What pleases God?
Commentary
Throughout the Scriptures the will of God is asserted again and again, particularly in the preaching of the Old Testament prophets and in the teachings of Jesus. Often what pleases God is indeed the faithful observance of his commands and especially the command to love one another.
Yet here and there the Bible offers other answers to the question about what pleases him, and when it does, we do well to consider the variety of ways in which God gets pleasure. Often as not, what pleases God is what he does for us.
Our lessons for this day tantalize us to consider the question as each one provides a different perspective on an answer.
Ezekiel 18:1-4, 25-32
The Babylonian exile of the sixth century B.C. caused a number of changes in which the people of Israel thought about God. The changes, of course, were necessary because (1) the people were far from their beloved city of Jerusalem and from the temple there where the Lord sat enthroned in the Holy of Holies and (2) the temple itself, along with the city, had been destroyed. Some of the changes had to do with how the people would experience God's presence here in this foreign land. Others had to do with the covenant relationship between the Lord and the people that was now difficult to verify. Indeed, one way to interpret the present disaster was the end of that relationship.
The particular issue that confronts us in this pericope is the way in which the individual Israelite was now accountable to the Lord. Earlier in the history of the biblical period the people as community related to God, were responsible to God, and were rewarded or punished according to their deeds. The community was the covenant partner -- the spouse or the child of God -- with all the rights, privileges, and responsibilities pertaining thereto.
In the time of exile that community emphasis raised some questions among people who were now exposed to different thinking in the world. One such question had to do with the unfairness that the present community seemed to be suffering for the sins of the fathers and mothers, that is, "unto the third and fourth generation" philosophy. The prophet Ezekiel was called to respond to that question in a variety of ways, including the frequent announcement that each person is held accountable by God for his or her own sins. The message comes through loud and clear as Ezekiel proclaims the Lord's annulment of the old proverb, "The parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge" (vv. 2-3).
An interesting problem is raised in verse 4. The Lord states emphatically that "all lives are mine." The announcement recognizes that as the Creator of the world and the Redeemer of Israel, all people belong to God. In the present context, the message that chimes loudly is that whether parents or children, all belong equally to the Lord. One does not receive merits or condemnations because of the other. Each one is God's, and so each one is responsible and accountable to God. The old proverb is simply that -- old, out of date, archaic. If children's teeth are set on edge, it is because they themselves have been indulging in the sour grapes.
The teaching appears to run in the face of many counseling techniques today. Persons in therapy are often challenged to reflect on the family systems out of which they come. In terms of chemical dependency, too, we become increasingly aware of the propensity of children for alcohol and drug addiction if one or, worse, both parents are addicted individuals. Truly we see the children's teeth set on edge because the parents have devoured sour chemicals.
Yet the word of the Lord through Ezekiel here is to call the people to recognize that all their sufferings are not the result of former generations. The present generation might be the result of past history, but the present and the future relationship with God is in their hands.
The purpose of the Lord's teaching here is to respond to this generation's complaint that "the way of the Lord is unfair" (vv. 25, 29). The griping is not limited to Ezekiel's time. It is a common hue and cry even today, especially when parents face the agony of burying their children or a young parent is diagnosed with a terminal illness. In the Babylonian Exile the accusation against God came up because it seemed to the people that they did not deserve the punishment they received.
God responded with the justice that seemed appropriate to this new understanding of individual responsibility: if righteous people fall into iniquity, they shall die for it; if wicked people turn to the Lord, they shall live. "What's unfair about that?" God asked.
Yet the truly good news that the prophet can announce to the people is that God takes no pleasure in the death of anyone, and so the Lord invites all people to turn to him and live. In that way God will be pleased.
Philippians 2:1-13
At 1:27 the apostle focuses on the style of living appropriate for those who have received the gospel of Jesus Christ. Identifying with them in their struggles, Paul now pleads with the congregation at Philippi to "make my joy complete."
