1805AFC020418 – Capernaum
Read it online here, please. And please, when you visit there, use one of the social media links at the bottom of the page to share this post. Thank you! And remember, we now have a READER VIEW available, so share this link or this email often.
Psalm 147:3-5 – 3 He heals the brokenhearted, and binds up their wounds. 4 He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names. 5 Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure. ¡Que la bendición esté siempre con ustedes y que Dios los bendiga, Amados! (May blessing always be with you and may God bless you, Belovéd!) Today we will continue with Jesus’ mission which was situated for some time in Capernaum. Last week we looked into an event early in his ministry where, at the synagogue of Capernaum, he combined teaching and the miracles of exorcism and healing. This weekend’s reading from the Gospel of Mark (Mark 1:29-39) continues with events immediately after his teaching in the synagogue. He then goes to the home of Peter and Andrew. James and John went with those three. On entering the house, Jesus learned that Peter’s mother-in-law was ill with a fever. He went to her, healed her, and she immediately got up and served her guests. Later that evening, “the whole town was gathered at the door,” and Jesus healed many diseases and cast out many demons. After this long period of healing and ministering, Jesus surely must have been tired. Nonetheless we read (as in our Gospel reading for Sunday) he healed many. As the Psalmist says, God heals the brokenhearted. He heals those whose lives are broken by their health, by their tormenting demons, and he makes them whole. God is so wonderfully powerful that he knows the name and place of every star in the universe. His Word spoke them into being, and his Word named them all. God’s greatness is so vast that we cannot begin to understand it; and yet we experience it daily. The man, Jesus, was surely tired, but God the Son had more to do that day. He went off on his own to pray.
Mark 1:35 – 35 In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. Jesus went off alone to pray several times. He often went to a deserted place. Have you ever asked why he felt the need to pray? He was and is God, after all. A child once asked “Was Jesus just talking to himself then?” No. God the Son was speaking to God the Father. What would Jesus need to pray about? I always felt he was asking for strength, in much the same way as he did in Gethsemane. Here are some examples of passages where Jesus was praying: Matthew 14:23; Matthew 26:36-48; Mark 6:46; Mark 14:32-42; Luke 3:21; Luke 5:16; Luke 6:12; Luke 9:18; Luke 9:28; Luke 11:1; Luke 22:39-71; and best of all, John 17:1-26. That last one in John 17 is a great example of how Jesus prayed for his Disciples – including us! Now, how is that that the Creator of the Universe of whom John said, “All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being” (See John 1:3) wants to pray for those Disciples and for these Disciples reading this message? Jesus chose to pray to ask his Father to protect us. Why did he choose? Jesus was human, and as a human I believe he, too, had free will. We understand in Scripture and in Liturgy that Jesus willing sacrificed his own life for us – for humanity. “Not my will but thine be done.” Jesus knows we also have that choice. We can choose to live with, in, and for him or with, in, and for ourselves. The former is difficult and increasingly rare. The latter is easy and increasingly popular; just watch the evening news or any of the several dozen awards programs constantly televised. Jesus went off to pray for himself and for us. He went somewhere that he could control the distractions of his day-to-day life – the crowds, the draining of his personal and spiritual energy, the fear of being killed before it was time … and the absolute knowledge that he would die a horrible death as a completely innocent man. Jesus did this because it was a wise thing to do; it helped him cope with the rigors of his fully human nature; and so the God of whom David said Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure also has the understanding that it is essential for Jesus to pray! If Jesus has the wisdom to pray, and if we wish to imitate Jesus, then we must pray as well. We often hear the words of Matthew 6:6 (in multiple versions here). Many people take this quite literally and set up a War Room or a Prayer Chapel in their own homes. For many years, my prayer chapel was my car. I usually had at least 30 minutes between home and work, and that was enough time to have a good long session with my Triune God El Shaddai-Olam. It’s a good idea to have a certain place to pray that allows you to be free (or freer) of distractions. It’s also a good idea to have a regular time to pray. First thing in the morning seems to work best for many folks. Start your day off with God and pretty much everything is well-ordered because you did the important things first (instead of doing urgent or selfish things first). It is especially important to be regular in prayer if you are one of those souls whose life is struggle after struggle after struggle. David says God heals the brokenhearted. Constant illness, or sorrow, of persecution, or any other negativity can really wear you down. In that verse, brokenhearted is שָׁבַר (shabar) {shaw-bar’}. It carries a connotation for being crushed, torn apart, shattered, or broken into pieces. God heals that! Many of us love sing that old hymn “TAKE IT TO THE LORD IN PRAYER.” What a Friend We Have in Jesus (↔ Music Link) Jesus did; so should we. That peace that surpasses all understanding (See Philippians 4:7) need not be forfeited because we don’t want to “bother God with our troubles.” God knows our troubles. He is pleased to attend to our prayers anytime, anywhere; he will take and shield thee. Take it to the Lord in prayer. But where?
