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? 

Holy Spirit Power

 

New Testament reading is Luke 4.1-2a Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, ² where for forty days he was tempted by the devil.”

Luke tells us after Jesus was baptized, he was full of the Holy Spirit when he returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil" (vv. 1-2a). Notice that just as Israel had wandered in the wilderness for 40 years, Jesus wanders in the wilderness for 40 days, one day for each year (Numbers 14:33-34; Joshua 5:6). However, the difference is that Jesus, unlike Israel, is led by the Spirit and remains faithful. 

We also notice a similar analogy between Jesus and the first couple. Whereas Adam and Eve gave in to the tempter's invitation to order the world as they see fit (Genesis 3:1-7), Jesus, on the other hand, does not. Instead, each satanic inducement is negated.

It is also important to note that Jesus' 40-day fast left him exhausted and virtually, if not actually, deprived of all his physical resources. In short, his flesh and Spirit were fully exposed, leaving him vulnerable to the devil's assaults. Weakened and vulnerable but Jesus was not without resources. Jesus, empowered by the Holy Spirit, withstood the devil's initial attack, which prepared him for his ministry and the final assault when the devil returned at "an opportune time" three years later (vv. 4:13 & 22:3-6).

I have heard individuals say, 'I am not Jesus,' as an excuse for some failure in judgment throughout my ministry. Indeed, we are not Jesus, but the same Jesus who the Holy Spirit empowered to withstand the devil's attacks; guides and strengthens all who genuinely seek God.     

Something to Ponder on the Lord's Day!

We are being transformed into God's image

 

New Testament reading is 2 Corinthians 3:18 “…all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”

I believe humanity was created with an innate desire to seek God, and there is an emptiness deep within our souls that remains unfilled until we turn to God. However, this emptiness is not filled with divine benevolences discovered in our search. We find fulfillment, at least in part because we seek to know God, to be in a relationship with God. Those who try to fill the void with material things will remain empty, but even those of us who believe we know God are limited in our understanding.  

Author, theologian, and spiritual guide Jeremy Driscoll wrote that "God is not what we think [God] is — not in any small way what we might think, nor in any big way the sum total of what a whole bunch of thinkers, great thinkers through the centuries, might think." I believe contemplating on God keeps us seeking to know God. Driscoll also said, "we have no choice but to try to imagine God." In our limited humanness, we try to imagine what God is, what and who God might be, and God at some point comes to meet us in our thoughts." (Jeremy Driscoll, OSB, A Monk's Alphabet: Moments of Stillness in a Turning World (Shambhala, 2007), 169.

God's amazing grace is that if we live our lives seeking to know God, we will grow in God's glory, but we still will never understand God's glory, but again it is the seeking that makes the difference in our journey to know God.  

A February Reflection - "Understanding Love Through a Child's Eyes"

Charles Colson was once only thought of as President Richard Nixon's "hatchet man" and "incapable of humanitarian thoughts." His 1973 conversion to Christianity was followed by a guilty plea to obstruction of justice and a seven-month prison sentence in 1974. Colson went on to establish the Prison Fellowship Ministries in 1976, fulfilling a promise made to fellow inmates that he would "never forget those behind bars." He released his first book, "Born Again," in 1976, and it instantly became an international bestseller. He has authored 16 books that have collectively sold more than 5 million copies. 

In his book 'Kingdoms in Conflict' he shares a story about a discussion he and his son, Chris, were having about the evidence for God. Colson argued that if there were no God, it would be impossible to account for the moral law, his grandson Charlie, then 4, interrupted.

"But Grandpa," he said, "there is a God." Colson nodded, assuring him that I agreed.

Charlie then said, "…if there wasn't a God, Grandpa, people couldn't love each other." 

Think about Charlie's response for a moment. 'Without God, we could not love each other.' I agree with Colson; Charlie is right. "Only the overarching presence and provision of God assures that both Christians and non-Christians enjoy human dignity and a means to escape our naturally sinful condition. Without God's presence, we could not survive together on this planet; nor could we love one another." [Charles Colson, Kingdoms in Conflict (New York: William Morrow/Zondervan Publishing House, 1987), 71.]

1 John 4 has become my favorite scripture. Verses 7-8 says, "Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love."Understanding scripture is not as simple as reading the text. We need to be open to the Holy Spirit's guidance and remember the character of God as we read. When we fail to see a God of love in our reading, we do not see God's true character that is predominant throughout scripture and our template for reading the stories. To be Christian is to be intentional about living out our lives into the character of God. “We love because God first loved us” (1 John 4:19). When we fail to choose (and it is a choice) not to treat another person as God's child, with dignity and respect, we are not only failing to live into the character of God; we are discounting the value of our relationship with God.

We are God's created, created to be in relationship with God, and we, individually and collectively as a people, have failed God many times over. Thanks be to God that God is love, and love forgives, always.  

The Greatest Hope

 

New Testament reading is Luke 5:1-15.  

The Greatest Hope

Jesus was standing on the shore of the lake. The people were crowding around, pressing on him to hear the word of God. He saw two boats; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. Jesus got into one of the boats and asked Simon Peter to push it out a little from the shore. Peter did as Jesus ask. Jesus then sat down in the boat and taught the people. When he finished teaching, he turned to Peter and asked him to put out into the deep water and let down his nets for a catch. Peter was reluctant because he fished all night and caught nothing, but once again does as Jesus requests and achieves a miraculous catch of fish.

The heartwarming miracle stories remind us that God does not watch from a distance ignoring his creations. The stories give us hope in a God who walks with us through good and challenging times. A God who seeks to be in a relationship with us, just as Jesus pursued a relationship with Simon Peter. 

The story of the miraculous catch is a great sign of hope for all who struggle with life's challenges, but the greatest hope reflected in the story is in our God, who pursues us. 

Something to Ponder on the Lord's Day!

Something to ponder January 30, 2022

Today's New Testament reading is Luke 4:21-30; it is the story of Jesus returning to his hometown to preach in the synagogue. Luke tells us this sermon begins Jesus' ministry for the poor, the captive, and the outcast. The following short story, I believe, summarizes Jesus' point to the hometown crowd.

Toss of a Coin - Two sons were left a large piece of property by their father. For months they fought over how the land should be divided. Finally, they brought their problem to their pastor and asked him to help them solve it. 

"Come back tomorrow," said the pastor, "and we'll talk." 

The next day the sons returned, and the pastor gave them his solution. 

"Toss a coin," he said to one of the brothers. "You call it, heads or tails," he said to the other.

"The one who wins the toss divides the land." 

"That's no solution," said one of the brothers. "We're right back where we started from." 

"Not so," said the pastor. "The one who wins the toss divides the land, but the other gets first choice."

The story's point is simple, like Jesus' hometown crowd, each brother was concerned only about himself, wanting to get the better of the other brother. The Israelites were accustomed to thinking only of themselves while disregarding those whom they considered unworthy of God's grace: the poor, the captives, and those who were being oppressed. 

Our world is divided because nations and individuals see different people as not worth their time or concern. Jesus' sermon shouted that God cares about all people. There are no divisions; and to ignore those on the fringes of society is not part of God's plan for God's children. God wants to connect to all people, and it is the responsibility of God's children to share the good news of God's love and transforming grace with others, especially to those on the fringes of society.

Something to Ponder on the Lord's Day!