God is With Us

Matthew 14:10-13

“10 and [Herod] had John beheaded in the prison. 11 His head was brought in on a platter and given to the girl, who carried it to her mother. 12 John’s disciples came and took his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus. 13 When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place.”

Herod had John the Baptist beheaded and delivered his head to his wife’s daughter.  John the Baptist, the first prophet in Israel in 400 years, died so that Herod could have his way with a woman.  

It may have seemed to John’s disciples that evil had won and that God was nowhere to be found.  But they did not know that, after they left John’s grave, it was to God incarnate that they told of John’s death, it was to God incarnate that they poured out their hearts.  And it was God incarnate that withdrew to a solitary place to mourn the loss of John.

God is with us; listening, rejoicing and mourning….. with us.

Emanuel.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

The Fear

 Matthew 14: 6-13

“6 On Herod’s birthday the daughter of Herodias danced for the guests and pleased Herod so much 7 that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. 8 Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” 9 The king was distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he ordered that her request be granted” 

I used to work for a person that was angry from the moment he walked into the office until he left.  During my time there, I had the opportunity to talk with him at length on several separate occasions.  I discovered, through these conversations, that he was very insecure in his job, and feared that people would find out that he didn’t know as much as he should.  He feared that one day he would walk into the office and be fired.  His fears were the source of his anger.

Herod Antipas was the son of Herod the Great.   He was a tyrant in the mold of his father and was used to getting his way.  His fears were the source of his tyrannical behavior.  

He was afraid of John the Baptist and what John was preaching.  He feared the people that he ruled.  He was even afraid of what his party guests would think of him if he went back on his oath that he swore to give Herodias’ (his wife’s) daughter whatever she wanted presumably so that she would sleep with him.  

Fear can push us into wrong actions or freeze us into inaction. Fear is the root of our prejudices and our anger.  Our fears can interfere with our relationship with God and with other people.  God clearly asks all of us to overcome our fears.  

A line from the hymn, Because He Lives, describes how our life with Christ should be: 

“Because he lives, all fear is gone.” (UMH #364)

Let it be so.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Dependence on God

Mark 6: 7-13

“7 Calling the Twelve to him, he began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over impure spirits. 8 These were his instructions: “Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. 9 Wear sandals but not an extra shirt. 10 Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. 11 And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.” 12 They went out and preached that people should repent. 13 They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.”

When I go on vacation, I start a list of the things that I need and want to take with me weeks in advance.  As I think of things I write them on the list.  Some are obvious such as the clothes I will be wearing, the number of pairs of socks, etc.  Some items are based on where we are going, such as beach chairs, cooler and flip flops, versus hiking boots and binoculars.

But anywhere we go there is always a list that is two pages long, with check marks by each item as I pack them.  Jesus denied the Disciples any such list before they left on their trip.  In fact he denied them the very items that people think are necessary for a trip, such as money, extra clothes, or food.

The Disciples were to be models of simplicity, living off the land and the goodwill of those they encountered.  They were to have implicit trust that God would protect them.  Their humble means was designed to keep them humble in spirit.  Since Jesus had given them “authority over impure spirits” he knew that they would be tempted by the world in the same way he was tempted in the wilderness.  He did not want them to forget their dependence on God.

The material things with which we surround ourselves make us forget that we are dependent on God for everything, every day.  

As we make our lists for the things that we need and want, let’s not forget to write “God” at the top.  And maybe we will discover that is all we really need to write.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Are You Able

Matthew 9: 27-31

“27 As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” 28 When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” “Yes, Lord,” they replied. 29 Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith let it be done to you”; 30 and their sight was restored. Jesus warned them sternly, “See that no one knows about this.” 31 But they went out and spread the news about him all over that region.”

There is an old hymn that I remember singing as a child in church that has been in my head all of these years.  The refrain of this song says:

“Lord, we are able. Our spirits are thine. 

Remold them, make us, like thee, divine. 

