These days hit different, weary the soul. Voices of dissension, all that negativity drowns out the positive like loud sirens. Getting through one day at a time is often a depressive fog. The future is dim, like somebody turned the lights low. When it erupts again and again into riotous protesting, wars breaking out, peace talks continually collapse, political wrangling like a cage match, one faction that will only compromise if it gets its way, attention must be paid. You have to stop and ask:

“Lord… seriously… what are we supposed to do?

Who are we supposed to be in all this chaos?

Above all, where are you to be found?

Remember, conflict is not a stranger to our world. There’s always been this push and pull, tug of war, my-way-or-the-highway attitude that aims to win, triumph, defeat the other side. Read your history: Roman conquests, the Crusades, Civil War, World War I, II, and following. Don’t forget the everyday drama and interpersonal tensions between people. The fear and anxiety we feel now has been part of the human story since page one. If it helps at all, take heart in knowing that Jesus saw the same mess, lived it, walked through it.

Yet, Jesus never mapped out plans to be the victor by crushing anybody who didn’t buy into his plan. Rather, he pushed for honest, real listening, respect, recognition of what the other side may need.

A Not So Novel Approach

Listen, he says. “If your brother sins against you,…” (Hold on now. Sin is a loaded theological term.) But at the simplest level, it means somebody messed up, right? Broken a law or not followed a rule? Maybe. But in its broadest connotation, legalism is almost minor. Something has brought about a division, a rift or crack in the relationship between persons, groups, peoples.

Sometimes it’s not even the big, more obvious hurts, abuse, and harm. It can also be the tiny cuts, the microaggressions that needle and stick the person. Sometimes unintended, an ignorance of somebody’s culture, story, pain. Yet the impact, especially over time, affects as much as a long slice or deep stab in the flesh. God sees that hurt. God calls that division “sin.” And God wants it addressed.

Yeah? How?

“…go privately and point out the fault.” That takes courage. And some real assertiveness. Heavy chastisement, shaming, yelling, will only widen the separation. Passively allowing for excuses minimizes what has happened. Operative is a grace that exercises the basis of good communication. “When you (describe the behavior), I feel (name the emotion: anger, fear, confused, insulted, etc.) because (show its impact: disrespected, unloved, used, etc.)

It’s grown‑folk conversation. It lets each person, each side, understand the conflict and what needs to be resolved. The other person is not disparaged, but rather informed as each side feels heard. It allows each to have sensitivity in the issue and to express how to be better in the relationship. It’s listening rooted in love of neighbor, a core element in also loving God.

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Don’t Quit After One Try

This simple method effectively helps smooth out relationship problems more often than not, but let’s be real, it’d be foolhardy to say always works. Sometimes, the person who has harmed another has issues of insecurity and the need for control. The prospect of changed behavior is not welcomed, for it could very well entail relinquishing old patterns of thinking and prejudice.

So they hit with denial: “I did no such thing” or “You shouldn’t feel that way” or “Who are you to tell me anything?” or even “I’m not like that!”

What then, dear Jesus?

“But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three witnesses.” The offended person needs courage here not to let the hurt be swept under the carpet. Yet, the witnesses must be trusted not to give verification as to what has happened, but rather that it has been addressed. To do otherwise would be triangulation indicating an inherent weakness in the process. But in the forthright expression of the harm and its impact, now openly expressed, the offender and the offended have another opportunity to enter into conversations real and honest. Both sides get another chance to listen and understand.

For the love of God, if only it was this easy. Maybe it would be if this is how conflicts were handled, if families taught children to use this in negotiating their needs, if workplaces were brave enough to practice this honestly and fairly, if churches employed more Christ-like attitudes and less parking lot gossip, if partisan groups truly cared about serving people. But we know what happens.

Final Option

As a last resort, Jesus says, “If that person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church.” Don’t consider this as some kind of religious tribunal. Rather, at its core is an assembly who actually want peace and unity in the community. Interventions of this sort practice guidelines to which both sides agree with the intent that whatever change results comes from a desire to improve a difficult situation for all who are involved.

Why persons refuse to listen or participate in the process is, well, too bad. Listening ultimately allows the chance to express the other side of the story. But refusal to enter into the listening process is a dysfunctional dynamic that impedes resolution. And that is a real shame, for it can lead to the possibility of seeming exclusion, seen as one on the outside, “pagan” in being unwilling to live in a community of relationships that are healthy, whole, and know that conflicts can be healed. It leaves them standing outside the circle, not because they’re “bad,” but because they won’t live in a community where healing is possible.

As Heaven Sees It

Something else sits in this: Jesus notes, “I tell you this: Whatever you prohibit on earth is prohibited in heaven, and whatever you allow on earth is allowed in heaven.” Huh? So we get to decide what goes? Not quite. The key here is “whatever.” Handle the inevitable conflicts and disagreements of human relationships with a grace that affirms and honors the other, allow love for neighbor to truly be the operative process, give space for all to listen and understand. Let God show up in the middle of it. That’s where heaven touches earth.

But that which separates and dominates persons who must share this created world together allowing division and conflict to rule the world, those who disallow a peaceful resolution by refusals to participate without preconceptions of what should be, those who grab at power rather than give up the right to be right will only block reconciliation. That’s tragic because God’s plan is peace on earth, just like the angels said. (Luke 2:14)

Key to any part of the peacemaking process is a preparedness to let God do what God does. Live into willingness to work with God’s purposes for justice. Allow the counsel of Christ to draw persons of differing backgrounds and perspectives into a blessed unity for world change. Any other strategy usually is self-destructive, and reconciliation looks pretty futile.

Jesus seals it with a promise. He doesn’t leave us to decide how to get things done. Yes, honest dialogue and refusing to stay quiet about behaviors that hurt are needed. Being a supportive presence with those who need voice is vital to the effort. Yet, he doesn’t just drop it in our laps and leave. He stays and is the glue and power that bonds us together.

“I also tell you this: If two of you agree down here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you. For where two or three gather together because they are mine, I am there among them.”

Matthew 18:15-20

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As the author of The Trouble with Jesus: Considerations Before You Walk Away, Constance Hastings challenges both believers and skeptics to reconsider what they think they know about Jesus. Drawing from her experiences as an educator, ordained clergy member and mental health counselor, Constance creates space for honest questions about faith, fear, doubt, love and the disruptive nature of Jesus.

In this conversation, we explore why Jesus can be difficult to understand, why doubt does not necessarily mean the end of faith, and how churches can become safer places for people to ask difficult questions without fear or judgment.

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Don’t you dare criticize him for what he said. Honestly, you’re no different. You swear you believe in God, but when life hits the fan, when it’s go‑time, when truth shows up loud, you fold like Peter did: big talk, soft spine, a real live phony wuss.

Right Answer. Wrong Approach.

Sure, he spit the right answer. “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” But Jesus had no sooner than affirmed Peter, told him that’s the kind of truth that shakes the Kingdom of Heaven, when Peter blew it.

Jesus told the twelve not to tell anyone he was the Messiah. It sounds wild, counterproductive that the Savior of the World would not want his inner circle to broadcast his purpose, but Jesus knew his boys were confused. Peter, along with the others, was self-deluded about what Messiah meant. They had this whole fantasy Messiah in their heads, some superhero king who’d stomp Rome out and make Israel shine again. No way should Jesus fall victim to the religious leaders who wanted him dead. No way he should die. (Be raised on the third day? By then Peter’s stuffed ears had quit listening, shut down like bad Wi‑Fi)

And that’s the problem. All of them, including Peter, and all of us, want God to be their kind of God. The God that rides for our side. The God who fixes what we hate. The kind of God that rights all that is wrong according to how they, you, and I see it. The Jews had suffered too many centuries under occupation by foreign, pagan rule. It was time for a Messiah to come out swinging. A Messiah should take care of that, not take on abuse and suffering and Heaven forbid, die! Peter “corrected” him: “This will never happen to you.”

That’s right. Messiahs and Saviors should take care of things, make our lives happy and safe. Meanwhile, look around. Same mess today. Notice how many wars are going on? Whole countries still invading and occupying other lands, forcing kids and grandparents to pick up weapons or get wiped out, snatching children from families and brainwashing them against their own people.

And back home we’ve got racially charged mass shootings taking out innocent folks like it’s some sick routine.

