Wednesday, February 28, 2024 – Lent Three: Jesus Asks! Tough Questions for a Lenten Faith

“Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked.  (Luke 10:36, NLT)

                 Jesus can be very wily with his questions.

                The “expert in religious law” (v.25) came to Jesus with the question, “who is my neighbour?” Being an expert, he knew as a pious, devout religious practitioner that he could list those whom weren’t his neighbours – the Samaritans, the Romans, the gentiles, the unclean, the chronically ill, some women. You let these sorts of people in and there goes the neighbourhood. He was probably wanting and expecting that Jesus, a good Jew, would confirm his biases.

                But Jesus turns the tables with the well-known parable of The Good Samaritan. We all know the story well. A man, a Jew most likely, was robbed and left to the side of the road. Two highly regarded religious persons walked by the man and crossed the road to avoid him. But “a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him.” (v.33). In fact, he bound up the man’s wounds, put him on his donkey and got him to a hostel and paid for his room and board and care.

                Jesus turns the tables on the religious expert. Not “who is my neighbour?”, the emphasis being on the word “my” but rather who am I a neighbour to. The responsibility of neighbourliness is now yours and my obligation.  Who are you and I called to be neighbours to, with compassion, assistance, mercy and good works?

                To modernize the parable a bit. It would be like a despised Palestinian helping an Israeli or a despised Ukrainian farmer  helping a  Russian soldier. It would be like a despised transgender person helping a fundamentalist, Baptist pastor. It would be like the despised homeless person helping a rich person.

Most of us, if truth be told, would rather walk by, not get involved, let the government handle it.          

In Jesus’ world, i.e. his Kingdom, it simply doesn’t work this way. “ Love your neighbor as yourself.’” (vs.27) Jesus initiated the subject of neighbourliness just before he told the parable. It is one of the keys to eternal life. We know, elsewhere, he said that we should even love our enemies (Matthew 5:44) It would appear that Jesus has a very broad definition about who is our neighbour. But it begins within the heart of each one of us and spreads outward.

Another way of saying this is found in the Golden Rule: “Here is a simple, rule-of-thumb guide for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you, then grab the initiative and do it for them. Add up God’s Law and Prophets and this is what you get.” (Matthew 7:12, The Message Bible)

It is very hard to wriggle out of these commands. Jesus always lays the responsibility upon you and me. It is hard to put limits and conditions to what Jesus is teaching. It is difficult to just love only those who appear like us.  We are charged with a task of loving anyone who crosses our paths, who needs a helping hand, who needs our acceptance, who simply needs to be loved because nobody else will.

“For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Galatians 5:14, NLT)

 And by neighbour, it means also those who are, sometimes, unlikable, different, disagreeable, unfriendly, broken, lost, despised by others, or those who have harmed us in the past, etc. etc. And not just some superficial observance, some legalistic approach, but with genuine, authentic, trustworthy love. “If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.” (1 Corinthians 13:3, NLT)

Mr. Rogers introduced his children’s TV show with the song, “Won’t you be  my neighbour?” but I think he meant it in a Jesus way:

It's a beautiful day in this neighborhood
A beautiful day for a neighbor
Would you be mine?
Could you be mine?

It's a neighborly day in this beautywood
A neighborly day for a beauty
Would you be mine?
Could you be mine?

I have always wanted to have a neighbor just like you
I've always wanted to live in a neighborhood with you

Dale

 Wednesday, February 21, 2024 – Lent Two: Jesus Asks! Tough Questions for a Lenten Faith

“Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked. “Only God is truly good…” (Mark 10:18, New Living Translation)

                 If we can’t call Jesus “good”, then who is? Or ever can be?  Everything we know about Jesus reveals his goodness.

                It is a bit of a puzzling question from Jesus. Perhaps, he was sensing a condescending, flattering attitude from the man who asked Jesus about what he had to do to inherit eternal life. One gets the sense in the Gospels that Jesus never needed to be idolized or adored by the public. This man seemed to be looking for pat answers in his quest and Jesus wanted to deflect the possible pandering to his own ego.

                Like last week, we are left again confronted with Jesus’ identity – who do we say he is?

                I can’t help but think of Jesus’ poignant “I am” pronouncements in John’s Gospel. I am, Jesus said, the bread of Life, the Light of the world, the gate for the sheep, the Good Shepherd, Son of God, the resurrection and the life, the Messiah, the way and the truth and the life.

