Reflection on Matthew 5:1-12

Matthew 5:1-12 (NRSVue)

1 When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 And he began to speak and taught them, saying:

  3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

  4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

  5 “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

  6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

  7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

  8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

  9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

  10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

  11 “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Reflection

“God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world…” (1 Corinthians 1:27-28).

Those are the words of the Apostle Paul as he reflects on the wonderfully strange ways of God in Jesus Christ.  To a world that lifts up the well educated and challenges children to strive toward ever increasing academic heights, Paul says, “God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise” (1 Corinthians 1:27a).  Strange. 

To a world that celebrates strong leaders while despising leaders who are soft, and to a world that hangs medals around the necks of the strongest of us all, Paul says, “God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong” (1 Corinthians 1:27b).  Strange.

To a world that forgets about the lowly and despises those who are not able to do well for themselves, Paul says that, “God chose what is low and despised in the world” (1 Corinthians 1:28).  God chose the foolish, weak, and lowly.  They alone absolutely need Jesus, with no hope of doing it all on their own.  They alone must trust a savior.  And they are the ones who will be given the good life.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven,” Jesus shouts from the mountaintop (Matthew 5:3).  Another way to hear those very words is: “The good life will be given to the powerless, for the kingdom of the skies belongs to them.”

Jesus shouts this promise to the lowly and powerless who have gathered around him after flooding to him to find healing.  The Bible says that Jesus cured “every disease and every sickness among the people…and they brought to him all the sick, those who were afflicted with various diseases and pains, people possessed by demons or having epilepsy or afflicted with paralysis, and he cured them” (Matthew 4:23-24).  All these sick, lowly, and powerless people, and those who loved them and brought them to Jesus…let us not forget about the caregivers…they all came to Jesus to find healing and to hear the good news that Jesus was proclaiming.

And the good news that they heard from Jesus’ lips was that the time is very near when God’s kingdom and all its goodness will come to touch down on the earth.  In fact, the image of God’s kingdom ways is standing right in front of them, in the flesh.  And the people chosen to live with him in those kingdom ways are the very people who are seeking his healing, restoration, and words.

“The good life will be given to the powerless, for the kingdom of the skies belongs to them.”

It was Jesus’ way of saying, “The world may not want you, but I want you.  In fact, I choose you.”

It has often been said that whenever we draw a line in the sand between us good people and all those who do not belong with us, Jesus will always be found on the other side of the line.  “God chose what is low and despised in the world” (1 Corinthians 1:28).

In just the past few days I have seen this very thing.  As I was walking toward the entrance to a gas station, I saw a young guy in his twenties who did not quite look like he was at the top of his game.  In fact, his thin frame, tattooed arms, sunken facial features, and missing teeth all led me to a snap judgment, assuming that he must be a drug user, a loser, and a lost soul.  I drew my line right there in the concrete of the gas station. 

But as I approached the man, I saw that he was talking with another gentleman, an older fellow, who had the glint of tears in his eyes.  I overheard the briefest of conversations.

“We don’t know what will happen to her, but it doesn’t look good.  I think we need to pray.  Lord, we don’t know the future, but we trust your will to be done.  Give us your comfort as a time of grief approaches…” 

I did not hear any more of the conversation because I had entered the door, but I did not need to hear any more.  I knew that I was wrong.  Maybe the guy struggled with substances?  Maybe he just looked like it?  Maybe my line drawing had nothing to do with me being holy and had everything to do with living as if I was of this world; a world that excludes and forgets.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” (Matthew 5:4).  Those living the good life find that they are comforted in times of grief.  The good life will be given to those who cry for those they have lost and who grieve the way life could have been.  The young man and his older friend were clearly standing on the mountain of Jesus, listening to his life-giving words.

There are all kinds of other people that we shove on the other side of the line from us.  There are all those unimportant and forgotten people who cannot even afford to buy a small patch of land.  “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5).

There are those who try to make things right with our enemies.  Who are they siding with anyway?  We do not mingle with our enemies.  Yet they foolishly think that relationships can be fixed.  “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Matthew 5:6).

And then there are those who forgive the unforgivable and show lovingkindness to anyone, good, bad, indifferent, treating the lowest of the low and the worst of the worst as if they were family.  Again, siding with the enemy is dangerous.  “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy” (Matthew 5:7).

Why does Jesus choose people in this way?  Why is Jesus choosing the poor, the weak, the snowflakes, and the pansies to form his army?  It makes no sense.  If Jesus were in elementary gym class and was chosen as the captain of a team, he would stand there pointing at and choosing the weakest and most clumsy people on the gym floor!  It is almost as if he cares more about people than he cares about winning.  It is almost as if he has a higher priority in life than winning, getting ahead, and going up the ladder of success.  It is almost as if love and mercy and people are all more important to him than anything else.  It was almost as if loving all people and welcoming them all back is more important to Jesus than life itself. 

