Starfish Jesus

How many disciples does Jesus have? Marine biologists can help us find the answer.

Picture a starfish by the ocean. How many arms does it have?

One, two, three, four, five. Five arms.

Obvious, right? Anyone who has walked the beach or visited an aquarium and seen one knows this. Even a child, playing in the sand over the Fourth of July, knows that a starfish has five arms.

But guess what? You’re wrong.

“The answer,” writes Dino Grandoni in The Washington Post, “is stranger than anything most scientists expected. Simply put, the sea star, also known as starfish, appears to be mostly just a head.”

So, the correct answer is … zero arms. Starfish are just heads that crawl along the seafloor.

If that is not surprising enough, Grandoni reports that starfish, “despite their strange appearance, aren’t that distantly related to humans, sharing an ancestor 600 million years ago.”

You may think that you have some odd-looking relatives. Most of us do. But none quite as strange as a starfish.

 

Following Ezekiel

When Jesus arrived at his hometown of Nazareth, people were stunned by his wisdom and his deeds of power. “Where did this man get all this?” they asked, after hearing him teach in the synagogue. “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?” (Mark 6:2-3).

The people of Nazareth knew where Jesus came from, and they were familiar with his family. They never expected him to speak with tremendous wisdom and perform deeds such as stilling a storm, casting out a demon, healing a woman and restoring a little girl to life.

Like a starfish, Jesus was stranger than they expected. He did not seem to be connected to the people of their town. Mark tells us that they “took offense at him” (v. 3). The Greek word is eskandalizonto, the root of our English word “scandalized.” The words and actions of Jesus were shocking to the people of Nazareth.

Jesus knew that this was coming, so he said to them, “Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown and among their own kin and in their own house” (v. 4). He knew the long tradition of prophets not being respected in their own communities. Jesus was following in the footsteps of Ezekiel, who was sent by God to the people of Israel, “a nation of rebels.” God said to Ezekiel: “You shall speak my words to them, whether they hear or refuse to hear, for they are a rebellious house” (Ezekiel 2:3, 7).

The challenge of a true prophet is to speak God’s words, whether people are scandalized or not. Ezekiel was such a prophet, as was Jesus. The result of Nazareth’s rejection was that Jesus “could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them” (Mark 6:5).

If Jesus had been a starfish, the people of Nazareth would have tossed him back into the ocean.

 

How Many Arms Does Jesus Have?

Jesus left his hometown and went among the villages teaching. Mark tells us that he “called the twelve and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over the unclean spirits” (v. 7). Jesus told them not to worry about rejection, just as he had not agonized over his treatment by the people of Nazareth. Instead, he said, “If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them” (v. 11).

As Taylor Swift knows so well, “the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate.” When this happens, what do you do? [The pastor might pause at this point to see if any teenagers in the congregation are ready with the answer.]

“Shake it off.”

The 12 disciples did this. They “went out and proclaimed that all should repent” (v. 12). And they were successful in their mission. Mark tells us that they “cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them,” just as Jesus had done (v. 13).

This brings us to the question: How many arms does Jesus have?

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 11, 12. You might think so because he called 12 disciples.

But the answer is zero arms. Like the starfish, Jesus is mostly just a head.

 

You Can Call Me Ray

If we want to be disciples, we need to stay connected to Jesus, the head of the church. And to learn exactly how we are attached to the head, we can follow the lead of starfish scientists. They have a unique name for starfish appendages to avoid confusion about whether the extensions are arms or legs. They call the appendages “rays,” because they are extensions of the head. Most starfish have five rays, but some have six or seven, and others between 10 and 15. The Antarctic sun starfish starts off with five rays. As it grows, it adds to this number and can reach a total of more than 50.

Jesus started with 12 rays; then the rays doubled and tripled in number. Today, Jesus has 2.38 billion rays around the world. And, like the starfish, if one ray is cut off, another grows to replace it.

Any disciple of Starfish Jesus can be called “Ray.” Women and men can be named Ray. Children can be named Ray. Every follower of Jesus is a Ray. We can be a ray of light, a ray of hope, a ray of optimism … even a cosmic ray. (Just don’t be a death ray.)

The apostle Paul probably did not know much about starfish, but he saw clearly that Jesus is “the head of the body, the church” (Colossians 1:18). He understood us to be extensions of Jesus, the head, and he said, “Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then deeds of power, then gifts of healing, forms of assistance, forms of leadership, various kinds of tongues” (1 Corinthians 12:27-28).

What an amazing collection of rays: Apostles, prophets, teachers, and people who can perform acts of power, healing, assistance, leadership, and language. Like starfish appendages, we are a versatile group, and every single ray is an extension of Jesus as the head. “In him all things hold together,” says Paul (Colossians 1:17).

 

The Body of Christ in the World

If we are going to be a ray of Jesus, we need to have the mind of Christ. This means that we take his Sermon on the Mount every bit as seriously as we take the Ten Commandments. The mind of Christ is fixed on turning the other cheek instead of getting even. It is not satisfied with a walk of 1 mile with a neighbor; it insists on going the second mile. It gives to anyone who begs and offers love and prayer to both enemies and persecutors.

