Denver Community Church

November 21, 2010: Stretch Out Your Hand and Live – Michael Hidalgo

Jesus goes to the synagogue on Sabbath, and publicly raises a question about life. He pointedly asks all who were assembled there, "Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" His question reflects how easily we allow our culture – religious or otherwise – our rules, and our ideas to stand in the way of people experiencing the restoration and renewal that God can bring about. 

Those present do not respond directly to Jesus – they, Mark tells us, are hardhearted. This does not mean “coldhearted” – rather it is an idiom referring to the fact that some lack the ability to understand and grasp the heart of God. The people place a religious framework as first and foremost in their minds and hearts. 

Which raises then a significant question for us: How much do we attempt to place our particular brand of religious framework over God – and according to our framework determine what is good or bad?

November 14, 2010: You Are (Not) What You Do – Michael Hidalgo

Jesus’ disciples are hungry – so they are picking kernels of grain and eating them (Deut 23). Presumably they are doing this on the edge of the field which was to be left for the poor. Jesus, in response to the religious, speaks of another time when David was hungry and he took bread from the tabernacle. The discussion of their plucking the grain would never had happened however, had it not been Sabbath. But it was, and one was not to harvest anything on Sabbath (Exodus 34).  

Sabbath was given to a group of slaves who never had rest. Sabbath was the time that God called holy. It was a space, a place that we were called to inhabit. Yet the religious still managed to make it a legalistic practice. In the end, the people ended up taking this gift from God and allowed it to control them, rather than seeing it as something that was given to them freely.

November 7, 2010: Eating and Drinking – Jon Gettings

October 31, 2010: This Isn't About You – Jeff Johnsen

The religious are upset that Jesus is hanging out with sinners. Has anything really changed? By Jesus reclining at the table he is doing more than sipping on some wine. He is identifying with these people and their way of life. And these people were the worst kind of people in the minds of the religious. 

Jesus’ response? “They are the ones who need me.” There is a bit of a sting here, because Jesus implies that those who are raising the questions don’t need him. In essence he is telling them, “You have your rules, rituals, and all the religious stuff … you don’t need me.” Irony at its finest. 

October 24, 2010: The Forgiving Blasphemer – Michael Hidalgo

The Jewish Sages taught, “No one gets up from his sick-bed unless all his sins are forgiven” (b. Ned 41a). In their thinking, if a person was not whole physically then surely he was not whole spiritually. This kind of person was then cut out from the social fabric of the day due to the assumption of his sin. The doors of participation to life in the community were effectively shut in his face and he was left outside.

Here, Jesus extends to this man who was paralyzed on the mat the renewal that he so longed for … the renewal that would open the doors back up to him that had been shut. Yet, even then the religious people do not buy it. This man is still an outcast, and Jesus is a blasphemer. More than thinking Jesus a blasphemer – the religious it seemed missed the point. Jesus had come to establish a new community where the condition of one’s heart was what counted – not the appearance of their body, sick or otherwise. 

October 17, 2010: Raze the Roof – Michael Hidalgo

What are willing to do for something that we really believe in? Does our faith have chutzpah? Do we have the courage to go as far as the friends of this man who was paralyzed? It is their faith that enable this man to walk, not the faith of the man. 

Perhaps it is that these guys knew what was at stake, and they knew exactly who Jesus was. They would do anything to get to him. They knew who Jesus was and their faith drove them to the furthest possible extreme – ripping a roof apart to reach him. 

October 3, 2010: Caring For Your Own Soul – Michael Hidalgo

There is a temptation to be all things to all people. But ultimately our biggest concern must be our own spiritual and emotional health. This means sometimes saying “no.” This means going places where people cannot find you.

Jesus wakes up before his disciples, apparently does not tell them where he is going, and spends time in solitude. His disciples want him to do what the masses are demanding, yet Jesus seems to remain calm and not too wrapped up in people’s opinions. Which leads us to a question, “How many people did Jesus disappoint?” For all the people Jesus healed, were there parents who were upset because Jesus didn’t heal their kids?

September 26, 2010: Take Two of These and Call Me in the Morning – Dave Neuhausel

The group Christian Aid has a slogan that states: “We believe in life before death.” In these verses, Mark is still introducing the person of Jesus. Who he is and more importantly what he does. Jesus, it seems is a healer. Jesus, it seems came not only to save souls, but humans as wholes. In light of this we begin to see his holistic mission.

September 19, 2010: When Church Gets Crazy – Michael Hidalgo

When we speak about Jesus healing a person who is demon possessed – this is more than a simple healing – it is a clash of kingdoms. When Jesus engages in this kind of healing it is a picture of the end of all things. The spirit within the man begins by acknowledging who Jesus is. This is interesting because the religious in their midst miss it completely. Jesus then show his absolute authority over the spirit by commanding him to come out and to be silent – both commands are immediately followed. This action then raises the question of authority.

The authority that they speak of can commonly be misconstrued as power or enforcement. One who is able to force his or her will on another. However, as we come to see in Jesus, authority, connotes responsibility. What would life be like if those in a position of authority recognized not simply power – but the responsibility that comes with it?

September 12, 2010: Drop Outs – Michael Hidalgo

What was it about the call of Jesus that the disciples would simply pick up and leave everything? What would it take for you to leave home and walk around a dry dusty land with an itinerant Rabbi? It is interesting to note that the disciples are plying their trade. Some suggest this means they had completed their education, been tested, and had not “made the cut” with other rabbis. In other words – they were “good kids” but not the cream of the crop. 

Yet Jesus calls them. One of two rabbis in recorded history who called his disciples, instead of allowing disciples ask to follow him. This is the pattern we see throughout Scripture – God calling the underdog, the least, the lowly (Israel, Gideon, Mary) – and using them to accomplish his world.