31 August 2013 - surrender in action
In the gospel today we encounter the parable of the talents once again.
Let's take note of a few interesting aspects of it.
‘Master, you gave me five talents.
See, I have made five more.’
The first servant made the most.
‘Master, you gave me two talents.
See, I have made two more.’
The second servant made less.
Yet they both hear the LORD say, "Well done, my good and faithful servant."
This is because the the LORD expects much from the one who is given much (cf. Luk. 12:48). It is not from their own abilities that these servants bear fruit. They are given talents and it is only up to them whether or not to let these talents be used. They do not multiply the talents themselves, either. It is only to them to allow their use. Or, we might even say, to acquiesce to their use.
The only response which won't do is the response of fear:
so out of fear I went off and buried your talent in the ground.
It is a choice between trust in the master who gives us our talents or lack of trust (and therefore fear) in ourselves and our own lack of ability and consistency.
but from the one who has not,
even what he has will be taken away.
There is no servant in this parable who has not. The third servant acts as though he has not and so ends up having his talent taken away. But he was given a talent just as the others were. Let us take heed. Even if we feel like we have no talents we most assuredly do. Let us put them to use.
Also interesting in this parable is the reward for the response of the first two servants.
Come, share your master’s joy.’
Yes! This is a beautiful statement. How we long to know the master's joy. Don't we? But wait- it is closely bound to the sentence that precedes it:
I will give you great responsibilities.
So, we share in his joy because of the responsibilities he gives us? This is difficult to fathom. But we must understand that the LORD is building us up. He is raising us from children to maturity. Responsibility in adulthood is not the opposite of joy but it's true locus. Only here can we find consistent and lasting joy.
What are we to do with our talents? Paul claims we already know:
for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another.
But he also tells us how to "progress even more":
and to aspire to live a tranquil life,
to mind your own affairs,
and to work with your own hands,
as we instructed you.
We need to set aside the many distractions that keep us from the simplicity of love to which the LORD calls us. This simplicity even includes things which we may feel are beneath us such as working with our own hands.
We do this because we long for his presence. The parable tells us that the master is "going on a journey". But the psalm assures us:
for he comes to rule the earth;
He will rule the world with justice
and the peoples with equity.
It is his "right hand" which "has won victory". His is the victory when we use our talents for him. And celebration of that victory prepares the way for his ultimate return.
Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
Saturday, August 31, 2013
Friday, August 30, 2013
30 August 2013 - light up the darkness
30 August 2013 - light up the darkness
At midnight, there was a cry,
‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’
We must be ready. The LORD may come. He comes at the end, for judgment, it is true, but he also comes countless times to bless us.
It is reassuring to know that he recognizes our weakness. All of the virgins fall asleep by they are not thereby excluded. This is just as Peter, James, and John fall asleep in the garden of Gethsemane and are not excluded.
Since the bridegroom was long delayed,
they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
But when we hear the cry go up we need to be able to shine for him. He comes at midnight. He comes into the darkness. He uses us to light his path! We light his path at the end by preparing the world to meet him. We also light up the specific situations where he blesses us. We need to have the oil for our lamps ready for any of these situations.. We can't go out and find it at the moment of his visitation. There is no time to do the work ourselves. Fortunately, the oil is the Holy Spirit, and he generously pours him out on those who believe (cf. Tit. 3:5-6).
The secret then is not to squander this oil on dissipation.
For God did not call us to impurity but to holiness.
Therefore, whoever disregards this,
disregards not a human being but God,
who also gives his Holy Spirit to you.
This oil is so precious. It makes the darkness of our own lives life. But if we spend longer than need be in the dark we may not have enough. Let us dwell in the light, therefore, as much as we may. Let us be asleep to the darkness except in the specific places he calls us to shine. And ultimately, we are to shine not for our own glory but for the glory of the bridegroom.
Light in the midst of darkness is a gift he gives. We do not have it within us save for what we receive. But he delights to pour it out. So let us shine brightly for him.
Light dawns for the just;
and gladness, for the upright of heart.
Be glad in the LORD, you just,
and give thanks to his holy name.
At midnight, there was a cry,
‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’
We must be ready. The LORD may come. He comes at the end, for judgment, it is true, but he also comes countless times to bless us.
It is reassuring to know that he recognizes our weakness. All of the virgins fall asleep by they are not thereby excluded. This is just as Peter, James, and John fall asleep in the garden of Gethsemane and are not excluded.