In most of those passages I gave you about Jesus praying, we are told he went off to a deserted place to pray. That word is ἔρημον (eremos) {er’-ay-mos}, and it means solitary, lonely, desolate, uninhabited, deserted by others, and even deprived of the aid and protection of others, especially of friends, acquaintances, or kindred. Belovéd, you already know we are never alone, especially when we go to God in prayer. Jesus went to such a deserted place just outside Capernaum. You’ll remember that he “relocated” there at the start of his ministry. He was teaching at the synagogue there in Capernaum and then in today’s lesson – he went over to Peter’s house and continued ministering there. Very early the next morning, before sunrise, he left to find a deserted place to pray. I’m going to put two photos here. One is an aerial photo of present-day Capernaum and the other is the ruins of “The White Synagogue,” a 4th century AD synagogue apparently built at the same location as the synagogue in Jesus’ day. (See bottom photo below)
If you look at the photo on the left, you can see that there are still many places that look “empty;” there no agriculture, gardens, or housing; just rock and dirt and plenty of it! I say this because it’s not that difficult 
to find a place close to where you are that can be your preferred place of prayer. It’s good to have a time and place that you yourself set aside for the sole purpose of conversing with our God. In the lower right of this photo you can see the balloon marker that indicated the location of Capernaum, and the body of water that fills that corner if the Sea of Galilee. It had several names throughout the millennia. It was also called Lake Tiberias. In Arabic it was called Buḥayrat Ṭabarīyā. Historically in Hebrew the name was Yam Kinneret. It is famous for its biblical associations; its Old Testament name was Sea of Chinnereth, and later it was called the Lake of Gennesaret. Chinnereth and Gennesaret are probably the same place – a smallish town a wee-bit southwest of Capernaum and right on the coast of this fairly large lake. And so Belovéd, we can feel comfortable going to the God who spoke into being all the stars and then named them each one by one, the God who heals the brokenhearted, the God who had the courage and will to pray to his Father for himself and for us. Please, take it to the Lord in prayer! Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure. That means he even understands you and me. Praise God!
Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever — at your service, Belovéd!
Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture passages are from the New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE) New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Biblical languages inserts from Bible Hub (Bible Hub: Search, Read, Study the Bible in Many Languages) Visit at http://biblehub.com
Aloha Friday Messages by Charles O. Todd, III is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License
1805AFC020418 – Capernaum
Read it online here, please. And please, when you visit there, use one of the social media links at the bottom of the page to share this post. Thank you! And remember, we now have a READER VIEW available, so share this link or this email often.
Psalm 147:3-5 – 3 He heals the brokenhearted, and binds up their wounds. 4 He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names. 5 Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure. ¡Que la bendición esté siempre con ustedes y que Dios los bendiga, Amados! (May blessing always be with you and may God bless you, Belovéd!) Today we will continue with Jesus’ mission which was situated for some time in Capernaum. Last week we looked into an event early in his ministry where, at the synagogue of Capernaum, he combined teaching and the miracles of exorcism and healing. This weekend’s reading from the Gospel of Mark (Mark 1:29-39) continues with events immediately after his teaching in the synagogue. He then goes to the home of Peter and Andrew. James and John went with those three. On entering the house, Jesus learned that Peter’s mother-in-law was ill with a fever. He went to her, healed her, and she immediately got up and served her guests. Later that evening, “the whole town was gathered at the door,” and Jesus healed many diseases and cast out many demons. After this long period of healing and ministering, Jesus surely must have been tired. Nonetheless we read (as in our Gospel reading for Sunday) he healed many. As the Psalmist says, God heals the brokenhearted. He heals those whose lives are broken by their health, by their tormenting demons, and he makes them whole. God is so wonderfully powerful that he knows the name and place of every star in the universe. His Word spoke them into being, and his Word named them all. God’s greatness is so vast that we cannot begin to understand it; and yet we experience it daily. The man, Jesus, was surely tired, but God the Son had more to do that day. He went off on his own to pray.
