The Great Blessing

John 7:1-5

“After this, Jesus went around in Galilee. He did not want to go about in Judea because the Jewish leaders there were looking for a way to kill him. 2 But when the Jewish Festival of Tabernacles was near, 3 Jesus’ brothers said to him, “Leave Galilee and go to Judea, so that your disciples there may see the works you do. 4 No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.” 5 For even his own brothers did not believe in him.”

By this time Jesus had already fed the 5000, walked on water and healed many people, but Jesus’ brothers did not believe in Him as the Messiah.  They urged Jesus to go to the festival “so that your disciples may see the works you do.”  They thought that Jesus sought to become a worldly, public figure and they told Him to show himself to the world if he wanted to become famous.  

This has always sounded very similar to me to Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness, except this time the temptation came from His brothers.  

Of course, Jesus was not seeking fame or fortune, and did not like a public display of his works.  He told many that he helped or healed not to tell anyone.  Jesus eventually did go to this festival but he went in secret.  He did not go seeking human approval, but seeking to do the work of God.

If we desire the world to recognize us when we do the work of God, then we are in conflict with the life and teachings of Christ. 

But…. it is a great blessing for the world when it recognizes Christ in us.

“And, having become man, he humbled himself by living a life of utter obedience, even to the extent of dying, and the death he died was the death of a common criminal.” (Philippians 2:8)

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Ask Your Questions

Mark 9:30-32

“30 They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, 31 because he was teaching his disciples. He said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.”32 But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it.”

Were you ever afraid to ask a question because you thought you might look stupid or unprepared?  Or, maybe you thought the teacher might think you don’t know what you should know.  So, you sat there, with that question rattling around in your head and missed whatever else was said in class.

The Disciples were afraid to ask Jesus a question.  I have often wondered why.  According to the picture that is painted of Jesus in the scriptures, Jesus appears to be one of the most approachable people; willing to talk about and discuss any subject.  Why were they afraid?  It could have been an ego problem that kept them from asking.  They may have been afraid that Jesus or the other Disciples would think less of them.

In the spiritual life, we must ask questions and then pursue the answers until we get them or come close to getting them.  Spiritual growth and our relationship with God depend upon our constant pursuit of truth.

Ask your questions.  God will continue to love you.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Come Down the Mountain

Mark 9: 2-9

“2 After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. 3 His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. 4 And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus. 5 Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 6 (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.) 7 Then a cloud appeared and covered them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!” 8 Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus. 9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.”

Have you ever been on a vacation and had such a good time that you hated to leave?  In fact you may have toyed with the idea of staying an extra day or two?  And you may have done it, but you still had to come home. You still had to “go down the mountain” to the real world.

Jesus and three of His disciples had a wonderful experience on the mountain. You might say it was a mountain top experience.  Peter wanted to build shelters and  stay on the mountain for a longer period of time. 

But, they had to go back down, where people were waiting for them; where they put into practice what they had learned on the mountain top.

In our spiritual lives, God will call us to the mountain top, where we will have a keen awareness of God’s presence; where we will learn things about God we never knew.  And, God also calls us to go back down the mountain to live out our faith.

Go up the mountain.  Have a wonderful spiritual experience that changes you in some way.  

But then come down the mountain... and change the world.  

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

God’s Will

Mark 9:1

And he said to them, “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see that the kingdom of God has come with power.”

The religious leaders of Jesus’ day wanted to kill Jesus.  They hoped that by doing this the movement that he started would fade away. But, in the verse above, Jesus is telling his followers that some of them will be alive to see the flourishing of what came to be known as Christianity.

A little more than thirty years after the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, Christianity had spread through most of the known world. His life, death and resurrection was the power and glory that fueled it all.

Some today say that Christianity is fading away.  But it is the same kingdom, the same power, the same glory that began it all and it will be this same power and same glory that ends it all.

And when it ends, it will be in God’s time and in God’s will.

God’s will be done.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

The Good News

Matthew 16:21-23

“21 From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!” 23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

Some things are hard to hear and we don’t want to hear them.   Bad news carries with it a certain amount of pain. We don’t want to believe that it is true.  But suppose the bad news that is too horrible to believe is actually the good news?

Peter did not want to believe what Jesus was telling the Disciples was true. He had given up everything to follow Him and had spent the last three years of his life witnessing the miracle of His life and words.  He had seen many miracles and many people healed by Him.  And now, this good man, the Messiah, the Son of God was saying that He was to die a horrible death at the hands of the religious leaders of the Jews.

Even though Christ had healed the blind, the crippled, and the lepers; had raised the dead and walked on water; even though people had seized him to make Him their king; even though He had asked him, “Who do you think I am?”and Peter had answered, “You are the Messiah, Peter could not believe what he was saying about His impending death and resurrection.

