"Fulfill Your Ministry"

I have been reading in 2 Timothy for my daily time with God. The last few days have been on 2 Tim 4:1-5. Here are my thoughts on this passage, in which Paul delivers a charge to his protege, Timothy.

Paul gives a charge or commission to Timothy: he is to preach the Word faithfully, consistently, and persistently. It does not matter whether the time seems to good or bad, whether he thinks he will receive a positive response or not – he is to share and teach the Gospel. He is to do so with patience – not out of anger, not out of fear, not out of guilt – but with love for God and others and from gratitude for the grace he has received from God.

Paul’s charge is solemn. He says, "in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom…" He is not giving Timothy advice. Rather, he is setting him a task, one for which he will be answerable, not simply to Paul, but to God in all his majesty, authority, and power. It is good to remember that, although we are accepted by God purely by his grace and not by our merit or our accomplishments, he still will examine our lives and ministry. I am not at all sure of how that will work out – but it is not something we need to fear, for we will not lose God’s acceptance. The closest thing I can imagine is that when we know what we could have or should have done, we will be sorry for having disappointed our Father, rather than fearful for having broken his law. We have a high calling and a great responsibility. We enter it by grace, we exercise it by grace, and we will meet the last evaluation by grace. We must remember to have faith – not presumption, and not fear, but faith in both God’s forgiveness and God’s empowering.

These two verses (3 & 4) are applicable to today, in spades. Many theologians of these days simply “do theology” out of what they see as needs, using words that have been around for centuries, but defining those words according to their own ideas and ignoring both Scripture and historic usage in doing so. I could not begin to describe all the different sorts of theologies that are out there today – but they are more aimed at satisfying the needs of particular groups than at organizing the teachings of Scripture in a systematic way. They are absolute nonsense for the most part – but very attractive, for they justify sin or give consolation to the aggrieved.

The nature of sin is such that we should not be surprised. Sin can ignore God, and many people do. But sin can also be religious, as it clearly is in idolatry. But the worst of sin is that is can be correct about many things but also be grievously wrong at the heart of the matter. Arianism was correct about many things, but it demoted the Lord Jesus to a creature, and so in time would have made him into a teacher, not a Savior – as we have seen happen to the Unitarians over two centuries.

"itching ears" that desire to hear what is novel or interesting more than they want to hear what is true will create many strange teachings. The truth requires repentance and humility; whereas novelties simply require religious ceremonies.

Paul completes his charge to Timothy by exhorting him to remain faithful in conviction and in ministry, no matter what happens. He may suffer because he holds firm to the Gospel and does not truck with fables, legends, genealogies, and other things that contradict or ignore the Scriptures – but even when difficulties come, the truth is still truth and is worth holding on to.

Christians must be in it for the long haul. Our experiences will vary from day to day, depending on any number of things, including how those around us may be feeling at any given moment. They may cheer us – and they may jeer us. But God remains God, and God remains faithful in Jesus Christ. When we look to God and not to those around us, we can remain faithful and steady. A sailor must take the wind into account and make adjustments to course because of the wind – but his direction is determined by his final port, not by the wind itself. A sailor who always sails with the wind because it is easiest will wind up nowhere. A sailor who keeps his port in mind will arrive in due course, even if he has to sail into the teeth of the wind at times.

My Last Sermon at Trinity

My final sermon as Rector of Trinity was on 13 Sept 2009. We had a baptism that day, and it was very nice to go out on such a positive note.

I hope to publish more original articles in the near future, but this sermon says a lot of things I believe are important to know and follow.

Pentecost XV, 13 Sept 09 Mk. 8:27-38; James 2:1-18

“Our Lives or His Life?”

I. An Ending and a Beginning

It was noontime on the first day of school, and a first grade teacher noticed that one of her students, Ryan, was getting his things ready to leave for home. He was, of course, supposed to be heading to lunch with the rest of the class. Linda asked him what he was doing. “I'm going home,” he replied. That is what he had done in kindergarten, and that is what he expected. The teacher tried to explain that, now that he was in the first grade, he would have a longer school day. “You’ll go eat lunch now,” she said, “and then you’ll come back to the room and do some more work before you go home.” Ryan looked up at her in disbelief, hoping she was kidding. Convinced of her seriousness, Ryan then put his hands on his hips and demanded, “Who on earth signed me up for this program?”

Today is the last day I will lead a Sunday service at Trinity. It is also a day when little Tanner Haden is going to be baptized. He has no idea of what is happening to him. In committing him to the Lord in faith, we trust that, through the Holy Spirit, as the Spirits directly in him, and as the Spirit uses Sunday School teachers, Children’s Church leaders, and other people in the congregation, Tanner will grow up to joyfully know, love, and serve the Lord Jesus. We hope that when he is 12 or 14, he will not turn to one of us and demand, “Who on earth signed me up for this program?” Rather, we want him to joyfully affirm the faith that he is being admitted to this morning.

