PENnED

…before they're washed away

recent posts

about

…living life with no regrets

  • God’s Profile Picture Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

    Corona 2

    As of this writing, Italy has recorded the highest daily death toll anywhere in the world and the US leads the world in confirmed coronavirus cases.

    While the whole world scrambles to fight coronavirus and individuals from different places and backgrounds offer very generous help, some Christians look at the pandemic as simply God’s judgment of sin and unbelief and that the solution is for people “to repent and receive Christ as personal Savior and Lord”.

    I am for repenting of sins, anytime, especially if those sins have been clearly committed—not just assumed or imagined. I also believe that everyone needs God’s salvation, a gift that can be had through faith in Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9). However, to say that God sent the current coronavirus as a form of punishment for sins is not only too simplistic but also presumptuous and lacks biblical and theological grounding.

    To come up with a sound theological analysis of the situation, I suggest that we ask the following probing questions (and answer them, as best we could, using Scriptures as our guide): Where did bad viruses come from? Has God sent the coronavirus to punish the sinful unbelieving world? And what picture of God should we show the world, especially in such a time as this?

    Where did bad viruses come from?

    For our purpose, we’re not evaluating any conspiracy theory or whether the virus is man-made. Also, I think that we need to go beyond Wuhan and the new coronavirus itself to get to the root of the problem.

    Not all viruses are bad. We should be thankful for that. Good viruses (and bacteria too) help to protect us. It’s the bad viruses that pose a problem to us—they can wreak havoc to the human body or even kill us.

    The enormous health and economic problems that the current coronavirus pandemic has caused may have led us (as it has led me) to ask how these “microscopic devils” came into being. Did God create these “evil viruses”?

    When confronted with such or similar question, we may recall a statement we heard in Sunday school, catechism class, or a sermon. It goes something like this: God created everything. Because of such a general doctrinal statement, I will not be surprised if some would say, Yes, God created the bad viruses.

    Such an answer, however, raises another question: If God is good (and I believe God is) how can God create such a bad thing? How can a good God create something that could render humans sick or, worse, dead?

    Such a question cannot be answered in a simplistic way. That’s why I think every believer should develop the skill to think theologically. And that requires a kind of Christian education that goes beyond catechism, Sunday school, and sermon-listening.

    Real-life challenges, such as the one we are facing amidst this coronavirus pandemic, can make us think more deeply or theologically. And that is a good thing—it can make us go deeper in our faith as we search for answers.

    The Sunday school teacher, catechist, preacher, or anybody who said God created everything was correct. That is, if we put it in the context of creation, “in the beginning” (Genesis 1), in which “everything that (God) had made” was “very good” (v. 31).

    So where in the world did bad viruses come from? Who or what made them?  Some say that they come from Satan. In christianforums.com, for example, someone wrote, “I think viruses are the work of satan, (sic) because all they bring is death and destruction.”

    That answer, however, puts too much credit to the Devil who does not have creative power. Nowhere in Scripture can we read that Satan has been given the ability to create. The Devil can tempt and cause destruction primarily through human agents. But that seems to be about it. The Devil is not God’s counterpart. God is the Creator; the Devil is not. I searched the Scriptures and didn’t find a single verse that shows Satan created anything. Let me know if you’ve found one.

    So, if Satan is not directly responsible, who or what is? Humanity, as represented by Adam and Eve, might be to blame. Because of their disobedience, creation was affected: the earth (or soil) was cursed (Genesis 3:17-19). Still, humans are not directly responsible for the existence of bad things that can cause us to get sick and perhaps even die. Humans did not create those bad viruses. They came into being or evolved in cursed earth.

    Sinful human action may have led to the existence of bad viruses, but humans did not create them. They did not have the power to do so. Although God “cursed the earth”, we should not regard such action as divine creation. God did not add anything to his creation. Creation degenerated as a result of human sin. And it is in such an environment (which has been called “the fallen world) that bad viruses raised their, if I may say, ugly crowned heads.

    So, based on Genesis, it looks like the cursed earth became an environment where bad things, such as viruses, could now exist and evolve in a way that they can become dangerous to us. It appears then that viruses were not created. They simply showed up or evolved in cursed earth, perhaps from good viruses. (If that’s the case, then that’s of kind of like Satan who was at first called Lucifer [Isaiah 14:12], which means “bearer of light,” but who “fell” and became Satan, our “adversary the devil” [1 Peter 5:8], and the leader of “the rulers of the darkness of this world” [Ephesians 6:12, KJV]).*

    Has God sent the coronavirus to punish a sinful, unbelieving world?

    Except for those cases in Scripture in which plagues and diseases were clearly sent by the Lord (Deuteronomy 28:58-61), such as the ones God sent to Egypt (Exodus 7-11), a pandemic should not be ordinarily viewed as God-sent or as God’s punishment for sins.

    The idea of an angry God who is bent at decimating humans because of their sins and unbelief (which some misguided souls often float in a time of crisis such as we have now) runs contrary to the dominant and clear picture of a loving and gracious God in Scriptures. Reading or hearing Jesus’ story about the prodigal son’s father (Luke 15:11-32), for example, should be enough to erase the picture of an angry God in one’s mind.

    The idea of an angry God also runs counter to what has been clearly revealed in Scripture: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved…” (John 3:16-8a, KJV).

    I know that that Scripture passage does not end there. It is followed by verses 18b-19: “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil” (KJV).

    Such judgment, however, is clearly not a national or global judgment; it is individual (“he that believeth not is condemned already”). As such, it cannot be used to support the idea that God could be punishing the “sinful unbelieving world,” particularly not the idea that God is now punishing the world using COVID-19.

    Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

    If you say a plague, such as the current coronavirus pandemic, is an exception—that God sent it as a form of punishment—then you must show that God has clearly said it is. If you claim that the virus is sent by God as a form of punishment for sin, then you must be able to justify such “revelation” that goes against the theme of redemption that runs through Scriptures or the actions of a loving God who clearly works not for the world’s destruction but its redemption and restoration: “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross” (Colossians 1:19-20, NIV).

    It is extremely important that we must be careful in claiming to be speaking on God’s behalf. If we say things carelessly, we can be guilty of false prophesy which God has gravely warned us against: “But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, is to be put to death” (Deuteronomy 18:20, NIV).

    What picture of God should we show the world? 

    Knowing that God is best characterized by love, not wrath, we must be extra-careful in the way we paint God to the world. When self-righteousness tempts us to show a scary picture of God, for one reason or another, we must pause and think about whether such a picture is an accurate one.

    We sometimes get angry, but I doubt if that’s the picture we show the world of ourselves. You don’t have to look at your profile picture or a friend’s on Facebook to know that. Yes, God sometimes gets angry, but anger does not characterize God. Love does. God is love (1 john 4:8).

    God’s love can be seen not only in Scripture but also in nature. Specifically, God designed the human body so that it can fight against diseases. Just as there are bad viruses, there are also good ones. “Some viruses can actually kill bacteria, while others can fight against more dangerous viruses. Like protective bacteria (probiotics), we have several protective viruses in our body” (https://www.sciencealert.com/not-all-viruses-are-bad-for-you-here-are-some-that-can-have-a-protective-effect).

    And thank God, we were made with an immune system that can “prevent or limit infection” (https://www.sciencealert.com/not-all-viruses-are-bad-for-you-here-are-some-that-can-have-a-protective-effect). We should be thankful that our gracious God so designed the human body that, in case humans became disobedient and, as a result,  live in a world that would challenge their very existence, it is prepared to protect itself from diseases.

    So if God designed the human body so that it can develop into something that would not be totally helpless in case it finds itself in a harsh environment, such as the “fallen world”, how can we also say that God sent a killer virus that can decimate humans? To say that the Creator is working against his creation does not make sense. The idea that an angry God sent the coronavirus to destroy humans, does not make sense.

    The immune system, however, does not guarantee protection for everyone or all the time—it can become weak or may not respond or function properly. And since matter is bound to decay, human bodies, that can survive diseases, ultimately die. But thanks be to God, in Christ we and all of creation will be redeemed (and, consequently, restored):

    For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies (Romans 8:19-23, NRSV).

    The clear picture of a loving and gracious God who loves the world so much and who offers redemption through faith in Christ is the picture we, Christians, should publish. Any picture that does not, might be a picture of a false god. 

    _____
    *It is plausible to not regard “bad” viruses as inherently bad, just as we do not regard wild animals as inherently bad. When a man is killed by a tiger, we consider it a bad thing (and that’s why some might see the tiger as bad and kill it). However, the reason why people are killed by wild animals might be that they have intruded into the wild animals’ habitat. It appears that something similar can be said about killer viruses: they become a problem not because they “…magically jump out of the forest… It’s because we are getting….into the forest.”

