What do you trust?
Commentary
The theme for this day might be expressed in the question, "In what do we put our trust?" Individuals will have to consider it, each in his or her own way, but it is also a question worth putting to congregations.
Congregations are always tempted to find security in something other than Jesus. It used to be denominational identity, though that is fading. It still may be pastors, though you may have noticed that's less a source of false security for churches now than it once was (not I fear because they trust Jesus more, but simply because they trust pastors less!). Buildings are a perpetual source of security for many -- witness the consternation that can result from a merger of two congregations ("whose building will we use?"). And familiar faces are a major source of security, so much so that deep down inside many parishioners don't really want their church to grow. ("Of course, it's nice when more people come to know Jesus, but if too many of them join our church, pretty soon it won't look or feel like our church anymore!") Church growth specialists identify a new entry in candidates for congregational security: programming. People today are beset by a consumer mentality. They church shop and then join the church that has the programs that most interest them. The problem, of course, is that programs come and go. They can be strong one year and weak the next.
There is nothing wrong with liking, respecting, honoring all the things listed above. But all are temporary, and so none really make for very good sources of security. Pastors, buildings, familiar faces, programs, even denominations -- all of these come and go. But Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8).
The lessons for today warn us against two dangers, and as we describe them, just for fun, let's trot out some theological vocabulary that you would never actually use in a sermon (you wouldn't, would you?): 1) the danger of putting ultimate concern in what is only penultimate; and 2) the danger of despising the penultimate because it is not ultimate.
Jeremiah 17:5-10
These verses exemplify the wisdom tradition of ancient Israel, which often contrasted two ways of life. Specifically, they are very similar to Psalm 1 (the appointed psalm for this day), so similar that you just know the source critics are going to postulate a common origin. They also reflect the Deuteronomic theme of identifying people as "cursed" or "blessed" (cf. Deuteronomy 27-28).
The historical context for the application of these words in Jeremiah's day was a familiar one. Judean kings were forming alliances with foreign nations (this time, Egypt and Babylon), alliances that inevitably meant compromise. To those who justified these alliances as politically expedient, the prophet responds that they represent trust in "mere mortals," not God.
The point of the text is valid and relevant, but it can easily be abused. Parents have refused medical treatment for their children, claiming they want to put their trust in God, not humans. For that matter, we would not want to rule out all political alliances (or business contracts or whatever) on the basis that trusting mortals is wrong. If we read carefully, we will see that trusting in "mere mortals" as such is not the problem. Those who are "cursed" are ones who trust in mortals and "whose hearts turn away from the Lord" (v. 5).
Christianity (as opposed to Gnosticism) does not view humanity and divinity as hopelessly antithetical, so that whatever mortals do will be evil or wrong. We are made in the image of God. In some basic sense, we ought to trust each other (not just other Christians, but other humans) and respect each other's God-given gifts and insights. It is the rather than that is problematic -- trusting in mortals rather than God.
So -- is it okay to trust in what is mortal, what is worldly, if we view that as an expression of God instead of as a competing force? Well, yes, maybe. But (Warning! Warning!) ... it's so easy to rationalize! The prophet is a step ahead of us on this one. Read verse nine. Our devious and perverse hearts are always looking for loopholes, aren't they?
1 Corinthians 15:12-20
What happens to people when they die? Many Christians today believe that, when the body dies, the soul leaves it and (if one is fortunate) goes up to heaven to be with Jesus. This is probably what some of the Corinthians believed, and it is the type of thinking that Paul wants to combat.
Since we have only half of the conversation, we cannot be certain exactly what people in Corinth were saying. From 1 Corinthians 15:12, however, we gather that some people in this church did not believe in "the resurrection of the dead." This could mean that they believed (like some modern existentialists) that this earthly life is all there is (see v. 19). More likely, though, they did believe in a spiritual realm beyond this world -
- they just didn't believe one had to die to enter it. One's body may die (drop away), but the soul, the true essence, did not. The soul, many people in the Greco-Roman world thought, was immortal.
