glory (Mt 15:29-39)

Friday, February 1, 2008

Psalm 124; Matthew 15:29-39


"And they glorified the God of Israel."
(Matthew 15:31)


Matthew gives us another summary of Jesus' "mighty works." It's a similar to Jesus' answer to John the Baptist's disciples when they brought John's question asking him whether he was the one to come (11:5). It is seen by many to refer to Isaiah prophesy:

Say to those who have an anxious heart, "Be strong; fear not!
Behold, your God will come with vengeance,
with the recompense of God.
He will come and save you."
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
then shall the lame man leap like a deer,
and the tongue of the mute sing for joy...
(Isaiah 35:4-6)

The people no doubt recognized this, and saw these miracles as signs of God's coming to save them. There's much more in Isaiah 35 about that time of the Lord's visitation, including:

"And the ransomed of the LORD shall return
and come to Zion with singing;
everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
they shall obtain gladness and joy,
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away"
(v. 10)

This is why "they glorified the God of Israel."

First, what "mighty works" has the Lord done for you? I think there are many. Be thoughtful, remember, and glorify him.

Second, how can we be about Jesus' healing ministry, which he sent out his disciples to do? And in such a way that people glorify God?

"Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works, and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."
(Matthew 5:16)

crumbs (Mt 15:21-28)

Thursday, January 31, 2008

Psalm 123; Matthew 15:21-28


"O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire."
(Matthew 15:28)

Interestingly, Jesus moves into an area of "unclean" people, outside of Israel, immediately following the story of defilement and cleansing - where we heard that it is sin that defiles the heart, and a clean heart (not hands) is what matters.

This Canaanite woman comes crying after Jesus, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon." The story goes back and forth as Jesus does not answer her a word, the disciples beg him to send her away, and then he says he was only sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. She comes again, kneeling before him, and saying "Lord, help me." He again puts her off with a reference to the children's bread and the dogs. She comes back again (third time), "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." It's at this point Jesus celebrates her great faith and grants her desire / wish / will.

I have always stumbled with this text. Even though I read that the reference to children and dogs was a common sort of reference to the Jews and the surrounding pagan people, I still wish he had chosen some other metaphor. However, Jesus delights and marvels over her faith, and it moves him to heal her daughter. What is going on here?

Our dog, Maggie, sits under my chair whenever we eat - right there between my legs, virtually every time I sit down at the table to eat. She may want to be close to us, but I think her main agenda is that she's actively looking for "crumbs that fall" from her master's table. She's ready and waiting, she's expectant. And as far as she knows, there's plenty to go around so why not expect some of the bounty. (Or maybe she just knows I'm a messy eater!)

That's something like what I think may be going on here. I wonder if the point is not so much that Israel was rejecting the bread of life and so there was some for a Canaanite woman - that is, that they're like little bratty kids pushing their unwanted food off the table onto the floor - just that she believed there was plenty to go around. There was so much bounty, so much grace and favor and blessing and healing pouring forth from this man that the table and the children who were being served just couldn't contain it.

This Son of David would have mercy on her, he would help her, and there is plenty of bread to go around. Of course this story ties in with the big story that the gospel is for the Gentiles, which Jesus' own people largely rejected, and this healing is another precursor, downpayment, or guarantee of what was coming. But I think Jesus so appreciates that in the midst of her desperation and her persistence, and despite her outsider, unclean status, she recognizes that there is such abundance with him, that there is more than enough to go around, and that he is gracious and kind and generous toward any that were hungry and needy.

And that even crumbs from this One are enough to satisfy.

+ + + + +

As you read Psalm 123, think of the Canaanite woman praying it to Jesus:

To you I lift up my eyes,
O you who are enthroned in the heavens!
Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a maidservant to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the LORD our God,
till he has mercy upon us.
Have mercy upon us, O LORD,
have mercy upon us,
for we have had more than enough contempt.
Our soul has had more than enough
of the scorn of those who are at ease,
of the contempt of the proud.

I love it when my different readings tie in together so beautifully!

clean (Mt 15:1-20)

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Psalm 122; Matthew 15:1-20




In this passage about traditions and defilement, Jesus seems to connect it all with what is being said or what has been said. He accuses the Pharisees and scribes of breaking the commandment of God (what God has said), making void the word of God with their traditions. He accuses them of hypocrisy and worshiping in vain, saying the right words perhaps but not truly worshiping. Well did Isaiah prophesy (speaking out words for God) of you, when he said:

"This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me."
(Matthew 15:8)

What Jesus says, his rebuke, his riddle-like parable, or "saying" (v. 12), offends them. Again, they make void the word of God, treasuring the traditions of the elders (the Oral Law) over his words. His parable emphasizes that it is not what we eat or how we eat it that defiles us (what goes in your mouth), but what comes out of the mouth, the words we speak as well as the actions we perform (not to mention evil thoughts also). These proceed from the heart and these defile a person. Again (as in 12:23-37) Jesus connects the heart with our words, and (as in 7:15-23) with our actions.

He removes the issue of ceremonial, or ritual, defilement as an issue to be concerned with - such as eating with ceremonially unwashed hands or kitchenware. This is one of the things that could make someone ritually unclean - not as in sinful, but as in unfit in that state to worship in the synagogue or Temple. Their hands could become unclean if they touched Roman coins, for example, or had some other dealing with a Gentile in which they had to touch them or something of theirs. Touching a dead person would also make one ritually unclean (so a compassionate act like burying a parent could make you ritually unclean - but not stained with sin). In which case, They would have to "wash", which might include the "mikva" (cleansing pool), or preferably a stream or river.

Jesus says that what defiles is evil or unlawful thoughts and actions. We know from previous teaching that these result from a "diseased tree" (7:17), or come out of one's "evil treasure" (12:35). Perhaps Jesus' point is that sin makes you unfit for anything, really - from eating to worship.

Jesus is not a blind guide, nor a hypocrite. His words are true, his words can heal, his words will guide his disciples, his words can change the heart. Let's treasure them, let's treasure him - not with lip service and a distant heart, but hearing and understanding, and having our hearts (not our hands or utensils) washed in his word, in his love, in his Spirit, in his sacrificial blood.

our keeper (Mt 14:22-36)

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Psalm 121; Matthew 14:22-36


This is Matthew's second account of the disciples' being in trouble in a boat on the sea. The first account (8:23-27) ends with the disciples asking "What sort of man is this, that even the wind and waves obey him?" This second account ends with an answer to that question as they worship him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."

Today I'm comforted knowing that Jesus rules over the storms in my life, over wind and waves, and doubt and fear. I'm encouraged by his words "Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid." And I'm strengthened by the reminder that he knows what's going on (he "made" me get into this boat, cf. v. 22), he sees me, he's coming, and his strong hand will save me. Indeed, that the Son of God comes for me, to comfort, encourage, and save - not just to watch as I'm overwhelmed and destroyed. I'm encouraged knowing that this "boat ride" is actually going somewhere, just where he intends. He not only sees, knows, cares, and saves, but he is with me on this journey (even when he seems absent for a time), and will be at each "port of call", especially the final stop. Thanks be to God.

Last November we heard a really good sermon on this by Kris MacDaniel at Trinity Vineyard Atlanta, where our son, Mark, and his wife, Monica, worship. You can find it at Trinity Vineyard Atlanta. It was on November 18, 2008. Or you could download it on a podcast from iTunes under "Trinity Vineyard Atlanta." Kris is a good preacher. I commend him to you.

This is all affirmed but the timeless, assuring words of Psalm 121. Note that "keep/keeper" has the idea of "guard/guardian".

