Gospel for July 18, 2021

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Mark 6:30-34, 53-56
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OBSERVE:

In this passage under consideration, the lectionary editors have made some curious decisions.  They have the reader leap from Mark 6:34 to verse 53 — hopscotching completely over two very  impressive miracles.

In verses 35-44, Jesus feeds five thousand people with five loaves of bread and two fish; and in verses 45-52, after Jesus has sent the disciples on across the Sea of Galilee so that he can pray in solitude, Mark describes the incident in which Jesus walks on water to their boat in the midst of a storm!

So, I ask, why skip these two HUGE miracles?  I can only assume that the editors choose to compensate for it by focusing, as they do in the lectionary readings ahead, on these two miracles as depicted and developed theologically in the Gospel of John, Chapter six.

Here, the focus is on the relational dynamics between Jesus, the disciples, and the crowds of people who are beginning to follow him.

First, the disciples have returned from their first “missionary” expeditions, and they are beside themselves with excitement!

The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught.

Jesus draws them apart from the crowds so that they may rest and eat after their adventures. They leave by boat and sail across the lake.

But the crowds anticipate their movements, perhaps watching the course of the boat, and arrive at this solitary place on foot even before Jesus and his disciples.  Jesus isn’t annoyed or impatient, but recognizes their desperate needs:

When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.

Then, after the interlude with the feeding of the multitude, Jesus sends the disciples back across the lake — alone, until he joins them on the water.  So we pick up with verse 53, when they arrive at Gennesarat.  And the cycle continues — word spreads that the miracle worker has come, and people bring their sick to be healed.  Jesus has become a rock star in this region, followed by the masses!

APPLY:  

Ministry can be extremely exhilarating.  But it can also be exhausting.  Jesus recognizes the need of even the most dedicated disciples to be physically and spiritually replenished. He takes the disciples aside to a quiet, solitary retreat so they may eat and rest.

This passage reveals how difficult it may be to find these times of “Sabbath rest” for those who are deeply committed to ministry.  He certainly is committed:

he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd.

He allows his schedule to be suspended because of the great need.

What the lectionary passage doesn’t reveal is that Jesus still finds time to get away.  The reason he sends the disciples on across the lake is that he himself must find solitude to pray:

Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd.  After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray (Mark 6:45-46).

There must be cycles in ministry. Times to work hard and diligently, but also times of solitude for prayer and rest.  Only then do we have the spiritual resources to minister effectively.

RESPOND: 

I admire Jesus’ availability to the crowds who were:

 like sheep without a shepherd.

Unlike me, he never loses his patience or whines that he needs some time off!

On the other hand, he is differentiated enough to realize that he must find time for solitude and prayer if he is to accomplish the great tasks ahead.

I believe that this is a good pattern for anyone who attempts to offer ministry in Jesus’ name.  Work hard, pray earnestly, and also rest, so that we may be equipped for every good work.

Lord, your example of compassion and rest are both important to me.  Help me to see people the way you see them, with compassion for sheep who need a shepherd — namely, you the Good Shepherd. But help me also to find the time to rest and reflect and be restored so that I can minister according to your will, not my own impulses.  Amen. 

PHOTOS:
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Epistle for July 18, 2021

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Ephesians 2:11-22
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OBSERVE:

Paul is tackling one of the toughest issues of his time — the division between Jews and Gentiles.  He does not deny the unique place that the Jews had in the “salvation history.”  They were “the circumcision,” and according to the holy scriptures they were the heirs to the covenants of the promise.

Paul never denies the validity of the promises to Israel, or the Law. In fact, in this passage he begins with “bad news” for the Gentiles, rather than good news. They were once:

 without hope and without God in the world.

But the twist in this plot is that Jesus is the ‘game-changer.’   

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

Paul uses a brilliant image to illustrate what Jesus has done.  Gentiles were separated from the presence of God, and from the people of God, by a dividing wall.  Jesus, the carpenter from Nazareth, has broken down this dividing wall, and united Jews and Gentiles! He has done this:

 by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations.

His very death on the cross fulfills and sets aside the law so that the provision of grace mentioned earlier has been fulfilled:

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—  not by works, so that no one can boast (Ephesians 2:8-9).

It isn’t necessary here to explore the vital doctrine of justification by grace through faith.  Suffice it to say that this passage presupposes that the Ephesians are familiar with the notion that their salvation rests not on what they do but on what Christ has done for them.

Paul’s main concern in this passage is to tell his own people (the we he has been referring to , i.e., the Jewish Christians), and the Gentiles (the you he’s also been referring to, i.e., the Gentile Christian) that they are no longer two distinct races.  They are one because Christ has united them by reconciling all of them to God through his cross.  Both Jews and Gentiles have access to God through the same means — the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.

Paul’s understanding is uniquely Trinitarian:

He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

Access to the Father is through the Son by the One Spirit.  And those who were far away were the Gentiles; those who were near were the Jews.  And now they are both in the same place — in the presence of God!

One quick note — when Paul says Jesus preached peace, I wonder if he doesn’t have in mind that wonderful Hebrew concept of shalom, which implies more than just quiet and absence of conflict.  It implies fulfillment, abundance, prosperity, and reconciliation.

