A Lenten Reading of Matthew - Day Eight

Scripture Reading: Matthew 6:1-18 (NRSVUE)

Alms, prayers and fasting were three spiritual disciplines common to religious practitioners in first century Judea.  Note that Jesus begins with a warning about our righteousness and then goes on to speak of giving alms (money to those in need).  We see righteousness defined again as how we care for those who may need help with some of the basic needs in life.

Giving charity in private not only takes away the puffing up of those doing the giving, but it also has the added benefit of providing dignity to the ones receiving it.

One in that day might argue that the trumpet is sounded so that all may come and receive.  But it also alerts everyone to your good deeds!  Instead of the ice cream man driving around in a tinkling truck, you've got the alms-giving man who is only out to help (as long as you see me do it)!

The prohibition on public prayer is not looking at corporate prayer in worship but rather more private devotional prayers.  The Lord's Prayer given as a format for Jesus' disciples begins with adoration before moving on to supplication.

Notice that the emphasis on daily bread harkens back to when God's people were wandering in the desert and fed by manna.  They were not to gather more than their needs for the day, trusting that God would supply them manna again tomorrow.  We'll see this emphasis on trust again later in the sermon.

We also see the emphasis on forgiveness being something we receive to the measure we give it.  Forgiveness becomes much more than vertical (me and you, God!) as it expands to the horizontal (me and you, neighbor!). 

The discipline of fasting is not to bloat a spiritual resumé for the community.

As we go through the Lenten season, this reading explores our motivation for pursuing spiritual disciplines.  It may be helpful for us to examine how much of our behavior is determined by a high moral or ethical standard and how much is influenced by how we will be perceived by our peers.  Of course, this is impossible to measure but maybe rich to consider.

It is good to recognize at least that most people want to be liked and well-thought-of!  But at the end of the day, according to Jesus, the driver for our action should be oriented more toward God than what we might get out of it.

Prayer for the day:

God, of your goodness, give me yourself,
for you are sufficient for me.
I may not ask for anything less
than what befits my full worship of you.
If I were to ask anything less, I should always be in want,
for in you alone do I have all.
Amen.

Prayer by Julian of Norwich, 14th century

Photo by Wes Peck via Flickr.com.  Used under the Creative Commons license.

A Lenten Reading of Matthew - Day Seven

Scripture Reading: Matthew 5:21-48 (NRSVUE)

This may be a true statement. How is Jesus
asking us to go beyond it?

As we continue with Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, we find that today's teaching seems to be about taking our relationships seriously.  In today's society, with increased polarization, the ending or cutting off of relationships seems to be trending.  

According to Bowen's Family Systems Theory, this is not a healthy response to relationship.  In the first century, people didn't have the mobility that we experience today.  So, maintaining healthy relationships was important for everyone involved because of proximity.

Jesus mentions reconciliation and states that we should be careful when angry with someone that we don't call them derogatory names.  I'm reflecting on how often "fool" or other derivatives enter my mind during the day.  My guess is that we could all do better here.

Prohibitions on adultery and divorce are also relational.  Of course, these came out of a patriarchal system where a man could divorce a woman, but the reverse was not a possibility.  The disallowance of divorce was a leveling of power between gender - it didn't make them equal, but it was a movement.

Jesus seems to ask for us to have integrity in our relationships (imagine that!) where we can be taken at our word.  He doesn't want us to bring God into the mix for our convincing arguments.  Jesus sees this as a misuse of God's name which is prohibited in the Ten!

Retaliation makes the whole world blind and toothless. Jesus recognizes that when there are power differentials such as between a Roman soldier and a Jewish citizen, one might get on top of the abuse by asserting one's freedom of choice to go beyond what was being asked.  Take the power back!

Finally, we are asked to love our enemies.  Jesus is not talking about love as a feeling as much as love as an action.  If we believe God loves them, can we remember that as we interact with them?  

As we reflect on the Beatitudes at the beginning of the sermon, adopting humility, mercy and peacemaking can move us a long way toward accomplishing all that Jesus lines out for us here.

In reviewing the different pieces of today's reading, which causes you the most heartburn?  Why do you think that is?  If someone were to be able to accomplish all that Jesus lines out here, that person would be strong indeed.  This person would have a sense of self - identity - that others could not take away with their words or actions.  They would practice healthy boundaries.  They would seek to make the world a better place just by being in it.  I pray for this strength for you today.

Prayer for the day:

You have called us, O God, to be your people.  You have loved us and chosen us for your own.  Clothe us with your compassion, your kindness, your humility, your gentleness and your patience.  Help us forgive one another as you have forgiven us.  And bind us all together in perfect unity of your love. Amen.

Prayer adapted from Colossians 3:12-14 (Good News Bible)

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A Lenten Reading of Matthew - Day Six

Scripture Reading: Matthew 5:1-20 (NRSVUE)

This is the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount which goes through chapter seven.  Matthew provides this material of Jesus' teaching that isn't found in Mark (which Matthew is patterned after).  Luke has similar (but shorter) material in the Sermon on the Plain contained in 6:17-49. 

