Lenten Devotion – Day 29

Monday, March 23, 2015

Today’s Scripture: Matthew 13:10-17 and Mark 4:10-13
(These passages comes after Jesus’ tells the Parable of the Sower)

“When he was alone, those who were around him along with the twelve asked him about the parables. And he said to them, "To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything comes in parables; in order that 'they may indeed look, but not perceive, and may indeed listen, but not understand; so that they may not turn again and be forgiven.'" (Mark 4:10-12)

Finding salvation in heaven is part of the message, getting closer to God is part of the message, but the heart of the message of Jesus was a new order breaking into history, changing everything about the world, including us.

That is why we can offer such hope to the world. The church is supposed to be saying, and the church is supposed to be showing, that our life together can be better. In our shallow, superficial, and selfish age, Jesus is indeed calling us to a completely different way of life that people are supposed to be able to see. He called it the kingdom of God, and it is a very clear alternative selfish kingdoms of this world as we say at the very beginning that better way of living was meant to benefit not just Christians but everybody else too. That’s what makes it transformational. - Jim Wallis, “On God’s Side: What Religion Forgets and Politics Hasn’t Learned about Serving the Common Good”, Brazon Press, 2013, pp. 22-23.

  These two passages in Matthew and Mark has always been a challenge to those who have attempted to understand Jesus’ parables and the whole of the gospel. Some assume that there must have been things that Jesus told his closest disciples that were not revealed to us. The King James Version speaks of the “mystery” of the Kingdom of God. Now this word used for a “mystery” or “secret” was used by the Greek with a technical meaning; it does not mean something which is complicated and mysterious in the sense we normally understand the term. It means something which is quite unintelligible to the person who has not been initiated into its meaning, but which is perfectly clear and plain to the person who is been so initiated. Because of the close relationship the early disciples had travelling with Jesus and hearing the whole context of the gospel proclamation, they were in a position to understand better, while for those who paid attention to hearing, seeing and understanding Jesus words and actions, comprehending was not beyond their ability.

  The challenge and difficulty of the passage lies in the section that follows. If we take this passage at its face value it sounds as if Jesus taught in parables deliberately to cloak his meaning, purposely to hide it from all ordinary men and women. Jesus used parables not to cloak his meaning and to hide his truth but to compel men and women to recognize the truth and to enable them to see it.

  This passage has a similar context to a quotation from Isaiah 6:9, 10. From the beginning it worried people. In the original Hebrew translation: that seems on the face of it that God is telling Isaiah that he is to pursue a course deliberately designed to make the people fail to understand. The Greek Septuagint translators (Greek version of the Old Testament) were worried at this strange passage and they translated it differently.

  “And he said, go and say to this people, 'Keep listening, but do not comprehend; keep looking, but do not perceive.' For the heart of this people has become gross, and with their ears they hear heavily, and their eyes they have closed; least at any time they shall see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and shall be converted, and I should heal them.” (Isaiah 6:9, 10)

Lenten Devotion – Day 26

Thursday, March 19, 2015

Today’s Scripture: Mark 12:28-34

Jesus answered, ‘The first is, 'Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.' The second is this, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."… When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." (Mark 12:29-31, 34)

Religion makes a big mistake when its primary public posture is to protect itself and its own interests. It’s even worse when religion tries to use politics to enforce its own codes and beliefs or to use the force of law to control the behavior of others. Religion does much better when it leads - when it actually cares about the needs of everybody, not just its own community, and when it makes the best inspirational and commonsense case, in a pluralistic democracy, for public policies that express the core values of faith in regard to how we should all treat our neighbors.

There’s a deep hunger, especially among the new generation of young people, for a new ethic of loving our neighbors, in our neighborhoods and around the world, but who will offer leadership toward a new (and old) neighbor ethic for the common good? If the faith community does that, people will actually be drawn back to faith; but if we don’t, our losses will continue. - Jim Wallis, “On God’s Side: What Religion Forgets and Politics Hasn’t Learned about Serving the Common Good”, Brazon Press, 2013, p. 6-7.

  A scribe from among the established religious authorities of Jesus’ time asks him what is the greatest commandment, and Jesus responds by citing the Shema - "Hear, O Israel ... you shall love the Lord your God" and adding "You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Mark 12:29-31). When the questioner affirms Jesus' response, Jesus says, "You are not far from the kingdom." (v. 34)

  For Jesus the foundation and distinctive mark of the kingdom of God, an ethic that would transform the world into “your kingdom come,” was love of God, neighbor and self. Jesus in this reminder from the Old Testament given to the Israelites from many centuries before is at the heart of the kingdom and there is much for us to reflect upon, but today I want to concentrate on the love of neighbor or others.

