What’s At Stake

March 21, 2025 Leave a comment

One day, after leaving the temple in Jerusalem, Jesus told the disciples that the temple would be leveled. His disciples then came to him privately and asked “What is the sign of your coming and the end of the age?” The conversation is recorded here: Matt. 24:1-35.

Jesus tells them what to watch out for and to not be fooled by. He warns of the persecution and death of disciples who bear witness to the truth they had seen and heard. He speaks of those who fall away and of those whose love for the kingdom of God grows cold because of a milieu of wickedness. Then he adds “The ones who stand firm to the end will be saved.”

The end of the age will come, he tells them, when the gospel of the kingdom is preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations.

Jesus goes on to reveal signs and wonders of the end times. He can’t tell them the day or hour of his return, as only his Father knows the timing. When it does happen, he says, many would be caught completely off guard.

Jesus went on to speak in parables about the signs and wonders he expected to see in those entrusted with the gospel of the kingdom before he returned.

In the Parable of the Faithful and Unfaithful Servants (Matthew 24:45-51), the faithful servant follows through doing what his master had put him in charge of until he returned. He is rewarded with more responsibility. The unfaithful servant assumed that with the master’s delay he could do as he pleased. When the master showed up unexpectedly, the unfaithful servant is dealt with severely.

In The Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids (Matthew 25: 1-13) ten young women are involved in a wedding tradition. The bride and her bridesmaids, I imagine, learned that it was the beginning of the wedding week sometime before nightfall one evening. They may have caught word about extensive preparations being made for the marriage feast. The ten women prepare for their part in the ceremonies.

By tradition, the bridegroom would process with his friends at night to retrieve his bride and bring her back to his house for the wedding feast and ceremony. When he arrives, the bridesmaids join the procession carrying oil lamps.

Not knowing the exact day or hour of the bridegroom’s arrival, five of the women bring flasks of oil. I imagine that they are thinking “This may take time, but we’re gonna make it happen, we’re gonna do what we have to do to make the wedding and marriage feast a success. The bridegroom is counting on us.”

We learn that when the bridegroom is delayed the ten bridesmaids get drowsy and fall asleep. Then at midnight a shout awakes them: “The bridegroom is on his way!”

The ten get up and trim their lamps by cutting the burnt part of the wick and adding oil. But there is a problem. Five of the women had run out of fuel and brought no extra. They lacked the wherewithal to continue the simple task they were given. So, they ask for oil from the other five with extra oil.

But that’s not going to happen. The prepared five will do what is expected of them and the depleted five are sent to do what they need to do – go buy more oil. While the depleted five are away, the bridegroom arrives and the prepared bridesmaids process with the wedding party.

The depleted five, returning with lamps lit, find out that they are shut out of the wedding banquet and not even acknowledged. The prudent five were mindful of their duty to the Bride and Bridegroom. The foolish five missed an opportunity of a lifetime. It was lights-out for them.

In The Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30), a master goes on a trip. Before he leaves, he entrusts money to three slaves, each according to his ability. When he returns, he wants an account of their stewardship of what he entrusted to their care.

The slave given five talents has produced five more. The slave given two talents has produced two more. The slave given one talent has not increased its value. He played it safe.

The two slaves that produced a return on investment are rewarded with the master’s favor and receive more responsibility. The slave who did not increase the value of one talent, not even with accrued interest, has the talent taken away. The master gives the one talent to the one with ten talents. I imagine that the master wanted to see what he could do with eleven talents.

Keep watch!

In each of these parables the participants are given a responsibility and an opportunity to show themselves prudent and productive as they keep watch. But some foolishly don’t value what they have been entrusted with (signifying the gospel of the kingdom) and worse. They don’t fear or respect the master or bridegroom.

Did their love grow cold? Their indifferent attitude as to what was at stake for them and the master caught them completely off guard. If they had known the day and hour the master or bridegroom would show up and feigned readiness, how would the master or bridegroom assess who to keep around and who to get rid of and lock out?

No participation trophies were handed out when the master returns. Instead, the worthless are kicked outside, into the darkness. Their weeping and gnashing of teeth will not be acknowledged by the master. They had their day in the sun.

