30 April 2012

Psalm 41,52; Exod. 32:1-20; Col 3:18-4:18; Matt. 5:1-10

There is always a danger in the priest listening to the voice of the people and responding to it in order to keep them happy.  In doing so here, Aaron participated in the sin of the people in violation of the first two commandments.  What was he thinking?  How could these newly minted gods have brought them out of Egypt?  That happened before the gods were created and these gods were their own creation, not the other way round.  The people say to Aaron, “Up!” and because he obeyed their voice the Lord has to say to Moses, “Go down!”  The rest of God’s speech is interesting, “for YOUR people, whom YOU brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves.”  Moses refuses to take that bait, responding, “O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?”  They aren’t MY people and I didn’t bring them out, they’re YOURS and YOU brought them out.  He appeals to the patriarchs and the covenant to ask God to relent of anger, wise move.  Moses breaks the tablets, signifying the covenant itself is broken, and then smashes the idols.  It seems incredible that they could have done such a thing doesn’t it?  Have you ever gotten tired of waiting for God and taken matters in your own hands? 

Jesus begins teaching His disciples with some hard sayings.  He speaks of what looks like an upside-down world, where those who see the world for what it is, broken and busted, are those who are truly blessed.  He strips away all the allurements of this life from blessing and says take God’s perspective on things, comparing the way things were intended with the way things actually are and look at the world that way.  Our perspective needs change, we are like the Israelites in Egypt, we have accommodated our worldview to the way things are, not the way they were meant to be or the way they will be in the eternal kingdom.  We are called to covenant with the Lord and yet we continue to worship things of earth and celebrate them, acting as though they were of ultimate value. 

“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward.”  The rich young man asked Jesus what he had to do to inherit the kingdom of God.  The answer was to seek it first, last and only, lay down your claim to the inheritance you have received on earth and lay hold of the heavenly kingdom.  Paul reminds the Colossians that whatever we do, we do for the Lord.  Whether we are employed in the church or not makes no difference, we are all ultimately employed in the work of God.  Whatever we do then we do as His representatives and that means we do all to the best of our abilities.  We aren’t, however, working to receive the accolades and benefits of the world.  If they come our way, fine, but if not, all we do should be to please Him.  Living for the Lord raises our standards and provides us an eternal purpose for everything in this life.

Come, lift your hearts on high,
Alleluia! Amen!
Let praises fill the sky;
Alleluia! Amen!
He is our Guide and Friend;
To us He’ll condescend;
His love shall never end.
Alleluia! Amen!

Tune

29 April 2012

Psalm 63, 98; Exod. 28:1-4,30-38; 1 John 2:18-29; Mark 6:30-44

Beauty is important to the Lord.  The garments of the priests were to be of a particular beauty.  We keep some of this in our tradition with the wearing of the alb (simply meaning white) for the one who pronounces absolution of sins and celebrates communion.  As we confess our sins in worship we are cleansed and declared righteous, the priest wearing the alb represents our state before the Lord as He forgives us and should remind us that we do have a new status because of confession of sin, faithful confession of Jesus’ sacrifice that atones for sin, and trust that because He has promised to forgive that He in fact has done so.  In the Old Covenant, the priest was the representative man before God and the representative of God before man.  The final article of clothing was the head piece inscribed “Holy to the Lord”, which was to signal the intentions of the people in their sacrifices and the preparation of the High Priest.  It was an awesome and fearful thing to go into the Holy of holies, in fact, it could cost you your life if you did so lightly.  Look at verse 35 and see God’s warning.

The important part of the action here is that when the food is brought to Jesus He looked up to heaven and offered a blessing.  This action makes clear who is providing food for the multitude.  When Moses struck the rock in anger in the wilderness he aligns himself with God but he does so presumptuously by saying, “Must we bring you water out of the rock?”  He wasn’t told to strike the rock, he did so from anger, and the word “we” indicates that Moses is taking some measure of credit for the provision.  Here, Jesus’ actions make plain who is providing for the people.  All that He does in this scene is motivated by compassion, there is a sense of the Exodus in it, He teaches because He sees them as sheep without a shepherd, and then because they are in a desolate place, a wilderness of sorts, He provides food.  Presumption is always dangerous, humility is always the best rule in approaching the Lord God.

