March 13th, 2021
Text: Luke 5:1
Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, (NRSV)
As I read this text, it makes me wonder just how hungry I am for the word of God. Jesus is at the edge of a lake and the people were pressing in on him.
You’ve probably seen that kind of thing at concert. I remember being at a rock concert in the old Spectrum in Philadelphia in the late 70’s. It was a general admission standing room only concert. What that means is the floor in front of the stage has no seating and everyone crowds to the barrier that separates the performers from the audience.
I had gotten there early enough to be at the very front. The people were all pushing so hard to get as close to the stage as possible that the pressure from the crowd collapsed the barricade and many of us fell to the ground. It took almost a half an hour to get us all standing again. We were incredibly lucky that no one was seriously injured.
One thing I find interesting about this text is that it does not appear to be the “star” power of Jesus that is drawing the crowds that day. Remember, this is very early in Jesus’ ministry and he has not even called his first disciples yet. No, we are told that the crowds are pressing in on him to “hear the word of God.” They were hungering to know what God had to say to them. They were hungering to live a different kind of life. They were hungering to be invited into a relationship with God that they had not yet experienced.
Again, the question I asked of myself at the beginning, “How hungry am I for the word of God?”.
Do I even take time during the day to spend with God in prayer? Do I even set aside just a few minutes to read my Bible? Would I get up early on a Sunday to go to worship and try and get there early enough to get the front seat?
Pray with me:
God of love and God who has the words of life forgive me when I do not hunger for those words. Forgive me when your words are an afterthought at the end of my busy day as I am drifting off to sleep. AMEN.
Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, (NRSV)
As I read this text, it makes me wonder just how hungry I am for the word of God. Jesus is at the edge of a lake and the people were pressing in on him.
You’ve probably seen that kind of thing at concert. I remember being at a rock concert in the old Spectrum in Philadelphia in the late 70’s. It was a general admission standing room only concert. What that means is the floor in front of the stage has no seating and everyone crowds to the barrier that separates the performers from the audience.
I had gotten there early enough to be at the very front. The people were all pushing so hard to get as close to the stage as possible that the pressure from the crowd collapsed the barricade and many of us fell to the ground. It took almost a half an hour to get us all standing again. We were incredibly lucky that no one was seriously injured.
One thing I find interesting about this text is that it does not appear to be the “star” power of Jesus that is drawing the crowds that day. Remember, this is very early in Jesus’ ministry and he has not even called his first disciples yet. No, we are told that the crowds are pressing in on him to “hear the word of God.” They were hungering to know what God had to say to them. They were hungering to live a different kind of life. They were hungering to be invited into a relationship with God that they had not yet experienced.
Again, the question I asked of myself at the beginning, “How hungry am I for the word of God?”.
Do I even take time during the day to spend with God in prayer? Do I even set aside just a few minutes to read my Bible? Would I get up early on a Sunday to go to worship and try and get there early enough to get the front seat?
Pray with me:
God of love and God who has the words of life forgive me when I do not hunger for those words. Forgive me when your words are an afterthought at the end of my busy day as I am drifting off to sleep. AMEN.
Tagged with God\\\'s word, God\'s word, hunger, Bible, prayer, intimate, relationship, spending time with Jesus, time with God
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