But those who, in the master’s absence, took their responsibility seriously without fail and for as long as it took and those with the sense and wherewithal to keep watch for as long as it took for the bridegroom to appear and those who knew what to do with what the master entrusted them with – these who “stand firm to the end will be saved.”

The main thrust of these parables:  Remain vigilant. Be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you don’t know the day or hour of the master’s return and your labor is not in vain (1 Cor. 15:58).

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Do you hear what Jesus said above echoed and amplified in his words, through John the Seer, to the church in Ephesus?

“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands:

“I know your works, your toil and your endurance. I know that you cannot tolerate evildoers; you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not and have found them to be false.  I also know that you are enduring and bearing up for the sake of my name and that you have not grown weary.  But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.  Remember, then, from where you have fallen; repent and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.  Yet this is to your credit: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.  Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches. To everyone who conquers, I will give permission to eat from the tree of life that is in the paradise of God.

Revelation 2: 1-7

What’s at stake. In the prophetic messages to the seven churches in Asia Minor, when Jesus has something against a church it comes down to the consequences he alluded to in the parables above: if you do not repent and change your ways before the master returns there will be judgement.

Note: This is the same alternative that those of us who bear witness to the truth presents to the world.

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Brain Rot: What Screens Are Doing to Our Minds

 . . . this podcast covers the effects of too much screen time. Dr. Messina talks about this topic with Dr. Harry Gill, a renown psychiatrist who also has a PhD. in neuroscience. They discuss one of the greatest difficulties they see in their child, adolescent and adult patients who contend with way too much screen time, the all-encompassing phenomenon of ceaseless digital interactions that occur on various devices, over an array of social media platforms, and through multi-player online gaming. They contend that because we are bombarded with constant stimulation which causes us to be more distant and isolated from each other, various individual tragedies, addictions, and hollowed-out interpersonal lives are becoming commonplace in our world today. In addition, they talk about the fact that misinformation is spreading at a rapid pace while social structures are breaking down on a global scale. Their hope is to provide information that will help limit screen time for our listener and their family members.

Brain Rot: What Screens Are Doing to Our Minds (1)

Brain Rot: What Screens Are Doing to Our Minds (1) – New Books Network

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Victor Davis Hanson: Democrats’ 10-Part Strategy to Stopping Trump (At Any Cost)

Home – VDH’s Blade of Perseus

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Fairness is God’s Prerogative and Man’s Tug of War

September 21, 2014 2 Comments

I do not have to tell you that life isn’t fair… but I will say it anyway: “Life isn’t fair!”

“It’s not fair!”

In one way or another each of hear this plaint on a daily basis: “Why did they get the promotion?” “Why did they raise the price?” Why was my son taken from me? ”Why, after all I have done for her, is my daughter rebelling?” “Why can’t I find suitable work?” “Why now?” “Why him?” “Why me?”

The fairness ‘question’ typically begins with “Why” and often ends with “This sucks!”

The Scriptures talk a lot about fairness. In fact, fairness is front and center in many accounts, both in the Old and the New Testament. The book of Leviticus delineates what God considers to be appropriate boundaries for his priests and for the common Israelite. These instructions included just and fair weights for measuring grain and for all commercial activity. Boundaries and fairness, man’s negotiating with another man, are bound together within the scrolls of all Scripture. What is also revealed in Scripture is God’s ‘fairness’-better defined as God’s sovereignty, his prerogatives, his grace.

Consider the oldest book of the Bible, the book of Job. Humans will ask “Did Job get a fair shake from God?” At the end of the narrative you may think Job did. A seven-fold return on Job’s weaker-by-the-moment faithfulness investment yielded Job great benefits-a new family and many material gains. More importantly, though, Job received an understanding of the Almighty via great depths of sorrow from the many losses he incurred beforehand. Job’s bowl of humanity had been scooped out by great sorrow only to be refilled with God’s greater joy. Maybe fairness needs God’s wristwatch and his 20/20 perfect vision to be understood.

Job’s wife wanted Job to “curse God and die” because (implying)…“You know, God-isn’t fair. Job abstained and basically said to her, “Get behind me Satan.”

