Zechariah 3:1-10, Part 3

Continuing our walk through Zechariah 3, in this post we focus on how the things we read in this chapter continue to have an impact on us.

First, when we look at this story, we see something interesting.  Joshua, the high priest, stands accused by Satan.  He is also found wearing filthy garments.  Some significance of this for us is the reminder that those who serve our Lord by bringing the word to us are sinful human beings (the pastor and others who share that word with us), and that Satan is constantly accusing them and pushing his attacks on them repeatedly.  Truthfully, there is no greater victory for Satan than when he is able to bring about the downfall of a minister of God's grace.  It has great impact on those who are part of that church, and can cause people to doubt their faith in the forgiveness announced through such a person.

One way that impacts us is in our realization that Satan is out to get the one who brings that message of Good News to us.  He is sinful, and Satan will remind him of that quite often.  That means that we are called to be supportive of our minister as a sinful human being who is under attack.  He needs help and support for the work that he does.  He faces attacks from Satan, which means that any attacks against him from within the congregation are actually serving to add fuel to Satan's accusations.  The minister needs prayer, needs tangible support, and needs encouragement, for he faces far more challenges than simply in keeping God's people happy (which, by the way, is NOT what he is called to do, contrary to how many may think.).

When you look at the way chapter 3 ends, you see this interesting little statement.  Every one of you will invite your neighbor to come under his vine and under his fig tree.  One thing God continues to look for in response to His message of Good News is a gracious invitation toward others to come to hear that same Good News.  There is an element of hospitality at work here, both on a personal level (you being hospitable in your life) as well on a congregational level (being hospitable to those who visit, or even seeking to invite others to come hear the Good News).  In essence, as God establishes the message of Good News among His people, He seeks for them to be open hospitable to others, inviting them to share in the same gifts and blessings that they have received themselves.

That urges us to look at the ways that we can be hospitable in our lives.  It's more than just opening up your house to others.  Think of it more as being an open, inviting person in all areas of your life.  Yes, ultimately we hope to invite them to hear and receive the Good News, but even if that doesn't happen, we are still called to be hospitable toward them.  Our hospitality is not to be an evangelistic tool, but to be genuine, even if they don't hear the Good News.  Our hope and prayer is that they become open to that message, but if not, we don't "drop" them as a friend because they are not responding the way we hoped.  Our call to be hospitable isn't to be excercised only if they come to hear the Good News.  It is instead a call to a way of life, through which God's Spirit may choose to work as He wills and as He sees fit.

Zechariah 3:1-10, Part 1

In my absence from worship on July 31, I am posting a few blog entries to cover the Old Testament story/selection from the day.  In this post, we will look at the story being told in Zechariah 3, placing it in the timeline, and pointing out relevant notes from it.  In the next post, we will look to see pictures of Jesus present in this reading, and then, in the third post, we will talk a bit about what this says to us in our daily lives now.

To begin today, let's place Zechariah and his words in the timeline of the Old Testament.  On the large scale, Joshua led the Israelites into the Promised Land approximately 1,500 B.C.  Kings Saul, David, nad Solomon led Israel approximately 1,000 B. C., following which the kingdom split in two, Israel to the north, and Judah to the south.  Israel was defeated by the Assyrians approximately 740 B.C., leaving Judah behind.  Judah was then defeated by the Babylonians, and Jerusalem destroyed, right around 586 B.C.  Seventy years later, under the rule of the Persians, the Israelites began to be sent back to rebuild the city of Jerusalem, approxmiately 520 B.C., under the leadership of Nehemiah the governor and Ezra the priest.  In essence, God resurrected a nation that He had killed, in a great preview of the resurrection of Jesus.

It is in the time period of rebuilding Jerusalem when Zechariah comes to speak to God's people.  We are told in Ezra's book (Ezra 5:1) that Zechariah along with his fellow prophet Haggai were on hand to exhort the people in the rebuilding of the temple.  Through God's working, Darius (the same one who saw Daniel saved from the lion's den) began sending the Israelites back and clearing the way for them to rebuild.  The people began the work well enough, but then began to focus on their own homes.  God sent His prophets to remind them that He is foremost among them, and that, while they should pay attention to their own homes, His home was also of vital importance to their well-being, as He had cleared the way for them to return to their "homeland."

