First United Methodist Church of San Diego | Tuesday, June 3, 2014

First United Methodist Church of San Diego | Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Tuesday - Read today:

Pages 148-151 - The Way
- 40 Days of Reflection (Daily Devotion Guide)

Who do You Belong To?

“They watched him, and
sent out spies, who pretended to be righteous, that they might trap him in
something he said, so as to deliver him up to the power and authority of the
governor. They asked him, ‘Teacher, we know that you say and teach what is
right, and aren’t partial to anyone, but truly teach the way of God. Is it
lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?’ But he perceived their
craftiness, and said to them, ‘Why do you test me? Show me a denarius. Whose image
and inscription are on it?’ They answered, ‘Caesar’s.’ He said to them, ‘Then
give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are
God’s.’”(Luke 20:20-25)

Shortly after entering
Jerusalem, Jesus went to the Temple and found that the merchants and
moneychangers had been filling their own pockets by forcing worshipers to
exchange coins or purchase animals for sacrifice at prices well above market,
Jesus drove them out, enraging both the merchants and the religious
authorities, who also made money off the arrangement.

After that, Jesus
taught in the Temple courts each day, and hundreds came to hear him. But the
religious leaders were determined to trap him in his words, by leading him
either to say something they could claim was blasphemous, or to say something
against Rome that would allow them to turn Jesus over to Pilate as a
revolutionary. In today’s Scripture, the trap they set was a clever one. If
suggested that it was lawful to pay taxes, then he would alienate those who
resented the annual tribute owed to the emperor. If he said people should not
pay taxes, then he would be turned over to the Romans as a dissident.

In response to their
query, Jesus asked for a denarius, the common coin of the day. The coin
represented a day’s wages for a common laborer and the annual tribute due the
Emperor from every adult male in Palestine. Jesus asked whose image was on the
coin. The Greek word for “image” is eikon—icon.
This was also the word that was used in the Greek translation of Genesis 1:27,
where God made human beings in His Image—His Icon.

The head on the coin
was likely that of the reigning emperor, Tiberius, and the inscription probably
read, “Tiberius Caesar, the son of the
divine Augustus.” So the leaders replied, “the emperor’s” (Luke 20:24). Then
came the brilliant response by Jesus: “Give to the emperor the things that are
the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Luke 20:25).

Who would argue with
his logic? The coin was struck in Caesar’s image; render unto Caesar. But you
are another matter. Your heart, your mind, your soul were made in the image of
God. Render unto God’s the things that are God’s

The Covenant Prayer of
the early Methodists is an example of a prayer aimed at helping the one praying
it to “give to God the things are God’s.” I invite you to make this your prayer
today:

I am no longer my own but Thine. Put me to what you
will. Rank me with whom you will. Put me to doing or put me to suffering. Let
me be exalted by Thee or brought low for Thee. Let me be full or let me be
empty. I freely and heartedly yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal.
And now, most glorious and blessed God, thou art mine and I am thine. So be it.
And the covenant that I have made on earth let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.

Read today:

Pages 175-179 - The Way
- 40 Days of Reflection (Daily Devotion Guide)

Some Doubted

“But Thomas, one of the
twelve, called Didymus, wasn’t with them when Jesus came. The other disciples
therefore said to him, ‘We have seen the Lord!’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I
see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will
not believe.’”(John 20:24-25)

Michael was a guide on
my first trip to Israel. He was Jewish, but it was obvious that he knew more
about Jesus than the average Christian. As Michael described the various places
we went, he assume more New Testament knowledge than some of our people had,
and I would have to stop and explain what he had just said. Michael was more
like a professor of New Testament than a Holy Land guide.

At one point, away from
the rest of the group, I asked him, “Michael, you genuinely seem to love Jesus,
yet you are not a Christian. Tell me about this.” He said, “I do love him. I
love what he taught, I love what he did, I love the way he cared for the sick
and the broken. I grieve the tragedy of his death and believe he gave his life
to demonstrate the path of love, and to show God’s love.” I said, “Michael, it
sounds like you are a Christ-follower.” He responded, “ My only problem is that
I can’t find the faith to believe in the Resurrection.”

Michael was not the
first to struggle with the concept of Jesus’ resurrection. In Luke’s gospel, the
women were the first to meet the risen Christ, but when they told the disciples
that he was risen, “these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe
them” (Luke 24:11). When Jesus finally appeared to the disciples, Thomas was
not with them, so he did not believe. In fact, ten disciples told him they had seen Christ risen, and still he
refused to believe. His skepticism earned him the nickname “Doubting Thomas.”
Matthew, in his account, depicts the disciples seeing the resurrected Christ
for the first time in Galilee when he gave the great commission. Matthew notes,
“When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted” (Matthew 28:17).

I think Jesus had great
empathy for doubters. He knew the Resurrection would be hard to believe, which
is why, after appearing to Thomas he said, “Because you have seen me, you have
believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet believed”(John 20:29).

The first time I read
Matthew and Mark’s Gospels I was not yet Christian. I, too, found the Resurrection
difficult to believe. Finally, as I read Luke’s account, it began to make
sense. I asked myself, “ What would be different if the Resurrection on not
occurred?” Jesus would have died on the cross, just the same. But this death
would be a defeat, not the prelude to a victory. Evil would have won. Hate,
fear, and bigotry would have been the victors. The apostles would have returned
to fishing. Paul would never have met the risen Christ. The Great Commission
would never have been given. The message of redemption, forgiveness, and hope
would not be known throughout the world.

It finally hit me that
the story had to end with the Resurrection if in fact it was God’s story. Evil
would not have the last word. Death could not have the final say. I came to
trust that God, who called forth the universe through his creative power, also
had the power to bring about Christ’s resurrection from the grave. Realizing
this, I came to trust that the tomb was empty and that the women, the
disciples, and Paul had in fact seen the risen Christ.

God raised his son from
the dead. I not only believe this, I’m counting on it. But I still have empathy
for those, such as Michael, who struggle with doubt. I assured Michael that he
was in good company—that the earliest disciples of Jesus struggled with the
Resurrection, too. I invited him to keep following Jesus’ way and to continue
pondering the Resurrection. I suggested that one day he, too, might come to see
the logic, and power, of the Resurrection.

“Lord, I believe. Help thou my unbelief.” Thank you
for your patience with doubters such as Thomas. Help me to trust in the Easter
story and to know that because you live, I will live also. Amen.