Plato believed in the immortality of the soul. The apostle Paul did not. Paul thought that when you die, nothing lives on. Your body, your soul, your spirit, your heart, your mind, everything that ever was is dead. Completely dead. 100% dead. Gone. But -- and here is the gospel -- God will raise the dead! Just as God raised Jesus! When God does this, then we will have new bodies (and presumably new souls and spirits and whatever else we need). Then we will be immortal (see 1 Corinthians 15:42-49).
Paul's concern here goes beyond abstract speculation. The issue, really, is a matter of trust (our theme for this day). Paul sees the doctrine of an immortal soul as a dilution of radical trust in God. If we embrace such thinking, we may need God to guide our immortal souls to heaven, but we never really cease to be. We always maintain that measure of dignity, of identity, of control. No! Paul says. We die! And if we die, we must trust God to raise us from the nothingness of death.
Verse 19 of this text deserves special comment since, even apart from the above discussion, it can serve as a remarkable sermon text on its own. Behind it stands Paul's recognition of the dynamic tension between what is "already" and "not yet." The implication is that we do hope in Christ for this life, but not only for this life. Genuine hope is always open to unexpected possibilities, and so cannot be confined by space, time, or any other finitude of mere mortals.
Luke 6:17-26
In its "Scholars' Version" translation of these verses, the Jesus Seminar translates the word "blessed" as "congratulations" and the word "woe" as "damn you!" That's right. Jesus says, "Damn you, rich!" Right there in the Bible. The Jesus Seminar certainly intended to be provocative and it is not impossible that they took a certain delight in the knowledge that placing a naughty word on the lips of Jesus would be likely to offend conservatives. Okay, but, whatever the motives, it is a bad translation. The word "blessed" here is intended to convey comfort and the word "woe," pity.
There is nothing intrinsically virtuous (for Jesus or for Luke) about being poor or hungry. Jesus is not congratulating the poor for having attained poverty or promising them rewards for the accomplishment. Poverty, hunger, sorrow, ostracism ... these are not good things to be encouraged (as the Jesus Seminar apparently thinks). They are bad things. But, Jesus says that those who suffer in these ways are blessed because (whether they know it or not) God cares for them and will put right what is wrong.
Likewise, neither Jesus nor Luke believed that being rich was intrinsically evil (any more than being full, laughing, or being spoken well of would be intrinsically evil). But such attributes are no measure of God's favor, without which no one is truly blessed.
The "woes" must be considered within the full context of Luke's gospel. The problem with riches in Luke is that they are a distraction from what matters. No one can serve two masters (16:13). The problem with the rich man in chapter 12 is not just that he has stored up treasure for himself, but that he is not rich toward God (12:21). The problem with the rich man in chapter 16 is not just that he enjoyed comforts on earth but that these prevented him from hearing Moses and the prophets (16:29). The problem with the rich man in chapter 18 is not just that he has many possessions but that they prevent him from following Jesus (18:22-25). The rich man in chapter 19 demonstrates that it doesn't have to be that way (19:1-10), though Luke (and Jesus) admits, it takes a miracle (18:27).
It's that pesky rather than again. One cannot serve God and wealth because, if one tries, one will end up serving one rather than the other (16:13).
FIRST LESSON FOCUS
By Elizabeth Achtemeier
Jeremiah 17:5-10
In many respects religious faith has become a rather casual affair in our society. Persons can have it, or they can leave it alone. It's all a matter of personal opinion. There is no particular opprobrium leveled at the person who claims to be an agnostic or atheistic, nor is there considered to be much advantage to claiming that one is a Christian. To be sure, at election time, every politician will claim to be deeply religious in order to secure the faithful's vote. But otherwise, everyone goes his or her own way, believing or unbelieving, churchgoer or Sunday-golfer. It's just a matter of one's own personal choice.
The same is true with respect to discussions about God. He can be a hotly debated topic, set out to be examined. Is he good or is he indifferent? Can we trust him or is trust misplaced? Is he in control of the world or are we on our own? Does he judge us or doesn't he care? Each person forms her or his own position, and while the questions make for lively group discussion, they really boil down to individual opinion. In the end their answers seem of little consequence in how we live day by day.
