John 4:46-4:54:
46Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. 47When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death.
48"Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders," Jesus told him, "you will never believe."
49The royal official said, "Sir, come down before my child dies." 50Jesus replied, "You may go. Your son will live." The man took Jesus at his word and departed. 51While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. 52When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, "The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour." 53Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, "Your son will live." So he and all his household believed.
54This was the second miraculous sign that Jesus performed, having come from Judea to Galilee.
The nobleman, who was a royal officer, met Jesus. And his life was changed. That happends when you meet Jesus!
He had heard of Jesus. After Jesus changed water into wine people began to spread the story all over the country. Jesus had power that belonged to God. Jesus had revealed his glory. The disciples had seen it. The word had gone out far and wide that Jesus could do the signs that identified him as God’s Son. The creative power of God is what changed ordinary water into good wine. To meet Jesus therefore is to meet God.
God reveals his love to us in Jesus. This nobleman saw God as far away and silent. But then he met Jesus.. He implored Jesus to come to where his son was and to heal him. Jesus responded with what appear to be surprising words – almost as if he were callused to the man’s pain. He said, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe.”
But what was Jesus actually doing here? Jesus was driving the man to trust more simply and strongly in the word that Jesus would speak. The man obviously thought he knew how Jesus would answer his prayer. He would provide some kind of dramatic display of power. He would go to the man’s home and provide the kind of sign that was expected of him. But Jesus deliberately chose not to go to the man’s home, indeed not even to approach it. Instead he spoke. “Go your way; your son lives.”
Jesus stood in the flesh face to face with the nobleman. He spoke. The words he spoke to the nobleman healed the boy who was miles away. Jesus spoke and by that speaking he brought life to a dying boy. Jesus spoke and by that speaking he brought his gracious presence to a home filled with dread. By his almighty word he brought that nobleman to faith. In fact, he brought his whole family to true faith.
Our text tells us that the nobleman believed Jesus’ word when Jesus spoke it. It also tells us that the man believed Jesus’ word when he saw that Jesus had saved his son’s life. It was the same faith. Jesus’ words bring us to faith and keep us in the faith. We have the words of Jesus right here. Believe them. Believe them!
Without his words our faith wouldn’t even exist because it would have nothing to live on. We live on the words of promise. Jesus deals with us through his word. This is why he chose to heal the man’s son as he did. He wanted to teach them and us that he chooses to be present with us through his word. In this way he teaches us not to seek him out anywhere else than in his word.
Most people are very confused about what faith is. They think that faith is a decision that we make. They think that faith is doing something. That’s not true. Faith is the very opposite of doing. Faith is believing. It is trusting. It is hearing what God says to us and relying on the truth of what he says. “Your son lives.” So says Jesus. Faith says “amen” to what Jesus says. It is very simple.
Faith trusts in the word and in this way it trusts in Jesus. You cannot trust in Jesus without trusting in his word. When you trust in his word you are trusting in him. And when you trust in him, you are trusting in God.
The only way to know the Father is through the Son. The only way to know the Son is by the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit speaks to us only and always through the word Jesus gave him to speak. This is the word written down in the New Testament, the word that amplifies and explains and fulfills the word in the Old Testament.
It is the word preached from the pulpit of this church. It is the word joined to the water in Holy Baptism. It makes baptism a washing of rebirth that creates and sustains saving faith in our hearts throughout our lives. It is the word that is joined to bread and wine in the Lord’s Supper so that ordinary food becomes the body and the blood of Jesus. It is the word that is spoken in the absolution so that Jesus Christ himself gives here and now today in this place the same forgiveness he won on the cross.
Listen to the word of God as Jesus gives it and learn to love him. You can rely on your own experiences to understand God’s love, but your experiences must align with God’s word to be truth.
Brothers and Sisters, listen to this -- the God who sent his Son into this world continues to talk to us through this same Son. It is as the Epistle to the Hebrews puts it, “God, who at various times and in different ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son.” (Hebrews 1:1-2a)
The revealed God speaks to us through Jesus.Jesus Chrsit was crucified, buried, and on the third day rise from the dead. In our baptism we are joined to that holy event. In the Supper, the same body that there bore our sins and the same blood that there was shed for us are given to us to eat and to drink and we hear Jesus’ words that this is his body and his blood given and shed for the forgiveness of sins.
Do you believe him? When he says what he says, do you think it is so? Believe His word. He says his word and when he says it that makes it so. Whether it is the little baby being baptized, the penitent being forgiven, the lost being saved, or the bread and wine being consecrated by the Words of Institution, God’s word always makes it so.
The young man’s fever left him at the very hour Jesus said, “Your son lives.” “So he and all his household believed. This was the second miraculous sign that Jesus performed, having come from Judea to Galilee” (John 4:53-54).
There is one final stage in this man’s faith. Three different times he believed in Jesus and each time his faith moved to a higher level.
*He believed once when he came to him in Cana—faith in his Miracles.
*He believed again when he left to go home to his son—faith in his Word.
*He believed ultimately when his son was healed—faith in Jesus himself.
And he believed so fully that he swept his whole family and all his servants with him into the kingdom of God. He came and they came with him! Here is an important word for fathers. Let the father believe and the mother will believe too. Let father and mother believe and the children will believe too. Let the family believe and soon the relatives will believe. Thus does God’s grace spread from one person to another.
I should add at this point that not every prayer for help is answered in the same way as this prayer. Not every child is healed in a miraculous way. Oswald Chambers speaks to this point: “Faith for my deliverance is not faith in God. Faith means, whether I am visibly delivered or not, I will stick to my belief that God is love. There are some things only learned in a fiery furnace.” This is a wonderful story with many applications. Let us learn from this that all the roads of human experience lead ultimately to Jesus Christ. When we find him, all will be well.
Behind everything else in this story is the sovereign hand of God. Though the father could not see it in advance, his son was brought to the point of death that the entire family might be brought to eternal life. Thus does God work through our adversity, our pain, our trials, and our sorrows. When we are in the midst of desperate circumstances, we see only our problems and we come as children begging for help: “Lord Jesus, come quickly. We need you. The world is falling apart and only you can help us.” And Jesus quietly says, “Go your way. Be in peace. I will take care of your problems.” Will we have faith to go in peace, trusting him? When we do, we discover that Jesus is as good as his word. And very often we look back much later and say, “I didn’t see it then. In my sorrow and sadness I thought the Lord had forgotten me. I thought my prayers had been ignored. But now I see clearly that the Lord was there all the time. He answered in ways I did not expect. And if it had not been for the Lord, I would not have made it at all.”
Many times we can see that a greater miracle has been wrought than the one we sought in the beginning. And so we learn again that his ways are not our ways. Know this – in time, in God’s perfect timing, all will be made right. He will be vindicated in all things and his Word will be proved true. Our part is to trust him and to obey the light we have. Once we bring our problems to him, we must trust him to do what he knows is best. This is true faith.
God’s word is true. Believe it! This means that here and now at this very hour your many sins are forgiven. God sees the sins you hide from others. He knows that you have lied, stolen, and lusted after what belonged to another. He knows that these sins of thought, word and deed bring you misery, death, and eternal punishment.
He placed all these sins on his dear Son who suffered in your place on the cross. There he removed those sins from you by bearing your punishment fully and finally. Right now he gives you his word that your sins are forgiven. You are free from them. God said it. Believe his word. That settles it. Believe him. He has never lied to you and he never will.
Amen. Amen!
