Jesus in Decapolis

A few months ago the Sunday lesson was taken from the account of the Master's visit to the land of the Gadarenes, or Gergesenes, as they are called in the KJV.  Review here.

Briefly, Jesus had gone to the Heights where he met the demon-possessed, cast the demons into a herd of swine and two thousand animals ran into the sea and drowned

Jesus, it seems to me, made this visit to a strange place in exhibition of this love for all people.  He came to the Gadarenes bearing healing and salvation.  But when the swineherds ran into the city to report the doings of this Jesus in the countryside, the people, the entire city, ran out to him.  Ran out to him seeking his favor?  No! They ran out to him pleading with him to leave their country forthwith.

Now why would they do that?  Loss of the swine, of course.  Those pigs were worth more to them than healing, love, salvation.

What have you in your life that you value so highly that you might ask Jesus to depart and withdraw his gifts?

Matthew 8:28-34

Gospel Writers and Colts #T

The other day we were addressing some differences in the records of the Triumphal Entry and why they might have existed.  We observed that both Matthew and John specified that the animal Jesus requested for his entry into the city was the colt of a donkey.  Mark and Luke did not specify that the colt was a donkey.  Why? I asked.

Most scholars agree that Matthew was written by an anonymous author, but one who was well-versed in Jewish tradition and the Law.  Clearly he would have been familiar with the role of the donkey in the Exodus, its position in Jewish life, and of peter chamor.  He would have recognized the importance of distinguishing the colt as that of an ass.

Similarly though his life-style differed radically from that of the writer of Matthew, John, a cousin of Jesus according to tradition, would have been thoroughly familiar with the Law.  Mark and Luke, however, had much different backgrounds.  Mark was born in North Africa and though he became one of the Four Evangelists he was probably much less familiar with Jewish tradition.  Luke was born  in a Greek city and was quite possibly a gentile, though many scholars believe he was a Hellenistic Jew.  He was no doubt highly educated, a physician.  Rather than religious studies he would have focused on such scholars as Aesclepius, Hippocrates, Aristotle, and Pythagoras,  He became a traveling companion of Paul and doubtless learned most of what he knew of Christ, his life, and associated theology, from Paul.

Now we see the likelihood that Luke and Mark considered it of small import to specify that Jesus's mode of transport was a donkey, whereas Matthew and John were careful to include that detail in their account.

To us today it is a matter of scholarly interest to pursue detail and speculate on motive of persons long gone from the scene.  As a matter of importance, it would make no difference to us had he ridden into Jerusalem in a Mercedes limousine.  Well, except for the anachronism.  What matters to us is that Jesus Christ, Creator God, assumed human flesh, lived among men and died for us; that he arose from the dead and ascended to the Father where he prepares a place for us!

Peter Chamor #T

And when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Beth′phage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find an ass tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me.  If any one says anything to you, you shall say, The Lord has need of them,’ and he will send them immediately.”--Matthew 21:1-3, RSV)

I observed in reading the accounts of Jesus's Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem that Matthew and John both specifically refer to the colt of a donkey, as did Zechariah in his prophecy..(Zech. 9:9)  Yet neither Mark nor Luke mention a donkey, referring to the animal only as a colt.  I wondered if there was any specific reason for the reference to the donkey, and why two of the writers ignored it.

First let us look at the term "colt."  It is technically applied to a male horse, whole, and under four years of age.  It is also used in reference to the male foal of a donkey or a camel.  So one reading Mark's account, for instance, might think "horse" or even "camel" either of which was used as a beast of burden.  Yet I think it is significant that the animal was a donkey.  Why?

