Jesus: A Man of Prayer

As one reads the Gospels, it is readily apparent that Jesus was a man on the move who made a strong impression on people, both positive and negative. We see that he taught with great authority (Matt 7:28-29), he cast out demons (Matt 12:24-28), he healed the sick (Mark 6:56), he raised the dead (Luke 7:11-15), he miraculously multiplied food (John 6:1-15) just to name a few. However, the only thing any of the Gospel writers record the disciples asking him to teach them specifically is to pray (Luke 11:1-4).

We should see how striking this is. Perhaps the disciples knew that the other things Jesus did were connected to his time in prayer. Regardless, they were faithful Jews for whom prayer was a significant part of their lives. They grew up hearing the Psalms, a book of prayer, read every Sabbath. Prayers were developed for every aspect of life by this time in Judaism so that wasn’t lacking in their lives. Their primary motivation was they saw Jesus pray and how much time he spent in prayer. He would get up early to pray (Mark 1:35), he spent whole nights in prayer (Luke 6:12), other significant time in prayer (Luke 5:15-16), and before major events (e.g. Matt 26:36-46).

The teaching that Jesus gave was quite simple,

He said to them, “When you pray, say:

Father,

hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come.

Give us each day our daily bread.

Forgive us our sins,

for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.

And lead us not into temptation.”

Matthew has a slightly longer version, which Jesus most likely taught at another time (6:9-13) but it’s essentially the same teaching on prayer. I’m not going to unpack each of the parts of the prayer because I want to look at it on the whole and how it fits into Jesus’ life.

Jesus’ approach to who God is and how life is lived in light of that was profound. Jesus did a lot but was never in a rush. He had more than enough ministry opportunities (without creating any programs by the way) to keep him and his 12 disciples busy for a lifetime, yet he often withdrew away. All of this came out of his prayer life.

This prayer he taught his disciples shows what was most important to Jesus: honoring the Father’s name, the Kingdom of God, God’s life-sustaining provision, forgiveness of sins, and protection from temptation. Each of these parts played out in Jesus’ life and all of his other teaching. This is such a unique view of God up to this point in history. No one could conceive of a god like this and what Jesus said was this type of god does exist and Jesus knows him as his Father.

Jesus teaches us a prayer for the rest of us. This is a prayer that can be prayed in and of itself and it informs all parts of prayer. Prayer is the most important activity we can partake in. As Oswald Chambers said, “Prayer does not fit us for the greater work; prayer is the greater work.” Each of the other disciplines, as important as they are, should be practiced only with prayer.

Jesus did not need prayer but as the “pioneer and perfecter of faith” (Heb 12:2) he showed us that life lived in the presence of the Spirit and the Father will be filled with prayer. The amount of prayer the early believers practiced showed they knew it was necessary for being disciples of their Master, Jesus the Messiah. Prayer should cultivate a relationship with the Triune God and be the way we partner with God in what he is up to in the world.

The best teaching, outside of Jesus’, that I ever read was from a mother to her two daughters. One of the instructions she left while she and their dad were away for a week read, “Pray everyday because Jesus loves you and wants to hear from you.” That’s exactly right. He adores us and wants to hear from us. He also wants to say some things to us as well.

May we love to pray. We our hearts long to commune with our Heavenly Father. May the Spirit empower us to pray without growing weary or losing heart.

HOW Do We Believe?

In any situation knowing what we believe and why we believe it is very important. It is not uncommon to have our what or why challenged, which leads to either a strengthening of that belief/viewpoint or the realization that we don’t actually believe something or we need to strengthen our belief. However, we spend little time on how we believe something. All three are essential to grow in maturity, whether as a follower of the Master Jesus or as a person (not that there should be much difference).

To illustrate, I believe I am married to my wife (the “what”) and I believe this because I remember it happening, I have pictures, and I have the testimony of at least 100 people who celebrated that day with us (the “why”). That “why” could be proven should I suffer brain trauma and for some reason forget who my wife is. To my knowledge I have never suffered brain trauma so the what and why don’t need constant reinforcement, which allows me to focus on the “how.” How am I married to my wife? I could affirm the what and why with zero difficulty and be orthodox in my belief that I am married, however what if I am unfaithful to my wife and our wedding vows? Should someone strongly question my belief? Absolutely! No matter what I say about the “what” and “why” of my marriage, I am not acting like a married man.

A growth area for the Church is to think through teaching the “how” of our beliefs. It doesn’t matter if someone can pass the creedal (what) and apologetic (why) aspects of historic Christianity if it doesn’t affect how we live. The short answer of our “how” is: Jesus. He is the perfect revelation of God and the perfect revelation of how humans should be too.

To expand the how a little bit more, it’s found the in the oft-quoted words of “The Great Commission,” “Then Jesus came up and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age’” (Matthew 28:18–20 NET). I’ve come under the conviction that we’ve down-played baptism too much in most areas of the American Church. This was a highly significant practice for a disciple (apprentice) to do when coming under the yoke (teaching, lifestyle) of his master.