This day being my last Sunday as celebrant, I am delighted to be launching a new follower of the Lord Jesus on his way. Being a Christian is an odd thing. It costs both nothing and also everything you are and have. As I retire, I am certainly not going to stop following Jesus, for I know from experience that following him is to have life and to have it abundantly. It is my prayer that, as Tanner grows up in a Christian community, he will hear from those further along the path how delightful it is – and that although it does cost everything, the rewards are far, far greater than the cost.

II. It Cost Jesus Everything

While it costs us everything to follow Jesus, he does not ask us to do something he has not done himself. We see that in our Gospel reading for today. Jesus’ ministry on earth lasted about three years, and the event recorded in this passage happened at some point in the third year. By this time, Jesus was very well known. Many people knew that he was a special man blessed by God with astonishing abilities. As the disciples noted, the people in general thought of Jesus as equal to one of the Old Testament prophets.

When Jesus asked the disciples their thoughts on who he was, Peter spoke for them all: “You are the Christ.” They were all convinced that Jesus was the Messiah. They had heard him teach, they had seen him heal, they had watched him cast out demons and bring wholeness into lives, they had seen astonishing catches of fish, and they had been in the midst of a storm and heard him stop the storm with a simple command, “Peace, be still.” He was Lord of creation and the bringer of healing and wholeness, with unmatchable wisdom. Who else could he be but the Messiah?

There was one trouble with their insight. When they thought of the Messiah, what they remembered of the prophecies was of a king who would bring an earthly kingdom of peace and prosperity. They could remember prophecies such as Is. 35:4-7, 10, “Say to those who have an anxious heart, ‘Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.” Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water…’ And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”

If you are a parent, you may have noticed that when you tell you children, “When you clean your room, we can go to the beach,” they will be all excited about going to the beach – and they will forget about cleaning their rooms unless you keep at them about it. The Jews could remember the promises such as the one I quoted, but they did not remember the prophecies like Is 53:4-6, “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned - every one – to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

There are certainly promises of a glorious kingdom in the prophets – and there are promises of suffering, pain, and death for the Messiah as well. The people wanted the kingdom, and they wanted it to come easily and spectacularly. The disciples were the same way. They longed for the Kingdom – indeed, they longed to be officers in Jesus’ kingdom.

So Jesus began to teach them the fullness of what it meant for him to be the Messiah. He knew that the cross preceded the crown, and so he taught them about the prophecies that foretold his death for sin, “the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Mark 8:32 tell us, “And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again.”

Peter did not want to hear such negative ideas. Mark 8:33 tells us, “Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.” None of the disciples wanted Jesus to die. How could he bring in the Kingdom of God as a dead person? Who would rule as King? They resisted Jesus’ teaching.

Jesus has a very surprising, even shocking reply: “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” (Mk 8:33) Why would he call Peter “Satan”?

In one of the temptations of Jesus in the forty days after his baptism, Satan showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the earth, and told him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” (Mt 4:9) Peter’s words were a repetition of that temptation. Given his popularity, it would be easy for Jesus to take the crown, and bypass the cross. We saw a few weeks ago in our readings from John that after he fed the 5,000, the people wanted him to be king. If he slacked up a little on his condemnation of the Pharisees, and if he accepted the desire of many to have him be king, it would be easy for Jesus simply to say, “I am ready to be your king.”

He could take the crown and avoid the cross. How easy that would be! How wonderful it would be to have such power and glory.

Behind this temptation was an even earlier one. In Gen. 3:2-6, we read “[the serpent] said to the woman, ‘Did God actually say, “You shall not eat of any tree in the garden”?’ And the woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, “You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” But the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’”

In Genesis 1, we learn that God created us in his image. That is, we were to be like God in character, but under his authority. In Genesis 3, we see humanity trying to reverse that – to be like God in authority, but not in character. Genesis records a rebellion against God, a rebellion that all human beings, except Jesus, have participated in. But Jesus was tempted to rebel as well – by Satan as we read in Matthew 4, and be Satan through Peter here in Mark 8. Jesus was able to resist that temptation because he was in constant and deep fellowship with God, as humanity was created to enjoy.

The fact that he resisted this temptation does not mean that he was not tempted, and tempted dreadfully, however. Physically, the cross was horrible. We get our word “excruciating” directly from the cross – “ex crucis” means “from the cross.” Spiritually, it would be even worse, for, as Is 53 noted, he would bear “the iniquity of us all.” He would suffer what we deserve, the just judgment of God upon sin, so that we need not suffer it. Sin is rebellion against God, and it is punished by receiving what it seeks, a separation from God. The trouble is that is like a two-year old running away from home: the end result is loneliness and misery. That loneliness and misery is what Jesus experienced – a loneliness and misery beyond our comprehension, as God enforced a separation between himself and Jesus. We hear it in the cry of dereliction: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Jesus knew what he would face on the cross. A temptation to gain the crown and avoid the cross would be great. Yet Jesus said, “Get behind me, Satan. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” He turned away from the temptation. Peter was focused on the promises of the crown, forgetting the prophecies of suffering. Jesus knew the prophecies of suffering, and he knew that they were essential to his ultimate goal, to redeem a rebellious humanity from their rebellion. He chose the cross.

