Tawa Baptist

Honour

Scripture: Deuteronomy 5:16

Video Link: https://youtu.be/Lt475BHSMYs

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • What?
  • Why?
  • How?
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

Many of you of will be familiar with the TV show, The Repair Shop. In The Repair Shop people bring in broken family heirlooms for a team of skilled crafts people to restore.

First the family come in and tell the story behind the item they want repaired. Then the item is worked on, before the family return for the great reveal. Tears inevitably follow.

I like The Repair Shop because it is essentially about redemption. Not only is the object itself redeemed but, at a deeper level, honour is restored.

Time and time again we hear how people are having the item restored to honour a parent or grandparent. The object itself becomes symbolic of the relationship. Restore the broken object and in some way you have honoured the person who gave you the object.

This morning we continue our series in the book of Deuteronomy. You may remember we have been working our way through Moses’ reiteration of the ten commandments. Today we pick up the commandment to honour our parents. From Deuteronomy 5, verse 16 we read…

16 “Honour your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

Our message today focuses on three questions in relation to this verse: what, why and how? What is honour? Why do we honour our parents? And how do we honour our parents? First let’s consider what honour is.

What?

In English the term honour is associated with words like esteem, reverence, respect, dignity and integrity. Honour can be a noun (a naming word) or a verb (a doing word). As a verb, honour is about treating someone with respect and it’s about fulfilling our obligations, making good on our commitments. An honourable person does the right thing by themselves and others.

Esteem, respect, dignity, integrity and the like, all fit with the Biblical meaning of honour as well. But there is another nuance to the meaning of honour in the context of Deuteronomy. The Hebrew word for honour (kabbed) means the opposite of curse.

Elsewhere in the law of Moses the command to honour your father and mother is stated negatively and with a punishment. In Leviticus 20, for example, we read: If anyone curses his father or mother, he must be put to death.

Cursing, in this context, does not mean using foul language with your parents (although we should avoid swearing of course). Cursing is the opposite of honouring. To curse means to treat lightly or with contempt. To regard someone of little account. To treat a parent without dignity or without worth. [1]

If cursing one’s parents is the opposite of honouring them, and cursing equates to treating them lightly or with contempt, then to honour your parents is to treat the relationship as a weighty matter, something of great importance. Your parents’ well-being is not to be taken lightly.  

We might look at Leviticus 20, through our 21st Century western lens and think, ‘Whoa, the death penalty for cursing your parents is a bit harsh isn’t it?’

Well, I don’t think Jesus wants to condemn someone to death for mistreating their parents. Jesus would be looking for a way to redeem that person.

In Luke 15, Jesus tells the parable of the Prodigal Son. When the younger son asked for his share of the inheritance before his father had died, he was basically cursing his father. That was like saying, ‘I wish you were dead’.

To then go away and waste his father’s money on sex, drugs and rock n’ roll was to treat his relationship with his mother and father lightly or with contempt.     

In Jesus’ parable, the father does not kill the prodigal son for cursing him. The father welcomes him with open arms and gives him a place of honour. It is the kindness of God that leads people to repentance.

Having said that, we need to honour the law of Moses by seeking to understand it in its original context.

The commandment to honour your parents was given primarily to adults. Yes, young children are to honour their parents too but we shouldn’t think that every time a small child or a teenager got a bit grumpy with Mum or Dad, they were dragged out to be stoned. No.

The law of Moses was all about protecting the weak and the vulnerable. And, in the context of Deuteronomy 5 the weak and vulnerable are aging parents. Honouring your father and mother is about adult children taking care of their parents, not neglecting them or abusing them.  

Getting old is not easy. It’s tough. It comes with more pain and more challenges. Everything is harder and takes longer. The powers you possessed as a younger person seem to drain away.

The law of the jungle says, ‘Survival of the fittest individual’ and ‘Look out for number one’. But the law of Moses says, ‘No, no. We are all in this together. It’s survival of the kindest community’. The people of God take care of the elderly and infirm.

Okay, so when Moses talks about honouring your parents, what he means is, treat your relationship with your parents as a weighty matter, something of great importance. Don’t take your parents’ well-being lightly. 

Why?

But why should we honour our parents?  Well, the rest of verse 16 gives us two reasons why…

Firstly, because the Lord your God has commanded you.

This means, parents have a God given authority in relationship to their children. God has authorised parents to protect, provide for and teach their young children. Parenting is a sacred responsibility. 

Now let me be very clear. When I say that parents have a God given authority in relationship to their children, I do not mean that parents can do whatever they want where their children are concerned. No.

Parents are not authorised to abuse or neglect their children. They simply have a right to protect, provide for and teach the children God has entrusted to their care. So it is in this context that children have an obligation before God to accept the security and wisdom their parents have to offer.

Maybe, when you were young, your parents did not have the means to provide you with everything you wanted. Maybe you got the cheap jeans instead of the Levis. Maybe you missed out on the overseas trip or the new bike. Honouring your Mum & Dad means appreciating what they were able to provide and not despising them or resenting them for what they could not afford.   

Raising a family is hard work. Most parents are doing the best they can under the circumstances. Unfortunately, we often don’t figure that out until we become parents ourselves.

As our parents get older the relationship changes and the roles reverse so that adult children become responsible for protecting and providing for their elderly parents. This is the right and honourable thing to do.

Jesus was pretty strong on this idea of honouring your parents. In Matthew 15 the religious leaders ask Jesus why his disciples don’t wash their hands and Jesus responds by saying to the Pharisees…

3“And why do you disobey God’s command and follow your own teaching? 4 For God said, ‘Honour your father and your mother,’ and ‘If you curse your father or your mother, you are to be put to death.’ 5 But you teach that if people have something they could use to help their father or mother, but say, ‘This belongs to God,’ 6 they do not need to honour their father.In this way you disregard God’s command, in order to follow your own teaching.

Charity begins at home, as my grandfather used to say.

We are talking about why we should honour our parents. Firstly, because God commands it and secondly (from Deuteronomy 5, verse 16)…

…so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

Now, this promise is best interpreted in community terms, not in individual terms. The promise here is not so much long life for each individual child who obeys their parents. It’s more the benefit of social stability for any society in which children generally honour their parents. [2] 

In other words, when we honour our parents it is good for everyone. The family is the basic building block of society. Good family relationships are the glue that hold a society together and enable it to function well.

When large numbers of families break down, so does the fabric of society. But when families function well, looking after each other, society flourishes and the nation as a whole lasts a long time in the land.

If you think about it, taking care of the elderly is your insurance. If you have treated your parents well, your kids will see that and be more inclined to treat you well. What goes around comes around.

So, we honour our parents because God commands it, because natural justice requires it and because it benefits society, which in turn benefits us personally.

How?

We’ve talked about the what and the why, of honouring our parents. Now let’s consider the how.

Perhaps the best way of honouring your parents is by the way you live your life. Being a blessing to your parents. Not causing your parents grief or worry or anguish by the choices you make. Relating well with your siblings so that family get togethers are a source of joy and not conflict.

