|
Past
Weeks Sermons
March 20th:
Second
Sunday
in Lent
“Born from Above: The Beginning of A
New
People”
Genesis 12: 1-4a; Romans 4: 1-5, 13-17;
John 3:
1-17
For
hours
this
week, I
puzzled
over
which
theme to
address
from
John’s
passage
and how
to pick
it up in
the
passages
from
Genesis
and
Romans.
“Born
from
Above”
is only
one such
theme.
In the
reading
from the
Hebrew
Scriptures,
we hear
that
“God
said to
Abram:
‘Depart
from
your
land,
and from
your
relatives,
and from
your
father’s
homestead
to the
land
that I
will
cause
you to
see.”
The
Hebrew
does not
say “God
commanded
Abram”;
rather,
the
Hebrew
author
states
that
“God
said to
Abram.”
A form
of the
verb
amar
is used,
meaning
he or
she
said!
It is
the most
common
form of
the verb
translated
into
English
as “to
speak”
or “to
utter”.
It
occurs
very
frequently,
2,084
times,
in the
Hebrew
Scriptures.
It is,
also,
the word
used to
describe
God’s
response
to God’s
creating
a new
thing,
at each
part of
the
process:
“God
said:
‘It is
good.’”
And the
very
first
word
after
the
words
indicating
the end
of one
people –
the sons
of Haran
-- is
“he
said,”
from the
verb
amar.
“And-he-said,
God.”
A new
creation
story is
being
told. “God
said
to
Abram,
‘Depart
you from
your
land,
and from
your
people,
and from
the
house
(or
homestead)
of your
father
to the
land
that I
will
cause
you to
see; and
I
will
make you
into a
great
nation,
and I
will
bless
you,
and I
will
cause
your
name
(who you
are,
your
house)
to grow
great.”
“I-will-make-you”
– this
is the
only
occurance
of this
form of
this
verb in
the
Hebrew
Scriptures.
“I-will-bless-you”
– there
is only
one
other
occurrence
of this
form in
the
Hebrew
Scriptures,
and it’s
when God
speaks
God’s
promise
to
Isaac.
“I-will-make-great”
(in
reference
to
Abram’s
house
and its
strength
and its
holdings)
– this
is the
only
occurrence
of this
verb
form in
the
Hebrew
Scriptures.
In other
words,
God uses
new
words,
invents
new
words,
to speak
God’s
Will.
And the
hearers
and
readers
of this
passage
would
have
recognized
that
this was
the
beginning
of the
story of
God’s
people,
Israel.
The
listeners
and
readers
of this
passage
would
have
been
acutely
aware
that God
commanded
Abram to
turn and
depart
from his
comfort
zone.
He
spoke
to Abram
about a
covenant:
“Abram,
you do
this,
and I
will do
this.”
As the
result
of
Abram’s
obedience
to God’s
word, --
God’s
spoken
Will --
the
birthing
of a new
people
is
possible
through
Abram.
And God
leaves
it as a
choice,
a
decision,
for
Abram to
make.
“To be,
or not
to be.
That is
the
question,”
after
all! To
be a new
creation
of God’s
or not
to be,
that is
the
issue
before
Abram!
“A
blessing’s
coming
to
pass!
Those
blessing
you
shall be
blessed
and
anyone
who
makes
you
contemptible
I will
put a
curse
over;
and they
will be
blessed
through
you all
of the
tribes
of the
earth
(the
very
earth or
soil
from
which
humanity
was
created,
through
Adam).”
The word
for
“earth”
here is
adamah,
the word
from
which
the name
Adam,
the
first
human,
derives.
Adam
(or,
Adam)
means
“quishy,
red clay
baby.”
Adam was
a new
creation
within
the
creation.
Should
Abram
make the
decision
to
follow
God’s
Will,
Abram
will be
the
beginning
of a new
people,
a new
people
of God.
The
passage
concludes
with the
words
“So-departed
Abram,
just as
Yahweh-told
him.”
The word
for
“departed”
is from
the same
word
used by
God in
verse
1:
yawlak.
We
understand
that
Abram
did
exactly
as he
was
told, to
the very
word!
But, the
word for
“he-told”
is no
longer a
form of
“he-said”
or
“he-spoke.”
The
author
uses the
form of
the word
dabar,
meaning
to
promise,
to
threaten,
and
to
command
.
Abram
is God’s
to
command
or
threaten
or
promise;
God is
sovereign,
to be
obeyed.
This is
the
first
such
occurrence
of this
form of
dabar
in
Hebrew
Scriptures.
So, the
people
who
first
listened
to or
read
this
text
would
have
understood
that
something
new was
about to
happen
with
Abram’s
decision.
The
story of
their
creation
was
about to
be told.
The
community
of John,
just so,
were
being
told the
story of
their
beginning,
a
birthing
of a new
people
of God.
Before
we
listen
to
today’s
passage,
let’s
put
everything
into the
context
of –
refer
everything
back to
– the
prologue
of this
Gospel.
Let’s go
back to
chapter
1,
verses
10
through
13.
He was in the world, and
the
world
became
through
him, and
the
world
knew
him not
(knew,
coming
from the
verb
ginosko,
meaning
to
discern,
understand,
know
intimately).
To his
own
things
(that
is,
Israel),
he came,
and his
own
people
(the
Israelites)
received
him
not. (Received
is from
the word
paralambano,
meaning
to
receive,
to take
along
with.)
Now,
let’s
read the
story of
Nicodemus.
It’s
really a
story
that
talks
about
each and
every
one of
us: to
be born
from
above
(birth
from the
Spirit),
or not;
that is
the
question.
Keep in
mind
that
Nicodemus
is
identified
as a
member
of the
Sanhedrin,
the
ruling
Council
of the
Jews,
comprised
mainly
of
Pharisees,
during
the
early
Christian
era.
Also,
keep in
mind
that
light
versus
darkness,
seeing
versus
blindness,
understanding
versus
knowledge,
having
life
versus
perishing
are all
strong
themes
within
John’s
Gospel.
On the
one
hand,
the
followers
of Jesus
have
light
(or walk
openly,
in the
light);
are
sighted
(have
the gift
of
faith);
understand
(have
the gift
of
discernment
or
perception
of what
is truly
and
actively
living);
and have
true
life.
On the
other
hand,
there
are
those
who do
not
receive
or
understand
Jesus as
God’s
only
Son, as
God’s
activity
in the
world;
those
who walk
at
night,
in
darkness;
those
who are
blind,
who have
no
faith;
those
who have
no
understanding,
but have
intellectual
prowess;
and
those
who are
dead –
John
does not
qualify
death as
either
spiritual
or
physical;
to John,
if one
is
dead
in the
soul,
one is
dead
period –
there is
no
alternate,
ultimate
life
form
outside
the
soul’s,
being in
the
spirit.
