The Best Gift

Mark 14:8-9

      One decision can alter the course of history. I had an experience recently driving a car in Scotland. It was my first time driving in the United Kingdom where they drive on the opposite side of the street. Now you might thing that is no big deal, but believe me, it was tough. For over 41 years my brain has been trained to drive on the right side of the road, to watch for danger coming at me from the left side, to turn right when I want to turn right, not go left around the roundabout and then turn left. My brain screamed at me “danger, danger, danger” for two full weeks.

      On day 10 of my driving, it had had enough. All the vigilance I could muster had been used up. I let my guard down for a moment. I didn’t double check my turning decision. Crash! My driving record of thirty years ruined in a moment. Luckily I paid the extra for the rental car insurance. No one was hurt. And so far I haven’t been summoned back to the UK for a trial.

      I am glad to be back on US soil again, where people drive on the right side of the road! My brain has gone out of high gear, back into normal mode. Driving makes sense again. People aren’t trying to kill me every moment of every trip.

      Jesus is at the supper at Simon’s house and a woman has come in and poured very expensive oil on His head. The disciples have gotten very upset over what they perceive as a waste of valuable resources. But Jesus sees beyond the cost.

      Jesus hears in this woman’s act an act of love. She knows something that the disciples seem to constantly miss: Jesus is going to die. She poured the fragrant oil as a way to prepare Jesus for His upcoming death. I imagine that the fragrance was still present a few days later when He was crucified and buried. They didn’t have the same shampooing routine as we do. They probably only washed their hair occasionally. They certainly didn’t do it every day. And Jesus betrayal and death are only a couple days away. The fragrance would have still been noticeable.

      What I find wonderful is that Jesus honors this unnamed woman. Her act of kindness is remembered. She has a memorial, unlike so many others of her day. So many who had contact with Jesus faded into history. Her memory is still alive. Her act of kindness wrote her story in the pages of history, not just human history but eternal history. And yet she remains nameless.

      I want to be an unnamed man. I want what I did for Jesus to be remembered. I don’t care if my name is attached. I want Jesus to be the center of all that I do. But I am not there yet. There are still times when “I” get in the way. I want my way. I want the glory. I want the credit. I want the spotlight focused on me. Forgive me Lord!

      Do you ever want the credit for something you did?

Celebrity Status

Mark 6:53-56

      I’m not really sure why anyone would want to be a celebrity. I know I don’t want to be really famous. I like being able slip in and out of places without being noticed, without someone asking for an autograph or a selfie with me. I don’t want the special perks, like the limo and driver. I don’t want the vacation homes in Tuscany or Aspin. I don’t want the chef preparing gourmet meals every day. I don’t want people constantly telling me how great I am.

      OK, I can see how there might be an allure to being famous. But I don’t want to give up my privacy, or the little I have left with the government collecting data. I know Google Maps has my picture, or at least it did until the most recent update! If we post anything on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, they have you. And there is no going back!

      Jesus had a problem with crowds. Everywhere He went, the crowds seemed to flood Him. As soon as He would arrive in a new place, word would spread and people would bring the sick to Him to be healed. I can imagine if I were in His shoes, I would get very tired of this. Just the physical demands of all the giving would take its toll on anyone. And yet Jesus keeps giving.

      If you remember the flow of our text, Jesus has been trying to pull His disciples aside for some much needed R&R. They were sent out on their first public PR campaign, and Jesus hasn’t had sufficient time to debrief them and give them time to recuperate. Every time they get in a boat to pull away from the crowds to get that much needed alone time, the crowds show up and Jesus turns His attention to the crowds and away from what seemed to be at least temporarily something important.

      This does not mean that what Jesus is doing is unimportant, or that the disciples can’t learn from watching and participating in what Jesus is doing. But it does mean that Jesus’ notoriety did get in the way. Remember how Jesus would specifically tell people to NOT spread the news about healing or miracle that He had performed. He didn’t want the publicity. He knew it would change the execution of His mission.

      So next time you look at the perks of being a celebrity, remember the downsides as well. I pray none of you seeks celebrity status. If it happens because of the Holy Spirit’s role in your life, then so be it. I pray that you don’t seek it as an end in itself. And I pray for those who are celebrities, that they would learn to not believe what is written about them, that they take a sober look at their reality and call out for the grace of God. I know I do.

