The Day of Pentecost
A Special Reflection for the Second Sunday after Pentecost
Seventh Sunday after Pentecost
Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost
Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Twenty-Second Sunday after Pentecost
Twenty-Third Sunday after Pentecost
Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Pentecost
Introduction to the Season of Pentecost
The season of Pentecost reminds us of the coming of the Holy Spirit to dwell in every believer (Acts 2:1). We are the Temple of the Holy 
Spirit where the presence of God dwells (1 Cor 6:19). The same power that raised Christ from the dead lives in us (Rom 8:11)! This same Spirit was with God in the beginning (Gen 1:1, 26) and guides us into all truth (John 16:11). We have received power because we have been filled with the Holy Spirit and we are His witnesses (Acts 1:8).
However, what is this power and indwelling for? Is it to sit on a pew every Sunday? Do we need the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to get up in the morning, to go to work, or eat dinner? Maybe sometimes it can seem that way, but truly the power and indwelling of the Holy Spirit is to equip us to be salt and light, to be ambassadors of God calling all humankind to be reconciled to their heavenly Father (2 Cor 5:20). God does not need us to participate in His plan of redemption of creation; He invites us to join Him in His mission, the Missio Dei. Our behavior does not determine our salvation; our great salvation determines our behavior. Our great forgiveness bears fruit of forgiveness, the unconditional love of God bears fruit of love for all of God's creation, the mercy we have been shown yields mercy fruit.
During this season we will take a journey with some Spirit-filled, empowered ambassadors of Christ that will share with us their insights and reflections. We will be reminded of our participation in the "sacred dance" of the Trinity, how God uses "election and rejection" to speak to us in His word. We will see how God's transformational character changes us, and that God's mission is inclusive, mutual, and empowering. Finally, we will see that God's mission is one of mercy and sacrifice.
Rhonda Garrison Haynes is an ordained minister recently returned from serving seven years on the mission field of Bolivia. In Bolivia, she partnered with nationals to plant churches, train pastors, disciple and baptize new believers, and minister to women formally trapped in prostitution. She is pursuing her PhD degree in Intercultural Studies at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.
The First Sunday After Pentecost
Trinity Sunday
Suggested Hymn-- Lord of the Dance
Exegetical Missional Insights
Today being Trinity Sunday, we are invited to explore the following lectionary passages for what they can teach us about the nature of the Trinity and what this means for our calling as Christians.
Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31
In the 8th chapter of Proverbs, we find Wisdom (Sophia) personified as a female who was created by God at the beginning. Theologians have long debated who she is in relation to the Trinity. Is she to be understood as the Holy Spirit? Christ in feminine form? An attribute of God? John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, did not reach a clear conclusion, writing that "some understand it of the Divine wisdom; others of the second person in the Godhead... Possibly both may be joined together, and the chapter may be understood of Christ."1
Instead of folding ourselves into theological knots over this poetic metaphor, I suggest we focus today on one of the ways in which this passage can guide Christian praxis. For me, the most compelling of these is the image of Wisdom as a woman standing in the busy crossroads at the main gate of town boldly calling out to all who pass by words of warning, guidance, joy, and delight.
Romans 5:1-5
The opening of the 5th chapter of Romans is often used to preach on the doctrine of the Trinity because here Paul writes about the connection between God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. "We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (vs 1) and "God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us." (vs 5)
These verses not only speak of the relationship between the three persons of the Trinity but to our place in this interaction. Through Christ, we have received access to grace and peace with God such that even amidst our suffering we can speak boldly of our hope -not a flimsy hope, but a hope solidified by the virtues formed through our endurance. We know this hope to not be vain, for God already poured God's love in our hearts through the act of giving us the Holy Spirit.
John 16:12-15
In John 16 we again find a discussion of the interplay between God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit and our place in this relationship. Christ tells his disciples that there is much more he wants them to know, but they are not yet ready to handle those truths. This does not mean that Christ's followers will never be ready to hear them, though. Instead, the Spirit of Truth will guide them to deeper and fuller understanding.
God's Mission in the Text
By juxtaposing these three passages, we see not only conversations about the three persons of the Trinity; we see a picture of the nature of wisdom and what God wants for us. God's desire for us to grow in wisdom and love-to become fully reconciled to the Divine-is at the heart of God's agenda for humanity.
The Good News does not end with the announcement of forgiveness-of our justification through Christ. That is only part of God's plan. The Divine Trinity is offering us even more; more Love, more Truth, more Hope and more reasons to rejoice. The Holy Spirit-the spirit of Truth and Wisdom-has been given to us so that we continue to grow in love and understanding. As the passage in Proverbs shows us, Wisdom is not to be fearfully or jealously guarded in secret. She stands at the busy crossroads and proclaims truths to all who will listen. While she does speak words of warning concerning arrogance and evil behavior, Wisdom also describes God as adoring the inhabited world and delighting in humanity (vs 31).
Missional Connections for Our Context
Many pastors dread writing sermons for Trinity Sunday. Fearing that they will either fall into a theological heresy in their attempts to explain the doctrine of the Trinity2 or simply fail to help their congregants see why such a doctrine matters, they can be tempted to avoid the topic altogether in their preaching. This is a great loss for all, for instead of dancing around the topic, we could choose to celebrate that we have been invited to participate in what has been described as the Divine Dance.
Trinity Sunday is a perfect day to affirm and celebrate the sacredness of relationships-our relationship with God and our relationship with all of God's beloved children. It was not until I went to seminary that I was introduced to the beautiful word perichoresis and began to view the Trinity not as a paradoxical logic puzzle but as a wonderous interaction-an interweaving and swirling dance of delight between the totality of God-a dance that we through Christ have been invited to join. This is a metaphor that can speak to and inspire our congregations. We are being called by the Holy Trinity not so much to do but to be in relationship and to rejoice in it. Yes, suffering is real. Injustice and evil are real forces that must be called out. But there is more to life than this. There is love and laughter and hope born from the pure joy of being with one another.
The metaphor of being in relationship as a dance allows us to think about different kinds of sacred dances and the music that accompanies them-there are dances to express gratitude, lament, and liberation. There are even comedic group pantomimes sung around campfires that can bring much-needed stress release. Dancing with others is a different experience from dancing alone. Think about including in your sermon observations from your own life about the experience of dancing with others or interview a dancer in your community for additional words of wisdom. This is a perfect time to invite your congregation to reflect on the way in which they have (or haven't) been dancing with the Lord lately and ask God to reveal to them what dances they could do with other persons in their community/neighborhood.
Biographical Summary
Taylor Denyer is a missiologist, global nomad, and pastor in The United Methodist Church. She serves as the president of Friendly Planet Missiology.
1 John Wesley. Wesley's Notes on the Bible. Christian Classics Ethereal Library http://www.ccel.org/ccel/wesley/notes.ii.xxi.ix.ii.html
2 John Wesley. Wesley's Notes on the Bible. Christian Classics Ethereal Library http://www.ccel.org/ccel/wesley/notes.ii.xxi.ix.ii.html
s. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQLfgaUoQCw
[imagine source: http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/diglib-viewimage.pl?SID=20190110362793547&code=act&RC=56538&Row=&code=act&return=act]
Second Sunday after Pentecost
June 23, 2019
1 Kings 19:1-4, (5-7), 8-15a
Galatians 3:23-29
Luke 8:26-39
Exegetical Missional Insights
1 Kings 19:1-4, (5-7), 8-15a
Despite the pressures and fears swirling around the Lord's prophet, the story is not ultimately about Elijah himself. Yes, his litany of hardships (rivaled only by the résumé of the apostle Paul) is difficult to overlook: Elijah has been zealous for the Lord while the people have abandoned God's covenant, torn down God's altars, and killed God's prophets. Their behavior amounted to a complete denial of Israel's identity as the people of God. Elijah, the designated survivor, has endured but it's just a matter of time before they come for him. Jezebel herself has sworn to end Elijah's life (19:1). It's hard to blame Elijah for wanting to die beforehand, not wanting to give Jezebel the pleasure. So, he lies down and asks God to make it all go away.
God's response is fascinating. First an angel rouses Elijah from his sleep, providing sustenance to keep going, not once but twice-and this food and drink sustains him for forty days and nights. That number is our first clue that Elijah may still have work to do. It is, after all, the time span the biblical writers use to tell us that the future holds purpose. That possibility is confirmed when God tells Elijah to go to Mt. Horeb-the mountain of the Lord where God's promises and law and love for the people had been proclaimed (v. 11). In this holy place, the Lord's asks: "what are you doing here, Elijah?" Elijah finally unloads his troubles on the Lord (v. 14). Right when a well-placed word of comfort might be expected, instead God self-reveals in the "sound of sheer silence." After this, God asks Elijah a second time: "what are you doing here, Elijah?" Elijah repeats his litany of woes, but God does not repeat the display of wind, earthquake, and fire; this time, God prescribes a new commission: "Go, return on your way..."
Gal 3:23-29
Like Elijah, the Galatians are harried and harassed by outsiders. In their case, however, it seems to be Jewish "missionaries" who are trying to get these Gentile Galatians to become Jewish as a condition for living out their Christian life. Paul's letter is an impassioned response to this crisis of faith among them. His anger and reassurance-in that order-are intended to get the Galatians to realize what is at stake. The Jewish law, which outsiders are attempting to force on these Galatian Christians, had its place (vv. 23-24), but the distinctions upon which that law operated (Jew/Gentile, slave/free, male/female) are no longer operative. Unity in Christ-by the gift(s) of the Spirit-trumps distinctions by law.
To be clear, Paul does not contradict himself elsewhere when he seems to accept the basic existence of things like slavery (cf. Philemon) or gender inequities (cf. Eph 5:22-28). In Gal 3:26-29 (cf. Col 3:11), he establishes the thick, foundational claim that in Christ these distinctions do not have ultimate significance. They are not the basis for salvation, as they tended to be in the Roman Empire, for example. Whether one was born citizen or alien, slave or free, male or female, went a long way toward determining one's fate. To be baptized, on the other hand-to be re-born in Christ-meant freedom from the determinative power of such distinctions. To be truly free is to become Christ's servant.
Luke 8:26-39
The story of the Gerasene demoniac takes the story of Jesus through Gentile country. If we did not know first-century geography, Luke gives us contextual clues: the man roams around naked, lives among the tombs in the vicinity of a pig farm and gives his name (or the name of the demons possessing him) as "legion"-a Roman military classification. The story, in other words, is thoroughly non-Jewish in its details. At the end of the story, we are told that "all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them; for they were seized with great fear" (8:37). The Gentile residents in the area do not want whatever this wandering miracle worker has to offer, especially if it is more powerful than whatever had driven the demoniac mad. In this respect, the passage parallels other "rejection" passages in Luke. Most well-known, perhaps, is Luke 4:25-30, when Jesus' home synagogue attempts to throw him off a cliff, presumably because he interpreted their unbelief as confirmation of God's favor toward Gentiles as well. In addition to rejection by fellow Jews, elsewhere Jesus finds little acceptance among Samaritans (9:52-55). In their own way, each story of rejection (by Jews, Gentiles, and Samaritans) follows from Jesus' ministry of outreach to people those groups disdained. Everyone is fine with Jesus until he includes in his saving purposes those other people over there.
God's Mission in the Text
There are several motifs that tie the three lectionary texts together-the loneliness of those singled out for God's purposes, the military-like battle waged between the way of God and those who oppose it, various interpretations of what it means to be free. But the motifs are not unrelated to one another, so it may be best to handle at least two of them together. Two with special significance for thinking about God's mission are: God's election and the experience of rejection. The two themes, moreover, may resonate in the season of Pentecost, when the gift of the Spirit both singles God's servants out for witness (Acts 1:8) and puts them, inevitably, on trial (Acts 3-7, 22-28).
Elijah got to glimpse-or hear, rather-God in person. But this revelation came in the midst of Elijah's great suffering and anxiety. And it was no idle revelation, but the basis for Elijah's new commission. God used rejection as a way to confirm Elijah's election (cf. 1 Peter 1:1-7), but election is never a thing in and of itself, but the basis for a vocation.
The Galatians had a target on their back for other reasons. Like all Christians, they were vulnerable to voices telling them that Christian faithfulness required "Jesus plus"-that is, Jesus was insufficient in and of himself. The law (circumcision, purity rituals, legal observance) was needed, so these voices said. But the freedom in Christ to which Paul called his Gentile Galatian believers meant liberation from this remarkably persuasive view. To accept the law (and its necessary category distinctions) in addition to Christ was tantamount to slavery, according to Paul. The only servitude that, paradoxically, offers true freedom is obedience to Christ by the Spirit. The elect are baptized into Christ-and not into Christ plus this or into Christ plus that.
Luke's story of the Gerasene demoniac shows how Jesus, who had at his disposal the very "finger of God" (Luke 11:20), could rebuke a legion of demons. But, as God's chosen one (Luke 9:35), Jesus' exercise of mercy and release was met so often with fear (Luke 8:37) or outright rejection (23:35). The cross stands as the definitive confluence of election and rejection, characteristics of a life patterned after Jesus' own faithful obedience.
Missional Connections for Our Context
It is remarkably easy for Christian leaders and churches to avoid a missional vocation by appealing to any number of more pressing issues-after we get the budget in order, after we fully train leaders, after we've done a survey of the community's needs. Missional activity can always be postponed because of present hardships or circumstances. But, as with Elijah, God refuses those excuses by providing hard-pressed prophets with sustenance and by revealing himself in the midst of hardship. Sometimes the experience of rejection itself can provide the circumstances in which God is most recognizable. Ask the apostles (Acts 3-5), ask Stephen (Acts 6-8), or ask Paul (Acts 9-28; 2 Cor 4-5). Are there places in your communities where rejection could be a potential site of fruitfulness in God's hands?
