call no one pastor

They love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi.’ “Don’t let anyone call you ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one teacher, and all of you are equal as brothers and sisters. [Matthew 23:7-8 NLT]

Liturgical church traditions often address their ministers as “Father”.
Evangelical churches address their ministers as Pastor (with a capital ‘P’).
I have often said that the Evangelical translation of Pope is "Senior Pastor".

When I worked on the pastoral staff of a church people sometimes called me Pastor Bob.
When folks did that it kind of creeped me out and made me wonder why they did it.
Yet, sadly, I did get a bit of a religious buzz (another word for pride?) when they did it.

I guess the religious buzz is a part of the problem.
The focus on titles, be they religious or secular, is a bit of a dark flavor of pride.
Years ago a person disagreed with me on this and said that titles are simply a sign of respect.

Here is how I responded to her comment:
Regarding titles, I guess I'm just a little less formal than you are. I think that titles such as doctor or judge (i.e. your honor) may be appropriate in the hospital or courtroom but in a friendly discussion among friends it gets pretty weird. Likewise in a church setting it may be appropriate to address a person in a formal way but in a non-professional setting it is a bit weird to me. First names are much warmer and friendlier ... and can be communicated with absolutely no disrespect.
For me the issue gets to the heart of what Jesus is teaching in the above passage.
It goes back to motives - both in those who have titles and those who talk to them.
We are all equal as brothers and sisters. So just call me Brother Bob.

Lord help us to know how to be respectful and not feed the pride in others.

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

The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses. So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach. They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden. Everything they do is for show. [Matthew 23:2-5 NLT]

"Practice what you preach" and "Do as I say, not as I do" have their roots in this passage.
Expounds a bit on what Jesus means when he often calls these religious leaders hypocrites.
For example, it is hypocritical for a religious leader to instruct their followers to give sacrificially and then live lavish lives that seem to fly in the face of what they say.
Causes one to wonder why these broken leaders do the things that they do.

I think that this sort of behavior has its roots in the dark motives of a few leaders.
They do things that attract attention to themselves - they want to be seen by others.
Such is the darkness that seduces some who are drawn to public ministry.

Sadly, folks are often drawn to public ministry not to ease the burdens of hurting people.
The motivation for these is to stand in pulpits and to be seen by others.
Much of their schedules are filled with activities that draw attention to themselves.

Jesus warns his listeners, and us, to not do what they do.
Instead find ways to silently and inconspicuously minister in our day-to-day lives.
In doing so we may help to ease the burdens of the people in our lives.

Help me Lord to be invisible and to not do things to be seen by others.

... this devotion is part of the Red Letters series. Click here to read more.
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all encompassing and all consuming

“Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” [Matthew 22:36-40 NLT]

Court is in session and the Son of God is on trial.
Lawyers from one religious sect have unsuccessfully cross examined Jesus.
Now another barrister comes forth hoping to trip Jesus up.

I wonder what answer this lawyer expected to hear?

I imagine that the first part of Jesus' answer did not surprise him.
Maybe he thought Jesus would stop at loving God?
Yet Jesus did not stop there but made it clear that loving God is not enough.

To follow the teaching of the ten commandments one must love people as well.

Interesting how Jesus describes love in this passage.
Quoting from Deuteronomy he speaks of a love that's all encompassing and all consuming.
The nature of this love is sacrificial and selfless.

It is not enough to love with just a part of us.
It is not enough to love God or people when things are going well.
He requires all of our love all of the time.

And he requires that we love all of his human creation - beginning with ourselves.

We are made in his image and we must love those whom he loves.
It is what we were created to do.
All of the bible is based on this kind of love.

Thank you Father that I was created to love! Help me to express love today.

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

You know neither God’s Scriptures nor God’s power—and so your assumptions are all wrong. At the resurrection, people will neither marry nor be given in marriage. They will be like the messengers of heaven. [Matthew 22:29-30 VOICE]

Jesus is responding to a nonsensical question about the state of a marriage after death.
It involved a woman who had multiple husbands in this life.
The Sadducees, who didn't believe in resurrection, wondered who would be her husband in heaven.