Then Paul returns in verses 19-22 to a wonderful image.  If Jesus has destroyed the dividing wall of separation in his own flesh, he is also the carpenter and builder who will build a whole new holy temple.

He begins this section by announcing that the Gentiles:

 are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household.

This is a new “nationality,” if you will; no longer Jew or Gentile, they are God’s people.

And they themselves are the building of God, the temple in which God dwells — Jesus himself is the cornerstone, and the  foundation is the apostles and prophets .  And Jesus is building this new temple out of these new believers!

The temple is not the building built by Solomon in the tenth century B.C., or the temple rebuilt by the returning exiles in the sixth century B.C., or the temple under renovation by Herod in Jesus’ time.  No, the true temple is the people of God, assembled and constructed by Jesus:

And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

The temple is not a place;  it is the Presence of God!

APPLY:  

There are two very significant applications of this passage to us.

First, we are reminded that in modern America, as it has been said, “Eleven o’clock on Sunday morning is the most segregated time of the week.”  Christians of different races worship the same God, read from the same Bible, and yet worship in our separate church buildings.

The controversies about divisions between Jew and Gentile from the early church are just as relevant today as they were nearly two thousand years ago!  Jesus’ work of breaking down the dividing wall that separates believers and reconciling us with one another continues even today.

The second application of this passage is for us to be reminded that we are the temple of God.  Just as David discovered when he wanted to build a temple for God, we must also realize — we  don’t build the temple, Jesus does.

And as one of the modern affirmations declares, “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is the one true Church, apostolic and universal.”  And this temple only rises when it is firmly established on Jesus as the cornerstone, with the teaching of the apostles and the prophets as the foundation.

RESPOND: 

We keep on building barriers and dividing walls that partition ourselves into denominations —  liberals or conservatives;  traditionalists or progressives.  I am guilty of this.

What if we step aside and let Jesus take a sledge hammer to the dividing wall, and we let him build us back up through his grace into the church that he wants us to be, a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit?

Our Lord, break down the walls that divide us, and unite us in Christ.  May we be a dwelling in which you live by your Spirit.  Amen. 

PHOTOS:
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Psalm Reading for July 18, 2021

 

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Psalm 89:20-37
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OBSERVE:

This Psalm is a perfect  companion-piece to 2 Samuel 7:1-14a.  The voice is first person, as the Lord affirms his choice of David as his anointed king.  He has been anointed with the sacred oil reserved for priests, prophets and kings.

The Lord promises victory over his enemies, and the extension of his kingdom: 

I will set his hand over the sea, his right hand over the rivers.

Using an ancient symbol that connects Israel to its agricultural past, the Lord asserts that:

 through my name his horn will be exalted.

The horn in Biblical lore is a symbol of strength —  but the true strength comes from the identity of the Lord, as revealed in his name.

The relationship that the Lord establishes with David is unique and intimate:

He will call out to me, ‘You are my Father, my God, the Rock my Savior.’ And I will appoint him to be my firstborn, the most exalted of the kings of the earth.

David is “adopted” as the firstborn of God, with all of the benefits of power and royalty that involves; but more importantly he will be able to call out to God in God’s name.

Then the Lord reiterates the same pledge he has made in 2 Samuel 7:11-14:

I will maintain my love to him forever, and my covenant with him will never fail.
I will establish his line forever, his throne as long as the heavens endure.

However, there is also the threat of consequences if David’s descendants forsake God’s law or fail to keep the commandments — they will be scourged! However, God has made an inviolable promise to David — to love him and his house forever, and to keep his side of the covenant. Punishment is not correlated with utter abandonment:

his line will continue forever
and his throne endure before me like the sun;
 it will be established forever like the moon,
the faithful witness in the sky.

APPLY:  

David obviously has a unique place in God’s heart, and in the hearts of the Israelites as the model, ideal king.  But what has that to do with us nearly 3,000 years later?

Quite a lot, actually!  We know from the history of the monarchy in Israel and Judah that the united kingdoms consolidated by David didn’t last but one generation after his reign.  And we know that some of his successors who ruled Judah in Jerusalem were really good, and some were really bad.  And we know that the threat included in verses 31-32 did come to pass:

If his sons forsake my law and do not follow my statutes, if they violate my decrees and fail to keep my commands,  I will punish their sin with the rod, their iniquity with flogging.

Eventually, the Northern Kingdom of Israel fell to the Assyrians in 722 B.C., and the Southern Kingdom of Judah fell to the Babylonians in 587 B.C.  It would almost seem that the promise made to David by God for an unfailing covenant, an unending dynasty, and an eternal throne was broken.

Almost — but not from a New Testament perspective.  Jesus, as the descendant of David, fulfils the Messianic destiny of the Son of David and rules also as the Son of God, as Lord of lords and King of kings (Revelation 17:14).

We also hear something that might be a comfort to us. That though we break God’s commandments and laws, and receive the due punishment for our sins, God doesn’t stop loving us.  In fact, it is through the life, death and resurrection of King Jesus that all of God’s promises are fulfilled. And all who turn to the Son of David in repentance and faith may become his subjects.

