This sermon was heard at the First Presbyterian Church in Berryville, Arkansas on Sunday June 29, 2008, the 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time.
Genesis 22:1-14
Psalm 13
Romans 6:12-23
Matthew 10:40-42
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen.
I love the word “emissary.” It’s such a simple and elegant word, four syllables that just trip off of the end of the tongue. It’s a far more graceful word than “ambassador;” those hard consonants just stop a word in its tracks. Emissary has a much better flow. In ancient times, the emissary of a ruler acts not only on behalf of the kingdom, the emissary acts with the full power and authority of the ruler. In Jewish law, an emissary is a man’s duly authorized messenger. He “is as the man himself.”[1] This concept is not exclusive to kings, but extends to patriarchs and land owners too.
So when a leader sent an emissary it was important to treat the emissary the same way you would treat the leader. It’s not too much of a leap to say that if you treat the emissary poorly, the king just might send an army to return the favor.
“Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.”
This sentence from today’s gospel reading is the beginning of the end of the instructions Jesus gave the apostles beginning in the fifth verse of this chapter of Matthew. In the intervening thirty-eight verses, Jesus has told them to go to the lost sheep of Israel, and not to other Palestinians. He told the apostles to acknowledge him before others, and then he would acknowledge them before the heavenly father. He told them he would split families apart, but not to worry. After all, if the Father cares for a tiny sparrow, they should be confident in how much more he cares for them.
There were some other instructions too, like not to take anything on their journey, no silver, no copper, not even a bag. As Blanche DuBois in “A Streetcar Named Desire, he told them to rely on the kindness of strangers. He also told them to be careful, because the strangers were like wolves and they were nothing more than a snack.
Still, despite the instructions and the warnings, immediately after telling the apostles, “Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it,” he tells them “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me.”
One of the amazing things about gospel as literature is that it is not biography; it’s so much more than that. It is the joyful Good News, blended with theology and history, presenting the hearer pronouncements, wonders, and narratives.[2] Still, when reading passages like the sending of the apostles, it is not difficult to imagine ourselves in the narrative; hearing the words of Jesus, absorbing the warnings; reveling in the Good News. It’s almost as if we are eavesdropping on this conversation that was meant for a very select group so long ago.
Then Jesus tells the twelve, “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.”
These instructions are meant for the twelve, yet we get to imagine ourselves in this reading, because as Jesus speaks to the twelve, we, the listeners, are the “whoever” in “Whoever welcomes you.”
We are the people at the city gates welcoming the apostles as they come to town. We welcome them into our homes, and when we do we are told, “The Kingdom of Heaven has come near.” The Kingdom and all that is good has come near, these apostles, these emissaries of the King of Heaven have come into our house. And if we are found to be worthy, the apostles will stay with us until they leave. (And they will leave, that is the nature of their itinerant ministry.[3]) And staying with us, their peace will come upon our house.
The peace of the apostles, since they are emissaries of the Lord Jesus, is the peace of Christ which comes upon the house. When we welcome the one who brings the gospel, we receive the blessings of the Good News and the one who is the Good News. When we welcome the one who is the Good News, we welcome the one who sent the Good News to us.
Dear friends, please forgive me. I am going to tell another story from seminary.
My professor for “Interpretation of Old Testament Texts” was a wonderful man named Steven Breck Reid. The Reverend Doctor Reid is an ordained minister in the Church of the Brethren and a renowned Old Testament scholar. He was a Professor at Austin Presbyterian Seminary, is currently a Professor and Academic Dean at Bethany Seminary, and has even served as the Chaplain for the San Francisco 49er’s. He has advised many biblically based and influenced projects including a dramatic presentation of the bible on DVD and Disney’s “Prince of Egypt.”[4]
I love the man and enjoyed his class, but one thing cannot be denied. Even after over twenty years in higher education, he never really knew what he wanted on a paper. Thus our papers were never up to the quality he expected or desired. The only good thing about this is that it seemed to give him as much stress as it gave us. But being students and wanting to please the professor, or at least earn a passing grade, we would always look for tips on how to do better on his papers.
One day, after several of my peers were by his office asking about the next paper, he made an announcement in class. He stood tall behind his lectern and said, “I have been asked about the paper that is scheduled to be due next week. And I can tell you, with complete certainty, it is.”
Frankly, we didn’t think that was helpful at all. Dumbfounded may be a better description.
One of my classmates piped up from the back of the classroom, “He’s a Prophet!” With this the class began to laugh.
That’s when I piped up, “Kill him!” With this the class began to roar.
He just looked at me with a stunned look and then with a smile said, “I got tenure; you’ll have to kill me.” Again, we laughed.
I got a B+ on that paper.
So forgive me when I say that when I read today’s lection about the “prophet’s reward” I think of Matthew 23 when Jesus cries, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it!” Our prophet, priest, and king, Jesus the Christ will be nailed to a tree, ah the prophet’s reward.
Is it any wonder I’m on Prozac?
Thank God Jesus wasn’t suffering from depression. And thank God this isn’t what he meant when talking about rewards. In fact, he meant the exact opposite. The Hebrew tradition of the word reward shows that it can also be translated as wages.[5] But the prophet’s reward, the prophet’s wages will never be death. As Paul teaches us in our reading from Romans, “the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Eternal life, this is the reward of the one who welcomes the Lord. This is the promise we receive, this is the reward we receive, the eternal life in the presence of Emmanuel, God with us.
Make no mistake, in this little discourse Jesus is making the fundamental claim of Christian faith, he is God in the flesh, he is God with us.
Whoever welcomes the prophet will receive the prophet’s reward. Whoever welcomes the righteousness person will receive the reward of the righteous. Only God can promise the reward of the prophets, the reward of the righteous.
Hearing this wonderful news from the words of Matthew’s gospel is like eavesdropping, it’s like picking up the phone to hear your beloved on the other line arranging a wonderful present, the best gift ever. But as this is gospel, the genre means more than just listening in on someone else’s conversation, there is a meaning for us and for our future.
The apostles were generally thought of as a group of specifically named people. There were a total of fourteen apostles named in scripture: the original twelve, Matthias who was chosen to replace Judas Iscariot, and Saul of Tarsus who was renamed Paul by the Lord. In Matthew’s gospel, the prophets are a distinct class of people whose ministry was as legitimate speakers on behalf of the risen Lord. In Matthew’s gospel, the righteous seem to represent a distinct group, perhaps traveling missionaries who were neither apostles nor prophets.[6] But the little ones, well, they aren’t children or youth.
“Whoever gives a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.” This deserves a little bit of a rephrase. The term “in the name of” is a Semitic expression meaning “because one is.”[7] So to rephrase, “Whoever gives a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because one is a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.” Some believe in the day of Matthew’s gospel the little ones were the disciples who stayed around the city, not the itinerant apostles or prophets. But there is more to this than just that.
The little ones in this day and time are you and I. The little ones in this age are still the disciples of the Lord, and we are those disciples. Where in these verses we could be the people supporting the prophets, the righteous, and the disciples here and now. We are also the disciples of Jesus Christ. We are the people charged with taking the Word into the community and into the world. We are the ones who receive the message of the apostles.
This too is our reward. This too is the gift we are given, not just receiving the Good News of Jesus Christ, but sharing the Good News, sharing the presence of Jesus Christ. We are called to be partners in Christ’s service. And as partners, we share the authority as an emissary, as well as the responsibilities.
We share in the work of the kingdom, and we will have a role in the glory of God. Giving thanks and praise for the work God does and the work God does through us, the disciples of Christ in this time and place.
In the end, this is the reward, this is the gift, these are the wages we earn, through our faith, repentance, and obedience, the Spirit brings God’s forgiveness to all and initiates new life in Christ.[8] This is the eternal life, the eternal life that begins when we participate in the work and the life of Jesus Christ. This is the life that begins when we are called as partners in Christ’s service.
[1] Hare, Douglas R. A., “Interpretation, A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching: Matthew.” Louisville: John Knox Press, 1993, p. 118.
[2] The New Interpreter’s Bible, Leander E. Keck, General Editor, Vol. VIII, Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1995, pages 56—68.
[3] Ibld, Hare, page 119.
[4] The Reverend Doctor Reid has accepted a position as Professor of Hebrew Bible at George Truett Theological Seminary, Waco, Texas beginning in the Fall 2008. http://www.bethanyseminary.edu/2008_commencement, retrieved June 28, 2008.
[5] Kittel, Gerhard, “Theological Dictionary of the New Testament.” Vol .IV, Stutgart, Germany: W. Kohlhammer Verlag, 1967, page 697.
[6] Ibid, NIB Vol. VIII, page 263
[7] Ibid.
[8] From the PC (U.S.A.) Confession of 1967.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Your Mission, Should You Decide to Accept It...
This sermon was heard at the First Presbyterian Church in Berryville, Arkansas on Sunday June 22, 2008, the 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time. This reading is also the subject of the first sermon I delivered at First Presbyerian in Berryville three years ago.
Genesis 21:8-21
Psalm 86:1-10, 16-17
Romans 6:1b-11
Matthew 10:24-39
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen
I’m pretty sure all of us remember the game show “Truth or Consequences.” It began on radio in 1940 and started on television in 1950, running through the late 70’s with even one more stint in the late 1980’s.[1] As the game began, people were asked a silly trivia question. If they were unable to discern the truth, they would have to face the consequences in order to gain the prize. Often the stunts were the “seltzer bottle” variety of embarrassment, and when completed their prize awaited.
In the case of our scripture reading, the conclusion of the instructions to the twelve apostles we began reading last week; Jesus not only tells them the truth, he tells them there will be consequences. This isn’t “or consequences,” but “and consequences.” The apostles are being sent into the wild, wild world and when they go even wilder things are going to happen. Jesus promises.