In fact, one can be entirely neutral in all religious discussion, taking neither the side of belief nor the side of unbelief, exercising a kindly skepticism toward all positions of faith. And that stance too is considered to be of no particular consequence. "It really does not matter what a person believes," said one neighbor to me, "just as long as they are happy." Happiness, contentment, satisfaction, not love of God, are the ultimate goal of living.
At the base of such casual attitudes toward God and Christian faith is another fundamental belief, however -- the belief that we have no continuing connection with God. According to the scriptures, you and I and all people have been created in the image of God. That means that we always stand in some sort of relationship with him, and we cannot be fully understood as human beings except that relationship be included. The many areas of human learning may describe us in various terms -- from the standpoint of psychology, sociology, economics, history, geography, and so forth. But unless that description includes the fact that we also stand in constant relation to God, we have not been fully described.
As a result, our Old Testament wisdom text for the day -- and indeed, all three of our stated texts -- say that there are only two ways of life. There is life lived in trust in God, and there is life lived apart from that trust. And between those two alternatives, there is no neutral ground. Paul would put it quite sharply: Either we are slaves of Jesus Christ or we are slaves of sin (cf. Romans 6). There is no neutral ground that we can choose between those two bonds.
What is more, says our text, it makes all the difference in our life as to which position we choose. We have all seen the effects of failing to water a garden. Shrubs and flowers that are green and glorious begin to yellow and droop. The ground around them becomes hard as stone, and in a few weeks the plants dry up and die, leaving only brown twigs in the iron-like earth to mark where they have been. Such is the life of persons who trust only in themselves and other human beings to protect and secure their lives, says Jeremiah. Using the terms of his landscape, he says they are like shrubs in a desolate desert, planted in earth full of salt. There is no growth, no blossoming, no prolongation of their life. Neither in life nor in death do they abide.
In contrast, proclaims our prophet, the one who trusts in the Lord is like a tree planted by a stream of flowing water, and to that water Jeremiah elsewhere compares the Lord (Jeremiah 2:13). Such a person is grounded and rooted in the life of God that never dies. So the person can bring forth good fruit in his or her life, fruit of the Spirit given by God (cf. Galatians 5:22-23). And in the heat of the day, vitality remains, unaffected by circumstance.
Significantly, Jeremiah centers trust in the heart (vv. 5, 10). It is there, in the inmost part of our being that the prophets locate our dependence on God, for as Jesus says, it is what comes out of a person, out of the person's heart, that defiles him or her (Mark 7:14-23). If the heart is sound, life and good action flow out naturally, but if the heart is corrupt, out of it come evil thoughts and deeds. Thus, in his judgment on the Judeans, Jeremiah can say at the beginning of chapter 17 that the sin of Judah is engraved with a point of diamond on their heart (v. 1), and Ezekiel can call for the people to get themselves a new heart lest they die (Ezekiel 18:31). We are called to love God with all our heart (Mark 12:30; Deuteronomy 6:5), as well as with our soul and mind and strength, for it is in our hearts, as we all know, that our love abides. If we love someone with all our heart, we cherish them and try to please them and want to be with them. And so too, and much more, is to be the love and trust in our hearts for God.
Our text tells us that if we dedicate our hearts in love for God, and trust him with our lives in all things, we need not "fear when heat comes" (v. 8). And indeed, if our lives are firmly planted in God, what is there that can harm us? Suffering may come our way -- and it comes to all of us -- but God is there to comfort and to strengthen. Misfortunes and disappointments may mar our days, but even they can work for good in God's plans for our lives, if we love him (Romans 8:29). Death itself will meet us all, but in God's love, death is not final. Beyond the grave, there is the joyful promise of eternal life with the Father.
God examines our hearts, says our text (v. 10). We cannot escape that. Casual as we sometimes are about our religious faith, indifferent as someone may be to God and the things of God, the One in whose image we were created and with whom we are inextricably connected sees and knows all that goes on in the depths of our inner selves. God created us in the first place, and now he knows us through and through. And before each one of us he sets that choice of faith -- to live in him, nourished by his everlasting life and flourishing in his vitality, or living for ourselves and the inevitable death that comes from our own meager resources. Jesus encap-sulated the thought of our text when he set before us those two ways: Whoever saves his own life, relying on self and the world, will lose his life. But whoever loses his life, dedicating it totally to God, will save it (cf. Mark 8:35).
