What is the image of Jesus?

Jesus the Jew

Jesus the Christ

Jesus the Conformist

Jesus, the same yesterday, today and forever. What is the image of Jesus? How has Jesus been seen differently at different times in our history, both as a Christian people and in your own personal history?

How do the passages from Hebrews speak to the image of Jesus today?

Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16
13:1 Let mutual love continue.

13:2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.

13:3 Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them; those who are being tortured, as though you yourselves were being tortured.

13:4 Let marriage be held in honor by all, and let the marriage bed be kept undefiled; for God will judge fornicators and adulterers.

13:5 Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has said, "I will never leave you or forsake you."

13:6 So we can say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?"

13:7 Remember your leaders, those who spoke the word of God to you; consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.

13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

13:15 Through him, then, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name.

13:16 Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

Walter Morton for Journey Across the Line

What does it mean to find one's voice?

The Prophet Jeremiah
by Andrew Mabanji
"The word is a fire in my heart...I could not keep it in."
Jeremiah 20:9 

In this Sunday’s lectionary lesson, we look at the call of Jeremiah as prophet to his people. Jeremiah had something to say, but it was not always popular, in fact it hardly ever was. Jeremiah suffered injury and was imprisoned by his own because of his pronouncements about impending captivity by the Babylonians.

God’s call to Jeremiah: (from Wikipedia, for more from this article,click here.
“God appointed Jeremiah to confront Judah and Jerusalem for the worship of idols and other violations of the covenant described in Deuteronomy. According to Jeremiah, the LORD declared that the covenant was broken and that God would bring upon Israel and Judah the curses of the covenant. Jeremiah’s job was to explain the reason for the impending disaster (destruction by the Babylonian army and captivity), “And when your people say, 'Why has the LORD our God done all these things to us?' you shall say to them, 'As you have forsaken me and served foreign gods in your land, so you shall serve foreigners in a land that is not yours…In return for his adherence to God’s disciplines and speaking God’s words, Jeremiah was attacked by his own brothers, beaten and put into the stocks by a priest and false prophet, imprisoned by the king, threatened with death, thrown into a cistern by Judah’s officials, and opposed by a false prophet.Yet God was faithful to rescue Jeremiah from his enemies. For example, when his prophecies regarding the destruction of Judah and Jerusalem were fulfilled by Nebuchadnezzar’s army in 586 BC, Nebuchadnezzar ordered that Jeremiah be freed from prison and treated well.”


Jeremiah 1:4-10

1:4 Now the word of the LORD came to me saying,

1:5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations."

1:6 Then I said, "Ah, Lord GOD! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy."

1:7 But the LORD said to me, "Do not say, 'I am only a boy'; for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and you shall speak whatever I command you,

1:8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, says the LORD."

1:9 Then the LORD put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the LORD said to me, "Now I have put my words in your mouth.

1:10 See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant."


How do we find our own voice in this day and age?

Walter Morton for Journey Across the Line

The Present Times...

Cityscape of Manhattan

How do we discern our present times?  
And having once discerned these times, how as individuals can we contribute to the needs of the day? 

In the picture of the cityscape, how is our present time different than when Jesus walked the earth?  What makes it the same? How does each view speak to our call to participate in the world?

In the Lectionary lesson for today, August 15, we look at passages from the book of Luke 12:49-56. Here Jesus speaks of fire and division coming to the people of Israel. What could he be referring to when he speaks of recognizing"the times."

Luke 12:49-56
12:49 "I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!

12:50 I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed!

12:51 Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division!

12:52 From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three;

12:53 they will be divided: father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law."

12:54 He also said to the crowds, "When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, 'It is going to rain'; and so it happens.

12:55 And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, 'There will be scorching heat'; and it happens.

12:56 You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?


Walter Morton for Journey Across the Line

What is the essence of our faith action?

 What happens when God burns away what we have always thought was important to us?  How do we allow God to purge from us that which no longer speaks the love of God to others in our world?
Today we look at verses from the book of Isaiah and see how well they speak to our situation today.



Isaiah 1:1, 10-20
1:1 The vision of Isaiah son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.


1:10 Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom! Listen to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomorrah!


1:11 What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the LORD; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats.


1:12 When you come to appear before me, who asked this from your hand? Trample my courts no more;


1:13 bringing offerings is futile; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and sabbath and calling of convocation-- I cannot endure solemn assemblies with iniquity.


1:14 Your new moons and your appointed festivals my soul hates; they have become a burden to me, I am weary of bearing them.


1:15 When you stretch out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood.


1:16 Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil,


1:17 learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.


1:18 Come now, let us argue it out, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be like snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.


1:19 If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land;


1:20 but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

ABRAHAM'S CONCERN...

Concern for the One,
BYU Center for Teaching & Learning

What does it mean to have concern for another human person, especially for those who seem to have beem struck with misfortune through no direct fault of their own?

