Saturday, July 21, 2018

Socialism in the Kingdom of Heaven? ...

Americans hate socialism.  The vast majority of both Republicans and Democrats (though there are a few notable exceptions; yes Berny, I am looking at you 😊) despise socialism.  That said, everyone likes getting something for nothing.  Companies like Publishers Clearinghouse, Amway, and your local Gym thrive on the idea of getting something for nothing.  Oh sure, you are expected to invest “something” in any one of those companies to really succeed.  But for most of us, the most we can muster is an initial commitment followed by decreasing interest, until our participation is gone, and all the remains is our initial purchase, and perhaps some lingering contract we are no longer able to get out of.  Any organization like this will tell you, that you can quit at any time.  The truth is, they count on it.  For Publishers, the trouble it takes to quit after you have subscribed is usually more than it is worth, so voila, you have a new magazine to throw away every month.  For Amway, you will undoubtedly quit, but not before you yourself have purchased a myriad of products, and have likely talked your family into buying them as well.  For your local Gym, there is only so much space in a Gym at any one time, so if you don’t quit, they will quickly run out of room to keep selling memberships.  Besides, you reason to yourself, you might use any one of these items in the future.  In reality, little chance of it.  It takes work and continued work, if anything outside of a giveaway, is going to pay off.
Medicare is another interesting phenomenon.  While it is far from perfect, and a constant source of tax irritation (largely because funds that would make it solvent, are often “borrowed” for other purposes, and never put back) – everyone who has it, cannot imagine giving it up.  An entire older block of voters will punish anyone at the polls (Republican or Democrat) who threatens to in any way diminish or take away Medicare.  And these folks vote, they do not talk about it, they do it, faithfully, even in mid term elections.  Medicare directly impacts the pocket books of the older set, and they already must watch every penny they have, losing health care coverage could quite literally kill them, so they have pretty extreme motivation to vote, if it is in any way threatened.  Further most everyone believes Medicare does a pretty good job as far as health insurance goes.  But the reality is, we collect taxes from the younger set, to fund benefits for the older set.  Again, this is because we robbed the older set for many years, using their money on other priorities.  No one wants to remember this fact, but it is true.  The older set believes they already paid for it.  The younger set knows they are truly the ones footing the bill.  And no matter our equal disdain for socialism, Medicare sure looks like it to any casual observer.  And despite this appearance, Americans love Medicare.
But is it possible, that American ideals, are about as far from how the Kingdom of Heaven works, as is possible?  Matthew writes of a parable (a story that is), that Jesus told in chapter nineteen of his gospel aimed at the Hebrews.  The story is often referred to as the Parable of the Vineyard workers.  And it wreaks of socialism, that is of shared rewards despite the level of effort applied.  But there are deeper concepts that perhaps warrant a second look.  Take for instance the notion of possessions.  Ask yourself a simple question – what do you “own” in heaven?  Now before you begin reciting a list of gifts you are given in the kingdom, remember that all of these items will be given to you.  A new home, a new robe, a ring, a crown, a new body, abilities that now dwarf your imagination, even a new name, and a secret name.  However all of these items are gifts of a loving God, from Them, to you.  None of them will you have earned in any way.  And if even “you” are to be God’s treasure, His possession, not your own – then can we safely say God owns everything, and we own nothing.  Even though He may see fit to give us, what He owns for our use.  Case in point, let us study what Matthew records.
Picking up in verse 1 are the words of Christ Himself, saying … “For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard. [verse 2] And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard.”  There is so much here in this simple beginning we so often lose sight of.  Let us begin with how Jesus sees Himself, and Godhead – as workers, or more specifically, as owners, engaged in a work, actively involved in its success.  The owner of this vineyard is not on vacation hanging out in Rome, or Capri, or Monaco on the beach.  He is not taking in the rewards of being an owner, or satisfied with being a rich man.  Instead he is active in the day to day of His vineyard.  He cares about its success.  He wants it to grow.  And He is willing to share that interest, that passion with us.  So the owner goes into the world, seeks us out, and bargains with us to do a hard days labor for the monetary reward of a penny.  First keep in mind, the penny, may have been an entire week’s reward back in the time of this story, so the owner is not being a cheapo.  Rather He is over paying laborers to do something, the owner cares deeply about.  The owner hopes that by over-paying his labor force, they will take great care in their work as well.  He hopes to inspire passion in them over this.
