Monday, 2/16/2015

“Seven Deadly Sins

Wealth without work
Pleasure without conscience
Science without humanity
Knowledge without character
Politics without principle
Commerce without morality
Worship without sacrifice.” ~ Mahatma Ghandi

LEVITICUS 22, 23

31“Keep my commands and follow them. I am the Lord. 32Do not profane my holy name, for I must be acknowledged as holy by the Israelites. I am the Lord, who made you holy 33and who brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord.”
1The Lord said to Moses, 2“Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘These are my appointed festivals, the appointed festivals of the Lord, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies.

• The Sabbath
• The Festival of Unleavened Bread
• Offering the Firstfruits
• The Festival of Weeks
• The Festival of Trumpets
• The Day of Atonement
• The Festival of Tabernacles

MARK 1:1-22

The Gospel of Mark begins with John the Baptist...

1The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah,^a the Son of God,^b 2as it is written in Isaiah the prophet:

“I will send my messenger ahead of you,

who will prepare your way”^c —

3“a voice of one calling in the wilderness,

‘Prepare the way for the Lord,

make straight paths for him.’ ”^d

4And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. 6John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8I baptize you with^e water, but he will baptize you with^f the Holy Spirit.” 

Jesus then comes, is baptized, is tempted in the desert and goes on to call his first disciples. He then goes to the Temple to preach where people are amazed at his knowledge and the authority with which he preaches. 

JOURNAL

The writer of the Gospel of Mark is identified as John Mark, he is one of Peter's associates and therefore Peter is his source.  It was written in the 60's AD. AD 64 is the year Nero started persecuting Christians, which may be why the book heavily emphasizes Jesus' suffering.  The book is the shortest of the Gospels and is heavy on action.  In this first half a chapter, Jesus is baptized, calls his disciples, faces temptation and begins teaching in the synagogue.

ACTION....I recently read back through The Road Less Traveled by Scott Peck.  There is a particular passage in this book that really struck me.

…I became increasingly aware of the ubiquitous nature of laziness. In the struggle to help my patients grow, I found that my chief enemy was invariably their laziness. And I became aware in myself of a similar reluctance to extend myself to new areas of thought, responsibility and maturation. One thing I clearly had in common with all mankind was my laziness. It was at this point that the serpent-and-the-apple story suddenly made sense.

I too have recently become aware of how laziness is at the core of my sin.  Love, and good honest work is hard, it requires me to extend myself and do things that require constant effort.  It requires me to seek God in humility and constantly be aware of my motives and the sneaky nature of this pull to take the easy route. It shows up when my son wants to go shoot the basketball when it is 30 degrees outside.  It rears its head when the last thing I want to do is open the Bible and read.  It is there at the core when shading the truth would cause less friction and make a relationship or situation smoother.  It is my flesh wanting an easier route, a guarantee, a way that I can be in control and therefore limit my suffering and increase my pleasure.  

So, God is not being too hard on the Israelites, he is saving their lives. He is constantly pushing them with new laws, new traditions, details upon details...yet this is his love and grace in action.  What would have happened to them had God not intervened in such a dramatic way?  They would have destroyed themselves..no doubt.  They were slaves who had been pushed and told exactly what to do for hundreds of years so therefore they needed specific detailed instructions for every aspect of their life...Reality is...I am no different.

22Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. 23Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. (Colossians 3:22-24)