Forgiveness - 17th September 2023 Pentecost 16 or Proper 19A

                                                   2023 09 17  Proper 19a  Pentecost 16

Genesis 50:15-21  Psalm 103:(1-7), 8-13    Romans 14:1-14    Matthew 18:21-35

The key message in all our readings today, can be summed up as this; We are not to look down in judgment on one another and we must forgive.   Wow! What an easy sentence to write, and what a difficult reality to live…. In fact, it feels like a condescending thing to say, because it gives no indication of how hard it is for all of us, to actually live it.

 

However, some have been able to live it in extreme circumstances.  Do you know the story of Rachael Scott?  April the 20^th, in 1999, Rachael was the first person shot in the Columbine Massacre.  She was a Christian and her parents’ book about her life, including her Journal entries and writings to relatives state that this was widely known at her school and a reason for her being shunned by some – even possibly the reason she was targeted first.  A letter of hers that she wrote just days before her death says; “Now that I have begun to walk my talk, they make fun of me. I don't even know what I have done. I don't even have to say anything, and they turn me away. I have no more personal friends at school. But you know what, it's all worth it." (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachel_Scott)

 

On 14^th August 2019 Rachel’s father was at Deer Creek High School teaching staff about forgiveness, kindness and overall mental well-being.  Indeed, many of the stories about that shooting involve prayers and forgiveness and this includes the mother of one of the boys who did the shooting. 

 

I recently saw the movie, “The Sound of Freedom” –  A true story about children kidnapped and sold as sex slaves.  Some of these were rescued by a Christian policeman and a few others who risked life and livelihood.  How is it possible to forgive such horrible evil?

 

We have been following the story of Joseph, sold into slavery.  Not kidnapped but sold by his family.  He forgave.

 

If there was one word out of the readings that I think best describes today’s society it would be that word, found in Saint Paul’s letter to the Romans… and the word is “Quarrelling”.   We quarrel about so many things, and we forget to love.

 

One thing for certain, there are no shortages of things to pray about at the moment.  There are so many strong opinions about the political decision making in our society and as Christians, we find ourselves in a very interesting place.  While there can be pressure to speak for one side or another, there are some who would say that the church needs to stay out of politics, but if Christians never got involved in societies’ matters, slavery would still be legal, and many other injustices would still be so prevalent.   Have you noticed that we don’t seem to have made much headway with bullying?  When I look at the behaviour of our media and our Politicians I can understand why this is – they don’t seem to know how to disagree without it becoming a personal attack.

 

I recently read a facebook post that said, “God loves the you, but…” and then it had correction marks on it, that crossed out the “but” and said, “this cancels out that” and a line and circle was drawn around the word “loves”.  This was a post to explain that those who say “God loves the sinner, but hates the sin”, were diminishing the love of God.  What do you think?  To some extent they are correct.  When we read a sentence with “but” in it, we do tend to focus on that latter statement.   For example; the post is correct, but there is more to it.   Hmmm… you see… I just did it.  And now that I have you convinced that we shouldn’t judge – because after all, that seems to be a message in today’s readings, let me just add something more. 

 

If “someone” is being unjust to another person, that “someone” is loved by God.  BUT that does not mean we don’t call that “someone” to cease their actions.  AND that doesn’t mean that we can’t name that unjust action as sin.

As Christians we need to be a voice for the voiceless and speak for those who are suffering an injustice.  We can make judgements about actions.  They are either life-giving, neutral or life-taking.  Ethics in Christianity is complicated and the reason we have so many denominations. We  need to hold our leaders up in prayer, because these people have a responsibility which isn’t just about being loving and life-giving to some, but about understanding the long-reaching effects and benefits or pitfalls for the many.

 

The reality is that on both sides of an arguments there will be valid points, and there are people on all sides who are hurting.  It is a grown-up version of the argument of two children who come crying to Mum with their own side to the sad story and in the end, Mum can only recommend that both of them drop the matter because only God knows who is in the right and who is in the wrong.  Well… that is what Ms Niki the teacher sometimes has to tell the kids, but those are simple matters, which can be dropped.

 

Amid our current social climate, God gives us some direction about how to live.   “14:1 Welcome those who are weak in faith, but not for the purpose of quarrelling over opinions. 14:2 Some believe in eating anything, while the weak eat only vegetables.”  The argument of that day being over the eating of meat.  The Jewish people had many rules about what they could and couldn’t eat and in the Jewish tradition, allowable animals needed to be slaughtered in a certain manner, with strict guidelines.  I doubt that the Roman community cared very much about those guidelines and much of the meat available to the Roman Jews and Christian Jews may have been offered to other “gods” or demons.

 

Some thoughts to ponder; God did give specific requirements about food to the Jewish people.  God did also give a definite vision to Saint Peter showing him that all foods were permissible… a whole different understanding to all that Peter had previously known.  By faith, Peter knew that faith was nothing to do with what we eat, but those early Jewish people would have found this idea very strange.    

 

We have this same issue today in the church.  What rules should we follow?  Those who want to please God, read their Bibles and see that Daniel abstained from eating meat and was rewarded for his faithfulness with great health and wisdom and so there are some Christians who think we should all be vegetarians.  This stands in stark contrast to a book I read many years ago that was written by a Christian convert who had previously been a satanic priestess who said that the cult group promoted vegetarianism because it kept people weak and vulnerable to suggestion.

