Masks...

"This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me."
-- Mark 7:6

Jesus spent time with all types of people. It seems in reading the gospels however, that - after the disciples - his time was weighted toward the down-and-outs of society. He touched lepers, ate with "sinners," and had conversations with prostitutes; to name a few. (And it is difficult for us to conceive of the cultural impact of his taboo interactions with these "untouchables.")

Jesus was accepting and gracious to them as people. This does not mean he accepted their limiting beliefs and actions. He never excused sin. But Jesus always loved the person caught in its snare. He still does.

Jesus saved his harshest words for a singular group of people: Hypocrites. These were the self-righteous. They were outwardly religious people with darkened hearts.

Hypocrite comes from a compound Greek word. Hypo, meaning "under" and krino, meaning "judge." It was a common word used to describe stage actors of the day. The idea conveyed was that of a performer wearing a mask.

It is an apt description of the self-righteous; wearing masks that conceal what is beneath. Portraying themselves as religious, they are faithless. Saying one thing, they do another.

I am at times a hypocrite. (Don't stop reading... you are too.) We hide behind masks, hoping others will not see the hurt, or sin, or ugliness that is beneath. But when we remove the masks, we find acceptance both from the God who loves us and from fellow reformed actors.

It is easier to be religious than it is to be faithful. It is easier to wear masks. It is easier to honor God with our lips, while our hearts are far off. But Christ desires to touch the untouchable and accept the unacceptable.

We must remove our masks before God and people. It takes guts.

But when the masks are gone we suddenly realize how much 

more freely we can breathe and how clearly we see. 

God, I leave my masks behind...

For now...
D


P.S. Several years ago, I wrote a post entitled MIND THE GAP. It refers to what I call the Hypocrisy Gap. It's a little long, but I've reposted it here:

http://dmacstanley.blogspot.com/2010/08/mind-gap_23.html

MIND THE GAP...

Americans refer to the underground trains that run the labyrinths of tunnels beneath our metropolises as subways.  Londoners affectionately call theirs the Tube.  Anyone reading who has spent time in the Tube already hears the voice; "Mind the Gap."

Though veteran Londoners have long sense become desensitized to it, any visitor to London's Tube is left with the audible imprint of the polite yet authoritative British voice.  The voice speaks to riders just before each stop (or on the platform as one awaits the incoming train). "Mind the Gap."

I encountered the voice on my first trip to London about 15 years ago, and I still manage to bring Mind the Gap into conversation at least once a week.  That could be due to the fact that I have very little creative conversational ammunition; or it could be, as I believe, that the voice made its impression.

The voice tells us to mind the Gap because when riding the tube - or the American equivalent - there is a Gap that must be minded.  The Gap is the void that exists between the train door and the platform (or vice versa).  If one were not to mind the Gap and step clumsily into this void, he would be horribly killed or disfigured (or at least twist an ankle) due to his lack of attention to the voice. Therefore the rider is reminded again and again, stop after stop to Mind the Gap. 

As leaders we are often unaware of our Gaps; or possibly worse, we are unconcerned by them.  This is a problem that cannot simply be chalked up to naivete.  The Gap exists as the void between who we perceive ourselves to be and who we really are. Trust me, those whom we lead are aware of our Gaps even if we are not.

I have also at times referred to the Gap as the Hypocrisy Gap.  This speaks more to the distance between what we believe and how we behave.  Character, or the lack thereof, is discovered both in the breadth of the Gap and the proactive and humble awareness of its existence; e.g. “I know it’s there and I am committed to working to close it.”  It is often well said that reputation is a reflection of how we are perceived by others, but character is who we really are - another example of the Gap. Pride tends to gloss over our GAPS and makes us consciously or subconsciously unaware and unconcerned.  We see this scenario again and again on national and personal levels, often with tragic consequences.  Headlines and homes are filled with stories of those who have failed to Mind the Gap.

Even more subtly, and long before failure - or tumbling into the void, to keep with the metaphor - the leader’s Gap creates tension.  The pressure builds both internally and externally (the former most often leading to the latter).  This tension is the telltale sign that we are putting a foot out into the abyss, where there is no platform or train.  The unspoken tension manifests itself in the teams we lead, eroding the foundations of communication, trust, and common vision.  The leader’s Gap creates dysfunction in multiple arenas when it is not Minded.

