Hungry in the Desert - Part Six

And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. Again he sent other servants, saying, 'Tell those who are invited, See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.' But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.' And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests.

"But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. And he said to him, 'Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?' And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, 'Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' For many are called, but few are chosen."
[Matthew 22:1-14, ESV]

What does this parable have to do with being “hungry in the desert”? After all, Jesus spoke this parable in the temple in downtown Jerusalem, not in the wilderness. It was directed against the Chief Priests and Pharisees whose hearts were hardened against him, not to eager followers. It concerns the most exciting of celebrations – a (royal) wedding – not a famine. Yet it speaks to us as we experience spiritual dryness and as we pursue the kingdom of God.

The first thing to note is that Jesus repeatedly uses this picture of a wedding feast as a description of the kingdom of God. We are often tempted to think of the kingdom of God as a poor and needy thing – something we need to prop up with our giving and our labour. This is especially true when we are experiencing spiritual dryness ourselves. Everything we do, every act of service, every prayer, even cracking the cover on our Bible, feels like a chore. But this isn’t true! It is a fabulous feast, a celebration. It is not dour. It’s not a long drawn out meal dominated by a dreary, and slightly embarrassing, speech made by tipsy Uncle Bob. It’s not an eight hour TV special with exclusive pictures licensed to a particular tabloid. It is more like the story from the 1987 Danish film “Babette’s Feast”.

Babette’s Feast

“In 19th century Denmark, two adult sisters live in an isolated village with their father, who is the honoured pastor of a small Protestant church that is almost a sect unto itself. Although they each are presented with a real opportunity to leave the village, the sisters choose to stay with their father, to serve to him and their church. After some years, a French woman refugee, Babette, arrives at their door, begs them to take her in, and commits herself to work for them as aid/housekeeper/cook. Sometime after their father dies, the sisters decide to hold a dinner to commemorate the 100th anniversary of his birth. Babette experiences unexpected good fortune and implores the sisters to allow her to take charge of the preparation of the meal. Although they are secretly concerned about what Babette, a Catholic and a foreigner, might do, the sisters allow her to go ahead. Babette [who had been a famous chef in Paris] then prepares the feast of a lifetime for the members of the tiny church and an important gentleman related to one of them.”

[Babette’s Feast, http://www.imdb.com/]

The struggle to follow Jesus here and now may cloud our perspective of the true nature of the kingdom of God. We can extrapolate our present experience into an endless future and fall into despair. But the beautiful picture the Bible presents of a glorious royal wedding feast awaiting the guests should draw us forward. The true destiny of those who pursue Christ, who pursue the kingdom of God here and now, through times of abundance and spiritual drought, is to arrive at a celebration when the kingdom of God is consummated that is beyond imagining.

Anyone who watched the last royal wedding will realise that the money spent on clothing – the wedding dress, the clothes of the attendants, and the guests – and the ceremony, and the feast that follows was extravagant. It was a massive celebration, not just for the family but for the whole nation. And the royal marriage feast of the lamb will cause any earthly royal wedding to pale in comparison.

Read this story from BBC.com about the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer on 29th July 1981:

Crowds of 600,000 people filled the streets of London to catch a glimpse of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer on their wedding day. The couple were married at St Paul's Cathedral before an invited congregation of 3,500 and an estimated global TV audience of 750 million - making it the most popular programme ever broadcast. Britons enjoyed a national holiday to mark the occasion.

Lady Diana, 20, arrived almost on time for the 1120 BST ceremony after making the journey from Clarence House in the Glass Coach with her father, Earl Spencer. She made the three-and-a-half minute walk up the red-carpeted aisle with the sumptuous 25 ft (7.62 m) train of her Emmanuel designed, ivory taffeta and antique lace gown flowing behind her.

Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Robert Runcie led the traditional Church of England service, but he was assisted by clergymen from many denominations. The bride's nerves showed briefly when she mixed up the Prince's names - calling him Philip Charles Arthur George, rather than Charles Philip. Charles, 32, in the full dress uniform of a naval commander, slightly muddled his vows too, referring to "thy goods" rather than "my worldly goods". After a brief private signing ceremony, the Prince and Princess of Wales walked back down the aisle to the refrain of Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance.

