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February 3,
2002 LECTIONARY
READINGS The underlined text will take you to a sermon on the gospel text. What Does God Want? Have you ever had a time when you did everything you could for a friend, or a child or a parent and in spite of everything you did... they had absolutely no gratitude or appreciation for your efforts? Or worse yet - in spite of your efforts on behalf of someone - they not only don't appreciate it, they actually turn against you. Do you know something amazing? God knows exactly how you feel! In our reading from the prophet Micah this morning, God asks the very nation that had been liberated from slavery in Egypt, "What have I done to you? ... I brought you up fro the land of Egypt, and redeemed you from the house of Slavery..." Yet, the people had broken the covenant God had made with them and were living their lives without regard for the God who had saved them. Times had been good for the nation lately. The economy was doing well and the people lived in relative security in the absence of any real international crises. Though the nation of Israel had split into two kingdoms after the death of Solomon and there was frequent conflict between them, Micah preaches in a time when the two kingdoms cooperated. But the outward appearance of good times belied the spiritual decay that seethed beneath the surface. Religion had become an outward show, idolatry had found its way into the lives of many and most of all... the ruling classes totally ignored and even oppressed the poor and dispossessed. Among the charges God has against the ruling classes and religious leaders in Micah's powerful preaching are:
Micah warns the religious and social leaders that God is very much aware of the plight of the poor and the widow. Though there is an appearance of safety and security and a callous attitude on the part of the professional prophets and leaders of the nation, devastation will befall them as Assyria and later Babylonia put an end to their national life. Our text brings Micah to one of the better known passages in the bible. What is it that God wants? We will soon see, but first God summons witnesses, issues an indictment and gives the divine requirements for right living. We will look at this in terms of [1] God's Call, [2] God's Complaint, and [3] God's Conditions. [1] God's Call God calls the hills and mountains... the foundations of the earth to hear a bill of indictment against Israel. The heavens and the earth have been around since before humankind appeared on the earth and before the covenant with Israel was made. All creation could give witness to the truthfulness of the Creator's indictment of Israel. Micah's words call to mind the words of Deuteronomy when the people of God first came to the threshold of the promised land.
Time has come and gone since that warning and the prophet Micah sounds the alarm again. God's people are in danger because they have not chosen life and they do not honor the One who gave them every possibility for good -- therefore Micah calls the foundations of the earth to hear that, "...the Lord has a controversy with his people..." I don't know about you, but if such a call ever came to me, I would shudder. Can you imagine? A credible message come to you, "The Lord has a controversy with you!" We would certainly want to know what it was -- don't you think? [2] God's Complaint Once God has the attention of heaven and earth and the "everlasting foundations" have been called to hear the Lord's complain against Israel -- it is as though the courtroom is called to attention and the prosecution will begin. But wait! It is not a complaint that is spoken. The Lord has a controversy with the people of Israel, but when heaven and earth are called to attention and the foundations of the earth have been summoned to hear what God's indictment will be -- it is a wistful question that we hear instead of an opening statement.
Stunning! "What have I done to you? What have I done to oppress you?" Naturally this would be a shock to the people Micah preached to. They assumed themselves to be the protected, chosen people. They were safe and secure because they were God's own people. They assumed themselves to be "the only game in town." No one else could claim to be the people of God could they? So they slacked off a bit. They fudged a little around the edges. Sure... a bit of idolatry managed to creep in here and there and the officials managed a bit of gain from their positions - but hey, that's life isn't it? Everybody does it. Surely God wouldn't give them up to their enemies. But, the evidence is presented. God has been with them from day one. Over and over again they have been plucked from the jaws of death. The Lord of the universe has been there for them over the ages. They had made a spiritually fatal error. They presumed on the goodness of God, took their relationship with God for granted, and assumed that they were good with God, no matter what. Their religion had turned into outward appearance without inward integrity. Jesus would later tear into religious leaders with these words:
[3] God's Conditions So what does God want? Worship is good. God wants us to worship. But God does not want worship that is made up of outward appearances only. "What can I do to be right with God?" Micah asks for the whole of the people. "Will God be happy with thousands of rams or ten thousands of rivers of sacred oil?" What if I sacrifice my firstborn child for my sins? Will that make me right with God?" The answer of course is that there is nothing in the visible world - nothing on earth that can make me right with God. Even if I could present the combined wealth of Bill Gates and all the oil producing countries put together - that would not be enough to make up for my sin. Why? Because, being right with God is something that is born within and grows from the inner spirit by the power of God's Spirit. It had been a part of Israel's worship from the beginning and Jesus brought it home again in the gospels, "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might." [Deut. 6:5 / Matt. 22:37] The answer Micah gives is one of the classic statements