28 February 2014

Psalm 140, 142; Prov. 8:1-21; Philemon 1-25; John 12:9-19

Wisdom seems to make extravagant promises to those who would heed her.  Those promises include the good life here.  What she says is that if you will follow her and eschew evil then you will have everything you could possibly want.  How do you square that with an aphorism like, "Nice guys finish last" or Machiavellian wisdom, or the art of worldly wisdom by Baltasar Gracian?   How even do you square that with Jesus' teaching in the Gospels, Paul's experiences, or most of the disciples?  We don’t receive promises from Jesus that we will be received in society well if we follow Him.  In fact, He says we will be rejected and makes no promise of earthly wealth or success to His followers.  Here is the way to square the circle.  What is promised?  "Riches and honor are with me, enduring wealth and righteousness… granting an inheritance to those who love me, and filling their treasuries."  Her promises are eternal.

That first sentence of the Gospel reason seems to be the reason none of the other Gospels, all written before John's Gospel, include an account of the raising of Lazarus.  The leaders were looking to put Lazarus to death as well.  It was probably best not to draw more attention to Lazarus while he was still alive and it is possible he had died by the time John's Gospel was written.  We don't know that for certain but it makes sense.  John would have been writing in living memory of some who knew about this sign, so it could have been easily disputed if it had not happened.  John says that the reason the crowd met them in Jerusalem was because of this very sign and who could argue with him?  Certainly if a man raised someone from the dead the week before Easter there would be a crowd at the church he pastured that day.  They wanted a king who could do such things, but the signs were only important as they pointed to who He was, not in themselves.

Paul says that he has the authority, even as a prisoner, to command Philemon to do the "right thing" with respect to his runaway slave, Onesimus, but instead appeals to him to do it of his own volition.  Paul certainly knew how to lay on the guilt didn't he?  Onesimus has been a great help to him and he would loved to have kept him with him but legally the man belonged to Philemon, who is a Christian leader.  Those who argue that the Bible doesn't condemn slavery don't understand this epistle very well.  Paul urges Philemon to receive the man back not as a bondservant (one who has willingly become a slave) but as a brother.  If there is any cost to his actions in running away, Paul offers to bear those costs himself while also noting that if not for Paul's preaching the Gospel, Philemon would not have life, so in essence Philemon owes Paul his very life.  How could the man possibly refuse this request?  Are we willing to give up our claim on other people and set them free?  Let us let go of all claims we have on earthly things that they might have no claim on us.

27 February 2014

Psalm 131, 132; Prov. 7:1-27; 1 John 5:13-21; John 11:55-12:8

Faithfulness is the key but what is the key to faithfulness?  The key to faithfulness is wisdom, understanding and appreciating God's way as the best way, the way of eternal life.  This passage is similar to Jesus' teachings on the kingdom of heaven as the pearl of great price, the treasure hidden in a field.  We must perceive it as of surpassing worth and beauty in order that we not be allured to chase after some other treasure or fancy that catches our eye.  What a wonderful extended metaphor this is in personifying the way of sin and death as an adulteress dressed as a prostitute to allure us from the Lord.  The promise of fulfillment of desire, no prospect of being caught by her husband who is away with plenty of money to keep him busy, we can indulge ourselves in this fantasy without fear, without consequences.  Right, good luck with that one.

Passover was one of the highest holy days, a time when all Jews were either in Jerusalem or wanted to be there.  Crowds were coming into the city for the festival and Jesus was the hot topic of discussion for those outside the city, from the country. Would He make an appearance at the festival?  What would happen if He did?  The Pharisees had put out the word that if anyone knew where He was they were prepared to arrest Him.  Jesus does return, to Bethany, the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus.  There, Mary does something truly extraordinary and extravagant in anointing His feet and letting down her hair to wash them.  Women didn't let down their hair for anyone but their husbands and certainly not for this purpose.  She, in essence, declared herself to be fully committed to Jesus, to the exclusion of all others, recognition of His true identity.  Judas shows his stripes as well, sneering at her sacrifice.  Did Mary have any idea what was coming?