1 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?
2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber.
4 Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand.
6 The sun shall not strike you by day,nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life.
8 The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.

broken (Mt 14:13-21)

Monday, January 28, 2008

Psalm 120; Matthew 14:13-21


"You give them something to eat."
(Matthew 14:16)


When Jesus hears that John was killed he withdrew, just as he did when he heard that John had been arrested (4:12). This time he withdrew in a boat to a desolate place by himself, certainly to grieve and pray and to be comforted and strengthened. However the crowds hear about it and find him. "When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick" (v. 14).

He had compassion on them and was moved to heal them, even though he could have used some compassion and ministry. When evening came the disciples ask Jesus to send away the crowds to go and buy food for themselves. Exactly why Jesus does what he does next I don't know. Did he know it would create havoc in the villages they'd go to in order to find food? Did he know they didn't have enough money? Was he planning an evening service, a campfire, or an overnight? I don't know - but I think I know what moved him to meet their need, to fill their hunger. Compassion. He had compassion on them.

And because he had compassion on them he tells his disciples, "They need not go away; you give them something to eat." And they just tell him the facts as they know it (perhaps they'd already assessed this, or perhaps there's an unrecorded break in the story when they went looking for food in the crowd). They found five loaves of bread and two fish. That was it. Yet the Master commanded them to feed the hungry crowd.

The main point for me today is that I never have enough to do what Jesus calls me to do. Whether without or within, whether it's seven pieces of food for five thousand plus people, or the fear of looking like an idiot or not knowing what to say, or whatever, we are often quick to say in one way or another that we don't have what it takes to do what he asks. Even when what he asks is really just an expression of his compassion.

What does Jesus say? "Bring them here to me" (v. 18). And the rest is history! Jesus takes what is given to him, however little or limited it is; he blesses it; he breaks it, and he gives it to his disciples to give to the crowds. And everyone was satisfied. This is the the language of the supper he would institute.

Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. (Matthew 26:26)

However inadequate we may feel, or insufficient our resources may be - Jesus says "bring them to me." He will take what is wholly and freely given to him. He will bless it, he may break us further in the process to ensure that what shows when we join him in his ministry of compassion is Jesus himself, that what is given in his name has been touched and blessed by him (so that it's not me beaming because I feel so good about myself!).

In fact, perhaps it's actually in our receiving his body and blood, our encountering the weakness and brokenness of Jesus himself that we learn compassion. Or at least, here we truly can find compassion ourselves, and in turn share it with others in need - even through our own weakness, brokenness, inadequacy and insufficiency.

Thank you Lord Jesus.

week of January 27

Prayer for Sunday, January 27

Give us grace, O Lord, to answer readily the call of our Savior Jesus Christ and proclaim to all people the Good News of his salvation, that we and the whole world may perceive the glory of his marvelous works; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Readings for week of January 27

27 Amos 3:1-8; Ps 139:1-17; 1 Cor 1:10-17; Matthew 4:12-23
28 Psalm 120; Matthew 14:13-21
29 Psalm 121; Matthew 14:22-36
30 Psalm 122; Matthew 15:1-20
31 Psalm 123; Matthew 15:21-28
Feb 1 Psalm 124; Matthew 15:29-39
2 Psalm 125; Ephesians 4:17-5:2; Matthew 16:1-12

every joint (Eph 4:11-16)

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Psalm 119 (read as much as you can - enjoy!); Ephesians 4:11-16


Actually, I hope you'll read all of Psalm 119 and just let the attitude and spirit of the psalmist wash over you. I also suggest that some time during the week you take some extra time to meditate on God and his word. This is one of the underlying purposes of observing, or remembering, the Sabbath. I think I'm going to base much of next Wednesday night on Psalm 119, so let's look at Ephesians.


Paul has just finished a a rather dramatic plea calling for us to "make every effort" to maintain the unity of the Spirit, for there is
one body
one Spirit
one hope
one Lord
one faith
one baptism
one God and Father of all

He says that "grace was given to each one of us" (v. 7) and some of the gifts Christ gave when he ascended were the ministry / leader gifts of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers whose role it is to equip the saints for the building up of the body of Christ -
UNTIL we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God.

Similar to the "now and not yet" tension with regard to the kingdom, there is such when the Scriptures use the image of the body of Christ. "Maintain the unity"... "there is one body" and yet gifts are given and we are to work for and until we attain the unity.

It seems this unity is maturity and fullness, it is stability and wholeness, it is protection and strength.

"Speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love." (vs. 15-16)

This whole chapter so far, while casting a beautiful vision of what the church is and is to be, is all about "one another" (v. 2), "each one of us" (v. 7), "we all" (v. 13), "every joint" and "each part" (v. 16).

I have shared recently of my interest and intrigue with this term, "joint," that Paul uses here (and in Colossians 2:19) saying that the body can only grow when they are in place and working properly. A joint is a place in the body where some members come together (not all of them). And when those particular members come together in that particular way, in that particular place, for their particular purpose and giftedness, the body works properly and is built up.

Again, we need each other. We are responsible to and for each other. And within the whole, God has so designed Christ's Body that there are some people that you are created and gifted to be connected to. And of course most of our bones are actually in more than one joint (if I can push the metaphor!!). How are your joints? Do you need some spiritual glucosamine chondroitin? Do you need some exercise? or a hot bath?

I may be really pushing it now, but one more grace note: While Jesus' bones were not broken, the prophetic Psalm 22, speaking of Christ's passion, says "all my bones are out of joint" (v.14). Could it be that Jesus even in his the very joints of his body bore our disunity, our disconnectedness, all that undermines true fellowship and walking together in the journey of discipleship? We know he bore the hostility and division and separation in his body, and in the shedding of his blood (Ephesian 2:13-16), but let me suggest he even bore it in his skeletal system, in his joints. And in his resurrection he is whole, the power of the Spirit not just restoring his body but renewing it to a whole new order of life.

Come Holy Spirit, give us grace to use the grace we've been given; to be faithful to the relationships you have called us to or may be calling us into; that together we might become more and more like you, being your body - your continuing, transforming presence in your world.

he answered me (Mt 14:1-12)

Friday, January 25, 2008

Psalm 118; Matthew 14:1-12

In this passage we hear of Herod's, and his family's, wickedness, perverseness, spinelessness... definitely an evil and adulterous generation, as well as the Baptist's prophetic righteousness. It does give some background about John's arrest, which we heard about way back in chapter four. What Herod does literally I guess is what we all do in some ways figuratively. We ignore the convicting voice of the Lord, and while we normally don't arrest and behead the messenger , we do try to imprison it, and destroy it somehow or another...

Today I thought we could listen to the psalm, thinking of John the Baptist in prison saying it out loud. John knew the psalms, they were Israel's prayer book and hymnal. I would think that at some point or another John said the psalms to strengthen and comfort himself. They can help us in this way too.

