C.S. Lewis - Chronological Snobbery
- Sometimes we think we think we know better than those in the past, but as 2 Timothy shows, a simple act of faithfulness leads to great faith, and the importance is shown by the names of the faithful Grandmothers.
The Bible is not written to you and me specifically, it’s written to the community of the church, written over generations.
- Meant to be worked through with a community of people
We probably have a lot in common with the prophet Habakkuk
- The world is broken, where is God?
- Just a retelling for the Second oldest story
- Story one - Creation
- Story two - people want to be God
Habakkuk 1:1-4 (NIV)
The prophecy that Habakkuk the prophet received.
How long, Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, “Violence!” but you do not save? Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds. Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted.
Habakkuk 2:1-4 (NIV)
I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint.
Then the Lord replied:
“Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.
“See, the enemy is puffed up; his desires are not upright— but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness—
- Open palms allows the abundance of God’s goodness
Parables challenge the assumptions of the world in which we live
- It challenges our “conventional wisdom”
- Brokenness teaches us that a person “gets what they deserve” which also includes “earning your keep”
- Brokenness teaches us that divides between people are too great to be healed
Following the ways of Jesus is difficult at times, but when we can trust Jesus more than we can trust ourselves and/or the world, our love and peace is expanded.
Luke 17:5-10
The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”
He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.
“Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’ ”
- The first two verses are used often times by the prosperity gospel adherents
- Jesus is saying that we don’t need more faith, but rather we need to put our faith into something greater than themselves, or more specifically, God
-
In the Kingdom of God, we aren’t rewarded with bigger and better when we increase our faith. We are rewarded with trust and obedience. When we have small faith and put it in God, then when we prove trustworthy with something little, we’ll be trusted with something great.
-
The real miracle isn’t the events and gifts we see in Scripture, it’s more than that. The real miracle is that God is always with us in every situation, and is always with God’s creation.
-
Brokenness, when faced with the fruits of the Spirit, can not abide it.
- So brokenness flexes its muscle and seeks to destroy the ways of Jesus, just as those who crucified Jesus did.
-
Those who fight for peace and justice have noble causes, but unlike Jesus, there story ends wit h their death. Jesus’ story comes to fruition with resurrection from death. His story doesn’t end with death, it leads to new-everlasting life.