C, Commemoration of All Saints - Luke 6:20-31 Ephesians 1:11-23 "Your Heavenly Place"

What is your heavenly place?  This was the question on the minds of those in the Church at Ephesus. Paul writes to the congregation; this is his letter to the Ephesians.

He contends with the believers in Ephesus, who were tempted to believe they were missing out on their heavenly place, as Ephesus was the site of the pagan temple to Artemis, where the heavens had apparently fallen to earth.

Paul had left Ephesus after three years, following a commotion that was only calmed by the town clerk, who said:

“Men of Ephesus, who is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple keeper of the great Artemis, and of the sacred stone that fell from the sky? Seeing then that these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rash.” (Acts 19:35–36 ESV)

After Ephesus had settled, Paul encouraged the disciples of the Ephesian church and departed. Yet he wrote to them because their hearts were far from calm. He also wrote to Timothy after writing to the congregation, to refocus Timothy, who was unsettled as well.

Where was their heavenly place? Was it back in the synagogue, following the works of the law? No! The curtain of the temple in Jerusalem had long since been torn.

God was now present among his people. He was Immanuel, God with us, in Jesus Christ—risen from the dead, ascended into the hidden heavenly place at the right hand of the Father. Through faith, the living saints join the resurrected saints together with the whole company of heaven, by the power of the Holy Spirit, who calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the body of Christ, his church in God’s holy heavenly place now.

Where was their heavenly place? Was it where heaven supposedly fell to earth? Where the gods sent Artemis, where the sacred stone fell, where the Ephesian church saw the pagan temple thrive with crowds gathering from all over Asia and beyond? Where the world worshipped the goddess, led by her priests and priestesses?  No! This was not the heavenly place either.

From the outset of his letter, Paul points to and proclaims God the Father and his heavenly place. He says:

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places … as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.” (Ephesians 1:3, 10 ESV)

Paul proclaims that the heavenly place was where the church was now—where they received and believed their inheritance and their predestination. Where men, women, and children were adopted as sons through Jesus Christ’s Sonship.

This occurred when they heard the word of truth, which uncovers everything and keeps nothing hidden, and the gospel of salvation, which they heard, exchanging these truths through the richness of repentance and the forgiveness of sins, in their personal redemption through believing the sacrificial blood of the risen Lord, Jesus Christ.

Where is your heavenly place? It is the same place! It is here and now, in the heavenly place of hearing the word of truth, which uncovers the whole truth, which calls for the exchange of these truths with repentance, and the gift of forgiveness through confession, glorifying the goodness of a merciful God.

With the Ephesians, we are encouraged by Paul to hold onto this heavenly place. He says: “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:4–6 ESV)

Jesus is at the right hand of the Father, seated in the heavenly place, and we too are seated in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. You are in God the Father’s family, today and forever.

Like Paul, you are encouraged to kneel before the Father in prayer, to combat the rulers and authorities in the deceptive heavenly places that hide the truth—the false heavenly places of this world. These are the powers and principles of people, no different from those the church in Ephesus struggled with and were tempted to adopt, over against the adoption and fatherhood of our Heavenly Father.

Instead of bowing to these false gods, these authorities and principalities of half-truths and hiddenness, Paul bows to God the Father, “from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named.” (Ephesians 3:15 ESV)

Having descended into the depths of hell and ascended to the right hand of God, Jesus is, “far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.” (Ephesians 4:14b ESV)

Paul points out to the church in Ephesus: if one is led—or leads others—to a “so-called” heavenly place, and it is not where Jesus is, then one has not been led there by the Holy Spirit, but by the authorities and principalities governing human powers and principles, or directly by the forces of evil that control others. He calls those who wish to remain in Christ’s strength to: “Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:11–12 ESV)

Today we hear the Lukan Beatitudes. Unlike Matthew’s Gospel, where Jesus teaches at the Sermon on the Mount, here Jesus teaches at the Sermon on the Plain. In Luke’s account, Jesus speaks of blessings and woes. These blessings and woes give a clear picture of two heavenly places.

