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Matthew 25:1-13 - Lectionary for the Last Sunday of the Church year

11/19/2020

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11/19/20
Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the historic one-year lectionary.

Our Gospel reading from Matthew 25:1-13 is often used to focus on the "foolish virgins" as opposed to the "wise virgins." I'd like to take us a slightly different direction. It is clear, I think, from the context, that Jesus is comparing the kingdom of God to this situation. The bridegroom represents God, and specifically God the Son, coming to claim his bride, which would be the Church, all who believe that he has redeemed them. The virgins, then, would be us humans waiting for his coming.

The actual arrival of the wedding party for their parade and reception is unpredictable. There are all sorts of things that can happen, even today, between a marriage ceremony and the arrival of the groom and his new wife at the reception site. Meanwhile, everyone waits.

How do we Christians prepare for the wait? How are we getting ready for the unpredictable time? In the parable, everyone becomes sleepy. This makes perfect sense and there is no guilt associated with it. If you go to a wedding in the afternoon and the reception doesn't get started until 3 a.m., you'll be sleepy. Take a nap! You'll know when it's time for the reception.

The critical issue is that some were prepared for the wait and some were not. It's likely that this parable describes some sort of a torchlight procession, not something using a lamp with a wick. The person who is prepared with a torch may have a knife or scissors to trim the cloth at the end of the torch. Possibly someone would have some additional fabric just in case the torch starts to fall apart. There will be a way of lighting the torch, since you can't always get a light from someone else. And you'll have a jar with some oil in it. You get the torch ready, stick it into the oil until it can wick up a good bit, and then you set the torch on fire for the procession.

The people who came without making necessary provisions were simply ignoring a reality that they could have predicted. They are assuming that someone else will take care of them.

The people who prepare for the procession understand that they need to consider reasonably all the likely scenarios. The Christian who is waiting for the return of Christ knows that it could be instant. It could also be a very long time. We live as those who have an eager expectation. But at the same time, we develop our career, we care for our family, we invest for the future, and we make sure that we are able to do some good for those around us. After all, Christ's coming might not be while our generation is alive. We prepare. But we continue to wait eagerly. Our Lord is certainly coming. We keep the resources ready. Faith, hope, and love. 

If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.

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1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 - Lectionary for the Last Sunday of the Church Year

11/18/2020

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11/18/20
Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the historic one-year lectionary.

Many in our secularized culture suggest that Christians, the kind of Christians who take the things of historic Christianity seriously and find them relevant for every day of their lives, are out of touch with reality, burying their heads in the sand, foolish and stupid. This attitude bothers me in particular, since I am one of those Christians and I think I have a pretty good grasp on reality. I know many thoughtful Christians who look at the world around them, analyze it carefully, and connect the dots between theoretical theology and how they live their lives in society. 

The apostle Paul, speaking to the Thessalonians, says that they are not wandering around in the dark. They know the truth, including much of what is going to come to pass in the last days. They are not to be deceived.

What kind of deception do the Thessalonians face? In 1 Thessalonians 5:3, it is much like the deception we can read about or hear about every day. "There is peace and security." Yet meanwhile peace has been redefined as what happens when we engage in revolutionary activity. Security is to be found in submission to the supposedly enlightened secularism which denies any validity to any religious or otherwise traditional points of view. 

There is no peace to be found in revolt. There is no security to be found in throwing off tradition, discipline, and reason. The idea is sheer folly.  Paul later compares the view of those who would deceive the Thessalonians to robbery, to blindness, sleep, and drunkenness. The trajectory leads to the wrath of God.

How does the Christian live? We have our eyes open to the claims of the Gospel - that Jesus has been able to take care of our very real, very deadly, problem of sin. He has taken it on himself, being put to death. He, the innocent one, gave himself for us, the guilty ones, and endured the wrath of God against our sin. He then rose from the dead and is seated in the heavenly realms, planning to come back and claim his people to himself at the time known only to God. 

