God's Love

 

 

Jesus' teaching in John 14:23-29 calls for believers to keep Jesus' Word and claims that those who do not love Jesus do not keep his words, and the inverse is true as well; those who do not keep Jesus' word do not love Him. In this Gospel reading, the profound theological point is that God's presence imparts peace and love and builds a home for those who abide in God's word. A home for God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 

In verse 26, Jesus assures the disciples that the Holy Spirit will remind them of what Jesus had taught; and continue teaching them what they need to learn to continue building God's kingdom. Thus comes the Christian perspective that God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, inspires Scripture, not like someone dictating a letter to an assistant but inspired by the Holy Spirit to the spirit of New and Old Testament writers. Jesus takes it to a new level when he says those who love Jesus and keep his word are continually being taught and nourished by God.

If we read John's message without pausing to consider the outcome of not loving Jesus and keeping his word, we may fall short in our understanding. Jesus asks his followers to do more than quote a creed or say a prayer of repentance. 

Jesus says, "Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our (God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) home with them." 

I take from this reading a call for followers and those who want to be followers of Jesus to be intentional about their relationship with God through Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. Three in one, working together as One to help us grow in our faith and understanding of God, our creator, and about ourselves as God's beloved creation.

Little Children

 

New Testament reading: John 13:31-35  
In today's Gospel reading, after Judas leaves the room and sets in motion a chain of events that will lead to Jesus' death on the cross, Jesus gives the disciples a new commandment. Jesus says, "Little children … I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another" (John 13:33-34). 
   Jesus knew Judas was going to betray him. The Gospel writer makes this clear earlier when Jesus was washing the disciples' feet and tells Peter, he is clean, though not all the disciples are clean." The writer then adds, "he said this because he knew who was to betray him." 
   So, Jesus waits for Judas to leave before commanding the disciples "to love one another." I wonder what the disciples thought when Jesus called them little children. Many of us might find it degrading to be called 'little children.' Yet, I believe it caused the disciples to be more attentive to what Jesus was saying. Perhaps they remembered Jesus saying, "the kingdom of heaven belongs to the children" (Matthew 19:14). 
   Jesus had just said he was leaving, and where he was going, they could not go. I wonder if they made the connection. They often missed Jesus' point. We would probably be just as confused in their shoes. We are fortunate to know the rest of the story; understanding comes only after reading the Gospel story and then rereading it to discern the message with a sense of where the story is going. Knowing the end of the story helps us as we journey with Jesus to the cross.
   When the writer refers to the audience as little children in the New Testament, it is not only a term of endearment; it identifies the audience as faithful disciples of Jesus. In First John, the writer calls the congregation he is writing to little children when he tells them, "they are from God and know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. He tells them to love one another because love is from God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love." (1 John 6-8). 
   So maybe when Jesus called the disciples little children, he was complimenting them on their spiritual growth. 
Something to Ponder on the Lord's Day!

Doubting Thomas

 

Something to Ponder on the Lord’s Day!          

New Testament reading: John 20:19-31

 John 20:19-31       Anselm of Canterbury had a little Latin expression, "Credo ut Intelligam," which means "I believe so that I may understand." Anselm's expression is an ideal place to begin our reflection on Jesus' first three resurrection appearances in the Gospel of John. Jesus appears the third time in response to Thomas' request, providing him precisely what he asked for after the other disciples informed him that they had seen the risen Savior. I suggest Jesus' first and second appearances to Mary at the tomb, and the ten disciples behind the locked door provided them with exactly what they needed to believe.

"Thomas did not believe the disciples, just as the other disciples had not believed Mary Magdalene (v. 18). In response to the disciples' claim, Thomas said, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe" (v. 25b). History has criticized Thomas for not believing the other disciples, but I think Thomas has been treated unfairly throughout the ages. Like so many scripture stories, his story shines a light on our faith struggles, a light that guides us to some sense of clarity to strengthen our faith. 

Thomas stops doubting and believes when he sees Jesus in the flesh. Jesus, however, does not offer praise for his newfound faith. Instead, He asks the disciples gathered in the room a faith question. "Have you," He says, "believed because you have seen me?" (v. 29a). The implied answer to Jesus' question is 'Yes.' Thomas and the others believe because they see Jesus. Their belief is commendable but not as praiseworthy as those "who have not seen and yet have come to believe" (v. 29b). According to Jesus, these are the ones truly "blessed." 

Following these appearances, the gospel of John states its chief purpose for sharing these accounts in verses 31. 

"…these [reports] are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God and that through believing you may have life in His name" (v.31). 

Something to Ponder on the Lord's Day!

 

Something to Ponder on the Lord’s Day!          

New Testament reading: Luke 24:1-12 - The resurrection revelation

There are similarities in the resurrection stories, but the accounts also vary in detail. In Luke, the women are silent. They simply reach the tomb and discover that the stone has been rolled away (v. 2). Matthew resembles Luke in that the women are silent, but Matthew's narrative reads as if the stone is moved after the women arrive (Matthew 28:1-2). Mark is the only Synoptic to report that the women were talking on their way to Jesus' grave, asking, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?" (Mark 16:3).