“The message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18).  Paul was not on the mountain with Jesus as Jesus chose his weak and feeble army, but Paul certainly was taught Jesus’ words, and Paul took them to heart.  How much better would this world be if we did the same?

What if we looked up to people whose inner hearts match what they do with their hands and feet?  No more following lies or praising those who are fake.  “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (Matthew 5:8).

What if we honored those who step into the middle of a combative situation to protect the weak and find a way toward peace rather than allowing the strong to have their way.  “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Matthew 5:9).

What if the good life is full of people who are beaten, shoved, pushed, sworn at, and despised all because they see that life can look a lot more like the lush and life-giving garden of Eden where peace and forgiveness once made a home?  What if the good life is full of those who dare to make peace and forgiveness happen, just like Jesus dared to make it happen and found himself on a cross.?

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven” (Matthew 5:10-12).

I have a feeling that Jesus’ kingdom looks like a bunch of bruised, broken, poor, struggling, grieving, and yet loving, courageous, trusting, faithful, and hopeful people.  I have a feeling they will all resemble the one who rose from the grave with wounds still in his hands, feet, and sides.  But, at least in Jesus’ version of the good life there are no lines in the dirt.  There is no one declaring you too lost, too broken, too weird, too foreign, too forgotten, too weak, too sinful, or too unimportant to be with your savior in the kingdom of the skies.  After-all, when it is God who chooses what is foolish in the world, there is no space for lines to be drawn.  There are no lines.  There are just relationships to be mended and forgiveness to be given.  

Rejoice and be glad!  For your reward is true life and true love with Jesus Christ your savior.

Reflection on Matthew 4:12-23

 

Matthew 4:12-23 (NRSVue)

¹² Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. ¹³ He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, ¹⁴ so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

¹⁵ “Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali,
    on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the gentiles—
¹⁶ the people who sat in darkness
    have seen a great light,
and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death
    light has dawned.”

¹⁷ From that time Jesus began to proclaim, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

¹⁸ As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea—for they were fishers. ¹⁹ And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of people.” ²⁰ Immediately they left their nets and followed him. ²¹ As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. ²² Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

²³ Jesus went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people.

Reflection

The winter weather that has caused us to stay home reminds me of the old joke about the stubborn preacher who had prepared all week for Sunday morning worship.  A storm was predicted to come in but he was not going to cancel worship for only a “few snowflakes.”  So, whether it was one inch or one foot of snow, the church was going to be open for worship.  Predictably, only one person, an old, rugged farmer, showed up. He asked the farmer, "It’s only me and you, what do you think we should do?"

The farmer replied with a drawl, "Well, if only one cow came into the barn, I'd feed it."

So, the preacher mounted the pulpit and began to preach... and preach ... and preach. After about two hours, he concluded.

Then he stepped down and said to the farmer, "So, what did you think?"

The farmer replied, "Well, if only one cow came into the barn, I certainly wouldn't try to feed it all the hay."

I have sympathy for both the farmer and the pastor.  First, I have sympathy for the farmer because, though it was not a preacher in my case, I have certainly been caught by a person who has held me captive for way, way too long all because that person has a very, very long story and just will not stop talking.  And, I also have sympathy for the pastor because I know that it is hard to just change plans on the spur of the moment.  Heck, it is hard to change, period.  It is hard to change plans.  It is hard to change habits.  It is hard to change your life, even if it is for the better.

So, it is quite natural to continue as you always have, even though the way you have always done it may be failing drastically. 

To a world that is stubborn, to a world that preaches for over two hours to a poor farmer because that is what is prepared, to a world that does not even think to shift focus, Jesus has a word to preach.

First words are always important.  Just as first impressions of a person give an idea of what hanging out with that person will be like, first words of people in the Bible set us up for what to expect from that person in the future.  And Jesus’ first sermon in Matthew certainly set us up for what is to come.  He preaches:

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near” (NRSVue, Matthew 4:17).

The Greek word for “repent” means, “change your mind” or “look at things in a new way.”  “Look at things in a new way, for the kingdom of the skies has arrived” (My translation, Matthew 4:17). 

Jesus is inviting us to imagine that things can be different.  Jesus is inviting us to imagine that the world does not have to continue as it is.  Now that he is here, the fighting does not have to continue.  The cruelty can come to a stop.  The darkness does not have to linger in our world and in our hearts.  Our stubborn ways can change for the good.  Jesus has come near to be our light in the darkness.  As the prophet Isaiah promised, “The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned” (NRSVue, Matthew 4:16).

