Category: Year A

Unmasking the Hypocrite (Matthew 15:1-9)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment

Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!”

Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’ they are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:

“‘These people honor me with their lips,
    but their hearts are far from me.
They worship me in vain;
    their teachings are merely human rules.’” (New International Version)

Reading the Gospel lesson for today, I try to imagine what emotions Jesus might have experienced when confronted by the teachers of the law about his disciples’ lack of attention to tradition concerning ritual hand washings.

Maybe Jesus felt frustration, anger, sadness, exasperation, disappointment, irritation, aggravation, or discouragement. Perhaps Christ experienced all those emotions. Whatever Jesus was feeling at the time, I can easily see him taking a deep breath and exhaling a great big *sigh* over the religious leaders’ hypocrisy.

Hypocrisy is a disconnect between the values we espouse and our behavior. When there is incongruence between what we say is important and how we really live, this is being two-faced and duplicitous.

The men who came to see Jesus were plain old insincere hacks who practiced religious quackery. And Jesus saw right through their fake pretention of righteousness.

First off, this narrative is not a dig on rituals themselves but on using ritual to leverage an appearance of religious superiority over others. This type of motivation for engaging in rituals ignores their ethical and moral intention. Sometimes folks can get so doggone wrapped up in how faith is represented that they lose sight of the faith itself.

Hypocrisy has to do with our motives – not so much what we do, but why we do it. Rituals are good. Why we do them or not, or how we go about doing them, gets at the heart of our objectives for engaging religious practices. Are they truly a worship offering to God, or are they merely mechanisms for keeping up appearances of holiness?

The hypocrite is an actor. Hypocrisy is acting a part which is not truly the person. It is to live from the false self through the attempt of providing an idealized perfect person to the public, instead of embracing the true self and realizing our common humanity with one another in genuine devotion to God and service to others.

Religious hypocrisy is particularly insidious because it uses what is sacred for selfish purposes. It damages the credibility of the religion, creates idolatry, and covers hate with a veneer of pretentious piety.

The hypocrite is one who is a bundle of disparate parts in massive need of integration to a whole and real self. The cost to facing this is letting others see the true self with all of its flaws, imperfections, and weaknesses.

A lot of people have no willingness, nor the intention, to be viewed by others in the true self; so they maintain their play-acting and continue to seek attention and accolades through being the model religious person.

We all must come to grips with the reality that God cares a whole lot about why we do what we do. When the forms of faith become tools of oppression, and big burdens upon others backs, then those forms have supplanted the faith itself. Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks, and from the heart the hands and feet move.

Whenever we care more about being and appearing right – rather than getting it right and becoming better – then we have a heart problem. The heart of the issue is the heart itself. Clean up the heart, and everything else follows – not the other way around.

The probity of today’s Gospel lesson is that we might misinterpret what is important to God. We may be playing the hypocrite; and yet have the misguided belief we are genuine.

The capacity for our hearts to enlarge with love is in direct relation to an awareness of the hidden motives buried within those hearts. Evil intentions and motivations are what separate us from God – not our race, class, age, gender, religion, ethnicity, behavior, rituals, or anything else on the outside.

If we find ourselves being nit-picky of others, this is usually a clue that the unconscious self is trying to protect us from facing the pain of our own sins by projecting and focusing on another’s supposed missteps with tradition or ritual.

Fortunately, Jesus came to this earth full of grace and truth. Christ sometimes, maybe oftentimes, set aside niceness and decorum to go for the heart. In shining a light on the motives behind the deeds of people, some repented and received the good news of the kingdom of God; and, others resisted in order to maintain their illusion of control and superiority.

None could ride the fence with Jesus around. You either loved him or hated him.

The beauty of grace is that when we squarely and uncompromisingly face our sins and let go of things we consider so important, and turn to God with authenticity, we are welcome at his Table.

Most holy and merciful Father, we acknowledge and confess before you our sinful nature, prone to evil and slow to do good, and all our shortcomings, offenses, and malevolent motives. You alone know how often we have sinned in wandering from Christ’s way of grace and truth, in wasting your gifts of compassion and justice, and in forgetting your love.

O Lord have mercy on us. We are ashamed and sorry for all the ways we have displeased you. Teach us to hate our errors; cleanse us from our secret faults; and forgive us our sins; for the sake of your dear Son, our Lord. Most holy and loving God help us to live in your light and to walk in your ways according to the commandment of Jesus Christ, our Savior, in the enabling of your blessed Holy Spirit. Amen.

