Continuing Matthew - 23:37-24:44

If you've been reading along with Matthew's gospel to this point you know that Jesus is saying all these things in the last couple days before the crucifixion.  Jesus and his rag tag bunch of countryside followers have come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover.  Some, perhaps many, of those who had come with Jesus had never seen Jerusalem before.  To their inexperienced eyes the city must have been enormous and magnificent.  By today's standards Jerusalem was laughably small.  Estimates of Jerusalem's population in Jesus' day vary widely.  Probably close to accurate is archaeologist Hillel Geva who puts the population around 20,000.  While many people lived outside the walls, the walled city itself covered on 220 acres.  To put that into perspective, that's less than 1/10th the size of Canandaigua.  Nevertheless, to people from the countryside Jerusalem was gigantic.  Jesus' followers probably gawked like tourists seeing New York City for the first time.

What was truly impressive in first century Jerusalem was the temple complex.  While the temple itself wasn't much, decades of construction had made the complex around it able to rival anything in the Roman empire.  Jesus' followers were certainly impressed.  The temple was believed to be God's dwelling place.  God's house was magnificent!  It looked like it was permanent and everlasting - as it was believed to be.

What does it all look like to Jesus eyes?  We discover that in 23:37-39.  Jesus laments what he sees.  I believe that sets the tone for all that follows in Chapter 24.  Many read this chapter and see predictions for the future.  Jesus predicts the destruction of the city, and ultimately the end of the world.  Many people love to let their speculations and imaginations run wild with scenes like these.  But such thoughts are probably not helping our faith develop or guiding our lives for the present.

If you haven't read the verses yet go ahead and read them.

I want to point out one detail before we look at the whole.  24:15 says, "So when you see the desolating sacrilege standing int he holy place, as was spoken of by the prophet Daniel..."  What is this desolation sacrilege?  Originally it referred to an altar to the Greek God Zeus set up in the Jerusalem temple in 167 B.C.E. by Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes.  But it came to refer to other things too.  What Matthew is most likely referring to is the presence of Roman general Titus in the temple in 70 C.E. and his orders to destroy it and the city.

On the whole the predictions Jesus gives here refer to events that happened with the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans.  When people insist they predict events yet to come they are missing Matthew's point.  I think it is very important to note that Matthew and his original readers were certain the world would end soon - very soon.  That idea flows through much of the New Testament.  I see little point in trying to wiggle out of this.  I think it is best to just accept that many of the New Testament's authors felt that the end of time would be soon, but their anticipation was incorrect.

Few of us live with the feeling that the end of time will be soon.  But that does not mean Jesus' teachings should be ignored.  Vigilance remains important.  There is no room for complacency in faith.  Those who seek signs so as to be a step ahead in understanding what God is doing are missing the point.  Everything is in God's hands.  Nothing you nor I can do is going to change that!

I find it helpful to realize that persecutions, wars, desolations, and more have happened in the past.  They will continue to happen in the future.  They should not frighten us overly much.  Look to our faith ancestors that we meet in the Bible.  Despite uncertainties and calamities they continued on in their work.

I don't believe "preparing" for the end means looking for signs, or quitting your job, or checking out of society.  It means continuing the work that God is calling you to do.  It means continuing to be loving even when it isn't easy.  It means doing what is right even when it hurts.  It means working to build up all people even when there is no reward for it. 

God holds the future, and us, securely.  Whenever everything seems to be falling apart know that God is still at work and still in control.

Continuing Matthew - 23:13-36

Matthew 23:13-36 are among the most vicious words in scripture.  Christians have used them to justify horrible actions against Jewish people.  Such use is not only wrong it also overlooks Matthew's real intent.  If you haven't read those verses yet, hold off until we remind ourselves of some things.

While Jesus lived in roughly the first three decades of the first century, Matthew's gospel isn't written until around the year 80.  A lot happened in those 50 years, most especially the destruction of Jerusalem in the year 70.  That shook Jewish faith to its core.  Most of the sects/parties/denominations of Judaism appear to have been wiped out.  Only the Pharisee sect remained in any numbers.  Late in the first century a new form of Judaism began to emerge.  It was the beginnings of "formative Judaism".  It would take a few centuries, but current day Judaism eventually emerges.  The first decades were chaotic.  What was orthodox?  What was not?  Who had authority and who did not?  How could the Jewish faith survive without Jerusalem and central temple?  Jews today know those answers.  They did not in those days.

In the decades after Jesus many Jews who had accepted him as Savior continued to worship in the synagogues.  From the Roman perspective "Christians" were just an emerging sect within Judaism.  But after the destruction of Jerusalem many synagogues began to push out those who taught Jesus as the Savior.  Whether we agree with it or not, it was part of Jewish attempts to maintain the purity of their faith.  The church Matthew is writing for is most likely a community of Christians who had been pushed out.  Tensions are high for them.  Families are being torn apart over this division; even as they are still reeling from Rome's destruction of Jerusalem.  And daily life is hard, very hard!

The emerging Christian church is also facing serious struggles.  In fact, they're facing the same struggles as the Jews.  What is orthodox?  What is not?  Who has authority?  What does following Jesus look like?  There are no rules, no Bible, and no traditions to draw on.  Perhaps worst of all, where is Jesus?!?  Did he not promise to return soon?  Why the delay?  Did Jesus lie?  Was he a fraud?  The original witnesses of his ministry have pretty much all died off.

If you can, immerse yourself in feelings of fear and uncertainty.  You just have nothing to go on for right and wrong.  You need structure.  You need something to make sense.  You need to know how to live faithfully as someone who accepts the teachings of Jesus.  If you can build that anxiety in your heart you have a perspective to delve into Matthew 23:13-36.

If you have a copy of it, read it now.  Or find it online.  As always, a good literal translation like NIV or NRSV will get you closer to Matthew and be less about the translator.

