Reflection on John 3:1-17

 

John 3:1-17 (NRSVue)

¹ Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. ² He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with that person.” ³ Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” ⁴ Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” ⁵ Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. ⁶ What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. ⁷ Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’ ⁸ The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” ⁹ Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” ¹⁰ Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?
  ¹¹ “Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen, yet you do not receive our testimony. ¹² If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? ¹³ No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. ¹⁴ And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵ that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
  ¹⁶ “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
  ¹⁷ “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world but in order that the world might be saved through him.”

Reflection

Nicodemus sought Jesus out in the middle of the night.  Jesus welcomed Nicodemus in the darkness, taking time in the late night to provide some understanding and some light.  Jesus loved Nicodemus enough to join him in the darkness.  Jesus loves the whole world that much.

I think about this often, how Jesus chose to greet Nicodemus in the darkness.  It seems obvious to me that Nicodemus chose to come to Jesus at night because he did not want to be noticed.  He did not want to be seen associating with Jesus.  Who knows what might have happened to Nicodemus had he been seen associating with such a man: loss of standing in the world; loss of notoriety; loss of privilege.  Jesus knew this of course.  Jesus knew of Nicodemus’ shame.  Yet Jesus still chose to meet Nicodemus and reveal the mysteries of God’s heart to him.

The scene did not have to play out this way.  Jesus could have chastised Nicodemus.  He could have called him weak of faith.  He could have refused to meet with him all together.  He could have condemned Nicodemus, sent him away, and banished him for dwelling in the darkness. 

After-all, Jesus is the light of God.  Jesus did not need to dwell in the middle of the night with dark figures who prefer to hide.  But, if Jesus never entered the darkness, never sought us out in our dark times, how would any of us in this dark world be saved?  How would Nicodemus or any of us who dwell in the darkness come to know anything about the heart of God? 

Jesus “did not come into the world in order to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (John 3:17). 

Do we get that?  Do we truly understand that Jesus does not look upon our neighbors with distain; “Tisk, tisk, tisk,” dripping from his lips?  Do we truly understand that he does not look at the shady dealings of the house next door and use his cosmic powers to make the people dwelling within disappear?  Do we truly understand that Jesus sat down with prostitutes, ate with tax collectors, healed sinful people, and had conversations with women with whom no one else was willing to speak?

“Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (John 3:17). 

Do we truly understand that Jesus chose to sit with people in dark places so that they might be saved?  I am not sure that I always do.  If the thoughts of my mind had the ability to eliminate the people who I deem as “unworthy” daily, this area would have a pretty sparse population.  Not only that, I wonder just how much time I have wasted, condemning people rather than talking with them and connecting them to the one who can lift them out of the darkness: Jesus Christ our Lord? 

“Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (John 3:17). 

That makes me think of the quote from the late David Huskins, “If God didn’t send Jesus into the world to condemn it, I doubt he sent you.”

That seems a little too true for comfort. 

“If God didn’t send Jesus into the world to condemn it, I doubt he sent you.”  What is striking about these words is that they came from the mouth of a minister who experienced constant criticism and condemnation himself.  Darkness overtook his life as he soaked in everyone’s criticisms, taking them all to heart.  In the end he took his own life.  He struggled with the darkness of his life and hoped beyond hope that the words of scripture are true, that Jesus meets when us in dark places.  He hoped beyond hope that we are not condemned, no matter how dark the place in which we find ourselves. 

“Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (John 3:17). 

What the scriptures desperately want us to understand is that Jesus meets us in our dark places.  Like Nicodemus, we are offered a glimmer of light.  We are offered something new.  Jesus offers us a different vision.  He offers us a different life.  He offers us the light of God.  Jesus reveals that we will get to see the kingdom of God when we are born again, or as our bibles say, “born from above” (John 3:3).

Jesus wants us to experience a complete change in how we see the world.  We are so used to the dark ways that things work down here in this world that our understanding of the world needs to die.  Jesus clears out the ways of this world so that we can be born again with a clear mind; so that we can see things the way that God sees them.

In fact, Jesus says that to live in the kingdom of God you need to be born of “water and the Spirit.”  Like in the days of Noah, the water drowns out the old, dark life and the Spirit of God blows new life into you once again.  It is a second birth that allows you to see the kingdom of God.  It is a second birth that allows you to enter in the kingdom of God.  Only then will you see things the way that God sees them. 

