training in godliness, 4.14.13

Luke 24: 36-49

³⁶While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” ³⁷They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. ³⁸He said to them, “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? ³⁹Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” ⁴⁰And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet.

⁴¹While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” ⁴²They gave him a piece of broiled fish, ⁴³and he took it and ate in their presence.

⁴⁴Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.” ⁴⁵Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, ⁴⁶and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, ⁴⁷and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. ⁴⁸You are witnesses of these things. ⁴⁹And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

1 Timothy 4:6-16

⁶If you put these instructions before the brothers and sisters, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound teaching that you have followed. ⁷Have nothing to do with profane myths and old wives’ tales. Train yourself in godliness, ⁸for, while physical training is of some value, godliness is valuable in every way, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.

⁹The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance. ¹⁰For to this end we toil and struggle, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe. ¹¹These are the things you must insist on and teach.

¹²Let no one despise your youth, but set the believers an example in speech and conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. ¹³Until I arrive, give attention to the public reading of scripture, to exhorting, to teaching. ¹⁴Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you through prophecy with the laying on of hands by the council of elders. ¹⁵Put these things into practice, devote yourself to them, so that all may see your progress. ¹⁶Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; continue in these things, for in doing this you will save both yourself and your hearers.

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            This time of year, the time between Christ’s resurrection and his return to heaven, I think about how Jesus spent his time. Jesus had a limited amount of time to get his disciples ready to continue his mission when he was gone. The way Jesus prepared his disciples in that short period of time is a great hint for how we should prepare for our mission now.

Last week you read the story of Jesus meeting two of his disciples on the road to Emmaus. The focus last week was on how the disciples didn’t recognize Jesus until he broke the bread. We still meet Jesus when we break bread in his name today.

The other part of that passage that really stands out for me is that Jesus teaches his disciples about the scriptures. They were sad because they thought Jesus was the Messiah, the promised king who would rescue Israel from Roman domination. They understood enough about the scriptures to have seen Jesus as God’s promised king, but they couldn’t understand how that fit with his death.

In fairness, most people wouldn’t have either. None of Jesus’ disciples put it all together before Jesus’ resurrection, even though he gave them hints along the way. To understand what the Bible says about the Messiah, you have to put a bunch of pieces together. It’s not like there’s a big section of the Old Testament that talks about what to expect. Instead there are bits of Isaiah that talk about a suffering servant. There are bits of the Psalms that talk about a rejected stone becoming the capstone. There are references to a prophet like Moses and a king like David, but it doesn’t all come together.

Looking for the Messiah in the Old Testament is like watching a mystery movie. There are a bunch of pieces that fit together, but it’s not clear how they fit together until you know the ending. That’s what Jesus does on the road to Emmaus. He puts the pieces of scripture together so the disciples can understand how Jesus is the Messiah and how he had to die to fulfill God’s plan.

After Jesus disappears the disciples say to each other, “Weren’t our hearts burning inside us as he walked with us and opened the scriptures to us?” There are two things going on in that. First, the scriptures are a big part of how we see Jesus. We meet Jesus in the Bible. That can be a powerful encounter, so not only are the disciples’ minds engaged as they start to understand what Jesus is telling them, their hearts are touched as well. We meet Jesus emotionally as well as intellectually.

Our passage for today picks up right after that story. Those disciples speed back to Jerusalem where their companions are gathered. The other disciples share the exciting news that the risen Jesus appeared to Peter. Then the two disciples from the road tell their story of meeting Jesus.

No sooner have they finished than Jesus himself appears in the room. First, he convinces the disciples that he has really risen from the dead, that he is not a ghost or a figment of their imagination. Then he repeats the lesson he shared with the two disciples on the road. He helps them understand how the scriptures have been pointing to him in his life, death and resurrection.

His instruction to them is important. He needs to open their minds to understand the Bible. But the point isn’t just so they understand; the point is so they can share the story and the good news of forgiveness with others. He tells them that they’re not quite ready for the mission he’s giving them. They need more than just a Bible lesson; they also need the Holy Spirit to strengthen them for the mission that lies ahead of them. Jesus tells them to wait for that power before they get started, so they wait until Pentecost when the Holy Spirit fills them with courage and ability.

Even before the Holy Spirit arrives on Pentecost to empower the disciples for their mission, they are already different from the scared group of men and women they were before Jesus’ death. Christ’s resurrection has shown them that Jesus is the Messiah and that God is in charge. Once the Spirit comes, the puzzle is complete and the disciples are ready to be the church.

