the green room:

baptism sunday part 3...

yesterday the scriptures came alive.  i love when i get the space to discover the connections that are rampant throughout the text.  i spent a good part of the morning just sitting with Matthew 4 where Jesus is tempted in the wilderness.  the connections between the three temptations and israel's journey to the promised land is quite stunning.  i'll share a couple of insights i came across...

with each of the temptations, Jesus responds with a quote from Deuteronomy, all of them commandments that Israel chose not to obey but that Jesus is determined to obey.  also, these temptations were limited to the wilderness; but rather these three were a constant in Christ's 3 years of public ministry.

after forty days and forty nights of fasting, the tempter found Jesus and said to him, "if you are the Son of God (some believe the greek translation is better translated, since you are the Son of God) tell these stones to become bread.  if the above parenthesis is a better translation, the devil begins the invitation for Jesus to deny his sonship and act more in unison with the worldly expectations of the Son of God.  to use influence for his own good rather than have integrity to his calling.

now, one of the central issues that Jesus opponents had with him dealt with his power.  they could not deny it; but chose to attribute it to satan rather than God.  they saw jesus' power more of an act of sorcery where he could manipulate the spiritual realm.  but Jesus knew how God was teaching the israelites while they were unemployed that he would provide their bread if they would just look to him (deut 8:1-5).

the second temptation is, "if you are the son of God, then throw yourself down..." Jesus responds with quoting Deuteronomy 6:16, where he stirs up memories of Israel's frustration in the wilderness.  during this time, God supplied their needs; but they demanded more forgetting how God had liberated them from their oppressors.  the Israelites perspective of their relationship with God had become distorted where they saw God as the one who serves them.  when the devil tempts Christ here, he invites Jesus to define the relationship with God.  will he be like Israel and have God serve him or will in be different?  Religious leaders follow the devils temptation later on in Jesus' life when they say, if Jesus is God's son, let God rescue him from the cross (Matthew 27:40-43). 

the last temptation, Jesus is taken to a very high mountain and is shown all the kingdoms of the world and all its splendor.  the devil offers all these kingdoms to him minus the cross, a temptation that many of us wrestle with even to this day.  even one of Jesus' closest disciples Peter echoes this same kind of thinking at Caesarea Philippi (Matthew 16:23) and Jesus responds to him like he does the devil by saying, "Away from me satan!"  Jesus' mission involves cross and so does ours...

baptism sunday part 2...

as i continue looking at the first few chapters of Matthew, i'm beginning to uncover so many possible connections.  the  connection between herod and pharoah is pretty obvious.  the infantcide that both pharoah and herod decree is similar...but have you ever noticed hosea 11:1 - it is the verse that Matthew quotes in which he says, "Out of Egypt I called my son."  now there was a teaching technique that rabbi's used from time to time called a remez.  essentially they would start a verse and then let there audience finish it in their minds.  but the first part of Hosea 11:1, before what Matthew quotes says, "when israel was a child, i loved him."  that is so fascinating to me...

also, after the escape to egypt, Joseph has a dream where an angel of the Lord says, "get up, take the child and his mother to the land of israel, for those who were trying to take the child's life are dead."  look at Exodus 4:19, do you see the parallel there?

not sure what or how any of this will be weaved into this sunday's message; but i just love seeing so many connections within the text.  i'll post tomorrow about the plethora of connections i'm finding within the 40 days Jesus spends in the wilderness.

baptism sunday...

in the coming weeks, i will be filling in for rob and teaching on baptism for our community.  this is always a special day in our communities eyes.  we bring in the spa, cut away half the stage, have a 25 minute message and then listen to a number of stories from people who are wanting to get baptized.  it's a pretty beautiful day...

but i need your help. 

i'd love to share a few thoughts i have and get your feedback on it.  a couple things to know, i will have this computer tablet on stage where i can draw and write out some of the below notes and they will magically appear on the screens. 

i will start by simply writing out four specific points in the israelites journey from slavery to promise land.  after each one, i will spend a few moments talking about it.  below are the the four and in parenthesis is a hint about which direction i'm headed:

egypt (slavery) --  red sea (baptism)  -- 40 years (wandering) -- promised land (arrival)

now, i often think this is has become a model for many people's faith journey.  you admit your enslavement or sin, get baptized, wander for 40 years until you die and then arrive in heaven.  for many this is the hope...

but what happens if you're already in the promised land?

grab a bible and look through the first few chapters of Matthew with me.  remember, this gospel was written primarily for a hebrew audience and i'm coming to believe Matthew knew what he was doing. 

Matthew 2 (egypt) -- Matthew 3 (baptism)  -- Matthew 4 (40 days) -- Matthew 5 -7 (sermon on the mount)

isn't this bizzarre?  have you ever noticed this?  read about it anywhere?  why does Matthew tell a Hebrew audience that Jesus and his family go back to egypt.  what does this symbolize?  then follows it up with baptism and then the 40 days (which everything Jesus is tempted by are things Israel chose not to follow or remember) and then the sermon on the mount which teaches his disciples how to bring heaven here. 

it's almost like Jesus is saying it's not about a piece of land it's about a way of life.  my followers, even in the midst of roman oppression will choose to live a certain kind of life that embodies the new humanity.  i want to focus on the 40 days, the sermon on the mount and then wrap it up by asking what does this all mean in regards to baptism and break that down.

but i'd love to hear your honest thoughts...

cleanse yourself.

last monday i went through my inbox and cleaned it out.  i had emails from 2005 that were just sitting there taking up space.  it took me an hour or so; but i just created a number of specific folders centered around topics like budget, pending, fifty6, the.element, senior high, each staff member, outside teachings, ideas, and parents to name a few. 

I currently have 4 emails in my inbox and each day when i left last week i had none.  once i respond, i either put that email in a folder or i delete it.  try it, sometime this week go through your emails and either put them in a folder or delete them.  you will feel a lot less cluttered.