As part of his message, Zechariah then paints this picture recorded in Zechariah 3.  Joshua is the high priest who returned along with Zerubbabel, and is likely the figure we see here.  You notice, reading through the text, that Satan is accusing Joshua.  Joshua is depicted wearing filthy garments, the garmens of sin.  Then, the messenger of God declares that Joshua's filthy clothing should be removed and clean garments with pure vestments be placed upon him.  In many respects, this is symbolic of God restoring the priesthood as the temple is being rebuilt, along with a reminder that it is God alone who cleanses His people, starting even from the one called to be His highest priest.

As you read through the end of chapter 3, you will notice that God, speaking through Zechariah, not only reminds His people that part of being His people includes them remaining faithful to Him, but He also starts to point ahead.  Here we have a reminder of something that God had spoken through Isaiah a couple of centuries earlier, that the Branch would spring up from the root of Jesse, a descendant of David, who would sit on the throne and rule forever.  In what Zechariah is saying here, God is reminding Joshua the priest that He is a sign of the One to come.  The Branch, the coming one, will not only rule from the throne of David, but will also serve as priest, like Joshua and his fellow priests.  The stone with the seven eyes is a rminder that this One will see all things, and that nothing is hidden from Him, whether the things of this earth or the matters of the heart and soul.  In this One, the iniquity of God's people would be removed in a single day (in other words, it would not be a lenghty thing, but something that happened rather quickly), and in that day, God's people would respond with an invitation to come into the bounty of the Lord.

Speaking through Zechariah, God reminds His people of a few important things.  First, God communicates that is is He who performs the cleansing of His servants, especially His priests.  It isn't that they are cleaner than others, but that God makes them clean.  God removes their sin-laden clothing and clothes them with His own righteousness (which we later see as Christ's righteousness).  Second, God reminds His people that His priests are merely a sign pointing toward the great Priest, the One who would come and remove the iniquity of the world in a single day.  That same Priest would see all things.  As a consequence of that, God's people would recognize the great action done for them, and would then extend hospitality to others to share the fruits of what has been given to them, living generous lives, just as they have been generously given.

In the next post, we will talk a little about how we see Jesus in this chapter (I'm sure you have already seen quite a few connections to Him!).

Zechariah 3:1-10 Part 2: Seeing Jesus

In part one on this series of posts on Zechariah 3, we looked at the history and time frame in which this vision was given to Zechariah.  In case you need refreshing, this vision is given at a time when the Israelites are being returned to the land promised to Abraham, and they are rebuilding the walls and the temple, as well as the city of Jerusalem. 

As Jesus Himself says, He is the One whom people who study Scripture seek to find, and He is the one who is the ultimate fulfillment of all Scripture.  So, when we read something like this, we ask ourselves, how do we see Jesus here?  And in this case, there are several distinct things that point us to Jesus.  First, and perhaps foremost, is the position of Joshua.  He is the high priest.  He is the one who speaks to God on behalf of the people, who intercedes for them, who makes sacrifice for them.  While Joshua himself served in that role, we also see that every person who has held such an office was also pointing to the One who truly fulfills the role, that of Jesus. 

It's also interesting to note that Jesus (in Hebrew, Yeshua) and Joshua are essentially the same name.  You could say that the difference in their names is like the difference between an adverb and a participle.  The name Jesus carries the meaning of one who saves.  The name Joshua carries the same meaning.  The one who fills the priestly role is one who saves God's people.  In the case of human high priests, they do so through offering sacrifice on behalf of the people.  In the case of Jesus, He does so through the sacrifice of His very own life. 

That points us to an important way in which we also see Jesus in this vision.  Joshua, the high priest, is given new clean robes in place of the filthy garments he was wearing.  Satan's accusations against him revolved around the fact that Joshua was a sinful human being.  But in being given new garments, he is being clothed in Christ Jesus, and in His righteousness. 

That event took place, as we hear in this chapter, in basically a single day.  Perhaps this carries the meaning that it will happen rather quickly, though the possibilty that it refers to a specific single day can also be applied.  That day would be the day in which the ultimate sacrifice was offered, by the one who is the Branch from the stump of Jesse.  In a single day, that which we call Good Friday, Jesus took the sin of the land and removed it.  He carried it in His very own flesh and blood into death, that its sting and guilt might die. 