But, this is not just about you.  God can and does renew any one of us at any time that God chooses.  “The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit” (John 3:8).

God can renew even the most unlikely of us.  Remember how Moses, the murderer of that slave driver, was transformed into one of the greatest prophets?  Remember how Peter was transformed from a Jesus denier into a brave preacher?  Remember how Saul was transformed from a persecutor of Christians into one of the most prolific evangelizers of the faith?  The Spirit blew into them all, giving them vision from above, making them servants of God.  Remember how the Spirit blew into you, transforming your weakest moments in life into one of your greatest strengths?  God can renew even the most unlikely of us, and God does.

One of the best trauma therapists that I know was brutally traumatized herself.  I will not get into the details; you can certainly imagine the worst.  The dark world in which she lived as a child formed and molded her to be a destructive teenager.  Her mind was consumed by the need to get back at the dark world. 

“The world is cruel,” she thought.  “The world is evil.  The world needed to be destroyed.”  And, work to destroy it she did.  Out of pure madness the teen set fire to her neighbor’s garbage can one night, and flames quickly shot up the side of her neighbor’s back porch.  The old woman saw the fire in the back of her house and quickly put it out with her garden hose. 

In an inexplicable act of compassion, rather than pressing charges, the neighbor invited the girl to help her put new siding on her back porch.  Each morning started out with milk and cookies, and then the work would begin.  While they worked, the old woman asked the teen about her life.  She listened to the teen’s pain.  She hugged her when she revealed the worst over cookies and milk.  She was there for the teen’s high school graduation.  And the old woman was there when the newly educated trauma therapist graduated from college.

The old woman had been born from above and she understood a couple of holy truths: that God loves “the world,” even the dark parts of the world, and that Jesus has no intention of “condemning” the world.  Rather Jesus desires to save the world. 

The old woman herself had once been born again, rising from the cleansing waters of God and filled with the breath of the Holy Spirit.  Because the woman had been born from above and understood God’s vision for the world, the teen was also given a chance to be born anew.

The therapist now lives a new life, so different than the dark one she had inhabited before as a youth.  Now, she looks upon the world with love, not hate.  Now, she sees the darkness within people as something that needs to be healed, not condemned.  Now, she looks to Jesus to provide that healing and eternal life, just as the Israelites looked to the snake for healing and forgiveness in the wilderness.  She trusts in Jesus, who refuses to condemn, because his life and death is all about salvation.  She looks upon the world with love, because Jesus looked upon her with love and sent her neighbor at the right time.  She refuses to condemn, because that is not what seeing with the eyes of Jesus and living in his kingdom is actually about.  The Spirit continues to breathe new life into her through the words of scripture that she memorized soon after having her life turned around by Jesus.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life” (John 3:16).

She also memorized this phrase, because she thought it was just as important as the first:

“Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (John 3:17).

Jesus spoke to her in the middle of the night, in the middle of her darkness, and she had been saved. 

Jesus breathes new life into you also.  Jesus is there in your darkness also.  Allow your darkness to be drowned, and be ready for all that the Spirit has in store as Jesus fills you with new breath and new life.

Reflection on Psalm 51:1-13 and 2 Chronicles 33

 

Psalm 51:1-13

¹ Have mercy on me, O God,
    according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy,
    blot out my transgressions.
² Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
    and cleanse me from my sin.

³ For I know my transgressions,
    and my sin is ever before me.
⁴ Against you, you alone, have I sinned
    and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are justified in your sentence
    and blameless when you pass judgment.
⁵ Indeed, I was born guilty,
    a sinner when my mother conceived me.

⁶ You desire truth in the inward being;^[a]
    therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
⁷ Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
    wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
⁸ Let me hear joy and gladness;
    let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.
⁹ Hide your face from my sins,
    and blot out all my iniquities.

¹⁰ Create in me a clean heart, O God,
    and put a new and right^[b] spirit within me.
¹¹ Do not cast me away from your presence,
    and do not take your holy spirit from me.
¹² Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
    and sustain in me a willing^[c] spirit.

¹³ Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
    and sinners will return to you.