“What we dwell on in our minds will shape the way we live our lives,” said Presbyterian pastor Tim Keller. “What you set your mind on shapes your character and behavior.” Dwelling on “turning the other cheek” will shape your ability to forgive. Focusing your thoughts on giving will enable you to be generous to others. Opening your mind to the mind of Christ will give you the ability to love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.

As rays, our minds can be connected to Christ’s mind. And when we make this connection, then we can be the body of Christ in the world. Saint Teresa of Ávila, the great 16th-century mystic, said,

Christ has no body but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which He looks
Compassion on this world,
Yours are the feet with which He walks to do good,
Yours are the hands, with which He blesses all the world.

Teresa knew that followers of Christ are the physical presence of Jesus in the world today. As rays of Jesus, we are the ones who cook hot meals for low-income neighbors. We are the ones who build affordable housing through Habitat for Humanity. We are the ones who sit with a grieving neighbor, care for a vulnerable child, mentor a struggling teenager, or teach English to a group of immigrants. Christ has no body but ours.

And finally, if we are going to be rays of Jesus, we need to maintain our connection with Christ. Remember that starfish aren’t that distantly related to humans, sharing an ancestor 600 million years ago. In the same way, we aren’t that distantly related to Jesus, the only Son of God. We maintain our connection with him through small group Bible study, times of silence and daily prayer, and regular worship — even in the summer.

Independence Day is the summer holiday commemorating the birth of our nation and the ideas on which it was founded. When our country was just a newborn in 1776, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams were appointed to a committee tasked with designing the Great Seal of the United States. Nearly 6 years passed, with two more committees chiming in and multiple design concepts. When the final design was adopted in 1782, one element from the founding fathers remained: the words E pluribus unum — Latin for “Out of many, one.” The phrase works well for our country, and the reverse could work well for the church: “Out of one, many.”

We have one Lord, the head of the church. And out of this one head are many rays, doing the work of Christ in the world. It all starts with Starfish Jesus.

—Henry Brinton and Carl Wilton contributed to this material.

 

Sources:

Grandoni, Dino. “How many arms do starfish have? If you said ‘five,’ you’re wrong.” The Washington Post, November 14, 2023, www.washingtonpost.com.

Engelhard, Michael. “Do starfish have arms or legs, and how many do they have?” DiscoverWildlife, August 3, 2020, www.discoverwildlife.com.

Keller, Timothy. “Renew: Romans 8 with Timothy Keller.” YouVersion, www.bible.com.

Saint Teresa of Avila, “Christ Has No Body But Yours.” https://catholic-link.org.

The Other Texts

What Is One Possible Approach to the Text?

Becoming Great. The text is verse 10: “And David became greater and greater, for the Lord, the God of hosts, was with him.” How does one become “greater and greater”? You might recall that Muhammad Ali used to declare, “I am the greatest!” Jim Collins wrote a book about business strategies that help them get from “good to great.” Isn’t it a little off-putting to desire to become great? But why should it be? Certainly, we would not want to confess to being mediocre, right? The key for David was that he was assisted in the process of maturing from good to great. He had help. He had the best, most awesome help available: “the Lord, the God of hosts.” And not only that, this same “God of hosts” was “with him.” Review David’s life to find secrets to his greatness. Possibilities: a soul that was sensitive to the Spirit, a teachable spirit, and the willingness to confess and repent.

What Does the Text Say?

This text is the third and last announcement of David’s anointing as king. It is the last of a three-stage realization of power. The first came with Samuel’s anointing of David, prior to the lad’s victory over Goliath (1 Samuel 16:13). But Saul was still alive, so David was a king-in-waiting, a role he would play for some time, and with considerable patience. The second “announcement” (2:4) comes following the anointing by the leaders of the “house of Judah.” Here, in today’s text, we have the final announcement: David is anointed king by the “elders of Israel” representing all the tribes of the nation. He had been king of Judah for seven years; he would continue as king of the combined kingdoms for another 33 years. “And he became more and more powerful, because the Lord God Almighty was with him” (v. 10, NIV).

What Is One Possible Approach to the Text?

Independence! Freedom! Tell the next generation! This psalm sounds a lot like the exuberant language we hear around the Fourth of July — Independence Day — about declaring our independence from the British. In schools, stories are told about the midnight ride of Paul Revere, Minutemen, the dumping of tea in Boston Harbor, the speeches of Patrick Henry, and the writing of the Declaration of Independence. All these things preserve for the “next generation” (v. 14) the glory, bravery and mighty exploits of those early colonists who fought — and in many cases died — to establish “liberty and justice for all.” That’s what this psalm is doing: celebrating God’s mighty exploits. And it is also a recommitment of the people to acknowledge God as “our guide forever” (v. 14). One reason the local church exists is to “tell the next generation that this is God, our God forever and ever” (vv. 13-14). As Americans, we must be reminded of the mighty deeds and acts of our forefathers and foremothers who secured our liberty. In the same way, we must continue to remind ourselves that God, who has been our guide in the past, will be our guide in the future. Many musical/choral versions of this psalm exist, especially verses 1 and 2, and a setting of Psalm 48 could be sung by a group or even the congregation.

