Perspective: Offensive Thoughts About an Offensive Parable

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Offensive Thoughts About an Offensive Parable

So the last will be first, and the first will be last.

Matthew 20:16 (NRSV)

Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don't criticize
What you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is rapidly agin'
Please get out of the new one
If you can't lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin'

From "The Times They Are A-Changin'" by Bob Dylan

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus tells a story about a vineyard owner who hires day laborers to harvest grapes.  Early in the morning, the vineyard owner hires a group of workers, agreeing to pay them a denarius, the standard daily wage at the time.  A few hours later, at nine o'clock in the morning, he goes to the marketplace and hires additional workers, agreeing to pay them "whatever is right."  The vineyard owner goes out three more times that day - at noon, at three o'clock in the afternoon, and finally at five o'clock - hiring more and more workers to harvest grapes.¹

At the end of the workday, the vineyard owner sends his manager to pay the laborers he hired, instructing him to start with those he hired last.  The workers who were hired at five o'clock receive a denarius, as do all of the other workers who were hired throughout the day.  Naturally, the workers who were hired first expect to receive more, since they worked the entire day, but they too receive a denarius, the same amount paid to those who were hired last.²

As one might expect, the laborers who were hired first feel cheated.  They complain to the vineyard owner, saying, "These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat."³

The vineyard owner replies, "Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius?  Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you.  Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me?  Or are you envious because I am generous?"⁴

What I'm supposed to tell you about the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard is that it teaches us that, whether a person turns to God early in life or late in life, the person will be met with God's abundant grace.  That said, I've wondered if maybe this typical interpretation is actually an over-spiritualization of this parable, and recently I've started to wonder if maybe we over-spiritualize this parable in order to make it less offensive.  A literal reading of the parable is a shock to our system, and the real-world implications of such a reading would be unthinkable to many of us.

When we encounter this parable, everything inside us screams that the laborers who worked all day should be paid a lot more than those who were hired toward the end of the day.  Someone who worked twelve hours should be paid twelve times as much as someone who worked only one hour.  It's only fair, after all.  The idea that someone who worked only one hour should be paid the same amount as someone who worked twelve hours offends our sensibilities.

Notice that, when the vineyard owner hires the first workers early in the morning, he agrees to pay them the standard daily wage but that, when he goes out later in the day to hire workers, he agrees to pay them "whatever is right."  Apparently, in the vineyard owner's eyes, the right thing to do is to pay all of his workers the standard daily wage, regardless of how long they worked for him.  He gives his workers both a living wage and also the dignity of having worked for it, even if they only worked one hour.

Jesus says that the Kingdom of Heaven is like this vineyard owner.⁵

What St. Matthew calls the "Kingdom of Heaven," other Gospel writers call the Kingdom of God.  This Kingdom is not Heaven itself but rather the place where God's will is done "on earth as it is in heaven."⁶  It is where God reigns.  It is the world as God intended it to be.

When Jesus begins His public ministry, He proclaims, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near."⁷  Repentance is not merely feeling bad about the sins one has committed.  As I've noted countless times on this blog, the Greek word metanoia, which is translated into English as repentance, literally describes a change of mind.  Repentance is a change in the way one thinks that ultimately changes the way one lives.⁸  The world as we know it is not what God intended it to be, so if the Kingdom of God is indeed breaking into this world, then we need to be ready to rethink anything and everything.

Maybe we even need to rethink something as basic as the idea that a person who works twelve hours should be paid twelve times as much as someone who works only one hour.  If the Kingdom of Heaven is indeed like the vineyard owner in Jesus' parable, then maybe God wants us to care about what people need and not what they deserve.

Maybe, dear reader, when you hear Jesus call people to repent in preparation for the coming of the Kingdom of God, you are tempted think that He is talking to everyone besides you.  Surely Jesus doesn't think about things differently than you do!  After all, if your opinions were wrong, you would have changed them by now, right?

Maybe you need to let go of some of your most deeply held beliefs, including your beliefs about politics and economics.  I've heard it said that, though people commonly leave their churches over politics, they rarely ever leave their politics over the Church.  What if Jesus is not the good conservative, progressive, capitalist, or socialist you think He ought to be?  Would you still want to be part of what God is doing in the world through Him?


Notes:

1. Matthew 20:1-7
2. Matthew 20:8-10
3. Matthew 20:11-12 (NRSV)
4. Matthew 20:13-15 (NRSV)
5. Matthew 20:1
6. Matthew 6:10 (NRSV)
7. Matthew 4:17 (NRSV)
8. Wikipedia: "Metanoia (theology)"

Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard was painted by Christian Wilhelm Ernst Dietrich in the 1750s.

Perspective: The Kingdom Is Like...

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Comments are always welcomed.
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The Kingdom Is Like...

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

Matthew 5:3 (NRSV)

It's everything you ever want
It's everything you ever need
And it's here right in front of you
This is where you wanna be

From "The Greatest Show" by Pasek and Paul

In the Gospel of Matthew, we read that, when Jesus begins His public ministry, He announces, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near."¹  Later on, we read that, when He sends out His disciples to do the things He has been doing in His ministry, He instructs them to announce that "the kingdom of heaven has come near" as they liberate people from their diseases and demons.²

Jesus mentions the Kingdom of Heaven throughout His teachings, but He only seems to come close to defining it in the Sermon on the Mount, when He teaches His followers to pray, saying, "Your kingdom come.  Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."³  The Kingdom of Heaven is not limited to some distant realm beyond this world.  It is a kingdom coming to this world.  It is the place where God's will is done.  Perhaps Jesus and His disciples are announcing that the Kingdom of Heaven is actually invading this world, and perhaps their miraculous healings are signs that this invasion is indeed taking place.

I've come to understand the Bible as the story of how the good world God created was corrupted by evil and how God has been working to set the world right.⁴  That said, I've come to understand the Kingdom of Heaven - or Kingdom of God, as it is called in other Gospels - as the world as God intended it to be.

One day, Jesus tells a series of parables in which He compares the Kingdom of Heaven to a number of different things.  Perhaps these parables teach us something about how God is redeeming this world.

First, Jesus compares the Kingdom of Heaven to a farmer who scatters seeds on different patches of soil.  Some patches of soil are more suitable for the seeds than others.⁵  This parable teaches us that some people will be more receptive of the announcement that "the kingdom of heaven has come near" than other people.  For example, people who benefit from the injustice in this world might not hear the news that the world is going to be set right as good news, while people who daily suffer from injustice are ready for a change.

Second, Jesus compares the Kingdom of Heaven to a farmer who sows wheat in his field and allows the stalks of wheat to grow alongside weeds until the harvest.  He will not allow his servants to pull up the weeds because they might uproot the good wheat he planted.⁶  This parable teaches us that God's redemptive work requires patience and that our own ideas for rooting out what we think is wrong in the world can be shortsighted.

Next, Jesus compares the Kingdom of Heaven to a tiny mustard seed that, when planted, grows into a large plant in which birds find shelter.  He then compares the Kingdom of Heaven to some yeast that is thoroughly mixed into flour.⁷  These parables teach us that doing the redemptive work God gives us might seem inconsequential at first but that it makes a major impact in time.

