Author: Mark Mong

John 15:12-17

¹² “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. ¹³ No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. ¹⁴ You are my friends if you do what I command you. ¹⁵ I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. ¹⁶ You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. ¹⁷ I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.

Growing up, my family never really went out to eat at expensive restaurants.  We always tended to eat at a place with a buffet line.  Everything laid out on tables and each customer allowed to take what one person loved to eat.  If you wanted meat, they had various options to choose from.  If wanted a salad, they had vegetables aplenty.  Dessert, they had it.  Bread, they had it.  But, while the variety and options were many, one still had to choose what it is you wanted to eat. 

Just as it is with a buffet line so too is it with Jesus Christ.  Except while you and I can choose the steak or the fish, Jesus is choosing people.  In our text from John, Jesus says, you did not choose me but I chose you.  Out of all the people in the ancient world of Palestine, Jesus chose these 12 disciples.  Handpicked by Jesus, selected not because of qualification but despite liabilities.  Jesus chose these 12 people to be his followers, to receive his words, and to be his.

But no sooner than we hear the revelation of God’s choosing people, first the 12 and then ourselves, then temptation begins to creep in and around our hearts.  The moment we hear about being “chosen” people, then our hearts and egos, swell with that most demonic and devilish force, hubris and pride.  “I” have been chosen; we tell ourselves.  Certainly, that makes me better than those not chosen.  I know, I have been saved, I am bearing God’s Spirit.  But to understand being chosen and to truly be chosen is not to be swollen with vanity, but instead quite the opposite.  The point is not that one is chosen, the point is that one is chosen by God, through the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

Jesus chose Peter the coward, James and John the brash, Judas the traitor, Thomas the doubter, Paul the murderer.  Which of these knew anything if not for Jesus teaching and helping them to listen?  Which of these could do any deeds of power if not for Jesus empowering them to do it?  Which of these disciples cowering in fear in an upper room, running in terror at Jesus’ arrest could find courage if not for Jesus’ own courage being imparted to them?  These are the chosen ones of God, not for their abilities or capabilities, but despite their issues, and disqualifications.  These are the chosen ones of God, not because they were chosen, but because it is God’s good pleasure to choose them.  It is a gracious choice, not a choice of merit of quality.  To understand God’s election is to lead and bring one to humility and gratitude not to pride and arrogance.  Because it is about God’s good pleasure, not humanity’s worthiness.

But, the 12 were not just selected to be students, or followers, the text continues to say that they were chosen and appointed to be fruit-bearers.  They were chosen for a reason, to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last. He is not talking about grapes and apples; he is talking about love.  And in truth he is not talking about love as we know it, but as love revealed in Jesus Christ.  Love that washes feet.  Love that lays down one’s life for one’s friends.  That is the kind of love that the 12 and us are chosen to bring forth into this world.  This is the whole point; this is the goal of all of God’s work.  Through Christ and with Christ, we should become christs and love like Christ.  With a love that is willing to lay down our lives for each other.

Many people are in our world, which lay claim to the title and privilege of being disciples of Christ, but not all are sincere.  Because remember that we do not choose Christ, but instead Christ chooses us and chooses us to love sacrificially and humbly.  For those that claim to be Christians but will not behave and act such as this, then they are not Jesus’ disciples, they are liars and thieves.  Because only Jesus chooses his disciples and only those who love like Jesus are truly chosen.  Which are you?  Do you hear the call and command of God through the Spirit of Jesus Christ?  Will you obey that command in humility and faithfulness?  Will you love as you have first been loved?  Or will change Jesus into something more palatable?  Something involving flags, guns, money, power or politics?

My friends, the true disciple of Jesus Christ is first chosen by God’s good pleasure despite our flaws and failures.  To understand that is to be led to humility and gratitude.  But once we understand Grace, we are always led to graciousness and the call to love one another.  Let this therefore be a season once again of God’s Grace.  With humility and gratitude let us lift the deeds of God despite us but because of us.  With this deep, deep love of God for us, let us remember our election, but let us choose instead of swelling our egos, to love each other sacrificially.  Then and only then we will become the disciples Jesus has chosen us to become.  Amen.

Prayer

O God of love and grace, thank you for your good pleasure in choosing us to become your disciples.  Surround us with your love in order that we might be lovers of humanity.  Use us to bless all those in need this day.  In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen. 

By Amber Balista

This week I am going off the daily psalm path and reading psalm 116, the psalm is one of the texts for this Sunday, it is worth sitting with a little while. This is the Common English Bile (CEB) translation, it keeps the meaning of the text but not necessarily the exact Hebrew words. It is a bit easier for me to read today.

Psalm 116

 I love the Lord because he hears
    my requests for mercy.
² I’ll call out to him as long as I live,
    because he listens closely to me.
³ Death’s ropes bound me;
    the distress of the gravefound me—
    I came face-to-face with trouble and grief.
⁴ So I called on the Lord’s name:
    “Lord, please save me!”

⁵ The Lord is merciful and righteous;
    our God is compassionate.
⁶ The Lord protects simple folk;
    he saves me whenever I am brought down.
⁷ I tell myself, You can be at peace again,
    because the Lord has been good to you.
⁸ You, God, have delivered me from death,
    my eyes from tears,
    and my foot from stumbling,
⁹     so I’ll walk before the Lord
    in the land of the living.
¹⁰ I have remained faithful, even when I said,
    “I am suffering so badly!”
¹¹     even when I said, out of fear,
    “Everyone is a liar!”

