Begging

Mark 7:31-32

      In a world of sounds and verbal communication, being unable to participate in that flow of communication can be crippling. This is one of the reasons that our deaf neighbors and friends tend to cluster together for support and understanding. There tend to be small pockets of the hearing impaired living in close proximity to each other. Deafness can be extremely isolating.

      It can be difficult for someone who speaks a different language to communicate urgency effectively. We might be able to see the desperation in their eyes and in their voice tone, but be totally unaware of the content of their urgent cries.

      One of the difficulties of travelling abroad is the language barrier, mine, not theirs. They understand each other perfectly. I am the outsider. That is why it is important to learn some of the basic emergency phrases in the language of the countries you will visit. Police. Doctor. Hospital. Help! Begging does no good unless they know what your begging is about.

      Begging signals a desperation. Few people will beg unless they have no other choice. There are of course those who stand on the street corners and drive home in their Escalade. But real begging, the personal kind involving face to face conversation, not the hold out the bucket with the sign, is very difficult for most people. When it does happen it tends to involve a great deal of self-imposed shame and humiliation.

      From out text we read of some people who bring a friend who has lost his ability to hear at some point in his life, probably early childhood. The fact that he could speak some indicates either he lost hearing after beginning to speak, or that he has severe hearing loss which occurred fairly early in his life. Of course it could be he simply used grunts with body language to communicate what he needed. The word used here in our text for this loss of ability to speak is only used once in the New Testament.

      He is unable to hear, and has very limited ability to communicate verbally. Can you imagine life without sound? How about life without the ability to communicate effectively with those around you? It sounds like a life of frustration, isolation and depression.

      No wonder these people were bringing this man to Jesus. No wonder these people were begging on this man’s behalf. They were desperate. Maybe we need to get desperate. Maybe we are too comfortable to get serious with the LORD.

The Lengths

Mark 7:25-26

      Some people say that demons don’t exist, that the mention of them in Scripture proves that the Scriptures are full of myth and folly, that they are certainly not worth believing. I disagree with this belief, but I will entertain it for a few moments as I write.

      We have a woman who believes her young daughter has a demon. Her behavior is unexplainable by any other diagnosis known at the time of this mom’s living. But let’s just say that there is another explanation other than demon possession. It doesn’t change the truth of our text at all. This mother is desperate to find a cure for her daughter, and Jesus provides that cure, in an instant, from a distance, seemingly without any intervention other than His word to this desperate woman. Doesn’t this warrant a second look? Doesn’t this qualify as miraculous?

      What medical or psychiatric cure can be done without any intervention, any interaction between practitioner and patient? None! And yet Jesus does this very thing. Maybe there is an explanation that fits better with these facts. The perfect fit is demon possession.

      So let’s look at this woman. She is a non-Jew, a Greek by birth, not one of the chosen people. She was not chosen to bring the message of God’s care and provision to the world. That is what means to be a Jew, and she wasn’t one. So her background probably doesn’t know the Old Testament Scriptures.

      She probably hasn’t heard any Sunday School lessons about Moses or Jonah and the whale. She might have heard small bits about what Jews believe, but would not have had the full picture, kind of like hearing what the Amish believe. We know bits and pieces, what we pick up from movies and seeing pictures of the buggies and the distinctive clothing, but not the substance of their beliefs.

      It also seems as if she is displaced. She was born outside the immediate area. We don’t know the exact location, but we know it wasn’t in the territory that Jesus has travelled. If she were born in Tyre where Jesus is, they would have just said that. But the distinction places her outside the normal bounds of Israel. Her native language was probably not Hebrew, but one of the other Semitic languages. It states she was Greek, so perhaps she spoke Greek as well.

      I wonder if she has had to flee her birthplace because of some tragedy. No mention of her husband. No mention of relatives. It sounds as if she was in witness protection or hiding from domestic violence. (Just speculating.)

