Reflection on readings 23rd October 2011

Year A Proper 25 23 October 2011
Deuteronomy 34: 1-12 Psalm 90: 1-6, 13-17 1 Thessalonians 2: 1-8 Matthew 22: 34-46
Things that make you go, “Hmmm???” Our readings this week contain some things that grab our attention and leave us with questions. One of these is the question that Jesus asked of the Pharisees. They had been trying to trip Jesus up by asking him questions but he turned the tables on them when he asked his question and left them speechless.
Matthew 22: 41-46 “While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?”
“The son of David,” they replied.
He said to them, “How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’? For he says, “‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.”’ If then David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?” No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions.”

Many of the psalms of King David proclaimed prophecy about the Messiah. An interesting thing about Christianity is lack of black and white straight answers. A man made religion has all its beliefs set out clearly, but ours is not a man made religion and so we often struggle to understand. It is only with the gifts that God has given us that we can discern his ways.... which is another reason why it is important to stay connected to others in church.

The question that Jesus poses to the Pharisees deals with a fundamental stumbling block. It is a stumbling block that these people “fell” on and one which is still a stumbling block for many.

It was common knowledge that the Messiah would be a son (descendant) of King David, but Jesus question reveals that the nature of the Messiah was more than a natural descendant. David calling him “Lord” implies that this “son” is above and before King David.

Before we discuss this anymore, let’s look at our Old Testament reading; in this we find the story of Moses being taken up Mt. Nebo to look at the Promised Land. After God has shown Moses the land, Moses dies and he is buried. It is all shrouded in mystery as we discover that although Moses was 12o years old, he was still completely bright and strong. (The moral to the story might be that spending time with God is the best treatment for staying youthful and healthy!).

There is an important statement made about Moses in Deuteronomy 34:10, “Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face,”. We often read that no one could see the face of God and live, and even in our previous readings we read about Moses being put in a cleft in the mountain while God revealed his glory – and the reason was so that Moses didn’t see God’s face – so how is it that it was later said that the LORD knew Moses face to face?

When Jesus walked on earth mankind witnessed the visible expression of the invisible God. The face of God was revealed.

God is so holy that, as we read a few weeks ago, even His very name must be held in the upmost respect. God is so holy that no one can see His face, but it was not God’s plan to be so separated from us. In the beginning God walked with humankind in the Garden of Eden and there was a relationship – a union between the humankind and the creator. Though it was not common, the Old Testament does tell of people who “saw the face of God” and lived, even though it was acknowledged that no one could see His face and live.

Each of these individuals who “walked” with God, are people to whom God revealed his nature and person. They are people with whom God had a personal relationship and they are people who knew God. It seems that in the same way that Jesus was the visible expression of God in the New Testament, this particular revelation of God existed in the Old Testament also.

It could be said that Moses saw God face to face, because God was revealed to Moses. Through that revelation Moses was brought into a personal relationship with God. The revelation of the person of God is the key to a relationship with God and that is where the Pharisees stumbled.

The Pharisees refused to see the “face of God”.

This is a fundamental issue that we all need to examine. There was a song many years ago now, recorded by Joan Osbourne, called, One Of Us. Some of the lyrics were; “ If God had a face what would it look like, and would you want to see, if seeing meant that you would have to believe in things like heaven and the saints and all the prophets?...”

God wants us to see his face. Through Jesus all are invited into this revelation. God wants to be in a personal relationship with us, but we have free will and need to choose.

The Pharisees were given hints to help them realize that the Messiah was not just a descendant of King David, but this Messiah had a divine nature. David called the Messiah his Lord, because he realized this divinity. The Messiah, the son of God, existed from the beginning of creation. It was the son of God who was the revelation of God to Moses and other prophets.

Our relationship with God can be a personal one also, but this can only be accomplished by a revelation of the person of God. In other words, we need to acknowledge who Jesus is.... He is not just a great prophet, a wise teacher, a good and compassionate man.... He is our saviour and our redeemer and He is God.