The Fourth Sunday After Epiphany
February 10, 2019
The Rev. M. Anthony Seel
Judges 1:27-36
“The Jesus Way”
Have you noticed how “something fundamental has shifted within our American culture in the past several decades?” It’s been called the “collapse of the middle” and part of it is seen in the decline of mainline denominations to the point that they’ve become sideline denominations.
Christian culture in most parts of America has been pushed to the margins. Did you know that there are fewer Christians in Congress than ever before? The dominant culture is now secular and the moral influence of Christianity has sharply diminished.
Just last month in New York State, we saw the expansion of abortion rights. Right now there’s a push for the legalization of assisted suicide. We live in a country that has largely rejected our Christian values and beliefs. Yet, the removal of Christianity from the center square of our society has resulted in what some call “reenchantment.”
Folk religion, folk magic, astrology, goddess worship, sacred groves, totems, mandalas, crystals, pentacles, and so much more are pushing toward the center, trying to claim the place where Christianity once flourished.
We live in a world that is in constant motion, always changing, always pushing, prodding, shifting, fragmenting, subdividing, yet evermore yearning for unity, wholeness, and completeness. But this same world rejects the necessary center, which is God her Creator, Jesus her redeemer, and the Holy Spirit, her sustainer.
We live in a world that once rejected spiritual beliefs in the name of science, as if the two are mutually exclusive. Now we see a rebirth of spiritual interest blossoming in some very bizarre ways. This country of ours is less and less interested in what Christians and the church have to say.
As Christians, our choices are much like Israel’s choices in the period of the judges. We can assimilate; we can allow the surrounding culture to absorb us without a whimper. Or, we can determine that, by the grace of God, we will be salt and light in the places where God places us and sends us.
Two Sundays ago, we read in the Book of Judges how Israel’s tribe of Judah wasn’t able to totally possess the land that God had given them. Today, we see how the tribes of Manaseh, Ephraim, Zebulun, Asher, Naphtali, and Dan all fail to complete their conquest in their allocated tribal lands. We begin with Manasseh.
vv. 27-28 Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean and its villages, or Taanach and its villages, or the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages, for the Canaanites persisted in dwelling in that land. When Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not drive them out completely.
The writer of Judges gives us a list of cities and villages where Manasseh did not fulfill their divine mandate. God told Israel to drive out the people of the land, not keep them around as slaves. Manasseh was not obedient to God and neither was Ephraim.
v. 29 And Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so the Canaanites lived in Gezer among them.
Neither was Zebulun.
v. 30 Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, or the inhabitants of Nahalol, so the Canaanites lived among them, but became subject to forced labor.
Neither was Asher.
vv. 31-32 Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Acco, or the inhabitants of Sidon or of Ahlab or of Achzib or of Helbah or of Aphik or of Rehob, so the Asherites lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land, for they did not drive them out.
Neither was Naphtali.
v. 33 Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, or the inhabitants of Beth-anath, so they lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land. Nevertheless, the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and of Beth-anath became subject to forced labor for them.
It was even worse for the tribe of Dan.
v. 34 The Amorites pressed the people of Dan back into the hill country, for they did not allow them to come down to the plain.
Dan’s allotment was a small strip of land between Judah and Ephraim. The Amorites forced the Danites to retreat into the hills.
vv. 35-36 The Amorites persisted in dwelling in Mount Heres, in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim, but the hand of the house of Joseph rested heavily on them, and they became subject to forced labor. And the border of the Amorites ran from the ascent of Akrabbim, from Sela and upward.
The house of Joseph refers to Ephraim in this instance. They came to Dan’s aid and enslaved the Amorites.
As commentator Daniel Block says about Judges chapter one, “this chapter is pervaded by unfulfilled commitment, incomplete obedience, and compromising tolerance.” [Daniel Block, Judges, p. 109]
Is this ever true of us?
Does your Christian life ever show signs of unfulfilled commitment? Our gospel reading last Sunday says that after Jesus read from the prophet Isaiah in the synagogue in Nazareth, He angered His hearers by saying, “Today, this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” Luke 4:21
They were so angry that they drove Him out of Nazareth and wanted to throw Him off a cliff. Instead, He passed through them and “went down to Capernaum” (v. 31). There He taught, and “they were astonished at his teaching, for his word possessed authority” (v. 32).
What authority does His word exercise over your life? Do you take up your cross daily and follow Him fully?
The Gospel of John says that after Jesus revealed that He is “the Bread of life,” “many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. John 6:66
That’s the ultimate unfulfilled commitment.
Jesus asked the 12, “Do you want to go away as well?” (v. 67) Peter answered, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” (v. 68)
That is still true.
Is your obedience incomplete?
Remember what the Book of James tells us: “For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.” (2:10)
In that sense, we all fail. For all of us, our obedience is incomplete. But, there’s another sense. None of us can ever earn or deserve the salvation that God gives us through His Son Jesus Christ. Isaiah says that our righteousness is like filthy rags before our perfect God (Isaiah 64:6).
