Gospel for October 4, 2020

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Matthew 21:33-46
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

Jesus continues to confront his adversaries, using a parable as his medium.  Previously, he had confounded their challenge to his authority through key questions; he had also pointed out their unrepentant pride with a parable about two sons (Matthew 21:23-32).

Now Jesus tells a parable with a familiar setting — a vineyard.  The vineyard and the vine were familiar Old Testament symbols, signifying the nation of Israel (cf. Isaiah 5:1-7; 27:2-3;  Jeremiah 2:21; 12:10; Ezekiel 17).  Telling such a story, featuring a familiar image for Israel, would certainly arrest the attention of the chief priests and Pharisees.  Surely they understand that he is talking about Israel, and specifically about them.

In short, here is the outline of the parable — the landlord has planted a vineyard, complete with wine press and tower.  He leases this vineyard out to tenant farmers — basically, they are sharecroppers.  When the landlord sends his own employees to collect his share of the yield, his servants are beaten, killed and stoned to death.  When he sends his own son, assuming the tenants will treat him with honor, they plot his death.  Their logic is that once the heir is dead, they will get his inheritance.

After telling this parable, Jesus returns to his interrogative method — he asks the question:

When therefore the lord of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those farmers?

Somehow, the Pharisees and priests have gotten involved in the story.  They seem oblivious to the point Jesus is making, and describe in colorful terms what will happen:

 They told him, “He will miserably destroy those miserable men, and will lease out the vineyard to other farmers, who will give him the fruit in its season.”

Once again, Jesus springs the trap, using the very Scriptures that these men should know, from Psalm 118:22-23:

Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures,
‘The stone which the builders rejected,
the same was made the head of the corner.
This was from the Lord.
It is marvelous in our eyes?'”

This metaphor was another fairly familiar Old Testament image (cf Isaiah 28:16).  The cornerstone of a building is considered foundational — it unites two intersecting walls.  Jesus picks up this image from the Psalm and applies it to himself as the Messiah — saying that those who reject him will find themselves crushed by that stone.  This image of the cornerstone will be repeated by other New Testament writers, signifying that Jesus is foundational to salvation and the church, and that one’s response to him will determine one’s destiny (Ephesians 2:19-22; 1 Peter 2:5-7).

Jesus now makes it quite clear — without parables, questions, dialectical method — exactly what he means:

Therefore I tell you, God’s Kingdom will be taken away from you, and will be given to a nation producing its fruit.  He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but on whomever it will fall, it will scatter him as dust.

The point is taken — the tenants of the vineyard represent the chief priests and the Pharisees, and also all their predecessors who rejected the prophets who came on behalf of God.  Now, Jesus is prophesying his own death represented by the son of the landlord.  But he is also warning the leaders that the tables will be turned — the son who is killed is also the cornerstone.  And when they reject him, they will be crushed. God will raise up a new nation which produces fruit — this new nation will be the church.

This time the adversarial leaders get it.  They realize Jesus is accusing them of rejecting both the prophets, and the Son himself:

When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he spoke about them.

But they are stymied.  Just as Jesus had paralyzed them earlier by asking where the authority of the popular John the Baptist came from, now the leaders are aware that they are powerless:

 When they sought to seize him, they feared the multitudes, because they considered him to be a prophet.

His arrest and the execution will come, as Jesus knows.  But he uses his popularity with the people as a screen. He will choose the time and place that he is to offer up his life as a sacrifice.

APPLY:  

Our study of the Bible includes the Old Testament for a very good reason — it is impossible to fully understand and appreciate the New Covenant introduced by Jesus without understanding that he fulfills the promises and hopes of Israel.

The images in this passage — the vineyard, the cornerstone, the allusion to Psalm 118 — all remind us that the story of the New Testament is continuous with the Old Testament.

And we must be careful not to read any anti-Semitism into this passage.  The chief priests and Pharisees do fail to recognize Jesus as the Messiah, in fulfillment of the prophecies.  But the first believers, the early church, and Jesus himself were Jews.

