Foundations for Our Future (120) 

by: The Rev. Dr. Jon Shuler

One Day At A Time

The Lord has been focusing on our fallen propensity to doubt God’s love and provision. HIs teaching in this section of the Sermon on the Mount has been extensive. If we have been listening we are being given a life shaping introduction to what it means to follow him. It means to learn to have no anxiety for our lives. We are to learn to live each day in the light of God’s love and care. Nothing can “separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord,” the apostle Paul will one day teach (Romans 8:39). He had learned the lesson that Jesus is teaching all of us. But that does not mean we will never face trials (Matthew 6:34).

We have all had bad days, haven’t we? Things go wrong and the problems of life pile up upon us. It is possible to be so overwhelmed that we begin to doubt the presence of God, or his provision. We begin to take responsibility for keeping ourselves and our loved ones safe, as though it all depended on us. We can even come to a place where we have forgotten God completely.

Our Lord seems to be telling us today that he understands. There will be tough days, but you will get through them if you trust your God. Do not let worry about tomorrow keep you from the challenge and triumph of today. God is with you.

Foundations for Our Future (121) 

by: The Rev. Dr. Jon Shuler

Easter Joy

We turn today to the glorious good news of Easter, and will return to the Sermon on the Mount next week. Let us jump ahead to Mathew 28:1-2, and begin to look at the verses which describe the astonishing reality of the empty tomb.

The two Marys have returned to the tomb, where they saw the body of Jesus laid (Matthew 27:61). So far as we know, they were the only ones who knew where it had been lain, other than Joseph of Arimathea who gave it (Matthew 27:57- 60). Reverence for the body of deceased loved ones was a deeply ingrained part of the life of God’s people, and almost certainly the two were anticipating continuing to show their love by attending to the grave.

From the beginning of the call to Abraham the care of the dead was a Jewish custom, accorded as one of the most sacred of duties. God had revealed to Israel that all men and women were made in the image of God, and therefore their very physical substance was holy. To not care lovingly for the dead body of a family member or friend was unthinkable. The Christian church inherited this same custom, and shared in the same profound theological understanding. Until very recent times it remained universally so, and is meant to remain one of our distinctives as Anglican Christians.

The two Marys have just arrived at the tomb when the very ground begins to shake. Is it any wonder they are afraid (Matthew 28:4)? In only a few moments their fear will turn to everlasting joy!

Foundations for Our Future (122) 

by: The Rev. Dr. Jon Shuler

An Angel of the Lord

Have you ever seen an angel? If you have, you know what it means to experience “holy fear.” Something so extraordinary is happening that you cannot help but feel two things at once. Human fearfulness and spiritual attentiveness, bordering on joyful astonishment. There were Roman guards paid to stand watch over the tomb (Matthew 28:4,12) and they were simply fearful for their lives. The two Marys, we can dare to imagine, were also experiencing the presence of the Spirit of God.

Throughout the history of God’s people, the mighty presence of angels is granted to a few. Always, they bring a specific message and blessing to those so chosen, and that message is to bless others through them. So it was on that first Easter morning. Not only do the women receive the joyful news that Christ has risen from the dead, as he had said would happen before his suffering, but they are given the mission to take the news to all the disciples.

Have you come to know the reality of the empty tomb? Have you discovered the truth that Jesus is alive, and has conquered death and the grave? If so, the message came to you from a messenger of that Good News. An angel is a messenger of God’s grace.

Are you now following in the footsteps of the two Marys? Are you sharing the glorious news? Are you an angel to others?