Had the reaction of God to Elijah's troubles been narrated in 21st century terms, it might have been to tell Elijah that he is a good prophet, that sometimes bad things happen, that grieving together is the first step to true healing. But as the text stands, to the question of "can this get any worse?" the answer seems to be "well, how big is your God?" At those moments when events, as tragic as they are, are most in danger of becoming all about us, it is really all about God. Moreover, God promises to meet us in the carrying out of our (Pentecost-al) commission, not (simply) in the cavernous places we hide from the world.
Or, written today, Paul's letter to the Galatians might have insisted that it didn't really matter whether the Galatians followed the "Judaizing" teachers among them. As long as they believed something, that was probably good enough. But Paul says that much more is stake. In a season in which we celebrate the gift of the Spirit (Pentecost), a return to the elemental distinctions of the Law would be to act as if the Spirit had never come (Acts 2). But the Spirit makes all the difference, since it is the liberating presence of Jesus himself (Acts 2:17-21; 16:8). Pentecost, for Jews of Jesus' day, was a festival celebrating the gift of the Law. That this was the day on which God poured out the Holy Spirit was surely no accident, but an event signifying that the covenant was newly written on the inside of believers, so to speak. The Spirit of the Lord Jesus now cleansed both Jewish and Gentile hearts by faith (Acts 15:11).
Or, written today, Luke 8:26-39 might have talked about how Jesus ingratiated himself with the local Gentiles by giving the Gerasene demoniac a fish-or, better yet, teaching him how to fish, as the saying goes. Had he done that, Jesus and his NGO of apostles maybe wouldn't have been kicked out of the Decapolis. But Jesus, engaging a (literally) demonized man with every conceivable stigma attached to him, overpowers the forces oppressing him. As a result, Jesus himself becomes stigmatized, rejected once again by a community fearful of the wideness of God's mercy. It is ironic that the demons immediately recognize Jesus, while the villagers only close their hands and hearts. Sometimes the very goodness of the deed-while it confirms Jesus' identity as God's Chosen one-is the reason for rejection.
The twin motifs of election and rejection are captured well in lines from Wesley's Covenant Prayer, a fitting word for the season of Pentecost: "I am no longer my own, but thine. Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt. Put me to doing, put me to suffering. Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee, exalted for thee or brought low for thee. Let me be full, let me be empty. Let me have all things, let me have nothing. I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal."
Biographical Summary
Colin H. Yuckman is an ordained Teaching Elder of the Presbyterian Church (USA). He formerly served as Pastor/Head of Staff of a church in Western Pennsylvania. Currently, he is completing his doctoral dissertation in New Testament and Mission Theology at Duke Divinity School, Durham, NC.
UNDER THE BUSH: DISMAY AND HOPE
A Special Reflection for the Second Sunday after Pentecost
1 Kings 19:1-4, (5-7), 8-15a
Galatians 3:23-29
Luke 8:26-39
Last Fall, a phone call came in the early evening. I detected a slight sadness in my friend's voice on the other end of the line. In a most unexpected way, the air in my living room froze and I felt out of breath. My aunt Wendy had passed away during a trip to Paris. How could this be? Hers was the most vibrant life I know. We had just been chatting over texts when I was doing research in Boston. She even joked about finding me a husband whose last name starts with "Z" so she would walk before me when we would graduate and receive our doctoral degrees together. She had been very disappointed when I told her I would keep my last name. All my memories with aunt Wendy rushed back to my head and I kept playing the scenes. That day I sobbed for a long time; I knew many of her family and friends did the same.
When the death of a beloved one takes place in our lives, whether sudden or gradual, regardless of the age of the person, we all are impacted to different degrees and durations of grief. We experience the sting of death, the most excruciating emotional, even physical pain. Somehow, it feels like an ocean wave knocks us off the board, and we desperately crave for air. On a personal and communal level, it could be a miscarriage, fighting an illness, a betrayal by a spouse, or the failing of an important exam, or the loss of a dream job. On a social level, the causes of our suffering could be political tension, regional war, separation of families, medical injustice, or economic exploitation. Many times we suffer when we see our loved ones suffer. The pain may not be any less when we shed tears for people we have not even met, also pets and other creatures. Somehow, we find ourselves being moved.
Our first reading of 1 Kings 19 situates us in the context of the Northern Kingdom in Israelite history. Elijah faced his own life and death situation. As a prophet, he had confronted the dynastic power of the Omri and conducted multiple miracles. He was fulfilling God's calling for him with a full-blown passion, but all his fellow prophets had been killed (18: 4; 13). He then courageously challenged four hundred fifty prophets of Baal and demonstrated that Yahweh, the LORD, was the only one who provides life-giving water.
The story took a dramatic change; instead of a glorious victory, Elijah received a death threat from Jezebel. He ran for his life to the wilderness, a whole day's journey. Then we read that Elijah cried out to God, "It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life..." (19: 4). Interestingly, we find him falling asleep under a broom tree. Instead of arguing with Elijah and reassuring his life calling and ministry as a prophet, God took a rather different approach. The LORD sent a messenger to provide bread and water for him. The second time the messenger came, we even find comforting words such as, "Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you." Elijah then walked forty days and forty nights. At Mount Horeb (Sinai), he encountered not an answer, but a question from the LORD. At this point, Elijah was stripped of everything he had. He had been abandoned by the children of Israel. He had witnessed the LORD's altar being wrecked. He had agonized over all the other prophets' violent deaths. Nothing was left except his own life, which seemed to be pointless at the moment.
Another surprising turn of the story was how the LORD dealt with all the pains and sorrows Elijah was experiencing (1 Kings 19: 11). When the LORD passed by, Elijah looked to the mighty wind, but the LORD was not in the wind. Elijah looked to the terrifying earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. Elijah looked to the strong fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. Instead, it was qol demama daqqa (Hebrew, sound of sheer silence). It was the exact question that Elijah had heard in verse 9, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" Elijah's answer was exactly the same as in verse 10 and verse 14. Then, the LORD gave instructions to Elijah. Although the LORD was not in the mighty wind, terrifying earthquake, or the strong fire, He used these elements to get Elijah's full attention.
Mount Sinai was the same place where the Israelites encountered Yahweh in the third month when they left Egypt (Exodus 19). Thunder, lightning, a thick cloud and smoke, and an increasingly loud trumpet sound set the stage for the divine meeting between the Holy one and the trembling people. Yahweh descended on Mount Sinai in fire. Yahweh gave Moses the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20) and called the people of Israel to enter into a covenantal relationship with Him alone. We may recall another extraordinary parallel story in Genesis 21 when Abraham and Sarah sent Hagar and Ishmael away. In the hot desert, Hagar and Ishmael ran out of water. Hagar laid down her son under a bush when all her hopes had died. God heard Ishmael's crying and opened Hagar's eyes to a well of water. In the most desperate circumstance, God provided life-giving water and even promised to make Ishmael a great nation.
Turning to the New Testament, at the Transfiguration (Matthew 17: 1-13), Jesus took Peter, James, and John to a high mountain. There, Jesus transfigured in front of them. Moses and Elijah were talking with Jesus. Both Moses and Elijah had heard from God on Mount Sinai in two previous historical periods. Like the trembling Israelites, Jesus' disciples also felt fear when they experienced the revelation of God. The Messianic expectation of the Jewish people at the time was for Elijah to return and to make things right. In a way, Moses and Elijah foreshadowed the role of Jesus. Through Moses, Yahweh gave the Ten Commandments to the Israelites; through Elijah, Yahweh challenged king Ahab's abuse of power in spirituality, politics, and land ownership; through Jesus, God gave Himself to us. Through the Incarnation, God entered into the world He had made! Moses had seen the burning bush which indicated the holiness of Yahweh; Elijah had surrendered his life and prophetic office under the bush; and Jesus, the true Messiah, gave his life on a different kind of tree, the Cross. As Jesus was dying on the cross, darkness came over the land. When Jesus cried out, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani [my God, my God, why have you abandoned me]?" (Matthew 27: 45-46), people misunderstood and mocked him for crying for help from Elijah. When Jesus gave up his spirit, the temple curtain was torn from top to bottom, the earth shook and rocks split, tombs broke open, and holy people resurrected and appeared to many people, including women (Matthew 27: 51-56). Jesus rose from death and commissioned his followers to go and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28: 19).
In our Gospel reading of this week, we read the story of Jesus subduing the demonic legion in Luke 8: 26-39. A legion is roughly about five thousand troops. The demon-possessed man had to live among the tombs. Jesus healed the man by driving out these spirits. He sent this new disciple to tell others how much God had done for him. In our second reading, Galatians 3: 23-29, we are reminded that we have become heirs to the Kingdom of God. We have inherited the promise God gave to Abraham and Sarah. More importantly, we are the children of the Creator, regardless of class, gender, ethnicities, and economic differences and distinctions. Jesus became the second Tree of life, from which flows the water of life that nourishes us, revives us, cleanses us, and enables us to hope, to thrive, to confront evil, and to love.
Hope may present to us in different forms. It could be hiking in the woods where we could clear our minds; it could be chiseling a sculpture while contemplating on God's goodness; it could be seeing a beautiful flower blossoming and whispering beauty into our ears; and it maybe your rambunctious cat galloping through the house like a heavy horse. In an unexplainable way, our souls are comforted and lifted.
God does not despise our pain, questions, or even doubts. He makes room for us in a place where we can pour out ourselves and where we can hold discussions or even debates with Him. On the road of following Christ, God does not promise a painless ride, but He gives Himself to us. He calls us to enter into a deeper place, where we lament together, not just for ourselves, but for our local, regional, or global sufferings. It is in long-suffering that we know what holy love means. When we find ourselves being exhausted, ready to lay down everything under the bush like the prophet Elijah, God points us to the cross. He always provides small doses of hope, sufficient for us to be refreshed. He then gives us more hope, enough for the journey ahead of us.
Coming back to my aunt Wendy. In honor of her memory and her contribution to Indigenous theological efforts, our school invited her husband to attend her posthumous graduation. They held a special ceremony and shared her research. A few close friends gathered with her husband and shared stories over meals; we cried and laughed. We are all grateful for the memories she has gifted to us, like the sweetgrass aroma, a precious life well-lived finding a mysterious new beginning. The best of all, God never abandons us. It is with our Creator that we walk on this journey, lamenting and rejoicing in this world.
Biographical Summary
Susangeline Patrick. Adjunct Professor in History of Christianity, NAIITS.
Third Sunday after Pentecost
June 30, 2019
2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14
Luke 9:51-62
Galatians 5:1, 13-25
Exegetical Missional Insights
All three passages highlight in some way the transformational character of God's presence in human lives. There is a lot of imagery and symbolism in all three passages.
2 Kings 2 narrates the passage of leadership from one generation to the next. The transfer of leadership from Elijah to Elisha is reminiscent of that from Moses to Joshua and even of what we can sense in Paul's second letter to Timothy. The theme of loyalty is a common thread to these stories. In the Elijah to Elisha transition, there are obvious signs of tension and anxiety. Elisha asks for something specific in that transition and, in doing so, gives us a glimpse into the relationship between that older prophet and his younger protégé.
Luke 9 describes a teaching moment in Jesus' ministry. Is He using some hyperbole to press home what discipleship really means? Perhaps so, but there's no mistaking the idea that following Jesus will have its costs.
Galatians is a letter about contrasts and chapter 5 is no exception. Galatians 5 is in the "so what?" section of Paul' letter against distortions of the gospel being promoted by Judaizers insisting on conformity to Jewish culture. Being a Jesus-follower is clearly more than claiming one can be a Christian without slavishly following Jewish practices and customs.
Did Paul have Plato and Aristotle in mind as he was writing to the churches in Galatia? Those two Greek philosophers had differing ideas about how people acquire virtue. Aristotle had the idea that virtue results from habit patterns, i.e., do good things enough times and eventually you'll become good. Plato thought virtues were acquired by right learning. From there comes the idea that enough education will eliminate racism, poverty, human trafficking, bullying and other social evils. In his letter to the churches in Galatia, Paul argues that virtue is the fruit of something other than repetition or education.
From time to time Paul uses military imagery in his letters. Galatians is no exception as verse 25 of Galatians 5 evokes the image of people marching in line military-style.
The variety of graces, behavior and character traits listed in Galatians 5 is spoken of as one fruit, the fruit of the Spirit. This holistic language is different from what is employed in Ephesians 4, Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12 when Paul speaks of a plurality of spiritual gifts which are distributed separately. This fruit of the spirit with all its characteristics is available to all Christ-followers. The metaphor of fruit in Galatians 5 is reminiscent of what Jesus had to say about the vine and branches. We're the branches and we cannot bear fruit if we're not connected to the vine.
God's Mission in the Text
The Elijah/Elisha narrative describes God intervening in human history in a specific way at a specific time and place. Wind and fire are oft-used symbols in Scripture. The mighty acts God had performed through Elijah will continue to be performed through Elisha. This is far more than deism in which a Creator creates but then sits back to watch without involving Himself in any way.
Jesus' words in the Luke passage say this "Way" as it is called in Acts 9:2 is something serious. Clearly, being a Jesus-follower has to be more than a capricious lark or a passing fancy. Jesus' words in Luke 9 as well as those of Paul in Galatians 5 signal something radically unusual about Jesus-followers. Neither of those passages are about dividing people into categories of church-goers and non-church-goers. Instead, the categories are those who allow the Holy Spirit to bear fruit through them and those who do not.
In our very culturally diverse world, Galatians 5 helps us see the core characteristics of authentic Christ-followers. Being filled with the Spirit of Jesus means more than being a "nice" person (however "nice" may be defined in any culture).
