Psalm 55:17-19

"To God I call and God saves me, evening, morning and at noon. God's peace delivers my soul...."

This psalm is an appeal for deliverance from personal enemies. The psalmist begins, "Give ear to my prayer, O God . . . Attend to me, and answer me." (vs. 1-2) He says, "Fear and trembling come upon me, and horror overwhelms me." (v. 5) He would like to fly away like a dove to find refuge in the wilderness, but there is no escape. So, he asks God to destroy the plans of his enemy, who the psalmist says is a former friend. Then he begs God to send his enemy to Sheol alive and to "go away in terror" into the grave. (vs. 9, 13-15)

The psalmist's affirmation that "God's peace delivers my soul" follows an appeal for God's help in destroying his enemy. That is the literal reading of this psalm. Read allegorically or figuratively the psalm might be taken to refer to a spiritual struggle between temptation and our good inclinations. The enemy, in this reading, is the one who causes temptation and threatens to turn the soul away from God. Punishing this spiritual enemy is thus a way of protecting the soul, rather than the material body and possessions of the psalmist. This way of reading the psalms, which literally are filled with appeals for God to destroy enemies, has been very common in the life of the church.

Grace and peace...Bob

Isaiah 45:18-19

The LORD says: "I did not tell my people to search for me in chaos. I am the LORD God, who proclaims justice, who speaks what is true."

In this chapter of Isaiah God says through the prophet that Cyrus of Persia will defeat the Babylonians and begin the restoration of Israel. In verse 14 God says the wealth of the nations will be given to Israel, after God saves the covenant people and enables them to return to Judah. God is not to be found in the chaos that existed before creation, but is the LORD of history who will bring justice to Israel and to all the earth.

This vision sustained the Jewish people throughout the centuries of their dispersion and persecution, and it has strengthened their resolve in this century to create a nation where all Jews are welcome.

Grace and peace...Bob

1 Corinthians 1:4-9

"God is faithful and has called you to love in communion with his Son, Jesus Christ."

Paul writes these magnificent words to the Christians at Corinth, because of the problems there in the church. We see in verse 11 that there is quarreling over whether the baptism by Apollos, Peter or Paul is better. These are false arguments, Paul says. Be grateful for the love of God and allow that love to heal the divisions in the community. Paul tells the Corinthians that they do not lack any of the spiritual gifts and that God will not abandon them, because the love of God is steadfast.

Surely this is good news today.

Grace and peace...Bob

Matthew 11:25-27

In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus says: "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for having revealed to little children what you have hidden from the learned and clever."

This statement also appears in Luke 10:21-22. There is no explanation given in either gospel, so we are left to interpret the meaning. In the gospel of Matthew the preceding passage concerns the judgment that will come upon the Jewish cities that have not responded to the ministry of Jesus. In the gospel of Luke, however, the preceding passage depicts the disciples rejoicing because of the success of their ministry.

Do little children understand the judgment predicted in the gospel of Matthew and the jubilation of the founders of the church described in the gospel of Luke?

It seems that here the immediate context is of little help in interpreting the text. A literal reading would conclude that children understand what eludes the wisdom of their elders. Generally, however, the church has read this passage to mean that the learned Jews and Gentiles, who rejected the teachings and meaning of Jesus, were wrong and misled by their supposed wisdom. It is not that children understand, but rather that the wise do not understand. Perhaps a good interpretation would be that we do not have to be wise in order to respond with faith to the gospel.

Grace and peace...Bob

John 13:31-35

In the gospel of John, Jesus says: "It is by your love for one another that everyone will recognize you as my disciples."

In this part of the gospel of John, Jesus is preparing his disciples for his death. "As I said to the Jews so now I say to you," he teaches, "where I am going you cannot come." (v. 33) What a strange statement! Jesus is speaking to his disciples, who are all Jews, so what is the distinction he is making between his disciples and those he calls "the Jews"? This phrase is used throughout the gospel of John to designate those who oppose Jesus. These opponents are all Jews, but so is almost everyone else in the story. Today we need to clarify that this attack in the gospel of John on "the Jews" does not refer to all Jews and is not a justification for Christian anti-Semitism.

Verse 35 of this passage is quoted above and points to the love that the disciples are to have for each other. This is not a commandment to love our enemies, as we find in the gospels of Matthew and Luke, (Mt. 5:43-48, Lk. 6:27-31) nor even to love our neighbors, which might be taken to mean our people even if they are not part of our faith community. In the gospel of John the love that Jesus commands is faithfulness among the disciples, as they face opposition and efforts to divide them.

Grace and peace...Bob

Isaiah 45:1-7

Through the prophet God says: "I will go before you and will level the mountains so that you may know that I am the LORD, the one who calls you by name."

The prophecy of Isaiah presents God speaking through the prophet to Cyrus, king of Persia. The Persians will defeat the Babylonians and release the Israelites in Babylon from captivity, so they may return to Judah. Because Cyrus will accomplish this, he is called "anointed" (in Hebrew "messiah" or in Greek "christ"). The passage affirms that the defeat of the Babylonians and the return of the Israelites to Judah is the will of the LORD and is being accomplished by Cyrus, because he is God's messiah (anointed one).