If your parents and grandparents have made sacrifices to give you a good start in this world, then give them a good return for their investment.

I never met my great-grandfather but I was given his Bible. In the front of the Bible are written these words: “Special prize, presented to Albert Anderson for essay on the life of Joshua… 28 October 1908”     

I am told that Albert was a devout Christian who took his faith seriously and apparently had some aptitude for Biblical study.

Six years after receiving this Bible, Albert put his tools down (he was a carpenter) and enlisted in the New Zealand Expeditionary forces to fight in the First World War. He came home to New Zealand five years later.

On his return Albert kept his faith and attended church regularly, but I don’t think he was ever quite the same. People called him ‘silent Albie’ because he didn’t talk much.

After the war his wife died and the great depression of the 1930’s followed. Life was not easy for him. He did not have the same opportunities or choices that most of us enjoy. Albert died of cancer before reaching old age.

I sometimes wonder how his life might have turned out if he didn’t go to war or if his wife didn’t die so young or if university had been an option for him. Would he have pursued his love of the Bible and become a preacher? Would he have chosen a different path? Who knows?

What I do know is that I honour his life, his suffering and his hardship by the way I live my life and by making the most of the opportunities I have been given. How do you honour your parents and grandparents?

In Ephesians 6, the apostle Paul has this to say about how children are to honour their parents: Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.  2 “Honour your father and mother”

Hmm? Do we really have to obey our parents? Well, the context suggests the children Paul is addressing here are young. Because, in verse 4, Paul gives some advice to parents saying…

4 Fathers,do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

The children in this context, therefore, are still at home and dependent on their parents. More importantly though the children are being told to obey their parents in the instruction of the Lord. So obedience is required when parents are teaching their children to follow Jesus.

Paul is encouraging Christian parents to think of themselves as making disciples of their children. Parents are like missionaries to their children. You don’t have to go overseas to make disciples. Discipleship starts in the home. Don’t leave the internet to raise your kids.

In Luke chapter 2 we come across a story from Jesus’ childhood. The story ends with Luke saying that Jesus was obedient to his parents.

Jesus’ parents were Godly people, even if they didn’t quite understand their son. By submitting to Mary & Joseph, Jesus was essentially submitting to God, his heavenly Father, who entrusted Jesus to Mary & Joseph’s care.

Obviously, if parents tell a child to do something that is clearly wrong or immoral, the child does not need to obey. Our first allegiance is always to God. 

Ideally, we are aiming for a mutually respectful relationship with our parents. One in which they consider for us and we consider for them. If, as adults, our parents ask something of us that we can’t do, then we have a conversation with them and try to arrive at a solution that works for everyone.    

Sometimes, in mid-life, we may feel like the meat in the sandwich. On the one hand we have teenage or young adult children who still need our support and, at the same time, we have aging parents who may also need some help.

To make things more difficult we often don’t live in the same city. It’s a lot harder to help family from a distance. Sometimes life’s circumstances force you to make a difficult choice. At the end of the day you can only do what is in your power to do.

When Jesus was hanging on the cross, about to die, his options were limited. His earthly father Joseph was dead. He was the eldest son. How would he honour his mother in that most difficult of all situations? One of the last things Jesus did was entrust his mother’s care to his best friend. In John 19 we read…   

26 When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman,here is your son,” 27 and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.

It wasn’t in Jesus’ power to look after Mary himself, so he delegated her care to someone he trusted implicitly.

Honouring our parents is about doing the best we can for them under the circumstances. Sometimes that might mean inviting them to live with us, in our home. Other times it will mean supporting them to live in their own home. Or, if they need a high level of support, it could mean visiting them regularly in an aged care facility. What is the best you can do by your parents?  

Thinking of difficult choices, how do you honour both parents when they are separated or divorced? How do share yourself around at Christmas? How do you navigate special occasions? How do provide care and support when your mum & dad won’t even talk to each other let alone live under the same roof?

How do you honour both parents if you are in a conversation with one parent who is saying not very nice things about the other?

Don’t buy into their narrative. Ask God to help you write a better narrative. Don’t submit to false guilt. You are not responsible for the choices your parents have made. At the end of the day you can only do what is in your power to do. You can’t be in two places at once. You can’t keep everyone happy all the time.

Do the best you can to honour both parents but make sure you leave room to honour yourself as well. Make sure you give yourself space to breathe.   

Some wounds are slow to heal. What do you do if your parents have hurt you? Perhaps your mum or dad were incompetent as parents. Maybe they were absent or neglectful or even abusive. Do you still need to honour them? The short answer is yes, but what that looks like might be different depending on the situation.

As Christians we are guided by the Spirit of Jesus, a Spirit of grace & truth. The truth is, no parent and no child is perfect so we need to have some measure of grace and not sweat the small stuff.

God is able to use the imperfection of your family for good. In fact, having a perfect upbringing isn’t that helpful in this life because it doesn’t prepare you for the world. The world we live in is not perfect. The world is not always easy or kind. Learning to relate with challenging people is a useful skill.

That being said, even grace has its limits. In extreme situations, where a parent has done serious harm and can no longer be trusted, it may be necessary to cut the relationship off for your own survival. This should not be done cynically or lightly. This is a weighty matter that requires deep wrestling in prayer.

In a situation like that, honour may take the form of asking God to forgive your parents so that you can both move on without doing further harm. Honour may also mean breaking the cycle of violence and getting help for yourself in order to learn a better way of relating to your own kids.    

Conclusion:

Remember, honour is about doing the right thing, the good thing, by your mum and dad. In the normal course of events, honour means being committed to make the relationship work well. And that involves staying in touch regularly.

It is significant that the last verse in the Old Testament speaks of God sending his prophet to restore the relationship between parents and children. Let it be the last word of this sermon too. From Malachi chapter 4 we read…

5 “See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. 6 He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents;

Questions for discussion or reflection:

What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?

  • What does honour mean to you? What does honour (kabbed) mean in the context of Deuteronomy 5? Can you think of any examples of children honouring their parents in the Bible?
  • Why should we honour our parents?
  • How do you honour your parents and grandparents? What is the best you can do for your parents?
  • When must we obey our parents? When is it okay to not do what our parents ask?
  • How might someone honour a parent who has hurt them? 
  • What were/are your parents like? Can you think of something they did for you, when you were young, that was really helpful? If they are still alive could you ring them and thank them? If you can’t ring them, thank God for the good they did. 

[1] Refer Patrick Miller’s commentary on Deuteronomy, page 84. 

[2] Refer John Stott’s commentary on Ephesians, page 241.

Tawa Baptist

Name

Scripture: Deuteronomy 5:11

Video Link: https://youtu.be/tV69hxuTTrU

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • God’s name
  • Vain words
  • Empty religion
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

If I say the name, Richie McCaw, what do you think of?

You probably think of the All Black rugby captain who played 148 tests. You might also think of the silver fern, the Canterbury region and being a helicopter pilot. The name, Richie McCaw, is respected all over the rugby world.

What if I say the name Angela Merkel, what do you think of?