Paul the Missionary (Acts 13:1-12)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
Elymas the sorcerer is struck blind by Paul, before Sergius Paulus. painting by Raphael (1483-1520)

Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.

The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus. When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. John was with them as their helper.

They traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus, who was an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, an intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God. But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith. Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, “You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord? Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind for a time, not even able to see the light of the sun.”

Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand. When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord. (New International Version)

Most, if not every, follower of Jesus wants to hear the voice of God’s Spirit. Yet, many don’t. Why? Because they have not yet put themselves in a position to listen and learn.

We can only hear if we are attentive. We cannot hear if we are distracted doing other things.

The Antioch Church heard the Holy Spirit speak to them because they deliberately arranged their Christian lives so that they could learn God’s Word and clearly hear God’s voice. Notice what helped them:

  1. A diversity of leaders. The Church purposely had Christians from various backgrounds, races, ethnicities, and cultures, including Barnabas, a Jewish Levite from the island of Cyprus; Simeon, a Black man from sub-Saharan Africa; Lucius, a Roman from North Africa; and Manaen, an upper class Jew from Judea. They knew that the Spirit’s voice was not limited to one particular group of people, and could come to anyone.
  2. Worship and fasting. Together, the prophets and teachers worshipped the Lord and committed themselves to the spiritual practice of fasting. They knew that focusing on God by abstaining from food for a time, and using that time for prayer, would help them be ready to hear and respond to the Spirit.

As a result, the Church heard the Holy Spirit’s instructions for them to send Barnabas and Saul [Paul] as missionaries to the Gentiles. The Christians obeyed God, blessed the team, and sent them off to do their work.

It was the missionaries practice to find the Jewish synagogues wherever they went. There they would proclaim the good news of God’s grace in Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of divine promises to the people. Early on, Barnabas and Paul encountered Elymas, an esoteric individual who had the ear of the Roman authority in Paphos, a city in Cyprus.

Elymas was, frankly, a spiritual pest who kept interfering with Paul’s ministry to the Roman official. Paul, having many gifts of the Spirit, saw exactly who Elymas was – a windbag who deceived and cheated people for his own advantage.

Paul got down to it with Elymas, bluntly informing him that he has finally come up against God himself, and his trickery is over. Paul declared that Elymas was about to go blind for a good long time. And sure enough, the supposed magician was plunged immediately into a shadowy mist; he stumbled around, begging people to take his hand and show him the way.

It was only fitting that a person who promoted dark ways and crooked paths should be subject to that darkness and have to grope around for a time.

When the Roman official saw what happened, he became a believer on the spot, full of enthusiasm over what Barnabas and Paul were saying about Jesus.

So began years of ministry for the Apostle Paul, missionary to the Gentiles. There never seemed to be a dull moment with him around, making gracious waves of good news for those coming to God; and a tsunami of judgment for people, like Elymas, who were stuck in their selfish ways.

Paul, like Jesus, demonstrated his authority over the forces of darkness. He thus proved himself in Christian mission. The conversion experience and the commissioning of Paul became real and complete at the beginning of this missionary journey.

It is from this point on that the former Saul is now consistently referred to as Paul – signifying his change of status as a person who once opposed Christ to one who is dedicated to serving Christ and making him known throughout the Roman Empire.

Years of mature learning, spiritual growth, and discovering Jesus went into Saul’s life before he then became the missionary Paul. Although Paul was an extremely gifted person with a large intellect, he still needed to go through what we all must go through in the Christian life – put the time and effort into spiritual growth and maturity needed within the church, in order to go out and change the world with the good news of Jesus.

Gracious and almighty God, you have given pastors and teachers to equip us to do your work and to build up the church, the Body of Christ. Help us all together to realize unity in the faith, and knowledge of your Son, so that we will be spiritually mature in Christ, in whose name we are bold to pray. Amen.

Grateful to God (1 Thessalonians 2:13-20)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
Apostle Paul, by Ivan Filichev

And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe. For you, brothers and sisters, became imitators of God’s churches in Judea, which are in Christ Jesus: You suffered from your own people the same things those churches suffered from the Jews who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and also drove us out. They displease God and are hostile to everyone in their effort to keep us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. In this way they always heap up their sins to the limit. The wrath of God has come upon them at last.