Very few visions or pictures from the Old Testament paint as vivid a picture of Jesus as this one.  While it points to Jesus, it also carries deep meaning for us, as we will reflect on in this next post on this chapter.

The Definition of a Steward

"We give Thee but Thine own, whatever gift we bring.  All that we have is Thine alone; a trust, O Lord, from Thee."  Hymn verse

"This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.  Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful."  1 Corinthians 4:1-2.

There is a nasty word that pops up on occasion in Christian gatherings and congregations, usually in the fall, when it is time to start putting together a budget for the coming year.  Stewardship.  A nasty word that brings up images of fearful pastors talking about money, knowing that there are at least a few people sitting in the pews/chairs thinking that all the church wants is their money.  Stewardship has become so connected with money and with capital drives that it really is no wonder that many Christians fear the time when they hear that Stewardship Sunday is coming up, or when it is announced that the stewardship drive is about to begin.

Over the next few days, I want to work a little to help combat some of the fears that arise when we hear that word.  In essence, I actually want to make it even more frightening when we think about it, and yet, less daunting at the same time.  More frightening because we often fail to realize just how much of our lives good stewardship impacts.  Less daunting because it is much more a process that is ongoing in the life of a Christian rather than a fall drive for pledges and commitments.

So, from the very first, we are going to start with something simple.  What is the definition of a steward?  A steward is someone who is given responsibility for something that belongs to another.  The steward is entrusted with this to care for it, to be responsible for it, and, at the same time, to put it to use.  For example, in the verses I listed above, St. Paul is remarking how God's servants, the apostles, were granted stewardship of the mysteries of God's grace, and were entrusted to utilize them as God's Church would grow.

Now, as the hymn verse quoted above indicates, when we consider that we are God's stewards in our lives in this world, that means that we realize that God is the One to whom all things belong.  The whole creation belongs to Him.  The cattle on a thousand hills belong to the LORD (which, by the way, means all the hills of the world and not a literal thousand).  Our lives, our bodies, our souls, our homes, our families, our vehicles, the air we breathe.  All of it belongs to the Lord.  We are merely entrusted with it while we live in this world.

As I mentioned earlier, that shows us that being a steward for God is actually very daunting.  It means that, quite literally, everything belongs to God, and He simply entrusts it to us for a time.  As Paul also mentions above, God calls for us as stewards to prove faithful in such stewardship.  That goes from how you utilize your money to how you care for your body, how you are responsible for the food you eat and the clothes you wear, the house you inhabit, and the creation around you.  It's all encompassing. 

So that is what a steward is.  As we continue this discussion, we will see that we need someone to redeem us from our irresponsible stewardship, as well as seeing the possibilities that exist as God grows us in our stewardship of His creation.

A Question of Expectations

As many of you know, I happen to have a Facebook account, and so, on those occasions where I sign on, I get to see many of the memes that make their way across such social media accounts.  I can recall one recently which said something along the lines of this: If you find that you have had your trust in your church cause you to consider leaving, you have put your trust in the wrong place.  In many respects, such a sentiment is spot on.  The main point of this gathering of people we call the Church is that we rejoice that we are a people redeemed by Jesus Christ, and thus, made right with God.  Our hope and trust is in God and in His gracious action toward us, in forgiving us, in renewing us, and in giving us a place to strengthen that belief.

Yet, I believe that this sentiment also somewhat misses the point.  The big point I want to raise for us right now is that, when God brings together this thing called the Church, He brings together people who are broken and tainted by sin, and who may strive valiantly against that sin in their lives, but who remain sinful people nevertheless.  That means that it is inevitable that we will hurt each other through our sinfulness. 

Our hope and trust is in the God who creates this Church.  It's not in the people of the Church.  And yet, we also have to admit that the people of the Church will inevitably have an impact upon us and our faith in Jesus.  For example, if we see the leaders of the church engaged in gossip, or slighting a member of the congregation intentionally, that has an impact on the people who see and hear such a thing.  Distrust is created, which truly can harm the faith of some. 