You might think: the first female Chancellor of Germany. A fine leader and, at one point, perhaps the most powerful woman in the world. Angela Merkel was also a research scientist with a PhD in quantum chemistry. A very capable person. The name Angela Merkel is well respected all over the world.

A name is more than just a way of identifying a person. A name calls to mind that individual’s personality, their achievements, their character and our connection with that person.

Today we continue our series in Deuteronomy. We have got to that part in Deuteronomy where Moses reiterates the ten commandments (or the ten words of Yahweh) to the people of Israel. Last week we heard about the first commandment prohibiting the worship of any other gods or idols.

This week we focus on chapter 5, verse 11, which is all about honouring God’s name. Verse 11 reads…  

You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

God’s name:

It is clear from this verse that God’s name is particularly important. In the ancient world a person’s name was thought to be part of who they are. A name was more than just an identifying word. A name was equivalent to the essence or being of that person.

With this in view, God’s name is a weighty thing. His name carries real gravity, real mana, real power. God’s name is more than just his reputation. God’s name represents his integrity, his oneness, his uniqueness.

God’s name calls to mind his character, his justice and mercy, his love and compassion. God’s name reminds us of God’s wonderful deeds as our creator, redeemer and Father.

So what is God’s name? Well, whenever you see the word Lord in the Bible, all in capitals, it usually refers to God’s personal name which (in Hebrew) is spelt something like, YHWH.

We might think of the word Lord as a title, like Sir or Dame or Colonel or Reverend and, depending on the context, it can carry that meaning. But Lord, in capital letters in the Bible, is not a title. It is God’s name (YHWH).

It is not clear how to pronounce the name of God, so people have added vowels to the consonants. With the help of vowels, some pronounce God’s personal name as Jehovah. These days, people in the academic world prefer Yahweh.

As Christians, we worship Jesus. For us, Jesus is Yahweh in the flesh. In fact, the name Jesus actually means ‘the Lord saves’ or ‘God saves’. Therefore, the name of Jesus is sacred.  As the apostle Paul writes in his letter to the Philippians…

9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
    and gave him the name that is above every name,

10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
    to the glory of God the Father.

What then does it mean to misuse the name of the Lord? Well, this command is about avoiding vain words and empty religion.

Vain words:

Earlier this year, at the Academy awards, Will Smith became heated when Chris Rock made a joke at his wife’s expense. Will said to Chris, ‘Take my wife’s name out of your mouth’.

Chris Rock thought he was being funny. But Will Smith felt that Chris was misusing his wife’s name and this made Will angry. 

God fearing Jews in ancient times never said the Lord’s name, just in case they misused it accidently. That’s how holy or sacred God’s name was to them. But when we look at the commandment we notice that it doesn’t say we cannot use God’s name at all. It just says we cannot misuse it.

The old school way of phrasing this commandment is: Do not take the Lord’s name in vain. This translation points to the misuse of the Lord’s name when making vows or taking an oath.

In ancient times people would make vows as a kind of guarantee that they would follow through on their commitment. They might say something like, ‘May God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if I don’t do what I say I’m going to do’.

To make a vow in the Lord’s name and then not follow through on what you had promised was to take God’s name in vain. It brought a curse on the offender.

In the New Testament, Jesus warned his followers against making oaths, saying:

33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ 34 But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37 Let your ‘Yes’ be yes and your ‘No’ be no; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

You know, our words have power. Power for good and power for evil. Power for well-being and power for harm. Jesus wants us to be blessed. He doesn’t want us to curse ourselves or anyone else. Don’t put yourself in an impossible situation, like Jephthah.  

Jesus wants us to be free; free to do God’s will. He doesn’t want us to be burdened with a sense of obligation or guilt over some rash promise we made and haven’t been able to keep. 

Jesus’ words here remind us there is much in life which is beyond our control. Wisdom dictates that we should not bind ourselves unnecessarily by committing to do something in the future when circumstances could derail our best intentions.  

A point of clarification: I don’t think Jesus is saying, we can’t swear on the Bible to speak the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, in a court of law. That’s not about promising to do something in the future. That’s about not bearing false witness.

Except in a court of law, people these days don’t normally swear an oath to guarantee their words. For us, swearing is associated with cursing or bad language.

We should not use God’s name as an expletive because it’s not right to use something holy for an unholy purpose. You don’t use your tooth brush to clean the toilet. Nor should you use God’s name to express your anger.

That being said, I don’t think the commandment prohibiting the misuse of God’s name is primarily about potty mouth. It’s really more about not hijacking God’s name to serve our own purposes.

God’s name is powerful. God’s name can move people to do all sorts of things. History is littered with political leaders who have misused God’s name to win votes or influence people to serve their own agenda. God hates that sort of thing.

But it’s not just ruthless politicians who hijack God’s name. Sometimes Christians do it too. If someone says, ‘The Lord told me such and such’. Or, ‘God told me to tell you this or that’, then be very careful. Be discerning.

God may well have spoken to them. But it is also possible that they are sincerely mistaken. Or even worse, insincere and manipulative. In any case, ask God to shine his light on the situation. Measure what they say against Scripture. Talk with people you trust and ask the Lord to confirm the truth either way.  

To use God’s name for our own selfish ends is to mess with the divine / human relationship. It’s like stealing your boss’ credit card and clocking up a huge debt buying stuff for yourself. You just don’t do that.

Okay, so misusing God’s name has to do with vain words. More than this, it is also about empty religion. 

Empty religion:

Imagine you own a really nice house. One day, you decide to go on holiday for a few weeks. You are a generous person and so you offer the use of your home and its contents to one of your friends while you are away.

As you hand your friend the keys to your house you say, ‘Enjoy my home while I’m gone. Feel free to use the appliances, to drive the car, to take a soak in the spa pool, even have people over for a BBQ if you like. But please, look after the place. And be mindful of the neighbours. Don’t play the stereo too loud.

Unfortunately, when you come back from holiday, you find stains on the carpet, broken windows, complaints from the neighbours about the noise, a huge power bill and speeding fines from when your so called ‘friend’ took your car for a joy ride.

You are not happy and rightly so. You trusted this person with your most valuable asset and they abused your trust. They wrecked your stuff and damaged your reputation in the neighbourhood. You thought your relationship meant something but it turns out the friendship was empty.     

Knowing God’s name is a bit like being given the keys to a really nice house.  By sharing his name with us, God has given us access to himself. God has trusted us with his name in much the same way a wealthy friend might trust us with the use of their home and car.

If we really care about our relationship with God, then we will take care of his name. But if we don’t take care of God’s name, then our religion is empty.

A more literal translation of the command to not misuse the Lord’s name, reads: You shall not carry the name of Yahweh your God emptily. 

To carry the name of Yahweh means to claim him as our God and to accept the role of representing him. Israel could not claim Yahweh as their God and then live as if they belonged to Baal. They could not worship pagan gods alongside Yahweh.

In other words, we need to practice what we preach. Our profession of faith needs to line up with our lifestyle. If we say we believe in a God of love, then we need to love our neighbour as we love ourselves.

