One other thing I was thinking, was about the asking- one of the reason's the ex leper got what he wanted was he asked (more importantly, he asked the right man). In the Magician's Nephew, Digory and Polly are on a journey with Fledge (a flying horse). There is plenty of grass for Fledge to eat where they stop, but no food for the children,
“Well, I do think someone might have arranged about our meals,” said Digory.
“I'm sure Aslan would have, if you'd asked him,” said Fledge.
“Wouldn't he know without being asked?” said Polly.
“I've no doubt he would,” said the Horse (still with his mouth full). “But I've a sort of idea he likes to be asked.”
A bit further on, something that relates to misdirected desire,
“Child,” he replied, “that is why all the rest are now a horror to her. That is what happens to those who pluck and eat fruits at the wrong time and in the wrong way. The fruit is good, but they loathe it ever after.”
“Oh I see,” said Polly. “And I suppose because she took it in the wrong way it won't work for her. I mean it won't make her always young and all that?
“Alas,” said Aslan, shaking his head. “It will. Things always work according to their nature. She has won her heart's desire; she has unwearying strength and endless days like a goddess. But length of days with a evil heart is only length of misery and already she begins to know it. All get what they want; they do not always like it.”
Surely, it wasn't just the actions of this one man that meant that Jesus could no longer go into a town openly, but stayed out in the country; and people came to him from every quarter. He would have been stirring massive curiosity by many of the things he was doing and saying...
When it says stayed out in the country- does that mean he was camping out there too? How did the people know where he was? Word of mouth I suppose.- the country is eremois- lonely, deserted, wild places. - the crowds found him where he was anyway- so what was the issue with the towns- Is he trying to teach the disciples at this stage? Was is so ballistic that they got no time to themselves at all? - that seems likely -
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Thankfulness
A man with leprosy- an illness which perhaps means it not as hard for him as many to overcome that self dignity thing- on his knees before Jesus, with a statement of faith and hope- but perhaps not necessarily what Barclay would call Christian hope. Or maybe it was- I wonder how much this man knew of Jesus – had he seen him in action in other places- what had he noticed about his character? He would have known Jesus had healed other people- was it “well this is worth a punt?” a man on his knees doesn't really feel like that- more this disease has stripped me of nearly everything and in desperation with a thin sliver of hope- I will ask this man if he can heal me of this blight. Can only wonder- the story puts in place a few parameters – we know of this man's condition- and we know he was willing enough to fall at someone's feet and beg (and perhaps that willingness to ask does tell us a bit) but we don't particularly know what kind of man he was. It would seem there are some who suffer amazing things with incredible grace (Di Tyson from what I know- Pete Vol's mum from his descriptions, where something very limiting does not mean they give way to self centredness or become defined perhaps by the illness. There are many others who (understandably) do not handle such a situation well. This man's immediate response seems exuberant as well as disobedient (seems fairly understandable to a degree) He tells others what happened to him – lets them know it was Jesus who affected the change- there seems to be at least some kind of gratefulness there- but on the whole it does not seem that grateful or classy to me. - You have just been cured of an illness which meant you could be part of normal human society- (it could have been years or decades), and the man who you thought could cure you has- and he tells you not to tell anyone but to go and do a practical thing, get the official nod to recognise what I have just done here, so that you may enter back into society. Jesus gives him a strong warning – comes from embrimesamenos (used classically to denote 'scarce controlled animal fury' pg 118 France) It would seem from what France writes that normally the object of this word would be the object of strong disapproval- but because there doesn't seem a reason for Jesus to be doing that here, it is translated 'strictly charged' rather than scolded or worse. Whatever- It seems there should be no trouble for the man clearly picking up Jesus drift. I feel like the least I could do in a similar situation, was to respect the wishes of the man who had just given me my heart's desire. There are strings attached- and they are not burdensome strings- but the man does the exact opposite of what Jesus asked him.
Perhaps this gives us more insight into the man than what I was thinking- He got what he wanted from Jesus- then failed to respect him- I wonder if he ever 'came back' became really healed- understood what had happened to him as a 'sign' as John would put it, repented of what he had done.
I suppose it is possible- though it doesn't bode well, if you miss it in such a situation as this. Who knows – an instance of Aslan telling us not to worry- no one is ever told what would have happened, or that is someone else's story.
Thankfulness- calls forth some sort of response- and I think a right thankfulness draws us away from ourself to want to honour or praise or be grateful to someone or something else. Perhaps any other kind of thankfulness is not really that thankful- what would you call the ex lepers response then? He's telling everyone about it- obviously glad about what's happened- glad but not thankful?...