¹² What can I give back to the Lord
    for all the good things he has done for me?
¹³ I’ll lift up the cup of salvation.
    I’ll call on the Lord’s name.
¹⁴ I’ll keep the promises I made to the Lord
    in the presence of all God’s people.
¹⁵ The death of the Lord’s faithful
    is a costly loss in his eyes.

¹⁶ Oh yes, Lord, I am definitely your servant!
    I am your servant and the son of your female servant—
    you’ve freed me from my chains.
¹⁷ So I’ll offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to you,
    and I’ll call on the Lord’s name.
¹⁸ I’ll keep the promises I made to the Lord
    in the presence of all God’s people,
¹⁹     in the courtyards of the Lord’s house,
        which is in the center of Jerusalem.

Praise the Lord!

I have two bird feeders in my back yard, and typically as I drink my morning cup of coffee, I get to watch them. For me, it is a sign of hope. Even when I have not filled the feeders with birdseed they still come around, checking it out gathering up bits that were lost to the ground. Somehow, these birds know they will be provided for- if not by the feeder than by God who has made creation to care for even the smallest creature. It is a sign of hope and a call to praise God! 

Like God cares for the birds, we are also cared for. The psalmist remembers that the Lord saves us from death, from tears and from stumbling! We can walk free, in service to our God. This is good news, yet sometimes difficult to remember. It has been a difficult week, some weeks for many folks. Knowing the saving presence of God might not be easy these days. We might feel more chained than free and more grieved than at peace. In a time of fear, it is easy to say along with the psalm, “everyone is a liar!” We may have a tendency to feel like we are the only one suffering, the only one anxious or pulled in too many directions. Feeling out of sorts without control over the situation looking for somewhere to place blame or something to distract from the grief we are faced with.

The highest one, the God of all creation who loves us perfectly listens closely to us- we can call on God for help in times of trouble. We know there is peace to be found when we call out to God, but calling out can be so hard. God can feel far away as we struggle. Looking for some other way to escape either by our own effort or by looking for someone to tell us what to do. We need some direction because our and the people around us have needs that keep stacking up, real physical needs for food, for enough money to pay our bill, for good health of those we care for. We have needs to feel connected to our friends, family and neighbor and a need to be seen and know we are loved.

It is vital to remember that God who in grace provides is with us. While we wait, we can confidently praise God, who is our only master. The one who in grace has done good to us. The one who sent Jesus Christ and left his Spirit to stay always with us, loves us unendingly. The energy it takes to look for help anywhere else is a wasted effort. When it becomes clear that we rely on God who is revealed to us in Christ we can see how much we are loved. We are seen, and known by the God who never leaves us. We remember to call on God, and we can join the psalmist in proclaiming we are God’s servants! Set free from anxiety, fear, suffering, and loneliness. God is at our center- as close as our very breath – sustaining us to life and to hope.

 God bless you and keep you.

.

April, 22 2020

¹“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. ² He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. ³ You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. ⁴ Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. ⁵ I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶ Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. ⁷ If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸ My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. ⁹ As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. ¹⁰ If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. ¹¹ I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.

Trying to take a picture of a marching band is much like herding cats.  The photographer gets one section right where they want them and then another section moves out of place.  Putting the tubas in the front always covers up the flutes in the back.  The tall musicians standing in the front of the shorter musicians covers them up and one cannot see their faces.  No sooner than the photographer gets everyone in place and then someone needs to use the restroom, or someone gives bunny ears to the person in front and then they move.  The sun glares in the trumpet section’s eyes and then they move.  Getting a picture of a marching band is tremendously difficult because the players have great difficulty staying.

Jesus also has a lot of trouble getting people to stay.  But while the photographer needs to get the musicians to stay in their place and not move or fidget or annoy their neighbor, Jesus has difficulty getting people to stay with him.  In our text from John, Jesus says, abide in me as I abide in you.  The word in Greek for abide can also mean remain or stay.  So, the text reads, stay in me as I stay in you.  Through the work of the Holy Spirit, Jesus has come to the heart of the believer and chosen to live or dwell or remain there.  The great difficulty is that while Jesus is staying with us, the person tends to drift away from Jesus, they tend to stray away from Jesus.  Hence the command or the exhortation from Jesus to stay.  Stay with me as I stay with you. 

Why is this staying with Jesus such a big deal, why not some time in Jesus and some time away from Jesus.  I am thinking of the average course of our week.  We have time we spend with Jesus in prayer, study, worship, and service, but we also have time we want to spend apart from Jesus perhaps in work, leisure, or fun activities.  We have moments for sure when we want to stay with Jesus, but we also have moments when we want to leave Jesus.  Jesus gives the reason why, because apart from me you can do nothing.  He is not saying that we cannot do things apart from Jesus, but he is saying what those things we do will be like without Jesus.  Without Jesus what would our careers be like?  Without Jesus what would our relationships be like?  Without Jesus what would our leisure time be like? 

