Serving What God?
Commentary
How does one preach in the middle of the summer and vacation time, when God is possibly the last thing on people’s minds? Unless there is a summer weather disaster or tragic shooting incident at a populated tourist attraction, the whole topic of God, life, and death matters all seem distant if not morbid. This is still the season when the church does its mission. Matthew 28:16-20 still applies: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Greek: Ethne). This week’s texts provide opportunities to raise the question of what god we are serving in our actions. That is, what concern or reason for living really drives our lives? (Tillich, The Courage to Be, pp. 167-178).
Genesis 22:1-14
Regardless if one wants to argue whether this text is an insertion of the Elohist writer (Von Rad, p. 238) or simple narrative of an Abrahamic tradition (Brueggemann, p. 185), the text pushes the question of obedience to what sort of God does Israel worship, and why. Do we serve a God who tempts us in such ways as to force us to probe whether we really trust his word when it comes to sacrificing a loved one? Isaac was Abraham’s son and the promise of his seed for future generations (Von Rad, pp. 239-240). That is, are people of faith called to unquestioned obedience if they believe that God’s demands are monstrous? At what point does one consider whether we are to take what is said literally or as a metaphor pointing to other ideas and realities? We face similar questions this year in Matthew 5:29-30 regarding plucking out one’s right eye or cutting off their right hand if it causes them to sin, resulting in the whole body going to hell. Furthermore, does one fear such a God that makes the demand to sacrifice a child? What is the nature of obedience to God? Is this the God whom we serve? (Von Rad).
Another discussion of this text might be to promote interplay between God and humans in a tension that challenges faith in God, and servanthood to this same deity. In this text Abraham is ready to move on God’s commands. He does not remain paralyzed, though he is commanded to do a distasteful action. Does God have genuine tests for believers that create a crisis in faith, such as the possibility of losing one’s son or daughter? Finally, one has to trust that God will provide as God did with the ram in the “thicket” (Brueggemann, pp. 185-192).
Some directions one might explore if this text is chosen include the nature of faith. Is faith blind? Is one entitled to “test” a voice if it is said to be from God? Is this consistent with the God we serve? How and when does God give commands that do not seem to be consistent with the type of God we thought we were serving? Would God tell a person to leave a career or vocation in which they have invested many years of education and experience? Would God tell a parent to let their son or daughter take the consequences for bad decisions made, rather than helping them out financially? Is there a time God calls us to make tough decisions in our faith, which is unrecognizable from the past?
Do we trust God as a “provider” at all times? In this narrative God provided a “ram.” Have we ever had to make tough choices and could not see such a “ram” in the thicket? Are there projects and people we are so invested in that if we were ever asked to give them up it would precipitate a crisis in faith?
If one wants to borrow from the New Testament, then Paul offers words of comfort in 1 Corinthians 10:13: “No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.” A word of caution in the use of this text might be from the book of Job. The righteous man did lose many loved ones as a means of a test. Can one still serve the God of the Hebrew Bible and New Testament, even if the worst scenarios occur? In the season the church does its mission, such questions are worth considering. [Sources: Walter Brueggemann, Interpretation, A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching: Genesis (Westminster John Knox Press, 1987); Paul Tillich, The Courage to Be (Yale University Press, 1952); Gerhard Von Rad, New Testament Library: Genesis (Westminster Press, 1972)]
Romans 6:12-23
The assumption of this text might sound alarming for many western Christians. That is, we are “slaves” to some force, be it sin or to the Lord of the Torah and New Testament. The text raises the idea that if a person is baptized (or converted) in Christ, then they need not follow the passions of the old sinful self. However, what happens if they take the easy way out and continue to follow the passions of their old life? It really boils down to who is “Lord” in the person’s life. Christians are to walk in newness of life. Paul acknowledges that the carnal nature of sin persists, but believers are to persist even more in their resistance to listening to the former master of sin. Everyday Christians have a choice to either serve what Martin Luther calls “the old Adam” of the fallen creation or the new Adam, which is Jesus pointing to new life (Luther, 568.4).
As a Christian, I struggle with justification by faith through grace, which makes us right with God, and then figuring out where sanctification fits into the picture. Certain church traditions have a stingier view of the doctrine of sanctification than others do. However, it still comes down to which God we are serving.
