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.

Living in the Light, 11.13

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

¹Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anything written to you. ²For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. ³When they say, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and there will be no escape!

⁴But you, beloved, are not in darkness, for that day to surprise you like a thief; ⁵for you are all children of light and children of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness. ⁶So then let us not fall asleep as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober; ⁷for those who sleep sleep at night, and those who are drunk get drunk at night. ⁸But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, and put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. ⁹For God has destined us not for wrath but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁰who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep we may live with him. ¹¹Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing.

Matthew 25:14-30

¹⁴“For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; ¹⁵to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. ¹⁶The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. ¹⁷In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. ¹⁸But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

¹⁹After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. ²⁰Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying ‘Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.’ ²¹His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ ²²And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.’ ²³His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’

²⁴Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; ²⁵so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ ²⁶But his master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? ²⁷Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest.

²⁸So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. ²⁹For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. ³⁰As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”

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            OK, raise your hand if passages like this one make you nervous or make you want to just shake your head and close the Bible. We’ve been reading passages about the end of time and the final judgment for several weeks now. It seems like as Jesus got closer to his own death he became more insistent about warning his audience that the end was coming soon for them too. I get it, and at the same time it still feels a little like we’ve been getting beaten over the head with judgment talk for weeks now.

            A couple times in the last few weeks Jesus has talked about how his return will be like a thief in the night. Paul uses the same image in today’s passage. The idea is that Christ will return suddenly, when we least expect it. In a lot of ways it’s a threatening image. We imagine darkness and shadows. We imagine a sneaky guy in a ski mask prowling around the back of the house looking for a loose windowpane. Maybe we even imagine a mugger in a dark alley striking unsuspecting victims without warning and without mercy.

             If we’re honest we often see Christ’s return like that. We think of Christ coming back and judging the world and we feel afraid. We’re suspicious of his intentions in judgment and fearful about what might happen to us. We worry he’s going to hurt us and take away our treasure like a thief. We have this Santa Clause image of Jesus making his list and checking it twice, he’s gonna find out who’s naughty or nice.

            Paul helps us see this image in a more hopeful way. Yes, Christ will come like thief in the night, he says, “But you, beloved, are not in darkness, for that day to surprise you like a thief; for you are all children of light and children of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness.” The darkness that makes the thief seem threatening isn’t a given; it’s a choice. Christ is the light of the world and when we belong to him we aren’t stuck in the darkness. In Christ we walk in the light, and everything looks different in the light.

            When we’re in the darkness Christ’s return feels like a threat; in the light we see his return as the joyful reunion it is. In the dark God’s justice seems threatening; in the light it’s a relief because we know that everything wrong will finally be made right. In the dark it feels like we can do whatever we want and that we need to look out for ourselves. In the light we see the needs and possibilities of the world around us and it’s clear that our calling is outside our walls.

            The challenge of this passage is to be who God made us, to live like redeemed followers of Jesus, to do what we know we are called to do. Paul reminds his readers that they are in the light so they have nothing to worry about from thieves or from judgment. He also reminds them to keep acting like they are in the light, he encourages them to remember who they are.

            When we remember our identity as Jesus followers we know how to do the right thing. When we walk in the light we can see where we’re going. The Christian life is natural. It means looking at Jesus as an example of what authentic and faithful life looks like. It means caring about our neighbors, speaking up for the powerless, serving the poor. It means comforting those who are sad or afraid, reaching out to people who are lonely, sharing our hope with others. In short, it means acting like a Christian.

            Faithful Christian living takes practice but becomes almost instinctual. It’s less about rules and more about choosing our actions in the light of who we are and who Jesus is. At our core we have been redeemed and we are new creations in Christ. So when we live honest, love-filled lives we will naturally do the right thing.