Congregations are always tempted to find security in something other than Jesus. It used to be denominational identity, though that is fading. It still may be pastors, though you may have noticed that's less a source of false security for churches now than it once was (not I fear because they trust Jesus more, but simply because they trust pastors less!). Buildings are a perpetual source of security for many -- witness the consternation that can result from a merger of two congregations ("whose building will we use?"). And familiar faces are a major source of security, so much so that deep down inside many parishioners don't really want their church to grow. ("Of course, it's nice when more people come to know Jesus, but if too many of them join our church, pretty soon it won't look or feel like our church anymore!") Church growth specialists identify a new entry in candidates for congregational security: programming. People today are beset by a consumer mentality. They church shop and then join the church that has the programs that most interest them. The problem, of course, is that programs come and go. They can be strong one year and weak the next.
There is nothing wrong with liking, respecting, honoring all the things listed above. But all are temporary, and so none really make for very good sources of security. Pastors, buildings, familiar faces, programs, even denominations -- all of these come and go. But Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8).
The lessons for today warn us against two dangers, and as we describe them, just for fun, let's trot out some theological vocabulary that you would never actually use in a sermon (you wouldn't, would you?): 1) the danger of putting ultimate concern in what is only penultimate; and 2) the danger of despising the penultimate because it is not ultimate.
Jeremiah 17:5-10
These verses exemplify the wisdom tradition of ancient Israel, which often contrasted two ways of life. Specifically, they are very similar to Psalm 1 (the appointed psalm for this day), so similar that you just know the source critics are going to postulate a common origin. They also reflect the Deuteronomic theme of identifying people as "cursed" or "blessed" (cf. Deuteronomy 27-28).
The historical context for the application of these words in Jeremiah's day was a familiar one. Judean kings were forming alliances with foreign nations (this time, Egypt and Babylon), alliances that inevitably meant compromise. To those who justified these alliances as politically expedient, the prophet responds that they represent trust in "mere mortals," not God.
The point of the text is valid and relevant, but it can easily be abused. Parents have refused medical treatment for their children, claiming they want to put their trust in God, not humans. For that matter, we would not want to rule out all political alliances (or business contracts or whatever) on the basis that trusting mortals is wrong. If we read carefully, we will see that trusting in "mere mortals" as such is not the problem. Those who are "cursed" are ones who trust in mortals and "whose hearts turn away from the Lord" (v. 5).
Christianity (as opposed to Gnosticism) does not view humanity and divinity as hopelessly antithetical, so that whatever mortals do will be evil or wrong. We are made in the image of God. In some basic sense, we ought to trust each other (not just other Christians, but other humans) and respect each other's God-given gifts and insights. It is the rather than that is problematic -- trusting in mortals rather than God.
So -- is it okay to trust in what is mortal, what is worldly, if we view that as an expression of God instead of as a competing force? Well, yes, maybe. But (Warning! Warning!) ... it's so easy to rationalize! The prophet is a step ahead of us on this one. Read verse nine. Our devious and perverse hearts are always looking for loopholes, aren't they?
1 Corinthians 15:12-20
What happens to people when they die? Many Christians today believe that, when the body dies, the soul leaves it and (if one is fortunate) goes up to heaven to be with Jesus. This is probably what some of the Corinthians believed, and it is the type of thinking that Paul wants to combat.
Since we have only half of the conversation, we cannot be certain exactly what people in Corinth were saying. From 1 Corinthians 15:12, however, we gather that some people in this church did not believe in "the resurrection of the dead." This could mean that they believed (like some modern existentialists) that this earthly life is all there is (see v. 19). More likely, though, they did believe in a spiritual realm beyond this world -
- they just didn't believe one had to die to enter it. One's body may die (drop away), but the soul, the true essence, did not. The soul, many people in the Greco-Roman world thought, was immortal.
Plato believed in the immortality of the soul. The apostle Paul did not. Paul thought that when you die, nothing lives on. Your body, your soul, your spirit, your heart, your mind, everything that ever was is dead. Completely dead. 100% dead. Gone. But -- and here is the gospel -- God will raise the dead! Just as God raised Jesus! When God does this, then we will have new bodies (and presumably new souls and spirits and whatever else we need). Then we will be immortal (see 1 Corinthians 15:42-49).
