Reed Mueller

Today is Maundy Thursday, which is

the special commemoration of Christ’s institution of the Lord’s Supper [and] is attested to as early as the fourth century. The English name Maundy Thursday comes from the Latin mandatum novum, “a new commandment,” in Jesus’ words to his disciples as he washed their feet on the night of the Last Supper: “A new command I give you: Love one another” (John 13:34).

Webber, R. (1993). The Biblical foundations of Christian worship

In my message last weekend, I spoke about this event (download or listen online /podcast feed/ iTunes.). What I tried to convey, but what we still may not realize is that Jesus was already in anguish even before the episode we observe in Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36-39). He was in agony even before his prayers alone in that Garden: the agony of being betrayed, of knowing his disciples would scatter and deny, and of a world loved so much yet going so wrong.

John Cogdell reflects on this agony in these words:

We usually think of Jesus in the upper room as calmly and patiently preparing his disciples for their coming crisis; only in the garden are we shown his deep anguish over what lies ahead for himself. But if this verse (”They hated me without a cause.” Psalm 69:4 as quoted in John 15:25) occurred to Jesus as describing his enemies, surely he was also identifying with the rest of the Psalm with its vivid description of overwhelming troubles and importune cries to God for deliverance. What in the upper room was still under the surface was openly expressed in the garden. (Source: CQOD.com)

Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck.
I sink in the miry depths, where there is no foothold.
I have come into the deep waters; the floods engulf me.
I am worn out calling for help; my throat is parched.
My eyes fail, looking for my God.
Those who hate me without reason outnumber the hairs of my head;
many are my enemies without cause, those who seek to destroy me.
I am forced to restore what I did not steal. – Psalm 69:1-4 (NIV)

In this context Jesus’ mandatum novum carries all the more weight: love as he loved on this day.

Wednesday / Hours 73-96

These are the silent hours of Holy Week (as the gospels don’t record any of the events of that day). Perhaps this is fitting. After the triumph of Sunday and the contentions and planned betrayal of Monday and Tuesday, this is the calm before the storm – a storm that Jesus will walk through on his way to the cross (and beyond).

This day…

• spend a few moments to sit … and rest … in silence, just as the gospel writers do;
• then ask God to prepare you
  • for what is to come in what remains of this week’s 168 hours
  • and to prepare your heart to sit at the foot of the cross, meditating on its mysterious, heart-wrenching grace and power.

I’m playing a little bit of catch up here, but I wanted to post a time line of Holy Week. In studying for our “168 Hours” series at church, I’ve found myself to be much more engaged with Jesus and his experiences in those crushing hours (a subtle reference to his experience in the Garden of the Oil Press, Gethsemane). As you walk your week this week, be mindful of Jesus and his experiences during the very first Holy Week.

• Sunday / Hours 1-24: The Picture of a King – A Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem
  • Matthew 21:1-11 as well as all other Gospel writers
  • Message post and audio

• Monday / Hours 25-48: The religious elite begin their plot
  • Jesus curses the barren fig tree (Mark 11:12-14 as well as Matthew)
  • Jesus cleanses the temple (Mark 11:15-18 as well as Matthew and Luke)
  • Jesus meets with the Greeks and predicts his own death (John 12:20-50)
• Tuesday / Hours 49-72: Open confrontation
  • The barren tree is withered (Mark 11:19-25 as well as Matthew)
  • Jesus challenged as a teacher (See Mark 12 for single chapter overview)
    • In the city
      - The rulers challenge Jesus’ authority (Luke 20:1-19)
      - Pharisees and Herodians try to trap Jesus (Luke 20:20-26)
    • In the temple court
      - About the resurrection (Matthew 22:23-33)
      - About the greatest commandment (Matthew 22:34-40)
      - Jesus silences his challengers (Matthew 22:41-46)
      - Jesus denounces his challengers (Matthew 23:1-39)
  • Jesus observes and teaches on the poor widows gift (Luke 21:1-4)
  • Jesus teaches on the end of the age in the evening (Matthew 24-25)
  • Jesus predicts his crucifixion, possibly at Bethany (Mark 14:1-2)
  • Jesus anointed in Bethany (Mark 14:3-9)
  • Judas sets the stage for betrayal back in Jerusalem (Mark 14:10-11)

