“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her…” (CSB – Read the chapter)
“Another review for you this morning and a verse we’ve talked about before. This time a television medical drama. Entries in that particular genre are a dime a dozen these days. Each new TV season brings multiple new premiers. Today’s focal feature premiered in the U.S. in 2017 and is copied from a Korean series of the same name that ran for one season in 2013. It is an import I’m glad we’re able to enjoy. It falls in the plot pattern of past shows like Doogie Howser, M.D. and House where the main characters is just a bit different from everyone else. In this one he’s not a child genius or a jerk, he’s autistic. Let’s talk this morning about The Good Doctor.
“He was not able to do a miracle there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. And he was amazed at their unbelief. He was going around the villages teaching.” (CSB – Read the chapter)
Can anything stop the power of God? Of course not! Right? Yes! I think so… Why the indecision? Because this is yet another of those stories in the Scriptures that leaves you asking some hard questions at first read. The plain text here says Jesus was not able to do a miracle. Now, if it said He wouldn’t do one, that would be interesting, but okay. But couldn’t? Wasn’t He Jesus? Let’s talk about it.
“‘Isn’t this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And aren’t his sisters here with us?’ So they were offended by him. Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown, among his relatives, and in his household.’” (CSB – Read the chapter)
America is unique in the world. That’s the case in a number of ways, but I want to focus in on one in particular with you this morning. Our nation was founded in part on the ideal of hope. No other nation was ever founded so uniquely on hope—that tomorrow could be better than yesterday was—as this one was. Even as we are facing challenges and tensions as a people unlike many have seen in their lifetimes, still hope persists in many places. This is a uniquely western cultural phenomenon that does not exist in many other places even in the western world. Understanding this, we can start to make a little more sense out of the reaction Jesus got when he preached a sermon in His hometown.
“They came to the leader’s house, and he saw a commotion–people weeping and wailing loudly. He went in and said to them, ‘Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but asleep.’ They laughed at him, but he put them all outside. He took the child’s father, mother, and those who were with him, and entered the place where the child was. Then he took the child by the hand and said to her, ‘Talitha koum’ (which is translated, ‘Little girl, I say to you, get up’).” (CSB – Read the chapter)
Being a parent means wearing a lot of different hats. There’s the chef’s hat. The coach’s hat. The counselor’s hat. The boot camp drill instructor’s hat. The teacher’s hat. The pro-wrestler’s hat (if you have boys). The superhero’s hat (or so says my youngest about me). Lots of hats. My own boys are getting to the age where I’m having to don another hat more often than I like: the referee’s hat. It’s only natural, really. Sorting out issues with other people can be challenging, especially when we’re not willing to give an inch on our desired position. As a result, when we’re kids, we quickly appeal to a higher power to settle disputes for us: a parent. Wise parents know you can’t wear that hat too often or you short-change their opportunity to begin building some problem-solving skills of their own. But man is it tempting to solve things quickly for them so you don’t have to listen to the bickering anymore. The trouble is, when we sort things out, someone isn’t going to be happy. We’re going to be accused of playing favorites. And there’s some truth in that. We play favorites all the time. You know who didn’t play favorites, though, Jesus. And as we finally come to the end of this powerful story, we’re reminded of just how true that is.
“While he was still speaking, people came from the synagogue leader’s house and said, ‘Your daughter is dead. Why bother the teacher anymore?’ When Jesus overheard what was said, he told the synagogue leader, ‘Don’t be afraid. Only believe.’” (CSB – Read the chapter)
In the enormous library of real estate series on TV right now, perhaps the one I like the least is “My Lottery Dream Home.” The basic format is the same as all the rest of them: a homebuyer is shown three different homes by a real estate agent and then chooses one of them to purchase. The twist for this version of that plot is that the homebuyers have all recently won the lottery and are using part of their winnings to buy a new home. Not all of them have won huge jackpots, and some of the lottery dream homes have been pretty humble, but every episode leaves you wondering, “Why won’t that happen to me?” Jealousy doesn’t sit well with me personally, so I don’t watch the show. But I can’t avoid the Scriptures, and this passage feels like an episode of “My Lottery Dream Home” that I don’t want to watch. Let’s look anyway.
The Nexus 