At St. James McLeansboro
I don’t know about you, but I think it would have been a pretty difficult thing to be one of Jesus’ 12 disciples, his inner circle. It would have been awesome, yes, to walk with Jesus and to witness all that he did, but it would have been difficult, because you never knew what he was thinking, what he would be doing next. Like Paul said in today’s epistle, “How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways. Who has known the mind of the Lord?” While the disciples were privy to a lot of teaching and fellowship with Jesus, they probably couldn’t begin to fathom his mind. I’m sure they knew he was a great teacher, a healer, and they hoped that he was the Promised One . . but they didn’t really know.
As an example, right before today’s gospel reading, Jesus had a confrontation with the Sadducees and Pharisees who came to test him, asking him for a sign from heaven, to prove who he was. And Jesus replied that they could read the skies and tell the weather, but they couldn’t read the signs of the times, they couldn’t see who Jesus was, or what was his mission. Jesus said that the only sign they would see was the sign of Jonah. What about Jonah? He spent three days in the belly of a whale, just as Jesus would spend three days in the belly of the earth. And then Jesus left the Sadducees and Pharisees and their tests and entrapments, and they and the disciples were probably scratching their heads. The disciples went with Jesus in the boat, and when they arrived at their destination, Matthew tells us that the disciples had forgotten to bring bread. And Jesus said, “beware of the yeast of the Sadducees and the Pharisees,” and they thought they were in trouble for forgetting the bread. See what I mean? It wasn’t easy being his disciple. Jesus responds, You of little faith. Don’t you know that it doesn’t matter that you didn’t bring bread? Don’t you remember how I fed the 5000 with 5 loaves, and then fed 4000 with 7 loaves? Can I not supply us with bread? But I wasn’t even talking about bread; I was talking about the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees. And then they understood—duh!!—that he wasn’t talking about bread, but about the teaching of the Pharisees and the Sadducees. The disciples had to be intellectually challenged, most of the time. Jesus was always at least a step or two above and beyond their understanding, and he could come up with some pretty difficult ideas and hard questions.
Jesus and his disciples then traveled to the area of Caesarea Phillippi, named for Philip the Tetrarch, one of Herod’s sons, which was in a primarily Gentile area northeast of Galilee. In the 1st century, this was an important Greco-Roman district, but had also been a center for pagan worship to Baal, and then to the Greek god Pan, and then to Caesar.
And when they got there, Jesus asked them, “Who do they say the Son of Man is?” Now this is an easy question. All they have to do is regurgitate what they have heard. Some said he was John the Baptist brought back from the dead, not a new idea. Even Herod had said that. Others said he was the prophet Elijah who was to be the forerunner of the messiah and still others said he was the suffering prophet Jeremiah, or one of the other prophets. You can see the disciples at ease, tossing ideas around like a ball.
But then he asks another question. But YOU, Who do YOU say that I am? I imagine there was a great silence, that they were somehow afraid to state what they thought, what they hoped. There was probably a lot of looking at each other, looking at their feet, looking at the sky . . . looking anyplace but towards Jesus. And finally Peter—Peter who is the outspoken leader of the 12, Peter who rarely thinks before he speaks, Peter who isn’t afraid to get out of the boat, impetuous, brash, open, transparent Peter, Peter who takes risks, stumbles, falls, and gets up again, Peter who is far braver and far more willing to ask questions and risk failure than I am, Peter says “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Peter finally gets it right! Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ, the anointed one, but he is much, much more. This is the first time that any person voices their hopes, that Jesus is the Messiah, the anointed one, in the tradition of the great kings of Israel, anointed for leadership.
“Peter further expresses Jesus’ identity as ‘the son of the living God,’ an expression that has special significance in the area of Caesarea Philippi with its plethora of ancient Baal, Pan, and Caesar worship. Jesus is the Son of the God who is living, not like those mythical, superstitious figures etched in stone. Even more significantly . . . Jesus is uniquely Gods Son.”[1] As announced at his conception, at his baptism, at his temptations, and as the evil spirits stated when they were confronted by Jesus, Jesus has a special relationship with God the Father, with HIS Father. He is different than any other Messiah figure. He is Messiah, and the Son of God.
Peter probably didn’t fully understand what he was saying, but he is growing. And Jesus commends him. “Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah, for God has revealed this to you.” Peter was blessed by God when he chose him to know this, to say this. Jesus continues: “From now on you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.” Basically, Jesus is saying, You are rock, and on this rock I will build my church. Peter will be a key figure in the church, the new community of believers. He is a natural leader who did play a foundational role in the early church, as the book of Acts tells us.
This is also the first time that the word “church’ is used, from ecclesia which means a community or assembly. His disciples will be his church, a fellowship of those who believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God, and who risk their lives for their faith. This church, this fellowship will endure. “I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.” “The powers of death and damnation are not as strong as the powers of God nor will those evil powers win the battle. The powers of death and evil are all around us, but these evil powers are not stronger than the church and its power of God within. Evil will lose out!!!”[2] And, through the power of God, the church, the body of Christ, will win!
Jesus then says that “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Jesus talked more about the kingdom of heaven than any other subject, and when he began his mission he said, repent for the kingdom of heaven is near (Matt 3:2), and in the past months we have heard many parables referring to the kingdom of heaven as a pearl, a treasure, a grain of mustard, yeast, and even a farmer’s field. The kingdom of heaven is where Christ rules eternally. The kingdom of heaven is already and not yet, the once and future realm where Christ is king. While the Scribes and Pharisees work to lock people out of the kingdom of heaven, Peter and the church have the keys to let people in. The Scribes and the Pharisees had the authority for binding and loosing, which is to say what is permitted or forbidden. The church with Peter as its first leader is to open the door to the kingdom. “Through Peter’s preaching of the gospel and the preaching of others who follow him, sins are forgiven and entrance gained to the kingdom.”[3] Peter has the keys to the kingdom, and will open the doors to Jews, Samaritans, and Gentiles. “People who receive the gospel are loosed from their sins so that they can enter the open door to the kingdom. People who reject the gospel message are bound in their sins, which will prevent them from entering the kingdom.”[4]
And the gospel reading ends with Jesus telling the disciples to be quiet about his identity, probably so his mission isn’t compromised due to misunderstanding. The crowds can be rather unruly, you know.
But Peter, Peter got it right for a change. You are the Christ the Son of the living God. Right for a moment, right this time, but next week it’s a different story.
So what is important for us? Perhaps the real key, the key to the kingdom, is linked to Jesus’ identity. There are lots of opinions on who Jesus is these days. Is he a great teacher, a prophet, a moral example? Is he one path among many paths? One truth among many truths? Is he relevant? Who is Jesus? Who do you say that I am? First of all, human opinion is not adequate. To understand Jesus is to be guided by the revelation of the Father in the teachings of the New Testament. The gospels clearly proclaim the good news of Jesus’ identity and his mission. Jesus is not just a way, he is The Way. Jesus is not just true for me, but he is The Truth. We are called to accept that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God—which is in fact more than we can comprehend on our own. Our understanding must be guided by God’s revelation as we open our hearts and minds to God and study his Word. But you, who do you say that I am?
[1] Wilkins, Michael J. The NIV Application Commentary: Matthew. Zondervan, p. 559.
[2] http://www.sermonsfromseattle.com/series_a_the_keys_of_the_kingdomGA.htm
[3] Wilkins, 567.
[4] Ibid, 568.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Year A Proper 15, St. Mark's & St. James
I don’t usually title my sermons, but if I did, this one might be called “Who are those guys?” When I read the lessons for this week, what got my attention is that they are all about the “other.” Isaiah talks about the foreigners, the psalm talks about the nations, in Romans Paul talks about the Gentiles, and in our Gospel, Jesus has a curious exchange with a Canaanite woman. Who are those guys?
Those guys are basically anyone who wasn’t a Hebrew, anyone who wasn’t an Israelite, anyone who wasn’t a Jew. And I thought it might be interesting to review the Story of Salvation, God’s work in the world, in relation to the others, those who were not the Chosen people, those who are us. For the sake of simplicity, I will mostly call them The Nations. There’s the Israelites, and then there’s everyone else. The Nations.
In order to consider God’s work in the world, the story of salvation, of God redeeming his people, all in twelve minutes or less, we need to start at the beginning. The very beginning. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, and all that is therein, and he pronounced it all to be Good. And the very pinnacle, the epitome of his creation was humankind, made in the very image of God. God made the whole universe for these people, and they were created for relationship: relationship to God as his highest creation and the focus of his purpose, and relationships with each other. Made in God’s image, which is trinity, which is relationship, humankind was created for relationship. And it was very good. In Eden, Adam and Eve enjoyed a perfect relationship with God and with each other. But God created them with free will. He wanted people to love him freely, to respond to him freely, but that also meant that they were free to rebel, free to choose something else. Wanting to be like gods, Adam and Eve ate from the forbidden tree. “The fall was a giant leap upward that went horribly wrong because it could not succeed. Dissatisfied with their humanness, the couple reached for godhood . . . [The result was] a condition that was less than human because it no longer consists primarily in a relationship with God that is characterized by love and trust.” [1] Sin and death entered the world, and increased over the next few generations until Noah, when God wiped out all but a small remnant. And still sin increased.