Psalm 118

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever!…
Let those who fear the Lord say,
His steadfast love endures forever.
Out of my distress I called on the Lord;
the Lord answered me and set me free.
The Lord is on my side; I will not fear.
What can man do to me?
The Lord is on my side as my helper;
I shall look in triumph on those who hate me.
It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in man.
It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in princes…
I was pushed hard, so that I was falling,
but the Lord helped me.
The Lord is my strength and my song;
he has become my salvation.
Glad songs of salvation are in the tents of the righteous:
The right hand of the Lord does valiantly,
the right hand of the Lord exalts,
the right hand of the Lord does valiantly!
I shall not die, but I shall live,
and recount the deeds of the Lord.
The Lord has disciplined me severely,
but he has not given me over to death.
Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them
and give thanks to the Lord…
I thank you that you have answered me
and have become my salvation.
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
This is the Lord's doing;
it is marvelous in our eyes.
This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Save us, we pray, O Lord!
O Lord, we pray, give us success!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
We bless you from the house of the Lord.
The Lord is God,and he has made his light to shine upon us.
Bind the festal sacrifice with cords, up to the horns of the altar!
You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;
you are my God; I will extol you.
Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever!

astonished offense (Mt 13:53-58)

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Psalm 116-117; Matthew 13:53-58


"A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household."
(Matthew 13:57)

This section begins with one of Matthew's five summary transitions that mark the end of the five discourses of Jesus (cf. 7:28; 11:1; 13:53; 19:1; 26:1): "And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there, and coming to his hometown he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished..."

And we're thinking "Great! Wow! The hometown folks are really impressed with Jesus' teaching. More fruit for the harvest!" But we soon find that astonishment doesn't necessarily lead to belief. Immediately questions arise, perhaps out of jealousy, certainly out of unbelief (v. 58). They were receiving the input of his words, which were amazing, through some kind of a filter of familiarity which probably led to suspicion and resistance and perhaps even a controlling attitude that would not adjust to the rearranged chairs at the town gathering.

"And they took offense at him."

"Blessed is he who does not take offense at me," Jesus said in response to John the Baptist's question that arose out of his not understanding how Jesus could be the one to come and he was in prison (11:1-6). John was seeking, he was soft and receptive to the Messiah, and Jesus honored him in the following verses. Though astonished, Jesus' hometown pridefully reacted against their own amazement. They were not seeking and receptive to their king.

Being amazed with Jesus doesn't mean you trust him, submit your heart and will to him; to be impressed does not mean you let him do a mighty work in your life. Familiarity can breed contempt. Tickled ears or even a stirred heart doesn't mean a new heart, a converted, consecrated life, or faith.

This pericope illustrates in real life some of what Jesus was teaching in his parables through this chapter 13 discourse. In the parable of the four soils / hearts at the beginning of the chapter we hear of three types of soil that yielded a response, a movement in response to the message of the kingdom - but only one yielded a harvest. That parable seems to say that a response to Jesus, being moved by him, having a good spiritual feeling, even beginning to walk with him, does not mean that one truly "understands" him and his message and is growing and bearing fruit.

By all means be amazed by Jesus! But as one who is still teaching you wonderful things about himself and his kingdom - not as one you have figured out and in a box. Yes, be amazed and believe.

I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving
and call on the name of the LORD.
(Psalm 116:17)

Praise the LORD, all nations!
Extol him, all peoples!
For great is his steadfast love toward us,
and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever.
Praise the LORD!
(Psalm 117)

great value (Mt 13:44-52)

Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Happy Birthday Mom :)

Psalm 115; Matthew 13:44-52


"The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field... in his joy he goes a sells all that he has and buys that field."
(Matthew 13:44)

When I first read over today's passage I was trying to decide which parable to focus on. The first two have one emphasis, the third (the parable of the net) has another which seems similar to the parable of the weeds, and then Jesus concludes this discourse of kingdom parables with another that is altogether different.

However, I think there is a theme in all four. It is summed up in Jesus' phrase "great value" specifically referring to the merchant who was searching for fine pearls and found one of great value. Like the man who found a treasure (of great value), he sold all that he had to buy it.

The concept of value in the parable of the net has to do with the "gathering" nature or mission of the kingdom. However in this parable there is this indiscriminate aspect to the action (instead of the discriminating discernment of the pearl merchant or the man deciding it is worth selling everything to buy this particular field). At this phase of the kingdom every "fish" has value. Fill the net, gather them in. The angels will do the separating of what is of value and what isn't. That's the image here, what fish have value, and which are worthless.

Finally, Jesus likens his disciples who say they understand all these things to "every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven" who like a master of a house, "brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old." They have a treasure which is made up of things old and new; old and new valuables are brought out and shared at appropriate times. (This final parable of the treasures old and new may be the summarizing parable of the whole group, which may be why the image switches from "the kingdom of heaven is like..." to a person "trained for the kingdom is like..." It's not just giving us information about the kingdom but finally the responsibility to be trained in it and to live out and share the ancient message about it and Jesus' new message about it.)

The kingdom of God is not a commodity that we can own or control. Nor are good, or bad, people some kind of commodity that we are to put some value on (God's angels will do that). But our engagement with it is the most valuable thing in the world. Investing our whole lives in this kingdom enterprise is the only way to save our lives. Our hearts are so designed that they will value something above everything else. Your heart will attach to, pine after, manipulate, work diligently... in order to possess that one thing it values most.

Their is no other wealth, no other power, no other person that can ever save or satisfy the human heart - but the king and his kingdom. And while, on the one hand, every human being is valued by God, in the end some will be proved "bad" or worthless/ unworthy of the king and his kingdom. We become of value in that day of separation simply by valuing what God values, by listening to Jesus and receiving him, by selling all that we have, letting go of everything else we value and making him the exclusive treasure of our lives.

Jesus purchased his kingdom, and the children of the kingdom (v. 38), at a great price. He gave up everything. The purchase price was his blood. He values us that much. Thanks be to God.

his kingdom (Mt 13:31-43)

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Psalm 114; Matthew 13:31-43


Matthew gives us another reason for Jesus' speaking in parables: to "fulfill what was spoken by the prophet" in Psalm 78:2. Jesus again is the fulfillment of the prophets' words. This seems like a second reason in addition to the one Jesus gives in verse 11 and following, especially if you read the context in Psalm 78. I encourage you to look at this and give it some thought. Taken with the disciples asking "Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field" (v. 36), we see there's a reason for parables beyond just keeping secrets from the crowds that aren't really Jesus' followers / disciples.

On to Jesus' explanation of the parable of the weeds. Most of the explanation involves discussion of the harvest so it seems that the "gotcha", the big or main point, is found there.

But first I think it's important to note that Jesus says that the field is the world. Into the field / world are sown the children of the kingdom and, by the devil, sons of the evil one. The children of the kingdom grow in the world alongside the sons of the evil one. We still have no mention of "the church" (the ekklesia, the "called out" congregation; that is, called out of the world). Those references come later in chapters 16 and 18.

Secondly, "the son of man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace" (v. 41). Somewhere here it seems that the world becomes the kingdom, as I read the explanation. Now, we have to be very careful about making a parable more than it is. Robert knows, I've beat him up on this point a few times... (I'm sorry, brother). But this is Jesus' explanation to his dull disciples who need the explanation of "what has been hidden since the foundation of the world" (v. 35). Jesus says that the angels will gather out of "his kingdom" all causes of sin and all law-breakers (all the sons of the evil one). In other words, in his kingdom are all kinds of sin and all kinds of sinners.

Now, somewhere I'm hearing "the kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and ever." It's not just Handel's Messiah, it's also Revelation 11:15. I think this ties in somehow.

One parable cannot be the "be all and end all" of theological discussions of the kingdom and the church, but here we note that the kingdom grows in the world, and in or amidst the kingdom are people who are not children of it but rather who live according to a non-kingdom principle, somehow derive life from the kingdom's enemy, who are of their father the devil. At least from the perception of the children of the kingdom, these people are in the kingdom of the son of man, which is in the world. And they (we) are not to try to remove causes of sin and law-breakers from his kingdom which is in the world, but to leave it to the angels at the close of the age. And thus both the parable and Revelation 11:15 will be fulfilled.