A career without Jesus is prone to harmful tendencies and temptations, selfish ambition, insatiable greed, environmental destruction, and consumerism.  Relationships without Jesus are also susceptible to destructive and traumatic tendencies. abuse, neglect, manipulation, and violence.  Give someone free time without Jesus and one is vulnerable to self-destructive tendencies, chemical abuse, over-consumption, spiritual malaise, and rampant hedonism.  But the most sinister of all is a religion without Jesus; these temptations are the most destructive.  A religion without Jesus is cruel, judgmental, divisive and snobbery; and we can see that today.

The reason why we can see some in our religion without Jesus is because some in our religion are without love.  To stay in Jesus is to stay in love and to love.  As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.  To stay in Jesus continually is to stay in love, and to stay in love is to love each other.  But some in today’s religion are quite without love and therefore without Jesus and therefore have left Jesus.  Many in the spotlight are cruel to others in the name of ideologies or selfish agendas.  Many in the news are judgmental, particularly around politics and elected officials, even going so far as to condemn someone for voting for the “devil’s” candidate.  Some are even with loud and obnoxious voices dividing the Church of Jesus Christ into a uniform belief system, which have you ever noticed is always theirs.  Does this look like and sound like disciples abiding in Jesus because he abides in them?

Perhaps then the Father needs to do a little pruning.  “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit.  Those that have been baptized into Christ by the Holy Spirit that will not stay in Jesus and bear the fruit of Love, are removed from Jesus and fit only to be burned.  The warning is that God has gone to great lengths and at great personal cost so that we might produce bushels and bushels of Love.  By giving us Love, God wants us to Love each other and to Love him.  If we will not, if we only fight and defy, then what course does God have, but to do some pruning.  The removal of the stubborn and nasty and the replacement by those who will obey by loving.

But the text says after the warning, but you, you have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.  Being attached to vine, cleanses the branch of all its stubborn defiance giving it a new will and attitude of obedience and subordination.  The key is to stay.  In Jesus, we have the heart and mind of Jesus, a willing obedience to God.  In Christ we have a new attitude and a new priority on life.  But we all too foolishly refuse to stay, to remain to abide in Jesus.  We foolishly choose to leave, to drift, to stray.

My friends, I understand all too well how difficult it is to stay.  Many of us are even unable to stay home during the quarantine and look at the mess that makes.  But the most important place to stay is not in a physical place, but a spiritual place.  The most important place to stay is in Christ; to remain in Christ, to abide in Christ, to stay in Christ.  And the harsh and iron-fisted truth is that only those who Love like Christ are those that truly abide in Christ.  So, stay.  Stay where God has put you, baptized into Christ, baptized into Love, baptized into God.  Stay in God as God stays in you, and in God continue to be godly.  But that means Love not hate, nastiness, cruelty, judgment and divisiveness.  To be godly is to Love as Christ Loves us, in humble service; a lesson American Christians need to learn.  Will you stay and learn it?

Prayer

O Holy and Loving God, we thank you for the pouring out of your Holy Spirit.  Give us the mind and heart of Christ, that we may gladly choose to spend all our lives abiding in you.  Help us to Love each other as you have loved us, in humble service.  In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen. 

By Amber Balista

I encourage you as we have been to read through the psalm a couple of times, taking note of what stands out for you. Listen for what God might be wanting you to hear. I like the Amplified translation of the Bible because I feel like it drawls out the emotion of the psalmist in a way that is most clear to be. Here is Psalm 63 A Psalm of David; when he was in the wilderness of Judah.

¹O God, You are my God; with deepest longing I will seek You;
My soul [my life, my very self] thirsts for You, my flesh longs and sighs for You,
In a dry and weary land where there is no water.
² So I have gazed upon You in the sanctuary,
To see Your power and Your glory.
³ Because Your lovingkindness is better than life,
My lips shall praise You.
⁴ So will I bless You as long as I live;
I will lift up my hands in Your name.
⁵ My soul [my life, my very self] is satisfied as with marrow and fatness,
And my mouth offers praises [to You] with joyful lips.

⁶ When I remember You on my bed,
I meditate and thoughtfully focus on You in the night watches,
⁷ For You have been my help,
And in the shadow of Your wings [where I am always protected] I sing for joy.
⁸ My soul [my life, my very self] clings to You;
Your right hand upholds me.

⁹ But those who seek my life to destroy it Will [be destroyed and] go into the depths of the earth [into the underworld].
¹⁰ They will be given over to the power of the sword;
They will be a prey for foxes.
¹¹ But the king will rejoice in God;
Everyone who swears by Him [honoring the true God, acknowledging His authority and majesty] will glory,
For the mouths of those who speak lies will be stopped.

It always amazes me how timely the psalms are for us. How what is most deeply true about Who God is and who we are to God is consistent over time. That includes you, so what is the deepest part of you longing for now? What parts of your life are parched needing to be satisfied by God? It seems to me we too are in a dry and weary land, surrounded with a desire to return to the known. Known activities, freedom to move about and gather with others. Even to share a high-five would be nice. To be sure, there are things happening around us that make no sense. The added anxiety over the unknown seems to lead some to be short tempered, irritable or even irresponsible. Others might be facing restlessness, inability to focus, insomnia and loneliness.  Collective grief some experts are calling this processing. It makes sense, the way things used to be is gone, dead. As difficult as it is, they probably will not be going back to “normal” any time soon. Even when we do, I suspect it truly will continue to be a “new normal.” Whatever that means.

