Authority

Isaiah 40:21-31
21Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
22It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out like the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to live in;
23who brings princes to naught, and makes the rulers of the earth as nothing.

24Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when he blows upon them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble.

25To whom will you compare me, or who is my equal? says the Holy One.
26Lift up your eyes on high and see: Who created these? He who brings out their host and numbers them, calling them all by name; because he is great in strength, mighty in power, not one is missing.

27Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the LORD, and my right is disregarded by my God”?
28Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.
29He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless.
30Even youths will faint and grow weary, and the young will fall exhausted;
31but those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

This is the Word of the LORD
Thanks be to God

Mark 1:21-28
They came to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. 22They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. 23Just then, there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, 24and he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” 25But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” 26And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. 27They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, “What is this? A new teaching - with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” 28At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.

This is the Word of the LORD
Thanks be to God.

A Second Time

Mark 1:14-20

14Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galileo, proclaiming the good news of God, 15and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe the good news.”

16As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea - for they were fishermen. 17And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.” 18And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him.

This is the Word of the LORD

Thanks be to God

Jonah 3:1-4:4

1The word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time, saying, 2”Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you.” 3So Jonah set out and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceeding large city, a three days’ walk across. 4Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s walk. And he cried out, “Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” 5And the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth. 

6When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. 7Then he had a proclamation made in Nineveh: “By the decree of the king and his nobles: No human being or animal, no herd or flock, shall taste anything. They shall not feed, nor shall they drink water. 8Human beings and animals shall be covered with sackcloth, and they shall cry mightily to God. All shall turn from their evil ways and from the violence that is in their hands. 9Who knows? God may relent and change his mind; he may turn from his fierce anger, so that we do not perish.”

When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bright upon them them; and he did not do it.

4:1But this was displeasing to Jonah, and he became angry. 2He prayed to the LORD and said, “O LORD! Is not this what I said while I was still in my own country? That is why I fled to Tarshish at the beginning; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishing. 3And now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for it better for me to die than to live.” 4And the LORD said, “Is it right for you to be angry?”

This is the Word of the LORD

Thanks be to God.

Goats in Sheep's Clothing

Ezekiel 34:11-24
11For thus says the Lord God: I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out. 12As shepherds seek out their flocks when they are among their scattered sheep, so I will seek out my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places to which they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. 13I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the watercourses, and in all the inhabited parts of the land. 14I will feed them with good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel shall be their pasture; there they shall lie down in good grazing land, and they shall feed on rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. 15I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord God. 16I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with justice.

17As for you, my flock, thus says the Lord God: I shall judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and goats: 18Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture, but you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pasture? When you drink of clear water, must you foul the rest with your feet? 19And must my sheep eat what you have trodden with your feet, and drink what you have fouled with your feet? 20Therefore, thus says the Lord God to them: I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. 21Because you pushed with flank and shoulder, and butted at all the weak animals with your horns until you scattered them far and wide, 22I will save my flock, and they shall no longer be ravaged; and I will judge between sheep and sheep. 23I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. 24And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them; I, the Lord, have spoken.

This is the Word of the LORD
Thanks be to God

Matthew 25:31-46

Rev. Bowling: 31“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. 34Then the king will say to those at his right hand, 

Rev. Taber: ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’

Rev. Bowling: 37Then the righteous will answer him,

ALL: ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ 

Rev. Bowling: 40And the king will answer them, 

Rev. Taber: ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’

Rev. Bowling: 41Then he will say to those at his left hand, 

Rev. Taber: ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; 42for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’

 Rev. Bowling: 44Then they also will answer, 

ALL: ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’

Rev. Bowling: 45Then he will answer them, 

Rev. Taber: ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’

Rev. Bowling: 46And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” 

Rev. Taber: This is the WORD of The LORD.

ALL: Thanks be to to God!

All Saints, All Sinners

Micah 3:5-12

5Thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who lead my people astray, who cry "Peace" when they have something to eat, but declare war against those who put nothing into their mouths. 

6Therefore it shall be night to you, without vision, and darkness to you, without revelation. The sun shall go down upon the prophets, and the day shall be black over them; 

7the seers shall be disgraced, and the diviners put to shame; they shall all cover their lips, for there is no answer from God. 

8But as for me, I am filled with power, with the spirit of the Lord, and with justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin. 

