Biblical Brackets and Blessed Believers

God’s grace, peace and mercy be with you. … My sermon is entitled Biblical Brackets and Blessed Believers. My focus is Matthew 11. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, the psalmist wrote, “I rejoiced when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’” Now that our feet are within your gates, we rejoice to hear your Word. As we listen, may your Spirit enlighten our minds and move our hearts to love deeply as Jesus loved. This we pray to you, Most Holy Trinity. Amen.

Bracket. The word bracket is one of the most versatile words in the English language. We use the word to refer to various supports and name them as corner, countertop, counterbalance, mending and wall brackets. Brackets are used by architects, basketball fans, mathematicians, photographers, programmers, scientists, shipbuilders, writers, gunners and spotters. Based on your income, you are placed in an economic or tax bracket. The Latin root word for bracket is brachium meaning the upper segment of the arm extending from the shoulder to the elbow. Hence, we use brackets to separate and to join.

In biblical studies, bracketing consists of creating a frame by placing similar material at the beginning and end of a section. The purpose of a bracket may be structural – to alert the reader to a particularly important theme – or it may serve to show how the material within the bracket relates to itself. An important case of this occurs in Mark’s 11^th chapter. There we read of the "Cursing of the Fig Tree" and the "Cleansing of the Temple." By giving the first half of the story before the Cleansing of the Temple, and the conclusion after, Mark creates a "frame" that effectively highlights that he wants the Cleansing of the Temple to be seen in light of the Cursing of the Fig Tree. In other words, Jesus' actions in the Temple are not just a reform measure, but a judgment against it.

Matthew bracketed several sections to make theological points. The Infancy narratives, the Sermon on the Mount and the Passion narrative are three brackets. Today’s passage falls within the bracketed section beginning with verse two of chapter eleven and ending with verse twenty of chapter sixteen.

Matthew bracketed this section to ask and answer the question – Who is Jesus? Matthew introduced this passage with John the Baptist asking the question regarding Jesus’ identity, “Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?’”[1]

Matthew ended the section with Jesus asking his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” and Peter stating, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Because he confessed this, Jesus said, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.”[2] Now that we know why Matthew bracketed this larger passage, let’s examine verses 25-30 more closely.

In verse 25, Jesus praises the Father because he hides and reveals these things. “These things” refers to the significance of the ministries of both John and Jesus – ministries that the wise and understanding in Israel were rejecting and in which infants were rejoicing through faith.

Recall that as John’s disciples went away from Jesus, the Lord spoke to the crowd about John. At one point he said, “John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.”[3]

So, Jesus is responding to a specific situation in history when many Galileans refused to repent and receive him as Israel’s Messiah. Recall that in chapter 10, Jesus sent his Twelve Apostles to the lost sheep of Israel living in towns and villages throughout Galilee. Many people rejected the Apostles’ teaching, preaching and healing. They refused to repent and receive Him and His message though His Apostles. They reacted with arrogant self-sufficiency. They were content with what other teachers, preachers, rabbis and priests were offering them. In a word, they were self-sufficient.

It is a deadly thing to think that one is self-sufficient. The self-sufficient are those Jesus labeled as the wise and the understanding. Jesus encountered many people like that in Israel who thought they had figured out both Jesus and John. Yet, neither, and to a greater degree, Jesus, can be contained by anyone’s preconceived thoughts or theological systems. Jesus is the foundation for all other things in life and eternity. His words are spoken with divine authority, and proclaim that even the knowledge of God the Father must come through Jesus and him alone.

In an encounter with Jesus, either during his earthly ministry or today through the preaching of His Word, no one can claim independence or self-sufficiency of any kind. Since all comes from Jesus, only He is wise and understanding.[4]

When people react to the good news about Christ with arrogant self-sufficiency, the Father responds by hiding the message from them. Jesus does not say that this hiding will remain forever for we cannot rule out that God may yet bring these people to repent and believe. As the Lord teaches, “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”[5]

Those who have “these things” revealed to them are little children. Other versions of the Bible translate the term differently, including babes, childlike, infants, ordinary people and unlearned.

