Tag: gospel

Justice for All (Matthew 12:15-21)

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

When Jesus became aware of this [a plot to kill him] he departed. Many followed him, and he cured all of them, and he ordered them not to make him known. This was to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah:

“Here is my servant, whom I have chosen,
    my beloved, with whom my soul is well pleased.
I will put my Spirit upon him,
    and he will proclaim justice to the gentiles.
He will not wrangle or cry aloud,
    nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets.
He will not break a bruised reed
    or quench a smoldering wick
until he brings justice to victory.
    And in his name the gentiles will hope.” (New Revised Standard Version)

Saying the words, “I love you” is important. And it’s also significant how we say it. If our tone of voice is monotone and our affect flat, then the incongruence between the words and the manner in which they are said will leave our love unrequited. If, however, our tone is soothing and excited and our face beaming as if starstruck, then the love expressed will likely be received, and stick.

Christians have a message of love to the world. It’s a message of Jesus Christ and his love for humanity. Both the content of our message and the way we communicate it are vitally significant.

For if the words we don’t match our tone of voice and affect, then love is not what we convey. Yet, if we have been profoundly and meaningfully touched by the love of God in Christ, then that love will not be constrained; it shall find a way to express itself with appropriate mannerisms.

The way in which Christ proclaimed his message, testified that he was, indeed, the promised Savior and the rightful Ruler for God’s world.

The message of Jesus was proclaiming justice to the nations. The disciple Matthew used a quote from the prophet Isaiah to explain the reason why Jesus withdrew, and told people not to make him known. This was a curious act for a Messiah, to say the least. 

After all, we might believe Jesus should loudly proclaim who he is and what he is doing. Human ingenuity might say he ought to be advancing, not retreating – getting his name out with some notoriety in a slick marketing message so that people will come running into the kingdom of God! 

But Jesus goes a different direction. Matthew (quoting the prophet Isaiah) made it clear who Jesus is and what he is all about. Jesus is God’s servant. Jesus is God’s beloved Son with whom he is well-pleased. The Holy Spirit came on him in his baptism. Jesus became a teacher of justice to the nations, that is, to gentiles, to all kinds of people – even the ones we do not like. 

I personally find it strange that some Christian folk think justice is something which is not part of the Gospel, as if it were nice, but optional. They might believe it’s important to engage in some sort of social justice toward the downtrodden, but want to put it on a secondary shelf. Speaking the message is primary to them, as if we could or should separate the message from the messenger.

Yet, we can no more divide the good news of forgiveness in Christ from social justice any more than we can neatly separate the cross and resurrection. All of it is redeeming work; it all goes together.

In the kingdom of God, all things and all people are to be redeemed and come under the Lordship of Christ. And the practice of justice is central to making redemption a reality for humanity.

He has told you, O mortal, what is good,
    and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice and to love kindness
    and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8, NRSV)

Mercy and justice go together like corn on the cob and butter, and like pork ribs with barbeque sauce (I’m from Iowa, after all!). Kindness and mercy refers to God’s unconditional grace and compassion. Justice treats all people with equity, without any favoritism.

Biblical justice is not primarily punishment for wrongdoing; it gives people their rights – and this concept is overwhelmingly taught in Holy Scripture – over 200 times in the Old Testament alone. Jesus Christ’s back to the Bible movement rightly emphasized justice.

God loves and defends the weak, the poor, and the powerless:

He gives justice to the oppressed
    and food to the hungry.
The Lord frees the prisoners.
    The Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
The Lord lifts up those who are weighed down.
    The Lord loves the godly.
The Lord protects the foreigners among us.
    He cares for the orphans and widows,
    but he frustrates the plans of the wicked. (Psalm 146:7-9, NLT)

We, as God’s people, are to share the Lord’s passion for justice:

Speak out on behalf of the voiceless,
    and for the rights of all who are vulnerable. (Proverbs 31:8, CEB)

“Cursed is anyone who obstructs the legal rights of immigrants, orphans, or widows.” All the people will reply: “We agree!” (Deuteronomy 27:19, CEB)

Since believers are justified by faith in Christ, we bring justice to our communities, in both word and deed, by advocating for the least, the lost, the last, and anyone else without social or economic power in this world.