 

We have whole denominations built on some of these legalistic beliefs.  Consider the Seventh Day Adventists and others who believe we must honour Saturday as the Holy Day.  Hmmm… I think Jesus dealt with this one… but obviously he was not obvious enough!  These people who follow these traditions are totally sincere in their faith.  Although, note that this sincerity is regarded as those who are weak in their faith.   How could Saint Paul call such dedicated and sincere people weak in their faith? And are we likewise weak in our faith, trusting in our theology rather than trusting in God himself?

 

Saint Paul understood well the mercy of God and he understood that God chose him not because he had kept the Jewish commandments – and let me tell you, Saint Paul had kept all of them!  He was a Pharisee of Pharisees in his pre-Christ encountered life and it didn’t stop him from killing and persecuting.  Saint Paul knew well that simply keeping the commandments was not enough to be saved.  Then when he encountered Christ, Saint Paul knew that only one thing mattered; Accepting Christ as his Saviour and following him with all his heart, mind and strength – and that he did.

 

By accepting Christ as our saviour, we find that this is the only real thing that matters.  Christ gives us his Holy Spirit and His Holy Spirit leads us and teaches us.  We too have been saved by Jesus Christ.  We follow this truth, but without such a dramatic conversion as Saint Paul, we may take it a little for granted and be like the servant in our Gospel story.  The servant, after being forgiven a great debt by the Master, went and demanded payment from another servant, throwing that one in jail and holding them accountable.  Had the servant forgotten the mercy of his master?  Have we forgotten the mercy of our God?

 

We need to forgive and forgive completely, understanding that there, but for the grace of God, go I.  Joseph forgave his brothers a great injustice.  He was no longer in a position where they could hurt him.  Joseph now had the power.  For some of us, without this kind of power, we may need the help of others or even the law of the land, to protect us from being hurt again.  This forgiveness doesn’t mean that we allow those who have hurt us to continue hurting us, but that we understand God’s love for them and God’s love for us.

 

Saint Paul realized how much God had forgiven him.  John Newton, who wrote the song, Amazing Grace, was formally a slave trader.  John Newton realized how much God had forgiven him.  Neither of these simply said, “God loves the sinner”… they knew that the sin needed to stop.  They had to dramatically change what they were previously doing.  In the case of John Newton, he went on to fight for justice for the enslaved.  He fought to abolish slavery.

 

Saint Paul vigorously spread the truth, the message about Jesus Christ.  Previously he had fought against this truth and considered it a lie.  Now that he knew it to be true, he was willing to lay down his life for it and all his life was about it.

 

Today we are called to recommit to this purpose.  To remember the great saving Grace of God and to accept Jesus Christ as our saviour.  The overflowing of this in our lives will mean we will not look down in judgment on one another and we will forgive.  

 

When we come to our communion time the statement made is; “Body of Christ” – this is our weekly invitation to recommit.  Amen – we accept the Grace and love of God.  May he so fill us with His love and the Holy Spirit that we can serve him with all our heart, mind and strength like Saint Paul, John Newton and Joseph, fighting for justice, but yet forgiving, knowing the love of God for all.

GRACE - 12th Sunday after Pentecost Year A - 20th August 2023

 2023 08  20  PROPER 15 (20)  Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost  Year A

Genesis 45:1-15 and Psalm 133  Romans 11:13-32  •  Matthew 15: (10-20), 21-28

 

Oh, how good and pleasant it is when we can all dwell in unity!  But the question is; Can we be as gracious as Joseph, who not only forgave his brother, but saved them in the time of famine?

I’m remembering a saying about not burning bridges.  You know, those times when have been miserable in a job where the boss is incompetent and causing you grief, so you apply for a new better job with better pay and better conditions, and you are offered that better job.  Then you feel you want to tell your old boss that he or she is horrible etc…..  and list all their shortcomings, shake the dust of your sandals and leave with a sense of finality.  BUT if you remember the lessons of others, you won’t do this – instead you will thank that boss for the amazing opportunity that they have given you and regretfully advise them of you resignation, striving to leave on the very best of terms.  Why?  Because you never know what might happen in the future and when that boss might move into another position of leadership and you need their approval to continue to do your project.

 

The sons of Jacob/ Israel had well and truly burnt a bridge, when they sold their younger brother, who had prophetic dreams of ruling over them, into slavery.  They wanted to kill him, but the eldest talked them out of it so that he might later rescue him.  Then the other brothers sold him before that rescue could happen.  They then told their father that a wild animal must have attacked Joseph, so it was presumed that Joseph was dead.  They thought that they were finished with their annoying little up-start of a brother.   Fast forward a number of years and that little brother now has almost the greatest power in all of Egypt…. They are at his mercy, and he has the power to destroy them.

 

Last week’s readings had a common thread, and that thread was the word SENT.  Joseph was SENT to Egypt, St. Paul spoke about the Good News and how for people to hear and accept that Good News some one needed to be SENT.  In last week’s Gospel reading, Peter walked on water…. He took a step of faith.  To be SENT means being willing to step out in faith.  This week, there is also a word that connects our readings and that word is GRACE.

 

Grace is one of those words we use a lot in Christian circles, but it’s meaning can be lost.  It means undeserved favour, and we see GRACE represented perfectly in the actions of Joseph to his brothers.

 

Joseph had every right to be angry with his brothers and leave them to suffer and die during the famine, but instead he knew that God’s hand was in all that had taken place.  The brothers meant to harm Joseph, but God used their evil for their eventual salvation.  Those brothers did not deserve either God’s mercy or Joseph’s forgiveness and yet GRACE (undeserved favour) was lavished on them.