Now, let’s consider the account of Joseph in the book of Genesis. Joseph, the 11th of Jacob’s 12 sons and Rachel’s firstborn, received a beautiful garment from his father-a token of a father’s love, of multi-colored grace. Perhaps the gift was a thanksgiving offering given towards the Abrahamic covenant’s fulfillment-our sacrificial Lamb of God yet to be conceived.

Though the older brothers all anticipated some fraction of a vast inheritance once their father Jacob passed they became envious of Joseph and the immediate: “Why did Joseph, that little punk, get that gift from dad? “I never got anything like that from dad. Everyday we take care of father’s land and flocks (one day theirs) and Joseph is lying about at home or sitting on dad’s knee. “We have to eat sheep jerky and stale bread. Joseph gets fresh bread, kabobs and dates…yaddah, yaddah, yaddah.

Let’s go another layer deeper into the envy of Joseph.

Jacob had every right to give Joseph whatever he so desired. Pop psychology will tell you that a father should be across the board fair with his kids. This is where we now talk about fairness and boundaries. Fairness is to be equal in its application of justice.  Boundaries are to be agreed upon by all parties involved.

A father should set even-handed rules for his kids-Leviticus fashion. Each of the kids should know the father’s rules.  The punishment for rule infractions should be known-the boundaries set. Kids need to bump up against a strong barrier. This is fairness and good psychology.

Beyond the fair ground ‘rules’ a father can do whatever he wants to love his children. Again, popular psychology gets paid to listen to people chirping during a fifty minute session about unfair parents.

A father can give his child whatever his heart desires. It’s his prerogative. And, Joseph’s brothers should have rejoiced for their brother.  Instead, they let envy take its course.

Envy is bound by “It’s not fair!”, and then some. Love is not bound by fairness, except in God given universality-“God So Loved the World…”

Fast forward: today’s liturgical reading from Matthew 20:1-16

“So you see,” Jesus continued, “the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. He agreed with the workers to give them a dinar a day, and sent them off to his vineyard.

He went out again in the middle of the morning, and saw some others standing in the marketplace with nothing to do.

“You too can go to the vineyard, “ he said, “ and I’ll give what’s right. So off they went.

He went out again about midday, and in the middle of the afternoon, and did the same. Then, with only an hour of the day left, he went out and found people standing there.

“Why are you standing here all day with nothing to do? He asked them.

“Because no one has hired us, they replied.

“Well”, he said, “you too can go into the vineyard.”

When evening came, the vineyard-owner said to his servant, “Call the workers and give them their pay. Start with last, and go on to the first.”

“So the ones who had worked for one hour came, and each of them received a dinar. When the first ones came, they thought they would get something more; but they, too, each received a dinar.

“When they had been given it, they grumbled against the land owner. “This lot who came in last, “ they said, “have only worked for one hour-and they’ve been put on a level with us! And we did all the hard work, all day, and in the heat as well!”

“My friend,” he said to one of them, I’m not doing you wrong. You agreed with me on one dinar, didn’t you? Take it! It’s yours! And be on your way. I want to give this fellow who came at the end the same as you. Or, are you suggesting that I’m not allowed to do what I like with my own money? Or are you giving me the evil eye because I’m good?”

“So those at the back will be front, and the front ones at the back.”

Jesus has given us his father’s perspective about what is fair, the parable not unlike Joseph’s gift or God’s eternal covenants with Abraham and David-with you and me. Fairness in this life requires God’s eternal perspective. Right now we see through dark glass.

If everything in life is to be fair from man’s temporal perspective ala equal outcomes and social justice’s “egalitarianism” (a fancy sounding word for Communism), then how do you know when you are loved?. And, the gift of grace, will you know it when it comes knocking at your front door or when it prepares a lavish feast just for you (see the movie Babette’s Feast)?

What about the pull and tug of romance? Equal outcomes like vampires suck the life blood out romance. Everyone should get a ‘fair’ chance at ‘life’. Right?  Romance is far and away more about the struggle of life itself than about the dynamics between a man and a woman. You get that.

Fair enough. Let this sink in. Take the dinar for a half-hour of listening and we’ll talk later

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