Three Things

I might write a bit more than usual today, so I apologize in advance. My first topic is centered on the first verse of today's reading, John 5:16:

So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews persecuted him. 

This is a nice short way to tell if you're a modern-day Pharisee. I commented recently in a post titled "You Might Be A Pharisee If..." on how the Pharisees were more concerned with HOW things were done and less on WHAT. In this case, Jesus preached and performed miracles, and the Pharisees' complaint was based on that fact he did this on the Sabbath, conveniently ignoring the life-changing wonders being performed. Sometimes how we do things matter, but we should never put process before accomplishment. This is outstanding advice in the business world, and life-changing in Christianity. If we focus on the WHAT (that all know Christ), the Holy Spirit will enable and enlighten us as to the HOW.

My second topic is based on John 5:46:

If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me.

Like many of you, when I read verses like this, I immediately go to the notes and cross-reference in my NIV Study Bible. The NIV Study Bible suggested several instances, of which I chose three:

Genesis 49:10--Jacob is blessing his sons and points the way to Jesus (by way of David)

Numbers 24:17--a similar prophecy regarding Jesus

Deuteronomy 18:15--a very clear prophecy of Moses that points to Christ

This part of John is the conclusion of a passage where Jesus is saying some amazing things--that he was the Son of God, the fulfillment of prophecy. This passage ends with Jesus questioning their questions--if they weren't going to believe Moses, why would they believe him? 

My last topic has special meaning, since I like to think I've spent the better part of ten years working on precisely this issue. Mark 6:8 states:

These were his instructions: “Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your belts.

When Christ was sending out the disciples with these instructions, he wasn't just tossing them to the wolves and leaving them to fend for themselves. What was left unsaid was that these disciples would be protected and provided for, and the the Lord would see to that. However, God wasn't going to reinstate manna and quail, at least not directly. No, the manna and quail of the disciples' time would be the hearers themselves, those willing to open their homes to the disciples and feed and care for them.

It can be easy to misinterpret this verse as a call for vows of poverty for all that do the Lord's work, but nothing could be further from the truth. Jesus was teaching the apostles to put their faith in the Lord, not just in a religious manner, but also in worldly matters, since a faith in the Lord needs to be a faith that works for everything, not just certain items. As a congregation, our responsibility is to be the modern equivalent of the towns the disciples visited, opening our homes and caring for them. 

I know I promised three topics, but there's a fourth. Consider who the apostles were supposed to preach and perform miracles for--the "lost sheep of Israel" (Matthew 9:6). We as a church would do well to remember that as we work to spread the message. If I haven't mentioned it before, we have around 600-700 in worship each Sunday, but have about 2,000 people on our membership roles. This ratio (33% of our membership in worship) is fairly constant through the Lutheran church, but gives each of us a pretty solid base of 1,000 (I'll always assume at least 400-500 of that 1,400 who are NOT in worship aren't in the area anymore and not realistic targets to get to our church. This doesn't mean I don't suggest helping them find another church) that we should be in contact with and making sure their spiritual needs are being met. If you think about it, it takes a certain amount of hubris to evangelize to the outside world when we're missing 1,000+ that CLAIM TO BE MEMBERS OF OUR CHURCH. Like the disciples, Christ was telling the disciples to go after the low-hanging fruit first--again, outstanding advice in the business world, potentially life-changing in Christianity.

Scott