Strength to Endure

“See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.  Beware of them, for they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues; and you will be dragged before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them and the Gentiles.  When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you at that time; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.  Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death; and you will be hated by all because of my name.  But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” (Matthew 10:16-22).

This week at the Lord’s Table, our Gospel reading comes from Matthew chapter 10, verses 16 through 22 where Jesus has just granted the Twelve apostles their initial commission to the Jews.  The Twelve were to go out and preach the good news of Jesus Christ the Anointed One and how he came to save us all, first the Jewish people and then the world.  By now, the apostles have not only been commissioned to preach by Jesus but the Twelve have spent countless evenings in table fellowship with Jesus.  1 Corinthians 10:16 speaks of this when the apostle Paul writes “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ?”  For those of us who partake of the Eucharist or Holy Communion every week, we know the joy of drinking regularly from the cup of blessing.  We know the strength that is drawn from this cup of blessing, week by week.  But there the cup is not only a cup of blessing as we so often wish it was, no the cup from which Christ expects all baptized believers to drink from is not only a cup of blessing but it also a cup of suffering.

Now, suffering is not something we like to talk about but keeping quiet about something has never made it any less real.  Not talking about suffering cannot make it just go away.  No, for the Christian who is committed to truly be a Christian, Jesus informs us from the start that salvation, suffering, and persecution are a package deal.  The cup of blessing is also the cup of suffering.  And just like any other cup filled with something bitter, the cup of suffering is hard to shallow.  It takes endurance to drink from a bitter cup.  When the doctor hands us a prescription and says take two of these pills or dissolve this medicine in hot water, we may think to ourselves, God I don’t want to drink from this bitter cup.  But we know that we are sick, we are ill, and we must drink from this cup or not only will we remain sick but we might infect everyone around us.  So although it doesn’t taste good, we drink from the cup.  Although it doesn’t smell good, we drink from the cup.  Although, the side effects don’t feel good, we drink from the cup.  We endure the bad taste, we endure the bad smell, we endure the side effects and the bad feelings because we don’t want to be sick and we don’t want to infect others.

Now, I get it.  As reasonable and responsible adults, we understand the need to take our medicine, no that’s not the problem.  No, the real problem is not when we have to suffer and endure persecution.  It’s when that suffering and persecution come from those whom we love the most.  The family and friends who betray us are the ones who hurt us the most.  If you don’t believe me, just ask Jesus.  Before Jesus was betrayed by his own disciple Judas Iscariot, Christ prophesied in Matthew 10 beginning at the 21^st verse, “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child, and children will rise against [their] parents and have them put to death; and you will be hated by all because of my name.”  See if you are satisfied just being a closet Christian, you don’t have to worry about much.  But the Bible says, only if you suffer with Christ then you get to reign with Christ.  Being a true Christian takes great strength, the kind we can only possess through Christ himself.  It takes strength to stand against heresy, to stand against idolatry, to stand against the lusts of our own flesh.  2 Timothy 3:12 says, “Indeed, all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”  And here in Matthew chapter 10, Jesus is warning us that persecution will often come from our brothers, our sisters, our parents, and our children.  But in classic Jesus fashion, Christ does not leave us on a note of doom and gloom, without hope of redemption.  Jesus says at the conclusion of Matthew 10, verse 22, “the one who endures to the end will be saved.”  In the original Greek language of the New Testament, that word “saved” is loaded with far more meaning than just making it to heaven.  The fullness of what Jesus is saying here is that for those who endure the suffering and persecution that comes with being a genuine disciple of Christ is that despite the suffering, you will be preserved, you will do well, and you will be made whole.

Salvation is the free gift of God but discipleship will cost you everything.  Conflict is the cost of discipleship.  As Jesus followed the mandates of his Father and taught others to do the same, Jesus’ own discipleship and that of his earliest followers put them in all in conflict that ultimately cost them their lives.  As you begin your small group discussion today, know that Christ calls us to drink the cup of suffering with him in opposition to the evils of Satan, sin, and the world, but as Christ has called us to stand, by his Spirit so Christ has given us strength to endure.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever.

