the master — Matthew 24:45-51 — December 16

Over the past two centuries, this odd picture of Jesus has been put forward.  It’s the “Jesus, gentle and mild” concept:  Jesus with the sheep, the little children, welcoming them into His arms.  And certainly, there is plenty in the earthly life of Jesus to add to this portrait of the humanly approachable God in the flesh.  It’s precisely because of such mercy that I find myself in His arms, cradled, carried, and confirmed.

However, this isn’t the complete picture.  Elsewhere in the life of Jesus we note that He calls Himself “Lord”; we see Him overturning the tables of the moneychangers in the temple; we hear Him pronouncing woes on people that will not repent and turn to Him.  And indeed, there is plenty in the Scriptures which add to this complete portrait of a God of mercy and truth, of grace and justice Who, though He be human, is also fully divine.  It’s precisely because of the reality of Jesus as God that I find my life being challenged, changed, and corrected, day by day, until His return to heaven on earth.

And so in today’s continuation of the parable of the servants and the master who returns home after a long delay, we see that “other” side of Jesus which contemporary Christianity likes to forget, but which completes His portrait.  Notice that Jesus is depicting Himself as “Master”, not fellow-servant.  When He returns, He will reward those whom He finds at work when He arrives (Matthew 24:46), but He will also cut in pieces and put outside those who are making a mockery of the grace His has given them (Matthew 24:51).  And though we grant that the incentive to serve the Lord should be more on the lines of wanting to please Him as a faithful servant, rather than fearing to arouse His wrath, nonetheless the reality of judgment and condemnation from our gracious Master should not be put out of our minds entirely.

As we particularly think of those who consider themselves “Christians” but are living in a way that is far from serving Him (and which of us hasn’t been among them at times) we would do well to encourage them to join us in repentance, before it’s too late.  For indeed, this wonderfully approachable God opens His arms wide to wayward servants like you and me, but only so long, until that time when, perhaps soon, He will return, for good, or for ill, for us.

When He returns, how will He find you?

this generation — Matthew 24:32-44 — December 15

This generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place (Matthew 24:34).  This is another of those words from Jesus, describing His coming again, which has engendered some confusion.  As His disciples who walked with Him on this earth wanted to know when He would return again (even though they didn’t yet understand the reality of His death and resurrection), Jesus described some of the signs of His coming.  And then He indicated that “this generation”, presumably those to whom He was speaking, would be alive to see all of “these things”, these signs of His impending return, taking place.  This led some of His followers, including St. Paul, perhaps, to assume that He would be returning before the end of the 1st century.  And, it has led those who scoff at the notion of His personal, physical, and global return as pure fancy, in that it didn’t happen in the 1st century, and it won’t happen in the 21st either.

And yet, Jesus didn’t indicate that His return would take place in the first century, but merely that the signs of His coming would all be present in the first century, as they would be in the 2nd, the 3rd, the 10th, the 20th, and the 21st.  On the scale of God’s time, we, and all who have come before us, including this first generation who heard these words of Jesus with their physical ears, are living in the “last days”.  The coming of the Lord Jesus is still “very near”, in that 2000 years are but as two days in God’s timekeeping (2 Peter 3:8).  As such, we are called to be ready to respond to God’s invitation and Jesus’ appearing at any time, for about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father (Matthew 24:36).  We are to keep awake therefore, for [we do not know on what day [our] Lord is coming (Matthew 24:42).  As Peter says, what kind of people ought [we] to be?  [We] ought to live holy and godly lives, as [we] look forward to the day of God, and speed its coming (2 Peter 3:11-12).

let the reader understand — Matthew 24:15-31 — December 14

Let the reader understand (Matthew 24:15).

This is one of my favorite verses in the Bible, right up there with this one:  there are some things in [Paul's letters] hard to understand… (2 Peter 3:15).

And indeed, there are some things (though admittedly, not many things) in the Scriptures which are hard to understand, and are, perhaps, left up to the reader to interpret as she or he sees best.  Jesus’ reference to a desolating sacrilege standing in the holy place, as was spoken of by the prophet Daniel (let the reader understand) is one of those. In Daniel 9:27, 11:31, and 12:11 we see reference to an evil ruler or realm which replaces the true worship of God with abominable spiritual practices which deny the existence of the one, true God.  And so, as Jesus speaks of the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem (Matthew 24:2) and as His disciples inquire as to when this will happen (Matthew 24:3), He describes the general context of the end of the age, a time when there will be confusion and conflict in both “church” and “state”, including this spiritual confusion, when the state will replace real worship with a false counterfeit.  When the temple was destroyed in 70AD, and when the Roman rulers eventually proclaimed themselves as Lord and God, no doubt we have at least a partial fulfillment of what Jesus spoke of here.  And yet, from this teaching, and from other teaching in the Scripture, it’s clear that the time of Jesus’ second coming will be accompanied by dire circumstances for all people, including spiritual confusion those who are His followers.  Though we might wish to know the exact time and circumstances of His coming, He warns us not to be premature in our welcoming a supposed Messiah (Matthew 24:4,26), and to hold on for the One we know to be the “real deal”.