With that message bursting out from his heart, Jesus picked up his things and moved to a bustling city by the sea, mixed with Jews and non-Jews, followers of God and followers of the ways of Rome, filled with those who trust the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and those who have no idea who God is, so that they can all hear the invitation to “Look at things in a new way, for the kingdom of the skies has arrived.”

After-all, struggle is not limited to the people of Israel.  All people struggle with failing and failed relationships, Jew or Gentile.  All people struggle to love their neighbors and fail to love their enemies.  All people have times in life that are filled with anxiety and fear.  Many of us have had times in our lives where we did not know where our next meal was going to come, and the fear that comes with that experience.  And all of us have had to deal with anger arising within and have faced the shame that comes when that anger erupts all over the place, hurting those we love.

But Jesus is here.  God’s beloved Son has arrived.  The heavenly realm of peace and love has touched down on the earth and is inviting us to imagine what life could be like if only we left behind our old, stubborn ways and followed his ways.

So, take just a moment to imagine what the world could be like with me. 

What kind of world do you want?

What would need to change for that to happen?

What are you willing to give up so that you can live in that world?

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near” (Matthew 4:17).  “Look at things in a new way, for the kingdom of the skies has arrived.”

Do you want to know the best way to change the things that you desire to change?  Do you know the first step in changing your life and the world around you?  It is relatively simple in principle: you just start.

If you are depressed, one of the first things a counselor will encourage you to do is to just start doing something.  Get up and take a shower.  Take a moment to make your bed.  Get out the musical instrument and just start to play. 

You see, we think that we need to be mentally prepared and ready before we take the first step toward anything different.  But as any baby knows, you do not learn to walk without actually taking some steps.

And if we desire more than anything to live a kingdom life, to live in a way different from this dark world, to see things is a new way and live in a new, Godly way, then just get up.  Stand up and follow when Jesus calls to us, gesturing us to walk with him.

Just look what those first disciples did: “As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea—for they were fishers. And he said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fishers of people.’  Immediately they left their nets and followed him (Matthew 4:18-20).

The same was true for James and John as Jesus called to them.  The Bible says that “Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him” (Matthew 4:22). 

They were all quite the opposite of stubborn.  They left all they knew and understood to live a life that would lead in a direction that they still did not understand.  They trusted Jesus and simply followed.  There was no time spent pondering and preparing.  Nor did they feel the need to cling to what they knew.  They just did it.  They just went and soon they were walking with Jesus throughout all Galilee.  They were soon a part of this new way of life as Jesus continued “teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people” (Matthew 4:23).

And it still happens today.  Disciples still just get up and follow Jesus right there on the spot. 

One day in college my sociology class, we visited the local homeless shelter.  As we toured the rooms with guys all down on their luck and as the volunteer leading us through the house showed how the leftovers from our college went directly from our college kitchen to the kitchen of the homeless shelter, without even getting cold, the guide stopped us, had us all sit down on the floor of the living room, and told us a story.  It was his story. 

The volunteer in front of us was a young guy in his twenties.  He wore a very worn sweatshirt from our college which displayed our logo, tattered and held on by a handful of threads.  He told us about the day that his own sociology class visited the shelter a few years prior and how after talking with some of the wonderful men he met there that he knew right then and there that Jesus wanted him to be a part of helping these guys.  He was so convinced that the very next day he packed up all of the things in his dorm room, put it all in his car, and let the college know that he was dropping out of his classes.  He immediately moved into a room at the shelter and from then on lived, ate, and worked with the men for whom the shelter cared.

I cannot even imagine what his conversation with his parents must have been like, but he said that it was the best, most faithful thing he had ever done in his life.  He was living with Jesus, and walking with Jesus, and living the life of Jesus, who had called him personally to “Follow me” (Matthew 4:19).  His life went from a life of middle-class abundance to one of poverty.  But his life also went from one of young adult struggles, depression, and darkness to one of heavenly light and life.  “The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned” (Matthew 4:16).

And that is what happens when Jesus preaches to us his sermon, calling us to “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near” (Matthew 4:17).  It is what happens when Jesus asks us to “Look at things in a new way, for the kingdom of the skies has arrived.”  Lives are changed for the good.  Our life is changed.

“Follow me” Jesus calls to you and me.  “Follow me.”  Imagine what things could be like if we just stood up and followed.

Reflection on John 1:29-42

 

John 1:29-42

29 [John the Baptist] saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!30 This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him, but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel.” 32 And John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. 33 I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Chosen One.”