  • Making Hearts Leap for Joy

    By Ed Fernandez

    Philippians 1:3-8 New International Version (NIV)

    3 I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

    7 It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. 8 God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

    Hearts

    When people think of you, what might be their thoughts about you? We are not to presume people often think of us, but sometimes they do. And when they do, what kind of pictures do they see of us? …of me? …of you?

    It’s normal to wish that others think well of us. We care about our personal image. However, to have an obsessive desire to portray one’s self  as a great person can be taxing and unhealthy, especially if we are trying to portray a perfect image of ourselves. And we are not. It’s like editing or photoshopping photos of ourselves to make them look perfect before we post them on Facebook. It’s tedious and time-consuming. But it does not really make us feel good in the end. We know—and other people know—that they’re not authentic pictures of ourselves.

    There is nothing better than being a person who is authentically good and naturally beautiful inside. The Philippians believers were such persons. That is why “every time” the apostle Paul remembered them he thanked God and prayed for them “with joy”!

    The Philippians were a great people. The beautiful pictures that Paul had of them were the kind that they did not labor to paint.  Because of what they truly were, the amazing pictures of the Philippians simply appeared on the apostle’s mind. Unretouched. Beautiful!

    Paul was so in love with the beautiful body of Christ at Philippi. Like a lover who is away from his beloved, he longed for the Philippian believers with a certain kind of affection. His love for them was the kind that can also be found in the heart of God—seeing what his “holy people” have become, God loves and treasures them infinitely much more greatly compared to how one would treasure a 530-carat Cullinan, the world’s most expensive diamond, at $400M apiece (cf. Ephesians 1:18)!

    Like today’s inmate who has pictures of loved ones on the wall of his prison cell, Paul had them too when he was in jail. His were not literal photographs, as they were mental pictures of the Philippians, nevertheless, they were real and beautiful pictures!

    What stuff were the Philippians made of? What made them so loveable that Paul’s heart leaped for joy whenever he remembered them?

    Partners in the gospel

    In a straightforward way Paul tells why he “always” prayed “with joy” for the Philippians: “because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now” (v. 5). Such partnership began “from the first day.” We may not know exactly what the “first day” was for each one who responded to the call to proclaim the gospel, but we have a sense that the Philippians were quick to respond. They responded immediately to the call to proclaim the gospel. And they did not stop… “until now”?

    What? They quit? No, they did not quit. “Until now” must be understood as Filipinos understand the phrase. When Filipinos say mula noon, hanggang ngayon (since then, until now) the latter, hanggang ngayon (until now) does not denote ending. Instead, the phrase carries an ongoing sense. For example, when someone says, Mahal kita mula noon, hanggang ngayon (I love you ever since, until now), it doesn’t mean love has ended; rather, it means that love is still there, continuing!

    Such understanding is strongly supported by what comes next: “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (v. 6; I think that NIV has done a great job translating the verse the way they did).

    The Philippians, who I assume had a deep appreciation for the gospel (that gave them hope and changed their lives in Christ) immediately responded to the call to proclaim the same. God may have done a lot of other good works in them, but it seems that “a good work” which God “began in (them)” and which God “will carry…on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” has to do with God laying in their hearts the desire to proclaim the hope-giving and life-changing gospel until the end: “the day of Christ Jesus” (Paul here seems to anticipate Christ’s second coming to take place in their lifetime, just like some believers today).

    Partners with Paul

    Paul was in jail. He may have preached to prison guards, but his opportunity to proclaim the gospel was limited because of his incarceration. But thanks be to God, he had the Philippians as “partners” in gospel proclamation!

    “Partners in the gospel” not “lay preachers”
    Paul called the Philippians “partners in the gospel”. He did not call the Philippians “lay preachers” or “lady preachers” or “assistant preachers”. No! He called them “partners in the gospel.” They were his fellow preachers or gospel proclaimers! As such, he regarded them as equals! And that is why he called Epaphroditus “my brother, co-worker and fellow soldier” (2:25)! There is no hierarchy in gospel partnership. There is really no such thing as a “lay preacher.” Everyone who is called to preach and who responds to the call of God to proclaim the gospel is ordained by God! Church institutions ordain people today to do certain tasks, but God calls and ordains believers to preach or proclaim (or share, if you please) the gospel.

    By the way, that does not mean that when God calls you and you respond to such call you automatically become an effective preacher of the gospel. The gift may be already there but, like a knife, it must be sharpened before it can be used effectively. That is why training is very important. And leaders and teachers like me are here to help train those of you who respond to the call.

    Every believer is called to proclaim
    Who are called to proclaim the gospel? It is quite clear that Paul’s partners in the gospel are all of those whom he prayed for (v. 4). In other words, all the Philippian believers were partners and, therefore, called to proclaim the gospel! They all, generally speaking, responded to that call.

    Isn’t that amazing? All the while many of us thought that only ordained pastors, priests, evangelists, and missionaries are the only ones who have been called by God to preach or proclaim the gospel. The truth is, God calls you and all believers to proclaim the good news in Christ Jesus!

    To be sure, not all Philippian believers were confident and fearless proclaimers at the beginning. However, “…because of (Paul’s) chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear” (v. 14). They stepped up to the plate, so to speak, and proclaimed the gospel boldly despite the probability that they too could be persecuted and perhaps end up in jail as Paul did.

    Here’s a big difference between Philippians and believers today: while only a few of us engage in gospel proclamation, all of them responded to the call and proclaimed the gospel!

    So what are we doing? God did not call us “out of darkness into his wonderful light” to hide the light of the gospel of Christ. God did not call us to be “bench warmers”—to merely come to service or mass (if you’re Catholic) every Sunday and sit like spectators while some people in the so-called higher level of hierarchy perform for us. To not respond to God’s calling and fail to proclaim is, I believe, a great sin of omission!  God has not called us to sit and watch.

    Rather, God has called all of us to proclaim the gospel and fulfill the Great Commission. Jesus said, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation” (Mark 16:15, NIV). God has made you, along with other believers, to be God’s “chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9, NIV).

    Recognition, respect, and support of leadership
    Here’s another big difference between the Philippians and some believers today: While Paul regarded the Philippians as “partner” and his equals as gospel proclaimers, yet the latter recognized the fact that Paul was an Apostle.  They recognized Paul’s gifts, especially the gift of leadership.

    Paul was the leader in spreading the gospel everywhere and the Philippians looked to him as a model. They also looked to him to encourage them and build them up. But today, there is so much disrespect of leadership. Instead of partnering and supporting the leadership, some people are critical of the leadership. In some cases, they look down on leadership, especially if they think they are smarter than the pastor or the leader.

    I led a Bible study recently and when I came in I heard someone talking against pastors. He talked specifically of one he seemed to really disliked. I tried not to listen but he was too loud to not hear.

    Before I ended the lesson, I asked if they had questions. The highly-opinionated egoistic guy quickly spoke in a loud voice trying to underestimate  what I said about St. Paul and his tremendous commitment to the preaching of the gospel (he went to jail for it!) and to build up the Philippians who became “partners in the gospel”.

    He said, the passage (Philippians chapter 1:12-26) was all about the Philippians, who despite the fact that Paul was not with them, they still flourish, or something to that effect. And he said that in a voice that sounded mad.

    The things he said earlier against pastors were still fresh on my mind and what he said implied to me that  pastors or church leaders are not really needed. So I said, “Bro, are you mad at pastors?”

    He said, “No!” Still sounding mad, though. Then he explained that that’s just the way he speaks. And then he continued to emphasize what he said earlier: that the passage was about the Philippians. And then I guess he thought that it must also be about God (one shouldn’t forget God, after all), so he quickly added that it’s “also about God”.

    So I reminded everybody about what we learned in verse 12: that Paul was not only in jail but also “in chains” for preaching the gospel. Then I asked everybody, “Is this passage about Paul  too?” And everybody said yes.

    Then I directed the question to the “smart” guy. “Yes, it’s about the Philippians. Yes, it’s about God. But is it also about Paul?”

    He could not argue against it so he said nothing, except, “That was my last comment.” (He actually said something afterwards so with a smile I jokingly said, “I thought you  said ‘that was (your) last comment’”. Everybody laughed!)

    Let’s go back to Paul and the Philippians.

