Easter continues!

I know its almost two weeks ago now but my thoughts are still focused on Easter. My grasp of what our Saviour did for me has somehow been expanded this year. Now, don't misunderstand. It is not like I didn't understand before what the impact of His crucifixion and resurrection is on my life. But there is a new level of gratitude on my part, a new desire to meditate on that impact. I found searching for my contribution to Rebecca's Poetry of the Cross each day during Holy Week particularly satisfying. I read the poetry at other blogs with special interest. And I must confess, that as Easter Sunday drew to a close I could only think to myself "That's it? Its over?" So I was grateful to find the link to RevEd at Hiraeth. I was delighted to sing Christ the Lord is Risen Today this past Lord's Day at our worship service. And I was pleased by Rosemary's comment on my post of that hymn that her pastor also mentioned the weekly celebration of the resurrection of Christ. Its not over! I don't have to give up contemplating Easter! In fact, I need to remain focused on the finished work of Christ each and every day of my life if I am going to love the Lord my God with all my heart and all my soul and with all my mind (Matthew 22:37-38).

Living Stones

We are part of a very small church that is about to become a mission work of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. We do not have a regular pastor yet but on Sunday, our sermon was delivered by the Rev. Ross W. Graham, General Secretary for the Committee on Home Missions and Church Extension of the OPC. The Scripture that he used was 1 Peter 2:1-10.

1Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. 2Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.

4As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him— 5you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6For in Scripture it says:
"See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
will never be put to shame." 7Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,
"The stone the builders rejected
has become the capstone, 8and,
"A stone that causes men to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall." They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.

9But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

His message for our little church, at the very beginning of construction, gave me much to think about. Rev. Graham began by speaking of the way in which this passage brings us back to Peter's confession of Jesus as "the Christ, the Son of the living God" in Matthew 16:16 and Jesus's response in the verses that follow, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it." He reminded us that "this rock" refers to the gospel of faith in Jesus Christ. From there, we turned to the apparent contradiction of the term "living stone." He pointed out that stones do not generally have life as we think of it but the manner in which this particular Stone does is explained in verses 6-8. He used the familiar explanation of the way a cornerstone determines the manner in which the whole building takes shape and reminded us of verse 5, that we also, each one of us, are living stones that God is using in His construction business! Yes, God is in the business of building His church and he is chipping away at each one of us, making us useful in His building project. Not only that, not only is He preparing each one presently in our tiny congregation, He is preparing others to join with us, slowly chiseling each of us, believers and even those who are presently unbelievers, according to His will. And since we are living stones, that chipping and chiseling often hurts! Those who view the construction site without a long-term (eternal) view often can miss out on seeing its ultimate form and purpose, instead just gaining an impression of a mess. That would be not only "outsiders" but even many of us, the impatient ones who often want things NOW. Consistent with that long-term view, as any homeowner knows, the projects are never really finished. As soon as one area is remodeled, it reveals that the next room is worn and shabby. Or sometimes we think that just a little repair needs to be done, something like replacing the kitchen sink faucet which was the plan at the cottage this past weekend, but once started, it becomes apparent that the job is going to involve a lot more than you thought. Like taking up the kitchen sink to reseal it to the counter-top. It is the same with God's ongoing church building. As soon as one aspect is rebuilt, another needs attention. And as Rev. Graham said, not only are we God's building blocks, the living stones, we are also His tools. We are the ones that are doing the work under His direction.

At this point in our church development, this message was one of excitement, yes, but also one of sobering reality. Building projects are inherently exhilarating but they also involve hard work and commitment for the long haul. They involve bone aching fatigue and sometimes even pain. But if we keep our eyes on the end result, the reason for the work, looking back sometimes at what God has accomplished through us and in us, and rely on Him for the strength to keep going, it is humbling and overwhelming! If we focus on verses 9 and 10 of this passage, how can we be discouraged?

Lessons Learned....Again

Last week's study was on Matthew 18 and, again, humility was the jumping off point for me. But it didn't end there! In fact, I am still processing all that I did learn. Let me correct that...am learning. In Matthew 18, Jesus turns His focus to the church and the relationships we have with other believers in that context. I wanted to narrow my focus down to just a few verses in which to explain my thoughts but in truth, the whole chapter is so interrelated. The chapter opens with the disciples wondering about who among them is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Now don't they sound like a bunch of little kids trying to curry favor with an exasperated parent? And sure enough, Jesus responds to this group of grown men in verses 3 and 4, "I tell you the truth, unless you become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of God. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." And there it is. That "h" word again.

In the next five verses, Jesus proceeds to warn the disciples (and us) of the consequences of causing one of these children to stumble. Aha! Each one of these children is of the utmost importance to our Lord. And this conclusion is reinforced by the parable of the lost sheep, told in verses 10 to 14. What a contrast! We are to humble ourselves but remember the importance of each individual to God.

Now, I ask myself with tongue in cheek, could it be any coincidence that Jesus changes the subject to reconciliation with a brother (or sister) who has offended you? He does it right after humbling my heart and causing me to see the value of each individual in the body. Did you notice the change in subject from "you" to "me?" This is beginning to become very personal. And next come verses 19 and 20. "Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there I am with them." That sounds a lot like unity to me. The unity of believers in the church through Christ. And how can there be unity within the body if two people are at odds with each other?