Jesus begins by telling the apostles the truth; he tells them what their mission is. He tells them what it takes to be his disciple in the world. Jesus begins by telling them that they will have to take up the cross and follow him. He tells them if they do not take up the cross, they will not be worthy of him.
What does it mean to take up the cross? Some New Testament language scholars see taking up the cross as the beginning of discipleship. We are to do in our lives as Jesus does on his journey. Literally we, his disciples and his slaves, are to follow his teachings and his example as our teacher and our master. Others compare this cross to taking on an ox’s yoke, the mantle of the yoke representing the horizontal piece of the cross. Others believe it has militaristic characteristics, being in the words of the old spiritual, soldiers in the army of the Lord.
In the times after Jesus’ death, at the time of the writing of this gospel, some scholars attributed this phrase to a popular expression of the day which was originally applied to the zealots and later to Jesus’ followers; used perhaps as a sort of curse (Ahhh, go take up the cross…) or rallying cry (Take up the Cross!). In the day of the writing of this gospel, others believed that people would associate the Greek letter “Tau,” which shared the shape of the common Roman cross, with a cultic symbol that represented a seal of the protection of the Christ.[2]
Whether physically or spiritually, the call to take up the cross and follow is a call to see Jesus, know Jesus, and follow Jesus. We are to follow him into the world; his causes are to become our causes. His love is to shine through us, continuing to bring life into this sin stained world.
Jesus tells us it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher; and in turn he warns us that as the teacher is treated the students should expect no different. If the world calls the master “Lord of Dung,”[3] one possible translation for Beelzebul, that would make us what gets picked up after taking the dog for a walk, wouldn’t it. If that makes you feel insulted, don’t worry about it. Jesus warns us that this is how people will speak of his apostles and his disciples; if the master is called Beelzebul, how much more will we be maligned?
Jesus warns us. He doesn’t tell us to leave our families and leave everything behind. But he does remind us that we are to love him more than we love anything else. Matthew’s gospel gets this piece right when we read that if we love anybody more than him we are not worthy of him. The Lord must come first in our lives, and because of this, there will be consequences.
Jesus warns us that families will be split. I guess we all can imagine what this means, and I know that to a degree some of us have experienced a little crack in the family veneer when we accepted Christ. Shoot, some of us experienced this by simply changing denominations. But our examples pale next to a young man named [name removed]. We learned about this young man last year when the Session asked the congregation for a special offering to support his studies in America.
You see, [name removed] family is Muslim and when he came to America he accepted Christ as his Lord. When [name removed] became a Christian, his family was split. “His father disowned him, making it clear he was no longer welcome in his home and was never again to speak to his mother or his siblings. He withdrew all funds from [name removed] U.S. bank account, arranged to cancel his son’s U.S. sponsorship and college scholarship and even drew up legal papers declaring [name removed] is no longer his son.”[4]
In this case, Jesus did come with a sword and the family has been cleaved. We may talk about splits, but usually this means we don’t talk to someone for a good long time. This man was disowned by his family. This sort of conversion is the radical allegiance Jesus requires, and the extreme consequences which follow.
In a note, the Session has recently received an update on [name removed]. He is doing well in classes at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, earning all A’s and B’s while taking the survey courses everyone takes when entering college. He plans on pursuing a degree in international relations.[5] In a way, [name removed] lost his life. He lost his old life. His home, his country, and his family are no longer his. But in this loss, he has gained life in Christ. He has received new life.
There is truth and there are consequences to proclaiming the gospel. The truth is wonderful and glorious and the consequences can be horrifically painful and disheartening, so where do we go from here? First we must remember what Jesus teaches his disciples about life’s consequences.
Let’s begin with the last point we just covered, Jesus came with a sword and his coming will set family members against one another. Jesus doesn’t say “maybe.” He doesn’t say “this is the worst case scenario.” He says this is how he comes, and with his coming the world is going to split. Our choices are pretty easy at this point, go with him or not. There are just two, and he calls his disciples to only one choice, follow.
Frankly, tell me it isn’t tempting to do what it takes to keep the peace in the family; take the path of least resistance? That’s how water works. When it flows, it goes downhill in what ever channel or trough is available. That’s the path of least resistance. And as the old saying goes, it’s tempting to let the difficult things flow like water off our backs if at all possible.
But this is not the ministry the Lord has called us to. He has called us not to the path of least resistance but to the road less traveled. He teaches us not to fear the one who can kill our body, but to fear the one who can destroy body and soul. This is an obvious turn to the ancient proverb of Solomon, “Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” But in yet another turn, this passage teaches us that we do not need to be afraid of life because the Lord is in control of that. The Lord was in control in the past and is in control of the present and the future.
We are told not to fear our lives and those who would make it miserable because of his love. Even that which can fall from our heads so easily, our hair is fully accounted for in God’s care. Sparrows are so small and so plentiful that they cost only a half cent apiece, yet not one will fall to the ground without our Heavenly Father knowing it. Again, only when we lose our lives for the sake of the Lord will our lives come truly into focus. Only when we live in the way and the will of Jesus Christ does our life have meaning.
At the beginning of every episode of “Mission: Impossible” the head of the Impossible Mission Force, the IMF, would receive a recording with the mission. After the background of the mission is outlined, before the mission is described, the voice on the tape would offer this charge, “Your mission, should you decide to accept it.” Against impossible odds, against denial from the Secretary if captured or killed, the leader of the force would be offered the choice of whether to accept the mission or not.
Our mission, should we decide to accept it, is to take up the cross, doing as Jesus did in his journey. We are to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with our God.[6] This is in fact the theme verse for the 218th General Assembly which began yesterday in San Jose. We are to follow, we are to see, and we are to learn. We are to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with our God. Especially when sometimes it will seem like the ox’s yoke, and others it may even feel like the horizontal piece of the cross.
While we should make no mistake, while it may seem to be difficult choice, Jesus makes it abundantly clear that should we not accept our mission, the consequences will be far worse.
Our mission, should we decide to accept it, is to be the people of God in the world, a world that starts right outside these doors and extends far past the county line.
As our reading taught us last week, our mission should we decide to accept it, is to pray for those who will bring in the harvest. We need to pray for the commissioners to the General Assembly. We need to pray for the Session. And we need to pray for our role as members of the body of Christ, individually, as a congregation, and as a denomination.
Our mission should we decide to accept it is to prepare to be called into service of the Lord in leadership. Whether it be within the congregation, the community, or elsewhere, we are called to be ready to be sent as the apostles were.
Our mission, should we decide to accept it, is to be good stewards of the talent, time, and treasure God has given us. This part of our mission is vitally important to every member of the body of Christ.
Above all, our mission, should we decide to accept it, is to use what the Lord has blessed us with and return it for use to glorify God in the world. Some of us do this with our voices, but more often, we take the gospel into the world with a touch, with good work, and with silent prayer.
But where the head of the IMF would be disavowed by the Secretary if captured or killed, we are promised that when we accept this mission, when we acknowledge Jesus before others, only then will Jesus acknowledge us before his Father in heaven. We are saved by grace through faith. And we are called to take this message of God’s grace into the world with our voices and our hands showing the good news of life in Jesus Christ to the world.
We are called to take Christ into the world. We are called to tell the truth not only despite the consequences, but given what will befall us should we not brave the consequences. This is our mission, should we decide to accept it.
[1] Truth or Consequences, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truth_or_Consequences, retrieved June 21, 2008.
[2] Kittel, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Vol. VII, page 577-578
[3] “Beelzebul,” Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible
[4] Arkansas exchange student accepts Christ, loses family, http://www.christianindex.org/3470.article, retrieved June 21, 2008.
[5] Letter sent by [name removed] to the churches which have helped him continue his study in America.
[6] Micah 6:8
Genesis 21:8-21
Psalm 86:1-10, 16-17
Romans 6:1b-11
Matthew 10:24-39
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen
I’m pretty sure all of us remember the game show “Truth or Consequences.” It began on radio in 1940 and started on television in 1950, running through the late 70’s with even one more stint in the late 1980’s.[1] As the game began, people were asked a silly trivia question. If they were unable to discern the truth, they would have to face the consequences in order to gain the prize. Often the stunts were the “seltzer bottle” variety of embarrassment, and when completed their prize awaited.
In the case of our scripture reading, the conclusion of the instructions to the twelve apostles we began reading last week; Jesus not only tells them the truth, he tells them there will be consequences. This isn’t “or consequences,” but “and consequences.” The apostles are being sent into the wild, wild world and when they go even wilder things are going to happen. Jesus promises.
Jesus begins by telling the apostles the truth; he tells them what their mission is. He tells them what it takes to be his disciple in the world. Jesus begins by telling them that they will have to take up the cross and follow him. He tells them if they do not take up the cross, they will not be worthy of him.
What does it mean to take up the cross? Some New Testament language scholars see taking up the cross as the beginning of discipleship. We are to do in our lives as Jesus does on his journey. Literally we, his disciples and his slaves, are to follow his teachings and his example as our teacher and our master. Others compare this cross to taking on an ox’s yoke, the mantle of the yoke representing the horizontal piece of the cross. Others believe it has militaristic characteristics, being in the words of the old spiritual, soldiers in the army of the Lord.