 

It is natural for us to fall – to sin, but if we were made with no ability to sin, it would mean we would also have no ability to choose.  In other words, no free will.  Every single person has free will and freely chooses good and right at times, and also the “wrong” at times.   Joseph’s brothers were unhappy with Joseph and jealous that he was their father’s favourite.  Their father was a wealthy man and they were lacking in nothing and yet this brother of theirs irritated them so much that they conspired to kill him… then thinking better of it, sold him to passers -by.  They allowed their father to suffer grief thinking him to be dead even though they knew that he was most probably alive.

 

These sons of Israel were evil in what they had done to Joseph, but God still loved them and worked on a plan to save them.  In fact, it could be said, that God used the consequences of their actions to SHOW them his love and his GRACE in stark contrast to their own actions.  Scripture tells us that it is God’s kindness that leads us to repentance.

 

The Brothers needed to see that Joseph was not the little up-start lording over them, but he had the anointing of God to be their leader.   Joseph showed this anointing of God by showing them the mercy and Grace of God.  Joseph, who could well have had the whole family put to the sword, embraced them and treated them with honour and bestowed his favour on them.

 

It is amazing to consider that these brothers went to Egypt tentatively and humbly hoping to buy grain from a foreigner so that they and their families might survive the famine.  Instead, they did not only survive, but they thrived, by being completely and lavishly looked after as the favourite people of Joseph.  Joseph had such an intimate relationship with God that he could see the bad that happened to him, as being the actual GRACE of God. 

 

Much the same as the brothers, we all make wrong choices.  How does God treat us when we do?  Believe it or not…. And it actually seems ridiculously extreme, but God does not treat us as our sins deserve.  Psalm 103:10 tells us that  “he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.”  God’s GRACE to us is that he treats us like Joseph treated these brothers.  He prepares the way before us and though we may, and WILL, come face to face with the consequences of our actions and be horrified to see the reality of what we have done, God meets us with open arms and banquet of love.  

 

Really…?  Is God so loving that he always accepts us this way?  What about that Canaanite woman with the demon possessed daughter?

 

Our Gospel reading tells the story of a lady who was desperate to find healing for her daughter.  At first glance it appears that Jesus treated her with some rejection- completely uncharacteristic from other stories about Jesus’ interactions with people.  This was a culture where the Gentiles, such as the Canaanites were considered unclean.  No doubt those critics of Jesus were carefully watching him to see if he would reject her – and in their opinion, a pure and holy person, would reject her. 

Note that this Canaanite, is also a woman, therefore, even less “worthy” than a Canaanite man.  But wait, there is more….  Just to add to all these undesirable attributes, this woman was very obviously considered a sinner as well – She had a demon-possessed daughter!  They believed that bad things happened to sinners… this was a very bad thing, therefore this lady was a sinner.

 

The Jews who were with Jesus would have shunned this woman.  The fact that Jesus had to be told to send her away tells us that Jesus was waiting for the right moment to show her GRACE… but first he had to deal with the perceptions and the prejudices, and so he says to her, what he knew the Jews were thinking, “I was only sent to the lost sheep of Israel”.  Now, an interesting thing of note, is that the Canaanite woman addressed Jesus as the “Son of David.”  In this, she not only reveals a connection with Israel, but she is addressing Jesus as the Messiah.

 

When Jesus says that it isn’t right to take the Children’s bread and give it to the dogs, there is more going on here than what appears to be a derogatory statement.   Jews would commonly refer to Gentiles using a word that meant “wild Dogs”, but the term that Jesus uses is not actually the word the Jews would normally use in this context.  The actual Greek word that Jesus uses in this place, which we see translated as “dog” is actually a different word that means “little dog.” Or “pet dog”.

 

In all that Jesus says and does he is dealing with prejudices and misunderstandings about the heart of God and he draws these out as he speaks about his mission to the people of Israel. This changed word for dog brings to mind an image in the lady’s mind, of the beloved pets that would eat the crumbs and dropped morsels of food that the children would spill on the floor.

 

In the opinion of the Jews, the disciples and perhaps even in the heart of the lady herself, she was not someone worthy of God’s mercy.  She cries out for it anyway.  This lady knows what people think about her.  They think she is a sinner… She is acquainted with the ways of the Jews and their opinion of her as a wild dog – and as an unclean person.  She cries out for mercy from the Messiah – she believes that Jesus is the Messiah.  She receives underserved favour. It wasn’t just a crumb that she received, but the healing of her daughter, the restoration of her status from sinner to someone who’d been favoured enough to receive from God, and God’s lavish GRACE.

 

Saint Paul deals with this prejudice or divide between the Jew and the Gentile.  By the way, the Gentile is those that aren’t Jews… in other words, us!  As we’ve seen, in the view of the Jews the Gentiles were regarded as wild dogs.  In modern times there has been some elements, and accusations of antisemitism, a poor opinion of the Jews.  Anyone who has any understanding of the Scriptures should always hold the Jewish people in high regard – Because regardless of their failings they always have God’s favour.