The questions we need to wrestle with are how do we teaching people to obey? Are we teaching everything Jesus commanded? For those who know the spiritual disciplines matter and time with our Heavenly Father matters, do we know why? To borrow from Dallas Willard, it is one thing to know we need to love others and another to become the type of person for whom loving our enemies is easier than hating them.

How do we pray? How do we read the Scriptures? How do we tell others about our hope and the Kingdom of God and Jesus as the King of the world? How do we obey?

I don’t have all of the answers but I know this is too vital to take lightly.

Mountaintops and Deserts

Exercising at a certain level for long enough produces a “high.” Couples in a dating relationship experience feelings of being “in love.” Embarking on new adventures (like a new job) for some people brings a new excitement to life. Each of these “highs” are real and feelings that accompany them can be traced to chemicals released in the brain. The same is true in a person’s spiritual life.

Conferences, mission trips, starting a new group or ministry, baptism, recent conversion, Sunday mornings (usually only a few times a year), etc. can also produce a “spiritual high” for people. We often call this a mountaintop experience. The Lord’s presence is felt more than usual (or ever) and we want to stay in that moment. Nothing is too great to sacrifice in these moments. We can and will conquer the world or at least a major area of brokenness in the world.

For any who have been through these times we know it is impossible to stay there; we are not meant to stay there. It is not a sign of immaturity to have these moments, but it is incorrect to think we’re meant to stay in these moments. The hardest part of the mountaintop is that it’s inevitably followed by a valley; and the higher the mountaintop, the lower the valley. We go from reading the Bible as God’s word to us to wondering why anyone would bother reading it. Our prayers go from whispers directly into God’s ear to falling to the ground as soon as they leave our lips.

Another season entirely is the desert. The desert is an extended valley, which D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones called Spiritual Depression and St. John of the Cross called it The Dark Night of the Soul. Nothing, absolutely nothing gives one joy. This is a wall that some people never penetrate. The authors of The Critical Journey say the wall cannot be avoided; if one desires to get past the wall the only way is through it. The valley is different from the desert in length of time and intensity of loneliness.

Both images are found in the Bible and necessary for any who desire Christlikeness. The mountaintop is necessary for learning about and fanning the flame of our heart for God. Here are some mountaintop experiences in the Bible: Abraham’s near sacrifice of Isaac (Genesis 22), Moses receiving the 10 Commandments and experiencing God’s glory (Exodus 20 and 33-34), Elijah after running from Ahab and Jezebel (1Kings 19:9-18), and Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) to name a few. The purpose of the mountaintop experience is a new revelation about God that should open the way into the mysterium tremendum. This raises our intellectual understanding of who God is and increases our affections.

As exciting and exhilarating as the mountaintop is, the desert is equally difficult, if not more so. Again, this has biblical support not by way of explicit teaching but the example of lives. Abraham was a nomad wandering the desert, Moses fled to the desert after killing an Egyptian (Exodus 2:11-22), Israel wandered the desert for 40 years (Exodus-Deuteronomy), David wandered the wilderness twice: fleeing from Saul and then his son Absalom, John the Baptist had his whole ministry there (Matthew 3:1), and Jesus went to the wilderness before beginning his ministry (Matthew 4).

I would agree with those who suggest that the Lord is the God of wilderness wandering. The wilderness strips away all else that we could seek for solace. The wilderness knits our hearts with God’s heart so that it beats in unison with his. The mountaintop opens the way into the mysterium tremendum but the wilderness is where we experience it.

The wilderness time is hard and we shouldn’t seek it. What we should seek is intimacy with the Father and know that the wilderness will come. The biggest challenge is to seek the face and hand of our God but that is all that will bring us through this time. If it feels like fog or darkness you are not alone, Immanuel is with you. This is not punishment but a trial to see if we will hold out for the greatest reward. The best thing to do is hold on. Ask for wisdom and discernment as to who God is. Ask him to use this for your benefit.

Integrity: 3 Voices and 1 Solution

The past 9 months I’ve been working for a bank as a way to provide for our family, take a break from ministry, and figure out what we should do next.  It’s been a challenging but very good time for me personally and for our family.  What I do is not the most mentally taxing job I’ve ever had and I don’t interact with customers (I don’t even have to interact with co-workers in order to perform my job) so I listen to music, the Bible, and podcasts on a regular basis.  Recently I’ve been listening to The Phil Vischer Podcast (with Skye Jethani and Christian Taylor), which is quite entertaining as they bring different perspectives on current events.  One week they talked about “Christian movies” and they had a guest on who talked about the ideal for Christians when watching or making a movie is to be safe instead of tell a good story.  This hits the nail on the head for not only entertainment but the lifestyle many Christians pursue.  Safe is not an intriguing story yet it has such allure for almost all of us.