 

Reflection

He was only twelve years old when he was thrust upon the throne in Jerusalem.  Can you imagine being put in charge of a country and a military at the age of twelve?  What would your first decisions as a ruler at twelve have been? 

“No more math homework.”

“Parents must play games with kids whenever they want; no exceptions!  I don’t care if your knees hurt.”

“Candy is now an essential food group.” 

“Soldiers, seize Billy and his sleaze-bag brothers now and lock them away!”

The Bible tells us that “Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign” (2 Chronicles 33:1).  As you can image, his decisions were not very good.  In fact, they were quite a bit less than good.  They were worse than silly and born out of ignorance.  They were worse than stupid.  In fact, the Bible reports that “he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord” (2 Chronicles 33:2). 

Granted, he was twelve!  He did not know how to lead.  He did not know what good decisions looked like.  So, he did what most kids that age do.  He looked around at everyone else and did what they did.  He looked at what all the other nations were being led to do around him and he instituted “the abominable practices of the nations whom the Lord had driven out before the people of Israel” (2 Chronicles 33:2).

Manasseh built altars to the foreign god Baal.  He even put one in the house of the Lord.  Verse 6 says that he “practiced soothsaying (fortune telling) and augury (using the behavior of birds to gain insight in the will of the gods) and sorcery, and dealt with mediums and with wizards” (2 Chronicles 33:6).  In other words, he experimented with the Ouija board at a sleepover with his closest nation of friends, and God walked down into the basement, turned on the lights, saw what was taking place, and did not think that what was taking place was OK.  This is why we do not put a twelve-year-old in charge of nations!

Starting out so young and impressionable, he was a horrendous example of faithful leadership.  At the same time, being so young and impressionable, he was a great example of someone who repented.

Repentance is the Lenten discipline that we are focusing on tonight as we use these Wednesday nights to explore the classic Lenten disciplines: Repentance, Giving, Prayer, Fasting, and Works of Mercy.  Repentance is more than just feeling really, really bad about what you did wrong.  Most people with a conscience feel really bad about hurting others or themselves, and most people feel really bad when they do it. 

Repentance includes feeling bad, but it is much, much more than that.  The Hebrew root for repentance literally means “to turn around.”  It is one thing to feel bad about what you did.  It is a whole other thing to actually work to change yourself so that you do not do it again.  Repentance encompasses both the feeling bad and the act of changing your life.

Repentance is feeling really bad about the DUI and then turning your life around so that you live the kind of life where you never drink again. 

Repentance is feeling really bad about walking past the struggling mother and child and then turning your life around so that you are trained to notice those who are struggling and are ready to help. 

Repentance is feeling really bad about forgetting to worship God and leading a nation toward the worship of other gods, and then after your banishment from the land, returning to the land to throw down the idols and tear down the altars built to foreign gods. 

That is what Manasseh did.  He did not stay at age twelve.  He did not remain in a state of ignoring God.  He repented, in the fullest sense of the word, and his life was blessed by our merciful God who gives us a second and third and fifteenth chance to turn around and face toward God once again.  Most people have not heard Manasseh’s biblical story, but it is one to remember because it most fully shows what repentance is all about.

“Have mercy on me, O God” the Psalmist cries out (Psalm 51:1).

“My sin is ever before me” the Psalmist admits” (Psalm 51:3).

“Create in me a clean heart, O God and put a new and right spirit within me” the Psalmists requests (Psalm 51:10).

The Psalmist desires more than anything to be turned around by God.  The Psalmist desires more than anything to have a spirit that is turned in the right direction.

“Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit” (Psalm 51:12).

And that is our cry too.  We too desire to be turned from our sinful ways so that we can face the love of God.  We too desire to walk in right paths.  So, during Lent we repent and pray to the one, who the disciples saw with their own eyes, who had mercy on the sinner and turned wayward people to the way of new life.  During Lent we turn toward Jesus who forgives us and gives us a new chance and a new way of life.

Repent.  Return to the Lord.  Jesus awaits.

Reflection on Matthew 4:1-11

Matthew 4:1-11 (NRSVue)

1 Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tested by the devil. 2 He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterward he was famished. 3 The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, “It is written,

 ‘One does not live by bread alone,

  but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”

  5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,

 ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’

  and ‘On their hands they will bear you up,

 so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’ ”

7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”

  8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, 9 and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written,

 ‘Worship the Lord your God,

  and serve only him.’ ”

11 Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.

