Lessons, October 20, 2013

I am put in mind of the story of the Pastor who is asked how his son is doing in university and his reply is, "Great, at the moment he's an atheist."

The lesson for today is that it's OKAY to question God and to not take no for an answer. Faith that is not tested and does not undergo testing is a rather bland and lifeless affair. God has rather broad shoulders and his feelings are not easily hurt. It is not blasphemy to admit our loss of faith if it help us regain it.

Mar 9:24 Straightway the father of the child cried out, and said, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.

It is difficult to have mountaintop experiences if we do not also have periods of doubt, grief, pain, and depression; to do so is to be human and not a sign of weakness, in fact it takes a strong man to face up to his own failings. We need to bring our hurts to God along with our joys. After all it is to be remembered that Jesus sweated blood as he prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Jacob was a schemer. Having become estranged from his older brother Esau he went to live with his Uncle Laban. In the passage prior to today's lesson he is with great trepidation returning home and facing a meeting with his brother the outcome of which is in doubt. The 'man' Jacob is wrestling with here is his own guilty conscience. It would seem he wins this crisis of conscience and goes on to make reconciliation with his brother Esau.

Jacob feared what his brother's reaction might be when their reunion took place. Psalm 121 expresses faith in God's protection at all times and in all places.

What I take from today's Epistle Lesson in Timothy is that we should study and discuss doctrines and opinions that differ from the truth we know in the Gospel in order to understand where our neighbours are coming from just so long as we don't lose sight of the message given us in Christ.

1Th 5:17 pray without ceasing;

Whether or not it is possible to wear God down as the widow does the judge in the parable in today's Gospel the very act of prayer is an expression of faith that is good for the soul. It is also possible that we find answer to prayer in the least expected places and faith among the most unlikely of God's servants.

Heb 13:2 Remember to welcome strangers in your homes. There were some who did that and welcomed angels without knowing it.

What I find most comforting here is the assertion that it is alright to have doubts and to struggle with our faith. God's love for us is strong enough to care for us even when we feel unloved and in doubt. The only truly unforgivable sin is to reject that love.

Lessons, October 13, 2013

Last week we confronted the need for faith in the effecting of change in the world around us. Today we confront the need for faith in attaining healing in our own lives. Remember the lesson of the mustard seed.

Naaman was a successful army general. When he gave an order he expected it to be obeyed without question. When he sought healing for his leprosy he had an expectation that God's mighty prophet would appear and order him cleansed. Instead he is asked to go wash seven times in the Jordan, a river so dirty there was every likelihood that one could be infected by bathing in it. The lesson here is that we need to take responsibility for our own health. We cannot expect there to be a magic bullet to heal all ills. We may need to maintain a healthy weight, get regular exercise, stop smoking,  drink responsibly, and get proper rest. If we need more invasive medical attention we must be willing to follow our doctor's orders and take the medication prescribed on a regular basis. And we must have a strong belief in the efficacy of the treatment we are given. Much has been written about the effectiveness of the placebo effect which says that healing will take place whatever the true effectiveness of a treatment just because the patient believes it will.

It is important that we pray for good things in our lives and have faith that the Lord will provide them. It is equally important to honour, praise and thank our God for our blessings as well. The act of praising God is good for the soul. So says our Psalm for today.

As is often the case the Epistle is off in left field today. We are asked to be faithful to Christ's message and to remember that everyone looks at things from a different perspective due to their life experience. We should not get so hung up on words that we forget the essential message of God's love and salvation.

Luk 17:17  And Jesus answering said, Were not the ten cleansed? but where are the nine?

So, ten men sought healing and exhibited faith that healing was possible but only one man returned to praise and thank God for his cleansing act. And to drive the point home it is pointed out that the one person to express gratitude was a much despised Samaritan. Once more the point is made that thanksgiving is an equally important part of the healing act. By failing to show gratitude the nine missed out on an important facet of the healing act. It is one thing to be healed, it is quite another to feel so good about it that one is compelled to thank the Lord for it. Praise is good for the soul.

Faith prompts us to intercede on our own behalf and on behalf of others. That same faith moves us to acknowledge He whose love restored wholeness of life. We have not become truly whole unless we return praise to the author of our salvation.

Lessons September 15

Sorry, I know of no way to re-order these posts.

