Introspection: God Provided

I share these thoughts hoping they are of help to someone else.
Comments are always welcomed.
If you find these thoughts helpful, please share.

God Provided

He must increase, but I must decrease.

John 3:30 (NRSV)

Give me Words to speak
Don't let my spirit sleep
'Cause I can't think of anything worth saying
But I know that I owe You my life
So give me Words to speak
Don't let my spirit sleep

From "Give Me Words to Speak" by Aaron Shust

Writing has been a struggle for me lately, for various reasons.  Inspiration and motivation have been in short supply due to the pandemic, the changes of life it has necessitated, and the uncertainty and anxiety it has created.  Also, I recently had some preaching commitments that seemed a bit more stressful than normal.  Because I've been blogging for more than ten years, I've even started to wonder if I've simply run out of things to write.

Normally, I try to post something on this blog every Sunday, unless I take the week off, and I make it a rule to take one week off per month.  Basically, I try to post something either three or four times per month.  Since I've been trying to make some progress in my life over the last couple of years, I've also committed to writing one introspective post each month as a means of checking in with everyone.  In August, after the second and last of my preaching commitments was completed, I decided that I would try to post something as often as I did before the pandemic, after three months of not meeting my monthly goal.

Well, somehow I've been meeting my goal.  I read Gospel passages that made the gears of my mind start turning, and I was able to weave the thoughts I record in my devotional journal into something more fit for public consumption.  After I read my previous perspective to my mother, I commented that, hours earlier, I had nothing to post for the week.  She said, "God provided."

I feel that God has indeed been providing me ideas for blog posts lately.  My previous perspective was written the day before I posted it, and it was based on the passage I read earlier that same day.  One perspective I posted back in August was based on a passage I originally planned not to read but ended up reading anyway.

Recently I read a couple chapters from New Seeds of Contemplation, in which the great Catholic thinker Thomas Merton describes the true self and the false self.  The true self - if I understand it correctly - is the identity God bestows upon a person, while the false self is the persona a person has learned to present to the world.  We have the choice either to work with God to discover and cultivate our true selves or to continue constructing our illusory false selves.  Merton suggests that one's false self does not exist since it is not known by God, that one's true self is hidden with God, and that in discovering God we discover our true selves.¹

Merton references a certain quote of St. Paul²: "It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me."³  To be honest, I cannot say that I find this statement appealing.  Am I meant to cease to exist as a self to the point that I become a mere shell for another, namely Christ, to inhabit?  Am I to aspire to become a mere puppet for God?  I like to think that I have a good grasp on Scripture, but I sincerely hope that I have yet to understand what Paul is saying.

Maybe, when it comes to my writing, part of decreasing so that Christ may increase is depending on God to give me ideas for things to write.  Though I believe that, over the last couple of months, God has given me ideas, the things I wrote were not devoid of me, for I drew from my own experiences when writing them.  Maybe these blog posts were a collaborative effort between God and myself.

For me, 2020 was supposed to be a year for cultivating courage, and I've struggled to figure out what it means to cultivate courage amid a pandemic, when it seems like many aspects of life have to be placed on hold.  I fear that, at times like this, people confuse courage with recklessness, and I wonder if maybe prudence might be better virtue to cultivate right now.  Maybe it requires courage to loosen one's grip on one's plans, and maybe it requires courage to become a little less self-reliant and a little more reliant on God.


Notes:

1. Thomas Merton.  New Seeds of Contemplation.  ch. 5
2. Merton, ch. 6
3. Galatians 2:10 (NRSV)

The photograph of the pen and paper has been released to the public domain.  The photographer is in no way affiliated with this blog.

Perspective: Not a Country Club

I share these thoughts hoping they are of help to someone else.

Comments are always welcomed.

If you find these thoughts helpful, please share.

Not a Country Club

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 5:3 (NRSV)

There's a lady who's sure
All that glitters is gold
And she's buying a stairway to Heaven
When she gets there she knows
If the stores are all closed
With a word she can get what she came for

From "Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zeppelin

I can recall, in my thirty-six years of life, going to a country club only twice.  On one occasion, I was invited by relatives to either a birthday party or an anniversary party that was held at a country club.  On another occasion, I was invited to by an acquaintance.  For many years, my grandmother sewed curtains, and one day one of her recurring clients, who happened to be a member of a country club, once invited my grandmother and I to join her there for lunch.  I had just graduated from high school, and this client wanted to offer me some advice regarding college and scholarships.

What both of my experiences at country clubs have in common is that I was invited.  I was not a member.  Not all country clubs are the same, but what they all have in common is that memberships are expensive.  Yearly dues are in the thousands of dollars.  To be a member of a country club, one must have a significant amount of disposable income.  For this reason, most people don't have memberships to country clubs.