    Paul considered the Philippians, along with Timothy and Epaphroditus, as equals and yet the two recognized his leadership. That is why they were willing to assist him in his missionary and evangelistic journey, especially now that he is in jail. They brought provisions for him. They encouraged him with reports about what the Philippians were doing as partners in the gospel.

    Like us, I don’t think the Philippians always agreed with Paul in every matter. And it may be that there were Philippian preachers who were more eloquent, healthier and better looking than inmate Paul. But these great and wonderful people and gospel proclaimers did not quarrel with Paul or put him down. Instead, they supported him. They did not go against him because they recognized his leadership, and they worked with him as partners, not rivals!

    No wonder, they made Paul’s heart leap for joy whenever he thought of them. How about us today?

    Conclusion

    Today, leaders and fellow believers should have the same mutually encouraging and supportive relationship as partners in the gospel. We the leaders of the church cannot win our community, much less the world, single-handedly. Like the Philippians, we must all respond to the call to proclaim the gospel of Christ, the light of the world.

    The call to preach or proclaim the gospel is not a call to prestige. There’s nothing prestigious about it. It is a call to servanthood. As servants of Christ, we proclaim to obey our Master, not to set ourselves above others and be their master.

    The call to preach or proclaim the gospel is not a call to a better life or comfortable life or to gain wealth. Paul as a preacher became so poor he had to depend on others for support. The Philippians, like Paul, faced the same persecution and hardship for proclaiming the gospel. The call to preach is a call to sacrifice. We proclaim the gospel without expecting anything—money, appreciation, “love gifts”, or whatever reward—in return. We proclaim the good news for the sake of others.

    Just as the Philippians supported Paul and as his partners proclaim the gospel for other people’ sake, so should we. We preach not for ourselves but for others. When you and I truly become partners in the gospel and work together and support each other no matter what the cost, then, like the Philippians, we’ll make each other’s heart leap for joy!

  • Karaoke-ing and Theologizing with My Catholic Friends

    Hail Mary
    One of the most enjoyable and challenging conversations I’ve had happened very recently. Last weekend, I was with my Catholic friends who take their faith and the Bible seriously. We had not fellowshipped for a long time and so they decided to invite me and my wife Ruth to “a Sunday afternoon karaoke”.

    The one thing I really like about my Catholic friends is that they consider me and Ruth real friends. As such they don’t see us, especially me, as a threat, even though I am an “Evangelical” (their term) who had formal and advanced theological training.

    I was amazed to learn from them that they are into some crusade against a misguided devotion to Mary, the mother of our Lord Jesus. They say, and I agree with them, that Mary had a special role in salvation history, being the mother of the Savior and Mediator, but that she is NOT a Mediatrix or co-Mediator on the same level with Christ. And they cite official papal encyclicals that warn “the faithful” (ironically a Catholic term for Catholics) against practices that might violate official Catholic teachings on Mary.

    They are also saddened by the fact that an inappropriate devotion to Mary, which they think is tantamount to idolatry, takes away the focus from Christ. Again, I agree with them. Mary may be “Mother of God” but she is not God!

    But that was just the beginning of the conversation. The next segment shifted to some hard questions directed to me. The questions ranged from inspiration of Scriptures (and which books should be included) to transubstantiation (yes, they know the theological term!) to purgatory and theology of salvation.

    As I look back now, I am amazed at the fact that the disagreements we had we’re small and quite insignificant compared to what we believe in common! It was only in purgatory that it got a little bumpy, but, all in all, these dear sisters and brothers in Christ think and believe more like me than some of my Evangelical friends who have no clue about some of the theological stuff we talked about.

    The conversation was topped by a topic that challenged all of us: universalism. One of us (not me) is disturbed by the fact that a loving God would let people, and fallen angels(!), to be tormented for eternity. The same person asked me, “Brother, do you believe in such punishment?”

    I said, “Looking at Scriptures, the evidence is quite overwhelming. So yes. But let me ask you this question: Does God change his mind? If so, is there proof, in Scriptures, that God actually does?”

    Quickly he said, “Yes! God changed his mind about Nineveh!”

    None of us actually sounded like a hard-core universalist. We simply toyed with the idea. But all of us felt a great sense of awe as we pondered upon our God whose great love continues to overwhelm us.

     

     

     

     

  • What Time Is It?

    Interpreting this Present Time

    Weather Forecasting

    Luke 12:54-59

    New International Version (NIV)

    Interpreting the Times

    54 He said to the crowd: “When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, ‘It’s going to rain,’ and it does. 55 And when the south wind blows, you say, ‘It’s going to be hot,’ and it is.56 Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don’t know how to interpret this present time?

    57 “Why don’t you judge for yourselves what is right? 58 As you are going with your adversary to the magistrate, try hard to be reconciled on the way, or your adversary may drag you off to the judge, and the judge turn you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. 59 I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.”

    ___________
    We know when it’s time to eat, sleep, or work and make money.
    But do we know, really, what time is it?This Sunday’s message…

    What Time Is It?

    The Church at Oasis
    Sunday, 10 AM
    Oasis RV Resort
    2711 W Windmill Ln
    Las Vegas, NV 89178
    (On Blue Diamond between Las Vegas Blvd and I-15)

  • FEARLESS LIVING: How it can transform your life

    Luke 12:32-34

    New International Version (NIV)

    32 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

    Click here to go to Prezi-ntation.

  • Dead Man Talking

    Dead Man TalkingLuke 7:11-17 (NIV)

    Jesus Raises a Widow’s Son
    11 Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. 12 As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. 13 When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.”

    14 Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” 15 The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.

    16 They were all filled with awe and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people.” 17 This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country.

    What did the dead man say? 

    To this question we normally answer, Nothing. He’s dead.

    But this “dead man” in Luke’s gospel is no longer dead. He’s alive! Jesus raised him from the dead. Then, “The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother” (v. 15).

    I wonder what he said. Perhaps, Why did you raise me up? If so, that’s a tough question for Jesus to answer. The reason: Jesus brought him back to life not really for him but his mother.

    Why did Jesus perform a miracle for the dead man’s mother?

    In the preceding narrative (7:1-10) Luke tells about the centurion whose faith was so great. Jesus “was amazed at him and turning to the crowd following him, he said, ‘I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel’” (v. 9).

    As to this high ranking Roman soldier, it’s easy to see why we might think that Jesus granted his request and healed his servant: because of his faith.

    How about this woman? Nothing is said about her faith or lack of it. All we know about her is that she is a widow and she just lost her only son.

    In the Jewish society during that time, a woman’s source of support was solely her husband. If her husband was dead, then her son. Very sadly, however, they’re both dead! Her helplessness and need, not her worthiness, is why Jesus “gave him back” (v. 15) to her.

    Like any other biblical narrative, this story is not really about the son, nor the mother, but about Jesus who has a heart of compassion. Jesus gives–and does so generously–not really because of who we are but because of who he is: a compassionate Savior and Lord.

    So, what did the dead man say?

    What did he who was perhaps already quite all right “up there” (but whose mother was not “down here”) said? I would like to think that he said something like this:

    Thank you, Lord, for bringing me back to life for the sake of my mother. Thank you for seeing her and her need. Thank you for your heart of compassion.

  • Jumpstarting Your Spiritual Growth

    Luke 2:41-52

    New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

    The Boy Jesus in the Temple

    41 Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover. 42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival. 43 When the festival was ended and they started to return, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it.44 Assuming that he was in the group of travelers, they went a day’s journey. Then they started to look for him among their relatives and friends. 45 When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48 When his parents[a] saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, “Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety.” 49 He said to them, “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”[b] 50 But they did not understand what he said to them. 51 Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart.

    52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years,[c] and in divine and human favor.

    Footnotes:

    1. Luke 2:48 Gk they
    2. Luke 2:49 Or be about my Father’s interests?
    3. Luke 2:52 Or in stature
    plant-growth

    Today is “Holy Family Sunday.” But today is also called “Sunday after Christmas.” So Christmas is over… well, except of course if you are Filipino. You see, for us Pinoys Christmas does not only begin early, in September, but it also goes on until January 6, the Feast of the Epiphany or The Feast of the Magi or Wise Men or “The Three Kings.” So even after New Year’s Day, Pinoys keep their Christmas decorations in their front yard or they still go out caroling even if the rest of the world think they’re nuts!

    We may enjoy extended holiday celebrations but as they say it, “Even good things must come to an end.” The question that I think you and I should ask is, “What must we do then?” Should we just go back to a hum-drum existence and wait until something special comes and live again?