Next, Jesus compares the Kingdom of Heaven to a treasure found in a field, which compels the finder to sell everything he owns so that he can buy the field.  He then compares the Kingdom of Heaven to a pearl merchant who sells everything he owns so that he can buy one extremely valuable pearl.⁸  These parables teach us that the world as God intended it to be is worth divesting ourselves of the ways of the world in its present state and that God’s kingdom is made up of people who have done this very work of repentance.

Finally, Jesus compares the Kingdom of Heaven to a net that catches all kinds of fish.  The good fish are kept and the bad fish are discarded.⁹ This parable, like the Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds before it, teach us that God's redemptive work will require judgment and winnowing.  Some things in this world, like greed, hatred, exploitation, and oppression, cannot be allowed to continue if God's will is to be done on earth as in heaven.

The Kingdom of Heaven has been described as both "already" and "not yet."  Though the Kingdom of Heaven has not yet been fully realized in our world, we can already catch glimpses of it if we are paying attention.

Notes:

1. Matthew 4:17 (NRSV)
2. Matthew 10:7-8 (NRSV)
3. Matthew 6:10 (NRSV)
4. See N.T. Wright's article "How Can the Bible Be Authoritative?"
5. Matthew 13:3-9, 18-23
6. Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
7. Matthew 13:31-33
8. Matthew 13:44-46
9. Matthew 13:47-50

The photograph featured above was taken by me in May 2016 in the driveway of my grandmother's house.

Introspection: A Personal Challenge

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A Personal Challenge

Therefore, don't be afraid of those people because nothing is hidden that won't be revealed, and nothing secret that won't be brought out into the open.  What I say to you in the darkness, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, announce from the rooftops.

Matthew 10:26-27 (CEB)

Say it like it is
Say it like you mean it
Words are strong enough to say you care
Say it like it is
Say it like you mean it
Words are strong enough to make you swear

From "Say" by Nemesea

If you've been following this blog for a while, then you probably know that I am a Lay Speaker in the United Methodist Church.  In other words, I've been certified to fill in at churches in the denomination when their pastors are on vacation or are otherwise unable to be present.  Effectively, I am a "substitute preacher."  Due to various reasons, I haven't had very many opportunities to preach in the last few years.  Until last November, I had not preached in nearly a year and a half.  Recently a pastor who is a friend of mine asked me to fill in for her on two Sundays within the last few weeks.

When I write sermons, I typically follow the Revised Common Lectionary, a three-year cycle of assigned weekly Bible readings used my many churches.  A week's readings typically consist of a reading from one of the Gospels, another reading from the New Testament, a reading from the Psalms, and another reading from the Old Testament.¹  I usually base my sermons on the Gospel readings.  When I started preaching, I made it a practice to preach on readings from the Lectionary, because I wanted to know if I could preach on any given Sunday.  Sometimes, when I'm asked to preach, I find that I've already preached on one of the passages for the week or a similar passage, and I am able to revise a sermon I've delivered previously.

When I was asked to preach on the third Sunday in June, I found that I already had a sermon based on the Epistle reading for the week.  For some reason, I just didn't want to deliver that sermon again.  The previous three times I preached, I revised sermons I had delivered previously, and I think I just wanted to write something new.

It's also worth noting that the reason I had a sermon based on the Epistle reading for the week was that I previously did not want to preach on the Gospel reading.  In that particular passage, Jesus says a number of things that are challenging and even downright frightening.  For example, He seems to threaten His hearers with eternal damnation when He says, "Don't be afraid of those who kill the body but can't kill the soul.  Instead, be afraid of the one who can destroy both body and soul in hell."²  Jesus seems to threaten His hearers yet again when He says, "Everyone who denies me before people, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven."³  Finally, Jesus says, "Don't think that I've come to bring peace to the earth.  I haven't come to bring peace but a sword."⁴  This is a rather strange statement for the One who is called the Prince of Peace to make.

I decided to take a second look at that dreadful passage, and, when I read it within its context, I gained a new appreciation for it.  The passage is part of a larger section of the Gospel of Matthew that is sometimes called the Mission Discourse.⁵  In it, Jesus commissions the Disciples to go out and the same things He has been doing in His ministry, and He warns them that they will face the same hostility He has started to face.⁶  When Jesus makes His frightening and hopefully hyperbolic statements, He is acknowledging the often disruptive nature of His work and challenging the Disciples to be courageous in the face of hostility.

For about three weeks, the Mission Discourse and the sermon I was writing about it occupied my thoughts.  Because I've been confronted with my own cowardice more than once this year, the Gospel passage I once found scary became a personal challenge.  I felt that, like the Disciples, I too was being challenged to be courageous.

As I wrote my sermon bit by bit, I found myself venturing into subject matter that I thought would be controversial at the churches where I would be preaching.  I touched on things that I consider problematic about Christianity in America.  I wondered how my sermon would be received.  I expected that I would be stepping on people's toes, so to speak.  I told some members of my Sunday school class that I thought the sermon I was preparing was "a bit much" and joked that I would probably be burned at the stake for it.

As people who call ourselves disciples of Jesus, we must consider honestly what we are doing.  Are we trying to liberate people, as Jesus did when He freed people from their demons and diseases, or are we trying to keep people in their places?  Are we offering people hope, or are we misusing Jesus' name to instill fear and shame into people?  Are we heralding the heavenly Kingdom that Jesus announced, or are we serving some earthly kingdom instead?  Jesus once used these words from the Book of Isaiah to describe what He was doing: "The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor..."  Do the poor, the oppressed, the disadvantaged, and other such "lost sheep" hear good news from us, or, in their eyes, have we joined the "wolves" who prey upon them?

Excerpted from my sermon "Sheep Among Wolves"

I thought I was acting courageously by preaching a potentially controversial sermon about a Bible passage I found challenging.  If anyone at either of the two churches where I preached that morning found anything I said offensive, they didn't tell me.  All of the feedback I received was positive.  Maybe the people to whom I preached weren't listening.  Maybe they just heard what they wanted to hear.  Maybe I used such vague language nobody really understood what I was trying to say.  Maybe I didn't actually say anything controversial at all.

At least I can say that I tried to be courageous, I guess.  If nothing else, I can hope that God heard and answered the prayer I prayed before I started preaching that Sunday, that each of us who were present would hear whatever God wanted us to hear.


Notes:

1. Wikipedia: "Revised Common Lectionary"
2. Matthew 10:28 (CEB)
3. Matthew 10:33 (CEB)
4. Matthew 10:34 (CEB)
5. Wikipedia: "Matthew 10"
6. Matthew 10:1-25

The photograph featured in this introspection has been released to the public domain.  The photographer is in no way affiliated with this blog.

Sermon: Sheep Among Wolves

Delivered at St. Mark United Methodist Church and at Berea Friendship United Methodist Church in Greenville, South Carolina on June 21, 2026

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

Sheep Among Wolves

Audio Version

A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master; it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like the master.  If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household!

So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known.  What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops.  Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.  Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.  And even the hairs of your head are all counted.  So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.

Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven.

Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.

For I have come to set a man against his father,
and a daughter against her mother,
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
and one's foes will be members of one's own household.

Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me.  Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.

Matthew 10:24-39 (NRSV)

Will you leave yourself behind if I but call your name?
Will you care for cruel and kind and never be the same?
Will you risk the hostile stare should your life attract or scare?
Will you let me answer prayer in you and you in me?

From “The Summons” by John Bell

In C.S. Lewis’s fantasy novel The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, four children find themselves in Narnia, an enchanted land populated with talking animals and mythical creatures.  Narnia has fallen under the control of an evil witch who has placed the land in a state of perpetual winter.  In the words of the inhabitants, it is “always winter and never Christmas.”  At one point in the story, the four children are shown hospitality by a couple of beavers.  After they enjoy dinner together, Mr. and Mrs. Beaver tell the children about Aslan, “the King of the wood and the son of the great Emperor-beyond-the-sea.”  Rumors have been circulating that “Aslan is on the move,” that he has returned to Narnia to liberate the land and it's inhabitants from their wintry oppression.  Surprised to learn that Aslan is not a human but rather a lion, the children ask if he is safe.  Mr. Beaver replies, “Who said anything about safe?  'Course he isn't safe.  But he's good.  He's the king, I tell you.”  The children eventually meet Aslan and join him in his campaign to liberate Narnia.¹

C.S. Lewis denied that The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is an allegory,² but the story is clearly analogous to the Gospel narrative.  The frozen land of Narnia is like a world groaning for redemption; the lion Aslan is like Jesus, the Savior and true Lord of this world; and the four human children who stumble into Narnia are like disciples who are called to join the Savior in His redemptive work.  By making the messiah of the story a noble yet still fierce lion, Lewis subtly teaches his readers that, even though Jesus is good, something about Him is not safe.

And, in the Gospels, Jesus not so subtly warns His disciples that following Him will not be safe.

---

In the Gospel of Matthew, we read that one day, Jesus looks out and sees all the people who have come to Him seeking hope and healing, and His heart breaks for them.  In His eyes, they are as vulnerable as “sheep without a shepherd.”  Not only are many of them suffering from various ailments and illnesses, they are all languishing with the boot of an evil empire on their necks.  Jesus compares the work to be done to a great harvest that will require many, many field hands.  He says to His followers, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”  Jesus then calls the twelve Disciples together to send them out to do the things He has been doing in His ministry.  He says to them, “As you go, proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’  Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. ”  He instructs them to travel light and to rely on the hospitality of the people they meet.³

Jesus then begins to warn the Disciples about the hostility they will inevitably face.  He says to them, “See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.”  Jesus warns the Disciples that they will face persecution from both religious leaders and political leaders.  He urges them to use the trials they face as an opportunity to allow God to speak through them.  Jesus warns the Disciples that people who follow Him might even be betrayed by the people closest to them, but He assures them that “the one who endures to the end will be saved.”⁴

So why would Jesus and the Disciples face such opposition?

I highly doubt that anyone would oppose Jesus and the Disciples for merely doing good deeds.  Notice that Jesus does not instruct the Disciples to only “cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, [and] cast out demons.”  He also instructs them to “proclaim the good news” that “the kingdom of heaven has come near.”⁵  When Jesus began His public ministry, He started announcing, as His predecessor John the Baptist did before Him, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”⁶  This announcement is at the heart of everything Jesus says and does.⁷  His miraculous healings and exorcisms are not merely good deeds but are also signs that a heavenly Kingdom is indeed invading this world, not to conquer and oppress people as the Roman Empire has done but to set people free.  In the Gospels, the people who are hostile toward Jesus tend to be in positions of power or influence.  The announcement of the coming of a heavenly kingdom might not sound like especially good news to people who are fully invested in an earthly kingdom, people who think they have something to lose.

Jesus says to the Disciples, “A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master; it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like the master.”⁸  Jesus is implying that, if the Disciples are truly following in His footsteps, then they should not expect to be treated any better than He, their teacher, has been treated.  He then says, “If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household!”⁹  He is referring to a particular incident in which He was slandered.  One day, when Jesus healed a man whose condition was attributed to a demon, some Pharisees who witnessed the miracle suggested that Jesus was using demonic power to cast out demons.¹⁰  According to Mark's Gospel, some religious scholars say about Jesus, “He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons.”¹¹

Jesus has drawn the ire of certain religious leaders.  In His teachings, He has been critical of religious people, particularly when He challenges His hearers to be more righteous than the Pharisees and their scribes¹² and when He urges his hearers to not practice their piety like “the hypocrites.”¹³  People find that Jesus teaches with an authority they don't hear from the religious scholars.¹⁴  On one occasion, when a paralyzed man was brought to Jesus, Jesus told the man that his sins were forgiven before healing him.  Some Pharisees accused Jesus of blasphemy, because only God has the authority to forgive sins.¹⁵  Furthermore, the Law of their religion specifies how one is to atone for one’s sins.  On another occasion, Jesus called a tax collector named Matthew to be one of His disciples, and later, while He was enjoying dinner with Matthew and his fellow tax collectors, some Pharisees expressed their disapproval that He would associate with such “sinners.”¹⁶  Not only are tax collectors considered crooks, they are also considered traitors for being employed by the Roman Empire.  Simply put, Jesus has been stepping on the toes of the religious leaders, calling their character into question, and challenging the boundaries they set for people.  As a result, the Pharisees have become so soured toward Him that they have started to slander Him, going so far as to accuse Him of being in league with the devil.

The hostility Jesus faces will only intensify.

Jesus does not face opposition because He does good deeds.  He faces opposition because His ministry and the announcement at the heart of His ministry about the coming of the Kingdom of God are dangerous to the status quo.  Jesus knows that anyone who follows in His footsteps will face the same opposition He has already faced and will continue to face.  Jesus is good, but He is not safe to the principalities and powers that want to maintain control in this world, so following Him will not be safe.

Jesus says to the Disciples, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.  For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one's foes will be members of one's own household.”¹⁷  I do not believe that Jesus actually wants to create conflict and turn people against each other.  I believe He is simply acknowledging the disruptive nature of His work and the work He is calling the Disciples to do.  People who belong to the heavenly Kingdom that Jesus announces will inevitably find themselves at odds with people who belong to the kingdoms of this world.  People who seek the Kingdom of God might merely be labeled “troublemakers,” or they might be met with harassment or even violence.  In the words of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., “True peace is not merely the absence of some negative force – tension, confusion or war; it is the presence of some positive force – justice, good will and brotherhood.”¹⁸  In a world rife with injustice and exploitation, doing the right thing will sometimes result in conflict, and sadly some people who strive to do the right thing will find themselves in conflict with members of their own families.

Jesus continues, “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me.  Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.”¹⁹  Disciples of Jesus must be all in.  They must be willing to rock the proverbial boat when necessary, and they must not be afraid to face opposition.  Some people will even have to make the hard choice either to follow Jesus and do what He has called them to do or to turn away from Jesus’ call and seek their families’ approval instead.  There is a cost for following Jesus, but the reward promised to those who follow Him to the end is life in a Kingdom where God’s will is done on earth as in Heaven.

