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Tag Archives: John the Baptist

Emails to God – Ignorance is Bliss (Matthew 14:1-12)

15 Feb

1 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the reports about Jesus, 2 and he said to his attendants, “This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead! That is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”

3 Now Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, 4 for John had been saying to him: “It is not lawful for you to have her.” 5 Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of the people, because they considered John a prophet.

6 On Herod’s birthday the daughter of Herodias danced for the guests and pleased Herod so much 7 that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. 8 Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” 9 The king was distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he ordered that her request be granted 10 and had John beheaded in the prison. 11 His head was brought in on a platter and given to the girl, who carried it to her mother. 12 John’s disciples came and took his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus.

Dear God, I wonder how much of this Jesus expected. Was this a blow to him? Obviously, I am sure it caused him grief, but did it make him have any doubt about his tack? Did it give him a little fear about his own eventual fate? Certainly it had to have crossed his mind, but it didn’t change his path.

There are times when I want so badly to know the future, but the truth is that I am a chicken, and if you told me about some of the suffering coming my way I would likely not be up to it and try to avoid it. I go back to my decision to leave my stable job at the beginning of 2003. That started a three-year, painful journey, but the fruit of that journey was more than I could have imagined. In this case, Jesus knew the journey and he knew the end, and yet he continued on his path. I am so grateful that you keep that kind of information from me even though it can really frustrate me sometimes.

Father, I know that the rest of this year has some pain in it regarding the situation with our building. The fixing of the building alone will bring pain. It is going to require all that I know how to do and even more to get this job done. But I trust you. I trust that you will help me to know what to do at any given moment. Please help me to represent you well in every instance and to lean on you and let you work through me in every instance. Help me to find peace in every trial and to not expect any ease of life for myself, but only glory for you.

 
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Posted by on February 15, 2012 in Matthew

 

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Emails to God – The Proof of the Pudding is in the Eating (Matthew 11:16-19)

17 Jan

16 “To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others:

17 “‘We played the pipe for you,
and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge,
and you did not mourn.’

18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is proved right by her deeds.”

Dear God, I guess that Jesus is saying that they wanted a prophet and a messiah that they could control and that would do what they expected them to. I imagine that “this generation”, to which he referred, included the Pharisees and Sadducees. I like how Jesus points out that he and John couldn’t win with “this generation”. I think he was indicating that it was the messages of both John and Jesus that were making people uncomfortable so they looked for excuses to discredit them.

I went and looked up this passage in The Message translation, and he had an interesting interpretation of the last sentence: “The proof of the pudding is in the eating.” So the way to judge John and Jesus is to look at their overall body of work and not try to dig into the minutia in an effort to discredit their message.

I wonder what kind of body of work people see in me. Can they see you in me through my deeds? Am I someone who is consistent in all areas of my life? At the same time, is my message bold enough that it makes some uncomfortable, or do I water it down so that people will want to hear it. Regarding consistency, I feel good about that part, but I do worry that I might water down what I am trying to say in order to get people to like me.

Father, I submit all of this to you. I submit my parenting to you. I submit my marriage to you. I submit my employment to you. I submit my church life to you. I submit my friendships to you. I submit my extended family relationships with you too. Be glorified in me, and if that means that you have to cause others to stumble over the words that I say, so be it.

 
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Posted by on January 17, 2012 in Matthew

 

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Emails to God – Refining the Pharisees (Matthew 11:7-15)

15 Jan

7 As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swayed by the wind? 8 If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings’ palaces. 9 Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10 This is the one about whom it is written:

“‘I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way before you.’

11 Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence, and violent people have been raiding it. 13 For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. 14 And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. 15 Whoever has ears, let them hear.

Dear God, regarding the historical reference Jesus makes to John in verse 10, here is a chunk of that passage around the one verse Jesus uses in Malachi 3:

“I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the LORD Almighty.

2 But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the LORD will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, 4 and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the LORD, as in days gone by, as in former years.”

I am surprised that Jesus didn’t add more of the passage than he did. Who know? Maybe he did and Matthew didn’t record it. Or perhaps he left it implied so that it would be something the Pharisees would get but maybe the rest of the crowd wouldn’t. It could have been a backhanded insult to the Pharisees while he was exemplifying John.

When I think about Pharisees who were, indeed, refined and made into pure gold and silver, I think of Nicodemus and Joseph Arimathea. I think what made them different is that they were willing to have their hearts purified. They were open to being challenged and accepting the idea that they were wrong.

That has been one of the more interesting, and difficult, parts of exploring Catholicism for me. When I entered into the RCIA class I really did do it with an open mind—or as open as I am capable of making my mind. I looked to see if there were some changes in my theology that I needed to make. And I have, indeed, made a few. For example. I am willing to accept the idea of Mary, along with the other saints, praying for me. Sure. Why not? But there are still some concepts that have really challenged my own beliefs, and I’m just not quite ready to embrace them yet. Not embracing them will prevent me from “converting”, but is that a problem? No. In the end, I don’t want this to be about “converting” to Catholicism, but about simply refining and purifying my faith into something that will continually draw me deeper into you.

