Can You Believe Jesus Hiked on Water?

He didn't walk on water.  That would be a stroll across a swimming pool, even one of Olympic size.  He hiked, three or four miles at least.  I don't know exactly how he did it.  The image I have of fakers attempting to 'walk on water' is that they have flutter-board shoes on their feet and they are kind of sliding along the surface, like trying to cross a very slippery bit of ice.


Maybe Jesus walked along the surface as smoothly as he walked along a beaten path.  Maybe he walked along a solid invisible path a couple inches above the water so that not even his sandals got wet.  Maybe he carried his sandals because he liked the feeling of the water between his toes. 


Wow, the image of Jesus enjoying water-walking because it tickled his toes runs counter to the Sovereign King of the Universe at God's Right Hand Jesus that I grew up with.  I kind of like it.


This passage has been used to provide a 'happily ever after' answer to life's bad moments.  Jesus showed up and the boat arrived at its destination.  But life is not always quite so fairy tale.  Maybe we need to look a little harder at the possibilities of this passage.


I think it is still a great moral, but maybe a little more real.  Hope to see you Sunday.

Is This The Presbyterian's Favorite Miracle?

The feeding of the five thousand.  We Presbyterians love to eat and this is the greatest meal ever offered by the Lord.  The Lord's Supper is fine of course, but for sheer volume...


This may be Jesus' best known miracle, based on the simple power demonstrated, five loaves and two fish-loaves probably the size of slider rolls, and fish smaller than Fillet 'O Fish patties-to enough to feed five thousand men, and at least another five thousand women and children, and twelve baskets of leftovers.


I have heard two powerful sermons on the feeding of the five thousand.  The first spoke to the miraculous power of God exhibited in Jesus, turning something that would fit into a small brown paper bag into food that would feed so many.  The second spoke away from the power of God in multiplying the loaves and fish.  Rather, it was a miracle of cooperation, one young man leading the way, offering up what he had demonstrating to the others in the crowd who carried their own food, enough for themselves, but not willing to share.


What is the difference?  An entire theology of the miraculous power of God.  Is there the actual provision of food on a miraculous basis?  The duplication by divine intent of loaves and fishes?  Or is the power of God not so extended into the human realm?  Does the power of God manifest itself differently? 


How should we let this miracle inform our belief in God's work in the church?  We shall consider that on Sunday.

A Foodie Cycle of Sermons...

This Sunday, we begin a cycle based on John 6, Jesus feeding the 5000.  From there, we will develop the theme of Jesus as the Bread of Life.  It is an interconnection of Communion, of the Passover, of the Bread of Heaven, of Manna in the wilderness during the Exodus-of Jesus pressing that he is indeed the Son of God and is God.


At the end of this cycle, he turns people away.  They are not buying into the metaphor, they are not buying into the reality, they are not buying what Jesus has to say, they are not buying the bread.  He will go from a crowd of thousands who follow him around the Sea of Galilee to his inner twelve, and one of those a betrayer. 


This might be Jesus' most impressive miracle.  It has been down-played as a miracle, not that five loaves and two fish feed five thousand men and their families, but that the example of one young boy, surrendering his lunch, leads to the mass sharing of the bits of food people 'must have' been carrying with them.  The sentiment is wonderful, but how do we explain 12 baskets of leftovers? 


Looking forward in the Gospel, John's is the only one that does not include the Last Supper. Jesus engages in food-washing of his disciples instead.  Yet, in this chapter, there is perhaps the clearest reference to the divine structure of Communion in the gospels. 


Jesus, the bread of life.

How do we prove the bible? August 16, 2015 Sermon

John 5: 39-47

Jesus completes his discussion with the religious authorities.  He is providing some very important information on Godly authority.  These leaders claim the Scripture as their authority.  This is the Old Testament, the Law of Moses.  The Scriptures are the one constant they have had through the years of occupation, under the successive waves of conquerors.

What Jesus is telling these leaders is that they have wrong by their Scriptures, for them, the Scriptures have become an idol.  The authority of those pages has risen above the authority even of God.  Vs. 42, Jesus says, “I know none of you love God.” (this is taken from the Contemporary English Version)  That is a very harsh statement to make.  These authorities have come to trust the Scriptures as the way to eternal life, they are not turning to Jesus, who has been given this power by God.

