Grace and Prayer

Exodus 32:1-14, Philippians 4:1-9, Matthew 22:1-14

What do we do when there are delays and we don’t know what is going on? Do we remain calm, immersed in prayer and preparation? Or, do we panic?

In our Exodus reading, we pick up the journey of the Israelites at a point where Moses is on the mountain conversing with God. However, at this point he has been gone for forty days, the Israelites do not know what is going on or why he has not yet returned and they are, most certainly, panicking.

To them it has been a very very long time since Moses was last with them; but God’s time is not as our time and to Moses it seemed a relatively short time when compared to the out working of God’s plan for Israel. A delay ordained by God.

How we deal with, or handle, God’s ordained delays – times allocated for waiting and preparation – like Lent or Advent – is a good measure of our spiritual maturity. We should make good use of these times to deepen our perseverance in following God, to pray and study God’s Word, to ready ourselves for whatever will come next.

However, if we allow such delays to be used for drifting into sin, or lapsing into resignation to fate, then we are reacting poorly to those times – like the people of Israel did here. This episode of sin described in this passage started at the impulse of popular opinion. An example of where the will of the people is not always the will of God.

Not knowing what was happening with Moses, the people allowed their uncertainty to take over and turned to idolatry and sin instead of trusting God.

Aaron is just as guilty as the rest of the people. He asked them for their gold and they were generous in what they gave.

In general, people tend to be more generous in what they give to idols but we should be being more generous with what we give to God.

Aaron melted the gold, moulded it and fashioned it carefully with an engraving tool. This work was not led by the Holy Spirit but instead was inspired by sin and yet Aaron took the time to plan it out and carefully detail what he made.

Instead of refusing to go along with what he knew to be wrong, Aaron went along with the people and with popular opinion instead of standing firm for what is right.

Aaron and the people then put their energy, time, sleep, money in service to this idol. People usually find a way to rise early/give to things that are really important to them; but what should be really important to them (and us) is the Lord God.

God told Moses what the people were doing and was a tad upset. God offers to destroy all the people and still keep His promises by rebuilding the nation from Moses. He tells Moses to let Him alone so He could do this.

This implies that if Moses did nothing this plan would go ahead but Moses refused to do nothing. Just as when we see wrongs we should refuse to do nothing. Moses pleaded with the Lord in a short prayer. Prayer does not have to be long – it is the strength of the prayer that matters, not how long it is.

Moses was full of compassion for the people but also concerned with the honour of God. Just as what we do should bring honour to God.

Moses prayed: ‘Lord these people belong to you not me. We didn’t deserve to be freed from Egypt but you saved us by grace, continue to deal with us in your grace. If you kill the people the Egyptians will say you are a cruel God who only saved the Israelites to kill them – don’t let anybody say that about you. Lord you keep your promises and are always faithful, don’t break your promises.’

Now, the wording translation in our reading is “so the Lord changed His mind.”

This is a good place to pause and point out that Moses wrote in anthropomorphic or “man-centred” language. He described the actions of God as they appeared to him.

Moses’s prayer did not change God, but it did change the standing of the people in God’s sight – the people were now in a place of mercy, where previously they were in a place of judgement.

God did not destroy Israel and He knew He would not destroy Israel. He deliberately put Moses into this crucial place of intercession so that Moses’s heart could become like God’s heart for the people, a heart of love and compassion.

Moses prayed just as God wanted him to – as if heaven and earth, salvation and destruction depended upon his prayer.

This is how God wants us to pray.

He also wants us to live a life of prayer, which brings us to Paul’s letter to the Philippians.

The segment that forms our reading this morning starts with Paul addressing a disagreement between Euodia and Syntyche. Paul urges them to settle their differences or agree to differ and to remember their common ground in the Lord. He also advises the rest of the church to help them resolve this matter instead of taking sides and causing a rift.

Paul then moves on: “Rejoice in the Lord. Again, I will say rejoice!”

Joy in the Lord is a cure for all discord.

Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Have patience, forbearance, magnanimity, moderation to all men, not just to whom we please.

Live with the awareness that Jesus will return, that He will settle all wrongs and we can trust Him to make things right in our falling apart world.

Live a life of prayer.

