Tag: Jesus

30 Days in Gennesaret: Day 21 Puzzles

JFig2 Comments

When we received confirmation from the genetics clinic, of a diagnosis for our seven year old daughter’s disability, our other children were 11, 13 and 14. They had some questions: “What does this mean?” “Well…if Jesus healed her, would he change everything?”

Puzzles

Where are the disciples? Has anyone seen Thaddeus…Andrew, James, John

? Did any come with leprosy. Who brought them? After how many seasons in quarantine??

? Did some wait sun-up to sun-down and into first light, like refugees, lined up with diseases like displacement and poverty, the adverse experience of terror

? Did Matthew really mean all: he was a numbers keeper, you know:

     “soon the people were bringing all their sick to be healed and all who touched him were healed.”

? Was there a panic, what if I can’t get there in time?

? Did anyone get sunburned, lying in the marketplace.

? What ointment did they have

? Who carried cups of water

https://water.cc/

? What questions did the children ask  ? What answers were they given

? Did people talk to the beggars – or were they considered ‘unclean’ And at the end of the day?

? Did anyone, listening to the stories, sneak away to the harbor,  freshly healed—to attempt walking on water. This I would really like to know…

? Were some taken aback at transformations; others’ ills completely unknown. Not just acquaintances, but family members, friends…

? Were the newly healed, newly clothed. By what method?

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord;
my soul shall exult in my God,
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation;
he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. Isaiah 61:10 ESV

? what did healing look like. The way things were before, or did God’s kingdom coming in the Healer Jesus bring a new normal

? did old scars go away – the jagged lines disappear

? Does Jesus see me

? Who is He – really…………………………………………………who will I say that He is?

jfig     4/2020

 

“Matthew 14:34 (NLT) – After they had crossed the.” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 24 Apr, 2020. <https://www.blueletterbible.org/nlt/mat/14/34/s_943034&gt;.

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

“Isaiah 61:10 (ESV) – I will greatly rejoice in.” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 24 Apr, 2020. <https://www.blueletterbible.org/esv/isa/61/10/s_740010&gt;.

Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001, 2007, 2011, 2016 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved

One response that you could make to this post, is to share your heart’s awareness of  the names of organizations/nonprofits that you feel are carrying out the healing ministry of Jesus Christ. Thanks…j

30 Days in Gennesaret: Looking for Lentils, Day 20

JFigLeave a comment

 

The poor, the old, the infirm were common to the marketplace in Jesus’ day. So were people who looked industrious – spinning, sculpting, bartering. And laborers arriving each day, looking for work. It is easy to overlook the pain another might be in, unless he/she chooses to tell us. Some shout it loudly but without clarity, for many to hear; others say nothing at all. While it is easy for us to make quick judgements, what was perhaps most unique in the presence of Jesus was that he knew, and still knows, the pain each of us is in, with or without our telling. I believe he invites this intimacy of story. On this day, however, the people invited Jesus to talk first, “Let us just touch your robe, simply that will make us well!”  Their humble, though ramped-up asking of permission, must have started many an interesting conversation. Jesus responded. I wonder if the villagers not only saw Jesus, but also their neighbors differently that day.

RWpic Jerusalem market
Jerusalem Market by Elizabeth Figgie

Looking for Lentils

Husband, we are out of lentils

I traipsed early this market day,

before the sun went steep.

 

The market wavered before my eyes

miraging people who usually

‘take up space.’

It was not the glaring sun, no, that gave them new dimension

but the shadow of Jesus. I am certain of this.

Lentils I have forgotten.

 

I thought to buy goat

Oy, that dry old butcher is so gruff (though his lamb the most tender)

He was not there, his carcasses left hanging.

His young wife Abishah is sick – they say

for more than a year. Six children…

He left town at a run…is what they say.

We will feast on goat another time.

 

Looking for iron…the tool for your plow.

The Skeptic’s in his usual corner…

Offers plenty of opinion, he does, with his high prices.

Well-smithed, his tools! But unfeeling is he…

Today,  he was joking

instead of kibitzing.