Most Christians are surprised to find a Persian king referred to as "messiah" in the Old Testament, which in the original Greek Bible would make Cyrus God's "christ." But this is the literal or plain meaning of the text. The church interprets this passage to mean that Cyrus is God's chosen instrument and reserves the word "Christ" for Jesus alone. The church never read this passage from Isaiah literally, but has always imposed its understanding of Jesus Christ on the text.

Grace and peace...Bob

Acts 10:1-35

Peter said: "I now really understand that God has no favorites, but that in every nation God loves those who revere him and act justly."

The story of Cornelius is related by the author of Acts to explain how Gentiles came to be included in the church. Cornelius is a God-fearing, Roman centurion. In a vision an angel tells Cornelius to send for Peter, who the following day has a vision telling him that all foods are clean. Peter is told by the Spirit to go to see Cornelius, so he travels to Caesarea and there violates Jewish law by entering the house of a Gentile. Peter preaches to the Gentiles gathered there and sees the Holy Spirit come upon them, so he baptizes them in the name of Jesus Christ.

We need to remember that Jesus, a Jew, called twelve other Jews to be his disciples and, according to the gospel of Matthew, sent these disciples only to teach and heal among Jews. (Mt. 10:5-6) In the account of Acts the church begins with Jews and only becomes Gentile after the Holy Spirit comes upon Gentiles and Paul's ministry to the Gentiles proves successful.

The church's proclamation that God loves all men and women, who are faithful and act justly, was self-serving, because it enabled Jews and Gentiles to worship together in a new community of faith. But this witness has also undermined exclusive ideologies based on race, ethnic or national identity, even though the church has often failed to live up to its own vision of a loving and a forgiving God. Clearly, the challenge remains today, both for the church and for the world.

Grace and peace...Bob

Earth Home

Recently I watched a wonderful PBS film entitled “Voyage of the Lonely Turtle” that told the story of a loggerhead turtle swimming across the Pacific from Mexico to Japan to lay her eggs on the beach where her life began.  The 9000 mile journey took her over a year.  Along the way she dogged hammerhead sharks and the nets of fishing boats, signaled by her posture in the water that it was safe for small fish to clean her skin and shell, and swam through ocean debris and violent storms — guided by the loggerhead DNA version of a global positioning device that maps the earth’s magnetic field.

Shortly thereafter the astronauts of the Challenger repaired the Hubble telescope, which allows us to see the edges of the known universe and thus to look back in time more than 12 billion years.  We’ve all probably seen some of the wonderful photos taken with the Hubble telescope.  They are not only beautiful, but awesome.

Why begin a sermon with these comments about the natural world?  Because science gives us insight into nature that constrains our understanding of scripture.

The hymn, “All Things Bright and Beautiful,” suggests that God “made” every creature, but our knowledge of science requires that we not take this language literally.  Our belief that God is the ultimate power behind all life does not mean we should reject evolution.  Nor does our faith contest the scientific fact that every turtle and each person is made by the DNA in a fertilized egg, DNA that reveals the descent of our species from earlier forms of life.

Science also constrains our understanding of the story of Noah and the flood.  The common notion that natural disasters are “acts of God” comes from this Bible story, but science reveals that nature has its own laws.  We can draw this same meaning from the Genesis flood story, if we emphasize God’s promise not to interfere with nature again.  We should not confuse the natural order with God’s will.  Natural disasters are not “acts of God.”  Death is natural and not God’s punishment.  

Science also shapes our understanding of “heaven and earth.”  The Bible story begins with the creation of heaven and earth out of nothing, and ends with a heavenly city descending to the earth.  The final words of “This is My Father’s World” —  “And earth and heaven be one” — affirm this hope.  But the Hubble telescope is circling the earth in what was once described as heaven, and its photographs of the universe bring “the heavens” to earth.

Moreover, science offers an alternative understanding of the life-sustaining relationship between the earth and “the heavens.”  The sun provides warmth for the earth and makes life possible.  The moon creates the tides that move the waters of the oceans and causes the winds that bring moisture to the land.  The atmosphere surrounding the earth maintains the oxygen and carbon dioxide that animals and plants need, sustains the water cycle of evaporation and rainfall that distributes water around the earth, and reflects heat back to the earth keeping it temperate.

This natural order is not what the authors of scripture had in mind, when they pondered the relationship between heaven and earth.  Yet, surely the earth’s ecology reflects God’s purpose.

Now, on earth, our way of life is destroying this natural order, this life-giving and life-sustaining relationship between the earth and “the heavens.”  How are we to understand our ecological crisis?  And how might we, in faith, respond?

In my recent book, "Doing Environmental Ethics," I explain that our way of life is unsustainable because we have ignored the natural cycles that enable the biosphere of the earth to break down wastes, purify water, and maintain an ecological balance of oxygen and carbon compounds in the atmosphere and the oceans.  We have sinned against heaven and earth.  If we are to repent for this sin, we must take steps to reduce our impact on the ecological cycles of the earth.

What might this mean?  We can repent by supporting public policies that require greater energy efficiency for motor vehicles burning fossil fuels and a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from our power plants, and that provide incentives for investing in solar, wind, geothermal, and other alternative energy sources, which will help realize a sustainable way of life.  We can drive and fly less, walk and bike more, and use public transportation.  We can reduce our consumption of electricity, replace incandescent light bulbs in our homes with more energy efficient bulbs, and allow the temperature indoors to be cooler in the winter and warmer in the summer.