In the times after Jesus’ death, at the time of the writing of this gospel, some scholars attributed this phrase to a popular expression of the day which was originally applied to the zealots and later to Jesus’ followers; used perhaps as a sort of curse (Ahhh, go take up the cross…) or rallying cry (Take up the Cross!). In the day of the writing of this gospel, others believed that people would associate the Greek letter “Tau,” which shared the shape of the common Roman cross, with a cultic symbol that represented a seal of the protection of the Christ.[2]
Whether physically or spiritually, the call to take up the cross and follow is a call to see Jesus, know Jesus, and follow Jesus. We are to follow him into the world; his causes are to become our causes. His love is to shine through us, continuing to bring life into this sin stained world.
Jesus tells us it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher; and in turn he warns us that as the teacher is treated the students should expect no different. If the world calls the master “Lord of Dung,”[3] one possible translation for Beelzebul, that would make us what gets picked up after taking the dog for a walk, wouldn’t it. If that makes you feel insulted, don’t worry about it. Jesus warns us that this is how people will speak of his apostles and his disciples; if the master is called Beelzebul, how much more will we be maligned?
Jesus warns us. He doesn’t tell us to leave our families and leave everything behind. But he does remind us that we are to love him more than we love anything else. Matthew’s gospel gets this piece right when we read that if we love anybody more than him we are not worthy of him. The Lord must come first in our lives, and because of this, there will be consequences.
Jesus warns us that families will be split. I guess we all can imagine what this means, and I know that to a degree some of us have experienced a little crack in the family veneer when we accepted Christ. Shoot, some of us experienced this by simply changing denominations. But our examples pale next to a young man named [name removed]. We learned about this young man last year when the Session asked the congregation for a special offering to support his studies in America.
You see, [name removed] family is Muslim and when he came to America he accepted Christ as his Lord. When [name removed] became a Christian, his family was split. “His father disowned him, making it clear he was no longer welcome in his home and was never again to speak to his mother or his siblings. He withdrew all funds from [name removed] U.S. bank account, arranged to cancel his son’s U.S. sponsorship and college scholarship and even drew up legal papers declaring [name removed] is no longer his son.”[4]
In this case, Jesus did come with a sword and the family has been cleaved. We may talk about splits, but usually this means we don’t talk to someone for a good long time. This man was disowned by his family. This sort of conversion is the radical allegiance Jesus requires, and the extreme consequences which follow.
In a note, the Session has recently received an update on [name removed]. He is doing well in classes at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, earning all A’s and B’s while taking the survey courses everyone takes when entering college. He plans on pursuing a degree in international relations.[5] In a way, [name removed] lost his life. He lost his old life. His home, his country, and his family are no longer his. But in this loss, he has gained life in Christ. He has received new life.
There is truth and there are consequences to proclaiming the gospel. The truth is wonderful and glorious and the consequences can be horrifically painful and disheartening, so where do we go from here? First we must remember what Jesus teaches his disciples about life’s consequences.
Let’s begin with the last point we just covered, Jesus came with a sword and his coming will set family members against one another. Jesus doesn’t say “maybe.” He doesn’t say “this is the worst case scenario.” He says this is how he comes, and with his coming the world is going to split. Our choices are pretty easy at this point, go with him or not. There are just two, and he calls his disciples to only one choice, follow.
Frankly, tell me it isn’t tempting to do what it takes to keep the peace in the family; take the path of least resistance? That’s how water works. When it flows, it goes downhill in what ever channel or trough is available. That’s the path of least resistance. And as the old saying goes, it’s tempting to let the difficult things flow like water off our backs if at all possible.
But this is not the ministry the Lord has called us to. He has called us not to the path of least resistance but to the road less traveled. He teaches us not to fear the one who can kill our body, but to fear the one who can destroy body and soul. This is an obvious turn to the ancient proverb of Solomon, “Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” But in yet another turn, this passage teaches us that we do not need to be afraid of life because the Lord is in control of that. The Lord was in control in the past and is in control of the present and the future.
We are told not to fear our lives and those who would make it miserable because of his love. Even that which can fall from our heads so easily, our hair is fully accounted for in God’s care. Sparrows are so small and so plentiful that they cost only a half cent apiece, yet not one will fall to the ground without our Heavenly Father knowing it. Again, only when we lose our lives for the sake of the Lord will our lives come truly into focus. Only when we live in the way and the will of Jesus Christ does our life have meaning.
At the beginning of every episode of “Mission: Impossible” the head of the Impossible Mission Force, the IMF, would receive a recording with the mission. After the background of the mission is outlined, before the mission is described, the voice on the tape would offer this charge, “Your mission, should you decide to accept it.” Against impossible odds, against denial from the Secretary if captured or killed, the leader of the force would be offered the choice of whether to accept the mission or not.
Our mission, should we decide to accept it, is to take up the cross, doing as Jesus did in his journey. We are to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with our God.[6] This is in fact the theme verse for the 218th General Assembly which began yesterday in San Jose. We are to follow, we are to see, and we are to learn. We are to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with our God. Especially when sometimes it will seem like the ox’s yoke, and others it may even feel like the horizontal piece of the cross.
While we should make no mistake, while it may seem to be difficult choice, Jesus makes it abundantly clear that should we not accept our mission, the consequences will be far worse.
Our mission, should we decide to accept it, is to be the people of God in the world, a world that starts right outside these doors and extends far past the county line.
As our reading taught us last week, our mission should we decide to accept it, is to pray for those who will bring in the harvest. We need to pray for the commissioners to the General Assembly. We need to pray for the Session. And we need to pray for our role as members of the body of Christ, individually, as a congregation, and as a denomination.
Our mission should we decide to accept it is to prepare to be called into service of the Lord in leadership. Whether it be within the congregation, the community, or elsewhere, we are called to be ready to be sent as the apostles were.
Our mission, should we decide to accept it, is to be good stewards of the talent, time, and treasure God has given us. This part of our mission is vitally important to every member of the body of Christ.
Above all, our mission, should we decide to accept it, is to use what the Lord has blessed us with and return it for use to glorify God in the world. Some of us do this with our voices, but more often, we take the gospel into the world with a touch, with good work, and with silent prayer.
But where the head of the IMF would be disavowed by the Secretary if captured or killed, we are promised that when we accept this mission, when we acknowledge Jesus before others, only then will Jesus acknowledge us before his Father in heaven. We are saved by grace through faith. And we are called to take this message of God’s grace into the world with our voices and our hands showing the good news of life in Jesus Christ to the world.
We are called to take Christ into the world. We are called to tell the truth not only despite the consequences, but given what will befall us should we not brave the consequences. This is our mission, should we decide to accept it.
[1] Truth or Consequences, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truth_or_Consequences, retrieved June 21, 2008.
[2] Kittel, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Vol. VII, page 577-578
[3] “Beelzebul,” Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible
[4] Arkansas exchange student accepts Christ, loses family, http://www.christianindex.org/3470.article, retrieved June 21, 2008.
[5] Letter sent by [name removed] to the churches which have helped him continue his study in America.
[6] Micah 6:8
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Let's Start at the Very Beginning, A Very Good Place to Start
This sermon was heard at the First Presbyterian Church in Berryville, Arkansas on Sunday June 15, 2008, the 11th Sunday of Ordinary Time.
Genesis 18:1-15
Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19
Romans 5:1-8
Matthew 9:30-10:8
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen
“Let’s start at the very beginning; a very good place to start; when you read you begin with A, B, C; when you sing you begin with do, re mi.” This is the very beginning (a very good place to start) of the song “Do, Re, Mi” from “The Sound of Music.”[1] Sage advice in any situation, and a model for our gospel reading this morning.
The wonder of the beginning of this passage is the way it starts with a recap of Jesus’ ministry to date. It’s like watching the tube and hearing the phrase “previously on …”
Jesus went all about the cities and villages and teaching in their synagogues. Jesus is not traveling willy-nilly through the countryside. He is traveling with a purpose; he is going to cities with Jewish populations. He is going to synagogues to teach. He is not in the city square or in the marketplace speaking to the world, not yet. He is in the synagogues speaking with the people of God.
Remember, this is Matthew’s gospel, the gospel written to the nation of Israel. It makes sense that Jesus brings his message to the people of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob first; after all, it’s his community, these are his people. He’s starting at the beginning, with his people, God’s chosen people.
He goes and teaches in the synagogues. He brings the proclamation of the good news of the kingdom. He shares again and again the teachings of the Sermon on the Mount. He shares again and again his grace healing disease and sickness. He restores people to their families and to right relationship with the Lord God.
He sees the people as sheep, harassed and helpless, distressed and dispirited. Without a shepherd, they are a people scattered, hungry for leadership. And Jesus has compassion for them. He cares for them more than they could ever hope or imagine. This is when he calls to his disciples “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.”
In this one swift motion, Jesus goes from describing the people of God as a listless flock of sheep, to a bountiful crop ready to be collected. This is not an image of sheep to the slaughter; it is the picture of the people of God being called to worship. It is an image of the inbreaking of the kingdom Jesus promises his people. It is a look what is happening at that moment, happening in this moment, and still to happen in the future.
Jesus then makes a specific request of the disciples. He charges, he calls them to ask the Lord of the harvest to send out the laborers. He doesn’t tell the synagogue to go out and grab a scythe and start bringing in the crop. He tells the people to pray that the Lord to send out laborers.
This is an important turn; it isn’t a request to ask the Lord “what are you going to do with me?” It’s a solemn prayer that the Lord do what the Lord will do. This isn’t the prayer of Monty Hall and “Let’s Make a Deal” screaming “Pick me! Pick me!” This is the Lord’s Prayer, “thy will be done.” This is the call from Isaiah 6 asking “Is it I Lord?” Jesus doesn’t ask us to begin by giving directions; we are to pray to receive direction and to follow.
