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.

Lessons August 11, 2013

Today's theme of Faith is captured by the Epistle Lesson. Faith is the foundation of Judeo-Christian Theology. We 'believe' in a God who no one has seen and for whose existence no empirical proof exists. We 'trust' that He means us well and will guide and protect us. We 'hope' that our faith and trust are not in vain, that our lives have meaning, that our spiritual beings will live on in eternity.

But what is 'Faith'?

Heb 11:1 Now faith is the assurance that what we hope for will come about and the certainty that what we cannot see exists.

Hebrews 11 supplies us with a history of faith at work in the lives of Old Testament Patriarchs. Here as elsewhere the point is made that we are in but not of this world. Through faith we are members of the Kingdom of God which exists outside the bounds of time and space.

Genesis 15 introduces us specifically to the part faith in God's promises had in the life of Abraham. Faith is re-enforced through prayer and the assurance it brings strengthens believers to do God's work on earth.

Psalm 33 re-enforces the theme that faith is a gift from God

Psa 33:18 But the LORD watches over all who honor him and trust his kindness.
Psa 33:19 He protects them from death and starvation.
Psa 33:20 We depend on you, LORD, to help and protect us.
Psa 33:21 You make our hearts glad because we trust you, the only God.
Psa 33:22 Be kind and bless us! We depend on you.

The Disciples in Luke had a personal relationship with God in the person of Jesus Christ. Christianity is based on the belief that their experience was real.

Luk 12:32 My little group of disciples, don't be afraid! Your Father wants to give you the kingdom.

Faith then is a gift from God. It is freely given and ours to accept. The ability to accept it is also a gift from God. Faith is the key to the Kingdom of God and membership there gives us a home in which to store spiritual capital. Our joy in the grace that has been given us supplies us with the energy to accomplish Christ's work on earth. It is our trust in this spiritual Kingdom of God the enables us to be in but not of this world and ready when the Son of Man will come however that be accomplished.

Lesson August 4th, 2013

Today is one of those rare Sundays when there is absolute unity of purpose in all four lessons for the day. The common theme here is our priorities. Lets be clear on this, it is not a sin to be wealthy, it is unhealthy to make the attainment of wealth our principal goal in life.

Mat 6:21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

The Old Testament Lesson comes from the beginning of the book of Ecclesiastes, one of my favourite books. It has always been a source of great comfort to me that the expression of the sentiments here stated have a place in Holy Writ. If we accept Solomon as the writer of this text then we understand that this man of wealth and wisdom has everything he could possibly want or need. Stately palaces, 1000 concubines to satisfy his carnal needs, more rich food than is healthy for him, opulent wardrobes, more servants than he can find use for and hundreds of sycophants fawning over him. So is he happy? No, he is bored with life and this text eloquently expresses his ennui. The man who can't possibly imagine anything in life that he could want that he does not already possess is bored with life.

Were I reading today's lessons I would not confine myself to few verses selected out of context.

Let's look at the Psalm

Although it may be so that poverty may shorten our lives money can't extend our lives indefinitely. And we can't take it with us. We all share a common mortality. Nor, as the saying goes, can we buy our way into heaven. The gift of grace is freely given to all who believe.

In Colossians Paul talks about the things that give true meaning to life. As he expresses it the things of this world are not what gives our lives meaning but the spiritual capital we amass in Christ is what we should strive to attain.

The rich man in Christ's parable was a prudent investor. If his fields yielded a bumper crop it would have been imprudent to allow that crop to rot in the field. However, if his only intent was to store those grains so that he could live a life of leisure and contentment then he runs the risk of suffering from the same sense of discontent expressed by the writer of Ecclesiastes.

Once more hyperbole is used to emphasize a point. I can't say it better than the following quote:

Luke 12:13-21

Christ's kingdom is spiritual, and not of this world. Christianity does not meddle with politics; it obliges all to do justly, but wordly dominion is not founded in grace. It does not encourage expectations of worldly advantages by religion. The rewards of Christ's disciples are of another nature. Covetousness is a sin we need constantly to be warned against; for happiness and comfort do not depend on the wealth of this world. The things of the world will not satisfy the desires of a soul. Here is a parable, which shows the folly of carnal worldling while they live, and their misery when they die. The character drawn is exactly that of a prudent, worldly man, who has no grateful regard to the providence of God, nor any right thought of the uncertainty of human affairs, the worth of his soul, or the importance of eternity. How many, even among professed Christians, point out similar characters as models for imitation, and proper persons to form connexions with! We mistake if we think that thoughts are hid, and thoughts are free. When he saw a great crop upon his ground, instead of thanking God for it, or rejoicing to be able to do more good, he afflicts himself. What shall I do now? The poorest beggar in the country could not have said a more anxious word. The more men have, the more perplexity they have with it. It was folly for him to think of making no other use of his plenty, than to indulge the flesh and gratify the sensual appetites, without any thought of doing good to others. Carnal worldlings are fools; and the day is coming when God will call them by their own name, and they will call themselves so. The death of such persons is miserable in itself, and terrible to them. Thy soul shall be required. He is loth to part with it; but God shall require it, shall require an account of it, require it as a guilty soul to be punished without delay. It is the folly of most men, to mind and pursue that which is for the body and for time only, more than that for the soul and eternity.

Matthew Henry

Lessonsfor July 28, 2013

Today's theme is prayer.