Saint Paul explains that God’s gift and His call is irrevocable, and he first called the Israelite people.  Many of those people rejected Christ, but the first Christian church was a Jewish one and none of us would have come to know the saving Grace of God without them.  More than that, those who have rejected Christ are still loved by God and called to be His children – and here is the not-so-secret secret; This being loved and called by God, regardless of their rejection of His message, is true for all the children of the world.  We therefore need to treat all people with the utmost respect as those who are loved by God.  He WILL show them His amazing Grace and some of that showing will should come through us who are the body of Christ.

 

We have a message of salvation so simply explained in last week’s reading; that if we believe in our hearts and confess with our mouth then we are saved.  We are saved by the sacrifice of Jesus.  It is cut and dry.  We believe, and at each service we confess our belief, and we are therefore assured of our salvation.  We belong to the family of God and we are heirs of salvation.  But what of those who haven’t believed and confessed?  The truth is, none of us has a love for these people that is a fraction of the love that God has for them.  God has wisdom that is beyond us.  We can do our best to show them God’s love and Grace, and then trust these loved ones with him.

 

Joseph could have rightly taken offense at the brothers.  The Canaanite woman also, could have taken offense at the reference to the derogatory view Jews have of the Gentiles.  They did not take offense.  What can we learn from them?

 

How Joseph treated his brothers is how God treats us.  God makes a way for us without us even being aware that we need him, and despite the terrible ways we may have let him down.  This Good News about the love of God is the message that needs to be proclaimed, and it is us who are called to proclaim it.  We proclaim the Gospel profoundly when we can echo the GRACE of God to others.  We do not deserve God’s GRACE, but we receive it like the Canaanite woman – receiving every good gift – not just crumbs.  Therefore, our challenge is to respond to those who may have hurt us, in the same way as Joseph with his brothers.  Can we be gracious with each other?  After all, we are all loved by God and have been given the gift of God’s undeserved favour- His amazing Grace.

13th August 2023 - SENT!

2023 08 13 PROPER 14 (19)   Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost  Year A

Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28 and Psalm 105: 1-6, 16-22, 45b  Romans 10:4-15  •  Matthew 14:22-36

Salvation begins with someone being SENT!

This week we have the Good News revealed clearly and simply; We read in Romans that “if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”  The saving grace of God is a free gift.  It is simple and easy to obtain.  It is a matter of believing and confessing that belief.  However, for this Good News to reach all people, The letter to the Romans tells us, someone needs to be sent.  

 

We are all called to step out in faith.  The first step we take is to decide to follow Jesus… we must be convinced in our own mind that we believe in Jesus.  We believe what Jesus said about himself.  In the Gospel to John there is a statement when the Jews were questioning Jesus about his knowledge of Abraham, Jesus replies; “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”  In this, Jesus claimed to be one with God and pre-existent.  Jesus is the lamb of God who died to redeem us and he rose from the dead, declaring victory over the grave.  This is our faith… do we believe it?  This is the first part of our being assured of salvation.  The second part is that we confess our believe.  We do this each time we meet as we recite the creed – we confess our belief. 

 

This is guarantee of our salvation; if we believe in our heart and confess with our mouth…  then we are saved… we can rest in that assurance.    It is like there is a line drawn in the sand.  On one side is doubt and fear, but the other is a joyful, confident assurance.

 

I know that there are many people who don’t fully realize the assurance of God’s love and acceptance.  We all might easily say, “I hope that God will accept me when I die.”  And maybe this is how you are feeling today.  But I’m here to tell you today, that we don’t have to merely hope that God will accept us - we can know!  This letter to the Romans tells us clearly – we believe and we confess -we are therefore assured of our salvation. What is that song?  Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!  Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!  Heir of salvation, purchase of God.  Born of his Spirit, washed in His blood.  THIS IS OUR STORY!

 

What does it mean to you that you are an heir of salvation?  What does it mean to you that you and I have been purchased by God… bought with the blood of Christ, we are redeemed.  We are Born again.  We are all physically born and then it is through our belief in and confession that we are born of the spirit of God.  Washed in His blood means that we are considered spiritually pure and acceptable to God.  The only condition is to believe and to confess.  That is mighty good news and truly a blessed assurance.  But how did this faith come to us?

 

 The readings this week are connected by a theme of being SENT.  In order for us to enjoy the Gospel, the Good News of this New Covenant and the blessed assurance of our salvation, someone needed to pass that Good News on.  Saint Paul was SENT by the believers to spread the Good News.  Jesus was SENT.  There would be no Good News at all if God had not SENT His only begotten Son.  The Good News is pretty incredibly good, but it took a sacrifice on Jesus’ part.  For this amazing news to be passed on it took quite a sacrifice from Saint Paul and many others.  Those who are sent, need to have absolutely no doubt about the love and goodness of God, because passing on this message sometimes means enduring hardship.  This was certainly true for the Israelites, who were the children of Jacob.  And very true for Joseph.

 

In our story about Jacob and his children, we remember that God has given Jacob a new name.  Last week we read that Jacob had his name changed to Israel.   The giving of a new name was incredibly significant as it meant that he was given a new destiny and a new identity.  More than this, the name was given to him by God.  How would it feel to have God give you a name?  It meant that there was a special intimate relationship between Israel and God.  Israel belonged to God and God was the father of Israel.  But Israel still experienced some very tough times.

 

Jacob had two wives and two sort of wives – and through these he had 12 sons.  Rachael was the wife that he loved and she was, like many in this story of faith, somewhat barren.  She did eventually have a son, the man in the spotlight of our story today, Joseph.  Eventually Rachael had a second son, Benjamin, but she died in childbirth.