We are to use our voice for both us and for those who have no voice. The voice of justice is the voice of action.  To be concerned for the justice of God is to actively work for God’s rule and reign to enter every inch of this world, to penetrate every nook and cranny of our homes, neighborhoods, and schools. 

“If you are a Christian, and you refrain from committing adultery or using profanity or missing church, but you don’t do the hard work of thinking through how to do justice in every area of your life – you are failing to live justly and righteously” Tim Keller, Generous Justice

The Christian life is much more than avoiding sin; it’s about actively pursuing God’s will through words and acts of justice on behalf of the needy. Jesus came to this earth to proclaim justice, and, as his followers, he expects us to do it, too. For this to happen, we must overcome our prejudices toward anybody unlike us so that we will stand with the weak, the poor, the oppressed, the lowly, and the pained, all around us.

The probing question for all of us is: Am I able to see the image of God in someone different from me?

Jesus did. Christ will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear his voice. That is, Jesus is gentle, humble, and meek. He did not look for dramatic confrontations with others, but instead went quietly about his Father’s business. 

Jesus was no bullhorn guy, loudly proclaiming his message on a street corner. Instead he interacted with and ministered to the lowliest people of society who had no power and nothing to give in return. Jesus did everything to connect with them, and not to avoid them.

Along the Jordan River in Israel, reeds grew by the millions, in Christ’s day. They had little value because there were so many of them. Reeds were used to make baskets, pens, flutes, and a variety of other things. A perfect reed is fragile, and a bruised one is useless. 

The reference that God’s servant will not break a bruised reed, means that Jesus will treat the weak with sensitivity. A smoldering wick is also not worth much; if it’s damaged, you just get another one. A contemporary example might be a paper clip; it’s not worth much to us, and a damaged one we simply discard and use another. 

The point is: Jesus handles hurting people with care. Society’s poor, disadvantaged, and struggling will not be callously overlooked and tossed aside by Jesus.

Jesus Christ discovered his own island of misfit toys. He then demonstrated to the world that are a needed part of society. Small wonder, then, that droves of the lowliest people throughout history have come to Jesus, placing their hope in him.

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin.  Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:15-16, NIV)

Our help is in the name of Lord who made heaven and earth. May you find Christ, God’s servant, as your anchor and hope in the world. Amen.

Not Ashamed (2 Timothy 1:8-12)

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

So never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord. And don’t be ashamed of me, either, even though I’m in prison for him. With the strength God gives you, be ready to suffer with me for the sake of the Good News. 

For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time—to show us his grace through Christ Jesus. 

And now he has made all of this plain to us by the appearing of Christ Jesus, our Savior. He broke the power of death and illuminated the way to life and immortality through the Good News. And God chose me to be a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of this Good News.

That is why I am suffering here in prison. But I am not ashamed of it, for I know the one in whom I trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until the day of his return. (New Living Translation)

Guilt and Shame

Shame is a nasty feeling. Whereas guilt is a function of the conscience, and helps steer us toward making things right with others, shame lays an unnecessary heavy burden on the soul. Guilt says that I did or said something that wasn’t good. But shame says we did or said something because I am a failure.

The Apostle Paul insisted to his young protégé, Timothy, that there’s no basis for shame when it comes to proclamation of the gospel. In fact, the Good News confronts shame by putting a wooden stake through its heart.

Shame is a vampire that lives in the shadows and feeds on secrets. But the light of the Gospel penetrates life, disintegrating shame and putting it to death.