What does it mean to “have the Son” or “deny the Son”?  It is possible to believe in the Son while at the same time not having Him or denying Him.  Jehovah’s Witnesses believe Jesus was a son of God but not “the” Son of God, that He was a perfect man, and that He is a person distinct from God the Father. However, they also teach that before His earthly life, Jesus was a spirit creature, Michael the archangel, who was created by God and became the Messiah at His baptism.  Muslims believe Jesus was a prophet who did miracles.  Mormons teach that Jesus was begotten as a spirit creation in heaven and is distinct from God.  The Christian church has affirmed the Nicene Creed as the sufficient statement of faith in the Trinity and it is in this sense that we are said to have the Son, as He is revealed in Scripture and revealed in the flesh.  We must, as Paul wrote, discern the body, come to grips with Jesus, if we are to receive the benefits and blessings He offers.  Like the priests in the old covenant, we must be clothed in righteousness, the righteousness of Christ, as we come to worship.

Come, Christians, join to sing
Alleluia! Amen!
Loud praise to Christ our King;
Alleluia! Amen!
Let all, with heart and voice,
Before His throne rejoice;
Praise is His gracious choice.
Alleluia! Amen!

Tune

28 April 2012

Psalm 30, 32; Exod. 25:1-22; Col. 3:1-17; Matt. 4:18-25

Moses is instructed to take up a collection from the people to build the place where they will worship the Lord and to construct all the materials necessary for the worship.  He is to make all things exactly as instructed, there is no room for human creativity in this endeavor. The materials would largely have come from the plunder they took from the Egyptians as they left.  The materials increase in value as they are closer to the presence of God.  The ark is to not very large, a little less than four feet in length, twenty-seven inches wide and twenty-seven inches high. Atop the ark is the mercy seat where the Lord will meet with the high priest who represents the people once a year before the Lord and throws blood from the sacrificial animal on the ark as propitiation for the sins of the whole people.  The mercy seat is topped with two cherubim facing one another.  Remember the last time we saw cherubim, Genesis 3, they guard the way to the tree of life.  The covenant is a covenant of life, and the Jews referred to the Law as the tree of life, so they stand atop the ark containing the tablets of the Law.

Jesus begins to call disciples, starting with two pairs of brothers who are fishermen.  He calls Peter and Andrew to come be fishers of men, leaving behind the catching of fish.  In the end His commission to Peter is to be shepherd of His sheep.  These men all immediately accede to Jesus’ call to be with Him.  We can assume that they have heard about Him, perhaps about His baptism and the remarkable signs given there and also perhaps of His ministry, seemingly taking up the mantle of John the Baptist in proclaiming the coming of the kingdom.  Now, however, they also see that this ministry is not like John’s in that there is great power to heal as well.  In this outlying region of mixed races and religions Jesus begins to attract crowds wherever He goes.

Jesus has given us new lives.  He has made propitiation for our sins in His sacrifice once and for all.  In that work He has opened for us the way to the tree of life, we partake of that life through Him.  We could say that the cross is the tree of life for us as it nullifies the penalty of the law, condemnation to death.  In nullifying the penalty He gives us new hearts and new minds and we can begin to seek after that life, allowing it to lift our eyes to heavenly things rather than earthly things.  We can live by the Spirit within us, we can pursue righteousness without fear of judgment for failure.  We are new creations in Jesus.  The old self is buried with Him and a new self arises in resurrection.  Worship is our response.

Frail children of dust, and feeble as frail,

In Thee do we trust, nor find Thee to fail;

Thy mercies how tender, how firm to the end,

Our Maker, Defender, Redeemer, and Friend.

O measureless might! Ineffable love!

While angels delight to worship Thee above,

The humbler creation, though feeble their lays,

With true adoration shall all sing Thy praise.

Tune

27 April 2012

Psalm 105:1-22; Exod. 24:1-18; Col 2:8-23; Matt. 4:12-17

The people agree to the covenant that the Lord has offered and they proclaim they will do all He has spoken and will be obedient.  Based on that agreement, Moses and the elders go up into the presence of the Lord for a banquet, a covenant meal, and we see that earth and heaven are met in this moment.  Verse 10 describes the throne of God, using the same language John used in Revelation 4, “before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal.”  Moses writes that they beheld God and ate and drank in His presence.  What they saw is not told to us.  Did they see a theophany, a pre-incarnation vision of Jesus, or something else?  At any rate, afterwards Moses is called up to wait on the Lord to deliver the tablets of stone on which the Lord had written the commandments.  Forty days Moses was with the Lord on the mountain in the cloud of His glory.  There is a pattern established here that we will see in the wilderness, Moses and Joshua together with Joshua waiting in attendance as Moses confers with the Lord. 

