Parallel Chapter Seven

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Chapter 7

Parables

Parables are metaphorical stories that share a strong message but often hide the antagonist to protect the writer or speaker. Jesus loved to speak in parables, at least according the synoptic writers. Luke includes 24 (18 are unique), Matthew 23 (11 unique) and Mark 8 (2 unique) in their teachings of Jesus. Interestingly enough John according to many scholars has none. John does include some short analogies that some scholars point to as parables. Again the question is not why is John different but what is it that John is trying to say. John writes from the point of view of history, looking back at his time with Jesus, even to the point of spending a great deal of time sharing their lack of understanding at what Jesus was trying to tell them. John’s point in all this is that Jesus is truly who He said He was.

For the synoptic writers the most important thing to be learned from Jesus was faith. Jesus focus was on believing in the power of God, believing in who Jesus was and spending time trusting God in all that we do. The first parable that I highlighted is the parable of the sower. What makes this parable important is that all three writers spend time not only sharing the parable, but also sharing the meaning of the parable with a caveat. That caveat is that Jesus shares with them that not understanding the meaning is paramount to not believing.

^NRS Matthew 13:1 The reason I speak to them in parables is that 'seeing they do not perceive, and hearing they do not listen, nor do they understand.' ¹⁴ With them indeed is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah that says: 'You will indeed listen, but never understand, and you will indeed look, but never perceive. ¹⁵ For this people's heart has grown dull, and their ears are hard of hearing, and they have shut their eyes; so that they might not look with their eyes, and listen with their ears, and understand with their heart and turn-- and I would heal them.' ¹⁶ But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.

^NRS Mark 4:11 And he said to them, "To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything comes in parables; ¹² in order that 'they may indeed look, but not perceive, and may indeed listen, but not understand; so that they may not turn again and be forgiven.'" ¹³ And he said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand all the parables?

^NRS Luke 8:1 ¹⁰ He said, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God; but to others I speak in parables, so that 'looking they may not perceive, and listening they may not understand.'

All three writers use parables then to promote the idea that it is through faith alone that understanding comes from the teachings of Jesus.

           All three writers include some of the favorites, the Parable of the Mustard Seed that shares that the kingdom of God starts out with a small glimmer of faith and grows into a strong tree that can support the birds of the air. By the way, “Birds of the Air” was a saying in Jesus day often referring to the Gentile nation who moved about while most Jews were born, lived and died within 30-40 miles of their home.

           Another of the parables worth noting is the Parable about “He who has ears”. All three use it to again emphasize that faith is the primary objective of following Jesus. Followers of Jesus who have such faith then would have opened to the teachings in such a way that they would understand the message that God is trying to convey to the world through them. Some of the more famous parables appear only in Matthew and Luke. The Parable of the Leven Bread and the Parable of the Lost Sheep do find their way into Mark’s story. Interestingly enough Mark has the least of the parables in his Gospel. Did he not know them or in his effort to preach to the Gentile world did he not find them as important. Again, maybe not the right question.

           All three writers also address the idea of what is the most important commandment. All three show it as a test given to Jesus by the Sanhedrin to try and trip him up.

^NRS Deuteronomy 6:1 Now this is the commandment-- the statutes and the ordinances-- that the LORD your God charged me to teach you to observe in the land that you are about to cross into and occupy, ² so that you and your children and your children's children may fear the LORD your God all the days of your life, and keep all his decrees and his commandments that I am commanding you, so that your days may be long. ³ Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe them diligently, so that it may go well with you, and so that you may multiply greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, as the LORD, the God of your ancestors, has promised you. ⁴ Hear, O Israel: The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. ⁵ You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.

This prayer, called the Shema, from verses 4 and 5 is foundational to the Hebrew understanding of what is important and is considered even today to be the greatest commandment God has given us. In all three synoptic gospel, Jesus answers correctly by repeating the Shema. Then He adds to it remarking that we are to love one another as well. Luke takes it a step further with the Good Samaritan. Matthew might well have left that part out since it would not have found favor among the Hebrew people while Mark reaching out the Romans may well have left it out because they would not have truly understood the significance.

           Only Matthew and Luke have included the parable of the Great supper that many believe points to the day of judgement that will come, who will find favor, and who will not. However, all three use this parable to share that we are to be the enhancers of God’s word, to be the preservers of the Word throughout the ages.

Heart of Jesus: A perfect Loving heart

Sermon given at Sydenstricker UMC 4/15/18

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^NRS Joshua 24:14 "Now therefore revere the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. ¹⁵ Now if you are unwilling to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."

^NRS Galatians 5:16 Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. ¹⁷ For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want.

