George the Pruner

Looking out my back door (CCR)

        I am standing at my back door, looking at our ornamental grass that we planted early in the spring. It began as most of our plants do as an example of Darwin's principle. We placed it in the backyard and dared it to survive. It has taken the challenge well. It has now reached the place where it is challenging us to deal with its success. I have been told that I need to cut it back for winter. I guess like our roses out front that get whacked down to about a foot or two every year,  these beauties will be pruned back, too. I reason  if you develop the right attitude it can be a pleasant thing. But I do wonder every year, however fleetingly, if those roses are just going to get mad and stop blooming."That's it, you've cut me back for the last time." I feel that because I know that in due season God prunes me back too.
       Its tough living with a God who demands change. Sometimes the Lord's pruning of my life can get a wrong reaction. So I guess I am transferring my feelings to the roses. But John helps me with my reaction in verses 1 and 2 of John 15.
      John records Christ telling us what this is all about. He said, "Call in George its time to cut back, so the new can come in stronger and be more abundant"(DHBV). It is an odd way to produce more abundance. Cut back. And it's not just the dead vegetation either. The whole plant gets cut down to size. My mother used to "pinch" back her blooms. I don't think it had the same purpose when she pinched me in church, though, but back to the point. 
        I was reading about George in chapter 15 of John. How he prunes the plants so it can produce more. Jesus is actually talking about a vine, probably a grape vine.

1. =Egw◊ ei∆mi hJ a⁄mpeloß hJ a˙lhqinh; kai… oJ pathvr mou oJ gewrgovß e∆stin. 

2. paÇn klh:ma e∆n e∆moi… mh; fe√ron karpo;n ai“rei aujtov, kai… paÇn to; karpo;n fe√ron kaqai√rei aujto; i”na karpo;n plei√ona fe√rh≥. 

Not Jorge

      Who is George?  He is Jesus' father. Last half of verse one reads and I will write it out in transliteration, "ego eimi he ampelos he alethine kai ho pater mou ho georgos estin. - You can see where we get the name George. It means farmer (literal: worker of earth) or in this case since we are talking about vines, he is the vinedresser or husbandman. But the literal could mean (doug's translation dhb)  "my father is  George". Okay I am making the wrong point here. The real point is that in verse 2 the Father prunes "so that it (the plant) may keep on producing fruit (subjunctive case hina purpose clause - for the Greekies) . Not that it has not borne fruit, but that it may keep bearing fruit. According to Robertson, the word translated for pruning, kaqai√re, is used only here in NT although it is used in many 1st century ceremonial cleansings.  We derive our English word cathartic from this word, meaning a purging.  So pruning is not just cutting back, but a deeper health or cleansing, or purging  is going on in the plant. 
      So this can explain what is happening to us (as Christians). Our father, the good husbandman  cuts what we are making, producing, or ministering, and prunes it all back so it may keep on producing. When this happens we know we are in a time of change. A time of transition is happening, from an old to a new.  The health of our ministry in Christ is at stake. Not that we were sick, because the dead wood he throws away, but the producing branches he makes them stronger and newer by this cathartic process. 

i”na karpo;n plei√ona fe√rh≥.

       I am glad to know this because I have been going through a time of cut backs. Some have been simple like cleaning out our attic, and throwing away stuff that I have been hanging onto that was just clutter.   Others have been more complicated like pulling back from and even cutting off some relationships. I know in my heart that it is God doing it.  I trust that He is being the good husbandman, and He will bring back fruit in those areas that will be healthier, stronger, and yes cleaner in Christ. Sometimes I am reminded that God wants us to move to a new place in Him. He has to cut away the old so the new buds can come forth in due season. This is my prayer and expectation. It really is a way of life with God. He does not change but we do change into him. He doesn't seem to let us settle. Like Abraham we are in a transition looking for a new land. A place where we can live and grow strong in God.
      And that really is every Christians' prayer  that we would grow stronger in Christ. This makes me love the scriptures even more with deepening meaning. "I am the vine, you are the branches: He that abides in me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit: for without me you can do nothing." 15:5.

