Reflexion Connexion

Podcast

Facebook

Welcome and Prayer: Jim Calhoun

Come Lord join us today.
Our lives are are sometimes volatile
Fluctuating between our joys and sorrows
Our celebrations and our heartbreaks
Between victory and defeat
This week’s election has brought as much fear to some as elation to others
And that in itself can give each of us pause
Knowing that many, who are our neighbors,
Understand the world in ways distant from our own thinking
And believing their needs will be best met by attitudes, policy and actions we hold as destructive.
Help those who celebrate to do so with grace and generosity
And help those who are heartbroken find hope again in you
And for all of us fill us with your spirit to do as you call us
To love our neighbor
Even our neighbor who is our enemy
And to put flesh on the bone of that prayer teaching us,
leading us,
directing us to better love
And to remember this day and each day to love the least among us:
Our neighbors who are ill
Our neighbors who are hungry
Our neighbors who are alone
Our neighbors from other cultures
and who speak other languages
Our neighbors in jail
Come Lord and join us
And lead us into another day
Eager to do good
Amen

Morning Talk: chuck smith, jr.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth Matthew 5:4-5

Intro: Welcome back to Jesus’ Sermon On the Mount

He begins with the Beatitudes – not to be confused with “benedictions”
– they are more like a series of riddles
• he describes conditions in which people are already blessed
◦ already acceptable to God and discovering the abundant life
◦ but what he says sounds like the opposite of abundant life
• we would never tell a friend who is grieving, “You’re so blessed”
◦ and even in Jesus’ time and culture meekness was a deficit
– for this reason, we must pat attention to both lines of each Beatitude
• the first line is an incomplete picture
◦ something else comes after the situation Jesus identifies
◦ his “Blessed are” lines are explained in the “for they shall be” lines
• Jesus surprises us in order to enlighten us
◦ he reveals the contrast between worldly values and heavenly
◦ I admit, the most difficult place to practice the Beatitudes is in real life

“Blessed are those who mourn”

I’m going to combine grieving and mourning because both involve sorrow but they are not same
– grieving is a response to suffering a specific loss
• usually, the death of someone close to us – or even a dog or cat
• when we experience grief, we mourn our loss
– mourning, however, doesn’t require a death or loss
• many things can break the human heart
◦ like the way Hannah mourned her inability to have children (1 Sam. 1:5-7)
• we can mourn human suffering, here or anywhere,
◦ or the corruption of industry and politics,
◦ or the damage we’ve done to our planet,
◦ or the lives of friends or loved ones ruined by addiction or alcoholism

Whatever the cause, mourning can last a lifetime
– that doesn’t mean it’s always as intense as the first shock wave
• in many instances, the pain never goes away,
◦ but slips into the background,
◦ like all the other pains and noises we learn to live with it
• but in quiet moments, it can sneak up on us
◦ a sudden, unexpected memory brings a deep sigh or tears
◦ and we say, “I sure miss my old friend,” or a parent, or mentor
– we witness such moments in the Scriptures
Then Jacob tore his garments . . . and mourned for many days. All his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted and said, “No, I shall go down to [the grave] to my son, mourning.” Thus his father wept for him (Gen. 37:34-35–in LXX, has same Greek word for mourning that Jesus used here)
Many years after the love of his life died, Jacob told his son Joseph, “As for me, when I came from Paddan, to my sorrow Rachel died in the land of Canaan . . . .” (Gen. 48:7)

I’ve officiated a lot of funerals (we don’t like that word, so we host “memorials” or “celebrations of life”
– I want to share with you something from my experience
• we have to stop putting emotional band aids on grief
◦ we need to avoid empty clichés: “I know how you feel,” “It must be God’s will,” “They’re in a better place”
Amy-Jill Levine says that phrase “does not comfort the mourner who may be thinking, The better place is here, with me. . . . If I hear again at a funeral that ‘heaven needed another angel,’ I may actually throw something. Let’s not dismiss mourning, which is what such platitudes try to do. The New Testament takes death seriously . . . Death is real. Death is painful.”
– to me, nothing sounds less sincere than, “I’m sorry for your loss”
◦ I assure you that silence is often the better response to another person’s mourning,
◦ perhaps with a gentle touch on the shoulder or hand
• it’s not our place to try to cheer up a broken heart
Whoever sings songs to a heavy heart,
is like one who takes off a garment on a cold day,
and like vinegar on soda (Pr. 25:20).
◦ instead of that, Paul says,
Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep (Ro. 12:15)

There’s no way to suppress the physical agony of mourning
– it is not pure emotion — mourning is physical, neurological, and visceral
• our bodies can release into bloodstream an excess of specific peptides that prevent the nervous system from self-regulating
◦ we feel that agony in our stomach, and heart, and lungs (grief can be suffocating),
• there’s no way to control the deep pain of grief
– I have a theory–it’s mine, and I have no science to back it up, but here goes–
• until I experienced my most significant loss,
◦ I didn’t know how deeply it was possible to feel emotional pain, or how bad it could get
◦ my insides felt like a bottomless well, and I was in free fall
◦ with every degree I descended it felt like death was closing in on me
• but from that pain, I discovered, how deep my soul went
◦ if our souls can feel pain to that depth
◦ they can also feel love to that depth; and comfort to that depth

Which brings us to second line: “for they shall be comforted”

Jesus did not intend for this to be a consolation
– he is telling us that God won’t let our sorrow go to waste
• for me, every loss increases my longing for heaven
• one of the richest lines in the book of Revelation is,
He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore . . . (Rev. 21:4)
– when Isaiah prophesied the time when God’s takes over world
Your sun shall no more go down,
nor your moon withdraw itself;
for the LORD will be your everlasting light,
and your days of mourning shall be ended (Isa. 60:20)
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of prison to those who are bound,
to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor,
and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn;
to grant those who mourn in Zion–
to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the garment of praise instead of [the spirit of heaviness] (Isa. 61:1-3)

Isaiah also described Jesus as
a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief (Isa. 53:3)
– he knows grief, and he gives us a new perspective on our sorrows
• they are just one type of life’s experiences that prepare us for realm of God
• that is not a consolation, it is a benefit, because we can begin to experience that realm now
Amy-Jill Levine, “In part those who mourn are blessed because not everyone can mourn. . . . a heart that knows how to grieve is a heart that knows how to love.”

The next Beatitude is “Blessed are the meek”

If you’ve read commentaries or heard teaching on the Beatitudes, you’ll see how many of those who write and preach try to avoid the word “meek”
• it’s perceived as a weakness, so they opt for humble, gentle, or mild
◦ meek can be a weakness when you refuse to defend yourself or fight back
◦ if you let others go first and if you give up trying to control everything and everyone
• Jesus used this word to describe himself
Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am [meek] and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls (Mt. 11:28-29)
◦ he is saying that he is approachable and not overbearing
◦ he is inviting us to be with him and to be like him
– we must be humble to be a true disciple of Jesus
• we must admit that we don’t know all we need to know
• we cannot come to Jesus self-assertive and aggressive, and smug in what we think we know,
◦ and expect him to take us on as disciples
◦ we must come as children

Jesus isn’t advocating low self-esteem
– I don’t think his concern here has anything to do with psychology
• meekness isn’t a fault or disorder that needs fixing or correcting
• it’s a way of being in the world, without being like the world
◦ it is kindness rather than rudeness, empathy rather than indifference, humility rather than egoism

The outcome here is, “for they shall inherit the earth”

Jesus is quoting Psalm 37, where we read, “The meek shall inherit the land” (v. 11)
– in the Old Testament, the land represents more than the territory within Israel’s borders
• it is attached to God’s covenant relationship with Israel
◦ it fulfills God’s promise to his people
• enter my rest is synonymous with entering the land (Ps. 95:11)
◦ enjoying being with God in a space that he occupies
– it is the fullness of all that God has prepared for his people

Conclusion: We’re beginning to pick up the rhythm of the Beatitudes

A disturbing or difficult challenge in first line, becomes a benefit in the second line
Again, the second line is not “compensation” but the reward of something better
Every tear we shed becomes a seed of a harvest that is yet to come
Those who sow in tears
shall reap with shouts of joy! (Ps. 126:5)
Like everything else worthwhile, we live now for the best possible future

Podcast

Facebook

Welcome and Prayer: Jim Calhoun

Come Lord and join us here today.
In truth, Lord, most of us are worried over something
We are afraid and it has us all tied up
And it is so common a thing
We act like this is our lot in life
Like this is just how life goes
We are concerned about the election
All of its vitriol
All of its deception
All of it ugly meanness and the aftermath and the fights to come
and the impact of the next administration
We are concerned about money and bills
About children and grandchildren
About demands we might not be able to meet
About expectations we may not be able to fulfill
About choices we make
And choices others make and how they will work out
Or not work out
We are concerned for our health
And the health of others in our lives
And treatments and procedures
And pain
And life and death
And how will we ever make it through
And how will we possibly manage after
We are concerned that we will be found out
That our secrets will be divulged
Our inner lives revealed
That our reputations will be ruined
That our hearts will be laid bare
That we will lose our friends
That we will be abandoned and alone
In our worry In our fear
We look to ourselves
We become our own focus
We get a little lost
So this morning we turn again to you
Anxious and expectant
That we can keep calm
Because all things are in your hands
Because all things will refine us
Because all things are perfectly perfect
Just as they are in this moment
And we turn to you
Anxious and expectant
Ready to carry on
Because you call us to you
Because we are partnered with you
Because you have given us others to love
Because you lead the way
We turn to you Wanting to ease our worries,
Our concerns
Our fears
Knowing all along
The path to peace is loving
Amen