    Happily we don’t have to do that. The reason is because each day can be lived to the full. Yes, we can celebrate each day—not just special days—and we can wake up each day excited. Why? Because each day can be a new adventure if we are willing to go and grow with Jesus!

    Have you been wanting to grow more mature in your faith but you seem to be facing a high wall and you’re stuck? If so, then perhaps the word of the Lord to us today would help jumpstart your spiritual growth.

    Our Gospel reading is quite a big leap from last Christmas Day’s reading: the birth of Jesus. Now Jesus is twelve years old—just one year short of the age of manhood in the Jewish culture then. Technically Jesus is just a child but what the narrative tells us is that at twelve—when kids just play around—Jesus appears to have already begun to act and think like a grown man. He does what he thinks he is supposed to do and speaks wisdom and his words are as, if not more, intelligent than those of the teachers of the law. At the end of the scene Luke, the narrator, describes to us how Jesus grows by leaps and bounds!

    What lessons can we learn from Jesus? What does the life and words of the only perfect man who ever walked on the face of the earth can teach us? If we are to imitate him as the Apostle Paul did and said we ought to, what are some of the things that we must do or become?

    Breaking away from the motions of religion (41-43)

    One of the things we immediately notice—or what you are about to see if you haven’t seen it yet—is how Jesus breaks away  from the motions of ritualistic religion.

    No, Jesus does not see religion or its rituals as necessarily bad or evil as some perhaps do. As we see, he goes through the motions of religion just as you and I probably have with ours.  If his religion’s rituals are bad, would Jesus participate in them? Of course not!

    Indeed, I imagine that the annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover, one of the most important Jewish pilgrimage festivals, must be a lot of fun! Perhaps just as, if not more, fun than our Christmas rituals and celebrations. So what kid wouldn’t look forward to this yearly march with family and friends to Jerusalem? I could just imagine Jesus’ wide-eyed excitement whenever he and his family get ready to join the caravan. He’s excited because he would not just boringly march but play and socialize with like-minded people all the way from Nazareth to Jerusalem! In Jesus’ world where there are no smart phones and tablets and phablets, the pilgrimage is definitely a lot more fun than just riding “in a one-horse-open sleigh”!

    Jesus must have been very happy to just go along with family and enjoy the company of friends and playmates… until now. This this time—at the age of twelve—he’s no longer content with just going through the same ritualistic motions as he’s done over the years, and over again! So he breaks away from the rituals. He breaks away from them not because he despises them or wants to have nothing to do with them. He breaks away from them because he wants to make sense of them… to understand their significance and meaning. The fact that he asked the teachers of the law questions is I think a telltale sign that points toward that direction and explanation.

    What do you call a man who does not just keep on mindlessly going through the rituals of religion? I think that man is a wise person. He stops and thinks about them. He seeks to understand them. He asks the question, “Why am I doing what I am doing?” And that’s what Jesus, the wise man, does. He breaks away from the rituals, and he does it big time! While his family and friends and town folks ritualistically march home and do the same things all over again, Jesus stays in Jerusalem and gets lost!

    Getting “lost” in order to find and be found (44-47)

    Jesus intentionally and purposely gets lost. The so-called “purpose driven life” is really a nothing new.  Jesus does not write about it. He does it better. No, he does it perfectly… and powerfully. He lives and shows it!

    To sometimes get lost from family, friends, and other people who are usually with and around us is a very good thing.  If we want to find answers to our questions, indeed, if we want to find ourselves and give other people the opportunity to find our real selves, you and I may need to get away from them. Yeah, for a while.

    No, it’s not easy to get away from people and the fun associated with them. But we’ve got to do it if we want to grow as individuals. To be in community is good. Indeed, very good. But to be a good part of the community we may need to get away from people we love or hang out with. If we do, we may not only find ourselves but also find answers to not only our questions but also the questions that people in our community may have been asking and wanting answers for.

    That’s what Jesus does! I’m sure it’s not easy for him to let his mother, father, family members and friends leave him. He’s not only letting go of fun, he’s also letting go of protection and provision. And now he’s got to fend for himself. This is something that only adults and mature people usually do. So obviously Jesus has grown very fast.

    This day, when Jesus stays behind in Jerusalem and asks and answers questions, marks a pivotal point in his growth as a person.  This may be a troublesome day for his parents because his action made them understandably anxious. But this day is also important to their own growth, especially his mother’s, because the momentary trouble he’s caused them has served its purpose. It allows them to rediscover who their son really is—that he is not just their son but that, more importantly, he is the Son of God!

    Letting God be God in your life (49-50)

    What a day this is for Jesus and his parents! For the past twelve years or so, Mary and Joseph have been used to their role as parents to Jesus. But today they get the shock of their lives. But shouldn’t they have expected for this day to come? If so, why get anxious about him? Have they forgotten what the angel told them about their son? Maybe, because after Jesus reminds them of his other Father and that he’s supposed to be in his house, “…they did not understand what he said to them” (v. 50). But what makes it a real shocker is that those strange and enigmatic, if not disrespectful, words comes from Jesus, a mere child, and, more important, their child.

    Doesn’t Mary’s relationship with Jesus also pictures our relationship with the Lord? Maybe for some, sometimes. Isn’t it true that when we get familiar and comfortable with the Lord we are also tempted to think that we can domesticate him? That we do everything for him? That we can take care of him, rather than him taking care of us? And perhaps that’s why we’re tempted to say to him,

    Lord, I thank you for making me a great person. Now you just sit back and relax and let me do things for you… I will preach, I will sing, I will dance, I will lead, I will feed people, and I will do whatever is necessary.  I can handle this, Lord. Just let me take full control. And oh, and that guy who wants to share the scene with me? I can handle him too. And you know what, with me, Lord, nobody messes with the way we do things. We do it right. You know why? We have you and, of course, nobody else possesses you the way I do! You’re mine, Lord, mine and mine alone.

    I’m sure we have not really said those words but if we are to be honest with ourselves we have desired something like those words express. We have desired, in one way or another, to domesticate Jesus, or keep him in our house when he’s supposed to be in the Father’s house, where he is accessible to all!

    Let me remind ourselves that a domesticated Lord is not Lord at all! That’s why Jesus also reminds his parents who he also is and what God his Father expects him to do. And that’s why when Mary complained about how Jesus has treated them he said to his parents, “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” (v. 49).

    I think it is a sign of God’s love and care that when you and I forget to let God be God, the Lord sends us a shocker. Today it comes to us in the form of the message of this Gospel narrative! And you and I should take it positively. Yes, even if it would hurt our ego. Or, even if it would hurt the ego of the people we love.

    Jesus is young person who does not want to displease his parents. But he is also a young person who does not want to displease God.  As we see in this narrative, he obeys his parents. But in doing so he sees to it that he does not disobey God. Inasmuch as he loves and wants to obey his parents, Jesus lets God be God and live his life according God’s will and according his calling as the Son of God. And I believe it would help us grow in a noticeable way if we do the same.

    Being a treasure to be treasured (51-52)

    I think it’s quite remarkable that although Jesus is wholly committed to the will of the Father yet he is able to live a life that is pleasantly attractive. He may be wise but he does not allow his superior wisdom to get into his head. Instead, it appears that his wisdom has successfully reached the hearts of people so that, as Luke reports, Mary treasured Jesus’ being a nice and obedient boy (v. 51) and also that he “increased… in divine and human favor” (v. 52). So even though nothing is written about Jesus until he shows up again as a grown man in his early 30s, we kind of know him because of this day at the temple and what Luke tells us about him.

    What a well-balanced life! What is Jesus’ secret? He really has no secret. If you’ve been listening to (yes, even if you’re reading it!) this message, then you know by now how he’s able to live a life that is both pleasing to God and people. The things we have observed in Jesus—his breaking away from people and the usual motions of religion, his getting lost to find answers to life’s important questions, his letting God be God—all add up to make him the person God wants him to be.

    In other words, Jesus has grown to be a treasure to be treasured, both to his parents and the rest of the people. He does good because he is good. Jesus’ life reminds us, spiritual growth is not primarily about doing things but about becoming. Indeed in Christ we become new persons. As the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation…” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

    When you and I put our faith in Jesus, we become like Jesus. Then we do good things. But the good things you and I do are not forced performances because doing good things come naturally out of a person who has been born again and made new.

    So what do you think? Do you think that walking with and following Jesus can jumpstart your spiritual growth? Well, how would you really know unless you do? How would you know unless you put God’s word into practice? So go… walk with Jesus… follow him.