Hasn't got the grateful part- thankfulness with no grace. I suppose you can rejoice in something that is evil... but perhaps even there- though there may have been thankfulness there at the time- I think that would diminish- don't think you can be thankful for evil for eternity- if it's not good it becomes a horror- hold onto it and that leads to death- what Lewis talks about when he says in the end everybody gets what they want.
It was a rainy day yesterday- cleaning the house- didn't get as far as I wanted- watched God's must be crazy 2- poor cousin to it's predecessor- always a bad feeling, thinking you've just wasted 2 hours of your life watching a bad or dumb movie, a few other negative thought trains- Anyway- thankfulness out the window- forgive me please, and help me to see.
Perhaps this gives us more insight into the man than what I was thinking- He got what he wanted from Jesus- then failed to respect him- I wonder if he ever 'came back' became really healed- understood what had happened to him as a 'sign' as John would put it, repented of what he had done.
I suppose it is possible- though it doesn't bode well, if you miss it in such a situation as this. Who knows – an instance of Aslan telling us not to worry- no one is ever told what would have happened, or that is someone else's story.
Thankfulness- calls forth some sort of response- and I think a right thankfulness draws us away from ourself to want to honour or praise or be grateful to someone or something else. Perhaps any other kind of thankfulness is not really that thankful- what would you call the ex lepers response then? He's telling everyone about it- obviously glad about what's happened- glad but not thankful?...
Hasn't got the grateful part- thankfulness with no grace. I suppose you can rejoice in something that is evil... but perhaps even there- though there may have been thankfulness there at the time- I think that would diminish- don't think you can be thankful for evil for eternity- if it's not good it becomes a horror- hold onto it and that leads to death- what Lewis talks about when he says in the end everybody gets what they want.
It was a rainy day yesterday- cleaning the house- didn't get as far as I wanted- watched God's must be crazy 2- poor cousin to it's predecessor- always a bad feeling, thinking you've just wasted 2 hours of your life watching a bad or dumb movie, a few other negative thought trains- Anyway- thankfulness out the window- forgive me please, and help me to see.
Preaching and demonic extradition
Jesus travels throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons- a summary of a number of months I imagine- And these are the two elements he puts in of the time- preaching in Synagogues and driving out demons (does John have many demons being driven out?) It sounds like quite a few demons got driven out- seems like a fairly widespread ailment- once again wonder how widespread today- should I be thinking about how to drive them out? I suppose there's more than just 'exorcism' that drives them out- when the kingdom comes into a place it has not particularly been before. Perhaps Jesus would like us to get a hold of this first- how do you love your neighbour, say no to temptation, learn obedience and endurance- would seem that running around casting out demons is not for the immature- “Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you? then they get a beating and run out naked and bleeding..
(Is this another case of demonic honesty not out of any desire to be honest, but in this case actually stating truth- Jesus I know- have had experience of him- seen him in all his glory- though this is some sort of horror like Jadis in the Magicians Nephew after she has eaten the apple- And whatever I think of him I know he is powerful, I know about Paul- he's been causing no end of trouble- trying to thwart what he's up to- but you- you have no idea what you are doing- or what you are up against- and in this case no idea of the one whose name you are carrying out these casting outs) – interestingly it seems they had had success before meeting with this demon- what does that mean?
Preaching in Synagogues- Israel such an interesting nation with this amazing heritage- Jesus could sound chords here in a way not possible in other countries- deeper, richer, with more complexities. Not many people seemed to get the whole score or even a large chunk of it in their heads at once- but it was there to be appreciated and understood- ah there's the Moses chord, ah was that an unmistakable messiah note. Jesus is not coming from the outside- what he brings is not entirely new, he is no alien with a bright light- but a Jewish man grown in Jewish soil... a man brought up to know appreciate the goodness and stoutness of the old wine of the Jews- had taken it in deeply- brings a new wine- more full bodied and zesty than the old- but it's still from the same vineyard- as Paul points out- the same stock; the same roots.
(Is this another case of demonic honesty not out of any desire to be honest, but in this case actually stating truth- Jesus I know- have had experience of him- seen him in all his glory- though this is some sort of horror like Jadis in the Magicians Nephew after she has eaten the apple- And whatever I think of him I know he is powerful, I know about Paul- he's been causing no end of trouble- trying to thwart what he's up to- but you- you have no idea what you are doing- or what you are up against- and in this case no idea of the one whose name you are carrying out these casting outs) – interestingly it seems they had had success before meeting with this demon- what does that mean?