Mat 18:19 Again I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.

One can assume that today's Gospel is a collection of Jesus sayings on the matter of prayer echoed in the Sermon on the Mount:

Mat 6:5 "When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites! They love to stand up and pray in the houses of worship and on the street corners, so that everyone will see them. I assure you, they have already been paid in full.
Mat 6:6 But when you pray, go to your room, close the door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what you do in private, will reward you.
Mat 6:7 "When you pray, do not use a lot of meaningless words, as the pagans do, who think that their gods will hear them because their prayers are long.
Mat 6:8 Do not be like them. Your Father already knows what you need before you ask him.
Mat 6:9 This, then, is how you should pray: 'Our Father in heaven: May your holy name be honored;
Mat 6:10 may your Kingdom come; may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Mat 6:11 Give us today the food we need.
Mat 6:12 Forgive us the wrongs we have done, as we forgive the wrongs that others have done to us.
Mat 6:13 Do not bring us to hard testing, but keep us safe from the Evil One.'

This passage includes The Lord's Prayer which Christians use at every worship service.

Abraham it would seem talks to God in person and is bargaining for the lives of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah for his nephew Lot lived in Sodom.

The Psalm continues the theme having the worshiper face toward the Temple as Moslems face toward Mecca. Emphasis is placed upon thanking God in prayer for what he has done. Prayer is not just about presenting God with a shopping list.

The Epistle continues the discourse on Christology begun in Chapter 1.

Next to the issue of bad things happening to good people is the perception of prayer unanswered. Just as I don't see Christianity as providing answers to all life's questions but an approach to dealing with them prayer should not be considered as the presentation of a shopping list from which one systematically crosses items off but a spiritual conversation with God which, though it may not solve every issue will give us the strength we need to deal with them. This is not to say that miracles aren't possible or that we should give up hope but that we should not feel devastated if the 'answer' we get isn't exactly what we originally asked for or expected.

The one issue that our Epistle adds to the equation is the matter of faith. In prayer we are not talking to ourselves, we have the belief that our God hears our prayers and will answer them.

Luk 11:9 And so I say to you: Ask, and you will receive; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.

Let your prayers be known to your God. But just as important is the act of praising God in joyful thanksgiving for the bounties he has bestowed upon us lest prayer become a gimme, gimme, gimme act.

Equally important to remember is the fact that prayer is a conversation with God and there is a need for silence as well, we need to be attuned in our lives to recognize that the answers to our prayers may appear in the most unlikely of circumstances.

We must also remember that we play a part in the Kingdom of God. As THE PRAYER acknowledges, we have a part to play in honouring His Name, bringing the Kingdom of God to pass, providing daily bread to others as well as ourselves, in not becoming the mode of temptation to others, in doing unto others as we would have them do unto us. In other words we must always remember that we may become the answer to other's prayers.

Psa 141:2 Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.

Prayer should bring us inner peace and joy which will radiate from us and be shared with those around us.

Lessons for July 21, 2013

The period of ordinary time traditionally Sundays after Trinity, now termed Pentecost to emphasize its significance, is the longest in the liturgical church year. It has traditionally been a time for an extended examination of Christ's ministry and the nature of the Christian Life. In this, the third of our pericope's three-year-cycle the theme seems to be specifically the nature of Christian Service and we appear to be working our way sequentially through the book of Luke and selected Epistles. As is often the case today's Epistle doesn't seem to tie into the day's other lessons.

In Genesis God appears to Abraham in the persons of three men who appear near the entrance to his tent where he is sitting. As is custom Abraham is at pains to welcome them, see to their physical needs and have his wife Sarah feed them.

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

The message these strangers bring Abraham is that his barren wife will bear him a son in 9 months' time.

The Psalm's emphasis is on the need of those who would enter into worship to continue their worshipful attitudes during their quotidian lives outside the Temple.

In today's Epistle the writer embarks upon some extremely heavy Christology.

The Gospel introduces us to Mary and Martha who live with their brother Lazarus in Bethany just outside Jerusalem. Although Lazarus is not mentioned in this passage he and Jesus were friends and Jesus and the Disciples dropped in on this family often and were always made welcome. Martha it would seem is the older sister and took on the responsibility of maintaining the household. It is she who welcomes Jesus to her home and sets about the tasks needed to see to his and the Disciples' needs. Mary is unusual in many ways. A woman who insinuated herself at Jesus' feet while he was teaching the menfolk in the central courtyard.

The story sets up the iconic Mary and Martha paradox. May I say that as a Martha by nature I side with her in this matter. While Martha slaves away in the kitchen seeing to the preparation of food for at least 30 people, for surely they had servants, Mary shirks her duties as hostess and like a tomboy sits with the menfolk. Martha doesn't think she should get away with this dereliction of duty and appeals to Jesus to abraid her sister on it. We know the famous reply.

I would emphasize that Jesus does not tell Martha she should stop cooking and come sit with him. In fact I blame Lazarus for letting his sister Mary get away with it. If Martha had abandoned her kitchen and joined the menfolk in the courtyard grumbling stomachs and burning odours from the kitchen would have spelled quite a different story. Without the Martha's of this world no volunteer organization could continue to function. Now who would like to defend Mary? Perhaps saying that Martha could very well have left the work to the servants once the tasks were set and joined her sister at Jesus' feet.