Good morning- what a beautiful one so far!
Great weekend. Morgan and Bobbi-Jo got home later Friday night. The entire family spent the day in Ithaca Saturday (I had funeral to officiate). Morgan and Bobbi-Jo came to church Sunday and it was good to see them. It is good to be together. We are going to Vermont to help them move the weekend of August 1, so we will see them again soon!
The disciples seem to be always concerned about "the greatest" (aren't we all?). The disciples were looking at the kingdom in an earthly manner, and wanted to know who would be "top dog" with Jesus! Who would get top honors and who would be second in command? Why are we so concerned about position? Jesus could have just come right out and said, "Me!" but instead, Jesus gathers the children together (a familiar story for us) and talks about the faith of the children. The fact that there were kids there and that they came when Jesus calls says something about the nature of Jesus! The words were probably disconcerting for the disciples though, children held a status similar to women in Judaic culture! The idea is though, we are to be humble, innocent, pure, happy, trusting, peaceful- like the children. Can we be that way? What has happened to our innocence- the innocence of the children? Jesus continues (v 5), "The way you treat children is how you are treating me." Do we accept Jesus' humbleness, innocence, purity etc.? Sin is bad- but causing someone else to sin is far worse (v 6). Jesus continues wit this theme- woe to the one... (v 7). We live in a corrupt and evil world, know the choices you make will have consequences- some good, some not so good- you decide how you want to act. It is especially bad when you cause others to do bad. The "treatment" for sin (vv 8-9) seem harsh; Jesus doesn't literally mean this- but the point is that if we do cut off our right hand, we can still sin with our left. We need to change/ transform from the inside. True sinlessness comes from a change in heart, not physical mutilation! It is our mind and heart that we have to fix to solve the problem of sin.
Be careful how we treat the humble (v 10). We all have these guardian angles that God has assigned to us. I think of Clarence in "It's a Wonderful Life" when I think of guardian angels! Are we guardians angels for others? God cares for the individual (vv 12- 14). Do we go and look after the one that has strayed away or are we more concerned about the group? What do we do when we find one of the sheep straying? What does God do?
The next set of verses (vv 15- 17) are important lessons for us! Essentially- the message is- don't be gossiping and spreading mistrust among the community. Someone offends you- say something to them0 in private and solve the issue. We just had a small incident at my church. I said something that got someone angry. I knew they were upset, but when I asked why- they said nothing- just let is stew away. They were certain to say something to someone else though! Maybe I should preach this verse some time soon! If you solve the problem- that's a win, but if not, then begin to involve a few people. The circle gets bigger as the person becomes more "stubborn". The idea here is about reconciliation and building torn relationships. Is this how we act or do we just let things fester and stew in our gut? I like the next few lines (vv 19- 20). There is power in agreement in groups. It is easier to accomplish tasks that are mutually agreed upon. The more people working together and agreeing, the easier and faster the work gets accomplished. Church committees are like this; if one person wants to begin a program or do something- it is hard- but of there is a small group on the "same side", great things can be accomplished.
The parable of the unforgiving servant comes next. When Peter mentions forgiving seven times, he is referencing a rabbinical guideline that you only have to forgive three times. Peter's desire to forgive seven times is over gracious and expounding love for the offender! Jesus comes back with- forgiveness must be unlimited (v 22). How often can you forgive someone?
The first servant had a huge debt that could never be repaid (v 24). After some "negotiating" and discussion, the master, showing compassion and love, forgives the debt (v 27). The first servant went away and found servant #2 that owed servant #1 some money (v 28)- a much smaller amount than the first one. Negotiations, similar to the first scene occurred, and we would expect grace and compassion from servant #1- as that is how he was treated. Not so, and servant #2 was thrown in jail. No compassion, no grace, no guilt, no thoughts from servant #1. The other servants found out and realized how bad servant #2 had been treated; the others saw the evil and injustice of servant #2. They tell the master and servant #1was thrown in jail after being yelled at for lack on compassion and love. The parable ends with Jesus saying- God has forgiven such a great debt in your life- that any debt owed to you is insignificant! We are to treat others with respect and compassion. Forgiveness comes from our heart and soul. Are you able to forgive and have compassion for Brothers and Sisters? As forgiven sinners, we should also forgive! Can we?
Some really hard points in the stories today. Some things to struggle with!
Have a great day and enjoy the beauty of the day!
Shalom+
Pasto Paul
Jesus wants us to be like children, to have complete faith , looe , trust and be humble. Having that kind of faith etc is easy for children but not so for us as we get older . we seem to forget how to be so trusting and have that faith. Life gets in the way, things that happen with us to us etc. affect how we face life, problems etc. We don't always look to Jesus for help. We sin and lose sight of Jesus at times.. Our right hand doesn't always know what our left hand is doing so the story goes. We commit sins against others and often tend to not ask for forgiveness. of that person we have sinned against, mostly that just leads to more problems as the person we have wronged may then wrong us and it can just snowball. We forget that God forgave our debts by giving his Son to save us from our debts. Could we give even a tiny bit of forgiveness to others and try to be more godlike? Just thinking>
ReplyDeleteWhy do we lose that child like faith and trust as we age?
ReplyDeleteit is difficult to forgive- isn't it!? Why?
Good points Clara!