Podcast

Fret not yourself because of evildoers;
be not envious of wrongdoers!
For they will soon fade like the grass
and wither like the green herbs.
____
Trust in the LORD, and do good;
dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.
Delight yourself in the LORD,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
____
Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him, and he will act.
He will bring forth your righteousness as the light.
and your justice as the noonday.
____
Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;
fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way,
over the man who carries out evil devices!
____
Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath!
Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.
For the evil doers shall be cut off,
but those who wait for the LORD shall inherit the land Psalm 37:1-9

Intro: Imagine this . . .

While you’re at work, out shopping, or on vacation
– a family parks a moving in front of your home
• they break into, and unload used, worthless furnishings inside
• then they redecorate your home with their junk
◦ and to make matters worse, they glue or nail everything in place
– ridiculous, right?
• but all of us have allowed others to do that with our brains
• by words, actions, and attitudes, others have dumped their junk on us
◦ tainting our sense of self and outlook on life

Psalm 37 tells us not to allow what others do get inside us

The poet provides a primer on the ABCs of self-regulation

Remember the books we read to teach us the alphabet? “A is for apple…”
– this psalm was written that way
• the English Standard Version has tried to mimic that structure
◦ by formatting the printing of the poem in couplets
• every two verses feature the letters of the Hebrew alphabet consecutively
– the message of the psalm is Don’t let the bad things people do get to you
• it begins by teaching how to dial down our frustration (1-9)
• the rest of poem relates a variety of scenarios to reinforce the lesson
◦ bad people may plot against the good, and for awhile succeed,
◦ but in the end, God brings down the bad and promotes the good

First, the general instruction, Fret not

The recent earthquakes reminded me of the uniqueness of that experience
– life is unpredictable – there are lots of ups and downs,
• but I take for granted that the ground beneath me is stable
• when it moves, I lose my reliable frame of reference
◦ an earthquake instantly robs me of my illusion of control
– we cannot control everything that comes at us
• neither can I control my reaction to what comes at me–if
◦ it is instant, unconscious, spontaneous, and automatic
• but if I could bring that unconscious process into awareness,
◦ it would reveal something new
◦ namely, that I have a freedom–freedom to choose my response

Robert Alter says “fret” comes from a root word “that means to ‘heat up’”
– to be emotionally charged–for instance, with anger, frustration, indignation
• Barb and I have been receiving phone calls telling us,
“Your Social Security number will be suspended if you don’t act now”
◦ someone is trying to swindle me – and I want justice
◦ no, I want revenge!
• it’s easy to get fixated on these aggravations
– Fret not yourself – fretting is something I do to myself!
• evil doers are out there–and they’re doing their evil
◦ but whatever my reaction to their evil, it is all mine
• what they do is their business, and God will deal with them
◦ how I react is my business–and can harm me more than they can
◦ their action may last a minute, a day, months
▫ but I could carry it for the rest of my life

This week I read a similar verse in Book of Proverbs

Do not rejoice when your enemy falls,
and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles,
lest the LORD see it and be displeased
and turn away his anger from him.
Fret not yourself because of evildoers,
and be not envious of the wicked,
for the evil man has no future;
the lamp of the wicked will be put out (Pr. 24:17-20)

– does the word “enemy” bring to mind a specific person?
• someone may have hurt or insulted you, but not an enemy
◦ but you don’t consider them an enemy, but merely an annoyance
◦ there have been others, more aggressive, spiteful and abusive
• is it possible for you to move that person out of the enemy category?
◦ if not, can you think of them as the enemy Jesus told us to love?
(not that you have to be best friends or trust them)
– another thought, if any enemy of yours “stumbled,”
• suffered loss or humiliation, would it improve your life?
◦ would their fall add anything good to your circumstances?
• if one of them prospered, won the Lottery,
◦ would that in any way diminish your life with Jesus?
◦ if not, then don’t fret yourself over them
Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil (v. 8)

Soul meds – to relieve fretting: the first one, Trust in the LORD

The poet adds, and do good – that is one way to activate trust
– don’t give into the temptation to “get even” (or even think about it)
• turn yourself in a different direction
– sometimes it’s irritating when God tells me, “Don’t think that thought”
• that is when I realize I’ve been relishing my revenge fantasy
◦ I call it a thumb-sucking activity
◦ if it consoles me, it also keeps me fixated on the offense
• trust means I have to let it go – I cannot dwell on it
◦ but I don’t just “let it go into the air” — I hand it over to God

The second soul med, Delight yourself in the LORD

There are two kinds of delight (different words are used in v. 4 and 23)
– one word means “to be pampered,” spoil yourself, enjoy yourself
• the other means to “to take pleasure in”
– what gets in the way of change? Fear
• of not being safe, or in control, or fear of an unpredictable future
◦ fear that I won’t be able to meet my needs, fulfill my desires
◦ or that I won’t be able to see the change through to the end
• if we can eliminate fear,
◦ it helps change to proceed smoothly and at a comfortable pace
– what promotes change? Passion (or, in scripture, zeal)
• what do I delight in? At what do I get outraged?
◦ what am I passionate about?
◦ use this energy to motivate change when the process gets difficult

Choice is a human freedom that we need
Change is a human possibility we must want

The third soul med, Commit your way to the LORD

Jon Kabat-Zinn says, here you are, in this unpleasant situation, so now “The important question is, how are you going to handle it?” His recommendation is that we “pause in our experience . . . to hold it in awareness and thereby come to know and understand it better.”
– apart from taking this time-out
• I am most likely to be driven by autopilot
◦ the habit written in my brain’s old owner’s manual
• my response will affect my mood, attitude, and perspective
◦ not only for the time being, but also for whatever comes next
– knowing there are options is God’s gift to us in each present moment

The fourth and fifth soul meds, Be still before the LORD… and wait

Holding the body still is relatively easy
– holding the mind still is the tricky part
• the rational brain wants to analyze, ask questions, interrupt
– also, if we try too hard to make something, we sabotage the moment
• we will be activating the wrong neural circuits
• that’s why the first thing we do in prayer is relax the body
◦ to wait is a spiritual exercise!
◦ learn to experience waiting as a pleasant experience
◦ explore the present moment

If I can take a moment in the doorway and re-collect myself,
– be aware that I’m standing in this spot for this moment,
• then a choice will come to me
◦ and that choice can determine the quality of my life
◦ the quality of my life in that day and in the days to come
• whether I live a long life is not up to me
◦ whether I live a full live is on me
◦ if I’m not conscious of these choices,
I may be losing some of my life’s richness

Conclusion: I’m old enough to say, “In my day . . .”

So, “In my day the taught typing classes in high school”
– our practice assignments were repetitive and boring
• but do you know what?
◦ my fingers now find the keys on their own
• I can type without thinking about typing

I receive God with my breath
because my mind is too small a portal
to receive all that he is
With my breath,
I don’t have to understand
how he enters me
or what he does in me;
I am able to simply trust that he is
and that is all I need

Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!
(Psalm 46:10)

Podcast

Greatly have they afflicted me from my youth—
let Israel now say—
Greatly have they afflicted me from my youth,
yet they have not prevailed against me. Psalm 129

Intro: This short psalm tells a story

It is about a person who was abused as a child
– yet the child became an adult without being defined by abuse
• at least, that’s how the first line reads
◦ but the second line corrects our understanding,
let Israel now say—
◦ the poem is not about a person, but a people
• by creating the perception of one person’s story,
◦ the poet captures Israel’s collective identity
– reading it as the poem of an individual personalizes the psalm for us
• but it also reminds us that we belong to a community
• and we have a shared identity with that community

Reading this Psalm last week, here is what I saw

The scars of Israel’s affliction were like furrows on its back
– like a person whose back is scarred from the lashings of a whip

The plowers plowed upon my back;
they made long their furrows Psalm 129:3

• the graphic word picture takes us back to Israel’s “youth” in Egypt
[The Egyptians] set taskmasters over [Israel] to afflict them with heavy burdens. . . . they ruthlessly made the people of Israel work as slaves and made their lives bitter with hard service (Ex. 1:13-14)
• child abuse also leaves scars
◦ sometimes on their bodies
◦ almost always on their brains and nervous systems
– Bessel van der Kolk argues that such scars be recognized as PTSD
(Post Traumatic Stress Disorder)
• his suggested diagnostic label is “developmental trauma”
• he has also explained this can result from abuse or neglect
– Israel had been traumatized in its youth, but not defined by its trauma
• that is because God intervened
The LORD is righteous;
he has cut the cords of the wicked Psalm 129:4

My Mom and Dad were not terrible parents, but they were not perfect
– they were my folks, and I love them
• but I am not the person I would have become on their rearing alone
◦ as with Israel, God not intervened
• given the total environment of my youth, I imagine my adult self as:
An obsessive-compulsive germaphobe, torn between grandiose delusions and perceptions of abject failure; self-infatuated yet self loathing; isolated from others and socially incapacitated; perhaps in and out of mental institutions, and most likely dead by my own hand before my fortieth birthday.
– but God cut those cords, which I understand to mean,
• God removed me from the control and influence of my family
• I had to detach myself from my family for several years
◦ because I hated the person I became whenever I was around them

I read the remainder of the psalm as “a prayer of detachment”

May all who hate Zion
be put to shame and turned backward!
Let them be like the grass on the housetops,
which withers before it grows up,
with which the reaper does not fill his hand
nor the binder of sheaves his arms,
nor do those who pass by say,
“The blessing of the LORD be upon you!
We bless you in the name of the LORD!” Psalm 129:5-8

In the Hebrew Scriptures, “hate” is as much what a person does,
– as it is how a person acts toward someone else
• love and hate are seen in the way a person treats others
• so the prayer is that those who have hurt Zion would be shamed
◦ that the effect of their deeds would be turned backward
◦ as if erasing the affliction of the past
– the withered grass is an image of the vitality of trauma (or the abusers)
• the prayer is that it would be rendered powerless
◦ that the abuse would no have any effect on Israel
• that no one would pronounce a blessing on the abusers or their abuse
◦ is a request that no energy would be given to the abuse
◦ nor to the memory of it

