A Lenten Reading of Matthew - Day Thirty-Six

Scripture Reading: Matthew 25:31-46 (NRSVUE)

This is one of the most famous passages from Matthew and it only occurs in his Gospel.  We don't see any doctrinal assertions, professions of faith in Jesus, or even repentance by those ushered into heaven.

Those who are favored are named righteous.

This reminds us of the early use of the word righteous in Matthew's Gospel which referred to how people generously treated those in need.  In this day, it is important that we never confuse it with "self-righteous" which would be heavily problematic considering how Jesus felt about hypocrisy.

We can see that Jesus was serious about the end of the Sermon on the Mount in chapter seven.  Jesus lays out the Golden Rule for us and those who are named righteous live this out.  Jesus also told us, "A good tree bears good fruit and a bad tree bears bad fruit."  In case we were wondering what constitutes fruit, Jesus lays it out for us in today's reading.

Jesus also declared in the Sermon on the Mount, "Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven."

It appears that the goats have deceived themselves into believing that they would enter heaven - maybe even ahead of those they had ignored in life.

If we see the buzzards circling, we seek
to help.  But first we check to make sure
that we are not among the circling!

The sheep have truly built their houses upon a rock - the rock of the teaching of Jesus.

This isn't an easy teaching.  Sometimes we may complain of compassion fatigue due to the amount of help needed by people.  But it is important that we do not complain of it before we begin!  When we discover that there are more people that need help than we can possibly help, we must continue to help as we can, but our priority then turns to justice as we seek to ask the question, "Why are so many people hungry?"  For these situations, compassion is important, but justice will eventually lessen the need for it.

This passage is incarnational.  If we are waiting for the return of Jesus, we may not be looking in the right places.

How will you help Jesus today?

Prayer for the day:

Make us worthy, Lord, to serve our neighbors throughout the world who live and die in poverty and hunger.  Give them, through our hands, this day their daily bread, and by our understanding love, give peace and joy.  Amen.

Prayer by Mother Teresa of Calcutta, 20th Century

Photo by Richard W via Flickr.com.  Used under the Creative Commons license.

A Lenten Reading of Matthew - Day Thirty-Five

Scripture Reading: Matthew 25:1-30 (NRSVUE)

These two parables are about who is in and who is out.  We may feel a little sorry for the foolish women or the servant who hid his money in the ground.  If we take into account the compassion of Jesus through the Sermon on the Mount but especially in his solidarity with those in need later in this very chapter, the endings of these two parables seem a bit disingenuous.  

With the bridesmaids, shouldn't the wise women share their oil with the foolish?  Wouldn't those who enter the kingdom of God want to do this?

And when the foolish do make an effort to gather the oil they need, the bridegroom makes no effort to forgive but rather forgets he ever knew them.  This doesn't fit well with our understanding of the forgiveness that we believe God offers as outlined earlier in Matthew's Gospel.

So, what does the oil represent?

Similarly, we have the servants who take care of their master's money.  He diversifies his investment by splitting his talents with three different servants.  Two of them double his money but the third takes no risks.  He doesn't lose it either, but this affords him no praise.  It is noted in the parable that they were given the differing amounts based on the master's estimation of their ability.  He already thought the third servant was the weakest of the bunch.  So why is he surprised at the outcome?

What do the talents represent?

I would see the oil and the talents as the actions of righteousness.  This fits with the ending of the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus expects us to act upon his teaching.  We can't really share our actions with others - they have to do them for themselves.

And as we've received blessings such as the talents, we must be willing to risk on behalf of others.  If we bury it, we miss out on what they really mean.

Inherently, the blessings we receive may come from the enlightenment we get from actually doing good things for others.  If we never help someone in need, we never experience the joy of transformation.  We are not shaped by love.

As you go through today, what might you do to fill your oil?  What risk might you take with the talents you've received so that they might be multiplied?

Prayer for the day:

Lord, make us to walk in your way:

  where there is love and wisdom, there is neither fear nor ignorance;

  where there is patience and humility, there is neither anger nor annoyance;

  where there is poverty and joy, there is neither greed nor avarice;

  where there is peace and contemplation, there is neither worry nor restlessness;

  where there is mercy and prudence, there is neither excess nor harshness;

this we know through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Prayer by Francis of Assisi, 13th Century

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

A Lenten Reading of Matthew - Day Thirty-Four

Scripture Reading: Matthew 24:29-51 (NRSVUE) 

As we see things change all around us, we may long for a time of stability.  When we see injustice happen, but especially if we feel it happening to us, we may pray for God to set things right again.

The looking toward the end of time is something all religions express.  It is a movement of hope to say that in the end, God will set all things right.  We like to imagine a world where sighing and sorrowing will be no more.

This may have especially been needed for Matthew's community in the 1st century after being rocked by the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple.  

As Jesus calls us to watchfulness, this can be used as a fear tactic to keep us on the right path.  Or it may be used as a tool for mindfulness.  How many times have we missed what is right in front of us because we were looking at something captivating on our little gods screens?  It may be difficult to live in the moment and think deeply of who we are called to be when the notification chime keeps demanding our attention.

