In Matthew’s gospel Jesus begins questioning the disciples, asking them who people think he is. They give him various answers, some may have been their own and some may have been what they heard in people's conversations as they mingled with the crowds.
He listened to their responses and then he posed the toughie, “Who do you say that I am?” As the rest pondered the question Simon said, “You're the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
To his answer Jesus tells Simon, son of John, that he is the “Rock” and this is the rock he'll build his church on. This impulsive, hard-headed, “willfully stupid” man is going to be used as the foundation for the Body of Christ here on earth.
But, not long after this Jesus calls him Satan and tells him he is thinking as the world thinks and not on God’s things. And then, later, Peter denies that he knows Jesus, three times.
What does Jesus see in him that we don't? Is it because Simon, now Peter, answered first, and answered correctly?
Jin S. Kim in Feasting on the Word said ...it wasn't Peter's strength or righteousness but rather it was his testimony that Jesus was responding to. Peter's words came from everything he had observed and experienced as he spent time with Jesus. It was his witness that Jesus was rewarding.
So, who do you say that Jesus is? How do you bear witness to the Messiah? That’s a question all of us should think about. When someone asks us who Jesus is how will we answer? Or maybe they won’t ask, they’ll just watch to see how we live and watch how we deal with pain and suffering in our lives.
Are we able to answer like Peter and say, Jesus is “… the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the living God,”? You know we’re probably not much different than Peter. One day we’re able proclaim that Jesus is the Messiah and the next we deny we ever knew him. And the next day Jesus is speaking to us saying, “…get out of my way. Satan, get lost. You have no idea how God works.”
You know what might be interesting? Ask folks we meet on the street who Jesus is, to them. It might surprise us to hear some of the responses. We really shouldn’t be since the disciples gave answers like John the Baptist, Elijah, and Jeremiah or one of the other prophets. Nobody in Jesus’ day really understood who he was.
And he didn’t want his disciples telling people he was the Messiah yet. It wasn’t the right time. But, friends, the time is right for us now.
When people ask us who Jesus is that’s a sign the time is just right for giving our testimony about who Jesus is to us. If we’re not sure how we’d answer then maybe we should go to the Word and pray for the Spirit to open our hearts to discover who this Messiah, Jesus, is to us.
Roddy Hamilton has thought about this and put this poem together to help us. It goes like this…
Jesus
Jesus
water walker and bread breaker
Jesus
baptiser and companion
Jesus
stranger and forsaken
Jesus
troublemaker and revolutionary
Jesus
resurrection and conspiracy of love
Jesus
light in darkness and breaker of silence
Jesus
friend of sinners and tax collectors
Jesus
friend of children and disturber of adults
Jesus
friend of the outcast and agitator of empire
Jesus…
Jesus…
how do you know Jesus?
So, maybe this helps us. This week as you spend time with God invite his Spirit to lead you to those words that you can use to describe Jesus to those you meet on your Journey.
Thanks be to God for his Grace. Amen.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Please! Send Her Home!
A couple weeks ago Jesus was in the wilderness with the disciples hoping to get away for some quiet time, kind of a mini-retreat. But someone was watching. When they arrived there they were 5,000 plus people waiting to be healed…and fed. The disciples came to Jesus then and asked him to send them all away so they could find shelter and food for the night.
That time Jesus said, “They don’t have to go away. You feed them.” Today the disciples come to him again with a demand. “She’s driving us crazy. Please take care of her. She’s a major pain.”
Again Jesus doesn’t respond the way the disciples wanted him to. He said, “I've got my hands full dealing with the lost sheep of Israel.” This time he didn’t tell them to take care of the problem. But, what if he was testing them to see how they would take care of this woman’s needs.
What if he wanted to see what they had learned in the wilderness when he asked them to take care of the folks who had followed them? What if he was checking to see if they were listening when he responded to the Pharisees with their questions about what to eat and the washing of hands?
Some folks are troubled by the response Jesus gave to the woman when she came right up to him and he the same as called her a “dog”. There are those who think because Jesus was ‘human’ that he was still “learning” about his work here with God’s people.
But don’t you think if Jesus is also divine that he would know all this? So, that’s why I am proposing that Jesus was seeing if the disciples had learned the lesson he was trying to teach them in the wilderness. Apparently they hadn’t. They were still living with their prejudices.