 

I went to market looking for news

well, gossip really

My friend sits with the potters;

gossip I got. She said

“I only sold two pots today…two pots!

Still, I’d take rampant joy over coins any day.”

Joy…perhaps she is lonely like me.

All those pot-makers… Who knew?

 

Jesus – how can he make things so different?

Melons and baubles dropped obsolete.

Olives an afterthought.

On display today—

patience, kindness, goodness.

 

That rascal Enosh carried Merari

all the way from far hill. They say

he found him, fallen in the ravine

on his way to barter grain.

Enosh usually has time for no one.

I wonder what changed…

 

And Rahab’s daughter, she is often out of town.

Aloof

She rarely comes to market…

at least not this one.

She waited here with the rest of us

quiet, no harm in that,

after we heard Jesus was on his way.

 

Blind Ezer’s parents – every market

they kneel and pray

At day’s end, I saw them walking

walking minus their usual basket of chicken and fruit

Ezer was not with them.

First time I have ever seen them standing tall…

 

And the children. Husband, the children

You know how they play in the giant sycamore?

Nothing… they were all hanging on Jesus today

dancing at his skirts.

“Jadon, Jadon, our friend Jadon. His leg is shrivelled…shriveled like a stick.

Touch him…touch him, Jadon!!! I bet you could run real quick…”

 

Enough stories, husband, I’m tired now

To market I will go, another day.

Kindness and goodness all around

I will look for lentils…

unless Jesus is in town.

jfig     4/2020

RW pic pain messages
art generously permitted by Elizabeth Figgie. http://www.elizabethfiggie.com

 

 “And when they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret. And when the men of that place recognized him, they sent around to all that region and brought to him all who were sick and implored him that they might only touch the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well.”

? for reflection: How are your current circumstances changing the way you view others? Yourself?

? How might inviting the Healer Jesus into the picture, change your perspective?

“Matthew 14:34 (ESV) – And when they had crossed.” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 21 Apr, 2020. <https://www.blueletterbible.org/esv/mat/14/34/p1/s_943034&gt;.
Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001, 2007, 2011, 2016 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Art used by permission from ElizabethFiggie. http://www.elizabethfiggie.com

 

30 Days in Gennesaret: Day 19 Ship’s Log

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Dear Reader, Today’s poem is from the perspective of one who arrived by boat. disclaimer:  At times, I have noted that while the vernacular of those who make their living from the sea, or in healthcare, may be crudely apt, it is no less reverent.

The scripture referenced in stanza 7 has provided critical navigation in times when I have felt repeatedly and perplexingly hungry, food in front of me.   jfig

 

When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored to the shore. And when they got out of the boat, the people immediately recognized him and ran about the whole region and began to bring the sick people on their beds to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well. Mark 6:53-56 ESV

 

Ship’s log

Moored

we anchored at dawn

immediately,

the disciples slipped from the boat—

and vanished.

 

Are they lost?

hidden

among the runners

bed wetters

pallet-bearers?

 

Terra firma

I sometimes needed

to pick my way,

a shifting substrate – 

choose cautiously what will undergird

as singular truth.

Pacific Rim shifting sand

 

Lost again…

have now gotten lost

at least

one hundred times

in Gennesaret alone.

 

Yesterday

He fed the masses

surely 5000

I am hungry again today…

waiting to see

what will happen

catch fish fish market fishing
Photo by mali maeder on Pexels.com

 

Guide—

Without a guide

lost became quickly treacherous.

Thankfully, Spirit (Holy One)

redeems, redeemed, is redeeming

the missed steps.

 

Found

the map/Isaiah 8: 11-22

Picked our way.

Have once again arrived

at dawn.

Jesus. is here.

 

jfig     4/2020

IMG_5202
Red Dawn

 

photo of rocky seashore
Photo by Dima Valkov on Pexels.com

Three weeks ago, our pastor Christian Lindbeck spoke about living through unprecedented times by this truth: as Jesus followers, we are set free to love, not by arriving, but by walking, step by singular step, in the company of the Holy Spirit. http://www.hcbellingham.com/sermons/called-equipped-and-set-free-to-love-like-jesus/  (mins 55-60)

Galations 5:25 “If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.”

