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Gentleness - Week 8

Monday

Mark 9.38-41

38 “Teacher,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.”

39 “Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “For no one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, 40 for whoever is not against us is for us. 41 Truly I tell you, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to the Messiah will certainly not lose their reward.

From time to time I can be pretty defensive. What I mean by this is that sometimes when I’m confronted with something that challenges or stretches me I respond by giving reasons for why I did things or didn’t do things. Normally this is pretty benign. But if I feel like the challenge is unfair or aggressive, my defensiveness can become a bit angry.

So when I read about how Jesus dealt with potential rivals, I am very impressed! Jesus wasn’t defensive at all! In fact, it was his disciples who were defensive – they tried to shut the challenge down!

But Jesus’ response was better. It was gentle. Let’s be honest, if anyone had a right to be angry here it was Jesus. These people were driving out demons in his name after all! But Jesus didn’t get mad. Instead he simply said that whoever is not against us is for us.

These words from Jesus are amazing! He didn’t view these people as a threat. He wasn’t angry that they were using his name. Instead, he looked at the big picture, he took it all in. And in the final analysis, Jesus realized that while he could exercise his strength and power in order to protect his name and his message, he knew that in so doing he might do damage to his name and his message.

Jesus chose gentleness over defensiveness, openness over stinginess, gracefulness over frustration.

Father, as we live lives more and more synced with your Spirit, may the same kind of gentleness, openness, and gracefulness be developed in us. Teach us through your Spirit. Amen.

~Matt Barnes

Tuesday

Matthew 19.13-14

13 Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them.

14 Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” 15 When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there.

“A person’s a person, no matter how small.” ~Dr. Suess

“There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children.” ~Nelson Mandela

“Every child you encounter is a divine appointment.” ~Wes Stafford

I think it’s safe to say that the three quotes I’ve shared above resonate with all of us. We agree with them 100%! And the same is true about how Jesus treated and talked about children in Mark 10. We agree with him that children are important and that there is much to be learned from them.

But the truth is that over the course of human history, children have been greatly devalued. In fact, during the first century, when Jesus spoke these words and when Mark wrote them down, children were the least important people in the world. Children weren’t respected, they were often abused, and they were generally neglected. And things were very often worse for little girls, seeing that most families preferred to have boys who could grow up to be men who could carry on their family legacy.

And almost every time I’ve heard this text preached about or read people writing about it, they’ve pointed out these truths. And that’s what they are – truths. It’s true that children were mistreated in the first century and Jesus’ love and concern toward them, his gentleness toward them, was quite a different attitude than that of other members of his culture.

But here’s the sad reality: the situation isn’t much different today. We say that children are important, and to some extent we demonstrate that’s true, but the realities facing children in our world today sometimes paint a different picture.

Each year 7.6 million children die before they reach the age of five, often from preventable causes (such as lack of access to clean water or treatable diseases). It’s estimated that 1.2 million children are exploited by human traffickers each year. And around 168 million children are trapped in dangerous child labor situations all around the world.

Sometimes statistics like these are overwhelming. Other times we may be tempted to write them off as things that happen in the developing world or under oppressive regimes in other countries. But the truth is that children in America face hard times too.

In America 1 in 5 children goes to bed hungry, with the ratio going up to 1 in 3 for African-American and Latino children. There are 3 million reports of child abuse in America every year and it’s estimated that for every reported case there are two that are unreported. And each year over a quarter of a million children enter the foster care system.

Our gentleness toward children has much room to grow. As we are connected to the Spirit, he will encourage us to put our interests aside so that we can pursue the best interests of the most at risk among us, namely children.

So as the Spirit leads us to bend down and treat a child like the human that he or she is, let’s obey. As the Spirit leads us to do something about the facts that children face abuse, food insecurity, and all kinds of other suffering, let’s obey. And as the Spirit leads us to learn something about God, human tenacity, and gentleness through the children in our lives, let’s obey!

~Matt Barnes

Wednesday

Mark 10.13-16

13 People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. 14 When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” 16 And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.

The scene in this passage is an inviting one, as it shows a very loving and tender side of Jesus as the Good Shepherd, caring for his innocent and vulnerable “lambs.” He is not too busy to take time for them, nor does he have more important things to do than just hold them and care for them. He knows how important it is to place them under His blessing as the Good Shepherd, who will provide for their needs, protect them, and guide them through their life-journey.

This conjures up our own images of “little children” we know and love, who need the blessing of Jesus. Because they are innocent and vulnerable, they need more than what parents or family members alone can provide. Part of our family tradition, has been to have our little children dedicated or blessed at an early age, much as we do at LAC. First and foremost, we are asking the Lord to pour out His love and attention on them and to oversee the development of their lives according to His plans and purposes for them. That they will, at a very early age, “enter into the Kingdom of God.” We don’t want to miss that opportunity to place them intentionally under the care of the Good Shepherd.

At those times of dedication, we, as parents, are also saying that we are very thankful to the Lord for our children and are publicly committing to be responsible to faithfully raise them in His ways and purposes.

As an aside, I believe that as our “little children” grow up, whether we are parents, family members, or close friends, that they still need our continual prayers – prayers asking Jesus to bless them in every aspect of their lives. That responsibility never ends! And, Jesus is never “too busy” to answer those prayers. Many of us have children who are presently not walking with the Lord. Let’s not tire to pray for them to return to the arms of Jesus, who is waiting for them much as the father in the story of the “Prodigal Son” (Luke 15). Let’s remember Jesus’ promise in Mark 10:27, “…all things are possible with God.”

