Tag Archives: faithfulness

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Abraham’s example

Click here to listen to the audio recording of this 28-minute message. Or watch the video here on Facebook (the message starts about 28 minutes into the recording). Or read the text summary below.

In last week’s sermon, ‘Hard words’, from Matthew 10:24-39, we heard almost impossible words from Jesus regarding his expectations of how we should live our lives. In particular:

37 Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me
is not worthy of me;
anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me
is not worthy of me;
38 whoever does not take up their cross and follow me
is not worthy of me.

Despite these words, the take-home message from last week was (1) that God loves us deeply and with great attention to the detail of our lives, and (2) that God wants the whole of us and not just small pieces of us.

Genesis 22:1-18, our reading for today, illustrates what we spoke about last time. Abraham gets an unthinkable instruction from God:

“Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.”

I wonder what we would do if we got such an instruction from God. Honestly, I would say ‘no’. Just, ‘no’.

We must remember, though, that we know much more about God’s character today than Abraham did. God only began revealing himself to the world in Genesis 12, when he selected Abraham to be his ambassador and to bring God’s blessings to all nations. Abraham was just getting to know God and had little to go on 10 chapters later. But we have the rest of the entire First Testament, plus the Gospels and all the writings of the early church. We have a much greater grasp of who God is and what God would or would not demand of us.

Still, Abraham is committed and so obeys God’s command. He and his only son Isaac start the journey towards Isaac’s sacrifice. Isaac may be a child, but he’s not stupid. He notices that everything for the sacrifice is there except the lamb. Where is the lamb? he asks his father. And Abraham answers, God will provide.

They continue on to the site God had selected. Abraham establishes the altar, lays his son on the wood, and gets ready to kill him with a knife before burning his body as a sacrifice to God. In that final moment, God stops him and affirms his faith. And provides a ram (not just a lamb) to be sacrificed in Isaac’s place. And God renews his original promise to Abraham in Genesis 12 in Genesis 22:15-18.

It is in many ways an unthinkable, dreadful story!

The only real comparison is Jesus’ death on the cross – also a sacrifice on our behalf. But there are major differences between Jesus’ sacrifice and Isaac’s. Jesus was a full and equal partner with God the Father and God the Spirit in working out the plan for his sacrifice of himself on the cross. Jesus went in knowing what he was doing and fully agreeing to it. And he knew the outcome it would produce. Isaac, on the other hand, was kept in the dark about all of this.

I said to my congregation in the sermon that if they believe God is instructing them sacrifice a member of their family, they should come and talk with me first. Seriously! This narrative in Genesis 22 is not the norm.

But it does illustrate the kind of whole-hearted and willing-to-go-to-the-very-end commitment that Jesus spoke about in Matthew 10 last week. Sometimes, God does call us to do something unimaginable, extraordinary, risky, and extravagant. And often, that is precisely what we should do. God does want our whole selves – every piece of us.

Featured image from the 4th Sorrowful Mystery Chapel in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. (https://www.nationalshrine.org/blog/why-did-god-ask-abraham-to-sacrifice-isaac/)

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Hard words

Click here to listen to the audio recording of this 28-minute message. Or watch the video here on Facebook (the message starts about 25 minutes into the recording). Or read the text summary below. (This message was preached on 25 June 2023.)

The context of today’s Gospel reading (Matthew 10:24-39) is persecution – Jesus’ warning to his disciples that they will be persecuted (vv 16 & 22):

I am sending you out like sheep among the wolves… You will be hated by everyone because of me…

And so we read this passage section by section and listen to what God is saying to us through the Word:

24 The student is not above the teacher, nor a servant above his master. 25 It is enough for students to be like their teachers, and servants like their masters. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household!

We are described as Jesus’ servants or slaves and as Jesus’ students. What happens to him will happen to us. How he is treated, so shall we be treated. If he is called Beelzebul (the devil), so shall we. But there is also hope in these lines: hope that we can become like our teacher and master; and hope that we upgrade from students and servants to members of his household.

26 So do not be afraid of them,
for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed,
or hidden that will not be made known.
27 What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight;
what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs.

Who is it that we need not be afraid of? Surely not the people in the previous verses? No, I think most likely is it the ‘they’ referred to in verse 19, “But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it.”

These verses present 4 contrasts between what happens in private (concealed, hidden, in the dark, in the ear) and what is done publicly (disclosed, made known, in the daylight, from the rooftops). We are encouraged to be bold!

28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.
Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Here we get the second reassurance to not be afraid. ‘Those who kill the body’ refers to those people who persecute – many Christians in the early church were persecuted and killed. But instead, be afraid of the one who can destroy the soul. I’ve often thought that meant the devil, but commentators argue that the devil does not have the power to destroy souls – only God has that power. So, if we are going to be afraid of anyone, we should be afraid of (or rather, we should fear) God.

29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care (or will or knowledge).
30 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
31 So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

Verse 29 contrasts the cheapness of sparrows with God’s concern for their death. The last word of verse 29 has multiple meanings, but ‘care’ seems most appropriate in context – God cares about even the cheap little sparrows. He directs his attention towards even them. He does not, however, save them from dying – they do die. But he is present with and caring for them, as they die.

