Tuesday, March 14, 2017

Luke 15:12 (NRSV)

¹²The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.’ So he divided his property between them.

This is part of the story of the Prodigal Son, and the commentaries that I have available to me note that it was not unheard of to divide an estate before death, but the son who wants his share is not showing much respect for his parents and family.  The precedent for that in the Hebrew Scriptures is Deuteronomy 21:7, and soon after that (Deuteronomy 21:18-23) the death penalty is imposed on a "willful, rebellious and disrespectful son who refused to change".  I wonder if the father in this story could have gotten his younger son in serious trouble if he wanted to do so.  As the passage in Deuteronomy continues, the penalty for such behavior in a son is that he was to be stoned and hung on a tree.  Paul, in Galatians 3:13, wrote that Jesus took the curse of the Law for us when he was hung on a tree.  There's a connection between the cross of our Lord Jesus and the story of the Prodigal Son.  The prodigal is us-you and me-but he is treated with restraint, and later great grace, because Jesus was hung on a "tree" and cursed for us.  Such grace is offered freely, but purchased at immeasurable price. 

Luke 13:35  "See!  Your house if left to you desolate; and assuredly, I say to you, you shall not see Me until the time comes when you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!'"

Friday  February 17, 2017  The words of Jesus, particularly the part about the "house" being left desolate, arise in various statements of judgment in the Hebrew Scriptures.  Ironically, the second part-"blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord"-is a quote from Psalm 118:26, which is part of the greeting the people of Jerusalem give to Jesus during His triumphal entry. (Luke 19:38)  According to the Anchor Bible Commentary, This psalm was a hymn of thanks for "deliverance from battle" that became part of the greeting pilgrims received on high holy days, particularly Passover.  One could surmise that Jesus in this statement refers to the re-establishment of  the Temple in the latter days, but that is  something for the Lord to achieve.  For us today, let's  consider the matter of motive.

While some of the people sincerely cried out "blessed is the One who comes in the Name of the Lord" in worship to Jesus, it is not far-fetched to guess that some, perhaps many, worshipped with an agenda.  What they really meant was "blessed be the One who finally gets rid of these Romans".  I don't blame them for feeling that way about the Roman Empire.  Had I lived back then I would have felt the same.  But if that is the case, then many rejected praise for anger when their expectations were undone; and their praise came to nothing.  The question for me today is, am I willing to worship without an agenda, to worship even if I don't understand or are disappointed, or find my dearest hopes have not come to pass?  Perhaps praise is true praise only when it is without "strings".  For our praise to be truly so, we must echo the prophet Habakkuk:

Habakkuk 3:17-19 (NKJV)
¹⁷  Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls--
¹⁸  Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.
¹⁹  The LORD God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer's feet, And He will make me walk on my high hills. To the Chief Musician. With my stringed instruments.

Dear Lord, teach me to worship with a sincere heart, with no demands and with a consistency that defies circumstance, disappointment and even heartache.  In the name of Jesus I pray, Amen

Luke 13:22-24  And He went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem.  Then one said to Him, "Lord, are there few who are saved."  And He said to them, "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able."

Thursday, January 26, 2017  Another narrow place is the narrow path, with walls on either side, where the Angel of the Lord confronted Balaam while he was riding him mule. (Numbers 22:22-40)  Perhaps one characteristic of the "narrow way" is that we cannot avoid being confronted by the Lord in prayer.  We must be vulnerable, honest and willing to be convicted of sin.  There is no "sneaking by" on a narrow road.  There is if the road is crowded and wide.

Tuesday, January 11, 2017

Luke 12:1-12 (NKJV)

¹  In the meantime, when an innumerable multitude of people had gathered together, so that they trampled one another, He began to say to His disciples first of all, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

            The word for "hypocrisy" literally means "a reply".  The word indicated an actor-someone playing a role.  It later developed the negative connotation of being false, insincere, acting like someone you're not.  Think of an actor who wears a mask in order to portray a role.  The hypocrite wears a "mask" by being insincere, unreal and untruthful; by acting like they're someone other (usually better) then they really are.  An interesting application of this is in Galatians 2:13 in which the Apostle Paul confronts Peter and other Christians who have separated themselves from other Christians of a Gentile background because they do not keep the proper dietary laws, etc.  Paul knew that Peter and his friends did not, could not, adequately keep those laws so he confronts them for thinking of themselves better than they ought.  Perhaps also because they did not consider these other Christians with a different background and different habits and attitudes as unworthy of fellowship; that they were someone less than who they really are.  Could it be that we are hypocrites not only when we act like we are better, or other than who we really are, but also when we treat others as someone less than who they really are.  Maybe we are hypocrites when we force others to wear a "mask" as well as when we wear a "mask" ourselves?

