Shared Knowledge

We like the idea of grace.  We like even more the reality that grace is freely given.  Like a stream of water that comes from deep in the earth and flows a long journey to the sea, so do we regard grace as being inexhaustible and ever present.  For most of us the person of Jesus epitomizes grace.  But, then we come to a parable such as the one found in the last part of the 23rd chapter of Matthew.  It is the one known as the parable of the unforgiving servant.  As Jesus tells the parable, He talks about a slave who owes more than he could possibly pay in a life time who is forgiven his debt  by his master. 

 

And so, how does the slave express understanding of the grace given to him?  He finds a fellow slave who owes him a much lesser amount and threatens to have him cast into prison if the debt is not paid.  When the master hears about it, he says, "Should you not have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?"  (Matthew 19:33)  He then rescinds his offer of grace and cast the ungrateful slave to be tortured.  The parable ends with Jesus leaving the parable and saying, "So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from the heart.  (Matthew 18:35)

This harsh word brings to mind some of the words of the prayer Jesus taught us to pray as well as some other words about reconciliation from the Sermon on the Mount.  (Matthew 6:12, 5:21-26)  For those who are intent on following Jesus forgiveness is not an option, but an imperative.  We either forgive or we choose to start walking a different way than the way Jesus is walking.  How do we know if there is someone we need to forgive?  We surely know their names.  They are the ones we cannot look in the eyes.  They are the ones we avoid.  They are the ones whose name causes us to start thinking about the words they need to hear from us.  Is there someone we need to forgive?  God knows and so do we. 

Walking in Blessings

It was near dark.  The sharp lightning and crashing thunder which had filled the afternoon skies had moved to other places.  All that was left of the summer storm was a rain falling gently upon the earth.  While it was still enough rain falling to get wet, I chose to walk to evening chores instead of driving the truck from place to place.  As we move away from childhood, it seems that rain is something to be avoided.  We run when caught in it and we shelter ourselves from it with round umbrellas.  Yesterday as dark fell with the rain, I chose to walk in it. 

 

Of course, the first sensations were the physical ones.  It felt surprisingly cold to skin warmed by a hot summer day.  From wet hair water literally dripped across the front of my face.  And, soon both shirt and pants became more than just spotted with the falling water.  With feet becoming more wet with each step, I moved from one chore to another.  Shutting up the chickens came first. Securing the garden from deer was next. The evening walk finally brought me to the pasture where a count was made and water troughs were checked. 

 

Somewhere along the way, the physical sensation of walking in the rain passed and it came to me that I was walking in the blessing of the Creator God who sent the rain to renew the earth and the souls of men and women like me who walked on it.  Suddenly, it seemed like a moment of baptism.  Immersed in the rain I began to understand that I was not only then immersed in the blessing of God, but always.  In every moment whether rain or sun, day or night, good times and bad times, I never walked without being immersed in the blessing of God. 

A Day of Blessing

Today God filled the sky above with rain
   and sent it falling to the earth.
The falling rain blessed the dry dirt,
   the wet dirt blessed the parched grass,
    the greening grass blessed the grazing cows,
     the filled cows blessed the watching farmer,
      the grateful farmer blessed the giving Father,
Who formed and sent the blessing of falling rain. 

Sinner or Insignificant

While most of us know the parable of the lost sheep opens up a trilogy of parables in Luke 15, it also shows up in the 18th chapter of Matthew.  It is the one about the ninety-nine being safe and the shepherd going out to find the one.   When we read either one of the two, it is almost possible to hear in the air George Beverly Shea singing, "There were ninety and nine that safely lay. In the shelter of the fold. But one was out on the hills away. Far off from the gates of gold. Away on the mountains, wild and bare. Away from the tender shepherd's care..."

Of course, a close look reveals that the two are significantly different.  The parable Luke tells us is one that is about the finding of one sinner while the one Matthew is about children.  In Matthew 18:14 we hear Jesus ending the parable with the words, "So it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones be lost."  These ending words tie the parable into the beginning of the 18th chapter where Jesus responds to the question, "Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?"  pointing his listeners to a child among them.

There are many surprises in the Kingdom of Heaven.  No one would have ever picked a child as the answer to the question.  Those present that day would have pointed to some scribe, or priest, or, perhaps, even political leader with wealth, power, and status.  They likely would have responded in the manner we would respond.  It is not always easy for us to realize that this Kingdom about which Jesus spoke is for everyone.  It is for the least of all of us.  It is for those do not count according to the definition of our culture.  While Jesus died on the cross for all of us, it is also true that He died for each single one of us.  It matters not if we are sinner or insignificant.

The Nice Guy Image

Some folks really want Jesus to be a nice guy.  They want Him to be a real people pleaser and they will go to great lengths to portray Him as they want others to see Him.  Those who would re-make Jesus usually do so by either declaring He did not really say some of the harsh sounding things attributed to Him, or by giving His harder teachings a new softer, more palatable interpretation.  The parable of the net found in Matthew 13:47 is one of those which requires some work if Jesus is going to have their intended nice guy image. 

In the parable of the net Jesus moves from the dirt to the water and likens the Kingdom of Heaven to a net cast into the water which catches every kind of fish.  Some are deemed good and some bad.  At the end of the parable as the bad fish are thrown away, we hear Jesus saying, "So it will be at the end of the age.  The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."  (Matthew 13:49-50)  This parable ends on the same note as does the earlier parable of the wheat and the weeds.  (Matthew 13:41-43) 

There is no good new here for those who want nothing to do with pursuing God.  There is no good news here for those who live as if they are at the center of the universe.  There is no good news here for those who live today and tomorrow and the next day under the influence of evil instead of under the rule of God.  All of us might wish things would be different.  All of us might like there to be a note of universal deliverance sounded here, but if we add it, we end up putting ourselves on the side where Jesus is not standing. 

Twin Parables

Twin parables is what the two might be called.  One follows the other in the 13th chapter of Matthew.  One is about a hidden treasure found in a field and the other about a pearl so valuable that the merchant sold everything in his inventory to buy the one.  But the common denominator to both is, of course, the opening words in which we hear Jesus saying, "The kingdom of heaven is like..."  and the closing phrase about "selling all that he has to buy."  (Matthew 13:44-46)

What is obvious is that Jesus is declaring that nothing is of any greater value than the Kingdom of Heaven.  Nothing measures up to being a part of what God is doing in the world.  When it is all said and done nothing in our life is more important than the Kingdom of Heaven.  Of course, this is a word that goes against the grain of everything our culture values.  Most of us spend most of our energy on things like accumulating more, elevating ourselves to a higher status in the eyes of others, and securing security for ourselves and our family.  Pursuing the Kingdom is more like a peripheral issue.

Could we be so wrong?  Could we be kin to the young man who showed up in the presence of Jesus as a seeker only to be told, "...go sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me."  (Matthew 19:21)  Could it be that there are other things in our life which are more important to us than being one who is actively involved in pushing the rule of God another step forward in the place where He has put us?  Could it be that these twin parables are so convicting that we dismiss them into the world of being too simple to be relevant? Could it possibly be?

Soon

Sooner than soon
   shall I see Him,
   not as one seeing another,
but, as one seeing the
   unseeable, invisible
Mystery.

Perhaps, before the pen
   finishes its work.
   or one day just
after the next tomorrow
   in His time, not mine.
Soon.