We wonder once again what God is going to do about it. Now is the time to say, God, this is enough. Do something! End this mess. Get this gone!

The Trouble with Jesus: Considerations Before You Walk Away by Constance Hastings Ask for it wherever you buy your books, or just Click Here.

Staring Down the Enemy

Jesus wasn’t even trying to end Rome. He was trying to end Satan. That’s what he called Peter, the only human whom Jesus called out as Satan. Satan was Jesus’ antithesis, adversary, the spiritual equivalent of all that would destroy what the Kingdom of Heaven was meant to be. Peter wasn’t possessed, just thinking small, thinking human, thinking survival and comfort instead of Kingdom, street‑level, not God‑level. And honestly, it didn’t make sense to them. They were hurting. They wanted freedom, not philosophy. But Jesus was saying how even in suffering, God’s got a plan you can’t see yet. Your logic isn’t God’s logic, “seeing things merely from a human point of view, and not from God’s.” Peter’s words to back away from the kind of Messiah Jesus intended to be were a “dangerous trap”.

But wait a blessed minute here! This doesn’t make sense. These people were hurting, and the Hebrew scripture had promised a Messiah, a David-like king who would rescue the people. What were the Chosen People chosen for if they had to succumb to this tyranny all the time?

You mean even in the face of suffering, God, you have another plan, a way of bringing about a peace for us we cannot see right now? So what makes sense from our assessment of the situation isn’t how you see it?

Losing is Finding

Jesus gives it to them, and us, in blunt and brutal terms:

“If you want to be my follower, put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross, and follow me.”

“If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it.”

“If you give up your life for me, you will find true life.”

Good Lord, where does that leave us!

With bold-faced truth. Our century is not the first which has been subjected to blaring cacophonies telling us what will satisfy our lives. The lure of wealth, security, status are real, but even more so is the confidence that our way is the right way, we know how to fix things, and we have the only way to find satisfaction and meaning. Then again, if it worked, why are people still empty, scared, angry, and reaching for more, still sit in the tension of fearing what seems unknowable?

Jesus knew we were built for something deeper: soul stuff. We were made for something better, beautiful, fragile, vulnerable. Each person is more than a complex wiring of cells forming body, brain, thought and emotion. When enveloped together there is a soul which appeals to love, truth, beauty, justice, the essential and holy qualities of God.

“How do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?

Loss is Gain

The question hit the disciples, and it hits us, beyond time into an eternal now. It challenged the twelve to relinquish their limited understanding of who Jesus was and how they were to live out his mission. Even with all our tech, power, and progress, we still get dropped to our knees by tyrants, warmongers, racists, and anybody hungry for control using violence and hate. We sit where the disciples sat, waiting and watching for what God will do and what we are asked to do, what cross we are asked to carry, how we are to sacrifice the best of ourselves for the best of God’s design in this time in which we live, ugly and mean as it is.

It’s been said that Peter, if nothing else, is the proof and epitome of God’s commitment to continually call and love no matter how often he got things wrong. And if nothing else, Peter has tons of company in that regard. Plenty of us, despite both our own honest (ok, sometimes selfish) but misguided intentions, frustrate the will of God and mission of Jesus Christ. Yet, despite both our best and worst efforts, Jesus still pulls us in, still tells us the truth: real life is losing the fake one we keep trying to protect for the sake of the true meaning in our souls found in a shouldered cross.

Matthew 16:21-28

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Raised by non-religious parents, educated in a Christian school, and shaped by careers in ministry, education, and mental health, Constance bridges the gap between faith, literature, psychology, and everyday life. Her work speaks especially to those wrestling with life’s deepest questions, those who have drifted away from church, and those curious about Jesus beyond religious tradition.

In this episode, we discuss:

✝️ Looking at Jesus through fresh eyes
🧠 The intersection of faith and mental health
📖 Why ancient stories still matter today
❓ Wrestling with doubt, purpose, and meaning
❤️ Finding hope in life’s existential questions
🌍 Connecting timeless truth with modern life
💭 Challenging assumptions about faith and spirituality

Constance’s message is simple: sometimes the most meaningful discoveries begin when we’re willing to question what we think we already know.

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The Trouble with Jesus

Names Matter.

Names aren’t just labels. They’re status badges. What people call you shows where you stand, who you roll with, how much respect you get. Jesus knew this game. By asking his disciples the question, it was more than checking his street reputation. Public response was consequential to power and impact.

“Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

First Century Polling

The Twelve were Jesus’ hype team, the ones who would hear the drumbeats spell out announcements that Jesus was coming or in town. So many times, crowds mobbed him: people swarming around to hear him spit truth, see what he might do, who might get healed or fed or called to follow him. His name was common in the day, but the weight attached to him was what mattered. So he asked, checking the pulse of his ministry.

Son of Man? That was the name by which he frequently referred to himself in the third person, sometimes sounding like a substitute for the pronoun “I”. Awkward maybe, or a little weird. Why not just call himself the Messiah as he wanted to be known?

That may be so, but it deflected the impression that his intentions were to gain the kind of powers political or religious leaders crave. On the surface, it afforded him a name that grounded with the people, that he spoke on their behalf so they could understand God and know they were loved by God. But those schooled in the ancient writings might also catch the deeper reference. Daniel’s vision of someone who looked like a man, coming out of clouds, given authority, honor, and royal power. (Daniel 7:13-14) Big cosmic energy.

No Real Consensus

Fine. But somehow to call yourself Son of Man may have thrown them off. The disciples had heard various theories:

“He’s John the Baptist back from the dead.”

“Nah, he’s Elijah.”

“Maybe Jeremiah?”

Basically: Some old prophet rebooted.

You had to give the people a break. It was hard to wrap their minds around who this Jesus was and what he was going to do. True, the Jews were looking for a Messiah, but Jesus wasn’t organizing an overthrow of the Roman regime or plotting a coup. People had enough of superheroes and gods using mortals as pawns. Why become a part of that? In short, there wasn’t a lot of consensus to answer his question.

Anyone who has ever preached, blogged, spoken to a small group or a big crowd, and/or created a podcast knows the potential to be misunderstood or not fully heard is pretty significant. The flaw can be in the communicator or in the audience or both; either way sometimes the message just doesn’t get through. Jesus knew that.

But he needed to know something deeper. The Twelve were out there among the people. They were being asked what they believed. Known as his inner circle, their opinions would matter and be solicited. So Jesus asked,

“Who do you say I am?”

It wasn’t a test. Not a trap. Their answers would not determine if they could stay on as a disciple. He genuinely wanted to know. At this point in their relationship, how did they see him? What name did they put on him, how did they understand him? The answer would indicate if not what he would do next, then how they could be trusted to answer for him going forward.

“You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.”

Simon Peter dropped the mic. The first one called, he’d seen it all: the healings, the parables, watched him tangle with the religious authorities and defend the losers, calm storms, feed hungry crowds, and encourage the brokenhearted. His witness confirmed that Jesus was the hoped-for one who would rescue people from oppressions both systemic and individual, that is, save people from the worst of themselves to be the best of themselves. Jesus proclaimed in himself was what no one could do unless from God, who lived as God, and was God.

Simon Peter’s answer, simple and straightforward, contained more than what creeds or theological tomes spill out thousands of times over. Its brevity rose from revelation, an inspiration that came not from logical deduction but born of insight from the spirit. Jesus commends Simon Peter and his response.

Power in a Name

Jesus flips Simon’s name.

Peter. Jesus affirms how Simon is solid and will be a major leader in the movement which will follow Jesus’ time on earth.

Rock. Names matter, and this new, additional name means rock. That movement will endure because of Peter’s rock-hard confession, this foundational premise of who Jesus is, the rock on which the church will stand.

Church. The word is only used twice by Jesus in this gospel, but never does it mean a place, a building. Jesus’ church is a movement. People who stand on that rock‑solid confession. This rock-solid confession stands against the tension and destructive assaults on heaven by anything hell throws.

Heaven. Hell. Names with weight. One carries the connotations of light and love, the other implications of regret, hate, and separation from hope. Heaven’s keys granted to Peter and his confession show that recognizing Jesus as the Son of the Living God is the hinge point, accepted or rejected, that name defines everything.

The Trouble with Jesus: Considerations Before You Walk Away by Constance Hastings Ask for it wherever you buy your books, or just Click Here.