Now, there was a man of the
Pharisees,
Nicodemus
being
his
name, a
ruler of
the
Jews.
This man
came to
him of a
night
and said
to him:
‘Rabbi,
WE (that
is the
ruling
Jews)
know
that
from God
you have
come as
a
teacher,
for no
one can
these
signs do
which
you do
excepting
God is
with
him.’
Nicodemus
tries to
slither
up
Jesus’
good
side by
referring
to Jesus
as a
teacher;
later
on,
Jesus
will
throw up
to
Nicodemus
that he
is
supposed
to be
one of
the real
teachers
(interpreters
of
Torah,
God’s
Word) of
the
Jewish
people.
The verb
for the
kind of
knowing
that
Nicodemus
refers
to is
horao,
meaning
to
see, to
observe,
to
notice,
to
experience.
It’s
contrast
is the
word
that
Jesus
uses in
reference
to
knowing,
ginosko,
meaning
to
understand,
to
realize,
to
discern,
to come
to know
intimately.
Nicodemus
and the
other
members
of the
Sanhedrin
have
observed
Jesus’
miraculous
signs
during
the time
of the
feast of
the
Passover
in
Jerusalem.
But,
does
that
mean
that
they
have
sight?
Answered Jesus and said to
him:
‘Truly,
truly I
tell you
[Nicodemus]
–
excepting
anyone
is born
from
above,
he
cannot
actively,
in fact,
see the
kingdom
of God.
The word
anothen
means
above,
at the
beginning,
again,
on or
at the
top.
I have
translated
anothen
as
above
referring
to God’s
spirit,
which
will,
later in
John, be
the Holy
Spirit.
We have
to be
born or
birthed
from the
Spirit
in order
to have
faith;
and we
have to
have
faith in
order to
actively,
in true
reality,
see
God’s
domain.
Without
faith,
we are
blind
and
cannot
perceive
and
recognize
the
domain
of God.
Nicodemus says to him: ‘How
can a
man who
is old,
in
reality,
in fact,
be
born?
He
can’t,
can he,
enter
into the
womb of
his
mother a
second
time,
to, in
reality,
be
born?’
Jesus answered: ‘ Truly,
truly I
tell
you,
excepting
anyone
is born
of water
and
spirit,
he
cannot,
in
reality,
enter
into the
domain
of God.
That
having
been
born of
the
flesh,
flesh
is; and
that
having
been
born of
the
Spirit,
spirit
is.
Marvel not because I told
you:
‘It’s
necessary
for you
to be
born
from
above.’
The wind
blows
where it
wishes,
and the
sound of
it you
hear;
but, you
know
not [you
have not
perceived,
seen]
where it
[the
wind
really]
comes
from nor
to where
it
goes.
So is
everyone
having
been
born of
the
Spirit.
That is,
it’s
necessary
for
everyone
to be
born
from
above.
Furthermore,
those
who know
the
Spirit
truly
recognize,
understand,
see and
enter
into the
domain
of God.
Those
who are
born
from
above
are
those
who are
born out
of the
Spirit.
Nicodemus answered and said
to him:
‘How can
these
things,
in
reality,
occur?
Jesus
answered
and said
to him:
‘You
are a
teacher
of
Israel
and
these
things
you have
not
known
[these
physically
visible
dynamics,
you
don’t
comprehend].
Truly,
truly, I
tell
you: ‘
What WE
[Jesus
and his
followers]
know
[oida,
to
perceive
by any
of the
senses]
we speak
and what
we
have
seen
[orao,
to
experience,
to
observe]
we
testify
about,
and our
testimony
YOU ALL
don’t
receive
[you all
– the
ruling
elders
-- don’t
take
along
with
you, you
all
don’t
take].
If I had
told YOU
ALL some
earthly
matters
and YOU
ALL
don’t
believe
me, then
how, if
I tell
YOU ALL
heavenly
matters,
will YOU
ALL
believe?
For
John,
Jesus
might
have
told
Nicodemus,
“Seeing
is
knowing
what is
reality;
and
knowing
what is
reality
is
believing;
and
believing
is
faith;
and
living
in faith
is
living
in life
– not
the
one-dimensional
life of
the
immediate
I-want-it-now
and
I-got-to-have-it-now-and-get-it-my-way
life on
the
surface
of
being.
But,
the
life of
the
Spirit
that
encompasses
and is
ALL
being.
For
Lent, I
challenge
us to
begin to
study
scripture
with NEW
eyes,
with an
intentional
way of
being
more in
the
Spirit.
I
challenge
us to
lectio-divina,
the
contemplative
way of
knowing
about
God
through
receiving
the
Spirit
of God
from
God’s
Word
into
ourselves,
our very
beings.
First,
take one
of your
favorite
or one
of your
more
challenging
passages
of
scripture.
Read it
slowly,
word by
word,
taking
each
word
into
you.
Next,
write
down any
particular
word or
phrase
that
seems to
be
significant
or
puzzling
to you.
Use a
concordance
to
determine
the best
meaning
you can
discern
about
that
word or
phrase
and
write
that
down.
Next,
put that
meaning
or sense
now into
the
puzzling
or
significant
word or
phrase.
Now,
re-read
the word
or
phrase a
couple
of
times.
Close
your
eyes or
focus
them at
something
in the
distance,
and
reflect
on that
word or
phrase:
what is
God
telling
you
today?
What is
God
speaking
to your
being,
to who
you
are?
Who are
you
being
called
to be
today or
from
this
moment
on? How
are you
being
called
to be
born
from
above,
at this
point in
your
life?
Amen.
Reverend Laura Joost-Kuhn ~ Pastor
Covenant Presbyterian Church
Gainesville, FL
March 13th:
First
Sunday
in Lent
"We Are Famished"
Genesis 2: 15-17; 3: 1-7 ~ Romans
5: 12-19; Matthew 4: 1-11
Within the context of Lent, all three of our passages lead us to conclude that
humanity needs to take time to intentionally reflect on the effects of sin.
For the follower of Christ, we hunger and thirst for such self-examination.
We are very aware that we are spiritually famished.
In Genesis, we come to understand that, inherently, self-will runs riot
throughout human experience. We place our wants before the desires of our
hearts. At our creation, before ever we looked to the glory of our own
self-conceived needs and inclinations, we looked to the Glory of God.