9Hear this, you rulers of the house of Jacob and chiefs of the house of Israel, who abhor justice and pervert all equity, 

10who build Zion with blood and Jerusalem with wrong! 

11Its rulers give judgment for a bribe, its priests teach for a price, its prophets give oracles for money; yet they lean upon the Lord and say, "Surely the Lord is with us! No harm shall come upon us." 

12Therefore because of you Zion shall be plowed as a field; Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins, and the mountain of the house a wooded height.

This is the Word of the LORD

Thanks be to God

Matthew 23:1-12

1Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, 2‘The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; 3therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach. 4They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them. 5They do all their deeds to be seen by others; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long. 6They love to have the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues, 7and to be greeted with respect in the market-places, and to have people call them rabbi. 8But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all students. 9And call no one your father on earth, for you have one Father—the one in heaven. 10Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Messiah. 11The greatest among you will be your servant. 12All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.

This is the Word of the LORD

Thanks be to God.

We’ve spent a good deal of time this past month looking back. October 15 was our 70th celebration, and a hundred people worshipped in a newly-painted worship space. Dr. Batts shared a story of when, years ago, giving the sanctuary a new look caused some conflict. Last Sunday, we threw ourselves into our Presbyterian Heritage, and the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation.

Then today, the first Sunday in November, we observe All Saints Sunday. Another opportunity to look back at all the saints who from their labors rest, to remember their ministry.

God has done marvelous things through those saints. This congregation is built on the generosity and struggles of generations past, and the larger church of which we are a member is filled with uncountable saints who contributed their gifts in their time.

But it’s also Stewardship season. We’re taking stock of the gifts God has given us, and prayerfully considering how we can use those gifts to the glory of God. There is an element of looking back, but we’re using our 20/20 hindsight to focus our vision for what the LORD is going to do through us in the days to come.

If we forget that balance, we get to sit with the Pharisees: so lost in the past they missed what God was doing around them.

At first glance, the Pharisees look like the “bad guys” of the gospels. They’re constantly trying to trap Jesus, they plot against him, and here in Matthew 23 Jesus lays into them with a harshness we don’t see from him very often. One of our lunch-bunchers compared them to the Red-Shirts on Star Trek, always the first to fall so that we know the stakes are high.

A closer look, however, gives a more complex picture. Jesus’s judgment on the actions of the Pharisees begins with respect for their teachings. “Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, ‘The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; therefore do whatever they teach you and follow it.’” The scribes and Pharisees are not wrong, says Jesus. Listen to what they have to teach us, even though they have come after Jesus his entire ministry. The Pharisees believed in the resurrection of the dead, only a theory at the time. They also didn’t see Rome as the ultimate seat of authority in this world, the way the Sadducees and Herodians seemed to. When Luke writes his gospel, some of his stories even indicate that some of Jesus’s early followers are Pharisees. They’re not the “bad guys.” The world very rarely breaks down that simply. “Do whatever they teach you and follow it.”

The problem is not their teaching, it’s their action. “...Dr not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach.” They’re not the villains of the gospel, but they’re also not “good.” “They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them.” These are the folks who take the gift of history and tradition and corrupt that resource until it is a burden. Then they refuse to take responsibility for their part in it, and the burden of the whole system lays on the shoulders of others while the benefits, namely social standing, float back to the Pharisees.

The Pharisees have the Law and the Prophets, and they understand it enough that Jesus shows respect for their teaching. But they’ve gotten to where the trust their position in society more than they trust God. I don’t think any of us are innocent of that sin. “Lacking confidence in the divine ‘yes’ we hypocrites make masks or broadcast our piety in order to win a human ‘yes.’” We either set ourselves in judgment over others, so that no one will pay attention to our own faults, or we make sure we do our good deeds in ways that people will see us.

I get asked to do devotionals at various meetings, either for our Session or for one of the Presbytery Committees on which I serve. The one I’ve been working through most recently is inspired by a line in T. S. Eliot’s Murder in the Cathedral. It comes after the main character has been tempted, and before he goes to his climactic showdown with fate. In a long speech, he announces “The last temptation is the greatest treason, to do the right deed, but for the wrong reason.” That line has stuck with me since I first read it in my 11th grade Literature class.

