In our scripture reading for today (Matthew 23:1-12), Jesus issues a stern warning: “Do what the scribes and Pharisees teach you but DO NOT do what they do!” (paraphrase mine) Jesus stops short of calling them “hypocrites” but he does say that they do not practice what they teach! He points out that they place heavy burdens on the backs of the people and they themselves will not even lift one finger to help others.
The scribes and Pharisees placed themselves above others. They worked hard to gain a “better seat” or a prominent position in the synagogue. Their heart was in the wrong place! Instead of working to set an example for others to follow, they worked solely for personal gain. Titles meant something to them and they really wanted to be called “rabbi!” Jesus points out that they have only one teacher and that none of them should be called “rabbi” because they are all students! While they appeared on the surface to be very pious people, they were far from piety! Jesus wants those who hear his words to understand that the kingdom of God is marked by humility. In other words, those who follow Jesus must recognize that there is only ONE master and it ain’t us! When we are able to keep our eyes firmly fixed on Jesus, and when we follow his examples and his commandments, then we will understand that all the glory goes to God and God alone. Think about what Jesus did. Jesus never took credit for any of the miracles he did—he always gave the credit to God. Over and over Jesus points out that he does nothing except through the Father. We should take that same view. I can tell you this, every time I have gone out on my own, leaving God behind, I messed things up. It is only when I listen to God, when I turn things over to God alone, that my life begins to make sense. Try it, you just might be surprised! Amen. As Paul writes his letter to the Christians living in Rome, he gives us a complete view of his thoughts concerning how one is to live the Christian life. In our scripture reading for this week, (Romans 3:19-28) we find the first step in what is known as the “Roman Road.” This “Roman Road” is four passages of scripture that we can use to answer the question, “Why do I need to be a Christian in the first place?” We find the answer to that question in our scripture reading for today – Romans 3:23.
“For all have sinned and have come short of God’s glory.” (paraphrase mine) Notice closely what that one verse tells us. ALL have sinned – not most, not just a few, not everyone but me; rather ALL have sinned and that sin causes us to “fall short of God’s glory” or heaven and life eternal. The interesting thing about this too is found in the Greek text. The word translated as “sin” is ἁμαρτάνω (hä-mär-tä'-nō). It is an archery term and it literally means not just to miss the bulls-eye, but to miss the entire target! Then we have an interesting thing in the verb tense for sin. It is in a tense that we do not have in English and it means that we sinned yesterday, we will sin to day and guess what, we will sin again tomorrow. Sin is, no matter how hard we try, just a major part of our lives. As hard as we try, we will sin and that sin separates us from God. It separates us that is unless we have Jesus to act as a “go-between” for us, paying for our sins when we have no method of paying for them ourselves. Now, just in case you want to know, the other 3 verses of the Romans Road are 5:8, 6:23 and 10:9-10. Take some time this week to read these four scripture verses. Memorize them so the next time someone asks, “Why do I need Jesus in my life anyway?” you will know how to respond! Amen. “Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.” (Luke 18:16-17 NRSV) Whether you realize it or not, little children are the only group of people that Jesus specifically says to let them come to him! There are four important reasons children should be in church.
“Finally brothers (and sisters), whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing these things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.” (Philippians 4:8-9 NRSV) These are encouraging words written by Paul in the conclusion of his letter to the church in Philippi. What point is Paul trying to get across to the church there and to us today?
Paul is encouraging what we might call “right thinking.” All of the things Paul lists in these two verses are positive things. Look at the words he uses: true, honorable, just, pure, pleasing, commendable, excellence, worthy—all positive things and good qualities to have. Do we today “think” on those things? These are things that matter, things that will help us to live a more Christ-like life. That is exactly what Paul is wanting for the church in Philippi – to live a most Christ-like life. That is why Paul said in chapter 3 of Philippians that he counts all his past as loss or more precisely dog dung compared to his life in Christ Jesus. Guess what, so should we! We too need to think more about the positive things in life, we need to think more about doing what is right instead of doing what is convenient! Think on Paul’s list of positives and you just might find that there is not much room for negative thoughts! Try it, you might just like it! Amen. Let’s put some things in perspective for just a moment here today. For the most part, I have too much “stuff!” The other day, I was moving some things around in the garage and I came to realize that I have 5 complete sets of golf clubs! Now, I can only play with a total of 14 clubs in my bag at one time, so all the other sets are just sitting there, gathering dust and being in the way! Maybe it is time I clean out some things and eliminate some of the ‘stuff” that I seem to be keeping.
Someone once said, “He who dies with the most toys wins,” to which someone else responded, “He who dies with the most toys is still dead!” For some reason we here in the United States seem to love to “collect” things. We collect golf clubs, or plates, or shot glasses, or autographed baseballs and the list just goes on and on. Why is that, I wonder? Could it be that we hope that if we collect enough “stuff” that maybe one of the things we have will be worth some money one day? Or is it that we keep all that stuff to remind us of days gone by. Whatever the reason is, we are a “collection” society. In our scripture reading for today, Paul is probably facing a similar situation. The difference is the people in and around Philippi were waving their family history around much like we show off our collectables today! Paul then lays out his own family history and it is one that cannot easily be matched. Paul comes to the conclusion that all of what he claims about himself is just trash compared to his relationship with Christ Jesus. He then takes it a step further and calls his “pedigree’ nothing more than excrement compared to his relationship with Christ Jesus. Today, it should be the same with you and with me. All our stuff will not get us into heaven and it certainly does not put us in a right relationship with Christ Jesus. In fact, sometimes our stuff gets in the way of our relationship with Christ and with those who are in need. My goal for this coming week is to get rid of some of my “stuff.” Anyone want a good set of golf clubs?? |
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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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