The Parable of Light

Matthew 5:14-16 (January 4, 2009)

1) The Text

14“You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. 15No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

2) The Context

In chapters 5 through 7 of the Gospel of St. Matthew, the Sermon on the Mount is a compilation of Jesus' sayings, epitomizing his moral teaching. Jesus gave this sermon (estimated around AD 30) on a mountainside to his disciples and a large crowd. Matthew groups Jesus' teachings into five discourses, of which the Sermon on the Mount is the first. The best-known written portions of this open-air sermon comprise the Beatitudes, the Lord's Prayer and the injunctions to "turn the other cheek", as well as Jesus' version of the Golden Rule. Other lines often quoted are the references to "salt of the Earth," "light of the world," and "judge not, lest ye be judged." To many, the Sermon on the Mount contains the central tenets of Christian discipleship.

The parable of light, and the parable of salt that precedes it, appear in the Sermon on the Mount after the Beatitudes. These two parables set the direction of the sermon. God's children must be salt and light in the world. Those who fail in this task will be declared worthless. The sad fact is, we have all failed and are therefore worthless. Yet, there is one who is salt and light and if we identify with him, then we are no longer worthless.

The word Matthew uses for light [phos] is important. It comes from a root word [phaino] which means to appear as light. We have the word phosphorescence which implies a light that is chemically-induced internally as opposed to powered from an external source (such as fire or electricity). The Hebrew words are similar and mean not just to see light but to become light. The use of these words is both personal and communal.

3) Interpretation

This parable appears also in Mark, 4:21, and Luke 8:16 and 11:33. Only Matthew gives a clear and direct application. The other gospel writers imply an application.

In its historical setting, this parable may have focused on the failure of Israel to be a light to the Gentiles. God's truth to the world was hidden in the corruption of Israel's institutions and public life and in its failure to proclaim the truths of God's revelation beyond the covenant community. More specifically, it could apply to the Pharisees in Jesus' own time. So, Israel was to be the "light of the world", "a city on a hill", a lamp "on its stand." This was Israel's purpose, but it failed. Of course, as noted above, light is a common element of life and Jesus may well have used the image differently in different situations.

Mark uses the parable to teach a truth about the mystery of the Kingdom. Jesus presents the gospel in parables (in riddles) to draw out the true seeker. The purpose of the parable is not to confuse, but to separate the hearers. It is God's intention that the light of the gospel, the Word of God, is not hidden under a bowl, but placed on a lamp stand for all to see. The parable proclaims the gospel for those who have eyes to see. So be careful what you see.

Luke presents a similar teaching in 8:16, while in 11:33 he again makes the same point, but in a different context. The saying follows the "sign of Jonah" discourse. The sign of Jonah is not his three days in the belly of a "big fish" (to represent Jesus' three days in the tomb), but his preaching to Nineveh. Similarly, the sign is imaged in the wisdom of Solomon displayed to "the Queen of the South." The sign to this "wicked generation" is the sign of a proclaimed word. In this sense, God does not hide his word under a tub, but lifts it high for all to see.

When it comes to Matthew, the light set on the stand is not so much the gospel in words, but rather the gospel in deeds. We must let our light shine before men that they might see our good deeds and praise the Father in heaven. Bonhoeffer puts it this way, "flight into the invisible is a denial of the call. A community of Jesus which seeks to hide itself has ceased to follow him." "The good word without the good walk is of no value.” Of course, Jesus has in mind the heart of the deed, not the outward show. In dealing with piety he makes the point, "be careful not to do your acts of righteousness before men, to be seen by them.” Much of the hypocrisy of institutional Christianity is found in the desire to display ecclesiastical piety before the wider community.

The job of light is not to draw attention to itself - it is there to allow people to see things that would otherwise be hidden in the darkness. So it is with Jesus’ disciples - that is us. Like light, we should allow the Light of God to shine through us - not so that we dazzle people with our radiance - but so that they can see the light of truth.

We may be tempted to hide the light - especially when it might get us noticed - or where people would not understand. That is a risk of discipleship - but, Jesus says, by allowing our light to shine, other people will see clearly and give praise to our Father in heaven. We are called to show our light - however imperfectly – to the world. The small light we can offer makes a difference.

4) Thought Exercise

What light do you have inside you?

How can you best share this light with the world?

Ceremonies

Luke 2: 22-40 (December 28, 2008)
1) The Text

22When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23(as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord”), 24and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”

25Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. 26It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law, 28Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying, 29“Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; 30for my eyes have seen your salvation, 31which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, 32a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.” 33And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. 34Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed 35so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your own soul too.” 36There was also a prophet, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped there with fasting and prayer night and day. 38At that moment she came, and began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. 39When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. 40The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.