The newlyweds took the open-topped state landau to Buckingham Palace where they emerged on the balcony at 1310 BST to give the crowds the kiss they had been longing to see. Afterwards Charles and Diana retired from the public gaze to enjoy toasts and a wedding breakfast with 120 family guests. A "just married" sign attached to the landau by Princes Andrew and Edward raised smiles as the married couple were driven over Westminster Bridge to get the train to Romsey in Hampshire to begin their honeymoon.

In comparison we have John’s prophecy,

Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure"-- for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. And the angel said to me, "Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb." And he said to me, "These are the true words of God."
[Revelation 19:6-10, ESV]

A royal wedding is a major affair. It is a celebration that everyone in the country takes part in, even though only a relative few may be invited to the feast. It carries national and political significance. After all, the reason King Solomon got into so much trouble was because marriage formed the basis of so many of his international alliances. In Jesus’ time the feast was not just a “breakfast”, but a seven or fourteen day marathon of feasting! The point to focus on and remember is that the kingdom of God is a major affair, a celebration, with huge significance for the whole of humanity.

But Jesus’ story is not about the royal wedding feast itself. It is focussed on the invitation to attend the feast. The king’s leading subjects in a city were invited. And they rejected that invitation. This amounted to rejection of the king’s authority, to rebellion. The mistreatment of his messengers was public humiliation of the king. This parable was told, in the first place, against the leaders of the Jews. The nation of Israel had been chosen to be God’s people. Through the prophets they had received lots of advance notice about the coming King. But when the long-awaited Messiah arrived in the form of Jesus, they rejected him. The chosen ones had proven themselves unworthy. The destruction of the city in v.7 must clearly be understood as a prophecy against Jerusalem itself, fulfilled in 70AD.

The invitation is then extended to both “the bad and the good”. This is a reference to the inclusion of the Gentiles. It emphasises the universal or unconditional nature of the kingdom of God. It is not just limited to the Pharisees and other religious leaders. It is not just limited to God’s chosen people, Israel. It is extended universally to all people everywhere. But this had always been God’s intention.

We can jump back to the story of Abraham and review the promise that God gave him,

Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."
[Genesis 12:1-3, ESV]

The climax of God’s promise to Abraham was that all the nations (or families) of the earth would be blessed. Abraham, and his descendents - the nation of Israel - were chosen to be the source of blessing to all nations. Their failure to live up to that role, caused by focussing on themselves, led to the hard-heartedness that brought God’s judgement – upon the nation, and upon the leaders in Jesus’ day. What does the selfishness of the people in Jesus’ parable look like? Some were apathetic to the invitation to the feast and just went about their own business. Some were filled with antipathy or hostility to the king and abused his servants and killed them. The Greek word translated as “treating them shamefully” is the word we derive the English word “hubris” from. Hubris means “arrogance” or “insolence”. Both apathy and antipathy brought judgement.

What does apathy look like in today’s society? What does it look like in today’s church? What does it look like in my life?

What does antipathy or arrogance look like in today’s society? What does it look like in today’s church? What does it look like in my life?

After seeing the troops sent in to quash the rebellion among the elite, the general populace are more than willing to attend the king’s sumptuous feast. The invitation is indiscriminate. It was offered to anyone who was walking on the roads through, in or out of town. It was extended to those who were honest, hard-working farmers and to the slimey tax collectors. It included the hard-working wives and the promiscuous prostitutes. It included residents and foreign travellers. Both good and bad were invited to join the celebration. The leaders had proven themselves unworthy. These guests were not presumed to be worthy, they were just invited.

This is helpful for us to remember when we are experiencing a spiritual desert. In Part One we spoke about the frequent encounters with God that his people experienced in the desert. The reason these encounters were so special is because the usual blessings of God are not present in the desert. In fact, the desert or wilderness was usually seen as a place inhabited by evil spirits (c.f. Jesus temptation from Satan in the wilderness, the man possessed by a legion of demons). The desert fathers spoke about how Satan loved to point out their shortcomings, sin and failure during their desert fast. Those of us who wander through a spiritual desert can feel like we are outcasts from God’s kingdom. We can feel unworthy of any spiritual encounter with God. We can experience a heightened awareness of our sin and feel even more distant from God. This parable, with its driving message of the universal, unconditional invitation of the kingdom of God should encourage us to keep pursuing it even when we are most aware of our sin.