Morning Talk: chuck smith, jr.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven Matthew 5:3

Intro: Recently, I came across an interesting ad:

The caption said, “Free AI Sermon Generator”
“Free AI sermon outlines help you preach a confident, creative message. AI sermon starter ideas make your sermon fresh and relevant.”
– I realized, from now on my life could be easy; for example,
• last week I mentioned my frustration with “kingdom” (bringing to mind the idea of a nation with borders)
• more than one person recommended that we talk about the “realm of God”
– when I searched for a definition of realm online,
• an AI response automatically popped up, with a list, included:
A realm is a domain or area of activity, interest, or influence.
It can refer to a kingdom or territory ruled by a monarch.
Philosophically, it can be a specific sphere of existence or reality.
Realm can also imply a level of consciousness or a state of being.
• so, for now, Jesus is going to walk us into the “realm of heaven”

Of the four gospels, only Matthew uses “kingdom of heaven” rather than “kingdom of God“
– there’s no difference, except where the emphasis is placed
Amy-Jill Levine, “. . . Matthew is setting up a contrast between heaven and earth: heaven is where God’s will is done; heaven is where God rules rather than where the ‘kings of the earth’ . . . hold sway. Heaven is a different place, a better place, a real place, a place where God rules and life is as God wants rather than as humanity has constructed.”
• Jesus’ Sermon illuminates the realm of heaven and its here, now reality
• we enter the Sermon through the Beatitudes
– my Mom once explained, “They are not the ‘Do’-attitudes, but the ‘Be’-attitudes
• despite Mom’s wisdom, Jesus isn’t teaching attitudes here
◦ he’s not laying out rules, and he’s not handing out blessings
• so what is Jesus doing in the Beatitudes?

Matthew’s synopsis of Jesus message when he first began preaching was:
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Mt. 4:17)
– “repent” means “change” and especially a change of mind
• this includes our perspective, perceptions, thoughts, motives–and all the rest of it
◦ as we change, we become “a new creation” (2 Cor. 5:17) our new self (Ep. 4:24)
• that’s what Jesus is doing in us with the Beatitudes and his entire Sermon
◦ he is preparing us to receive our full citizenship in the realm of God
– Jesus is changing us, and he is doing this from the inside out

If the Beatitudes are not Do-attitudes, what are they?

To learn the answer, there’s a mess that must be cleaned up first
– in the Hebrew Scriptures, two words are translated “blessed”
• these words have two different meanings
1. one of the words refers to blessings given by God and others
• for instance, fathers to sons, priests to people, one person to another (cf. Ruth 2:4)
◦ to pronounce a blessing is to give a gift from one’s soul
◦ when in the Psalms, people bless God, they give him praise (Ps. 103:1)

(One of the most common ways that Hebrew prayers begin is,
“Baruch hashem Adonai, Eloheinu Melech Ha’Olam“
“Praise to the Lord God, the Ruler of the universe”)

• God blesses people by showing them his favor, doing good
◦ Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 contain lists of this type of blessing,
which generally consist of fertility, health, prosperity, success in war, and shalom
Jonathan Pennington points out that the opposite of “to bless” (baruch) is “to curse”
• we tend to associate these blessings with emotional responses
Happy are the people whose God is the LORD (Ps. 144:15)
◦ when we hear someone say, “I was so blessed,” they are usually referring to the joy they felt
2. the other Hebrew word refers to a state of being: esher
Blessed [esher] is the one
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked (Ps. 1:1)
• the esher blessing is not a gift and it doesn’t involve a transaction
Pennington says it is “a certain way of being in the world”
◦ a way that pleases God
Pennington: the opposite of “be blessed” (esher) is “woe” (Lk. 6:20-26; Mt. 23)
• the New Testament continues to make same distinction as the two Hebrew words
◦ and, unfortunately, translates both words as “blessed”
• the word Jesus uses here in the Beatitudes is makarios, and it describes a state of being in God’s will
◦ so in the Beatitudes, Jesus was not pronouncing blessings on people
◦ he was saying these are already in a blessed state
– we do not have an English word that matches the meaning of makarios
• we could say something like, “a fortunate situation is theirs . . . .”
• Jesus isn’t pronouncing blessings on people who have these traits
◦ he’s saying they’re fortunate because they’re already on the right path

A philosophical quest began hundreds of years before Jesus

Socrates asked, “What was the best life that a human could live?”
– a century after Jesus, the quest was taken up by Cicero, who asked, what is the summum bonum
(“the greatest good” that people could reach in their lives)
• his answer included a life of virtue, wisdom, moderation, and courage
◦ the Beatitudes are Jesus’ answer to that question
• only, unlike the virtues of Greek and Roman philosophers,
◦ the Beatitudes are not accomplishments
– Jesus is not saying the poor in spirit pursued poverty of spirit, and so were blessed
• instead, he was saying, if for God’s sake you find yourself in this unpleasant condition,
◦ you’ve stumbled onto the right path
• let’s take a closer look at this

There are two parts to each Beatitude

I know that observation is obvious, but it’s important to keep it in mind
– in the first line of each Beatitude, Jesus declares a person to be in a fortunate state
• because they exhibit a certain trait, or they’re in a certain situation,
◦ or practice a specific behavior toward others or God,
◦ or they are persecuted for righteousness sake
• but each first line comes like a slap in the face
◦ it doesn’t make sense – it’s a contradiction (how are those who mourn, blessed?)
◦ in that culture, humility was a liability, a disgrace
• so the first line contradicts the values of the corrupt world and turns secular virtues on their head
◦ it doesn’t seem like Jesus is describing a blessing, but a hardship, a need, a disadvantage
◦ these are things that people of the world seek to avoid
– the second line of each Beatitude reveals why the first line is a qualifier for blessed state
• and it is linked to the summum bonum, or what Jesus called the “abundant life”
– notice that the list of the Beatitudes begins and ends with the kingdom (or realm) of heaven
• in between the first and last Beatitude, the blessed state includes comfort, an inheritance, mercy, and so on
◦ each of these verses look to the future, “shall be”
◦ but the two verses that end with the kingdom of heaven are present tense, “theirs is”
• Jesus wants to make us aware of God’s realm,
◦ then to value it, and then to seek it
◦ when we’re cut-off from the world and its vision of “good life,” we’re closer to the heavenly realm

I think we’re ready now to cross the threshold

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”
– poor in spirit can be anything that breaks a person, that puts them at a disadvantage
• it could be material (Luke gives the bare version of the first Beatitude, “Blessed are you who are poor” )
◦ or it could physical, or psychological – I can imagine something like a mood disorder
◦ anxiety, depression, or bi-polar disorders
Pennington, “‘Poor in spirit’ may seem like a positive Christian virtue, but in an ancient Near Eastern and Greco-Roman setting of honor and shame, the poor in spirit are in low places in society . . . .”
– there was only one other kind of person of whom Jesus said something like,
“theirs is the kingdom of heaven”
• those were the children parents brought to him for his blessing
“to such belongs the kingdom of heaven” (Mt. 19:14)
◦ the poor in spirit are often reduced to the status of a child
• I think we hear echoes of the prophet Isaiah
“For the says the One who is high and lifted up,
who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy;
I dwell in the high and holy place,
and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit,
to revive the spirit of the lowly,
and to revive the heart of the contrite” (Isa. 57:15)

To suffer hardships and setbacks and unhappiness in the world,
– does not deprive us of the experience and enjoyment of God’s realm
John Calvin, “The disciples of Christ must learn the philosophy of placing their happiness beyond the world, and above the afflictions of the flesh.”

Conclusion: I can imagine people in the crowd, listening to Jesus

When they hear him say, “poor in spirit,” they look down
– they try to make themselves small, so no one notices them
• they don’t want to be exposed for what they are; that is poor in spirit
• but then they hear Jesus say, the realm of heaven is theirs
◦ not only in some distant future across the galaxies,
◦ but here – now – with Jesus on the Mountain

Jesus shows us ourselves through his eyes –
A perspective that is hopeful and positive
He opens our eyes to the realm of God – and invites us in
We find that even though we do not experience its fullness
it is here already, transforming our liabilities into assets

Podcast

Facebook

Welcome and Prayer: Jim Calhoun

Come Lord join us here this morning
Remind us of the times you have called us to you.
Out of the blue
Or just in the midst of our everyday lives
Or In tragedy or desperation
In heart break or sorrow
Help us to rehearse these times in our minds and our hearts.
Allow us to feel the depth and purity and strength of your love.
Let us bask in it.
Let us swim in it.
Let it settle in us again and refresh us.
Lord, all the voices
All the anger
All the fear
All the lies
All the propaganda
All the manipulations
All the resentments
Are pulling on us
Demanding from us
Calling us away
From your good great love
To a far darker path
Refresh our days with you.
Grant us a task of love to which we can give ourselves
To honor and emulate your love for us
Allow us the full hope of your care and concern for us and for all we encounter
No matter the circumstance
No matter the outcome
No matter the chatter all around
Allow us the confidence that all shall be well
Since we are in this together with you.
Amen

Morning Talk: chuck smith, jr.

Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.
And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying . . . . Matthew 5:1-2

Intro: Last week I gave my introduction to the Sermon On the Mount

This week we’re going to look at Matthew’s introduction
– but first, I have a question – and it’s for me as much as anyone:

Are we ready for this?

– the Lord has made many changes in our exterior lives,
• but the big challenge of the Sermon is what it does on the interior
◦ we’ve cleaned up our speech; what about our thoughts?
◦ we’ve given up bad habits; what about desires and resentments?
• I rationalize my inner life:
“My thoughts don’t hurt anyone” and “I’ve a right to my private thoughts”
◦ the Sermon tells me, “Not any more”

Going through the’ Sermon, we realize Jesus is serious
– that he wants to see radical changes in us
• he also wants other, less radical adjustments, but those are also non-negotiable
◦ Jesus meant for his Sermon to be life-changing
• we may hear Jesus calling us to follow him like the twelve
◦ perhaps to go off on some mission
(It doesn’t have to be big, it just has to be meaningful and helpful)
◦ or to give up some of our comforts for the benefit of others
– are we ready for this?
• the Sermon is from Jesus, and it’s wonderful
◦ but it’s no walk in the park
• so let’s be honest with ourselves – will we take it seriously?

Verse 1 is Matthew’s prelude to the sermon

The curtain is raised; we’re near Jesus’ base camp in Capernaum,
– a fishing village situated on the shore of the Sea of Galilee
• imagine a landscape that is mostly green,
◦ bordered by a mountain range, and from its base,
◦ the ground gradually slopes down to the water’s edge
• we see crowds that have been drawn to this place
◦ and, of course, we see Jesus at the center of it all
– the scene is set, and now the action begins:
Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain . . .

Matthew does not tell us how seeing the crowds affected Jesus
– why would he tell us?
• is it important to know how Jesus felt or what he thought?
◦ but I’m curious, because on other occasions he does tell us what Jesus felt, and how it motivated him
◦ traveling through cities and villages in Galilee,
“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Mt. 9:36)
Trying to take a break with his disciples, “When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick” (Mt. 14:14)
On another occasion, Jesus told his disciples, “I have compassion on the crowd because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat” (Mt. 15:32)
• so I wonder why it was about seeing the crowds sent Jesus up the mountain
– some Bible scholars are convinced Jesus mirrored Moses
• Moses on Mount Sinai received the revelation of the Law
◦ Jesus on this unnamed mountain delivered the revelation of God’s will
• but we must stress the fact, Jesus is not replacing the law
Jonathan Pennington, Jesus gave the Sermon, “. . . not as a mere substitute [for the law], but as its eschatological fulfillment.” (So that the law does what it was designed to do)

I’m not convinced that Jesus was reenacting a Mount Sinai event
– but at the same time, I don’t know the connection between,
• Jesus seeing the crowds and then going up the mountain
◦ he wasn’t trying to get away from them, I’m sure
◦ maybe he was sifting the serious from the superficial
◦ maybe he was looking for space to accommodate them
• anyway, when he reached a suitable spot, he sat down,
◦ and that was his signal he was going to do some teaching
– the next thing Matthew tells us, is his disciples came to him
• the word disciple refers to all of Jesus’ followers–not just the twelve
◦ eventually, hundreds of disciples are drawn to him
◦ in this instance, maybe fewer hiked up the hill than the crowds who stayed below
• however, by the end of Sermon, there were crowds present
And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes (Mt 7:28-29)
– the possibility of Jesus sifting the crowd is why I asked my first question:
“How serious are we?”
• will we make the hike up the mountain?
• will we be “disciples”? – people who are drawn to Jesus to learn from him
Amy-Jill Levine, “Making the climb is the first step, and it is already a commitment. Staying on the summit and realizing we could do even more requires more courage, and letting that experience transform us, transfigure us, is scarier still. But the effort is worthwhile. The vista is gorgeous. And we become cities set on a hill—but we’re not there yet.”

What is it that Jesus wants to pass on to his disciples?

Well, that is what we are here to find out
– and it’s what we’ll learn in the coming weeks
• to summarize the Sermon, Jesus is going to share heaven with us
◦ heaven is not at all like this world or any nation in it
◦ everything on earth will be transformed when God’s name is revered and his kingdom has come and his will is done
• Jesus is going to teach us about the reality of God’s kingdom
◦ the nature of God’s kingdom
◦ the presence of God’s kingdom
◦ life in God’s kingdom
◦ and the priority of God’s kingdom (Mt. 6:33)

Verse 2 is not particularly interesting

But there is something about it that calls attention to itself
And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying . . . .
– well, of course he opened his mouth if he was going to say something
• let’s notice first of all, that the extra wording in this verse is unnecessary
• secondly, if Matthew chose this way to introduce Sermon, he may have had good reason
– it’s possible Matthew was influenced by a psalm he enjoyed
• Psalm 78 is a history lesson of God’s continued goodness and Israel’s continued failure
◦ it begins:
Give ear, O my people, to my teaching;
incline your ears to the words of my mouth!
I will open my mouth in a parable;
I will utter dark sayings from of old (Ps. 78:1-2)
◦ repetitions like this characterize the poetry of the Psalms
• perhaps Matthew was struck by how well these verses fit Jesus’ ministry
◦ of course, it could just be a coincidence
◦ there’s one reason to suspect that it is not
• in chapter 13, Matthew explains why Jesus used parables
◦ one thing he says, is that his parables fulfills what a prophet had said,
◦ then he quotes Psalm 78:2, “I will open my mouth in a parable”

There’s another reason Matthew used extra words
– scholars who study literary elements in the Bible have a term for this: a two-step progression
• there are two parts to a single statement or action
◦ this occurs frequently in gospels, but especially in Mark
• the first step makes a statement and the second step clarifies or specifies the first step
◦ it is also the second part that gets the emphasis of the sentence
◦ here, the second step calls attention to the fact that Jesus began speaking in order to teach

Conclusion: What if Jesus never “opened his mouth”?

What if he took one look at the crowds of humankind and walked away?
What would we have missed?
The secrets of a meaningful life that survives all of its hazards
That’s what Jesus himself tells us at the end of his sermon (Mt. 7:24-27)
Frederick Buechner: “. . . we must be careful with our lives, for Christ’s sake, because it would seem they are the only lives we are going to have in this puzzling and perilous world, and so they are very precious and what we do with them matters enormously. . . . . we do always need to be told, because there is always the temptation to believer that we have all the time in the world, whereas the truth is that we do not. We have only one life, and the choice of how we are going to live it must be our own choice not one that we let the world make for us. . . . for each of us there comes a point of no return, a point beyond which we no longer have enough life left to go back and start all over again.”

So, we pay attention, to Jesus,
because this isn’t another boring sermon;
this is our life

Podcast

Facebook

Welcome and Prayer: Jim Calhoun

Come Lord join us here today
Meet us In our fragility and our need
Add to our hope
That in you everything is perfectly perfect
Just as it is
Even the astonishingly imperfect things we encounter all day, every day
Even our own imperfect selves we wrestle with all day, every day
Nurture in us the ways of mercy Lord
And show us how to pass your mercy along to others
Settle in us the ways of forgiveness
Releasing ourselves from condemnation as you have
And then granting the same to those who have hurt us
Learning to be at peace with all so far as it depends upon us.
It takes so much to live in this imperfect world with our imperfect selves, Lord.
Grace us with your presence in every little snippet of birdsong,
every friendly smile,
every hearty laugh.
Fill us with hope for this day
To carry us along.
Amen

Morning Talk: chuck smith, jr.

In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Matthew 3:1-2

Intro: A couple weeks ago someone told me,

“Your next series of talks should be about The Sermon On the Mount”
– that title has a pleasant ring to it, doesn’t it?
• isn’t that where Jesus talks about birds and lilies? Love your enemies? Do not judge?
• it’s like a friend has invited us on an outing:
“Hey, go with us to the park for a picnic. We’re going to sing our favorite worship choruses, then share our favorite Bible verses.”
– but the reality is, the Sermon isn’t butterflies and rainbows
• it doesn’t read like a collection of Hallmark greeting cards
• it contains the most intense demands in all of scripture
◦ some Christians have given up on it:

In L’Abri Switzerland I heard a speak say the Sermon: “was meant for an elite class of believers, not average Christians”

Some Dispensational preachers have taught that the Sermon “was prior to cross, so it was meant for Israel and not for the Church”

Others have said, “Because the moral demands of the Sermon are impossible, its purpose is to shows us how desperately we need God’s grace”

Jesus had a different purpose for this teaching
Amy-Jill Levine (professor of New Testament and Jewish Studies) tells us this is “not a sermon. It’s a series of discrete teachings, each of which could be the basis of a sermon, a lecture, a community study, or a personal mediation. . . . There’s too much in these chapters to absorb in a single lesson.”
– I’ll suggest that the Sermon is Jesus’ curriculum for life in the kingdom of God
(when I refer to Jesus’ “Sermon,” think “messages” or “talks)
• Jesus was serious that his followers experience God
◦ he was concerned with the way people were interpreting the law
• they weren’t becoming more aware of God or sensitive to God
◦ it was time for a breakthrough – and that’s why he had come to Israel
– Jesus was conditioning his followers for what he was bringing into the world

Many years ago, there was a song I would listen to over and over again
I can still hear Eric Clapton’s voice, rich with emotion, singing,
“I have finally found a way to live
in the presence of the Lord”
That’s what we learn from Jesus in his Sermon On the Mount
– how to live in the presence of the Lord

