Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 9:57-62.
As they were proceeding on their journey someone said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go."
Jesus answered him, "Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head."
And to another he said, "Follow me." But he replied, "(Lord,) let me go first and bury my father."
But he answered him, "Let the dead bury their dead. But you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God."
And another said, "I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say farewell to my family at home."
(To him) Jesus said, "No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God."
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No one who sets their hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God.
I've got one thing to say to that statement - Ouch!
What is Jesus saying here? We all have second thoughts. We all wonder in our minds if we are doing the right thing. We daydream about how things were and about our childhood, do you think He's referring to that?
"Let the dead bury their dead. But you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God." How do you think Doctor Phil would respond to Jesus over that statement? Sounds like Jesus is not looking for closure and does not seem to care if we have any either. What is the number one point here? Where do you see yourself in this conversation? Are you the person who says to Jesus, I will follow you anywhere? Are you the person who simply asks to go back and say goodbye to their family to which Jesus basically says, let it go and let's get going! Remember, by this time Jesus had already separated Himself from His family in a way. When He was teaching in a small house and His family came to hear Him and the people told Him His brothers and sisters were outside. Jesus responds and says that only those who listen to the words of His Father and follow them are His brothers and sisters...ouch. The cousins were cut off. (Hebrews do not have names for uncles, cousins, nephews and nieces, etc. everyone is a brother or sister in the family).
Jesus is what today would be termed as isolated and focused on His lone quest regardless of who in His life He leaves on the curb. By today's psychological standards this is considered unhealthy. That family is important and we should be on the look out for isolationists, that they may be planning something dangerous and we should alert authorities. Jesus is saying plainly that we are to be like Him in this respect, to look forward and go with a purpose in mind and heart. To cast off family members, mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters to carry out the purpose of the kingdom of God. Almost sounds cultish if I may say so but Jesus is not telling people that He is to be adored and worshiped but rather our Heavenly Father who is truly God of all. So is Jesus being too hardcore here? How important was spreading the kingdom of Heaven to Jesus? How seriously did He take His purpose and goal? How important are you taking your part in His purpose and goal? Many will make Jesus to be a piece of milk toast, a person who has gentle features and soft spoken voice who would not swat a fly because it was a creature He created thus it would be out of His character to kill or maim something or someone He created. I respond to that type of thinking by saying that here we listen to and see the real Jesus and His mindset. He is focused and He is driven, He tells others that if they want to follow Him and His ways then they too have to become focused and driven. Jesus is not a frustrated nerd who lived His life at home close to mother and had no real friends and so now is seen as a person striking out because He lacks being heard. Jesus is the Son of God and He has a Holy calling on His life, He was baptized by John in the river Jordan and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him and God, the Father spoke and stated that this is His Son. Jesus is the right hand of God the Father and every behavior, every act, every proclamation Jesus exhibits is straight from the character of God the Father Himself.
Is the proclamation too hardcore for you? Is what Jesus says too cultish for you? Have you ever given yourself over to anything in your life in such an extreme way as this? Does it excite you to think about doing it? To cast off all of the world's trappings and follow Jesus with great abandon? To press into God and rely completely upon His provision? Then my friend, why wait any longer, you are fit for the preaching of the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Don't wait any longer, run to Him and find your life.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Saturday, September 24, 2011
And all were astonished...
"And all were astonished by the majesty of God."
I was reading this just now and it occurred to me that all were astonished. How long has it been since You were astonished? I don't mean just surprised that God remembered you but actually, really astonished in what God has/had done for you in your life? In the gospel of Jesus Christ, according to Saint Luke in Chapter 9 and verse 43b, Doctor Luke points out that all were astonished. According to Webster the definition of astonish is:"to strike with sudden and usually great wonder or surprise."
I pose to you that in this day and age with the glitz and glamor of western culture we have little capacity to be astonished. We see different corners of the globe from the safety and security of our living rooms, viewing from our computer screen through the miracle of the internet. I say miracle because it has enabled you and I to make contact and to share thoughts and ideas and concerns. Your circle of community and mine just grew by a few million at least who may at some time in space view this blog and/or the comments you may leave. This conversation will for just a short sliver of time in God's continuum live for as long as the world wide web does. Do you find that idea astonishing? I do. I may not show my astonishment on the outside but I am astonished that what I write will live on in cyberspace because whatever is posted to the Internet never goes away.
