Black's Blog

February 27, 2010

Matthew 13:51-52

In today’s parable Jesus says that treasures come from both old and new places. I relate this to how important the Old Testament is in and of itself, in addition to being foundational in understanding the New Testament. Think of such treasures as the twenty-third psalm, the Ten Commandments, the servant songs of Isaiah, or the wisdom books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, in terms of treasures that are old but still speak to today. I think that the Greek word for treasure used here, “thesaurus” is a guide to this understanding. As a wordsmith whenever I am challenged to find a new way to say something I look in Roget’s Thesaurus, the source for synonyms. For a student well versed in God’s kingdom, the Scriptures—both old and new—are a treasure for not only kingdom speaking but kingdom living

There are also new treasures of the kingdom. For Jesus He was referring his disciples to the fact that He Himself was such a treasure, such a source of salvation. The New Testament became such a treasure after His life, death, and resurrection. We can look to the New Testament like a spring that gives life itself.

I also think of listening to younger people, as well as older people, as treasures for me. Sometimes we fail to listen to people at either end of the age spectrum. In doing so we miss so much because there is great wisdom from both. During the last couple of years I have learned a great deal from watching my grandchildren, as well as from talking to my parents. They are the source of pearls of wisdom (treasure) for me, and I treasure their insight.

How about you? Where do you find your greatest treasure? How is Scripture, both Old and New, treasure for you? Do you treasure your lvoed ones, old and new and look to them for wisdom?

Friday, February 26

Matthew 13:44-46

            I gave a presentation on this passage—these two parables—this past Wednesday for midweek Lenten services. My theme was “Valuing the Treasure: Putting First Things First.” I believe the main point of these two parables is that (our relationship with) Jesus Christ is the most important thing and that we should put Him first in our life.

            In reality it isn’t that easy, is it? Other priorities seem more necessary or more enticing—family, friends, even self. They make more pressing demands on us. They even feed our sense of guilt. For example, if we are working fifty or sixty hours a week and there is an event involving our kids, we will prioritize that event over God, or at least worship of God. Or we may even value the work over keeping the Sabbath, thinking we can always pay our respects to God.

            The reality is that most people think of their relationship to Christ as a treasure that is always there, but doesn’t have to be dug up or used or incorporated into life here. It is not a treasure that affects our every day life right now.

            Would we feel that way about our spouse? Would this work with our children? If we cannot do a good job of being a spouse or parent or child only sometime in the future when we get to them, how can we do a good job of practicing our faith when we get around to it?

            This parable challenges me to ask the question: “who is number one in my life?” Lent is about growing closer to Christ so that we can begin to reflect the priority that He is number one.

Thursday, February 25
Matthew 22:1-14

            “Where’s the joy?” In this parable for today a king is giving a wedding banquet for his son and the invited guests do not come. So then the king invites people form the streets to come and they do. Finally, he notices a man who came unprepared for the wedding banquet and he was thrown out. All of this was connected with the lack of desire on the part of those who were invited in celebrating the wedding banquet with the king and his son. They were not up to rejoicing with the king.

            Quite often sermons on this text have been preached on the lack of joyful exuberance over being invited to be a part of God’s kingdom. If you have ever hosted a wedding you know that it is really about disappointment. Is God disappointed in us when we fail to respond joyfully just as the parents of the bride (and increasingly, the groom) are disappointed in those who make excuses for not coming to their “big event?”

            As parents of young children we often say of our children when they do something far less than normal: “I’m not mad at you. I’m just disappointed in you.” If we are honest with our feelings, truly our disappointment runs from our children to us. We sometimes blame ourselves for the shortcomings of our children. We wonder especially when our children make choices that are difficult for us to accept how they are who they are.

            God certainly wants us to reflect God’s image. God wants us to rejoice over God’s creation, get excited about the process of reconciliation that God brings about in Jesus, and to rejoice over this kingdom that God brings in even now in our midst. Do we want to disappoint God? You and I are invited to a “feast being given in God’s honor.” It is the great supper of Holy Communion.  As the psalmist once wrote, “This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice, and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24)

February 24, 2010

Matthew 13:33-35 

            The parables or stories about the kingdom of heaven (God) reign supreme in Matthew 13. This kingdom is the reign of God which Jesus is bringing into the world through His life, death, and resurrection. Jesus began ushering in the kingdom in Mark 1:14-15: “Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”

            Now Jesus tells how there is no stopping the kingdom. It is like leaven (or yeast) that is mixed in with flour (and a few other ingredients) and it changes everything. In effect that is what happens to our lives when God reigns in our lives.  A little yeast (or kingdom) goes a long way.