Everything is the subject of prayer – there are no areas of our lives that are of no concern to God. Both prayer and supplication are required. Prayer means all our communications with God whereas supplication is directly asking God to do something.

Many of our prayers go unanswered because we do not ask God for anything. God invites us to make our requests known to Him. He wants us to ask with thanksgiving.

Pray about everything. Ask God our requests. Be thankful for anything we receive.

Paul goes on to say that the peace of God will guard our hearts and minds for us. God’s peace is a gift and is beyond our power of thinking. Peace with God is the relationship we enter into with God through the finished work of Jesus Christ.

Finally, Paul tells us to meditate on what is:

true
noble
just
pure
lovely
of good report
virtue
praiseworthy

This is a way to bring our thoughts and minds back to the obedience of Christ. Follow Jesus’s example and set that example.

Can we say of our lives “Follow me as I follow Jesus”?

If we do not follow Jesus we are rejecting Him. In the reading from Matthew’s gospel, Jesus tells the parable of the Wedding Feast to explain to the religious leaders and listening crowds the dangers of rejecting Him.

Those who had been invited were not willing to come to the Royal Wedding. It seems strange that all those invited refused and this illustrates that there is no logical reason for God’s good gifts to be refused.

The king made the invitation as attractive as possible. He really wanted these people to come and he sent more messengers to them, yet they still refused. Not only did they refuse but they laughed and killed the messengers. The king proclaimed judgement, sending an army to destroy these murderers. A prophesy of what would happen to Jerusalem where the religious leaders strongly, and repeatedly. rejected Jesus.

The king sent his servants to go out and invite everyone they came across. Everyone was to be invited.

This is both like God’s grace and like His invitation to both the Jews and the Gentiles.

Those invited and those who came to the wedding feast were undeserving of the invitation, much less the wedding feast itself.

We are undeserving of God’s grace, yet He freely and indiscriminately gives it to us.

The king came to see the guests just as we will all come before God in judgement. And there was a man there without a wedding garment. He was noticeably different from the other guests.

This man came only because he was invited but came only in appearance. The wedding banquet was to honour the king’s son but this man did not intend honour or respect. He came to eat the good things on offer but in his heart there was no love for the king (God) or his well-beloved son (Jesus).

This man has made too free with holy things and actively insulted the king. The result: this man suffered a terrible fate.

Those indifferent to the gospel and those antagonistic against the gospel and those unchanged by the gospel suffer the same fate – none of these will enjoy the king’s feast.

For many are called but few are chosen.

In this context , this statement of Jesus touches on the great working together of the choices of man and the choosing of God.

Why did they not come to the wedding feast? Because they refused the invitation. Why did they not come to the wedding feast? Because they were called but not chosen.

Do you accept the invitation? Will you be one of the chosen? Do you accept or reject Jesus? Will you come and follow Him if He but calls your name?

Grace and Prayer (Photo by Garrison Gao on Pexels.com)

Tolerance Stretched

"T'was stupid," thought the Poppet dog,
That people do not understand
Things so simple and so plain.
It's like they're playing once again
A manipulative game!"

"They do not read the documents
And so they sit upon the fence.
They twist the facts round and around.
The nonsense really does astound!"

Then Poppet looked and saw a glass,
A big and glamorous looking glass.
It shimmered and hummed as she went near
And looked in wonder not in fear.

She put her nose up to the glass
And fell right through onto the grass.
Stunned, the Poppet looked all around
And picked herself up off the ground.

"A wonderland" thought Poppet Dog
As she looked round it all agog.
"A world so perfect it must be,
One with no stupidity,
That God created just for me!"

And then the Poppet she woke up
And zoomed around just like a pup.

The Shepherd and The Gatekeeper

Genesis 7, Acts 2:42ff, Psalm 23, 1 Peter 2:19ff, John 10:1-10

As is so often the case, whilst it might not initially seem like it, our Old Testament and New Testament readings go hand in hand.

Our Old Testament reading details the onset of The Great Flood; representing God’s righteous judgement on a corrupt world and His merciful salvation of Noah’s family.

Indeed, its key themes are the finality of God’s judgement when it comes and the Ark as a type of Christ – a place of absolute sanctuary, provided by God.