Jesus warns the Disciples that they will face opposition for faithfully following Him.  That said, it is important to realize that facing opposition does not necessarily mean that a person is faithfully following Christ.  In fact, it could mean the opposite.

There is a certain church in Topeka, Kansas that has faced a great deal of opposition over the years.  Members of this church travel throughout the nation, proclaiming the message they believe God is calling them to proclaim.  They and their message are frequently met with protests, cursing, obscene gestures, and objects hurled their way.  The family of this church's founding pastor has been named “the most hated family in America.”²⁰  I am referring to the infamous Westboro Baptist Church.  The message the members of this church proclaims to people is that God hates them, and, for some ungodly reason, they find it necessary to spew their venom near the funerals of fallen soldiers and other victims of violence.  The members of this church face opposition, not because of their faithfulness to Christ but because of their despicable behavior.  I do not endorse any violent or vulgar acts against the members of this church, but I do believe that people, especially faithful followers of Christ, are right to take a stand against them.

When Jesus sends the Disciples out “like sheep into the midst of wolves,” He expects them to remain as sheep and not to join the wolves.  Though He urges them to be as “wise as serpents,” He expects them not to become as venomous as serpents but to remain as “innocent as doves.”  Though Jesus wants the Disciples to understand the ways of the world around them, He does not want them to adopt those ways for themselves.  There must not be any viciousness or venom in anything the Disciples say or do.

As people who call ourselves disciples of Jesus, we must consider honestly what we are doing.  Are we trying to liberate people, as Jesus did when He freed people from their demons and diseases, or are we trying to keep people in their places?  Are we offering people hope, or are we misusing Jesus' name to instill fear and shame into people?  Are we heralding the heavenly Kingdom that Jesus announced, or are we serving some earthly kingdom instead?  Jesus once used these words from the Book of Isaiah to describe what He was doing: “The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor...”²¹  Do the poor, the oppressed, the disadvantaged, and other such “lost sheep” hear good news from us, or, in their eyes, have we joined the “wolves” who prey upon them?

If we are distorting the good news Christ has called us to share or if we are perverting the good work He has called us to do, then we are not faithfully following Him, and people are actually right to oppose us.

Jesus and His message are dangerous to the status quo, and people who benefit from the status quo tend to respond with hostility to people who rock the boat.  Very little has changed in this regard since the days of Jesus.  Martin Luther King Jr., a minister of the Gospel, and Mahatma Gandhi, a Hindu who was greatly inspired by Jesus, were both assassinated because they fought against oppression.  Jesus urges the Disciples to not be afraid.  He says, speaking of those who will respond to them with hostility, “Have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known.  What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops.”²²  The truth must be told, no matter how much the powers that be work to suppress it.

Jesus then says to the Disciples, “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”²³  If you think that Jesus is threatening the Disciples with eternal damnation in the event that they give into cowardice, consider what He says next.  He continues, “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?  Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.  And even the hairs of your head are all counted.  So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.”²⁴  Jesus tells the Disciples that they really ought to fear mere mortals who can only kill them a lot less than they fear the almighty God who decides the ultimate fate of their souls, but, by reminding them how much they matter to their Father in Heaven, the One who holds their souls, He assures them that they really have no reason to fear at all.  Finally, Jesus says to the Disciples, “Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven.”²⁵  A person’s faithfulness as a disciple of Jesus and courage in the face of opposition will not go unnoticed by God, and a person’s phoniness and cowardice will not go unnoticed by God either.  The message Christ calls us to proclaim and the work He calls us to do are too important to be stifled by our fear.

There is still much work to be done; this world is still groaning for redemption;²⁶ “the mass of [people who] lead lives of quiet desperation”²⁷ still need hope and healing; and Christ is still calling workers to go out to offer them hope and healing.  May God give us the willingness to say, “Here am I; send me!”²⁸  May God give us love for all people, and may God break our hearts for the “lost sheep” in our midst, those left most vulnerable by circumstance or by society.  May God give us the discernment to see if we really are seeking the Kingdom of God or if we are merely propping up an earthly kingdom.  May God give us the courage and the integrity to stand up to the wolves in our midst without becoming like them.

Amen.


Notes:

1. C.S. Lewis.  The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.  First published in 1950.
2. Wikipedia: “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe”
3. Matthew 9:35-10:11 (NRSV)
4. Matthew 10:16-22 (NRSV)
5. Matthew 10:7-8 (NRSV)
6. Matthew 3:2; 4:17 (NRSV)
7. N.T. Wright.  Matthew for Everyone, Part 1.  2004, Westminster John Knox Press.  pp. 26-27 
8. Matthew 10:24-25a (NRSV)
9. Matthew 10:25b (NRSV)
10. Matthew 9:32-24
11. Mark 3:22 (NRSV)
12. Matthew 5:20
13. Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18 (NRSV)
14. Matthew 7:28-29
15. Matthew 9:2-8; Mark 2:1-12
16. Matthew 9:9-11
17. Matthew 10:34-36 (NRSV)
18. Martin Luther King, Jr.  “Nonviolence and Racial Justice.”  Christian Century, 02/06/1957.
19. Matthew 10:37-39 (NRSV)
20. There is a documentary about this church with this very title by Louis Theroux.
21. Luke 4:15-19; Isaiah 61:1-2a (NRSV)
22. Matthew 10:26-27 (NRSV)
23. Matthew 10:28 (NRSV)
24. Matthew 10:29-31 (NRSV)
25. Matthew 10:32-33 (NRSV)
26. Romans 8:22-23
27. Adapted from a quote from Walden by Henry David Thoreau
28. Isaiah 6:8 (NRSV)

The Wolf and the Lamb was painted by Jean-Baptiste Oudry in the 1700s.

Sermon: Above, Beside, and Within (2026)

Delivered at St. Mark United Methodist Church in Greenville, South Carolina on May 31, 2026, Trinity Sunday

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

Above, Beside, and Within

Audio Version

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them.  When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.  And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.  And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Matthew 28:16-20 (NRSV)

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee.
Holy, holy, holy! merciful and mighty!
God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!

From “Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty!” by Richard Heber

The Disciples have trekked from Jerusalem to Galilee.  A few days earlier, Mary Magdalene and another woman named Mary visited the tomb of Jesus of Nazareth, who had just been brutally and wrongfully executed by crucifixion.  To their surprise, they watched as an angel descended from heaven and rolled the stone away, revealing the tomb to be empty.  Seated atop the stone, the heavenly messenger told them that Jesus had been resurrected from the dead and then instructed them to tell the Disciples to meet Jesus in Galilee.  As the two women ran to tell the Disciples the good news, they encountered the risen Jesus Himself, who repeated the angel's instruction to tell the Disciples to meet Him in Galilee.¹

The Disciples ascend a mountain in Galilee, and they find Jesus alive and well, just as the two Marys had told them.  They fall down and worship Him, though some of them are not quite sure that they can believe what they are seeing.  Jesus says to the Disciples, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.  And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”²

