Wednesday, March 16, 2016

My 2016 Lenten Journey--Day 34


March 14, 2016 ~ Day 34

My 2016 Lenten Journey: Exploring the Gospels to discover what following Jesus and becoming more like him would look like? ‘And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself” (John 12:32 NRSV).

Matthew 10:1-15 ~ The Commissioning of the Twelve

We can get hung up on some details; and, to be sure the details are important at some level. For example, why did Jesus tell the twelve not to go among the Gentiles or among the Samaritans, but only to the “lost sheep of Israel?” [We’ll discover later that in his humanity Jesus’ faithfulness led him through several levels of understanding his own calling. One such movement can be seen in his early intention to go only to the “lost sheep of Israel” and his subsequent understanding that he is sent to all people.]

I know. Some will say it’s blasphemy to suggest Jesus was ever anything less than omniscient. That’s why we won’t go into detail at this point.

There are other distracting details. What grabs my attention is the open-ended instruction to “proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’(vs. 7). What does that mean? I’m pretty sure I know what those who heard it thought it meant: they thought it meant they were about to go to war with Rome, and that Messiah would lead them to victory and restore the kingdom of Israel to the glory it enjoyed under David.

What Jesus really meant probably never will find consensus agreement among Christians.

Maybe it doesn’t need our consensus. Maybe it just needs our obedience. Is it possible that the meaning of the ‘kingdom of heaven’ is so many-faceted that it can have a variety of applications? Is it Possible that the Baptists and the Presbyterians and the Catholics and the Pentecostals all have valid proclamations?

In the context of this passage of Scripture, I think the least we can infer is that in the kingdom the sick will be cured, the dead will be raised, lepers will be cleansed and demons will be cast out. Moreover, in the kingdom, those who serve will do so with no guarantee of success or even of compensation. Those who serve in the kingdom are instructed not to linger over failures; instead, shake the dust off your feet and move on.

It’s not anything at all like they expected: a restored kingdom of David. It’s something totally new; in fact, it’s never been tried before. It’s been preached for centuries by the prophets; but it’s never been tried.

If I am to follow Jesus, it will have to be on the same basis: no guarantee of success or even of compensation. For me, the hardest part might be to refrain from pouting when I’m not successful. But, Jesus didn’t send the twelve out to be successful. He sent them to be faithful. God will take care of the harvest.

Whoever has seen me has seen the Father (John 14:9 NRSV)
‘And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself” (John 12:32 NRSV).

That's the way it looks through the flawed glass that is my world view.

Together in the Walk,
Jim

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