Proper 28
Devotional
Pause Before The Pulpit
Personal Reflections For Pastors On The Lectionary Readings
Mark 13:1-8
This text reveals a significant difference in how Christ looks at things compared to how we see them. The one disciple, who was struck by the beauty of the temple buildings, represents all of us. We are so easily caught up in beautiful things that won't last. Perhaps the disciples wondered if Jesus had gotten up on the wrong side of his mat when he said: Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down. His response reminds me of someone who always has a negative comment about everything. It can be the most beautiful day, but for them it is either too hot or too cold. I struggle with this from time to time as a pastor. Being a sanguine personality, I'm generally a pretty up-beat guy, but I know I can get pessimistic about things at times, especially about people. However, it isn't realistic to always pretend everything is a "bed of roses," either.
Is Jesus a pessimist or a realist? Being God, he sees things as they are (and as they are going to be, which, thank God, we can't). I'm sure Jesus saw the beauty of the temple, but he wanted to direct their attention to a greater reality; something more important than buildings.
One of the important roles we have is helping people see a bigger reality beyond the buildings and grounds of their church. Many congregations struggle with wanting larger, more beautiful buildings that will attract people. They want full-service facilities that will meet everyone's needs. Pastors like it when people say: "Wow! What a beautiful building, Pastor!" We might feel it reflects our leadership skills if we lead the congregation through a building program, or maybe it says something about who we are. If the people of such a beautiful facility would call us to be their pastor, we must be doing something right!
The truth of the matter is: not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down. Are we putting as much (or more) effort in building a "church" that lasts for all eternity, as we are in building one that will crumble? That seems to be Christ's concern in this text. For he went on to warn the disciples: Beware that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my name and say, "I am he!" and they will lead many astray. You see, while we are focused on building and maintaining things that won't last, the "church" that lasts for all eternity (the people) may well be going astray. You may be thinking: "That's a pessimistic thing to say." Yes, maybe it is, but I also try hard to be a realist in ministry, even in writing this devotional, which is based on both the reality of God's Word and real experiences.
If we are not careful about how focused we are on things that won't last, the things which God intends should last forever could be lost. I know it is an area of ministry that can be difficult to balance. We are often called upon to give leadership and direction during a building program; all the while continuing to give spiritual care. It's like asking the contractor of a large building project to start holding Bible studies and worship services on the job site and offer spiritual care to all their employees; all the while overseeing a construction project. Since they are not trained to give spiritual care, they will have to work hard at doing it well, at the risk of neglecting what they were trained to do -- construction.
When we, who were trained to teach and preach the word of God and care for the spiritual needs of our parishioners, allow ourselves to be put into the position of supervising a construction project, something has to give. Enormous pressure is put on us to do something well, that we don't know how to do. Our work load increases with additional meetings, more decisions to make, and having to encourage tired, crabby people; all at the expense of neglecting what we were trained to do -- ministry.
Forgive me if our text has little to do with the point I just made. However, I do believe it says this to us; if we want to reflect the character and care of our Lord, we will want to be less impressed with things that crumble and more focused on people, to make sure they are not being misled by false "christs."
A Pastor's Prayer:
Dear Lord,
Help me to keep my priorities in line with yours. When called upon to do things that will distract me from caring for your people, help me to know when, and how, to say, "No." Thank you. Amen.
Hebrews 10:11-14 (15-18) 19-25
This is the last text in a series from Hebrews, that has served to help the reader understand how Christ is a better sacrifice for sins than the old sacrifices. These texts have also shown how he fulfilled every aspect of the old sacrificial system, making it obsolete and no longer necessary. For the purpose of this devotional, I would like to look at verses 22-25, where the author encourages his readers to do three things, with each of his pleas beginning with the words, let us.
First, he wrote: Let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. That which we are to approach is the sanctuary, or the presence, of God. In verse 19 he wrote that we have confidence to enter this sanctuary because of the blood of Christ. This is in sharp contrast to the fear that went hand in hand with the temple activities under the old sacrificial system. Up to this time, to approach the sanctuary of God, and in particular the holy of holies, was a fearful thing. The God of the old covenant and sacrificial system was a holy and righteous God who struck fear in the hearts of everyone. How thankful we can be for this wonderful, approachable relationship that Christ made possible for us to have with God. He still demands obedience and righteousness of us, but the confidence we have to approach him, in worship and in prayer for his grace and mercy, is always on the basis of Christ's obedience and righteousness, not ours.