The invitation is universal, but it is not unconditional. The second part of this parable makes that clear. The change in tone of the king’s encounter with his guest has caused commentators some confusion. Some think of this as a later story added to the end, or a second parable independent of the first. It definitely makes a different point to the first part of the parable, but it complements the first point. The second point is that to be accepted at the wedding feast, the guests must accept the king’s gracious provision of wedding clothes.

The man spotted by the king must have refused the garments the king supplied to all the other guests. He thought that the invitation was all that was needed. He considered himself worthy of attendance, just because he had been invited. He didn’t act as though the wedding feast a special occasion. He ignored the fact that it meant submitting everything he had to the king. To refuse the king’s offer of appropriate attire was an act of “hubris” too.

In the same way, all are invited to enter the kingdom of God. There is no one who is excluded, unwelcome or left out. But accepting the invitation means surrendering ourselves totally to the Father and accepting all that he has provided for us through the death and resurrection of Jesus. It is a response of faith, demonstrated through obedience.

“God has provided the feast of the kingdom. It is the wedding feast for his Son. The invitation goes out far and wide. If you reject it, you miss the party. If you think you can get in relying on your own fitness, you will be thrown out.”
Michael Green

"Only our refusal to trust him . . . can hinder his purposes in our lives."
Joni Eareckson Tada

There is a difference between experiencing a spiritual desert and being cast out into the place of outer darkness. In the desert we are humbled, seeking after God’s righteousness. I have been there – aware of my sin and yearning for God’s empowering presence. In the outer darkness we are filled with angry hubris and mourning at our lost opportunity. I have seen a friend go there – angry at God, filled with darkness, yet still shaking his fist and arguing that God can’t exist. What is the condition of my heart?

Hungry in the Desert - Part Five

When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread. Jesus said to them, "Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees." And they began discussing it among themselves, saying, "We brought no bread." But Jesus, aware of this, said, "O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread? Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees." Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
[Matthew 16:5-12]

Here we go again. Jesus and his disciples retreat across Galilee to a desolate place. Robertson’s “Harmony of the Gospels” suggests that this is the fourth trip recorded. (Thomas & Gundry’s Harmony doesn’t specify the number). Whether there were four trips, or more than four trips, there is clearly a pattern that develops. When ministry becomes too intense, Jesus takes his disciples away until things calm down.

And ministry had been intense. Just prior to this trip, Jesus fed the four thousand in a desolate place with seven loaves and a few small fish. And the Pharisees and Sadducees had demanded a sign from heaven!?!?! His popularity, and the accompanying opposition, required him to withdraw. Why? Because neither those who praised him nor those who opposed him understood his mission. That should not surprise us, because neither did his disciples.

Jesus’ disciples were concerned with getting through the day. Amidst a busy schedule, it is easy to forget the basics. Like the plate spinner, we can begin to focus on the thing that is wobbling, without taking time to step back and see what is actually the priority. It is easy to make things complicated. The secret to success is to make the complicated simple.

There has been a running joke within our ministry about my idea of what it takes to run a conference. With conferences of hundreds of students turning up, the issues are quite complex and there are many, many details to keep track of. With the way we run our Mid Year Conferences, an error in the budget of a dollar or so per student can be the difference between breaking even or making a huge loss. But I have said for many years, the key to a successful conference is to have a good venue, a good speaker, and to have students turn up. Keeping the principles simple allows us to make good decisions about the details.

The disciples were worried about the “here and now”, but Jesus had brought them on retreat in order to train them for future ministry. So, he gives them a warning, but it goes straight over their heads. He is warning about dangers posed by outsiders, they think he is pointing out their own failing. (I have done that too – taken a general comment as a personal criticism).

