“GOD’s ROCKS”

Matthew 16: 13-20 NRSV

A preacher’s kid, after his father give sermons on “justification,” “sanctification,” and a whole bunch of “other –ations,” was ready when the Sunday School teacher asked if anybody knew what “procrastination” meant. The boy said, “I’m not sure what it means, but I know our church believes in it!”

An atheist was spending a quiet day fishing when suddenly his boat was attacked by the Loch Ness monster. In one easy flip, the beast tossed him and the boat into the air. Then it opened its mouth to swallow both him and the boat.

As the man sailed head over heels, he cried out, “Oh, my God! Help me!”

At once the ferocious attack scene froze in place, and as the atheist hung in midair, a booming voice came down from the clouds, “I thought you didn’t believe in me!”

“Come on God, give me a break!” the man pleaded, “Two minutes ago I didn’t believe in the Loch Ness monster either!”

Today we’re going to talk about faith and its importance to the church. Let’s hear the Gospel lesson from Matthew 16: 13-20:

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”  And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 

He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”  Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”  And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. 

And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. 

I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”  Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

This passage tells us that Peter has a “pebble” sized faith that can be used to build the church, which will require strong (cliff boulder sized) rocks of faith to build on.

Jesus goes on to say that no one will destroy the faith of those who believe.

Too much has been made of Peter as the church head and founder. Peter had an important part in the development of the early church, but the role of the Head of the Church clearly is a function of Christ himself.

We make jokes about Peter sitting outside the Pearly Gates serving as a sort of “Heavenly Bouncer.” But what if he’s more like “the Celestial Greeter” who shares the joy of God’s grace with those, who like he did, recognized Jesus as Messiah.

It could help us understand that the concept of church is meaningless unless we  view it in matter of faith rather than as a human institution measuring human standards, goals, and values, run by humans for humans.

A very religious man was shipwrecked on a small island in the Pacific ocean. After a few years a passing ship noticed smoke and chanced closer and rescued the man. As the rescue boat was leaving they noticed three huts had been built on the island and asked the man why he needed three huts since he was alone.

“Oh,” he said, “I lived in the first hut and went to church in the second hut.” “But what about the third hut,” they asked. “Oh that,” he replied, “That’s where I used to go to church.”

If we look at this passage reminding us of God’s role in the church, it emphasizes this passage as being about faith and trust in Jesus and in God, first individually, then as the manifestation of the universal church.

Jesus knows we’ll have a long way to go and we need to take every situation to learn and every opportunity to grow and nurture our faith, yet the Holy Spirit is present to help us along on the journey.

Peter’s confession serves as an example for us in what the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven are. This confession is not worldly. It has nothing to do with human experience and tradition but everything to do with Godly revelation and grace. It makes each and every one of us answer the question: “Who do you say I am.”

That question can be answered one of two ways: Either Jesus is just a man, a really good man, who sacrificed himself for his beliefs or He was truly the Son of God. There’s no gray area between even though we try to make it so.

This confession requires/declares a personal trust in Jesus. There is only one true confession and that is in Christ alone. This confession is the foundation for and of the church. It creates a great obligation/responsibility to the church which must be understood personally before being shared by/with others.

This question requires us to either become strong like rocks in our faith, or create paper mache imitations that look good but have no substance.

Think about the church we are called to be by Christ: “Ekklesia,” the Greek word for church means “to call out a gathering, an assembly from the world.” We are to be separate from the world. It is Jesus who calls, not man.

God has promised us that He dwells within the very presence of believers when they gather.

God calls us to gather for two purposes: Worship and mission. God is the object of worship, and His mission alone becomes the objective of the church. What this means is that God’s Church, the local assembly, gathers together to worship and pool its resources in order to carry out the mission of God Himself.

Where the church in today’s world has gone wrong is in forgetting that God’s Mission is spiritual and not material. We are called to teach and reach out to others so that they come to know God, not that they may practice immoral sexual activities, abort babies, elect the politically correct person to office, and promote reparations for every minority that considers itself abused.

Peter, in response to Jesus’ pronouncement of his right answer of faith, never claimed any power or authority beyond preaching the gospel or opening the door of the Kingdom of Heaven for unbelievers. He never claimed the power to forgive sins on God’s behalf.