A few generations later, God put his plan into action. He chose one man: Abraham. Why Abraham? I think it’s mostly because he said yes. He was far from perfect, but for the most part, at important times, he trusted in God and was obedient to God’s direction. The real answer must be simply God’s grace.
To Abraham he promised many descendents, who would possess the Promised Land, and God would be their God. And through Abraham and his descendents, the entire world—the nations—would be blessed. God’s chosen people, his family, were to be a light and an example, a channel of blessing, to The Nations. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were chosen by God’s grace and it is through them and their descendents that God’s faithfulness will be revealed. Israel is God’s chosen nation, a people for himself.
Generations and centuries go by, and the Hebrew people are slaves in Egypt. God intervenes on their behalf through Moses, and they are delivered from their oppressors and they meet God at Mt. Sinai. “God has a job for them to do. They are to be a nation and kingdom that function like priests. Their task is to mediate God’s blessing to the nations and to act as a model people attracting all peoples to God (Ex. 19:3-6). This is the calling that will shape Israel from this point on: they are to be a showcase people and [a] model before the nations that embod[ies] the beauty of God’s original design for human life.”[2] And the people commit to being God’s faithful people. God goes with them, lives with them. They are his people and he is their God. And through this priestly people, all the Nations of the earth will be blessed. Through its own priests, Israel was to “learn how it as a nation could approach God through a priestly ministry. Then it would learn that the blessings of the covenant would one day overflow through them into the whole world.”[3]
But Israel failed, early on. Even while Moses was with God on the mountain, the people rebelled and were unfaithful and grumbling. They are sentenced to wander in the desert, and continue in their rebellion. Moses frequently intercedes with God on their behalf. But Israel seems incapable of keeping their side of the covenant. Israel’s unfaithfulness is matched only by God’s faithfulness. Finally, under new leadership, they enter the Promised Land, and it is good. God’s promise is fulfilled. And certain gentiles come to share with Israel in God’s promises. Through various ways and means, converts come into Israel. “There is no other revealed way of salvation than to become an Israelite;”[4] so Gentiles come in and share in God’s blessings.
God’s plan was for his people to live under his rule, but Israel cried out for a king, so they can be like The Nations. And God allows that. Israel’s kings were to live according to God’s covenant, to fear God and keep his commandments, and to be humble. Unfortunately that didn’t work out so well, either. While the Israelites desire safety and security, “they forget that God has committed himself in covenant to give them those things in a way that no pagan ruler could.”[5] The end up with Saul, David, Solomon, and the rest. Solomon built the temple in Jerusalem; and when the ark of the covenant is brought in, the glory of the Lord fills the house. God lives there, in the Temple. “Through this house and its ministry the covenant relationship is maintained. Even the promise to the Gentiles is focused here, for it is at the temple that foreigners can find acceptance with God. The temple is a witness to all the nations that God dwells in Israel . . . [and] a foreigner can be joined to the people of God only by coming to the temple, for it is here that God chooses to deal with those who seek him.”[6]
But things go downhill under a succession of ungodly, unfaithful rulers. Prophets warn the people about the way things were going, but it all continued to decline. God, who rules the entire universe, used the nations to chastise his rebellious people. The Kingdom of Israel divided and fell, its people scattered. All was not well. Finally a faithful remnant is able to return to Jerusalem, and rebuild the city and temple, only a dim shadow of its former glory. Through the prophets we come to understand that God’s grace alone will bring salvation to his people, people who fail, people who really deserve nothing. And though the prophets God “unfolds to them a way of salvation that not only applies to them, but that will one day in its fullness have significance for all the nations.”[7] Through a descendent of David, though a suffering servant of the Lord, salvation will come. He will bring salvation to Israel and light to the nations. And . . . eventually . . . Jesus comes into the world. Jesus, the seed of Abraham, the Son of David, through whom all nations will finally be blessed. The kingdom of God is at hand. It’s not what the Jews expected, and even Jesus himself saw his mission as being to the Jews. He ministered to Gentiles, including the Canaanite woman in today’s gospel, only at their initiative. But he also told his disciples to go into all the world, all the nations being witnesses to Jesus, bringing light to the nations. The nations will be gathered to Christ as the Gospel is preached in all the world, to all the nations. Go and make disciples of all nations.
The Apostle Paul did just that. His life mission was to take the gospel to all the nations, and he insisted “that the Gentiles were to be accepted into the community of believers apart from Jewish legal observance . . . solely on the basis of ‘faith in Christ’”[8]The barriers between Israelite and foreigner, between Jew and Gentile, were broken. Paul wrestled with the fact that the Jews in great part rejected Jesus, and concluded that the purpose of the calling of the Gentiles was to make the Jews jealous, and that salvation was still to come for the Jews.
At the end of the New Testament era, we find that the people of God include both Jews and gentiles, and the Church is the new Israel. The church is to be a light to the world. “Those guys” are us. That’s our calling, that’s our place in salvation history. To be a light to the world, to reveal God to the world, mediate God’s blessing to the world. The gospel is being preached among every people, tribe, language, and nation. And when Jesus comes again, he will rule all the nations. “All distinctions of gender, ethnicity or social class will be swallowed up in believers’ adoring relationship with God in Jesus Christ and their joint praise of the glory of their Lord and Saviour.”[9] Amen. Come Lord Jesus.
[1] Goldsworthy, Graeme. According to Plan The Unfolding Revelation of God in the Bible. IVP, 1991, p. 105.
[2] Bartholomew, Craig, & Michael Goheen. “The Story-Line of the Bible.” Retrieved 13 August, 2008.
[3] Goldsworthy, 141.
[4] Ibid, 153.
[5] Ibid, 165.
[6] Ibid, 169.
[7] Ibid, 181.
[8] Kostenberger, A.J. “The Nations.” New Dictionary of Biblical Theology,
[9] Ibid, 678.
Those guys are basically anyone who wasn’t a Hebrew, anyone who wasn’t an Israelite, anyone who wasn’t a Jew. And I thought it might be interesting to review the Story of Salvation, God’s work in the world, in relation to the others, those who were not the Chosen people, those who are us. For the sake of simplicity, I will mostly call them The Nations. There’s the Israelites, and then there’s everyone else. The Nations.
In order to consider God’s work in the world, the story of salvation, of God redeeming his people, all in twelve minutes or less, we need to start at the beginning. The very beginning. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, and all that is therein, and he pronounced it all to be Good. And the very pinnacle, the epitome of his creation was humankind, made in the very image of God. God made the whole universe for these people, and they were created for relationship: relationship to God as his highest creation and the focus of his purpose, and relationships with each other. Made in God’s image, which is trinity, which is relationship, humankind was created for relationship. And it was very good. In Eden, Adam and Eve enjoyed a perfect relationship with God and with each other. But God created them with free will. He wanted people to love him freely, to respond to him freely, but that also meant that they were free to rebel, free to choose something else. Wanting to be like gods, Adam and Eve ate from the forbidden tree. “The fall was a giant leap upward that went horribly wrong because it could not succeed. Dissatisfied with their humanness, the couple reached for godhood . . . [The result was] a condition that was less than human because it no longer consists primarily in a relationship with God that is characterized by love and trust.” [1] Sin and death entered the world, and increased over the next few generations until Noah, when God wiped out all but a small remnant. And still sin increased.
A few generations later, God put his plan into action. He chose one man: Abraham. Why Abraham? I think it’s mostly because he said yes. He was far from perfect, but for the most part, at important times, he trusted in God and was obedient to God’s direction. The real answer must be simply God’s grace.
To Abraham he promised many descendents, who would possess the Promised Land, and God would be their God. And through Abraham and his descendents, the entire world—the nations—would be blessed. God’s chosen people, his family, were to be a light and an example, a channel of blessing, to The Nations. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were chosen by God’s grace and it is through them and their descendents that God’s faithfulness will be revealed. Israel is God’s chosen nation, a people for himself.
Generations and centuries go by, and the Hebrew people are slaves in Egypt. God intervenes on their behalf through Moses, and they are delivered from their oppressors and they meet God at Mt. Sinai. “God has a job for them to do. They are to be a nation and kingdom that function like priests. Their task is to mediate God’s blessing to the nations and to act as a model people attracting all peoples to God (Ex. 19:3-6). This is the calling that will shape Israel from this point on: they are to be a showcase people and [a] model before the nations that embod[ies] the beauty of God’s original design for human life.”[2] And the people commit to being God’s faithful people. God goes with them, lives with them. They are his people and he is their God. And through this priestly people, all the Nations of the earth will be blessed. Through its own priests, Israel was to “learn how it as a nation could approach God through a priestly ministry. Then it would learn that the blessings of the covenant would one day overflow through them into the whole world.”[3]
But Israel failed, early on. Even while Moses was with God on the mountain, the people rebelled and were unfaithful and grumbling. They are sentenced to wander in the desert, and continue in their rebellion. Moses frequently intercedes with God on their behalf. But Israel seems incapable of keeping their side of the covenant. Israel’s unfaithfulness is matched only by God’s faithfulness. Finally, under new leadership, they enter the Promised Land, and it is good. God’s promise is fulfilled. And certain gentiles come to share with Israel in God’s promises. Through various ways and means, converts come into Israel. “There is no other revealed way of salvation than to become an Israelite;”[4] so Gentiles come in and share in God’s blessings.