Those are radical claims. They say that peace will only be found through trusting in God's work on our behalf, not in our own work. They say that security is something we could never create and that we would bungle if we tried it on our own. 

Counter to the life of our world, then, we walk with one eye on the place we are and one eye on God's merciful provision of life for us. We live as creatures of the light, even in a dark and trying world. We dress ourselves in faith, love, and the hope of salvation. There is our security. There is our peace.

If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.

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Psalm 149 - Lectionary for the Last Sunday of the Church Year

11/17/2020

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11/17/20
Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the historic one-year lectionary.

Our reading in Psalm 149 contains a surprising statement that sets Judaism and Christianity apart from all the other world religions. The Lord takes pleasure in his people. This doesn't seem that revolutionary, at least not to a lot of Western ears. After all, we think, why wouldn't God take pleasure in his people. God is love! And I'm a great guy, God should be glad to know me!

Let's turn some biblical light on this idea and see what happens. The Bible describes the one true God as the creator and sustainer of everything. He created it the way he wanted to, and it was good. However, in Genesis chapter 3, due to disobedience, all creation came under a curse. That explains all the bad things we can see in the world.

In God's holy perfection, no sin can stand before him. It's all worthy of condemnation. Despite that, God has loved the world.

God, by his own initiative, has redeemed people who he called his own people. It's based on what God does, not on what the people do. Every other world religion is, in some way, dependent on what we do to appease one or more gods. But in biblical religion, God is the one who has done the work of forgiveness. This is a sign that the Lord takes pleasure in his people.

Am I really the kind of person God would want to hang around with? In fact, by God's standards, I am not. I have lived at least parts of my life as if God doesn't exist, or at least as if he doesn't matter. I have trusted in myself rather than in God. I have avoided doing some good things, in fact, quite a lot of good things. There isn't much reason that the perfectly holy, righteous, and pure God would want to hang around with me. 

Despite all this, God has called me, and you, if you are trusting in his person and work, to be his own child. He has adeopted us to be inheritors of his kingdom.

All this is due to no good that we possess, only acccording to God's good favor.

This is tremendous news! The Lord takes pleasure in his people. As we trust that he is who he says he is and that he has done what he says he has done - everything necessary to reconcile us to him - we are his people and he is delighted with that fact. God's Word is full of good news like this. We don't earn his favor. He has shown his favor because he wants to.

If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.

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Isaiah 64:17-25 - Lectionary for the Last Sunday of the Church Year

11/16/2020

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11/16/20
Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the historic one-year lectionary.

Our reading for this week from Isaiah 64:17-25 describes a world that has been reconciled - to one another and to God. In effect, the final reconciliation is an undoing of the curse of sin. There will be no need for things like death. There will be no competition between species. The idea of killing animals for food will go away, even among the carnivorous animals! They simply won't have that desire.

The second half of verse 18 is of special note. What did God create his people, and especially his holy city, Jerusalem, to be? A place of joy, and a people who bring forth gladness.

This is what the Church is to look like in these last days. It is to be a place of joy and gladness, and to bring that joy and gladness to the world. There isn't any way around this. God's people are a source of joy. God rejoices in them, and the rest of the world can too.

Why do we fall so short of this goal? It is surely because we try to do things in our own power and our own authority, rather than trusting in the power and authority of God. When we try to build our structures, legalistic means, all of them - to teach us and others how to do what is good and right, we reach the conclusion that we can keep God's law and do something worthy of merit. In the end, that always collapses under its own weight.

Rather, if we want to make a difference in our world, we do it not in our own power but by trusting in Jesus, who will accomplish all good things through his Church. We never count on ourselves, but only on Jesus.

Jesus is the one who can take a people, reconcile them to God, and make them good for something in this world. And we are especially good for the very simple task of loving and serving our neighbors. If we love God with all our heart and love our neighbors as ourselves, we will accomplish great things for the Lord.

May the Lord God who has reconciled us to himself through the death and resurrection of Jesus, God the Son, use us as His redeemed people, to show the joy and delight of the resurrection to all nations.

If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.

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