Verse 30 emphasises God’s interest in the smallest details of our lives, even the number of hairs on our head. It is trivial, but God knows such details. Again, he does not stop our hair from falling out! But he does keep count.

Verse 31 gives us the third “don’t be afraid”. Because sparrows – small as they are – are loved by God. How much more are we then loved by God.

32 Whoever acknowledges me before others,
I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven.

33 But whoever disowns me before others,
I will disown before my Father in heaven.

These two verses provide a parallel response from us to Christ: if we acknowledge him, he’ll acknowledge us. If we disown him, he’ll disown us. These are blunt words, but honest and direct.

34 Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to turn
“a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—
36 a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household”. (Micah 7:6)

Jesus preaches love consistently, but then we get these verses about the violence within families. In truth, faith can fracture families. Nations go to war over religion. And so do families.

37 Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me
is not worthy of me;
anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me
is not worthy of me;
38 whoever does not take up their cross and follow me
is not worthy of me.

This triptych of “is not worthy of me” is among the most chilling words uttered by Jesus. They seem so out of character. A punch in the belly. His emphasis is on his requirement for our total allegiance.

39 Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.

We must lose ourselves in Christ. That is the path to finding ourselves.

So, as we we wrap this difficult passage, there are two take-home messages:

First, God knows and loves us – we are members of his household, valued, known and cared for.

Second, God expects everything of us – he wants our utter commitment.

Featured image from https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/erik-raymond/truth-and-tone-go-hand-in-hand/

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Life and Death

Click here to listen to the audio recording of this 17-minute message. Or watch a video of the message on Facebook here (the message starts at about 27 minutes).

The collect for today opens with the words, “Holy and righteous God, you set before us life and death”. This prayer sets the tone for today’s collection of readings, which are, literally, a matter of life and death. We are presented in the scriptures with two options – life and death – and invited to choose one. Let’s run through them swiftly together.

1 Corinthians 5:12-20. In this passage, Paul defends the importance of believing in the resurrection of the dead in general, and the resurrection of Christ in particular. If there is no resurrection, Paul argues, then there is no hope for us of a life after death. And if that is the case, our believing in Christ is to be pitied. Paul is impassioned in making his argument. You can hear, as you read, that this is for him, a make or break in the Christian faith – it is a matter of eternal life or eternal death.

Luke 6:17-26. Here, Jesus presents a series of blessings and woes, each comprising three verses. The blessings remind us of his beatitudes in Matthew 5, and speak of God’s favour on those who are vulnerable and marginalised, and those who suffer for the sake of Christ – they will be raised up. The woes are dire warnings against those who laud their wealth and power over others, who bask if their own accomplishments and who are self-sufficient – they will be brought low. Jesus is not afraid to divide the world into good and bad, blessed and cursed – it is a matter of life and death.

Jeremiah 17:5-10. Jeremiah echoes Jesus’ curses and woes. “Cursed is the one” he says, who trusts in human things and who turns away from God. That person will be like a dry shrub in a salty uninhabited wasteland. Jeremiah’s words here are clear and uncompromising. By contrast, “blessed is the one” who trust in God, for they will be like a tree, with its roots in a river, who is able to withstand challenges and be green and fruitful – it is a matter of life and death.

Psalm 1. The Psalmist replicates Jeremiah’s imagery of a “blessed one” who does not keep company with the wicked, but rather who spends time with God. This one is like a tree planted by a river. The ready water strengths and protects the tree, so that it is always fruitful. By contrast, the wicked are like chaff, who have no roots and blown away by the wind. Their way leads to destruction – it is a matter of life and death.

These four readings all say the same thing – there is a path of life and a path of death. The path of life involves maintaining fellowship with God and God’s people, and living in accordance with God’s values. The path of death involves relying on oneself, disregarding God and placing too much hope in how others perceive one. The consequences of these two paths are a matter of life and death.

All too often, we stray onto the path of death. Sometimes we do so quite consciously and deliberately – we turn from God and we choose to think or act in ways that we know are ungodly. Other times, we just stray there, quite unintentionally, as if drawn there. Roman Catholic theologians call this ‘original sin’ and Calvinists call it ‘total depravity’ or sometimes ‘pervasive depravity’. It relates to the fall of humanity in Genesis 3 – that our hearts, created by God for good, incline towards evil. If we are not watchful and careful, we all too easily drift onto the path of death, by turning from God towards sin.

We must be far more alert, awake and vigilant regarding our heart and our actions. We must be far more deliberate and intentional in what we choose. If we drift through life without thinking, we are at great risk of drifting onto the path of death. Rather, we need to be conscious and thoughtful about life. We must choose, repeatedly, even continuously, to follow the path of life, the path of blessing, the path of Christ.

Moses speaks strongly to his people about this shortly before they exit the wilderness. It is worth reading in full: Deuteronomy 30:15-20a:

See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess. But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life.

Now choose life!

Featured image from: https://blogs.gartner.com/hank-barnes/files/2013/04/fork-in-the-road.jpg