We can repent by not buying water (or soda) in plastic bottles.  The sale of bottled water and bottled “soft-drinks” increases the cost of water worldwide, making life even more desperate for those who are poor, and studies have shown that bottled water is often no more pure than water from the tap.  Recycling plastic bottles is better than discarding them, but recycling is never 100 per cent efficient and requires energy.  Many plastic bottles end up in streams, and now plastic debris covers 40 percent of the earth’s oceans.  We have a duty to protect the human right to drinking water and the natural environment from waste (like plastic) that nature has not yet evolved ways to absorb and recycle.

We can repent by eating less beef.  Forests are being destroyed in South America and Asia to graze cattle.  The loss of forests means: fewer trees are absorbing carbon dioxide and emitting oxygen into the atmosphere, a decline in biodiversity due to the destruction of animal habitats, and less rainfall.  Cattle in the US are fed corn, which their stomachs did not evolve to digest, and the methane gas these cattle emit into the atmosphere adds to the greenhouse gases causing global warming.  The urine and manure of cattle in US feedlots pollute nearby streams and lakes. 

Half the world’s grain is fed to cattle, but it takes seven pounds of grain and over two thousand gallons of water to produce one pound of beef.  The only reason hamburger is cheap is because the costs of raising cattle are subsidized or being passed on to future generations as environmental damage.  We need to eat less beef, so others will have sufficient grain for food at a cost they can afford.

In many other ways we can repent of our ecological sin by caring for the earth as our home.  Jesus did not say much about nature during his ministry, but he did teach us to pray to God: “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”  This prayer is about living faithfully, and living faithfully now means reducing our devastating impact on the ecology of the earth.

Grace and peace...Bob

Psalm 105:1-5

"Seek the strength of God, and seek God's face at all times. Recall the wonders God has done."

This psalm begins: "O give thanks to the LORD, call on his name, make known his deeds among the peoples!" The word "LORD" is used to translate the Hebrew four-letter representation for the name of God, YHWH, which is sometimes written "Yahweh" or "Jehovah." As the vowels were never written in Hebrew and the name never spoken, there is no way to know. In verse 7 the LORD is said to be "the LORD our God." The English word God is used to translate the Hebrew word "El" or its plural "Elohim."

In the development of Hebrew scripture traditions about YHWH were merged with traditions about El and Elohim. In the New Testament the word Lord is used for Christ, and Old Testament scriptures referring to the LORD are taken to mean the Lord Jesus Christ. So, in the process of creating scripture, the character of God/LORD/Christ becomes ever more complex. Scripture is a record of the discovering and revealing of God, which Christians believe continues today through the work of the Holy Spirit.

Grace and peace...Bob

Matthew 25:31-40

In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus says: "In truth I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me."

In the gospel of Matthew Jesus describes the coming of the Son of man in all his glory to judge the nations. He uses an image of a shepherd separating sheep and goats to suggest that the Son of man will sort people out, inviting into the kingdom those who gave him food and drink when he was hungry, welcomed him when he was a stranger, clothed him when he was naked, and visited him when he was in prison. When those invited into the kingdom say they do not recall treating him this way, Jesus replies that when they did these things for "one of the least" of his brothers and sisters, they did it for him.

We can see that this is not merely a teaching about the end of time, but is intended to motivate Christians to care for "the least" of those among the brothers and sisters in the church. But in the context of the New Testament we may say that all people, as children of God, are our "brothers and sisters." So, we might take this reading to mean that by caring for anyone with needs greater than our own, we care for Christ.

Grace and peace...Bob

Psalm 23

"You guide me, LORD, on paths of righteousness. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil, for you are with me."

This is one of the most well known Psalms in the Bible. Many Christians can recite it from memory, and it is often read in funeral and memorial services. The language is poetic and powerful. Death does not cast a shadow over a valley, but we know what the psalmist means. Death is like a dark valley, and we are afraid of walking through that dark valley.

The psalmist was writing for Israelites, not for Christians. But the God that the psalmist says is with us, when we face death, is the same God that Jesus called Father. This is also the God that Christians identify as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God is one, the Holy One, the only God of creation, the God of Israel, and the God of Christian faith.

Six centuries after the birth of the church Muhammad will proclaim there is but one God. He will use the Arabic word "Allah" to name that God, but this is simply Arabic for "one God" or "the one God." It is not a personal name for God, and Muhammad does not believe that Allah is different than the God of Abraham, Moses and Jesus. Muhammad does, however, witness to a revelation that differs from the Jewish and Christian witness to the one God, and so a new religion arises.

Grace and peace...Bob

John 21:15-19

A third time, the gospel of John relates, Jesus said to Peter, "Do you love me?" Peter was hurt that he asked him a third time, "Do you love me?" and said, "Lord, you know everything; you know I love you."

This account of a resurrection appearance beside the Sea of Tiberias (also known as the Sea of Galilee) is only in the gospel of John. Peter and other disciples are fishing when they see Jesus on the shore. After they join Jesus for a breakfast of fish and bread, Jesus asks Peter if he loves him. When Peter says he does, Jesus replies, "Feed my lambs." Jesus asks a second time, and receives the same answer. Then he asks a third time.

