God's Plan

God’s Plan

Romans 8:28-39[1]

Most of us have some kind of idea about God’s plan for our lives. We know that there are some things we just cannot control, and it’s a comfort for us to believe that God has already planned something good for us. Unfortunately, I think that we often turn that trust in God’s faithfulness and love into a kind of “destiny” that we think is unavoidable. And at its worst, it becomes a way to let ourselves off the hook for choices we make. The notion that God has all the specifics of our lives already laid out is one that may assure us when life gets difficult, but it doesn’t fit well with the fact that we are all have the freedom and the awesome responsibility to make our choices in life. 

As I reflect on my experience with “God’s Plan,” I would say two things about it: first, I’ve only been able to see God’s plan as I’ve looked back over my life. I’ve never been able to discern God’s plan in advance. I don’t think any of us has that ability. It’s just not given to us. The second thing is that when I look back over my life, I don’t see God’s plan so much in specific choices, but rather in the broad strokes. In good times and in not-so-good times, I see God working in my life for good, working through my life for his purposes.

I think that’s the point St. Paul is trying to make in our lesson from Romans for today. Paul says that “God’s Plan” is to work in our lives to change us all to become more and more like Jesus (Rom. 8:29). And he says that God carries out that project by choosing, calling, justifying and glorifying fallen humankind. Now, when we think of “choosing,” we might worry that this means God chooses some and rejects others, and maybe that means God doesn’t choose me. But I think it’s important to ask, “Whom does God choose?” Well, according to Paul, God “chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world” (Eph. 1:4). I think that means God chose Jesus, and in choosing Jesus, God chooses us all (Eph. 1:4).^[2]

If we have any lingering doubts about God’s plan in all of this, I think it’s even more important to ask, “Whom does God justify?” This is one of Paul’s favorite concepts for salvation. In his letter to the Romans, Paul says a lot about whom God justifies. At one point he says that God justifies the “ungodly” (Rom. 4:5). In fact, it might be more precise to say that God justifies the “godless”! That should shock and surprise us a bit. Even with all our theology of grace, we still think that we have to do something special or be someone special in order to “merit” salvation. I guess the way to put it is this: if God justifies the godless, whom does God not justify?

What St. Paul is saying here is that God’s “plan” or “purpose” for us is expressed in choosing, saving, and changing us all. And just to make sure we don’t miss the point, he reminds us that there is nothing in all creation that can ever separate us from the love God has given us in Jesus Christ (Rom. 8:38-39). Again, some might quibble here—they may say that nothing in all creation can separate us, but we can separate ourselves by our own refusal to take the step of faith. I think once more it’s a matter of asking the right question: Is our willfulness more powerful than God’s love and grace? Maybe in the short run, but ultimately, I think not!

 I’m fully convinced that Paul believed God’s “plan” is to reconcile the entire created order and restore it to its rightful place in obedience to Christ (Eph. 1:10).^[3] There will come a time when “every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord” (Phil. 2:10-11). Paul’s gospel is a gospel of grace—of receiving something undeserved. It is a gospel about the God who loves us unconditionally, the God who accepts us completely, the God who above all else is and forever remains for us. At the outset of this lesson, Paul emphasizes that God is for us. If there’s any doubt about that, all we have to do is remember that he gave himself to us in the person of Jesus. And Paul says that in that act of self-giving, God has already given us “everything else” (Rom 8:32).

If I would say anything about “God’s Plan” for our lives, I would say it is to love us, to accept us, to draw us into a relationship with himself. And beyond that, God’s plan is that our relationship with God would make change us from the inside out so that we more and more live like Jesus did. As we do that, we are carrying out “God’s Plan” by sharing with others the acceptance, the love, and the mercy he has given us. If there’s any “destiny” that God has for us, I think it’s to live fully in the love of God and to share that love freely and joyfully with others.

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[1] © 2020 Alan Brehm. A sermon delivered by Rev. Alan Brehm Ph. D. on 7/26/2020 at Hickman Presbyterian Church, Hickman, NE.

[2] Perhaps the most famous advocate of this view is Karl Barth, in Church Dogmatics, 2.2, 115-17.  See also ibid., 59-60, 101, 103-105.

[3] The PCUSA Confession of 1967 puts it this way: “It is the will of God that his purpose for human life shall be fulfilled under the rule of Christ.”