If there is a tradition here for pastors/teachers to learn then this is it: Pastors and teachers of God’s word have the ability to open the door to the Kingdom or not. It is God, through the Holy Spirit, who will lead others in.

I am going to tell you a secret about me – and why I’m still here at this church in Western Maryland, and not somewhere else.

Dr. Mark Hatfield tells of touring Calcutta with Mother Teresa and visiting the so-called "House of Dying," where sick children are cared for in their last days, and the dispensary, where the poor line up by the hundreds to receive medical attention.

As he watched Mother Teresa minister to the people, feeding and nursing those left by others to die, Hatfield was overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of the suffering she and her co-workers face daily.

"How can you bear the load without being crushed by it?" he asked.

Mother Teresa replied, "My dear Senator, I am not called to be successful, I am called to be faithful."

Too many times church people want their pastors to be successful church growers, public relations experts, CEO’s, and charismatic community leaders. Jesus just wants them to be faithful. He wants them to be the rock-solid pillars of faith in a community often mired in dissension, turmoil, and human free-for-alls.

In a few minutes we’ve going to be celebrating a baptism. Please note that the parents and sponsors are never asked or told to raise the child to be successful in computers, business, sports, fishing, or hunting. We’re talking about creating an environment of faith nurturing so that the child will have the doors of God’s Kingdom opened wide for him.

Peter’s confession of Jesus as Messiah is meant to show us that, once we realize who Jesus is our lives and faith will change. We will become the rocks of the faithful foundation of God’s Kingdom. Amen.

“YOU CALLING ME A DOG, JESUS?”

Matthew 15: 10-28

Why don't blind people like to sky dive? Because it scares the dog! 

Most of us love dogs and other animals we have as pets. Pets are family, companions, comforters, lap animals that are sources of great comfort. The ability for some animals and humans to form a bond is a tremendous gift given to us by our creator.

But the strong bond between dogs and humans we see today didn’t exist in the days of Jesus. Families didn’t take their pets to vets to get their teeth brushed and cleaned, nails clipped, or fur groomed. Some people buy dog “health” insurance. No dog food existed and usually only dogs who were useful to a farmer or herder were tolerated around the hose.

Dogs in the days of Jesus were unclean animals and considered for the most part to be scavengers, often living in packs. They were seldom kept as household pets as they are today. The Jews of Jesus day also considered Gentiles to be "dogs," just like scavengers and wild beasts.

The term “dog,” Greek word “kuon,” was often used in two ways. The first was literal, the second was meant to describe a person who was unfit for the kingdom of God. Sometimes the word “kunarion” is used to mean a puppy, a little dog, or one being trained.

Did you know that a story about dogs is an important part of God’s story regarding how salvation and reconciliation and grace is granted to the entire human race? It is as simple as Jesus calling a woman a dog.

Let’s hear our Gospel lesson for today:

Then he called the crowd to him and said to them, “Listen and understand: ¹¹it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.”

¹²Then the disciples approached and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?” ¹³He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. ¹⁴Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if one blind person guides another, both will fall into a pit.”

¹⁵But Peter said to him, “Explain this parable to us.” ¹⁶Then he said, “Are you also still without understanding? ¹⁷Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach, and goes out into the sewer? ¹⁸But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles.

¹⁹For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. ²⁰These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile.”

Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. ²²Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.” ²³But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.” ²⁴He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

²⁵But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” ²⁶He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” ²⁷She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” ²⁸Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed instantly

In this passage it helps to know the play on words that take place between Jesus and the Canaanite woman. Jesus uses the word “dog” as meaning “someone who isn’t fit to enter the Kingdom of God,” while the woman replies using the word for “puppy.”

She recognizes that she must submit herself to Jesus’ mercy and compassion. That is something that a person unfit for God’s kingdom will never do. This incident is a beautiful illustration of the teaching Jesus has just made. Jesus is concerned with the heart.

Outwardly, this woman has nothing about her that is "clean,” in Jewish custom. But she has three things in her heart that make her right with God:

Her unwavering, nagging, persistent care for her daughter; and, her unwavering, nagging, persistent faith that Jesus can cure her daughter. Jesus’ desire to reach out to His creation in compassion and love.

These three things seem to cause Jesus to expand His mercy to someone He is not supposed to have compassion and mercy for. Gentiles.