What’s in a Name?

Huge moment, for Jesus as well as the disciples. But it’s one thing to proclaim who God is and another to live by it. Two different things. The Twelve weren’t fully there yet. Jesus knew it. The Son of God told them, next time you are asked who I am, don’t say Messiah. Until their lives matched their words, rock would be no more stable than loose gravel. Their lives would say what his life meant.

A name carries meaning, a foundation you stand on. Something you stake your life on.

Names matter.

Matthew 16:13-20

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In this podcast episode of Echo Chamber, Westino speaks with Constance Hastings, author, counselor, teacher, and ordained minister who brings an outsider’s perspective to the story of Jesus. Constance challenges familiar ideas about faith, meaning, and one of history’s most controversial figures, offering a thought-provoking conversation for believers, skeptics, and anyone questioning what they were taught.

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(Due to Westino's deep accent, you may want to slow the playback speed to clearly hear his questions.)

The Trouble with Jesus: Considerations Before You Walk Away by Constance Hastings Ask for it wherever you buy your books, or just Click Here.

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Let me tell you straight: if there’s a portrayal of Jesus I hate reading, it’s this one. The one that makes you squirm, makes you hunt for excuses you know don’t exist (like who could ever excuse the Son of God?), or forces you to wrestle with the truth until you come up with explanations, honest ones, swallowing stuff you never wanted to admit. If nothing else, this story isn’t about Jesus meeting our expectations. It’s about him blowing them up.

Stranger in a Strange Land

Jesus is in a foreign place, away from his home territory of Galilee. In a real way, he was outside his neighborhood, in that part where “good” Jews don’t go. Not his people. Whomever he might meet in that place was surely not of his kind. Canaanites were the “other,” the ones you cross the street to avoid.

A Canaanite woman came begging for help. She knows the score: wrong religion, wrong ethnicity, wrong race, wrong gender. She’s got nothing to recommend her to a Jewish rabbi. Add to it her kid is labeled “demon-possessed”. All good Jews considered such illnesses characterized by mental illness and neurological dysfunction as possibly brought on by a parent’s sin, a spiritual issue carrying a judgement. Why should this rabbi and prophet pay attention to her? She’s walking around with negative credit.

He didn’t. He totally ignored her. Her cries, fueled by desperation, had a decibel level somewhere between croaking and screaming. He acts like she’s invisible. As any behavioralist knows, ignored behavior increases its frequency. The disciples get fed up and tell Jesus to get rid of her.

Supremist Attitude

This is where it gets messy. Jesus tells her he’s only here to help the Israelites, not Gentiles. Gentiles, all non-Jews, the goyim, were the enemy of those who considered themselves the chosen people of God. She was not like them, like him and those of his heritage.

Jesus displays the attitude of someone raised to stay away from those who don’t look like, worship like, or have recent heritage and history like his, like mine, like yours. He’s acting like her pain isn’t his problem and doesn’t even acknowledge her plea to save her daughter. If she had a son, would her value and her child’s have been different to him? Basically, when the oppression and injustice others experience isn’t happening to us or our people, it gets dismissed like it doesn’t matter.

Yeah, we’ve heard this before: Why doesn’t she go away? Or, why do they keep bringing up what happened years, decades, centuries ago? Just get over it, for goodness’ sake!

She won’t back down. Throwing herself before him, she begs for succor and help. She relinquishes all dignity, no pride left. She needs real help. It’s clear this is going to take more than a “I’m sorry, and I’ll pray for you,” kind of response. Evidently the situation is not going to be resolved easily. Jesus has to make it very clear to her.

Demean and Destroy

He does. He does what some people do to segregate their kind from “those kind of people.” Jesus hits her with a slur. “It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.”

Yeah, Jesus called her a dog. This “love your neighbor” thing apparently had some limits. Women in this period, poor women particularly without resources and protection, were often victims of rape. Add in that intermarriage sometimes happened between Jews and Gentiles, (please don’t romanticize this; usually women didn’t get to choose their husbands). Both would result in mixed-blood births, mongrels, mutts, the Bs of the day. That’s how he talks to her.

Good God! Jesus is racist! What’s going on here? The devil got to him after all. He’s sold out and will only pander to the hometown crowd he’s garnered in Galilee. Yeah, we’ve seen this kind before. Looks like there’s a traitor in the Trinity.

Take a deep breath now. She’s been slammed and takes the punch where it lands. She knows what she’s up against, the world she’s living in, and she knows today is not the day to claim her own full rights. Today she has to fight for justice for her child. Like more mothers than could ever be counted, she swallows disrespect to save her kid. She’ll do what she has to do.

Faith That Fights

She fires back. “Yes, Lord, but even dogs are permitted to eat crumbs that fall beneath the master’s table.” She meets him in his cultural lane. Some dogs were allowed to hang around during the meals, small ones tolerated like pets. He’d seen it and knows what she’s saying.

She’s not asking to change the world and all that’s wrong in it. She only asks something for herself, a crumb of compassion and healing he’d given his own kind, sometimes just by touching the hem of his robe. (Matthew 14:36) She gives him a perspective by which he can consider her.

It pays off. “Woman, your faith is great. Your request is granted.” Healing comes not by laying on hands or calling out the daughter’s demon, but by a mother who refused to quit. Her belief that Jesus was the only hope she had for the life of her daughter fueled her persistence. There was no way she could have given up.

Precisely because of her doggedness, Jesus recognized her faith, a faith that demanded she be listened to in her plea for help, a faith that would sacrifice her own dignity and self-worth, a faith that would cross all human boundaries constructed to separate neighbors and enemies. Her faith bulldozed every barrier humans built.

The Trouble with Jesus: Considerations Before You Walk Away by Constance Hastings Ask for it wherever you buy your books, or just Click Here.

But Why the Drama?

Wonderful. But there remains a question. Why couldn’t Jesus just see her need and heal her daughter? Why did he drag her through such turmoil to get what any person could see?

Was he testing her, seeing if she’d back off, reject him and his power? She didn’t. But why her and not the Roman officer, a man with status, who came asking for healing for his servant? He also had great faith, but Jesus didn’t give him a hard time about it. Or was it because the Roman centurion was male and had power? (Matthew 8:5-13) This woman had no chance with Jesus if that’s what you needed to move him.

Good thinking. But consider this. Did something shift in Jesus in that day? Was Jesus changed in his perspective that he was Messiah and Savior to all peoples of the world, not just God-worshippers? Maybe her cry cracked opened something he needed to see. So if you cry hard and loud enough, you can change God’s mind? But that would imply human justice is above divine justice, and God needs a shaking from time to time.

No, it’s deeper than that.

Was there something here that was inherent in Jesus’ ministry defined by his teaching, preaching and healing? All these expressions are vital in how he brought a new realization of God’s love for the world. He knew how power crushes people, the struggles of the oppressed, the poor, the sick, and the powerless. Yet, Jesus also knew that human desire for power and control over others could only be dismantled by his example. Whereas this Canaanite woman laid at his feet her dignity and worth, Jesus laid down his cultural bias to show what real justice looks like.

Here’s the wild part: Jesus debated with the best of the religious leaders and always came out on top. Yet, it was a woman, a foreign woman, who showed him the flaw in his stance. He listened, accepted it by her appeal to what was right for all persons. He knew it was based in what he could do, not in a dramatic exorcism of a young girl, but in a greater exorcism of injustice in the world, a change and reversal beyond the deep and heartfelt needs of a mother and her little girl.

Matthew 15: 21-28

(Mark 7: 24-29)

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You know, when life’s hitting bottom, smart ones duck and seek shelter from the storm. Jesus, part of your problem is how you call people to roll with you right in the middle of straight-up chaos, horrible squalls, hurricanes, gale-force winds, and tempests on the sea. How are we supposed to believe that everything will be cool with all that madness going on?

Meaning. Significance. Purpose. That’s the dream, all stuff necessary for the well-lived life. Yet, even if self-explained, understood, perhaps achieved, when the road breaks open and unthinkable obstacles appear on the path, when innate ability and skills are erased and “No Way” is the biggest sign in the road, when risks feels like it’ll cost your whole soul, what then? Inevitably, storms hit, flip your whole world, and what was a smooth sail gets tossed like a toy, smashed on rocks by never ending waves. Fear soaks you to the bone. What kind of lifeline even exists at that point?