Why is this request repeated three times? Is this merely for emphasis? Or does repetition suggest that Peter fails to grasp the implications of his answer and so needs to hear the question again and again?

The passage ends with Jesus saying to Peter that in his old age he will be bound and taken where he does not want to go. The narrator adds that by this Jesus meant to describe Peter's death. Perhaps Jesus is thinking all along that Peter's responsibility for the church will lead to his death. Or, this may merely be the conclusion of the narrator of the story. Whatever Jesus or the author of the gospel intended, we are left with the impression that doing what Jesus has asked will prove difficult and even dangerous for Peter. Might that be true for us as well?

Grace and peace...Bob

John 12:23-26

In the gospel of John, Jesus says: "Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who is not attached to their life in this world will keep it for eternal life."

In this passage the gospel reports Jesus as saying: "Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit." (v. 24) The literal meaning of this passage is that wheat must be planted, if it is to grow and produce a harvest. It seems likely, however, that the gospel is not teaching about agriculture, but is using this language figuratively. As the statement about planting wheat is followed by a statement about losing this life and gaining eternal life, we may assume that the two statements are related and should be interpreted together.

Yet the relationship is not obvious, for our life is not like a grain of wheat. Grain is only potential life, whereas we are actually alive. The form of the grain must be given up, if the wheat is to grow and produce a harvest. Must the form of our life also be given up, if we are to bring in the harvest of the kingdom of God?

Unlike the first three New Testament gospels, the gospel of John does not proclaim the kingdom of God, but promises eternal life and talks about hating life in this world.  This is a striking contrast with the portrayal in the synoptic gospels of Jesus, who is accused of enjoying life too much by eating and drinking with sinners. However, there is a sense throughout the New Testament that life "as we know it" is coming, and must come, to an end.  For God is creating what Isaiah 65:17 and the Revelation of John 21:01 refer to as a new heaven and a new earth.

Grace and peace...Bob

Sirach 14:1-6, 14-16

"Happy are they who are not in anguish over their failings and who do not founder in despair. For if they are hard upon themselves, to whom will they be kind?"

Ecclesiasticus, of the Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach, is not in Protestant versions of the Christian Bible, but it is in Roman Catholic Bibles. The book was included in the Greek version of the Jewish scriptures read by Paul and other Greek-speaking Christians in the early church, so it was included in the Christian Bible in the fourth century. Yet, because the Jewish rabbis at the end of the first century CE omitted Sirach from their Hebrew Bible, Sirach was omitted by Protestant reformers in translating the Old Testament.

Is Sirach scripture or isn't it? The answer depends on the community of faith you are in, and when you ask the question. For Greek-speaking Jews Sirach is scripture up into the first few centuries of the Christian era. For Hebrew-speaking Jews it is scripture before 100 CE, but not after that date. For Christians who read the Bible in Greek, it is scripture. For Christians who later read the Bible in Latin, it is in the Bible and used, but its omission from the Jewish canon is noted. For Roman Catholic Christians today, Sirach is in the Bible and is regularly used in lectionary readings.

This teaching from Sirach urges us to accept our shortcomings. If we cannot forgive ourselves, how will we forgive others?

Grace and peace...Bob

1 John 4:16-21

"God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them."

A familiar translation from the Greek is: "God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him." But a contemporary translation uses the phrase "lives in" for "abides" and replaces the masculine third person pronouns "he" and "him" with "whoever" and "them" in order to be more inclusive.

The purpose of this passage has to do with the mystery of God, who is present in the love of those who trust in love. The author of this letter affirms that the love of God "is perfected with us." (v. 17), and says we love because God loves us. The letter also admits that Christians cannot love God and hate their neighbors.

Grace and peace...Bob

Resist Evil with Good

Matthew 5:43-48, Romans 12:9-21

Christian faith does not offer an illusory hope of life on earth without evil. Instead, Christian faith calls us to fight evil with good. In Matthew 5:43-48 Jesus urges his disciples: "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you so that you may be children" of God, who "makes the sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous." (vs. 44-45) We are to love as God loves.

Consider Paul’s counsel to the Christians in Rome. "Let love be genuine," he writes. "Hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good." (Rom. 12:9) Clearly, Paul believes that Christians should resist evil with their own goodness. "Bless those who persecute you," he says. "Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all." (Rom. 12:14, 17)

We need to be reminded that these teachings were not written for rulers. Jesus and Paul are not advising governing officials in Palestine or in cities of the Roman Empire. These teachings were written to help Christians resolve differences within their churches and to persevere in the face of persecution.

Listen carefully to Paul’s words. "If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God." (Rom. 12:18-19) Paul knows that the Christians in Rome do not have control over what is happening there. "If it is possible," he says, Christians are to live in peace. "So far as it depends on you," he advises Christians, settle your differences among yourselves and with non-Christians without violence.

