Hanging On The Greatest Commandments

 

Who is the Jesus we are witnessing now? As we read the passages here in the later portions of Matthew (Matthew 22:34-46 and 23:1-12), Jesus is in his last days on earth. What He is facing with full knowledge is remarkable and will be the cataclysmic moment in God's history of the creation. Jesus is becoming even more remarkable with each hour.

So often Jesus is portrayed as docile. I call him the 'Jello Jesus' that is offered up by a media-driven, secular-humanist culture (quite a mouthful). He is nice, soft, squishy and, of course, continually accepting. Those who usually interpret him in this way have not read the whole story or simply prefer not to read what we are seeing here. It was important in Gibson's "Passion of the Christ" that we saw Jesus as strong- a man's man. It was mentioned that Gibson wanted to awaken a public misconception that Jesus was some light weight. He could not have been effectual, if he was anything but a vibrant and powerful presence

In these last days before he is put to death, he is confrontational. Most important, He is confrontational with the most important religious leaders of that time. Jesus is headed right into them like a missile. As this portion of scripture states, He silences the Sadducees and so the Pharisees now have to make their run at him.

Jesus says something that I think we often overlook when He is asked, "what is the greatest commandment?" We all know what He answers, however, have we paid any attention to that last line: "All the law and Prophets hang on these two commandments." Wait—what did He say – everything hangs on these two commandments?

 I can remember when I would mumble my way through these commandments wondering if I truly loved God. I knew what love was and what it felt like. I loved my children, my husband, and my dog. But how come I had only a smattering of emotion for God? I knew that I believed in God. Wasn't that enough all by itself? I have come to realize that this only meant that I had accepted that there was a God, and He had a Son who I was also happy to believe in. But the real "love" part was not there. I did not feel the emotion- the passion of love. Possibly my closest emotion was respect and fear.

Then I was changed when I left where I once worshipped. God guided me to a new thinking and a new place of worship after I prayed one day for Him to come into my life, because there was so much turmoil in the place I worked, which was also the place I worshipped. God's hand was powerful as He brought me into the Bible and into a place where I heard the 'word' as I had never heard it before. The Holy Spirit which used to be this hazy concept suddenly became a reality as I felt its presence in me and in my life and in a new place of worship. Something was vastly different.

One day I realized what was happening. I was being reborn. I could feel it. It was not a bunch of words that seemed mysterious. It was not just that obscure (I thought) passage in the Bible that Jimmy Carter had made all of us aware of in the late "70's. It was not hard to understand like I was so often told: "the Bible is confusing, it does not make sense in some places, we don't believe in rebirth- it's those evangelical types that believe in that." Amazingly hard to believe, but I was now one of those evangelical types. And I now loved the Lord with all my heart, all my soul and all my mind. The words had filled out from flat forms on a sheet of paper to a three dimensional object of light. It was there. It was real. I was connected to a real living God and a real living Christ. My heart was bursting.

So everything does hang on these two commandments. Why? Many say that they believe in God. That really is not enough. God does ask us to believe not just in Him, but to believe Him; who He is and what He says He can do (as Beth Moore so giftedly points out).  If we cannot feel this in our worship, in our lives, in our concept of every moment in God's creation, in every word He has brought to us through scripture, Prophets and  through His Son, then we are missing the plug that goes into the socket that connects us to God and electrifies our spirit, our lives and our purpose on this earth. Where does Joy come from? This is where it comes from. It comes from that powerful and electric moment when the word is alive in us; when the understanding is there. The lights have gone on. Whole new rooms are lit up in our heart and our head. This is what changes us. We cannot live the same as we did before. We are more alive now then we have ever been.

    And with this we are ready with the tools to 'love our neighbor as ourselves' because they are not just our neighbors any longer. They are now our brothers and sisters who will be seated next to us in heaven, should they choose to be saved as only Christ can save any of us. Praise God. How beautiful you are Jesus.

Laurie Erdman

Shock and Awe

Friday, February 2nd - Matthew 22:1-33

His reply amazed them... They were astounded at his teaching...

Often, I struggle to connect what I read today with what I read yesterday, as if each day's reading was intended to be separated from the others. But it occurred seamlessly in real time. As the "To Be Continued" message interrupted our story yesterday, the Pharisees were just realizing that Jesus was rebuking them with His parable. As we pick it up again today, Jesus continues teaching.

At the conclusion of His parable about the tenants, Jesus said to the Pharisees, "The Kingdom of God will be taken away from you..." And when the Pharisees heard the parable, they realized he was telling the story against them. (Clearly a stroke of brilliance.) The Pharisees wanted to arrest Jesus, but they feared the crowds.

So Jesus continues. This time a King throws a wedding feast in honor of his son. But many on the invite list are too busy to come. Others seize the messengers, insult them, and kill them. Wow! No wonder they were amazed and astounded. Jesus basically said, "Yeah, I know what you're thinking. I know you're plans." And more than that, he says, "Bring it on! But you will not stop me; you're not in control. You can kill me and my messengers, but the invites will go out, and people will feast in my Kingdom."