I came into this day thinking that I had challenges ahead of me. After reviewing the events of Jesus final Tuesday before the cross, I am humbled. As you meditate on the events of Holy Week outlined above, perhaps even just Tuesday’s events in Mark 12, may you be humbled as well.

Traveling with you…

Warning: this is a a little longer post than usual but I needed to work through some thoughts on prayer. So if you’ve wondered about how prayer works and how to understand the difficult passage of James 5:14-18, then read on (and leave a comment).

In his epistle, James makes the following assertion:

14 Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. 17 Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. 18 Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops. James 5:14-18 (NIV)

Reading this passage at face value seems to imply that prayer can heal people. Not only that, but it can also shut and open the skies. This makes many uncomfortable (and not because they don’t believe in God’s ability to work through prayer of in God’s goodness). Rather, it makes many uncomfortable because they don’t understand why, if this is indeed the case, only some prayers change the weather and the health of our loved ones.

In light of this, some interpret this passage in purely spiritual terms; however, most scholars looking into the intricacies of the original language find this to stretch James’ words beyond a reasonable point. Their consensus is that James believes he’s talking about physical healing. For sure, the spiritual and physical are linked in this passage (and linked in reality), but to completely eliminate the possibility that James believes that prayers offered for the sick can be part of their physical healing seems inappropriate given the text.

Since this is arguably the case, what are we to make of the fact that many millions of prayers fail to produce the results that James discusses? Let me offer three main thoughts as to why this might be:

1. It is not God’s will that everyone should be physically healed. The fact is that sometimes affliction reveals God to both the afflicted individual and to his or her community (consider John 9:1-4 and 2 Corinthians 12:6-12) and to heal that person prematurely (if at all) could short-circuit that revelatory expression.
2. Sometimes the “righteous man” to which James refers doesn’t pray a prayer that leads to physical healing. It could go without saying that Paul could be nominated as a “righteous man.” It could also be said that he had prayed a healing prayer in faith and as a consequence healing did indeed occur (Acts 28:8). But there were also instances in Paul’s life where his prayers for another didn’t produce such results (Philippians 2:25-27 and 2 Timothy 4:20, if we assume that he prayed for them at all). Does this mean that Paul didn’t pray for them? No, I believe he most certainly would have, yet, he didn’t pray a prayer that led to physical healing for them. This brings me to my third thought.
3. For James, a “prayer offered in faith” is a prayer offered in response to the revealed will of God. In this passage, James is in no way saying that every time that the elders are called to the bedside that they should pray a prayer of faith for the physical healing of that person. Rather, if the elders are fulfilling their God-given role in the community that is Christ’s Church, they will seek out God’s will and lead the people of that faithful community with thanksgiving into that will. That is, they are to first pray for wisdom and God’s will in the moment (James 1:5) and if they perceive together that God will reveal himself through a miraculous healing, then – and only then – should they pray a bold, convinced prayer of faith for healing (which will simultaneously be humble because they are praying in accord with God’s will rather than their own ideas or even hopes). As Barrier and Goetz, who have challenged my thinking here, suggest, “The prayer of faith can only be prayed after God reveals his intentions.”
   This then is what a “prayer offered in faith” means in this passage: it is a prayer in response to the will of God revealed to his saints and that is why it produces healing. It doesn’t produce healing because the pray-er worked themselves up into “greater faith” or “stronger belief” or said the right words in the right way.

