An Authority Recreated in Gentleness is Peace
Matthew 11:27 “All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. 28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Read More »
A Revelation for the Little Children
Matthew 11: 25 At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; 26 yes, Father, for such was your gracious will …”
The point of the above scripture is not an indictment of education or knowledge, any more than it is an indictment of age. Jesus does say that God revealed the revelation of Jesus Christ to “little children,” but the disciples were not little children, in the literal sense of the word. They were, however, “like little children” in that they were more than willing and ready to admit their total dependency upon God. They were willing and ready to follow Jesus’ teaching. The wise and understanding from whom God hides the revelation of Jesus Christ are those who deem themselves self-sufficient, super wise, and above any need for God. These are the ones who do not see Christ’s revelation; these are the ones from whom God withholds it. The little children who do see it are those who depend upon God and are willing to be taught. To them, God freely reveals all. Read More »
Ecological Sustainability is a Theological Issue
Christians in North America have ignored environmental issues for far, far too long. We have justified our actions - or lack thereof - by leaning too heavily upon complicated, if not abstractly vague, eschatological schematics. It worked too, at least for the time being. Why would or should anyone care about ecological stewardship if Jesus was returning tomorrow? You see, Jesus’ cataclysmic return not only signified the beginning of a new age for the Church, but also the subsequent end of the old age of the world. The total and utter destruction of earth as we know it, for some mysterious reason, become a practical if not fatalistic reality. The logic of this sort of apocalyptic thinking, of course, leads one to what would seem to be a very solid conclusion: if the world is going to be morphed into dust, why then should we worry about environmental issues? Well, most Evangelicals did not worry about it at all! Read More »
Matthew’s Subversion of Our Ordinary Norms
The Gospel of Matthew has been called the most Jewish of all the Gospels. Jesus of Nazareth was Jewish, mind you. I think that simple truth alone has been subtly buried by the crushing tide of our popular, Western expressions of Christianity. Jesus was Jewish, as were his disciples. The Gospel of Matthew reflects this Jewishness more so than any other canonical Gospel. This is very important. The Jewishness of Mathew is very, very important.
You see, in Matthew, the author is writing specifically to Jewish people who are well trained in Jewish Law or Torah. That’s why the Gospel begins immediately with a long and tough to read genealogy. Yeah, we may as well admit it, we all skip that part of Matthew, right! Right. It is, however, a very important feature of this Gospel. The author of Matthew includes it because he is writing to a Jewish audience and he wants to show his audience that the redemptive work God began with Israel is completed in Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah. So, in this long and tedious genealogy, Matthew not only links Jesus’ heritage with King David, but also with Abraham. Jesus of Nazareth is Son of David, Son of Abraham, Son of God. That’s pretty important info., not only for Matthew’s Jewish audience, but for all of us Gentiles too. Read More »
Living Out Matthew 4:23-5:16
C. Wess Daniels of Gathering in Light tagged me for a meme built upon favorite passages of Scripture. I have a lot of favorite passages and stories, but I think the following represents the one portion I find myself going back to time and time again. I personally believe Jesus meant what he said, and said what he meant. Yet, we are so comfortable with life lived apart from the practical ramifications of his teaching. I personally go back to the following portion of scripture because I - me - have to check myself daily against the master’s teaching, lest I comfortably wander away from my own cross. Jesus never said his way was easy … Read More »