Tuesday, January 3, 2017

To Fear or Not to Fear

Luke 12:4-7

"And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.  But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!  Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God.  But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

In this challenging passage Jesus gives what appears to be impossible advice:  Do not fear those who can kill the body.  I, for one, find the thought of confronting people willing to kill my body pretty frightening, so I move on to the next verse, which I believe tells me how one overcomes a fear of murder.  It is the fear of God.  The word for "fear" also can mean "awe" or "reverence" and I tend to lean more toward that connotation because for the follower of Jesus, God is our Father.  We are invited to approach Him boldly.  Jesus clearly depicts the Father as God who loves us most dearly.

Yet, the word "fear" as in "do not fear therefore; you are more value than many sparrows" is the same word for "fear" that we find in "fear Him...who has power to cast into hell".  So we are to fear and yet not fear, and I think there is a balance in this somewhere.  There is hell.  There is damnation, and a person trifles with God at their own risk.  Perhaps, while still holding on the understanding of God as our loving Father in Christ, we should dare to pray for a vision of God as Judge of justice and wrath.  Perhaps those people who have a clear understanding of that side of God find that is the reason they have in themselves the resolve to choose death rather than to face Him in such circumstances.  I am not suggesting that we back away from the understanding of God is our loving Father, but perhaps just a little bit of trembling in the midst of our awe and reverence wouldn't be such a bad thing after all.  

Luke 11:2

And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.

I was reflecting on the second point of the Lord's Prayer, "hallowed by Thy Name", and spent some time thinking about the nature of holiness.  What does it mean that our Lord is holy?  I think this passage in Exodus, in which Moses encounters the Lord in the burning bush, give me some things to think about.

Exodus 3:5-7

Then He said, "Do not draw near this place.  Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground."  Moreover He said, "I am the God of your father-the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob."  And Moses hid his face for he was afraid to look upon God.  And the Lord said; "I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows." 

Note:  We approach the Lord His way and in His timing.  He chose to wait until Moses was 80, and told him to stand at a distance and to be vulnerable, removing the sandals from his feet.  Moses was afraid, and if we understand the holiness of the Lord we should be in awe as well.  God is the God of his ancestors, and ours.  We stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before us and they should be remembered.  Our Lord is also the Lord who knows, intimately the sorrows people feel today.  He knows them as if He experiences them Himself.  Even in glory He is a "man of sorrows, acquainted with grief."  He is authoritative, august, yet intimate and well aware of our challenges and difficulties.  We need to grasp both sides of this to understand His holiness. 

Wednesday, November 9, 2016-

Luke 9:27  "But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God."  (New King James Version of the Bible)

And now for a blog entry that has nothing to do with politics. 

Jesus, shortly after He said this, took Peter, James and John to the top of a mountain to pray and there was transfigured before them.  His appearance was altered, made bright and the disciples saw Elijah (representing the Prophets) and Moses (representing the Law) in consultation with Jesus.  Their presence affirmed that that the mission of Jesus supported the Law and the Prophets, and vice versa.  I have wondered, however, how the disciples were able to recognize Elijah and Moses?  Still, this episode strikes a nerve with me because I want, in both my private devotions and in the public worship of the church I serve, to experience the Kingdom of God. 

If the assertion that some would not taste death before they saw the kingdom of God was fulfilled in the Transfiguration, then could we consider that the kingdom of God involved the Presence of God with power and the gifts of the Holy Spirit, including visions?  If we experienced the Kingdom of God in some fashion in our lives, would it not also possibly involve the same power and gifts involved with the Presence of God, if not an actual vision just like the one the disciples encountered on that fateful day?  I don't want to overstate my desire here and be overly enamored with "experiences" but I yearn to meet with God when I pray, and when we worship on Sunday.  I want people to walk away from worship feeling like they have, in a profound way, truly met with God.  But then I noticed the subject of the conversation between Jesus, Moses and Elijah.

It's interesting to note that the topic of discussion between Jesus, Elijah and Moses was Jesus' death in Jerusalem, literally His "exodus".  The vision, power and Presence sounds wonderful, but the topic was death.  Am I ready to face death for the Presence of God in the here and now?  How far have I gone in dying to self?  In an attempt to gauge "death to selfishness" I considered the places where my mind will wander.  All those times I dreamt of "what if I had done this with my life?"  I've wondered what would have happened if I had made one or more different choices?  Are they not all self serving?  Are they not all attempts to glorify self?  

Imagination can be a good thing, but I need to face life as it is right now and die to self-serving wishful thinking.  That is one small part of dying to self.  Perhaps my next step to a deeper spiritual life, a deeper experience of the Kingdom of God, is to meditate and pray about death to self.  How far have I gone with this?  I suspect that I have a long way to go.