Jesus became very popular in Capernaum and throughout Galilee.  He was the teacher of greater authority than that of the scribes and priest.  Demons proclaimed his holiness as he drove them out of their victims.  He healed all sorts of illnesses from fevers to skin diseases.  Despite his commands that the healed should keep the blessing to themselves, they couldn’t help but to tell others of the Lord’s power.

Continue On The Path (© John Gresham)

Yet Jesus did not get caught up in the praises of people.  He spent a lonely time in a lonely place to communicate with the father in heaven.  He healed out of compassion ordering that his evident power not be used to promote him.  And even when he left one place to the next seeking freedom of movement and found none, he resided in the empty places, yet still pursued by crowds.  True holy power is not necessarily defined by the number of people who gather around it.  True holy power is defined by how it seeks to be close to its source, how it responds to the needs it sees, and how it responds to the crowds that follow it.  Jesus didn’t get to big to go to his own prayer closet.  Nor did he have to pimp the people he showed mercy on to hype his name.  Nor did he revel in all of the attention given to him.

Let us not be swayed by the modern ministers who misuse their calling.  Let we  who are called to proclaim the Gospel not get caught up in ourselves.  Devote time alone to pray.  Give out of love with no desire for self glory.  Live humbly enough to have peace in mind.  If we are faithful in these things, people will come to us.  Perhaps in mass, or no more than a handful.  But, true holy power will draw those who seek healing and the word of God.

Yours in Christ,

Brother Cyprian Bluemood

Order of Saint-Simon of Cyrene

P.S.  A special thanks to Dr. Gina Stewart who preached a fantastic sermon on this text “Crowd Control” at the Hampton University Minister’s Conference in 2009.

What is the Gospel that Jesus is referring to in this portion of his ministry?  Surely he is not going about Galilee proclaiming he has died and risen from the tomb.  He hasn’t even told this to the first four disciples yet as he has just called them to be fishers of men.  So, was Jesus foretelling what would happen to him to masses of people even before he would tell his closest followers who wouldn’t understand him?

Praise for Good News

I revert back to the previous 14 verses of this chapter.  The word of prophecy has been fulfilled.  The voice that cried out in the wilderness, John the Baptist,  has fulfilled his purpose.   Jesus was baptized by this man of great faith and simple life.  Baptism was for repentance and forgiveness of sin though he had no sin.  Jesus was confirmed as the coming Lord by the Father and the Holy Spirit.   The Lord had withstood testing and tempting by Satan and came through the desert without sin.  John’s imprisonment now opens the door for the ministry that he said would be greater than his.  Therefore, the Good News is that one can receive spiritual renewal and victory over evil by believing that Jesus is the prophesied Lord from Heaven because he has become one with us and triumphed over Satan.  Repent and believe.

John’s baptism flew in the face of the Pharisees call for strict, legal obedience as it didn’t follow the Mosaic ritual.  It was an antithesis to the earthy rule of Herod and Rome as he spoke of something greater.  Jesus declared not the restoration of David’s Israel nor the majesty of Cesar.  “The Kingdom of God is close at hand.”   Entrance into this divine realm only two things are required.  Repent and believe.

May you see beyond burdensome legalism and supremacist arrogance.  Good News is simple and available to all.  Repent and believe.

Yours In Christ,

Brother Cyprian Bluemood

Order of Saint-Simon of Cyrene

Jesus had just been confirmed as the Son of God by the Heavenly Father Himself.  The Holy Spirit came down upon him as he came up out of the water.  Indeed, the very heavens wer torn apart as he arose from being baptized by John.  We think we have “arrived” when we earn a college degree, get a promotion at work, or marry that special person.  What greater arrival could this man from Nazareth receive than to have the heavens and total holiness speak and act  on his behalf!

The moment of arrival is followed by many days of testing in a desolate land.  We all seek the pinnacles of praise and honor.  But, we often ignore and avoid the deserts of examination.  These are not pleasant places.  Along the Jordan, the place of the moment of arrival, there is the support of others and sustaining resources.  The desert has no river, lush plant life, and few people live there.  John sang his praises before he came to the river.  Satan waited to bring him down in the hot sands.  The same Spirit that fell on Jesus in the great confirmation now brought him to a place of a much longer confrontation.

