There is a two-sided coin to ministry. On one side you see lives transformed by the power of Jesus Christ. The joy of seeing a mom and dad in tears as a wayward child, they have so desperately have been praying for, surrenders to Christ. Seeing new people walk through the doors of the church to find the love and acceptance they have been trying to find their whole lives. These are the things that warm the pastor’s heart. But on the other side of the coin are grumblers, busybodies, gossips, cowards, loafers, and haters. Usually, those characteristics are all in the same person or parasitic groups.
The trouble with the second group is not that they kick while you are down, although it would be out of character for them to not do so. Rather, it seems that they know when you as the leader and the congregation have a reason to celebrate and they immediately move to pop that bubble. These people are bubble busters.
Bubble busters are reoccurring figures in the ministry of Jesus. He does something good and there they are to bust the bubble trying to undermine the work. Luke 13:10-17 gives us an example:
Now Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath, and a woman was there who had been disabled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten herself up completely. When Jesus saw her, he called her to him and said, “Woman, you are freed from your infirmity.” Then he placed his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God. But the president of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the crowd, “There are six days on which work should be done! So come and be healed on those days, and not on the Sabbath day!” Then the Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from its stall, and lead it to water? Then shouldn’t this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be released from this imprisonment on the Sabbath day?” When he said this all his adversaries were humiliated, but the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things he was doing. (NET)
A woman who had been dealing with an illness came to church. Jewish law stated absolutely no work could be done on the Sabbath, it was a day of rest. Jesus saw the woman and healed her. Remember, the two greatest commandments are “Love God and love others.” A person cannot love God without loving others. In many ways, Jesus worshipped God by removing the burden from the woman. And this should be a normal occurrence in a church.
“The law is the law.” The president of the synagogue was “indignant.” He was appalled that Jesus would deliberately work on the day reserved for rest. The president of the synagogue was a bubble buster, too dense to see the truth and beauty of the miracle. Jesus removed the woman’s burden, giving her the ability to experience a greater sense of rest. In that moment, Jesus taught everyone who watched that removing someone’s burden is not work to rest from, but true worship of God. Something, despite his authority and knowledge, the president of the synagogue lacked the heart and mind to be a participant.
Jesus was quick to rebuke the president of the synagogue, along with the hypocrites sitting in the pews who were too scared to speak out publicly, but who were most definitely gossiping about it. Not only did Jesus rebuke them, but the reaction of the true worshipers did as well. The Lord’s adversaries were “humiliated” by his words, but that humiliation was amplified by the cheers of those rejoicing over the miracle that had taken place.
The body of Christ assembles in fellowship to worship God and see him remove burdens. There is nothing wrong with having a plan and thought-out order for a service. But never forget the reason we are all there, to worship God; not ourselves or to put on a Jesus show to entertain pew warmers. And if things begin to happen that are not scripted, interrupt the comfort, seem weird, or begin to blow the sails of the ship in a different direction that is okay. Examine your motives before opening your mouth or pointing fingers. If you are not careful, you could be a bubble buster, destined for humiliation when the Holy Spirit rebukes you through His movement and the rejoicing of God’s people.
written by Jason Barnett. Jason is the pastor at Greensburg Church of the Nazarene, in Greensburg, KY. You can LISTEN to his sermons via The Dirt Path Sermon Podcast. FOLLOW him on twitter and The Dirt Path Facebook page.
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