Thoughts going in, Sunday April 14th

John 21:1 Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way: 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus ), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. 3 "I'm going out to fish," Simon Peter told them, and they said, "We'll go with you." So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. 4 Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. 5 He called out to them, "Friends, haven't you any fish?" "No," they answered. 6 He said, "Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some." When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. 7 Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, "It is the Lord," he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. 8 The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards. 9 When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread. 10 Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish you have just caught." 11 Simon Peter climbed aboard and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. 12 Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast." None of the disciples dared ask him, "Who are you?" They knew it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. 14 This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead. 15 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?" "Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my lambs." 16 Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep." 17 The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my sheep. 18 Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go." 19 Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, "Follow me!"

            The major focus of this week's gospel reading is RECONCILIATION; RE-COMMISSIONING; and RESTORATION. In last week's gospel reading we saw Jesus reach out personally to the Apostle Thomas. We also saw Jesus commission the entire group to now 'run with the ball,' so to speak. Jesus said in 20:21:  "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." Yet, here at the start of chapter 21, what does Peter say? I'm going fishing (vs 3). What about being sent? What about receiving the Spirit? What about taking the handoff that Jesus had given them in the previous chapter and doing something about it? It seems that Peter was still haunted by the fact that he had publicly denied the Lord 3 times (Jn chp. 18).... and this haunting was an impediment to getting on with his calling. We can, I'm sure, all put ourselves in Peter's shoes. Sure, Christ calls the big group of Christians to mission and ministry; sure He calls the big group of Christians to testify regarding the faith, etc. etc., but He can't possibly want **me for that... I'm a failure. I've never been much of a Christian; there's no place for me on that team.

            And so what we have in John 21 is a wonderful story of restoration in the life of Peter. What makes this a GREAT Easter, post-baptism story is that ALL CHRISTIANS need to know that restoration is possible. Just because we're baptized doesn't mean we'll never let the Lord down. Peter's denial-dna flows freely in all of our veins.

            Notice now Christ's approach. I'm very touched that when Jesus is talking to Peter he never brings up the past. He never asks Peter if he's sorry for denying him. I also find it fascinating that Jesus never attempts to elicit a promise of future faithfulness from Peter. He never says, "now Peter, promise me this will NEVER happen again." Everything Jesus says is in the PRESENT. DO YOU LOVE ME NOW? Feed my sheep. Like Peter, we all can be assured that salvation means our past is forgotten, our future is wrapped up in Christ, and what really matters is.... DO WE LOVE HIM NOW?

Cheers,

TM

Thoughts going in, Sunday April 7th

John 20:19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." 20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you." 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld." 24 Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe." 26 Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." 27 Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe." 28 Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" 29 Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." 30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

            This is a fairly well known passage from John's gospel... at least some of the details of this passage are well known. Everyone, for instance, knows that Thomas is "doubting Thomas"... and this is the passage where Thomas earns his infamous nickname. Ironically, this is not the first time someone has had their doubts about Jesus. After all, Nathan wondered if anything "good could come from Nazareth" when he first heard of Jesus (Jn 1:46); and there are other stories of the disciples doubting at various times.

           For me the true meaning of this story is hooked to vss 25 and 27 where Thomas says: I will never believe (v25) and Jesus says: Do not disbelieve, but believe (v27). In other words, Thomas wasn't "Doubting Thomas" in this story, he was "UNBELIEVING Thomas".... and there's a difference between the two. Doubt is not the opposite of faith. Doubt is what occupies the space that occurs when one has less than perfect faith. In the Greek the word is 'distadzo.' It means to waiver. Peter waivered in Matthew 14 when he was walking on the water. When Jesus saves him he asks the question, why did you doubt/waiver (v31)? The point is that all of us waiver from time to time... it's a natural part of who we are as we try to live spiritually centered lives in a world full of distractions.

            In John 20 Thomas isn't doubting, however, he is unbelieving (a-pistos in the Greek). Whatever faith Thomas had had was lost. I'm fascinated by this and with his stubborn refusal to take the other disciples’ testimony at face value.  Imagine that group dynamic for the next 8 days; all of them had had a shared experience but for Thomas. All of them believed the Lord had risen from the dead except for Thomas. All of them had faith except for Thomas. Yet there's nothing from within the story to indicate that the group treated Thomas as a 2nd class citizen or that he was in any way no longer welcome in their midst. They seemed to be giving him his space, and giving God time to work in his life.