When I was a seminary student a pastor from Kansas City came to speak about vocational ministry.  One of the students asked this experienced pastor, “How do you achieve a work-life balance?”  This is not something only pastors struggle with, it’s what many thoughtful people (Christians and non-Christians alike) struggle to achieve.  I thought this particular pastor’s response was profound he said (to paraphrase), “Don’t try to achieve balance.  Strive for tension because that’s where we find balance.”  I think “work-life balance” is actually code for “safety.”  My current situation has helped me think about this idea again and I’ve had some insights that I want to pass along.

Original Intent

Over the past few years I’ve been thinking more seriously about Genesis 1-2 as a way to understand God’s original intent and how we are able to begin to recover that when we are in Christ.  Humans were designed to rule under God’s reign (1:26-30), which is accomplished only by being with God.  When God creates the man, God gives the man a specific vocation: to care for the Garden of Eden and maintain it (2:15), which meant to spread the Garden and name the animals.  What I never noticed was that the man received a vocation before he received a wife.  God showed the man that none of the other creatures could fulfill him in a companion role so he created a woman (2:20-25).  The two of them then worked together with God’s help.

At this point the man’s world was a perfect unity of God, vocation, and family.  The man knew how to relate to each, he was a fully integrated being.  When something has integrity it is strong and whole.  But…

The Three Voices

The man and the woman disobeyed God (Genesis 3) and their whole world fell apart.  Where there was integrity, there is now fragility.  Even those who try to live a righteous life still feel the effects of this fragility.  We feel the pull of three voices and it looks like this:

Each area: church, work, and family call a person, and often in different directions.  A constant pulling of something in multiple directions leads to further fragility and ultimately there will be a break.  Now I am just starting to work through what this means (and this is a blog post) so I’m not able to fully nuance all of this for what each means in different contexts.  None of these three things are bad, in fact they’re very good and gifts from God.  However, for most people they are three distinct, competing voices causing dis-integration.  This doesn’t have to be the case…

The Solution

Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection introduced new creation or the age/world to come into this present creation and age (2Corinthians 5:17; Colossians 3:9-10).  Relating to God (now through Christ and his Church), our Vocation, and Family all should fall under our discipleship to Jesus.  We take on his yoke (i.e. his way of life through studying his teachings, obeying his commanding, and imitating his practices) and he brings harmony to these areas, which looks more like this:

These three over-lapping circles show that our relating to God, vocation, and family are not synonymous but they do not have to be competing areas in our life.  Our work and family can, and should, overlap as should our family and Church, and even our Church and work.  The more we see this, the more integrated we’ll feel.

It’s vital to remember that Jesus worked 18 years as a manual laborer then he started his teaching and healing ministry.  He was born into and grew up with a family.  I mention this because we should trust he would have something to say about each of those areas and that should influence how we live within our family and vocation.

This is something I hope to spend more time with and, hopefully, develop more helpful thoughts and practices.

A Simple Step

In the meantime, one way to help us move into a more integrated lifestyle would be to be intentional about being a person of integrity.  A person of integrity is one who does what he/she says they are going to do.  Try it for a day.  I suspect by lunch we’ll be throwing ourselves before the throne of grace.  Take an integrity inventory: what things have you said you’re going to do that are still undone?  What is your completion percentage during a typical week?  This isn’t for merit or to think of ourselves as failures to be see where we are and to ask the Lord to give us grace to grow.  I like how Dallas Willard would say, “Grace is not opposed to effort, it’s opposed to earning.  Effort is an action, earning is an attitude.”  Trust in God’s grace and work in our lives requires actions on our part.  Grace be with you!

 

God Doesn’t Want to Use You

Common rhetoric from well-intentioned pastors and teachers is some form of, “Don’t you want God to use you?”  To any Christian who wants to live a God-honoring, biblically-faithful life it’s like asking anyone, “Do you want to make more money?”  The only appropriate response is, “Sure!  We all do!”  I’m going to give anyone who has used this, present company included, the benefit of the doubt and know what is intended is, “Do you want to join with God in what he is doing?”  However, I do not think this is how the question is received.

In order to join with God in what he is doing around us, we have to know who he is and what he is up to.  I have never heard a Sunday morning sermon and, apart from intentionally seeking out recordings of certain teachers, I have never heard a conference speaker ask, “Do you want to be with God?”  I hear many appeals to getting saved and going to heaven when we die.  I hear almost zero appeals to living that eternal reality here and now.  When we ask people if they want to go to heaven, we never ask what they think heaven is.  How do we know if they’ll be able to stand it?

Heaven is the eternal, unmediated presence of God where humans and angelic beings (and I have to think there will be animals in some way, if not Fido, Fluffy, Bessie, etc. then representatives of the different kinds of animals) willingly and easily do what God intends.  It is the fullness of the Kingdom of God.  If we do not desire to do what God desires now, what makes us think we, or anyone for that matter, would want to do it forever?