  • The Good News: Change Your Ways or Go To Hell

    A parent and a child walk away from the Sandy Hook Elementary School following a shooting inside the school in Newtown, Connecticut, USA 14 December 2012. EPA

    Luke 3:7-18

    New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

    7 John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. 9 Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

    10 And the crowds asked him, “What then should we do?” 11 In reply he said to them, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.” 12 Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?” 13 He said to them, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.” 14 Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what should we do?” He said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.”

    15 As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah,[a] 16 John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with[b] the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

    18 So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people.

    Footnotes:

    1. Luke 3:15 Or the Christ
    2. Luke 3:16 Or in

    “Brood of Vipers”

    This is what not to do if you’re a preacher and you don’t want your church to fire you: call the people brood of vipers—which is tantamount to calling them children of the devil—and scare the hell out of them saying that if they do not change their hypocritical ways they’d go to hell. But that’s exactly what John the Baptist did!

    As a preacher I have to deal with the question about whether or not I am willing to preach such fire-and-brimstone sermon and lose my job; or, since I am not “hired” by some church or religious institution, whether or not I am willing to lose people—especially friends—who would be offended by such message. Since I want to remain true to my calling, I too have to preach the message that John preached which, in our world today, is quite offensive.

    Does Luke say John “proclaimed the good news”? Yes he does (see. v. 18)! But how can John’s rather venomous declaration be considered good news?

    It is good news in two ways. One, it is good news because it is a message of warning. A warning is meant for the good of those being warned. Its goal is their safety, not their harm, even if it sounds quite offensive and harsh. Two, it is good news because if the warning is heeded then a pitfall or danger may be avoided.

    But did John have to call them “brood of vipers”?  Let me answer that question with a question. If John did not, could he have gotten their attention? I doubt.

    The crowds were not just some pagans who did not recognize the one true God. Their ancestor was Abraham (v.8) and so they were part of “God’s chosen people.” They were “children of God.” The trouble with them, however, was that they did not live their lives according to their identity. They had more semblances with the devil than with Yahweh.  Thus, John appropriately called them brood of vipers.

    One good thing about the crowds in John’s day, however, was that they were not like some of “God’s people” today. Onion-skinned and easily offended, they might angrily retaliate and throw some nasty and demeaning words at you. Yes, even if you try to speak the truth in love. Sometimes, even if you explain your point in a logical and theological way, they wouldn’t pay attention to what you’re saying. So they misunderstand you. They are more eager to speak than listen. For some strange reason, their minds are apparently already made up. And if your conversation happens to be on Facebook, they might unfriend you. I know—I’ve already lost at least two!

    Are God’s people today like God’s people then? I think so. Just as God’s people in John’s day were quick to participate in religious rituals—like baptism—so God’s people today are also quick to do the same. Why? Because “that’s what God’s people are supposed do.”

    The baptism that John baptized people in was a baptism that signified one’s repentance. But the people—whom Luke appropriately called “the crowds” because that’s what they really were and not “God’s people”—came to John to be baptized not because they had truly repented. Their intention for baptism was just for show! How similar to “Christians” today who do “Christian activities” and use “Christian lingo”—Amen, Hallelujah, Praise the Lord, God bless, etcetera—just for show!

    That’s why I think John the Baptist dealt with them boldly and directly. Without flinching and mincing words he called them in a way that reflects who they really were: brood of vipers.

    One good thing about the crowds, however, was that, instead of turning into a mob against John, they agreed with John’s assessment of them and took John’s message positively. Knowing that they could be disinherited and cut off from God’s promise and blessing, they heeded the warning. And as a sign that they truly repented and were committed to change their ways, they asked the question, “What then should we do?” (v. 10).

    It is quite remarkable that the question “What should we do” is repeated two more times in this narrative by specific groups: the tax collectors and the soldiers (vs. 12 and 14). And all of these answers tell us that repentance is not just something we experience inwardly—like feeling sorry for our sins—but that it means doing something for the sake of others; that repentance is not just turning away from an egotistic and narcissistic way of living but that it is to live for and love God in a way that such single-minded devotion to God is expressed in loving one’s neighbor, not through mere words but concrete positive action.

    To the crowds John said, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise” (v. 10). To the tax collectors he said, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you” (v. 13). And to the soldiers, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages” (v. 14).

    If there is such a thing as a “timely message” I think this one is. It comes to us at a right time when something so wrong has just taken place, again! The massacre in Newtown, Connecticut was an evil act committed by an insane person and we rightly condemn it. But we should also condemn ourselves. Why? Because, based on similar crimes that were committed before, we knew that the Newtown massacre was bound to happen, and we needed to do so something, but we did nothing!

    Yes we grieve every time tragedy strikes, but our grieving has become hypocritical. And yes like the crowds in John’s day we, too, are brood of vipers! It makes me sick to my stomach that some of my so-called Christian friends would rather argue to keep existing gun laws—and politicize the issue—than directly respond to my specific question about what we can do to minimize, if not put an end, to mass killings, particularly in schools which appears to be the target of preference by some trigger-happy lonely lunatics.

    I don’t really know the answer to my own question but if the higher purpose of guns is to protect people from the hands of those with evil intent to kill —perhaps for reasons that their insane mind do not understand—then let’s put these God-damned guns to good use!

    America takes pride in her military might and deploys soldiers abroad to “protect Americans” against regimes and terrorist groups and “make America safe.” That’s good. But let’s not forget that America also needs to be protected from insane, if not evil, Americans! So why not use some of them to protect our schools? I think rather than let some enlisted service people just do the drills and sit around (some are actually jobless), giving them the job of securing our schools and other key places is a very good use of military funds.

    Perhaps my suggestion is naïve. If it is, then let’s do something else. Honestly, I really don’t know what’s the best way to approach the problem. Perhaps, gun laws need to be changed to stricter ones. But, knowing America’s love affair with guns, the suggestion may be unrealistic, especially if we have to come up with something now. In the meantime, we should just do what we can already do: work to secure schools and other shooting targets. And doing what we have to do might entail our sacrificial support.

    What I’m really trying to say is that I’m asking the wise and godly among us, “What should we do?”a If indeed we are children of a loving God who truly care, we have to do something. If we do nothing, then we too are brood of vipers who deserve to go to hell. But if we heed this warning and truly repent and do something, whatever that is, then that’s good news.

    Candles are lit among mementos at a memorial for victims of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School Monday in Newtown, Conn. (Photo: Mario Tama, Getty Images)

    __________________

    aIn an attempt to start a movement I wanted to call Secure Our Schools (SOS) I  checked if the domain name was available. In the process, I discovered that the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (the COPS Office) has already a program called Secure Our Schools (SOS). It appears to be a program that need not only our support but also our watchful eyes. For more details read SOS’s Fact Sheet. Thank you.

  • A Voice Among Powerful Voices: Will It Be Heard?

    Luke 3:1-6

    New International Version (NIV)

    John the Baptist Prepares the Way

    3 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene— 2 during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 4 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:

    “A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
    ‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
    make straight paths for him.
    5 Every valley shall be filled in,
    every mountain and hill made low.
    The crooked roads shall become straight,
    the rough ways smooth.
    6 And all people will see God’s salvation.’”[a]

    Footnotes:

    1. Luke 3:6 Isaiah 40:3-5

    John the Baptist

    When we listen to this Scripture text today we may imagine a prophet whose thunderous voice captures the attention of all: the poor, the priests, the Pharisees, the politicians and the powerful.

    We picture it that way perhaps because that’s how it’s been depicted in so-called Christian movies. Or, that’s how preachers may have been heard whenever they read the narrative.

    Some preachers start reading by simply cruising through the first part of the passage. Sometimes in a monotone that can elicit yawns.

    But then, suddenly and dramatically, they raise their voice when they get to the second part, they thunder:

    “A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
    ‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
        make straight paths for him.

    But remember that the “voice” is just a voice. Besides, the voice was only heard within earshot by those who were there. Where? In the wilderness, where people expect to hear not a human voice but those of wild animals.

    And let’s not forget that the voice was set in the midst of very powerful voices of men, of which the most powerful was the emperor’s: Tiberius Caesar.

    To be sure, none of us is John the Baptist. And none–then and now–can replace his unique role as Christ’s forerunner.

    But like John we are to proclaim a message to a world that appears to be controlled by powerful people and whose voices seem to dominate and drown out other voices.

    The question is, Will your voice and mine be heard?

    The world may scoff at us for our wishful thinking, but this Gospel narrative should give us a great reason to be optimistic. John’s voice may be as insignificant as a fox’s howl in the wilderness, but whose voice is it that the world has been hearing again and again?