Since the bridegroom was long delayed,
they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
But when we hear the cry go up we need to be able to shine for him. He comes at midnight. He comes into the darkness. He uses us to light his path! We light his path at the end by preparing the world to meet him. We also light up the specific situations where he blesses us. We need to have the oil for our lamps ready for any of these situations.. We can't go out and find it at the moment of his visitation. There is no time to do the work ourselves. Fortunately, the oil is the Holy Spirit, and he generously pours him out on those who believe (cf. Tit. 3:5-6).
The secret then is not to squander this oil on dissipation.
For God did not call us to impurity but to holiness.
Therefore, whoever disregards this,
disregards not a human being but God,
who also gives his Holy Spirit to you.
This oil is so precious. It makes the darkness of our own lives life. But if we spend longer than need be in the dark we may not have enough. Let us dwell in the light, therefore, as much as we may. Let us be asleep to the darkness except in the specific places he calls us to shine. And ultimately, we are to shine not for our own glory but for the glory of the bridegroom.
Light in the midst of darkness is a gift he gives. We do not have it within us save for what we receive. But he delights to pour it out. So let us shine brightly for him.
Light dawns for the just;
and gladness, for the upright of heart.
Be glad in the LORD, you just,
and give thanks to his holy name.
Thursday, August 29, 2013
29 August 2013 - daytime drama
Teach us to number our days aright,
that we may gain wisdom of heart.
We need to stop living as if our eternity is here on earth. We never know when our journey here will come to an end.
You turn man back to dust,
saying, “Return, O children of men.”
And ultimately this is good. We can only bear the weight of this imperfect world for so long. In our deepest hearts we long for the unveiled presence of God, even if we often misdirect this longing.
How then can we be "blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his holy ones"?
The psalmist informs us: "Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!"
Only being filled with his love will "strength our hearts" enough to live (and maybe die) heroically for the kingdom as John the Baptist does. Even in prison he does not hesitate to proclaim the truth.
When he heard him speak he was very much perplexed,
yet he liked to listen to him.
This ultimately results in his death, a martyrdom for the truth. It is therefore a martyrdom for Jesus who is the truth. He is able to do this rather than grasping at this passing world because the LORD fills him with love and strengths his heart. It is not on his own strength that can do this.
Fill us at daybreak with your kindness,
that we may shout for joy and gladness all our days.
that we may gain wisdom of heart.
We need to stop living as if our eternity is here on earth. We never know when our journey here will come to an end.
You turn man back to dust,
saying, “Return, O children of men.”
And ultimately this is good. We can only bear the weight of this imperfect world for so long. In our deepest hearts we long for the unveiled presence of God, even if we often misdirect this longing.
How then can we be "blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his holy ones"?
The psalmist informs us: "Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!"
Only being filled with his love will "strength our hearts" enough to live (and maybe die) heroically for the kingdom as John the Baptist does. Even in prison he does not hesitate to proclaim the truth.
When he heard him speak he was very much perplexed,
yet he liked to listen to him.
This ultimately results in his death, a martyrdom for the truth. It is therefore a martyrdom for Jesus who is the truth. He is able to do this rather than grasping at this passing world because the LORD fills him with love and strengths his heart. It is not on his own strength that can do this.
Fill us at daybreak with your kindness,
that we may shout for joy and gladness all our days.
Let us start each day with him. Their very recurrence points to their impermanence. The LORD gives us bread enough for each day. The LORD wants us to look past this to the eternal now where we meet him. This is why he tells us not to worry about tomorrow. Such worry tries to string time together into an eternity.
LORD, you are enough for us!
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
28 August 2013 - you were with me
28 August 2013 - you were with me
Even so, on the outside you appear righteous,
but inside you are filled with hypocrisy and evildoing.
We are called to live a life of harmony between appearance and substance. When we hear this we can scarcely imagine wanting anything else. Yet when we live aren't we a lot more worried about how things appear? Aren't we trying to please men rather than God? How we want to appear may differ. We may want to seem nice, cool, intelligent, or holy. It may be something else. But this motivation is assuredly within us, fighting our attempts to live selflessly the way of holiness. We can't imagine that we could shed the prophets blood.
‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors,
we would not have joined them in shedding the prophets’ blood.’