A Story of Lament

"Lament" by Connie Bulter

     Have you ever heard a baby cry? Of course you have. What can be more irritating? I think it  is that way on purpose. God made it so that it is hard to ignore its cry. As a parent and a grandparent nothing grabs my attention more than when my baby is crying. I can't sleep. I can't watch t.v. I can't talk to someone. I have been in a  conversations with a person when a baby is crying and it is really hard to concentrate on what the person is saying.  I am looking at their lips moving but all I can really hear is the baby crying. All I want to do is help that baby so it will stop crying!
     There are times in the bible when God's children cried out and He heard them.  We are made in imago Dei, right? We are in His image. If we are like this then he is probably made us like Him. He has a hard time resisting our cries.  Good examples are: (I'll name one and then you name one) I'll take the easy one, God heard the cries of the Children of Israel coming up before Him. I wonder if he was in a conversation with an angle and had to break it off?  Your turn. Yes you can use individuals, like Hagar. She had to leave her baby Ishmael to die in the desert. But God heard her cries and saved them both. Alright another please, I gave you that one. Yes great example.  Hanah crying out because she was barren and her sister-wife, as they are called on Big Love, was making fun of her. Eli thought she was drunk because she was making such a scene. I know you have more but we have made my point. Thanks.
      Crying out to God is a major point of the Old Testament, and I think it is in a walk with God. Nearly a third of the Psalms are laments, fourty-four Psalms (Stevens). That is a lot of crying out and lamenting. Why are there so many Psalms of Lament and examples of people crying out to God?
      I think, like the baby, God put something in the ears of parents that is like His ears. They can not look away when the baby is in need and crying desperately for help. When I read the passages in Psalms,  the cry from the psalmist  is coupled with the request for God to hear the cry. A good word study might be to see how many times the word "cry" is followed by the word "hear".  The cry of despair carries in its vibrations the effectiveness desired by the perpetrator to God's ears.

On the farm w/ my bro. & cuzs

     It reminds me of being on my uncle's farm where I used to go work during the summer when I was a boy. He raised hogs that are similar but not exactly like pigs. There is one thing they have in common. When one would get caught in a fence, he squeels with amazing ear-piercing penetration. We used to ride those hogs when they would come up to the feed wagon. We would jump on their backs and they would head straight for the fence. Of course we would fall off into the mud long before the hog went through the hole in the fence. Some would get stuck in the fence. When they did,  they would started hollering and we would take off. We knew Uncle Sid would be coming and you didn't want to be caught riding his hogs. But you could hear that hog all over the farm. It didn't matter where Uncle Sid was we knew he could hear that hog 'hollarin'. Well, I know we are not hogs, at least most of us. But I know when I have myself caught in a rough spot I can start hollering or as a Biblical expert might call it, lamenting.
       It really is a good place to be, because I know when I reach that point, like Hagar, or the Children of Israel, or Hannah, in my distress I cry out and the Lord will hear me. It  reaches His ears. Like a good father, actually the best, He will answer our cries.
      There have been times when I have prayed and prayed and have received nothing. The heavens seemed as a bowl of brass. But when I am finally where God wants me, caught in that fence and my cries come from a place of real helplessness and need, he answers me and delivers me from the mire. Psalm 69 is a great lament that starts off with a cry and ends with deliverance.  This is not the exception but the rule for songs of lament. God seems to answer speedily when we are finally in that place of seeking Him only for the answer.
     Twelve years she sought medical help, but in one despairing moment, in desperation she made a cry only God could hear and she touched Him. She touched Him and he made her whole (Matt.9:20-22 KJV).

     Post thought. What if a third of our song books in our churches were laments. We could come to church and sing those laments maybe a third of the time, I wonder if we would be met more by God?
One word in Psalms 54 for lament or "cry out" is  Hama, cry aloud, mourn, rage, roar,make noise, tumult; be clamorous, disquieted. Our quiet Sunday morning services may not be the same. 

  Reference: John Robert Stevens: The Effectiveness of Despair.

A Deeper Salvation

     Sunday our pastor, Gary Hargrave,  talked to us about salvation. Well,  it was an expanded explanation of salvation.  He read from Romans 8 and discussed the ministry of condemnation that belongs, not to the saints but to Satan. You can only truly minister what you are. Satan is a liar and an accuser (Rev.12:10). He tries to pass on to us his judgment by getting us to believe his lies. These would not be lies if it weren't for the fact that Christ delivered us. Our salvation involves the transferring of our sin to Christ who bore all our sins, even before we were born! (2 Cor.5:21).

