Isa. 4:2-6; Eph. 4:1-16; Matt. 8:28-34

In Ephesians, we hear the familiar words: “But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.”  Unity. Hope. Love.

“Speaking the Truth In Love” is how love is understood and is the focus (and title!) of a book by Kenneth Haugk, the founder of Stephen Ministry.  In it he explores the role of a Stephen Minister, as one who cares, listens, and prays with a person in the midst of difficulties or brokenness.  Often in broken times, the world becomes hazy, out of focus, or skewed.  Part of the role of a Stephen Minister is to have the courage to speak the truth in love.  This could be challenges or insights – opportunities to explore where our lives in faith meet the world of tomorrow.

In Paul’s imagery of the body, Christ is at the head.  More so, we are no longer thrown to and fro by our own desires, but knit together into a new reality – a body of believers, with Christ’s will at the center of our thought.  This is, of course, core to Stephen Ministry too, seeing Christ as the center of our lives, even in the midst of life’s challenges.  Being knit into Christ’s will can be great comfort and leading.  It is also how the logo came to be, with a broken person moving to wholeness through the cross of Christ.

The transformative power of the cross was one that turned the whole establishment on its head.  No longer would we follow Rome, or the Jewish authority.  Nor would we follow ourselves – and our impulses toward self-centeredness, greed, base desires, etc.  Instead, we have renewed our vows, and accept God in charge.

This impacts more than just our pocketbooks or own prayer lives – it involves every fiber of our being.  We are no longer the same person, but knit together into a unified existence of radical change.

Where God will lead us, we do not know.  Where we are ultimately going is sure.  In the mean time, we choose the path of love.

-Matt

P.S. If you would like to know more about Stephen Ministry, or if having a Stephen Minister walk with you through some of life’s trouble, feel free to email me back, or call me sometime.  Dr. Edie King and I serve as our Referrals Coordinators.  She could also help you get matched up with someone in this special kind of confidential, caring relationship.  I can help too!  To learn more about our Stephen Ministry program and meet some of the leaders, visit: http://www.fpcokc.org/stephen-ministry

1 Sam. 16:1-13a; Eph. 3:14-21; Matt. 8:18-27

My friends think I love the Old Testament because of the juicy stories.  But here’s a secret: I think I like the Old Testament because fundamentally it is a book about rule-breakers.  And the Biggest Rule-Breaker is God!

Time and time again in Scripture we see this.  Humanity chooses one way; God chooses another.  Take the stories of Jacob and Esau, or how God chooses Joseph over the other, older brothers.  Whether it is human constructs (see those stories where it’s “the oldest male always wins stuff”), or whether it is God breaking his own rules, instead defaulting on the side of grace (see Zechariah 3, or see Jesus), here again in today’s passage we see God deciding to break rules.

Samuel is sent by God to anoint another king, having rejected Saul.  So he goes to Jesse and his many sons.  “Certainly this one before me is the chosen one, Eliab, the eldest.”  But the Lord says to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have not chosen him.”  On and on we go, until we come to the runt of the litter – the smelly shepherd: David.  He is the youngest, and certainly by the rules of primogeniture, he is the LAST choice.

Well he is God’s choice.  The chosen, anointed with oil on his head, and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David.

Why is God such a rule-breaker?  Isn’t he the one who set up these rules?  Yes and No.  One could get technical and say that these are human rules set up for us.  But time and time again we see this – the complexity of the Bible kick in – God stretching us and pushing us to understand that God’s choices are not simple and clear-cut.

If the Bible were simply a rule-book, folks would have stopped reading two-thousand years ago.  We must keep reading.  Much like the Da Vinci Code, the Bible is full of twists and turns.  The Old Testament is a page turner!  Often I sit there thinking, “I wonder what God will be up to next?” as I flip to the next page.  It is strange and unpredictable.

And then I turned the page to the New Testament, and I couldn’t believe what I was reading!  “God is up to what now?  God came to earth?  Came for me??”  This is all too good to be true!

It almost is.

-Matt

Joshua 1:1-9; Eph. 3:1-13; Matt. 8:5-17

I have been longing for a fresh, new start.  Sometime do you ever feel like your life is in a rut?  Like you need a kick start?

Not surprisingly, renewal and hope are constant themes in scripture.  It is everywhere!  From the Exodus to the miracles of Jesus, from Noah to the Final Battle, God is interested in the reconciliation of humanity – of bringing the people closer to him, mending that which is broken.  We see God not only as a shepherd, but like here in Joshua today, as the fearless leader of the people.