It is immature for the Christian to believe that the faith is a hedge against difficulty.  As if having the Holy Spirit is a guarantor of ease and pleasure.  If Jesus can be compelled to go to a place of desolate examination, who are we not to expect the same?   No, the Spirit will take us from our moments of arrival and send us to our many days of testing.  We are not exempt from such trials.

But, be encouraged.  In the words of the old Negro Spiritual, “Trouble don’t last always.”  No matter what deserts the Spirit leads us to or what demon awaits to tempt us, it is only for a designated time.  Be encouraged.  Although the lions, venomous serpents, and other creatures were in the desert with Jesus, they didn’t attack him.  The Spirit that leads us to the test gives us protection through the test.  There was no disciple even made at this time, much less one present that could abandon him (as they did later).  God provided his holy messengers who could only do as directed, to keep him during the time in the desert.  Be encouraged.  The Father never leaves his children alone.

Dawn on the Valley

Expect your desert testing.  Expect it to be longer than your Jordan arrival.  Expect to be protected from destruction and assisted by a greater source.  Expect to come through the test to serve a greater task.

Yours in Christ,

Brother Cyprian Bluemood

Order of Saint-Simon of Cyrene

John the Baptist was a holy man full of truth and grace.  He proclaimed baptism of repentance and forgiveness of sin, wore simple clothes, ate simple food, and taught there was someone greater than himself.  There were some Jewish Zealots who sought armed struggle against the Roman oppressors.  Others conspired with the occupiers for personal gain.  Most simply resigned themselves to their lot.  John leads the way above these three states of mind.

Lynnhaven Dawn

Repentance and forgiveness of sin is a far greater calling than militancy.  The latter relies on violent human to defeat a human enemy.  The former relies on God’s mercy to defeat the spiritual enemy.  The later seeks earthly territory.  The former desires a place in the heavenly kingdom.  One struggles for dominance and the other invites vulnerability.  Even in victory, the militant is only temporary.  The soul that repents and is forgiven becomes immortal.  There is no doubt as to which is greater.

Simple living is greater than feasting founded on corruption.  The simple relies on the God who provides to bless the work of his hands.  In times of feast or famine, they are sustained for they have God as their resource.  Of those who require bribes, theft, and usury; what hope do they have when trouble comes their way?  To constantly sell their souls to the highest bidder, or any bidder, for the best meal they can find.  As the bidders are mere mortals, their feast is tainted and doomed.  Even the morsels of the righteous are more blessed than their banquets.

Awards, honors, and trophies of all sorts may be well deserved.  But, they mean little to the Greater One who is coming.  The true purpose in life is not to gain human glory.  We are called to live in expectation of the one who brings heavenly glory.  To indulge in one’s own light is a betrayal to the True Light that gives life to people.  John understood his purpose as a voice that proceeds the Coming Sound of the Greater Trumpet.

Let us understand our purpose.  Live to bring about healing of ourselves and others, reliant on God and our efforts, constantly seeking his mercy, and expecting him to come into our lives in fullness.

Bro. Cyprian Bluemood

Order of Saint-Simon of Cyrene

Too often, we define a right relationship with God as being based on morality and following ritual.  We don’t drink, smoke, cuss, or have sex outside of marriage.  We attend church, mass, fast during lent, or read the Bible.  There is no doubt that morality and ritual are helpful in society and a spiritual lifestyle.  Without condemning these, Jesus teaches that they are not the things that give us justification with the Father.

There is a higher view than ours

Please note, the tax collector practices the ritual of going to the temple just like the Pharisee.  But, being a tax collector puts him in a perpetual state of sin according to the devout Jews of the time.  He makes no mention of any specific sin that many of his colleagues were engaged in such as cheating people out of money or sexually exploiting women who were unable to pay.  For all we know, he may have fasted and tithed as much as the Pharisee.  Yet, because of who he is in society, the tax collector regards himself as a sinner greatly in need of God’s mercy.  It is the humble acknowledgement and expressiveness of his prayer that God looks favorably upon and blesses.