 

Therefore, you can imagine that Joseph and Benjamin were particularly important in the heart of Jacob.  They were the favourites and especially Joseph.   According to biblical scholar Tikva Frymer-Kensky, "The infertility of the matriarchs has two effects: it heightens the drama of the birth of the eventual son, marking Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph as special; and it emphasizes that pregnancy is an act of God."  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachel#Marriage_to_Jacob

 

Certainly, God’s hand was mightily on Joseph.  God gave dreams to Joseph and these dreams were about him ruling over his family.  Foolishly, or probably more naïvely, Joseph spoke of these dreams to his family, who certainly didn’t appreciate this little up-start, usurping his place as a mere child.  Neither did the brothers appreciate him giving a bad report about them to their father when they were shepherding.  Just what exactly they were doing, we will never know, but when these brothers had the opportunity, most of them wanted to kill Joseph with no remorse.  Reuben being an exception.

 

At this point these men were not all honourable sons of a great patriarch. They didn’t appear to have any fear of God, who cast away Cain for killing his brother Abel.  We are not told of Joseph’s emotions as he was thrown into the pit, or while the brothers were conspiring to kill him and pretend it was a wild animal.  He must have heard all this while in the pit and knew that his father, believing he was dead would not rescue him.  Therefore, there was no hope of rescue as he was lead away, sold as a slave and sent on his way to Egypt.

 

I wonder if those dreams are what sustained Joseph during that time?  He knew that those dreams were from God and therefore a promise of something to come.  However, this was a young boy who had been sheltered and protected as a father’s favourite son.  This change must have been frightening.

 

With the gift of time, we can look back and see God’s using the situation so that Joseph was SENT to Egypt and found his way into the favour of the Pharoh for the salvation of the Israelites during the coming times of famine.  Joseph eventually realized this also, but that doesn’t mean it was easy for him. 

 

Joseph being sold by his brothers is a bad news story.  But the story isn’t ended.  There is more yet to be revealed.  Perhaps we are feeling that our lives are a bit of a bad news story – or the current state of our country and world is a bad news story – But the story isn’t ended.

 

I personally feel that our world is in a very chaotic time.  The Christianised west is most definitely losing that particular identity.  This means that we do not need to travel to another country to spread the Good News to those who haven’t heard it, because many people right here among us have never heard the Good News.  Most people on the street don’t even realize that Jesus is a real person who really existed and really historically and physically walked this earth.  Today in our town we desperately need people here among us to be SENT.

 

My school does not have Religious Instruction for every class.  There are simply not enough people prepared to go and teach them.  We aren’t sending out our people.  In our Street Chaplaincy organisation, we mostly enjoy a very good reputation among those we deal with on the street, but we are short on people too.  If we don’t SEND out people into these positions of influence in our community, we will continue to see the decline in the church.

 

BUT for someone to be SENT, we need to ask if that person is us.  And then we need to step out in faith.  It can be a little scary.

 

Jesus had just miraculously fed the multitudes and made the disciples go off in the boat while he dismissed the crowd and withdrew to pray.  He then went walking on the water to meet the disciples!  After their fear factor of seeing a Ghost and Jesus identifying himself, Peter calls out, , "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water."

 

Often when we sense God calling us to do something, we check by saying something like, “Lord, if you really want me to do something, then….”  Whatever… we want proof.  We want to be sure… and so it is with Peter.  He’d just experienced an amazing miracle of the feeding of the multitudes and he still needs proof.  Jesus is gracious and calls him out.  Peter walks!  He actually walks on water also, but then he notices the wind and begins to sink.

 

We often set out to do what we know God calls us to do.  Things go amazingly well and doors open.  We say it is obviously God’s will, but then things start to go wrong and we doubt.  We think, “maybe we shouldn’t be doing this after all.” -  These are the waves and the wind, and they are always there!

 

We live in a physical world, but for certain there is a spiritual dimension among us also.  In this spiritual dimension there are the Angels of God, but there are other powers and principalities also.  They are always against us – but they are merely the wind and the waves.  Merely?  Wind and waves can drown us!

 

Notice that Peter cries out to Jesus and Jesus takes hold of him and saves him.  Jesus does not let Peter drown.  Neither will Jesus let us drown.  There will be wind and waves.  We are called to step out in faith.  To answer the call of God so that we can be sent…. All of us.  Not just some of us.  I’ve heard people say, “Peter needed to just keep his eyes on Jesus”.  While it maybe true, would any of us done any better than Peter?  At least he got out of the boat… and he did actually walk.  He got out of the boat…  Jesus says, “You of little faith… why did you doubt.”  The others didn’t step out.

 

As a young Adult I came across a poster with a phrase that has always stayed with me.  It had a question; How can you know that God is calling you?  At the bottom of the poster was the answer; You are breathing.

The Chosen? Proper 11A Pentecost 8A 23rd July 2023

 

Genesis 28:10-19a and Psalm 139:1-12, 23-24    •  Romans 8:12-25  •  Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

 

Do you sometimes watch the news and feel overwhelmed by the wickedness in the world?  In our Gospel reading today, Jesus tells us that there will be a day when all that wickedness will be dealt with.  Saint Paul, refers to this when he says that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory which will be revealed to us in that day.  The good times are coming….