            Yet how many of us let God’s kingdom control our lives? I think you can take this picture in a lot of different directions. If we are like the flour, or if other interests in our life are like the flour, so often the kingdom gets shut out, or at least somewhat unmixed. Then we become like bread that does not do what we are supposed to do or whose value is diminished. Other times we may simply allow too much of ourselves to dominate our lives, and not enough of the kingdom. The picture is of there being more like ten parts flour and a little leaven in our lives and the kingdom of God does not rule us.

            Think about the parts of your life that are untouched by the message of the kingdom. Reflect on those times when you would be so much less fearful, so much more trusting, if you let the kingdom of God reign fully in you.

            I know there is some kind of song about “more of God, less of me.” That certainly is my prayer whenever I get angry over my teams losing, whenever I get jealous of what one of my brothers has, and the times when I wish I had landed that one great job that I no longer am qualified for today. “May there be more of you, God, and less of me.”

            Tonight I hope to make some kind of story presentation on how the kingdom of God is like treasure in a field and a pearl of great price. If God reigns in our lives, there should be much more joy. I pray that the value of the kingdom will come out through my presentation.

Tuesday, February 23
Matthew 23:37-39
“A Hen Gathers Her Chicks”

            Today we are confronted by a lament saying of Jesus that uses a “comparison parable.” Jesus entered into Jerusalem in Matthew 21 and has been teaching ever since that time. Little by little everyone but the crowds and His disciples are deserting Him. Just before this saying Jesus has had some harsh words on the scribes and Pharisees. Now His heart goes out to His own people, those with whom He has discussed theology since He was twelve years old and in the temple. “How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!”

            This reminds me of the prophet Hosea’s words about His own people in chapter eleven: “How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, O Israel? My hearth recoils within me; my compassion grows warm and tender?” Surely God is like a loving parent who cares deeply for all of God’s children. God could even be said to be like a mother hen gathering her little ones under her wing.

            I grew up on a farm with chickens and pigs. We had a brooder house where we raised chicks from early on, many of which were born right there. We watched sows (mother pigs) take care of their piglets. Although each part of the animal kingdom is different under normal circumstances it is inbred in them to take care of their offspring. So God, as expressed in Jesus’ words, had a natural loving concern for God’s children. However, God will not “make” us believe. There is the possibility of refusing God’s care and compassion, and the scribes and Pharisees do exactly that. In doing so, they miss out on the joys of the kingdom.

            How many of us would love to “save” our offspring? How many of us would like to influence our children and grandchildren to believe in Jesus as the Messiah and receive eternal salvation. If Jesus cannot do it for those He loves, neither can we. All we can do is witness with our lives. And there is something else very important we can do—that is to pray for our loved ones! That is something and we will have to let the rest up to God. “Let go and let God!”

February 22, 2010

Matthew 6:25-34

       Every Sunday during worship we gather prayer concerns. From the worshiping congregation of 160 or so we never fail to get at least seven or eight major concerns, along with several that are less major. Most often these concerns are about safety in one way or another. People have anxieties over basic things. At the same time, with many people out of work or with concerns whether or not their income will be sufficient or they will keep their job, there are anxieties about basic needs being met.

         This passage from the Sermon on the Mount is relevant for our highly anxious lives today. In the middle of Jesus’ basic teaching He calms us our anxieties over whether our basic needs will be met. He does it by comparing our human lives to things in nature. “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field…will he not much more clothe you?

          God does take care of us whether we worry about it or not. And what does anxiety add to our lives? What happens when we lack trust and confidence in God? If we are facing surgery, separation, divorce, or even the death of a loved one and have anxiety how much harder it is! If we consider the birds and the flowers, how God takes care of them, we can rest easy that no matter what happens God will take care of us.

           Next time you see a sparrow, think about if they have their feathers. And when you look into your closet, think about how God is looking to you to insure that others are fed, watered, clothed, and have a home. We truly have enough to do for a lifetime, and perhaps that too is God taking care of us.

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Matthew 7:24-27

“Houses on Rock and Sand”

            How solid is your foundation? If something happened to you or one of your loved ones today, would you be overwhelmed by a “flood of anxiety” or would you know that somehow you would get through it?

            These are the questions that are prompted for me as I read these words from Matthew. Eugene Peterson paraphrases it this way in The Message: “”These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit—but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock. “But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don’t work them into your life, you are like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach. When a storm rolled in and the waves came up, it collapsed like a house of cards.”