As non-Jewish believers this passage is a great revelation to us. While Jesus was sent to heal and restore God’s chosen people of Israel, even we will receive the benefit of Jesus’ sacrifice. All because of a turn of a phrase having to do with dogs!

What Jesus has done for us Gentiles through His sacrifice is almost beyond our belief. Realize that Jesus has brought us from being "dogs" to becoming the adopted sons and daughters of the Living God.

I have a dog, and when we eat she always sits there waiting patiently, under the table, waiting for a scrap or two from one of us to accidently fall. We are messy eaters. She knows she will get it, but she also knows she has to wait patiently for it while sitting there rolling her big black eyes acting as if she really doesn't care.

 
In reading the above verses, it was very striking to me as I thought of what it would be like to be her, waiting for some man to give me a scrap or two of food. My father-in-law "leaves" cherios scattered all around for her to scavenge.

Sometimes when we’re being clean eaters and she waits too long, she sort of shuffles around a little bit and moves an inch or two closer just so we won't forget she is there, patiently waiting. Who could resist giving her what she wants? I know my father-in-law can’t and it only takes one.

Now think about how we as Gentiles were considered dogs at one time, but now as believers, we are considered differently: Ephesians 2:12 says, “That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world.”

Jesus has extended salvation, the Greek word “soteria,” to us even though we are not members of God’s chosen people – the Jewish people of the indwelling nation of Israel.

Throughout our lives of “tarraso,” (troubles), our faith and experiences yield “genosco,” (trust), which leads us to “soteria,” (confessing our sins and professing Christ as Savior), which yields “aionious,” (eternal life in God’s Kingdom.)

During the Spanish-American War, Clara Barton was overseeing the work of the Red Cross in Cuba. One day Colonel Theodore Roosevelt came to her, wanted to buy food for his sick and wounded Rough Riders. But she refused to sell him any.

Roosevelt was perplexed. His men needed the help and he was prepared to pay out of his own funds. When he asked someone why he could not buy the supplies, he was told, "Colonel, just ask for it!" A smile broke over Roosevelt's face. Now he understood--the provisions were not for sale.

All he had to do was simply ask and they would be given freely

Lord Kenneth Clark, internationally know for his television series Civilization, lived and died without faith in Jesus Christ. He admitted in his autobiography that while visiting a beautiful church he had what he believed to be an overwhelming religious experience.

"My whole being," Clark wrote, "was irradiated by a kind of heavenly joy far more intense than anything I had known before." But the "gloom of grace," as he described it, created a problem. If he allowed himself to be influenced by it, he knew he would have to change, his family might think he had lost his mind, and maybe that intense joy would prove to be an illusion. So he concluded, "I was too deeply embedded in the world to change course."

God Grace is free but does cost something.  You have to ask – and asking is impossible for some people.

 
Three elements of personality are involved in making a decision to become a Christian, or in making any significant decision for that matter. They are the emotions, the intellect, and the will.

For example, a young man meets a young woman. They are immediately attracted to one another. They both say to themselves, "Now there is someone I'd like to marry." At that point, if the emotions had their way, there would be a wedding.

But the intellect intervenes, questioning the impulsive emotional response. Would we be compatible? What is she really like? Can I afford to support her? Both conclude it would be better to take some more time and answer a few questions before they proceed.

So the two begin spending more time with each other. He eventually concludes that she is as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside. Now his intellect has sided with the emotions on the idea of marriage.

But the final and heaviest vote remains to be cast -- that of the will. It stops the march toward the altar with the questions, "Am I willing to give up this lifestyle for another? What about my freedom -- is it worth the trade? Am I willing to assume the added responsibility?"

 

The marriage will occur only when the will finally agrees with the emotions and the intellect. And so it is in coming to Christ.

Your heart has to be right and you have to admit you are not worthy of the Grace given to you. Yet Jesus is always ready and waiting to receive us in Love. Amen.

LIKE A ROCK
Matthew 14: 22-33

I was on my first trip to Germany on a Lufthansa flight in 2001 when I had a remarkable experience.

I had been lucky enough to have been bumped up to Business Class and was sitting in a window seat next to a man in a suit and tie. The airline attendant asked him if he wanted a cocktail and he said he would like a Martini.

