Too Much Negative Social Media?

2 Thessalonians 3:10-14 KJV: Spending more time gossiping on social media than being productive?

Jesus Welcomes Sinners

Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves; for I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. But see, the one who betrays me is with me, and his hand is on the table.

                                                                               Luke 22:17-21 NRSV

Jesus is known for welcoming everyone. He is most well known for dying for all people. He reaches out to everyone; that all who believe him might be saved.

I have been excluded from more than one communion table. Lately, I have heard from others who also have been. I must admit that there have definitely been times when I considered excluding someone from the Lord's Table. But, I did not. I knew that if I did, it would probably have been because of my bias and desire to just not see that person receive the gift of forgiveness and reconciliation with the Body of Christ, at least not at that time. But, the Sacrament of Holy Communion is not mine to impart or withhold. It is a gift from God. 

I also find it a bit of problem with inviting all who believe and are baptized to the table (as is the tradition of my denomination) then tell them publicly once they arrive at the table that the invitation didn't include them. Who; after all, am I to judge them? 

St. Paul instructed the people at Corinth to discern for themselves whether they were worthy or not. He wrote: "Examine yourselves, and only then eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For all who eat and drink without discerning the body, eat and drink judgment against themselves. For this reason many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. But if we judged ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world." (1 Cor 11:28-32) 

St. Paul was not just addressing people who did not recognize the real presence of Jesus. He was also addressing the inability of the people to recognize all of the members of the Body of Christ. They did not wait for others before they ate. They thought only of themselves. They judged themselves to be better than the others and did not consider that they should have to wait to eat and drink with them. St. Paul encouraged them to examine themselves and we should do this and not just before partaking of the Lord's Supper; but, daily. St. Paul did not encourage them to examine others. He did not encourage them to confess anyone's short-comings; their lack of faith; their sins; but, their own. (If, in fact, I felt someone was grievously harming themselves by partaking of this Holy Meal, I would invite them to discuss it; but, in private.)

According to the Gospel of St. Luke, Jesus shared the meal which he declared was his body and blood with all of the twelve and one of them he knew full well would betray him.

Jesus welcomed sinners and still does. 

God's Peace - Pr. J

Celebrate Life!

   "Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
   But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.
   “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”
                                                                                                                             John 12:2-8 NIV

You are celebrating with friends. You are having a very pleasant time and suddenly someone begins to complain about something - maybe it's because you are having too much fun - maybe they are a bit jealous. Who knows? There seems to always be someone who wants to insert a bit of drama into the party so that it is not so enjoyable for others. 

Judas was the kill joy at the party that was held in Jesus' honor. Can you imagine! Jesus has just raised Lazarus from the dead and Judas finds something to grumble about! Lazarus' sister, Mary, celebrated with a gift of expensive perfume poured on Jesus' feet and then she let her hair down and wiped Jesus' feet with her hair. Judas was not happy and let his opinion be known. What a extravagant and wasteful gesture on the part of this woman! Jesus tells Judas to “Leave her alone, it was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”

As the writer from Ecclesiastes wrote:
    "There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:

    a time to be born and a time to die,
    a time to plant and a time to uproot,
    a time to kill and a time to heal,
    a time to tear down and a time to build,
    a time to weep and a time to laugh,
    a time to mourn and a time to dance,
    a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
    a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
    a time to search and a time to give up,
    a time to keep and a time to throw away,
    a time to tear and a time to mend,
    a time to be silent and a time to speak,
    a time to love and a time to hate,
    a time for war and a time for peace." (Eccl 3:1-8)

There is a time to weep and a time to laugh. There is a time to rejoice and to dance. There is a time to tear down and a time to build things up. Just because we may feel like it's time to tear things apart, doesn't necessarily make it so. Put a clamp on the desire to destroy the joy of LORD that others experience. Let those who rejoice in the LORD, continue rejoicing. Do not let jealousy or greed get in the way of others rejoicing in the gifts of God; namely, the gift of life. We who were once dead in our sins, now live!

Let us worship that Lord with joy and thanksgiving for the opportunity; the privilege, to live life in His presence. 

God's Peace - Pr. J

Slander

A perverse person spreads strife,

    and a whisperer separates close friends.
The violent entice their neighbors,
    and lead them in a way that is not good.
                Proverbs 16:28-29

Somewhere, somehow, we must take a stand and protect the innocent from slander. Debilitating depression results from slander; for both the one who breathes the slanderous accusations and gossip and the one who is gossiped about.

