The Why Question

A good friend, seminary professor, and ministry coach I learned from and worked with back in the 80’s had a (sometimes annoying, never forgotten) refrain whenever we discussed ministry planning and programming: “Why? Because until you answer the why question, the cost is always too high.”

 What he meant was why is the only thing that makes what worth sacrificing for.

 Nearly anyone who reads this week’s Gospel (spoiler alert: “The Widow’s Offering”) can pretty quickly come up with the what: sacrificial giving. That’s simple.

 But what’s the why? Well, that’s the vital question, isn’t it?

Paying Attention

Things we hear all the time—even important and potentially life saving things—can become so familiar we stop really paying attention. Seriously. Think about the last time you were actually absorbed in what the flight attendant said just before takeoff.

This week’s gospel reading includes a vital part of Christian liturgy—28 words so important that Jesus said every other word in the Bible hangs from them—the Church has repeated week after week almost without exception. Year after year. Decade after decade. For millennia.

 Que Charlie Brown adult sound.

A “Blind” beggar

In this week’s Gospel reading we find Bartimaeus, a blind beggar who sits on the outskirts of the city of Jericho—an oasis on the edge of a desert but also at the beginning of a mountain pass that leads up to Jerusalem. It’s here that Bartimaeus declares that Jesus is the Son of David.

The fact that he’s sitting on the outskirts of Jericho also has rich biblical significance. Jericho is the city of song and story. It's the place where Joshua “fit" the battle and the walls came a tumblin’ down. But Jericho was also the great impediment to Israel’s entry into the Promised Land. So when God brought victory at Jericho, this former limitation became the gateway to the victory of God.

And it’s here that Jesus performs his final miracle before his triumphal entry into Jerusalem on what would come to be called Palm Sunday.

Apparently Bartimaeus doesn’t understand this fully, but he will become the herald of the great victory of God simply because he “sees” better than most who Jesus really is.

Trust

The reading from Psalms this week is a meditation on trust.  

I like the word trust.  It is heart-felt, rigorous, embodied.  Sometimes trust describes quietness and peace, sometimes a cry for help in crisis.  Intellectual belief can be maintained at a distance.  Trust requires a relationship.  Someone who trusts God “holds fast to me in love” says the Psalmist. 

We live in a culture of distrust.  Family relationships have been weakened, faith in important institutions such as schools, churches, scientific bodies, and governments has diminished, and our future as a society seems uncertain.  

But trust is the foundation of hope.  Without trust, we lose heart, we lose courage, we lack faith.  Thankfully, God has shown himself to be trustworthy.  And His trustworthiness is ours to experience and to share with those around us.

Blind spot

The practical definition of a blind spot is simply, “something you don’t see.”

 It’s often quite painful when a blind spot is exposed to us. If fact, it can cause us grief. At least that’s been my experience. But once it’s been exposed and dealt with, the result can be quite life changing.

 In this week’s Gospel reading, Jesus lovingly exposes a major blind spot in an exceptionally successful, powerful, and moral young man—just one thing that’s holding him back (though admittedly, it’s a big one).

 But sadly, while its exposure does grieve him, it doesn’t change him.

Lest we drift

Beginning this Sunday our Lectionary has us in the book of Hebrews as our Epistle reading for the next several weeks.

The first chapter of the book contains no commands. We’re not told to do anything. The whole chapter is a declaration and celebration of God’s final word to the world—Jesus Christ. If I were to “sum it up”, I would say, “God has spoken decisively through his Son, and his Son is Creator and Sustainer and Owner and Ruler and Redeemer of the world”.

The second chapter, however (where we begin this week) starts with a command—something we must do. And the connection with chapter one is very important. Chapter two begins “Therefore”…telling us chapter one is the reason for this command. “Therefore,” it says, “we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.”

Think about the word, “drift.” It means to float by. It’s what a piece of wood or a leaf or a dead fish does in the water...just floats along with the prevailing current. It takes no life, no motion, no energy. One need only do nothing to drift.

This is of critical importance to us because it means the result of not paying much closer attention to what we have heard isn’t just bobbing merrily along, it’s drifting away.

Plan ahead?

Going through the book of James we come across an interesting teaching that unfortunately the vast majority of us are guilty of failing to follow. In life we have a tendency to boast unknowingly in how we make our plans. Why is it that this is such a big deal to our Lord. We make plans all the time right? And it seems basically irresponsible to fail to do so. However when we make our plans, do we consider our Lord. Isn’t He to be above all “Preeminent.” How would you like to be forgotten by your loved ones. In walking with Christ, He must encompass all of our life for He in fact is our life, (Col 3:4). Our life as James very potently states is a “mist”. Let us not forget who it’s for after all. Join us as we unpack this more together.

Genuine wisdom

Sociologist E.O. Wilson penned this epigram to describe the dilemma of our day, “We are drowning in information, while starving for wisdom.” For him, and for James in this week’s Epistle reading, knowledge is not equal to wisdom, but only a part of it. Wisdom involves knowledge, but it is much more than that.

So, what is genuine wisdom, and why is it so important? What are its attributes and what are its fruits? What does wisdom actually do?

These are good questions to ask in a culture where so many put a premium on knowledge but seem to ignore, or even disdain, wisdom. Yet, in reading books or watching movies, our hearts, without even trying, are naturally inclined to the Gandalfs and the Dumbledores—not just because they’re smart and powerful, but because they take knowledge and power and put it to great use with wisdom.