pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

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So It Will Be with Us

Reading: Matthew 24-25

Matthew 24:46 – “Happy are those servants whom the master finds fulfilling their responsibilities when he comes.”

Chapter 24 is almost all about the signs of Jesus’ return. The end of chapter 24 and most of chapter 25 is about being ready or prepared for that day. Chapter 25 closes with the consequences of our decisions and actions leading up to that day. The conversation begins outside the temple, where Jesus predicts its destruction. This leads the disciples to ask about the end times when Jesus will return in glory.

Jesus says there will be many things that will happen. There will be false prophets and false christs. There will be war, famine, earthquakes, great suffering, and persecution. Many will fall away. Then the sun and moon will go dark and the planets will shake. Christ will come on the clouds in great splendor and power. The angels will gather the chosen ones. Jesus then reminds us that no one knows the day or hour. It will come upon the earth just as the flood came upon the people of Noah’s day. The message is clear: stay alert, always be prepared for the day.

From 24:45 through 25:30 we find three parables that describe what it looks like to be alert and prepared. In the first parable we read, “Happy are those servants whom the master finds fulfilling their responsibilities when he comes.” The bad or unfaithful servants will be cut to pieces and thrown into hell when the master returns unexpectedly. In the second parable the wise bridesmaids had plenty of oil (faith.) They will enter the wedding (heaven) when the late groom (Christ) arrives. The door will be closed. The foolish or unprepared will hear, “I don’t know you” when they try to get in. In the third parable the faithful who have put their gifts to work will hear, “Come, celebrate with me.” The lazy and evil will be thrown into the “furthest darkness.”

We close with the parable of the sheep and the goats. This summarizes the results of how one lived. The sheep lived for others, feeding the hungry, visiting the prisoners, welcoming the strangers. They did so in the name of Christ. Eternal life is their final reward. The goats ignored the hungry… Their final reward is eternal punishment. So it will be with us.

Prayer: Lord God, how we live day by day matters. Keep us faithful in the small things, attending to all that you place before us, using the gifts and blessings you have given us to bring your kingdom to fruition. Amen.


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The Lord Will Reign

Reading: Zechariah 10-15

Zechariah 13:1 – “On that day, a fountain will open to cleanse the sin and impurity of David’s house.”

In the last chapters of Zechariah, Judah and Jerusalem are lifted up and are torn down. They experience defeat and victory – both through the Lord. Zechariah refers twice to a king who has been seen as Jesus since the earliest days of the church. In the end, God is present in the new Jerusalem. All nations come to worship and give glory to God.

As our reading begins, God invites the people to ask God for rain. Instead they turn to idols as their shepherd(s) lead them astray. God will punish “the goats.” Judah will then be strong because God is with them. Strengthened, they will walk in the name of the Lord. But this faith doesn’t remain long. Two staffs – Delight and Harmony – are made and then are broken. The covenant is ended and the alliance between Judah and Israel is over. A bad shepherd won’t care well for the flock and will be doomed by God.

In chapter 12 God again defends and restores Judah. They again become strong in the Lord. God promises to pour out a spirit of grace and mercy. But then the people will “look to me concerning the one whom they pierced.” There will be mourning throughout the land. In 13:1 we read, “On that day, a fountain will open to cleanse the sin and impurity of David’s house.” Later in chapter 13: Zechariah returns to what the church reads as Jesus. They will strike the shepherd and the sheep will scatter. There will be a purifying fire (persecution) that will refine the faithful. God will look upon these and say, “They are my people.”

In the last chapter we read of Jerusalem falling and half going into exile. Then God, along with the “holy ones,” fights for them, bringing them home. Running water will flow from this new Jerusalem. It will be secure. Nations will come to pay homage to God. The Lord will reign forever. This is the end of the story we know too. Thanks be to God.

Prayer: Lord God, although sin and disobedience separated you from Judah and Israel – as it does us at times – you remain unconditionally committed to loving your children. I am grateful for your faithfulness, mercy, and grace through all of our failures. You are so worthy of our praise. Use us this day to bring glory and honor to your name. Amen.


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Criteria

Reading: Matthew 25:31-46

Verse 45: “Whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.”

Today’s passage takes us to the end of this world as we know it. Jesus is sitting on the throne or on the judgment seat. In the opening verses we read that “all nations” will be gathered before him. Jesus will then separate those destined for heaven from those destined for hell. Even if we die before this day, we will still be judged worthy or unworthy of heaven.

It is interesting to me that both the sheep and the goats address Jesus as “Lord.” To me it feels like more than a polite title. It feels like even the goats thought they were worthy of inclusion in heaven. So what then is used to separate one from another?

In verses 35 and 36 Jesus lays out the criteria. In his own words it is whether or not one fed the hungry, gave drink to the thirsty, invited the stranger in, clothed the naked, cared for the sick, and visited the imprisoned. Both groups want to know when they saw Jesus hungry, thirsty… The answer is pretty much the same to both the sheep and the goats. They each saw Jesus in “the least of these” – the outcast, the leper, the Samaritan, the tax collector, the woman at the well… Some chose to have compassion and to act to meet needs. Others did not.

The challenge of this passage is to ask where we fit. To which herd do we belong? Maybe we’d like to tell ourselves that this is just one of the many criteria that Jesus will use to judge us worthy or not. But what if it is the only criteria that he uses?

Prayer: Lord God, change my heart, O God. Raise up a compassion in me that sees and responds to needs consistently, not just when convenient or easy. Yes, change my heart, O God. Amen.


