JEREMIAH 20:7-13

THE BACKGROUND

Imagine God calling you to be his spokesperson in a troubled time.  You really just want to get along with others, but God needs you to do this. God called Jeremiah to do this, because things were a mess in Judah.   The king of Judah, Jehoiakim, surrounded himself with “yes men”.  Jeremiah was to warn Judah of their unfaithfulness; they needed to repent, and return to God.  The high priest Pashhur struck Jeremiah, and punished him by placing him in the town square in stocks.  Upon his release, Jeremiah warns Pashhur that the king of Babylon would conquer Judah, and carry Pashhur off into captivity.  Today’s reading is Jeremiah’s lament to God.  He is complaining to God about his miserable life.

THE DETAILS

  • In verse 7 Jeremiah accuses God of “enticing” him and “overpowering” him into taking the job.  These are not good words, are they?  We know from Jeremiah 1:6 that he took this call reluctantly. He knew it was going to bring him grief and hardship.
  • In verse 9, Jeremiah admits that he can’t keep it inside himself, that there is a burning fire shut up in his bones.    He simply must do what the Lord requires of him.
  • This lament takes a turn in verse 11.  He puts his trust and confidence in the Lord to stand by his side and protect him.
  • In verse 13, the lament ends in a song of praise.

 

THE TAKEAWAY

As disciples of Jesus, we are all called to spread the Good News.  We should ask the Holy Spirit to make this Good News a “burning fire shut up in our bones”.  (v. 9b) We, too, can thank and praise God for giving us the Holy Spirit, who stands beside us and helps us to do His work. But work we must!
 

ROMANS 6:1-11

THE BACKGROUND

Paul is writing to the Christian church in Rome.  He has just explained to them that God’s grace is a free gift.  They receive the gift of salvation and forgiveness of sins not by obeying rules and laws, but by their faith in Jesus.

 

THE DETAILS

  • Paul must have realized that some of his readers would take chapter 5 as giving them the freedom to do whatever they chose. That they were free to indulge in an “anything goes” lifestyle.  Verses 1 & 2 put an end to that possibility. 
  • Verses 3-6 bring forth the interesting concept that through our baptism, our former lives have come to an end; we have died with Christ—we were crucified with Christ.  And with him, we will also be resurrected.  This changes everything—we are now tightly united with our savior. 
  • Verse 11 summarizes it nicely—since we are dead to sin, we are now alive to God.

 

THE TAKEAWAY

Does being “dead to sin” mean that we are no longer capable of sinning?  No, we are still human beings.  Martin Luther said that we are at the same time both “sinners and saints”. We are, by our very nature, tempted to serve ourselves rather than God.  It is up to us to remind ourselves of our new life in Christ.  Yes, we are forgiven for all our sins.  But we must also live our lives being “dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus”.  Being freed from the cycle of law/sin/death, we are able to bravely live the Law of Love. 

 

MATTHEW 10:24:39

THE BACKGROUND

This is a continuation of last week’s reading.  Jesus is sending his apostles out to continue his work.  He is giving them some detailed instructions, including the consequences of following him.

 

THE DETAILS

  • The beginning of this passage (verses 24-25) was a little confusing to me.  This is how I’ve come to understand it.  In verse 24 and the first part of 25, Jesus is telling his apostles that they are his disciples, and he is the teacher; they should simply teach what He has taught. They are his representatives.  In the second half of verse 26, he mentions Beelzebul.  Beelzebul can be another name for the devil.  Jesus says that if “they” (their enemies) call Jesus the devil, they can expect the same treatment as he.
  • In most of verse 26 and all of 27 Jesus is simply saying “You may share everything I’ve taught you in private with everyone. There are no secrets anymore.”
  • Verses 34-37 have always been troubling for me. This is how I now understand them. Back then, if you decided to follow Jesus, it usually meant breaking away from your family’s religion.  It meant that your family would probably try to convince you to deny Jesus, and remain faithful to your previous beliefs. For them, this meant choosing Jesus over family.  We still see this today.  When people change denominations, it can cause family divisions.  Jesus is reminding us of the importance of priorities—to put God first, no matter what the cost.

 

THE TAKEAWAY

In our baptism, we have all become disciples of Christ.  Sometimes, this comes at a cost.  With the help of the Holy Spirit, we must strengthen our resolve to serve Jesus, and share the Good News, regardless of the personal sacrifice.