In Galatians, life in Christ is life lived far beyond demands of the law. This starkly contrasts with the bloody self-flagellations in some Holy Week celebrations around the world in which people seem determined to gain God's forgiveness by inflicting pain on themselves.
The Christian life is not simply radical obedience to a particular set of lifestyle rules or guidelines. Paul calls us to produce or bear the "fruit of the Spirit." There is no way we can educate or discipline ourselves into the "pure heart" condition Jesus mentioned in the Beatitudes and which is unpacked here in Galatians 5. Bearing the fruit of the Spirit requires God's transformative presence.
The Spirit, not the law, produces fruit (the same Spirit who will make us witnesses in all the world). The contrast between what Paul said and what the Judaizers were saying seems reflected in the use of "works" for behavior not of God and "fruit" for the outcome of the Spirit's work in us.
Missional Connections for Our Context
All three passages invite us to be willing to let go of some things in the past and move into uncharted waters.
Believers must not be content to simply follow a moral code in which they do the right things and avoid the wrong things, as for instance our Buddhist friends might say. From Luke 9, the idea comes through clearly that we Christocentric kingdom members are aliens, nomads and pilgrims on earth. Jesus words about discipleship call us to embrace a lifestyle evocative of the "road not taken" of poet Robert Frost.
Can Galatians help us see that, in every culture, there are radical inner differences between those who are in Christ and those who are not? Obviously, fruit can be cultivated. In so doing, however, one must not think that righteousness stems from our own works. The fruit of Galatians 5 is the fruit of the Spirit. There is freedom in this, but Paul reminds us it's not freedom to practice self-indulgence which is in itself a form of slavery.
Life to be lived in the Spirit is not simply about trying harder or doing more. It is allowing the Spirit to produce His fruit in us. The inward goodness spoken of in Galatians 5 is a fruit reflecting God. To be sure, that fruit can be cultivated. But it cannot be produced by us alone. The authentic fruit of the Spirit is not a righteousness of works.
In 1937, German pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote a book titled Cost of Discipleship. That same year, the Nazis were opening some of their infamous concentration camps and Martin Niemöller, a pastoral colleague of Bonhoeffer, was arrested. Later Bonhoeffer himself would be arrested and eventually executed. One of the most memorable lines in that book is "When God calls a man, he bids him come and die." That kind of costly discipleship is included in the radical transformation which these three texts ask us to consider.
Biographical Summary
Dr. Howard Culbertson is missiology professor emeritus at Southern Nazarene University. Prior to his 25 years at SNU, he and his wife were missionaries to Italy (10 years) and Haiti (5 years).
Fourth Sunday after Pentecost
July 7, 2019
2 Kings 5:1-14
Galatians 6: (1-6), 7-16
Luke 10:1-11, 16-20
Exegetical Missional Insights
2 Kings 5:1-14
Naaman was a powerful foreigner and the commander in the army of the King of Aram (Israel's enemy) who had leprosy. Although leprosy is typically a cause of marginalization and alienation, there is no indication that Naaman experienced either as a result of this condition, but he does want to be rid of it. Of all people, a young unnamed slave girl, who was taken captive from the land of Israel as a spoil of battle, raises the issue of his healing. The King of Aram and the King of Israel, both powerful men, defer their roles in his healing. Elisha the prophet offers to help Naaman and tells him to wash in the Jordan seven times. Naaman angrily questions why Elisha didn't call on God and heal him with the wave of a hand. At the urging of his servants, Naaman listens to Elisha, his flesh is restored, and he is made clean. The text brings into focus the value of marginalized voices, contrasts various examples of power and demonstrates the interconnectedness of our lives. It is not merely a story about Naaman's healing but about how people who are named and unnamed, powerful and powerless, play a role in God's mission to bring healing to Naaman.
Galatians 6: (1-6), 7-16
We are urged by our brother, the Apostle Paul, to receive the gift of new life in Jesus. Gentleness, humility and loving our neighbors as ourselves are all indicators of this new life. Distinct from carrying our own load, this text calls us to bear one another's burdens and in doing so, the law of Christ is fulfilled (v. 2). Followers of Christ are called to live by the Spirit and mutually care for one another. It is not an easy way to live but it is the new life to which God calls his people. Mutuality helps to eliminate the barriers, labels and realities that may cause separation. There is neither (circumcised and uncircumcised) Jew nor Gentile, slave nor free, male nor female, all are one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28). New life in Christ is marked by one another's interdependence and dependence on God.
Luke 10: 1-11, 16-20
In Luke 10, Jesus appoints, calls, and sends out the Seventy. Jesus carefully laid out how they were to go and what they were to do on mission with him especially after he is no longer with them. They were to receive hospitality offered to them and eat what is set before them. In addition, they were to cure in his name those who were sick and proclaim the Kingdom of God "has come near". Communion, partnership, and collaboration mark the mission of God. Humanity's participation in the mission of God is led and empowered by the Spirit of God. God is the one who invites, calls, sends, and gives authority.
God's Mission in the Text
These texts emphasize three aspects of God's mission:
1. Every voice counts, every life matters.
In God's economy, there are no barriers nor boundaries for who is valued and utilized in His mission. God calls and uses even those deemed voiceless and invisible in society. Whether a young unnamed captive female (viewed as property), servants, a king, a prophet, uncircumcised, circumcised, followers of Jesus, all have value and voice. God makes room for each person to play a role in his mission and one other's healing and wholeness. God's mission is revealed not only in what he does but also in who (powerful and powerless, named and nameless) He notices and enlists in His mission.
2. Mutuality, peace seeking and hospitality are signs of the Kingdom of God.
Naaman's story demonstrates how healing is a joint effort. Paul reminds humanity that all are called to help one other in the journey. Jesus calls people into communal mission and life. Humanity's wholeness is interwoven and interdependent. In bearing one another's burdens and receiving of hospitality, interconnectedness, mutuality, and reciprocity are embodied. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit model this in their being and activity. This way of living calls for shared peace instead of individualism. Do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God (Micah 6:8). Community and shared life mark the way and mission of God, Missio Dei. In loving one another, loving neighbors as ourselves and seeking one another's peace, the law of Christ is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God comes near.
3. God calls and empowers.
God invites humans to speak and live the Good News of Jesus with one another as ministers of his hope, peace, reconciliation, healing, and restoration. God called and empowered the young captive girl, the prophet Elisha, the kings, Naaman's servants and the Seventy just as he calls us today. It is His spirit that provides authority and calls the follower of Christ into mission.
Missional Connections for Our Context
The Good News of Jesus is not only about eternal life to come but the abundant life for humanity now (John 10:10). What are the expectations, even demands that we make of God in regards to our abundance, healing and wholeness? Are we open to the ways God might heal us? Is our own healing the only concern we have? How is our healing connected to our neighbor's healing? How do we seek the well-being of our neighbors and the land we live in addition to our own? God intended for our shalom to be interwoven with one other (neighbors and even enemies) and place. Do we believe this and yet live in a way that doesn't reflect that belief? In Jeremiah 29, God exiles the people of God to live among their enemies and to seek his peace there. We need each other. This is the mission of God. It is the upside-down kingdom. How can we live, act, engage in a way that reflects the truth that one another's peace, well-being, and healing are interdependent and that each person has a role to play? This kind of living, sowing hope, seeking healing, and wholeness in the land with our neighbors, are signs of the Kingdom of God.
St. Teresa of Avila speaks of God's invitation into mission:
Christ has no body on earth but yours; no hands but yours; no feet but yours.
Yours are the eyes through which the compassion of Christ looks out to the world.
Yours are the feet with which he is to go about doing good.
Yours are the hands with which he is to bless others now.
Biographical Summary
Mary Glenn, D.Min., is an Affiliate Assistant Professor of Intercultural Studies (Urban Studies) at Fuller Theological Seminary. She regularly leads urban immersions and city walks in her home city of Los Angeles. She has served as a law enforcement chaplain since 2001 and is a police chaplain trainer and an ordained pastor.
Fifth Sunday after Pentecost
July 14, 2019
Amos 7:7-17
Colossians 1:1-14
Luke 10:25-37
Exegetical Missional Insights
The background of the message of Amos, like the other Old Testament prophets, is God's universal plan of salvation for all nations and the mission of God's particular people. Israel was to mediate God's righteousness and glory to the nations by living righteously and worshiping the Lord alone.
The history of Israel, however, demonstrates that this was often far from reality. Israel's unfaithfulness was evidenced by its blatant idolatry and their mistreatment of different groups. Religious purity could not be found among the people. Nonetheless, God had not given up on his people and his plan of salvation. Prophets, God's spokespersons, had the difficult task to communicate God's Word, including warnings and exhortations, in contextualized ways for the best comprehension.
The oracles to the nations in the book of Amos give an international dimension to his message and mission. This is the third vision of Amos (7:7-17). The prophet employs the image of a plumb line to communicate the need for Israel to meet God's specifications for their fidelity and witness. He announces that the Lord would check the wall and announce his approval or not. Because Israel was guilty of injustice toward the innocent, the poor, and the young women, this was a message of repentance in the face of judgment. Failure would bring captivity and destruction.
Several centuries later, the letter to the Colossians also gives insight into the relationship between God and his people (the church), and its relationship to God's universal missional purposes. Ephesus was probably Paul's center of operations in the region. Since Epaphras was from Colossae, he most likely had the task of evangelizing his own people. Among other dynamics, however, Christians faced some tension in their relationship with the Jewish community, who regarded their own Jewish religious practices as superior.
As Paul introduces his letter, he has thanksgiving and prayer in mind. The purpose of his prayer is that they "may live a life worthy of the Lord" (Cl 1:10). This is a prayer for spiritual growth, transformation, and mission. In order to describe that dynamic, Paul then resorts to a contextual imagery-a gardening illustration for the new plant of the gospel.
This metaphor is introduced in verse 6, "All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God's grace in all its truth." It is later revisited in verses 10 and 11 with mentions to "bearing fruit," "growing," and "being strengthened" as Paul highlights that the word of the gospel bears fruit and grows. The term "growing" has both individual and collective dimensions since being employed by Paul in verse 6 in reference to the spread of the gospel around the world. Those who have the knowledge of God's will also have the power to persevere and to experience joyful thanksgiving (v. 11).
Different from the typical Jewish emphasis in their context, the knowledge of God (v. 9, 10) is the root of a righteous life and the test of this conduct is what it produces. Fruitful living is totally dependent on God's grace, which qualifies one for the entrance into the kingdom of the Son (v. 13-14). Ultimately, Paul seems to connect his audience the God's original command in creation to "be fruitful and multiply" (Gen 1:28).
As one ponders upon the theme of a righteous life, it is impossible to forget probably Jesus' best-known parable-the parable of the Good Samaritan (Lk 10:25-37). Jesus teaches that the essence of God's law is mercy, which cannot be a theoretical concept. "Do this and you will live, go and do like-wise" (v. 28, 37), instructed Jesus to the expert in the law twice. In the parable, the priest and the Levite, who claimed to be in accordance with God's will, clearly did not do it.
God's Mission in the Text
God has never given up his universal purpose of salvation and restoration. To Amos, being faithful to his covenant with Israel, he said "Go, prophesy to my people Israel" (7:15). His message was critical of religious traditions and structures that are disconnected from practical ethical living. It also included the unpopular teaching on judgement and coming destruction, however, with an emphasis on the end result as hope and restoration for all humanity and assurance of God's love and sovereignty.
According to God's sovereignty and a last resort to a people that kept falling short and insisting on disobeying, He allowed the people of Israel to be taken captive. He turned that captivity into partial fulfillment of His missionary plans as a blessing to all nations.
Following Israel's failure, Jesus became the neighbor to all humanity-the standard of mercy to everyone. He himself left his glory in heaven to come rescue his creation without distinction of age, race, gender, color, or social status. He considered everyone property of God.
He challenged the cold formality of institutional religion in his day and rescued the original meaning of God's law. "Christ illustrates the nature of true religion. He shows that it consists not in systems, creeds, or rites, but in the performance of loving deeds, in bringing the greatest good to others, in genuine goodness" (Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 497).
Before ascending into heaven, Jesus had explicitly manifested his desire for the disciples to continue his mission. Faithful followers of Christ like Paul and Epaphras were God's instruments in planting the gospel in many places. As a result, through the divine power and grace, the knowledge of God and his will grew and bore fruit around the world.
Missional Connections for Our Context
God's will for his children is for them to live a righteous life worthy of the Lord, in fulfilment of his law of love and mercy, and for the witness of his glory to everyone. The law of God is the law of his kingdom. He wants his children to begin experiencing the abundant life now, the reality of his kingdom by following his law. Therefore, "the gospel doesn't just produce a new religious experience for those who might like such a thing. It brings about something much greater: nothing less than new creation."1
Contemporary "Good Samaritans" radically oppose this-worldly values through living testimonies characterized by sacrificial love and mercy. That is only possible when people are able to correctly answer the question "Who is my neighbor?" (Lk 10:29). One cannot ignore the broken and damaged lives that can be found in the streets and neighborhoods of today. Don't engage in categorization and labeling of those around you in order to identify who might be your neighbor. Break down the walls of prejudice and turn yourself into their neighbors no matter who they are. This demands authenticity and coherence in people's spiritual life- a common demand today from church members and leaders by the younger generations.
"Amos knew the history of Israel and the history of the nations around Israel. He knew Israelite politics, society, and religion. He had enough courage to confront those who oppressed the poor, religious leaders such as Amaziah, and greedy landgrabbers and merchants. His strong sense of the Lord's call to prophesy was the enabling force of his ministry (7:15). Such a sense of call has continued to be the authority and motivation for service to the Lord."2
The above paragraph could be easily written about Jesus. Could it be written about you too? Echoing the apostle Paul, one could counsel contemporary followers of Christ: "Grow in the knowledge of God, be strengthened with all power, and bear fruit in every good work."