Does that mean that other prayers aren’t prayers offered in faith? No, rather, I believe James is using “a prayer offered in faith” as a sort of technical term in this context. In reality, all prayers that are willing to submit to God’s will are prayers of faith, the only difference is that sometimes we know that will and sometimes we don’t and we should pray differently in those two situations. When we know the will of God it takes faith to step out in that promise and pray what has been revealed; when we don’t have the wisdom to know God’s specific will in a situation, then it takes faith to pray for what we desire (James 4:2, Matthew 7:7-11) and then to close with “yet, not my will, but your’s, Father” (Mark 14:36). We do this because we are ready to submit to his will if it is different from what we wish.

What do I do if I don’t know God’s will for someone who is ill?

• First, pray for wisdom and for God to reveal his will in the situation (James 1:5).
• Then, if you still don’t have a sense of his specific will, which may be the vast majority of the time, pray for complete healing (in light of James 4:2) because sometimes we don’t have because we don’t ask. But we must be faithful in doing so, trusting in God’s will, whatever it is in light of the passage in Mark quoted above.
• However, if God does reveal to you that he will be working a miracle, pray with humble boldness – humble because it is in submission to God’s will and bold because in response to God’s will you will be praying for a miracle.

Okay, that’s my thinking so far on this passage. Let’s chat. Post a comment of question by following this link.

I quite enjoyed my personal study leading up to last weekend’s message. It confirmed in my mind and heart something that is of considerable debate in some circles, namely the question: “Did Jesus believe he was the messiah and King?” If you didn’t catch it, you can listen to the message, taken from Matthew 21:1-11 and supported conceptually by Zechariah 9:9 and Psalm 118:22-29, here: download or listen online/podcast feed/iTunes.Based upon the actions we see as recorded in Matthew we can see a few of important facts:

1. Matthew’s goal in this record seems to be revealed at the end of the passage through the words on the lips of those in Jerusalem (Matthew 21:10, as the people of Jerusalem say “Who is this?”). I believe that Matthew’s goal in recording this event is to help the reader ask that question, too. So, who is Jesus? How can we know? Matthew offers us two pieces of evidence.
2. Matthew’s answer to this most important question comes first through the actions of Jesus. We can see by looking at the text’s first five verses that Jesus intentionally set out to fulfill a well-known messianic prophecy something that would be crazy to do if you didn’t believe that you were the messiah. What was that prophecy? It was that the King would arrive in Jerusalem riding on a beast of burden (Zechariah 9:9). In light of this prophecy, which the masses apparently knew as well, he sent his disciples to find just such an animal so that he could – through his intentional enactment of that prediction – say one thing to the onlookers that day: “I am King.”
3. Who is Jesus? Matthew next presents the crowd’s response: they proclaim Jesus to be King (Matthew 11:6-9). It’s one thing to claim to be King, it’s quite another for people to believe it. But what do we see in the record? We see the crowd get it! They honor Jesus as King and even sing the words from a very familiar messianic psalm (Psalm 118). Look deeply into that psalm and you’ll see that it draws a picture of a processional, led by a King, right to the place of sacrifice. This is God’s doing, says the crowd, our messiah is finally here! And they celebrate wildly!

But what was the response of the mass of people who flooded Jerusalem that week before the passover celebration? It was to ask the question of the day – “Who is this?” – but answer it in a way that made Jesus weep (Luke 19:41-42). He wept because the people of Israel, on the whole, saw him not as messiah but simply as one teacher and prophet among many (Matthew 21:10-11).

Matthew’s question is still essential to consider today: Who is Jesus… to you? He still weeps for those who don’t receive the peace the King offers to those who trust…but there is great joy for those who see the servant-King for who he is, and lay it all down before him.

Should you want to comment or ask a follow-up question on the blog, follow this link.

Thought the title would catch your attention. And yes, it probably would have been more appropriate to say that “some studies cast doubt…” (see below).