What our loving Heavenly Father desires more than anyone could possibly realize is to be with us; he doesn’t want to use us as though we’re some inanimate object.  The creation of humans was to rule and subdue with God.  When God moved powerfully through Moses it was so that he could be with his people.  Jesus came as Immanuel–God with us.  As Jesus commissioned the disciples he told them, among some other very important things, “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20 NET).  The message of the early church in Acts and the letters was that God is forming a people that includes all of the nations to be with him.  At the culmination of all things in the New Heavens and New Earth when God comes to Earth:

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: “Look! The residence of God is among human beings. He will live among them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death will not exist any more—or mourning, or crying, or pain, for the former things have ceased to exist.” (Revelation 21:3–4 NET)

(All of this is just a small sample set of what the Scriptures teach and reveal on this idea.)

Yes, the Father does want us to participate with him in what he is doing, he just doesn’t want to use us.  Jesus, our perfect example of being in relationship with the Father, said, “So Jesus answered them, ‘I tell you the solemn truth, the Son can do nothing on his own initiative, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise. For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he does, and will show him greater deeds than these, so that you will be amazed’” (John 5:19–20 NET).  Later Jesus said that the abiding life with God (cf. John 13-17) will be marked by doing greater things than what Jesus did (14:12).

How do we focus on this aspect of being with God?  I will offer two thoughts:

1) This is more of an exercise: sit in a comfortable but attentive position and think about God.  What image comes to mind?  Is it sheer blackness, emptiness or feelings of distance?  Is there a disapproving or disappointed father figure?  A chummy, wink-at-your-sins grandfather?  A judge ready to “throw the book at you?”  Indifferent Thought?

Or do you see Jesus?  Jesus is the perfect and fullest revelation of God (cf. John 14:9).  Do you see ineffable light that elicits a reality of nearness, life, and love?

2) Memorize Scripture.  Focusing our thoughts on who God is helps us see him and know that he is with us and wants us to be with him.  There are many places to look but 1 Timothy 6:16, “He alone possesses immortality and lives in unapproachable light, whom no human has ever seen or is able to see. To him be honor and eternal power! Amen,” and Exodus 34:6-7, “The LORD passed by before him and proclaimed: ‘The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, and abounding in loyal love and faithfulness, keeping loyal love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. But he by no means leaves the guilty unpunished, responding to the transgression of fathers by dealing with children and children’s children, to the third and fourth generation,’” are good places to start.  This is part of renewing our mind to be more like Christ.

God does want us to participate with him but, again, not use us; whatever we do should be an overflow of our time with him.  He wants us to be about the family business and the family business is a reflection of his character.  We won’t know his character if we are not with him.  We may think of the passages where humans are described as clay and vessels but those have to do with God’s prerogative as Creator and our role as setting ourselves apart, which I contend happens by being with God.

May you know that the Creator-Redeemer God of the Universe doesn’t want to use you, he wants to be with you.  May you find that rest of knowing you are loved and have been set free from the power of sin and death.  May you see him as he truly is and delight in that reality.  Amen.

Learning to Pray and Play: A Sabbath Experience

I’m incredibly excited for this summer because it’s time again for the World Cup finals.  That is my single most favorite sporting event to watch.  I could watch every single game if my schedule and family allowed it.  I really enjoy playing and watching sports so I enjoy the Olympics, March Madness, college bowl season, play-offs for professional sports, and European soccer (which is very rare for me to watch much of these days).  I enjoy sports because I was able to compete for a long time and my dad did a great job of using different things that happened to teach me life lessons.  These abstract ideas became concrete because an experience and emotions were tied to them.

One of the things he saw, and tried to raise my awareness to, was that I was at my best when I was just playing, just having fun.  My best season of soccer was as a high school senior because I just played, I just had fun.  I had the privilege of playing in college but my personal performance did not live up to my expectations.  In retrospect, it is because I did not have fun; it was no one’s fault but my own.

This awareness came back to me a few months ago while in the midst of trying to plant a church that was struggling and we ultimately decided to close down a couple of weeks ago.  What the Lord brought to mind a few months ago was my experience with soccer and that my time in ministry was not going well in large part because I wasn’t having fun; I wasn’t playing.  To nuance this slightly, I realize that matters of knowing God, knowing ourselves, knowing the Scriptures, and seeking the Kingdom of God above all else are very serious matters.  I would contend they are way too serious for us to not play.

By way of analogy, let’s say we gathered together a group of highly gifted and highly accomplished musicians.  We walk into a room where they’re sitting with their respective instrument of choice and tell them, “You’ve been gathered together to just play.  This is not going to be recorded or advertised, just play.”  This group would have way too much respect for music and their instrument to make noise or for each to only play his or her own song.  I venture to guess some of the most beautiful music the world has ever known would be made.  Going back to sports, if we were able to get the 10 greatest basketball players of all time together (suspend reality and imagine that they’re all in their prime) in a gym and roll out a ball, we would watch the greatest game ever played.  It wouldn’t be just because of their talent but how serious they are about the game and their craft would lead them to play.