Why warn his disciples about the Pharisees and Sadducees? The religious leaders looked like the good guys. As one commentator put it, no one needs a warning that the guy coming at you with a knife is dangerous. But the Pharisees and Sadducees were the “good guys”. They were religious. They taught the Bible. They sought to honour God with their whole lives. In many ways, the differences between Jesus and the Pharisees, at least on paper, were quite subtle.

The big difference was in their picture of what God was doing in the world. Their teaching, which is what Jesus warns about, reflected their understanding of how God was working and how he was going to work. It was in direct conflict with Jesus’ teaching about the kingdom of God.

How we view God and his work in the world directly impacts our thinking and our actions and our emotions. The challenge Tom Wright poses is,
“If we are beginning to understand what Jesus’ mission was all about, and to make it the foundation of our faith and hope, do we understand what he is doing right now, not only in our lives, but in our world?”
Tom Wright “Mark for Everyone” p.105

We need to get our big picture of God and the kingdom right if we are going to make wise and godly decisions about life and ministry in the detail.

One illustration of this comes from the business world. Many companies have moved, over recent decades, to a more flat organisational structure. The employees on the “frontline” – at the retail store, or on the factory floor – have been given more and more responsibility to make decisions that used to rest with middle management. Now there are two ways of helping those frontline employees make the right decisions.

The first way is to think of every possible scenario that they might face, decide ahead of time what the best response would be (from an organisational point of view) and develop a system – a training program or a manual – which would then empower those employees to respond appropriately. The weakness of this high control approach is that it is well nigh impossible to anticipate every possible scenario. And the multitude of scenarios and variations result in manuals that are like a series of phone books that no one can really absorb.

The second way is the impart a clear and compelling vision of what the whole organisation is working towards, and a set of values that the organisation wants expressed as it works towards that vision, and then release the employees to make up their own responses within those parameters. This is incredibly motivating for employees who are given real power to make real decisions. The greatest challenge for the organisation is to keep the vision fresh and at the forefront of everyone’s minds.

Some people, when warned to watch out for the teaching of the Pharisees, want to go through the details of their “training manuals” and query whether each proposed solution was right or wrong. But what I think Jesus is doing here with his disciples is warning them that the Pharisees’ whole vision and values were coming from a wrong place. If the disciples followed the details of the Pharisees teaching it would eventually lead them to adopt a wrong picture of God and how he worked in the world.

Now let’s return to the moment when the disciples took Jesus comment as a personal criticism. Obviously it was because they were focussed on the here and now issue of the bread. And Jesus rebukes them for that too. Over and over again he has taught them not to worry about their physical needs. Twice now in Matthew’s gospel he has turned a few loaves into enough bread to feed thousands, with basketfuls left over. And still the disciples are concerned that they haven’t adequately provided for themselves.

We experience anxiety when we fail to recall God’s previous acts of provision. How many times, and in how many ways, has God provided for you? And yet with each new challenge, do you immediately respond with anxiety and fear? One of the things I admired about Dr Bill Bright (founder of Campus Crusade) was his faith. As I read his biography it became clear to me that he was not born with an amazing faith. It was not bestowed upon him in a unique moment by a benevolent God. It was like a muscle that he exercised. God called him forward into the unknown and each step was an adventure into the unknown that required faith in the God whom he did know. His first efforts at fundraising were for thousands of dollars, but within a few years of launching the ministry they needed to acquire a headquarters that meant raising millions of dollars. No one sets out initially to raise millions of dollars. You have to build up to it. As you learn to trust God to provide a little, he will then challenge you to trust him for more.

When you are surrounded by plenty, you don’t need to trust God. But God’s vision and values for the world invite you to engage with something much bigger than the resources you currently have, or can access yourself. That’s the life of faith. If you are living within your current resources – time, money, influence, ability, knowledge – and if you think that is all that God expects of you, I wonder if you have accepted some view of God that is not the one revealed in the Scriptures. Faith means living out trust in God. If we are relying on ourselves, we aren’t trusting God. If we aren’t trying things which are beyond ourselves, we are relying on ourselves. But the reed will splinter in our hand. We need to, and we are called to, trust in God.