If we say we believe God is holy and righteous, just and true, then we need to pursue holiness, righteousness, justice and truth.

If we say we believe in Jesus, then we need to conduct ourselves in a Christ-like way. We need to be sincere in our faith and loyal to Jesus. Our religion cannot be empty. Our faith in Jesus must have the substance of obedience to God.

Now, when you think of it like that, it becomes real clear pretty quickly that we have all misused God’s name one way or another. None of us have kept this commandment all the time. Two things to keep in mind.

Firstly, Jesus has done for us what we cannot do for ourselves. Where we have failed, Jesus has succeeded. Jesus has honoured God’s name perfectly, on our behalf.

Secondly, we need to be on our own side. The reality is we are all on a journey to becoming more like Christ and we need God’s grace in that process. How you start is not as important as how you finish. Being honest with yourself is key to making progress in the right direction.  

You shall not carry the name of Yahweh your God emptily, is another way of saying you shall not be a hypocrite.

One of the great ironies of the gospels is the hypocrisy of the religious leaders. They were not honest with themselves. They accused Jesus of blasphemy and killed him on that pretext, when in fact they were the blasphemers. The Pharisees misused God’s name by pretending to be something they were not.

At its best, religion functions as a vehicle for truth. But the Pharisees used their religion like a cloak, to hide the truth. For all their intensity, for all their rigorous ritual, the Pharisees’ religion was empty of the very things God requires: justice, mercy and humility.

We must not look down on the Pharisees with contempt. We do better to look at our ourselves with honesty and grace.

Conclusion – Prayer & Praise:

Okay, so we have heard what it means to misuse God’s name. Our words about God should not be in vain and our profession of faith must not be empty. But the commandments are not just about what we can’t do. The prohibitions point beyond themselves to what we can do.

Following this train of thought we might ask ourselves, what is a right (or good) use of God’s name? 

In a nut shell, God gives us his name for prayer and praise. 

Your name is how people know who you are and it is how people talk to you. Likewise, God’s name is how he reveals himself to us and it is how we talk to God.

When Jesus’ disciples asked him how to pray, Jesus began, Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be your name. Among other things, Jesus was teaching us that prayer is what God’s name is for.

We invoke God’s name in order to have a conversation with him, a relationship with him, intimacy with him. Prayer is a way of sharing ourselves with God. In prayer we seek to know God’s will and we ask the Lord for what we need to do his will.

God’s name is also intended for praise. When we sing or say, ‘Hallelujah’, we are actually addressing God by his name. ‘Hallelujah’ means ‘praise the Lord’, as in praise Yahweh.  

If you look at that word, praise, you notice it contains another word, raise. To praise God means to raise the name of the Lord. Sometimes when we raise the name of the Lord, God enables us to see the problems and pain of this life from an eternal perspective.  

Let us lift our voices in prayer and praise to God now, as we prepare for communion…

Questions for discussion or reflection:

What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?

  • What does your name mean? Does the meaning of your name reflect something of your personality or character do you think? If so, how?
  • What does it mean to misuse the Lord’s name? Can you think of examples of taking the Lord’s name in vain? 
  • Why are we forbidden to misuse the Lord’s name? (E.g. what are the consequences for ourselves and others of misusing God’s name?)
  • Why do you think Jesus warned against making vows / oaths in Matthew 5:33-37?
  • Discuss / reflect on the literal translation, ‘You shall not carry the name of Yahweh your God emptily’. What does this mean?
  • What is a right or good use of God’s name?   
Tawa Baptist

Honour

Scripture: Ephesians 6:1-4

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Christ among us
  • Children honour
  • Fathers nourish
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Today we continue our series in Ephesians

  • Ordinarily we would be up to chapter 5 by now but, because it’s Fathers’ Day, we are jumping forward to chapter 6 where Paul talks about how children and parents are to relate with each other
  • From Ephesians 6, verses 1-4, in the NIV we read…

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honour your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise — “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.” Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us

 

Christ among us:

There was once an old monastery secluded in a forest, miles from any towns or cities

  • People used to travel out of their way to spend time in this monastery
  • In recent years though fewer and fewer people made the effort to come

The Abbot of the monastery was in the habit of meeting with his good friend, a retired Jewish Rabbi, for a game of chess on the first Monday of each month

  • Noticing that the Abbot was a bit distracted (taking longer between moves) the Rabbi asked, ‘What are you in touch with my friend?’
  • So the Abbot poured out the contents of his soul…
  • ‘Our monastery used to be a place of peace. I remember there was a warmth and stillness there that healed the soul. You could see a visible change in the people who came for spiritual retreat. I don’t see that change anymore. We used to be a well that people would come to for refreshment, but it seems now the well is dry’
  • The old Rabbi listened to the Abbot’s heart and when the Abbot had finished speaking he paused for a few moments
  • After the silence had done its work the Rabbi said to the Abbot, ‘Last night I received a vision. In my vision I saw the Messiah among the brothers in the monastery. Christ is among you.’

After their game of chess, the Abbot returned to the monastery, the Rabbi’s words resting softly in his mind

  • One among their own was the Messiah! Who could it be? He knew it wasn’t himself, but who?
  • When he shared the Rabbi’s vision with the other monks a stillness descended as they looked into each other’s faces. Was this one the Messiah?

From that day on the mood in the monastery changed. Joseph and Ivan forgave the past and started talking again

  • Peter, who always seemed to find his way out of doing chores, started helping others with theirs
  • Naidu, who was often heard complaining about the Abbot behind his back, started appreciating the Abbot’s better qualities
  • The monks began smiling more, singing more and looking for opportunities to help passers by
  • They treated each other with greater reverence and respect, as to the Lord

When one traveler, then another, found their way to the monastery word soon spread about the remarkable spirit of the place.

  • People once again took the journey to the brothers and found themselves renewed and transformed.
  • The well had been filled, all because those monks knew that Christ was among them.

In Ephesians 5 & 6 Paul encourages his readers to live in light of the fact that Jesus, the Messiah, is among them

  • As Eugene Peterson observes, the repeated phrase that redefines who we are in all the complexities of household and workplace is ‘as to the Lord’ and ‘in the Lord’… [1]
  • When we love Jesus and realise that he is in our relationships with others, and therefore affected by the way we relate with each other, it causes us to treat people with greater reverence and respect, as it did the monks

 

 

There are essentially two aspects to this morning’s reading from Ephesians

  • There is Paul’s instruction to children as to how they are to relate to their parents and there is Paul’s instruction to fathers as to how they are to relate with their children
  • In both cases it is ‘in the Lord’ or ‘with the Lord’

 

Children honour:

Who knows how to play the game ‘Simon Says’?

  • Good. For those who need a reminder, whenever I say ‘Simon says…’ you follow the instruction but if I don’t say ‘Simon says’ then you don’t do what I say. Let’s see if we can do this
  • Simon says put your hands on your head
  • Simon says put your finger on your nose
  • Simon says put your hands in the air
  • Simon says shake your hands
  • Fold your arms
  • You are too good

 

In verse 1 of Ephesians 6 Paul says, ‘Children obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.’

