Thoughts going in, Sunday September 29th

1Tim 6:6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9 Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. 11 But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you 14 to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which God will bring about in his own time--God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen. 17 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19 In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.

            The old saying goes that the only two constants in life are "death and taxes." Certain passages of the Bible, however, call that limited list into question. Perhaps on second thought, one might very well add to that list... the ungodly pursuit and misuse of wealth. Granted, not everyone down through history has had such an opportunity. In times past, and sadly in some corners of the world still to this day people are born into a life of slavery that precludes such pursuits. But for anyone who has a shred of self-determinism, the ungodly pursuit of wealth is a valid temptation.

            Consider for instance, this passage from 1Timothy. We frequently view the first generation church as being made of humble stock. A wandering rabbi and his band of peasant followers comprised the group. Yet here we have this document, written as far as anyone can tell by the Apostle Paul shortly before his demise....a mere thirty some years after the crucifixion of Jesus, and it would appear that not only do Jesus' words about the love of money being the root of evil need repeating, but there are even "rich" people within the movement itself (vs 18). That alone makes this an interesting passage from a historical-cultural perspective.

            This passage boils down to an excellent counter-cultural corrective to a mindset that we see often enough in our own day, but turns out was just as prevalent in Paul/Timothy's day... that being, "get all you can, and can all you get." It's a passage about ECONOMICS and FUTURE-RETIREMENT. How much more relevant can it get??

            ECONOMICS:  Beginning here, economics is all about decision-making. Put a monkey in a room full of bananas and he can only grab 2 at a time... in spite of how many he's like to grab. We have to make these sorts of decisions...every day. We only have so much time; we only have so many resources. Turns out, Paul is saying this is true in the larger spiritual perspective as well. We can pour all of our efforts into the pursuit of wealth--and will, to some measure, have success. But the problem with that is that in so doing, we'll have chosen the pursuit of wealth over things that ultimately are more valuable (righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness, vs 11). Here the writer is paraphrasing Jesus: you can't serve both God and money (Luke 16:13). Why not? Well, because there's a moral imperative against it... serving money would make it "a god" which breaks the very first commandment. But there's also an existential reality that says it simply won't work. If money is our god, there simply won't be time for the true things of God; it simply won't work; you won't have time for God if you're life is driven by money.

            FUTURE-RETIREMENT--this is a perspective that's obviously on the minds of a lot of people. Will I have enough? That's the question we're all being encouraged to ask ourselves by investment brokerages. In simple mathematical terms, the answer to this question is all about how much TIME we're talking about. If you're going to retire at 65 and only live one more year, that's an entirely different scenario than if you retire at 65 and live another 30 years. But what if you're going to live for ETERNITY? Then how much will you need? That's the point of vss 17-19. We can hold tight to every nickel that comes our way in this life and perhaps have enough to fill a 70yr... 80yr... or even 90yr span. But what about after that? What about LONG after that? Again the author appears to be echoing/paraphrasing Jesus about laying up for ourselves treasure that does not corrupt (Matthew 6:20).

            Whenever I read passages like this in the Bible, I always think of Gollum from the Lord of the Rings. Whenever his eyes were fixed on the ring... his precious... he was transfixed. He was in a daze; he was under its spell; he served IT. This passage is a warning for Christians that money is one of the few things that has that sort of power. When it is our precious; when we are transfixed by it; when we are dazed by it, under its spell and serving it, we are living very narrow, emaciated, petty, limited lives. Our call is to have ONE and only ONE precious... the Son of God who shed his blood on the cross that we might be liberated from such bondage and live lives that are open, outward gazing, others-embracing, God-pleasing, and eternally relevant.

Cheers,

TM

Thoughts going in, Sunday Sept 22

1Timothy 2:1 I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone-- 2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and human beings, Christ Jesus, himself human, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time. 7 And for this purpose I was appointed a herald and an apostle--I am telling the truth, I am not lying--and a true and faithful teacher of the Gentiles.