I think the only part that registered in Peter’s mind was the part about Christ’s death.  I don’t think he heard the part about being raised to life on the third day. Jesus was actually telling the Disciples that He would survive death.   But all they heard was the word “death”, which to them was bad news.  What they did not know was Christ’s death was an important part of the good news.

Christ’s life, death, and resurrection are the good news.  And all are waiting to be heard.

Hear the good news.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

This is What I Believe

Mark 8: 27-30

“27 Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?” 28 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” 29 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.”30 Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.”

I once had a political theory professor who would ask, “And what are your thoughts on this?”  If we answered with information that was in the textbook, he would say, “But that is what the author thinks.  What do you think?”  If we answered with information that was in our lecture notes, he would say, “No, that’s what I think.  What is it that you think?”  

On the subject of Christianity, we must all eventually decide for ourselves, in our own hearts and minds, who Jesus is.  We cannot say this is what my parents believed, or this is what I have been told.  

Peter said Jesus is the Messiah.

The question, “Who do you say I am?” is a question for all who would be a disciple of Christ.  We cannot borrow Peter’s answer.  It is a question whose answer lies within us.

It is a question that has to be answered... by each of us.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

The Yeast of the Pharisees

Matthew 16:5-12

“5 When they went across the lake, the disciples forgot to take bread. 6 “Be careful,” Jesus said to them. “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 7 They discussed this among themselves and said, “It is because we didn’t bring any bread.” 8 Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked, “You of little faith, why are you talking among yourselves about having no bread? 9 Do you still not understand? Don’t you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? 10 Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? 11 How is it you don’t understand that I was not talking to you about bread? But be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 12 Then they understood that he was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

You can understand why the Disciples had bread on their minds after the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000.  When Jesus mentioned the word yeast, they automatically assumed it had something to do with the fact that they had come across the lake with no bread.

But Jesus said to them, in effect, “Listen, didn’t you just see 5,000 people fed with little or no bread.  Don’t worry about bread.  I was talking about the teaching of the Pharisees and the Sadducees”.  According to Jesus, the Pharisees and the Sadducees were misguided in their teachings about the law and they did not live what they taught.

Jesus was warning the Disciples about the possibility of being corrupted by the world; of being more concerned with rules, rituals and regulations than with the true worship of God.

This warning has as much meaning today as it did when Christ spoke it.  Think of all the things that get in the way of our spiritual lives.  Little by little they gain a foothold and soon they occupy all of our time and all of our attention.

These things are the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Feeding the 5000 (Part 4: The Passionate Disciple)

Luke 9:10-17

“10 When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done. Then he took them with him and they withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida, 11 but the crowds learned about it and followed him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing. 12 Late in the afternoon the Twelve came to him and said, “Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging, because we are in a remote place here.” 13 He replied, “You give them something to eat.” They answered, “We have only five loaves of bread and two fish—unless we go and buy food for all this crowd.” 14 (About five thousand men were there.) But he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” 15 The disciples did so, and everyone sat down. 16 Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to distribute to the people. 17 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.”

I have a friend who came back from a conference, related to the issues of recycling, very excited.  What made him so excited was the fact that the people involved in recycling were passionate in their presentations, and looked forward to each session so much that they literally ran to the meetings.  My friend changed his career and entered the field of recycling after that conference.

The crowd that followed Jesus into the isolated, solitary place we read about in the scripture above, must have been a motivated, excited group of people.  These people knew that they were going into the wilderness to meet Jesus.  It is not like they stumbled upon Jesus and His Disciples by mistake. And without any food, without any thought of their own physical needs, they followed Jesus.

What would it be like if our members ran to church and vied for seats at the front of the sanctuary?  What would it be like if they were so eager to hear the Word that they abandoned all thought of their physical comfort?

Are we hungry?  Do we believe that Christ can feed us and satisfy our hunger?  

Will we follow Him to that solitary place?

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Feeding the 5000 (Part 3:The Eternal Question)

Mark 6:35-44

“35 By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. “This is a remote place,” they said, “and it’s already very late. 36 Send the people away so that they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”

37 But he answered, “You give them something to eat.” They said to him, “That would take more than half a year’s wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?” 38 “How many loaves do you have?” he asked. “Go and see.” When they found out, they said, “Five—and two fish.” 39 Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. 41 Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. 42 They all ate and were satisfied, 43 and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. 44 The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand.”

The Disciples told Jesus that the number of loaves they had was five; plus two fish- for 5,000 people.  Just by the tone of the words, we know that they thought they did not have enough to feed such a crowd.

How many loaves do you have?  That is the eternal question.

In ministry,  our resources always seem to be far shorter than the need. The harvest is plenty, but the workers are few, so to speak. In spiritual things, if we always weighed resources against the need, we would never accomplish anything or help anyone.  We would fold up our tents and go home.

