Mark 2:1-12:  When he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. So many gathered around that there was no longer room for them, not even in front of the door; and he was speaking the word to them. Then some people came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. And when they could not bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him; and after having dug through it, they let down the mat on which the paralytic lay. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, “Why does this fellow speak in this way? It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” At once Jesus perceived in his spirit that they were discussing these questions among themselves; and he said to them, “Why do you raise such questions in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Stand up and take your mat and walk’? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” – he said to the paralytic – “I say to you, stand up, take your mat and go to your home.” And he stood up, and immediately took the mat and went out before all of them.”

In reading the above scripture I started thinking what would happen today if Jesus came back to earth as a man. What role would I play? Would I be a betrayer like Judas, a doubting Thomas or a self proclaimed Paul? Would I be amongst the modern day scribes or would I be one of Jesus’ followers? Would I have the courage to seek Jesus out so he would put his healing hands upon me?  Would I have the faith to open my eyes and see?

Of course I will probably never know the answer to these questions but I can  surmise what I would do. As I read Dick Sales’ writing the other day I realized then that I play different roles depending on life situations.  There are times when I am at the top of Know It All Mountain.  When I am high on that mountain, life is exhilarating, each moment of the day is exciting and I have a vast amount of energy.  I feel God’s presence in every thing I do — and then comes the fall — into the depths of humility.  In the depths of humility, I am asking God, “where did you go?” although it is not God who has left, it is me who has forgotten to ask God to come along.

In closing I want to say I can only hope that if Jesus came to my door, he would be welcome and when he left, he would say that mine was a home filled with love. 

-Cindy Jones

Luke 22:3 “Then Satan entered into Judas….”

There are two contrasting readings set for February 24th. The first is Job Chapter One, where God boasts that Job is the real McCoy, a truly good man. The other is the betrayal of Judas. And as I read them I couldn’t help thinking how human Judas seems and how unlike us Job is. Job rants and raves that he has done nothing to deserve his misfortune through forty chapters and finally the things he has lost are restored and he is chided by God for trying to challenge God. Job is justified and Judas is condemned.

A newly discovered document purports to be a gospel according to Judas and seeks to prove that Judas was the real champion of God by bringing to pass exactly what God wanted for His son Jesus. The Judas document, dating from perhaps the second century, shows that some early Christians found it impossible to imagine that a person who had lived intimately with Jesus for years could have had him killed.

I don’t buy that argument. I am just as likely to be a betrayer as I am to be a champion for Jesus. Years ago God called me to do something that I would never have done on my own while I was in South Africa. I did what I believed God called me to do in that apartheid land and was declared a prohibited immigrant there. But while I was doing this courageous thing I also felt the magic of the situation in my life and felt I could do no wrong. My years of feeling guilty rolled away and while in my exalted state I was tempted to seek to win a local lottery. I thank God it went no further. I lost and  later became aware that what I had done in the lottery was succumb to one of the basic temptations. I picture Judas as being awed by Jesus and feeling initially that he was ‘in the spirit’ and could do no wrong. Hadn’t Jesus said he was to be crucified? So Judas helped it to happen and then realized what he’d done.  This Satan within is alive and kicking and waiting for any of us to get that momentary rush of feeling that we can do no wrong, that we know a shortcut, that we can ‘fix’ it.  Only genuine humility can keep us from acting out such moments. I know that now.

Lord Jesus, help us; rescue us from the temptation from within and teach us humility in life and love.

Amen.

Dick Sales