Father's Day

Father's Day was yesterday and it was a great day to celebrate the gifts of all the men in our lives. For my part, I preached on the passage from Ephesians 6:1-4.  This passage has Paul telling the reader about the relationship between father's and children.  Each party in the relationship is respect the other.  Yet, I want to focus on the instruction to the children.

Paul recalls the instructions of the Old Testament Ten Commandments to the people of Israel.  These are the initial instructions given to the people as they leave slavery in Egypt.  The first few are instructions about obeying God and keeping focus on God alone.  The sixth commandment is the first of all the commandments to hold a promise.  Now this seems strange to me as the first five are a focus on God and keeping the worship of God alone central.  So, why would the respect of our parents hold a promise to keep the land being offered by God?

To answer this, we need to look at ancient training and teaching.  IN the time of the Ten Commandments, there was no public education.  The only thing children learned was from their parents.  The parents passed on all the information of work and keeping a house.  If your father was a farmer, most boys would become a farmer.  All the women learned from their mothers how to care for children and take care of a house.  The children had to learn from the parents for a continued fruitful life.

The parents were not just in charge of the economic training, parents were also the primary educators of the faith.  IF the laws given by God through Moses were going to be passed down through each generation, the parents were going o have to teach the children all the instructions.  The faith of the people is dependent of the training of the parents.  I believe now we see why the only commandment to offer a promise is the obey your parents.

But I do not think this the only reason for the commandment.  Paul points that fathers are not to exasperate their children.  This is an instruction for the fact that we all need someone to rain us in the faith.  If we want to keep the faith of Christ moving into the next generations, the men of faith must pass on the faith and the practices to the next generation.  We are called to raise all in the faith no matter who a persons parents are in reality.

Fourth Monday of Lent: Lent 2014

Lenten Devotional

Luke 8-9

I was missing a few days due to other requirements, but today's reading is full of two fascinating teachings on the church.  They revolve around the twelve disciples and there teaching.  The first revolves around the practical teachings of the disciples.  

The twelve are given an opportunity to practice all they have been taught by being sent out in pairs.  This is just as important form us today.  The twelve are given specific instructions as to how to conduct themselves as they travel.  

"he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. He told them: “Take nothing for the journey—no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra shirt. Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town. If people do not welcome you, leave their town and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”  So they set out and went from village to village, proclaiming the good news and healing people everywhere."

This is a practical way for all people being trained to follow Jesus.  We need to give them a mentor who has spent time already deep in Jesus' teaching and walking his ways.  Then the mentor guides and leads the newer followers of Jesus in the ways of Jesus teaching and giving opportunities to practical in real ways.  This is a training system still used in the building and construction trades today.   

The second moment is when they were sitting after the first experience and the twelve were asked about what they believed about Jesus.  The list of what others believe is long, but Peter comes up with an astonishing statement.  He declares that Jesus is the messiah, the son of God.  This is a point of drastic change for the life of the twelve disciples and the work of Jesus.  From this point all the Gospels take a turn towards what we know to be the culmination of Jesus' mission and life.

This same question is asked of us.  What do you say about me?  There are still people today who will give all the multiple answers given in Jesus' time.  We are asked the question of Jesus' reality in our life as the foundation of how we will live and work.  The question is simple, but the implications are profound.