God’s plan was for his people to live under his rule, but Israel cried out for a king, so they can be like The Nations. And God allows that. Israel’s kings were to live according to God’s covenant, to fear God and keep his commandments, and to be humble. Unfortunately that didn’t work out so well, either. While the Israelites desire safety and security, “they forget that God has committed himself in covenant to give them those things in a way that no pagan ruler could.”[5] The end up with Saul, David, Solomon, and the rest. Solomon built the temple in Jerusalem; and when the ark of the covenant is brought in, the glory of the Lord fills the house. God lives there, in the Temple. “Through this house and its ministry the covenant relationship is maintained. Even the promise to the Gentiles is focused here, for it is at the temple that foreigners can find acceptance with God. The temple is a witness to all the nations that God dwells in Israel . . . [and] a foreigner can be joined to the people of God only by coming to the temple, for it is here that God chooses to deal with those who seek him.”[6]
But things go downhill under a succession of ungodly, unfaithful rulers. Prophets warn the people about the way things were going, but it all continued to decline. God, who rules the entire universe, used the nations to chastise his rebellious people. The Kingdom of Israel divided and fell, its people scattered. All was not well. Finally a faithful remnant is able to return to Jerusalem, and rebuild the city and temple, only a dim shadow of its former glory. Through the prophets we come to understand that God’s grace alone will bring salvation to his people, people who fail, people who really deserve nothing. And though the prophets God “unfolds to them a way of salvation that not only applies to them, but that will one day in its fullness have significance for all the nations.”[7] Through a descendent of David, though a suffering servant of the Lord, salvation will come. He will bring salvation to Israel and light to the nations. And . . . eventually . . . Jesus comes into the world. Jesus, the seed of Abraham, the Son of David, through whom all nations will finally be blessed. The kingdom of God is at hand. It’s not what the Jews expected, and even Jesus himself saw his mission as being to the Jews. He ministered to Gentiles, including the Canaanite woman in today’s gospel, only at their initiative. But he also told his disciples to go into all the world, all the nations being witnesses to Jesus, bringing light to the nations. The nations will be gathered to Christ as the Gospel is preached in all the world, to all the nations. Go and make disciples of all nations.
The Apostle Paul did just that. His life mission was to take the gospel to all the nations, and he insisted “that the Gentiles were to be accepted into the community of believers apart from Jewish legal observance . . . solely on the basis of ‘faith in Christ’”[8]The barriers between Israelite and foreigner, between Jew and Gentile, were broken. Paul wrestled with the fact that the Jews in great part rejected Jesus, and concluded that the purpose of the calling of the Gentiles was to make the Jews jealous, and that salvation was still to come for the Jews.
At the end of the New Testament era, we find that the people of God include both Jews and gentiles, and the Church is the new Israel. The church is to be a light to the world. “Those guys” are us. That’s our calling, that’s our place in salvation history. To be a light to the world, to reveal God to the world, mediate God’s blessing to the world. The gospel is being preached among every people, tribe, language, and nation. And when Jesus comes again, he will rule all the nations. “All distinctions of gender, ethnicity or social class will be swallowed up in believers’ adoring relationship with God in Jesus Christ and their joint praise of the glory of their Lord and Saviour.”[9] Amen. Come Lord Jesus.
[1] Goldsworthy, Graeme. According to Plan The Unfolding Revelation of God in the Bible. IVP, 1991, p. 105.
[2] Bartholomew, Craig, & Michael Goheen. “The Story-Line of the Bible.” Retrieved 13 August, 2008.
[3] Goldsworthy, 141.
[4] Ibid, 153.
[5] Ibid, 165.
[6] Ibid, 169.
[7] Ibid, 181.
[8] Kostenberger, A.J. “The Nations.” New Dictionary of Biblical Theology,
[9] Ibid, 678.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Year A Proper 14, August 10
Who is Jesus? What picture do you have of him? What are his characteristics, his attributes? It’s important that we have a good, clear picture of who he is, and usually we just have pieces, fragments, little bits of who he is. We have our favorite images, our Sunday school pictures, but these don’t convey the whole person, do they? Really, it’s pretty hard to get a good idea of who he is without some study, and even still we only get fragments.
Churches, denominations, other organizations often focus on certain characteristics, and exclude other ideas that aren’t as comfortable, or that challenge their theology or mission, not getting a comprehensive picture. “They may focus on Jesus as Savior, shepherd, teacher, Lord, friend, revolutionary leader, or provider. . . . [But] if Jesus is only a friend to us, perhaps we do not understand that he is also the powerful Lord of the universe, who can supply us with the power necessary to accomplish whatever God calls us to in life. If Jesus is only our gentle shepherd, perhaps we do not recognize him as the religious revolutionary who despised religious hypocrisy.”[1] I could go on and on, because Jesus is all of these things, and we need to understand that. In order to understand his significance for us, for our lives, we need to have a well rounded understanding of who he is and what he can and has accomplished for us, and in us. And when we understand more accurately who he is, we will, we must, worship him as the disciples did. “Those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying’ Truly you are the Son of God.”
But that’s the end of the story, so lets back up to the beginning. Jesus and his disciples have had a long day of teaching and healing, and they have fed 5000 men, not counting women and children. Jesus wants to go off by himself to pray, to recharge and reconnect with the Father. Of course, he is always in contact with the Father, but even Jesus needs time alone with God to reflect and pray. He tells the disciples to get in the boat and go on ahead, and he dismisses the crowds for the night. Jesus is finally alone, and spends time in prayer with the Father into the night.
Meanwhile, the disciples are out on the Sea of Galilee, and a storm has come up. The boat is being battered by the waves and the wind. The disciples are struggling and straining. To the first century people, water and storms represent chaos, instability, and terror. And while some of the disciples were seasoned fishermen, used to the action of waves and water, this was a powerful and dangerous storm, and they were afraid. Then they saw a figure walking towards them on the water and were even more terrified. They thought it was a ghost.
Earlier this week we celebrated the Feast of the Transfiguration, and I heard Father Swan preach on Tuesday. He suggested that Jesus often went alone to pray on a mountain, but at the transfiguration he took his inner circle of disciples with him: Peter, James and John. Usually he prayed alone, but on this occasion there were witnesses to his prayer, and they saw him clothed in brilliant light—and perhaps this always happened when he prayed, when he got “recharged” through time with the Father. And I thought that maybe the disciples in the boat were afraid of the figure approaching, and thought it was a ghost, because he was still clothed with God’s glory, glowing like Moses’ face whenever he met with the Lord on Mount Sinai. Have you ever seen or met someone who seemed to glow with God’s light, with holiness? I think it still happens.
But back to the story. The disciples thought Jesus was a ghost, and were terrified. And Jesus calls out, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.” Take courage because I am. This may allude to the voice of the Lord coming from the burning bush. Moses asked who the voice came from, and God answered, I am that I am. I am, so don’t be afraid. I am who has power over all creation, over wind and storms and seas. And Peter—don’t you love Peter?—he calls out and says, Lord, if it is you, tell me to come to you. The idea is that if the figure really is Jesus, Peter knows he doesn’t need to be afraid, and it focuses Peter’s faith on Jesus, helping him to put aside his fear, to call out and to know that Jesus has the power and ability to bid him to come.
And Jesus says, come. Peter climbed over the side of the boat, and found that he could walk on the surface of the sea!! This is truly a miracle, walking toward Jesus on the top of the water. But then he thinks about what he is doing. Men can’t walk on water, the seas and winds are still stormy. Even for a fisherman, water is chaos. He noticed and became aware of the wind and thus took his eyes off of Jesus. When he focuses on the wind instead of on Jesus he begins to sink, and cries out, Lord save me! Even while he was sinking, Peter recognized that “the same Lord who could walk on water himself and then enable Peter to walk on the water is more than able to save him from sinking.”[2] And immediately Jesus reached out and rescued him, and said to him, “you of little faith, why did you doubt?” I don’t think Peter is being reprimanded or chastised. I don’t think Jesus was accusing him, but the gentle and assuring emphasis is on Jesus himself. Why did you doubt me? Why did you take your eyes off of me? Jesus is challenging Peter to keep his eyes on Jesus, to stay focused on who He is. Faith is consistently trusting in Jesus, keeping our eyes and our focus on him, no matter what storms are raging around us.
Jesus and Peter get into the boat and the winds die down. The wind that had caused Peter to take his eyes off of Jesus is under Jesus’ control. The disciples are awed and overwhelmed by all that has just happened, and they worship Jesus. In Scripture, worship is reserved for God alone. “The disciples are gripped with the reality that Jesus . . . is the Son of God, and so they worship him.” This is also the first time that they use the title, Son of God, for Jesus. Their understanding of who he is, is growing. They are beginning to recognize that Jesus, the compassionate teacher and healer, is also God’s Son, uniquely related to the Father, with authority over the forces of creation. And they worship him.