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Reflections on the 219th General Assembly, Part Three, Section B -- Hope in God
May the PCUSA presbyteries and their members remember that some things do not need reforming -- the church does need reform, yes, but "According to the Word of God." Just as in Luther and Calvin's time, the Word continually calls us to re-form back to the basics of the faith, and away from traditions and doctrines made by humans without Biblical basis. The Word of God does not need to be, and should not be, re-formed. It is the church that needs to be always reformed, according to the Word of God, not vice versa.
The old saying of the church that so many quote is usually only half-quoted -- It is ecclesia reformata, semper reformanda secundum verbum Dei : the church reformed, always reforming, according to the Word of God. We must hold fast to that key tenet: according to the Word of God.
Sisters and brothers in Christ, we must continue to be faithful witnesses to the Gospel and to the Scripture based truths found in our confessions. We cannot be ostriches, with our heads in the ground, pretending the conflict will just take care of itself. We must fight the good fight of faith. (1 Timothy 6:12)
But we must also continue to do the important work of the church beyond these issues -- caring for the sick, helping the poor, loving our neighbors, spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ in our communities and overseas, doing acts of kindness in Jesus' Name wherever we can, whenever we can.
We must act justly and love mercy. and walk humbly with our God. We must do what we can do, whenever we can do it, in Jesus' Name, following Him in Word and deed. We must walk the walk, not just major in talk. As Christians, we have vital work to do in partnering in the mission of God in this time and in the places God has given us.
A pastor friend of mine led me to consider two great pieces of wisdom as we all continue to pray about the issues that will come before us at presbytery meetings and in session and ongregational study sessions over the next year.
he first is the great prayer by theologian Reinhold Neibuhr:
SERENITY PRAYER
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change;
the courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.
The second is the wisdom we find in Proverbs:
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths.
Proverbs 3, 5-6
Yes, O Lord, please direct our paths! Amen. Amen.
And may God bless our presbytery, our churches, the PCUSA and the church universal!
The old saying of the church that so many quote is usually only half-quoted -- It is ecclesia reformata, semper reformanda secundum verbum Dei : the church reformed, always reforming, according to the Word of God. We must hold fast to that key tenet: according to the Word of God.
Sisters and brothers in Christ, we must continue to be faithful witnesses to the Gospel and to the Scripture based truths found in our confessions. We cannot be ostriches, with our heads in the ground, pretending the conflict will just take care of itself. We must fight the good fight of faith. (1 Timothy 6:12)
But we must also continue to do the important work of the church beyond these issues -- caring for the sick, helping the poor, loving our neighbors, spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ in our communities and overseas, doing acts of kindness in Jesus' Name wherever we can, whenever we can.
We must act justly and love mercy. and walk humbly with our God. We must do what we can do, whenever we can do it, in Jesus' Name, following Him in Word and deed. We must walk the walk, not just major in talk. As Christians, we have vital work to do in partnering in the mission of God in this time and in the places God has given us.
A pastor friend of mine led me to consider two great pieces of wisdom as we all continue to pray about the issues that will come before us at presbytery meetings and in session and ongregational study sessions over the next year.
he first is the great prayer by theologian Reinhold Neibuhr:
SERENITY PRAYER
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change;
the courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.
The second is the wisdom we find in Proverbs:
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths.
Proverbs 3, 5-6
Yes, O Lord, please direct our paths! Amen. Amen.
And may God bless our presbytery, our churches, the PCUSA and the church universal!
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Reflections on the General Assembly, Part Three, Section A -- Being Faithful Witnesses to God's Unchanging Word!
These are my final meditations on the 219th General Assembly, of which I was and am a minister/commissioner representing the Presbytery of North Central Iowa. In the aftermath of the monumental meeting, I have been thinking and praying for almost two weeks now, and I wish to share just a few more thoughts for you to pray about.
While the PC(USA) is in the process of re-thinking its position on ordination standards, with the General Assembly having recently recommended deleting the current paragraph concerning fidelity in marriage and celibacy in singleness, it is interesting to note reaction from other parts of the church around the world.
Our mission partners in the global south, Africa and South America, where the universal church is growing the fastest at this moment in time, have decidedly different ideas about morality – ideas based on traditional Biblical views of morality, many taught to them by Presbyterian missionaries over the years. One young woman, an observer from Ghana, told me she was appalled at the PCUSA's seeming lack of morality. And she told me she thought she spoke for the great majority of African Christians. They, too, will be saddened by the GA's actions. So it seems to be true also of some Eastern European partners in the Orthodox church. They are standing firm on the traditional view of the Bible as seen in the historic confessions of the PCUSA.
One of the most remarkable moments in the general assembly came when the Orthodox Church’s stance on the sexual ethics controversy was made by clear by the Archpriest of Belarus, Rev. Siarhei Hardun of Belarus, who was invited to address the General Assembly.
When the Ecumenical Advisory Delegate from the Orthodox Church in Belarus, brought greetings, he also brought a tremendous moral authority that is found in the Bible, the PCUSA historic confessions, and in the heritage of the church universal.
Archpriest Siarhei Hardun of Belarus thanked the PCUSA for its mission work in his country, but also questioned some of the moral issues decided at the 219th General Assembly.
After thanking the moderator and GA participants for including him in the Assembly, Hardun shared from his heart. “I represent here the Orthodox Church of Christ – the church that has an unbroken, unchanged and unreformed tradition. And our theology has never been changed or reformed for almost 2,000 years."
“But the last century our church suffered severe persecution. Many bishops, priests and lay people were killed or imprisoned. Most of the church buildings were destroyed by the communists. Theological seminaries were closed. Any social work of the church was forbidden by law. And now our church is recovering after these long trials.
“In my country – Republic of Belarus, where I come from – 20 years ago we had 370 Orthodox congregations and now we have over 1,500 congregations. New churches are being built everywhere. We also try to organize the social work of the Church and in this we find support and assistance from the Presbyterian Church (USA). That’s why I am obliged to convey sincere gratitude on behalf of the Orthodox Church of Belarus to your church for its long standing support of our common projects in helping disabled people, lonely aged people, families with many children and other categories of those who are in need.”
The Belarusian cleric spoke words of gratitude for PCUSA mission workers in the region and then turned to his evaluation of the week in Minneapolis. “I am for the first time with Presbyterians, and now I want to say a few words about my impressions that I feel visiting this General Assembly,” he said.
Hardun’s first impression was related to the use of the 11th century version of the Nicene Creed instead of the 4th century version preferred by ecumenical councils. He then said, “And another thing. I was really struck while listening to your discussion about homosexuality, same-sex marriage, civil unions and other moral issues. Christian morality is as old as Christianity itself. It doesn’t need to be invented now. Those attempts to invent new morality look for me like attempts to invent a new religion – a sort of modern paganism.
“When people say that they are led and guided by the Holy Spirit to do it, I wonder if it is the same Spirit that inspired the Bible, if it is the same Holy Spirit that inspires the Holy Orthodox Church not to change anything doctrinal or moral standards? It is really the same Spirit or perhaps there are different spirits acting in different denominations and inspiring them to develop in different directions and create different theologies and different morals?
“My desire is that all Christians should contend earnestly for the faith, which was once for all delivered to the saints, as St. Jude calls us to do (Jude 1:3). And my advice as an Ecumenical Advisory Delegate is the following: 'Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.’” (Romans 12:2).
Hardun spoke of the very Word of God as the only advice worthy of commissioners’ attention. The subsequent actions of the Assembly indicate that the Biblical counsel fell on a huge room where the majority of folks did not heed his time-honored, tradition rich, Scripture infused advice.
However, Hardun bore faithful witness to the reality that indeed, a faithful remnant can survive persecution and the efforts of the Enemy to destroy the witness of Christ. The revival of the Orthodox Church of Belarus from the ashes of communism is a hopeful witness to American denominations in rapid decline who are beset by a cultural tsunami of situational "psuedo-therapeutic" ethics.
