Mission Faithwalk

                 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ep[hessians 2:8-9)                  This might be one of the most offensive passages in the Bible. It is the way Christianity differs from the other religions. Salvation is needed. We sense this if we have any wisdom. We run from the need because we resent that we have a need. Over the past few days, we’ve seen that we may presume we have salvation without faith in Him, and fool ourselves, but not Him. Oh, we may not say it. We may not even feel it all of the time, but when we least expect it, that niggling voice of irritations creeps in. If nothing else, it whispers that we should be better than we are, or that we are better than they are. Other times, it whispers, “work harder!”                But Paul tells us that this offense is a gift. We can’t earn it. We can’t accomplish it. We don’t deserve it. And it irk

  When Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy. Then Jesus said to him, “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” (Matthew 8:1-4)   After reading Matthew Henry’s commentary on this passage decades go, I just can’t get over “Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man.” Lepers weren’t to be touched. Doing so made one unclean, and a procedure had to be followed to be clean again. Scripture doesn’t say Jesus followed it, but there’s no real reason to think He didn’t. But the description of leprosy – as it existed at the time – is such that most people wouldn’t want to touch a victim. Maybe this victim wasn’t as gruesome as some, but given

                 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” (Matthew 7:24-27)                  Because Jesus said this, I think sometimes we try to make today’s passage all about some spiritual or Christian reality. That leads me back to a idea that  pops up now and then. People have insisted that religion is somehow different – magical thinking, but the reality is that religion and philosophy are both just attempts to understand experienced reality and to provide principles that will allow us to coopera

                 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ (Matthew 7:21-23)                  As scary as the passages from the past couple of days have been, today’s is worse. It’s not just that only a few will enter or false prophets are out there. No, the past two days have excluded the hypocrite, the CINO (Christian in Name Only), and the rich televangelist, but leave us safe. At least, we may tell ourselves that. In today’s passage, Jesus takes a tougher stand. People who refer to Him as “Lord” and who perform miracles in His name may also be excluded.                As with the prophets described yesterday, who thought themselves the mouthpiec

                 Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?   Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them . (Matthew 7:15-20)                False prophets. They tell you what you want to hear. They pretend to be on your side and to be there to help you, but in the end, they do you harm. They may even come to you claiming to speak the Word of God, but they mix it with the lies that will achieve their goals. This goes back to yesterday’s post – many may claim to be Christians. They may believe they are. False prophets may not know they are false. They may think themselves righteous and believe

            Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. (Matthew 7:13-14)                This is one of those passages that some love and some hate. Those who love it include the folks who are proud of the fact that they have made it, and all those others are going straight to hell and they can’t wait to tell those who are hell-bound. Those who hate it insist that no one is going to hell, so they ignore it. This is the passage that makes me uncomfortable when I hear reports that 40, 50, or even 60 percent of the population of a country claim to be Christian. It brings me back to the question of definition. What do they mean by “Christian”?               Some people believe  that if one is Western or American, one is a Christian. Others believe that if one isn’t actively something else, one is a Christian, or th

  “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets . (Matthew 7:7-12) The prosperity gospel teaches that no matter what you ask for or seek, or with what selfish motives you ask and seek, God is obligated to give you. But Jesus didn’t stop there. He points out that if our children ask for good and necessary things, we’re not going to give them something that will harm them. How much more so is the Father going to give us good and necessary things, ra

                   “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.” (Matthew 7:6)               Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be just like him. Answer a fool according to his folly, or he will be wise in his own eyes. (Proverbs 26:4-5)                  Dogs? Pigs? I don’t think Jesus was being racist here, but He was calling on those who listened to Him to judge – in what was probably the paragraph after telling us not to judge! Was He being hypocritical, after scolding hypocrites?                He was calling us to use our judgment or discernment, and in a way that is entirely relevant today. Dogs and pigs have no appreciation for what we consider precious. They have their own value system and must be taught ours. I have yet to have a dog that didn’t destroy something: books, clothing, carpets, tile floors, and woodwork. I have no exper