What they do see is that the promises of God, the Messiah, salvation, and the church, were to be for all people — Jews and Gentiles alike.  Paul interprets this very well in a passage that deserves to be quoted in full:

Therefore remember that once you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called “uncircumcision” by that which is called “circumcision”, (in the flesh, made by hands);  that you were at that time separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world.  But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off are made near in the blood of Christ.  For he is our peace, who made both one, and broke down the middle wall of partition, having abolished in the flesh the hostility, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man of the two, making peace;  and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, having killed the hostility thereby. He came and preached peace to you who were far off and to those who were near. For through him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God,  being built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief cornerstone;  in whom the whole building, fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord;  in whom you also are built together for a habitation of God in the Spirit (Ephesians 2:11-22).

This passage not only reminds us that Christ is our chief cornerstone, but that all who believe are now incorporated into the household of God, both Jews and Gentiles now made one in Christ.

RESPOND: 

The tension is building as Jesus draws closer and closer to the end.  His parables and his questions are surgical. Jesus exposes the hostility of his adversaries, which becomes more and more apparent.

But Jesus also makes it clear to us just who he is, and what we should believe.  He is the Son, who is rejected by the tenants and killed.  And he is the cornerstone of our faith and our church — and those who reject him reject him at their peril.  But to those who believe — what he has done is marvelous in our eyes.

Lord, you are the cornerstone of my faith.  May I build my life on your foundation. Amen.

PHOTOS:
"Lectionary reflection for this week based on Matthew 21.42" by Baptist Union of Great Britain is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic license.

Epistle for October 4, 2020

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Philippians 3:4b-14
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

Paul focuses on his own autobiography as a witness to the Gospel of grace that he proclaims.  In this passage we see through Paul’s eyes his own transition from a self-righteous overachiever to a man completely dependent upon Christ.

He begins by demonstrating to the Philippians that he has a great personal resume, in purely human terms.  He has every reason to be:

confident in the flesh,

if the goal is to be reached through human achievement.

The list he offers highlights his accomplishments as a highly committed, deeply religious person:

circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee;  as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.

His place in the Judaism of his day, regarded as the true faith of the Chosen People, was absolutely secure.  Not only had he received all the normal marks of an observant Jew (circumcision, a place in the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews), he was a member of the most exclusive religious “fraternity” of his day — the Pharisees.

To be a Pharisee was to be a part of a highly scrupulous group.  The word Pharisee means those who are set apart. They were renowned for their strict observance not only of the Law of Moses, but also of the Oral Law — that body of interpretations and applications that had been passed down by generations of rabbis.

Moreover, Paul’s zeal for his faith was so intense that he sought to root out those whom he regarded as heretics, this new Jewish sect that were called Christians.  His quest to rid the world of this threat led him to Damascus — and conversion!

Yet, Paul could honestly say that his devotion to the law of Moses was so impeccable that he was blameless.

However, compared to the glory and grace that Paul had come to know in Christ, his own accomplishments are meaningless to him:

Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ . . .

Note the three-fold reference to loss, which illustrates that Paul has given up all of the achievements and credentials of his former life.  In comparison to knowing Christ, his long list of merits are mere trash.

Paul reiterates the core of his message of grace when he outlines his new aim —  to be found in Christ:

not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith.

Throughout his epistles, Paul has made it clear that it is impossible to establish one’s own righteousness by obedience to the law.  While the law is holy and just and good, the human capacity to fulfill the law invariably falls short.  Only by complete surrender through faith in Christ does the believer receive the:

righteousness from God based on faith.

Paul states clearly his own personal mission statement:

I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death,  if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

This highlights an important aspect of Paul’s spirituality — that faith in Christ means identification with Christ’s cross and his resurrection.  We can see that very clearly in Galatians 2:19-20.

I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Nevertheless, Paul confesses his own deep humility, acknowledging that he is still in the process of growing when it comes to following Christ:

Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.

There are two key points that seem striking here.

First, there is the paradox that Christ has already made Paul his own, yet there is a response still required in order for Paul to continue to make Christ his own.  Christ’s grace has already accepted Paul as he is.  But Paul is aware that identifying with Christ’s crucified and resurrected life requires that he press on to make it his own.

There are several analogies that spring to mind — we are embraced by someone who loves us, but we also must embrace them in return if we are to experience the completion of affection.

But Paul’s own analogy brings us to the second point —  Paul uses an athletic analogy to describe himself:

forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.

One can almost see the stadium and the runners as they are being cheered on by the crowds.  Paul runs his race so that he may cross the finish line and receive the ultimate prize.

