Gospel for June 17, 2018

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Mark 4:26-34
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OBSERVE:

Jesus uses parables to illustrate his teaching, particularly about the kingdom of God.  A parable connects with the listener on a concrete level, using familiar experiences and images with which they can identify.

The first parable in this passage is fairly direct.  The kingdom of God is compared to seed scattered in the field that grows and matures while  concealed from sight, and then finally is harvested when it is mature.

Note that Jesus is focusing here on the mysterious nature of the kingdom.  Like the grain, the kingdom grows even after the sower has sown it, and while he is unaware of its progress:

God’s Kingdom is as if a man should cast seed on the earth,  and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should spring up and grow, he doesn’t know how.

Ultimately, though, there is the inevitability of judgment — the harvest:

But when the fruit is ripe, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.

Likewise the kingdom of God begins simply, and grows, and then comes to final harvest on the Day of the Lord.

In the second parable, Jesus speaks of the mustard seed, which he says:

is less than all the seeds that are on the earth.

Yet it grows to become the largest of the plants in the garden.  In other words, however humbly or small the kingdom begins, it will inevitably become magnificent.

Finally, Mark’s Gospel makes clear that Jesus is seeking to accommodate the understanding of the people by telling them parables.  As a wise teacher, he knows when to give his students a break:

Without a parable he didn’t speak to them; but privately to his own disciples he explained everything.

To his disciples, he interpreted the hidden meanings of his parables.

APPLY:  

There are two applications I’d like to touch on — the purpose of the parable as a figure of speech, and the general meaning of these particular parables.

There seems to be dual purpose to the parables Jesus teaches.  On the one hand they connect to simple, everyday experiences.  But on the other hand, they seem to exceed the initial understanding of many who hear them, including the most erudite among them — the Pharisees and teachers of the law.

Jesus tells his disciples:

 To you is given the mystery of God’s Kingdom, but to those who are outside, all things are done in parables,  that ‘seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest perhaps they should turn again, and their sins should be forgiven them’ (Mark 4:11-12).

To those who are open to spiritual insights, the parables may become clear; but to those who are stubborn and closed minded, they remain a mystery.

The second application I’d like to make is this — Jesus is telling us something very important about the nature of the kingdom of God, and our experience of it.

We may tend to expect impressive  magnificence when we think of the kingdom of God. But Jesus is conveying the truth that the kingdom of God doesn’t necessarily come in great displays, or with impressive beginnings.  In fact, the kingdom will come in slow, gradual measures until one day it becomes a universal reality.

This is a counter-narrative to the oft quoted descriptions of the kingdom of God as a sudden, cataclysmic event.  Both views are present in scripture, but perhaps we can reconcile the two by realizing that both are true.

We may have had the experience of planting a seed and then forgetting about it, until one day the flower has appeared in all its glory! The seed was present and growing, but not manifest until it bloomed. When we finally saw the flower, it may have startled us as though it appeared from nowhere.

What Jesus is saying is that the kingdom of God is already present, all around us, just as the seed is concealed and yet growing despite being hidden.  Then, one day, the reality of the kingdom of God is revealed as the most dominant reality of them all.  In that day what has always been true and real will be revealed, and:

every eye will see (Revelation 1:7).

RESPOND: 

There must always be a certain level of humility when it comes to understanding Biblical and spiritual truth.  We must always assume that there is more to learn.

In these parables, I am reminded that the kingdom of God is already present — and one day it will be revealed to all people everywhere.

We must live in the time between the now of the kingdom, where God’s love and grace are already present among us; and the not yet, anticipating that time when the kingdom will be fully and finally revealed everywhere and to everyone.

Lord, open my eyes to see the evidence of your kingdom that is all around me.  Your kingdom is here, and it is coming.  Prepare me now and forever!  Amen!

PHOTOS:
The photo used for "Mark 4:33" is “Planting seeds of knowledge” by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center. It is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic license.

Epistle for June 17, 2018

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
2 Corinthians 5:6-10, 14-17
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

There is an old saying among Bible students — When you see a therefore in the text, you need to ask yourself, what is it there for?

In this case, the text picks up the previous discussion in 2 Corinthians 5:1-5 concerning the hope of eternal life.  Paul first boldly states the promise that physical destruction means merely that the Christian will receive a permanent home in heaven.  He uses metaphorical language from his trade as a tentmaker, recognizing that tents are only temporary homes for pilgrims and travelers:

For we know that if the earthly house of our tent is dissolved, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal, in the heavens (2 Corinthians 5:1).