While in seminary I read one of Eugene Peterson’s books (I cannot recall which one but if you read anything by him you won’t be disappointed) and he talked about realizing his need for a day of rest.  He and his wife took their day of rest on Mondays and the only agenda was to pray and to play.  I think he actually captures what the Sabbath is all about.  At the end of God’s creating work, we are told, “By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done” (Genesis 2:2–3 NIV11). The Hebrew word translated “rest” is shabbat, which is often just transliterated as Sabbath.  I’m not sure why translators have done this because I think the word “rest” is far more helpful.  What if we read in the Ten Commandments, “Remember the Rest day by keeping it holy”?  A common Hebrew blessing/salutation is shabbat shalom, which is probably something like “rest of wholeness.”  Wholeness comes from rest and we are able to rest as we are made whole.

The actions of playing and praying bring rest and require rest.  They defiantly tell ourselves and the world, “The world does not revolve around me.”  Our ability to pray and play is intimately woven into our understanding of who God is and what Jesus has accomplished through the cross and resurrection.  Tim Keller has two great sermons on this, one is titled “Work” and the other “Work and Rest.”  When we pray, we acknowledge there is Another who is in charge.  This one is the Triune Godhead who has eternally been and will eternally be Father, Son, and Spirit.  God is community and is the basis for our play and prayer.

What steals our ability to pray and play?  I think it is fear, anxiety, and worry.  I have read and heard others say the number one command in the Bible is, “Do not fear/worry/be anxious.”  If we are in a state of fear, worry, or anxiety we are unable to pray or play.  Those three things steal joy more than anything else.  Now there are numerous things we can fear, worry about or be anxious about and, unfortunately, I cannot deal with those now; they require their own post(s) and I need more time to marinate in this subject.

I wanted to post these thoughts because it is so pressing for me right now.  Here are some one-off thoughts and resources to look into if you’re interested:

A brief article (with a link to a research article) on how children learn better through play.

A great talk by Bob Goff on “Rediscovering Whimsy.”  He has a book on the subject, Love Does.

A friend of mine suggested this TEDx talk by Brene Brown, which is a great way to spend 20 minutes.

The Tabernacle/Temple sacrifices were largely about sharing a meal with God; the Lord’s Supper carries that same idea.  This is a massive idea and needs a lot more time and thought but I think it’s imperative we see this and that they’re not just about dealing with sin;  they are that but they’re more than that.

What God is most concerned with is that we are with him (cf. Luke 10:38-42).

I wrote a letter to the elders of our sending church very briefly explaining to them that the church plant was finished.  I told them I need to learn to play and pray.  I am going to be very serious about learning to do these two things.  Shabbat Shalom!

Rethinking the Parable of the Talents

It is difficult to dispute that Jesus loved to teach in parables; it was probably his primary teaching method especially to the masses.  For at least 1500 years, scholars have debated and changed how we should understand the parables.  Currently, there appears to be consensus that we not dissect every detail in a parable unless Jesus does after telling the parable (e.g. Matthew 13:1-23).  It also appears that we should use the intro to a parable and its last line as the interpretive lens for us, e.g. “The kingdom of heaven is like…” and “…in the same way…”

One parable I’ve been thinking about and realizing that how it is usually taught misses what Jesus is talking about is “The Parable of the Talents.”  Jesus didn’t name any of his parables, they’re just the names they’ve received throughout the years.  Here is the parable, which is a long one and needs to be quoted in full (I’m only going to use Matthew’s account):

For [the kingdom of heaven at the end of the age] is like a man going on a journey, who summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them. To one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The one who had received five talents went off right away and put his money to work and gained five more. In the same way, the one who had two gained two more. But the one who had received one talent went out and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money in it. After a long time, the master of those slaves came and settled his accounts with them. The one who had received the five talents came and brought five more, saying, “Sir, you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.” His master answered, “Well done, good and faithful slave! You have been faithful in a few things. I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master.” The one with the two talents also came and said, “Sir, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have gained two more.” His master answered, “Well done, good and faithful slave! You have been faithful with a few things. I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master.” Then the one who had received the one talent came and said, “Sir, I knew that you were a hard man, harvesting where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.” But his master answered, “Evil and lazy slave! So you knew that I harvest where I didn’t sow and gather where I didn’t scatter? Then you should have deposited my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received my money back with interest! Therefore take the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten. For the one who has will be given more, and he will have more than enough. But the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.And throw that worthless slave into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” – (Matthew 25:14–30 NET)

I’ve heard this parable taught many times and often with the same driving point, “You want to be one who hears ‘Well done, good and faithful slave,’ don’t you?  Well then, invest your talents.”  “Invest your talents” often has the connotation of doing ministry in some capacity.  While I believe “doing ministry” (which needs a series of blog posts in its own right) is an application it is most definitely not the main thrust of Jesus’ message.  I am arguing that the “evil and lazy slave” is actually the interpretative individual not the good and faithful slaves.  The Greek word translated “slave” here is actually bondservant.  So it’s even likely that the master here has delivered these three from un-payable debts.

