Podcast

Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17

Intro: Today is Pentecost Sunday

A word derived from the Greek language
– Pentecost refers to an event fifty days after Jesus’ resurrection
– the story of Pentecost is told in Acts chapter 2
• the apostles were in Jerusalem per Jesus’ instructions
◦ he had given them a mission,
◦ but first, they had to be equipped and empowered
• that happened in one of the most dramatic scenes in the New Testament
◦ God’s Spirit descended on them in a way that looked like fire
– those believers who experienced this became something else that day
• the new people of God
◦ when God chose Israel to be his nation, this is what he had in mind:

I will … confirm my covenant with you. … I will make my dwelling among you …. And I will walk among you and will be your God and you shall be my people (Lev. 26:9-12)

• on Pentecost, this did not happen to select individuals,
◦ but an entire community
◦ some people refer to Pentecost as the birth of the church

Although it is Pentecost, that is not why I’m going to talk about
– this last week, I was reading in 1 Corinthians
• when I came to these verses, something happened in me
• I felt them – I knew that God meant this to be true for us
◦ that I could meet him here today with you
– we may not see it, we may forget,
• but this time we spend here together is sacred

Your first reaction might be, “Who, me?” (or “us?”)

Paul was not writing to the premier church
– much of this letter and the next tell them what they were doing wrong
• they got off to a good start – had a lot going for them (1 Cor. 1:4-8)
◦ but Paul begins this chapter with the news that they had not made much progress
• the weren’t as spiritual as they assumed
◦ they were mere infants in Christ
– this is not uncommon – it’s easy to become religious or pious
• nor is it difficult to learn doctrine
• but to undergo fundamental changes in our lives is a difficult process
◦ we must work at letting go of old prejudices and habits
◦ Christian love takes a particular kind of work
◦ and it looks different from working at being religious (1 Cor. 13:1-3)

How could Paul tell that their spiritual life was shallow?

For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? (v. 3)

– the community had become divided and formed “tribes”
• they had taken polarized positions regarding individual personalities
• but the leaders themselves were not divided
He who plants and he who waters are one (v. 8)
– 5-10, Paul explained how to regard those they placed on pedestals
• not as celebrities, but servants – fulfilling their assigned tasks
You are God’s field, God’s building (v. 9)
◦ first he uses an agricultural metaphor
(plant and water, two different tasks but devoted to one goal)
◦ then a construction metaphor
(one laid a foundation, another built on it)
• that their roles were different did not entail conflict, but cooperation

In verses 10-15, Paul adds a serious warning to the sub-contractors
(he illustrates why it doesn’t pay to cut corners)
– every building is eventually tested by natural elements
the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house (Mt. 7:25, 27)
• in regard to the church, the foundation is solid–it is Jesus Christ
◦ the problems start with the sub-contractors
◦ and the use of inferior building materials
• many Christians do not realize, they’re not well cared for
◦ they’re entertained, brow-beaten and bossed around, and exploited
◦ they’re kept busy building a house of straw
– 16-17, Do you not know …? – this was the missing piece
• the Corinthians Christians did not know who they were
• they had not discovered their collective identity

Verses 18-20, the wisdom that works in the world, doesn’t work here
– the way governments, corporations, and other institutions run
• there we encounter contenders, competition, and conquest
◦ faith draws something else from us
◦ love requires something else
– 21-23, Paul’s advice: Do not get pulled into one of the cults of personality
• all these sub-contractors are not special
◦ if they’re the real deal, they work for you
◦ God has provided them for your spiritual development

The Corinthian believers were messed up–same as we are

Yet they were God’s temple
– if we dig into the past for the primary purpose of the temple,
• we come to the God’s instructions to Moses for the sacred tent

. . . let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst (Ex. 25:8)
There I will meet with the people of Israel, and it shall be sanctified by my glory. . . . I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God (Ex. 29:43-45)
◦ “sanctified” means to make holy or sacred
• primarily, the temple was a place where people encountered God

One thing have I asked of the LORD,
that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to inquire in his temple (Ps. 27:4)
O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
beholding your power and glory (Ps. 63:1-2)
– when these messed up Corinthians met together,
• they were the church – God’s temple
• Jesus Christ was present among them (5:4),
◦ and God’s Spirit lived in them
◦ in other words, God manifested his presence in and to this spiritual community

Do you not know that your are God’s temple?

We do not always know that – or we forget
– one reason may be, that when we see each other,
• we look on the outside only
◦ we see clothes, and mannerisms, and personality quirks
• we don’t see God’s image, because we’re not looking for it
◦ we’re not asking,
“How is Jesus revealing himself through this person?”
– it’s possible to never know all God has for us

I defined sanctified, because I want to emphasize the sacred

Sacred is at the root of the word “sacrament”
– a sacred ritual God uses to pour grace into us
• a sacrament can also be an object or an action
Leonardo Boff, describes a sacrament as an object or action that is real in this world, but opens up to another dimension – something God uses to manifest his presence to us
• Boff says there are three dimensions to a sacrament:
◦ immanent: the object or action is physical — present and tangible
◦ transcendent: the object or action reveals another dimension of reality
◦ transparent: we see through the object or action
– the sacrament is not isn’t magic, but evokes an inner vision
• we see through the sacrament, as if a window
◦ and the light of God’s grace pours through it
• a sacrament is a gate that opens between time and eternity
• a sacrament is meant to wake us up,
◦ to bring us out of our forgetfulness (“remembrance”; 1 Cor. 11:24)
• a sacrament invites us to have eyes that see, ears that hear, hands that feel, and so on

Conclusion: On the day of Pentecost, the church became a sacrament

God formed the church to be a witness to the world
– he desires to manifest himself to the world through his church
• not through the church as an institution
• and not through the doctrines of the church (that doesn’t work)
The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to [them], and [they] are not able to understand [these things] because they are spiritually discerned (1 Cor. 2:14)
– it is the church as a community of people
• people who are no better than we are
◦ it’s not about being “nice” to each other – polite or friendly
• it’s about listening, and caring, and being safe and available
◦ we have a Christ-effect on each other

What got to me when reading this passage,
is that we have opportunities
to immerse ourselves in the experience of being together in Jesus,
to have a strong sense of his presence,
and to rely on him to be among us.
Let’s know this as our lived experience;
let’s remember it whenever we meet.
We are God’s temple

Podcast

Psalm 22

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?
O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,
and by night, but I find no rest (Ps. 22:1-2)

Intro: Friday I was driving three of my grandchildren home from school

Six year old Calum was in the back seat, singing lilting, repetitive lyrics
– I wasn’t paying attention at first – then, when traffic cleared I listened
“This is a distraction song, distraction song, distraction song,
that makes it hard to think”
ME: “Calum, what’s that?!”
CALUM: “It’s a distraction song. Do you get it?”
ME: “Yes I get it! It’s so distracting, I can’t think”
CALUM: “Aha, it works!”

Psalm 22 is a song for when distractions make it hard to think

There are two things we get wrong about this psalm

First, frequently it is referred to as a “Messianic Psalm”
– that is to say, the whole psalm is a prophecy of Jesus’ crucifixion
• it does contain prophetic statements,
◦ but that was not how it was originally read
• like most everyone who suffers, the psalmist felt abandoned by God
– that Jesus quoted this psalm from cross reveals his heart
• how deeply he was plunged into human suffering (cf. Heb. 2:9-10, 17-18; 5:8)
• Jesus shared with us an agony so deep, he too felt abandoned, forgotten

Secondly, it looks like a psalm of despair– at least begins like one
– but it is actually a song of hope
• in it, the poet tells his story – not in detail, but with broad strokes
◦ that actually makes it more valuable for us
• we don’t have to know what he meant by bulls of Bashan
◦ we can think of our own adversities and obstacles
– as we read his story, we learn how he worked his way–
• or “prayed his way”–from abandonment to embrace,
◦ from anxiety to serenity, from distress to peace
• have you ever wished that prayer could change your mood?
◦ maybe there’s a way to approach prayer that does change us
◦ and perhaps God will even change us without changing our circumstances

A quick overview of Psalm 22

The poet begins with a “Why” question
– this is not always the best place to begin, and it is often useless to ask
Daniel Siegel refers to “Why” as “the [brain’s] left hemisphere’s favorite pursuit of exploring . . . . The left side of our cortex appears to specialize in the cause-effect explanations of logical reasoning that is so coveted in science, and in schools, and perhaps in modern society in general.”
• some events defy cause and effect explanations
◦ if there’s an answer to Why?, only God knows it

In the face of a devastating loss, would it really be of much help to learn why it happened?

– nevertheless, like the poet, in deep grief we cannot help but ask why
• the question pushes its way up from our soul

We could title the first two verses, “When prayer doesn’t work”
– or doesn’t seem to work
• the problem may be, we expect prayer to produce a specific effect
◦ that it is supposed to change something in the world
◦ it doesn’t occur to us, prayer is meant to to change something in us
– how can the poet jump from his unanswered prayer to verse 3?

