In this story the offense comes through having dinner with “the wrong crowd.” Sometimes the most instructive actions of Jesus are simply being identified with others. It doesn't seem that he goes out of his way to get noticed, but surely he knew that his actions would be. And when they are he has the right words to match, “Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.”
Could you be accused of hanging with the wrong crowd and what would you say to your accuser?
Was Jesus teaching on a mountain surrounded by his disciples, or was he occupying a park near Wall Street in New York City?! Surely he could share the same lessons today in an Occupy encampment that he shared in Ancient Palestine. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” How clearly he directs those who follow in his footsteps to place a higher value on doing God’s will than on storing up earthly treasure. He does not say that a person shouldn’t earn good wages, only that living a compassionate life stores up treasure in our hearts, just as sincerity helps us to see clearly and to shine our light into the world.
God help us to trust in your love and to surrender our fears of scarcity. Help us to recognize and appreciate the divinity in each other and in ourselves.
Here is another story of Jesus offending others, this time it is forgiving sin! How easy it seems to be to miss the point by focusing on the wrong details. The miraculous healing of the paralytic man seems almost unremarkable to the people present. And how many of us reading the story now miss the fact that Jesus is moved not by the faith of the paralyzed man, but by the faith of his friends?
What does God need to do to get your attention to notice the healing power of forgiveness?
When Jesus teaches the disciples to pray, he not only offers them blessed words, but also encourages them to guard the spirit of those words. These potent words must be delivered to God with humility and piety, Jesus tells them, if they wish God to hear them. And they must also guard against flaunting their practices, as is the custom in the temple, so that they may better hear and be heard by God and live in this world without becoming subject to its customs and its ways.
God, help us to find and nurture the still places in our hearts and minds where we might better hear you and speak to you.
Sometimes the best actions still lead to an offense. Jesus drives demons out of people into pigs and you might think that this would be a welcome event. Certainly it was welcomed by the two people plagued by the demons, but not by the people of the town who ask Jesus to go away and leave them alone. Perhaps it was the offense of dealing with the unclean pigs. Too often we read stories of people missing the miracle because of their own shortsightedness.
Can you imagine a modern day miracle that would more offend than amaze you?
True piety is a spiritual discipline that Jesus exhorts his disciples to practice. Our devotions and our giving are for the eyes and ears of God, not for puffing up our egos or enhancing our stature in the community. Each week in worship we hear, “The gifts of God for the people of God,” reminding us to give without fanfare, so that God’s bounty may be lovingly and authentically shared. And when we take time apart from the business of our day to offer our prayers to you, we draw nearer and nearer to you.
When we are tempted to sing our own praises for the gifts we share with others, and when we forget to open to your ever constant love and guidance, remind us that all that we have and all that we are come as gifts from you, Lord.
Genesis 1:1-2
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.
And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
At the heart of the first creation story is the chaos of disorder. The earth had no form, indeed there was nothing recognizable as earth. There was a void, a gaping emptiness, utter nothingness. And there was complete darkness, not a speck of light at all. Allow yourself to ponder these images for a moment and you will likely find yourself slipping into a sort of angst that comes only in nightmares. This sort of chaos that is described as preceding God's ordering of creation is an existential crisis; what would it be like not to exist? It is also a crisis of control. Even those of us who aren't control freaks acknowledge a profound need for predictability and order in our existence. Natural laws are called that because certain things do indeed occur naturally every time without fail: the sun rises every day, objects fall down not up, solid objects are hard, water freezes at 32 degrees and boils at 212 (at least at normal pressure). And that is the point, even in the most rock solid of laws there is some room for exceptions. When exceptions to natural laws occur, at minimum they raise our interest and at worst they cause panic. We have a need, if not to be in control, at least to trust that things are under control. It is natural to associate the absence of God with things being out of control.
