Learning to Follow: Who Will You Be?

Then the Spirit led Jesus up into the wilderness so that the devil might tempt him. After Jesus had fasted for forty days and forty nights, he was starving. The tempter came to him and said, “Since you are God’s Son, command these stones to become bread.”

Jesus replied, “It’s written, People won’t live only by bread, but by every word spoken by God.”

After that the devil brought him into the holy city and stood him at the highest point of the temple. He said to him, “Since you are God’s Son, throw yourself down; for it is written, I will command my angels concerning you, and they will take you up in their hands so that you won’t hit your foot on a stone.”

Jesus replied, “Again it’s written, Don’t test the Lord your God.”

Then the devil brought him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. He said, “I’ll give you all these if you bow down and worship me.”

Jesus responded, “Go away, Satan, because it’s written,You will worship the Lord your God and serve only him.” The devil left him, and angels came and took care of him.

Now when Jesus heard that John was arrested, he went to Galilee. He left Nazareth and settled in Capernaum, which lies alongside the sea in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali. This fulfilled what Isaiah the prophet said:

Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,

        alongside the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles,

    the people who lived in the dark have seen a great light,

        and a light has come upon those who lived in the region and in shadow of death.

From that time Jesus began to announce, “Change your hearts and lives! Here comes the kingdom of heaven!” --Matthew 3:1-17, 4:1-17 (CEB)

Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Creator and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Have you ever heard of the Dead Sea Scrolls? If so, what do you know about them? (Sidenote: Did you know that one of the fragments left behind includes language that suggests that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married?) 

It is believed that these scrolls belonged to the Essenes. The Essenes were a Jewish sect that arose around during the time we call the Second Temple period in Judaism - that time between the Hebrew scriptures and the New Testament. During this time, there was a growing belief that a Messiah would come to overthrow Israel’s foreign occupation and install a period of peace. The Essenes held this belief. They lived an ascetic lifestyle in a remote wilderness area. They believed the apocalypse was imminent and that, when it came, it would begin a new time. A new Messianic age. This age was to be characterized by repentance for Israel. A call to turn back. To turn back to God so that this new time might be ushered in. 

John the Baptizer, it is believed, was an Essene. As he preached this repentance - this call for Israel to turn back to God - as he preached this on the margins of the centers of power - on the outskirts of Jerusalem, he picked up a large following, many of them coming from Jerusalem and surrounding regions. That the Pharisees and Sadducees show up in the story, in this liminal space near the Jordan where John is preaching, says something. And, from their perspective, it is not something good. But from the perspective of John the Baptizer - his place at the margins sets the stage for Jesus to enter into this same liminal space. 

You may wonder why we today have juxtaposed this story of Jesus’ baptism with that of his wilderness temptation. Too often in our reading of scripture and, especially in our lectionary texts, we treat each story as unique and set apart. But, the truth is that they are all connected. As John is baptizing Jesus the heavens open. This same word is used in Isaiah and Ezekiel to suggest that the heavens open to reveal God’s purpose. That purpose is to be found in Jesus. God’s Son. The Beloved One. The visible manifestation of God in the world. In human flesh and blood. 

But, then. And “then” is exactly the word that is used to begin our second story from Matthew. But, then, that same Spirit that descended and gently rested on Jesus - that same Spirit drives Jesus into the wilderness. Jesus, like John, moves into that liminal space. For 40 days. Like Israel wandering for 40 years. For a purpose. To inaugurate - or birth - a new age of God. 

It is there, in the wilderness, where Jesus meets Satan. 

In the Hebrew Bible, Satan is not really an evil figure, more like a prosecutor on the heavenly council. But, once again in the Second Temple period, the concept of Satan - like that of Messiah - develops further. Satan became a more powerful figure. An adversarial one. The personification of evil. The leader of demons acting in direct opposition to the kingdom of God. Yet, even in this dichotomy of good and evil, God was still seen as being fully in charge of history. 

We see this in the story of Jesus’ temptation. Satan is a wily character, using scripture in a way to deceive. Offering Jesus authority over all the kingdoms of the world - as if Satan actually has ownership and control over all the kingdoms of the world. 

But, the Spirit drives Jesus into the wilderness for one reason. One primary reason. It is to show that One and One only has dominion over all the kingdoms of the world. That One is God, visibly manifested in Jesus. This is who Jesus is - the kind of ruler Jesus is. 