Taking one look at me and the Bible I was reading she asked me if I wanted some fruit juice. I thought to myself about what other book there is that can change a martini into an apple juice?

Changing one substance into another or performing an impossible task or deed is often viewed as a miracle. I remember a Catholic Priest who was a Navy Chaplain, tell us what the definition of a miracle was one Sunday morning:

A little nun was on a much desired mission trip to the Apache Indians. She was so excited to almost be at her destination that she drove by the last gas station before the reservation without noticing she needed gas.

She ran out of gas about a mile past the station and had to walk back to get some gas. The attendant told her that he would like to help her but he had no container that would hold gas.

Thinking quickly and wanting to help, the attendant said that he would search the garage and outbuildings for a workable container. The only container he found was an old dented bedpan. The grateful nun said that the bedpan would work just fine and had it filled with gasoline.

She carried it back to her car careful not to drop an ounce of fluid. When she got to the car she carefully poured the contents of the bedpan into the car.

A truck driver pulled alongside the car as she was just finishing emptying the contents into her gas tank. He rolled down his window and yelled to her, “I wish I had your faith, Sister!”

The question we ask about miracles is, “Do they happen because God acts or is it because a person has sufficient faith in God’s power to accomplish something extraordinary?”  The Biblical Dictionary defines it as: “a special intervention by God on behalf of humankind.”

The dialogue regarding miracles is further muddied because God’s power and activities are not limited as humans are and may not be fully discerned by humans. Remember that Jesus has already reminded us that we have trouble with earthly things, let alone heavenly ones?

John 3: 11-12: Jesus replied, “I assure you:  We speak what We know and and We testify to what We have seen, but you do not accept Our testimony. If I have told you about things that happen on earth and you don’t believe, how will you believe if I tell you about things of Heaven?”

In fact most of the miracles ascribed to God and Jesus are actions consistent with all powerful, all knowing, and creative beings responsible for the so called “laws of nature” and the entire universe. They can do what they want because it’s their creation.

Yet God often chooses to act without miracles as well. C. S. Lewis once wrote: “God seems to do nothing of Himself which He can possibly delegate to His creatures. He commands us to do slowly and blunderingly what He could do perfectly and in the twinkling of an eye.”

We think they have to operate within the rules they have created for us. And Jesus, being fully human, does limit his physical aspects to human limits while exercising His spiritual aspects as a God would do. Unlike some biblical scholars, I don’t have a problem with that.

But let’s look at what the miracle actually is as we consider what is happening. Listen to the story of one of Jesus’ miracles from Matthew 14: 22-33:

Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray.

When evening came, he was there alone, but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from land, for the wind was against them.  And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea.

But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take heart it is I; do not be afraid.” Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.”

So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus.

But when he noticed the strong wind, be became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”

Jesus immediately reached out His hand and caught him, saying to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”

When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshipped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

Okay – is it any wonder that later on Jesus calls Peter a rock – after seeing how fast he sinks in water!

A priest, an evangelist, and a minister were in a row boat in the middle of a lake fishing. None of them had caught anything all morning but were out of bait. The evangelist stands up and says he needs to go get more bait, so he climbs out of the boat and walks on the water to shore. He comes back ten minutes later the same way. 

Then the minister decides he needs to go get something to drink, so he climbs out of the boat and walks on the water to shore. He, too, comes back the same way ten minutes later. 
       
The priest looks at both of them and decides that his faith is just as strong as his fishing buddies and that he can walk on water, too. He stands up and excuses himself. As he steps out, he makes a big splash down into the water. The evangelist looks at the minister and says, "I suppose we should have told him where the rocks were."

We humans are always looking for a way to “explain” how Jesus walked on the water and not just accepting the fact that He could when it was necessary to show the Disciples who He was.

Miracles that happen around us today (and they do happen) continue to display His presence and desire to extend His grace to all.

Those people who fail to see God’s miracles aren’t looking. Just in the last few weeks Israeli forces are talking about demonstrated Hamas rocket flight paths that deviated away from population centers at the last minute with no apparent cause and the location of sudden fogs that hid IDF movements from enemy actions and the like.

We continue to ask God for miracles and either don’t recognize them when they come or just outright disbelieve that they happened. It’s when (like Peter) we think we have a part in them that we fail utterly.

