Good Morning Children of God!Here are some beautiful verses to start your day –
From Psalm 103: Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name.Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget all his benefits—who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases,who redeems your life from the Pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,who satisfies you with good as long as you live so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
And here is your Sunday Message:
August 30, 2020
13th Sunday after Pentecost
Prayer of the Day
O God, we thank you for your Son, who chose the path of suffering for the sake of the world. Humble us by his example, point us to the path of obedience, and give us strength to follow your commands, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
First Reading Jeremiah 15:15-21
Psalm 26:1-8
Second Reading Romans 12:9-21
Gospel Matthew 16:21-28
Grace to you and peace, from God our Father and the Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ.
To this day I can remember watching the 2001 movie A Beautiful Mind and being completely fascinated with the complexities, potential, and pitfalls of the human brain. A Beautiful Mind is about the life of American mathematician John Nash. He was a Nobel Laureate in Economics and made substantial contributions to such areas as game theory, differential geometry, and partial differential equations. He focused on factors that govern chance and decision making inside complex systems. I don’t actually understand what I just wrote and researching the story of John Nash made my little brain hurt just like it did when I watched the movie. As impressive as Nash’s mind was it could not overcome the mental illness of paranoid schizophrenia which plagued him in life.
There are some really brilliant people in the world. Their abilities boggle the minds of many of us. But what is especially interesting to me is to think about the God who created the human brain. We have a God who stands above and beyond history’s most brilliant minds. Intelligence without limit is one way to think about God. If I ponder that idea too long my head starts to hurt again.
The point is that God has a beautiful mind. It is beyond our comprehension but not our appreciation. And this infinite intelligence that we admire has given us a Son from heaven who has shown us that God’s mind is not only infinite and eternal but it is good and decent too. Such a God is worthy of our trust.
Jesus reveals a lot about the mind of God. The attributes derived from the divine mind include perfect love, sacrificial service, kindness, and generosity to name a few. The presence of Jesus in the world tells everyone that God’s mind is set on them. God cares about us deeply and has done all that is necessary to ensure that we can live now and eternally with him. This is the great gift of Jesus who went to Jerusalem, underwent great suffering, was killed, and on the third day was raised.
Jesus knew and knows the importance of the human mind. Fortunately, he does not require an IQ test of those who wish to follow him. His concern is on the direction in which one’s mind is set. Is it oriented toward human things or divine things? In today’s Gospel story Peter erred on the side of human things. Jesus had just shared the greatest mystery of the ages concerning his forthcoming death and resurrection and Peter was in denial. With his mind set on human things Peter rebuked Jesus and the plan of God. Apparently in Peter’s mind the Messiah of Israel was not meant to suffer, die, and rise from the dead. The Messiah should be served and not be forced to serve. People should die for the Son of God and not vice-versa. At that moment, Peter was trusting in his own plan instead of God’s.
A mind set on human things leads to attitudes and behaviors that, in general, are selfish and prideful. The fruit of these attributes are rotten. They include hate, anger, greed, jealousy and all manner of sin. The vices of wickedness gain ground when the mind is not set on divine things.
Everyone struggles with the orientation of the mind. Today’s reading from Jeremiah 15 reveals that the great prophet of God, like Peter, was not immune from this problem. With his mind set on human expectations instead of “God-things” Jeremiah went so far as to accuse God of being deceitful. Life had not turned out as Jeremiah thought it should. As a prophet he was the object of insults and violence so he took God to task for his dismal existence.
Verses 19-21 contain God’s response to Jeremiah’s lament. In a nutshell, God told the prophet that an attitude adjustment was in order. “If you turn back, I will take you back, and you shall stand before me.” (Jeremiah 15:19) This is the equivalent of Jesus rebuking Peter after his unfortunate misstep in challenging the destiny of Jesus. The point in both cases is that in being a follower of the Lord it is advisable to set one’s mind on the Lord and not on self. Jesus put it this way, “if any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24) The foundation for following Jesus is a beautiful mind which is set on divine things. In the struggle of the orientation of the mind between things above and things below, our goal is to tend toward the former.
You really have to admire the author of Psalm 26. That person had the confidence to write “Test me O Lord, and try me; examine my heart and my mind.” (Psalm 26:2) As daring as that may seem, the psalm goes on to lift up the marks of a mind set on God; attributes that are within our reach. They include living with integrity and faith. In Romans chapter 12, St. Paul adds to the list with words like love, good, serve, rejoice, patience, share, and forgive. In addressing the struggle of the orientation of the mind, St. Paul writes, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Romans 12:21)
This point cannot be emphasized enough. Good overcomes evil. This truth is at the heart of the Gospel. When Jesus shared with “his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised” (Matthew 16:21) he was announcing that God would overcome evil because good overcomes evil, and God is good.
It has been said that the war has been won by Jesus. Good has overcome evil in a cosmic sense. Yet, battles between good and evil rage on this side of death. We are in the time of what some theologians call “the already but not yet.” Christ has won the victory but the fight against evil continues.
I feel fairly certain that no one would say that this world exists free of evil forces and influences. We all probably define this reality differently but our calling is to be unified in Jesus for good. It is in setting the mind on divine things that we are prepared to fight on the side of good.
There are many times when we observe disturbing current events around us and wonder what, if anything, can we do to make the world a better place. The answer begins with having a beautiful mind. Set your mind upon Jesus. Strive to follow his teaching and his way of love and sacrificial service. And trust that the God who is good will use your goodness to be a blessing to his hurting world. Amen.
Give Me Jesus (African American Spiritual)
In the morning when I rise, in the morning when I rise, in the morning when I rise, give me Jesus.
Refrain Give me Jesus, give me Jesus. You may have all the rest, give me Jesus.
Dark midnight was my cry, dark midnight was my cry, dark midnight was my cry, give me Jesus. Refrain
Just about the break of day, just about the break of day, just about the break of day, give me Jesus. Refrain
Oh, when I come to die, oh, when I come to die, oh, when I come to die, give me Jesus. Refrain
And when I want to sing, and when I want to sing, and when I want to sing, give me Jesus. Refrain
Peace and blessings,
Pastor Bill