Paul expects there will be violence, but tells Christians in Rome not to seek vengeance. Although they may be unable to prevent persecution, they have the power not to seek vengeance through violence. Paul teaches that vengeance belongs only to God. If Christians are to live peaceably with non-Christians, then Christians must respond to evil with good. Listen to Paul’s words to the church in Rome: "If your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads." (Rom. 12:20)

What does Paul mean? He is quoting Proverbs 25:21-22. Literally, of course, showing mercy to one’s enemies will not "heap burning coals on their heads." But this metaphor may be taken to mean that loving our enemies is how they may come to have remorse for the injustice they have done to us. If they have harmed us, because they felt their cause was just, our loving response may undermine their self-justification, and so open their minds and their hearts.

Paul urges the Christians in Rome: "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." (Rom. 12:21) The power of evil cannot be defeated, if we respond to evil with evil, no matter how justified our response may be. Christian faith teaches that evil can only be overcome with good. Responding to evil with good is how we witness to the love of God for the world.

What does this mean for American Christians today? The New Testament was not written for citizens with the power to elect their government, nor does the Bible anticipate attacks on the United States at the beginning of the 21st century. But both scripture and the church call us to resist evil with good, and this wisdom should not simply be dismissed as either unrealistic or unpatriotic.

How might American Christians fight the evil of terrorism with good sense and good will?

1. By seeking justice rather than vengeance. The war against terrorism should not be motivated by a desire for revenge. When people are arrested and charged with being terrorists, they must be given a presumption of innocence and a fair trial. When war is waged against a government harboring terrorists, the violence must be limited to the objective of ending the government’s support for terrorism.

2. By providing food, water and medicine for our enemies. The goal of the war in Afghanistan should be to aid the people. Even as we fight this war, we should urge our government to reach out to our enemies so that at least some of them, some day, will become our friends.

3. By promoting the rule of law within and among nations. While our government wages war, it should also support initiatives for peace that help the United Nations mediate disputes among nations and that strengthen the use of international law in fighting terrorism.

4. By supporting all that is good in America. Patriotism in support of our civil liberties, our constitutional form of government, American openness and generosity, and a renewed spirit of community service deserves the support of every citizen.

5. By understanding the history of Islamic civilization. We should welcome the opportunity to learn more about the heritage of 1/5 of the world’s peoples, and to understand why terrorism against America is now being justified by some Muslims because of the way the Western nations have treated Islamic peoples.

6. By worshiping the one God of Jews, Christians, and Muslims. There is only one God. That is our Christian faith. The God of Abraham, Jesus and Muhammad is worshiped in different ways by Jews, Christians and Muslims. Yet our prayers are all directed to the God who is God, and only the God who is God answers prayers.

"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." (Rom. 12:21) This Christian teaching is good advice. May we take it to heart and put it into practice.

Grace and peace...Bob

Matthew 18:1-5

In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus says: "Whoever makes himself humble like a child is greatest in the kingdom of Heaven. Anyone who welcomes a little child in my name welcomes me."

The gospel of Matthew reports that when the disciples ask Jesus, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" he tells them they must be like children. The same argument among the disciples is reported in the gospels of Mark and Luke. In Mark 9:33-37 and Luke 9:46-48 Jesus also points to the humility of a child and tells his disciples that they must serve others to be first. The synoptic gospels agree that to be a follower of Jesus is to be a servant.

Christians fail to live up to this call, but the teaching remains one of the great challenges of the church in every generation. In our time, when the world values assertiveness and success, can we dedicate ourselves to serve others?

Grace and peace...Bob

Matthew 25:14-30

In a parable, the master says to his faithful servant, "Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful with a little, I will entrust you with much more. Come and share your master's happiness!"

In the parable of the talents a man before leaving on a journey gives three of his servants some talents (a talent in first century Palestine was a lot of money). The servant receiving five talents trades them and makes five more. The servant receiving two talents similarly makes two more. But the servant with one talent buries his talent, and thus has only the one talent to show the master when he returns. The master welcomes the first two servants to share his happiness, but he takes the talent from the third servant, gives it to the first servant who already has ten talents, and orders the "worthless servant" cast into "the outer darkness" where "men will weep and gnash their teeth."

The literal meaning of this parable is that if your master gives you money, you had better invest it. But the parable is placed by the author of the gospel of Matthew just after the parable of the ten maidens waiting for the bridegroom to celebrate his marriage feast and just before the announcement of the coming Son of man and the great judgment of all peoples. From its context we know this parable concerns the kingdom of heaven (there is an explicit reference in the parable of the ten maidens) and the coming judgment. It does not simply concern money, but is about what is entrusted to us.

Having said that, we are left to draw our own conclusions. Will those who fall short of their master's expectations be cast literally into "the outer darkness"? Or might we say that this is figurative language connoting despair and separation from God's love?

In reading a parable that is not intended to be taken literally, because it is about the kingdom of heaven rather than money entrusted to servants when their master is gone away, we should reject the conclusion that the punishment for unworthiness in the parable must be understood literally. Reading the gospel of Matthew in the context of the entire New Testament, we find that the other gospels and the letters of Paul have a more reassuring message of forgiveness for those who repent.

Grace and peace...Bob

John 14:21-26

In the gospel of John, Jesus says: "The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you."