So, that means that we strive to remember that everything we do as Christians does indeed have an impact in our lives together in the Church.  Our hope is that we mature enough to learn how to deal with our fellow sinful believers who have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus.  And that leads directly to the question of the day.

What do you expect from your fellow Christians in the Church?  If you are expecting a holy life, you will likely be severly disappointed.  If you are expecting them to give and give, and not need in return, you will probably also be disappointed.  However, if you expect that you are going to see great demonstrations of faith as well as great demonstrations of sin in their lives, you may have a more realistic expectation.  After all, they are there, as are you, because they are a sinful human being, who just happens to have been redeemed by Jesus, and who now is engaged in a lifelong struggle with the sin that still lives within them.

So what do you expect when it comes to your fellow Christians?  How you answer that question could have a great deal of impact on your experience with them when you gather togeher with them.

The Value of Life

Unless you live under a rock, you have probably heard of many of the recent events that have made the news.  There are stories on which kind of lives matter, hashtags on Facebook and Twitter about the various colors of lives that matter, and then, the memes that pop up about how all lives matter and the like.  People have the freedom to click on and choose which ones they like, which ones happen to fit with their sensibilities, and lines get drawn.  People look to see how they can find something wrong with the messages from the "other" side, and gossip, slander, and the like begin to take place.

Really, this is a complex situation.  For today, I simply want to look at one part of this complex problem that our country faces, that of the value of all life.  Our value of life comes directly from our faith in what our God says about life.  That makes this part of the situation something well worth taking a few moments to reflect upon.

For Christians, we hold to God's Word that He is the author and creator of all life.  Now, that has some meaning for us when it comes to how we view life.  If God is the author and creator of life, that means that He is the one who gets to call the shots.  He determines when life begins and when life ends.  He determines what is right and what is wrong in how we view life and others in life.  Even if He determines that one person should die at what seems an inopportune time in our eyes, that's His call.  He is the author and creator of life, and so that authority is in His hands.

When we take it upon ourselves to determine the value of another's life, we step over our authority and into God's area of authority.  Now, most of us might consider that we don't do that, and yet, the deep reality we face is that we all make value judgments on others regarding the value of life.  If we think that someone is living in a way that we don't agree with, we have made a value judgment on their life.  If we believe that certain people should receive certain rights, and others should be withheld from those rights, we have made a value judgment on their life.  Shoot, to put it in a way that touches so many people that live where I live, if you think that you have the right to that place in traffic, and indicate that another doesn't deserve it, you have just valued yourself as more important than they are, which is a judgment on the value of their life.  In essence, that kind of thing says, "I am more important than you, and you had no right to cut me off."  Even though it seems a smaller matter than those that make the news, it is still a trepass into God's authority.

Perhaps that is why stories such as all these that are making the news disturb us so much.  Deep down, we cringe at what they are doing, but our consciences may be reminding us that we do the same thing, though perhaps in more subtle ways.  And yet, whether it is a toe over the line, or a gigantic leap over the line, we still have trespassed on God's authority.  That, my friends, is not a pleasant place to be when we consider the eternal repercussions.

Yet, God shows just how much He values all life.  He sent His Son to rescue all people of this world from being valued less by others.  God valued each and every life as a precious one worth redeeming, even at the cost of His own life.  God doesn't make that gift conditional on anything that we can do.  He simply says, "Believe that I value you enough to do this for you." 

My friends, that means that, as you watch the news and you find yourself lining up on one side or the other of these various stories, remember that only God places the true value on life.  Give thanks that He has valued your life as much as He does, and perhaps take a moment to pray for a new spirit within you, one which would likewise see His value for those lives with whom you align as well as those who may stand on the opposite side.

Will Things Get Better?

"Just as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days of the Son of Man."  Jesus, recorded in Luke 17:26.

On Facebook, I follow a little "comic" strip entitled Coffee With Jesus.  Today's strip had Jesus sipping His usual cup with Lisa, who comments on the flags seeming to be at half staff most of the time.  Jesus then quotes from Genesis, describing life in the time before the flood, to which Lisa remarks that Jesus just doesn't seem all that cheerful about things.  To which Jesus responds with the verse that I quoted above from Luke's Gospel.