As Jesus says in the Epilogue of Revelation:

“ I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End… I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star” (Revelation 22:13,16).

RESPOND: 

I have learned to be cautious about idealizing princes, politicians, celebrities, athletes and actors.  They have a tendency to disappoint, sometimes devastatingly. But the promises made about the One descendant of David that I really care about have been, are being, and will be fulfilled.

Though times of austerity and even scourging may come, God will not forget his love for us for the sake of his Son.  Promises may seem deferred in my short-term field of vision; but in God’s long-range vision, his promises are always fulfilled.

Our Lord, your promises sometimes seem to be delayed, and even broken, in my limited scope of vision.  But as it has been said in different ways, your promises may come slowly but they bend toward eternal fulfillment.  Amen.   

PHOTOS:
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Old Testament for July 18, 2021

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
2 Samuel 7:1-14a
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

David’s first impulse after consolidating his reign over the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah in Jerusalem, and bringing the ark of the Covenant into his capital, is to build a suitable shrine for the ark.  His motivation is good:

he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.”

Nathan obviously agrees with David and confirms his decision.

But David’s plans are not to be.  Not yet.  Nathan’s dream that very night is a powerful deterrent from the erection of a temple to the Lord.

The reasons given are three-fold:

• The Lord makes clear that this idea has not originated with him. He has never asked David to build him a permanent shrine.  Rather, he reiterates his own “itinerant” nature:
  I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt to this day. I have been moving from place to place with a tent as my dwelling.
  Like the Israelites themselves, the Lord has been a pilgrim with them.
• The Lord also makes clear through Nathan to David that it is his own divine purpose to provide for David and his people, not for David to provide anything for him! The Lord has exalted David from his humble job as a shepherd and made him the great king over God’s own people.  Moreover, God has provided a place of safety for the people of Israel.  God is to be their refuge in the land.
• And, in an ironic twist, the Lord declares that David won’t make him a house; rather, the Lord will make a house for David. This play on words implies that the Davidic dynasty that will arise from David will reign in Jerusalem for centuries to come.  And it is David’s offspring who will build a temple in Jerusalem — whom of course we know to be Solomon, who is yet unborn.  God promises to guide this heir of David as would a father — but also to discipline him the way a father disciplines a son when he strays.

But there is another, more serious explanation for the Lord’s refusal to allow David to build the temple:

King David rose to his feet and said: “Listen to me, my fellow Israelites, my people. I had it in my heart to build a house as a place of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord, for the footstool of our God, and I made plans to build it.  But God said to me, ‘You are not to build a house for my Name, because you are a warrior and have shed blood'” (1 Chronicles 28:2-3).   

This suggests that the Lord will not allow his holy place to be tainted in any way.

APPLY:  

There is a big picture application here, as well as a smaller picture.

The big picture is what these promises mean to David and the Davidic dynasty.  David, who has been exalted by God to greatness, is assured that his legacy will also be great.  He doesn’t build God a house; God will make David a great house!

Of course, we know the rest of the story.  When David receives the promise on behalf of his heir —  I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever —  we know what will happen.  Solomon will be great, the wisest man in the world; and yet he will stray to false gods through the temptation and appeasement of his many wives.  The kingdom of Israel will secede from Judah when David’s grandson Rehoboam reigns because of Rehoboam’s tyrannical attitude toward Israel.  And after a succession of good and bad kings in Jerusalem, the reign of David’s descendants in the holy city of Jerusalem will end in disaster with the reign of Zedekiah in 587 B.C.  This will come nearly 400 years after the glorious reign of David, when the Babylonians conquer Judah and Jerusalem.

So, Nathan’s prophecy was wrong, right?  No.  Because the eternal reign of the house of Judah is fulfilled in the greatest Son of David of them all — Jesus of Nazareth.  This is the fulfilled promise revealed by the Angel Gabriel to Mary:

“You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end” (Luke 1:31-33).

This reign will indeed be an eternal reign.

On a smaller scale, we also learn something about our own dependence on God.  In our religious zeal we want to do something great for God.  But the fact is God is the one who does something great for us!

Grace is God’s loving initiative on our behalf.  All we do is respond to what he has done, is doing, and will do in our lives.  We don’t need to offer to God what he has not asked for.  What we must do is obey that which he commands us to do.

RESPOND: 

Henry Blackaby has said something like this: real spiritual leadership is finding out what God is up to and where he is going, and following him.  I couldn’t agree more.

Usually when I’ve attempted to take initiative with good intentions, and “help God out” by my own efforts, it has been less than blessed!  Oh, God has intervened in such circumstances to bring good out of my tattered purposes, but that’s his gracious nature at work.

But when I’ve sought his will through prayer and fasting, and confirmed it with Godly counsel, I’ve found myself to be at peace no matter what happens.  Then I know that God is in it, and not my own will.

Lord, we want to do something great for you. But we must begin with the simple realization that you’ve already done something great for us through the saving death and resurrection of your Son, and through the power of your Holy Spirit.  Empower us to do your will instead of seeking your approval for what is clearly only our will.  Amen. 

PHOTOS:
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