Daily Liturgy and Scripture

The parable of the seeds and the sower is a call for looking within. Are we receptive? Are we planted in good soil? If we look closely, we have probably been all of these seed types at different times. If our faith withered, we are still invited to put ourselves back in the soil and allow ourselves to be grown again. If we flourished and grew, then we ought to start showing some fruit.

Once more, Jesus is asked to prove his authority by doing tricks. Once more, he refuses to be defined by his miracles. Then he goes further: he commends the people of Ninevah and the Queen of Sheba, two stories from the Hebrew scriptures that commend those outside the chosen people of Israel for their faith. This must have stung, but it was appropriate. Ninevah showed repentance, and the queen showed respect. Neither of those things were shown to Jesus by God's chosen insiders, and Jesus wasn't letting them off the hook without knowing it.

Don't go to far with Jesus contradicting the letter of the law with eating and healing. Remember that he said he did not come to destroy the law, but to fulfill it. So what was missing in the law that only he could bring? There have been a lot of answers to that question, but I have one that might not be the common response: life. Life was missing. His life. A life that showed how law, grace, and holiness come together perfectly. The law still matters, the Old Testament has not been kicked out. But there is a way to live that law that includes grace and mercy and all kinds of other things that Jesus was known for. It's more complicated than a simple reading of rules, but it's what our life should look like.

When we're looking for a sign for God to prove himself, we might be wise to remember this passage. Jesus had peformed miracles in the cities and towns around him, but the miracles weren't the point. They were supposed to be signposts pointing to something greater, a Kingdom that was breaking through. To receive such direct proof of its existence and still turn away brought rebuke from Jesus. Often he commended those who believed without seeing, and certainly he had harsh words for those who saw and yet refused to be obedient.

Our connection to our Savior is deep. He asks much, we cannot love other things more than we love him. He wants our allegiance. But what do we get in return? His own status. What is done to his followers is done to him, with no layers in between. Coming close to Jesus is costly, but it's a bond from which we can never be separated.

As we remember Matthias, the man who replaced Judas Iscariot, we also have a passage from Matthew that shows how difficult it must have been to follow Jesus. Pack for a trip? Nope. Pack NOTHING for a trip is more like it. He sent them out not to exercise power, but to be dependent on those to whom they went. This really works well as a preview of the moment at the Last Supper where Jesus again sets the example by washing their feet. The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve. They learned that lesson so many times before the Last Supper, and this is one of them.

It must have been a constant struggle for Jesus to be around the religious leaders of his area. He was always under the microscope, and most of them were so busy criticizing him that they couldn't hear the message of the Kingdom in his words. The calling of Matthew must have really wound them up. Not only did he call a man who would have been despised by his countrymen, he went to Matthew's house to eat. The leaders were livid. There's a good message in that moment for us, though. It speaks to the root of good hospitality. Jesus called Matthew, and Matthew threw a party. The people he invited were exactly the people that Jesus came for: not the healthy, but the sick. This should be a challenge for us: not to become so caught up in our holy friendships that we forget the sick who may be around us. What better to introduce them to the One who can make them whole?

It's easy to cast snap judgement on the people who came in contact with Jesus. How could the apostles be surprised when he calmed the storm? Didn't they know him? It must have been a really wild ride, following Jesus for 3 years. Indeed it was. What he wasn't doing wasn't a magic show, it was a pushing back of the darkness to make way for a new Kingdom. When something that big happens, it doesn't meet universal approval. It's hard to digest. Some people, like those in the region of the Gadarenes, asked him to go away. We're not so obvious these days. We may not directly ask Jesus to leave, but we respond to the difficulty of his call by sliding away, involving ourselves in other things. May we be willing to do the work of putting ourselves in God's hands instead, allowing the Holy Spirit to form us in the midst of difficulties into people more like Jesus.

Jesus came to bring wholeness and healing. No wonder there was so much of it going on when he talked about the Kingdom of God. He was creating that Kingdom among them, and certainly that is a preview of what it will be like. It wasn't limited only to those where were part of Abraham's promise, because Abraham's promise was put in place to bless all nations. In this scene, Jesus shows a little glimpse of that blessing: wholeness for the people of God's promise, and for those of other nations as well.