Infants here are not young children, but people who are unable and insufficient in themselves to accomplish anything good. They are the poor in spirit. Jesus also speaks of such people in chapter 18, when asked by disciples about the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. He placed a little child in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”[6]

Such people were definitely not arrogantly self-sufficient, but saw Jesus as a touchstone, a reference point or new wine. They saw Him as God’s Messiah and follow him as his disciples. They brought nothing but their need for Christ who offered, and still offers, forgiveness, healing and salvation. To them God himself reveals their poverty and infancy.

Then we get to verse 27, which reads, “All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”

Know this: In the personal union of the divine and human natures in the one Person of Christ, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, all of the divine attributes of God the Son are communicated to the human nature of Christ, for all things have been given to him by the Father.

In turn, Christ is the only one who reveals to humans the saving ways of God that are now at work in our world today. God the Father communicates to us through his Son in Word and Sacrament.

Were we to read verse 27 in isolation, we might conclude that God may not want to save everyone. There is nothing further from the truth. God wants to save everyone. The paradox is that God alone brings some people to faith through the message but all people are invited. And that brings us to verses 28-30.

Here, we read the Lord’s words: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

The burdens experienced by Jewish people during the time of Jesus included an unbalanced emphasis on the necessity of obedience to all the commands of the Torah – both written and oral interpretations of it. The heavy emphasis on obedience to the Law’s commands watered down our utter dependence to God’s free grace.

And so, we must yoke ourselves – or allow ourselves to be yoked – to Jesus as his disciple. To be Jesus’ disciple is to learn from him how to be gentle and humble in heart. In learning that Jesus gently receives and forgives all who come to him in need, disciples find rest for their lives. All who come to his unparalleled authority and power with only their need in their hands find a Savior. He saves because of his own humility of heart that leads to the cross and the empty tomb for all. Taking on Christ’s yoke lightens life’s burdens and those of eternity.[7]

A personal example. Cindy and I planted a garden earlier this year. As any gardener knows, weeding is an essential task. Weeding alone is tedious and tiresome. Weeding with another person makes work easier and the burden lighter.

Jesus’ yoke is called easy. The underlying Greek word means kind. A good yoke is one that is carefully shaped so that there will be a minimum of chafing. Jesus’ yoke will be kind to our shoulders, enabling us to carry the load more easily. In this sense alone the Blessed Believer’s burden will be light. Jesus does not diminish the weight of our accountability to God but helps us to bear this responsibility.

The rest that is promised to the weary is not, however, the rest of inactivity. Jesus did not come to abolish the law of Moses but to fulfill it by providing its ultimate interpretation. Remember his words on the Sermon on the Mount: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”[8] What he offers is not a vacation from the law but a less burdensome way of fulfilling it. At certain points his interpretation will be more lenient (Sabbath observance), at others more stringent (divorce) than that of the Pharisees, but law observance as a whole will be simplified by his emphasis on ‘the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness’ (23:23) and on the double commandment of love of God and neighbor, for “all the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”[9] Rest is made possible through the provision of Jesus’ new yoke.[10]

As Blessed Believers we will struggle with sin and temptation as did Paul. He reminds us of that in our epistle today (Romans 7:14-25) when he writes, “Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.”[11]

Yet, there is hope. Turn to Romans 8, and you read of the hope offered to us. Blessed believers, “if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.”[12]

The opportunities to love God and neighbor are more numerous than the 613 commandments of the Old Testament. How many times throughout each day can we embody Beatitudes, offer forgiveness to offenders, love our enemies, friends and family members? How gentler and humble can I be? How less anxious and angry can I be? What opportunities are there for me to give alms, pray and fast? Have I lived the Golden Rule today or offered healing to the hurt?

Friends, our opportunities to love God and neighbor are countless because God’s love for us and others is innumerable, boundless, immeasurable. As my friend, Dave Gruseck, once said, opportunities are like pitches. If you miss one, there’s another on its way.

As we celebrate our independence this weekend, may we always find ourselves like little children totally dependent upon our Savior. May we avail ourselves to His Presence in Word and Sacrament. Let us ask others to let us pray with them and ask them to pray with us because we need each other’s prayers and support. Let us live our Christian lives as enthusiastically as basketball bracketologists. And as we live, may the peace of God that surpasses all understanding keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

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[1] Matthew 11:2-3.

