Num. 16:20-35; Rom. 4:1-12; Matt. 19:23-30

A strange juxtaposition to that comes today in Matthew, with a focus on the parable of the rich young man.  “It will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven.  Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for  someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

Jesus’ use of this colorful camel-through-a-needle hyperbole is in effect saying – to use an analogy from today – it is easier for a rich man to enter heaven than for the Senate to pass effective gun legislation.  It would appear to be an impossibility bordering on miracle.

This story, as Tom Long puts it, is about two worlds colliding: this world, with all its prevailing customs and values, and a radical new way of life called “the kingdom of heaven”.  With the rich young man’s question we see the two worlds collide even in his ambiguous question, which seems to skate in both.

On a very basic level this appears to be a story about works.  Verse 25: When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astounded and said, “Then who can be saved?”  But Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but for God all things are possible.”

Jesus was a Presbyterian!?!  Sweet deal!  Here we are reminded that God is the mover and shaker.  Everything begins with God’s movement in our lives.  It turns out all of us are in the same boat as the rich young man, tied to our worldly affairs so much we are unwilling to let go.  This is the essence of original sin.

But with God all things are possible.  It is possible for us to let go and claim the newness which is already offered by Jesus Christ.  Not an escape from this world, but God offers a release from the power of greed, money, status, and worth.  We have found new and everlasting worth with Christ.

This is the miracle of the gospel.  The abundance of God’s love is so great, that we can talk about it in terms of a camel going through the eye of a needle.  It is an abundance of impossibility.  Not counting our faults, the love of God washes over us like a gentle rain, encapsulating us.

There are those who believe that text is not a metaphor, but a literal “eye of a needle.”  But did you that in some later centuries, the early churches had doors that were referred to as “eyes of needles”?  Tired of the rich people riding their horses into the sanctuary, they would shrink the doors so only people could get through, raising the bottom, lowering the top, so it was what amounted to a crawl space.

And what a way to start church!  You are reminded that you can pass through the eye of a needle, when you are amongst God’s faithful.  With God all things are possible!  It’s even possible to travel through the eye of a needle – traveling through every Sunday morning.

My goodness, maybe the Senate will pass some gun legislation.  The impossible has become possible – with God.

-Matt

Num. 16:1-19; Rom. 3:21-31; Matt. 19:13-22

One of the things I love about the Presbyterian Church is its rotation of leadership.  Every time our national church entity meets – the General Assembly – we elect a new Moderator.  This is the equivalent of the Presbyterian Pope.  On a personal note, it is an honor to have a number of former moderators follow my Morning Reflections.  The world truly has become small through technology.

Just this weekend our General Assembly gathered again.  It is often a time of hearty debate about the future of the church, peppered with numerous hot button issues.  It is not easy to step into leadership roles at this level – you often are painting a big red target on yourself.  But this is what we do in our church – elect leaders who guide the church and discern the spirit.  Rarely does the whole congregation vote on hot button issues.  Instead it is the board of elders that deals with stuff like this (the session) or in the national church’s case, the General Assembly.

Just yesterday they did something quite new, electing co-moderators for the first time, to share the mantle of leadership.  If you are interested in all the happenings: Watch the live stream of the 222nd General Assembly (2016) here .  You can also follow the daily news at: pcusa.org/ganews

Interestingly enough I turned to our Numbers passage and it involves some similar struggles.  It is the revolt of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, who stand before Moses and Aaron and let em have it.  The struggle is over leadership – specifically secular or sacred leadership in the tabernacle.  Levites or Reubenites, or the whole congregation.  Who is to be in charge.

Moses and Aaron are accused of being attention hogs, electing themselves as leaders and not allowing anyone else to approach God.

This is the beginning of many things.  The Levites are assigned specific duties in the Lord’s tabernacle, and are quickly learning that their spiritual gifts are in the area of worship.  The Levites are the first Worship Committee!  Isn’t this the case in all our churches?  There are always some who have special gifts in the area of worship leadership.  They become the Altar Guild or the Worship Team/Committee/Leaders.