And again we get lost.  We think that “hard” work in itself could not possibly be the reward.  Instead we focus on the penny.  But this is the disconnect within the Christian church.  The work of growing and tending to the vineyard is not hard because of the owner, it is hard because of the lack of love that exists in the world, and often in the mirror.  We don’t actually “care” about the grapes, or leaves, or branches – we just tolerate them.  We adopt an attitude of doing what is minimally required of us to tend His vineyard.  We attend church, pray when we are told, sing when we are told, read, study, share when we feel as though we must.  But passion?  We lack passion, because we only focus on the penny, that will come only at the end of the day as our reward.  We are looking to get into heaven as our reward.  We are NOT looking at seeing a well-tended vineyard as its own reward.  We do not care to make sure we gather up every single grape, leaving none to fall on the ground, while our apathy causes us not to notice, or care.  While we step on that lost grape rather than carefully gathering it back up, dusting it off, and tenderly placing it in our baskets intended for His winepress, or His use.
It is this passion for His work, that could become our greatest reward, and requires no penny at the end of it.  It is akin to being paid billions right in the middle of it.  Each act of mercy, of love, of forgiveness we offer in the vineyard that our God is so passionate about, are acts that show a harmony with the owner.  You can only have that harmony if you surrender who you are, and allow Jesus to make you who He intended you to be.  But if you offer that surrender, you will find yourself coming to believe that your “work” is indispensable.  Your reward at that point is actually “the time” you have to tend to the vineyard, not the mere penny that comes at the end of the day.  But time is only precious to one who understands its value, in the ministry of the Lord’s work.  For the apathetic, time is better spent on entertainment, luxury, and self-pleasure.  Time to love others is kept at a minimum, while time to enjoy life, and love self are maximized at every turn.  Seen like this, time spent tending to His vineyard is an obligation, we transact only for the bargain of the penny at day’s end.  And thus Christianity looks no different than the world in which it is found.  But this was not how it was intended to be, only how it is, because we refuse to surrender ourselves to Jesus for His transformation of us, ahead of penny day anyway.
Jesus continues in verse 3 saying … “And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, [verse 4] And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way.”  Imagine this story begins at six a.m. at the rising of the sun.  Jesus the owner is already up, eaten breakfast, dressed, and out there in the world negotiating with those He seeks out to begin the work in His vineyard.  But Jesus not content to only seek workers at one point in time, or one point during any given day.  The more workers, the more His vineyard can be tended to.  So He goes back out to the marketplace, around nine a.m. just after it has opened where workers stand idle, rather engaging themselves in purchasing.  If they are anything like us, they would buy more than what they need, or more than what they should.  Instead Jesus approaches them and offers them His passion for a vineyard.  The Owner “KNOWS” the day, and the work has already begun, and He is intent on paying them something “fair” anyway.  The would-be consumers abandon their frivolity and instead head to the vineyard that this Owner cares so much about to join and tend and help the garden grow.
Jesus continues in verse 5 saying … “Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise.”  So again imagine it is now noon, half the day having gone by.  But the owner is still not content to rest on the work He has already done in recruiting labor for His vineyard.  If He can find more, He is willing to seek for more.  So back to the marketplace at noon, while it is in full swing.  He seeks out those who would be willing to work, even if it is only for half a day.  For half a day’s labor, they would likely expect half a day’s wage.  Probably something far less than half a penny in these times.  But notice again the penny was not discussed.  Only the same offer as before, that something fair would be rewarded them at the end of the day.  Seeing the passion of the Owner, the workers are inspired and decide to join the effort.  They probably expected to enter a barren field, not one that was already crowded with workers.  But the more who come the greater extents of the vineyard that can be addressed.  And so more workers join the effort.
Jesus continues in verse 6 saying … “And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle? [verse 7] They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive.”  Now it is five o’clock, quitting time will be in one hour and sunset not far behind that.  But the owner has not lost an ounce of His passion, about this vineyard.  He is not back at the house eating dinner made by servants.  Instead He has gone to undiscovered places where potential workers can be found.  He asks them why they stand idle at five o’clock only an hour before quitting time of a good working day.  This question is posed squarely at us.  Why do we stand idle, before the work we KNOW needs to be done, but leave for others to do?  The workers reply that no one else would hire them.  Sounds to me like they did not put out resumes and actively seek employment.  Or maybe they did, and no one else saw them as qualified or motivated to work.  But bottom line, even though it is SO late in the day, this Owner is not going to pass up even more willing workers.  So off to His vineyard they go, willing to work, even though there is little time to get work done.