Over and over again Jesus says woe to the scribes and Pharisees and calls them hypocrites.  These would be the very people trying to put shape to Judaism in Matthew's day.  Jesus' words then draw distinctions between his followers and their followers.  There are seven sets of these woes:

Woe 1, Vs. 13 - a conflict between the Jewish leadership and the Jesus movement are like two kingdoms conflicting

(Woe 1a, Vs. 14 - Does your Bible have a verse 14?  It shouldn't!  The oldest copies of Matthew don't include it.  Verse 14 was added to Matthew centuries later based on Mark 12:40.  It reads, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you devour widows' houses and for the sake of appearance you make long prayers; therefore you will receive the greater condemnation."  Most current Bibles recognize this verse does not belong and have removed it.  Matthew likes patterns.  He also likes numbers.  Having 8 woes rather than 7 disrupts the way he likes to structure things!)

Woe 2, Vs. 15 - As first glance this appears to be a conflict between a Christian missionary movement and a Jewish missionary movement.  However, there is no historical evidence of a sizable Jewish missionary movement at this time.  More likely Matthew is pushing against non-Jews who have converted to Christianity but who are insisting on following the Jewish religious laws; most especially circumcision.

Woe 3, Vs. 16-22 - It seems like people are always looking for loopholes.  Jesus' teachings are not meant to be critically studied, loopholes found, and then exploited.  Jesus' teachings are about authentic living in love.

Woe 4, Vs. 23-24 - Getting so focused on details that the big picture is lost.

Woe 5, Vs. 25-36 - Inner and outer purity.  It is worth noting that the historical Pharisees of this time also had the same concerns.  They taught faithfully following God came from the heart and was not about external appearances.

Woe 6, Vs. 27-28 - As a public service tombs were often whitewashed so that unfamiliar visitors would not accidentally contact them and thus make themselves ritually unclean, especially visitors during Passover.  This woe is another expression of Woe 5.

Woe 7, Vs. 29-36 - Killing prophets.  Jews were very aware that God had often sent messengers to them.  Those messengers had frequently been mistreated or even killed; especially when the message God was sending was not popular.  The Pharisees showed their repentance from the past deeds by building monuments to the prophets, promising that if they had been in charge then then would have listened.  This is the arrogance of history; each generation thinking they are better than the last.  Unfortunately, we humans do not really progress as much as we think!

Altogether these woes are not intended for Matthew's readers to start attacking Jewish leaders.  They are defining Christianity apart from Judaism.  They are establishing authority and calling for authenticity.  When we read them today we should realize our own tendencies to be like the scribes and Pharisees.  With that knowledge we can return to God and continually seek the purity of heart only God can provide.

March 29, 2020 Lent 5 Matthew 23:1-12

You’ve probably heard this tired joke before, but I think it sets us up to understand our gospel reading. 

A DEA officer stopped at a ranch in Texas , and talked with an old rancher.  He told the rancher, "I need to inspect your ranch for illegally grown drugs."
The rancher said, "Okay , but don't go in that field over there.....", as he pointed out the location.
The DEA officer verbally exploded saying, "Mister, I have the authority of the Federal Government with me!"
Reaching into his rear pants pocket, the arrogant officer removed his badge and proudly displayed it to the rancher.
"See this badge?! This badge means I am allowed to go wherever I wish...On any land!  No questions asked or answers given!! Have I made myself clear...do you understand?!"
The rancher nodded politely, apologized, and went about his chores.
A short time later, the old rancher heard loud screams, looked up, and saw the DEA officer running for his life, being chased by the rancher's biggest breeding bull.
With every step the bull was gaining ground on the officer, and it seemed likely that he'd sure enough get gored before he reached safety. The officer was clearly terrified.
The rancher threw down his tools, ran to the fence and yelled at the top of his lungs..  "Your badge, show him your BADGE!!"

Arrogance takes many forms.  And it can get us into trouble! 

When I imagine the religious leaders as Jesus describes them in the gospel I get the image of people walking around each and every day with their heads stuck in their air looking down upon all those around them.  Indeed you do seem to meet some people like that.  But I don’t think that’s what Jesus was seeing.  I think he was pointing out something along the lines of the DEA agent in the story.  The idea that something somehow in your job position or your intelligence or your wealth that you are somehow substantively above others.  And a person may not be stupid enough to go into a pasture with a bull, a person can think that they deserve what they have.  When I say deserve I don’t necessarily mean a big house or a nice car or a sizeable stock portfolio.  I mean deserve in such a way as where you build your self-esteem.

In other words, what makes you… you?

Let me read an excerpt from some reflections on this text by M. Eugene Boring.  I don’t usually read out long excerpts from books but I think he’s really onto something:

“A closer reading may reveal that something near the center of our own life and being is here addressed, something that seems so right and human.  We all like to be acknowledged at social gatherings; we all like to be greeted by friends in the marketplace.  It is not a matter of being hypocritical, but of being human: We are social creatures, and we like to be known and liked; it strikes at our sense of self-worth to be ignored or subtly put down socially.  All of us live under internally imposed constraints of peer pressure and the desire to be accepted by others, to be insiders, to belong.”

Maybe we don’t wear long robes or clothes that make us stand out.  Maybe we don’t have a badge that gives us prestige.  But what makes us, us? 

More from Eugene Boring: “… are we all sentenced to playing out our lives as responses to these pressures for place and recognitions?  [The gospel writer] Matthew proposes an alternative world, a world seen from the perspective of the kingdom of God, an alternative family where the approval of God removes the heavy yoke of self-justification.  There is more here than cheap shots at religious phonies in their long robes.”

(New Interpreter’s Bible, Volume 8, Pg. 432-33)

Keep that thought in mind and hear Jesus again in verses 8-11, “But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all students.” 

(Actually I disagree with the NRSV translation here.  It is more literally, “… you are all brothers.”  Students fits the teacher/pupil model better.  And students is gender-neutral, a in Greek masculine is gender-neutral, but students misses the next relationship Jesus brings up.)

“And call no one your father on earth, for you have one Father – the one in heaven.  Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Messiah.  The greatest among you will be your servant.  All who exalt themselves will be humbled and all who humble themselves will be exalted.”

I want to end by looking at this bit of humbling and exalting.  It is easy to think of humbling as humiliation.  And it is easy to interpret this as Jesus saying in eternal life the tables will be turned.  But I don’t think that’s what Jesus intended.