Before we ever were consumed by self-fulfillment, we were consumed by the
filling of God – God filled us; we weren’t aware that we lacked any PERSON,
IDEA, PLACE, CAUSE, or THING because, in reality, all that was needed – life in
the spirit, a right-relatedness with God – was provided in our innate
understanding that the Creator was other than creation, but that the
Creator and humanity walked, nevertheless, in peacefulness together.
At some point, according to Genesis, humanity became self-invested. We
became more interested, more consumed with satisfaction than we were with
relationship. All of the appetites came into play, and the desire to be in
control of our destiny – to be all-knowing of it and, therefore, seemingly in
control – eased God out of our being. Self-knowledge and the knowledge of
our surroundings became the focus of lives; achievement became significant to us
rather than our being rightly-related to our Creator.
Natural law and the Law of Moses were not enough to detract humanity’s self-ishness!
They only made us more conscious of the various ways we fail ourselves and
others. They did not, could not, restore our once inherent
right-relatedness with God, our righteousness.
In the temptation in the wilderness, Jesus demonstrates an otherliness to
our fallen human being. He disregards the appetites of lust, power, and
knowledge – that is, the illusion of being able to know and command God’s Will
and to be above It. The progressive line of human idolatry to self is
broken; the pall of death over our beings is no longer an inevitable condition –
the restoration of right-relatedness to God is made ours through our trust, our
faith, in Jesus the Christ’s victory over sin’s grasp on our beings. The
restoration of right-relatedness to God is ours by faith through Grace.
But, the outward show of that faith is demonstrated by our response to God’s
Love-gift of that Grace. Our allegiance to God and God alone is daily
tested against our allegiance to self.
So, self-examination helps show the weak points in the levy of faith that holds
back the waters of sin that threaten to consume us and completely destroy our
desire to glorify God rather than ourselves.
Today, I’d like to offer one approach to self-examination. I will
paraphrase from a reflection on self-examination written by Bill Wilson around
1939. It begins, “[We] continued to take personal inventory and when wrong
promptly admitted it.”
A continuous look at our assets
and liabilities, and a real desire to learn and grow by this means, are
necessities for us. We have learned this the hard way. More
experienced people, of course, in all times and places have practiced unsparing
self-survey and criticism. For the wise have always known that no people
can make much of their lives until self-searching becomes a regular habit, until
they are able to admit and accept what they find, and until they patiently and
persistently try to correct what is wrong.
When we have a terrific spiritual
hangover because we self-indulged too much, we cannot live well today. The
spiritual hangover is the direct result of yesterday’s and sometimes today’s
excesses of negative emotion – anger, fear, jealousy, and the like. If we
would live serenely today and tomorrow, we certainly need to eliminate these
spiritual hangovers. This doesn’t mean that we need to wander morbidly
around in the past. It requires an admission and correction of errors NOW.
When an inventory is carefully taken, and we have made peace with ourselves, the
conviction follows that tomorrow’s challenges can be met as they come.
It is a spiritual axiom that every
time we are disturbed, no matter what the cause, there is something wrong WITH
US. If somebody hurts us and we are sore, we are in the wrong also.
But, are there no exceptions to this rule? What about “justifiable” anger?
If somebody cheats us, aren’t we entitled to be mad? Can’t we be properly
angry with self-righteous people?
Few people have been more
victimized by resentments than have we Christ-followers. It mattered
little whether our resentments were justified or not. A burst of temper
could spoil a day, and a well-nursed grudge could make us miserably ineffective.
Other kinds of disturbances – jealousy, envy, self-pity, or hurt pride – did the
same thing.
A spot-check inventory taken in
the midst of such disturbances can be of very great help in quieting stormy
emotions. Today’s spot-check finds its chief application to situations which
arise in each day’s march. The consideration of
long-standing difficulties had better be postponed, when possible, to times
deliberately set aside for that purpose. The quick inventory is aimed at
our daily ups and downs, especially where people or new events throw us off
balance and tempt us to make mistakes.
In all these situations, we need
self-restraint, honest analysis of what is involved, a willingness to admit when
the fault is ours, and an equal willingness to forgive when the fault is
elsewhere. We need not be discouraged when we fall into the error of our
old ways, for these disciplines are not easy. We shall look for progress,
not for perfection.
Our first objective will be the
development of self-restraint. This carries a top priority rating.
When we speak or act hastily or rashly, the ability to be fair-minded and
tolerant evaporates on the spot. One unkind tirade or one willful snap
judgment can ruin our relationship with another person. Nothing pays off
like restraint of email, pen, or tongue. We must avoid quick-tempered
criticism and furious, power-driven argument. The same goes for sulking or
silent scorn. These are emotional booby traps baited with pride and
vengefulness. Our first job is to sidestep the traps. When we are
tempted by the bait, we should train ourselves to step back and think. For
we can neither think nor act to good purpose until the habit of self-restraint
has become automatic.
Disagreeable or unexpected
problems are not the only ones that call for self-control. We must be
quite as careful when we begin to achieve some measure of importance and
material success. For, no people have ever loved personal triumphs more
than do-gooders have loved them. When temporary good fortune came our way,
we indulged ourselves in fantasies of still greater victories over people,
circumstances, and causes. Thus blinded by prideful self-confidence, we
were apt to play the big shot. Of course, people turned away from us,
bored or hurt.
We find that we need to exercise
special vigilance. As an insurance against “big-shot-ism,” we can often
check ourselves by remembering that we are today only saved by the grace of God
and that any success we may be having is far more God’s success than ours.
Finally, we begin to see that
all people, including Christians, are to some extent emotionally ill
as well as wrong, and then we approach true tolerance and see what real love for
our fellows actually means. It will become more and more evident as we go
forward that it is pointless to become angry, or to get hurt by people who, like
us, are suffering from the pains of growing up spiritually.
Such a radical change in our
outlook will take time, maybe a lot of time. Not many people can
truthfully assert that they love everybody. Most of us must admit that we
have loved but a few; that we have been quite indifferent to the many so long as
none of them gave us trouble; and as for the remainder – well, we have really
disliked or hated them. Although these attitudes are common enough, we
find we need something much better in order to keep our balance. We can’t
stand it if we hate or disdain. The idea that we can be possessively
loving of a few, can ignore the many, and can continue to fear or hate ANYBODY,
has to be abandoned, if only a little at a time.
We can try to stop making
unreasonable demands upon those we love. We can show kindness where we had
shown none. With those we dislike, we can begin to practice justice and
courtesy, perhaps going out of our way to understand and help them.