He concludes his argument by turning the Scriptures against them.  They claim the Law of Moses will condemn Jesus.  Jesus claims that in this very same law, “Moses wrote about me” and “if you believed Moses, you would have believed me.”

So then, what is the point of the Bible?  It is the legitimized record we have of Jesus and his works.  So, here are 10 things about the bible that make it worthy of our time and trouble.

First, Jesus is the focal point.  Everything before looks forward to this moment in time, everything after is built upon this moment in time.  Everything in the bible must be taken in the context of Him.  We screw up the worst when we forget that basic rule of thumb.  That is the one positive statement in this list, the rest are patterned on the “Shalt Not’s” of the OT Top Ten.

Number 2, thou shalt not fall into the trap of thinking the Bible is neat.  The Bible is messy, 66 books, 40+ authors, 12+ distinct genres of literature, 2500 year time span for writing.  It is GOOD that the Bible is messy.  Life is messy, so they match.  If you truly want to make sense of what is there, you need a focal point.  Go back to Commandment #1.

Number 3, thou shalt not fall into the trap of thinking the Bible was written to be the Bible.  The Bible was collected up afterward.  The Law of Moses, probably simply Deuteronomy, but we collected up the five books.  History?  Two sets, Samuel and Kings; then Chronicles.  Life of Jesus?  4 gospels.  Theology textbook?  Nowhere to be found.  It was gathered up in chunks, sometimes a millennium after it was written.  It is GOOD that the bible was collected up over time.  None of the authors knew ahead of time they were writing God’s book.  It kept them real in their offerings.  In this way, none of the authors could ever consider themselves with the burden of being the focus of God’s Word.  Jesus is that focus.

Number 4, thou shalt not fall into the trap of believing that God wrote the bible, either on his laptop, or through dictation.  People wrote the bible.  They wrote in multiple time periods, with multiple points of view, for multiple reasons, reflecting multiple experiences in their relationships with God.  It is GOOD that the bible was written by many people.  No one has a corner on the truth.  There is a connection to every mood, every moment, every possibility of life in the literary multitude that is the Bible.  With Jesus as our focal point, we can go back to the saddest and darkest passages of the Bible and find truth for ourselves.

Number 5, though shalt not fall into the trap of believing that the Bible has a single, unified point of view.  There are multiple viewpoints in the Bible.  Within a single book, i.e. Isaiah, there is praise that God will kill all the enemies of the people, and there is praise that God comes as the suffering servant.  Naysayers will claim that the Bible contradicts itself.  That falls into the same trap, that there is a single point of view to be found.  God works through many points of view.  There are points of view represented in the Bible that are then corrected within the bible, from law to mercy.  It is GOOD that there are multiple viewpoints in the Bible.  There is not contradiction in the bible so much as progression.

Number 6, thou shalt not fall into the trap of believing the Bible was written for today’s standards.  It stretches back over twenty five hundred years.  Standards change.  By today’s standards, the bible is racist, sexist, exploitative, advocates violence, even genocide, promotes absolutes of right and wrong, and it creates crazy people who take it too seriously.  2500 years encompasses many, many generations of progress in our behavior, of progress in our understanding of the creation, of progress in our technological advancement, of progress in our moral codes and ethical values.  The Bible encapsulates that progress of understanding.  There was a time when the people believed there were multiple gods, and that is how they wrote the Scriptures.  There was progress to understand there was only one God, and that is how they wrote the Scriptures.  It is GOOD that the bible reflects progress, it reflects hope for our species.  Using Jesus as the focal point, we can measure the progress, we can reinterpret passages as we need to, we can continue to progress in our understanding of God and God’s world.

Number 7, thou shalt not fall into the trap of believing the Bible cannot speak to the present generation.  The bible, in its present form, was codified in about 250 AD.  We haven’t added to it in all that time.  But the truths are timeless.  Jesus was present to speak to every age of the church, his truths continue to make for us the bible a living document, that can continue to help us, fill us, and sustain us.  It is GOOD the bible speaks to each generation, it proves the ETERNAL truths of God.  What are some such passages? John 3:16.  Psalm 23: The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want….  Revelation 20; For I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the former had passed away…

Number 8, thou shalt not fall into the trap of believing that the Bible can only be used for good.  You can prove almost anything from the Bible, justification for genocide, justification for child abuse and domestic violence, at the more humorous, the existence of UFO’s, Ezekiel saw the wheel, there are Christian groups out there who believe we have to support the nation of Israel no matter what, because they interpret the bible to believe that the return of Israel signals the End of Time.  It is GOOD we recognize the evil that the Bible has justified, It forces us to stand on guard.  Thus, we return to the focal point of Jesus.  In him, we see good.