We fool ourselves when we think we can control very much that happens in our lives. Anyone who has been devastated by illness or injury, or anyone who has been unemployed for a long time, or anyone whose house was in the path of the tornado can attest to that. We certainly can't control other people, ask any job supervisor, teacher, or parent! Even military leaders and prison guards would have to agree that there are limits to coercion and force in controlling the behavior of others. Even when we do everything right to influence
others we know that much of the time it either has little impact or sometimes none at all.
It is easy to feel the chaos of a crowd. Particularly when you are in the minority, you might feel that everyone else is out of control. There is little that is more frightening and dangerous than an out of control mob. Even when a crowd is not quite a mob, there can be a worrying crowd mentality that takes control over what individuals might do on their own. Sociologists would tell us that evil is often institutional, that is existing outside the individual, such as in a time of war when there is cultural tolerance, even encouragement for torture or other typically unjustifiable behavior.
We have all known times when our own control seems lost due to peer pressure. In the end, the only control we truly can claim is control of ourselves. And even there we can struggle to reign in our own desires so that we control them instead of being controlled by them. Addictions of all sorts threaten to be the controlling factors in our lives. There is at least one space in each of us that requires us to admit that we are powerless and require the higher power of God to restore us to sanity. It is that place where we encounter the chaos that existed before God brought order to creation. It is that place where we recreated that primordial chaos that always exists where God is not welcomed.
Chaos is at the heart of the creations story, but it doesn't have the final word.
The Spirit of God moves over the face of the waters and transforms chaos into the miracle of creation. We know that chaos in our own lives. There is so much that we have no control over. Accidents and illnesses happen despite our best intentions. On any given day we might show up at work and be met with the unwelcome changes that we had no way of anticipating. Consider the destructive chaos that the tornado left in its wake.
Yet as terrifying as it is to feel that the chaotic circumstances of our lives might destroy us, we know that chaos doesn't have the final work in the creation story. Before creating life itself, God created spaces for life to inhabit. God created the heavens for the winged creatures, the earth for the animals, and the seas for the fish and sea creatures. God created ordered space for life to inhabit, before God filled those spaces with life.
And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
If you ask any one of us about a time when we were sure that we were going down for the third time, we might get a faraway look on our face and tell you the story about the word or simple gesture of kindness from a stranger or a friend that helped us to see just a little light on the horizon, just enough to help us face another day. We’ll want you to know just where we were and how close we were to going under, when a loving hand reached out to us and helped us to pull our head above water.
It's human nature to feel anxious and afraid when things are falling apart all around us. We want to push back at unwelcome circumstances that threaten to bring chaos into our lives. But if we do that, we may risk forgetting that it was God who made space for us in the chaos by breathing life over the primordial abyss. If we push back at unwelcome circumstances we may risk losing touch with the tenderness of our own broken hearts right there where the darkness overwhelms us.
And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
If we trust that the Spirit of God is everywhere with us, creating sacred space for order and healing to enter our lives, we will have the courage to hold back despair. When I look into the eyes of the children each week as I share God's message of love with them I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that darkness and void do not have the final word. The Spirit of God is still moving over the waters and we are created anew with every breath we take.
Jesus was able to find rest in the storm. He slept while the sea raged. Sabbath rest is not just the absence of activity, it is also an action. When Genesis describes what God does after creating all that is, it could just as easily be translated as “God began sabbathing.”
On this Sabbath where are you finding rest in the storm?
Lest the disciples misunderstand the significance of living by God’s commandments, Jesus extends them to broader and broader circumstances that turn the taboos of ancient culture on their heads. Jesus insists that not just murder, but insult, anger, and debts of all kinds have the power to separate us from God’s love. There is nowhere to hide! Jesus teaches the disciples that making amends and asking for forgiveness, even with our enemies, is what God is asking of us.
God, help us to open to your grace as we gently examine our hearts.
A story about healing a mother-in-law who then gets up and starts serving the healer sounds like the beginning of a joke, but it is story shared for our benefit by Matthew. Central to the story of our faith is the concept of being blessed in order to be a blessing. This story shows that in action. Gratitude for healing leads to service.
What have you received that now empowers you to serve gratefully?
