Revengeance

Psalm 79

A psalm of Asaph.

¹ O God, the nations have invaded your inheritance;
    they have defiled your holy temple,
    they have reduced Jerusalem to rubble.
² They have left the dead bodies of your servants
    as food for the birds of the sky,
    the flesh of your own people for the animals of the wild.
³ They have poured out blood like water
    all around Jerusalem,
    and there is no one to bury the dead.
⁴ We are objects of contempt to our neighbors,
    of scorn and derision to those around us.

⁵ How long, Lord? Will you be angry forever?
    How long will your jealousy burn like fire?
⁶ Pour out your wrath on the nations
    that do not acknowledge you,
on the kingdoms
    that do not call on your name;
⁷ for they have devoured Jacob
    and devastated his homeland.

⁸ Do not hold against us the sins of past generations;
    may your mercy come quickly to meet us,
    for we are in desperate need. 

***

Have you ever wanted revenge?

I don't mean the "Oh man, that guy looked at my girlfriend, I should go over there and punch him... he disrespected her" kind of revenge. I mean the "This person is an affront to my entire identity and seek to destroy it as soon and as completely as possible... they must be stopped" kind of revenge. 


This is what Asaph was craving as he wrote this Psalm. He felt the walls of his Kingdom closing in around him; enemies having their way with the holy city and desecrating God's people. He doesn't want God to just stop the carnage on Israel; he wants God's wrath to pour out on His enemies. He longs for God to cease the silence He has maintained up until this time, open the clouds and strike all the evil out of the nation.


Asaph ends this passage with a fascinating tidbit: he asks God "Do not hold against us the sins of past generations; may your mercy come quickly to meet us, for we are in desperate need."


Asaph understands that, in spite of his anger, what's happening to Israel is the fault of the Israelites. It's not Gods fault, it's not the fault of Israels enemies; Israel herself is responsible because of her wayward actions.


When we desire revenge on someone or something, do we stop and think about if we deserve to get our way? Scripture clearly tells us in Romans 12:19:



"Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,' says the Lord."


So it is Gods job to avenge, not ours. We must understand this in order to function as Gods instrument here on earth. You cannot go through life, seeking revenge on everyone that wrongs you & have "Jesus loves you" on your lips at the same time. One seeks the will of the flesh, the other seeks God in all things.


When someone wrongs you in a big, life-altering way, seeking revenge is equivalent to desiring the role of God in the world. We must trust Him, His timing, His wisdom. 


As we walk into the coming weekend, some of you may be dreading a particular event, a person, or a situation. You may dislike, or even hate, one or more of the people you will see. Before you go see them, lay your emotions and feelings toward them at the foot of the Cross. If any of the negativity between you and them is your fault, confess that to God and ask Him to let you see the people as He does. Ask Him to help you rise above the worldly idea of revenge, even if it's subtle, social revenge. 

Give it to Him. He is trustworthy.

Coming Face-to-Face with the Kingdom of God

Luke 5:1-11

Jesus Calls His First Disciples 

 5 One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. ² He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. ³ He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.

⁴ When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”

⁵ Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”

⁶ When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. ⁷ So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.

⁸ When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” ⁹ For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, ¹⁰ and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.

Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” ¹¹ So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him. 

Reflection

This story was early in the ministry of Jesus. At this point he was just starting to gain followers and word was spreading about his teaching and ability to perform amazing miracles. As Jesus walks along the Lake of Gennesaret, people were most likely following him to catch a glimpse of this Jesus guy everyone was talking about.

Most likely knowing what the crowds where there for, Jesus gets into one of the boats that is docked on the shore, pulls the boat to the edge of the lake, and sits down to teach the crowds.

At this point of the story, Peter, James, and John are cleaning their nets after a long day of fishing to turn and find that Jesus as used their boat as a first-century pulpit. Not saying anything according to the text, they just turn, stand, and listen to Jesus teach.

After the sermon, Jesus turns to Peter (aka Simon) and asks him a simple request of any fisherman, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”

Peter agrees to take out their boats and lower their nets into the water, despite their full day of fishing with catching no fish.