Today's theme appears to be Sinfulness, Backsliding, Repentance and Redemption.

God is a loving Lord and willing to pardon those who turn from their evil ways and beg for forgiveness.

While Moses is on the mountain talking with God the Israelites slough off the thin veneer of monotheism and return to the practices of idolatry and human sacrifice to which they have become accustomed after generations of living in Egypt. God threatens to rain down lava and exterminate the guilty much as he had at Sodom and Gomorrah but Moses begs for mercy. We are spared the aftermath in which thousands died but it must be remembered that the central purpose of the 'forty years' of wandering in the wilderness was the death of the entire generation who had been tainted by the 'fleshpots' of Egypt so that a new righteous generation could enter the 'Promised Land'.

The Psalm takes the form of a prayer for forgiveness for confessed transgressions and stops unaccountably with the first verse of a hymn with which we should all be well acquainted.

Paul acknowledges that God forgave his former life as a persecutor of Christians and made him a messenger of God's Grace in Jesus Christ.

In looking at the Gospel we must remember that just as sin is its own punishment the kingdom of god is the reward of life in Christ, we need no further reinforcement. Therefore our mission as was Christ's own is to bring sinners to repentance. It is not needful that we preach to the converted, we need to seek out the lost. It is however comforting to acknowledge that just as there is rejoicing when the lost has been found there will be forgiveness and restoration of wholeness of life when we invariable confess our own sins and repent of them. However we must never take that assurance as license to sin in the first place.

Lessons October 6, 2013

Whether you get your news via a newspaper, radio, TV, or the internet it is easy to be overwhelmed by the level of man's inhumanity to man. What can one person do in the face of all that evil?

Hab 1:2 O LORD, how long must I call for help before you listen, before you save us from violence?

Hab 1:3 Why do you make me see such trouble? How can you stand to look on such wrongdoing? Destruction and violence are all around me, and there is fighting and quarreling everywhere.

Hab 1:4 The law is weak and useless, and justice is never done. Evil people get the better of the righteous, and so justice is perverted.

I could have written that any day this week. The answer is:

Hab 2:4 And this is the message: 'Those who are evil will not survive, but those who are righteous will live because they are faithful to God.' "

The Psalm continues the theme of the passing nature of evil. We are reminded that it is dangerous and there is a steep price to be paid for attempting to speed matters up. Regime change can take generations, geological change can take eons, astronomical change light-years. The sun will expand to engulf the orbit of the earth in 5 billion years; should we worry about that today? In the meantime we should be about God's business and trust in the Lord who has power o'er all things.

In Timothy Paul says something very similar. Revolution usually results in bloodshed and he who takes up the sword.... On the other hand we have a responsibility not to throw up our hands in despair and do nothing but to be about the business of living godly christian lives. However that is not to say that we should do nothing. We must remember however that the testimony of the early christians led to their martyrdom.

This would not be the first time that a set of lessons would be at odds with one another.

Luke today begins with the story of the mustard seed. It takes 100 mustard seeds to make an inch yet that seed grows in to a shrub about 20 ft in diameter and twenty feet high, call it a tree if you would. If we had faith like unto that mustard seed we could move mountains.

We are also cautioned that just because we are God's followers we should not expect special treatment. We must remember that God can create believers out of the stones at our feet. We should not expect special rewards for doing God's will here on earth. Responding in love to God's gift of grace is its own reward.

How then do we respond to the evil we see in the world? In the first place by being about God's work here on earth and devoting our lives to His service. Think globally and act locally. Our lives and actions should reflect who we are. We should do everything in our power to correct the wrong that we see around us. On the other hand we must remember that there is a price to be paid for attempting to speed things along too fast. In particular violence tends to beget violence. Remember who we are and never give up hope.

Sometimes there are no easy answers, no simple rights or wrongs. Whatever we do must be done in the spirit of Christian Love. We must never forget who we are and whose will we are about. We must be willing to take responsibility for the effects of our actions and to think calmly, soberly, and logically about what the outcomes are likely to be. The ouster of Louis XIV resulted in a reign of terror that lasted an entire year and killed tens of thousands. The overthrow of Saddam Houssein resulted in an extended period of looting and bloodletting which resulted because there was no regime in place to keep law and order once the battle was won. The political activism that removed a dicatator from power in Egypt has led to anarchy ever since. The removal of Tito from power in Yugoslavia has resulted in sectarian violence, ethnic cleansing, and factionalism that continues to this day and has resulted in thousands of deaths and the destruction of cultural icons hundreds of years old.