Self-Condemnation (that's me in the blue)

       One aspect that is very important about our salvation, our pastor reminded us, is about condemnation. Paul tells us therefore there is NOW no condemnation (Ro.8:1) for those in Christ Jesus. I am glad he pointed that out because I can get condemned about a lot of things. I can get condemned over forgetting what a great salvation we have.  Because if you are like me, sometimes I forget about that wonder and power of what Christ did on the cross. He did it for the whole world and just as important He did it for me (after all it really is about me:). What an awesome fact that we all who have experienced this salvation never get tired of hearing and  being reminded about its wonder and transport.  Satan would love for us to forget about that and accept his condemnation.
        The other day we had our grandson over for lunch and swimming. His parents came too. After swimming my wife played dominoes with little Joshie. The game  turned into setting up winding rows of dominoes and then watching them knock each other down. That is always fun! (A secret is when you get a big long row set up take two or three out of different places so if an anxious little boy gets clumsy it won't knock down the whole bunch.) But condemnation works likes those dominoes for me. If I am feeling condemned then in my mind I start passing it along from one thing to another until all my love dominoes are down. It can even spill over onto my family. How I feel about myself colors how I see and feel about others. If I am believing God's love for me, I am in love with the world. But if I feel condemned, therefore not believing God's love,  then I often become critical of others. Condemnation can begin with the slightest nudge and end up affecting us and our loved ones right down the line. Sin is transferrable.
       The great news is that salvation and righteousness is transferrable too.  That is what Christ did on the cross.  It is a spiritual principle. It makes the Cross work for us. Our sin was transferred to Christ.
        Satan knows this spiritual principle. He uses it to escape his judgment. Gary pointed out that he, the  "accuser of the brethern"(KJV), uses this principle to pass on unbelief and judgment onto us. This is where the condemnation starts. This is known as spiritual warfare. Wow! By the way, the Greek word for condemnation is kata◊krima. If you look closely at the word it contains two Greek words. kata which means "according to" and  krinvw which means judgment. Put them together and we get "according to judgment".  So when we are feeling condemned we are feeling the judgment according to God, but for whom? Are we under judgment?
        If we believe in Christ we are not under condemnation (judgment), so it can't be ours. Who is under Judgment?  It is Old spilt hoof.
       I took a moment to re-read John 3:16-19. That beautiful passage is about God's love and our salvation. But it is also about condemnation. "God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world but that the world through him might be saved! He that believes not is condemned already..."(3:18 KJV).
      Probably the thing that hit me the hardest is the point our pastor made about not believing in Jesus at any point is denying the blood and sacrifice of Christ. Now don't get condemned. But that is the point, we do receive condemnation. Who can deliver us from this revolting development? This is the exact spot that brought Paul in Romans 7:25 to exclaim "Thanks be to God"(NIV).

       So when that overpowering evidence of my failure is pointed out so distinctly to me by myself, anyone else or the main player, Satan, I can reject it as not belonging to me. What about all that failure? It belongs to Christ and his blood. I am free.  Thanks be to God. I do not have to play the cards dealt to me. I am not stuck with the hand the house (this world) has given me. Christ has set me free from sin and death! It's all Aces baby, read them and rejoice.
For a better interpretation of this sermon listen to the original, yourself! Salvation, Condemnation and Spiritual Warfare.