The blessings are the reality one receives when the Holy Spirit helps a person follow Jesus Christ and the way of the cross, to his heavenly place. The woes are the reality one receives when they follow the powers and passions of the human heart, and the spiritual forces of evil into the “so-called” heavenly places.

Four blessings and four woes. Where is your heavenly place?

Blessed are the poor, the hungry, those who weep, and those who are hated, excluded, reviled, and spurned as evil on account of the Son of Man.

It’s understandable that the church in Ephesus, and Christians today, would be tempted by the woes. The desire to be rich, to be full without hunger, to laugh, to be wanted and praised by others—this sounds like what all of us want.

No doubt the church in Ephesus saw many favour “the devil they knew”, returning to the synagogue.  Some were tempted by the pagan mob to indulge their pleasures at the “heavenly place” where everyone else was going, the pagan temple at the top of town!

However, as it was then in Ephesus, so it is today. The heavenly place that seems easy, that seems too good to be true, is too good to be true. In fact, it is not true or good at all. The powers and principalities at work promote eudaimonic pleasure—that is, “happy spirits” or “good demons” of pleasure—only to deliver eternal pain.

The true heavenly place may seem a sad and sorry place. But it’s veiled and seen only by those who have faith. One needs the Holy Spirit to look past wealth, fullness, laughter, and the shallow pleasures of false fellowship.

The question everyone must answer for themselves—the same question the saints had to answer, the same question those in hell had to answer—is this: What heavenly place do you want?

It was Paul’s prayer for the church in Ephesus, it’s also my prayer, and it’s God will for your prayer too—for all the saints God has hidden within the denominations of Christendom: “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints.” (Ephesians 1:17–18 ESV)

In other words, that the Holy Spirit would give you the eyes of faith, to look past human passions—deceptive at best—and to seek holiness in God’s promise: a holy, eternal kingdom; enduring satisfaction; laughter that never sours; and the promised reward, finally revealed on the great day of the resurrection. Unlike those who will weep and mourn when they lose the perishable goods in which they trust today.

Allow the Holy Spirit to give you a discerning heart, to see the shallowness of human goods and the evidence of all hidden evils, of self, of others, and of the evil one. But even more, allow the Holy Spirit to work in you a knowledge of Jesus Christ, so that you wait on him and the coming of his kingdom.

Amen.

C, Commemoration of the Reformation - Psalm 46, Luke 8:9 Romans 3:21-25a "Pacification of our Passions"

Luke 18:9 (ESV) “He (Jesus) also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt…”

From where does your peace come?  We’ve just sung Martin Luther’s paraphrase of Psalm Forty-Six, “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”.  In the Psalm's first three verses we hear, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling.” (Psalm 46:1–3 ESV)

When chaos in the Southern Ocean threatens to overtake you to whom, or what, would you turn?  Do you turn to God, no matter what happens?  Is he your trusty shield and weapon, your faithful helper in all need?  Luther rightly pens that God is a mighty fortress, so do you find yourself fleeing to God’s gifts, his word, and the Holy Spirit regardless of the events of evil that come your way in the world?

Jesus Christ is the only one who does!  In the midst of the storm of life, in the midst of being incarnate in sinful human flesh, Jesus looked to God as his refuge and strength.  The Holy Spirit was his buttress of truth and support as he endured in human flesh that never succumbed to the sinfulness of that flesh. Having put off his divinity, and clothed himself in human weakness, Jesus knew the Lord of Hosts was with him; the God of Jacob was his fortress!

Although Jesus looked to God as his fortress, he still suffered for the sake of the gospel.  In his suffering Jesus glorified God by being that which would pacify the wrath of God for our sin.  Jesus’ suffering for the sake of the gospel was a suffering for the sake of saving us from sin!  Jesus is the only person who can claim to suffer for the sake of being good in God’s eyes.  The rest of us suffer for the sake of the gospel in our sinful natures, and like the Israelites, Jews, and countless Christians throughout time, we suffer every time we turn away from God and reject his pacification, seeking to pacify ourselves.

