Monthly Archives: July 2015

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on July 17, 2015
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A Talking Donkey? — Rev. David J. Schreffler

July 17, 2015

“God’s anger was kindled because he (Balaam) was going, and the angel of the Lord took his stand in the road as his adversary. Now he was riding on the donkey, and his two servants were with him. The donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road, with a drawn sword in his hand; so the donkey turned off the road, and went into the field; and Balaam struck the donkey, to turn it back onto the road. Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a wall on either side. When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it scraped against the wall, and scraped Balaam’s foot against the wall; so he struck it again. Then the angel of the Lord went ahead, and stood in a narrow place, where there was no way to turn either to the right or to the left. When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it lay down under Balaam; and Balaam’s anger was kindled, and he struck the donkey with his staff. Then the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and it said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?” Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have made a fool of me! I wish I had a sword in my hand! I would kill you right now!” But the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey, which you have ridden all your life to this day? Have I been in the habit of treating you this way?” And he said, “No.” Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road, with his drawn sword in his hand; and he bowed down… Numbers 22:22-31

“Do we see the danger? Or do we not notice how increasingly our own will, our own passion, our own stubbornness sneaks into our confession? Do we not notice how our pious self-confidence puts itself in the place of faith? How our human goals shove aside Christian hope?” Martin Niemoller (1892 – 1984)”For All The Saints”, volume IV (p. 239)

We do not always see the danger of allowing our own will, desires, and plans to supersede the will, desires and plans that G*d has for us. Balaam was blind to the presence of G*d, and thus his own will took over. It took the unexpected surprise of the donkey talking to open his eyes to seeing the Angel of the Lord. This reminds us that G*d will come to us in expected ways, and often in unexpected and even extraordinary ways — all in an attempt to get our attention. But in this distracted world in which we live, it may take something extraordinary to get us to look up — look up from our phones, our tablets, our computers, and look up to G*d.

Be open today to how G*d might be interceding in your life. I doubt you will encounter a talking donkey — but don’t put anything outside of the realm and the desire of G*d to get your attention.

Pastor Dave

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on July 16, 2015
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Last, First, or Somewhere in the Middle — Rev. David J. Schreffler

July 16, 2015

“The kingdom of heaven is like a householder who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into the vineyard. Going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the market place; to them he said ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ Going out again about the sixth and the ninth hour, he did the same. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing; and he said to them ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ They said to him, ‘No one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ When evening came, he said to his steward, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.'” Matthew 20:1-8

One of the nuances of living in 21st century America is how we treat those who are “first”. It begins in elementary school — when people select teams for any kind of activity, the people who are picked first are either the most athletic, the most popular, or the most liked. This reality and practice is also continued through high school and even into college. In the Professional Sports world, the first person selected in a draft (like professional baseball and football) is usually paid the most. It is a big deal to be selected first — you are honored with being first — it is a statement that you are the best of the best.

The parable of vineyard, and the selection of laborers, turns this idea completely on its head. Those selected first are not paid more, are not honored more, are in no way treated as being the best of the best. They simply are treated the same as those being selected last. Martin Luther writes, “In every kingdom, in every empire, there are privileged men; that is to say, eminent persons with rights beyond the ordinary; and the source of these privileges is that by birth or by office they are closer to the person of the prince. It belongs to the sovereign’s greatness and majesty that the luster of his crown should be in some sort reflected on those who approach him near. But if we are united with Christ, let us not look among the rich for the privileges of Holy Church. Our monarch’s crown is a crown of thorns, its luster is suffering and affliction.”

You see, G*d pays no attention to how this earthly choosing of the first and last is carried out. G*d will decide — G*d will decide — and the Grace of Jesus Christ is given to all equally, no matter when we began to labor in the kingdom.

Pastor Dave