Divine Turmoil

It’s understandable that Jesus would want some time alone. He’d had no real time to grieve John the Baptist’s horrific beheading by the order of Herod. The crowds kept swarming him for miracles, always clamoring for healing of their bodies. Feeding more than 5000 people on next to nothing was a mind-blowing feat. He needed space.

It turned out to be his doing. Jesus didn’t want even the twelve around at that point. He send his boys across the lake so he could have some solitary prayer. It sounded smart at the time, but none of them could have known what was out there to meet them.

Without apparent warning, the winds picked up, and waves challenged even the most seasoned sailors among them. Holding fast to the lines and praying the rudder wouldn’t snap, they knew they were in trouble. Night darkness swallowed them whole with no chance of finding a shoreline. Grown men could only hunker down to wait for the storm to pass. “God, why did you let him leave us like this?” likely shot into their thoughts, froze their hearts, and became sobs in their throats as hope drowned.

Divine Calling

Then, like a specter rising from a grave, a shape rose on the water. Likely, it seemed they were meeting death personified. But a voice called to them, a voice familiar and yet strange in its calmness given the howling of the wind. “It’s all right. It’s me. Don’t be afraid.” Jesus walked on the water toward them like it was concrete pavement.

His best lieutenant, Peter, couldn’t believe his eyes. And then, for God only knows what reason, Peter asks, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you by walking on water!” What in the world and all of the universe could have been going through this guy’s head? Did he think only Jesus would ask this of him? Was he under the impression if this was a delusion coming from his worst fear that he’d get no answer? Or did he think he’d entered a spiritual realm already in which the natural laws were amended? Regardless, Jesus said, “Come.” Over the side of the boat, Peter stepped.

No matter what he was thinking, Peter must have had confidence he could do it. Not the kind of confidence that comes from personal experience or witness thereof. The old rules of the sea were suspended, the waves would not sink him but bear him with sure footing. With a small measure of courage, walk on water he did.

Divine Terror

He did, that is, until he looked around. When waves towered over him, Jesus was blocked from his sightline, and the realization of what he was doing dissolved into terror. Fear stole his focus. Peter began to sink, panicked, forgot how to swim, and screamed for Jesus to save him.

For much of Peter’s story, there is a how-not-to-follow Jesus theme. This wasn’t the first time he said a dumb thing or did a dumber thing, and it wouldn’t be his last. But that’s why his story matters. Forget he eventually became a hero of a movement that impacted the world in the most unlikely ways. There’s another side to his story. Yes, he was a royal screw-up for much of the time he lived with Jesus. But without his broken history, the world would not have a great example of growth and strength beyond oneself.

Peter didn’t just jump into stormy seas so he could give Jesus a wet hug. He was called, told to come into a situation no sensible person would even try. He stepped out because he believed there was something bigger than him, even if he didn’t understand it yet. It bordered somewhere between utterly stupid and a risk only those who were adrenaline junkies would attempt. Whatever compelled him to get out of that boat took belief there was a purpose in this life beyond himself, a purpose unknown at the time but in which he could have faith it was meant for God to know.

Except…he lost it. He lost his focus, he forgot the meaning and the calling along with the Caller. He only saw the danger and felt the power that would sink him. He started to go down.

Peter was not a pillar of faith in the moment. Yet maybe that is the most important part of his story, his moments of insight along with his worst moments of despair. Peter’s faith would not evolve into trust by intellectual assent as an untested theory. He had to come to the point of risking his faith, moving out on the water with only trust in the One who called him, to feel what it’s like to sink when distracted by the ridiculousness of the effort.

Divine Trust

Faith isn’t instant, an perfect ability given at birth, spiritual or natural. It requires a fight against will, doubt, logic, and better judgement. It often entails a battle with anxiety and grows only when you risk it in the sinking. For that target, Peter got out of the boat.

Yes, he sank, but Jesus grabbed him. He says the obvious, “You don’t have much faith. Why did you doubt me?” Don’t read that as an admonition. Both are standing on the water, the danger is gone, and it’s said as a playful jab, a teasing for this man who stepped out, sank, and now stands taller than the waves which would have drowned his soul.

Once in the boat, the winds immediately calmed. The disciples worshiped Jesus, but the real miracle was not so much in wind and waves as much as in the stilling life-storm inside, now replaced with deeper meaning, greater significance, fiercer purpose, and a new understanding of trust.

“Surely, you are the Son of God!” they exclaim.

Matthew 14:22-33

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Kingdom Book Award 2026 Finalist! Vote Here!

The Trouble with Jesus: Considerations Before You Walk Away by Constance Hastings Ask for it wherever you buy your books, or just Click Here.

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In this powerful new episode, I sat down with Dr. Stephen Phinney for a conversation that cuts straight to the core of discipleship. Together, they explore the question Yeshua asked His own followers: “Who do you say I am?” What begins as a familiar passage quickly unfolds into a deeply personal, spiritually probing dialogue that challenges cultural assumptions and invites listeners into genuine revelation rather than secondhand belief. Together with clarity, warmth, and conviction this episode speaks to both the heart and the mind.

This discussion may surprise you. Dr. Phinney and I move beyond surface‑level answers and press into the implications of truly knowing—and confessing—the identity of Yeshua. Our exchange is rich, honest, and anchored in Scripture, offering listeners a fresh lens on a question that defines the Christian life. Whether you’re a long‑time student of the Word or exploring the depths of your faith, this episode will stir reflection, ignite conviction, and strengthen your walk in the indwelling Life of Messiah.

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“You give them something to eat.”

Jesus, let’s rethink this. There’s an impossible situation right in front. More than a few thousand hungry people, like a whole stadium’s worth of hungry folk, thousands deep, and we’ve got next to nothing, basically a lunchable. And you’re saying we should give them something to eat? With that kind of talk, we’re wondering if this ministry is getting to be too much for you, hitting you too hard? You need a nap? A snack? A moment?

Pressure Stress

Granted, the last couple of days had not been good. A trip home to Nazareth brought rejection from those persons who had known him most of his life. Who did this guy think he was, teaching in the town synagogue, reputedly doing miracles, when his family were folk as ordinary as they were? Playing preacher before them didn’t sit well, and they weren’t buying it. (Matthew 13:53-57)

Then the real gut‑punch hit. Word came that Jesus’ cousin, John the Baptist, had met a gruesome end on the order of Herod Antipas, despot of the Galilean region. Herod got caught up in his own mess by promising his new wife’s daughter whatever she wanted for having performed an erotic dance at his birthday party. Her mother told her to ask for John’s head.

That’s exactly what she did. And they brought it out on a platter like it was party food.

Once informed, Jesus beat a retreat into a boat so he could be alone. Besides his own understandable grief, he needed space to breathe, to figure out what the loss of John to his ministry meant for everything he was building. Just as significant though, besides his own friends and family rejecting him, he also had to consider how political tyrants might want him gone as well. If ever Jesus needed space, it was now. (Matthew 14:1-13)

Not going to happen. While some people wouldn’t accept him, there still was a major crowd that couldn’t get enough of him. They tracked him down the second he stepped off that boat. Likely he was considered a better teacher and preacher than the credentialed priests were and that meant something. He healed folks nobody else cared about, those with real needs to be addressed, illnesses with no cures or treatments, symptoms that were not understood and even frightening in presentation. Many also were the losers of the world, those who had no chance of pulling out from unjust oppression but found hope in the one who sat with sinners at dinner and called children to his knee. So yeah, they followed him. No rest for the weary this day.

Hunger, Helplessness and Hope

Maybe it was in Jesus’ own pain and hurt that he found enough compassion to meet them where they were. Likely, some of them came to him in order and reverence as he healed them in his way, every illness and disease. But knowing human nature, some were likely loud, pushy, demanding, violating his space, telling him what he was supposed to do for them. After all, people talk to God like that all the time, like He owes them something.

It was a long day, and in wanting to care for their rabbi as well as dissipate the crowd, the disciples tell Jesus to send them away into the villages to buy food for an evening meal. That’s when Jesus snapped. “You give them something to eat.”

