Good Grapes, Sour Grapes”

Read Psalm 80,  Isaiah 5:1-7, Mark 12:1-12, and John 15:1-8*

“Good Grapes, Sour Grapes”

      Let’s look at these remarkable parables from the old and new testaments about vines and vineyards.  But before we do, I want to read this quote from Raymond Brown in his book “The Gospel According to John”

    “It is helpful to remember that in Israel, branches that do not bear fruit are cut off in February/March. “Sometimes the vines are so completely cut back that one sees in the vineyard only the stalks bereft of branches. Later (August) when the vine has put forth leaves, comes the second stage of pruning, as the vinedresser pinches off the little shoots so that the main fruit-bearing branches get all the nourishment.”

  We are going to start at the ending.  For though we are speaking of the True Vine and false vines or Good Grapes of Sour Grapes.  What we are really talking about is what “fruit” is good and what is unacceptable to God.  So let us look at what Jesus says in Matthew 12:33-37  “Make a tree good, and then its fruit will be good. Or make a tree rotten, and then its fruit will be rotten. A person can recognize a tree by its fruit.  You poisonous snakes! How can you evil people say anything good? Your mouth says what comes from inside you.  Good people do the good things that are in them. But evil people do the evil things that are in them.

“I can guarantee that on judgment day people will have to give an account of every careless word they say.  By your words you will be declared innocent, or by your words you will be declared guilty.”

Clearly Jesus was saying that we can tell the difference between good people and bad people by their actions and their words.  This good fruit is proof of the basic goodness or godliness of their true selves.

In our reading from Isaiah we found that God, ”Hoped for justice but saw only slaughter, for righteousness but heard only cries of distress.” Clearly the good fruit desired was Justice and righteousness which are once again seen as proof that the branches have remained attached to the True vine.

Jesus said, “I am the true vine.”

I don’t know many times have I read this section or heard sermons on this section and yet, there is a word that I’ve seen for the first time: “TRUE”.  Jesus didn’t just say that he was the Vine.  He is the True Vine.  That indicates to me that there are at least two vines … maybe more … the other(s) are False Vine(s}.

Psalm 80 gives us a hint.

“You brought a vine from Egypt.  You forced out the nations and planted it.:  You cleared the ground for it so that it took root and filled the land.  Its shade covered the mountains. Its branches covered the mighty cedars. It reached out with its branches to the Mediterranean Sea. Its shoots reached the Euphrates River.

It is clear from this passage that the vine brought out of Egypt was the Jewish people themselves.  God brought them out of slavery to the land promised to Abraham.  A land that God had prepared for them.  A land that already had cities, towns, farms, pastures, and vineyards. 

What was the promise that God made to Abraham?  We read in Genesis 12:1-3, “The Lord said to Abram, “Leave your land, your relatives, and your father’s home.  Go to the land that I will show you.  I will make you a great nation, I will bless you. I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.  I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you, I will curse.  Through you every family on earth will be blessed.”

At first reading it sounds like the promise is all about making Abraham great in the eyes of the world.  It is that but there is a purpose at the end of the promise, you will be a blessing. through you every family on earth will be blessed.  He and his descendants were to be a blessing to everyone on earth.  They were to become this blessing by following God and bringing others into communion with God

In our reading from Isaiah he used this illustration,

“Let me sing a lovesong to my beloved about his vineyard:

My beloved had a vineyard on a fertile hill. He dug it up, removed its stones, planted it with the choicest vines, built a watchtower in it, and made a winepress in it.  Then he waited for it to produce good grapes, but it produced only sour, wild grapes.”

What happened to that vine brought out of Egypt and planted in the promised land?  Although God had done all of the work to prepare a place for His special people, they failed to produce good grapes and only produced sour wild grapes.

In Isaiah God, through His prophet, asked,

What more could have been done for my vineyard than what I have already done for it? 

The answer, of course, is nothing.  God had done all that could be done to make His people produce good fruit.  It was the people who had rebelled against His teaching, training and leading.

In the beginning of the nation, it was a nation ruled by God, who chose Judges and Prophets to guide the people, and it grew strong and healthy.  However, the people of Israel forgot their God and started to want to be like other nations.  Other nations were ruled, not by God, but by kings. 

Samuel was one of those chosen by God to be a judge among the people.  We read in 1 Samuel Chapter 9 1-18,

“When Samuel was old, he made his sons judges over Israel.  The name of his firstborn son was Joel; the name of his second son was Abijah. They were judges in Beersheba. The sons didn’t follow their father’s example but turned to dishonest ways of making money. They took bribes and denied people justice.

Then all the leaders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah.  They told him, “You’re old, and your sons aren’t following your example. Now appoint a king to judge us so that we will be like all the other nations.”

But Samuel considered it wrong for them to request a king to judge them. So Samuel prayed to the Lord.  The Lord told Samuel, “Listen to everything the people are saying to you. They haven’t rejected you; they’ve rejected me.  They’re doing just what they’ve done since I took them out of Egypt—leaving me and serving other gods. 

Once they detached them from the vine which is God, they became wild and produced sour grapes.

Jesus said, “my Father takes care of the vineyard.  He removes every one of my branches that doesn’t produce fruit.“

The vine brought out of Egypt and tenderly cared for had been corrupted by the world and was now fit for nothing but kindling.  Though His chosen people had abandoned Him, God never completely abandoned them.  He allowed them to be “trimmed” but he always saved a remnant that he could replant. 

However, over and over they turned from Him.  Jesus told the story of the owner of the vineyard who repeatedly sought only to gather the fruit that was his due.  In the same way God sent prophets to warn the people but as Jesus said,

“He had one more person to send. That person was his son, whom he loved. Finally, he sent his son to them. He thought, ‘They will respect my son.’

“But those workers said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’  So they took him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.”

The nation of Israel was intended to bare fruit for God, but it failed.  Now Jesus, the true vine, has been planted and is bearing fruit for the Father.  He does not fail, and so he is the true vine. The nation of Israel did not bring forth the desire fruit, therefore we find Jesus saying, In Matthew 21:43 where Jesus dispensed with parables and told them directly, “That is why I can guarantee that God’s kingdom will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce what God wants.

I have know people, and perhaps you have too, who think that being a follower of Christ should protect them from all troubles and pain.  They become disillusioned when they run upon hard times.

There are many times that God does protect us from the evil forces at work in the world.  We never see them and so don’t recognize His divine hand at work.  At other times, He allows us to go through the storms of life because they make us stronger.  As Jesus said, “He (God) also prunes every branch that does produce fruit to make it produce more fruit.”

“This task, pruning, is a very critical one in a real vineyard and requires great skill born of experience.  That Jesus understood this shows that he was very familiar with grape culture, otherwise he could not have known that by pruning a fruit bearing branch one can cause it to bear more fruit.

By what means does the Father dress the vine, or prune it?  We find the answer in v. 3.  The pruning is also the "making clean" of the heart and soul of the individual, which he accomplishes by means of the Word.  We must always keep in mind that when Jesus speaks of the Word in such a way, he means the Word of God that issues from his lips.  His disciples were already clean because they had cast off all the impediments to receiving his Word and so, receiving the Word, they were cleansed by the Word.  The close relation between the pruning and the making clean is seen clearer in the Greek, where "pruning" and "cleaning" are both rendered from kathairo.  They are the same word.”(a)

Jesus said, “I am the vine. You are the branches. Those who live in me while I live in them will produce a lot of fruit. But you can’t produce anything without me.  Whoever doesn’t live in me is thrown away like a branch and dries up. Branches like this are gathered, thrown into a fire, and burned.” 

The good news is, if we stay true to the teachings of the Lord, we will produce fruit pleasing to God.

The bad news is, if we fail to bear good fruit, we are of no use to God and will be cast away.

But look, Jesus follows this with a promise.  “If you live in me and what I say lives in you, then ask for anything you want, and it will be yours.” 

This is much the same promise He made in Mark 11:22-25 Jesus declares, “Have faith in God!  I can guarantee this truth: This is what will be done for someone who doesn’t doubt but believes what he says will happen: He can say to this mountain, ‘Be uprooted and thrown into the sea,’ and it will be done for him.  That’s why I tell you to have faith that you have already received whatever you pray for, and it will be yours.  Whenever you pray, forgive anything you have against anyone. Then your Father in heaven will forgive your failures.”

The reason for that reward is because, “You give glory to my Father when you produce a lot of fruit and therefore show that you are my disciples.”

If we are to produce good fruit we must remain true to the purpose that God has intended for us.  What is our purpose?  Hear this answer from Micah 6:8.  “You mortals, the Lord has told you what is good.  This is what the Lord requires from you:  to do what is right, to love mercy, and to live humbly with your God.”

