Community

Matthew 14:15-16 - When evening came, the disciples came to Jesus and said, "This is a lonely place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves." But Jesus said to them, "They need not go away. You give them something to eat."

So props to the disciples who were compassionate and wanted to make sure everyone had food. I know had I been there I would have worried about this myself. It would have distracted me from listening, in fact. Especially if I were hungry also.

They go to Jesus with their proposed solution. But Jesus does not respond the way they think. He challenges his disciples to be more than they are - individually and corporately. His response must have confused them! Yet, their solution kept each family apart from the others and created competition among them. Can you imagine the stampede? The subways are similar here in Chicago. People rushing to get their preferred seat. In this atmosphere, there is no community, no family. There is only competition and every person for themselves.

Jesus challenges us to think in a new way. Rather than competing with others, maybe we could try cooperation and community building? Maybe we could solve everyone's problem at once rather than having individuals solve their own problems. This is why we have government and when those in government do their jobs, all our needs get filled. But sometimes we have people who have not yet learned Jesus's challenge to think communally. And people get hurt.

How am I resisting thinking in terms of community and how is that harmful in my life today?
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One of the Crowd

Matthew 14:13b-14 - When the crowd heard of it, they made their way to him by foot from the towns. When Jesus got out and saw the crowds, he had compassion on them and healed all their sicknesses.

I often think about Jesus's reaction when reading these kinds of stories. I think about the vast chasm that exists between Jesus' compassion and my own. I recognize that I could always do better. Yet, today I want to talk about being one of the crowd. Am I willing to follow Jesus to "the other side of the lake?" And what does that lake represent for me? Is it trouble at work? Is it feeling lost? Is it grief? Is it illness? Is it death of a loved one or even our own ...? So many lakes! My lake today is discernment of my next step in ministry. What to do? Go for a PhD? Go for the Greek classes? Go for another CPE unit? Join with Dudley? So many things. That is my task today.

What does it mean to follow Jesus in our context? Does it mean praying more often to stay connected? Does it mean reaching out to that one person we least want to reach out to? Does it mean forgiving others or ourselves? Each lake will have a different path around. We know we need healing and we know where to get it. How to get to a place we can receive it?

For me, I think it is just sitting with myself and asking hard questions: questions about what I want, where i feel led, what is my goal for each of my choices, do I have to choose or can I do them in sequence. Is there someone I can talk with for clarification?

Once we have an idea of our path, we can ask Jesus to inspire us to follow him around the lake as he inspired the people in our story.
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Jesus' Reaction

Matthew 14:12-13a - His (John's) disciples came and carried away the body and buried it and went and told Jesus. When Jesus heard this, he went away to a secluded place alone.

What do we/I do when I hear tragic news? I get sad and maybe even angry. I often forget to bring my sadness and pain to God. God cannot fix it, yet God shares it and that lessens my burden. This is just what Jesus did - he went away to be alone with God, to pray, to lament and to mourn.

I think the key is that he acted with intention instead of reacting out of his emotion. I need to act intentionally today as well.
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John's Head

Matthew 14:10-11 - He sent and had John beheaded in prison. And it was put on a platter and brought to the girl, who brought it to her mother.

Life was cheap then and it is still cheap today. Especially in some areas of the world - like Chicago. Especially in America if one is black or brown. In the Middle East, Europe, Latin America. The world is struggling with labor pains as Paul said. Sometimes we go backward.

John was beheaded in prison, yet his head was displayed to the company. How gruesome was that? Were these people used to such gore in their lives? Or was it just business as usual?

What about Herodias' daughter? Clearly she is not innocent in the ways of the world and the court. She would have grown up in such surroundings. How does she feel about being used in this way by her mother? She is a pawn and yet she had the power in that moment. In what ways have I used my own power for cruelty rather than encouraging life? How can I then move from violence to life in my actions and words?
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Ruled by Others

Matthew 14:9 - The king was grieved; on account of the oath and the guests, he ordered that it be given.

So to being ruled by fear of the crowd and the prophet we have added the opinions of others. On account of the guests who heard his oath, he orders John to be beheaded.