 

But, Matthew also wants us to know what kind of ruler Jesus isn’t. When given the “opportunity” to prove his special status, Jesus demonstrates restraint. He doesn’t use his power to satisfy his own appetite or to prove his invincibility. Neither does he seize on the opportunity to acquire all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor by worshiping Satan. Why? Because Jesus is faithful to God. And because this ruler - this Messianic One who will fulfill Israel’s hopes, perhaps not in the way they anticipate - does not rule with unbridled appetites, arrogance, or tyranny.

You and I. We, like Jesus, are also called to be the visible manifestation of God in this place and time, called and baptized as Jesus was. God looks at us through him and says, “You. You are my beloved.” And when we turn away, when we stray, when we get lost, God calls us into repentance, that turning back to God. Where once again, we are reminded of whose we are and how we are to live.

And then. Because even as God’s called people, we are not immune from times in the wilderness. Then, when we find ourselves in the midst of the wilderness, tempted by pride. Desiring power over others. Wishing for more and more - for all the possessions of the world. It is there, in those wilderness times, that we are faced with our own questions of identity. Who are we? What does it mean to be a baptized child of God? And how will we live into this identity? When life is hard, it is when our baptismal identity is the most challenged. How will we respond when we are stressed, overtired, anxious, angry, despondent, hurt? Or when our communities face threats - whether internal, or external? Who will we be? Really?

We look to Jesus for that example of how we are to be the visible manifestations of God in the world. Jesus shows us that it is when our lives are most difficult that we choose who we will be. Like Jesus, we will be hungry. We will have times when we are tempted to doubt God’s faithfulness. We will be tempted to reach for power, rather than to live the life of a servant. It is in the wilderness where we will be tested. And transformed.

To live into our baptismal identity - to live as a child of God in the world - we must serve God, even when things are hard. This is when we choose just what it means to be a child of God.

“If you are the Son of God,” Satan challenges Jesus. And us. 

If you are a child of God, who will you be?  

Preached Sunday, January 15, 2023, at Grace & Glory Lutheran, Prospect, with Third Lutheran, Louisville.

Second Sunday after Epiphany

Readings: Matthew 3:1-17, Matthew 4:1-17

 

The Ways of the Kingdom: Trustworthiness

“For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ But his master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ Matthew 25:14-30 (NRSV)

You don’t know me. But, we have a lot in common. You are people of the Good News. So was I. You are people, this year, learning from Matthew’s gospel. When I was alive, I did, too. The difference between us was that I heard Matthew’s gospel from Matthew himself. I was a member of Matthew’s church and of the community that centered itself around Matthew’s teachings in the late first century, around year 80 of the Common Era, which we are all part of.

Ours was a time of complete chaos. In the year 70, Jerusalem was completely destroyed. And just as Jesus has predicted, the temple was also destroyed. You have to understand how hard that was on our faith and our ancestry. With the destruction of the temple, we lost the entire structure of our religion. It would almost be like if, in your country, all of your churches would be destroyed. But, that would only be part of it. Because the temple was everything to us. It was the place we went to make sacrifice. To receive forgiveness. And blessing. To hear the Torah read and interpreted. It was completely central to our faith.

By my time, many of the different sects in our faith had disappeared. The priests. The Essenes. And others. This left only two remaining groups, each one claiming to be the heir to our faith. And the ones to interpret our religious traditions. These two groups were the Pharisees and the Christians. I am a Christian. 

Without the temple, the center of our religion shifted to synagogues, which are more like your churches. They were decentralized. Based in different communities and contexts. In our synagogue, we would hear Matthew tell stories about Jesus and Jesus’ teachings. None of these were written down until our time. Mark’s community wrote theirs first. Then, our community wrote what you’ve been reading. The good news of Matthew.  As we heard these early stories about Jesus and Jesus’ teachings, Matthew would try to help us understand who we were in this battle of ideas and religious beliefs. He would emphasize that our beliefs were the ones that were consistent with what Jesus taught. Not the Pharisees’ traditions.

So, what does all of this have to do with the parable that you heard today? Well, the parable part of a teaching in chapters 24 and 25 of our gospel. Today, your scholars call this Matthew’s “Eschatological Discourse.” Eschatology is a fancy name for the study of the end times. For teachings about the parousia, which is a fancy Greek word that means Jesus’ second coming.