A good text for clarifying this struggle comes earlier in Romans 6:5-8: “For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. For whoever has died is freed from sin. But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.” Portions of this text are used in some funeral liturgies.
The consequences of sin still lead to death, and the fruits of faithfulness to Christ lead to life (even once baptized!). This is the simple message. Another way to express this might be that all false gods disappoint those who follow them before the grave or at the grave. The only Lord that will deliver us beyond the grave is the one who has risen from the grave (Tillich).
Naming false gods of the age can be dangerous these days. For example, a pastor performs a sermonic re-enactment of the Elijah at Mt. Carmel text in 1 Kings 18 to make the point that the local fanatical frenzy over high school sports lets families down eventually. Academic and financial needs are the major paths to college and success in that community. One major sports injury crushes any dreams of athletic scholarships! Regardless of how much data, biblical passages, and persuasive stories the pastor shares, the pastor has named a false deity who has captured the local populist mindset rather than church. The families of athletes, like the Pharisees, conspire to get the pastor fired at the next church council meeting for exposing the idol of the times.
There might be some older church members who lament that preachers do not “put their foot down” on certain priorities that are way above church. Paul’s call to not be a slave to sin or false gods remains valid but may be costly. In this text, Paul also allows the preacher to generically state that there are temptations to obey old passions. To name the elephants in the room (such as school sports, family day activities on Sundays, and “this is my only day to sleep in”) might carry a price or consequences that some pastors are not willing to face at this time.
One of the other challenges I find myself as a pastor facing is placing church time above time with my wife. She has been my companion through seminary and through the numerous churches where we struggled as we were living off the community food pantry and government cheese. So would the Paul in Romans remind me that I am a husband before I am a “pastor”?This is important because we have many people in our congregations who also must make judgment calls between work and family. What path of service leads to life is a theme that ties all three of these texts together. [Sources: Arland J. Hultgren, Paul’s Letter to the Romans (Wm. B. Eerdmanns, 2011); Theodore G. Tappert, The Book of Concord: The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church (Fortress, Press, 1959); Paul Tillich, Systematic Theology, Volume 2 (University of Chicago Press, 1975)]
Matthew 10:40-42
The broader context of this text is Jesus appointing the twelve disciples, then sending them out to heal and preach. Mark 9:37 and 41 has a similar text. The main point is that the message and the messenger are closely intertwined as they are sent out in mission into the lands. To accept the disciples is to accept Chris and his message. This concludes a portion of a missionary discourse.
There is much written these days on being a “missional church.” The term has many definitions, depending on which church circles we associate within. I read one paper from my denomination that suggests that a missional church also includes an “entrepreneurial spirit” and a “strong understanding of how money and finances work” within a church. What does it mean to be a “missionary” in an American society where the fastest growing populations are those who choose the “none” option on personal religious preferences?
Matthew’s gospel presents even more challenges because the author often presupposes that the reader or hearer is aware of Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) references, names, and locations. The “great commission” later in Matthew (28:16-20) is already being applied by the twelve disciples in this text. Matthew has in mind the “wandering missionaries, prophets, and righteous men, who presumably have authority to teach the commandments of God and their interpretation by Jesus [they are] often despised, persecuted, always dependent on hospitality, and bringing with them the living Word of God that sets its stamp on their lives” (Schweizer, p. 253). What is the modern version of being a missionary for Jesus Christ? Many of us might live in a time and culture that has heard the message before many times in the form of media, publications, and internet sites.
I find nuggets of insight from the vision of the Kingdom of Heaven in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7. I try to identify a particular source of anxiety within the community, such as a consolidation of schools due to a lack of enrollment and finances, or worries of unpredictable weather conditions such as sudden floods or other storms destroying homes and businesses. In the small town and rural community I live in, there are constant questions regarding what will happen to the communities when the younger people graduate from high school, then move away to seek opportunities in more urban settings. These same families might even worry about their college graduate returning home to stay in the family basement while unemployed, but now with a student loan debt. These are all sources of anxiety!