If you truly build your self-esteem and your self-worth upon being made in the image of God, valued by God, and wanted by God then your life direction will be significantly different than everyone who builds their lives on human approval.

And this goes deep – deep into ourselves.  As an example of how deep, I’m reminded of something shame therapist Brene Brown teaches.  I wish she was wrong, but I find her to be right.  She says women tend to build their sense of self-worth by getting the approval of men who are strong.  And she says that feminism will never go anywhere until it addresses that fundamental tendency.  On a different, but related note, she says that for men the deepest shame comes not from other men – like fathers or brothers or coaches.  The deepest shame comes from women – like mothers, sisters, and wives – when men are weak.  In other words, when men fail to be the strength women want for them to build their self-worth.  And that is true regardless of a person’s sexual orientation.

Now this is a whole different issue we could get into.  Let’s just use it as an example of what Jesus is getting at – using the approval others to build our self-worth.

Again, if you truly build your self-esteem and your self-worth upon being made in the image of God, valued by God, and wanted by God - then your life direction will be significantly different than everyone who builds their lives on human approval.

Doing that is really hard!  But it is God’s freeing gift to us.  God did not make us to judge each other.  God did not make us to look to each other for approval.  God made us.  God is God.  God is where we all turn.  And when we all turn there we are not judging each other, but being together in God.

Assuming you are like me, then I can guarantee that you will fail at letting God be the only one to define you.  However, it is worth striving for.  Pray that God may be gracious enough to give you the a sense of his presence so that you do not doubt.  But know and live in certainty that God makes you you in a way that you cannot lose, and cannot be taken from you.  God is good, very good!

Continuing Matthew 22:15-46

Normally I would say to read a Bible text before reading here, but for Matthew 22:15-46 it may be better to do the reverse.

Remember the setting.  It is probably Tuesday of what we would call Holy Week.  Jesus is preaching to the crowds in the courtyards surrounding the Jerusalem temple.  His teachings challenge the status quo maintained by the Jewish religious leaders.  They are not happy.  To make matters more tense, yesterday Jesus came into the temple and overturned the tables of the money changers and caused a stir.  A riot while the city is packed for the Passover holiday is the last thing the Jewish leaders want.

First century Judaism was not a united religion.  There were a number of factions.

Perhaps the biggest were the Pharisees.  These Jews recognized the importance of the temple in Jerusalem but also established their own synagogues (teaching sites) throughout the region.  They accepted what we would call the Old Testament as scripture.

The Sadducees were another major group.  They rejected the Pharisees decentralized teaching sites and focused on the centrality of the temple.  Perhaps they could be called more conservative than the Pharisees.  The only scripture they recognized were the five books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

The Herodians made a third group.  As their name suggests, they supported the leadership of the Herod family.  The Herods were not blood line Jews and their claims were illegitimate.  But it was good enough for the Romans!

The Zealots were a nationalistic movement against the Romans and were apparently quick to take up arms.

The Essenes were a sect that had removed themselves from other forms of Judaism.  They often lived apart.  The Qumran community which is responsible for the Dead Sea Scrolls was perhaps the largest Essene community.  The Essenes are nowhere mentioned in the Bible

There were not necessarily clear lines between these factions.  In general though, they did not get along.  However...

In these verses from Matthew 22 we discover at least three of these groups united around a common opponent:  Jesus. 

Often the things Jesus says here are pulled out of context.  They are presented as deep and significant things Jesus teaches.  That is probably a mistaken approach.  It is better to interpret these verses remembering that Jesus is in hot water with every faction of Judaism that would show its face in the temple.  These factions are challenging Jesus one after another.  The Pharisees have joined forces with their rivals, the Herodians, and they try to trap Jesus (22:15-22)  He turns the tables on them.  Then the Sadducees have a go at him.  (22:23-33)  They use an absurd situation based on their limited scriptures.  But by quoting from that same limited scripture Jesus replies with a greater challenge.  Then the Pharisees immediately try again, this time on their own.  (22:34-45)  Jesus replies with a very orthodox answer.  But then he responds with a challenge of his own.  Ultimately Jesus takes on all and silences all.

I think the biggest thing to notice here is that Judaism is uniting against Jesus.  Jesus is taking no party line but showing problems within them all.  When we get to the arrest and crucifixion of Jesus he does nothing to defend himself.  Some interpret this as meekness and acceptance.  However, remember that Jesus has taken on his opponents before.  What was left to say?  Nothing.

I think these verses are more intended to show humanity rejecting Jesus rather than highlighting what Jesus says.  Jesus does have a lot more to say.  We'll turn to that next week as we look at Chapters 23-25.  For now though, let this remind us once again that God's logic does not follow our logic.  God's ideas of power do no follow our ideas of power.  Our categories are not God's categories.  A life driven by truly responding to God's grace is not going to ingratiate us to those who have earthly power.  Yet this should not frighten us.  Our Lord Jesus faced the same.  And by his presence we can face it too.

Continuing Matthew's Gospel - Matthew 21:28-22:14

This is a set of three parables and you'll want to read them in a Bible before continuing on here.

When interpreting these parables of Jesus it is important to remember that Jesus teaches them while in the temple courtyards, and important in his audience are religious leaders who he just silenced.  (See 21:23-28)

The parables are directed against a religious establishment that has gone astray but does not realize it.  We can realize pretty easily in the parable of the two sons (21:28-32) that the son who says he will work, but then doesn't, refers to the religious leaders.  Meanwhile those son who said he would not work, but then did, refers to the sinners so often rejected by the leaders.  Jesus is basically calling the leaders hypocrites.

Similarly in the parable of the wicked tenants (21:33-46) we can see a critique of the religious establishment.  Jews knew well that their ancestors had ignored, rejected, and even killed any number of the prophets sent by God.  One of the interesting thing about ancient Judaism is how truly they accepted that their ancestors had gone astray.  They did not boast a proud heritage of righteousness.  Instead they knew of their need for God's grace.  But that did not seem to have rubbed off on the leaders of that day.  They were continuing their ancestors patterns through John the Baptist, and soon, Jesus. We see that clearly in 21:45-46: "When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables they realized he was speaking about them.  They wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowds, because they regarded him as a prophet."