                If none of those are good enough for us, then I am at a loss for words.

                Jesus didn’t look to be put on a pedestal and hero-worshipped. He was too good for that! He did not want to appear more important than God. “Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to.” (Philippians 2:6, NLT) Or “to be grasped” as some translations have it. Paul goes on to say, “When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.” (vss 7 - 8) Rather inglorious, yet, in its most humiliating reality, very powerful and redemptive.

                Simply put, Jesus knew, understood and practiced the grace of humility, meekness and service. Goodness was more than mere reputation, people’s popular opinion or well-managed public relations. “God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth.” (Matthew 5: 5, NLT)

                His teachings on servanthood are a good example, “but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.” (Matthew 20:26, NKJV) We are inspired by his example when he washed his disciples’ feet at the Last Supper, a job that, normally, only servants would have done. Humble service is born out of his loving desire to make a difference in people’s lives, not counting the cost, not worrying about one’s status or looking for rewards and acclamations. Jesus’ modesty and humility were the cornerstones of his goodness and he didn’t need people’s adulation to do what he did. “Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:29, NLT)

                We have all had moments in our lives when we felt that we didn’t get enough credit for something we did. We are disappointed when others failed to notice what a good job we had done. A good pat on the back would have been appreciated or our names spoken out loud by the pastor or the team leader. A ‘thank-you’ would have been nice. It is human nature to want to be congratulated on a job well-done. “The master said, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’ (Matthew 25:23, NLT)

                But such recognition is not the main motive for our endeavours. “Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.” (Philippians 2:3, NLT)

Our goodness is predicated on serving as Jesus himself set the example. “I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you.  I tell you the truth, slaves are not greater than their master. Nor is the messenger more important than the one who sends the message. Now that you know these things, God will bless you for doing them.” (John 13: 15 -17, NLT)

                Maybe, others won’t notice your goodness but trust God that he will: “I know all the things you do. I have seen your love, your faith, your service, and your patient endurance. And I can see your constant improvement in all these things.” (Revelation 2: 19, NLT)

Dale

Wednesday, February 14, 2024 – Ash Wednesday: Jesus Asks, Tough Questions for a Lenten Faith

Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?” Peter replied, “You are the Messiah.”  (Mark 8:29, New Living Translation)

                 Ash Wednesday and Lent were not really a thing when I was growing up in our Baptist church in Belleville, Ontario. But I have come to deeply appreciate Lent’s significance as an opportunity to engage Jesus of the Gospels more deeply.  He speaks to me there. Moreover, Jesus asks some of the people whom he encounters some very poignant questions. Those questions will be the focus for our encounters with Jesus over the Lenten season.

                “But who do you say I am?”

                Let’s get to the big question right off the bat. Who do we say Jesus is?

                There are limitless words, titles and names by which Jesus has been called, described and made known. Theologians have been searching, writing, deliberating, arguing for centuries over who Jesus is. Denominations have their dogmas and creeds.  Individuals have their own personal, favourite ideas.

                Jesus is a hard person to label with any one, singular impression. Just when you think you might have him pinned down, another facet of his character reveals itself. Just when we think we might know him, we discover that we haven’t scratched the surface of the Man.

                But we dare not give up in spiritual frustration. Answering the question about who we say he is is critically important. Sometimes, our answers might change slightly depending on the circumstances in our lives. That’s okay. It is stating the obvious, I know, but who Jesus is for you and me cuts to the core of our faith.

                So far, I have adeptly avoided the answer. Skirted the issue.

                I can’t answer for you, only myself. You can’t answer for me, only yourself.

                No one word is sufficient although Peter’s answer, “the Messiah” is intriguingly close, although it is, historically, a complicated word. But, for me, it captures the reassuring, compelling hope and promise of someone who makes a transforming, redeeming difference in our lives and even in our world. Jesus is the One who makes the world a better place, makes me a better person.

                After reading that last paragraph, it comes across to me as a bit of a stuffy or stodgy answer, not up to the task which I have put before us.  Jesus is anything but stuffy! It misses the importance of how I feel or what I experience in my encounters with Jesus, that “hearts-burning-within-us” experience which the two Emmaus-bound disciples felt when they realized that their companion along the way was Jesus. Answering the question is harder than you might think.