            Of all of the things that we do when we come to worship... sing hymns, respond in the liturgy, listen to a sermon, receive God's good gifts in the sacraments, it would seem that Paul ranks congregational prayer among all other activities. The phrase first of all as found in vs 1 comes to us from the Greek word "proton;" which means of first value; highest importance.  A new testament era scholar such as Richard Bauckham would probably say that this is due to the early Christian ethos of defining itself--the Church--as the new "Temple of God." Remember Jesus said in Matthew 21, regarding the Temple, "My house is to be a house of PRAYER, but you have turned it into a den of thieves." Prayer.... and the act of coming together in prayer is to be a chief characteristic of God's people on earth.

            In this brief passage St. Paul unpacks that idea in two important ways. Way #1 has to do with the various nuances of prayer. For most of us prayer is a mystery. How do we do it, or more importantly, how do we do it well? But also, WHY do we do it? If God knows what's in our heart at every moment of the day, why is it important that we verbalize this in prayer? Paul begins to get at some of this when in verse 1 he uses four distinct words:  PETITIONS; PRAYERS; INTERCESSIONS; and THANKSGIVING. Going through them one at a time, PETITION (deesis, Gk) means to entreat; to address a perceived need; to ask. When Christians attempt to pray, it is almost always in the form of a petition: "Dear God, please help me buy a new car; give me good weather today so I can mow the lawn; and help me have a good day at work. Amen." PRAYERS (proseuche, Gk) in the Biblical sense harks to the synagogue liturgy with set prayers for morning or evening, etc. etc. These would be the "proper liturgical prayers" of the day for this time of year, this day of the week, etc. These give us the outline and structure whereby the rest fits in. It can be safely assumed that the Lord's Prayer would feature regularly in the Christianized Prayers of Paul's house churches. INTERCESSIONS (enteuksis, Gk) literally means a "falling in with;" a "meeting/coming together." In our modern language we often talk about how someone "went to bat" for that person. That's intercession. When we hold up a specific individual at the point of their need to God, we're engaged in intercessory prayer. The specific uniqueness about intercessory prayer is that it is on behalf of ANOTHER. Finally, THANKSGIVING (eucharistia, Gk). This is the same Greek word that we get our word [holy] Eucharist from. In its general sense it means that when we pray we thank God for his many benefits and blessings that he showers upon us.

            The second way that Paul unpacks the role of prayer in congregational life is to tell us WHO we should pray for. He does this in vs 2: for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. What's fascinating to consider in this verse is the question of WHO the 'kings' are, and WHO all is in authority. The maniacal emperor Nero is on the throne; persecution of Christians in Rome has begun. Not many years ago a radio preacher in Arizona received his 15 minutes of fame when he prayed that President Obama would die. For all I know there may have been similar 'prayers' offered up regarding George W Bush by Christians of opposite political views. Such 'prayers' are not biblical; they are not Christian; they are not God-pleasing. They are a TRAVESTY to our calling. The goal is that we as believers be allowed to live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is not accomplished when we pray for the destruction of our enemies. One of the earliest church fathers, Justin Martyr, argued that the empire should not be afraid to have Christians in its midst; that indeed, such a fact was a blessing for any land and empire, as Christians would be regularly engaged in the pursuit of praying for their government to the one true God.

            In this sense, the idea is that of a CALLING. As believers we are CALLED to intercede for our nation and government in our prayers. This isn't something just the pastors do; it's not something that the really spiritual grandmothers of the congregation do; it's something that we're all supposed to do. It doesn't mean that you have to like our president or even agree with all of his decisions (to say nothing of our Congress!). It does mean, however, that this godly pursuit is above petty politics.

            For me, I think this boils down to questions about "making a difference." So many people feel disenfranchised; so many people feel as though their vote doesn't count, so why bother, etc. Here we have a passage in God's holy word that assures us that regardless of who is "in power" down here....whether Nero, Obama, or even Hafez Al Assad in Syria, Christians have an important calling to answer.