In the Gospel of Matthew, the earthly ministry of Jesus is bookended with references to the three Persons of the Holy Trinity.  Shortly before Jesus began His public ministry, He went to the Jordan River to be baptized.  As He emerged from the water, the heavens were torn open; the Holy Spirit took the form of a dove and descended upon Him; and a Voice from heaven was heard, proclaiming, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”³  The Son, at His baptism, received the power of the Spirit and the blessing of the Father.  As we just heard, Jesus ends His earthly ministry by commissioning the Disciples to “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”⁴

Today, the first Sunday after Pentecost, is Trinity Sunday, a day set aside for remembering that God has been revealed to us in three Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Though we can read about all three Persons of the Trinity in the Bible, the word trinity is found nowhere in our holy scriptures.  The first recorded use of the word trinity to describe God is in the writings of the second-century theologian Theophilus of Antioch.⁵  A creed was formalized around the Trinity at the First Council of Nicaea in 325, and this creed was revised at the First Council of Constantinople in 381.⁶  The Nicene Creed states, “We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen.”  The creed continues, “We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one being with the Father.”  The creed goes on to state, “We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets.”⁷

Something that makes the Trinity particularly difficult to explain is that it is so easy to say something heretical, something contrary to the established teachings of the Church.  For example, one might think that, if the Father is God, and if the Son is God, and if the Spirit is God, then perhaps God takes different forms at different times.  This idea, known as modalism, is generally regarded as a heresy because it denies that the Trinity is three distinct Persons.⁸  With that in mind, one might think that, if the Father is not the Son, and if the Son is not the Spirit, and if the Spirit is not the Father, then maybe we actually worship three distinct Gods.  This idea, called tritheism, is also considered a heresy⁹ because Christianity is a monotheistic religion.  Though we speak of a Triune God, we agree with our Jewish brothers and sisters, who daily proclaim, Shema Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Eḥad¹⁰ (“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one”).¹¹

Explaining what the Trinity is not seems to be a lot easier than explaining what the Trinity actually is.  The Trinity is a mystery and a paradox.  God is one, yet somehow, at the same time, God is three.  Perhaps it would be simpler to consider the Triune God's relationship with humanity and to consider the ways humanity has experienced the Triune God.


God Above Us

The Trinity reminds us that God is above us.  The parental title of the first Person of the Trinity, the Father, reminds us that God is our divine, loving Parent and that we are all children under God's authority.  God is our Creator and our Provider: God gave us life and every blessing we enjoy in life.  In the words of one beloved hymn, “All I have needed thy hand hath provided.”¹²  God is also our sovereign Lord and the Ruler over all creation.

When I say that God is above us, I mean not only that God reigns above us but also that God is above our intellect.  God says through one prophet, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, / nor are your ways my ways... / For as the heavens are higher than the earth, / so are my ways higher than your ways / and my thoughts than your thoughts.”¹³  When Job wants to argue with God, God says to him, “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? / Tell me, if you have understanding. / Who determined its measurements – surely you know! / Or who stretched the line upon it?”¹⁴  The psalmist David reflects on God's complete knowledge of him and on God's continuous presence with him and says, “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; / it is so high that I cannot attain it.”  He reflects on how carefully and thoughtfully God knit him together and proclaims, “How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God! / How vast is the sum of them! / I try to count them – they are more than the sand...”¹⁵  Indeed, our knowledge of the divine is but a drop in an ocean.

One of the Ten Commandments forbids the creation of idols or images of gods to worship.¹⁶  Some would go so far as to say that it also forbids images of the one true God, since such images cannot adequately represent God.  In the Book of Exodus, it could be inferred that the golden calf the Israelites wrongly worshiped in the wilderness was created to represent the God “who brought [them] up out of the land of Egypt.”¹⁷  I wonder if the same commandment might also apply to our mental images of God.  If we finite humans cannot fully comprehend an infinite God, then we would do well to hold our own conceptions of God with humility and with an open hand, lest we become guilty of creating idols in our minds.  The French philosopher Voltaire once observed, “If God has made us in his image, we have returned him the favor.”¹⁸

Ultimately, God is a mystery.  I think that maybe the mystery and otherness of God can be frightening to us.  C.S. Lewis writes that the fear of God is less like the fear of a tiger and more like the fear of a ghost.  If a tiger was in the room, we would be afraid because of what we know about it, but, if a ghost was in the room, we would be afraid because of what we don't know about it.¹⁹  The latter kind of fear is not a totally inappropriate response to God, for we must never let ourselves think that we've figured God out.  That said, I think the conflicting messages we hear about God can be a source of anxiety.  Some people speak only of God's grace, mercy, and love, while others speak primarily of God's anger and judgment, and the two groups often seem to be at odds with each other.  Whom shall we believe?


God Beside Us

What if the infinite God decided to describe God's self in a way that we finite humans can understand – or perhaps I should say, in a Word we can understand.  What if God somehow left behind the glory of Heaven and took on human flesh and blood to walk beside us?²⁰  What if, in the words of Eugene Peterson, God “moved into the neighborhood” with us?²¹  This is essentially what we learn from an ancient Christian hymn found at the beginning of the Gospel of John.  In it, we read,

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...  
And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen His glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth...  
No one has ever seen God.  It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made Him known.²²

The Greek term translated into English as word is logos,²³ which could also be translated as reason, logic, or order.²⁴  It is this word logos that John uses to describe second person of the Trinity, the Son, who is made known to us in Jesus Christ.

Jesus is God Incarnate – God in the flesh.  Brian Zahnd, one of my favorite preachers, likes to say, “God is like Jesus.  God has always been like Jesus.  There has never been a time when God was not like Jesus.  We have not always known what God is like – but now we do.”²⁵  When we are confused and frightened by the conflicting messages we hear about God, we are invited to look to Jesus and see what God is truly like.

The Church teaches us that Christ is fully God and, at the same time, fully human.  In the Gospels, He is called both Son of God and Son of Man.  In Christ, we see that God is fully capable of empathizing with us, for we know that God has actually walked a mile in our shoes.  In Christ, we know that God has experienced the beauty, the messiness, and even the pain of being human.²⁶  To say that Christ is fully human is to say that He entered fully into the human experience, but it is not to say that He is just like us.²⁷  According to the creation poem at the very beginning of the Bible, God created humanity in God's own Image.²⁸  To be human is to bear the Image of God, but the divine Image we bear has been distorted by our sin.²⁹  Christ, who perfectly bears the Image of God, came to Earth as part of a divine plan to save a broken creation, and part of His mission was to show us how to be fully human.  Interestingly, in the Common English Bible, whenever Jesus would refer to Himself as the Son of Man in other translations of the Bible, He calls Himself the Human One, reminding us that He is the one who is truly human.


God Within Us

In the Gospel of John, Jesus said to the Disciples, on the evening before He was arrested, tried, and crucified, “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.”³⁰  Different translations of the Bible use different words to describe the divine Presence the Father will send on the Son's behalf.  The New Revised Standard Version uses the word advocate; the older King James Version uses the word comforter; and the more recent Common English Bible uses the word companion.  The original Greek word used to describe this Presence is paraklētos, which describes someone “called to one's side.”  Alternately, it could mean “counselor,” “intercessor,” or simply “helper.”³¹  Jesus told the Disciples that this “Paraclete” will dwell within them.³²  He was referring, of course, to the third Person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit.