Here we see their actions are based in worldly concerns.  If Jesus was truly a threat to orthodoxy then they should have had the courage to arrest him on the spot.  That's something the prophets would have been bold enough to do!  However, the leaders are ironically fulfilling Jesus' teachings even as they hear them.

The third parable (Matthew 22:1-14) is the parable of the wedding banquet.  This one will give us pause.  We can understand that those originally invited are the religious leaders.  However, they have made their excuses for not coming to the celebration God has in store.  Therefore God invites anyone and everyone to the banquet.  Indeed these people do come and fill the hall.

Problematic for us is the final scene.  There a man is attending the banquet but without the proper party clothes.  But how could a man who was invited from the street be expected to have proper party attire?  Perhaps it is best to see this scene through the light of the baptismal practices of the early church.  When baptized a person would put on a new set of clothes, thus expressing the giving up of the old way of life and embracing the new Christian identity.  But what if a new convert simply came in for the benefits of Christian community and did not cease old sinful ways?  Such a person would still be living the old way/wearing the old clothes.  The message is that simply showing up doesn't cut it.  Faith is expected to manifest itself in a significant change in life.  If the first two parables, and the first half of this one, were directed toward the religious leaders, this part is directed towards Jesus' own followers.

God's grace is not something we should take for granted.  It is not something to be exploited.  It is not a strategy where one determines that since God's love is unconditional therefore one can get away with anything and everything.  Receiving grace begins with knowing that we need grace.  From there we can be surprised by it and delight in it.  This parable is not meant to frighten us into works righteousness.  But it is intended to take away the strategies of those who plan to exploit.  For God true relationship is built on love; not on strategies. 

Continuing Matthew's Gospel - Matthew 21:18-27

You'll want to read the text of Matthew 21:18-27 before continuing further.

These verses follow immediately after the passage we read in worship on Sunday.  They are certainly strange.  Is this really the Jesus we thought we knew?  What's with killing the fig tree because it had no figs on it?  (Other gospels include the detail that it wasn't the season for figs.  So what is Jesus playing at?!?)  And why is Jesus so uncooperative with the religious leaders?  He's not helping his case!

Let's remember that the fig tree scene takes place between Jesus' entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday and his return to the city the next day.  He's spent the night in nearby Bethany.  Tensions are running very high.  The city is crowded.  And as far as whether one wants to be a follower of Jesus or not, time has run out.

Most biblical scholars doubt the historic accuracy of the fig tree scene.  However, theologically it serves an important point.  If the tree is symbolic of Israel, then it's Lord has come.  Is it being productive?  Is it bearing fruit?  Remember, the scene is the outskirts of the city of Jerusalem.  The temple and the heart of the faith is less than a mile away.  Jesus was just there the day before and he was not pleased with what he saw.  Jesus has found no fruit.  He pronounces judgment upon it.  It's time is past.  Luke's gospel contains a parable of an unproductive tree that is given one more chance.  Apparently that chance has passed.

Jesus is finding very little in the way of the qualities of love and mercy that he has come to proclaim.  The next scene is the chief priests and the elders challenging him as he is teaching in the temple.  Remember that the temple itself wasn't a very large building.  There's no record that Jesus ever entered it.  But the temple was surrounded by a series of large courtyards.  It is in one of these courtyards that Jesus is teaching, and apparently gathering a crowd!  The religious leaders who run the temple system go over to check it out.  And they are not pleased with what they are hearing! 

Let's not be too harsh with them.  For if we do so we'll miss that they easily mirror ourselves.  From their perspective they are faithfully honoring the laws and faith traditions that have been carefully handed on to them.  They are doing so as well as they can under severe Roman oppression.  The Romans are demanding control, putting up graven images, and even forcing Jews to use the imperial currency with all its sacrilegious imagery.  They are doing the best they can!  So when Jesus, an charismatic uneducated self-proclaimed rabbi from the outskirts of Jewish territory shows up and starts teaching his own stuff they feel threatened.

Jesus' teachings that the kingdom of God is at hand risks Roman retaliation. 
Jesus' teachings that God forgives without going through the sacrificial system of the temple undermines all orthodoxy. 
Jesus' teachings that God loves everyone regardless of whether they are "righteous" or "sinners" undermines everything they understand about God.

And so they want to know the authority Jesus claims for his radical teachings.  In typical rabbinic debate Jesus responds to their question with a question of his own, "Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?"  We get to overhear their struggle.  Jesus has created a no win situation for them.  If they say, "From heaven," Jesus will reply, "Why then did you not believe him?"  But if they say, "Of human origin," the crowds would be displeased because they considered John to be a prophet.  And so they answered that they did not know.  Jesus in turn replies that he will not reveal his authority either.

Perhaps we might think Jesus could have been more considerate here.  This may have been a moment of compassion for him where he could gently teach the religious leaders; maybe even win them over to his side.  But Jesus does not do that.  He knows their minds are closed.  He knows they've been keeping a watch on him for awhile.

Sometimes "I don't know" is a perfectly acceptable answer to a question of faith.  But not here.  The truth is that the religious establishment had already rejected John the Baptist.  And they've already rejected Jesus.  They are fruitless trees.  God is acting.  They are missing it because they are rooted in the human point of view.

It isn't wise to just jump on the bandwagon of every charismatic leader who claims to speak with the authority of Jesus.  However, it is wise to always keep an open mind.  Listen with discerning ears.  Maybe God is speaking something new that we need to hear.  The good news is that with the written word of scripture, and the community of faith that is the church, we are well equipped for discernment.  God does speak in new and surprising ways all the time.

March 22, 2020 Sermon Lent 4 Matthew 21:1-17

I’ve decided to continue with our read-through of Matthew’s gospel and not break the pattern because of the coronavirus.  It seems like a break from all that’s going on is in order.

I know that Palm Sunday is still a couple weeks away.  It seems premature to be reading about Jesus’ “triumphal” entry into Jerusalem.  But a lot happens between the Sunday Jesus enters Jerusalem and Good Friday.  We can easily spend a few weeks looking at all those teachings and events.

This approach also fits with Matthew’s storyline.  And to get at that let’s make a contrast with Mark’s gospel, remembering that Mark’s gospel is the main source Matthew draws upon for his writing.