    Annas’? No! Caiaphas’? No! Herod’s? No! Pontius Pilate’s? No! Tiberius’? No!

    If fact, none of these very powerful people’s voices have been heard again. But John’s voice have been heard over and over again. And it is his voice–not the voice of the powerful people–that has really changed the world!

    Why? Because John’s voice was not just a voice from the wilderness but a voice from God!

    You and I are definitely not John. But like John, you and I are also messengers of God. The message we bring is not just a message of a man or woman but the message of God. Therefore, when we speak forth the message of God, people should hear not just a mere human voice but the voice of God as well!

    So knowing that, should we allow the voice of the powerful and influential who do not represent God drown out our voice?

    To borrow from a Jennifer Hudson song, “No, no, no, no way!”* And if we truly voice the message of God, no one can drown out that voice!

    Why? Because no one can drown out the voice of God!

    So let’s see to it that the message we voice is the message from God. And what is God’s message to us today?

    As the people in John’s day needed to repent and be baptized so they could see and experience God’s salvation, so must the people in our day!

    John was not talking about a repentance that some consider a requirement for salvation, or a baptism that the Apostle Paul is talking about in Romans 6. John was talking about God’s people’s need to repent–and show such repentance through baptism–so that they may be ready for the Lord, the Messiah, who was about to be revealed.

    In doing so they would be ready to welcome the Messiah. And in doing so they could gratefully and gladly–not ashamedly–appropriate the grace of God that comes through Christ Jesus.

    To repent meant turning away from self and sin and turning to the Lord and trusting him to save them from anything that they needed saving from!

    Our message is the same today! But before we can preach to the world, we ought to preach John’s message to ourselves and to our fellow believers first.

    Why? Because as in John’s day, the people of God have been listening to the voices of the powerful rather than the voice of the All Powerful!

    The last elections have shown some of us our real selves and who we really trust. Perhaps our words and actions have revealed that we trust our political parties and politicians more than God to solve our problems.

    God’s Word may have decorated our words but it may be that the real intention was not to reveal the will of God but to demonize others whose politics differ from our own. Or, perhaps we just use God’s words to lend authority to our fallible human words.

    If we have done so, then we need to repent so we can once again bask in the warmth of the love and grace of God, guiltlessly.

    It is only after we have preached to ourselves and each other and repented of our sins that we can preach to the world with a powerful voice.

    Why? Because it is only after we have repented of our sins and experienced the grace of God in our own lives that we can truly know what we’re talking about!

    After we have done so, our voice is going to be a very powerful voice. Our voice will be heard and, echoed by others, it will be heard again and again and will reverberate to the ends of the earth!

    And that, my sisters and brothers, might just change our world as it did John’s.

    __
    *”And I Am Telling You”, written by Krieger, Henry D. / Eyen, Tom

    Note: Updated 12/04/2016; Aside from few edits, the article has remained basically the same, which is amazing considering the timeliness of the message. The 2012 and 2016 Presidential elections make the connection.

  • Why Still Hope Even If Everything’s Gonna Be Worse

    Jeremiah 33:14-16

    New International Version (NIV)

    14 “‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will fulfill the good promise I made to the people of Israel and Judah.

    15 “‘In those days and at that time
    I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line;
    he will do what is just and right in the land.
    16 In those days Judah will be saved
    and Jerusalem will live in safety.
    This is the name by which it[a] will be called:
    The Lord Our Righteous Savior.’

    Footnotes:

    1. Jeremiah 33:16 Or he

    Apr 2/10 Beginnings and Endings, originally uploaded by susanvg.
    Apr 2/10 Beginnings and Endings, originally uploaded by susanvg.

    Coming!

  • The Lord Reigns… So What?

    Psalm 93

    New International Version (NIV)

    1 The Lord reigns, he is robed in majesty;
    the Lord is robed in majesty and armed with strength;
    indeed, the world is established, firm and secure.
    2 Your throne was established long ago;
    you are from all eternity.

    3 The seas have lifted up, Lord,
    the seas have lifted up their voice;
    the seas have lifted up their pounding waves.
    4 Mightier than the thunder of the great waters,
    mightier than the breakers of the sea—
    the Lord on high is mighty.

    5 Your statutes, Lord, stand firm;
    holiness adorns your house
    for endless days.

    “The Lord reigns!”

    Some of us use the expression to console ourselves in times of defeat: We lost but it’s OK because the Lord still reigns anyway.

    But the rest of us also use the same as the reason for victory: We won because the Lord reigns and will not allow injustice to rule.

    So, who’s got it right? But perhaps that’s not the question to ask. So, instead of answering that question, let us take a closer look at the expression “The Lord reigns” as found in Psalm 93.

    Psalm 93 was written in Hebrew which is considered a dead language. And the truth of the matter is, although I took courses in biblical Hebrew–and passed!–I still am a “dead-language-impaired” student of the Bible.

    But hey, even Mark Throntveit who has taught the dead-language-impaired for almost thirty years does not have an easy time interpreting the text either! Throntveit may be Professor of Hebrew and Old Testament but the first two words of Psalm 93 seem to have already given him a headache! He writes, “I still marvel at the problems associated with the first two words of Psalm 93, two of the very first words one learns in the study of Hebrew.”1

    The first two words in question are Yahweh malak, which the NIV translates “The Lord reigns,” or, as Throntveit puts it, “Virtually every translation simply and elegantly renders these words…, ‘The LORD (‘Yahweh’) is king.’”

    However, Throntveit points out that “Yahweh has become king,” as an alternate translation, “is frequently encountered in the commentaries and scholarly literature…” and that “the discussion centers on important theological implications.”

    Honestly, Throntveit’s explanation of the problem gave me a headache! But maybe it’s just me. At the end of what was like a dark tunnel, however, I saw the light. Regardless which translation one might prefer, the meaning of Psalm 93 is straightforward and clear: it is a hymn of praise that reasserts Yahweh’s kingship, which is eternal and established.

    The Lord reigns and his kingship which has no beginning or end and is well-established. And thus “the world is established, firm and secure” (v. 1). Now that sounds pretty good until we look at what’s going on in our own life and in our world where evil or the kingdom of darkness seems to have the upper hand.

    Not long after after Israelis and Hamas agreed to stop killing each other through  a cease-fire that Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi helped broker, the Egyptians took to the streets, again, and violent protests broke out across Egypt. This time they are mad at Mursi’s use of “expanded” power. With angry chants they demand the “downfall of the regime”– the same rallying cry in the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak last year.

    In our world today, chaos and conflict seem to be the rule rather than the exception. And you and I can just shake our heads and wonder when this insanity is going to end, or if it is going to end at all.

    So if the Lord really reigns how come this is the kind of world we have? Why is it that evil seems to triumph over good? And if the Lord is King, how come people do not seem to acknowledge him or see his rule?

    Before we let ourselves give in to despair and hopelessness, let us remind ourselves that the reason why this psalm of praise was written and sung by God’s people was to reassert the truth that Yahweh reigns despite what was going on in their world, which I assume was no better than our world today.

    Because the Lord’s reign is eternal and secure, the people of the Lord, the king, should then have the confidence to not only proclaim it but, more importantly, to live under God’s rule! There is a  need for us to live a certain kind of life–a kingdom life–that would help make the kingdom of God visible.

    And that need is urgent. We need to live and work for God’s kingdom not tomorrow or next year. We need live and work for the Lord and his kingdom right now! Through the life and work of God’s people, the eternal reign of the Lord can be made manifest in time and space and in a world that badly needs it!

    That’s why I think the reading “Yahweh has become king” makes perfect sense. If this is how God’s people originally read it, and it seems that there is good reason to think it is because syntactically it is the more natural reading,2 then we can assume that although people of Israel knew that the Lord reigns eternally and securely, yet to make the rule of God visible in a world of chaos and conflict they had to reassert the the Lord’s reign and enthrone him again.

    We, the people of the Lord, the King, can do the same today. How? Maybe by proclaiming together “The Lord has become king,” but certainly by rededicating our lives wholly for the Lord and devoting our time and resources in service of the King of kings and Lord of Lords!

    And what does it mean to make the Lord king? It means that as God’s people the object of our faith and trust is ultimately the Lord–the good and gracious king who is personally interested in us, in our world and its redemption. Our trust should be in the Lord who is not only able but willing to rescue us. Our confidence should be  in him who has power even over nature and who said to the raging sea, “Peace, be still” and, as a result, “there was a great calm” (Mark 4:39, KJV) .

