Amos 5; Psalm 111; Matthew 13
By The Rev. Mark Andrew Jones, BSG
God has sent redemption with a divine covenant that stands forever (see Psalm 111:9); but a covenantal relationship is bilateral. We have choices to make. We can choose wisely or unwisely. And if it is the latter, we should accept the consequences of our actions without blaming anyone else.
Consequences are not the equivalent of punishment, however. God pleads with us; choose life. Seek the Lord and the good rather than evil, that you might live (Amos 5:6, 14a). Choosing and doing evil in the world not only darkens the lives of others; it darkens one’s own soul too.
Matters of life and death are not to be lightly undertaken; nor should we be casual in our decisions. We must inwardly digest the Word, not fearing that it might upset our pre-conceived notions or ask of us sacrifices in wants and desires. No, we are to persist in our reflection, hopefully perceiving and contemplating the warm, loving and personal character to be known through an experience of the ground of all being. Let that serve as our good soil, such that it bears fruit and yields thirty, sixty, even a hundredfold.
I doubt such growth can come by the intellect alone. We must engage our whole being. This may require a seldom exercised discipline in which the intellect is regarded as just a mental tool to be used, rather than treated as the all-knowing that should guide all. We need a right balance in terms of Head and Heart. Jesus’ parables give us a lever by which to break through often stale modes of thinking to gain heart-felt insight and a new vision of life itself, the kingdom of heaven.
The kingdom of heaven is not something to be enjoyed just “at the end of the age” (Matthew 13:49). It can be enjoyed now if one prizes it so highly that one would choose to sell all in order to have it. … Then there is that twinge of hesitation. Give up all my worldly dreams?! After being shaped by the Zero-Sum Game that seems to be life, we might worry about missing out.
Perhaps the most difficult obstacle to experiencing the kingdom of heaven on earth is our reluctance to give up that notion that we must secure ours or risk missing out. In reality, we need to secure the interests of others and the groundwork for will be laid.
“[E]stablish justice” (Amos 5:15); for God is “faithful and just” and all God’s “precepts are trustworthy” (Psalm 111:7). “[L]et justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream” (Amos 5:24).
By The Rev. Mark Andrew Jones, BSG
God has sent redemption with a divine covenant that stands forever (see Psalm 111:9); but a covenantal relationship is bilateral. We have choices to make. We can choose wisely or unwisely. And if it is the latter, we should accept the consequences of our actions without blaming anyone else.
Consequences are not the equivalent of punishment, however. God pleads with us; choose life. Seek the Lord and the good rather than evil, that you might live (Amos 5:6, 14a). Choosing and doing evil in the world not only darkens the lives of others; it darkens one’s own soul too.
Matters of life and death are not to be lightly undertaken; nor should we be casual in our decisions. We must inwardly digest the Word, not fearing that it might upset our pre-conceived notions or ask of us sacrifices in wants and desires. No, we are to persist in our reflection, hopefully perceiving and contemplating the warm, loving and personal character to be known through an experience of the ground of all being. Let that serve as our good soil, such that it bears fruit and yields thirty, sixty, even a hundredfold.
I doubt such growth can come by the intellect alone. We must engage our whole being. This may require a seldom exercised discipline in which the intellect is regarded as just a mental tool to be used, rather than treated as the all-knowing that should guide all. We need a right balance in terms of Head and Heart. Jesus’ parables give us a lever by which to break through often stale modes of thinking to gain heart-felt insight and a new vision of life itself, the kingdom of heaven.
The kingdom of heaven is not something to be enjoyed just “at the end of the age” (Matthew 13:49). It can be enjoyed now if one prizes it so highly that one would choose to sell all in order to have it. … Then there is that twinge of hesitation. Give up all my worldly dreams?! After being shaped by the Zero-Sum Game that seems to be life, we might worry about missing out.
Perhaps the most difficult obstacle to experiencing the kingdom of heaven on earth is our reluctance to give up that notion that we must secure ours or risk missing out. In reality, we need to secure the interests of others and the groundwork for will be laid.
“[E]stablish justice” (Amos 5:15); for God is “faithful and just” and all God’s “precepts are trustworthy” (Psalm 111:7). “[L]et justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream” (Amos 5:24).
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