When he came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a proof to them.”
Matthew 8:1–4 ESV

A Broken Man

We can live our lives disconnected, broken, or separate. We can bear the stigma of a certain condition that keeps us at odds with our community. We could be the recipients of something unfair. We can think that we are alone and unloved, forgotten by society.

This leper found himself in that condition. He could never face people again. Leprosy was a serious physical condition, but it also had serious sociological and psychological implications for the individual. This man was ostracized from society, left to wander, and forced to announce his arrival whenever he showed up anywhere.

A Desire For Restoration

This leper was not just asking for physical healing. He was not just looking for the Messiah to ‘fix’ his problems. He was asking for a restoration that began first in the physical, but then moved to emotional and relational.

Inherent in the leper’s question to Jesus, is a desire to be accepted and loved. He proclaims, “Lord if you will,” revealing his deep insecurity and inability to be accepted and loved. If Jesus wanted to heal him, then this leper would feel like there was finally some hope. This leper wanted to know that Jesus was not just passing out ‘healing’ indifferently to whoever needed it, but that he had Jesus’ attention and compassion.

Transformative Healing

When Jesus says, “I will,” He is saying that He accepts this man. He is saying that His intention is to restore this man more than just physically. Jesus cares about this man emotionally and psychologically. He is restoring his mind, will, and emotions. He is taking him from the state of an outcast to a person accepted by the community.

A further point in this story is that Jesus sends him directly to the priest, so that the priest can verify the healing. Jesus is really asking this man to enter back into society, through the prescribed laws of that society. Jesus is trying to legitimize his re-entrance into community. Jesus knows what is required to re-enter community, to go back to friends and family.

Reflection

1. As Christ-followers, His Body upon the earth, how do we hear the cry of the broken around us? Does our compassion lead itself to action?
2. Are we engaging with the miracle that is demanded of us? Are we willing to accept and love as we bring Christ’s healing to the world us? The issues are never what are just on the surface.
3. Are we seeking to bring restoration to the individual? Do we have that individual’s best interest in mind?
4. How do we accept restoration/healing as a spiritual community? Do we we believe that people’s lives can be changed by Jesus? Are we ready to assimilate that change?

As a Christian, Dr. King gracefully and dutifully held on to the implications of compassion, justice, and truth. It was never just about black equality or anti-war sentiments. He appropriately responded to what he saw around him in society and culture.

Dr. King was not tempted by the ease of the ‘unexamined life’. He did not wait for society to change or adjust. He saw a situation, spoke up, and did something about it. He tried to mirror Jesus in his words, actions, and lifestyle. He was willing to stand up for what was right regardless of the obstacles he faced.

As Christians, we would honor the memory of Dr. King, not by our adulation of the man himself, but by instead looking to the bedrock of Dr. King’s faith and action in the person of Jesus. As a Christ-follower, Jesus would ask me to bear out the implications of following Him.

When I encounter the brokenness of the world around me
When I see my brother or sister in need
When evil and injustice have transplanted righteousness and truth
When it is easier for me to live in Christianity’s cocoon of religiosity
When my beliefs and ideals do not agree with my practice and lifestyle

As I look at the life of Dr. King I am convinced more than ever, that if we incarnate Jesus to the world around us, we will make a massive difference. Stones might be thrown our way, our words might be misconstrued, our actions might be misrepresented, and we might even have to give up our lives for a greater cause.

It wouldn’t be easy or fun, but it would be fulfilling and sacrificial. Our first and perfect example in all of this is Jesus…

I sometimes wonder what life would be like in America for me, a non-white immigrant, if nobody fought for Civil Rights…

Dr. King lived true to what Jesus would asked of him, in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

I know I can too…

There is a God, who sees and hears and knows and speaks
There is a Savior, who redeems and restores and releases
There is the Spirit, who woos us and walks beside

Let hope and faith and love
Rise from ashes of ruin and suffering
Let joy and peace and goodness
Grow from a place of utter brokenness

Jesus may we trust You more
As you reveal Yourself in us
May we walk hand in hand
Following your beckon and call

Spirit lead us toward
The place you have prepared
As we stand in the awe
Of matchless, unfailing love

May our prayers echo the cry
Of humanity around us
May our lives speak truth louder
Than just words or actions
May our walk be to the tune
Of Your Spirit working in us

We stand firm, true, strong
In the reality of You

I am getting ready to co-teach Intro To Philosophy at PBC for the upcoming Spring ’12 semester. It’s a introduction into philosophy, from the ancient to current history, with a focus on overarching philosophical themes throughout. We will be teaching from a Christian perspective, and I cannot wait to dig in this next semester.

I am working through my manuscript for Matthew 5–7, introductory thoughts on following Jesus. I have broken the 10,000 word barrier and writing through my outline. I have never felt so focused and determined in my writing, and it’s caught me by surprise.

Marriage is everything and more, better than advertised. If you find the person God has for you, marriage can be the most rewarding, fulfilling experience. I am so thankful for my wife. We have just crossed the 3 month mark in our young marriage. Marriage…I highly recommend it!

I was re-reading something I wrote a while back (06–12-10):

May we question a theology that works in an environment of peace and stability but falls apart in a place of war, conflict or chaos.

May we question a philosophy of life that ignores the poor and the unloved and continues to fatten the established order of things.

May we question a Christianity that wants, gets, and wastes and has joined along with others in the raping of our planet.