Fully half of Mark’s gospel is given over to Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem and the week he spends there before the crucifixion.  The story builds and builds from the Transfiguration like a musical crescendo up to an explosive chord at his death.  In Mark Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem is a jump in the crescendo and the whole text is anxious with what is growing.

Now consider how Matthew changes the tone of Mark.  In Matthew Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem covers only 17 verses.  It’s a blip in the story line.  Matthew is more interesting in stressing the teachings and public ministry of Jesus.  From Matthew you get the sense that for months and years Jesus is preaching and teaching in the countryside well north of Jerusalem.  Then as the Passover approaches he decides to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to participate in the festivities.  He knows what’s coming.  We the readers do too.  But it’s not the same growth in tension.

In Matthew the religious leaders in Jerusalem have heard about Jesus.  They know who he is.  They’ve sent people out to check on what this untrained itinerant - but charismatic - rabbi is doing.  But they haven’t been too fussed about him.  If he wants to whip up the northern peasants what do they care?

But then Jesus and his rag tag bunch of followers suddenly show up a few days before Passover.  The city is jammed for the Passover holidays.  Jews from all over the Roman empire pour in every year. 

The Romans know that the Jews can be a rebellious bunch so they send in extra troops to keep watch.  The regional governor, Pontus Pilate comes in to oversee the crowds first hand.  Remember, a sizeable part of the Jewish population fit into the category of Zealots.  They probably employed guerrilla tactics when opportunities presented themselves.  Therefore the Romans are alert to every possible act of sedition or rioting.  Their practice is to clamp down hard.  They strike first and ask questions later – if they bother asking questions at all!

The Romans have tried and true techniques that help them keep order.  Prominent among them is the public execution of leaders of rebellions.  And that public execution is by crucifixion.  The outskirts of the Roman empire had many crucifixion sites; places along major roads where insurrectionists were hung up to die.

Often we think of Jesus having his triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Sunday and then on Monday he goes into the temple and overturns the tables of the money changers.  That’s how Mark depicts it – again, the tension building ever higher.

But Matthew appears to tweak the timeline.  Notice how our gospel reading went.  Jesus enters Jerusalem with the fanfare of some of the crowds.  Then he immediately goes into the temple and causes a ruckus.

All things considered, this is not a wise move.  Oh, it certainly serves is theological purposes for Jesus’ ministry.  But it is not smart at all: A country preacher with a reputation for stirring up the country folks with a message that, “The kingdom of God is at hand,” comes into Jerusalem with a bunch of those same country folks who proclaim, “Hosanna to the Son of David!  Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!  Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

These crowds certainly saw Jesus coming in to give the Romans a divine thrashing.  While that is not his intent, that is how it is perceived.  And again, to make matters worse, Jesus goes on to cause a ruckus in the temple in the busiest time of the year.

The Jewish leadership is already wary of him.  The Romans are now very aware of him!  He’s dangerous.  He is a problem.  He must be done away with.

But how?  How do you ‘take care of’ a populist preacher without causing widespread riots?  Remember, that was a real threat.  Four decades later such riots turned into a war which lead to the Romans destroying Jerusalem!

Indeed Jesus has been preaching that the kingdom of God is at hand.  It sounds like, and was, a political message.  The Roman empire was a massive system of economic and military exploitation.  Hundreds of thousands of people were enslaved and oppressed for the benefit of a very few. 

Jesus’ teachings of opportunity and value and fairness were a threat to Rome.

Our gospel writer Matthew wants us to see the contrast between how Jesus’ kingdom operates and how the powers of the nations operate.

I think Matthew has structured his story so that we get the idea that as far as the Romans were concerned, Jesus was just an annoying mosquito that they swatted – just one more, among hundreds, of Jews and insurrections they executed as they stayed in power.

In other words, though Jesus is central to our faith and global history, Matthew wants us to see that Jesus was a nobody to anybody who was somebody.

I know many people have been working like crazy these last several days because of the coronavirus.  When you’re busy you feel important.  And many people have been doing absolutely nothing, because there is nothing to do!  When you have nothing to do it is easy to feel unimportant; worthless even.

I think Matthew’s gospel gives us a good perspective.  At the time and from the world’s perspective Jesus was a nobody.  He was of no consequence.  He had a small bunch of uneducated followers from the countryside.  He came to Jerusalem for a holiday celebration and got squashed like a bug – just like many who came before him and who came after him.

Yet through him God changed the world.

Don’t go looking for sensation, for big projects, for great accomplishments to feel worthwhile.  What looks big in the world’s perspective may mean nothing in God’s eyes.  And what looks like nothing in the world’s eyes may be God’s greatest act of all time.

Much of what the world considers to be all-important has been shut down.  It will probably all be shut down for weeks to come.  Indeed it will mean hardship and frustration for many people.  I don’t take that lightly.  But it is also a strong reminder that what seems important may not be at all.

May you remember that your self worth lies completely in God’s hands.  Whether you are busy to the point of burnout, or feel sidelined to the point of irrelevance, you are God’s.  God is doing big and important things through you.

Continuing Matthew's Gospel - 20:17-33

Three scenes are in Matthew 20:17-33.  I invite you to read it in a Bible before going further here.

The first scene is brief with Verses 17-19.  Jesus tells his disciples for the third time that when they get to Jerusalem he will be arrested and killed.  The first time he told them this was in 16:21-23.  Immediately after saying that the disciple Peter takes Jesus aside and rebukes him; as if Jesus is demon possessed.  Such a prediction could not possibly be from a person in his right mind!  The second time Jesus predicts this is 17:22-23.  After that we're told the disciples were, "greatly distressed."

We know the story of Jesus death so well that we are in danger of forgetting how offensive and even scandalous it was.  There was no way the disciples could accept such a teaching from their great rabbi.  Even today Christians do well to understand that the core of their faith is an event that is scandalous to all human logic.  And I'm using the word "scandalous" deliberately for that is the word the New Testament authors often used to refer to the crucifixion of Jesus.