So, the analogy prevails.  He has been selected for the “team” by the grace of Christ. It is time to forget those previous efforts of achievement that fell short of victory, without looking back.  And now he strives to perform in the spiritual contest with his utmost effort so that he may fulfill the high calling of Christ.

APPLY:  

Ours is an achievement-oriented society.  From our first report cards that our moms put on the refrigerator to the lists of awards and honors and degrees that follow our names in our resumes, we are hungry for recognition.

While this may be admirable and desirable from a human point of view for our resume building, this is not how we experience the glory of Christ.

Christ’s grace is available to all, from the president of the United States to the homeless woman pushing a shopping cart filled with her only possessions.

As Paul tells us, Christ has taken hold of us by grace.  He has already offered himself to us completely and without reserve.  He emptied himself of all but love, and offered his life on the cross so that he might raise us up with him.

What response should this elicit from us?  If we fully grasp what Christ has done for us, it inspires us to give all that we have and all that we are to follow him.  This is the path to sanctification.

We remember, however,  that even this striving:

toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus

is still not our accomplishment.  It is not something that we achieve, but rather something that we receive by grace.

As Paul reminds us in his paradoxical statement earlier in this letter to the Philippians:

work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;  for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure (Philippians 2:12-13).

No matter how intense our effort, how earnestly we press toward the goal, we are enabled to do so only by God who is at work in us.  That is why we are truly humble before God, who is the author and finisher of our salvation.

RESPOND: 

Years ago, I was seeing a Christian counselor about my depression.  He recommended a book that helped me to apply all of my theological training to my personal problems.

The book was The Search for Significance by Robert McGee.  I can sum up the message very simply —  we are taught in our culture to base our self-worth on our performance and the opinions of others.  Our accomplishments and the opinion of others become the mirror in which we measure ourselves.

Unfortunately, even the most accomplished and most popular persons in the world, in their most honest moments, must accept that they fall short of perfection. The Gospel of Jesus Christ has nothing to say to those who do not accept that they are sinners.

The Gospel of grace tells us that we are already accepted for Christ’s sake.  We are loved.  There is nothing more that we need do in order to be more acceptable to God. Our acceptance by God is not based on our performance or the opinion of others. Christ has performed all that needs to be done for us to be reconciled to God. And Christ’s opinion of each of us is that we are worth dying for!

When I read McGee’s book, and began to apply its message in my own life, it liberated me from the effort to establish my own righteousness or to “prove” myself.

And, when I could accept that I was already accepted by Christ, I was free to give my very best effort to press on toward the life that he envisioned for me.

I had “made the team” already.  But now I didn’t want to simply sit on the bench.  I wanted to excel and perform at the highest level possible —  not for my own sake but for Christ’s sake.  My motivation for obedience and excellence was no longer to bolster my ego or my resume, but gratitude for what Christ has done for me.

Our Lord, whatever I have accomplished is rubbish in comparison to the glory of knowing you through your death and resurrection.  I receive your grace with humble gratitude, and press on toward the goal of your high calling.  Amen. 

PHOTO:
“Philippians 3 12” by New Life Church Collingwood is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license. This image is designed to be wallpaper for an iphone.

Psalm Reading for October 4, 2020

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Psalm 19
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

This Psalm  celebrates two of the primary methods of God’s self-disclosure to human beings — creation and the law.  The first may be described as “natural” or “general  revelation,” the second as “special revelation.”

The heavens themselves — the cosmos, the stars, the planets, the sun and moon — are described in this powerful personification as a being that can proclaim God’s glory.

Who can look at the stars and the sun and not be filled with a sense of wonder?  The Psalmist declares that although the heavens don’t speak with words, nevertheless:

Their voice has gone out through all the earth,
their words to the end of the world.

The Psalmist’s metaphor comparing the heavens to a wedding tent from which the sun like a bridegroom emerges and begins to run his race with joy is especially vivid.  There is a sense of celebration with each new day.

The second half of the Psalm from verses 8-14 extols the law of God.  It is perfect, sure, right, pure, clean, makes wise the simple, rejoices the heart, and is true and righteous. Because the law comes directly from God, it is a transcript of God’s character and his will.  The wise person seeks these precepts above all else.