Indeed, these things are now and will be hard to understand, but one thing is sure:  At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn.  They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory.  And He will send His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other (Matthew 24:30-31).  On that day, for those who are eagerly waiting or watching, there will be no confusion, when His call to come home will be gratefully received.

I will not! — Matthew 21:23-32 — December 2

Apparently, God would rather have the rebel whose heart He can change rather than the compliant whose heart is actually set against Him.

In today’s story, Jesus compares two kinds of sons:  the first is the rebel, who answers, “I will not” to his father’s directions, but then later changes his mind and goes (Matthew 21:29) ; the second is the compliant, who answers, “I go, sir”, but then doesn’t go.  Jesus asks His hearers, which of the two did the will of his father?, to which they answer, the first (Matthew 21:31).  Though the rebel didn’t do the will of the father at first, even insulting his father in the culture of Jesus’ day by his rude response, nonetheless, he ends up doing the father’s will.  The compliant, though he appears to respect his father, using the deferential “sir” in his verbal response, nonetheless he ends up being the one who truly disses his father by his doing nothing.

As Jesus draws the comparison between these two sons and the “religious” and the “irreligious” of His day, indicating that it’s the irreligious who seem to be doing God’s will, we’re given a vision of the grace of our God today.  Apparently, we don’t have a God who demands immediate respect and response.  He tolerates our rebellion, as long as He sees in us heart and minds that He can subsequently change.  This is a far cry from many parents who take an initial “no” as a final answer.  Such is His loving grace toward us.   And yet, He doesn’t respond well to cheap graciousness on our part, the “yes, Lord” response, which can be essentially meaningless when it comes from a hard heart that has no intention of bowing to His will.  Remember how He once said, not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven (Matthew 7:21).

So, if you find yourself using sweet religious language to God, but know that your heart and will are not engaged, take a closer look at this story.  If there is a rebel heart in you, take heart.  He is calling you, and you do have the opportunity to allow Him to change your heart as you are willing to change your mind (the core meaning of “repentance”).  And if there is a rebel in your life whom you love, be sure to give that one lots of encouragement and lots of room, because it may well be that such a one may get into the kingdom ahead of those who appear “righteous”, but are only play-acting.

house of prayer — Matthew 21:12-22 — December 1

Yes, Jesus was upset.  The beautiful temple in Jerusalem, established by God, built by Solomon, and restored after the period of the exile, was being defiled.  It had been designed to be a “house of prayer for all people” (Isaiah 56:7).  But, because of the greed of those who were the administrators of the house, it had become a place which robbed religious people, particularly the poor.  As “secular” money was changed into the “temple” money used to purchase the offerings for the altar, exorbitant exchange rates were charged.  So Jesus, Lord of His house, overturned the commerce, and reminded everyone of the true purpose of His house.

In the days after His death, resurrection, and ascension, Jesus made it clear that, with His offering the temple of His Body on the cross, and with the destruction of the temple building in Jerusalem, we, His followers, would become His temple, His holy dwelling here on earth:  Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple, and that God’s Spirit lives in you? (1 Corinthians 3:16); You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2:5-6).

So I wonder if He might be reminding us of the same truth as seen in today’s story.  We are God’s temple, His spiritual house.  We are to be a house of prayer for all people, all nations.  We are to be the intercessors for the world, and the be the “place” where people can meet with the living God, and find themselves forgiven, accepted, empowered, and embraced by Him.  And yet, we, as His people, His church, His house, spend so much time and money maintaining ourselves (and our buildings!), and make it difficult for others to find Him through us.  Study after study shows that our money “economics” differ little from that of those who don’t know God in Christ, who aren’t yet a part of His spiritual house, and that a small portion of our time is devoted to prayer and worship.  Our primary call is to follow Him, and to be as He was in this world, a house of prayer to which all can come to find a saving relationship with God, effected by the cross and empty tomb.

Could God be orchestrating this current economic chaos, this time crunch that so many of us feel now, in order to overturn the long-established tables of conventional living as Christians, in order to restore to radical living as His followers, His house of prayer?  How is God upsetting your apple-cart, or allowing others to do so?  Might He be calling you to prayer, and to be His house of prayer for others?

two? — Matthew 21:1-11 — November 30

It’s a small detail in a much larger story of Jesus’ last and triumphal entry into the city of Jerusalem (the next entry being His return when He will come again to usher in the new heaven and the new earth).  But it’s a detail worth noting.

Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, ‘Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me.’ (Matthew 21:1-2).  Though the other synoptic gospels (Mark and Luke) record the number of animals brought to Jesus as either two or one, they agree on the other detail:  Jesus sent two disciples to get the animal(s).  Perhaps this makes sense when bringing two animals, as here in Matthew.  But even that could be handled by one person, and certainly one donkey needed only one disciple.  Why this “waste” of talent?

A cursory examination of Jesus’ instructions to His disciples was that He always sent them out two-by-two, or more.  In fact, there’s only one instance where a disciple was sent out by himself, and that would be Judas Iscariot, on the night he betrayed Jesus to the authorities.  At the Last Supper, Jesus said to him alone, do quickly what you are going to do (John 13:27).  In every other case, Jesus instructed His disciples to go together.  Not only was this prudent human leadership, but also it also fulfilled His promise:  where two or three are gathered in My name, I am there among them (Matthew 18:20).

So dear friend, how to do you view and practice your life with Jesus?  Are you one who sees your “personal relationship” with Him as being exclusively between you and Him alone?  Though there is an essential truth to that, it’s nonetheless a disastrous way of life.  More good followers of Jesus have been shipwrecked by trying to go it alone with Him.  His own example — His constant connections with His own disciples — and His leadership style seen here, all point to the necessity of being part of what of Nativity call a “flock”, a group of two or more Jesus Followers who can walk with you as you walk with Jesus.  For even the tasks that seem so simple — like retrieving a donkey — go so much better with Him when done together with Him and others.

generosity — Matthew 20:1-16 — November 26

Today is Thanksgiving Day in the US.  We remember today the story of the first Europeans to make a true “settlement” here.  Escaping religious persecution in Europe, they arrived to find impossibly inhospitable conditions.  Many of their company died, and they found that some of the original inhabitants of this land didn’t welcome the arrival of these foreigners from across the sea.  The winter here was much colder than they had experienced before, and so their ability to secure provisions was limited.

However, tradition holds that, at this time, they gave thanks to God for His immense generosity.  Instead of doing what occurred in today’s story — griping about what God hadn’t given — they gave thanks for what God had provided:  safe travel over the sea, a new homeland, and produce which they had managed to grow with both native and divine assistance.

Today, we’re a far cry from being in their dire situation.  And yet there are millions of us who are having difficulty finding food today, and still more who are without jobs, or in danger of losing a job.  And we may well wish to follow the example of those in today’s Bible parable who were envious because [God] is generous (Matthew 20:15), those who cry that the life He’s given us isn’t fair.  And indeed, it’s not fair that those of us who have come to Jesus late in human history, or perhaps late in our own lifetime, receive the same “benefit” as those who came earlier.  But we thank God today for all His mercies, shown to us and to all.

So may your observance of Thanksgiving, whether it be in abundance, or in want, be layered with wave after wave of gratitude, as you consider all that God has done for you in Christ, knowing that we who are last are being counted worthy of being among the first.

not impossible — Matthew 19:23-30 — November 25

There are those times when everything just seems impossible.  All of the challenges that we’re facing personally, regionally, and internationally sometimes seem insurmountable.  We wonder if we’re going to be able to make it through this life, or if somehow, we’ll get overwhelmed and lost in the maelstrom.

It’s at times like these that I’m so glad not to be following a system, or worshipping something or someone “out there”.  Instead, I’m in touch with The Person of the universe, the God who is both “out there” and “right here”, and who says to me:  for mortals (like you) it is impossible, but for God (Me) all things are possible (Matthew 19:26).  And therefore, I realize that as He has and is helping me to stay connected to Him, and to become more and more like His Son, Jesus, who has lived a life like all of us, all things are possible for me, in Him.

And so, as I get wrapped up in the riches that are mine in this part of the world but are being threatened by the global economy; and as this preoccupation with stuff threatens to keep me from pursuing God’s kingdom, I’m grateful that saving me in this state isn’t impossible for God (Matthew 19:23-26).  As I struggle with giving to the job/home/community/state/nation the things that belong to it (namely time and money), and also giving to God that which belongs to God (namely myself and everything I have), I’m grateful that having enough to spare in this situation isn’t impossible for God, but that He promises to provide for me in this life and in the life to come (Matthew 19:27-29).  And as I sometimes look at others who seem to be getting “ahead” of me as they leave God behind, I’m grateful that finishing well isn’t impossible for God, but that He indicates that the first will be last, and the last will be first (Matthew 19:30).