When the disciples start teaching, one of the things we notice right away is that they have a clear sense of who Jesus is and how that fits the scriptures. That has to do with four things: Jesus helping the original disciples to understand the Bible, the resurrection of Jesus showing them that Jesus is the Messiah and is stronger than death, the Holy Spirit’s teaching and power in their ministry, and the continuing focus on scripture in the church. Act tells us that the disciples were in the temple often to worship God. I bet they were also there to study scripture and talk about God with other believers.

We also see the importance of the Bible in letters like Paul’s letter to Timothy. Paul writes to Timothy about how to lead the church. Two things about his advice seem particularly important today. He tells Timothy to give attention in his leadership to public reading of scripture, exhortation and teaching. We don’t know exactly how the early church did its teaching. Probably some of it was sort of like this: a leader reading scripture and helping the congregation to understand it. Some of it was probably in small groups like Supper and Scripture or other kinds of Bible study. A lot of it was probably less formal than that, maybe believers getting together in their homes to read scripture together.

Opened the scriptures, 4.15.12

1 Timothy 4:6-16

6 If you put these instructions before the brothers and sisters, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound teaching that you have followed. ⁷Have nothing to do with profane myths and old wives’ tales. Train yourself in godliness, ⁸for, while physical training is of some value, godliness is valuable in every way, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. ⁹The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance. ¹⁰For to this end we toil and struggle, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.

11 These are the things you must insist on and teach. ¹²Let no one despise your youth, but set the believers an example in speech and conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. ¹³Until I arrive, give attention to the public reading of scripture, to exhorting, to teaching. ¹⁴Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you through prophecy with the laying on of hands by the council of elders. ¹⁵Put these things into practice, devote yourself to them, so that all may see your progress. ¹⁶Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; continue in these things, for in doing this you will save both yourself and your hearers.

Luke 24:13-35

¹³Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, ¹⁴and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. ¹⁵While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, ¹⁶but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. ¹⁷And he said to them, “What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?” They stood still, looking sad.

¹⁸Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?” ¹⁹He asked them, “What things?” They replied, “The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, ²⁰and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. ²¹But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.

Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. ²²Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, ²³and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. ²⁴Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him.”

²⁵Then he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! ²⁶Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” ²⁷Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures. ²⁸As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. ²⁹But they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.” So he went in to stay with them.

³⁰When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. ³¹Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. ³²They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?” ³³That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. ³⁴They were saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!” ³⁵Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

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            This series of sermons is loosely organized around Easter, in particular what the risen Jesus did. Jesus didn’t spend a lot of time with his disciples after the resurrection because he was taken up to heaven. Since his time was short, Jesus had to spend it wisely. He needed to prepare his disciples for their ministry spreading the good news of forgiveness. We’re going to look at a few different things Jesus did over the next couple weeks; today we see that Jesus explained scripture to his disciples.

When Jesus appears to these two otherwise unknown disciples on the road they don’t recognize him. First, Jesus plays dumb by pretending not to know the events they’re talking about; then he reprimands the disciples for not understanding what he had told them during the journey to Jerusalem. He calls them “slow of heart” because they didn’t figure out that what had happened to him was what the prophets had written about.

We can understand Jesus’ frustration, the frustration of a teacher who has gone over and over a lesson with his disciples for years, but they haven’t gotten it. Jesus told his disciples three times that he would be killed and rise again, but his arrest still took them totally by surprise. Jesus predicted while his disciples looked at him blankly and suffered as they fled, just like he’d said they would. We can understand why Jesus is frustrated to see these disciples still confused about the events unfolding around them.

We can also see it from the disciples’ point of few. The week has given them too much to digest, too much to put together. From adorning crowds, to a bloodthirsty mob; from a royal procession to a traitor’s kiss, it would be hard to make sense of the week and hard to imagine the future.

In terms of the prophets, it is way too simple to say that they foretold what would happen to Jesus. It’s true that Isaiah’s words about the suffering servant being despised and rejected fit powerfully with Jesus. It’s true that other words of prophesy point to Jesus as well. At the same time, if you were to read all the prophesy about the Messiah and put it together into a story you would never come up with Jesus.

Frankly, the prophesy about a savior is varied and diverse. Most are passages that look forward to a powerful king. From that people expected a Messiah much like King David, a man to lead Israel’s armies and reestablish Israel as a strong, independent nation. Jesus doesn’t look anything like that: his armies are in heaven and he has no interest in the world’s power.

To understand what the prophets predicted about Jesus, you had to know the story of Jesus. Jesus fulfilled scripture, but not in the way you would expect from reading the prophets. So it makes sense that when Jesus rose from the dead one of his priorities would be to explain scripture to his disciples. He starts with these two and when they return to the rest of the community Jesus appears to the whole gathering to offer his explanation again. Scripture points to Jesus, but Jesus has to open it up to them so they can understand how it all fits together.