In quite a few conversations that I have with people, there seems to be this thought that, somehow, things are going to get better.  If we get God back into the schools (as though He ever left in the first place), then things will get better.  If we elect the right God-fearing leaders, then things will get better.  If we just get people back to attending worship services again, then things will get better.  While these are hardly exhaustive, there truly seems to be this thought out there, touching on many areas of life.

The problem is, that's not exactly the picture that God paints of life in this world.  Now, we could take the quote from Jesus above too far if we tried to directly compare this time and the time before the flood.  After all, a total of 8 people were rescued in the flood.  The rest of the world faced judgment in the flood, and then before the one true God.  I think everyone would agree that we fervently hope and pray that there will always be more than 8 faithful souls in the world.

Yet, Jesus doesn't pull any punches.  Life in this world isn't going to get better.  If anything, people are going to indulge their sinful natures more and more.  Such a thing even continually seeks to creep into God's people, who realize this and more firmly cling to the hope that is theirs, not in their own faithfulness, but in God's faithfulness to them in Jesus.  Jesus Himself would say that life in this world for His followers will be a life of trouble and trial.  Not if, but when.  It will happen.  Be ready for it.

So what's the good news, then?  On the day of Jesus, a new creation will emerge in which things will be according to God's perfect will and design.  We don't await a day in this creation in which everything will be better.  We await the new creation, in which nothing will ever depart from God's holy will and design.  No, things will not get better in this world.  But when Jesus reappears and the new creation comes into its full being, things will be perfect, and that will endure forever. 

Getting Along With Jesus

How well do you think you would get along with Jesus?

I would dare say that most of us think we would get along pretty well with Jesus.  I imagine that is the case because we believe that we have a proper faith, and that Jesus would commend us for how we live our lives.  After all, most of us haven't been too radically off on the things that we believe God sees as important.  We haven't run a knife though our neighbor.  We haven't cheated on a spouse.  We haven't really taken too much of value from others.  We honor God by our worship attendance.  In other words, we should get along pretty well with Jesus because we find that we do a lot of things that Jesus seems to indicate are important.

Now, I do not want to downplay the importance of striving to do those things that God says we are to be doing.  In fact, in many respects, we are to be commended for doing them as faithfully as we do.  It shows a true response to the Good News that Jesus came to bring and purchase for us.  That response is something that God looks for as He re-creates us in the image of Jesus.

Yet, at the same time, I would dare say that we probably wouldn't get along with Jesus nearly as well as we think we might.  Why would I say that?  Well, based on the four stories of the life of Jesus, it doesn't really seem like anyone really got along with Jesus.  People were intrigued by Him, and yet, just a bit later, they were turned off by what He would say.  He likely seemed to be an enigma to some of the religious leaders, who saw His actions and heard His words, and who agreed with what He would say and do, but then, would be turned off by Him because He showed mercy where they didn't expect, and was found hanging out with people that they didn't approve of.  Shoot, He would even go so far as to call them names like white washed tombs and blind guides.

Even His closest followers didn't seem to get along with Him.  Fairly often, they seemed to try to disuade Jesus from what He intended to do.  Or, when Jesus didn't respond in a way that they thought He should, they wondered what He was doing.  More often than not, they actually seemed to compare themselves to each other about who ranked closest to Jesus, rather than pondering how they could grow closer to Him.

In the end, it seems like we tend to think that we would get along with Jesus because we have this tendency to make Jesus to be more like us, and less of a focus on us being more like Him.  So, yes, I think we all would have a tremendously difficult time getting along with Jesus.  After all, if we realize where we stand before our holy God, who hates sin and consumes it utterly, when we think about Jesus being this same God, our hearts should perhaps tremble a bit.

That's why, ultimately, it's not about how we get along with Jesus.  It's about what Jesus has done for us (and yes, I say for us, not to us).  Really, we don't get along with Jesus because we are sinful people.  And yet, Jesus has restored us to the Father, along with all others who are fallen in sin and who cling to what He has done for us.  Thanks be to God that it's not about how we get along with Jesus, but in what He has done for us.