As Peter and his partners pull up the nets they can hardly bring up the nets because they are so full of fish. On top of that, once they get the fish into the boat, it is so full that the boat starts to sink in the water.

The future disciples have seen what everyone was hoping to see, a miracle!

Miracles play a special role in the ministry of Jesus. Not only do they help to make Jesus famous, but also they show a special reality that Jesus brings with him in his ministry called the Kingdom of God in the gospel of Luke.

At this point in the story, the nation of Israel has been waiting for the Kingdom of God to come to earth since the time of Abraham. The Kingdom of God is believed to be a time where God will dwell with his people on Earth in a special way. This indwelling of the Kingdom with the people of God brings with it healing, takes away pain, overcomes evil, and makes miracles an everyday occurrence. In Jesus’s ministry, a little glimpse of heaven is seen on Earth.

It is the reality of Heaven coming to Earth shown in the miracle of Jesus brings Peter to confess, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!”

Weekly in worship at church, through reading the Bible, and being in community with others we see and hear the same good news about the miracle of the Kingdom of God, yet are we moved as Peter was? If not, why not?

Two weeks ago, Pastor Tom was preaching in the 11am service and said something that really stood out to me. He said, “God is calling you. If you respond by just saying, ‘eh.’ Then it is your fault, not God’s.”

When Peter is confronted with the reality of the Kingdom of God, his whole life changes. He literally leaves his job and everything behind to follow Jesus, to be his disciple and learn from him. There is no reason that Jesus would not want the same level of commitment from us  when we are confronted with the reality of the Kingdom of God. Jesus is calling all of us to give up the things that keep us from following him. So…what is God calling you to give up? 

Questions

1.     Why were there crowds following Jesus? What had they heard about him at this point of his ministry?

2.     When Jesus asks Peter to get back in the boat and try to fish again, how does Peter respond?

3.     Once Peter comes face to face with the reality of the Kingdom of God, how does he respond?

4.     How have you seen or heard of the reality of the Kingdom of God at church, in a community Bible study, or when reading scripture? Tell the group about it.

5.     How have you been changed by coming face-to-face with the reality of the Kingdom of God?

6.     Spend some time reflecting, what is God ask you to give up today?

7.     Pray for each other.

Mary's Song

Mary Visits Elizabeth

³⁹ At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, ⁴⁰ where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹ When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. ⁴² In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! ⁴³ But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? ⁴⁴ As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. ⁴⁵ Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”

Mary’s Song

⁴⁶ And Mary said:

“My soul glorifies the Lord
⁴⁷     and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
⁴⁸ for he has been mindful
    of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
⁴⁹     for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
    holy is his name.
⁵⁰ His mercy extends to those who fear him,
    from generation to generation.
⁵¹ He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
    he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
⁵² He has brought down rulers from their thrones
    but has lifted up the humble.
⁵³ He has filled the hungry with good things
    but has sent the rich away empty.
⁵⁴ He has helped his servant Israel,
    remembering to be merciful
⁵⁵ to Abraham and his descendants forever,
    just as he promised our ancestors.”

⁵⁶ Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.

Reflection

Every week in our Jr. High program, before we start singing worship, we ask the students one question, “Why do we praise God?”

At the beginning of the year, the students usually just look up at us with blank looks. By the end of the year, they are jumping to answer the weekly question saying some like, “because God created music, and we can use music as a way to thank God for what he was done.”

In Luke we read how Mary responds to God’s work in here life. A teenager at the time, Mary has just received some life changing news; she is pregnant with a child who will be called “the Son of God.”

At receiving this news, Mary runs to her closest family. As she enters the door to her aunt Elizabeth’s house, Elizabeth’s unborn child jumps in her womb and Elizabeth shouts, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!”

Immediately after Elizabeth’s confession, Mary is moved to praise God for what he is doing in the world. Mary starts to sing of the promises of God. She cannot help but tell of what God has done in her life and the lives of God’s people. Through song, Mary describes the dramatic acts of grace and power by which God has acted throughout history.

Embedded within Mary’s song, are the promises that God has not only continued to work in the lives of his people in the past, but that he is starting a new work in the lives of his people.