  35 The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and as he watched Jesus walk by he exclaimed, “Look, here is the Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38 When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher), “where are you staying?” 39 He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon. 40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He first found his brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated Anointed). 42 He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).

Reflection

John the Baptist saw Jesus walking toward him, and he shouted out for everyone to hear, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29).

Again, the next day, Jesus was just walking along, minding his own business, and John shouted again, pointing Jesus out to two of John’s own disciples, “Look, here is the Lamb of God” (John 1:36).

It is almost as if John wanted us to understand that Jesus is the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”  But John the Baptist is not alone.  Twenty-nine times Jesus is referred to as the Lamb of God in the Bible.  And, beyond the Bible, tens of thousands of churches in the United States sing these words to Jesus nearly every single Sunday: “Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world; have mercy on us.”  They sing it over and over again, in a repetitive fashion, allowing the words to soak into their souls. 

“Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world.”

“Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world.”

“Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world.”

It was my favorite song in church when I was a child.  It reminded me every single Sunday that no matter how rotten I had been the previous week; no matter the number of times I tried shooting my younger brother in the face with the nerf gun, and no matter the number of times I just guessed on my homework rather than actually trying to figure it out, and no matter the number of times I snuck into my older brother’s room and secretly played with his LEGOs (that was a huge no-no in our household…LEGOs were sacred), no matter all that I had done, I could always come to church, I could always come to Jesus, and he would take away all of my sins and make me right again.

And, no, I did not use Jesus as some sort of “get out of jail free” card that just allowed me to sin and do whatever I wanted over and over again.  I was too sober of a child for that.  Instead, I truly struggled to remember to be good and choose the right thing in the heat of the moment.  After all, pinning your younger brother against the wall and trying to see how close you could shoot those toy bullets toward his face without hitting him was just so challenging and so much fun!

I just could not choose the right thing in the excitement of the moment.  I knew that I needed Jesus to be my “Lamb of God.”  I needed Jesus to take away my sins.  I have known this for most of my life, and for most of my life I have just sung those words of promise, “Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world” in a personal and heartfelt way.

I have to tell you that it was not all that long ago that I was singing those words and I suddenly wondered out of the blue, “How do lambs take away sin?”  It just popped right into my head.  I had never thought to ask that simple question before.

I had always assumed that the ancient Israelites sort of, metaphorically, laid all their sins on an innocent lamb, had it slaughtered and burned, and that God smelled the pure smoke and was somehow pleased by that act of sacrifice and was so pleased that God forgave their sins.  I assumed that Jesus was that lamb for us, taking our sin, dying on the cross, pleasing God, and convincing God to forgive us.  All of this was such a huge assumption that I never actually sat down and searched the Bible to read about it.

So, when I actually sat down and searched through the Old Testament, searching for this lamb that takes away sin, guess what I found?  Nothing.  I could not find it.  I could find lambs being sacrificed, but I could not find one that took away sin.  I found a goat that was let loose so that it could take sin into the wilderness, but I found no lamb that is slaughtered to take away sin.

Instead, I found that unblemished, innocent lambs were slaughtered and their blood splattered around because the innocent blood was thought to contain life.  The ancient people of God knew that death and destruction seeped into every part of life and that in order to make holy places and holy people clean again, some of this essential life blood needed to be splattered around to do the job.  As gross as it may seen to us, the innocent blood infused things with life once again, and made it possible to connect with God once again.

So, the holy of holies in the temple, God’s apartment right here on the earth, was splattered with blood to wash away the death that had crept in.  The blood made it a place where our God of life and love could come and meet with us once again. 

It is as if your disgusting and dirty college roommate kept trashing the apartment over and over again, and you periodically needed to just clean up the joint and splatter around some fresh smelling Pine-Sol so that your parents and friends might be able to actually come over and pay a visit.  These sacrifices were a way to bring life to the place once again so that we could be close to God once again.

And that reminded me of the single, most mind-blowing revelation that was taught to me in college.  It was taught to me in my freshman religion class.  The freshman religion class was a required class at my college, and for the most part students just tried to endure it.  The class usually served as a sleeping agent and passing it was test of basic human endurance.  But I was transformed from someone who endured into someone who actively learned when my college religion professor taught this one simple concept.

Sin is not the rotten things you do.  Sin is the state of being separated and turned away from God.  You do rotten things because you are separated from God.  You do rotten things because you forget to trust God.  Sin is separation from God.  Sin is being turned away from God.

That simple revelation just blew my young mind.  After I understood that, everything; life; struggles; trusting Jesus; it all started to just make so much sense.

And my professor did not just make up this idea.  It comes right from the gospel of John.  In John 3:18 Jesus teaches, “Those who trust in him are not condemned, but those who do not trust are condemned already” (John 3:18).  If you are turned away from God, life is not going to go well.  However, if you have been turned toward Jesus, and you have the opportunity to trust him, you will have life.