Herod's fear and worry about appearances - he wants to be seen as a man of his word - make him weak rather than strong. Having no center, no core values, no ethos keeps us reacting rather than responding. I have learned this from my latest round of CPE. Responding requires a center and knowing what that center is and honoring it in ourselves and others.

Herod cannot do that. As a ruler he must be seen as tough and as good for his word. Yet, in worrying about appearances he gives his power, his internal and external power, over to others. First his wife and then the crowd. He doesn't want to kill John yet his fear puts him in the position of having no choice if he wants to keep up appearances.

So, in what ways do I myself keep up appearances? In what ways do I give my power to others rather than using it?
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Ruled by Emotions

Matthew 14:6-8 - But when Herod's birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company, and so pleased Herod that he promised an oath to give her whatever she might ask. Prompted by her mother she said, "Give me, now, the head of John the Baptist on a platter."

Fear is not the only emotion Herod is ruled by, although it might be the strongest. Under the emotion of lust and enchanted by her, Herod tells Herodias's daughter that she may have anything she asks for. This is a perfect instance of being careful what you say! Clearly Herod knows his wife is out to get John the Baptist. Why does Herod give her such an opening? Ruled by emotions. Saying in the moment whatever comes into one's mind. Kind of like Donald Trump.

Unlike Donald Trump, Herod's words have consequences. Now he is between a rock and a hard place - his fear of John and his fear of his wife and his fear of what his guests might say. Herod has no center except himself and so he gets himself into trouble by going along with whatever comes into his mind.

Who is my center? Is it me? My best self? God? How do I live that out in my life?
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Fear - Herod

Matthew 14:3-5 - For Herod had seized John and bound him and put him in prison on account of Herodia, his brothers Phillip's wife. Because John had said it was not lawful for Herod to have her. And he wanted to kill him, and feared the crowd because they held him to be a prophet.

Herod's first two fears. He fears the power of John's voice, his authority. He wants to kill John so John cannot turn people - Rome - against him. His reaction to this fear is violence; get rid of the person causing him trouble.

His second fear is of the crowd - the ordinary people of Israel. They think of John as a prophet and they have enough power to get Herod to think twice about killing John. So he merely puts John in prison. Both are violent actions.

That is the thing about fear; it leads to violence. When our brains are overwhelmed by fear we want to flee and if that is not possible we want to fight. It is a survival mechanism, which is why we teach our children other ways to handle fearful situations. Fleeing and fighting are sometimes appropriate. Yet there are other tools. John was showing people some of those other tools. Jesus too. Herod fears the people having other tools.

In the US, we are living in an environment stoked by artificially exaggerated fears. These fears are stoked by the rich so that they can steal our rights. Bush did this for 8 years and the Republicans continue to stoke the fears of ordinary Americans for political and financial gain. In addition, we are encouraged to give in to the fear and begin to hate those not like us (white, cis, hetero, men). And it is leading to actual violence on top of the violence our police departments are showing themselves capable of. I am not sure about my ability to use those tools and I am sure that I need to learn - we all do. However, I can only control myself.
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Herod

Matthew 14:1-2 - At that time, Herod the tetrarch heard of the fame of Jesus and he said to his servants, "This is John the Baptist, who has been raised from the dead. That is why thid power is at work in him."

These are the words of fear. Matthew goes on in the next sentence to tell how Herod had killed John the Baptist at the instigation of his wife. So, while others try to keep Jesus in his childhood box, Herod recognizes that these powers are real. His reaction is to focus on himself by making himself the cause of Jesus's powers. If he hadn't killed John, would Jesus still have them? He would answer no.

So, both are reactions of fear. Jesus's fellow townspeople are fearful of Jesus and so refuse to recognize how he has changed. Herod is speaking out of fear and guilt for having killed a holy man. Fear is a powerful emotion that keeps us stuck in ourselves and won't let our love for others out. We all have fears; big fears and small fears. What do we do with our fears? Do we box the fearful thing in or do we take on guilt? Do we obsess like Herod? Or do we open ourselves instead to God's love flowing through us like living water?
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Limitations

Matthew 13:53-58 - And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there, and coming to his own country, he taught in their synagogue so that they were amazed, and said, "Where did this man get his wisdom and these might works? Is not this the carpenter's son and his more called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And are not all his sisters with us? Where did this man get all this?" And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house." And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.