Jesus tells a parable that compares the pair, a Pharisee, and a tax collector, who’ve come to the temple.  Luke prefaces the parable with these words about Jesus, who: “told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt:” (Luke 18:9 ESV)

Jesus tells this parable to the pious whose piety proceeded from the pacification of themselves.  In other words, their peace came from within themselves, either from their pride, their personal power, or their possessions.  Their understanding stood under no one!  Their knowledge of God was even made subject to the self.  Their trust was in themselves.  When people saw and praised their projection of goodness, they took pleasure and found their peace in this piety. Like a baby sucking a dummy (a pacifier), they pacified and quietened themselves sucking on self-pleasure. When our piety is self-centred, we’re dummies sucking dummies!

In the parable Jesus likens these folk to Pharisees.  In our understanding today, a Pharisee, is a sanctimonious person, a hypocritical pretender, who projects themselves as good while being otherwise. Many of us today are guilty of being just this, and this is Jesus’ accusation of the Pharisees.  However, Jesus came into conflict with the Pharisees, and our understanding of a Pharisee comes from Jesus’ conflict with them, but of all the Jewish parties in Israel, Jesus was most similar to the party of the Pharisees.  That’s why he came into conflict with them.

Pharisees were strict observers of the Law!  Jesus was too!  In fact, Jesus was a better follower of the Law, he might be looked upon as the perfecter of what the Pharisees were seeking to do.  So, what is the difference?  It comes down to intent and that is spelt out in the parable proper!

What is the intention of the Pharisee when he comes into God’s presence?  He comes in having done his best to keep the Old Testament Law.  That is why he prays, “God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.” (Luke 18:11–12 ESV)

Keeping the Law required one to do what he had done, and he thanks God for it!  In fact, his piety would outdo you and me!  These men were not half-hearted about God and his word, by any means.  They spent their waking lives seeking to do the right thing.  We might look upon them as holier-than-thou, and they most probably were.  So too was Jesus!  In his human flesh, susceptible to sin, he remained holier-than-thou, holier than you and me, without sin!

However, the intent of the Pharisees keeping the Law was for their own glorification.  There was nothing wrong with trying to uphold the Law.  In fact, God commanded it, and even today we seek to keep the Commandments, by fearing and loving God.  On the other hand, Jesus’ intent was never for his own glorification but for the glorification of God.  Jesus’ piety was a faithful piety that glorified God and his Law!

So why is it that Jesus compares the pair, the Pharisee, and the tax collector, in the parable?  Both stand apart from each other, and others. Jesus constructs the parable placing both men in the temple. The Pharisee compares himself aloof over the tax collector, he makes himself God.  Before God, the tax collector compares himself as an unworthy sinner.  The Pharisee separates himself by taking comfort in himself, and the tax collector separates himself by taking no comfort in himself. 

A tax collector in the temple would have raised the anger of the Pharisees, it would have really niggled their pride having heard Jesus say that the tax collector went down to his house justified.  Who is the tax collector?  He is the lowest common denominator in Jewish society.  Although he’s a Jew — after all Jesus places him in the temple too­ — he collects taxes for Rome!  The tax collector is looked upon as a double agent!  A tax collector in the temple would have received the contempt of Jews, in just the same way you and I might look upon a sex offender, or someone whom you believe has wronged you. Now Jesus says this person goes to his home justified over you!

God calls us all back under his word, both Pharisee and tax collector were sinners in the eyes of God.  The tax collector was justified not because he was down on himself.  If he was, he would have been doing the same as the Pharisee.  He would have been focusing on himself.  If the tax collector sought to work his justification with a woe-is-me, I’m-the-worst-in the-world story, this too is still trusting in oneself, a self-centred pacification!  Still a dummy self-sucking one’s dummy!  Still a pharisee but with a perverse reverse piety.  