He wasn’t even rational at that point. All the twelve had among them, maybe given to them by persons in the crowd as some accounts have said, was five loaves of bread and two fish. This crowd could fill a small arena. Crumbs weren’t going to cut it. Helpless in the face of the impossible, the hopeless were looking to him. In the back of their minds, the disciples may have felt doubt saying, “This gig is almost up, you guys.”

Active Hope

But he had said, “You give them something to eat.” Quietly, without much fanfare or spotlight, Jesus moves in action which would be so ordinary and yet for which he would be known at open tables for centuries. After telling the crowd to be seated, Jesus first took the loaves and fish. Not much more than what was a good lunch for one, still it rested in his hands like it was his whole world. His now, his to do with what he would, all he had, and his alone.

Rather than focusing on what was not, Jesus raised his face up, and asked heaven for blessing upon this little fare in his hands. Not a “thanks for the food” blessing, for that would limit what needed to be done and soon require more. Gratitude usually comes only for good circumstances and expectations, not when trial demands building strength. Instead, Jesus asked a blessing of grace, grace that is extended when the offering isn’t enough, when lives don’t meet the measure of good, when only God can make the math work, when only divine intervention pulls through the undeserved.

Next, he breaks the bread. In doing so, there is a change in it. The bread is still bread, but no longer a full loaf, just a piece, a part of what was. Yet, it still is bread, carrying in itself power that chases away hunger, that restores, that stops it from eating you alive making one smaller and less than what you are. In its brokenness, it transforms health and wholeness, giving life and growth.

Finally, Jesus directs the disciples to do as he asked. He gives them the broken food so they can give the people something to eat. By his taking the simple elements of this meal, praying a blessing of grace upon them, and breaking it into portions that would fill a need, these twelve servants can distribute and fulfill the missional task asked of them.

Multiplied Hope

And that’s probably when the miracle hit. Not when Jesus held the bread. Not when he prayed. But when the disciples actually gave it away. Everyone had enough food, as much as they wanted, yet it never ran out. Not until it was shared did the small become bigger than what it was, become more than enough.

The miracle wasn’t in the quantity of the food feeding more than 5000 persons, but in the teamwork. Jesus refused to do everything by himself, giving others, the average and the ordinary, the believers and those who maybe could have more belief than they do now, a part in changing hope into a realized miracle. Twelve baskets of broken bread were left over, full baskets that not only met a need but were multiplied beyond the wildest of expectations.

The Real Miracle

Miracles aren’t just about filling empty stomachs. The greater miracle, the real miracle, is what happens when a life gets placed in God’s hands, blessed in grace no matter how little it is, broken and changed into something more than it is, and given for purpose beyond itself.

That’s where the impossible flips into the possible.

That’s where hope multiplies.

“You give them something to eat.”

Matthew 14:13-21

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Let’s be real. You can’t say Jesus ever made it easy. This teacher never handed out easy A’s, didn’t spoon-feed students answers like some chill substitute teacher. He made them think, and not the soft kind of thinking either. He required challenge, debate and wrestling with his teachings beyond what makes you feel comfortable. His storytelling stretched minds all the way into our modern mess of a world that barely looks like his.

Teaching Technique

On the surface, the stories have rustic settings, places where the tensions and drama of today are not staged. Bread is homemade, people stroll through fields sown with small seeds, good fortune comes both to hustlers and people who just tripped into blessings, and fish nets so full they’re ready to snap. He hits with, “The kingdom of heaven is like…”

Jesus often utilized stories when he talked with the crowds, parables loaded with hidden meanings, moral weight, mystery. He spoke of what the world is and what the world could be. It makes you think harder than you want.

Baked into “the kingdom of heaven” is this truth. Life is not perfect in the here and now. But it’s not an apocalypse yet either. If you look for it, admit to it, the proverbial hell in a handbasket isn’t around the corner either. There’s good to be celebrated, worth fighting for. The parables affirm it. Just a pinch of yeast to make dough rise and ready for baking, small mustard seeds grow into tree-size bushes, treasures are found by accident in fields, prized pearls are discovered among good collections, and there are days when the catch is amazing. You may have to intentionally look for it, but the good in the kingdom of heaven happens just as frequently as it hides.

Basic Injustice

As it is though, people close their eyes to what’s broken, not just in the world, but right around our own corners. Yet ignorance and indifference isn’t the only contributor to the problem. More so are our practices and lifestyles, the systems we uphold, the habits we defend. Oppression and inequality start small. Often, this unfairness begins right at the American kitchen table.

Sorry to say, but our society is addicted to sugar, fat, and salt. Modern busy lives require convenience afforded in fast, processed foods with quick meals rather than the thought and time needed for made-from-scratch home cooking. While providing this service, the food industry knows exactly how to keep us craving, capitalizing on the brain’s response to added ingredients that sustain cravings. People keep coming back for more, and sales are sustained. We’ve all had that sense of “I just need to have _____.” They engineered that.

Diets based in these “needs” lead to poor health including diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, heart disease, and more. When it’s an individual’s choice to do so, that’s one thing. But it doesn’t end there.

Food insecurity is real in America. In this land of plenty, people live in places where getting actual groceries is a mission. Supermarkets avoid building in impoverished areas, and food deserts result. Folks without cars get stuck choosing between overpriced corner-store junk and nothing at all. Tell yourself that’s not your fault if you like. Or look deeper into what happens.

Yes, this country aids those living at poverty levels so people can eat. Yet again, note how the shelves are stocked in low-income areas that do sell food. Produce areas are small with little organic choices, meat selections are fatty, and the sugary selections are plenty and easy to reach. Healthy options are few, and those who can least afford poor health experience it most often due to their dietary consumption. Again, not your problem?

“The Kingdom of Heaven is like…”

So where is this kingdom of heaven in all that? In food deserts? Industries that profit off the addicted and in poor health? Where and how can the average person make even incremental changes in these issues that destroy life?

Consider this: food banks, church food closets, community kitchens often run and rely on donations. Without this support, our country would crash with the weight of those who would be sicker and dying from poverty. Every time bags and boxes of food are given to support those who don’t have enough to feed families, the elderly, or the disabled, the kingdom of heaven flickers into view. It’s as small as a mustard seed, pearl or seemingly undetectable as yeast in a bowl of flour. But for those in need, it’s treasure as great as a net full of fish.

Just make that treasure mean even more. Give food that is wholesome and healthy, actually nourishes. Contribute fresh vegetables, bring in organic cereals, donate canned goods with low sodium. Let the kingdom of heaven support life in the best form possible, not just survival.

Granted, it’s not easy, maybe costing more. It’s often not convenient when heaven contrasts what should be against what is not. When a man found a great treasure, he had to sell all he owned to get enough money to buy the field where the treasure was. And when the merchant found the prized pearl, he also needed to sell all his stuff in order to buy it. Their sacrifice was worth it, but personal sacrifice was what it took.

Sacrificial Love

All true value is going to cost you. Yet sustaining life and health also sustains other values and freedoms: voting rights, equal opportunity, pushback on cultural oppression that would revise and silence history. The kingdom of heaven aches over injustice and celebrates centuries of both small efforts and peaceful protest creating “good trouble, necessary trouble,” as John Lewis called it.

It pushes the world to bring about justice and change both in hearts and systems so all children of God know the love and provision of God.

The Trouble with Jesus: Considerations Before You Walk Away by Constance Hastings Ask for it wherever you buy your books, or just Click Here.

So it is, when the nets are full of fish of every kind, the good fish are saved and the bad ones thrown away. It’s a sorting that is not based on fairness or popularity or who gets to say what. Jesus was talking about love, love for neighbor and love for enemy (Matthew 5:43-45). Love is the measure.

Jesus lived that “good trouble, necessary trouble” himself, calling out oppressive, corrupt leadership and taking up a cross without resistance as he met a cruel death. In doing so, he reversed by resurrection what should not be to what is worth changing. He cracked open a new world where yeast rises, seeds grow huge, treasure gets found, pearls get valued, and all kinds of people get caught up in a new story that starts with:

“The kingdom of heaven is like…”

Matthew 13:31-34, 44-52

Kingdom Book Award 2026 Finalist! Vote Here for The Trouble with Jesus: Considerations Before You Walk Away by Constance Hastings

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In this episode, you’ll discover:

• Why doubt can be a powerful catalyst to spiritual growth

• How Constance’s journey from skepticism led to a life of faith and ministry

• Why wrestling with difficult questions can deepen your relationship with God

• The connection between mental health, healing, and spiritual well-being

• How to embrace uncertainty without losing hope

• Practical lessons for building a more authentic and resilient faith

If you’ve ever questioned your beliefs, wrestled with faith, or search for a deeper sense of purpose, this conversation will encourage you to keep asking, seeking, and growing.