The Son of God has come and given us understanding.  How does Jesus give us understanding?  Two essential ways.  He reveals the Father, makes Him known to us by His teaching and by His works.  We learn of the Father and His love for us in the incarnation, the divine condescension to take on flesh, and in the crucifixion, His willing sacrifice of love for us, and everything in between but also in His ascension and continuing work of intercession for us, a ministry to which John calls us in praying for our brothers who sin.  The second way Jesus gives us understanding is by giving us His Spirit to guide and direct us, dwelling not only among us but within us.  To be born of God is to be born of the Spirit, we are not only admonished to keep His ways but we are also enabled to do so by the Spirit.  The Spirit reveals the beauty of the kingdom and kingdom life to us so that we can grow in wisdom and understanding.  He also reveals Jesus to us as He did to Mary, that our love, devotion and service to Him may be equally extravagant.

26 February 2014

Psalm 119:145-176; Prov. 6:1-19; 1 John 5:1-12; John 11:45-54

The passage begins with warnings against guaranteeing the debt of a neighbor or stranger and urges the hearer to get out of such entanglements as quickly as possible if already entered into.  If we make guarantee for another we are at their mercy at some level and wisdom would indicate that this is a bad decision, we can't truly know the neighbor and stranger.  The second part of the passage is a warning against laziness and sounds very much like the Aesop fable about the ant and the grasshopper, the grasshopper spends the warm months singing and the ant storing up for winter.  Finally, it wraps up with something we all need to take to heart, the seven things the Lord hates - haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who  breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.  Notice that three of these relate to the tongue, as James wrote, "If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless."

What was the motivation for those who went from to tomb of Lazarus to the Pharisees to let them know what Jesus had done?  Was it to alert them to His movements that they might come against Him or was it in the hopes that surely this would finally convince them He was Messiah?  We don't know the answer but John seems to hint that the darker motive was in play.  How could the Pharisees not believe after hearing this story?  Their hearts, like Pharaoh's in Egypt during the plagues, were hardened and could not let the people go and worship Him.  Caiphas seems to suggest what John Stuart Mill would propose as an ethical system in the 19^th century, utilitarianism, doing whatever act results in the greatest good for the greatest number of people, something which cannot be known.  Caiphas doesn't care whether Jesus is innocent or guilty, good or bad, such things don't matter, it is the outcome that matters.  Caiphas really only has one person in mind here, himself.  As high priest he has the most to lose.  John actually credits Caiphas with prophetic utterance here, that his position as high priest is from God or he wouldn't speak thus.

Jesus has stood surety for us, we the worthless sinners who He calls not only neighbor but brothers and sisters.  His work on the cross moves us from strangers and enemies to heirs, adopted children.  Belief in Him is the key to eternal life but it isn't the end of story, we are to be like Him as we were created in His image.  Caiphas believed something right, it was indeed better for the one man to die but he believed that not because he believed in Jesus as propitiation for sin, the true Messiah, but for other reasons.  If we only believe what Jesus did as our cosmic get out of jail free card, we don't have sufficient faith. If, however, we believe He also set us free from the slavery to sin, and are becoming like Him, we have salvific faith.  The testimony we have is the life of faith not of fear.  There should be a familial likeness.

25 February 2014

Psalm 121, 122, 123; Prov. 4:1-27; 1 John 4:7-21; John 11:30-44

This seems like an odd statement: "The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight."  It is indeed true though, wisdom is rarely accidentally required and even then it is most often painfully acquired in this way.  To seek wisdom, to know the way of things, sets in motion that which is beneficial for life.  What is wisdom?  We have to begin in the right place if we're going to get real wisdom.  We can get wisdom in business, wisdom in interpersonal relationships, wisdom in a great many areas of life from a great many sources but doesn't it make sense to get wisdom from the one who created all things.  This is yet another reason the idea of a creator is important.  If there is a creator there is an ultimate and eternal source of wisdom while if there is not a creator all statements of wisdom are subject to revision based on circumstances.  Worldly wisdom can carry us so far in this life but it cannot get us to the next life, eternal life.  If our goal is to be healthy, wealthy and wise in this life we can get that wisdom anywhere but if our goal is to live godly lives that glorify Him, we need to get wisdom from Him.