Number 9, thou shalt not fall into the trap of believing that the Bible is about God.  It is about people’s experiences with God.  It is about how people have interacted with God.  Some lived with a God who used them as an instrument of divine judgment.  Some lived with a God who provided them peace and a Land of Divine prosperity.  Some lived in a land with so much wealth that they saw their God being forgotten by the people.  Some lived with a God who sent enemies to conquer them as punishment and are waiting for vengeance.  Some lived with a God in times so desperate that they practiced cannibalism.  It is GOOD to live through people’s interactions with God.  God’s presence in each situation addresses the needs of those in each situation.  Jesus, as our focus of Scripture, will draw from these highly differentiated moments of history,  to speak to us in our times of need.

Finally, Number 10, though shalt not fall into the trap of defining your faith by a single verse.  This is called proof-texting, hanging your faith and hope and practice on a single or a small collection of biblical verses.  Jesus cites adultery as the only justification for divorce, do we not believe Jesus would protect the spouse suffering domestic violence?  Women shall keep silent in church, do we believe women do not have the ability of effective church leadership?  Go and make disciples of all nations, do we believe that we should use political power to extend the power of Jesus Christ?  Or is there more that we need to uncover?  Why are those ‘offensive’ verses even in the bible?  To teach us right from wrong.

The focus of Jesus will be far more wide-ranging.  It will even dare to use portions of Scripture that once were used to promote God’s power, to illustrate in the present that the employment of God’s power has changed.  It is GOOD to seek far and wide across the Scriptures for answers, God speaks through the myriad authors, many voices, many perspectives, including voices and perspectives we may never have considered, so you’ve picked up your bible, wondering where to start, the Gospels are a good starting point by the way, suddenly, everything from this sermon comes flooding back and you are terrified to start reading, what were all those rules?  What about all that confusion?

Look to Jesus, look to his love, his witness, his presence, his purpose, and it will bring the bible into focus. Amen.

What Is The Point of the Bible?

Jesus gets into it with the religious authorities at the end of John 5 with a debate on the very merits of the Scriptures themselves.  Now, these are not the Scriptures we have, the Bible in 66 books, but these are the Laws of Moses, the first five, the Holy Book that would grow to include the New Testament.  That was the authority of the religious leaders, not Jesus.


It is precisely there that Jesus goes after them.  The Scriptures have become an idol to the leaders.  They seek eternal life from its pages, instead of from Jesus himself.  But the key is that Jesus does not make it a choice between Himself and the Scriptures.  Rather, he zeros in on the fact that the Law of Moses is testimony to Him, that the religious authorities, if they were really listening, would see Jesus in the Bible of their time and place.


Which begs the question to our time and place.  We have this book, it is still a best seller, but how many of us really seek to crack it open?  Who has been through it more than what is shared at church?  Does it really have a place in our lives?  How does it connect to Jesus?


Using the Ten Commandments as inspiration, this Sunday, we will consider ten things to know about the bible.  Being a great fan of the "shalt not's", nine are phrased as what we shalt not do.  But one, the most important, is phrased as what we shall do.


After all, what else do we have besides the bible to speak to us of our Lord Jesus Christ?

How do we “prove” Jesus? John 5: 31-38

Jesus leads us into our passage today with a rather stunning admission.   “If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true.”  Remember what he has been talking about, judgment.  He is the judge of humanity, powers given to him by God the Father.  He is very cautious in not taking us away from the truth, that he and His Father are one.

He makes the argument, he makes the claim, but how is it to be proven?  How is it to be believed?

Before we go there, there are two items we must consider, as we must with every consideration of Scripture.  First, who is Jesus speaking to in the passage?  Second, how does that speak to us today?

Because first, Jesus turns to the testimony of John the Baptist, and dismisses it.  Messengers were sent to John the Baptist about Jesus, and John spoke the truth about Jesus to them.  His discourses recorded in the Gospel are moving.  Jesus reaction: he does not need the testimony of John, but it serves the audience as a means to be saved.  John is a shining lamp, a great light to bask in, but there is something more!