in all of scripture. It is not, however, something that has never been heard before. This is something that God has shown the people of Israel throughout their existence. From the giving of the law to the message of the prophets, the people of Israel know that God is a God of righteousness and justice. To love God and to do what God wants is to seek justice for all persons - especially those who are poor and dispossessed. We are to love kindness - actually "mercy" is a better translation. To love mercy is to love what lies at the heart of God's redemptive plan. Mercy (hësed) and justice work together to bring about salvation. Without justice, there could be no divine integrity and without mercy there could be no one worthy of redemption. Justice and mercy are the brilliant twin pillars of God's righteousness. Now Micah addresses the last quality or condition God lays out for those who would bear the divine image and live out community in the Spirit. We are to, "walk humbly," with our God. Listen once again to the brilliance and simplicity of Micah's words,
The prophetic ministry of Micah takes place during the same time period as Isaiah and Amos -- during the eighth century B.C. This was a time of prosperity and national security for both Israel and Judah. Jeroboam II of Israel and Uzziah of Judah managed to maintain a relative peace between Israel and Judah and the territory of the combined kingdoms almost equaled that of Solomon. Yet, the economic prosperity and national stability was not reflected in the spiritual condition of the two kingdoms. The "easy times" made the nations vulnerable to idolatry and Canaanite religion made inroads among the people. Idolatry was commonplace. Micah addressed the idolatry of the nation, but his focus was on the injustice that came to the people from the ruling class. Micah's outrage was not that the people prospered, or even that idolatry had crept its way into the nation. Micah's outrage was that justice had been subverted. When justice is denied, the righteousness of God is also denied. Choose the NIV reading at Bible Gateway for IVP commentary on this text + There is an eschatalogical note to the nine beatitudes, especially v. 12. It is important, however, to note the present implications of verses 3 and 10 "Theirs is the kingdom of heaven." As Matthew uses kingdom of heaven for kingdom of God, (see introductory notes on Matthew) the kingdom of God is not simply a future reality, but something that invades the present -- "the kingdom of heaven is at hand" vv.1-2 There is a comparison in verses one and two between Moses and Jesus. Moses ascended the mountain to receive the commandments and teach them to Israel. Jesus also from a mountainside teaches his disciples. Matthew has a great concern for the teachings of Christ and this begins the first of Matthew's five great discourses. (See introductory notes to Matthew) v. 3 The Greek word "Makavrioi - Makarioi" A prolonged form of the poetical ìÜêáñ makar (meaning the same); supremely blest; by extension fortunate, well off:—blessed, happy. The Cambridge Annotated Bible says the term blessed means that, "God honors and rewards his people as they obey him and do his work." This is the only occurrence in the bible of the term "poor in spirit". Luke's parallel says simply "blessed are you who are poor". Some conclude that Matthew has spiritualized Jesus' words while Luke has the original concern of God for the poor. [See Lk. 7:22 and 14:13] Yet, others see Matthew as portraying the poor in spirit as being those who acknowledge their total dependence upon God. See Ps. 40:17. The poverty which is "blessed" is that poverty which leads to dependence upon God. In Matthew this translates to humility. Note: "The kingdom of heaven is theirs..." This is present i.e. "It is theirs". Not when they die and go to heaven -- but the kingdom is their now. Because, they live in dependence upon God. v.4 Mourn is "penqou'nte" - pen thoun tes" "Those who are mourning" See Psalm 119:136 - "Streams of tears flow from my eyes, for your law is not obeyed." In addition to the mourning noted in the message above, there is the mourning of a faithful heart at a godless world. It is akin to the grief of Jesus when on the Mt. of Olives, his hearts breaks when Jerusalem comes into view. The grief of a godly heart at a world that rejects God. Those who grieve will be comforted. There is a note of hope in this. God will make all things right -- the righteousness of God is from everlasting to everlasting and anything that is not right must of necessity be temporary. (See Psalm 42:2-3 [also in relation to verse 6] for a merging of the sense of grief over sin and a hunger for righteousness.) The word comforted is from the same root word as the Comforter which Jesus speaks of in John 14:16 "paravklhton - paraklëton" We've anglicized that with Paraclete. v.5 Meek = "praei'" - preis meaning meek, gentle". See Psalm 37:10-11 where the meek will inherit the land. The wicked are contrasted with the meek. The Linguistic Key to the New Testament. (LKNT - Rieinecker and Rogers) defines meek as "The humble and gentle attitude which expresses itself in a patient submissiveness to offense, free from malice and desire for revenge." (Quoted from P. Leivestad - The Meekness and Gentleness of Christ) Thus we choose a phrase which may carry more meaning in our culture -- "silent strength". v.6 "Hunger and thirst for righteousness" See Ps. 42:2 "My soul thirsts for God..." v. 7 Merciful * The meaning above is from the New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology: Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1970 vv.11-12 The theme of persecution is a strong theme throughout the New Testament and the earliest church. I Peter, for instance, is written to a church living in a time of more intense persecution, the church in Acts 8 is spread abroad because of persecution. Persecution, instead of defeating the church serves only to strengthen its witness. Likely, Jesus' tells his followers to even "rejoice" when persecution comes; 1) Because they are in line with the core of biblical history and 2) Because they have a great reward in heaven - ultimate vindication.