Jesus’ disciples are experiencing a storm at sea which can be a very frightening experience. I’ve been in 35 foot sea swells on a ship and it ain’t a fun experience.

Jesus comes to them and calms the seas and gives them peace. He goes on to change these bunch of people into the strongest, most effective disciples and missionaries the world has ever seen.

Isn’t that the greatest miracle Jesus can give us, that when we were sinners He died for us, to give us eternal life?

All we need, as Jesus tells Peter, is faith that will remove doubt.

Friends, look around in faith and see those miracles around us. It will change your life. Amen.

WISDOM FOR THE AGES
Matthew 13: 31-33, 44-52

Do you remember these great commercial tag lines of the past?

"The king of beers." (Budweiser)

"M&Ms melt in your mouth, not in your hand." (M&M candies)

"Don't leave home without it." (American Express)

"Reach out and touch someone" (AT&T)

"Takes a licking and keeps on ticking." (Timex)

“Hey Mikey…He Likes It!” (Life Cereal)

 

Here are the top ten all time according to Ad Magazine:

1. Diamonds are forever (DeBeers)

2. Just do it (Nike)

3. The pause that refreshes (Coca-Cola)

4. Tastes great, less filling (Miller Lite)

5. We try harder (Avis)

6. Good to the last drop (Maxwell House)

7. Breakfast of champions (Wheaties)

8. Does she ... or doesn't she? (Clairol)

9. When it rains it pours (Morton Salt)

10. Where's the beef? (Wendy's)

 

 “Oh, you’ll wonder where the yellow went, when you brush your teeth with _____.”  Sometimes you can’t stop – it’s like singing TV theme songs (try “Green Acres” or “The Beverly Hillbillies.” There are even Patriotic/political ones: “Uncle Sam wants ____!” or “I like Ike,” or “All the Way with LBJ.”

 

But if you don’t have the cultural reference points to understand these sayings you won’t get it and the words sound pretty stupid, perhaps even insulting.

 

Words and messages like these are designed to both catch your attention and teach you a message. Jesus’ parables are designed the same way. They take something from Jesus’ culture and Jewish heritage and relate it to God’s coming Kingdom so that hearers of Jesus could understand Him and God’s nature better.

 

They also were designed to blister and baffle the ears of those who weren’t in on the message. We have a common heritage in our Judeo-Christian culture that allows us to understand and hear Jesus’ words in a way that we can still understand even 2000 years later.

 

In the passage I will read shortly Jesus talks about the smallest seed imaginable to humans having the greatest growth potential of all plants.

Jesus goes on talk about yeast as a catalyst for growth, comparing yeast to what faith can do in a life, and talks about earthly versus heavenly wealth. Listen to Matthew 13: 31-33, 44-52:

 

He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; ³²it 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.”

 

³³He 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.”

 

“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.

 

⁴⁵“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; ⁴⁶on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.

 

⁴⁷“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; ⁴⁸when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad. ⁴⁹So it will be at the end of the age.

 

The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous ⁵⁰and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁵¹“Have you understood all this?” They answered, “Yes.”

 

 ⁵²And 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.”

 

Jesus’ disciples had to take a minute when they were alone with Jesus to ask, “What’s up with all the parables?” He told them, "The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables so that, they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never under-standing; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!"

In plain words, parables are used to help some people understand and make it impossible for others to understand. Some people will always mishear, over interpret, or make an error of reference in trying to understand. People around us do this to us everyday – why would Jesus think people were any different from today?

Let me give you an example of messing with the minds Jesus did with a parable. Jesus says, “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough.”

 

To us it seems fairly obvious what this parable is trying to convey. A small amount of yeast added to the dough makes an enormous difference to what type of bread you get. It must be well mixed in or the bread will be uneven and lumpy.

 

But to Jesus’ listeners there is a very surprising element to this parable. Yeast was normally associated with evil in Jewish culture. Later Jesus would say to his disciples, "Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees."

 

In the Book of Exodus, the Jews are taught to bake unleavened bread – bread without yeast, as they celebrate the Feasts of God. You can imagine the reaction – “What! The Kingdom of heaven is like yeast?”

 

Jesus would not have got the same reaction if he had said “The Kingdom of Heaven is like the drop of olive oil that a woman put on her bread.” Although the spiritual lesson would be similar, the impact would be completely lost. You wouldn’t react, so the saying would not be memorable.