Christ, who has nourished us as the living True Vine, make us, Your branches, one in praise and love, and raise us up at the last day to our true reward.

Amen

Bible quotes are from the God’s Word Translation

Quotes from a sermon by Edgar Jones

*Psalm 80    Open your ears, O Shepherd of Israel, the one who leads the descendants of Joseph like sheep, the one who is enthroned over the angels. Appear in front of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh. Wake up your power, and come to save us. O God, restore us and smile on us so that we may be saved. O Lord God, commander of armies, how long will you smolder in anger against the prayer of your people? You made them eat tears as food. You often made them drink their own tears. You made us a source of conflict to our neighbors, and our enemies made fun of us. O God, commander of armies, restore us and smile on us so that we may be saved. You brought a vine from Egypt.  You forced out the nations and planted it.: You cleared the ground for it so that it took root and filled the land. Its shade covered the mountains. Its branches covered the mighty cedars. It reached out with its branches to the Mediterranean Sea. Its shoots reached the Euphrates River. Why did you break down the stone fences around this vine?  All who pass by are picking its fruit. Wild boars from the forest graze on it. Wild animals devour it. O God, commander of armies, come back!  Look from heaven and see!  Come to help this vine. Take care of what your right hand planted, the son you strengthened for yourself.  The vine has been cut down and burned.  Let them be destroyed by the threatening look on your face. Let your power rest on the man you have chosen, the son of man you strengthened for yourself. Then we will never turn away from you.  Give us life again, and we will call on you.  O Lord God, commander of armies, restore us, and smile on us so that we may be saved.

Isaiah 5:1-7

Let me sing a lovesong to my beloved about his vineyard:

My beloved had a vineyard on a fertile hill. He dug it up, removed its stones, planted it with the choicest vines, built a watchtower in it, and made a winepress in it.  Then he waited for it to produce good grapes, but it produced only sour, wild grapes.

Now then, you inhabitants of Jerusalem and Judah, judge between me and my vineyard!  What more could have been done for my vineyard than what I have already done for it?  When I waited for it to produce good grapes, why did it produce only sour, wild grapes?

Now then, let me tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will tear away its hedge so that it can be devoured and tear down its wall so that it can be trampled. I will make it a wasteland. It will never be pruned or hoed. Thorns and weeds will grow in it,  and I will command the clouds not to rain on it.

The vineyard of the Lord of Armies is the nation of Israel, and the people of Judah are the garden of his delight. He hoped for justice but saw only slaughter, for righteousness but heard only cries of distress.

 

Mark 12:1-12

Then, using this illustration, Jesus spoke to them. He said, “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, made a vat for the winepress, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to vineyard workers and went on a trip.  

“At the right time he sent a servant to the workers to collect from them a share of the grapes from the vineyard.  The workers took the servant, beat him, and sent him back with nothing.  So the man sent another servant to them. They hit the servant on the head and treated him shamefully.  The man sent another, and they killed that servant. Then he sent many other servants. Some of these they beat, and others they killed.

“He had one more person to send. That person was his son, whom he loved. Finally, he sent his son to them. He thought, ‘They will respect my son.’

“But those workers said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’  So they took him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.

“What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the workers and give the vineyard to others.  Have you never read the Scripture passage:

‘The stone that the builders rejected

   has become the cornerstone.

The Lord has done this,

   and it is amazing for us to see’?”

They wanted to arrest him but were afraid of the crowd. They knew that he had directed this illustration at them. So they left him alone and went away.

 

John 15:1-8

Jesus said, “I am the true vine, and my Father takes care of the vineyard.  He removes every one of my branches that doesn’t produce fruit. He also prunes every branch that does produce fruit to make it produce more fruit.

“You are already clean because of what I have told you.  Live in me, and I will live in you. A branch cannot produce any fruit by itself. It has to stay attached to the vine. In the same way, you cannot produce fruit unless you live in me.

“I am the vine. You are the branches. Those who live in me while I live in them will produce a lot of fruit. But you can’t produce anything without me.  Whoever doesn’t live in me is thrown away like a branch and dries up. Branches like this are gathered, thrown into a fire, and burned.  If you live in me and what I say lives in you, then ask for anything you want, and it will be yours.  You give glory to my Father when you produce a lot of fruit and therefore show that you are my disciples.

Peace Be Still

Read Psalm 4 and Luke 10:38-42*

Sermon:   “Peace, Be Still”

As they were traveling along, Jesus went into a village. A woman named Martha welcomed him into her home.  I can almost hear you say “What a minute, Tom, we know this story.  Marth too busy and Mary got the good stuff.” 

Yes, on the surface, that is as good of a summery as any.  But is that all there is to this story?  Can we not learn anything more?

I have heard plenty of sermons asking me to decide if I am a Martha, a person too busy with the cares of the world; or a Mary, the quiet, contemplative, lover of Jesus.  Well, my answer has always been, “Yes”.

Yes, I am each of those things at different times.

However, when I read this passage now, I understand more about what is happening here.  That is one of the marvels of scripture reading, the more you read, them more you see.  Like a flower opening its petals, it slowly opens to your heart and mind.

It all started when Jesus came to Bethany, to visit the home of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus.  They had become cherished personal friends of Jesus during His earthly ministry.  He had a profound love for their family, and it’s clear from Luke’s account that Jesus made Himself at home in their house.

Certainly hospitality was a special hallmark of this family.  Martha in particular is portrayed everywhere as a meticulous hostess.  The fact that her name was usually listed first whenever she’s named with her siblings implies strongly that she was the elder sister of Mary and Lazarus.  She as the eldest would have taken on the role of caretaker for her sister and brother.

First of all it appears that it is Martha’s home.  Nowhere in the story does it say that Mary lived there with Martha.  It would have been a common thing for unmarried sisters to live together.  However it would have been equally common that they have separate homes.  I have also heard sermons that say this is their brother Lazareth’s home.  However, when I read John 11:1 we find, “Lazarus, who lived in Bethany, the village where Mary and her sister Martha lived, was sick.” To me, that just says that the sisters and their brother lived in the same town.  So, if indeed this was Martha’s home, it changes the dynamics of the story slightly.

However, whether she owned the home or was just the one who managed the home, it was Martha who invited Jesus into her home.  This was her service to him.  By inviting the Master into her home she had accepted the hosting responsibilities implied in the invitation.

Jesus had come at Martha’s invitation.  She was the one who welcomed Him in, signifying that she was the actual master of ceremonies in this house.  On this occasion, at least, she wasn’t merely filling in as a surrogate hostess for a friend; she was plainly the one in charge of the household.  She fussed over her hostess duties.  She wanted everything to be just right.  She was a conscientious and considerate hostess, and these were admirable traits.  Much in her behavior was commendable.

When I read this passage, I am often reminded of my first mother in law.  She was a loving, giving, Christian woman who had a real gift for giving of herself, her time and everything she owned.  When describing her, I usually say, “She was the type of woman where, if you knocked on her door to sell magazines, she would invite you in.  And the following scene would unfold:  “Here sit down, you look hot and tired.  Would you like some water?  Or I have some pop.  Or I could make coffee.  Would you like a sandwich, I have leftover ham.”

She sounds like a delight doesn’t she?  Amen?  She was.  However, it could be slightly frustrating when you came to visit her.  She was so busy being the hostess, that you couldn’t get her to sit still and talk with you.  I think of Martha in that way.

Martha wasn’t the only that scriptures say gave invited Jesus into their homes.  So perhaps we should take at those times and compare and contrast the other invitations with Martha’s.   In Luke 14:7-11 Jesus attends a banquet in the home of a prominent Pharisee and teaches a lesson about proper guest etiquette.

“Then Jesus noticed how the guests always chose the places of honor. So he used this illustration when he spoke to them:  “When someone invites you to a wedding, don’t take the place of honor. Maybe someone more important than you was invited.  Then your host would say to you, ‘Give this person your place.’ Embarrassed, you would have to take the place of least honor.  So when you’re invited, take the place of least honor. Then, when your host comes, he will tell you, ‘Friend, move to a more honorable place.’ Then all the other guests will see how you are honored.  Those who honor themselves will be humbled, but people who humble themselves will be honored.”

Having now schooled the guests on proper behavior, he does the same for the Pharisee in verses 12-14

“Then he told the man who had invited him, “When you invite people for lunch or dinner, don’t invite only your friends, family, other relatives, or rich neighbors. Otherwise, they will return the favor.  Instead, when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the handicapped, the lame, and the blind.  Then you will be blessed because they don’t have any way to pay you back. You will be paid back when those who have God’s approval come back to life.”

