February 9, 2020, Matthew 6:1-8 – Post 2 – ISSL Reflection

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IV.
Let’s go back to the question from Monday, “… what definition of piety do you come up with?”

Does your definition sound like one of these?

  • “the quality of being religious or reverent”
  • “a belief or point of view that is accepted with unthinking conventional reverence”
  • “reverence for God or devout fulfillment of religious obligations”
  • “devotion to God or to religious practices”
  • “a strong religious belief , or behaviour that is religious or morally correct”

What do you notice in these definitions that gives a positive view of “piety”? What in these could lead you to consider “piety” negatively?

V.
Let’s look at this from another perspective.

Each week I’ve taken our Scripture from the New Revised Standard Version, but how do other translations* handle this?

NIV – Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them
ESV – Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them
CEB – Be careful that you don’t practice your religion in front of people to draw their attention
CEV – When you do good deeds, don’t try to show off
NASB – take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them

… and before we leave translations ….

The Message – Be especially careful when you are trying to be good so that you don’t make a performance out of it. It might be good theater, but the God who made you won’t be applauding.

VI.
“…. piety … religion … righteous deeds … righteousness … good deeds … trying to be good … “

What do you think? Are we only to be thinking about the correctness or incorrectness of religion and/or actions done in the “name” of religion? Or do we extend our thinking to include “good deeds”?

Or, do we make our first mistake by thinking Jesus takes a narrow view of piety or righteousness that limits us to thinking about what many think “religion” includes and leaves untouched a great deal of our living?

What part(s) of our living does Jesus have in mind?

Charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}

*
NIV – New International Version
ESV – English Standard Version
CEB – Common English Bible
CEV – Common English Version
NASB – New American Standard Bible

February 9, 2020, Matthew 6:1-8 – ISSL Reflection

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I.
This week we hear Jesus give some practical and concrete examples of what he thinks “religion” is about.

We hear him mention “practicing your piety.” I guess “piety” is about religion? After you read through this passage several times what definition of “piety” do you come up with?

II.
Matthew 6:1-8

“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.

“When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the GentilesWe hear him mention “practicing your piety.” I guess “piety” is about religion? After you read through this passage several times what definition of “piety” do you come up with? do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

III.
Here’s a thought, well actually some “homework” for you. Take a sheet of paper (it’s ok if it takes several sheets of paper. Draw a line down the center and label one column “Do” and one column “Do Not,”

You know what comes next, don’t you?

Based on what Jesus said (and you can include what he strongly implied here, but let’s keep it to this brief passage) put in each column what you Do (and should Do) and Don’t Do (and should not Do) when you put your piety into practice as Jesus outlines here.

Now that I think about that again, this could be four columns or maybe you could color-code you reflections, and/or use highlighters.

What do you hear Jesus speaking to you today?

chales
{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}

February 2, 2020, Matthew 4:1-11 – Post 3 – ISSL Reflection

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VII.
We began this set of Scripture lessons in December and spent the first nine weeks listening to and watching first David and then Solomon. A major focus in each lesson was the Temple. But each week we went beyond considering a physical building and were lead to reflecting on worship and prayer as aspects of our relationship to God. This week (and the next three weeks) we move from the Hebrew Scriptures to the Gospels.

Our reading in Matthew again mentions the Temple but doesn’t make that a main focus.

And, come to think about it, we have not left the Hebrew Scriptures behind, have we? We hear words from the Hebrew Scriptures spoken both by Jesus and by the Tempter.

VIII.
I asked the other day “What resources do you call on to help you stay faithful to God’s call on your life?”

Given this reading, it is not unlikely our first thought might be that we turn to Scripture.

And that is not a bad start.

But, it is not the mere repeating of Scripture verses sustains us in the long run.

Our acquaintance with Scripture must serve to lead us to an encounter with the God and Father of Jesus and there we find the encouragement, nourishment and strength to follow Jesus.

IX.
Take some time and notice what Scripture(s) come to mind that deepen your sense of God’s presence and leading.

Don’t rush – let this happen as the Spirit rests with you.

{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}

February 2, 2020, Matthew 4:1-11 – Post 2 – ISSL Reflection

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IV.
What have you noticed in this account of the temptations?

