Keep Awake

Mark 13: 24-37 (November 30, 2008)

1) The Text

24“But in those days, after that suffering, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, 25and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.
26Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in clouds’ with great power and glory. 27Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.
28“From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. 29So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. 30Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. 31Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
32“But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come. 34It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch. 35Therefore, keep awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn, 36or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. 37And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake.”

2) The Context

As witnesses to the events of Jesus life and death became old and died, the need arose for a written synopsis. Tradition has it that Mark, while in Rome, wrote down what Peter remembered. Scholars agree that this Gospel was the first one written, sometime between 66 and 70 AD, just over 30 years after the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. This was a time of revolt as rebels took over the city of Jerusalem and overthrew both Roman rule and the chief priests and Sadducees. After about 3 years, in 70 AD, the Roman army came and re-conquered the city and destroyed the great Temple to punish Israel. So the writer of Mark’s Gospel was living through this turmoil and remembered Christ’s words of a generation earlier about the destruction of the Temple. The Gospel of Mark stresses the crucifixion and resurrection as keys to understanding who Jesus was. When other synoptic gospels were written, i.e. Matthew and Luke, they used the Gospel according to Mark as a source. Mark is most probably the John Mark mentioned in Acts 12:12: his mother's house was a meeting place for believers.

3) Interpretation

(a) What does it mean to “keep awake?” Being spiritually awake is a state of awareness. This awareness sees life as God desires us to see it, full of its hopes and possibilities; as well it’s suffering and longing for completeness. Buddhist thought calls this an attitude of mindfulness. Thich Nhat Hahn writes,
"In Buddhism, our effort is to practice mindfulness in each moment-to know what is going on within and all around us. When the Buddha was asked, ‘Sir, what do you and your monks practice?’ he replied, ‘We sit, we walk, and we eat.’ The questioner continued, ‘But sir, everyone sits, walks, and eats,’ and the Buddha told him, ‘When we sit, we know we are sitting. When we walk, we know we are walking. When we eat, we know we are eating.’ Most of the time, we are lost in the past or carried away by future projects and concerns. When we are mindful, touching deeply the present moment, we can see and listen deeply, and the fruits are always understanding, acceptance, love and the desire to relieve suffering and bring joy. When our beautiful child comes up to us and smiles, we are completely there for her. (Living Buddha, Living Christ; p. 14)"
The scripture says that some day Christ will come again and all things will be reconciled to God. But until that time, through prayer we can be mindful. We can stay awake in the present moment to the presence of God. We can keep watch and respond with love to the difficulties we confront. The message of Jesus is one of hope to be found in the world as it is. It is a message that tells us that God is journeying with us in the trials and difficulties of life.

(b) This reading offers a foretaste of Advent when we will again reflect on the comings of Christ - in history - in the present and at the end of time.
The prophecy does not make comfortable reading - speaking as it does of the fading of the great lights in the sky on which life on earth depends and times of distress. However, it comes with the promise that, at the end of it all, Jesus will come in glory to gather all those he has chosen - from the four winds - from the ends of the earth - to the ends of heaven. It places events that happened in an obscure part of the Roman Empire into a cosmic context.
The community for whom Mark was writing was under persecution. They had fully expected the Second Coming any day and, faced with the martyrdom of friends and relations - and living under the threat of their own - must often have wondered why Jesus delayed. Had he not said that he would come before the passing of a generation?
In this third millennium, we have lived through a time of great scientific progress. We have faced the reality that humanity now has the capacity to destroy all life on earth many times over. We live in the awareness that there is a remote possibility that an asteroid could do for present life on earth what something similar did for the dinosaurs. We have learnt how to destroy life and, through genetics, are learning to control its building blocks. We can explore the deepest reaches of space and have discovered the creation of new stars and phenomena undreamed of by previous generations. We are probing space to find evidence of extra-terrestrial life.
Humanity is beginning to step into the cosmos - to move beyond the confines of earth into what lies beyond. Our minds too are being opened to an ever-increasing awe at what lies beyond our sense and comprehension. Some use this scientific progress to say that religion is no longer relevant. Others see great possibilities for a new union between science and spirituality as scientist and mystic begin to glimpse something of each other’s view of the cosmos.