It is these workers who will be gifted the least amount of time, and so it should be the most precious to them.  Is time this precious to you?  Have you come to see the passion of the Owner, can become the passion within your veins, and now understand why He was still searching for laborers to share His work with Him?  So little time, so much to do, so few to do it, so few that care if it gets done.  Do you care, or do you still look to your own needs, and an end-of-day reward when time itself is no more?  This owner has not lost passion despite the time, if anything it has intensified His passion within Him to seek out still others for His vineyard.  And now, when everyone least expects it.  Time has run out.  The day is over.  The opportunity to work is complete.  Now only reward is left.
Jesus continues in verse 8 saying … “So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first. [verse 9] And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. [verse 10] But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny.”  It is day’s end.  Time for final rewards.  And now the generosity of the Lord of Vineyard is on display.  He gives each worker the same penny (there is only one heaven after all), no matter if they started working at 5:00 o’clock, or noon, or nine a.m., or even at the crack of dawn at six a.m..  The Owner gives them all the same over payment He had promised.  No one is cheated, everyone is paid.  But the ones there the longest, supposed they would be getting more than the first amount they had agreed to.  When they looked at the last minute arrivals getting the same pay as them, who were there from the crack of dawn, they reasoned it must be unfair.  In their minds, only the end of day reward was the reward.  The work was work, not something to take passion in, and decidedly not something they shared the owner’s passion in.  Overpayment did nothing to motivate them to care, only to work
Jesus continues in verse 11 saying … “And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house, [verse 12] Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day. [verse 13] But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny? [verse 14] Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. [verse 15] Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?”  Here the heart of the Owner is revealed.  He cares about His entire work force.  He rewards ALL of us with what He has promised.  There is nothing more, nothing less.  There is no precedence among the workers, all the workers are the same.  And the Owner will leave nothing behind, His passion for His vineyard remains, His passion for His workers remains.  Even though NONE of us deserve His overpayment, He pays us all anyway.  What we miss, what we undervalue, what we do not understand, is the value of time engaged in His work, in His vineyard.  It was the time, that was allocated “fairly”, those who spent more of it, had more of it.  Those who spend less of it, got less of it.  But what is time without passion.  What is a vineyard, that you simply do not care anything about – it is work, nothing more.
Jesus concludes His story in verse 16 saying … “So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.”  The call is universal.  It goes out to every person in the world.  But it goes out to every person within the church as well.  The call is to begin a life of perfection, a life of transformation in the here and now, where Time matters.  To share the passion of the Owner, is a different way to live, than to simply do what is required of you.  Keeping the commandments is different, than having them be a part of who you character is.  Are your eyes evil, because our Lord is good?  Do you intend to bring the concepts of ownership and possession with you into the kingdom of heaven, where they do not exist today?  You will own nothing there, be given everything there.  And this model is not different here.  You think you work for what you have, but your job, your health, your family, your support systems are ALL gifts of the Most High.  You own none of them.  He “owns” all of them, and makes gifts of them to you.  But not because you deserve them, or because you have worked for them, simply because He loves you.
And our God loves your co-workers equally as much as He loves you.  Even if they put in less effort.  Even if they only discover Him at the last minute.  Even while they are sinning in the world, content to ignore His word, His call, and His love.  He is still passionate about them.  He is not willing to see a single grape drop from the vine into the dirt and be ignored.  He will have every single one of them carefully dusted off, and placed in His basket.  Heaven has no capitalism.  There is no ownership or earning there.  There is serving, but it is service for nothing, without reward, only for the reward of serving.  We will share everything, own nothing.  We will love so much, and care so much, we would give everything we own to anyone who even seemed mildly interested.  That is a form of socialism no communist even dreamed of.  It is a form of socialism based on a passionate love no one can begin to extinguish.  And the hearts that embrace it then, can learn to embrace it now, if we are willing to surrender to Jesus.  I would know the passion of my Owner, and learn to care like He does, for His vineyard.
 

Friday, July 13, 2018

How to Get In to Heaven ...

Every modern Christian thinks they have a pretty good answer to the most basic question ever posed.  It is after all, the goal every Christian seems to seek above all other things.  It is held out as “the final reward”; and is often positioned against hell the only other final destination everyone should want to avoid.  So as soon as an awareness of God is discovered in you, the basic question of how to wind up in the good place, is one you want an answer to right at the get go.  This is not something new to our age.  It has a long history of being asked by people just like us.  You can date it back to the disciples and Pharisees who lived in the days of Christ.  But if you want to, you can keep seeing it asked all the way back to Adam and Eve as soon as they knew they had broken trust with God, and were destined to leave their perfect garden home for the labors of a scarred earth for the remainder of their lives.  And like the later days of Adam and Eve, there were many who just gave up seeking an answer, until the point where they no longer cared, and no longer wanted a future good-place outcome.  Give me a great life now, instead of a great life later, the prevailing thinking.  This thinking too, has lasted all the way to our day.