What will make the apostle joyful is the congregation's acting as a community. Such communal commitment Paul would find in their functioning with "the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind." The apostle is not in any way suggesting they surrender their individuality and all dress in pin-striped three-piece suits. He has argued in other places that the diversity of gifts is essential to the life of the community (see Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12). What he pleads for here is a common conviction about the gospel and the new commandment that Jesus left the church: "Love one another as I have loved you." Apparently some dissension and egotistical arrogance were reported to have been occurring in the congregation, for Paul urges "humility" against "selfish ambition or conceit."
As he moves from the hortatory words into the hymn of verses 6-11, Paul writes, "Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus." The footnote in the NRSV indicates another way to read the verse is as follows: "Let the same mind be in you that you have in Christ Jesus." The meaning of the first expression is that the congregation is to imitate Christ in his humility. Strong arguments can be made for this interpretation, because Paul elsewhere encourages his readers to be "imitators of me as I am of Christ" (1 Corinthians 11:1), "imitators of us and the Lord" (1 Thessalonians 1:6), and even "imitators of God" (Ephesians 5:1). The second expression, NRSV's footnote, indicates that the mind of Christ that each of them possesses becomes also the mind that draws them together in community. The reader always has to allow the possibility that the author made the sentence ambiguous in order to make both points simultaneously.
As for the "mind" emphasis itself, Paul commonly speaks of the mind befitting Christians, though he uses different expressions in Greek. Here he uses a verb that means "have an attitude," while often elsewhere he employs the noun "mind." At Romans 12:2, for example, he considers one of the consequences of justification to be a "transformed mind" that thinks differently from "this age." Paul's "mind" is the means by which he is enslaved to the law of God over against his flesh that enslaves him to sin (Romans 7:25), although the mind can also be set on the flesh (8:6). As in our pericope, Paul urges the divided Corinthian congregation to "be united in the same mind and the same purpose" (1 Corinthians 1:10), and praying and singing with the spirit can be accompanied by the mind in a holistic response to God (1 Corinthians 14:15).
At this point and to substantiate his argument Paul quotes an already existing hymn that begins with the humility of Christ and ends with his exaltation. Interestingly, in the first stanza regarding humiliation Christ is the subject of the verbs: emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness, humbled himself, and became obedient. At this point Paul seems to have altered the rhythm by adding the words "even death on a cross." In the second stanza about exaltation God is the subject of the verbs: exalted him and gave him the name.
The rest of the hymn defines the motive for God's action, the so what: "so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend." By God's own action the name of Jesus replaced God's own name as the object of such adoration (see Isaiah 45:23). It was, after all, "in the name of Jesus" that the early church performed miracles (Acts 3:6; 4:10; 16:18), that the church baptized converts (Acts 2:38; 10:48), and in which the apostles preached (Acts 8:12). So awesome was power of "the name" that the apostles were commanded to cease speaking in the name of Jesus (Acts 4:18; 5:40). This name is celebrated and adored throughout the entire universe -- three-storied as it was in those days: "in heaven and on earth and under the earth."
While on their knees this universe of beings confesses "that Jesus Christ is Lord." Not only did God elevate the name of Jesus above all others; God even transferred to Jesus his own name: the Lord. The name by which the people of Israel called God since the days of Abraham (according to one source) or of Moses (another source) is now given to Jesus. According to Paul, this transfer of lordship with the accompanying title occurred on the basis of the resurrection (see Romans 1:4; 10:9).
The concluding words of the hymn indicate, however, that God is by no means taking the back seat. The entire event of exaltation following the humiliation and the subsequent honoring of Jesus as Lord has as its goal "the glory of God the Father." The glorification of God is the divine motive behind so many of the acts of God, even in the Old Testament. The reader will recall that the phrase "that they/you might know I am the Lord" chimes loudly throughout the narratives of the plagues against Egypt and comes to a crescendo with the salvation event at the sea: "I will gain glory for myself over Pharaoh ..." (Exodus 14:17). Likewise, the second exodus, the salvation from the exile in Babylon, will result in the praise and glory of God (see Isaiah 43:21; 48:9-11; Ezekiel 37:14).
