Out of Egypt...

Now when they had gone, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him."

Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent and slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi.

So Joseph got up, took the Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Then after being warned by God in a dream, he left for the regions of Galilee, and came and lived in a city called Nazareth. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets: "He shall be called a Nazarene." Matthew 2:13, 16, 21-23 NASB

If you pay any attention to the media these days you have likely noticed that for some time now the definition of the word “hero” has been changing. When I was a kid attending Saturday afternoon matinees with my mother (yes, I am that old) the definition of hero was pretty simple. The hero was the guy in the fedora/white hat/space suit who showed up just in the nick of time to rescue the beautiful stranger/rancher’s daughter/ female scientist from the crime boss/cattle rustler/alien monster.

Today the definition is a little broader. The term hero is used to describe anyone who has faced overwhelming odds in any aspect of life and managed to either succeed in over coming them, or by their example inspired others to face their own challenges in life. I’m not bringing this up in order to debate the definition of a hero. I bring it up to point out that different people at different times have differing expectations of their heroes. So it was in Israel at the time of Jesus.

We can better appreciate the people’s response to the Kingdom Gospel if we have an understanding of what it was the people were looking for in the person of the Messiah - the promised hero of Israel. For centuries the Messiah had been portrayed as the very embodiment of the nation of Israel. Like no one since Moses, the Messiah would ‘be’ Israel, representing the fulfilment of all their struggles, all their wanderings, and most importantly, the embodiment of the dream of Israel finally becoming the kingdom God had always intended.

In the story of the flight to Egypt that follows the visit of the Magi, avoiding the slaughter in Bethlehem, and ending with the arrival in Nazareth, Matthew forges three key links in the chain that connects Jesus to Israel’s history; a necessary task if Jesus is to meet the people’s expectations of the Messiah. Now, while God is not in the business of meeting expectations, certain conditions, established by God himself, must be met if anyone is to recognize Jesus as the Promised One.

Jesus is called “out of Egypt” just as the descendants of Jacob in the time of Moses. Like the Israelites under Pharaoh, Jesus too escapes the king’s attempt to eliminate the threat to his power by slaughtering male children. Like the children of God wandering in the wilderness, Jesus finally finds a home in a land that was not originally his own, but will be associated with Him the rest of his life. With these crucial connections in place Jesus is confirmed as the perfect hero for Israel. A hero who has suffered in every way just as Israel has; exiled, hunted, relocated and yet always triumphant!

The story of the child Jesus has now been connected to the story of the children of Israel in three key places; Bethlehem - the city of David, Egypt - the place of the exile, and Ramah - the place of mourning for what Israel has lost gaining the promised land. In the Hebrew mind Jesus would have fit the image of the Messiah as readily as John Wayne fit the image of the Texas Marshall.

The story also connects us once again to Abraham. Without question or hesitation Joseph obeys the word of the angel in his dream and leaves all that he has known to take up residence in Egypt. He has no idea how long he will be there, no certainty of making a living, no relatives or contacts in the land that once enslaved his people. He, like Abraham when he was called to leave his home in Haran, has only his faith in the Lord God to sustain him and his family. And like Abraham, faith is enough. Once more, Joseph proves his worthiness to serve as guardian of the Messiah.

For the storyteller who seeks to accurately present the Kingdom Gospel this is all crucial information. Try to picture the knowing look that Matthew would have given his listeners as he drew the lines between Jesus and Moses, between Joseph and Abraham. See in your mind’s eye the bonds that form as the Jews who knew these stories relate their significance to the Gentiles who worshipped with them. Imagine Matthew’s pleasure as he saw the look of understanding come upon the faces in his audience as the story of the Kingdom unfolds.

A story that will continue to unfold in our next episode... The Cry of the Herald!

Shalom

We Three Kings...

“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him." ” Matthew 2:1-2 NASB

Of all the characters involved in The Kingdom Gospel, and especially the nativity story, the magi are the most mysterious. For two thousand years scholars have speculated on the number, origin and nature of this group trying to fully explain their significance. For the storyteller, what matters most is not who they were and where they came from, but that they came at all, and how the locals responded to their presence.