Yet you are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel.

• maybe he is saying, “The fault is not in you; you are holy”
◦ this is how the system has worked in the past

In you our fathers trusted;
they trusted, and you delivered them.
To you they cried and were rescued;
in you they trusted and were not put to shame (vv. 4-5)

• so the conclusion drawn by the poet is,
“I’m not like my ancestors. They were heroes, but

I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by mankind and despised by the people (v. 6)

◦ this thinking is not unusual, and it is wrong!
◦ it is as wrong as assuming God had abandoned him

Shame does this to us, it undermines our confidence
– before God, in ourselves, and with others

All who see me mock me;
they make mouths at me; they wag their heads;
“He trusts in the LORD; let him deliver him;
let him rescue him, for he delights in him!” (vv. 7-8)

• those who make fun of him, ridicule his failed system
– again, like in v. 3, he bumps into this contradiction, Yet [9-10]

Once again, as in verse 3, the poet jumps to what seems like a contradiction

Yet you are he who took me from the womb;
you made me trust in you at my mother’s breasts.
On you was I cast from my birth,
and from my mother’s womb you have been my God (vv. 9-10)

Verses 11-21 repeat the request as the poet describes his affliction
(notice the animal metaphors he uses to describe his enemies)

Be not far from me,
for trouble is near,
and there is none to help.
Many bulls encompass me;
strong bulls of Bashan surround me;
they open wide their mouths at me,
like a ravening and roaring lion.
I am poured out like water
and all of my bones are out of joint;
my heart is like wax within my breast;
and my tongue sticks to my jaws;
you lay me in the dust of death.
For dogs encompass me;
a company of evildoers encircles me;
they have pierced my hands and feet—
I can count all my bones—
they stare and gloat over me;
they divide my garments among them,
and for my clothing they cast lots.
But you, O LORD, do not be far off!
O you my help, come quickly to my aid!
Deliver my soul from the sword,
my precious life from the power of the dog!
Save me from the mouth of the lion!
You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen!

– here is something that amazes me regarding biblical writers
• the incredible way they read their bodies
◦ he describes emotional distress in physiological terms:
◦ bones out of joint, heart melted like ways, strength dried up
– one of the lessons we’ve learned from neuroscience:
• situations that are:
◦ extremely hurtful emotionally,
◦ intensely painful physically,
◦ unavoidable or inescapable,
◦ life-threatening,
◦ or simply overwhelming,
• cause communication in the brain to breakdown
◦ the mind goes blank, logic warps, we lose control
(in sports we say someone “choked”)
◦ people say, “I feel like I’m falling apart,” “My mind is scattered”
– if trauma disintegrates, healing integrates – makes whole

In v. 22, it looks like the poet has made a dramatic turn

I will tell of your name to my brothers;
in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:
You who fear the LORD, praise him!
All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him,
and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!
For he has not despised or abhorred
the affliction of the afflicted,
and he has not hidden his face from him,
but has heard, when he cried to him.
From you comes my praise in the great congregation;
my vows I will perform before those who fear him.
The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied;
those who seek him shall praise the LORD!
May your hearts live forever!
All the ends of the earth shall remember
and turn to the LORD,
and all the families of the nations
shall worship before you.
For the kingship belongs to the LORD,
and he rules over the nations.
All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship;
before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,
even the one who could not keep himself alive.
Posterity shall serve him;
it shall be told of the LORD to the coming generation;
the shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn,
that he has done it (vv. 22-31)

– it seems like everything now is good, right?
• but that is not exactly what these verses are saying
• this form of speech is referred to as a “vow of praise” (cf. v. 25)
◦ its typical form is: “If you do this for me, I’ll do that for you”
– what it does for the poet, is enable him to be confident
• he is able to feel in the present, a victory that will come in the future
• he can even praise and worship as if his salvation had already come

One more thought
– even though this is one person who prays,
• the presence of others play a crucial role in his life before God
• in both his breakdown and his recovery (v. 22)
– there is a type of communication that links human hearts and minds
• when people feel safe enough to talk without fear
◦ and others are compassionate enough to listen without judgment
◦ a primary ingredient in these conversations is is empathy
• for Paul, life in community leads to having same mind (Ro. 12:3-16)
◦ he encouraged the Philippians to be of one mind (Php. 1:27; 2:2)

When a community (or family) has this sort of integrative conversations
– each individual’s mind is moved toward integration and wholeness
This has happened for us in our weekly practice of lexio divina
(sacred, prayerful reading and sharing of scripture)

By the end of his song, the poet is no longer alone
– he has rejoined the people of God in the worship of God
• he is on his way toward integration and wholeness

Conclusion: Yesterday morning I was feeling stressed over today’s message
(I didn’t have one!)

Also, my granddaughter, Addison, added a little extra stress
– for a couple of weeks she’s been begging me to attend her dance recital
• I’ve explained that Saturday is a workday for grandpa
◦ I promised to be there, providing God worked a miracle
◦ and I had a sermon outline completed in time
• but my mind kept going to all the kids who have no one to who shows up for their little league games or exhibitions
◦ and also how important it must have been to Addison that I be there
– I took a deep breath and loosened my grip–physically and mentally
• I felt a certainty that all would be well
• and that the outcome did not depend on me,
◦ as God has been faithful to show up for me over so many years
So I went, and Addison and her sister Adrianna were the stars of the show

When I first began practice of contemplative prayer,
– God lifted a depression that had lasted for decades
• most of my old anxieties disappeared
• but what I did not anticipate was all the new anxieties!
◦ or that my nervous system is incapable of achieving trust as a steady state
◦ I assumed my mind would have the flexibility to deal with every new anxiety
• yesterday, this psalm walked me back into trust
(notice how many times the poet mentions it in the poem–three times in just two verses; 2 & 3)
◦ trust changes everything – not because it’s an effective psychological tool
◦ but because there really is Someone present who is trustworthy
In you our fathers trusted;
they trusted and you delivered them

After meditating on trust in vv. 3-5 and 9-10, and during my contemplative prayer,
– I realized that God gives us “trust moments”
• when all we have to do is rest in him and enjoy the experience of trust
• an infant at its mother’s breasts is just such a trust moment
◦ this particular example evokes a feeling (comfort, security, nurture)

But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
like a weaned child with its mother;
like a weaned child is my soul within me (Ps. 131:2)

– in those trust moments we:
• learn the feeling of trust
• are receptive to grace and what it brings into our lives
(this is what we mean when we pray, Give us this day our daily bread)
• bond with the One in whose arms we rest
– a trust moment may be sitting on porch during a break from our chores
• or when you allow another person’s words or arms to hold you,
reassure and comfort you
• it can happen in the time you spend in contemplative prayer,
◦ allowing God to breathe his love into you

Trust moments clear our heads,
calm our emotions,
renew our strength
Trust moments recollect pieces of our minds
when they have been scattered by headlines and deadlines
Trust moments integrate mind and body
in a concentrated focus on our Lord Jesus Christ

Podcast

Luke 10:21-24; 22:31-32 and John 17:1-9

Intro: Today it will feel like we’re moving backwards in time

Last week we jumped to the end of John’s gospel, because it was Easter Sunday
– today we return to night of Jesus’ arrest prior to his crucifixion
• think of what we are doing this way:
◦ some films include flashbacks to events that occurred prior to the current period
◦ flashbacks supply explanations or fill in important details
• so this week and next, will be like flashbacks for us
◦ scenes of events leading up to Jesus’ resurrection
– the “Church Calendar” is an ancient tradition
• it divides the year into seasons attached to specific events
◦ it also provides daily scripture reading to keep those events in mind
• according to the Church Calendar Easter is not a day but a season
◦ it goes from Easter Sunday up to Pentecost Sunday
◦ so it is fitting to return to the cross and resurrection during this “season”

Jesus and his disciples are on their way out of Jerusalem to the Mount of Olives
– they have not yet crossed the valley that separates the two mounts
• Jesus has said all he had to say to them
• now he concludes his final teaching with a prayer
– there is too much to his prayer to go over in detail this morning
• it is like the entire gospel has been compressed into one chapter
• find a time when you can come back to it and read it slowly

There is nothing like this prayer in the Synoptic gospels

We know Jesus prayed – and he prayed a lot (especially in Luke’s gospel)
– he sometimes prayed for his disciples
• as when he chose the twelve to be his apostles (Lk. 6:12-13)
• he also prayed specifically for Peter (Lk. 22:31-32)
– but except for once when he praised God and then in Gethsemane,
• the Synoptic gospels did not record the contents of his prayer
• even though he taught the the disciples to pray,
◦ and even told them what to request,
◦ the words of his prayers are not reported in Matthew, Mark, or Luke