However, the piety we’re called to is one like Jesus’ piety. His piety is one that trusted in God the Father, even though he died on the cross.  Earth gave its Creator away and the mountains moved into the heart of the sea, as he descended into the abyss of hell, the depths of the devil’s dominion. Yet Jesus’ fortress was not his life, nor his creation, nor any created mountain of stability.  His fortress was God the Father, his buttress of truth was the Holy Spirit, which rested on his human flesh.

Today you are called to have your passions pacified by Jesus Christ, regardless of whether your passions expose you as a Pharisee, or an unworthy tax collector.  All stand the same before the resurrected Son of God who is coming to judge the living and the dead. 

The law speak, “So that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God.” (Romans 3:19 ESV)  

All are warned: “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth.” (Revelation 14:7 ESV)

You can comfort yourselves, but not like dummies with dummies, you can spit out the dummy of self-soothing and be pacified by the promise of God and his word.

Hear the gospel, “But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.” (Romans 3:21–25a ESV)

The blood Jesus spilt on the cross is now your peace.  His propitiation is your peace; his blood was shed for the pacification of your passions.   His blood now gives peace.

We’re called to remember the reality of the Reformation, especially now as many denominations desire to be liked by the world over against submitting to the word.  We’re called to be reformed in Christ, to suffer for the gospel as the world suffers because the gospel’s diluted to a peace in human myths.  Rather than being dummies pacified by dummies, let us continually be turned to the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding and Pharisaic peace in the sinful self, so your hearts and minds are kept in Christ Jesus.

How? Do this by allowing the Holy Spirit to help you confess your sin onto the cross.  To pick up the word of God and allow the Spirit to move you in it, to glorify God. Be still and know that Jesus is God!  Be still and allow the Spirit to humble you before him who will be exalted among the nations, who will be exalted in the earth.  

Jesus is now at the right hand of God.  Having been humbled at the cross he was justified and exalted to the right hand of God, in his holy habitation that will never be moved. Amen. 

C, Post-Pentecost 19, Proper 24 - Jeremiah 31:27-34 "Sweet and Sour - Sour Grapes to Sweet Salvation"

When most of us were children, we would have preferred sweet over sour; a lollipop over salad covered in balsamic vinegar. The taste of sugar in the mouth is a delight, but the taste of something unexpectedly sour makes one’s mouth pucker up, as the sharp sour surprise sends a shudder through the body.

How do you know when sour cream is no good? After all, it’s already sour! The point is that sour is generally associated with things being off. Sour cream is already sour to the taste; is it only once it becomes sour to the eye that one knows it’s off? When little orange and blue spores begin to colonise the cream, then we know it’s time to toss it out.

Yet children today seem to have taken a liking to sour lollies. I would prefer my kids to have taken up a liking for sweet and sour cuisine, or salad covered in balsamic vinegar! Nevertheless, they put these lollies in their mouths and shudder, like babies surprised by something so sour, before the sour disappears and sweet takes over, filling their mouths with delight.

We all know what makes things sweet, but what makes something sour? Vinegar is the answer! When I was a child, it was a surprise to me to see what happens when vinegar or lemon juice is put in milk — to see it curdle instantly into lumpy curds and watery whey.

Sweet and sour; sour and sweet!

On behalf of God, Jeremiah speaks about sour grapes: “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of beast. And it shall come to pass that as I have watched over them to pluck up and break down, to overthrow, destroy, and bring harm, so I will watch over them to build and to plant, declares the Lord. In those days they shall no longer say: “ ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’ But everyone shall die for his own iniquity. Each man who eats sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge.” (Jeremiah 31:27–30 ESV)

God plucks up and breaks down Judah and Israel. He has need to overthrow, destroy, and bring harm to his very own people. But God also watches over them to build up and plant, to preserve them, despite the discipline he needs to unleash to break them down. Just as we heard Paul tell Timothy last week, God had to deny his chosen people of Israel, because they had denied Him. However, even in their faithlessness, God still remained faithful, because He cannot deny Himself.