Reflection

I could not help but think about the goat.  As a small kid in Sunday School, the teacher taught us about the goat found in Leviticus 16, called the scapegoat, who would have the sins of all God’s people thrust upon its head, and then the poor, innocent thing would be led into the wilderness to be set free to fend for itself.  Of course, my Sunday School teacher went on to talk about how good it was for the people to have their sins taken away from them, but I heard very little about that because my mind was still stuck on that poor little goat alone in the wilderness. 

What would happen to it?  Did it miss its family?  Did it want its mom? 

The teacher mentioned that Azazel was out there and would hunt down the goat, devour it, and the sins would be gone for good.  Modern Biblical scholars do not know exactly what “Azazel” refers to in Leviticus 16:26, but my teacher described Azazel as a fearsome creature like Satan, with horns and wings, who preys on anyone who is lost in the wilderness.  The biblical scholars of Jesus’ time agreed.

Who wrote these Sunday School materials back in the day anyway?  Who thought that this would be a great story for little kids?  I was terrified.  And my heat ached for the poor goat.  The goat did not do anything wrong.  Why did the goat need to suffer because of people’s sin and stupidity?  I imagined a dark creature coming from around the rocks in the darkness of the moonlight, saliva dripping from its mouth, approaching the poor little goat to eat it alive.

If only evil was that easy to spot, then maybe you would have a chance to turn and run or seek a place to hide.  But the reality of the situation is that as Azazel approached, he probably was a handsome creature with kind eyes who reached out to pet the goat, pull it close as it trembled in the wilderness, and gained its trust.  He probably promised to give the world to the goat since he was the one who rescued it.  Of course, those who released it into the wilderness could not be trusted. 

That is the way evil truly works.  Evil gives promises.  Evil initially gives the appearance of caring.  Evil pulls up in a white van, offers a huge smile, and holds out a piece of candy that will make the world wonderful for the child, if only for a few minutes.  Evil always wears a mask of goodness and builds trust before it snatches us and pulls us down into the pit.

That is how it was for Jesus in any case.  As our goat, bearing all our sinfulness and failures, Jesus too “was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tested by the devil” (Matthew 4:1).  He too was left to wander in the wilderness, alone without food for “forty days and forty nights, and afterward he was famished” (Matthew 4:2).

Have you ever noticed that when you find yourself alone and maybe depressed and struggling, the first temptation to creep up on you is always food?  A whole bucket of chocolate chip ice cream is sitting right there in the freezer, staring at you.  “Poor, lonely bucket.  I won’t leave you alone like everyone else left me!”  After an hour the bucket of ice cream and you have become one as you watch movies together on the couch.

That temptation was no different for Jesus.  The Bible says that “The tempter came and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread’” (Matthew 4:3).  The tempter, the devil, you know, that helpful guy out in the wilderness who was there to “help” the goat is there to “help” Jesus as well.

But where so many have listened to that handsome and kind guy out in the wilderness, enticing us to eat the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups just gloriously sitting right there out in the wilderness, or in Jesus’ case some stones that he could make into some warm, freshly baked bread, Jesus did not fall for the temptation.  Adam and Eve fell for it.  They listened to temptation and ate the fruit that they were not to eat.  The Israelites fell for it.  Some of the Israelites gathered extra manna out in the wilderness to save up for later, though they were told not to.  And I hate to admit that I have fallen for it again and again, seeking to store up treasures in my freezer and fridge that show more a preparation for Armageddon and less a trust in God’s provision.  All of us are tempted to take matters into our own hands and secure what we need and desire. 

But Jesus did not.  Instead of listening to the enticing words of the tempter and instead of listening to the audible, grumbling needs of his stomach, Jesus said, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God’” (Matthew 4:4). 

When I am a goat, stranded out in the wilderness, I tend to assume that God has forgotten me and left me to fend for myself.  But Jesus trusts that God can breathe out a word that will transform his wilderness experience from something unfortunate to something more than fortunate.  After-all, God’s breath, God’s words, did blow away the chaos waters at the beginning of time, allowing space for God to create everything we see in this world; you, me, the fish, the majestic mountains, the faithful friend, and those who invented chocolate and peanut butter.  If God could create beauty out of chaos, God can do it again.  ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God’” (Matthew 4:4). 