The Sermon comes early in Matthew’s gospel
– first Jesus’ birth, then a brief survey of events involving:
John the Baptist
Jesus’ temptations
The beginning of Jesus’ ministry
The call of the first four disciples
• although Matthew jumps into the Sermon right away,
◦ what comes before it was well chosen and important
• he introduces and illustrates key themes we will come to in the Sermon
– so we’ll respect Matthew’s outline, and make his introduction to the sermon our introduction
• let’s see how Matthew presents these key themes

Matthew makes clear something the angel told Zechariah regarding his son, John the Baptist
“he will go before go before [the Lord] in the spirit and power of Elijah” (Lk. 1:17)
– Elijah is one of the few people in the Bible whose appearance is described
“He wore a garment of hair, with a belt of leather about his waist” (2 Ki. 2:8)
• here is Matthew’s description of John the Baptist:
“Now John wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist”
• only Matthew adds something about John’s diet
“and his food was locusts and wild honey” (Mt. 3:4)
From one of my morning meditations a few years ago: “John’s rugged clothing and severe diet were not gimmicks meant to draw crowds. His asceticism and minimalist lifestyle was effect rather than cause. His complete devotion to his work required a focused attention away from the distractions of village life. He was a rare species of humankind.”
– something that is not explained regarding John
• when Pharisees and Sadducees came to his baptism, he blasted them
◦ their practice of religion was not satisfactory
◦ but Matthew gives no hint of why John did this
(there is the possibility that John knew and agreed with the Essenes who considered the Pharisees and Sadducees to be spiritually compromised and were critical of both of those religious groups)
• Perhaps Jesus provides an answer to the problem of the Pharisees in his Sermon
Don’t display your charity “as the hypocrites do . . . when you pray, you must be like the hypocrites . . . when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites” (Mt. 6:1-18; see also Mt. chapter 23)
◦ these hypocritical displays were characteristic of the Pharisees and scribes

When Jesus came to be baptized, John was uneasy and hesitated
He told Jesus, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”
– Jesus answer, “Let it be so for now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” (Mt. 3:14-15)
• righteousness is one of the key themes in the Sermon
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness
Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees
Beware of practicing your righteousness before others to be seen by them
–and perhaps the strongest statement:
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness
– Amy-Jill Levine points out that Tamar is first woman mentioned in Matthew (Mt. 1:3)
• after being impregnated by her father-in-law, Judah, he made this statement about her:
“She is more righteous than I” (Gen. 38:26) — (this confusing statement will be clarified later on)
• it was in the story of Tamar, I learned meaning of righteousness
◦ we’ll see what righteousness looks like when put into actions in the Sermon

After Jesus was baptized, the Spirit of God led him into the desert
– Matthew says he was taken there to be tempted by the devil
1. the first temptation was to satisfy his hunger by miracle
◦ Jesus did not argue with devil or explain how his suggestion was wrong
◦ he simply quoted scripture, “It is written, man shall not live by bread alone . . . .”
• please note that Jesus resisted the devil by quoting from the Hebrew Scriptures, and specifically the law
2. in the second temptation, it was the devil who first quoted scripture
◦ I get the impression he’s saying,
“Oh, You want to play that game. Well, I can play it too. How much do You trust what the Scriptures say? Let’s find out if they really work”
Then he encouraged Jesus to leap from the highest point of the temple and see if God’s angels would prevent him from being injured
◦ Jesus didn’t argue the devil’s misuse of scripture, but again said,
“It is written, you shall not tempt (test) the Lord your God”
3. the third temptation was rather blatant
◦ the devil offered to give Jesus all the kingdoms of the world, provided Jesus would bow and worship him
◦ again Jesus answered him with a quotation from the law
“Be gone, Satan! For it is written,
You shall worship the Lord your God
and him only you shall serve”
• in his Sermon, Jesus will quote from the law and then go on and reinterpret it – “But I say to you . . .”
◦ but notice that the three quotes he used to resist the devil were from the Law (specifically, Deuteronomy)
◦ Jesus never set the law aside, in fact he honored it and will insist on maintaining it

Temptation is a second key theme in the Sermon
– Jesus will go deep into the nature of temptation–down into it’s roots
• he will also teach us to pray, “lead us not into temptation”
• but we will also learn the double-meaning of temptation:
◦ it is not only our usual idea of seduction,
◦ but it also means to “test” – as we learned last week, “Everything is a test!”

The third key theme is embedded in Jesus’ rejection of the third temptation
– that is, when he rejected the devil’s offer of all the kingdoms of the world
• there is a simple reason for this – but today it has largely been lost
◦ after his baptism and the ordeal of his temptations we read:
“From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand’” (Mt. 4:17)
▫ repentance is certainly a goal of Jesus’ Sermon, and it is implied all the way through
▫ but I’m not including it as one of the key themes
◦ after Jesus called his first four disciples,
“. . . he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and affliction among the people” (Mt. 4:23)
• Jesus rejected worldly kingdoms, because he came to announce the arrival of God’s kingdom
• the third key theme in the Sermon is the kingdom of God

I’m reluctant to accuse anyone of being a false teacher or a false prophet
– there are several different schools of theology,
• each one valid, and well supported, but none absolute
◦ if I disagree with the theology of others, it doesn’t mean I think they’re lost or deceived
• however, there are some doctrines that are false, and harmful!
◦ like the devil, they abuse the Scriptures by quoting out their biblical context
◦ most often they will use a single verse as a “proof text”

– Luke tells us, when the crowds asked John what they should do, he told them,
“Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and who ever has food is to do likewise” (Lk. 3:11-14)
• the same with the tax collectors and soldiers:
◦ he stressed the importance of showing integrity regarding social obligations
◦ he told the crowds to give away the excess of what they owned,
not to impoverish themselves in order to clothe and feed others
• someone might argue, “That’s the ‘Social Gospel’!”
◦ an close reading of Matthew, Mark, Luke (especially), and John,
◦ we learn that the gospel is social! It is the new “society” of God’s kingdom

Yesterday morning I read in Mark’s gospel (ch. 3) where Jesus was angered and grieved
– what set him off was the unwillingness of those gathered in the synagogue to admit it is permissible to do good on the Sabbath
• the problem was, a man was there whose hand was crippled
◦ but Jesus knew if he healed someone on the Sabbath, he would be condemned by those whose interpretation of Sabbath law was that no healing could be done on the Sabbath
◦ he was angered and grieved by “their hardness of heart”
• what kind of religion bans empathy?
◦ that tells us not to help those who are in need?

There is a false teaching that claims the Church will eventually produce God’s kingdom on earth
– that eventually, the Church will advance to the point where it rules the world
• but that is the doctrine of Islam and not Christianity
◦ Jesus was very clear on this score:
“My kingdom is not of this world” (Jn 18:36)
◦ many Evangelicals have been deceived about Christians imposing God’s will on nations
– if Jesus had wanted a worldly kingdom he would have had to bow to Satan to get it
• historically, when religion joins government, both become more intrusive and oppressive
(think of Iran, of the Taliban rule in Afghanistan, and even of Orthodox Christianity in Constantinople or Russia today, where Patriarch Krill supports Putin in his war on Ukraine)
• oddly, the Church has always been its healthiest when persecuted and its sickest when in power

Conclusion: When Jesus called the fishermen from their nets to follow him,

He told them, “I will make you fishers of men”
His Sermon On the Mount is about Jesus bringing to us the kingdom of God
and “making” us its true citizens
I hope we can let Jesus bring his message to us, in our time and place
If so, through it he will lead us into the lived experience of God’s kingdom here and now

Podcast

Facebook

Morning Talk: chuck smith, jr.

Now when the LORD
was about to take Elijah up to heaven
by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha
were on their way from Gilgal 2 Kings 2:1

The prophetic ministry of Elijah provides one of the most entertaining stories in all the Bible. When it comes to phenomenal miracles, Elijah’s only rival would be Moses. His spiritual stature as a man of God is equal to the greatest heroes in scripture, and yet St. James wrote, “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours” (Jas. 5:17). Like us, Elijah could be frightened, discouraged, and ready to give up.

Elijah would have been a fun person to know– if you like surprises. For instance, this final episode begins with a surprise. It seems we were supposed to already know he was going to be swept up to heaven by a whirlwind. He certainly knew that his work was done and something significant was about to happen, but it’s not likely he was aware he would take a ride unlike any other in the entire history of humankind. As we walk the last leg of his journey with him, it’s as if he already has one foot out the door.

As spectacular as his final moments on earth turn out to be, the other character in this scene has the greater challenge. Elijah’s servant and star pupil, Elisha, who will follow his mentor on their final road trip together. However, his motive for tagging along with Elijah is not merely see him off.

Gilgal was located in the desert and not far from the Jordan River, still within Israel’s border. As Elijah was getting read to leave, he turned to Elisha and said, “You don’t need to go with me. Please, stay here in Gilgal. As for me, Yehovah has sent me on to Bethel.” Elisha’s reaction was instant and adamant, “As Yehovah lives,” he swore (coincidentally quoting the first recorded words of Elijah), “As Yehovah lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave your side!” Elijah simply gave him a slight nod, and off they went, taking the road that led to Bethel.