Again, we read in John 3:36, “Whoever trusts in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not trust the Son will not see life” (John 3:36).  Sin is the state of being separated and turned away from God.  When Jesus walks with you, you have life.  Those who are turned away from Jesus, walking away from him, literally cannot see true life.  They are turned away.  They are far from God and cannot experience true life.

Which leads me back to John the Baptist obsessively pointing at Jesus and saying that he is “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).  Because, if sin is being separated from God, and Jesus is God’s Son choosing to come so that he can walk and talk with us on this earth, then whenever Jesus is with us, sin is gone.  He is the lamb whose blood gives life back to the temple, God’s apartment on earth, so that people can come over and party with God once again.  He is the Lamb of God who allows us to walk and talk with God.  He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. 

And that explains the problem I had with sin when I was young and thoughtless, playing with my brother’s LEGOs again and again.  Because if sin is simply the things you do wrong, then the spiritual life is just this repeating pattern of sinning, saying “Sorry!” being forgiven and sinning again over and over and over.

How many of you identify with that?  How many of you are just caught in the loop of sin, sorry, forgiveness, and sinning once again?  I cannot be alone!

But if Jesus, the hands and feet of life and love has come to take me by the shoulders and turn me toward him so that I can see him and trust him, then my life has suddenly been given a direction and purpose.  Life is no longer about sin, sorry, forgive, sin, sorry, forgive, sin, sorry, forgive over and over.  Rather, life is looking at the one who found me, Jesus, and then following him in his ways of life and love.

And I wonder if that is not the problem in this crazy world.  It is a world that does not truly see Jesus.  It is a world that just tries to do its best, say sorry when it fails, and tries again only to fail again.  Or maybe it is a world that simply does not even try in the first place.  It only cares about the self.  It only cares about being right.  It only cares about getting stuff.  It only cares about glorifying oneself.  It is a world turned away from God. 

But John is standing out there saying, “Look! The one who is the way, the truth, and the life is right here.  Just look at him!  God’s life and love is right here!” (John 14:6).

And when people look his way, Jesus says, “Come and see” (John 1:39).  When John’s disciples asked Jesus were he was staying, Jesus said, “Come and see.”  And the Bible says that they “Came and saw” and that they then “remained with him” (John 1:38-39). 

Join with those first disciples.  Come and be a part of life.  Come see what love is all about.  “Come and see.”

Jesus is the Lamb of God who draws us all together to live a life of purpose.  He is the one who Isaiah hoped for when he yearned that “that Israel might be gathered to him” (Isaiah 49:5).  He is the one who promised us that “when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself” (John 12:32).  Jesus is the one who gathers us to truly live life as God intended. 

So, come and see what true life is all about.  Come and see what it looks like when love has hands and feet.  Come and see the Lamb of God who desires to be with us.  Come and see the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

Reflection on Matthew 3:13-17

 

Matthew 3:13-17

13 Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. 14 John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. 16 And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw God’s Spirit descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from the heavens said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

Reflection

Have you ever thought about pivotal moments in your life where making another decision would have altered your life completely?  I do.  Like, I think about what might have happened if I had chosen to go to the University of Nebraska in Lincoln to study theatre, rather than my small Lutheran school.  I might not have ever entered the ministry.  I might not have ever met my wife, Randele and had our kids.  I might be wearing one of those huge red sweatshirts with the big cornhusker N on them.  My heart beats fast in horror at just the thought of it. 

You see, there are certain decisions and events that mark a shift in life and they change everything.  These life altering decisions and events do not always lead somewhere positive either.  Taking that first drag or drink.  Stealing that first candy bar.  Choosing to chance going up to the top of the mountain, even though the storm is approaching. 

I cannot help but think of the “what ifs” that the enforcement officer who shot his gun in Minneapolis must be tumbling over and over in his mind right now.  The wife of the slain woman has already expressed heartache at having suggested that they drive down and protest.  What if they had just gone home?  And, of course, the slain woman cannot ask, “what if.”  It is all a heartbreaking mess.  Some decisions and events mark a dramatic shift in life and they change everything.

Maybe you are facing one of those decisions right now.  Maybe two roads diverge in a yellow wood, you look at both paths, and you have no idea which one will make all the difference in the world.  How do you choose?  On what basis do you make your decision?