When they laid Jesus in the grave, he was gone, dead. But Christ has risen! There is no going back to before. Not for Jesus, not for his early followers and not for us. Death has already been defeated! That what is normal has already been renewed. As the body of Christ, we have always been a people of the in-between, even while we do not fully understand. We are a people who know the reality that the death-winning, pre-resurrection life is gone. We are a people hopefully waiting for the completeness of God’s good work on earth as it is in heaven.

We know God is not dead- but alive! That leaves us only one thing to do, as the Psalmist says “I will remember you… I meditate on you in the night…for you have been my help.” All the things that used to captivate our attention, that used to order our lives, those things have been called into question as we navigate the unknown. This might be an opportunity for each of us and for all of us, to turn our eyes to Jesus. To be filled with the life of the Holy Spirit and to know that we the mighty right hand of God is our help. In this time of unknown let us remember who the living God is, so we might remember that we are a people of already and not-yet. A people longing for the Lord in meditation and praise even while we rest in the shadow of God’s wings. Live it out as you check on your neighbors, as you keep up with the news, as you find time to rest. Know that God is the ground beneath you, holding you and looking on you. May God bless and keep you. 

April 14, 2020

John 20:19-23

¹⁹ When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” ²⁰ After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. ²¹ Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” ²² When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³ If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

In the middle ages when a castle was besieged by a conquering army, the castle would have several defense mechanisms. Most castles had high walls that would keep the opposing army out as well as a moat around the walls with only a drawbridge giving access to the castle and the drawbridge could be raised completely isolating the castle from any opponent committed to seizing the castle and its occupants.  These defense mechanisms gave the attacking armies new obstacles in which to overcome and gain entry. Armies created siege towers to climb the outside of the walls, and battering rams to destroy the gate, and trebuchets to break down the walls. The victor was the one who could overcome the obstacles of the opposing army.

Just as it was in middle age warfare, so too it is with God. But the defense mechanisms are not moats, walls and drawbridges but the human defense mechanisms like fear, denial, guilt, insecurity and anger.  The attacking army is not an army at all but God who wants not to occupy and destroy, but instead to occupy and create. The attacking army must have the tools necessary to overcome the defenses, God must do the same with the human heart. God must overcome the fears and anxieties in the human heart if God is to enter in and occupy.  God must overcome the doubts and insecurities in the human spirit if God is to bind God’s self to the person.  God must overcome the anger and guilt which not only closes off a person to God but which inspires a person to flee away from God, if God is to dwell among God’s people full of Grace and Truth.

For the Resurrected Jesus, no obstacle exists which can close him out and separate him from his people.  In our text from John, the disciples have separated themselves from the city, isolating themselves from the rest of the Jewish people in the locked upper room, for fear of the Jews.  But despite the obstacle of a locked door and closed walls, the Resurrected Jesus appears amid the disciples.  Space is no longer an obstacle to the Resurrected Jesus, he has in fact transcended space, bound no longer by the rules and laws of physics as we know it.  Jesus appears amid the disciples in their self-isolation and fear over being arrested and killed, and no physical object can deter him.

But does he enter their space in order to smash and destroy?  Quite the opposite, he does not come with a warning or a stern disappointment.  No instead he comes with Peace be with you.  Peace for their guilt over having abandoned him.  Peace for their fear over meeting a similar fate.  Peace for their insecurity and anger over the Jewish leaders.  Peace for their doubts over a grief-stricken women’s crazy report of an empty tomb and a ghostly figure.  No locked room or human defense mechanism can keep Jesus out, but no human emotion or mental roadblock can keep the Peace of Jesus out either.  Not only does the Resurrected Jesus transcend space, but the Resurrected Jesus transcends the fallen human state.  Peace be with you indeed.

Well not much has changed, just as the disciples were separated behind locked doors out of fear, we also are separated from each other behind doors and walls out of fear of the virus.  We did not gather face-to-face for services during holy week. We must wear masks to keep our bodies from sharing and catching the virus.  We must keep 6 feet away from each other respecting personal space.  And these all are the right thing to do.  But its harder now to be church and to be disciples of Christ if we cannot gather and assemble.  But locked doors could not keep Christ out then and locked hearts cannot keep Christ out now.  Because Christ not only transcend space and time, but also the human condition.  Christ can always come in even when we keep him out and Christ can always bestow Peace instead of all the junk currently in our hearts.

But the most illuminating idea in our text is how Jesus bestows this Peace on the human heart, Jesus does it by breathing.  I said it is the most illuminating, because in this age of masks and ventilators cleaning out the virus and delivering oxygen, it is the breath of Jesus we need to most to inhale deeply.  Peace and forgiveness and wholeness all come from the breathing out of Jesus and us breathing him in.  The Spirit in our lungs.  The Spirit in in our blood.  The Spirit in our minds and hearts.  The Spirit in our spirits.  Out from Jesus and into us.  And no obstacle can keep that breath out, no defense mechanism can close that breath off and no sickness of the body or mind or heart or spirit can thwart the work of this breath.