Interestingly, Psalm 124 is the only other psalm that begins the same way
– using the same word formula
If it had not been the LORD who was on our side—
let Israel now say—“
If it had not been the LORD who was on our side
when people rose up against us,
then they would have swallowed us up alive,
when their anger was kindled against us (Ps. 124:1-3)
• again, Israel did not suffer the fate others intended for them
◦ because once again God intervened on their behalf
◦ as a result, neither Israel’s identity nor destiny was controlled by others
We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowlers;
the snare is broken and we have escaped (Ps. 124:7)
– these stories of intervention illustrate a truth we can trust
• God makes real and positive changes in our lives

Two important facts about the brain have come to light

The first is referred to as neuroplasticity
– it was once believed that the adult human brain did not change
• that brain development occurred early in life
◦ from conception through late adolescence
• but that the adult brain was fixed and unable to repair itself
– we know now the brain continues to learn and develop into old age
• that it can heal itself to a remarkable degree
• that it can shut off old neural pathways,
◦ and create new pathways (synapses between neurons)
◦ it can even produce new neurons in specific structures

The other big discovery was epigenetics
– the old idea was that children are predestined by inherited genes
• we know that holds true for a number of physical features (eye color)
◦ but it is not true of everything
• for instance, a parent’s mood disorder may go back two generations
◦ a child may carry the same gene, but not manifest the disorder
◦ the gene may predispose the child as a potential outcome,
◦ but it is not absolute that the child will suffer the same mood
– the way that a gene expresses itself can be turned on or off
• whether it is turned on, depends on environmental factors
◦ such as family life and other influences like health and school
Daniel Siegel, “When neurons fire together, the genes in their nuclei—their command control centers—become activated and ‘express’ themselves. Gene expression means that certain proteins are produced. These proteins then enable the synaptic linkages to be constructed anew or to be strengthened.”
• we can intentionally influence the expression of certain genes
◦ we can produce changes in the brain’s “structural connections”
◦ this has been the lesson of the last four weeks
◦ that to “repent” is to rewrite the brain’s owner’s manual

Specific factors that improve progress in changing the brain

Prayer – like the psalm we read, God intervenes
– trusting God has real value in reducing stress and anxiety
In How God Changes the Brain, Andrew Newberg and Mark Waldman state, “Our neurological findings have shown that different types of meditation and prayer affect different parts of the brain in different ways, and each one appears to have a beneficial effect on our neurological functioning and physical and emotional health.”
• when we trust God, we can envision a new future
• if we can trust so much that we feel the new future,
◦ it transforms our attitude now
◦ we can give thanks today for tomorrow’s blessing
(for instance, notice how Psalm 13 begins,
How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?
and ends,
I will sing to the LORD,
because he has dealt bountifully with me.

Being – to be aware of your “here and now” experience
– it is a waking up to life
• we can see that a blossom is beautiful, and know it is beautiful
◦ but we can also have a direct encounter with its beauty
◦ and, we can be aware that we are having that encounter
• enter your body:
◦ be aware of external stimuli and internal sensations
• enter your mind — ask, “What am I thinking right now?”
• enter your emotions — ask, “What is my mood right now?”
◦ if you cannot read your feelings, it may help to have a list:
happy, frustrated, relaxed, afraid, safe, uneasy . . .)
▫ labeling your mood helps to objectify it and not identify with it

Seeing – developing a trained eye
– catch your brain when it heads into a downward spiral on autopilot
• know your triggers and catch them in the act
Daniel Siegel, “One of the key practical lessons of modern neuroscience is that the power to direct our attention has within it the power to shape our brain’s firing patterns, as well as the power to shape the architecture of the brain itself.”

Savoring – make the most of positive experiences
– when something pleasant happens,
• when you receive an insight, an answer to prayer, or unexpected gift
• hold it for a few seconds – give it time to sink in
◦ we want our brains to memorize the feeling
◦ be with it long enough to form or strengthen neural connection

Doing – reinforce neural circuits by acting on your new thought
Jesus did not hand out certificates of discipleship simply because his disciples heard him teach or learned from his example. On the night he taught them about loving and serving others, he told them,
If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them (Jn. 13:17)
– doing adds new neural connections and keeps the brain healthy
• if you’re good at crossword puzzles, find something else to do
◦ the brain needs new challenges to continue developing
• sit at a piano or keyboard, write a short story
◦ be at peace with being a beginner – being clumsy at first

Integrating – place your effort to change into a total experience
– let the thought in your mind find a corresponding emotion
• notice the sensations the thought and emotion create in the body
• then do something – act out the new thought and emotion
◦ the more your spread an experience throughout the brain,
◦ the more power you give to rewriting its owner’s manual
– at this point the whole process can collapse–IF
• you’re not passionate about the changes your attempting
• passion makes a huge difference in writing change into the brain

Repeating – repetition is how we formed the brain’s current circuits
– practice praying, being, seeing, savoring, doing, integrating
• the more we use those new synapses, stronger the connection
• we become more effective and proficient in our new minds and actions

Conclusion: I want to you to leave with this truth

God’s Spirit, who enables and empowers our new life in Jesus
– will be with you this week – and will energize and help you change

Our prayer:
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right Spirit within me (Ps. 51:10)
God’s answer:
I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you . . . And I will put my Spirit within you . . . (Eze. 36:26-27)

Podcast

The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, one of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, to whom the word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, and until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the captivity of Jerusalem in the fifth month.
Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.” But the LORD said to me,
“Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’;
for to all to whom I send you, you shall go,
and whatsoever I command you, you shall speak.
Do not be afraid of them,
for I am with you to deliver you,
declares the LORD.”
Then the LORD put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the LORD said to me,
“Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.
See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms,
to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow,”
to build and to plant.”
Jeremiah 1:1-11

Intro: In the Hebrew Scriptures, the prophet’s call was an important event

Each of the three major prophets tell elaborate stories of their initiation
– typical features of a prophetic call include:
• a God-encounter
• instructions regarding their ministry and message
• a warning of what they are up against
• an attempt on the prophet’s part to dodge the call
◦ they argue their disqualification
• God rejects their disqualification and “qualifies” them
• they then receive their first vision, word, or revelation
– Jeremiah begins with the story of his call and apprenticeship

Jeremiah appeared at a critical time in Israel’s history
– he would live to see his nation come to an end
• God was going to make a clean slate of Jerusalem and Judah
• then, after seventy years, he was going to start over
– before reconstruction there would be demolition
• before planting there would be a thorough weeding

Our summer project has been to explore “repentance“

So far we’ve seen, the changes God wants to see in our lives
– require us to change what goes on inside our brains
• neural circuits have been formed by habit to run automatically
◦ for instance, we don’t have to think about losing our temper
◦ in fact, usually we don’t think about it until afterward
• an owner’s manual has been written into our brains
◦ we have learned that it is important to learn how to read it,
◦ to identify what needs to be removed from it,
◦ and then begin rewriting it

The nature of Jeremiah’s ministry offers a familiar template
– old structures have to be pulled down
Break up your fallow ground, and do not plant among thorns (Jer. 4:3)
• fallow ground was the surface layer of soil
◦ it would bake in the hot sun and become like hardened clay
• this is a good illustration of how thought habits solidify in the brain
◦ we have to “break up” the negative, self-destructive circuits
◦ then begin to wire together new healthier circuits
– Jesus took apart a lot of the old systems
• he changed religion — the “old wineskins” (Mt. 9:14-17)
• he changed many of the rules — regarding the Sabbath (Mt. 12:1-8)
◦ Jesus changed people, and he wanted their participation
◦ there was the time in Jesus when Jesus asked the cripple,
Do you want to be healed? (Jn. 5:6)
Jesus was saying, in effect, Life did this to you, but now I’m offering you something else

Last week this meant to put off the old self and put on the new self
– Paul provides specific instructions for specific issues, like anxiety:
do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Php. 4:6-7)
• he told the Philippians what they had to stop doing
• then, how to stop (bring everything anxious thought to God)
• and then what to use to replace their anxious thoughts
whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things (Php. 4:8)

What does this mean in terms of rewriting the brain’s owner’s manual?

We have to cut some wires
– we’ve seen how habitual thoughts, emotions, and reactions,
• are wired into our brain cells
◦ that neurons wire together to form circuits
• whenever the circuit is triggered, it produces the same response
◦ the same feeling, the same emotion, the same mood,
◦ the same unwanted experience
– the neurons in those circuits need to be disconnected
• that can happens naturally – we experience it as forgetfulness
◦ it is not difficult to let go of some things
one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal … in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way . . . . (Php. 3:13-14)
• other things are not so easy, and so require heavy artillery
For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ (2 Cor. 10:4-5)

If we can stop our brains from using the same neural pathways,
– the connections between neurons will wither
• but there are two problems we have to solve:
◦ these circuits operate apart from our conscious control
◦ when we try to disconnect them we will experience resistance
• we’ll take these problems one at a time

The first problem: we are unaware of our brain is doing

We can be lost in a thought or feeling without being aware that we are
Daniel Siegel asks, “. . . how do we actually develop the ability to perceive a thought—not just have one—and to know it as an activity of our minds so that we are not taken over by it? How can we be receptive to the mind’s riches and not just reactive to its reflexes? How can we direct our thoughts and feelings rather than be driven by them?”
– his answer, is by developing a seventh sense
(the first five senses receive information from the world outside the body, the sixth sense receives information from the interior of the body)
• he refers to the seventh sense as “mindsight”
◦ the ability to observe what goes on in our minds
Siegel, “. . . when we develop the skill of mindsight, we actually change the physical structure of the brain. Developing the lens that enables us to see the mind more clearly stimulates the brain to grow important new connections.”
– anyone here can develop this awareness–after all, it’s your brain!
• my mind is engaged in thought, but I’m not aware that I’m thinking
• it seems more like I am perceiving something than thinking it
◦ so I mistake the thought for reality
◦ or I mistake what I feel for what I am
– Fr. Romuald said when he caught himself identifying with a thought or feeling, “I switch levels”
• that is, he would take a step back from his thought and look at it
◦ I can be aware of my thought, and aware that I am thinking it
◦ I can aware of what I’m reading, and that I am reading
• when we develop this kind of awareness,
◦ we begin to catch our brains in the act
◦ and in that moment, we have a choice
• if we continue with it, we reinforce the neural circuit that produces it
◦ if we move from our thought to the present moment experience of the body,
◦ we break the circuit and begin forming new circuit
(the new thought habit)