4) Thought Exercise

How do the wonders of scientific discovery feed your spiritual life?

Where does the future of humanity lie?

The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats

The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats
Matthew 25: 31-46 (November 23, 2008)

1) The Text

31“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. 34Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 37Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ 40And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’ 41Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; 42for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’ 45Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

2) The Context

Our passage for study concludes Jesus' fifth and final discourse, "The coming of the Lord", 24:1-26:5. To drive home his exhortation "be prepared" ("keep watching" in the sense of keep focused on Christ, keep trusting Christ), Jesus relates two short teaching parables (illustrations) in 24:42-51 and two longer kingdom parables (riddles), the Ten Virgins, 25:1-13 and the Talents, 25:14-30. Jesus now concludes with a visionary description of the Day of Judgment. In that day the "blessed/righteous" will be separated from the "cursed". The righteous are blessed because they are prepared; they are prepared in that they accept (have faith in) Christ, which faith prompts their love of the brotherhood.

3) Interpretation

The interpretation of this passage is hotly contested. Many commentators understand "the least of these brothers of mine" to refer to the physically poor, the hungry, needy... The implication is that entrance into the kingdom of heaven is determined on the basis of deeds of mercy and compassion done to Christ through the poor and downtrodden. This approach is further extended by suggesting that Christ is now manifested to the world in the life of the poor and that we experience the risen Christ in acts of compassion toward the poor.

There are, of course, other ways of handling the passage. Some commentators see the "least brothers" as missionaries. Dispensational writers see the "least brothers" as Jews converted through the tribulation at the beginning of an earthly millennial kingdom. The judgment proceeds on the basis of how people act toward these Jewish brothers (a view which has provided a cover for the dispossession of the Palestinian people by the zionist state of Israel). The more conservative commentators see the "blessed" as disciples, as believers. With this approach there is a tendency to regard a believer's standing in the sight of God as somehow maintained, or advanced, by acts of compassion toward the brotherhood.

It is likely that Jesus is using a familiar teaching device whereby he undermines dependence on good works for salvation by emphasizing the demands of the law, and in so doing, moves his hearers (disciples / Jews - ie., this approach is only for religious people, nomists) toward a dependence on the grace of God. Religious people expect to be rewarded on the basis of their good works, so Jesus sets out a list of good works that are well beyond the norm and then says that a failure to do them to "one of the least of these" is a personal affront to him, the glorious reigning "Son of Man." The consequence of this failure is to end up in "eternal fire." The passage forces us to recognize that we are all goats ("all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God"), and that we will have to find another way of being prepared for the coming day, a way apart from works of the law.

The truth is that the only way a person will get to the right side of God and possess "eternal life" is if the Son of Man gets them there. Salvation, getting saved, staying saved, is totally dependent on the mercy of God; it is a gift of God, ours for the asking. Of course, such a person will reflect their standing with Jesus by their love of those who love Jesus, but in the end, it is their faith in Jesus, their trust in his promised mercy, that secures "eternal life."

4) Thought Exercise

If faith is what matters, why do good works?

Can good works be a demonstration of our faith?

The Parable of the Talents

Matthew 25: 14-30 (November 16, 2008)

1) The Text

14“For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; 15to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. 17In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. 18But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. 20Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.’ 21His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ 22And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.’ 23His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ 24Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; 25so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ 26But his master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? 27Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. 28So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. 29For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. 30As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

2) The Context

While we often use "talents" to refer to one's abilities, the word in this text refers to a very large sum of money -- between 75-96 pounds of silver. It would take nearly 20 years of work at the basic wage of 1 denarius a day to equal 1 talent. The master was very, very generous to all the slaves -- even the one who received only one talent.
When the master "gives" (paradidomi) his property to the slaves, does the money then belong to the slaves -- thus presenting God as being very generous? Or are the slaves just managers of their master's money -- thus presenting the slaves as stewards of what belongs to God? The verb paradidomi usually means, "to give or hand over" and seems to imply, "giving up control of." The slaves don't appear to give back any of the money to their master when he has returned. The one talent of the third slave is given to the first, not kept by the master. In contrast to this view, the third slave obviously considered the one talent as always belonging to the master. So rather than think of this text primarily as a stewardship parable, our first approach might be to consider it a parable about the graciousness of the master and our response to that. Even the one who received "little" received a whole lot of money.

