A Lenten Reading of Matthew - Day Twenty

Scripture Reading: Matthew 14:1-36 (NRSVUE)

We have an interlude of the death of John the Baptist - an important figure in Jesus' life as the one who baptized him.  John also spoke to the world about righteousness in similar ways to Jesus.  

But John was an ascetic, fasting in the desert.  His disciples already asked in chapter nine of Jesus' disciples, why they didn't fast.  Jesus was known more for his feasting than his fasting.

And then he hears of John's death, and it must have been difficult because he goes away by himself.  The crowds follow and Jesus seems to emphasize the priority of feasting over fasting in that he tells his disciples, "You give them something to eat."

When we recognize abundance,
sharing is easier.

As the disciples later cross over the sea, people in that day would have had more of a natural fear of the isolated places - these were places of ghosts and evil spirits.  Maybe they still had some of the leftover belief that God was not really present there - like Jonah seeking to flee from God's presence.

They discover through their doubt that it isn't a ghost, but in fact it is God who walks with them even in the isolated places.  We see the disciples' movement toward Jesus as the Messiah.  And even though Peter wants to do what Jesus does, he reminds us that we still hold onto our fears.  

In naming Jesus as the Son of God, the disciples are recognizing him as the Messiah.

Even the crowds who are healed at touching the fringe of his cloak would make sense to a first century Jewish audience.  They would know the legend of the fringe of the prayer shawl of the Messiah providing healing for any who touched it.

And so, as we see the ministry of Jesus, we find that he first provides health and wholeness and the food of life before asking anything of people.  But whether this is done through teaching or miracles or healing, we may find that we are called to offer life as well.

And like Jesus, this may come on the heels of our losing someone close to us.  How might we honor the life of someone we love by making the world a better place for others?

Prayer for the day:

God of the present moment,

God who in Jesus stills the storm

and soothes the frantic heart;

bring hope and courage to each of us as we wait in uncertainty.

Bring hope that you will make us the equal of whatever lies ahead.

Bring us courage to endure what cannot be avoided,

for your will is health and wholeness;

you are God, and we need you.

Amen.

Prayer from the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia in A New Zealand Prayer Book.

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A Lenten Reading of Matthew - Day Nineteen

Scripture Reading: Matthew 13:24-58 (NRSVUE)

Jesus continues to teach in parables, and we have the lengthier weeds and wheat followed by several shorter parables which each have a kind of twist to them.

Sometimes we can be pretty
vigorous in our weed pulling!

The weeds and the wheat remind us not to judge another's spiritual relationship with God, but rather to live side by side with people.  We also remember the previous parable of sowing the seed.  You never know when you might influence someone into becoming wheat!

The mustard seed and the yeast are a little surprising to a first century Jewish audience.  Mustard was considered a weed (rather than a tree) and could be seen as an invasive plant.  Jewish farmers would likely work to remove it as the Law required from Leviticus 19:19: "you shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed".

Yeast was not exactly an unclean element, but it was forbidden leading up to Passover.

It seems as if the kingdom of heaven is something that isn't domesticated or under human control.  It provides benefit to people and others in surprising ways.

The final parables seem to be about prioritizing God in our lives above other mundane things.

And then after these teachings, we see Jesus rejected by his hometown of Nazareth.  

His designation as the carpenter's son really meant, "Isn't he just a carpenter?  Why should we listen to him?"

But Jesus might be more like the mustard seed or the leaven.  Unfortunately, the people of his town miss out on the miracles because of their lack of faith.  They are not willing to sell everything to buy the field or the pearl.  They are unwilling to see beyond what they think they know.

How often do we miss out on the miraculous because of our own limited sight?  Who might we be short-changing because of how we see them?  

It could be that we are pulling weeds and unwittingly pulling up wheat!

Prayer for the day:

God, help us to have clean hearts ready inside us for the Lord Jesus, so that he will be glad to come in, gratefully accepting the hospitality of those worlds, our hearts: he whose glory and power will endure throughout the ages.  Amen.

Prayer by Origen of Alexandria, 3rd Century

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A Lenten Reading of Matthew - Day Eighteen

Scripture Reading: Matthew 13:1-23 (NRSVUE)

Jesus was a teller of stories - he made points with parables.  The great thing about a parable is that it may have more than one point.  I've preached the parables through many years of ministry and often find new ways of seeing them as I come to them in different spaces and at different times.  

But they speak to the truth and Jesus continues to be relevant through each age.  I continue to return to the parables because you never know what new truth they will reveal until you read them again.