Matthew does not specify a number, but generally we have come to accept the idea of there being three, one for each of the gifts; gold, frankincense, and myrrh. We have also named them; Gaspar, Melchior and Balthazar, names representing three different races. They are described variably as wise men, astrologers, kings and magicians, all of which in varying degrees can be associated with Matthew’s word ‘magi.’

For the Biblical storyteller however, as much as their possible background is of interest, what remains of greatest importance is what the gospel does tell us. And that is this: the magi had come to worship the promised King of the Jews and not only that – they were Gentiles. In this proclamation of their purpose the magi reinforce the purpose of the Kingdom Gospel, to help Matthew’s church understand that the barriers to God were coming down. No longer would the promise of the Messiah be for the Jews only, as foretold by the prophets, all nations will come to worship at his feet.

Of interest too, is the reaction of Herod and “all of Jerusalem.” We know from other historical accounts that during this time there had been a number of people claiming to be the Messiah. Most of them were ignored or quickly proven to be false, so one would expect that Herod would regard this as just one more false alarm and shrug it off. And yet, he doesn’t. In fact, he takes it very seriously and begins plotting to take the life of the child. Why? Why does he react the way he does? And why is all of Jerusalem afraid of the magi’s message as well?

Let’s go back to the story. What sets this announcement apart from all the others who claimed to be Messiah? The answer is the presence of the magi.

Imagine for a moment you are King Herod. A number of astrologers from Persia or beyond arrive and tell you that they have looked at the stars and have determined that the time has come for the fulfilment of the prophecy of the coming Messiah. And unlike others with such claims, they come to Herod freely admitting they don’t know who it is. They only know that now is the time for the King of the Jews to be born and would Herod please be so kind as to point him out.

For Herod, and all his cronies throughout Jerusalem looking to hold onto their power, the surest sign that this is the real deal is not great orations by a would be prophet, not the performance of miracles, not even the raising of an army to drive out the Romans. Since Jesus is just a child none of these things have happened – yet. No! – for them the proof that this is a threat that must be taken seriously is Gentiles are coming forth to worship Him. In a world where Jews are despised and looked down upon by most of the nations around them, the only reason magi from any nation would come to worship the King of the Jews would be because He truly is the Son of the Most High. In Herod’s mind, only the birth of the true Messiah would bring Gentiles into their midst.

And so he agrees to help the magi, for his own reasons of course. He doesn’t know who the child is any better than the magi; so, after consulting the scriptures, he sends them to Bethlehem. His hope is that when they find him so will he. But God, as always, is one step ahead of those who would thwart his plans for mankind. He sends the magi home by another route.

If there is anything we can learn from the magi, it is the need for us to keep the stories of God close to our hearts. The magi, by their own devices, were able to determine at least part of the truth. They were able to look at the stars and know that the time had come for the Messiah to be born. They knew that the Jewish messiah was a true object of worship, worthy of their reverence even though they were not of the Jewish faith. But they didn’t know all they needed to know. Had they been able to consult the writings of the prophets for themselves they would have known where to look for the Promised One.

Many of us today, even among Christians, have it in our heads that we can figure it out all by ourselves. We are looking for a custom religion that we cobble together from insights that we pick up from a variety of sources along the way. But the fact remains that without the written Word we have only a portion of the information we need. Without the truths to be found in the Bible, we do not know where or who to worship.

And knowing the Bible is no guarantee either. The chief priests and the scribes had the text before them but failed to see the deeper truth of the words because their focus was not on God’s plan but on their own interests. They were not so interested in keeping the faith as they were in keeping control. The spirit of their worship was distorted by their own self interests.

By placing the story of God in our hearts rather than just keeping the facts about God in our heads, we ensure that both the desire and the details work together. In this way we will know where and who to worship and be better equipped to do so in spirit and in truth.

Shalom

(Exploring the Kingdom Gospel - episode 4)

Birth of a King (Matt. 1:18-25)

1“And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly.” Matthew 1:19 NASB

Try to imagine for a moment what it was like to be Joseph. Here you are, a respected man in the community, a tradesman, and one day you discover your fiancé is pregnant, and you know full well it wasn’t you. What would go through your mind?

The newspapers and other media carry stories everyday of men who discover they’ve been betrayed by their girlfriends and go off the deep end and kill both the woman and her lover. And truth be told, in first century Palestine, nobody would have blamed Joseph if he had done the same. In fact, if he had brought her before the council, the whole village of Nazareth would have picked up a stone and helped him.