III. What Jesus Did, We Are to Do

In Mk 8:32-33, Jesus gives us one of his most famous sayings: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it.”

That “deny yourself” is often taken to mean to deny yourself something you enjoy, or to put up with some unpleasant person or circumstance. You might deny yourself the pleasure of chocolate during Lent, for instance, or describe a particularly unpleasant person in the family as “my cross to bear.” In reality, what Jesus meant that you must make it a personal policy decision that God’s will always comes first. If your desires and goals come into conflict with what God has said in his Word, then what God has said is what takes precedence.

God has not told us that chocolate is bad, and so must be avoided. But giving up chocolate, or promising to do one act of service a day, is a way of practicing the art of putting something other than your own convenience and pleasure in first place in your life.

And if there is somebody in your life is a royal pain, it is not godly simply to put up with that person, while grumbling under your breath. In such a case, to deny yourself would mean going to that person and calmly talking about the situation, with a request for change. It is usually wisest to get some prayer support before such a conversation, and to go to someone who can give you wise counsel on how to approach the person and how to be both truthful and gracious in dealing with him or her.

The major point about “deny yourself and take up your cross” is not the particular ways that such self-denial is expressed. The main point is: have you given up rebelling against the King of Heaven? Do you begin each day saying, “Not my will but yours be done”? Is your goal to honor Christ by your character and your actions? That is what it means to deny yourself and follow Jesus.

At the beginning, I said that being a Christian is an odd thing. It costs both nothing and also everything you are and have. It costs nothing in that Jesus has paid it all. His death on the cross is a full atonement for all we have done that is wrong and all that we have failed to do that is good. We do not need to embark on some big program of good works and rigid morality to earn God’s favor. We need simply to receive the sacrifice that Jesus made for us. His death is counted as our death, and his resurrection becomes our resurrection to fullness of life.

We can do nothing to earn God’s acceptance and favor. It is a gift, freely given. We become his children through his mercy. At the same time, however, it costs us everything we are, because to be his child means that we acknowledge him as our Father and our King. We must lay down our rebellion, and say to him, “Not my will but yours be done.” It can feel like your heart is being torn out of your chest to step aside and let God be God. We must die to ourselves in order to be fully alive.

Jesus, in his humanity, was tempted to take the easy way to the crown that had been promised him. It was a tantalizing thought to get to the crown without going by way of the cross. But he could only truly gain the world by giving up himself. And so he remained loyal to his Father’s will, day by day. Through his daily sacrifice, and through his cross, we have life, abundantly and forever.

IV. After Death Comes Life

When Ryan recognized that his teacher was serious about staying in school for an entire day, he demanded to know, “Who on earth signed me up for this program?” Perhaps as Tanner grows up and encounters the challenges of following Jesus, he will ask, “Who on earth signed me up for this program?” Indeed, we can all wonder the same thing. The requirements are daunting, after all: “Surely the Lord doesn’t expect me to forgive seventy times seven;” “Surely he doesn't want me to forgive when someone hurts me;” “What does he mean, ‘take up my cross’?” It might not be long before you would want to say, “Who on earth signed me up for this program?”

You can hang onto your life if you want to. Jesus says, however, that to save your life, to try to impose your will on God, is to die. You may get your way in this world, but it will be a great cost to others – and it will be at an eternal cost. When we turn our hearts over to God and say, “You are my King; I will follow you,” then we enjoy life, now and into eternity.

Malcolm Muggeridge was a famous English journalist who wrote for the leading newspapers of London. He enjoyed great wealth, many material pleasures, and the companionship of the rich and famous. He was an agnostic for much of his life, not denying God, but seeing no need for God. When he was in his late 60’s, however, he became a convinced Christian, after years of searching and reading. He later said of his conversion, “I can say that I never knew what joy was like until I gave up pursuing happiness, or cared to live until I chose to die. For these two discoveries I am beholden to Jesus.”

Today is my last Sunday leading worship as Rector of Trinity. Like Tanner, I was signed onto this program at an early age. Unlike Malcolm Muggeridge, I did not wander for years, trying first this thing and then that to find a reason to live – but like little Ryan, I did ask, more than once, “Who on earth signed me up for this program?” I was blessed to keep coming back to Jesus when I wondered if he was really worth it. So, like Muggeridge, “I can say that I never knew what joy was like until I gave up pursuing happiness, or cared to live until I chose to die.”

It is the Lord Jesus who gives us life when we choose to die to our own will. To our loving Lord be glory now and evermore. AMEN.

First Post

As I prepare to retire as Rector of Trinity Church, I still want to write, hopefully to the edification of others, as well as for the satisfaction of putting thoughts on paper. So, I am creating a blog, to which I hope to post with some regularity.