And what about those times when we try to trust God and it all falls flat?

Firstly, consider whether we are still in the desert. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be satisfied” was Jesus promise. But when will they be satisfied? Unlike the crowds who had a bit of a tummy rumble as the sun was setting, Jesus endured 40 days and 40 nights in the wilderness and he was HUNGRY! I’d hate to last 1 day or 7 days or 39 days in the desert, and then conclude that God wasn’t going to provide and give up.

Secondly, consider what provision we are hungering for. What is “righteousness”? JP Moreland describes two contrasting views about the goal for our lives. He begins,

“From Old Testament times and ancient Greece until this century, the good life was widely understood to mean a life of intellectual and moral virtue. The good life is the life of ideal human functioning according to the nature God Himself gave to us… the successful person was one who knew how to live life well according to what we are by nature due to the creative design of God…. So understood, happiness involves suffering, endurance and patience because these are important means to becoming a good person who lives the good life.”
[Love Your God with All Your Mind, JP Moreland, P.35]

Then he continues,

“According to the modern view, the good life is the satisfaction of any pleasure or desire that someone freely and autonomously chooses for himself or herself. The successful person is the individual who has a life of pleasure and can obtain enough consumer goods to satisfy his or her desires.”
[Love Your God with All Your Mind, JP Moreland, P.37]

Let me finish this part with one final quote, from Tom Wright. In Mark’s account of this episode, Jesus quotes from Jeremiah 5:21 saying,

“Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear?”

Tom Wright says that the Pharisees and Sadducees in Jesus’ day reminded Jesus of the people of Jeremiah’s day,

“People were so caught up in their own concerns, and so unconcerned about injustice and wickedness in their own society, that God had no alternative but to abandon them to their fate at the hands of foreigners”
[Tom Wright, Mark for Everyone p.105]

Hungry in the Desert - Part Three

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?

And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

"Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Matthew 6:25-34 [ESV]

I couldn’t write about Matthew’s thoughts on hunger and overlook this passage. In these verses, Jesus unpacks for us one of the major stumbling blocks we face when hungering and thirsting after righteousness: fear or anxiety.

But this section begins with the word “therefore”, which directs our thoughts back to the previous verses. Earlier in the chapter, the focus on Jesus’ teaching was on the practice of spiritual disciplines, or the “practicing of righteousness” (6:1). The first thing he says is “when you give…”, and then “when you pray…” and thirdly “when you fast…” (Notice it is “when”, not “if”. Even for fasting). The goal of these practices is not to accumulate wealth on earth, which is vulnerable, but to store up treasure in heaven, which is secure. After instructing his followers in the three “practices of righteousness”, Jesus concludes each with the promise “And your Father in heaven who sees in secret will reward you.” (Matthew 6:4, 6, 18) So the challenge Jesus issues just prior to our passage is clear: “You cannot serve God and money”.

Anxiety (“μεριμνατε”) comes from the root phrase μεριζειν τον νουν (“dividing the mind”). Many of the older commentaries focussed on the question, “what does this mean about planning for your life?” This is an important question, and the simple answer is that this passage does not preclude planning or ambition, it addresses worry or anxiety.

Anxiety is the result when you try to control or manage things beyond your power. In ministry, this is the world I live in constantly. There is no way that I can control who gives money to support us. I cannot control who or how many will respond to the gospel. I have no power over students to make them grow in their faith, to make them turn up to meetings or Bible studies. Anxiety is a constant threat in ministry. I can try to compensate by over-controlling other areas of my life, or imagining situations where I am powerful and in control. But becoming a control-freak or imagining a fantasy life is not pursuing righteousness. They lead me into the desert - a wasteland of broken relationships, half-baked ideas, distractions and self-indulgence. The answer is not fantasy but faith.

Faith is the only responsible response because it is responding to the reality of the one who really has all the power and who really is in control. Jesus provides three reasons for placing my trust in God.

Firstly, he is the one who gave me life and who made my body (v.25). His power was not exhausted by the act of creation. His power is limitless. His love is boundless. Surely the God who gave me these greater things, my life and body, will also provide me with the lesser things to accompany them - food, drink and clothing. It reminds me of one of my favourite verses, Romans 8:32, where Paul talks about sanctification following justification,

“He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?”

