the invitation to bow

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not! See, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’” [Matthew 23:37-39 ESV]

I think that this is an odd thing for a person to say - odd unless they are God incarnate.
In likening Jews to be his children Jesus speaks of his pre-human existence.
His lament over Jerusalem gives us a peek into God's heart of compassion towards Israel.

So often when we read the Old Testament and miss that aspect of God.
Too often we fail to read between those lines and see a Heavenly Father inviting us to bow.
It causes me to see Israeli history through the compassionate eyes of Jesus.

I think that this divine attitude of gracious compassion prevails yet today.
This merciful and loving invitation is open for everyone who will bow in humility.
God longs to gather us under his wings. He longs to bless us.

Sadly, as in the case of Israel, our pride rises up and we often refuse to bow.
Jesus speaks of a day to come when the Lamb of God is unveiled as the King of kings.
On that day every knee will bow and everyone confess Jesus is Lord.

I repent of my stubborn pride Lord. Please forgive me and help me to bow each new day.

... this devotion is part of the Red Letters series. Click here to read more.
1 comment:

hypocrites and heretics

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! ... You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape ... I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute ... [Matthew 23:29,33,34 ESV]

In this, the last of the seven woes, Jesus wraps up his condemnation of the leaders.
As he decries their heinous acts he ties them to those of past religious leaders.
And he also alludes to the coming destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 AD.

Interesting how he uses the phrase "brood of vipers".
This was the name that John the Baptist used to describe these religious leaders.
He most certainly had John on his mind and the way that they rejected his message.

Reminds me of how the messages of a Martin Luther were once rejected.
And in America, Martin Luther King Jr was celebrated by som only after he died.
Prophets are generally not accepted because they challenge the status quo.

Also notable is the way that many in our day are spoken ill of and treated as heretics.
These are labelled that way simply because they do not pass certain tests of orthodoxy.
Sometimes I think that all that has changed is what is lawful to do with 'heretics'.

Open up my ears and eyes Lord so that I do not reject the messages of your prophets.

... this devotion is part of the Red Letters series. Click here to read more.
1 comment:

the spiritual dead

You are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and self-indulgence! ... Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity. [Matthew 23:25,27 NLT]

Jesus continues his rebuke of religious leaders and what he means when he says 'hypocrisy'.
In both illustrations he compares the things that are unseen to those that are seen.
In graphic language Jesus says that these leaders are spiritually dead.

I cannot think of a harsher condemnation of a religious leader.
Their hypocrisy is that they do 'spiritual' things but have no spiritual life on the inside.
Their words and actions do not come from within but from without.

Sadly, such ways did not die out in the first century.
Still today we hear reports of religious leaders doing despicable things.
Words and actions that evidence the absence of inner spiritual life.

These all appear to be legitimate religious leaders on the surface.
But on the inside they are filled with greed and self-indulgence.
They personify hypocrisy and project a faith that is bereft of spiritual life.

Lord, help my life to reflect the beautiful new heart you have formed in me.

... this devotion is part of the Red Letters series. Click here to read more.
2 comments:

on tithing and tipping

You hypocrites! You tithe from your luxuries and your spices, giving away a tenth of your mint, your dill, and your cumin. But you have ignored the essentials of the law: justice, mercy, faithfulness. It is practice of the latter that makes sense of the former. [Matthew 23:13 VOICE]

When I think about this passage I am reminded of a night out with Christian friends.
Six of us shared dinner at a restaurant where they automatically charged an 18% gratuity.
One of the guys in our group was very upset about the extra 3% tip and complained over dinner.

Like the Pharisees he was zeroed in on technicalities and was neglecting weightier matters.
He was focused on the legal percentages instead of blessing our waiter.
Such is the path of those who are more concerned with the letter, than the spirit, of a matter.

A fixation on religious legalities will cause a person to miss the point of faith.
If faith does not cause you to be more just ... more merciful ... more faithful ... and more loving ... then then there is something wrong with your faith.
Genuine faith causes one go past what they owe God.
Authentic spirituality leads one to live a more generous life.
Real faith is not focused on tipping or tithing percentages.