There are numerous references to "chamor," donkey, in the scriptures.  But here is an interesting fact that I did not learn in Sunday School.  The Torah demands that the first-born male of mankind must be redeemed, that is the priest is entitled to him lest he is redeemed by way of sacrifice of a lamb or kid.  The priest sacrifices the animal,  and is entitled to certain portions as meat for himself.  This mitzvah is common  knowledge,  but the mitzvah peter chamor is less well-known.  Talmudic scholars insist that  the first-born male offspring of the chamor must be redeemed!  Now we know that a donkey is "unclean" according to the Torah, so what is going on here?  Talmudic scholars teach that the sanctity was imputed to the donkey as a reward for providing transport for the goods of the Hebrews as they fled Egypt.  Thus each first-born male belongs to God, represented by the Levitical order.  This animal may not be used for anything whatsoever unless he is redeemed, "bought back" by the owner by way of trading in a kid or a lamb!

The details are intense and quite interesting, but too much for this blog post.  Suffice it to say that when the peter chamor is completed, the sanctity of the animal is gone and thus he may now be used in the normal man/donkey relationship, i.e., as a beast of burden, or for leather, or hair, or whatever.
Now this is extremely odd in such a manner as to spark further curiosity, for this is the only instance in which sanctity disappears in redemption, for in all other cases, redemption imputes righteousness!
Well, talk to your friendly neighborhood kohen.  You will probably confuse him, too.

So back to Jesus in Jerusalem.  When Jesus told the disciples to inform anyone who questioned them that "The Lord has need of them," He was asserting his ownership, for an unredeemed colt of an ass belongs to the Lord!  Jesus chose to ride into Jerusalem on the same beast that was instrumental in effecting freedom of the Hebrews from Egyptian captivity, and now chamor is carrying the Redeemer of all mankind into His city!

It's a beautiful thing!

Why did Luke and Mark elide this detail while the other writers included it?  Fodder for another post. String Too Short to Tie: Gospel Writers and Colts (vanilla-ststt.blogspot.com) 

 Be blessed!

Magdalen, Evangelist

Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.  Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her.  --John 20:17,18 (AKJV)

He is risen!  The Good News was vouchsafed to Mary Magdalene and Jesus at once commissioned her as the first Christian evangelist.

Easter, the celebration of Christ overcoming death and the grave, is the best day of the year!

Have you accepted the gift Christ gives?

Happy Easter!

Paul in Rome

Our brief look at the account of the Acts of the Apostles as penned by Luke has brought us to the final few paragraphs in chapter twenty-eight.  Here we find that Paul has finally been transported from the site of the shipwreck on Malta to Rome where he continues to be held prisoner awaiting his hearing before Caesar.  Yet he is permitted to live in a private residence under the oversight of a Roman guard.

Shortly after his arrival in Rome Paul invites the members of the Jewish community in the city to confer with him in his home.  Many having heard of the religious sect Paul represents, likely as much through curiosity as anything else, show up to hear what Paul has to say.  It is worth noting that many of these Jews were no doubt devout followers of the Law and having heard of "Christianity" did not deem it to be a new religion, but labelled it a "sect" which is to say that though it may present new thought it did not deny the Law. The upshot of these meetings with Paul were much like a modern day presentation of the Gospel in that some accepted the teachings and became followers of Christ and many did not.

It is interesting to note that here ends Luke's account without reference or explanation as to what happened to Paul after the two-year detention in Rome.  And why, I asked myself, is that the case.  I think at least two factors should be considered. First, The Acts is not about Paul!  It is true that Paul is a principal character throughout the book, but the Acts is about Jesus Christ and the dissemination of the Gospel throughout the Gentile world.  Second, I believe that the end of Paul's detention probably was also the end of Luke's connection to Paul's life and Luke wrote only about events of which he had first-hand knowledge.  I could be wrong on the second point, but I think not on the first.

The pastoral epistles of Paul along with contemporary non-scriptural literature give us some information regarding Paul's ministries beyond his first captivity in Rome and perhaps his ultimate demise.  But that lies beyond the scope of this lesson and would require in-depth study to ferret out the desired information.

Point to ponder:  I stated above that the Book of Acts is about Jesus Christ and the spreading of the Gospel.  Is it not the case that the entire canon of Scripture from Genesis through the Prophets, the Gospels, the letters of Paul, and finally The Revelation is about Jesus Christ and the Good News of Salvation?