Here is a link to the 8 minute segment of the GA where Hardun spoke:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVOEeQYhX7k
While the PC(USA) is in the process of re-thinking its position on ordination standards, with the General Assembly having recently recommended deleting the current paragraph concerning fidelity in marriage and celibacy in singleness, it is interesting to note reaction from other parts of the church around the world.
Our mission partners in the global south, Africa and South America, where the universal church is growing the fastest at this moment in time, have decidedly different ideas about morality – ideas based on traditional Biblical views of morality, many taught to them by Presbyterian missionaries over the years. One young woman, an observer from Ghana, told me she was appalled at the PCUSA's seeming lack of morality. And she told me she thought she spoke for the great majority of African Christians. They, too, will be saddened by the GA's actions. So it seems to be true also of some Eastern European partners in the Orthodox church. They are standing firm on the traditional view of the Bible as seen in the historic confessions of the PCUSA.
One of the most remarkable moments in the general assembly came when the Orthodox Church’s stance on the sexual ethics controversy was made by clear by the Archpriest of Belarus, Rev. Siarhei Hardun of Belarus, who was invited to address the General Assembly.
When the Ecumenical Advisory Delegate from the Orthodox Church in Belarus, brought greetings, he also brought a tremendous moral authority that is found in the Bible, the PCUSA historic confessions, and in the heritage of the church universal.
Archpriest Siarhei Hardun of Belarus thanked the PCUSA for its mission work in his country, but also questioned some of the moral issues decided at the 219th General Assembly.
After thanking the moderator and GA participants for including him in the Assembly, Hardun shared from his heart. “I represent here the Orthodox Church of Christ – the church that has an unbroken, unchanged and unreformed tradition. And our theology has never been changed or reformed for almost 2,000 years."
“But the last century our church suffered severe persecution. Many bishops, priests and lay people were killed or imprisoned. Most of the church buildings were destroyed by the communists. Theological seminaries were closed. Any social work of the church was forbidden by law. And now our church is recovering after these long trials.
“In my country – Republic of Belarus, where I come from – 20 years ago we had 370 Orthodox congregations and now we have over 1,500 congregations. New churches are being built everywhere. We also try to organize the social work of the Church and in this we find support and assistance from the Presbyterian Church (USA). That’s why I am obliged to convey sincere gratitude on behalf of the Orthodox Church of Belarus to your church for its long standing support of our common projects in helping disabled people, lonely aged people, families with many children and other categories of those who are in need.”
The Belarusian cleric spoke words of gratitude for PCUSA mission workers in the region and then turned to his evaluation of the week in Minneapolis. “I am for the first time with Presbyterians, and now I want to say a few words about my impressions that I feel visiting this General Assembly,” he said.
Hardun’s first impression was related to the use of the 11th century version of the Nicene Creed instead of the 4th century version preferred by ecumenical councils. He then said, “And another thing. I was really struck while listening to your discussion about homosexuality, same-sex marriage, civil unions and other moral issues. Christian morality is as old as Christianity itself. It doesn’t need to be invented now. Those attempts to invent new morality look for me like attempts to invent a new religion – a sort of modern paganism.
“When people say that they are led and guided by the Holy Spirit to do it, I wonder if it is the same Spirit that inspired the Bible, if it is the same Holy Spirit that inspires the Holy Orthodox Church not to change anything doctrinal or moral standards? It is really the same Spirit or perhaps there are different spirits acting in different denominations and inspiring them to develop in different directions and create different theologies and different morals?
“My desire is that all Christians should contend earnestly for the faith, which was once for all delivered to the saints, as St. Jude calls us to do (Jude 1:3). And my advice as an Ecumenical Advisory Delegate is the following: 'Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.’” (Romans 12:2).
Hardun spoke of the very Word of God as the only advice worthy of commissioners’ attention. The subsequent actions of the Assembly indicate that the Biblical counsel fell on a huge room where the majority of folks did not heed his time-honored, tradition rich, Scripture infused advice.
However, Hardun bore faithful witness to the reality that indeed, a faithful remnant can survive persecution and the efforts of the Enemy to destroy the witness of Christ. The revival of the Orthodox Church of Belarus from the ashes of communism is a hopeful witness to American denominations in rapid decline who are beset by a cultural tsunami of situational "psuedo-therapeutic" ethics.
Here is a link to the 8 minute segment of the GA where Hardun spoke:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVOEeQYhX7k
General Assembly Reflections, Part Two -- Staying the Course
As I continue to reflect on the actions of the 219th General Assembly, of which I was a minister-commissioner, i am heartened by memories of all the good folks I met. I am still troubled by some of the decisions, but I am encouraged by individuals Imet from all over the country, who love the Lord and serve diligentlyin their churches. They share many of my concerns, but we alsoseek to be faithful to God's call in the midst of the turmoil and social upheavals of our times. We live in a challenging era. How will we respond? How does God want us to respond? We must prayerfully discern God's will for us.
One of my new church friends, a Hispanic pastor from New Mexico, who was also disappointed with some of the actions of the GA, sent me an email note with this encouraging Scripture from Hebrews. I pass it on to you:
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.
"Consider him who endured such hostility against himself from sinners, so that you may not grow weary or lose heart. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood….Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed. Pursue peace with everyone, and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble, and through it many become defiled."
Hebrews 12: 1-4, 12-15 (NRSV)
Another friend of mine in the Renewal network of PCUSA, a minister-commissioner from Pittsburgh, wrote to mr that several of his elders told him they did NOT WANT to leave the PCUSA, but "felt like the church was leaving them."
I surely do not want to leave the PCUSA either, but I understand where these elders are coming from. Many good people who have been nurtured by the Scripture and the traditional viewpoints of our PCUSA confessions and such foundational theologians and Calvin and Bullinger, for years and years, and then to be told that these statements of faith no longer matter "for our times", find it a hard pill to swallow. But I feel God is calling for those of us who stand for the historic traditional viewpoints of the church to continue to stand firm, in love and compassion, for the good of the church today and for the promise of the generations yet to come.
What do you think? Where will you stand? As a young man from West Virginia, who I sat with at dinner on Friday night at the GA said to me, "I want to stand on the Solid Rock, not the shifting sands of cultural accomodation, How about you?"
Another friend, a young woman from California, sent me a link to a website of Presbyterian Church in America blogger Adam Parker. The column is interesting, not because my friend is recommending a switch of individual members to PCA or EPA or anything like that, but because it shows another point of view from the Presbyterian family of Reformed churches. There is also a video featuring John Calvin scholar and author, John Piper, who I have enjoyed reading through the years, commenting on the recent trends of churches attempting to accommodate the culture (nothing new to this, just read the epistles to the Corinthians). Take a listen to his powerful comments. Here is the link --
http://www.bringthebooks.org/2010/07/pcusa-decisions-warning-for-pca.html
In conclusion, let us pray for the universal church, our denomination, our presbyteries, out particular local churches, and for each other. May God bless the Presbyterian Church, USA and the North Central Iowa Presbytery. May God guide our steps in the days and months to come.
One of my new church friends, a Hispanic pastor from New Mexico, who was also disappointed with some of the actions of the GA, sent me an email note with this encouraging Scripture from Hebrews. I pass it on to you:
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.
"Consider him who endured such hostility against himself from sinners, so that you may not grow weary or lose heart. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood….Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed. Pursue peace with everyone, and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble, and through it many become defiled."
Hebrews 12: 1-4, 12-15 (NRSV)
Another friend of mine in the Renewal network of PCUSA, a minister-commissioner from Pittsburgh, wrote to mr that several of his elders told him they did NOT WANT to leave the PCUSA, but "felt like the church was leaving them."