When Israel became sour in the eyes of God, He was sour towards them, to the third and fourth generation. But now Jeremiah gives the Israelites a new message from God. No longer will children suffer for the sins of their fathers; no longer will the father’s faithfulness or lack of it have repercussions on the rest of the household. Now, every member of the household is responsible for their own sin; all women, sons, and daughters will die for their own iniquity. If one eats sour grapes, that one will have their teeth set on edge. If one eats sour grapes, the sourness will sicken the bellies of those who eat them, causing them to suffer.

This is mixed news for Israel and Judah. No longer will someone be born guilty or innocent as a result of what their fathers did or did not do. Rather, all have a clean slate and were accountable for what they did. However, humanity’s sinful nature was still passed on to the next generation. Being human still meant the children’s being was sinful, causing their very own human sinful deeds to occur. No one can accuse their parents of the evil deeds they themselves did. Likewise, no one was covered by the good deeds their fathers did either. Jeremiah, in effect, was announcing that God only has children, not grandchildren.

Ezekiel was commanded to say the same thing to God’s people. He says: “The word of the Lord came to me: ‘What do you mean by repeating this proverb concerning the land of Israel, ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge’? As I live, declares the Lord God, this proverb shall no more be used by you in Israel. Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine: the soul who sins shall die.’” (Ezekiel 18:1–4 ESV)

Ezekiel goes on to say: “The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.” (Ezekiel 18:20 ESV)

This was a hard message that Jeremiah and Ezekiel had to pass on to God’s children in Israel and Judah. So why would these preachers of God’s word take this message to God’s people, knowing that they would not be looked upon favourably?

The answer can be found in what God tells Ezekiel: “’Son of man, eat whatever you find here. Eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.’ So I opened my mouth, and he gave me this scroll to eat. And he said to me, ‘Son of man, feed your belly with this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it.’ Then I ate it, and it was in my mouth as sweet as honey.” (Ezekiel 3:1–3 ESV)

The sweetness of God’s word made Ezekiel and Jeremiah strong so they would not compromise on telling the people what God had to say to them.

However, all this was a preface to a new covenant that was to come. In this covenant, those who receive the word of God are taught by God. This new covenant was not a covenant from the fathers, passed down by the fathers. This covenant was a covenant of forgiveness to those who see their sour grapes and have their teeth put on edge, so that they turn and receive the sweet forgiveness of God.

Jeremiah says: “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, … I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbour and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” (Jeremiah 31:31, 33b-34 ESV)

The prophecy of a new covenant was given; it would preserve God’s people despite their sin. Like vinegar and sugar preserve pickles, humanity would be preserved by this new covenant. But how, and when?

Some four hundred years passed, then Jesus came as the sweetness of God and persevered in pleasing Him. He gave up the holiness of heaven, to be born into the sour sewer of humanity. He received the Holy Spirit and preserved the holiness of God in human flesh, that in all others had soured the source of sanctification or holiness.

Yet He allowed Himself to be pickled in the sight of God. Despite His sweetness, His preservation of God’s sanctity, He allowed Himself to be soured on the cross. He said, “They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink.” (Psalm 69:21 ESV) A hyssop branch, meant to cleanse a person in the old covenant, was dipped in sour wine and given to Him to wet His mouth. Our sinful nature thrust the spear into His side, and like pouring vinegar in milk, the water and blood separated like curds and whey as they gushed from His side.

Jesus didn’t drink the sour wine! He took on the sourness of sin, so we can savour the sweetness of salvation — your only source of salvation! In this new covenant you have been given the Holy Spirit, who works to feed you on the holy honey of God’s sweet word, to give faith, to feed faith. The more you eat, the sweeter it gets.

Like Jesus Christ, you too can love all scripture and declare: “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way.” (Psalm 119:103–104 ESV)

Rather than chase the saccharine sickly sweet of the self only to lose the sweet source of eternal salvation, remain in Jesus Christ, in his sweet and sour which he endured to preserve you!  Let the sweetness of God’s word show you your sour and false ways, so the Holy Spirit can daily return you to the cross of Christ.  Don’t let the sweet word of God become bitter in the bellies of those who seek to lead you with God’s word, through a world that’s gone off.  All that’s off will be thrown out when Christ returns!  Persevere in his preservation!