3) Interpretation

This passage is another example of Jesus choosing the common and ordinary things of life as a teaching vehicle. Once again, Jesus took his parable from everyday, common life. We have heard a parable about a wedding banquet, masters and slaves, and about sheep and goats. These were common experiences for the average Jewish person from their everyday life. We often interpret this parable as an invitation to use the gifts that God has given to us in such a way that is pleasing to God. We all know that God has given each one of us differing gifts, as represented by the varying talents that God has given to each person.
In our society, talent is not a measure of an amount of silver but of the gifts/resources/abilities that God has given to each one of us. Notice that the “five talent” person and the “two talent” person did not get into psychological games about who had the most talent. They didn’t get into games about “I am superior because God gave me five talents” or “I am half as good because God gave me only two talents.” Both people realized that their master had lent them resources and they were both to use these resources to benefit their master. That was simple and clear.
But, one slave buried the gift that the master had given him. It seems that this slave was embarrassed that God gave him only one talent and so he went and buried the talent that God had given him. Remember this talent was not meager in and of itself: it was worth three years of wage. Three years of wages is a considerable sum of money. But compared to the servants who had been given fifteen years of wages or six years of wages, the gift of three years of wages seemed meager to the person who was given one talent.
Similarly, God has been generous to all of us, including those who feel that God has not given them sufficient gifts. Even so, we as human beings can bury treasures/resources that God has given each one of us. We can minimize God’s gifts to us and complain. But the parable challenges us not to sit on the life of God in us. That is a variant on the Matthean theme of keeping the oil in supply, living from the life of God and not sitting back in complacency on the basis of status or, here, not snuffing out the flame because our narrow values will not allow us to keep up with God's generosity. If the modern use of talents has any relation to the text, it is at the level of allowing God's life to do its adventures with us and putting our talents (our natural abilities) at God's disposal. The talents of the parable are really about God's life and power, not about our natural abilities. But the appropriate response is to allow God's investing hand to employ our abilities.
The tragedy is that many people are afraid of losing or endangering God and so seek to protect God from adventures, to resist attempts at radical inclusion that might, they fear, compromise God's purity and holiness. Protecting God is a variant of not trusting God. Matthew wants his hearers to share God's adventure of inclusiveness. "God's mercy never ends" is a way of saying grace has capital, love is rich. We need to encourage people to stop putting God under the mattress. As we begin to trust allowing God to move through us, our lives change as individuals and our communities have a better chance of change.

4) Thought Exercise

What are the gifts/resources/abilities that God has given to you?

How are you using them in such a way that pleases God?

Teach Your Children Well

Psalm 78: 1-11 (November 9, 2008)

1) The Text

1Give ear, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth. 2I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old, 3things that we have heard and known, that our ancestors have told us. 4We will not hide them from their children; we will tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done. 5He established a decree in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our ancestors to teach to their children; 6that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and rise up and tell them to their children, 7so that they should set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments; 8and that they should not be like their ancestors, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God. 9The Ephraimites, armed with the bow, turned back on the day of battle. 10They did not keep God’s covenant, but refused to walk according to his law. 11They forgot what he had done, and the miracles that he had shown them.

2) The Context

As the second longest psalm in the Bible, Psalm 78 addressed fidelity as a witness to the next generation. It was written by Asaph, a Levite in the court of King David, who was both a music leader and a teacher. Psalm 78 is a wisdom psalm that relays the history of Israel in a theological fashion. The first section speaks about generational witness (78:1-11). The full Psalm highlights two things; 1) the repeated disobedience and ingratitude of the Israelites, and 2) the recurring and unfailing mercy of God to the disobedient nation. In this Psalm we have a story taken from the realm of man, filled with events that illustrate important spiritual truths to us.