      And yet she hears about Jesus and she seeks Him out. Her desperation drives her to look beyond her normal resources, since they have failed. And yet, she begs Jesus. We don’t beg from equals. We beg from someone who has more power, more authority. When was the last time you begged?

Desperate Hope

Mark 5:21-22

      The same physical gestures can be very different things to different people. We don’t realize this until we are dropped in the middle of another culture and try to communicate. I remember several years ago when the US took the battle against Islam’s militant ideology to their soil. One of the strange things for us was their understanding of the bottoms of our feet. For us here in the West, seeing the souls of someone’s shoes has no significance. We sit with our feet crossed and point the bottom of our feet at each other all the time. It means nothing.

      But this same gesture in the world of Islam is an insult. Enemies are put under your feet. You wipe the souls of your feet in the statue of a disgraced leader’s statue. Even when flying over in a helicopter, you don’t want your feet dangling over the edge because you are then insulting everyone below you. You throw your shoes at the President to show the ultimate contempt. Physical gestures have very different meanings.

      We find in our text today another example of someone falling on their knees before Jesus. If you remember from a previous incident that the demon possessed man came running and begged that they not be tortured. They were filled with fear that judgment had come.

      So if the sound were turned off and you watched Jairus’ actions, you might conclude that he too thought judgment had come, that he was filled with fear. But this is not the case. You can’t judge internal attitude and motive from the externals.

      Jairus is desperate. His daughter is in grave condition. If something is not done immediately, she will die. And Jairus knows this. He is so desperate that he puts aside his pride, his position, his reputation and comes and begs this itinerate preacher. This man has a position from which he projects his authority, day after day, week after week. He is a synagogue leader. He leads a gathering of leaders in his community. He walks in different circles than some other people. His word carries weight.

      Jesus has no earthly position, no earthly title or qualifications. He is a nobody. And yet Jairus comes running and falls before Jesus. He hadn’t planned to meet Jesus there, as far as we can tell. It could be Jairus was part of the intelligence gathering attempt by the Jewish leadership. They wanted to catch Jesus in something He said in order to have a reason to kill Him.

      But Jairus had other more important things on his heart and mind. Whatever reason for his presence on the beach, when Jairus sees Jesus the condition of his daughter takes center stage. All his previous plans went out the window. He realizes this might be his one chance to ge help for his daughter. So in that moment, he jumps on the opportunity.

      I don’t know if you have ever been this desperate, but I have. There have been several moments in my life when all else fell to the side. The need was so great that every other priority didn’t matter. My schedule was cleared and the issue became the only thing of importance.

      And in that moment, I prayed. What do you do when those moments of desperation arise? Is your prayer one of desperation, knowing that Jesus is able? Jairus knew Jesus was able, so he asked. Do you know that Jesus is able?

The Twenty-Plus-Eight’s

Psalm 28, 58, 88, 118, 148

Have you ever tried to get someone’s attention in a crowd? You smile, you wave your hand, your arm shoots up, you speak, you shout, you jump up and down, side to side. And then you realize it isn’t the person you thought it was, and you shrink back into the crowd. The writer of Psalm 28 seems to be trying to get the LORD’s attention. If he doesn’t get His response, he feels like his life is over (v1). He is afraid he will get caught up in the LORD’s judgment (v3), caught in the crowd and swept away. He wants the wicked to be judged and he feels his fate will be different. As a result, worship springs forth (v6). Then he extends that trust on behalf of all of Israel (vv8-9).

If we were to make a music video of Psalm 58, I can imagine that the first scene would involve someone pointing a finger right into the chest of the other, forcefully accusing him. The writer has only harsh words to describe these rulers. Listen to the images he uses and picture how you would construct the music video to illustrate his message of judgment. Snakes, charmer, teeth, fangs, vanishing water, slug. You get the picture. And that is the point of this language. It engages the mind in multiple ways. It is more than words, it captures the imagination. Setting our imagination listen to the Scriptures can open up the meaning to our modern ears. So listen with your imagination engaged.