There is hope.  It is found in the simple yet profound statement, Mind the Gap. The road to recovery begins through the tollgate of admission.  The leader must be humble and introspective enough to take inventory.  “Where are my Gaps?”  “How big are they?”  And, “What (undesirable) cultural effects are they creating in the teams I lead.”  If we are humble and persistent in asking - and those whom we ask have no fear of consequences - it won’t take long for the Gaps to present themselves.   The bigger the Gaps, and the longer they have been left un-minded, the more difficult this process will be.  Trust, as Rome, is not built in a day, but burns easily.  However, authentic humility will eventually win the day.  These qualities – authenticity and humility – are the stuff of great leaders, and serve as the most important pillars in bridging the Gap.

I think all leaders need take a trip to London if for nothing else, to by a Mind the Gap t-shirt - they really are sold in about every souvenir shop.  We should wear them daily, probably in mirror image so that we can read them every time we take a look at ourselves.  After all, that is where true leadership begins – with a  look in the mirror; and a decision to Mind the Gap.


For now...
D

Leftovers...

"You give them something to eat... How many loaves do you have? Go and see."
-- Mark 6:37-38

God often uses the incredibly mundane to do the incredible. He uses the ordinary to do the extraordinary. For Moses it was a staff. For David it was a slingshot. And for thousands of hungry people committed to hear every word he would speak, Jesus made a feast from a boy's sack lunch.

No resource is too small when placed in the hands of Jesus. 

The fact is, God doesn't NEED our resources in the first place (and ultimately, they are his anyway). But God honors our faithfulness in the small things. And he uses what we offer up to him.

The story is recounted in all four gospels. Hungry people, worried disciples, a boy willing to give what he had, and a God who does the extraordinary with the ordinary; the incredible with the mundane.

When I envision the miraculous feeding of the 5,000 on the hill, I picture Jesus quietly laughing to himself (with a silly grin) the whole time as the astonished disciples keep coming back for more fish sandwiches to pass to the people.

The question: Will we offer to Jesus what we have?

It is what he asks of us. And he gives us the opportunity to take part in the miraculous.

Oh... and better bring some extra baskets - there will be leftovers!

God, I give you what I have to do with as you please...

For now...

D

My name is Legion...

"My name is Legion, for we are many."
-- Mark 5:9

Sometimes we feel we are facing (a) Legion. Our circumstances or problems or failures seem insurmountable. We have tried all we know to do. And yet, we are unable to produce the power to overcome. It seems we cannot muster the will to battle another day.

Many had tried to subdue the man we read about in Mark 5:1-20. They tried to control him. They tried to bind him. They tried to ignore him. All attempts failed. It is one of the stranger stories in a book filled with strange stories. A possessed man (soon to be free)... a herd of pigs (soon to be both possessed and drowned)... frustrated people (soon to be in awe) ... and a God who is (as always) in control.

And that is really the point. God is in control. He is in control of demoniacs and pig herds. He is in control of your situation and mine.

What is it that you face today? You have bound it and fought it; you have attempted both to control and ignore it. Yet it is there. It is real. And it is affecting the way you live. It is stealing your sense of joy and hindering your purpose.

Jesus is the undefeated champion who wants to fight for you. Ask him. He will come through. He is in control. (Sorry pigs!)

Not by might, nor by by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord... 

-- Zechariah 4:6

God, it is out of my control, I place it in your powerful hands...

For now...

D

Ears that won't hear...

He who has ears, let him hear.
-- Mark 4:9

It is one of the Jesus' most often used phrases. He is quoted in the gospels as saying it seven times. And he uses a close variation seven more times in speaking to the churches in Revelation chapters two and three.

During the course of his three year ministry, multitudes of people heard Jesus speak. Tens of thousands listened live as The Word Become Flesh spoke words of life. On hillsides, in synagogues, in the temple, on beaches, in houses - they heard his voice. They all heard, yet many didn't hear.

He who has ears, let him hear. 

Reactions and responses to Jesus' words varied radically. Some heard and were filled with joy. Some were convicted, leading to life-change. Some were healed. Some were restored. Some followed. Some were perplexed. Some were offended. Some were angered. Some walked away saddened.

They all heard, yet many didn't hear. It is the same today. It is the same for us.

How is it that we can have perfectly good ears, and yet at times, be so deaf? (In the same way we have 20/20 vision and yet can be so blind - sorry for the mixed metaphor).

The fact of the matter is this; how we hear and what we hear is a reflection of the condition of our heart. Our ears (at least spiritually speaking) are tied directly to our hearts.

