apocalyptic Hope and Joy

Isaiah 25:1-9        Psalm 23       Philippians 4:1-9           Matthew 22:1-14

 

Isaiah 24&25 read like the Apocalypse, foretelling the day of the Lord when He “strips the world bare” and purifies the land of the arrogant who reject Him. God brings judgement on human kings and those hidden spiritual powers which rebel against Him. Isaiah 25 contrasts the fate of the city of chaos and the city of God. The Lord will be a refuge for the poor and needy, while fierce and cruel tyrants (who are compared to blistering heat or a raging thunderstorm) will be subdued. In the new age, the Lord will provide for all people who seek Him. YHWH will dwell among us, defeating death and wiping away every tear. This judgement imagery lies behind Jesus’ parable today.

 

To refuse the wedding invitation was to shame the King. Killing the servants was an act of treachery. The parable is an illustration of the human response to Jesus. Our decision to respond has eternal repercussions.

Too often, we fill our lives with nonsense, allowing the temporal to overshadow the Eternal God. We cling to passing things and unknowingly embrace death—for in this world all is tainted by sin and death. Isaiah and Jesus provide the terrifying alternative to a faithful response.

 

Yet, the message is one of salvation and a promise of abundance—a mountain banquet of rich food and wine, a wedding banquet. We celebrate the mercy and love of God. This is what motivates Paul, who is locked in a prison awaiting death, to write the most uplifting letter in the New Testament. He cheers us on to a spirituality of praise. "Rejoice in the Lord always, again, I say, rejoice!" The Lord is near. Stop worrying...

 

The Christian mind is peaceful and joyful--it generates praise and thanks. It is the worldly mind which centers on fear, doubt, darkness and gloom. It is easy to be swept away by bad news. It is easy to forget that "the Lord is near." He comes to judge the powerful who reject Him. He comes to feed the poor and defeat death. He calls us to the banquet. So rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I say, rejoice.

Ezekiel 18:1-4, 25-32    

Philippians 2:1-13

Matthew 21:23-32

Most of us think the threat to freedom of thought comes from the world outside of us, but really it is the demonic lies and our false beliefs which steal our freedom of thought. It is the false desires which destroy the root of freedom within our souls. Our salvation lies in union with Christ. We must have that one mind together in Christ. We must be, as Paul said, sympsycos (a united soul, spiritually  one). True freedom is the agape love which serves the other and cares for their concerns.

 

Jesus is not self-seeking, His way is to turn from our natural impulses and to turn to the will of God in obedience. Our King and Lord is a servant.

 

The problem is we are the children of Adam and Eve. They were the image and likeness of God. But they regarded equality with God something to be stolen, so they disobeyed to pursue their own desires. They act not as servants, but as a rival master to God, bringing sin, death and a curse upon creation.  Therefore, God let them go and sin and violence grew and chaos swept away creation. This is the anti-Gospel, the sad story of corruption.

 

God, however, did not give up. The incarnation of God Himself was His response. Jesus was the morphe—the actual form of God, upon whom Adam was modeled. Jesus did not harpagmos (literally seize or rob; hold fast) to equality, He kenosis—emptied—and became a human (adam), choosing to be an obedient, humble, suffering servant of God. He was raised up and glorified and through His descent the foolishness of Adam, Eve, and each one of us is undone. Jesus conquers and calls us to our true identity as God’s servants.

 

We must think as He thinks, we must be emptied of our passions and self-seeking—and in love and trust, we must serve the others around us. So, yet again, we turn back to the way of Jesus, and begin once more the journey into life.