What was the differentiating factor between these three slaves?  How they viewed their master.  Let’s say for a moment that what the evil and lazy slave said about the master is true, that he is, “a hard man, harvesting where [he] did not sow, and gathering where [he] did not scatter seed.”  The first two slaves still wanted to see their master’s wealth grow (a “talent” was roughly 6,000 days’ wages or $348,000 today at just the minimum wage standard!  Now multiply that by 2, 4, 5, and 10 to see what kind of money we’re talking about here.), the third one clearly did not.  He didn’t even want the money to gain interest.  He essentially handed the master’s money back to him telling him to stick it where the sun don’t shine.

The first two slaves are at the bare minimum grateful toward their master while the third despised him.  This is the reason they are more than willing to double a portion of their master’s wealth.  Jesus says of the first two, “The one who had received five talents went off right away and put his money to work and gained five more. In the same way, the one who had two gained two more.”  They were hard-working, industrious, and wise if not also smart.  I don’t think it’s going too far outside the story to say they probably saw how the master acquired his wealth and they’ve now jumped at the chance to put some of it into practice.

What does it all mean?  I think if we want to hear “well done, good and faithful slave” then we need to know our master.  The master here is Jesus, (cf. Matthew 24:1-4) and we are the slaves.  Those who understand we’ve been set free by the master will respond to that in love and with a desire to see the master’s wealth grow regardless of how many talents we’ve been entrusted.  If we remain distant to the master he will appear to be a hard and driving man.  The reality is he is just the opposite (cf. Matthew 11:28-30; 12:18-21); he also tells the first two, “Enter into the joy of your master”!  In addition to this, he is wise and will not give us what we’re not ready for because he gives “each according to his ability.”  When we spend time with the master, we see him for who he is and our gratitude turns to love, and love turns to desire–a desire to see his influence increase.  All the while we learn how he did things and think, “I’ll try that” or “I think the master may respond in this way.”  We become like him doing what he did (cf. John 14:12).

Two simple ways (simple not necessarily easy) are 1) to read the gospels straight through over and over again, which helps us get accustomed to his voice and “watch” him work; and 2) enter into his presence through prayer.  Using the model of prayer he gave in Matthew 6:9-15 is a great starting point.  It is also helpful to know he’s already there waiting, “But whenever you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you,” (Matthew 6:6 NET).

May you see and know the master as he is and your life simply be an overflow of your time with him.

Advent Reflections IV: Don’t Be Afraid

I have read a few different authors say that the most repeated command in the Bible is some version of “Do not be afraid.”  This is interesting because of what that means for the place of fear in our lives.  Fear is the most stealthy and prolific robber of joy that humanity knows.  The deceitfulness of fear is that it never appears in its true form but disguises itself in “precaution,” “conventional wisdom,” or justification that some idea would never work.  In his book Die Empty, Todd Henry tells the story how the speaker at a seminar he attended asked what the most valuable real estate in the world is.  The attendees gave the answers like, “Manhattan” and “Dubai” and other places where real estate is at a premium.  The speaker said it’s actually a graveyard because of all the great stories that were never written, the great art that was never made, the million dollar ideas that were never acted on, and so forth.  I am submitting that the Scriptures would say the number one killer of these is fear.

What does this have to do with Advent?  A lot according to Luke.  One three separate occasions leading up to and on the day of Jesus’ birth we see three groups be greeted with “Don’t be afraid” (1:13, 30; 2:10).  Before looking into this further, the Bible is not saying the same thing as FDR that, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”  It is also not saying do not fear because there is nothing to fear.

On each of the three occurrences in Luke that I have mentioned, these are the first words to Zechariah, Mary, and a group of shepherds respectively.  The speaker is an angel each time as well.  This alone should alert us to the fact that the pop depictions of angels as chubby babies or toddlers is totally incorrect.  This is not the standard greeting of angelic beings like, “Hey, how’s it going?”  The word “angel,” which English transliterated from Greek, which means the same as its Hebrew counterpart, means “messenger.”  Angels always brought a verbal message of some sort.  Continually being in the presence of God has the effect of God’s character rubbing off on them.  Each time the visited knew their visitors were not human.  This shouldn’t surprise us because “great” people have this same effect on us.  I’m not just talking about famous people or strong leaders but spending time with people who have deep character exude a sort of otherness that is uncommon.