One thing of note to me is the challenges to Jesus are not things beyond his capability. It seems to me it lay within this power to accomplish any one or all of the tempter’s challenges. But he elects another path out of the wilderness.

Think about these three temptations and see if you recall events recorded in the gospels that in part or in whole approximate what Jesus is asked to do.

V.
We are told these temptations came to Jesus when “he was famished.” He was hungry and tired. I suspect it would not be too far off to describe him as physically and emotionally exhausted.

VI.
When do you notice you are most likely to yield to temptations/challenges to be someone other than who God has gifted you to be?

Are you tempted/challenged in areas of weakness or strength?

How do you face those challenges?

What resources do you call on to help you stay faithful to God’s call on your life?

charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}

February 2, 2020, Matthew 4:1-11 – ISSL Reflection

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I.
Over the last several weeks we have focused on events surrounding the Temple. This week we move to the Gospel of Matthew and while the Temple is again mentioned the focus is on Jesus’ wilderness experience and some challenges he faces before he begins his announcement of the advent of the Kingdom of God.

Take time to slowly read over these few verses. Let them sink deep into your mind and heart. How do you see Jesus at the end of this time of fasting and solitude being confronted with these challenges to his mission?

II.
Matthew 4:1-11 (New Revised Standard Version)

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”

But he answered, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’”

Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.”

Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’”

Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.

III.
We usually refer to this scene as the “Temptation of Jesus.” The tempter/devil presents Jesus with three challenges each of which in one way or another questions Jesus’ relationship to God the Father, and the manner in which Jesus will go about his work for the Kingdom.

To each challenge Jesus’ response is rooted in the Hebrew Scripture.

As you look at these challenges and Jesus’ responses, think about how you would express what each challenge has in common and what each of Jesus’ responses have in common.

What would you name as the “theme” in each set of challenge and response and even as the overarching core of the “temptations.”

Give that some thought, and we’ll get back together later,

charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}

January 26, 2020, 1 Kings 8:54-61 – Post 3 – ISSL Reflection

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As I have listened to and watched Solomon over the last several weeks (and David before him), a question has been become prominent for me, “How do we enter into and leave a sacred time or sacred space?”

I do not want to draw too fast a line between the sacred and secular because that will be a disservice to ourselves and God but there are those times and spaces we often set apart to the sacred. I am thinking first of times of prayer and worship.

How do you enter into a time of prayer? Is there something you do physically? Solomon knelt and lifted his hands. Are there some words that seem to open a door to prayer for you?

I am not at all suggesting there must be a particular formula we always follow or otherwise think/feel we have not prayed. But I am asking that we think about what might help us enter a time of prayer.

And how do we leave that sacred time of prayer. Yes, Paul said we are to pray without ceasing, and that (for me) speaks to us cultivating an awareness of God’s nearness, but I suspect we can also acknowledge we experience times of depth in our prayer. Do we say, “Amen” and get on about our ordinary business? We say the Lord’s Prayer? Is there another way to move from prayer to other work in your life?

We can also reflect on how we enter and leave a time of community worship. Does hearing and singing the Doxology help open you to a time of worship? It does for some.

And when a time of worship draws to a close do you expect to hear, “Go in peace to love and serve the Lord”? Or maybe hear the Aaronic blessing, “The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; The Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.”

There is no one way to enter or depart a time of prayer or worship, but there might be things we can do that help us more fully enter a sacred time or space. What helps you?

So, until next week when we get back together …

The Lord bless you and keep you;
The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace …..

{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}

January 26, 2020, 1 Kings 8:54-61 – Post 2 – ISSL Reflection

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IV.
As you read through Solomon’s blessing/prayer what did you notice?

He moves from kneeling and facing the altar and as he addresses the people he first acknowledges the Lord God. My suspicion is he turned to face the people and now calls the people to face God.

He brings to their recollection their travels with God the faithfulness of God over generations.

He asks God’s continued presence with them and calls them “walk in all [God’s} ways.”

He reminds them that the walk with God is carried out “as each day requires.”

He ask them to keep in mind that they are a “witness” to all others as they walk with the covenant keeping God.

And it is a whole hearted walk as they “devote themselves completely to the Lord our God.”