Be Healed

“Now during those days he went out to the mountain to pray; and he spent the night in prayer to God.  And when day came, he called his disciples and chose twelve of them, whom he also named apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, and James, and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James son of Alphaeus, and Simon, who was called the Zealot, and Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

 He came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them.” (Luke 6:12-19).

This week at the Lord’s Table, our Gospel reading comes from Luke chapter 6, verses 12-19 where Jesus has just chosen 12 of his followers to become the first apostles, the human founders of the divine church.  At first glance, this passage begins with nothing more than a list of names.  But upon a closer examination, there are two seemingly unrelated concepts here that beg for our earnest attention.  Being chosen and being healed.  The passage begins with Jesus prayerfully choosing the apostles in verse 13, and it ends with the healing of all in verse 19.  What’s the relationship with being chosen and being healed?

Well first, we must ponder what it means to not be chosen.  To not be chosen, is to be rejected, to be abandoned, to be forgotten.  Jesus understood rejection all too well.  Not only was he rejected but in a sick twist when he was finally chosen it was not as Lord and King, no, Jesus was chosen for execution for crimes he had not committed.  The people Jesus came to save were the same people who crucified him.  And those people he came to save, well they understood rejection too.  The history of the Jews was filled with stories of rejection, exploitation, and slavery.  The God of Scripture declared that they were his people, but the Jews felt anything except chosen.  What about you?  Do you feel chosen or do you feel rejected?  If you answered no, you are not alone.  Many of us often feel rejected, at the cross, Jesus Christ himself cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Now you may have been great at sports growing up as a kid, but that’s not my testimony.  I was never very good at sports.  And I was always reminded about my lack of ability by the fact that when the team captains were making their picks for who they wanted on their team, I was never chosen.  No matter how great at sports you might be good at today, the truth is far too often we are not chosen.  We are not chosen for that job.  We are not chosen by that woman or man of our dreams.  We are not chosen as the prize winner, not chosen as the number one this or that, not chosen but rejected.  And the truth is no matter how tough you might be, not being chosen hurts.  Not being chosen leaves us in need of healing.  But there is One who has chosen us.  Regardless of our ability or lack thereof, regardless of our net worth, our looks, or even the horrible things we have done, God has chosen us.  As you begin your small group discussion today, know that God has chosen you in Christ and in Christ you can be healed.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever.

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In His Hands

“The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks about earthly things.  The one who comes from heaven is above all.  He testifies to what he has seen and heard, yet no one accepts his testimony.  Whoever has accepted his testimony has certified this, that God is true.  He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure.  The Father loves the Son and has placed all things in his hands” (John 3:31-35).

This week at the Lord’s Table, our Gospel reading comes from John 3, verses 31-35 where Jesus is teaching his disciples about the beautiful relationship between God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.  Jesus begins as if to say, make no mistake about it, I am from above and the heavenly teaching that I declare to you is not merely from me but God the Father.  He says that to accept that God is true, one must accept God’s own testimony that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior of the world.  Conversely, to accept that Jesus is the Christ is to accept that God is true.  The logic is simple yet how often do we argue with what God has decreed?

God says as the Father loves the Son so does God the Father love us and yet we are consumed with feelings of worthlessness.  God says we are more than conquerors through Christ Jesus who not only loved us but gave himself for us and yet we are constantly defeated.  God says I will never leave you nor forsake you and yet we are overwhelmed with a debilitating sense of loneliness.  We feel as if we are reaching out in desperation but there is no hand to put our hand, no hand to place our trust.

So many of the relationships we see are broken, and we are often at odds with those whom we love the most, but there is an example of love, respect, and trust from which we may learn from and strive for.  The triune bond that has existed from eternity past between God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit challenges us, inspires us, and provokes us to good works.  By the power of the Holy Spirit, we can trust God the Father because Christ the Son trusts God the Father.  With God the Father, we too can trust Christ the Son.  God the Father trusts Christ the Son so much that Jesus said this in John 3, verse 35, “The Father loves the Son and has placed all things in his hands.”  As you begin your small group discussion today, remember God the Father has placed all things in Jesus’ hands and that includes you!

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever.