You Were There (12/22/09)
How great a confusion is expressed in this question! What comfort it ought to be to us that these pillars of the Church experienced the same things that we do if anything, more intensely than we ever shall. Can you imagine what’s going through Peter’s mind right now? In his view, they really have pretty well thrown everything away. Peter, if he was well to do at all, was only so by a fisherman’s standards. He was not wealthy by any stretch, but he was able to support himself, his wife. He had his house and he had his boats, and he could do more than just make ends meet. But, at the call of Jesus, he had just up and walked away from all that.
Oh, he still had them, it’s true. They had even used his house as a base for ministry for a time, but now they were on the road all the time, and it was coming clear to him that whatever this Jesus was, it wasn’t what he had expected. This kingdom Jesus kept talking about: it was dawning on him that it would not be a matter of riches and power in this life as he had once supposed. The Romans might not be driven out, after all, and Israel might not be restored to its dynastic glory.
Indeed, the whole thing seemed to be about work and sacrifice, work and sacrifice, and where was the reward? What was the point, really? Look, Jesus, we’ve been doing this for a few years now, and what’s come of it? The kingdom seems to be as far off now as it was at the start. Nothing seems to be changing. We’ve been with You from the start, and I’m just not seeing the benefits. I mean, I don’t know who else we could consider following, for Your teaching! Well, there’s just no comparing it to any other. I understand that. But, it’s feeling a bit pointless just now.
If God didn’t want man to have riches, why did He give them to us? If riches aren’t good (heaven forefend!) then what is it we are to gain by doing things Your way? I mean, we’ve already given up so much. How much more? Why? Tell us, Lord! What’s in it for us?
New Thoughts (12/23/09)
As Peter takes the stage here, it is interesting what he reveals of himself. Of course, in what he reveals of himself, he reveals me to myself as well. In that his example serves to reveal me to myself, it is as it should be. Unsurprisingly, though, what is revealed both in him and in me is not as it should be.
To that point, let me remind us of the setting for this claim. We have just seen that rich young ruler asking the Teacher what he was missing. Jesus had told him to look to the Law he knew to find his answer. Pressed to expound on that, Jesus lists the second table of the Law, and this young man does a bit of mental accounting and finds himself to be in full compliance. It requires only for Jesus to put that love of neighbor to the test for the falsity of that mental tally to be revealed to the young man. Peter, having sat through this exchange, was witness to the young man’s grief as he left, unwilling for the moment to comply as Jesus required (Mt 19:16-22).
So, Peter, having witnessed this, and then hearing the matter of how hard it would be for the rich, or anybody really, to enter the kingdom of heaven is willing to make the claim that he has outdone that ruler. Heh! We’re not rich! And, besides, we’ve already left everything behind. It’s sort of like selling it all, isn’t it? So, sure: we’ve done that one, too. See what good disciples we are? I guess we’re in, huh?
It’s of some interest that only Matthew sees fit to relay that ending question of, “what’s in it for us?” If, as is generally understood, Mark is relaying Peter’s own account, then there’s no particular surprise in his making no mention of it. Luke, as he was not numbered among the Apostles, may leave it off out of respect for those who were the Apostles. But, Matthew is one of their number. He was there. He underwent the same trials, the same training. I find absolutely no reason, though, to doubt the veracity of the question, for I find that question in myself at times, and it is so of a piece with the Peter we see throughout the record.
But, coming back to what Peter is saying, and the timing of it: He has heard this loving rebuke delivered to the young man, and has immediately fallen into comparison. He compares himself to this one, and (no surprise here) finds himself in a better position. Hah! I’ve done what that one couldn’t. I’m further along. But, we all do this! It is in our nature to find some way to look better than we really are. On the dating scene, there are those who find some lesser mortal to comport with so that they will look more desirable by contrast. On the worksite, there’s that tendency to magnify the failings of others so that ours might not stand out quite so much. In the house of God, sadly, these same habits follow us about, wreaking havoc, and reeking to high heaven.
We all want to find that we have done what God requires of us. Therefore, we slide right by that message Jesus had just delivered: “It’s impossible!” Somewhere deep inside, I think we lay hold of that important truth. Somewhere deep inside we fully understand that we cannot possibly reach that place of being good enough to deserve heaven. But, we find that terribly hard to live with, so we are forever seeking to convince ourselves that not only can we do so, but we already have! God! You owe us!
In order to do this, we fall into exaggerating our accomplishments, just as we see Peter doing here. I consider the translation Wuest provides for us here: “We abandoned all things once for all.” Had Peter really done so? Well, if I jump to the end of the story, I see the answer is no. When Jesus was crucified, dead and buried, what is Peter’s reaction? He decides the whole thing’s off, and returns home to his fishing. He had abandoned all things, true enough, but not once for all. They were still there waiting for him and he knew it. On his road to the promised land, there remained the option of hitting reverse and returning to Egypt.
This much is revealed by that statement of accomplishment. The question, though, reveals another side of Peter, and of us. You see, that question demonstrates a certain doubt in Peter. Jesus was not what he had expected of Messiah. Jesus is not what anybody expected of Messiah. He is not, after all, the Messiah we want. He is the one we need. But, our nature is such that we are not terribly interested in what we need. We want what we want.
Coming up on Christmas day, as we are, it is easy to see that tendency. A little bit of recalling Christmases of our own past points up the same lesson. Nobody gets excited over socks and underwear at Christmas, however needful those things may be. No. We want the fun gift. We want the toys and trinkets. It’s not just the kids that prefer these things. We are the same way. How often do we husbands hear the instruction not to buy practical gifts (particularly housewares) for our wives? This is not the path to marital bliss! No, no. Get the baubles, the spare-no-expense sort of presents that will look nice and accomplish nothing. That’s what she’s looking for! And that, in its way, is what we are all looking for.