But not Joseph, son of Jacob. He is a righteous and compassionate man who, despite the betrayal, seeks to minimize the negative effects of the situation for all concerned. This tells me a very important thing. God was not only careful about choosing a mother for Jesus, but He was very careful to choose a good man as the foster-father as well. In Joseph God found not only someone who would provide a line to the Throne of David, but a man who could be trusted to look out for the young Jesus and raise Him well in the traditions of his people.

In this act also, we see a singularly remarkable man. After having made up his mind what to do about Mary – he has a dream. In this dream he is told the child is in fact the progeny of the Holy Spirit; that Mary carries in her womb the Son of God Himself; the fulfilment of all that Israel has hoped for. A lesser man would have shrugged it off as a crazy dream, but Joseph steps out in faith and does what the angel in the dream has told him to do. He adopts the Son of the Most High as his own and gives Him his name - Yeshua, in Greek - Jesus.

And in so doing, Joseph solves the dilemma we mentioned near the end of our last episode. The link in the chain is mended. In Joseph’s world an adopted son had all the same rights and privileges as one born of a man’s own seed. By naming Jesus on the day of his birth, and formally when they present him at the temple, Joseph declares to the world, “This is my son, the heir to all that is mine.” In that moment Jesus becomes a rightful heir to the throne of David. A human being adopts the son of God as heir to the throne of David so that one day God might adopt all of humanity as heirs to the throne of righteousness.

But another thing happened in that moment as well. While it is true that Joseph’s act of adoption guarantees his place in history, at the same time it ensures that place is only as a footnote. Like many men married to famous women, Joseph becomes “Mr. Mary.” And like John the Baptist, it seems that he must decrease so that Jesus and the Father may increase.

In Joseph we find ourselves a hero in a person who, in any other story, would be a minor character. His righteousness and compassion, his willingness to step out in faith (we’ll see more of this later) and his unwavering obedience make him a role model for any husband or father living today. Indeed, he is a shining example for anyone concerned about their place in life. Joseph demonstrates better than any other in scripture that it must never be about us, about who we are or what we do. The focus must always be on God the Father. He alone is what matters; even Jesus said this was the case.

Jesus knew that his entire ministry was about pointing people to the Father in heaven. In this he had the best role model possible in one simple tradesman - his earthly father - Joseph.

Shalom

(Exploring the Kingdom Gospel - episode 3)

The Lineage of a King

"The record of the genealogy of Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham." Matthew 1:1

Most of us are accustomed to stories that begin with "Once upon a time...", or "It was a dark and stormy night...", or even "Space, the final frontier." Yet here, Matthew begins his Kingdom Gospel with a lesson in genealogy. Why does the story of Jesus begin with such an academic preface?

Because Matthew wants to be very clear right from the start that this Jesus is not just any man. He is the Messiah — the promised Anointed One. He is King of Israel — rightful heir to the throne of King David. He is History Fulfilled — what God started with Abraham he brings into fulfilment with Jesus of Nazareth.

Before the real story begins Matthew lays out for his listener the path through Israel's history that led to the man Jesus. You'll notice I use the word listener instead of reader. I have long been convinced that the scriptures were designed to be heard. It is why I am a Biblical storyteller. As the gospels were circulated in the early church you can be certain they were read aloud in the congregation. I believe that this was kept in mind when the gospel writers penned their words.

Imagine with me for a moment the response in the minds of the Jewish believers in Matthew's congregation as they heard this litany of names they had lived with all their lives.

Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – the three great patriarchs of Israel. Boaz – the protector and husband of the faithful Ruth. Jesse – the father of the great king David from who's branch it was foretold the Messiah would come. Jehoshaphat – the king who led Israel back to faith in the God who would deliver them from their enemies. Zerubbabel – one of the leaders in the rebuilding of the temple at Jerusalem after the exile to Babylon. Each of these names and others in the list would have stirred memories in the hearts of the Jewish listeners.

But there are other names there as well; names not to be expected. Tamar - who held Judah accountable for his actions. Rahab - protector of the Israelite spies as they scouted out the Promised Land. Ruth – faithful Moabite who refused to abandon her Hebrew mother-in-law. And Bathsheba – wife of the Hittite who would one day give birth to the great King Solomon. They were women, and for a woman to be mentioned in a lineage would have been unusual all by itself. And yet there is more, for these women were also Gentiles.