Loneliness can be one of the most difficult emotions to face long term. We were designed to be in relationship with God and with other humans. Isolation can be torture. Psalm 88 expresses the pain of being overwhelmed with troubles (v3) and isolated from your support network (v8). This difficulty is why we are called on to take care of orphans and widows, and visit those in prison. He is desperate for the LORD’s answer (vv9 & 13-14). He hasn’t received an answer. Whatever has afflicted him has been chronic (v15) and seemingly permanently isolating (v18). He is desperate and alone. Not a good place.

Psalm 118 is an interactional psalm, one where different groups respond to each other by repeating certain phrases. Three very obvious responses are “His love endures forever” (vv2-4), “but in the name of the LORD I cut them down” (vv10-12) and “the LORD’s right hand has done mighty things (vv15-16). This is probably a very energetic interaction. Verse 15 speaks of shouts resounding. I can’t imagine mumbling the response. There are responses that are appropriate in worship, and some of them are loud and energetic. Don’t be afraid of cheers in church.

Psalm 148 calls on various groups to enter into worship. The writer starts with the universe (vv1-4), inviting the stars to declare praise to Him. Then he calls on all the creatures of the earth to do the same (vv7-12). Following each of these invitations he gives the reason for their praise: He created them and established them forever. We are to join in this chorus of praise. We are a people close to His heart (v14).

The Twenty-Plus-Six's

Psalm 26, 56, 86, 116, 146

No one is a shoo-in for heaven. Even the writer of Psalm 26 seeks the LORD’s deliverance. He writes that he has lived a life of obedience. He even asks the LORD to do the examination of his heart and mind to see if he is wrong about his own self-assessment (v2). Would you want to ask the LORD to do this? And yet this is exactly what we need to do. We can deceive ourselves into thinking we have it together and we need the LORD, who knows us better than we know ourselves, to come and open up our eyes and conscience. It will be a painful process, but then cleansing can happen. And since it is the LORD showing us our failings, He is right there with mercy and forgiveness.

Psalm 56 records the desperation of someone who is under active attack. Notice the weaving of his current situation with his words of trust in the LORD. When we enter the LORD’s presence with our concerns we are trusting that He will help us handle it. When we enter His presence, all other concerns seem to be small by comparison to His greatness (vv10-11). Then, when we are brought through, the LORD gets the credit (vv12-13). I have made a mess of my life every time I have tried to control it. When I enter His presence and give Him control, peace overwhelms me and things work out.

Do you ever feel like there is a battle raging within you, a battle for the direction of your life? Psalm 86 hints at this battle when the writer asks the LORD for an undivided heart (v11). It can be easy when there is an external battle, enemies attacking and you life feels threatened, to allow fear to overwhelm your faith. We get impatient and sometimes take matters into our own hands instead of waiting. The writer seems to remind the LORD of his desperate situation (v14) and then remind himself of the LORD’s character (v15). This is a pretty good combination, our problem paired with God’s character.

We must always remember that we are creatures, not the Creator. Psalm 116 records what happens after the LORD has brought victory. I love that the writer tells himself to return to rest (v7). Sometimes we need to stop the negative fear talk that runs through our head. But that does not mean that we can’t bring our honesty into the LORD’s presence. We can trust and talk about reality (v10). He trusted and talked about his affliction. We can talk about our cancer and still know that the LORD is faithful. Our words are the words of a creature and not His words. Our death is precious (v15), not something that takes the LORD by surprise. Faith is not a denial of reality. Faith takes reality into full account and walks into God’s presence with that reality.

Even the strongest ruler here on earth leaves his power at the grave (Ps 146:4). By contrast the LORD is forever (v6). He reaches to the lowest and most desperate of the world (vv7-9). Those without a voice He hears. And we need to stand with these who don’t have power in this world. When the political and economic powers run crazy, we need to stand with the least. Neither side of the political debate in Washington stands with the powerless. Each is twisting their message to capitalize on the weakness of the other. Each hopes to gain advantage in the struggle for the direction of the country. Neither one has the mind of Christ.