To the people of Paul’s day, whether Christian or not, it was standard wisdom for children to obey their parents – nothing strange or counter cultural about that

  • The idea here is that parents have a delegated authority from God so, in the normal course of events, it is right for children to obey their parents because parents are God’s representatives
  • Parents are there to protect and provide for their children therefore, most of the time, obeying your parents is in your interests
  • Luke 2, verse 51, tells us how a 12 year old Jesus was obedient to his parents, Mary & Joseph, and that Jesus grew in wisdom and stature and in favour with God and man
  • It is God’s design that children obey their parents

 

But does this mean, children should always obey their parents no matter what?

  • Well, not necessarily. There are exceptions to the rule
  • Paul qualifies the cultural norm of his day by saying ‘obey your parents in the Lord’
  • In the Lord is sort of like Simon says
  • Whenever parents ask their child to do something that is within what Christ wants, that’s like saying ‘Simon says’ – you do it
  • But if a parent asks their child to do something which is outside of what Christ wants then that’s like dropping the ‘Simon says’ – it’s not binding
  • The idea here is that while children have a duty to obey their parents they have a greater responsibility to Christ

 

In verses 2 & 3 Paul continues his instruction to children saying, Honour your father and mother – which is the first commandment with a promise – so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.

 

God’s command to honour our parents is the fifth of the ten commandments

  • The Jews divided the ten commandments into two sets of five
  • The first five commandments are about our duty to God and the second five are about our duty to our neighbour
  • Honouring our mum and dad, therefore, is part of our duty to God
  • Irrespective of whether we think our parents did a good job or not, we still honour them out of respect for God
  • It’s not easy being a parent. God doesn’t want us to add to our parents’ grief; He wants us to add to their peace and joy

 

Now we are best to understand the promise there, about things going well with you and enjoying long life, in a general or collective sense

  • The promise of long life and well-being is not so much to individuals
  • The promise relates to the social stability that a community enjoys when children collectively honour their parents
  • A strong family life leads to a healthy society [2]

 

To honour our parents is not exactly the same thing as obeying them, although there is some overlap

  • When our parents ask us to do something that is ‘in Christ’, like take care of your little brother, then obeying them is honouring them
  • But if they ask us to do something that is outside of Christ, like conceal or collude with some kind of evil, then we honour them by not obeying them
  • It is unlikely though that a parent would ask a child to do something evil

 

In the normal course of events honouring our parents has to do with the way we speak to them, the way we talk to others about them and the way care for them, especially as they get older

  • The ideal is to care for our elderly parents ourselves, as they become less able; this might mean supporting them to live in their own home or having them come to stay with us
  • But when that isn’t possible (or wise) we must do the best we can to ensure someone else cares for them, and that includes staying in touch; making time to phone and visit in person
  • We see the way Jesus honoured his mother, Mary, even as he hung on the cross, giving responsibility for her care to someone he trusted, his disciple John

 

Now everyone’s situation is different

  • If your parents were abusive to you and it became unwise or unsafe for you to remain close to them, then what does honour look like?
  • Well, in a word, forgiveness
  • Forgiveness does not mean pretending the abuse never happened
  • Forgiveness requires us to face the truth of what happened, without denial and without exaggeration
  • Forgiveness also requires us to face the truth about ourselves – children can hurt their parents too – we have to take the log out of own eye in order to see clearly
  • Forgiveness does not mean you have to automatically trust the person who hurt you
  • For trust to be restored the other person must change and we can’t change other people, only God can do that
  • Forgiveness is essentially about release – letting go of the hurt and ill feeling we have toward the person who has harmed us
  • Most of the hurts we sustain in family life are small (little cuts) which, if untreated can become infected
  • Whatever the nature of the hurt, there is honour in forgiving it and, where possible, being reconciled
  • Forgiveness honours our parents, it honours our soul and it honours God

 

Let me tell you a story to illustrate what honouring your parents, honouring your soul and honouring God might look like. [3]

  • This story is about a 15 year-old boy we’ll call Jim
  • Jim’s family had never stepped inside a church but Jim had a friend who invited him to youth group
  • Jim enjoyed youth group, mainly because of the food and the girls
  • Then he went to Easter camp. It sounded like it would be fun and his parents were happy to get him out of their hair for the weekend
  • While he was at Easter camp Jim had an encounter with Jesus and became a Christian

The day after he got home Jim said to his parents, ‘Mum and Dad. I’ve met Jesus and I’d like to get baptised.’

  • His parents were alarmed to hear this and told him with raised voices, ‘That’s not going to happen while you live under our roof.’
  • So, in an act of defiance, Jim stomped out of the house and went straight to church

It was the Tuesday following Easter and the youth pastor happened to be there, drying out tents and washing the bus

  • Jim didn’t say anything at first but the youth pastor (as tired as he was after a long weekend with not much sleep) could see the storm on Jim’s face and asked if everything was okay
  • ‘Not really’, said Jim. ‘I told my mum and dad that I wanted to get baptised and they spat the dummy. They think I want to join a cult. I don’t know what to do?’
  • The youth pastor stood still for a moment, looked Jim in the eye and said,
  • “Jim, your parents love you. They might not understand the experience you had at camp, but they still love you.
  • It is good that you want to be baptised but why don’t you wait for a bit; respect their wishes for now, give them a chance to get used to the idea
  • Don’t get baptised in anger against them. Build trust with them. Let them see Jesus in you. Who knows, maybe in a few years they’ll come round. But if not, you can always get baptised when you are bit older.”

Jim wasn’t quite sure he understood everything the pastor was saying, after all he was only 15, but he followed the pastor’s advice, went home (feeling a bit calmer) and respected his parents’ wishes

  • A few weeks later the youth pastor visited Jim’s parents and this gave them assurance that their son wasn’t being brainwashed
  • Jim found it hard to articulate his faith in words to his parents but the new respect he showed them spoke volumes
  • Three years later, at the age of 18, Jim was baptised and his parents and sister came to the service in support
  • During the service Jim gave his testimony and in it he paid tribute to his parents, thanking them for their love and care for him over the years
  • Both his mum and his dad were choking back tears
  • Jim honoured his father & mother, he honoured God and he honoured his own soul

 

Children at any age (whether minors or adults) are to honour their parents and parents (especially fathers) are to nourish their children.