When Jesus offers this challenging correction to the Pharisees, he condemns right belief that doesn’t accompany action, and he condemns action that is not done for the right reason. “[The scribes and Pharisees] do all their deeds to be seen by others; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long. They love to have the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues, and to be greeted with respect in the market-places, and to have people call them rabbi.”

Boy does that one get me.

I love when people call me “Reverend.” I love to be greeted with respect when I’m out shopping. I love to have “the good chair” when I’m at a dinner party or an event. I’m not one for phylacteries or long fringes, but I do wear a clergy collar, and I carry a physical bible even though my table already has five or six digital copies.

A couple of years ago, here in this congregation, I gave one of the best sermons of my career to that point. It felt good, folks were fired up about it, they quoted me on bulletin boards around the church and even posted about it on Facebook. The very next Sunday, eager to follow that performance with another great one, I got up here and preached one of the worst sermons of my career to that point.

Now I know that I’m likely my own harshest critic, but one didn’t need a degree in literature or preaching to know that this one was lousy. It was just bad, and I was shaken up. How could I drop the ball like that, and lose all the momentum of the previous week!

I called a friend of mine, who is consistently one the best preachers I know, and asked her about it. She pointed out that the first sermon was for God. The number two sermon was for myself. I wanted to look good. I wanted to be seen as a good preacher. I wanted to be seen as a leader of an inspired congregation. And so, like the prophets who get targeted like Micah, the Holy Spirit stopped talking through me just long enough for me to fall flat on my face. “Therefore it shall be night to you, without vision, and darkness to you, without revelation. The sun shall go down upon the prophets, and the day shall be black over them; the seers shall be disgraced, and the diviners put to shame; they shall all cover their lips, for there is no answer from God.” I got my act together, remembered that my gifts in writing and public speaking are an offering to God, and God is the one who preachers through me, and have not often preached a sermon that bad since.

The work we do as disciples ought to be for the glory of God, not for our own. “It is easy to confuse our interests with God’s purposes, our power with God’s sovereignty, our standing with God’s glory.” So as followers of Jesus Christ, we have to be aware that it is so easy for all sinners to slide into the kind of self-serving “service” that infected the Pharisees of Jesus day and the prophets of Micah’s.

Today is All Saints day, when we look back at the great cloud of witnesses who surround us. But as we look at their history of gifts, given to the glory of God, it ought to remind us that God has given us talents and abilities as well. Gifts that God expects us to return to God

“The gifts and abilities of particular people must be seen as resources for the sake of the entire community rather than as individual endowments that distinguish people from one another.”

500 Years

500 Years from Joseph Taber on Vimeo.


Haggai 2:1b-9
1b…the word of the LORD came by the prophet Haggai, saying: 2Speak now to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people, and say, 3Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Is it not in your sight as nothing? 4Yet now take courage, O Zerubbabel, says the LORD; take courage, O Joshua, son of Jehozadek, the high priest; take courage, all you people of the land, says the LORD; work, for I am with you, says the LORD of hosts, 5according to the promise that I made you when you came out of Egypt. My spirit abides among you, do not fear. 6For thus says the LORD of hosts: once again, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land; 7and I will shake all the nations, so that the treasure of all nations shall come, and I will fill this house with splendor, says the LORD of hosts. 8The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, says the LORD of hosts. 9The latter splendor of this house shall be greater than the former, says the LORD of hosts; and in this place I will give prosperity, says the LORD of hosts.

This is the Word of the LORD
Thanks be to God

Matthew 4:18-22
18As [Jesus] walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea - for they were fishermen. 19And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” 20Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. 22Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.

This is the Word of the LORD
Thanks be to God.

It's Not About The Coin!

I Thessalonians 1:1-10

1Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace.

2We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in our prayers, constantly 3remembering before our God and Fathir your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4For we know, brothers and sisters beloved by God, that he has chosen you, 5because our message of the gospel came to you not in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of persons we proved to be among you for your sake. 6And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for in spite of persecution you received the word with joy inspired by the Holy Spirit, 7so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 8For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place your faith in God has become known, so that we have no need to speak about it. 9For the people of those regions report about us what kind of welcome we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols, to serve a living and true God, 10and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead - Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath that is coming.