Who is Jesus? In his healing ministry, in the feeding of the 5000 that we read last week, he is compassionate. He is a provider—bringing healing, food, and “the security of his presence to his needy disciples . . . Ultimately he has authority over all of creation, which he demonstrates in the calming of the sea. . . All of these factors point strongly to his identity, and the narrative is capped off with the disciples worshipping him as they proclaim his identity: ‘Truly you are the Son of God.’”[3]
Like Peter, we too have our fears and our doubts. We take our eyes off of Jesus. We say, ”I believe, help my unbelief.“ We have faith, and we doubt, and that’s okay. Our doubts challenge our faith, and our fears cause us to reach out to Jesus when we are sinking. Barbara Brown Taylor writes that
Our fears and doubts may paralyze us, but they are also what make us cry out for his saving touch, so how can they be all bad? If we never sank—if we could walk on water just fine by ourselves—we would not need a savior. . . .Our doubts, fearsome as they are, remind us who we are, and whose we are, and whom we need in our lives to save our lives. When we sink, as Peter does, as we all do, Our Lord reaches out and catches us, responding first with grace, and then with judgment—‘why did you doubt?’—but never with rejection.[4]
As we walk and sink, as we have faith and doubt, as we are rescued by Jesus, we begin to see and comprehend that Jesus is truly the son of God, God in flesh, God who is able to save and worthy of worship and honor and glory. In the storms of our lives, we perceive that Jesus is God and we worship him. Truly, you are the Son of God. Amen.
[1] Wilkins, Michael J. The NIV Application Commentary: Matthew. Zondervan, p. 529.
[2] Ibid, 517.
[3] Ibid, 529.
[4] Taylor, Barbara B. The Seeds of Heaven: Sermons on the Gsopel of Matthew. Westminster John Knox Press, 2004, p.60.
Churches, denominations, other organizations often focus on certain characteristics, and exclude other ideas that aren’t as comfortable, or that challenge their theology or mission, not getting a comprehensive picture. “They may focus on Jesus as Savior, shepherd, teacher, Lord, friend, revolutionary leader, or provider. . . . [But] if Jesus is only a friend to us, perhaps we do not understand that he is also the powerful Lord of the universe, who can supply us with the power necessary to accomplish whatever God calls us to in life. If Jesus is only our gentle shepherd, perhaps we do not recognize him as the religious revolutionary who despised religious hypocrisy.”[1] I could go on and on, because Jesus is all of these things, and we need to understand that. In order to understand his significance for us, for our lives, we need to have a well rounded understanding of who he is and what he can and has accomplished for us, and in us. And when we understand more accurately who he is, we will, we must, worship him as the disciples did. “Those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying’ Truly you are the Son of God.”
But that’s the end of the story, so lets back up to the beginning. Jesus and his disciples have had a long day of teaching and healing, and they have fed 5000 men, not counting women and children. Jesus wants to go off by himself to pray, to recharge and reconnect with the Father. Of course, he is always in contact with the Father, but even Jesus needs time alone with God to reflect and pray. He tells the disciples to get in the boat and go on ahead, and he dismisses the crowds for the night. Jesus is finally alone, and spends time in prayer with the Father into the night.
Meanwhile, the disciples are out on the Sea of Galilee, and a storm has come up. The boat is being battered by the waves and the wind. The disciples are struggling and straining. To the first century people, water and storms represent chaos, instability, and terror. And while some of the disciples were seasoned fishermen, used to the action of waves and water, this was a powerful and dangerous storm, and they were afraid. Then they saw a figure walking towards them on the water and were even more terrified. They thought it was a ghost.
Earlier this week we celebrated the Feast of the Transfiguration, and I heard Father Swan preach on Tuesday. He suggested that Jesus often went alone to pray on a mountain, but at the transfiguration he took his inner circle of disciples with him: Peter, James and John. Usually he prayed alone, but on this occasion there were witnesses to his prayer, and they saw him clothed in brilliant light—and perhaps this always happened when he prayed, when he got “recharged” through time with the Father. And I thought that maybe the disciples in the boat were afraid of the figure approaching, and thought it was a ghost, because he was still clothed with God’s glory, glowing like Moses’ face whenever he met with the Lord on Mount Sinai. Have you ever seen or met someone who seemed to glow with God’s light, with holiness? I think it still happens.
But back to the story. The disciples thought Jesus was a ghost, and were terrified. And Jesus calls out, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.” Take courage because I am. This may allude to the voice of the Lord coming from the burning bush. Moses asked who the voice came from, and God answered, I am that I am. I am, so don’t be afraid. I am who has power over all creation, over wind and storms and seas. And Peter—don’t you love Peter?—he calls out and says, Lord, if it is you, tell me to come to you. The idea is that if the figure really is Jesus, Peter knows he doesn’t need to be afraid, and it focuses Peter’s faith on Jesus, helping him to put aside his fear, to call out and to know that Jesus has the power and ability to bid him to come.
And Jesus says, come. Peter climbed over the side of the boat, and found that he could walk on the surface of the sea!! This is truly a miracle, walking toward Jesus on the top of the water. But then he thinks about what he is doing. Men can’t walk on water, the seas and winds are still stormy. Even for a fisherman, water is chaos. He noticed and became aware of the wind and thus took his eyes off of Jesus. When he focuses on the wind instead of on Jesus he begins to sink, and cries out, Lord save me! Even while he was sinking, Peter recognized that “the same Lord who could walk on water himself and then enable Peter to walk on the water is more than able to save him from sinking.”[2] And immediately Jesus reached out and rescued him, and said to him, “you of little faith, why did you doubt?” I don’t think Peter is being reprimanded or chastised. I don’t think Jesus was accusing him, but the gentle and assuring emphasis is on Jesus himself. Why did you doubt me? Why did you take your eyes off of me? Jesus is challenging Peter to keep his eyes on Jesus, to stay focused on who He is. Faith is consistently trusting in Jesus, keeping our eyes and our focus on him, no matter what storms are raging around us.
Jesus and Peter get into the boat and the winds die down. The wind that had caused Peter to take his eyes off of Jesus is under Jesus’ control. The disciples are awed and overwhelmed by all that has just happened, and they worship Jesus. In Scripture, worship is reserved for God alone. “The disciples are gripped with the reality that Jesus . . . is the Son of God, and so they worship him.” This is also the first time that they use the title, Son of God, for Jesus. Their understanding of who he is, is growing. They are beginning to recognize that Jesus, the compassionate teacher and healer, is also God’s Son, uniquely related to the Father, with authority over the forces of creation. And they worship him.
Who is Jesus? In his healing ministry, in the feeding of the 5000 that we read last week, he is compassionate. He is a provider—bringing healing, food, and “the security of his presence to his needy disciples . . . Ultimately he has authority over all of creation, which he demonstrates in the calming of the sea. . . All of these factors point strongly to his identity, and the narrative is capped off with the disciples worshipping him as they proclaim his identity: ‘Truly you are the Son of God.’”[3]
Like Peter, we too have our fears and our doubts. We take our eyes off of Jesus. We say, ”I believe, help my unbelief.“ We have faith, and we doubt, and that’s okay. Our doubts challenge our faith, and our fears cause us to reach out to Jesus when we are sinking. Barbara Brown Taylor writes that
Our fears and doubts may paralyze us, but they are also what make us cry out for his saving touch, so how can they be all bad? If we never sank—if we could walk on water just fine by ourselves—we would not need a savior. . . .Our doubts, fearsome as they are, remind us who we are, and whose we are, and whom we need in our lives to save our lives. When we sink, as Peter does, as we all do, Our Lord reaches out and catches us, responding first with grace, and then with judgment—‘why did you doubt?’—but never with rejection.[4]
As we walk and sink, as we have faith and doubt, as we are rescued by Jesus, we begin to see and comprehend that Jesus is truly the son of God, God in flesh, God who is able to save and worthy of worship and honor and glory. In the storms of our lives, we perceive that Jesus is God and we worship him. Truly, you are the Son of God. Amen.
[1] Wilkins, Michael J. The NIV Application Commentary: Matthew. Zondervan, p. 529.
[2] Ibid, 517.
[3] Ibid, 529.