Contrast this with the approach taken by Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu's Truth and Reconciation Commission. Justice can take many forms and punishment and retribution don't always create the results one would desire. Do we want to punish wrongdoers and fill ever larger jails with repeat offenders; or do we want them to make restitution to the victims of their crimes? Most young offenders find the latter option more onerous.

Lessons for September 29, 2013

Today's lessons strike a discomforting note to most of us in the Western World. The world's wealthiest 16 percent use 80 percent of natural resources.

Luk 18:25 For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God."

Let's begin by pointing out that it isn't a sin to be successful and be financially secure. However we might want to take a look at how that wealth was procured, how it is disposed, and whether or not our lives are caught up in it's maintenance and growth.

There is little prophesy involved Amos predictions. Then as now it is the rich and influential who are held hostage as it is they who are most likely to reap rich ransoms. The poor and weak are not worth the bother unless they have strong backs and slave labour is required.

What's important to remember when reading the Psalm today is that we are the means by which the Lord accomplishes all these great things.

Our epistle lesson contains several off-quoted passages.

Money is the root of all evil. We can't take it with us.

The important thing to concentrate on here is not the wealth of this world which is passing but the Kingdom of God which is eternal and where wealth enriches us forever. The last three verses describe how to lay up wealth there:

1Ti 6:17 As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. 1Ti 6:18 They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share,

1Ti 6:19 thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.

The Gospel lesson contains the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus. While on earth the Rich Man was wealthy in the things of this earth; after death he is poor in spirit and tortured by the fact of his apartness from the means of grace. It is the final verses that appeal to my sarcastic nature:

Luk 16:27 The rich man said, 'Then I beg you, father Abraham, send Lazarus to my father's house,

Luk 16:28 where I have five brothers. Let him go and warn them so that they, at least, will not come to this place of pain.'

Luk 16:29 Abraham said, 'Your brothers have Moses and the prophets to warn them; your brothers should listen to what they say.'

Luk 16:30 The rich man answered, 'That is not enough, father Abraham! But if someone were to rise from death and go to them, then they would turn from their sins.'

Luk 16:31 But Abraham said, 'If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone were to rise from death.' "

The irony here is palpable.

To me at least Heaven and Hell are not physical locations but states of spiritual being. The ability to have faith is a gift of the Holy Spirit and acceptance of the means of grace frees us from the shame and guilt of sin enabling us to experience the Peace of God which is everlasting. Entering the Kingdom of God places us in a realm beyond time and space, life or death. Heaven begins here on earth, it is not pie in the sky bye and bye. Hell, then, is separation from the Love of God. The punishment of sin is sin itself as it places a gulf between us and that peace; no further penalties are necessary.

Lessons September 22, 2013

Today I will deal with both assigned OT Texts.

During the Battle of Britain in WW#2 the people of London crawled out of the Subway Stations which were their bomb shelters each morning and looked for reassurance to see if St Paul's Cathedral was still standing for its continued survival took on mythic proportions of stability amid the devastation that was the rest of the city. So to in Jeremiah's day the people of Israel looked to the Temple in Jerusalem as symbolic of their deliverance, their standing in the world. But Jeremiah warns them in Chapter 7:

Jer 7:12 Go now to my place that was in Shiloh, where I made my name dwell at first, and see what I did to it because of the evil of my people Israel.

Jer 7:13 And now, because you have done all these things, declares the LORD, and when I spoke to you persistently you did not listen, and when I called you, you did not answer,

Jer 7:14 therefore I will do to the house that is called by my name, and in which you trust, and to the place that I gave to you and to your fathers, as I did to Shiloh.

Shiloh was the Holy Site to which Joshua first brought the Arc of the Covenant and the place where Eli presided, the Arc's resting place until the time that Solomon built the temple at Jerusalem. Today as in the time of Jeremiah it is a ruin. Jeremiah prophesies that if the people of Israel continue to behave in the manner also described in today's passage in Amos that the same fate that met the Temple at Shiloh would befall that in Jerusalem. For it is not the Temple we worship but the God whose Holy Place it represents. If we forget that and fail to honor him in our actions and deeds we make of it an Idol and the worship we perform there an act of going through the motions. In so doing we make of our worship a sham as displeasing to our God as the idol worship of the people among whom we live. Those idols include worldly wealth and power, public acclaim, luxury and comfort.

