Pastor Rachel B. Livingston

Psalm 19; Matthew 21:33-46

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The Savior must have been a docile gentleman, to come so far on a cold day – for little fellow man – words expressed from by the famed poet Emily Dickinson in her poem, “The Savior Must have Been a Docile Gentleman.”  What could she have meant? What was her commentary on the character of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ?  Is she praising him for his docility or is she critiquing him?  Or is she critiquing us and our perception of Christ? Our savior, Jesus Christ, a docile gentleman.

                                                                             

Pastor Rachel Livingston 

Psalm 25:1-9; Matthew 21:23-32

Who would ever deny our Lord and savior? Who would challenge that Jesus Christ is Lord?  It is so pivotal to the context of our faith.  For we know that Jesus Christ is Lord over our lives.  We live, think, and breathe it.  We know it to be true, because as Christians we hang our faith on the Christological understanding that Jesus is the head over us, that he is the central point of our salvation, and he provides our redemption.  We have dedicated our lives to love Christ, a person of our triune God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and yet one God, with all our heart, soul, and might – making Christ’s ways our ways.  But as we are so assured in who Jesus is, because our faith is built upon it, everyone is not so convinced and historically, during his time here on earth, people quite often challenged his authority.  The push and pull between Jesus and the Pharisees and chief priests is quite a common occurrence in the book of Matthew.  There was legitimate tension on the air, so thick it could be cut with a knife, as the chief priests continued to challenge Jesus on who he was and through what authority his ministry functioned.  Who are you? And with what authority do you do what you do? They must not know what we know, because if they knew who our Lord was, if they knew the glory that rest in the hands of this messiah, if they knew the grace and redemption that flowed from this man, they would not have challenged his authority, but bowed down because of his authority.

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Pastor Rachel B. Livingston

Exodus 16:2-15; Philippians 1:20-30

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Persecution and hardship.  We meet Paul, one of the most influential people within our doctrine, on his journey of spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, as he is facing imprisonment.  We aren’t exactly sure where, because there were quite a few times that Paul was in prison.  However, we encounter a piece of his letter to the Christians in Philippi, a church that he established, and a church that holds a special place in his heart.  These Christians of Philippi cared for Paul, just as much as he cared for them – it was a mutual relationship of respect and compassion.  When the Christians of Philippi heard of Paul’s imprisonment they sent a messenger to him that they might meet his needs – they functioned as a collective communal unit in ways that meet the needs of the collective, bringing comfort to those experiencing pain and turmoil.  They were what the church aspires to be, they are an example for how we should care for one another within the body. And as Paul receives care from the Philippians, he sends back this letter of exhortation and encouragement that pushes them to continue in following the gospel of Jesus Christ.

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Pastor Rachel B. Livingston 

Mark 12: 28-34; Deuteronomy 6:1-9

                                                                                                             

Space – the final frontier – voyages of the starship enterprise to explore new worlds, seek out new life and new civilization, and to boldly go where no one has gone before.  So I have a confession, for some of you that may be sci-fi fans, based on the first few statements I made a moment ago, by now it may be no secret that I am a bit of a Star Trek fan.  I am a bit of a science fiction fan,  which include both Star Wars and Star Trek, which is probably a little known fact about me. However, my previous life of mechanical engineering and science fiction fan parents, sparked an interest in the action of science fiction dramas. And when it comes to the Star Trek Franchise, I must admit I am more familiar with the next generation than the original series, although I have seen both. But as I reveal a hobby of mine, I admit that exploring the new worlds, mechanical structures of spaceships, and even the political exploration of these fictional places are a specific interest of mine. 

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Pastor Rachel B. Livingston

Psalm 26:1-8; Matthew 16:21-28

                                                                                                         

Who do you say that I am?  This question still hangs in the air – resounding and reverberating in our ears as we try to internalize who Jesus is, that we might share it with the world.  We take our question and we pick up where we left off last week.  We can envision that we are sitting right next to the disciples, on the outside looking in, waiting for our direction from Jesus.  We are situated right in Casarea Phillippi, this place known for its grotto, its forest, its trees, and pastoral scenes.  We can imagine that we are sitting in a pastoral field with wildflowers, sitting near a brook, where the words of Jesus can be heard just above the sound of the calming spring nearby.  Again, Jesus has isolated the disciples from the rest of the world that they might be able to focus on his teaching uninterrupted.  We have just witnessed that Jesus gives Peter praise for his revelation, a revelation that could have only been revealed to him through the Spirit.  He says that Jesus is the Messiah, the son of the LIVING God – and for that Jesus extols Peter, tells him that he has been given the Keys to the Kingdom, his revelation is the foundation of the church. The church is built upon this concept that Jesus is Messiah, the son of the living God.  But yet, this praise seems to be short lived.  Just as quickly as Peter is praised, he is then rebuked for his later outburst. How could someone be so right and then seconds later be so wrong? Jesus begins to say that he must suffer persecution and death, defining what we now know is part of the role of Jesus, the Son of Man, the messiah, the Son of the Living God.  But Peter had no clue, its easy for us to have a more full understanding because we exist on the other side of the death and resurrection of Jesus, but he was still expecting the proclamation of the messiah to be someone who was a warrior, someone who would come with blades of glory wielding the power of God that the people of Israel might be restored from is second-class level of oppression to its former glory of one nation under the direction of God.  But that was again a misperceived notion of who Jesus is, you see he had to understand who in fact Jesus was in order to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. The messiah is complex, counter-cultural, and beyond the constraints we try to put on him.  

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