 

Jesus is using the contrast to encourage His followers to get “outside the box” of their “Jewishness,” to understand new concepts. Yeast becomes a metaphor for the working of the Holy Spirit as it nurtures and increases the faith of the believer, a faith that nurtures even the tiniest of seeds into huge trees.

 

The Kingdom of Heaven and Faith in Jesus is not something to be mastered – it is a mystery of Love, sacrifice, and Grace. It must be lived, not practiced and then put on a shelf to be admired as Jewish orthodoxy became.

 

Just like the Bible, which has a beginning and an end, so too is the life of the seed of faith. It is planted, watered, germinates, grows, and will be harvested in season.

But Jesus also reminds us of the price of not hearing and listening: “But the cowards, unbelievers, vile, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolators, and all liars – their share will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”  (Revelation 21: 8).

 

Jesus tells us allegorically that Hell will be full of two types of people:  those who will do anything, and those who will not do anything.

 

It’s why we have the vision of the street corner prophet with the sign, “Repent, the end is near!” It never hurts for us to remember that someday soon Jesus will be returning to claim His harvest and destroy the weeds and tares among the good seed. Amen.

“THE EVIL AMONG US”
Matthew 13: 24-30, 36-43 (NRSV)

If you’d give me several hours of your time and a good chair I’d be glad to discuss with you why evil exists and why it is not a contradiction of an “All Powerful, All Knowing God.”

When asked why God created man when He knew he would sin, Martin Luther replied, "Let us keep clear of these abstract questions and consider the will of God such as it has been revealed to us."

In our scripture passage for today Jesus will give us a view of how we are to live and deal with the evil among us. Jesus tells us that we, those who have responded to God and the Son of Man, will face evil among us. Jesus calls them “tares.”

Tares are more specifically called “the bearded darnel.” It is mentioned only here in Matthew chapter 13. It is a species of rye-grass, and the seeds are a strong poison. It bears a close resemblance to wheat till the ear appears, and then the difference is discovered. It grows plentifully in Syria and Palestine.

Tares are present in the church as well, as we have many folks who look like Christians until we see their fruit. Mainline churches are especially full of tares, but every church has its share. The Christian-claiming tare is responsible for much pain and suffering among the believers. Even Jesus had a tare among His disciples that He had to tolerate.

Tares are also present in America as well. While many people feel as if America was set up as a practicing Christian Nation, dedicated to the freedoms endowed by the Creator as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, many do not and will do what they can to destroy or undermine it.

Just like the church America has never been perfect but her system of laws, care and concern for the least among us, and a willingness to share the burdens of woes was and I pray, still is a shining example and testimony to the exceptionalism of its people.

Over the years many have challenged and failed to destroy our union but the attacks on our culture are reaching overwhelming heights.

Let me give you an example. A man I will call a tare was David Saul Alinsky, born in Russia in 1909, who came to America, settled in Chicago to become a “community organizer.”

His philosophies for undermining society are recorded in his book, Rules for Radicals, which has become the basis, for a popular political movement aimed at “fundamentally transforming the United States of America.”

Many current politicians and political action groups operating in our country mark Alinsky as their “hero and mentor.”

Alinsky developed his ideas as a professor at the University of Chicago and as a community organizer in Chicago.The dedication page of his book is quite revealing: 

“Lest we forget at least an over-the-shoulder acknowledgment to the very first radical: from all our legends, mythology, and history... the first radical known to man who rebelled against the establishment and did it so effectively that he at least won his own kingdom — Lucifer.”

His instructions for “how to create a social state” include 8 areas he said must be manipulated and controlled: Healthcare – Poverty – Debt – Gun Control – Welfare – Education – Religion – Class Warfare. Look around church – sound familiar?

Jesus knew about people like Alinsky. Listen to Jesus’ words in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 13, verses 24-30 and 36-43:

He put before them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; ²⁵but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away.

²⁶So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. ²⁷And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, “Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?”

²⁸He answered, “An enemy has done this.” The slaves said to him, “Then do you want us to go and gather them?” ²⁹But he replied, “No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. ³⁰Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’

Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples approached him, saying, ‘Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.’ ³⁷He answered, ‘The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; ³⁸the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, ³⁹and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.