This is shown by the fact that only a few verses earlier, Elizabeth’s unborn son “jumps” in side the womb at just being in the same room as the unborn Christ child.  When this happens, the Holy Spirit moves within Elizabeth and she confesses that Mary’s son will be called, “Son of the Most High.” That Mary’s son will be a king of a kingdom that will never end. The God that has been faithful to his people in the past, that he will continue to be faithful to his people as his promised Messiah comes to earth as an infant.

At the same time, Mary’s song of praise acts as an invitation to join what God is doing in the world. Just as Mary replied to God’s call to bare his Son saying, “I (Mary) am the Lord’s servant, May your word to me be fulfilled,” we are called to work with God in the unfolding of his Kingdom in the world through saying, “I am the Lord’s servant.”

Mary’s song acts as not only a confession of a God who is faithful to the promises he made to his people, but it an invitation to join God as he continues to work in the world.

Questions

1.     Why was Mary moved to praise God?

2.     What works of God stand out to you in Mary’s praise song?

3.     What do you think Mary’s praise tell us about why we should praise God?

4.     What invitation was also imbedded within Mary’s song?

5.     Why do you think God wants us to join what he is doing in the world?

6.     What are some ways our family can be a part of what God is doing in the world?

7.     Pray as a family.

Keeping Up with the Temporal

Psalm 73:1-12

Truly God is good to Israel,
    to those who are pure in heart.
² But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled,
    my steps had nearly slipped.
³  For I was envious of the arrogant
    when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

⁴ For they have no pangs until death;
    their bodies are fat and sleek.
⁵ They are not in trouble as others are;
    they are not stricken like the rest of mankind.
⁶ Therefore pride is their necklace;
    violence covers them as a garment.
⁷ Their eyes swell out through fatness;
    their hearts overflow with follies.
⁸ They scoff and speak with malice;
    loftily they threaten oppression.
⁹ They set their mouths against the heavens,
    and their tongue struts through the earth.
¹⁰ Therefore his people turn back to them,
    and find no fault in them.
¹¹ And they say, “How can God know?
    Is there knowledge in the Most High?”
¹² Behold, these are the wicked;
    always at ease, they increase in riches.

***

I don't know about you, reader, but I have felt this way more times than I can count. I look at the rich and powerful, and it's clear that they are able to provide for themselves. They can buy anything they need or want for any reason. They can pay others to do hard work they don't want to do themselves. When times are tough, they don't feel it. They float along the top of society while less fortunate people drown beneath. 

And what accompanies this wealth? Flippancy toward the Almighty.

When people put their trust in wealth, they begin to feel like God can't do anything for them that they can't do themselves. They seek wealth because wealth equals security. It means that your friends will never judge you because you don't have the latest whatever, or you can't get your kid into such-and-such a school, or you can't attend the fancy weekend away. It means security from the dangers of being shelter-less and hungry and the dangers of being socially outcast. 

Jesus flies in the face of all of this.

As Christians, our ultimate goal should be the glory of God.

It is first.

It is primary.

It is the lens through which we ought to see all things.

This is intensely difficult for us to grasp sometimes. We put so many things in front of Jesus! Most of us, when push came to shove, would never utter another word about God if someone constantly had a gun to our head and told us they'd kill us if we did. Why? Because we value our lives. 

There is nothing wrong with wanting to live. God gave you the life He gave you for a reason. But when we are faced with the choice of continued life or giving God glory, things get messy.

Or do they?

The choice is actually pretty simple: If you value God being glorified more than anything, you will never stop glorifying Him. If you value your life above His glory, you will comply with the gunman.

Where it can get dicey is this: You know you should honor God with your life and glorify Him, but you are attached to other stuff; stuff like living, or your family, or your money.

But here's the thing: This world is not our home. We belong in communion with our King. Scripture calls us "aliens and strangers" in this world. Jesus tells us that those who follow him are not of the world, and the world will hate them for it. This is the true word of God. 

So many of us want it both ways. We want to value God and money at the same time. But Jesus blatantly tells us that we "cannot serve both God and money." One has to win. One has to take priority. The scary thing about this is that we have to trust God for our needs. We need to deny ourselves. Most folks want enough money for what they need and what they want; Jesus wants you to rely on him, because in the end he's all we have anyway. He promises us in Matthew that the Father will provide for our needs. Why doesn't he tell us he will provide for our wants? Because he knows all we should want is him, whom the Father has already graciously given us. What else could we possibly desire in light of him?