Whenever we fail any of these
people, we can promptly admit it – to ourselves always, and to them, also,
when the admission would be compassionately helpful. Courtesy,
kindness, justice, and love are the keynotes by which we may come into harmony
with practically anybody. When in doubt, we can always pause, saying, “Not
my will, but Thine be done.” And we can often ask ourselves, “Am I doing
to others as I would have them do to me – today?”
When evening comes, perhaps just
before going to sleep, many of us draw up a balance sheet for the day.
This is a good place to remember that inventory-taking is not always done in red
ink. It’s a poor day indeed when we haven’t done SOMETHING right. As
a matter of fact, the waking hours are usually well filled with things that are
constructive. Good intentions, good thoughts, and good acts are there for
us to see. Even when we have tried hard and failed, we may chalk that up
as one of the greatest credits of all. Under these conditions, the pains
of failure are converted into assets. Out of them, we receive the
stimulation we need to go forward. Someone who knew what he was talking
about once remarked that pain was the touchstone of all spiritual progress.
How heartily we can agree with him, for we know that the pains of spiritual
growth have to come before maturity, and spiritual turmoil before serenity.
As we glance down the debit side
of the day’s ledger, we should carefully examine our motives
in each thought or act that appears to be wrong. In most cases, our
motives won’t be hard to see and understand. When prideful, angry,
jealous, anxious, or fearful, we acted accordingly, and that was that.
Here we need only recognize that we did act or think badly, try to visualize how
we might have done better, and resolve with God’s help to carry these lessons
over into tomorrow, making, of course, any amends still neglected.
But, in other instances only the
closest scrutiny will reveal what our true motives were. There are cases
where our ancient enemy, rationalization, has stepped in and has justified
conduct which was really wrong. The temptation here is to imagine that we
had good motives and reasons when we really didn’t.
We “constructively criticized”
someone who needed it, when our real motive was to win a useless argument.
Or, the person concerned not being present, we thought we were helping others to
understand him, when in actuality our true motive was to feel superior by
pulling him down. We sometimes hurt those we love because they needed to
be “taught a lesson,” when we really wanted to punish. We were depressed
and complained that we felt bad, when in fact we were mainly asking for sympathy
and attention.
This odd trait of mind and
emotion, this perverse wish to hide a bad motive underneath a good one,
permeates human affairs from top to bottom. This subtle and elusive kind
of self-righteousness can underlie the smallest act or thought. Learning
daily to spot, admit, and correct these flaws is the essence of
character-building and good living. An honest regret for harms done, a
genuine gratitude for blessings received, and a willingness to try for better
things tomorrow will be the permanent assets we shall seek.
Having so considered our day, not
omitting to take due note of things well done, and having searched our hearts
with neither fear nor favor, we can truly thank God for the blessings we have
received and sleep in good conscience.
Finally, I would like to offer up a prayer written by the same author. I
think it especially relevant for our Lenten self-offering to God:
God, I offer Thee myself, to build with me and do
with me as Thou wilt. Relieve me of the bondage of self. Take away
my difficulties, that victory over them may bear witness to Thy Power, Thy Love,
and Thy Way of life. May I do Thy Will always.
And the people said:
Amen.
Reverend Laura Joost-Kuhn ~ Pastor
Covenant Presbyterian Church
Gainesville, FL
February 6, 2011
The Kingdom of Heaven
This week, for a variety of reasons, I’ve puzzled over the “kingdom of heaven.”
“The kingdom of heaven” is a term mentioned over thirty times in Matthew’s Gospel. A comparable phrase – “kingdom of God” – is used by the writers of Luke and Mark rather than “kingdom of heaven,” probably because Matthew’s disciples were mostly Jewish Christians, who would not have used a word directly referring to God’s person, as this was forbidden usage under the Mosaic Law. So, “kingdom of heaven” was the phrase more comfortably used by Matthew and his community. The Gospel of John uses “kingdom of God” only twice, not once using “kingdom of heaven”; however, John does refer once to Jesus’ realm as “my kingdom.”
But, WHAT IS the “kingdom of heaven?” How does Matthew actually describe it so that we can wrap our minds around it and identify it? And why is this short phrase significant to us?
According to Jewish texts and commentaries written between the time of Jesus and the last century before his ministry, phrases referring to the reign of God described a time in the future when the God of Israel – Whom many Jews felt had abandoned them in the times of the Greek and Roman conquests – would again be visibly active in Israel’s life, politically and socially! Jerusalem would be re-established as the capital of a restored Jewish kingdom; and the infirm, the poor, widowed, orphaned, and otherwise vulnerable of Jewish society would be physically and socially restored.
But, is it to this kind of status or condition that Matthew’s Gospel refers?
The first time Matthew introduces the phrase “kingdom of heaven” is in stating John the Baptist’s message: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” In light of the fact that the homeland of the Jews was occupied by Rome, both during Jesus’ life time and Matthew’s writing, the “kingdom of heaven” can’t mean that Matthew referred to Israel’s socio-politico restoration? This sets up the puzzling issue behind this phrase.
The second time listeners of Matthew’s Gospel hear the phrase “kingdom of heaven” comes at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. We’re told that Jesus, upon learning of John the Baptist’s arrest, removes from the Jordan River region to Galilee. But, this is NOT a time of desperate geographical change. Matthew believes, rather, that this is the beginning of a time of hope – hope not only for the people Israel, but for all peoples. He quotes Isaiah the prophet:
“[T]he people who sat in darkness” – that is, the Gentile nations – “have seen a great light,
And, for those who sat in the region and shadow of death, light has dawned.” (Isaiah 9:2)
Then Matthew continues, “From that time, Jesus began to proclaim, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’” WHAT has come near? WHAT is the “kingdom of heaven?”
The issue confronting Matthew the New Church Developer was how to give his fellow Jewish Christians an unabashed Christian identity without creating a culture of resentment towards the synagogue Jews who were denying them community. Matthew tried to achieve this by encouraging Jewish Christians to let go of the old Israel and become inhabitants or children of the “kingdom of heaven.” But, what were the primary virtue ethics of this community to be? And how would it function in the world?