Foundations for Our Future (123) 

by: The Rev. Dr. Jon Shuler

Like Lightning

The whiteness of a bolt of lightning is perhaps the most white white that can ever be seen. In spite of the strangeness of our English language, it is nothing like the color of some human skin. It is beyond all human experience. The appearance of the Angel of the Resurrection was beyond anything ever seen before or since. The impression was so great it put the soldiers on their faces and terrified the women who had come to honor the body of Jesus. (Matthew 28:3-4)

They had seen Jesus crucified. They knew he was dead. But their love and their duty was to honor him, and so they came early before the “dawn of the first day of the week.” (Matthew 28:1) Note well the beginning of the unique Christian custom of gathering on Sunday, the day that will become - almost immediately - the new Sabbath for all who follow Jesus. Christians meet together on the Day of Resurrection.

They are first told; “Do not be afraid,” the almost universal word that is given to every person to whom God speaks, but then they are given the momentous news: “He is not here, for he has risen.” (Matthew 28:5,6)

For nearly two thousand years those words have been shouted and sung on Easter. This past Sunday they were sung and shared all over the world, in every time zone, among men and women of nearly every tribe and nation. Christ Jesus is alive. The tomb is empty. To all who hear and believe it is like a bolt of lightning.

Foundations for Our Future (124) 
by: The Rev. Dr. Jon Shuler

See…Then Tell

Faith requires that we trust, but it is not an irrational trust. It is rooted in fact.

I know that my great grandparents lived because I am here and alive. But I did not know them. The fact of their existence is not in any doubt, but all that I know about them I learned from trusted witnesses. It is similar with the Christian faith.

Those who experienced those first days after Easter had a story to tell the world, and they did. One by one, the Good News has been shared right down to us today. Because of what they experienced, we have come to faith. It is an unbroken chain of telling. And the telling, to have power, must come from one who believes it and has a personal testimony of the love of God coming to them in Christ Jesus.

The two Marys were not only told the tomb was empty, they were given the invitation to “see the place where he lay.” (Matthew 28:6) With their own eyes they saw that the dead body was gone. The tomb was empty. Having heard, and seen, they possessed something to share that could never be taken from them. It was true. And then, they were met by Jesus himself!

Today this sequence is the same. We hear the Good News from trusted witnesses, we begin to believe it, and we are met by the risen Lord Jesus through the power of his Holy Spirit. And when we at last see, we have something to tell.

Foundations for Our Future (125) 

by: The Rev. Dr. Jon Shuler

Not An Ordinary Friday

Christians came soon to follow the ancient custom of keeping one day of the week as a day of fasting. Friday was chosen because it was the day of our Lord’s crucifixion. The custom may even have been given to us by the apostles who may have learned it from him. But the Friday after Easter is never a day of fasting. The Good News of Easter is too stupendous, too glorious, for any believer to fast. We continue in the joy of the risen Lord.

Have you maintained your Easter joy this week? It may have been a challenge, since most of the world has little understanding of our delight. The world buys Easter chocolate rabbits and paints Easter eggs, but the truth of Easter is missed by many. This is never so for a true follower of the Lord Jesus.

Do you know his presence with you? It is because of Easter. Do you know his compassion? It is because of Easter. Do you know his guidance? It is because of Easter. Do you anticipate the glory of heaven? It is because of Easter.

It is impossible to ever come to the end of our joy, once we believe, and so we continue to celebrate. Today we cannot fast. That will come, but not today.

Foundations for Our Future (126) 

by: The Rev. Dr. Jon Shuler

Judgment

We return to the Sermon on the Mount today, and we begin the seventh chapter of the Gospel of Matthew. It is a challenging one, as we have already learned in praying through the last two. The Lord Jesus is serious about what it means to follow him. The call to live in the kingdom of God is not a casual one. It will require all we are and all we have. The learning curve is steep! Remember, the Sermon on the Mount is for beginning disciples. The cost of following Jesus is high, but worth it!

Today we come to one of the scriptures that many non-Christians know: “Judge not, that you be not judged.” (Matthew 7:1) It might almost be said to be a central idea in the current post modern world. But what does it really mean? The non-Christian world uses this verse like a sledge hammer to challenge central things true Christians believe. Can that be right?