John takes us into this particular prayer of Jesus
– and doing so, he takes us deep into the heart of Jesus
• he allows us to eavesdrop
• to hear what were Jesus’ concerns in this last hour with the disciples

Key themes from the story of Jesus appear in this prayer

For example:
• Jesus frequently addresses God as “Father”
(also, “Holy Father” in verse 11 and “Righteous Father” in verse 25)
• Jesus again refers to his “hour”
– this first instance was to his mother, My hour has not yet come (Jn. 2:4)
– but now his the hour has come (Jn. 17:1)
• Related to his hour is glory
(and that he glorified the Father and the Father glorifies him)
– from beginning of John, God’s glory has to do with his self-revelation
◦ this is how God had manifested himself to Moses (Ex. 33:18; 34:5-7)
◦ and his presence to Israel (Ex. 16:6-10)
– in John, this is how God manifests himself to the world through Jesus
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth (Jn. 1:14)
– in regard to Jesus’ glory, John sees through the Synoptic vision of cross
– he sees the suffering and shame, but he also sees beyond that
Andreas Kostenberger tells us that in Mark’s gospel “the cross is . . . a place of shame, humiliation, and suffering for Jesus”
◦ the soldiers mocked him, the priests mocked him,
◦ bystanders mocked him, even the thieves next to Jesus mocked him
Kostenberger says, however, that in John, “the cross is . . . the place where Jesus will be glorified,” and he explains that “John enlists Isaiah to show that, contrary to the world’s perspective, the cross was not in fact a place of dishonor, humiliation, and shame, but instead constituted the location where Jesus was exalted for his willingness to die for the sins of the world as the lamb of God and obedient Son of the Father.”
• Eternal life
• Believing and knowing (Jn. 17:8, 21 and 23)
• The world
– as a force of resistance and persecution
– in verse 9, Jesus said his prayer was not for the world
◦ at least not at this point
◦ however, he does not exclude the world from his prayer
◦ reaching it is his end goal
• The oneness of all his followers
– a oneness he shares with his Father and with us (Jn. 17:21-23)

Jesus also covers:
• The past:
– I have manifested your name
– I have given them the words
– I have guarded them
– I have sent them into the world
• The present:
– I am praying for them
– I am no longer in the world
– I am coming to you
– I am not of the world
• The future:
– keep them in your name
– keep them from the evil one
– sanctify them
– that his followers will be with him
– and he prays for those who in the future will come to believe in him

A chain is formed from these themes in Jesus’ prayer

For example, his glory
– verses 1-5, the Father shares it with his Son, Jesus
– verse 22, Jesus shares it with his disciples
– verse 23, the disciples reflect it to the world
God the Father to Jesus — Jesus to his apostles — the apostles to the world
– the same chain is formed with:
• the Father’s name (v. 11), and words (v. 8)
• the Father sending Jesus into world (v. 18)
– Jesus includes in his prayer, every link in the chain
• through the centuries, all the way down to us

Now that we’ve seen some features of prayer, I have a confession

Reading through this prayer has always been confusing for me
– I quickly lose Jesus’ train of thought
• the prayer jumps around from one subject to another
◦ it jumps ahead, and then it jumps back, and then repeats itself
• I have trouble seeing the logical connections between his thoughts
◦ and I feel like I have to hold onto too many ideas at once
◦ I have not been able to find a structure to Jesus’ prayer
– it’s like reading the mumbo jumbo in a legal document
• perhaps we don’t have to hang on to all the pieces,
◦ or carefully track all of its twists and turns
• if not, then how else could we read it?

Technically, Jesus was not talking to his disciples
– this was not another discourse or lecture – it was a prayer
• Jesus was talking to his Father – and at a very stressful time
◦ he opened his soul and poured out what was in it
• the prayer did not have to be organized and neat
◦ its style was not logical, but emotional
◦ and that, I believe, is what we are supposed to feel
– if you spend enough time with this prayer,
• you will feel its depth and beauty
• and the you will find the depth and beauty of the one who prayed it
◦ the strong emotion of Jesus prayer leaves its impression on us
◦ this is what we are to receive from this prayer — its impression
◦ so that our inner lives are shaped by it
– these are all the things Jesus wants for us
• but it is important to feel the intensity of his desire (e.g., v. 24)
• that is what will move us to align our wills with his prayer

Just to be clear, although this is a prayer, Jesus was still teaching
– as before, he was teaching by example
• and his example was that they were to keep their eyes on the goal
◦ keep themselves close to God and all his resources
• they were never lose sight of the big picture
◦ and the picture in Jesus’ prayer is very big
◦ the scope of his concern is worldwide

Conclusion: Before praying, Jesus lifted up his eyes to heaven

Turning our heads and line of sight is how we orient ourselves,
– and how we move, how we turn our whole bodies
• that John takes note of our Lord’s gesture is significant
◦ we do not pray with our bodies,
◦ but we cannot pray without them
• posture makes a difference
◦ to pray with our whole person is to present our bodies to God

What drives us? Sometimes we don’t even know
– perhaps you hate losing your temper,
• promise yourself you never will again — and then you do
– I think we’re drawn by desire, but driven by something else
• if we drop our guard and let what’s deep inside come up,
• I think we will discover a great emptiness
◦ even Christians feel it –a longing for something that isn’t there
◦ a need that’s never been met
• it’s there, but we don’t want to face it
Anthony de Mello was right when he said, “And when the emptiness surfaces, what do you do? You run away, turn on the television, turn on the radio, read a book, search for human company, seek entertainment, seek distraction. Everybody does that. It’s big business nowadays, an organized industry to distract us and entertain us.”

The more distractions, the more blockages we create
– preventing the light of God’s glory from reaching that deep emptiness

Jesus prayed for us
He is still praying for us,
that God’s glory will reach us,
reveal God to us
and that he is with us here and now.
He prays for us to be healed
and to be filled–with his joy (v. 13)
and with his love (v. 26)
and that every day we will
reflect his glory to the world

Podcast

Luke 24:1-12 and John 21:1-12

Intro: Since the first Sunday of the year, we’ve been looking at the Gospel of John in relation to the Synoptic Gospels

Here in the last chapter of John, we find an interesting correlation
– in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, at beginning of Jesus’ ministry,
• he encounters four fishermen whom he calls to follow him
◦ Andrew and Peter are casting their net into the water
◦ James and John are in their boat mending their nets
• the Gospel of Luke tells us Jesus saw two empty boats by the shore
◦ he explains that the fishermen were washing their nets
▫ Jesus stepped into a boat that happened to belong to Peter
▫ from there he taught the people crowded on the shore
◦ after dismissing the crowd, Jesus said to Peter, “Let’s fish!”
And Simon answered him, Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! (Lk. 5:4-5)
▫ but at Jesus’ word, he went back out into deep water and dropped his nets
▫ soon his nets so full they were breaking
▫ Peter called to his partners for help
▫ soon their boats were so full, they began to sink
• that’s when Peter’s eyes were open
◦ he fell at Jesus’ knees and said,
Depart from me, for I am a sinful man
◦ Jesus answered,
Do not be afraid, from now on you will be catching men
– so in the Synoptic Gospels, the story of Jesus first disciples is about fishermen and their nets

At the end of the Gospel of John we are taken back to Sea of Galilee
– here we find the disciples last encounter with Jesus (that John records)
• again, Peter, James and John have fished all night and caught nothing
• again, Jesus instructs them to do something that makes no sense
◦ and again, their net fills so that they cannot haul it into the boat
– So John brings first disciples full circle
• they’re back to where they began with Jesus in the Synoptic gospels
◦ John adds a footnote in verse 11
And although there so many [fish], the net was not torn
• Why did John bother with this detail? were nets flimsy and prone to tear?
◦ I wonder if John saw another significance in this fact
◦ not long after, Peter would preach his first sermon’s first sermon,
▫ and 3,000 people would be added to their spiritual community
▫ a couple of chapters later, another ; 2,000 had been added
they would be able to handle these large numbers
and their net would not tear

It may be helpful to pay attention to the grammar in verse 1

After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he revealed himself in this way.