Why can the angels say, “Don’t be afraid?”  When our boys come to us at night and say they’re scared of the dark, it is of no comfort to tell them, “Don’t be afraid.”  We have to tell them why they shouldn’t be afraid, “There’s nothing there,” “You’re safe, Mom and Dad are here,” or we lay down with them and say, “Close your eyes because I’m here.”  There has to be a reason to renounce fear.  Zechariah, Mary, and the shepherds came from a nation who received regular visits from angels and they knew these angels had the authority and power to kill (cf. e.g. Numbers 22:21-36).  It’s very probable that the first thought that entered each person’s mind was something like, “What have I done!?  This is it, my life is over!”  The reason for each angelic visitation is, “God has heard your prayer.  Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John,” “you have found favor with God!” and “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people” respectively.  These people don’t have to be afraid because God is doing something for them.

Skipping ahead about thirty years to Jesus’ ministry (if it works out, in a couple of days I’ll revisit the significance of the shepherds and the roles of Simeon and Anna) we see that reason for fear to leave is because God is visiting his people for good.  Right after being tempted in the wilderness for 40 days Jesus goes into the synagogue:

When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures.  The scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him.  He unrolled the scroll and found the place where this was written: “The Spirit of the LORD is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the LORD’s favor has come.”

He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue looked at him intently. Then he began to speak to them. “The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!” – (Luke 4:16–21 NLT-SE)

Jesus either read the whole passage from Isaiah 61 or just what Luke recorded knowing that the people would know the context of Isaiah 61 and what that would mean for it to be fulfilled (I’ll let you read it to see why this was a teaching the people applauded).

The Advent means we don’t have to be afraid.  God is for us, who can be against us?  What fear is robbing you of joy at this time?  Is there a family member you’re worried about?  Is there a situation you don’t want to deal with?  Is there a “dream” you’ve had and know you need to do but have been afraid to act upon?  I’m not saying everything will go smoothly and that everything will go just as you hope or better, i.e. be a success.  What I am saying is that “God with us,” means we do not have be afraid.  I believe the opposite of fear is trust.  We can trust a God who gave his only Son to show us who God is, what it really means to be human, and how to relate to God and others.  God gave his Son not only to be among us but to die in order for us to be with him.  A God who has given up all is worthy to be trusted.  May you know the joy of trusting this coming year.

Advent Reflections III: The Magi

I recently received an email from my dad about the death of Herod and as I was replying I realized how integral the magi are to the Advent. Again, a lot of pop culture has infiltrated who these men were and it’s easy to miss their relevance to the story.  I will say there is a lot of speculation, which I won’t go into except what is really necessary.

The only place these men are mentioned is in Matthew’s gospel, which is significant, and they’re found in 2:1-12:

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, in the time of King Herod, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem saying, “Where is the one who is born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”  When King Herod heard this he was alarmed, and all Jerusalem with him.  After assembling all the chief priests and experts in the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born.  “In Bethlehem of Judea,” they said, “for it is written this way by the prophet: ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are in no way least among the rulers of Judah,for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

Then Herod privately summoned the wise men and determined from them when the star had appeared.  He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and look carefully for the child.  When you find him, inform me so that I can go and worship him as well.”  After listening to the king they left, and once again the star they saw when it rose led them until it stopped above the place where the child was.  When they saw the star they shouted joyfully.  As they came into the house and saw the child with Mary his mother, they bowed down and worshiped him.  They opened their treasure boxes and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  After being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they went back by another route to their own country. – (Matthew 2:1–12 NET)

Matthew refers to these men as “wise men” or magi.  Without going into all the speculation of what magi could mean, it seems that they were, “a class of wise men and priests who were astrologers” (from the NET notes).  This is significant because they were upperclass.  The fact that they went to Herod first and would have been granted an audience with him probably means they were men of importance.  Herod was a wicked man who only looked out for his best interests so meeting with these men was apparently in his best interest.

Next, our shared psyche leads us to assume there were only three of them, “We three kings from Orient are.”  However, Matthew does not tell us how many there are.  If there were only three magi, there would not have only been three in their caravan.  Though the Romans brought highways and increased safety while traveling, travel during that time was far from safe.  If these are rich men carrying expensive gifts, there’s no way they’re by themselves.  Some sort of soldiers or bodyguards would have been with them.

I highly doubt these men would have arrived a couple of days after Jesus’ birth.  I agree with the view that Jesus was probably about 2-years-old when they arrived.  We have no idea what the celestial event was that they called “his star” but it lasted long enough for them to know something really important happened, to gather everyone and everything they needed, travel, meet with Herod, and then see it where it “stopped.”  It says the men were from the east and the most noted star-gazers of that time were from Babylon (modern day Iraq), which probably would have been something of a cosmopolitan.  There may have been more than just Babylonians in the group.  Also, this points to the influence of Daniel on that area of the world.  Many believe that what he did during his life was to elevate the faith of Israel in the eyes of the Babylonians so that they would have seen studying Judaism as a noble discipline.