The second problem is our the resistance of our addictions

How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God (see Mk. 10:17-23)
For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do (Gal. 5:17)

Addiction may sound like a strong word and seem irrelevant to you
– but bear with me
• the reason opioids produce pleasure is because the brain has opioid receptors
◦ with thought alone we can release chemicals into the brain and nervous system,
◦ that reduce pain, comfort and soothe, or give us a feel-good kick
• demanding jobs that require lots of ongoing creativity,
◦ can create a natural adrenaline addiction
• jobs that give us the opportunity to nurture and care for others
◦ can also provide feel-good rewards
◦ but if we become addicted to the care of others, we can burn out
(in the field of healthcare, this is known as Compassion Fatigue Syndrome)
– if we can become aware of what triggers our addictive thoughts and feelings,
• then we can learn to become aware of when a trigger occurs
◦ this gives us the freedom to choose
◦ we can let go of our addiction to anger, greed, fear, ego needs, etc.
• the Bible doesn’t use language of addiction
◦ but it uses words with similar meaning, like bondage or slavery
Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? (Ro. 6:16)
Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin (Jn. 8:34)

Conclusion: I’ve printed a simple prayer exercise

It’s one of many ways to practice bringing our inner life into awareness
– simply closing our eyes and taking a couple cleansing breaths,
• instantly affects the nervous system
• making it easier to be more aware, to see more clearly
– there’s an extra energy and even joy in being in silence with God,
• both God and I observing my thoughts, feelings, and emotions
• in his presence, the process is less threatening, less discouraging
◦ and more loving and hope-filled

You can do this
All you need is the right perspective and attitude
and the willingness to practice and not give up,
even if at first it seems you are making little progress

The way of the sluggard is like a hedge of thorns,
but the path of the upright is a level highway (Pr. 15:19)

Do not get stuck obsessing over the thorns,
but look at the highway stretching ahead to freedom
With the old self in your rear view mirror,
begin to imagine the joy waiting for you on the horizon
God’s new creation

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ,
he or she is a new creation.
The old has passed away;
behold, the new has come
(2 Cor. 5:17)

Silent Prayer Exercise

If you have not already found your own way of sitting silently in God’s presence, you may find the following exercise helpful.
When praying this way, we have no other goal than to bring our full attention to the present moment. Our hearts, mind and bodies are open and receptive to God.
We are not trying to do anything, rather our intention is to be still and know God’s presence here and now.

Preparation
1. Choose a time and place that assures stillness and quiet
a. Reduce or eliminate distractions (turn off cell phone)
2. Sit in an upright yet comfortable position
a. Rest your hands on your lap
b. Wherever you are, notice the space your body occupies
3. Release any muscle tension you feel in your body
a. If it helps, do a little, gentle stretching
4. Present yourself to God with a simple prayer
a. For instance:
Father in heaven, this moment is Yours.
Lord Jesus, my heart and mind are Yours.
Holy Spirit, awaken me to Your presence.

Begin
1. Take three deep cleansing breaths
a. Notice your breath entering and leaving your body
b. Notice the space inside your body that your breath fills
2. Beginning with the top of your head say,
“The peace of the Lord be with you”
a. Allow yourself to feel God’s peace rest on your head
b. Gently move your awareness down to your eyes and say,
“Peace”
i. Feel your eyelids and the muscles around your eyes relax
c. Move down and say, “Peace” to your nose and sinuses
d. Move down to your mouth, lips, tongue, teeth and jaw
i. Say, “Peace,” and feel those places relax even more
e. Move awareness to the side and back of your head
i. Say, “Peace” to your ears and neck
f. Continue to move down to your shoulders, back, etcetera
i. Speak peace to your entire body, one part at a time
3. Think of your busy brain and tell it,
“The peace of the Lord be with you”
a. Speak peace to your brainstem and spinal chord
b. Speak God’s peace to each of your organs or “systems”
i. For instance, nervous, respiratory, cardiac system, etc.

Settle in
Take a moment to enjoy your heart, mind and body at rest
1. Become a spectator of your present moment experience
a. What sensations do you feel in your body?
i. Do not attach any significance to them, simply notice them
b. What emotion do you feel?
i. If nothing, simply notice that you feel nothing
c. What thoughts come to you?
i. Ask, “What am I thinking right now?”
ii. Observe the thought without being dragged into it
2. If in your body there is pain, discomfort, the jitters,
Or your emotion is one of anxiety, discouragement, sadness
Or if your thought is negative, dark, or upsetting
a. Be aware of the unpleasantness
i. Acknowledge it for what it is
b. But do not judge yourself for what you experience
i. You are a spectator, not a judge
ii. Let God’s compassion fill you

Wrapping it up
1. Thank God for this time in his presence
2. As you stand up, be aware that you are standing up
3. Do not rush into your next activity
a. Move mindfully into the next thing

Podcast

Ephesians 4:17-24

Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned Christ!—assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

Intro: We began two weeks ago with the first word of Jesus’ message:

“Repent” – a change of mind that leads to change of everything
– the Bible uses other words for change: turn, convert, transform
• I’ve tried to point out, that this means changing our brains
• brain activity that has become automatic and unconscious
– Paul has an interesting way of illustrating this change, he says,
put off your old self and put on the new self

Paul had a majestic vision for the church in Ephesus

He saw a spiritually enlightened community living in unity
– every person building the community
and the community building every person
• as a result, they would “mature” to Christian adulthood
• they would “grow up” in every way into Christ (Ep. 4:1-16)
– the only thing that stood in the way of this vision was their old self

Their old self had been shaped by their history
– their former manner of life and and that life was corrupt
• in computer terminology, corrupt refers to a damaged file
◦ a file that cannot run its program as it was designed to do
◦ corrupt mental files can prevent people from living as God designed
• last week we saw that education and experience etches pathways in the brain
◦ every brain writes an owner’s manual that sinks into unconscious
◦ that becomes an internal belief system – a blueprint of reality
– to put on new the self is to have a new owner’s manual written for us
• the new self is
created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness
• today we will take another step in that direction

Have you ever seen a satellite photo of United States?

Or perhaps flown across the country at night?
– points of light dot the East and West coasts
• large dark patches lie in between
• imagine that the brain looks something like that, only in three dimensional space
◦ here and there, active brain cells light up
◦ all the cells in a cluster of lights are connected to each other
– neural wiring is not confined to the brain, runs through the entire body
• a sudden panic produces an instant response in
◦ the heart, lungs, digestive tract, glands, muscles, etc.
• but the body doesn’t need panic to activate its systems
◦ every emotion and most every thought enlists all its parts to some degree

Habits are history recorded in the brain and nervous system
– if an event is repeated or its impact is strong enough (e.g., trauma),
• it is written into neurons affecting emotions
◦ and also the body’s biological response to those emotions
(heart and respiratory rate, release of adrenaline and cortisol, etc.)
• the memory of the event will also reproduce the biological response
◦ the same neurons are activated in the same structures of the brain
◦ the same chemicals course through the body
◦ the same sensations occur
– we know that repeatedly doing the same thing produces the same effect
• thinking the same thoughts result in the same conclusions
• this is one way we are controlled by our past

A few years ago, I needed help with an important decision

I confided in someone I assumed was a close friend
– about a year later, he leaked our private conversation
• his action was worse than a betrayal of confidence
• he used that information against me, to manipulate me
◦ in his mind, he was acting in my best interest
◦ but for me it was a shocking and left a deep wound
– at first, I tried to blow it off and remain friends — but I couldn’t do it
• seeing him was a reminder of the distress his breach caused me
◦ even when I heard his name, I knotted up inside
◦ praying the Lord’s Prayer,
forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us,
his face would pop into my head
• frequently, I imagined confronting him, trying to clear it up
◦ I wanted him to realize how he had wronged me – and apologize
◦ but I new that would never happen
(he is way too much of a narcissist to ever admit he had done wrong)

How did I get that stuck?
– when I discovered what he did, the emotional impact of it was intense
• and it got worse with time and the more his actions played out
• what I was feeling activated my entire nervous system
◦ millions of neural connections were formed in my brain and body
◦ the chemical effect registered in emotions and physical symptoms
◦ hurt, grief, anger – knotted stomach, tense muscles, loss of energy
– the intensity of it all created an instant and persistent memory
• so a year later, five years, eight years–whenever I remembered it–
◦ the same neural pathway was activated, the same chemistry
◦ I felt the same shock and pain, the same revulsion and anger
• it was as if with every reminder the offense were being committed again
◦ how could I forgive him, since what he did felt like right now?

The past is not just something we remember like a phone number

It is somewhere we can get stuck — the brain reproduces it, and we relive it
– that is why resentment anchors itself so firmly in our hearts
• to remember, we re-experience the abuse we suffered
◦ then, perhaps, we relish our “revenge fantasies”
◦ or we enjoy punishing the offender
(maybe shutting them out of our lives, slandering them, etc.)
• but we are the ones who replay–and recreate–the event
◦ maybe what the perpetrator did to us happened only once,
◦ we end up repeating the experience a thousand times
– each recorded event or habit has a trigger–or triggers
• regarding triggers,
Dr. Joe Dispenza says, “All it takes is one stray thought, or one reaction to some event in the external world . . . .”

How come we’re mostly unaware of the brain’s owner’s manual?