            Coming at the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is reminding His listeners (and us) to not only hear His words but to obey them. Put them into practice. Make them a part of your life. This is what makes for wisdom. But if we want to be foolish (like a stupid carpenter) we will have a spiritual tsunami on our hands.

            As words that direct us in the beginning of Lent this parable tells us to not just learn from Jesus during these days, but to let our learning affect our lives. When you think about the content of the Sermon on the Mount that incorporation into our lives is challenging. We are to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. We are to turn the other cheek, love our enemy, lay up treasures in heaven, seek first the kingdom of God, pray and keep on praying, and do the will of God. We can only begin this journey one step at a time. Which one of these words can you put into practice? What discipline can you add to your Christian life during Lent? What part of your life needs some “home improvement?” Don’t put it off, but start working on it right now. The wise person builds a solid foundation before the predictable and unpredictable storms come.

February 19, 2010

Matthew 12:43-45

            There is an old saying that sounds very much like today’s “parable.” “Idle hands are the devil’s playground.” The similarity lies in the truth that if we do not work equally hard at filling our life with good things, bad things will move in and fill that vacant place. But if we pursue virtuous things, there will be no place for evil things or for the power of evil when it tries to enter our lives.

            In my pastoral practice I have known several situations of someone with an “addictive personality” simply going “cold turkey” from his/her addiction. I recognize that a person’s ego strength can be so great that they will no longer drink, smoke, etc. However, most of the time a key part of twelve step programs is to offer an alternative to the addiction. In a way, it is to “become addicted” to the program and friends because as Bob Dylan wrote “you gotta serve somebody.”

            As Christians we are to fill our lives and minds and hearts with love for God. We are to fill the room of our lives with service to God and others. When we fail to do that, Jesus’ little parable can become true. We become easy pickings for the power of evil.

            The Lenten season is about developing the discipline to keep our heart, mind, and spirit filled with good thoughts…a good spirit….a devotion to God. It can also be a time to get more connected to a Christian community that walks with you on your spiritual journey. Like a twelve step group we can begin by admitting that by ourselves we are powerless with sin. However, guided by the Holy Spirit (our  higher power) we can stay “on the wagon”—stay faithful to God throughout our lives.

Thursday, February 18

Reflection on Ash Wednesday Skit

            The prodigal son story (Luke 15:1-3, 11-32) is powerful. The modern skit we dramatized last night emphasized the relationship between the sons ten years after the prodigal son has come home. Very little has changed in the relationship between the two sons. The father now is facing a medical crisis and wants reconciliation between the two sons. Although they have not changed their basic views, they do it for him.

            Playing the father of the two sons, I felt the incredibleness of his love for the prodigal son, while maintaining equal love for the older son. This is what God’s love is like. As a father of two daughters I have always tried to keep love equal and unconditional. I realize even more following the skit that God’s love is amazing. If you have had need for reconciliation in your family and have experienced some catalyst getting you to make up, and you do, you can see how that kind of healing can only come from Someone outside of yourself.

Parable Reading for Today

Matthew 9:14-17 “Patches and Wineskins”

            The two sayings for today’s parable follow a question about why Jesus’ disciples do not fast as we do from the disciples of John the Baptist. Jesus’ reply is “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? When the bridegroom is gone, they will fast.” Then Jesus says:” “No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch tears away form the garment, and a worse tear is made. Neither is new wine put into old wineskins; if it is, the skins burst, and the wine is spilled, and the skins are destroyed; but new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.”

            This parable seems to say that in Jesus we have something new—Someone new. In a way that’s why Jesus is so important to us. Jesus’ resurrection brought in a new world. We find it impossible to totally explain its newness because, as Nicodemus finds us in John 3, that discovery comes from above—from God.

Sometimes in our lives we get in trouble when we try to accommodate the old ways with which we grew up into the new world in which we live. Like the disciples of John the Baptist we get into trouble when we take a narrow view of the world. “Our God becomes too small.” And we lack the full joy and exuberance that the new wine, Jesus, brought into the world.

Let us not be found patching together our lives and later regretting it. Let us not take shortcuts in the way in which we live out our Christian lives. Let us wisely follow Jesus all the way to the ultimate new wineskins place—the resurrection. That after all is why we worship Sunday and not on Saturday. The old tomb could not contain Him. Neither can the old ways hold us back when we are “filled with new wine.”