Too Much

Mark 3:7-12

      There is a cost to being famous. We see it every day in the tabloid in the checkout lines. Famous people caught without their makeup, going through relationship problems, abducted by aliens, talking to dead people. The list could go on and on. When you are famous, your life becomes fair game for those who gather worthless gossip and spread it around the globe. The redeeming value of the possibility of the President divorcing his wife, or Justin Beiber racing his car again under the influence of drugs and alcohol is almost non-existent. And yet, so much time is spent discussing these types of meaningless things. But this is the cost of notoriety.

      I am glad I am not famous. I wouldn’t want that kind of attention. I don’t want groupies! I am sure I do some things that would make headlines. I have been known to not shave on days off! I like to eat unhealthy food every once in a while.

      Jesus was getting famous. He is teaching in a way that communicates His authority. He backs up what He teaches about His identity with miraculous healings. Things that have never been seen before are happening. Crippled limbs become straight and function normally again, in an instant. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of this?

      Jesus withdraws from the crowds with his disciples. He wants some time alone with them, but the crowds don’t get the memo. Some are desperate to get close to Him, because people who are close to Jesus get healed.

      It seems the more Jesus tries to keep things low keyed, the more publicity takes place. People from all over that part of the country start to show up. People travel for days just to see Jesus. And when demon possessed people are in His presence, the demons reveal who He is: the Son of God. These demons know that Jesus in God, that He is the Promised One. They don’t know the complete plan or redemption, but they know Jesus’ presence means their demise.

      I don’t know if you have ever wished to be famous. For Jesus success becomes a hindrance to the real mission. He is not here to gather a group of followers, or to heal people, or to give them a feel-good message. His primary mission is to train a handful of people to proclaim the reality of His death and resurrection, and what that means to our eternal status with God.

      How we deal with publicity says a lot about who we are, about our character. If we inflate like a balloon when the spotlight comes our direction, it might be time to withdraw with Jesus.

Hard Job

Mark 2:13-14

      Being a public figure brings with it certain challenges. I am sure you have seen the recent news, the ongoing saga of Justin Bieber. This young man is in serious need of Jesus. He has too much wealth with no wisdom. At 19 years old, he has never been given any real responsibility and his life is showing it. But many public figures have difficulty. They are constantly watched and scrutinized. Photographers are paid to take pictures of them at moments when they look their worst, or in the most embarrassing situations. The price of fame!

      When Jesus calls Levi in our text, he doesn’t call him to a life of fame, but to a life of following. The attention was clearly focused on Jesus. Jesus is out beside the Sea of Galilee (the lake) again. We don’t know the exact reason Jesus is out by the water again, but Mark told us He was forced to primarily stay away from populated areas because of the crowds created by the publicity that followed His teaching and miracles.

      Jesus shows up and word gets out. Remember that this is before Twitter or even cable news. The current location and direction of travel would not have been tracked by GPS. Everything would have been by word of mouth. I can imagine that when Jesus stayed somewhere that the word would spread that evening to the nearby villages that evening. By morning several layers of towns would know where He was and people would come. When they arrived they would be told His last known direction of travel and off they would go.

      Of course lakeshore makes a great place to teach. The land naturally slopes in toward the water making a natural amphitheater. Jesus voice would have carried across the crowd much more easily than in a residential area. From the text we see that Jesus is teaching the crowd that has gathered.  And in Mark’s condensed style Jesus is immediately walking along following His time of teaching. We don’t know what Jesus is doing while He walks. We do know that He comes upon Levi at his place of employment. I don’t know what his booth looked like, but people approaching must have known that it was time to pay the tax.

      Most people approaching the booth would have had a reaction much like our reaction to a toll booth today. Do you gleefully approach a toll booth excited to pay your toll? No! Most of us see the stop as an inconvenience, an interruption in our journey. I can imagine the name calling that Levi had to endure as he did his job. The complaining about the tax, its amount, the fact that they just paid a few miles back, about the unfairness of the system, that they were being taxed too much, about how did Levi expect anyone to make a profit. The list of verbal abuses could go on and on.

      But instead of complaining, Jesus simply speaks to Levi those words that are familiar to us, “Follow me.” They were probably the only kind words Levi had heard at work in a long time. And Levi responds. Levi follows. Are you willing to follow like this?