Early on in Matthew’s Gospel, the writer outlines the MORAL DYNAMICS of his church: these are described in the nine Beatitudes. And he tells the church, “YOU ALL, as a community NOT as individuals, will be as passionate about living the Beatitudes as you are enthusiastic about their implications. You will NOT be lukewarm! You will be the salt of the earth and the light of the world!” Then Matthew tells his church Whom they are following: the one who comes to make the Covenant with God complete, the One Who fulfills Righteousness so that they may enter the “kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew relates that Jesus has already told the disciples in the Beatitudes that to those who are “poor in spirit” – who walk humbly before God – and to those “who are persecuted for the cause of righteousness” belongs the kingdom of heaven. And Matthew describes Jesus as contrasting His church against the moral teachers and the Pharisees: “Whoever acts out [the commandments] AND teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For, I tell you all, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” But, what is this “kingdom of heaven?”
To try to find the answer to that question, we have to dig deeper into Matthew.
Matthew’s Gospel contains parables describing the “kingdom of heaven.” “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. But, while his men were sleeping, the enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat; then they went away.” The key word in this passage is a Greek word, not adequately translated into English – ZIZANIA: it’s a form of the word ZIZANION, which is a weed that easily may be mistaken for wheat! At any rate, the parable continues: “When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the ZIZANION also appeared. The landowner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the ZIZANION come from?’ ‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ ‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the ZIZANION, you may root up the wheat with it. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time, I will tell the harvesters: First collect the ZIZANION and tie it in bundles to be burned, then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”
If the listeners of Matthew could have discerned an idea of what the kingdom of heaven might be like, they might have concluded that it reflects God’s wisdom and justice.
Matthew puts another parable out there: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all the seeds, when grown it is larger than the other herbs and it becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches.” The kingdom of heaven is hardly discernable in this world; but, its reality is expansively generous and hospitable.
Just after this parable, Jesus says: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took three measures of which and mixed into about a bushel of flour until it was all leavened.” The kingdom of heaven is empowering.
In another parable, Jesus explained that “the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he covered it up again and hid it, and then in his joy went, sold all he had, and bought the field.” The kingdom of heaven is unexpected, but is the heart’s desire.
Again, Matthew relates a parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away, sold everything he had, came back and bought it.” The kingdom of heaven seeks after and claims its heart’s desire.
And, in another parable, Jesus states, “The kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was let down into the sea and caught all kinds of fish. When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up, onto shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish into baskets. But, they cast the bad ones out.” The kingdom of heaven calls to everyone.
In Matthew 18:23, Matthew says that Jesus described the kingdom of heaven as being comparable “to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. As he began making settlements, a slave who owed him several million dollars was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the king ordered that the man, his wife, his children, and all he owned be sold to repay the debt. The slave fell on his knees before the king, pleading, ‘Defer your anger over me, lord, and I will pay back everything.’ And filled with tenderness, the lord of that slave released him and forgave his loan. But, as that slave was leaving, he met up with one of his fellow slaves who owed him a few dollars. The forgiven slave grabbed the other and began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ The other slave fell to his knees, pleading, ‘Defer your anger with me, and I will pay back everything.’ But the forgiven slave refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other slaves of the king saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed; they went and told the king everything that had occurred. Then the king called in the forgiven slave: ‘You wicked slave,’ he said. ‘I forgave you your debt because you pleaded with me. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow slave just as I had on you?’ In anger, the king turned the slave over to the tormentors until he should repay all he owed.” The kingdom is full of mercy and forgiveness to those who are also merciful and forgiving; and it holds justice for those who are unmerciful and unforgiving.
“The kingdom of heaven,” states Matthew’s Jesus, “is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workmen to go into his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a few dollars for the day and sent them into his vineyard to work. At about 9 o’clock, he went out again and saw other men standing idle in the market square. And to those he said, ‘Go, you guys, too, and work in my vineyard; and I will pay you whatever may be just.’ And they went. He went to town again, at around noon and 3 o’clock, and he did the same thing. And about 5 o’clock, he went to town and found others standing around and said to them, ‘Why are you guys standing around here doing nothing?’ And they replied to him, ‘Because no one’s hired us!’ He said to them, ‘You guys. You go on, also, to my vineyard.’ When evening had come, the landowner said to the foreman of the vineyard, ‘Call the workmen and pay them the wage, beginning with the last ones.’ And the workmen who had come into the vineyard at 5 o’clock each received a few dollars. And, finally, those who had come to work first came to be paid; and they supposed that they would receive more. But, they also received a few dollars. Taking the money, these last ones grumbled against the landowner, saying, ‘These hired last only worked for an hour, yet you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the majority of the work and the heat of the day.’ But the landowner answered one of them, ‘Hey, now, brother! I’m not being unfair to you. Didn’t I offer you a few dollars to work, and didn’t you agree with me? Take what is yours and go! I want to give the person who was hired last the same wage that I gave you. Isn’t it lawful for me to do what I wish, with what I have? Or, are you resentful because I do what is good?’” The kingdom of heaven holds mercy for all who are Called, no matter what our sins and how many.
In Matthew 22:2-10, Jesus told another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who made a wedding feast for his son.. And when the feast was ready, the king sent his slaves to call those who had been invited; but, they didn’t choose to come. The king sent other slaves out to the people who had been invited, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner. My oxen and beef-cattle have been slaughtered, and everything is ready for the feast. Come to the wedding feast.”’ But, those invited still didn’t pay any attention to the slaves. One person went off to do this, and another went off to do that. And others seized his slaves, abused them, and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and had their city burned. Then he commanded the slaves, ‘Indeed, the feast is ready, but the people who were invited weren’t worthy of attending. Therefore, go to the street corners and invite anyone you find to the feast.’ So, the slaves went to the street corners and invited all whom they found, both good and bad. And the wedding hall was filled with guests! Entering the hall, the king stopped to see those who were there, when he saw a person who was not appropriately attired. This was inexcusable since the king had ordered that appropriate clothing be made available to all the guests. The king spoke to the man, ‘Hey, why have you come in here looking like this? There’s no excuse.’ And the man didn’t have one and said nothing. The king told his slaves, ‘Tie him up, hands and feet, and throw him out into the night, where there will be the sound of wailing and gnashing of teeth. For, many people are Called, but few of them are chosen.’” The kingdom of heaven calls out to the hearts of all people, but it doesn’t force itself on anyone.
It’s important for us to remember what the “kingdom of heaven” is like. The kingdom of heaven calls out to the hearts of all people, but it doesn’t force itself on anyone. The kingdom of heaven holds mercy for all who are Called, no matter what our sins and how many. The kingdom of heaven is full of mercy and forgiveness to those who are, also, merciful and forgiving; and it holds justice for those who are unmerciful and unforgiving. The kingdom of heaven seeks after and claims its heart’s desire. The kingdom of heaven is unexpected, but is the desire of one’s heart. The kingdom of heaven is empowering. The kingdom of heaven is hardly discernable in this world; but, its reality is expansively hospitable. And the kingdom of heaven reflects God’s wisdom and justice.
