June 18: Pentecost 3: Psalm 100

 The lessons for the Third Sunday after Pentecost are about obedience to sharing and living the Good News of God’s love. The Jewish Testament reading is from Exodus (19:2-8a). Through Moses, God tells the People of Israel, I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples. Indeed, the whole earth is mine, but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation. The Epistle is from Romans 5:1-8. The author says, we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God…because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit…God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.

The Gospel from Matthew (9:35-10:8, (9-23)) shows Jesus in the middle of his ministry. We hear that when [Jesus] saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” In the very next sentence, Jesus sends out the disciples to cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons.

God from the beginning has looked at humanity as treasured and loved; and as partners in the work of the healing of the wounds of the world. That can feel like a pretty heavy load. What can we, frail and fallible women and men possibly do to made a difference in all the wars and injustices and violence and hatred we see around us? By ourselves, we can’t do anything. However, as the Letter to the Romans reminds us, we aren’t alone. In fact, we are working in unity with God because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.

Psalm 100 is a song of praise to God. As the Psalm notes, [God] has made us, and we are his; we are his people and the sheep of his pasture…the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his faithfulness endures from age to age.

We don’t need to doubt our abilities, because what we do is in union and obedience to God. The quote from Beth Moore is not an actual paraphrase or translation of Psalm 100. For me, it is a restating of the truths in the Psalm. I often need the reminder that “I am who God says I am. I can do all things through Christ.”

Do you need the reaffirmation of your worth in God’s eyes? Remember that you are treasured and beloved and filled with God’s Spirit in order to be God’s partner in the healing of the world!

Take time this week to write down at least three words that affirm that you “are who God says you are.”

Psalm 100 1 Be joyful in the Lord, all you lands; serve the Lord with gladness and come before his presence with a song. 2 Know this: The Lord himself is God; he himself has made us, and we are his; we are his people and the sheep of his pasture. 3 Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise; give thanks to him and call upon his Name. 4 For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his faithfulness endures from age to age. (Book of Common Prayer)

“God is who He says He is.   God can do what He says He can do.    I am who God says I am. I can do all things through Christ. God’s Word is alive and active in me.” (Beth Moore, Believing God)

 

The Spirit Who Gifts Us

Last time we considered how the Wisdom, the Holy Spirit, of God helps us to discern our path by guiding us when we ask. When we are directed by God’s Spirit, we will be given gifts to help us do the work of God and bring about the Kingdom. Jesus tells his disciples that “I do not call you servants…I have called you friends, because everything I have learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last. So whatever you ask the Father in my name, He will give you.” (John 15: 15-16)

As descendants of the disciples, we are inheritors of that same promise. You see lots of commercials on TV about getting your DNA tested to find out what ethnic background you are from. Our spiritual ethnic background is clear. We have the same DNA as our Father and Brother. That means we are royalty, and we have spiritual gifts. In fairy tales, often the hero or heroine is given something special which they must not lose. We also have been given something extra special, and we cannot lose it because it is an eternal gift from our loving God.

We are gifted by the Spirit in precisely the right way for our situation. The Holy Spirit gives us exactly the right gifts to do the service and act in the way that God created us for. As the 1 Corinthians citation notes, “All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.” Furthermore, the gifts we have right now are the ones we need right now! That’s a helpful thing to remember when it seems like we are in over our head or asked to do something we don’t think we can do.

In 1 Corinthians 12, we are told, “Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says ‘Let Jesus be cursed!’ and no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit. Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.” (I Corinthians 12:3-11)

Matthew Fox in his book Original Blessing reminds us that we are queens and kings in the Kingdom of God. We are direct heirs of the King of kings. Therefore, as Madeline L’Engle says, we are ‘co-creators with God’. It is the Spirit that works in us so that we are aware and so we can participate in the work of God. Recently I read Believing God by Beth Moore. She suggests that we remember 5 important things about God’s work in our lives:

God is who He says He is. 

God can do what He says He can do.

I am who God says I am.

I can do all things through Christ.

God’s Word is alive and active in me.

When we remember that we are daughters and sons of God, and that we are meant to work with God to bring about the Kingdom, it can change our attitude. If we are prophets, priests, royalty (and we are) then we ought to act in that way. We need not fear because God is in charge. The words of Jesus in Luke 12, “But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you. Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father’s is pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide yourself with purses that will not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven” (Luke 12:31-33) take on a deeper meaning. Our Father is pleased to give us the kingdom. Therefore, we can work for the good of the Kingdom without worrying about what ‘people might think’, or that we could fail. We are assured that we have the Gifts necessary for doing the work right now!

Do you ever feel overwhelmed by what you feel God is asking you to do? Is it reassuring to know that the Holy Spirit has given you just the right gifts for the job?

How does the idea of being a co-creator with God to bring about the Kingdom make you feel?

Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll take a brief break to look at the way culture and the church honor the saints, those who live and use their gifts, before concluding this series by considering some of the specific spiritual gifts and why they are needed in the church.