Neptune's Passage -

        My family and I were having coffee this am out by our pool. We have two yucca trees which bloom about this time every year. They are beautiful white blooms that stand silhouetted against a clear azul sky. I mentioned that I always associated their blooming with the beginning of school like the Jacaranda's purple blossoms during the season when school winds down to a close. The mechanics of the blooming I reasoned were the slight changing of weather in Southern California. If you live here long enough you can recognize fall and spring by the slight variations of weather and that certain feeling that you have from nature or from nurture (I never figured out which). I am not sure what inside of me is telling me that a change is happening but I can feel it in the air.
         While we all sipped our coffee and ruminated on this thought, my son mentioned that Neptune was nearing its first year's journey around the solar system's helios since it was predicted in 1846. It takes about 165 YEARS (earth years) to cycle around the sun. Our family has a way of extrapolating any subject to its absurd. So in keeping, my son continued  that you could be born on the planet of the sea god and live your life in winter and spring, and possibly see summer. After a pause to let that sad thought settle, he furthered, or worse you could be born in fall and live only through winter, dying without ever seeing spring or summer! That saddest of all thoughts rebounded causing me immediately to be grateful for our earth and the wonderful rhythms of its seasons. I was so thankful we get to see them year in and year out.  These seasons and their blossoms express a quiet deep constance of God. They are an expression of Him.
       The seasons of life are important. The author of Ecclesiastes tells us that;
"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven". Are these appointed times? The writer uses two Hebrew words for time. One is said to be more general, like a season N¡Dm◊z. The other is more specific like "right now", t¶Eo. The latter is the one he uses when pointing out all the specifics of cycles that people go through. "A time to be born, a t¶Eo to die...."
      But how do we know these times? We may know the season for birth, but do we know it for death?  I may even know when my tree is going to bloom. But if I knew what caused it, I would feel more, well, wise. Aren't we to know?  Is it all to do with the sun? Does the plant know to bloom by the sun's position? Or is it temperature change, or barometric change or moisture content?  How does the flower know to bloom? Just or more importantly do we have seasons of blooming? If yes, then I really want to know what triggers our seasons of blooming in God.
        Are they dependent on our efforts? I know you think I have an answer, but the answer I had was thrown off this year. Summer this year was cool and overcast. It started to warm up in the middle of August. Usually this time of year it starts to cool down from a very hot summer. So my theory of temperature change was busted.
       I have a more personal example. I have just finished a "season" of classes about preaching, called homiletics. We had two practicums that accompanied the course in which I composed 6 sermons and listened to 40 others. It was an awesome time of expanding my understanding of "preaching" and its power in the Protestant tradition. When I finished my last sermon it was my last class at the school and it ended a five year cycle for me. The same week I was cleaning out some old junk in our attic and found the first sermon I ever preached in the bulletin announcing the revival  at which I was speaking. Inside the bulletin was the note card with my sermon outline on it! The year was 1968. I was 19. The next day I found a cache of sermons that were my father's going back to the days when he was a chaplain in WWII. The notes and manuscripts were in "War Department" brown envelopes!  I spent a couple of hours pouring over those sermons. My dad filed all his sermons and used them periodically through the years. Some were typed, some were in my dad's handwriting. Equally as fun was the paper he used for some of his notes. They were bulletins from old churches, note cards, and one had a ballot with deacon candidates' names on it. Most I knew from my youth. It was a very precious time.
        Obviously, this is a time for me. Was this ordained? Predestined? Or just a coincidence? Were the tumblers waitng for the right combination to fall into place? Is it time for me to sermonize? Well again I re-read Ecclesiastes and this verse hit me, "He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end"(NIV).  No man can fathom what God has done.  That is the beauty of it all. Mankind would want answers and explanations. I want answers!  But in the end, it is best if we just sit back and let God show us His marvelous works. MÊ`DlDv…wryI;b JKRl™Rm dYˆw∂;d_NR;b tRl∞RhOq ‹yérVbî;d "The words of the preacher, son of David, king of Jerusalem" (Eccl. 1:1).

"Did you say this from yourself...?"

     The title of today's blog is from a conversation Pilate was having with Jesus. Pilate wanted to know, probably out of curiosity as much as political inquisition,  if Jesus was the "King of the Jews". Of course in those days there was only one king and that was Caesar. But not to stray away from the point, Pilate did not have any idea who Jesus was. Jesus with piercing acuity put his finger right on the topic of this blog. Jesus asked "Is this something you knew yourself or did somebody else tell you?"(John 18:34) The hearsay, he/she said, they told me, I'm just repeating it, good old gossip. Is this your experience Pilate? Pilate was not interested in the truth. He confessed he didn't know the truth. If he had been open to the truth He was standing right in front of him. Lack of revelation can lead us to make wrong judgements.
      The lack of revelation often leads to the invention of lies. Peter not knowing that Christ was SUPPOSE to die, voiced his infamous "God forbid" statement that almost got his name changed to "Satan". Try building a church on that name. Well I guess some have. Anyway, lack of revelation often leads us down the wrong direction. One thing you have to say about doubting Thomas, who has borne that identity for many, many years, probably unjustly, is that he demanded an experience. He was not going to base the rest of his life on hearsay. Experience often brings about solid revelation and change. In fact Christianity is experientially based in faith.  Does that mean that I have to experience it before I believe? Not usually. Usually it is that we have faith and the experience follows. The one hundred and twenty had faith to wait in the upper room also one might argue that Thomas was in that upper room too when he had his experience. But this is not about Thomas, or Satan, I mean Peter, but about you and me. Is our faith based on what others are saying? On something that we know is good because our social group thinks it is? Or more scary, it is true because our church group thinks it is. There is a good way to tell. If we are changing then the Lord is revealing Himself to us.

      The early Christian had no liturgy to recite, no apostle's creed, no liturgical doctrine that warmed their hearts with inclusion and acceptance. They had to experience it. It is what John talked about in first John. "That which we have seen and heard, and touched with our hands concerning the word of life, we proclaim to you". It was a physical experience. One they could never fully forget. But there is a more important reason for having a revelation of the Lord than a good memory. It is because through revelation we are changed.
     In his booklet Revelation, Precipitates Change, author/preacher J.R. Stevens said, "Change is a by-product of revelation. To whatever extent God reveals Himself to you, to that extent you will change". We are not changed by hearsay,  dead liturgy (not that liturgy is dead, but it can be) or meaningful social groups, we are changed by beholding Him. Again in 1st John chapter 3 the evangelists said, "It does not appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like Him: for we shall see him as He is." Is the Lord appearing to us in His word, or while we worship, or at work, or loving one another? The litmus test; Are we changing?