Perhaps it would also be good to see how Muslims understand Jesus.  Jesus plays a significant role in the Holy Q'ran.  He is considered one of the greatest of the messengers who spoke God's word to the world.  However Muslims reject the idea that Jesus was crucified.  In Islamic understanding a messenger of God may be called to endure great hardship.  However, God would always provide divine protection from death for his messengers.  And so at the idea of the crucifixion the Islamic understanding of Jesus and the Christian understanding of him part in irreconcilable ways.  (Some Islamic teachings suggest that someone else whose appearance was similar to Jesus' was crucified instead.)  My point is that the core of Christian faith is an impossibility -an offense- to all logic.  We do well to keep that in mind.

Now in Verses 17-19 Jesus predicts his crucifixion for the third time.  How do the disciples respond with this prediction?  They completely ignore it!  Instead of reacting at all the next scene (20-28) is the mother of James and John asking for her sons to be given places of glory!  I hope you find this at least a little bit humorous.  Two grown men, James and John, have their mommy asking their rabbi for favors for them.  How childish and trite!  (In Mark's version of this account James and John ask Jesus directly.)  Jesus asks, "Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?"  They reply, "We are able."  Time will tell how 'able' they are!  And as Matthew tells the story, their mother will get to see who gets the seats of glory at Jesus' left and right.  She will be one of the witnesses of the crucifixion (27:55-56).  The two crucified at Jesus left and right... Matthew calls them bandits, or thieves.  They aren't even 'honorable' criminals like insurrectionists or Zealots.  They're just common crooks.

The request of the mother of James and John raises the anger of the other disciples.  But we know they've been scheming to be top dog as well.  Jesus teaches them yet again that the human drive to get on top is misguided.  And we'll discover yet again, the disciples don't get it.

The final scene is 29 to 34 and it connects with the James and John request.  (It is worth pointing out here that Matthew's main source of information is Mark's gospel.  And in Mark there is only one blind beggar here, not two.  He is named Bartimaeus, Son of Timaeus.  The Timaeus was a 3rd Century BC writing of Plato, and Mark's gospel often spoofs it.  One of Mark's major goals is to undermine the Platonic philosophy which highly valued the capacity of human logic.  Remember, the crucifixion is illogical!)  Notice the parallels between the two scenes in Matthew. 

There are two brothers.
There are two blind beggars.

Jesus says to the mother, "What do you want?" (Vs. 21). 
Jesus says to the beggars, "What do you want me to do for you?" (Vs. 32)

Completely "blind" that Jesus just said he would be crucified, the mother asks for glory for her sons.
The blind beggars ask, "Lord, let our eyes be opened." (Vs. 33)

The disciples, still not getting it, become angry. (Vs. 24)
The beggars, now with sight, follow Jesus. (Vs. 34)

From this collection of three scenes we recognize that true sight is a gift of Jesus.  It is not something that can be reached by the capacity of human logic.  That is not to say that Christianity is against logic, or an entirely illogical belief system.  Rather, it is to say that belief itself is a gift of God.  Humans can't get there on their own.  As the two previous posts also point out, it's all about grace!

Continuing Matthew's Gospel - Matthew 19:13-20:16

I encourage you to read Matthew 19:13-20:16 from a literal Bible translation before you go on with this.  New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) or New International Version (NIV) would be my top recommendations.

Yesterday's post was from Matthew 19:1-12 where Jesus talked about human relationships; especially marriage and divorce.  I said that we really can't reach a conclusion of what Jesus meant until we read further.  Indeed I believe this is one of those cases where if you immediately apply what Jesus said without taking into account the broader context you end up with the exact opposite of what he meant!  Matthew's gospel is complex and not everything is straightforward.  But one thing is consistent.  Jesus teaches in a way that leaves everyone condemned and falling short.  Thus he is driving all his followers to realize they need to depend upon God's grace.  That is, having favor before God that they cannot earn by their own goodness.  If you try it on your own you are sure to fail somewhere.  And if you think you have managed to get it all right on your own you've still failed!  You're fooling yourself!

There are three scenes in this passage: children, the rich man, and a parable of the laborers in the vineyard.  They link around the common theme of God's kingdom not following human logic.

Children in those days were not treated the way they are today.  While parents certainly loved their children their lives did not revolve around them.  Sports, music, drama, and the like were not in the picture!  It was a subsistence economy based almost entirely on hard labor and physical skill.  Almost everyone worked physically hard all the time.  Children were simply too weak and unskilled to be of value - at least not until they reached "adulthood" which was around the age of thirteen.

Paying attention to children - other than to discipline them or teach them to be productive - was a waste of time.  Certainly a great teacher would not make time for them.  Jesus, however, uses them as an example.  It was precisely a child's inability to do anything of value that made them examples of God's grace.  Adults could fool themselves into thinking they were strong or that they were important.  Adults could fool themselves into thinking their righteousness or skills were essential for God to work through to bring about his kingdom.  Not so.

To prove the point the very next scene is the rich young man.  If anyone could claim he was living as God wanted it was this guy.  He appears to have a genuine passion for doing things the right way.  He embraces righteousness with all his heart.  Sometimes artists depict him as being pompous or conceited.  I disagree.  I think he was a hard working, sincere, kind hearted guy.  You would probably like him.

He asks Jesus, "What good deed must I do to have eternal life?"  Right there we should see the flaws.  This man seems to think getting eternal life is a transaction with God.  He is assuming that getting eternal life is something he can earn on his own.  He is not seeing himself as a child dependent upon an adult (God being the adult).  He is seeing himself as an adult with something of value to offer God.

What "good deed" must he do?

He must rid himself of the ability to depend upon himself!  He must rid himself of the mindset that by his own goodness he can make it.  Jesus tells him, "If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, give your money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me."  The man leaves grieving for he had many possessions.  He appears unwilling to give up his self-security; and his pride.

The disciples are flabbergasted.  Rich people were believed to be especially blessed by God.  Their wealth was seen as proof of it.  But Jesus teaches that 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.

A legend emerged in medieval times that there was a tiny gate in Jerusalem called the Needle's Eye.  It was too small for loaded camels to pass through, unless they were unloaded of their burdens, got down on their knees, and tried really hard.  While it makes for good imagination, no such gate ever existed.  It misses the point besides. Jesus then makes the situation clear.  The disciples ask, "Then who can be saved?"  To which Jesus basically replies, "No one."