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Kingdom Book Award 2026 Finalist!

The Trouble with Jesus: Considerations Before You Walk Away by Constance Hastings

Ask for it wherever you buy your books, or just Click Here.

All gardeners and ground keepers know the struggle. No matter how careful in soil preparation and decisions choosing the right seeds or seedlings, no matter how well the area is irrigated or how kindly the sun shines, weeds pop up like they paid rent. It takes vigilance of a sort to keep them away either by yanking them out by their roots or utilizing a form of chemical warfare. Allowing these unwanted plants space to grow seems counterproductive, like disrespect to all the work put in and the hope of harvest to come.

Good vs. Evil, Garden Edition

Characteristically, that’s exactly what Jesus proposes. He hits the disciples with another, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like…” story. The disciples ask for clarification. On the surface it’s a simple story. Jesus came to plant good seed in the world, and those who received his message are good seed. But here’s also the bad seed, what would destroy his message, planted by the evil one, that is, Jesus’ antithesis sometimes known as the Devil. The two seeds, good seed and bad seed, are permitted to exist side by side until end of the world, when the angels come and clean house, removing everything that tried to choke out the good.

Now most stories of good and evil build up to big battles, cinematic showdowns. In all the fighting and clashing of power, explosions, casualties, and drama, both sides suffer big losses. Apparently though, Jesus does not want to risk harm for the cause of good, even when the predicted outcome is for good to triumph. So may the heroes of Marvel lay down their superpowers. Take a realistic view and do the best you can in the meantime. That’s just how it’s going to be for a while.

The Big Question

The cosmic questions of good vs. evil are not going to be answered today. But personal messes and the greater issues of humanity must find a way to negotiate the question in our immediate time. Sometimes the only prayer that fits is:

“GOD, what is even happening out here!”

Take a deep breath and rant away. Vent. Dump it all out: the world’s nonsense and your own. Tell God all that’s wrong in the world and in your world. Take as much time as you need. Just remember the three rules of anger: no one gets hurt, nothing gets broken, and you don’t get in trouble. Stay in those boundaries and let it fly. God is God and big enough to handle the heat.

Kingdom Book Award 2026 Finalist! The Trouble with Jesus: Considerations Before You Walk Away by Constance Hastings Ask for it wherever you buy your books, or just Click Here.

Cheatgrass Check

Done? All right, now think about this. Cheatgrass is a weed known in many parts of the world. It starts out growing like normal vegetation, but it eventually becomes invasive and is known as a noxious weed, a full blown menace. Its prolific seed production and rapid growth make it stupid hard to kill without hurting the good plants too. The best efforts to do so can also harm desirable vegetation and are not necessarily organic friendly.

See the connection?

It’s like this: sometimes what looks good is later revealed to be toxic. You choose __________. (Healthy tans, white refined flour and sugar, tobacco, prescription pain killers, “safe” herbicides, whatever) What should happen when the righteous lifestyles of “good” people based on privileges unjustly oppress and crush others? Or when centuries of anger explode and someone does get hurt, things are broken, and people are in big trouble. Not to point fingers here, but what should happen when the bad seed has mixed into the DNA of the good seed? If the workers pull out the good-bad seed-weed too fast, would much be left to harvest?

Separating Good and Evil (Carefully)

If you’ve read this parable story as one of God’s condemnation on the evil in the world, slow down. Be very careful. We aren’t perfect. That’s why Jesus had to come in the first place so we would see ourselves for who we are and what needs to change, to be reversed in ourselves in the eyes of God. Pertinent here is the human tendency to condemn that in others which we hate about ourselves. Controllers hate being controlled. The ambitious are threatened by those who self-promote. The self-righteous can’t stand honest convictions contrary to their own.

That doesn’t even cover those actions society generally agrees shouldn’t happen. The point is if you examine yourself closely enough, if you are willing to pull back the onion layers of who you think you are in this dysfunctional world, you very well may find some noxious weed seeds in your own soul, too.

That’s why there’s this time delay. Jesus says wait. In the end, evil gets weeded out. Those who reject the farmer and his sacrificial giving and instead promote the worst the world can devise will be identified. Be aware as well, judgementalism is not the same as accountability. Certainly, we should hold each other to moral and civil standards today.

Harvest of Good, Not Evil

Interestingly, cheatgrass is highly flammable, and sometimes it takes controlled burning to be rid of it. But Jesus is saying, not now. Jesus wants to save the good seed certainly. Yet, inside us all is the need for time; seeds don’t sprout overnight. Germination is necessary for growth. In that germination, the basic plant is formed, wheat or weed.

Jesus wants the weedy part of lives to be separated out. All the regrets, all the twisted stuff to be burned away. And one day the angels will harvest what’s good, what’s real, what’s been growing in us all along. And that good growth that remains will “shine like the sun”, like wheat waving in the fields, golden and alive.

“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who plants good seed in his field.”

Matthew 13: 24-30, 36-43

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If you push past some religious snobbery and gatekeeping here, Jesus’ parable about a farmer who scatters seed is going to be a real challenge besides a cute nature lesson on more than one level. Maybe that’s why he told it from a boat, so he could make a fast getaway if needed. Earlier that day he had a small tangle with religious lawyers and then even dismissed his own mother and brothers as being family to him. So yeah, that dinghy he sat on gave him good acoustics for the immense crowd to hear him and a clear view in case somebody tried something slick.

Surface Soil

Like most of Jesus’ stories told to illustrate a moral or spiritual premise, on the surface it sounds simple enough. For the disciples especially, it answers the question as to why some people don’t get it. The Pharisees didn’t get it. His own family had their doubts about what he was doing. Even John the Baptist of all people had questioned if he was the Messiah. (Matthew 11:2-11) In all of them, there were enough questions to go beyond honest doubt to full rejection of Jesus’ message and claims. His story prepared his followers for what’s coming in their mission.

It’s a familiar setting, both in that context so heavily dependent on agricultural processes as well as for the dedicated organic gardener of today. Seeds have to be planted. But this farmer? He’s either sloppy or overly generous with his seeding. He just throws it out and lets the seed fall where it may. Some hits the footpath, some in shallow rocky soil, some gets swallowed right between thorns, thistles and weeds, and some in really premium loamy dirt. No surprise which seed thrives and produces a good crop. The wild part is how the good-soil seeds multiply to the point of thirty, sixty, even a hundred times what was planted in total, including those seeds that landed in poor dirt. In the end, the farmer did not work so hard. Just broadcast the seed everywhere he can, and the return of his labor still will be great. Bring in the harvest!

But Jesus wasn’t moonlighting as a divine agricultural extension agent. Granted, he could spin a good yarn, particularly when it ended well for all concerned. But his stories have layers. Almost used to that, the disciples ask why he couched his message in these kinds of stories. Jesus commends them for asking because they want to know what’s behind them, what’s the meaning Jesus is giving in teaching this way. He had his reasons, some of them based in knowing how people remember the illustrations in sermons more so than the message, and some in being able to hide in the stories meanings from those who would twist them, use it against him. He breaks it down.

Soil Depth

The seed? That’s the Good News — God loves this world and wants real relationship. But this world is messy. People get caught up in stress, drama, chasing money and status, “the cares of this life..” Simply put, for some it doesn’t take root and dies off.

Ok, that’s a message for the top twelve. Fast-forward into today’s context. Who gets to hear this parable? Mostly those who have heard and accepted Jesus’ message, who make themselves familiar with his proclamation, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) It’s a call to both abundant life and eternal life, and all who call upon Jesus’ name will be “saved”, saved from the worst of themselves and saved to know the best of themselves as created by God. Saying this to the disciples and saying this to the “saved” sounds like it’s a big secret, insider info. The seeds on the bad soil don’t get it, and those who reject Jesus won’t know it. That’s the tension: hearing the story doesn’t guarantee understanding.

