“When a great crowd gathered and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable: “A sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell on the path and was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. Some fell on the rock; and as it grew up, it withered for lack of moisture. Some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew with it and choked it. Some fell into good soil, and when it grew, it produced a hundredfold.” As he said this, he called out, “Let anyone with ears to hear listen!” Then his disciples asked him what this parable meant. He said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of G-d; but to others I speak in parables, so that ‘looking they may not perceive, and listening they may not understand.’” (Luke 8:4-10)

“Jesus was short on sermons, long on conversations; short on answers, long on questions; short on abstraction and propositions, long on stories and parables; short on telling you what to think, long on challenging you to think for yourself.” (Brian D. McLaren)

We learn nothing from the scriptures if we do not learn this one thing: Christ made the constant business of his life to show the love of G-d in ways people did not perceive. The Good News of the Kingdom of G-d is filled with glad tidings as Jesus reached out to and ministered to the last, the lost, the least and the little of his day. Lepers, sinners, tax collectors, and women were particular people to which he most openly offered his ministry. In fact, certain women were among the disciples or at least among those who attended to Jesus and the needs of the disciples out of their resources.  As author and pastor Brian McLaren writes, Jesus was “…long on stories and parables; short on telling you what to think, long on challenging you to think for yourself.”

We have a lot of examples of how the church should build its ministry in the community. And these ministries will be some of the most profound ways we show the love of G-d.

Pastor Dave

May 11, 2021 — 1 Samuel 17

“David was the youngest; the three eldest followed Saul, but David went back and forth from Saul to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem. For forty days the Philistine came forward and took his stand, morning and evening. Jesse said to his son David, “Take for your brothers an ephah of this parched grain and these ten loaves, and carry them quickly to the camp to your brothers; also take these ten cheeses to the commander of their thousand. See how your brothers fare, and bring some token from them.” Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines. David rose early in the morning, left the sheep with a keeper, took the provisions, and went as Jesse had commanded him. He came to the encampment as the army was going forth to the battle line, shouting the war cry. Israel and the Philistines drew up for battle, army against army. David left the things in charge of the keeper of the baggage, ran to the ranks, and went and greeted his brothers. As he talked with them, the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, came up out of the ranks of the Philistines, and spoke the same words as before. And David heard him.” (1 Samuel 17:14-23)

“Courage is not something that you already have that makes you brave when the tough times start. Courage is what you earn when you’ve been through the tough times and you discover they aren’t so tough after all.” (Malcolm Gladwell, David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants)

A shepherd named David, the youngest of his father’s children, came from keeping the family’s sheep and stumbles into an odd situation. Goliath has challenged the army of Israel, and his appearance and size stopped the army in its tracks – and in their fears. But David appears to have more courage than all the mighty men of Israel. There were many strong and brave soldiers, but David had something else – he had youth and trust. Perhaps he did not understand the implications of this situation, but he also was too young to be afraid.

Age does not always provide the wisdom we hope it will. Our experiences ought to encourage us to trust in G-d, and be bold in our service, but our age can also jade our hope and trust. David was not used to the heavy armor of a soldier, so he tossed that aside for what he knew best – his own smarts, his ability to act quickly, and his trust in G-d. David says to Saul,“Your servant used to keep sheep for his father; and whenever a lion or a bear came, and took a lamb from the flock, I went after it and struck it down, rescuing the lamb from its mouth; and if it turned against me, I would catch it by the jaw, strike it down, and kill it. Your servant has killed both lions and bears; and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, since he has defied the armies of the living G-d.”

Remember, faith, prayer, and trust often are the best attributes each of us require to face down the Goliath’s of our time. We may not always win, we may not always get our way, but our trust and our faith will see us through many battles, spiritual and otherwise.

Pastor Dave

May 12, 2021 — Luke 7:36 – 50

“One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and took his place at the table. And a woman in the city, who was a sinner, having learned that he was eating in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster jar of ointment. She stood behind him at his feet, weeping, and began to bathe his feet with her tears and to dry them with her hair. Then she continued kissing his feet and anointing them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw it, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him—that she is a sinner.” Jesus spoke up and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” “Teacher,” he replied, “Speak.” “A certain creditor had two debtors; one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he canceled the debts for both of them. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the greater debt.” And Jesus said to him, “You have judged rightly.” Then turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has bathed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore, I tell you, her sins, which were many, have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.” Then he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” But those who were at the table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” (Luke 7:36 – 50)

“Doubt as sin. — Christianity has done its utmost to close the circle and declared even doubt to be sin. One is supposed to be cast into belief without reason, by a miracle, and from then on to swim in it as in the brightest and least ambiguous of elements: even a glance towards land, even the thought that one perhaps exists for something else as well as swimming, even the slightest impulse of our amphibious nature — is sin! And notice that all this means that the foundation of belief and all reflection on its origin is likewise excluded as sinful. What is wanted are blindness and intoxication and an eternal song over the waves in which reason has drowned.” (Friedrich Nietzsche, Daybreak: Thoughts on the Prejudices of Morality)

The woman’s sins “having been” forgiven at some event before she comes to see Jesus, approaches him with true love in her heart. Her response of anointing Jesus’ feet can only be explained as an act of faith and love, for she has received a wonderful gift – the gift of forgiveness. Her sins must have been great – for she is known in the community as a “sinner”. The Pharisee, instead of rejoicing in the change of heart and the woman’s repentance, the Pharisee confines his thoughts to her former bad character.

We all suffer in some manner or form from the sins of our past. It is hard to escape the things we have done, the people we have hurt, the decisions we have made that were made without the clarity of age and wisdom. But Jesus offers us what he offered the woman from our text — free forgiveness.

None of us can escape the wrath to come; but Jesus offers us a way to eternal life. Jesus says to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” Could it be that easy?

Pastor Dave