How do we respond in a world where fortune can have dual results, good or bad? What does it mean to speak up for others, to set our plea before God?

“The Lord did not people the earth with a vibrant orchestra of personalities only to value the piccolos of the world. Every instrument is precious and adds to the complex beauty of the symphony. All of Heavenly Father’s children are different in some degree, yet each has his own beautiful sound that adds depth and richness to the whole.” (Joseph B. Wirthlin, “Concern for the One,” Ensign, May 2008.)


How do we find the worth in each other? In today's lesson from Genesis we look at the story of Abraham's plea for those of the cities of the plain, Sodom and Gomorrah. What is significant about this plea?
Are there differences in how Abraham pleas from how we might today? Where is the concern for the one?
 
Genesis 18:20-32

18:20 Then the LORD said, "How great is the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah and how very grave their sin!


18:21 I must go down and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me; and if not, I will know."


18:22 So the men turned from there, and went toward Sodom, while Abraham remained standing before the LORD.


18:23 Then Abraham came near and said, "Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?


18:24 Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will you then sweep away the place and not forgive it for the fifty righteous who are in it?


18:25 Far be it from you to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?"


18:26 And the LORD said, "If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will forgive the whole place for their sake."


18:27 Abraham answered, "Let me take it upon myself to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes.


18:28 Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?" And he said, "I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there."


18:29 Again he spoke to him, "Suppose forty are found there." He answered, "For the sake of forty I will not do it."


18:30 Then he said, "Oh do not let the Lord be angry if I speak. Suppose thirty are found there." He answered, "I will not do it, if I find thirty there."


18:31 He said, "Let me take it upon myself to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there." He answered, "For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it."


18:32 Then he said, "Oh do not let the Lord be angry if I speak just once more. Suppose ten are found there." He answered, "For the sake of ten I will not destroy it."


Walter Morton for Journey Across the Line

What Is Our Focus?

Stereo image by Gary W. Priester, Eyetricks.com

How do we maintain our focus on what is important in our lives?

Are we even looking in the right way to see what is before us?

The image at top right is a stereo image. Relax your eyes on the image and see if you can discern the word "FOCUS" embedded stereo-optically.

The old saying that life happens while we are making other plans or carrying out the daily duties of our lives occurs to us all. How do we maintain a vision of purpose and initiative as we struggle to be all we are supposed to be in God? How do we recognize the opportunity before us to truly live?

But most important, how does this affect what we believe? Can our own beliefs be distractions to true growth in God?

In our lectionary lesson from the Gospel of Luke 10:38-42, we meet Martha, distracted by both the everyday and the routine of her beliefs about what is appropriate in belief and behavior. While the passage is short, the lesson possesses many connotations. To begin, how are we like Martha?

Luke 10:38-42

10:38 Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home.


10:39 She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to what he was saying.


10:40 But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me."


10:41 But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things;

10:42 there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her."
 
Walter Morton for Journey Across the Line

What must I do...?

"What must I do to inherit eternal life?'"
asks the lawyer of Jesus in Luke's gospel. 




The idea of an afterlife has always been one open to debate. Not everyone in Jesus' time believed in an afterlife. The Saducees, who were the ruling class of priests in Israel did not believe in an afterlife or resurrection to come for those who had died.

In the Greek-Hellenized world, contemporary with Christ, there was belief that the Soul or Psyche, symbolized by the butterfly's metamorphosis from the caterpillar to a winged beauty, represented our own human progression from physical being to a higher spiritual existence to come.

Of course, Christianity is not the only religious expression that purports a life of meaning after this one. There are variations on this theme throughout history as well as across our present day human beliefs, whether we are speaking of a heaven, a hell, or a series of incarnations we must endure to  reach our penultimate existence.

However, whether we speak of the ruling Priestly class of Saducees or the Law interpreting Pharisees (the lawyer in the Lukan passage could easily be a Pharisee) who believed in an afterlife resurrection, for the most part a faithful Jew was occupied with his present day life rather than the one to come.

In fact, even though a Pharisee believed in resurrection into an afterlife, he believed this life was key to his/her inclusion in the next. It was his conduct in this one that affected the next. This interpretation agrees with virtually all religious or philosophical expressions of a life after this one regardless of Jewish, Christian, Hindi, Wicca or other afterlife beliefs.

In the Lukan passages 10:25-37 for our study, we see how Jesus illustrates through the story of the Good Samaritan how this life calls us to live in an eternal manner. How the questions of life and neighbor are both eternal in their significance as they are continually posed to us generation after generation after generation.

Luke 10:25-37

10:25 Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he said, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"

10:26 He said to him, "What is written in the law? What do you read there?"

10:27 He answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself."

10:28 And he said to him, "You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live."

10:29 But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"

10:30 Jesus replied, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead.

10:31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.

10:32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.

10:33 But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity.

10:34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

10:35 The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, 'Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.'

10:36 Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?"

10:37 He said, "The one who showed him mercy." Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."


Walter Morton for Journey Across the Line