In chapter 18 we'll hear from Jesus about dealing with sinners within the church. But for now, it is not our prerogative to decide, and thus remove, those who are in and out of the kingdom, which apparently goes beyond the bounds of a group of "called out ones".

I'm intrigued by this concept of the kingdom being in the world. I'm going to post a quote from E. Stanley Jones (that Lisa Yearwood gave me last week) and comment at my other blog site:
www.dicristina-mark.blogspot.com

an enemy (Mt 13:24-30)

Monday, January 21, 2008

Psalm 113; Matthew 13:24-30

"Let both grow together until the harvest..."
(Matthew 13:30)

Okay, I'm going to try not to use tomorrow's reading (explaining today's parable) to avoid struggling with the parable Jesus tells us today. But first let me share a little bit more about parables and their use.

We heard Jesus' explanation the other day about his use of parables with the crowds. For those who are not following him, who don't understand, they do not clarify, expand, or illustrate understanding but only keep them in the dark, on the outside, puzzled and struggling with what Jesus is saying. But for his followers, who do understand because they are receptive to him and his words, parables are secrets of the kingdom giving insight, deeper understanding and revelation. They also can cause a struggling in his disciples, not from the outside trying to get in, but like sprouts bursting out of seeds, up out of soil, or even having to grow alongside weeds that just won't go away.

The word parable means literally "to throw alongside"; the image a professor once gave us was of a hand grenade being tossed next to you (of course you don't realize it's a bomb) that goes off after the thrower walks away. Or a better image might be of some obscure object, like a ball, in a video game being dropped next to you by a character in the game that surprisingly explodes and destroys you or gives you so many points of energy or resistance to attack or ammunition... The idea is that they sound like an ordinary story but there's a "gotcha", a twist or a punch line that you walk thinking about and pondering. However, sometimes what is called a parable in the gospels is pretty much just a little illustrative story. Sometimes it is more "allegorical" - that is, it's a story where every component has a meaning. But the first thing to address is, what's the "gotcha?" What's the twist? What's the surprise that goes off in your head and heart as you walk away from hearing it?

So, what's the twist or the punch-line here? Just reading this parable of the kingdom, without tomorrow's explanation, leaves me with either the surprise of the servants that weeds appeared with the wheat, or the master's instruction not to go gather the weeds but to let them grow with the wheat until the harvest when the reapers will separate them. Or perhaps it's the second bolstered by the first.

What a bummer for the servants, if they took their job seriously at all, to do all the work of preparing the field for the seed, going to sleep confident that their hard work would be rewarded one day with the sight of "amber waves of grain," only to find lots of weeds. Having been confident that their master sowed good seed, now they doubted - "Master, didn't you sow good seed in your field?" "An enemy has done this," he answers, I think to their surprise (why would naively ask the master if his seed was good?) So the happy "little house on the prairie" scene is painfully interrupted with the reality that there's an enemy who intends harm, willful malice.

They'll just deal with it, heroically asking, "Then do you want us to go and gather them?" But the master says, "No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let them both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, 'Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.'"

For today, without Jesus' explanation, I'll conclude with these thoughts and hope they'll stir around in our minds and break up and soften the soil of our hearts:

The context is the kingdom of heaven which may be compared to a man sowing good seed in his field and whose enemy sowed weeds in the field. This kingdom project has an enemy who is planting weeds in its midst. Jesus is proclaiming the word of the kingdom which has been likened to the seed of a sower (cf. v. 19). We are servants of the master. As much as we'd like an idyllic, fairy tale story (not just ending), this field we're in, or we're working, is going to have weeds in it. Our natural response is to get rid of them ASAP. Get rid of the pain NOW. It's clear and simple. Cleanse and restore purity. Destroy the "evildoers."

This may include using substances or other things to minimize the pain in our own hearts. Or it could include simplistic, naive answers to difficult, complex questions and struggles around us - being narrow-minded, judgmental, black and white, and frankly not honest with either the Bible or the reality of the world in which we live. And, of course, it can mean closing our heart and moving away from those, or driving those away, who are struggling with evil or whom we perceive to be sinning.

We have an enemy. Evil is real. It's all around us. The Master, who sows good seeds, has a plan. It doesn't include us rooting it all out now. But does include our being faithful to the Master, trusting him, receptive and obedient to his words.

Praise the LORD!
Praise, O servants of the LORD,
praise the name of the LORD! ...
Who is like the LORD our God,
who is seated on high,
who looks far down
on the heavens and the earth?
He raises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the ash heap,
to make them sit with princes,
with the princes of his people.
He gives the barren woman a hoe,
making her the joyous mother of children.
Praise the LORD!
(Psalm 113:1:5-9)

a note on Ephesians 4:1-10

(2) Saturday, January 19, 2008

Ephesians 4:1-10

"[Be] eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.... grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift."
(Ephesians 4:3,7)

A note on our Ephesians reading today. This passage is one of the clearest proclamations of the unity of the Body of Christ, and of our calling to maintain that unity. Paul has spent the first half of the epistle glorifying God for the great work he has done in Jesus Christ in bringing together as one those who were estranged and that this church will display the manifold wisdom of God; Paul has just prayed this church will be strengthened with power by the spirit, indwelt by Christ through faith, rooted and grounded in love, comprehending the bounds of that love, and filled with all the fullness of God.

Again, Paul is talking about the church. In this prayer that immediately precedes his unity plea the "you" is plural. The context of being the church, of doing discipleship together, is the power of the Spirit, the indwelling Christ, the love of God and the fullness of God in the people of God.

While I don't know all of what it means, and frankly it scares me to think about it because of what it might mean for my own privacy and personal comfort, this passage reiterates this calling to unity and community and to living out our discipleship not just alongside other individuals, rooting each other on, but somehow actually living it out together. A couple of Wednesday nights ago we looked at a lot of Paul's "one another" commands (do your own study of this) which emphasize our responsibility to and interconnection with one another.

Yesterday I wrote in the "Full House" entry:

This week in a discussion on the Sermon on the Mount I was convicted and convinced that I needed the help of other Christians if I was ever to live it out (by the grace of God and indwelling presence of Christ), and that Jesus gave it not to a bunch of individuals but to a band of disciples, a community of his followers. We really do need each other.

I just want to continue to submit this for our prayers and consideration. I won't go on except to call attention to the "blessed" man described in the psalm, whose righteousness is expressed in terms of his relationship with those around him:

His offspring will be mighty in the land;
the generation of the upright will be blessed.
Wealth and riches are in his house,
and his righteousness endures forever.
Light dawns in the darkness for the upright;
he is gracious, merciful and righteous.
It is well with the man who deals generously and lends;
who conducts his affairs with justice.
For the righteous will never be moved;
he will be remembered forever.
He is not afraid of bad news;
his heart is firm, trusting in the LORD.
His heart is steady; he will not be afraid,
until he looks in triumph on his adversaries.
He has distributed freely;
he has given to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever...

week of January 20

Prayer for Sunday, January 20, 2008

Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ is the light of the world: Grant that your people, illumined by your Word and Sacraments, may shine with the radiance of Christ's glory, that he may be known, worshipped, and obeyed to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and for ever. Amen.


