Let's Walk Together

Mark 6:30-34, 53-56

Just as the disciples did in our scripture today, we gather around our Lord. Jesus knows that we are like sheep without a shepherd and that often leisure time is scarce. So, he calls us to rest for awhile and listen to the many things he needs to teach us.

What are some of those things we have learned from Jesus? He has set a model for us to emulate as we go through our daily routines. We can never attain the perfection of our Lord, but we can strive to be more like Jesus as we journey through our days here on earth. We are made in the image of God and are his beloved children. It doesn’t matter that we look so different. It doesn’t matter that we don’t vote the same way, or root for the same football team. It doesn’t matter if we all like something different for dessert. Our identity and our common ground lie in Jesus. We allow the Holy Spirit to work the changes within us that enable us to live in relationship to God.

We have learned as baptized and confirmed Christians that we are blessed with the guidance and strength of the Holy Spirit. We desire to strive continually to do God’s will, to be obedient and faithful disciples.

Jesus saw great crowds and looked at them with compassion. His compassion, mercy, love, and grace are poured out on us each day. One thing about Jesus is that he does see crowds, but he also sees individuals. He is very quick to single out the distraught, the sick, the marginal. It is amazing how he sees the crowd and yet sees you and sees me. He knows our hearts. He loves us unconditionally.

Faith and membership in God’s kingdom are God’s gifts. We can do nothing to deserve them or earn them. Because we are so richly blessed, we can prepare ourselves to be fertile soil for God’s word so that we can nourish the seed of faith God has planted in us.

Wherever we go we see signs of God calling us to him. His voice is in the urging of a friend’s need, a church spire lifted heavenward, a pastor’s message, the questions that arise when we choose our life occupation, the problems in the headlines, and even the changing seasons. Patiently God watches over us as we make mistakes and fail to put him first in our lives. His love and respect for us does not force us to make an unwilling response.

We can look to the future with hope. We meet Christ not only on the day which is to come but in the numerous and daily decisions that make up our lives. We can never anticipate just what will be required of us as we go about our daily routines. No one knows for sure what the next year, the next day, the next hour might bring. But, through Jesus, we can keep the light of faithful living bright and burning by watchfully tending the source that feeds us. Only by keeping spiritually alert can we withstand the threat to our faith that lies in injustices, inequalities, the heartbreaks, and even some of the good things that might come our way. We keep ourselves ready for what is to come as faithful citizens of God’s realm.

When they had crossed over, they came to the land at Gennesaret. People rushed at them. Jesus had started a revolution in the hearts of many. It is difficult to exaggerate the change Christ brought and still brings to lives. Christ came to unchain us from slavery to our own desires and to give us freedom to serve in his kingdom. God’s gracious, active, powerful love is the key that unlocks the kingdom. Perhaps at times we wish that we had a book of rules or a carefully marked road map that could take us safely along the highway of God’s realm. But we know that we can trust God to know what is best for us. He blesses us with faith, puts his word in our hands and his love in our hearts.

He gives us a place in his kingdom because of his love for us. Because we have been so richly blessed, we try to be channels of God’s forgiveness; to serve our neighbors and to prepare our hearts for whatever might come, especially for that day when Christ will come again.