I surely do not want to leave the PCUSA either, but I understand where these elders are coming from. Many good people who have been nurtured by the Scripture and the traditional viewpoints of our PCUSA confessions and such foundational theologians and Calvin and Bullinger, for years and years, and then to be told that these statements of faith no longer matter "for our times", find it a hard pill to swallow. But I feel God is calling for those of us who stand for the historic traditional viewpoints of the church to continue to stand firm, in love and compassion, for the good of the church today and for the promise of the generations yet to come.
What do you think? Where will you stand? As a young man from West Virginia, who I sat with at dinner on Friday night at the GA said to me, "I want to stand on the Solid Rock, not the shifting sands of cultural accomodation, How about you?"
Another friend, a young woman from California, sent me a link to a website of Presbyterian Church in America blogger Adam Parker. The column is interesting, not because my friend is recommending a switch of individual members to PCA or EPA or anything like that, but because it shows another point of view from the Presbyterian family of Reformed churches. There is also a video featuring John Calvin scholar and author, John Piper, who I have enjoyed reading through the years, commenting on the recent trends of churches attempting to accommodate the culture (nothing new to this, just read the epistles to the Corinthians). Take a listen to his powerful comments. Here is the link --
http://www.bringthebooks.org/2010/07/pcusa-decisions-warning-for-pca.html
In conclusion, let us pray for the universal church, our denomination, our presbyteries, out particular local churches, and for each other. May God bless the Presbyterian Church, USA and the North Central Iowa Presbytery. May God guide our steps in the days and months to come.
Reflections from the General Assembly, Part One: Staying Faithful in the Midst of Strong Opposition
Thanks for your dear prayers while I was representing the Presbytery of North Central Iowa as a minister-commissioner at the 219th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, USA, in Minneapolis the last ten days. I surely needed your prayers, as it was a physically and mentally and spiritually taxing time. I found a great number of people who saw the Bible as our guide, who were committed to following God's Word as the primary way the Spirit leads us -- in accordance with God's Word.
Unfortunately, from our viewpoint, there was a larger number who saw things differently from us, and that was emotionally draining at times, as I found myself several times in a sea of rainbow scarves, deluged with posters and pamphlets calling for "justice now!"
Try as the Renewal network, which included myself, attempted to put forward the traditional view God's Word as a guide, as reflected in our Confessions, the folks on the other side seemed to turn a deaf ear to our pleas. claiming that their way of interpreting the Scripture was equally viable and had "more light" for our times. I strive to love these folks in Christ, and I tried to show them the greatest measure of respect at the assembly, but, after continued prayer and meditation. I cannot agree with that view of Scripture.
In my opinion, the best thing the Renewal network was able to do was to help keep the definition of marriage at "one man, one woman," which is the traditional view and what is now in the Book of Order of PCUSA. Sadly. the Committee on Civil Union and Marriage Issues launched toward plenary four difficult items, each propelled by the momentum of large committee affirmative votes:
A special committee report on same-sex unions and marriage that confessed an inability to agree on Biblical standards for sexual expression, but just wanted everyone to get along.
A set of amendments to the Directory for Worship that would substitute “two people” where “couple” or “a man and a woman” are now used in marriage services.
An Authoritative Interpretation that would immediately permit Christian marriage for “two people” rather than a man and a woman.
Recommendations to disapprove overtures that simply affirmed the Biblical marriage morality Presbyterians have always considered as bedrock teaching.
All was bleak for Biblical traditionalists at the weary hour when the General Assembly finally turned its attention to these matters. But a tortured 90 minutes later, things looked much brighter, thanks to a remarkable bit of parliamentary wrangling that the Renewal network fully supported:
The potentially troublesome report on same-sex unions got itself married to a rock-solid minority report that traditionalists, including myself, consider to be quite well done.. Both reports will be “commended” to the churches and sessions to read and study. Let us hope this study will be fruitful for the PCUSA.
The “two people” constitutional amendments were never even discussed, much less approved.
The “two people” Authoritative Interpretation likewise never got considered and never was approved.
While affirmations of Biblical marriage were disapproved—by a 2:1 margin, the current definition of marriage was NOT CHANGED.
The motion to let the action on the reports stand in answer to all proposed action passed by a narrow margin and then withstood a motion to reconsider the next day. Later on that day there was protest against the assembly's action on this issue, as a number of people blocked the platform and refused to leave until police arrested them and took them away from the meeting hall. The assembly sang a hymn as the moderator and stated clerk asked the protestors to leave, but the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) protestors apparently wanted to be arrested so the sight of it all could be placed on the evening news. Yes, they came into the hall with television cameras following. Such is the politics of our day.
Still, the bottom line is that the traditional view of marriage remains our standard. That radical transformation of the "two persons" language never happened. Pastors and sessions will not have to manage the crisis of explaining to their congregations the immediate introduction of same-sex marriage.
Church leaders will receive a dual set of study papers and recommendations to sort out. But half of the material will be nearly guaranteed to be to the liking of one side or another. Still, I hope all sessions will read both documents and much time in prayer. I sincerely hope that the Minority Report, a remarkable, Bible-based document, will be read by both sides,as well as the majority report. I feel that the Minority Report may put forth the Biblical point of view in a new way and vibrant way for those who may have never heard it, or meditated upon it.
There were other things that were passed that I had problems with, but we can deal with them in the presbyteries. We could not have changed the Authoritative Interpretation, so this was a great victory for the traditionalists. Still there is much to consider and much to pray about. This issue WILL return in two years, you can be certain of that.
I will write more later, when I have had time to ruminate upon all the happenings. It was not all bad news -- this is still a great church in many ways -- I was assigned to the committee on Mission Coordination and we expanded the mission outreach and budget to $82 million and much good is being done in missions. We also reinstated the Office of Collegiate Ministries, putting youth work at a high priority (this measure originated in our Presbytery). We also had some amazing worship services and great speakers like Dr. Steven Hayner, President of Columbia Seminary, amd Message author Dr. Eugene Peterson.
There was a lot of good in Minneapolis. But there were also things that will trouble many of us for some time to come.
On the joyous side, I saw Rev. Matt Glasgow, son of the Burt church and son of Dick and Nancy, who was a minister-commissioner from his presbytery. After my image was shown forty feet high on the big screens of the giant auditorium on the first night of the assembly business meetings, Matt came over and gave me a hug and introduced himself! His two little girls made the GA paper with a very cute picture of them on an escalator. I am sure grandpa and grandma will be proud!\
I also found that Chelsea Mills, a young woman of 17 from Kake, Alaska, was a Youth Advisory Delegate (YAD). Chelsea was in the Sunday School when we were in Kake. Her late father Rick and her mother Judy were outstanding elders and friends in Kake, so it was a delight to see her and to witness the wonderful young woman Chelsea has become!
Thanks again for your prayers. Keep Praying! I will write more later.
Unfortunately, from our viewpoint, there was a larger number who saw things differently from us, and that was emotionally draining at times, as I found myself several times in a sea of rainbow scarves, deluged with posters and pamphlets calling for "justice now!"
Try as the Renewal network, which included myself, attempted to put forward the traditional view God's Word as a guide, as reflected in our Confessions, the folks on the other side seemed to turn a deaf ear to our pleas. claiming that their way of interpreting the Scripture was equally viable and had "more light" for our times. I strive to love these folks in Christ, and I tried to show them the greatest measure of respect at the assembly, but, after continued prayer and meditation. I cannot agree with that view of Scripture.