The temptation to slander others to make oneself look righteous often comes from one source: the ego or maybe it would be more accurate to say the devil who resides within us. Those in whom the Spirit of Christ does not reside often attack their neighbors; their friends; their enemies; even their loved ones unjustly, causing much chaos, pain, and sorrow. Standing idly by because you do not want to become involved or become the next target is not all that helpful. Rather, as most of us confess on Sunday mornings, we end up sinning by what we have not done; by not supporting and helping our neighbor in need. We should not support sin by our actions or our inactions. We do need to confront those who would entice others in a way that is not good even while we support and protect those who are falsely accused. 

We teach our children in Sunday School and in Confirmation classes that the eighth commandment; "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor." We also teach them as Luther taught that this means: "We should fear and love God so that we do not betray, slander, lie or gossip about our neighbors, but defend them, speak well of them and put the most charitable construction on all that they do." How soon we forget what we have learned!

May God help us to love our neighbors and not cause them to suffer any form of anguish because of our actions or inactions.

God's Peace - Pr. J 

Deserting Jesus

  In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty)  and said, “Brothers and sisters, the Scripture had to be fulfilled in which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus.  He was one of our number and shared in our ministry.”

  (With the payment he received for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out. Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)

  “For,” said Peter, “it is written in the Book of Psalms:

    “‘May his place be deserted;
    let there be no one to dwell in it,’

  and,

    “‘May another take his place of leadership.’

  Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus was living among us, beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.”

  So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.” Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.                                       (Acts 1:15-26 NIV)

It is a sad thing when one would turn their back on Jesus. But, that is what his friend and follower, Judas, did. There was nothing left to do for the disciples after his death, but to replace him so that there would be the twelve to witness to what they had seen of Jesus' life; from his baptism to his ascension. Two men were nominated; Matthias was elected by casting lots. Casting of lots helped avoid biases and divisions among the people. There were no great debates as to who the better candidate was. There were no expensive campaigns. There were no recounts. They simply trusted that God would guide the results of the lots; whatever those lots might be.

Even today, we encounter those who would turn their backs on Jesus; betraying him; deserting him and his church. Sometimes, they will choose to stay within the church as they don't even realize that they have turned their backs on Christ, simply because they happen to like the ritual of being there or they like serving to serve their own egos or maybe they have a more secular political purpose in mind.

Some find themselves disillusioned because the church is not what they want it to be for them as individuals. They cannot comprehend they mystery of the kingdom of God. When they choose to leave, like Judas, they also find themselves without hope.

Our hope is found in Jesus Christ. Without him, we can do nothing. It is a sad thing for all involved when we lose a brother and sister in Christ to worldly desires. Hear the witness of the many generations that speaks of Jesus' gift of life and salvation for you. Receive it and live life in the Kingdom of God, in the Body of Christ, even today.

God's Peace - Pr. J

No Gossiping

The Eighth Commandment.

Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

What does this mean?--Answer.
We should fear and love God that we may not deceitfully belie, betray, slander, or defame our neighbor, but defend him, [think and] speak well of him, and put the best construction on everything.

(http://bookofconcord.org/smallcatechism.php)

 

"Sticks and stones can break your bones; but, words can never hurt you." Wrong, words can kill! They can destroy life. They can kill a spirit and; yes, they can even lead to death of the body in a whole variety of ways. Think about the one who is on trial and someone would bear false witness against him or her sending them to prison for life or aid in that person receiving a death sentence. Think about the young woman or man who is trying to overcome obstacles and bullies continue to beat them down with words. Not only can this lead to a loss of an abundant and joyful life; it can lead to serious depression and in some cases suicide. Consider the married person falsely accused of adultery, what will their partner, who in their pain and anger, do to the ones he or she feels has betrayed him?

 

Do not deceive yourselves. There are no little white lies when it comes to bearing false witness against your neighbor. Lies will destroy your neighbor. Lies will destroy your family. Lies can divide and destroy whole communities and countries. Lies will destroy you.

 

God does not desire that anyone be harmed in any way. May He help us all to speak with integrity and to help our neighbors when they are down.

 

God's Peace - Pr. J