Small wonder, then, that the humiliation and exaltation of Jesus Christ will result in the universal glorification of God, who is, after all, the owner of the verbs in the second stanza of the hymn. If that doesn't set the mind of the Christian community on what pleases God, what will?
Matthew 21:23-32
Jesus is now in Jerusalem. At the beginning of chapter 21 Matthew reported the Palm Sunday entrance of Jesus into the city. Without missing a beat, Jesus entered the temple and overturned the tables of the money changers. As if that act were not sufficient to arouse the wrath of the religious authorities, Jesus performed some healing miracles in the temple precincts, leading the children there to praise him as "the Son of David."
The next day Jesus returned to the city where he zapped the fig tree because it could not provide him food when he was hungry, providing him with a base from which he could teach the disciples about the power of prayer. From there he entered the temple to teach, but as usually happened in the midst of his lesson plans, the religious authorities interrupted with a question about the source of "his authority" to do the things he was doing. The issue of authority was raised in Matthew's Gospel all the way back in the Sermon on the Mount. When the people heard Jesus' sermon that day, they "were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as their scribes" (7:28-29). Clearly the popularity of Jesus and the recognition of the difference from the scribes could have no happy ending.
Jesus answered their question about his authority with another question about the origin of John's baptism. Knowing they were already caught in a trap no matter what their answer, they confessed ignorance. Jesus told them that since they copped out on answering, so would he.
However, Jesus went on to set them up with another question. Telling the parable about the two sons of a vineyard owner, one of whom refused to work but later went, the other who politely accepted the job but did not go, Jesus asked them the all-too-
obvious question: "Which of the two did the will of his father?" The no-brainer led Jesus to teach the religious folks of Israel that they are like the one who said Yes! but acted No! On the other hand, the ones who said No! at first but then acted Yes! include the tax collectors and prostitutes, the very people with whom Jesus spent his time.
While we might want to think of parallels from our own day for sermonizing, perhaps the better approach would be to focus on what it means to do the will of God in our day and to recognize that God accomplishes his will through the people who have little regard or standing in the eyes of the world or of the religious establishment.
What pleases God is doing the work of the kingdom whether the workers are religious or not.
FIRST LESSON FOCUS
By Elizabeth Achtemeier
Exodus 17:1-7
The traditions that we find in the Old Testament concerning Israel's wandering in the wilderness after her exodus from Egypt have a recurring pattern that probably dates back to the time when they were told orally (cf. Exodus 15:22-25; Numbers 11:1-3; 20:1-13). It is much easier to remember something if it follows a particular pattern, and the oral pattern of these particular texts shows that they are very old.
In the pattern, Israel confronts a desperate need in the desert -- in our text, the need for water. The people murmur against Moses, and he cries out to God. "What shall I do with this people? They are ready to stone me!" (v. 4). In reply, God supplies the need, giving them, in this story, the water that they require. The story is somewhat paralleled in Numbers 20:1-
13.
But this is a very human bunch that Moses is leading through the wilderness, isn't it? When they get into difficulty, they blame their leaders. And most of the time they forget all about the fact that God has delivered them and is going before them every step of the way, planning their itinerary, even showing them where to make camp (cf. Numbers 10:33-34), feeding them with manna, preventing their clothes and sandals from wearing out (Deuteronomy 29:5), and defending them from their enemies (Exodus 17:8-13). How blind they -- and we -- often are to the leading and gifts of God! Had the Israelites trusted the Lord and been aware of his constant presence, they themselves could have prayed for water. But no. They have to blame someone else, and poor Moses is in danger of being stoned. It is no wonder that Moses often wishes that God had never saddled him with the leadership of such a people.
God, however, shows his almost inexhaustible patience in these wilderness stories. Constantly he puts up with the people's lack of trust, with their complaints, and with their blindness to his grace. The people constantly put the Lord to the test, and the Lord never fails them, despite their mistrust.