Take my eyes off the percentages Lord and help me to lead a life of generosity today.

... this devotion is part of the Red Letters series. Click here to read more.
3 comments:

our word should be sacred

“Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that has made the gold sacred? And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath.’ You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? [Matthew 23:16-19 ESV]

Here is the way that The Message presents a part of this passage:
What difference does it make if you make your promise inside or outside a house of worship? A promise is a promise. God is present, watching and holding you to account regardless.
Such is the strange logic of those caught up in the religious legalities.
These delineate behaviors that take place inside of church from those out in the world.
One of my friends used to complain about how different some Christians act in business.

Sadly these seem to have embraced a mentality that divorces sacred and secular behavior.
Sometimes folks like these are known as Sunday morning Christians.
Folks who say all the right things but do not walk the talk.

Jesus cuts through the religious wranglings with just a few words.
He focuses on why our word or promise is sacred.
Not because of value of the gold backing it but because of God's presence when we promise.

This is true of everything we do - God is ever present in our lives.
Our behavior should reflect that consistency - our word should be our bond.
Our character should reflect that of Christ - our word should be sacred.

Keep me from rash promises Lord. Help me to know when to say yes and when to say no.

... this devotion is part of the Red Letters series. Click here to read more.
No comments:

open to interpretation

Woe to you, you teachers of the law and Pharisees. There is such a gulf between what you say and what you do. ... You steal the homes from under the widows while you pretend to pray for them. ... You traverse hills and mountains and seas to make one convert, and then when he does convert, you make him much more a son of hell than you are. [Matthew 23:13-15 VOICE]

These are the first of the seven woes that Jesus speaks to hypocritical religious leaders.
These are some of the harshest condemnations that Jesus issues to spiritual leaders.
In his words here Jesus describes them as people who are:
  • ignorant of the true nature of the kingdom of God;
  • only concerned with gathering followers for themselves;
  • keeping people from experiencing authentic spiritual life.
The Pharisees were all about living by the law of Moses.
Really. More specifically living by their legalistic interpretations of the law.
This phenomena remains to this day and still causes damage.

Author Rob Bell speaks of people being influenced by interpretations of the scriptures.
He says that folks have been taught exactly how the Bible is to be interpreted.
Folks who disagree with those interpretations are told they do not believe the bible.

Spiritual life is often robbed from many by legalistic religious leaders.
These modern day Pharisees are still making rules about food, movies and television.
Sadly they teach a reliance on one specific method of biblical interpretation.

Instead of helping people to discern the scriptures they teach dogma instead.
These see the bible as a closed book rather than an unfolding mystery.
In this sense they remain closed to discovery and not open to interpretation.

Open my eyes Lord to new ways of seeing the scriptures.

... this devotion is part of the Red Letters series. Click here to read more.
1 comment:

be content to be yourself

There is only one Life-Leader for you and them—Christ. Do you want to stand out? Then step down. Be a servant. If you puff yourself up, you’ll get the wind knocked out of you. But if you’re content to simply be yourself, your life will count for plenty. [Matthew 23:11-13 MSG]

In the context of the bad examples that religious leaders set, Jesus switches gears.
He instructs his followers to serve in the context of humility.
I love how The Message interprets humility as being content to be yourself.

Much has been made in recent years about being a "servant leader".
Interesting to note that Jesus does not tell them to be leaders at all.
He tells them to be content by simply being servants.

Wanting to be a leader can sometimes cause you to be the exact opposite of a servant.
And when you serve to become 'something' you become more like a Pharisee than a servant.
Better to serve with no motive other than just being yourself.

Jesus tells his disciples, and us, that the path to leadership is humility.
Being a servant is all about humility - simply being yourself.
Brother Lawrence, a 17th century monk, is reported to have once once said this:
Is it not quicker and easier just to do our common business wholly for the love of him?
I think that the words 'common business' speak a bit to what it means to be humble.
Many of us want our works to be special and extraordinary.
Lawrence says that our work is special and extraordinary when it is done unto the Lord.

Help me Lord to be me. Help me to serve in a way that reflects You in me.

... this devotion is part of the Red Letters series. Click here to read more.
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