Following Jesus Through Seasons of Change
Luke 5:33-6:11
Text (Luke 5:27-39; 6:1-11)
" 27 After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. "Follow me," Jesus said to him, 28 and Levi got up, left everything and followed him. 29 Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. 30 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and 'sinners'?" 31 Jesus answered them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." 33 They said to him, "John's disciples often fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours go on eating and drinking." 34 Jesus answered, "Can you make the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? 35 But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; in those days they will fast." 36 He told them this parable: "No one tears a patch from a new garment and sews it on an old one. If he does, he will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old. 37 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. 38 No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. 39 And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for he says, 'The old is better.' " " (Luke 5:27-39, NIV)
" One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and his disciples began to pick some heads of grain, rub them in their hands and eat the kernels. 2 Some of the Pharisees asked, "Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?" 3 Jesus answered them, "Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4 He entered the house of God, and taking the consecrated bread, he ate what is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions." 5 Then Jesus said to them, "The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath." 6 On another Sabbath he went into the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was shriveled. 7 The Pharisees and the teachers of the law were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath. 8 But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said to the man with the shriveled hand, "Get up and stand in front of everyone." So he got up and stood there. 9 Then Jesus said to them, "I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?" 10 He looked around at them all, and then said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He did so, and his hand was completely restored. 11 But they were furious and began to discuss with one another what they might do to Jesus." (Luke 6:1-11, NIV)
Introduction
Jesus was the greatest change agent in the history of the world. His coming changed the history of the world and He continues to change lives daily all over this planet today.
Some experts define leadership as the ability to effect positive change. If that be true, then Jesus is the greatest leader who has ever lived because no one else has ever changed the course of history like Him! (cf. Moses[1])
One of the themes in this portion of the Gospel of Luke is the growing tension between Jesus and the religious establishment as the result of the changes Jesus brought.
There were many reasons why the religious and civil establishment resented and rejected Jesus. At the heart of it all was the fact that Jesus set in motion a dynamic of enormous change. The changes He brought impacted them personally by impacting their society, their theology, and their livelihood. Their universal response was resistance:
· Pharisees resisted stylistic change.
· Sadducees resisted sociological / social change.
· Scribes resisted theological change.
· Kings resisted political change.
· Merchants resisted economic change.
· Practitioners of the occult resisted spiritual change.
The key issue raised by His opponents was the legitimacy of the changes He provoked. "What right do you have to change things?"
Jesus defended His right to bring change by painting four short word pictures of a doctor, a bridegroom, a garment, and a wineskin. Then, Luke fleshes out the Lord's paradigm of change by showing us how Jesus defended His disciples when they gleaned grain from the fields on the Sabbath and how Jesus healed a man with a withered hand with utter disregard for the Pharisee's judgmental eyes.
In response to the Pharisees' questions concerning the legitimacy of the changes Jesus was bringing, Luke uses a literary model found throughout his Gospel: declaration accompanied by demonstration. In 5:31-39, Jesus reaches out to them through His words (doctor, bridegroom, garment, wineskin), then through His deeds (defending His disciples plucking grain on the Sabbath and deliberately healing the man with the withered hand on the Sabbath. (6:1-11)
Even as He countered them and defended His own actions, He was trying to change them by changing their minds, their hearts, and their lives:
· From Law/legalism to love
· From self-righteousness to true righteousness
· From dead religious tradition to life in the Spirit.
· From a preoccupation with self to a genuine concern for others.
· From being served to serving others…!
Jesus brought change deliberately, He did it tirelessly, He did it fearlessly, He did it relentlessly.
He refused to abandon His agenda for change in their lives and in their world-view. He had come to seek and to save and to change that which was lost and He never took, "No," for an answer…! He refused to allow their resistance to change to stop that change because He was sent from the Father on a mission of change.
As we follow Him, we discover that He is up to the same thing in each one of our lives: He wants to change us and use us to change others.
He loves us enough to receive the way we are, but He loves us too much to leave us the way we are. He has a plan to change every one of our lives and to use us an agent for change in the lives of those around us.
The prospect of profound change may be unsettling at first, but the reality is that everyone of us experiences ongoing change in our life anyway, some of it brought on by God, some of it provoked by the devil, some of it as the automatic byproduct of life.
Which principles can we learn about change from Jesus?
From The image of a Doctor, we learn
1. Change is helpful.
Sometimes change is necessary for the greater good.
Sometimes there is a need for change because the need has changed…! (Ask, "Is it for the greater good? Will it benefit others?")
Two extremes to avoid regarding change: All change is bad (reactionary); all change is good.