There is much in the Old Testament about the Spirit, the Spirit of God, and the Spirit of the Lord, and there is frequent mention of the Holy One of Israel, especially in Isaiah. But I have found only three places in the Old Testament where the adjective "holy" precedes the noun "spirit," and in each of these the phrase is clearly attributing holiness to God. Psalm 51:11 reads, "Cast me not away from thy presence, and take not thy holy Spirit from me." Isaiah 63:10-11 refers twice to "his holy Spirit" where the reference is obviously to God. It seems that references to "the Holy Spirit," which appear in all four of the New Testament gospels, in Acts of the Apostles, and in Paul's letters, represent a break with ancient Israel's understanding of God.

The affirmation of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament is what leads the church later to affirm a trinitarian (or triune) understanding of God. There is no explicit reference to the Trinity in the New Testament, and the idea was not formulated in the life of the church until after the Christian canon of scripture was established in the fourth century. But the notion that God is present to individual Christians in the life of the church, as the Holy Spirit, is deeply rooted in the Christian witness. An understanding of God, as Creator, and as present not only in Jesus but also in the Holy Spirit, which animates the life of the church after Jesus is no longer present, led to the Christian doctrine of the Trinity.

Grace and peace...Bob

Matthew 13:31-33

In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus says: "The kingdom of heaven is like the yeast a woman took and mixed in with a large amount of flour until the whole thing rose."

This passage contains the parables of the mustard seed and yeast (leaven). These two parables also appear in Luke 13:18-19 in a very similar form. They seem to come from a collection of teachings attributed to Jesus that the authors of these two gospels had. The parable of the mustard seed is usually interpreted to mean that something small may grow to something large. The parable of the yeast seems to imply that something that disappears may, nonetheless, make all the difference in the end.

Literally, the passages say that a mustard seed grows to be a mustard plant, and that yeast makes bread rise. But the parables each contain the phrase, "The kingdom of heaven is like...." This phrase includes a simile, which suggests a literal meaning is not intended. These images convey a meaning about the kingdom of heaven. At times in the gospels the narrator interprets a parable, but this is not the case here.

What might we read into the parable of yeast? It concerns a woman making bread. If she is making "the kingdom of heaven," we might conclude that God is feminine. If the point is that the ingredients for making the kingdom are already "mixed into" the world and our lives, then the parable may mean that the kingdom will come in its own time. Perhaps the yeast represents Jesus, who dies for our sake and thus "disappears" but, at the same time, causes the church to come into being. Or, we might understand the bread as the faith that "rises" in our hearts.

Clearly, there is no one meaning of this parable that anyone can claim to be "the truth". We cannot know the meaning intended by Jesus or by the author of the gospel. We can say, however, that a literal reading of this passage was not intended by either. This is a figurative teaching that prods Christians in every generation to respond more faithfully.

Grace and peace...Bob

Ephesians 4:1-6

"Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you have all been called to one hope."

This is where we read the famous passage: "one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all, who is above all and through all and in all." (v. 5) Paul, or his disciples, probably wrote this letter to be circulated, because unlike the other letters in the New Testament attributed to Paul this letter is not addressed to a particular church or person. For example, Galatians is addressed to the "churches of Galatia," and Romans is addressed to "all God's beloved in Rome." Paul's two letters to the Corinthians are addressed to "the church of God, which is at Corinth," and the letter to the Philippians begins with the statement, "To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi." Ephesians, on the other hand, is addressed generally to "the saints who are also faithful in Christ Jesus."

The letter uses striking images to urge unity among Jewish and Gentile Christians. There is one body, one Spirit, one hope, one baptism, and one God, so there must be one church where both Gentile and Jewish Christians witness to the good news of salvation in Christ. Today, it is often said that the lack of church unity is a scandal. But more wisely, perhaps, we might say the disunity of the church reflects its humanity. The church may point to what is divine, but remains very human.

Grace and peace...Bob

John 14:22-27

In the gospel of John, Jesus says: "Peace I leave you; my peace I give you. I do not give it to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid."

The fourteenth chapter of the gospel of John is one of the most beautiful and well-known parts of the Christian Bible. In this chapter Jesus is questioned by three of his disciples (Thomas, Philip and Judas) who never speak in the other three gospel accounts. Jesus answers their questions with statements that appear nowhere else in the New Testament.

Jesus speaks of "the Father who dwells in" him (v. 10) He tells his disciples he will pray the Father to give them "another Counselor" to be with them forever, "even the Spirit of truth." (verses 16-17) Jesus comforts his disciples about his coming departure by saying, "I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you." (v. 20) He names the Counselor as "the Holy Spirit" who will teach the disciples all that they need to know. (v. 26) And he gives them his peace.

Christians have long wondered how the Jesus who proclaimed the kingdom of heaven (God) in parables, as the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke report, could also have spoken like this to his disciples? It might be that the author of the fourth gospel simply had material from the life of Jesus that was not available to the other gospel writers. But Christian scholars in the first centuries of the church, who included the "fourth" gospel in the New Testament, were well aware that it expresses a theology that differs with the witness of the other three gospels.

Grace and peace...Bob

Matthew 16:24-26

In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus says: "If anyone wants to follow me, let them renounce themselves and take up their cross and follow me."