Preaching the Lectionary, Proper 17 (continued)

Continued from, well, before.

      It is interesting to look at old movies, maybe not that old, five or ten years, and it is amazing how fast the famous actors of a few years ago are gone. And those of fifty years ago are completely forgotten. Fame is short lived and glory is fleeting.
      Humility is a fundamental principle or law in the Christian life, and yet it can be fleeting too. It is an "honor" that is bestowed by someone else. If you think you have achieved humility it has probably fled from you.
      Even though humility can be as a vapor it can also be an attitude from God that brings recognition and permanence. Moses, the Bible says, was the most humble man of the Old Testament. The stability and strength in which he walked before God, remained with him a lifetime. Some call him the father of the nation of Israel.
      Humility is important since it involves authority. Paul tells us that because Christ humbled himself he was give a name above every name in heaven and on earth. This may be Jesus' concern for the Pharisees since they were the ones in authority in Israel and did not seem to know this principle. It is disturbing that the Pharisees seemed unaware of the connection between what they were doing and what the scriptures tell them to do. When reading the story it seems obvious to us, but we must stop and ask our selves, “do we ever act like they do?” Should we check ourselves before going to a festival, party, dinner or social gathering? There may be those there that the Lord would like to honor. It may even be someone who we think is not honorable. We do not always know what someone might need or what someone has done, especially if they are humble about their experience.
      During some of the State of the Union addresses the presidents have asked people to sit in specific seats that were visible to all. The president would then point them out and honor them for something they have done. Wouldn't it be embarrassing and awkward if someone else got to those seats first?
      Could this thinking happen to us? I am going to describe 3 events where seating may be important. Be honest and see what your response would be.
1. Let us say that you are invited to a wedding and the reception of a close friend. At the reception, do you look at the seating arrangement to see who’s sitting next to you? Ever disappointed? Have you ever changed the assignments? (Friends episode)
2. Your boss offers you tickets to see the Lakers play. There are two sets of tickets, one set is courtside, the other set is 15 rows back. You can choose either set. What is your choice?
3. A close associate of yours invites your favorite author to speak at a luncheon. You are invited too. There is open seating, you enter the dinning room ahead of everyone else, where do you sit?
       These situations may not be tempting to you because you already have chosen to be humble. Maybe you go to a movie and pick the worse seat. Two rows back from the big screen. Or maybe on a really crowded airplane you choose the seat between the two biggest guys. You pick the seat nobody else wants, right between two National League football players. You squeeze in between so you can fulfill this law of humility.
        This is another way we have trouble interpreting the wisdom scriptures. We want to fulfill God's word with such zeal that we might not have any wisdom in how we apply it. Wisdom is defined as "knowledge of what is true or right coupled with just judgment as to action."[dictionary] The just judgment in Jesus’ parable is that the lord of the banquet would tell you where to sit. That is where our faith comes in to play. As we position our hearts before the lord in all humility, we don't focus on producing humility as it will flee too quickly when gazed upon, but we look to our Lord who will help us find the exact seat he has for us. True humility is doing the will of God. Being who God wants us to be, no matter where he places us, is the answer. If we all have this attitude then all the seats are the same.
        Looking to man is not the answer either. We do not have to depend on men or on "the kindness of strangers". We are not playing musical chairs, either. It is not all by chance or luck or quickness that when the music stops you are in the right spot or can quickly get to the chair. Our lives are ordered when we submit ourselves to the Lord in humility. He will not waste one minute of our lives.
      It is interesting to look one more time at the Luke scripture concerning the dinner. After Jesus had explained to the other guests their need for humility, he talked to the host of the dinner. Jesus rebukes the host for inviting his friends, neighbors and acquaintances. Those who Jesus said could "repay you". These were not the ones to invite. He suggested that he give a feast in which he invited the halt, lame and the poor to eat at his table, those who could not pay him back. This was an interesting request. I have to say, I have yet to give a party where all the guests were poor, lame, blind and homeless. But Jesus suggested this to the host. His reasoning was that the host would be repaid, but it would come during the eschaton. I don't know if Jesus was suggesting that the host was wasting his time with this group of "friends".