As we look at the parable of the Sower, this is one of the rare instances where Jesus provides an explanation.  We see that there are a variety of reasons why the seed may not take hold.  I like the fact that the Sower scatters the seed indiscriminately in the first place.  You would think that he could tell good soil from rocky soil or thorny soil or especially the path!

As we remember the Sermon on the Mount, we remember that Jesus told us not to judge.  Maybe we are not to judge who receives the seed.  Let it fall where it may.  

Who knows?  Maybe this is good soil too.

I've done a lot of weddings in my ministerial career.  Some couples seemed destined for a long and happy marriage but then for whatever reason, the marriage ended.  Others I doubted would last the year and yet they are still married and going strong.  The only judgment I try to make is whether I suspect obvious harm would be done were they to marry.  I also may make recommendations for what they might need to work on.  But for the most part, after the marriage counseling, I will officiate at their ceremony.  Because you never know what the soil really is.

This is similar to how we share the good news.  We are to proclaim the love of God to all people.  Everyone needs to hear it.  Not all will receive it.  

But you never know.

How might you express to people that they are deserving of love?  It's not something they have to earn.  In fact, there are some we would have great reservations about whether we actually believe they should receive it.  But we just scatter regardless.

Because you never know.

Maybe this says more about who we are than who they are.

Prayer for the day:

Grant me, I beseech you, my God, in the name of Jesus Christ your Son, the charity which never fails, that my light may shine, warming my own heart and enlightening others.  Amen.

Prayer by Columbanus, Italy, 7th Century  

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A Lenten Reading of Matthew - Day Seventeen

Scripture Reading: Matthew 12:22-50 (NRSVUE)

We start with another miracle of Jesus restoring sight and speaking to a man.  The crowds begin to question whether Jesus was the Messiah (Son of David).  The Pharisees (whom Jesus has tweaked with his teaching) want to see the opposite.  They claim that Jesus is working with the devil.  

Jesus questions this strategy basically saying that this is a ludicrous idea as it would be very nonproductive of Satan.  It goes to show how we can get our minds set against people.  They couldn't even acknowledge a miracle when they saw it.

When they ask for a sign and Jesus cites the sign of Jonah, we see a foreshadowing of Jesus' death and resurrection.  But the sign of Jonah may also refer to their inability to go to the Gentiles just as Jonah was.  Rather than be happy with fulfilling the mission of God to be a light to the nations, Jonah sits on the hill and sulks that his enemies weren't vanquished.  This could be a nod to how the Pharisees felt about the Romans.  Jesus is beginning to push the boundaries of how his people would define themselves as the people of God - who will be included?

Outside of one's culture, the main way that people would define themselves was by their family.  I once heard of a seminarian talk about preaching this text of Jesus questioning his own mother and siblings on Mother's Day.  I'm not sure the wisdom of that!  But Jesus does push the boundaries again of who will be included in the reign of God.  

As we think about today's reading, Jesus starts with a miracle and seems to be frustrated with the needless critique.  Sometimes, people have trouble with accepting a good thing.

Sometimes we might curse the umbrella
instead of being thankful we have one!

What gifts or blessings have you received lately that you have questioned?  Do we sometimes neglect to give thanks because we are waiting for the other shoe to drop?  How might we appreciate things as they come more often?  I'm sure I've been the one to frustrate Jesus at times, but I would rather not do that!

Prayer for the day:

Lord of all mercy and goodness, suffer us not by any ingratitude or hardness of heart to forget the wonderful benefits that you have bestowed upon us this and every day; but grant that we may be mindful all the days of our life of the incomparable gifts which you ever give us through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Prayer is from an early Scottish source.

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A Lenten Reading of Matthew - Day Sixteen

Today's Reading: Matthew 12:1-21 (NRSVUE)

We see a difference in interpretation between Jesus and the Pharisees regarding the Sabbath.  As we remember, the Pharisees were trying to hold onto their identity as God's people by a strict adherence to the Law of Moses.  There was a lot of Gentile intrusion into their society with the Roman occupation but also with trade that accompanied it.  The Pharisees may have seen strict obeyance as a way to measure one's faithfulness to God.

Are you willing to follow the Law to the letter?

Unfortunately, this can create definitive winners and losers.  Human beings become the judges as they can observe who is loyal to the Law and who is willing to let some of it slide.

Jesus shows us that not all of the Law is equal.  If there is a chance to help someone on the Sabbath, Jesus indicates that God would be pleased with this action.  It would supersede even the rest we are commanded to keep.

Some rules are for our own protection.

This may have been why John Wesley's General Rules of Do No Harm and Do Good come before the third rule of attending to the spiritual disciplines.  Wesley was trying to follow the example of his Lord.

