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Matthew 23:1-12 - Lectionary for Pentecost 22A

11/2/2017

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11/2/17
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 three-year lectionary.

In Matthew 23:1-12 Jesus speaks against our desire to receive accolades from others. We naturally like to be respected and honored. And while there’s nothing wrong with being recognized and honored for who and what we are, there’s something wrong with seeking out that recognition no matter what.

A pastor I respect greatly would often remind his congregation that when we insist on getting our own way we are showing our values. Essentially, we have made an idol of the thing we are willing to sin in order to get, or of the thing we will sin about because we don’t get it. Respect is a big idol.

Wait a minute. Those of my readers who know me probably are aware that I almost always wear a “pastor uniform” - one of those funny clerical shirts with a strange collar, normally in black. In fact, last week when I appeared at a meeting of some friends and was in a blue clerical shirt, one of them expressed surprise that I was out of uniform. In some circles wearing clericals is seen as a violation of this passage. After all, it looks like we’re trying to be recognized.

Another thing which happened this last week will illustrate the difference. I was walking from a meeting to the place where I park, several blocks away. A lady on a porch called to me. “Pastor, will you come pray with me?” No, I had never met her before. Because of the clothes I was wearing, I had an opportunity to meet someone, pray with her and her fiance, and tell them briefly of Jesus’ love for them.

The point of the uniform is to show someone what service you can perform. It is to identify your legitimate qualifications. It is not to hold yourself above others in any way. It’s simply to show where you can help and, maybe, where you can’t help.

In the end, whatever we are wearing, we love and serve our neighbors. We leave our idol of self-centered respect and recognition behind. We live in our community, serving Jesus. That’s enough honor for me.

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 4:1-12 - Lectionary for Pentecost 22A

11/1/2017

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11/1/17
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 three-year lectionary.

In 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12, the apostle reminds the Christians that they are to continue in love, according to God’s command. They know how they are to live. They have consciences and they have God’s Word. They have been taught about how to show love and care for one another. The apostle particularly points out a life of sexual purity. His reasoning is in verses 4-6. Christians practice self control so as not to take advantage of or harm someone else. They also live a life of purity in the knowledge that God sees and knows their impurities.

How does the Lord call his people to live in socity? It is for the good of our neighbors. Verses 11-12 speak very clearly and practically. We strive for peace a life which is beneficial to others but is focused on our own concerns, a life of activity, not despising work. We are called to an appropriate level of independence, not burdening others but helping them.

A convenient way of phrasing this is that we are to love and serve our neighbors. As we do this, and as more of our neighbors learn to love and serve their neighbors, the sphere of influence grows and grows. Eventually it reaches around the whole world.

We reember in all this that the Thessalonians are people who have been taught God’s Word. Part of loving our neighbor is to share the Word of God with others. In God’s Word we find forgiveness and life. This is truly a precious thing to share with our neighbors.

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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Micah 3:5-12 - Lectionary for Pentecost 22A

10/31/2017

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10/31/17
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 three-year lectionary.

It’s popular in some circles to “speak truth to power.” The clause is usually taken to indicate that those in power do not have the truth. They need to be confronted and, ultimately, replaced. It also usually indicates that the person or organization which approaches “the establishment” in a strident and forceful manner is, by definition, speaking the truth.

Micah 3:5-12 speaks truth to power, but it does it in a different way. Here, God’s prophet conveys the word of the Lord against other prophets. Some were making prophecies of peace for their friends but of destruction against those who didn’t provide them with whatever they wanted. God’s message for those false prophets is that they will find God doesn’t do what they predict.

God calls his people to righteousness and justice. Yet we must realize that it is the Lord who defines what that looks like. He is the one who is able to define sin. He is also the one who is able to forgive sin and restore his people.

What happens when we really speak truth to power? If it is the real truth, it should lead to repentance. There’s no need for the power to collapse. It can be reformed. And all change will come from the work of God, not from our forceful personality.

May the Lord correct those who are in error. May he establish justice and 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 43 - Lectionary for Pentecost 22A

10/30/2017

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10/30/17
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 three-year lectionary.

Many congregations celebrated Reformation Sunday on October 29 and will be celebrating All Saints’ Day on November 5. For the purposes of this blog, though, I’m going to go with my preference. Sunday is Pentecost 22. Reformation Day is October 31. All Saints’ Day is November 1.

Our Psalm for Pentecost 22A is Psalm 43. In this psalm, the anonymous Psalmist calls upon God for vindication. The God who is his refuge seems to have forsaken him. The oppression of the enemies doesn’t seem to fit in his theological framework. After all, if the Lord is the great God over all, blessing and guarding his people, shouldn’t they always expect smooth sailing? Verses 3-5 are a recommitment to trusting in God. Even if our world seems difficult he is still the Lord.

You don’t have to see much Christian preaching or alleged entertainment before you stumble across this idea. Because Joe and Sally are Christians, everything will work out in their lives. They may endure some struggles, but they are only temporary and they find they are really in a bed of roses because of God’s grace. By the end of the book or movie, made by Schlocko Bible-Bashing Productions, not only have Joe and Sally seen God’s hand of mercy, they are multi-billionaires, everyone in their community is a Christian, and even their long lost relatives have been evangelized.

This is not what it really looks like when we live in a sin-cursed world. The fact is, life is rough. We work, we struggle, we endure repeated conflicts, we confront sin, weakness, illness, and, finally, every last one of us can expect to endure having our soul and body ripped apart in death. From that vantage point, it’s easy to think that God isn’t present, or, if he is, he doesn’t seem to care very much.

How did the Psalmist turn the corner in verse three? As we read elsewhere in Scripture, there’s a societal element to life. We encourage one another in the faith. We love and serve our neighbors. The greatest love we can show them includes an honest acknowledgement that we live in a fallen world. Yet that confession must reach an end point. Jesus has overcome the world. He is the one who, in the last day, will resurrect the bodies, make them better than they were before, and reunite them with their souls. Life in the resurrection is a real thing.

Does that picture of Joe and Sally above make sense? There will be some people whose lives seem charmed. But along with those people, in the last day, the book of Revelation describes many people who were killed for their Christian faith but who eventually live a resurrected life in the presence of God. The vast majority of us are somewhere in between those two poles. We, like the Psalmist, see a world of trouble. We turn to the Lord and find that he is the one in whom we can hope.

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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