God’s word is alive and powerful! It is sharper than any double-edged sword. God’s word can cut through our spirits and souls and through our joints and marrow, until it discovers the desires and thoughts of our hearts. Nothing is hidden from God! He sees through everything, and we will have to tell him the truth. (Hebrews 4:12-13, CEV)

Not a Failure

From a particular perspective, Paul would seem like a failure to many. He was an up and coming star in Judaic circles, but gave it all up to follow Jesus. And then, his life was marked by continual hardship, even persecution. To top it off, he landed in prison. Ironically, Paul found himself in a bad place just for being a preacher of good. He never left his imprisonment, and was eventually killed.

Yet Paul had no shame about any of it. Rather, he embraced the suffering, the difficulty, and all the circumstances that went sideways. Why? Because he had complete faith in who he was serving and what he was doing.

A lot of people, especially church pastors, struggle with shame. Most of them don’t have “successful” ministries when looked at from a certain angle. They see themselves as failures, and end up leaving the ministry and never going back.

Our strength and our help, however, no matter whether we’re clergy or laity, is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth; our assistance is found in the Good News we proclaim, in Jesus Christ, who himself was not ashamed of being tortured and killed.

Let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:1-3, NLT)

No More Shame

Christ has defanged the vampire of shame. And because of the work achieved on the Cross, we can now live in confidence, knowing who we believe, and trusting that the shame-busting Good News of grace will have it’s penetrating way in the world.

Salvation entails being delivered from something so that we can live for something else. We have been saved from the terrible grip of shame – which then allows us to live a vulnerable and confident faith in Jesus through the power of the Spirit.

Deliverance from shame enables us to respond to our holy calling from God.

For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. (Ephesians 1:4, NIV)

God chose us to be holy. He does not want us to live in sin. (1 Thessalonians 4:7, ERV)

“Salvation” is a wonderful word which needs to be reclaimed as so much more than going to heaven someday. In reality, it is the divine purpose by which God makes us just, right, and holy, forgiving our offenses and transforming us by the Spirit into the image of Christ.

Christ, in his incarnation, life, ministry, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension has redeemed us. Jesus has torn down every wall, removed each barrier, and built bridges in connecting us to a life without shame and with everything we need to live well.

Christians embody the life of Christ within them by living a holy life, free of the weight of shame, and boldly proclaiming a message of grace, forgiveness, and freedom from the dark secrets we all carry.

This isn’t merely an ethereal gospel; it is Good News of great joy that has real impact for the nitty-gritty of our everyday lives.

O God, the author of peace and lover of harmony, to know you is eternal life and to serve you is deliverance and freedom: Defend us, your humble servants, in all assaults of our enemies; that we, surely trusting in your defense, may not fear the power of any adversaries, through the might of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Bored To Death (Acts 20:7-12)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Exploring Church Ministry Blog, Year A2 Comments

On Sunday we met to break bread. Paul was discussing Scripture with the people. Since he intended to leave the next day, he kept talking until midnight. (Many lamps were lit in the upstairs room where we were meeting.)

A young man named Eutychus was sitting in a window. As Paul was talking on and on, Eutychus was gradually falling asleep. Finally, overcome by sleep, he fell from the third story and was dead when they picked him up. Paul went to him, took him into his arms, and said, “Don’t worry! He’s alive!” Then Eutychus went upstairs again, broke the bread, and ate. Paul talked with the people for a long time, until sunrise, and then left.

The people took the boy home. They were greatly relieved that he was alive. (God’s Word Translation)

I’m bored

When I was a kid, the church worship service on Sunday was the longest hour of my week. I wanted to play in the pew, but my mom wouldn’t let me. I asked to go the bathroom, but my dad wasn’t having it. I tried to draw in the hymnal, but my sister always took everything around me ought of sight. My only relief was to sleep and drool on whatever I could lay my head on.

I’ve come a long way since then. But my experience taught me something. God isn’t boring, so I’m not going to be boring, either. Maybe I could have taught the Apostle Paul a thing or two.