In the Garden

As we read the eighteenth chapter of John's Gospel we find ourselves with Jesus as he leads some of his disciples into the garden.  There the minions of the high priest find Jesus who asks them, "Who are you looking for?"

When Jesus tells them he is Jesus of Nazareth they are taken aback--  literally.  But they picked themselves up from the ground and asked again, receiving the same reply.

But Peter.  Impetuous Peter, prepared apparently for any eventuality, had a sword.  Now I am puzzled.  Why in the dickens did a fisherman and disciple of the Christ come to the garden armed?
Why, to defend his Lord and Master, evidently, for he drew his weapon and struck Malchus upside the head, severing his ear.  No, no.  Specifically he cut off the man's right ear.

Two immediate responses by Jesus.  The first to Peter, "Put away your sword. Would you prevent me from pursuing the will of the Father?"  The second, an action: he replaced the ear and healed the wounded man, thereby demonstrating his love for a) his enemies, and b) the lowliest of men, for Malchus was a slave.

Anyway, I tried to recreate the action in my mind's eye, to picture the relative positions of the Lord, and Peter, and Malchus.  (And yes, Judas Iscariot was a witness to the scene as well, not as Christ's disciple, but as the guide to Caiaphas's crew.)  All kinds of questions.  Was Peter left-handed?  Was the ear lying on the ground or was it dangling by bits of flesh?  How many people were present?  Jesus and his eleven, a contingent of Roman soldiers under their commander, the high priest's people.  A bunch.

Jesus acted without dissembling and without rancor, and he knew full well what lay ahead for him.
We get all defensive, angry and bent out of shape if someone doesn't agree with us?  Can that be right?

Athens 2.0

Paul, being in Athens, preached Jesus and the resurrection in the marketplace and to whomever would hear him.  Then certain philosophers, referring to him among themselves as a babbler, took him to Areopagus and quizzed him concerning the strange doctrine of which he spoke.

Then Paul addressed the Athenians in what we now refer to as his Sermon on Mars Hill.

But between the first paragraph above and the short second one there is a parenthetical, which we quote here.

(For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.)  Acts 17:21 KJV

And that insert is the text for this morning.

Athenian society of the first century was much focused on knowledge, on telling and hearing of new things.  Philosophers of various sorts held forth in the agorae and had done so for several hundred years, dating back to Socrates in the fifth century BCE. The parenthetical sums it up:  they spent their time in nothing else.

Almost two thousand years from the time of Paul's visit to Athens we find ourselves living in a society in which the hearing and telling of new things overwhelms our ability to 1) keep up with it all, and 2) live a productive life characterized by internal peace.

Reflect on that.

Jesus said, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."  John 14:27  KJV

We Three Kings

In the Gospel According to Matthew we read, "Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him."

Everything we know about these "wise men" is related in the second chapter of this book, they were from the east, they inquired of Herod, "Where is this king born?"  They worshiped the Christ child and presented gifts.  In defiance of Herod's directive, they returned to their own land without returning to Herod.  That's it.  That is what we know.

Yet the imagination of mankind is not satisfied, so a narrative is created over time; names are assigned to the wise men, the number of them being established at three, which, again, we are not told in Matthew's account.  The place of their origin is chosen through speculation-- what else is there to go on? And so three hundred or so years after the event, Helena of Constantinople, mother of the emperor Constantine set out on a quest for the remains of these magi, as they are often called.

Helena reportedly located the very bones she sought, supposedly in Persia.  She had them shipped home to Constantinople.  Through a series of events which you may easily find and read about on the internet, these relics were transferred first to Milan then to Köln  where they abide to this day in the world's largest reliquary just behind the altar in the cathedral.  These three caskets are bound together in perpetuity by ornate gilding and is an important tourist attraction.

Helena has been accorded sainthood.*

Whatever her motives and the likelihood of success in Helena's venture, we are better served by focusing on the motives and actions of the wise men, whatever their number.  They traveled far, they presented their best, and they worshiped the Christ.  Next Saturday is Epiphany, the day we traditionally observe in honor of the visit of the magi to Bethlehem.