Okay, he doesn't actually say that!  But that is indeed his point when he does say, "For mortals it is impossible, but for God all things are possible."

It is important for us to take a moment and dwell in the reality that eternal life is impossible for us to achieve.  We simply can't do it.  No amount of good deeds, pure motives, and upright living will get us there.  Most people in our nation today appear to live with the idea that if they are basically good people then they will go to heaven.  They couldn't be more wrong!  I won't make any claims about receiving eternal life.  That's God's business, not mine.  But I do know you can't earn it, deserve it, expect it, or merit it in any way shape or form.  It is God's gift.  It is a true gift, a pure gift.  The sooner you realize it the sooner you can breathe deeply the relief of living in God's grace.  Martin Luther's famous last written words were, "We are beggars."

To reinforce the idea that eternal life is not about merit Jesus tells the parable of the laborers in the vineyard.  The idea that some people work all day while others work only an hour, yet all receive the same pay is an offense to our sense of justice.  The summer I spent working long hours in the hot sun doing road construction was miserable.  I felt I definitely earned the pay I received.  I would have been not only jealous but enraged if someone who only worked one hour received the same pay I received for a typical 13 hour work day!

This sense of injustice is exactly Jesus' point.  He does not mean that God has no sense of fairness.  But he is erasing all doubt that eternal life is about our strength and our abilities.

It is grace, pure and simple.  Grace is always amazing grace.  Grace that can be calculated, expected, or earned in any way shape or form is no longer grace.

Remember I said that if we take Jesus' teachings on marriage and divorce by themselves we'd get the completely wrong idea?  Now we can return with a better understanding and get the right idea.  Jesus knows human relationships can be deeply nurturing.  They can strengthen, heal, and bless.  He also knows they get messed up.  Whether it's between spouses, or parents and children, or even friendships among co-workers, real harm can be done.  The foundation of society is trusting relationships.  When they work all can be blessed.  When they don't many are hurt, and very deeply.  So when a relationship in any shape or form becomes too destructive, how should it end?  Does Jesus say you can end it with a legal contract?  Does he say you just walk away?  No.  He immediately follows his teachings about relationships with teachings about grace.  We need to understand our lives and our relationships in light of grace and God's promises of eternal life.  And so for example, Jesus never condemns divorce.  But he does frame it in light of God's creative purposes and in light of our need for grace.

Tomorrow we continue with more teachings about God's ways.  They will appear completely irrational to us.  But, as we just saw, rationality (human reason) can't save anybody!

Continuing Matthew's Gospel - Matthew 19:1-12

In Sunday worship we have read through Matthew up through Chapter 18.  If we hadn't rearranged worship on Sunday we would have read Chapters 19 and 20.  Gathering for worship is cancelled for at least the next two Sundays.  However, the musicians and I are working on live streaming worship at 10:30am Sundays.  We'll see how that goes!

Plans are changing rapidly so I won't say how long this will last, but for the remainder of this week I plan to put into action something I've been considering for a long time.  When we have long gospel readings on Sunday it is difficult to get into everything in the text.  I usually focus on just one or two things.  I've thought about posting reflections on the other things we haven't covered.  In the spirit of that idea, each day this week let's look at a scene from Matthew 19-20.  Today we'll look at 19:1-12.  I'm not going to include the Bible text here.  I presume you have a Bible available to you - or you can find the verses online.  I suggest you read from a literal translation and not a paraphrase.  So use something like New Revised Standard Version (what we use on Sundays) or New International Version.  King James is good too, but you may get tripped up on the language.  Revised Standard Version is also good but the language is also getting a bit dated.  I'd avoid The Living Bible and the like.  They're good scholarship but they're paraphrases.  While that makes them easier to read, the farther you go from the Greek text the more you distant you are from the author and the more you are getting the interpretation of the translator.

Jesus teachings here on divorce, remarriage, and human sexuality may seriously challenge us.  These words have quite often been used as the law for Christian marriage, but that is missing both the context and what Jesus intended.

The overall context in the story is to root our lives in God’s grace rather than in legalism.  Marriage in Jesus’ day was quite different than today.  First, there weren’t really wedding ceremonies.  It’s not exactly clear from history exactly how the marriage of a common person would begin, but in general it was community acknowledgement that a couple was together.  And divorce was not a legal affair requiring lawyers and courts.  Marriages themselves weren’t recorded in a central legal register and thus they were easy to end.  In Roman culture either a man or a woman could initiate divorce.  In Jewish culture it was only the man, and he could do so for any reason he chose.  ANY reason!  (I've joked before that if a man didn't like his wife's meatloaf that was grounds for divorce!)  Divorce basically meant walking out - or getting kicked out.  That was it.  Ultimately it made marriage very shaky, especially for the woman.

Jesus’ teachings about marriage and divorce are not rooted in legality but in the nature of creation.  In other words, he makes the roots much deeper.  This isn’t just a legal arrangement.

Indeed if you compare a marriage to, let's say... a contract you would sign with a contractor to replace your house roof, you would find the arrangement quite different.  At least I hope so!  You probably don’t make deep emotional attachments to your contractor.  And if you do, then you have a problem!  You can hire and fire a contractor without a whole lot of emotional impact.  Relationship between spouses go much deeper.  Beginning or ending a marriage is a significantly emotional time.

In the same way Jesus roots marriage and divorce in something deeper than legality, it is also a mistake to apply his words in a legalistic way – a legalistic way of accepting or forbidding.  Jesus’ teachings on divorce show up in Mark’s and Luke’s gospel as well.  Only in Matthew is this escape clause about infidelity. 

But even take that case.  Would you really say to a friend whose marriage is ending under those circumstances, “Hey, don’t worry about it.  You’re fine.  Just find someone else to marry.”  Of course you wouldn't say that!  Perhaps you would say that about finding someone else to replace your house roof, but not ending a marriage.

You see, even when it is "justifiable" it still hurts.  That is the deeper truth Jesus is getting at.  Jesus’ teachings acknowledge that.  God’s created intentions have been broken.