No matter who we are (or who we think we are), humans are constantly in a state of sin.  Even those of us who are moral and practice ritual are surrounded by temptations and fall to them more often than we would like to admit.  We hate even though we don’t murder, lust even though we don’t rape and have removed pens and post-it pads from our workplaces rather than rob banks.  The preacher of Ecclesiastes was right to say “There is not a man on earth that does what is right and does not sin.”

To make a relationship right with God, one must do as this tax collector.  Have faith enough to come into God’s presence, express true remorse, and plead to the Father for mercy.  Such a humble prayer is a spiritual reset for us and leads to repentance.  A lack of humility makes repentance an empty promise where the soul worsens due to arrogance.  But, an expression of faith like this tax collector justifies us as righteous in the eyes of the Lord.

May the Grace of God though Jesus Christ shine on you,

Brother Cyprian Bluemood

Order of Saint-Simon of Cyrene

There are two compulsions that a person can experience.  In this scripture, we readily see the outward form.  No good Roman soldier should be forced to carry a cross for a condemned man.  And it would have been insulting to select a member of the local population to do the task.  But, this passer-by from another place would be a palatable choice for the humiliating task.  Thus, Simon of Cyrene was compelled to bear the cross.

Dawn on a Mountain Lake (J.Gresham/Virginia DCR)

Yet, the text also suggest the inward form of compulsion.  Faith was often handed down from the father to the wife and to children.  In his letter to the Roman church, Paul sends greetings to Rufus who is a leader among the Christians and his mother whom he has a close bond of friendship.  They and Alexander were colleagues of Mark.  Simon had first hand knowledge of the crucifixion and must have believed in the resurrection.  He shared this faith with his family (and perhaps with his countrymen Simeon and Lucius mentioned in Acts 13:1) and his witness bore fruit.  His outward compulsion was cruel and unfair.  But, the inward compulsion Simon had to share Christ gave hope to others and helped to grow the body of the faithful.

Many of us were compelled to go to church, say our prayers, read scriptures, and sing hymns by our parents.  And it is good that children should be brought up in the faith.  But, the lesson of Simon of Cyrene is this:  When we are compelled inwardly by the Gospel, we can overcome our bitter experiences to  effectively share the Good News with others.  I pray that you will be compelled today and everyday by the grace, love, and power of Jesus Christ.

Your Brother in the Lord,

Cyprian Bluemood

Order of Saint-Simon

Egypt is a mighty empire.  One of the world’s great rivers provides water for its fields.  Great monuments of the pharaohs stand the test of time.  Men from other nations continue to learn from the scientist and scholars.  Priceless treasures of antiquity abound there.  Joseph had achieved much in Egypt rising from a slave to being the governor who sustained the people through the great drought.  And yet, he didn’t want to remain there after his death.  He knew the Lord had a place of promise for him and his people.

Dawn at Windmill Point

The Israelites place in Egypt was temporal.  Another pharaoh had no knowledge of the Hebrew governor  and enslaved his people.  No, Canaan was the place the Lord had promised to the descendants of Abraham.  This semi arid land lacked the great resources and wealth of the mighty empire that enslaved them.  But those who would inhabit the land needed only to be obedient to their great God to be provided for and protected.  The Israelites could neither fight the Egyptian army nor cross the Red Sea by their own strength to reach the promise.  Only the Lord their God could make the pathway for them to cross and overcome their enemies.

Like Joseph, we must be wise enough not to settle for earthly wealth and authority.  Our eternal place of promise may seem far and we may lack worldly leisure and luxuries in our Canaans.  But, have faith and be obedient and we will have all that we need and more.  Have faith in the One whose light cannot be overcome by the darkness of our temptations and has parted the partition of sin that separates us from the Kingdom with his blood shed on the cross.  No, don’t settle for Egypt.  God has promised us so much more than this.

