THE BIBLE – LISTENING TO MATTHEW
COMMENT FOR PENTECOST 3 – 1.6.08
Genesis 6: 9-22; 7:24; 8:14-19
This story has provided great fun through the years which, unfortunately misses the point. It is the third Genesis creation story where God is so disappointed with human violence and corruption that all except one family is to be destroyed and a new start with the rainbow promise is made. That ancient story notes the human capacity to self destruct, as persons or societies. It was seen again in the Balance of Terror at the height of the Cold War, last century. Note the original film “On the Beach”. But there was no Noah to lead the recovery.
Psalm 46
This great confession of the covenant people trusts in God in the face of destructive natural forces and the tumults through human history. Some people of the 21st century are now suffering through the Burmese cyclone and the earthquakes in China; and all remember Australian Defence Forces in dangerous places. The spirit of this Psalm outlasts the threat of human anxiety and agitation. The Psalm would have us feel the weight of these timeless words so that we understand the collapse of human power before the peace of God which cannot be denied.
Romans 1: 16-17; 3: 22b-31
Paul’s letter to the Romans is a great statement of the Christian religion. He shows how it comes down to us through the prophets of the Hebrew people to the man from Nazareth.
Then it breaks out of its racial origins and becomes a universal religion. In this way God’s intention for creation gets a new creative beginning because the grace of God is for every member of the human race. Paul had a life-transforming experience in Jesus and he wants to share this with the people in Rome.
Matthew 7: 21-29
Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount is probably the earliest Christian document, once separate as a digest of the teachings of Jesus. There was great interest in what Jesus said as the Gospel message spread. He concludes with the great picture of how a person can put into practice the grace of God in loving actions all through life and be strong enough to deal with everyday life hazards. Matthew then notes that as people listened to Jesus they felt the warmth of the loving actions of God in their lives, and this answered their own search for the spiritual life. That was his authority.
THE BIBLE – LISTENING TO MATTHEW
COMMENT FOR PENTECOST 4 – 8.06.08
Genesis 12: 1-9
This is another creation story of the emergence of the Hebrew people just over 2200 years before Christ. Abraham is aware of a call from God to set out from Haran at the headquarters of the EuphratesRiver with his tribal group. They travelled south looking for land and living space for their families and cattle. The faith that emerged was in One God who would journey with you and be a part of the journey. He built two altars; one in Shechem and also at Bethel, not far from Jerusalem. So the story comes right into New Testament times with the faith response of Abraham to what he understood about God becoming a crucial part of the story of Jesus.
Psalm 33: 1-12
We can imagine this joyous Psalm being used in a covenant festival celebration. It is built on the sense that all things – the created earth and all its people – are working well together. For everything has been created through the will of a loving God. The spiritual power of God’s Word, the “breath of his mouth” is what brings everything into existence. This means there is wholeness and integrity under the loving power of God. We should feel the weight of this argument and the hope that it engenders. At the same time note the power of the earthquake in China, and the human power in weapons of mass destruction, which together with the over use of the earth’s resources is a challenge to human intelligent action.
Romans 4: 13-25
Paul is explaining in his letter how the rich promises of God are received through faith. He is showing how this came true for Abraham. He wants people who have grown up under the daily careful observance of the Law of Moses to think again. He is asking them to let go of their law-imposed actions and live a life of faith. Life for Paul was transformed when he found the grace of God in a living faith in Christ. He wants them all, Jew or Gentile, to come into a new dynamic relationship with God through Christ. They would then understand what it meant to know the peace of God.
Matthew 9: 9-13, 18-26
Matthew clearly remembers what it was like for him to leave his post as a customs officer and join the young group around Jesus. He is now crafting into his account the impact on others in the encounters that followed. There was such a calm strength about this man from Nazareth that he understood what people were asking from him, and he was able to respond to them in such a logical and creative way. His life was an expression of the loving energy of God which saw no limits. It was also available to everyone. It was not denied to those whose behaviour the religious leaders of the day did not like. This is a lesson which is never easy to learn.
THE BIBLE – LISTENING TO MATTHEW
COMMENT FOR PENTECOST 5 – 15.06.08
Genesis 18: 1-15
In this delightful story Abraham is suddenly aware of three visitors standing before his tent. He welcomes them with lavish hospitality, believing they bring the promise for his deepest hopes. This they do after the meal – God’s promise can be trusted. Unfortunately the culture of the times means that Sarah has to prepare the meal then get out of sight. She does not meet the visitors nor talk with them. She hears through the tent wall the promise given and laughs with surprise or delight or both. She is accused of laughing, or not understanding, and the promise of Abraham will come true.
Psalm 116: 1-2, 12-19
The first two verses carry the warmth and conviction from someone who has had a very difficult time and survived through the spiritual strength of faith in God. That is the theme of this Psalm. The ‘cup of salvation’ is perhaps the ‘festival cup’ of Yahweh, which was passed round at a covenant meal and is at once the symbol and pledge of divine saving grace. O.T.Library, The Psalms, Artur Weiser P. 175. The Psalm gathers conviction and power as it proceeds, bringing the whole congregation into a deeper awareness of God and ends with a joyous shout of faith.