Joshua turns the page on the story.  Moses has died, it is time to enter the Promised Land, and frankly the Israelites are ready for a fresh new start.  A mantra of being strong and courageous emerges.  “I hereby command you: Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord you God is with you, wherever you go.”

Some thought they were following Moses.  With Joshua taking over, it becomes a reminder that Moses was just God’s instrument.  It is God they are truly following into their future.

And so it is with us.  No matter what our struggles or conflicts at the time, we must always remember that God is there in the midst of the pain or difficulty and is longing to see us make it out.  God wants us to be whole, alive, vibrant, healthy, Spirit-filled people.

Another thing we learn is scripture is that God is there whether we acknowledge it or not.  Often, the only element missing is the reminder.

What a gift this Joshua passage was to me this morning!

-Matt

Dan. 7:9-14; Heb. 2:5-18; Matt. 28:16-20

The readings take a turn today, because it is Ascension Day.  Our readings reflect that.

Daniel is a fascinating book, today with a fantastical vision of the future heavenly realm, Through the crazy images of beasts and clouds we get a sense that God will restore the earth to something quite new.

Hebrews exalts the new focus on Christ’s solidarity with all humanity.  He throws around words like “sanctifies” and “suffering” and “subjecting all things to them”.  As I read it, I could not help but think about Liberation Theology which the Senior High just got done exploring on Wednesday nights (Yes, our kids are smart and like a challenge!).

As I think about this theology, with its focus on seeing the Christian faith through the eyes of the poor and oppressed and also focusing on Christ as Liberator, I see Hebrews come alive.  This book is not old and obsolete, but fresh and alive for modern ears.

To know Christ as the pioneer, one who was made perfect by suffering, I cannot help but feel a closer kinship with God.  As our country struggles, and the rich get richer and the poor get poorer I begin to wonder where God is.  Well, God is standing with the poor.  God is shouting about salvation, but it is no longer an exposition about “taking Jesus into your heart.”  This is not a political stance, but a biblical one.

We serve a God who ascended into heaven and sits on the right hand of the Father.  I’m not even sure what that means.  I’m not sure if we are even meant to take this literally.  What would be the take-away?  That Christ is elusive, no longer with us?  I don’t think so.  For me this ties into these ancient attitudes about God as Savior and on the Judgment Seat.  In this sense God is a King who demands our allegiance – and this is not the kind of obedience one would be used to but a disarming odd mix – allegiance through servitude and suffering, humility, and obedience to restorative life. Now that is something!

Put another way, the Ascension is about coming to understand that we follow a God who has no limitations.  That is even more of a something!

As you encounter this holy day of the Church Universal, I ask you to commit yourself, once again to a post-ascension existence which demands action, as well as heart.

-Matt

Lev. 26:27-42; Eph. 1:1-10; Matt. 22:41-46

Questions abound today.  Every scripture reading today leaves me with questions bubbling up.  Honestly, half the time I am not sure what God is saying to me by the time I write a Morning Reflection.  Questions come, and by the afternoon hopefully some answers from scripture follow.

Today it is a flurry of strange readings.

In Leviticus we hear of the grave price of disobedience of the Sabbath and Kosher laws, that leads not just to death, but God piling the carcasses of the people on an altar!  It is often difficult to figure out what God is up to in this Wilderness Survival Guide, which forbids tattoos, clothes of mixed fibers, eating shrimp, and then requires the stoning of disobedient children.  It was a book to help that small band of followers make it though the 40 years of desert wandering alive.

In Matthew, on the heels of the Pharisees asking Jesus about the greatest commandment, he has a question for them that leaves them dumbfounded.  He asks about the Messiah and whose son they think it is.  They answer David.  Then he asks “How is it then that David by the Spirit calls him Lord?”  They have no answer for him.

The Ephesians passage seems to help me find some peace about the first two readings: “He has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.”

Paul has a way of reminding us that we have one foot on earth and one foot in heaven.  Things of this world are not going to make sense!  But that does not mean we ignore them or cast them aside, but help to see them in context.  (See how that was helpful in Leviticus too!?)  The goal with everything, including Kosher laws, is to ask the purpose of the Law and not lose sight of them – but whether they bring us closer to God and to neighbor.

What does God want from us?  These days we are threatened with poverty around the world.  What are we supposed to do?   Shut ourselves off from world hunger and homelessness?  Horde all our money for ourselves?  Build fences?  As families break apart how are we to read the Law in a way that can help people see their way forward into true family values?

What is God’s will for us in this dark time, so that we may help usher in the fullness of time?  How have we answered the questions of this generation and yet missed a key component?  What is that key component?

Is the Church called to stand up and flex its political power?  When are we to sit idly by, and when are we to step up and take on the principalities and powers?