It is the testimony of God in heaven but it is a testimony that does not come through words.

Rather, God has sent Jesus works that Jesus must complete, and it is by the witness of these works themselves, that the testimony of the Father is made about Jesus.  This is how the Father has testified to the one the Father has sent.

Now, we come back to the question of audience, because the audience is apparently not getting the message.  Jesus charges them with not hearing the Father’s voice, with not having seen his form, for not having the word abiding in them, because they do not believe in He whom God has sent.

Jesus is in debate with the religious authorities, the ones who started by accusing him of Sabbath breaking, then accused him of blasphemy, those who have judged him worthy of execution.

In the verses leading up to this, the question of Judgment has been flipped.  Jesus is Judge, appointed by God.  We spoke of this last week, who would Jesus send to hell?   These authorities are prepared to send Jesus there.

Jesus lays out for them how it is they can know who Jesus is.  It is not by Jesus’ own personal testimony, it is not by the testimony of the sublime prophet, John the Baptist, it is by the testimony of God the Father, a testimony not of words, but of works Jesus has come to fulfill.  Like the healing of the 38 year invalid, which leads off chapter 5, it is the miracle work they do not see as God’s work in Jesus.  They don’t hear, they don’t see, the Word is not in their hearts, because they do not believe in Jesus, sent by the Father.

For us, in this audience, reading these words today, how do we ‘prove’ Jesus?  These are fundamental questions:  How do we know the story of Jesus to be true?  How do we know Jesus at all?  Do we rejoice that Jesus is our judge?  Out of these questions, comes our basic reasons for being here, how do I ‘prove’ Jesus to myself?  How could I possibly ‘prove’ Jesus to somebody else?  Have we ever been encouraged to even invite someone to sample the faith that we live by?  If not, have we run against that wall, trying to prove Jesus’ power, to them or to us?  Do we take this faith of ours seriously, Trying to live the life of Christ?  Or do we feel like the audience Jesus is describing?   Do we feel empty of the word and sight of God, is that how we feel?

This takes us to the most basic question of church, why are we even here?  The grand witness of the New Testament is pretty clear, the words that Jesus spoke are to become the words that we speak.  The mission of salvation to the world that Jesus undertook has become our mission, that which God the Father has laid into His only begotten Son, God has also laid into us.  We do as Jesus did.

God gave Jesus works to complete, so God has given us works to complete, that is how the testimony of Jesus will carry to the world.  The greatest work Jesus completed was dying and rising for us.  We are witnesses to that for a world in need of salvation.  Jesus was empowered by the Spirit of God to do His work, we are empowered by that same Spirit from Pentecost onward.  Jesus’ mission was to save the world, we’ve been issued those same orders in the Great Commission.  What are the works of God we are to complete?  Go, make disciples of all the world, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Our whole vision, to be a Neighborhood in the Kingdom of God, is predicated on this charge.  The Neighborhood is the means by which we will complete the works that God has in store for us.  The works to be completed are outlined in our mission points:

• To deepen our love and knowledge of God and our Lord Jesus Christ,
• To care for one another,
• To see to the care and raising of our Next Generation.

We don’t simply talk about these things because that is somehow what we should talk about.  We don’t do them because they are “nice”, these are the works that God has for us to do.  This is God’s testimony of Christ in us, this is the foundation of being a Christian, of being His church.

So God has work for us to complete, as he did for Jesus, how do we figure it out?  I would suggest there is a mixture of the grandiose and the immediate.  On the grand scale,  ow about redefining the Christian faith for the 21^st century over and against the voices of supposed faith that proclaim darkness instead of light?  We’ve got a history of that.  This is the generation of the church that takes back the oppression of the church against gays and lesbians.

In the 19^th century, the Presbyterian Church walked back oppression against people of color, against slavery, against inequality.

In the 20^th century, the Presbyterian Church walked back oppression against people of gender, against women, In church governance and leadership.

In the 21^st century, the Presbyterian Church is daring to walk back oppression against people of incorrect sexual orientation.  We have got sister Presbyterian Churches leaving the denomination, trumpeting the belief that the LGBTQ community is a particular brand of sinner.  I think we who have remained should be trumpeting that they are children of God, like everybody else!

But maybe the works God has given us to complete are more immediate?  Like giving out cold water to people on a hot day.  Like preparing to teach our children for the fall. Like mustering the energy to simply get out here to worship in the heat.