In my opinion, the best thing the Renewal network was able to do was to help keep the definition of marriage at "one man, one woman," which is the traditional view and what is now in the Book of Order of PCUSA. Sadly. the Committee on Civil Union and Marriage Issues launched toward plenary four difficult items, each propelled by the momentum of large committee affirmative votes:
A special committee report on same-sex unions and marriage that confessed an inability to agree on Biblical standards for sexual expression, but just wanted everyone to get along.
A set of amendments to the Directory for Worship that would substitute “two people” where “couple” or “a man and a woman” are now used in marriage services.
An Authoritative Interpretation that would immediately permit Christian marriage for “two people” rather than a man and a woman.
Recommendations to disapprove overtures that simply affirmed the Biblical marriage morality Presbyterians have always considered as bedrock teaching.
All was bleak for Biblical traditionalists at the weary hour when the General Assembly finally turned its attention to these matters. But a tortured 90 minutes later, things looked much brighter, thanks to a remarkable bit of parliamentary wrangling that the Renewal network fully supported:
The potentially troublesome report on same-sex unions got itself married to a rock-solid minority report that traditionalists, including myself, consider to be quite well done.. Both reports will be “commended” to the churches and sessions to read and study. Let us hope this study will be fruitful for the PCUSA.
The “two people” constitutional amendments were never even discussed, much less approved.
The “two people” Authoritative Interpretation likewise never got considered and never was approved.
While affirmations of Biblical marriage were disapproved—by a 2:1 margin, the current definition of marriage was NOT CHANGED.
The motion to let the action on the reports stand in answer to all proposed action passed by a narrow margin and then withstood a motion to reconsider the next day. Later on that day there was protest against the assembly's action on this issue, as a number of people blocked the platform and refused to leave until police arrested them and took them away from the meeting hall. The assembly sang a hymn as the moderator and stated clerk asked the protestors to leave, but the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) protestors apparently wanted to be arrested so the sight of it all could be placed on the evening news. Yes, they came into the hall with television cameras following. Such is the politics of our day.
Still, the bottom line is that the traditional view of marriage remains our standard. That radical transformation of the "two persons" language never happened. Pastors and sessions will not have to manage the crisis of explaining to their congregations the immediate introduction of same-sex marriage.
Church leaders will receive a dual set of study papers and recommendations to sort out. But half of the material will be nearly guaranteed to be to the liking of one side or another. Still, I hope all sessions will read both documents and much time in prayer. I sincerely hope that the Minority Report, a remarkable, Bible-based document, will be read by both sides,as well as the majority report. I feel that the Minority Report may put forth the Biblical point of view in a new way and vibrant way for those who may have never heard it, or meditated upon it.
There were other things that were passed that I had problems with, but we can deal with them in the presbyteries. We could not have changed the Authoritative Interpretation, so this was a great victory for the traditionalists. Still there is much to consider and much to pray about. This issue WILL return in two years, you can be certain of that.
I will write more later, when I have had time to ruminate upon all the happenings. It was not all bad news -- this is still a great church in many ways -- I was assigned to the committee on Mission Coordination and we expanded the mission outreach and budget to $82 million and much good is being done in missions. We also reinstated the Office of Collegiate Ministries, putting youth work at a high priority (this measure originated in our Presbytery). We also had some amazing worship services and great speakers like Dr. Steven Hayner, President of Columbia Seminary, amd Message author Dr. Eugene Peterson.
There was a lot of good in Minneapolis. But there were also things that will trouble many of us for some time to come.
On the joyous side, I saw Rev. Matt Glasgow, son of the Burt church and son of Dick and Nancy, who was a minister-commissioner from his presbytery. After my image was shown forty feet high on the big screens of the giant auditorium on the first night of the assembly business meetings, Matt came over and gave me a hug and introduced himself! His two little girls made the GA paper with a very cute picture of them on an escalator. I am sure grandpa and grandma will be proud!\
I also found that Chelsea Mills, a young woman of 17 from Kake, Alaska, was a Youth Advisory Delegate (YAD). Chelsea was in the Sunday School when we were in Kake. Her late father Rick and her mother Judy were outstanding elders and friends in Kake, so it was a delight to see her and to witness the wonderful young woman Chelsea has become!
Thanks again for your prayers. Keep Praying! I will write more later.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Expecting Miracles -- Jesus and the Miracle at the Wedding, Part Three
Jesus brought a new way of life -- the Jesus Way. The old system of having to live up to an impossible legal code has been replaced by the wine of God’s grace which washes our sins away. We are cleansed on the inside. This is not just symbol; it is substance. Our sins are not just taken away, we have a changed heart that desires to love God and live for him. He places within us holy desire. There is no limit to his grace. What Jesus gives is never just enough, it is always more than enough, with more left over. Just take a look at a flower. Many are blooming this summer. The blossoms are so intricate and beautiful that it could take your breath away.
Think of the miracles of creation itself. You are a miracle! The human body is miraculous. What it does without your conscious thinking is totally awesome. Think of this -- In the depths of the ocean where no one has ever been, God paints his creatures with exotic color and beauty. Below the ground, where no one has yet gone, God places gold and precious stones. He is extravagant.
In very ordinary places He creates extraordinary beauty. Let Jesus touch you, and see if your life is not filled with new beauty and wonder — new flavor and fragrance. See if it is not like wine that gladdens the heart of man (Psalm 104:15). Jesus is in the business of turning water into wine, sinners into saints, fear into courage, sorrow into joy, defeat into victory, despair into hope and death into life.
The third point I would like to make concerning this story is that: Miracles happen when we understand that Jesus extravagantly provides for our everyday requests. There were six jars containing between 20 and 30 gallons apiece. So, at the very least, the jars contained 120 gallons of wine, and as much as 180 gallons. That is a lot of wine. There is no way the guests could have consumed that much wine. Why did Jesus give so much wine? Because he is an extravagant giver. He never gives just enough; he always gives superabundantly.
What the guests had tasted cautiously before, they ... now drank in abundance. This is the same thing Jesus did when he fed the multitude. He multiplied five loaves and two fish so that 5,000 men and their families were fed. And when everyone had eaten their fill, there were twelve baskets of bread and fish left over. He gave them more than they could possibly eat. But that is the way God gives.
Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it more abundantly, to the full” (John 10:10). We may be poor according to this world’s standards, but we are rich toward God. We may have nothing, but have everything. For we have an extravagant God who lavishes us with his blessings. I like the way The Message translates Psalm 145:16. It says, “Generous to us all, you lavish your favor on all creatures.”
God’s grace means that h is generous to us. The Bible says H gives “immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us” (Ephesians 3:20). He loves to bless, or as the hymn says, “He comes to make his blessings flow.” To a dying thief on a cross he gave the gift of paradise. To a woman caught in an immoral act he gave the gift of God’s amazing grace and forgiveness. To a grieving father he gave back a child from the grip of death. To the one who denied him he gave the keys of the kingdom. He is lavish with his gifts. And to you who come with your requests, he gives the promise of abundant life here and now, and beyond this world, eternal life.
You remember in the story that when they filled the jars, they filled them to the brim. And when the master of the banquet tasted the wine his eyes lit up. He could not believe what he was tasting. He said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now” (John 2:10). Jesus always saves the best till last. The world puts its best up front and things go downhill from there. But when God shows up things go from good to best. John wrote: “From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another” (John 1:16).
We have been filled to the brim with the blessings of God. One day as we enter his kingdom we will be treated to sights we never dreamed possible. Absent will be everything we have feared, and present there will be the best of everything here and much, much more. Heaven is where the deepest longings of our lives will be met. We will hear him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant. . . enter thou into the joy of thy lord” (Matthew 25:23). Rapturous joy will overtake us and we will say, “You have saved the best till now!” The Bible assures us, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9). The best that the world has to offer now is only a hint of what is yet to be. The difference will be as different as water is to wine.