Now that we have heard Jesus’ teaching, let’s look at what was going on in Martha’s home.  Has she invited those who can return the favor?

No.  She has invited Jesus.  By extension, we can assume that his disciples were also present.  Remember the scriptures says, “As they were traveling along”. Jesus was an itinerant preacher with no permanent home. Luke 9:58 and Matthew 8:20 say, “Jesus told him, “Foxes have holes, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to sleep.”  While it is possible that some of the disciples had homes in the area, we must remember that when Jesus called them, they dropped what they were doing and followed.  Even if the disciples weren’t actually homeless, they were without income.  They were living on the charity of others.  So Jesus and his followers were not in a position to repay Martha by inviting her to dine with them. 

Jesus, as the guest was seated in the honored place.  Not because he chose it but because it was offered.

I find it enlightening that the customs of the time held that women’s legal rights were categorized along with Gentiles, minors, deaf-mutes and "undesirables" such as gamblers, the insane, usurers, and pigeon-racers.”  One of these days I want to know more about those sinful pigeon-racers.  But that is a study for another time.

The point is, for Jesus to accept her offer, meant that he was once again breaking the traditions and teachings of the religious leaders of the day.  Just as He did when in Mark 2:14-16  we read, “When Jesus was leaving, he saw Levi, son of Alphaeus, sitting in a tax office. Jesus said to him, “Follow me!” So Levi got up and followed him.  Later Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house. Many tax collectors and sinners who were followers of Jesus were eating with him and his disciples. When the experts in Moses’ Teachings who were Pharisees saw him eating with sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

This, most likely, was Martha’s life.  Everything revolved around caring for the home.  It was both her treasure and her prison because “In those times, respectable women were expected to stay within the confines of the home.  “The woman of the first century did not even do her own shopping, except possibly to go out, accompanied by a slave, to buy material which she would use to construct her own clothing at home! Customarily, even a woman of stature could not engage in commerce and would rarely be seen outside her home. Only a woman in dire economic straits, who was forced to become the family breadwinner, could engage in her own small trade. If a woman was ever in the streets, she was to be heavily veiled and was prohibited from conversing with men. "It is the way of a woman to stay at home and it is the way of a man to go out into the marketplace" (J)

Now we know that Martha had a sister named Mary.  and we know that Mary sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to him talk.  It is believed that this is the same event that is described in John 12:1-8.

Six days before Passover, Jesus arrived in Bethany. Lazarus, whom Jesus had brought back to life, lived there.  Dinner was prepared for Jesus in Bethany. Martha served the dinner, and Lazarus was one of the people eating with Jesus.

Mary took a bottle of very expensive perfume made from pure nard and poured it on Jesus’ feet. Then she dried his feet with her hair. The fragrance of the perfume filled the house.

One of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was going to betray him, asked,  “Why wasn’t this perfume sold for a high price and the money given to the poor?” (Judas didn’t say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief. He was in charge of the moneybag and carried the contributions.)  Jesus said to Judas, “Leave her alone! She has done this to prepare me for the day I will be placed in a tomb. You will always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me with you.”

Some scholars believe that Mary was also the woman at the Pharisee’s house in Luke 7:36-50

One of the Pharisees invited Jesus to eat with him. Jesus went to the Pharisee’s house and was eating at the table.

A woman who lived a sinful life in that city found out that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house. So she took a bottle of perfume and knelt at his feet. She was crying and washed his feet with her tears. Then she dried his feet with her hair, kissed them over and over again, and poured the perfume on them.

The Pharisee who had invited Jesus saw this and thought, “If this man really were a prophet, he would know what sort of woman is touching him. She’s a sinner.”

Jesus spoke up, “Simon, I have something to say to you.”

Simon replied, “Teacher, you’re free to speak.”

So Jesus said, “Two men owed a moneylender some money. One owed him five hundred silver coins, and the other owed him fifty. When they couldn’t pay it back, he was kind enough to cancel their debts. Now, who do you think will love him the most?”

Simon answered, “I suppose the one who had the largest debt canceled.”

Jesus said to him, “You’re right!”  Then, turning to the woman, he said to Simon, “You see this woman, don’t you? I came into your house. You didn’t wash my feet. But she has washed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair.  You didn’t give me a kiss. But ever since I came in, she has not stopped kissing my feet.  You didn’t put any olive oil on my head. But she has poured perfume on my feet.  That’s why I’m telling you that her many sins have been forgiven. Her great love proves that. But whoever receives little forgiveness loves very little.”

Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins have been forgiven.”  The other guests thought, “Who is this man who even forgives sins?”

Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace!”

If this indeed the same woman, why was she said to be “A woman who lived a sinful life”?  Remember that I said earlier that a woman’s place was in the house … literally.  Respectable women did not leave the house.  Yet Mary is known to have left the house.  The terminology used in that day for a prostitute was “one who goes abroad”.

After their brother, Lazareth had died, Martha went to Jesus to tell him not to bother because it was too late.  Jesus has this to say in John 11:25-40 Jesus said to (Martha), “I am the one who brings people back to life, and I am life itself. Those who believe in me will live even if they die.26 Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe that?”

27 Martha said to him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who was expected to come into the world.”

28 After Martha had said this, she went back home and whispered to her sister Mary, “The teacher is here, and he is calling for you.”

Several things catch my attention here that shed more light on the differences and similarities with the sisters.  Martha is the one who goes to Jesus and tells him that Lazareth is already dead.   It was her responsibility as the head of the house.  After all, she was the one who had sent the message asking Jesus to come and heal her brother.  As the eldest, she could have told Mary to go and give the bad news that Lazareth had died.   Instead she made the journey herself.   Then after Jesus hears her confession that she believes He is the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who was expected to come into the world, she goes home and tells Mary to go.

29 When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to Jesus. 30 (Jesus had not yet come into the village but was still where Martha had met him.) 31 The Jews who were comforting Mary in the house saw her get up quickly and leave. So they followed her. They thought that she was going to the tomb to cry.

Mary had stayed behind at the house with the mourners and then went running out.  It is helpful to understand the traditional rituals and observances at the time of a Jewish death. 

“Traditionally, a person is buried the same day as his or her death, followed by seven days of mourning. A special meal of condolence is provided after the burial. Mourners remain in the house of mourning with friends and family throughout the week. Prayers are offered, and readings from the Torah are shared. Memorial candles are often lit. Traditional grooming stops, as do marital relations, entertainment, and regular study. In some cases, mourners wait 30 days before cutting their hair.

The New Testament speaks of mourners’ loud wailing. For example, when Jesus came to the home of the synagogue ruler whose daughter had died, He “saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly” (Mark 5:38). This took place on the same day as the girl’s death, as her body was still inside the home.

Mourning sometimes included shaving one’s head or putting ashes or dust on the head, in addition to rending garments. These actions communicated to everyone that the person was in mourning. Jeremiah 25:34 mentions the actions of a mourner in a judgment on evil rulers: “Weep and wail, you shepherds; roll in the dust, you leaders of the flock. For your time to be slaughtered has come.”(g)

So Mary has run from the house of mourning and gone to Jesus.

32 When Mary arrived where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

Notice how strongly she believes in Jesus power.

33 When Jesus saw her crying, and the Jews who were crying with her, he was deeply moved and troubled.

34 So Jesus asked, “Where did you put Lazarus?”

They answered him, “Lord, come and see.”

35 Jesus cried. 36 The Jews said, “See how much Jesus loved him.” 37 But some of the Jews asked, “Couldn’t this man who gave a blind man sight keep Lazarus from dying?”

38 Deeply moved again, Jesus went to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone covering the entrance. 39 Jesus said, “Take the stone away.”

Martha, the dead man’s sister, told Jesus, “Lord, there must already be a stench. He’s been dead for four days.”

40 Jesus said to her, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believe, you would see God’s glory?”

From these glimpses into the lives of these two women it is easy to see that they both loved the Lord.  Each in their own way honored him.  It is also easy to see the differences.  Martha was a thinker and a doer.  Mary was ruled more by her heart and more emotional.

It was these differences that are in play here when we read, “But Martha was upset about all the work she had to do. So she asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work all by myself? Tell her to help me.”

Notice in the next verse how gently Jesus answers Martha.  It is not a condemnation for her service to him.  It is a reminder that time with Him is more important than all the busy work.  Listen, “The Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha! You worry and fuss about a lot of things.  “But of the few things worth worrying about, there is only one thing you need.”  Mary has made the right choice, and that one thing will not be taken away from her.”

