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drmonte75-blog · 4 years

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An Ordinary Commentary by Ordinary Men

“Living to Glorify God Brings Satisfaction to the Soul”

#Christianity #Church #Bible #Commentary

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Types of Righteousness and Religion Matthew 6:1-18 Our Lord warns His followers against counterfeit spirituality seeking to be seen and praised by men.

Harvey Goodwin—Verse 1: “In these verses our Lord applies to the subject of almsgiving, to what we commonly call in these days charity, the same spiritual principles according to which He has already explained and expanded several of the Laws of the Old Testament. All the men of our Lord’s time would admit almsgiving to the poor to be a great duty; but then many of them held or seemed to hold that there was virtue in the mere giving, independently of the spirit in which it was done, so that a man might make his charitable doings redound to his own praise, sounding a trumpet when he was going to distribute his alms, and the rest. Our Lord declares that, of which we can have no doubt when we hear it asserted, namely, that in the sight of God such almsgiving can have no virtue, no beauty, no excellence: the spirit which can alone render almsgiving pleasing to Him who sees the heart is the simple spirit of love, which withdraws itself from observation, seeks not its own, is unselfish, desiring to do what is charitable for the sake of charity only. But mark the awful emphasis, and something like irony, with which our Saviour says of those who make parade of their charity, Verily I say unto you, They have their reward; yes, they have their reward; they wish to gain the attention of mankind, and they gain it; they wish for applause, and they have it; they are pleased when they hear people say, ‘What a liberal man he is! and they have plenty of pleasure such as this. But what does it all amount to? what treasure is laid up in heaven by mere earthly applause? what satisfaction can it be to have cheated men into the belief of our excellent qualities, if the rottenness of our hearts is open and undisguised in the sight of Him who sees in secret, and who knows the thoughts and intents of the heart? They have their reward, have it already in this present world, and a poor unsatisfactory delusive reward it is.” 42 Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Verses 2-4: “'2. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.' We must not copy the loud charity of certain vainglorious persons: their character is hypocritical, their manner is ostentatious, their aim is to be seen of men, their reward is in the present. That reward is a very poor one, and is soon over. To stand with a penny in one hand and a trumpet in the other is the posture of hypocrisy. ‘Glory of men’ is a thing which can be bought: but honour from God is a very different thing. This is an advertising age, and too many are saying, ‘Behold my liberality!” Those who have Jesus for their King must wear his livery of humility, and not the scarlet trappings of a purse-proud generosity, which blows its own trumpet, not only in the streets, but even in the synagogues. We cannot expect two rewards for the same action: if we have it now we shall not have it hereafter. Unrewarded alms will alone count in the record of the last day. 3, 4. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: that thine atms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shalt reward thee openly. Seek secrecy for your good deeds. Do not even see your own virtue. Hide from yourself that which you yourself have done that is commendable; for the proud contemplation of your own generosity may tarnish all your alms. Keep the thing so secret that even you yourself are hardly aware that you are doing anything at all praiseworthy. Let God be present, and you will have enough of an audience. He will reward you, reward you ‘openly’, reward you as a Father rewards a child, reward you as one who saw what you did, and knew that you did it wholly unto him. Lord, help me, when I am doing good, to keep my left hand out of it, that I may have no sinister motive, and no desire to have a present reward of praise among my fellow-men” 43 William Nast—Verse 5: “Verse 5. The Jews attached to prayer a still greater importance than even to fasting and almsgiving, but had reduced it to a mere mechanical performance. They prayed three times a day, at nine o'clock, A.M., at twelve o'clock, and at three o'clock, P. M., and resorted to the synagogue for prayer on the Sabbath, on Monday, and Thursday. Many a zealous Jew spent nine hours a day in prayer. Nor did they go for public prayer only to the synagogue, but, like the Roman Catholics, also for private prayer, because greater efficacy was ascribed to prayer in the synagogue. The Pharisees managed it so—this is implied in ‘they love’—that they were overtaken by the hour of prayer while on their way to the synagogue, that the people might see them pray and praise their piety. It is evident from the context that these remarks of our Lord are not directed against common or public prayer—a duty resting on express Divine command—but against performing private prayer in public places..” 