This time, the lesson takes. When we see the disciples on their mission to tell the world about Jesus in Acts or the letters, they show a keen understanding of how Jesus fulfills scripture. Whenever they make their case to people who know the Bible they build their arguments for faith in Christ from scripture. Jesus’ time with the disciples explaining scripture pays off because they can understand and explain to others the surprising ways God keeps promises.

Paul emphasizes scripture as well when he writes to instruct and encourage his young protégée, Timothy. He encourages Timothy to focus on reading scripture publically and to let his own progress in faith be an example to the community he leads. The risen Jesus and the Apostle Paul both highlighted the importance of scripture when they prepared leaders for the church, because God’s word is food and light for the church. Churches grow and thrive when they are engaged in scripture; they languish and die when they are not.

We know the Bible is important, so why is it so hard to making it a part of our daily life? For one thing, the Bible is big and it can be intimidating. Sometimes we feel like there’s so much we don’t know about its background or history that we can’t understand it on our own. While learning about the context and history of the Bible can deepen our understanding, most of what we need to understand the Bible is in the Bible. If we pick it up and read we will discover a world that is both strange and familiar. Like a novel, the Bible will introduce us to the characters we need to know and we’ll be able to follow the story as we go.

Some parts are easier to read and some harder. Genesis is great reading because it’s full of interesting stories. Occasionally there are boring patches, like genealogies, but the stories continue on the other side. The stories of the Bible are compelling too because they are full of interesting characters. Most of the important people are complex, like real people. They have moments of faith that are truly inspiring and other moments when we wonder what’s wrong with them. Those moments remind us that God calls real people to ministry, not perfect saints. They remind us of ourselves, with all our flaws and distractions, and how we are part of God’s story too.

Challenging parts of the Bible are an invitation to reflection. In a novel or history book if we get confused about why something happens we think about it, putting ourself in the characters’ shoes to imagine why they might have acted a certain way. With the Bible sometimes when we don’t understand something we are tempted to give up, thinking that it is “too hard” for us. Just like with any other book, pausing to reflect often leads to insight and understanding. Plus, sometimes we just don’t understand a piece of something, and that’s OK too. God can do as much with what we don’t understand as with what we do.

When it comes to scripture, there are lots of great resources available. Plus, if you get stuck on something you can always shoot me an email or give me a call. The main point of the church investing so much time and money in my training is so I can help you grow in your faith and understanding. It will make my day to get an email from you saying, “I was reading the Bible and I had a question about…”

streams of water, 2.5.12

Psalm 119:41-50

Let your steadfast love come to me, O Lord, your salvation according to your promise.

⁴²Then I shall have an answer for those who taunt me, for I trust in your word. ⁴³Do not take the word of truth utterly out of my mouth, for my hope is in your ordinances. ⁴⁴I will keep your law continually, forever and ever. ⁴⁵I shall walk at liberty, for I have sought your precepts. ⁴⁶I will also speak of your decrees before kings, and shall not be put to shame;

⁴⁷I find my delight in your commandments, because I love them. ⁴⁸I revere your commandments, which I love, and I will meditate on your statutes. ⁴⁹Remember your word to your servant, in which you have made me hope. ⁵⁰This is my comfort in my distress, that your promise gives me life.

Psalm 1

Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path that sinners tread, or sit in the seat of scoffers; ²but their delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law they meditate day and night. ³They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither. In all that they do, they prosper.

⁴The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. ⁵Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; ⁶for the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

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            This a very familiar Psalm to me but I missed half of what it was trying to say until a conversation with my dad over Christmas revealed a new side of the Psalm. I had focused on the image of the believer as a strong tree, but not thought much about the stream. My dad helped me see that the stream is God’s word, God’s law.

            The righteous person who makes God’s word his or her delight and meditates on it day and night is like a tree growing by a clear, flowing stream. The stream of God’s word strengthens and refreshes the tree constantly, making it grow strong and produce abundant fruit.

            There are a couple of ways this Psalm is especially helpful for us. The first is that with a tree there is an expectation of growth and change. There’s no such thing as a tree that doesn’t change: it is either growing, putting out leaves, producing fruit, and then pulling back its leaves for the winter or it is withering, dying and decaying.

            Too often we think of our lives as disciples and as a church in terms of maintenance: the goal is to stay the same. We think of children learning and growing, but once we “grow up” we don’t always expect to grow in our faith and knowledge from year to year. We all have ups and downs in our life, but overall, we should be stronger disciples with a fuller knowledge of scripture and a deeper commitment to Jesus next year than we are now.

            We grow as believers because we are rooted in faith and community and nourished by scripture. The scripture we read in worship together isn’t enough water to grow very much. The Psalmist talks about the believer meditating lovingly on the word day and night; that’s a stream of water. The scripture we read in worship is more like carefully placed water from a watering can. It can nourish particular parts of the tree but it’s not enough water on its own.