Preaching in Synagogues- Israel such an interesting nation with this amazing heritage- Jesus could sound chords here in a way not possible in other countries- deeper, richer, with more complexities. Not many people seemed to get the whole score or even a large chunk of it in their heads at once- but it was there to be appreciated and understood- ah there's the Moses chord, ah was that an unmistakable messiah note. Jesus is not coming from the outside- what he brings is not entirely new, he is no alien with a bright light- but a Jewish man grown in Jewish soil... a man brought up to know appreciate the goodness and stoutness of the old wine of the Jews- had taken it in deeply- brings a new wine- more full bodied and zesty than the old- but it's still from the same vineyard- as Paul points out- the same stock; the same roots.
For this is what I came out to do
and simon and those with him? hunted him down – seek out, in a good sense- I wonder here if the reason we get Simon and his companions hunting for him, is because this is Peter's remembrance, with Mark writing that down... So how Mark would have heard the story (probably many times..) would be – I or we- got up and noticed Jesus was missing so I went out with the others to seek him out.
They come to Jesus with news (charming news if you were an introvert) everyone is looking for you- so they weren't the only ones out hunting- quite a buzz in the town.
Let us go to the neighbouring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do.” eis touto gar exelthon- for this purpose I came out- exelthon is interesting- is that coming from Nazareth- would seem to make sense.
Jesus has a very clear objective in mind- he doesn't overly try to persuade people- or provide too much hand holding- at various times he actually forces the issue- decide now- are you with me or not. - What does that mean for evangelism? I felt slightly uncomfortable at the recent meeting for a camp I'll be a leader at for kids from troubled backgrounds- they give them a really good experience- have a couple of talks, then an altar call type of thing at the end (the gospel talk calling for a response) they are years 6 to 8 kids. I'm not sure if that's quite right- it doesn't give them a lot of time to really digest what this is about- they are coming from hard places- they are still formulating all sorts of things- is there a slight hysteria here to get people into the kingdom? Jesus does however make this sort of need for decision very clear to people- makes it clear then leaves it to them...
They said half the girls on the last camp made 'decsions'- I wonder how much they made them? and in 10 years time how many will have made the decision- it seems like a fairly shallow (flippant?) way to go about informing people of such a serious undertaking- joyful- all pervading...
They come to Jesus with news (charming news if you were an introvert) everyone is looking for you- so they weren't the only ones out hunting- quite a buzz in the town.
Let us go to the neighbouring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do.” eis touto gar exelthon- for this purpose I came out- exelthon is interesting- is that coming from Nazareth- would seem to make sense.
Jesus has a very clear objective in mind- he doesn't overly try to persuade people- or provide too much hand holding- at various times he actually forces the issue- decide now- are you with me or not. - What does that mean for evangelism? I felt slightly uncomfortable at the recent meeting for a camp I'll be a leader at for kids from troubled backgrounds- they give them a really good experience- have a couple of talks, then an altar call type of thing at the end (the gospel talk calling for a response) they are years 6 to 8 kids. I'm not sure if that's quite right- it doesn't give them a lot of time to really digest what this is about- they are coming from hard places- they are still formulating all sorts of things- is there a slight hysteria here to get people into the kingdom? Jesus does however make this sort of need for decision very clear to people- makes it clear then leaves it to them...
They said half the girls on the last camp made 'decsions'- I wonder how much they made them? and in 10 years time how many will have made the decision- it seems like a fairly shallow (flippant?) way to go about informing people of such a serious undertaking- joyful- all pervading...
Under Galilean stars
Coming back to this the next day- I had another thought with this at the time- Jesus relationship with the Father does not happen in a vacuum- it is an expansion of what has come before- I don't know how this works- but I assume a fair bit (perhaps most) of Jesus knowledge here was appropriated the same way we appropriate this knowledge. He would have been soaked in the Hebrew scriptures, spent time under galilean stars communing with the Father- pondering things at the workbench (I feel what limits this train of thought a little is Luke's story when he was 12- did you not know I had to be in my Father's house?) - Still, did a certain amount of revelation have to happen before the son of God could come as a man (the old testament)- so that he could tap into that (as men do- but in this case with an unsullied vision)...
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Early morning
and prwi early in the morning while it was still very dark- went out to a deserted place and prayed.
Even though just taken 8 pages to muse on this- still close to the beginning. We're hearing what Jesus is up to in this public undertaking- people have been amazed at his authority- the demons have quailed and obeyed, sick people have been cured. he's based at Capernaum at the moment- and now he's off praying before anyone else is up- I think that is significant- a discipline (necessity?) that I struggle with- but if you want to enjoy deep communion with the father- walk in step- follow strongly...
