July 31 - Matthew 14

Another Look at Matthew 14.13-21

Now when Jesus heard that John the Baptizer had been killed by Herod, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. 

When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick. 

When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, ‘This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.’ 

Jesus said to them, ‘They need not go away; you give them something to eat.’ 

They replied, ‘We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.’ 

And he said, ‘Bring them here to me.’ 

Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 

And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. 

And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

It’s the first part of this reading that I am struck by today.  Jesus withdrew to a deserted place.  He does this after John the Baptizer has been killed by Herod. 

In the gospel story for next week, Jesus will send the disciples off in a boat, and he will go off by himself to pray.

I am struck by Jesus’ need for alone time.

It can be so very easy to get caught up doing lots and lots of different tasks, that we don’t take time to just sit and be. Or time to reflect.

I need this reminder, so that I can do the work God asks of me.

In this reading Jesus responds with compassion.

I’ll leave you with that for today.

Let us pray:  Lord even you took time to be away from the crowds.  You took time to pray.  What did you do when you prayed?  Did you run?  Did you fish?  Did you cook?  Did you simply walk?  Alone?  Remind us that life does not always consist of checking tasks off our to-do lists.  But you desire to spend time with us.  As you do that, re-fill our lives so that we can respond with compassion to the needs of people around us.  In your name we pray.  Amen. 

July 30th - Matthew 14.13-21

Hunger - July 30th

Matthew 14.13-21

Now when Jesus heard (that John the Baptizer had been killed), he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. 

It has been 19 weeks since the people of Immanuel last gathered in person for worship.  Our last in-person worship was held on Sunday, March 15^th.  I’ve gone back in my head to that time recently, trying to recall what it was like as this pandemic captured our awareness and began to spread. At the time I had suspected we would be back in our building for Easter, or soon thereafter. None of us could have imagined that at this juncture we would still be facing a viral spread that continues to grow, affecting so many people not only in this country but around the world. 

As I read this reading I also remembered our first attempts to buy groceries for our family. Reluctant to enter into actual stores, for a while, we ordered groceries online.  We spent far too much time online trying to figure what to purchase, only to receive an email the next day or so discovering that some of what we wanted was substituted with something else. 

I remember wondering how long this situation would last.  I remember wondering, with four adults all who have food sensitivities and allergies, how we might obtain the right food and enough food for us.  Fortunately the supply chains have since recovered, and we feel blessed not to have struggled with hunger during these weeks.

The people of Jesus’ time struggled with hunger, though. It was a constant reality for many of them. This may be why Matthew, Mark, Luke and John remember Jesus as having provided food for hungry people. One of those memories is preserved in this week’s Gospel lesson. Matthew tells us a great crowd — some 5,000 men (10,000 people in total? 15,000?) — is gathered with Jesus in the wilderness. He has traveled there for some alone time, but arriving in that place he is filled with compassion for them and begins to cure their sick.

As evening draws near, Jesus’ disciples point out that it is getting late and the people are getting hungry. They suggest Jesus might send the people away so they can buy food (which in itself would have been a miracle — that 10-15,000 people could find food in those “nearby towns”). He suggests they feed the crowd. They are skeptical, having come up with just a bit of food. With a nod towards the heavens, and a prayerful blessing, 5 loaves and 2 fish feed upwards of 10,000 people, and the table scraps amount to twelve full baskets.

Biblical scholars have long debated how this happened. Did the generosity of a few (the ones with five loaves and two fish) inspire others to share from their supplies? Did the love and blessing of Jesus multiply those seven items until they were enough for all? These questions are unanswerable, of course, but one truth is clear: Jesus is one who cares deeply about the needs of this gathered people, healing their sick, and feeding their hunger. He cares about them as he cares about all of God’s people, including us.

In our time of need, whether it has to do with hunger, sickness, loneliness, loss, grief, unemployment, underemployment, fear of the future… Jesus is with us. He is our source of strength and peace. Just as he was 2,000 years ago, he is for us today. Let us entrust our futures to him, and work with him to heal the hurts and meet the needs of this world.

And so we pray.  Lord God, guide my feet and use my hands for your work in the world.  Amen. 

July 29 - Romans 9.1-5

Wednesday, July 29th

I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience confirms it by the Holy Spirit— I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my own people, my kindred according to the flesh. They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh, comes the Messiah, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.

My immediate reaction to reading these words is that Paul is defensive.  It’s like someone has accused him of fake news and he replies:  “I am not lying!  My conscience confirms it!”

I mentioned last week that I often have a hard time understanding Paul’s writings.  Last week’s reading was an exception.  This week we are back to deep readings from Paul.  A little Bible study for you.  Chapters 9-11 of Romans Paul is dealing with the question:  What does Jesus’ death and resurrection mean for Jewish people who do not embrace Jesus as the Christ? 

1.   Paul wrote these words about 30 years after Jesus’ death and resurrection.  By this point it was becoming clear that the Christian gospel would not receive a positive response from the majority of the Jewish people who heard it. 

2.   Paul and other Christians at that time – most of whom had converted from Judaism – were greatly troubled by that fact.  It was not a matter of them saying:  “Good riddance to those of you who don’t believe as I do.”