These are only suggestions, but the experience is with each of you.  Where have you seen God complete work for you?  What was your miracle?  What was your saving grace?  When did Jesus get you through the day?  Or the night?  Or the hour?  Or the moment?

What work has God called you to complete?  When will you be somebody’s miracle?  When will you be their saving grace?  When will you get them through the day?  When will you be the proof…  The testimony of Jesus?

Amen

How Do We "Prove" Jesus? John 5: 31-38

John 5 has Jesus healing a guy whose been an invalid for 38 years.  Instead of being cheered, he is attacked, first for Sabbath-breaking, then for blasphemy, when he claims divine authority and equivalency for His powers.


In the verses for Sunday, Jesus is addressing these leaders of the Jewish establishment who have condemned him.  How are they to know that what he says and what he does are truly of God?


Answering that question provides us with a key to our own reasons for believing in Jesus.  How do we, in fact, prove, or explain, or witness to, his existence? 


What makes this so pivotal for me, is that it addresses one of those things I am most uncomfortable with in my faith.  I am uncomfortable sitting down with someone and sharing my faith.  If, in the course of working with someone, questions of my own faith journey arise, that is an easy crossover.  I am happy to talk about my relationship with Christ.  But how do I lead off a conversation with the express purpose of 'manipulating' the direction toward Jesus?  That is so not me.


Jesus provides a very powerful exposition of how that is NOT the means of testifying about Him.  God has a bigger plan.  It is how Jesus' life worked out, it is how our lives are called to be worked out as Jesus' followers and successors in the ministry of the church.


Join us Sunday, as we look to Jesus' answer, how he faces off with the Jewish leadership who stand in opposition to him, how he provides the context of God's work in His, and our, lives.


Peace, hope to welcome you at 10am.


Pastor Peter Hofstra

“Who Is Jesus Sending to Hell?” The Sermon

August 2, 2015         John 5: 25-30

The whole passage is “Listen Up”  VERY TRULY I TELL YOU…  The Mode & Means of judgment are being expressed.  The Mode: ALL the dead will awaken.  It is a practical outpouring of Jesus’ “Life Power”.  His authority to execute judgment is confirmed once again because he is the Son of God.  The Means: Everybody wakes up. For the Good: resurrection of life.  For the Evil: Resurrection of condemnation.  It is a Balance of Power:  Jesus does this because he does the will of the Father.

This passage pivots around the age old question of “good” vs. “evil”.  We are framing it very particularly this morning: Who Would Jesus Send to Hell?

Evil can be defined in different ways, we need to understand its use in John.  In Jay McCarl’s book “Answering Evil”, he leads with a story.  A Chaplain is called to do a death notification to a Christian man whose wife was killed by a drunk driver.  The heart of the book is evil non-personified.  The ‘evil person’ would be the drunk driver.  But was he evil?  Stupid?  Broken?  Lost?  Blame and judgment are not part of McCarl’s thesis.  His point is how we deal with evil when we cannot point the finger.

We are talking about evil when there is someone at whom we can point the finger.  How about some name dropping?  Adolf Hitler, Charles Manson, Osama Ben Laden…  I think these are suitable candidates for Jesus to send to hell.

Remember, Jesus has taken over the judgment powers of God.  He is still backed by the full faith and power of God in heaven.  But every dead person is going to come back to life and face their Maker.  And for anyone keeping track, Jesus was identified as the Maker back at the very beginning of John.  “In the beginning was the Word (Jesus)…and the Word was God…All things were made through him (the Word-Jesus)…”  John 1: 1 and 3.

The title of this sermon is not “Who would Jesus Send to Heaven?”  But we will come to that. 

Which teaser for Good Morning America would be more effective?  “Jesus Sends Ten People To Heaven-Details in the Social Square with Lara Spencer…” or  “Jesus Sends Ten People to Hell-Next, moral commentary by George Stephanopolis…”  What gets our attention?

“Jesus as Judge” is a very relevant question for our times.  A lot of churches out there claim divine authority to condemn others.  And it drives a lot of good people away.  It’s a message of “behave or else”.  That message did not work on me as a teenager, it surely does not work on me as an adult. 