It's not a desert retreat (I suppose he's had one of those of sorts)- not sitting crosslegged on a mountain contemplating- immediately followed by action, perhaps even an expansion or next stage of the mission- out into Galilee- obedience and maybe just being, has to lead into action at some point- a pharasaical faith cops his fury. Not action for the sake of it however- somehow springing from early morning time with the father- a setting of priorities- listening for what these priorities are.. How did this time go? We don't have much to go on- Jesus outburst when the 70 return “At that same hour Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thankyou, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, father for such was your gracious will- then he moves on to saying something about his relationship with the father and still I imagine with great joy turns to the disciples and tells them how big and good it is what they have been let in on. Abba Father... Why have you forsaken me? Pray like this...our father. TR Glover suggests we should perhaps go no further in this prayer until we've got some idea of Jesus conception here- let his close knowledge of the Father ground our own.
Even with the scant information we have can probably work out a lot. There's reverence- Jesus knows the father- and if you do I imagine you are not glib- perhaps something in this with the demon's repsonse- the holy one of god (I think at the crucifixion that has gone- and there's jeering and belittling, but they here may be still held by the knowledge of Jesus person- may hate it and wish it wasn't – but it illicits a certain (high) level of respect.
Mixed with the reverence- closeness and the freedom to call the lord of heaven and earth, dad. There's honesty too- that functions with the reverence- my God, my God why have you forsaken me- right now I cannot see the goodness? of this present situation – but when you combine that with psalm 22- with the despair, trust in his goodness.
Even though just taken 8 pages to muse on this- still close to the beginning. We're hearing what Jesus is up to in this public undertaking- people have been amazed at his authority- the demons have quailed and obeyed, sick people have been cured. he's based at Capernaum at the moment- and now he's off praying before anyone else is up- I think that is significant- a discipline (necessity?) that I struggle with- but if you want to enjoy deep communion with the father- walk in step- follow strongly...
It's not a desert retreat (I suppose he's had one of those of sorts)- not sitting crosslegged on a mountain contemplating- immediately followed by action, perhaps even an expansion or next stage of the mission- out into Galilee- obedience and maybe just being, has to lead into action at some point- a pharasaical faith cops his fury. Not action for the sake of it however- somehow springing from early morning time with the father- a setting of priorities- listening for what these priorities are.. How did this time go? We don't have much to go on- Jesus outburst when the 70 return “At that same hour Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thankyou, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, father for such was your gracious will- then he moves on to saying something about his relationship with the father and still I imagine with great joy turns to the disciples and tells them how big and good it is what they have been let in on. Abba Father... Why have you forsaken me? Pray like this...our father. TR Glover suggests we should perhaps go no further in this prayer until we've got some idea of Jesus conception here- let his close knowledge of the Father ground our own.
Even with the scant information we have can probably work out a lot. There's reverence- Jesus knows the father- and if you do I imagine you are not glib- perhaps something in this with the demon's repsonse- the holy one of god (I think at the crucifixion that has gone- and there's jeering and belittling, but they here may be still held by the knowledge of Jesus person- may hate it and wish it wasn't – but it illicits a certain (high) level of respect.
Mixed with the reverence- closeness and the freedom to call the lord of heaven and earth, dad. There's honesty too- that functions with the reverence- my God, my God why have you forsaken me- right now I cannot see the goodness? of this present situation – but when you combine that with psalm 22- with the despair, trust in his goodness.
Capernaum
Capernaum- how long had it existed? not much must have approached this in its whole history. When Mark says the whole city – I bet it does mean a very large percentage of the town- And they see amazing things- and things that must be setting off many resonances and disonances in their heads. There is such a heritage with the Jews- perhaps no other people have had such a carefully preserved and 'normed' heritage – as Bruggeman says (or is it Berger) a case of universe maintenance where each generation seeks to tilt the world so the next generation holds that view of the world as well (stakes particularly high in the Jews case- and they had some powerful agents involved in the world tilting.
This must have been discussed here for years- Peter, Andrew, James and John- they were Capernaum boys- what was the population (Capernaum the nearest village to the river Jordan on the NW shores of the Sea of Galilee) Don't have anything readily available to tell me 5000?* Don't imagine it was much bigger- a size where these men would have been known or known of by much of the town- and they take up with this strange rabbi who does things unlike other rabbis of the day.
What was the effect over the years in this place? “And you Capernaum will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades. For if the deeds of power had been done in you have been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you that on the day of judgement it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom than for you.”
*Wiki answers - that Charlesworth reckons the population was between 600 and 1200.
Another site says its not known how large Capernaum was – but its thought to be under 2000.