       Is Christ asking us to have people such as this as our dinner and party guest? I think  he was serious. But beyond that difficult request is the hope that everyone at the dinner (the Shabbat) would conduct himself or herself in a way that addresses the kingdom of God. The Pharisees believed in the coming day of the resurrection of the righteous. Jesus wanted them to live like there is a tomorrow, the eschaton,  to be responsible to. Christ’s interpretation and application of the scriptures maintain this tension of “already but not yet". He knew the Kingdom of Heaven had come in some measure with his appearance and that men should be living in that dictate. To live otherwise was to live in a lesser day with lesser hope and lesser fulfillment. Jesus was not being cynical or mean spirited in his explanation and application these scriptures. He was encouraging every man to press into the age he was representing to them. The opportunity for them to receive the Kingdom of God, that had come near to them, was real.
     It is the same with us. He offers us to live in this present age and still be a part of the age to come. We are called to apply the scriptures in this present age with Kingdom intent. "We are heaven's colony. We are citizens of the Kingdom. We live by a different set of rules that those around us" (Stevens). Jesus’ reasoning was one of hope and deliverance for all of us who can in faith, humbly apply the scriptures to our lives today.

Preaching the Lectionary, Proper 17

        Wisdom literature of the Bible belongs to a small group of scriptures. These scriptures are found in narrative form like the book of Job, or in poetic form like the books of Ecclesiastes and Proverbs. There also is "wisdom literature" scattered throughout the New Testament. We will look at one set of wisdom scriptures in the NT later on.  The wisdom scriptures are beautiful to read, and they make interesting stories, but their deeper meaning is often difficult to understand.  Many times we regard these scriptures as historical rather than seeing them as relevant to our lives.  Take for example our first scripture reading from Proverbs 25:6-7.

Proverbs 25:6-7
25:6 Do not put yourself forward in the king's presence or stand in the place of the great;
25:7 for it is better to be told, "Come up here," than to be put lower in the presence of a noble. 

        Most commentaries label this section of scriptures "Royal Etiquette" or "rules regarding court conduct". These two scriptures and others in the pericope are said to be written by Solomon concerning the behavior in his court. The commentaries usually have a short curt comment on how nobles were to act in the presence of the king. There is little or no application to the reader's life unless he or she was a noble. Some commentaries could be good history books. However, others are pastoral and relate the scriptures to life circumstances.
       Jesus related scriptures to his life and the lives of those around him. He was a walking scriptural commentary. The scriptures to him, were not just historical records or rules for court behavior, they were living applications to life’s situations.
      In the second scripture reading we see Jesus doing just that, taking Proverb 25:6, 7 and applying it to a religious/social setting. He is a dinner guest at a Shabbat. A Shabbat is a religious dinner given after sun down on Friday to signal the beginning of the Sabbath and the separation of the workweek from the day of rest. Jesus sees a situation happening where the Pharisees are maneuvering for the best seat at the dinner table. The story is found in Luke 14: 1, 7-14.

Luke 14:1, 7-14
14:1 On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the Sabbath, they were watching him closely.
14:7 When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable.
14:8 "When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host;
14:9 and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, 'Give this person your place,' and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place.
14:10 But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, 'Friend, move up higher'; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you.
14:11 For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted."
14:12 He said also to the one who had invited him, "When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid.
14:13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.
14:14 And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous." 

      Seeing the Pharisees problem at the dinner did not make Jesus critical. He did not put these Pharisees down. Jesus took God’s word and related it to their needs at that moment. In our moments of need God's word is the best answer. Using God's word Jesus offered them a way to be successful. We can succeed in human relations too, if we can move in the same way. When we see people’s shortcomings instead of being sharp and critical we can give them another way of behaving. On the other hand, if we say or do things that make others feel insignificant, we will not succeed. "Then people will respond by becoming angry and resentful, because everybody wants to be noticed and made to feel important."(Wiersbe,).
         It was the same in Jesus' day too. Like today, they had “status symbols” that helped people enhance and protect their high standing in society. If you were invited to the “right homes” and if you were seated in the “right places,” then people would know how important you really were.  The emphasis was on reputation, not character. It was more important to sit in the right places than to live the right kind of life. (Does this happen in your community of believers?)

      In New Testament times, the closer you sat to the person throwing the banquet, or as in this case giving a dinner, the further up you stood on the social ladder or "spiritual ladder"  and the more attention you would receive from others. Naturally, many people rushed to the “head table” when the doors were opened because they wanted to be important, sort of like a sale day at Macy's. : )
      This behavior gives a wrong view of success. “Try not to become a man of success,” said Albert Einstein, “but try to become a man of value.”(Moncur). There are exceptions to the rule, of course, but the cream usually rises to the top. Those that are valuable people are eventually recognized and appropriately honored. Success that comes only from self-promotion is temporary, and you may be embarrassed as you are asked to move down.(Wiersbe)
      Moving down was not a problem with Jesus. He was not impressed with the pushing and shoving for the special seat. God knows who really belongs where. A lot of our struggle to be successful and get ahead is done from self-promotion and we find it hard to accomplish the things we want in life. It could be that God is resisting our work because of our attitude. James tells us that God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. The success gotten without the Lord is short lived.