Romans 5: 1-11
Paul is explaining that being at peace with God is simply a matter of receiving the gift of his grace through faith. It does not come through making a bargain or trying to qualify. The whole creation is meant to share in the loving purposes of the spiritual power of God.
Then, because these Romans had to live in the real world which was suspicious of the Christian faith, they would need to be strong, so he tells them that it is worth the struggle to be part of God’s plan for humanity. Everyone can be part of the healing processes at work through the loving energies of God.
Matthew 9: 35-10: 8
Matthew captures for us a dramatic moment in the ministry of Jesus. It was his compassion for people in their day to day lives caught up in the struggle to live. It reflects for us now the compassion of God for all people pushed aside and left behind in the competition for power of one kind or another. Then Jesus selects and names his twelve disciples. Matthew identifies himself as the tax collector – the bottom rung of society. Look at the broad sweep of their instructions. It is good news for all those harassed and helpless ones referred to first. This is the challenge to the inventive, intelligent loving people of God in any age.
THE BIBLE – LISTENING TO MATTHEW
COMMENT FOR PENTECOST 3 – 1.06.08
Genesis 6: 9-22; 7:24; 8:14-19
This story has provided great fun through the years which, unfortunately misses the point. It is the third Genesis creation story where God is so disappointed with human violence and corruption that all except one family is to be destroyed and a new start with the rainbow promise is made. That ancient story notes the human capacity to self destruct, as persons or societies. It was seen again in the Balance of Terror at the height of the Cold War, last century. Note the original film “On the Beach”. But there was no Noah to lead the recovery.
Psalm 46
This great confession of the covenant people trusts in God in the face of destructive natural forces and the tumults through human history. Some people of the 21st century are now suffering through the Burmese cyclone and the earthquakes in China; and all remember Australian Defence Forces in dangerous places. The spirit of this Psalm outlasts the threat of human anxiety and agitation. The Psalm would have us feel the weight of these timeless words so that we understand the collapse of human power before the peace of God which cannot be denied.
Romans 1: 16-17; 3: 22b-31
Paul’s letter to the Romans is a great statement of the Christian religion. He shows how it comes down to us through the prophets of the Hebrew people to the man from Nazareth.
Then it breaks out of its racial origins and becomes a universal religion. In this way God’s intention for creation gets a new creative beginning because the grace of God is for every member of the human race. Paul had a life-transforming experience in Jesus and he wants to share this with the people in Rome.
Matthew 7: 21-29
Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount is probably the earliest Christian document, once separate as a digest of the teachings of Jesus. There was great interest in what Jesus said as the Gospel message spread. He concludes with the great picture of how a person can put into practice the grace of God in loving actions all through life and be strong enough to deal with everyday life hazards. Matthew then notes that as people listened to Jesus they felt the warmth of the loving actions of God in their lives, and this answered their own search for the spiritual life. That was his authority.
THE BIBLE – LISTENING TO MATTHEW
COMMENT FOR PENTECOST 7 – 29.06.08
Genesis 22: 1-14
This reading continues the foundational faith story of Abraham for Jews, Christians and Muslims. It is interesting to see how each faith reflects on the character of the Patriarch. What all agree on is the rejection of the primitive practice of human sacrifice. We are familiar with the strength of that rejection in Leviticus 20: 2-5. Islam finds the obedience of Abraham to do whatever God requires as the model for a human’s response to God, because in the world around us there is adequate provision for human future, and enough to offer gratefully to a loving God.
Psalm 13
There is weakness and anxiety to the point where this poor sick person feels he could just disappear from the created world. Most of the Psalm is given to repeated questions which increase the tension; giving no chance for any other voice to be heard. It is like the melancholy reflections of the midnight to early morning hours. But then the new day dawns with the sun. This light and warmth comes as a metaphor for the spiritual renewal of the grace of God.
Romans 6: 12-23
Freedom is a word frequently used in a political sense. But Paul is thinking of something much more personal. This is freedom to be the kind of person we would like to be, or whatever we feel God would like us to be. He uses the example of slavery which was a basic economic system in Paul’s day. If we have ever counseled a person in the grip of drug addiction we can understand better what Paul is saying. The slave belongs to his or her master and is at no time free to make a spontaneous decision. Breaking this hold, and freely accepting the spiritual strength of Christ leads to eternal life.
Matthew 10: 40-42
Matthew had stepped out of his Royal Jewish life to become a collector of taxes for the Roman Administration. He had become an outcast. Now he was different again, very different. Jesus had explained to his disciples what it would be like as wandering missionaries – offering the love of God, doing only good, and accepting genuine hospitality. But verse 42 is fascinating. He is saying that something done in the name of a messenger of the great love of God is never trivial. It becomes part of the spiritual life and power that enriches everyone and everything it touches.
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