           Of course this all ended very neatly for Thomas. 8 days later Jesus visited the group again and this time Thomas was there and had his faith restored. And in the process Jesus echoes words that will soon come to apply to all believers: Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed (v29). Thomas himself will be placed in the odd position of having to tell people... "you just have to take my word for it. I was unbelieving once, but the risen Savior appeared to me."

            The Sundays of Easter all have a common theme. Imagine a pamphlet entitled, "So, now that you're baptized..." and you sorta get the point. The Sundays of Easter all, in their way, explore the new life of faith following baptism or the renewal of one's baptismal commitment. With that in mind, the big thing going on this Sunday seems to be all about believing without seeing.... or at the very least.... believing without having all of the proof. We live in the world that has come not only after the resurrection, but also after the ascension of Jesus. His post-resurrection bodily appearances stopped once he ascended into heaven. Now people are being asked to believe based on the ancient testimony of others... and that's a tall order.

            We can learn something from this passage, however. Though Thomas was unbelieving (at least for 8 days) he was evidently still fully welcome in the fellowship of believers. Something made him keep coming back... and to their credit, the other disciples didn't exclude him. In our modern parlance, Thomas had become a 'seeker,' and he was welcome in the group. The lesson for us in the modern church is to ensure that we do not become so exlusivistic, or so private-club-ish that the unbelieving seeker doesn't feel welcome. It is only with a quiet confidence in the truth of one's own faith that such an atmosphere can be cultivated. A phobic insistence on 'purity,' and/or everyone on the same page at the same time is evidence of just the opposite... of cracks in the facade of faith. If your faith or your group's faith cannot tolerate a little unbelief in its midst, one should wonder about the strength of such faith.

            The other thing that seems evident from this account is that the inner group of believers was more than happy to let the Lord solve the problem. True, the passage doesn't go into great detail as to what occurred during those 8 days, but we do not get the sense that the other disciples took turns beating Thomas over the head with their King James Bibles. They seemed content to leave it all to the Lord. So, for those of us who believe in a risen Jesus, even though he is now ascended into heaven we can still have FAITH that his continued activity in the world is a personal activity; a personal activity that is designed to call others to faith. Today's unbeliever cannot make the same bold demands that Thomas made. Sorry. He's ascended into heaven now. But that doesn't mean that he is no longer active in his world. He is. And what's more, he can still be encountered in inspiring, life-changing ways.

            Our prayer... and our 'advice' to the open-minded seeker is to look for him. Have eyes to see & ears to hear. Like Thomas, keep coming back. See him in the fellowship of believers; see him in their changed lives; see him in the baptismal waters; see him in bread & wine; see him as the ultimate good that is preventing this world from spiraling totally into the depths of despair and evil.

Cheers,

TM

Thoughts going in, Sunday March 17th

Philippians 3:4b: If others think they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless. 7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ--the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. 10 I want to know Christ--yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. 12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

            As with most of the passages that appear on the lectionary cycle for Lent, this passage from St. Paul's letter to the church at Philippi is one that most Christians are familiar with and have heard before. In it, Paul uses the language of *exchange, or even the language of accounting-- credits and debits. It's also the language of before/after.

            Before, he had been piling credits into a certain column. He was not just Jewish, but he was a natural-born Jew (his parents were not converts). He was confident about which tribe his family was from--something that not all 1st century Jews could say. In addition to that he was zealous for the Torah, so much so that he joined the party of the Pharisees. For a person who CARED MOST about the 'righteousness' that came through practicing the system, Paul had it down.

            I suppose that it's at this point that one should insert a question as to the relevance of St. Paul's personal experience to our day. In other words, the success that Paul was striving for was entirely a religious success. Paul wanted to be on the 'right side' of things as defined by God. It's a laudable goal, but probably one that only the occasional few of our day even thinks about. Most people in our culture define success in entirely material terms. And if there's a God, it is assumed that he hands out high marks for good intentions, worldly success, and "being true to ourselves." Yet even in saying that, my hunch is that most people willingly put all thoughts of God out of their mind unless they're absolutely cornered.... say, at a funeral or something, where they're forced to confront their mortality.

