Running and pausing with Jesus – Br. Todd Blackham

Depending on the Bible you have, todays gospel lesson may contain a couple of jarring section headings.  Mine says, “Coming Persecutions” and “Whom to fear.”  These instructions that Jesus gives as he sends out his first apostles are nothing short of harrowing.  They are not just warning of things that may happen, but rather foreknowledge of what will happen.  They are honest and direct ways of describing what it is that the apostles would very soon face.  James and John whom we remember today did indeed drink the cup of suffering for the gospel, and the faithful of every generation have found these warnings an apt description of their own experience when they were sent.

The followers of Christ in every age have had to contend with their own most pressing issues.  Loving God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength and loving our neighbors as ourselves have never been without challenge.  There have often been warring political factions that demand utmost purity and allegiance.  Our skin, our bodies, our place in society, have often been the battlegrounds of human conflict.  Today they have their own particular slogans, banners, and champions. Read More

Potential for Ministry – Br. David Allen

davidallen_1Luke 5:1-11

Each of the Gospels has its own way of telling how Jesus called his disciples.  In today’s reading from St. Luke’s Gospel we can see how Jesus used a miraculous catch of fish as the opportunity to call the first of those who came to be his disciples.

At some point early in his ministry Jesus established Capernaum as his home, on the NW corner of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Lake of Genneseret.

Jesus had become a familiar sight as he walked along the shore of that inland sea. Because of this Peter and those fishing with him could feel comfortable with him on that day when Jesus got into one of their boats and asked them to put out into deep water and let down their nets. Read More