⁴⁰Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. ⁴¹The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, ⁴²and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

⁴³Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears^* listen!

So much for Christians and “we the church” living in time of peace and prosperity. Instead we are being choked out and fighting for resources and our very existence.

Many of you wonder why some churches aren’t prospering or why people don’t come to church, or what’s going on. The answer is simple for those with ears who listen to Jesus.

Sadly, many Christians spend most of every day with their heads in the sand, blissfully unaware, or strongly avoiding, the war raging around them.

And partially they are right, for God is the judge who will remove the tares and settle the debts. Jesus tells us that. But we have to tend to ourselves and make our preparation for the coming harvest! We are to listen with our ears and see tares.

The story is told of a farmer in a Midwestern state who had a strong disdain for "religious" things. As he plowed his field on Sunday morning, he would shake his fist at the church people who passed by on their way to worship. October came and the farmer had his finest crop ever--the best in the entire county.

When the harvest was complete, he placed an advertisement in the local paper which belittled the Christians for their faith in God. Near the end of his diatribe he wrote, "Faith in God must not mean much if someone like me can prosper."

The response from the Christians in the community was quiet and polite. In the next edition of the town paper, a small ad appeared. It read simply, "God doesn't always settle His accounts in October." 

It would be wonderful to live separate from evil and troubles, wouldn’t it? But Jesus cautions us about judging and taking His justice into our hands. Instead we are to pray.

Alexandr Solzhenitsyn wrote: “If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?”  In the end we don’t have the guts or heart to weed out evil.

We can ask all we want but Nigel Wright wrote in 1990 that “There is a fundamental sense in which evil is not something that can be made sense of. The essence of evil is that it is something which is absurd, bizarre and irrational. It is the nature of evil to be inexplicable, an enigma and a stupidity.”

What we must come to understand, as taught by Jesus, is the last few verses of this passage: “The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, ⁴²and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

We need to make sure our own house, our own relationship with God, is filled with prayer, petition, and repentance. We need to do everything to honor God, and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, then we need have no fear of the future or eternity.

An American writer named Wilson Mizner was a boxer who socialized with other boxers. One night Mizner and boxer "Mysterious" Billy Smith visited a San Francisco bar, where Mizner started a fight with some longshoremen.

At the end of the fight only one longshoreman was left standing. Although Mizner threw every punch he knew at the man, he wouldn’t go down. Suddenly, Smith noticed what was happening. "Leave him alone, Wilson!" he shouted. "I knocked him out five minutes ago."

Taking a closer look it turned out that a punch from Smith had indeed knocked the longshoreman out cold, but had also wedged him standing up between two pieces of furniture.

Jesus assures us that evil was defeated on the Cross, and is only being tolerated up until the Heavenly Harvest. This story of Smith and Wilson give us an accurate picture of our already-defeated but still standing enemy Satan!

So how then do we live until then? St. Paul’s joint Sunday School recently conducted a weeklong VBS/Bible Boot Camp.

If you attended then you’d know. Listen to Ephesians 6: 10-17:

Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by His vast strength.  Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the tactics of the Devil.  For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the uthorities, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens. 

This is why you must take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand. 

Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist, righteousness like armor on your chest, and your feet sandaled with readiness for the gospel of peace.

In every situation take the shield of faith, and with it you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is God’s word.

Some of you think these are “Sunday School” words good just for children – but we as followers of Christ have never needed them more. We need to cling to the old rugged Cross, the Truth and Light of Christ, and the Love of God if we are going to keep growing and avoid being choked out by the evil and vileness all around us that seeks to poison everything God created.

WE can’t put on the “belt of compromise,” “the breastplate of tolerance,” “the earth shoes of progressive evolution,” “the shield of political correctness,” “the helmet of ecumenical salvation,” or “the sword of human experience” and remain safe from evil and temptation.We just can’t do it anymore.

 
Each of us needs to re-read and study the first^t three chapters of the Book of Revelation and take heed to the warnings listed there about “lukewarm” Christians from Laodicea who  were happy as clams with their “no commitment, no real responsibility” religion. So it is in much of the emergent and progressive churches today.

Listen to the words of Jesus from Revelation 3: 19-20 – “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.”

Don’t be lukewarm Christians. Only the full armor, the WHOLE armor, of God will do! Amen.