One other reason that I believe Jesus would have been around 2 is because at the time of his circumcision, his parents brought the offering of a poor person (Luke 2:22-24).  If they had gold at their disposal, they would have brought a more expensive offering.

It is significant that these men are Gentiles.  I think Matthew is making a couple of points with this: 1) the nations (the Hebrew and Greek words can be translated either “nations” or “Gentiles”) are coming to bow down before Israel’s king, which is the hope of the Jews and 2) like Jonah, Matthew is showing the Gentiles recognize the Lord’s work before his people do.  It appears that these men were some of the last of Jesus’ early visitors (I’ll share about that group next time), which is also just like God that the poor and humble see his movement before the wealthy.

Finally, the gifts.  Again, there is much speculation about their significance and what happened to them but these are expensive gifts all fit only for a king.  Whatever the celestial event was, it must have startled the magi in a good way; they knew something significant happened.

As we are now one week closer to remembering and celebrating the birth of our Savior, it is important to see the role of the magi in this story.  They remind us that even as a baby, Jesus was the King of kings and Lord of lords.  The only appropriate response from the magi was to bow before him and worship.  It is significant to pay attention to who around us has a spiritual sensitivity like the magi.  Also, these men brought the best gifts they could and they were expensive gifts.  There is nothing we can bring to Jesus that he needs.  There is nothing that impresses him.  What gives him incredible joy is our hearts.  Then whatever “gifts” we give after that is only a shadow of the love and joy and gratitude we feel toward Jesus.  We cannot out-give the greatest Giver of all.  He doesn’t want us to; he wants us to receive and reflect.  We receive his love and Spirit and reflect it back to him and to others.

Know Thyself

As I reflect on the different ideas, topics, people, issues, etc. that come into my mind over the days, weeks, months, and even years, I try to discern patterns and connections.  This is not always easy and often I realize there are consistent themes that keep coming up and I refuse to deal with them for whatever reason.  Usually it’s that the tyranny of the urgent outweighs the important.

I have to say I often get very frustrated with myself.  I have in my mind’s eye a person I’d like to be and try to be and then I see how much I come up short.  The worst is when I transgress my own set of cardinal sins.

This past year has been unlike what I would have expected.  In the last couple of days I’ve realized this has been a time of knowing God more intimately and self-discovery.  I know some of the things I’ve gone through and going down different paths have led me to know myself better and to know how we want our family to be.  Some of these have kind of been theoretical but are now practical.  The great American philosopher and theologian Jonathan Edwards said, “Of all the knowledge that we can ever obtain, the knowledge of God, and the knowledge of ourselves, are the most important” (link).  I don’t know if Edwards had in mind the human race as bearers of Imago Dei or individually but both are necessary.  Edwards being the philosopher and learned man he was would have known “know thyself” has been at the heart of philosophy almost from the beginning.

I think it’s easy to look at others and think, “I need to be more like him/her.”  The tragedy in that thought is missing how God has created us individually.  We miss out on the opportunity to be comfortable in our own skin.  Even worse we miss how God wants to establish his Kingdom through us if we’re not living out who we are.

We all have flaws.  We all have opportunities for growth.  A significant part of knowing ourselves is knowing those flaws, wounds, and sin patterns and seeking healing and deliverance from them.  For some that means seeking professional help.  That’s okay.

Being an introvert is not a flaw.  Being profoundly (and often painfully for those who are this way) in touch with our emotions is not a flaw.  Being incredibly organized is not a flaw.  Spontaneity is not a sin necessarily; neither is being calculated.

When we read the Scriptures, the men and women contained therein are entrepreneurs, businesspeople, politicians, singers and songwriters, dreamers, manual laborers, first-rate academics, priests, housewives, and so on.  The personalities needed to be those things are multi-faceted as well.  The point is, there is on one vocation or personality type to love God, follow Jesus, and be a means of divine grace to others.

Dallas Willard profoundly stated that being a disciple of Jesus is, “Living as Jesus would if he were I.”  How do we know who we are?  I would recommend two resources: The Meyers-Briggs Personality Test and StrengthsFinder (if you have the resources, please contact my friend Stosh Walsh and hire his services to help you discern what your strengths mean.  I don’t say this lightly–he’s amazing at interpreting people’s strengths; he spoke truth, freedom, and healing to a friend of mine without ever meeting him).  As with anything they’re not perfect but they do offer a great window into how we bear our Creator’s image.

Please be vigilant in knowing yourself.  This isn’t navel-gazing or selfish.  When we know ourselves, it’s incredibly freeing.  Please do this prayerfully because it really is vulnerable and when we’re vulnerable things get in that shouldn’t and get out before it’s time.  The Spirit is our Advocate and Counselor and knows exactly what to address at the right time.  Having another person walk with you is essential as long as he or she is gifted in this area.

May you experience God’s incredible love for you and freedom as you know thyself.