Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

Click here to read the Scripture text in the NRSV and here to read it in the Message.

Road trips are fun and unpredictable.  On our road trip this summer, we are taken a quick diversion into the parables of Matthew.  The author of Matthew has spent the previous chapter (chapter 12) discussing Jesus' activities on the Sabbath.  Jesus and his disciples have plucked and eaten grain and Jesus has healed several people.  These activities are prohibited by the Jewish laws that state that no work is to be done on the Sabbath.  

These actions against the law give the Pharisees reasons to call Jesus demonic (12:22).   In this interchange with the Pharisees, Jesus claims that he casts out Satan by the power of the Spirit.  And because this is true, then the Kingdom of God "has come to you" (12:28).   Jesus then warns the Pharisees of seeking signs.  

It is then in chapter 13 that we read the parables of the sower and the wheat and the weeds.  These parables are Jesus' first attempts at helping the disciples understanding the Kingdom of God.  And following these scriptures is where we pick up the stories.  We hear about the mustard seed, the yeast, the hidden treasure, the pearl, and the net.  What might Jesus be saying about the Kingdom of God through these parables?  Are we to stand by and watch the Kingdom happen?  Can the Kingdom be created through one simple task?  And how do we go about finding the Kingdom?

This chapter is followed by stories of the death of John the Baptist, feeding of the five thousand and Jesus walking on water in chapter 14.   What do you think the author of Matthew might be telling his audience about Jesus?  The Kingdom?  The Gospel?

Romans 8:12-25

In beginning of my reflection on this Scripture, I am left with two questions:  "What are we waiting for?" and "What are we birthing?"  Let us begin with the first question.  Paul speaks of the hope that will come, the hope that we, Gentiles, will be adopted by God and "the redemption of our bodies" (v23).  So God has not adopted us?  And yet, Paul speaks to our ability to cry out to God as our Father/Mother and God understands.   If we are already children of God, then what more could we be waiting for, the redemption of our bodies?  But Paul says in 2 Corinthians that when we believe in Christ, we become new creations?  Is this different then the redemption of our bodies?

My second question, "What are we birthing?" is evident in the reading of the New revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible.  However, Eugene Peterson in the Message expands on this image in his version of this text.  Pregnancy, expectancy, enlarging, waiting, birth pains, labor, and etc.  all lead the reader to connect with this image.  But if we as humans and, according to Paul, all of creation, are pregnant, what are we giving birth to?  What is enlarging our bellies?  Is it the food we eat, the morals we adopt, the way we live our lives, or what we believe?  Paul says in 8:9 that the Spirit of God "dwells within" us.  Is it the Spirit that is enlarging our bellies?  If so, what then will we give birth to?  The Spirit?  And why is all of creation pregnant?  Is it possible that Paul is suggesting that we might give birth to the Kingdom of God?  If so, how can we as humans give birth to the Kingdom of God?  Is not God the Creator?

While I have yet, to answer these questions myself, I would love to hear your responses.  I would also love to hear your stories of creation.  How do you create in your everyday life? You can click on the comment link below and type your response or you can come by the church Tuesday at 6:30pm and dialogue with the community about them.

Romans 8:1-11

Last week my daughter celebrated her birthday. That always makes a mother think back to when her child was born. I remember holding my daughter in my arms and seeing in her great potential. As her parent, I had the responsibility to guide her to make good use of that potential. Of course, she would from time to time make poor choices but I knew that there was always the possibility of redeeming those choices. Each of those choices became part of her and formed (and continue to form) who she is. I guess that is to say that I didn’t see her life in black and white, good or bad but, rather, that God would move through life with her guiding, redeeming, and healing her as needed in each adventure of life. I was confident that God could bring good out of any of her experiences or choices.
All of this is to say that my personal experience of human nature and the power of God to transform the world runs counter to Paul’s perspective. I don’t see an either/or world with the kind of dualism of which Paul speaks. While that dualism fits well with Paul’s time, it seems out of place in the 21st century. Today many of us have come to see God’s movement and presence in very different terms.
The nudging of God is to be constantly moving us toward greater love and knowledge of God as well as greater love and service toward the world. We may move closer to God or further from God but we are never beyond God’s grace. In addition each moment of our being helps to form who we are and will be in the future.
John Wesley speaks of “being perfected in love” or “going onto perfection.” I guess I prefer that language for speaking of “walking in the Spirit.” What language or metaphors help you in understanding what Paul is saying here?

Romans 7:15-25a

In preaching class, it was suggested that personal stories make good illustrations but one should be careful to not make the sermon “all about the preacher.” My family does not appreciate my use of family stories in my sermons. As well, the age of internet has made the collecting of stories a difficult path. We all know preachers who have told some internet story as though it actually happened to them. So how do we find good ways to open windows in our preaching and make scripture come alive?

Those thoughts come to mind as I read the commentaries on Romans 7:15-25a. Many scholars go to great lengths talking about whether or not Paul is being autobiographical in this passage. They wonder as well about what sin it was that had such a grip on him. Perhaps the use of the first person in this passage is a device to help open up the point he is making. It allows us to know that Paul just like the rest of us struggles with the human dilemma of knowing that while the law has its place but it is life in the Spirit made available to us through the faithfulness of Jesus to which we are now called.

Paul wants us to know that conversation about the Jewish concepts of the “evil impulse” and the “good impulse” is not just abstract theological one but rather a very human and personal ongoing struggle. So it would seem that the question for this week is: How do we live in that tension between God’s nudging us toward wholeness and shalom and all that draws us away from that? How do we open up windows in our preaching and in our lives that help ourselves and others to know of this great freedom that we have in the Spirit to live as God intends for us to live?