Staying Connected to Jesus

The last few days’ readings (John Chapter 7 and most of 8) involved a lot of conflict. Jesus was harshly attacked. His followers must have been dismayed and unsure how to respond.  Jesus told them to draw near to Him amid that controversy. More specifically, He told them to believe, follow Him, and hold to His teaching. John 7:38; 8:12; 8:31-23. 

We see similar dynamics in today’s world; Jesus and His gospel are being assaulted in word and deed, from left and right.  We believers are not sure how to respond. My guess is that Jesus would tell us the same thing He told the believers in John 7 and 8: draw close to Him. 

Does that mean we are to retreat into a holy huddle in the face of the world’s pushback against Jesus? Not if we follow His instructions. He told His followers to “believe” and “follow” Him. The Greek words underlying those directions referred to, among other things, obedience,  conformity to a leader’s example, and being guided by him.  Jesus unequivocally told His followers to carry out scripture’s mandates to care for the vulnerable. Matthew 25:31-46; Wisdom Principles: Caring for the Weak & Vulnerable. We cannot do that without engaging the world. He confronted the powerful when they were out of line, and the Apostle Paul, Martin Luther, and other believers have followed His example since then. Matthew 21:12-17;  Matthew 23;  Luke 20:9-19; Acts 16:35-40; Acts 22:22-29;  What Role Did The Catholic Church Play In Solidarity?; The Role of Religion in the Civil Rights Movements. That to requires us to engage.  We cannot obey Jesus’ clear instructions or follow his example unless we actively engage the world.

But—and this is crucial— we can only effectively engage if we have an intimate and obedient relationship with Jesus. Without that relationship we will either burn out or become infected by the very evils we seek to address. 

So how do we do that?

Today’s reading provides important instruction: “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.’” John 8:31-32 (NASB, emphasis added).  The Greek word translated as “continue” meant to “dwell”, “lodge,” “be constantly present,” or “rooted in.”  That tells us that we must spend a lot of time connected to Jesus. That gives us the stamina, wisdom, and discernment to know how to respond to what we face. 

We can do that in at least two ways. 

One is through spending more dedicated, focused, time reading, studying, and praying with scripture. Some ways to do that are discussed here. 

Another way is to connect during other, less focused, times: 

[Look] for otherwise empty, unproductive, spaces in [your] day-to-day lives and sow[] seeds of Godliness there. Turn the radio off while you’re driving and pray or think about a scripture passage you recently read/heard.  As you do mindless chores, think about the good things that God has provided you and thank Him.  Ask God to get/keep you on track in your workday by praying every time you wash your hands. Filling in the Spaces.

The goal is to get, and stay, as close to Jesus as you can. That is how we gain the strength to do the things He call us to do. 

Prayer

Holy Spirit, draw us to Jesus amidst the upheavals around us. Bless us with rich times of focused interaction with you and your word. Engage us and help to respond throughout our days. Get us and keep us close to Jesus in whatever circumstances we are in. We ask this in His Name. 

 

Some Dynamics of Jesus’ healings

This week’s readings mostly focused on Jesus’ healings. Today’s reading continues that. Read together, they highlight three important dynamics.

First, faith is essential. In today’s reading Jesus asked the men seeking healing if they “believe[d] that I am able to do this,” and said that their healing would “be done . . .  according to [their] faith.” Matthew 9:28, 29 (NASB). We saw that component earlier this week; Jesus either spoke of the importance of faith or the folks seeking healing showed their faith in Jesus’s ability to heal. Mark 5:36; John 4:50-53; Matthew 8:2. 

Does that mean that God withholds His favor from those who sometimes doubt? No. He understands that we are all plagued by doubt at times and still accepts us if we bring our doubts to Him. We see that in the lives of Abraham and John the Baptist; both had bouts of doubt, both brought them to God, but rather than ending His relationship with them, God doubled down on them. Genesis 15; Luke 7:18-30. We also see that in Jesus’ interaction with the father of a boy the Disciples were unable to heal. Mark 9:21-28.  See also Fear does not equal Failure and Doubt does not equal Disqualification.  God is eager to bring us back from doubt. 

Second, action is usually essential too. For the most part, Jesus’ healings came after folks took action to obtain them. In Matthew 9:27-28, the blind men had to follow Jesus as he moved from one spot to another, call out to Him, and take the bold step of going into the building He entered. In Matthew 8:1-3 the lepers defied social conventions to get to Jesus. In John 4:46-54; Luke 4:38-39 and Mark 5:21-24  folks took specific actions to get Jesus to heal others. 

What does that look like today, now that Jesus has ascended into heaven? Two things come to mind. One is serious prayer; we can bring our and others’ maladies to Jesus that way. Another is diligently pursuing the diets, therapies, exercises, and other remedies God uses to heal through medical professionals.  

Third, persistence is often necessary.  In today’s reading the blind men had to keep after Jesus; they were not healed the first time they called out to Him. Matthew 9:27-29.   The healings Jairus and the royal official sought for their children came only after what must have been excruciating delays. Mark 5:21-43; John 4:46-53. We must accept that God moves on His own, ultimately better, schedule and keep focusing on Him while we wait for it to unfold. See generally,  What We Can Learn From Jairus: Healing Can Be Hard (scroll to the blue text).  

Does that mean that healing is guaranteed if those dynamics are present? No. Most of us have we diligently and persistently made faith filled prayers for healings that did not come. 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 tells us that St. Paul was not healed of an affliction despite his diligent, persistent, and no doubt faithful prayers.  Sometimes God has reasons for denying healing that we will not understand in this life. See generally, What We Can Learn From Jairus: Some Who, Whys, and Responses to Hardship (scroll to the blue text). We simply must accept that and keep praying for help with the situation. 

Prayer

Jesus, please draw us to you when we or those we care about are hurting. Help us to recall the many times you healed us and others, so we believe that you are able to heal. Help us to see and do our parts in bringing about the healings we seek. Direct your Holy Spirit to help us to keep at it and not lose heart. Amen.

 

Additional Resources

For more on this topic check out the meditations collected at What We Can Learn from Jairus: Collected (scroll down to the blue text)