This is the Word of the LORD

Thanks be to God

Matthew 22:15-22

15Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap him in what he said, 16So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality. 17Tell us then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the Emperor, or not?” 18But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? 19Show me the coin used for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. 20Then he said to them, “Whose head is this, and whose title?” 21They answered, “The emperor’s” Then he said to them, “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 22When they heard this, they were amazed; and they left him and went away.

This is the Word of the LORD

Thanks be to God.

In ancient Palestine, Jewish political thought was represented by two opposing, but equally important groups. The Pharisees who resisted Roman occupation through strict observance of Jewish Law, and the Herodians, who submitted to Rome and supported its presence and rule. They represented the Law of Jewish tradition and the Order of Roman rule. These are their stories.

Now obviously, these two groups don’t work together very often. It takes a very special circumstance for these political opponents to find common ground. Our blessed savior is a walking special circumstance. He has the support of the people, they’re amazed by his teaching and by his deeds of power. He also hasn’t done anything to offend the Roman rulers. He’s not using his influence to stir up rebellion or anything like that. His teaching does, however, challenge the authority of the religious elites.

So the Pharisees call their loyal opposition, the Herodians, and propose to trap this dangerously popular preacher: make him choose between inciting rebellion and alienating the people: get him talking about taxes.

Now, here in 21st century America, opinions on taxes range from “Taxes are how we gather resources to do what none of us can do alone,” to “All taxation is theft.” Our understanding of taxes is a little different than it was to the Jews living in 1st century Palestine. For them, it was a question of paying a tribute to an occupying power in a way that acknowledged the “divinity” of the emperor.

But Caesar is not divine, no matter how many official court documents say so. The LORD is God, the LORD alone. Using a Roman coin to promote Roman interests in their hometown? Folks paid the tax because not doing so was an act of rebellion, but they resented it. The wrath of the empire was not worth it.

So the Pharisees and the Herodians come at our Lord Jesus hoping to trap him between the wrath of Rome and the ire of the crowds. “The effect of their praise is to say ‘OK Mr. Truth-teller who never shies away from controversy, handle this hot potato.” They know that no matter which side he chooses, he’ll be in trouble. He’s stuck between the Law of Moses and the Order imposed by the empire.

This is a familiar enough story that we know that Jesus turns their trap inside out. Jesus knows that the issues at hand not really about the coin. The language of older translations has seeped into our minds, saying, “Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, and render unto God what is God’s…” Now the Pharisees and Herodians are caught up in the same trap they set for Jesus. “…they were amazed; and they left him and went away.”

Jesus knows it’s not about the coin. It’s not about the question of the law or the ordering of society. In this moment, where we meet Jesus in this story, Jesus’s answer skewers the reason the Pharisees and the Herodians were divided in the first place. The Pharisees and the Herodians have both put something else in the place reserved for the living and true God, and those two idolatries are competing with one another. The Pharisees have made an idol out of Tradition and religious purity. The Herodians made theirs out of political power and influence. It’s not about the coin, it’s not even about the Law or about Order, these two groups of God’s chosen people have gotten sidetracked by the idols they have made for themselves.

You’re not likely to find that many actual golden calves in 21st century churches. Neither are there many statues of Canaanite fertility Gods, or even inscriptions praising the divinity of Roman emperors. But idolatry is a sickness to which everyone’s soul is still susceptible. It’s the same process taking on new forms. Anytime we put something in the place reserved for the living and true God, we have made an idol. The examples of the Pharisees and Herodians are still very much alive today. How many churches have fallen away from preaching the gospel because they began to worship tradition instead of God? How many communities of faith have chosen political power over the power of faith?

But those large categories are far from the only ways we invent “gods” that are easier to follow than our Lord Jesus Christ. Everybody has a favorite idol. The hard part is that they tend to live in our blind spots, and we can’t always see how we have slid something else onto God’s throne.

I’m as guilty of this as any other sinner. My idols are sculpted from busy-ness and standard bearing. I start by serving a gracious and generous God, whose yoke is easy and whose burden is light. But then I mistake the work for God. The work I put in has good outcomes that earn praise, and it makes me, and those I serve, look good. I take a lot of pride in the way out congregation is viewed by the Presbytery, I want us to look good, and to be good. The praise Paul and company shower on the church of the Thessalonians is exactly what I’m after. Before I know it, I’m either exhausted and overwhelmed, because instead of serving the God who gives us sabbath, I’m trying to serve the idol of pride and notoriety.

