Mic 6:6 What shall I bring to the LORD, the God of heaven, when I come
to worship him? Shall I bring the best calves to burn as offerings to
him? Mic 6:7 Will the LORD be pleased if I bring him thousands of sheep
or endless streams of olive oil? Shall I offer him my first-born child
to pay for my sins?
Mic 6:8 No, the LORD has told us what is good. What he requires of us
is this: to do what is just, to show constant love, and to live in
humble fellowship with our God.
Psalm 15 echoes this message.
1Co 1:22 Jews ask for signs, and Greeks look for wisdom,
1Co 1:23 but we preach the Messiah crucified. He is a stumbling block
to Jews and nonsense to gentiles,
1Co 1:24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, the Messiah
is God's power and God's wisdom.
1Co 1:25 For God's nonsense is wiser than human wisdom, and God's
weakness is stronger than human strength.
So with these three lessons as prelude we move on to Matthew 5 which
marks the beginning of the so-called Sermon on the Mount which begins
with the Beatitudes.
I beg your pardon, I never promised you a rose-garden.
Most would not consider the conditions listed here to be blessings. If
nothing else the message here is that living the Christian life does not
make one immune to the pitfalls of human life.
For a parallel see Luk_6:20-26 which contains four blessings and four
woes. And for similar thinking see Ecc_3:1-8.
Happiness is not a thing to be sought or aspired to. We cannot buy it,
earn it, or manufacture it. There is no prescription that guarantees it.
If you've never known sorrow you probably have not fully experienced
joy. If you've never known pain then you don't understand relief. If
you've never been hungry or thirsty you don't understand true
satisfaction. If you've never experienced bone weariness you can't
possibly appreciate rest. Never been threatened then you don't know
security and safety. If you've never been sick you've never know the
restoration of health and well-being. Ask any soldier threatened with
imminent death how truly alive they feel.
This is not to say that one should go out and seek these conditions but
to acknowledge that for most of us they are part of life. The future
King of England gave his security detail the willies by spending the
night in a cardboard box on the streets of London on a frosty night so
that he might have a taste of what it is to be homeless. We don't need
to go to those extremes but then we probably don't live his pampered
lifestyle. We are asked to be aware of those who do suffer the
conditions here listed and to be the instruments of God's love in
helping to alleviate them.
Blessedness is a not a reward of right living, it is a by-product of the
Kingdom of Heaven.
2Co 13:14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and
the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all.
These things are not earned, they are freely given to all who embrace
the Christian Lifestyle.
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Monday, January 13, 2014
Lessons January 26
Isa 9:2 The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light:
they that dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the
light shined.
The people in question had been ravaged by the Syrians and Assyrians.
The Gospel, Good News, that shown light in their darkness was that of
their deliverance from their opressors.
This particular passage is chosen because Matthew quotes it in his
continuing attempts to use OT Prophesies to prove the Jesus is the long
looked for Messiah. Isaiah was preaching a Gospel of hope to a people
looking for a charismatic leader who would lead them out of bondage.
In Jesus' time Israel was under the boot of the Roman oppressors who
installed traitor puppets to rule their subjugated empire. They too were
looking for a leader around whom they could rally to drive out the
Romans and restore Israel and Judah to their former glory. What they got
in Jesus was a spiritual messiah whose mission was to free his people
from bondage to sin and death. All very interesting but somehow a
side-light to the main action in our Gospel today.
As Paul puts it in our Epistle:
1Co 1:18 For the word of the cross is to them that are perishing
foolishness; but unto us which are being saved it is the power of God.
Just five Sundays after we celebrate Christ's Birth we mark the
beginning of his ministry. The fact that his cousin John the Baptist had
been imprisoned is mentioned in passing before we learn that Jesus went
to Galilee to call his disciples and begin preaching:
Mat 4:17 From that time began Jesus to preach, and to say, Repent ye;
for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Mat 4:23 And Jesus went about in all Galilee, teaching in their
synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all
manner of disease and all manner of sickness among the people.
Psalm 29 exorted us to praise the God of our salvation.
Psa 29:2 Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the
LORD in the beauty of holiness.
Psalm 27 glories in the light of our salvation.
Psa 27:1 A Psalm of David. The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom
shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be
afraid?
This 'Messiah' whose birth was announced to rude illiterate shepherds
out in the fields watching their flocks by night called to his side
'salty' rough-hewn fisherman. Their most salient qualities were their
loyalty, comraderie, and perserverence for their work was dangerous and
yielded unpredictable rewards. For effect Matthew would have them
abandon their boats and their nets to follow this charismatic young
leader. In fact we know from later passages that they continued to fish
to support themselves and their families, that Christ preached from
their boats, and used them as a means of travel.
Today's lessons then continue the theme of Christ being the light of the
world as laid out Christmas Day in John 1. And the word became flesh and
dwelt among us. In him was life and the life was light of men.
Joh 1:17 For the law was given by Moses; grace and truth came by Jesus
Christ.
they that dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the
light shined.
The people in question had been ravaged by the Syrians and Assyrians.
The Gospel, Good News, that shown light in their darkness was that of
their deliverance from their opressors.
This particular passage is chosen because Matthew quotes it in his
continuing attempts to use OT Prophesies to prove the Jesus is the long
looked for Messiah. Isaiah was preaching a Gospel of hope to a people
looking for a charismatic leader who would lead them out of bondage.
In Jesus' time Israel was under the boot of the Roman oppressors who
installed traitor puppets to rule their subjugated empire. They too were
looking for a leader around whom they could rally to drive out the
Romans and restore Israel and Judah to their former glory. What they got
in Jesus was a spiritual messiah whose mission was to free his people
from bondage to sin and death. All very interesting but somehow a
side-light to the main action in our Gospel today.