Once again, Jesus calls us to lives of integrity.  We are to do the right thing even when no one is looking.

In fact, we are to be caught doing the right thing!

For some, this may sound like a tedious existence - always watching out for slipping up.  But I would rather us think about it as resting in the love of God.  This is an accepting love that forgives faults and seeks to point out what is positive and encouraging.  So rather than berating ourselves when we don't pass this demeanor on to how we treat others, we simply nudge ourselves back to true.

Be as good to yourself as you are called to be to your neighbor.

Prayer for the day:

O God, make us more thankful for what we have received, more content with what we have, and more mindful of other people in need: we ask it for his sake who lived for us in poverty, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Prayer by Simon H. Baynes, Church of England, 20th Century

Photo by Ed Yourdon via Flickr.com.  Used under the Creative Commons license.

A Lenten Reading of Matthew - Day Thirty-Three

Scripture Reading: Matthew 24:1-28 (NRSVUE)

Matthew pivots from the hypocrisy of the Pharisees to the destruction of the Temple.  Of course, he is writing this with the hindsight of the razing of Jerusalem in 70 CE.  

When Jesus says, "Not one stone will be left upon another," Matthew knows that this has already come to pass.

The wars and destruction have already taken place.  But the early church would also be in the midst of persecution.  They may hear this as a reassurance - this was known and predicted, and things will be okay in the end.

Sometimes the chaos is metaphorical
and sometimes it is actual.

Sometimes, when we are lost, we look for some signs of recognition that we might find our way again.  We seek for familiarity and when we find it, we are relieved.  There is comfort in the prediction as well, for the early church to know that these things are a part of life.

As we experience wars and chaos in the 21st century, we may have our own anxieties.  While the wars have not touched us in the United States as dramatically as in other countries, we still know what it is to experience chaos here.

It is unsettling. 

We would like to find the familiar.

Does verse twelve ring true for us today?  "And because of the increase in lawlessness, the love of many will grow cold."

It may be that we need our faith to help us endure.  We remember the call of Jesus to love God and to love our neighbors.  How does chaos make it difficult to love?

May we remember that love is not a feeling for the Christian as much as it is an action.

Prayer for the day:

Give us, O God, the power to go on, to carry our share of your burden through to the end, to live all the years of our life faithful to the highest we have seen.  Give us the power to give ourselves, to break the bread of our lives unto starving humanity; in humble self-subjection to serve others, as you, O God, do serve the world.  Amen.

Prayer by J.S. Hoyland, Quaker, 20th Century

Photo by James Guppy via Flickr.com.  Used under the Creative Commons license.

A Lenten Reading of Matthew - Day Thirty-Two

Scripture Reading: Matthew 23:1-39 (NRSVUE)

Matthew compiles a lot of frustration from Jesus against the Pharisees in this chapter.  This may have been Matthew's projection onto Jesus for the difficulties in the synagogues that some Christians would have had with the particular rabbis who became the spiritual descendants of the Pharisees.  

We see that Jesus is going to interpret scripture through the love of God and neighbor.  The two go hand in hand and Jesus sees the teaching of the Pharisees coming up short.

The problem with oaths reminds us of the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus discusses this the first time.

This image helps us to understand
the hyperbole that Jesus uses

He also emphasizes love for the neighbor when he states in Matthew 9:13, "Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy not sacrifice.'"  Jesus tells them today that they are majoring in the minors by straining out a gnat from the cup but swallowing a camel!  They miss out on the weightier matters of justice.

As the Pharisees tie up heavy burdens for the people, we remember the words of Jesus from 11:28 when he declares, "Come to me, you who are carrying heavy burdens and I will give you rest."

The general theme of hypocrisy runs all through Matthew's gospel.  As the disciples of Jesus, we must be careful to practice what we preach.  We are not to tie up heavy burdens for Jesus' followers (or the unchurched) but rather reflect the joy of love for one another.  

Sometimes, we may say, loving others is also a heavy burden.  It can be if we were to do it alone.  Fortunately, we partner with God in this love.  As we pray, we do not ask for glory and honor but rather the ability to understand people in their current situations.

The Pharisaical attitude exists in every religion - we are not immune.  So, when we find ourselves following these blind guides, we must turn to Jesus for enlightenment.  We find new sight in the forgiveness we receive.  We find the strength to offer the same to others who have harmed us.

Even the Pharisees.

Because we recognize that sometimes they are us!

Prayer for the day:

God, help us not to put on the facade of pious fellowship that permits no one to be a sinner.  May we conceal our sins neither from ourselves nor from our neighbors.  And when we do discover a real sinner among the righteous, may we not be horrified to the point of shaming this person into hiding.  Rather, may we recognize that we all have fears and anxieties that sometimes get the best of us.  May our shared vulnerability guard us from hypocrisy.  Amen.  

Prayer based on writing from Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together, 20th Century

Photo by adair broughton via Flickr.com.  Used under the Creative Commons license.

A Lenten Reading of Matthew - Day Thirty-One

Scripture Reading: Matthew 22:23-46 (NRSVUE)

We see Jesus as a Rabbi, engaging Pharisees and Sadducees with his own interpretation of the scriptures.  This would have been normative for rabbis to converse about and was not as contentious as when they are trying to catch Jesus in a trap.