So does that mean, as some Christians have taught, that divorce and remarriage means people will burn in hell for all eternity?

Well, did Jesus actually say that?

No.

Over and over again Jesus' teaching drive us to recognize our need for God's grace.  Matthew 19-20 work together as a unit.  We aren't done with this topic of divorce at all, but I am going to leave it there for today.  We need to explore the next two scenes, which we will see tomorrow, before we can return to the topic of divorce.

For the rest of this post let's look at the very curious teachings in verses 10-12 about eunuchs.  Biblical scholars scratch their heads over these verses.  Indeed in those days some pagan religions did have a practice of literal castration for religious purposes.  Most scholars DO NOT think that is what Jesus means here.  That's a relief!  

I believe Jesus means those who are members of the community who choose to remain celibate in order to commit themselves fully to Christian work.  (This is one of the foundational texts the Roman Catholic Church uses in their understanding of the priesthood.)  While marriage and family life were highly valued by Jesus and Matthew's church as a gift from God - and that was the normal life of most people - some people, such as prophets or missionaries, would remain unmarried.  Freed from the burden of providing for spouse and children they could focus on a specific calling.

When seen in this light we discover that both paths - having a family, or remaining without a family for the sake of the gospel - are God given and God blessed ways to live.

Tomorrow we'll continue to expand what a life of grace looks like when we meet a man who knows the rules; and who knows how to live by them.

March 15, 2020 Lent 3 Matthew 6:19-34

You know the saying well that there’s no such thing as an atheist in a foxhole.  When I was doing my clinical work at the University of Tennessee Hospital one of the chaplains liked to say, “How come you can’t find a Christian in an Emergency Room?”

He made a good point.  It was a Level 1 trauma center.  Plenty of life or death cases came through the doors.  And everyone wanted to avoid death.  Plenty of prayers for miracles of life for lost causes went up from that place.  If people were truly Christians, he reasoned, they’d be far more accepting of death.  After all, we’ll all get our turn in a pine box, or an urn.

This is not to suggest that I think we should take things like the coronavirus lightly.  But it does call on us to recognize reality.  Most people live like this life is all there is.  They focus short term on day-to-day needs.  They focus on their ability to provide for themselves.  And they tend to think of themselves first, even if that comes at the expense of community.

Look at people’s shopping habits the last several days.  I haven’t really been in the stores but Facebook posts look like many stores have shelves that are empty.  Good luck getting bleach and toilet paper and soap and all that.  What?!?  Why all this sudden buying?  Has the population of our nation just now started washing their hands?  Is toilet paper something they’ve just discovered and now everyone suddenly wants it?

When people hoard they’re afraid there’s going to be a shortage.  They believe production won’t be able to keep up with demand.  And if things do run out they are making sure they have it.  Too bad about others.

Our gospel reading was from the Sermon on the Mount.  There Jesus teaches a very different perspective.  He teaches a very different outlook on life.

Key to it are verses like Verse 26, “Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not more value than they?”  And Verses 31-33, “Therefore do not worry saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’  For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things’; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.”

Jesus is not saying to lay around and be lazy.  He is not saying we should be irresponsible.  But he is saying that God has this.  God’s in control.  Don’t worry overly much.  Basically, your life focus should not be on earthly needs and concerns.  Your life focus will be on what God is doing.

In the mid-week Lenten services we’ve been using a video series that reviews things from the Small Catechism.  Last Wednesday we looked at the Apostles’ Creed.  The video pointed out that most people focus their lives on what they are doing.  Conversations in coffee shops are about work and travel and friendships.  That’s where our focus tends to lie.  But what if conversations were about what God is doing?  Or perhaps more theologically correct, what if conversations were about what God has done for us?  That would be a whole different set of conversations.

I believe the only conversations about what God is doing in the last several days have been those who are saying the coronavirus is some sign for the end of the world.

As we’ve been reading through Matthew this year we have delved into 1^st Century context behind the text.  Many people have complemented me on the richness of understanding this provides.  That’s nice.  But what is that really saying?  While it’s interesting, it makes sermons into a version of a program on the History Channel; but without all the cool graphics, and a deep rich voice narrating in a confident style.  Perhaps it helps us gobble up information about the biblical world, and that is intellectually stimulating.  And these are good things for a sermon.  But does it move our faith?  Does it help us to bring about God’s kingdom?  Does it help us challenge the evil that so cleverly works its way throughout our society?  That clever evil that has us talking all about ourselves rather than what God has done for us?  That clever evil that has people – who like to think of themselves as Americans in the land of the free and the brave – selfishly hoarding things.

This is one of those rare times – and it will not last – that has us actually facing something real.  We take off the mask of our daily lives, scurrying around worried about basically irrelevant things, and look at reality with open eyes.

Being a pastor in the United States today feels more like trying to market faith to people who have lots of options about how they want to spend their time.  And in that market you try to have a voice, a product, that can attract some portion of it.  You try worship styles, musical styles, dinner church models, programs,… you name it.  All just trying to be heard.  You have block parties, use gimmicks, social events, hands-on service projects,… all sorts of things to appear like you’re fun and worth looking at.

People feel no real need to actually build their lives around God’s will.  It is that way always.  It’s not unique to Americans in this century.  It seems to be human nature that as soon as we can we want to turn to ourselves rather than God.

One of the best – no, let’s call it “delightful” things about the gospels is the way the disciples are all too human.  They fail.  They have inside information – direct contact with Jesus and his teachings and they don’t get it.  The stories of Holy Week are coming and we see that the disciples fold at the slightest breeze.

The good news for us is that despite how fickle we are God still loves us.  God wants to be with us.  God wants us to live knowing that we are loved by him.  God does not want to condemn us. 

Jesus’ teachings in the Sermon on the Mount are challenging, but they are also loving.  They are inviting us into a life of relevance each and every day – not just when there’s a crisis that makes us change our routines.

May we use the days ahead to stay connected to the truth of what we are doing.  May we remember that we are God’s.  May we remember that God has all things in God’s hands.  Whether things are easy or hard, whether the pandemic ends slowly or quickly, whether the stock market goes up or goes down, whether you run out of supplies or not, even whether you live or whether you die, you are safe in God’s hands.