    It means that we should not put our leaders above our king and political parties above the kingdom of God. If we do, then we may not only go against God but also against each other. And we are supposed to work together for the Lord and his kingdom!

    It means that as people who recognize the Lord as king and have enthroned him as king, we are to take his kingdom of light to the world and dispel the darkness. Yes we need to pray and we need to pray hard! But we need to go beyond prayers.

    And yes we need to work together and we need to work hard. But we need to work smart as well. The world may be in spiritual darkness but that doesn’t mean people are ignorant. Scaring people with the prospect of spending eternity in hell no longer works. And why resort to such tactic when many people don’t believe in hell anyway? Most Americans don’t.3

    In a pluralistic world, we can gain a hearing and succeed if we are committed to the truth as well as follow Jesus who is not only Lord or king but also “the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6). The Twelve and other disciples did and that’s why it’s been said that these men “have turned the world upside down” (Acts 17:6).

    What might prevent us from making the Lord king of our lives? Having selfish goals and worrying about life and needs and wants? Perhaps. But as our Lord Jesus himself said, “… do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matt. 6:31-33).

    So as angry crowds who are mad at their leaders shout, “Down with the dictator!,” or as jubilant free people celebrate and hail their newly-elected President with “Four more years!” or sigh because deep within they wished only “Four more days!” for him, we the people of God, regardless of who are in power or who are not in this chaotic and conflicted world, proclaim, “The Lord has become king!”

    ______________

    1Psalm 93, Commentary on Psalm by Mark Throntveit

    2Throntveit: “Yahweh is king” is unusual in that if the subject precedes the verb, that the verb would normally be an imperfect (Proverbs 8:15), an active participle (Psalm 22:28, but with mashal not malak), or, usually, simply a noun, (melek).

    3Americans Describe Their Views About Life After Death

  • Not Far from the Kingdom of God?

    Mark 12:28-34 NRSV

    28One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, “Which commandment is the first of all?” 29Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; 30you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ 31The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” 32Then the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that ‘he is one, and besides him there is no other’; 33and ‘to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength,’ and ‘to love one’s neighbor as oneself,’ —this is much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” After that no one dared to ask him any question.

    “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

    You might wonder why the scribe asked Jesus such question. Well, there were 613 commandments in the Torah: 248 that were positive, 365 that were negative. With so many commandments, it’s not surprising that he did ask the question. In fact, there were extensive discussions among the rabbis about which commandments were heavy and light, that is, which were of greater and lesser importance.

    The Babylonian Talmud tells many stories about two great Sages, Hillel and Shammai, who lived in the first century B.C.E. They were colleagues but rarely agreed with one another and they had temperaments that were greatly different, perhaps one was fiery hot and the other icy cold.

    Talmud records that one day a gentile who knew nothing about Judaism came before Shammai and said, “I will become a convert if you teach me the entire Torah while standing on one foot.” Shammai took the man’s challenge as a joke and chased him away. The gentile then came to Hillel with the same challenge. Hillel responded, “Whatever you find hateful, do not do to your neighbor. That is what the whole Torah is all about. Everything else is commentary. Go and learn this.” With such wise response, the man became a devoted follower of Hillel.

    Jesus responds to the scribe in a way that is similar to Hillel’s. But Jesus’ answer was different in that instead of using the Golden Rule or what was called the “Silver Commandment,” he cites the most central tradition of Israel, the Shema, from Deuteronomy 6:4. “Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”

    But to the Shema, Jesus adds the phrase, “with all your mind.” For the ancient Hebrews, to love God with all your mind was included in the phrase “with all your heart.” But that was no longer the case in Jesus’ day—people no longer assumed the heart, but rather the mind, to be the center of understanding. So he added “with all your mind” just to make sure it was understood properly.

    The most distinctive aspect of Jesus’ interpretation of the law, however, is that he combines the Shema with the commandment from Leviticus: “love your neighbor as yourself” (19:18). The significance of this is that Jesus neither neglected the love of God nor the love of neighbor. So, in this story, Jesus provides both a theological answer and an ethical answer. In Jesus’ teaching, love of God cannot be divorced from love of neighbor, and vice versa. You cannot have one without the other!

    The early church knew the greatest commandment. It’s just that they sometimes failed to apply it, just as as you and I also fail to do it today. Thus in 1 John 4:20 there is this reminder: “Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.”

    Today, just a couple of days before election day and in the heat of the election debates, can we truly say we love that sister or brother who does not agree with us and who will not vote for our candidate of choice? If we can honestly say yes, then perhaps we are not far from the kingdom of God. Or perhaps it takes one who has truly become a child of God and one who has already entered the kingdom of God to love both God and neighbor.

  • Where on earth would we go?

    The Passion of the Christ – God's Ground 

    John 6:60-69

    New International Version (NIV)

    Many Disciples Desert Jesus

    60 On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”

    61 Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you? 62 Then what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! 63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit[a] and life. 64 Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. 65 He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.”

    66 From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.

    67 “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve.

    68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”

    Footnotes:

    1. John 6:63 Or are Spirit; or are spirit

    Jesus asked the Twelve, “You do not want to leave too, do you?”

    The Twelve Disciples answered, “Where on earth would we go?”

    I’m very much tempted to use the “hell” word. But just less than a week ago Oklahoma valedictorian, Kaitlin Nootbaar, was reported to be “having a devil of a time receiving her high school diploma” for using “hell” in her graduation speech (USA Today, August 20).  So, I’d rather not use the word in the same way that Kaitlin did.

    I used to carry a Red Letter Edition Bible, so called because the words of Christ are printed in red. Now that Bible is gathering dust somewhere. But every time I come to this passage, there are words of Christ here that stand out from the rest, as if these words have been printed in the reddest of red.

    When “many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him,” Jesus asked the Twelve: “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Now there is the bloody question that would haunt anybody who’s not sure about what to do with Christ and his words.

    Why did many of Christ’s disciples leave him? They left because they were offended by the bloody words of Christ. Earlier, Jesus offered his flesh and blood to them. He said,

    56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”

    The Blood of Jesus the Lord - Toward The Mark #31

    These words of Jesus are especially provocative because he said them in the synagogue and to people for whom eating flesh and drinking blood was sickening. Only evil people (Zech. 11:9) and vultures and wild animals do that (Ez. 39:17). The words of Jesus were offensive. No wonder many of his disciples left him.

    The reason why these disciples find Jesus’ words offensive was because they did not believe in him as the Word of Life who had come down from heaven and whose words are life. If they did, then they would have believed the words of Jesus. Yes, even if they did not understand the full meaning of the words of him who would suffer and die on the cross.

    Today, we may not have any problem with the words of Jesus—we understand better what it means to eat his flesh and drink his blood—but do we believe that he truly came down from heaven and, after the resurrection, ascended to where he came from?

    Modern minds may find that hard to swallow. Some may say that only those who have the ability to scrutinize the claims of Jesus are the ones who can make the right judgment. But Jesus thinks differently. He declared, “…no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.”

    Some theologians call that “prevenient grace.” Whatever, you might call it, it is clear that it is God the Father that enables sinners to come to Christ or believe that he is God made flesh and the source of eternal life.

    Sounds like a fairy tale? Well, C.S. Lewis wrote, “Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again” (The World’s Last Night: And Other Essays). I’m not saying that all these stories about God becoming flesh in Jesus are fairy tales or myths. What I’m saying is that it is in these stories about Christ that our desire to “live happily ever after” finds its greatest hope… if we believe.

  • “Taste and see that the Lord is good…”

    Read Psalm 34:1-8

    The Psalm, through David, invites us to “Taste and see that the Lord is good…”

    How good is the Lord? Well, he rescued David. David killed Goliath and people praised him through a song: “‘Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands’?” But after those courageous exploits, David embarrassingly feared for his life. He ran away from Saul and, to survive, he lied to Ahimelek the priest (as a man “on a mission” so he could be seen as “holy” and so he could eat the consecrated bread) and he pretended be insane before king Achish of Gath because he was afraid he might kill him. (Read 1 Sam 21:11)

    Need God to rescue you? Trust in God… then you will “Taste and see that the Lord is good…”

  • You give them something to eat

     

    Mark 6:30-44 (NIV)

    Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

    30 The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught.31 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”

    32 So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. 33 But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.

    35 By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. “This is a remote place,” they said, “and it’s already very late. 36 Send the people away so that they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”

    37 But he answered, “You give them something to eat.”

    They said to him, “That would take more than half a year’s wages[a]! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?”

    38 “How many loaves do you have?” he asked. “Go and see.”