One last big thought to share with you today -- It is interesting that Jesus waited until their resources had run dry before he performed the miracle. Only when the people came to the end of their supply were they ready to receive what Jesus had to give. John Piper, in an article entitled “The Present Power of a Future Possession,” said, “The cost of food in the kingdom is hunger for the bread of heaven, instead of the white bread of the world. Do you want it? Are you hungry? Or are you satisfied with yourself and your television and your computer and your job and your family?”
Likewise, the cost of the new wine that Jesus is offering is thirst. Are you thirsty? Do you want something more? If so, when you come to Jesus you have come to the right place, for he is the God of abundance and life. He gives extravagantly. To receive this wine you have to come to him with your thirst. As you stand there with your empty life, follow the instructions of Jesus’ mother when she says, “Do whatever he tells you.” If you do, something wonderful is about to happen — a miracle. Expect a miracle. God makes miracles happen! Amen. Amen.
Think of the miracles of creation itself. You are a miracle! The human body is miraculous. What it does without your conscious thinking is totally awesome. Think of this -- In the depths of the ocean where no one has ever been, God paints his creatures with exotic color and beauty. Below the ground, where no one has yet gone, God places gold and precious stones. He is extravagant.
In very ordinary places He creates extraordinary beauty. Let Jesus touch you, and see if your life is not filled with new beauty and wonder — new flavor and fragrance. See if it is not like wine that gladdens the heart of man (Psalm 104:15). Jesus is in the business of turning water into wine, sinners into saints, fear into courage, sorrow into joy, defeat into victory, despair into hope and death into life.
The third point I would like to make concerning this story is that: Miracles happen when we understand that Jesus extravagantly provides for our everyday requests. There were six jars containing between 20 and 30 gallons apiece. So, at the very least, the jars contained 120 gallons of wine, and as much as 180 gallons. That is a lot of wine. There is no way the guests could have consumed that much wine. Why did Jesus give so much wine? Because he is an extravagant giver. He never gives just enough; he always gives superabundantly.
What the guests had tasted cautiously before, they ... now drank in abundance. This is the same thing Jesus did when he fed the multitude. He multiplied five loaves and two fish so that 5,000 men and their families were fed. And when everyone had eaten their fill, there were twelve baskets of bread and fish left over. He gave them more than they could possibly eat. But that is the way God gives.
Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it more abundantly, to the full” (John 10:10). We may be poor according to this world’s standards, but we are rich toward God. We may have nothing, but have everything. For we have an extravagant God who lavishes us with his blessings. I like the way The Message translates Psalm 145:16. It says, “Generous to us all, you lavish your favor on all creatures.”
God’s grace means that h is generous to us. The Bible says H gives “immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us” (Ephesians 3:20). He loves to bless, or as the hymn says, “He comes to make his blessings flow.” To a dying thief on a cross he gave the gift of paradise. To a woman caught in an immoral act he gave the gift of God’s amazing grace and forgiveness. To a grieving father he gave back a child from the grip of death. To the one who denied him he gave the keys of the kingdom. He is lavish with his gifts. And to you who come with your requests, he gives the promise of abundant life here and now, and beyond this world, eternal life.
You remember in the story that when they filled the jars, they filled them to the brim. And when the master of the banquet tasted the wine his eyes lit up. He could not believe what he was tasting. He said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now” (John 2:10). Jesus always saves the best till last. The world puts its best up front and things go downhill from there. But when God shows up things go from good to best. John wrote: “From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another” (John 1:16).
We have been filled to the brim with the blessings of God. One day as we enter his kingdom we will be treated to sights we never dreamed possible. Absent will be everything we have feared, and present there will be the best of everything here and much, much more. Heaven is where the deepest longings of our lives will be met. We will hear him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant. . . enter thou into the joy of thy lord” (Matthew 25:23). Rapturous joy will overtake us and we will say, “You have saved the best till now!” The Bible assures us, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9). The best that the world has to offer now is only a hint of what is yet to be. The difference will be as different as water is to wine.
One last big thought to share with you today -- It is interesting that Jesus waited until their resources had run dry before he performed the miracle. Only when the people came to the end of their supply were they ready to receive what Jesus had to give. John Piper, in an article entitled “The Present Power of a Future Possession,” said, “The cost of food in the kingdom is hunger for the bread of heaven, instead of the white bread of the world. Do you want it? Are you hungry? Or are you satisfied with yourself and your television and your computer and your job and your family?”
Likewise, the cost of the new wine that Jesus is offering is thirst. Are you thirsty? Do you want something more? If so, when you come to Jesus you have come to the right place, for he is the God of abundance and life. He gives extravagantly. To receive this wine you have to come to him with your thirst. As you stand there with your empty life, follow the instructions of Jesus’ mother when she says, “Do whatever he tells you.” If you do, something wonderful is about to happen — a miracle. Expect a miracle. God makes miracles happen! Amen. Amen.
Expecting Miracles -- Jesus and the Miracle at Cana, Part Two
There was a popular religious movement around the time of the founding of our country called Deism. Deism was opposed to Christianity’s personal idea of God. They believed that God created the world, but that he wound it up like a clock and then left it to attend to other things. But that is a god who is too small to be God.
Our God lives and he reigns. He is so personal he promises to live within us if we only ask him. He is so great he is involved in every detail of the ongoing process of life upon the earth. He designs every snowflake. He calls for the storm and then commands it to be still. He whistles to the birds, calling them to their winter home. He holds the world together with his loving and powerful hands. He knows your name and he knows your need. This is the mighty God we serve.
The second point I would like to make about this story is that: Miracles happen when we understand that Jesus transforms our everyday experiences. Jesus did not come to give us information; he came to give us a transformation. He changes things. He has a way of taking the ordinary and making it extraordinary. He did not come to bring new ideas; he came to make new people. The water did not just appear to be wine; it was transformed into wine — the best of wine at that. Some people have trouble believing this kind of miracle, but it is only because they do not understand the kind of God we have.
Actually, turning water into wine is something that God does every day. As I was traveling in Minnesota recently, I passed several vineyards. I could literally look out the window and see God changing water into wine. The rain falls on the ground, and as the vine draws the water up to the branches, it is transformed into the juice of the grape. When that juice goes through the natural process of fermentation it will become some of the finest wine anyone ever tasted. All because of God’s great creation!
Our God is in the transformation business. The world wants us to get a new hairdo or a new wardrobe. Society wants us to get a better job or learn a new skill. People want to lose weight or get a face lift. But Jesus does not want to change your looks, he wants to change your heart. He doesn’t want to give you a new suit; he wants to make you a new person. He does not want to rearrange you; he wants to transform you. You may want to look better on the outside, and he wants to make you new on the inside. And when that transformation takes place, it will show on the outside.
When Jesus changed the water into wine, he did not just change the color and fool the people’s taste buds — he actually changed the water into wine. When the water was turned to wine, the shame of the bridal family was turned to joy. The mood of the party was transformed.
And Jesus’ disciples were transformed. The Bible says, “He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.”
Here is what Jesus really came to do. He came to transform people. Jewish custom was focused on the importance of being ceremonially clean. The water jars were mostly empty because each guest had been given water to wash their feet and hands as they arrived, but this was not so much for cleanliness as it was for ritual purity. The jars of water were there in order to fulfill the Old Testament requirements for ceremonial washing. In John’s way of mixing events with metaphor, the jars represented the Old Testament law and its inability to make a person truly clean. When Jesus came into contact with these jars used in ritual cleansing, he transformed their contents. He filled the jars with his new wine. The deadness of the Old Testament law was made alive with the wine of the new covenant that Jesus came to bring. Wine is the symbol of God’s grace that comes into our lives undeserved, and transforms us from the inside out. He says, “I am making everything new!” (Revelation 21:5).
