In Matthew's Steps: When Tragedy Strikes... Jesus!

The First Steps: Read: Matthew 14

Focus Verse: John’s disciples came and took his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus. When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Matthew 14:12-13

Meditation: When Tragedy Strikes...Jesus!

Our town has recently experienced a series of tragedies that have left us almost numb. In the last month or so, we've lost probably a half-dozen people from around our town. Some we expected to pass away, others not. And heartbreak abounds in town.

People respond differently to tragedy. Some retreat into themselves or into their homes. They’re scarcely seen in church or anywhere. Some people immerse themselves in their work or in school. Others seem to thrive on community and conversation and you see them still out and about, talking to everyone about the recent events in their lives.

Jesus too had to face tragedy. John the Baptist, Jesus’ cousin, and, more importantly, the man who inspired Jesus’ message has died. Tragically too. Died at the hands of Herod the tetrarch after his daughter requested the head of John the Baptist to be given to her on a plate. News of this tragic event reaches Jesus...and he is moved and torn. Matthew says that Jesus retreated by boat privately to a solitary place.

You can imagine what was going through Jesus’ head. “What happened to John!?”... “Why did this tragedy strike!?”... “What am I going to do now?”

Unfortunately Jesus doesn’t get any “time off” from life. The crowds are in hot pursuit of him and in no time at all, both the disciples and the crowd has caught up to him. To top it off, the crowd is hungry. They haven’t eaten all day and they are starving! The disciples figure they can go away to fetch something to eat, but Jesus will have none of that.

“They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat!”

I can almost imagine the frustration in Jesus’ words here. (Yes, Jesus did get frustrated I believe a number of times... he was human after all!). “Can’t they do anything for themselves?” Jesus thinks. Of course the answer is no... so Jesus once again has to step in...

“Bring me what you have...” he says. And with that the first big feeding miracle in Matthew is performed. The five loaves and two fish become enough for everyone to eat...with leftovers. And the people are happy and fed...right? Now Jesus can get some alone time with God...right?

It would seem so. The disciples then go into the boat and Jesus stays back. “He went up on a mountainside by himself to pray.”(vs. 23).

Of course life doesn’t stop there and before long the wind and the waves, agents of chaos, are battering the disciples’ boat. Jesus has but one thing he can do. Go out to the boat and save them. Setting aside his own need for retreat with God, Jesus walks out on the water to help the disciples.

“Take courage!” He shouts at them when he sees they’re afraid. “It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

Climbing into the boat then, the wind dies down and the disciples worship him. “Truly you are the Son of God.”

But I wonder...at that moment...what was going on in Jesus’ head. Was he still upset about what happened to John? Was he still thinking about it? Still mourning the loss of his cousin? Did anyone ever stop and ask Jesus how he was doing with the whole thing? Or were they so consumed with what was going on in their lives, with their own grief and pain and hunger and faithlessness, that they failed to stop and ask him what he was thinking and feeling after his tragedy?

We too might fall into our own lives and forget that the pain of tragedy doesn’t end. It doesn’t end with the funeral service. It doesn’t end a week or even a month after. The pain of tragedy continues to hurt, throughout life. It’s a continual struggle sometimes just to get up in the morning, let alone continue through the day.

We might feel alone and lost when tragedy strikes. And we might feel even more lonely in the days and weeks following. But know this. The world might not remember...but Jesus does! Jesus knows what it’s like to grieve. He grieved for his friend, John. Jesus knows what crisis of faith are all about. He experiences those twice in this chapter. Jesus knows what it means when people just go about their lives, forgetting to even ask you how you’re doing. Jesus knows...and Jesus cares!

In the midst of your tragic storms, Jesus comes out to you, walking on the water. He comes reassuring you: “Take courage! It is I! Don’t be afraid!” Jesus climbs into your boat with you. And though the winds around you might not seem any slower, we know that Jesus calms the storms around us too. For the courage, the peace, and the presence of Jesus Christ is life and hope and salvation for us. Amen!


Questions to Ponder...
1) Think of a tragic moment in your life. What got you through that moment? How do you cope when memories of that moment return?

2) Do you think Jesus was frustrated? Confused? Afraid? How did tragedy affect Jesus?