Moments later, Jesus is tempted again by the devil.  The devil places Jesus on the very peak of the temple; the temple in Jerusalem, the place where heaven and earth touch; the temple where God resides from time to time.  The devil tells Jesus to jump off the temple.  After-all God will not let anything happen to him.  The devil tempts Jesus using scripture as if he is the faithful one, “‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone’” (Matthew 4:6). 

What is there to fear?  They are at the temple.  God the Father should be right there, just on the other side of the holy curtain.  Surely, God will send angels to catch him. 

The devil is proposing a test, not of Jesus, but of God the Father.  Will God truly provide for Jesus?  Will God truly care?  Is God even there?

I have tested God.  I have set up challenges by which God can prove that God is there and that God cares.  “Send me a shooting star if you are listening, God.”  I have stared at the stars, waiting for the shooting star to come, only to see none.  I have been enticed to test God, and I think that most of you have as well. 

Here is the thing.  God is going to do what is right and good; not what I want God to do.  God does not throw a pitch if a little boy wants a meteorite to fall from the sky.  God will certainly refuse to be tested when we are the ones being put to the test.

Faith means trusting that God will provide, and trusting is done without proof.  Otherwise, it is not trusting, is it?  Jesus trusts God the Father.  Jesus does not fail even when I do fail each time I am cast out into the wilderness to fend for myself.  He is the goat who is not destroyed when bearing the sins of the people.  Jesus said to [the tempter], “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test’” (Matthew 4:7).

Now, I just want to stop here and point out something that may be a little obvious, but the meaning, not so much.  Have you noticed that each time that Jesus was tempted that Jesus went to scripture to find a footing.  He used scripture to be his wisdom and guide.  And that makes me want to ask, “Where is your Bible?”  How handy is it?  Do you take it with you when you are cast out into the wilderness to fend for yourself?  God’s word is powerful.  God’s word caused mountains to rise from the sea and formed people out of mere dust.  God’s word can move your mountains too.

Speaking of mountains, as if he were taking Jesus into the Garden of Eden itself, where God looks down on all the earth, the devil took Jesus up on a very high mountain, “and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, and he said to him, ‘All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me’” (Matthew 4:8).

And we are tempted in this way again and again.  We say things like, “If I would only win the lottery, I would do this great thing and help all these people.”  We say things like, “If I were emperor, I would use some common sense, and everything would be good again.”

A friend and I were talking that way once.  He talked about how many things in the world would be solved if only he were put in charge.  At that very moment his cell phone rang.  It was his two children.  Angry voices were spewing from the speaker of the phone.  They were at home stuck alone with each other, and they were fighting.  My friend gave them some stern warnings over the phone and they promptly hung up.  I could not help but point out that his children do not even listen to him, why would the world listen if he were emperor?

These are all fantasies.  Thinking that people need to think like me is just plain foolish.  Insisting that everyone follows my lead is just plain silly when you really stop and think about it.  Do I follow anyone else’s lead?  Furthermore, I am not God.  I can barely keep my own life in order; how can I possibly assume that I need to be in charge of other people’s lives?

Jesus knew better.  “Away with you, Satan!” Jesus yells, “for it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him’” (Matthew 4:10).

Maybe, if there were fewer people who needed to be in charge, and more people who just want to serve God, the world would be a better, less chaotic place.  “‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him’” (Matthew 4:10). 

And as much as I would like to carry my Bible with me and always remember to push away temptation by worshiping only the Lord and serving only him, I know the truth.  When people have placed their sinful junk on me and pushed me out into the wilderness, I am probably going to be a very weak person by that point and I will fall for temptation again and again, no matter how well intentioned I am.

And because of that, it is a good thing that the one who truly carries the sin of the world on his head is out there in the wilderness with me.  When the tempter comes, I can just look over and follow Jesus.  I can trust that he knows what he is doing.  I can trust that he can overcome the temptations and lead in the right direction.  I can look to him to deliver me from the power of sin, death, and the devil.   