You see, we expected to see Jesus come again in our lifetime. Jesus’ coming to earth, as we understood it, was the beginning of God’s reign here on earth. It was the beginning. But not the end. So, the disciples wanted to know what the signs would be of his second coming. Jesus talked about the chaos that would happen, chaos that felt a lot like our own time. And that might feel like your’s, too. But, Jesus told them not to be fooled. That these things would not mark the end. 

Then, Jesus told them what would mark the end. That the sun would become dark. The moon wouldn’t give off its light. The stars would fall from the sky and the planets and other heavenly bodies would be shaken. Then, his sign - the sign of the Human One - would appear in the sky. That would mark the end. That would be the time that the Chosen Ones would be gathered from the four corners of the earth.

So, Jesus told them that they had to be prepared. They had to keep watch. Because no one, not even Jesus, would know when this would happen. Only God would.

Matthew told us the disciples had a hard time understanding this. So, Jesus told them four parables. The first two - the parable of the Faithful and the Unfaithful Servants and the parable of the Ten Young Women - we’ll save for another time. Today, I want to help you understand the Parable of the Talents.

First of all, you need to understand the meaning of the word “talent.” You use it very differently than we did. For us, a talent was money. It was a coin that was equal to fifteen years’ wages. It was the largest sum of money in our world. You might compare it to a million dollars in your world. 

So, in the parable, there is a wealthy landowner who goes on a long trip. This wasn’t unusual in our world. Many wealthy people traveled to distant places for long periods of time. So, while they were gone, they would entrust us to manage their affairs.

What is unusual with this story is how much the servants were entrusted with. The wealthy landowner took a big risk in giving out these large sums of money. Each of the servants was given an amount that was consistent with their abilities. 

So, the first one was given 5 talents. Think 5 million dollars. He worked quickly and efficiently. Starting a business. You would say that he was an entrepreneur with a start up. He invested all 5 million dollars into it. It was huge risk. 

The second one was given 2 talents. Like the first, he, too, created a start up. Investing his entire 2 million dollars into it. Another big risk-taker.

The third one was given 1 talent. In your terms, 1 million dollars. But, he was different that the first two. He acted in a way that was typical in our time. Because burying money was the safest way to protect it in our day. Plus, whoever buried the money was not considered liable for it. So, he acted properly. According the standards of our day. 

Then, after a long time away, the wealthy owner returned to settle his accounts with his three servants. When he heard of the success of the first two, he called them “good” and “faithful.” The owner had taken a huge risk in trusting them with so much of his money. The two servants had taken huge risks. But the risks paid off for everyone. Because of this, the owner gave them more responsibility. He asked them to risk more.

Then, there is the third servant. Probably not very different from you and I. Following the accepted practices of his time. But, there is a problem. This servant has not taken any risks. He has played it safe. He is afraid of the owner. And, because of this, he has hidden the money. Buried it. When he returns the same amount of money to the owner, the owner is furious. He calls him “lazy,” which is a word that would be used for someone who lacks the desire to do any work. Someone who allows safety and convenience to keep them from moving from thought to action. So, the money given to this servant is taken away. It is given to the first servant, who now has $11 million. The owner sends the third servant away. To the same place as the evildoers, the improperly clothed guest from the parable you heard last week. Away from the owner’s presence.

Sisters and brothers, this story is about you and I. We are all waiting for Jesus’ second coming. But this story is not about the parousia. It’s not about Jesus’ second coming. It’s about how we are to live as we wait. We are all people of the “already” and the “not yet.” We all live in the tension of the time between Jesus’ first coming and his second. Between the in-breaking of God’s reign into our world and the fullness of time, when God alone will rule over this earth. When all evil will be destroyed. 

This story is about how you and I are to live in this in-between time. As Jesus people. A Jesus who was rejected and crucified for us. Who was resurrected for us. Unlike the owner in the parable, Jesus promises to be with us. To walk beside us. Because, you see, God has taken a huge risk with us. God has poured out God’s grace on us in abundance. So, while we are waiting. While we are living in the tension of the already/not, we are to be trustworthy with that grace. Not to be people of comfort and complacency. But to be risk-takers like the first two servants. Risk-takers with God’s abundant grace. 

“For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.”

Are you ready to risk?