I leave you with this thought and that is, if we do not find ways to allow ourselves to be astonished, to be surprised, to be elated in our relationship with God then what sort of response do you believe you will express when you meet God face to face? On one hand I expect there will be some familiarity because of the relationship I have with Him and along with that I expect to feel great levels of awe and wonder. What would help me to overcome the shock and awe will be the warmth from His eyes into mine, the smile He gives to me, the kind of smile that says,"what..you thought it would be Miami Beach?" As a gift, I would like to present Him with something that I can do for Him, offer Him my astonishment. I realize I do not have to do anything for God and I am not speaking of a payback or offering to enter Heaven. What I mean is as one friend offers another friend a precious gift, when the receiver has a face of surprise, a face of unexpected elation, the look of elation and appreciation for the giver becomes all the thank you they need. Does God need my thank you? I do not believe God needs anything, if He did then He would not be God, He would be an incomplete being the same as you and I. What I do believe is that God is love and love is God (First John) and love excites and grows with more and more love. Love unrequited is love still but do you not see and believe that love deserves love in return? I believe God deserves my love in return because of the love He has shown and constantly shows to me in my life. I cannot wow God but do I need to? I believe as my friend, Lord and Master that God would and could be surprised by the look on my face of astonishment because God does not disappoint and God does not leave any detail unattended. God will accept my face of astonishment and elation and be joy filled at my jubilation of entering into the Kingdom and for my gift to Him, He will bless me with a smile that only a parent can give to their child. I believe it is only kind and loving to prepare myself to give a look of astonishment when I see Him in all His splendor and majesty and to prepare myself I am going to practice not being so cynical, not so Not-impressed with nature and the Holy Spirit. I am going to allow myself to become more sensitive to the movements of God in my life. They are subtle and quiet and they are swirling around like a wisp of wind and it takes getting pushed over with a feather, not a 2X4 to receive what God is sharing with you or me today. If someone offers you an ice cream cone today, take it and show your enjoyment when you eat it. If someone gives a "hello," receive it and share with them a look directly into their eyes and give a smile and say, "thank you, and hello to you too!" You never know who you may be encountering, sometimes it will be angels.
I was reading this just now and it occurred to me that all were astonished. How long has it been since You were astonished? I don't mean just surprised that God remembered you but actually, really astonished in what God has/had done for you in your life? In the gospel of Jesus Christ, according to Saint Luke in Chapter 9 and verse 43b, Doctor Luke points out that all were astonished. According to Webster the definition of astonish is:"to strike with sudden and usually great wonder or surprise."
I pose to you that in this day and age with the glitz and glamor of western culture we have little capacity to be astonished. We see different corners of the globe from the safety and security of our living rooms, viewing from our computer screen through the miracle of the internet. I say miracle because it has enabled you and I to make contact and to share thoughts and ideas and concerns. Your circle of community and mine just grew by a few million at least who may at some time in space view this blog and/or the comments you may leave. This conversation will for just a short sliver of time in God's continuum live for as long as the world wide web does. Do you find that idea astonishing? I do. I may not show my astonishment on the outside but I am astonished that what I write will live on in cyberspace because whatever is posted to the Internet never goes away.
I leave you with this thought and that is, if we do not find ways to allow ourselves to be astonished, to be surprised, to be elated in our relationship with God then what sort of response do you believe you will express when you meet God face to face? On one hand I expect there will be some familiarity because of the relationship I have with Him and along with that I expect to feel great levels of awe and wonder. What would help me to overcome the shock and awe will be the warmth from His eyes into mine, the smile He gives to me, the kind of smile that says,"what..you thought it would be Miami Beach?" As a gift, I would like to present Him with something that I can do for Him, offer Him my astonishment. I realize I do not have to do anything for God and I am not speaking of a payback or offering to enter Heaven. What I mean is as one friend offers another friend a precious gift, when the receiver has a face of surprise, a face of unexpected elation, the look of elation and appreciation for the giver becomes all the thank you they need. Does God need my thank you? I do not believe God needs anything, if He did then He would not be God, He would be an incomplete being the same as you and I. What I do believe is that God is love and love is God (First John) and love excites and grows with more and more love. Love unrequited is love still but do you not see and believe that love deserves love in return? I believe God deserves my love in return because of the love He has shown and constantly shows to me in my life. I cannot wow God but do I need to? I believe as my friend, Lord and Master that God would and could be surprised by the look on my face of astonishment because God does not disappoint and God does not leave any detail unattended. God will accept my face of astonishment and elation and be joy filled at my jubilation of entering into the Kingdom and for my gift to Him, He will bless me with a smile that only a parent can give to their child. I believe it is only kind and loving to prepare myself to give a look of astonishment when I see Him in all His splendor and majesty and to prepare myself I am going to practice not being so cynical, not so Not-impressed with nature and the Holy Spirit. I am going to allow myself to become more sensitive to the movements of God in my life. They are subtle and quiet and they are swirling around like a wisp of wind and it takes getting pushed over with a feather, not a 2X4 to receive what God is sharing with you or me today. If someone offers you an ice cream cone today, take it and show your enjoyment when you eat it. If someone gives a "hello," receive it and share with them a look directly into their eyes and give a smile and say, "thank you, and hello to you too!" You never know who you may be encountering, sometimes it will be angels.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Making some dust
Some may notice the Feedburner icon on the right side of the page. I am in the midst of learning how to publish a podcast and then let you know about it. I am putting the cart before the horse in certain respects, I am setting up the framework and then I will post a podcast episode. The technical side of it is all new to me so I am going slow. Please bear with me on the podcasting.