Planting Seeds

Planting Seeds

Matthew 13:1-23[1]

There are some vocations that I think by definition can be discouraging. I think teachers must face this challenge. You go into teaching out of a sense of idealism about making a difference in the younger generation. And unless you’re very fortunate, you may wind up spending your days trying to teach kids who are much more interested in everything but learning. I would think it would be very easy to become cynical about the prospects of making a difference in the world.

I know for a fact that the same thing applies to ministers. Like teachers, many go into the ministry out of a deep sense of idealism about making a difference in the world. They go through a seminary program that raises their awareness about biblical mandates regarding social justice, about the joys of deeply spiritual worship, and about the latest strategies for reaching the neediest people in the community. And they get into the church and find out that people can be more interested in which hymnal they’re using, or in making and enforcing ever more specific rules on everybody else, or in keeping all the “squeaky wheels” happy. And they work hard each week with the Scriptures trying to discern a fresh and inspiring message, only to wonder if anybody is listening at all! Ministry is definitely a vocation that by definition can be incredibly discouraging.

But the reality is that the same thing can be said for Christian living. Most of us embrace the faith in some sense or another out of a feeling of “ought-ness” or a vision to make a difference in the way the world works. And you identify with a congregation and a denomination and find your way onto the session, only to find out that the leaders may spend more time fighting about décor and money than attempting any kind of mission to save the world. It can be incredibly discouraging. But you find your niche in mission and you keep going through the motions month after month and year after year, until you wake up one day so incredibly discouraged from a lack of results that you wonder if you ever really believed in God in the first place!

To some extent, the parable of the sower addresses this aspect of the Christian faith. When we seek to go out and make a difference in the world—whether in church service or in another vocation—we’re very much like the sower, planting seeds as we go. Now, planting seeds these days is quite different from planting seeds in Jesus’ day. These days we have it down to a science when and how and what kind of seeds to plant. In Jesus’ day, planting seeds was much more like life. You scatter seeds all over the place, hoping some of them will take root and grow and bear fruit. Despite that difference, most farmers still know what Jesus was talking about—the quality of the soil makes all the difference in the quantity of the harvest. These days we can even get crops to grow on bad soil. In Jesus’ day, you had to just make do with what you got.

Of course, Jesus wasn’t really talking about agriculture. Among other things, he was trying to warn those who followed him out of a sense of personal commitment to a world of justice and peace and freedom that not all the seeds they planted would bear fruit. There are lots of times when sowing does not lead to reaping. Instead of rejoicing while “bringing in the sheaves,” we find ourselves just sowing and weeping and sowing some more. Despite some of the lofty sounding promises in the Bible, you just can’t always count on results, no matter how hard you try. Obedience doesn’t always mean rewards, even if the Psalmist says it does. Faithfulness doesn’t guarantee results. Sometimes we find ourselves planting seeds and not reaping a harvest.

One of the notions that drives religious perfectionism is the idea that obedience automatically brings rewards. If we do what we’re supposed to, if we live like we’re supposed to, then our lives will be free from suffering and all our dreams will come true. Just the very action of identifying ourselves with faith and the gospel means that we’re on Jesus’ side and we will go from one success to another. But this pipe dream doesn’t live up to reality. In fact, it oftentimes leads to discouragement and even bitterness.   

The truth of our lives is that we never know how the seeds we’ve planted will fare. We can never really know all the results our efforts for the sake of the kingdom of God will bear. That’s why Henri Nouwen said that we must plant our seeds in the hope that there really is “light on the other side of darkness.”[2] That means that, even though we find ourselves sowing without reaping, we keep right on planting those gospel seeds, seeds of mercy and kindness, seeds of love and justice, seeds of peace and freedom. We do it because one day some of those seeds are going to bear fruit.

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[1] © 2020 Alan Brehm. A sermon delivered by Rev. Alan Brehm, Ph. D. on 7/12/2020 at Hickman Presbyterian Church, Hickman, NE.

[2] Henri Nouwen, The Wounded Healer, 76.

Unwavering

Unwavering

Psalm 13[1]

I would say that we have a “funny” relationship with faith. Some of us try to make too much of it, and others not enough. At least that’s my observation. For some, faith is something that is something we accept without question. In fact, we may have been explicitly taught not to ask the “wrong” questions of our faith. You know, those questions that nobody can really answer. There’s not much difference between a faith that doesn’t ask questions and “magical thinking.” For others, faith is something that we can seemingly “take” or “leave.” We may have been taught to question everything, and faith doesn’t get a “pass.”  From this perspective faith is simply like any other feeling we may have: it “comes” and “goes,” and we only practice it when we “feel” like it.