Leadership in the context of serving the Lord is an important thing for us to look at here.  We are members of a religious order in which we acknowledge God is leading us.  And yet we have leaders in our midst.  What is their place?  Are we all allowed to approach the throne of grace?  The Reformation had some different angles on the direction the Roman Catholic church had taken this answer.

And yet, being Protestants and believing in the priesthood of all believers, we still have leaders.

That is because, just like in this story, we all have gifts.  We must discern them and learn our place, for in it we will find much joy and God’s grace will seem all the more bright.  This is at the heart of vocational discernment.  When one’s strengths intersect with the world’s need, there is much rejoicing.

In Matthew, Jesus blesses the little children.  They are innocent and without agenda.  Children are full of ambition.  Jesus welcomes them, “for such is the kingdom of heaven.”

Children are ambitious about the future.  In fact, they are forward looking machines.  They also are open to being loved, being led, and being shepherded.   This was the quality lacking in Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and the gang.

Let us open our hearts to not only leading in our vocation, but taking another’s lead in theirs.  Let us pray for our GA as they lead us into GOD’s NEW FUTURE.  Yes, you heard me right.  It is not their future, but Christ’s will that is being discerned.  At the end of the day, this is how God leads us forward, just as he did in Numbers and Matthew.

– Matt

Num. 11:24-33 (34-35); Rom. 1:28-2:11; Matt. 18:1-9

The question comes to Jesus: “Who is the greatest?”  His answer?  He calls a little child forward and says that unless we change and become like children we will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Children are playful and carefree – they are insightful and creative.  I learn this lesson daily having my office in the midst of our SPARK after-school program, which during the summer is an all day program of fun and learning.  This year the theme is the Olympics, as the Summer Olympic Games are coming up pretty soon.  The kids have chosen countries, and are learning about their adopted country.  I pushed for the Congo because of my favorite Thunder player.  But none of the classes took me up on that offer.

Not surprisingly a lot of the activities feature these kids full of energy.  And their energy and excitement never seem to run dry.  Sometimes I will be on the phone with one of you and you will come to know that, for a sea of giggles and excitement from the hall come spilling into my office.  Of course I leave the office door open.  Why wouldn’t I?!?!  Yes, it can be distracting at times, but SOOOO worth it.  I leave that door open so they can pop in and say HI, but also for the shear joy of sharing in their excitement.

Spending every summer in their midst reminds me why Jesus puts children in such a revered position.  Often we mock children and youth, for their innocence and fervor, and being ignorant or oblivious to politics and church fights.

But it is their very spirit which may save us.  Children crave togetherness.  They exhibit hope and joy at almost every turn (Yes they can be toots, but the good far outweighs the bad, especially when they are allowed simple carefree moments to be themselves).  The church needs a good dose of focusing on joy and togetherness, and not worrying so much about the things we worry about.

-Matt

Num. 11:1-23; Rom. 1:16-25; Matt. 17:22-27

The Bible is filled with bizarre stories, and today one comes our way: the odd story of Jesus and the Temple Tax.  Rarely will you hear this read in church on a Sunday morning! So here’s a recap: tax collectors ask Peter if Jesus pays the temple tax.  “Yes, he does,” replies Peter.  When they get home, Jesus asks him what he thinks of this, asking, “From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tribute?  From their children or from others?”  “From others,” replies Peter.  “Then the children are free,” declares Jesus.

Say what?

And then so no one takes offense, Jesus has Peter go throw a hook in the sea.  The fish that comes out will have a coin in his mouth, declares the Lord.  “Take that and give it to them for you and me.”

Strange story, wouldn’t you agree?  OK a little background:

The temple tax was an annual tax, a half-shekel per adult Jewish male to support temple sacrifices.  It appears that Jesus sees himself and the “true children of God” as exempt from this tax, that the true children of God do not need to contribute to God’s house, because they are of this house.