Verse 24 actually reads in most English translations of the New Testament something like this: "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." Was Jesus only speaking of men following him? Obviously not, as we read in the New Testament that women also followed. To make that clear in this passage the masculine language has been altered to be more inclusive. Is this changing the word of God? No.  It is translating from the Greek into English in an inclusive way to make the meaning clearer. This kind of interpretation of scripture has always been the responsibility of the church.

Also, in this passage the reference to the cross is figurative, not literal. Most of us are not in danger of being martyred for our faith, but we should expect that faith requires sacrifice...

Grace and peace...Bob

Changing Our Past

Luke 10: 25-37

In her novel "The Bonesetter’s Daughter" Amy Tan tells us that the past is “what we choose to remember.” We cannot change the events of the past, she says, but we can change our memory of the past and, in doing so, we change our future. The past is always heavy with sorrow, but we can choose to remember how those who loved us helped us get beyond our sorrow. Happiness, Tan writes, can be discovered in the love we know and in “the freedom to give and take what has been there all along.”

What sorrow from your past are you carrying with you? A failed relationship? A lost job opportunity? A bad investment decision? You can change this memory by recalling who helped you recover and get on with your life.

We're all familiar with the parable of the Good Samaritan. A man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho is robbed and beaten. Two other travelers pass by without offering assistance, but a third traveler goes out of his way to see that the injured man receives the care he needs.

The most obvious meaning of the parable is that we should help others in need. This moral lesson challenges our complacency, and it should. But we might also remember this parable with gratitude by recalling those who have helped us when we were in need. We, too, have been injured on the road of life, emotionally as well as physically. We know suffering and sorrow. But others have gone out of their way to help us recover.

The gospel of Luke tells us that Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan in response to the question, “Who is my neighbor?” The question seems to be looking for a distinction between neighbors and others, so we can know who we should help (and who we can ignore). In this respect the question reflects memories of strangers and enemies, who should be excluded from our compassion.

In the gospel account, however, Jesus surprises his listeners by identifying a neighbor not as someone we should help, but as a person who helps others. We need to change our memory of being hurt by others with the memory of being helped by others. Without knowing who are neighbors are, we can choose to be a good neighbor.

It is fascinating that the parable says nothing about the motivation of the Samaritan, who shows us what it means to be a good neighbor. Yet, the events in the parable constrain our imagination.

Clearly, the Samaritan does not know the injured Jew, so the parable is not about a friend helping a friend in need. In fact, those hearing the story in the first century CE knew that Jews and Samaritans had been enemies for five hundred years. So, we also know that the Samaritan was not likely motivated by a sense of moral duty, as neither Jews nor Samaritans felt morally obliged to help their enemy. Nonetheless, in this parable a Samaritan helps a Jew. In our time this would be like telling a story of a Palestinian on the road to Jericho helping an injured Jewish Israeli.

Finally, the parable says nothing about the Samaritan receiving any commendation for his good deed, or about the Jew promising to reimburse the Samaritan for covering the cost of his care. The moral of this story is not: Help others so that you may be rewarded for being helpful.

What motivation might we reasonably attribute to the Samaritan? Why is he good? By not giving us a specific answer to this question, the parable invites us to ask ourselves: What would move us to help a stranger in need? A possible answer is that we might feel gratitude for those who have cared for us when we were in need. We might be a good neighbor by remembering when we were helped by one.

The parable challenges us to change our memory of the past when that memory of sorrow is blocking our sense of gratitude. It is possible, scripture tells us, to move beyond our sorrows and anger. Being grateful for the love we have known may help us become more loving.

Grace and peace...Bob

Ephesians 2:14-18

"Christ came to announce the joyful message of peace: peace to those who are far away, peace to those who are near. Through him, in one Spirit, we all have free access to the Father."

This letter tells Gentiles that they were "without God in the world," (v. 12) but that Christ "has broken down the wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law of commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby bringing the hostility to an end." (verses 15-16) We see here that the Greek-speaking churches Paul was organizing with Gentile and Jewish members did not enforce Jewish law. This is why in Galatians 2 Paul speaks out strongly against Peter and James, when the leaders of the Jerusalem church impose Jewish kosher laws on the Christian community in Antioch.

In our time there are no longer Jewish and Gentile Christians. Now issues divide Jews and Christians and also Christians and people of other religious communities. How are these diverse communities of faith to be reconciled? Paul fought in the first century for a more inclusive form of community and against strict rules of belief and practice that he felt denied the reconciling work of God in Christ. How might our communities of faith be more inclusive?

Grace and peace...Bob

Matthew 25:1-13

In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus says, "Keep watch, for you know neither the day nor the hour."

This passage relates a story about ten maidens, friends of a bride, who light lamps and wait at the home of the bride for the groom to come for the marriage feast. Five take oil to replenish their lamps, but five take only their lamps. The groom is delayed, and when it is announced that he is about to arrive the five maidens who did not bring extra oil find that their lamps are no longer lit. They ask the other maidens for oil, but these "wise maidens" reply that they do not have any to spare. The "foolish maidens" leave to buy oil, and when they return the bridegroom has already come and the door to the home is closed. When these maidens say, "Lord, lord, open to us," they are told, apparently by the bridegroom: "Truly, I say to you, I do not know you." Then the narrator of the gospel says, "Keep watch, for you know neither the day nor the hour."