The second let us, is found in verse 23 and reads: Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. Anytime we waver in our confession of faith, it is not a result of something going wrong in heaven. It is either the result of sin in our own lives or the evil around us, which might be causing us doubts and fears. God made unconditional promises to us that he will never go back on and that can never fail, because, by the very nature of his being, he is faithful. Therefore, we can, and ought to, hold fast to what we believe. What a comfort to know that God is unshakable and his promises unbreakable. Since he is always faithful to us, let us always be faithful to him. In addition, when our parishioners see us holding fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, that encourages them to do the same.
Last of all, the author of this text wrote: Let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day approaching. This is an important task of the pastor in any church. As we reflect upon, and pray over, our ministry and the people that make up our ministry, let us be always considering these matters. How can we encourage them to love each other more, and also love those who are outside the church family? Perhaps we could preach more on the subject. Maybe we could encourage some fellowship opportunities where they can practice putting their love into action.
How can we encourage our people to do good deeds? Again, we could preach on it. We could tell them about needs that exist in the church where they could get involved. Above all, it is so important that we stress the purpose of good deeds. They are not something we do for salvation, or to increase our chances of eternal life. Good deeds, done for the right reason, are always done in response to God's gracious gifts of salvation and eternal life. We love (and serve) because he first loved (and served) us.
We can also stress the value of meeting together in worship and fellowship for the same reason. We don't go to church to get to heaven, but rather to worship our great high priest who has gone to heaven before us and made it possible for us to join him there later.
A Pastor's Prayer:
Dear Lord,
Thank you for your blood that was shed for me, so I can come near your throne in confidence and without fear. Please strengthen my faith, that I may hold to what I confess without wavering. Help me to know how to provoke my parishioners to love and to do good deeds and to keep meeting together in fellowship with you until you return. Thank you. Amen.
This text reveals a significant difference in how Christ looks at things compared to how we see them. The one disciple, who was struck by the beauty of the temple buildings, represents all of us. We are so easily caught up in beautiful things that won't last. Perhaps the disciples wondered if Jesus had gotten up on the wrong side of his mat when he said: Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down. His response reminds me of someone who always has a negative comment about everything. It can be the most beautiful day, but for them it is either too hot or too cold. I struggle with this from time to time as a pastor. Being a sanguine personality, I'm generally a pretty up-beat guy, but I know I can get pessimistic about things at times, especially about people. However, it isn't realistic to always pretend everything is a "bed of roses," either.
Is Jesus a pessimist or a realist? Being God, he sees things as they are (and as they are going to be, which, thank God, we can't). I'm sure Jesus saw the beauty of the temple, but he wanted to direct their attention to a greater reality; something more important than buildings.
One of the important roles we have is helping people see a bigger reality beyond the buildings and grounds of their church. Many congregations struggle with wanting larger, more beautiful buildings that will attract people. They want full-service facilities that will meet everyone's needs. Pastors like it when people say: "Wow! What a beautiful building, Pastor!" We might feel it reflects our leadership skills if we lead the congregation through a building program, or maybe it says something about who we are. If the people of such a beautiful facility would call us to be their pastor, we must be doing something right!
The truth of the matter is: not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down. Are we putting as much (or more) effort in building a "church" that lasts for all eternity, as we are in building one that will crumble? That seems to be Christ's concern in this text. For he went on to warn the disciples: Beware that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my name and say, "I am he!" and they will lead many astray. You see, while we are focused on building and maintaining things that won't last, the "church" that lasts for all eternity (the people) may well be going astray. You may be thinking: "That's a pessimistic thing to say." Yes, maybe it is, but I also try hard to be a realist in ministry, even in writing this devotional, which is based on both the reality of God's Word and real experiences.