 

Fathers nourish:

I was very fortunate as a child to have both sets of grandparents and I got to spend a fair bit of time with them

  • One Saturday I was at my Nana and Pop’s house and a child (who we didn’t know) came to the door
  • This kid may have been selling raffle tickets or asking to be sponsored for something at school, I don’t remember now, but I do remember my Pop supporting whatever it was they were doing
  • When the child had left my Pop turned to me and said, ‘You never knock a child back’
  • My Pop had received a lot of knocks, as a kid, and it had made him compassionate with children

On another occasion I was at the dairy with my other grandfather – he was buying me an ice-cream

  • While we were there my grandfather noticed a kid waiting outside the door – he was obviously part way through his paper round
  • Even though the paper boy was a complete stranger, my grandfather bought him an ice cream too, a really big one
  • I think my grandfather saw something of himself in the paper boy and wanted to take care of him, to nourish his spirit, to encourage him
  • Now you probably wouldn’t be able to do that today (people might think you were bit creepy) but in the 1970’s that was still an acceptable thing to do, it was considered a kindness

Neither of my grandfather’s went to church (at least when I knew them) and yet they both treated children as the Messiah among us

 

In Ephesians 6, verse 4, Paul changes the focus from the children’s responsibility to the father’s responsibility

 

Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

 

Paul’s advice for children to honour and obey their parents was not counter cultural – it was the accepted wisdom of the day

  • But his advice to fathers did challenge the culture
  • William Barclay tells how a Roman father of the first century had complete power over his children [4]
  • He could decide whether they lived or died, he could sell them as slaves or put them to work for himself
  • What’s more, a Roman son never came of age; they were subject to their father’s rule as long as he lived
  • This is not to say that all Roman fathers were abusive – I’m sure some (perhaps most) treated their children with care and consideration
  • The point is, in Paul’s day, fathers held all the power and power invites corruption and abuse
  • Paul’s instruction to fathers is to limit their own power; to control themselves and treat their kids with fairness and tenderness

 

Our society owes a great debt to the influence of Christ and Paul and the church. Without Jesus’ teaching we would probably still be treating children like the Romans did

 

If you are a father, being ‘in Christ’ means not provoking your children to anger, not exasperating them by being unfair.

  • Children have a built in sense of justice – they know instinctively when something isn’t fair
  • Parents are God’s representatives to their children – we need to do all we can to show our kids the goodness of God
  • If we mistreat our children, then we are misrepresenting God to them – we are taking the Lord’s name in vain

 

Now, as I reflect on the cultural context, it occurs to me how different it is to be a father today in NZ, compared with first century Ephesus

  • Roman fathers may have had complete power over their families but NZ dads don’t
  • There has been rapid social change in NZ over the past few decades and, as a consequence, men have had to reconsider (and redefine) their identity and role in the family and in society
  • What does it mean to be a man and what does it mean to be a father?

 

What would Paul say to fathers in NZ today?

  • Perhaps he would say: don’t abdicate your responsibility, don’t bail out, don’t abandon your family, don’t leave it all to mum or the internet
  • You have an important role to play – your kids need you and what they need from you will change as they grow and develop
  • Be present, be patient. Listen to your kids but be honest with them too
  • They need to learn that it is not all about them
  • The Spirit of Jesus is a Spirit of grace and truth; your kids need you to embody that grace & truth

 

The verb ‘bring them up’, in the original Greek, literally means to nourish or to feed. Paul is saying, it is a father’s responsibility to nourish their children so they grow well

  • ‘Nourish’ means feeding a child’s body with wholesome food but it also means feeding a child’s mind with wisdom and their spirit with encouragement (in the right direction)
  • Don’t knock a child back with bad advice or caustic criticism

 

The training and instruction is to be ‘of the Lord’

  • In a nut shell this means parents are to teach their children to love God and to love their neighbour as they love themselves
  • Jesus Christ is the one who shows us how to do this

 

There is another challenge to the cultural norms of Paul’s day in verse 4

  • Notice that Paul uses the gender neutral term children
  • Most writers of Paul’s day would have said ‘bring up your sons’ because girls did not normally receive a formal education; girls were taught household duties
  • Paul was encouraging fathers to teach their daughters as well as their sons at a time when girls were not valued by society
  • In doing this Paul was following the example of Jesus who encouraged equal opportunity, in education, for women
  • In Luke 10 Jesus made room for Mary & Martha to sit at his feet and learn like the men

 

Conclusion:

This morning we’ve heard how children are to honour and obey their parents, while parents (particularly fathers) are to nourish their children, body, soul and spirit

  • But we can’t do that on our own – we need God’s help
  • God has provided help in the form of His Son Jesus
  • We need to keep before us a vision of Christ in community
  • We need to understand that the Messiah is among us

 

Questions for discussion or reflection:

  1. What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?

2. What difference does it make to realise, the Messiah is among us?

3. Why does Paul say it is right for children to obey their parents?

  • When should we obey our parents?
  • When should we not obey our parents?

4. What does it mean to honour our parents?

  • How did Jesus honour his parents?
  • How do you (personally) honour your parents?

5. Is there a wound in the relationship with your parents (or children)?

  • Do you need to forgive your parents (or children)?
  • Do you need your parents (or children) to forgive you?
  • How might we release the hurt and cleanse the wound?

6. Do you have a story of something good (something nourishing to the soul) that your father or grandfather did? Share your story with someone you trust.

7. What is the role and responsibility of fathers today?

 

[1] Eugene Peterson, ‘Practise Resurrection’, page 233.

[2] Refer John Stott, Ephesians, page 241.

[3] John Stott’s examples in his commentary on Ephesians (page 242) provided the inspiration for the story about Jim

[4] William Barclay’s commentary on Ephesians, page 208.

Tawa Baptist

Mercy

Scripture: Psalm 123 (also Luke 18:35-43)

 

Title: Mercy

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Human mercy
  • Honour & shame
  • Jesus’ mercy
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Today we continue our series on the Songs of Ascents – which we know as Psalms 120 to 134

 

The word ‘Ascent’ has to do with moving upward

–         The temple in Jerusalem was on a hill

–         On their way to religious festivals Jewish pilgrims might sing these songs as they ascended the hill to the temple

 

The 15 Songs of Ascents, then, are about being on a journey – not just a physical journey to Jerusalem but also a spiritual journey

–         As we make our way through these Songs of Ascents we notice the psalmist draws closer to God

 

The plan, over the next couple of months, is to explore the Songs of Ascents as we journey toward Easter

–         This morning we take a closer look at psalm 123

–         Last week, in psalm 122, the palmist sang about arriving in Jerusalem

–         Now that he has arrived his first word is a prayer to God for mercy

–         Not mercy in the sense of forgiveness for anything he might have done wrong – but rather, mercy in the sense of a reprieve from the wrong that has been done to him by others

–         From the New Revised Standard Version we read…

 

1 To you I lift up my eyes,     O you who are enthroned in the heavens! 2 As the eyes of servants     look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid     to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God,     until he has mercy upon us.  3 Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us,     for we have had more than enough of contempt. 4 Our soul has had more than its fill     of the scorn of those who are at ease,     of the contempt of the proud.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate this prayer for us

Human mercy:

In their book “A Higher Call” Adam Makos and Larry Alexander retell a true story of mercy from WW2…

 

The pilot glanced outside his cockpit and froze. He blinked hard and looked again, hoping it was just a mirage. But his co-pilot stared at the same horrible vision.

 

The men were looking at a gray German Messerschmitt fighter hovering just three feet off their wingtip. It was five days before Christmas 1943, and the fighter had closed in on their crippled B-17 bomber.