She was a woman for one thing and a Canaanite for another. It wasn’t proper for them to speak to her because she was a woman and to add something else to the mix God had said no one was to have anything to do with the people of Canaan.
But Jesus didn’t come just for the Jews but he came for all those who trusted in God and repented of their sinful lives.
Matthew’s gospel doesn’t give us enough insight into Jesus’ intent so we have to speculate. So what do you think?
I think that may be why God seems to not answer some of our prayers such as when we pray for food for those starving in Somalia and Ethiopia. Maybe he’s waiting to see if we’ve learned anything from the lessons Jesus taught us in the Word.
I wonder sometimes if God thinks the words Jesus spoke to Peter, “Are you willfully stupid?” We have to admit that sometimes it does take us a while to get his Message.
So, maybe the lesson for all of us today is the same as it was a couple weeks ago, “You take care of it. You feed them. You give them shelter. You give them a coat. You grant them mercy.”
Aren’t there times when we all wonder if God is even listening to our prayers? But, look how long the Israelites had to wait to see how God’s plan for their survival. Who would have guessed that Joseph being sold into slavery was going to work out for their good?
And even when God’s people turned their backs on him he didn’t throw them out. As stubborn as they were, He still granted them his mercy and grace.
Friends, that’s the Good News for us. As stubborn and hard-hearted as we all are God is still willing to grant us his mercy and grace.
All we have to do is trust in God and believe that Jesus is interceding for us. That’s why our prayers are so important, even when we say a simple prayer like, “Jesus, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.” God hears our prayers and he knows what’s in our hearts.
The question is do we get it. Do we believe what we read and hear in God’s Word? Friends, every day, every hour we need to pray for God’s mercy and His grace. We need to pray for the crumbs off God’s table because that’s enough for us.
Thanks be to God for his mercy and grace. Amen.
That time Jesus said, “They don’t have to go away. You feed them.” Today the disciples come to him again with a demand. “She’s driving us crazy. Please take care of her. She’s a major pain.”
Again Jesus doesn’t respond the way the disciples wanted him to. He said, “I've got my hands full dealing with the lost sheep of Israel.” This time he didn’t tell them to take care of the problem. But, what if he was testing them to see how they would take care of this woman’s needs.
What if he wanted to see what they had learned in the wilderness when he asked them to take care of the folks who had followed them? What if he was checking to see if they were listening when he responded to the Pharisees with their questions about what to eat and the washing of hands?
Some folks are troubled by the response Jesus gave to the woman when she came right up to him and he the same as called her a “dog”. There are those who think because Jesus was ‘human’ that he was still “learning” about his work here with God’s people.
But don’t you think if Jesus is also divine that he would know all this? So, that’s why I am proposing that Jesus was seeing if the disciples had learned the lesson he was trying to teach them in the wilderness. Apparently they hadn’t. They were still living with their prejudices.
She was a woman for one thing and a Canaanite for another. It wasn’t proper for them to speak to her because she was a woman and to add something else to the mix God had said no one was to have anything to do with the people of Canaan.
But Jesus didn’t come just for the Jews but he came for all those who trusted in God and repented of their sinful lives.
Matthew’s gospel doesn’t give us enough insight into Jesus’ intent so we have to speculate. So what do you think?
I think that may be why God seems to not answer some of our prayers such as when we pray for food for those starving in Somalia and Ethiopia. Maybe he’s waiting to see if we’ve learned anything from the lessons Jesus taught us in the Word.
I wonder sometimes if God thinks the words Jesus spoke to Peter, “Are you willfully stupid?” We have to admit that sometimes it does take us a while to get his Message.
So, maybe the lesson for all of us today is the same as it was a couple weeks ago, “You take care of it. You feed them. You give them shelter. You give them a coat. You grant them mercy.”
Aren’t there times when we all wonder if God is even listening to our prayers? But, look how long the Israelites had to wait to see how God’s plan for their survival. Who would have guessed that Joseph being sold into slavery was going to work out for their good?
And even when God’s people turned their backs on him he didn’t throw them out. As stubborn as they were, He still granted them his mercy and grace.
Friends, that’s the Good News for us. As stubborn and hard-hearted as we all are God is still willing to grant us his mercy and grace.