I haven’t examined the place of Christ in the parables themselves. I haven’t examined the social, political, religious, historical backgrounds of the parables, nor have I talked about the contemporary significance of any parable. Rather, I have tried to identify the “kingdom of heaven” – His kingdom -- through the parables, using them as a lens. I believe that this is valuable because, if I identify the values of the “kingdom of heaven,” I can self-examine to see how I match up as a child of that “kingdom.”
So, as a citizen of the “kingdom of heaven,” do I reflect the virtues of it? Do I call out to the hearts of all people, or impose my will on them? Do I hold mercy for all people, no matter what their sins against me and how many? Am I full of mercy and forgiveness; and do I believe in justice even for those who are unmerciful and unforgiving. Do I seek after and claim my heart’s desire, God? Am I unexpected grace to people both around me and beyond my knowing? Am I empowering? Do I make my doing rather than my being too obvious to the world? Is my reality expansively generous and hospitable? And do I reflect God’s wisdom and justice to the world?
Of course, the answer to these questions is “yes” and “no”. The “kingdom of heaven,” then, is understood as now and yet-to-come. And, just as Matthew felt encouraged by this sense of being ever formed as a community, I feel encouraged that we, here, are a work in progress: a now and a yet-to-come community of the “kingdom of heaven.”
Amen.
Reverend Laura Joost-Kuhn
~ Pastor
Covenant Presbyterian Church
Gainesville, FL
January 30, 2011
Beginnings
Good morning. I pray us all a blessed New Year and a decade full of fresh challenges to new beginnings of our Call to be God’s People, the possessed of God.
It was towards
the end of a decade of tumultuous political and
religious upheaval in the nation of Judah that
the prophet Jeremiah experienced a Call:
Now the word of the LORD came to me saying, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you; and before you were born, I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” Then I said, “Ah, LORD God! Truly, I do not know how to speak for You, for I am only a youth.” But, the LORD said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a youth.’ For, you shall go to all whom I send you, and you shall speak whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you.” [Jer. 1:4-8]
God clearly defines what Jeremiah’s Call is. And God addresses Jeremiah’s fears of being incapable of this Call. God does not tell Jeremiah that his fears are unreasonable or only in his mind! God addresses the reality of them and says that they ultimately have no power over God’s Truth and Good Purpose. It may be years after – decades or centuries after – Jeremiah’s life that God’s word is realized; but, God’s word will BE. That Jeremiah will struggle with his fears and with despair, God admits. That they will necessarily overwhelm Jeremiah, God absolutely rejects.
At a later time,
in the midst of Jeremiah’s growing despair over
Judah’s future, God gives him words of comfort:
Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: “Write in a book all the words that I have spoken to you. For, the days are surely coming,” says the LORD, “when I will restore the fortunes of My people, Israel and Judah,” says the LORD, “and I will bring them back to the land that I gave to their ancestors and they shall take possession of it.” [Jer. 30:1-3]
Jeremiah understood God to be describing a beginning for the people of God. Thus, Jeremiah wrote his Book of Comfort, because:
“The days are surely coming,” says the LORD, “when I will make a NEW covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will NOT be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt – a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband,” says the LORD. “But, this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” says the LORD: “I will put My Law WITHIN them, and I will write it on their hearts.”
Note that God begins a new chapter in the salvation history of the world – no longer are the people of God defined according to a written law, but by the demands of God on a person’s and a community’s heart! “I will be their God, and they shall be My people,” states God to Jeremiah. This is a language of the heart, by which God speaks a new Covenanting with Israel and Judah. This Covenanting is not initialized by human intention, but by God’s Grace -- God’s Freedom and Purpose alone.
“No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, ‘Know the LORD,’” [that is, be God’s intimate]. “For, they shall know Me from the least of them to the most powerful,” says the LORD, “for, I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.” [Jer. 31:31-35]
This is comfort, hope, for what will continue to be an age of despair for Jeremiah’s people. Yet, it is a limited vision of a relationship with God – a vision limited by the desire to possess intimacy of God rather than to be the POSSESSED of the intimacy of God.
In another time,
the author of the Gospel of John addresses the
fears of his congregation. They are Jews; yet,
they are outcast from their synagogue
communities -- their “church families,” so to
speak -- because they believe that Jesus is the
completion of salvation history.
So, John
addresses the reality of despair that his people
are experiencing in the context of God’s
reality:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. ALL things came into being through him, and without him NOT ONE THING came into being.
He was in the world, and
the world came into being through him; yet, the
world did not know him. He came to what was his
own [that is, the people of God’s historical
Call, the Jews], and his own people did not
accept him. But, for all who received him [for
ALL people who take him into their hearts, who
grab onto God’s outstretched Hand of Grace, who
respond to God’s intimacy with the openness of
their vulnerability], -- for all who received
him, who believed in his Name [in his Power], he
gave power [he made their Call a reality] to
become children of God. [John 1:1-5, 10-13]
Jesus the Christ was and continues to be the certainty of God in the world: “And the Word became flesh and dwelled among us, and we have seen his Glory, as of a father’s only son, full of Grace and Truth.” [John 1:14]
The apostle Paul
addresses a gentile congregation in the
port-city of Ephesus, in Asia Minor. He writes
to them, explaining the situation of their
beginnings – their personal beginnings and their
Call as a community to be children of God – how
this has come about. As John explained to his
congregation, this did not come about
happenstance or through their best intentions.
It came about because of God’s Calling.
[God] chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before God in love. God destined us for adoption as God’s children through Jesus Christ, according to what pleased God’s Will, that is, to the praise of God’s Glorious Grace, Which, in the Beloved, God bestowed on us.
Having been destined
according to the Purpose of God Who accomplishes
all things according to God’s Own Counsel and
Will,/ in Christ, we have also obtained an
inheritance [that is, it is NOT of our best
intentions or our own doing, but by Christ, that
we have been given something by God] so that we,
who were the first to set our hope on Christ,
might live for the praise of God’s Glory.
[At the moment] when you
had heard [had taken intimately to your heart]
the word of Truth [the reality spoken by God],
that is, the Gospel of your salvation, and
[when] you had then believed in Christ, in
Christ you were marked with the seal of the
promised Holy Spirit; this [the intimate knowing
of God] is the pledge of [something
anticipating] our inheritance toward redemption
as God’s Own people.
In other words, this is the process of restoration – the process of beginning to be of God -- which has been made certain to us – not a hope to us – by God through Jesus Christ.