            The crisis for Paul came when he realized that ALL of the credits he had piled up in the credit column of his balance sheet didn't add up to anything that mattered past this life. What's more, he shows that if what's *really important is the lasting stuff, the stuff that makes it into the resurrection, then that in turn redefines what life lived in the here & now is all about.

            And that provides a wonderful Lenten focus. Like Paul we're encouraged to forget what is behind. Like Paul, we're encouraged in Lent to strain toward what is ahead and press on toward the goal.

Cheers,

TM

Thoughts going in, Sunday March 10th

Luke 15:1 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. 2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them." 3 Then Jesus told them this parable:  "There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them. 13 "Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. 17 "When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.' 20 So he got up and went to his father. "But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. 21 "The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' 22 "But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate. 25 "Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27 'Your brother has come,' he replied, 'and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.' 28 "The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29 But he answered his father, 'Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!' 31 " 'My son,' the father said, 'you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' "

            For the 4th Sunday of Lent (Year C) we turn our attention to one of the most well known, and usually beloved, passages of all of Scripture, the so-called Parable of the Prodigal Son. The paragraph heading in the TNIV translation calls it the "Parable of the lost son" which actually fits better with the rest of chapter 15. This parable, after all, is rightly understood within the context of the other two parables of the chapter. It begins with the fact that the Pharisees are murmuring (KJV translation) that proper boundaries aren't being maintained; Jesus is consorting with the riff-raff.

            A sidenote comment... while I typically prefer the more up-to-date translations such as the TNIV, every now and then I have to admit that a sacrifice gets made in the process of updating. The KJV pretty consistently translates the Hebrew 'tluwnah' (see Exodus 16:8) and the Greek 'diagogguzo' (see above, Luke 15:2) as MURMUR. Other translations, however, seem to bounce around. Sometimes it's grumble, or complain, or mutter, etc. etc. And while I will grant that often times the context can introduce different nuances of the word, there is a THEOLOGY behind the fact that it's really only one word that's being used (well, one in Hebrew & one in Greek). The point is this... the theology behind the word is that God is doing something gracious in the midst of people and the response is to murmur! In the case of the wilderness wandering, God was graciously sustaining the lives of his people in the middle of nowhere. Their murmuring was all about not desiring to live by the gracious hand of God; they preferred self reliance, even if it meant returning to Egypt and enslavement. In the case of Luke 15 the murmuring is even more intense. God in the flesh has come; Like the story of divine visitation with Adam in the cool of the day in the garden, God has come down in Jesus of Nazareth, with a gracious desire to be with all of his children--even the marginalized ones. And this elicits MURMURING on the part of the legalists.

            In response Jesus tells 3 consecutive parables: The Lost Sheep; The Lost Coin; and The Lost Son. In all 3 great efforts, great love, and great GRACE are shown. Taken as a group, the Parable of the Lost Son stands out, however. Regarding the Lost Sheep, the shepherd calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost !' (v6) Regarding the Lost Coin, the woman calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost! (v9). While the text doesn't say one way or the other, the flow of the story seems to indicate that friends and neighbors DO REJOICE with the shepherd and the woman. But the trilogy takes a turn in the story of the lost son where the invitation to come in & rejoice is refused: "But he became angry and was not willing to go in; and his father came out and began pleading with him.(v28).

            It is at the refusal of the older son to rejoice with the father that we come full circle to the murmuring of the Pharisees. God is allowed to be loving, but not too loving; gracious but not too gracious; merciful, but not too merciful. It strikes me that as common as this story has become to the collective Christian consciousness, we need to KEEP HEARING IT. It is a great sadness that "Church people" are known primarily for being judgmental, vengeful, hateful, narrow-minded bigots. Many Christians would be just as scandalized and murmur just as loudly today if Jesus were seen consorting with today's version of tax collectors and sinners. How can we continue "ignoring our Heavenly Father's pleading?"

cheers,

TM