As we’ve seen, habits tend to slip from awareness
– but there’s another reason – has to do with 3 regions of brain

The first is the brainstem
• it descends from the base of the brain into spinal chord
• it’s a communication center for brain and the rest of body
Second is the limbic system — the interior of the brain
• the headquarters for emotions – including nurturing, empathy
• it interprets our experiences and feel; good or bad
Third is the cortex – the outer layer of brain
• in the front part of brain is the corner suite of executive office–
the prefrontal cortex (PFC)
• the rational part of brain – reasoning, analyzing, planning
• also, the part of our brain that is self-conscious

In crisis, the brainstem can take immediate control of body
– by activating the Sympathetic Nervous System (fight or flight response)
• this can happen not only before information reaches the PFC,
◦ but it can happen without information ever reaching the PFC
• as a result: no conscious memory of the event is ever recorded
◦ the body remembers–and can be reactivated
◦ but the person does not consciously remember the trauma
(for example, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder)
– the brainstem can be activated by external or internal triggers

Conclusion: I think we’re done looking at the neural challenges of change

Next week we’ll begin looking at changes we can begin making now
– but I feel it’s necessary to give you a little help for the time being

First, we cannot rewrite owner’s manual if we don’t know it
– my default setting is overwhelming oppression — what’s yours?
– the first and foremost challenge:
• developing and strengthening awareness
• of what is happening in our brains and bodies

Second, God has given us a different clock to run our lives by
– the clock we use now can trap us in the past–and future too
• the PFC can imagine and anticipate a horrible future event
◦ the problem is, the rest of the brain doesn’t know its imaginary
◦ so the limbic system produces worry and the brainstem activates the body
• with God’s clock, our lives run according to eternity

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 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 the things that are unseen are eternal (2 Co 4:16-18)

– eternity intersects time as we live in it, to lift us out of it
• we are no longer haunted and controlled by the past
◦ nor are we afraid of the future
• at the intersection of time and eternity, we find rest in God’s presence
◦ then we are enabled to return to our time, relieved and renewed

When does eternity intersect time?
Well, if we’re not lost in the automatic habits of our brain,
but deepening our awareness of God’s presence,
we find that it may happen any time or all the time
“In a favorable time I listened to you,
and in a day of salvation I have helped you.”
Behold, now is the favorable time;
behold, now is the day of salvation (2 Cor. 6:2)

Podcast

Ephesians 2:1-7

Intro: Has God answered your prayer this week

(Remember? We were going to pray the following verses all week

Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting! — Psalm 139:23-24)

Last week we learned what neuroscience has taught us about repentance
– at a practical, biological level repentance means changing our brains
• the brain is control center for all the activity of the mind and body
• how do we repent? How are we changed, transformed?

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect (Ro. 12:2)

– why must our idea of repentance be more complicated than gospels?
• because our lives are so much more complicated
• they had lots of physical space and time to reflect
◦ we’re bombarded by massive stimulation and information
(imagine the difference between driving ten miles and walking ten miles — how many more sights, movements and decisions to be made at fifty-five miles per hour)
◦ we’re faced with thousands of choices they never dreamed of

I said before that every human brain writes an owner’s manual
– today we will learn how to read our owner’s manual
Daniel Siegel, Clinical Professor at UCLA School of Medicine, finds it helpful to patients in therapy if they can visualize the activity in their brains and know how to affect changes in it

In Ephesians 2, Paul is answering a question: How did we get here?

That is, here to being “blessed with every spiritual blessing” (Ep. 1:3-14)
– we did not start here
• when God’s light first shined on us, we were dead
– in verse 2, Paul mentions three causes of spiritual death:
1. The world – a spiritual alternative to kingdom of God
◦ opposed to God – in rebellion to God’s will
◦ the world presents our brains with thoughts, images & suggestions
2. The prince of the power of the air (the devil)
◦ tempter, adversary, accuser, “liar,” and “murderer”
3. Our flesh – our natural self apart from God
◦ the part of us that is capable of being tempted, seduced, mislead

But even when we were dead, God made us alive (v. 5)
– dead: a static condition – motionless – no change, stuck
• alive: dynamic, moving, changing
– obviously, this isn’t something we can accomplish on our own
• God involves himself in our repentance – our change
• he is with us every step of the way

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them (vv. 8-10)

A few years ago, as Christmas present Barbara gave me a brain

It’s plastic and came with a guide that labels various structures
– the human brain contains billions of cells – neurons
• similar cells run through entire body
◦ these activate every muscle – legs in walking, pupils in dilating
◦ shifting your weight in your chair requires that activation of millions of neurons
• neurons are the basic building blocks to every thought, feeling, action

Neuron consists of a cell body – various shapes and sizes
– it communicates with other neurons through minuscule fibers
• a central fiber, the axon, sends messages (bipolar, etc.)
• multiple fibers, dendrites, branch out from the cell body to receive messages
◦ dendrites connect with axons, other dendrites, or the cell body of other neurons
◦ neurons do not actually make contact with other neurons
– there is a tiny gap between contact points – the synapse
• the neuron sending a message releases chemical molecules into fluid between contact points
• neuron can connect with thousands of other neurons
◦ neurons with shorter axons connect with neurons nearby
◦ neurons with longer axons connect with other the neurons of other structures in the brain

What causes neurons to fire?
– incoming messages from other neurons create a minute electrical charge
• by itself, that charge is not strong enough to affect a response
• it takes thousands of messages arriving from other neurons
◦ all of them arriving within a millisecond to produce an “action potential”
◦ this electrical charge runs down the axon from the cell body, releasing chemical molecules
– the brain’s chemistry set is fascinating
• the brain utilizes at least 100 different “neurotransmitters”
◦ to speed up activation, neurons receive glutamate molecules
◦ to slow down activation, neurons receive GABA molecules
• neurotransmitters affect all mental activity
◦ they are frequently implicated in mood disorders

An action, thought, or memory is not contained in one brain cell

Every thought requires thousands of brain cells
– if a thought is repeated, it utilizes the same cluster of cells (mostly)
• this is how our brains form habits
• a repeated thought or action is imprinted on the same neurons
◦ Hebb’s Law, “Neurons that fire together, wire together”
– as a boy, I lived in rural communities
• frequently, the shortest distance between two points was a diagonal line across an empty lot
◦ I would trample the weeds my first time across the field
◦ after enough people used that same route, the weeds died, leaving a clear and compact dirt path
• that trail became the fastest, easiest way to reach the other side
◦ it became, in fact, the only path across the lot
◦ this is similar to the way habitual thoughts and feelings form in connecting neurons in the brain

Habits are helpful, but they tend to dull awareness
– the value of a habit is don’t have to think about it when doing it
• your brain has all the movements memorized
◦ your body acts on its own, leaving you free to think about other things
• but what we miss with our habits is the experience of living
◦ there’s a certain pleasure in riding a bike
◦ but I can lose that enjoyment if I am only in a hurry to get somewhere
– habits sink into the unconscious–that is, we are not aware of them
• there’s a lot our brains do that we’re not conscious of
◦ all the “involuntary” functions of our nervous system
• there are also a lot of thought habits
◦ they are present even if we’re not conscious of thinking them

Suppose a child is made to feel like a jerk by a teacher, playmate, or parent
– that feeling is real to the child
• if reinforced, then the same neurons of that real feeling will be activated
• and every time those neurons fire, they will produce the same chemical reactions in the child’s brain and body
◦ the same neurotransmitters will be released
◦ the same hormones will be launched into the blood stream
◦ the child will feel the same emotion – embarrassment, shame, guilt
(even when he or she is twenty, thirty, or forty years old)
– a record of this repeated is etched into the brain’s owner’s manual
• a person’s “inner belief system” consists of these neural habits
◦ repeated thoughts, feelings, attitudes, judgments, etc.
• we do not doubt our unconscious belief system, because it is deeply embedded within us
◦ our belief system forms our perception of reality
◦ and any little mistake seems to confirm our negative beliefs
◦ with even a little mistake, a voice within says, “See! You are a jerk”

I once shared with Fr. with Romuald my mental self-abuse

He said he was surprised, and told me,
“Well, I suppose we all have those self-deprecating thoughts. I do, though probably not to the degree that you have described. But I don’t see why you would want to identify with them. I am not my thoughts, and I am not my feelings”
– there’s a world of difference between saying,
• “I did something really stupid” and “I am really stupid”
• but my identity, formed in my belief system, tells me “I am”
– are you getting an idea of why repentance is so difficult?
• basically, God is telling us,
“You’re not who you think you are, and reality is not what you’ve thought it was. All of that has to change.”
– but haven’t we tried to change?
• through will power – through happy thoughts
• but since we haven’t changed it is most likely because we have not gone deep enough
◦ we have not entered the inner chamber of our brains
◦ repentance is not about having new thoughts, but becoming new persons

Conclusion: Going back to the path we created in a field

Suppose one day we attempt to take our usual shortcut,
– but when we get to the field, someone has put up a fence
• or the whole lot has been graded for development
• we can no longer follow that path
– one part of repentance (change) is to put up fences
• to stop thinking the same thoughts, believing same things
◦ that’s the turning from part of repentance
• the turning to part is trusting God for his grace to assist us

To fully repent, we need to bring our belief system into awareness
We will continue with that project next week
In the mean time,
start paying attention to your daily habits
Notice what your body is doing when walking,
opening a jar or can,
drinking a glass of water,
or reading a book
Pay attention to what it feels like
and you will begin to enter awareness
of some of those unconscious processes
that drive our daily actions

Podcast

Psalm 147
Praise the LORD!
For it is good to sing praises to our God;
for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting.
The LORD builds up Jerusalem;
he gathers the outcasts of Israel.
He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.
He determines the number of the stars;
he gives to all of them their names.
Great is our Lord, and abundant in power;
his understanding is beyond measure.
The LORD lifts up the humble;
he casts the wicked to the ground.
. . . .