2) The Context

In Luke's gospel, Joseph and Mary brought the child Jesus to the Temple for two reasons: the child's presentation and the mother's purification. Luke used the ceremonies, the place, and the witnesses to further proclaim Jesus as the Christ. According to Leviticus 12:3-4, boys were circumcised eight days after birth. According to Jewish tradition, this ceremony declared the son legitimate (i.e., "presented") before God and the community. [2:22-23] A child's mother was unclean for thirty-three days. Only after that period could the mother celebrate the rite of purification with an offering. [2:24] While Luke referred to the circumcision of Jesus eight days after his birth in 2:21, he combined the presentation aspect of circumcision with the purification of Mary in one ceremony, extending it to the family (see 2:22; "their cleansing"). Luke, in fact, used the purification ceremony to emphasize the presentation of Jesus, just as Hannah presented (i.e., dedicated) Samuel to God at the Temple (1 Samuel 1:22-28). The question remained, what type of service would Jesus give? Luke portrayed the rituals in the Temple to advance his theme. Jesus would serve God as the Jewish Christ of the underclass.

The law required a lamb for a burnt offering and a pigeon or turtle-dove for a sin offering, but in the case of the poor one of these birds might be substituted for the lamb, "and the priest shall make atonement for her and she shall be clean.” The fact that Joseph and Mary brought a pair of birds instead of a lamb shows that they were very poor. The gifts of the wise men were after this.

3) Interpretation

There are two key themes in this passage. First, Jesus was truly Jewish. His parents were devout Jews, piously following the dictates of the Law. In fact, their devotion fulfilled the Law, just as Jesus fulfilled the Law and the Prophets. [2:22-24]

Second, Jesus was called to be the Christ. The locale and the monologue promote his title. The Temple was the locus of Jewish devotion, for they believed God definitely dwelt within its walls. One of the most famous scenes in the Temple was Isaiah 6, the young prophet's call by God. With the symbolic connection between God, his palace (i.e., the Temple), and Isaiah the prophet, add his prophetic themes about the promised royal child (see Isaiah 11:1-10). Popular Jewish belief held the coming Messiah would be a king-priest, who would rule and offer true sacrifice. By holding the presentation of Jesus (i.e., his circumcision) in the Temple, Luke not only saw Jesus as the possession of the Father, he also saw Jesus in the Temple as the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy. Jesus was the Christ-child, future king and priest.

The witnesses emphasize the messianic theme. Simeon announced this child as the promised One who would bring about the Day of Judgment (when the nation would be saved). Simeon prayed to see the Messiah. The Spirit assured him that his prayer would be answered. [2:25-26] His Canticle was a prayer of thanks and proclamation. The child he held in his arms brought him God's peace (his Shalom). For this Simeon gave thanks. But this child was salvation of the nation [2:30] who would return honor to God's people [2:32]. At the same time, the non-Jews would witness his rising [2:31]. He would enlighten them with God's wisdom [2:32]. Next, Simeon turned to Mary and proclaimed the child would cause the fall and rising of many. The fall and rising can refer to scandal and faith. It can also refer to condemnation (God's judgment) and resurrection (his salvation). He would be a sign many opposed, but their actions would reveal their true intent.

Finally, the people in the scene stressed the underclass, the large majority of those living in the ancient world. Notice those in the passage. They included the poor Jewish couple, Simeon who did not seem to have family, and the widow Anna who lived alone. While Joseph could support Mary with a trade, Simeon and Anna had no apparent income. As a Spirit-filled man, Simeon followed God's lead. As a prophetess, Anna acted as social critique and religious icon. While Simeon appeared to live day-to-day, Anna was nearly homeless as a widow (widows were synonymous with the homeless in the ancient world).

Notice those not in the passage: priests or other Temple officials. Steeped in money and privilege, these Sadducees would later oppose Jesus in his Temple ministry. In their absence from the passage, Luke emphasized God's presence with the common people. The Temple aristocrats were not needed as mediators. The child would be the mediator. [2:25-26, 36-37] The presentation of the child would have an effect. Jesus grew in character as God favored him with wisdom and his presence (see Translation Notes on 2:40). [2:39-40]

4) Thought Exercise

How do we know that Jesus was more than a Jew born to religious parents?

Do we know this through historical facts or by faith?