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Prepared

Reading: Matthew 24:36-44

Verse 44: “So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”

Returning to these words of Jesus in Matthew 24, we again hear the call to be prepared. Jesus implies that being prepared involves living faithfully. Noah is the first example. Against all reason he built an ark, trusting fully in God’s direction. Jesus follows this with another example. In verses 40-41 he speaks of two men and then two women. Both are engaged in everyday life. In both cases, one will be taken to heaven and one will be left behind. We can only assume that one had lived faithfully and one had not.

Throughout the gospels Jesus is clear that we do not live faithfully just to get into heaven. We live out our faith here to make the world better, to make a positive difference, to do God’s will here as it is in heaven. So what if we read verses 42-44 in this light too? In the next chapter in Matthew’s gospel Jesus tells the parable of the sheep and the goats. In this passage Jesus says, “whenever you did this for one of the least of these” then we’re doing it for Jesus. What if each opportunity to feed or clothe or visit or… is an opportunity to look into the face of Jesus?

With that in mind, re-read verse 44: “So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” Maybe he will come in the one you meet this afternoon as you’re walking downtown. Maybe she will come in the morning as someone new comes to church. May we be prepared to recognize Jesus always.

Prayer: Lord God, help me to see better. Lead me to love wider. Guide me to know you and to recognize you more regularly. Amen.


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Falling Short

Reading: 1st Corinthians 8: 1-6

Verse 3: “The man who loves God is known by God”.

Paul begins this section on food sacrificed to idols by speaking of knowledge. He is talking about what is inside our heads. This is usually where faith begins. Most Christians follow the same path: learning about God, Jesus, and faith in Sunday school, youth group… as they mature in faith until one day the head knowledge becomes heart truth. As is true with almost everything in life, in our faith we understand more and more the longer we journey in faith. Within the Corinthian church some were relying their superior knowledge and it was causing division and it was hindering the faith journey of the new believers. In our churches today, we still do this at times. We allow our knowledge to “puff” us up.

The first way this happens is when we make our churches feel exclusive. We all look and talk alike, we act alike, we appear to be perfect Christians. We have those that we gravitate to each Sunday morning. A visitor can feel like an outsider very quickly, especially when they are not like the homogeneous crowd. Someone who comes because they are struggling with something really feels out of place when they enter a room full of people without any faults or issues. To further create a sense of “us” and “them” we use insider language and big fancy words. Maybe most regulars know what sanctification, justification, atonement, sacrament… mean. But if you are new to the faith, these terms can make you feel like an outsider very quickly.

In the Corinthian church the mature believers knew “that an idol is nothing at all”. To them, idols were just carved pieces of stone or wood. The mature believers knew that there was only one God, only one Lord. But for the new believers, the ones who had grown up worshipping these idols all their lives, this idea was a struggle. The mature believers were saying, in essence, “just get over it”, “just believe what I say I believe”. They were not willing to walk in love with their new brothers and sisters in Christ. They were not willing to enter the struggle, to walk alongside the one wrestling with their conscience.

We do this in our churches when we fail to talk about our sins and struggles. Church becomes a social club for the perfect and for the saints. Nope, no sin here. We know all we need to know to be good little Christians. In verse three Paul writes, “The man who loves God is known by God”. Loving God must lead to loving others. Jesus unpacks the truth of this idea in the parable of the sheep and the goats (Matthew 25: 31-46). When we say we love God, when we say all are welcome in our churches but do not really welcome the sinners and broken people into our communities of faith, we are falling short. When we look down on those “obviously” dealing with sin by making them feel unwelcome, we are falling short. When we indirectly but clearly say come back when you have your life together, we are falling short. May it not be so church. May it not be so.

Prayer: Lord God, help me to truly love others as a witness to my love for you. Strip away my pride and judgmental tendencies, guide me to walk side by side in love with those in struggle, with those living outside of your love. Give me the courage to admit my struggles and sins within the body of Christ. Grant me a welcoming and compassionate spirit. Amen.


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Seeing Jesus

Reading: Matthew 25: 31-46

Verse 45: “I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me”.

Today we again wrestle with this teaching. In the agriculturally based world of Jesus’ day, all would understand the need to separate out one flock or herd from another. There were times when you just did that. This practice continues today everywhere farming or ranching is done. For Jesus’ audience the idea of separating the sheep from the goats would not raise an eyebrow. The “why” is what makes his audience pause. It is what makes us take a pause. This makes us uncomfortable. It makes us squirm. It gives us an uneasy feeling in our soul. These things are part of following Jesus.

One of the points of this teaching is that we are to care for our brothers and sisters. In this sense it mirrors the second great commandment to love our neighbors as ourselves. This is a familiar command to most every Christian. We do not always succeed, but we all understand that loving all of our neighbors is part of the gig. Today, though, Jesus goes deeper. In verse 45 he says, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me”. When we have failed to love those who are hungry, thirsty, lonely – the least – we have done so because we failed to see Jesus in them. How could Jesus Christ be in the addict? In the homeless? In the murderer? He is there because each of these is just like us – created in the image of God, born with a spark of the divine within us. Jesus may not be readily evident in such people. But, hey, once in a while, folks have a hard time seeing Jesus in you and in me. Yet Jesus is still there. We are all and ever will be a child of God. If we all saw Jesus in every single other person, we would be much better at feeding, clothing, and including the least of these. May it be so.

Prayer: Loving God, fill my heart so with love that it colors all I see. Give me eyes that see you in others first, and only then, to see the hunger or other needs. The hunger… are just things. The person is your son or daughter, Christ’s brother or sister, my brother or sister. Help me to live this truth out more fully. Amen.