Preached March 31, 2019, at Grace & Glory Lutheran Church, Goshen, KY.
Fourth Sunday in Lent
Readings: Matthew 25:14-30, Psalm 43:3-4

Living Faithfully in the Promise: Choosing Faithfulness

Grace and peace to you from God, our Liberator, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Before we hear our lesson today, I’d like to catch you up to everything that has happened between last week’s story and today’s from Joshua. We ended last week with Israel at Mt. Sinai. It was here that they received God’s ten commandments. The Ten Words of hope - the hope of what a realized kingdom of God was to look like. It was at the mountain where they entered into a covenant with God - that if they would remain faithful to God, God would give them a land and make them into a chosen people.

That hope Israel had coming off the mountain quickly turned to despair. They began to lose faith. To doubt. To complain. And to break the covenant. The result, if you remember the history of Israel, was that they were punished by God. Made to wander for 40 years in the wilderness until their generation had passed away, never getting to enter the Promised Land. Even Moses was unable to enter before he died.

And so, our story today is from Joshua. Joshua was Moses’ successor. A new spiritual and military leader for Israel. The one who would bring them, with God’s help and guidance, into the Promised Land. In the chapters before today’s reading, Joshua has led Israel across the Jordan River into Canaan - that Promised Land. There have been a series of military conquests, including the famous Battle of Jericho. The land has been divided among the twelve tribes of Israel. It is at this point, before the people depart to their inherited lands - to their legacy - that Joshua calls them together at Shechem. It is at this point, where our story opens.

I read today from Joshua, chapter 24.

Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel at Shechem. He summoned the elders of Israel, its leaders, judges, and officers. They presented themselves before God. Then Joshua said to the entire people, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Long ago your ancestors lived on the other side of the Euphrates. They served other gods. Among them was Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor. I took Abraham your ancestor from the other side of the Euphrates. I led him around through the whole land of Canaan. I added to his descendants and gave him Isaac. To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I gave Mount Seir to Esau to take over. But Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt. Then I sent Moses and Aaron. I plagued Egypt with what I did to them. After that I brought you out. I brought your ancestors out of Egypt, and you came to the sea. The Egyptians chased your ancestors with chariots and horses to the Reed Sea. Then they cried for help to the Lord. So he set darkness between you and the Egyptians. He brought the sea down on them, and it covered them. With your own eyes you saw what I did to the Egyptians. You lived in the desert for a long time.

“Then I brought you into the land of the Amorites who lived on the other side of the Jordan. They attacked you, but I gave them into your power, and you took over their land. I wiped them out before you. Then Moab’s King Balak, Zippor’s son, set out to attack Israel. He summoned Balaam, Beor’s son, to curse you. But I wasn’t willing to listen to Balaam, so he actually blessed you. I rescued you from his power. Then you crossed over the Jordan. You came to Jericho, and the citizens of Jericho attacked you. They were Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites, and Jebusites. But I gave them into your power. I sent the hornet before you. It drove them out before you and did the same to the two kings of the Amorites. It wasn’t your sword or bow that did this. I gave you land on which you hadn’t toiled and cities that you hadn’t built. You settled in them and are enjoying produce from vineyards and olive groves that you didn’t plant.


“So now, revere the Lord. Serve him honestly and faithfully. Put aside the gods that your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates and in Egypt and serve the Lord. But if it seems wrong in your opinion to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Choose the gods whom your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you live. But my family and I will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:1-15 (CEB)

"What has God done for you lately?" This is really the question that Joshua is asking. Speaking in the first person as God, Joshua recounts what God has done. Every statement begins with “I” and is followed by a verb. “I took. I led. I added. I gave. I sent. I plagued. I brought. I did.”

In his recounting, Joshua is helping this new generation of Israelites remember what God has done. How God has acted to save them. How God has fulfilled God’s promises to them. How God has remained faithful to them.

And so, with Israel knowing this history, Joshua asks them this question,"Whom will you serve? Will you serve the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Will you serve the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you now live?" God has freed Israel from captivity. God has safely brought them through the wilderness to the Promised Land. "Choose," Joshua tells them. "Choose today whom you will serve." 

And, then, Joshua speaks those famous words that we see embroidered on pillows or hanging on our walls. “As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”

You see Joshua knows. He knows that Israel will quickly adjust from the nomadic life they have been living these past 40 years. He knows they will quickly adjust to a life settled in this new land. He knows that Israel will quickly become distracted. By day-to-day life. By the gods of the people into whose land they are settling. Joshua knows that it will be a challenge for them to remain faithful. And so, he tells them to commit. To choose. "Choose today whom you will serve."