Before the cross will we really speak up for Jesus, or will we fear the crowds as Pilate does? We want the image of someone who would speak up for Jesus. But when our appearance (and therefore the comfort it ensures) is on the line what will we choose?
So how can we "walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into his Kingdom and glory"? Is it just too much for us, when everything is on the line?
The answer is in the word of God. We need to receive it "not as the word of men, but as it truly is, the word of God, which is now at work in you who believe." We have a tendency to hear divine words as if they are human and human words as if they are divine. Let us set aside are over abundance of human words and enter in to the God's word so that we may be purified by it. It does this itself. It is at work in we who believe. It pierces the soul and spirit, of joints and marrow. It itself discerns the thoughts and intentions of the heart (cf. Heb 4:12).
Where can I go from your spirit?
From your presence where can I flee?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I sink to the nether world, you are present there.
If we long for this presence we can find it truly in the Word of God. This may not be our typical experience at bible studies. Yet because the Scriptures are not a merely human word they actually makes present what they contain. And what is the content which God's work makes present? He himself is that content!
Let us heed the words of St. Augustine to meet God within rather than losing ourselves in appearances:
For you darkness itself is not dark,
and night shines as the day.
Even so, on the outside you appear righteous,
but inside you are filled with hypocrisy and evildoing.
We are called to live a life of harmony between appearance and substance. When we hear this we can scarcely imagine wanting anything else. Yet when we live aren't we a lot more worried about how things appear? Aren't we trying to please men rather than God? How we want to appear may differ. We may want to seem nice, cool, intelligent, or holy. It may be something else. But this motivation is assuredly within us, fighting our attempts to live selflessly the way of holiness. We can't imagine that we could shed the prophets blood.
‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors,
we would not have joined them in shedding the prophets’ blood.’
Before the cross will we really speak up for Jesus, or will we fear the crowds as Pilate does? We want the image of someone who would speak up for Jesus. But when our appearance (and therefore the comfort it ensures) is on the line what will we choose?
So how can we "walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into his Kingdom and glory"? Is it just too much for us, when everything is on the line?
The answer is in the word of God. We need to receive it "not as the word of men, but as it truly is, the word of God, which is now at work in you who believe." We have a tendency to hear divine words as if they are human and human words as if they are divine. Let us set aside are over abundance of human words and enter in to the God's word so that we may be purified by it. It does this itself. It is at work in we who believe. It pierces the soul and spirit, of joints and marrow. It itself discerns the thoughts and intentions of the heart (cf. Heb 4:12).
Where can I go from your spirit?
From your presence where can I flee?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I sink to the nether world, you are present there.
If we long for this presence we can find it truly in the Word of God. This may not be our typical experience at bible studies. Yet because the Scriptures are not a merely human word they actually makes present what they contain. And what is the content which God's work makes present? He himself is that content!
Let us heed the words of St. Augustine to meet God within rather than losing ourselves in appearances:
Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved you! You were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for you. In my unloveliness I plunged into the lovely things which you created. You were with me, but I was not with you.And let us be confidence that he can even penetrate our deafness. Just as he enlightens the blindness of St. Augustine he can enlighten our blindness, too.
You flashed, you shone, and you dispelled my blindness.The presence of God's word in us can make the darkness of our intentions into the brightness of holiness and integrity.
For you darkness itself is not dark,
and night shines as the day.
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
27 August 2013 - motivated speaking
27 August 2013 - motivated speaking
But as we were judged worthy by God to be entrusted with the Gospel,
that is how we speak,
not as trying to please men,
but rather God, who judges our hearts.
Are we trying to please God in our speech, above all?
Nor, indeed, did we ever appear with flattering speech, as you know,
or with a pretext for greed–God is witness–
nor did we seek praise from men,
It is easy to speak with ulterior motives even if we are speaking about God. It might not immediately seem like flattery or greed. Yet we use him to make ourselves feel better or others feel better. We use the Almighty to build our own egos.
Similarly, the Pharisees focus on certain matters loosely connected to God to pad their own status.
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You pay tithes of mint and dill and cummin,
and have neglected the weightier things of the law:
judgment and mercy and fidelity.
But the LORD judges the heart, as we read above.
You have searched me and you know me, Lord.
We might even fool ourselves with such speech. The call today is to check our motives. We have to put God first. Even if we're talking about him and feeling good it doesn't necessarily mean it is serving his kingdom.