From Archeology and the Galilean Jesus- he looks like he goes into it a fair bit- based on a likely size between 6 and 10 hectares – he says between 600 to 1500- also says that Nazareth probably fewer than 400 inhabitants, “Capernaum would have been viewed as one of the larger villages.” (p152). Reckons that Sephoris and Tiberias between 8000 and 12000.
On the whole they mustn't have taken the risk- surely when these things were happening there were many who actually thrilled with them- they saw people they knew and love being healed, family members cured of demon possession (how wide spread was it? how widespread is it? ) Was Jesus career followed with interest? Had they already 'turned' before his crucifixion? (had John 6.66 moments- or perhaps actually been there? Does the thrilling lead to an openess or an oportunity to take a risk of faith – to go along with this man for a bit and see where it leads- because there is much here that adds up? but they on the whole only do this in a very superficial australian idol type of way... Is someone like me- who has never seen anything like this- one of the one who condemns them? “God's blessing on people who don't see, and yet believe!” What does Jesus call them -you faithless generation – (Mk 9:19 you faithless generation, how much longer must I be among you? How much longer must I put up with you?)
- Strong words- strong feeling. Is this the most negative thing Jesus has to say about the people he loves and has come to save? Without faith it is impossible to please God...
O you of little faith... Abraham held up as an example of faith- because unlike Capernaum, he knew and had experienced little- but on hearing a 'voice' shifted to another world 1200 kms? from Ur to Canaan- and his knowledge grew through obediance- the willingness to take the risk on this God- and through that he found him faithful.
How much of a partnership was it between the demons and those at Capernaum that rejected Jesus?
Does the no in one direction open you up for a yes in another? Can the demons work with this sort of vacillation? how much can they encourage it?
It would seem that they had a front opened up in Capernaum- and suffered some big setbacks – as the country saw a great light- but that in this case they were able to consolidate- but perhaps the attitude of the people comes first?
And Jesus was amazed at their lack of faith and couldn't do many miracles there...
This must have been discussed here for years- Peter, Andrew, James and John- they were Capernaum boys- what was the population (Capernaum the nearest village to the river Jordan on the NW shores of the Sea of Galilee) Don't have anything readily available to tell me 5000?* Don't imagine it was much bigger- a size where these men would have been known or known of by much of the town- and they take up with this strange rabbi who does things unlike other rabbis of the day.
What was the effect over the years in this place? “And you Capernaum will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades. For if the deeds of power had been done in you have been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you that on the day of judgement it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom than for you.”
*Wiki answers - that Charlesworth reckons the population was between 600 and 1200.
Another site says its not known how large Capernaum was – but its thought to be under 2000.
From Archeology and the Galilean Jesus- he looks like he goes into it a fair bit- based on a likely size between 6 and 10 hectares – he says between 600 to 1500- also says that Nazareth probably fewer than 400 inhabitants, “Capernaum would have been viewed as one of the larger villages.” (p152). Reckons that Sephoris and Tiberias between 8000 and 12000.
On the whole they mustn't have taken the risk- surely when these things were happening there were many who actually thrilled with them- they saw people they knew and love being healed, family members cured of demon possession (how wide spread was it? how widespread is it? ) Was Jesus career followed with interest? Had they already 'turned' before his crucifixion? (had John 6.66 moments- or perhaps actually been there? Does the thrilling lead to an openess or an oportunity to take a risk of faith – to go along with this man for a bit and see where it leads- because there is much here that adds up? but they on the whole only do this in a very superficial australian idol type of way... Is someone like me- who has never seen anything like this- one of the one who condemns them? “God's blessing on people who don't see, and yet believe!” What does Jesus call them -you faithless generation – (Mk 9:19 you faithless generation, how much longer must I be among you? How much longer must I put up with you?)
- Strong words- strong feeling. Is this the most negative thing Jesus has to say about the people he loves and has come to save? Without faith it is impossible to please God...
O you of little faith... Abraham held up as an example of faith- because unlike Capernaum, he knew and had experienced little- but on hearing a 'voice' shifted to another world 1200 kms? from Ur to Canaan- and his knowledge grew through obediance- the willingness to take the risk on this God- and through that he found him faithful.
How much of a partnership was it between the demons and those at Capernaum that rejected Jesus?
Does the no in one direction open you up for a yes in another? Can the demons work with this sort of vacillation? how much can they encourage it?
It would seem that they had a front opened up in Capernaum- and suffered some big setbacks – as the country saw a great light- but that in this case they were able to consolidate- but perhaps the attitude of the people comes first?
And Jesus was amazed at their lack of faith and couldn't do many miracles there...
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