Names are a thing of power. They invoke the person or thing named.

Exo 20:7 "You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

In fact Jews did not speak the name of their God for fear of breaking that commandment. God's name is to be praised for all the works of his hand that he has accomplished. How do we Praise the Lord? By being the means by which his works are realized here on earth.

1Ti 2:1 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people,

1Ti 2:2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.

1Ti 2:3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior,

1Ti 2:4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

1Ti 2:5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

1Ti 2:6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.

First the writer defines prayer in a general sense as supplication, intercession and thanksgiving. We prayer for our leaders that they may lead us in a manner that brings peace to our lives. In a world where a large proportion of the people were in bondage to slavery the concept of ransom had great resonance.

What to make of Luke 16? First of all we must remember that this is a parable and the meaning of most parables is not derived from a literal interpretation. The dishonest steward was complimented for his fore-thought in preparing for the day when he would be called to account for his management of the master's possessions.

So how do we prepare for the day when we will face judgement, when we will be called to account before our God? By honouring God's name and advancing his Kingdom on earth, by constant prayer and thanksgiving, by actions and deeds that serve to honour the God who is the author of our salvation.

Lessons for Sept 8, 2013

Choose Life!

Moses lays out the law in an extended sermon in the book of Deuteronomy. He defines the rewards of faithfulness to God's Covenant and the dire consequences for disobedience. Hence the Deuteronomic principle.

Deu 30:15 "Today I am giving you a choice between good and evil, between life and death. Deu 30:19 I am now giving you the choice between life and death, between God's blessing and God's curse, and I call heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Choose life.

Rarely has the point been made in starker more pointed terms. Moses is about to ascend Mt Nebo for a last look at the Promised Land which he knows he will not get to see in person. He foresees Israel's failure to live up to their covenant responsibilities, their exile; but he also knows that a loving God will protect and prosper those who keep his commandments.

The Psalm continues the theme of rewards for the just and punishment for the unjust.

For the Epistle we are given almost the entire letter to Philemon, Paul's shortest letter. It is to be hand-delivered by Onesimus, whose name means useful, to his master Philemon and the congregation at Colossus. Before God and the congregation Paul appeals to a slave owner in a letter delivered by a run-away slave to waive his right of execution for his death would serve no useful purpose. Rather than make this an order Paul appeals to Philemon's sense of loving justice. No word on the outcome.

This lesson ties into today's theme in the sense that our treatment of those most vulnerable amongst us illustrates how we observe God's Commandments and how we demonstrate God's love and forgiveness.

Moses iterated the costs of not following the Covenant; Jesus goes him one better and states the cost of Discipleship. Once more the point is made in vehement even hyperbolic terms.

Luk 14:33 In the same way," concluded Jesus, "none of you can be my disciple unless you give up everything you have.

Jesus seems to be saying that being my Disciple is not some feel-good fad, an insurance policy you bring home and file in a drawer for safe-keeping. No, it is a total commitment and before you embrace it you would do well to count the costs and be certain your allegiance is complete and not a half-hearted passing fancy. It is not a pledge you can fulfill by showing up at church on Sundays and forget about the rest of the week. It is not enough to simply obey The Law, you are expected to observe the Spirit of the Law. This is not a popularity contest, in fact some of the choices you will be forced to make will make you distinctly unpopular.

Take up your cross and follow me. Tough words indeed.

Lessons Sept 1, 2013

Today we confront pride.

A friend of mine solves this issue by placing name tags at her place settings.

This is not the first or only time Jesus confronted pride of place. James and John, the sons of Zebedee, asked that they sit on Jesus right and left when he entered the Kingdom and of course we are aware that two thieves held that position.

Mat 20:16 And Jesus concluded, "So those who are last will be first, and those who are first will be last."

And during his final meal on earth with the Disciples he brought this lesson home by washing their feet.

The OT Lesson has to be one of the shortest at 2 verses:

Pro 25:6 When you stand before the king, don't try to impress him and pretend to be important.
Pro 25:7 It is better to be asked to take a higher position than to be told to give your place to someone more important.