With the arrest of John by Herod, the situation in Jerusalem is volatile and Jesus withdraws as His hour is not yet come.  Surprisingly, He goes north to Capernaum and in doing so Matthew says Jesus fulfilled the prophetic word that from that region would come Messiah, everything had a purpose.  The message Jesus preached in that place was, in some ways, an extension of John’s ministry, a message of repentance for the kingdom is at hand.  Jesus’ message validates John’s message, that repentance is basic preparation for the coming of God, always has been and always will be.  Recall that in our readings earlier in the week we saw God calling the people to consecrate themselves for His meeting with them.  What implications does that have for us in preparation for worship together?

Does the opening sentence of this passage mean that Christians should know nothing of philosophy or that it has nothing to offer?  I don’t believe that is what Paul means at all.  The reality is that philosophy asks and attempts to give tentative answers to questions that should concern Christians but what it lacks, unless it is Christian philosophy, is the ability to give a definitive and final answer to the questions it asks.  If the fullness of deity dwells bodily in Christ, we need not wonder about the nature and character of God apart from Him.  We can wonder and marvel at the incarnation of God in flesh and continue to learn about Him all our lives but we do so based not on speculation but on the reality of Jesus.  The philosophies of which Paul writes are connected with regulations about diet and are particularly Jewish and Paul says that baptism and the cross are sufficient, those other things are of no benefit to us concerning how we are saved.  We are in Christ because of what He has done and our faith in that work as sufficient.  We, like the elders and Moses, have beheld God and know that He is the bread of heaven and we look forward to that heavenly banquet at the wedding feast of the Lamb.

The earth with its store of wonders untold,

Almighty, Thy power hath founded of old;

Established it fast by a changeless decree,

And round it hath cast, like a mantle, the sea.

Thy bountiful care, what tongue can recite?

It breathes in the air, it shines in the light;

It streams from the hills, it descends to the plain,

And sweetly distills in the dew and the rain.

Tune

26 April 2012

Psalm 37:1-18; Exod. 20:1-21; Col. 1:24-2:7; Matt. 4:1-11

The Ten Commandments are very similar to treaties of that time.  The parties are the nation and the Lord who brought them out of Egypt, out of slavery.  He has done something on their behalf and the treaty spells out the terms of the relationship.  They are to have no other gods besides Him and they are to have no images or idols.  We are created in the image of God, He has already given us an image of Himself, anything else would be blasphemous.  That image tells us that He is a living God as opposed to one that is simply dead matter.  Jesus reduces these ten to two, love God with all your being and love your neighbor as yourself.  Having seen the fearsome presence of God, the people want no part of conversation with Him, they want Moses to be their representative and they will then listen to Moses, it is safer that way.  In this, Moses says that all this is to test them, test their obedience to the first command, don’t come near the mountain.  They passed that test but that will not last long.

Jesus meets the temptations posed by satan with God’s Word.  There was nothing inherently wrong with turning stones into bread but it was a matter of what we looked at earlier in the week, whose voice would Jesus obey.  Would He obey the voice of desire for food after forty days fasting, would He obey the voice of satan or would He wait for the Father to speak concerning all things.  Satan’s second tactic is to quote Scripture concerning Messiah to Jesus to entice Him to fulfill those words but this, again, was not righteousness because it was not faith.  The Father had spoken those words through the prophets but the time for such things was also determined by Him, to do so presumptuously was wrong and testing God.  The final temptation is naked blasphemy, it presumes that the kingdoms of earth belong to satan and his price for giving them to Jesus is worship.  The appeal was to power and yet Jesus knew better than anyone who has or ever will live that the kingdoms of earth are fleeting things and the kingdom promised to Him was eternal.  This was perhaps the easiest of all to reject.

How do Paul’s sufferings fill up what is “lacking” in Christ’s afflictions?  The suffering of Christ is incomplete in that He promised that those who pick up their crosses and follow Him will continue to suffer but He shares in our sufferings, participates with us in these afflictions.  The image of Body of Christ to Paul is not simply metaphor but a physical reality in which Jesus is the head and we are representatively the body continuing the mission He began in the flesh.  As the body of Christ suffers, so Christ Himself suffers.  Also he is referring to Christ in us in a literal way and so as we as individual Christians suffer, so Christ suffers.  Our call is to walk in Him, allowing the life of Christ to be lived in and through our lives.  We are drawn, by the power of the Spirit in us, closer than anyone could imagine to God.  Let us this day attempt to live from that place and allow His life to flow through us to the world.

O worship the King, all glorious above,

O gratefully sing His power and His love;

Our Shield and Defender, the Ancient of Days,

Pavilioned in splendor, and girded with praise.

O tell of His might, O sing of His grace,

Whose robe is the light, whose canopy space,

His chariots of wrath the deep thunderclouds form,

And dark is His path on the wings of the storm.

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