I have to admit that sometimes the “busy work” of preparing sermons, picking the worship music, and typing the bulletins; keeps me from actually spending time in communion with my Lord.

If you, like me, let the day to day things of life, even those things that are in service to the Lord, keep you from the peaceful refreshment of time spent at the feet of Jesus, listen to his quiet voice.  He will answer when you call upon Him.  He can free you of your troubles for he has pity on you.

Then along with the psalmist I say, “Think about this on your bed and remain quiet.  Offer the sacrifices of righteousness by trusting the Lord.  Many are saying, “Who can show us anything good?” Let the light of your presence shine on us, O Lord.  You put more joy in my heart than when their grain and new wine increase.  I fall asleep in peace the moment I lie down because you alone, O Lord, enable me to live securely.”  Amen.

All scripture quotes are from GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

( a) “Jesus and the Role of Women” by Zhava Glaser

(J) Found on the “Jews for Jesus” webpage.

(g) found on “GotQuestions.org”

*Psalm 4 Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness.  You have freed me from my troubles. Have pity on me, and  hear my prayer!  You important people, how long are you going to insult my honor?  How long are you going to love what is empty and seek what is a lie?

Know that the Lord singles out godly people for himself.  The Lord hears me when I call to him.  Tremble and do not sin.  Think about this on your bed and remain quiet.

Offer the sacrifices of righteousness by trusting the Lord.  Many are saying, “Who can show us anything good?” Let the light of your presence shine on us, O Lord.

You put more joy in my heart than when their grain and new wine increase.

I fall asleep in peace the moment I lie down because you alone, O Lord, enable me to live securely.

 

Luke 10:38-42  As they were traveling along, Jesus went into a village. A woman named Martha welcomed him into her home.  She had a sister named Mary. Mary sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to him talk.

But Martha was upset about all the work she had to do. So she asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work all by myself? Tell her to help me.”

The Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha! You worry and fuss about a lot of things.  “But of the few things worth worrying about, there is only one thing you need.”  Mary has made the right choice, and that one thing will not be taken away from her.”

Sing a Song of Jesus

 

Read Psalm 2*

Sermon: “Sing a Song of Jesus”

As I read Psalm 2, I realized that is a ‘Song of Jesus’.  Let us examine it a verse at a time.

1 Why do the nations gather together?  My first thought of Nations coming together made me think of the United Nations.  Here is the opening wording of the UN Charter:

WE THE PEOPLES OF THE UNITED NATIONS DETERMINED to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind, and to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small, and to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained, and to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,

And then I thought of the European Union.  Here is the statement of purpose of that union:

The peoples of Europe, in creating an ever closer union among them, are resolved to share a peaceful future based on common values.

Conscious of its spiritual and moral heritage, the Union is founded on the indivisible, universal values of human dignity, freedom, equality and solidarity; it is based on the principles of democracy and the rule of law. It places the individual at the heart of its activities, by establishing the citizenship of the Union and by creating an area of freedom, security and justice.

The Union contributes to the preservation and to the development of these common values while respecting the diversity of the cultures and traditions of the peoples of Europe as well as the national identities of the Member States and the organization of their public authorities at national, regional and local levels; it seeks to promote balanced and sustainable development and ensures free movement of persons, services, goods and capital, and the freedom of establishment.

I didn’t hear anything that sounded even close to “Hear O Israel, our God is one God.  You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your.”  Did you?  Nothing where these gatherings of nations professed their allegiance to the Living God in the same way Israel did and still does.

Our American Declaration of Independence at least recognizes “the Creator” as it includes the line, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Our rights are not given by Man but by God.  They are unalienable which means that they cannot be taken away by Man.

Why do the nations come together?  The answer is, out of fear, because they don’t trust each other.  They want to establish some form of human protection for themselves. Because they fear a common enemy. They also want to set common goals.

The psalmist wants to know why the nations (that is all the earth) reject God?  Why do they make plans that differ from the plan of God? 

The answer is that any contract, covenant, or agreement that doesn’t take into consideration God’s plan, is a useless plan. God never breaks a covenant. History demonstrates that Man will eventually break every agreement.

Do you remember the story of the tower of Babel from Genesis 11:1-9?  Here the people of earth gathered together to build a tower capable of reaching Heaven. Up until this point in the Bible, the whole world had one language - one common speech for all people. The people of the earth became skilled in construction and decided to build a city with a tower that would reach to heaven. By building the tower they wanted to make a name for themselves and also prevent their city from being scattered.

The story is about Mankind pitting its will against the will of God. And it didn’t turn out well for mankind.  Imagine that!

In the New Testament book of Acts (4:25-28) Luke quotes from this psalm

You said through the Holy Spirit, who spoke through your servant David (our ancestor), ‘Why do the nations act arrogantly? Why do their people devise useless plots?  Kings take their stand.  Rulers make plans together against the Lord and against his Messiah.’

Luke then goes on to point out how the prophecy in this psalm points to Jesus as the Messiah.

“In this city Herod and Pontius Pilate made plans together with non-Jewish people and the people of Israel. They made their plans against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. 

Jewish and non-jewish people banding together to try and combat God’s will.  Trying to make plans against “Jesus, whom you anointed.”   Remember that line about Jesus being anointed by God, we’ll get back to it.

The psalmist continues: Kings take their stands.  Rulers make plans together against the Lord and against his Messiah by saying,  “Let’s break apart their chains and shake off their ropes.”

I find it frightening that our own nation is headed toward or is already at that point where we say, “Let’s break apart their (that is God the Father and His Messiah, Jesus) chains and shake off their ropes.”

This is contrary to the teachings of Jesus who said, “Take My yoke upon you.”  The meaning here is to shake off our old yoke of sin and disobedience and be bound together with God because, he said, “my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."  Make no mistake, there is work to be done.  We can continue in our own way and our own will, just as the Kings and Rulers of the psalm did.  Or we can be bound together with God and let him do the “heavy lifting.” 

We are to be bound together in Christian love also.  We are commanded, “Love one another as I have loved you.” Jesus didn’t just stop at saying, “Love one another.”  He added this condition, “As I have loved you.”  That is an all encompassing love.  A love that is given freely with no reservations, no conditions, and no strings attached.  We are to love those who love us and those who hate us.  We are commanded to love those like us and those different from us.  I figured out a rule of thumb here: If God created them, we are to love them.  So the only people outside the group I am to love would be … … … 

Being bound together reminds me of the hymn, “Bind us together, Lord.” Bind us together, Lord.  Bind us together with cords that cannot be broken. Bind us together in Love. There is only one God, There is only one King, There is only one Body.

Next the psalm writer gives God’s reaction to Man’s plans.

4 The one enthroned in heaven laughs.  The Lord makes fun of them.

I have to say that this verse took me aback a bit.  Even though I know it is a psalm, a song, a poem and some poetic license is allowed, the idea of God laughing at Man’s vain attempts to go our own way was disturbing to me.  Then I also read Psalm 37:12-13 which says, “The wicked person plots against a righteous one and grits his teeth at him. The Lord laughs at him because he has seen that his time is coming.”  Okay, I guess, if I try to see it through the eyes of God,  I can see the comedic action here.  Do you remember the old silent films with the Keystone Cops?   They were a bunch of misfit cops who ran around getting in each other’s way and creating chaos instead of apprehending the “bad guys”.  Whatever they tried never seemed to work out well for them.  I imagine from God’s point of view, we must seem like that a great deal of the time.

5 Then he speaks to them in his anger.  In his burning anger he terrifies them.

There are plenty of scriptures (mostly Old Testament) that speak about God’s anger toward individuals and nations.  I have a little trouble reconciling what I know of God’s love and God’s mercy with God’s “burning anger.”  Then I found the following posted on the web by an unnamed author.  I found it helpful.  I hope you do also.

“If the Lord is always merciful to everyone, then He can never be angry and vengeful. In God Himself there is "no variation nor shadow of turning." (James 1:17) Yet He appears in a variety of ways according to the spiritual state of the individual. "With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful; with a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless; with the pure You will show Yourself pure; and with the devious You will show Yourself shrewd." (2 Samuel 22:20; Psalm 18:25)

It almost seems as if God's actions towards each of us depend on our actions toward God and others. If you forgive others, He will forgive you; if you do not forgive others, He will not forgive you. (Matthew 6:15; 18:35) If you draw near to God, He will draw near to you. (James 4:8) If you forget Him, He will forget you. (Hosea 4:6) If you forsake Him, He will forsake you. (2 Chronicles 15:2) And apparently, when people act with vengeance, they can expect vengeance from God. (Ezekiel 25:15,16)

It is as if each kind of person looks at God through differently tinted glasses. A person wearing blue glasses will see everything blue. "To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled." (Titus 1:15) A person who is himself vicious and vengeful will tend to see others, including God, as vicious and vengeful. "The children of your people say, `The way of the Lord is not fair.' But it is their way that is not fair!" (Ezekiel 33:17; 18:25)”

In 2 Peter 3:9 it is summed up this way, “The Lord isn’t slow to do what he promised, as some people think. Rather, he is patient for your sake. He doesn’t want to destroy anyone but wants all people to have an opportunity to turn to him and change the way they think and act.”