So the Israelites and their cattle are given water to drink from a rock. The fact that the rock is said to be at Horeb, another name for Mount Sinai, is strange in the story, because Israel does not arrive at Sinai until chapter 19. The other traditions mentioning this story locate it at Meribah alone (Numbers 20:13; Psalm 81:7; 106:32). But however that may be, God gives water out of a spring from a rock to a thirsty people, thus preserving them alive in their time of crisis.
That water, like the supernatural food of the manna, was a "supernatural drink," wrote Paul to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 10:4) -- not a natural spring, but a gift of God's mercy. And that rock, continues Paul, was Christ.
In our deepest need, when we thirst -- for something -- or when we are confronted by the valley of death; when we have no one else to blame and no human helper; when our lack of trust and faithfulness has brought us to the edge of an abyss, and there is no exit and no hope and no future, who is it that can furnish us with the water of life, and with a new beginning? Christ. Christ our Rock. Christ who brings forth the water of eternal life, welling up and overflowing. And by his mercy, our thirst is quenched, good Christians, and our valley of death is turned into a place of life, and we are ensured a new vitality and a new beginning and a new future. And out there ahead of us, as we wander through our wildernesses, there is a place of rest and promise called the Kingdom of God. So, refreshed and renewed by the flowing Spirit of Christ our Rock, let us journey in gladness toward it.
Lutheran Option -- Ezekiel 18:1-4, 25-32
Karl Menninger of the famous Menninger Clinic wrote a book way back in 1973 titled Whatever Became of Sin? It was one of the most perceptive volumes ever written and went through multiple printings. In that book, Menninger maintained that the principal characteristic of our society is the loss of a sense of responsibility. And that is true, isn't it? For it seems as if very few people any more will take responsibility for what they do.
If someone commits a crime, we don't label them a sinner; we say they must be mentally ill, or under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and so they're not responsible. If we ourselves commit some wrong, we blame it on someone else. "My parents didn't raise me right." Or "I grew up in an evil environment." Or "I've got this psychological hangup." Or "I goofed. Sorry about that." We don't want to take responsibility for our actions, and especially we do not want to take responsibility to God. "Sin" is an outdated concept, many think, and God does not hold anyone responsible.
Our text gives the lie to such views, for it tells us plainly that the Lord holds us accountable for all of our deeds. And God does not countenance evil. "The soul that sins shall die" (v. 4). "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). "We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive good or evil, according to what he (or she) has done in the body" (2 Corinthians 5:10).
If we do evil and repent of our sin and turn away to a new way of acting, however, our text says that God will forgive us and we will not die. Conversely, if we have been doing good, but then turn to evil ways and do not repent, we shall be judged and die for our evil.
Our text and indeed the scriptures as a whole, also know the seat of our evil. It is in our hearts. As Jesus taught, "From within, out of the heart of a man (or woman) come evil thoughts ... and they defile" us (Mark 7:20, 23). There is the location of our sin -- in our hearts -- where we store up selfishness and hatreds, grudges and anxieties, fears and greeds. And those come forth from our hearts and corrupt our actions.
Therefore, says our text from Ezekiel, "Get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, O house of Israel?" We need to be made clean and new in our inner selves, that our outer actions may be good and not bad. We need to be changed from the inside out.
But how can that happen, good Christians? How can all of the selfishness and pride and wickedness that we so often harbor in our hearts be done away with and we be made new and good? It's a cinch that we can't cleanse our hearts on our own, can we? We will what is right, but we cannot do it. We do not the good that we want, but instead we do what is wrong (Romans 7:18-19).
But the Lord God sees our plight and our inability to make ourselves new. And so what does he do? He forgives us by the cross and resurrection of his Son, and then he baptizes us into that Son, and raises us to newness of life, and pours into our hearts the Spirit of Christ, giving us the ability to be good and to do what is right. And he says to us, "Come unto me," and all we have to do is to accept that by faith and to let Christ thus rule in our hearts.
Well, the invitation is there, friends. Trust Christ to make you a new person. Come unto him. And God wants so much for us to accept that. For as our text in Ezekiel says, the Lord has no pleasure in the death of anyone. He wants us to live. He wants us to live abundantly and eternally. And if we will -- if we will -- we can have that abundant and eternal life.