Mark 1:35 – 35 In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. Jesus went off alone to pray several times. He often went to a deserted place. Have you ever asked why he felt the need to pray? He was and is God, after all. A child once asked “Was Jesus just talking to himself then?” No. God the Son was speaking to God the Father. What would Jesus need to pray about? I always felt he was asking for strength, in much the same way as he did in Gethsemane. Here are some examples of passages where Jesus was praying: Matthew 14:23; Matthew 26:36-48; Mark 6:46; Mark 14:32-42; Luke 3:21; Luke 5:16; Luke 6:12; Luke 9:18; Luke 9:28; Luke 11:1; Luke 22:39-71; and best of all, John 17:1-26. That last one in John 17 is a great example of how Jesus prayed for his Disciples – including us! Now, how is that that the Creator of the Universe of whom John said, “All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being” (See John 1:3) wants to pray for those Disciples and for these Disciples reading this message? Jesus chose to pray to ask his Father to protect us. Why did he choose? Jesus was human, and as a human I believe he, too, had free will. We understand in Scripture and in Liturgy that Jesus willing sacrificed his own life for us – for humanity. “Not my will but thine be done.” Jesus knows we also have that choice. We can choose to live with, in, and for him or with, in, and for ourselves. The former is difficult and increasingly rare. The latter is easy and increasingly popular; just watch the evening news or any of the several dozen awards programs constantly televised. Jesus went off to pray for himself and for us. He went somewhere that he could control the distractions of his day-to-day life – the crowds, the draining of his personal and spiritual energy, the fear of being killed before it was time … and the absolute knowledge that he would die a horrible death as a completely innocent man. Jesus did this because it was a wise thing to do; it helped him cope with the rigors of his fully human nature; and so the God of whom David said Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure also has the understanding that it is essential for Jesus to pray! If Jesus has the wisdom to pray, and if we wish to imitate Jesus, then we must pray as well. We often hear the words of Matthew 6:6 (in multiple versions here). Many people take this quite literally and set up a War Room or a Prayer Chapel in their own homes. For many years, my prayer chapel was my car. I usually had at least 30 minutes between home and work, and that was enough time to have a good long session with my Triune God El Shaddai-Olam. It’s a good idea to have a certain place to pray that allows you to be free (or freer) of distractions. It’s also a good idea to have a regular time to pray. First thing in the morning seems to work best for many folks. Start your day off with God and pretty much everything is well-ordered because you did the important things first (instead of doing urgent or selfish things first). It is especially important to be regular in prayer if you are one of those souls whose life is struggle after struggle after struggle. David says God heals the brokenhearted. Constant illness, or sorrow, of persecution, or any other negativity can really wear you down. In that verse, brokenhearted is שָׁבַר (shabar) {shaw-bar’}. It carries a connotation for being crushed, torn apart, shattered, or broken into pieces. God heals that! Many of us love sing that old hymn “TAKE IT TO THE LORD IN PRAYER.” What a Friend We Have in Jesus (↔ Music Link) Jesus did; so should we. That peace that surpasses all understanding (See Philippians 4:7) need not be forfeited because we don’t want to “bother God with our troubles.” God knows our troubles. He is pleased to attend to our prayers anytime, anywhere; he will take and shield thee. Take it to the Lord in prayer. But where?
In most of those passages I gave you about Jesus praying, we are told he went off to a deserted place to pray. That word is ἔρημον (eremos) {er’-ay-mos}, and it means solitary, lonely, desolate, uninhabited, deserted by others, and even deprived of the aid and protection of others, especially of friends, acquaintances, or kindred. Belovéd, you already know we are never alone, especially when we go to God in prayer. Jesus went to such a deserted place just outside Capernaum. You’ll remember that he “relocated” there at the start of his ministry. He was teaching at the synagogue there in Capernaum and then in today’s lesson – he went over to Peter’s house and continued ministering there. Very early the next morning, before sunrise, he left to find a deserted place to pray. I’m going to put two photos here. One is an aerial photo of present-day Capernaum and the other is the ruins of “The White Synagogue,” a 4th century AD synagogue apparently built at the same location as the synagogue in Jesus’ day. (See bottom photo below)
If you look at the photo on the left, you can see that there are still many places that look “empty;” there no agriculture, gardens, or housing; just rock and dirt and plenty of it! I say this because it’s not that difficult to find a place close to where you are that can be your preferred place of prayer. It’s good to have a time and place that you yourself set aside for the sole purpose of conversing with our God. In the lower right of this photo you can see the balloon marker that indicated the location of Capernaum, and the body of water that fills that corner if the Sea of Galilee. It had several names throughout the millennia. It was also called Lake Tiberias. In Arabic it was called Buḥayrat Ṭabarīyā. Historically in Hebrew the name was Yam Kinneret. It is famous for its biblical associations; its Old Testament name was Sea of Chinnereth, and later it was called the Lake of Gennesaret. Chinnereth and Gennesaret are probably the same place – a smallish town a wee-bit southwest of Capernaum and right on the coast of this fairly large lake. And so Belovéd, we can feel comfortable going to the God who spoke into being all the stars and then named them each one by one, the God who heals the brokenhearted, the God who had the courage and will to pray to his Father for himself and for us. Please, take it to the Lord in prayer! Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure. That means he even understands you and me. Praise God!
Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever — at your service, Belovéd!
Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture passages are from the New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE) New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Biblical languages inserts from Bible Hub (Bible Hub: Search, Read, Study the Bible in Many Languages) Visit at http://biblehub.com
Aloha Friday Messages by Charles O. Todd, III is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License
About Chick Todd
American Roman Catholic reared as a "Baptiterian" in Denver Colorado. Now living on Kauaʻi. USAF Vet. Married for over 50 years. Scripture study has been my passion ever since my first "Bible talk" at age 6 in VBS.