Verse 6 of our psalm reads “I have installed my own king on Zion, my holy mountain.”  Clearly, the psalmist is declaring that God himself will place a king over Israel.  The prophet Samuel, at God’s command, anointed the first two human kings of Israel.  I said human kings because, remember that until that time, Israel was a theocracy.  It was different from all other earthly nations in that it was ruled by God alone.  The “business” of the nation was overseen by judges chosen by God.  The people begged to become like other nations and have a king.  Here is the story from first Samuel chapter eight.

“Samuel considered it wrong for them to request a king to judge them. So Samuel prayed to the Lord.  The Lord told Samuel, “Listen to everything the people are saying to you. They haven’t rejected you; they’ve rejected me. They’re doing just what they’ve done since I took them out of Egypt—leaving me and serving other gods.  Listen to them now, but be sure to warn them and tell them about the rights of a king.”

Then Samuel told the people who had asked him for a king everything the Lord had said.  Samuel said, “These are the rights of a king:  He will draft your sons, make them serve on his chariots and horses, and make them run ahead of his chariots.  He will appoint them to be his officers over 1,000 or over 50 soldiers, to plow his ground and harvest his crops, and to make weapons and equipment for his chariots.  He will take your daughters and have them make perfumes, cook, and bake.  He will take the best of your fields, vineyards, and olive orchards and give them to his officials.  He will take a tenth of your grain and wine and give it to his aids and officials.  He will take your male and female slaves, your best cattle, and your donkeys for his own use.  He will take a tenth of your flocks.  In addition, you will be his servants.”

That sounds like a pretty fair description of an earthly ruler to me.  However the really important part of this passage is when God tells Samuel, “They haven’t rejected you; they’ve rejected me.”

Now, in verse seven we learn who God will appoint as the new king

I will announce the Lord’s decree.  He said to me: “You are my Son. Today I have become your Father.

Here are some important verses about Christ the King.

Hebrews 1:5-6  “God never said to any of his angels, “You are my Son. Today I have become your Father.”  And God never said to any of his angels, “I will be his Father, and he will be my Son.”  When God was about to send his firstborn Son into the world, he said, “All of God’s angels must worship him.”

Luke 1:31-33  God, speaking through his angel, said to Mary, “You will become pregnant, give birth to a son, and name him Jesus. He will be a great man and will be called the Son of the Most High.  The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David.  Your son will be king of Jacob’s people forever, and his kingdom will never end.”

Matthew 3:16-17  “After Jesus was baptized, he immediately came up from the water. Suddenly, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God coming down as a dove to him. Then a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love—my Son with whom I am pleased.”

Jesus had this to say about himself in John 9:35-37, “Jesus heard that the Jews had thrown the man out of the synagogue. So when Jesus found the man, he asked him, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”  The man replied, “Sir, tell me who he is so that I can believe in him.”  Jesus told him, “You’ve seen him. He is the person who is now talking with you.”

Jesus was recognized as the new king when he rode into Jerusalem.  John 12:12-13 records it this way, “On the next day the large crowd that had come to the Passover festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem.  So they took palm branches and went to meet him. They were shouting, “Hosanna!  Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord, the king of Israel!”

In verse eight of the psalm God makes this promise to His King, “Ask me, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance and the ends of the earth as your own possession.”

Now hear Jesus’ response in John 17:4-24 “On earth I have given you glory by finishing the work you gave me to do.  Now, Father, give me glory in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world existed.

“I made your name known to the people you gave me. They are from this world. They belonged to you, and you gave them to me. They did what you told them. Now they know that everything you gave me comes from you, because I gave them the message that you gave me. They have accepted this message, and they know for sure that I came from you. They have believed that you sent me.

“I pray for them. I’m not praying for the world but for those you gave me, because they are yours.  Everything I have is yours, and everything you have is mine. I have been given glory by the people you have given me.  I won’t be in the world much longer, but they are in the world, and I’m coming back to you. Holy Father, keep them safe by the power of your name, the name that you gave me, so that their unity may be like ours.  While I was with them, I kept them safe by the power of your name, the name that you gave me. I watched over them, and none of them, except one person, became lost. So Scripture came true.

“But now, Father, I’m coming back to you. I say these things while I’m still in the world so that they will have the same joy that I have.  I have given them your message. But the world has hated them because they don’t belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. I’m not asking you to take them out of the world but to protect them from the evil one.  They don’t belong to the world any more than I belong to the world.

“Use the truth to make them holy. Your words are truth.  I have sent them into the world the same way you sent me into the world. 1I’m dedicating myself to this holy work I’m doing for them so that they, too, will use the truth to be holy.

“I’m not praying only for them. I’m also praying for those who will believe in me through their message. I pray that all of these people continue to have unity in the way that you, Father, are in me and I am in you. I pray that they may be united with us so that the world will believe that you have sent me.  I have given them the glory that you gave me. I did this so that they are united in the same way we are.  I am in them, and you are in me. So they are completely united. In this way the world knows that you have sent me and that you have loved them in the same way you have loved me.

“Father, I want those you have given to me to be with me, to be where I am. I want them to see my glory, which you gave me because you loved me before the world was made.

9 You will break them (the disobedient nations) with an iron scepter. You will smash them to pieces like pottery.” Our reading from Matthew’s gospel verses 41-43 gives us an insight into verse 9 of the psalm, “Then the king will say to those on his left, ‘Get away from me! God has cursed you! Go into everlasting fire that was prepared for the devil and his angels! 42 I was hungry, and you gave me nothing to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me nothing to drink. 43 I was a stranger, and you didn’t take me into your homes. I needed clothes, and you didn’t give me anything to wear. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t take care of me.’”

10 Now, you kings, act wisely.  Be warned, you rulers of the earth! For thousands of years before Christ’s earthly incarnation and for thousands of years since, you…we have been warned. We have repeatedly been told that a time will come when God will no longer strive with men. There will be a time of judgement. The book of 2^nd Peter eminds us, “God didn’t spare angels who sinned. He threw them into hell, where he has secured them with chains of darkness and is holding them for judgment. God didn’t spare the ancient world either. He brought the flood on the world of ungodly people, but he protected Noah and seven other people. Noah was his messenger who told people about the kind of life that has God’s approval.

Verse 11 tells us to, “Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling.”

In 1 Corinthians 15: 22b-25 we learn the fate of those who belong to Christ as well as those that do not belong to him. “In Christ all will be made alive.  But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.  Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power.  For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.”

The last verse in this psalm reads, “Kiss the Son, or he will become angry and you will die on your way because his anger will burst into flames.  Blessed is everyone who takes refuge in him.”

John 3:36 echoes the last line of the psalm by saying, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life. Instead, he will see God’s constant anger.”

The choice seems clear to me. I will echo what was said by Joshua in Joshua chapter 24, “Fear the Lord, and serve him with integrity and faithfulness. Get rid of the gods your ancestors served on the other side of the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve only the Lord.  But if you don’t want to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Even if you choose the gods your ancestors served on the other side of the Euphrates or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you live, my family and I will still serve the Lord.”

As for me and my family, we will server the Lord.

 

Psalm 2

1 Why do the nations gather together?  Why do their people devise useless plots?

2  Kings take their stands.  Rulers make plans together against the Lord and against his Messiah by saying,

3  “Let’s break apart their chains and shake off their ropes.”

4 The one enthroned in heaven laughs.  The Lord makes fun of them.

5 Then he speaks to them in his anger.  In his burning anger he terrifies them by saying,

6 “I have installed my own king on Zion, my holy mountain.”

7 I will announce the Lord’s decree.  He said to me: “You are my Son. Today I have become your Father.

8 Ask me, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance and the ends of the earth as your own possession.

9 You will break them with an iron scepter. You will smash them to pieces like pottery.”

10 Now, you kings, act wisely.  Be warned, you rulers of the earth!

11 Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling.