While we cannot gather together, while we cannot visit friends or travel, while we must work from home (if we are still employed), while we worry about the economic future or perhaps even the economic present, while we listen to the daily reports and fret, during this difficult time when we cannot do most ordinary things, one thing we can and must do and that’s breathe.  Breathe in the Spirit of Jesus Christ and enjoy unassailable joy.  Breathe in the Spirit of Jesus Christ and rest in unconquerable security.  Breathe in the Spirit of Jesus Christ and appreciate unquestionable forgiveness.  Breathe in the Spirit of Jesus Christ and dwell in the unshakeable Kingdom of God.  When we cannot do much else, do as Faith Hill sings, and Just Breathe.

My friends, we are assaulted and besieged daily by the struggles of living in this world, with its bodily sicknesses, incompetent and corrupted politicians, profiteering corporations, and out-of-control human desires, no more so than now.  But in our self-isolations and self-quarantines, even though we might be behind the locked doors of our own making, no power in Hell nor scheme of man can block out the Resurrected Jesus and his Breath of Peace.  So, while the world is panicking and worrying; we are still breathing in the Breath of God.  In this difficult time, let us rest in the Breath of Jesus Christ which fills us and surrounds us with the Peace that passes all understanding, that no power can keep out and no power can take away.  To God be the Glory, for such a gift as this!  Amen.

Prayer

O God of power and love, we thank you for the pouring out of your Sacred Breath upon all your people.  Fill us anew and again with your Peace which the world cannot give and none can take away.  Calm our hearts, inspire our doubts, and move our hands and hearts to love.  In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen. 

By Amber Balista

It is holy week, something I keep reminding myself of because things are just different this year. Easter is surly coming, and as some have pointed out the solemn temperament of this Easter may be more like the first Easter morning. When the disciples did not know how the story would go. For us maybe that means we can enter into this week of remembering the anguish of Jesus and his followers a little more personally than ever before. The part of the story we are called to remember this day of holy week is that Jesus was betrayed by one of his friends. The scripture is John 13:21-30

Jesus was troubled in spirit, and declared, “Very truly, I tell you, one of you will betray me.” ²² The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he was speaking. ²³ One of his disciples—the one whom Jesus loved—was reclining next to him; ²⁴ Simon Peter therefore motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking. ²⁵ So while reclining next to Jesus, he asked him, “Lord, who is it?” ²⁶ Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” So when he had dipped the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas son of Simon Iscariot. ²⁷ After he received the piece of bread, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, “Do quickly what you are going to do.” ²⁸ Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him. ²⁹ Some thought that, because Judas had the common purse, Jesus was telling him, “Buy what we need for the festival”; or, that he should give something to the poor. ³⁰ So, after receiving the piece of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night.

Judas, filled with darkness sets in to motion everything that Jesus had been telling his disciples. Everything that Jesus knows will happen has now started. As they are all together, celebrating Passover there is also this darkness a sad knowing that there is trouble that is not yet fully revealed. The verse tells us, “Jesus was troubled in spirit.” Sometimes it is easy to forget the humanity of Jesus. He was troubled by what he would face, by the betrayal and denial of his followers.  

I imagine Jesus praying, honestly talking to the Father in whatever confusing feelings might have been. The Psalm that goes with this part of the story for us is Psalm 70. I can almost hear Jesus praying this psalm.

 ¹ Be pleased, O God, to deliver me.
    O Lord, make haste to help me!
² Let those be put to shame and confusion
    who seek my life.
Let those be turned back and brought to dishonor
    who desire to hurt me.
³ Let those who say, “Aha, Aha!”
    turn back because of their shame.

⁴ Let all who seek you
    rejoice and be glad in you.
Let those who love your salvation
    say evermore, “God is great!”
⁵ But I am poor and needy;
    hasten to me, O God!
You are my help and my deliverer;
    O Lord, do not delay!

May we call upon God in these days, as we the community called the church remember the story of our Lord. While we might be distant from one another we all can join our troubled hearts cry to God, you are my help and my deliverer hasten to help me. Jesus is not a simple example for us when he trusts God despite what will happen to him. Jesus trusts for us. We can come to God fully honest with who we are, with whatever uncertainty, whatever trouble of our soul because Jesus Christ goes before us. We can lift our voice with his rejoicing in God’s love for us. Le us remember holy week together, and remember how our life is in Christ who prays and trust even when we cannot do so on our own.

Matthew 21:33-46

³³ “Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country. ³⁴ When the harvest time had come, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his produce. ³⁵ But the tenants seized his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. ³⁶ Again he sent other slaves, more than the first; and they treated them in the same way. ³⁷ Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ ³⁸ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and get his inheritance.’ ³⁹ So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. ⁴⁰ Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” ⁴¹ They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time.”

⁴² Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the scriptures:
      ‘The stone that the builders rejected
            has become the cornerstone;
      this was the Lord’s doing,
            and it is amazing in our eyes’?

⁴³ Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom. ⁴⁴ The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.” ⁴⁵ When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them. ⁴⁶ They wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowds, because they regarded him as a prophet.