Thy guiding radiance above us shall be 

a beacon to God, to love, and loyalty. “

(Are Ye Able, UMH #530)

In the scripture above we read about two blind men who reached out to Jesus.  Even in their physical blindness, they were able; able to see the spiritual truth of who Jesus is and what he can do.  

Blindness was a common problem in Palestine during the time of Jesus due to various diseases and infections, and lack of good hygiene.  The two blind men that followed Jesus called out to him, but Jesus did not respond immediately.  He waited until he was inside, in private, to address them alone.

At some point in our spiritual lives, we must encounter Jesus alone.  And we must privately decide if Jesus is who people say He is.  He will ask us “Do you believe I am able?”  

And if we answer yes, and if we are sincere in our answer, our eyes will be opened. But the spiritual life is about more than just seeing.  

At some point Christ will ask us, “Are you able?”

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Touch the Cloak

Luke 8:43-48

“43 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. 44 She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped. 45 “Who touched me?” Jesus asked. When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master,the people are crowding and pressing against you.”46 But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.” 47 Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. 48 Then he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”

Ceremonially, this woman had been unclean for 12 years and as such was socially ostracized.  This issue of the blood had ended her normal life.  She dared not openly approach Jesus so she crept up behind him in the crowd,  touching only His cloak.  

I once knew a woman who, because of the things of her past, did not feel worthy to receive communion.  She sat near the back of the church and watched as others received the elements.

Too often we let the things of our past keep us from God.  We do not feel worthy.  We do not think that God can love someone who has done the things we have done, said the things we have said or thought the things we have thought.  

After 12 years, the woman with the issue of blood worked up the courage to approach Jesus.  Immediately, she was healed.

In spite of what society tells us, or what may be hidden in our pasts...Christ beckons us to him.

Touch His cloak.  Better yet, take His hand.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Jairus’ Daughter

Luke 8: 51-56 

“51 When he arrived at the house of Jairus, he did not let anyone go in with him except Peter, John and James, and the child’s father and mother. 52 Meanwhile, all the people were wailing and mourning for her. “Stop wailing,” Jesus said. “She is not dead but asleep.” 53 They laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. 54 But he took her by the hand and said, “My child, get up!” 55 Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up. Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat. 56 Her parents were astonished, but he ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened.”

Notice how fast the people went from wailing and mourning to laughter.  They laughed because they knew the child was dead and they were not open to the possibility that she was not.  Even though they wailed and mourned her death, they did not want to listen to anyone who said that she was not dead.

Today, many people wail and mourn the Church.  The church they have known lies cold in front of them.  They know that it is dead.  They do not listen when Jesus enters the door and asks them to stop wailing.  

We have forgotten that where Jesus is the Church lives and can never die, no matter how small or empty a building may be.  Christ’s Church is in us, dwelling in our hearts.  We are the Church when we live in imitation of Christ.  

Christ holds our hands, saying “My child, Get up.” And through Jesus, “her spirit returned to her”.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

The New Wineskins

Mark 2:22

22 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins.”

This pandemic has lasted for a year now, and with it we have learned new ways of doing things.  We have learned new ways to shop, work, worship, and to fellowship with one another, for example.  Some of these new ways will be around after the pandemic is over because we have discovered that we like them.  Who knew that Zooming with family members on Sunday night could be so fun?

Jesus represented someone different who was preaching something new.  He was “the new wine.”  The new wine could only be poured into people who were ready to hear the good news.  The Pharisees were “the old wineskins” who were unable to hear the good of the good news because they held fast to their old notions of the law.

Christians are called to be lifelong students of the scriptures, especially the scriptures that contain the teachings of Jesus.  We are to soak up the wine of His teachings over the course of our lifetimes; absorbing new truths as they are revealed to us and as we are ready to learn them.  We are to never stop searching and learning and asking God to reveal His truth to us.  In this way, we are a perpetually new wineskin.

Jesus continues to pour out His new wine.  Will we receive it?

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)