Imagine again the response when the listeners heard the names of these Gentiles held as examples of great faith in the Hebrew scriptures. Imagine them then looking at the Gentiles among them who had come to follow Jesus, the Christ, and wondering that they had never seen the obvious before. That the God of Israel was indeed the God of all nations.

This then is the carrot that Matthew dangles before his listeners. This is the story he is about to tell. The culmination of the history of Israel, the coming of the promised Messiah, and the restoration of the rightful heir to the throne of David, all brought together in the life of one man – Jesus of Nazareth.

And yet, to the attentive listener there is a flaw. The chain is broken in the final link. The man Joseph is indeed a true son of David, but he is listed only as the husband of the virgin named Mary, mother of the Nazarene, not as the father of Jesus. As well no explanation is given for the inclusion of yet one more woman in the lineage of this would be king.

Matthew knows the break is there, and he knows they have discovered it. His explanation is forthcoming in the next episode – "The Birth of a King."

Shalom.

(Exploring the Kingdom Gospel - episode 2)

Exploring the Kingdom Gospel

As part of my preparation of the Gospel of Matthew as story, I've decided to review the gospel focusing specifically on the Kingdom of God dynamic. When preparing a story for telling it is a necessary part of the process to examine the story from different angles so as to understand the perspective of all involved. To help me in this process I've decided to share my observations in this forum. (I’ll be publishing more often than I have been, but I can’t promise more than that.) However, I do invite you to participate in the process. Whatever input you feel led to provide will be welcome. You could question my observations, offer up alternatives, or just let me know if what I have come up with makes sense to you. Whatever the feedback, it will be most helpful and greatly appreciated.

To Begin...

One of the first things that needs to be considered when preparing a story is – who was the story originally intended for? Many scholars are of the opinion that the gospel was written by a Jew for Jews because of the numerous references to information that would have been of great interest to the Jewish community. While this certainly seems to be the case, many commentaries point out the number of times Matthew writes as if he is outside of the Jewish community. For example, he refers to the Jewish houses of prayer as "their synagogues." In fact such is the rhetoric against the Jewish leaders that in the past many Christian preachers have used Matthew's gospel as justification for their anti-Semitic views. How do we explain this?

After researching a number of sources, I find myself wondering if Matthew's church (he's the only gospel writer to use the term) was in fact a group of Jews who, having come to belief in Jesus as Messiah, had been forced to leave their synagogue; thrown out of the community for their blasphemy. They were struggling, faced with the question of how do they maintain their heritage as the people of God and Abraham while at the same time embracing this new spiritual reality. To help them answer this question Matthew writes his gospel. He clearly sets out to prove that Jesus of Nazareth is indeed the promised Messiah of the Jewish people.

And yet, he just as ardently presents salvation through Jesus Christ as being for all the nations. Cast out from the synagogue these Jewish Christians now find themselves worshipping the Messiah in the company of Gentiles! For this reason it is important for Matthew to include examples of the faith found by Jesus among the Gentiles he encounters. He wants them to see a larger kingdom that encompasses not just the twelve tribes of Israel, but the world as a whole. He knows that if they are all to be productive citizens of the same kingdom they will have to overcome their differences. (A lesson some modern nations have yet to learn.)

Having established our 'audience' we now need to examine the other aspects of the gospel story, namely, characters, setting and plot. We will examine plot as we work our way through the gospel in the coming weeks. However, because plot most often involves the interactions of the characters with each other and their settings, lets take a quick look at these elements in Matthew's story.

As I just said plot involves the interactions of the characters in the story. Some of these interactions will involve conflict while others will bring characters together in a variety of ways. The scope of this interaction is determined by what type of character they are. There are, for the most part, three kinds of characters in a story.

Round characters are those with sufficient character and personality traits displayed that we are able to create in our minds a near complete picture of just who they are. They are the characters who seem most real to us and with whom we tend to develop the most empathy. Jesus, of course, is the most round of all the characters. As the hero of the Kingdom Gospel he is the one Matthew most desires that we come to understand and relate to, both as King and Messiah.