Examine your life
over the past year in the context of Christmas.
Examine the life of our church over the past
decade in the context of Christmas.
At Christmas, we
declare to the world that God, through the image
of Christ, is self-revealing to the world
through us. So, HOW – not to what end – but, in
what manner of actually being among ourselves
and in the larger community – HOW do we actually
demonstrate to the world that, each day, we are
surrendering our own inclinations and self-will
to God? That, each day as Christians, we are
RESPONDING to God’s Calling us back to be God’s
Own with a “yes” rather than a “but, I can’t
because of my limitations”?
I, myself, am not
good at submitting to being formed by the
Eternal Sculptor. Surrendering my own
inclinations and intentions is an hourly –
sometimes, a minute-by-minute – struggle. So, I
will fight, struggle against my development –
against my Call to begin to be of God. And I
expect, as your pastor, to see you – personally
and collectively – struggling in your Call to
begin to be of God.
We aren’t – not a
ONE of us – comfortable with struggle. In fact,
we are agitated by and agitate others with the
discomfort of our struggles. But, the Gospel
reminds us that we are NOT a people of comfort:
comfort was for the people of the prophets, the
people of the Former Covenant, a people who
needed hope.
WE are the people
of the NEW Covenant. We have no need of hope
because, as John and Paul tell us, we are a
people of CERTAINTY – the certainty that each
day we are empowered, by God’s Call through
Jesus Christ, of beginning to be of God – of
being not in possession of God but of being the
possessed of God.
A Blessed New
Year of a New Decade I pray for us all.
Amen.
Reverend Laura Joost-Kuhn
~ Pastor
Covenant Presbyterian Church
Gainesville, FL
January 2, 2011
Blessed Be!
There once
was a young pastor starting out on her first
Call.
One day
soon after she had come to the church, she
got a call to preach at the funeral of a
dear, much loved member of the
congregation. The service was to be at the
graveside, in the country.
She, being
very excited – and a little scared – had
spent many hours preparing a fine, strong
sermon with a lengthy prayer to close the
service.
On her way
to the cemetery, she became hopelessly lost
and had just about given up finding the
place when, in the distance, she saw two men
on a back hoe just pulling straps out of a
hole. They were already starting to fill
the hole in with dirt when she arrived.
Determined to at least give her prayer over
the deceased, she rushed up and stopped
them, apologizing for being late. She had
them remove their hats and proceeded to
pray. After many minutes, she prayed a
blessing over the two men and left on her
way.
The two
guys standing to the side of the filled in
hole looked at each other in bewilderment.
Then one of them said, Well if that isn’t
the darnedest thing! Have you ever seen
anything like that?
The other
replied, “No, and I’ve been installing
septic tanks for thirty years!”
I thought
I’d inject some humor into my sermon because
the rest of this sermon is a personal
reflection on our readings.
First of
all, we have the lesson from the prophet
Micah:
With what
shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself
before God on high?
Shall I come
before God with burnt offerings, with calves
a year old?
Will the LORD
be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten
thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give
my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit
of my body for the sin of my soul?
He has told
you, O mortal, what is good. And what does
the LORD require of you but to do justice
and love kindness, and to walk humbly with
your God?
With what,
I have asked myself this week, do I come
before God as the pastor of this
congregation? Out of what motive do I work
so desperately for the unity and peace of
this people? Is it out of pride that I know
I might indulge in if that goal is
achieved? I pray not. I pray that I am and
will be God’s humble and steadfast servant
to prepare and encourage a people set-apart
and made holy as our God is Holy – all for
the Glory of our God.
But, to
that end, do I do justice? Have I brought
into this community the sense that we are
all called forth by a just, righteous God to
reflect that holy justice and that godly
righteousness to an angry, violent world?
Have I been a part of the peace of God which
empowers you as a congregation to be a just
people with one another first before we are
a just people in the world – a people who
shed away the garments of greed, pride,
arrogance, self-inclination, anger, fear,
and slander that the world around us wears,
those things that start and feed our inner
turmoil and the wars of our communities?
Have I been
a part of the problem that disables the
spiritual growth of this congregation? Or,
am I part of the solution? Do I love
kindness more than I love my own will, my
own vision for this church? Do I step out
in humility each day going into the world?
Or am I so full of myself that I don’t even
ask God for humbleness so that I may feel
God’s Sovereign Presence and be a humble
servant before I take my first action of the
day?
Then we
have the Testament of the Christian Church:
the reading from the Apostle Paul’s first
letter to the church in Corinth. As part of
the text for today, we heard:
Where is
the one who is wise? Where is the scribe?
Where is the debater of this age? For,
since, in the wisdom of God, the world did
not know God through wisdom, God decided –
through the foolishness of our proclamation
– to save those who believe. For Jews
demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but
we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling
block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles –
but, to those who are the Called, both Jews
and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the
wisdom of God! For, God’s foolishness is
wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness
is stronger than human strength.
Do I impose
my interpretations of scripture on others’
faith? Do I impose my struggles with
scripture on the insights into scripture
that others have gained? Do I demand that
others read and interpret scripture the same
way that I do? Do I set myself apart from
the people of God by self-determination and
self-will? Or do I allow myself to be a
vulnerable witness to the Gospel and a
worthy listener to those who trust my
wisdom? Do I turn aside from a wisdom
founded on Christ’s compassion, a wisdom
that the world rejects as foolish
imagination and ruminating? Or do I stand
up for my experience that God is real, that
Jesus Christ is the only true reflection,
the only reality of God in our world?
Finally, we
have the reading from the Gospel of Matthew,
written for a more or less Jewish
congregation – kind of like our
congregation: more or less Presbyterian,
with a few Baptists thrown in for flavor!
Here, we
find the beatitudes, a set of standards put
forth by Christ that stand against the ten
commandments of Moses. Unlike the
beatitudes mentioned elsewhere in the Bible,
Jesus’ beatitudes are the promises of an
eternal life based on a person’s moral and
spiritual existence, of a person’s
relationship with God.
Blessed are
the poor in spirit, for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven.
It probably
should be interpreted to read: Honored by
God are those whose spirits are meek,
lowly, humble – as the
translations of the King James, the New
American Standard Bible, and the NIV read,
respectively.
How have I
been a servant -- humble, lowly,
meek -- within all of my
relationships within the church? Do I act
as though I really believe in living out my
membership in the kingdom of heaven?
Blessed are
those who mourn, for they shall be
comforted.