We will know that our speech is sincere when we have the heart of Paul.
With such affection for you, we were determined to share with you
not only the Gospel of God, but our very selves as well,
so dearly beloved had you become to us.
It is no longer just about words. It is about love. It is about giving all of ourselves for God and neighbor, not for status and appearance.
He is so close to us. Our relationship with him is prior to any words we utter. He knows our words before we even speak them. Let us therefore offer our words and, indeed, our whole being to him.
Behind me and before, you hem me in
and rest your hand upon me.
But as we were judged worthy by God to be entrusted with the Gospel,
that is how we speak,
not as trying to please men,
but rather God, who judges our hearts.
Are we trying to please God in our speech, above all?
Nor, indeed, did we ever appear with flattering speech, as you know,
or with a pretext for greed–God is witness–
nor did we seek praise from men,
It is easy to speak with ulterior motives even if we are speaking about God. It might not immediately seem like flattery or greed. Yet we use him to make ourselves feel better or others feel better. We use the Almighty to build our own egos.
Similarly, the Pharisees focus on certain matters loosely connected to God to pad their own status.
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You pay tithes of mint and dill and cummin,
and have neglected the weightier things of the law:
judgment and mercy and fidelity.
But the LORD judges the heart, as we read above.
You have searched me and you know me, Lord.
We might even fool ourselves with such speech. The call today is to check our motives. We have to put God first. Even if we're talking about him and feeling good it doesn't necessarily mean it is serving his kingdom.
We will know that our speech is sincere when we have the heart of Paul.
With such affection for you, we were determined to share with you
not only the Gospel of God, but our very selves as well,
so dearly beloved had you become to us.
It is no longer just about words. It is about love. It is about giving all of ourselves for God and neighbor, not for status and appearance.
He is so close to us. Our relationship with him is prior to any words we utter. He knows our words before we even speak them. Let us therefore offer our words and, indeed, our whole being to him.
Behind me and before, you hem me in
and rest your hand upon me.
Monday, August 26, 2013
26 August 2013 - spirit and power
26 August 2013 - spirit and power
For our Gospel did not come to you in word alone,
but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with much conviction.
Has the gospel come to us in this way? Is it something real to us, with the power to change us and the world? Or is it just an abstraction?
If it isn't real to us we can easily give in to the temptation of the Pharisees. They get so lost in the details of the law of God as to make it an idol. In doing so, they lose their true sense of sacredness. They lose their sense of the hierarchy of value that makes the gold, the temple, the gift, the altar, and all such things significant. It is as if the words give the value to the person who said them. Clearly nonsense if we can just realize it.
Blind fools, which is greater, the gold,
or the temple that made the gold sacred?
We all have idols to one extent or another. We need to turn from them or we'll face similar difficulties. Our hierarchy of what is important will be out of whack. Let us turn to the living God and cast our idols aside.
and how you turned to God from idols
to serve the living and true God and to await his Son from heaven,
whom he raised from the dead, Jesus,
who delivers us from the coming wrath.
We need to remember that "[t]he Lord takes delight in his people." This is why he gives us a law. He gives it out of love and a desire for relationship. The more we live this relationship, rather than needing more and more nuanced words to describe it, we need fewer.
so that we have no need to say anything.
Let us be glad in him! Let us rejoice in our king!
Let the high praises of God be in their throats.
This is the glory of all his faithful. Alleluia!
For our Gospel did not come to you in word alone,
but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with much conviction.
Has the gospel come to us in this way? Is it something real to us, with the power to change us and the world? Or is it just an abstraction?
If it isn't real to us we can easily give in to the temptation of the Pharisees. They get so lost in the details of the law of God as to make it an idol. In doing so, they lose their true sense of sacredness. They lose their sense of the hierarchy of value that makes the gold, the temple, the gift, the altar, and all such things significant. It is as if the words give the value to the person who said them. Clearly nonsense if we can just realize it.
Blind fools, which is greater, the gold,
or the temple that made the gold sacred?
We all have idols to one extent or another. We need to turn from them or we'll face similar difficulties. Our hierarchy of what is important will be out of whack. Let us turn to the living God and cast our idols aside.
and how you turned to God from idols
to serve the living and true God and to await his Son from heaven,
whom he raised from the dead, Jesus,
who delivers us from the coming wrath.