Matthew 6:25-34 points to reasons not to be anxious. Matthew 6:34 concludes the chapter with “So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” The invitation to imagine a Kingdom of Heaven as described in the Sermon on the Mount is the direction I will explore with this text. It is my hope to be able to walk my talk as a pastor as I myself wonder if I will ever be able to retire after the 2008 stock market crash. We are all in this valley together. But the Kingdom of Heaven is still real. [Sources: Donald A. Hagner, Word Biblical Commentary: Matthew 1-13 (Thomas Nelson, 1993); Eduard Schweizer, The Good News According to Matthew (John Knox Press, 1975)]
Genesis 22:1-14
Regardless if one wants to argue whether this text is an insertion of the Elohist writer (Von Rad, p. 238) or simple narrative of an Abrahamic tradition (Brueggemann, p. 185), the text pushes the question of obedience to what sort of God does Israel worship, and why. Do we serve a God who tempts us in such ways as to force us to probe whether we really trust his word when it comes to sacrificing a loved one? Isaac was Abraham’s son and the promise of his seed for future generations (Von Rad, pp. 239-240). That is, are people of faith called to unquestioned obedience if they believe that God’s demands are monstrous? At what point does one consider whether we are to take what is said literally or as a metaphor pointing to other ideas and realities? We face similar questions this year in Matthew 5:29-30 regarding plucking out one’s right eye or cutting off their right hand if it causes them to sin, resulting in the whole body going to hell. Furthermore, does one fear such a God that makes the demand to sacrifice a child? What is the nature of obedience to God? Is this the God whom we serve? (Von Rad).
Another discussion of this text might be to promote interplay between God and humans in a tension that challenges faith in God, and servanthood to this same deity. In this text Abraham is ready to move on God’s commands. He does not remain paralyzed, though he is commanded to do a distasteful action. Does God have genuine tests for believers that create a crisis in faith, such as the possibility of losing one’s son or daughter? Finally, one has to trust that God will provide as God did with the ram in the “thicket” (Brueggemann, pp. 185-192).
Some directions one might explore if this text is chosen include the nature of faith. Is faith blind? Is one entitled to “test” a voice if it is said to be from God? Is this consistent with the God we serve? How and when does God give commands that do not seem to be consistent with the type of God we thought we were serving? Would God tell a person to leave a career or vocation in which they have invested many years of education and experience? Would God tell a parent to let their son or daughter take the consequences for bad decisions made, rather than helping them out financially? Is there a time God calls us to make tough decisions in our faith, which is unrecognizable from the past?
Do we trust God as a “provider” at all times? In this narrative God provided a “ram.” Have we ever had to make tough choices and could not see such a “ram” in the thicket? Are there projects and people we are so invested in that if we were ever asked to give them up it would precipitate a crisis in faith?
If one wants to borrow from the New Testament, then Paul offers words of comfort in 1 Corinthians 10:13: “No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.” A word of caution in the use of this text might be from the book of Job. The righteous man did lose many loved ones as a means of a test. Can one still serve the God of the Hebrew Bible and New Testament, even if the worst scenarios occur? In the season the church does its mission, such questions are worth considering. [Sources: Walter Brueggemann, Interpretation, A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching: Genesis (Westminster John Knox Press, 1987); Paul Tillich, The Courage to Be (Yale University Press, 1952); Gerhard Von Rad, New Testament Library: Genesis (Westminster Press, 1972)]
Romans 6:12-23
The assumption of this text might sound alarming for many western Christians. That is, we are “slaves” to some force, be it sin or to the Lord of the Torah and New Testament. The text raises the idea that if a person is baptized (or converted) in Christ, then they need not follow the passions of the old sinful self. However, what happens if they take the easy way out and continue to follow the passions of their old life? It really boils down to who is “Lord” in the person’s life. Christians are to walk in newness of life. Paul acknowledges that the carnal nature of sin persists, but believers are to persist even more in their resistance to listening to the former master of sin. Everyday Christians have a choice to either serve what Martin Luther calls “the old Adam” of the fallen creation or the new Adam, which is Jesus pointing to new life (Luther, 568.4).
As a Christian, I struggle with justification by faith through grace, which makes us right with God, and then figuring out where sanctification fits into the picture. Certain church traditions have a stingier view of the doctrine of sanctification than others do. However, it still comes down to which God we are serving.
A good text for clarifying this struggle comes earlier in Romans 6:5-8: “For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. For whoever has died is freed from sin. But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.” Portions of this text are used in some funeral liturgies.