Furthermore, he wrestles with the Christian dilemma — longing to be home in the heavenly dwelling, the believer groans and wishes to be home with the Lord. Nevertheless, Paul reminds the Corinthians that they have already received assurance about their future through the Holy Spirit:

Now he who made us for this very thing is God, who also gave to us the down payment of the Spirit (2 Corinthians 5:5).

That is, the Christian has a sense of assurance — a credit or down payment in this life as a promissory note for the future hope.

Therefore,  Paul is saying as our passage picks up,  the Christian has confidence because of the guarantee that the Spirit has given.  He also returns to his perennial theme of faith, recognizing that there is a difference between the now and the not yet of the heavenly dwelling:

for we walk by faith, not by sight.

The believer’s assurance of heaven is grounded in faith alone.

Interestingly, Paul seems to present a kind of dualism between the body and spirit. Those who walk by faith are:

willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be at home with the Lord.

This is fascinating because we are told by most Biblical scholars today that the Bible knows nothing of immortality separated from the resurrected body.  The normal understanding of eternal life, they tell us, is always embodied, beginning on the day of resurrection when all shall be raised:

For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with God’s trumpet. The dead in Christ will rise first (1 Thessalonians 4:16).

Is Paul here suggesting a disembodied life after death?  We should note that he says very clearly in 2 Corinthians 5:4:

For indeed we who are in this tent do groan, being burdened; not that we desire to be unclothed, but that we desire to be clothed, that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.

In other words, the dead may be away from their physical body, but they will have a  heavenly body.

In any event, he uses this opportunity to remind the Corinthians that there is still a moral demand on their lives in this life:

Therefore also we make it our aim, whether at home or absent, to be well pleasing to him.

He reminds them that there will be a day in court for all people:

For we must all be revealed before the judgment seat of Christ; that each one may receive the things in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

Our lectionary reading skips from verse 10 to verse 14.  Verses 14 to17 address the implications of the new reality introduced by Christ:

 For the love of Christ constrains us; because we judge thus, that one died for all, therefore all died.  He died for all, that those who live should no longer live to themselves, but to him who for their sakes died and rose again.

The believer’s identity is now shaped by the love of Christ because the believer no longer lives for themselves but for Christ.  Identification with Christ means dying with him to sin and self, and being raised to new life in him.

Paul also suggests that there is a new relationship not only with Christ, but with everyone.  Paul says:

Therefore we know no one after the flesh from now on. Even though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now we know him so no more.

The Greek word for flesh (sarx) may describe the body, but the metaphor here is deeper.  Paul seems to mean that the flesh is human nature as opposed to the spirit.  Therefore, once there is a new relationship with Christ, the believer’s understanding of Christ and of other people transcends mere human limitations. The believer now sees the world from a spiritual perspective.

Paul thus declares:

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new.

The believer really lives in the world, but not of the world and sees the world through a new lens as a new creation in Christ.

APPLY:  

Obviously I have merely touched on a debate going on today concerning the New Testament view of eternal life, immortality and heaven.

On the one hand, I’m tempted to simply say, “We’ll know bye and bye.”  But that would be a little cowardly.

The issues are a little too complicated to explore here.  One group believes that at death even believers experience a kind of “soul sleep” until the day of judgment and the general resurrection.  Others believe just the opposite, that the day of judgment happens for each of us personally when we die, and we are immediately received by Christ through his grace.

Perhaps there is a “middle way” here that is supported by scripture.  Why must it be either/or? Why not both/and?

Paul declares in Philippians 1:21-22:

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live on in the flesh, this will bring fruit from my work; yet I don’t know what I will choose.

His expectation of immediate union with Christ suggests that he will experience eternal life upon his death.

Moreover, Jesus tells Martha:

I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will still live, even if he dies. Whoever lives and believes in me will never die (John 11:25-26).

Perhaps the answer to this paradox, between the immediacy of eternal life and the promised resurrection and embodiment at the end of the age lies in a third way.

Paul himself makes it clear:

flesh and blood can’t inherit God’s Kingdom; neither does the perishable inherit imperishable (1 Corinthians 15:50).

Moreover, earlier in the same passage, he points out that the resurrection body will be a body, but a transformed body:

The body is sown perishable; it is raised imperishable.  It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body and there is also a spiritual body (1 Corinthians 15:42-44).

