Wonder Part 3

Yesterday I left you with this question:

                                                         Where am I in this parable?  

What I have learned, through all these years as a Pastor, is that it is very  difficult impossible as a matter of fact to fool God.  

And, in my simple reality, God is only impressed with what I do or say that truly honors him.

As I am writing all of this a saying of my mom’s comes to mind: “Don’t insult my intelligence by lying to me!”

God wants total honestly, genuine conversation with us.

What follows from that is God’s desire, in my perception of course, that we continue an honest posture and  conversation by living out our lives in genuine attempts to honor others in God’s name.  

God's Name,   

                   not our own names.

We do this by focusing on how God would have us think, feel and act.  By focusing on how God would speak to, and treat, our fellow sinners.  

Now that is tricky. Focusing on the way we think — think — about God is tricky. 

Tricky  because our understanding and God’s understanding, according to what scripture and Jesus tell us,  are very, very, very different!  “As far as the East is from the West.”(Ps. 103:12)

However, what occurs to me is that we actually have been told how to focus on God/Jesus’ ways.  Paul tells us clearly, in Philippians 2, how God chose to live, work, speak, act and relate to others. 

It goes like this;  by emptying himself of all power and authority.  By becoming like the tax collector with no list of accomplishments, no position, no authority, no honor.  

EMPTY — that is, not full of ourselves. 

The Pharisee was full of himself.

   

The tax collector was not.

I invite you to really think about that. 

Being “empty” void of all prideful identification to feed our ego and importance before others.
                     Our bucket turned up-side-down — drained.

An extremely powerful concept.  

Now, if we truly think about that, it can make some good sense.  Because, when we are void/empty of all our self importance, all our thoughts and opinions, with all of our stuff gone.  Then we are able to be filled.  Filled with God’s hope for us.

When we are full of ourselves there is no room for God to work within us.  No space for different.  Different opinions, or points of views.  

No space for change or growth or possibility.

If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. (Phil. 2)

Wonder Part 2

²⁷But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; ²⁸God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are,

The proud religious man stood and prayed:  “God, I thank you that I am not like other people…” 

The parable, found in Luke 18:9-14, is about the point of view of the Pharisee.  And the point of view of the tax collector.  Both who are demonstrating an ant’s-eye point of view —  very limited, ground level, view of things.  

It is a story about how we perceive ourselves, and others.

It is also a pointed story about how God sees — perceives us.  

It is telling us that God’s perception is nothing like our perception. 

It is also about our ability — or inability — to come before God willing to be genuine. Willing to be honest about who, and how, we truly are.

Tax collector, in that culture, were considered scum.  Someone who worked for the oppressive Roman government.  Cheating his Jewish bothers and sisters.

The Pharisee was a well known proponent of God’s Law.  A respected, so called “religious” man, who appeared to be honest, following all — or most all — of what he believed were God’s rules for life.

Sinner and Sinner come before God with very different perspective on their worthiness and/or unworthiness.

And, both perspectives are incorrect.  

God, according to Jesus, wasn’t all that impressed with the Pharisee’ list of good deeds. 

And, the tax collector was probably totally unaware of how impressed God was with his pure and honest prayer.  His genuine presence as he knelt there. 

It is pretty clear to me that God’s perception and our perception don’t come close to agreement.  

Just take a quick look back at history.  God picked the most unlikely people to assume the places of honor and position among his people.  

Moses, David, Mary, Jesus, Paul or how about the shepherds in the field, of all people?  They were just one step above a servant in that culture.  And yet, it was the shepherds to whom the angels announced the most important news in the history of Christianity.  

All unlikely, probably unacceptable, candidates for service in God’s holy name.  

According to human standards that is.  

Clearly what we see,  

       what we perceive, 

           what we think we know,

                                         are all quite different from
                                         what God 
                                                       sees, 
                                                             perceives 
                                                                          and knows.

That is why it simply does not make sense, to the human intellect, that scum could receive God’s approval over “religious” people of the world. Or anyone who is held in high regard and social standing.

However, apparently God sees something, knows something, that we cannot see or know.  

Because God can see past our lists and verbiage.  God knows our internal thoughts, our private rationalizations.  

God sees us at the heart of what/who we really are, to where our deepest secrets live. 

God, being God, has total advantage.

So what do you and I do with all of this?  How do we obtain better perception — better perspective?

My first thought is to ask, a question I often ask: where am I in this parable?  

Can I honestly pray with the tax collector: “Lord have mercy on me a sinner.”  

Period, no buts,  No additional explanation.  

Or, am I tempted to skirt around such genuineness by justifying my short comings with my own list of glowing qualifications?

A Wonder

I am going to bo back to the reading for the Tuesday of Holy Week

18 For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. ¹⁹For it is written,

‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,

   and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.’ 

²⁰Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? ²¹For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe. ²²For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, ²³but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling-block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, ²⁴but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. ²⁵For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.

26 Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. ²⁷But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; ²⁸God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, ²⁹so that no one might boast in the presence of God. ³⁰He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, ³¹in order that, as it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.’(1 Cor. 1)

I wrote last week, some time, about the way God gave away all of his power and authority to live as a human being on this earth.(Phil. 2)

How many of us would do that?  

How many of us would give all that we are all of our treasured qualities that give us pride and meaning away?

Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? ²¹For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe. ²²For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, ²³but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling-block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,..(!Cor. 1)

We human type creatures have in innate need to preserve those things that we think others admire. We work hard and long on our ‘good’ reputation.

So to give it all way would seem kind of crazy, or stupid actually. 

So, way would God “empty himself,” “humble” himself; becoming of all things a “slave” — the lowest of positions?

It simply makes no sense at all. 

²⁷But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; ²⁸God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are,

 I'll leave you with those thoughts until tomorrow.