No matter the length of our journey or the vicissitudes of life, we, too, must present our best and fall before the Christ in worship and adoration.

The Magi?  Wherever the dust of their bones, may their souls rest in eternal peace.

*This is the same Helena who unearthed the true cross and carted some splinters home with her.

Who is this Man

born in Bethlehem? 

But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. --Micah 5:5 KJV

Rejoice!



Everlasting.

 He is eternal.

 Ruler

 He is ruler in Israel, and moreover we are told
 his rule extends to the ends of the earth.

Zechariah 9:10  

 Peace 

He is peace between God and man.   

Thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; 
lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.
Zechariah 9:9

We celebrate this season to welcome the Redeemer into this world.
We welcome you, Lord Jesus, into our hearts and lives.
We welcome the Day your second advent will establish your rule in all the earth!

Joy Advent Sunday Three. #T

As we study the Advent stories in the first two chapters of Luke and in the second chapter of Matthew we note that joy permeates the account.  Mary visited her cousin Elisabeth to tell her of her pregnancy by the Holy Spirit.  Elisabeth related that as soon as she heard Mary’s voice, the babe within her womb leaped for joy!

 

Upon the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, the angels announced to the shepherds that they were bringing good tidings of great joy!  The wise men from the east followed the star.  When it stood over the place where Jesus was, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy!

 

How we desire to be filled with joy and peace!  Yet how often it seems we are unable to receive the blessing.  I was prepping the motor home for our excursion into a quiet place.  One of the many tasks is the filling of the water tank.

I placed the hose in the filler pipe and had it running at a good volume. It takes several minutes to complete the fill. I stepped around the rig to tend to another item.  Presently I heard water splashing on the ground.  I went to the hose and found the tank was not taking the water, but allowing it to spill to the earth.  I removed the hose and the tank burped.  I replaced the hose, and in a matter of a few seconds it overflowed again.  Removed hose, tank burped.  I knew the vent tube was plugged but could not imagine why.  I tried again, same result.  After the fifth burp, when I reinserted the hose, a brilliant metallic-blue mud dauber crawled out of the vent tube!  Aha!  She had plugged the pipe.

I set the nozzle to fine-stream, top power and shot the water down the vent tube.  The pipe cleared and the filling process proceeded in a normal fashion.

As I completed this task, I was thinking that in spite of our desire for the joy and peace that the filling of the Holy Spirit brings it is too often the case that our inner being, our tank, in a manner of speaking, is filled with air, trivial and meaningless matters, that must be vented to allow room for the infilling of the Spirit.  Yet we have somehow allowed the wasps of worldly cares to plug the vent.  We hold onto what must be expelled, and thus fail to receive the joy and peace that should be ours.
How to correct the problem?  Our faith in Jesus is the jet-stream that will clear the vent-tube of the soul so that we can receive the joy of the Lord!

The Reason for the Season

The Cat and the Christ Child

The cat crept into the cave. Stripy, she was, in the daylight.  But now, well past sunset and the settling of darkness, she was as black as any other cat.  The tabby's left ear twitched, cocked over her left shoulder as she heard the rustling in the straw strewn over the floor.  A great ox lying nearby snorted softly as he dropped his head to the ground.  His horn made a clack! as it made contact with the rock.  He exhaled.  His nares vibrated briefly then all was still.

The cat remained motionless.  Long moments dragged slowly by.  In the distance an owl called to its mate.  Then the rustling began again as the mice resumed feeding on the loose grain in the straw.  The cat's right fore paw inched forward, settled softly, then the left paw raised, advanced, soundlessly touched the rock, then pounce!  Her prize in her claw, then between her jaws, she nestled close to the belly of the ox and dropped the mouse.  Stunned and addled but still with a will to live the creature staggered and attempted to run.  But the cat casually reached out, dragged it back.  Again she released it, this time allowing the creature to "get away."  But the cat sprang, recaptured the mouse and lay down again.  She played her cruel game with the small captive for several minutes, but finally tired of it and overcome with hunger she crunched its skull between  her teeth, then dined on her catch.