For Nothing is Impossible with God

Luke 1: 26-38 (December 21, 2008)

1) The Text
26In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, 27to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” 29But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. 30The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. 33He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” 34Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” 35The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. 36And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. 37For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

2) The Context
This passage from Luke is referred to in Christian tradition as the Annunciation—the announcement to Mary that she would give birth Jesus, the Christ child. This text is preceded by the story of the angel’s announcement to Zechariah that his wife, Elizabeth, was going to have a son, despite her old age. Following the Annunciation, Mary visits Elizabeth—a meeting of two people with impossible life-situations. The flow of these narratives creates a growing tension of the impossible becoming possible.

The critical word in this passage is “impossible” (v. 37), which means to be “unable.” This word comes from placing a negative prefix on the word “possible,” changing something from being able to unable. As we dig deeper into the root of the word “possible,” we discover the root is a Greek word for “power.” The basic meaning of impossible is “to not have the power necessary for the situation or task.” Impossible means to be without power. Impossible means there is no power or ability to accomplish the task.

Contrasted with the word “impossible” is the name of God, “Most High,” in verses 32 and 35. The only other place this name is found in the New Testament is in Luke 8:28, the story of Jesus healing the demon-possessed man. “When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the top of his voice, ‘What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don’t torture me!’” “Most High” connotes power.

3) Interpretation
This is a story of impossibilities. Consider the impossibilities Mary faced in this story: She is a virgin and pregnant. Mary must avoid being stoned to death when the neighbors hear the news. Impossible! Joseph has to follow through on the marriage after he discovers Mary is pregnant. Impossible!

We find ourselves with the same troubled mind as Mary, wondering over the impossible (v. 29). We even ask the same question Mary asked, “How will this be?” (v. 34). To us it seems impossible! The real question for people today is “How can the impossible become possible?”
The angel brings news of two impending births. Zechariah is told he is to be a father -- a message that is unexpected but not undesirable, for Zechariah and Elizabeth are old and childless in a society that puts a high value on having children. Mary is told she is to be a mother -- news that is both unexpected and undesirable. No pious, engaged young woman would want to learn that she is to become pregnant outside of marriage. Both Mary and Zechariah respond with questions.

Perhaps Zechariah had waited so anxiously, so hopefully, and with so many disappointments month after month in the long years of childlessness that he dared not accept the good news. He wanted intellectual assurance; he wanted to understand how the improbable conception would take place. Gabriel’s answer to his question is a rebuke: "Behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things come to pass, because you did not believe my words." Gabriel’s response makes it clear that Zechariah’s question is one of doubt -- doubt that places restrictions on what even God can do; doubt of God’s very messenger.

Mary also raises a question: "How will this be, since I am a virgin?" Yet she is not rebuked. The difference is that Mary asks her question in faith, not in doubt. Mary does not set up her rationality as a standard for judging God -- How can I be sure? -- even though her curiosity expresses itself as a question -- How will this be? Mary’s question does not doubt the veracity of the announcement; she is prepared to accept it, with all its personal consequences. Her attitude of faith is expressed in her final word, "I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as you have said." Faith for Mary takes the form of obedience.

To be faithful is not to be full of an emotion or a belief; it is to act steadfastly on the basis of a commitment or a relationship. Zechariah’s problem was not that he asked a question; it was that he was not really ready to obey. For it is not in rational explanations about God -- explanations that fit our systems of knowledge and our human categories of experience -- that we learn who God is and how to love God; it is in the response, "I am the Lord’s servant."

We will not be called to be obedient in the way Mary and Jesus were called. But our obedience will be called for, not only in major decisions -- what job to take, where to live and serve, whom to marry or not to marry -- but in dozens of daily opportunities to do what is clearly God’s will: to seek justice, to be merciful, to put others before ourselves. Each day provides the occasion to say, "I am the Lord’s servant. ‘We may ask, how will I maintain patience with my irritable supervisor? How will I care for the needs of this aging parent? How will I raise the funds for this project of mercy? How can I balance the demands of ministry and family? How can I find courage in the face of a terminal diagnosis? But God will accept the questions when our intention is to obey: then we hear the enabling response, "With God nothing is impossible.” Like Mary, may our questions -- even in our asking -- express our faith, and our determination to be obedient servants of the Lord.

4) Thought Exercise

What are the impossibilities in our world?

How can our faith make possible what seems impossible?