Jesus has been there.  At around age thirty, Jesus had the choice of living out his life as the town’s trusted handyman (I can hear the people talking about the fine tables and chairs he provided, and his kind eyes at his hometown funeral right now), or walking down a path that eventually led to the horrors of the cross.  Did he know where the paths would lead?  Did he know about the resurrection and did that tip him off as to which path to take?  Or did he one day just make the decision to leave the tools behind and walk down to see John the Baptist at the Jordan River, not knowing what lay ahead? 

How did he choose?  On what basis did he make his decision?

Luckily for us, Matthew the evangelist lets us know.  And I think the answer he provides is a word of good news for us.  It is the guidance that we have been craving.  It leads to true life; living in the light of God.

And the answer can be found right here in the story of Jesus’ baptism.  As the Bible tells it, “Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?’ But Jesus answered him, ‘Let it be so now, for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness’” (Matthew 3:13-15). 

Now, when I am standing at the divergence in the path, wondering which road to take, I tend to be more than hesitant.  I am willing to stand right there at that fork in the road for days and days on end.  I am willing to punish myself with lack of sleep and loads and loads of empty calories while I stand there staring at my two options.  I camp out right there in the convenience store at the fork in the road, finding solace in unending Resees Peanut Butter Cups.

But do you notice who is the hesitant one when Jesus comes to the river?  John is the hesitant one, not Jesus.  “I need to be baptized by you and do you come to me?” (Matthew 3:14).  Jesus does not need a baptism of repentance.  What terrible acts and sins does he need to turn from?  Jesus is the one who should be in the river baptizing John so that he turns his life toward the better, not the other way around.

Jesus stands at a fork in the road and is not hesitant at all.  We find out why.  He says, “Let it be so now, for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15). 

And there it is.  How did Jesus know which road to take, which path in life to trod?  He took the path that fulfilled “all righteousness.”  And if you have no idea what that is all about, just remember that “righteousness” in the Bible means “right relationship.”  Jesus took the path that consists of “right relationship” with God and neighbor.

Can I ask you to use your imagination for just a second.  Imagine that you are trying to walk your way back to the Garden of Eden.  You see Eden way up on the mountain but before you ever get there you face some obstacles.  There are obstacles blocking your way up the mountain to the place where you can walk and talk with God once again.  To find some peace with God in the garden, first you will have to go through one of the four rivers that flow out of the garden.  To get back to the garden of life, love, peace, and heavenly relationship means wading through the waters.

And Jesus waded through the waters, became submersed, and on the other side of the waters he encountered God.  He saw “the heavens…opened to him and saw God’s Spirit descending like a dove…on him” (Matthew 3:16).  Choosing the path of right relationship with God and others means that you will, in fact, find a meaningful relationship with God and others.  You will find yourself standing in God’s garden, walking and talking with God.  “And a voice from the heavens said, ‘This is my son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17).

So, when standing at the dividing paths ahead, considering which way to take in life, Jesus chooses the one that builds right relationship with God and others.  And as we stand at the dividing path ahead of us, the Bible seems to be saying that the most important question we should be asking is: “Which path creates right relationships with God and others?”

Just to be clear, just because Jesus followed the path that eventually led to the cross, led to our redemption, and led to resurrection, the path of a loving servant who would die for those he loves, that does not mean that being a handyman is a terrible path.  Jesus’ path gave us the gift of right relationship with God.  It was choosing to have a right relationship with us, even when we choose otherwise.  Though that was his choice in the end, I just want to be clear that I have known plenty of people who work with their hands who also have chosen the path of right relationship.

Bill Sheston was one of them.  Bill was many things.  He was a teacher, a football and wrestling coach, a principal, and in retirement was a museum artifact restoration expert and knowledgeable museum guide.  But what Bill was to me was a woodcarver and spiritual guide. 

You see, between college and seminary my wife, Randele and I took a year off from school.  We needed a break from all the stress and studying.  And it was in the mundane scraping and painting job at a museum that I met Bill Sheston.  He would whittle away at blocks of wood while we took our lunch breaks on the benches by the river.  During one of those breaks, I found myself entertaining the idea that maybe I should simply abandon the stress of studying completely and not train to become a pastor.  This life on the maintenance crew was fine.  I was at one of those diverging paths. 

Bill listened for a while as I went back and forth, searching through my options.  He whittled away while we talked.  Finally, he stopped whittling, looked at me, and said, “I don’t know what could be more important to you than choosing a life preaching for the Lord.”  He handed me a small, delicately carved little statue of a preacher.  He said, “This is so you don’t forget who you are.”

Bill never forgot who he was either.  He was a woodcarver…for God.  He preached through his carvings and made right relationships from little gifts that he gave away almost daily after lunch.  He loved God and loved others through his carved figurines of wood.  He too had chosen the path of right relationship with God and others, just in a different way.