To be Continued -- 

Love That Reveals God (con't)

9. God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him.
10. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.
      God knew I could not love. I proved that with that person in that situation. I needed God's love. But I can't do it myself. I need to receive God's love. That is the beautiful thing about the baby. She had no walls or conditioning or sin unrighteous whatever the label to stop God's love. She was just receiving it. She didn't have thoughts about the pastor or the way she was dressed. She was just open. And we all witnessed how she received our love. It was nothing she had done except to be born.
God knew it was hard for us to receive His love and to love so he loved us first and sent his son as the EXPRESSION of his love. He sent His son as the atoning sacrifice. Because of our sin of not being able to love, Jesus is God's expression of love for us. He can become our expression to others.
John 1:7 says "But if we walk in the light as he is in the light we have fellowship one with another and the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin or unrighteousness.
It is the application of Christ sacrifice to our relationships that brings the revealing of God and his love. That is why God sent his son that we might have this love one with another. How does this take place in relationships? It can take place many different ways. Here's a strange one.

Illustration: I was in charge of a youth group early in my ministry in another lifetime. I had these twin boys in the youth group we will call them Jim and John. They were always arguing and being negative. It was always about the dumbest things. Their cat and who did it loved the most, the best kind of car, who was the better surfer, which way the wind was blowing. etc.... ad nausium. It really ruin the atmosphere sometimes. And it irritated the kids so they began to avoid them. So I got my leadership kids together and we discussed it and decided to help them. The kids came up with the idea to start involving them more and inviting them over to their houses for dinner, go to movies, and swimming and other events. And every time they would start to argue or be negative they made them say something nice. At first it was funny and kind of a game but after a while they began to see themselves differently not just with each other but how they related in the group. It was fairly amazing. They became enjoyable to be around. By the kids accepting and fellowship and also helping the twins to change their behavior and them doing it they were able to open up to God's love. It was their receiving the love of those kids that made a difference in their life.
These kids became a community to Jim and John. In their own way they ministered God's love to the twins. And the twins received it and were changed. But it was a decision they made. They could have decided not to help but they didn't. They decided to give expression to their love.
The community of believers are the ones who receives God's love and therefore can love one another. But it is a decision we make to love. And that can be a big if.
John says in verses 11 and 12.

11/12 Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.
Love is perfected because of God's love in us. Not our own, but God's love being revealed among us. It is in our midst, if we love one another. It says that if we love one another then 1. God lives in us 2. God's love is perfected. It is all dependent on our love for one another.

Conclusion:
The community of believers is dependent on one another for the revealing of God through our love for one another. When we refuse to love or make the decision not to show love or express it, we can be missing God, and knowing God. Not only do we individually miss God but we can miss it as a community. If we are not supplying our part at the joint where we meet, we are not building up the body of Christ. Our love is not being perfected. Our knowledge of God is not being perfected. The great study of Theology and the epistemology of God is being held back. His church is being held back. The eschaton may be held back. He is coming for his bride of perfection without spot or wrinkle. So In John's words "Since God loved us we ought to love one another."




 

Love That Reveals God (con't)

7. Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; and everyone who loves is born God and knows God. 
Often after having one of these great moments with God and our community (see last blog),  I walk straight into the one member of the church I have the most trouble with. I can ignore him and walk on by, or I can stop and talk to him. Usually I am thinking of how to get out of the conversation or how hungry I am . In any event it is totally opposite of what I just experienced.
It is like I walk right out of verse seven and smack into verse 8. Did John know this? Did this happen to him?
8. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. 
Keep in mind John is addressing his "beloved". Why is he saying this? Why do we suddenly find this? It is because the purpose of this pericope is the perfection of love. Sometimes for our love to be perfected we have to see that it needs to be perfected. We're going to run into situations with members of our fellowship when love is not evident. God is not being revealed. The word for "perfected" is teteleiwme√nh which is a participle, the root actually being teleow. It means "finished" or "completed" and "perfected". So you could say God is not finished with our love yet.

John Stevens in his book Dedicated To Unity kicks it up another notch or two, by saying, "We are heaven's colony, a transplant from an age to come... a colony of the Kingdom here on earth and we live as citizens of the Kingdom. We will have to live by different rules. It is a time to love, a time of oneness in the Lord...." This love is not optional. If we are to live in God's kingdom then to know God and His kingdom we need to live by his rule of love. In short,  I don't get to choose whom I love. 

John is making a very bold statement here.