Oh, how many times I think I know someone and they astonish me with new knowledge? How many times we forget that people grow and change throughout their lives? In Jesus's hometown, where he grew up, they thought they knew him. They had labeled him and then took offense because he chose not to stay in that label. He chose to be himself and follow his father's will.

We label others and we label ourselves. Perhaps the greater offense is labeling ourselves. We label ourselves based on our negative traits - those that create disharmony - rather than focusing on our positive traits - those that create harmony and attract others. Well, speaking for me. This is a form of violence when we do this. We are refusing to hear our own stories and in so doing we cannot hear others' stories.

Either way we forget that God calls ordinary people not exceptional people to do his service. Today I will think about the labels I have put on people and examine all those I meet without those labels.
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Treasures new and old

Matthew 13:51-52 - "Have you understood all this?" They said to him, "Yes." And he said to them, "Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom is like a householder who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old."

So, I have been focusing on the idea of new treasure and old treasure. And what is the treasure of the scribes? Are they interpreters of the Law, yes? Then their treasure is the interpretation of scripture. "Trained for the kingdom." Since he has been talking about the kingdom of heaven, it seems that is what is referred to.

This is exactly what Jesus did in his day. He was trained for the kingdom. He brought out from the "old" words of scripture new interpretations. Well, interpretations that were new to many people. I find that when I think I have a new interpretation, it is usually only new to me. So, old treasures such as love God with all your soul, might, and strength, and new treasures such as your neighbor is anyone in need.

What is new and what is old and what is of value are important questions for us. What is of value, what qualifies as treasure requires discernment. What do we keep from our childhood understanding of God and the world and what do we let go of? It is a lifelong process of discernment if we are healthy and care about others.
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Heaven

Matthew 13:47-50 - Again the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea. A person pulls it out, sits down and sorts the good into vessels but throws away the bad. So it will be at the coming of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

This seems to me to be a parable of protection? Who doesn't hear this and think of themselves as the righteous. When the angels come, we won't have to deal with "bad" people anymore. All will be well, safe and secure. Physical and mental security were sorely lacking back then; even more than they are now. I'll be giving this some thought today.
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Treasure

Matthew 13:44 - The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, that someone found and covered up. Then in their joy they go and sell all that they have and buys that field.


 Okay, so the point is that the kingdom of heaven is valuable - it means life! That part of the parable is pretty obvious. So, I want to talk about several other aspects of the parable starting with the treasure being hidden.

Of course, parables can be taken too far and I recognize that is what I'm doing here. And yet, how often do i hide that my own treasure, so much more God's treasure within me? How often do I tell people, I don't like writing? How often do I get told that it is my gift. I am like Peter hanging on to his accounting. God's treasure is meant to be used. The parable does not say what the man does with the treasure. Yet, its previous owner tucked it away. What treasure of God's are we tucking away rather than using and sharing with the world?

Secondly, joy in discovering the treasure of heaven. How joyful are we when we worship? How joyful are we when we pray? How joyful are we when we go about our daily life? The Christian life is marked with joy. Of course, there are people who have medical conditions that make joy impossible. I am not talking about that. Yet, if we are not finding joy in our journeying with Christ, we need to look at that! Because it means there is probably work for us to do. Are we resentful, angry, snappy with others, turned in on ourselves, jealous, envious, greedy, lazy, slothful, prideful? All of these get in the way of our relationship with Jesus and with others. I woke up cranky this morning - work to do.
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Tares and Wheat

Matthew 13:36-43 - Then he left the crowds and went into the house. The disciples came to him saying, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field." He answered them saying, "He who sows the good seed is the Son of Humanity; the field is the world; and the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom; the weeds are the sons of the evil one; and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the close of the age; and the reapers are the angels. Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so it will be at the close of the age. The Son of Humanity will send his angels and they will gather out of the kingdom all the causes of sin and all evildoers, and throw them into the fire; there people will weep and gnash their teeth. Then the sons of righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their father. He who has ears, let him hear."

Whew! I like my interpretation better.
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