Folk wisdom:
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it…!"
Before I built a wall I'd ask to know
What I was walling in or walling out,
And to whom I was like to give offence. (Robert Frost – "Mending Wall")
Ø LEadership tip:
To be most effective at leading through change, base it on genuine need. Legitimate need validates change and is vital to obtaining "buy-in" from all key players (RASCI – Responsible for decision; must Agree to the decision; need to Support the decision; expect to Contribute to the decision; should be Informed about the decision)
Jesus categorically rejected the implication that a good spiritual leader should spend most of his time caring for the righteous sheep in the flock as opposed to seeking out the ones who are lost…! (cf. story of good shepherd leaving the 99 to rescue the 1…!)
From the Image of The bridegroom we learn…
2. Change is seasonal.
Knowing the season you are in and flowing with the season you are in is one of the most important keys to rightly processing change…!
Delight in autumn's cool, golden light as it dapples the meadow whose summer shades of green are giving way to the amber hues of fall. Lift your nose to the air, waiting, wanting to catch the first little sniff of wood smoke, burning the dust off of someone's hearth.
As the rains begin to fall, the winds begin to blow, and the first flecks of snow begin to fly, rejoice in the prospect of curling up by the fire with a good book, sheltered from winter's encroaching chill.
Instead of stubbornly trying to linger at the lake in your summer shorts and flip-flops, celebrate the coming of Christmas, with its wondrous celebration of the Savior's birth. Focus on the reason for the season and let your heart be filled again with the mystery of it all - Immanuel – God is with us…coming to love us, coming to seek us, coming to find us, coming to heal us, redeem us, deliver us, change us…!
And as you do, before you know it, spring's tender little buds will begin to peek and poke their way out through the thawing ground and your heart will thrill with the coming of spring when you can dust off that putter stowed away in the corner of the garage and head off to a newly mowed green as you luxuriate in that season's good, gentle warmth.
This is maturity, this is reality, this is wisdom – to know and to flow with the seasons of God in your life. Autumn follows summer as surely as winter follows fall and spring follows winter and then summer will surely come again. "To everything there is a season…" and God, "…has made everything beautiful in its time…" (Ecclesiastes 3:1,11)
" There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: 2 a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, 3 a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, 4 a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, 5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, 6 a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, 7 a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, 8 a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace. 9 What does the worker gain from his toil? 10 I have seen the burden God has laid on men. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. 12 I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. 13 That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil—this is the gift of God. 14 I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him. 15 Whatever is has already been, and what will be has been before; and God will call the past to account." (Ecclesiastes 3:1-15, NIV)
When I was a teenager in Junior High School in
Ø Leadership tip:
When contemplating change, ask, "Is this the right time?" remembering that there is no perfect time…!
"4 A sluggard does not plow in season; so at harvest time he looks but finds nothing." (Proverbs 20:4, NIV)
3. Change is emotional.
Even positive change can produce negative emotions.
Change takes time to process emotionally.
The greater the degree or speed of change, the greater the degree of emotion we feel as a result of that change. The greater the degree of emotion, the greater the amount of time we will need to process that emotion.
Ø Leadership Tip
Change should be processed openly, transparently, and truthfully.
- Servant leadership vs. manipulation.
Change must be processed emotionally.
- Profound change impacts people profoundly. Every person has a unique degree of tolerance for change. Emotions take time to "catch" up with necessary change.
- One key mistake leaders make is to implement change only on a structural or organizational level without allowing people time to process the impact of that change emotionally…! This is what John Maxwell calls, "The law of process" and he declares is the law leaders violate most. Why? Because they have already processed the change in their own mind and heart before they announce it…! (Example: Parent who knows a career move and relocation is pending or a grandparent will soon be passing. Mom and Dad talk about it much in private. Children only learn about it much later and much more abruptly…! Personal stories about men not telling their wives when major change is coming.)
Change is best processed gradually. (3 ½ year ministry of Jesus)
- You cannot always dictate the speed or degree of change, but you can wisely respond to change and process it (and help your followers process it) by understanding these principles.
- The easiest change is gradual change. (Frog in kettle illustrates the need to be vigilant in the face of gradual negative change; Pastor and piano illustrates the wisdom of instituting gradual positive change.)
When experiencing or implementing change ask, "How do I and the others feel about this change?"
Two extremes to avoid: insensitivity to feelings and bondage to feelings…! (whether our own or those of others as a leader).
When dealing with important issues, we should not let our feelings or the feelings of others determine whether or not we implement a particular change. Instead, we should look at the fruit that change will produce, whether positive or negative. However, we need to be aware of the emotions that will accompany that change in order to walk it out in a healthy, productive, non-destructive way.