Jesus first. All else second.

When We Just Don't Get It

Jesus Has Risen

16 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. ² Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb ³ and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”

⁴ But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. ⁵ As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.

⁶ “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. ⁷ But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’”

⁸ Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.

Reflection

Something most people do not know is that the earliest manuscripts of Mark do not contain a Mark 16:9-20. For that reason, there are some New Testament scholars who question the authenticity of that part of the book of Mark. Most of these scholars believe that the ending of Mark contained in Mark 16:9-20 was added later because of the way Mark ends in verse 16:8. Scholars believe that for the early church, it did not offer enough of a conclusion to the gospel.

Personally, I love the way that Mark ends with verse 16:8 and I believe this is more historically accurate to what how the book was suppose to end. That is why I want to focus the first eight verses of Mark 16 and not focus on the following verses.

In Mark 16 we see a few of Jesus’s followers approaching his tomb to prepare his body correctly for burial, something they could not do when he died because it was during the Jewish Passover celebration. As the followers of Jesus approach the tomb, they see that the stone in front of the tomb has been rolled away. Perplexed, they enter into the tomb to find what can only be an angel standing on the right side of the tomb. The angel quickly declares the good news of Jesus’s resurrection to the group of people, followed with a command to, “go, tell his disciples and Peter.”

Attached to the declaration of Jesus’s resurrection and the command to go and tell his disciples and Peter is the promise that Jesus “is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.”

What amazes me about this text is that the followers of Jesus just do not get it. They don’t understand what has just happened. They don’t remember what Jesus told them. Instead they are scared and flee.

That is how the gospel of Mark ends, and I think it is brilliant!

Throughout the gospel of Mark, the author paints a picture of the disciples that shows how much they just did not get what Jesus came to do. We see Peter constantly put his foot in his mouth, the disciples cry out to Jesus in the midst of a storm, the disciples unable to heal a boy, James and John argue over who “will be the greatest”, and now the followers of Jesus don’t remember what Jesus told them 3 times before, that he would be resurrected.

It was not like Jesus was unclear about why he came. When Jesus appears on the scene in Mark he proclaims it from the beginning, “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15) Jesus even tells the disciples clearly 3 times that he will die and then be resurrected three days later.

Personally, I love the image of the disciples and followers of Jesus in Mark, because I relate to them. There are many times that I just do not get it. I mess up and fail and need Jesus to come a long side me and give me his grace.

At the same time, I can learn from the mistakes of the disciples and followers of Jesus in the gospel of Mark. For instance, I can read a story how Jesus’s followers respond to the declaration of Jesus’s resurrection and see how I am not to act.

As a good Lutheran, I believe that the images of Jesus’s followers in Mark are both a prefect picture of God’s grace and God’s law, held in balance with each other. When we need grace, God provides grace. Out of that grace and learning, we follow Jesus. Only when we encounter a God who knows we do not get it can we understand God’s teaching. Only when we go through times when we are afraid can we truly proclaim that because of what God did, we do not need to fear. Only when we do not first understand the resurrection can we move to understanding the good news that Jesus’s death and resurrection overcame sin, fear, and death. Only when we are first afraid to proclaim the good news can we move to a place where we cannot help but proclaiming God’s grace. It is the gospel of God’s grace that moves us to a place where we obey God’s commands.

What better way to end the gospel of Mark than with another story of grace. 

Questions.

1.     Why do you think that the followers of Jesus are afraid to proclaim the good news of Jesus’s resurrection?

2.     Why do you think Mark paints a picture of the disciples as people who do not get why Jesus came and do not always do, as He would like them to?

3.     What does God show us about his grace in stories like the one found in Mark 16?

4.     What do you think God wants us to learn from the story found in Mark 16?

5.     What command do you think he wants us to get and live out found in Mark 16?

6.     How can we as a family live out God’s command to his followers to “go tell” about Jesus’s resurrection?

7.     Pray for each other.