Can we place ourselves in an attitude of worship?

We’re in the second week of a series on the person and character of Jesus. Last week, Rainier spoke from the book of Mark where Jesus called twelve disciples to himself and named them apostles. The theme of our reflection was that Jesus is “More than an Icon.” The disciples were called to be here with him, to be transformed by him, and to be sent out into the world.

Here, in our time of worship, we want to place ourselves very open before the Lord, to receive what he has for us today. Would you follow me in an reflective prayer based on last week’s passage, as we prepare ourselves for what God has for us this week:

Close your eyes if it helps you to imagine the scene: We are with the other disciples beside the Sea of Galilee. Maybe we’ve camped out there, anxious to see what Jesus will do tomorrow. It’s cold, and there’s an early morning mist rising off the lake. We’re shivering because we didn’t bring proper bedding with us; all we have are our cloaks—and one another—to keep us warm.

We’re all asleep—or trying to be—except Jesus, who is walking carefully between the groups of people huddled together to stay warm. And suddenly, in your sleep, you feel his warm hand on your shoulder. ‘Jun, Innocent; wake up. Come away with me for a while.’

You can hardly believe your ears, but you’re wide awake now. You get up carefully so that you don’t wake the other people who are still sleeping. And you see Jesus go around the group and select eleven other people—Michelle, Rainier, ______________—and together you follow him away from the others.

This is incredible. You are with the master. He woke you by name. Touched your the shoulder. You can feel your shoulder burning where he touched you. You can’t believe—you wonder why—he would have chosen you. But he did. And you’re walking together with him now.

Your feet are still sluggish with sleep, but Jesus is alert and vibrant. His steps are faster, and yours quicken to match his.

He talks to us—to you. Like a friend. Not things that will get recorded into the Gospels; just little things. He wants to know if you’ve finished the repairs you’re doing on your house. He asks someone if they heard the birds singing before the sun came up. There is such grace in his manner that you feel yourself being changed from the inside out. There’s something about being chosen that makes us worthy of choosing.

We walk with him up into the hillside until we find a place that is high and secluded. And then he turns, making a circle of us and, again, he puts his hands on us. There’s no awkwardness in his movement because they are full of grace. Full of blessing. You feel his anointing run down over—like the oil the prophet Samuel poured on David to anoint him as king.

Again, he calls each of us by name and says that he is appointing us to be with him. He wants us to be his apostles, to speak for him to others, to lay our hands on people and to heal them.

You might think that our minds would be full of questions and self-deprecation. But then you have misunderstood. Jesus, the anointed one of God, was laying his hands on us and blessing us. His anointing overflows to us and fills us with courage. In that moment I could have healed the sick, could have cast out demons, could have preached to an angry mom. I was with him, and there was no power in heaven or on earth that I didn’t have.

Let me sing this song to you now that I wrote in response to this passage, and please continue in an attitude of prayer as we come into this time of worship. What is it that God would speak to you today? Where would he touch you if he were to lay his hands on you? If you were to be filled with the anointing, the power, and the presence of Jesus, where would he send you?

More Than An Icon (Mark 3:7-19)

The mist poured in off the cool lake in the morning
Jesus walked among the people sleeping there
Carefully, so as not to wake the others
He shook us by the shoulder where we slept
Shivering in our cloaks against the night air
He said, ‘Quickly, come; I want to be with you.’

Oh, to walk beside him was to love him
To feel his steps quicken our sleepy feet
To hear him speak words meant only for me
He’d ask about my simple cares with grace

We walked with him, way up in the hillside
Until he turned and gathered us around
He said we’d go back down among the others
He’d send us out to speak and work for him
You might have thought our hearts would fail within us
But then you would have failed to understand

Oh, to walk beside him was to love him
Our Lord had called, and chosen us by name
His choosing overcame our every weakness

Oh, to walk beside him was to love him
He’d ask about my simple cares with grace