Luke 13:10-17: Nitpicking A Miracle To Death

On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.

Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue leader said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.”

The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?”

When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing. - Luke 13:10-17

When God does something wonderful for someone, suddenly the spotlight is no longer on me and I sometimes feel jealous. I mean God has done wonderful things in my life and what happened to this someone is no more incredible than what happened to me. So I nitpick and find something that they aren't doing just right so that their "wonderful" moment wasn't quite as wonderful. By knocking them down, I am putting the spotlight back on myself. And that is sin.

The most incredible day in the life of this woman was the day when she met Jesus. He struck down the spirit that was crippling her, letting her experience--for the first time in "eighteen long years"--walking upright and probably without pain. But when Jesus did that, the spotlight was taken from the "synagogue leader" who probably felt himself the most upright in the whole town. So that leader looked for something that would make the woman look less impressive. "Oh, healed. Well, she was healed on the Sabbath and all good Jews know that God himself rested on the Sabbath and therefore no miracles from God occurred on the Sabbath." Bam! Put that woman--and Jesus--in their place. But Jesus revealed his comments for what they were--a thin veneer of righteous over a heart full of selfishness. 

I am guilty like this. Minimizing the work of God (and the credit he should rightfully get from it) by trying to make it smaller than it was (it was a miracle) by nitpicking all the flaws so that it appears less miraculous. But the lie is not in the miracle, it is in the nitpicking. "Oh yeah, but you didn't do X or Y or Z. How could you do that?" Instead of giving God full credit and letting him deal with the question of details. I'm probably the guy in the New Jerusalem complaining about the environmental impact reports that weren't filed before it was installed on planet Earth. But God is great. And God does good work. And any attempt by me to distract from that is wrong.

Hebrews 12:14-29: Don't Allow Yourself To Be Trivialized In My Sight

Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. Even though he sought the blessing with tears, he could not change what he had done.

You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, because they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.” The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.”

But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.” - Hebrews 12:14-29

"Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord" The first part of that sentence seems harmless: "Make every effort to live in peace with everyone..." If it says "make every effort" and I tried really hard to get along with people, then haven't I met my obligations? And if they are still mad at me, what can I do? I mean, I tried hard right and they didn't respond so if we aren't at peace, it isn't my fault. Right?

Even the second part of the sentence seems pretty tame: "be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord." It is easy to read holiness as being a good person and we know that God requires that we are holy to be close to him. We know that we are supposed to follow the rules and act like God would expect of us.

So what's the big deal?

Holiness isn't just a warm and fuzzy. It actually can be scary. The author goes back to Old Testament, when Moses and the people of Israel were learning about God and he said they need to treat him differently. Getting close to God was like getting close to fire. That's why they had to be careful getting close to the mountain of the presence of God, so they wouldn't die.

Fire heats and it purifies, it also consumes and scorches. You have to respect it or you get burned. While we don't come to a literal mountain where God is dwelling, we are still trying to come close to God through Jesus. Treating God like he is our buddy is to relate to him unrealistically. It is unrealistic to treat God like our peer. He is not our buddy. It is foolish to treat God like someone we bargain with. He needs nothing from us and we have no leverage. It is foolish to treat God like a person. He is not at risk of dying nor is he confined to the limits of a physical body. When we say God is holy, we are saying that he is fundamentally different from us, in being and in character. Assumptions about him can lead us fatally astray. We have to respect God the way we respect fire: good, powerful and at the same time dangerous to be on the wrong side of. 

This very fire that we rely on and are grateful for cannot be underestimated and trivialized like a Christmas card or an Easter basket. It cannot be ignored or set aside. "Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.”" Lord, don't allow yourself to be trivialized in my sight. 

Jeremiah 1:4-10: Ignoring the Spirit's Truth At My Own Peril

The word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

“Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.”

But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.

Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.” - Jeremiah 1:4-10

How do you react when someone like your boss asks for someone to raise their hand to undertake something you don't know how to do? Do you react by keeping your hand down? Do you wait to see how everyone else reacts--maybe someone else knows how to do it? Do you pause to consider whether the unknowns in this case are worth the risk?

I tend to err on the other side. If someone asks if I can do something, I tend to say "Yes" and then figure out what they are talking about later. 

This is what happened to Jeremiah when God is looking for volunteers. His first response is a cautious one--I am too young--, not sure that it is worth the risk or maybe thinking that God had overestimated his capabilities. But God says to Jeremiah: "Don't say that you are too yong" He doesn't even give Jeremiah the pep talk like he did for Joshua ("be strong and courageous") or promise help like he did for Moses ("Aaron will speak") He just says: "You must go to everyone I send you and say whatever I command you." And that was enough for Jeremiah, even though the message was tough.

Sometimes God gives us tough things to say. Maybe not the same as Jeremiah. But a truth that needs to be heard. A truth which, if not said, has bad consequences. Not saying the truth might seem like a better, safer option. But God knows better and commands us to say it despite our misgivings and despite the personal consequences of how others might think of me.

Sometimes I like to speak the truth. Maybe for the wrong reason, because I want to use the truth like a weapon and not as a guide. Other times I don't like to speak the truth because it has negative personal consequences in the short term. Right at that moment, God's Spirit often whispers a command: Speak my truth. And I ignore that whisper at my own peril.