I'm challenged by the content of the parable, and I'm blessed to know that eventually the King sent out enough rounds of messengers with invitations to eventually make it to you and me. I, too, am struck by Jesus' teaching. And I'm humbled to see that this rebuke is itself an invitation to see Him for who He is, the long-awaited Messiah, God in the flesh. Then He describes this confusing guy, who was invited to come to the wedding feast, but who refused to wear the wedding clothes. Apparently - especially since these guests came in a hurry - the King provided appropriate clothing for them to wear in situations like this. All they had to do was wear the Kings robes, and they could participate in the celebration. But this man refused. He thought he was good enough the way he was, or that his way was better than the King's.

We're reminded that all our righteous acts are like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). As Jesus taught in Matthew 9:12-13, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick... For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." Neither the Pharisees nor we are righteous enough on our own to enter this glorious feast. It's not enough appear righteous by showing up at the right places, by saying the "right" things, or by performing religious acts while harboring pride, self-righteousness, or disdain for this great plan of God. The King invites us to come, but we only enter the feast as we are covered in the righteous garment He provides through Jesus.

By What Authority?

In today's reading, Jesus was in the temple courts shortly after entering Jerusalem on the day we now call Palm Sunday.  Though he was greeted with praise when he entered the city, certainly the priests and the elders (likely the Sadducees and Pharisees ) were none too happy about His presence in the temple.  Following the scene in which he called the temple "a den of thieves", they tried to trap Jesus with their question about the His authority.  Jesus, ever so wisely, replies with a question of his own, as well of some parables to further their understanding.     The second parable in this reading is commonly known as the Parable of the Tenants.  In short, a landowner planted a vineyard which he leased to tenant farmers upon moving to another country.  At the time of the harvest, the tenants refused to turn over the owner's share of the crop and killed those that were sent to collect it, including the owner's son.     My understanding of the metaphor is this: The landowner is God.  The vineyard is Israel.  The landowner showed great care for the vineyard by building a wall to keep out animals and a watchtower to guard against thieves.  He had confidence that his vineyard would bear fruit, as he  built the pit for pressing out the grape juice in advance of the harvest.  The tenants were most likely meant to be the leaders of Israel, those originally entrusted to nurture the spiritual growth of the Israelites.  The servants were the prophets, and the son is Jesus - all were rejected and murdered by the tenants.   Besides wondering if this is where the saying "Don't shoot the messenger" comes from, many thoughts run through my mind as I reflect on this story.  Usually I can "find" myself in Jesus' parables, so where am I in this one?  It's too easy for me to look at the tenants' wicked actions and think, "Well, who would ever do that?" But when I look beyond their actions towards their self-centered motives, I sadly find myself there.   More often than I care to admit,  I certainly act as though my personal 'vineyard',  that is my life, is my very own.  My time is my own. My possessions are my own.  My family is my own.  Mine, mine, mine.  Oh sure, deep down I realize that "every good and perfect gift is from above", and I even whisper a quiet "Thanks, Lord" when I think of it. But in the next moment, I put together my to-do list and without really realizing it, just expect God to bless it.    Then, thankfully, God sends in the 'servants' to remind me that the 'vineyard' does not really belong to me.  A friend makes a well-timed phone call which summons me to accountability.  I dutifully show up at bible study (because, of course, it was on my to-do list) and a sister in Christ speaks a word of truth straight into my heart.  A fifteen minute carpool run with Christian radio playing allows a distant preacher to point me back to the 'owner of the fields'.   So, how do I react to the servants' messages?  And even more importantly, what is my response to the Son?  Will I question, as the priests did in the temple, the authority that Jesus has over me?  Or do I submit to the Owner of the field AND His Son, giving them their rightful place of headship in my life?  As I think about these questions, I might even remember to look up at the 'watchtower' and the 'walls' that have protected me, wondering if the fruit in my life has been plentiful or pitiful.   So, the choices in my own life and in the Parable of the Tenants seem to come down to just one question: What did I do with the Son?   I find that this day I must AGAIN decide to give Jesus complete and unquestioned authority in my life, confessing the moments that I took back the 'field', forgot about the 'watchtower', but somehow still thought the 'presses' would be busy following a bountiful harvest.  While the tenants attacked the Son hoping only to gain the estate for themselves, I can trust in the Son to give me "an inheritance that will never perish, spoil or fade."     Thank you, Jesus, for seeing into the depths of my heart and finding me lovable and worthy of your sacrifice.  Through the power of your Holy Spirit, please help me to release control of my life and submit to your authority.  Even when I do not understand my circumstances, I know I can rest in your perfect care.  Amen   Karen Peikert

What Do I Need?

Oh, what a pointed question of Jesus: “What do you want ME to do for you?” 

“Lord, I’m quite sure that I’ve often cried out to You for help, and yet many times, I confess, I don’t even know what I need most from You? 

Maybe I’m asking for the wrong things too often.  Help me, Lord.”