[4] Taylor, Barbara B. The Seeds of Heaven: Sermons on the Gsopel of Matthew. Westminster John Knox Press, 2004, p.60.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Year A Proper 13, August 3, 2008
The Rev. Dr. Tony Campolo, pastor and author, shared this story a couple of years ago. He said,
I have a friend who's a pastor of a church in Brooklyn, a run down, beat up area of the city. He got a telephone call one day from the local funeral director who said that he had a funeral that nobody wanted to take. None of the ministers in the area wanted anything to do with this funeral. The man had died of AIDS. My friend, Jim, took the funeral. I said, “What was it like?”He said, “When I got there, there were about 30 homosexual men. They never looked up at me. Their heads were down and they stared at the floor the whole time I spoke. After the funeral service was over we got into the waiting automobiles and went out to the cemetery. I stood on one side of the grave with the undertaker and the homosexual men stood on the other side. They were frozen in place like statues. They seemed to be motionless. Not a nerve or sinew moved as I read Scripture and prayed. We lowered the body into the grave and I pronounced the benediction. I turned to leave and then I realized that none of them were moving. I turned back and I asked, ‘Is there anything more I can do?'”One of the men said, “Yes. They always read the 23rd Psalm at these things and you didn't do that. Would you read the 23rd Psalm?”Jim said, “Certainly.” And he did.Another man spoke up and he said, “There is a passage in the 3rd chapter of John which says that the spirit of God goeth where it leadeth and you cannot tell on whom the spirit of God falls. Could you read that passage?” And he did. And then one of the men said, “Would you read to me and to all of us that passage that talks about the love of God, that nothing can separate us from the love of God?”And Jim said, “I turned to these homosexual men and I said quite simply this, ‘Neither height nor depth nor principalities nor powers nor things present nor things to come, neither life nor death, nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.'” Jim said nothing was more thrilling than to say to these men, who had been so ostracized and hurt by the church, that God still loved them and that nothing could separate them from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.[1]
Nothing, absolutely nothing can separate us from the love of God. Our Epistle reading is one of my very favorite passages in the Bible. For the sake of argument and emphasis, Paul starts out with a question: Who will separate us from the love of Christ? This is a rhetorical question. He’s not really expecting us to answer, and “he could have simply said, ‘No one can separate us from the love of Christ’ . . .But by asking he question “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ,’ he forces us to pause and consider the matter. Who, indeed? My persecutors? My unbelieving family members? Satan? We are involved; and therefore we ‘own’ Paul’s ultimate response, ‘No . . . we are more than conquerors.’”[2]
To make sure we get it, that we hear what he’s saying, Paul goes on to list some specific threats—most of which he has experienced; hardship, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, or sword. One pastor added to the list:
Can cancer separate us from the love of God? Liver cancer? Breast cancer? Prostate cancer? Bone cancer? Lung cancer? Can these separate us from the love of God? It is a rhetorical question. You know the answer. Of course not. The word, “no,” echoes through history. Can the bombings of the Twin Towers separate us from God, suicide bombings, human beings wired as bombs? Can these separate us from the love of God? The answer is obvious. No. NO. NO. The answer rings through the corridors of history. Can leukemia? Heart attacks? Car accidents? Starvation? Wars? AIDS? Depression? Suicide? Can any of these evil things separate us from the love of God? Of course not, we all answer to ourselves.[3]
None of these can separate us from Christ’s love. “They may separate us from wealth and health, from family and friends, from comfort and ease. But they can have absolutely no effect upon the unchangeable love of God.”[4]
Paul understands that we feel like we are suffering, and in fact we do suffer. Our trials feel like injury and torture, we sometimes feel like we are being killed all day long, like sheep headed for the slaughterhouse. But this suffering doesn’t change the fact of God’s love for us; in fact these trials provide opportunities for God’s love to be made known. So in all these things we can be more than conquerors through him who loved us. We can live victoriously. We can be conquerors because of Christ, whose love never fails. In fact, we overwhelmingly conquer. We are more than conquerors. That’s the way God works, isn’t it. That’s the way of the cross. What looks to the world like defeat is in fact victory. It’s not about coping, not about surviving, but about overwhelmingly conquering.
“It is not enough to muddle through life merely enduring our adversity. God does not promise to take us out of our afflictions, but He does promise that we will emerge from them victorious. We will be victorious in the sense that we will grow in our faith, hope and love. We will conquer in that we will become more like Christ due to our sufferings. We will conquer in that God’s purposes will be achieved through us and others will see the grace of God at work in our lives.”[5]
Paul continues, saying that “I am persuaded.” Paul himself is absolutely convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Nothing in experience, nothing in invisible powers, good or evil, nothing in time or space, nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of God. “Whether we are dead or alive, whether they are things we now face or things we will face in the future, whether they are above us or below us,”[6] nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. God’s love is made known to us only in and through Jesus. In Jesus we have the promise of God’s love; he is the expression of God’s love. He is God’s love. Remember John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him will have eternal life.” God’s love for us is made known in Christ, and the cross is the measure of God’s love. To follow Jesus Christ is to be confident in God love; but to reject Jesus and his teachings will ultimately separate us from the love of God. God loves us, always, yes, but when we reject Jesus, we are rejecting God’s love. When we reject Jesus, we separate ourselves from God’s love. But, as Christians, we have the right, even the obligation, to be absolutely confident of God’s love for us, made known to us in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.
I know we sometimes let things get in the way of God’s love for us, or at least we put things between ourselves and God’s love. What is it that gets in the way of God’s love for you? Where do you lose sight of the truth of God’s love for you? We need to be reminded, day after day, that nothing, absolutely nothing in all the world, all of creation, nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.
Finally, It is here that we “learn the wonder and glory of God’s love in Christ. It is unchangeable and infinite; it is constant and sufficient; it is eternal and triumphant. God loves us no matter what is happening to us. His love is as dependable as the North Star—indeed, far more dependable, as dependable as the eternal Sun of Righteousness, the same yesterday, today, and forever!”[7] Alleluia! Amen!
[1] http://www.csec.org/csec/sermon/campolo_5001.htm
[2] Moo, Douglas J. The NIV Application Commentary: Romans, Zondervan, 2000, p285.
[3] http://www.sermonsfromseattle.com/romans_christsspiritandeternalbonding.htm
[4] Allen, Clifton J. The Gospel According to Paul: A Study of the Letter to the Romans. Convention Press, 1956, p. 98.
[5] http://www.bible.org/page.php?page_id=2310
[6] Moo, 284.
[7] Allen, 99.
I have a friend who's a pastor of a church in Brooklyn, a run down, beat up area of the city. He got a telephone call one day from the local funeral director who said that he had a funeral that nobody wanted to take. None of the ministers in the area wanted anything to do with this funeral. The man had died of AIDS. My friend, Jim, took the funeral. I said, “What was it like?”He said, “When I got there, there were about 30 homosexual men. They never looked up at me. Their heads were down and they stared at the floor the whole time I spoke. After the funeral service was over we got into the waiting automobiles and went out to the cemetery. I stood on one side of the grave with the undertaker and the homosexual men stood on the other side. They were frozen in place like statues. They seemed to be motionless. Not a nerve or sinew moved as I read Scripture and prayed. We lowered the body into the grave and I pronounced the benediction. I turned to leave and then I realized that none of them were moving. I turned back and I asked, ‘Is there anything more I can do?'”One of the men said, “Yes. They always read the 23rd Psalm at these things and you didn't do that. Would you read the 23rd Psalm?”Jim said, “Certainly.” And he did.Another man spoke up and he said, “There is a passage in the 3rd chapter of John which says that the spirit of God goeth where it leadeth and you cannot tell on whom the spirit of God falls. Could you read that passage?” And he did. And then one of the men said, “Would you read to me and to all of us that passage that talks about the love of God, that nothing can separate us from the love of God?”And Jim said, “I turned to these homosexual men and I said quite simply this, ‘Neither height nor depth nor principalities nor powers nor things present nor things to come, neither life nor death, nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.'” Jim said nothing was more thrilling than to say to these men, who had been so ostracized and hurt by the church, that God still loved them and that nothing could separate them from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.[1]
Nothing, absolutely nothing can separate us from the love of God. Our Epistle reading is one of my very favorite passages in the Bible. For the sake of argument and emphasis, Paul starts out with a question: Who will separate us from the love of Christ? This is a rhetorical question. He’s not really expecting us to answer, and “he could have simply said, ‘No one can separate us from the love of Christ’ . . .But by asking he question “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ,’ he forces us to pause and consider the matter. Who, indeed? My persecutors? My unbelieving family members? Satan? We are involved; and therefore we ‘own’ Paul’s ultimate response, ‘No . . . we are more than conquerors.’”[2]
To make sure we get it, that we hear what he’s saying, Paul goes on to list some specific threats—most of which he has experienced; hardship, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, or sword. One pastor added to the list:
Can cancer separate us from the love of God? Liver cancer? Breast cancer? Prostate cancer? Bone cancer? Lung cancer? Can these separate us from the love of God? It is a rhetorical question. You know the answer. Of course not. The word, “no,” echoes through history. Can the bombings of the Twin Towers separate us from God, suicide bombings, human beings wired as bombs? Can these separate us from the love of God? The answer is obvious. No. NO. NO. The answer rings through the corridors of history. Can leukemia? Heart attacks? Car accidents? Starvation? Wars? AIDS? Depression? Suicide? Can any of these evil things separate us from the love of God? Of course not, we all answer to ourselves.[3]
None of these can separate us from Christ’s love. “They may separate us from wealth and health, from family and friends, from comfort and ease. But they can have absolutely no effect upon the unchangeable love of God.”[4]
Paul understands that we feel like we are suffering, and in fact we do suffer. Our trials feel like injury and torture, we sometimes feel like we are being killed all day long, like sheep headed for the slaughterhouse. But this suffering doesn’t change the fact of God’s love for us; in fact these trials provide opportunities for God’s love to be made known. So in all these things we can be more than conquerors through him who loved us. We can live victoriously. We can be conquerors because of Christ, whose love never fails. In fact, we overwhelmingly conquer. We are more than conquerors. That’s the way God works, isn’t it. That’s the way of the cross. What looks to the world like defeat is in fact victory. It’s not about coping, not about surviving, but about overwhelmingly conquering.
“It is not enough to muddle through life merely enduring our adversity. God does not promise to take us out of our afflictions, but He does promise that we will emerge from them victorious. We will be victorious in the sense that we will grow in our faith, hope and love. We will conquer in that we will become more like Christ due to our sufferings. We will conquer in that God’s purposes will be achieved through us and others will see the grace of God at work in our lives.”[5]
Paul continues, saying that “I am persuaded.” Paul himself is absolutely convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Nothing in experience, nothing in invisible powers, good or evil, nothing in time or space, nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of God. “Whether we are dead or alive, whether they are things we now face or things we will face in the future, whether they are above us or below us,”[6] nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. God’s love is made known to us only in and through Jesus. In Jesus we have the promise of God’s love; he is the expression of God’s love. He is God’s love. Remember John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him will have eternal life.” God’s love for us is made known in Christ, and the cross is the measure of God’s love. To follow Jesus Christ is to be confident in God love; but to reject Jesus and his teachings will ultimately separate us from the love of God. God loves us, always, yes, but when we reject Jesus, we are rejecting God’s love. When we reject Jesus, we separate ourselves from God’s love. But, as Christians, we have the right, even the obligation, to be absolutely confident of God’s love for us, made known to us in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.
