Neh. 2:1-20; Rev. 6:12-7:4; Matt. 13:24-30

“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat….”  The weeds are then left to grow to maturity, only to be bundled up and burned.

We are about to get to Jesus’ parables in our Wednesday Noon Bible Study one we pick up the Gospel of Matthew again after Christmas.  And I will warn you, folks.  The more I study them the less I seem to know.  I have been challenged, surprised, shamed, encouraged, humbled, confused, and utterly baffled by the parables in the past.  Today illuminates that wonderfully.

It is a fascinating parable, meant to instruct us or change our thinking on “the kingdom of heaven.”  It is unclear quite what is meant by this phrase.  As the gospel of Matthew unfolds, we come to understand it better.  The kingdom is something that is amongst us.  It is here and now.  And it is growing.

From this parable we can also surmise that the kingdom is a place where ultimately some fit in and some don’t.  The battle is not won.  The work is not over.  Something more is required of us.

This also begins a series of parables on the kingdom of heaven.  We are finding out that whatever this kingdom is, it is expansive; it is surprising; it is a challenge to keep up with.

Despite Paul’s assertion that “death has been swallowed up in victory” and that the battle for righteousness has been won by Christ, it is Christ himself who seems to demand of his followers.  The path of discipleship is narrow and difficult.  We are expected to change our lives, and watch the world change around us.  This seems like a tall order in these dark days for our country, when many have traded in news for propaganda, and when the temptation is to just check out on the daily goings on of our world.

The parable is clear: things are changing.  Along with that, as things change, the truth becomes clear.  And there are choices before us.  So we wait, and we work.  And when the fork in the road comes, we best be ready to follow.

Let us keep at the forefront of our lives the good news of the gospel, and let us pray and hope and work toward the wheat.

-Matt

Neh. 1-1:11; Rev. 5:11-6:11; Matt. 13:18-23

All Faithful Departed (All Souls’)

Nehemiah is one of those books that is so often overlooked.  In the Book of Ezra we saw the rebuilding of the temple, now in Nehemiah we see the coming together of a city. O how I pray this prayer daily!  Our country is in so much need of dialogue and coming together.

In Nehemiah, it is more than a rebuilding of the city walls, but a rebuilding of trust, and a restoring of a people.  Strike a little close to home?  In our churches and in our nation a need to rebuild trust and restore our lives together is tantamount.

In today’s reading, Nehemiah, hearing some of the recent attacks on Jerusalem, prays that he has success in rebuilding the city walls, and coming to terms with the Persian king.  Nehemiah is a Jew who has risen to a high office in the Persian administration, and there are hopes that he can pull some strings to allow for the Promised Land to be restored to peace and prosperity.

Where is our Nehemiah?  Certainly many of the current leaders in Washington have lost our trust.  I have not seen approval ratings this low for our leaders in my lifetime – and that’s a long time.

This country is hungry for the world to be a better place.  I would also argue, despite the incredible divisiveness that I see, that this country is also hungry for coming together.

Our churches are also often hotbeds of debate and fracture.

What is missing in the midst the debate?  The spirit of Nehemiah.

“Upon hearing these words I sat down and wept, and mourned for days, fasting and praying before the God of heaven.  I said, ‘O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him, and keep his commandments; let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer of your servant…, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you.  Both I and my family have sinned.”

There is humility in Nehemiah’s leadership.  This is something we MUST look for as we face a time to turn the page and chose new leaders.

For Nehemiah there is also an earnest desire to keep in touch with the God who sustains all things.  Are our churches being humble in the midst of discord?

In short, NO.  I encounter a lot of blowhards as a Mid Council Leader.  Perhaps at times I am one of those blowhards.  At every turn, as leaders, we must take time to listen to our fellow brothers and sisters?

We must have patience and trust – not in ourselves, but in God who can transform this miserable mess we have made of our world and our churches.  And that time, I sense, is now.

-Matt

Ezra 6:1-22; Rev. 5:1-10; Matt. 13:10-17

Eve of All Saints:
Psalm 34; Wisdom 3:1-9; Revelation 19:1,4-10

I love Halloween!  We had a number of trick or treaters last night, from soldiers to zombies, and of course a veritable heaven host of more Pocahontas.  We even had one bumble bee.  Precious!

I always get a laugh when people talk of Halloween as if it is a secular holiday.  No more than Christmas!  I want to ask them about truly secular holidays they “don’t celebrate”: July 4, Labor Day, Thanksgiving.  And what about how we dress Christmas up as if it is the chief of all secular holidays?  This is usually complete with a plastic Santa out front and Christmas trees, gifts, and parties all over.   I always want to remind folks as well, that Christmas was a pagan holiday that was later taken over by the church and given more “Christian” roots.

The truth is that Halloween, or All Hallow’s Eve, has deep Christian roots as well.  Yes it has been commercialized.  Yes, it has problems.  As I have mentioned, so does Christmas these days.  And what does an Easter Bunny and chocolate have to do with Easter?

The true origins of Halloween lie with the ancient Celtic tribes who lived in Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Brittany.  For the Celts, November 1 marked the beginning of a new year and the coming of winter. The night before the new year, they celebrated those who had died.  During this festival, Celts believed the souls of the dead—including ghosts, goblins and witches—returned to mingle with the living.  In order to scare away the evil spirits, people would wear masks and light bonfires.

As with many of the secular holidays of Europe, like Saturnalia(now Christmas) the Church found a way to infiltrate and “Christianize” this holiday.  The Church too, had a day to celebrate those who had died, and in 835, Pope Gregory IV moved the celebration for all the martyrs (later All Saints) from May 13 to November 1. The night before became known as All Hallow’s Eve or “holy evening.” Eventually the name was shortened to the current Halloween.  It was the night before the true celebration, All Saint’s Day on Nov. 1.  (We do Christmas the same way, remember?  Christmas Eve!)

The purpose of these feasts is to remember those who have died, whether they are officially recognized by the Church as saints or not.  It is a celebration of the “communion of saints,” which reminds us that the Church is not bound by space or time.

It is also, in many ways, a time for Christians to laugh in the face of death, for death has lost its sting.  We dress up in masks.  We even dress as dead people sometimes.  We make a comedy of death.  And what did the cross do?  We, as Christians, stand as a people unafraid by death.  We rejoice in the resurrection, and in doing so we shake off our moral fears and preach Christ, the Lord of Life.

(The educator in me is always interested when children start to get hooked.  Here is our chance!  It is difficult to talk about difficult concepts like death or loss with children.  Halloween could be our way “in” to an age-appropriate conversation about grandma who is no longer here, for grief and loss are just as real for those little ones.)

And so, even though Halloween may seem like a very secular holiday, and in many ways it has become so, there is a distinctly Christian aspect to all this “ghouls and goblins”.  So laugh with me, and mock death itself, for “Death, where is your sting.  O grave, where is your victory!”

-Matt