Fortunately for me, Jesus is really good about pulling me out of that mess. His answer “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s” helps me get my priorities back in order, and I can remember that what belongs to the emperor belongs to God first. I’ve had a lot of practice at falling into that trap, I’m getting better at recognizing it and pulling myself out, with God’s help.

Maybe you’re like me, and your idol is “being the best” at whatever. Maybe you’re like the Pharisees, and religious purity is your idol, and you look down on those who fail to practice their faith tradition flawlessly. Maybe you’re like the Herodians, and power and influence in your community is your idol, and the idea of losing your position in society is heresy.

Maybe the idol is something else, a symbol that has taken on religious significance, and any challenge to that symbol is offensive, even if the challenge is well meaning. Maybe the idol is a particular worldview that cannot be questioned under any circumstances.

The thing that makes idolatry so infectious is that there’s always a support group for it. One person who decided the Law of Moses was essential finds support among the Pharisees, and they push one another further down the path until the Son of God looks more like a threat than a blessing. One person finds political influence is attractive, then the Herodians come along and they encourage one another to chase it down even if they lose their identity along the way. My idol finds a support group with people who talk about being busy as though it were a virtue, and who compare reputations to find their place in life.

A support group for idolatry is called a cult. Fortunately, we worship a God who is not threatened by our attempts to put something else in his place. Instead, God intervenes to break us out of our idolatrous practices, amazing Herodians and Pharisees alike, and inspiring us to take a fresh look at how we are to remember to give to God what belongs to God, even if that means we have to make a change in our lives.

The moment we capture between Jesus as those who seek to trap him is only a fragment of the story, and we know that he’s only a few chapters away from crowds chanting “give us Barabbas!” But we also know that his crucifixion is not the full story. The idols of this world do not win in the end. We are not hopeless trapped by sin. The living and true God saves us from ourselves, and loves us no matter how many times we try and push him off of his throne.

From there, it’s on us to try and do a little better. To resist the factory of idols and to continue to serve our Lord Jesus Christ as faithfully as possible.

What The...?

What The ...? from Joseph Taber on Vimeo.

John 6:28-35
28Then they said to him, ‘What must we do to perform the works of God?’ 29Jesus answered them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.’ 30So they said to him, ‘What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? 31Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, “He gave them bread from heaven to eat.” ’ 32Then Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.’ 34They said to him, ‘Sir, give us this bread always.’

35Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

This is the Word of the LORD
Thanks be to God

Exodus 16:1-5, 13b-31
1The whole congregation of the Israelites set out from Elim; and Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt. 2The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. 3The Israelites said to them, ‘If only we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.’

4Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day. In that way I will test them, whether they will follow my instruction or not. 5On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather on other days.’

13…In the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. 14When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground. 15When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, ‘What is it?’ For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, ‘It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat. 16This is what the Lord has commanded: “Gather as much of it as each of you needs, an omer to a person according to the number of persons, all providing for those in their own tents.” ’ 17The Israelites did so, some gathering more, some less. 18But when they measured it with an omer, those who gathered much had nothing over, and those who gathered little had no shortage; they gathered as much as each of them needed. 19And Moses said to them, ‘Let no one leave any of it over until morning.’ 20But they did not listen to Moses; some left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and became foul. And Moses was angry with them. 21Morning by morning they gathered it, as much as each needed; but when the sun grew hot, it melted.
22 On the sixth day they gathered twice as much food, two omers apiece. When all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses, 23he said to them, ‘This is what the Lord has commanded: “Tomorrow is a day of solemn rest, a holy sabbath to the Lord; bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil, and all that is left over put aside to be kept until morning.” ’ 24So they put it aside until morning, as Moses commanded them; and it did not become foul, and there were no worms in it. 25Moses said, ‘Eat it today, for today is a sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field. 26For six days you shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is a sabbath, there will be none.’

27On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, and they found none. 28The Lord said to Moses, ‘How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and instructions? 29See! The Lord has given you the sabbath, therefore on the sixth day he gives you food for two days; each of you stay where you are; do not leave your place on the seventh day.’ 30So the people rested on the seventh day.

31The house of Israel called it manna; it was like coriander seed, white, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.

This is the Word of the LORD
Thanks be to God.