The verb tense of “revealed” is active indicative
indicative means this was an actual event, not merely a possibility
active means Jesus was taking the initiative, the action was intentional
– when we look at the people to whom Jesus revealed himself after his resurrection
• it seems he was rather selective
◦ the women who came to the empty tomb; then then disciples
◦ then individuals: Mary, Thomas, the two disciples on the road to Emmaus
◦ now, in this instance, it is Peter
• it seems Jesus had a specific purpose in each encounter

John says Jesus revealed himself to the disciples,
– but the story features one particular disciple – “Simon Peter”
• Jesus definitely has Peter in his cross hairs
• Jesus chose Galilee for the conversation he wanted to have with him
– John opens this scene, and the first disciple mentioned is “Simon Peter”
• the first one to speak was “Simon Peter,” I am going fishing
(there may be layers of meaning beneath that statement)
• the first disciple to recognize Jesus was one whom Jesus loved,
◦ and he identified him to “Peter”
• so it was “Simon Peter” who jumped into water
(this wasn’t the only time he was the first out of the boat)
◦ he could not wait for the boat that had to drag the net full of fish
• when Jesus spoke to one specific disciple, was “Simon Peter”

John has carried us this far, mostly using Peter’s two names

The name he was born with and the name Jesus had given him
– Simon was how people knew him before Jesus
– Peter was the name Jesus gave him

But when Jesus began this conversation, he addressed him as
Simon son of John
– this entire name was Peter’s old identity, before he met Jesus
• and it was exactly how Jesus addressed Peter the first time they met
. . . one of the two [disciples of John the Baptist] who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” …. He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter) (Jn. 1:40-42)
• I think this was Jesus’ first deep cut
◦ it may have sounded to Peter like Jesus was disowning him
◦ or that after all these years he had not made any progress
– do you love me more than these? – here is that famous Greek word
• in John, agape refers to a love of deep devotion and affection
◦ it was if Jesus asked, Do you love me as I have loved you
• Peter answered, Yes, Lord; you know I love you as a friend
◦ it seems Peter could not bring himself to use agape so he substituted phileo
◦ Jesus instructed him, Feed my lambs
– Jesus again asked the same question
◦ I think this was the second deep cut
◦ Peter gave the same answer
◦ and the instruction of the Lord, Tend my sheep
– a third time Jesus asked the same question
• only he changed it, from his word to Peter’s word
◦ Do you love me as your friend?
◦ and I imagine this was the third and most painful deep cut
Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you

What is happening here? Why is Jesus doing this to Peter?

Jesus’ intention was not to condemn or shame Peter, but to restore him
Daniel Siegel, clinical professor of psychiatry at UCLA School of Medicine is especially interested in the neurobiology of interpersonal relationships. He explains that every relationship, no matter how close, experiences rupture–things break, people disappoint, misunderstandings occur. If the rupture is not repaired, distance can grow between the people in the relationship, whether couples, friends, parents, children, etc.
– to hold a relationship together does not mean there’s never a rupture
• but that the rupture is followed by an effort to repair the relationship
• this isn’t easy – we have to let ourselves become vulnerable
◦ we have to face the part we played in causing the rupture
◦ we also have to discover our own deep needs and hurts

From the start, Jesus knew the work he could do through Peter
– Peter also had glimpses of it – flashes of brilliance
• but before Simon could become Peter,
◦ he had to get out of his own way
◦ he had to fail–like Moses, and like Paul later on
Daniel Siegel, “The key [to repair] is to embrace the humility of our humanity …”
– in scripture, the fundamental rupture is in our rel with God
• the fundamental repair is reconciliation
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:18)
For in [Jesus] all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross (Col. 1:19-20)
• both rupture and reconciliation affect human physiology
◦ Jesus is concerned with healing the whole person
Daniel Siegel, “The great news is that the inner sanctuary from which repair can be initiated is always available to be nurtured and can bring important reconnections in our relationships.

Jesus did not ease into this conversation with Peter
– he went straight to the heart
• Peter was right, Jesus does know all things
◦ he knew that Peter loved him,
◦ he also knew that Peter had to say it to be healed
• and Jesus opened that door for him
– this is how Jesus took a fisherman and turned him into a shepherd

We’re coming to the good part – but first the dark before the dawn

Not everyone in Jesus’ culture loved being out on the lake
(lonely deserts, mountain tops, lakes and oceans represented danger and chaos)
– even in the gospels, the Sea of Galilee can represent futility
• they toiled all night and took nothing – that night they caught nothing – nada!
◦ also, storms on the sea prevented them from making headway
◦ returning to the sea was a regression into a fruitless and futile life
– it may be significant also that they had been fishing at night
• in John, night and darkness have negative connotations
1. Inability to get work done (Jn. 9:4)
2. Tripping, stumbling around, and falling (Jn. 11:9-10)
3. Ignorance of not being able to see what’s right there (Jn. 12:35)
4. Crimes hidden by cover of night (Jn. 3:19-20)
• and John remembered a detail from that last meal, when Judas got up and walked out: And it was night (Jn. 13:30)

Life gets difficult, complicated – it can be painful – overwhelming
– temptation can come at us fast and forcefully
• we fall and perhaps wonder, “Am I really cut out for this?”
• then what?
Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore

Conclusion: This is why Easter has always been a big deal

Every sunrise is resurrection – and we share it with Jesus
– we’re no longer stumbling in futility, no longer distant from God
• perhaps I cannot tell Jesus, “Lord, I love you as you love me”
• maybe I cannot even say, “Lord, you know I love you as a friend”
◦ I can at least say, “Lord, I want to love you as you love me”
◦ and that is enough

Sunrise over the Sea of Galilee can be spectacular
Most mornings, ripples sing quietly on the shore
The sun rises over the mountain range that separates Israel from Syria
Its light streams to the western shore before reaching the water
And as the day breaks,
the world comes back to life
Just as the day was breaking . . .
the light from the western horizon fell on Jesus
He is risen!
And with him, we rise
into light, into love, and into hope everlasting

Luke 22:22-27 and John 13:1-2

Intro: G. C. Morgan was a well-known preacher in the early 20th century

He was one of my dad’s favorites – in his commentary on John, Morgan wrote:
“The key phrase to this section is ‘His own.’ The thirteenth chapter begins, ‘Having loved His own which were in the world, He loved them to the end.’ His public ministry completed, our Lord devoted Himself for a brief period of a few hours to the inner circle of his apostles, those who were designated ‘His own’ . . . .”
– we will soon see how true this is
• the crowds were fickle, but these men truly belonged to Jesus

The setting is upper room where they shared their last supper together
– chapters 13 and 14 consist of Jesus’ “Table Talk”
• he engaged his disciples in an evening of interactive teaching
– it began with a surprise–more than surprise, something of a shock
• Jesus washed his disciples’ feet
◦ when he finished, Jesus asked them,
“Do you understand what I have done to you?”
◦ Peter already proved that he did not
What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand
• there is another “not now, but afterward” statement
Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward (v. 36)
◦ this is the advantage of John’s gospel
▫ the Synoptic gospels tell the story in real time–as it happened
▫ John writes from both real-time, but also a “fulfillment time” later on
◦ we’ve been tracking the deeper meaning John perceived in Jesus’ life and teaching

The Synoptic gospels report the Communion words that Jesus spoke

John does not include what Jesus said over the bread and the cup
– Christians had been celebrating Lord’s supper for decades
(cf. 1 Cor. 11:23-26)
• John did not need to report these well known words
• but what he does report was what his experience that evening
◦ he saw more and felt more than the bare words
◦ he felt a fullness in what Jesus was passing on to them
– Luke tells us, after Jesus announced betrayer, first the disciples
began to question…, which of them it could be who was going to do this
• but immediately after that,
a dispute also arose among them, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest (Lk. 22:23-27)
◦ Jesus outlined the hierarchy (authority structures) of this world
◦ then he explained how hierarchy for them was the exact opposite
Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves
(Matthew and Mark also record this teaching, but occurring at a different time in Jesus’ ministry)
• in John, Jesus gives them a picture of this inverted hierarchy that they would never forget
◦ I don’t think they’d ever forgot the feeling of his touch
If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet, For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you (Jn. 13:14-15)

Another instance in which John says more than Synoptic gospels

This comes in chapter 14

Matthew, Mark and Luke have little to say about the ongoing ministry of Holy Spirit in the lives of the apostles
– only Luke says God will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him (Lk. 11:13)
• in all three, Jesus tells the disciples they do need to plan their defense, because the Spirit will speak through them
◦ Luke reports Jesus as saying,
for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say (Lk. 12:12)
• John also records Jesus saying the Spirit will teach you
◦ John, however, adds much more!
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you (Jn. 14:26)
◦ John unlocks more regarding their relation to God’s Spirit
◦ he would be “another” Helper
(the Greek word allos means “another of the same kind,” that is, the same kind of helper, encouragement, comforter as Jesus had been to them)
• regarding the Spirit, Jesus tells his disciples,
You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you (Jn. 14:17)