“Mark 6:53 (ESV) – When they had crossed over.” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 19 Apr, 2020. <https://www.blueletterbible.org/esv/mar/6/53/p1/s_963053&gt;.
Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001, 2007, 2011, 2016 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved

30 Days in Gennesaret: Day 16 Market Mayhem

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Did the street dance

the stones cry out

in wonder- when Jesus

swept through town?

 

Did booth poles shake

paradigms shift

conversations gape

following Him?

assorted color clothes display on street
Photo by Ricardo Esquivel on Pexels.com

 

Did society’s fabric

hang slightly askew?

The pharisees came

wouldn’t you…

 

Did barley and lentils

make confetti like rain

when boys and girls

were whole again?

kid s green floral sleeveless top
Photo by Sankalpa Joshi on Pexels.com

 

Did spinners handing

their flax and wool

wonder what magic

their fringes might hold,

if Jesus came back their way?

 

Did butchers and bakers

dance a jig,

the farmers juggle

olives and figs

 

 

Were tables upended

and beggars crowned

the day that Jesus

came to town?

 

Did some leave their posts

never look back

drop tools and trades

for different ‘gold’?

person molding pot
Photo by Korhan Erdol on Pexels.com

 

Was the richest perfume

in market that day

joy that flowed

from Healer’s grace?

 

Did the stones cry out

and tradesmen rumble

doves coo

and old men wonder

Will Jesus come back our way?

 

jfig     4/2020

30 Days in Gennesaret: Was Anyone Six Day 15

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Was Anyone Six  

for anyone who has ever loved and hoped for a sick child

 

Was anyone six

who lay on a bed

bruised and broken

afore he had…

lived?

 

First trip to market—

or do child and corner already belong

claimed by a cup

where alms trickle across his palm

(instead of caterpillars)

 

Did someone tell a story?

Who first

Jesus or lad,

imagination’s energy quite different

from one small.sickly.frame

 

Is mother at home?

heart shackled to his side

hope her companion

she – begging

for life

 

Did Jesus speak?

some have heard these words

“I know what she needs…”

“She is merely asleep.”

“Rise up and walk.”

“No one sinned.”

“I might be glorified” through

one small.child’s.dance

 

What did the child hear?

“Shhh…it’s our secret…”

pound right here

 

Did he remind Jesus of seven

hide-n-seek in the crowd

the game of a thousand temple questions?

hammer and nails…

hammer and nails…

 

There are bumps and bruises to be had

I must be about my Father’s business

hammer and nails…

 

Was anyone six?

did Jesus hold back a grin

for another tale to be told?

what hearts did he heal

as child clambered up…

 

Finish the market piggyback—

Does this not offend?

Child swagger

grounded

in hanging on to a bigger hem.

jfig     4/2020

 

IMG_5182

 

Dear Reading Friend,

This poem took me on a lot of tangents. In following them, I stumbled onto ideas I’d never considered before, so it was worth the journey. Thank you for joining me.

Questions to ponder: 

?   In what way is Jesus inviting you to ‘hang on, childlike, to the hem of his garment?

?   We are often reminded to ‘have childlike faith.’  In what ways do children uniquely image their creator?

The poem references these passages:  Mark 5:35-43; John 9:3; Matthew 18:3; Ephesians 5:1. You can access scriptures at https://www.blueletterbible.org/

Also, I lost a day somewhere…I’m not going to worry too much about that.  If you are still on day 15, we are not lost from each other, nor hopefully from the one who is leading the way. jfig

30 Days in Gennesaret: Day 14 Threadbare

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Threadbare                                                                                                                                                                       

Wrapped in tatters

ribboned remnants of

dignity’s sparse remains

One lies in the dust

(dung to be accurate)

waiting.

 

Threads barely hide my private parts

let alone my thigh

Who carried me?

Prayer of my mother…

anguish of father

a neighbor who hoisted?