The Magnificat; Song of Mary

Luke 1: 46-55 (December 14, 2008)

1) The Text
46And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, 47and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; 49for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. 50His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. 51He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. 52He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; 53he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. 54He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, 55according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”

2) The Context
The Gospel of Luke is often called the Gospel of womanhood because Luke has many positive stories about women. Mary and Elizabeth are the first human prophets of the New Testament. When Mary goes to visit her cousin Elizabeth, who is pregnant with the future John the Baptist, the child moves within Elizabeth's womb. When Elizabeth praises Mary for her faith, Mary sings the Magnificat in response. Mary's language is in part drawn from the Psalms. This hymn is divisible into three parts: (1) 46-49, recognition of God's strange grace upon her own humble person and character; (2) 50-53, a recognition that it is ever thus that God exalts the humble, and brings low the proud; (3) 54-55, the result is that humble Israel is now to be exalted according to God's ancient promise to Abraham.

Thus, the Magnificat, Mary’s song, gives voice to her blessedness and at the same time reconnects the personal events to the wider vision which will challenge the lordships of this world. Note the connections throughout the song: personal joy (47), personal call and blessedness (48), personal divine encounter with the holy one (49), divine compassion for all who fear God (50), divine transformation on a wider front, deposing the powers and lifting the fallen (51-55). The context of the story is the vision of change and transformation.

3) Interpretation
News of any pregnancy is a life-changing event. To accept the angel’s message, Mary had to embrace a deep displacement in life. “How can this be?” she asks. She wants to know whose idea this was and how it would happen. Now that God was ready to surrender to human flesh, would she agree to surrender too, carry God around in her body? What might happen to her? Would she be expelled from her father’s house, abandoned by Joseph, become the focus of community derision? Would this mean exile? Israel already had a king after all, and we know that Jesus’ arrival would later cause Mary and Joseph to flee into exile in the land of Egypt. Yet, with all her questions and giving her assent, Mary travels to share this good news with her cousin Elizabeth, singing the Magnificat and foretelling a deep displacement in the world where the proud are scattered, the powerful put in their place, the lowly lifted up, the hungry filled with good things, and the rich sent away with nothing.

One can hardly imagine a more intrusive demand from God than the one to which Mary responds, “Here am I, servant of the Lord: let it be with me according to your word.” And, she cannot know how much intimacy with God will cost. This gospel confronts us and requires us to get close to a God who calls us to bear him in our bodies and with our lives. Elizabeth O’Connor writes of the risks involved in bearing witness to a world that prefers risk-free conversion. “What are the risks?” She asks.

“For me they are all summed up in rejection – that most painful of all experiences. If I follow my path, I have friends who will learn that their hearts are not in communion with mine. We all seek out the company of those who think the way we think, and perceive the world the way we perceive it. It is when we find at-oneness with each other that we feel at home, accepted, companioned… I want to be in step with people I care about, to laugh with them, celebrate with them, agree with them. In all the world I want least to be a prophet."

Like the unwed mother, when we invite Christ into our lives, we cannot hide it from the world anymore than his mother could forever camouflage her swelling belly. Christ will reshape us, displacing our old lives for the new creation. Our friends and loved ones will soon learn that we are not in step with them but are in the business of fomenting a great displacement where the first will be last and the last will be first.

Luke knew this. Luke preached this sermon to a congregation of converts whom he knew would be isolated by this vision of ministry. And so he tells a story about what will happen when they, like Mary, become God bearers in the world. This is how it is when Jesus is born in you. Good pastor that he is, Luke worries about his flock. How can he prepare them for what will happen when they let Jesus in? When they join up with those who are smuggling God into the world in their bodies? There will be exile from friends and family who do not share this vision, and there will be rejection just as Elizabeth O’Connor describes it.

If this is just story about Mary, then we are the most to be pitied, and the world is without hope because Mary has served her term and has gone on to her reward. But if this story is about you and me and what happens when Jesus starts to grow in us, then we wonder if these bodies are expansive enough to bear such a hope. Meister Eckhart, a medieval mystic and theologian, wrote, “We are all meant to be mothers of God. What good is it to be me,” he said, “if this eternal birth of the divine Son takes place unceasingly, but does not take place within myself? And, what good is it to me if Mary is full of grace and I am not also full of grace? What good is it to me for the Creator to give birth to his son if I do not also give birth to him in my time and my culture? This, then is the fullness of time: when the Son of God is begotten in us.”

You now bear the hope of the world in your bodies. You are the ones who will bear him into the future, old and young, fertile and barren. In the unlikeliest of containers God has seeded hope for the lowly, justice for the downtrodden, and new life for the sinner. Why? Because with God nothing is impossible.