Paul's concern here goes beyond abstract speculation. The issue, really, is a matter of trust (our theme for this day). Paul sees the doctrine of an immortal soul as a dilution of radical trust in God. If we embrace such thinking, we may need God to guide our immortal souls to heaven, but we never really cease to be. We always maintain that measure of dignity, of identity, of control. No! Paul says. We die! And if we die, we must trust God to raise us from the nothingness of death.
Verse 19 of this text deserves special comment since, even apart from the above discussion, it can serve as a remarkable sermon text on its own. Behind it stands Paul's recognition of the dynamic tension between what is "already" and "not yet." The implication is that we do hope in Christ for this life, but not only for this life. Genuine hope is always open to unexpected possibilities, and so cannot be confined by space, time, or any other finitude of mere mortals.
Luke 6:17-26
In its "Scholars' Version" translation of these verses, the Jesus Seminar translates the word "blessed" as "congratulations" and the word "woe" as "damn you!" That's right. Jesus says, "Damn you, rich!" Right there in the Bible. The Jesus Seminar certainly intended to be provocative and it is not impossible that they took a certain delight in the knowledge that placing a naughty word on the lips of Jesus would be likely to offend conservatives. Okay, but, whatever the motives, it is a bad translation. The word "blessed" here is intended to convey comfort and the word "woe," pity.
There is nothing intrinsically virtuous (for Jesus or for Luke) about being poor or hungry. Jesus is not congratulating the poor for having attained poverty or promising them rewards for the accomplishment. Poverty, hunger, sorrow, ostracism ... these are not good things to be encouraged (as the Jesus Seminar apparently thinks). They are bad things. But, Jesus says that those who suffer in these ways are blessed because (whether they know it or not) God cares for them and will put right what is wrong.
Likewise, neither Jesus nor Luke believed that being rich was intrinsically evil (any more than being full, laughing, or being spoken well of would be intrinsically evil). But such attributes are no measure of God's favor, without which no one is truly blessed.
The "woes" must be considered within the full context of Luke's gospel. The problem with riches in Luke is that they are a distraction from what matters. No one can serve two masters (16:13). The problem with the rich man in chapter 12 is not just that he has stored up treasure for himself, but that he is not rich toward God (12:21). The problem with the rich man in chapter 16 is not just that he enjoyed comforts on earth but that these prevented him from hearing Moses and the prophets (16:29). The problem with the rich man in chapter 18 is not just that he has many possessions but that they prevent him from following Jesus (18:22-25). The rich man in chapter 19 demonstrates that it doesn't have to be that way (19:1-10), though Luke (and Jesus) admits, it takes a miracle (18:27).
It's that pesky rather than again. One cannot serve God and wealth because, if one tries, one will end up serving one rather than the other (16:13).
FIRST LESSON FOCUS
By Elizabeth Achtemeier
Jeremiah 17:5-10
In many respects religious faith has become a rather casual affair in our society. Persons can have it, or they can leave it alone. It's all a matter of personal opinion. There is no particular opprobrium leveled at the person who claims to be an agnostic or atheistic, nor is there considered to be much advantage to claiming that one is a Christian. To be sure, at election time, every politician will claim to be deeply religious in order to secure the faithful's vote. But otherwise, everyone goes his or her own way, believing or unbelieving, churchgoer or Sunday-golfer. It's just a matter of one's own personal choice.
The same is true with respect to discussions about God. He can be a hotly debated topic, set out to be examined. Is he good or is he indifferent? Can we trust him or is trust misplaced? Is he in control of the world or are we on our own? Does he judge us or doesn't he care? Each person forms her or his own position, and while the questions make for lively group discussion, they really boil down to individual opinion. In the end their answers seem of little consequence in how we live day by day.
In fact, one can be entirely neutral in all religious discussion, taking neither the side of belief nor the side of unbelief, exercising a kindly skepticism toward all positions of faith. And that stance too is considered to be of no particular consequence. "It really does not matter what a person believes," said one neighbor to me, "just as long as they are happy." Happiness, contentment, satisfaction, not love of God, are the ultimate goal of living.