The little preacher can usually be found sitting in my office.  The little guy is the voice from heaven reminding me, “You are my child.  You are loved.  With you I am pleased.”

There is something special that happens when the path that leads to right relationship with God and others becomes clear.  Love happens. 

God’s love was right there the whole time, of course.  Jesus’ love for the whole world was shown on the cross for all to see.  It was there the whole time.  Jesus’ desire to make all our relationships right with God and between each other through his blood on the cross has been the reality under our feet the entire time.  Sometimes, we just forget.  Sometimes, we just forget to take God’s love into consideration when facing our choices.  Sometimes, we forget to consider what creates a right relationship with God and with our neighbors when looking at our options, when staring down the various paths in life.

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind,” and “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37 and 39).

“If you forgive others…your heavenly Father will also forgive you” (Matthew 6:14).

“In everything do to others as you would have them do to you” (Matthew 7:12).

“Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44).

“Just as I have love you, you also should love one another” (John 13:34).

No, none of this will help you as you try to decide which cheese to buy at the grocery store (Gouda or Havarti?), but it is your guide when you face a major choice that could alter your life and the lives of those around you.  Which choice will ultimately bring you into closer relationship with others and with God.  Which choice would harm those relationships.  Which choice recognizes that you are a child of God?  Which choice recognizes that others are also a beloved child of God?

After-all, as the Apostle Paul says, “Because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba!  Father!  So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir though God” (Galatians 4:6-7).  We are God’s children.  We have been claimed by God’s love through the waters of baptism.  And who we are matters.  It guides our decisions.  It guides our relationships.  It guides everything.

Love like Jesus.

“Why do you keep loving me?” the young adult asked his parent after failing for what seemed like the millionth time.  “Why do you keep forgiving?  Why do you keep loving me?”

The parent looked into his eyes and answered, “Because I am loved, and that has made all the difference for me.”  Who knows, maybe at this pivotal moment in this parent and young adult’s life God will use this moment, this decision to show love, to shift his life from one of failure and disappointment into one that is truly blessed?

Reflection on Matthew 2:1-12

Matthew 2:1-12

1 In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, magi from the east came to Jerusalem, 2 asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star in the east and have come to pay him homage.” 3 When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him, 4 and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it has been written by the prophet:

 6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

  are by no means least among the rulers of Judah,

 for from you shall come a ruler

  who is to shepherd my people Israel.’ ”

  7 Then Herod secretly called for the magi and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 8 Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.” 9 When they had heard the king, they set out, and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen in the east, until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. 11 On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

Reflection

God sent a star. 

The “magi from the east came to Jerusalem, asking, ‘Where is the child who has been born a king of the Jew?  For we observed his star…’” (Matthew 2:2).

Into a dark world where a ruler like King Herod would take such good news from the magi and then conspire to find and murder a baby, God sent light.  God sent a star. 

Into a world where children are forced to leave their homes, take dangerous journeys with their parents, and find refuge in foreign lands the same way that Jesus was forced to flee with his family to Egypt, God sent light.  God sent a star. 

Into a dark world where children two years and younger are killed because of the insecurities of adults, God sent light.  God sent a star. 

Into a dark world that hoped beyond hope that God would finally step in and make things right; where God would finally send a savior, a Messiah, a new, heavenly king to deliver them from the darkness, God sent light.  God sent a start. 

God’s star shined down on those magi from the east, and it encouraged and moved them so much that they took a long, long journey to find the little, holy toddler.  God shined a star on magi.  Have you ever stopped to think about that fact?  God intentionally reached out to some foreign astrologers to shine some light on their lives.  They were astrologers.  These guys were not scientists who studied space.  Rather, they were like your Aunt Florence who wears crystals around her neck and goes to the local fortune teller, who searches the alignment of the moon and stars to find out which cheese your aunt should buy.  The Bible clearly rejects that sort of activity.  The Bible rejects seeking clarity by divining the stars, or tea leaves, or any other such activity. 

^“No one shall be found among you who makes a son or daughter pass through fire, or who practices divination, or is a soothsayer, or an augur, or a sorcerer, or one who casts spells, or who consults ghosts or spirits, or who seeks oracles from the dead. For whoever does these things is abhorrent to the Lord;” (Deuteronomy 18:10-12).

This is what the prophet Isaiah says about such astrologers from the east, “who gaze at the stars and at each new moon [to] predict what shall befall you.  See, they are like stubble; the fire consumes them;” (Isaiah 47:13-14).

Yet, God chooses to send these strange foreigners of a different race and different religion a light and a star.  God deliberately chose to send a light, a star of hope, to these magi who were not Israelites and who did not follow the God of Israel.  These magi were “those people.” 