 

The B-17 pilot, Charles Brown, was a 21-year-old West Virginia farm boy on his first combat mission. His bomber had been shot to pieces by swarming fighters, and his plane was alone in the skies above Germany. Half his crew was wounded, and the tail gunner was dead, his blood frozen in icicles over the machine guns.

 

But when Brown and his co-pilot, Spencer Luke, looked at the fighter pilot again, something odd happened. The German didn’t pull the trigger. He nodded at Brown instead.

 

What happened next was one of the most remarkable acts of mercy recorded during World War II. Instead of finishing the American bomber off the German fighter pilot continued to fly in close formation with the bomber to protect it from German anti-aircraft guns on the ground

 

The German pilot’s name was Franz Stigler. Franz was a fighter ace. One more kill and he would have been awarded the Knight’s Cross.

 

But Stigler was driven by something deeper than glory. His older brother, August, was a fellow Luftwaffe pilot who had been killed earlier in the war. American pilots had killed Stigler’s comrades and were bombing his country’s cities. The temptation for revenge was intense.

 

Despite having strong reason to shoot, Stigler pressed his hand over the rosary he kept in his flight jacket. He eased his index finger off the trigger. He couldn’t open fire. It would be murder.

 

Stigler wasn’t just motivated by vengeance that day. He also lived by a code. He could trace his family’s ancestry to knights in 16th century Europe. He had once studied to be a priest.

 

A German pilot who spared the enemy, though, risked death in Nazi Germany. If someone reported him, he would be executed. Yet Stigler could also hear the voice of his commanding officer, who once told him:

–         “You follow the rules of war for you — not your enemy. You fight by rules (or principles) to keep your humanity.”  [1]

 

Many years later the two pilots, Charles Brown and Franz Stigler met in person

 

Whether in war or peace, mercy is part of humanity’s code

–         The capacity to show mercy, compassion and kindness is what sets us apart as creatures made in God’s image

 

One of the things we recognise from Franz’ story is that human mercy is circumstantial – by which I mean the circumstances need to be right for us to show mercy

–         Like Franz Stigler we need to be in the right place at the right time with the right resources to be able to demonstrate mercy to others

–         Sometimes we may wish to show mercy but it might not be in our power to do so because we aren’t in the right place at the right time or we don’t have the resources (or the power) that is needed to help

–         That’s okay – so long as we are always prepared to show mercy when the opportunity presents itself and it’s in our power to do so

 

Unlike us human beings, God is not limited by time or space or power

–         He is present everywhere and His resources are infinite

–         So God’s mercy is qualitatively different from human expressions of mercy

 

Honour & shame:

One of the big concepts found in psalm 123, which is perhaps not as obvious to us as the concept of mercy, is the idea of honour & shame

–         To understand where the psalmist is coming from we have to think in terms of honour & shame

 

An honour-shame mind-set is different from an innocence-guilt mind-set

–         Innocence & guilt are about the things we do

–         While honour & shame are about who we are

 

Innocence and guilt has to do with the personal moral decisions we make

–         For example, Franz Stigler made a personal moral decision not to shoot the struggling B-17 bomber out of the sky

–         He reasoned that would be murder

–         If Franz had shot the plane down he would have been guilty

–         But he didn’t – he saved the plane – and so he was innocent, in that situation at least

 

Honour and shame is different from innocence and guilt

–         Honour and shame is something that other people put on us

–         So if Franz had shot the plane down his superiors would have honoured him with the Knight’s Cross – a special medal

–         Ironically he wouldn’t be innocent but he would be honoured

–         By not shooting down the plane Franz took the risk of being shamed by his superiors – being branded a traitor or disloyal

 

Focusing just on shame for a moment…

–         I remember when I was about 15 or 16 riding along Ward Street in Hamilton on my bike and a couple guys rode past and spat on me

–         I had no idea who they were – it was completely unprovoked

–         They were simply looking for a fight

–         Now I didn’t feel guilty about that – I hadn’t done anything wrong

–         But I did feel shamed – they literally put shame on me by spitting on me

 

Now the temptation when someone puts shame on us is to retaliate and try to put shame on them as well (as if that could restore our honour)

–         I didn’t retaliate in this situation, mainly because they were bigger than me

 

Looking back on it now I think the reason they spat on me was because someone had tried to put shame on to them and they were simply trying get rid of that shame by passing it off onto me – it wasn’t personal

 

Shame, then, isn’t so much about making a mistake

–         Shame is a statement or action that says you are a mistake or you are nothing, you don’t matter

 

People can put shame on us in a whole variety of ways

–         Usually it’s by name calling – saying things like ‘you’re a looser’, or ‘you’re ugly’ or ‘you’re stupid’ or whatever

–         But they might also cause shame in other ways too – like physical or sexual abuse or by causing us social embarrassment

–         When someone tries to put shame on us, we have a choice

–         We can believe the lie that we are worthless

–         Or we can remember the truth that we are made and loved by God

–         That we are valuable to him

–         We are so valuable to God in fact that he was prepared to put His Son Jesus in harm’s way for us

 

In psalm 123 the author hasn’t done anything bad – he isn’t feeling guilty

–         But he has been made to feel shame

–         Other people are showing him scorn and contempt

 

To be shown scorn & contempt is to be rejected – treated like you are nothing, like you are a mistake

–         Scorn & contempt isn’t so much a criticism of what you’ve done

–         It’s more a criticism of who you are

 

But the psalmist chooses not to accept the shame that his enemies are trying to put on him

–         Instead the psalmist looks to God for honour

 

 1 To you I lift up my eyes,     O you who are enthroned in the heavens!

 

God is the one enthroned in the heavens

–         You can’t get any higher status or position than that

–         God has the most honour and he is the source of real honour

–         God has conferred on human beings the honour (and glory) of being made in his image

 

2 As the eyes of servants     look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid     to the hand of her mistress,

so our eyes look to the Lord our God…

It’s interesting how in today’s world we are used to having eyes on us

–         We are used to security cameras watching our every move,

–         Speed cameras waiting to snap us if we go over the limit,

–         Security guards monitoring us to make sure we don’t get out of hand

–         Managers keeping an eye on us to ensure we do our job, and so on

 

But here in verse 2 all eyes are on the master

–         The servants and the maid are not the centre of attention – the Lord is

–         The servants and the maid are trusted

–         They give their attention to the hand of the master

–         Why the hand?

–         Well the hand is symbolic of power & authority

–         A simple hand gesture from the master tells the servant what to do

–         The hand also protects and provides

 

By describing themselves as servants and maids who diligently look to obey God their master, the Jewish pilgrims are essentially saying…

–         ‘Our honour comes from the Lord – not from what other people think of us. We are not defined by those people who show us scorn and contempt.