Introduction to the Lenten Season

            Today marks the beginning of Lent, the forty day season (not counting Sundays) that leads into Easter. Lent has two historic meanings for the church. First, it is the time in the early church when people preparing for baptism would study the basics of the Christian faith. Consequently, it is a time for Christians today to consider the quality of our Christian life, and how we can grow in our faith. Second, it is a time to consider the passion of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Especially in the Protestant church it has been a time to reflect on the suffering and death of Jesus of Nazareth on behalf of the people God loves.

            During this Lenten season we plan on concentrating on the quality of our Christian life and our growth in faith. Many people learn best through stories. We have some great stories in the Bible, like Joseph and his brothers, David and Goliath, and Daniel in the lion’s den, all from the Old Testament. But the stories of Jesus in the New Testament are not only picturesque and well-told, but they express what is most important in the Christian life. We can well reflect on what Jesus is telling us to prioritize and do with our life.

            As a guide for our reflection we have “Stories of the Savior: Daily Bible Readings for Lent from our Lord’s Parables.” (Creative Communications for the Parish, 2010). These stories begin with a lesson for Ash Wednesday from Matthew 9:9-13 with the theme “The Healthy Need No Doctor.” This passage includes not a true parable, but an allusion to a saying that was apparently widespread in Jesus’ day: “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.” Right before this Jesus has gotten in trouble with the Jewish religious leaders for forgiving sins, for doing things that only God can do.

            Now Jesus calls a sinful tax collector, Matthew (or Levi), to be one of his disciples. It marks a “new beginning” for Matthew as he goes from being a man driven by his sin to someone driven by forgiveness. Jesus eats with tax collectors and sinners (Matthew’s friends) which gets him in more trouble with the Jewish authorities. They question Jesus’ other disciples as to why he would do such a thing and Jesus says quotes the prophet Hosea, chapter 6, “I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.” Then he makes the point: “I came not to call good people, but bad into my kingdom.”

            This passage reflects the meaning of Ash Wednesday very well. We come seeking God’s forgiveness. Just like Matthew we are called as sinners. We are those who have need of the Great Physician who can “heal our sin-sick souls.”

            Our Ash Wednesday Service Emphasis

            In our Ash Wednesday service at All Saints we will begin our reflection on “Love and Mercy” by considering “God’s Extravagant Love” in forgiving sinful human beings like ourselves. The parable of the Prodigal Son was told by Jesus to the scribes and Pharisees (Jewish religious leaders) as a way of expressing their own displeasure over Jesus’ eating and drinking with them. For Jesus to do this was understood by the Jewish religious authorities as an acceptance of their way of life. But for Jesus it was more reflective of His understanding of God’s unconditional love for all people.

            This is the third of three parables of God’s claiming those who are lost. The lost sheep and the lost coin precede the parable of the lost son. Jesus’ listeners really identified with the older son in the parable and the father was considered to reflect the love of God. As we saw in Matthew 9 above, the people Jesus hangs around with are like the younger son, those who fall short of following God with their heart, soul, and mind, but who also seek to receive God’s mercy.

            In our journey through Lent I chose to include this parable first because it reflects God’s love and mercy being extended to us before we can receive it in return. It is my favorite parable and gets across  the joy of being found by God and made somebody, even in the midst of feeling so often like a nobody. I would hope that as people see the skit that will be presented from today’s life, they will see how contemporary Jesus’ parable is. I have experienced this in at least two ways in my own life. First, I have experienced both others and me having a day to day “lostness” as we run away from what is really important in our lives. This is represented in the play by the younger son trying to escape from responsibility in life; however, it is also represented by the older son being more concerned about making money than both showing extra love and concern for his family or for his father. Second, the skit reflects for me the challenge of needing to put someone else down in order to put yourself up. It is a reflection of something I have experienced over and over again as the middle of three brothers. In interim ministry circles we call attention to it as being “bad triangulation,” getting closer to one person in order to feel better about relating to the third. It is not healthy in daily life or in the life of a congregation. The application from the parable is that we should show love and mercy to all people, just like our gracious God does for us.

            What is your takeaway from the prodigal son story? Is it your favorite story that Jesus told, or is it another one? Have you experienced getting caught in a bad triangle in your family or in the church or even in daily life? Do you have a hard time forgiving others who have messed up? Can you fathom God’s unconditional love? All these are questions raised by this great story from Luke 15.

Taken together this first day of Lent teaches us about grace: God loves and cares for us and invites us to love and care for others. Thanks be to God for God’s unconditional love. May we grow in love and mercy during this Lenten season.