44 Adam Clarke—Verse 6: “But thou, when thou prayest. This is a very impressive and emphatic address. But thou! whosoever thou art, Jew, Pharisee, Christian—enter into thy closet. Prayer is the most secret intercourse of the soul with God, and as it were the conversation of one heart with another. The world is too profane and treacherous to be of the secret. We must shut the door against it: endeavour to forget it, with all the affairs which busy and amuse it. Prayer requires retirement, at least of the heart; for this may be fitly termed the closet in the house of God, which house the body of every real Christian is, 1 Cor. iii. 16. To this closet we ought to retire even in public prayer, and in the midst of company. Reward thee openly. What goodness is there equal to this of God! to give, not only what we ask, and more than we ask, but to reward even prayer itself! How great advantage is it to serve a prince who places prayers in the number of services, and reckons to his subjects’ account, even their trust and confidence in begging all things of him!” 45 James Morison—Verse 7: “But, in addition to secrecy as regards men, take heed as regards another matter, namely, the fitting mood of mind in relation to God, when engaged in praying, use not vain repetitions: ‘Battering’ away at God, as it were, and ‘blattering’ (Luther has it, viel plujypern). ‘Babble’ not in prayer, in the spirit of those worshippers of Baal ‘who called on his name from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us’ (1 Kings xviii. 26), or of those worshippers of Diana who ‘about the space of two hours cried out, Great is Diana of the Ephesians’ (Acts xix. 34). As the Gentiles do; for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking: They think that in heaping word upon word, and persistently holding on with their speechifying, they shall secure attention and a hearing. Such multiplication of speaking is utterly in vain. ‘It proceedeth,’ as good David Dickson remarks, ‘from a base misconception of God.’ It is well observed however by Augustin that there is a great difference between much speaking and much praying. And even repetitiousness, when it is not wordiness but the expression of intensity of desire, will not be unacceptable to the Hearer of prayer. Such repetitiousness will not be immoderate. It is found in many of the psalms; and it was characteristic of our Saviour’s own prayer in the garden of Gethsemane, when He again and again ‘prayed, saying the same words’ (Matt. xxvi. 44).” 46 James Glentworth Butler—Verse 8: “Your Father knoweth what ye need. Prayer is the preparation and the enlargement of the heart for the receiving of the divine gift; which, indeed, God is always prepared to give, but we are not always prepared to receive. In the act of prayer there is a purging of the spiritual eye, which thus is averted from the things earthly that darken it, and becomes receptive of the divine light—able not to endure only the brightness of that light, but to rejoice in it with an ineffable joy. In the earnest asking is the enlargement of the heart for the abundant receiving; even as in it is also the needful preparation for the receiving with a due thankfulness; while, on the contrary, the good which came unsought would too often remain the unacknowledged also. Prayer is not designed to inform God, but to give man a sight of his misery, to humble his heart, to excite his desire, to inflame his faith, to animate his hope, to raise his soul toward heaven, and to put him in mind that there is his Father, his country, his inheritance. He is a Father to whom we pray; let us go to him with confidence; he knows our wants; let us remove far from us all anxious disquiet and concern.” 47 Edwin Wilbur Rice—Verse 9: “After this manner, or ‘thus.’ Jesus gives a pattern or specimen of true prayer. Thus it was understood by nearly all the early fathers and by the majority of evangelical Christians. Some hold that he gave this as a formula always to be used. Others say this is against his teaching in v. 7; and that he did not make the use of this particular form obligatory on his followers. There is no historical evidence, so far as known, that it was used as a formula of prayer by the apostles themselves. It is to be accepted as a proper mode of prayer, and it may be used in the worship of God privately or publicly, but always and only in accord with the principle already declared by Jesus—not to use display or vain repetitions in praying. Onr Father. ‘The Lord’s Prayer,’ so called because the Lord gave it as a pattern, might more accurately be called ‘The Model Prayer.’ It is usually divided into three parts: 1, preface; 2, petitions.; 3, conclusion. The Latin fathers and the Lutheran Church make the number of the petitions seven. The Greek and Reformed Churches and the Westminster divines make the number six, by making only one petition of the first part of v. 13, while the others divide it into two petitions. The works written on this ‘Model Prayer’ would make an immense library. The Preface is literally ‘Father of us, who art in the heavens;’ ‘our,’ not my, implying the brotherhood of the human race, especially of believers. The ‘fatherhood of God’ was an old thought in the Jewish worship. It seems a common thought of the race. The Vedas of India, the Zend-Avesta of Persia, Greek literature, as Plato and Plutarch, and the older Baal worship, have the same idea. It seems to be a relic of God's earliest revelation of himself in patriarchal times. But Jesus brings it into a new form and touches it with a new life. First Petition. Hallowed he thy name. That is, help us and others to revere, hallow, sanctify and make holy God’s name and being. Reverence lies at the foundation of all true prayer. 48 Phillip Schaff—Verse 10: “Thy kingdom come (second petition). The Messiah’s kingdom, which in organized form had not yet come, but was proclaimed by the Lord Himself, as at hand. It did speedily come, as opposed to the Old Testament theocracy; but in its fulness, including the triumph of Christ’s kingdom over the kingdom of darkness it has not yet come. For this coming we now pray and the prayer is answered, in part by every success of the gospel, and will be answered entirely when the King comes again. A missionary petition, but not less a prayer for our own higher sanctification and for the second coming of Christ. —Thy will be done as in heaven, so on earth (Third petition). ‘Heaven’ and ‘earth,’ put for their inhabitants. As by pure angels, so by men. The idea of human doing is prominent, our will subordinate to God’s will. ‘As’ expresses similarity in kind and completeness.” 49 Matthew Henry—Verse 11: “Give us this day our daily bread. Because our natural being is necessary to our spiritual well-being in this world, therefore, after the things of God’s glory, kingdom, and will, we pray for the necessary supports and comforts of this present life, which are the gifts of God, and must be asked of him,—Bread for the day approaching, for all the remainder of our lives. Bread for the time to come, or bread for our being and subsistence, that which is agreeable to our condition in the world, (Prov. 30.8.) food convenient for us and our families, according to our rank and station. Every word here has a lesson in it: (1.) We ask for bread; that teaches us sobriety and temperance; we ask for bread, not dainties, not superfluities; that which is wholesome, though it be not nice. (2.) We ask for our bread; that teaches us honesty and industry: we do not ask for the bread out of other people’s mouths, not the bread of deceit, (Prov. 20.13.) not the bread of idleness, (Prov. 31.27.) but the bread honestly gotten. (3.) We ask for our daily bread; which teaches us not to take thought for the morrow, (ch. 6.34.) but constantly to depend upon divine providence, as those that live from hand to mouth. (4.) We beg of God to give it us, not sell it us, nor lend it us, but give it. The greatest of men must be beholden to the mercy of God for their daily bread. (5.) We pray, ‘Give it to us; not to me only, but to others in common with me.’ This teaches us charity, and a compassionate concern for the poor and needy. It intimates also, that we ought to pray with our families; we and our house-holds eat together, and therefore ought to pray together. (6.) We pray that God would give it us this day; which teaches us to renew the desire of our souls toward God, as the wants of our bodies are renewed; as duly as the day comes, we must pray to our heavenly Father, and reckon we should as well go a day without meat, as without prayer.” 50 John Bird Sumner—Verses 12-13: “And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us. We are, then, trespassers: we need forgiveness. Our hearts must be ill-instructed in the divine law, if they do not tell us that it is so. And he who lives through mercy, must show mercy. An unforgiving spirit would mar the effect even of this Christian prayer, because it would betray a most unchristian state of mind. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. There are temptations which ‘are common to men.’ We see throughout all Scripture, that it is God’s will that his people should be tried. But who, that knows his frailty, and the infirmity of his best purposes, will not pray that he may be kept from temptation, and delivered from the evil one?” 51 Joseph Addison Alexander—Verses 14-15: “14. For, if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15. But, if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. The next two verses, as already stated, purport to give a reason for something in the previous context, which can only be the last clause of v. 12. As if he had said, ‘In asking for forgiveness, you must stand prepared to exercise it also, for unless you are, you cannot be forgiven, not because the one is the condition of the other, but because the two must go together, and the absence of the one proves the absence of the other.’ The verb four times repeated here is the same with that in v. 12; but instead of the word delts another figure is employed, that of a fall or false step, rendered in the English versions, trespass, and intended to express the same idea, that of sin, which may be considered either as a debt due to the divine justice, or as a lapse from the straight course of moral rectitude. The fulness and precision with which the alternative is here presented may appear superfluous, but adds to the solemnity of the assurance, and would no doubt strengthen the impression on the minds of the original hearers. In this, as in the whole preceding context, God is still presented in his fatherly relation to all true believers; as if to intimate that even that relation, tender as it is, would give no indulgence to an unforgiving spirit.” 52 Charles John Elliott—Verse 16: “(16) When ye fast.—Fasting had risen under the teaching of the Pharisees into a new prominence. Under the Law there had been but the one great fast of the Day of Atonement, on which men were ‘to afflict their souls’ (Lev. xxiii.27; Num. xxix.7), and practice had interpreted that phrase as meaning total abstinence from food. Other fasts were occasional, in times of distress or penitence, as in Joel i.14, ii.15; or as part of a policy affecting to be religions zeal (1 Kings xxi.9, 12); or as the expression of personal sorrow (1 Sam. xx.34; 2 Sam. xii 16; Ezra x.6; Neh. i.4; et al.). These were observed with an ostentatious show of affliction which called forth the indignant sarcasm of the prophets (Isa. lviii.5). The ‘sackcloth’ took the place of the usual raiment, ‘ashes’ on the head, of the usual unguents (Neh. ix.1; Ps. xxxv. 13). The tradition of the Pharisees, starting from the true principle that fasting was one way of attaining self-control, and that as a discipline it was effectual in proportion as it was systematic, fixed on the fasts ‘twice in the week,’ specified in the prayer of the Pharisee (Luke xviii.12); and the second and fifth days of the week were fixed, and connected with some vague idea that Moses went up Mount Sinai on the one, and descended on the other. Our Lord, we may note, does not blame the principle, or even the rule, on which the Pharisees acted. He recognises fasting, as He recognises almsgiving and prayer, and is content to warn His disciples against the ostentation that vitiates all three, the secret self-satisfaction under the mask of contrition, the ‘pride that apes humility.’ The very words, ‘when thou fastest’ contain an implied command. Of a sad countenance.—Strictly, of sullen look, moroseness of affected austerity rather than of real sorrow. They disfigure their faces.—The verb is the same as that translated ‘corrupt’ in verse 19. Here it points to the unwashed face and the untrimmed hair, possibly to the ashes sprinkled on both, that men might know and admire the rigorous asceticism.” 53 Charles Rosenbury Erdman—Verses 17-18: “Very popular with the Jews among whom Christ lived, was that of fasting. If this is practiced in order to show to God our sorrow for sin; or if it is involved in our devotion to his service, it is right and commendable; but if it is employed as a means of winning the approval and praise of men, it is hypocrisy and pretense. Jesus insists that fasting, and all forms of self-denial, should be in secret; we are not to parade our sacrifices; we are not to make capital out of our devotion. We are to have regard only to the Father who is in secret, who sees in secret and who surely will reward.” 54 Endnote: 42 Harvey Goodwin, A Commentary on the Gospel of S. Matthew (Cambridge: Deighton, Bell and Company, 1857), 93-94. 43 Charles H. Spurgeon, The Gospel of the Kingdom: A Popular Exposition of the Gospel According to Matthew (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1893), 32. 44 William Nast, A Commentary on the Gospels of Matthew and Mark (Cincinnati: Poe & Hitchcock, 1864), 262. 45 Adam Clarke, The New Testament of Our Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew to the Acts), Volume 1 (New York: Lane & Scott, 1850), 84. 46 James Morrison, A Practical Commentary on the Gospel According to St. Matthew (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1895), 88. 47 J. Glentworth Butler, The Bible Work (or Bible Readers Commentary) The New Testament, in Two Volumes, Volume 1 (New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1889), 157. 48 Edwin W. Rice, Commentary on the Gospel According to Matthew (Philadelphia: The American Sunday School Union, 1897), 79. 49 Philip Shaff, A Popular Commentary on the New Testament, Volume 1 (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1891), 67. 50 Matthew Henry, An Exposition of the Old and New Testament, Volume 5 (Philadelphia: Edward Barrington & George D. Haswell, 1825), 67. 51 John Bird Sumner, A Practical Exposition of the Gospels of St. Matthew and St. Mark, in the Form of Lectures (London: Hatchard & Son, 1831), 70. 52 Joseph Addison Alexander, The Gospel According to Matthew (New York: Charles Scribner, 1861), 176. 53 Charles John Ellicott, A New Testament Commentary for English Readers (Matthew-John), Volume 1 (Edinburg: The Calvin Translation Society, 1884), 26. 54 Charles Rosenbury Erdman, The Gospel of Matthew: An Exposition (Philadelphia: The Westminister Press, 1920), 56.