Jesus told the Disciples that the Holy Spirit will remind them of everything He has already taught them and that the Holy Spirit will continue to teach them.³³  He later said, “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.  When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth...”³⁴  Jesus, by His own admission, did not teach the Disciples everything they needed to know, but He promised them that the Spirit would continue to teach them after He returned to the Father.

The Holy Spirit will empower the Disciples to do what Jesus commissions them to do.  In the Acts of the Apostles, Jesus says to the Disciples just before He ascends to Heaven, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”³⁵  Ten days later, while the Disciples are gathered together in their meeting place, they hear the sound of a mighty wind.  Suddenly tongues of fire appear in the room and land upon each of them.  The Disciples then run into the street, speaking languages they did not previously know, and a crowd of people from many different nations gathers around them to hear their message.³⁶  That day of Pentecost, which we commemorated last Sunday, is sometimes called the “birthday of the Church,” and the same Holy Fire that appeared that day has mobilized the Church ever since.


The Image of God

If human beings do indeed bear the Image of God, then perhaps the Trinity teaches us not only who God is, but also who we are.  When Jesus taught the Disciples to pray, He taught them to address God as “our Father in heaven.”³⁷  We are all beloved children of the Father; the Son provides us the definitive example of what it means to live into our identities as children of God; and the Holy Spirit empowers us to do so.  Perhaps the Trinity also reveals something about who we are collectively.  In the Gospel of John, Jesus prayed that those who follow Him may be one with each other as He and the Father are one.³⁸  The Trinity is three Persons yet one God.  Similarly the Church is many individuals yet one “body.”

St. Paul uses some fascinating metaphors in his letters to describe the Church.  He writes that the Church is the Body of Christ, meaning that individual followers of Christ work together like parts of a body, of which Christ is the head.³⁹  In the words attributed to St. Teresa of Avila,

Christ has no body now on earth but yours; no hands but yours; no feet but yours.  Yours are the eyes through which the compassion of Christ must look out on the world.  Yours are the feet with which He is to go about doing good.  Yours are the hands with which He is to bless His people.

Paul also writes that the Church is the Temple of the Holy Spirit, for the Spirit of God dwells within us and among us.⁴⁰  As the Church, we are commissioned by Christ to carry on His work by making disciples and passing along His teachings, and we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to do what we have been commissioned to do.


The Trinity teaches us that, though God is ultimately beyond human comprehension, God is, by no means, distant from humanity.  As Jesus says to the Disciples, “I am with you always, to the end of the age.”⁴¹  God reigns above us as our Creator, Lord, and Parent in ways we cannot even begin to understand.  God came to walk beside us, stepping into our experience and showing us how to live.  God dwells within us, guiding us, empowering us, and sustaining us day by day.  The Trinity also teaches us who we are.  We are children of the Father who are empowered by the Spirit to become more like the Son and to carry on His work in the world.

Thanks be to God.


Notes:

1. Matthew 28:1-10
2. Matthew 28:16-20 (NRSV)
3. Matthew 3:13-17 (NRSV)
4. Matthew 28:18-20 (NRSV)
5. Wikipedia: “Trinity”
6. Wikipedia: “Nicene Creed”
7. Quotes were taken from the Nicene Creed as printed in The United Methodist Hymnal.  no. 880
8. Wikipedia: “Sabellianism”
9. Wikipedia: “Tritheism”
10. Wikipedia: “Shema”
11. Deuteronomy 6:4 (NKJV)
12. From “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” by Thomas Chisholm
13. Isaiah 55:8-9 (NRSV)
14. Job 38:4-5 (NRSV)
15. Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18 (NRSV)
16. Exodus 20:4-6
17. Exodus 32:1-5
18. Wikiquote: “Voltaire”
19. C.S. Lewis.  The Problem of Pain.  ch. 1
20. Philippians 2:5-7
21. John 1:14 (The Message)
22. John 1:1, 14, 18 (NRSV)
23. Blue Letter Bible: “Logos”
24. Wikipedia: “Logos”
25. Brian Zahnd.  “God Is Like Jesus.”  BrianZahnd.com, 08/11/2011.
26. Hebrews 4:15
27. Peter Rollins.  “Salvation for Zombies.”
28. Genesis 1:27
29. Kenneth L. Carder.  Living Our Beliefs: The United Methodist Way.  2009, Discipleship Resources.  ch. 4-5
30. John 14:15-16 (NRSV)
31. Blue Letter Bible: “paraklētos”
32. John 14:17
33. John 14:25-26
34. John 16:12-13a (NRSV)
35. Acts 1:8 (NRSV)
36. Acts 2:1-11
37. Matthew 6:9 (NRSV)
38. John 17:20-23
39. 1 Corinthians 12:27-28, Colossians 1:18
40. 1 Corinthians 3:16
41. Matthew 28:20 (NRSV)

The image featured in this sermon is public domain.

Introspection: Another Cowardly Disciple

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

Another Cowardly Disciple

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "All who want to come after me must say no to themselves, take up their cross, and follow me.  All who want to save their lives will lose them.  But all who lose their lives because of me will find them."

Matthew 16:24-25 (CEB)

Oh my soul, Oh my Savior
Peter denied You three times
I have denied You more

From "What Have We Done?" by Kings Kaleidoscope

For the last couple of years, during Holy Week, I read about Jesus' fateful "last week" in Jerusalem.  From Palm Sunday through Easter Sunday, I read about Jesus' triumphal entry into the city, clash the religious institution, Last Supper with the Disciples, arrest, trial, crucifixion, and resurrection from one of the Gospels.  Last year, when I read about these events from the Gospel of Luke, I kept the politics of the time and region in mind.  This year, when I read about these events from the Gospel of Matthew, I read through a more religious lens.

I read about the actions of Jesus in Jerusalem, particularly His cleansing the temple and His theologically battling with the religious leaders, as an assault on the religious establishment of His day.

On the day after Jesus rode into Jerusalem to the joyous shouts of the people who traveled with Him, He barged into the temple, turned over the tables of the people exchanging currency, and turned over the chairs of the people selling animals for sacrifice.  He said, "It's written, My house will be called a house of prayer.  But you've made it a hideout for crooks."¹  Jesus' actions were essentially a protest against the corruption of the religious institution.  By comparing the temple to a "hideout for crooks," Jesus was saying that the religious leaders were not promoting scriptural justice but were instead harboring injustice.²

The next morning, Jesus was hungry.  He found a fig tree, but, when He looked for figs, He found nothing but leaves.  He cursed the fig tree, and it immediately withered, to the amazement of His disciples.³  That fig tree was symbolic of the religious institution of Jesus' day.⁴  In Jesus' eyes, both were outwardly beautiful but essentially fruitless.