If we look carefully at the context of this teaching we must soon see that our Lord is actually speaking of “right judgment” not “no judgment.” He has already told us that we must distinguish between behaviors that are right in God’s sight, and those that are wrong. This requires the faculty of judgment. We cannot resolve disputes, we cannot flee from lust, we cannot have a right understanding of marriage, we cannot be truth tellers, we cannot learn to love our enemies - unless we learn to have a right judgment.

Pray today, and every day, for the wisdom from above that your judgments may be aligned with God’s will.

Foundations for Our Future (127) 

by: The Rev. Dr. Jon Shuler

Just Measurement

There is a most solemn warning from the Lord Jesus today. The way we judge others is the way we will be judged. If we are harsh in our judgments we will be judged harshly. If we measure out justice mercilessly, we will one day be subject to the same treatment. There is an absolutely clear pattern in the moral universe, and it is plainly described for us here. (Matthew 7:2)

We must remember we are not discussing “no judgment” but “right judgment.” Nevertheless the warning should make all of us be very attentive to the divine word of God coming to us in Jesus. Indeed it should make us humbly watchful. We are on the edge of a precipice from which it is easy to fall.

No one is a true believer who has not confronted his or her own sinfulness in the sight of the all holy God. No one is a true heart believer in Jesus who has failed to see the profound gap between their life and the life Christ calls them to. To see this chasm is to be faced with death, and yet at that very moment the way of the Cross shows us a bridge over the canyon of destruction. The love of God in Christ Jesus has made a way for us to be saved. To repent and believe is to be brought out of darkness and into his marvelous light.

The Lord Jesus is warning us to never forget the gospel, when we are aware of another’s sins. They are no different than we are, and only Christ Jesus can save either of us.

Foundations for Our Future (128) 

by: The Rev. Dr. Jon Shuler

A Speck in the Eye

Everyone knows the immediate distress that comes when we get something in our eye, what Jesus calls a “speck.” (Matthew 7:3) We stop what we are doing and attend to it immediately. We are helpless until we remove it. What our Lord goes on to point out is how often we are so quick to see the error of our brother or sister, when we are blind to our own errors. We see the speck in his eye, but are unaware of the log in our own.

The idea of a log in our eye is meant to make us smile with recognition. Jesus had a sense of humor. But the profound truth is very serious. Fallen human beings are prone to become extremely aware of everyone’s sin but remain blind to their own. It is an old problem, first seen in the Garden of Eden. (Genesis 3:12,13) This behavior, now so universal in a fallen world, is not acceptable in the kingdom of God.

Let us notice two things revealed to us by this verse. First, Jesus is talking about the way his followers relate to one another. When Jesus says “brother” he means a fellow disciple. Someone who is a follower of his, and one who is wanting to learn how to walk in the truth. Someone wanting to “abide” in the word of Jesus. (John 8:31,32) Second, our Lord is asking us to answer a question: “Why do you see…but do not notice…?

How do we answer that question?

Foundations for Our Future (129) 

by: The Rev. Dr. Jon Shuler

Second Question

We noticed yesterday that Jesus is asking us to answer a serious question. He asked why we see the sin in others without seeing it in ourselves. Today he asks us a second question, and it is not about seeing, it is about doing. He now points out the way we want to fix others. “How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is a log in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:4)

Here we are face to face with one of the most resistant sinful behaviors that afflict all who call themselves Christians. Indeed all people. We see and want to do something about other peoples sins, but we remain blind to our own. It is not meant to be so.

How do we answer the two questions?

The whole sweep of the revelation from God given to us in the Holy Scriptures is clear. We do these things because we have departed from God’s holy ways. We are in rebellion from the path of truth and life, and are locked into patterns that are destructive of both. We are sinners, and we are caught in the grip of sin’s bondage.

Until we acknowledge that truth, until we see it in all its clarity, and are prepared to deal with it, we will remain blind.