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hired-help · 7 years

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“Layers” Character Meme

LAYER ONE : THE OUTSIDE

Name: Charles Harris Wilson Charon

Eye Color: Bright blue

Hair Style/Color: He inherited the same ginger-red as Martha. Likes keeping it short, but can’t manage to cut it often enough for it to be as neat as he’d like. Habitually tries to finger-comb it over at intervals. Post-ghoulification, just doesn’t care. Touching it might lose him the last of it.

Height: 6′4″ (+ - I haven’t completely nailed it down, but he’s about a foot taller than LW. Mine was female and I pictured her being fairly small, so I tacked a foot onto that, but I don’t think the male models are much taller. He could be anything up to 7″ depending on how you view your LW?!)

Clothing Style: Provided he has a choice, he likes pre-war casual - going on game options only, parkstroller or spring - but the red shade is a bit much, switch it out for something lighter. He’s awkward in that he doesn’t like short sleeved shirts but he doesn’t like long either, so he has to roll long ones to the exact right place. Post-programming, he doesn’t even entertain the notion of casual clothing. Always armored, light enough not to weigh him down (his agility is already pretty poor).

Best Physical Feature: Probably his eyes. Which backfires pretty spectacularly when they’re the only thing he retains in ghoul form and they become creepy and too-real compared to the rest of him. He used to have a nice smile, but it was the rarity of it more than anything. It felt odd to smile - when he was surrounded by misery - even when it was his natural reaction to someone or something, so he had a habit of clenching his back teeth and trying to suppress it. The result was a kind of reluctant, delayed half-smile that made him look shy, and a certain type of lady liked that.

LAYER TWO: THE INSIDE

Fears: Younger: Losing his family or something happening to them, losing his own identity after he was bought by them. Older: Nothing - he’s not allowed to be afraid of things, it might impair his usefulness.

Guilty Pleasure: Younger: Stealing smokes from dead people. Slightly less guilty if they’re slavers. Older: None. Still does that, but no longer guilty. Every selfish thought he has produces a faint sense of guilt. Vague, fleeting thoughts of his own preferences, that kind of thing.

Biggest Pet Peeve[s]: Younger: More like an intense hatred; slavers pushing around people weaker than them, which he took to be women, children and the elderly. He got his ass kicked more than once trying to step in for them. Older: Employers who don’t know how to watch their own asses. He can only do so much; he’s one ghoul, not your guardian angel.

Ambition for the Future: Younger: Escape somehow, free his fellow slaves, clear out Paradise Falls so no one else ever gets taken there. After that, he never intended to go home. Fuzzy memories of cannibalism and incest no longer seem part and parcel of living. He’d rather go find his own home. Older: Haha, that’s funny.

LAYER THREE: THOUGHTS

First Thoughts Waking Up: Younger: “Collar’s still there.” Older: “Is [Employer Name] still alive?”

What They Think About the Most: Everyone else. This is pretty consistent. He can’t be called a Mom Friend at any point, but he has a natural inclination to look after anyone who needs it. Y’know... a real man protects his family, and all.

What They Think About Before Bed: Younger: He’s probably been worked to instant unconsciousness. Older: After the security of the area, his thoughts wander as far as they can. Sometimes he tries to count his employers backwards, hoping he’ll break through that strange barrier he senses somewhere in the past. Why doesn’t he remember anyone before that?

What They Think Their Best Quality Is: Younger: He knows he’s a grounding influence. He’s good at projecting a calm aura. Older: His shotgun.

LAYER FOUR: WHAT’S BETTER?

Single or Group Dates: Group dates sound fun. That takes off a lot of pressure and seriousness; and it’d be nice for a girl to have another girl to talk to, right? Maybe single dates would be better after something like that. Of course, older... neither.