              “ Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?    You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. (Matthew 7:3-5)                  Continuing on the subject of finding fault, Jesus asked His listeners, and us, why we focus on a tiny sin in someone else’s life while ignoring the big one in our own. Does it surprise you that we don’t hear people scolding us with this passage as much as with “Do not judge”? It probably shouldn’t, because if they used this one, they’d have to admit that the possibility that they have a speck.                What’s worse, if they used this passage as their weapon, they leave open the possibility of someone having dealt with the plank in their own eye, and therefor

                 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. (Matthew 7:1-2)                  Some people love to trot out the first verse of today’s passage: “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.” The first problem with doing so is that telling someone not to judge involves judging the person as guilty of judging others. Of course, the whole idea is that its wrong for anyone who claims to be a Christian to judge someone who is doing something the Bible says is wrong. Since the person pounding his fist on the pulpit and shouting “Do not judge!” is not a Christian, they are free to judge.                Historically, this passage tends to be seen as a command from Jesus. I’m not saying it’s not, but another perspective might be involved. When we judge others, others will judge us – positively if they agree and negatively if they don’t. The same people who scream, “

              “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?    Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?                “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.    If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’   For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek fi

                   “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” (Matthew 6:24)                  You cannot serve both God and money, or power, fame, order, utopia, the common good, the government, self-interest/ego/self-fulfillment, romance/relationship, control/competence, heaven, or even goodness. I wonder how many people are aiming for heaven but have no desire for God? This is something we may know in our heads, but our lives tell a different story. Some claim that an atheist believes in no gods, but whether or not the atheist believes in a god, one or more gods rule their lives. It might be Reason, Themselves, Science, or any of a number of others – but whatever we accept as having power over the universe and ourselves is our god. It doesn’t have to be a being. It can be nothing more than an idea as long as our perceptions about the universe, other

                 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light.    But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! (Matthew 6:22-23)               Someone commented recently about things (like humbleness) not coming naturally to us, and today’s passage resonates with that truth. What Jesus teaches us doesn’t come naturally to us. Oh, some small part may do so because of the way we were raised, but we can’t do it all ourselves, and when we try, it’s like the passage above. We stumble around in the dark.           The first point is that we aren’t mean to do it all ourselves. We aren’t meant to do it all ourselves at any point, but at this point, we’re less able. In fact, it’s interesting that just about the time we are supposedly at our peak of power financially, emotionally, socially, etc., our bodies decline so that we have to loo

                 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.    For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:19-21)                  The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of gold, as pure as transparent glass. (Revelation 21:21)                  All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. (Isaiah 64:6)                  Treasure: a quantity of precious metals, gems, or other valuable objects; a very valuable object (Middle English: from Old French tresor, based on Greek thēsauros  (See thesaurus)                Thesaurus (late 16th century: via Lati

                 “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” (Matthew 6:16-18)                  “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.   But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in

                 “This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,   your kingdom come, your will be done,     on earth as it is in heaven.   Give us today our daily bread.   And forgive us our debts,     as we also have forgiven our debtors.   And lead us not into temptation,     but deliver us from the evil one.’                For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.    But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” (Matthew 6:9-13)                  First, a small challenge. Read the prayer above, taking a deep breath at the end of each line. My bet is that it sounds “normal” to you, because that’s the way it’s read and said in a group. Now, read it this way:           Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come,  Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.   Give us today our daily bread and forgive us our debts

                 “ Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven .” (Matthew 6:1)                  Virtue Signaling: the public expression of opinions or sentiments intended to demonstrate one's good character or social conscience or the moral correctness of one's position on a particular issue.                  Let’s start with the operational reality here. Years ago, I saw a man in my yard, spraying chemicals.  Before I could get my mind around what I was seeing and check with my father to see if he’d hired the guy for some reason, the man was at my door, demanding payment not just for that application but for the previous one. I told him we’d never hired him and had not had previous treatments. He gave my house number but named a different street (it’s an easy error because part of that street is straight up the hill from my house but curves west a few houses above mine.)