I know we sometimes let things get in the way of God’s love for us, or at least we put things between ourselves and God’s love. What is it that gets in the way of God’s love for you? Where do you lose sight of the truth of God’s love for you? We need to be reminded, day after day, that nothing, absolutely nothing in all the world, all of creation, nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.
Finally, It is here that we “learn the wonder and glory of God’s love in Christ. It is unchangeable and infinite; it is constant and sufficient; it is eternal and triumphant. God loves us no matter what is happening to us. His love is as dependable as the North Star—indeed, far more dependable, as dependable as the eternal Sun of Righteousness, the same yesterday, today, and forever!”[7] Alleluia! Amen!
[1] http://www.csec.org/csec/sermon/campolo_5001.htm
[2] Moo, Douglas J. The NIV Application Commentary: Romans, Zondervan, 2000, p285.
[3] http://www.sermonsfromseattle.com/romans_christsspiritandeternalbonding.htm
[4] Allen, Clifton J. The Gospel According to Paul: A Study of the Letter to the Romans. Convention Press, 1956, p. 98.
[5] http://www.bible.org/page.php?page_id=2310
[6] Moo, 284.
[7] Allen, 99.
Year A Proper 12
Have any of you seen the recent Indiana Jones movie with Harrison Ford: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull? How about any of the Indiana Jones movies? Still, my favorite is the first one: Raiders of the Lost Ark. Or how about the National Treasure moves with Nicholas Cage. While they are fun and over-the-top adventures, they share a theme of finding a great treasure—and we are fascinated. Wouldn’t you love to find a real treasure map?
How about that t.v. series: Antiques Roadshow. People bring their family heirlooms and found treasures to the experts to find out their worth, their value. While some are disappointed to find out that their treasures have little value, others have remarkably rare and valuable things, and we can share in their joy and surprise.
Larry and I used to sell a lot of stuff on ebay. There was a time when Larry had some health problems, and this was something he could do. And then when my company in Centralia closed their doors, I sold stuff while finishing my bachelors degree and before seminary. So we used to go treasure hunting: to rummage sales, auctions, flea markets, and thrift shops. We learned a lot as we went along, learned from our mistakes. There were things that we thought were valuable, but they really weren’t.
Some things we had pretty good idea regarding the value, other things were great surprises:
Larry’s Children’s book
St. Barbar.V.M. relic
We had some fun treasure hunting, and it was exciting at times to see what things sold for. I still get the urge to stop at all yard sales and look for treasures!
In today’s gospel, we heard that the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed. The kingdom of heaven is like yeast. The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. The kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet. We’ve been hearing about the kingdom of heaven for the last few weeks. The kingdom of heaven is like seeds sown all over the ground. It’s like a man who sowed good seed in his field. These are all metaphors, designed to capture people’s attention. It’s impossible even for Jesus to explain exactly what the kingdom of heaven is, and so he tells us what it is like. In today’s barrage of parables, what seems to be consistent is the smallness, the hiddenness of the kingdom of heaven.
In the parable of the mustard seed, we find that a great shrub grows from the tiniest of seeds, so small that it takes 400 or so to weigh one gram. It was the smallest known seed in Israel, but it produced a nice shrub, great for nesting birds. The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed—“the proverbial smallness of the mustard seed as a metaphor that describes the kingdom of God would have shocked the crowd. Israel always believed that when God’s kingdom was established on earth it would be great; they were not prepared for an insignificant beginning.”[1] It sure wasn’t what they wanted, what they expected Just a little, insignificant seed.
The parable of the yeast likewise takes something small and ordinary—even perhaps despised because of the evil connotation of leaven, of yeast—and turns it into an example of the presence of the kingdom. Not only was leaven symbolic for evil, in the parable it was a woman who kneaded it into the dough—women’s work was so despised that this example really would have captured the attention of the listeners. “Jesus uses yeast to symbolize the positive, hidden permeation of the kingdom of heaven into this world. The Jews rightly understood that the arrival of the kingdom would mean the transformation of the order of things in this world. But Jesus’ arrival did not bring the expected immediate, external, dramatic change.”[2] The inconspicuous and even perhaps despised beginning of the kingdom was in direct contrast to what it would become. It does not come with power and might, but with the inner transformation of the hearts of individuals. In spite of small and even invisible beginnings, the kingdom of heaven will permeate the entire world and will ultimately have great results.
Then there is the man who finds treasure hidden in a field, who buries it again, goes and sells all that he has and buys the field. This treasure lays there unnoticed, hidden. The man isn’t necessarily even searching for it, but he happens to find it and sees its value. The emphasis here is not that he was perhaps a bit devious, but that he recognized the value of his find, and went and sold all that he had in order to obtain this treasure. “The emphasis here is on the supreme worth of the treasure that is unseen by others. It is worth far more than any sacrifice one might make to acquire it. . . . No sacrifice is too great to live in God’s will and experience a disciple relationship with Jesus as Master.”[3] Remember the story of the Rich Young Ruler? He went to Jesus asking about how he could enter the kingdom, how he could have eternal life. Jesus asked him if he had kept the commandments, and the man assured Jesus that he had kept them all. And Jesus told him then to go and sell everything he had and give the proceeds to the poor, and then he would have treasure in heaven. And the man went away sorrowful because he had many possessions. He wasn’t willing to give up his earthly treasures in order to obtain the kingdom of heaven (Matt 9:16ff). The value of the kingdom of heaven is worth far more than our earthly treasure, worth sacrificing in order to obtain it. But the moral of the story isn’t so much about sacrifice, but about the joyful surrender of obtaining the kingdom of heaven. Paul said, “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him” (Phil 3:8-9a).
The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant who is deliberately searching and finds a pearl of great value and he went and sold everything he had in order to buy this valuable pearl. This man was diligently searching, and when he found the pearl he knew its value. “Moreover, as an expert, the merchant knows that even if he sells all that he has, the pearl he possesses surpasses all his former accumulated wealth.”[4] This story again emphasizes the utmost value of the kingdom of heaven. There is nothing more valuable in the whole world.
Finally, the kingdom of heaven is like a net, hidden beneath the surface of the sea, capturing all that is before it. It catches both good fish and bad, and at the end of the age, the good will be separated from the bad. On that last day, the day of judgment, the kingdom of heaven will be cast like a net over the whole world and no one will escape final judgment. All will be sorted out into good and bad, those who believe in Jesus and accept his message, and those who reject Jesus and his message. It’s up to Jesus and his angels to judge these people—we don’t know enough to be able to judge, to be able to sort the good from the bad. We can’t see people’s hearts.
As Christians, as disciples of Christ, we sometimes take for granted that which we have received. We are truly children of the kingdom of heaven, and that is the greatest treasure in the world, far greater than the crystal skull, the lost ark, or the national treasure. It is greater than the greatest find on Antique Roadshow. It is in fact the only treasure with eternal value.
The parable of the hidden treasure emphasizes that the kingdom has a value that far outweighs what anyone looking on an open field might have expected. The parable of the costly pearl emphasizes that the well-trained expert will discover, upon finding the reality of the kingdom, that nothing is comparable in worth. Whatever cost a person expends is nothing in comparison to the benefit of belonging to it. Salvation and the righteousness of the kingdom is a greater treasure than all that the world has to offer, and it is the source of greatest joy. . . .When we recognize fully the value of life in the presence of the Savior now and life eternal, all of the sacrifice we make cannot compare to the joy of experiencing its present reality.[5]
This is the treasure worth searching for. It is worth any price. It is worth investing all that we have, making a commitment that is total because this treasure is beyond price. This treasure is. . Priceless. Amen.
[1] Wilkins, Michael J. The NIV Application Commentary: Matthew. Zondervan p. 483.
[2] Ibid, 483-4.
[3] Ibid, 487.
[4] Ibid, 488.
[5] Ibid, 505.
How about that t.v. series: Antiques Roadshow. People bring their family heirlooms and found treasures to the experts to find out their worth, their value. While some are disappointed to find out that their treasures have little value, others have remarkably rare and valuable things, and we can share in their joy and surprise.
Larry and I used to sell a lot of stuff on ebay. There was a time when Larry had some health problems, and this was something he could do. And then when my company in Centralia closed their doors, I sold stuff while finishing my bachelors degree and before seminary. So we used to go treasure hunting: to rummage sales, auctions, flea markets, and thrift shops. We learned a lot as we went along, learned from our mistakes. There were things that we thought were valuable, but they really weren’t.
Some things we had pretty good idea regarding the value, other things were great surprises:
Larry’s Children’s book
St. Barbar.V.M. relic
We had some fun treasure hunting, and it was exciting at times to see what things sold for. I still get the urge to stop at all yard sales and look for treasures!