There is the invitation into safety: “Come into the Ark” – a final invitation to salvation, not merely survival but true salvation and sanctuary prepared by God. It is a promise of protection. When God sends judgement He also provides total shelter for His people.

God closed the door of the Ark signifying that the time of mercy and warnings has passed. It is a seal of safety for those who accepted God’s invitation and finality for those who remain outside.

Of course, there is also the obedience of Noah, like a sheep steered by a shepherd, who only entered the Ark once he was commanded, completing a long and difficult task of faith.

The Ark highlights a stark contrast between salvation for the obedient and judgement for the rebellious; mirroring the finality of Judgement Day.

In our New Testament readings we are like sheep who have gone astray. Jesus describes Himself as the Shepherd and the Gate for the sheep. Like the Ark, Jesus is concerned with keeping His people, His sheep, safe and cares deeply for them. Both Jesus and the Ark are protectors, gatekeepers and shepherds.

A shepherd tends, herds, feeds and guards their sheep.

Some denominations call their church leaders Pastors. Pastor is the Latin word for shepherd.

Shepherds lead sheep by building trust, using vocal cues, and employing protective, guiding techniques. Often they work in groups, working together to share the responsibilities.

Sometimes they lead the sheep from the front, such as leading them to pasture, breaking a trail, clearing danger, and demonstrating a safe path.

Sometimes the shepherd leads from behind to guide and protect the sheep from danger, keeping the flock together from the rear and allowing the fastest to go first to direct the herd’s overall movement. Herding the sheep instead of expecting them to follow.

By walking opposite to the flock, shepherds can push them into a new direction.

To contain or direct them, shepherds might walk along the side of the sheep, keeping full view of the flock.

Shepherds focus on providing security and nourishment, which ensures the sheep trust them enough to follow.

And, of course, there is the famous shepherd’s crook, which is used to guide, separate, or protect the sheep. The distinct hook at the end is used for managing, catching and guiding sheep by their necks or legs without causing injury. It is especially useful for catching lambs or holding a sheep in the pasture. The long handle is used to guide the sheep through the gates, separate, or steer them without getting close enough to scare/frighten them.

It also supports the shepherd, like a hiking pole, when travelling across rough, uneven or steep terrain.

The shepherd can also use the crook as a defensive weapon against predators to protect the flock or to shake fruit from high branches or to part thick undergrowth.

This highlights how deeply a good shepherd knows their sheep and how well they know their shepherd. The sheep know the shepherd’s voice. The shepherd brings security and life. Jesus as the Shepherd and Gatekeeper is the protector and provider, offering security and life, in direct contrast with the Pharisees or “thieves” who come to steal, kill and destroy.

The gate and the shepherd work together. The function of the gate is to keep the sheep together during the night, safe from predators. During the day the gate is opened so that the shepherd can guide the sheep to pasture. It is important to emphasise that the gate is not a gate of exclusion. It is not to keep out other sheep. Jesus said “I have other sheep that do not belong to this field. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.” The gate is purely to guard against all that threatens the sheep.

Not only do the gate and shepherd work together but they are one and the same. Hence, Jesus using both in this teaching. Many get confused by this but it is simpler than it seems.

Let me tell you about an Arab shepherd. This shepherd was not a christian and did not know the Bible. But he did know his sheep and was showing off his flock to a scholar, and also showed off the penned area where his sheep slept every night. “And when they go in there” the shepherd said proudly, “they are perfectly safe”.

But then the scholar noticed something and said, “Your sheep sleep in that pen and yet I notice that the pen does not have a gate on it”.

“Yes that’s right,” the shepherd replied, “I am the gate”.

“What do you mean?” the man asked.

“After my sheep are in the pen, I lay my body across the opening. No sheep will step over me and no wolf can get in without getting past me first. I am the gate.”

The other interesting part of this passage from John is verse 6: “This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.”

There are many shepherds in the Old Testament, Moses, Rachel, David are just a few. Shepherding was a common job at the time. In addition, the shepherd/sheep metaphors are used over and over again throughout the Old Testament. Yet, despite this, the Pharisees, the people who claimed to be experts in the Old Testament, didn’t understand what Jesus was talking about. They did not understand because they did not believe.