A literal reading of this story might conclude that we must be prepared in order not to miss marriage feasts (or other parties). The one line verse above may also be read more generally to mean that we should be prepared for the unexpected. In the context of the gospel, however, we read this as a parable about the coming kingdom of heaven (God) and being ready to enter it. And as we read Matthew 25, this kingdom will begin with the coming of the Son of man in his glory to judge all people. These he will judge not on the basis of their beliefs (about reading scripture, for instance), but by the way they have responded to "the least" of those among us.

The gospel asks of us: "Have you fed the hungry? Have you visited the sick and those in prison? Have you clothed the naked? Have you welcomed the stranger?"

Grace and peace...Bob

Romans 12:3-13

"Be joyful in your hope, steadfast in hardship, faithful in prayer. Be always ready to offer hospitality."

In this passage Paul argues that there are a variety of gifts of the Spirit, so each person is called to nurture the life of the church in terms of the gifts that he (or she) has received. Paul gives priority to prophecy, service and teaching, which he counts among his own gifts of the Spirit. Then he urges the Christians in Rome to love one another and to hold fast to what is good.

Be joyful, steadfast, faithful.

Grace and peace...Bob

Matthew 9:36-10:8

In the gospel of Matthew Jesus sends out the twelve, saying: "Proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is close at hand. Freely you have received, freely give.

In this passage Jesus names his twelve disciples and then sends them out to "the lost sheep of Israel." (Mt. 10:6) He explicitly tells the disciples not to go to Gentile or Samaritan towns, but only to Jewish communities. The gospel of Mark contains the same list of disciples and they, too, are sent out to preach and heal, but in the gospel of Mark Jesus does not restrict the mission of the disciples to Jews. (Mk. 3:13-19, 6:7) The gospel of Luke also does not include the restriction that is in the gospel of Matthew (Lk. 9:1), and it names "Judas the son of James" rather than "Thaddaeus" as the eleventh disciple. (Lk. 6:12-16)

The gospel of Matthew seems to have been written for a largely Jewish Christian community, whereas the gospels of Mark and Luke are directed to Christian communities dominated by Gentiles. This may explain why only the gospel of Matthew limits the ministry of the disciples to Jews. From the Acts of the Apostles and Paul's letters we learn that Gentiles were converted in the first generation of the church.  Yet, the church in Jerusalem led by the disciples of Jesus required Gentile converts to the church to keep at least some of the tenets of Jewish law.

Moreover, Jesus in the gospel of Matthew tells his disciples that every rule of the law of Moses is to be followed until "heaven and earth pass away." (Mt. 5:17-20) There was a conflict in the early church about requiring Gentile converts to keep Jewish law, and it appears that the gospel of Matthew is asserting a position close to that of the church in Jerusalem and contrary to the teaching of Paul and other apostles to the Gentiles.

Grace and peace...Bob

Romans 8:31-39

"Who could condemn us? Christ Jesus, who died - more than that, who was raised to life - is at the right hand of God, interceding for us."

Paul writes to the Christians in Rome, "If God is for us, who is against us?" (Rm. 8:31) And he goes on to proclaim that nothing "will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." (8:39) The faith of Paul is that Jesus Christ has interceded with God on behalf of all humanity, so those with faith will not be condemned for their sins but will know forgiveness "in Christ."

This powerful witness helped to bring Gentiles and Jews together in a new community of faith that has become the church we know today. In Romans 9-11 Paul argues that God continues to love Jews who have rejected Jesus as the Messiah as well as those who have accepted him. Such love, surely, would extend today to Muslims, as well as Jews.

Grace and peace...Bob

Sirach 27:30-28:7

"Forgive your neighbor any wrongs. For if someone nurses anger against another, how can they then ask for healing from God?"

Sirach, sometimes called "Ecclesiasticus" or "The Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach," was part of the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible read by Paul and the Greek-speaking church as "scripture." Therefore, it was included in the Old Testament that the church of the Roman Empire approved in the fourth century. But Protestant reformers in the sixteenth century translated the Old Testament from the Hebrew canon, which was established by rabbis at the beginning of the second century and does not include Sirach.  This is the reason why Sirach is not in Protestant Bibles, but is in every Catholic Bible.

The author of this book, we are told in the text, was a teacher in Jerusalem who wrote in Hebrew around 180 BCE. About fifty years later the author's grandson translated the book into Greek. The book of Sirach is similar in content to Proverbs for it is full of instruction on ethical and religious practices for young men. Although Protestants do not read Sirach as scripture, it seems likely that Jesus and Paul were well aware of this teaching.

Grace and peace...Bob

1 Timothy 4:7-16

"Train yourself to live in godliness: it holds out promise both for the present life and the life to come."

This letter is attributed to Paul, although it seems to have been written later in the life of the church.  It contains instructions to Timothy, Paul's younger co-worker in the mission to the Gentiles. Elsewhere Paul proclaims faith alone is required for salvation, because he is arguing against other apostles who assert that Christians must adhere to Jewish law. This letter says Paul is not opposed to "good works," explaining that such good works are understood as a manifestation of faith rather than as a requirement for salvation.

The gospel of love and forgiveness is a challenge for all Christians. Will our faith stir us to reach out to those who do not agree with out beliefs?

Grace and peace...Bob