12 Kiss the Son, or he will become angry and you will die on your way because his anger will burst into flames.  Blessed is everyone who takes refuge in him.

Yes or No? Stay or Go

Hebrew Scripture Reading: Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18

Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel; and they presented themselves before God. And Joshua said to all the people, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Long ago your ancestors--Terah and his sons Abraham and Nahor--lived beyond the Euphrates and served other gods.
"Now therefore revere the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. Now if you are unwilling to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."

Then the people answered, "Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods; for it is the LORD our God who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight. He protected us along all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed; and the LORD drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the LORD, for he is our God."

Gospel Reading: John 6:56-69
Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me.
This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever." He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum.
When many of his disciples heard it, they said, "This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?" But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining about it, said to them, “Does this offend you?” Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But among you there are some who do not believe." For Jesus knew from the first who were the ones that did not believe, and who was the one that would betray him. And he said, "For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father."
Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. So Jesus asked the twelve, "Do you also wish to go away?" Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God."

Sermon:  “Yes or No?  Stay or Go”
Let me start with a short prayer.  You pray for my speaking and I’ll pray for your hearing.  God, I pray that You will give me the right words to say. Then I will speak boldly when I reveal the mystery of the Good News.  I pray that despite what I say today, that these people hear your words.  Amen

In these Old Testament and the New Testament scriptures, a decision is demanded.  Using a current idiom, I’d call these as “Come to Jesus meetings.”  They were said with love but there is a clear ultimatum in both stories.  Yes or no?  Stay or go? 

Come to Jesus Meeting is an apt name for these because Jesus demanded a clear commitment.  He called many people.  He called fishermen, tax collectors, tradesmen, revolutionaries, religious leaders, lawyers, and many more.  Some dropped what they were doing and followed.  He called some who turned away sadly.  Some turned away angry. Some said things like, “I’ll follow, but first let me go … (whatever excuse they offered)”  Jesus made it clear that those who said things like, had made their choice.
We are going to be traveling around through time a little bit so … If we get into our scriptural time-machine, we can go back almost three thousand years to the time after Moses had died and Joshua had led the children of Israel into the Promised Land.  Just relax and breathe in and out normally.  This will only take a second. Really, this time machine is the safest way to travel.

As we arrive, things have just, finally, settled down after the fighting. The land was promised by God and He assured the victories.  However, he required the people to fight the battles.  I’m pretty sure that there is a good sermon right there. 

However, we have arrived after the battles were won, the cities and territories established, the crops and vineyards were planted and the people were beginning to enjoy this land flowing with milk and honey.  Smell that nice fresh air, we don’t have anything like that back in the twenty first century!

Joshua is now over one hundred years old.  He looks pretty spry for a guy his age!  He is the last of the generation who first came to the boarder of the Promised Land.  The generation that refused to follow God’s command to enter the land.  They were afraid of the people who lived there because they were bigger and stronger.  The spies who went in, came back with the report that even though it was indeed a land flowing with milk and honey, the cities were large and well fortified.  And the people were so big that the spies said that “we were like grasshoppers to them.”

They let their fear rule them rather than their faith.  Now I’m sure that there’s a sermon in that!  Their refusal to follow God’s command is the reason that they wandered in the dessert for forty years.  They had been unfaithful, so God led them around the dessert until that whole generation (with the exception of Moses, Caleb and Joshua) had died.  Because of their unfaithfulness, they were not allowed into the land that God had promised.  And not only were they not allowed in, but their children and grandchildren had to delay entering the Promised Land for forty years!  I think there’s another sermon there too!

But, Joshua, now an old man, has just called all the leaders of all the tribes together and has a message for them.  He lays it all on the line by telling them, “Before God called Abraham he had followed other gods.  The descendants of Abraham, after settling in Egypt, had also turned and followed false gods.”  Joshua is letting them know that, as a people, they have not always been faithful followers of the one true God.

Joshua now reminds the people that they are heirs of the covenant that God had made with Abraham. God said, “I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great so that you will be a blessing.  I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you, I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Here is their “Come to Jesus Meeting” as Joshua tells the people to make a choice, a commitment, a reaffirmation of the covenant between his people and God.  At the same time he makes it clear that his choice now is and ever will be, “Me and my household, we will serve the LORD." 

The people responded, “What are you talking about?  We would not / could not abandon the Lord to serve other gods. After all the Lord our God brought us and our ancestors out of slavery in Egypt. Do you remember how He did these spectacular signs right before our eyes. He even guarded us wherever we went, especially as we passed through other nations. The Lord forced out all the people ahead of us, including the Amorites who lived in this land. We, too, will serve the Lord, because he is our God.”

They may have been children when they fled Egypt or they may have been born during the forty years in the wilderness, but they had grown up with God literally leading them as a cloud by day and pillar of fire by night! They had seen water gush from a rock in the dessert.  God fed them bread from heaven and meat to eat.  They were there when the tabernacle was created and God spoke from above the Ark of the Covenant. They had seen the power of God when he gave them victory over their enemies.

Having witnessed all of these things, it seems only natural that they would choose to follow God!  Right?  I mean, who would be stupid enough to not choose God when you had witnessed all of that?  Makes sense, right?

But hang on a moment, get back in the time machine.  We are going to go back in time another fifty to sixty years.  We are going to see how faithful their, Fathers, Mothers, Grandparents were. 

See, that didn’t take long!  We have arrived safely at the base of Mount Sinai and you’ll notice that it is covered in a dense cloud.  That cloud is an avatar of God, a symbolic representation of His Holy Self.  Don’t get too close.  Sinful man cannot come into the presence of Holy God and live.

We have arrived about three and a half months after they fled from Egypt.  If these folks look a little “shell shocked”  remember they have just lived through the ten plagues of Egypt:

They have just recently seen the Red sea parted so that they could walk through it on dry land.  As soon as they had reached this side of the Red Sea, it closed over the pursuing Egyptians.

Moses has told them to wash their clothing so that they can be ritually clean while he consecrates them to God.  Look, there he goes up the mountain where he will receive the ten commandments from God.

Now look what the people are doing in his absence.  They have melted their golden jewelry and created a golden calf to worship!   Listen!  Do you hear what they are saying?  The are praising this man-made idol and are giving it the credit for bringing them out of Egypt. It has been less than four months from captivity and they have already abandoned God! 

Yep!  These people were that forgetful, ungrateful, and easily swayed. You can almost hear them asking, “What has God done for me today?” 

Wait!  Wait!  I see that look in some of your eyes.  A little light bulb just lit up over your heads.  But don’t start searching your own soul or examining your own relationship with God … not yet!  I have a few more illustration to make before you do that.  No peeking ahead!

Okay, let’s get in our time-machine and travel ahead about six hundred years to the time when Jesus walked the earth as a man.  Everybody ready?  Remember to keep your hands inside your seats until we have come to a complete stop. 

There!  We have arrived to about thirty-two years after Jesus was born.  Everybody okay, nobody dizzy?  Great!

If look a little over there to the right of the synagogue you’ll see Jesus in discussion with his disciples.  Or more correctly, the apostles, the twelve core members of his followers.  Jesus has had hundreds and hundreds of disciples following him.  They have crowded so close that several times he was forced into a boat. They have followed him up a mountain.  They even followed him to his home and crowded in so close that his family was fearful. At one point, some men tore the roof from his home to bring a sick friend to him.  They’ve pressed in so close to him that when he stopped and asked, “Who touched me?” his disciples responded, in disbelief that he had asked that question, it seemed to them that everyone had touched him.  In fact, I found a source that says there are around thirty-four scriptures that mention the crowds coming to Jesus.  While it is true that some of those may be duplicated between the four gospels, that still is a lot of crowding.

These disciples followed him for various reasons but mostly because of the signs that he preformed. They had seem him heal the sick, the leprous the blind, the lame and even raise the dead.  He had turned water to wine, feed thousands of people on a few loaves of bread and a couple of fish. 

Some followed because they believed that he would be the next king of Israel and free them from the Roman occupation. 

Some followed because of the way he taught with such power and authority. 

Some came because the parables that he told engaged them and caused them to think in ways that they had never considered. 

A few followed because they wanted to trap him into saying or doing something that would turn the people away from him and also stand up in a trial. 

And some … some followed because they believed he was sent from God. 

As we see Jesus today, people are walking away.  The message he gave today in the synagogue in Capernaum had caused a division. The theme of Jesus being the Bread of Life and the Living Water were ones that he had used many times before.  Today the sermon was a little more graphic and it upset people.  “Eat my flesh and drink my blood,” was too hard of a lesson to learn. 