To be Loved or Respected: Younger: Both. Older: Respected.

Beauty or Brains: Younger: He’d like to say “brains” but he’s an absolute sucker for pretty girls. As long as they can tell a mole rat from a deathclaw, they’re probably good. Older: Definitely brains. Even if anything else weren’t hypocritical, he’s a lot more relaxed around someone who won’t get themselves killed.

Dogs or Cats: Dogs. There aren’t supposed to be any cats left, Todd.

LAYER FIVE: DO YOU?

Lie: Younger: Rarely. Older: Never.

Believe in Yourself: Younger: Oddly, yes. He’s confident for someone with a bomb round his neck. Older: Yes, but in a much more practical sense.

Believe in Love: Younger: What’s not to believe in? Older: ...

Want Someone: Younger: Eventually. He’s a little commitment-phobic, but I think that’s understandable when you were engaged to your sister as a kid. Older: Pointless to think about. No.

LAYER SIX: EVER?

Been on Stage: No.

Done Drugs: Younger: (sheepish fidgeting, awkward smile) Older: Yeah, occasionally - but he almost sees it as medicinal. Firefight taking too long? Employer tiring out? Psycho. Finish it.

Changed Who You Were to Fit In: Never - never been able to. If he were, he might have seemed less like a vault tec ad come to life in his younger years.

LAYER SEVEN: AGE

DOB: Between 17 and 30+ depending on timeline point. I talked to Nimriel about this yesterday - I think averages out about 26, assuming we’re post-F3. But he stops counting then, since he’s technically immortal and never any closer to death. The only thing that changes anymore is the amount of unmarked skin he has left.

How Old Will You Be: ^^^

Age You Lost Your Virginity: 15. He’s a little ashamed of that now.

Does Age Matter: For what? For friends, not at all. For proper, long term partners, definitely. He’s a little shallow and won’t go much older than he is, but neither will he go much younger, and by “much”, I mean she has to be a grown woman with the maturity to match. He’s not interested in teenagers, they’re still kids, and kids shouldn’t think about that stuff. Obviously, older!Charon doesn’t give a fried fuck, his employers could be 19 or 90 as long as they’re breathing.

LAYER EIGHT: IN A BOY OR GIRL

Best Personality: Younger: Genuine, kind, caring, monogamous. Seriously, he has the out of touch mindset of a 1950s poster for a new oven, besides the intense misogyny. That said, he still thinks women have a certain sort of role; he sees it as his job to keep her and the children safe, and hers to take care of the home they put together from within. That means more making sure everyone eats more than polishing the silverware, though. It makes a little more sense in a Fallout setting; having one of them focused on defence and one on offence is pretty logical. He wouldn’t want anyone he loved to be the one getting covered in raider blood. Older: This isn’t really something that ever crosses his mind, but he does admire people with a purpose.

Best Eye Color: Doesn’t matter. He’s weak.

Best Hair Color: Again. Weak. But he likes blondes.

Best thing to do With a Partner: Younger: Never really had one for any extended period of time, if you catch my drift - but he’d probably like to travel with them. He loves seeing new places, but it’d be nicer if he wasn’t alone. Older: Survive?

LAYER NINE: FINISH THE SENTENCE

I love: [no words - just an image of an empty landscape view and the sun shining on it. seems to be the area surrounding Paradise Falls, but not viewed through a fence]

I feel: Younger: “Lucky.” (I know. But it’s the truth. He’s constantly thankful to still be alive after every owner and every fight). Older: “...”

I hide: Younger: His despair. That’s not something others ought to see, especially if it might affect them. He’s not as certain as he seems about being free one day. Older: Nothing, but he has nothing to hide, really. Just ask.

I miss: Younger: ??? How can he miss anything, when he never had it? Older: He has a vague sense that he used to be capable of a higher level of empathy and independence, but he’s not sure what that feeling is based on. If it’s true, it would be nice.

I wish: Younger: “I could get out of here.” Older: “...”

