Barrier No. 4: The Barrier of Idol Worship

It has been pointed out many times that some of Jesus’ harshest words were to religious leaders, and many of those quotes are pulled from Matthew 23:1-39. “You blind fools…brood of vipers…you hypocrites.” These are known as the seven woes in the Gospels and is Jesus talking about how religious leaders, far from making things better have actually made things worse. The crux of this though is found in the first few voices. The religious leaders have made themselves and their trappings into idols, trying to convince people to worship the position or the temple instead of a living God. Jesus points this out in the beginning of the passage of how the leaders liked to be noticed, be given places of honor, and taking converts away from the one, true God.

Jesus in pointing all of this out was trying to remove the idols of worship and religious leaders who had gotten off track, the idol of self from the path of those trying to truly seek God.

Reflection:

How many times have we put ourselves in front of God?

How many times have we looked for comfort or praise instead of God?

How often have we forgiven ourselves for our sins, but not named them, repented from them, or tried to change?

Prayer:

God, we confess that we have put ourselves in front of you. Even as Jesus spoke harshly with the religious leaders of his day, he could speak just as harshly with us. Please remove the barriers that we create ourselves, remove the ways that we get in our own way or the ways of others by making idols of self-worship, of comfort, and of our own self-importance. Remove these barriers from our lives and open us up to the light that we can find when we no longer walk in our own valley, but have found the mountain top of God. Amen.

Barrier No. 3: The Cultural Barrier

As Jesus continued to progress through his time in Jerusalem he had so much to teach. It was the culmination in many ways of Jesus’ three years of master’s classes on God’s Kingdom. As mentioned already, the Pharisees’ spent much of their time trying to figure out how to trip Jesus up in his answers. One area they did this several times was around Heavenly authority. In Matthew 22 they asked about paying taxes to Caesar and about marriage at the resurrection. They were focused on cultural wars of their days…things that would get Jesus planted firmly on the left or right of the day in order to put him at odds with some powerful group. We often do the same thing. We get trapped in this dichotomy that we have to be on one side or the other. Yet Jesus being Jesus chose a third way, he refused to get engaged in the cultural wars and instead reminded everyone that where we really need to be focused was on the eternal. There is an eternal worldview that we need to develop so that we are not embroiled in choosing sides for the here and now, but instead connect directly with God and what God finds most important, something which tends to be much more valuable, compassionate, and sustaining. This does not mean that we are not engaged in social justice work, simply that it is not based on a political worldview, but a Kingdom worldview.

Reflection:

Do you identify yourself as democrat or republican before you identify yourself as a Christian?

Do you orient yourself on various topics based on what the news and media says or what the Bible says?

Do you vilify one side and champion the other instead of staying consistent to an eternal world view?

Are you able to see the third way of Christ, moving past the left or right and focusing on a wider, more generous kingdom then we often think possible?

Prayer:

God of the eternal, the big and wide Kingdom of Heaven, God of what was, is, and is to come. Keep us from getting lost in the mundane, getting sucked into arguments of self-interest, or creating national religions to replace the universal faith in a universal God. As we contemplate the sacrifice made by Christ on that first Good Friday, keep us focused on his grace filled actions and the Kingdom that was open to us on that day. The kingdom that surpasses all of the cultures and kingdoms of this world. Amen.

Barrier No. 2: The Institutional Church

Much of Jesus’ week in Jerusalem was spent dodging tricky questions from the Pharisees and other religious leaders. They wanted him gone and he was too good at not being caught, not by being tricky in return, but by staying focused on what was really and truly important. They asked questions about taxes, marriage after death, and what the greatest commandment is. And the reason was that he had upset the balance of power, not by creating an imbalance, but by removing the imbalance. Jesus removed the institutional religion barrier to God by challenging the gate keepers who were in power.

Jesus used the parable of the two sons (Matthew 21:28-32) to point out that it is not the label you wear as the obedient son, but the actions you take to carry out the will of the Father that is the most important. This means that those who assign the labels are not the important ones, but rather the ones acting in obedience to God who have access to the Kingdom.

For your reflection:

What are the discussions that organized religion is having which has nothing to do with the Gospel?

What are labels (read status or achievements) that you are trying to achieve in order to be accepted by the church? Are these from God or created by a human institution?

Have you ever taken to heart someone else telling you that you are not accepted by God’s Kingdom? What does this reading of Jesus’ teachings do to help you fight that idea?

Prayer:

God, may we understand that you are the ultimate judge and that the church, while the body of Christ, is not God. May our worship be focused on you and may we, like your son, Jesus Christ, illuminate the path towards the Kingdom of God for others instead of focusing on keeping them out. May we the church not be the barrier to people finding a relationship with you, but instead be the example of love that they need to better know you.