3) Interpretation

God’s Command (in verse 5). There are two things to notice from this verse. First, we see that God has revealed himself – “He established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel.” We start here because this is the foundation; this is absolutely basic to any instruction of our children; God Has spoken. If God had not spoken, if he had not revealed himself, then we would be left in darkness and confusion, and would have nothing to teach our children. The fact that He has spoken and revealed Himself gives content to any instruction of our children.

Second, we look at what He has spoken. God has spoken by “establishing a testimony and appointing a law.” Briefly, what is this? “Testimony” and “Law” take us back to Exodus 31:18 where we read that Jehovah “gave unto Moses two tables of testimony, two tables of stone, written with the finger of God.” What was written on these tables was the “ten commandments.” Psalm 78 takes us back to Mt. Sinai and the Covenant made with Israel there. God promised to be the God of His people, to be their Friend, and God told them that they would be His special and peculiar people. As His peculiar people, they were given the law of God, representing their part in His covenant with them. Should they break the law, they would be violating the covenant. This does not mean that the covenant with them was conditional, but that now as His covenant people, an obligation was placed on them. Notice that the Ten Commandments do not start with commandments, but they start like this, “I am the Lord thy God which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.” They begin with a testimony of God’s grace and power, of what He has done for His people. He saved them with a mighty and outstretched arm before He gave them the law. And so, when Asaph refers to the testimony of God, he means not only that God has told us what to do, but that God testifies to us of what He has done, and what our response should be. He gives command to us to teach it to our children.

Asaph’s Example (in verses 1-4). Asaph obeys the command of God in verse 5 and makes known the will and works of God to the next generation. Asaph gives good practical instruction to us with regard to teaching our children. First, notice that Asaph says we must stop and give time and attention to God’s Word. This has to be done regularly so that they learn to pay attention in order to hear God’s Word. Second, notice the content of Asaph’s instruction in verse 4 and in the rest of the Psalm. It is not only the law of God, the demands of God, but it is His praises, strength and wonderful works. Asaph teaches the praises and strength of God by showing His wonderful works. This is the focus of the Psalm. He simply teaches and applies the history of Israel, showing them the sinfulness of Israel, the grace of God, and warning them against those sins. The Bible stories illustrate the truths we must know about God. They show His mighty works, His praises, and His strength. They show our sins, and God’s grace over against sin. They warn and admonish against falling into the same sins. They show that the way of joy and peace for the children is to walk in obedience.

Third, notice Asaph’s method. He engages his audience in this Psalm by putting questions in their minds. Asaph engages his audience and presses home two great truths. We are left wondering at the amazing wickedness of man, and the amazing grace of God, and asking, how can these things be? This is penetrating instruction. It pushes the reader and listener to examine his own heart and the sin there, and to marvel at the grace of God. Fourth, on verses 1-4, we should notice Asaph’s resolve and willingness. “We will not hide them, but show them . . .” (verse 4). He says that if we don’t teach and show all these things to our children, then, not only are we failing to do something, but we are actively hiding these things from our children. We are depriving them of something.

The Purpose with regard to our Children (in verses 6-8). Now we want to look at the purpose of this instruction with regard to our children. There are three things that God gives as the purpose of teaching our children. The first goal is in verse 6, that they might have knowledge of God. This is basic to any covenant relationship with God. Yes, we must love God, yes we must serve God, but we cannot do this unless we know Him first. The second aim is that the children might come to put their hope in God (verse 7a). True knowledge of God should lead to hoping and trusting in Him. What begins in the head goes to the heart. We teach with the goal not only of head knowledge, but of heart faith, with the goal of our young people loving the truth they learn and putting their trust in God; believing Him. Then thirdly, the goal of teaching our children is their obedience (verses 7b-8). Teaching our children has to do with how they act as well as their knowledge and feelings.

Teaching children is a command, a calling. It comes not only to parents, but to the whole church.
4) Thought Exercise

How have you tried to pass along your faith?
How has God worked through you in your efforts?