Would you turn down a free invitation to a royal wedding? 
People do.
This is a message I gave at Mosaic Boston on Sunday, June 16th.
Sermon text is the Parable of the Wedding Feast – Matthew 22:1-14
Listen here or click the arrow to download (⇩)
Archives For Bible
A child of the 1980’s, I was taught growing up that I was special … just like everyone else. We are each unique individuals. Which, on it’s face, is true. This idea, however, can be taken to the extreme, when we start to think that we are supremely different from everyone else. “Nobody can understand me, what I’m going through. Nobody can possibly relate.” This isn’t just teen angst, it carries on into our adult lives as well.
For Christians, we begin to think that no one struggles with sin the way we do. Whatever our problem is, we imagine that we fight with it more than anyone else. Everyone has an easier time with lust/gluttony/language/greed/drugs/depression/anger/etc. This thinking can lead to us giving in, thinking that since we’re tempted worse than others, we have a different standard. Paul warns us against this very idea (1 Cor 10:13):
No temptation has seized you except what is common to man.
Those thoughts that you’re having, that sin that you’re dealing with … it’s not just you.
And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
It may seem impossible, but there’s always a way out. Often, the way out is never getting in to the situation in the first place. Once we have identified problem areas in our lives, the first thing to do is stop putting ourselves in situations where the temptation can occur. That might mean changing fundamental aspects of our lives, but God helps, and it’s all part of the restorative work that God begins when we accept him into our lives.
When we sin, we usually know full well what we’re doing, and that we shouldn’t be doing it. We justify it to ourselves, making it acceptable, or a just-this-once execption. We need God’s help, and when we’re tempted, we should ask him for it. If we truly realize our problems, if we sincerely repent, and if we honestly attempt to overcome our sin, God is faithful, and will stand with us.
Yesterday I wrote about how important it is to make an effort to read the Bible daily. It appears that the Pope is of a similar mind, and earlier this month, he started a week-long Bible-reading marathon:
RAI state TV began its program called “The Bible Day and Night,” with Benedict reciting the first chapter of the book of Genesis — the holy text’s opening verses about the creation of the world.
The marathon will feature more than 1,200 people reading the Old and New Testament in over seven days and six nights.
Besides Roman Catholics, members of other religions, including Jews, Protestants and Orthodox Christians will participate.
Every few chapters the reading was being interrupted for Christian or Jewish religious music, and opera star Andrea Bocelli led the first interlude Sunday by singing Bach’s “Praise the Lord.”
Hopefully this will inspire more than just a temporary hightened appreciation for scripture, but will cause people to start reading the Bible for themselves.
One of the main things I don’t think Christians do enough is read the bible. I know I don’t. I went years where I never opened the bible, only hearing it occasionally when I would go to church. We think to ourselves, “I get it, I know the story. God created everything, the Jews left Egypt and wandered in the desert. Jesus came and died for our sins. What else do I need to know?” We treat the bible as if it’s some stale source of theology that is best left to our preacher, instead of what it is – God’s primary way of communicating to us.
I recently made a decision to start reading the bible again, setting the goal of reading at least a little bit every day. It’s hard to do. We have so many other things filling up our time, it seems like we can’t spare any. But that’s not true. Sure, we have a set amount of time every day, and we can only do so much. How we fill up that time shows us our priorities in life, and trying to make time for bible reading has made me realize that my priorities aren’t entirely in order.
Before I know it, after I get home from work and relax, it’s really late and I still haven’t made time for the bible. Somehow, I found time to watch a couple of youtube videos, read a ton of news stories, email my friends, IM people on gchat, comment on facebook photos, listen to music, play a bit on my guitar (that I’m still learning), and countless other fillers. All that, but somehow I have “no time” to read the Bible.
Even after a short time of concentrated effort at reading the Bible regularly, I feel the positive effects. Being in the word reminds us of who God is, what he has done, and what he promises to do in our lives. It also connects us directly to our faith. Protestant broke off, in part, because we felt that everyone had the right to read scripture for themselves. We don’t need it spoon-fed to us. We’ve taken something that our ancestors struggled for, and thrown it aside.
Beyond grounding us in the Lord, reading the Bible regularly also corrects us. It reminds us of God’s standards. The longer we are out of the word, and out of Christian fellowship, the more we think that we can just live “good,” lives. Good, of course, being defined by ourselves, and generally loosely. The Bible lets us know God’s standards very clearly. We can’t hide from what’s written on the page, and it serves as a useful tool to check ourselves and our behavior.
If you’re not already, I encourage you to take up the same challenge I have placed before myself. Read the Bible every day. Set a time, perhaps right before bed, and pick a book. Just start reading. Don’t treat it as some obscure, dense text. View it as the living word of God. You’ll be amazed how just this act can deepen your faith, understanding, and peace.
Pope John Paul II did a lot to bring Catholics and Protestants together, and deservedly holds a special place in the heart of American protestants. He was culturally and socially conservative, which provided the bridge across which our intellectuals crossed, creating a conversational dialogue on issues fundamental to the faith.
Pope Benedict XVI has largely followed in his footsteps, at least doctrinally. Culturally, there has been a bit of hostility because of certain statements, but on the issues, he is following the path John Paul’s laid. As Cardinal Ratzinger, under John Paul, Benedict was the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, whose job is to “promote and safeguard the doctrine on the faith and morals throughout the Catholic world.” This organization used to be called the Holy Office of the Inquisition, so you can imagine that they take Catholic teaching pretty seriously.
This past weekend, Benedict opened “worldwide meeting of bishops on the relevance of the Bible for contemporary Catholics:”
“Today, nations once rich in faith and vocations are losing their own identity, under the harmful and destructive influence of a certain modern culture,” said Benedict, who has been pushing for religion to be given more room in society.
A document prepared for the meeting rejects a fundamentalist approach to the Bible and said a key challenge was to clarify for the faithful the relationship of scripture to science.
Benedict is spot on. It seems that the more material wealth a society has, the less spiritual they are. Mother Teresa noted the same thing:
There are different kinds of poverty. In India some people live and die in hunger.
But in the West you have another kind of poverty, spiritual poverty. This is far worse. People do not believe in God, do not pray. People do not care for each other. You have the poverty of people who are dissatisfied with what they have, who do not know how to suffer, who give in to despair. This poverty of heart is often more difficult to relieve and to defeat.
Last week, I read 1 and 2 Kings, and the same principal was noted there. David lived most of life in extremely difficult circumstances – a hard life on the run from Saul. David’s son, Solomon, reigned over a period of peace and unparalled prosperity. David was far closer to God than Solomon, who fell away and built places of worship for all of his non-Jewish wives. David, whose constant companion was suffering, felt the need and closeness of God. Solomon, who lived in comfort, filled all of his material needs and found no need for God.
Christians all around the world, but especially in the developed, wealthy West ought to pay special attention that we don’t allow material wealth to crowd out God – because the material only provides temporary satisfaction at best, and often not even that.