If we are not careful about how focused we are on things that won't last, the things which God intends should last forever could be lost. I know it is an area of ministry that can be difficult to balance. We are often called upon to give leadership and direction during a building program; all the while continuing to give spiritual care. It's like asking the contractor of a large building project to start holding Bible studies and worship services on the job site and offer spiritual care to all their employees; all the while overseeing a construction project. Since they are not trained to give spiritual care, they will have to work hard at doing it well, at the risk of neglecting what they were trained to do -- construction.
When we, who were trained to teach and preach the word of God and care for the spiritual needs of our parishioners, allow ourselves to be put into the position of supervising a construction project, something has to give. Enormous pressure is put on us to do something well, that we don't know how to do. Our work load increases with additional meetings, more decisions to make, and having to encourage tired, crabby people; all at the expense of neglecting what we were trained to do -- ministry.
Forgive me if our text has little to do with the point I just made. However, I do believe it says this to us; if we want to reflect the character and care of our Lord, we will want to be less impressed with things that crumble and more focused on people, to make sure they are not being misled by false "christs."
A Pastor's Prayer:
Dear Lord,
Help me to keep my priorities in line with yours. When called upon to do things that will distract me from caring for your people, help me to know when, and how, to say, "No." Thank you. Amen.
Hebrews 10:11-14 (15-18) 19-25
This is the last text in a series from Hebrews, that has served to help the reader understand how Christ is a better sacrifice for sins than the old sacrifices. These texts have also shown how he fulfilled every aspect of the old sacrificial system, making it obsolete and no longer necessary. For the purpose of this devotional, I would like to look at verses 22-25, where the author encourages his readers to do three things, with each of his pleas beginning with the words, let us.
First, he wrote: Let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. That which we are to approach is the sanctuary, or the presence, of God. In verse 19 he wrote that we have confidence to enter this sanctuary because of the blood of Christ. This is in sharp contrast to the fear that went hand in hand with the temple activities under the old sacrificial system. Up to this time, to approach the sanctuary of God, and in particular the holy of holies, was a fearful thing. The God of the old covenant and sacrificial system was a holy and righteous God who struck fear in the hearts of everyone. How thankful we can be for this wonderful, approachable relationship that Christ made possible for us to have with God. He still demands obedience and righteousness of us, but the confidence we have to approach him, in worship and in prayer for his grace and mercy, is always on the basis of Christ's obedience and righteousness, not ours.
The second let us, is found in verse 23 and reads: Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. Anytime we waver in our confession of faith, it is not a result of something going wrong in heaven. It is either the result of sin in our own lives or the evil around us, which might be causing us doubts and fears. God made unconditional promises to us that he will never go back on and that can never fail, because, by the very nature of his being, he is faithful. Therefore, we can, and ought to, hold fast to what we believe. What a comfort to know that God is unshakable and his promises unbreakable. Since he is always faithful to us, let us always be faithful to him. In addition, when our parishioners see us holding fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, that encourages them to do the same.
Last of all, the author of this text wrote: Let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day approaching. This is an important task of the pastor in any church. As we reflect upon, and pray over, our ministry and the people that make up our ministry, let us be always considering these matters. How can we encourage them to love each other more, and also love those who are outside the church family? Perhaps we could preach more on the subject. Maybe we could encourage some fellowship opportunities where they can practice putting their love into action.
How can we encourage our people to do good deeds? Again, we could preach on it. We could tell them about needs that exist in the church where they could get involved. Above all, it is so important that we stress the purpose of good deeds. They are not something we do for salvation, or to increase our chances of eternal life. Good deeds, done for the right reason, are always done in response to God's gracious gifts of salvation and eternal life. We love (and serve) because he first loved (and served) us.
We can also stress the value of meeting together in worship and fellowship for the same reason. We don't go to church to get to heaven, but rather to worship our great high priest who has gone to heaven before us and made it possible for us to join him there later.
A Pastor's Prayer:
Dear Lord,
Thank you for your blood that was shed for me, so I can come near your throne in confidence and without fear. Please strengthen my faith, that I may hold to what I confess without wavering. Help me to know how to provoke my parishioners to love and to do good deeds and to keep meeting together in fellowship with you until you return. Thank you. Amen.