We have not exhausted our Father’s generosity, his grace. Just as he gave us life, he wants to provide food, drink and clothes for us. Just as he has saved us, he wants to make us righteous, mature, godly, competent fellow-workers in his kingdom.

Secondly, Jesus compares our situation with the seemingly ridiculous situation of the birds and the flowers (v.26, 28-30). I am fascinated by the behaviour and beauty of the birdlife in Sydney. It is so diverse. The sounds, the colours, the quirks of so many different species just grab my attention. Just yesterday I was walking through the bushland behind our place and saw a sulphur crested cockatoo poking its head out of its nest in a hole in a gum tree about 40’ off the ground while others from the flock circled around squawking raucously. And as I get older, I am gaining appreciation for the aesthetic beauty of flowers in the garden. I even planted bulbs! Jesus says that these displays are the result of God’s providential activity. And we are worth more to God than these lesser creations.

Thirdly, worry is unproductive because we are powerless to make significant changes anyway (v.27). We cannot make ourselves taller. We cannot delay death for a day. I wrote back in part one that we use our (God-given) creativity and capability to mask our true dependence on God. As soon as I wrote that we cannot delay death a day my mind started arguing with the statement. What about healthy living? Regular exercise? Modest diet? Life support? But these are trivialities compared the great overarching truth that we do not determine our birth or our death. Those control points should, like wandering through a spiritual desert, remind us of our constant dependence on God.

But in our Western society we have isolated ourselves from those control points. Once upon a time, a whole family lived under the same roof and went through all of the stages of life together. Children were birthed in the family home, not some sterile maternity ward. Grandparents grew frail and forgetful amidst the hustle and bustle of family life, not in some retirement village or nursing home. Children grew up seeing birth and death regularly. Most of the young adults I know have never seen a dead body or had anyone close to them pass away. We have lost the accompaniment to the rhythm of life. We become soloists rather than members of a full orchestra. We depend totally on our own skill for the end result. Yet the Psalmist is able to write:

"O LORD, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days;
let me know how fleeting I am!
Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths,
and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath!
Surely a man goes about as a shadow! Surely for nothing they are in turmoil;
man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather!
[Psalm 39:4-6]

To fail to trust God, to choose instead to anxiously pursue our own power and control, is to act like the Gentiles – those who do not know God. In other words, we may say we are following Jesus but in practice we are living like atheists. The life of faith requires faith, not just a commitment to an alternative lifestyle. Faith may be lived out in the alternative lifestyle (i.e. support-raising may be done as an expression of faith in God, or by following a system that “works”) or it may not. It may be lived out in the mainstream lifestyle (e.g. employment), or it may not. Only an atheist would deny that God is the source of their ability (mental, physical, etc.) and opportunity to earn money through their occupation. Yet as followers of Jesus it is all too easy in our materialistic, humanistic culture to attribute any success we have to our own capability and creativity, and to ignore God.

A friend of mine shared recently that a new role he had at work was beyond his ability to perform or to meet the expectations placed on him. He confessed that he was praying for God to enable him to do what he needed to do. I have had a similar experience as I have taken on new roles in ministry over the years. Initially it is very easy to feel inexperienced, lacking capability and to express dependence on God. But when the competence and experience comes, then my awareness of my dependence on God also waned.

Still, Jesus is commanding us to be single minded in our pursuit of the kingdom of God and his righteousness, not dividing our attention between God and money. Our divided mind comes when we fail to acknowledge reality, when our beliefs fail to lead us to faith.

What are we to believe?
Firstly, that the God who created us – gave us a body and life – values us sufficiently to provide everything else we need.
Secondly, we are powerless to control so many of the outcomes we become anxious about.
Thirdly, that God the Father knows everything we need, and is committed to providing it.
Do you accept these points as true? Do they frame the foundation of your life? How do they affect the way you live? How do they affect your prayer life? How do they affect your ideas about your career?