Intro: C. S. Lewis, book, Reflections On the Psalms is short but insightful
– he addresses some of difficulties modern readers have with the Psalms
• in the introduction he said,
“Most emphatically the Psalms must be read as poems; as lyrics, with all the licences and all the formalities, the hyperboles, the emotional rather than logical connections, which are proper to lyric poetry. They must be read as poetry if they are to be understood . . . . Otherwise we shall miss what is in them and think we see what is not there.”
– I chose Psalm 147 because I want to talk about worship
• but first, a little history

In 1975, a home Bible study I taught for two years became a church
– Calvary Chapel of Dana Point (now Capo Beach Church)
• when we started meeting Sundays, I knew how to “do church”
◦ I wore a suit and tie and we sang hymns
(accompanied by an organ and piano)
◦ in our home meetings, one person with a guitar led songs
• one night I realized our music and prayers had become stale
◦ it wasn’t what I felt worship should be
◦ it got so bad, one night I got a strong impression that God’s Spirit was about to leave the building
– I talked with our song leader until I had him completely frustrated
• one time, exasperated with me, he asked, “What is worship, anyway?”
• “I don’t know,” I answered, “but this is not it!”

Around that time, I asked my friend Jack, a church consultant,
– to help me develop a better organizational structure for our church
• we went over staff, finances, facilities, and our various programs
• after spending a couple months covering all the business items,
◦ he asked if there was any other area that needed help
◦ I couldn’t think of anything at first, but he kept prodding
◦ finally I said, “Well, our time of worship sucks”
– Jack invited me to his church, Calvary Chapel of Yorba Linda
(which later became The Yorba Linda Vineyard)
• at first I declined, I had lots of exposure to Charismatic worship
◦ and it did not interest me
◦ he said, “This is different. I think it’s what you’re looking for”
• so the following Sunday I went
◦ and for the first times in years, I experienced God in worship
◦ I also began mourning over the death of worship in our church

The following week I gathered the elders and church staff and told them
– for the next month we were shutting down all our programs
• no men’s group, no women’s prayer meetings, no youth meetings, etc.
• also, they were to visit the Yorba Linda church on a Sunday night
– on Sunday mornings I began teaching through the Bible,
• examining everything it had to say about worship
– Rick Founds and Todd Collins had recently been attending our church
• they had been singing before Christian audiences for many years
◦ I asked them to consider leading worship for us
◦ we would borrow the music and format of the Yorba Linda church
• they agreed, so we prayed over them and the change was underway

We soon experienced the most important turning point in our history
– our little community came alive
• we were a more vibrant and healthier group of believers
• we expected God to show up every time we worshiped
– I felt that if we invited people into that environment of worship,
• they would experience God and be moved to open their hearts to him
◦ we kept the focus on God
◦ we emphasized the importance of the Spirit’s inspiration
◦ we sought to develop music that was our own
(the kind we enjoyed listening to when not singing “church music”)
◦ and we wanted to make our music the best possible quality
• in time, that form of worship became our “tradition”
◦ and like most traditions, people developed a loyalty to its form
◦ there were other problems as well

I still believe in the essence of what we did, but its form was not perfect
– some parts of worship were missing and other ingredients were added
• creative artists need freedom to exercise their gifts
◦ however, if the music gets too complicated or too excellent,
◦ it tends to draw attention to itself and become and entertain
◦ it performs for an audience rather that create participants
• music is unique in the way it reaches and stirs emotions
◦ such is its value in engaging the whole person
◦ but worship must reach deeper than emotions to affect change
◦ people may assume their experience was spiritual when it was only emotional
. . . [your people] say to one another . . ., “Come, and hear what the word is that comes from the LORD.” And the come to your as people come, and they sit before you as my people . . . behold, you are to them like one who sings lustful songs with a beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument, for they hear what you say, but they will not do it (Ezek. 33:30-32)
– music was an add-on to Israel’s worship centuries after Moses
• music was King David’s innovation (1 Chr. 15:15-16; 2 Chr. 23:18)
• some Christians think worship is the musical part of the service
◦ music is important, but it is not everything

For awhile, I’ve been wondering what worship looks like for us

Perhaps the first question to ask, is what are we missing?
– Psalm 147 does not tell us everything we need to know
• but it does contain some important elements
– I see the poem as an R.S.V.P. (respond if you please)
• its structured pattern is obvious, and repeats three times:
◦ an invitation (or imperative)
Praise the LORD (v. 1)
Sing to the LORD (v. 7)
Praise the LORD (v. 12)
◦ reasons are given (note the verbs — what he does)
The LORD builds up . . . gathers . . . heals . . . etc. (vv. 2-4)
He covers the heavens . . . prepares rain . . . etc. (vv. 8-9)
For he strengthens . . . he blesses . . . etc. (vv. 13-19)
▫ what he does for the nation, the person, and in nature
▫ from healing broken hearts to giving names to the stars
◦ an observation is made (regarding God, especially who he is)
Great is our Lord . . . (v. 5)
His delight is not in the strength of the horse . . . (vv. 10-11)
He has not dealt thus with any other nation (v. 20)

Worship celebrates our everyday environment

He determines the number of the stars;
He gives to all of them their names. (v. 4)
He covers the heavens with clouds;
he prepares rain for the earth;
he makes grass grow on the hills.
He gives to the beasts their food,
and to the young ravens that cry (vv. 8-9)

Most of us know how close God feels in mountains and forests
– something catches our attention — a sight, sound or scent
• as we observe and enjoy, thoughts come to us
◦ if we remain aware, we begin to see more
◦ our experience goes beyond the thing that is seen to its Creator
• it is quite natural for a prayer or sense of gratitude to stir within is
◦ these are the initial inner movements of worship
– it’s possible to develop a sensitivity to God as his presence is revealed in the world,
• so that ordinary things begin to speak to us
• a bar of soap or a table set for dinner

Praise the LORD!
Sing to the LORD
Praise the LORD

Creating rituals can help us develop a habit of noticing
– Sue Johnson encourages couples to turn small gestures into rituals
• rituals that tell the other person, “You matter to me”
She says, “Rituals are an important part of belonging. They are repeated, intentional ceremonies that recognize a special time or connection. Rituals engage us, emotionally and physically [I would add, spiritually], so that we become riveted to the present moment in a positive way.”
• last week we saw that Jesus ritualized his greeting when he met with his disciples
◦ three times he greeted them with, Peace be with you
◦ Paul encouraged Christians to ritualize their hellos and goodbyes
Greet one another with a holy kiss (1 Cor. 16:20)
– Brother Lawrence, in Practice the Presence of God,
• encourages us to do every chore “for the love of God”
• and to say this to ourselves as we go about our day
◦ for him it may have been, “I am washing and peeling these potatoes for the love of God”

Worship is enhanced by music

Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving;
make melody to our God on the lyre (v. 7)

Neuroscientist and psychobiologist, Jaak Panksepp, encouraged therapists to use music to stimulate “the rhythmic motor impulses of the body.” He noted that “Marathon organizers, recognizing the power of such motor rhythm facilitators, are beginning to ban iPods so that music listeners will not have undue advantages over the silent plodders. Clearly, music and the other arts need to be incorporated into all therapies that are clearly concerned with the human spirit.”
– we enhance the potential of worship to be a source of healing when we sing our prayers, praise and thanksgiving

Worship fulfills one of God’s purposes for our lives

It is not the sole purpose for our lives, but it is a central purpose

Paul wrote, Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you (1 Thes. 5:16-18)

In heaven, angels and saints sing to God,
Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things
and by your will they existed and were created (Rev. 4:11)

– worship is not what we do in church
• it is how we live every day of our lives

Conclusion: Would you consider writing yourself a reminder

To consider ways that worship can become a way of life

And pray for Reflexion,
– that God will reveal to us our own unique expression of worship
• an expression that shares rituals in common with all Christians
• and at the same time has the flavor and aroma
of our own, unique spiritual community

Podcast

Luke 24:1-12 and John 20:1-10

Intro: With John chapter 20 we come to the end of our survey

This one last time, I will remind you what we’ve been tracking
– John wrote a gospel that’s very different from the Synoptic gospels
• the other three follow the same outline, tell the same stories
• John is surprising in how much he leaves out and what he puts in
– during Jesus’ life the disciples did not always understand him
• some times he said things that:
◦ had to do with the future
◦ contradicted what they had been taught
◦ contained spiritual truth that the rational mind cannot discover
• they heard his teaching and at times thought they understood him,
◦ but there were often deeper meanings that they missed

I said this was the situation “during Jesus’ lifetime,”
– but look at verse 9,
. . . for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead.
• here, immediately after Jesus’ resurrection they still don’t understand
(cf. Mk. 9:9-10 & 30-32)
• this illustrates what John saw as the problem he needed to address
◦ frequently they failed to pick up on what Jesus was telling them
◦ in fact, even after Jesus’ resurrection they would still be discovering the meaning of his teaching
– the other three gospels stick to the time frame of Jesus’ life up to his resurrection (or for Luke, his ascension)
• John wrote his gospel from a perspective of many years later
• and in those intervening years, what had not been understood now made sense
◦ John wrote a gospel to bring these hidden meanings to the surface

John closely follows the beginning of Luke’s version of the resurrection

Except that John has more to say about specific people and events
– the first person we encounter is Mary Magdalene
• but her story is broken into two parts
• so we’ll begin with what John has to say about Peter

John adds to Luke’s story, that he went with Peter to tomb

Mary Magdalene had come to Peter and John straight from the empty tomb
– notice carefully what she told them
So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him” (Jn. 20:2)
• perhaps she suspected that grave robbers stole his body
• Peter and John immediately got up to go investigate
◦ that they ran to the tomb indicates their concern–their worry and confusion
• why does John have to say that he got there first?
◦ because that’s the way he remembers it
◦ the same reason he tells us that he glanced into the tomb from outside, but that Peter charged in to investigate
(this is the difference between the Greek words translated looking and seeing)
– seeing the grave clothes still there, it was unlikely the body was stolen
A. T. Roberston, “Peter saw more after he entered than John did at first glance, but John saw into the meaning of it all better than Peter. Peter had more sight, John more insight.”
• when John went into the tomb, he then he saw and believed

John’s additional insight to this part of the resurrection story:
– he lets us see that the mystery of Jesus is ongoing, even after the resurrection
• there will always be more to be explored and revealed
• even now, there will be things we don’t understand
◦ and until the mystery is fully revealed,
◦ the best way to go forward is in faith, trusting Jesus

Next, John tells us about a private encounter

Peter and John left Mary Magdalene alone at the tomb
– I doubt she could think of anywhere else to go
• she came there with the intention of tending to his body
◦ to gently administer the final touches
• but now she was prevented this last moment of affection
◦ and she could not give up her need to see his body
– it seems to me she was fixated on finding out what happened
• but there were no clues, no trail to follow
◦ she was at a loss – so she just stood there weeping
• like the apostles, she stooped to look in the tomb
◦ but it wasn’t the grave clothes she saw, rather angels
◦ they asked her, Woman, why are you weeping?