–         We are defined by God himself – we are his servants, he is our master’

–         The implication is: there is honour in being a servant of God Most High

 

If you have suffered shame by the way people have treated you or the lies they have spoken about you then, let me say, you are not defined by the proud or the abusive

–         You are not defined by the flippant or by those whose lives are easy

–         You are defined by God Himself

–         You are his precious child – his beloved

–         And He (the Lord) places immeasurable value and honour and respect on your life – you are loved by him

–         Jesus came to transform our temporary suffering into eternal glory

–         He came to clothe our shame with his honour

 

Returning to verse 2, another thing we notice is the wonderfully inclusive language used here

–         Women are honoured alongside men, on the same social level as men

–         This is not a boys only club

–         Women have the dignity (the honour) of serving God, as men do

–         This might not seem like such a big deal to us now but equality between the sexes was a big deal 3,000 years ago

 

The Jewish pilgrims look to the Lord for mercy because they are fed up with being shown scorn & contempt by those around them

 

Mercy has to do with power

–         To show mercy one must be in a position of power

–         Mercy is basically using your power to help someone

–         There is no one more powerful than God and also no one more merciful

 

What we see here is that the psalmist does not ask mercy from the proud who are showing him scorn and contempt

–         Instead he asks God for mercy – he goes right to the top

–         This is an admission that God is the one who is really in control

–         The proud can only show contempt because the Lord allows it

 

It’s a bit like when Pilate said to Jesus, “Don’t you know that I have power to release you and power to crucify you?”

–         Meaning, “Don’t you realise I have the power to show you mercy?”

–         And Jesus replied, “You would have no power over me unless it had been given you from above”

–         In other words, ‘Pilate, you’re not really in control here. This is only happening because God is allowing it. God could take away your power at any moment’

 

The proud are on notice – they are not in control, even if they think they are

 

As it turned out God allowed Jesus to be crucified

–         Crucifixion isn’t just physically painful

–         It is also incredibly shameful

–         Jesus hung on the cross naked while people heaped their scorn and contempt and insults on him

–         But three days later God honoured Jesus by raising him from the dead

–         Resurrection is honour

 

Psalm 123 ends in a way that feels unfinished

–         We are left hanging as the psalmist is left hanging

–         The pilgrim has asked God for His mercy but we don’t know, at this point, how God will respond

–         God is silent

 

This is often how the spiritual life is – we make our petitions to God in prayer and are left waiting with no quick results

–         Perhaps you have had a similar experience

–         Maybe asking God for healing and not getting it straight away

–         Or asking God for a job and then having to wait for months just for an interview

–         Or asking God for some direction in your life only to hear a long silence

 

The Lord’s timing is not our timing – but it is right in the end

 

Mercy can take a variety of forms

–         In the example of Franz Stigler and Charles Brown, mercy took the form of a reprieve from death

–         In psalm 123 the mercy requested was an end to contempt and shame

–         Mercy can also be the restoration of something that was lost

 

Jesus’ mercy:

Many years ago there lived a man who was blind

–         The man had not always been blind – he had lost his sight part way through life

 

It wasn’t the man’s fault that he was blind – it wasn’t because of anything he had done wrong and yet he didn’t feel good about himself

–         He survived by begging on the side of the road

–         No one really likes a beggar – they tend to make people feel guilty

 

Although the man couldn’t see he could certainly hear well enough

–         It wasn’t just the rude things people would say about him, it was their tone of voice as well

–         Most people tried to avoid him, some were afraid of him, others were irritated at the inconvenience he presented and just a few were abusive

–         He felt like a dead weight – not contributing anything to society, just getting under people’s feet, making them feel uncomfortable

–         He was made to feel shame every day

 

The blind man could never voice his frustration to others though

–         Even if they did stop long enough to listen how could they possibly understand the daily grind that was his reality

–         Being made to feel shame for who he was – something he had no control over – It wasn’t fair

–         Not that he would give in to self-pity – not for a moment

–         He had enough pity from others without adding to it himself

 

One day the man heard a commotion further down the street

–         He recognised the sound – it was a large crowd on the move

–         Crowds made him nervous

–         A crowd is an unpredictable thing – a dangerous thing, especially if you’re blind

–         But curiosity got the better of him and he asked what was happening

–         “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by”, they told him

 

Jesus of Nazareth

–         The blind man had heard of Jesus

–         Jesus would have known about shame and contempt

–         There were rumours about his heritage – his mother got pregnant before she was married (or so they said)

–         Nearly as bad as that, Jesus came from Nazareth – and everyone knows nothing good comes from Nazareth

–         Of course the blind man knew that was just a prejudice

–         It wasn’t fair to right someone off because of where they lived

–         Not everyone can afford a nice house in a leafy suburb

 

The blind man had heard how Jesus could heal people – make them whole again

–         This might be his only chance – maybe Jesus would heal him

–         Maybe he could see again and get a job so he didn’t have to keep begging

–         Maybe he could be free of the shame people kept heaping on him day after day – God knows he had had his share of contempt

–         So he cried out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.”

 

This was a bold thing to say

–         ‘Son of David’ was another way of saying ‘Messiah’ or ‘King’

–         People were divided by Jesus

–         Many were uncomfortable with thinking he might be the Christ

–         The man had no qualms though

–         It was funny how he (a blind man) could see that Jesus was God’s promised Messiah, while others with 20/20 vision couldn’t see it

 

The people around told him, in no uncertain terms, to shut up

–         But he just shouted even louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me.”

–         All those years of taking their shame – no way was he going to be quiet

–         It was worth the risk of getting punched in the face

–         They did not define him – God defined him and Jesus was from God

 

Jesus stood still and the crowd slowed to halt also

–         Then, without moving, Jesus ordered the blind man to be brought to him

–         The man had called Jesus a ‘king’ because a king he is

–         Standing still while one of his subjects was brought before him was a very kingly way of handling the matter

 

When the man was near, Jesus asked him…

–         “What do you want me to do for you?”

–         The man liked that Jesus didn’t make any assumptions

–         To be asked what it was he wanted made him feel respected – it empowered him, gave him a real choice and dignity

 

“Lord, let me see again.”

 

It was a simple sentence and yet it said so much

–         The blind man addressed Jesus as “Lord” – it was a way of giving Jesus honour, placing himself under Jesus’ authority

–         “Let me see again” – was an acknowledgment that Jesus had the power to restore sight and to end the contempt and shame he suffered

 

Jesus responded just as simply as the man had asked, saying…

–         “Receive your sight; your faith has saved you.”

–         Not only did Jesus give the man his physical sight back, Jesus also restored the man’s honour by giving him credit for his faith

–         Jesus acknowledged the man’s spiritual vision

 

Those who had tried to the silence man were now the ones with nothing to say

 

But the man wasn’t worried about them – he could see again and was overjoyed, praising God as he followed Jesus down the road toward Jericho

–         The man’s joy was infectious – the people around him couldn’t help but join him in praising God too

 

Conclusion:

Mercy – it is one of God’s defining characteristics

–         Jesus shows us what divine mercy looks like

–         Jesus shows us what it is to be made in the image of God

 

 

Let us pray…

–         Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us

–         And help us to pay your mercy forward

–         Amen.

 

 

https://soundcloud.com/tawabaptist/19-feb-2017-mercy

 

[1] http://edition.cnn.com/2013/03/09/living/higher-call-military-chivalry/index.html?hpt=hp_c1