Biographical Summary
Marcelo E. C. Dias serves as Missiology professor at Brazil Adventist University, São Paulo, Brazil, where he also directs the Center for World Missions. He is an ordained minister of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. He earned his Ph.D. in Religion at Andrews University, Michigan, USA.
1 Tom Wright, Paul for Everyone: The Prison Letters: Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2004), 143.
2 Billy K. Smith and Franklin S. Page, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, vol. 19B, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1995), 28.
ART: https://home.llu.edu/sites/home.llu.edu/files/images/look-17/good-samaritan.jpg
Sixth Sunday after Pentecost
Amos 8:1-14
Luke 10:38-42
Colossians 1:15-28
Exegetical Missional Insights
These texts are tough, certainly when brought together, but even individually. The Amos passage excoriates Israel for its evil business practices and announces impending judgment. The Luke passage is that of Mary at the feet of Jesus while Martha is in the kitchen. The Colossians passage is the majestic hymn telling of the supremacy of Christ. I am not sure I have captured what the Fathers of the church meant to show by tying these together on this Sunday, but will look at them with an eye to God's mission.
Amos 8: 1-14
This passage occurs after Amaziah, priest in the northern city of Bethel, confronted Amos and told him to leave Israel. Amos instead curses Amaziah and his family, and then rings the bell for another round of condemnation of the northern tribes.
He begins with the picture of a basket of summer fruit, suggesting that the time is now ripe, and the end is near. It is near because the Israelites have been cheating each other day in and day out, trampling the poor. Catastrophe is at hand, with land quaking, rivers rising, and dark portents in the heavens. There will be famine, not only of bread and water, but of God's Word.
Luke 10:38-42
The story is well known. Jesus is welcomed to his friend's home, that of Lazarus, Mary and Martha. While Martha bustles about making sure everything is suitable for her guests Mary lies near Jesus, listening.
Colossians 1:15-28
This is one of the great, magnificent odes to Christ. He is-"the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, the one in whom all things hold together, the head of the church, the firstborn of the dead. The fullness of the Father dwells in Him and through Him all things on heaven and earth have been reconciled to God." The mystery of God in Christ has been made known to Paul, and that mystery is the gospel which Paul is compelled to share among the Gentiles.
God's Mission in the Text
Who is the Christ? Is he truly central to our lives? Does Christ impinge on the way we conduct business? This seems as near a way to tie the passages together as I can, without creating a knot.
The Colossians passage is magnificent. Christ is....everything; all good, all creation, all that can reconcile us to God, and a sublime mystery revealed. This mystery must be shared, as Paul says, "Admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ." Every, every, every. Admonish, teach, present. Christ is no local hero. He made the Cosmos, and then changed our relation to it by reconciling us to its' God. No wonder Paul seemed nearly manic in spreading this Word. All things, all men, all of creation are involved. He will do what it takes-admonish, teach, show. There is nothing more amazing than Christ and what He has done. How could anyone keep that to himself?
Mary understood this. The key to the cosmos was in her house; she would not leave him to take up ordinary household chores.
The northern ten tribes got almost nothing of God's grandeur. They held some ceremonies, played some music, and then did as they pleased. No visible sign of God's presence among them. After the dreadful judgment at the hands of the Assyrians they would long to hear the words of the Lord, the very ones they ignored when Amos prophesied. Why? Why would anyone ignore the Word of God, the Key to the Cosmos, Christ?
The cosmos bears the weight and shape of God. Yet the world ignores or denies Him. How is that possible? Why don't people see, and repent? On one hand we have the very contented Mary, who enjoys sitting in the presence of God. On the other hand we have the Israelites, fooling themselves with the notion that their dirty dealing will yield no consequences. But it will. The Word of God is also the Cosmos' judge.
God's Mission in the Text
What would it look like to recognize the Image of the invisible God, the Firstborn of Creation, etc. in our lives? First, we'd pay attention, like Mary. Today, enormous money and energy is spent getting our attention. Every time we go to a website, ads scream at us: "Look at Me!" Letters arrive in the mail: "See the Great Need You Can Solve!" Bosses demand our attention; children crave it. Why not pay most attention to that which is most important? God, whose shadow was all Moses could bear to see, is here. He was, is, and will be here. We can only know Him in fragments, but those fragments are lovely.
Second. We'd treat others as if they were directly related to this ineffable being. What if we thought of those others not as only customers, or parishioners, or prospects, but glorious beings derived from the one God? I doubt we'd cheat one of them. I doubt we'd look down on one of them. I bet we would honor them, regardless of status.
The key to the cosmos is here. And He is also the key to each day of our life.
Biographical Summary
Kent Van Til has a Ph.D. in Moral Theology. He is ordained in the Christian Reformed Church and is a former missionary to Central America.
Sixth Sunday after Pentecost (Revised Common Lectionary)/Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Vatican II Lectionary)
July 21, 2019, Year C
Fifty years ago yesterday, on July 20, 1969, Presbyterian Ruling Elder Buzz Aldrin celebrated the Lord's Supper on the moon. The first food and drink consumed on the moon was the blessed bread and wine from Aldrin's church, Webster Presbyterian, near Houston, TX.
Each year, on the Sunday closest to July 20, Webster Presbyterian holds its Lunar Communion Sunday. This year, many Christian Churches will be joining Webster in spirit. The co-director of the Presbyterian Office of Worship, David Gambrell, has suggested that the name be changed to Cosmic Communion Sunday.
Every Christian who accepts Jesus as Lord and Savior and is baptized is a witness to what Jesus has accomplished on our planet. Aldrin's action reminds us deeply that Jesus is Lord and Savior not only of humans, but of everything animate and inanimate on our planet and its satellite.
The Scripture readings for today, especially St. Paul's Letter to the Colossians, help us appreciate what Aldrin's Church and he did. When St. Paul stuns us by stating that something is missing in the sufferings of Christ, and that he, Paul, fills up what is missing, we begin to appreciate the vital importance of our actions. Presbyterian Biblical scholar William Barclay calls Paul's statement "a daring thought" (The Letters to the Philippians, Colossians and Thessalonians, The Daily Study Bible Series, rev. ed., 1975, p. 126).
St. Paul continues Colossians by explaining that the mystery hidden in ages past is now unfolded, with Jesus at the center. Christ is our hope of glory, and every Christian is called to proclaim that glory. Webster Presbyterian Church went as far as the moon to do it.
What are we and our church doing to proclaim the mystery of Christ, our hope of glory? Most of us will not be astronauts, but Paul makes it clear that every Christian in every age is called to make Christ known to every person and race and culture.
When poet laureate Archibald MacLeish reflected on humans circling the moon, Christmas Eve, 1969, he linked our adventure with humility. His short essay "Riders on Earth Together," concluded with these moving lines: "To see the earth as it truly is, small and blue and beautiful in that eternal silence where it floats, is to see ourselves as riders on the earth together, brothers on that bright loveliness in the eternal cold--brothers who know now they are truly brothers."
Our Gospel today proposes the account of Martha and Mary, Martha busy with so many tasks of hospitality; Mary seated at the Lord's feet. We note that Jesus does not reject Martha's ministry. He calls Mary's the better part, telling us that both the tasks of hospitality and the choice of being at His feet in admiration, are important.
Is it probable that Aldrin's celebration of Communion is the more important part, but the work of getting to the moon and exploring it are necessary too? This may lead us back to Paul's view that somehow he fills up what is lacking in Christ's suffering. Christian ministry is varied, with so much of it hidden.
Missiologist Stephen Bevans, SVD, underlined the new, cosmic dimension of our joint witness, when he wrote "to think in terms of the vast amount of time, the 13.8 billion years since the Big Bang, to think of the vastness of space in this universe of billions of light-years in diameter, to think in terms of the complexity of cosmic and biologic evolution--such a perspective changes completely our understanding of doctrines like creation, redemption, Christology, ecclesiology, and mission itself" ("My Pilgrimage in Mission," International Bulletin of Mission Research 43 [Jan. 2019, 1]:89).
If Christ's "blood is on the rose, and in the stars the glory of His eyes" (Joseph Mary Plunkett), is it not the responsibility and privilege of every Christian to make that known? Between the roses in our home gardens and the dust of the moon?
Biographical Summary
Rev. Harry E. Winter, OMI, is the coordinator for the ministry of Mission, Unity and Dialogue (MUD) for the Oblates of Mary Immaculate USA province. He is semi-retired in Tewksbury, MA, and maintains the MUD website (www.harrywinter.org).
Seventh Sunday after Pentecost
July 28, 2019
Hosea 1:2-10
Colossians 2:6-15, 16-19
Luke 11:1-13
Exegetical Missional Insights
The readings lead us to the intersection of two New Testament passages, Luke 11:1-13 and Colossians 2:6-15. The first passage is the Lukan version of the Lord's Prayer, an instructive from Christ to the disciples on how to pray. The disciples requested instruction on prayer and Jesus obliged, providing a model that is about 50 words long and takes less than 20 seconds to recite out loud. The brevity of the prayer contrasted to the perceived spirituality of that era. First century prayer often used a declaration of personal righteousness to justify the person's requests (Luke 18:9-14, Psalm 15). Prayer in the form that Jesus taught was counter-cultural, striking out against typical understandings of what it meant to follow God. In fact, such prayer as Jesus taught his disciples recast the relationship between God and man, moving the conception of God from ‘He who is beyond understanding' (Judges 13:18), to Father, the closest progenitor and personal relationship. We understand Jesus taught them how to pray, not what to pray, and a paraphrase helps to bring that into focus.
‘Father, help us to reverence your name and pursue all you represent,
We pray for your kingdom to come and for the provision of our daily needs. Forgive us and help us to be forgiving in the same way to others,
And don't let us fail when we are tempted'.
What is revealed in this brief prayer? The prayer demonstrates a family relationship, a focus on God at work in the world, a correct connection with our temporal needs, and a desire to represent God well through mercy and right living. The narrative explanation that Christ offered immediately following the prayer concludes with Jesus' statement that ‘...the Father gives the Holy Spirit to those who ask'. Christ drew a line which connected prayer, the coming of God's kingdom and the Father's willingness to give the Holy Spirit. This can be understood as an invitation for the Holy Spirt to come and reign.
Christ used the same Father language for God in verses 2 and 13 but the language shifted from the kingdom of God to the Holy Spirit which come as a fulfillment to requests made to God the Father. One understanding of this is that right relationship with God and others, seeking God's kingdom in the world, and representing God well are signs of the Holy Spirit's presence and power in our lives. Christ unified the announcing of the kingdom, prayer to the Father, and the presence of the Holy Spirit into his response to the request to teach his disciples how to pray. The presence of the Holy Spirit and the presence of the kingdom of God are interconnected by Christ in his instruction to the disciples. This narrative insight affirms that mercy, compassion, right living, and God's work in the world are signs of both the kingdom and the presence of the Holy Spirit.
Colossians 2 expands the Trinitarian view of the relationship between the Holy Spirit's presence and God's kingdom by emphasizing that Christ, even in his earthly form, is God and that He rules over every kind of power and authority. The cross and resurrection mean the defeat of those rulers and powers in the spiritual world creating victory for us through Christ. The Christ event happened in time and space, for all of creation to see, both visible and invisible. This was so that every type of created being in the entire universe understands that Christ came as a human for the sake of humanity. God the Father as sender, Christ the Son as sent and the Holy Spirit as the one who empowers affirm the mission of God in the world.
God's Mission in the Text
What does this tell us about God's work in the world? What do we see concerning what God is doing, how he is at work, and how our sentness can align with his mission? One point is that it suggests that we need to take the embrace the divinity of the Holy Spirit because God's kingdom activity is tied to the presence of the Holy Spirit. Cooperation with the Holy Spirit means that we are ambassadors of the kingdom of God and our effort is toward kingdom purposes. The Holy Spirit is God in the world for the purpose of announcing the kingdom.
Another point is that each person should press into a deeper relationship and understanding of the Holy Spirit. Ancient practices of listening to and discerning direction from the Holy Spirit are vital for working within God's mission. This impulse suggests that we ground ourselves in the word of God and in relationship to the Spirit of God that they work together in our prayers to keep us correctly aligned with how God is at work. Prayer plus activity unites the intent of our hearts and action so that there is holistic continuity of our being which flows from God through us and into the world. Colossians encourages us to follow and depend on Christ and in that dependence to draw our strength from him. The same power which raised Christ from the dead is at work in us and through us for the sake of the world.
This thought points towards intimacy with the Holy Spirit as the source of missional impulse. It bears repeating... the power of the Holy Spirit which raised Christ from the dead is the same power which is at work in us. The same quantity, the same quality, the same person of the Trinity not only raised Christ from the dead but is using us for mission in the world. Within those boundaries, what should the depth and breadth of our prayers become?
Missional Connections for Our Context
We understand Christ was the herald of the inbreaking kingdom of God who was empowered by the Holy Spirit. We also can understand that the Holy Spirit is present to empower the proclamation and demonstration of the kingdom. The Holy Spirit provides us with boldness to interact with the world in positive, loving ways. Living and proclaiming the kingdom of God in the power of the Holy Spirit means being a friend to the friendless and loving the unlovely. It is about sensitivity to the broken, empowerment for the weak and compassion for the wounded - it means being good news to others. The Holy Spirit in our lives directs us in fresh ways to further the kingdom of God.
The kingdom of God and the Holy Spirit are linked together to fulfill the mission of God in the world. May we invite the fullness and power of the Holy Spirit daily to flow in our lives for the sake of the world.
Biographical Summary
Bud Simon (Ph.D. student, Asbury Theological Seminary) planted churches in the Brazilian Amazon for twenty years before recently embarking on Ph.D. studies. He continues to serve as a mission consult in church planting, evangelism, contextualization and spiritual formation.