When I was ten, I received a puppy from my parents.  The puppy was a complete and total surprise.  Our previous dog had gotten old and was having some health issues and was put to sleep.  A few months later, my parents brought home a new puppy and they gave me a mere lad of 10, the responsibilities for taking care of this new puppy.  Now I loved that puppy dearly but what did I know about taking care of a puppy.  I was quite proficient for about a week of tending to my duties.  I took it for walks and played with it.  I fed it and made sure it had enough water.  But, after a short amount of time, my mom had to take over, because I just didn’t want to do it anymore. 

In our parable, God also does a great bit of work for Israel, God’s vineyard.  God planted or founded Israel, God protected Israel building a wall around it and a watchtower overseeing it.  God dug a winepress, symbolizing that all this work was to produce the results of God’s work.  After God did all this work of creating, sustaining, and protecting Israel, God called and appointed tenants or leaders who would tend the people and bear the responsibility for nurturing and tending the people to God’s desired end, the fruit of righteousness. 

However, like me a young boy of 10, the people were quite responsible for a while, but after time, the leaders of the nation really were not interested in producing God’s fruit but something else entirely.  So, God sent the prophets, like Isaiah and Jeremiah to remind them of their responsibilities, but their reaction was violence and rejection.  In the last attempt, God sent his Son hoping they will respect him, but their reaction was the worst, they said this is the heir, let us kill him and take his inheritance.  Charged with responsibility, the leaders instead of cultivating and sustaining the people to worship and serve God, the leaders do the unfathomable, they steer the people away from God to some other aim entirely.

No surprise comes, when those faithless irresponsible leaders are removed and replaced with other leaders whose only concern is the will of God for God’s people.  Instead of seeking and controlling power, instead of seeking fame and notoriety, these leaders only seek to love God and to love their neighbor.  The irresponsible leaders are replaced with leaders seeking only to be faithful stewards or responsible with the charge and post assigned to them.  Not living for themselves, seeking to be the master, but seeking only instead of serving the Master.

How is our responsibility?  How faithful are we in our stewardship of God’s garden?  Do we have anything to show God as the results of God’s work?  God has given us immeasurable grace by giving us the free gift of the Spirit of his Son Jesus?  We are the garden God has planted, the one God has built a wall around and a watchtower within.  We are the ones having a winepress dug in, but do we have a crop to give God?  God has loved us, do we have the results of that love, from loving others?  God has served us, do we have the results of that service, from serving others?  God has given to us, do we have the results of that giving, by giving unto others?  God has blessed us, do we have the results of that blessing, by blessing others?  Do we have anything to give back to God, or do we seek to keep it just for ourselves?

My friends, the point is not to beat ourselves up because we only have a little fruit to offer God, the point is to self-reflect on our responsibility.  Have we been responsible with the gift has given to us, or have we been selfish and done nothing?  If not, could we change our behaviors and our attitudes.  The point is not being harsh to ourselves; the point is to correct ourselves and to learn and grown in our responsibility; and we all need to grow.  What is God calling and equipping us to change and will we make it?  That is the point of this parable, for us to become more faithful and responsible with God’s gifts and work.  Now is the time to do so, to the glory and honor and praises of God.  Amen.

Prayer
O God of Love and Grace, we thank you for the work you have done on our behalf through the life, death and resurrection of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.  As we surrender ourselves to you, we ask that your Spirit aid us in our faithfulness in service towards us.  Help us be and act responsibly with the gifts you have blessed us with.  In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen. 

April 4, 2020

Mark 10:46-52

⁴⁶ They came to Jericho. As he and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside. ⁴⁷ When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” ⁴⁸ Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” ⁴⁹ Jesus stood still and said, “Call him here.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart; get up, he is calling you.” ⁵⁰ So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. ⁵¹ Then Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man said to him, “My teacher, let me see again.” ⁵² Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way.

As a boy scout for one of my merit badges, I needed to write a letter to a public official at the State or National level and I needed that politician to reply.  I was quite dismayed over this endeavor, because who would reply to a letter, written by a 16-year-old boy, trying to earn a merit badge?  The Senators and Governors were far too busy to take the time to write a letter addressing whatever issue was concerning me.  However, my leader suggested that I write a letter to the Sen. John Glenn from Ohio.  Sen. Glenn was he himself an eagle scout, and therefore he knew what I was attempting and more than likely willing to respond.  So, I did and in an official envelope, on official letterhead from the State of Ohio, the Sen. John Glenn responded to my letter and I was able to earn my citizenship merit badge.

Just as it was with me and Sen. Glenn so too was it with Bartimaeus and Jesus.  Bartimaeus was a blind beggar, sitting beside the road begging for alms by all the people passing by; Jesus is the Son of David, the Messiah, just leaving Jericho and about two miles from Jerusalem.  The Son of David was the King of the Jews, and Jesus was on his way, just mere minutes from the events of Palm Sunday and his triumphal entry.  Bartimaeus cries out Son of David, mercy me; and some of the crowd tell him to zip it.  He is a blind beggar and Jesus is the Messiah, Jesus doesn’t have time or concern for you.  But, Jesus does.  In fact, that is the reason entire for Jesus being there to begin with.  Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem not to be crowned King in a political sense, but to be crowned King in a sacrificial sense.  He didn’t come to be served, he came to serve and to lay down his life as a ransom for many.  The Judge was going to be judged in place of the judged.