Preachers avoid this for obvious reasons.  What? No tithing?  Are members exempt from giving?  Reading this passage at stewardship campaigns ends up in a complete bust.

It is a radical response, softened only by the folkloric aspects of St. Peter’s Fish with a coin in his mouth, and the fact that he paid the tax, in fact he would have been twice the required tax.  (Did you know the fish of the Sea of Galilee was tilapia?  It has become popular these days, and next time you have it on the menu at a restaurant, ask that it come with a coin in its mouth.)

It is difficult to know how this functions for the Gospel of Matthew.  Is Jesus taking a stand against temple sacrifice?  Against Rome?  It appears it is a stand against giving to the temple altogether.

Matthew was dealing with specific problems, probably Jewish-Christians who were struggling with allegiances, temple taxes, and general identification with being Jewish.  Matthew is helping them see the way forward, through the eyes of the true sacrifice, Jesus the Christ. So I don’t think this passage is a green light for anyone to cut their pledge if they disagree with how the church is using their money.  It’s actually the opposite.

Think about Matthew’s context.  Early Christians quit their jobs, gave all their worldly possessions to the church, and spent their life promoting the gospel.  Their tithe was 100% of their lives.  Matthew is emphasizing this, and letting the Jewish-Christians know that temple taxes are not for them, but that their new lives are completely washed by their identification as children of God.

Maybe a good summary then is: Put your money where your mouth is.  Get your lives in line with God.

I am still waiting to hear a preacher be bold and use this passage for a stewardship campaign.  Then I would know we are living by faith.

-Matt

Num. 9:15-23, 10:29-36; Rom. 1:1-15; Matt. 17:14-21

I came home from a week in Hastings, Nebraska refreshed.  It was an extraordinary week of togetherness with other pastors, finding hope and joy in the midst of the rigor of ministry.  The Summer Pastor’s School was great.

I also came home to some of out control plants.  Some of the shrubs had grown and grown and were overdue for a trimming.  The garden was a bit out of control with weeds and overgrowth.  There was a potted plant outside I had forgotten about and he was in desperate need of watering.  He may not survive.  Tending to gardens is being aware that things are always growing and changing, and a whole week of being gone is not ideal.

Turning to our readings for today, I see a lot of things on the move. In Numbers we see God on the move, literally: the “cloud by day and the appearance of fire by night” that covers the tabernacle.  If the cloud moves in the morning, the people go with it.  If the cloud stays, they remain in camp.

We follow a God who is on the move.  He is not stuck up on that mountain.  He isn’t dwelling in a permanent temple, for all to come and gaze at in awe.  He is unseen.  He moves, and is on the move.  Where the people go, God goes.  It is as if to say, “I will be with you wherever you go.”  It is a foreshadowing of God being in our hearts.

Paul, in our Romans passage, also deals with growth – a people growing in faith.  Today he lays out the work of a mature mind, and theological concepts like justification, grace, and law.

In Matthew, Jesus cures a boy with a demon and reminds us that if we had faith the size of a mustard seed, we could move mountains.

Growth and movement.  God on the move.  People growing in the faith.

In many ways Ordinary Time is like this – the summer is like this, with much growth and change.  In so many ways God is our gardener, tending, nurturing, and at times pruning our lives.   My hope is that this summer becomes a time of the regular diet of Scripture, and that you find yourself growing into God’s word, and discovering God on the move throughout the day.

-Matt

Eccles. 11:1-8; Gal. 5:16-24; Matt. 16:13-20

When Presbyterians are the butts of jokes I often hear about the “frozen chosen” or how we are always doing things “decently and in order.”  We get stereotyped as rules-people, people of the Book, stiff, orderly, dry, etc. etc.  Some of these may have a grain of truth to them, but most are silly.  One thing that is true, and may lead to these kinds of stereotypes, is that we do have a whole Book of Confessions, a Book of Order, and other guiding handbooks, all on top of Scripture as our authority.  We have lots of “rules” if you want to perceive them that way.