The consequences of sin still lead to death, and the fruits of faithfulness to Christ lead to life (even once baptized!). This is the simple message. Another way to express this might be that all false gods disappoint those who follow them before the grave or at the grave. The only Lord that will deliver us beyond the grave is the one who has risen from the grave (Tillich).
Naming false gods of the age can be dangerous these days. For example, a pastor performs a sermonic re-enactment of the Elijah at Mt. Carmel text in 1 Kings 18 to make the point that the local fanatical frenzy over high school sports lets families down eventually. Academic and financial needs are the major paths to college and success in that community. One major sports injury crushes any dreams of athletic scholarships! Regardless of how much data, biblical passages, and persuasive stories the pastor shares, the pastor has named a false deity who has captured the local populist mindset rather than church. The families of athletes, like the Pharisees, conspire to get the pastor fired at the next church council meeting for exposing the idol of the times.
There might be some older church members who lament that preachers do not “put their foot down” on certain priorities that are way above church. Paul’s call to not be a slave to sin or false gods remains valid but may be costly. In this text, Paul also allows the preacher to generically state that there are temptations to obey old passions. To name the elephants in the room (such as school sports, family day activities on Sundays, and “this is my only day to sleep in”) might carry a price or consequences that some pastors are not willing to face at this time.
One of the other challenges I find myself as a pastor facing is placing church time above time with my wife. She has been my companion through seminary and through the numerous churches where we struggled as we were living off the community food pantry and government cheese. So would the Paul in Romans remind me that I am a husband before I am a “pastor”?This is important because we have many people in our congregations who also must make judgment calls between work and family. What path of service leads to life is a theme that ties all three of these texts together. [Sources: Arland J. Hultgren, Paul’s Letter to the Romans (Wm. B. Eerdmanns, 2011); Theodore G. Tappert, The Book of Concord: The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church (Fortress, Press, 1959); Paul Tillich, Systematic Theology, Volume 2 (University of Chicago Press, 1975)]
Matthew 10:40-42
The broader context of this text is Jesus appointing the twelve disciples, then sending them out to heal and preach. Mark 9:37 and 41 has a similar text. The main point is that the message and the messenger are closely intertwined as they are sent out in mission into the lands. To accept the disciples is to accept Chris and his message. This concludes a portion of a missionary discourse.
There is much written these days on being a “missional church.” The term has many definitions, depending on which church circles we associate within. I read one paper from my denomination that suggests that a missional church also includes an “entrepreneurial spirit” and a “strong understanding of how money and finances work” within a church. What does it mean to be a “missionary” in an American society where the fastest growing populations are those who choose the “none” option on personal religious preferences?
Matthew’s gospel presents even more challenges because the author often presupposes that the reader or hearer is aware of Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) references, names, and locations. The “great commission” later in Matthew (28:16-20) is already being applied by the twelve disciples in this text. Matthew has in mind the “wandering missionaries, prophets, and righteous men, who presumably have authority to teach the commandments of God and their interpretation by Jesus [they are] often despised, persecuted, always dependent on hospitality, and bringing with them the living Word of God that sets its stamp on their lives” (Schweizer, p. 253). What is the modern version of being a missionary for Jesus Christ? Many of us might live in a time and culture that has heard the message before many times in the form of media, publications, and internet sites.
I find nuggets of insight from the vision of the Kingdom of Heaven in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7. I try to identify a particular source of anxiety within the community, such as a consolidation of schools due to a lack of enrollment and finances, or worries of unpredictable weather conditions such as sudden floods or other storms destroying homes and businesses. In the small town and rural community I live in, there are constant questions regarding what will happen to the communities when the younger people graduate from high school, then move away to seek opportunities in more urban settings. These same families might even worry about their college graduate returning home to stay in the family basement while unemployed, but now with a student loan debt. These are all sources of anxiety!
Matthew 6:25-34 points to reasons not to be anxious. Matthew 6:34 concludes the chapter with “So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” The invitation to imagine a Kingdom of Heaven as described in the Sermon on the Mount is the direction I will explore with this text. It is my hope to be able to walk my talk as a pastor as I myself wonder if I will ever be able to retire after the 2008 stock market crash. We are all in this valley together. But the Kingdom of Heaven is still real. [Sources: Donald A. Hagner, Word Biblical Commentary: Matthew 1-13 (Thomas Nelson, 1993); Eduard Schweizer, The Good News According to Matthew (John Knox Press, 1975)]