The body that we will have in the resurrection will be a transformed, glorified body — perhaps not unlike the body in which  Jesus appeared after his own resurrection?  He was obviously not merely a ghost — he could be touched, he could eat, he still bore the scars of his torture — and yet his body seemed also to transcend time and space, appearing and disappearing at will!

In any event, whatever our speculation, Paul makes it clear what our primary business is in this life:

Therefore also we make it our aim, whether at home or absent, to be well pleasing to him [i.e., the Lord].

And that is the same conclusion Paul comes to in his own journey — that though he might prefer to be home with the Lord, the Lord has a mission for him to accomplish.  And so do we!

RESPOND: 

I find speculations about heaven and the afterlife and judgment day fascinating — up to a point.  It’s when we Christians begin to insist that we know exactly what it will all be like, when the end will come, and all the events leading up to that day, that I begin to get uncomfortable.

How can any of us know what lies ahead?  We have been given the down payment of the Spirit which gives us the assurance of our salvation and eternal life. And we walk by faith, not by sight.

In the meantime, we are to live lives that are pleasing to God in the here and now.  Moreover, we are to live as a new creation in Christ!

Lord, I thank you for all the benefits that you have given us, including the promise of eternal life.  I long to be united with you forever, but I know that you have a purpose for me here in this life.  And so for now, as your Word says, ‘I walk by faith, not by sight.’  Amen. 

 PHOTOS:

Background texture for “Therefore. What’s it there for?” is “Chalk Board” by Dave Linscheid is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic license.

Psalm Reading for June 17, 2018

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Psalm 20
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

This Psalm begins with the Psalmist’s intercession for others.  These prayers are generous, and are grounded in the faithfulness represented by the temple sacrifices.  But the application is very personal:

May He grant you your heart’s desire,
and fulfill all your counsel.

The first half of the Psalm is on behalf of the ones for whom he intercedes, from verse 1 – 5.

The second half of the Psalm , verses 6-9, focuses on the Psalmist’s declaration of faith.  It seems a kind of credo:

Now I know that Yahweh saves his anointed.
He will answer him from his holy heaven,
with the saving strength of his right hand.

The  Psalmist underscores the ultimate source of victory and blessing and protection — not from the conventional sources of success, but from the Lord alone:

Some trust in chariots, and some in horses,
but we trust the name of Yahweh our God.

Chariots and horses were the equivalent of tanks and missiles today.  There is no question that the mightiest war machine that exists is dwarfed by the power of God.

Therefore those who trust in Yahweh are unbowed and unbeaten:

They are bowed down and fallen,
but we rise up, and stand upright.
Save, Yahweh!
Let the King answer us when we call!

APPLY:  

This Psalm is a reminder that we are invited to lift up virtually anything to God  in prayer: our distress and  our fears, but also the desires of our heart and our plans for success.  There is nothing that cannot or should not be brought before God.

However, there is also a divine perspective to take into consideration.  We are to remember that our trust and our source of strength is to come from God alone, not from conventional human means.

What are the chariots  and horses in which we are tempted to trust today?  Human techniques and technology? Personality and personal charisma? Or do we ground our hope in God alone?  What would that look like for us?

As with the shepherd boy David, when we humble ourselves before God, then we can be lifted up:

They are bowed down and fallen,
but we rise up, and stand upright.

RESPOND: 

This Psalm is not intended to turn God into a kind of “Magic Genie” who gives us all of our desires and makes all of our plans succeed.

The truth is that the only true satisfaction and success is to be found in God alone.  Psalm 37:4 puts it this way:

Also delight yourself in Yahweh,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

The order in which these are mentioned is a significant hint about priority — first delight in the Lord, and then your desires will be fulfilled, chiefly because the most profound desire we have is for God.  Jesus says:

seek first God’s Kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well (Matthew 6:33).

Lord, give me your perspective on the desires of my heart, and my plans.  Remind me that your desires for my life, and your plans, will fulfill me far more than my own selfish ambitions.  Amen.

PHOTOS:
The background for “Psalm 20:7” is “a wall as texture” by Marc is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Old Testament for June 17, 2018

 

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
1 Samuel 15:34-16:13
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

Saul has proven to be a disappointment as a king.  Though somewhat successful in battle, he has failed to be strictly obedient to Yahweh’s directives as mediated through the prophet/ judge Samuel.  Saul’s  leadership has been erratic — and will become even more so as mental/spiritual illness begins to damage his sense of judgment.