Eighth Sunday after Pentecost
August 4, 2019
Hosea 11:1-11
Colossians 3:1-11
Luke 12:13-21
Exegetical Missional Insights
Hosea 11:1-11
Hosea was the only prophet speaking out of the northern kingdom of Israel (or Ephraim) during a time of expansion and prosperity under King Jeroboam II (2 Kings 14:23-29). His themes are familiar: God brought Israel out of bondage in Egypt, but Israel strayed from God, worshipping Canaanite Baals (Hosea 11:2). Such superficial commitment exposed Israel to God's judgment as the people relied more on their own abilities than on God's mercy. Indeed, such apathy, if not idolatry, led Hosea to denounce Israel as unfaithful to God's covenant, liking Israel to a whore who had had children with other partners (Hosea 1:2). As Hosea goes to say, though, God will nevertheless seek to love Israel, as a parent loves a child (Hosea 11:1).
This section in Hosea represents one of the classic expressions of God's compassion, despite Israel's unfaithfulness (Hosea 11:8). Time and again, as this pericope demonstrates, God will offer divine love to Israel only to see Israel refuse to repent and turn to God (Hosea 11:3-4). It is why God threatens to return Israel to Egypt and Assyria, as the people have only turned their backs on God and God's covenant (Hosea 11:5-7). The people's lack of devotion is simply too much.
And yet, Hosea proclaims, God is the Holy One of Israel, and the One whose presence communicates compassion and whose activity seeks to return the people to their homes (Hosea 11:10-11). Thus, God's mission is ultimately a restoring mission, a mission to heal and forgive, to discipline yet offer grace. It is a mission meant to be overheard when God decides how to judge and redeem the nation.
Colossians 3:1-11
What happens when we are united with Christ? Who are we when we are baptized into Christ and Christ's body, and what kind of people are to be?
Pau's letter to the Colossians paints the picture of Christ through whom God creates all things (Colossians 1:16), but it also equally paints a picture about the Christ who rules in love (Colossians 3:14). Seated at God's right-hand above, the risen and ascended Christ sets forth the pattern for holy living on earth, as he reveals such a pattern not only to individuals but to the whole community, if not all creation (Colossians 3:2).
Paul proclaims this throughout this chapter: first as the declaration of who we as God's children, hidden in Christ (Colossians 3:3), and second as the sacramental new way of life, oriented toward a whole new Christ-shaped existence (Colossians 3:5-7). It is the movement from indicative to imperative, or from what we are in Christ (having died and been raised with Christ) to how we are now free to live in the knowledge of the new self (being renewed according to the image of the Creator, as in 3:3). It is a tension that runs between past and future, or the putting to death the old way as captive to sin and the putting on the new humanity as determined by Christ, clothed with new values, desires, and habits (Colossians 3:5-11). Thus, Christ gears the church toward such dying and rising and living into what has been revealed from above (Colossians 3:3). Christ guides the church toward such a mission of renewal, moving the church toward mission and pointing to God's gracious rule in all things.
Luke 12:13-31
The parable of the rich fool interrupts a section where Jesus is speaking to his disciples about their attitude toward possessions (12:1-12). In this particular passage, a person in the crowd asks Jesus about how he and his brother are to divide the inheritance (v. 13) and about what he wants to do. Jesus' response, however, is telling, and he goes into an account about the folly of covetousness (Exodus 20:17). In other words, Jesus' parable of the rich fool is meant to highlight the tension between a life defined by false desire and a life characterized by wisdom. Indeed, what Jesus shares is a story about a man who has not done anything wrong per se (e.g., he is not a criminal, and he is not trying to manipulate others). In fact, the work he brings forth fruit. Rather, at issue is the decision to make more: to build bigger barns (12: 21). It is why the problem goes deeper: covetousness as foolishness, covetousness as idolatry (cf., Colossians 3:5). The farmer acts according to his own desires, living completely for himself, consulting with no one, including God, worshipping himself rather than the Creator, reminding us all how easy it can be to keep within the confines of our own ego the resources of God's abundance and goodness (Romans 1:25).
God's Mission in the Text
What is God stirring up in these passages? The missional preacher has several options. First, the missional preacher may decide to focus on the tension between past, present, and future. All the passages, in some fashion, speak to the tension between the already and the not-yet of God's rule, between what God has done and what God will do. As Karl Barth and others reminded us, Christ's church always lives between-the-times. Second, there is the tension between the old and the new self, the way of life determined by sin and the new way of life characterized by Christ. We can see this in terms of Israel living in whoredom, or the church in Colossae swaying toward disobedience, or the rich fool coveting what belongs to God: God's mission lies in the tension between living out that mission in this world and in the world to come. And third, in keeping with the first two points, the missional preacher will want to note the tension between who we are in Christ (indicative) and who we are to become, or who we are as part of God's redemption and how we are to act as God's children (imperative). Here, we can reflect on how the shaping of God's people in community (e.g., through the cultivation of habits, desires, attitudes, etc.) goes to the heart of the kind of people Christ sends into the world. Indeed, as the missional preacher prays these texts, he or she will realize how God's forming and sending, while distinct actions, are part of the same movement in God, as God's actions are always seeking concrete forms in mission and witness (Gerhard Lohfink, Jesus and Community, 16).
Missional Connections for Our Context
Possible connections to our present context in North America? Gregory of Nyssa once quipped that we become like the things we worship. In our context in North America, we may want to reflect on this insight. Indeed, in a neopagan culture, we worship gods just as capricious and unpredictable as the Greeks did. Our faith in polls, politics, and popularity produce more vertigo than stability. We would do well to reflect on Gregory's statement that "those who look towards the true God receive within themselves the characteristics of the divine nature." The soul is like a mirror which takes on the likeness of whatever it contemplates. It cannot reflect what God intends unless it focuses on the mirror and draws near to it (Herbert Musurillo, ed., From Glory to Glory: Texts from Gregory of Nyssa's Mystical Writings, 154). In a similar way, the church is the arena where this all takes places, where we worship and reflect Christ to God and into the world, where we and creation are restored to what God intended. In our present context, the church is called to bear witness to this, but carry it out in both word and deed.
Therefore, the mission of the church is not just to save a few people for heaven to escape such neopagan dread, but rather, as Paul shares with the Colossians and others (2 Corinthians 5:17) is to create a new kind of people, living in obedience to God's covenant and in wisdom. The mission of the church is to live in Christ and to indwell the Holy Spirit, having our image renewed by and restored to God. Or, as C.S. Lewis, once put it, the church is to proclaim how "God became man to turn his creatures into sons [and daughters]: not simply to produce better people of the old kind, but to produce a new kind of man (Lewis, Mere Christianity, 178). Living in North America means living in the tension between the old and the new, between what is passing away and what God is bringing into being, between life in this world and life in the world to come. Missional living means living in this kind of life and love.
Biographical Summary
Andrew Kinsey is senior pastor of Grace United Methodist Church in Franklin, Indiana. He holds a Doctor of Ministry in Evangelism from Perkins School of Theology, and he is currently in the DThM degree program at Durham University (UK). He is editor of Notes from a Wayward Son: A Miscellany and The Logic of Evangelism Revisited, both by Wipf & Stock Publishing.
Ninth Sunday after Pentecost Season
August 11, 2019
Genesis 12:1-3
Acts 1:8
John 15:26-27
Holy Spirit, the Mastermind of the World Mission
Exegetical Missional Insights
Genesis 12:1-3
Christians need to align their lifeview with God's will and the biblical purpose of believers on earth. We find this classic missional mandate in the century-old Abrahamic blessing, found in Genesis 12:1-3. We should be mindful that this Abrahamic blessing is based upon our total dependency on God and God alone. For most people, my country, my people, my family and relatives are the three major sources of our dependency. The first step for Abrahamic blessing is not to develop a sense of dependency on any of those visible matters. Rather, the invisible God should be the focus of our daily and lifetime dependency. But here is the danger. Too often, we become fascinated by the part where God promises to bless us. We should never forget that any of God's blessings on our life is given for a specific purpose, as clearly articulated at the end of this Abrahamic blessing; "And all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you."
In other words, our live as Christian is set either to contribute toward blessing others and the world, or simply to enjoy and keep God's blessings to ourselves and just stop there. I believe this Abrahamic blessing is a foremost missional mandate, which each and every born-again believer of all walks and careers should strive to contribute in this one life to live. Blessing the world with God's blessings given to me ought to be stamped as our worldview and lifeview. Getting the world blessed through me should be our highest life priority that will help fulfill my own God-given destiny as Christ's follower.
Acts 1:8
In Acts 2, multiple nations were represented on the Pentecost and orchestrated by God to witness the birth of the Church. Prior to that, in Acts 1:8, the missional mandate of the coming of the Holy Spirit was stated to give the Church the power to be witnesses to the ends of the earth. Even the sanctifying enablement of the Holy Spirit was to prepare believers to be more effective and faithful witnesses of Christ and his redeeming power. The parameter of the mandate was set as Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth. This list is known as M-categories in a missiological term. However, it was Jesus, the Commander-in-chief of the Great Commission, who created and knew the earth to be round. In other words, one's own Jerusalem equates to his/her own ends of the earth. Therefore, Jesus' parameter of Jerusalem to the ends of the earth was not sequential but rather categorical relating to one's missional influence.
We are to live out the witness lifestyle both at home and far away. Mission forces of goers and senders are certainly needed for the collaborative task of world evangelization. The two parties should strive to create a greater partnership for the Church's common task of the Great Commission. After all, both are imperative resources in God's kingdom. One can't excel in the world mission without the other.
John 15:26-27
In these verses, the Holy Spirit is referred to as the Advocate, which is a legal term. The third Person of the Trinity came to testify to the world about the truth that Jesus did not die on a horrible cross for his own sin of treason against the Roman government or blasphemy against Judaism. It was him who has constantly revealed to the world that Jesus died a substitutionary death for our sins. That is an integral part of the gospel. Jesus invites us to participate in this glorious redemptive venture of the Holy Spirit by saying "you also must testify."
However, the prerequisite of this calling is to have been with Jesus. Mark 3:14 confirms this when Jesus clarified his primary reason to call the disciples; that they might be with him. Koinonia (fellowship) with our invisible Lord is correlated with the visible results of our mission and evangelistic efforts. It is critical to submit all our missional enterprises to the Lord by prayer, inquiry, and fellowship with his Spirit. God is still willing and able to use anyone who is committed to following Him and His mandate to "go and make disciples of all nations."
God's Mission in the Text
The Old Testament is about perversion and preservation of God's will, plan, and message. The New Testament is about provision and propagation of the same (Lee, Paul S.R. "Multiplying Discipleship in Cross-cultural Contexts," Lausanne World Pulse: Iss. 10, 2010; http://www.lausanneworldpulse.com/perspectives-php/1332/10-2010). From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible is about restoring the lost humanity back to God.
Three texts synthesize to illustrate the Holy Spirit's unending passion to call the lost to salvation. God wants all people to be saved and to come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ (1 Timothy 2:4). For this cause, He continuously calls out His instruments from the nations and compels them to incubate this world ‘vision.' He also empowers them to live it out in every given opportunity. It is God Who reminds us that every born-again believer is indebted to the lost world, just as Paul confessed himself to be a debtor to everyone (Romans 1:14).
Missional Connections for Our Context
The Spirit of the Lord came upon Isaiah (Isaiah 61:1a) and Jesus (Luke 4:16-21) and likewise comes upon the believers today. His coming had an apparent connection with reaching our world, both near and far. Even Isaiah chapter 61 connotes the concept of the world mission by ending with the mention of all the nations. Above all known theories and strategies of the world mission, the sovereign work and grace of our God can't be ignored in this endeavor. It is the underlying ingredient of all God-used mission and evangelism efforts in church history. Matthew 24:14 tells us that the gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. The word "will" gives us a hint that this enterprise of world mission is eventually a work of the Holy Spirit. Again, Acts 11:21 evidently shows that it was the Lord's hand that brought a great number of people to believe and turn to the Lord. Therefore, total dependency on the leading of the Holy Spirit and fellowship with him are undeniable keys for the successful missional enterprise.
For us as God's people, life is not about where to live but rather how to live and who to live for. It is not about just getting my blessings but getting the world blessed through me. The eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him (2 Chronicles 16:9). Are your heart, your worldview, and your lifeview fully committed and aligned to the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit, the Mastermind of every missionary works still does make disciples of all nations. He is calling us today to labor with him for this honorable yet inevitable task - either by sending or by going.
Biographical Summary
Paul S.R. Lee is an ordained minister affiliated with the Christian & Missionary Alliance Korea. He serves as international director of the Evangelical Alliance for Preacher Training & Commission (www.goeaptc.com), currently reaching 15 countries with leadership training, church planting and social outreach, and as Professor of Intercultural Studies at the International Graduate School of Leadership (www.igsl.asia) in Philippines, a ministry of Cru. He holds a PhD in religion from Oxford Graduate School and guides Peace Studies doctoral students for Asia Graduate School of Theology.
Tenth Sunday after Pentecost
August 18, 2019
Isaiah 5:1-7
Hebrews 11:29-12:2
Luke 12:49-56
Exegetical Missional Insights
Isaiah 5:1-7
The Song for God's Beloved Vineyard invites the hearers into an allegory of the relationship between God and Israel. God, being the Beloved, owns the vineyard and Israel, being the vineyard, have a strained relationship. The Beloved has worked tirelessly to prepare and to tend to the vineyard so that it might be at its most ready to produce and bare fruit. The Vineyard itself had little to do with its preparation and readiness for producing the crop. Only the Beloved has slaved away removing rocks, building fence, constructing a watchtower, and actually planting the seeds in the ripe and ready soil. As the vines grow the beloved continues to care for and prune them in a way that is filled with love and affection. Due to this great care that the Beloved has given to this vineyard, the beloved expects a great harvest, but the beloved must patently wait on the vines to grow and produce fruit.