Yet here and there the Bible offers other answers to the question about what pleases him, and when it does, we do well to consider the variety of ways in which God gets pleasure. Often as not, what pleases God is what he does for us.
Our lessons for this day tantalize us to consider the question as each one provides a different perspective on an answer.
Ezekiel 18:1-4, 25-32
The Babylonian exile of the sixth century B.C. caused a number of changes in which the people of Israel thought about God. The changes, of course, were necessary because (1) the people were far from their beloved city of Jerusalem and from the temple there where the Lord sat enthroned in the Holy of Holies and (2) the temple itself, along with the city, had been destroyed. Some of the changes had to do with how the people would experience God's presence here in this foreign land. Others had to do with the covenant relationship between the Lord and the people that was now difficult to verify. Indeed, one way to interpret the present disaster was the end of that relationship.
The particular issue that confronts us in this pericope is the way in which the individual Israelite was now accountable to the Lord. Earlier in the history of the biblical period the people as community related to God, were responsible to God, and were rewarded or punished according to their deeds. The community was the covenant partner -- the spouse or the child of God -- with all the rights, privileges, and responsibilities pertaining thereto.
In the time of exile that community emphasis raised some questions among people who were now exposed to different thinking in the world. One such question had to do with the unfairness that the present community seemed to be suffering for the sins of the fathers and mothers, that is, "unto the third and fourth generation" philosophy. The prophet Ezekiel was called to respond to that question in a variety of ways, including the frequent announcement that each person is held accountable by God for his or her own sins. The message comes through loud and clear as Ezekiel proclaims the Lord's annulment of the old proverb, "The parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge" (vv. 2-3).
An interesting problem is raised in verse 4. The Lord states emphatically that "all lives are mine." The announcement recognizes that as the Creator of the world and the Redeemer of Israel, all people belong to God. In the present context, the message that chimes loudly is that whether parents or children, all belong equally to the Lord. One does not receive merits or condemnations because of the other. Each one is God's, and so each one is responsible and accountable to God. The old proverb is simply that -- old, out of date, archaic. If children's teeth are set on edge, it is because they themselves have been indulging in the sour grapes.
The teaching appears to run in the face of many counseling techniques today. Persons in therapy are often challenged to reflect on the family systems out of which they come. In terms of chemical dependency, too, we become increasingly aware of the propensity of children for alcohol and drug addiction if one or, worse, both parents are addicted individuals. Truly we see the children's teeth set on edge because the parents have devoured sour chemicals.
Yet the word of the Lord through Ezekiel here is to call the people to recognize that all their sufferings are not the result of former generations. The present generation might be the result of past history, but the present and the future relationship with God is in their hands.
The purpose of the Lord's teaching here is to respond to this generation's complaint that "the way of the Lord is unfair" (vv. 25, 29). The griping is not limited to Ezekiel's time. It is a common hue and cry even today, especially when parents face the agony of burying their children or a young parent is diagnosed with a terminal illness. In the Babylonian Exile the accusation against God came up because it seemed to the people that they did not deserve the punishment they received.
God responded with the justice that seemed appropriate to this new understanding of individual responsibility: if righteous people fall into iniquity, they shall die for it; if wicked people turn to the Lord, they shall live. "What's unfair about that?" God asked.
Yet the truly good news that the prophet can announce to the people is that God takes no pleasure in the death of anyone, and so the Lord invites all people to turn to him and live. In that way God will be pleased.
Philippians 2:1-13
At 1:27 the apostle focuses on the style of living appropriate for those who have received the gospel of Jesus Christ. Identifying with them in their struggles, Paul now pleads with the congregation at Philippi to "make my joy complete."