But, brothers and sisters, when we were orphaned by being separated from you for a short time (in person, not in thought), out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you. For we wanted to come to you—certainly I, Paul, did, again and again—but Satan blocked our way.For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy. (New International Version)

Reception and Acceptance of God’s Word

The Apostle Paul, in all of his letters to the churches, was attentive to affirming those things which are good amongst the believers; and not only the aspects of church life that needed change and/or repentance.

For the Thessalonians, Paul was profoundly grateful to God for the people’s receiving of the Word and their accepting it as from God. Perhaps there is no greater affirmation than this for the Christian.

In order to receive and accept God’s Word, people must know it. And people cannot know God’s Word unless they take the time and effort to read it and discover it for themselves.

Scripture reading is a foundational spiritual practice for Christians everywhere, and for all of Christ’s Church throughout the earth. Church worship liturgies, as well as individual Christians’ daily disciplines of faith, ought to be thoroughly saturated with Holy Scripture. Yet, many churches are believers, sadly, are not.

I am specifically calling out the conservative evangelical church on this. Although they claim to be Bible-centered, with an extended time for the sermon, there is a paucity of actual Scripture contained within those gathered times.

Too much of the preaching fails to truly explain Scripture, and there are virtually no Scripture readings or references outside the sermon and in the worship service. This is a travesty, and also a testament to the biblical ignorance of so many evangelicals.

What’s more, the evangelical impulse for a “personal quiet time with the Lord” is, in reality, practiced by precious few believers – and usually consists of little more than a daily crumb of the Bible.

I perhaps sound cranky and crotchety. Yet in a previous life, I was an evangelical Pastor for many years, and know the frustrations and challenges of attempting to bring biblical literacy to such churches and Christians. There’s a better way, but alas, that is a topic for another time and another post.

Imitators and Sufferers with God’s Churches

The true muster of a Christian and any Christian Church is the desire, speech, and action of actually following the words and ways of Jesus. It was the Lord Jesus himself who said:

“Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.” (John 15:20, NIV)

“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Jesus (John 16:33, NIV)

Paul was thankful for the Thessalonians because of their solidarity with the other churches; and their willingness to suffer as Jesus did. What’s more, they did not try to reinvent the wheel, but affirmed the sound practices they saw in the original churches of Judea and imitated those good things.

This was not a matter of pragmatism, that is, just doing something that worked somewhere else and adopting it for yourself. Instead, Paul was talking about following the example of the first and earliest of churches. Those churches were made up of Jewish Christians who received a lot of persecution from their fellow Jews.

The Thessalonians, too, received grief and belligerence from the same sort of people, trying to bully them around and tell them what to do. But the believers held fast to the pattern of teaching and living they observed from both Paul and the churches who endured suffering in Judea.

It’s one thing to express belief. It’s quite another thing to suffer for those beliefs and experience persecution for them. God will handle the persecutors on Judgment Day, not us. It’s our job to remain faithful and persevere in the Christian life until that Day comes.

Glory and Joy in God’s Presence

For the Apostle Paul, glory and joy was not found in his great intellect and persuading many people, or his many accomplishments of planting churches and defending the faith. Paul’s highest joy was found in people coming to know Christ and living for Jesus.

His glory was in the hundreds of relationships established with people, and all the believers he mentored. In other words, Paul’s glory and joy was the real names and faces of people he encountered and gathered into the one Church, for whom Christ died and sacrificed himself.

It wasn’t even a thought in the Apostle’s big old head to gain glory for himself, or to pursue joy for it’s own sake. Rather, Paul discovered that real joy and glory comes in fulfilling the mission give to him by Christ:

To make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; teaching them to receive and accept God’s Word, to become imitators and sufferers with God, and to glory and joy in God’s presence.

Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks for all your goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all whom you have made.

We bless you for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all for your immeasurable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory.

And, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies, that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up ourselves to your service, and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days, through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen.

Remember… (1 Thessalonians 2:9-13)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
St. Paul writing to the Thessalonians, by Jan Lievens, c.1629

Surely you remember, brothers and sisters, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you. You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed. For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.

And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe. (New International Version)

The Christian believers in Thessalonica were becoming discouraged. The church sincerely believed that Jesus was coming soon… any day he could show up!