John also remembers Jesus comforting them that evening

Let not your hearts be troubled
– to appreciate impact of these words, let’s follow the conversation
Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward.” Peter said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you. the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.
Let not your hearts be troubled . . .” (Jn. 13:36-14:1)
• John remembers Jesus encouraging them to trust him
Believe in God; believe also in me (Jn. 14:1)
◦ he was not going away so much as going ahead
◦ their separation would not be forever,
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also (Jn. 14:3)
◦ he was not abandoning them,
I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you (Jn. 14:18)
• John remembered Jesus promising them his peace
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid (Jn. 14:27)
• John remembers Jesus reminding them what they know
◦ they know the Father, because they know Jesus (14:7)
◦ they know the Spirit, because he dwells with them (14:17)
◦ they know the way to where he was going (14:3 & 6)
– this statement created a complication for them
• Thomas was right when he said,
Lord, we do not know where you are going (14:5)
◦ Jesus had been rather vague about the “where”
◦ so vague, that he had the crowds making wild guesses
Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? Does he intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? (Jn. 7:35)
Will he kill himself, since he says, “Where I am going, you cannot come?” (Jn. 8:22)
• but twice in this conversation he will say,
I am going to the Father (Jn. 14:12 & 28)
◦ they knew the way, because they knew the Father
◦ and they knew the Father, because they knew Jesus

All this John remembered
– and disciples were not the only ones who needed to hear it
• John was telling Jesus’ story for second and third generation Christians
◦ they needed this understanding
◦ they needed to know this kind of experience for themselves
• we need to hear this too!
◦ we need to know that we have not been abandoned
◦ and all that John tells us in these two chapters is made present to us in the bread and the cup of the Lord’s Supper

I believe that John gives us the most intimate portrait of Jesus

After saying these things, Jesus was troubled in his spirit, and testified, “Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining at table at Jesus’ side, so Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking. So that disciple, leaning back against Jesus, said to him, “Lord, who is it?” Jesus answered, “It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped it.” So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot (Jn. 13:21-26)

When John was leaning back against Jesus, his head was in Jesus’ chest
– that is, the area from neck to waist; where parents holds their child
• the place we go to each other for closeness, for comfort
– also, John identifies himself as a disciple whom Jesus loved
• he is showing us that Jesus is God’s Son
• who loves his followers and desires their love
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another (Jn. 13:35)
If you love me, you will keep my commandments (Jn. 14:15)
There’s no greater intimacy than Jesus describes:
In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you (Jn. 14:20)
Listen for the word “love” in what Jesus says here:
Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”
Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?” Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him” (14:21-23)
– we don’t serve each other because this is what we’re told to do
• or to qualify ourselves as saints
• we serve one another, because we love

Through most of chapter 14, Jesus is soothing his disciples’ fears
– that’s what love does

So John tells us that Jesus washed his disciples’ feet
After saying these things, Jesus was troubled in his spirit, and testified, “Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me” (Jn. 13:21)
– how did John know Jesus was troubled in his spirit?
• well, he had said as much earlier (Jn. 12:27)
◦ and he either revealed this later or it was apparent in his body language
• Jesus opened his soul to his disciples, he gave them access to what he felt
– this is how we come to know another person intimately
• they give us access to their deepest feelings
◦ this is how we come to know Jesus, intimately
◦ we hear it from John, because it’s meant for us too
• the flip-side to what Jesus reveals to us,
◦ is revealing ourselves to him
◦ and that is where we run into difficulty

Conclusion: Only John mentions that Judas was the son of Simon Iscariot

He adds this note three times in his gospel and two of those times are here in chapter 13
– and I’m not sure why–unless it’s possibly linked to Simon Peter
(which John uses four times in this same chapter)
• John may have been deliberate in how he referred to Peter
• Peter was a person who struggled with two selves
◦ Simon and Peter were conflicted at times and fused at other times
◦ he could be both well-meaning and wrong-headed at once
– this is easy to illustrate in both instances that he speaks in chapter 13
You shall never wash my feet
I will lay down my life for you
• you see? well-meaning, but wrong-headed

This is the dark side of contemplative prayer
– the self awareness that is sometimes given to us
• I sit in silence, open and receptive to God,
◦ and suddenly this ugly truth about myself rises to the surface
◦ stuff I’ve unconsciously suppressed – the sad truth about myself
– the old self is not so easy to get rid of
• it isn’t like a used shirt we can fold up and give to a thrift store
• it’s wired into our brains
◦ I can piously renounce it, quote scriptures about it being dead
◦ but I have to admit, my old self is me
◦ I am still sometimes Peter, sometimes Simon
– it is in getting to know Jesus that we come to know ourselves

Years after this incredible night with Jesus,
I can imagine the disciples getting together and saying,
“Oh, that’s what he was trying to tell us”

Jesus was a mystery, kept secret for long ages,
waiting to be revealed (Ro. 16:25-27)
I am also a mystery waiting to be revealed–
and so are you
For the creation waits with eager longing
for the revealing of the sons of God (Ro. 8:19)
Beloved, we are God’s children now,
and what we will be has not yet appeared;
but we know that when he appears we shall be like him,
because we shall see him as he is (1 Jn. 3:2)
Again, that is how it works:
discovering who Jesus is, I discover who I am,
and also the person that he is making me to be

What John makes clear in these chapters
is that Jesus wants us to know a love
that makes us better people

Podcast

Luke 10:38-42 and John 11:1-7; 12:1-3

Intro: John will bring Jesus’ public ministry to a close in chapter 12

But just before reaching the end, there is this amazing crescendo!
– Jesus goes to the grave of a dead man and calls him back to life
– this is one of those points where John’s story differs from the Synoptic gospels
• Matthew, Mark and Luke say nothing about Lazarus’ resurrection
• in Matthew, Mark and Luke, Jesus’ ministry comes to an end
◦ but in John’s gospel, it is only Jesus’ public ministry that comes to an end
◦ he still has a lot more to give his disciples before leaving them (chs. 13-17)

In spite of the different direction John goes,
– the way his story overlaps with the Synoptic gospels is recognizable
• for example:
◦ Martha and Mary, whom we met in Luke, enter the story
◦ the story of a woman who poured perfume on Jesus occurs here
(as we find in Matthew and Mark)
◦ John also records Jesus grand entrance into Jerusalem
◦ Jesus quotes Isaiah 6:9-10, as he did in Matthew
(and partially in Mark and Luke)

In Luke, Martha and Mary are one-dimensional characters

Martha is a doer and Mary is a romantic
– Luke presents them this way to make a particular point
• nor do they break character in John’s gospel
• yet in John, both women have more depth and color

The first thing about the sisters that we learn from John:
– there was a special quality to their relationship with Jesus
Lord, he whom you love is ill (Jn. 11:3)
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus (Jn. 11:6)
[Bystanders at Lazarus’ grave] See how he loved him! (Jn. 11:36)
• this makes Jesus’ immediate response hard to understand
• their message was urgent, he loved them, but he delayed
◦ that is not what we would expect from a loved-one
– this is why, from the start Jesus had to define the course of the illness
• it was not about death, but glory – God’s and his own
• the theme of glory persists through this chapter and the next
◦ 12:23-24, my hour has come – strangely, it includes a death
◦ 12:27-28, how Jesus felt about what his coming hour:
▫ what he wanted to pray, but did not, Father, save me from this hour
▫ what he did pray, Father, glorify your name
▫ God answered, I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again
◦ what would happen at Lazarus’ grave side was a prelude
▫ to an even greater event and a greater glory

I want to go a level deeper into this

We return to Martha and Mary
– too late to heal Lazarus, Martha heard Jesus was coming
• true to form, she jumped up and went out to meet him
◦ but not Mary – John says she remained seated in the house
• Martha’s complaint, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died
◦ after saying this, Jesus and Martha have a conversation about Lazarus, death and life
◦ John does not report all of it, but he gives us enough
– I find it heartwarming that Jesus spent more time in conversation with Martha
(than he did with Mary, his disciples, or anyone else in this chapter)
• we could get the impression Mary was the more receptive sister
◦ so Jesus would have more to say to her
◦ but Mary got what she needed from Jesus’ teaching
• Jesus knew that Martha was also a good listener,
◦ that he could be straight with her,
◦ and that she would trust what he told her, because she knew he loved her

Martha’s first words, Lord, if you had been here . . . – then she added,
But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you (v. 22)
– I don’t think she meant, “Even now, you can bring him back”
• as the story goes on, we’ll see that idea never crossed her mind
• rather, she was saying, “I still believe that if you had come in time, he would not have died”
◦ she had lost her brother, but not her faith in Jesus
– at some point in their conversation Jesus told her,
If you believe, you will see the glory of God
• Martha knew Jesus could have healed Lazarus
◦ even her friends and neighbors assumed he could do that (v. 37)
◦ but no one knew Jesus could raise Lazarus from the dead!
• had Jesus healed Lazarus, it would have been a miracle, but with less impact
◦ raising Lazarus intensified the revelation of God’s glory

When Jesus delayed coming to Lazarus’ rescue,
– it was not that he was too busy or did not really care
• it was a matter of timing
– when the disciples objected to returning to Judea, Jesus said,
Are there not twelve hours in the day?
• that doesn’t make much sense at first
• but what it tells us, is Jesus was alert to the timing of his next move
◦ his timing was not off – it was perfect (it always is!)