Readings for week of January 20:

20 Isaiah 49:1-7; Psalm 40:1-10 1 Corinthians 1:1-9; John 1:29-41
21 Psalm 113; Matthew 13:24-30
22 Psalm 114; Matthew 13:31-43
23 Psalm 115: Matthew 13:44-52
24 Psalm 116-117; Matthew 13:53-58
25 Psalm 118; Matthew 14:1-12
26 Psalm 119; (read as much as you can – enjoy!); Eph 4:11-16

kingdom secrets (Mt 13:1-23)

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Psalm 112; Ephesians 4:1-10; Matthew 13:1-23

"'Why do you speak to them in parables?' And he answered them, 'To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given...'"
(Matthew 13:11)

Honestly, this section has always bothered me - especially when Jesus pulls out Isaiah's prophecy to make his point. The point in Isaiah 6 was that Isaiah was specifically to preach to people who didn't believe so that they wouldn't believe "'lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them" (Mt 13:15; Isaiah 6:8f).

In trying to hone in on some application today I was focusing on the themes of "secrets" and "understanding." Jesus' conclusion as he explains the parable to his disciples is "As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word (of the kingdom) and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case, a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty" (v. 23).

And again in his private discussion about parables with his disciples he says, "This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand" (v. 13). And again, the quote from Isaiah concludes, "lest they... understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them" (v. 15).

Jesus is telling these parables of the kingdom to the crowds gathered by the sea. He has left the house where he stretched out his hand toward his disciples saying "whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother." The parables are for those who understand. They illustrate for those who are receptively listening to Jesus, who to some degree "get it". His disciples are those who have repented "for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (3:2;4:17), who have left all to follow him, who went out proclaiming the kingdom is at hand (10:7), who are thus doing the will of God. They, unlike the Pharisees, have recognized and received the voice, and the good and mighty works, of the king.

There is a sense in which by themselves parables are like riddles. They clarify and increase understanding for those that have a context for the illustration, for those that are already in the story, as it were. If I were to tell a brief story about a snow day and infer in it some of the difficulties and joys of it to someone who had not only never seen snow but had never heard of it, my story would make no sense - the point would be lost.

"To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given" (v. 11). Some of the great stories include people who stumble upon a secret but don't know what it's about - finding a treasure map, but not knowing where the place is; intercepting a time or a name in a phone call or radio transmission but not knowing just where or what is about to happen; or misinterpreting a snippet of information about someone and publicly ruining their reputation... But for those who are following Jesus, who are in his story, the parables give greater understanding and encouragement, as well as greater assurance within the mystery itself.

Today I welcome this parable and Jesus' explanation as a confirmation and encouragement to continue listening and following him, not as "try harder" or even principally as a warning against shallowness or worldly distractions; to continue trusting and being receptive to Jesus, the good, compassionate Healer King. Matthew is clear that at this point Jesus is affirming his disciples and not making it easy for those who don't / won't believe.

Today let us rejoice that Jesus has called us and spoken to us. To the degree that we have embraced and followed him, thanks be to God. Where we haven't, rather than trying harder and "plowing up the soil" and "pulling out the weeds" - let us turn to him, be still and listen. Rehearse and give thanks for what you do know about him and his kingdom. Be thrilled with, in awe of, deeply grateful to, your king - and I think we'll find ourselves more receptive, hearing more and understanding more, and bearing fruit that he, one day, will harvest.

"But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. Truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it" (vs. 16-17).

Praise the Lord!
Blessed is the man who fears the LORD,
who greatly delights in his commandments!
His offspring will be mighty in the land;
the generation of the upright will be blessed.
(Psalm 112:1-2)

full house (Mt 12:43-50)

Friday, January 17, 2008

Psalm 111; Matthew 12:43-50


Jesus tells this story about when an unclean spirit goes out of someone, it may try to return to "my house from which I came" which is now empty and put in order. In fact, it will bring seven other spirits more evil than itself and they will enter and dwell there in the house. Jesus' summary statement is "and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this evil generation." (v. 45)

The previous section began with an account of Jesus delivering a demonized man who was blind and mute. So this is very appropriate, but perhaps Jesus is also warning the Pharisees who are essentially claiming to be free and clean of demonic influence but are perfectly set up to be infested with an onslaught of them, filled up perfectly with evil presence.

The story seems to take a big turn, from a heavy discussion of judgment and evil spirits to a domestic scene where Jesus is teaching in a house (13:1) and his mother and brothers come to talk to him. Four times (five if you include the excluded verse 47... did you notice it was missing?) we have this reference to his "mother and brothers" or "my brother and sister and mother." Sounds like household talk.

I just wonder if these two accounts are intentionally put together because the second is a comment on the first. I think the main thing missing from an empty house is a family. And the family you want is his family, those who do the will of his Father in heaven.

Unless we fill our lives with the will of God, doing the will of God, and being closely connected with people who do the will of God, then we are sitting ducks to to overwhelmed and overtaken by evil moving in to the neighborhood and then our own house. Jesus says that is exactly how it will be with this "evil generation." But our "generation" is to be the people of God, indeed as Peter states (in the KJV):

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light. (1 Peter 2:9)

To be in Jesus' family, to be brother or sister to him who perfectly fulfilled the will of his Father in heaven, is to be protected from all evil. He who commanded evil spirits with a word is he who said "Not my will but yours be done" and then gave his life in death, according to the will of God, as a sacrifice that brings us new birth. Indeed to do his will is to believe in him, to trust him, and to follow and obey him.

This week in a discussion on the Sermon on the Mount I was convicted and convinced that I needed the help of other Christians if I was ever to live it out (by the grace of God and indwelling presence of Christ), and that Jesus gave it not to a bunch of individuals but to a band of disciples, a community of his followers. We really do need each other.

If you're in Jesus' family, that indeed is a full house, in a company of siblings devoted to the Son, a household full of the goodness and mercy, and power and truth, and light and life of our Father. And that, I think, is the kingdom of God.

words (Mt 12:33-42)

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Psalm 110; Matthew 12:33-42

"For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks."
(Matthew 12:34)

In this passage we hear Jesus call the Pharisees a "brood of vipers" as he asks them "How can you speak good, when you are evil?" (v. 34). His name-calling comes from a good treasure, a good heart, that wants them to recognize that "something greater than" the temple, Jonah, and Solomon is here; that wants them to know the truth, abide in his words, and be set free.

"I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." (v. 36-37)

This extreme statement regarding judgment must be seen in this context of tree and fruit.

He challenges them by saying that our words are like fruit and our hearts/ lives are like trees; a good tree will bring forth good fruit and a bad tree will bring forth bad fruit. If a tree continues to bear bad fruit, eventually it will be cut down and burned. The fruit is the evidence of a bad tree. Jesus is saying the we can be justly judged just on the basis of our words alone - for justification or for condemnation.

And the immediate context (see vs. 22-32) is that if we will not or cannot acknowledge that God was / is with Jesus, that it was God's Spirit at work in him to teach and heal, and to raise him from the dead (Romans 1:4) then we can never know forgiveness.

He is warning against "careless" words such as these. And their words following continue to reveal the nature of their hearts:

"Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, 'Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you'" (v. 38). This too revealed their hardness of heart and their distance from God and from Jesus.

We have heard words in this gospel that moved and marveled Jesus, or that we ought to say:
"Lord I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed." (8:8)
"Yes, Lord." (9:28)
"Our Father in heaven..." (6:9)

Once again, I think we are being asked not so much to obsess about what we're saying, but we ought to guard our hearts, or get our hearts healed. For it is only out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks the condemning or justifying words.

Interestingly, words such as the centurion said to Jesus (8:8) express the belief that there is One who with a word that proceeds from a divine heart of goodness can heal our hearts:

only say the word and your servant will be healed.

Amen.

by or against the Spirit (Mt 12:22-32)

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Psalm 109: Matthew 12:22-32


It seems that Matthew's references to the Holy Spirit are mostly about his role working in and through Jesus, as compared to much more in John especially about his role in our lives.