This all seems well and positive up to this point. Unfortunately, the vines produce a "wild" grape or spoiled fruit that is unable to be used. The great expectations of the good wine that should have been, turns into an unusable and spoiled crop. This is when the Beloved must act in a way that will ultimately rid the land of the "wild" grape and make it possible for the land to, over time, return to being fertile. In the same way, Israel must face the wrath of God to be able to produce fruit. The good vine, Jesus the Christ, is coming and all that grow from or are grafted into this vine will produce good fruit.
Hebrews 11:29-12:2
The author of Hebrews gives the reader an opportunity to rapidly reflect on and remember many of the greats of the Old Testament. Starting with Moses, we are invited to remove the crossing of the Red Sea, the crumbling of the walls of Jericho, the salvation of Rahab, to Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets. We are reminded of the bold power and success of God's diligent servants as they faithfully follow God's will. Then, the author reminds the reader that, just as there have been many grand and glorious things that the people of God have experienced, there are also a lot of pain, sorrow, loss, and persecution that have been experienced in following God's will.
The author gives the reader hope that whether they experience great victories or great sorrow while following God's will, they must remain hopeful because God will provide something better. The illustration of a race is used to help encourage the reader. While running the race, God has called each individual to run, they will be surrounded by a cloud of witnesses of all those that have run the race before them. This cloud of witnesses act as an encouragement and strength to press on and finish as Christ did on the cross.
Luke 12:49-56
At first glance this text seems to be full of frightening apocalyptic imagery of God fire brought by Jesus himself starting with the religious people to whom he calls hypocrites. I believe that there is something more going on here. This text has three different sections. The first is a quick summary of Jesus' ministry and its eventual end; a fire of cleansing judgment that spreads the good news and the baptism of his death in order to conquer death. Following this is a discussion of the effects the gospel might have on anyone who follows him, and finally, a warning from Jesus about our willingness to hear and see only what we want.
God's Mission in the Text
Time and time again God has invited humanity to live into what it is to be fully human. Unfortunately, throughout history, God's people have repeatedly turned away from God. Ellen Davis states there is a cyclical pattern where "1) God Creates by initiating a new relational reality, 2) Humans cause a rupture in the relational reality that God has established, 3) Divine judgment and suffer of humans and nonhumans ensue, and 4) God takes a new initiative toward humans creating new kinds of through which a degree of the original harmony may be restored to the world" (Opening Israel's Scriptures, 10, 2019).
In these three texts, we are able to see this pattern and warnings as God's desire to create and be in relationship with those who have chosen to follow him. Yet, too often, humans desert these relationships with God and slip into sin. Nevertheless, God continues to move with restorative power to reconcile the relationships. These efforts, from God, to restore and reconcile with humanity, comes to a head when God comes in the form of Jesus of Nazareth to be the ultimate Messiah and Savior of all people.
Missional Connections for Our Context
As the culture of today continues to engage in eclectic pluralism we must take these warnings very seriously. The church continues to struggle with either being in the world too much or not enough and has lost its grasp of the grand narrative of scripture that is there to illumine the present in such a way that we do not repeat the mistakes of the past. God is calling the church today to continue to run its race through all of the success, growth, and fruitful times, but even more so in the times of decay, struggle, and death. As the North American church seems to be drowning in the cultural milieu, the church must continue to run the race, proclaiming the gospel, setting people's hearts on fire for God, and creating disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
Biographical Summary
Rev. Kaury C. Edwards serves as the lead pastor of Wesleyan Heights United Methodist Church within the Kentucky Annual Conference. In 2013, he received a Master of Divinity from Asbury Theological Seminary, and in 2016, he received a Master of Theology in World Missions and Evangelism with a specialization in missional theology and desecularization from Asbury Theological Seminary. He is currently a Doctor of Ministry student at Duke University and focusing his research on reconciliation, sociological imagination, and violence in the church.
Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost
September 1, 2019
Jeremiah 2:4-13
Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16
Luke 14:1, 7-14
Exegetical Missional Insights
The God of the covenant revealed himself as the source of all blessings while the Jews, in the 6th century before Christ, were constantly turning away from him and rather chose to "dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that could not hold water" (Jer 2: 13, NIV). As a consequence of the people's unfaithfulness, which is best seen in their ongoing idolatry, they eventually were brought into the Babylonian exile. The passage of Jeremiah shows us two important characteristics of God. The first characteristic is that God never forces his people to follow him. The covenant God of Israel, the almighty creator of heaven and earth, almost seems desperate in His struggle for Israel's love. He released them from Egypt and brought them into the promised land (Jer 2, 5-7). They, however, answered with idol worship. They exchanged the spring of living water for broken cisterns. It was a sin that was not even observed among other peoples (Jer 2,11). The second characteristic is abundant hospitality. The spring of living water will never cease to give water. God does not only indict the Jews for their idolatry, but He invites them to take part in his great hospitality, to drink from the living water which is only to be found in the eternal God. Jesus himself repeats this invitation in John 7: 37-38; "Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them." In Jesus Christ, God the spring of living water became incarnated.
Furthermore, Jesus' invitation includes the consequence of what happens when people drink from the living water, which means enjoying the fellowship with God in Christ. Fellowship with Christ will consequently have ethical implications. This can be seen in the other two passages of this Sunday. For instance, in Luke 14:12-14, Jesus demands, "when you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous." God is generous, He is giving freely and abundantly, and so should the followers of Christ. Whoever drinks from the spring of living water is asked to share the water with others. The church thus exists of beggars who show other beggars where to find bread. It is worth mentioning that the third passage of this Sunday brings this together. God is pleased by lip sacrifice, that is worship songs and adoration in prayer. Sacrifice of praise, the fruit of our lips (Hebr 13: 15), however, also includes "not to forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased" (Hebr 13:16). Because followers of Jesus know the One who says "never will I leave you; never will I forsake you" (Heb 13: 5; Deut 31:6), they know that He will always care for their practical needs, and thus can share freely with others. To know the generous God means to live generously.
God's Mission in the Text
God is introduced as the source of ultimate hospitality. The spring of living water does not cease to give (Jer. 2, 14) as he cares for all the needs of His children (Heb. 13:5). God gives unconditionally. Moreover, scripture tells us that God blesses the unrighteous (Matt 5:45) and sacrificed his one and only Son, Jesus Christ, for His enemies (Ro 5:8). God gives freely and plentifully even for those who do not care for Him. It is God's character that He enjoys giving in order to solicit for our love.
Imitation is the highest form of worship. In her mission, the church is asked to imitate Christ. God has filled the church with gifts, time, money, love, and the Holy Spirit. Now, every individual Christian is asked to imitate Christ in giving unconditionally, inviting the lepers, the sick, the poor, and the outcasts. Those who cannot repay (Lu 14: 14) are the most invited. By doing so, they become a mirror to the church's own situation. As follower of Christ, I must confess that I am not qualified for all the great blessings and gifts, God pours out on me every day. I am dependent on His never-failing love and mercy.
Thus, God's unconditional love is not mere words, but becomes visible. God helps people through His church. This is missional power. People meet the unconditional love of God through the church's acts of mercy. It is as one of the Japanese tsunami victims said when she was visited by a group of Christians, "When you come to me in my despair, Christ himself comes to me." Encountering the unconditional love of God through the church makes such people open for the word of the Gospel of Christ. The church takes from God's abundancy and gives them "bread for life" and shares with them "the bread of life." This might call for rejection, as best illustrated in John 6. Christ unconditionally fed the 5000. He used the five loafs and two fish given by the disciples and challenged them to share the food with the masses. Everyone had a full stomach afterwards (cf. Jo 6:1-14). However, Jesus preached about himself as the "bread of life" (Jo 6:48), many of those who expected him to become the "bread-king" were disappointed and left (Jo 6:66). Jesus knew beforehand that they were going to leave, yet, he fed them anyway and he invited them without expecting them to repay (cf. Lu 14:14). If the church helps the people only in order to make new converts or to raise the numbers, she is not following her master. Feed the poor and give freely, because you can take from the well of everlasting love and blessing.
The poor invited to the feast.
Missional Connections for Our Context
There are three applications that might be included in a sermon about the passages above:
Biographical Summary
Tobias Schuckert, PhD (Fuller Theological Seminary), missionary in Japan from 2000-2013, assistant professor of Intercultural Theology and director of student affairs at Internationale Hochschule Liebenzell, University of Applied Sciences, Germany. Tobias is married to Sabine. Together, they have three children.
Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost
September 15, 2019
Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28
1 Timothy 1:12-17
Luke 15:1-10
Exegetical Missional Insights
The passages for this Sunday have the common theme of God's mercy extended to a lost humanity.
Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28
This passage is set within a larger section of the book (4.5-6.30) that deals with the sins of Judah, and the coming judgment of God upon Israel. The people are described as lost without knowledge or understanding of God and engaged in evil (vs.22). Without a knowledge of God, Israel commits all manner of evil (vs. 22). In spite of the depth of their sin God refers to Israel as "my poor people' (vs.11), a reminder of God's love and that he desires for at least a remnant to be spared his judgment (vs. 27).
1 Timothy 1:12-17
Accepting the authorship of 1 Timothy as Pauline, the apostle Paul in this passage testifies to the grace of God which he received, which not only included forgiveness, but also called Paul into God's service (vs. 12-14). Paul underscores that he is an example of the fact that Christ came into the world to save the sinful, of which he regards himself as the worst (vs. 15,16). At the mention of such grace Paul is compelled to exclaim praise to God (vs. 17). As this letter is directed to his disciple Timothy, one can surmise that Paul intended to remind Timothy that the people we may least expect - even those who violently opposed the gospel of Jesus today - may yet become followers of Christ.
Luke 15:1-10
In the previous chapter Jesus tells the parable of a great feast. After others have rejected the invitation, the master commands his servants to go into the streets and bring in "the poor, and the maimed and the lame and the blind," (Luke 14.21). In Luke 15 the Pharisees and scribes are criticizing Jesus for actually eating with those who appear unworthy (vs.2). Jesus responds to this criticism by the parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin. When the lost is found friends and neighbors are called to celebrate - just as there will be celebration in heaven when every sinner repents.
God's Mission in the Text
These texts are a reminder that the mission Dei is characterized by God taking initiative to reach the lost - especially those least expected to respond. The words of the Lord through the prophet Jeremiah in their forceful bluntness concerning Israel's sins can be taken as an effort to wake Israel from its sinful stupor. Without God's intervention - even through judgment - the implication is that they will continue to rush headlong into the sins at which they are skilled.
God's initiative to redeem is underscored in his intervention into Paul's life on the road to Damascus (Acts 9. 1-9). It is God, Paul emphasizes, who came into the world to save sinners (1 Timothy 1.15). Again, it is to the least expected - the man who is persecuting the first believers in Jesus - that God's saving grace is revealed.
Finally, just as the master of the feast sends his servants to the roads to aggressively invite those marginalized in first century to his feast, Jesus is found eating and drinking with the sinful. His parables emphasize taking initiative to find what is lost.
From these passages Christians may be assured that God by the Holy Spirit has already preceded them into the world, touching and drawing the lost to himself.
Missional Connections for Our Context
Often the primary approach of local churches toward reaching the unchurched is to produce the most attractive worship service as possible with the hopes of attracting them. This is essentially a passive model of mission. It requires that the non-Christian to take the initiative to come into the Christian community. How can this passive pattern be reversed so the Christian community takes the initiative to bring the message of God's love to those outside their circles? Perhaps a place to begin is within the circle of contacts each church member already has. Can each church member take stock of all those around them at their place of work, in their neighborhood, with fellow hobbyists? Can we pray that the Lord will bring into our sphere lives that need to hear the gospel?
Biographical Summary
Andrew. F. Bush is chair of the Department of Global Studies and Service at Eastern University, St. David's, Pennsylvania. He has served for more that thirty years in the Philippines and the Palestinian Territories. He is the author of Learning from the Least: Reflections on a Journey in Mission with Palestinian Christians and Millennials and the Mission of God: a Prophetic Dialogue.
Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost
September 22, 2019
Jeremiah 8:18-9:1
1 Timothy 2:1-7
Luke 16:1-13
Exegetical Missional Insights
Jeremiah is a major prophet of the Old Testament who lived during the reign of Josiah, King of Judah, through the time of the destruction of Solomon's Temple in 587 BC. Coming from a priestly family of Levites, Jeremiah was called to prophecy the destruction of the Temple, and to call God's people to repentance and conversion. His people had broken their covenant with God, and they had been sacrificing to foreign idols. During his ministry, Jeremiah was sorely distressed that they would be cast out, taken as slaves, and sent into exile in a foreign land. Jeremiah is known as "the weeping prophet" because he shed many tears over God's wayward nation. Like a good pastor, he wanted to save them all.
The First Epistle to Timothy is one of three letters in the New Testament grouped together as Pastoral Epistles. Paul writes this letter to the younger priest, Timothy, to mentor and instruct him on the responsibilities of pastoring God's people, Christ's church. Having gone on many missionary travels together, Timothy would have received instruction and ordination directly from Paul into the mission of Christ, which Paul tells the younger man is "that everyone be saved, that all come to the knowledge of truth."
The Gospel of Luke has often been considered unique among the four gospels in that its author, presumably Luke himself, did not know Jesus personally. Luke was an educated Greek-speaking person, a physician who left his profession to follow Paul and serve the church with him. He gathered stories directly from many disciples who were alive during Jesus' ministry and had witnessed his teaching and miracles first hand. It would be a hollow characterization, however, to call Luke a mere historian. From these interviews, Luke wrote an inspired gospel-one that includes a full account of Jesus' birth, probably gotten from Mary, mother of Jesus, herself-as well as the Acts of the Apostles. Luke took part in the mission of God though these inspired writings, passing on the truth of Christ's redemption and saving grace to so many generations.