We’re not yet through with Martha and Mary

But first, one more word about “glory”
In Matthew and Mark, Jesus had to explain to his disciples why he taught in parables
– the reason, he said, was so that,
they may indeed see but not perceive,
and may indeed hear but not understand,
lest they should turn and be forgiven (Mk. 4:12)
• this is a quotation from the prophet Isaiah (Isa. 6:9-10)
◦ John includes the same quote in chapter 12
• but instead of applying it to parables, he applies it to Jesus’ entire ministry
◦ the inability of people to see, hear and understand explained the Lord’s limited success
◦ John adds that Isaiah was given this prophecy when he saw his [meaning Jesus’] glory and spoke of him
– there was another reason why some leaders did not confess their faith
(yes, some of them did believe in Jesus)
Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God (Jn.12:42-43)
• this is painful, but all too common
• we compromise our faith,
◦ because we are overly concerned about how we appear to others
◦ for some religious leaders, public opinion is everything
(drawing attention to their accomplishments is more important than serving for God’s glory alone)

Jesus’ conversation with Martha was about faith

Jesus had explained to his disciples that although Lazarus had died,
– they still had good reason for going to him
Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe (Jn. 11:14)
• then, when Jesus told Martha Lazarus would rise, she said,
I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day (Jn. 11:24)
• Jesus responded with perhaps his most brilliant “I am” statement in John’s gospel
I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this? (Jn. 11:25-26)
◦ he begins with a universal possibility: whoever and everyone
◦ but then narrows it down to this one person: Do you believe this?
– Martha reached as far as her faith could take her
Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world (v. 27)
• that’s actually pretty far–almost exactly what Peter said in his great confession
You are the Christ, the Son of the living God (Mt. 16:16)
• but Jesus wanted to expand her knowledge and faith beyond that statement
◦ he was more than enlightenment and healing
◦ he was resurrection and life

Mary had waited for a call or invitation to go to Jesus

True to form, she fell at Jesus’ feet
– every time we see Mary with Jesus, she is at his feet (Lk. 10:39; Jn. 12:3)
• but, surprisingly, she says the same thing her sister said
◦ we could expect something more characteristic of each sister
• but grief has a way of sucking the same desperate feelings out of all of us
– after this brief encounter, Mary quickly fades into background
• they do not have a conversation like the Lord did with Martha
• but Mary reappears in the next chapter
◦ Jesus is again in the sisters’ home and
they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served [of course!], and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from [an aromatic plant], and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume (Jn. 12:2)

Matthew and Mark also tell this story (Mark also mentions that it took place in Bethany)
– but only John identifies the woman who anointed Jesus and the disciple who complained
• the most beautiful statement in story is followed by the ugliest statement
The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume
But Judas Iscariot…said, “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?”
– Judas immediately poisoned the atmosphere
• no one had opportunity to savor Mary’s extravagant love
• her lavish devotion to Jesus was reduced to dollars and cents
◦ in Matthew’s gospel, the question began, Why this waste? (Mt. 26:8)
◦ as if anything given to Jesus could be considered a waste!
– Jesus once again came to Mary’s defense as he had in Luke’s story of the two sisters
• John has painted a vivid contrast between these two followers of Jesus:
◦ one a lover and the other a traitor
◦ one a giver and the other a thief

Conclusion: Martha and Mary do not represent a Christianity divided between doers and dreamers

St. Augustine and St. Aquinas saw in Martha and Mary the distinction between
The Active life and the Contemplative life
– but they saw these as two practices of every Christian
• the active life has its arena where it is most effective, but also has its limitations
• the same is true of the contemplative life
◦ Martha, as we see, was also able to contemplate and reflect
◦ Mary, as we see, could also get up and do something for Jesus
(something that he appreciated and in which he saw a hidden meaning)
Thomas Aquinas wrote, “under the active and the contemplative lives is comprised that kind of life which is made up of both. But just as in every mixture one of the simple elements predominates, so in this mixed kind of life now the contemplative and now the active predominates.”
– and so with us, now Martha and now Mary

The point is that we exercise both of these spiritual muscles
That in contemplation we stretch our faith,
staying alert, open and receptive to God’s grace,
and in service we do what we can to bless the lives of others
bringing to them the love and goodness of Jesus the Christ,
the Son of God

Podcast

Intro: Let’s review important terms Jesus has used

– first, there is the living water
• he offered it to the Samaritan woman (Jn. 4:10)
• he also offered it to everyone in the temple (Jn. 7:37-38)
– next, Jesus said, I am the bread of life (Jn. 6:35)
– more recently he said, I am the light of the world
• and he promised to those who followed him the light of life (Jn. 8:12)

Notice how these same themes appear in Psalm 36
How precious is your steadfast love, O God!
The children of mankind take refuge on the abundance of your house,
and you give them drink from the river of your delights.
For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light do we see light (vv. 7-9)
This is not only metaphorical poetry
– it is mystical verse
– it describes seeing light within light

Last week we learned about a light, invisible to human eyes
– a light that shines in darkness as well as in light–e.g., Ps. 139:11-12
• God lights things up for us
• the various TV crime series programs have made much of forensic light
◦ with it, investigators can locate finger prints and traces of blood and other evidence not visible to normal sight
◦ God’s light enables us to see what is invisible
– that is the sort of light John brings to the Synoptic gospels
(Matthew, Mark and Luke)
• it reveals things that were hidden from the disciples
◦ but even when that light is shining, there’s another problem
◦ we can be blind to the spiritual light of Christ
• John wants us to be able to see in God’s light
◦ and he provides important instructions in this chapter

John chapter 9 begins with a blind man

Jesus healed him, but because it was the Sabbath, the healing created complications
– first there was a stir among the crowd in temple (vv. 8-12)
• then the man was interrogated by a council of Pharisees (vv. 13-17)
• next, his parents were brought in and interrogated (vv. 18-23)
• then the man was once again interrogated (vv. 24-34)
– we’ve seen that John does not include any of the parables found in the Synoptic gospels
• but at the same time, John saw certain events in the light of Jesus that for him were revelations of truth deeper than the words and actions
• for him, the story of the blind beggar became a real-life parable

There were only three times in the four gospels Jesus used spit to heal

Two of those instances were in Mark’s gospel–the third instance is here
– in Mark 7:33, Jesus used saliva to a man who was deaf and mute
• then in Mark 8:23, it was a blind man who was healed
• and spitting was not the only similarity unique to these two stories
◦ with both men, Jesus first separated them from the crowd (Mk. 7:33; 8:23)
◦ with both men, his touch was specific
he touched the first man’s ears and tongue (Mk. 7:33)
he spit in the eyes of the second man and laid his hands on him (Mk. 8:23)
◦ when healed, the first man spoke plainly and the second saw . . . clearly
– these two stories frame an episode that took place between Jesus and his disciples (Mk. 8:14-21)
• the deaf man came before this episode and the blind man came after
◦ what Jesus said to disciples in between these healing miracles was

Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear?
• literal blindness and deafness are also metaphorical and spiritual

When, in John’s gospel, we come to this only other place where Jesus used spit
– and where he applied it directly to the man’s eyes,
• it would be difficult to not see a connection with these events from Mark’s gospel
◦ not with the historical details–person, place, or timing
• but the disabilities and their implied meaning
◦ also, the fact that Jesus heals these disabilities

There is one other interesting detail re: blind man in Mark
– Mark 8:23-25 is the only place where a healing took place in stages
– in John 9, the spiritual enlightenment of the blind man also occurred in stages
◦ he first referred to Jesus as the man called Jesus (v. 11)
◦ later he referred to him as a prophet (v. 17)
◦ then, he decided Jesus was from God, (v. 33)
◦ and finally he cam to believe in Jesus, the Son of Man (35-38)

The whole ruckus in this chapter began with a question

Jesus saw the blind man, and it seems the disciples followed his gaze
– perhaps they felt powerless to do anything for him
• they could not heal him, they could only speculate
◦ so they asked Jesus a question about guilt and blame

Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?