As the nation of Israel stood on the verge of entering the Promised Land, God renewed his covenant with them. He began by reminding them of their journey out of Egypt and said,

I have led you forty years in the wilderness. Your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandals have not worn off your feet. You have not eaten bread, and you have not drunk wine or strong drink, that you may know that I am the LORD your God… Therefore keep the words of this covenant and do them, that you may prosper in all that you do.
[Deuteronomy 29:5-6, 9]

When we think about God promising to provide for our food, drink and clothing in Matthew’s gospel, how can we not recall his amazing provision for Israel during their 40 years of wandering. His purpose was to shape them into his covenant people, a people who would know him, follow him, be blessed by him and be a light to the world. The example of the Israelites should be both an encouragement and a warning to us. Do not be anxious or have a divided mind. Instead, pursue God’s kingdom and his righteousness.

Hungry in the Desert - Part Two

Part Two:

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”
Matthew 5:6 (ESV)

"Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied."
Luke 6:21 (ESV)

While teaching the beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus refers to hunger. This is not a physical hunger, but a strong desire for righteousness that is best described by the gnawing ache we have for something without which we cannot live.

The beatitudes are a list of wonderful promises. The poor, the starving, the destitute will have their longings fulfilled in the kingdom that Jesus is inaugurating. There is a promise of satisfaction.

There is a battle between different Christian traditions as to whether the beatitudes refer to material satisfaction (i.e. justice for the poor and oppressed) or to spiritual satisfaction (i.e. for the spiritually poor and needy). I don’t know if we have to choose between the “freedom for the oppressed” interpretation (which usually relies on Luke’s account of the beatitudes) and the “saving our souls” interpretation. With our “now but not yet” kingdom of God, I think there is room for both meanings.

Some have also suggested that the desire for righteousness, or justice, is limited to the poor and oppressed who do not have the power to demand (political, economic) justice in this world. I think, however, that Jesus is referring to our desire for spiritual righteousness, which is also definitely beyond our power to obtain by ourselves. But is that righteousness, which can only come from God, the righteousness of being justified by faith (i.e. the rightness of God received, even though we are not perfect) or is it the righteousness of a totally transformed, sanctified life? I don’t think anyone who has been truly justified can be satisfied by anything less than total transformation – of themselves and of the world.

And this leads us to think about what is meant by righteousness. It is more than just fulfilling the legal code, the Law, as the Pharisees aimed to do. It is more than fulfilling the moral code. Righteousness is about right-relatedness. It is about being in right relationship with God and with each other. To hunger and thirst after righteousness, then, is to hunger and thirst for a right relationship with God – not just to begin the relationship, but a “whole of life” relationship. It is also about being in a right relationship with those around us – which means we must treat them honestly, fairly and lovingly. Who is our neighbour? Jesus’ response is, “Anyone in need”. Therefore it is appropriate to talk about righteousness in terms of political or economic justice in the here-and-now, because it flows out of a right-relatedness with God in the hear-and-now.

To hunger and thirst for righteousness means, then, that we recognise at the core of our being our own unrighteousness, our wrong-relatedness to God and each other, and we set out on a quest to find what we are missing. And as I reflect on my own culture, I see a desperate lack of awareness of our own unrighteousness. The dominant deception is that “I’m an ok bloke” or “she’ll be right”. The quests people are on at the moment are for increased consumption – the fleeting satisfaction that comes from a new TV, or a fancier car, or a better job. They are looking for greater security. Amidst the fast pace of life, it is easier to skip over our failures – our failures to keep our word or to live in healthy relationships or to examine our morals. In Part One we considered Jesus’ model of stepping away from the hustle and bustle and seeking his Father. In such periods of reflection, we should not be surprised to be confronted with our failures and weaknesses and our sin. That is the true “us”. And we should be especially aware when we are in close proximity to the totally perfect and Righteous One. Hungering and thirsting for righteousness must lead us to the Righteous One.

