The Lectionary Gospel text for this week is from Matthew 10:40-42. Just 3 verses but they contain a very powerful “suggestion!” In the final verse of chapter 10, we read these words, “And if anyone gives even a cup of cool water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward!” (NIV) I want to concentrate on just one word in this suggested action sentence – cool.
Why did Jesus add that little qualifier, “cool?” Why would not just a cup of water suffice? Have you ever been really thirsty and had the pleasure of drinking a nice big glass of ice water? There are not too many things that will taste better than ice water when it comes to quenching one’s thirst. Cool or cold water is something we don’t think too much about these days. We keep ice in the freezer and it is as simple as putting some ice in a glass of water to make it cool. We have drinking fountains that will provide us with thirst-quenching cool water and even the water coolers we get from places like Culligan will provide us with cold (and sometimes hot!) water. Things were not that way in Jesus’ day however. In Jesus’ day, there was no “running water” in people’s homes. Water was available at a centralized well. Early each morning, someone from the household would take clay pitchers to the well and fill them with water. By the end of the day and time for the evening meal, that water was probably a little warmer than room temperature. Imagine drinking water that had been sitting out all day in a hot and dusty environment. With that said, it is easy to see that if one was offered cool water, it would require doing something a little extra. Cool water would come directly from the well and someone would have to make a trip back to the well in order to provide cool water. What Jesus is really saying here, I believe, is that what we are to offer to people who are in need should be our best; we should “go the extra mile” for them, so to speak. So now, this week, give someone a “cool drink of water” and see what happens! Amen. In Psalm 86 (the Lectionary Psalm for this week) it appears that the author is having issues with God not listening to him (or her). It is a lament from someone who is obviously in need of God’s help. The first seven verses are a series of petitions asking God for specific help—poor and needy, preserve my life, be gracious, gladden the soul of your servant, give ear and answer me.
I think it is safe to say that the initial reason for this lament is in verse one when the author writes, “Incline your ear, O Lord and answer me, for I am poor and needy.” This is a two-word phrase that expresses a single thought—the author needs help and needs it badly. I am sure that many times we feel the very same way. Instead of being poor in material things (since by the world’s standards most of us are far from poor) today I can imagine that from time to time, we find ourselves poor in our spiritual lives. We all need help spiritually and the best way to get that help is to pray to God and ask for specific things. The author of this lament does just that – asks specifically for things that will move them from being “poor and needy” to rich and fulfilled. “You do not have, because you do not ask,” the author of James writes. (James 4:2c) As Christians, I believe sometimes we actually pray when we are in need and we assume that God knows what he needs, when we should be specific in asking God for what we feel we need. That prayer, however, should always end with “Not my will but your will be done!” Jesus gave us the perfect example of that very thing when he prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane asking God specifically for the cup of death to be taken away from him. He followed up that request by saying, “not my will but yours!” Amen. The Gospel reading in the Revised Common Lectionary for this coming Sunday is Matthew 9:35-10:8. This is a story about Jesus teaching his inner-circle of disciples the importance of sharing their story about Jesus. In v37 Jesus points out that the “harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few.” What harvest is Jesus talking about? Why are the laborers few?
The harvest Jesus is talking about is those who need to hear the Jesus story. It is no different today. Statistics remind us that almost every church (mainline protestant) is seeing a decline in not only church membership but also in church attendance. The world’s population certainly is NOT declining, so why is church attendance in such a state of decline? Could it be that the cause of decline is due to the simple fact that there are not enough laborers telling the Jesus story? We live in a world where too many things have taken the place of church. When I was a child, no one played baseball on Sunday morning. Sunday was church day. In fact, under what was called “Blue Laws,” all the businesses in my home town were closed. One gas station out on the interstate was open on Sunday but everything else was closed. But today, Sunday is just another day! So many things have taken the place of church, so maybe the bigger question here is why do we need church in the first place? Church is not a building but rather is the body of believers—a fellowship of other Christians. Church should be a place where we go to refuel, re-energize for the coming week and learn how to go out and tell the Jesus story. Telling that story is not an option for Christians, it is a requirement. The laborers are few, however. That means that what laborers we do have need to work a little harder. We need to teach and prepare other laborers so that there will be workers fully prepared and ready to go make disciples! My hope is that you find that church is energizing and that you learn in church and that you can leave church prepared and eager to go make disciples – that is what Jesus demands of each one of us! Amen. The Old Testament reading for this week is Genesis 1:1 – 2:3. Most of us recognize this as the Creation Story. More than likely, this rich story is similar to a patch-work quilt, taking more than one source writer or author and combining them into one incredible story.
What is clear is that this is a story about beginnings. In fact, the word translated as Genesis actually means beginnings. This becomes clearer when we understand that God is referred to in three different ways: God, Lord God and Lord. The lectionary text for this week recounts the first story of creation (there are two creation stories in Genesis with the other being Genesis 2:4-25). When I was a child, I visualized what it must have been like as God created the world. I had been told the story in Sunday School from an early age. Once I was able to read, this story was one that fascinated me. I visualized God rolling up his big puffy sleeves and putting his hands in the dirt and working to create this wonderful world in which we live. Later I learned that is not how it happened at all! I came from a long line of carpenters and I understand how things go together or at least I know how to read a set of blue prints to understand how things go together. However, as I studied the scriptures more, I learned that God never put his hands in/on creation – God simply spoke things into existence. I also learned that God created the world, not by bringing things together but by separating them! As creation begins, God separated light from darkness. Next God separates the water above from the water below. Day three sees water and land separated from each other. Day four God creates the sun and the moon and he separates day from night. In day five God separated land animals from sea creatures. Day six God separates animals from humans and on day seven, God separates work from rest. God entrusted humanity to take care of this wonderful creation we call the world. How are we doing with that? Some would say that we are not doing so well while some say that the world has this remarkable way of healing itself no matter what we humans do. Truth is, we could do a better job of taking care of God’s great gift of creation. I think that would please God greatly! Amen. This coming Sunday we celebrate Pentecost—the day when the Holy Spirit came. If your belief system accepts the concept of the Trinity, it is easy to grasp the significance of the coming of the Holy Spirit. In John 14:15-17 we read, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.”
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This blog consists of reflections written by the minister each week for the Sunday bulletin. We hope that you enjoy the musings! Archives
January 2020
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