 

This world surely is like a field of both wheat and weeds.  There is no doubt that evil is among us, and we naturally want it gone, but to tear out the weeds at the wrong time could well damage the good plants, and most importantly, sometimes it is pretty hard to know the difference between a good plant and a weed.  I have been part of more than one organisation where I witnessed someone lament that, “If only we could get rid of the bad ones.”  The most strikingly memorable of these recollections was when that comment was made by the person that many others considered to be THE biggest trouble maker! 

 

Some would say, a weed is simply a plant in the wrong place.  One thing for certain, if God is merciful to the weeds – allowing them to grow.  Then we, who can’t tell a weed from a plant, certainly need to have God’s grace and mercy with all.

 

The Gospel reading today is quite a tough one as it quite clearly says that the weeds will be thrown into the furnace.  The explanation being that the causes of evil and those who do evil will be thrown into the furnace of fire. But as I’ve already said, we don’t know the difference between a plant and a weed and thankfully, and most importantly, the weeding isn’t our job.  We need to keep this in mind always.  And our Old Testament sheds some light on how, what, or who might appear to be a weed, could well be the very anointed and chosen of God.

 

Jacob, in our reading today, felt that he was in danger.  He ran away with the blessing that he’d received from his father by deception, and he was in fear of his brother Esau, from whom he stole the blessing.  Esau had decided that he would wait until after the mourning period for their father, and then he would kill Jacob.  However, their mother, Rebekah had overheard his intentions and organised for Jacob to be sent away to find an appropriate wife- a relative of hers, from her home town –  a wife with the values like herself and Isaac, and someone who shared their heritage of faith in God.

 

Jacob sets off and comes to a town.  Commentaries suggest that the gates are closed and so Jacob sleeps, probably, just outside the wall.  Although vulnerable, the stone that he lay on was probably one from the wall, and quite a usual way to sleep if one arrived too late to enter the city.

 

This is the setting for the famous dream of Jacob.  In this dream there is a ladder set up upon the earth, and the top, reaching to Heaven.  On this ladder Angels are ascending and descending.   It is somewhat mysterious, but this ladder is a connection between heaven and earth…. What could it signify?

 

We are told that the LORD stood beside Jacob and told him some amazing things.  Firstly, God identifies himself.  This is because the peoples of the towns where Jacob lived all worshiped other gods- Baal, Ra, Molech… and others.  So, God makes it clear when he says "I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac”. 

 

The text should have LORD written in capitals, as it is actually the personal name for God that was revealed to Jacob, - this is the name YAWEH.  The covenant that was made to Abraham was confirmed and reestablished in this dream, with Jacob.

God promised that the land on which Jacob is lying, would be given to him and to his offspring; and his offspring shall be like the dust of the earth; - The other important aspect, is that God tells him, “All the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your offspring.   Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you."  The families of the earth are blessed by the offspring of Jacob.  A quick google search will show you the many things we use today that were invented by Jewish people – But most importantly, the whole world is blessed and saved by the offspring of Jacob, many generations later in the birth, life, death & resurrection of Jesus Christ.

 

This covenant is made to Jacob, not because of anything Jacob had done.  At this point Jacob had done nothing but deceive and manipulate.  A very humbling reality when we consider those people in our own lives who we feel have hurt us due to their deception and / or manipulation. 

 

Jacob immediately wakes up and is afraid.  He assumes that this land is a sacred place, the house of God and gateway to Heaven.  Jacob’s understanding is limited, and in this statement, we realize how little Jacob understands about the nature of God. (And God still chooses him).

 

It is certain that from that moment on, Jacob’s faith began to grow.  Let’s imagine we are Jacob.  We know this isn’t a normal dream.  We wake up knowing beyond any shadow of a doubt that the very real God has visited us.  How do we respond?

 

Every interaction we have with God teaches us, but sometimes it takes a while for us to understand.  Jacob was chosen.  Not because of anything that he had done.  He was not a holy or virtuous man, but God chose him and loved him.  It is through Jacob that God would bring his plan of salvation in to existence and only God knows why – To this day – we can’t give a reason for God’s choice, yet we can rejoice in it, because if there is such hope and blessing for Jacob, it shows us that there is hope for all of us.

 

There is a significance in the vision of the ladder.  It is suggested that the ladder is an image signifying Jesus Christ, who connects us to God and Heaven, and in the Gospel of John 1:51, we read Jesus own words, “Truly, truly, I tell you, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

 

Jacob didn’t understand the nature of God and assumed that God was in some way physically tied to that land, which Jacob renamed, Bethel – meaning House of God.  Certainly, God promised to give that land to Jacob’s descendants, and to bring Jacob back to it.  However, I find it interesting that Jacob didn’t realize the omnipresence of God.  That is, that God, being God and beyond our human limitations, can be everywhere at once.  Jacob declared, “Surely God was in this place and I didn’t know it.”  Are there places we go unaware of God’s presence?  How would it change us to be aware of God’s presence everywhere we go?

 

I was in a conversation a few days ago, commenting how the notion that God knows our inner most thoughts, could be quite frightening for some people, where as for those of us who’ve been brought up with this understanding it is a given, and even a comfort.  It is comfort to know that our deepest desires, fears and sadness, are all understood perfectly.  Someone actually “gets us”…. And what’s more… that someone doesn’t reject us for that inner thing about ourselves that we might hate.

 

We all have struggles that are known only to ourselves.  There are so many people who hide those inner struggles, or at least the magnitude of them, feeling totally lacking in worth because of them.  We can be told that God loves us and know that He does, but it can be hard to believe or accept.