This is when Jesus makes the important distinction between disciples and apostles. In the gospel, most of the time when we read the word disciple, it points to any adherent of a particular movement or leader.[2] Even in the gospels, “disciple” probably doesn’t point just to the twelve unless the text specifically says so. So in the verse where Jesus tells the disciples to pray, he surely is calling on the twelve, but he also includes the multitude in the synagogue. Now, Jesus summons his twelve disciples and sends them out as apostles. After all, that is what “apostle” means, the one who is sent out.
He sends them out giving them authority, his authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and sickness. He sends them out to proclaim the good news saying the kingdom is at hand, the kingdom has come near. This is where starting our reading where we did was beneficial. We begin our reading with Jesus going out and about proclaiming the gospel and healing every kind of disease and sickness. Then he commissions, he ordains the twelve to do the same work giving them the same authority.
He calls and commissions the apostles. He doesn’t call just anybody; on second thought, yes he does. Jesus calls very ordinary people. He calls Simon and James and John who are partners in a fishing business with Simon’s father. John would become known as the beloved disciple and Simon would become known as Peter, the rock upon which the church is built.
Matthew the Roman collaborator was called to go out as was Simon the Cananaean, or as he was more commonly known the Zealot. Of course, this list wouldn’t be complete without Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him.[3] He too was sent to tell the people of God that the kingdom is at hand.
The only qualification they share is that they are following Jesus. They not are called out because they are special. What makes them special is the one who called them out. He calls together people who probably would not share a meal together much less a mission if it were not for the one who calls them. They were very ordinary men, being called to do extraordinary things with the only authority that makes it possible.
Qualifications are an element of our Old Testament reading this morning too. It begs the question “What makes Abraham and Sarah so special?” Why are they selected to violate the rules of biology and bear children long after their tender years have passed them? We might assume it was because they followed the hospitality codes of the day, providing food and drink to weary travelers. As much as both of these statements are true, scripture makes no connection between the two. These are just as likely to be completely unrelated events as they are cause and effect.
But Abraham and Sarah can claim only one special status, they were chosen. They were chosen to go to from their homes. They were chosen to see the Lord appear at the Oaks of Mamre. They were chosen to entertain visitors. They were chosen to learn through experience that there is nothing too wonderful for the Lord.
The twelve were chosen, and this is what makes them special. They were ordinary work-a-day guys with day jobs and families. They had no special nature that caused them to be chosen. There was no glow. We need to remember this.
They were the twelve, no better or worse than any other human being. Yet while one of them was certainly willing to perform one of the most horrific acts of betrayal recorded in history, others became the first leaders of the church.
Returning to the reading, once chosen, they were given their commission. The commission gives them their call, their authority, and the power to fulfill his instructions. They were given what they needed to do the work of the Lord, including one additional instruction, they were also given limitations.
It seems odd to talk about the limitations, but their commission only went so far. They were told not to go among the Gentiles and they were told not to go to the cities of the Samaritans. In the end there are some reasons for this we can glean from history. The first, again, the Gospel of Matthew was the missive to the nation of Israel. It is only logical that the twelve would not send the Good News to the Gentiles, not yet.
Since the twelve were all practicing Jews, it would have further been unlikely that they would even want to go to the Gentiles. In Acts when Peter finally goes to the home of Cornelius and eats, it is only after a vision from the Lord repeats itself three times telling him to go and eat.[4]
Also in Acts, we learn of a third reason Jesus expressly limits the twelve from going to the Gentiles and Samaritans. Jesus sends another; this mission field belongs to Saul of Tarsus, the one who becomes the Apostle Paul.[5] The mission to the Gentiles and Samaritans wasn’t the work of the twelve because it belonged to someone else, someone who would come later. And as the Pharisee of Pharisees, Paul was more unlikely to go to the Gentiles than any of the other twelve apostles.
So it is only one more indication of the sovereignty of the Lord that the one who would be sent is the most unlikely one of them all.
So let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start. Let us begin by remembering, knowing the Lord Jesus. We need to come together and share the joy of knowing who he is and what he has done. As the people of God we further need to see the people he sees, and see them, see us as both the scattered sheep looking for a shepherd and as the harvest ready to be gathered to the house of the Lord.
We need to begin by praying for those who will bring in the harvest. We need to pray for the people and organizations of the church that do missionary work both works of proclamation and works of service in the nation and around the world. Pray for the groups that have signed what is known as the Dallas Covenant, a group of Presbyterian Mission organizations from all political stripes of the church who have come together to do the work of mission in the church.[6]
Pray too for the nominating committee. It is their job to discern who will be called to shepherd this part of the body of Christ; to lead the church, local and universal, into the future. It will be their job to search from among us to discern who will be called to continue God’s work in the world. And as we pray, don’t be shy to pray “Is it I Lord?”
The last information Jesus gives the disciples before they are sent is that they received their call, their Christian vocation without payment and so they must give without payment. Honestly, I don’t like this translation because of our economic mindset toward payment.
Other translations say “freely you have received, freely give.”[7] And as they have freely received the freely given gift of grace through Jesus Christ our Lord, this is the message the apostles take with them. It is the message we have received and we take with us. Whether into the soul, the session, or the world, this is the word we are called to take with us.
As we have freely received, remember to pray for those who will be sent into the harvest. And also remember the Lord takes pleasure in having us respond, “I will go Lord, if you lead me.”
[1] Rogers and Hammerstein
[2] Disciple, Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible
[3] Random thought that doesn’t belong in this sermon: Often in the church and in church work you hear about individuals or even congregations with way too much conflict being called “clergy killers.” Every pastor wants to avoid the clergy killing congregation. Strangely, Jesus called a “clergy killer” to be one of his apostles. Honestly, I don’t know what this means, but I believe it must be considered—clergy killers exist and Jesus knows it better than any of us ever will. And no, I am fortunate—I have not met a clergy killer in my present posting.
[4] Acts 10:1-33
[5] Acts 9:1-18
[6] For more information about the Dallas Covenant, check out http://www.pcusa.org/pcnews/2008/08450.htm, retrieved June 14, 2008.
[7] New International Version, New American Standard Bible, New Living Translation among others.
Genesis 18:1-15
Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19
Romans 5:1-8
Matthew 9:30-10:8
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen
“Let’s start at the very beginning; a very good place to start; when you read you begin with A, B, C; when you sing you begin with do, re mi.” This is the very beginning (a very good place to start) of the song “Do, Re, Mi” from “The Sound of Music.”[1] Sage advice in any situation, and a model for our gospel reading this morning.
The wonder of the beginning of this passage is the way it starts with a recap of Jesus’ ministry to date. It’s like watching the tube and hearing the phrase “previously on …”
Jesus went all about the cities and villages and teaching in their synagogues. Jesus is not traveling willy-nilly through the countryside. He is traveling with a purpose; he is going to cities with Jewish populations. He is going to synagogues to teach. He is not in the city square or in the marketplace speaking to the world, not yet. He is in the synagogues speaking with the people of God.
Remember, this is Matthew’s gospel, the gospel written to the nation of Israel. It makes sense that Jesus brings his message to the people of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob first; after all, it’s his community, these are his people. He’s starting at the beginning, with his people, God’s chosen people.
He goes and teaches in the synagogues. He brings the proclamation of the good news of the kingdom. He shares again and again the teachings of the Sermon on the Mount. He shares again and again his grace healing disease and sickness. He restores people to their families and to right relationship with the Lord God.
He sees the people as sheep, harassed and helpless, distressed and dispirited. Without a shepherd, they are a people scattered, hungry for leadership. And Jesus has compassion for them. He cares for them more than they could ever hope or imagine. This is when he calls to his disciples “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.”
In this one swift motion, Jesus goes from describing the people of God as a listless flock of sheep, to a bountiful crop ready to be collected. This is not an image of sheep to the slaughter; it is the picture of the people of God being called to worship. It is an image of the inbreaking of the kingdom Jesus promises his people. It is a look what is happening at that moment, happening in this moment, and still to happen in the future.
Jesus then makes a specific request of the disciples. He charges, he calls them to ask the Lord of the harvest to send out the laborers. He doesn’t tell the synagogue to go out and grab a scythe and start bringing in the crop. He tells the people to pray that the Lord to send out laborers.
This is an important turn; it isn’t a request to ask the Lord “what are you going to do with me?” It’s a solemn prayer that the Lord do what the Lord will do. This isn’t the prayer of Monty Hall and “Let’s Make a Deal” screaming “Pick me! Pick me!” This is the Lord’s Prayer, “thy will be done.” This is the call from Isaiah 6 asking “Is it I Lord?” Jesus doesn’t ask us to begin by giving directions; we are to pray to receive direction and to follow.
This is when Jesus makes the important distinction between disciples and apostles. In the gospel, most of the time when we read the word disciple, it points to any adherent of a particular movement or leader.[2] Even in the gospels, “disciple” probably doesn’t point just to the twelve unless the text specifically says so. So in the verse where Jesus tells the disciples to pray, he surely is calling on the twelve, but he also includes the multitude in the synagogue. Now, Jesus summons his twelve disciples and sends them out as apostles. After all, that is what “apostle” means, the one who is sent out.
He sends them out giving them authority, his authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and sickness. He sends them out to proclaim the good news saying the kingdom is at hand, the kingdom has come near. This is where starting our reading where we did was beneficial. We begin our reading with Jesus going out and about proclaiming the gospel and healing every kind of disease and sickness. Then he commissions, he ordains the twelve to do the same work giving them the same authority.
He calls and commissions the apostles. He doesn’t call just anybody; on second thought, yes he does. Jesus calls very ordinary people. He calls Simon and James and John who are partners in a fishing business with Simon’s father. John would become known as the beloved disciple and Simon would become known as Peter, the rock upon which the church is built.