Their theological assumptions blinded them to what the scriptures said about the resurrection.
In like manner I have also been blinded to biblical truth because of theological assumptions.
In most of those assumptions I favored my dogmatic brain over my compassionate heart.

It is interesting how Jesus speaks of knowing the scriptures and knowing God's power.
In context he seems to be speaking of resurrection power - the transformation of death to life.
Perhaps people who have been spiritually transformed become messengers of heaven?

I like the idea that heavenly messengers are usually transformed people.
It makes sense when one thinks about how God gives his people spiritual fruit and gifts.
It makes me want to be one of those heavenly messengers today.

Help me Lord to get past my assumptions and become one of your messengers.

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

Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests. “But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are called, but few are chosen.” [Matthew 22 ESV]

When we read parables like this we sometimes forget that these are stories that are given to teach us about the Kingdom of God. A few teaching points that I think are worth mentioning:
  • Two groups of people are called and invited to be a part of God's kingdom. This is an obvious reference to Jews and Gentiles.
  • No one from the first group came to the feast. Throughout the Old Testament we read that the Jews were God's Chosen people. Even so, these rejected God's call to kingdom life when they rejected His Son.
  • Some from the second group were rejected because they were not prepared. Even though they were called to kingdom living they were not clothed with Christ.
  • There is a mixture in the groups. Not all Jews rejected Jesus and many Gentiles rejected Him. The focus in the story is those who had hearts clothed with Christ.
I so wish that Jesus said 'many' instead of 'few'. I want many to be prepared. It is a sober teaching about the Kingdom of God. It is an admonition to be clothed with Christ.

I have nothing but ragged clothes to offer Lord. Thank you for clothing me in Christ. 

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

In the parable, I told you the weeds would be pulled up and burned—well, that is how it will be at the end of this age. The Son of Man will send His messengers out into the world, and they will root out from His kingdom everything that is poisonous, ugly, and malicious, and everyone who does evil. They will throw all that wickedness into the fiery furnace where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth. And the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s kingdom. [Matthew 13:40-43 VOICE]

Many read these words and do not pass go, but go directly to Hell.
And for sure, that is one interpretation of Jesus' explanation.
In making that leap, I think that some might miss the heart of the message.

In this explanation of the parable Jesus indicates that:
  1. Judgment is determined by the Son of God himself.
  2. Consequences are different for people of faith.
  3. Those who have been spiritually transformed shine.
Interesting how Jesus speaks about the end of the age and of a fiery furnace.
The furnace appears to be a metaphor for the judgment of phony believers.
The end of the age can either represent the end of Jerusalem or the end of the world.

Personally, I lean to the idea that Jesus was not referencing the end of the world.
I think that he was probably speaking of the destruction of Jerusalem.
And his indictment seems to be against the religious leaders of his day/

I think that the teaching of different consequences is a very important one.
In either interpretation, decisions and actions have lasting consequences.
And, in the end, things that seem temporal may have eternal consequences.

Help me Lord to live in a way that results in positive consequences.

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

Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?” [Matthew 16:24-26 ESV]

Soul is a word that conjures up all sorts of mystical imagery.
In this passage the words 'life' and 'soul' are the same word in the original text.
The transliterated word psuché is the origin of our word psyche.

So. To me. The word is not mystical but descriptive of human essence.
In that sense the soul is not any more immortal than the flesh that it lives in.
Yet Jesus speaks of a way that a mortal soul can take on immortality.

He teaches us that those who lose their souls for him will find true life.
In denying ourselves, and our ways, for Christ, we find salvation.
A salvation that is eternal and where our souls become immortal.

To be sure, Jesus is not speaking of a life filled with fleshly works and service.
He is not teaching a works based salvation or righteousness.
In contrast he is saying that those who have been born from above act differently.

In reality, following Jesus is difficult because love is difficult.
Love causes us to deny our preeminence and put others' needs before ours.
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

I think that it is true. We find our essence when we lose ourselves for the sake of Christ.
Following Jesus. Denying my selfishness. Taking up his example. This is the essence of life.
Such things evidence the fact that our lives we have taken on immortality

I need you today Lord. Help me to deny myself, pick up my cross and follow you.

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