In today’s gospel, we heard that the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed. The kingdom of heaven is like yeast. The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. The kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet. We’ve been hearing about the kingdom of heaven for the last few weeks. The kingdom of heaven is like seeds sown all over the ground. It’s like a man who sowed good seed in his field. These are all metaphors, designed to capture people’s attention. It’s impossible even for Jesus to explain exactly what the kingdom of heaven is, and so he tells us what it is like. In today’s barrage of parables, what seems to be consistent is the smallness, the hiddenness of the kingdom of heaven.
In the parable of the mustard seed, we find that a great shrub grows from the tiniest of seeds, so small that it takes 400 or so to weigh one gram. It was the smallest known seed in Israel, but it produced a nice shrub, great for nesting birds. The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed—“the proverbial smallness of the mustard seed as a metaphor that describes the kingdom of God would have shocked the crowd. Israel always believed that when God’s kingdom was established on earth it would be great; they were not prepared for an insignificant beginning.”[1] It sure wasn’t what they wanted, what they expected Just a little, insignificant seed.
The parable of the yeast likewise takes something small and ordinary—even perhaps despised because of the evil connotation of leaven, of yeast—and turns it into an example of the presence of the kingdom. Not only was leaven symbolic for evil, in the parable it was a woman who kneaded it into the dough—women’s work was so despised that this example really would have captured the attention of the listeners. “Jesus uses yeast to symbolize the positive, hidden permeation of the kingdom of heaven into this world. The Jews rightly understood that the arrival of the kingdom would mean the transformation of the order of things in this world. But Jesus’ arrival did not bring the expected immediate, external, dramatic change.”[2] The inconspicuous and even perhaps despised beginning of the kingdom was in direct contrast to what it would become. It does not come with power and might, but with the inner transformation of the hearts of individuals. In spite of small and even invisible beginnings, the kingdom of heaven will permeate the entire world and will ultimately have great results.
Then there is the man who finds treasure hidden in a field, who buries it again, goes and sells all that he has and buys the field. This treasure lays there unnoticed, hidden. The man isn’t necessarily even searching for it, but he happens to find it and sees its value. The emphasis here is not that he was perhaps a bit devious, but that he recognized the value of his find, and went and sold all that he had in order to obtain this treasure. “The emphasis here is on the supreme worth of the treasure that is unseen by others. It is worth far more than any sacrifice one might make to acquire it. . . . No sacrifice is too great to live in God’s will and experience a disciple relationship with Jesus as Master.”[3] Remember the story of the Rich Young Ruler? He went to Jesus asking about how he could enter the kingdom, how he could have eternal life. Jesus asked him if he had kept the commandments, and the man assured Jesus that he had kept them all. And Jesus told him then to go and sell everything he had and give the proceeds to the poor, and then he would have treasure in heaven. And the man went away sorrowful because he had many possessions. He wasn’t willing to give up his earthly treasures in order to obtain the kingdom of heaven (Matt 9:16ff). The value of the kingdom of heaven is worth far more than our earthly treasure, worth sacrificing in order to obtain it. But the moral of the story isn’t so much about sacrifice, but about the joyful surrender of obtaining the kingdom of heaven. Paul said, “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him” (Phil 3:8-9a).
The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant who is deliberately searching and finds a pearl of great value and he went and sold everything he had in order to buy this valuable pearl. This man was diligently searching, and when he found the pearl he knew its value. “Moreover, as an expert, the merchant knows that even if he sells all that he has, the pearl he possesses surpasses all his former accumulated wealth.”[4] This story again emphasizes the utmost value of the kingdom of heaven. There is nothing more valuable in the whole world.
Finally, the kingdom of heaven is like a net, hidden beneath the surface of the sea, capturing all that is before it. It catches both good fish and bad, and at the end of the age, the good will be separated from the bad. On that last day, the day of judgment, the kingdom of heaven will be cast like a net over the whole world and no one will escape final judgment. All will be sorted out into good and bad, those who believe in Jesus and accept his message, and those who reject Jesus and his message. It’s up to Jesus and his angels to judge these people—we don’t know enough to be able to judge, to be able to sort the good from the bad. We can’t see people’s hearts.
As Christians, as disciples of Christ, we sometimes take for granted that which we have received. We are truly children of the kingdom of heaven, and that is the greatest treasure in the world, far greater than the crystal skull, the lost ark, or the national treasure. It is greater than the greatest find on Antique Roadshow. It is in fact the only treasure with eternal value.
The parable of the hidden treasure emphasizes that the kingdom has a value that far outweighs what anyone looking on an open field might have expected. The parable of the costly pearl emphasizes that the well-trained expert will discover, upon finding the reality of the kingdom, that nothing is comparable in worth. Whatever cost a person expends is nothing in comparison to the benefit of belonging to it. Salvation and the righteousness of the kingdom is a greater treasure than all that the world has to offer, and it is the source of greatest joy. . . .When we recognize fully the value of life in the presence of the Savior now and life eternal, all of the sacrifice we make cannot compare to the joy of experiencing its present reality.[5]
This is the treasure worth searching for. It is worth any price. It is worth investing all that we have, making a commitment that is total because this treasure is beyond price. This treasure is. . Priceless. Amen.
[1] Wilkins, Michael J. The NIV Application Commentary: Matthew. Zondervan p. 483.
[2] Ibid, 483-4.
[3] Ibid, 487.
[4] Ibid, 488.
[5] Ibid, 505.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Year A Proper 11
The kingdom of heaven is like a field, planted with good seed. The field is the world.
This parable introduces the idea of “realized eschatology.” The kingdom of heaven is already and not yet. The kingdom of heaven was inaugurated with the life and ministry of Jesus—the kingdom of heaven is at hand! It is here, it has arrived. And yet, we anticipate that it will only be complete when Jesus returns. It’s here, perhaps, in shadow form. We see glimpses, we know that Jesus brought the kingdom of heaven to earth, but all is not quite what it should be, and what it will be we will see at the end of the age. Jesus introduced “a new age, and the victory over the powers of evil has already been won, even though the struggle is still to be enacted in history. . . [Consequently] we must live with an openness to and anticipation of the future. . . . [There are] events that really will come to pass.”[1]
And so we have the parable of the wheat and the weeds. The kingdom of heaven is the field, where the evil one, Satan, has planted bad seed in with the good. The good seed is wheat, the bad seed is probably darnel, a weedy grass with poisonous seeds that looks just like wheat until harvest time, when it has a different “head” or “ear.” When the servants report what has happened, they are eager to try to uproot the weeds, but the master recognizes that if they pull out the bad plants, they will also be pulling up good ones, too. So he instructs them to let them both grow until the harvest, and then they will be able to tell the weeds from the wheat, and the weeds can be burned. “The kingdom of heaven has indeed come into this world, but its advance does not mean that the enemy will be completely vanquished during this age. That awaits the final judgment.”[2]
In his explanation to the disciples, Jesus describes himself as the sower, and the field as we know is the world. The kingdom if heaven is much more than Israel, or the Church, but expands to include the whole world. The good seed is the people of the kingdom, those who respond to Jesus and his teaching. The weeds belong to the evil one. They are those who reject Jesus and the gospel message. The enemy is, of course, the devil, “an enemy farmer attempting to disrupt the growth of good wheat.”[3] The harvest is the end of the age, the end times, “the judgment that will accompany the coming of the Son of Man to consummate the establishment of the kingdom.”[4] And finally, the harvesters are not the disciples, but angels who will help Jesus to establish his kingdom and bring judgment. They will collect the weeds, all causes of sin and all evildoers, and they will throw them into the furnace. Then, Jesus’ “divine sovereignty will be visibly established over all creatures of this world.” And the righteous, those who are his disciples, “will experience the full manifestation of the kingdom’s glory and ‘will shine like the sun’. Jesus’ disciples are the light of the world during this age while they await its consummation . . ., but at that time they will shine with unhindered brilliance.”[5]
Let anyone with ears listen!
This parable makes it clear that although the kingdom of heaven has arrived, that doesn’t mean that evil ceases to exist—as we can see by our morning papers or evening news. Jesus’ disciples are being transformed, but evil and evil people survive. Those who are growing in the kingdom of heaven will see personal transformation, but we will not see the elimination of evil until the end of the age. Wheat and weeds, good and evil, coexist, and sometimes it’s hard for us to tell the difference. We don’t know, don’t see a person’s heart. We don’t know or can’t see what God is doing in them, or will be doing. We are not called to judge others, but to let Jesus and his angels sort it all out at the end of the age. Evil is a reality and will continue to be a part of this world, “but there looms on the horizon of history certain rescue for Jesus disciples and certain judgment for those who are aligned with the evil one.” That is our hope. God’s kingdom will come, his justice will be done, and the righteous will shine like the sun.