4) Thought Exercise

How is God growing in you?

How do you share this growth with others?

Prepare the Way of the Lord

Mark 1: 1 - 8 (December 7, 2008)

1) The Text
The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, “See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way; 3the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,’”
4John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. 8I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

2) The Context
There is no clear Old Testament precedent and prophecy for baptism with water. For its baptismal practices, the New Testament does not draw on Old Testament traditions, laws and practices, so much as on the Qumran community and its daily baptismal rites. The Qumran community was situated in the hills overlooking the Dead Sea, near and south of the town of Jericho. Many scholars think that John the Baptist was placed in the care of this community as a young child or infant and grew up practicing their daily baptismal rites of purification. These spiritual ascetics washed themselves several times a day as symbolic of an interior cleansing from sin. Thus, the rituals and rites of baptism likely had their origins in the Dead Scroll community of Qumran.

In the gospel for this second Sunday of Advent, Mark introduced the figure of John the Baptist. For Mark, John's appearance signaled the initial proclamation of God's Good News. Indeed, the key word for Mark was proclamation. In the time of Jesus, both official and unofficial news was communicated via heralds. The local town herald would proclaim news in the marketplace where people met for commerce and socializing. The contemporaries of Jesus were accustomed to hearing their news in this way. In addition to the town herald, visiting high officials would send advance men, who would prepare and proclaim the visitation. The advance men would arrive as emissaries; local officials would prepare for the coming visit. Shrubs and trees would be removed from road ways (i.e., the road would be straightened for the visiting dignitary). Another herald would immediately precede (literally walk before) the official to proclaim his arrival, like today's spokesperson. So, the official herald had three possible functions in the ancient world: proclaim news, act as a mediator between the local populace and the visiting dignitary, and immediately precede the official.

3) Interpretation
Mark 1:1-8 is not yet the good news. It is setting the scene for it. In 1:2-3 Mark makes a connection with hope. He cites the Old Testament, loosely, naming "Isaiah". In fact it is Isa 40:3 introduced by Exodus 23:20 (which is also very similar to Malachi 3:1). The Exodus passage originally refers to the angel who would go before Israel in the wilderness. Here it refers to John the Baptist. Malachi 3:1 speaks of a messenger whom God would send. These allusions combine well with the prophecy of Isaiah about a voice crying out that people should get ready for the Lord’s coming. The people who wrote the Community Rule of the Dead Sea Scrolls had already used this verse to explain their identity. They used the Hebrew text which speaks of preparing in the wilderness the way of the Lord. Mark uses the Greek text which has swapped ‘in the wilderness’ so that it now describes where the voice is crying.

The upshot of Mark’s opening sentences is that the good news which will come with Jesus follows God’s intention expressed both in biblical prophecy and in God’s action of inspiring John the Baptist. A sense of continuity is important for a community of faith: what happened in Jesus did not leave the past behind; it continued it. The God of Jesus is the God already known in actions of the past. This God means well; this God delivers.

John was calling people of all kinds and all levels of society down to the water as a sign of their commitment to turn to God’s ways and away from sin. It was dramatic. John, himself, plunged them beneath the water and earned for that the nickname, the baptizer or baptist, because water rites, including immersion, were usually self administered. Submitting to John symbolized submitting to God, the God who freely cleanses away sin.

The challenge of John to his own generation is reported by Mark so that his readers are forced to respond themselves to the challenge. The Christian church has given John the Baptist an important place in gospel tradition because he was the forerunner of gospel proclamation. His call to the people of Israel was the same call as that of Jesus and his disciples, and it is the call Jesus has commissioned us to make - "go and gather disciples out of every nation, immersing them in the Name (in the gospel), and teaching them", Matt.28:19-20.

The imagery presented in this passage is very powerful. There is value in seeing our own life in the terms of a move from Egypt, from sin, death and judgment, out into the wilderness to meet with our God. It is there we can experience, through Christ, the gift of his forgiveness and his eternal presence. We can then, under his guidance, take up the journey into the promised land.
There is also great value picturing evangelism in wilderness images. Our task is to call people out of bondage into the wilderness where they can meet with God - call on people to repent, to turn from self to Christ. Obviously, they must want to meet God and know they can't because they are slaves, i.e., the gospel is for the "lost" who want to be found. The gospel we proclaim announces that Jesus provides the way out of bondage into the presence of God where all can freely obtain his eternal acceptance. The gospel points the way to that eternal land.

4) Thought Exercise

Are you comfortable sharing your faith with others?

How can we, as a congregation, share our faith with others?