Deep Soil Work

Ok, back up a little. The seed didn’t do well in the poor soil, and the seed which fell on good soil thrived. Anyone who has puttered in a garden understands that good soil doesn’t usually just happen. You have to work it. Hard work it is. It means getting down in the dirt and pulling those weeds, struggling with rocks and stones, and lots of hoeing. More so, dirt needs support and raked into it must be the best forms of composting, aged leaves and grasses, vegetable peelings, and good baking in the sun for time to help it decompose. Building good soil is back-breaking, sweaty, dirty work. It’s more than a notion to get soil fertile enough where the tiniest seed can sprout and grow. The farmer can throw out any amount of seed and hope for the best, but if it’s a good harvest you want, you have to put the work in.

So, is this story then about the soil? Or the farmer?

Named 2024 Notable Book Award by Southern Christian Writers Conference! The Trouble with Jesus: Considerations Before You Walk Away by Constance Hastings Ask for it wherever you buy your books, or just Click Here.

The Smug Check

Anyone out there thinking, “I’m saved, I’m good,” ticket to heaven punched, you’re in, and that’s all you need? Then this parable is NOT for your liking. Jesus is calling out folks who think they can play in the good dirt and not get dirty in those last places a Jesus-fearer should be. Good soil means getting dirty in the places you’d rather avoid.

It means walking those footpaths that feel like concrete alongside others who find life just as tough. It means making friends with the loud ones, the messy ones, those who would rob you blind and not think a thing of it. It means drying the tears of those who have found themselves in life situations never imaginable and sharing counsel so rocky times are made smoother. It means watching out for those who travel in dangerous lifestyles where slippery slopes can take a person into deep fathoms. It means taking big risks in generous living so Good News seeds can actually land somewhere.

Yes, it’s risky but no less risky than what Jesus did himself. He rolled with tax collectors and prostitutes, the least, last and lost, children and the child-like. He told people go the extra mile for those in need, turn the other cheek toward one from whom you could require revenge, forgive seventy times seven, and love your neighbor but especially your enemy.

Throw the Seed Anyway

God doesn’t ration grace to the safe and secure, the ones who will give good return on crops planted. So throw out that seed far and wide. Good soil, bad soil, hopeless soil, even dangerous soil. Be there in the middle of it. Fight against whatever keeps people from knowing and understanding God’s mercy and grace.

May the kind of soil you work and the kind of soil you are grow a wild, abundant harvest for the love of Jesus.

“Anyone who is willing to hear should listen and understand!”

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

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You’re either going to love it or hate it. No in‑between. And trust me, you’re not the only one wrestling with it. The Bible, Holy Scriptures, God’s Word, Gospel, or whatever name you want to slap on it, isn’t built for folks who want a warm blanket and a bedtime story. A challenge is made to go deep to discern its message. If you want something easy, feel-good fluff, read that chicken soup book. It’s not for the intellectually lazy or the spiritually timid. This is for people who can take a hit, get knocked flat, and still climb back in the ring for round two. It’s seeming paradoxes and contradictions call for heavy wrestlers who can take full body slams.

Oppositional Teaching

So Jesus, calling himself the Son of Man (which’s got layers on layers: male, relationship to a paternal figure, divine, prophetic, cosmic… look up Daniel 7:13–14 to see the OG reference), did not refrain from using images that clashed, opposed each other. He’s known for dropping comparisons that make you squint.

At one point he tells the crowds, “How shall I describe this generation? These people are like a group of children playing a game in the public square.” Back then kids weren’t the cute little Instagram angels we hype today. Due to their high mortality rate, you couldn’t count on children to be of any service now or a later return for your care. Kids were either a headache or a liability, not worth much emotional investment unless they survived long enough to work and bring in return. Jesus comparing grown folks to chaotic children? Oh yeah.

You can hear the frustration in his voice. These people were spiritually fickle. They didn’t care for John the Baptist’s austere practices of abstinence, fasting, living like a desert monk. They said he was just no fun, even demon-possessed. Then they got all over Jesus and his disciples for feasting and drinking, calling them gluttons and drunkards and “a friend of the worst sort of sinners,” not to mention implication by association. Like children bullying other kids, no one who claims to be called by or from God gets a fair shake from the social stream of the day. Jesus seems to be really tired of their trash talk and stupid criticisms.

You understand. No matter what you do, they’ll throw it. You want to take someone down, you smear them no matter what position they take. That’s how haters operate; they discredit you from every angle, even when you contradict yourself trying to please them. John and Jesus couldn’t win for losing. That’s how it works.

Simplistic Trust

In a sly move though, Jesus slides into prayer, low‑key, subtle, but sharp. He blesses those who hold on to simple, honest faith, like that of a trusting child who knows they’re loved completely. Those who lean in like a child are the ones who will understand what the “wise and clever” can’t grasp. Not because they’re dumb but because they’re open.

Jesus put it this way: “But wisdom is shown to be right by what results from it.” Real wisdom comes from honest faith, not from overthinking everything until you choke the life out of it. This kind of insight produces a faith greater than investigative analysis which seeks its own ends rather than revelation of what is greater than oneself. It’s an exchange of the child-ish for the child-like. Jesus thanks God for these.

He can do that because he sees what God sees. Those who come honestly in their seeking with clean motives, not blinded by their own egos or schemes, get access to insight and what God offers like nobody else can touch. That openness affords them perceptions not available otherwise. And to these, Jesus makes a promise.

Named 2024 Notable Book Award by Southern Christian Writers Conference! The Trouble with Jesus: Considerations Before You Walk Away by Constance Hastings Ask for it wherever you buy your books, or just Click Here.

Freedom of Release

“Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” Don’t we need that right now. Rest from tension and stress like we never saw coming. Rest from economic anxiety and war headlines. Rest from political divisiveness that has nearly paralyzed our nation. Rest from the hate that spews out on neighbors caught by the injustices of personal and systemic racism. Rest from the weight that’s been sitting on your chest for years. All these and so much more that’s been carried for too long and has frayed the psyche leaving doubt, conflict and unanswered questions in our amoral/immoral world.

We’ve tried our own diversions, numbing ourselves. None of it works. We say, “There must be more to life than this.”

And Jesus says, There is. “Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you…” It’s another paradox. A yoke’s not exactly a cozy metaphor. It’s a tool to control cattle, guide, restrain, submit it to use. Why swap one strain for another? That’s a stretch.

Yet therein lies what Jesus has to teach, the paradox he’s playing with. You’re going to be mastered by something, ambition, fear, ego, addiction, expectations, the grind, the noise. Everybody’s yoked to something. The question in life is which one will enslave you, or which will give life instead of draining it?

Jesus’ yoke isn’t about domination. It’s about direction. Purpose. Partnership. Rest. He’s saying, “Walk with me. I’ll carry the weight with you.” It’s never a promise for a life of ease. It’s a promise of presence on the journey, “because I am humble and gentle, and you will find rest for your souls.”

The seeking and searching find a place to rest not by getting all the answers or erasing all pains, but by walking with a God who holds them in grace by what Jesus can do.

“For my yoke fits perfectly, and the burden I give you is light.”

Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

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It’s wild out there right now, one side screaming at another, the whole world split in half. You may be feeling if you don’t choose a side, you’ll get caught in the middle with both sides pounding you instead of just one. No lie. The world’s grimy, petty, and straight-up dangerous, no doubt about it.

Jesus warned his guys they weren’t headed out for some chill field trip. The disciples were headed out on their own, charged with healing the sick and proclaiming the kingdom of heaven was right there. But it wouldn’t be an easy sell. Even between family members, his message would be divisive. His biggest caution was, “Be wary as snakes and harmless as doves. (Matthew 10:16)

That was their whole survival kit for walking into rooms where folks were already squaring up as they headed into the thick of a fight, chins jutted just inches from another.

Yeah, it can be a terrifying and menacing world, but to this fear Jesus dropped the first version of, “Look for the helpers,” wisely said by a friend of children and the child-like.

“Anyone who welcomes you is welcoming me, and anyone who welcomes me is welcoming the Father who sent me.” The ones who see you, the ones who welcome you, the ones who recognize God’s fingerprints on your life even when you don’t. This broad form of hospitality might not be found in a rally of supporters chanting your name. More often it’s found in the quiet ones who see more in you than you see in yourself.

Regardless of status, whether it’s the big shots, the established hierarchy of principle and the prophetic, the ones grinding to do the next right(eous) thing, or the least of all, ones at the bottom, the most vulnerable, marginalized, victimized and oppressed in body as well as spirit, look for them. Find them. Welcome them. Give to them.