Father, help me to see you clearly. Help me to embrace you as wholly as I can. Love others through me. Love my wife through me. Love my children through me. Use me in the lives of others so that you might be glorified in both my life and their lives. As I am with my extended family this afternoon, love them through me. Give them a sense of you through me.

 
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Posted by on January 15, 2012 in Matthew

 

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Emails to God – A Coded Message from Jesus to John (Matthew 11:1-6)

14 Jan

Matthew 11:1-6

1 After Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns ofGalilee.

2 When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples 3 to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”

4 Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5 The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. 6 Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”

Dear God, there are two interesting things here: 1. John the Baptist doubted. Sure he was in prison, but his faith waned. 2. Jesus said, “Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.” That implies that there will be those who stumble, but it is their fault that they stumble. But there will also be those who do not stumble over Jesus and his teaching, but embrace it and walk with it. Those people will be celebrated (blessed).

Regarding John’s doubts, this is so encouraging for me because he knew Jesus for most of his life. He somehow knew who Jesus was in terms of being the messiah at Jesus’ baptism. And yet, sitting in prison, facing death for being so outspoken, he doubted. He wondered if he had done it all for nothing. He had been so radical in his life. Should he have been?

So Jesus affirmed him. The affirmation is a little cryptic. I wonder if it was an inside deal with them. I wonder if they talked as children and dreamed of what would happen when Jesus came into his ministry. In essence, this seems cryptic, but it is a code that John would understand?

I wonder if this second part (about the stumbling) was part of the code too. I wonder if, as children, they talked about how they would offend and be rejected by some. John was looking for some peace and restoration of his faith. I never thought of it before, but I wonder if Jesus was doing that by taking advantage of the personal relationship they had had since their childhoods.

Father, there are times when my faith fails. Frankly, my faith was needing some affirmation on Monday. I took a day to fast and pray and then you spent the rest of the week affirming my faith. Thank you. Thank you for how you have answered my prayers. Thank you for how you will continue to answer my prayers. You care about me. You care about those around me whom you want to bless through me. So I submit myself to you and thank you for not rejecting me for my mini crises in faith, but, instead, you affirm me and bless me.

 
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Posted by on January 14, 2012 in Matthew

 

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Emails to God – Jesus Figuring Out His Ministry (Matthew 4:12-17)

11 Nov

12 When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he withdrew to Galilee. 13 Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali— 14 to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah:

15 “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,

the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan,

Galilee of the Gentiles—

16 the people living in darkness

have seen a great light;

on those living in the land of the shadow of death

a light has dawned.”

17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

Dear God, I wonder how much of the plan for the rest of his earthly life Jesus understood at this point. Did he know he was three years away from the cross, or did he just know what the next step was? It is interesting that at the beginning of his ministry his message is strikingly similar to John the Baptists: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” In fact, according to this translation, Matthew put the same words in both of their mouths.

My guess is that Jesus was figuring this out as he went. Perhaps he started to get a clearer vision during the 40-day fast. I am sure there was a lot of prayer time with you out there. I am also sure that the angels ministered more than food and water to him at the end of the fast. They probably gave him some encouragement since he was possibly bothered by the revelations he was getting.

What I have learned for my own life is that it is better if you keep me in the dark regarding the future. It is not good for me to know the long-range plan because if I do, and the path will be difficult, I am less likely to walk down it. It is good for me to focus only on today and not tomorrow. Kind of like coaches of all types tell their teams: “We just have to take it one game at a time.

Father, help me to be at peace with the day you have given to me. This day, in particular, has the potential to be a great day because I am going to spend it on vacation with my mom and her family. So I ask that you help me to be a blessing to my mom. Help me to be a blessing to my uncle, aunt, grandmother, and cousins. Help me to decrease as you increase. Be glorified through me as I simply seek to submit myself to you today without thinking too much about tomorrow.

 
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Posted by on November 11, 2011 in Matthew

 

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Emails to God – Growing Godly Kids (Genesis 3:13-17)

08 Nov

13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”

15 Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.

16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

Dear God, I am fascinated by the phrase, “…it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” I still don’t understand where baptism came from. Why did it all of a sudden become something that was necessary for Jesus to do to “fulfill all righteousness”?

One of the hardest things about spiritually parenting our kids during this time of trying to figure out our own church lives is that it is becoming harder to give them a sense of a spiritual anchor. Right now, my wife and I are the best spiritual anchors they have, and we are losing our influence over them with every day that they age. So when they were younger we didn’t have them baptized because we went to an evangelical church that didn’t do infant baptism (and we agree with that). Now, we have visited churches that don’t emphasize conversion or adult baptism because they expect that the children were baptized as infants. So what will happen with our kids? Will they “fulfill all righteousness”? Is there room for what has happened to them in your plan and grace?

Father, I believe there is all kinds of room for this in your grace. At the same time, I do pray for my children. I pray that you will guide them in a path that is in complete submission to you. Raise up people in their lives who will speak to them with your voice and love. Strongly support them as they grow. Protect them from themselves and from Satan’s plans for them. Show my wife and me our roles in their lives. Parent them through us. Love them through us. Protect them from our sins and our flaws. Protect over our home. Let your Holy Spirit reign there.

 
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Posted by on November 8, 2011 in Matthew

 

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