#borrowed from saltyspitfire!!!#take it from me if you want #I dont know that I should tag people its not really a tag meme but--#about;;#jesus #luckcrowned #i now cant stop picturing younger him and adolin #adolin: why dont they throw rocks at you #charlie: i hit on them one at a time dude....................#also i realised too late i share part of his name #not that i can do much about that #but i hope no one thinks its any kind of self insert because #@ everyone . im whitechapel. thats me. tired british and mechanical

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woodworkingpastor · 6 years

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Ascended with Scars (Ascension Sunday, 2018); Acts 1:1-11

Call to Worship (based on Ephesians 1:15-23, The Message)

Jesus shows us who we are and what our purpose is.

Jesus had his eye on us long before we heard his call.

When we fell in love with him, we found ourselves home free: signed, sealed and delivered by his Spirit!

For the Spirit is God’s guarantee that God’s kingdom will come.

Now we need only to know Christ personally and to see what he calls us to do.

For he empowers a glorious life: endless energy, boundless strength!

And all this power issues from Christ!

For God raised him from death and set him on a throne in deep heaven.

He runs the universe, everything from galaxies to governments, no name and no power exempt from his rule!

And not just for the time being, but forever. He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything.

At the center of this, Christ rules the church. The church is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church.

The church is Christ’s body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence. Alleluia! Let us worship God in Christ!

One of the more exciting track and field events is the 4 x 100 meter relay. Four-person teams compete to see which team can carry a baton one lap around the track the fastest. When this race is well done, it is a sight to behold. Olympic caliber men’s teams can complete the race in under 38 seconds; women’s teams in under 41 seconds.

As with any competition, there are rules. Each relay team member runs approximately 100 m, and the three baton changes must each be made within a 20 m zone. The outgoing runner (the one receiving the baton) cannot touch the baton before it enters the zone; the incoming runner (the one with the baton) cannot touch the baton after it leaves the zone. And, of course, the runners must stay in their own lane.

The pass is normally done blind; the runner receiving the baton keeps their eyes ahead, one arm back, and listens for their teammate’s verbal command.

I was reminded of this event this week when I was at a track meet at Patrick Henry High School. There was a judge at each corner of the track where the baton passes were being made. If all the transfers were legal, the judge would raise a white flag. But if there was an illegal transfer, the yellow flag would be raised, indicating that someone would be disqualified.

If you’re wondering what a track event has to do with the less-commonly recognized holiday of Ascension Day, you might suspect that on this day, Jesus passed a baton to on to his disciples, a baton that has been passed down through the years to us. It’s a great text to consider our Brethren tagline Continuing the work of Jesus.

2018 has been an odd year with the coincidence of Christian and Hallmark holidays.

February 2 was Candlemas, the day that recognizes the infant Jesus’ presentation in the temple. We also know February 2 as Groundhog Day.

February 14 was Ash Wednesday, and we had a worship service that evening. Some, though, might have taken their significant other out for dinner because it was Valentine’s Day.

April 1 was Easter, and what a great set of worship services we had, also acknowledging April Fools’ Day

Ascension Day is described in Acts 1. We happen to know from the text that Jesus’ ascension into Heaven happened 40 days after his resurrection, which means that Ascension Day is always on a Thursday. But we recognize it on the following Sunday, which happens to be Mother’s Day this year.

To be completely honest, I cannot every remember celebrating Ascension Sunday in worship. It’s certainly never been a focus in the years I’ve served as pastor. But from looking through old Brethren hymnals, it would appear that what Ascension Day represents was more important in the past. Our current hymnal has five hymns for use on Ascension Day. The red hymnal had two, and you had to pick those out of the section entitled “Resurrection.”

But the 1926 Brethren hymnal wins the Ascension Day prize, offering up a whopping 10 different hymns for this date on the calendar, including this hymn written by Charles Wesley, entitled Hail the day that sees Him rise

Hail the day that sees him rise,

ravished from our wishful eyes!

Christ, awhile to mortals given,

reascends His native heav’n.

But most importantly, what is the significance of Ascension Day? It is another day to worship Jesus:

like we do at Christmas, singing Hark! The herald angels sing, glory to the newborn king.

like we do at Easter, singing Christ the Lord is risen today!

How does our attention to this day shape our character so we might more faithfully follow Jesus on all the other days?