 

Jacob, must have known this feeling well.  Can you imagine it?  His very name signified that he was a deceiver.  From the time of his birth and his whole life he had worn the image, of who those closest to him had decided he was – He was the deceptive one.  And then he proved it was true in his actions.  Do you think that Jacob had high self-esteem?  His whole life he’d known he was lacking in good character.  Why, oh why would God choose him?  There is only one answer – So that you and I would know that God has also chosen us.

 

Our psalm this week is so significant.  “O LORD, you have searched me and known me.”  This is the psalm that tells us that God knew us before we were born and God deliberately formed us.  He knows all that we do and all our thoughts.  He knows our words, even before we speak them, and we can not flee from His presence because He is everywhere – we are never away from him or his love.

 

In our own lives we have traits within us that are like the weeds.. and we also have traits that are the wheat.  We have good qualities and we have plenty of other stuff too.  Our wonderful character, Jacob, who we are focusing on so much, was called to be the father of the twelve tribes of Israel.  God changed Jacob’s name to Israel.  The “weeds” were prevalent in the life of Jacob – and both weeds and wheat are a reality in our own lives.  Thankfully we know that we have the love of God through the gift of Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross.  Rather than our failures, it is the righteousness or goodness of Jesus that God sees in us.

 

 

 Our Gospel reading speaks about a time Jesus called “the end of the age”.  Every service we proclaim the acclamation of faith – Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.  The end of the age is when Christ will come again.  There are many things said in the Bible about this, but it is shrouded in mystery and explained in images and visions.  What we do know, is that “The end of the age” will be a time when Christ will sort things out.  It is a time for which even our earth and all creation waits.  The letter to Romans explains to us that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.  And also, that we wait for the redemption of our bodies.  

 

We don’t know what God has in store for us in the future.  As was for Jacob, so to for us; Jacob didn’t know what he would go through, and it certainly wasn’t plain sailing, but it was for the purpose of a glorious inheritance.   God has promised us a glorious inheritance also.   Our mortal existence is not the end.  And after this existence is not just some cloud floating.  God has a definite plan for the future.  Our creator loves us, sent His son to redeem us, and there is a glorious future planned. 

 

God offers us all that ladder with Angels ascending and descending – we have access to the father, through Christ, and he says to us all, “Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go.”  He loves us.  We therefore should strive to live a life worthy of this calling, but we rejoice and rest in the assurance that we, unworthy and unlikely as we may be… are called, loved and we are God’s anointed and chosen people.

Wired for success Pentecost 7a 16th July 2023

Pentecost 7A  PROPER 10 (15)  Seventh Sunday after Pentecost  Year A  July 16, 2023

Genesis 25.19-34   Psalm 119.105-112   Romans 8.1-11   Matthew 13.1-9, 18-23

 

Our story continues this week, with what happened in the next episode of Isaac and Rebekah.  Like many of the ladies in this lineage of faith Rebekah was barren, but Isaac was living proof that barrenness is no obstacle in the plan of God.

Rather than skim over this story let’s look deeper.  Isaac was no spring chicken, as he was forty when he married Rebekah.  We don’t know how old he was when he prayed for his wife to have children but he was 60 when the twin boys were born.

 

We know that Rebekah is the chosen woman for Isaac.  The servant prayed that the exact right woman who the Lord chose would be the one who said to him, “Drink and I’ll water your camels also”.  We know that God gave the servant success and confirmed that Rebekah was his chosen lady for the wife of Isaac.  We are also told that Isaac didn’t just take Rebekah as his wife, but it is recorded that he loved her.  How must it have seemed to those living this reality to find that the perfect, God-given wife for Isaac, was barren.  Isaac’s name means laughter.  I imagine that he laughed.  His mother was barren and way beyond child bearing age when she gave birth to Isaac.  It was almost like history repeating, except that Isaac learned and accepted the lessons taught to Abraham.

 

Isaac knew well the dedication of his father to God, and it is obvious that he shared in that dedication and sure faith.  Isaac was directly saved by the grace of God, as the substitute for the sacrifice of his life, was the lamb of God.  Isaac lived in this reality – the reality of a substituted life – Saved by the sacred lamb of God.   Isaac also knew the promises of God, that Abraham’s descendants, through himself, would become a great nation and his people would be a great blessing to the whole world.  Therefore, the barrenness of his wife was a small matter.  He knew he was praying according to God’s will when he prayed for her to bare children and he knew that God would answer his prayer. There is no hint of doubt or pleading in the story…. Simply that Isaac prayed for his wife to conceive and she did.  If only we could have the faith of Isaac! – no hint of doubt, even though it was 20 years before she bore the children.

 

In the struggle for these children, Isaac and Jacob & Esau, to come into being, we know that they are children approved by God.  Without God they would not exist and I think that God is emphasising this fact so that they continue, through the generations, to know they can rely on him, to acknowledge him and his blessing, and bring his message to all people, that God would send a savour… a sacred lamb of God.

 

The twins born were at odds with each other, which is the story of our lives.  You know it is easy to love everyone when you don’t have to have anything to do with them.   The fact of our lives, and every single organisation is that as soon as we get beyond our politeness, we start to get on each other’s nerves.

 

We humans, and the tendency to sin, go hand in hand.  The jealousy that exists in families over one person receiving more than the other is just one example.  Jacob, the younger twin, was jealous of his brother Esau, who, as the first born, was entitled to the first blessing.  The tradition was that the firstborn would inherit a double share and also the clan leadership, making him the also the judge of the clan.  For Jacob and Esau there was a little more to it, as there was this promise from God associated with the blessing.  Which son do you think was assumed to receive the blessing of God to carry on God’s Word?  According to tradition, it should have been Esau, but here in this reading we have the prophetic word to Rebekah, indicating that it would be the younger.

