Blow the shofar in Zion! Sound an alarm on My holy mountain! Let all living in the land tremble—for the day of Adonai is coming—surely it is near! (2) A day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, as blackness spreads over the mountains. A great and mighty people—from antiquity there was never anything like it, nor after it ever again from generation to generation.
The word anxious is such a unique word in the Greek. The word root word merizo means to divide or draw different directions. Merimna describes the state of “being pulled apart.” I guess the Apostle Mark died in Alexandria, Egypt, after being dragged by horses through the streets until he was dead had a very anxious time.
The word mammon is money personified, you put your full trust in money, and it becomes your god. It is the opposite of what God intends. We desire to accumulate and acquire wealth that we become fuller and content in a god, that we neglect to recognize or help those who are less fortunate. God instead wants us to acquire more of Himself and to accumulate the blessing prepared for us in the next life.
Today’s message from Jesus is kind the opposite of that. Jesus’ message is more like Herbie the Love Bug. Remember Herbie? A Volkswagen Bug, that unlike the care in Christine, had a quiet personality that nobody expected anything out of, yet he won many races with some comedy in-between. Or think of it this way. Remember the old story, the Tortoise and the Hare? Remember how braggadocios the Hare was? Yet the quiet tortoise wins the race. Jesus directs his audience on proper etiquette when is comes to religious fasting.
The Gospel of Matthew paints the ministry of Jesus consistently, that Jesus is more focused on individual relationships more than corporate gatherings of people who may be:
As we go into the Winter Olympic Games and as we edge closer to the Super Bowl, I want us to pause for a moment as we watch these events. Every one of the athletes, both male and female, have prepared for years on end to be at the top of their field. And in the end, there is recognition, whether be a Lombardi Trophy or a medal. There will be those who will be the cover of Sports Illustrated or Time magazine. They will be all over every news outlet. Most of these athletes feel the weight of representing a city or a nation.
So, Jesus makes this unpopular statement to a group of people who have very negative opinions about Rome, except the priests, of course.
There are certain things that we never really grow out of. In many ways, many of our behaviors are childish. Now when Jesus states that we ought to be like little children, what I am about to say is not what Jesus meant. What I am talking about is the childish things we do that are not good behavior. I could have entitled this sermon “Oh Grow Up” but I decided to stick to the accurate understanding of Jesus’ position on the idea of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.
Looking forward to a busy week!
How many of you when sharing a story or even perhaps a tall tell like the character Huckleberry Finn, use the words “I Swear to God” when people do not believe your story? It is something that we do without thinking about it. If you are ever asked to testify in a court of law, they will ask you to place your right hand on the Bible and swear that everything you are about to say is true. If what you say is not the truth, you are in danger of contempt and perjury. It is built into our DNA. On top of that, we only are willing to accept a truth that we are willing to accept. It is a truth that meets our criteria and a truth that meets our personal convictions.