Our God lives and he reigns. He is so personal he promises to live within us if we only ask him. He is so great he is involved in every detail of the ongoing process of life upon the earth. He designs every snowflake. He calls for the storm and then commands it to be still. He whistles to the birds, calling them to their winter home. He holds the world together with his loving and powerful hands. He knows your name and he knows your need. This is the mighty God we serve.
The second point I would like to make about this story is that: Miracles happen when we understand that Jesus transforms our everyday experiences. Jesus did not come to give us information; he came to give us a transformation. He changes things. He has a way of taking the ordinary and making it extraordinary. He did not come to bring new ideas; he came to make new people. The water did not just appear to be wine; it was transformed into wine — the best of wine at that. Some people have trouble believing this kind of miracle, but it is only because they do not understand the kind of God we have.
Actually, turning water into wine is something that God does every day. As I was traveling in Minnesota recently, I passed several vineyards. I could literally look out the window and see God changing water into wine. The rain falls on the ground, and as the vine draws the water up to the branches, it is transformed into the juice of the grape. When that juice goes through the natural process of fermentation it will become some of the finest wine anyone ever tasted. All because of God’s great creation!
Our God is in the transformation business. The world wants us to get a new hairdo or a new wardrobe. Society wants us to get a better job or learn a new skill. People want to lose weight or get a face lift. But Jesus does not want to change your looks, he wants to change your heart. He doesn’t want to give you a new suit; he wants to make you a new person. He does not want to rearrange you; he wants to transform you. You may want to look better on the outside, and he wants to make you new on the inside. And when that transformation takes place, it will show on the outside.
When Jesus changed the water into wine, he did not just change the color and fool the people’s taste buds — he actually changed the water into wine. When the water was turned to wine, the shame of the bridal family was turned to joy. The mood of the party was transformed.
And Jesus’ disciples were transformed. The Bible says, “He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.”
Here is what Jesus really came to do. He came to transform people. Jewish custom was focused on the importance of being ceremonially clean. The water jars were mostly empty because each guest had been given water to wash their feet and hands as they arrived, but this was not so much for cleanliness as it was for ritual purity. The jars of water were there in order to fulfill the Old Testament requirements for ceremonial washing. In John’s way of mixing events with metaphor, the jars represented the Old Testament law and its inability to make a person truly clean. When Jesus came into contact with these jars used in ritual cleansing, he transformed their contents. He filled the jars with his new wine. The deadness of the Old Testament law was made alive with the wine of the new covenant that Jesus came to bring. Wine is the symbol of God’s grace that comes into our lives undeserved, and transforms us from the inside out. He says, “I am making everything new!” (Revelation 21:5).
Expecting Miracles -- Got WIne? Jesus' Miracle at the Wedding in Cana, Part One
You have seen the commercials showing someone with a mouth full of cookies, as the question was asked: “Got milk?” Well, the question in the story we have read today was: “Got wine?” And the answer was: “No!” The wine was gone. A miracle was needed to save the family, and the new couple, the ultimate embarrassment of not being able to provide enough for their friends.
They would be forever remembered in this small village as the ones who failed to take care of the needs of their guests. The supply of wine was already running low when Jesus and his five new disciples showed up. They had been invited, but it was putting an added strain on the diminishing supply of wine.
The Gospel of John is full of symbolism and allegory. The story opens with the words: “On the third day. . . .” The story here is heavy with allegory in which John may have been alluding to Jesus’ resurrection after three days. John is preparing us for what he is building up to throughout his Gospel: that Jesus Christ would be buried, and on the third day he would show up, having risen from the dead.
He would then make preparations for the great wedding feast of the Lamb of God, when he would gather together all who would be his guests into the Kingdom of God. Jesus’ first sign would point to his final sign by which he would show his glory.
After Jesus and his disciples arrive at the wedding, Jesus’ mother approached him and said, “They have no more wine.” Some believe that the bridal family may have been his relatives, or perhaps it was even the wedding of one of his younger sisters. They believe she was not asking for, or expecting, a miracle, but was saying, in effect, “The arrival of you and your disciples has caused a problem. Please send some of them to purchase more wine.”
But I believe the more likely scenario is that Jesus’ mother has known all along who he was and what he was capable of. She understands that his public ministry began with his baptism and the calling of the first of his disciples. She expects that he will do something wonderful. And so, even over his reluctance to start his ministry before its time, she tells the servants: “Do whatever he tells you.”
The first point I would like to make regarding this story is that: Miracles happen when we understand that Jesus cares about our everyday needs. Jesus’ mother knows that he cares about people. He cares about all our needs, not just our spiritual needs. He cares about people being unnecessarily embarrassed. He cares about people enjoying themselves.
In fact, in the New Testament, we often see him at parties and dinners to which he has been invited, and he is always the center of the party. He enjoyed himself so much that his detractors called him a “glutton and drunkard” (Matthew 11:19). No one ever accused Jesus of promoting a dour, rigid, emotion-stifling religion — just the opposite.
Wherever Jesus went there was life and joy. He stated that his life mission was, as he said, that his joy might be in us and that our joy might be complete (John 15:11). He has come to bring his joy, and there is joy everywhere in our world. He is the God of irrepressible joy, and he has come to share it. He offers the spiritual wine of joy to all those who are thirsty for life — for those who will come and drink. He takes care of our needs both great and small.
There is nothing too ordinary to pray about. He is just as concerned about the little problems of your life as he is the big problems. If he was a little god he would be able to take care of only the major things, but since he is the great God he is, he is able to take care of all the things in our lives. He sees every sparrow each time they land on the ground. He keeps track of the number of hairs on your head. He calls the stars by name. He is a great God who is too big not to be concerned about the everyday things of your life.
They would be forever remembered in this small village as the ones who failed to take care of the needs of their guests. The supply of wine was already running low when Jesus and his five new disciples showed up. They had been invited, but it was putting an added strain on the diminishing supply of wine.
The Gospel of John is full of symbolism and allegory. The story opens with the words: “On the third day. . . .” The story here is heavy with allegory in which John may have been alluding to Jesus’ resurrection after three days. John is preparing us for what he is building up to throughout his Gospel: that Jesus Christ would be buried, and on the third day he would show up, having risen from the dead.
He would then make preparations for the great wedding feast of the Lamb of God, when he would gather together all who would be his guests into the Kingdom of God. Jesus’ first sign would point to his final sign by which he would show his glory.
After Jesus and his disciples arrive at the wedding, Jesus’ mother approached him and said, “They have no more wine.” Some believe that the bridal family may have been his relatives, or perhaps it was even the wedding of one of his younger sisters. They believe she was not asking for, or expecting, a miracle, but was saying, in effect, “The arrival of you and your disciples has caused a problem. Please send some of them to purchase more wine.”
But I believe the more likely scenario is that Jesus’ mother has known all along who he was and what he was capable of. She understands that his public ministry began with his baptism and the calling of the first of his disciples. She expects that he will do something wonderful. And so, even over his reluctance to start his ministry before its time, she tells the servants: “Do whatever he tells you.”
The first point I would like to make regarding this story is that: Miracles happen when we understand that Jesus cares about our everyday needs. Jesus’ mother knows that he cares about people. He cares about all our needs, not just our spiritual needs. He cares about people being unnecessarily embarrassed. He cares about people enjoying themselves.
