When We Look Away

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How could any sentient person suggest that the Sandy Hook massacre was fake?

When I see the pictures of the victims I know that their families are lost in a sea of grief and pain. Not only do they miss their loved ones, they are caught in a vicious web of the beautiful life taken and the bloody end.

Yes. The pictures are there–a crime scene where there should have been snack time. The reality of what it takes to rob a person of her life with a deadly spray of bullets.

If we really want to make our families safer we must face the bodies of our dead.

And perhaps face the cost of our pornography of violence.

Is Your Child Safe in Public School?

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Sometimes I just don’t want to write stuff. This is one of those posts–

The scene was described to me. It is compelling and comes from an impeccable source, but I did not see this happen–

A high school girl is at the center of a tableau in a public school. At least one educator is present as well as students. Her foot is held captive by a boy who has a specialized diagnosis and a foot fetish. He gains gratification from holding the girl’s foot. So no one removes him or stops him.

I would call this sexual battery and would raise a ruckus if it happened to my child. But unfortunately it is not an isolated incident.

Three related stories from three separate public schools involved similar incidents of sexual conduct during a school event or on school property.

No charges were filed in any of these incidents and to my knowledge no disciplinary actions were taken.

My thoughts?
No comment.

Gifts and Siblings

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Mark 6:1-3 (NIV)
Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. [2] When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed. “Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him, that he even does miracles! [3] Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.

Lance Armstrong got $200,000 for speaking gigs. Jesus spoke for free.

And he backed up his wisdom with miracles, his miracles with suffering, his life for ours.

But all we see is his poverty and his ordinary family?

Or do we see more? Are we listening to the still small voice of God in the world? Or is it still the flash of the imposter that holds our gaze?

Private Resurrection

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Mark 5:39-43 (NIV)
He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.” [40] But they laughed at him. After he put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. [41] He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). [42] Immediately the girl stood up and walked around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. [43] He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.

Unwise to laugh at Jesus.

He knows when we are dead and when we are merely sleeping, and I imagine he could have pointed out people around him who were already dead–who failed to absorbed eternal life.

He tells the girl to rise and although we know she has been dead for at least a few hours she gets up restored.

Her healing is complete. Then he gives her an additional gift–privacy. She will not have to go through any ritual purity, public scrutiny or unwanted celebrity.

She gets to live again, whole.

Jesus both restores and loves those he resurrects.

Eliding Miracles

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Mark 5:34-36 (NIV)
He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.” [35] While Jesus was still speaking, some men came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher any more?” [36] Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”

This makes me weep with joy and gratitude–ignoring what they said.

I follow this man like a puppy dog because he ignores what they said and raises the dead.

If you are gonna travel effortlessly on the surface of water you gotta hold tight to the rope.

A Parable of Faith

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My kids are practicing French, handwriting, and shooting the breeze. They are quoting Patrick Warburton, who could read tax law and be funny. They remind me of my father, who was a military helicopter pilot.

He used to take the back roads. He would head down some narrow country road with a mysterious look on his face. Where are you going? We would ask.

I know a short cut. He would tell us.
He had marked the roads as he flew over the countryside.

I think of this when I ask God, why?

He sees beyond the horizon, the big picture, the answers to all my why?s

He Knows

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Mark 5:25-34 (NIV)
And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. [26] She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. [27] When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, [28] because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” [29] Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. [30] At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?” [31] “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, `Who touched me?’ ” [32] But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. [33] Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. [34] He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”

Jesus lived his life for me, for you. A sceptic reading Mark would shrug and say that Mark crafted this story. I believe Jesus crafted it. Every detail matters–in the story, in his life, in out lives. Nothing is accidental.

I think about those 12 years of waiting. Jesus was there–in Israel, alive in the world–he was on his way to her.

I have lived through a number of chronic conditions. Pain, illness, suffering, grief without a quick-ish resolution is terrible. You live with the pain of today and the dreadful fear of all those tomorrow. What if it gets worse? What if it never stops?

The definition of unending suffering is hell.

The Bible tells us this woman’s condition was getting worse. Imagine her mixture of hope and fear when she heard about Jesus, as she pushed through the crowd toward him.

Jesus heals her automatically.. His power is abundant. He stops everything to talk to her because he loves her.

The gift of his love, his gaze, is more precious even than her restored health and freedom.

Waiting.

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Mark 5:21-29 (NIV)
When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake. [22] Then one of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus, came there. Seeing Jesus, he fell at his feet [23] and pleaded earnestly with him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.” [24] So Jesus went with him. A large crowd followed and pressed around him. [25] And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. [26] She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. [27] When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, [28] because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” [29] Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.

Jesus from afar. He is not constrained by cement walls, ordinary time, peer pressure, or the weather.

This can be hard to understand in a crisis. We want instant relief from grief or illness, and sometimes we get pain, loneliness, waiting.

This story works best if you don’t know the ending. Jairus was desperate. We know he wouldn’t have risked himself if he had another option. It must have been excruciating to wait. You can almost see the words in a bubble–

c’mon, my daughter is dying!

But Jesus is in no hurry. In fact there is no mention of him ever hurrying. The waiting is part of the story….

For all of us.

Wow! You’ve Changed!

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Mark 5:18-20 (NIV)
As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. [19] Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” [20] So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.

I would have wanted to follow Jesus like a puppy dog. But Jesus tells the man to go home.

Think of 5 of the worst humans you know–personally or historically. Now imagine them come home smelling good and acting like Mother Teresa.

That is what God can do.

And it is indeed amazing.