All we have to do is trust in God and believe that Jesus is interceding for us. That’s why our prayers are so important, even when we say a simple prayer like, “Jesus, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.” God hears our prayers and he knows what’s in our hearts.
The question is do we get it. Do we believe what we read and hear in God’s Word? Friends, every day, every hour we need to pray for God’s mercy and His grace. We need to pray for the crumbs off God’s table because that’s enough for us.
Thanks be to God for his mercy and grace. Amen.
Monday, August 8, 2011
Faith
Faith, Paul and Matthew both wrote about it. What is it? How can we define our faith? Jesus said that Peter's faith was too small. Paul tells us faith is in our hearts.
Paul takes it a little further when he says, “...before they can believe in him, they must hear about him; and for them to hear about the Lord, someone must tell them; and before someone can go and tell them, that person must be sent.”
So, it's easier to believe if someone tells us about their faith. I believe our souls are longing for intimacy with the Word. We know God is there but we have doubts and struggle with believing until...someone shares their story with us about how God reached out for their hand when they called for help.
Peter had “some” faith but it didn’t really show until he was sinking in the waves and knew he couldn’t tread water long enough to keep from going under. It was only when he realized he was going down fast that he called for Jesus to save him. Does that sound familiar?
Some might think that Peter showed his faith when he stepped out of the boat and I agree that took some courage to do that. But he didn’t throw his leg over until he was sure that it was Jesus who was walking across the water towards them. Don’t you wonder what he was thinking when he did that? Anyway his faith didn’t really show itself until he was sinking.
So, let me ask you a question. When does your faith become apparent? I would bet that most of the time our faith isn’t really seen until we find ourselves sinking and cry out, “Save me Lord!”
On the other hand Paul says that is tells us in Scripture, "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart." He tells us, “If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and if you believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, you will be saved.” And he reminds us that…"Anyone who trusts in him will never be disappointed."
What else is there to say? Faith is believing that Jesus is God’s Son and that God raised him from the dead. Faith is trusting in God and his promises. Faith is having God’s word in our hearts and trusting in the power of God to save us when we are drowning.
To be honest we all struggle with our faith, even those we think have an unshakable faith have moments when their faith wavers. That’s why I think what Paul tells us at the end of today’s passage is so important, “… before people can ask the Lord for help, they must believe in him; and before they can believe in him, they must hear about him; and for them to hear about the Lord, someone must tell them; and before someone can go and tell them, that person must be sent. It is written, ‘How beautiful is the person who comes to bring good news.’”
So, good friends I pray that if you hear or feel God calling you to share your story with someone, that you will listen to his voice and do it. Because this is the only time they will have the opportunity to hear “your” story. And they can’t believe until they hear “your” story. So, when God asks you to go, do it and don’t be afraid to tell your story because there’s no other story like your story.
When we share our faith, when we extend a hand to someone else, we give them the chance to hear the word and believe. And God’s kingdom on earth grows with the addition of one more believer. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Paul takes it a little further when he says, “...before they can believe in him, they must hear about him; and for them to hear about the Lord, someone must tell them; and before someone can go and tell them, that person must be sent.”
So, it's easier to believe if someone tells us about their faith. I believe our souls are longing for intimacy with the Word. We know God is there but we have doubts and struggle with believing until...someone shares their story with us about how God reached out for their hand when they called for help.
Peter had “some” faith but it didn’t really show until he was sinking in the waves and knew he couldn’t tread water long enough to keep from going under. It was only when he realized he was going down fast that he called for Jesus to save him. Does that sound familiar?
Some might think that Peter showed his faith when he stepped out of the boat and I agree that took some courage to do that. But he didn’t throw his leg over until he was sure that it was Jesus who was walking across the water towards them. Don’t you wonder what he was thinking when he did that? Anyway his faith didn’t really show itself until he was sinking.
So, let me ask you a question. When does your faith become apparent? I would bet that most of the time our faith isn’t really seen until we find ourselves sinking and cry out, “Save me Lord!”
On the other hand Paul says that is tells us in Scripture, "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart." He tells us, “If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and if you believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, you will be saved.” And he reminds us that…"Anyone who trusts in him will never be disappointed."