V.
What stands out to you?

Was your attention called to something I failed to acknowledge above?

What speaks to you the loudest?

VI.
Is there anything in Solomon’s blessing/prayer that leads you to notice a gap in your prayers or daily walk with God?

If so, spend time there and offer that insight to God.

We’ll talk later.

charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}

January 26, 2020, 1 Kings 8:54-61 – ISSL Reflection

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I.
WIth this selection of Scripture we will close the four weeks we have spent with Solomon at the dedication of Temple.

We will close by hearing the blessing Solomon pronounces over the people assembled at the Temple.

Take some time today to listen to Solomon. Listen to his blessing over the people. Listen for what in his words draws you near to God. Even what comes to you as blessing.

II.
1 Kings 8:54-61 (New Revised Standard Version)

Now when Solomon finished offering all this prayer and this plea to the Lord, he arose from facing the altar of the Lord, where he had knelt with hands outstretched toward heaven; he stood and blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice:

“Blessed be the Lord, who has given rest to his people Israel according to all that he promised; not one word has failed of all his good promise, which he spoke through his servant Moses. The Lord our God be with us, as he was with our ancestors; may he not leave us or abandon us, but incline our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his ordinances, which he commanded our ancestors. Let these words of mine, with which I pleaded before the Lord, be near to the Lord our God day and night, and may he maintain the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel, as each day requires; so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God; there is no other. Therefore devote yourselves completely to the Lord our God, walking in his statutes and keeping his commandments, as at this day.”

III.
He begins with “Blessed be the Lord …” and quickly we hear, “The Lord our God be with us …”

What do you hear him say about God?

What do you hear him ask of God?

What do you hear his ask of the people?

How do his words speak to you today?
Spend some time with those questions and we will get back together later,

charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Dues ibi est}

January 19, 2020, 1 Kings 8:22-30, 52-53 – Post 3 – ISSL Reflection

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VIII.
“But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Even heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you, much less this house that I have built! Regard your servant’s prayer and his plea, O Lord my God, heeding the cry and the prayer that your servant prays to you today; that your eyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place of which you said, ‘My name shall be there,’ that you may heed the prayer that your servant prays toward this place. Hear the plea of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place; O hear in heaven your dwelling place; heed and forgive.”
(1 Kings 8:27-30)

IX.
How do we draw near to God? How can we trust God “hears” us?

What passion do you hear in Solomon’s voice as he prays?

Even as he questions if the Temple is sufficient to bring the people near to God, and bring God near to the people, what does he reach out to?

X.
He mentions God’s promise to the nation through Moses (v 53). He mentions God is a covenant keeping and loving God (v 23-24).

There is no doubt that at certain places we may sense a nearness to God. But God’s nearness is not held to the place or captured by that place.

What helps you draw near to the God that Solomon acknowledges keeps covenant with his people (I count you and I among those people of God) and has a “steadfast love” for his people?

How does God’s love draw you today?

charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}

January 19, 2020, 1 Kings 8:22-30, 52-53 – Post 2 – ISSL Reflection

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V.
The other day we noticed some of what Solomon mentioned in his prayer and I asked how alike or unlike your prayers this was.

Again, we wouldn’t expect his prayer and ours to be the same in all respects but this can give us occasion to think about how we pray.

VI.
I suspect you may have heard or read that our prayers can (or should) follow the pattern, ACTS – Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication. I have no doubt this is a good pattern with which to consider our prayers.

I have also seen some suggest our praying follow the pattern, PRAY – Praise, Repent, Ask, Yield.

Recently I have seen the pattern PRAY, taken to suggest – Pause, Rejoice, Reflect, Ask, Yield. I like that. I think all of us need to take some time to both “Pause,” and “Reflect” in our prayers. Silence can be a great addition.

Not all prayers start like these patterns or follow these patterns and all praying should not be expected to. But these suggestions can help us move beyond our praying being not more than a wish list or shopping list.

VII.
Go back to Solomon’s prayer and see what of the elements mentioned above you find.

Now, take some time and think back over your prayers today, yesterday, maybe for a few days and notice which of the above elements were offered in your praying. What was most prominent? What might have been lacking?

What is your prayer today?

Charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}