Jesus makes clear that his mission is not to abolish the teachings of the Hebrew bible, the five books of Moses and the prophetic teachings, but to fulfill them and to help others to fulfill them so that they might enter the kingdom of heaven. This was an age, just like ours, in which people anticipated the end of the known world. Practicing love and forgiveness, feeding the hungry and protecting the weak were radical acts of faith in God’s goodness, acts that not only anticipated the kingdom of heaven, but also worked to manifest the kingdom on the earth.
God, may we be open to encountering the kindness and mercy of others today. May it shine like a beacon of hope into our lives.
This story is a reminder that the power of God is never limited by our understanding of it. Jesus doesn't have to appear in the flesh for healing to happen. That is good news for us living 2000 years after Jesus lived. But this is also a reminder that works require faith. What is the point of asking for an action if you don't believe that the action will happen? Healing came for the servant because someone else believed and acted.
What are you not receiving because you have not asked because you don't truly believe it will happen?
Salt and light were essentials of life in the ancient world. True salt was so important; it was often used as currency. Salt was a matter of life or death, the only way to preserve food in the intense heat. And the oil in the temple that fueled the ever-burning flame was a sign of the assurance of God’s love and protection. When Jesus tells the disciples that they are salt and light, he is reflecting back to them their true value as children of God.
God, help us to recognize our value to each other as we bravely and humbly shine our light wherever we are today.
Jesus is moved to action through mercy. This and other healing stories show Jesus' concern not to draw attention to himself or even his ministry. In this case he compassionately responds to a plea from someone who is an outcast because of his illness. The man with a skin disease is unable to participate fully in society. He is not permitted to worship at the temple and fear of contagion keeps others away from him. While these details don't pertain to our situation today, we surely have too many people separated from full participation in society because of stigmas of all sorts. As followers of Jesus we need to show mercy and remove those stigmas so that all may fully participate in society. Surely we have the power since we are the ones who created them.
What stigmas can you help to remove by simply refusing to continue to support them?
As we enter this season of Lent, we already know how the story ends. It’s the story of the fulfillment of a promise embedded in Hebrew scripture, God’s promise to Israel to send a Messiah, a new king, who would raise up the righteous and usher in the promise of the kingdom of heaven. In this passage we hear echoes of Moses encountering God on the mountaintop as he received the Ten Commandments. The disciples follow Jesus up the mountain where he begins to share with them the promise of God’s blessing on all who hunger after righteousness, all that are pure of heart…peacemakers and prophets.
As we travel to Easter morning, we have the opportunity to examine our hearts as we follow in the footsteps of Jesus. Where will we encounter God on this journey through suffering, death, and resurrection? How are we blessed, filled, and comforted by God’s grace in our daily lives?
God help us to hear your voice calling each of us to do our part in ushering in the kingdom of heaven on earth.
Daily meditations can be a beneficial Lenten practice. It is our hope that by focusing on one gospel you will take these forty days to gain a perspective on the life and ministry as presented by Matthew. We recommend that before you begin the daily readings that you take the time to read the entire gospel, preferably in one sitting.
The Gospel of Matthew is structured around groupings of the teachings of Jesus, called the five great discourses. These daily meditations are structured around those discourses. Each day you will find two meditations, each will be posted on the blog, where you may feel free to respond with a comment. The first is written by Mardi on some piece of a teaching story and will be posted at midnight. The second is written by Ian on some story about the actions of Jesus or the disciples that comes from the section following that discourse and will be posted at noon. During Holy Week the focus shifts to scriptural stories about storms. Those six stories will shape the Sunday worship services during Lent.
Feel free to use these meditations as best suit you. You could read them both at the same time. You can use one to begin your day and the other to reflect on it. You could use Mardi's prayer as a repeated grounding throughout the day or you could use Ian's question as a pondering throughout your day. However you use them we hope that they bless you and that you will consider sharing what you discover on this 40-day journey with others along the way.
Peace and blessings,
Ian and Mardi