The Power of the Church Paul moves from the issue of divisions in the church to the central message of the church. A simple message about the cross of Christ which is the "power of God" for those who are "being saved." In the face of this simple message, it does not matter who is great or who is small -- who is wise or who is foolish. The key here is that God works in a way that eliminates arrogance or "...so that no one may boast except in the Lord." 1. The Message is Foolishness - The Message is Power (v.18) "For the message about the cross" literally "O lovgo" ga;r oJ tou' staurou" - Ho logos gar ho tou staurou" or "for the word of that cross". The cross occupies a central place in the proclamation of the gospel. (See Rom. 5:10, 2 Cor. 5:20, and 1 Pe. 2:24) This message is "foolishness" to those who are perishing. The term means "to those who are being destroyed or ruined. Paul goes on to say that human wisdom doesn't "get it." In the land of the Greeks, where every issue was debated and an attempt was made to solve every problem by human reason, the "message about the cross" was laughable. There may be a dual parallel in our own time. 1. There are so many who are like the Athenians Greeks of old, "All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas." [Acts 17:21] It is amazing to see how gullible people are when the most bizarre ideas are floated. 2. Over analysis of the reconciliation which God accomplished in the cross of Christ can detract from the simple power of the cross. In the cross, is the most radical possible statement of God's reconciling love. A mystery to the mind and music to the soul. So the message is at once foolish (to those who are perishing) and powerful (to those who are being saved). 2. Human Wisdom Didn't Bring About Salvation (vv.19-25) Paul begins this section with a quote from Isaiah 29:14. Wisdom has failed to bring about a reconciliation of the relationship between God and the people of God. God then, broke into a rebellious human system to offer salvation through to all who would trust the "message about the cross." It will be the grace of God and not the brilliance of humankind that will save. 3. By Grace, Through Faith (vv.26-31) Paul now asks the Corinthians to "look around". It is very clear that God has chosen them by grace and not according to their merits. The power of the church is the power of this simple, but profound message. By grace God has given us everything we could never have gained by our own strength -- Namely, wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption in Christ. The only possible thing we can boast (or glory / rejoice) in is the Lord. See Eph. 2:8-9 and note especially, "May I never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." [Gal.6:14] Call To Worship (Adapted from Micah 6:1-8) Leader: Come together O
people of the Lord,
Confession of Sin Merciful God, we confess that our hearts are too easily drawn away from you and and thoughts are too often set on the things of this world. Our ways are not your ways and our wills are not truly guided by your Holy Spirit. O Lord of love, guide our minds, control our wills and fill our hearts that we might truly belong to you and be fully dedicated to your ways. Use us in your service according to your desires and make us servants of your Divine kingdom. Amen. Assurance of Pardon The Lord is good and the mercy of God is from everlasting to everlasting. As far as the East is from the West so shall the Almighty remove our sins from us. As surely as the Lord Jesus rose from the dead, so also shall we live new lives in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Prayer of Thanksgiving It is a good and joyful thing, O Lord of Life to give to you the fullness of the thanksgiving that floods our hearts on account of the blessings you have bestowed upon us. For the beauty of creation, the wonder of life and the mystery of love, we give you thanks. For the blessing of family and friends and for your divine care we lift our praises to you. But most of all O Lord, we thank you for your Son Jesus Christ who by the gift of his own life on the cross has redeemed us from darkness, death and despair and gained for us the promise of new life and resurrection. O Holy God, in wonder and amazement, we lift up our praise and thanksgiving to you as we worship you in the fullness of the Spirit and the joy of truth. Amen. Prayer of Dedication Along with these offerings, O Lord, we bring a willingness to be shaped by your Spirit. Give us grace to grow in all the ways you desire for our lives and courage to turn away from all that would separate us from you. As we give may we know the transforming power of your love. Amen. |