In the gospel of Matthew, in chapter nineteen, Matthew provides a series of contrasts of those who ask this question, and a detailed view of how it works.  It begins with the real answers, and then follows up with what most of think about how it works, and frankly, why we are nearly all wrong about it.  To begin we pick up in verse 13 saying … “Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them.”  If ever there were a living example of how to get into heaven this was it.  Take note of the sequence here.  It begins with someone (presumably the parents) bringing “little children” (picture 2yr old toddlers, though the ages probably had a little wider range than that) to Jesus.  In our case, we do not even seek Christ on our own.  We have to be brought.  Not by an earthly parent, but by our Heavenly One.  It is God the Father who brings His children to Jesus.  He does NOT just bring the perfect ones.  Because let’s face it, what 2yr old behaves perfectly?  They make messes, sometimes messes with poo they have yet to learn where the proper place for that goes. 
But, and again here is the important part, regardless of their current condition, we are brought to Jesus for Jesus to lay hands on us, and pray.  For this to happen, we must first recognize we are not sophisticated adults coming to debate the correctness of our doctrines.  We are 2yr olds whose primary obsession is to love, be loved, play, eat, sleep, and repeat.  This is not an entrance based on a doctrinal understanding exam, it is based on a personal perception exam – are you a toddler – or not?  And as usual, church leadership (in this case the very disciples of Christ, not the typical anti-hero-Pharisees) are the ones trying to keep Jesus from being bothered by it.  If you are looking to gain entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven, don’t find yourself depending on the church to accomplish it.  They are more likely standing in the way, than lending you a hand.  Think about it, how much does your church, encourage you (regardless of your physical age) to be the toddler, you are supposed to be?  Most often, the church demands “adult” behavior from you, and is ready to throw you out, if you should dare to act like this kind of young kid.
Jesus responds in verse 14 saying … “But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven. [verse 15] And he laid his hands on them, and departed thence.”  Jesus states it right here folks, in plain English, and in good old black and white.  This citizenry of heaven is made up of little toddlers.  Not adults, like you and me, or rather old farts like me, but young minded, obsessed with loving and being loved, ready to play, eat, or sleep at a moment’s notice.  Toddlers have the unique characteristic of NOT trying to be adults, or have deep doctrinal understanding, they leave all that to Jesus.  Toddlers trust.  Something that adults have a remarkably hard time doing.  The only thing adults are given to trust, is in themselves, which is possibly the worst thing they could ever take trust in.  Toddlers just roll with it.  Whatever Dad wants to do, is an adventure to them.  They trust the love of Dad.
But we don’t.  So Matthew follows this rather complete lesson on how to get in to Heaven with a study of the contrasted thinking (in his day and what remains in ours).  He continues in verse 16 saying … “And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?”  Here ya go.  We just heard the answer.  We just saw an example in living color.  Jesus laying His hands on little children who trust Him for everything (including transformation and blessing).  And a typical adult, just like you or me, ignores ALL of that, and asks the question, as if, there is some other path required of adults, that is not demanded of toddlers.  So a rich young ruler, who considers himself a religious man, asks the question orally, as if a different answer is forthcoming.
Matthew continues in verse 17 saying … “And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.”  Jesus begins by losing all the flattery.  The term good master, or good rabbi, was not really genuine.  That is to say, this parishioner was not treating Jesus like the Son of God, he was treating Him like a fellow albeit unrecognized informal member of the Sanhedrin.  Folks in the Sanhedrin liked respectful name calling, so he uses one.  But the goal of Jesus is not to join the Sanhedrin, and fake flattery is not something He wants, so Jesus points the young man back to giving only God respect.  Then Jesus answers him, as any contemporary of the day would.  If you want to enter into “life” (mind you, not the Kingdom, but a better life), you should keep the commandments.  This is the prevailing wisdom of the day, and is meant to challenge the young man’s thinking.
The man responds in verse 18 saying … “He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, [verse 19] Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”  The silly young ruler, actually asks, “which” commandment he is supposed to obey.  As if there is only one that needs it.  This question itself reflects a huge lack of understanding of what obedience means, let alone what harmony with the law would imply.  If this man is looking for “the” commandment to focus on, he is already looking in the wrong place for Kingdom entry.  Nevertheless Jesus gives him an answer, of all the commandments that deal with how to love others.  This is yet another test to challenge the thinking of this man.  You would think his response would be ,,, what about the ones where you love God first? ,,, but that is not what he says.