 3.  The driving question was:  What is God up to? 

And so with these three main questions, Paul writes three chapters of Romans to probe the question of where things stand between the Jewish people and God.  It’s heavy reading. 

These few verses we have today don’t go into much depth here in answering these questions.  What they do for us is remind us that God did not turn his back on the promises God made first with the Jewish people.  The Jewish people have possessed and continue to possess God’s favor because God gave it to them.  The Israelites are who they are because of God’s free choice. 

As Paul wrote:  “To them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs.”

I don’t know how the Lutheran church in Germany – during the time of Hitler – didn’t acknowledge these words.  You cannot be anti-Semitic and read these words from Romans 9 as a word from God.  It amazes me that we did that. 

 Sometimes the Christian church today says that we are the “new Israel.”  We can’t really do that.  Paul never says that God does away with Israel.  He does say that God grafts us in – or weaves us in, and we share the root of God’s gracious faithfulness. 

And so we pray.  Lord God, you chose the Jewish people as a means to bless the world.  We are blessed by you grafting us into your family, and adopting us, allowing us to participate in work in the world, to bless others.  Help us to do so faithfully.  In your name we pray.  Amen. 

July 28 - Psalm 145

Psalm 145.8-9, 14-21

The Lord is gracious and merciful,
   slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
The Lord is good to all,
   and his compassion is over all that he has made.

The Lord is faithful in all his words,
   and gracious in all his deeds.
The Lord upholds all who are falling,
   and raises up all who are bowed down.
The eyes of all look to you,
   and you give them their food in due season.
You open your hand,
   satisfying the desire of every living thing.
The Lord is just in all his ways,
   and kind in all his doings.
The Lord is near to all who call on him,
   to all who call on him in truth.
He fulfils the desire of all who fear him;
   he also hears their cry, and saves them.
The Lord watches over all who love him,
   but all the wicked he will destroy.

My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,
   and all flesh will bless his holy name for ever and ever.

I have a hard time reading that first verse without wanting to sing it.  It’s part of our worship liturgy – sung just before the gospel reading during the season of Lent. 

It is also a verse that pretty summarizes the Hebrew Scriptures – or what we call the Old Testament.  The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.  This is a verse that is also found in Exodus, when Moses receives the tablets of stone from God, we hear these same words (Exodus 34.6-7).

Psalm 145 as a whole has a special place in Judaism.  It is a summary of their entire faith.  And it shapes many of their prayers.  This psalm appears in Jewish prayer books more so than any other psalm. 

It can be easy for us to glide over this psalm rather quickly.  And yet I think it is one we should take note of.  I think of Jesus, sitting on the lap of his mother as she prayed this psalm.  I think the words of this psalm probably helped to shape him as he grew up. 

Just a couple things to note here.  One, notice the universality of the psalm.  “The Lord upholds all who are falling…all who are bowed down…the eyes of all….you satisfy the desire of every living creature…near to all who call on him…all who fear him….all who love him.

A mistake we can easily make is that the blessings of God are only for us.  Or me.  Or certain people.  God chooses a people – in our case God chooses the church – so that we can be a blessing to others. 

So today I invite you to think about how God is at work in the life of the church, making a difference in this world. What is God up to through the church to bless others?

 Let’s pray: Loving God, you are faithful in your promises and tender in your compassion.  Listen to your hymn of joy, and continue to satisfy the needs of every living thing, that all your creatures may bless your name, O God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, both now and forever.  Amen. 

A promise

July 24 - Matthew 13.44-52

‘The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

‘Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.

‘Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

‘Have you understood all this?’ They answered, ‘Yes.’ And he said to them, ‘Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.’

Have you understood all of this? Jesus asks.  They answered:  “Yes.” 

I have to admit that I am a bit jealous of the disciples here, because I certainly do not understand all of these parables.  And maybe I’m just a little bit suspicious to if they really do understand, because with all the other parables they have asked for an explanation.  But I digress. 

5 parables on the kingdom of heaven.  What do you think the kingdom of heaven is like?  It reminds me of something that has gone around the internet a few times.

• GOD is like Coke...He’s the real thing.
• GOD is like General Electric...He brings things to life.
• GOD is like Bayer Aspirin...He works wonders.
• GOD is like Hallmark Cards...He cares enough to send the very best.
• GOD is like Tide...He gets the stains out that others leave behind.
• GOD is like Dial Soap...Aren’t you glad you know him? Don’t you wish everyone did?
• GOD is like Scotch Tape... You can’t see him, but you know he’s there.

What is the kingdom of heaven like?

A massive shrub that grows from a seemingly insignificant seed?

Like the most beautiful, precious pearl you’ve ever seen?

Like finding a hidden treasure?

Like the miracle of turning ground grain into bread by adding a few tiny grains of yeast?

Or like a bulging net of floppy fish of every kind that God has gathered together?

No matter, there is something here that seems just a little off to me.  Rushing out to buy a field because you know it is worth far more than the seller is aware, while perhaps being shrewd, is at least dubious, if not dishonest. 