While many people think that psychologists have a natural enmity toward religion, most psychologists of religion attempt to remain neutral with regard to the truth claims of religious faith, choosing to study the effect of religion upon the religious person, rather than trying to make claims about a religion, per se. Yet, when we get to the topic of prayer and whether it “works” in the real world, it’s hard to refrain from making claims of “truth” with regard to God’s activity (or inactivity) in the “real world.”

Studies of intercessory prayer (prayer that seek to influence the health and well-being of the person prayed for) are mixed with regard to results and controversial in the field. In a review of several studies, Spilka, et al., suggest that “…at this stage of research…[intercessory prayer's] power and significance have yet to be demonstrated.”

They make this claim after reporting on several studies that present a mixed picture.

• One small study done in 1965 by Joyce and Weldon found that intercessory prayer (sick persons being prayed for six months) made no difference in the outcome of those persons in comparison with a control group of sick persons who were not prayed for by a prayer group.
• Colipp (1969) found (in a very small study) that a group of children diagnosed with leukemia who had been prayed for over a 15 month time span “had a slight advantage [over a group of child with leukemia who had not been prayed for] in survival.”
• A 1997 study by Walker, et al., suggested that intercessory prayer made no difference in reducing alcohol consumption by individuals with alcohol abuse/dependence.
• The largest study they reviewed (Byrd, 1988) was of 393 coronary disease patients. Its findings suggested that intercessory prayer made a positive impact on the health and recovery of the patients who were randomly selected to receive intercessory prayer in this double-blind study relative to those in a control group. However, this study has been criticized with regard to its methodological rigor.
• Finally, one study found that the “agents” of intercessory prayer (those praying for another who was ill in some way) showed greater improvements in their mental state than the “subjects” of intercessory prayer (those needing God’s intervention because of illness). (McCullough and Larson, 1999).

Okay, so how do you react to studies (and findings) like these? Do such things raise any questions in your mind?

To contribute to the discussion, follow this link.

I thought I’d let everyone know that I’m not the only CRCCer blogging. So if you want to check them out, here are a few others:

1. Phil Pearson is blogging about the challenge of Philippians as he leads his small group through that letter (here)
2. RJ and Kristy Ray are blogging about their newest family member (and other family members, too – here)
3. Michael Thelander is blogging about life, theology, and our partnership with the people of Mhlosheni, Swaziland (here)
4. Teri Wood is blogging about the 52 new things she’s doing this year (here)

Enjoy!

I was very encouraged by what I read today at the end of the Book of Exodus. In this climactic portion of the book we read that the people of God had finally constructed the Tabernacle and the result was amazing: God’s glory descended upon that place and rested like a cloud in the midst of their community. In that moment, they knew that their God would be with them throughout their journey to the promised land; he had “tabernacled” among them. In light of this great gift, here’s the response of a people desperate to get to where they wanted to go:

Throughout all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out. But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out till the day that it was taken up. For the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel throughout all their journeys. Exodus 40:36-38 (ESV)

The wonderful thing about having God rest in the midst of your community – in the midst of your life as a person of faith – is that they knew he would be leading every next step. Because he was “tabernacled” with them, they had confidence that they would move to a new place, and that they would take that next step, at the right moment in time – no sooner, no later.

So often in our lives we long to take some next step on our journey of faith. It may be because we feel somewhat restless where we are at or it may be because others have suggested it’s time to move on. In reflecting on the lesson we find in this passage, it behooves the people of God to wait on him before they walk.

In a sense – a deeper sense – those who are in Christ have the Lord “tabernacled” with them too, only in a more intimate manner: the Holy Spirit really lives inside of us! The key, then, is to wait not on the “perfect timing” for our next step as we or our friends might appraise it, but rather to wait on the next step that the Spirit indicates, even if that seems somewhat counterintuitive (if called to move forward) or frustrating (if called to wait). In this way we can live out both Galatians 5:25 and James 4:13-16 simultaneously.

Easier said than done… but true.

To post a question or comment, follow this link.