The Disciples are also, to varying degrees, a round character. I say "a character" because, like most groups in a story, the disciples function as a single character. They are in a very real sense an 'everyman', a character that all of us can relate to in some way. The occasional glimpses we get of the individuals within the group highlight specific character traits that can be found in all of us. While most of the disciples are individually flat (definition in a moment) it is as a group that they develop into a fully-rounded character with all of the strengths and weaknesses that go with being truly human.

Flat characters are those who display very few traits. Unlike round characters they are very predictable in their behaviours. They tend to operate from one or two root traits that determine, in large part, their course of action. The Religious Leaders (scribes, pharisees and priests) are the greatest example of a flat character in this story. Like the disciples, the group as a whole is regarded as a single character and they all follow the same path. In the case of the religious leaders their root trait would seem to be hypocritical, to the point of being 'evil.' Their sole motivation seems to be self-preservation in order to retain power.

The Crowds are also an important flat character. Their traits are few and uncomplicated. They either support Jesus or they oppose him depending on the occasion. They represent the wave of public opinion and raise for us the important questions: Is this man really the Messiah? How can he do such things if he is not from God? Who is our king? The crowds are there, in part, to ensure that these questions are raised and debated in the mind of the reader/listener.

Stock characters are those that exhibit either only one trait or no traits at all. In the kingdom gospel the minor characters are in fact all stock characters. The lepers, the blind, the cripples, the relatives of the disciples, the Roman and temple guards, and the myriad of other individuals that come into the narrative, perform their function and leave it just as quickly. That is not to say they do not have an important role in the story of the Kingdom. In God’s kingdom all have their purpose; however, in general they must be regarded as minor characters.

Now I realize this seems like a cruel way to dismiss these people; after all, they were real people that met and were affected by the person that is Jesus Christ. But I ask you to understand that this kind of categorizing helps the storyteller to make decisions about how a story is told. It is not a reflection of the validity of anyone as an individual. That happens at a whole other level.

The settings used in the Kingdom Gospel are also of great importance and will be discussed in detail as we go along. But here it should be noted that Jesus’ arrival, death and ressurection take place at both a geographical and temporal crossroads. Jerusalem and its environs were located at the centre of all the major trading routes. Peoples from every nation in the Roman Empire and beyond were present and had varying degrees of influence on the culture of the day.

And while the time period has become of crucial significance to us, creating a fulcrum across which even our calendar rotates, it was also a crucial time for those who had no idea regarding the significance of the events about to unfold. Rome's power was at its height and the beginnings of revolution were in the air. While not the only point of conflict in the empire, Israel was about to take a crucial turn in its relationship with the emperor. Long protected from many of the requirements of being in the empire, many in Rome were starting to tire of the constant complaints from the Religious Leaders, and the eyes of many other occupied regions were waiting to see what Rome would do about Israel.

Well that’s it for now. I apologize for the great length of this discourse, and the absense of any real point to take away with you. But I felt it was necessary to establish this as the perspective from which I would be exploring the Kingdom Gospel. Next time (hopefully later this week) we'll get started into the meat of the story itself with the first episode – "The Lineage of a King."

Shalom.

(Exploring the Kingdom Gospel - episode 1)

Lest We Forget

Each November we see a wide variety of things come to light that are intended to help us remember the men and women who have given their lives in the service of their country. Some of these are good and honourable ideas, others are just attempts to cash in on the emotions that run high at this time of year. Every once in a while however an idea surfaces that is an unqualified ' one of ' that makes you sit up and take notice. Today, I came across such an idea.

There are three Canadians left alive who served during the First World War. They are: 105-year-old Dwight (Percy) Wilson (shown in photo getting a kiss from his grand-daughter on his 105th birthday) and Lloyd Clemett and John Babcock, both 106. They are the last remaining links to the 619,636 Canadians who served between 1914 and 1918. Soon, when they too have passed on, there will be no one left to say, "Thank You" to from that terrible time in our history.

The Dominion Institute has suggested that when the inevitable day comes that the last of Canada's WWI veterans passes, they should, on behalf of all the 66, 655 Canadians who died in service to their country during that war, be given a formal state funeral. I fully agree.

The passing of the last WWI veteran will, in fact, mark the passing of a generation, even an era. We should do all we can to make sure that their sacrifice does not fade from memory. To give the last veteran a state funeral as a significant tribute to every soldier who died in WWI is by all means a very fitting act. I hope you agree as well.