Jesus tells them that the flesh is nothing … the spirit is everything. If you remember back in the book of Genesis; God created man from the dust of the ground.  And then breathe the breath of life, literally the Spirit of Life into him.  Without the spirit, Man is just a pile of dust.

Jesus has just asked the inner twelve for their decision,  Yes or no?  Stay or go?  Peter answers for them all.  And I can just imagine Peter, in his load rough voice, answering.  Not just answering but answering loud enough that his voice carries to those walking away.  “Lord, who could we possible go to?  Your words give eternal life.  Besides, we believe … and more than believe … we know that you are the Holy One of God.”
You and I know from our perspective from the future that the crowds will once more assemble for him on Palm Sunday and we know that most will once again turn away at the trial and crucifixion.  As we get back into our time machine, we see that those once crushing crowds are beginning to drift away leaving only those true believers to continue to faithfully follow. 

This was a true, “Come to Jesus Meeting” and a large number of disciples walked away.  In one way or another, Jesus had not met their expectation.  Yep!  People were still that way during Jesus’ time.  They were still that forgetful, ungrateful, and easily swayed. “What has Jesus done for me today?” 

Now hang on because the bumpiest part of this ride is about to start.  We are returning to our own time.  This is where we are going to be looking around us and inside us.

We are also inheritors of the covenant God first made with Abraham.  We even have the advantage that a major part of that promise has already been fulfilled by the birth, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus.  We now have the two thousand years of proof of things that they only hoped for.  Certainly, it must be easier for our generation to live up to our end of the covenant.  Right?  We’ve done our job and taken the good news to every corner of the world.  One third of the world’s population call themselves Christians.

If that is still true, someone explain this graph to me.

What is happening?  This is how it appears to me … there are a lot of people who are Christian in name only.  I could be wrong. …  I’d like to be wrong.  But what I’m seeing is people wrapping themselves in the name, Christian, as though it were a magic suit of armor. 

Well I’ll tell you right now that it does not work that way. You can’t get by with just playing “dress up.”  This is a war. If you want a suit of armor, you still have to put it on one piece at a time.  I’ll tell you the same thing that Paul told the church in Ephesus,
“Put on all the armor that God supplies. In this way you can take a stand against the devil’s strategies. This is not a wrestling match against a human opponent. We are wrestling with rulers, authorities, the powers who govern this world of darkness, and spiritual forces that control evil in the heavenly world.  For this reason, take up all the armor that God supplies. Then you will be able to take a stand during these evil days. Once you have overcome all obstacles, you will be able to stand your ground.
So then, take your stand! Fasten truth around your waist like a belt. Put on God’s approval as your breastplate.  Put on your shoes so that you are ready to spread the Good News that gives peace.  In addition to all these, take the Christian faith as your shield. With it you can put out all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  Also take salvation as your helmet and God’s word as the sword that the Spirit supplies.
Pray in the Spirit in every situation. Use every kind of prayer and request there is. For the same reason be alert. Use every kind of effort and make every kind of request for all of God’s people.

Consider this your Come to Jesus Meeting.  We are required … No!  We are commanded to care for ourselves, each other, the widows, the orphans, the aliens in our land, and all of God’s children.  Love them, feed them, shelter them, clothe them, heal them … but most of all … tell them the good news that Christ Jesus died that they might live.  The flesh is nothing the Spirit is everything. 

We’re just going to take another short journey, this time into the future.  We’re not going to land, we’re not allowed.  But we’re going to do a flyover just to see what is happening.  Don’t blink ‘cause this’ll have to be really quick.

Look! All of humanity is here.  Everyone who ever was or ever will be is here.  Do you see?  Every knee is bowing and every tongue crying out, “Jesus is Lord!”  However, listen to his response.  To some he is saying, “Well done you good and faithful servant!”  Those are going into the light of eternal life.   However, to others he is saying, “Depart from me you cursed, for you did not do as I commanded to love your neighbor as yourself!”  and those are going into the outer darkness, a complete separation from God.  Our time here is up we must now return to our own time.

I pray, Lord, don’t let this generation be forgetful, ungrateful, and easily swayed. Don’t let us ask, “What has Jesus done for me lately?”  Let us, instead, ask, “What can I do for Jesus today?”  I tell you, “Now is God’s acceptable time!  Now is the day of salvation!”  Have you made your choice?  Yes or no?  Stay or go? 

Woe to the Shepherds

 

Jeremiah 23:1-6

      Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! says the Lord. Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who shepherd my people: It is you who have scattered my flock, and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. So I will attend to you for your evil doings, says the Lord. Then I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the lands where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. I will raise up shepherds over them who will shepherd them, and they shall not fear any longer, or be dismayed, nor shall any be missing, says the Lord.
     The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. And this is the name by which he will be called: "The Lord is our righteousness."

 

Sermon: “Woe to the shepherds”

In the book of Jeremiah God calls him to be His prophet and to stand up against the false prophets of the day. God tells him that, “They have spoken falsely of the Lord, and said, ‘He will do nothing. No evil will come upon us, and we shall not see sword or famine.’ The prophets are nothing but wind, for the word is not in them.”^5:12-13 He is called to stand up to the leaders of Israel and Judah and call them whores. He tells them how disappointed and angry God is with them for breaking the covenant that he had made with Israel. He even tells them that God is sickened by their pretentiousness at calling Him their Father since they have so blatantly turned from His teachings.^3:4-5

Jeremiah is nearly all about how God was going to remove his hand from the land and let their enemies over run them and carry them off to captivity in distant lands. But God holds out a hope that He will be able to instruct a new generation and they will recreate the broken relationship between God and His people. Again and again He begs His children to repent calling out, “Return, O faithless children. I will heal your faithlessness.”^3:22

The prophet Jeremiah lived about six centuries before the birth of Jesus. His writings were about the troubles he saw in his own time. He (through the power of God) laid the blame for all the problems on the very people tasked with leading them. Six hundred years later Jesus made the same observations in His time on earth. And a simple look at our own time shows that the same things are still occurring. God’s people are being lead astray by the very people who should be leading them to God.

In Jeremiah’s time there were “prophets” who were telling the people what they wanted to hear; that all was well and good and there was nothing to fear. Jeremiah, on the other hand, was prophesying about the coming dispersal of the Jews to other lands and the coming destruction of Jerusalem. Not only does Jeremiah predict this, he also (as the voice of God) lays the blame on the supposed religious leaders and people in power. God says, “Their houses are full of treachery; therefore they have become great and rich, they have grown fat and sleek, they know no limits in deeds of wickedness, they do not judge with justice the cause of the orphan, to make it prosper, and they do not defend the rights of the needy.”^5:27-28 For from the least to the greatest of them, everyone is greedy for unjust gain, and from prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely.”^6:13

Through his prophet, God also gives the good news that He will gather His people from every land and will provide a king from David’s family that will deal wisely, be just and righteous. The Lord said, “For if you truly amend your ways and your doings, if you truly act justly one with another, if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own hurt, then I will dwell with you in this place, in the land that I gave of old to your ancestors for ever and ever.”^7:5-7

In the first chapter of Jeremiah it recounts his “call”. “Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” And what was Jeremiah’s reaction? “Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.”^1:4-5 But God chose to give this boy the power over nations and kingdoms to pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.”^1:10

The messages that Jeremiah brought to the rulers of the people were harsh. God was accusing them of pulling away from him and following after false gods. That would be bad enough, but he also convicts them of leading others away from him. Instead of being good shepherds of God’s people, they were leading them to death and destruction. He said, “Those who handle the law did not know me; the rulers have transgressed against me; the prophets prophesied by Baal and went after things that do not profit.”^2:5 In poetic language, God says that He has these two things against them: abandoning Him and His teachings and laws, leading His children to destruction.

Now let’s skip ahead six centuries and see what Jesus has to say about those who handle the law, the rulers and the prophets. In Matthew 15 we read where the Pharisees and scribes (read that as rulers and keepers of the Law) ask Jesus why His disciples didn’t wash their hands before they ate. Jesus responds, “And why do you break the commandments of God for the sake of your tradition?”^15:2-3 Does that not sound like exactly what Jeremiah was condemning Israel for in ages past? Jesus goes on to warn his disciples to beware the teachings of the Pharisees and Saducees.^16:12 He also warned them and us, “Beware that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Messiah!’ and they will lead many astray.”^{Matt 24:4-5} He laments over their unwillingness to return to God when he says, “O, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kill the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me.”^{Luke 13:34}

Throughout the gospels we read of the Pharisees coming to Jesus with trick questions about paying taxes (both temple and Roman), about adultery, about divorce, about marriage in heaven, about working on the Sabbath, and on and on. Never, never, never! does it end well for those seeking to entrap Jesus. Every time that they think they have a fool proof plan, a plan that which ever way Jesus answers, they will be able to charge him with breaking either the Jewish law or the Roman law, he turns it around on them. How frustrated they must have been. No wonder that Jesus tells the people that, because the rulers sit on the throne of Moses (figuratively), what they say is to be obeyed. But he also warns not to do as the Pharisees do because they make impossible rules that they themselves can not follow but by which they will judge the people.