Matthew the Roman collaborator was called to go out as was Simon the Cananaean, or as he was more commonly known the Zealot. Of course, this list wouldn’t be complete without Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him.[3] He too was sent to tell the people of God that the kingdom is at hand.
The only qualification they share is that they are following Jesus. They not are called out because they are special. What makes them special is the one who called them out. He calls together people who probably would not share a meal together much less a mission if it were not for the one who calls them. They were very ordinary men, being called to do extraordinary things with the only authority that makes it possible.
Qualifications are an element of our Old Testament reading this morning too. It begs the question “What makes Abraham and Sarah so special?” Why are they selected to violate the rules of biology and bear children long after their tender years have passed them? We might assume it was because they followed the hospitality codes of the day, providing food and drink to weary travelers. As much as both of these statements are true, scripture makes no connection between the two. These are just as likely to be completely unrelated events as they are cause and effect.
But Abraham and Sarah can claim only one special status, they were chosen. They were chosen to go to from their homes. They were chosen to see the Lord appear at the Oaks of Mamre. They were chosen to entertain visitors. They were chosen to learn through experience that there is nothing too wonderful for the Lord.
The twelve were chosen, and this is what makes them special. They were ordinary work-a-day guys with day jobs and families. They had no special nature that caused them to be chosen. There was no glow. We need to remember this.
They were the twelve, no better or worse than any other human being. Yet while one of them was certainly willing to perform one of the most horrific acts of betrayal recorded in history, others became the first leaders of the church.
Returning to the reading, once chosen, they were given their commission. The commission gives them their call, their authority, and the power to fulfill his instructions. They were given what they needed to do the work of the Lord, including one additional instruction, they were also given limitations.
It seems odd to talk about the limitations, but their commission only went so far. They were told not to go among the Gentiles and they were told not to go to the cities of the Samaritans. In the end there are some reasons for this we can glean from history. The first, again, the Gospel of Matthew was the missive to the nation of Israel. It is only logical that the twelve would not send the Good News to the Gentiles, not yet.
Since the twelve were all practicing Jews, it would have further been unlikely that they would even want to go to the Gentiles. In Acts when Peter finally goes to the home of Cornelius and eats, it is only after a vision from the Lord repeats itself three times telling him to go and eat.[4]
Also in Acts, we learn of a third reason Jesus expressly limits the twelve from going to the Gentiles and Samaritans. Jesus sends another; this mission field belongs to Saul of Tarsus, the one who becomes the Apostle Paul.[5] The mission to the Gentiles and Samaritans wasn’t the work of the twelve because it belonged to someone else, someone who would come later. And as the Pharisee of Pharisees, Paul was more unlikely to go to the Gentiles than any of the other twelve apostles.
So it is only one more indication of the sovereignty of the Lord that the one who would be sent is the most unlikely one of them all.
So let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start. Let us begin by remembering, knowing the Lord Jesus. We need to come together and share the joy of knowing who he is and what he has done. As the people of God we further need to see the people he sees, and see them, see us as both the scattered sheep looking for a shepherd and as the harvest ready to be gathered to the house of the Lord.
We need to begin by praying for those who will bring in the harvest. We need to pray for the people and organizations of the church that do missionary work both works of proclamation and works of service in the nation and around the world. Pray for the groups that have signed what is known as the Dallas Covenant, a group of Presbyterian Mission organizations from all political stripes of the church who have come together to do the work of mission in the church.[6]
Pray too for the nominating committee. It is their job to discern who will be called to shepherd this part of the body of Christ; to lead the church, local and universal, into the future. It will be their job to search from among us to discern who will be called to continue God’s work in the world. And as we pray, don’t be shy to pray “Is it I Lord?”
The last information Jesus gives the disciples before they are sent is that they received their call, their Christian vocation without payment and so they must give without payment. Honestly, I don’t like this translation because of our economic mindset toward payment.
Other translations say “freely you have received, freely give.”[7] And as they have freely received the freely given gift of grace through Jesus Christ our Lord, this is the message the apostles take with them. It is the message we have received and we take with us. Whether into the soul, the session, or the world, this is the word we are called to take with us.
As we have freely received, remember to pray for those who will be sent into the harvest. And also remember the Lord takes pleasure in having us respond, “I will go Lord, if you lead me.”
[1] Rogers and Hammerstein
[2] Disciple, Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible
[3] Random thought that doesn’t belong in this sermon: Often in the church and in church work you hear about individuals or even congregations with way too much conflict being called “clergy killers.” Every pastor wants to avoid the clergy killing congregation. Strangely, Jesus called a “clergy killer” to be one of his apostles. Honestly, I don’t know what this means, but I believe it must be considered—clergy killers exist and Jesus knows it better than any of us ever will. And no, I am fortunate—I have not met a clergy killer in my present posting.
[4] Acts 10:1-33
[5] Acts 9:1-18
[6] For more information about the Dallas Covenant, check out http://www.pcusa.org/pcnews/2008/08450.htm, retrieved June 14, 2008.
[7] New International Version, New American Standard Bible, New Living Translation among others.
Sunday, June 08, 2008
More than We Could Ever Imagine
This sermon was heard at the First Presbyterian Church in Berryville, Arkansas on Sunday June 8, 2008, the 10th Sunday of Ordinary Time.
Genesis 12:1-9
Psalm 33:1-12
Romans 4:13-25
Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen
In 1964, Roald Dahl wrote the children’s classic, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”[1] In the story, the chocolate factory is owned by a wonderful and eccentric man named Willy Wonka. The factory makes Wonka chocolate bars of course; and it also makes marshmallows that taste of violets, rich caramels that change color every ten seconds as they are sucked, and chewing gum that never loses its flavor. Wonka even makes an ice cream that stays cold for hours without being in an icebox. When Charlie says “that’s impossible,” his Grandpa Joe responds, “Of course it’s impossible! It’s completely absurd! But Mr. Willy Wonka has done it!”[2]
The impossible, Willy Wonka makes it possible. The absurd, Willy Wonka makes it ordinary. And he does it in a factory nobody ever enters, and nobody ever leaves. Wonka’s a man of mystery, a man of secrets, a man of ingenuity. He has not only created a factory, he has created a world. A world of chocolate rivers, glass elevators covered in buttons, and the most wonderful confections on earth. For the world’s sweet-tooth, Wonka has created the Everlasting Gob Stopper, the Nutty Crunch Surprise, and of course, the greatest of them all, the Whipple-Scrumptious Fudgemallow Delight. He has created more than anyone could ever imagine.
Our gospel reading is split into two sections. But within both there is a common thread, one where Jesus seeks to reconcile the world to himself.
The later of the two stories begins with the head, the ruler of the synagogue coming to Jesus while he is dining with the tax collectors and sinners.
He comes distraught. His daughter has just lost her life. This scene doesn’t seem so odd to us, there is no one here who doesn’t want to see their daughters healed. But in this time, there were very few places for women. The home was about it. This daughter had no prospects of college or career. She could hope to be wed to a loving and caring man; certainly as the daughter of the ruler of the synagogue she would have her prospects. But these prospects would have nothing to do with who she is and everything to do with who her father is.
We could never know, but maybe her father had all ready paid her dowry. If she was lost his money may have been lost too. This may seem far fetched, and perhaps it is, but one thing this points out is that this girl had value in her father’s house, enough value to bring Jesus from the banquet. We don’t know what caused her death, but the ruler has faith that Jesus can bring her back to life.
Then comes a part of the story that is all too familiar. While the head of the synagogue, Jesus, the disciples, and I can only imagine a parade of followers behind and beside them go to the girl; the woman who has suffered from hemorrhages for twelve years appears. Her story is not one any of us would like to live. Because of the constant flow of blood, she was treated like a leper, but without the status of being a man. She had no home; the ritually unclean could not enter the city much less go home. She was put out of the synagogue of course. Her condition distanced her from every part of clean and unclean society. For her, being a woman was at the root of her ailment and the social stigma of being a woman was the icing on the cake of her woes.
But she knows; she knows who is coming down the road. She knows, really knows who Jesus of Nazareth is, and she is willing to risk all just to get close enough to touch his cloak. She doesn’t want an audience. She doesn’t want a meal. She doesn’t even want even a moment of his time. She wants to touch him, even if just the fringe of his cloak, she wants to touch him. And with this touch, she will be made well. She knows this.
Does Jesus feel the tug on his cloak or does he feel power flow from him? The gospels of Mark and Luke connect this healing touch and a flow of power. But in Matthew’s gospel, there is no touch, Jesus turns and says to her “Take heart daughter, your faith has made you well.” The woman knows the source of her salvation and Jesus knows he is the source of what makes the sick well and the unclean clean.
When the parade reaches the home of the ruler of the synagogue, the mourning has begun. Then the mourning turns to dancing as Jesus takes the ruler’s daughter’s hand and she rises.
Where this story begins with the daughter of a man of honor and standing, it also includes the unclean woman Jesus calls daughter. We see the daughter of status and we also see the daughter of humiliation and woe. Jesus claims both of these women as his own daughters.
Jesus takes the women who are as gender goes on the bottom rung of a male dominated society and makes them his daughters. He restores them to health and he restores them to their families. He restores them to not just their place in society, but to their place in the kingdom of God. Jesus restores through his love and his peace and his wonderful healing touch.
The Greek verb used for “made well” is far more often translated “saved”[3] in scripture so it isn’t such a leap to say that Jesus saved them. These women are broken, separated from life, and through Jesus they are made whole again. Only through Jesus are they made whole again.