As we begin with the Beatitudes, we begin to see a teaching that varies from the common wisdom of the day.  

Common wisdom believed that God rewarded the faithful within this lifetime through easily identifiable blessings such as long-life, general good health, many children, and plenty of food and resources.  Accidents didn't just occur but were rather judgments on a person for something bad they had done.  

The Hebrew Bible has many verses from Proverbs and other places that seem to favor this view.  But it also contains other wisdom literature such as Ecclesiastes or Job as well as many of the prophets that challenge the simplicity of this theology.  Jesus seems to be shaped more by the latter than the former.

As Christians, we are called to a more complex faith.  We are called to humility and compassion through the Beatitudes.  And we understand that through the lens of Christ, we find the scriptures fulfilled.  

Which one is blessed?

We see the term righteousness used three times within today's reading.  As we remember from chapter one, the idea of being righteous would have referred to being a parent or advocate for the outsider or person in need.  To be righteous means that one doesn't observe a poor person and declare, "You must have done something awful to deserve this!  Who am I to go against God's judgment by helping you?"

This isn't meek, merciful or pure in heart.  

Rather, a righteous person would seek to help.  Evidently, Jesus observed scribes and Pharisees with the more simplistic theology because he says that our righteousness must exceed theirs.

To be blessed, we must hunger and thirst for things to be set right for all people.  We must be willing to endure persecution for it.  

Where do we see these values being exemplified today?  If they seem in short supply, how might we be called to live them out as an example of good news for the world?  Today, I would invite you to pick one of the Beatitudes and periodically pray on it that you might understand it for your life and reflect it in your actions.

Prayer for the day:

Vulnerable God,
you challenge the powers that rule this world
though the needy, the compassionate,
and those who are filled with longing.
Make us hunger and thirst to see right prevail,
and single-minded in seeking peace;
that we may see your face
and be satisfied in you,
through Jesus Christ.
Amen.

Prayer by Janet Morley, England, 20th Century

Photo by Thomas Ricker via Flickr.com.  Used under the Creative Commons license.

A Lenten Reading of Matthew - Day Five

Scripture Reading: Matthew 4:1-25 (NRSVUE)

We each face our own temptations

Following his baptism by John, Jesus prepares himself for his public ministry.  He begins by withdrawing into the wilderness - maybe wondering whether to pattern himself after John's own ministry.

The Baptizer's witness originated out of the wilderness and people came to him at the Jordan River.  John seemed to break his own fast by eating locusts and wild honey - maybe whatever he could find.  This may remind us of God feeding Elijah by ravens in the wilderness.  

Jesus is tempted and these may have been considerations for what kind of leader he would be.

Would his main thrust be feeding multitudes by miraculous means?

Would he put his Jewish faith behind him and start something completely new?

Would he conquer kingdoms and be an earthly emperor similar to Caesar?

Jesus rejects each of these.  

He also rejects John's model of calling people to him out in the desert.  Jesus moves to where the people are.  He goes to the disciples that he calls which would have been a reversal - a rabbi would attract followers and decide whether to accept them or not.

Jesus goes throughout Galilee - wherever he finds the masses.  He teaches and heals.  He makes this ministry his own and begins to redefine what a Messiah will look like.  He exemplifies the name Emmanuel or God with us.

As we move through Lent, what are the pieces of your religious or spiritual history that you have kept as bedrocks to your faith today?  Which parts may have been important to your journey but are no longer vital to your beliefs now?  If you had to think about your spiritual mission in life, what would be the main thrust of what you feel God is calling you to do?

Prayer for the day:

Enlighten our understandings with knowledge of right, and govern our wills by your laws, that no deceit may mislead us, no temptation corrupt us; that we may always endeavor to do good and hinder evil.  Amidst all the hopes and fears of this world, take not your Holy Spirit from us; for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Prayer by Samuel Johnson, England, 18th century

Photo by Geoffrey Gilmour-Taylor via Flickr.com.  Used under the Creative Commons license.

A Lenten Reading of Matthew - Day Four

Scripture Reading: Matthew 3:1-17 (NRSVUE) 

"Bear fruit worthy of repentance" could be a theme for the Lenten season.  John's reproach of the outwardly religious people of his day (Pharisees from their daily discipline and Sadducees from a more intellectual or philosophical bent) is one that stands the test of time.  

If we profess worship of God, does this move us to be nicer people?

If we pray regularly, does the practice lead us to reconciliation with our neighbors?

If we read the Bible daily, are we more forgiving?

John also takes a swipe at the assumption of being in God's favor via genetics when he reprimands people for claiming to be insiders because of their ancestry.  

We've struggled with matters of tribe, race and exclusion since the before written history.  Tribe and race have often been coalescing factors of preference and preferred treatment.

But an applicable statement can be found from Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech when he said, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

When we examine the fruit of everyday people - the product of their actions - we can find virtuous behavior in every color or culture.  But unfortunately, we also know that jerks come in every hue as well.  Sometimes the same person can be both saint and sinner in the same day!  Sometimes that's me.