That you, God, for making so many impossibles possible, including my life.

the young — Matthew 19:13-22 — November 24

In this section of Matthew’s gospel, one thing is obvious:  Jesus likes those who are young.  In a culture which valued the elderly, and tended to dismiss the young, particularly children, Jesus invited the young into His Presence, just as He invited that other dismissed group, women.

When people were bringing their little children to Him for prayer, Jesus’ disciples spoke sternly to them, presumably offended that Jesus would waste His time with such as these.  Instead, He said, let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs (Matthew 19:14).  When a young man came to Him, asking what He needed to do to inherit eternal life, indicating that he had kept all the commandments, Mark records that Jesus looked at him and loved him (Mark 10:21).  In both cases, Jesus showed His love for those who are young.  Contemporary pictures of Jesus and the little children notwithstanding, children aren’t always angelic, and certainly not in His Presence; and yet Jesus loves them, and welcomes them.  The picture of this young man, rashly indicating that he’s kept all the commandments (talking to the only One who ever did so), nonetheless, Jesus loves him, and calls him to a deeper discipleship than the self-absorbed kind he was professing.  Jesus loved the young.

And He loves them still.  There still seem to be “attitudes” in the church about children and youth, reflected in that we adults often view them as “our future”, as the church of tomorrow, and treat them accordingly, by refusing to welcome them into the center of the church life and governance.  In fact, Jesus indicates that the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as them (Matthew 19:14).   Their directness, their openness, their lack of duplicity are the very values which Jesus commends as being key to inheriting the kingdom of God.  They, too, are the church of today, and we would do well to welcome them and encourage them to move forward with us as we seek to follow our Lord Jesus.

And, if you’re a young person reading this, take heart:  Jesus has a special place in His heart for you, and He is calling you, and welcome you to His side.

eunuchs — Matthew 19:1-12 — November 23

Nobody really liked a eunuch, except the one that the eunuch served.  Eunuchs in the days of Jesus were males who were castrated at an early age in order to be useful in areas of service requiring a non-aggressive personality.  Though this procedure assured the person of an income, it did not endear them to the societies in which they lived, either the gentile (which idolized the human body) or the Jewish (which would forbid such a person from entering the temple).  God would demonstrate his acceptance of eunuchs by sending the deacon Philip to bring the good news of Jesus to one of them (Acts 8:26ff).

Jesus speaks of eunuchs in this teaching on sexual morality.  He refers to eunuchs who have been so from birth, and those who have been made eunuchs by others.  At first reading, one wonders what this has to do with marriage and divorce.  But then Jesus says, there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 19:12).  In church history, there have been a few who have taken this last section literally, altering themselves physically in order to fulfill God’s call on their lives.  But it would appear that this is another example of Jesus making a strong point by using hyperbole.  This last sentence is sums up what has been said previously about human sexuality:  it would be better if we acted as eunuchs when it comes to engaging in any kind of sex outside of the healthy bounds established by God rather than adopting our culture’s self-serving sexual values.

For the religious leaders came to Jesus and asked Him if it was lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause (italics mine — Matthew 19:3).  This question came about because, at the time when Jesus was a boy, certain rabbis had invented an “any cause” divorce, based on Deuteronomy 24:1.  Prior to this time, divorce was allowed only for cases of adultery, or due to the specific causes of abuse indicated in Exodus 21:10-11, when a husband withholds food, clothing, or martial rights.  Jesus wasn’t denying those being the regretful grounds for divorce in His day, or ours.  But this “any cause” divorce was another matter.  Men in Jesus’ day who were unhappy with their wives for “any cause” were free to divorce and remarry, presumably to satisfy their romantic or sexual desires.  And in our day, men and women pursue this “putting away” of spouses.  Jesus’ strongly negative response here indicated that this kind of “no cause” divorce was way out of bounds.  And so He would advise the man tempted to such a no-fault divorce to make himself a eunuch for the sake of the kingdom of heaven, to deny himself the pleasure of pursuing and taking a new wife for the sake of upholding the values of the kingdom of God, including faithfulness to one’s spouse.  To do anything less would reveal a hard-heartedness (Matthew 19:8), putting one’s own desires ahead of the needs of one’s spouse, as well as the calling of one’s God.

In today’s sex-happy culture, we would do well to make ourselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven.  For married and unmarried, we are called to another uncomfortable word, chastity, reserving sexual intimacy for heterosexual marriage.  In following this call, we may well feel like eunuchs when compared to others in our culture.  And, as it was with being a eunuch in Jesus’ day (or ours), this commitment will put us at odds with some of our friends and relatives, including some in our churches.  But, as Jesus said earlier, where He also used hyperbole to make a strong point, it would be better for us to enter life maimed than to be thrown into the eternal fire (Matthew 18:8)