"If it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you... (v. 28)
the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven... (v. 31)
whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come." (v. 32)

Here, very specifically, he attributes his kingdom activity to the power and work of the Holy Spirit (v. 28). And then it sounds to me as if he is intentionally honoring the Holy Spirit (vs. 31-32), to the point of lowering his own significance. Is this an exaggerated statement in order to honor the "quietest" member of the Trinity (whose gentle work we heard described in Isaiah 42 yesterday)? Is it really true that every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, even speaking against the Son of Man, but blasphemy against the Spirit / speaking against the Holy Spirit will not ever be forgiven?

In this passage, the Pharisees were attributing the power of healing in Jesus to the prince of demons. They were saying the work of the Spirit was the work of the devil. They were giving themselves over to a determination against Jesus and the work of God's Spirit through him. "Whoever is not with me is against me..." (v. 30). They were persisting in being against him, out to destroy him (v. 14), and deny that God was at work in him by the Spirit. Perhaps we encounter here that divine principle that eventually God will give you (over to) what you really, really want. It seems there can come a point when hardness to the Spirit becomes petrified and unable to be softened.

Certainly we can say this much - it was by the power and work of the Spirit that the kingdom of God was breaking in upon them, and continues to expand in the world. One must acknowledge in some way Jesus' divine origin and approval and empowerment and vindication to call out to him and trust him in a saving way. One must acknowledge that it was God, not the devil, at work in his life and ministry. One might come to some wrong conclusions about the Son of Man, one might do some terrible things, but these can all be forgiven if we can look to Jesus and trust in him saying at least say something like, "This much I know, God was with him" (cf. Acts 10:38). These Pharisees couldn't even acknowledge that.

Let us honor, and as well as yield to, the work of the Holy Spirit in us. And let us be the continuing presence of Jesus' body doing his good works in the world.

Glory and praise and honor and blessing to you, Holy Spirit, for your great and beautiful work in Jesus of Nazareth, and your continuing work of restoration in me, and through me and all your people. May the kingdom come in greater and greater measure. Amen.

will anyone hear his voice? (Mt 12:15-21)

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Psalm 108; Matthew 12:15-21


Interestingly, this section of Matthew has the beginning of that beautiful passage from Isaiah 42 that we heard read on Sunday. Matthew (again) loosely translates, or is quoting from some other source than the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures), to tie it in with 3:17, the gospel reading Sunday:

"Behold, my servant whom I have chosen,
my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased."
(v. 18)

So we have both Jesus as the Son of God, and as the Servant of God - upon whom God will put his Spirit and who will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. To reiterate what I felt was the key part of my sermon Sunday (whether or not you heard it that way! :) ), in the Messiah we are a key part of fulfilling the righteousness and the justice and the healing and the light he is bringing to the world.

+ + + + +

Now more specifically to a word for today. Jesus withdraws from this growing confrontation with the Pharisees who were conspiring how to kill him (because of his work of healing and restoration). Many followed him and he healed them all, and he ordered them not to make him known. He orders those who are healed not to make him known. Matthew doesn't write "not to make it known" or "not to make his mighty works known," he says Jesus orders these grateful, exuberant, over-whelmed people not to reveal who he is and/or where he is. God has a time for it, a way for it and it's not by creating a lot of clamor, hysteria, and certainly not inadvertently helping the Pharisees find him and destroy him.

This seems to be the main reason Matthew ties Isaiah 42 in at this point. Surely it includes the whole big picture: God's chosen servant, well-pleasing and beloved, anointed with the Spirit, tender and protective with the bruised and dying, and finally the inclusion of the Gentiles. But I think the point is this:

"He will not quarrel or cry aloud, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets;
a bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not quench..."
(v. 19)

His kingdom is not going to be established by a demonstration of crushing violence, coersion, or forceful argumentative quarreling. That is the way of the kings and tyrants of this world, and of the brilliant (and arrogant) intellectuals of academia and philosophy. His way is the way of humility and compassion, of kindness and tenderness, of wisdom and understanding, and even subversion.

This is to be our way as well. Yes, our voices ought to be heard in the streets, but not in quarreling and stridency. Yes, we ought to be participating with him as we works in us and through us to restore those around us. Perhaps his voice will not be heard in the streets, but when "he brings justice to victory" the testimony of his mighty works do ring out loud and clear from his people, and "in his name the Gentiles [do] hope." (v. 21)

Let us do his works in his way, that is, let us work out what he is working in us, for the restoration of his world and the glory of his name.

it's lawful to do good (Mt 12:9-14)

Monday, January 14, 2008

Psalm 107:33-43: Matthew 12:9-14


"Therefore, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath."
(Matthew 9:12)

Here's the second Sabbath discussion / argument in a row, on the same day. And this one ups the ante, so to speak. The first one had to do with doing what was necessary to eat (while out on mission), and whether such work was prohibited. The general idea in Judaism, even from the earliest days of the exodus, was that you were to plan ahead for the Sabbath and prepare so that you might do some minimal preparation and serving, but no major cooking or all the other work that can be associated with a meal. (God instructed Israel to gather two days of manna on the sixth day so that they (and perhaps He...) could rest on the seventh.

Anyway, here's a much more important question, especially in the context of Jesus' mission to save and restore and heal. The oral law apparently said it was okay to pull a sheep out of a pit on the Sabbath. By extension, Jesus "rules" because a man is so much more valuable that a sheep it was lawful, or it fulfilled the Law, to do the work / service / ministry of healing someone on the day of rest and re-creation.

Note that in the previous section Jesus mentioned how in the Law the priests profane the Sabbath and are guiltless (v. 5). What Jesus is doing is what he has been called to by God, and prophesied about as his ministry (cf. Sunday's OT reading from Isaiah 42:1-9). What he is doing is not only lawful but it fulfills the Law and the prophets.

And again, this is really the big point about Sabbath keeping. What is the good we are called to do, to embrace and engage in? Along with worship, and reflection, and reading, enjoying God's creation and the families he's placed us in, it seems like it ought also to include, or at least be open and willing to - at least on occasion - do good, to heal, to save life (cf. parallel in Mark 3 and Luke 14).

One man is healed, and others are hardened in their hatred and dis-ease. How often do we also get so short-sighted or blinded by our own perceptions, our own agenda, our own will, that we resist God. We think God should, or must, do things a certain way. But would be better to reach out our diseased hand to be healed than to tell Jesus what he can and can't, should or shouldn't do. Offer it to him, yield to him, cooperate with him.

He's come to restore and make us whole. Yes, this is Jesus' Restoration Project - let him do it for you.

week of January 13

Prayer for Sunday, the baptism of our Lord
Father in heaven, who at the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan proclaimed him your beloved Son and anointed him with the Holy Spirit: Grant that all who are baptized into his Name may keep the covenant they have made, and boldly confess him as Lord and Savior; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

Readings for the week:
13 Isaiah 42:1-9; Ps 89:20-29; Acts 10:34-38; Matthew 3:13-17
14 Psalm 107:33-43: Matthew 12:9-14
15 Psalm 108; Matthew 12:15-21
16 Psalm 109; Matthew 12:22-32
17 Psalm 110; Matthew 12:33-42
18 Psalm 111; Matthew 12:43-50
19 Psalm 112; Ephesians 4:1-10; Matthew 13:1-23

a great prayer to pray (Eph 3:14-21)

An additional post today... this is one of those great prayers of Paul that is great to memorize so that you can pray it for others and for the church. I especially use verses 16-19 a lot, almost verbatim, as I pray.

