Trash or Treasure?

Matthew 16:21-28

If asked to explain why I trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior my quickest answer is usually something along the lines of, “Jesus is the one thing that helps me make sense of my life.” There is a great deal more to it, of course, but that is what I might call a “Twitter-length” response. But then we have a gospel reading like the one today, and to some my answer may seem to lose validity. “Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?’” (Matthew 16:24-26). Why worry about making sense of my life if I am only going to give it away?

Well, that’s the whole point. Jesus says my life is of no value unless and until I am willing to let go of it. By taking up my cross, by following Jesus on the difficult path of discipleship, by giving up on who I am as an individual I become what God created me to be. A recent cartoon showed the character Dilbert being asked to contribute to a co-worker’s birthday gift. In the end Dilbert adds half a piece of chewed gum to a collection that already includes lint and used staples. In cultural terms this is the value of the co-worker’s life: trash. But when we turn from the culture and instead embrace God’s will in Jesus Christ we find our lives to be altogether more important, so valuable that they are actually worth giving away.

Following Jesus Christ, then, gives meaning—and value—to my life. To some I may amount to office debris, but according to God I matter. My life is a precious gift that I have to offer, and that helps me to make sense of things.

Prayer: Lord, grant us the strength to follow Jesus Christ, to live our faith, and to share our lives to your glory. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Built On The Rock

Matthew 16:13-20

“Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.’ And Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it’” (Matthew 16:16-18). Most of us are familiar with the pun Jesus uses in this conversation from Matthew. The name Peter is based on the Greek word for rock, so in English Simon might have been called Rocky.

“You are Rocky, and on this rock I will build my church.”

But is Peter really “The Rock”? Or does that term refer to anyone who comes to know Jesus as the “Son of the living God”? For me faith in Jesus Christ challenges each of us to become rock-like in our living, to stand firm in what we believe. We do not do the building–that job belongs to Jesus. But by grace we become the stones, the raw material with which God creates a new structure that will stand against the forces of sin and death. This is why the Christian faith can never be reduced purely to person terms. Faith is always a function of believers as a whole, joined together, accountable to one another, encouraging one another. We are all rocks together, and in our unity–as frail as it is–we display the good news of the gospel.

“On this rock I will build my church.”

Prayer: Lore, give us the strength to live lives of courage and unity, that your will may be done among us. In Jesus name. Amen.

What Were They Thinking?

Matthew 16:1-12

At this point in the gospel of Matthew the disciples have witnessed Jesus miraculously feed a multitude of people not once, but twice. And in each case there were leftovers. And yet, “When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread” (Matthew 16:5). What were they thinking? What made them forget to bring food with them on a journey? We might say that the disciples’ eyes were so filled with heavenly visions that they simply had no time for the mundane things of life. We might say that these followers of Jesus were completely out of their element and easily distracted which made it natural to forget bread. Or we could say that the poor dears just weren’t very smart. Frankly I have no idea. It may be none of these, or maybe all of them together. The point is that when they should have had bread on their minds they did not, and when Jesus tried to use the incident as a teaching moment they still didn’t get it.

Jesus’ point seems to have been that bread is only so important, but that a right relationship with God is essential. No bread? Too bad, yet life goes on. Being led astray by the Pharisees? Now you have BIG trouble. Pay attention, Jesus is saying, and don’t lose sight of the vital issues or of the really important aspects of life and faith. But mostly Jesus is saying, stick with me. I’ve fed multitudes with food left over, I’m capable of feeding you, too.

Prayer: Lord help us to focus on the proper issues of our lives and to listen for your guidance, for it is in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.