~Roger Bosch

Thursday

Mark 10.41-45

41 When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. 42 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

The passage above is the end of a story beginning in Mark 10.35 in which James and John ask to be Jesus’ lieutenants, his second and third in command. Jesus very kindly tells them that they don’t know what they are asking, gently redirecting them. When the rest of the disciples caught wind of what James and John had asked, they got angry! And could you blame them?

Maybe the other ten thought that they should be the second or third in command! Maybe some of themn thought that asking Jesus that sort of question was inappropriate and rude. And maybe some of the other ten were simply jealous that James and John had the opportunity to have a private moment with Jesus. Whatever the motivation, it’s easy to see why the rest of the disciples would have been angry.

Jesus, however, wasn’t angry. Earlier in this story he gently redirected James and John. And here, in this part of the story, he uses the silliness of James and John and the indignation of the other disciples as a teaching moment, gently revealing to them a central component of Jesus’ message – namely that serving others is paramount.

And if this was true for Jesus’ first disciples, then certainly it must be true of us today too, right? Of course! As we are led by the Spirit, gentleness is developed in us. We will slowly but surely stop fighting and clawing for every ounce of power and control we can muster. We’ll begin to be gentle instead, which can be defined as using power under control for the benefit of others.

Let’s be honest though, there’s not much harder in our lives as humans than being a servant. It’s truly difficult to put the interests of others first. But this is exactly what Jesus is calling for here – for those who follow him to be servants of all (note the “all” – not just a few, or some, or the deserving…ALL!).

Father, teach us through your Spirit to be gentle. Guide us by your Spirit to serve others, whoever they may be, whatever that have done or left undone. Amen.

~Matt Barnes

Friday

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.”

We all have a story we tell ourselves about our own worth – a story that has been shaped by our families, friends, our ethnicity, culture, the world around us, the way we see ourselves, and the way we believe God sees us.

This woman in Luke 8 was profoundly aware her own unworthiness, as she was culturally deemed “unclean” because of her bleeding disorder. She was not allowed to be in proximity to others, as she would make them unclean by her touch.

I love the response of Jesus here, and the way he gently interacts with this woman who touched his cloak, after boldly calling her to stand before him. He affirmed her worth and gave her more than just physical healing, when he could have responded to her in anger. He helped her change the story she told herself about her worth. Jesus’ strength and holiness is made manifest in his kind and gentle affirmation of the worthiness of the people he interacted with, over and over again.

I always think of my friend Maria when I read this passage. Maria began coming to Teen MOPS when she was 17 and pregnant. As an undocumented immigrant, she was used to staying in the shadows, keeping her head down and identity hidden. Living with her boyfriend’s family, her situation was tenuous at best, and she carried a heavy load of cooking and cleaning for the large extended family. Like the woman in Luke 8, she had told herself a story of her own unworthiness.

When Maria’s daughter was born, she continued to attend Teen MOPS on a weekly basis and gradually began to open up and share more about her life and dreams for the future. One night, the Bible study passage was this story. As we read the account of how the woman is healed when she touches Jesus’ cloak in the crowd, Maria’s eyes came alive. She began to grasp how Jesus treated this woman, and how he saw her as profoundly worthy—and how he responded with kindness, grace, and love in healing her, inside and out.

Maria chose to follow Jesus with her whole heart that evening, moved by an encounter with a Savior who loves us and is gentle with us. Her story changed forever.

Lord, may we follow in your example of gentle care and affirmation of the worth of those we interact with daily. Thank you for your precious example and for the way you love us.

~Nancy Stiles

Saturday

John 4.1-26

1 Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John— 2 although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. 3 So he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee.

4 Now he had to go through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.

7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” 8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)

9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)

10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”

11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?”

13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”

16 He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”

17 “I have no husband,” she replied.

Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”

19 “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”

21 “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”

26 Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”

Jesus had to go through Samaria. He had to.

Apparently other Jewish people during Jesus day did not have to go through Samaria. In fact, they acted as if they had to go around it, often going miles out of the way to avoid coming in contact with a dreaded Samarian.

But Jesus had to go through Samaria. Why? Here’s my take: there were two reasons, one for the woman at the well and one for all those who would read this story in the future.

First, Jesus had to go through Samaria for the woman he would meet at the well. Jesus knew that she would be there and despite all the barriers (he being a single Jewish male and she being a Samaritan woman living with a man who wasn’t her husband) that he had to talk with her. And Jesus did talk with her. He treated her like a human being. He talked with her about some deep theological issues as well as some personal ones. Jesus didn’t treat her the way that many in her life might have, as less-than, other, and unvalued. Instead Jesus treated her like a person worthy of his time. Jesus didn’t let her nationality, ethnicity, marital status, or sinfulness prevent him from doing so.

And this leads to the second point: Jesus had to go through Samaria for all of us who would read this story. Jesus knew that we would be plagued by our sinful natures which prompt us at all times to be divisive and judgmental. Jesus had to go through Samaria to show us what a Spirit-synced way of life looks like. And what does it look like? Well for one it looks like treating other human being as valuable because they are created in the image of God and Jesus deemed them worthy enough to die for them! And a Spirit-synced life also looks like gently engaging folks in our world no matter how different from us they may be!

May we all learn to be a bit more like Jesus as we are led by the Spirit!

~Matt Barnes