Later that day, the religious leaders confronted Jesus over the stunt He pulled in the temple, asking Him where He received the authority to do what He did.  Jesus didn't answer their question.  Instead, He responded with a series of parables that suggested that the religious leaders were hypocritical, derelict in their duty, and utterly disinterested in what God was doing.  The religious leaders struck back by asking Jesus a series of loaded questions, hoping to trap Him with His words, but He evaded their traps with His brilliant answers.  Finally, in front of His followers, He launched into a screed about the hypocrisy of the religious leaders.⁵

Sometimes, when we read the biblical story, the biblical story reads us back.  Naturally, I read about Jesus' actions as an attack on the religious system of His day, because I have problems with the religious system of my day.  In my eyes, much of American Christianity is rotten to the core.  So many Christians in America seem to care more about supporting certain political interests and less about actually carrying on the work of Christ.  The Gospel story, which is meant to be liberating and life-giving, is twisted and weaponized against people.  All that said, I don't do very much to combat the corruption of Christianity in America.  I either address such matters on this blog so vaguely that nobody really knows what I mean or subconsciously keep my readership small so that I don't have to face pushback.

Later that week in Jerusalem, Jesus, knowing that He would soon be arrested, tried, and crucified, went to a place called Gethsemane to pray.  He prayed, "My Father, if it's possible, take this cup of suffering away from me.  However - not what I want but what you want."⁶  Jesus didn't want to face the suffering that awaited Him, but He wanted to do God's will.  On Maundy Thursday, as I reflected on this prayer, the thought occurred to me that Jesus would not have to face this "cup of suffering" if He had not rocked the proverbial boat.  Jesus did what He did that week, knowing that it would cost Him His life.  Were His actions really worth it?

The next day, on Good Friday, I read about Jesus suffering, death, and burial, and I began to lament my lack of courage.  I have problems with the religious institution of my day, but, unlike Jesus, I don't have the courage to flip over proverbial tables and call out the liars, grifters, and political shills who lead churches.  I'm afraid of facing the consequences of speaking my mind.  On Good Friday, I found myself another cowardly disciple afraid to take up his own cross, not unlike the ones who abandoned and denied Jesus when He was arrested.⁷

"Then he cursed and swore, 'I don't know the man!'" (Mt 26:74a)

On Easter Sunday, I read about the Resurrection.  One morning, a couple of days after Jesus was crucified, two women visited His tomb and learned that He had been resurrected from the dead.  They encountered the risen Jesus, and relayed instructions to His disciples to meet Him in Galilee.⁸  When the Disciples met Jesus atop a mountain in Galilee, He said to them, "I've received all authority in heaven and on earth.  Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything that I've commanded you.  Look, I myself will be with you every day until the end of this present age."⁹

Jesus' commissioning the Disciples put things into perspective for me.  Jesus did not tell the Disciples to keep flipping tables.  He told them to go and make disciples.  If I am indeed a disciple of Jesus, then I need to be using my spiritual gifts to make and strengthen other disciples and not looking for a fight.  That said, there may very well come a time when I am required to take a stand, as Jesus did and as His first disciples eventually did, and at that time I will need to be courageous.  As Jesus said, "All who want to come after me must say no to themselves, take up their cross, and follow me."¹⁰

May God give us all the clarity to do what God has called us to do and the courage to do what we are required to do.


Notes:

1. Matthew 21:1-13 (CEB)
2. Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan.  The Last Week: What the Gospels Really Teach About Jesus's Final Days in Jerusalem.  2006, HarperOne.  p. 49
3. Matthew 21:18-20 (CEB)
4. Borg and Crossan, p. 56
5. Matthew 21:23-23:36
6. Matthew 26:36-39 (CEB)
7. Matthew 26:56b
8. Matthew 28:1-10
9. Matthew 28:16-20 (CEB)
10. Matthew 16:24 (CEB)

The Denial of St. Peter was painted by Gerard van Honthorst around 1623.

Perspective: Believing and Praying

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

Believing and Praying

My future is in your hands.
Don't hand me over to my enemies,
to all who are out to get me!
Shine your face on your servant;
save me by your faithful love!

Psalm 31:15-16 (CEB)

God, You know where I've been
You were there with me then
You were faithful before
You'll be faithful again
I'm holding Your hand

From "Let the Waters Rise" by MIKESCHAIR

One of the classes I had to complete in order to be certified as a Lay Speaker in the United Methodist Church was a class on leading public prayer.  In this class, I learned about a particular type of prayer called the collect.  In such a prayer, a petition to God is preceded by a statement about God and followed by a reason for the petition.¹

Consider the following collect written for the third Sunday in Eastertide:

Almighty Father,
who in your great mercy gladdened the disciples
with the sight of the risen Lord:
give us such knowledge of his presence with us,
that we may be strengthened and sustained by his risen life
and serve you continually in righteousness and truth;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.²

In this prayer, the petition is made to God that the presence of the risen Christ be made known to the gathered congregation.  The rationale for the petition is that God resurrected Christ from the dead and that seeing the resurrected Christ gave His first disciples hope and joy.  The reason for the petition is that experiencing the presence of the risen Christ will provide the congregation the spiritual strength and sustenance they need to better serve God.

The collect shows us that what we ask of God is directly connected to our theology.  Generally speaking, when we pay close attention to a prayer, we can learn something important about the person who is praying, specifically what the person believes about God.


Many of the psalms in the Bible are attributed to David, the shepherd who became a military leader and then later became the most beloved king of Israel.  Like a number of the psalms associated with David, the thirty-first psalm is a prayer for help in a perilous time.  Evidently, David has found himself in dire straits.  The psalm begins,

I take refuge in you, Lord.
Please never let me be put to shame.
Rescue me by your righteousness!³

When I encountered this psalm recently, I observed that the psalmist apparently believes at least four things about God.


First, David believes that God is protective of God's children.  He prays,

Listen closely to me!
Deliver me quickly;
be a rock that protects me;
be a strong fortress that saves me!
You are definitely my rock and my fortress.
Guide me and lead me for the sake of your good name!
Get me out of this net that's been set for me
because you are my protective fortress.⁴

To David, God is like a rock behind which he can take cover and a fortress in which he can take refuge.  Such imagery can be found throughout the Psalms.⁵  David goes on to pray,

How great is the goodness
that you've reserved for those who honor you,
that you commit to those who take refuge in you -
in the sight of everyone!
You hide them in the shelter of your wings,
safe from human scheming.
You conceal them in a shelter,
safe from accusing tongues.⁶

According to David, God shelters God's children in the same way that a mother bird shelters her young with her wings.


Second, David believes that God is faithful to God's children.  He prays,

I entrust my spirit into your hands;
you, Lord, God of faithfulness -
you have saved me.⁷

David's use of the past tense might lead us to believe that the occasion that inspires this prayer is not the first time David has asked God for help in a perilous time.  He later prays,

Bless the Lord,
because he has wondrously revealed
his faithful love to me
when I was like a city under siege!⁸

Trusting that God is faithful involves remembering what God has done in the past.  Scholar John Goldingay notes in his commentary on this psalm that remembering God's previous acts "keeps those events in the awareness of the people praying and thus makes it more possible for them to hold on as the waters rise."⁹  David evidently sought help from God in the past and received it, so he trusts that God will help him again in the present.