As singer/songwriter John Mayer sings in his hit “Daughters.”
Fathers, be good to your daughters
Daughters will love like you do[4]
These daughters now know the love of God the father of heaven and earth. And it is our goal, nay our vocation to love as Jesus taught us, loving as giving life.
But this is not how our story began; our story began with a more culturally significant story, the story of the men. Jesus was walking along and saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax booth and he said to him, “Follow me!” and Matthew did. Jesus and the disciples went to Matthew’s home for dinner, and were joined by others.
This is when the Pharisees made their appearance not asking Jesus, but asking his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” Bible translations are wonderful things. The New International Version puts the word “sinners” in quotation marks to make a point. The New Living Translation is far less subtle. It asks “Why does your teacher eat with such scum?”
Here our situation is not quite the same as the situation with the women. In this setting, there is one group of men who have authority, but no real power or prestige in the society. The tax collectors were Roman collaborators. The taxes they collected allowed the soldiers to be armed and fed and allowed the governors to live in the lap of luxury. And while our taxes may seem unfair, these guys wrote the book on unfair taxes. Matthew and his cronies would have made King George look absolutely benevolent in his dealings with the American colonies in the 1700’s. These are not men who could be trusted, and they are certainly not men anyone in polite society would ever want as dinner companions.
The Pharisees were the other side of the coin, of course. They had influence. They saw the fate of the nation separate from the fate of Rome. They weren’t militant like the Zealots, but they knew who they were and sought to separate themselves from the common riff-raff of daily living at every turn. Their table rituals forced merchants and others to deal with them on their terms, or not at all. A literal reading of the law and observing every jot and tittle was the stock and trade of the Pharisee. They were certainly looking down their noses asking the disciples “Why does your teacher eat with such scum?”
Jesus reminds them that the sick need physicians, not the healthy. So we have two groups of men, one who are broken and separated from God. Men who need the healing touch of the Son of Man to reach out and show them life everlasting. We also have men who know and keep God’s laws.
But not so fast; what if Jesus had his tongue firmly placed in his cheek? What if his tongue was so far in his cheek it would take the Jaws of Life to get it out of there?
What if Jesus was scolding the Pharisees?
Jesus brings us unusual table companions. He brings us a dead girl, her father the head of the synagogue, wailing then laughing mourners, a woman suffering from a dozen years of hemorrhages, a band of tax collectors, a flock of Pharisees, oh, and his own cadre of disciples. What if Jesus was not trying to make us see the contrast between the goodness of the religious men and the remainder of the characters in the story? What if Jesus was trying to tell the world; men and women, religious leaders and political collaborators, living and dead, clean and unclean; that to him there is no difference between them? And in him there is no difference.
In “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” five children, along with their chaperones, are given a tour of the wonderful Wonka factory. As the story comes to its end, with his Grandpa Joe, Charlie is alone with Willy Wonka. The other children have met dreadful fates along the way based on the factory’s temptations and their own character flaws. All of the children, in one way or another, are broken. Charlie is exhausted and emaciated; but in him, Wonka sees something special.
Wonka sees a soul who is obedient. He sees a soul who mourns as the other children meet their fates. In Charlie he finds someone who will pay attention to his way and his teaching. An adult will want to change things, do things their own way, Wonka says. A child, a child will listen. A child will learn. A child, even a child who is broken, will be a fitting disciple.
We are all broken. There is not one of us who does not need to come and break bread with the Lord. There is not one of us who does not need to touch the fringe of his cloak. We are all the daughters and sons of the Lord our God and none of us is unbroken. Yet in Him, we are redeemed, made well. We are saved.
The advice Jesus gives, the call, the vocation he places for humanity is to desire mercy, not sacrifice. We are not to offer the sacrifice of our scum brother on the altar of our haughty superiority so that we may be lifted higher, because we are not higher. We are not to laugh and mock at the saving touch of the Lord as the funeral did when it broke out into a commotion. We are to desire mercy, and by that desire give mercy to those in need; for we are all in need.
It is only when we see our brokenness and know the wonders of the Lord that we might be able to accept his healing, saving touch. And as the church, as the people of God, we are called to the reconciling work in Jesus Christ, and this is the heart of the Gospel.
So when the Charlie’s in our lives say “That’s impossible” the body of Christ confesses, “Of course it’s impossible! It’s completely absurd! And the Lord has done it!”[5] By his saving touch, the Lord has done and continues to do more than we could ever imagine.
[1] Dahl, Roald, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” New York: Borzoi/Alfred A. Knopf, 1964.
[2] Ibid., page 11.
[3] Sosow, Entry, A Greek—English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, Revised and Edited by Frederick William Danker, Third Edition. Based on Walter Bauer's Griechisch-deutsches Wörterbuch zu den Schriften des Neuen Testaments und der frühchristlichen Literatur, sixth edition, ed. Kurt Aland and Barbara Aland, with Viktor Reichmann and on previous English editions by W.F.Arndt, F.W.Gingrich, and F.W.Danker., Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
[4] John Mayer, “Daughters”
[5] Paraphrase from Dahl.
Genesis 12:1-9
Psalm 33:1-12
Romans 4:13-25
Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen
In 1964, Roald Dahl wrote the children’s classic, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”[1] In the story, the chocolate factory is owned by a wonderful and eccentric man named Willy Wonka. The factory makes Wonka chocolate bars of course; and it also makes marshmallows that taste of violets, rich caramels that change color every ten seconds as they are sucked, and chewing gum that never loses its flavor. Wonka even makes an ice cream that stays cold for hours without being in an icebox. When Charlie says “that’s impossible,” his Grandpa Joe responds, “Of course it’s impossible! It’s completely absurd! But Mr. Willy Wonka has done it!”[2]
The impossible, Willy Wonka makes it possible. The absurd, Willy Wonka makes it ordinary. And he does it in a factory nobody ever enters, and nobody ever leaves. Wonka’s a man of mystery, a man of secrets, a man of ingenuity. He has not only created a factory, he has created a world. A world of chocolate rivers, glass elevators covered in buttons, and the most wonderful confections on earth. For the world’s sweet-tooth, Wonka has created the Everlasting Gob Stopper, the Nutty Crunch Surprise, and of course, the greatest of them all, the Whipple-Scrumptious Fudgemallow Delight. He has created more than anyone could ever imagine.
Our gospel reading is split into two sections. But within both there is a common thread, one where Jesus seeks to reconcile the world to himself.
The later of the two stories begins with the head, the ruler of the synagogue coming to Jesus while he is dining with the tax collectors and sinners.
He comes distraught. His daughter has just lost her life. This scene doesn’t seem so odd to us, there is no one here who doesn’t want to see their daughters healed. But in this time, there were very few places for women. The home was about it. This daughter had no prospects of college or career. She could hope to be wed to a loving and caring man; certainly as the daughter of the ruler of the synagogue she would have her prospects. But these prospects would have nothing to do with who she is and everything to do with who her father is.
We could never know, but maybe her father had all ready paid her dowry. If she was lost his money may have been lost too. This may seem far fetched, and perhaps it is, but one thing this points out is that this girl had value in her father’s house, enough value to bring Jesus from the banquet. We don’t know what caused her death, but the ruler has faith that Jesus can bring her back to life.
Then comes a part of the story that is all too familiar. While the head of the synagogue, Jesus, the disciples, and I can only imagine a parade of followers behind and beside them go to the girl; the woman who has suffered from hemorrhages for twelve years appears. Her story is not one any of us would like to live. Because of the constant flow of blood, she was treated like a leper, but without the status of being a man. She had no home; the ritually unclean could not enter the city much less go home. She was put out of the synagogue of course. Her condition distanced her from every part of clean and unclean society. For her, being a woman was at the root of her ailment and the social stigma of being a woman was the icing on the cake of her woes.
But she knows; she knows who is coming down the road. She knows, really knows who Jesus of Nazareth is, and she is willing to risk all just to get close enough to touch his cloak. She doesn’t want an audience. She doesn’t want a meal. She doesn’t even want even a moment of his time. She wants to touch him, even if just the fringe of his cloak, she wants to touch him. And with this touch, she will be made well. She knows this.
Does Jesus feel the tug on his cloak or does he feel power flow from him? The gospels of Mark and Luke connect this healing touch and a flow of power. But in Matthew’s gospel, there is no touch, Jesus turns and says to her “Take heart daughter, your faith has made you well.” The woman knows the source of her salvation and Jesus knows he is the source of what makes the sick well and the unclean clean.
When the parade reaches the home of the ruler of the synagogue, the mourning has begun. Then the mourning turns to dancing as Jesus takes the ruler’s daughter’s hand and she rises.
Where this story begins with the daughter of a man of honor and standing, it also includes the unclean woman Jesus calls daughter. We see the daughter of status and we also see the daughter of humiliation and woe. Jesus claims both of these women as his own daughters.
Jesus takes the women who are as gender goes on the bottom rung of a male dominated society and makes them his daughters. He restores them to health and he restores them to their families. He restores them to not just their place in society, but to their place in the kingdom of God. Jesus restores through his love and his peace and his wonderful healing touch.
The Greek verb used for “made well” is far more often translated “saved”[3] in scripture so it isn’t such a leap to say that Jesus saved them. These women are broken, separated from life, and through Jesus they are made whole again. Only through Jesus are they made whole again.
As singer/songwriter John Mayer sings in his hit “Daughters.”
Fathers, be good to your daughters
Daughters will love like you do[4]
These daughters now know the love of God the father of heaven and earth. And it is our goal, nay our vocation to love as Jesus taught us, loving as giving life.
