Matthew 19-20
Divorce. Pharisees always testing Jesus on the law. Divorce provided as a concession to your hard-heartedness, but not part of God's ideal plan. "Not everyone is mature enough to live a married life. It requires a certain aptitude and grace. Marriage isn't for everyone...if you're capable of growing into the largeness of marriage, do it."
"Let the little children alone, don't prevent them from coming to me. God's kingdom is made up of people like these."
"Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?" Do we see salvation as transactional? A give to get? That is the sort of question asked here. What must I do to get? It is a question we ask daily either explicitly or implicitly. "God is the One who is good. Do what God tells you if you want to enter eternal life. " I'm good with the big ten, at least according to the letter of the law--generally-could honor my parents more-- not OK with Jesus' "but I tell you's". If I read the list in v. 19 and remember what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, I'm not doing so hot. Surely Jesus' instruction to "Go sell your possessions" falls in the category of Jesus' reframing and tightening of the OT laws, too. Crestfallen, he walked away. Lord, help me not walk away. Instead, help me submit again, and again, and again, until you have made me what you want me to be. Gulp.
"Then who has any chance at all?" "No chance if you think you can pull it off yourself (What must I do?). Every chance in the world if you trust God to do it." "We left everything and followed you. What do we get out of it?" Lord, keep me from those thoughts. Give me patience and perseverance to trust in your timing, your ordering, your faithfulness.
The great reversal. We don't talk about that too much, do we?
Workers in the vineyard. "It's not fair." Jesus doesn't call us to an ethic of fairness, a kingdom of fair. It's reversal, and it can be a bitter taste. Jesus changes the value system. He values us because we are, not because of our salary or vocation or self-image based on the first two. We all get treated generously by God.
"Can't I do what I want with my own money?" Can't I give as I see fit? Not reward, but give. Not evaluate, but give. Not punish, but give. Not lecture, but give. Not sort out and assign places, but give. Each person can be valued as God values us. "I decided to give to the one who came last the same as you." You are needed and you are valued. God calls you; you are significant; God gives you generous gifts and you are esteemed. Treated with dignity and grace, no matter when you got in on the work. "The moment they decided to listen to what God said to them and pay attention to how God valued them-not to what others said about them or how they felt about themselves-they were on the way to getting their act together. The moment you decide that, you will, too." EP
Talks of himself in the third person: The Son of Man. Give my sons the honored seats at your table. Are you able to do what I'm going to do? You will, but I've got no say on where you sit. Can't do it. God picks those. Posturing for position. Difficult to have groups in which this does not take place.
Two blind men. "Master, have mercy on us!" "What do you want from me?" What do you want from Jesus? Do you believe that Jesus can do for you what you ask? "What do you want from me?"
Acts 28
Extreme hospitality provided to Paul and crew by the Malta people. Paul snake bit--not a punishment for his evil--poisonous snake didn't harm him. god? Paul heals Pubius' father. Others were healed, too. 3 months on Malta. Traveled on and arrived in Rome. Paul was two years in a guest house during which time he welcomed all who came to see him, preached the Kingdom of God, and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ. He turned his house into a church by doing those three things: Welcoming, preaching, and teaching. EP: Welcoming-the hospitable acceptance of one another. Preaching-the urgent announcement that this is God's world and God runs it. Teaching-the careful presentation of Jesus as the one who will do for us what we can't do for ourselves. These things took place as an overflow of Paul's heart.
Paul claims Israel's side, always and forever. A hostage for hope, not for doom. Paul invited to speak to the Jewish leaders about God's kingdom and Jesus. Some were persuaded , but others refused to believe a word of it. Christian proclamation receives a mixed reaction. Isaiah 6:9-10-God's people don't always have the capacity (or desire) to hear. "So they won't have to deal with me face-to-face and let me heal them." Non-Jewish outsiders are next on the list, and they'll receive with open arms!
"Paul's door was always open." Is yours? Is ours? That's the end of the story of the early church. "Open" is the last word. Open.
So, how do we who call ourselves the church, the body of Christ in the world, ones who desire that "Thy kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven", continue the story? Much has been written about Acts 29, and that being the chapter of our lives. So what's our story? What's your story? How is God seeking to change either, so that we excel in welcoming, preaching, and teaching?
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