Author's Note: This is part 1 (of 2) of a paper originally prepared for the Spiritual Nurture Program of the School of the Spirit in November 1993.
When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things. (Mark 6:34, NIV)
Where is the spiritual nurturer to look for guidance? Nurturers need to look to the Master, Jesus Christ, the supreme spiritual nurturer. They need to look to both the Living Word and to the written word, the record of Jesus' life and teachings in the Gospels. This paper gleans insights from the Master as His life and teachings are reflected in the Gospel of Mark.
Jesus looked at them and said, "With mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible." (Mark 10:27, NRSV)
The spiritual nurturer must first look to the source of all true spiritual nurture, God. It is God who enables all good things. "No one is good but God alone." (Mark 10:18, NRSV)
This is not simple. "Many will come in my name and say 'I am he!' and they will lead many astray." (Mark 13:6, NRSV) The nurturer must be careful of false spirits masquerading as the Holy Spirit.
Also, we must beware of thinking we are following God because we maintain outward trappings in the name of piety. About the Pharisees and scribes who were scrupulous in following the Judaic tradition, Jesus said, "You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition." We can go to Meeting (or church) regularly, maintain a daily devotional time and otherwise appear to be religious, yet in fact exhibit loyalty to human institutions rather than to God.
Jesus answered them, "Have faith in God. Truly I tell you, if you say to this mountain, `Be taken up and thrown into the sea,' and if you do not doubt in your heart, but believe that what you say will come to pass, it will be done for you. So I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." (Mark 11:22-24, NRSV)
The spiritual nurturer must be one who prays. Jesus not only taught his disciples about the power of prayer, he also made prayer central to his own life.
"In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed."" (Mark 1:35, NRSV) We learn from the example of Jesus that the first thing in our life should be prayer. This citation is from a very busy period in Jesus' life, full of healing and teaching. He made it a point to get up before those needing his nurture would be seeking him, so that he could center his work in prayer. We must do likewise.
He went to "a deserted place" where he could not be easily disturbed. So too do we need to seek a place which is quiet and free from distractions to center our lives in prayer. We need to give God our undivided attention.
When he was "distressed and agitated" (Mark 14:33, NRSV) at Gethsemane, Jesus went off to pray. While he very much wanted not to have to endure his crucifixion, he prayed to God, "yet, not what I want, but what you want." (Mark 14:36, NRSV) Likewise, our true prayer should be to seek to do God's will, not our own.
When our life and work are not centered in prayer, our spiritual nurture will be ineffective. Jesus commissioned his disciples to cast out demons and heal people (Mark 6:7-13), but Mark tells of Jesus casting out an unclean spirit from a boy when his disciples could not. When the disciples asked him why they could not do it, he answered, "This kind can come out only through prayer." (Mark 9:29, NRSV)
A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, "If you are willing, you can make me clean." Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" (Mark 1:40-41, NIV)
As is illustrated by this story, Jesus was filled with compassion for each individual. In the story of the rich man, "Jesus looked straight at him with love...." (Mark 10:21, TEV)
Likewise, Jesus was moved with love for the crowds to which he spoke. In the story of the feeding of the five thousand from which the first quote in this paper comes, Jesus "had compassion on them." Similarly, in the story of the feeding of the four thousand, Jesus tells his disciples, "I have compassion for the crowd...." (Mark 8:2, NIV)
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. (1 Corinthians 13:1-3, NIV)
As Paul so eloquently states in this beautiful passage, our words and deeds are for naught if they are not given in love. Jesus indicated that the first commandment was to love God, and the second to love your neighbor as yourself. (Mark 12:29-31) Jesus demonstrated this love in his life, and so must we. Our nurturing must start with love. Without love, all of our knowledge and good technique will be useless.
Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, "Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, `Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, `Get up, take your mat and walk'? (Mark 2:8-9, NIV)
The spiritual nurturer must listen not just to what is said out loud, but also to the spirit of the person or group. Like Jesus, the nurturer must perceive the questions within those being nurtured in order to speak to their condition.
This perceptiveness will reflect itself in a variety of circumstances. When the Pharisees attempted to trap Jesus with a question about paying taxes, he discerned their intent and responded so as to confound it. (Mark 12:13-17) When he saw rich people putting large sums of money into the temple treasury and the widow putting in two small copper coins, Jesus saw that it was the widow who was giving the most. (Mark 12:41-44) Like Jesus, we must see beneath the surface questions and circumstances to the reality that lies underneath.