Some disbelieve scripture because of these subtle anomalies. Still, they actually strengthen the overall credibility of their unified claim, the resurrection revelation, namely that Jesus has been raised from the dead. Even now, whenever the testimony of witnesses agrees in every detail, law enforcement agents and officers of the court tend to suspect a conspiracy and thus doubt whatever claim is being made — whether accompanied with solicited or unsolicited oaths. Consequently, it's sensible to underscore these discrepancies rather than harmonize them due to some ill-advised devotion to perfect agreement between the gospel accounts.

Several years before I answered the call to ministry, I sat with a father as he watched his daughter resting in a hospital bed. Out of grief, he picked up a copy of a Gideon Bible and read where it opened, Matthew's reading of Jesus' crucifixion. After a couple of minutes, he stopped, turned to me, and said, "this Bible isn't right; this is not how the story goes. The thieves don't both insult Jesus; this is a bad translation.” He gave me the Bible to see it, and I turned to Luke's version of the story and showed him the version he remembered.

The difference in the reading does not weaken the unified claim. The resurrection stories may vary in detail, but the revelation that Jesus is alive is evident in each account.

Something to Ponder on the Lord's Day!

Jesus: fully God and fully man

 New Testament reading: Luke 19:28-40

   Today is Palm Sunday when we reflect on Jesus' ride through the crowd into Jerusalem at the beginning of Passover and the days leading to his death. Jesus' arrival was filled with excitement and praise from the crowd. However, the crowd's temperament will change over the next few days. A crowd will gather in just a few days and call for Jesus' execution.

   Reverend Dr. Tony Campolo, the former spiritual advisor to President Bill Clinton, once said, "Jesus really did abandon power when he lived among us. He wasn't simply holding back and pretending to possess our physical limitations; He truly was one of us." 

   Many Christians, however, react negatively to this fact and seek to suppress Jesus' humanity. "They want to think of Jesus as a God who disguised himself as an ordinary man but, at will, could step into a phone booth, rip off his robes, and show us who he really was, a first-century Superman." 

   Palm Sunday is a time to remember Jesus Christ, fully God and fully man, humbling himself by riding into Jerusalem on a donkey not to overtake the city but that through Christ, by the grace of God and power of the Holy Spirit, the city, and the world, might be saved.

   Something to ponder on the Lord's day!

Different approaches to Discipleship

 New Testament reading: John 12:1-8

This text highlights two characters with utterly different approaches to discipleship. One person is lavish with her gifts; the other is parsimonious and critical. One expresses her devotion openly and earnestly; the other is guarded and treacherous. One loves; the other betrays. This interaction happens in the disciples' presence, most of whom had themselves done something rather lavish: they'd given up their livelihoods to follow Jesus of Nazareth. They'd also been with Jesus when the widow put her last penny in the offering plate. Jesus praises the widow and defends Mary's gifts. Both gifts are valued differently in the world, yet highly valued by Jesus. 

Judas asks Jesus, Mary, and the disciples, "Why this waste?" He suggested the perfume could have been sold, and the money could have been given to the poor. The author of the Gospel, who knows the rest of the story, inserts this sensible objection upon the lips of "the one who was about to betray him" and notes that his true motivation was the theft of the money. The widow and Mary acted in devotion and love. In contrast, Judas' heart and motivation were different. 

In their own way, Mary and the widow lived a life of lavish discipleship by surrendering completely to God. What we have, our careers and our ability to earn a living are from God. Can there be anything more lavish than offering our lives entirely to God?

Something to Ponder on the Lord's Day!

 New Testament reading: Luke 13.1-10 "Good Fruit"

Luke chapter thirteen begins with Jesus talking to a crowd when “someone present tells him about Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.” Jesus responds by asking them if they believe the Galileans suffered this way because they were worse sinners. Jesus immediately says no, they were not worse or better. Then Jesus says, “but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.” He says pretty much the same thing about eighteen Jewish men and women who died when the tower of Siloam fell on them. “Unless you repent,” again He says, “you will suffer the same fate.”

As you may know, to repent is to turn around and go a different direction. In the context of the Christian faith, it means to turn away from our selfish ‘sinful’ nature and back to God.  

Then at the close of Jesus’ conversation with the crowd, he tells a parable about a barren fig tree: 

The fig tree symbolizes the situations above. Those who rely on themselves will not produce fruit; those who accept the gardener’s care will produce fruit. I think this is what Jesus is trying to get across to the crowd. 

I wonder, however, if we ever considered the church as the fig tree planted by God and that we are the fruit – good or bad. Growing up in rural West Virginia, we had two peach trees in our yard, and they produced fruit, but it was never edible. The peaches were small and hard and only suitable for throwing or hitting with a baseball bat, not for eating. I recall checking the fruit hoping to find one good peach. My father worked long hours and sometimes seven days a week, so he spent very little time caring for the yard. I realize today if those trees had been trimmed and cared for, they probably would have produced good fruit. 

In my perspective, the church (the Body of Christ, not the building) is the tree grown to produce good fruit, which Christ the gardener wants to nurture and care for, so it will produce good fruit. How does Christ nurture the church? Is it through worship, Bible studies, perhaps fellowship, maybe service, or possibly all the above? If I remember correctly, Jesus said he came not to be served but to serve. Service, therefore, must be included in the care for the tree and fruit, and you cannot have service without fellowship. Most certainly not just worship.

Have you ever thought of yourself as God’s fruit? Probably not, but what would it require of us to become good fruit, the Body of Christ?