In the Gospels, we read that the Kingdom of God can be compared to a lot of things.  One time, Jesus compares the Kingdom of God to a vineyard owner who pays all of his harvesters the same amount, whether they worked one hour or twelve hours.¹  At another time, Jesus compares the Kingdom of God to a mustard seed, some yeast, a treasure hidden in a field, and a pearl merchant.²  One thing to which the Kingdom of God cannot be compared is a country club.  In fact, the Kingdom of God is very much the opposite.  To join a country club, one must have wealth, but, according to Jesus, the Kingdom of God is a place where wealth is actually a hindrance.

One day, Jesus says to the Disciples, "I assure you that it will be very hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven.  In fact, it's easier for a camel to squeeze through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter God's kingdom."³  There are different interpretations regarding what Jesus meant when He referred to "a camel" or "the eye of a needle," but basically Jesus is suggesting that it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God.

William Barclay suggests that "riches encourage a false independence."⁴  He writes,

If people are wealthy, they are apt to think that everything has its price, that if they want a thing enough they can buy it, that if any difficult situation descends upon them they can buy their way out of it.  They can come to think that they can buy their way into happiness and buy their way out of sorrow.⁵

Before Jesus describes how difficult it is for wealthy people to enter the Kingdom of God, He is approached by a rich man who asks Him, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to have eternal life?"⁶  As a man of means, he seems to have a "country club" mindset.  He thinks that there is something he can do - some price he can pay - to gain admission to the Kingdom that Jesus has been describing.  Wealth seems to open doors in the kingdoms of this world, but it apparently closes doors in the Kingdom of God.  Jesus instructs the rich man to rid himself of his wealth, saying, "Go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor.  Then you will have treasure in heaven.  And come follow me."  The rich man walks away, dejected.⁷

Upon hearing that it is extremely difficult for rich people to enter the Kingdom of God, one of the shocked Disciples asks, "Then who can be saved?"  Jesus replies, "It's impossible for human beings.  But all things are possible for God."⁸  Wealthy people focus on what their wealth makes possible for them, but Christ calls us to focus instead on what God makes possible for us.

If the rich man had followed Jesus' instructions, he would have lost not only his wealth but also his independence, but he would have gained something else, a newfound dependence on God.  Barlcay writes,

The basis of all Christianity is an urgent sense of need; when people have many things on earth, they are in danger of thinking that they do not need God; when they have few things on earth, they are often driven to God because they have nowhere else to go.⁹

Behind the pursuit of wealth is perhaps a pursuit of independence.  In other words, we want the means to do the things we want to do.  The Kingdom of God is nothing like the kingdoms of this world, so we need to change our mindset.  In other words, we need to repent.  There is nothing we can do to purchase admission into God's Kingdom or in any way entitle ourselves to it.  We are fully dependent on Christ's invitation.


Notes:

1. Matthew 20:1-16
2. Matthew 13:31-33, 44-46
3. Matthew 19:23-24 (CEB)
4. William Barclay.  The New Daily Study Bible: The Gospel of Matthew, Volume Two.  2001, Saint Andrew Press.  p. 253
5. Barclay, p. 254
6. Matthew 19:16 (CEB)
7. Matthew 19:21-22 (CEB)
8. Matthew 19:25-26 (CEB)
9. Barclay, pp. 255-256

The photograph of Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California was taken by Dan Perry and is used under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.  The photographer is in no way affiliated with this blog.

Perspective: Satanic Thinking

I share these thoughts hoping they are of help to someone else.

Comments are always welcomed.

If you find these thoughts helpful, please share.

Satanic Thinking

Then Jesus told his disciples, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.  For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.  For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life?  Or what will they give in return for their life?"

Matthew 16:24-26 (NRSV)

Don't you remember, Ma, when I went off to war
You thought it was the best thing I could do?
I was on the battleground, you were home acting proud
You wasn't there standing in my shoes

Oh, and I thought when I was there, God, what am I doing here?
I'm a-tryin' to kill somebody or die tryin'
But the thing that scared me most was when my enemy came close
And I saw that his face looked just like mine

From "John Brown" by Bob Dylan

One day, Jesus asks the Disciples who people are saying He is.  They throw out some of the things people have been saying about Him, mainly that He is a prophet who has returned from the dead.  Jesus then asks them, "But who do you say that I am?"¹

Simon, one of the Disciples, replies, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God."²  The title Messiah is derived from the Hebrew word mashiyach, which means "anointed one."³  The Greek equivalent is the word christos, from which we get the title Christ.⁴  Basically, Simon believes that Jesus is the long-awaited Savior who will liberate his people from their Roman oppressors and reign over them in an age of peace and prosperity.