This is what Scripture is getting at when Paul talks of people wanting their ears tickled by the preaching (2Ti 4:3-4). We don’t want Truth, we want comfort. We don’t want to hear about what we need. We want to hear that we all get what we want. That’s why things like the prosperity message and liberation theology and the whole array of liberal religion gain a foothold: because all of these messages are about the holy ATM that gives us all we want without complaint and no strings attached. This is the message of a supreme sugar daddy that never makes comment on our choices, only funds them.
This is human nature stomping on the marvelous gift of the Gospel! And, it didn’t start with our generation. No! It’s been the same from the days of Adam. Adam, given the incredible gift of immediate association with his Maker, chose personal aggrandizement instead. What? There’s rules? There’s something I’ve been told I may not do! Why, I’ll show Him! I’m doing it, and just you try and stop me! No, that’s not the way we read it, but it’s there working below the surface of the man. Maybe it’s a form that shows a bit more cowardice. Ah, look! She doesn’t seem to have taken any harm from it, and why should she enjoy it and I not do so?
Even the Apostles are not wholly immune, even with their proximity to the Christ. This just explodes from that question: “What will we get out of it?” I love that! I love the way God’s Word translates it, because it just gets to the core of the problem. “What’s in it for me?” That’s the most evil question man brings to Church, but it’s the one each one of us brings at one point or another.
Pastor has spoken recently of the Mary and Martha in each of us. We all know the story of those two. We are all familiar with Martha’s complaint of, “Hey! I’m doing all the work here and she’s just their mooning at Your feet. Tell her to get off her duff and start doing things, too.” Of course, Jesus does no such thing, but indicates that Mary is doing as she ought. Now, as the Pastor noted, He never said that Martha wasn’t doing as she should, too, although He does indicate a certain better value in what Mary has chosen – in that one thing.
But, listen: The Martha in us will rise up with that Peter question, “What’s in it for me?” Look at all I’ve been doing here, Jesus! Where’s the payoff? How come nobody else around here seems to do anything? Why is it always my problem? Look! I’ve given up time with family. I’ve given up my weekends. I’ve had to cut my employer short to keep showing up and dealing with this, and what’s the reward? Seems to me it’s just more demand to do more things and spend more time and give up more of myself and eventually, you know, I’m just feeling like I get nothing.
For the record, this is very much of a piece with what I’ve been feeling lately. I know it’s not right. It’s not even accurate. Like Peter, I exaggerate my sacrifice. Why? Because nobody is immune to the pride of works. No matter how often I am brought back to the Good News that it is impossible that I should ever work my way into the kingdom, the flesh still wants to have some claim to make. No matter how clearly we come to understand that salvation is wholly of God’s grace and none of our worth, we still want to say we’ve had a hand in it. Even if it’s so small a thing as, “yes, but I had to choose. I had to accept the offer,” we want to cling to that last little bit of control over our situation.
You know what? I’ll grant you that you had to choose, had to accept. But, not in the sense we want to think of it. It’s not like we were empowered to thwart what God was doing. His word, after all, does not return to Him void, but accomplishes all His purpose! No, we had to choose and accept because we were compelled to do so. It had become the necessary outcome, as impossible to be otherwise as it remains impossible that we could make ourselves righteous by sweat of brow and attention to detail.
But, we will come back again and again to claiming our works. And, when we focus on the what we have done, what we have given up aspect of this walk, we will find ourselves coming to Peter’s question, “What’s in it for me?” When we ask that question (and we do from time to time) it indicates that we have lost sight of what’s already been done. Either that, or we’ve not yet seen it.
What’s in it for us? Why! There’s a real Messiah who has, of His own free will, done for us all that was needful, all that we could never do. What was and is and ever shall be impossible for us to wash away, He has cleansed once for all. Where we had earned nothing for ourselves but death (and never could), He has purchased Life. What’s in it for us? Eternity! A place in heaven! A forever spent in communion with the God of all Creation. So, why are we so worked up about the little things? This life is brief compared to Life. These trials are less than featherweight when we measure them against the fullness of the blessings that are stored up for us.
You know, I like health as much as anybody, and I’d far prefer knowing my accounts are sufficient to wondering where the next meal comes from. But, the real perspective is that any bounty I have could disappear in a moment, and frankly, it wouldn’t matter. Come what may, my future is secured in Him. In this life we will have trials, and yes, this last year has seemed rather full of them and yes, the outlook for next year does not look any better at present. But, rejoice, oh my soul! Look! Your King has overcome the world! He has overcome sin. He has overcome death. It’s the economy, stupid? Well, perhaps. But, not this one. It’s the heavenly economy. It’s the storehouse of heaven that provides my needs. Oh! That I would learn to distinguish wants from needs. Indeed, I have not been found wanting this last year. I have been found worrying, yes. I have been found wondering. But, never wanting. It is only the fleshly desires, the longing for the good times and for ease that has been convincing me otherwise.
What’s in it for me? Everything. And that everything is already bought and paid for. Not by me. I have not earned it and I don’t deserve it. Was there ever a better Christmas message than that? Was there ever a better present?
Father, I cannot close without a word of thanks to You this morning. For, You have, through this study in particular, and through those that have led up to it, been recalling me to my sense of balance. Oh! How I have needed this! How deeply I have been in sorrow these last weeks, how put upon in my spirit. But, it’s nothing. You have so thoroughly outgiven me. What cause have I for complaint? You have seen me fed and sheltered and blessed with a good wife. You have seen to it that I remain employed, and what have I given in return? Complaints and grumbling! Forgive me, most marvelous King of heaven! Forgive me, and keep me mindful (even today!) of how wholly and perfectly blessed I am in You.