After all, in the end, the devil flees from him.  It says it right there in Matthew 4:11: “Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.”  I think I will trust and follow the only goat who cannot be devoured, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Reflection on Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

 

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 (NRSVue)

[Jesus said to the disciples:] ¹ “Beware of practicing your righteousness before others in order to be seen by them, for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.
  ² “So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. ³ But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴ so that your alms may be done in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
  ⁵ “And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. ⁶ But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

  ¹⁶ “And whenever you fast, do not look somber, like the hypocrites, for they mark their faces to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. ¹⁷ But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, ¹⁸ so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

  ¹⁹ “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, ²⁰ but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Reflection

As we crack open the very first pages of the Bible, we discover that we are people made from the dust.  Genesis 2:7 say that “the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being” (NRSVue, Genesis 2:7).

We are dust creatures.  We were made from dust.  We are nothing but dust.

Genesis 3:19 puts us back in our place whenever we begin to think too highly of ourselves.  We are not gods.  We are not in control of life.  All of us must struggle and work in some way just to eat.  “By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19).

And there it is, “you are dust and to dust you shall return.”  We are nothing but dust.  From dust we were created, and back into a pile of dust we will disintegrate. 

It might be true that we are dust, but the Bible would like to remind us that we are God’s dust.  “We are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand” (Isaiah 64:8).  God intentionally took the dust, mixed it with life-giving water, molded and formed every part of us, and breathed in us life.  We might be dust, but we are God’s dust.

I think of my son Isaac when he was pre-school age.  At the base of our driveway, we had an indentation that served as a puddle on wet days but was full of the finest dust on days that were dry.  And young Isaac loved to spend hours playing with that dust, allowing the fine coolness of the tiny grains to sift through his fingers.  He shaped and molded that dust into anything that his little mind could create. 

Heaven forbid if anyone stepped on his creation or if a car drove over his creation as it was pulling forward to be parked.  One time while I was mowing the lawn I lost track of where I was and I flattened one of his creations.  It was not tragic for me.  It was dust.  But I knew that the destruction of his creation would be devastating to him, so I got off the lawnmower and did my best to reconstruct the pile of dust.  It looked good enough.  How would a preschooler know the difference anyway?  Well, guess what?  The preschooler knew the difference!

He remembered the special ridges and notches he had created in the pile of dust.  Of course, he remembered, he was the one who created it.  And I kind of wonder if God does not look down at us and wonder, “What happened?”  “I made this dust creature to look like me.  I made this dust creature to love and forgive.  I made special ridges and notches.  What happened to my creation?  Who flattened my creation?  Who made it plain dust when it was made to be my dust?”

We might be dust, but we are God’s dust.

God created us to have flowers bloom from our soils, beauty in a world of dust.  I imagine that just as I get frustrated when I plant a seed and nothing springs up, Jesus must get frustrated when beautiful flowers of peace, love, and forgiveness do not bloom from our soils.  I wonder if Jesus is ever tempted to knock over the pile of dust, to flatten us when we are worthless, normal dust?  I wonder if he just wants to try again?

Maybe that is why Jesus cares so much about how we give, pray, and fast?  Everyone in this world can give and expect to get something in return.  That is normal dust.  But Jesus created us to be his special dust.  So, if you are looking a lot like normal dust when you give, he suggests that you “not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you” (Matthew 6:3-4).  He made you to give as he did on the cross, out of love, with no expectation of goodness in return.  He made you to be special dust.

The same is true with prayer.  Jesus wants our prayer life to truly be a conversation with God.  Prayer is not about show.  It is not about how holy and religious you look.  So, if you are looking a lot like normal dust when you pray, he suggests that you “go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you” (Matthew 6:6).  He made you to have an actual relationship with him, so that you can be one of his people.  He made you to be special dust.

The same thing is true for fasting.  When we fast, we do it to so that we can set aside our distractions and focus on the only one who can fulfill the desires of our hearts, the one who molded us and shaped us.  So, if you are looking like normal dust when you fast, wanting everyone to see how much you are sacrificing for God’s sake, Jesus suggests that you “put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you” (Matthew 6:17-18).  We fast to focus on God.  We fast to see clearly the path Jesus is walking.  He made you to be special dust.