What else is there to say? Faith is believing that Jesus is God’s Son and that God raised him from the dead. Faith is trusting in God and his promises. Faith is having God’s word in our hearts and trusting in the power of God to save us when we are drowning.
To be honest we all struggle with our faith, even those we think have an unshakable faith have moments when their faith wavers. That’s why I think what Paul tells us at the end of today’s passage is so important, “… before people can ask the Lord for help, they must believe in him; and before they can believe in him, they must hear about him; and for them to hear about the Lord, someone must tell them; and before someone can go and tell them, that person must be sent. It is written, ‘How beautiful is the person who comes to bring good news.’”
So, good friends I pray that if you hear or feel God calling you to share your story with someone, that you will listen to his voice and do it. Because this is the only time they will have the opportunity to hear “your” story. And they can’t believe until they hear “your” story. So, when God asks you to go, do it and don’t be afraid to tell your story because there’s no other story like your story.
When we share our faith, when we extend a hand to someone else, we give them the chance to hear the word and believe. And God’s kingdom on earth grows with the addition of one more believer. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Monday, August 1, 2011
You Give Them Supper
In Matthew’s gospel he tells us that Jesus just wanted to get away to a quiet, out-of-the-way place. As Matthew tells the story Jesus had learned a short time ago that his cousin John the Baptizer had been beheaded by Herod.
So, not only was he worn out by teaching the masses and his disciples, healing their ills, and casting out their demons but now he heard that his predecessor had been killed. In the same circumstances wouldn’t you want to go somewhere to be alone with God and your grief?
But someone was watching which way he went and told the crowd. When he was nearing the other shore there they were waiting for him. Jesus didn’t react as we would. Instead of saying, “Oh no!” he had compassion for those who were coming to him for healing and help.
Immediately, just like a triage team in an emergency room dealing with multiple trauma cases after a terrible accident, Jesus set to work healing them.
After working all day everyone was tired, Jesus and those who were traveling with him. The disciples were ready to call it a day and asked Jesus to send them away so they could find food and shelter for the night.
Instead Jesus says, “You give them supper.” Can’t you just see their faces? “What are you talking about? We don’t have enough in the treasury to buy supplies to feed this crowd. Look at how many there are!”
Did they really think that Jesus was going to take no for an answer? They still hadn’t learned what kind of power he had at his disposal. Matthew doesn’t put this in his story but Mark does; Jesus asks them, “How much do you have?”
Their reply was that they only had 5 loaves and 2 fish. And Jesus said, “Let me see it.” Then just like an orchestra conductor he got everyone’s attention and asked them all to find a place to sit.
Friends, can you picture this? He didn’t have any loudspeakers, he wasn’t able to send a Tweet or a text. So, how was he able to get them all to understand what he wanted? Well, after all he was God and he could do anything. But, I still wonder how he did it.
Jesus didn’t back down from what he had asked them to do. He asked the disciples to bring him the bread and the fish. He lifted it up, asked for God’s blessing, broke the bread and the fish and gave it to his disciples to distribute to all who were seated on the hills of grass.
Now, here’s where folks like to try to figure out how it was possible to feed 5,000 men and who knows how many women and children with just 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. I’d kind of like to know too but is that really the important part of this lesson? I don’t think so.
I think, and this is just my opinion, that the lesson to be taken from this is that God asks us, the Church, to give them supper. And we are saying, “Let’s send them home, back to where they came. Let’s get the government to take care of them.”
What’s God’s answer? “What do you have? Let me see.” And, if we trust in Him, if we give our meager offerings to Him for His blessing, then the 5,000 can be tended to.
Friends, Jesus doesn’t ask the question today that he asked last week but I will. Do we understand what he’s saying? Do we get it?
Most times when someone asks if the Church can help the answer is, “We don’t have enough money. We don’t have anybody to work. We’re too old.”
Can we hear God’s reply? “What do you have? Let me see it. Give it to me.” What kind of faith do we have if we don’t believe that we are able to do anything?
Jesus is still speaking to us, “You give them…supper, clothes, housing, justice, forgiveness.” As small as our resources are with God’s blessing they are able to do more than we can imagine.
That, my friends, is what I believe is the good news for us today. God’s kingdom is here and we are being asked to ‘give them supper.’