Some of my friends from other traditions boast that they come from a tradition that has no confessions.  But that is when I have to laugh.

Being Christian, by nature, means being confessional.  Today’s passage in Matthew contains one of the first and most powerful confessions in the Christian tradition.  “‘But who do you say that I am?’  Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.’”

And in many ways, this is at the heart of each one of our confessions in the Book of Confession.  They boldly speak of who we are, what we believe, and what we declare to do.  One of the most powerful ingredients about that is a confession of Jesus Christ as the Messiah.

What does it mean to declare Jesus as the Messiah?  For me it centers on trust.  We are not going to invest our trust in a political system.  Historically, through our confessions we have in essence been saying, “No, the Queen of England is not going to tell us how to follow Christ” (Scots Confession), and “No, Hitler isn’t going to define our beliefs” (Barmen Declaration). Christ is going to do that!

We believe that Jesus is in charge of our lives.  We believe that if this world is going to be saved from itself, the answer is not ourselves, or any social, political, or cultural solution.  No, the answer is to look to Christ for our direction.

We are not going to invest our time and energy into building up the systems of this world, but God’s system.  This is a major shift from American culture.  I often chuckle when people refer to the US as a “Christian nation”.  How is that now?  Granted this country was founded on many Christian principles, but that does not mean it is a theocracy or that we, as a nation, subscribe to Christianity.  On the contrary, the US, like any political entity, is made up of humans in their brokenness.

We as Christians must constantly struggle to see beyond culture to the kingdom of Christ, where the poor are the rich, and the meek shall inherit the earth.  God’s ways are not our ways, and the Bible is sprinkled with regular reminders of that, Old and New Testaments.

And so we confess.  We strive to put our trust and our support in that which is above and beyond this world.  We confess into the beyond.  And Jesus says to us, “‘But who do you say that I am?’  Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.’”

-Matt

Eccles. 9:11-18; Gal. 5:1-15; Matt. 16:1-12

In our passage today Jesus uses the metaphor of yeast, but maybe not the way you are expecting.  The Pharisees and Sadducees come to test Jesus and to look for a sign from heaven.  Jesus leaves that conversation and reminds the disciples to beware of the yeast of the Sadducees and Pharisees.  It’s easy to confuse this metaphor of yeast with that of bread & yeast, which the disciples fall into, reflecting us back to the feeding of the five thousand and four thousand.

Yeast: it grows and leavens.  It is a living organism that multiplies.  In the feeding of the five thousand and the number of baskets gathered afterward, we see the signs of heaven that Jesus institutes.  The “yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees” is one of exclusion and reverse growth, not expanding God’s grace, but reducing the grace of God to rules and “don’ts”.

The ministry of Jesus is clear.  More than just feeding the poor, it is a message of good news and inclusion that brings in even the Gentiles, the farmers, the sick and afflicted.  It brings in the people from the fringes of society.  How bold.

We just had a presbytery meeting.  Indian Nations presbytery has had it struggles over the years.  Trust is low.  All we do is fight.  I also routinely hear people upset about the General Assembly’s decisions, our highest governing body which is about to start meeting.  So schedule in the annual belly-aching.  Here it comes!

I, on the other hand, have always trusted in our process, and trusted our presbytery and General Assembly.  I have met commissioners and delegates over the years.  These are often people wise beyond their years.  They have seen and understood the yeast of Jesus’ gospel.  My prayer with all our leaders, and whatever level they serve, that they are ready and willing to put their faith into action.

Now is the time to speak and act boldly like Jesus – to step out in our faith.

Sometimes leadership means bold steps.  It means stepping out and often taking unpopular stands.  It means standing against the political sways to and fro.  It means listening to Christ’s clear call to share the gospel in all times and places.

The yeast of the gospel has spilled over into our lives.  It drives us to praise and thanksgiving.  But it also drives us to continue on a road of inclusion and grace, welcoming the stranger, the poor, the afflicted, the brokenhearted.

Is Jesus’ gospel a “social gospel”?  You bet it is.

-Matt