I’m a little nervous about this image, but maybe the sermon is like fertilizer around the roots of the tree: it speeds up the tree’s growth but without enough water it’s not going to do much. Please don’t let the scripture we read together be the only scripture you read; you really can’t grow to your potential that way.

There are lots of reasons we don’t pick up the Bible on a daily basis, but it’s never too late to change. For one thing, the Bible is big and it can be intimidating. Maybe we’ve started reading the Bible before but stalled out because we didn’t know where to start or got bogged down in details.

Like a stream, the Bible’s different parts flow differently. Some parts, like Mark’s Gospel, flow quickly and offer an exciting ride. Other parts flow very slowly. Right now I’m just getting through the first half of First Chronicles in my own reading and I’ve had to row pretty hard to get through it. I know soon enough the pace will pick up again, but it’s easy to get bogged down when the pace slows. Some of the Bible is boring, but even those parts have something to offer. As a last resort, if you really can’t plow through something at a particular time it’s OK to skip that part and move on with the story.

Also like a river, the first time through the Bible we can get slowed down because we don’t know what to expect. When we hit a slow patch this voice inside our head tells us that the Bible is boring and we’re just going to get stuck. If we’ve read the Bible before we know the slow patches pass and we get back to good stories before long.

In addition to slow parts of the stream, there are rocks that can be dangerous. Lots of believers have been thrown off course or even shipwrecked by rocks like, “Wives obey your husbands.” Or, “Slaves, obey your masters.” The rocks are part of the river, but we have to be careful how we maneuver around them. There are parts of the Bible that still drive me nuts, but the whole stream together is nourishing.

There are other parts of scripture that confuse us, where we don’t understand what’s going on. Sometimes a study aid can help; other times simply reading a hard passage a few times over will bring some clarity. You can also always send me an email or give me a call to ask for help with something you’re having trouble understanding. I love the Bible and I’ll study or talk with you about it as much as you want.

God's word

1 Thessalonians 2:9-13

⁹You remember our labor and toil, brothers and sisters; we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. ¹⁰You are witnesses, and God also, how pure, upright, and blameless our conduct was toward you believers. ¹¹As you know, we dealt with each one of you like a father with his children, ¹²urging and encouraging you and pleading that you lead a life worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.

¹³We also constantly give thanks to God for this, that when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word but as what it really is, God’s word, which is also at work in you believers.

 Matthew 23:1-12

¹Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, ²“The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; ³therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach. ⁴They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them. ⁵They do all their deeds to be seen by others; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long. ⁶They love to have the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues, ⁷and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have people call them rabbi.

⁸But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all students. ⁹And call no one your father on earth, for you have one Father — the one in heaven. ¹⁰Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Messiah.¹¹The greatest among you will be your servant. ¹²All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.

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My grandmother got me a Bible when I was 12. She says I told her I was going to read the wholething. Then I read two or three verses and said that was enough for the night. She said, in her lovely southern accent, “Sam, it’s going to take an awful long time to read the Bible like that.”

I don’t remember exactly when or how it happened, but soon I fell in love with the Bible. I read it on my own, which made me more interested in the sermons I heard on Sundays. I was captivated by the world of the Bible, so different than the world we live in today but still connected. I loved the stories of Moses, Israel, and King David.

More than anything I was captivated by the story of Jesus. His teaching was so powerful. He had a way of cutting through all the subtle deception and political posturing of the religious leaders. His words hit me and stuck. His life also inspired me. His love for us and his courage blew me away as did the courage and conviction of the early church.

In seventh grade I went to Catholic school and I found out that I was truly a protestant, or as my English teacher would say a protest-ant. As we studied the teachings of the Catholic church, much of it made perfect sense to me since the Christian faith is one faith no matter what church you go to.

But other things didn’t make sense to me at all. I distinctly remember learning some teaching that didn’t make sense to me and didn’t fit what I understood about scripture. I asked the teacher: “Where does that come from in the Bible?” The teacher didn’t have a good answer.

Part of my opposition was run of the mill teenage defiance; I was a pretty smart-allecky kid, after all. But part of my resistance was my reformation heritage coming through. I’ve come to value that heritage more and more. We celebrate the reformation today not to disrespect our Catholic brothers and sisters, but to stir up the spirit of the reformers in our church and in our lives.

Whenever we take scripture seriously, reformation naturally follows. That’s because scripture is God’s word, and God’s word is powerful to challenge, encourage, empower and change us. God has blessed the church with a huge variety of interpretation. Some Christians read the Bible literally; others with a more critical view. We can be faithful either way.