A Sign of the Times

Brethren are much more comfortable talking about signs and symbols than sacraments (like our Catholic brothers and sisters). We see them as ways to remember something, ways to represent something. It's like "Rumors of Another World" by Yancey... recommended to me by my cousin Emily. Today I read of several "signs" of another world, which remind us that there is indeed something bigger beyond ourselves.

A Sign of Christ in Our Lives

“Your joy no one will take from you” -John 16:22

The joy of a Christian. I can't help but think of my dear friend Kammy who I met last year. An exchange student from Botswana, our paths crossed here at the U of A, and selfishly I wish she would've still been here amongst us. We were fast friends, Kammy and I, both excitable and genuinely filled with joy. Many people find that joy confusing, but we understood each other so well.

The ODB today tells that "sadness" was one of the original deadly sins. To be melancholy all the time might be a sign that you don't have the Lord in your live... that you're not allowing Him to bring the "joy" that He has promised in Galatians as the fruit of the Spirit. Allow all to see the joy that Jesus brings to your life, the sign that the Spirit is working in you.


A Sign of God's Faithfulness

14 "In days to come, when your son asks you, 'What does this mean?' say to him, 'With a mighty hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 15 When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the LORD killed every firstborn in Egypt, both man and animal. This is why I sacrifice to the LORD the first male offspring of every womb and redeem each of my firstborn sons.' 16 And it will be like a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead that the LORD brought us out of Egypt with his mighty hand." -Exodus 13:14-16

I love special times of celebration, special ceremonies, because they are a sign of God's faithfulness. Passover was a way to remember how God had been faithful in saving all the firstborn children of the Israelites, how he brought them out of Egypt and out of slavery. When we wash each other's feet in church, we remember how Christ came to the world for us... to cleanse us of our signs, to make himself humble before us, to do what no one else would do.

In marrying Brad, his promise to be faithful to me will be as Christ's promise of faithfulness to His people and His church. We've decided to observe feetwashing as a part of our wedding ceremony in order to remember our promise to faithfully serve and humble ourselves before one another... a sign of our commitment, of our love, and of our humble service to one another, to God and to the church. And we ask God to prepare us, to teach us, to in some way be able to mirror His love for the church in our love for each other. That's the most important thing about the wedding... Lord help me to remember this.


A Sign Will Not Be Given

1The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and tested him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven.
2He replied,[a] "When evening comes, you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,' 3and in the morning, 'Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.' You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. 4A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah." Jesus then left them and went away. -Matthew 16:1-4

This verse reminds me of what I wrote the other day about "seeing/believing." These doubtful Pharisees say that in seeing they would believe. But if they saw a miracle, their manners suggest that they'd immediately look for a way to discredit it... something that's also very characteristic of our generation. We're taught to doubt first, to "prove it." Not necessarily difficult, but it makes discussions of "faith" and "Spirit" rather difficult to explain.

I've once again felt the Lord's hand so close to my life. I was overwhelmed and anxious and nervous. I felt trapped, with a great weight upon me. And just as suddenly, after prayer, the Lord lifted that away, allowing me to feel free of that burden, allowing me to forgive, allowing me to look towards the hope and see the love that is in front of me. That change of heart is what is so difficult to explain with scientific proofs and tests... to give a sign to someone who doesn't believe it.

A note about the sign of Jonas. Some scholars note that here Jesus is making reference to himself. As Jonas was a sign of destruction for people in Nineveh who didn't believe, Jesus would be that as well. (And it's especially meaningful as he talks to these doubting Pharisees.) Also, some believe that the Jonas also represents the days in nights spent in the tomb (the days and nights Jonas spent in the whale).

Perhaps Jesus means what he says. He is giving a sign to His people who believe in Him, but not to "this generation" or the "corruption of this generation." Without the willingness or heart or spirit to interpret, it wouldn't be a sign of anything to them.


A Sign of the Spirit

Peter's Confession of Christ

13When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"
14They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."

15"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"

16Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ,[b] the Son of the living God."

17Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. 18And I tell you that you are Peter,[c] and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades[d] will not overcome it.[e] 19I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be[f] bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be[g] loosed in heaven." 20Then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.

Jesus Predicts His Death

21From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
22Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. "Never, Lord!" he said. "This shall never happen to you!"

23Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."

24Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25For whoever wants to save his life[h] will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. 26What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? 27For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. 28I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom."

Rather a long passage to include this morning, but what I noticed this morning is that these two accounts of Peter come in succession in Matthew. Not only that, but what Jesus says to Peter is remarkable different, as bolded in the preceding text. First, we have Peter who recognizes Jesus... and Jesus calls Peter blessed, noting that the Spirit has made this known to him. Then, just a few lines later, Peter is denying what Jesus has told him. And now, Jesus rebukes Peter, telling Satan (the force in him making him say these things) to get behind him.

This is the reasoning for why the protestant church believes that it is not Peter that Jesus plans to build his church upon... but that Spirit that was within Peter. Similar to the preceding chapter, we see that it is what comes out of someone's mouth that is a sign of what kind of spirit is in that person. Let our words and our actions be a sign of the Spirit that is within us... the Spirit upon which Christ builds His church.