Fault! Double Fault!

I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for every thing that I learned from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit-- fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in My name. (John 15:15-16)

When Jesus saw the crowd around Him, He gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake. Then a teacher of the law came to Him and said, "Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go." Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head." Another disciple said to Him, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." But Jesus told him, "Follow Me, and let the  dead bury their own dead." (Matthew 8:18-22)

In this past Sunday's sermon, Pastor Martha pulled a phrase from John 15:15: I call you friends, and I will make known to you. The implication, found not just there but throughout the Gospels, is that there are plenty of people eager to be servants, but not so many that are called friends.

A servant does not know his master's business. What a plea for intimacy! The parable of the talents (see Matthew 25:14-30) does a lot of talking about servants. And two of the three servants successfully did the business of trading for the master, but doing the business is not equal to knowing the master's business. Knowing requires "insider knowledge"; it requires private conversation, confidentiality, trust, faith. The strength of true success in God's business is worked out in the private wrestlings of spiritual disciplines like those found in Matthew 6: praying, giving, fasting.

We in the Church are implicated. Serving is second nature to many of us. We have ushered for so long, played music for so long, preached for so long, that it has become routine. We are doing the business, and many of us are excellent at doing the business. But our pastor reminded us, backed by the word of God, that our Jesus has hand-picked some people that He calls friends, and that He has appointed them to know-- to have a depth of understanding that only comes from spending much time in the secret place of prayer. In the proverbial field of barren trees that mark the carnal church, these few friends of Jesus are productive, bearing "fruit that will last".

Jesus is able to look and see who His friends are, where the fruit is, and where the fakes flourish. To the brash and overconfident servants, Jesus says: You think you're able to follow Me wherever I go, without My having equipped you? You think you're able to step in and out of this faith journey as you please? Guys, it doesn't work that way. To the chosen disciples, He says: Follow Me on My terms, and I will prune you so that you become a fruit-bearer for My kingdom. It won't be easy. But you will know Me intimately and we will love each other deeply.

A prophetic plea for 2013: Less rote serving. More real knowing.

The Betrothal!

(Eastern Orthodox prayer rope)

In this past Sunday's sermon, Pastor Martha spoke to us about the importance of the secret place: that is, having an intimate relationship with God that is expressed in private prayer.

Jesus exhorts us to do more than just keep the stated law; He asks us to take a step further by walking in love. Love compels us to relinquish our right for revenge. Love compels us to give without expecting any sort of accolade. Love compels us to walk two miles when only one mile is required.

The Holy Spirit, who is Love, draws us into the wilderness to experience the passion of Christ even though our love for Him is sorely lacking. It is this experience, wrought in secret, that shifts us from being mere servants of God to being His beloved Bride (see Hosea 2:13-20). We learn to love.

Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew chapters 5 through 7), preaches a message that urges His people to go beyond the basics of the Ten Commandments and to live lives that are completely given over to the Lordship of Christ-- not because of duress, but because of love. His sermonic refrain, "You have heard it said that... but I say to you...", reinforces the purpose of His coming to earth: not to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. What the sacrifices of bulls and goats could not accomplish, Christ Jesus has accomplished through His blood. It is a victory foretold through Jewish law, but fulfilled in Jesus's love.

In the time of Jesus's earthly ministry, it was common in Jewish culture to have a special place set aside for intimacy with God through private prayer. Just as a husband and wife were expected to have a room for private expression of their sexual relationship, devout believers were expected to have a dedicated place for private expression of their spiritual relationship with the Father. We catch a glimpse of this in the life of the apostle Peter, who (when staying with Simon the tanner) would retreat to the rooftop for private prayer (see Acts 10:9). What has Jesus said? Go into your room, close the door. Your Father is unseen, and your intimate prayers to Him must be unseen. Peter, who was not in his own home, nonetheless made the rooftop a "room" where he could meet privately with God. Private prayer was a non-negotiable aspect of Peter's life.

What bride avoids conversing one-on-one with a husband who showers her with love and compassion? What bride would spurn his advances? The hallmark of a betrothed woman is that she loves her husband as he loves her: she longs for private times and private spaces shared only with him. As Christians, we are the Bride of Christ. We are His betrothed. And Jesus Himself set the example for us, frequently seeking out private places where He could have intimate, private prayer with His Father.

Interestingly, although these love experiences are a cloistered training ground for the Christian, the results of such experiences are no secret at all. Jesus says, three times, Your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you publicly (Matthew 6:4; 6:6; 6:18). What is our Father's reward for those private prayer sessions? A public ministry filled with the power of His Spirit. God will do this for those who, like His Son, lovingly seek after Him and intentionally engage private prayer.

With all of my heart I hunger for You;
All I want and all I seek is true intimacy with You.
Here I stand waiting, Lord,
Touch me now like never before!
Let me change and be transformed:
True intimacy is what I'm longing for.
Intimacy is the longing of my heart, Lord, of this heart!
(Lyrics Eoghan Heaslip. Copyright 1999, Daybreak Music Ltd.)

Room For Two.

As is our custom at Bronx Bethany, our combined English- and Spanish-speaking congregations worshiped together yesterday, the fifth Sunday of the month. Pastor Martha's message was taken from the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew chapters 5 through 7).

At the heart of her message was the issue of intimacy with Christ. Our pastor used an example found in the Song of Solomon, an allegory of Christ and His Church, where the Lover and the Beloved express a deep longing for each other and a desire for constant closeness.

Pastor Martha shared with us that the Christian who is pressing towards intimacy with Jesus does not enter His Presence with a list of requests. Rather, he enters in to God's Presence simply to enjoy, praise, and adore Him. We demonstrate the attributes commended by Jesus in His sermon: we come to Him poor in spirit; mourning over our sins and the sins of the world; hungering and thirsting for His righteousness; being a source of peace and peacemaking; demonstrating humility; and enduring persecution. As we embrace these attributes, we look more and more like Him as time goes by.

I encourage us all to read (or re-read) Matthew chapters 5, 6, and 7, and The Song of Solomon (Song of Songs), as we take time this week to reflect on the word of God. It's more reading than I usually refer to in this blog, but what harm is there in spending time getting to know the character of the One we love?