Notice that Jesus chooses to quote from a passage from Isaiah that promotes justice among the Gentiles.  This would not be what the Pharisees would want to hear.  They would much rather cite passages that consider Gentiles unclean.  In their interpretation, the unclean nature of the Gentiles superseded the mercy that Jesus was willing to extend.

But Jesus informs us of God's priority when he reminds us that God promotes mercy over sacrifice.

Rules are important for the social fabric of any culture.  At the same time, rules are made for a reason.  When we promote the blind following of rules without considering the rationale for why we have them in the first place, we are in danger of becoming pharisaical.  All of us fall into this trap from time to time.

How do we remember that our Lord commands us to love first of all?

Think of a time when the rules you followed prevented you from helping someone.  How would it challenge you if you thought about an alternative way to behave the next time?

Maybe this would be a way to show that in Jesus' name, people still hope.

Prayer for the Day:

O God, who has bound us together in the bundle of life, give us grace to understand how our lives depend on the industry, the honesty and integrity of our peers; that we may be mindful of their needs, grateful for their faithfulness, and faithful in our responsibilities to them; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Prayer by Reinhold Niebuhr, Union Theological Seminary, 20th century

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A Lenten Reading of Matthew - Day Fifteen

Scripture Reading: Matthew 11:1-30 (NRSVUE)

We see Jesus preaching in the places where his disciples were raised.  This would make sense in that traveling rabbis would need a place to stay on the road and the disciples would have families that would accommodate them.

But it seems that not even this familiarity helped these towns to turn toward greater faithfulness.  We are reminded of the human condition - that it is often hard to get us off dead center.  We may find ourselves attracted to the flashy - such as the miraculous things Jesus was doing - but when it comes to actual change, we have difficulty letting the impressions lead us toward any significant repentance.

Evidently, people did take offense at Jesus and his teaching along his preaching tour.  We see the difference between the ministries of John the Baptizer and Jesus.  John was an ascetic living out in the wilderness who fasted regularly.  Jesus feasted regularly in the cities he visited.  The accusation of being a glutton and a drunkard would be more serious than it sounds at first glance.  The fate of this kind of son in Deuteronomy 21:20 was death by stoning.  

But we see that the real punishment comes to those who do take offense at Jesus or at a minimum, refuse to repent of their behavior.

Dogs are good at repairing relationships!

Fortunately, as we continue to be in relationship with Jesus, we find that he is not a harsh teacher.  It may be that we find that when we do repent - when we do follow in faithfulness - the behavior Jesus calls us to emulate brings us into the light. In the long run, it is easier to be in relationship with others if we are gentle and humble rather than self-centered.  

Maybe a little more gentleness and humility will keep us from taking offense at Jesus. 

Prayer for the day:

O Savior, meek and lowly of heart, let not our pride refuse your bidding, to become as little children, in joy and simplicity, in trustfulness one toward another, in lowliness of heart; and by this your own glory, bring us unto ours; for your majesty and your mercy's sake.  Amen.

Prayer by Eric Milner-White, Church of England, 20th Century

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A Lenten Reading of Matthew - Day Fourteen

Scripture Reading: Matthew 10:1-42 (NRSVUE)

Jesus appears to be talking directly to the disciples of his day as his ministry and message were not without controversy.  But he also appears to be talking to future disciples through Matthew's voice.  In Jesus' time, his followers didn't go before governors and kings, but they would by the time Matthew put pen to paper.

When Jesus tells them not to go to gentiles, we may be taken aback.  We do see that their testimony will come later in verse 18.  Of course, the Jewish disciples of Jesus go to Jewish towns because these places should know the example of Abraham's hospitality.  The story of Sodom and Gomorrah occurs just following Abraham and Sarah hosting the three strangers.

What is Jesus really about?

We are to bring peace to a household when we enter it.

But Jesus also tells them that he isn't about peace but the sword.

This is a rather dramatic way of reminding the disciples that we must stay in our lane.  There will be those who seek to sway you from your course - to stay in unhealthy patterns of behavior.  We must remember what we are about and who Jesus is for us.  

Not everyone will agree with you
when you seek to bless with peace.

We return to righteousness and we remember that Jesus is talking about being as a parent or advocate for those who are outsiders in society.

As we continue our journey, who do you know who might need a cup of cold water?  How might you provide it?  Further, how do we bring peace upon the places we enter?  Do we wait until we have this peace in our own lives?  Sometimes, it is easier to model peace than to feel it.  Maybe the feeling comes after we model it on a regular basis.

Prayer for today:

O God, grant calmness and control of thought to those who are facing uncertainty and anxiety: let their hearts stand fast, believing in the Lord.  God, be all things to all people, knowing each one and each petition, each house and its need, for the sake of Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Prayer from 6th Century Russian Liturgy

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