Bethel had long been recognized as a sacred site–perhaps since the days of Jacob, when he fled from his brother who was threatening to kill him. Jacob stumbled onto a place where he would spend the night. God appeared to him in a dream, and extended to him the covenant he had made with his grandfather, Abraham. Overwhelmed by God’s presence there, Jacob named it Bethel, “the house of God.” In more recent years, Israel had established their own homegrown cult in Bethel. But there was a separate community of prophets faithful to Yehovah who lived in or near Bethel.

For many years, at least as early as the days of Samuel, there had been people who longed to experience the inspiration of God’s Spirit. We do not know all of the ways they opened themselves to God’s immediate presence, but we do know that music sometimes played a role. By the time of Elijah’s arrived, these communities were known as “the sons of the prophets.” That there was some real activity of God going on in their community is evident in the few times they appear in scripture. For instance, on more than one occasion, King Saul came into contact with one of these groups, and both times he was overwhelmed by the Spirit of God.

As Elijah and Elisha neared the gates of Bethel, members of the sons of the prophets approached Elisha and took him aside. They told him, “You know, don’t you, that Yehovah is about to take your master from over your head?” Elisha’s voice was low, but stern, “Yes, of course I know! Don’t say another word.”

They had been in Bethel only a short while, when Elijah was on his feet again. Immediately, Elisha was at his side. Turning to him, Elijah gave him the same instructions as he did in Gilgal, only this time he spoke his name. “Elisha,” he began, “you can stay here with these men in Bethel, but I have to keep moving. Yehovah has now sent me on my way again; this time to Jericho.” Elisha would not back down, “As Yehovah lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave your side!” So once again they were on the road.

Jericho was in the same general region as Gilgal and Bethel. It seems that the sons of the prophets were drawn to those isolated desert locations to seek God. Away from the larger villages and all their distractions, they focused their attention on intense spiritual development. Hundreds of years later, another similar spiritual community would settle a little further south, near the Dead Sea. Ruins of that community and the Scriptures they stored in caves there, still exist today.

The sons of the prophets in Jericho circled Elisha, and said to him, “You know, don’t you, that Yehovah is about to take your master from over your head?” Elisha answered them with the same harsh tone as before, “Yes, I know. Say nothing about it!”

If by this time you don’t recognize the pattern, then you haven’t been paying attention. In the previous chapter, three captains accompanied by fifty soldiers, came to apprehend Elijah. Each of them approached him, addressing him,“O man of God.” It did not go well with the first two captains, so the third captain changed his tone.

The pattern of threes is repeated here in the travelogue, in which the sons of the prophets replace the soldiers. The first two groups deliver the same message to Elisha word-for-word, as the first two captains had with Elijah. The third group doesn’t approach Elisha, but observes him and Elijah from a distance. Setting these two stories side-by-side, and repeating the same pattern of threes, secures the close identity of the two prophets. We cannot help but notice their names are almost the same. Now we are discovering there’s a reason for that. Elijah is about to be removed from the ongoing story of Israel, but Elisha is going to carry forward his work and ministry.

Leaving Jericho, Elijah’s destination was not another city, but this time it was the Jordan River. Again, he told Elisha that he did not have to go with him, and again Elisha said, “As Yehovah lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave your side!” As they reached the water’s edge, fifty of the sons of the prophets, were watching them from a nearby hillside. Standing on the riverbank, Elijah removed the mantle from his shoulders–the same mantle he had draped over Elisha when he ordained him to be a prophet. Elijah wrapped it around his arm, and then slapped it on the surface of the water. Immediately, the water upstream was separated from the water down stream, creating a path of dry ground that the two of them took to reach the other side.

For anyone familiar with Israel’s history, this calls to mind Israel’s crossing through the Red Sea with Moses, and then crossing through the Jordan River with Joshua. Moses’ staff was the symbolic instrument God used in parting the waters of the Red Sea. The ark of the covenant was the symbolic instrument he used when Joshua led Israel through the Jordan River. Now, this time, it is Elijah’s cloak (or mantle) that symbolizes God’s means of working the miracle.

Why the miracle? Why is it so important for people to get from one shore to the other, that God would provide a supernatural passage? The answer may have to do with inevitable stages of human life, and moving from one into the next. Whether the process of moving from one stage to the next occurs over time or happens in an instant, we pass through necessary transitions as we journey through time. What we may not do well, is mark those transitions. Or worse yet, we may not even realize we have made the transition. We may be pouring all our attention and energy into clinging to a past we will never again possess or experience.

The tragedy of not marking transitions is not that we remain stuck in the same rut that brought us to this point in our lives, but that refusing to recognize life is different now, our mental, emotional, and spiritual growth is stunted. We cannot stop our bodies from aging, but we can stop learning, maturing, developing, and drawing ever closer to God. To refuse to step across the next threshold, to stubbornly hang onto a past that no longer serves the demands of today, prevents us from appreciating the fullness of where we are now or doing our best work in this stage of our lives.

Elijah had to make the transition from active service to retirement. Elisha had to make the transition from neophyte to full-fledged prophet. Both of them had to transition into the next thing God had for them. The beauty of their stories, is that they both were ready for this. I would say that Elisha, at least, was eager to reach the next pinnacle. It was time.

On the other side of the river, Elijah stopped and turned to Elisha. He was no longer playing games, as if he wanted to lose Elisha and go on by himself. He had never been more serious than in this final moment with his disciple. Looking into his eyes, he said, “Elisha, what can I give you, what can I do for you before I’m carried away from you?” Without skipping a beat, Elisha answered, “Please, let there rest upon me a double portion of your spirit.”

Elijah took that request seriously. He explained to Elisha, “You have asked for something that does not come easily, is difficult, and could be painful. But, if you’re there to see me the moment I’m taken from you, that double portion will be yours. If you aren’t there, then you won’t get it.”

If we’re not familiar with the Hebrew Scriptures, it could sound like Elisha is asking for twice as much of God’s Spirit than had rested on Elijah. The double portion referred to something extra. The closest parallel to what Elisha wanted to receive from Elijah, was the guaranteed inheritance an eldest son received from his father (Deut. 21:17). We don’t know precisely what that would entail. There’s no doubt it referred to material possessions, but it may have had to do with other immaterial roles of authority, responsibility, and influence as well. At any rate, it was the normal inheritance given to the oldest son, and not a surplus of what the father had owned. Elisha wanted to serve God’s people with the same dynamic gifts and abilities that typified Elijah’s ministry.

After that dramatic moment, they continued walking together, carrying on a conversation that would have been reported to us if it included something we needed to learn. Still, one can’t help but wonder whether this was an ethereal conversation regarding mysteries normally hidden from human minds.

The force that threw them apart was sudden. Chariots of fire, drawn by horses of fire flew between them. Elijah was swept up off the ground by a whirlwind that carried him into the sky. Elisha cried out, “My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” What else could he say?

Then it was over. Elijah was gone.

Whether in grief or the passion of a new spirit, Elisha literally ripped off the cloak he was wearing. Elijah’s mantle having fallen from him when swept away, was lying on the ground. Elisha picked it up and returned to the bank of the river. He rolled the mantle around his arm as he had seen Elijah do, and slapping it on the surface of the water, he shouted, “Where is Yehovah, the God of Elijah?” With that, the water parted as it had before, and he returned through it to Israel’s side of the river.

Having witnessed the entire spectacle, the sons of the prophets realized what had happened.“The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha,” they exclaimed. Hurrying off to meet Elisha, they bowed before him as a sign of respect.

Now, at last, we have come to the end of the story of Elijah.

No, I was wrong. Instead, I should have asked, “Have we now come to the end of Elijah’s story?” He did not die, so this was not the end of his life. Have we heard the last of him? Apparently not.

The Hebrew Scriptures end with Malachi, and Malachi’s prophecies end with this prediction:
“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a [curse].” (Mal. 4:6)

Then later, the angel who announced to Zechariah the birth of his son, predicted that John the Baptist would minister “in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared” (Lk. 1:17)

So we are not ready just yet to write the words: “The End.”

As I said at the beginning of this episode, Elisha’s challenge through this ordeal was greater than Elijah’s. Why did I draw this conclusion? The answer is simple. As we move through the story, what questions naturally come to mind? For instance, I would want to know why Elijah kept telling Elisha he did not need to go with him from place to place. I think the answer to that question comes when Elijah explained what Elisha had to do to receive the double portion he requested. He had to be there to see Elijah go. That means that every step of the way had been a challenge for Elisha. Would he continue on to the reward, or would he hang back?

Another question I would like answered, it why did Elisha insist on staying with Elijah in his final journey? Was it simply out of loyalty to his mentor? Or did Elisha inherently know that if he was going to receive the double portion from Elijah, he had to stick with him? Well, Elisha was a prophet, after all. It is possible he knew that if he did not stay close by Elijah’s side, he would not get the gift he desired and needed.

Later on, when Elisha was nearing the end of his life, the king of Israel came to visit him. Elisha gave King Joash a couple of tasks to complete. Both tasks had prophetic significance. In the second challenge, Elisha told the king to take a handful of arrows and then said, “Strike the ground with them.” So the king took the arrows and hit them on the ground three times. Of course, he had no idea why the old prophet told him to do this, and he may have felt silly hitting the ground with the arrows. But when he stopped, it angered Elisha, who asked, “Why did you stop? You should have struck five times, or even six times; then you would have defeated the army of Syria until you wiped them out completely. But now you will have only three victories, and that will not be enough to prevent Syria from returning and conquering Israel.”