If we believe, then our next step is to trust in God and let him lead us to those he would have us serve. Who is Jesus asking us to feed today? Who has Jesus invited to sit down so we can feed them? Who are we to ‘give supper’ to?
We aren’t just God’s church that comes together to worship, join in fellowship, be filled with God’s grace, and then go to our homes until we gather again next week. No, I hear God calling us to ‘give them supper.’
What do you hear God saying today? How is he speaking to your heart and soul? Friends, God is calling us to service.
God loves each and every one of us. He forgives us when we fail. He prays for us when we don’t know what to say. And with the might of his right arm he lifts us up to serve and give help to those in need. Thanks be to God. Amen.
So, not only was he worn out by teaching the masses and his disciples, healing their ills, and casting out their demons but now he heard that his predecessor had been killed. In the same circumstances wouldn’t you want to go somewhere to be alone with God and your grief?
But someone was watching which way he went and told the crowd. When he was nearing the other shore there they were waiting for him. Jesus didn’t react as we would. Instead of saying, “Oh no!” he had compassion for those who were coming to him for healing and help.
Immediately, just like a triage team in an emergency room dealing with multiple trauma cases after a terrible accident, Jesus set to work healing them.
After working all day everyone was tired, Jesus and those who were traveling with him. The disciples were ready to call it a day and asked Jesus to send them away so they could find food and shelter for the night.
Instead Jesus says, “You give them supper.” Can’t you just see their faces? “What are you talking about? We don’t have enough in the treasury to buy supplies to feed this crowd. Look at how many there are!”
Did they really think that Jesus was going to take no for an answer? They still hadn’t learned what kind of power he had at his disposal. Matthew doesn’t put this in his story but Mark does; Jesus asks them, “How much do you have?”
Their reply was that they only had 5 loaves and 2 fish. And Jesus said, “Let me see it.” Then just like an orchestra conductor he got everyone’s attention and asked them all to find a place to sit.
Friends, can you picture this? He didn’t have any loudspeakers, he wasn’t able to send a Tweet or a text. So, how was he able to get them all to understand what he wanted? Well, after all he was God and he could do anything. But, I still wonder how he did it.
Jesus didn’t back down from what he had asked them to do. He asked the disciples to bring him the bread and the fish. He lifted it up, asked for God’s blessing, broke the bread and the fish and gave it to his disciples to distribute to all who were seated on the hills of grass.
Now, here’s where folks like to try to figure out how it was possible to feed 5,000 men and who knows how many women and children with just 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. I’d kind of like to know too but is that really the important part of this lesson? I don’t think so.
I think, and this is just my opinion, that the lesson to be taken from this is that God asks us, the Church, to give them supper. And we are saying, “Let’s send them home, back to where they came. Let’s get the government to take care of them.”
What’s God’s answer? “What do you have? Let me see.” And, if we trust in Him, if we give our meager offerings to Him for His blessing, then the 5,000 can be tended to.
Friends, Jesus doesn’t ask the question today that he asked last week but I will. Do we understand what he’s saying? Do we get it?
Most times when someone asks if the Church can help the answer is, “We don’t have enough money. We don’t have anybody to work. We’re too old.”
Can we hear God’s reply? “What do you have? Let me see it. Give it to me.” What kind of faith do we have if we don’t believe that we are able to do anything?
Jesus is still speaking to us, “You give them…supper, clothes, housing, justice, forgiveness.” As small as our resources are with God’s blessing they are able to do more than we can imagine.
That, my friends, is what I believe is the good news for us today. God’s kingdom is here and we are being asked to ‘give them supper.’
If we believe, then our next step is to trust in God and let him lead us to those he would have us serve. Who is Jesus asking us to feed today? Who has Jesus invited to sit down so we can feed them? Who are we to ‘give supper’ to?
We aren’t just God’s church that comes together to worship, join in fellowship, be filled with God’s grace, and then go to our homes until we gather again next week. No, I hear God calling us to ‘give them supper.’
What do you hear God saying today? How is he speaking to your heart and soul? Friends, God is calling us to service.
God loves each and every one of us. He forgives us when we fail. He prays for us when we don’t know what to say. And with the might of his right arm he lifts us up to serve and give help to those in need. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)