What the Psalm adds to the discussion is the assertion that our health, happiness, and well-being do not derive from pride of place but service to God and our fellow man.

In Hebrews the life of service continues to be emphasized through a summary discussion of the ten commandents. Let's try not to get hung up on:

Heb 13:8 Jesus Christ, the same yesterday and today and forever.

Great teachers may come and go and the pendulum of orthodoxy may swing left and right, but God's love and redemption as manifest in Jesus Christ never changes.

Have Lutherans taken today's Gospel to heart? If you look around you you will notice that most occupy the back rows of the church. Did Jesus tell this parable in response to some not too pleasant jockeying for position among his Disciples?

Pro 16:18 Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.

Just as guests are cautioned not to be presumptious hosts are admonished to not restrict their guest lists solely to those with whom they wish to gain favour or have an expectation that the invitation will be returned.

Lesson for August 25, 2013

As I warned last Sunday the present series of lessons allow little latitude for softening the message.

Today's lessons illustrate the essential contrast between the Old Covenant and the New. Both expect that the Faithful will feed the hungry and give aid to the poor but the Old Covenant expresses it in terms "if" and "then", the New expects no less but anticipates these actions in response to God's Grace. The writer of the first lesson has a hard on for Sabbath Observance. Obviously in a world that operates on a 24/7 timetable many people don't have that luxury however the need to keep a day of rest still exists.

Psa 103:8 The LORD is merciful and loving, slow to become angry and full of constant love.

Today's is a Psalm of Thanksgiving for a God who is loving and just. If we read on however the stick is still there waiting to condemn those who fail to honor the Lord.

The Epistle Lesson compares worship in Jerusalem and the experience at Mt Sinai in the desert with a Heavenly Jerusalem, the Kingdom of God. The wording would not be out of place in the Old Testament.

Heb 12:28 Let us be thankful, then, because we receive a kingdom that cannot be shaken. Let us be grateful and worship God in a way that will please him, with reverence and awe;
Heb 12:29 because our God is indeed a destroying fire.

Exo 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Exo 20:9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
Exo 20:10 but the seventh day is a sabbath unto the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
Exo 20:11 for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it

So the question remains, is it right to do good on the Sabbath. The unifying theme today seems to be our duty to keep God's Commandments and a day of rest in particular. Those Commandments codify a system for just society. To emphasize the point it is made clear that even the omnipotent God took a day off from his labours. It is made clear that even the slaves in our midst deserve a day of rest along with our animals.

Mar 2:27 And Jesus concluded, "The Sabbath was made for the good of human beings; they were not made for the Sabbath.

When Jesus is upbraided for healing on the Sabbath he challenges his detractors and temporarily shuts them up.

Lessons for August 18, 2013

I have a favourite quip that goes, A body under zero stress is by definition dead.

Jas 2:17 Faith that doesn't lead us to do good deeds is all alone and dead!

Jas 2:26 Anyone who doesn't breathe is dead, and faith that doesn't do anything is just as dead!

There's a paradox here. One cannot buy one's way into the Kingdom of God nor can one earn one's way there by good works, but our faith will be manifest in our actions. Nothing can separate us from the love of God but there is a corollary, nothing can hide us from God's all-seeing presence. His spy-network put's Obama's to shame. The God of the OT is presented in a fashion not unlike Santa Claus who knows when you've been bad or good but there's more at stake here than presents under a tree.

The Psalm reminds us of our mortality and exhorts us that we need care for those less fortunate.

The Epistle enumerates the accomplishments of those who by faith moved mountains. Christ's faith in his mission here on earth led to the Cross and through it to eternal life.

The Jesus presented in today's Gospel is not the Jesus meek and mild of our childhood Gospel Hymns. This 'man' has become fully self-aware and realizes what awaits him when he reaches Jerusalem. He is speaking in hyperbolic apocalytic language. The path he is taking leads to the cross and the grave.

The faith presented here is not one of comfort and rest but a call to action. It does not bring salvation and release but stress and tension. There is no comfortable pew here, this message does not bring peace but division. We are called to examine our actions to ensure that they promote the Kingdom of God rather than preserve our sense of entitlement and privilege.

If our faith does not create some stress in our lives then it may be dead.

The Good News here presented is about as hard-hitting as it gets. If this makes you uncomfortable be warned there is more to come.