Week 2 | Reflecting

A PRAYER TO START

John Ballie offers an elaborated version of Jesus’ prayer “Thy kingdom come, they will be done on earth as it is heaven”, and beacons us to join with him and others in praying the same. Pray this prayer 3xs…

O Lord, the desired of all nations, in the knowledge of your love and power there is salvation for all the peoples of the earth. Quickly bring the day when everyone shall acknowledge you as Lord over all. Quickly bring the day when our earthly society shall become the kingdom of Christ in full regale. Quickly bring the day when your presence and the strong hand of your purpose shall be found not only in the hearts of a few wise and brave people, but throughout the nations, in the corridors of power, in the workshop, office and marketplace, in the city and in the suburbs. And whatever I myself can do toward the fulfillment of your purpose, give me grace to begin today, through Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

 

GETTING THOUGHTFUL  

Growing up my (Jeremy’s) dad would take my brother and me hiking in the Wichita Mountains. While not very mountainous, for a young boy these foothills were full of adventure! One of my most vivid memories was an “off-the-trail” exploration on which we embarked. Winding our way through the wilderness with no path to follow, we would drop down into valley’s and gorges hoping to run across the elk and bison that roamed the land, then make our way vertical until we could see above the tree line again, scoping out what was our ultimate destination: Little Baldy, which was small enough peak that even a 10 year old boy could scale but still high enough to give us some point of reference.

Our wondering was not aimless, we knew where we wanted to end up, but it was certainly not efficient! For several joyous hours we would alternate between peeking out our guidepost and twisting our way through the forest and rocks. We could have taken the straight path, the one prepared for us by the Parks & Wildlife employees, and we would have gotten their much sooner. But, with less fun! 

While our path forging was a forever memory, wilderness wandering doesn’t carry the same fondness for the people of Israel. For Israel, to wander without a path in the wilderness was a sign of judgment, an indication of the brokenness of their relationship with God—whether from disbelief in the Exodus excursion or disobedience in the Exile jaunt.

Consequently, when John the baptizer comes into Matthew’s story (3:1-17), and announced “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand,” and then is proclaimed as the one,

“…who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, ‘The voice of the one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.’”

 

,we know that John’s message is a declaration for a way out of judgement, a way out of brokenness, a way out of wandering because you have lost your way in the woods of life. That’s what a straight path will do, and John was preparing people to follow it…more precisely, HIM (3:11).

So, what do you think people hearing such a message need to “repent” of? What sins would they be confessing?

 

 

REFLECTION

The first referenced words from Jesus in Matthew’s story come at his encounter with John at the baptismal waters of the Jordan river. John assumes Jesus will continue the path that John “prepared”, after all that was John’s role in this great salvation story (see Luke 1:5-17), yet Jesus surprises John, asking John to do something that John does not expect: baptize Jesus. John is caught off guard and begs for a reversal of roles, but Jesus says (my paraphrase), “I’ll take it from here John. The way is my way now, and way together that will lead us out of the wilderness.”

Even though John (full of the Holy Spirit since his mother’s womb) was prepared for the kingdom, even preparing others, the way of Jesus was unexpected to him. The next time Jesus makes a public declaration is at the beginning of his ministry,

Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (4:17)

 

Same words as John, but with a slightly different invitation. An invitation not only be prepared for the kingdom, but to live in it, through the way of Jesus. Like John, even the best of us find that the way of Jesus is often into a kingdom that we did not expect.

Use these questions to help you prayerfully reflect individually and/or discuss as a DNA group

  • What unexpected moment(s) in Matthew 1-4 stand out most to you? Why? 
    • You can listen to the sermon for refresher, or use these reminders:
      • The cost of finding & traveling the kingdom way.
        • The power and importance of words.
        • The timing of judgment and deliverance.
        • The "otherness" of the kingdom.
        • The intensity of its opposition.
        • Who recognizes it, and who doesn't.
        • Who is included.

 

  • What about the kingdom of God (the way of Jesus) feels “unnatural” or unexpected for you? Why?

 

  • What ways of wandering do you need to turn from (i.e. “repent”) in order to follow the path prepared for you by Jesus?

 

 

ECHO

T.S Eliot, in his poem Journey of the Magi, offers a reverberating declaration for us as we turn to take these first steps in the often unexpected journey of Matthew. May his exhortation echo in your mind, in your heart, and into your actions this week.

 

            ‘A cold coming we had of it,

            Just the worst time of the year

            For a journey, and such a long journey:

            The ways deep and the weather sharp,

            The very dead of winter.’

            And the camels galled, sore-footed, refractory,

            Lying down in the melting snow.

            There were times we regretted

            The summer palaces on slopes, the terraces,

            And the silken girls brining sherbet.

            Then the camel men cursing and grumbling

            And running away, and wanting their liquor and women,

            And the night-fires going out, and the lack of shelters,

            And the cities hostile and the towns unfriendly

            And the villages dirty and charging high prices:

            A hard time we had of it.

            At the end we preferred to travel all night,

            Sleeping in snatches,

            With the voices singing in our ears, saying

            That this was all folly.

 

            Then at dawn we came down to a temperate valley,

            Wet, below the snow line, smelling of vegetation,

            With a running stream and a water-mill beating the darkness

            And three trees of the low sky.

            And an old white horse galloped away in the meadow.

            Then we came to a tavern with vine-leaves over the lintel,

            Six hands at an open door dicing for pieces of silver,

            And feet kicking the empty wine-skins.

            But there was no information, and so we continued

            And arrived at evening, not a moment too soon

            Finding the place; it was (you may say) satisfactory.

 

            All this was a long time ago, I remember,

            And I would do it again, but set down

            This set down

            This: were we led all that way for

            Birth or Death? There was a Birth, certainly,

            We had evidence and no doubt. I had seen birth and death,

            But had thought they were different; this Birth was

            Hard and bitter agony for us, like Death, our death.

            We returned to our places, these Kingdoms,

            But no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation,

            With an alien people clutching their gods.

           

I should be glad of another death.