The prophet
Isaiah wrote that “the Spirit of the LORD”
was on him “because the LORD [had] anointed
[him] to . . . comfort those who mourn.” I
consider myself as part of the kingdom – as
a member of the living kingdom – of heaven,
of God. Do I put myself out to speak words
of encouragement to those who grieve any
loss – a playmate who’s moved away; a job
that’s changed or lost; an illness that’s
disabled or challenges; a phase of aging
that’s disappointing and scary? Do I have
compassion in the midst of such experiences?
Blessed are
the meek, for they shall inherit the land.
Honored by
God are those of gentleness of spirit, of
humbleness. In Psalm 37:11, the King James
Bible translates the Hebrew word ANAV
(meaning poor, afflicted,
humble, meek) as the meek:
“But, the meek shall inherit the
land, and shall delight themselves in the
abundance of peace.” The New American Bible
translates ANAV as the poor; and the
New American Standard Bible translates it as
the humble.
Inheriting
the earth or inheriting the land meant being
restored of the Promised Land, Palestine, to
pre-Christian Jews. The Greek of both the
Septuagint and Matthew’s Gospel meant to
obtain by right of inheritance the kingdom
eternal, the kingdom of God, for the
citizens of heaven – “everlasting joy,” as
Isaiah 61:7 states!
Have I
loved the meek among us – the quiet, the
unobserved, those on the margins of the
church rather than in the circle or in the
center – by letting them know that they and
I belong to One Body, the same Body, and
that they and I never need to be alone?
Have I shown them what Christian Love is,
shared with them my experience of life by
the Grace of God through the life, death,
and resurrection of Jesus the Christ?
Blessed are
the hungering and the thirsting after
righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
The Greek
word for hungering is peinotes, from
peinao, meaning to suffer want,
to be needy, to be hungry, or,
metaphorically, to crave ardently,
to seek with eager desire. Those
suffering from thirst – in the Greek,
dipsotes – are, figuratively, those who
painfully feel their want of and eagerly
long for those things by which the soul is
nourished, sustained, and strengthened. In
the Christian scriptures, righteousness (dikaiosune,
in the Greek) means the condition
acceptable to God, living in
right-relatedness with God; it means
living in integrity, virtue, purity of life,
rightness of thinking, feeling, and acting.
In the Septuagint, the Greek means what
God requires, God putting humankind
in a right relationship with God’s Self,
vindication. In the Hebrew, the word
we translate for righteousness is
TSEDAQAH. It means justice,
steadfast love, loving-kindness,
justness, right paths, all
attributes of God or of Torah. Those who
know themselves to be needy are those who
long for the vindication of God – that is,
for God putting their lives in
right-relationship with God’s Self. They
long for those things by which the soul is
nourished, sustained, and strengthened.
“Love justice (that is righteousness),
you who judge (that is rule) the
earth; think of the LORD in goodness, and
seek God with integrity of heart.” (Wisdom
1:1)
Does my
spirit, all of my being, hunger and thirst
for an intimate relationship with God? Do I
look forward or fear God’s putting my life
in right-relationship with God? What will
that mean that I have to surrender that I
hold close? And, how many times have I
turned away from a person who is starving to
know about God or thirsting after an
intimate relationship with God?
Blessed are
the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
The
merciful (elei-ei-mon, in the Greek)
– this is the only occurrence of this word
in the Christian Scriptures. It means
merciful, sympathetic,
compassionate, and it is related to
showing charity. The Hebrew word (chanan)
means to show favor, to be gracious,
to show consideration to the poor, needy,
and orphans. “The LORD is gracious and
merciful (or, compassionate),
slow to anger and rich in love.” (PS 144:8)
Do I do a
good deed because I anticipate someone doing
the same for me? Do I feel that, if I am
compassionate, I am entitled to the
compassion and mercy of everyone else?
Blessed are
the clean in heart, for they shall see God.
The Greek
word katharos means pure,
clean, innocent. The Hebrew word
nawkee is translated as meaning
free from guilt, innocent,
clean. Only people “whose hearts [were]
clean” could take part in Temple
worship. And to be with God in the Temple
is described in PS. 42:2 as “beholding God’s
Face.” But, in this beatitude, the promise
to the clean in heart is that they will see
God, not in the Temple, but in the coming
kingdom.
Do I regard
myself, because I am a seminary-trained,
ordained minister above the congregation?
Or is my Call distinguished from theirs by
function in the Body of Christ only? Do I
isolate myself from the congregation because
I disdain its people as not being on a
spiritual par with me?
Blessed are
the peacemakers, for they shall be called
children of God.
This is the
only occurrence of the word eireynopoios
in the Bible: those who make peace.
The Greek word for peace, harmony,
order is eireiney. In Hebrew,
shalom is translated as completeness,
soundness, welfare,
well-being, peace, the peace
of an intimate relationship with a person or
with God, especially in a covenant
relationship with God.
Do I
disturb the well-being of the church by
putting my own agenda before the well-being
of the church? Do I disturb the
relationship of the church with God by
insisting on getting what I believe are my
needs? Am I a good steward of the church by
caring for its peace and its soundness?
Blessed are
the persecuted for the sake of righteousness
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Do I feel
sorry for myself or persecuted when I feel
tired, lonely, frustrated, or angry in my
ministry? Do I mistake self-pity for
righteousness? Am I persecuted for
righteousness’ sake – for my living in
right-relationship with God? Or do I FEEL
persecuted when people disagree with my
point of view or my way of doing things?
Blessed are
you all when the Jews of the synagogue
reproach you and persecute you and say all
evil against you for the sake of me.
For the
sake of my agenda or for the sake of
Christ’s agenda, do people reject me? Do I
deserve to be reproached by my Christian
sisters and brothers because they care about
my lack of self-discipline?
In a little
while, we will all keep our places,
anticipating that the leaders of the
congregation will give us the information
about our church’s vision and mission that
we so long for. Being informed gives us a
sense of well-being, of being grounded in
some reality. Being informed as Christians
means that the members of the Body of Christ
may be empowered to function together for
the unity of the Body. This goes counter to
using information relative to the world we
operate in, where we use information to the
detriment of peace, community, and common
good because we use information for our own
self-inclination.
May we not
abuse the information offered to us. May we
not abuse our responsibility to be good
stewards of this information. May we not
forsake our relationships with one another
and God by abusing this information. May
the Holy Spirit inspire us in the imparting
of this information to further the mission
of Christ.
Blessed Be!
Reverend Laura Joost-Kuhn
~ Pastor
Covenant Presbyterian Church
Gainesville, FL
|
Loving
God
Covenant
Presbyterian
Church