Whom (or what)  do you choose? As people who have been given a gift of complete freedom by God in Christ, whom do you choose to serve? Living as God’s faithful people involves choosing to turn away from the distractions in our world. And not simply to turn away, but then to live according to how God desires. 

You see, just like the Israelites, we are often surrounded by people and a culture that does not share the same values and view of the world as God. What are the things that compete in our lives for our attention? For our love? For our adoration? What does our society worship through its time and energy that compete for our attention? Maybe it’s money? Or our family? Or maybe it’s status? Or maybe its things that entertain us? Or our work or school? 

Do these things help us live life like God wants us to? With our focus on God? Or are they distractions for us? 

Our reading continues.

Then the people answered, “God forbid that we ever leave the Lord to serve other gods! The Lord is our God. He is the one who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. He has done these mighty signs in our sight. He has protected us the whole way we’ve gone and in all the nations through which we’ve passed. The Lord has driven out all the nations before us, including the Amorites who lived in the land. We too will serve the Lord, because he is our God.”

Then Joshua said to the people, “You can’t serve the Lord, because he is a holy God. He is a jealous God. He won’t forgive your rebellion and your sins. If you leave the Lord and serve foreign gods, then he will turn around and do you harm and finish you off, in spite of having done you good in the past.”

Then the people said to Joshua, “No! The Lord is the one we will serve.”

So Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to serve the Lord.”

They said, “We are witnesses!”

“So now put aside the foreign gods that are among you. Focus your hearts on the Lord, the God of Israel.”

The people said to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord our God and will obey him.”


On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people and established just rule for them at Shechem. Joshua wrote these words in God’s Instruction scroll. Then he took a large stone and put it up there under the oak in the sanctuary of the Lord. Joshua said to all the people, “This stone will serve here as a witness against us, because it has heard all the Lord’s words that he spoke to us. It will serve as a witness against you in case you aren’t true to your God.” Then Joshua sent the people away to each one’s legacy. Joshua 24:16-28 (CEB)

Israel chose God. Recognizing how faithful God had been to them, Israel chose God.

And Joshua’s response? He didn’t believe them. He’d seen too much with his own eyes. How Israel constantly rebelled against God. How Israel had worshipped other gods. How Israel had sinned against God. Joshua told them that God would not forgive them. That God would punish them and finish them off.

This is where Joshua was wrong. Because over and over as Israel had sinned in the wilderness, God had forgiven them. When they had turned back to God in repentance, God had always forgiven them.

Our story today includes an invitation for us to recommit ourselves to serving God. Because, just like Israel, we wander. Just like Israel, we rebel against God. We worship other gods. Just. Like. Israel. And over and over and over again, when we turn to God in repentance, God forgives us. This promise to forgive is embodied for us on the cross. In Jesus. A promise of God’s faithfulness to never turn away from us. Ever. And to always forgive.

Then, forgiven, we try one more time. To be more diligent in our study of scripture. To pray more. To be more committed to doing the work of God’s kingdom. And to be more regular in our worship attendance where we hear and remember God’s covenant with us in our baptisms. Where we hear and remember Jesus’ death and resurrection at the communion table. Where we hear and remember all of God’s previous acts. And then, we re-commit to serving God. Because the grace and the forgiveness we have received from God should not be cheapened by our unwillingness to even attempt to be God’s people. To be more focused. To focus our hearts on the LORD. Israel’s God. Our God. A God who deserves our faithfulness.

And so, my friends, I hope you choose God. I hope you choose faithfulness. That you choose to be faithful to God and to grow in your faith. To engage in practices that bring you closer to God. That deepen your relationship with God. And that help you turn away from the things of this world that distract you from God. 

But, know, that even when you fail - know that God will be there. When you turn back from the distractions of life to God, God will be there to forgive you. Once again. To forgive and to lift you up. And to set you back on the path of discipleship one more time. 

This is what it is to live as God’s faithful people. This is what it is to live faithfully in God’s promise. May God help us to do so. Amen.

Preached Saturday, October 13, 2018, at Grace & Glory Lutheran Church, Goshen, KY.
Pentecost 21
Readings: Matt. 4:8-10, Joshua 24:1-28.