  In the book, The Road Less Traveled, Dr. M. Scott Peck shares many interesting ideas about love, what it is not, what it is. He points out that love is a mystery and so cannot easily be defined. He then attempts to give a definition of love; “the will to extend one's self for the purpose of nurturing one's own or another's spiritual growth.” It is a definition that starts from the purpose of love, one's own or another's spiritual growth. Love is looking out for the overall spiritual or long-term welfare of the other. God’s love toward us is for our growth and long-term welfare as human beings.

  Sadly, over the years I have discovered in working with families dealing with addiction, much of their so called love is not directed to the good of the other family members at all. Family members may be motivated by their own security, saving face to making an impression rather than seeking the real good of the person. For example, a typical story might be about a child being offered a promising opportunity in another state and the mother or father responding. “You know my health is not good, my heart is bad, so if you go and I die, you will be responsible.” This ends the possibility of a loving relationship. The parent can only see their own need and has now created a situation in which their child is angry if they stay and guilty if they go. Unfortunately, this story plays out daily often in families that claim to be loving. We cannot be loving as Jesus calls us to be by taking a position of authority and power over others.

Lenten Devotion – Day 24

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Today’s Scripture: Matthew 20:1-16

“Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?' So the last will be first, and the first will be last." (Matt. 20:15-16)

The Kingdom is about the common good the whole of society not just us, first. This most fundamental teaching of faith flies right in the face of all the selfish personal and political ethics that put myself always before all others: my concerns first, my rights first, my freedoms first, my interest first, my tribe first, and even my country first - ahead of everybody else. Self-concern is the personal and political ethic that dominates our world today, but the kingdom of God says that our neighbor’s concerns, rights, interests, freedoms, and well-being are as important as our own. - Jim Wallis, “On God’s Side: What Religion Forgets and Politics Hasn’t Learned about Serving the Common Good”, Brazon Press, 2013, p. 6.

  It's true sometimes. Sometimes we are in charge, it's our responsibility, and the buck stops squarely in front of us. And although we may complain and grumble about those times, most of us kind of like knowing that we are in control of what is going on and what is coming up next. In fact, we like it so much that we tend to try to take over the reins of control when we are clearly no longer qualified to be running the show. We are constantly tempted to "play God." We quickly forget that the most basic kindergarten lesson in spirituality is this: "God is God ... and we are not."

  In the parable told in today’s text, Jesus provides an ironic glance at the difference between God's designs and human desires by engaging us in his story, which many find objectionable. The landowner's generosity is bestowed on these last-hired laborers for a reason known only to him. He does not explain or apologize for the accounting system that lavishes the same wage on everyone hired, regardless of the amount of time logged on the job. The only response the landowner has to the disgruntled first-hired workers is "Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me?"

  Is God not allowed to do what God chooses with what belongs to God? God is God, and we are not. Jesus understood the value of all people regardless of what the culture thought of them. He gave all people value. Even the last one to arrive at the table is given a full-course meal.

  In one penetrating parable, Jesus leaves us with a lot to think about. We know that we can't work our way into heaven. We can never do enough good stuff in this life to earn everlasting retirement, whether we start our Christian service at six in the morning or at five in the evening. Our IRA’s (Individual Righteousness Accounts) will simply never be fat enough to fully fund a future in eternal kingdom of God.

  We also learn that we are all in need of God's grace and forgiveness, every single one of us. In the kingdom economy, we can be grateful that God chooses to be generous. We learn, too, that in God's service, we do not all have the same work to do. Some of us can teach, others sing, others cook, others organize, others visit the sick, others evangelize, others serve the poor, and others care for children, while others repair the church roof. Like, the workers in the vineyard, we have different tasks to perform, with different time frames, energy levels and abilities.

  But the really cool thing is the equal nature of the rewards. No matter how menial or glorious the task, we all get paid the same. In God's eyes, you see, we are all equal. At the end of the day, we are all paid the same and are paid what is right.

  New Testament professor Darrell Doughty puts it this way: "In the kingdom of God all people are already equal - because all people are loved by God." In the kingdom, every person should receive "what is right" - regardless of the work they do. In the kingdom, all people are equal, rich or poor, wealthy or destitute, righteous or sinners, and powerful or powerless. All people are equal because all people are loved by God. And since this is true in the kingdom, it should also be true in the life of the church, whether we are leaders or helpers, teachers or students, administrators or nursery attendants.