At this point, Peter asks Jesus how many times he must forgive his brother who sins against him throwing out the number seven as a generous one since the Jews at that time were to forgive another three times.

From here, we move on to the parable of the unmerciful servant. I am going to let you read the text for yourselves but for me, the subject is again humility. How can a true servant of God recognize his own debt to our Lord and the overwhelming forgiveness received and turn around and refuse to forgive someone else? If my humility, my recognition of my need of forgiveness is genuine in the face of that debt, how dare I refuse to forgive a brother or sister for some perceived affront or shortcoming? But the forgiven servant in the parable does just that. He refuses to forgive his fellow servant a much smaller debt. Here I really must quote verses 34 and 35. "In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."

My summation of what I am learning from this chapter follows, and I must tell you that I had reason to implement these lessons this week. God is teaching me to humble myself in the face of my neediness and what has been done for me by my Saviour, to forgive my brother or sister from my heart not only because of the value with which God views each one of them but also because of the value he places on the unity of the body of Christ. He is teaching me that failing to reconcile with a brother or sister, asking for that individual's forgiveness as well, can cause a stumbling block for either one of us. And it dishonors Christ by causing a disruption of the unity within the body. It hurts the whole body. For myself, I experienced just a bit of that "torture" mentioned in verse 34 until I began to recognize my own need of forgiveness, both from God and my brother, and pass on at least a fragment of the forgiveness that I owe to Him. Now, God please help me to remember these lessons a little longer than the last time I learned them.

How About This Fish Story!

Still thinking about humility, I have been considering Matthew 17:24-28 the last few days. Here's the passage:

24After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax came to Peter and asked, "Doesn't your teacher pay the temple tax?"

25"Yes, he does," he replied.
When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. "What do you think, Simon?" he asked. "From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own sons or from others?"

26"From others," Peter answered.

"Then the sons are exempt," Jesus said to him. 27"But so that we may not offend them, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours."

Here's impulsive Peter answering for Jesus without consulting Him regarding paying the temple tax. My first impulse is to chuckle and shake my head. That's Peter for you. But right on the heels of that thought is "How many times do I decide what God says about a particular topic or situation on the spur of the moment without asking Him through prayer and consultation of His Word?" How telling that Jesus uses Peter's old name, the one by which he was called before becoming a follower of Christ. Perhaps I should have a "pre-Christian" name too.

But the last verse, verse 27, is the one I find even more intriguing. My husband, Andy, is a fisherman and, as his wife, I have done some fishing of my own. (Never mind that I am often just dangling the hook over the side enjoying being on the water and not caring if I get a bite or not.) We fish with hooks and lines because we are just sport fishing. Those who make their living by fishing use nets. And it was similar in Peter's time. While fishing with a hook and line was done, the commercial fishermen used nets back then too. But Jesus instructed Peter to use a hook and line. Jesus knew that a very particular fish was waiting for that particular line and here was an opportunity to increase Peter's faith and reliance on Him. Using a net would have "increased the odds" and decreased the evident miracle. But in the process was Peter, the former commercial fisherman, humbled as well in using a hook and line? Did the other fishermen, in their boats casting their nets, look askance at him? Scripture does not tell us so but I wonder. I do know, however, that when Jesus becomes more in my life, I must become less and that is the essence of humility. Lord, please, make me more humble.

Even the Dogs

When our daughter was in her early teens and Charlie was also several years younger, she would often say "I wish I was a dog" upon observing how Charlie was petted and fussed over. I would respond, "No, you wish you were our dog." This exchange was repeated with some regularity in those years and I was reminded of it last week when studying the story of Jesus' interaction with the Canaanite woman in Matthew 15:21-28. Here is the passage:

21Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession."
23Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, "Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us."
24He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel."
25The woman came and knelt before him. "Lord, help me!" she said.
26He replied, "It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs."
27"Yes, Lord," she said, "but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table."
28Then Jesus answered, "Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted." And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

Mindful of her great need of Jesus' mercy on behalf of her daughter, the woman is humbly content to be compared to a pet dog such as those kept by the wealthy Greeks at the time. And Jesus rewards her humble faith not only by healing her daughter but also with an accolade for that persistent, perceptive faith. She knew that the smallest crumbs from that Master were sufficient for her need.

In the conversation between my daughter and myself regarding her desire to be our dog, there is certainly an element of jealous teasing. But there is also a recognition of Charlie's (and her own) dependence on us to meet his needs and our willingness to do just that. And as all of us dog owner's know, our dogs are content to have us meet their needs--at least for the most part While every analogy breaks down, there is something I can learn from viewing myself in a similar position in relationship to my Master. I can humbly accept my overwhelming neediness and complete inability to care for myself as the Master can. I can recognize that crumbs from Him are better than anything I can provide for myself. And in Jesus' acknowledgment of the Canaanite woman's faith, I can see that faith without humility is not really faith at all. Or perhaps better said, it is faith in one's own abilities rather than His.