God's Mission in the Text
These readings remind us that each of us will be judged by the mercy we show to others, especially those who are poor and suffering.
Who is this unjust manager? A wealthy landholder's dishonest steward lies and squanders his master's money, and yet, Jesus tells us to follow this man's example. After exploiting poor farmers on his master's land, the steward is caught and called to account for his misdeeds. Once he confesses, he sets out immediately to make amends. Although he is about to be fired, he prudently uses his last few hours of employment to help the poor farmers with their debts to the landholder. The steward's newly just and merciful actions are an effort to befriend his poor neighbors instead of objectifying them. That way, when he finds himself homeless and jobless, he might go and seek shelter from some of the poor farmers, who he hopes may have mercy on him in turn.
Like the dishonest manager, any wealth and privilege we have been given is not really our own. It belongs to our Lord the Living God. Whatever wealth, education, and privilege we have been given, no matter how it is given, is best used to help save others who are "of our own generation," much as Jeremiah, out of love for his people, tried to save them from exile and slavery. In Luke's gospel, the healing balm of which Jeremiah speaks is revealed for what it truly is: repentance, mercy, and care of God's people, especially the meek and the poor. Luke, the good physician, shows us the true balm of Gilead, and it is the way to redemption through Christ Jesus.
Missional Connections for Our Context
Some parables are tougher nuts to crack than others. Most readings of the "Parable of the Unjust Steward" focus on the moral struggles of the dishonest manager as he handles his master's accounts. This seems logical because of the way the passage ends, with the memorable saying, "You cannot serve God and mammon." In our modern context it may be a good reminder to be charitable to poor people, such as migrant farm workers or children separated from their parents. However, the way Jesus appends this saying to the parable is a clue to read it in an even more profound and specifically religious way. If the passage is mainly about material wealth and using it justly, why does the wealthy lord praise the dishonest manager when he accepts less than he is owed? Isn't he cheating the lord out of his money when he helps the poor in this way? How is that just?
What if we read this parable not only as a story about how we should be charitable to the poor, even if we got our wealth unjustly--but rather as a parable about the true riches Jesus mentions in his concluding comments? Then the story is about the gifts that are given to each of us by the Living God--gifts that are only leant to us to show others the way and the truth.
When I meditate on this week's readings, I know in my heart that I am asked to see myself in the role of the dishonest manager. This manager is like an abundantly gifted but chronically self-absorbed Christian. The social-climbing manager's real need is to be saved, not by material and social security, but by the abundant grace of God, which so often arrives in the guise of mercy from others who appear less fortunate than we are.
When we keep in mind God's infinite desire for all people to be saved, the brilliant irony of this parable shines through. When the well-to-do manager becomes a beggar, it is the poor working families who are in the position to show him mercy. Often, if we dare to be open to it, those who are uneducated and marginalized have the greatest riches to give us. Sometimes these gifts are material, but just as often they are spiritual gifts--hope, mercy, even faith itself. Because they are meek, those who are poor can more easily see that everything they have belongs not to themselves, but to the Living God.
Biographical Summary
Lana Portolano is professor of rhetoric and humanities at Towson University in Maryland. Her recent research investigates the use sign language and religious traditions of Deaf communities in the Catholic Church. She and her husband Joe have six grown daughters (one Deaf and five adopted from Ukraine) and sixteen grandchildren. You can find her on the web at lanaportolano.com
Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Jeremiah 31:27-34
2 Timothy 3:14-4:5
Luke 18:1-8
Exegetical Missional Insights
Jeremiah 31:27-34
One of the most popular family movies of the 1990s was The Sandlot, a story about a boy named Scotty Smalls who moves to a new town. In order to fit-in with other children his age, Scotty attempts to learn how to play baseball. He eagerly wanted to be like the other kids his age, but he was the least experienced, could not catch or pitch the ball, and was always chosen last. Every afternoon at the sandlot, teams would be selected. No one wanted Scotty to play with them, and most days he just watched the game from a distance. Scotty experienced a lot of rejection in the movie, until the most gifted of the players decided to teach him the sport of baseball and always chose Scotty from that point on.
Jeremiah 31, the first text for today, provides a similar story. The people of Israel were like Scotty in The Sandlot; the least and most insignificant. They had no special qualities, but God chose them because he loved them (Deut. 7:6-9). He engraved his covenant Law on stone tablets as a concrete reminder that he chose them. His covenant obligated them to his purpose to make them a kingdom of priests (Exod. 19:6) and to become a light to the nations (Isa. 49:1-6). By the time of Jeremiah, their disobedience to the divine task culminated in their downfall. Jeremiah 25 is a final prophetic plea for the nation to return to God, repent from disobedience to the covenant, and enjoy God's favor. Their refusal leads Jeremiah to declare the imminent destruction of the nation as a viable people. This was realized when they were led captive by the superior Babylon kingdom. Their beloved Jerusalem became "a heap of rubble" (26:18). But God also promised that a day would be coming when old obligations to ritual and codified law would give way to inner transformation and renewal through a universal covenant of inclusion for all. God will place his "law in their minds and write it on their hearts" (31:33) so that all may know him. The writer of Hebrews uses this very passage to declare the Incarnated Christ as the fulfillment of this new covenant established on a superior priesthood inclusive of better promises (8:33).
2 Timothy 3:14-4:5
In 2 Timothy, we see Paul's entire ministry focused on the proclamation of God's new covenant revealed in Christ. In Paul's last interactions with his young protégé, he wanted to remind Timothy that God had called the young evangelist to his new covenant purpose. Timothy's family had instilled in him a biblical worldview with a foundational core belief that God loves all people and his message is to be proclaimed to the nations. Timothy heard this message, had seen it enacted in Paul, and lived by the convictions that the new covenant is good news for all people (3:10-15). Paul reminds Timothy of God's mission declared in the Scriptures, then charges him to proclaim it, live it, and share it in all circumstances (3:16-4:5).
Luke 18:1-8
In Luke 17 Jesus engages religious leaders and the crowd on the eschatological anticipation of God's Kingdom. Distinctively, the Kingdom cannot be predicated on human effort, but will come suddenly through the persistent hope of the faithful in watching, waiting, proclaiming it, and praying for it. The parable in 18:1-8 indicates such a posture. The widow's determination in coming to the judge repeatedly for justice indicates elements of this consistency. Justice is one of the covenant themes throughout the Old Testament and is often seen in the prophetic literature as a call to live out the themes of justice and righteousness in dealing with the orphaned and widows, the most helpless and vulnerable within a population1. The story thus metaphorically represented good news for those who are helpless, marginalized, suffering, and hurting; these will have justice from God2.
God's Mission in the Text
God is on mission and the scriptural narrative reinforces God's salvific agenda. In Abraham, God chose a man to be the vanguard of his mission to bless the nations (Gen. 12:1-3) and developed Israel as the exclusive bearer of this message. Israel's failure to live according to God's standards led to a prophetic declaration that a new covenant will be realized that would redefine what relationship with Yahweh entails. Devotion and commitment to God and his mission will come from a transformed heart and mind rather than obligation to an agreement codified into legal documents. The covenant will be relational, universal, inclusive, and available to all through a universal priesthood. This is most readily seen in the coming of Jesus Christ, who through his life, death, and resurrection, inaugurates God's mission to the nations through a redeemed community (Matt. 26:28; Mark 14:24; Luke 22:20). This makes God's people ministers of "a new covenant-not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life" (2 Cor. 3:6).
The new covenant announcement within Jeremiah 31 speaks to the inclusion of the helpless, the widow and orphan, those who cannot speak for themselves, but seek justice and restoration (Luke 18). Timothy is singled out by his mentor as one discipled in new covenant processes to believe its truth and relevance as he faithfully proclaims it in all contexts.
Missional Connections for Our Context
I remember well as a child standing next to my father outside our home one evening. The night sky was sprinkled with pinpoints of starlight that were distant but seemed so close I could reach up and touch them. The moon had not yet started its evening circuit and the whole sky was brilliant with those lights shining in the darkness. My father asked me what I thought those stars were there for; what was their purpose? I did not know. After all, I was just a boy and did not have his understanding of the world. I said to him, "I do not know. Why are they there?" For the next fifteen minutes or so, my Father explained to me his perspective on Creation and the purpose for the Universe. He believed that each planet and each galaxy would someday serve a purpose. Until that time, God helped us to navigate our way in the darkness by those little points of light. There was the North Star that gave mariners their position on the seas and had done so for centuries. There were multiple constellations that helped explain the rotation of the earth and again, assisted the traveler in the night to navigate along a certain pathway. People had used some of these types of natural way-markers for generations, and yet for my Father, they exemplified a design, an intelligent purpose to everything.
The significance of our texts for this special Sunday is similar. Like Scotty, we may have no special qualities or capacities, but we have made the team; we have been chosen. God has a purpose for our lives to represent his Kingdom as a beacon in the night to those who have lost their way. The church as local institution reflects the continuing process that there is justice in God's Kingdom, and he will make a way. It stands as a way-marker to help the lost navigate their way toward the light. The Church as global faith community goes into the world, from everywhere, to announce the message of a new covenant of peace, reconciliation, and hope for the hopeless and voiceless.
Biographical Summary
J. Stephen Jester, PhD, served in cross-cultural education for over twenty-five years in both Africa and Asia. He currently teaches Christian Missions and Worldview courses at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona.
1 Hays, J. Daniel. "Sell Everything you have and give to the Poor: The Old Testament Prophetic theme of Justice as the connecting Motif of Luke 18:1-19:10." Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 55, no. 1 (2012): 43.
2 Leon Morris, The Gospel According to St. Luke (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1974).
Twenty-Second Sunday after Pentecost
Proper 27 (32)
November 10, 2019
Haggai 1:15(b)-2:9
2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17
Luke 20:27-38
Exegetical Missional Insights
Haggai 1:15(b)-2:9
It was 586 BC and the temple had been destroyed. The Glory of the Lord no longer has a place to reside. What were they going to do? Two years into the 36-year reign of King Darius, Haggai, the voice of God's asks the people a profound question. Was it time for them to be living in their nice houses, while the House of God lay in ruins? They had given and not reaped, they had earned wages and they had nothing to show for what they had earned. God now gives them instructions. "Memories, of the way we were" was the question the prophet asked the people. God was going to shake the earth, and his glory was going to once again fill the temple. The Resurrection had come.
This text brings to mind the restorative power of God. This text is not merely about a physical building that laid in shambles and ruins, but it speaks to the restorative, resurrection power of God who is able to take our brokenness and put us together again, so His glory can rise and shine in and through us. Paul writes to the Corinthian church and says "...your body is the temple of the Holy spirit..." (I Corinthians 6:19). Our bodies are the Temple, which houses the Glory of God, and it is with our bodies that we are used for the mission of God to restore and resurrect the brokenness in our world.
2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17
Paul's second letter to the Thessalonian church was a piggyback off his first letter, in which he addresses their expectation and return of the Messiah. The Thessalonian church had grown weary in what they were doing and just wanted the Lord to return. However, Paul had to let them know that even though it was spoken of his return, it was not going to happen that day. There were things that had to happen before the Lord could return. This second letter of Paul's to the Thessalonians has three (3) main points. First, he writes to encourage them that in the midst of their persecution for their faith, God was going to reward them for their faith, their steadfastness, and fortitude. Secondly, he writes to explain to them that they were to maintain their tradition because the Messiah was going to return and defeat the devil. Thirdly, he writes to exhort them and admonishing them that no matter what they were to continue on-the Resurrection is coming.
Luke 20:27-38
Jesus' conversation with the Sadducees would have stumped the average person; however, Jesus knew that they were merely seeking to trap him and stump him. Everyone knew they did not believe in the resurrection of the dead, and Jesus was aware of this. They had no idea that there was life after this one, so they wanted to find out if the normalcy of this life would remain even after death. Jesus' response was quite profound. He tells them that those who are of this world get married and do the things that married people do; yet at the time of the resurrection, there is no more marriage as they knew it to be. Yet, Jesus tells them that those who died and are married will no longer be considered as married but now become equal to the angels and are now considered the sons of God. Jesus final answer to them let's them know that there is life after death with God in the resurrection as God is the God of the living, indicating that those who die in Christ, shall live again.
God's Mission in the Texts
These three texts emphasize the missional theme of restoration, restoration and reconciliation:
1) God's mission is to restore the brokenness of his people. We are the Temple of the Holy Spirit. We house the glory and splendor of God. Sadly, many temples are broken, fragmented, in shambles and destroyed. God can't see or find his glory in the brokenness of a fallen humanity. He sends a prophet (Haggai) to speak to the people and tell them that it's time to rebuild the temple. God is sending the prophets to tell humanity you may be broken, but you won't stay broken. The Glory of God will once again rise to the top. God speaks to us through his prophets to speak to the brokenness of our lives, and the brokenness of a fallen society and tells the people that it shall be restored. It shall be rebuilt and the glory that once was in humanity shall now be greater because the broken have been restored and peace has shall inhabit the earth.
2) God's mission is to comfort in the wait for His return. Don't worry! Jesus will return and He will gather his Bride with him. Paul's message to the Thessalonians is quite simple. Yes, you have been through a lot and yes, you are weary. However, do not give up. Jesus is coming to take you with Him. Paul's letter is comforting to us; reminding us that we have been chosen as God's jewels as Haggai mentioned to Israel. Yet, in the process of our salvation, and our humanness, we have been persecuted for our beliefs and for our faith, and many have fainted and lost heart. Many people have said, "What's the use?" However, as Paul encouraged the church, we too are comforted in that hope that we can hold secure to what we know and believe. We can not fall prey to the deceiver because it hasn't happened yet. The ultimate mission of God will be when He returns to gather His church and those who remain. The key is to keep believing and expecting His return.