So Jesus stops, and he calls to Bartimaeus.  The crowd then turns and calls Bartimaeus to Jesus and he springs up, throws his cloak off and runs to Jesus.  Bartimaeus doesn’t mosey, or saunter, or putz, or wander his way over, he leaps us, throws off his coat and runs to Jesus.  Jesus does have time and concern; he isn’t going to make me wait.  Jesus asks what did he want, Bartimaeus replies to see again and Jesus grants it, telling him to go, your faith has healed you.

While the story of Bartimaeus is great for Sunday School, the lesson is perhaps all too important for us in the here and now.  We too are mere hours from Palm Sunday and the online services prepared.  We will be singing the Palm Sunday hymns, and reading the texts, and perhaps have a branch or two.  But, amid the festivities, we forget the lesson.  Jesus came to serve not to be served.  Jesus is the Son of David, but he is the crucified Son of David.  He came to lay down his life on behalf of us.  He isn’t in Jerusalem to conquer; he is there to be conquered.  What this all means, is that Jesus has time and concern for us all.  For you see, we are today’s Bartimaeus’s.  Each of us in need with our own circumstances, some physical, some mental, some emotional, some political, some social, but whatever life’s circumstances we are in, the lesson is that Jesus always has time and concern for us.

Even mere moments before our Palm Sunday, Jesus has concern and time for us all.  Calling us to himself, asking of each what is it you want me to do for you, and granting blessings.  But do we have the faith like Bartimaeus?  Do we look to Christ for what only Christ can give, or do we turn to another?  Do we spring up, throwing off our cloaks and running toward Christ in obedience when he calls, or is our response a bit more lackadaisical, if we respond at all?  Do we ask our needs and concerns in prayer to Christ, or do we attempt to fix things ourselves?  Do we have any faith in the Spirit of Jesus Christ, or do we place our faith in another?  Do we, like Bartimaeus place our trust in Christ and do we obey Christ?

My friends, Holy Week is almost upon us again.  We have much going on, even during our quarantines, we have services aplenty, we have Easter routines, food to make, decorations to hang and yes, even grass to mow.  But let us never forget the lesson, Jesus came to serve not to be served.  So, during this busy time, even in our isolations, let us remember that Jesus is never so busy to not have time and concern for us.  Let us then set aside time and concern for him.  Let us spring up and obey when he calls.  Let us ask him in prayer.  But most importantly let us believe when he speaks.  Amen.

Prayer

O God of Grace and God of Glory, we thank you for the time and concern you give to us.  We are ever thankful that you are attentive to our cries for help and our pleas for aid.  We ask now that you would care and attention to all your people wherever they are and whatever concerns they bear.  In Jesus’ name we pray.  Amen. 

From Amber Balista

Reading the psalms one day at a time has become a marker of time for me. Not unlike the Christian year is a marker of time for all of us. As we approach the end of lent and time continues to turn on, let us continue to dwell with the word of God in following the life of Jesus and in listening for what God is speaking in this Psalms. Psalm 49, in the Common English Bible translation.

Psalm 49 Listen to this, all you people!
    Listen closely, all you citizens of the world—
²  people of every kind,
    rich and poor alike!
³ My mouth speaks wisdom;
    my heart’s meditation is full of insight.
⁴ I will pay close attention to a proverb;
    I will explain my riddle on the lyre.

⁵ Why should I be afraid in times of trouble,
    when the wrongdoing of my bullies engulfs me—
⁶  those people who trust in their fortunes
     and boast of their fantastic wealth?
⁷ Wealth? It can’t save a single person!
    It can’t pay a life’s ransom-price to God.
⁸ The price to save someone’s life is too high—
    wealth will never be enough—
⁹ no one can live forever
    without experiencing the pit.

¹⁰ Everyone knows that the wise die too,
    just like foolish and stupid people do,
        all of them leaving their fortunes to others.
¹¹ Their graves are their eternal homes,
    the place they live for all generations,
        even if they had counties named after them!
¹² People won’t live any longer because of wealth;
    they’re just like the animals that pass away.

¹³ That’s how it goes for those who are foolish,
    as well as for those who follow their lead, pleased with their talk.  Selah
¹⁴ Like sheep, they’re headed straight for the grave.
    Death will be their shepherd—
    but those who do right in their hearts will rule over them come morning!
    their forms wasting away in the grave
    rather than having some dignified residence.
¹⁵ But God will save my life from the power of the grave,
    because he will take me. 

Death does not make distinctions. The rich, poor, wise or foolish will all pass from this life. humans are no different than animals or the lilies of the valley if you prefer Jesus metaphor. Of course, we don’t need to remind of this, especially not now. We are being reminded every day just how much we are all equally suspectable to infectious disease and all of us are responsible to one another to prevent the spread of Covid-19 as much as we can. No amount or wealth, status or power will make someone invincible. As the psalmist has said, even a rich person cannot keep their wealth in death and certainly they cannot pay God for their life “the price to save someone’s life is too high.” Those who think otherwise are like sheep with death for a shepherd.