John is saying that if I ignore him, and don't love him, then I don't know God. Meaning to me that I don't know God in this connection with my brother or sister in Christ. Whoever does not love him does not know God. How important is it to love one person?  It's just one person. How important is it for me to finish or complete the love for that one person that I can't get along with?  When God is not being revealed, love is not being shown and the rest of the body is being affected. We are not individuals. We are a body of believers. Lets look at it from another perspective.

Paul tells us that in Ephesians chapter 4 verses 15 and 16.

15 But speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ,
16 from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love. 
Building up of itself in love. Building up of the body in love. How does this happen? It happens by every joint supplying.  Where the members of the body come together at the joint is where God's love is revealed. This is what gets supplied to the whole body. The proper working of each individual part causes the growth, and it comes from the joint where the members of the body meet. Our love supplies the rest of body. How does that work? If my joints are not working properly my body suffers. the limbs don't work.
It is the same with the body of Christ. When one suffers we all suffer. The expression of love needs to be working among us, between us, at the intersection of the members.
Okay what is the solution then? How do I get God revealed in these relationships? How is my love perfected? How do I get life in joints.?

John gives us the answer in verse 9 and 10.  TO BE CONTINUED.

Love That Reveals God

     Love is a major theme in Christianity. It is the primary force that drove God to send His son to earth. It is foundational to our relationship with one another and with God in the Christian community. Yes, but that's the rub isn't it. We as Christians find sometimes it is difficult to 'get along" with one another. Even though the second commandment is to love as we love ourselves. But Christians continue to have problems being one. We know we should love and that it is an integral part of our participation in God's community now and in the eschaton. An old saying reminds me of the problem."The kingdom of Heaven would be great if it weren't for the people."
       The people of God are put together to manifest this love. And it is in this love that we come to know one another but more importantly we come to know God. This is what John has said in his letter, "God is love".
     My text is found in 1 John 4: 7-12. I am reading from the New American Standard Version. In this text John uses the word "love" 14 times in six verses. It is the word, "agape", which is considered by many to the be the expression of God's selfless love.

7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
8 The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
9 By this the love of God is revealed among us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him.
10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the atonement for our sins.
11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
12 No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us. 
"God abides in us and His love is perfected among us. "
     How is God's love perfected among us?  I am not talking about  the love we have for God individually in our hearts, which God does perfect, but more the love we have between us, in our fellowship, in the community of believers. The love we share as believers. This Love that John is describing is communal in nature. "Beloved, let us love one another." The Expository Bible says "The vocative “dear friends” (lit., “beloved”) and the subjunctive force of the verb, "let us love" (Ἀγαπητοί, ἀγαπῶμεν ἀλλήλους) makes clear that the author is speaking primarily to the community itself." (side note: These three words form an Alliteration.)
    It is this love that is expressed toward our Christian family and toward one another.  God's love is found at the intersection "between members" of our fellowship not just in our hearts and minds. This is the love that needs perfecting. This focus takes from the observation and consideration of love in our minds first. It challenges the notion of the Enlightenment that the mind is judge of all things including love. The epistemology of God, love and being is moved to where the expression of the community of believers is loving. It is moved outside the individual.  John puts it this way "loving one another" is the incident and evidence of "knowing God and being "born of God".  Love is expressed and understood in this intersection and so is God!  Why? John says simply, "God is Love".
      God's love needs expression. Love needs an object to be expressed towards to be real and understood. Our expressions of love for one another should reveal God. And in revealing God we participate with Him in his love. It cannot be fulfilled or perfected in our hearts alone. We need to participate with God and our community. Loving one another with God in our community is the act and fulfillment of the expressed and incarnated God.
          How many have been to a baby dedication? I love those. Recently we had a baby dedicated to the Lord. She had been through a tough birth and the whole fellowship had been praying for her and her parents. That Sunday morning the parents brought the baby and she was all dressed up in a cute dress with one of those cute ribbons or bands around her head. And when the pastor held up the baby to the congregation, you could just feel the love rippling across the assembly. Everyone there instantly feel in love. Little kids coloring and squirming stopped and gazed, the old folks bent forward for a better look, young married couples with their arms around each other squeezed one another. Everyone, for those precious moments had their eyes fixed on the baby and they were loving her and they were so glad to see her. According to John and our text - This was a moment of "knowing" God. It was a wonderful moment where everyone seemed to be open and experiencing the love of God. It was this body, this community of believers that were expressing His love. This was God being known "among us". And in a strange way John tells us that it is at that moment that the evidence is shown of our being born of God too. That morning we were saying as a community we are born of God and know God.
         And so this is what I think John is talking about here in verse seven of our text.
7. Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; and everyone who loves is born God and knows God.
TO BE CONTINUED