There is a story about three brothers, one of which was a much-acclaimed actor. His name was Edwin Thomas and his brothers were John and Junius. In 1863, the three brothers performed Julius Caesar together to great acclaim. One of the brothers played Brutus. Why that is important comes after their performance. John would become famous as the one who entered into the President’s box in 1865 and killed Abraham Lincoln. Edwin’s brothers, John and Junius had a different last name. Their last name was Booth, as in John Wilkes Booth. Edwin was so embarrassed that he refused to act following this incident. One day he was in the train station in New Jersey when a young man lost his footing and fell onto the tracks. Edwin immediately locked his leg around a post, reached out and saved the young man. Edwin later received a letter from the current president thanking him for saving the young man that day. Funny thing about that, the young man’s name was Todd Lincoln, the son of Abraham Lincoln. How can one brother be about life while the other is about death?

We have gathered today to talk about what a perfect loving heart looks like. Perfect love is unconditional. It carries with it no requirements other than that of loving one another. It requires only that we decide to love in return. It carries with it no strings, no burdens, no expectations or abuse. Perfect love requires of us that we have the ability to choose whether we love back in return or not. We call this doctrine of love, free will and it is a tenant of our denomination. We believe that God loves us unconditionally without merit to who we are, where we were born, how we walked life’s journey to this point and whether we love God in return. 

God loves us unconditionally and unendingly. I have often been told that my answer is too simple, that is truly must be more complicated than what I say. There must be rules, doctrines and guidelines that I am not telling and I am using this simplistic explanation to entice people. However, the reality is that it is simply that God loves us unconditionally and unendingly, nothing more, nothing less. We make it difficult because we want to believe that life everything else it life, it cannot be simple and uncomplicated. God loves us unconditionally and unendingly.

Richard Rohr writes that it was God’s plan all along to bring Jesus into the world. That the 14.8 million years since creation began, God has intended all along to bring Jesus into the world. Not to bring atonement but to allow us to learn about God. Jesus came not to change how God is in relationship with us but how we are in relationship with God.

So what does perfect love look like? I read a poster just the other day that sums up perfect love in a wonderful way. It said, “You come to love not by finding the perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly. Jesus came to teach us to look at the world perfectly. To see the love that weaves its way in the flaws of humanity, in the creases of age, in the beauty of a sunset and in the imperfections of our bodies. What lies within all of those things is the love that God gives each day, reaching out to us in a desire for us to feel the warmth of an embrace, the whisper of a kiss and the fullness of being loved. Today is the day when we have the opportunity to go out and change the world. It cannot be done through violence, deceit or manipulation. It can only be done when people understand that you care about them in an authentic genuine way. Paul sums it up well when he wrote these words, “⁴ Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant  ⁵ or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;  ⁶ it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth.  ⁷ It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  ⁸ Love never ends.”

Jesus summed it up a different way. He said that true love, perfect love is the willingness to lay down your life for it. Complete submission is the way of love for Jesus. It is a love where we give all that we have to another without regard to promises, conditions, strings or even life itself. Imagine with me for a moment that kind of love. Imagine if the world around us learned to love one another in such a way, that we would be willing to give our lives to secure that love. That is the essence of this scripture this morning and of the one from Corinthians. If we, the people of God, were willing to sacrifice everything so that everyone else in the world could experience that kind of love, then I believe we could and would create paradise here on earth. I believe that is the reason that Jesus came into the world, to show us what that love looks like and to go to the cross that we might experience it.

We have and will continue to be in a discussion about Discipleship. As we explore the concept of discipleship, the one thing that should continue to rise to the surface is our desire, our obligation if you will, to love one another. We cannot become perfect in our relationship with God without love. We cannot move forward in our desire to be true disciples of Jesus Christ in the world without learning to love one another. Jesus walked this earth over two thousand years ago and His example, found in the Gospel’s and Epistle writings leads us to learn this basic concept of discipleship. If we cannot find a way to love one another, regardless, we cannot find a path that allows us entry into the Kingdom. If we cannot enter the Kingdom then we have no chance for salvation. That seems to be a hard lesson that Jesus taught over and over again. If you are not willing He said, to abide in me and let me abide in you then there is little chance we can be in true authentic relationship.

Many years ago a young woman who dressed in gothic fashion and I began to have a discussion. I enjoy talking with young people because often it lets me know how out of touch with the world I really am and provokes me to learn what makes the world move around me in different ways. We cannot continue to do what we have always done or we will achieve the same results we have been achieving, declining as a church until we die. What is that famous quote; the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. So I asked her why she dressed the way she did. She wrote me a three page typed response and the one reason that stood out was this. If you can accept me for who I am then we can have relationship together. If my clothes prevent that then you cannot see who I am and we cannot be friends. Profound don’t you think? I wonder how many times we turn away from folks because they dress, act or talk a certain way. Jesus by the way never turned anyone away. His teaching caused some to walk away but He offered them perfection before they decided to leave. A member of our family shared with me that another member of our family was leaving us because they did not feel welcome. What does that say about us?