I told you to notice what she said to Peter and John
– “They” – some unknown persons
• “taken the Lord” – she did not need to say his name
◦ she and the two men shared the same Lord
• “and we do not know where they have laid him”;
(the “we” refers to her and the other women, Lk. 24:10)
– but to the angels she makes a slight, but significant change
They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him (Jn. 20:13)
• she identified herself with Jesus, her Lord
he belonged to her in a relationship that defined her as belonging to him
• in the most romantic book of the Bible, the Song of Songs,
◦ a woman says of her lover,
My beloved is mine, and I am his (Song 2:16)
◦ yes, it is possible to have that depth of a relationship with God

It seems that the angels either did not answer Mary, or
– she turned before they could answer,
– or she did not listen to what they had to say,
– or she found no comfort in their message
• then suddenly Jesus was in front of her, asking same question
Woman, why are you weeping?
◦ she assumed he was the gardener!
• she thought, perhaps he had done something with Jesus’ body
It is typical of the post-resurrection stories that Jesus wasn’t recognized at first; for example:
– like with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Lk. 24:16)
– the disciples in the upper room (Lk. 24:37-38)
– on the Sea of Galilee (Jn. 21:4)
• in each instance Jesus did something that triggered recognition
◦ in the way he broke bread before the meal (Lk. 24:30-31)
◦ when he showed them his hands and feet (Lk. 24:39; Jn. 20:20-21)
◦ when he told them throw their nets on the other side of the boat (Jn. 21:6-7)
• in this instance, it was the way Jesus said her name, Mary
◦ in the next moment Jesus was saying, Do not cling to me!
(I added the exclamation mark)
– I am thinking that when she realized it was Jesus, she lunged at him
• if her plan had been to touch his lifeless body,
◦ finding him alive, she was not about to let him get away again
◦ obviously Mary did not plan to clutch Jesus like that–it was a spontaneous act
Sue Johnson wrote, “Don’t we all want the one or two infallible rules for how to love and be loved? But love is improvisation.”
◦ Mary improvised
• Jesus went on to say,
for I have not yet ascended to the Father
◦ what did Jesus mean by this? Why would this prevent Mary from hugging him?
◦ I think he was saying, I haven’t completed my mission, there’s still work to be done
◦ and Mary had not completed her mission yet either
. . . go to my brothers and say to them, “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God”

John’s additional insight to this part of the resurrection story:
Mary would always know an undying love

John takes us from tomb that morning to the upper room that evening

The disciples were hunkered down in Jerusalem, still traumatized and terrified
– when Jesus appeared he greeted them with, Peace be with you
• he said this twice – and then again when Thomas was present
• this was his resurrection greeting and way he introduced his next announcement
◦ from now on, it would be peace for them – his peace (cf. Jn. 16:38)
◦ I would like for us to hear it every time Jim begins our service with
“The Lord be with you” or “The peace of the Lord be with you”

“Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (v. 22)
• they felt the breath of Jesus on their faces
◦ and with his breath, they received his Spirit
John’s additional insight to this part of the resurrection story:
they would have continued presence of Jesus

Thomas missed this encounter (I know that now I’m rushing the story)

When the other disciples told him, We have seen the Lord,
– Thomas was adamant
Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe (v. 25)
• John has highlighted the connection of seeing and believing
4:48, Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe
6:30, What sign will you do that we may see and believe you?
• so now he convinces Thomas he is alive by letting him see
◦ to which Tomas responds with the strongest declaration of who Jesus is:
My Lord and my God!
– Jesus’ next statement is important, and vital for us today
Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed (v. 29)
• the benediction is for you, who
Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory (1 Pe. 1:8)
• that statement brings John to the purpose of his gospel
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (vv. 30-31)

John’s additional insight to this part of the resurrection story:
Go forward in faith without first needing to see

Conclusion: Where has this survey through John taken us?

I will suggest one possibility
– that we not only learn about the deeper meanings in Jesus’ teaching
• and allow the Spirit to reveal them to us,
◦ but that we learn from John to look for deeper meanings
◦ and we don’t rely on our rational, analytical minds to find them
• a deeper, hidden meaning can be found anywhere in our world
◦ sometimes in music, sometimes an insect, or the horizon
– an object, event, a person suddenly becomes a sign and symbol
• and becoming a symbol, it becomes a sacrament
◦ an object in our world that communicates another reality
◦ a reality different from the things, but present in them
• it can be fire, water, bread, wine – a ring, a scar, a drop of rain
◦ a slight breeze on our cheek can be the breath of Jesus,
◦ filling our lungs with his Spirit

More than twenty years ago, a friend asked me to perform a renewal of vows ceremony for his wife and himself–they had been married twenty-five years. My daughter, Jennifer, rode up to Newport Beach that Sunday afternoon, and on the way she asked, “Dad, what are you going to say?” I replied, “Oops! Jenn, dig around in my glove compartment. You’ll find a pen and see if you can find something to write on.”
She produced a pen and said, “There’s an old envelope in here.” I said, “Perfect! Pull it out and start writing.” I then dictated the vows that I would have Jack and Helen repeat to each other.
During the reception after the ceremony, Jack asked me, “Where did you get those vows? They were perfect.” When I told him that I had Jennifer write them on the way there, he said, “I want them.” I said, “Sure. When I get home I’ll type them out and mail them to you.” He replied, “No, I want them now.” “But they’re just scrawled on an old envelope.” Jack said, “That’s what I want.” So I handed him the envelope, and later he had it framed.
That envelope became a sacrament for him, a symbol of the life God had given him with Helen and a reminder of the grace that kept them in the love of God.

If we train ourselves to look for meaning
in ordinary and everyday things,
we will find many things that have
a sacramental potential for us.
Allowing those things to awaken us
to deeper, hidden meanings,
is one of the ways we continue clinging to Jesus

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us—that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ – 1 John 1:1-3

Podcast

Mark 15:1-15 and John 18:33-38

Intro: Way back at the beginning of John’s narrative of Jesus’ ministry, when John the Baptist first saw Jesus, he said, “Behold, the Lamb of God. who takes away the sin of the world” (Jn. 1:29)

John’s source for the image of the lamb was the sacrificial worship of Israel
– this symbol was embedded in Israel’s collective memory
• the offering of a lamb provided atonement for Israel’s sin
• “atone” means to cover
– when it came to sin, God had his people covered

Again early in Jesus’ ministry, Nicodemus came to him for a nighttime chat
– during their interview Jesus told him,
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life (Jn. 3:14-15)
• later, Jesus told people who came to him in the temple,
When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority . . . . (Jn. 8:28)
• and even later,
“And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die (Jn. 12:32)
◦ that is, Jesus would die by crucifixion

These themes come to a dramatic climax and fulfillment in chapters 18-19
– there, the Lamb of God is lifted up on the cross

Jesus is the heart of story, but Pilate moves the plot forward

Rome had installed Pilate as governor over Judea and Syria
– unfortunately for him, he did not govern well
• the way he is remembered in history:
◦ he was a typically ethnocentric Roman
◦ to him, the local population was mostly barbarian
◦ it was his to enforce the Pax Romana and keep the populace in line
◦ he took no interest in Jewish customs, culture, or religion
• ignoring the concerns of the Jews, Pilate repeatedly offended them
– due to their dire complaints, Pilate was recalled to Rome

This story of Jesus’ trial follows Pilate back and forth
– he goes from Jesus’ accusers, then to Jesus, then back to his accusers
• meanwhile he has Jesus swinging on a rope
• exonerated one minute, then beaten the next
– but if Pilate drives the plot, he is also at the mercy of it
• his back is to the wall
The only hero in the story is Jesus
– even his lifeless body is more interesting than Pilate
• and Jesus is definitely more cherished

The episode begins with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane

Verse 4 reads,
Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them [those who came to arrest him], “Whom do you seek?”
– Jesus did not stumble into the cross – he saw it coming
• he knew it was the final accomplishment of his ministry
• all of this was moving toward God’s intended goal
◦ perhaps that is why in chapter 19, John mentions more more times the fulfillment of scripture than in any other chapter
◦ and all those quotes are piled up at foot of cross
1. when the soldiers cast lots for his tunic (Jn. 19:24)
2. when Jesus said, “I thirst” (Jn. 19:28)
3. when the soldiers did not break his legs (Jn. 19:36)
4. when a soldier pierced Jesus side with a spear (Jn. 19:37)
– all three of the Synoptic gospels tells us that Jesus prayed that God would spare him this cup
• John says nothing about Jesus’ desperate prayer
• but he does tell us that Jesus spoke of his cup when he was arrested
◦ Peter took a swing at someone in the mob that came for Jesus
◦ but Jesus ordered him,
Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?
◦ God had not removed the cup and Jesus was resolved to drink it
(only John tells us that it was Peter who cut off the ear of the high priest’s servant, and only Luke tells us that Jesus healed the servant’s ear)
G. Campbell Morgan’s observation is too true: “I sometimes think that our Lord is still often healing wounds that zeal-without-knowledge people make on other souls.”