 

All turned deaf ears to my plea:

please…bear my shame in private…I beg you

Their compassioned angst

and mercy, carried me

Would that we could all escape down some private alley

to first fix ourselves before meeting the feet of Jesus.

 

Not so…

it is Jesus we need

Lots cast, our stained hands

grasp his sacred robe.

We run toward

the one who barters for our souls.

 

Carry each other—to the cross.

Humble distance

to bear shame

toward one—burden bearer

powerful enough to carry

shame’s tangled sham away forever.

 

I am no longer ‘for sale.’

Jesus has paid the price.

jfig     3/2020

RW PIC THREADBARE

 

Dear Friend,

I believe that Jesus has the power to transform one’s life in whatever way is needed.  Isaiah 61 is a beautiful passage about his intent toward us: his gifts of freedom and the outcome of God’s power to renew us and give us a place of purpose in his kingdom.

Isaiah 61:1-3. “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor, he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion— to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord that he may be glorified.”  You can read the entire passage here: “Isaiah 61:1 (ESV) – The Spirit of the Lord.” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 15 Apr, 2020. <https://www.blueletterbible.org/esv/isa/61/1/s_740001&gt;.

1)This poem touches on topics of shame, which one experiences both because of choices that one has made, and as a result of what others have done. I believe that Jesus comes to the marketplaces of Gennesaret in our lives to set us free from either. This is my prayer for all of us.

Jesus Healer, this poem touches on places of pain in us: wounds that bleed, and heavy pulling scars. We believe you have the power to heal. Heal us we pray, from the pain and shame that we drag around with us. We have landed here at your cross, our only safe place for letting go. We love you. We trust you.

You invite us to sin no more. We acknowledge sin’s destructive power and ask for growing strength to be new Jesus-kingdom people, to grow in the righteousness and beauty of your healing intent. In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen

jfig   3/2020

Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright 2001, 2007, 2011, 2016 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

30 Days in Gennesaret: Day 13, My Friend Alex

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And wherever he went—into villages, towns or countryside—they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.

“Mark 6:56 (NIV) – And wherever he went into villages.” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 14 Apr, 2020. <https://www.blueletterbible.org/niv/mar/6/56/p1/s_963056&gt;.

 

My Friend Alex

My friend Alex

strolls the marketplace

perusing.

She has a keen eye for color.

Vivid humanity

invites her back the next day.

 

My friend Alex

surveys the market

appraising.

Shades in justice catch her eye.

She leaves

paint swatches in hand.

 

My friend Alex

hurries to the market – determined.

“Examine these hues

marked disparity…”

Home…market

Something is amiss.

 

My friend Alex

storms the market:

“Why?”   “How long, O Lord?”

“Where is equitable?”

Day after day

she carries questions on the palette of her heart.

 

My friend Alex

‘moves’ to the market.

Study the fabric:

this Jesus garment.

It takes hours,

often days.

 

“Teacher, What does it cost

to allow one’s heart to be broken?”

 

jfig   2/2020

 

What questions is Jesus writing on the palette of your heart? Is there something to which he is calling your attention? 

 

30 Days in Gennesaret: Easter Tim’s Poem

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Tim’s Poem

My husband is a man of succinct words, much preferring the efficiency of a short video clip to the expansiveness of pages. But he listened quietly when I told him about 30 Days in Gennesaret, and Jesus healing the sick; how the scene intrigues with its words ‘all’ and ‘marketplace’. He listened about the juxtaposition of pandemic, and how the thirty days of April provide a creative vehicle.

Then he said,

 

Yes,

and then came Easter

and Jesus healed the whole world.

 

tfig     3/2020

IMG_5101

The construction of this cross was prompted by the creative mind of Carlo Furlan, and the willing hands of Tim Figgie. You can find Carlo’s music here: https://www.facebook.com/watch/CarloFurlanMusic/

30 Days in Gennesaret is a creative reflection project focused upon the scene of Jesus healing the sick in the region of Gennesaret. The scene is described in Mark 6: verses 53-56. In the passage, it states that all around the region, people brought their sick to the marketplaces. And Jesus healed them when they touched his cloak. For the next few days, this word marketplace will seed our poems.