In fact, in the New Testament, we often see him at parties and dinners to which he has been invited, and he is always the center of the party. He enjoyed himself so much that his detractors called him a “glutton and drunkard” (Matthew 11:19). No one ever accused Jesus of promoting a dour, rigid, emotion-stifling religion — just the opposite.
Wherever Jesus went there was life and joy. He stated that his life mission was, as he said, that his joy might be in us and that our joy might be complete (John 15:11). He has come to bring his joy, and there is joy everywhere in our world. He is the God of irrepressible joy, and he has come to share it. He offers the spiritual wine of joy to all those who are thirsty for life — for those who will come and drink. He takes care of our needs both great and small.
There is nothing too ordinary to pray about. He is just as concerned about the little problems of your life as he is the big problems. If he was a little god he would be able to take care of only the major things, but since he is the great God he is, he is able to take care of all the things in our lives. He sees every sparrow each time they land on the ground. He keeps track of the number of hairs on your head. He calls the stars by name. He is a great God who is too big not to be concerned about the everyday things of your life.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Marriage Part Two: Pray for Christian Marriage and Those Men and Women Who Are Married
Psychologists say that human beings have a fundamental need for "stable primary bondings" with other people. Yet that merely confirms the Genesis account, in which God says simply, "It is not good for the man to be alone" (Genesis 2:18). It is to provide "a helper suitable for him" that God creates the woman. And the two becoming "one flesh" is in part a spiritual event reflecting the emotional bonding of the two. The woman is someone who, by being of the opposite sex, serves to complement the man, not merely mirror him. Marriage unites opposites, each of whom has what the other lacks, completing the other.
Marriage calls on couples to save themselves only for each other. To do so is essential, because even the most private sexual acts can have destructive public consequences outside of marriage (see 1 Corinthians 6:12-20).
To cite only the most obvious examples, sex outside of marriage results in the birth of children who are deprived of the benefits of growing up with both a mother and a father, while sex with multiple partners results in the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. Ironically, both of these problems have increased, not decreased, in recent years.
That reproduction of the human race is one of the central purposes of marriage is clear from God's mandate to Adam and Eve in Genesis 1:
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.28 God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.
For the human race to "be fruitful and increase in number," it was clearly necessary that man and woman come together in a procreative act, notwithstanding test tube babies adopted by famous homosexuals, it still takes sperm and egg (from a man and a woman) to create a baby. That is God's way.
Here are some steps that you can take personally to protect marriage:
•Work on the quality of your own marriage. Take time to be alone together and enjoy one another. Talk to your spouse openly and lovingly about any problems in your marriage. Seek counseling if you are having serious difficulties. Help others with their marriages by attending church and joining in couple fellowship activities, Sunday School and Youth Fellowship, supporting families in your church.
•Teach your children to honor marriage. Teach them to abstain from sexual relations before marriage. Be a good model for them of the proper relationship between man and woman, husband and wife, and mother and father.
*Pray for marriage and all the married couples you know, especially the younger ones. Hold marriage of others in the highest honor. Pray for the couples and their children each day.
Marriage calls on couples to save themselves only for each other. To do so is essential, because even the most private sexual acts can have destructive public consequences outside of marriage (see 1 Corinthians 6:12-20).
To cite only the most obvious examples, sex outside of marriage results in the birth of children who are deprived of the benefits of growing up with both a mother and a father, while sex with multiple partners results in the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. Ironically, both of these problems have increased, not decreased, in recent years.
That reproduction of the human race is one of the central purposes of marriage is clear from God's mandate to Adam and Eve in Genesis 1:
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.28 God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.
For the human race to "be fruitful and increase in number," it was clearly necessary that man and woman come together in a procreative act, notwithstanding test tube babies adopted by famous homosexuals, it still takes sperm and egg (from a man and a woman) to create a baby. That is God's way.
Here are some steps that you can take personally to protect marriage:
•Work on the quality of your own marriage. Take time to be alone together and enjoy one another. Talk to your spouse openly and lovingly about any problems in your marriage. Seek counseling if you are having serious difficulties. Help others with their marriages by attending church and joining in couple fellowship activities, Sunday School and Youth Fellowship, supporting families in your church.
•Teach your children to honor marriage. Teach them to abstain from sexual relations before marriage. Be a good model for them of the proper relationship between man and woman, husband and wife, and mother and father.
*Pray for marriage and all the married couples you know, especially the younger ones. Hold marriage of others in the highest honor. Pray for the couples and their children each day.
Marriage Part One: Pray for Christian Marriage and the Men and Women Who Have Come Together in Marriage
What is Marriage For? What is the traditional Christian view of marriage? Marriage between a man and a woman is the keystone of our civilization and a gift from our God.
Marriage is an institution created by God. That much is clear from Genesis 2:18-24 (NIV):
18 The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."
19 Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found. 21 So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. 23 The man said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman,' for she was taken out of man." 24 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
Jesus later quotes this verse 24 in affirming marriage in the New Testament in Matthew 19:5. Because it was included as a part of the original creation, it is clear that God's fundamental intention for marriage applies to all human beings. However, a look at the whole of Scripture reveals that marriage has special meanings for the people of God.
Marriage of man and woman reflects the diversity of God's creation and the diversity within the oneness of the Trinity itself. This combination of "sameness" and "difference" also characterizes humanity. Indeed, it may be this combination that reflects "the image of God" (Gen. 1:26). In Genesis 2, Adam names the animals, but they are not "suitable" companions for him, because they are not the same as him - they are not human. To create a "suitable helper" for Adam, God takes a part of Adam's body to fashion one the same as Adam - another human being. Yet the person God creates is also different from Adam - a woman, not a man. The human race is incomplete without both male and female. Yet when they unite to become "one flesh" (Gen. 2:24), their oneness - despite their difference - reflects the oneness of God, despite the plurality of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
In the Old Testament, the covenant of marriage serves as a metaphor for the relationship between God and the people of Israel. The worship of other gods (idolatry) is viewed as the equivalent of adultery, with Israel as the unfaithful spouse. (see Jeremiah 3:6, 8)
In the New Testament, marriage is seen as a metaphor of the relationship between Christ and the Church. (Ephesians 5:21-33; Revelation 19:7-9). Marriage advances God's purpose in salvation
Marriage is an institution created by God. That much is clear from Genesis 2:18-24 (NIV):
18 The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."
19 Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found. 21 So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. 23 The man said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman,' for she was taken out of man." 24 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
Jesus later quotes this verse 24 in affirming marriage in the New Testament in Matthew 19:5. Because it was included as a part of the original creation, it is clear that God's fundamental intention for marriage applies to all human beings. However, a look at the whole of Scripture reveals that marriage has special meanings for the people of God.
Marriage of man and woman reflects the diversity of God's creation and the diversity within the oneness of the Trinity itself. This combination of "sameness" and "difference" also characterizes humanity. Indeed, it may be this combination that reflects "the image of God" (Gen. 1:26). In Genesis 2, Adam names the animals, but they are not "suitable" companions for him, because they are not the same as him - they are not human. To create a "suitable helper" for Adam, God takes a part of Adam's body to fashion one the same as Adam - another human being. Yet the person God creates is also different from Adam - a woman, not a man. The human race is incomplete without both male and female. Yet when they unite to become "one flesh" (Gen. 2:24), their oneness - despite their difference - reflects the oneness of God, despite the plurality of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
In the Old Testament, the covenant of marriage serves as a metaphor for the relationship between God and the people of Israel. The worship of other gods (idolatry) is viewed as the equivalent of adultery, with Israel as the unfaithful spouse. (see Jeremiah 3:6, 8)
In the New Testament, marriage is seen as a metaphor of the relationship between Christ and the Church. (Ephesians 5:21-33; Revelation 19:7-9). Marriage advances God's purpose in salvation
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