So Stripy, sated, slept.

A ruckus arose within the stable.  A pair of human creatures shuffled into the space, one carrying a blazing fagot in one hand as with the other he supported the woman who staggered in and collapsed on the floor.  A donkey followed them.  Then entered a large nondescript dog close on the heels of the ass.  He went to the female human creature and started licking her cheek while the man wedged the torch into a notch in the wall that served as a sconce. The presence of the canine got the attention of the sleeping cat, which started and sprang to her feet.  She scaled the flank of the ox where she settled, thus attaining a full view of the goings-on.  The ox slept on.

Soon there was frantic activity, the man bustling around the woman, the woman writhing and screaming in obvious pain. All the creatures in the stable stirred restlessly, the sheep bleated, and even the ox raised its head and voiced his concern.  Following a protracted episode of heavy breathing and intermittent screams, everything fell silent for a few moments.  Then suddenly the mewling of a new man-child pierced the quiet.

The man patiently worked at cleanup chores, handed the infant to its mother.  Everyone except the man, the woman, and the cat finally went back to sleep.  Then the woman cradled the tiny human creature in the straw the man had laid in a manger. The tabby, her tail erect and switching from side to side drawing esses and zees in the air, left her perch on the ox and sauntered casually toward the small human.  As the cat approached the child, the dog lifted its head, raised itself up on its two forelegs.  The cat made not a sound but gave the canine the evil-eye.  The dog lay back down.  The cat circled the child and we might imagine that she was thinking, "Big deal.  Just another human." Then she went back and snuggled into the warmth of her bovine friend again.

 Which all took place before the gaggle of rough and ragged men began to fill up the space, babbling about a Heavenly Presence that came to them in the fields praising God and telling them that this child  in the stable was The Christ!

The cat was wrong.

Merry Christmas!

and let there be peace, at least between you and me. 

©David W. Lacy 2015

Peace Advent Sunday Two

There can be no peace among men until there is peace within the individual.  That peace cannot exist apart from Jesus Christ.

Pascal suggested that there is a God-shaped hole in the heart of everyone and the only thing that can fill it is God.*  This condition developed upon the very first instance of man's disobedience to God's instructions.  "They saw that they were naked." (Genesis 3:7) The righteousness with which man in his original state was clothed fell away immediately upon the commission of the sin of disobedience to the Creator.

Yet God in his infinite love so yearned for reestablishment of fellowship with the Creature that he gave His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, as a sacrificial atonement for man's sin. Peace returned to the world through this gift, yet the hole in our hearts can only be filled by accepting the gift.

Seeking frenetically for something to fill the void within is futile, no matter the excitement of the entertainment or the glitter of worldly possessions.

Peace, Jesus said, I leave with you.

Avail yourself of the Peace!

 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.  --John 14:7

 *“What else does this craving, and this helplessness, proclaim but that there was once in man a true happiness, of which all that now remains is the empty print and trace? This he tries in vain to fill with everything around him, seeking in things that are not there the help he cannot find in those that are, though none can help, since this infinite abyss can be filled only with an infinite and immutable object; in other words by God himself.”
- Blaise Pascal, Pensées VII(425)

Oink, Splat, Glug

All three of the synoptic gospels relate the encounter of Jesus with the demon-possessed man of Gadara.

Two thousand piggies
ran headlong into the sea.
A fitting bit of justice for the profiteers, purveyors of forbidden flesh.
While it likely Jewish swineherds would not consume the meat
They were willing to profit on its sale to the Romans who thought it good to eat.
There are many little puzzles in this account of the demons and the Master
But they are all solved if one takes the time to think through it carefully for
Haste often leads to disaster.

We will deal with only one facet of the story this morning, the question of who is on the right course and who on the wrong.  There exists a fallacy  in logic named for this situation: the Gadarene swine fallacy.