You know, “those people.”  “Those people” are different from us.  “Those people” are not faithful like us.  “Those people” just might come and corrupt us.  “Those people” should be held at arm’s length, away from “us” good, normal people.

But God chose “those people” to receive a light; to receive a star.  It is almost as if God will go to any length to reach “those people” with a word of good news.

It is so different from what we are used to.  We are used to hearing about religious people who are more than happy to condemn “those people.”  So often, otherwise good and faithful people get fixated on how terrible “those people” are.  And, these otherwise good and faithful people, who will normally give the shirt off their backs, will go out of their way to make certain that “those people,” the ungodly, the heathen, the sinner, are robbed of love and grace. 

“No one wants ‘those people.’” 

Well, no one, except God.  The good news that the Bible preaches to us in Matthew is that, for Jesus Christ, “those people” do not exist.  If you have ever read that long and boring genealogy at the beginning of Matthew carefully, you likely saw that Jesus’ ancestors, Jesus’ own family, includes a lot of ungodly heathens and sinners.  Jesus’ family is full of “those people.” 

Jesus’ family includes Tamar, who is forced into prostitution, found in Genesis 38.  Jesus’ family includes Rahab who is a prostitute by trade, found in Joshua 2.  Jesus’ family includes Ruth, an outsider who is not an Israelite, found in the book of Ruth.  Jesus’ family includes David who murders a good man to get a wife, in 2 Samuel 11.  Jesus’ family includes Jechoniah, a failed king, a cursed man, whose downfall leads to the destruction of Judah and all the people he was sworn to protect, found in 2 Kings 24-25. 

What I am trying to point out is that the Bible wants us to know that Jesus’ own family includes all of these faulty and failed people.  But somehow God uses each of these people to eventually bring us to Jesus, the savior of this dark world.  Even through the murkiest of characters, God sends light.  For Jesus Christ, “those people” do not exist.

So, it should be no surprise that the Bible teaches us that some of the first people to give Jesus honor and praise and their own gifts are these unlikely outsiders.  To them, (the magi) God gives light.  To them, God gives a star.  And, if God shines a light on all of them and uses each and every one of these unlikely people in the Bible, then it seems that I can have a little hope.  After-all I am not anywhere close to the glowing model of holiness either.  But if God shines a light on those guys, God will shine a light on me and you as well, as faulty, failed, faithless, and dark as we are. 

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” John 1:5 declares.  God sends a light.  God sends a star.

I do not know if you have ever seen this, but often one of the three magi is depicted in art as having dark skin.  Of course, the Bible does not specify the magi’s race, nor does it specify that the magi were even men.  It does not say that there were three.  But artists in the past have wanted to make it abundantly clear that God sends light to people of all nations.  There truly are no people who can be considered “those people.”

I suppose none of this really matters, but to the kid whose skin matched the dark complexion of the Magi in the picture that he held in front of his eyes, it mattered.  You see, when he looked down at his skin, all he saw was what everyone else told him he should see: someone who is dark, someone who is to be feared and not trusted.  In his light skinned world, he was a member of “those people.”  And, anytime he slipped up in life, he seemed to prove the point for all the world to see.  The biggest problem was not that everyone else saw him as darkness to be avoided; the biggest problem was that he saw himself that way as well.

But when he stared at that picture, he saw that God had given that dark man a star.  God had given that dark man a holy task.  God had set that foreign man apart for a special and holy task.  And, the boy thought, “If God can send that man a star and give him a holy task, maybe God can send me a star too.  Maybe, God has a holy task for me also.”

The picture of that dark skinned magus following the star to Jesus, did the very thing that for that boy that it portrayed.  The boy saw the star in the picture, and it led him to Jesus.  It led him to the one who came into the world to save and love him.

You see, Jesus did not come into this world in order “to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (John 3:17).  Jesus came into this world so that “those people” might be welcomed as a part of “us.”  “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” Jesus teaches (Matthew 28:19). 

Jesus came into this world so that “those people” might see the God’s light.  Jesus came into this world so that “those people” might be wrapped in the love of his undying light.  A light that cannot even be snuffed out by a cross and grave.  Jesus came into this world so that “those people” might find hope, and life, and purpose in Jesus Christ.  Jesus came into this world to shine a light on “those people” and also on “you.” 

God has shined a light of grace on you.  God has sent you a star, to give you hope, and life, and purpose, and clarity, especially when your world is dark, and hopeless, and manipulated by others, and just utterly confusing. 

“They [the magi] set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was.  When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy.  On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” (Matthew 2:9-11).

The Lord shine his light on you and shine his light on your dark places.  The Lord lead you to Jesus by the guiding of a star.  The Lord overwhelm you with joy.