In our New Testament lesson for today, the lateness of the hour (past midnight) and the ambiance of the room (all those burning oil lamps, presumably to keep people awake without any coffee) clues a church-going person immediately that something bad is about to go down. A long-winded preacher only serves to make for a combustible situation.

Uh-oh

In all fairness to Paul, if the congregants were bored out of their minds, the text doesn’t tell us. My guess is that the author, Luke, doesn’t want to go there. Yet, we have evidence of a bored person in the form of none other than a young person, a kid named Eutychus.  

He’s over by the open window, propped up on the ledge, and can’t keep his eyes open. Heck, for all we know, everyone was starting to doze off. And, as every preacher has experienced, as somebody slips into sleep, we just talk even longer.

The young man’s precipitous position leads to disaster: he falls out the third floor window. And, as one might expect, he fell to his death. Now, instead of some slap-stick comedic set up, we have a genuine tragedy: a young person literally bored to death by preaching.

The Apostle Paul raises Eutychus to life, by Gerard Hoet, 1728

All of a sudden, the story is no laughing matter. So, what might we learn from the preacher who bored Eutychus to death?

He finally stops preaching

The sermon is interrupted (as it turns out, of course, only momentarily) in order to attend to the tragedy. Sometimes, the sermon has to stop. Everything has to stop. We have to take a good, hard look at what’s going on. There are questions to ask, things to notice, conversations to begin. We have to get particular about where we are, and what we’re doing, before we can keep going with anything.

Maybe, just maybe, if Eutychus was part of the communion service, he wouldn’t have been on the margins and at risk of falling. As for many churches today, it could be there’s no young people around because they all fell out the window. Never underestimate the power of participation. Most youth just need to be asked to help out. But most adults don’t ask. And most kids aren’t going to volunteer.

He threw himself on him

Paul went down to Eutychus, and bending over him, took him in his arms in an emotional embrace – similar to what the father did when the prodigal son came home. (Luke 15:11-32)

In both cases – the prodigal son and Eutychus – they each needed a new life. The prodigal fell asleep to who he was, in a living death, and woke to his condition and went home. Eutychus literally fell asleep to an actual death and was woke to a resurrected life – returning back to the congregation (and even more preaching! *sheesh* leave it alone, Paul).

Each was found. Each had someone care about them by throwing their arms around them and giving them new life. That’s what grace is. Grace is giving the gift of seeing another person and embracing them – no matter whether they’re worthy of it, or not.

He’s alive

“He’s alive” is a statement of fact, of reality. It puts all the attention on what is true, right now, in this moment – and deflects attention away from who’s around the living person. In other words, Paul doesn’t take credit for Eutychus coming to life or restoring breath to him.

Implicitly, we know where the power comes from to raise Eutychus to life. It doesn’t come from the preacher. However, there is an important task that every preacher can do: witness a new life and bring the announcement of that life to the community. Preaching can (and ought to) bear witness to the activity of God in raising the dead and granting life.

The preacher can encourage the congregation to celebrate life around the Lord’s Table, notice the people on the margins of the community, and stay awake to the possibilities of what God can do amongst us.

Turns out, neither the length of a sermon nor the level of boredom is the issue. What’s most important is proclaming the gospel of grace in word and sacrament. And that’s something we all can participate in together and celebrate.

God of life, may we learn how to live from the mercy which was brought to us through the mission of your Son – whose saving love extends to every person, whose presence reaches into every place, Jesus Christ, who makes all things new, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

A Call for Unity (1 Corinthians 10:1-4)

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

For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. (New International Version)

We are all on spaceship earth together. Everyone has the similar experiences of birth, life, death, and the joys and sorrows of it all.

But what we don’t all share is our individual responses to all those events. Some folks do better than others with the ups and downs of life in this world.

So there are two pledges that are most helpful to make to God and to each other, especially when it comes to Christ’s Church:

  1. I will be a unifying person.
  2. I will not make everything about my personal preferences.

Christians need to get along and work together; and that cannot happen if all we want is what we want. 

“Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.” Jesus (John 13:34-35, NIV) 

Unity, forgiveness, reconciliation, love, and communicating the gospel message of forgiveness happens by people being gracious to each other so that a watching world can see the validity of Christ within us.

Followers of Jesus have a responsibility to be a source of unity, not division. 

Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (Ephesians 4:3-6, NIV) 

Unity doesn’t merely happen; it must be pursued and be a common value of all. 

As God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. (Colossians 3:12-14, NIV) 

We are to be like-minded, having the same love for one another that we have for Jesus, being united in spirit and purpose. 

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. (Philippians 2:3-4, NIV) 

The specific problem in the Corinthian Church was their allegiance to different individuals; each person and clique had their favorite preacher. And they grouped themselves around how that particular pastor taught and ministered. 

The situation was a classic case of church folk saying to each other, “That’s not how so-and-so did it!” But that approach of following pet preachers ends up in division – the focus becomes on the methods of ministry rather than the substance of the ministry itself. 

Christians must keep in mind that the heart of all Christian ministry is the cross of Christ that saves us from our pettiness and transforms us into forgiven people who spread forgiveness and healing. Therefore, our primary loyalty is to Christ and the message of the cross, and not to particular personalities or programs.

The sin of the Corinthians was misguided loyalties; and the answer to wrong priorities is to have Jesus and the cross as our central and guiding allegiance. 

The Corinthian believers were emotionally tied to the leader who baptized them and who was a significant force for good in their lives. Its more than understandable to have a special relationship with someone who was there for you. However, what’s not okay is following that person as if they’re Jesus himself, and then insisting that everything be done the way my favorite does it. 

Christian unity means to agree with one another about the good news of Christ, and let everything else be a matter of lesser importance. Can you live with that?

A sobering reality is this: Not everyone in every church is there to follow Jesus. And as long as that’s a reality, there will be schisms, factions, cliques, divisions and disunity. The visible church always has a mix of righteous and unrighteous people within it, concerned more about power politics than humbly following Jesus and spreading the gospel. 

At the same time, yet another reality is that the church has taken unity and purity seriously throughout its history and sought to preserve the collective integrity of its fellowship. Sin was discerned as the community’s responsibility to address. It’s only been in the past 300 years that sin has been viewed as something which is only a matter between the individual and God. 

In the early centuries of the Church, believers desiring to repent of their sins would typically spend a period of time fasting and praying, then appearing before the entire church to make a public confession. 

Don’t freak out. I’m not necessarily endorsing that method for us, but nevertheless, the message remains essential: Agree with one another, make peace, and bring spiritual healing to all. The power of Christianity is in the blood of Jesus to forgive sins, and not by trying to ensure things get done, the way we think they ought to get done, in the way our favorite people do them.

Maybe you recognize or can relate to some of these common behavior patterns in many churches:

  1. Worship wars. One or more factions in the church want the music and the liturgy just the way they like it. Any deviation is met with anger and complaining.
  2. Preservation of the church building as of the highest priority (above spiritual growth and maturity).
  3. Protection of programs and ministries held in such high regard that, even if they are not effective, the church keeps doing them.
  4. Attitudes of entitlement. A sense of deserving special treatment and attention.
  5. Concerns about changing things, and yet, no real concern about changing lives.
  6. Apathy and avarice. A lack of motivation and energy to build relationships with outsiders and share the gospel; and hoarding spiritual resources for the insiders.

There is to be unity around the things most important to God. 

Christian unity isn’t about keeping everyone happy; it’s about the good news of Jesus and being anchored to the Rock of our salvation, Christ. All the practical and important stuff of human life must be shaped and governed by the cross of Jesus, because that’s where God’s power saved the world, and where hope is found. 

Lord Jesus, you prayed that we might all be one. We pray for the unity of Christians everywhere, according to your will and your methods. May your Spirit enable us to experience the suffering caused by division, to see our sin for what it is, and to hope beyond all hope. Amen.