• it’s easy to see how this could be a problem
◦ if the parents’ sin, then the punishment was unfair for him
◦ if he sinned, was it prior to birth – or retroactive?
– what they were doing was shooting in the dark
• the question reveals their own blindness
◦ that there had to be someone to blame
◦ and they were unable to determine where to place the blame
• this was also a blindness that was endemic to their culture
◦ they applied a rule of cause and effect to sin and suffering

I want to pause here to ask,
Whose voice from the Old Testament does Jesus’ voice most resemble?
– not Abraham–he was righteous and enjoyed material prosperity
• not Moses–he gave Israel two choices: obey and prosper or disobey and suffer
• not the voice of the sages in the Book of Proverbs
– here Job is the person whom Jesus sounds like the most
• Job had once lived and thrived in the blindness of his culture
◦ until everything fell apart for him
◦ that was his eye-opener
• he became a spokesperson for everyone who suffers
◦ for sure, sin has consequences
– but those are more like running a red light and getting ticket
– there’s no guess-work of guilt or blame like we see here
◦ the disciples needed to be less concerned about cause
◦ and more interested in cure

For the rest of this chapter, it seems that blindness is contagious

First, the crowd was not seeing so well
– “Isn’t his the blind beggar?” – “No, but he is like him” (v. 9)
• they couldn’t trust their eyes
– then there was the blindness of the Pharisees
• regarding Jesus they declared, This man is not from God (v. 16)
◦ everything pointed to a miracle and the uniqueness of Jesus
◦ yet they persist in their blindness
◦ throughout the interrogation, they were groping for answers
– the man’s parents were blind too
• “We don’t know how he got his sight”

The only one who is beginning to see the light of Jesus
– was the man who had been physically blind
• and he comes so far that he even sounds like Jesus (cf. v. 32-33 & Jn. 5:19 & 30)

After the ruckus, the blind man has a second encounter with Jesus

This to me is the beauty of Jesus
– he heard that the man he healed had been tossed out of the synagogue
• being blind, he had lived on outskirts of society
◦ now that he had the opportunity to join in, he was kicked to the curb
◦ that is what he got for his integrity – he could not deny his experience

Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see (v. 25)

• Jesus went looking for him, found him somewhere outside the temple
◦ Jesus wanted to complete his healing — his enlightenment

Some of the Pharisees overheard what Jesus had to say to the blind man
– they asked Jesus,

“Are we also blind?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt, but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains” (vv. 40-41)

• when or how did they say, “We see”?
◦ in verse 24 when they said, We know that this man is a sinner
◦ and in verse 28 when they said, We know that God has spoken to Moses
• that’s the danger of trusting too much in your religious dogma
◦ thinking you know, you reject evidence that is right in front of you

Conclusion: In Luke chapter 11, Jesus said,

Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness. Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness. If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly bright, as when a lamp with its rays gives you light (vv. 34-36)

– eye refers to sight and body refers to the whole person
• what we typically mean by “healthy” sight is clarity
◦ but Jesus was referring to where we direct our attention
◦ for example, the psalmist wrote,

Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things (Ps. 119:37)

◦ that is, Direct my attention away from empty images and pursuits
• to what do I give the majority of my attention?
◦ what do I allow to enter my eyes, my mind, my heart, my body?
– the Pharisees remind us that blindness can be willful
• but we also learn here that sight can be improved
◦ I recently learned about vision exercises
◦ we need exercises to improve our spiritual sightedness

For the time being, we would do well to follow the advice of Abbot John Chapman, who wrote, “God is taking you in hand and teaching you. Be courageous. Let Him work. You can help by not interfering—that is, by not worrying or complaining, but trying to be peaceful and confident and content.”

Podcast

March 3, 2019 – Mark 8:27-30 and John 8:25-30

Intro: John chapter 8 begins with one of most beautiful stories of Jesus

It’s the kind of story we enjoy reading again and again
(If you don’t remember well the story of the woman caught in the act of adultery who was brought before Jesus in an attempt to ambush him, grab your Bible and read John 8:1-11)
– there’s just one problem with this story
• biblical scholars agree that it John did not place it here
◦ it is not found in the majority and most ancient Greek manuscripts
• some copies of Luke’s gospel contain it,
◦ and in some copies of John it appears in different places
– what we can surmise is that it was a well-known and much loved story
• too important to lose – so it had to be preserved and put somewhere

To me, this seems to be the perfect place for this story
– certain themes in this story are expanded and played out in the chapter:
• The temple — the story begins with Jesus entering the temple
◦ and the chapter ends with him leaving it (an “envelope structure”)
• Sin — no one present who accused the woman was without sin (v. 7)
◦ later, Jesus said those in the crowd would die in their sin (vv. 23-24)
◦ whoever practices sin is a slave to sin (v. 34)
◦ no one in the temple could convict Jesus of sin (v. 46)
(he was the one person without sin)
• Condemn or judge — in Greek, katakrinos and krinos
◦ none of the accusers stayed to condemn the woman
◦ and Jesus, who could have condemned her, did not (v. 11)
◦ later Jesus said, I judge no one (v. 15, as he just demonstrated)
• Central to woman’s story is stoning
◦ and that’s how Jesus’ story ends the chapter
So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple (v. 59)
– so the story fits the chapter

Following this story, Jesus made an announcement

Pharisees who heard him reacted immediately
– from that point on, Jesus is answering objections
• the crowd misunderstand and underestimated him
• so he walked them through the maze of their wrong thinking
– in three instances, I see him revealing truths that were hidden in the Synoptic gospels

First, his announcement: I am the light of the world

In the Sermon On the Mount, Jesus said, You are the light of the world
– how did the disciples (and crowd) become the light of the world?
• we could say, “By living the beatitudes”
◦ but it is doubtful that they had mastered them already
◦ Jesus went on to say that people do not

light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand (Mt. 5:15)

• I wonder if Jesus is explaining where they got their light
◦ that he is the one who lit their lamps
◦ here he says,

Who ever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life(they “have” it by receiving it from Jesus)

◦ in next chapter Jesus will say:
As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world (Jn. 9:5)

– John emphasizes light and sight all through his gospel
• The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world (Jn. 1:9)
• . . . and we have seen his glory (Jn. 1:14)
• what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? (Jn. 6:30)
• Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails…I will never believe (Jn. 20:25)
– but “seeing” is not how we know God or walk with him

as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal (2 Cor. 4:18)
for we walk by faith, not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7)

• rather than helping us to know God, sight can get in way
◦ after all, why did Jesus have to blind Paul to save him? (Acts 9:3-9)

Jesus is light, but not the kind we see with our eyes
– we make distinctions between natural light and artificial light
• but there is another light and it is visible only to the spirit
◦ “uncreated” – not like when God said, Let there be light
◦ but the light of God himself, God is light (1 Jn. 1:5)
• uncreated light is a cornerstone of Orthodox spirituality
(the light revealed to the disciples in his “transfiguration”)

Gregory Palamas (14th century mystic), “This mysterious light, inaccessible, immaterial, uncreated, deifying, eternal, this radiance of the Divine Nature, this glory of the divinity, this beauty of the heavenly kingdom, is at once accessible to sense perception and yet transcends it.” [Quoting St. Basil,] “. . . it is visible to the eyes of the heart”

– The light shines in the darkness (Jn. 1:5)
• for a long time I assumed this meant the light shined like a beacon or lighthouse
◦ but now I realize that the darkness is still dark,
◦ but it is illuminated with a light invisible to human eyes

If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,”
even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you (Psalm 139:11-12)

And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God (2 Cor. 4:3-4)

• Jesus also spoke of spiritual blindness

(of the Pharisees) Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit (Mt. 15:14)

◦ when it comes to having life in God, follow One with the light
◦ Jesus is the light! – And this brings us to the next question

Verse 25, So they said to him, “Who are you?”

Later they ask, Are you greater than our father Abraham? (v. 53)
Do you remember the Samaritan woman asking Jesus,

Are you greater than our father Jacob? (Jn. 4:12)

– they asked, because they sensed a challenge to their heroes
• in Matthew 12, Jesus referred to someone and something

greater than the temple, greater than Jonah, and greater than Solomon

◦ but Jesus left it there without explicitly pointing to himself
◦ nor did he suggest how he was greater
– but here, John allows us to hear Jesus speak in a clear voice (vv. 14, 19)

Let’s back up – in Mark chapter 3, two stories are “sandwiched”
– this means the two stories are told together, one inside the other
• each one illuminating the other
– the outside (slices) tell of Jesus’ family; the inside tell of the scribes
• both were trying to make sense of his actions
◦ his family thought he had lost his senses
◦ the scribes said, He has an unclean spirit (demon)
• John takes us deeper into both stories
◦ in John 7, we see that his family’s actions resulted from unbelief
◦ in John 8, the religious leaders were openly hostile

“Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?” Jesus answered, “I don not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me.” (Jn. 8:48-49)

John brings all of this to the central question, Who is Jesus?
– it’s a question Jesus himself raised in all three Synoptic gospels (e.g., Mt. 16:13-15)
• John shows us that Jesus dropped plenty of clues:
◦ God is his Father–to know Jesus is to know God (v. 19)
◦ They’re from below and of the world; he’s from above and not of the world (v. 23)
◦ he has the truth that sets people free from sin (vv. 31-36)
◦ he came to them from God (v. 42)
• some of these statements are ambiguous
◦ but there is no ambiguity in verse 58

Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly I day to you, before Abraham was, I am.”