The incident continues in verse 20 saying … “The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?”  Yikes!!  The arrogance of this man.  To state to Jesus of all people, that you have kept all the commandments that have to do with loving others, since you were a child, is in effect saying, I have not sinned against my fellow man, ever.  First, highly unlikely, given the nature of human kind, second, useless as criterion to enter the kingdom.  The young man is smart enough to know, he still lacks something,  He can sense it.  For all his works he has done.  For all the obedience he has manufactures, it is not enough.  There is something more.  He can sense he is out of harmony.  But instead of coming to Christ as a toddler, looking for the blessing of transformation.  He is coming as mini-rabbi looking for something He can “do” to fix it.
Jesus continues to indulge his questions picking up again in verse 21 saying … “Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.”  Notice the response of Jesus, He says if you will be “perfect”.  Again not gaining entrance into heaven, but if he wishes to actually begin that process, to understand what loving others truly means.  If he is looking for something he can “do”.  Then go sell everything you have, give it all to the poor, and follow Jesus becoming the 13thdisciple, or disciple next if you will.  This is Jesus offering him an invitation that will finally and fully impact his life, change it, and truly transform it.  It is not the shedding of wealth that will do that, it is the following of Jesus that will.  The problem with his wealth, and with ours, is that it keeps us from following Jesus full time.  It distracts us with the cares of maintaining wealth, whether by working hour after hour on some other duty, and away from Jesus in the process.  We want a part time God.  Available for us when we need Him, but content to be quiet in the corner when we do not.  That is not how it works.  Not for toddlers anyway.  They want Daddy’s time and attention ALL the time.  Eat together, play together, nap together or sleep in Daddy’s bed warm and snug next to Him.  Toddlers don’t care about money, they hardly understand it.  They do care about attention, it is the constant companionship that makes them most happy.  Sharing that with other toddlers, even better.
The incident continues in verse 22 saying … “But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.”  Here is where the concept of “doing” something to obtain your salvation ends.  In great sorrow.  For the pull of sin, and of this world, is stronger than the will you have within you.  Motives matter.  Despite all the behavior the rich man thought adequate since his youth, he never really understood what it meant to love others, at least to love them, more than he loved his wealth, or himself.  That was a bridge too far.  He could have stored his treasure in heaven by giving it away, but instead he preferred staying liquid in this world.  A short sighted response,  But based in thinking that was misguided from the outset.  It was only the connection with Jesus that might have reset it.  But it was that very connection, the man had refused.  At least, refused for now.
Jesus offers an epilogue to his disciples on this incident picking up in verse 23 saying … “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. [verse 24] And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.”  Here Jesus repeats a basic truth we should all know, but somehow conveniently forget.  There is no way for us to “do” something to get into heaven.  Getting a camel through the eye of a needle is simply not possible, at least not possible for us.  In simple terms, there is no way to do it on our own.  There is no way to bring ourselves into harmony with God’s laws.  We may think we obey them.  But we do not understand what obedience really means.  Motives matter.  It is not just the actions of our hands and feet, it is motive of our hearts that reflect the heart of God, or just action without empathy, or worse, action with false empathy.
The incident continues in verse 25 saying … “When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? [verse 26] But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.”  The disciples are freaked out.  If this rich young ruler (keep in mind wealth is considered an earmark of the direct favor of God in their day), is not headed into the kingdom, who is?  If a solid commandment keeper is not going to heaven, who is?  Every good Jew, and Adventist, are completely bought in on the idea that if you can get to keeping all the commandments, you have it made.  Conversely, if you are not keeping every commandment, you are out.  No ifs, ands, or buts.  Except here was Jesus debunking that entire line of thinking.  His assessment of camels getting through the eye of a needle, is Him stating we will never get there on our own, ever.
It is the second half of this verse that gives us back hope again.  It is not about what we do.  It is about what God can do in us, for us, and often in spite of us.  With men this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible.  The God who invented physics, can easily bend the norms of physics.  The God who died for our sins, understands more than forgiving our sins, He understands how to change our hearts and minds so we stop sinning all together.  That is what transformation is all about.  It is not what we do.  It is becoming the toddler who trusts Jesus to lay hands on us and pray, and see us transformed by the power of His love injected in us.  We reap the benefits of His work, do none ourselves.  We begin to feel His love for others in us, instead of our own love for us and no one else.  We begin to see truth, as we begin to see The Truth, and no other way.
But the topic of the rewards of the kingdom, was not something concluded just yet …