We should all strive to have a perfect loving heart. It does not mean that we will be in relationship with everyone under every circumstance. What it does mean is that we will always be open to the idea that no matter who you are, we will strive to be in relationship with you. Why? Because God is that way with each of us.

We as the church called Sydenstricker have come a long ways in the last almost two years. In July, actually on June 28^th Bonnie and I will have been here two years. In that time, we have grown in size but more importantly, we have grown in love and enthusiasm. Not every one of you has welcomed all of the changes that have come and I would have expected no difference in that. We must make other changes if we have hope of being relevant in our ministry to the world around us.  

We have to come to terms with who we are called to be and how we can live into that calling. Jesus called us out in the Great Commission to GO out into the world, make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and teach them all the things He taught us. What did He teach us? To love God with all our hearts, minds and soul and love one another in the same way. We even have a vision of how to live into that, Christ’s love in action. Did you hear that? We are called to be Christ, as we love people in our actions. Bringing God to People and People to God.

Who are we going to be? Are we going to be faithful to the promise of God and enter into the Kingdom with the Holy Spirit? Are we willing to empty ourselves of our prejudices, our holds to tradition, our comfortability to only do what we have always done or are we willing to reach out to the world in new ways that bring folk into relationship with God? Perfect love gives us the choice to be in relationship with God or not. As Joshua said to the people of Israel, I now say to you, the choice is yours, but as for my house, and me we will serve the Lord.

Parallel Gospel - Chapter Six

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Chapter 6

Sermon on the Mount

The Sermon on the Mount is a great teaching moment in the Bible. It may surprise you to know that Matthew spends three chapters on it, Mark ignores it all together and Luke spends only one chapter although Luke spreads some of the teachings throughout his writing. Again, the wrong question is who is right. The right question is what is the writer trying to tell. Matthew’s account is a collection of sermons or teachings if you will. Matthew could easily shared piece by piece through individual talks, teachings or sermons, in order, and the reader would receive a full accounting of the miracles, the healings, the teaching, the birth and death and resurrection of Jesus. Matthew has taken all the teachings of Jesus and put them in one place so that the reader can get a full account of what Jesus said in one place. It is structured like a lecture teaching if you will that is easily followed.

Mark on the other hand doesn’t include a special sermon on the mountain. He talks about Jesus going to the mountain several times and there is teaching or miracles that occur. So why are the two so different? Maybe Mark is more focused on sharing with the Romans the nature of God on earth. Which makes the miracles and healing stories far more important than the upheaval of structure and order that is Rome. Mark is trying to convince the Roman reader that Jesus is the Son of God, is divine and that following Him is more important than loyalty to Caesar or any Roman God.

Luke likewise spends only one chapter on the Sermon on the Mount. Did it happen? Apparently, two of the writers spend at least one chapter on it. Did all the teachings of Jesus that we see in parallel occur in that one teaching? Probably not? Which is why Luke spreads the teachings throughout, bringing in what he would consider important lessons in the story at the time of certain events, healings or confrontations with the Jewish authorities. Remember the three writers are trying to convey a story with an important message to their readers.

The Sermon on the Mount in Matthew is the centerpiece of the teachings of Jesus. In the story we get all the teachings of what is important to Jesus. Jesus focuses on reaching out to the poor, the marginalized, the need to be humble before God and the need to great witnesses to the message. Luke follows along but places these pieces in different places and uses often-different words. Luke may be stressing the need to reach out to the marginalized while Matthew is giving us the whole story that includes the humbleness before God, the need to strive for peace, etc. Matthew also spends more time on how we are to live our lives, anger management, obeying the law and listening to the prophets, not storing up treasurers here on earth, etc. Luke spends time telling these as well but shares them within parables to emphasis the teaching.

So what do we glean from the Sermon on the Mount and the stories that are attached in Matthew or disclosed in Luke in other locations and settings. That Jesus is trying to change the very order of things. That Jesus is reaching out to the poor, the marginalized and the sick. Certainly all of these things. That Jesus is setting guidelines for how to live our lives? Again, certainly! Mark never mentions the beatitudes but again, his audience is Rome. He does allow the stories about the salt of the earth and the law to be included in his dialogue. All three include the Lord ’s Prayer with a twist. Matthew and Luke are very similar but Mark only asks to be focus on forgiving.

The Lord ’s Prayer is worth noting how it is handled by each of the writers. Matthew includes it in the Sermon on the Mount. It is strategically placed between loving your neighbor, how you share your witness and fasting. These are every day challenges for all Christians. Mark almost includes it as a passing thought, placed between the prophecy of the fig tree and their arrival in Jerusalem. Maybe he thought that it was an important thought but not worthy of its own section in the story. Luke begins chapter 11 with the Lord’s prayer and quickly takes us on what can be done through the power of God. Again Luke spends a great deal of time on miracles while Matthew focuses on Jesus teaching.