 

God often delights to choose the least likely and the most rejected.  This may have been Jacob, but why would God choose him?   Jacob had a whole lot of flaws and had a lot to learn about the ways of God.  There is a lesson for us in this; God didn’t choose Jacob because he was good.  Jacob had a life time of conniving and deception, until the point where he wrestled with God and God changed his name to Israel.  God choose Jacob to be the one through whom would come the promises of Abraham, before he was born and had done anything good or bad.  This is another message of God’s grace and his message that we cannot earn God’s love – we have his love regardless.

 

In scripture we read that Esau despised his birth right.  Although Jacob was not exactly an exemplary man of God, Jacob desired to receive the promise and blessing of God.  Esau however, was happy to take on wives of the nations around him and had little regard for the faith of his father. In some ways Jacob represents the Church of God and Esau represents the other children of God who have not valued the Gospel. 

 

It is possible that the teachings of Abraham and Isaac, were to Esau, like one that sowed seed among the thorns.  This is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world,… other women with other gods,… and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing.  Perhaps… but you know, Jacob appeared to be not much better.  Jacob was no exemplary man as he was constantly deceptive and gained what he desired through deception.  Why should God pour His blessing on him?

 

Jesus tells us that the word that is sown on good soil, is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit.  Eventually this became the story for Jacob, but here is another message for us; The word of God, spoken through Abraham and Isaac, which appeared to bear little fruit with Jacob, eventually did.  It took years!!!  The journey of faith is definitely a marathon and not a sprint and no word of God goes out in vain, but accomplishes it’s purpose.  Such a message for us, that we need to be resilient and persevere in doing God’s will regardless of how we might see no fruit for many years… keep tilling the soil, and sowing the seed.  Keep the faith!

 

It could be said that Esau had his heart set on the flesh.  He didn’t care to submit to God’s law.  And we read in our letter to the Romans that the flesh cannot submit to God’s law.  You know, the last time I looked, you and I were made of flesh.  When we look at the life of Jacob, it seems that his heart was set on the flesh also, as actually to some extent we all do.  Perhaps the only difference was that Jacob desired the blessing of God.

 

You and I desire God’s ways.  We are just as able to give in to the flesh as Jacob and Esau, but we do desire to be the children of God.  And we do desire to do good.

 

This letter from Romans follows on from our last week’s reading also, where we discovered that we are often at odds within ourselves…. We so badly want to do things God’s way, but the desires to go our own way sometimes overwhelm…. Sometimes?? Or often??

 

This week I met with a friend who was pretty down hearted.  He had decided that he was going to do things the easy way, and was told afterwards that what he did was potentially very dangerous.  Nothing went wrong, but the anguish he felt was his disappointment in himself because he knew that, as a child of God, he should have done things the right way and followed protocol.  He felt the condemnation of others as he was criticised and chastised.  In that he felt that perhaps God condemned him also.  What would you tell a person in this circumstance?

 

Our letter to the Romans makes clear the incredibly Good News; There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  And that is the Gospel!  The Good News of Jesus Christ is this!

 

You might recall that last week I spoke about how the God’s law is like the law of Gravity, and we constantly fall as we fail to be perfect.  But to be “IN” Christ Jesus – where we surrender to God and accept Jesus as our sacrificial lamb that saves us, is like being in an aeroplane… the law of aerodynamics supersedes the law of gravity.  We are completely safe so long as we stay in the aeroplane and we are unconditionally saved so long as we stay “IN” Christ Jesus. 

 

What does it mean to be “In” Christ Jesus?  Do you remember Jesus’ prayer in John 17:21; “I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.” By surrendering to God, by accepting the gift of Jesus and by the Holy Spirit, and by remaining connected through prayer we remain IN Christ Jesus.

 

Just in case you are still not sure, our letter to the Romans explains it when it says, “But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you.”  And also, “If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness”.   We, like Isaac, also live in the reality of a substituted life – Christ the lamb of God has died in our place.  But now God also pours out his blessing on us, just as he did to Jacob – not because we are good or righteous, but because we are “IN” Christ and Christ is righteousness.  Spiritually our unrighteousness has been delt with… in Baptism our unrighteousness died with Christ and we are raised as having the Spirit of Christ – a righteous Spirit.

 

We like Jacob still have a lot to learn about God’s ways, but what a reassurance we have through the Gospel.  Listen to this next bit of Good News in Romans, “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.”

 

That Holy Spirit in us is like the electricity that gives light to our homes… and powers our modern life.  We have the electrical wiring and the power in us for living the life that God calls us to.  And I suspect we have much more ability than any of us actually can imagine.  We are children of God, chosen and loved.

 

I don’t know about you, but when I hear the Good News as explained to the Romans, I want to respond with a very loud “AMEN” – “Bring it on”.   I want to live the life that is “IN” Christ.  I want to continue to accept all that God calls me too.  The body of Christ really does keep us in eternal life.  This is what our eucharist is all about.  We accept the body of Christ, broken for us, because it means our life substituted for his… and the life we live we now live “IN” Christ and There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  Amen!  The Gospel is Good News!  Let’s truly take hold of it, rejoice and live it!