Today's lessons are about identity and purpose.
Let's begin with the alternative OT Lesson.
Moses was an escape artist from the day of his birth. First he was concealed at birth to escape the ordered extermination of all Hebrew Males; then after growing up in the palace as the adopted son of the Pharaoh's daughter, remember Moses and the Bullrushes?, he rediscovers his Hebrew roots and goes to see his people leading to the killing of an Egyptian overseer; escaping to Midian he finds favour with Jethro the priest and marries his daughter Zipporah; content to mind his father-in-law's sheep and goats he is jerked out of his pastoral existance by the Burning Bush at which point begins the ultimate escape saga--The Exodus.
Moses' was no ordinary family. His older sister Mirian was capable of speaking up to the Crown Princess of Egypt and brazenly deceiving her to save her brother's life. His older brother Aaron was a priest and prophet. Through them the tribe of Levi became identified as the priestly clan. But Moses was a reluctant hero ever filled with feelings of self-doubt and inadequacy. His reticence in public speaking led to Aaron becoming his mouthpiece. However it was the education he received in the palace that gave Moses the tools to lead his people. His inferiority complex and lack of self-confidence was with him throughout his long journey to the promised land. Constantly he complained to God about the Israelites' lack of faith in his leadership and in God's promises. Repeatedly he returned to God for reassurance spending so much time on Mount Sinai that the people rebelled in his absence. The lesson here is that God chooses the people for the job, heroes are made not born.
Jeremiah is another reluctant prophet. He complains that on God's behalf he has become an outcast among his own people, reviled and isolated. God's reply:
Jer 15:19 Then the LORD told me: Stop talking like a fool! If you turn back to me and speak my message, I will let you be my prophet once again. I hope the people of Judah will accept what you say. But you can ignore their threats, *
Jer 15:20 because I am making you strong, like a bronze wall. They are evil and violent, but when they attack,
Jer 15:21 I will be there to rescue you. I, the LORD, have spoken.
In our Psalm King David shares in self-doubt and asks for reassurance as well.
In Romans the Epistle writer adjures the faithful to be steadfast in that faith, to do God's work among their number, and:
Rom 12:21 Don't let evil defeat you, but defeat evil with good.
And so we come to the Gospel. It was last Sunday that Peter blurted out his revelation as to Christ's true identity. Today we must face up to the realities involved in that calling. It is that same Peter who would deny that a loving God would require such a sacrifice from his beloved Rabbi to which he receives the rebuke:
Get Thee behind me Satan. You're in my way because you think like everyone else and not like God.
Again, God chose fishermen and peasants, men of the people to be his messengers to the downtrodden. The authorities of the day and those in power and positions of leadership were threatened by his message and feared Jesus' attack on the status quo. It was they who recognized him as a threat to their positions in the community and saw to his conviction and execution. It is this eventuality for which Jesus is preparing his Disciples.
Once more it is to be seen that God uses the raw material at his disposal to attain his ends. These men were not special, it was God's calling that made them special. It should also be obvious that the interpretation in Matthew was written with the benefit of hindsight. At the time those surrounding Jesus would have shared the opinion that Peter spoke up and voiced.
At 33 in his day Jesus was an old man. Most men did not live to be twice that age in his time. The cynic in me says that Jesus needed to die at the height of his powers, had he lived to reach old age and his dotage his impact would have lost much of its power. Had he avoided the very public arrival in Jerusalem he might have lived to reach old age. But that was not the purpose for which he was born.
So finally, it is one thing to know intellectially what is necessary. Many are gifted with great intellect and learning. But it is having the faith to act upon that knowledge and the courage to suffer the consequences that makes great leaders.
Let's begin with the alternative OT Lesson.
Moses was an escape artist from the day of his birth. First he was concealed at birth to escape the ordered extermination of all Hebrew Males; then after growing up in the palace as the adopted son of the Pharaoh's daughter, remember Moses and the Bullrushes?, he rediscovers his Hebrew roots and goes to see his people leading to the killing of an Egyptian overseer; escaping to Midian he finds favour with Jethro the priest and marries his daughter Zipporah; content to mind his father-in-law's sheep and goats he is jerked out of his pastoral existance by the Burning Bush at which point begins the ultimate escape saga--The Exodus.
Moses' was no ordinary family. His older sister Mirian was capable of speaking up to the Crown Princess of Egypt and brazenly deceiving her to save her brother's life. His older brother Aaron was a priest and prophet. Through them the tribe of Levi became identified as the priestly clan. But Moses was a reluctant hero ever filled with feelings of self-doubt and inadequacy. His reticence in public speaking led to Aaron becoming his mouthpiece. However it was the education he received in the palace that gave Moses the tools to lead his people. His inferiority complex and lack of self-confidence was with him throughout his long journey to the promised land. Constantly he complained to God about the Israelites' lack of faith in his leadership and in God's promises. Repeatedly he returned to God for reassurance spending so much time on Mount Sinai that the people rebelled in his absence. The lesson here is that God chooses the people for the job, heroes are made not born.
Jeremiah is another reluctant prophet. He complains that on God's behalf he has become an outcast among his own people, reviled and isolated. God's reply:
Jer 15:19 Then the LORD told me: Stop talking like a fool! If you turn back to me and speak my message, I will let you be my prophet once again. I hope the people of Judah will accept what you say. But you can ignore their threats, *
Jer 15:20 because I am making you strong, like a bronze wall. They are evil and violent, but when they attack,
Jer 15:21 I will be there to rescue you. I, the LORD, have spoken.
In our Psalm King David shares in self-doubt and asks for reassurance as well.
In Romans the Epistle writer adjures the faithful to be steadfast in that faith, to do God's work among their number, and:
Rom 12:21 Don't let evil defeat you, but defeat evil with good.
And so we come to the Gospel. It was last Sunday that Peter blurted out his revelation as to Christ's true identity. Today we must face up to the realities involved in that calling. It is that same Peter who would deny that a loving God would require such a sacrifice from his beloved Rabbi to which he receives the rebuke:
Get Thee behind me Satan. You're in my way because you think like everyone else and not like God.
Again, God chose fishermen and peasants, men of the people to be his messengers to the downtrodden. The authorities of the day and those in power and positions of leadership were threatened by his message and feared Jesus' attack on the status quo. It was they who recognized him as a threat to their positions in the community and saw to his conviction and execution. It is this eventuality for which Jesus is preparing his Disciples.
Once more it is to be seen that God uses the raw material at his disposal to attain his ends. These men were not special, it was God's calling that made them special. It should also be obvious that the interpretation in Matthew was written with the benefit of hindsight. At the time those surrounding Jesus would have shared the opinion that Peter spoke up and voiced.
At 33 in his day Jesus was an old man. Most men did not live to be twice that age in his time. The cynic in me says that Jesus needed to die at the height of his powers, had he lived to reach old age and his dotage his impact would have lost much of its power. Had he avoided the very public arrival in Jerusalem he might have lived to reach old age. But that was not the purpose for which he was born.
So finally, it is one thing to know intellectially what is necessary. Many are gifted with great intellect and learning. But it is having the faith to act upon that knowledge and the courage to suffer the consequences that makes great leaders.
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