What will make the apostle joyful is the congregation's acting as a community. Such communal commitment Paul would find in their functioning with "the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind." The apostle is not in any way suggesting they surrender their individuality and all dress in pin-striped three-piece suits. He has argued in other places that the diversity of gifts is essential to the life of the community (see Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12). What he pleads for here is a common conviction about the gospel and the new commandment that Jesus left the church: "Love one another as I have loved you." Apparently some dissension and egotistical arrogance were reported to have been occurring in the congregation, for Paul urges "humility" against "selfish ambition or conceit."
As he moves from the hortatory words into the hymn of verses 6-11, Paul writes, "Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus." The footnote in the NRSV indicates another way to read the verse is as follows: "Let the same mind be in you that you have in Christ Jesus." The meaning of the first expression is that the congregation is to imitate Christ in his humility. Strong arguments can be made for this interpretation, because Paul elsewhere encourages his readers to be "imitators of me as I am of Christ" (1 Corinthians 11:1), "imitators of us and the Lord" (1 Thessalonians 1:6), and even "imitators of God" (Ephesians 5:1). The second expression, NRSV's footnote, indicates that the mind of Christ that each of them possesses becomes also the mind that draws them together in community. The reader always has to allow the possibility that the author made the sentence ambiguous in order to make both points simultaneously.
As for the "mind" emphasis itself, Paul commonly speaks of the mind befitting Christians, though he uses different expressions in Greek. Here he uses a verb that means "have an attitude," while often elsewhere he employs the noun "mind." At Romans 12:2, for example, he considers one of the consequences of justification to be a "transformed mind" that thinks differently from "this age." Paul's "mind" is the means by which he is enslaved to the law of God over against his flesh that enslaves him to sin (Romans 7:25), although the mind can also be set on the flesh (8:6). As in our pericope, Paul urges the divided Corinthian congregation to "be united in the same mind and the same purpose" (1 Corinthians 1:10), and praying and singing with the spirit can be accompanied by the mind in a holistic response to God (1 Corinthians 14:15).
At this point and to substantiate his argument Paul quotes an already existing hymn that begins with the humility of Christ and ends with his exaltation. Interestingly, in the first stanza regarding humiliation Christ is the subject of the verbs: emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness, humbled himself, and became obedient. At this point Paul seems to have altered the rhythm by adding the words "even death on a cross." In the second stanza about exaltation God is the subject of the verbs: exalted him and gave him the name.
The rest of the hymn defines the motive for God's action, the so what: "so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend." By God's own action the name of Jesus replaced God's own name as the object of such adoration (see Isaiah 45:23). It was, after all, "in the name of Jesus" that the early church performed miracles (Acts 3:6; 4:10; 16:18), that the church baptized converts (Acts 2:38; 10:48), and in which the apostles preached (Acts 8:12). So awesome was power of "the name" that the apostles were commanded to cease speaking in the name of Jesus (Acts 4:18; 5:40). This name is celebrated and adored throughout the entire universe -- three-storied as it was in those days: "in heaven and on earth and under the earth."
While on their knees this universe of beings confesses "that Jesus Christ is Lord." Not only did God elevate the name of Jesus above all others; God even transferred to Jesus his own name: the Lord. The name by which the people of Israel called God since the days of Abraham (according to one source) or of Moses (another source) is now given to Jesus. According to Paul, this transfer of lordship with the accompanying title occurred on the basis of the resurrection (see Romans 1:4; 10:9).
The concluding words of the hymn indicate, however, that God is by no means taking the back seat. The entire event of exaltation following the humiliation and the subsequent honoring of Jesus as Lord has as its goal "the glory of God the Father." The glorification of God is the divine motive behind so many of the acts of God, even in the Old Testament. The reader will recall that the phrase "that they/you might know I am the Lord" chimes loudly throughout the narratives of the plagues against Egypt and comes to a crescendo with the salvation event at the sea: "I will gain glory for myself over Pharaoh ..." (Exodus 14:17). Likewise, the second exodus, the salvation from the exile in Babylon, will result in the praise and glory of God (see Isaiah 43:21; 48:9-11; Ezekiel 37:14).
Small wonder, then, that the humiliation and exaltation of Jesus Christ will result in the universal glorification of God, who is, after all, the owner of the verbs in the second stanza of the hymn. If that doesn't set the mind of the Christian community on what pleases God, what will?