May we question a Jesus that would allow us to live selfishly and return evil for evil in the name of justice or freedom or good will.

grace and peace,
Ashish

Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed; and he healed them. Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him. Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them.
Matthew 4:23–5:2 ESV

Jesus begins His earthly ministry with His disciples in tow. They were following their rabbi going where He went, doing what He did, saying what He said, but they realized something altogether different about this rabbi from the others they were aware of.

It was commonplace for a rabbi to travel throughout Judea, speaking in synagogues and teaching in villages. The difference was Jesus’ announcement and proclamation of something. His message was not a rehashing of ancient stories and religious tradition. He was not redefining some nuance of the Jewish scriptures in His teaching. There was something different about this rabbi.

More than just the ‘announcement’ of a new kingdom, Jesus was healing, casting out demons, and gathering a large following. The people were amazed at this man. Who was he? Where did he come from? How was he able to do all this?

These disciples were witnesses to Christ’s teaching, miracles, and growing following. They were probably asking the same questions the crowd was asking. Their following of Jesus was exciting, new, and fresh. It was an adventure, and they were part of something special.

As we begin following Christ, we experience the wonder and mystery of this new life. We are like these disciples, taking in Christ and His miracles. We are thankful to be a part of the journey. We are receiving and witnessing something altogether new and surreal. It is an adventure.

In this adventure, Jesus gathers His disciples unto Himself. The disciples require a foundation to their discipleship. What does it mean to follow Him? What are the implications of the Christ-life? Jesus begins teaching His disciples of a life that follows Him.

In our following of Jesus, we cannot be satisfied with the adventure and wonder of the miracle-working Jesus. We must sit at the rabbi’s feet and glean from His teaching. His message must travel deep into our minds and heart. It must be grappled with and applied in our lives. We must, like these disciples, be gathered unto Christ, ready and waiting for His words to penetrate our souls.

small sec­tion of a man­u­script I’m cur­rently work­ing on, going through Matthew 5–7, Jesus’ Ser­mon on the Mount

¹⁸ While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. ¹⁹And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” ²⁰Immediately they left their nets and followed him. ²¹And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them.²²Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
MATTHEW 4:18–22 ESV

Jesus is calling out and asking us to leave behind the ways of the world. He is asking these young, enterprising, fishermen to walk in a different kind of inheritance. He is asking them to leave behind all they know and are accustomed to. He is calling them to a new kind of life.

The call of Christ remains as true as it was heard by these fishermen two thousand years ago. It remains as true as it was heard by the Body of Christ, the Church, through the voice of the Spirit in the book of Acts. Now it calls out to all who would hear the Spirit’s voice, echoing Jesus’ call to these unassuming fishermen.

The call of Christ implies our leaving behind of our old lives. This is both an internal, spiritual belief and an external, practical outworking. The call of Christ demands of us not a mental ascent but simple obedience to the invitation.

Christ’s call leads us into a life of following Him to whatever end. A life set apart for the sake of Christ is one clear of all other allegiances. These men willingly gave up business, money, and earthly possessions. They were part of a special, ragtag group that Jesus chose to be His closest confidants during His earthly ministry.

The life that is set apart for the sake of Christ is the life of discipleship. This sort of a life is not lived for itself; it is a life that does not pursue pleasure, happiness, a name, or anything of significance. It is a life lived in view of Christ, for Christ, and through Christ. These men willingly gave up all and now followed Jesus to whatever end He would ask of them.

small sec­tion of a man­u­script I’m cur­rently work­ing on, going through Matthew 5–7, Jesus’ Ser­mon on the Mount.

All Things New class, Hebrews — Trip of a Lifetime, has been an awesome time for Kaeli and I to be a part of discipleship at our church. We get the awesome privilege of speaking into people’s lives and see that God is working and moving and growing His church. It has been a time for us to be a part of redemption at work in our community.

I have been reading Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. It is his classic exploration of faith in community. The book has been a source of great joy to me in this season. It enables me to think outside of myself when I think of what the Bible has to say about spiritual community, and how that is implemented in our culture today.

I am working through a book manuscript of sorts. The passage in the Bible that constantly grips me is Matthew 5–7, Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. As I study and work through this passage, I am writing and thinking through what it meant for Christ’s first followers as they heard Him teach this Sermon; I am working through the implications of what that means for us as we follow Christ today. If you want to find out more, feel free to contact me directly for more details.

grace and peace,
Ashish

To the strong and composed
To the power-brokers at the forefront
To those proclaiming loud to all the world
To those who are free, fat and fulfilled
To those who have it all together
To those who have not a care in the world

Jesus is calling out to all of us, wherever life may find us, whatever situation we find ourselves in. He is calling us out from our lives, whether broken or comfortable, whether we are wanting or have all we need.

Jesus is calling out to us through the pervading noise of busy-ness or the deafening silence of self-absorption. Jesus’ words call through our haunting past, our immediate circumstances, and our worrisome futures. The call of Christ is one that calls us to leave behind what holds us fastened to the here and now, to immediate promise and fulfillment, and to the hollow satisfaction of gaining all that the world has to offer.

small section of a manuscript I’m currently working on, going through Matthew 5–7, Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.

For we bask in the love of another’s compassion
Beholding an undeserving grace and mercy
Indebted to the work of Cross and Resurrection
As we love in the love of the Father’s love to all

May we stand together in His love
Alive and aware of the gift so freely given
May we steward His Spirit in our lives
Responding as children to Father
May we walk towards His plan and purpose
In faith believing and hoping

For this love is His love
The firstfruits of ‘not yet’
We wait in eager anticipation
As stewards of God’s work in us

Love is…
Above and yet around
Beyond and yet close
Simple and yet overwhelming

We love… in Him