Practice of faith

“Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven. “So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. “And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. “And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21, NRSV)

I always love this text. The text that starts us off on Ash Wednesday into our 40 day (plus Sundays) journey with Jesus during Lent.

Do not let others see you practicing piety for gain from them. Our works of piety, and mercy and love should be done so only our Heavenly Father knows about them. We should not be seeking the approval of others.

This is really the just here of this text and our faith. Our faith is not to bring attention to us. Our faith is to ground us in the love that God has for us and in turn show that love to the world. Not for a pat on the back or a job well done, but because we are loved to love. We are freed to free. We are fed to feed.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be. If you are seeking the adoration of others, your treasure lies in your own empowerment, but if you love because God loved you and do not seek the adoration and good job of others, then your heart is with God.

So practice your faith so that God gets noticed!

voice

“Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. (John 10:1-4, NRSV)

We read this or hear this verse and we think that the gate is something that swings on a hing and is opened and closed…

But in Jesus’ day the shepherd actually was the gate. The shepherd like this picture was the piece that sat in the opening to keep the sheep in and anything else out.

And the way the sheep knew to go, was the voice of the shepherd. Many times there would be multiple folds in one sheep pen, and the shepherds would take turns being the gate, and keeping predators out of the pen, and when one shepherd was ready to go he would call his sheep and they would come. Other shepherd’s sheep would not come because they did not recognize the voice that was calling.

So allow Jesus to be your protector and keep the predators away and listen for when He calls and follow where He leads.

Know His voice, and follow when He speaks.

favor

And now, my children, listen to me: happy are those who keep my ways. Hear instruction and be wise, and do not neglect it. Happy is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors. For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the LORD; (Proverbs 8:32-35, NRSV)

Did you ever not listen to your parents and do something they told you not to, or did something that you knew was not something they would want you to do?

Now if we are all honest the answer to that question is yes. We have all done stuff we know our parents would say is wrong, and we have all willfully done something that our parents told us not to.

But when you did that and your parents found out, as they always found out, were you happy?

No! We were not happy, we were caught and were going to be in deep deep doo doo!

And so it is with God. When we hear His word and do it, we are happy and filled with joy. We are wise and live the life He has called us to.

Will we always want to do what God is saying to do? Probably not, but it is always the right thing to do.

name tags…

Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!” Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus. As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead. (Mark 9:2-9, NRSV)

I always wondered how did Peter know Moses and Elijah?

I mean they didn’t have pictures of them to look at did they?

These two men appear and are talking with Jesus. Ok maybe Jesus called them by name. Now of course Jesus knew who they were because He helped create them…

But Peter wouldn’t have known. I know maybe they were wearing name tags. Hello my name is Moses…

But Jesus was made different on the mountain with Moses and Elijah, the disciples there saw Him in a whole new light! Literally!

He was seen for who He was, and yet the disciples were told to tell no one, probably because Jesus knew what the masses wanted, and what they needed, and He was what they needed, but long from what they wanted.

Is He what you want?

regard…

Hear my prayer, O LORD; let my cry come to you. Do not hide your face from me in the day of my distress. Incline your ear to me; answer me speedily in the day when I call. For my days pass away like smoke, and my bones burn like a furnace. My heart is stricken and withered like grass; I am too wasted to eat my bread. Because of my loud groaning my bones cling to my skin. I am like an owl of the wilderness, like a little owl of the waste places. I lie awake; I am like a lonely bird on the housetop. All day long my enemies taunt me; those who deride me use my name for a curse. For I eat ashes like bread, and mingle tears with my drink, because of your indignation and anger; for you have lifted me up and thrown me aside. My days are like an evening shadow; I wither away like grass. But you, O LORD, are enthroned forever; your name endures to all generations. You will rise up and have compassion on Zion, for it is time to favor it; the appointed time has come. For your servants hold its stones dear, and have pity on its dust. The nations will fear the name of the LORD, and all the kings of the earth your glory. For the LORD will build up Zion; he will appear in his glory. He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and will not despise their prayer. (Psalm 102:1-17, NRSV)

Have you ever been scared?

Have you ever needed a hand to hold or a shoulder to cry on?

God is always there, to hear our cries for help.

To hold our hand, and to be a strong shoulder to hold us up.

He will regard your plea for help and be there for you in your time of need.

meetings

Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said. While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” (Luke 9:28-35, NRSV)

Ever wonder why we seem to have so many meetings in the church?

Well it does go back to the Bible, I mean here in Luke we have Jesus, Moses and Elijah getting together, at a specific place (on the mountain top) and a specific time (eight days after these sayings). That sounds like a meeting to me…

And Peter is just like all of us, after too many meetings he gets a little delirious and starts saying what ever comes to mind.

And as usual God intervenes, and sets us back on track.

So listen to Jesus, and go and do what He has asked you to do and don’t get bogged down in meetings…

prayer

In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter, and Andrew his brother, and James and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot, and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. And he came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. And those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came out from him and healed them all. (Luke 6:12-19, ESV)

There are a lot of things in this passage we probably miss, because we think we know the story.

Jesus called His disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles…

We think the apostles and the disciples are the same. But here we see there were many more than 12 disciples, and from this large group Jesus chose 12 and made them the apostles.

Now I like to think of all of us as both disciples and apostles because of the meaning of the words. Disciple in the original Greek means learner, and apostle is one who is sent. We are all learning from Jesus (I hope!) and Jesus sends us all. But before you can be sent you must learn. So we must first be a learner from Jesus before He will send us…

But to me the most interesting thing and something we probably miss here is the first line. We want to be sent, but before we can be sent we have to learn, and before we can learn we have to listen. And how do we listen?

We pray.

We spend time in relationship with Jesus…

And here in the first line of our text, Jesus went out to the mountain to pray and commune with God, and He was not there for 5 minutes, or even an hour, but He was there all night! He continued in prayer all night before He chose whom He was going to send.

What an example of how we should be communing with God.

So pray and listen.