Cheers,

TM

Thoughts going in, Sunday Sept. 15th

12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service. 13 Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. 14 The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--of whom I am the worst. 16 But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. 17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

           

             Beginning this week the lectionary spends some time in the letters of 1 & 2 Timothy—so named as these documents are traditionally attributed to St. Paul as letters of instruction from him to his protégé. As I’ve begun mulling over the passage, the two verses that I find most fascinating are vss 13 and 15.

            Starting with vs 13: Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. I’m fascinated by the fact that Paul would choose to use the word “blasphemer” to describe himself in his former way of life. At its root, to blaspheme simply means to slander; to accuse wrongfully; abusive or disparaging language/remarks. Yet while that may be the basic understanding of the word, in the Scriptures it is almost always theologically freighted. In other words, heathens or unbelievers blaspheme God when they choose to worship idols instead of him. Pious Jews considered the unbelieving Gentile world to be automatically blasphemous because of their ignorant and superstitious ways. The first three commandments are all meant to build a hedge against blasphemy. Jesus was accused of blasphemy when he stated his relationship with God in terms that denoted too much closeness (“I and the Father are one,” etc. John chapter 10).

            The point is that as the world’s most zealous Pharisee, Paul (formerly Saul) would’ve been well acquainted with the word “blasphemer.” It would’ve been on his lips, no doubt, every time he arrested a Christian (see Acts 9). And so for him, in this passage, to turn around and now apply it to himself in his former life—I find it fascinating. I think that one of the main things we can take from this is that a person can be an incredibly moral person… an incredibly eager-to-serve God person… an incredibly zealous person, and at the end of the day, still be a BLASPHEMER. Think of all of the great evil done in the name of Christ: abortion clinics bombed, their doctors stalked and in some cases even murdered; Gays and their families who have been persecuted by pious believers. And in times past, and even today in some places, people of color discriminated against and targeted by fine upstanding Christians. Closer to home, I can think of many broken relationships that occurred because a Christian person couldn’t tolerate the other person’s unbelief or different belief: the father who will no longer speak to his daughter because she is Buddhist. Parents who’ve disowned a son because he married a Jew or a Jehovah’s Witness. Christians who hate their neighbors because they’re Mormon. The list is endless. This passage challenges us to see our ACTIONS in the light of what we SAY WE BELIEVE about Jesus. For a Christian to treat any one else with contempt amounts to slandering Christ and his sacrifice on the cross on their behalf. It’s blasphemy.

            The other verse that caught my attention is vs 15: Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--of whom I am the worst. “Worst,” as the word is rendered in the TNIV translation is actually somewhat of an interpolation. The old KJV translations words it this way: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am CHIEF. This is, of course, where we get the great old Lutheran hymn “Chief of sinners though I be.” In that sense, the KJV actually comes a bit closer to the original meaning in the Greek, where the word used is “proto”… which means first in line, or first in rank. In other words, Paul is saying he’s the highest ranking SINNER….and shockingly, after just discussing his past, he uses the present tense!

            I’m not sure why. Obviously Paul the apostle was not currently engaged in anything heinous. He had not committed murder (lately); he was not an adulterer; he hadn’t stolen or defrauded anyone. And even his past deeds were now in the past and duly repented of. It’s interesting that he still describes himself in such terms….not only a sinner, but the proto-sinner. In a lot of ways I think this is Paul’s way of recognizing the grace that has been given him in Christ. It’s his way of acknowledging his total and utter emptiness without Christ. Paul seems to be saying Christ Jesus came into the world not to save the really good people… he came not to save the people who have a couple of flaws…he came to save ALL, up to and including even a proto-sinner like himself. Luther’s “sin boldly” statement is along the same lines: “be a sinner and sin boldly, but let your faith in Christ be even more boldly.” The point isn’t about licentious living, it’s about the power of Christ to forgive and save.