We need to remember that "[t]he Lord takes delight in his people." This is why he gives us a law. He gives it out of love and a desire for relationship. The more we live this relationship, rather than needing more and more nuanced words to describe it, we need fewer.
so that we have no need to say anything.
Let us be glad in him! Let us rejoice in our king!
Let the high praises of God be in their throats.
This is the glory of all his faithful. Alleluia!
Sunday, August 25, 2013
25 August 2013 - open door
25 August 2013 - open door
After the master of the house has arisen and locked the door,
then will you stand outside knocking and saying,
‘Lord, open the door for us.’
The invitation of the LORD is time sensitive. This door is one which only Jesus can open. Once it is closed, either by the end of our lives or the second coming, it cannot be reopened for us. He doesn't do this to be arbitrary. He does it because he insists that we ultimately make a decision either for or against the salvation which he generously offers. We can choose to love him freely or not. But this choice carries eternal consequences.
We should not think it unfair. We have no right to the sacrifice of the cross. Do we really think to tell Jesus that he owes us all of his suffering? Of course he doesn't. He does it in freedom and love for us all. Delaying the cross indefinitely would have been the same thing as choosing against us. It is in the same freedom which he wants us to return his love. But time is running out. To not decide in the face of such a great love is the same as deciding against it.
‘We ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets.’
Then he will say to you,
‘I do not know where you are from.
Depart from me, all you evildoers!’
If many will show up to the door to find it locked by the master it isn't because the master doesn't invite them.
and I come to gather nations of every language;
they shall come and see my glory.
He longs to be known by everyone. If it grieves us to know that not all will be saved it grieves him still more. He wants us to have a heart for the world like his heart.
Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.
The Good News is of Jesus's death and resurrection. He suffers the consequence that we cannot bear. He rises to the new life which we cannot attain. And he shares this with us by destroying sin in us. He brings us from death to eternal life and joy in the presence of the Father.
Sometimes we face challenges along the way. But they must not cause us to turn aside and delay until the door is locked. These challenges are meant to help us to grow in relationship with our Father in heaven.
For what “son” is there whom his father does not discipline?
At the time,
all discipline seems a cause not for joy but for pain,
yet later it brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness
to those who are trained by it.
May we be strengthened to run headlong for the door while it remains open! May we bring as many within us as he enables us to bring!
So strengthen your drooping hands and your weak knees.
Make straight paths for your feet,
that what is lame may not be disjointed but healed.
After the master of the house has arisen and locked the door,
then will you stand outside knocking and saying,
‘Lord, open the door for us.’
The invitation of the LORD is time sensitive. This door is one which only Jesus can open. Once it is closed, either by the end of our lives or the second coming, it cannot be reopened for us. He doesn't do this to be arbitrary. He does it because he insists that we ultimately make a decision either for or against the salvation which he generously offers. We can choose to love him freely or not. But this choice carries eternal consequences.
We should not think it unfair. We have no right to the sacrifice of the cross. Do we really think to tell Jesus that he owes us all of his suffering? Of course he doesn't. He does it in freedom and love for us all. Delaying the cross indefinitely would have been the same thing as choosing against us. It is in the same freedom which he wants us to return his love. But time is running out. To not decide in the face of such a great love is the same as deciding against it.
‘We ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets.’
Then he will say to you,
‘I do not know where you are from.
Depart from me, all you evildoers!’
If many will show up to the door to find it locked by the master it isn't because the master doesn't invite them.
and I come to gather nations of every language;
they shall come and see my glory.
He longs to be known by everyone. If it grieves us to know that not all will be saved it grieves him still more. He wants us to have a heart for the world like his heart.
Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.
The Good News is of Jesus's death and resurrection. He suffers the consequence that we cannot bear. He rises to the new life which we cannot attain. And he shares this with us by destroying sin in us. He brings us from death to eternal life and joy in the presence of the Father.
Sometimes we face challenges along the way. But they must not cause us to turn aside and delay until the door is locked. These challenges are meant to help us to grow in relationship with our Father in heaven.
For what “son” is there whom his father does not discipline?
At the time,
all discipline seems a cause not for joy but for pain,
yet later it brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness
to those who are trained by it.
May we be strengthened to run headlong for the door while it remains open! May we bring as many within us as he enables us to bring!
So strengthen your drooping hands and your weak knees.
Make straight paths for your feet,
that what is lame may not be disjointed but healed.
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