As Paul puts it in our Epistle:
1Co 1:18 For the word of the cross is to them that are perishing
foolishness; but unto us which are being saved it is the power of God.
Just five Sundays after we celebrate Christ's Birth we mark the
beginning of his ministry. The fact that his cousin John the Baptist had
been imprisoned is mentioned in passing before we learn that Jesus went
to Galilee to call his disciples and begin preaching:
Mat 4:17 From that time began Jesus to preach, and to say, Repent ye;
for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Mat 4:23 And Jesus went about in all Galilee, teaching in their
synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all
manner of disease and all manner of sickness among the people.
Psalm 29 exorted us to praise the God of our salvation.
Psa 29:2 Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the
LORD in the beauty of holiness.
Psalm 27 glories in the light of our salvation.
Psa 27:1 A Psalm of David. The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom
shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be
afraid?
This 'Messiah' whose birth was announced to rude illiterate shepherds
out in the fields watching their flocks by night called to his side
'salty' rough-hewn fisherman. Their most salient qualities were their
loyalty, comraderie, and perserverence for their work was dangerous and
yielded unpredictable rewards. For effect Matthew would have them
abandon their boats and their nets to follow this charismatic young
leader. In fact we know from later passages that they continued to fish
to support themselves and their families, that Christ preached from
their boats, and used them as a means of travel.
Today's lessons then continue the theme of Christ being the light of the
world as laid out Christmas Day in John 1. And the word became flesh and
dwelt among us. In him was life and the life was light of men.
Joh 1:17 For the law was given by Moses; grace and truth came by Jesus
Christ.
Lessons, January 19
Isa 49:6 It is not enough for one who is my servant to put the tribes
of Jacob again in their place, and to get back those of Israel who have
been sent away: my purpose is to give you as a light to the nations, so
that you may be my salvation to the end of the earth.
So much of the OT talks about the elite position Irael holds as the
apple of God's eye and the special attention God pays to his people.
Here God's People are admonished to share their God with all peoples.
The Psalmist expands upon the wonders God has wrought in our lives and
the duty we have to share that good news.
The Epistle makes clear that that Good News is Christ.
In John one after the poetic telling of the Word Made Flesh John the
Baptist declares that his teaching and baptism prepares the way for He
who will baptize with the Holy Spirit and though John does not actually
describe the baptism of Christ as such we hear John the Baptist declare
that Jesus is he of whom he has spoken, that he has seen the Holy Spirit
descend on him as a dove, that there is the Lamb of God. John's
disciples move to follow Jesus.
By implication we should be studying our own lives and preparing the way
for the lord.
of Jacob again in their place, and to get back those of Israel who have
been sent away: my purpose is to give you as a light to the nations, so
that you may be my salvation to the end of the earth.
So much of the OT talks about the elite position Irael holds as the
apple of God's eye and the special attention God pays to his people.
Here God's People are admonished to share their God with all peoples.
The Psalmist expands upon the wonders God has wrought in our lives and
the duty we have to share that good news.
The Epistle makes clear that that Good News is Christ.
In John one after the poetic telling of the Word Made Flesh John the
Baptist declares that his teaching and baptism prepares the way for He
who will baptize with the Holy Spirit and though John does not actually
describe the baptism of Christ as such we hear John the Baptist declare
that Jesus is he of whom he has spoken, that he has seen the Holy Spirit
descend on him as a dove, that there is the Lamb of God. John's
disciples move to follow Jesus.
By implication we should be studying our own lives and preparing the way
for the lord.
Thursday, January 2, 2014
January 12 The Baptism
In the Christian context everything written in the Old Testament and the New leads up to and begins with today's Gospel. Jesus is baptized by John and God claims him as his own. This happened first in dream or by angel messenger when God spoke to Zachariah and Elizabeth; then to Mary and Joseph; and at his birth to the Shepherds. At his coming of age God speaks to Jesus directly. Whether or not anyone else heard this declaration it is an article of faith to the writers of Matthew that this is a fulfillment of the prophesy in today's OT Lesson in Isaiah.
As the Psalmist today proclaims the voice of the Lord has spoken:
Psa 29:11 The LORD gives strength to his people and blesses them with peace.
Today's Epistle summarizes these events and relates our own calling in a nutshell. Jesus calling and mission is ours as well.
When one looks at these lessons individually one gets quite different perspectives. The OT passage was written to people who had lost hope after being conquered by the Babylonians who destroyed their temple, pillaged the countryside, and led their leaders away in chains. The Psalm it is posited was borrowed from the Canaanites who worshipped Baal, the god of thunder and rain. The Epistle describes the ministry of John the Baptist. The commentary on the Gospel emphasizes the importance of water in our lives and its symbolism in its use in baptism.
As the Psalmist today proclaims the voice of the Lord has spoken:
Psa 29:11 The LORD gives strength to his people and blesses them with peace.
Today's Epistle summarizes these events and relates our own calling in a nutshell. Jesus calling and mission is ours as well.
When one looks at these lessons individually one gets quite different perspectives. The OT passage was written to people who had lost hope after being conquered by the Babylonians who destroyed their temple, pillaged the countryside, and led their leaders away in chains. The Psalm it is posited was borrowed from the Canaanites who worshipped Baal, the god of thunder and rain. The Epistle describes the ministry of John the Baptist. The commentary on the Gospel emphasizes the importance of water in our lives and its symbolism in its use in baptism.
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