God shaped and molded us all with love, wanting us to deeply connect with the divine and deeply connect with those around us.  Sometimes we simply forget that we are special dust.  Sometimes we just forget that we are God’s dust, shaped and molded to look like God.

So, during Lent, we take the time to reconnect with the one who shaped and molded us.  Yes, we take time to remember that we are only dust, and without God we are nothing.  But we also take time to remember that we are God’s dust, shaped and molded by God’s hands to do beautiful things that look a lot like loving, serving, praying, forgiving, and creating something new that is very good and holy.

Remember that you are dust.  Nothing more.  But also remember that you are God’s dust.  Nothing less.

Reflection on Matthew 17:1-9

 

Matthew 17:1-9

1 Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. 2 And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became bright as light. 3 Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. 4 Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will set up three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 5 While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. 7 But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Get up and do not be afraid.” 8 And when they raised their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone.

  9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

 

Reflection

There is this very old sermon, that you might have heard before, that uses a fork.  So, what happens is that the pastor is seen holding a fork for the entire worship service up to the point of the sermon.  No explanation is given.  He or she just holds the fork while singing the hymns and while praying during confession.  The fork is right there in hand for everything. 

Finally at the very end of the sermon the anticipation that has been building the entire time finally gets its resolution as the pastor tells the climatic story that explains the mystery of the fork.  It is an old, old sermon, but instead of making you wait until the end of the sermon, I will tell the climatic story now, at the beginning of my sermon.  I like being a backwards pastor.

When the pastor finally holds up the fork and starts the explanation, the pastor starts with this story:

The man lay in his casket.  He was dressed in his finest clothes, but strangely in his folded hands he could be seen holding a fork.

At the end of the funeral a member of the family stood up and explained that the man was well-known in his large family for saying at the end of every meal, “Keep your fork! The best is yet to come!” in anticipation of the delicious dessert always sure to follow.

But this philosophy of life did not only apply to dessert for the man.  The man wisely applied this belief also to life and to death. Life, with all its ups and downs, can be both joyous and a cause of deep concern and despair.  But, in those times of despair, you should keep hold of your fork, remembering the promise of heaven.  You should remember that “the best is yet to come.” 

So, as a powerful symbol of the gentleman’s spiritual legacy, his family decided to bury their patriarch gripping a fork in his hand.  Life’s dessert was on its way.  Heaven was near.  The best was yet to come.

Yes, it is an old, old sermon, but I like where it is leading us.  The sermon seeks to keep our eyes from focusing only on the troubles and concerns of life.  The sermon seeks to help us keep our eyes focused on the eternal promises of Christ so that we can see beyond the troubles and concerns.  Maybe God can even use those troubles to lead us to better things.

The only problem with this old sermon is that I do not really want to carry a fork around with me.  I did not even want to keep track of it up to this point in the service, how am I going to keep hold of it for the rest of my life?

I cannot even imagine living that way.  I put a fork in my back pocket once.  I did, in High School.  Why?  I have no idea.  But I put it in my back pocket as I left the school cafeteria and it was still back there, forgotten in my back pocket, when I left the school, opened the door of my car, and sat down on my nice, fabric-covered driver’s side seat.  I do not have to tell you what happened.  I also do not have to tell you what I imagined my dad would say when he eventually saw what I had done to the seat of the car.  In fact, I cannot say the words he would say or I would be fired.

That is a long way of saying, I do not want to carry a fork around to remember the promises of Christ.  But there is still something yet to come that is better than the troubles and concerns of this life.  I still want to have those promises handy because, Lord knows, trouble will come.  That much is certain.  Trouble will always come and concerns will always threaten to drag you down with anxiety.  I still need to cling to something to get through it.

I think Jesus understood that deeply.  After-all, Jesus knew the cross was looming nearby.  Right before our gospel story for today, the transfiguration, Matthew tells us that “Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed and on the third day be raised” (Matthew 16:21). 

Life was going to get very tough for the disciples very soon.  They were going to see the brutal beating and death of their teacher.  Fear, grief, and pain was coming for them like a wild beast crouching in the grass, ready to pounce.  But, the disciples, Peter especially, wanted to hear nothing about it.  They were not ready to hear the terrible truth. 

