The Joshua Victor Theory

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. Today in our Gospel reading from Mark chapter 9, there is a strong contrast set up between Jesus teaching His disciples about His coming death on the cross, and His resurrection—and a petty argument the disciples fall into on their journey along the road. The contrast is between the way of humility that Jesus Himself lived, and the way of selfish ambition or self-promotion and rivalry, that the disciples were acting out in their little argument. Like children “caught in the act” of doing something they know is wrong, Jesus called out the disciples, who were arguing with each other about who was the greatest. We don’t know quite how it went down. But we do know from other arguments, that they wanted to gain the highest authority and respect in Jesus’ kingdom. We know how it goes—we’re familiar with how people compete for position, for advantage, for recognition, or for power. In a way, it’s very childish and...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. In today’s reading, Paul talks about the privilege and reward of preaching the gospel—the good news of Jesus Christ crucified for our sins and forgiveness. It was his unique joy to preach to the Corinthians free of charge. Like other servants of the gospel, he knew he deserved to earn a living by it. But among the Corinthians, he chose not to accept any payment, but worked for the sheer joy and reward of serving Jesus Christ. You can only understand this joy if you grasp the marvelous mystery of what Jesus has done for you. Working for a big paycheck we can understand. Working at an easy and rewarding job, we can understand easy enough. But facing constant rejection, persecution, beatings, and failure, and still finding the work so joyful that you would do it for free—that’s not so easy to understand. But the way that Paul carried out his ministry, and the joy and willingness with which he did it, all are f...

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. The life of the prophet Samuel in the Bible has much to tell us still today, but today we see a major turning point in his young life. Who are Samuel and Eli in the passage? “Samuel” means “God has heard.” Samuel was God’s answer to the earnest prayers of a young Hebrew wife Hannah, living in Old Testament times, who was unable to have children. She earnestly prayed to God for a son, and God heard her prayer and blessed her with Samuel, who, from a young age, she dedicated Samuel to serve in the Lord’s house. Eli was the priest of the Lord at the tabernacle, the tent of worship for the Lord. Hannah had brought her young son to serve under Eli. While Hannah was a woman of great faith, Eli believed in God, but did nothing to stop the wickedness of his two sons, who were complete scoundrels. They committed brazen acts that dishonored God’s name and house—sexual immorality in God’s house; abusing their authorit...