                 You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,    that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?   Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:43-48)requires                  ‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord. (Leviticus 19:18)                  First, let’s start with the Old Testament reference for what we have heard it said. The people who did the cross-referencing listed the second passage. There are four times when Scripture mentions hati

                 And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles.    Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. (Matthew 5:40-42)                  Historical tidbit: the idea of being forced to go a mile dealt with a Roman military custom of requiring citizens to carry the equipment of soldiers for one mile – or so I’ve heard.                Now, if someone is trying to sue you, it is safe to assume that you have done them some harm. If you are willing to go beyond what the suit claims, you are showing that you are willing to make reparations for the damage done. That may reduce the anger felt by the person suing you, or it may put you in a more favorable light with the judge.                The third instruction is the one that gets me. Give without limits? Lend without limit? If someone asks me for a million dollars, am I to borrow it

                 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.  (Matthew 5:38-40)               Lamech said to his wives, “Adah and Zillah, listen to me; wives of Lamech, hear my words.  I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for injuring me.   If Cain is avenged seven times,  then Lamech seventy-seven times.” (Genesis 4:23-24)                  Some people seem to love the idea of lex talionis (the law of retaliation – from Latin.) They get excited about being able to take revenge. The thing is, they want to be like Lamech, multiplying the payback. To provide the connection, he was afraid that someone would take revenge after Cain killed Abel. God told him that anyone who killed Cain would pay seven times over. This suggests that Lamech wasn’t talking about the revenge he’d claim. He was giving instructions to his wives about wh

                 “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’    But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne;    or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King.    And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. (Matthew 5:33-37)                  Swearing has gotten a bad reputation but not for the reason Jesus speaks against it here. Now, “swearing” refers to any use of foul language from cursing through the less polite references to biological functions, to what Jesus referred to as swearing.  That’s not to say that cursing or impolite biological references aren’t bad. They’re just not really swearing – and we don’t take swearing as seriously as we take some of the others.  

                   “It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.” (Matthew 5:313-32)                  We like to think that we’ve advanced beyond the sexism we see in the Bible, but divorce hurts both sides. Both husband and wife are left without that part of themselves that took care of some aspect of their lives. Women are often the bigger loser when it comes to divorce because we often earn less in our jobs. This is not as true now as it was in the past because of traditions in which women didn’t work outside of the home. Divorce was effectively throwing a woman out of her home with nothing. It was particularly nasty in that culture because, until 1000 AD, polygamy was permitted. A man could have more than one wife. He could effectively have little to nothing to do

                Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift. Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny. (Matthew 5:23-26)                  Today’s passage is between the “You have heard it said” about murder and the “You have heard it said” about adultery. The way it’s set up, it appears to be part of the section on murder. Instead of murdering someone you’re at odds with (even if the murder is only in your mind or attitude) you’re to work things out with them, even if – especially if – they have a problem with y

                   “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell…You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell. (Matthew 5:21-22; 28-30)                  If there is any Scripture that

               Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.    For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.   Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:17-20)           When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. (John 19:30)                  This passage causes controversy and brings to mind an episode of “West Wing” in which an arro

                 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the  compassion ate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, (Exodus 34:6)                  Almighty and everlasting God, you are always more ready to hear than we are to pray, and to give than we either desire or deserve: Pour upon your church the abundance of your mercy, forgiving us those things which our conscience is afraid, and giving us those good things for which we are not worthy to ask, except through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ our Savior, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever, Amen. (Tickle, Phyllis, Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime , New York, NY: Doubleday Publishers, 2000, p 26.)                  I’m starting to go through a book called, Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Winter by Phyllis Tickle. It’s set up like the liturgy of the monastery, with prayers for morning, noon, evening, a