The first time I remember responding to the gospel was when I was 8 years old. I remember standing with a few other children after Sunday School being led in a prayer by a teacher. But as important as that moment was, and has been, there were other times through the years I became aware of my sinfulness. I remember, as a teenager, crying out on my bed to God saying that, if I didn’t really surrender to him when I was 8, then I was doing it now. It wasn’t until I joined Student Life that I was taught about assurance of salvation, and how to deal with subsequent sin in my life. Each time I become aware of my unrighteousness, rather than run from God, I now know I should turn to him, ask for his forgiveness and commit to following him again.

The focus of the beatitudes is on being “blessed”. This picks up the Old Testament theme: from Yahweh’s promise to Abraham (Genesis 12:3), and to Israel through Moses (Genesis 27). God’s people were “blessed” by being the objects of God’s affection and favour. Being blessed is more than just being happy. It is a whole sense of well-being that comes from God’s favour.

Blessing comes through having these needs, these longings for right-relatedness satisfied. The promise of satisfaction comes through very strongly in each of the beatitudes. Yet the method of satisfaction is not mentioned.

I should note here that the phrase “will be satisfied” is future tense, passive voice. In other words, it is something that will happen to those who “hunger and thirst”; it is not something they do for themselves. In the context, it is God who satisfies those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. No one can satisfy themselves out of their own resources. Only God, the Righteous One, can give us righteousness and make us righteous. The question becomes, how can we put ourselves in a place where God will cause us to be satisfied?

The beatitudes are not the whole sermon. The whole sermon, known as the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew, goes for 3 chapters. Its focus is on life in the new reality of the kingdom of God. Jesus talks about his follower’s relationship with the outside world, the place of the Law, spiritual disciplines, dependence on God, relationships with others – especially fellow believers - and finishes with a warning about building to withstand a storm. Luke’s account is briefer, it only goes for one chapter, and covers only some of the material in Matthew – loving your enemies, judging others, and building to withstand a storm.

Is there to be found in these sermons a method of blessing or satisfaction? I think the common conclusion to these sermons is the key. Let’s reflect on Luke’s account of Jesus’ conclusion:

"Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do what I tell you? Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great."
Luke 6:46-49 (ESV)

This is the more confronting version of the parable (compared with Matthew’s version). But there are three simple actions that Jesus spells out as being necessary to survive the storm:
1) coming to him;
2) hearing his word; and
3) doing his word.

May I suggest that those of us who want to satisfy a hunger for righteousness follow these three steps?

Firstly, we come to him. We don’t look elsewhere for our needs to be satisfied. We focus our attention on him. We acknowledge his supremacy. We don’t look to others to satisfy our hunger, although we need to be open to whatever God uses to satisfy us. Our attention must be on him. Our first priority is to get our relationship with God sorted out. And that is not a complicated or long process. It simply means that we humble our hearts before him, admit to our failures, brokenness, sin, pride, and selfishness. Our only source of true righteousness is from God the Father through Jesus Christ. The righteousness of God was proven when Jesus died in our place – he dealt with sin once and for all. When we are united with Christ, we receive his righteousness. As Paul says in Romans 5:17,

If, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.

Secondly, we hear his word. Jesus’ word reveals to us the reality that God created, the reality of the emerging kingdom of God. And as we listen to him speak we realise that he places demands on us – on how we think, what we say, what we do. Our priorities are challenged. We have choices to make. We have to choose to align ourselves and our lives with the reality he reveals to us. This battle for the will is not a once-for-all experience. We need to keep hearing Jesus’ word (by which I mean the whole Bible), keep listening to him, and keep choosing to live in light of his word. As Paul says in Romans 5:15,19:

What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! … For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.

Finally, we do his word. This supernatural life is the normal Christian life. It is only possible because we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, who seeks to live Jesus’ life through us. Satisfaction comes when we choose to live in light of this new reality, this emerging kingdom. That is when we experience the blessings of being a Spirit-empowered Christ-follower. We learn to side-step the errors of sin which cause us and those around us so much pain. We learn to practice the disciplines that bring healthy bodies, minds and relationships. We experience the blessings in the here-and-now and into eternity. But do not think that such blessing is only comfortable and pleasurable. Take heed of Jesus’ last line in the beatitudes:

"Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Matthew 5:11-12 [ESV]

Compare this to Paul’s words,

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
Romans 5:1-5 [ESV]