                Like Peter, we may say the right words about Jesus but get it so totally wrong as he did just a bit later. We may try to turn Jesus into our own personal benefactor, a magician to meet our wants, an ally for our prejudices and judgements.  But Jesus will have none of our attempts to put him in our boxes or use him to make the world like the way we want the world to be. “Get away from me, Satan!” he said. “You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.” (Mark 8:33)

                But even our mistakes should not mean that we don’t keep trying to know who Jesus is. Jesus of the Gospels is the deeply compassionate, inclusive, life-affirming agent for God. Jesus of the Gospels cares about the suffering of others, reaches out to the most untouchable people, forgives and frees. Jesus reaches out to you and me from the pages of the Gospels. No one word can capture all that.

A famous theologian, Karl Barth, who wrote copious amounts of theology, was once asked to sum up his faith in Jesus. He replied, “Jesus loves me; this I know because the Bible tells me so.” Maybe that is the best place to start with Jesus in our understanding of who he is. Jesus is Love incarnated!

                In the next two or three-hours, Jesus healed many from diseases, distress, and evil spirits. To many of the blind he gave the gift of sight. Then he gave his answer: “Go back and tell John what you have just seen and heard: the blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the wretched of the earth have God’s salvation hospitality extended to them. Is this what you were expecting? Then count yourselves fortunate!”  (Luke 7: 22 -23, The Message Bible)

                Now, that for me, is the essence of who Jesus is and what he is about.

                Yet, I feel that I have only scratched the surface. But we have to start somewhere.

                I challenge you not to just assume you know who Jesus is. This Lent, put some serious thought into your answer. You may be amazed at what you discover!

Dale

Wednesday, February 7, 2024

“Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good!” (Genesis 1: 31, New Living Translation)

                Praise be! I finished it.  Yesterday, I finished putting together my red, Lego, British, double decker bus. It’s looking mighty fine. (This is the last of my Lego stories – I promise! Well, for now…)

                I had a small setback when some of it fell apart while I was attaching some other pieces. But with patience and calm (uncharacteristic of me, I know), I pieced it back together and then put the finishing touches on the whole project. Voila! A red, British, double decker bus. It is not perfect but I am rather proud of it, if I do say so myself. I didn’t cure cancer or stop wars but I still have some sense of satisfaction and accomplishment.

                The Genesis stories of Creation inform us that God also felt a profound sense of accomplishment and achievement in his acts of creation. From First Light to the human beings who God created in his own image, it was all good. More than good – it was very good. Every day brought out something from the loving goodness of God, making Creation sacred, unique, a blessing, an imaginative and innovative project which formed into our existence and the planet on which we live. These wondrous stories remind us of the richness and the abundance and the sacredness of all created existence, from the smallest detail to the biggest.

                How God came up with the platypus or the giraffe, I don’t know, but they, too, are good, very good. On that seventh day of rest, God looked at all he had made and pronounced it all to be very good.

                “It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.” (Isaiah 55: 11, NLT)

                I suppose I could go the way of exclaiming and complaining about how we, God’s very image, have so often spoiled God’s very good Creation. Wars, pollution, etc.

                But let’s focus, instead, on the goodness of accomplishment and achievement. Let’s consider the sense of satisfaction from a job well done. Let’s reflect on the spirit of the pleasure and fulfillment we receive from doing things the best way, the right way, the productive way.

                Paul wrote in his second letter to the Thessalonians, “May God give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do.” (1:11)

                Each of us has a life to build. We don’t have to build it alone for God always offers his encouragement, counsel and support. Jesus has set the best example. The Holy Spirit aids us. But we do have to put the work in. We have to figure out what fits and what doesn’t. We have to make right choices and decisions.  We have to follow the directions (i.e. scripture). We have to discern the good from the bad.  But it is all worth it. “Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” (Ephesians 3:20, NLT)

                We will not always do it perfectly. There may be times that it seems to fall apart and we have to so some rebuilding. We may need patience and perseverance. But the end-product – although I could argue that we are never totally finished in this life - is something for which we can feel a sense of accomplishment, pride, achievement. “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” (Ephesians 2: 10, NLT)

                “Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.” (Ephesians 4: 24, NLT)

 Dale