At the base of such casual attitudes toward God and Christian faith is another fundamental belief, however -- the belief that we have no continuing connection with God. According to the scriptures, you and I and all people have been created in the image of God. That means that we always stand in some sort of relationship with him, and we cannot be fully understood as human beings except that relationship be included. The many areas of human learning may describe us in various terms -- from the standpoint of psychology, sociology, economics, history, geography, and so forth. But unless that description includes the fact that we also stand in constant relation to God, we have not been fully described.
As a result, our Old Testament wisdom text for the day -- and indeed, all three of our stated texts -- say that there are only two ways of life. There is life lived in trust in God, and there is life lived apart from that trust. And between those two alternatives, there is no neutral ground. Paul would put it quite sharply: Either we are slaves of Jesus Christ or we are slaves of sin (cf. Romans 6). There is no neutral ground that we can choose between those two bonds.
What is more, says our text, it makes all the difference in our life as to which position we choose. We have all seen the effects of failing to water a garden. Shrubs and flowers that are green and glorious begin to yellow and droop. The ground around them becomes hard as stone, and in a few weeks the plants dry up and die, leaving only brown twigs in the iron-like earth to mark where they have been. Such is the life of persons who trust only in themselves and other human beings to protect and secure their lives, says Jeremiah. Using the terms of his landscape, he says they are like shrubs in a desolate desert, planted in earth full of salt. There is no growth, no blossoming, no prolongation of their life. Neither in life nor in death do they abide.
In contrast, proclaims our prophet, the one who trusts in the Lord is like a tree planted by a stream of flowing water, and to that water Jeremiah elsewhere compares the Lord (Jeremiah 2:13). Such a person is grounded and rooted in the life of God that never dies. So the person can bring forth good fruit in his or her life, fruit of the Spirit given by God (cf. Galatians 5:22-23). And in the heat of the day, vitality remains, unaffected by circumstance.
Significantly, Jeremiah centers trust in the heart (vv. 5, 10). It is there, in the inmost part of our being that the prophets locate our dependence on God, for as Jesus says, it is what comes out of a person, out of the person's heart, that defiles him or her (Mark 7:14-23). If the heart is sound, life and good action flow out naturally, but if the heart is corrupt, out of it come evil thoughts and deeds. Thus, in his judgment on the Judeans, Jeremiah can say at the beginning of chapter 17 that the sin of Judah is engraved with a point of diamond on their heart (v. 1), and Ezekiel can call for the people to get themselves a new heart lest they die (Ezekiel 18:31). We are called to love God with all our heart (Mark 12:30; Deuteronomy 6:5), as well as with our soul and mind and strength, for it is in our hearts, as we all know, that our love abides. If we love someone with all our heart, we cherish them and try to please them and want to be with them. And so too, and much more, is to be the love and trust in our hearts for God.
Our text tells us that if we dedicate our hearts in love for God, and trust him with our lives in all things, we need not "fear when heat comes" (v. 8). And indeed, if our lives are firmly planted in God, what is there that can harm us? Suffering may come our way -- and it comes to all of us -- but God is there to comfort and to strengthen. Misfortunes and disappointments may mar our days, but even they can work for good in God's plans for our lives, if we love him (Romans 8:29). Death itself will meet us all, but in God's love, death is not final. Beyond the grave, there is the joyful promise of eternal life with the Father.
God examines our hearts, says our text (v. 10). We cannot escape that. Casual as we sometimes are about our religious faith, indifferent as someone may be to God and the things of God, the One in whose image we were created and with whom we are inextricably connected sees and knows all that goes on in the depths of our inner selves. God created us in the first place, and now he knows us through and through. And before each one of us he sets that choice of faith -- to live in him, nourished by his everlasting life and flourishing in his vitality, or living for ourselves and the inevitable death that comes from our own meager resources. Jesus encap-sulated the thought of our text when he set before us those two ways: Whoever saves his own life, relying on self and the world, will lose his life. But whoever loses his life, dedicating it totally to God, will save it (cf. Mark 8:35).