Deep in the cracks of our scriptures today, these questions seep to the surface and they beg to be asked.   I leave these answers for you.

-Matt

Lev. 26:1-20; 1 Tim. 2:1-6; Matt. 13:18-23

Do these following words sound familiar? “Who is in a position to condemn?  Only Christ.  And Christ rose for us; Christ reigns in power for us; Christ prays for us.”  These words are a common Assurance of Pardon in the Presbyterian Church.  Today in 1 Timothy we encounter the fullness of its power.

“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life….For there is one God and there is one mediator between God and the world: the man Jesus Christ.”

Christ prays for us…intercedes on our behalf.

I cannot tell you the comfort it brings to me to know that Jesus in our intercessor.  His care and concern for us goes well beyond his life or even his death, but continues for us today.  In fact, through our baptism, we have been grafted into Christ, and he is a part of us and we are a part of him.

This is why we pray in his name, because we are remembering that through Christ that we have come to be in a mystical union with God.  By the power of the Holy Spirit, through prayer, just as with the sacraments, or preaching, or foot-washing, we can be vaulted to heaven in a bond with God that cannot be broken.

I love hymnody and often scripture has spoken most powerfully through the gift of music.  The hymnbook also preaches.  Today is one of those days, where one of my favorite hymns captures the essence of the mystical bound of love that is shared in 1 Timothy.  The last verse of The Church’s One Foundation:

Yet she on earth hath union (“she” meaning the church)

with God the Three in One,

and mystic sweet communion

with those whose rest is won.

O happy ones and holy!

Lord, give us grace that we

like them, the meek and lowly,

on high may dwell with thee.

May God fill our hearts with the power of prayer, where we can experience the mystical union and great love that God has for us.  May we also grow into God’s desire for our life, and find a centeredness that radiates peace forevermore, that we may dwell with God in that mystic sweet communion in the here and now.

-Matt

Lev. 25:35-55; Col. 1:9-14; Matt. 13:1-16

Ordinary Time.  Such a strange term. Used to describe the vast amount of time following the 50 days of Easter.  If you’ve been hanging out in the church a while, we take down all the white banners, put up green ones, and we enter into this long, green season that last most of the summer, into the fall, right up until Advent.  It is marked by scripture readings that emphasize growth, faith, and maturing in Christ.

Today’s Gospel reading fits right into that overarching theme of Ordinary Time, with the Parable of the Sower.  Matthew explores the secrets of the kingdom of heaven.  In the parable of the sower some seed falls on good soil, some on rocky soil, the birds eat some seeds, the sun scorches other seedlings, some fall amongst the thorns.

With Jesus telling the story you know there is going to be a twist.  One of those twists is that the parable appears to be about “people who hear parables.”  Some folks get it, some don’t.  I suppose I was always one of the inquiring kids in confirmation that simply DIDN’T get it.  What did Jesus really mean?

Here it becomes abundantly clear that “getting it” is of utmost importance.  If you do not understand the secrets of the kingdom, not only do you not produce fruit, but you yourself may be scorched or pulled up.

I can get very animated in Thursday Noon Bible.  I remember doing that about the parables a while back, trying to steer people away from turning parables into analogies.  Simply reducing it to analogy and assigning parts, it losses its depth of meaning.  But here in Matthew’s gospel is one of the rare examples we have when Jesus later explains his own parable (although it is explained later and not in today’s passage).

It is clear the kingdom of heaven is headed toward abundant growth.  Jesus makes it clear that some seed will bring forth a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.  And some in the crowd, namely the disciples, are hearing and “getting it.”  But notice the growth of the crowd itself!  The crowd is so great Jesus is now in a boat, with the people gathering on the shore to hear him.

Is Jesus reflecting on the growth of his message?  Perhaps.

He is talking to farmers.  These are people tied to the land, and they know about abundance.  They know that growth happens exponentially.  If the secrets of the kingdom are like this seed, the possibility for those secrets getting out like wildfire are all the more likely.

This is the abundance of the good news of the gospel – that anyone can come to this text and learn about the gracious abundance God has in store for us, learn the secrets of the kingdom, and live into a new life.  When taken in conjunction with the rest of the good news, we realize we have been grafted into the heart of Christ (more farming analogy!) and that Jesus is the true vine.  We realize that the secrets of the kingdom are Jesus himself!

My perspective on this parable has changed over the years!  Has that ever happened to you?  So here is my new perspective – that it is primarily a story of good news – that the words themselves are good soil, and provide a foundation for my own words and actions to be rooted in something great – into Christ, who brings about a flourish of divine intervention in our lives.

-Matt