He explains the resurrection to Sadducees who deny it.  They seek to show the absurdity of the resurrection with regards to the Law where a woman is bound to bear a son for her deceased husband's line with the brother of her dead spouse. This is all about lineage and property rights and Jesus informs them that we won't have these kinds of concerns in heaven.

Then later, Jesus seeks to show that the Messiah could come from any line - not necessarily the line of David - and that the Messiah would be mightier than David.  Of course, we know about the coming resurrection that the Sadducees were trying to debunk.  By turning back death, Jesus will be mightier than David.

Maybe the Beatles were on to something

In the midst of this, we find the lens that Jesus uses to interpret scripture.  He names the greatest commandments as loving God with all our being and loving our neighbors as we love ourselves.  If there is any mistaking his importance for this, Jesus declares, "On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."  The twin loves of God and neighbor are the ways in which we interpret the rest of scripture.  I saw a cartoon of David Hayward's that has Jesus stating to some of his modern followers, "The difference between you and me is you use scripture to determine what love means and I use love to determine what scripture means."

Mark contains this lens as well.  In his version, Jesus states, "There is no other commandment greater than these." (Mark 12:31b)

Luke also shares the greatest commandment with Jesus concluding, "Do this and you will live." (Luke 10:28b)

Luke follows this teaching with the parable of the Good Samaritan lest we seek to narrowly define our neighbors.

As we think about scripture, there are many times when some passages will trip us up.  How might you use these two commandments to interpret the tough passages?  How might they be a lens for decision-making for our own lives?  What if before we followed a course of action, we asked, "Does this increase my love of God or my love for my neighbor?"

Prayer for the Day:

God, help me to be more patient with you and with the people I encounter today.  May I be kind as an initial greeting and as a response to what I encounter.  Keep me from envy.  May I set boasting aside. Let arrogance and rudeness find little hold on how I present myself.  Help me to be open to the ideas of others and may I not find myself irritable when I follow their agenda.  Finally, lessen in me a need to keep score.  Let me rejoice in this truth of love today and always.  Amen.

Prayer based on 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 by Paul of Tarsus, 1st Century

Photo by Barb Watson via Flickr.com.  Used under the Creative Commons license. 

A Lenten Reading of Matthew - Day Thirty

Today's Reading: Matthew 22:1-22 (NRSVUE)

In this passage, we find that the parable of the wedding banquet may have been influenced by the events happening in Matthew's time.  The violence exhibited by the parable likely reflected the violence that the early church endured.  

In verse seven, we read, "The king was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city."  This actually happened in 70 CE when Roman soldiers burned Jerusalem prior to the Gospel's release.  At the time, this was the center of the Christian church as well as Judaism as the two likely would have been understood as more closely related than how we view them today.  

The banquet can be seen as the table fellowship that Jesus was calling people to attend just as John called people to the Jordan River for baptism.  Some were willing to feast but the religious authorities largely rejected it as sinful (just look at the guest list!).

Both good and bad are then invited to the banquet which reminds us of the parable of the weeds and the wheat.  

Then we have this curious passage about the man who is thrown out for ignoring decorum by neglecting the wedding garment.  It seems rather harsh - as if he is punished for his ignorance.  Some have claimed that the wedding robe stands for the baptismal garments of the early church.  This may have contributed to the custom in the Roman Catholic Church of serving the feast (Holy Communion) to only the baptized members of the church.  

In essence, this wedding garment may also stand for the righteousness of Christ.  We must put on Christ rather than stand on our own merit.  Of course, putting on Christ also means to wear humility.

Notice that Jesus is then questioned about paying taxes - a trap if there ever was one!  He would anger the Zealots if he said to pay them.  He would risk arrest if he said don't pay them.  Since they are in the vicinity of the Temple (Matthew 21:23), a good Pharisee would not have Roman money on his person - hence the money changers.  When the Pharisee says that Caesar's head is on the coin in his possession, he incriminates himself.  We can see that the Pharisee neglects to answer the question, "Whose title?" The title on most Romans coins under the picture of Caesar was, "Tiberius Caesar, Son of the Divine Augustus."  This would be blasphemous to utter in the Temple.  Jesus knows it and so do they.

In this way, Jesus steps out of the violence (for now) intended for him by the religious authorities.

How might we put on the righteousness of Christ today?  It means revisiting the Beatitudes - adopting a way of seeing people as worthy simply because they are human beings rather than the categories that we like to assign.

Prayer for the day:

O Master, Lord Jesus Christ our God, forgive us for departing from the path of righteousness and following the desires of our own hearts.  We implore Your unending goodness: Spare us, O Lord, according to the multitude of Your mercies, and save us for Your holy name’s sake, for our days are passing away in vanity.  Help us to lay aside our old ways so that we may be clothed with new resolve and may dedicate our lives to You, our Master and Benefactor, so that by following Your commandments, we may come to the eternal rest which is the abode of all those who rejoice.  Amen.

Prayer by Basil, Bishop of Caesarea, 4th Century

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