    When they found out, they said, “Five—and two fish.”

    39 Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass.40 So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. 41 Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all.42 They all ate and were satisfied, 43 and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. 44 The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand.

    Footnotes:

    1. Mark 6:37 Greek take two hundred denarii

    “You give them something to eat.”

    I wonder how you reacted to those words of Jesus. Yes, I can see your faces but I can’t read them. I lost the ability since I came to Vegas.

    Why? Well, tell me, can you really read a poker face?

    Kidding aside, perhaps the moment you heard those words, you immediately felt the weight of responsibility. Or, maybe, you wondered whether or not those words are also addressed to you.

    However we respond to these words of Jesus, or however we take them, to the people at the receiving end—those who will be fed—those words are like music to their ears. Well, that is, if they are hungry or need food.

    Where I originally came from, the Philippines, foods—especially if there are lots of them—have been the main attraction for any gathering. That’s why we’re not surprised if, for example, some people who were not present at the church for the wedding would show up at the reception!

    When I was a child, our family attended a relative’s wedding. There were not a lot of people at the ceremony, but at the reception, the whole village was there!

    Food remains a great attraction to people. The casinos know that and that’s why they offer free buffets to potential gamblers. Churches and Christian ministries know that, too. That’s why they may offer food to those in need, sometimes not in a good way because food is used as bait to would-be converts.

    Feeding the hungry is a very important subject. But today our emphasis is not only on the theology of feeding—or the right way to use food, or other stuff for that matter, to minister to people. Our text today also speaks loudly about our involvement or participation in what the Lord wants to do through us.

    In addition, I think that this narrative challenges us to get involved in ways that our participation affects people in a very real way and in ways that involve more than just words on our part.

    So let’s begin with the first emphasis.

    “You give them something to eat.”

    You, yes you, give them something to eat. The emphasis is on the subject: you.

    In the Gospel of Mark, the disciples are portrayed as lacking in faith and thus also lacking in involvement. In the previous chapters, we read about them following the Lord but they had not really done anything. They were mere companions. It is only in chapter 6, after Jesus called “the Twelve” and sent them out, two by two, that they preached, drove out demons and healed many who were sick (vv. 7-13).

    Surprisingly, the Twelve did not seem to have any problem doing the Lord’s directives at this point. They went as the Lord sent them and they did an excellent job!

    Today, some of us may have already responded to the call of Jesus as the Twelve did. You and I may not be call ourselves Apostles (with a capital “A”), and rightly so because the Twelve had a unique role, nevertheless we, too, have responded to the call of Jesus to serve and not just be served.

    Sadly, however, there many more of us who continue to be in the receiving end and, like party crashers or those people who showed up at my cousin’s wedding reception, they are there not also to serve but only to be fed.

    I think it’s a shame that some believers even want positions of honor, but not the responsibility. In my ministry, I’ve encountered a few people who love to be elected officers. But that’s about it because, afterwards, they don’t really do anything to serve.

    Isn’t that a stark contrast to the goal that our Lord Jesus had when he walked upon this earth? If we say we follow Jesus, then we should be like him who “did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many (or all)” (10:45).

    When the Lord calls, he also gives gifts to equip them in service. Ephesians 4:11-12 reads, “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service….”

    But is this calling only for a special group of people who would be apostles or missionaries, prophets or preachers, evangelists, and pastor/teachers? No!

    The calling to serve is for everyone. Apostle Peter declares that believers “are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession.” If you believe in Jesus as Savior and Lord, you, too, have been called together with other believers. And here’s the goal of our calling: “…that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9).

    Have you responded to the call to serve? If not, do so today. And don’t you worry; the Lord has given you spiritual gifts or abilities to equip you to serve. But you need to find out what your gifts are. If you don’t know how, we’re here to help.

    But there are things that you and I can do together regardless of our spiritual gifts. This leads us to our next emphasis.

    “You give them something to eat.”

    The emphasis this time is on the predicate: “give them something to eat.”

    If you recall, the disciples did not have any trouble doing what they did when Jesus sent them two by two. They preached, exorcised the demon-possessed, and healed those who were sick.

    Now, which is harder to do, to preach, exorcise and heal or to feed the people?

    Well, that depends on a number of things. One is the number of people involved. Many of us may find preaching, exorcising, or healing harder to do than feeding people until we find out that there are more than 5,000 people to feed. We, preachers, would rather preach to a multitude than give them food!

    Because of the number of people, it is not surprising that the disciples gave Jesus a very practical suggestion: “This is a remote place,” they said, “and it’s already very late. 36 Send the people away so that they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”

    We can’t blame the disciples. We could have easily come up with the same smart idea. But Jesus had a better idea: you feed them.

    Better? How could that be a better idea? Jesus himself said, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill” (John 6:26).

    It may be difficult to understand why feeding the people is a better idea than sending them away to fend for themselves until we see the important things that, I believe, Jesus wanted to impart to his disciples, and us. The first:

    The importance of faith-building

    Oftentimes the practical solution is just an excuse to do it the easy way or to avoid responsibility. But what does the easy way produce in return? Well, easy-go-lucky believers whose faith has not really grown.

    So how is faith built? Do you think it would help grow faith if people witness signs and wonders? We seem to think so.

    But that did not happen in the case of the disciples of Jesus. After they witnessed the miraculous things that Jesus did, they did not really grow in faith. After calming the storm, Jesus said to these terrified men, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” (Mark 4:40).

    And you’d think that after Jesus demonstrated his lordship over nature that these guys would be bold enough to face even the fiercest demons? Well, nothing could be father from the truth. In fact, in Mark 5:1-20, encountered Legion, an army of demons who possessed the man who made his home among the tombs, they did absolutely nothing.

    So I think it’s just right that Mark wrote the narrative as if the disciples were not there at all. Take a look, for example, at the beginning of the narrative. He wrote, “When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him” (v. 2). He wrote as if only Jesus got out of the boat!

    Jesus and the disciples came to this Gentile country for a mission. But who accomplished it? Definitely not the disciples. It is the ex-demon possessed Gentile who proclaimed Jesus in all of the ten cities of the region!

    Because of their non-involvement, they did not “shine … like stars in the sky” (Philippians 2:15) in that foreign land whose inhabitant Josephus, a 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian, called Syrians.

    That leads us to the second thing that I believe Jesus wants to impart to us:

    A life characterized by compassion

    Believers do not grow in faith and do not shine like stars in this world of darkness because they do not let God work “in them in order to fulfill his good purpose” (v. 13). Such kind of selfish living runs counter with the life of love and compassion and lived “not looking to your own interests but … to the interests of the others” (v. 4) that the Apostle Paul talks about at the beginning of Philippians 2.

    The Lord we say we follow is full of love and compassion. In our Scripture text today we read, “When Jesus … saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd.” In Mark 8, where our Lord also fed about 4,000 people who had “nothing to eat,” he called his disciples to him and said to them, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat” (vs. 1-2).

    Unlike some Christians today who feed people to make converts out of them, Jesus fed the multitude because he had compassion on them. So should we. But this same motivation applies not just to feeding the physically hungry but also to other ministries that seek to minister to the physical needs of people.

    I’m sure there are other things that may be as important as these things I’m pointing out here, but let me give the third and last thing that I think Jesus wants to impart to us based on our Scripture passage:

    When serving, the secular becomes sacred

    To say that the disciples tried to avoid feeding people because it was not a spiritual activity is really forcing it. But I think the fact that Jesus insisted doing it shows that he did not see feeding or other forms of social work as less important or less spiritual. I don’t even think that Jesus had in mind the dichotomy—that is, the distinction of spiritual and secular—that we have today.

    Jesus, spontaneously followed his heart. Now that does not mean he was not thinking. In fact he knew that feeding could give people the wrong idea for following him, which it did! Nevertheless, he followed his heart of compassion.

    So, anything we do that flows out from the compassionate heart of Jesus and through our hearts is sacred. And so, even the so-called secular work that many of us do, when done in the name of Christ and in service to others, becomes sacred as well.

    In his book, The Pursuit of God, A.W. Tozer, a pastor who lived a simple and non-materialistic lifestyle, wrote, “Let every man abide in the calling wherein he is called and his work will be as sacred as the work of the ministry. It is not what a man does that determines whether his work is sacred or secular, it is why he does it” (italics mine).

    So as you and I look ahead to Monday, let us not regard it a day to dread. Instead, let us look forward to it as the second day to worship, as we do today. And let us  seek to glorify the Lord by serving others, perhaps by feeding them or meeting a need, all throughout the week. Amen.