Seder 17: Genesis 19 and Matthew 14---Hospitality in the Evening

 After visiting Abraham, two angels headed on to Sodom, arriving in the evening (Gen 19:1).  The question of why they arrived so late in the day was asked by the sages.  After all, angels are not subject to the constraints in space and time faced by humans.  

One suggested answer is that they were not anxious for the cities of the plain to be punished.  They wanted those towns to have every opportunity to repent and escape destruction.  This answer is consistent with God's merciful nature and desire that as many as possible come to repentance (see 2 Pe 3:9).  As Frank Fenton pointed out in a short teaching at Church of the Messiah on February 24, 2024, the Day of the Lord is not necessarily something to which to look forward (see e.g. Amos 5:18).  He urged us to help as many as possible find the Messiah before that time comes.  

A major theme in Genesis 18 and 19 is hosptality, as exemplified by both Abraham and Lot, who "entertained angels unawares" (Heb 13:2).  In a sermon at Church of the Messiah on February 24, 2024, Kyle Kettering looked at the feeding of the 5000 as an example of hospitality.  

This famous miracle occurred shortly after the death of John the Baptist (Mt 14; Mk 6).  Jesus had wanted some time alone, perhaps to come to terms with what had happened and consider how John's death would affect his own ministry (Mt 14:13).  But a large crowd, perhaps a crowd including a number of John's disciples, had other ideas.  

Jesus had compassion on this crowd "because they were like sheep without a shepherd" (Mk 6:34).  And so he exercised hospitality in providing for them.  Biblical hospitality, Kyle pointed out, often means putting aside our own wishes and plans.  He urged us to "show hospitality to one another without grumbling," as Peter instructed in 1 Peter 4:9. 

Seder 10: Genesis 12:1---Go Forth in Faith

 We read in Genesis 12:1 that God said to Abram, "Go forth from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you."

Lech lecha, The Hebrew for "go forth," is a forceful way to tell Abram to go.  The connotation is that Abram was to make a decisive break with his past and step out on faith to follow where God led him.

At Church of the Messiah's Torah study on January 6, 2024, Frank Fenton pointed out that when Franz Delitzsch translated the New Testament into Hebrew, there were 5 places in the Gospels where Delitzsch used this Hebrew phrase:

Matthew 8:4:  "...go, show yourself to the priest..."

Matthew 9:6:  "Rise, pick up your bed and go home."

Mark 10:52 (cf. Luke 18:42):  "Go your way, your faith has made you well."

John 4:50:  "Go, your son will live."

In each of these instances Jesus has carried out an amazing healing, giving the one healed a new start in life, an opportunity to serve God. 

At the beginning of each year we have a similar opportunity.  In a sermon at Church of the Messiah on January 6, 2024, Kyle Kettering encouraged us to grow as disciples of Jesus in 2024.

Seder 78: Lev 5:1-13---More on Sins of Weakness and Purification Offerings.

 In our human weakness, we often "miss the mark" and fall short of God's standards.  This happens, in particular, when we fail to do something that we are supposed to do.  Leviticus 5 begins with some examples, like failing to come forward as a witness when one knows sopmething about a crime that has been committed, or carelessly making a promise and failing to follow through on it.  

In cases of such sins, an ancient Israelite could confess the sin and make things right as much as possible (v 5), then present a purification offering.  The offering could involve a lamb, two doves, or a tenth of an ephah (about .06 bushels) of grain.  God, in his desire to be in relationship with his people, made it possible for all, including the poor, to be able to afford an offering.  

Kyle Kettering reflected on these things in a sermon at Church of the Messiah on Nov 6, 2021.  In a sermonette, Frank Fenton pointed to the incident of the "widow's mite" (Mark 12:41-44) as an example of how much God values the offerings of the poor.  

Seder 53: MIdnight Deliverance---Exod 12-13; 2 Kings 19:35-37; Ps 119:57-64; Acts 12

 In the middle of the night on the first Passover, the firstborn of the Egyptians died (Exod 12:29).  Egypt was the leading nation in the region at that point, and the death toll was significant.  In a sermonette at Church of the Messiah on April 24, 2021, Frank Fenton noted the great cost of Israel's redemption and asked us to reflect on the cost of our own redemption.  

That first Passover night begins a motif of "midnight deliverance" that runs through Scripture.  Another example is God's deliverance of the kingdom of Judah from the attack of the Assyrians under Sennacherib (2 Kings 19:35-37).  One midrash (Exodus Rabbah 18) associates the rescues of Hezekiah; Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego (Dan 3) and Daniel (Dan 6) with Passover night.

This theme continues in the New Testament.   A notable example is the deliverance of Peter from prison at the time of Passover (Acts 12:1-19).

Another biblical passage associated with Passover vigils and midnight deliverance is Ps 119:57-64.  Kyle Kettering addressed this passage in a sermon at Church of the Messiah on April 24, 2021.    

The Jewish midrashic tradition says that while most kings caroused at night, David rose at night to commune with God.  According to tradition he had a sort of alarm clock set up.  He hung a harp over his bed, and the wind came through at midnight and plucked the strings, 

Kyle asked us to consider Ps 119:57-64 from several perspectives.  First, we can imagine an Israelite speaking these words on the first Passover.  From this perspective verse 63 ("I am a companion of those who fear you, of those who keep your precepts") is a reference to the "mixed multitude" of Exod 12:38.

He also asked us to think of Jesus saying these words at Gethsemane on the eve of his crucifixion.  Jesus was committed at that time to doing God's will. 

Then he asked to read these verses in light of our own faith journeys. We can think of ourselves as being on a night vigil, being prepared for the end of the age (Mark 13:32-37).