Here is the turn of the text, the great but. “But God will save my life from the power of the grave,” says the psalm. God, not I, will do the saving. We cannot save ourselves, but we have a God who is faithful in his love of us and of all creation. This is where our hope is found. In the Lord who has already paid the price for our lives, in Jesus Christ. The only wealth that could ever save is the wealth of God’s unfailing love in the person of Christ who by his faith gave himself for us. Our good shepherd is the one who would go to the cross and endure death in our place. Death no longer has the last word. When we hope in God and not in our own power to save ourselves, the grave can no longer hold us down. Those who think they can buy their own lives or will their own way to complete assurance of life, they are foolish. We are foolish when we live this way too. The good news is we don’t have to live this way. We don’t have to stock up our houses or run afraid of this virus because we know death has already been defeated. We don’t need to do the defeating because it has already been done for our sake. In our unprecedented and unpredictable time it seems like things are changing each new day we can be sure of one thing that will not change, that Jesus Christ reigns with the Father through the Spirit now and forever. May our hope be in God.  

April 1, 2020

Mark 10:13-22

¹³ People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. ¹⁴ But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. ¹⁵ Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.” ¹⁶ And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.

¹⁷ As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” ¹⁸ Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. ¹⁹ You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother.’” ²⁰ He said to him, “Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.” ²¹ Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” ²² When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.

Ten years separate me from my youngest, older brother.  This means that as a wee lad, I was often outside of the conversations and discussions going on.  My older siblings and my parents would be conversing about something, like where we would go on vacation, what was going on with the family, decisions regarding important matters.  I was often excluded because as a little tyke, what could I offer to the discussion and if the topic of conversation was serious perhaps even deathly serious, I was not even allowed in the room.

So too was it with the disciples and children.  In Mark, people were bringing their children to Jesus in order that he might touch them and bless them, and the disciples were shooing them away.  We are not really told the reasons why the disciples did this, perhaps a wanting to keep Jesus for themselves, or even his blessings for themselves, perhaps they thought that this was an adult matter, exclusively for those responsible enough to hear and understand the topics of conversation.  Whatever the reason we are not told, but they wanted to keep the kids away from Jesus. 

Jesus becomes irate, indignant; he gets downright mad at his disciples because they are keeping the children away from him.  The children are coming to him and accepting him, but the disciples are pushing them away, perhaps until they grow up.  Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.  The Kingdom of God belongs to such as these children.  The Kingdom is not an exclusive club or group or social fraternity or sorority, keeping the young people out until they grow up or wise up.  No Jesus explains the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these.

But, even more severe than just allowing the kids to come near and toddle over, and ask incessantly ending questions, Jesus doesn’t just allow their presence, he tells the adults they need to become kids again.  Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.” Kids have the advantage over adults, they even are better at something than grownups are.  Faith.  A little child must depend on their caregivers for every need.  Someone else must provide, someone else must cook and clean, someone else must clean their scrapes, and buy their clothes.  So, a child knows all about faith in another, because they have no choice but to trust and depend on someone else to take care of them.

Perhaps as adults we have forgotten that.  We grow up to provide for ourselves and we should responsibly do so.  We grow up to cook and clean and tend our own houses and we should responsibly do so.  We grow up to trust and provide and heal ourselves, and we should probably do so.  But with no surprise, we grow up trusting in ourselves and we have no room for trusting in God; like the rich man, who had followed the law since he was young, and who had many possessions.  With a life so full of himself and so full of stuff, how could he trust in God?  When the times became tough, he had his obedience and his bank account, but he had no room for God because he didn’t need God.

My friends, we find ourselves in a peculiar place.  Everything we as a nation, as a people and as a church have put our trust in, except God, has been taken away from us.  We placed out trust in money, and in a flash, the stock market has crashed, our retirements are gone and all we have left is God.  We placed our trust in our politicians, and in a flash many, not all, have shown their true colors, trying to keep their jobs instead of doing their jobs, and all we have left is God.  We have placed our trust in science, and in a flash, the scientists are scrambling for a cure, and I hope they find one, but they will still be powerless to resurrect the hundreds of thousands of corpses, and all we have left is God.  We have placed our trust in actors/actresses, athletes and musicians, only to find out of their mortality, as even they in vulnerability hide in their mansions and even get sick, and all we have left is God.  And when it all is gone and we are stuck alone with ourselves in quarantine, all we will have left is God.

We will have become like little children again.  Little children dependent on and requiring the care of our Heavenly Father.  And as we see revealed in Jesus Christ, then is when God will take us up in his arms, lay his hands on us, and blessed us.  Because we will have become little children again, and all we will have is God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  The money will be gone, but we will still have God.  The power will be gone, but we will still have God.  The fame will be gone, but we will still have God.  The knowledge will be gone, but we will still have God.  The life will be gone, but we will still have God.  It can all fall away, but we will still have God; because God is faithful and mighty. 

My friends, what if we can still find a silver lining amid the black clouds.  What if all of the things in our lives that steal us away from God have been quickly taken away from us, so that in our hour of need, we might be returned to our true humanity: creatures trusting in their Creator.  I beg you not to worry about the things that have been lost, but instead to see the one thing, the most important thing that we have gained.  While we might have the lost the things of the world, we now, like children, can truly enter the Kingdom of God.  Let us not go back, let us instead enter in.  Amen. 

Prayer

O Loving and Holy God, we thank you for creating and sustaining us and for your love that will never let us go.  Help us through the Spirit of your Son Jesus, to accept your rule and your Kingdom, as children trusting and depending on you instead of all the things that might have been taken away from us.  In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.