On another side I was looking at Matthew 16: 1-20 where Jesus is telling about the vinyard owner who goes and hires workers in the morning, afternoon and just before the end of the workday. At the end of the day the owner tells his foreman to pay out the wages to all. All were to receive the same wage and that the last to be hired would be the first to get paid. When the workers from the morning saw this they balked and felt it unfair. Jesus gives many good responses about the attitude of the workers and their geleousy toward the others who only worked for an hour and yet received a full day's wage.
A thought ocured to me is that the workers hired in the morning were given the opportunity to work in the vineyard all day. All day they were in the presence of the Master and yet they grumbled at what they saw and took little note of where they were. Those of us who are called into the Kingdom of Heaven by our Master and Lord, by the One who bled and died for all of us on the cross at Calvary are blessed simply to be in His presence. If someone lives a life of sin and on their dying breath they accept the Lord and go to be in His presence should we grumble because this person who lived a life of sin and gets a pass to go and be with God and Jesus for eternity? We who are already called and who already dine at the Lord's supper when we attend communion, we are already in His presence and we work in His vineyard each day. Today is another opportunity to work in His vineyard and the harvest is plenty, the branches hang low with sweet plump juicy fruit and we are provided the best of baskets to put it into along with gloves and a hat. Breaks are whenever we need one and there is cool water for the taking. Lunch will be at the Lord's table and all are invited. "The harvest is plenty, laborers are few, come with me into the fields. Your arms will grow weary, your shoes will wear thin, come with me into the fields." An old song from church.
Today go and be blessed for you work not for flesh and blood but for the Lord and He gives you special work.
On another side I was looking at Matthew 16: 1-20 where Jesus is telling about the vinyard owner who goes and hires workers in the morning, afternoon and just before the end of the workday. At the end of the day the owner tells his foreman to pay out the wages to all. All were to receive the same wage and that the last to be hired would be the first to get paid. When the workers from the morning saw this they balked and felt it unfair. Jesus gives many good responses about the attitude of the workers and their geleousy toward the others who only worked for an hour and yet received a full day's wage.
A thought ocured to me is that the workers hired in the morning were given the opportunity to work in the vineyard all day. All day they were in the presence of the Master and yet they grumbled at what they saw and took little note of where they were. Those of us who are called into the Kingdom of Heaven by our Master and Lord, by the One who bled and died for all of us on the cross at Calvary are blessed simply to be in His presence. If someone lives a life of sin and on their dying breath they accept the Lord and go to be in His presence should we grumble because this person who lived a life of sin and gets a pass to go and be with God and Jesus for eternity? We who are already called and who already dine at the Lord's supper when we attend communion, we are already in His presence and we work in His vineyard each day. Today is another opportunity to work in His vineyard and the harvest is plenty, the branches hang low with sweet plump juicy fruit and we are provided the best of baskets to put it into along with gloves and a hat. Breaks are whenever we need one and there is cool water for the taking. Lunch will be at the Lord's table and all are invited. "The harvest is plenty, laborers are few, come with me into the fields. Your arms will grow weary, your shoes will wear thin, come with me into the fields." An old song from church.
Today go and be blessed for you work not for flesh and blood but for the Lord and He gives you special work.
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