3) CHALLENGE: Think of someone who has lost someone lately. Take a moment NOW to offer yourself to them. BE the presence of Christ you hunger for in others.

A Prayer to Pray...
Almighty God, your Son Jesus experienced everything we experience. May we find comfort in his struggles and in his triumphs that, despite everything happening around us, we may know your presence which gives us courage and peace, through His Name we pray. Amen.

In Matthew's Steps: The Kingdom Revealed

The First Steps: Read: Matthew 13

Focus Verse: “...Jesus did not say anything to them without using a parable.” Matthew 13:34

Meditation: The Kingdom...Hidden and Revealed

Have you ever had to explain something complicated...to a child?

We haven’t had to traverse too much of this territory yet...but it’s coming. Kids ask the darndest questions, and many of those questions lead us parents in circles. How do you explain, to a five-year old, where babies come from? Or where rainbows come from? How do you answer any of the many questions that come from the mouth of children? Questions that could warrent long, detailed explanations that they really can't understand yet.

Jesus has a similar problem in this chapter of Matthew. Only difference is the question itself. The people were not asking Jesus biological questions. Their questions were more about the kingdom of God and what God’s rule meant for them in their lives.

So Jesus, like any good parent would do, gathers them all about on the shore of a lake, rides out on a boat(so they can all see and hear him assumably) and starts talking about the kingdom of heaven.

“When heaven rules your life it looks like...
- A farmer sowing his fields
- The preaching of the Word of God.
- How a farmer deals with weeds in his crops
“It moves about in the world like...
- A mustard seed growing in a field
- And like yeast rising dough.
“To God, the world is like...
- A hidden treasure in a field
- A priceless pearl.
“And in the end, we will all be caught up in it...
- Like fish caught in a net.

At the end of all these parables, Jesus asks them: “Have you understood all these things?”(vs. 51). Like a parent instructing their children, Jesus words do seem rather odd. The people reply yes...but I wonder if they really do. I wonder if they really grasp what Jesus is trying to say here and how radical it really is. Jesus isn’t confirming what we think we already know about how God works in the world. He’s changing what we think.

Seed...seed...everywhere! I once had the opportunity to talk to a farmer about how he sows his seed. “So do you scatter it like the sower does?” I asked. “Of course not!” he said. Then he showed me the machine which carefully digs the holes and places the seeds in each holes so that no seed goes wasted. This isn’t how God works at all. Instead he scatters seed all around in people’s lives. His Word goes out and is scattered. Some people don’t listen at all to him. “I don’t do God...” they say. Their seed is taken by the birds. Some people listen for awhile...but then fall away when things get tough. Like the seed sown in rocky ground. Some listen and respond...but then are choked by this or that...much like the seed with the weeds. And some...a very few...respond and grow and produce fruit. And still God sows. Still God scatters seed. God never gives up!

God doesn’t get rid of the bad things in our lives. This is a hard one, for we all struggle with temptations and inner demons that feel like weeds in the field. God doesn’t do anything with them right now except forgive them. He forgives our weeds...and the weeds in our neighbors field. In fact, that’s God’s modus apparatus for handling the world at large. God...forgives it! God let’s the world grow cause, in the end, He’ll do the hard work of separating what is death in us from what is alive. But that’s gotta wait until harvest. Or until we’re gathered up like fish in a net. It’s not gonna happen right now.

God isn’t overseeing the world on some throne. The Bette Middler song “From a distance” is WRONG...at least according to Jesus. God isn’t looking at the world from high above. He is deeply inbedded in the world, like yeast in a roll of dough. It might seem like he’s not here at all. In fact, His presence is as small as a mustard seed, but it is growing through the ages and soon even the birds of the field will nest in His branches.

Finally... we are all precious in God’s sight! God’s willing to buy the whole field, to pay the ultimate price, for the whole lot of us! We are God’s priceless treasure, a treasure that God sold everything he had to purchase. We are sought after and claimed by God in Christ. We are precious pearls, perfect treasure. We are God’s own people.

So you see how these parables change what we initially think of God’s kingdom and open it up in new and exciting ways. God isn’t stingy about the Good News...it’s scattered throughout the world. God forgives us for our wrongs...and doesn’t hold our weeds against us. God is hidden in the world, like yeast in a batch of dough. And we are precious in God’s sight, enough to have God pay the ultimate price for us.