The role of the good shepherd is to take care of the sheep, to protect the sheep, to lay down their life for the sheep and to love the sheep. There is no better metaphor to describe the nature of Jesus’s bond with His people. He is a gentle shepherd who leads His sheep.

On the other hand, Jesus is calling the Pharisees “bad shepherds”. They were the very people who were supposed to spiritually nourish and protect the people of God and yet they were leading the people astray. Jesus was comparing these false teachers to thieves, robbers and strangers. He is saying that His sheep, the sheep of the true shepherd will not be controlled by the pharisees.

Jesus is saying, just in a different way, the same thing that He says in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Enter salvation through the Jesus Gate. Be a Jesus Sheep, in the sanctuary of the Ark, tended, herded, fed, cared for and guarded by the Jesus Shepherd; and receive abundant everlasting life, green pastures, still waters, peace and joy.

Shepherding Sheep (Photo by cottonbro studio on Pexels.com)

A Sin Is A Sin or The Fig Tree

In the first part of Luke recounting the teaching of Jesus and the fig tree are people discussing Pilate mixing the blood of Galileans with their sacrifices.

This event, and that of the Tower of Siloam also mentioned by Jesus, were probably very well known by the crowds of the time, however, we know little about them today.

It is interesting that Pilate’s brutality is mentioned – which links up with the content of other historical references to him – and this gives us an impression of Pilate in advance of Jesus’s trial.

Considering this brutal nature of Pilate makes his act of washing his hands of Jesus stand out more. Pilate was quite happy to brutally kill people but he did not want to claim responsibility in any way for the death of Jesus.

Jesus uses the conversations of the crowd – one about a state sanctioned event and one an apparently random accident – for His teachings.

Jesus implies that we must not equate tragedy with divine punishment. However, repentance is needed universally. Unless we repent we will perish. To perish means the destruction of one’s soul.

The unrepentant will suddenly find that they have delayed too long and they have lost themselves.

Jesus asks the people – do they think that the Galileans being talked abount were greater sinners because of what happened to them. The Jews linked sin with suffering.

But there is no scale of sin. A sin is a sin.

Jesus expounds further by telling the parable of the fig tree. The fig tree was favoured because they had a higher chance of growing in the poor and shallow soil of the region.

Uselessness invites disaster. What is useful goes from strength to strength where what is useless is eliminated.

What would we answer when asked “of what use were you in this world?”

The land owner initially pronounces imminent and decisive judgement. The tree had not borne fruit for the last three years and so he wanted it cut down.

Nothing which only takes can survive.

The fig tree was taking strength and sustenance from the soil. In return it was producing nothing. This was the fig tree’s sin.

There are two types of people:

Those who take out more than they put in.
Those who put in more than they take out.

There is the duty placed upon us of handing things on better than we found them.

A fig tree normally takes three years to reach maturity. If it is not fruiting by then it is unlikely to produce fruit. But, this fig tree was given another chance.

The gardener pleaded for the tree to be given an extra year and the gardener would dig around the tree, placing manure around it. If the tree bears fruit it will stay but if the tree bears no fruit after the extra year it will be cut down.

The fig tree was given a second chance. We are given a second chance.

A second chance to change and repent.

It is always Jesus’s way to give man chance after chance. Peter, Mark and Paul all are witnesses to that. God is infinitely kind to those who fall and rise again.

God transforms us by grace – a grace that calls us to be generous towards those still trapped by poverty, want and devastation.

All sinners face the same fate before God. Everyone must stand before Him in judgement.

God is patient but, whilst He allows second chances and time for repentance, there is a limit.

There is a final chance!

If we refuse chance after chance, if God’s appeal and challenge come again and again in vain, the day finally comes, not when God has shut us out, but when we by deliberate choice have shut ourselves out.

Jesus uses the events of Galileans being executed and the tower falling on people in Jerusalem to emphasise the urgency of repentance, warning that those who don’t repent will perish.

A sin is a sin. There are no sins that are lesser than others. All sins are a sin.

Don’t be like the fruitless tree!

Focus on producing good fruit; on living a life which pleases God – rather than focussing on the misfortunes of others.

Jesus is emphasising that repentance is not just about acknowledging sins but actively changing to conform to God’s will.

The fig tree parable highlights God’s grace and the opportunity for change and restoration.