But this is not how our story began; our story began with a more culturally significant story, the story of the men. Jesus was walking along and saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax booth and he said to him, “Follow me!” and Matthew did. Jesus and the disciples went to Matthew’s home for dinner, and were joined by others.
This is when the Pharisees made their appearance not asking Jesus, but asking his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” Bible translations are wonderful things. The New International Version puts the word “sinners” in quotation marks to make a point. The New Living Translation is far less subtle. It asks “Why does your teacher eat with such scum?”
Here our situation is not quite the same as the situation with the women. In this setting, there is one group of men who have authority, but no real power or prestige in the society. The tax collectors were Roman collaborators. The taxes they collected allowed the soldiers to be armed and fed and allowed the governors to live in the lap of luxury. And while our taxes may seem unfair, these guys wrote the book on unfair taxes. Matthew and his cronies would have made King George look absolutely benevolent in his dealings with the American colonies in the 1700’s. These are not men who could be trusted, and they are certainly not men anyone in polite society would ever want as dinner companions.
The Pharisees were the other side of the coin, of course. They had influence. They saw the fate of the nation separate from the fate of Rome. They weren’t militant like the Zealots, but they knew who they were and sought to separate themselves from the common riff-raff of daily living at every turn. Their table rituals forced merchants and others to deal with them on their terms, or not at all. A literal reading of the law and observing every jot and tittle was the stock and trade of the Pharisee. They were certainly looking down their noses asking the disciples “Why does your teacher eat with such scum?”
Jesus reminds them that the sick need physicians, not the healthy. So we have two groups of men, one who are broken and separated from God. Men who need the healing touch of the Son of Man to reach out and show them life everlasting. We also have men who know and keep God’s laws.
But not so fast; what if Jesus had his tongue firmly placed in his cheek? What if his tongue was so far in his cheek it would take the Jaws of Life to get it out of there?
What if Jesus was scolding the Pharisees?
Jesus brings us unusual table companions. He brings us a dead girl, her father the head of the synagogue, wailing then laughing mourners, a woman suffering from a dozen years of hemorrhages, a band of tax collectors, a flock of Pharisees, oh, and his own cadre of disciples. What if Jesus was not trying to make us see the contrast between the goodness of the religious men and the remainder of the characters in the story? What if Jesus was trying to tell the world; men and women, religious leaders and political collaborators, living and dead, clean and unclean; that to him there is no difference between them? And in him there is no difference.
In “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” five children, along with their chaperones, are given a tour of the wonderful Wonka factory. As the story comes to its end, with his Grandpa Joe, Charlie is alone with Willy Wonka. The other children have met dreadful fates along the way based on the factory’s temptations and their own character flaws. All of the children, in one way or another, are broken. Charlie is exhausted and emaciated; but in him, Wonka sees something special.
Wonka sees a soul who is obedient. He sees a soul who mourns as the other children meet their fates. In Charlie he finds someone who will pay attention to his way and his teaching. An adult will want to change things, do things their own way, Wonka says. A child, a child will listen. A child will learn. A child, even a child who is broken, will be a fitting disciple.
We are all broken. There is not one of us who does not need to come and break bread with the Lord. There is not one of us who does not need to touch the fringe of his cloak. We are all the daughters and sons of the Lord our God and none of us is unbroken. Yet in Him, we are redeemed, made well. We are saved.
The advice Jesus gives, the call, the vocation he places for humanity is to desire mercy, not sacrifice. We are not to offer the sacrifice of our scum brother on the altar of our haughty superiority so that we may be lifted higher, because we are not higher. We are not to laugh and mock at the saving touch of the Lord as the funeral did when it broke out into a commotion. We are to desire mercy, and by that desire give mercy to those in need; for we are all in need.
It is only when we see our brokenness and know the wonders of the Lord that we might be able to accept his healing, saving touch. And as the church, as the people of God, we are called to the reconciling work in Jesus Christ, and this is the heart of the Gospel.
So when the Charlie’s in our lives say “That’s impossible” the body of Christ confesses, “Of course it’s impossible! It’s completely absurd! And the Lord has done it!”[5] By his saving touch, the Lord has done and continues to do more than we could ever imagine.
[1] Dahl, Roald, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” New York: Borzoi/Alfred A. Knopf, 1964.
[2] Ibid., page 11.
[3] Sosow, Entry, A Greek—English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, Revised and Edited by Frederick William Danker, Third Edition. Based on Walter Bauer's Griechisch-deutsches Wörterbuch zu den Schriften des Neuen Testaments und der frühchristlichen Literatur, sixth edition, ed. Kurt Aland and Barbara Aland, with Viktor Reichmann and on previous English editions by W.F.Arndt, F.W.Gingrich, and F.W.Danker., Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
[4] John Mayer, “Daughters”
[5] Paraphrase from Dahl.
Sunday, June 01, 2008
Hear and Act--Yada, Yada, Yada
This sermon was heard at the First Presbyterian Church in Berryville, Arkansas on Sunday June 1, 2008, the Ninth Sunday of Ordinary Time.
Genesis 6:9-22, 7:24, 8:14-19
Psalm 46
Romans 1:16-17, 3:22b-28 (29-31)
Matthew 7:21-29
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen
The television show “Seinfeld” brought America a taste of what it is like to be Jewish in New York. One of the things the show gave us is the phrase, “yada, yada, yada.” The way it was used, it meant “et cetera” or “you know.” In truth, this word, this Hebrew phrase means, “he knows, he knows, he knows.” But as with many other words and phrases, the context often means more than the words alone.
In the biblical context, yada means much more. In the Old Testament, “knowing God” especially involves obedience.[1] So when we say that we know God, or when we say we know what God wants, we must also show that we know God through obedience to the word. As we come to know God’s word, we become more familiar with the laws and demands God commands. To know God means that we know God’s laws and are obedient to them. So when we say, “I know,” we must be careful not only to know intellectually, or emotionally, but actively too.
This is what Jesus is getting at when he talks of those who hear his words and act on them. We’re not just hearing them with our ears, and processing them with our minds, and keeping them in our hearts, but putting calluses on our hands doing what he has said too.
Jesus impresses this point upon those listening to the end of the Sermon of the Mount. In this, certainly one of the most important sermons in the history of exhortation, Jesus ends his comments to his disciples saying, only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven will enter the kingdom of heaven. Belief is one thing, but action is key. Jesus reminds the people that he will send the evildoers from his presence.
Now the New Living Translation doesn’t say “you evildoers.” It says “you who break God’s laws” instead. For our understanding of the culture, this translation is closer to the intent of the text. Remember, Matthew’s gospel was written for Jewish believers in Jesus, ones to whom the law is an important part of life. Where the Gentiles would know about the law, the Jews would know it as an integral part of daily life. So when on that day, judgment day, the Lord tells the believer, “Get away from me, you who break God’s laws,” this would be heard with heart wrenching sorrow.
And oh yes, this passage is directed toward believers, not the unknowing masses.
We may do great deeds of power in the name of the Lord, but even so, it is still possible to break God’s laws. And let me ask you, who is more accountable; the one who has never heard God’s laws, or those who know them and break them? Ignorance may be no defense, but disobedience is worse.
Paul helps us discern what it is to be obedient. Our reading from Romans tells us “For in [the gospel] the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith.” He continues reminding us that we are justified not by the law or by works, but by faith.
So Jesus says those who do the will of his Father will enter the kingdom of heaven on judgment day, and Paul tells us that we are justified by grace through faith and not by works. These seem to go in two different directions. Jesus tells us not to break the law and Paul tells us we are saved by not by the law but by grace. How do we handle these two pieces of scripture that seem to contradict one another?
Let’s go back a couple of weeks when I talked about faith and repentance.[2] As I mentioned in that sermon,[3] according to biblical scholars, Paul speaks of faith as union with Christ; the death of the old nature, the putting on of the new humanity, resurrection to newness of life, and new creation.[4] So the faith Paul speaks so strongly of is more than a spiritual or emotional thing, there is a physical putting on of new life in Christ which demands a response, an active response.
The scribes and the Pharisees talk of 613 laws, the Taryag Mitzvot. In these laws are 248 positive laws, things to do, and 365 negative laws, things not to do.[5] Jesus distills this into two simple commands saying, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law.”[6] The experts in the law tell us there are many laws; Jesus tells us that all of our laws come from just these two.
The Hebrew word often used to show the love of God is hesed. Hesed is bold and unpredictable. It is unorthodox and unbound by convention and culture. It is a love which only God is capable; it is a love we are called to imitate and follow. We are called to be immersed in the hesed of the Lord. Only by first being immersed in this love can we share it with others.
Biblical scholar Carolyn Custis James writes hesed is “driven, not by duty or legal obligation, but by a bone-deep commitment—a loyal, selfless love that motivates a person to do voluntarily what no one has a right to expect or ask of them.”[7]
Hesed is only present when we have the option to walk away. Hesed is only present with perfect freedom; the freedom to do as we wish, yet choose to do what is beyond the pale of valor. Hesed is only present when we put all that we have and more into our love for God and one another. And it is in times like these when we are able to give more than we could ever know or imagine. Jesus teaches us how to love one another with this perfect daring love.
We all know of Leah, the young girl Lucille gives us updates about who is battling cancer. What you don’t know is that her cousin Rachel died of the same cancer years earlier at the age of six. What we don’t see are Rachel’s parents who know the loss of a child, giving her all of their love, more than they could have ever hoped to give.
Rachel’s dream was her wedding. Even at the age of five, she was anticipating her special day. Because hesed knows no bounds, because hesed knows which of our rules can and should be broken; with her family and friends she celebrated her wedding. Her special day was a joyful day for the entire family. But I cannot imagine how the joy of this celebration was not diminished by the terror of cancer.