Matthew 21:23-32
Jesus is now in Jerusalem. At the beginning of chapter 21 Matthew reported the Palm Sunday entrance of Jesus into the city. Without missing a beat, Jesus entered the temple and overturned the tables of the money changers. As if that act were not sufficient to arouse the wrath of the religious authorities, Jesus performed some healing miracles in the temple precincts, leading the children there to praise him as "the Son of David."
The next day Jesus returned to the city where he zapped the fig tree because it could not provide him food when he was hungry, providing him with a base from which he could teach the disciples about the power of prayer. From there he entered the temple to teach, but as usually happened in the midst of his lesson plans, the religious authorities interrupted with a question about the source of "his authority" to do the things he was doing. The issue of authority was raised in Matthew's Gospel all the way back in the Sermon on the Mount. When the people heard Jesus' sermon that day, they "were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as their scribes" (7:28-29). Clearly the popularity of Jesus and the recognition of the difference from the scribes could have no happy ending.
Jesus answered their question about his authority with another question about the origin of John's baptism. Knowing they were already caught in a trap no matter what their answer, they confessed ignorance. Jesus told them that since they copped out on answering, so would he.
However, Jesus went on to set them up with another question. Telling the parable about the two sons of a vineyard owner, one of whom refused to work but later went, the other who politely accepted the job but did not go, Jesus asked them the all-too-
obvious question: "Which of the two did the will of his father?" The no-brainer led Jesus to teach the religious folks of Israel that they are like the one who said Yes! but acted No! On the other hand, the ones who said No! at first but then acted Yes! include the tax collectors and prostitutes, the very people with whom Jesus spent his time.
While we might want to think of parallels from our own day for sermonizing, perhaps the better approach would be to focus on what it means to do the will of God in our day and to recognize that God accomplishes his will through the people who have little regard or standing in the eyes of the world or of the religious establishment.
What pleases God is doing the work of the kingdom whether the workers are religious or not.
FIRST LESSON FOCUS
By Elizabeth Achtemeier
Exodus 17:1-7
The traditions that we find in the Old Testament concerning Israel's wandering in the wilderness after her exodus from Egypt have a recurring pattern that probably dates back to the time when they were told orally (cf. Exodus 15:22-25; Numbers 11:1-3; 20:1-13). It is much easier to remember something if it follows a particular pattern, and the oral pattern of these particular texts shows that they are very old.
In the pattern, Israel confronts a desperate need in the desert -- in our text, the need for water. The people murmur against Moses, and he cries out to God. "What shall I do with this people? They are ready to stone me!" (v. 4). In reply, God supplies the need, giving them, in this story, the water that they require. The story is somewhat paralleled in Numbers 20:1-
13.
But this is a very human bunch that Moses is leading through the wilderness, isn't it? When they get into difficulty, they blame their leaders. And most of the time they forget all about the fact that God has delivered them and is going before them every step of the way, planning their itinerary, even showing them where to make camp (cf. Numbers 10:33-34), feeding them with manna, preventing their clothes and sandals from wearing out (Deuteronomy 29:5), and defending them from their enemies (Exodus 17:8-13). How blind they -- and we -- often are to the leading and gifts of God! Had the Israelites trusted the Lord and been aware of his constant presence, they themselves could have prayed for water. But no. They have to blame someone else, and poor Moses is in danger of being stoned. It is no wonder that Moses often wishes that God had never saddled him with the leadership of such a people.
God, however, shows his almost inexhaustible patience in these wilderness stories. Constantly he puts up with the people's lack of trust, with their complaints, and with their blindness to his grace. The people constantly put the Lord to the test, and the Lord never fails them, despite their mistrust.
So the Israelites and their cattle are given water to drink from a rock. The fact that the rock is said to be at Horeb, another name for Mount Sinai, is strange in the story, because Israel does not arrive at Sinai until chapter 19. The other traditions mentioning this story locate it at Meribah alone (Numbers 20:13; Psalm 81:7; 106:32). But however that may be, God gives water out of a spring from a rock to a thirsty people, thus preserving them alive in their time of crisis.