I have always felt sympathy for the king. How could he have known he was enacting a ritual that would have serious consequences later on? Of course, he would have struck the ground more times–if he had known. Perhaps the moral of the story, is if God tells you to do something, you should keep doing it until he tells you to stop. However, I think there’s another lesson to be learned here.

It turns out, that each time Elisha was told he could stay behind, it was a test. Elijah knew that if Elisha was not there to see him taken away, there was nothing else he do for him. Elisha had to pass the test in order to get what he desired. Maybe the three tests were meant to reveal whether Elisha was really suited for the work that lay ahead. How committed was he? Would he give himself the luxury of taking time to relax if he had not finished a project? Would he continue through the hardships and setbacks of God’s work, even when it seemed like he wasn’t accomplishing anything significant?

My concern today is for myself and for you. I feel like I’m old enough that God has to know by now I belong to him. I don’t need any more tests. But I have heard the stories of other people who gave out before they reached the finish line, and I don’t want to be included in those statistics. That means I’m going to be tested.

You are going to be tested. In a moment I will elaborate on that statement. How can we know when we are being tested? Well, if we’re prophets, we’ll just know. Sadly, we aren’t prophets–or, at least I don’t think we are. And that means we cannot know when we’re being tested. So if we don’t know we’re being tested, how can we keep from failing the test?

Here’s my elaboration: Everything is a test!

You are being tested today. I have no idea what that test is, or what it’s going to prove, or how you’re going to rate on it, but you are being tested.

I have been tested this week. The tests are always more intense when we’re sick or not up to par; and that’s how it’s been for me. I’ve been hit with the realization that I am unprepared for the increasing demands coming my way. I thought that when we got old, everything would be easier, that we would be less responsible for anything other than surviving another day. Instead, I’ve been tempted to entertain a host of worries, to fixate on my inadequacies and sink into despair. Only, now I realize that I am being tested.

And what is it God is testing? That’s simple. My trust in him. If I allow myself to drown in the fear of failure, of uncertainty and insecurity, then I have failed the test, regardless of what happens next, whether good or bad. If good, well then I will give thanks and rejoice. If bad, well then, I will trust God, rejoice and give thanks. The only way to pass this test is to let go of anxiety and despair.

If you pay attention, you will be able to discern in what way you are being tested today and what it is in your relationship with God that he is testing. And if you determine to stay close to him, like Elisha did with Elijah, you will pass the test and get your double portion. And then this excursion into Elijah’s story over the last three months will have done us some good.

Podcast

Facebook

Welcome, Prayer, and Morning Talk: Jim Calhoun

Heavenly Father Help us to live in the world as it is.
Just this, just now
Help us when we are ill or injured and bring us to rights
The deep pain of losing loved ones when it comes all at once or slowly over time
The sorrow of seeing others in pain or disappointed or grieving
The anxiety of what the future may bring us and the fears that we may not be up to the challenge
Help us to live in the world as it is
With every blade of grass shimmering
Every leaf trembling
Every cloud floating by
Every burst of laughter
Every shared moment
Every hope
Every dream
Every joy
Every love
Knowing every grace is your grace
Just this, just now
Help us to hold it all at once
Help us to hold it all together
Lord, please, hold us together
In the world as it is
Amen

Lectio Divina

Today we are going to have a group Lectio Divina session. This is a spiritual exercise in which we listen to God’s Spirit speaking to us through the Scriptures. Our application of it this morning will be similar to what we do during the week but adjusted a little for our situation this morning.
Lectio is an amazing practice that helps us better listen to God
It helps us hear God, the still and quiet voice, that is calling to us with tenderness, comfort, direction, correction, instruction and affection.
It helps us hear God and not just repeat our anxieties or shame to ourselves.
It helps us hear God and break out from all of the messages, good and hurtful, that we carry from our families and friends.
It helps us hear God and point us to a liberation from the demands, concerns, expectations of our society.
You know, how we look, what we drive, our status, our wealth, our place in comparison with others.
Slowly, over time we grow past all of these things and find new ground, fresh territory in the Kingdom Of God.
We find new life.
This, today is a workshop and we will be practicing spiritual listening.
For more than a dozen years we have been doing these groups in homes and also online.

Combined with quiet sitting this has been our focus.
We have wanted to know God in some way that is personal, meaningful, relational instead of simply know about God from the perspective of one tradition or another.

By the way, I have no bone to pick with the traditions of the Church.
The major traditions are important.
The Orthodox Church of Greece and later Russia.
The Church of Rome which we most often call the Catholic Church
The English Church
The Church of Europe either from Luther or Calvin
The Church of America which grew out of The English Church and took on a distinctive American turn with the teachings of John Wesley and his followers.
Of course there are others, Baptists, Anabaptists, And more.
All this to say each of these churches have a beauty in them.
A sanctity, a holiness.
There are members full of the Spirit and love with great generosity and sacrifice in each and every one.
And there is ugliness as well.
Self serving, moral double dealing, pride and all that goes with it.
And this is the risk of following a tradition, we can be blind to our foibles.
We may not see at all what everyone else sees plain as day.
We may justify the impossible because it is our tradition.
Then we get lost all over again and never quite understand it.
Lectio can awaken us.
From our families, from our spiritual traditions and habits and from our society.
We can awaken and take another step into freedom.
So today we are workshopping, practicing, listening.

The process is simple in that there aren’t many steps and the steps are easy to understand and implement.
I’ll give you clear instructions along the way.
The process is demanding and transformative because it takes our whole selves to engage.
We encounter God in the reading of the passage both aloud and quietly.
We encounter God in the silence between the readings.
We encounter God in our brothers and sisters as they share.
Not everything is that you hear is needed today.
That is okay.
Hold it loosely and let it go.

This is a devotional practice.
It is rooted in affection.
Recognizing how God has come to us in one way or another and our gratitude in response.
It isn’t about the one right answer.
Your response maybe very different from mine.
Even opposite. Why?

God remains the same and the Scriptures hold true.
That isn’t the issue.
The differences are found in us.
We are each solving a different problem in a different context.
God is guiding us through.
I may need to learn appropriate boundaries in this moment and you may need to develop your depth of generosity and we may find the same phrase in the same passage is teaching us these two very different things.
This isn’t troubling.
It is a gift.

So in this way we don’t monitor or correct what another person is working out.
We let them do their work and trust God to lead them from this place to the next.
If what another says stirs us up we need to decide if we will let it go or if we need to hold it close.
Is it an example of iron sharpening iron?
Is it for someone else?
These sorts of questions are the heart of discernment.
We ask God in real time what we might do with what we read and hear.

If you find any of this overwhelming just step back a little and take a breath or two.
Allow yourself just to observe if you like.
There are no demands or expectations for you in this.
All may share if you like and none are required.

Now let’s turn to Matthew
Matthew is written in pairs of story and teaching, narrative and discourse.
There are five pairs.
Our section today is toward the end of the second discourse or group of teachings.
The stories just before this in chapters 8 and 9 show Jesus doing the work of the messiah.
He is healing, casting out demons and all sorts of signs and wonders.
He is making his declaration of who he is by being who he is.

At the end of chapter 9, Jesus seems to be concerned for so many people who need his help.
They are spread all about and he doesn’t have time or physical energy to reach them all.
But he declares that the harvest is ready, but the workers are few.

At the beginning of chapter 10 Jesus calls together his disciples, the twelve, and sets about to address the problem of too few workers.
This chapter is sometimes called the little commission in contrast to the great commission at the end of the gospel, “Go into all the world . . . ” (Mt. 28:19-20).
But here the mission is to go into the local area and continue my work among the people of Israel.
And then he gives a lot of thought concerning the difficulties connected with the task.

We pick up his message at the next to last section of this chapter.
It was what we covered in Lectio two weeks ago.
There are hard sayings here.
We will work our way into it with gentleness for each other and for ourselves.
An act of devotion and affection, hoping to hear a little something for the day that is nourishing.

(These instructions were followed by a time of practice with those of our Reflexion community who were present this morning)

Podcast

Facebook

Welcome and Prayer: Jim Calhoun

Come Lord join us this morning.
In a world full of bickering and hate,
let us be peace
In a world of lies let us be truth
In a world that is ever striving let us be contentment.
In a world that makes endless demands on others
let us be generosity
In a world that worships money let us be contentment
In a world that seeks endless power let us be surrender
In a world that destroys souls let us be sacrifice
Move us Lord
No longer content to talk about the thing
No longer gratified to judge others because they are not the thing
Teach us to be the thing
Transform us to be the thing
By your loving hand
Amen

Morning Talk: Guest speaker, Guy Gray

Psalm 3 is the most loved, most quoted, and best known of all Psalms
There are lots of reasons for this.

It’s short – just six verses. But though it’s so short it’s incredibly deep.
It’s simple – easy to understand.  The Lord, the shepherd is God.  I am the sheep. I get it!
And there is something uniquely encouraging, comforting, and empowering about this Psalm.

So, this morning, I’d like to give you Psalm 23 as a “fixed focal point” for your faith – through all the different seasons and experiences of your life.

When I was a boy I used to go deep sea fishing with my father.  Often the sea would be rough and I would get sick.  He used to say to me, “If you can find a fixed focal point on the horizon, keep your eyes on that, and that’ when you will find your balance once again.”