Christ taught His followers that the Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed.  It always starts very small but soon grows and spreads exponentially.  A small resource can be multiplied many times over by the hand of God.

He divided  five loaves and two fish among them all.   They all ate and were satisfied. 

And the number who ate that day were 5000.

 May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Feeding the 5000 (Part 2)

Matthew 14:15-21

“15 As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.” 16 Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” 17 “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered. 18 “Bring them here to me,” he said. 19 And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. 20 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 21 The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.”

When the Israelites followed Moses into the wilderness, Moses was probably worried about how he and Aaron were going to feed a million people in a place where one person had trouble surviving.  We now know that Moses did not feed them, but God did.

In the same way, the job of feeding the 5000 in the wilderness was too large for the Disciples, so Jesus fed the crowd, and he fed them in abundance. The hunger of all who ate was satisfied and there were twelve baskets of food remaining.

Followers of Jesus may, at times, find themselves in the spiritual wilderness.  When this happens, remember that Jesus can give you the living water, and is himself the living bread of heaven

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” (Matthew 5:6)

Satisfied in abundance.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Feeding the 5000 (Part 1)

John 6:5-11

“5 When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” 6 He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.7 Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!” 8 Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, 9 “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). 11 Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.”

Jesus, at times, sought out solitary places to withdraw from the crowds that constantly surrounded him, to pray, and to teach his disciples.  This particular time he withdrew from Capernaum by boat to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, about four miles away.  

Unexpectedly, the crowd of people followed him by land and when Jesus arrived, a great crowd was arriving; about 5,000 men sat down on the grass in front of Jesus.  

Jesus’ trip to a quiet, solitary place did not go as he and the disciples had planned.  But Jesus, through the miracle of feeding the 5000, was able to teach His disciples about himself, about sharing, kindness, mercy, servanthood, abundance, and about love. 

When things do not go as planned for us, we have a choice.  We can react in anger or fear, or we can look at the situation as a time to learn what Christ is teaching us.

What is it that Christ is teaching you today?

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

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)

The Hometown

Luke 4: 28-30

“28 All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. 29 They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff. 30 But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.”

Jesus encountered a lot of angry religious people during his ministry.  I have often wondered about this especially since the Hebrew scriptures are full of warnings against anger.  One that comes to mind is from Proverbs 14:29  “Whoever is patient has great understanding, but one who is quick-tempered displays folly.”

Jesus was in his hometown of Nazareth, preaching in the synagogue. The people remembered him and liked his reading of Isaiah 61:1 and the beginning of his remarks.  But what angered them was Jesus saying that during certain times described in the Hebrew Scriptures, the Gentiles had been favored by God over the Jews.

The anger of the religious when they hear something that does not fit in with their own personal beliefs or prejudices continues today.  We must realize that whenever the scriptures are used to support oppression, suppression, and ostracism it is a direct contradiction of the teachings of Christ.

The people of Nazareth tried to throw Jesus off a cliff.   Let us not be guilty of the same.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

The Lampstand

Luke 8: 16

16 “No one lights a lamp and hides it in a clay jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, they put it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light.”

Who are you?  This is a question that you have to answer every day.  Are you a disciple of Christ or not?  We all have a fear of being seen as different. Yet, this is just what Christ asks us to be.  

We are to be different, not in a negative way,  but in the way we love.  We are to show love and mercy and forgiveness even in the midst of hate and retribution, even to our enemies.

This love is our light that shines forth into the world.  It is to be a beacon to the lost, the lonely, and the suffering; a light that should never be hidden.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

The Storm

Mark 4: 35-41

“35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” 39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. 40 He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” 41 They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

Storms can be scary.   Even though I have lived through a tornado, hurricanes, and terrific thunder and lightning storms, I am still awed and occasionally terrified by the forces of nature.  They make me feel small and not in control.

The Disciples, even though they were seasoned fishermen and had encountered storms before, were still awed and terrified of the forces of nature that sent waves crashing over their boat, nearly sinking it.

Jesus was asleep on a cushion in the back of the boat.  The sea was churning, the waves were swamping the boat, the wind was blowing, the Disciples were in a panic, and Jesus was sleeping.  It is just human nature that, when you are afraid and someone with you is sleeping through the scary event, you get a little irritated.

The Disciples woke Jesus up, and they asked him if he did not care that they were about to drown.  When a boat is in trouble on a violent sea, it is all hands on deck.  No one is exempt from trying to save the boat and the lives of the crew.  No one gets to sleep through the storm.

Jesus calmed the storm.  And this terrified the Disciples as much as the storm itself.  It was as if they had discovered that Jesus really was who he said he was.

When we encounter the living Christ, when we first realize who He is, it is frightening. It is not until we experience His eternal, unconditional love that we realize the sea that he has calmed is in our hearts.

And we know His peace.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)