That water, like the supernatural food of the manna, was a "supernatural drink," wrote Paul to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 10:4) -- not a natural spring, but a gift of God's mercy. And that rock, continues Paul, was Christ.
In our deepest need, when we thirst -- for something -- or when we are confronted by the valley of death; when we have no one else to blame and no human helper; when our lack of trust and faithfulness has brought us to the edge of an abyss, and there is no exit and no hope and no future, who is it that can furnish us with the water of life, and with a new beginning? Christ. Christ our Rock. Christ who brings forth the water of eternal life, welling up and overflowing. And by his mercy, our thirst is quenched, good Christians, and our valley of death is turned into a place of life, and we are ensured a new vitality and a new beginning and a new future. And out there ahead of us, as we wander through our wildernesses, there is a place of rest and promise called the Kingdom of God. So, refreshed and renewed by the flowing Spirit of Christ our Rock, let us journey in gladness toward it.
Lutheran Option -- Ezekiel 18:1-4, 25-32
Karl Menninger of the famous Menninger Clinic wrote a book way back in 1973 titled Whatever Became of Sin? It was one of the most perceptive volumes ever written and went through multiple printings. In that book, Menninger maintained that the principal characteristic of our society is the loss of a sense of responsibility. And that is true, isn't it? For it seems as if very few people any more will take responsibility for what they do.
If someone commits a crime, we don't label them a sinner; we say they must be mentally ill, or under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and so they're not responsible. If we ourselves commit some wrong, we blame it on someone else. "My parents didn't raise me right." Or "I grew up in an evil environment." Or "I've got this psychological hangup." Or "I goofed. Sorry about that." We don't want to take responsibility for our actions, and especially we do not want to take responsibility to God. "Sin" is an outdated concept, many think, and God does not hold anyone responsible.
Our text gives the lie to such views, for it tells us plainly that the Lord holds us accountable for all of our deeds. And God does not countenance evil. "The soul that sins shall die" (v. 4). "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). "We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive good or evil, according to what he (or she) has done in the body" (2 Corinthians 5:10).
If we do evil and repent of our sin and turn away to a new way of acting, however, our text says that God will forgive us and we will not die. Conversely, if we have been doing good, but then turn to evil ways and do not repent, we shall be judged and die for our evil.
Our text and indeed the scriptures as a whole, also know the seat of our evil. It is in our hearts. As Jesus taught, "From within, out of the heart of a man (or woman) come evil thoughts ... and they defile" us (Mark 7:20, 23). There is the location of our sin -- in our hearts -- where we store up selfishness and hatreds, grudges and anxieties, fears and greeds. And those come forth from our hearts and corrupt our actions.
Therefore, says our text from Ezekiel, "Get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, O house of Israel?" We need to be made clean and new in our inner selves, that our outer actions may be good and not bad. We need to be changed from the inside out.
But how can that happen, good Christians? How can all of the selfishness and pride and wickedness that we so often harbor in our hearts be done away with and we be made new and good? It's a cinch that we can't cleanse our hearts on our own, can we? We will what is right, but we cannot do it. We do not the good that we want, but instead we do what is wrong (Romans 7:18-19).
But the Lord God sees our plight and our inability to make ourselves new. And so what does he do? He forgives us by the cross and resurrection of his Son, and then he baptizes us into that Son, and raises us to newness of life, and pours into our hearts the Spirit of Christ, giving us the ability to be good and to do what is right. And he says to us, "Come unto me," and all we have to do is to accept that by faith and to let Christ thus rule in our hearts.
Well, the invitation is there, friends. Trust Christ to make you a new person. Come unto him. And God wants so much for us to accept that. For as our text in Ezekiel says, the Lord has no pleasure in the death of anyone. He wants us to live. He wants us to live abundantly and eternally. And if we will -- if we will -- we can have that abundant and eternal life.