Two metaphors indicate just how precious the law is — it is more precious than gold; and it is sweeter than honey.  Honey, even in Middle Eastern cultures today, is a very valuable commodity that has at times been used as currency.

Then the Psalmist turns to the function of the law in verse 11 — to warn and reward the servant of God.

However, there is a caveat, a warning — the law in and of itself cannot bring righteousness:

Who can discern his errors?
Forgive me from hidden errors.
Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins.
Let them not have dominion over me.
Then I will be upright.

The Psalmist is confessing the inability to perfectly obey the law, and appeals directly to God’s mercy for sins that the Psalmist can’t see in himself, and for aid in preventing voluntary sins.

Not only does the Psalmist pray for right actions, he is also praying that his words, and indeed his very thoughts, might be pleasing to God!

APPLY:  

There are two primary sources for our knowledge of God — nature and Scripture.

To completely deny the possibility of  “natural theology” seems to contradict the Scripture itself.  Not only can the mind deduce from the existence of creation that there is a Creator, but there is even a sense in which the natural law also reveals God’s moral law.  Paul writes:

For the invisible things of him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, even his everlasting power and divinity; that they may be without excuse. (Romans 1:20).

However, the revealed law of God, which is contained in the Scriptures, is a far more reliable and direct source of knowledge of the ways of God.  Contrary to our tendency as modern-day Christians to denigrate the use and purpose of the law, the Psalmist makes clear that the law is a powerful source of refreshment, joy and enlightenment.

At the same time, he reminds us that our ultimate source of righteousness is not the law but God himself, when he says:

Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins.
Let them not have dominion over me.

The law, as Paul says:

  is holy, and the commandment holy, and righteous, and good. (Romans 7:12).

And it is said that the law is a transcript of the very nature of God.  But the law cannot save us. The law tells us of the righteousness of God; the law convicts us of our own unrighteousness; but only God in Christ Jesus can impute righteousness to us.  Our efforts to fulfill the law in our own strength will only end in frustration.

Thanks be to God that Jesus has fulfilled the law for us in his perfect life and in his sacrificial death! By our faith in Christ, his righteousness becomes our righteousness.

RESPOND: 

Every time I look at the night sky or walk in the woods, I praise God as my Creator.  But it is when I read the Scriptures that the holy, righteous, merciful and loving nature of God becomes clear to me.  Nature reveals to me the power and beauty and creative majesty of God — but the Scriptures interpret to me the purpose of creation and the meaning of life itself.

I am grateful both for the book of nature, and the books of the Bible to aid in my understanding of God.  But it is the witness of the Spirit in my heart that completes my knowledge of God.

Lord, how I love to look at the works of your hands and praise you! And how I need to study and understand your Word in order to obey you! May your Spirit speak to me in your many languages to bring me closer to you!  Amen!

PHOTOS:

"Psalm 19 1-4a" by Martin LaBar is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic license.

Old Testament for October 4, 2020

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

The Ten Commandments are regarded in Western culture as the foundation of Judeo-Christian law and morality.  These ten “words” aren’t exhaustive.

The Torah (the first five books of the Bible — Genesis to Deuteronomy) includes over 600 laws, commandments and precepts in the law-giving sections (Exodus to Deuteronomy).

The Ten Commandments are essentially relational, prescribing the duties of humans toward God and one another.

God initially declares his claim on Israel.  He is Yahweh their God, who has delivered Israel from slavery in Egypt.  The covenant between Yahweh and his people is predicated on this history.  Before he was their lawgiver,  he was their Savior and Liberator.

For a more complete treatment of the Ten Commandments please see:

OLD TESTAMENT FOR MARCH 4, 2018

The first four commandments  may be described as “vertical.”  What I mean is that they address the human relationship with God.  First, God commands their absolute allegiance to himself.   No other gods.  The second is an amplification of the first — no worship of  images.  The faith of Israel requires strict monotheism and no handmade objects of devotion.  God is the maker of all creation.  It is not creation that is to be worshipped and adored, but God alone. St. Paul repeats this thought in his letter to the Romans when he describes those:

who exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. (Romans 1:25)

The lectionary for this week skips the verses that describe God’s character as jealous (verses 5-6).   God is described in very personal terms here — he is jealous of his worship, and punitive toward those who are disloyal;  and loving toward those who love him.