[2] Matthew 16:13-17.

[3] Matthew 11:18-19.

[4] See Gibbs, 586.

[5] Matthew 23:12.

[6] Matthew 18:1-4.

[7] Gibbs, 591.

[8] Matthew 5:17.

[9] Matthew 22:40.

[10] Hare, 128.

[11] Romans 7:24-25.

[12] Romans 8:11.

What Will You Do with the Balance of Time?

When I come up with a theme for a sermon, I google the words to see what emerges. Searching the web for belief, boy and balance resulted in stories on Sri Lanka’s central bank, a Premier League soccer match between Southampton and Arsenal, and Top Business Movies for Entrepreneurs. Rest assured, my sermon is not about banks in Sri Lanka, British football or business movies. It is about what we believe, the Boy Jesus and – since this is the last day of the year – the balance of time remaining. Belief, Boy and Balance.

First, Belief. Every Sunday, we trudge in and out of church; sit and stand for readings, prayers and hymns; say the introit and sing Alleluia. We process for Christ’s Body and Blood, and, we recite the Nicene Creed sometimes without thinking about the version or the words we speak.[1]

I profess faith, “in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only‐begotten Son of God, begotten of His Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made; who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary.”[2]

If I spent every day from now until the day I die meditating on those words, I would never fathom their depth. The Book of Concord reminds us that by pledging ourselves to the Creeds, we reject all heresies and dogmas which [are] contrary to them.”[3] As a brief, devout and glorious confession of the faith, founded on God’s Word, the Nicene Creed refuted all heresies that arose in the Christian Church up until that time.[4]

However, since a sermon is not a catechism class on a confessional statement on the incarnation of Christ, I move to my second point, the Boy.

The Boy Jesus. Luke concluded the Birth of Jesus[5]with a simple transitional statement. “At the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.”[6]

On the eighth day of his life, Jesus began his mission of fulfillment. His circumcision – the shedding his blood for the first time – demonstrated his obedience to the Law.[7] Through Baptism, we benefit from the shedding of Christ’s blood through his circumcision and his crucifixion. St. Paul wrote to the Colossians these words. In Christ “you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. You, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.”[8]

Regarding verse 21 of Luke’s Second Chapter, one scholar explains that it looks backward and forward. It looks backward with a reminder that the naming of the child fulfilled Mary’s obedience to the angel prior to her conception. … It looks forward in that the circumcision set off a series of events reflecting the fact that Jesus’ parents represent the best of Jewish piety and obedience to the law of Moses.[9]

The best of Jewish piety. When I read that phrase, I wondered what it meant. So, I asked my friend, Richard, who is very active in his Jewish synagogue. He replied. “The dutiful fulfillment of religious obligations as outlined in the scriptures is Jewish piety.” He then cited this passage in Deuteronomy. “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”[10]

Rich continued, “The best of Jewish piety goes beyond mere fulfillment and includes a humble, faithful, introspection, as when it says, “and Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.”[11] Mary and Joseph were Jews who went on later to represent the essence of Christianity. The mode of worship is different, but the best of Jewish piety transcends Judiasm or any single religion, and gets to the core of our humanity. The true religious piety is the same for all faiths and we become one human spirit praising God.”

One human spirit praising God. To some that may sound new age. To me it sounds like St. Paul’s words: “At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth.”[12]

Finally, the Balance of Time. The adults in Luke’s infancy narratives wondered what the future held for John and Jesus. Echoing their sentiments, I wonder what the future hold for me.

As a Believer in the Boy, I know Christ accomplished salvation. His sacrificial blood poured out for me I drink. In short, I know what the ultimate future holds for me. The question is: How will I spend the balance of time I have left? A good question on December 31^st.

The French gave us the word balance. They actually borrowed it from the Romans, whose term bilanx meant a scale having two pans. In Latin bis means twice and lanx means dish or plate. Hence, a scale of a balance is an apparatus for weighing.