There is a certain joyfulness in the one who sells all to buy a pearl, although few people around would have understood his actions.  It seems a little crazy, unless you are not satisfied with what you have. 

And the fish – how do I make sure I’m put into the good basket and not thrown out with the bad?

I don’t know what to do with my questions today.  Other than live with them.  Maybe the good news that I find here is that Jesus takes everyday things:  mustard seeds, yeast, a pearl, a field, some fish; and he sees in each of those things something no one else does. 

Faith is like that.  Faith is not so much about knowing how many books are in the Bible; what the longest chapter in the Bible is; even where to find the book of Amos, or who the Apostle Paul is.  Faith is about believing and trusting a promise.  It’s not about knowledge, it’s about trust.  The kind of trust that leads you to act and speak differently. 

I wonder what Jesus would have said if, when he asked the question: Do you understand all of this?  They would have said:  Not at all.

I don’t know.  But I’d like to think he’d say:  That’s alright.  Simply trust the promise that I am with you. 

Let’s pray: God of light and love, shine your face in all the dark places in your world; places that need our attention and our love.  Amen. 

The Kingdom of Heaven is like....

July 23 - Matthew 13.31-33

Jesus put before them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.’  

Jesus told them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.’

We are in the midst of hearing parables from Matthew’s gospel.  We had the parable of the sower who goes out and scatters seed everywhere – rocky ground, path, among the thorns, and on good soil.  Last week we heard the parable of the enemy who entered the farmer’s field and planted weeds alongside the wheat.  This week we have five parables that Matthew tells us describe the kingdom of heaven.  Today we get two of those parables.

Mustard seeds.  I have a jar of mustard seeds in my office.  They are fairly small, but they are not the smallest of all seeds.  But they are small. 

I don’t have any yeast around here.  Since the pandemic started yeast has been hard to come by.  You know that without yeast your bread will not rise.  And it doesn’t take a lot of yeast to make the bread rise. 

Both mustard seeds and yeast will lead to something much larger.

This COVID 19 pandemic has shown us how something so small that it is invisible to the eye can grow rapidly and exponentially into a destructive force that consumes all our attention and resources – as individuals, communities, nations, and as a world. 

Jesus offers a counter image to the destructive image of COVID 19.  The kingdom of heaven emerges from something quite small, and it grows exponentially, offering us something that is life-sustaining rather than life taking. 

The mustard seed.  The next mention of a mustard seed comes in chapter 17 when Jesus tells the disciples that if they have the faith of a mustard seed it can move mountains.  What is small can make an impact. 

Yeast transforms flour.  The kingdom of heaven is like that.  God’s kingdom empowers us to live as God’s people. We make a difference.   

This morning I invite you to think about your own life, and what small action another person has done, that has grown into something large in your life.  We all have mustard seed experiences in our lives – where something that seems small – grows into something large because of something someone says or does. Or maybe it is a way that God has acted that has surprised you recently. 

And so we pray:  O God, sometimes I think I know so clearly where you are at work.  I have it all figured out, and then you surprise me and open my eyes to a new thing, a new growth, and new way you are at work.  Thank you.  Amen. 

Sigh - Romans 8

Romans 8.26-39

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family. And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified.

What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written,

‘For your sake we are being killed all day long;
   we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.’
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I often have a hard time making a connection with Paul’s writings.  This one I understand fairly well and one that connects with me.  I think it is one of the most pastoral and moving texts in all of Scripture.  These words are among the most familiar and comforting words we have from Paul. 

I’m drawn today to the first few verses:  We do not know how to pray as we ought.”  What an understatement!  I don’t know how many times I have said – I don’t even know what to pray for or pray about.  There are times when it seems to me that the prayers I utter are stopped by the ceiling in the room I am in.   And then there are times too when I don’t even feel like praying. 

 It’s times such as these that I take such comfort in these words from Paul.  Because he goes on:  “The Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God who searches the heart knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes according to the will of God.” 

 Sigh.  These past four months – or is it 5 months – I have found myself sighing quite a bit.  When I read these verses I am reminded that those sighs are actually prayers.  It is the Spirit of God interceding for me.  That is so encouraging to me as a pastor, a husband, a dad – a guy who sighs a lot. 

 And just a word about verse 28:  “We know that all things work together for good, for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.”  Sometimes people like to cite this verse thinking that God is orchestrating everything in your life so you have a happy ending and everything goes swimmingly well.  I don’t look at this verse in this manner. 

 The way I read this verse is more in terms of the assurance of a future with God; how what is happening now cannot unravel the relationship with God and others in the body of Christ.  And, thinking about how Joseph’s brothers throw him into a pit and sell him into slavery – and how he ends up viewing those events as God taking something evil and turning it to good – I see this verse in a similar way.  That God can use bad things that happen and bring about some measure of good from them.  Not that God is using every little circumstance and happening in my life to make sure that my life is good or fun.  If that makes sense.

 And so we pray:  When we sigh, Lord God, it is your Spirit interceding for us.  Even when we don’t know what to ask; when we don’t know how to pray, you intercede for us.  What can we say but thank you.  Thank you for being a God who loves us so deeply, that even when we don’t know what to say, you know our needs.  It is in your name that we pray.  Amen.