30 September 2010
Psalm 105:1-22; Hosea 5:8-6:6; Acts 21:27-36; Luke 6:1-11

The problem is a lack of knowledge of the Lord. They have come to believe that sacrifice and offering are the key to getting Him to do what He has promised. They have become religious and what God has desired is knowledge of Him. We often exchange relationship for religion, because it is easier. Because they have forgotten that their relationship is covenant and promise they have been willing to accept other gods. It is only when it all goes wrong that they will return to their first love, the One who gave them the land. Our God lacks nothing, He needs nothing from us. He is not a needy girlfriend either, the love of the Trinity for one another assures us that He does not need our love to feel complete or worthy. He chose in love to have relationship with us and yet it is on His terms not ours. Relationship means that worship is not duty nor is it what we do to appease Him, it is intimacy and desire.

The Pharisees are the religious people of Jesus’ day. They know all the rules, they invented many of them. As we see in these two vignettes, they are constantly watching Jesus to see whether He will play by their rules. Religious people are always watching others and their practices to see where they will slip, where they will fail to measure up to the standards they have set. It happens in worship, were the candles right, did the priest hold his hands properly, did he wear the right things or the opposite of that in the more protestant religious folks who determine that it is wrong to say creeds, wrong to use candles or vestments, wrong to use written prayers, etc. We are divided from one another and waste our time over what, to God, are inconsequential issues. In these two scenes from the Gospel we see Jesus setting the needs of people above the rules for the Sabbath. Was the God the great rule maker in the sky or was He someone you could spend the day with on His day?

Things turned in a hurry in Jerusalem. Those who stirred up the crowd were those from Asia who were aware of Paul’s work there. They, like Paul, were in town for the feast of Pentecost and now they had their chance. All their complaints have to do with religion and the final accusation, that Paul has brought Gentiles into the temple and defiled the holy place, is actually not even true, based only an assumption that Paul has done so because they saw him with an Ephesian. The scene that ensues with the tribune of the cohort is reminiscent of the trial of Jesus, no one can agree on the charges that are to be brought but everyone is certain he is guilty of something.

O give thanks to the Lord, call on his name,
make known his deeds among the peoples.
Sing to him, sing praises to him;
tell of all his wonderful works.
Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
Seek the Lord and his strength;
seek his presence continually.
Remember the wonderful works he has done,
his miracles, and the judgements he has uttered,