Somewhere between these two extremes lies what is, I think, our true experience of faith. We all have high points in our lives when faith seems absolutely real to us because of the way it moves us deeply. And we all have other times when faith seems to just “evaporate into thin air.” Whether it’s due to trauma, or discouragement, or just plain boredom with the routines of life, in those times we just can’t seem to muster any faith. It may be hard for some of us to admit that, because we’re not “supposed” to have trouble with faith. And some of us may conclude that because faith ebbs and flows, it’s not worth the effort.

 One of the beautiful features of the book of Psalms is the fact that faith is expressed in a variety of ways and in all kinds of situations. Whether faith takes the form of an expression of serene trust, or an urgent plea for deliverance, or even a complaint that God seems absent just when we need him most, the Psalm singers expressed their faith simply by turning to God. There’s a lesson in that for us, I think: whether our faith is strong or weak, the act of turning to God is in and of itself an act of faith. I’m not sure we give ourselves enough credit for this!

In our Psalm for today, the faith expressed is not one that exists in perfect peace.[2] The Psalmist cries out in desperation, “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?” (Ps. 13:1). The faith expressed in this Psalm takes place in the midst of an intense crisis. Despite that, the Psalmist can conclude, “I trusted in your steadfast love” (Ps. 13:5). The fact that this faith is apparently couched in the past tense can be misleading. It is more of a timeless statement: I have trusted in your love, I trust in your love now, and I will always trust in your love.

That’s a powerful expression of faith! It’s not based on our experience or how we feel about it. It’s based on the character of God. It’s an expression of trust in God to love us with a love that will never let us go. And so the Psalmist can say: “my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me (Ps. 13:5-6). It seems ironic that the tone of the Psalm changes so quickly from despair to joy. Sometimes it happens that way, and sometimes it doesn’t. In fact, in the Psalms give us a view of faith that includes a wide variety of situations.

 Sometimes faith means that we sit and “wait” for the Lord. It’s not a matter of waiting aimlessly, but rather waiting in the hope that the Lord will deliver us. Psalm 62:5 reflects this posture: “For God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken.” In times like those, faith means seeing through the sometimes harsh facts of life to the unfailing love of God that underlies and pervades and upholds all of life. That’s what makes it possible for us to wait in hope.

At other times, faith means that we stand in faith and watch for God to answer. This posture is more active. Psalm 27:13 expresses this approach: “I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” Sometimes we find ourselves in impossible situations, situations in which it seems that there’s no way out. In those situations, our faith means that we “stand and watch” for God to carry out his purpose. 

Then there are times when faith means that we walk in obedience. Psalm 25:4-5 says it this way: “Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation.” One of the most important examples of faith in the Bible is Abraham.  In obedience to God’s call, he set out on a journey not knowing the destination (Heb. 11:8). Although he and Sarah lived to see their son Isaac born, there were other elements of God’s promise that they never saw fulfilled. And so it is for us—through faith we walk in obedience even when we may not understand our experience with life.

Faith is a resource for every season of life. Whether we’re in crisis, or discouraged, or even questioning the value of faith itself, the very act of turning to God is itself an act of faith. We can do that in a variety of ways—whether it’s noticing the beauty of nature, or the purity of a child’s heart, or the warmth of friends who stay true through thick and thin. These practical steps can help us remember that God always cares for us like a loving shepherd. Whatever posture our faith may take, we can keep turning to God again and again without wavering by paying attention to all the ways God sustains us with love that never fails.

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[1] © 2020 Alan Brehm. A sermon delivered by Rev. Alan Brehm, Ph. D. on 6/28/2020 at Hickman Presbyterian Church, Hickman, NE.

[2] Cf. James L. Mays, Psalms, 79: “The psalm leads those who read and pray it from protest and petition to praise; it holds all three together as if to teach that they cohere in the unity of prayer.”

Losing and Finding

Losing and Finding

Matthew 10:34-39[1]

As a person who has spent a lifetime studying the Bible, it amazes me how we can “water down” what can be rather “edgy.” Jesus calls us to follow him on a path that leads to a cross, and we “filter” that message until it sounds more like “be a good person.” The measure of how much we dilute Jesus’ teachings is that nobody “lynches” someone for telling people to “be a good person.” Neither the Roman authorities nor the Jewish religious leaders would have been so threatened by Jesus for just telling people to “be good.” They used the shocking image of dying on a cross to send a message: this is what happens to people who rock the boat.

