Birthdays and beheadings

So last night we talked about Matthew 14. Since I never did get around to posting the scripture to the blog, and since none of our lawyers were able to make it, I thought I'd give a brief summary of some of the topics we discussed.

Verses 1-12:
Herod has sinned by seducing and marrying his brother's wife. Besides making things awkward at family reunions, it causes John the Baptist to condemn Herod, and since nobody likes a complainer, Herod eventually has John beheaded at the behest of his step-daughter. Now, when Herod hears about Jesus, his first thought is "It's John the Baptist come back to life!" It's funny how rarely my first thought in any given situation is that someone has come back from the dead, but that's right where Herod goes. We discussed how this is evidence of his paranoia--a common response to knowing you've done something wrong and haven't paid for it. Also, note how Herod's first sin (seducing his brother's wife) leads to his next sin (imprisoning John) and his lust (I'm assuming his step-daughter was a naughty dancer) and his pride lead to his killing John. Sin snowballs.

13-21:
We spent most of our time discussing this section of the text. Note how the disciples barely have enough bread to feed themselves, five loaves and two fish. As such, they want to send the people away to fend for themselves. Jesus, however, takes from the disciples what little they have, gives thanks for it, then gives it back to the disciples who give it to the people. Note that when they're done, there are twelve basketfuls left--a basket for each disciple (thanks, Danny). The Disciples start out with less than enough for themselves, but because they're willing to offer the little they have to Jesus, and then offer it to the people, they're left over with an abundance for themselves.
In the same way, I often feel like I barely have enough life in me to get by, let alone to give to other people, but when I give the little I have to Christ, and let Him direct me to give it away, I wind up with more than enough. Mark illustrated how giving his work to God, especially those tasks he finds tedious, makes it fulfilling rather than draining. Though he's given away, he ends up with more than he began with because he gave what he had to God.

22-36:
Since Peter walking on the water is one of the most common Sunday School lesson themes, we didn't spend a whole lot of time on this. We did note however, that Peter began to sink "when he saw the wind." Not the waves, mind you; the wind. In other words, he looked at nothing; with Jesus there before him, Peter focused his eyes on the air, and so he sank. Wendy pointed out how we've noted in the past that Satan is "the prince of the air," which brought up again the image from The Great Divorce of Heaven as a profoundly substantial place, while Hell is ghostly, immaterial. Just as, while Jesus wore it, even the edge of his cloak could heal the sick, so, in this case, while Jesus touched it, the water was substantial enough to hold him up.

We ended the night with prayer for exams, for the willingness to submit everything to God, and for an awareness of how fleeting life is, and how pressing the kingdom of God is. After that, we ate cake to celebrate the birthdays of Michael F. and Wendy. A joyous time was had by all.