What marvelous news Jesus gives to us today! What will it change...for you??Amen!

Questions to Ponder...1) Close your eyes and imagine what it would look like to have God ruling in your life. What picture do you come up with? Is it similar or different than the picture Jesus gives us in Matthew today?

2) What preconceptions does Jesus destroy in these parables? Are they liberating or disturbing to you?

3) God’s kingdom will come with or without our help. How might you be a help to the kingdom of God and not a hindrance?

A Prayer to Pray...
O God, our King and Redeemer, your rule in our lives looks like nothing we’ve ever seen before. Help us to find the grace, the peace, the love, and the mercy that comes through your Son Jesus Christ that we like those who’ve gone before us, might live in this kingdom now even as we wait for it to come, through Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

In Matthew's Steps: A Disturbing Jesus!

The First Steps: Read: Matthew 12
Focus Verse: “For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” Matthew 12:8

Meditation: Jesus... Pushing Our Buttons!

They say you should never talk about religion and politics in polite company and they may be right. But that’s not all. It’s not just religion or politics that get people upset. In my years of being a pastor I have found hundreds upon hundreds of things that, once mentioned, get people in a tizzy. Call these “hot button issues” and there are more of them than you may think.

Money, for instance, can make people nervous, especially when you speak about it at church. Though we know we need it to survive, people can get uncomfortable if more than one sermon focuses on this hot button topic. Once or twice might be fine, and around the stewardship season we expect it, but mention money too much and you’ll wind up having none of it!

Social justice issues can have a similar effect. No one can agree how to help the homeless down by the river or the transient that passes through town. Excuses for their behavior range from mental illness to laziness and all points in between. Even hunger issues have their dissenters. In fact, there are very few causes that everyone can get behind. There will always be conflict, even when it comes to loving your neighbor.

In today’s reading from Matthew, Jesus begins by hitting on one of his people’s “hot button issues.” Although the Sabbath might not be an issue for us, at Jesus’ time it was! Hundreds upon hundreds of laws were written for people, detailing what they could and could not do on the Sabbath. And each and every one of these “sub-laws” were open to interpretation themselves. The purists would say you couldn’t even walk out your front door on the Sabbath or that you had to take only a few steps wherever you went. Sub-laws governed everything from how you prepared your food to how you cared for your fields to everything in between.

So when Jesus starts interpreting the Sabbath, people got uncomfortable. And when he ran around doing things on the day of rest, people got upset. And when he announced his own authority over the day’s activities, people wanted to kill him. This action becomes the catalyst for the rest of the chapter which focuses, not so much on what Jesus does, but on others’ reaction to what Jesus does and Jesus’ own reaction to those reactions.

See for yourself...
Jesus talks of the Sabbath and...
“...the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.”
Jesus heals a demon-possessed man and...
“...[the Pharisees] said, ‘It is only bv Beelzebub, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons.”

Here we have the reactions of others. And what of Jesus reaction to that reaction?

The Pharisees say: “Teacher we want to see a miraculous sign from you.”
And Jesus says: “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign!”
Someone says: “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, waiting to speak to you...”
And Jesus points to his disciples and says: “Here are my mother and my brothers.”

All because of this hot-button issue Jesus was willing to push. All because he dared go and speak about what others were unwilling to. All because Jesus was willing to have people hate and despise him for speaking the truth.

Ironically Jesus goes there even today. Jesus pushes our buttons more than anyone ever can to the point that either you have to deal with what he says or ignore him entirely. Scared of speaking about money? Jesus says: “...where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Mat. 6:21), “You cannot serve both God and Money.”(Mat. 6:24), and “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”:(Mat. 19:24). Pretty clear where his loyalties lie. Are you uncomfortable about speaking about the poor and the hungry? Jesus will say: “Whatever you did not do to the least of these you did not do to me.”(Mat. 25:45).

At times, Jesus does nothing but offend us! He is constantly pushing our buttons and challenging us to live a new and different life in him. He wants to be first in our lives. More than the money we have in our pockets. More than our own comfort and security. More than even our own parents and siblings, spouses and children. Jesus wants to be first! “He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.”(Matt. 12:30).