From the garden, Jesus was dragged before two priests

First Annas, the former high-priest, then his son-in-law Caiaphas
– ultimately Jesus stood before Pilate – what did he look like to Pilate?
• he did not wear the clothes of a Rabbi
◦ he was dressed like a commoner, a working-class man
• Jesus had endured a sleepless night that was long and fatiguing
◦ already his face was swollen and bruised by the beating he received
• Jesus was presented to Pilate as a troublemaker
◦ for Pilate, everyone in Palestine was a troublemaker
◦ Pilate did not want to bother with him
– but whatever Jesus’ appearance was, standing there with his hands tied,
• something about his presence impressed Pilate
• it was obvious that the man before him was innocent
◦ and he says as much – three times

Pilate’s first question to priests, What is the accusation?
– he gets down to business, anxious to get this over with quickly
• they dodged giving him a direct answer
If this man were not doing evil, we would not have delivered him over to you
◦ Pilate threw this case back on them, “Deal with him yourselves”
◦ but then they give reason for bringing Jesus to him:
they were asking for the death penalty
Soon Pilate was in chambers alone with Jesus
– he asked the Lord, Are you the King of the Jews?
• Jesus asked, Is this your question? Is it what you think? Or is it the opinion of others?
• Pilate’s response,
Am I a Jew? Do you think I came up with this? My idea? Your own people handed you over to me. What have you done? Tell me why you’re here. This is your opportunity to explain your side of the story
▫ he wanted to determine if a real crime has been committed
– Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world
• John doesn’t mention the kingdom as much as the Synoptic gospels
◦ but what a profound truth he reveals here!
• Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world, and his servants do not fight to defend it
◦ obviously, Jesus did not pose a threat to Rome
◦ but at same time, his kingdom did not fall under Rome’s jurisdiction

Pilate felt like he has something now, So you are a king?
– Jesus’ response: You say that I am – those are your words, not mine
• it was not how Jesus identified himself
◦ it was, in fact, something that he avoided (Jn. 6:15)
• Pilate needed an accusation that could stick
◦ he wanted a confession – but Jesus did not hand it to him
◦ Jesus did not make Pilate’s job easier, but more difficult
– Jesus went on to reveal who he is and what he was about
For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth
• and then we have a very important addition:
Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice
• Jesus handed Pilate the key to understanding him
If you want to know truth about me, guilt or innocence, listen to me; hear what I am saying
◦ Jesus has taken this conversation to another level

Pilate either missed the clue or else he didn’t take the bait
– What is truth?
• I’m not going to tell you how to interpret this
◦ maybe he was sincere – maybe what he wanted was the truth
◦ but that’s not how I hear him say these words
• I hear a hard-nosed Roman soldier with no time for this nonsense
Truth? How am I supposed to render a verdict on truth? If philosophers can’t agree on what truth is, then what’s the point? I’ll tell you the truth I know, and right now it is the only truth that matters: Truth is walking from the battlefield with your life. Truth is the sharp point of a sword. There’s life and there’s death; you are either one or the other–that’s truth.
• this is how I hear Pilate answer Jesus
“Why bring philosophy and religion into this? Do you think your accusers give a damn about truth?”
◦ he is cynical and has no interest in probing the issue any further than he must
– so Pilate turned on his heel and left without waiting for an answer

Pilate’s next move was to have Jesus “flogged”

His purpose may have been twofold:
1. To elicit information or a confession (cf. Acts 22:24)
2. To work out a compromise
– Pilate let his soldiers have their fun with Jesus
• he then presented him, battered and broken, still wearing the crown of thorns and purple robe
◦ he says to the priests and elders, Behold, the man
◦ Look, here he is, nothing but a man; he is no king nor is he a threat
• but saying Behold, the man may have been a mistake
◦ because for all his suffering, Jesus was still every inch a man
Through this whole scene, Jesus was the rock. He was not the angry one. He was not the confused and desperate one. The crown and robe were appropriate even if not meant to be, because in every what Jesus was majestic
– when the priests and officers cried out, “Crucify him” –
• Pilate told them, Do it yourselves, for I find no guilt in him
◦ and then there’s a new twist,
We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has made himself the Son of God
◦ a new piece of information has surfaced
John explains that when Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid
• up until now we did not even know Pilate was afraid at all
◦ but he had been afraid, and now his fear was intensified

Pilate now asks a different question
– before it was, What have you done?
• but now he wants to know, Where are you from?
◦ Jesus went silent
• so Pilate warned him,
Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?
(Pilate really believed he had that kind of power or authority over Jesus)
From then on Pilate sought to release him
◦ but we know how that went
◦ as Jesus told him, the only authority he had with Jesus had been given to him from above
– why does John report these conversations between Pilate and Jesus?
• maybe he wanted to demonstrate the fact that Jesus got to Pilate
◦ second and third generation Christians may have had doubts
◦ in the Roman Empire, Christianity worked for slaves and the poor
◦ but did it have a chance of taking hold within the populace?
• Pilate was not moved to faith in Jesus
◦ but the Lord got to him
◦ and the Lord could reach into the heart of Rome itself

Conclusion: John handles Jesus trial differently than the Synoptic gospels

Andreas Kostenberger explains the difference this way, “… John transforms the entire notion of a trial and presents Jesus’ ministry in its entirety as a trial, yet not one where Jesus is on trial but one where those who rejected him . . . are put on trial and found guilty by a series of witnesses to Jesus’ messianic identity.”
– John acts as a court reporter
• and in the courtroom of his gospel, everyone must stand where Pilate stood
• Jesus had said,
The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day (Jn. 12:48)
– the most tragic outcome of that trial:
• not that Pilate could not save Jesus, but that Jesus could not save Pilate

But he has rescued and recovered us
And now he stands with us in our trials
He who was dragged into the depths
of human suffering
knows our hardships, our pain, our sorrow
And because he is with us now,
we do not have to allow the hardships of life
or the bad people
and the evil that they do
make us turn cynical and embittered
The truth has found us
and the truth has set us free

Podcast

Mark 14:26-31; Luke 22:35-38 and John 15:1-11

Intro: Did you know Gospel of Mark does not have proper ending?

Women came to Jesus’ tomb, the body was gone, but an angel met them there and instructed them to go tell his disciples that he had risen. Then the last words of Mark’s gospel are:
they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid (Mk. 16:8)
– Christian scribes must have found this disturbing, so they made up endings
• it’s odd that Mark would leave his story hanging that way,
• because his gospel really is a masterpiece
◦ in way he used literary tools that were available to him
◦ in fact, Matthew and Luke borrowed Mark’s basic outline
▫ and retold some of his stories exactly as Mark had written them
– perhaps the abrupt ending is evidence of his genius
• the story of Jesus does not end with his resurrection
◦ it goes on – and will go on forever
◦ that’s similar to way John ends his gospel
Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written (Jn. 21:25)
• Mark may be saying, “You are writing the next chapter with your life”

There is another possibility–but it’s rather subtle
– maybe Mark wrote the end of story before he got to the end
• while in the temple, Jesus told a parable about a vineyard
◦ the owner left it in care of tenants, who took it over and killed the owner’s son
◦ Jesus asked a question and answered it himself,
What will the owner do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others (Mk. 12:9)
• all three Synoptic gospels include this parable, because it defines Jesus life and ministry
◦ specifically, in relation to God and religious system of the temple
◦ the end of the parable is the end of Mark’s gospel
– of course, John was familiar with this parable
• is it possible that he offered another story regarding the vineyard?
◦ another analogy– but not parable
◦ only in this one defines his relation to God and his new community
• this is the vineyard taken from the priests, scribes, elders
◦ the vineyard that was given to others
◦ the ideal vineyard – the true vine – where God is in charge
◦ this is one way of reading John 15

In John 15-16 we have Jesus’ last teaching while on earth

This passage contains some of Jesus’ most memorable sayings
– sayings we will be meditate on for the rest of our lives
• Jesus and his disciples are somewhere between the upper room and the Mount of Olives
◦ perhaps when passing the temple he pauses and says,
I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser
• this was a familiar image in the Hebrew Scriptures
◦ Isaiah painted a picture of Israel as God’s vineyard, whose fruit was disappointing
◦ God wanted justice and righteousness; got bloodshed and cry of oppression (Isa. 5:1-7)
– in Jesus’ story, the branches are not Israel, but the disciples
• and the fruit God looks for is love (the ultimate source of justice & righteousness)
• but something Isaiah doesn’t even hint at and we do not find stated clearly in the Synoptic gospels:
◦ the success of vineyard depends on an organic and vital relationship with Jesus
◦ not a mechanical duty or legal agreement
▫ but life flowing into life
Abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me (Jn. 15:4)

The key word in this analogy is “abide” – remain, stay, dwell
– Jesus uses it repeatedly–for example:
abide in me and my words abide in you (v. 7)
abide in my love (v. 9)
• in the letters of Paul, one of his favorite expressions: in Christ
• in some way, Christians are wrapped in the Person of Jesus
◦ sheltered, nurtured, sustained – both intimate and constant
◦ the air they breathe, the space they inhabit
– I tried to think of way of defining this or explaining “abide”
• but I couldn’t reduce it to a simple formula or its ingredients
• I’m pretty sure you have to experience it to know what it is
◦ if you can say, “Abiding feels like …” or “Abiding like …”
◦ and finish sentence, then that is where you want to be; always

There was a moment in the evening that seems like a graduation of sorts
No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you (v. 15)
– this is a promotion, from servants to friends
• this moment is enveloped by a commandment
This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you (v. 12)
These things I command you, so that you will love one another (v. 17)
• if we had to identify a specific way to keep ourselves in Christ,
◦ it would be love – the greatest commandment (cf. Jude 20-21)
◦ it boggles the mind how many Christians fail to see or to live this

This chapter pivots on verse 17 and then tips over

Jesus tells his disciples, “Love is the key, the command, the way to be in me”
– then he makes this sharp turn and says,
If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you (v. 18)
• he jumps from the love that holds them to himself,
◦ to the hate that separates them from the world
• these two forces will be shaping their progress — love and hate
– the world will persecute them, but won’t stop God’s work
• that’s because the Spirit of truth will be working alongside them
◦ a few specific details of his work appear in the next chapter (vv. 7-11)
• he is ultimately responsible for the success of God’s mission
◦ the Spirit seems like a silent partner (the only person of the Triune God unnamed)
◦ so much so, that we seldom rely on him as much as we could