All the mourners even believe Jesus could have saved Lazarus from dying.  It was a compliment but there was also a criticism contained in their words.  Why hadn't He come?  Didn't He love Lazarus, Mary and Martha enough to respond to their summons?  No one believes that Jesus can do anything now and we know that because of Martha's response to His command to open the tomb.  Death is accompanied by decay, and Martha knows it.  You don't open the tomb on the fourth day, as the KJV said, He stinketh.  At His command, Lazarus comes forth from the tomb, bound in graveclothes.  Who would have believed such a thing were possible?  No one at all.  Wisdom is all in knowing who this man truly is.

The wisdom of God is revealed in the love of God and in loving others we reveal that same wisdom.  We show that we understand what it means that not only we, but all humankind, is created in the image of God and in loving others we love God's image, just as He has done in dying for us.  Wisdom is accepting fully and living into the truth of the cross, that Jesus isn't just a good man dying unjustly, He is taking on sin, the sin of the whole world, and offering Himself as a sacrifice to the Father for propitiation of sin.  Wisdom is knowing that the resurrection tells us that His offering was acceptable to the Father. Wisdom is knowing that sets us free from fear of what this world might do to us, the fear of not fitting in, and the fear of death.  Wisdom is following the one who is acceptable to God. 

24 February 2014

Psalm 106:1-18; Prov. 3:11-20; 1 John 3:18-4:6; John 11:17-29

Is there a connection between discipline and wisdom and understanding?  Our parents sure thought so.  Discipline can mean a great many things and we are inclined to focus on only one aspect of that definition.  Discipline could mean going to school every day, working on homework, practicing a musical instrument or sport or it could mean negative reinforcement, verbally, physically or otherwise.  Without discipline we never know when we have gone astray and endangered ourselves in some way.  We won't improve at anything in life without discipline, with only positive feedback.  In order to find wisdom we have to know where to find it and we can't get there without some discipline.  We tend to follow our desires and we know from the start that is the wrong path, it was what led Adam and Eve astray. To correct desire and live at the level of wisdom requires discipline, either self-imposed or God's intervention.  As Will Rogers said, "There are three kinds of men. The one that learns by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves."

Conventional religious wisdom said that a man in the tomb four days is dead without hope of revival.  The soul was believed to hang around for three days waiting for the body to revive so that it could "re-inhabit" the body but after that time it gave up and went where souls go.  Lazarus was dead.  Both Martha and Mary are of the opinion that if Jesus had come when they sent for Him this would not be the case.  They believe that however bad their brother's illness was that Jesus could have done something to save him.  Martha believes that even now God will give what Jesus asks but what does she mean by that statement?  She believes that her brother will rise again at the last day, in the general resurrection, but she isn't willing to go further than that.  Jesus' statement, "I am resurrection and I am life" should stop us in our tracks when we read it but how stunning it must have been for Martha to hear it from His lips that day.  She believes He is Messiah, the Son of God, and then she seems to have abruptly left the conversation to go and get Mary.  It would certainly have been an uncomfortable moment for her.  If you think telling someone you love them for the first time is frightening, imagine telling them you believe them to be the Messiah.

We can work on discipline in our lives, reading, prayer, fasting, simplicity, and other things, but ultimately we need God's discipline in our lives as well.  We need the Holy Spirit to convict us of sin, of failing to love.  We can easily conclude that based on our own life compared to others we are doing well but others aren't the measure of sin.  Sin is more than simply the outwardly wrong things we do, love is equally important and we need help to love others, we need to be convicted when we aren't loving.  Our consciences sometimes need to convict us. The pope recently proposed to an atheist's question about sin by appealing to conscience and it was perfect.  Sometimes Christians want to talk so spiritually that we aren't understood by those not in the know.  The conscience is the beginning point of knowledge of sin and therefore some higher standard against which we have transgressed, God's standard.  With that little bit of discipline we have begun the journey of discovery.