One must not fallaciously conclude that because a group is in formation it is necessarily on course.  Neither may we assume that because one is out of formation he is also off course.  Though we may not assume he is on course, either.

To the instance at hand.  The man possessed, living alone in the tombs, seeing Jesus step ashore, ran to worship him.  He was alone, not in formation, but on course.  The swine, all 2000 of them, into which the dispossessed demons took up residence, in formation ran over a steep declivity, plunged into the sea, and expired.  They may have been on course, but if so, they were on course to destruction.

The rest of the explication is complicated,

Collector or Hoarder? #T

I have a friend who is a collector of certain artsy items.  These are neither cheap nor tacky, yet he has hundreds of them and will buy more as he finds them.  They have not driven him from his home, for while he has many dozens of them tastefully displayed throughout the house, the vast majority of them are neatly stored in boxes in the garage and attic.  He is a collector, a consumer of fine art.  

I have known a number of people, both men and women, who are hoarders.  These people amass stuff.  Once they acquire an item they cannot rid themselves of it.  These things may have value, they may be useless, but the clutter they create builds to the point that the occupant of the house has mere aisles eighteen inches wide between piles of junk, a path from a kitchen, a bathroom, one to a bedroom.  Papers, books, magazines stacked four feet high, unimaginable and unusable trash everywhere.  If there were a treasure in the lot, the heirs will never find it, for they will simply have the stuff shoveled into dumpsters when the owner dies.  Hoarder.

Oh, by the way.  Neither the stuff of the hoarder nor the collector has any eternal value.  Jesus said, 

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:

But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.  --Matthew 6:19,20

Our Walk with God #T

Let's go back this Sunday morning to a lesson from a few years back-- slightly amended.
 
He hath known thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? --Micah 6:8

This is a rhetorical question, for the answer is contained within it.  The first clause asserts that God knows us, and thus knows what is good for us.  The second clause contains the question, "What does the Lord require?" and finally, the apparently very simple, three-fold set of actions incumbent upon us.

1. Do justly.  To accomplish this goal, one must first have a sense of justice, then he must have the inclination and will to practice it.  Many people, in my opinion, have a "sense of injustice," by which I mean they recognize the hurts or perceived slights performed by others against them, yet they seem to have a truncated notion of what justice is in their dealings with others.  A "get even" attitude grows readily in this soil.
2. Love mercy.  Another action required.  It does not tell us to recognize mercy, but to love it.  If we love mercy, we are going to behave in a merciful way; we will practice kindness toward others.
3. Walk humbly with God.  First, this is a requirement to walk, not to sit, or lie about.  Then we are told with whom to walk; and we are told how to walk-- with humility.  We are clearly not to carry a prideful attitude with respect to our walk with the Lord.

Now this doesn't seem to be so simple, after all.  But it is required.  The additional good news is that there is apparently not a laundry list of further requirements.  Look at the word "but."  The implication is that in doing the three required things we are relieved of the burden of making and following nit-picking rules by which to define a godly walk.

It seems Micah has summed up the law in three requirements: Do, Love, Walk.  Jesus did ii in two, encompassing all the law and Micah's summary:  
  
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.  --Matthew 22:37-39

Happy October the first!         

Weeping Jesus

"Jesus wept." John 11:35

Lazarus and his sisters, Martha and Mary, were close friends of Jesus.  But Jesus was away when Lazarus died.  Jesus returned four days after the interment.  Martha said to Jesus, "Had you been here, he would not have died."

Jesus observed the sisters and the friends of Lazarus in mourning, they weeping for their loss.

And Jesus wept.

Jesus did not weep for the death of his friend, but rather in compassion for his friends who were weeping.  We know this because Jesus knew that Lazarus would be raised alive from the grave.

Even so we ourselves gather at the mourning for one gone on to the eternal reward.  We do not weep for the dead, but rather in compassion for the loved ones who are left behind.

Those who are in Christ and encounter death will yet live again!

"Do You Love Me?"

You've probably heard it; I know I have.  "I love Jesus, but I am not religious."  Sometimes, "I am very spiritual, but I don't practice any religion."