When our hearts are filled with anxiety, we cannot hear.
When our hearts are filled with self-centered pride, we cannot hear.
When our hearts are filled with anger, and bitterness, we cannot hear.

Deafness, spiritually speaking, is a condition of the heart. And humble hearts are hearing hearts.

He who has ears, let him hear. 

God whispers all around us. Do you hear?


God, give me ears to hear...

For now...
D

"But it doesn't make sense, Lord..."

And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, "He is out of his mind."
-- Mark 3:21

Faith doesn't always make sense. If it did, it wouldn't really be faith. We see evidences of this God in whom we have believed, but we do not see him. (Of course the same can be said of wind and gravity.)

The writer of the letter to the Hebrews put it this way:

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

-- Hebrews 11:1

Now, nowhere in scripture are we called to "check our brains" at faith's door. People of faith have historically led advancements in all areas; the arts, the sciences, commerce, etc. And blind faith has sometimes been used as a smokescreen excuse for both intellectual and theological laziness.

That said, if we wait for things to make perfect sense prior to believing, we will not believe. God speaks these words through the prophet Isaiah:

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, 

neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, 

so are my ways higher than your ways 

and my thoughts than your thoughts.

-- Isaiah 55:8-9

Jesus' own family didn't fully understand who he was or what was his mission - at least not early on. And for each of us there are times faith compels us to make decisions that may not make perfect sense. We may call it a leap of faith, but in reality, we can never out-leap God's care, power and ability to catch us when we jump. 

We should always evaluate our leaps according to scripture and through prayer, and even counsel with other believers. But ultimately, your leap is yours, and mine is mine. 

I have spent far too long, as I look back, on the ledges of faith. Ledges create vertigo and eventually immobilize. There comes a time to leap.

When my youngest daughter was very young I had to constantly keep my head on a swivel when I took her to the pool. She would leap from the side, diving board, ledge, etc. without hesitation, because she had complete faith that dad would catch her.  

We should have the same faith in our Father. We can never out-leap his desire and power to catch leapers. 

God, today I will leap because I know you are there...

For now...

D

Miracles...

Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, "Your sins are forgiven," or to say, "Rise, take your bed and walk?"

-- Mark 2:9

Ultimately even the greatest of miracles is temporary - all but one.

Jesus once raised a man from the dead. Lazarus had been in the grave four days. Lazarus' sisters hoped Jesus would show up earlier and heal their brother of his sickness. Jesus didn't do what they expected. He did something more incredible. And a dead man was given life.

But it was temporary. Eventually Lazarus died (again). The goal here is not to be morbid - there is really good news coming. But think about it for a moment. Blind eyes that miraculously see, will again be closed. Deaf ears that suddenly and miraculously hear will one day know silence. Healed bodies eventually break down. You get the picture.

In today's chapter, a paralyzed man receives two miracles. (I might argue three - but we'll come to that). One miracle is temporary. One is eternal.

Jesus begins with the eternal. He forgives the man's sin. Then as a demonstration of his power and authority to forgive, he heals the man's body. This second miracle - the more noticeable and eye-catching one - was temporary. Great! Incredible! Miraculous! But temporary.

It was the first that was actually earth-shattering. Heaven and hell shattering might be more accurate. The first miracle was destiny changing. Jesus forgave the man's sins. Jesus made him right with God. Jesus redeemed and restored the man. Jesus showered him with amazing grace.

And then, just to show that he actually could do what he said, Jesus offhandedly says to the paralytic man, "Oh, pick your mat up. You won't need it any more. Walk."

Those around were offended by the first miracle. "Who has the authority to forgive sin?" Exactly! The answer to your question is standing in a robe right in front of you. And he stands before us today - always with the offer of miraculous forgiveness and restoration.

Wait. Stop and think about that. You are forgiven!

What miracles are we praying for today? We need to have perspective. It is good to pray for the miraculous: our health, our finances, our relationships, our circumstances. But ultimately these will be temporary. Jesus offers much more.

I mentioned there might be a third miracle at work in the story. This is the miracle of the four friends. The four may not have been the best planners, but their hearts were large. They cared for their paralyzed friend; enough to do the unreasonable. Enough to be miracles to him - or at least the ones that carried him to the miracle. You and I can be miracles to others today; by bearing their stretchers to the feet of Jesus. And if need be, have the guts to dig through a roof or two.

God, you are the Miracle Giver...

For now...
D