(16) [May God] grant you to be strengthened with power
through his Spirit in your inner being,
(17) so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith -
that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
(18) may have strength to comprehend with all the saints
what is the breadth and length and height and depth,
(19) and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge,
that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

(20) Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, (21) to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
(Ephesians 3:16-21)

for life (Mt 12:1-8)

Saturday, January 12, 2008

Psalm 107:1-32; Ephesians 3:14-21; Matthew 12:1-8

"Something greater than the temple is here... the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath." (Matthew 12:6,8)

Jesus, the teacher, takes the challenge of the Pharisees seriously. He engages them in a brief biblical study defending his actions, or work, on the Sabbath. But first note that he takes their concern seriously. (By the way, today is the Sabbath actually, the seventh day. Jews everywhere are resting, re-creating, and remembering the Lord today.)

The specific issue here that Matthew notes is, initially, hunger. The text states that the disciples were hungry, and that David was hungry - and only because they were hungry did they violate certain laws. For the Pharisees the issue was work on the Sabbath (not eating... ) - plucking heads of grain was considered prohibited work. In a nice "ju jitsu" type karate move Jesus says that it was not lawful for David to eat the bread reserved only for the priests, but that in the Law the priests "profane the Sabbath" and are guiltless.

"And one greater than the Temple is here." He is not unleashing a "interpret the Law for yourself and your cravings however you want" principle here. He is again asserting himself as one who rightly interprets Scripture; as one who is greater than the temple, the place of God's presence, of worship, of sacrifice, of atonement, the center of life. Indeed, he claims to be Lord of the Sabbath. He is the place of God's presence, the sacrifice, the atonement, and center of life.

There was developing in Jesus' day the rabbinic understanding that for the sake of preserving life any commandment could be violated except idolatry, immorality, and murder. If your village was attacked on the Sabbath, you could defend yourself. While the disciples wouldn't have died if they went one day without food, I still wonder if Jesus isn't alluding to this principle. And even more so.

Sabbath observance is something we need to think about, pray about, and deal with. While indeed it never is commanded of Gentile believers, even God himself rested, sanctifying the seventh day long before the first Jew, Abraham, was called by him. Jesus is life, and is for life. Indeed Jesus is our rest. We must look to him to understand the Scriptures and to learn to live. But finally, rightly understood and observed, the Sabbath principle of rest, recreation, and remembering the Lord is for life, and not to undermine life. Jesus was not undermining this in his teaching, only rightly interpreting it.

Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever!
Let the redeemed of the LORD say so,
whom he has redeemed from trouble
and gathered in from the lands,
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.
Some wandered in desert wastes,
finding no way to a city to dwell in;
hungry and thirsty,
their soul fainted within them.
Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
He led them by a straight way
till they reached a city to dwell in.
Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of men!
For he satisfies the longing soul,
and the hungry soul he fills with good things...
(Psalm 107:1f)

woe (Mt 11:20-30)

Friday, January 11, 2008

Psalm 106:19-48; Matthew 11:20-30

"Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes..."
(Matthew 10:21)


As much as I'd like to comment on the second section here ("Come to me...") I think I'm supposed to share about these denunciations today. Maybe tomorrow or soon I'll comment on the important section about Jesus' yoke.

In the Wednesday morning Men's Bible Study we talked about the parallel passage of the first part of our reading today in Luke's gospel (Luke 10:13-15). We stumbled a bit on the "woes" here, that they sounded very condemning. Indeed the word in the Greek, similar to an onomatopoeia (a word that sounds like what it describes), "ouai," has a root idea of horrible, as in "how horrible it will be for you..." I do think Jesus is expressing something stronger here than, "alas," or I'm deeply saddened for you.

The context Matthew gives us is that Jesus "began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent." (v. 20) The very purpose of his mighty works, his miracles, was that the people seeing, hearing about, or experiencing them would repent.

As I shared in an Advent sermon, the word "repent' has an idea of a movement of the heart. You can move your body from home to church, or from Jerusalem to the baptismal waters of the Jordan, or from 1st world comfort to 3rd world service, and not move your heart toward God. This movement of the heart includes the direction we face or our lives are heading, our softness or receptivity toward God, and who we are really serving.

This was core message of John the Baptist (3:2) and Jesus (4:17): "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." It is a message of hope and of life: Return to God. Connect with the source of your life. Stop trusting in your self, your own devices and designs, and trust in God.

The reality is that it already is horrible for all who do not love the Lord and trust in him. Jesus is stating the cold facts, as harsh as they sound. It's passionate for him because it's at the heart of why he came, why he did mighty works, and why he would die. He came that hearts would change, would move to God, would be soft and receptive in their brokenness and total trust. He always treasures repentant, believing hearts - no matter the person's status. This is what moved his heart to come and die for us.

Lastly, this is one of the prophetic declarations that are conditionally true. It can be reversed. Like Jonah going to Ninevah and declaring, "Yet forty days, and Nineveh will be overthrown!" (Jonah 3:4) But "when God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the evil he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it." (Jonah 3:10)

I guess I hear it like a doctor or therapist giving a wake-up call to someone abusing themselves and who will not stop it. "Woe to you, because you won't stop drinking." Or "Because you won't stop smoking, how horrible it will be for you."

My point is Jesus' passion and honesty regarding repentance, and therefore calling us to continually take a sober look at our hearts and lives. This is not just a theme of Advent and Lent. The movement of our hearts toward God is something that every disciple must attend to every day; and to which we as disciples are to invite others.

Then the anger of the LORD was kindled against his people,
he abhorred his heritage;
he gave them into the hand of the nations,
so that those who hated them ruled over them...
Many times he delivered them,
but they were rebellious in their purposes
and were brought low through their iniquity.
Nevertheless, he looked upon their distress,
when he heard their cry.
For their sake he remembered his covenant,
and relented according to the abundance of his steadfast love...
(Psalm 106:40-45)

the breaker (Mt 11:1-19)

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Psalm 106:1-18; Matthew 11:1-19

"From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been coming violently, and the violent take it by force."
(Matthew 11:12)

This had always been a rather obscure verse to me, until I read the background and understanding that the scholars from the Jerusalem School for Synoptic Research give it. They see this as "an oblique reference to Micah 2:13":

"He who opens the breach goes up before them,
they break through and pass the gate,
going out by it.
Their king passes on before them,
the LORD at their head."

The image here is of the makeshift stone corral wall that keeps sheep in at night. The "breaker," or "he who opens up the breach," is the one who removes or knocks down the temporary holding gate / wall.

I think Jesus' idea is that John was the breaker and then He is the king, the LORD, who is leading the sheep out as they break forth (though it could be that Jesus is also a breaker, or the breaker). Certainly that John is the breaker fits in with Jesus' rebuke and defense of his baptizing cousin who was suffering violence in proclaiming the kingdom, as would Jesus himself.

For us, we must follow. We are not to stay caged up, penned in, in our night-time prisons. We are to confidently, strongly, deliberately, obediently, and joyfully follow the LORD our king who is leading us - as well as heed the preaching of the Baptist. God's kingdom indeed is on the move, it's an expanding, dynamic enterprise. And while it is for the meek, the poor in spirit, those persecuted for righteousness, for those willing to be like little children, for sheep who will follow, it is not for those who just want to sleep through the day in their self-imposed corrals.

first priority

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Psalm 105:23-45; Matthew 10:34-42


"Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword."
(Matthew 10:34)

When Jesus comes first in our hearts and lives there comes upset to priorities and particularly to relationships. To be his disciple means just this - he is first. Period. First in affection and love; first in honor and obedience; first in allocation of resources; first in where one spends his time and energy, indeed one's life.