Chapter 16 is Jesus’ explanation for the purpose of this conversation

Several times Jesus begins with the statement
I have said these things to you
– this provides an outline for this part of the conversation
First: (v. 1) I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away
• they would suffer for their devotion to Jesus
• so he is preparing them to accept and endure suffering
Second: (v. 4) I have said these things to you that when the hour comes you may remember that I told them to you
• so they wouldn’t be taken by surprise
• or assume that they had failed their mission
Third: (v. 4) I did not say these things to your from the beginning, because I was with you
• they didn’t need to be scared off before starting out
• but the time had come for them to hear it – and prepare themselves
◦ he had told them only what they needed at the time
Fourth: (v. 12) I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now
• this is one of the central ideas behind John’s Gospel
• when Jesus was crucified, the disciples’ education was still unfinished
◦ think of the two disciples Jesus met on road to Emmaus (Lk. 24:13-35)
• the Spirit would take over their education (Jn. 16:13-15)
◦ in this way, John’s gospel is more complete than Synoptic
Fifth: (v. 25) I have said these things to you in figures of speech
• this also is like a graduation or promotion
◦ and relates to their progress from servants to friends
◦ they have advanced from “figures…” to “plain” speech
• Jesus had asked Nicodemus,
If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things (Jn. 3:12)
• Jesus had been gradually preparing the disciples to receive more
◦ Paul and the letter to the Hebrews refer to our ongoing education
◦ it includes a maturation – from drinking milk to digesting meat
Sixth: (v. 33) I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace
I can imagine the disciples exclaiming, “Peace! You’ve told us you’re going away, that we’ll lose sight of you, that the world will hate us and we’ll be scattered. How do you think these things are going to bring us peace?”
• they would not find peace in their circumstances or the world
◦ rather, In the world you will have tribulation
• the source of their peace would be Jesus himself
◦ they would have to keep returning to his abiding presence

Conclusion: There is one more instance of Jesus saying
I have said these things . . .

It is back in chapter 15: These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full
– we do not know what Jesus means by his joy
• I am tempted to think it is something divine and transcendent
• a powerful energy, like an ocean wave
◦ but that is merely me letting my imagination go where it will
– I have not fully grown into this yet – others have
• I have tasted it, but I do not live there

By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples (Jn. 15:8)
For the past couple of months, off and on, my son Michael has helped me do some demolition, clean up, and repair of a slump stone wall and road in our small neighborhood. I found that I really enjoyed having him work with me. Not only because he is a hard worker with remarkable artistic skill, but sharing his company made the tedious tasks lighter and easier.
– I thought of that when meditating on God and his vineyard
• it occurred to me what a joy it is to work with my heavenly Father
• and to work with Jesus and the Spirit, knowing that our work is good

We can expect hardships
but we can also expect compensation
and the compensation is infinitely greater than the hardship
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time
are not worth comparing with the glory
that is to be revealed to us (Ro. 8:18)
For this light momentary affliction
is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory
beyond all comparison (2 Cor. 4:17)

If the hardships begin to feel overwhelming
remember Jesus with his disciples
and how he closed his last teaching to them:
But take heart; for I have overcome the world

Podcast

Matthew 9:35-36; Luke 15:3-7 and John 10:1-4, 11-15

Intro: Perhaps you’ve heard of the catacombs in Rome

I have taken tours through one or two of them
– they are underground burial sites
• a labyrinth of tunnels in and around ancient Rome
◦ hallways with rooms off to the sides and some open spaces
◦ niches dug in the walls where bodies or bones were placed
• paintings and engravings decorate some of the walls
– some of the earliest Christian symbols appear near where believers were laid to rest
• the fish, an anchor, the dove
• also, the good shepherd, with a sheep slung over his shoulders

The shepherd image had been branded into Israel’s imagination
– most famously, Psalm 23, which begins:

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want

• the image appears several more times in the Psalms

Know that the LORD, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people and the sheep of his pasture (Ps. 100:3)

• also, in the prophet Isaiah

He will tend his flock like a shepherd;
he will gather the lambs in his arms;
he will carry them in his bosom,
and gently lead those that are with young (Isa. 40:11)

– the image is also passed from God to Israel’s leaders

He chose David his servant
and took him from the sheepfolds;
from following the nursing ewes he brought him
to shepherd Jacob his people,
Israel his inheritance
With upright heart he shepherded them
and guided them with his skillful hand (Ps. 78:70-72)

• in the prophets the image also depicts the failure of Israel’s leaders

Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! (Jer. 23:1ff)
. . . prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them, even to the shepherds, Thus says the Lord GOD: Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? (Eze. 34:2ff)

We miss a lot in John chapter 10

That’s because we don’t know much about shepherding in Israel at the time of Jesus
– it was not the industry that it is in our country today
• here, sheep are mostly bred for food – back then, it was for wool
• there’s a story in 2 Samuel where a sheep is like was a household pet
– for example we don’t understand what Jesus meant by,

I am the door of the sheep

• in the open countryside, shepherds would build a makeshift pen
◦ not having a gate, the shepherd would place his rod over the opening
◦ the sheep would enter one or two at a time
◦ that allowed the shepherd to count and inspect them

I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will enter into judgment with you face to face. . . . I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant (Eze. 20:35-37)

• at night, the shepherd would lie down in the opening
◦ so the sheep would have to step over shepherd to get out
◦ also, any predator would have to go through him to get to the sheep

Years ago, Philip Keller published A Shepherd Looks At Psalm 23
– it’s schmaltzy (for my taste), but lots of Christians found it helpful
– the point is, there’s a more to the shepherd image than what we see on the surface

It is no surprise to find the shepherd image in the Synoptic gospels

When the crowds seemed to Jesus to be like sheep with out shepherd,
– he was looking at them through eyes of a shepherd
• again in Matthew (where Jesus lumped several animal metaphors together):

Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves (Mt. 10:16)

– in Luke 15 we find three parables of something lost and then found
• the lost coin is the most impersonal item that was lost
◦ what touches us personally is the widow’s desperation
◦ but one coin could replace another
• it’s different in the parable of shepherd when he hoists his sheep on his shoulders
◦ the personal dynamic is most intense with son who was lost
◦ but that was exactly what Jesus wanted to emphasize

John remembered Jesus saying more about shepherds than Matthew, Mark or Luke
– whereas the Synoptic gospels see the first disciples as fishers of men and women
◦ for John, it was shepherding that defined the disciples’ calling
◦ as he told Peter in chapter 21:

Feed my lambs . . . Tend my sheep . . . Feed my sheep (Jn. 21:15-17)

– Matthew and Luke both tell of a shepherd carrying a sheep on shoulders
• but in John 10, the shepherd image is much more intimate

There is an important verse here we don’t want to miss

This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying (Jn. 10:6)

Initially, no one understood what Jesus was communicating
– his statements were common knowledge
• their first thought would be, “Everyone knows that. So what?”
• it would be like me saying, “Some people ride bus to work”
– the reason this is important is because John illustrates what he is doing
• he presents a statement, much like the Synoptic gospels would
◦ only they do not always provide an explanation
• John indicates the depth of meaning that was missing prior to Jesus’ resurrection
– so by pointing out that the people did not understand him at first,
• draws attention to the next stage of Jesus’ teaching
◦ the stage when he takes them below the surface

We only have enough time to explore two statements

The first is in verse 8

All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them

– in the Synoptics, Jesus clears out temple near end of his ministry
• later, the priests and elders challenged his actions

By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them? (Mk. 11:28)

• he saw the trap the set for him and dodged the question
◦ but immediately afterward he told a parable
◦ and in the parable was the answer to their question
– a man planted a vineyard, put some people in charge of it, and went to another country
• from there, he sent messenger to collect the proceeds from the crop
◦ the renters refused to pay, abused his messengers, and sent them back empty-handed
• finally the owner sent his son, whom the renters killed
◦ this answered the question of Jesus’ authority
◦ vineyard was God’s temple and Jesus was God’s Son
• after hearing the parable, the priests and elders

were seeking to arrest him but feared the people, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them (Mk. 12:12)

Thieves and robbers is not a reference to the Old Testament’s law-giver
– nor to the psalmists, prophets, or sages who wrote The Proverbs
• they were the recognized authorities who managed the temple
◦ they had taken it over and treated it as if it belonged to them
◦ remember what Jesus said when he cleared it out?

Is it not written, “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations”? But you have made it a den of robbers (Mk. 11:17)

• it was the priests and elders who usurped authority over the temple
– many religious institutions today are run by thieves and robbers
• there are more than a few pastors who treat church finances as their personal bank account
• or board members who are given contracts without taking outside bids (not just unethical, but illegal according to IRS law)
◦ in other words, people in leadership for themselves, not others
◦ manipulating, exploiting, spiritually and psychologically abusing people
◦ using their position to enrich themselves, meet their ego needs,
◦ or have victims on whom they can vent their anger each Sunday
• Paul made it clear that he was nothing like this type of preacher

For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ (2 Cor. 2:17)

our authority, which the Lord gave [is] for building you up and not for destroying you (2 Cor. 10:8; 13:10)

The second statement we’ll explore is in verses 11-13

The hired hand is in a category similar to that of the thieves and robbers
– in fact, the hired hand is an accomplice – he abandons sheep to them
• he cares nothing for the sheep
• we’ve seen this as we’ve followed Jesus around Jerusalem
◦ the crippled man that the religious leaders cared nothing for
◦ and with the blind man, they couldn’t care less that he was healed
– Jesus defined the good shepherd as one who lays down his life
• I’ve always assumed this was specifically a reference to his death
◦ that, of course, is included,
◦ but laying down one’s life is not a one-time event
◦ it is a lifestyle of taking care of others
◦ it is an ongoing commitment to others

The hired hand performs his service for money
– the good shepherd performs his service for love

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you (Jn. 15:13-14)

– we lay down our lives every time
◦ we leave what we want to be doing to meet another person’s need

Conclusion: I know that Jesus is still laying down his life for me

There is no other way to explain why he puts up with me

If this story is meant to wake us up to anything
it is to awaken us to how near Jesus is
and how much he cares
and to the fact that it is possible to know his voice,
to know him and to follow him—
today, and always