Jesus knew that they were not ready to hear.  Jesus knew that they were not ready for the horrors ahead, so Jesus gave them something to hold onto when the bad times did come for them and pounce.  He gave them each a fork to keep in their back pockets.  No, he did not do that, but he did something better.

The Bible explains what he did.  “Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves.  And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became bright as light.  Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him” (Matthew 17:1-3).

Jesus deliberately took his closest friends up the mountain so that they could have a glimpse of what their eternal future would hold.  They got to see Jesus glowing with heavenly light, light that no darkness can overcome.  They got to see a vision of a promising future.  No matter what happens in the days to come, they need not fear.

And Elijah is there too along with Moses!  Elijah is the prophet about whom Malachi says, “Remember the teaching of my servant Moses, the statutes and ordinances that I commanded him at Horeb [God’s holy mountain] for all Israel. Lo, I will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes” (Malachi 4:4-5).   

Seeing Elijah, the one who was promised to come before the day of the Lord, Peter assumes that the great and terrible day has come.  Peter is more than ready to set up some Sukkot, some tents, and enter the glorious feast of eternity.  “Lord, it is good for us to be here;” Peter says, “if you wish, I will set up three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” (Matthew 17:4).

Peter wants to set up some Sukkots, which were temporary tents that ancient people constructed on the edge of their fields during the harvest so that they and their field workers did not have to leave the field until the harvest was done.  In these tents they celebrated the harvest with fresh food and rested after a hard day’s work.  Seeing Elijah talking with Jesus and Moses, Peter is ready to put up some tents and start the final, eternal harvest feast!

There is only one problem.  No one brought any forks!  Not even Jesus, Elijah, and Moses want to carry those things around!  What the disciples see right in front of them on the mountain is not the eternal feast.  That is yet to come.  The best is yet to come.  But first Jesus has another feast.  He will need to feast on death and swallow it up. 

As Isaiah says, “On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear. And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations; he will swallow up death forever. Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces, and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken” (Isaiah 25:6-8).

Jesus needs to “swallow up death forever.” Only then, only after death is defeated will the Lord God be able to wipe away the tears from all faces and take away the disgraces and pains of the people.

The disciples need to understand.  Jesus needs them to understand that the hard days to come lead to something good.  Jesus needs them to know that the one who will be stripped of his clothing, whipped mercilessly, and nailed to a cross to hang, suffocate and die is the same one who was filled with the light that darkness cannot overcome.  Jesus needs them to trust that he knows what he is doing.  Jesus needs them to see beyond the troubles and concerns they face, trusting that what seems horrible and impossible to get through is not the last sentence in their story.  Troubles and concerns are not the last word in our story either.  So, Jesus brings them up the mountain to see his eternal face.  That vision is their fork.  That vision of Jesus is their hope as the world becomes filled with the threats of darkness and death.

After-all, God will “swallow up death forever.”  God will feast on death so that it will harm us no longer.  God will chew up and destroy the thing that steals our beloved spouses and adored children.  God will grind and pulverize the thing that steals those we love out of our hands.  The Lord will swallow up death forever, and only then will God “wipe away the tears from all faces.”  The days that we feast on our tears as the Psalmist so painfully put it in Psalm 42:3 will be done. 

I do not know about you, but I find hope and comfort in the idea that the Lord sees the tears that have stained our faces and he then chooses to come down the mountain to do something about it.  I find comfort and hope in the Lord who carries our pain with him as he walks toward the cross to swallow up death forever. 

Because, if his suffering can lead to his being raised in three days, maybe your suffering is not the last word either.  Maybe, your suffering is just the plating of God’s meal, where he will take a bite and devour your suffering for good.  Maybe, your suffering is just the hunger that comes before that final feast where we will set up some tents with Elijah, Jesus, and Moses and feast at God’s eternal table.

The best is yet to come!

Hear the voice of the one who calls you to the feast.  Listen to the voice of the one who calls you out of the darkness of suffering and into the light of new life.  Hear God when God says from the cloud, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!”  

Listen to the one who promises that darkness and death is not the end.  Listed to the one who brings you from death to life.  Listen to Jesus and carry the image of his eternal light daily in your minds and in your hearts.  There is no need to carry a fork.  There is no need to ruin a driver’s side seat.  After-all, you have Jesus.