In our Epistle reading, Paul talks about this same hope. While living in this world Christians will experience evil and suffering. This suffering comes from the consequences of sin, or due to the sins of others, and in this world the innocent suffer along with the guilty. And some suffering comes from God’s disciplining us, being a loving father who chastises his children, meant for our own good. And we may suffer on account of Christ, as his disciples. But no matter the cause, this suffering doesn’t begin to compare with the glory that will be revealed to us. This glory already exists—the kingdom has already been inaugurated—but its true glory will be revealed to us in the last time. We will share in Christ’s glory for all of eternity. As one commentary says, “What steadying assurance this should give to those who suffer from the ravages of disease, to those who are victims of injustice and wickedness, to persecuted saints in many places, and to all Christians who have felt the hard blows of inescapable tragedy and cruel circumstance and crushing affliction.”[6]
Paul says that all of creation—plants, animals, rocks, mountains, rivers, all are longing for this glory to be revealed, for the kingdom to be consummated. “The entire created world has failed to attain its purpose. Because of human sin, it is not what God intended it to be.”[7] After the fall, God subjected all of creation with the expectation and hope of its ultimate liberation. Reflecting the supremacy of mankind in God’s created universe, the whole of the created universe felt the impact of the fall, and shares in the hope of redemption. On the last day all creation will be transformed, freed from evil and decay and death. When the children of God are finally restored, creation will also be restored because of Christ’s redemptive work, restoring humankind and even all of the created universe to God and his glorious purpose. In the meantime, creation groans in labor pains, suffering in anticipation of a joyous outcome.
And Christians also groan, as we yearn to be what God wants us to be, yearn for a better tomorrow. Again, there’s the idea of already and not yet. “We are God’s children already—justified, reconciled, and brought into his family. But we are not yet God’s children in the way we one day will be—possessing the full inheritance, enjoying perfect holiness in resurrected bodies, and glorified.”[8] This is what we hope for, the hope that is an integral part of being a follower of Jesus. In hope we were saved, and in hope we patiently wait for that which we don’t yet see, the consummation of the kingdom. “The object of our hope has not yet been revealed. But the hope of glory is still our highest hope, and because of that we wait with patience for it.”[9]This hope is not a wish, not like “I hope I win the lottery,” but a sure thing, founded in God’s promises. And because our hope is centered on God we can be patient, we can bear up under the suffering and evil of this life, we can expect that the best is yet to come. We can endure the sufferings of this life with fortitude, because of our hope of glory and the pledge of redemption. “There is something better yet. It is more wonderful than our finite minds can grasp, more glorious than imagination can conceive. It is a bright vision that leads us forward and imparts steadfastness and perseverance regardless of trial or disappointment or failure. Because of our hope of heaven itself, we are made strong to endure.”[10]
The righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of the Father. Let anyone with ears listen!
[1] Erickson, Millard J. Christian Theology. Baker Books: 1998, p.1170.
[2] Wilkins, Michael J. The NIV Application Commentary: Matthew. Zondervan: 2004, p. 482.
[3] Ibid, 486.
[4] Ibid, 486.
[5] Ibid, 486.
[6] Allen, Clifton J. The Gospel According to Paul: A Study of the Letter to the Romans. Convention Press, 1956, p. 92.
[7] Moo, Douglas. The NIV Application Commentary: Romans. Zondervan: 2000, p. 267.
[8] Ibid, 267.
[9] Allen, 93.
[10] Ibid, 93.
This parable introduces the idea of “realized eschatology.” The kingdom of heaven is already and not yet. The kingdom of heaven was inaugurated with the life and ministry of Jesus—the kingdom of heaven is at hand! It is here, it has arrived. And yet, we anticipate that it will only be complete when Jesus returns. It’s here, perhaps, in shadow form. We see glimpses, we know that Jesus brought the kingdom of heaven to earth, but all is not quite what it should be, and what it will be we will see at the end of the age. Jesus introduced “a new age, and the victory over the powers of evil has already been won, even though the struggle is still to be enacted in history. . . [Consequently] we must live with an openness to and anticipation of the future. . . . [There are] events that really will come to pass.”[1]
And so we have the parable of the wheat and the weeds. The kingdom of heaven is the field, where the evil one, Satan, has planted bad seed in with the good. The good seed is wheat, the bad seed is probably darnel, a weedy grass with poisonous seeds that looks just like wheat until harvest time, when it has a different “head” or “ear.” When the servants report what has happened, they are eager to try to uproot the weeds, but the master recognizes that if they pull out the bad plants, they will also be pulling up good ones, too. So he instructs them to let them both grow until the harvest, and then they will be able to tell the weeds from the wheat, and the weeds can be burned. “The kingdom of heaven has indeed come into this world, but its advance does not mean that the enemy will be completely vanquished during this age. That awaits the final judgment.”[2]
In his explanation to the disciples, Jesus describes himself as the sower, and the field as we know is the world. The kingdom if heaven is much more than Israel, or the Church, but expands to include the whole world. The good seed is the people of the kingdom, those who respond to Jesus and his teaching. The weeds belong to the evil one. They are those who reject Jesus and the gospel message. The enemy is, of course, the devil, “an enemy farmer attempting to disrupt the growth of good wheat.”[3] The harvest is the end of the age, the end times, “the judgment that will accompany the coming of the Son of Man to consummate the establishment of the kingdom.”[4] And finally, the harvesters are not the disciples, but angels who will help Jesus to establish his kingdom and bring judgment. They will collect the weeds, all causes of sin and all evildoers, and they will throw them into the furnace. Then, Jesus’ “divine sovereignty will be visibly established over all creatures of this world.” And the righteous, those who are his disciples, “will experience the full manifestation of the kingdom’s glory and ‘will shine like the sun’. Jesus’ disciples are the light of the world during this age while they await its consummation . . ., but at that time they will shine with unhindered brilliance.”[5]
Let anyone with ears listen!
This parable makes it clear that although the kingdom of heaven has arrived, that doesn’t mean that evil ceases to exist—as we can see by our morning papers or evening news. Jesus’ disciples are being transformed, but evil and evil people survive. Those who are growing in the kingdom of heaven will see personal transformation, but we will not see the elimination of evil until the end of the age. Wheat and weeds, good and evil, coexist, and sometimes it’s hard for us to tell the difference. We don’t know, don’t see a person’s heart. We don’t know or can’t see what God is doing in them, or will be doing. We are not called to judge others, but to let Jesus and his angels sort it all out at the end of the age. Evil is a reality and will continue to be a part of this world, “but there looms on the horizon of history certain rescue for Jesus disciples and certain judgment for those who are aligned with the evil one.” That is our hope. God’s kingdom will come, his justice will be done, and the righteous will shine like the sun.
In our Epistle reading, Paul talks about this same hope. While living in this world Christians will experience evil and suffering. This suffering comes from the consequences of sin, or due to the sins of others, and in this world the innocent suffer along with the guilty. And some suffering comes from God’s disciplining us, being a loving father who chastises his children, meant for our own good. And we may suffer on account of Christ, as his disciples. But no matter the cause, this suffering doesn’t begin to compare with the glory that will be revealed to us. This glory already exists—the kingdom has already been inaugurated—but its true glory will be revealed to us in the last time. We will share in Christ’s glory for all of eternity. As one commentary says, “What steadying assurance this should give to those who suffer from the ravages of disease, to those who are victims of injustice and wickedness, to persecuted saints in many places, and to all Christians who have felt the hard blows of inescapable tragedy and cruel circumstance and crushing affliction.”[6]
Paul says that all of creation—plants, animals, rocks, mountains, rivers, all are longing for this glory to be revealed, for the kingdom to be consummated. “The entire created world has failed to attain its purpose. Because of human sin, it is not what God intended it to be.”[7] After the fall, God subjected all of creation with the expectation and hope of its ultimate liberation. Reflecting the supremacy of mankind in God’s created universe, the whole of the created universe felt the impact of the fall, and shares in the hope of redemption. On the last day all creation will be transformed, freed from evil and decay and death. When the children of God are finally restored, creation will also be restored because of Christ’s redemptive work, restoring humankind and even all of the created universe to God and his glorious purpose. In the meantime, creation groans in labor pains, suffering in anticipation of a joyous outcome.
And Christians also groan, as we yearn to be what God wants us to be, yearn for a better tomorrow. Again, there’s the idea of already and not yet. “We are God’s children already—justified, reconciled, and brought into his family. But we are not yet God’s children in the way we one day will be—possessing the full inheritance, enjoying perfect holiness in resurrected bodies, and glorified.”[8] This is what we hope for, the hope that is an integral part of being a follower of Jesus. In hope we were saved, and in hope we patiently wait for that which we don’t yet see, the consummation of the kingdom. “The object of our hope has not yet been revealed. But the hope of glory is still our highest hope, and because of that we wait with patience for it.”[9]This hope is not a wish, not like “I hope I win the lottery,” but a sure thing, founded in God’s promises. And because our hope is centered on God we can be patient, we can bear up under the suffering and evil of this life, we can expect that the best is yet to come. We can endure the sufferings of this life with fortitude, because of our hope of glory and the pledge of redemption. “There is something better yet. It is more wonderful than our finite minds can grasp, more glorious than imagination can conceive. It is a bright vision that leads us forward and imparts steadfastness and perseverance regardless of trial or disappointment or failure. Because of our hope of heaven itself, we are made strong to endure.”[10]
The righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of the Father. Let anyone with ears listen!
[1] Erickson, Millard J. Christian Theology. Baker Books: 1998, p.1170.
[2] Wilkins, Michael J. The NIV Application Commentary: Matthew. Zondervan: 2004, p. 482.
[3] Ibid, 486.
[4] Ibid, 486.
[5] Ibid, 486.
[6] Allen, Clifton J. The Gospel According to Paul: A Study of the Letter to the Romans. Convention Press, 1956, p. 92.
[7] Moo, Douglas. The NIV Application Commentary: Romans. Zondervan: 2000, p. 267.
[8] Ibid, 267.
[9] Allen, 93.
[10] Ibid, 93.
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