4. Change is controversial.
The greater the degree or speed of change, the greater the controversy.
Ø leadersHip TIP
The most effective way to process a group of people is to process them as individuals (each person has their own issues with change, their own personal degree of tolerance for change, and their own time-frame for processing change.) Youth, for example, usually processes change more easily and more quickly than age.
Distinguish between needs and opinions. Both old and new wine are beverages capable of slaking thirst and a truly thirsty person will drink either one…! Meeting the needs of others is much more important than catering to their preferences!
Another good question to ask when considering change is: "Does this change respect or disregard what good there is in the past?" Sometimes unnecessary controversy arises when leaders disparage or utterly disregard the past as they promote a particular change. REMEMBER: People's emotions get involved when they process change. One thing that stirs their emotions is their sense of loyalty to someone or something from the past that had great value in the past. (Note next image: Old wineskins have value for old wine…!)
From the image of The garment and the wineskin we learn…
5. Change is inevitable.
Resisting change will not keep it from happening.
Everything living changes.
You cannot keep cloth from shrinking or wine from expanding. It will happen…!
Some changes cannot be partial, they must be total. You cannot put new wine into old wineskins…!
Tradition must never be valued more than truth…!
Ø Leadership Tip
What change in your life or the group you lead do you realize is inevitable? Have you been postponing it because it appears too painful, perhaps because of potential fall-out from people who will react emotionally? Remember: Painful change seldom gets easier with time, rather, it usually grows even more difficult…!
6. Change is personal.
Ultimately, each of us has to make up our mind, do we want the wine or do we want the wineskin
"A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still…!"
We must choose:
· Resist, resent, and reject?
· Receive and rejoice…!
Change is part of life and change is essential to growth…! The only thing in the universe that does not change is the God of heaven and His Word…! It will never change for us, we must change in response to it.
Ø Leadership Tip
In order to successful lead others through change, I must learn to navigate it gracefully myself! In fact, most of the changes that need to take place in the groups we lead must first begin with us in order to be effective and helpful. It is also true that, as we begin to change and experience its benefits, that inspires those around us to change.
Invitation
1. Pastor, I am in the midst or on the verge of profound change in my life and I need you to pray for me, that Jesus would take my hand and lead me through this season of change.
2. Pastor, I need Jesus to change me as I make the decision today to follow Him. I need Him to forgive me and I need Him to help me.
Colton
MENDING WALL - Robert Frost
Something there is that doesn't love a wall,
That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it,
And spills the upper boulders in the sun,
And makes gaps even two can pass abreast.
The work of hunters is another thing:
I have come after them and made repair
Where they have left not one stone on a stone,
But they would have the rabbit out of hiding,
To please the yelping dogs. The gaps I mean,
No one has seen them made or heard them made,
But at spring mending-time we find them there.
I let my neighbor know beyond the hill;
And on a day we meet to walk the line
And set the wall between us once again.
We keep the wall between us as we go.
To each the boulders that have fallen to each.
And some are loaves and some so nearly balls
We have to use a spell to make them balance:
'Stay where you are until our backs are turned!'
We wear our fingers rough with handling them.
Oh, just another kind of out-door game,
One on a side. It comes to little more:
There where it is we do not need the wall:
He is all pine and I am apple orchard.
My apple trees will never get across
And eat the cones under his pines, I tell him.
He only says, 'Good fences make good neighbors'.
Spring is the mischief in me, and I wonder
If I could put a notion in his head:
'Why do they make good neighbors? Isn't it
Where there are cows?
But here there are no cows.
Before I built a wall I'd ask to know
What I was walling in or walling out,
And to whom I was like to give offence.
Something there is that doesn't love a wall,
That wants it down.' I could say 'Elves' to him,
But it's not elves exactly, and I'd rather
He said it for himself. I see him there
Bringing a stone grasped firmly by the top
In each hand, like an old-stone savage armed.
He moves in darkness as it seems to me~
Not of woods only and the shade of trees.
He will not go behind his father's saying,
And he likes having thought of it so well
He says again, "Good fences make good neighbors."
[1] One of the biggest criticisms of Moses as a leader was the fact that he was instituting change ("leeks and onions"). When that spirit entered the people, not even divine provision could keep them from grumbling… (Manna). One of his biggest challenges as a leader was how to process change in an orderly fashion ("only as fast as the very young and the very old could travel"). Try as he did, he was unsuccessful at leading them into the Promised Land, not because of a lack in his leadership, but because of their innate resistance to change.
1 comment:
Thanks. A helpful word.
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