What Does the Text Say?

This psalm is the third of three (46-48) psalms that appear to be a hymnic response to deliverance from an enemy. Many scholars believe that the writer may be Isaiah and the historical reference may be the failed assault of Sennacherib of Assyria (see Isaiah 37) in which 185,000 Assyrians were struck down, apparently by the hand of the Lord. In any case, the psalm exults in the salvation and preservation of Mount Zion, or Jerusalem, and the writer goes to great lengths to exaggerate its strength, its beauty, its size and more. Such rhetorical excess is forgivable when rendered in the afterglow of a miraculous deliverance, and it speaks to the joy one has when victory has been plucked from the jaws of defeat.

What Is One Possible Approach to the Text?

The Backward or Upside-down Christian. Verses 9 and 10 of this text are two of the most well-known verses of the NT. They are memorable because of the upside-down, or backward, logic found in them. Most people would gladly boast about their strengths, assets, and what makes them beautiful, attractive, highly valued employees and skilled workers. In another letter, the apostle calls all this stuff so much rubbish (see Philippians 3:8). Here, he twice proclaims his weaknesses as qualities about which he boasts and with which he is utterly content. How many of us are content with our weaknesses? Should we be? How many of us like to “boast” about our shortcomings? How many psychological or self-help “weakness” tests are floating around out there in cyberspace? Not hard to find strength-assessment tools. But what if you said: “Hey, I’d love to get my hands on a weakness-assessment tool, you know, so I could have something to shout about and boast”? Crazy, huh? What does the apostle Paul mean by “weakness”? Why does he say something which is apparently so ridiculous?

What Does the Text Say?

Paul seems so embarrassed about having allowed himself to get dragged into a boasting match (see 11:16-12:1) that he adopts the rhetorical device of speaking about himself in the third person (“I know a person …,” v. 2). The experience is remarkable in two respects: first, because it brought him into the direct, heavenly presence of God (“third heaven,” v. 2; “paradise,” v. 3); and second, because it was so real and tangible that Paul was unable to distinguish between whether it had been a spiritual vision or an actual transport of his body into this other realm. So why hadn’t Paul mentioned this experience before? In part because he had a constant “thorn … in the flesh … to keep [him] from being too elated” (v. 7). What Paul does make clear is that whatever the “thorn” was, it had not been placed in him by God. It had originated as “a messenger of Satan to torment me” (v. 7). It was neither a divinely imposed punishment for some failing, nor a burden placed upon him by God to teach him some lesson. That may explain why Paul had so diligently — at least for a time — asked God to remove it from him. But if God had not been the instigator of this infirmity, God did nevertheless choose to turn it to a more beneficial purpose (cf. Romans 8:28) than an apparently miraculous healing would have provided. That it was only a “thorn … in the flesh,” certainly painful and possibly even somewhat debilitating, but not life-threatening or capable of curtailing his ministry, was clear proof that God’s “grace is sufficient,” and that indeed whatever power was manifested in this ministry of weakness was of divine origin (v. 9). The proof of God’s activity in Paul’s life, and in the lives of the Corinthians and all Christians, is ultimately not magnificent spiritual visions or miraculous physical healings. The proof of God’s activity is the grace that sustains us even in our weakness, for it is in those moments that we recognize that power is not our own, but must come from God. Boasting in our own power is foolishness and accomplishes nothing; boasting in our weakness may just remind us that “the power of Christ” also resides within us.

Worship Resources

Leader: We have been called together as the body of Christ.

People: We are one body, though we have many members.

Leader: Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, and not the other way around.

People: But not all members have the same function; we have different gifts.

Leader: God calls us to use these gifts generously, maturely and cheerfully to build up the body of Christ.

People: Together we present ourselves in service to God and each other.

Leader: Let us worship God!

To God, our Father, who chose us and predestined us, to the praise of his glory.

To Jesus, the Son, who is the head of all things in heaven and on earth, to the praise of his glory.

To the Spirit, who seals and guarantees our redemption, to the praise of his glory.

To our great God be praise and honor for God’s glorious grace. Amen.

Holy Spirit, what beautiful gifts you have given us! We are a diverse, but unified, body of believers. We are unique yet, even in our differences, we are one. Let us celebrate the gifts you have given each brother and sister here. We need each other, and so we ask you to help us love and support one another. Use each person here to further your kingdom and the gospel. We are your hands, feet, head, heart and more. Let us serve, walk, guide, love and follow. Amen.

Hymns
Lord of All Hopefulness
Teach Me, O Lord, Thy Holy Way
Forth in Thy Name, O Lord

Worship and Praise*
Do Justly (Fitts)
Consider the Stars (Getty, de Barra)
I Belong to You (Gaskell, Moore)

*For licensing and permission to reprint or display these songs on screen, go to ccli.com. The worship and praise songs suggested by Homiletics can be found in most cases on Google by using the title as the search term.

COMMENTARY

on Mark 6:1-13