Yours Brother in Christ

Cyprian Bluemood

Order of Saint-Simon of Cyrene

The span of our life is seventy years, eighty for those who are strong, but their whole extent is anxiety and trouble, they are over in a moment and we are gone.     Psalm 90:10

Teach us to count up the days that are ours, and we shall come to the heart of wisdom.    Psalm 90:12

Colors, Cloud, and Field

We cannot even begin to compare our temporary existence to the eternality of God.  Yet, we are often foolish enough to try.  We try to label him as the God of a nation, or a race.  This psalm of Moses brings us to a people who had not yet claimed a territory and had just been delivered from being the lowest of the earth.  The writer cannot boast in national borders nor ethnic prowess.  He begins the poem with these words, Lord, you have been our refuge from age to age.  This was a people of great promise.  Other nations have heard of them and lost heart because of their triumphs.  And yet the writer gives all reverent reverence to God claiming nothing for the people.  That temporal humanity is completely reliant on God’s eternal presence.  What then is a nation?  A set of borders that will rise and fall in the sands of time.   What is a race?  A collection of people who can ruled and be ruled in the shifting winds.  Only one is eternal.  Not our great numbers of limited ages.  But, he who is ageless and precedes and succeeds our existence.  I am in debt to Dr. Angelo Chatmon, Dean of the Chapel at Virginia Union University, for making this point clear.

Your Brother in Christ,

Cyrpian Bluemood

Order of Saint-Simon of Cyrene

There is nothing new about love.  It can be found in the Old Testament as a commitment as well as emotion.  God gave the command through Moses.  David and Johnathan shared a close friendship.  Ruth was devoted to Naomi.  King Solomon was very passionate about his new bride.  It is not hard to find many other examples of old love.

Reflective Presence of the Other

What is new about the commandment is that Jesus challenges us to love as he has loved.  We are to love when it makes more sense to be fearful.  We are to love when it makes more sense to be spiteful.  Consider that the Lord is about to be arrested, put on trial, and executed. He is among one who will betray him and the others who will abandon him.  And what does he do?  He shares a special meal with them and washes their feet after dinner.  When God gave the commandment, Israel had been liberated from bondage and was approaching the promised land.  Loving in a time of optimism is good.  But, the challenge is to love as Jesus did; love when pain and suffering are nearby.  David, Johnathan, Ruth, Naomi were loyal to one another, even in stressful times.  Standing by someone’s side in a crisis is a good thing.  But, the challenge is to love as Jesus did; love those who will abandon and back stab you.

Such a love seems foolish as we expect love in return, especially when we need to receive it.  But, consider the one who set this pattern.  New love cannot remain dead.  It rises and invites us to glories this world cannot give.

Yours in Christ,

Brother Cyprian Bluemood

Order of Saint-Simon of Cyrene

There is no such thing as the perfect kingdom on earth.  There never was nor will there ever will be.  As in the days of our Lord on earth, they are all ruled by economic and military power.  Both forms are easily abusive and abused.  Empires and nations of all sizes rise, fall, and in time, all are relegated to the pages of history.  One who puts hope in such a kingdom hopes in something temporal that will be punished in the day of judgement.

Light Beyond The Clouds

In the beginning of his Sermon On the Mount, Jesus invites the multitude to the kingdom of heaven.  The sun, moon, clouds, and skies cannot be persuaded by wealth nor weapons.  The heavens are governed by the hand of God and God alone.  He gives us the option to come into this greater citizenship.

Citizenship in the kingdom of heaven requires one to accept unworthiness to become such a citizen.  A poor man cannot enter a rich man’s banquet hall unless the rich man accepts him.  The poor one knows that is only by the grace of his benefactor that he can dine on the finest things offered.  So it is with us.  Due to our sin, we have no place in heaven in the presence of the Father.  It is only by his grace and mercy given to us through his Son that we can be accepted into the kingdom not made by human hands.  We must be ever mindful of our spiritual poverty in order for us to enjoy the fullness of salvation.  Jesus paid the cost for us to come into a banquet hall that we humans can never earn a  place.  Those who are aware of such poverty are truly privileged.

Your Brother In Christ,

Cyprian Bluemood

Order of Saint Simon