Accountants and politicians picked up its use 400 years ago.[13] Today, businesses encourage employees to seek balance. Time Management Ninja posted, “5 Secrets of Keeping Your Daily Life in Balance.”[14] Forbes posted, “30 Time Management Tips For Work-Life Balance.”[15] Ladies, WebMD offers, “5 Tips for Better Work-Life Balance: Beat burnout by making more time for the activities and people that matter most to you.”[16]

The world offers plenty of advice on how to balance your life – how much time to spend at work and home, with family and exercise, and so on. The point is: We only have so much time, and right now, we only have so much time left. How will you spend the balance of your time? What will you do with that time? What will you do with the balance of time you have left in in your life or before Christ returns in glory?

I posed the question of how I will spend the balance of time to several friends and family members. Here are a few responses.

My brother, John, who recently turned sixty and runs his own business, outlined four areas: Health, Home, Work and Relaxation. He wants to stay healthy, active, in order and in relationship with God and neighbor.

My physician-friend, John, said he would rephrase the question to “What will I be with the balance of time left?” He wants to be more attuned and attentive to the Spirit working through him “so that it is the quality of my remaining time and not the quantity that matters. During this time it is my desire to align my attitudes more closely to those of God (the fruit of the Spirit) and thereby let His Spirit lead me into the proper actions to do.”

My cousin, Walter, now retired, said this. “I have thought about the subject that you requested and quite frankly [was] not sure if I would respond or not. [As] Monica & I further discussed [the question], it did allow us allow us to think about the values that we have discussed many times.

We are grateful for the many the blessings that we have been given in our lives – family, health and many good friends. I often have wondered what we bring to the ‘party.’ We do not feel that we have any exceptional talents in creativity or development of new ideas or products, but we do share the values that we have been taught by our parents and the church – love one another and give of yourself without asking for anything in return.

We will continue to share our values – giving support and love to those in need. This may not always be in the form of financial value, but our time. We continue to visit elderly friends … in assisted living … and support those that have fallen on hard times. … It is not always easy, but we do the best we can.”

Finally, my friend, Sharon, wrote this. “With the balance of time I have left, I will further my understanding of and relationship with God, share God's love with others, tell them about the good news of Jesus Christ, and make the world a better place through good stewardship and preservation of God's creation and serving my fellow man. However, in reality, I am not sure what I will actually do as so far I am definitely not living up to my lofty goals. I may spend some time regretting mistakes and things I have done and said (although I know I am forgiven), wallowing in self-pity for the challenges I face (although I know they make me stronger), and wasting precious time and resources I have been given (as sometimes I just feel tired, worn out and incapable).

My biggest prayers are for my family to be saved. My husband, parents, daughter and son-in-law, and sister, as well as extended family, are not believers in Christ. I wish I were able to see them come to faith during the balance of my time left.”

She concluded with this resounding question. “What will you do?” … What will you do? My friends, if you simply become like Joseph and Mary – righteous men and women possessing a humble, faithful, introspection, you will do well to represent the essence of Christianity. For 2016, reflect deeply on the question: What will you do with the balance of time you have left? Allow God’s grace to touch your heart throughout your days; and when you do, may the peace of God that surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

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[1] There are more than a dozen versions currently being used. The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod and the Lutheran Church–Canada use that of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer with slight changes, substituting the word "catholic" with "Christian" and modernizing the spelling of the word "apostolic", with changes in capitalization of this and other words, and with "Holy Spirit" in place of "Holy Ghost". See footnotes 14 and 15 at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_versions_of_the_Nicene_Creed#cite_ref-15.

[2] Lutheran Service Book

[3] Formula of Concord, pdf 331

[4] Formula, 364

[5] Luke 2:1-21

[6] Luke 2:21

[7] Arthur A. Just, Luke 1:1-9:50. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House ( 1996), 118.

[8] Colossians 2:11-14

[9] Fred Craddock, Luke. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press (2009), 36f.

[10] Deuteronomy 6:4-9

[11] Luke 2:19

[12] Philippians 2:10

[13] http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=balance

[14] http://timemanagementninja.com/2013/09/5-secrets-of-keeping-your-daily-life-in-balance/

[15] http://www.forbes.com/sites/francesbooth/2014/08/28/30-time-management-tips/

[16] http://www.webmd.com/women/features/balance-life