL AUTHORITY AND THAT I AM ALWAYS WITH YOU!"

29 May Tell Jesus and Jesus will tell You!

Mark 11:27-33

Jesus and his disciples arrived in Jerusalem again, and as he was walking through the Temple area, the chief priests and other Jewish leaders* came up to him demanding, “What’s going on here? Who gave you the authority to drive out the merchants?” Jesus replied, “I’ll tell you if you answer one question! What about John the Baptist? Was he sent by God, or not? Answer me!” They talked it over among themselves. “If we reply that God sent him, then he will say, ‘All right, why didn’t you accept him?’ But if we say God didn’t send him, then the people will start a riot.” (For the people all believed strongly that John was a prophet.) So they said, “We can’t answer. We don’t know.” To which Jesus replied, “Then I won’t answer your question either!”

Food for thought

Did you notice in this, and in all other instances, that whenever people asked Jesus a question, he would answer by asking the questioner a question of his? Like today, some people came up to Jesus and asked him, «Who gave you the authority to drive out the merchants?» they asked. «Who gave you authority to do this?» Jesus answers them by another question: «I’ll tell you if you answer one question!» 

Jesus does this all the time in the gospels; he interrogates the interrogator; he questions the questioner, he tells the teller and as in today's gospel he questions his questioner. What does this mean for you and me? It means, if we ask Jesus, Jesus will ask us; if we answer Jesus, Jesus will answer us. It means that it is by telling Jesus that Jesus tells us, it is by opening up to Jesus that Jesus opens up to us, it is by loving Jesus that Jesus loves us; it is by giving to Jesus or for Jesus' sake that Jesus gives us, it is by forgiving that we are forgiven; it is by loving that we are loved. Etc.

Let me give you an example. In Matthew 16:13 Jesus asks his disciples, «Who do people say the Son of Man is?» The disciples begin to say all they have heard people say about Jesus. Then Jesus asks them, «But what about you?» he asks. «Who do you say I am?» Simon Peter answers, «You are the Christ. You are the Son of the living God.» Jesus replies, «Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah! No mere man showed this to you. My Father in heaven showed it to you. Here is what I tell you. You are Peter. On this rock I will build my church. The gates of hell will not be strong enough to destroy it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. What you lock on earth will be locked in heaven. What you unlock on earth will be unlocked in heaven.»

This was a tremendous revelation about Peter. Now notice that as soon as Peter tells Jesus, Jesus tells Peter; as soon as Peter says who Jesus is, Jesus tells Peter who Peter is: «Here is what I tell you. You are Peter...» Until this moment, Peter did not know really who he (Peter) was or what lay ahead for him until Jesus started to reveal Peter to Peter. And Jesus did not start to tell Peter until Peter started to tell Jesus. So, the principle is clear: tell Jesus and Jesus will tell you, answer Jesus and Jesus will answer you, know Jesus and Jesus will make you know yourself, give to Jesus and Jesus will give to you...!

Now, it is your turn, try it. Don't be like the people in today's gospel, «We can’t answer. We don’t know. To which Jesus replied, "Then I won’t answer your question either!"»

28 May Believe what you pray for and pray for what you believe!

Mark 11:11-28


And so Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the Temple. He looked around carefully at everything and then left—for now it was late in the afternoon— and went out to Bethany with the twelve disciples.

The next morning as they left Bethany, he felt hungry. A little way off he noticed a fig tree in full leaf, so he went over to see if he could find any figs on it. But no, there were only leaves, for it was too early in the season for fruit. Then Jesus said to the tree, “You shall never bear fruit again!” And the disciples heard him say it.

When they arrived back in Jerusalem, he went to the Temple and began to drive out the merchants and their customers, and knocked over the tables of the money changers and the stalls of those selling doves, and stopped everyone from bringing in loads of merchandise. He told them, “It is written in the Scriptures, ‘My Temple is to be a place of prayer for all nations,’ but you have turned it into a den of robbers.” When the chief priests and other Jewish leaders heard what he had done, they began planning how best to get rid of him. Their problem was their fear of riots because the people were so enthusiastic about Jesus’ teaching. That evening as usual they left the city.

Next morning, as the disciples passed the fig tree he had cursed, they saw that it was withered from the roots! Then Peter remembered what Jesus had said to the tree on the previous day and exclaimed, “Look, Teacher! The fig tree you cursed has withered!” In reply Jesus said to the disciples, “If you only have faith in God—this is the absolute truth—you can say to this Mount of Olives, ‘Rise up and fall into the Mediterranean,’ and your command will be obeyed. All that’s required is that you really believe and have no doubt! Listen to me! You can pray for anything, and if you believe, you have it; it’s yours! But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive you your sins too.” By this time they had arrived in Jerusalem again, and as he was walking through the Temple area, the chief priests and other Jewish leaders* came up to him demanding, “What’s going on here? Who gave you the authority to drive out the merchants?”

Food for thought!

Let us look at this text careful and see our Lord's secret of living. First and foremost, Jesus entered Jerusalem where he would die. He willingly went to the place of his death. The gospel says that “He looked around carefully at everything.” Jesus deliberately and thoughtfully summed up his task. Jesus was not recklessly plunging into unknown dangers. He was doing everything with his eyes wide open. He looked CAREFULLY at everything.

Then Jesus “entered Jerusalem and went into the Temple.” Before he joined battle with men he sought the presence of God in the Temple. It was only because each day he faced God that he could face men with such courage.

This brief passage also shows us something about the Twelve. They were still with Jesus in the final hours of his life on earth. By this time it must have been quite plain to them that Jesus was committing suicide, as it seemed to them. Sometimes we criticize them for their lack of loyalty in the last days, but it says something for them, that, little as they understood what was happening, they still stood by him. We have people who stand by us in the difficult times; we have people we stand by, come what may. These are our real friends. A friend in hard times is a hard friend to find.

The condemnation of the fig tree teaches us something. It is the condemnation of promise without fulfillment. The leaves on the tree might be taken as the promise of fruit, but there was no fruit there. It is the condemnation of profession without practice. It might be taken that the tree with its leaves professed to offer something and did not. Unless our religion makes us a better and more useful person, unless it makes our home happier, unless it makes life better and easier for those with whom we live and meet, it is not religion at all. Nobody can claim to be a follower of Jesus Christ and remain entirely unlike the Master whom he professes to love.

The condemnation of the fig tree teaches us the power of prayer. Jesus says that “You can pray for anything, AND IF YOU BELIEVE, you have it; it’s yours!” In other words, whenever we pray we must pray with expectation. It is the universal fact that anything tried in the spirit of confident expectation has a more than double chance of success. The patient who goes to a doctor and has no confidence in the prescribed remedies has far less chance of recovery than the patient who is confident that the doctor can cure him. Maybe our trouble is that when we pray we don't believe that we shall get what we pray for; we should pray in earnest as Jesus did that day.

All that’s required is that you really believe and have no doubt! In other words, believe what you pray for and pray for what you believe!