The flip side is that there is no judgment.  There is no hell and there is no consequence.  We can do whatever we want & Jesus welcomes us with open arms.  But that mocks the very meal we celebrate this morning-that Jesus gave his body and blood for us.  We might as well dismiss Jesus as a cannibal vampire.  Instead of being “a neighborhood in the Kingdom of God”, our motto could simply say “be nice”.

How do we, as members of this Neighborhood in the Kingdom of God, truly respond to the question of judgment?  How do we take seriously that Jesus is our Lord, our Savior, and our Judge?

There is a maxim that says: for difficult Scriptural passages, let Scripture interpret Scripture.  The gospel writer has been building to this point.  How about we consider the people who have come into Jesus’ life thus far to help us divide the good from the evil?

Here is a brief review:   Chapter 1: John the Baptist and the first disciples. It is prophesying about, following, loving Jesus.  Good Side of judgment I’d say.  Chapter 2: a little more divided, Part 1, water into wine.  It is Jesus’ first miracle, saved the wedding banquet, people seem to have been grateful.  Good Side again.  Second part, driving the money changers out of the temple.  Turning God’s house into a marketplace!  It is the story of Jesus the violent!!  Those individuals completely undermined the meaning of the temple and the Passover celebration for their own ends.  I see some Evil Side of Judgment happening there.  Chapter 3: more of the good.  First, Nicodemus, John 3:16-all Good.  Then baptism and John the Baptist is back, more Good.  Chapter 4: the first two thirds are the woman at the well and her people from Samaria.  They came and believed: Good, good, good.  The last third, Jesus in Galilee, the people wanting to see the circus act…  The Royal official, begs Jesus to heal his son, believes, gets the miracle.  All to the Good. 

Remember, our passage today continues the story of Chapter 5, extra weight should be given to this tale.  First, the man at Bethesda, healed, but different from the royal official.  He does not praise Jesus, no faith is ascribed to him.  In fact, when the leaders get in his face about carrying his mat on the Sabbath day, the man blames Jesus.  In fact, it seems to happen out of spite.  Jesus final words to the man are almost a threat, “See, you have been made well! Do not sin any more, so that nothing WORSE happens to you.”  In response, “the man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who made him well.”  It feels like a wasted miracle.

Again, the man shows no gratitude, the man demonstrates no faith, the man certainly does not dance and confess Jesus as Lord and Savior.  He’s written as a real jerk.  Is it enough to send him to hell?  By the definitions of “being saved” put out by a lot of churches today, the answer would be yes.  But I would suggest that this is NOT his role in the passage.

To demonstrate ‘doing evil’, there is the Jewish leadership, the ones who start persecuting the guy, and then Jesus, for Sabbath-breaking and blasphemy.  They know the intent of love in the law of Moses.  They have perverted the law of Moses for their own political control.   It is done intentionally and systematically.

What are the judgment criteria?  From Verse 29: “Those who have DONE evil get the resurrection of condemnation.”  And who is the narrative example?  The Jewish leaders perverting the law of God. 

Those who have DONE good get the resurrection of life.  And who is the narrative example?  The guy of the wasted miracle, without gratitude, without faith, in fact, selling out Jesus on the Sabbath-breaking charge.  The only good he did was accepting the miracle.  The Gospel writer was many better examples for the ‘good people’, John the Baptist, Nicodemus, the Woman at the Well, the Royal Official.  But he picked the waster of miracles.

Who would Jesus send to hell?  Those who know what is good but do evil anyway.  The Jewish leaders know the law, they know best what God was seeking to say through the law, but they exploit it for their own power and authority.  Going back a couple weeks, it is the person who uses their knowledge of Scripture to justify committing domestic violence.  It is the person who uses murder and terror to get their own way.  It is pretty clear.

Who is Jesus sending to heaven?  Certainly the good guys, lots mentioned in the Gospel of John and, at least, everyone this side of the Miracle Waster.  How about people who’ve seen the power of Jesus, but don’t quite commit themselves to it by name?  How about people who may not say “Jesus is Lord and Savior” but live lives of exemplary faithfulness?  And the jerks who’ve received blessings from Jesus but choose not to celebrate, or even recognize them?  Is it fair to say that the mercy of Jesus’ judgment extends to all those who have not chosen to commit evil?

Perhaps the only thing we can be certain of is that we truly do not know how far the mercy of the Lord will extend, and I think it is safe to say we shouldn’t guess.  I think we do best by being grateful that Jesus is our Judge.   

Amen.