Jesus had just compared the attitudes of a Pharisee and a tax collector coming to the temple. Now he compares children with his disciples and a rich man with his apostles. All three stories are "come to Jesus" stories. All three stories seem to go against conventional wisdom.
A follower that does not have the faith and pure heart of a child will not make it into the arms of Jesus. A follower who holds more tightly to this life than the next will not make it into the arms of Jesus. The Pharisee, disciples and rich man all seemed honorable and religious. Yet none of them made it to Jesus. Only the tax collector, little children and poor apostles connected with him when they came.
These stories are a wake up call to look at the heart and ignore the external trappings. Education, profession, age and wealth are not indicators of spirituality. Yet in a world where we are trained to pour time, money and attention into the superficiality of life, it is hard to not follow the same pattern in the spiritual realm.
Showing posts with label wealth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wealth. Show all posts
Friday, January 22, 2010
Sunday, June 14, 2009
favor and grace
Luke 1 makes two references to the favor of God and the grace of God. One is a proclamation by the angels of peace on earth to men "on whom his favor rests" and the other is that Jesus was filled with wisdom and the "grace of God was upon him."
Sounds like a easy life and all that makes the nativity story sweet . . . until you look at the context. Jesus was in a cave lying in a feed trough before the first statement. His parents were on the way to Jerusalem to offer the Jewish sacrifice for the birth of the firstborn prior to the second. The text clearly says they were to offer a pair of doves or pigeons; that is the sacrifice of the poor according to Leviticus 12. The rich offered a lamb. So favor and grace resting on someone doesn't mean anything about socio-economics. In this case, favor and grace were upon a kid born into such poverty that they had no home, no proper clothes for him and could only offer the poorest of sacrifices.
So what does favor and grace mean to me? Am I so North American that I have come to believe that the American dream is God's grace to me? Am I so materialistic that I think that divine favor means middle class riches? Is it possible for me to view the world through God's perspective and not look at wealth as a measure of anything spiritual?
Grace and favor . . . I don't think they look like what we think they do.
Sounds like a easy life and all that makes the nativity story sweet . . . until you look at the context. Jesus was in a cave lying in a feed trough before the first statement. His parents were on the way to Jerusalem to offer the Jewish sacrifice for the birth of the firstborn prior to the second. The text clearly says they were to offer a pair of doves or pigeons; that is the sacrifice of the poor according to Leviticus 12. The rich offered a lamb. So favor and grace resting on someone doesn't mean anything about socio-economics. In this case, favor and grace were upon a kid born into such poverty that they had no home, no proper clothes for him and could only offer the poorest of sacrifices.
So what does favor and grace mean to me? Am I so North American that I have come to believe that the American dream is God's grace to me? Am I so materialistic that I think that divine favor means middle class riches? Is it possible for me to view the world through God's perspective and not look at wealth as a measure of anything spiritual?
Grace and favor . . . I don't think they look like what we think they do.
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