When I think about it, I guess it’s not all that surprising that we “filter” Jesus’ demands. I’ve spent a lifetime teaching and preaching the Bible, and I do it myself! We all have a “comfort level” with our lives, and we tend to stay safely within the confines of what’s comfortable. And whenever anyone comes along and threatens our safety or our comfort, we don’t typically respond very well. In fact, we don’t respond well when something causes us to move beyond what is convenient! Think about how we welcome it is when someone interrupts our leisure time. It’s certainly not for me! We have a pattern to our lives, and we like to stay in that pattern. We don’t respond well to having to change it in the least!

But Jesus called for those who would follow him to leave behind their pattern of living—including not only their leisure and convenience, but also their comfort and safety! Jesus made some demands of his disciples that we like to “filter” to make them easier for us to swallow. He told them “If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away” (Matt. 18:8)! He said, it’s “easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God” (Matt. 19:23)! And one that may not sound hard, but in reality is probably the hardest to swallow: “many who are first will be last, and the last will be first” (Matt. 19:30)!

Our typical response to these “hard sayings” of Jesus is that we’re not supposed to take them “literally,” whatever that may mean. But when we look at our Gospel lesson for today in light of this background, I would say that Jesus had something very important to say to his disciples about the cost of following him. While I doubt he envisioned them actually maiming themselves, Jesus definitely meant what he said to them. Following him would require them to give up other aspects of their lives. That’s a message that seems to have gotten “filtered” out of our understanding of the Gospel.

In our lesson for today, Jesus speaks to some of the basic parameters of our lives: things we take for granted, like safety and family. It may be hard for us to grasp that Jesus said he came not to bring peace, but a sword. On the other hand, it’s not hard to see the division that results when someone actually dares to take Jesus at his word and does something about it! It may be hard for us to grasp that Jesus said he came to set the members of families against each other. While I don’t believe that Jesus was intending to attack the family, I think he knew that those who were serious about living out their commitment to him would find themselves separated from their families, and perhaps even cut off from them.

And so it is that Jesus tells his disciples one of the hardest things for us to comprehend: “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me” (Matt. 10:37). To say that our faith in Jesus must take precedence over loving our parents or our children cuts against the grain of everything we believe. Those are some of the closest, most precious relationships we have. In some cases, we would sacrifice a great deal for those relationships. And yet, I guess the question Jesus asks us all is whether we’re willing to give up our lives and all that we cherish in them in order to follow him. That’s a tough question I’m not sure many of us are prepared to answer!

Jesus made clear what following him would mean: going to a cross.[2] In our lesson he says, “whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me” (Matt. 10:38). This may be difficult for us to hear when we use the cross for decoration. But in that day, the cross was a brutal form of “lynching,” meant to squelch opposition to the powers that be. When Jesus calls all who would follow him to a cross, he’s not talking about inconveniences, or the normal hardships of life. He’s calling us to follow his example of giving our selves away in the “love that serves others no matter how much it costs.”[3]

I believe that’s what Jesus was talking about when he said, “those who lose their life for my sake will find it” (Matt. 10:39). We find our lives truly fulfilled when we give our “selves” away in a love that serves others no matter what it costs, just as Jesus did. Unfortunately, we tend to get that backwards. We like to think that we can follow Jesus and have our lives, with all the safety and comfort, convenience and leisure we’ve come to expect. But Jesus said that when we cling to those things, we really “lose” our lives. It’s difficult to grasp, but we have to reverse our thinking to do so. Finding life, true life, happens to those who are willing to “lose” their lives in service to others.

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[1] © 2020 Alan Brehm. A sermon delivered by Rev. Alan Brehm, Ph. D. on 6/21/2020 at Hickman Presbyterian Church, Hickman, NE.

[2] Cf. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Discipleship, 84-89; esp. p. 87: “Whenever Christ calls us, his call leads us to death.”

[3] David Garland, Mark, 335.

Wise and Innocent

Wise and Innocent

Matthew 10:1-23[1]

We live in a world where appearances can be deceiving. That statement applies as much to the Church as it does to any other area of life. I find it amazing that sometimes the people who present themselves as most pious, holy, and upright are in reality those who can be the most cruel, the least generous, and certainly not people who are merciful and compassionate. And conversely, sometimes those who best live out God’s generous and unrestricted grace and mercy and love can seem to be the most impious people. I suspect that may be one of the reasons why the Christian faith has been so discredited in our culture.