Humorous Sheep

Here they are for this coming Sunday's Bible reading, from Colossians 1:1-14.

Belated Post on Freedom

"For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery."  Galatians 5:1

This past Monday, the United States of America celebrated the date on which the original signing of the Declaration of Independence was signed.  That document declared the freedom of the original 13 colonies from the authority of the British, and continues to be celebrated at the date on which a nation was born.

That is an important kind of freedom to celebrate.  While it is easy to say that such an event changed the world, it rings no less true.  Granted, the freedom we have as Americans is something that many in the world wish was also theirs, and at times we take such freedom for granted.  But for a moment, I want to change the foundation of our thoughts on this word FREEDOM.

In the context of our nation, the word freedom essentially has come to mean, "I can do what I want."  Yes, there is a particular kind of freedom in that.  It's one that comes into conflict with the needs of the good of the society quite often, but it is still freedom.  We can choose what we want to do, and there are relatively few restrictions on it. 

That's a worldly kind of freedom, and one that greatly appeals to our sinful nature.  Our sinful nature does not want to be told what to do, whether by governments or by God (and even by those we love the most, too!).  Such freedom, when allowed to become the focus of life, ends up allowing almost every sinful impulse a forum in which it can be practiced.  And rarely is that for the good of others, or even ourselves.

Yet, the freedom that Jesus has purchased for us is a far different freedom.  It's not a freedom to do whatever we want.  It is, instead, a freedom to return to the original design with which God created us.  Rather than a self serving freedom, it is a freedom to rejoice that we are free from God's wrath, which frees us to love our neighbors without restraint.  It's very similar to something that Martin Luther wrote a number of years ago, when he wrote that the Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant to everyone.  We are free to do what is for their good, what will bring them closer to their Savior and their God, and to know that they are loved and valued by God, set free from their flawed sinfulness.

That freedom doesn't look to the good of the individual, but to the good of the neighbor.  And that is a profound difference when it comes to how we live out our freedom.  Instead of asking how the freedom affects my rights, we instead focus on how my freedom affects others in their relationship with Christ Jesus.  I dare say that, were we to really change our thinking in that way, we might find that our support on certain issues of the day would change radically.

That's because freedom looks to the good of the neighbor, even when it comes at the expense of our own selves.  That's the freedom we have in Jesus, who looked to our good, even at the expense of His own self.  For that, we are immensely thankful to our God in our Lord, Jesus Christ. 

Do you want your reputation?

"Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me."  Jesus, in Matthew 10:40.

 Do you want your reputation?

Well, perhaps at first though, you would say yes.  Most of us have some degree to which we are comfortable with who we are.  However, I would dare say that our sense of our reputation would probably not be quite what we would hope were we to go ask others what our reputation is.  We might think we are witty, while others might see us as someone who tries to come across as clever and fails.  We might think we are sociable, whereas others think we talk too much. 

The first thing to find out as we think about our reputation is what our reputation really is.  Not what we think it is, but what others truly think of us.  Now, be warned.  This is a humbling task.  You will likely find that you are not what you think you are in the eyes of others.  Yes, it's very beneficial for our growth, but not so beneficial for our ego.

Then, the next thing to consider is, is that the reputation you want?  Most of us, as Christians, desire to have the reputation of Christ Jesus within us.  We want others to see Jesus when they see us.  But is that really what they see when they see us?  Do they see us as redeemed sinners, or as people who think they are closer to God than others?  Do they see us as Christians, or as people who want to fit in with society?  Do they see us as caring for others, or as standoffish? 

Do you want your reputation?  As I warned you earlier, discovering what your reputation truly is can be a very humbling experience.  Changing your reputation, especially if you discover it isn't what you want it to be, is a tough challenge.  It usually means addressing parts of our life that we may be quite content with.  It may even mean that we have to confront our own sin and selfishness, and that is no easy thing to do.

The thing is, this is purely for the benefit of others, and our hope that they see Christ living within us.  Our daily reality is that Jesus has covered our reputation with His own through the waters of our Baptism, which connect us to His life, death, and resurrection for us.  We don't address our reputation for God, or even for ourselves.  We do it so that others will more easily receive us, and in receiving us, they receive the One who lives within us. 

So, do you want your reputation?