◦ his meaning was clear to them; they picked up rocks to stone him

A third truth hidden in the Synoptic Gospels

Verses 27 and 43 specifically address why the people did not understand
– the reason in verse 27, It is because you cannot bear to hear my word
• it clashed too much with their cherished beliefs, prejudices and paradigms
– a second reason they did not understand (v. 47, & I emphasize “of God”)

Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.

• they were religious, but they were not of God
– a third reason they did not understand Jesus was,

because my word finds no place in you (v. 37)

• he had told them,

If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples (v. 31)

• do you remember how Jesus redefined family in Mk. 3:35?

And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.

• the problem here, is that his word could not find a place in them
◦ this is like the parable of the seed and the soil (Mt. 13:1-23)
◦ Jesus’ words need a special environment to flourish

Conclusion: I will finish with this thought

When we read Jesus’ teaching, his word searches for a place in us
– one that is open, receptive and responsive
• willing to hear the truth, whether pleasant or unpleasant
• the place in us that wants to know God
– God searches for the place in me that is searching for him
• they had no place for Jesus – in their theology, thinking, or lives
◦ his word was rendered ineffective – powerless to generate life

At the end of his ministry, Jesus said,
I go to prepare a place for you
I have to ask myself,
What place have I prepared for him?

We were privileged to have Jacob Caldwell as our guest speaker this morning. In conversations with Jacob I have been impressed by the extent of his research, the depth of his thought, and the sincerity of his devotion to Jesus Christ. A physiotherapist by profession, Jacob has probed the relation between Christian spirituality and the human body. Listening to him share what he has learned throws a new light on an ancient truth and makes more real the fact that our bodies really are the temple of the Spirit of God.
chuck smith, jr.

Living by the Flesh

What does it mean to ‘live according to the flesh’?
● You probably think it’s the body.
It’s needs, desires, functions–all the wrong things we can do with it
● Jesus and Paul seemingly agree.
The following sound as if they envisioned two universes
(this is the conclusion drawn by many Evangelical Christians, including Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality, pp. 60 -70)
One universe is superior, transcendent and good, while the other is inferior, material and intrinsically bad
The human body naturally belongs to the material universe

“My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36 KJV).
“Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Mark 12:17 KJV).
“If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell” (Matthew 5:29 NASB).
“… if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee” (Matthew 5:30 KJV).
“… flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor 15:50 NASB).
“… for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live” (Rom 8:12-13 NASB).
“Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts” (Rom 6:12 NASB).

● We have this image of the good spirit above and the evil body below.
● However, this is the ancient Manichean heresy
And it was soundly rejected by the earliest Christian theologians

● “For God so loved the world…” — the cosmos–that is, the whole of creation
The goal of Christian spirituality is not to escape the body into pure spirit

“It is a resurrection, not from the body, but of the body. The new creation is not a fresh start, but the old made new” (Robinson, The Body, pp. 82-3).

● We’re been missing something: the Incarnation
● Sarx is Greek for flesh: sarcophagus (a lime-filled coffin, literally a “flesh-eater”)
sarx is dead meat, a body without spirit — a corpse
● Soma is Greek for body: life, flesh with spirit, flesh fused to spirit

“. . . the body without the spirit is dead . . . (James 2:26)

● Sarx will pass away, but soma is for God
Even more amazing, is that God is for the soma! (1 Cor. 6:13)

“While sarx stands for man … in his distance from God, soma stands for man … as made for God” (Robinson, The Body, p. 31).

● It’s not that we’ll leave these bodies and this physical world, but that the veil will be lifted.
We come to a realization of spirit as another dimension of the same reality
● The Kingdom of God is seeing the spiritual in the physical: the fusion of spirit and matter.

Why are we heretics?

Our culture has been shaped greatly by two theological and philosophical influences; that of St. Augustine and Rene Descartes:

“More than anyone else, Augustine shaped Western theology … throughout the Middle Ages his authority stood second only to that of Scripture. Historians have with some justice described the Reformation as a struggle between two sides of Augustine: Protestantism began with his doctrine of grace, and the Roman Catholic response grew out of his doctrine of the church. Descartes began modern philosophy with a series of arguments paraphrased from Augustine, and much of Freud reads like an extended commentary on Augustine’s Confessions. For better or worse, today’s thinking about God, or human personalities, or history, or sex still owes him a great deal” (Placher, History of Christian Theology, p. 108).

Augustine was a Manichaen before he converted to Christianity
(he was also influenced by Plato, whom he held in high regard)

● Descartes’ famous philosophical starting point: “I think therefore I am”: this is the Manichean heresy stated succinctly
● But more than the influence our culture is the fact that the Kingdom of God is terrifying:

“We have utterly separated spirit and sense [experience]; but [the cosmos] is both, with a double allurement so strong that we fear it. So we are Manichees at heart; for the Manichaean heresy is but the conscious, deliberate statement of a fear, and the assertion that it is wisdom and truth. The fear is latent in all men, and the facts of life seem to justify it. Spirit and flesh are manageable if we separate them, but fused together they sweep us away. So we are always trying to separate them, and to conceive of the universe itself as not one but two, the one all and the other nothing, the one real, the other unreal, the one pure and cold and the other warm and foul. And, whether we are devout or sceptical, we are afraid of the reality in which matter and spirit are fused” (Clutton-Brock, “Spiritual Experience,” in Streeter, The Spirit, p. 288-9).

● If we really entered the Kingdom of God, we would have to live accordingly and that’s overwhelming.
So we push God’s kingdom into the future or an alternate reality
That allows us to still be religious without the terrifying encounter with spirit

What are we going to do? Continue reading →

How God Makes Himself Known

Yahweh! Yahweh!
The God of compassion and mercy!
Slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.
I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations.
I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin.
But I do not excuse the guilty.
I lay the sins of the parents upon their children and grandchildren;
the entire family is affected—
even children in the third and fourth generations. Exodus 34:6-7

Intro: Last week Moses asked God for the ultimate experience

Show me your glory – Let me look at you; see you as you are
– he knew the truest way to know someone was to experience that person
• Moses’ request was denied
• nevertheless, God gave Moses all he had to give at that time
◦ and all that Moses was able to take without being obliterated

Everett Fox, “. . . it is almost as if the text is saying ‘This is all that can be known, intimately, of this God, and this is all one needs to know”

– all our tools for exploring the universe are in our bodies
• if something exists that we cannot see, touch, deduce or imagine,
◦ we will not be able to discover it through any technology we invent
• God is here in our universe, but in a dimension beyond it

This was Job’s frustration. He could see all the marvelous things that God did in the world, but
when he comes near, I cannot see him.
When he moves by, I do not see him go (Job 9:11)
Job’s friend, Zophar, asked him “What did you expect?”
Can you solve the mysteries of God?
Can you discover everything about the Almighty? (Job 11:7)

As Paul wrote to Timothy, No human eye has ever seen him, nor ever will (1 Tim. 6:16). This is because our human senses are not equipped to see into God’s dimension. They were made for life in our four-dimensional universe.

The only way we can ever know God, is if he reveals himself to us
– this knowing comes with a condition: I must experience what God is willing to reveal
• if I treat what God reveals as mere information, I will not know him
• I can have an encyclopedic knowledge of God yet not know God himself

Arthur Vogel, “To be able to reduce the Christian option to choice between ideas is to have totally lost the essence of Christianity. . . . Knowledge and [informed thinking] play an essential role in the Christian religion, but they do so in the service of something that is more than they. If the ‘more’ is lost, all is lost, and the first step has yet to be taken.”

– we come to know God by our experience of him as he reveals himself to us
• this means, whatever he reveals is within the realm of our experience

Vogel, again [because he says it so well], “Many people feel the absence of God in their lives, which means that his presence should be recognized by feeling too.”

◦ by feeling Vogel did not mean emotion, but perception
◦ like feeling loved or a gust of wind
• whatever we experience, we own — it is our truth, our reality
◦ and nothing else is more personal or more convincing

When Jesus’ critics could not disprove the fact that Jesus healed a blind man, they announced that he was a sinner because he performed the healing on a Sabbath day. “I don’t know whether he is a sinner,” the man replied. “But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!” (Jn. 9:25)

◦ he was not ready to tackle the theological challenge, but he was certain of his experience

---

4-6 Once again Moses climbed Mount Sinai and God came down

We have primed for this dramatic moment
– God told Moses that he would see something (Ex. 33:22-23)
• but the way the event unfolds is sort of strange
• all we are told is that Moses heard something 
◦ I assume that what he heard was more important than his visual experience
– Moses first heard God announcing his own name
• this is significant, because a person was considered inseparable from his or her name

Walther Eichrodt, “. . . this proclamation of the divine Name was treasured as an act whereby God himself came forth from his secret place and offered himself in fellowship . . .”

• God called out his name twice – I do not know why
◦ but remember, in their first encounter God spoke Moses’ name twice
◦ perhaps the double announcement stresses the momentous nature of this event Continue reading →