I like the story of the preacher who invited folks to come to the altar and give their lives to the Lord.  Some folks came.  Among them one old man who was hardly able to walk.  Standing at the altar, he looked up into the pastor’s face, and he asked, “Pastor, can the Lord us me?”  And without a moment hesitation, the pastor took his crippled hand in his own and replied: “Brother, you’re just the one the Lord is looking for!”  The Lord wants to use ME, too.  And He will, if I let Him do so.

 

The Palm Sunday Story:  Lord, help me to see myself right now, standing in the midst of that huge crowd, and loudly shouting with the other folks those words from the Old Testament book of Psalms.  Welcome, Jesus!  Welcome into my life!

 

Donald E. Pardun

Down is the new up!

Matthew 20: 1-28

Every year -- or even several times each year -- periodicals of all sorts attempt to instruct us on which current trends are "in," and which are now "out."

To kick off 2007, the Washington Post provided one such list, which informed us that low-rise boot-cut jeans, yellow-ribbon magnets, and blueberries were now considered "out," while deluxe ping-pong tables, antidepressant perfume, and fantasy bass fishing is "in." How did we survive before newspapers and magazines provided this service?

This is very important information, apparently, because the last thing you want is to be seen wearing low-rise boot-cut jeans while driving your car with the yellow-ribbon magnet on your way to get a blueberry muffin at Baker's Square. People will immediately judge you as completely out of fashion, and not hip to the current trends.

I'm being sarcastic, but it's true that some people harbor a deep-seated anxiety about being perceived as behind the times. Advertisers tap into this fear and cause us to spend lots of money on temporary things so that we might be judged acceptable by our peers, while feeling superior to those still following last year's trends. It seems that the basic drive of our entire culture is the desire to have something better: a better job, a better house, a better car, better clothes, or an altogether better life, and our magazines and newspapers are always eager to tell us exactly what we need to value in order to make ourselves better.

At the end of yesterday's reading, Jesus spoke of the time coming "when the world is made new," and those who had given up everything for Jesus' sake "will receive a hundred times as much in return." Then he says, "But many who are the greatest now will be least important then, and those who seem least important now will be the greatest then." It's a completely upside down kingdom.

Jesus develops this theme further in today's reading. He first tells a parable about a bunch of vineyard workers who, though hired to work at different times throughout the day, all received a day's wages, even though some of them worked only one hour. Those who were hired first (and worked the longest) complained that this was unfair. But the landowner states that the workers all labored for an agreed-upon amount of time for an agreed-upon wage, and he can certainly give the latecomers a full day's wages if he wishes. In the view of the landowner, this is entirely fair.

Then Jesus adds the statement, "So those who are last now will be first then, and those who are first will be last," and we're back to this upside down kingdom again. In shaking up his listeners' ideas about the value of work and wages, he shakes up their ideas about what has value at all in his coming kingdom.

Then the mother of James and John comes to Jesus to ask that her sons be allowed to sit in places of honor next to Jesus in his kingdom. They were demonstrating that natural human drive to be better than everyone else, and the other disciples were indignant about it.

Jesus patienty explains how the world works; that those in authority flaunt their positions of power over those under them. But Jesus tells them that whoever wants to be a leader must be a servant. Bill Hybels of Willow Creek Church titled his book on this subject Descending into Greatness, which I think is a great way of phrasing it. Here Jesus is once again rearranging their ideas of what has value. Whoever wants a high position, must take a low position. Down is the new up!

There is clearly a difference between how Jesus assigns value and how the world assigns value. The world may think that being a servant is "out" when actually it's "in."

Jesus, help us to value things as you value them. Let us not give in to the human drive to always have something better. Instead let us humble ourselves as servants, following the example you set.

Drew Clausen

"Mine?"

Matthew 19:13-30

At the beginning of this passage, Jesus makes what must have been a startling statement to his listeners (and certainly to his disciples): "The Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children."

This was probably startling because not much thought was given to children back then. The idea that children are anything more than just "little adults" is a relatively recent concept. And Jesus says that the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these. What was it about children that Jesus was recognizing?

Children come into the world helpless and completely dependent on their parents, and this is certainly something that we can emulate in our relationship with God. Like children, we must also recognize our helplessness and our complete dependence on our heavenly father.

But look ahead to the next section. In verses 16-22, a young man comes to Jesus asking one of the key questions of the gospel: what must be done to gain eternal life? Jesus lists some commandments, and the young man assures Jesus that he has kept them, so he presses the question further. Jesus, perhaps recognizing this man's wealth, tells him to sell all his possessions and give the money to the poor. This causes the young man great sadness because of love of his possessions.

Here is something else quite childlike. Anyone who has children knows that the concept of personal possessions develops very early. We hoped to hold it off with our own children, but to our surprise, "Mine!" was among the first words our oldest daughter spoke. Sharing does not come naturally; it has to be learned.

But children also know that everything they have comes from their parents (which is why they never stop asking us for things). I think Jesus must have also been recognizing this when he said we must be like children.

The wealthy young man loved his possessions, and in that way he was very much like a child. But did he understand that everything he had came from God in the first place? Do we understand that?

Drew Clausen