            In the end, of course, we’ll never “need” or feel the need for a Savior unless we can look deeply inside and see ourselves in similar terms. What about you would make you the proto-sinner? Christ Jesus came into the world to save you from that!

Cheers,

TM

            

Thoughts going in, Sunday September 8th

25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 "If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters--yes, even life itself--such a person cannot be my disciple. 27 And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. 28 "Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won't you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? 29 For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, 30 saying, 'This person began to build and wasn't able to finish.' 31 "Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won't he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33 In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.

So, ok… this is a difficult text. There are a couple of things making it difficult. The first is the immediate context. The flow of Chapter 14 of Luke’s Gospel is that Jesus is on his journey to Jerusalem to suffer and die for the sins of the world. Commentators tend to call that entire portion of the gospel “the travel narrative.” The travel narrative can be seen as a metaphor for the Christian life. We too are journeying with Jesus; it’s a journey of faith; it’s a journey of growth in understanding; it’s a journey that may entail suffering or loss due to the demands of the faith; it’s a journey that will end in our death (we all die), but like our Savior, death will not have the last word over us. Ok, fine.

Looking more closely at chapter 14 itself, it begins with last week’s gospel reading about dinner at the Pharisee’s house where Jesus says don’t invite people who can reciprocate, rather, invite the poor, lame, and hopeless, etc. In the next section (vss 15-24) he tells the parable about the unworthy citizens who were invited to a banquet and didn’t show up. Vss 21- 23 are the climax of that parable: 21 "The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.' 22 " 'Sir,' the servant said, 'what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.' 23 "Then the master told his servant, 'Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full.

So, timeout. An invitation was extended but refused. (many see this as Israel’s rejection of their own Messiah). So, the invitation is expanded so that my house will be full (vs 23). But now picking up with this week’s narrative, we see large crowds traveling with Jesus (vs 25). Is not vs 25 a fulfilling of the desire mentioned in vs 23? Isn’t the house well on the way to being full? Yet, Jesus turns around and immediately (seemingly) says things intended to drive people away.

Another difficulty has to do with theology. Our hymns talk about “God’s free grace and favor.” St. Paul talks about salvation being “the *gift of God,” (Eph 2). Yet, the free-grace-gift that Jesus talks about seems to cost quite a lot. If forced into a corner, we must choose him over family, self (up to and including our own life), and everything else! Is this some sort of used car sales ‘bait & switch’ tactic? Come get the free gift of salvation, all it costs is everything?

As I ponder all of this, to me it boils down to a matter of perspective. If you’re the sort of person who sees ALL ‘requirements’ as LAW/RULES or an infringement on your personal liberty, then Christianity in general, and Jesus specifically, will always seem to be talking out of both sides of their mouths.

But there IS such a thing as “gospel requirements.” Imagine driving down I-290. There’s a million other people out there with you and you’re all doing 80+mph. We do this all of the time—so much so that it’s easy to forget the immense danger that’s always seconds away. Yet, while out there, if we should doze off and drift just a matter of a couple feet in one direction, it could mean DEATH. OR, if we should doze off and drift just a matter of feet in the other direction, that too could mean DEATH. We **MUST** therefore, stay on course. Is that a RULE? Is that LAW? Does that mean that the ‘free’ invitation to come and travel along I-290 is a phony invitation? Should we become indignant and say, “Aha! I knew there was a catch! You call this a “free-way,” but turns out it’s not so free after all! I have to stay in my lane or I might get killed. What a sham! What a false offer!”

Gospel requirements are all over the place—both in life and in the Christian faith. Jesus is life. I am the way, the truth and THE LIFE, he once said. What that means is that in order to stay on course with him and the ultimate life he offers, we may have to choose: steer toward him and away from family; steer toward him and away from our own selfish ambitions; steer toward him, and away from everything else that would distract us from him and the ultimate life he represents.

Cheers,

TM