As we are baptized in the body of Christ, let us remember that we have become siblings with virtually every color and culture on the planet.  We may not agree with each one.  We may not vote the same way.  We wouldn't put the same food on the menu when we it's our choice.  We might raise our children differently.  

But we each love as best we can.

We likely share some of the same fears and anxieties.  

Maybe the fruit that we can exemplify during Lent can be a recognition of similarities we have with others.  What if we looked for commonality with the tenacity of a detective?

As inheritors of the mantle Christian, we might find that God would be well-pleased with us as well.

Prayer for the day:

God, lead me from death to life,
from falsehood to truth;
lead me from despair to hope,
from fear to trust;
lead me from hate to love,
from war to peace.
Let peace fill our heart,
our world, our universe.  Amen.

Prayer from the Anglican Church of Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia, 20th Century

Photo by Cornelius Zane-Grey via Flickr.com.  Used under the Creative Commons license.

A Lenten Reading of Matthew - Day Three

Scripture Reading: Matthew 2:1-23 (NRSVUE)

This is the dark part of the Christmas story.  King Herod is a client king of the Roman Empire over the territory of Judea.  Although raised Jewish, he must have believed that his true allegiance was to Augustus Caesar in Rome.  Augustus often used the title "son of a god" as he was the adopted son of Julius Caesar who considered himself divine.

Herod likely believed that in order to retain power, he must bend the knee.  While most Judeans of that day were hopeful for the Messiah to come and free them from foreign domination, Herod becomes frightened when he hears this news.

A Jewish leader instilled with the hope of God would rejoice at the coming of the Messiah. This would be seen as synonymous with God's reign.

Instead, Herod feels threatened and massacres the infants around Bethlehem, hoping to eliminate his rival.  His actions remind of those of Pharoah who had Jewish babies killed in the book of Exodus.  So rather than ushering in freedom for the people under his charge, Herod takes away their hope by killing their children.  He is an anti-Messiah or anti-Christ.

It is easy to see and root against Herod's villainy.  But the difficult question it presents revolves around the slippery slope of maintaining one's status, power or prestige.  People may sometimes make decisions that become more and more questionable until they ask themselves, "How did I get here?"

These usually start out with minor indiscretions.

As we continue in Lent, let us take a moment to ask ourselves, "Where are we going?"  What kind of goals do we have as people?  Do we include religious or spiritual goals as a part of these?

It is never bad to review one's life from time to time and Lent is the season for this kind of reflection.  This may keep us from ending in a place we would regret.  No healthy person wants to be remembered for their bad behavior.

Prayer for the day:

Lord, be with us this day,
Within us to purify us;
Above us to draw us up;
Beneath us to sustain us;
Before us to lead us;
Behind us to restrain us;
Around us to protect us.

Amen.

Prayer by Patrick of Ireland, 5th Century

Photo by RK Bentley via Flickr.com.  Used under the Creative Commons license.

A Lenten Reading of Matthew - Day Two

Scripture Reading: Matthew 1:18-25 (NRSVUE)

While the Gospel of Luke has more detail about the birth of Jesus, it definitely comes from Mary's perspective.  Matthew's Gospel features the view from Jesus' earthly father Joseph.  

It is important that Jesus is raised by a righteous man as named in verse 19.

I doubt if Joseph would wear this shirt!

Sometimes, when we hear the word righteous, we may think of self-righteous rather than a more positive attribute.  This is unfortunate in that Christians may have moved our thoughts in this direction.

Righteous as defined by chapter 29 of Job tells us that he was eyes to the blind and feet to the lame.  He was a father to the needy and championed the cause of the stranger.

While self-righteousness is very self-serving, Job's righteousness is one who has active compassion for those who are outsiders in society.

Job's definition fits Joseph in that according to Jewish law, he could have had Mary stoned to death.  He did not let his public honor or standing (which were very important in that community) get in the way of his mercy for his fiancé.

In Matthew's Gospel, Joseph receives an angelic dream rather than a physical encounter.  This may remind the reader of the Jospeh of Genesis who also received divine dreams and later interpreted them.

It makes sense that Jesus would have had an earthly father who was righteous.  We see Jesus act with similar values in his ministry.  When he comes upon the woman caught in adultery (and on the verge of being stoned to death), would Jesus have thought of the possibilities of his own mother?  Following the example of Joseph, Jesus engages the situation with righteousness.

What are some of the examples of righteousness that you can name from past influences on your life?  Where are the deeds of mercy that made an impact for you?  What will be the example that you set for those listening to the words you say and watching the actions you take?

Prayer for the day:

God, let me put right before interest,
Let me put others before self,
Let me put the things of the spirit
before the things of the body.
Let me put the attainment of noble ends
above the enjoyment of present pleasures.

Let me put principle above reputation.
Let me put you before all else.

Amen.

Prayer by John Baillie, Church of Scotland, 20th Century

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