Third, they are not to misuse the name of the Yahweh.  This isn’t simply oaths or cursing, but the attempt to manipulate the holy name of God for personal gain, or as an incantation.  A name in the Hebrew mind contained in it the very nature and identity of the person.  So, to misuse the name of the Lord is to affront the very nature of God himself.

Fourth, the Sabbath is to be a day of rest for the people and their creatures, commemorating the culmination of creation when God rests from his acts of creating.  Just as God’s name is holy, so is this day to be holy — set apart.

In other words, there are to be boundaries between what is holy and what is not holy, even in our schedules.

These commandments may be summed up in this way — there is but One God who is to have no rivals, a holy name, and a holy day.  This is to remind Israel of the God who has delivered them.

The final six commandments (verses 12-17) might be called “horizontal” laws addressing the relationship between human beings — people are to honor their parents, refrain from murder, adultery, theft, false oaths and covetousness.

The concluding verses of this week’s lectionary passage illustrate the chasm that exists between the holiness and transcendence of God, and the frailties and mortality of the Israelites.

All the people perceived the thunderings, the lightnings, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking. When the people saw it, they trembled, and stayed at a distance (Exodus 20:18).

This is why they ask Moses to act as an intermediary between themselves and God:

They said to Moses, “Speak with us yourself, and we will listen; but don’t let God speak with us, lest we die.”

Moses comforts the people, but also warns them that all of these paranormal phenomena are  intended to evoke their worshipful awe and fear:

Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid, for God has come to test you, and that his fear may be before you, that you won’t sin.”

Time will tell whether this holy awe persists and prevents the disobedience of Israel. Those who know the rest of the story are aware — the answer is no. All will fall away except for a remnant — those few like Joshua and Caleb who will follow Yahweh all the way to the Promised Land.

APPLY:  

One truth that our lectionary reading emphasizes is that we are not to equate ourselves with God, or diminish God in any way.  He is not “my buddy” — his very presence causes Israel to tremble with fear.  If there is no awe and fear in our worship, it might well be asked if we are worshipping God or worshipping ourselves!

The law reminds me of the very holiness of God, and the very personal nature of my relationship with God and with other people.  If I love God, I will want to worship him alone, worship no other substitutes, honor his name and set aside a day for worship; and if I love other people, then I will obey all of the “horizontal” commandments as well — from my heart.

As 1 John 5:2-3 says:

This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands.

RESPOND: 

Harold and Jane were not a very religious couple but tried their best; they only went to church once a year. As they were leaving the church, the minister said, “Harold, it sure would be nice to see you and Jane here more than once a year.”

“I know,” replied Harold, “We’re very busy people, leading active lives but at least we keep the Ten Commandments”

“That’s great,” the minister said. “I’m glad to hear that you keep the Commandments.”

“Yes, we sure do” Harold said proudly, “Jane keeps six of them and I keep the other four”.

Over the past years as I have written this SOAR Blog, I have sometimes been bemused at the selections made by the lectionary editors.  I believe that the lectionary is a wonderful tool for Bible study, for reading in church, and for preaching the Word.

However, the Revised Common Lectionary does not cover the entire Bible in three years.  And from time to time, the verses that are sometimes omitted within certain passages seem to imply a particular theological slant or, at the very least, avoid controversial subjects.

For example, in our passage this week, the lectionary reading deletes the description of God’s jealous character, and the consequences of worshipping any substitute or idol other than God:

I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and on the fourth generation of those who hate me,  and showing loving kindness to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments (Exodus 20:5-6).

As difficult as such a passage may be for our modern sensibilities, I think we need to hear the whole story.  This excerpt reminds us that there are consequences when we worship anything other than God.  We become estranged from God, and our infidelity to God has ramifications for the generations that come after us.  More positively, though, the reverse is also true. When we are loyal to God and seek to worship him, there is an even greater and longer blessing for our children and for thousands of generations who come after us.

Lord, your law shapes my understanding of your character and my response to you.  You alone I worship.  I have no other gods beside you. I honor your name. And I worship you each week, all because these commandments have helped to guide me in my relationship with you.  But I am also grateful that my love for you now leads me to fulfill these commandments, not merely because they are a duty but because they are a joy.  Amen. 

PHOTOS:
“Exodus 20” by Tim Green is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.