I am therefore asking you to join with me in asking our federal government to do just that. There is an online petition available to be signed at www.dominion.ca/petition . You may well have heard about this on the news by now, so what I have written here is not news. Some of you have already signed and for that I thank you. If you hadn't please take a moment to click on the link above and do so. You will receive a verification email that requires you click another link to verify your email address is a valid one. The whole process takes only a few minutes.

The passing of the last Canadian WWI veteran will only happen once in our entire history. Let's make sure it is an event that is well remembered.

Shalom...

Click here to sign petition.

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Blessed are the meek...

Like many of you I have spent this week watching the events unfold around a small Amish community in Pennsylvania. There is a part of us that can rationalize the idea of shootings in crowded inner-city communities where our children walk to school through all the horrors that modern urban life has to offer, but who among us ever thought that Amish country was also a breeding ground for this kind of behaviour?

Even more remarkable than the fact that such an event would take place in this small rural community lost in time, is the response of that same community. It is a response that in many ways is also lost in time. It is a response that has caught the attention of many people in North America and has them wondering about their own responses. And I would like to suggest that the people who should be paying the most attention to the gentle ways of these gentle people are the Christians of Canada and the United States.

It has been somewhat disheartening for me to watch the behaviour of my fellow Christians in the press of late. It seems that the default reaction by many believers to people who disagree with them is to unload all of the bile and hate they've been storing up. Condemning people to any or all of Dante's 9 levels of hell, wishing disease and calamity upon them, questioning their humanity, comparing them to various tyrannical dictators (Hitler remains the favorite), even death threats are among the list of responses the practitioners of "Christian Love" levy at those who would dare to oppose them. It all calls to mind the lyrics of an old song by the Christian rock-band Petra...

"Seen and not heard, seen and not heard
Sometimes God's children should be seen and not heard.
Too much talk and not enough walk
Sometimes God's children should be seen and not heard."

Not so the people of faith in this Amish community that has suffered so devastating a blow. The people of Lancaster County took a very different view.

"The grandfather was there and he made a point. They are instructing their kids not to think evil of the man who did this. I think that was the most moving of all,” Rev. Rob Schenck of the National Clergy Council told CBS.

"I don't think there's anybody here that wants to do anything but forgive and not only reach out to those who have suffered a loss in that way but to reach out to the family of the man who committed these acts," Jack Meyer told CNN.

"The hurt is very great," she said, "but they don't balance hurt with hate."

Today's pastors and Christian writers have a great deal to say about how to live the Christian life in the modern world. They spend a lot of pulpit time and ink on paper trying to re-create the Gospel in a flavour that the 'post-moderns' can find easier to swallow. But in a small community that for the most part is still in the 18th century, the teachings of Jesus are being lived out for all the world to see, and the world is listening.

This small community that has rejected cell-phones and computers, even gas engines and the automobile has refused to reject the man who committed this terrible act (Charles Roberts). They get 'closure' on the matter not by seeing that the shooter is vilified and the world never forgets how evil he was; but rather by forgiving what many consider unforgivable. They reach out not to obtain revenge, but to extend compassion and comfort to the Robert's family in the understanding that they too have suffered loss - a husband and father. They do not alter their view of the Gospel to address a circumstance they never imagined facing, instead they cling to centuries old teachings from the scriptures to get them through whatever happens no matter how unfamiliar.

It truly speaks to the power of the Gospel itself to make a louder statement than any preacher or evangelist ever could. We don't need special effects or a New Testament re-written in text-message style wording. We don't even really need to trip over ourselves trying to be seeker-friendly. What we really need to do is live the life we have been called to live -- honestly, every day. We need to remember that the timeless message we have been called to share with the world is just that -- timeless.

That doesn't mean we need to get rid of the tools of the electronics age, but we do need to remember the message we are called to deliver. Marshall McLuhan said, "The medium is the message," and nowhere is that more true than in the case of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That is because we are the medium by which the message is transmitted. It is not the computers, the Internet, the new translations, the church programs and activities that communicate the gospel -- It is us! And as we've learned this week, a gentle word, a firm resolve, and a forgiving embrace speak louder than anything sermon we might preach.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

You can't say it any better than that.

Shalom