Well, it’s been a little while since I’ve written, hasn’t it. I took some vacation days last week so that I could focus on prepping for a college seminar I finished teaching a few days ago. As it was an intensive course that blended two loves of mine (Psychology and Faith – the course was The Psychology of Religion) I had a tremendous amount of fun! Since my “vacation” I’ve been digging out from under the results of my time away and can finally see the sunshine…and so, I’m writing again.

Over the next few weeks I do want to process the subject of prayer quite a bit. First, with a post (or maybe two) about the findings from the psychological study of prayer and second with several posts on what the bible has to say to about prayer.

So what do the studies suggest about prayer?

First, they suggest that (from a psychological perspective) prayer is a means of coping. That is, it can assist in helping solving problems, facilitating personal growth, and modulating one’s emotions. In other studies, prayer is seen as the only practical way to help others in the midst of tragic events. On the whole, psychological research sees prayer as perfomring both problem- and emotion-focused functions in the life of the one who prays.

Yet, people are selective in the types of prayers they pray. Some mostly utilize “thanksgiving,” others “contemplative” or “meditational” (which result in decreased anger, anxiety, and stress) while most focus on “petitionary” prayers, which are seen, psychologically, as countering frustration and threat. Finally, rote/ritual prayers have been found to be associated with decreases in overall well-being.

In my next post on prayer, I’ll be reviewing more about what the research says with regard to intercessary and petitionary prayers, but before I do, if anyone wants to chime in on how they see prayer affecting their problems or emotions, please do so by following this link.

This morning, I had to laugh at one of the greatest one liners in the bible:

And Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you that you have brought such a great sin upon them?” ²² And Aaron said, “Let not the anger of my lord burn hot. You know the people, that they are set on evil. ²³ For they said to me, ‘Make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ ²⁴ So I said to them, ‘Let any who have gold take it off.’ So they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf.” Exodus 32:21-24

What made me laugh in this passage was the picture of Aaron, after being caught red handed by his brother Moses, acting just like a three year old (much like I do sometimes). First, he deflects his own culpability in breaking a covenant with God by blaming the people he’s leading. Then (and here’s the part that made my laugh out loud), he says he took a bunch of their gold, just threw it in the fire, and poof… “out came this calf!” Really, just throw it in the fire and blam…out comes a finely crafted statue of a bovine?

As I look at that account and think about my own role as a leader, two lessons come quickly to mind. Perhaps they could help you in your own leadership experiences, whether they are in the church, in business, or in your family:

1. A leader must refuse to blame the people he/she is leading.
   
   “You know the people, they are set on evil.”

   In reality, the mistake was made when Aaron took the easy path of blame rather than the difficult path of leadership; it wasn’t the people’s problem so much as his own. And yet, as leaders it is so easy to blame!”If only I had better followers, then the dreams we’re working on would come to pass.” NO, a leader mustn’t say that! Rather, a leader refuses to blame those under their care and instead begins thinking how to build up the people so they can become who they are meant to become.All too often the people in this world are beaten down by those over them; it must be different in the church. There is no excuse for blaming the people. We should seek to understand when we are frustrated, to correct when errors are made, and to encourage new patterns of behavior, too… but blame? No way; that’s not a leader’s job, a leader’s job is to be a model of accountability and responsibility.

2. A leader must be honest about why things are the way things are.
   
   “I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf.”

   In saying this, Aaron was attempting to limit his own culpability. He failed to mention that he gathered (and probably led) skilled craftsmen to create the mold that would eventually give shape to the problem at hand.What makes his attempt so incredible is that a leader’s job is to do exactly what he neglected to mention happened. A leader is to gather skilled people and lead them so that a mold for the future can be shaped. Sometimes, like Aaron, the mold is wrong. A leader adds insult to injury when they don’t admit this willingly, learn from mistakes, and apply those lessons to their next steps in leadership.

My hope and prayer is that I can apply these lessons to my own leadership – in my family, my business, and our church.

To add your thoughts to the discussion, follow this link.