30 Days in Gennesaret: Day 10 Six Feet Day 11 Forever

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SIX FEET

Maybe this year, we will not crucify Him

Six feet

Step back

Reassess

No mob, nor riot

Shouting “Crucify”

 

Step back!

Maybe this year, we will not crucify him

Distancing ourselves

From our fears

Character unknown

In such proximity.

 

Perhaps we will

Interrogate ourselves

Willfulness or honest conviction?

Which draws me

To the bedside

Of another’s pain?

 

Attend: Dare I exploit

Frail posture of another

For power

Or gain?

Maybe this year

We will not crucify him.

jfig   3/20

 

Dear Reading Friends, I thought I would not write a poem today. Instead, I found myself writing two – one for tomorrow – and being invited to reflect on these words from Jesus. I share them with the humility of needing them as much as anyone.  jfig

” This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.”    Luke 22:10

“Why are you sleeping,” he asked them. “Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.”    Luke 22:46

“Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”    Luke 22:48

The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.”     Luke 22:61

They asked then, “Are you the Son of God?”

He replied, “You say that I am.”     Luke 22:70

A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him. Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and your children. For the time will come when you will say, ‘Blessed are the childless women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ Then they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!”‘ For if people do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?”     Luke 23:28-31

“Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.     Luke 23:34

“Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”     Luke 23:43

“Luke 22:1 (NIV) – Now the Festival of Unleavened.” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 10 Apr, 2020. <https://www.blueletterbible.org/niv/luk/22/1/p1/s_995001&gt;.

 

Lord Jesus, I am astounded that your gaze finds so many faces in the crowd, my face –   even as you are dying. You tell me the truth, don’t you? No one else invites me to be so honest with myself, and yet receive compassion. At this wide open altar of your making, I lay down – exchange – my fear and arrogance, for your words of invitation and truth. May they become the pillars on which I stake my living.  In your precious name,  Amen

Forever

One never imagines

Suffering an invitation

Yet here it is

His pain carrying mine

across his back.

 

His agony in the garden

beckons—

Living,

to choose dying

“Stay with me.”

 

And as our best efforts crumble

He stays with us

Forever.

jfig     4/2020

pic imprint2

 

“Luke 22:1 (NIV) – Now the Festival of Unleavened.” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 10 Apr, 2020. <https://www.blueletterbible.org/niv/luk/22/1/p1/s_995001&gt;.

30 Days in Gennesaret: Day 9 My Sister is Sick

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Yet I am confident I will see the Lord’s goodness while I am here in the land of the living. Psalm 27:13 NLT

I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me. John 10:14 NLT

Today’s poem captures snippets of conversations I have had with a friend who has suffered much.  It alludes to the question that perhaps we all raise in one way or another, “Why does a good God allow suffering?” To really grapple with the question takes a certain amount of bravery, let alone live the stories that prompt it. Following the poem, is a scaffolding of scripture references from which to explore further if you are interested.

My Sister is Suffering

My sister is suffering,

years now into it

breathing loss in pinched increments

as if it were air.

My heart rends a little each day

waiting.

 

Translucent

her beauty,

shines through

as if the holes

filled in

with flowers.

 

“Jesus is here!

In Gennesaret.”

We conversed

on our hurried way.

I asked

“How will we know…?”

 

She said simply

“I wait each day—

his sustaining glance

his whispers round suffering

his assurance of keeping

I wait each day.”

 

“His voice I know

His whispered caress

‘Easy, my child

you’ve nothing to fear.

I am with you in pain

My strength will suffice.’

 

So filled up with Jesus,

this sister of mine

“Oh, Brother, I’ll know Him

It will take but a touch.

I’ll know him, dear brother—

let’s hurry, let’s fly.”

jfig     3/2020

 

Psalm 27:  John 17:3;  Romans 5:1-5;  Romans 8:16; I Corinthians 1:23,24;  John 10:14

Psalm 27:13 Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Photo was taken by Cathy Barger Hoesterey near Phnom Penh, Cambodia. I chose this photo for the fierceness with which this young girl cares for her siblings.