Jesus commends Simon for his answer and gives him the name Peter, which means "rock," saying, "I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it."⁵

Now that at least one of the Disciples has come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, Jesus does two things.  First, He sternly orders the Disciples not to tell anyone that He is the Messiah.  Second, He begins warning them that He will have to suffer, die, and rise again.⁶

There is a reason that Jesus does not want people to think that He is the Messiah.

Before Jesus began His public ministry, He went to the Jordan River to be baptized.  As He emerged from the water, the heavens opened, and a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased."⁷

This statement from heaven echoes two passages from the Hebrew scriptures.⁸  The first passage is the Second Psalm, in which God says to the king of Israel, "You are my son; today I have begotten you."⁹  This Psalm was believed to be about the Messiah.  The second passage is the first in a series of songs in the Book of Isaiah, which begins, "Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights."¹⁰  The fourth and last of these "servant songs" describes the suffering this servant will have to endure,¹¹ so the servant described in these songs is known as the "Suffering Servant."  The voice from heaven basically identifies Jesus as both the Messiah and the Suffering Servant.

Jesus does not want people to think that He is Messiah because He has not come to do what people expect the Messiah to do.  The people expect the Messiah to be a conquering king and not a suffering servant.

Peter does not respond well to the revelation that Jesus will have to suffer and die.  Like many people, he is expecting his Messiah to be a conqueror, and he knows that only failed messiahs are executed.  Peter takes Jesus aside and says, "God forbid it, Lord!  This must never happen to you."¹²

Jesus says to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan!  You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things."¹³  Typically we think of "Satan" as the arch-enemy of God and the source of all evil in the world.  The Hebrew word satan simply means "adversary."¹⁴  Jesus is telling Peter that his way of thinking, which is essentially the world's way of thinking, is adversarial to the ways of God.  The rock on which Jesus will build His church is acting more like a stone that would cause Him to stumble.

This is not the first time Jesus calls someone "Satan."

After Jesus was baptized, He was led into the wilderness, where He faced a number of temptations.  At one point, His tempter took Him to the summit of a high mountain, showed Him the kingdoms of the world, and said, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me."¹⁵

Jesus replied, "Away with you, Satan! for it is written, 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.'"¹⁶  Jesus could have chosen to be a conquering king, but to do so would have effectively meant turning away from God and serving the enemy.

Jesus tells the Disciples that all who want to follow Him will have to take up a cross, that to fight for one's life is to lose it, that to lay down one's life is to save it, and that to conquer the whole world is meaningless if it costs a person his or her soul.¹⁷

The way of the world is to inflict suffering upon those who cause suffering.  This way creates a never-ending cycle of violence, because all sides think they're justified, regardless of who drew first blood.  The way of Christ is to endure suffering and then to rise above it.  As Jesus will say to the Roman governor, "My kingdom is not from this world."¹⁸  The Kingdom of God is not like the Roman Empire or any other empire, kingdom, or nation the world has ever known.  To follow the ways of the world is to conquer at the cost of one's very soul.  To follow the way of Jesus is to bear a cross.

When Jesus emerged from the wilderness He began proclaiming, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near."¹⁹  The Greek word translated into English as "repentance" is metanoia, which literally describes a change of mind.²⁰  Part of repenting in anticipation of the Kingdom of God is understanding that the ways of the Kingdom are not the ways of the world and realizing that some of the ways we think are actually satanic.

The Gospel is not a story in which the hero rides into town on a white horse, brandishing a sword or a rifle.  The Gospel is a story in which the Hero rides into town on a donkey and ends up bearing a cross.  Anyone who wants to join this Hero must likewise take up a cross.


Notes:

1. Matthew 16:13-15 (NRSV)
2. Matthew 16:16 (NRSV)
3. Blue Letter Bible: "mashiyach"
4. Blue Letter Bible: "christos"
5. Matthew 16:17-18 (NRSV)
6. Matthew 16:20-21
7. Matthew 3:13-17 (NRSV)
8. William Barclay.  The New Daily Study Bible: The Gospel of Matthew, Volume One.  2001, Saint Andrew Press.  pp. 69-70
9. Psalm 2:7 (NRSV)
10. Isaiah 42:1 (NRSV)
11. Isaiah 53
12. Matthew 16:22 (NRSV)
13. Matthew 16:23 (NRSV)
14. Blue Letter Bible: "satan"
15. Matthew 4:1-9 (NRSV)
16. Matthew 4:10 (NRSV)
17. Matthew 16:24-26
18. John 18:36 (NRSV)
19. Matthew 4:17 (NRSV)
20. Blue Letter Bible: "metanoeō"

The Temptation of Christ by the Devil was painted by Félix Joseph Barrias in 1860.