So Yahweh has rejected Saul as king of Israel and directs Samuel to anoint another.  This isn’t easy for Samuel.  He has invested time and spiritual energy in Saul.  But Yahweh couldn’t be more clear:

How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite; for I have provided a king for myself among his sons.

However, this is a chaotic time for Israel.  Paranoia and suspicion are rampant. Samuel worries that Saul will kill him if Samuel plays kingmaker yet again. Samuel pleads with Yahweh:

How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.

Yahweh gives him instructions to provide a cover for his royal search:

Take a heifer with you, and say, I have come to sacrifice to Yahweh. Call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do. You shall anoint to me him whom I name to you.

Even Jesse’s people are cautious when Samuel approaches.  He is asked:

Do you come peaceably?

What ensues is a combination of American Idol and a beauty pageant.  The sons of Jesse are paraded one by one before Samuel, while Samuel waits upon a sign from the Lord. Each son of Jesse appears to Samuel to be a likely candidate:  handsome, strong, regal.

But the Lord makes clear that his criteria for leadership are not determined by human considerations:

Don’t look on his face, or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for I don’t see as man sees. For man looks at the outward appearance, but Yahweh looks at the heart.

When none of the sons of Jesse pass muster, Samuel must ask if Jesse has any other sons – and the one that had been overlooked and underestimated  is summoned — David, who is keeping his father’s sheep.  He was so un-regarded that no one even thought to include him in the “beauty pageant.”

The truth is, he does have the family genes:

Now he was ruddy, with a handsome face and good appearance.

However, we get the distinct impression that how he looks is not what matters to Yahweh.  Subsequent events will confirm that David’s character is what determines his selection.

Moreover, it is important to note that when Samuel anoints David as the new king, there is more involved than merely David’s own natural qualities:

Then Yahweh’s Spirit came mightily on David from that day forward.

It is not David’s natural gifts that matter — what matters is that Yahweh’s Spirit is with him.

It should be noted that though David is anointed as king,  he will be so only in potential for quite some time to come.  Saul is still ruling as monarch.  In fact, David himself will become a loyal warrior on the king’s behalf, until events force him to seek refuge from Saul’s jealousy.

APPLY:  

What does the Lord look for in those who serve him?  Appearance, strength, intelligence, charisma?  These can all be assets.  But they are natural qualities that many people may possess.

The passage doesn’t really tell us why the Lord rejects the older brothers and chooses David.  But we know from other passages in Scripture that Yahweh tends to choose the weaker, more vulnerable, less impressive vessels rather than the most impressive.  Mary, a descendent of David,  celebrates the Lord’s tendency to choose the humble rather than the proud:

He has put down princes from their thrones.
And has exalted the lowly. (Luke 1:52).

Paul describes the early Christian believers in similar terms:

God chose the foolish things of the world that he might put to shame those who are wise. God chose the weak things of the world, that he might put to shame the things that are strong;  and God chose the lowly things of the world, and the things that are despised, and the things that are not, that he might bring to nothing the things that are: that no flesh should boast before God (1 Corinthians 1:27-29).

God chooses to work through the weak and the foolish — in the eyes of human beings, anyway.  As Paul says:

 we have this treasure in clay vessels, that the exceeding greatness of the power may be of God, and not from ourselves(2 Corinthians 4:7).

To resort to a cliche, “God doesn’t call the qualified; he qualifies the called.”  God is the one who calls us; and then , as he does with  David,  empowers us with his Holy Spirit.

RESPOND: 

Anyone who has ever experienced a genuine call from God to leadership, ministry, or any form of servanthood, typically expresses the same reaction: “why me? I’m so unworthy, incapable, unprepared!”

I remember hearing an older minister say something in a gathering of clergy that I’ve never forgotten.  He confessed that when he got into the ministry, he felt overwhelmed.  And then he said this:  “I realized that I don’t feel inadequate; I am  inadequate!”

The point is that our adequacy and competence isn’t really the point.  If all we have to offer is human ability and answers, we are simply offering more of the same thing that has been found wanting.  God chooses those who are willing to submit to his authority — a David, an Isaiah, a Jeremiah, a Mary — and then lifts them up so that they are able to do things they never thought they could do.

Lord, your election and call is what really matters.  May I simply be responsive to whatever your Spirit directs, wherever you tell me to go, whatever you tell me to do. Amen. 

PHOTOS:Background texture for “God doesn't call the qualified. God qualifies the called” is “Chalk Board” by Dave Linscheid is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic license.