That’s good advice for a storm at sea.
But what if we could apply that idea to our life of faith in God?
That is how I have come to see Psalm 23 in my life experience.
It has become a fixed focal point for my faith – through all the ups and downs of life.

So now, let’s think through Psalm 23, with a special focus on Vs. 4.

First, we need to get a feel for how this Psalm unfolds.
It has a beautiful beginning, a hope filled ending, and a valley of deep darkness in the middle.

THE BEAUTIFUL BEGINNING Vss. 1-3

These verses give us this incredible portrait of: peace, nurture, movement forward, and purpose. 
This is a life “fully alive” and “flourishing”.
I love this. I want to be in this scene!

A HOPE FILLED ENDING Vs. 6

This verse gives us the most profound picture of hope you can imagine. It’s a hope that seems to transcend even the grave itself. 
In Psalm23, hope gets the final word!
I love this. I’m trying to learn to live in this perspective more an more in my life.

Illustration: The blank book gift and not knowing what to write.  Then I wrote “I choose to live in faith.”  (I was so excited about it that the next Sunday I preached a sermon on this.)

THE DARK VALLEY IN THE  MIDDLE Vs. 4

I think of this as the unexpected and uninvited intrusion into the perfect picture
But this is also why we love Psalm 23 – because it meets us where we live, in our broken lives and our broken world.

Here are 3 key ideas from Vs. 4:
1. The darkness described in Psalm 23 is darkness in the extreme
There are lots of words for darkness in the OT, but this is a rare word that is the most extreme of them all.  Two other passages help us get a feel for this: Psalm 107:10 uses the image of being chained in prison to describe this darkness. Job 10:20-22 describes this as a darkness so deep that it swallows all light – like a black hole.
But we know this deep darkness is a metaphor for the most painful and difficult experiences of our lives.
In 2 Cor 7:5-6 the Apostle Paul describes deep distress in his life that has two sources – external circumstances and internal anxiety.  He describes himself as “downcast”. Even the amazing apostle Paul had times when he needed a strength beyond his own to keep going.

2. The comfort that God brings into our lives might be different than at first we would think
The modern definition of “comfort” is something like this:
“The state of feeling better after felling sad or worried; something that makes your life easy or pleasant.”
This is primarily about feeling better.  This is why we talk about needing “comfort food!”
But the biblical definition of “comfort” is different:  gaining the courage you need to face the adversities of your life because you know you are not alone.”  This is much like the “antiquated definition of “comfort” found in the dictionary: Comfort (obsolete meaning, from the Latin comfortare) “To aid, support, encourage, strengthen.”
The purpose of God’s comfort in our lives is to give us the strength to go on, through the darkness, not just to make us feel better.

3. In Psalm 23 it is the promise that God is with us in and through the Darkness that makes all the difference. It brings the comfort of God’s presence to us; it brings the strength of God to us.

Vs. 4 – “for you are with me.”
“God with us is the great gospel promise of the Christian faith.  In the Gospel of Matthew Ch. 1 we are told that his name shall be called Emmanuel – God with us.  In Matthew 28, in the very last phrase in the gospel, Jesus says, “and I will be with you to the very end of the age.”
This is the core message of the Gospel.  God is with us in Jesus Christ.  In his incarnation; in his life; in his death on the cross for our sins; in his resurrection victory over death; and in the giving of the Holy Spirit to be with us in our lives. 
Jesus said, in John 14, I will ask the Father and he will give you another “comforter” to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth.”  Comforter is the Greek word “paraclete” that word means “one who comes alongside to help.  Sometimes it is translated as “comforter”, but other times as, advocate, or counselor, or helper.  And God is with us through the gift of the Holy Spirit in all of those ways, through all the seasons and experiences of our lives. 

It’s amazing to know that we can bring this comfort to other people.  Like Titus did for Paul in 2 Corinthians 7:5-6.  And God can use other people to bring his comfort into our lives as well.
This is what God did for me when, at a very dark day in my life, God sent a man I had not seen in several years to encourage me. It was a “random” encounter in passing at an airport.  He said, “Do you remember that sermon you gave years ago on hope?” I want you to know that I was listening. And he rolled up his sleeve and showed me his arm where he had tattooed the words “I chose to live in hope.”  That encounter was a strong affirmation to my life that, indeed, God is with me. What comfort!

These are the themes from Psalm 23 that have become a fixed focal point for my faith in my life journey.  When I fix my eyes on Psalm 23 in this way, it helps me find my balance again through the different seasons and even the dark storms of life.

Podcast

Facebook

Welcome and Prayer: Jim Calhoun

Come Lord join us this morning.
Grant us the gift of having large hearts
Tender and gracious
With affection and attention
To the people we know
The people we meet
And all those we encounter.
Let us feel and know their joys and fears
Grant us the courage to be this sort of person
Save us from being overwhelmed

Allow us to see the world through their eyes
If only for a moment
To better understand how it is for them
The problems they are struggling to solve
The battles they are desperate to win
Their joy for every success
Helping us to love the difficult person
The belligerent
The angry
The hateful
The needy
The broken

Allow us to be safe for them
Without fear of condemnation from us
Fellow pilgrims
Fellow mortals just making our way
Uncertain
Sometimes afraid
Sometimes overwhelmed
Save us Lord from being overwhelmed

Grant us the gift of listening
To hear and receive and respect
What is revealed through word and deed
To listen with curiosity and interest
To listen without planning our response
To listen without correction

Ease our anxiety as we listen
Ease our need to fix things
Ease our need to manage them
Ease our need control those things that make us anxious
Ease our need to judge

Help us to discern
To keep our own inner world in order
So we might help
And serve
And even sacrifice when needed

Lord, grant to us big hearts
To love like you
Because you have loved us
Day in and day out
Through it all
Even through our worse moments
The ones we rather forget
With your very big heart
Amen

Morning Talk: chuck smith, jr.

After the death of Ahab,
Moab rebelled against Israel 2 Kings 1:1

This first sentence of 2 Kings is an odd way to begin a new chapter. The transition from the previous book to this one could have been much smoother. For instance, the last lines of 1 Kings provide all the explanation we need for this new episode:
Ahaziah the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria . . . and he reigned for two years. He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and walked in the way of his father and in the way of his mother . . . . He served Baal and worshiped him and provoked Yehovah, the God of Israel, to anger in every way that his father had done (1 Ki. 22:51-53)
Instead of this clear statement regarding the throne of Israel passing from the deceased father to the firstborn prince, we have an odd report of Moab’s rebellion. Why?
Moab was located in what is Jordan today. The mention of Moab breaking free from Israel’s domination reminds us that tensions in that area of the world go back for millennia. But what is the significance of this event, that plays no part in any of the action that follows?
The answer is that we learn soon after Ahab died, Israel suffered a substantial loss. A piece of its control in that region was taken from them, and there was nothing they could do about it. This is an important insight into the beginning of Ahaziah’s reign. Israel was beginning to deteriorate from within, and right away the nation suffered a loss of strength and influence.

When Ahab died, his son Ahaziah became king–however, his reign did not last for long. The palace in Samaria had been his home since childhood, and it now belonged to him. Unfortunately, he was unaware that the design of ornamental features in the upper chambers was made to be decorative and not sturdy. So when he leaned against the lattice enclosure of a large window, it gave way and he fell to the ground. He remained bedridden for several days, but his injuries were not improving and his health was worsening.
Ahaziah summoned messengers to his bedside. He told them, “I have heard from others about a reliable source for divining the future and learning one’s fate. Go now, and inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, to learn whether or not I’m going to recover from my injuries.” It seems that people in every nation have always sought out sacred places where they could receive oracles from the gods. To “inquire” was the technical term for consulting the deities at those sites. It seems that human mind has always had a special fascination for knowledge of the future, and by various mystical methods tried to pry into things to come. Oracles, soothsayers, prognosticators, astrologers, psychics, and others have been sought out by people who want to penetrate the veil God has placed between the natural world and the supernatural, between the present and the future.
Israel was unique among the nations, in this regard. They were forbidden to resort to occult agents or practices to explore regions of the unknown. God had it written into their law and later he reaffirmed it by one of his prophets, through whom he said, “And when they say to you, ‘Inquire of the mediums and necromancers who chirp and mutter,’ should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living? To the teaching and to the testimony! If they will not speak according to this word, it is because they have no [light of the] dawn” (Isa. 8:19-20)
The God of Israel could be consulted–and he would answer, but giving only as much information as served his purpose. Ahaziah’s quest must have been especially offensive to Yehovah, because Ekron was one of the capitol cities of the Philistines, who had been hostile to Israel from the time they entered the land.

While Ahaziah’s messengers were on their way, another messenger was dispatched. The same Hebrew word that translates into English as “messenger” is also translated “angel.” So it was that the angel of Yehovah found Elijah and reactivated him for service. “Get up,” the angel told him, “go up and confront the messengers of the king of Samaria and tell them to take this word back to him: ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Now listen to what Yehovah has to say, for he has the answer to your inquiry. You will not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you will die for certain.’”
Elijah carried that message to Ahaziah’s servants. When they arrived at the palace, the king was baffled that they had returned so soon. “What happened?” he asked them, “Why have you come back? What have you learned?”
They explained, “A man came and stopped us. He told us to come back here and tell you, “Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Now listen to what Yehovah has to say, for he has the answer to your inquiry. You will not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you will die for certain.”
If Ahaziah was upset by this news, he controlled himself. He was curious about the person who intercepted his messengers and sent them back with that message. How did he know about their mission? Who told him the king would die? Was he reliable? “Tell me,” the king said to his messengers, “what sort of person was he who stopped you on the road and sent you back to me with this news?” If the king was asking them for their opinion of the stranger, and whether he seemed credible, what they gave him was a description. They asked themselves, “What kind of man was he?” then told the king, “He was the kind of man who is hairy and wears a leather belt.”
Instantly, Ahaziah recognized him by their description. “It is Elijah,” he said–and a flood of memories rushed into his head of Elijah and the drought, Elijah and Mount Carmel, Elijah and how his mother hated that prophet of Yehovah.