It was the perfect obedience of Jesus Christ that earned our salvation, the righteous for the unrighteous (1 Peter 3:18). Yet, the New Testament tells us again and again to “make every effort… to be holy” (Hebrews 12:14). The Apostle Paul says, “For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life” (1 Thessalonians 4:7).
What is a holy life? It’s a life free from immorality and impurity. Impossible, you say? You’re right. Complete obedience to God would mean that we have complete mastery and control over our sinful natures. If only.
The best that we can do is to orient our lives to God by relying on the Holy Spirit within us to guide us. When we fail, we confess our sins to God, accept His forgiveness, and continue to ask the Holy Spirit to guide us.
What about compromising tolerance? That was the overriding sin of Israel during the time of the judges.
Six years ago, Billy Graham wrote about tolerance in America. He said,
“At home and abroad, the American people plead for broadmindedness, tolerance, and charity… However, in the realm of Christian experience there is a need for intolerance. In some things Christ was the most tolerant, broadminded man who ever lived, but in other things He was the most intolerant.”
Jesus spoke about the “narrow gate… which leads to life” (Matthew 7:13-14). Jesus also spoke about the wide gate “that leads to destruction” (Matthew 7:13). Israel chose the wide gate over and over again in the time of the judges. Jesus offers the better way.
The Jesus way is the way of life, blessing, peace, joy, love, and so much more. The Jesus way is so counter to the mechanized and technological world that we now inhabit, and so opposed to the bizarre ways of the neo-pagan religions around us.
I was speaking with one of our members in an area nursing home. She told me about a nurse’s aid who told her about her recent wedding. It sounded a bit weird and our member asked what kind of faith group did the nurse’s aid belong to. She answered, “I am a satanist.” We live in a very strange world today.
The Jesus way is the way of the Kingdom of God. The ways of this world have led to the destruction of so many. The ways of this world lead to the chaos of personal identity that we now see in our society.
For example, God made us male and female, but this world now tells us that there is biological identity, gender identity, gender roles, and gender expression. We live in a very strange time.
Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). Our world says that there are many ways to God.
Jesus says, “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few” (Matthew 7:13-14).
One of my concerns is that churches and Christians who believe the Bible and try to live by it are often criticized for being negative and judgmental. We’re characterized by what we’re against. How about we lead with what we’re for?
Strong families
A strong nation under God
Values that promote everyone’s well-being
Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
We are for godly men and women, godly children, godly families, and godly communities.
How do we work toward these ends?
By being the Church.
By loving the Lord our God with our whole heart, soul, mind and strength.
Jesus didn’t make this up - He dug it out of the Hebrew Scriptures. This was Israel’s primary calling, and it is our primary calling.
How do we love God?
Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15).
Jesus reminded Israel and us of the first great commandment, to love the Lord your God with your whole heart, soul, mind, and strength, and the second great commandment, to love your neighbor as yourself.
The Jesus way to do this starts on Sunday mornings with a worshipping community gathered to praise, adore, glorify, and exalt the only living and true God.
Weekly worship is not optional for Christians. God has woven worship into the very fabric of His creation. On the seventh day of creation, God rested. To His people, God said, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8).
The Sabbath day was a day of rest that God built into the rhythm of His creation. The early church moved their weekly worship from the Jewish sabbath day of Saturday to Sunday, the day of Christ’s resurrection. Sunday became known as the Lord’s Day. Sunday’s became a day to pray and play.
Prayer happens in the assembly of Christians in worship. Play happens in families and among friends. Sunday is a day for worship and re-creation. God planned it that way.
Jesus, as a Jew, worshipped every Sabbath in a synagogue. Our gospel lesson two Sundays ago told us about Jesus, “And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day” (Luke 4:16). Worshipping on the Lord’s Day is the custom of followers of Christ.
In our constant motion world, God calls us to step away, to step aside, for re-creation through worship and rest. One day a week, we withdraw from the world to retune our hearts to the God-created melodies and harmonies of real life - life in Christ.
We pray. We rest. We relax. We play. We listen to God. We listen to one another. We rejoice in the goodness of God and the goodness in all that He has made.
We refocus on the truly important values that guide our lives, like the great commandment, the second great commandment, and the new commandment that Christ gave to His Church - to love one another in the Church as Christ has loved us.
The Lord’s Day is God’s gift to us. The Church is God’s gift to us. On Sundays, we gather together to thank God for all the gifts and blessings that He has given us.
We are not machines. We cannot run 24/7/365. We are human beings made in the image of God. We, like God, are to take a day each week for rest. On our day of rest, we gather to worship the God who created all things, including us.
This is the Jesus way, and it keeps us from unfulfilled commitment.
It keeps us on the narrow way that leads to life and keeps us from incomplete obedience.
It leads us to life forever with God and all those who love God. It keeps us from compromising tolerance. The Jesus way is not the golden mean - it points us to the biblical center where Jesus and true life are found.
It leads us into abundant life in this life, and even more abundant life in the world to come, the eternal Kingdom of God. Amen.