Are you willing to be uncomfortable in Christ? Are you willing to have Jesus push your hot-button issues and challenge you to live in ways that you haven’t thought about before? Or are you going to side against him, choosing to scatter instead of gathering with him? Are you willing to have your life and everything you know and believe turned completely on its head?


Questions to Ponder...
1) What are your “hot button issues”? What issues get you uncomfortable in polite conversation?

2) What does Jesus’ reaction to this criticism do to the situation? Should we follow a similar path in speaking with those who disagree with us? What is Jesus pushing them toward?

3) How has God challenged YOU in YOUR life? What preconceptions have you had to discard because of your understanding of Christ’s teaching?

A Prayer to Pray...
Almighty God, your Son comes into the world and pushes all of our buttons, challenging us to live a new life in him. Give us the courage and strength to follow wherever he may take us. Forgive us for when we stumble and support us in your grace, in your most holy name we pray. Amen.

In Matthew's Steps: Burdened No More!

The First Steps: Read: Matthew 11

Focus Verse: Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Matthew 11:28-30

Meditation: A Load Too Heavy To Hold

It’s amazing what a hernia can teach you!

Since having hernia surgery last June, I have learned how much pain a little weight can bring. Even now, I have a hard time carrying things heavier than twenty pounds or so. When I take on something too heavy I can feel it on my side, a pulling sensation and an ache that reminds me that I shouldn’t carry it. And I must call my sons to help.

We have all been weary and burdened at one time or another and yet, how often have we noticed? How often have we felt the pulling sensation in our bodies, the weariness of our souls? How often have we stopped to realize just how fragile we are?

In this chapter of Matthew, Christ reminds who he’s been sent for. He’s been sent to help “The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.”(11:5) Christ has some “...eating and drinking and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and ‘sinners.’”(11:19)

But Christ has also come for YOU. Christ has come so that YOUR burdens might be light, YOUR weariness might be cured, and YOUR body might rest. Christ has come to give you a sabbath, a time off and away from yourself. And though there is a yoke to be taken on with Christ, though there is a burden to be carried when you follow Him, Christ himself carries the weight for you so that you may say “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

How freeing that is! How marvelous it would be if we just listened. If we just relaxed into the grace of God in Christ Jesus.

And yet we don’t listen. Instead these words from Christ are directed to us.

“Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you Bethsaida! If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sack cloth and ashes.” (11:21)

We might as well substitute our names for the names of these towns. For Christ’s life is arrayed before us and we do not repent. We fail to come to Christ for mercy and compassion, for rest and healing, for a lighter burden and a yoke that is easy. Instead we burden ourselves with our own agendas and busy ourselves with our own lives. We forget about Christ. We make ourselves god over the universe, and work ourselves to death because of it.

Studies have shown, these centuries after Christ, that stress itself, the internal psychological burdens we and others place upon us, actually has a physical symptom in our bodies. Our bodies release cortisol, a chemical from our adrenal glands which actually damages our brain but enables our bodies to flee or fight. Then, when the event has passed, hormones come flooding back into our system to snatch up the cortisol and carry it away. Research shows this process, though it was designed to save us, is extremely harmful to both our bodies and our brains. And prolonged exposure to this can cause terrible health problems to occur.

If this is what both Christ and science tell us, then why do we do it? Why do we still subject ourselves to such stress for prolonged periods of time, knowing how much it will damage us? Maybe what Jesus says is true. God “...has hidden these things from the wise and learned and revealed them to little children.”(11:26). Little children need no prompting to rest. Perhaps we should take our cue from them.

Christ has invited us to rest. To lay down our burdens and let him worry about them. To unload our hearts and minds from the worries that weigh us down and place them at the foot of his cross. And from there He will take care of us, taking upon himself the burden of our death in the hope of our resurrection with Him. He offers to take it all from us? Why not take him up on his offer? Amen.

Questions to Ponder
1) How have you overburdened yourself? How have you taken on too much? What is your body, your mind, or your soul telling you?

2) Have you graciously received and have you rejected the rest that Christ gives you? Whose burden and yoke is around your neck?

3) How can you set aside your burdens? What is stopping you from truly resting in Christ?

A Prayer to Pray...
Almighty God, your Son offers us forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation as well as an easy burden and a light yoke. Dispel the gods we set up for ourselves. Dethrone us off the throne of our lives that your burden might be our burden and your yoke might be shared, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.