The king dismissed his messengers and changed his agenda. For the next mission he needed soldiers, not emissaries. So he summoned one of his captains with a detachment of fifty soldiers. Why soldiers? Was he expecting trouble? Ahaziah commanded the captain, “Take your men and hunt for Elijah the prophet. When you find him, bring him to me.”
When the soldiers found Elijah, he was sitting on the top of a hill. There he was, out in the open, unprotected, defenseless. If a sheriff came to your door, not in uniform but in fatigues and riot gear, you would no doubt feel apprehensive. We have no idea what Elijah felt as he saw those soldiers approaching the hill where he sat.
“O man of God,” the captain called to him, “the king says for you to come down. You must go with us to the palace in Samaria.”
Elijah tilted his head to one side, squinted his eyes at the captain and said, “If I am a ‘man of God,’ then fire is going to come down from heaven and consume you and your soldiers.” Something like a sonic boom jolted the ground as if lightning were ripping the sky apart. A ball of fire fell and instantly the captain and his fifty men were ashes.

If Ahaziah had his wits about him, he would have perceived the significance of this miraculous event–that is, obvious proof had been given that there was, indeed, a God in Israel. But no sooner did Ahaziah receive word of what happened to his soldiers, than he ordered another detachment to go and apprehend Elijah. The prophet had not moved, so he was easy to locate.
This captain resembles a specific person type in the military or law enforcement; someone who asks for cooperation but if they do not get it, they assume they must be rougher, more aggressive, and use force if necessary. It would never occur to them that sometimes the wise approach to dealing with others is to avoid violence.
When this captain approached Elijah, his words were not like the first captain whose words were, “The king says, ‘Come down.’” The second captain said,“this is the king’s order, ‘Come down’” and he added, “quickly!”
Elijah tilted his head to one side, squinted his eyes at the captain and said, “If I am a ‘man of God,’ then fire is going to come down from heaven and consume you and your soldiers.”
Here Elijah was at the end of his ministry, and only one other person ever called him a “man of God.” He met that other person at the beginning of his ministry. She was a widow who lived up north in the nation of Sidon. She addressed him as a man of God, but it was only when he resuscitated her dead son that she actually believed it. She told Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is truth.”
These two captains with their men learned the hard way that Elijah was indeed a man of God.
Predictably, the king sent a third captain and his fifty soldiers with him.
The first two captains had called Elijah from the base of the hill, but this third captain hiked up the hill, and when he reached Elijah he immediately went down–on his knees, not telling Elijah “The king says” or “The king commands,” but begging the prophet, “O man of God, please, let my life and the lives of these fifty servants [yes, he referred to them as servants, not soldiers; they were only doing what they were told to do], let my life and their lives mean something to you. Value our lives. Look, the two captains who came before me did not honor you, and they were devoured by fire from heaven. But I’m here now, begging you to value our lives and spare us.” This captain had figured out that words “man of God,” were not just a formal title.
Right then, the angel of Yehovah spoke to Elijah, and told him, “Go down with him,” and perhaps anticipating Elijah’s reaction, he added, “There’s no reason to be afraid.”
Elijah tilted his head to one side, squinted his eyes at the captain, and said, “Okay.”

The remainder of the story is anticlimactic. Not many details are given regarding Elijah’s encounter with King Ahaziah. The king remained silent as Elijah repeated what he had already said, only this time it is not a question, but an indictment, “This is what Yehovah has to say to you, ‘Because you sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron–as if there were no God in Israel to inquire for his word–you won’t come down from that bed to which you have gone up, you will die for certain.”
Now, at last, King Ahaziah had his answer and knew his future. And soon the word Yehovah had given to Elijah was fulfilled. Once Ahaziah was gone, his brother Jehoram took his place and became Israel’s next king.

Take a moment. Breathe. Relax.

There is a reality that is larger than our universe, and the source of our universe. That reality is eternal, and therefore encompasses the past, present, and future of our universe at the same time. In that added dimension, God is not hidden as he is from our world of experience. God reaches to us from that dimension and calls us to himself. Jesus our Lord referred to that dimension as “the kingdom of God.”
The invitation of the Scriptures is not to come and inquire about the future, or learn the secrets of the transcendent realm, or tap into spiritual powers. The invitation is to know God in and through his Son. For this purpose, God has given us the potential for spiritual development, so that we can interact with him Spirit to spirit.
For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption . . ., by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’ The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God” (Ro. 8:15-16)

Here is the challenging part of this arrangement: Our physical selves are not equipped with the ability to perceive God with our senses or know him with our rational minds. We can learn lots of information about God, but that still falls short of knowing God in his actual beingness. To know him, our spirits need to be enlightened. That is why St. Paul prayed for the Ephesians, that
the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him (Ep. 1:17)

When Jesus taught, his primary tools for enlightening his hearers were, in the synoptic gospels, parables, and in the gospel of John hard sayings (analogies and metaphors that were difficult to digest). Why are the methods for enlightening his disciples useful and effective? Because they do not attempt to explain what we cannot understand, but instead lead us to an experience of truth and of the larger reality. In stories, truth is caught rather than taught. Jesus explained to his disciples, that his parables reveal the mysteries of the kingdom of God. Not all mysteries, but those that benefit us when we are enlightened by them.

We are not aware of everything a story does in us and for us.

In the stories that Jesus told, there are specific patterns. We hear the parable and our brains naturally find the pattern. We do not have to be conscious of the pattern, but our brains will discern and remember it. Later, in the daily grind of our lived experience, something will happen that fits the pattern, and that will take us back to the spiritual truth Jesus has revealed to us. Our spirit is awakened in those moments to God’s presence or his obvious work in us and in our world.

Today’s story of Elijah may speak to us in ways we are not yet aware. In fact, we may find details of the narrative offensive, such as the catastrophic deaths of one hundred men. However, there are subtleties in the patterns embedded in the story that may prove useful to us.

First, we return to the beginning, when Moab rebelled against Israel. This footnote was necessary because the people who lived through it may not have recognized the significance of this loss. This is something that is always a concern to me. Is there something important to my relationship with God that I have lost? One of the saddest moments in scripture is when Samson went to battle with the Philistines, confident of his victory, “But he did not know that the LORD had left him” (Jdg. 16:20) I need all the resources God has ever given me. Sometimes I let an important gift lapse. In those times, I am not doing my best work, or I’m not being my best self.
And it is not only myself that concerns me. A great many people in the Evangelical subculture have lost their way and the central message of Jesus, but they don’t seem to realize the loss or where that leaves them.

A second pattern in the story is one that is common in folk stories and fairytales; namely the way people or events are arranged in “threes.” Three times, the question is raised, “Is it because there is no God in Israel . . .?” Three times captains with the soldiers came for Elijah.
The pattern of three can help us sift out our failures. One captain was polite. One captain was a bully. The third captain learned from the mistakes of the first two. You might recognize the testing of threes in Goldilocks and the Three Bears–one porridge too hot, another too cold, and the third just right. Or the Three Little Pigs.
In scripture,
Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And thought a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him–a threefold cord is not quickly broken (Ecc. 4:9-12).
There is, of course, the ultimate “threefold cord. As my friend, Fr. Romuald, said, “The fundamental revelation of the Trinity is relationship.”

A third pattern is repeated through the chapter, and is very easy to see in the English Standard Version because of its literalness. Ahaziah went up into his bed, and he was not coming down from it. Then the first captain to approach Elijah, went up and told him to come down, and that is when Elijah called fire to come down. The third captain went up to Elijah, but then fell on his knees. Elijah was then told to go down with him to Samaria. This theme will continue into the next chapter, perhaps because it signifies the ups and downs of Elijah’s ministry, until his final move upward.
Embedded in this chapter is an outline of Israel’s history with the Lord their God, which was up and down. The most condensed version of it is found in the Book of Judges, where we see an ongoing cycle of Israel turning to God, then turning away, turning back, then turning away again. The other books of Israel’s history present a longer version, but it’s the same pattern. We also see this cycle in the lives of individuals.
Israel’s upward movement began on Mount Sinai and reached its climax on Mount Zion.
I, too, have had my ups and downs with the Lord. It never hurts to ask where I am in the cycle–and then answer that question as honestly as possible.

Perhaps for us, the central purpose of this story is to get us to ask ourselves, “Is there no God in South Orange County, that we would chase after what everyone is striving to attain?”
A few years ago a famous Christian author wrote a philosophical argument for God’s existence, and even more, for the fact that God continues to speak to people who will listen for him. The title of his book was, He Is There and He Is Not Silent.
This morning we’re going to cross out one letter: He Is Here and He Is Not Silent.

That’s a good enough truth for us to take home and live with this week.