Unfortunately, those of us who have spent our lives in the Church can be people who try to “keep up appearances.” I believe that we have times of upheaval in our society because the “appearances” have never fully concealed the reality that lay underneath—prejudice, hypocrisy, dishonesty, greed, selfishness, and violence. Many of us may look back to the “good old days” as a time when life was better. But those days weren’t so good for everyone. I would say that the cultural upheaval we experience from time to time is so forceful because so much injustice has been covered over by “appearances.”

When Jesus sent his disciples out to spread the good news that “the Kingdom of God is at hand” to the cities of Judea, he wanted them to be clear about what they would be facing. Betrayal. Suspicion. Possible arrest for “disturbing the peace.” Being put on trial before local authorities, who would not be receptive to their message. And perhaps even enduring violence against them, as implied by the statement, “I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves” (Matt. 10:16). It doesn’t take much common sense to figure out that kind of situation usually doesn’t end well for the “sheep”!

Some of the other instructions may be a bit more confusing. The fact that they could expect betrayal at the hands of their own family seems shocking to us. And yet, at the time, any Jewish person who embraced faith in Jesus was likely going to be thrown out of the synagogue and shunned by family and friends. I think Jesus wanted them to be clear that they could expect the same opposition he faced. It may be hard for us to imagine them being “hated by all because of my name” (Matt. 10:22). But that was what they were facing when they went out to share the good news with their fellow Judeans.

One of the more difficult instructions Jesus gives the disciples is that they were to be “wise as serpents and innocent as doves” (Matt. 10:16). Just on the surface of it, it seems contradictory. How can one be like a “serpent” and a “dove” at the same time? But if you dig deeper, you find that the Greek word for “wise” when associated with a “serpent” has some history in the Bible. The “serpent” in the Garden of Eden was said to be “wiser” or “more crafty” than any other creature (Gen. 3:1; using the same Greek word as Matt. 10:16). And the serpent demonstrated that “craftiness” by deceiving Adam and Eve. That makes the apparent contradiction even stronger.

In the context of Jesus’ teachings, it’s hard to imagine that Jesus wanted his disciples to be “crafty” in that sense of the term. A better translation would be that they were to be “prudent.” They needed to know that their lives were in danger. And they needed to know that they couldn’t trust everyone they met. In light of those unfortunate realities, they would have to be “prudent” about the way they went about the work of proclaiming the good news. They needed to know that not every house that invited them in would truly be welcoming. They needed be prepared for the dangers they would face and take appropriate steps to protect themselves when possible.

On the other hand, Jesus made it clear that they were to be “innocent as doves.” This instruction may be more challenging to us. The idea is that they were to go about the work of proclaiming the gospel with pure motives. There were plenty of wandering preachers in that day whose sole intent was to make a buck. Jesus didn’t want his disciples to be viewed in that way. So he told them demonstrate their pure motives by not even taking the most basic necessities. As Jesus was defenseless against the attacks that ultimately claimed his life, he sent out his disciples as “sheep among wolves.” This was by design. The very pattern of Jesus’ life was a demonstration of how far the society of that day had strayed from God’s ways.[2] And their opposition and even violence against him only strengthened that indictment.

It may seem hard to know how we can be “wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” We may not face opposition and even violence for being a Christian. Nevertheless, the injustice that reacted violently to Jesus in his day is still a part of our human experience. And that injustice still follows the same violent pattern whenever anyone stands up and declares God’s truth. I think that’s where the wisdom comes in. We have to understand that there are people in this world who will oppose us when we stand up for God’s truth. We also have to be prudent about how we go about that, knowing when to stand up and when to stand fast. But that’s also where the innocence comes in. We can only share the good news of the Kingdom as we demonstrate it by the integrity of our lives.

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[1] © 2020 Alan Brehm. A sermon delivered by Rev. Alan Brehm, Ph. D. on 6/14/2020 at Hickman Presbyterian Church, Hickman, NE.

[2] Cf. Ulrich Luz, Matthew: A Commentary, ed. H. Koester, 82: “To live as a disciple is to live as Jesus does. That is why telling about this Jesus is so important for Matthew. Jesus’ way of living is a prophetic sign that embodies the truth of his message of the kingdom of God.”