🦁 Epiphany 4-7
Readings: Psalm 35:1-10; Jeremiah 29:1-14; Mark 5:1-20.
Reflection
Good morning. This is Tim Tebow broadcasting from Sacramento, California. Today's readings come to us from Psalm 35, verses 1 to 10, Jeremiah, Chapter 29, verses 1 to 14 and mark Chapter five, verses 1 to 20.
In our reading of the Book of Jeremiah. This is more in the tale that Jeremiah writing a letter to the Jews, the word exile in Babylon, the nation of Babylon under King Nebuchadnezzar. How defeated the Jews. And as was common in that time, when you defeated a country, you either wiped them out, killed them all. In this case, what they did is they took the high level people. So they took all the people who build houses and metal workers and the people who made clothing all the high muckety muck people. They took them and they left the population that they didn't want left them there. Well, then they took the cream of the crop, if you will, back to Babylon. And this is a letter that Jeremiah is writing to those people. Jeremiah's still in Israel. He was one of the ones who was left behind. And he's telling them, the Lord God says, Hey, you can build houses and live in them. Plant gardens, eat. You'll take wives and sons and multiply. Keep living your life in exile. You don't have to participate. So God is telling them through Jeremiah to go ahead and get go produce, be productive because God will take care of things in the end. In 70 years or completed for Babylon, I will visit you and I will fill in you my promise and bring you back to this place. So he gives them hope and told them he, in 70 years will come back and that will end. Your exile in Babylon.
And Mark, reading This is the gospel of Mark. And this is the story about Jesus healing the man with the demon. And this is an interesting one, is the the title that they have in the verse is for Jesus Heals a Man with a Demon. But then we find out in reading The Demon's Name was Legion, that there are many of us. And the man saw Jesus coming. This came as soon as he stepped out of the boat. The man from the tombs. Random. These recognized, the demons knew. This is the Son of God. I'm in trouble.
And he comes down and begs Jesus not to torment them and not to send them out. And what they were doing, what they didn't want to be doing. The demons need to be in something living. They didn't want to just be cast out in the desert. So Jesus said, Look, there's the pigs. So he puts them into the pigs and they take the pigs and run them off the end of the cliff into the sea. And it was about 2000 pigs, and they drowned them in the in the sea. And the herdsmen, the guys that were running the pigs are sitting there like, Oh, look what happened to They lost this, lost their income. And they go run into the city and into the country and they start telling people what had happened. Oh, this is a this is Jesus's ministry. He would do something and people run until he wanted to come out and see for themselves. So when they heard what the herdsmen had to say, they came out. They had to see for themselves. This is they came to Jesus and saw the demon possessed man who had the lesions sitting there, clothed in his right mind and they were afraid. And those who had seen it would describe what had happened when they told him, We have the pigs, and they began to beg, Jesus, please leave. This was scaring them. So as Jesus love went to leave, as again the boat man wanted to go with him, He says, No, I want you to stay here, go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you and how He's had mercy on you. And the man went to Nicopolis and told much about Jesus had done for him. And everyone marveled. And this is this is what we do in our lives. Very important. We learn about how Jesus, how has affected our lives, whether it is the good, you know, people who overcome alcoholism, different issues in their lives, how believing in God and praying and having a good spirit filled life benefits us. And by telling people exactly what and how things have benefited us is the best testament we can have. And this is what Jesus wants us to do.
So as you go through your days and and things, look at how Jesus is blessed in your life, how the Lord steps in and helps us. And a lot of times it's in a very small, quiet way. A lot of times you'll hear me talk about the still small voice of God comes in very quietly and helps us. And we need to be cognizant and look and be aware of how the Lord is working in our lives. Amen.