“Even a cup of cold water.” Even. Just a cup. Cold water, that’s it. Nothing fancy. Nothing extra. A tiny gift that says, “I see you. You matter. You’re not alone.” A small, simple act that keeps somebody alive another day.

And somehow in that little bit of giving, that tiny stretch of generosity, heaven leaks through. Love leaks through. God shows up in the smallest cup you hand to the smallest one.

All preceded with, “And if you give…” It’s an offering that’s humble but vital to life, a giving that quenches thirst and demonstrates love. Yet in this extending of what little one has to the little ones and all ones, there’s an extension of the healing of heaven, a hope that reveals each is loved by Christ and loved by God.

“And if you give…,” creates more. Meet someone in their own place and world, extend a sign of welcome and love, not discriminating between one or another but accepting all in the undeserved, giving grace of God. That’s where relationships are started, strangers become friends, and understanding cracks open. The Kingdom of Heaven gets close enough to touch. In this, “you will surely be rewarded.”

All it takes is just a cup of cold water. No more and no less.

Matthew 10:40-42

Named 2024 Notable Book Award by Southern Christian Writers Conference! The Trouble with Jesus: Considerations Before You Walk Away by Constance Hastings Ask for it wherever you buy your books, or just Click Here.

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Em Tyler and I speak about the delicate balance between doubt and belief in the Christian journey.

Faith isn’t about having all the answers but about learning to trust God’s guidance through uncertainty. We explore the metaphor of the shepherd, illustrating how being led with care and intention can bring peace even when the outcomes of our paths don’t match our expectations.

This conversation invites listeners to embrace the tension of doubt and belief, lean into God’s leading, and find courage in their own spiritual journeys.

We talk about:

✨ Navigating the space between doubt and belief with courage✨ How faith can coexist with uncertainty and questions✨ Understanding spiritual guidance through the shepherd metaphor✨ Why outcomes may differ from our desires, and how to trust the process✨ How challenges and doubts can foster spiritual growth✨ Finding peace and resilience through trusting a higher power

Where in your faith journey do you feel tension between doubt and belief, and how can you lean into God’s guidance there?

Whether you’re questioning, struggling, or seeking deeper understanding, this episode encourages you to trust the process, embrace your doubts, and walk faithfully in your unique spiritual journey.

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Listen up. Here’s a safe bet you won’t hear these words preached on Sunday. Even if Jesus did say them, they wouldn’t sit well for a sermon on Father’s Day. Nah, Pastors will be spouting, “Honor your dad,” those who have raised us to be good people, godly people, fathers who give so much of their life and love for their children…Full on Hallmark energy.

But Jesus? He dropped a line that would see any preacher to the door. “Don’t imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! No, I came to bring a sword. I have come to set a man against his father….”

Yeah, Jesus said that.

Hey! Whatever happened to Baby Jesus, the one the angels hyped up like, “Peace on earth, goodwill toward men…?” (Luke 2:14) Wasn’t this the guy who’d later say, “Those who live by the sword will die by the sword…?” (Matthew 26:52) Doesn’t everybody say that Jesus wasn’t trying to be some military general but a Savior? What’s with this talk of starting up some kind of family conflict?

The Trouble with Jesus: Push Back

If this got you sweating, trust me, you’re in good company. Jesus first said this to his disciples. The Twelve were getting their chance to go do as their Master had done, cast out evil spirits and heal every kind of disease and illness, the same wild stuff he’d been doing. (Matthew 10:1) You’d expect they would be loved and find a lot of good press with that kind of ability, lining up to throw them a parade.

Jesus knew better. He knew the same folks who wanted him gone would want them gone too. As there were those who would just as soon as have Jesus disappear from the face of the earth, a similar dangerous response awaited them. “The servant shares the master’s fate.”

Pushback wasn’t a maybe. It was a guarantee. Watch your back at all times.

The Trouble with Jesus: No Guarantee

Jesus understood. That is, God understood. What was going to happen to them would not go unnoticed. “Not even a sparrow, worth only half a penny, can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it….So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to him than a whole flock of sparrows.”

That’s comforting, kinda. Nice to know, but it’s not followed with any guarantee you won’t get hurt either. And it especially doesn’t sit well if you are trying still to wrap your head around what he’d just said before this: “Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill you. They can only kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both body and soul in hell.”

That’s not exactly a motivational poster.

You have to know this: Jesus doesn’t promise pie in the sky or a big lottery win. Take it for what it is, a brutal honesty of what life following him means. This much Jesus does give: “If anyone acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will openly acknowledge that person before my father in heaven. But if anyone denies me here on earth, I will deny that person before my Father in heaven.” But never does Jesus say any of this will be easy.

The prospect of being a fried fowl aside, what is Jesus getting at? What would the disciples tell people about who Jesus is and what he wants to do in a person’s life that would make someone risk one’s life for the love of him? The answer is in Jesus’ sword.

The Trouble with Jesus: Conflicting Loves

If nothing else, through the life of Jesus Christ is the activity of God in ways not expected or according to our agendas and comfort zones. God doesn’t bring a peace that’s known or even wished for, but a new vision that extends to those who are considered worthless, of not much value than even half a penny. God knows when the sparrows of the world fall and is not blind to their plight. He says they matter. God’s call to those who have blessings of opportunity and privilege is to be the ones taught as a servant by a master and as a student by a teacher who serves those whom nobody else wants.

And Jesus?

His sword’s not about violence. It’s about cutting through competing loves.

Jesus’ sword will fight the battles found between those whose supreme affection would even stretch the closest of human relationships: parents, children, extended family of any kind, crew, tribe, or race. His message declares division for those who choose to “love more” any concept other than value and dedication of their best for this message of God.

Slow down right there. You know what this sounds like, don’t you? This kind of talk about walking away from your family is the basis of cults. It’s terrorist recruitment. People drank Kool Aid believing this kind of thing. Jesus is getting way too extreme here.

But Jesus wasn’t calling folks to abandon their families. He was calling them to order their loves right.

Love God first. Everything else falls in line behind that.

Named 2024 Notable Book Award by Southern Christian Writers Conference! The Trouble with Jesus: Considerations Before You Walk Away by Constance Hastings Ask for it wherever you buy your books, or just Click Here.

Sure, it’s extreme. (Maybe this would sit better if we said this passage was an example of Jesus’ using the Hebraic practice of hyperbole to emphasize his point. You have to admit it does get your attention.) Did He really mean this like it sounds? Yes. This isn’t a call to desert or deny your family ultimately. It’s in the “love more” that Jesus wants to be known.

The Trouble with Jesus: A Reversed Image

Here’s the twist: Jesus’ sword’s not a weapon. It’s a mirror flipped upside down. The trouble with Jesus is the conflict in loving God and neighbor or loving oneself and the desire to control this life. Held high in the air by its blade, Jesus’ sword takes on another image. “If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you’re not worthy of being mine.” His sword slices through fake peace — the kind built on comfort, control, and keeping your life exactly how you want it.

Eventually, his sword transformed into his cross. The whole thing flips. The blade becomes the burden, the burden becomes the purpose. In that reversed image, you find out who you really are and what you’re really living.

Matthew 10: 24-39

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Constance Hastings knows what it means to wrestle with doubt and still discover that Jesus never lets go. In this powerful conversation, longtime educator, counselor, and author Constance shares how God pursued her from childhood through years of questions, challenges, and spiritual growth. We explore the intersection of faith and mental health, the role of prayer and the Holy Spirit in counseling, and why being an honest presence often matters more than having the perfect answer. Constance also shares the heart behind her book, The Trouble with Jesus: Considerations Before You Walk Away, offering hope for skeptics, seekers, and anyone questioning their faith. If you've ever struggled with doubt, grief, disappointment, or wondering where God is in your story, this conversation will remind you that honest questions do not scare Him away.

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Where Did You See God? Podcast

It was an unexpected shock the day before recording that brought this conversation. Paul Granger was gracious in allowing me to spill my soul during the episode. It led to a conversation about acknowledging our doubt and still staying at the table. What we discovered is God is less surprised -- and offended -- about doubt than we are.

Have you experienced peace amidst doubt?

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The Trouble with Jesus

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