The "Sar Shalom" (the Prince of Peace) does come to bring peace, but not in the realm where he is not recognized as Master and Lord. This seems to be an explanation for the previous sections where Jesus is readying the disciples for the difficulties they will experience in bringing "good news" to people.

"Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me." (v. 37)

So the relationship building and blessing with peace (vs. 5-15, from Monday) and the remembrance of our value (vs. 16-33, from Tuesday) are all in the context of following Jesus Christ as Master and Lord, of valuing him above all, of trusting God and serving God before self and before any other important person in our lives. We will know peace that surpasses understanding if the most important person who ever lived is indeed the most important person in our hearts and lives.

So he brought his people out with joy,
his chosen ones with singing.
And he gave them the lands of the nations,
and they took possession of the fruit of the peoples' toil,
that they might keep his statutes and observe his laws.
Praise the LORD!
(Psalm 105:44-45)

you are valuable

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Psalm 105:1-22; Matthew 10:16-33


"I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves... when they persecute you in one town, flee to the next..."
(Matthew 10:16, 23)

As Jesus continues his instructions for the disciples' mission, he moves to a sober reality check. "It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher..." (v. 25), basically, he says "what they do to me they'll do to you." You too will be delivered over, brought to trial, flogged and hated and persecuted. But do not fear, do not be anxious; you are valued by the Father, and the Spirit of your Father will speak through you. He who endures to the end will be saved.

In the midst of these warnings and promises, Jesus tells them to be wise and innocent as sheep amidst wolves (wow, four animal images mixed together!) and to flee persecution. In other words, while he says to endure to the end, he doesn't say to be a martyr if you don't have to! In fact, because we are valuable to God and to God's world (to whom we're sent in mission with good news) we are to seek to appropriately preserve our lives.

Of course, this is in tension with Jesus' commands:
> it does not mean to deny him in order to save one's life (v. 33).
> "whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it" (v.39).
> to not seek to save your life but rather to lose it for him and his gospel (16:24-27).

The apostle Paul himself, time and again, was secreted out of cities and guarded with hundreds of soldiers in order to save his life, as well as being beaten, whipped, and imprisoned. Even Jesus, after his first sermon in Luke, slipped away in the crowd away from those who wanted to throw him off the cliff.

You are valuable. Your life here and now matters to God and to God's world. This, I suppose, is one way we love ourselves appropriately (that we might love our neighbor as well). We honor and love God by faithfully pursuing this mission on which we are sent into an often hostile world, this mission of the gospel of his beloved Son. Honoring and loving God also includes honoring and loving something else that he values: you.

let your peace come upon it

Monday, January 7, 2008

Psalm 104; Matthew 10:5-15

"Acquire no gold nor silver nor copper for your belts, no bag for your journey, nor two tunics nor sandals nor a staff, for the laborer deserves his food... As you enter the house, greet it. And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it..."
(Matthew 10:10, 12-13)


Jesus sends out his disciples to the "lost sheep of the house of Israel," proclaiming "the kingdom of heaven is at hand" while healing the sick, raising the dead, cleansing lepers, and casting out demons. So while the mission is a grand one, beyond their powers to accomplish, those they were to go to -at least at this point - were their own people.

What strikes me in this first section is the dependent relationship they were to cultivate with those they would visit and minister to. Take no money, no bag, one undergarment, no sandals or staff... stay at whatever house receives you, blessing it with your peace.

We are on mission. How are we to relate to the world around us? To our culture? To the people on our way every day - in our family, at work, in our neighborhood? This passage instructs us to build basic human relationships with the people we meet in our daily sojourn. Recognize that just as they may need our message of the kingdom, we need them in some fundamental ways also.

Too often Christians act like they have already fully entered some other realm of existence that the bad, unholy people around us cannot be a part of and in fact if we do rub shoulders with them and express any kind of humility or dependence on them that our purity and holiness will be jeopardized. Or we just act like most everyone else in our culture, and have superficial relationships but never share what's most important to us. Yes, there comes a time to "shake the dust off" our feet and move on to other relationships - but not until we greet and bless those around us with the peace of the Lord. Too often we only act like disciples on mission when we're with other Christians, at church or in a small group.

This dependent relationship can take may forms. I think of Jesus sitting by a well in Samaria and asking a woman for a drink (John 4); he initiated relationship with her by asking for her help. It might be asking for help or directions or to be shown how to do something. It might be in truly honoring someone for how well they do their job, or care for their children, or play an instrument. It really is mostly an attitude of humility, and love, and respect that recognizes that I've not arrived in heaven yet, that I'm not perfect or self-contained and am still part of the human family. People are so much more open when they feel honored and respected and blessed.

Of course, we are to depend on the Lord alone for our provision and the power to minister. But this text teaches us that one way the Lord provides for us, including a context in which to share the good news of the kingdom, is through our relationships with those around us.

Week of January 6

Prayer for Epiphany, January 6
O God, by the leading of a star you manifested your only Son to the peoples of the earth: Lead us, who know you now by faith, to your presence, where we may see your glory face to face; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.


Readings for week of January 6, 2008

6 Isaiah 60:1-6,9; Ps 72; Ephesians 3:1-12; Matthew 2:1-12
7 Psalm 104; Matthew 10:5-15
8 Psalm 105:1-22; Matthew 10:16-33
9 Psalm 105:23-45; Matthew 10:34-42
10 Psalm 106:1-18; Matthew 11:1-19
11 Psalm 106:19-48; Matthew 11:20-30
12 Psalm 107:1-32; Ephesians 3:14-21; Matthew 12:1-8

His harvest

Saturday, January 5, 2008

Psalm 103; Ephesians 3:1-13; Matthew 9:35-10:4

And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction.
(Matthew 9:35)

Our reading today seems to be a summary and transition - a summary of the narrative in chapters 8 and 9, and a transition to the discourse of chapter 10. Again, the narrative is the story of what Jesus was doing and saying, the discourse is an extended teaching to his disciples.

Jesus was teaching, proclaiming, and healing as he went throughout all the cities and villages. This summarizes the last two chapters.

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. (9:36)

What crowds? Presumably, like those of 7:28 and 8:16 and 9:8, all those gathering around him as his reputation grew and the word spread of all he was saying and doing. He had compassion for them, they needed the intervention of the word of God, the kingdom of God, and the power of God, because they were afflicted, lost, and powerless to help themselves. He came to be their great shepherd, to lead and guide and care for them; his compassion moves him to do something.

Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest." (9:37-38)

His compassion does not move him to double his efforts or prolong his evangelistic or healing crusade longer in any given city. Matthew mixes his metaphors, he transitions here from sheep to harvest. The consistent factor is the "crowds" like sheep and the "plentiful" harvest, and sheep "without" a shepherd and a harvest with "few" laborers. So his compassion moves him to enlist his disciples in the restoration project by calling them to pray for laborers for the harvest; actually to pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.

This indeed is God's Restoration Project. Jesus has come for the Lord's harvest. God will have a harvest, he has sent Jesus for it, and Jesus will send his disciples for it. And that harvest is people who are called into the kingdom, taught and healed; it is harassed and helpless people floundering (another mixed metaphor, do sheep flounder?) around; it is mature fruit, like grain in the field just waiting to be gathered into the barn.

And we find ourselves on both sides of the story today. Those being called in, and those being sent out. Those who are hurting and helpless, and those who are to pray. Those being taught and those who are to teach. Those needing healing, and who are to heal. Those coming into the kingdom, and those sharing its good news.