But as time went on, and Jesus was still nowhere to be seen…

the Thessalonians began losing their spiritual resolve…

started wondering if they had missed out on something…

began doubting if it was all real…

started slipping spiritually.

Missed expectations can be difficult to deal with. Maybe we have been praying for someone or something for so long that we wonder if it will really happen; or secretly question if something is wrong with us. Yet, maybe God simply wants us to wait… to be patient and to persevere… maybe the answer is closer than we think.

Since the church was becoming discouraged, the Apostle Paul reminisced with them. He wanted them to remember and not forget about what God had done in their lives. The Thessalonians desperately needed a faith for the long haul.

Remembering is a prominent theme in Scripture. Well over a hundred times we are told to remember:

  • God’s covenant and actions on behalf of people
  • Those less fortunate than us
  • Important people in our lives who influenced us in our journey of faith

In order to steel the church for a faith that lasts a lifetime, Paul reminded them of his own example, his own character, his ministry among them, and how they initially came to faith.

Remember my example among you

Paul was trying to inspire the believers with his own model of faithfulness, so that they would persevere in their Christian lives and not give up. He reminded them of his hard work in order to preach the gospel to them. The picture that Paul painted for them is having done whatever it took to make the good news of Jesus Christ known to the Thessalonians. 

Who were the people in your life that went out of their way to communicate the gospel to you both with words and with actions? 

Who were those persons who labored behind the scenes in prayer so that you and others would know Jesus? 

If any of those persons are still around, and you know where they are, remember them. Drop them a note. Express to them a simple thank you for their influence in your life. In doing so, you will not only encourage that person, but it will help you remember and re-engage with something in your life that you may have forgotten or taken for granted.

Remember my character with you

Paul was not shy about reminding the Thessalonians concerning the way in which he interacted with them. He did this not because he was trying to illicit some praise for himself, but because he wanted the church to emulate his character. 

That particular character is described as holy, righteous, and blameless. And we are to emulate Paul in these character qualities. These three words refer to the full range of relationships we encounter on a daily basis: with God, the church, and the community. 

Holiness in our relationship with God means that we have been set apart completely in Christ, so that we say and do nothing impure. 

Righteousness in our interactions with fellow believers in Jesus means we are in right relationship with them, so that there is nothing that hinders or stands between us. 

Blamelessness in our relations with the world means that the ways we live and work among outsiders are ethical and consistent with being a Christian.

Remember my ministry among you 

Paul described his ministry as one of encouraging, comforting, and urging the believers to live lives worthy of God. He expected the Thessalonians to live into their callings as believers in Jesus. 

Encouragement refers to the ministry of coming alongside others and telling them what they need to do both in teaching and by example. Comfort refers to consoling others with the gospel. The word “urge” in the NIV is the word for “witnessing” which is a reference to the reality that Paul was constantly living his life in such a way that proclaimed Jesus to others.

Remember what God has done for you 

The Thessalonians had received the Word of God; and this was an occasion to thank God for it. Each time we recall and remember what God has done for us through others and through God’s Word, we need to offer thanks. God’s Word is implanted within us, then takes root, grows, and produces a harvest of righteousness for those who have been disciplined by it.

We must remember those who brought us the Word of God; and to remember how they treated us, and what they did for us. Then, we must be obedient to what we learn. 

There are several needs we have as followers of Christ: 

  • intimate relationships in the church
  • to be mentored, and mentor others, in the faith
  • the power of God’s Word
  • our callings as Christians 

We forget these needs too easily – which is why repetition is a good thing. For example, each time we celebrate a baptism, it causes us to remember our own baptisms, and to live into our callings as Christians. Or when we move through the worship liturgy, we remember our sinfulness, God’s forgiveness, and our responsibility to live according to God’s Word. 

Our lives, our work, and our worship might seem plain and ordinary. However, the majority of life is lived in the mundane. The tangible reminders we can put in front of us are important, so that we never forget the spiritual experiences God has given us. (i.e. Deuteronomy 27:2-3)

We are meant to live our Christian lives in a vital connection with Christ and other believers. We will continue to persevere and thrive in the faith, when we remember those who have gone before us, and allow those here in the present to journey with us along this road of faith.

Blessed God, continue the good work begun in me; that increasing daily in wholeness and strength, I may rejoice in your goodness; and so order my life always to think and do that which pleases you, through Jesus Christ our Redeemer. Amen.