Okay, now I’m a little afraid to do this, however, shall we take a look at our own time? What has changed in the twenty one centuries since Christ walked the earth? Or for that matter in the twenty seven since Jeremiah? Keep in mind that in Jeremiah’s and Jesus’ times the religious leaders were also the political rulers. In our day, of course we have a division between church and state. To examine our time, we are going to need to take a look at the condition of religious and political leaders.

Because of the mandate of our camping club, this worship is non-denominational and non-partisan. That means, I’m trying to tip toe through a mine field here. But it scares me to death to read Jeremiah and hear him issuing the same condemnation to us. Are we dealing justly with the widow, the orphan the poor, and the alien in our land? Do we say “Father, you are the friend of my youth. But continued to do all the evil we can?”^3:4-5 Let me ask you, with out naming names, can you give examples of our leaders, religious and secular that appear to be disconnected from God and/or leading the people away from God?

I really want your input here. I’ll start by saying that I hear and read too many evangelists and pastors preaching a religion of prosperity. That is, telling people that if they follow their teachings (and buy their books, DVDs, and whatever) that their lives are going to be all cake and ice cream. That money will come pouring in and they’ll never be sick. That just doesn’t match up with the realities of life. If you want to know what being a Christian means, look at the lives of Jesus’ apostles. They lived hard, persecuted lives and most died untimely deaths. God promises that he will be with us during life’s trials … not that we will not have to go through them.

(take some time here to facilitate a discussion with the congregation.

Be careful to not allow it to become a “name calling” rant)

There were some good points brought up. It is fairly easy for us to point out the errors that others are making. Jesus warns that before we remove the splinter from our bother’s eye, we must first remove the log that is in ours.^{Mat 7:5} So, before we become too smug, let me remind us that every Christian … e-v-e-r-y Christian has a God given task to perform for the glory of God. So remember, as a Priesthood of Believers ^{1Pet 2:5}, we are all … all leaders. Yep! This is where I begin to meddle.

I don’t know what the Lord has called you to do. I just know that you are called to be and active part of God’s plan. So, whatever you are called to do I just know that there are no none-working parts of the body of Christ.

I was called to preach. And I promise to never, knowingly give you false information. And sometimes it scares me that I might misspeak or unknowingly mislead you. I pray before each time I preach that, no matter what I say, His words will be heard. I know that it works because I’ve had people come up to me after a service and excitedly tell the service that they heard, and I think to myself, “That’s sounds great, I wish I’d have said it.”

The great commission … the last commandment given by Jesus was, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.” “Go to the whole world and proclaim the good news.” The good news is that God kept his promise that he would raise up a leader from the line of David. Jesus the Christ came and paid the price and settled the debt that was owed to God. We have proof where the people of the Old Testament had only hope. That commandment to “go and tell” is for every Christian. “But wait,” you say, “I’m not a missionary. I can’t go into the whole world.” That may be true, however you can go into YOUR world. We each come into contact with people all the time. We may be the only Christian that some people will ever know. Our mission field need not be in some distant land. It may be in our own home, neighborhood, work place, club, grocery store … get the picture?

We have a job to do. Not all jobs are the same. However, all jobs are of equal importance to the Kingdom of God. Scripture says, “Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers.^{Eph 4:11}” “Here are some of the parts God has appointed for the church: first are apostles, second are prophets, third are teachers, then those who do miracles, those who have the gift of healing, those who can help others, those who have the gift of leadership, those who speak in unknown languages.^{1 Cor 12:28}” Remember that we are the body of Christ ^{1Cor 12:27} in this present age. And all of us are to use our God given talents to further His kingdom.

Now that we understand that we all are a leaders … shepherds, how do we insure that we are leading down the right path? If you are looking for and easy answer like, go to church regularly, forget it. It takes work to be prepared. It is necessary to be immersed in the Word of God, the Bible.

There are so many Bibles … so many translations. Find several that you can understand. For many people the King James Version with it’s Old English and archaic terms, just doesn’t make sense. I grew up with two versions of the Bible: King James and the New World Translation (which is used by Jehovah’s Witnesses). It was in reading both and seeing differences (discrepancies) between them that first got me to reading many translations of the Bible. A good study Bible with Parallel translations is very useful.

Since I can not read the original writings of any of the many contributors to the Old and New Testament books, I must rely on other’s research. Because I am relying on the work of others, I am careful to compare with other works. If I begin to see that the author(s) of a certain version are letting their own interpretation or denominational bias influence the translation, I discard it. .

Do not be fooled into thinking that only preacher, pastors, evangelists, and missionaries need to study the Bible. I don’t care if your place in the kingdom of God is a “non speaking part.” You may be the one called upon to sweep the floor or drive a truck. If you are doing it for God, you need to know what God expects of you. You have to read the instruction book, the owner’s manual, the Bible. There is no other way to be positive that you are not following the wrong shepherd.

Now understand that reading the Bible is not the same as studying it. “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction and for training in righteousness.” ^{2 Tim 3:16} Do not read it like you would a book of fiction. Read it more like a cookbook. Look for the proper ingredients to build your life on God’s foundation. Read it to gain understanding and to accomplish something. When you read a passage of scripture stop and think about it. Seek to understand the “who, what, when, where, why, and how” of the passage and most importantly ask, “What does this mean to me?” There are many good “daily devotionals” to help you get started. I recommend that you use one. However, they do not replace your own study of the scriptures. Only by studying to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that need not be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth”^{2 Tim 2”:15} can we be sure of being on solid ground. Jesus has said that, “My sheep know my voice.”^{John 10:27} Studying is the only sure way to learn the voice of the Master Shepherd.

Okay, now we are becoming grounded in the word, now pray. Pray. Pray. Pray. We are to stay connected with God. Prayers do not need to be long, elaborate and eloquent. Prayers just need to come from your heart and your mind. We know how to stay connected with friends and family … we have cell phones, smart phones, iPads, computers, social media, land lines and hand written letters. Put God on your speed dial (figuratively). Go to God in small instant prayers. I’ve been known to look at a beautiful sunset and say, “Yeah, God!” I’ve seen a reckless driver and whispered, “Lord, keep him and those around him from harm.” Sometimes, at the end of my rope, I’ve just said, “Help!” We have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit available to us and He will guide, council and comfort us if we but listen.

Years ago I heard a woman telling about one time when she was standing in a checkout line. She was quietly thinking of some blessing in her life and the word, “Jesus” slipped from her lips. The cashier quickly asked, “What’s the matter?” Isn’t that sad that she automatically thought this woman was cursing? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if enough people would say a word of praise out loud that those hearing us would automatically think we are praying instead of cursing? Stay connected with God through prayer. Talk to him as you would a friend, a teacher, or a parent. Pray for others. Make a list if you need to. Pray for yourself, your family, your friends, your coworkers, the pastor, the teachers, the police, the firemen, the politicians and people in power locally, nationally and world wide.

Stay connected with Godly people. “Not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” ^{Heb 10:25} Remember that we are separate from the world, it is not our home, we are only passing through it. And the journey is easier with fellow travelers. We have been commanded to love one another as Jesus loves us.^{John 13:34 & 15:12} It was important enough that the gospel of John records Jesus saying it twice. And it isn’t a suggestion … it is a command. Find a Christian community where you can go to help and be helped, to be counseled and to council. Some days we’re the sheep and some days we are the shepherd.

Okay, here may be the hardest part of all. I said that we are separate from the world however, that does not mean we are not in the world. We need to reach out to those who are still lost, to those who have not heard or have not accepted the good news. Once we are standing on the solid ground of scripture we can lift others out of the muck and mire of this sinful world. Share! By your words, your actions, and deeds show the Christ within you to the world. And look for Christ in others. For example: it is a good thing to help someone in need; however, it is a great thing to do it as though you were doing it for Jesus. “As you have done to the least of these my brothers, you have done it for me.” ^{Mat 25:41} Give, never expecting anything in return.^{Luke 6:34} Deal justly with the widow, the orphan the poor, and the alien in our land? So that we never hear the indictment, “Woe to you shepherd”. Amen.

 

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