 

Farmers Lottery

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

Two farmers each won a million dollars in the state lottery. The first farmer said he was going to use his money to retire, move to Florida, and live the good life. When the second farmer was asked what he was going to do he replied, “I don’t know, I think I’ll just keep on farming until it’s all used up!”

I don’t know if you’ve ever thought of it this way before but I’ve talked to many farmers who look at planting and harvesting as the ultimate gamble. They never know how the reaping will go in the end until it’s over, hoping that it will be profitable. They know that many things including the weather are beyond their control.

But there is always one fact that matters: you have to invest in the seed and prepare the land before you sow.

Two old men were sitting around talking and the first one said, “Let’s go get some lottery tickets. The jackpot is up around 400 million dollars.” The second old guy said, “I don’t buy those things.”  

“But that’s a whole pile of money. Don’t you think it’s worth spending five bucks to win?” said the first guy. The second old guy replied, “No! You’ve only got 1 in about 5.4 million chances to win. That puts the odds of proving you are a loser to almost 100 percent.”

“Well, not playing at all makes you an automatic loser,” was the retort of the first old guy.  “That’s okay,” was the reply, “At least I’ll still have my five bucks!”

A Texan farmer goes to Australia for a vacation. There he meets an Aussie farmer and gets talking. The Aussie shows off his big wheat field and the Texan says, "Oh! We have wheat fields that are at least twice as large".

Then they walk around the ranch a little and the Aussie shows off his herd of cattle. The Texan immediately says, "We have longhorns that are at least twice as large as your cows."

The conversation has, meanwhile, almost died when the Texan sees a herd of kangaroos hopping through the field. He asks, "And what are those?" The Aussie asks with an incredulous look, "Don't you have any grasshoppers in Texas?”

Jesus used farming, or at least the concept of planting and harvesting as metaphors of the Kingdom of God. Let’s hear the first of three (from Matthew 13: 1-9, 18-23):

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea.  Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. 

And he told them many things in parables, saying: "Listen! A sower went out to sow.  And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. 

Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Let anyone with ears listen!"

"Hear then the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. 

As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away.

As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty."

Jesus tells us that only those seeds sown in good soil will bear fruit. Notice that He doesn’t make any distinction between the seeds themselves, but discusses only the type of ground the seed interacts with. This confirms the concept of “free will” in humanity and tells us that God loves the sinner but hates the sin.

Jesus, in highlighting the “soil,” or ground, and is telling us that we must ever be careful of the temptations, snares, and tarrasso’s surrounding us in the larger culture and/or society around us. It is from these, that bad fruit and stunted growth come from.

Remember what Jesus means in Matt. 15: 11 by saying it isn’t what goes into a man’s mouth that defiles him but what comes out of it?

This discussion began when the Pharisees wondered why the Lord’s disciples didn’t conduct a ceremonial hand washing before eating (Matt. 15: 2).  The Lord’s point is clear that observing such a ritual would not in and of itself make a person ceremonially clean, because many of the words we speak with our mouth originate as feelings in our heart. And that’s where any spiritual uncleanliness we harbor resides, not on our hands. Jesus explained this more fully in Matthew 15: 18-20;

“But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them.  For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.  These are what defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.”

The “soil” of a person is their heart. And it is here that the word of God, the “seed” of God must take root.

Sam was in dire trouble. His business had gone bust and he was in serious financial trouble. He was so desperate he decided to pray for help. He began, ‘God, please help me. I've lost my business and if I don't get some money, I'm going to lose my house as well. Please let me win the lottery.’ Lottery night came and Sam didn’t win.

Again Sam prays, ‘God, please let me win the lottery! I've lost my business, my house and I'm going to lose my car as well.’ Lotto night comes and Sam still has no luck.

Once again, he prays, ‘My God, why have you forsaken me?? I've lost my business, my house, and my car. My wife and children are starving. I don't often ask you for help and I have always been a good servant to you. PLEASE just let me win the lottery this one time so I can get my life back in order.’

Suddenly there is a blinding flash of light as the heavens open. Sam is confronted by the voice of God Himself: ‘Sam,’ says God, ‘meet Me halfway on this. Buy a lottery ticket.’

You get the idea – just like the saying goes – you got to submit yourself to God to receive His Blessings and reap the harvest of good fruit in His Kingdom. Amen.