Third, David believes that God is attentive to God's children; otherwise, he might not bother asking God for help.  James L. Mays writes in his commentary on this psalm, "The psalm has been called a model of a prayer that is confident of being heard.  This confidence informs the prayer from start to finish; to pray this psalm is to be led into and instructed in this confidence."¹⁰  David prays,

I rejoice and celebrate in your faithful love
because you saw my suffering -
you were intimately acquainted with my deep distress.
You didn't hand me over to the enemy,
but set my feet in wide-open spaces.¹¹

David goes on to pray,

When I was panicked, I said,
"I'm cut off from your eyes!"
But you heard my request for mercy
when I cried out to you for help.¹²

Goldingay suggests, "People praying are invited to believe and declare that God has heard their prayer even when there is yet no evidence, to urge one another to believe that this is so, and to take courage accordingly."¹³  The defining story of David's people is the Exodus, in which God hears the cries of the long-oppressed people of Israel and sends Moses to liberate them.  David trusts that God hears his cries in the same way that God heard the cries of his oppressed ancestors.


Finally, David believes that God is sovereign.  He prays,

My future is in your hands.
Don't hand me over to my enemies,
to all who are out to get me!
Shine your face on your servant;
save me by your faithful love!¹⁴

To trust that God is sovereign is to trust that God has the final word in all matters.  For David, trusting that God is sovereign means trusting that God is the one who truly determines his future and not the people who are seeking his life.  He ends his prayer,

All you who are faithful, love the Lord!
The Lord protects those who are loyal,
but he pays the proud back to the fullest degree.
All you who wait for the Lord,
be strong and let your heart take courage.¹⁵

To trust that God is sovereign is also to trust that God will eventually set all things right.  David trusts that people's faithfulness to God will not go unnoticed by God and that wrongdoers will inevitably have to face the consequences of their wrongdoings.


What we believe about God determines how we pray, and, at the same time, how we pray reveals what we believe about God.  David believes that God is protective, faithful, attentive, and sovereign, so he turns to God for protection in perilous times.  What does the way you pray reveal about your beliefs about God?


Notes:

1. Wikipedia: "Collect"
2. "Collects and Suggested Canticles and Refrains (Daily Prayer)."  The Church of England Website.
3. Psalm 31:1 (CEB)
4. Psalm 31:2-4 (CEB)
5. Joel B. Green, William H. Willimon, et al.  The Wesley Study Bible (NRSV).  2009, Abingdon Press.  p. 672
6. Psalm 31:19-20 (CEB)
7. Psalm 31:5 (CEB)
8. Psalm 31:21 (CEB)
9. John Goldingay.  The Old Testament for Everyone (Kindle Edition).  2020, Westminster John Knox Press.  p. 2835
10. James L. Mays.  Psalms (Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching) (Kindle Edition). 2011, John Knox Press.  loc. 2914-5
11. Psalm 31:7-8 (CEB)
12. Psalm 31:22 (CEB)
13. Goldingay, p. 2836
14. Psalm 31:15-16 (CEB)
15. Psalm 31:23-24 (CEB)

The photograph of the desert boulders was taken by Ken Kistler and has been released to the public domain.  The photographer is in no way affiliated with this blog.

Perspective: The Bad Shepherd

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

The Bad Shepherd

I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.  When the hired hand sees the wolf coming, he leaves the sheep and runs away.  That's because he isn't the shepherd; the sheep aren't really his.  So the wolf attacks the sheep and scatters them.  He's only a hired hand and the sheep don't matter to him.

John 10:11-13 (CEB)

Arm me with watchful care
As in Thy sight to live
And now Thy servant, Lord, prepare
A strict account to give!

From "A Charge to Keep I Have" by Charles Wesley

Today is the Fourth Sunday in Eastertide, a day sometimes called Good Shepherd Sunday.  In the Gospel of John, Jesus says, "I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep."  He goes on to say, "I am the good shepherd.  I know my own sheep and they know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father.  I give up my life for the sheep."¹  On this day, we remember who Jesus is as humanity's Good Shepherd.  Among other things we remember that Jesus laid down His life, as a good shepherd does, to liberate humanity from the power of sin and death when He endured crucifixion.

The twenty-third psalm is attributed to Jesus' ancestor David, who shepherded his family's sheep before he was anointed to become his people's next king.  In this beloved psalm, a shepherd imagines himself as a sheep, and he imagines that God is his shepherd.  The psalmist proclaims that God, his shepherd, provides everything he needs.  He proclaims that, as shepherd, God leads him to "grassy meadows" and "restful waters."  He proclaims that, when he must "walk through the darkest valley," he is not afraid, because God, his shepherd, is there to protect him.²  In the same way that sheep are totally dependent on their shepherd, we are totally dependent on God.

This psalm, which describes God's care for humanity, has something to teach us about human beings, who bear God's image.  It teaches us that, when we find ourselves in any place of authority, not unlike a shepherd, we are called to lead, provide, or protect in accordance with the authority entrusted to us.

Perhaps, on Good Shepherd Sunday, we would do well to remember that not all shepherds are good.

The prophet Ezekiel was among the people deported to Babylon the first time the Babylonian Empire attacked the Kingdom of Judah.  Occasionally he was called to speak out against the people in authority among those who remained in Judah.  On one occasion, God commanded Ezekiel to "prophesy against Israel's shepherds."³  God told Ezekiel to say to them,

The Lord God proclaims to the shepherds: Doom to Israel's shepherds who tended themselves!  Shouldn't shepherds tend the flock?  You drink the milk, you wear the wool, and you slaughter the fat animals, but you don't tend the flock.  You don't strengthen the weak, heal the sick, bind up the injured, bring back the strays, or seek out the lost; but instead you use force to rule them with injustice.⁴

In other words, the people in charge used their positions of authority not for the benefit of the people who depended on them but rather for their own benefit.

When people in positions of authority fail to do the jobs entrusted to them, bad things happen to the people who depend on them.  God told Ezekiel to say to the "shepherds" who failed to care for God's people,

Without a shepherd, my flock was scattered; and when it was scattered, it became food for all the wild animals.  My flock strayed on all the mountains and on every high hill throughout all the earth.  My flock was scattered, and there was no one to look for them or find them.  So now shepherds, hear the Lord's word!  This is what the Lord God says: As surely as I live, without a shepherd, my flock became prey.  My flock became food for all the wild animals.  My shepherds didn't seek out my flock.  They tended themselves, but they didn't tend my flock.⁵

When shepherds fail to lead, provide, and protect, their flock essentially becomes a buffet for predators.  When the kings of Israel and Judah failed to lead their people well, their kingdoms were attacked by larger empires, and their subjects were taken into captivity.

According to Jesus, "the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep."  By contrast, the bad shepherd neglects the lives of his sheep as he seeks to enrich and glorify himself.  As we remember what Jesus, our Good Shepherd, did for us, His sheep, may we remember that not all people who seek positions of authority truly have other people's best interests at heart.  May we who are in positions of authority faithfully do what we have been trusted to do by leading, providing, and protecting to the best of our ability as our positions require.


Notes:

1. John 10:11, 14-15 (CEB)
2. Psalm 23:1-4 (CEB)
3. Ezekiel 34:1-2 (CEB)
4. Ezekiel 34:2-4 (CEB)
5. Ezekiel 34:5-8 (CEB)

The photograph of the flock of sheep was provided by the Agricultural Research Service and is public domain.