Yet, through God’s perfect love, through his hesed, life was celebrated, love was shared, and joy was known. Hesed won the day, even in the light of the grief that would follow some months later as a six year old girl dies.
It is this sacrificial love we are called to share. This is the law we are to carry out. This is how we are to respond to one another in faith, this is how we keep the laws of God and not become evildoers. We do this not for our salvation, but in response to our salvation. This is the joy we are to share with our Lord, one another, and our neighbor. This is the love we are especially to share with the sojourner and the stranger, those who come and go in our lives.
This is what we are to hear, this is what we are to obey, only then can we know. We pack school supplies for children we don’t even know, yet our lives intersect theirs every day that homework is finished. And we are called to do more; we are called to be outrageous in committing hesed on an unsuspecting world. There is a call for school supplies for Iraqi and Pakistani school children. Is it time to take the school supply project global? And before anyone asks if this is the kind of project we can handle; as we have received the grace and peace of God’s extravagant love; I ask as believers in Christ how can we answer with any less?
We are saved by grace through faith which is not spiritual, but active. What we do is not works to garner salvation, but acts performed in response to God’s perfect love. And once we dare ourselves to stretch beyond what we could ever hope or imagine, just dream of where God’s grace will take us.
The crowd was astounded, amazed at Jesus’ teaching for he spoke with authority, not as their teachers of the Law. You see, the scribes did have an authority. They followed the authority of the written word and those who had interpreted it a thousand years before them. But Jesus does not rely upon the authority of mere mortals. He is God, he is the living Torah, he is the law incarnate. As Emmanuel, God with us, he teaches with his own authority—the authority of the Lord our God. We are to hear his words and act on them through his boundless love. Then we will be like the wise man who builds his home upon the rock, our rock and our redeemer. Amen
[1] “Yada”, “The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon.” Oxford: Clarendon Press 1907
[2] From the Sixth Sunday of Easter, Acts 17:22-31 and John 14:15-21.
[3] “Election Day,” http://timelovesahero.blogspot.com/2008/04/election-day.html, accessed May 31, 2008.
[4] Repentance, “The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible.” Buttirck, Editor. 21st Printing, Electronic Edition, Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1962
[5] 613 Mitzvot, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/613_Mitzvot, accessed July 2, 2007.
[6] Matthew 22:37-39
[7] Custin James, Carolyn, “The Gospel of Ruth, Loving God Enough to Break the Rules.” Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2008, page 115.
Genesis 6:9-22, 7:24, 8:14-19
Psalm 46
Romans 1:16-17, 3:22b-28 (29-31)
Matthew 7:21-29
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen
The television show “Seinfeld” brought America a taste of what it is like to be Jewish in New York. One of the things the show gave us is the phrase, “yada, yada, yada.” The way it was used, it meant “et cetera” or “you know.” In truth, this word, this Hebrew phrase means, “he knows, he knows, he knows.” But as with many other words and phrases, the context often means more than the words alone.
In the biblical context, yada means much more. In the Old Testament, “knowing God” especially involves obedience.[1] So when we say that we know God, or when we say we know what God wants, we must also show that we know God through obedience to the word. As we come to know God’s word, we become more familiar with the laws and demands God commands. To know God means that we know God’s laws and are obedient to them. So when we say, “I know,” we must be careful not only to know intellectually, or emotionally, but actively too.
This is what Jesus is getting at when he talks of those who hear his words and act on them. We’re not just hearing them with our ears, and processing them with our minds, and keeping them in our hearts, but putting calluses on our hands doing what he has said too.
Jesus impresses this point upon those listening to the end of the Sermon of the Mount. In this, certainly one of the most important sermons in the history of exhortation, Jesus ends his comments to his disciples saying, only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven will enter the kingdom of heaven. Belief is one thing, but action is key. Jesus reminds the people that he will send the evildoers from his presence.
Now the New Living Translation doesn’t say “you evildoers.” It says “you who break God’s laws” instead. For our understanding of the culture, this translation is closer to the intent of the text. Remember, Matthew’s gospel was written for Jewish believers in Jesus, ones to whom the law is an important part of life. Where the Gentiles would know about the law, the Jews would know it as an integral part of daily life. So when on that day, judgment day, the Lord tells the believer, “Get away from me, you who break God’s laws,” this would be heard with heart wrenching sorrow.
And oh yes, this passage is directed toward believers, not the unknowing masses.
We may do great deeds of power in the name of the Lord, but even so, it is still possible to break God’s laws. And let me ask you, who is more accountable; the one who has never heard God’s laws, or those who know them and break them? Ignorance may be no defense, but disobedience is worse.
Paul helps us discern what it is to be obedient. Our reading from Romans tells us “For in [the gospel] the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith.” He continues reminding us that we are justified not by the law or by works, but by faith.
So Jesus says those who do the will of his Father will enter the kingdom of heaven on judgment day, and Paul tells us that we are justified by grace through faith and not by works. These seem to go in two different directions. Jesus tells us not to break the law and Paul tells us we are saved by not by the law but by grace. How do we handle these two pieces of scripture that seem to contradict one another?
Let’s go back a couple of weeks when I talked about faith and repentance.[2] As I mentioned in that sermon,[3] according to biblical scholars, Paul speaks of faith as union with Christ; the death of the old nature, the putting on of the new humanity, resurrection to newness of life, and new creation.[4] So the faith Paul speaks so strongly of is more than a spiritual or emotional thing, there is a physical putting on of new life in Christ which demands a response, an active response.
The scribes and the Pharisees talk of 613 laws, the Taryag Mitzvot. In these laws are 248 positive laws, things to do, and 365 negative laws, things not to do.[5] Jesus distills this into two simple commands saying, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law.”[6] The experts in the law tell us there are many laws; Jesus tells us that all of our laws come from just these two.
The Hebrew word often used to show the love of God is hesed. Hesed is bold and unpredictable. It is unorthodox and unbound by convention and culture. It is a love which only God is capable; it is a love we are called to imitate and follow. We are called to be immersed in the hesed of the Lord. Only by first being immersed in this love can we share it with others.
Biblical scholar Carolyn Custis James writes hesed is “driven, not by duty or legal obligation, but by a bone-deep commitment—a loyal, selfless love that motivates a person to do voluntarily what no one has a right to expect or ask of them.”[7]
Hesed is only present when we have the option to walk away. Hesed is only present with perfect freedom; the freedom to do as we wish, yet choose to do what is beyond the pale of valor. Hesed is only present when we put all that we have and more into our love for God and one another. And it is in times like these when we are able to give more than we could ever know or imagine. Jesus teaches us how to love one another with this perfect daring love.
We all know of Leah, the young girl Lucille gives us updates about who is battling cancer. What you don’t know is that her cousin Rachel died of the same cancer years earlier at the age of six. What we don’t see are Rachel’s parents who know the loss of a child, giving her all of their love, more than they could have ever hoped to give.
Rachel’s dream was her wedding. Even at the age of five, she was anticipating her special day. Because hesed knows no bounds, because hesed knows which of our rules can and should be broken; with her family and friends she celebrated her wedding. Her special day was a joyful day for the entire family. But I cannot imagine how the joy of this celebration was not diminished by the terror of cancer.
Yet, through God’s perfect love, through his hesed, life was celebrated, love was shared, and joy was known. Hesed won the day, even in the light of the grief that would follow some months later as a six year old girl dies.
It is this sacrificial love we are called to share. This is the law we are to carry out. This is how we are to respond to one another in faith, this is how we keep the laws of God and not become evildoers. We do this not for our salvation, but in response to our salvation. This is the joy we are to share with our Lord, one another, and our neighbor. This is the love we are especially to share with the sojourner and the stranger, those who come and go in our lives.
This is what we are to hear, this is what we are to obey, only then can we know. We pack school supplies for children we don’t even know, yet our lives intersect theirs every day that homework is finished. And we are called to do more; we are called to be outrageous in committing hesed on an unsuspecting world. There is a call for school supplies for Iraqi and Pakistani school children. Is it time to take the school supply project global? And before anyone asks if this is the kind of project we can handle; as we have received the grace and peace of God’s extravagant love; I ask as believers in Christ how can we answer with any less?
We are saved by grace through faith which is not spiritual, but active. What we do is not works to garner salvation, but acts performed in response to God’s perfect love. And once we dare ourselves to stretch beyond what we could ever hope or imagine, just dream of where God’s grace will take us.
The crowd was astounded, amazed at Jesus’ teaching for he spoke with authority, not as their teachers of the Law. You see, the scribes did have an authority. They followed the authority of the written word and those who had interpreted it a thousand years before them. But Jesus does not rely upon the authority of mere mortals. He is God, he is the living Torah, he is the law incarnate. As Emmanuel, God with us, he teaches with his own authority—the authority of the Lord our God. We are to hear his words and act on them through his boundless love. Then we will be like the wise man who builds his home upon the rock, our rock and our redeemer. Amen
[1] “Yada”, “The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon.” Oxford: Clarendon Press 1907
[2] From the Sixth Sunday of Easter, Acts 17:22-31 and John 14:15-21.
[3] “Election Day,” http://timelovesahero.blogspot.com/2008/04/election-day.html, accessed May 31, 2008.
[4] Repentance, “The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible.” Buttirck, Editor. 21st Printing, Electronic Edition, Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1962
[5] 613 Mitzvot, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/613_Mitzvot, accessed July 2, 2007.
[6] Matthew 22:37-39
[7] Custin James, Carolyn, “The Gospel of Ruth, Loving God Enough to Break the Rules.” Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2008, page 115.
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