3) God's mission is seen in the hope of a resurrection. The message is simple. We are going to be gathered again with God. Many question if this life is all we have to look forward to. Well, the answer is NO. If this were all we have, we would all live miserable lives. Jesus' mission is clear, there is more after this. His mission is to give us hope that there is a life after this life. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:9 "If our hope in Christ is good only for this life, we are worse off than anyone else." (CEV). If this is all we have to look forward to, we are very miserable people. The Kingdom of God is where our hope lies, and that God is the God of the living and that's where our hope and celebration lies. Moreover, we will be raised, restored and resurrected to live life eternally with God.
Missional Connection for our Context
The Good News of this glorious Gospel is there is restoration in the broken place. It is apparent that we live in a broken world. Issues such as racism and discrimination have seemingly resurfaced. The Me-Too movement has arisen out of brokenness. Mass killings are apparently on the rise all because we the Temple of God are broken and to some destroyed. Yet, in the midst of the rubble, there is hope. There is something that God sees that he can resurrect, repair, restore, and present as glorious. God's mission is to have a whole and wholesome church even in the midst of her brokenness. It is in this brokenness the prophet speaks. The message "the glory of what is to come is greater that what was" and all we have to do is wait for it. Weariness in doing well does happen, but Paul writes to the Galatians these words; "Don't get tired of helping others. You will be rewarded when the time is right, if you don't give up." (Galatians 6:9- CEV). We all hope of the resurrection so that we can spend eternity with God, and that is the reward we will reap if we do not get tired of helping others and if we do not get tired of carrying out the mission of God in the earth. It is the reward and comfort that we will receive because we have allowed God to resurrect us in the midst of our brokenness. We are now prepared to live in wholeness and shalom with our brothers and sisters, which is what the Kingdom of God will look like-a lot of broken people resurrected and made whole by the power of the Living Christ.
Biographical Summary
Rev. Terri Champion, MDiv., MTS is a graduate of the former Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary, now known as Palmer Seminary of Eastern University and is the founder of The Oasis Ministry Church in Bradenton, Florida.
Twenty-Third Sunday after Pentecost
Proper 28 (33)
November 17, 2019
Isaiah 65:17-25
2 Thessalonians 3:6-13
Luke 21:5-19
Exegetical Missional Insights
Isaiah 65:17-25
In this poetic vision, the Lord speaks and announces the advent of a new creation. The new heavens and new earth wrought by the Lord will be so glorious that all that is past will be forgotten in the joy of the Lord's work in the world. That joy will overwhelm common sources of human grief. No one in Jerusalem will cry or experience distress. Infant mortality will be no more. All will be blessed by long life and prosperity, and each will have homes and vineyards of their own. The Lord's presence in this new creation will be so immanent as to answer the people even before they call out.
The poetic language in this oracle is evocative of several other biblical images. It is a kind of intertextual crossroads. The most apparent reference is to the "peaceable kingdom" of Isaiah 11:6-9 where the wolf and lamb may lie down together and the lion becomes a vegetarian. But this text also informs imagery of the new heaven and new earth found in Revelation 21 and echoes the immanent presence of God as described in Psalm 139:4, for example.
2 Thessalonians 3:6-13
Although the term "idleness" recurs in this text, Paul's primary concern is not that the believers in Thessalonica are less than industrious. The fundamental issue is exploitation and the common good. He is concerned that some in the community may take advantage of others. He offers himself and his companions as models since they did not unfairly burden the community in Thessalonica with their support. They worked so as not to be a burden. Those who are not working, "living in idleness, mere busybodies" are a burden to the community (v.11). They are not in need but are "free riders" contributing nothing to the common good.
Luke 21:5-19
Luke's apocalyptic description covers a lot of ground-the destruction of the Jerusalem temple, those who might lead believers astray, international tumult, and the persecution of believers. It may seem to some that the only connecting theme is found in interpretive frameworks given by esoteric prophetic speculations about the future. Another theme, however is trust.
Jesus warned those who marveled at the beauty of the temple not to trust it would endure. Even the beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God would "be thrown down" (v.6). People would arise and claim to speak in Jesus name and claim to be Jesus, but we are not to trust and "go after them" (v. 8). Trusting Jesus' assurance, even the eruption of "wars and insurrections" (v. 9) should not concern us unduly. Even being arrested and persecuted provides the opportunity to trust. If called to testify, we are "not to prepare [our] defense in advance" but trust that Jesus will "give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict" (v. 14-15).
God's Mission in the Text
Depending on the context of the preacher, these lectionary passages offer different options for theological reflection. The Isaiah reading reminds us that the anticipated joy, life and prosperity described in the vision is the work of the Lord in the world. It's is the Lord's new creation, not ours, and the new heaven and earth come about at the Lord's initiative and emerge out of the Lord's vision and promise. Anything we do to address human grief and suffering is done with the knowledge that God goes preveniently before us.
While the text from 2 Thessalonians may be cited in support of so-called "tent-making" missions, on a deeper level it may attune us to the health of the Christian community. The possibility for division always lurks and we may by our action or inaction create frontiers within the body of Christ. It is problematic when some believers burden others and do not contribute to the good of all.
Luke's apocalypse emphasizes the importance of trusting that God holds the future and is with us in times of uncertainty and catastrophe. Even when ambiguity abounds and the most permanent looking temples fall and "nations...rise against nations" God abides with us. We are simply called to trust and to be prepared to testify with the words and wisdom given to us.
Missional Connections for Our Context
Currently at the U.S. border with Mexico children who have been separated from their parents are being detained. News reports describe how some children have died while in detention. In leaked audio, listeners may hear sounds of children weeping or cries of distress. In God's new creation, however, we can trust that any cause for tears such as these will be no more. Joy overwhelming will reign with God's wholistic salvation. In the meantime, we may rest confident that suffering and oppression is contrary to God's hope for the world, and that God goes before us and anything we do to rectify such injustices.
You never know when you will have a chance to testify. A few years ago, I was empaneled on a jury. Through the trial and deliberations, it was clear that a fellow juror knew more than the rest of us about courtroom procedures. Eventually one of us asked him, "How do you know about all this?"
He said, "I'm a legal translator. I'm often in court."
"How did you get into that line of work?" another juror asked.
He said, "A few years ago, I had to go to court for something. While I was there, I decided to sit in on a proceeding, just out of curiosity. It was a trial and a woman was testifying in Spanish. There was a translator, but everyone else in the courtroom spoke English. As I listened to her testimony, it became clear that the translator was not translating what she was saying correctly. He was twisting her words around to make it sound like she was admitting to have done something that she wasn't! It was wrong; I had to do something. It was wrong what the translator was doing. He was lying, and the woman was going to get in trouble. So, I stood up in the courtroom and shouted, ‘That's not true! The translator is lying!'"
We had all seen enough episodes of Law and Order to know you are never supposed to interrupt a trial! We all asked at the same time, "What happened next?" "The judge was very angry," he said. "He banged his gavel and yelled at me, ‘If you ever do that again, I will have you put in jail. Do you understand?' ‘Yes, sir,' I said. ‘Good, now come up here and tell me the truth about what is going on.'"
You never know when you will be called upon to testify.
Biographical Summary
Douglas D. Tzan is the Director of the Doctor of Ministry and Course of Study Programs and Assistant Professor of Church History and Mission at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, DC. He is also an ordained elder in the Baltimore-Washington Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church and the Senior Pastor at the Sykesville Parish (St. Paul's and Gaither United Methodist Churches) in Sykesville, Maryland. His forthcoming book, William Taylor and the Mapping of the Methodist Missionary Tradition: The World His Parish, will be published by Lexington Press.
Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Pentecost
Reign of Christ, Proper 29
November 24, 2019
Jeremiah 23:1-6
Psalm 46
Luke 1:68-79
Colossians 1:11-20
Luke 23:33-43
Exegetical Missional Insights
Jeremiah 23:1-6
Jeremiah 23:1-6 show the contrasts between the good shepherd and the bad shepherds in a way that pre-shadows the reign of Christ as the Good Shepherd. Jesus was almost certainly referencing this in John 10:1-18.
Psalm 46
Psalm 46 paints a picture of what God's reign looks like on earth. While God's power and might are graphically portrayed, this same God is our refuge. There is a parallel in Revelation 21, with a melting away of the earth while God's city is unshaken.
Luke 1:68-79
An excerpt from the song of Zechariah at the birth of his son, John the Baptist, who prepares the way for Christ and his reign. We are reminded that God is sending us a "mighty savior" (v.69) who brings "forgiveness" of sins (v.77) to "those who sit in darkness" (v.79).
Colossians 1:11-20
Both here and in the Luke 1 passage, the theme of redemption is featured. One metaphor that I have successfully used to explain redemption in Christ is the comparison to a pawnshop. While more affluent congregants might not relate to this, many pastors involved with urban mission will find that their congregations find the following metaphorical story relevant.
When I hock an item such as a watch to a pawnbroker, I give the broker my watch and he gives me some money and a ticket. I have a limited time to pay back the money, to redeem my ticket. If I do not have the currency in cash to buy my watch back, at the end of the agreed period of time the watch belongs to the pawnbroker, who may then do with it as he wishes. He can sell my watch to someone else. And when he does sell my watch, it now belongs permanently to the new owner, to the person who bought it.
In parallel, I am a sinner, born into a fallen world that taints the best of us with its sin. I have pawned my soul to the devil, who holds the ticket. And I do not have the necessary currency of righteousness that I need to redeem my soul (see Mark 8:35-37). However, when we come to Jesus, He does have the currency, and the will, to redeem my soul. But the idea is that Jesus has bought and paid for me, and that my soul belongs to Jesus.
Luke 23:33-43
In looking at this passage in terms of the Reign of Christ, it is important to remember that Jesus had referred to His kingdom in the previous chapter saying, "I confer on you, just as my Father has conferred on me, a kingdom" (Luke 22:29, NRSV). The penitent thief, (traditionally referred to as St. Dismas or San Dimas) is a significant figure in this account of the crucifixion. We learn of Jesus' willingness to redeem the guilty and condemned prisoner.
God's Mission in the Text
A main purpose of this selection of texts is to preview and declare the (already and not yet) reign of Christ.
A goodly number of theologians have explored the tension between Christ's reign having begun and Christ's reign to be completed at the eschaton/end times. But something less often explored in North America is what it means for Jesus to "come into" his kingdom. My expanded understanding comes from, of all places, watching subtitled Korean historical dramas. An often-repeated theme in these historical dramas is that of a usurped throne, and of a surviving heir of the original king struggling to claim his rightful place on the throne. The rightful heir is then supported in his struggles by those righteous people who believe in him. The trusted companions who are with the heir when he achieves his throne and comes into his kingdom are greatly rewarded; they become the most powerful of the leaders. Those companions who sacrifice their lives in the struggle ask the heir to "remember me when you come into your kingdom," which the heir does by providing for the families of the fallen supporters.
There is a reason that supporting the rightful heir, especially when he seems to be too weak to overthrow the usurper, deserves such special honor. Just as it is when said by the thief crucified on the cross next to Jesus, asking to be remembered when the heir "comes into" his kingdom is a statement of incredible faith.
Missional Connections for our Context
The Reign of Christ may not look exactly like what we are expecting. Those who mocked Jesus for allowing himself to be crucified were looking to a present kingdom that reflected this world's understanding of rule and reign. Instead, Jesus looks towards his impending reign with the Father, one in which Christ will reign with might and power, but also with mercy.
Likewise, God's righteousness and justice may not look like what we think of as righteousness and justice. Official U.S. righteousness and justice often takes the shape of condemnation and retribution. Everyone in the North American context is affected by the current phenomena of mass incarceration. According to 2018 U.S. Bureau of Justice statistics over 2.1 million adults were held in American prisons and jails, and if the incarcerated populated a city it would rate among the top ten U.S. cities. It is very likely that, if you do not have a formerly incarcerated person in your congregation, you do have someone whose family member, friend, or loved one is or has been in prison. In urban contexts, the likelihood of this is even higher. What can we learn from Jesus' example in Luke about how reach those impacted by mass incarceration?
In the Luke 23 passage, what we see is a contrast between redemption and reconciliation on one hand and a sentence of death on the other. When we look at how Jesus models righteousness and justice, he allows himself to be crucified and he promises to remember a convicted criminal when they enter into Jesus' kingdom.
This informs my understanding of what it might mean when Jesus says during the Sermon on the Mount, "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 5:10). I suggest that "for righteousness' sake" may also mean "condemned by the world structures and institutions for unrighteousness." Honored saints might not be exactly who we imagine. We may meet redeemed former criminals serving as leaders in Jesus' heavenly kingdom.
This perspective of the Reign of Christ is important and relevant to missional preaching for two reasons. First, the idea that a repentant criminal is honored by Jesus is an incredibly hopeful message to those who live in guilt, whether or not they were caught or convicted of a specific crime. Secondly, this message prepares God's people regarding those who have committed crimes but have repented and turned their hearts to Jesus, to set aside their prejudices here and now, and to accept and honor these saints. It may save many people from future embarrassment when we meet again in Christ's kingdom and see who Jesus honors.
Biographical Summary
Dr. Linda Lee Smith Barkman earned a PhD from Fuller Theological Seminary, with a focus on Intercultural Communication, and is also under care toward ordination with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). As an educator, writer, and advocate, her heart ministry is providing voice to the marginalized, particularly women in difficult circumstances, and most especially to incarcerated women and to indigenous women in the barrios of Tijuana, Mexico. Dr. Barkman was herself incarcerated in a California prison for thirty years.