Wait.  Before you call these people out for their appalling ignorance, think about what they are really trying to tell you.

"I love Jesus, but I am not religious."  This is to say I believe in Jesus but I don't want to practice any system that suggests that I am other than my own person.  I don't want others to think I might be different from them in some way.  I can love Jesus and still fit in with the worldly crowd.

A religion is a system of belief, a set of doctrines or tenets to which one subscribes.

"I am very spiritual, but I don't practice any religion."  Similar to the above, the speaker wants others to know that s/he is "deeper" than the appearance presented to the world.  I want to look like, speak like, act like the world, but deep down I am really special.  The problem here is that no matter what system one chooses to explore "spirituality," s/he is practicing a religion (system of belief.)  In a nutshell, it is possible to be religious without being spiritual, but it is impossible to be spiritual without being religious.

Either statement makes me sad for the speaker.  I have heard it even within the walls of the church building; I have heard it from the lips of a "minister."

"Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world."  --James 1:27 (KJV)

 "Do you love me?" Jesus asked.  "Feed my sheep."  (John 21)

"Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven."  --Matthew 7:19-21 (KJV)

Assignment: Read the entire seventh chapter of Matthew.

Four-letter Words: N

This is Good Friday.  We kicked off the four-letter word series last week with "L" for "love."  To do this alphabetically, today's post should be "A."  I am unpredictable, however, and we are skipping to the first letter in the second half of the alphabet, "n," and the word is:

nail.

Jesus died the cruelest and most insulting death we can imagine.  We observe Good Friday in commemoration of the sacrifice of His own life to atone for our sins.  He died for us that we might live.

The nails were driven through His hands and feet to hold him to the rood.  Yet it was not the nails that held Him there, but rather His unimaginable love for us that forced him to give His life.  Make no mistake.  His life was not taken from Him, He gave his life.  He cried to the Father, "Not my will, but Thine be done."  He gave all in the will, not of self, but of the Father.

I am thinking as I worship this morning of the thud of the mallet as the nails were driven, the agony of  my Lord, Creator of all things, as he suffocated there on that hill we call Calvary.

The greatest Love of all.

Mary, Did You Know?

 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus.
 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

 --Luke 1:31-33

Last evening I was listening to "A Pentatonix Christmas Special."  I was pleased to discover that the program consisted largely of traditional Christmas music, carols and hymns.  Beautiful presentation.

I paid particular attention to "Mary, Did You Know?" something I have perhaps never really done before.

Mary did you know, Mary did you know, Mary did you know
The blind will see, the deaf will hear and the dead will live again
The lame will leap, the dumb will speak, the praises of the lamb.

To these lines I think perhaps Mary would have to answer, "No, I did not know that my child would do those things.  But I did know who He is."

Mary did you know that your baby boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary did you know that your baby boy will one day rule the nations?

"Yes" Mary would reply, "I did specifically know that this Jesus is the Lord of all creation, I do know that He will rule the nations, for Gabriel told me so."  And we know this because Luke tells us so in the passage quoted above!

Jesus and the Pharisees

In Matthew chapter eleven we find Jesus again in conflict with the religious leaders of his time.  Listen to Him:

"To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others:

 We played the pipe for you,
    and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge,
    and you did not mourn. " (Matthew 11:17,18)

These children playing these tunes are the Pharisees and scribes.

They are playing the pipe to which John will not dance, eschewing a life of ease for the desert experiences.  They are playing the dirge, for Jesus lives a life style which they perceive to be in violation of the law.  By the law they mean not the ten commandments, but the entire body of "law" as developed over the centuries by the religious leaders.

With these hyper-religious fanatics the only way to "win" is to toe the line they draw.  Yet John did not dance, nor did Jesus mourn.

This chapter ends with these words of the Master:

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”  (Matthew 11:28-30)

Bible quotes from the NIV.

Some commentators suggest that Jesus in quoting the verse about the children playing is borrowing from Aesop's fable of the fisherman piping.