We might answer that question by pointing to three different things that Luke tells us about:

First, we see Jesus giving convincing proofs that he was alive. Sometimes I wonder if our familiarity with the Easter texts makes us almost numb to what the texts are actually saying; that in raising Jesus from the dead God not only reversed the inevitable and relentless natural biological order of life which begins with the specialness of birth and ends with the finality of death; but God also reversed the tragic spiritual order of life which begins in the innocence of childhood that is tainted with the impact of sin and leads to spiritual death.

The disciples had to be reeling from these reversals; it makes one wonder if it took the full 40 days for them to simply regain their balance and orientation to Jesus being right there in front of them. But in front of him he was, eating fish, sitting in chairs, talking, and building campfires, all things that people who are alive do. It was these proofs on which authors like Luke based their writing. The Jesus-movement was born based on the historical testimony of what we celebrated on Easter Sunday.

Second, Jesus spoke to the disciples of the Kingdom of God. Can you imagine that summer intensive class? 40 days with Jesus teaching us to not allow our imaginations to be co-opted by the powers and value system of our day, but instead be shaped by what God wants to do in the world.

This was still a point of struggle for the disciples, and of course it is a struggle for us. Even after all they had seen and heard, their imaginations were still captured by what they had been taught in Sunday School, that the Messiah was going to establish an earthly kingdom and sit on a throne in Jerusalem and rule like his ancestor David. The temptation was that God’s will would be implemented through the force of political and military power as it had been in Old Testament times. They could not yet imagine a Savior who would die rather than kill; who would serve rather than force; who would love rather than hate. The Kingdom of God is that radical a notion, cutting against the very ways we have come to instinctively suspect the world should work.

In teaching about the Kingdom of God, Jesus wants these disciples to know that we are better off living as if the old order of the world has ended, even though the world itself carries on. One way to understand the beginning of the Gospel message is to understand Paul’s words to the congregation in Rome: But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:

While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).

The Kingdom of God starts with the simple yet profound assumption that we are all—each one of us—broken in a significant way, broken to the extent that we cannot fix ourselves. Our mutual brokenness does not make us enemies. There is no ranking system or score sheet where we go down the list and add up point totals for the various ways we are broken, and then decide who is worth more because they are the “least broken.”

Knowing this Jesus who loves us in spite of our brokenness, what are we to do? Love one another. Thomas Merton says “Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy.” And so we do the things that Jesus did: Heal the sick; cast out evil; feed the hungry; welcome the stranger; preach the truth; challenge the hypocrites; demand justice; call people to leave their lives of sin and lead godly lives; forgive; embrace the outcasts; work tirelessly to convince people that God loves them passionately. That’s the baton that is passed to us. We are to go and do these things. The baton is being passed.

Third, the Ascension teaches us that Jesus really is in heaven. Our faith tradition affirms that Jesus is seated at the right hand of our father in Heaven. One of the implications of that fact is that in spite of our occasional feelings to the contrary, our prayers do so much more than “bounce off the ceiling.” Jesus is alive to hear them.

That’s an important fact in many situations, but perhaps in a unique way on this day. Mother’s Day is a great day for some. A friend of mine who grew up and now serves in a black congregation said Mother’s Day worship attendance rivals the attendance on Easter Sunday, because when mom says she wants you to go to church with you, you get dressed up and go.

But today isn’t the happy, special day for everyone; we also acknowledge that some approach this day with a sense of loss—for children they were not able to have; for children who died too soon; for mothers who are no longer here. I know of several who stayed away from worship on this day because Mother’s Day brings painful memories of one kind or another.

Jesus knows about our pain. In among all the work he did and encourages us to continue, he also knew the sufferings that accompany being human. Jesus felt the sting of death in his friend Lazarus; he got involved in the sufferings of mothers who lost sons and fathers with sick children and even soldiers with hurting servants. Jesus was moved with compassion for people who were suffering abuse from a broken world and he accepted all of this pain and brokenness into his own life and was crucified. And when he ascended to Heaven, he ascended with scars of his own. Jesus was not a stranger to his own suffering, and he is not unsympathetic to our own.

You are not alone in your suffering because Jesus knows suffering and is alive and in Heaven to hear it and to become involved with it, and to bring comfort.

On Ascension Day, the baton was passed to the disciples, who down through the years have passed it on to us. Are you there in your lane to receive it?

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