Like a child eating sour lollies, allow the Holy Spirit to help you chew over God’s word to receive the sweetest benefit of the end. Allow faith to be found when Jesus Christ returns. Things are sour now, but sweet salvation is coming.  Like the widow, trust that God our good judge will lead you from the sourness of the sinful self to the sweetness of salvation through the source of holiness, sanctification through Holy Spirit, for Jesus’ sake. Amen. 

C, Post-Pentecost 18, Proper 23 - 2 Timothy 2:8-15 "Chewing the Fat of Faith"

Perhaps you’ve heard the saying, “chewing the fat”. This is what people do when they sit round the campfire, the bar with a beer, or at the kitchen table — killing time, talking, perhaps gossiping, or just discussing the day’s events in a bid to overcome boredom. One chews the fat by having a chat with someone else. Chewing the fat is usually done with friends.

But from where did such a saying arise? Is chewing the fat a healthy thing to do, or not? Or is chewing the fat neither good nor bad — just a way of remembering and reminding, a mental regurgitation, coughing up what was once buried deep within the mind?

There are a number of legends that seek to explain how the phrase “chewing the fat” entered common speech. However, in recent times there’s an army of health experts warning people off eating fat. To eat lean, they say, is to live a serene, healthy life. One must deny oneself fat, let alone chewing the fat.

Yet this is what soldiers would do to pass the time of tension and boredom before battle broke out. They would chew on tough salted meat or fat to distract the mind and socialise with one another — in the calm before the storm, to keep calm.

Or “chewing the fat” may have been a saying that arose from people doing so in times of food scarcity or on long voyages across the ocean, chewing the fat to get every last morsel of goodness out of a limited supply of food. Even so, it was still a communal activity.

Another possibility is that the saying came from a Native American cultural practice where, during peace talks, “chewing the fat” was a ritual.

Another possible derivation is that “chewing the fat” may have come from another saying, “chewing the rag”, where musket ammunition was kept in paper or cloth soaked in animal fat, which was bitten off when loading the musket. It is thought that the bitten‑off ends of rag or paper soaked in fat would then be chewed to reduce nerves amid the battle. Here again, chewing the fat was a communal exercise amongst comrades.

Saint Paul calls himself a soldier bound in chains as he encourages Timothy also to be a good soldier. He says to Timothy, “Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound!” (2 Timothy 2:3,8–9 ESV)

Chewing the fat, like chewing gum, requires muscle memory. Paul encourages Timothy to chew over the word of God, which is not bound as he is bound. Remember Jesus Christ, remember his resurrection, remember he is the offspring of David, remember my preaching of these things — which is my gospel, for which I am suffering. Make it yours too! Chew over the word of God, remember the word of God.

Although “chewing the fat” of God’s word is not literally tearing pages from the Bible and eating them, the symbolic saying does bring to light an issue from Old Testament law. The fat was the most valuable part of a sacrificial animal; eating it, let alone constantly chewing it, was forbidden. The fat and the blood belonged to God:

“And the priest shall burn them (that is, the fat on the entrails, together with the kidneys, the liver, and the fat covering them) on the altar as a food offering with a pleasing aroma. All fat is the Lord’s. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations, in all your dwelling places, that you eat neither fat nor blood.” (Leviticus 3:16–17 ESV)

There would be no literal eating or “chewing of the fat” in Jewish practice. Yet today we eat and drink the body and blood of Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh. We remember what Christ did to be our Saviour at the cross as we eat his physical and spiritual body and drink his physical and spiritual blood, hidden in the elements of bread and wine. In this we gather as congregation to remember Jesus Christ, to chew the fat, one could say!

Paul, imprisoned, encourages Timothy to share in these things with him despite being separated by prison bars and fifteen hundred kilometres as the crow flies — and further if on foot. Likewise, we gather not just here, nor just at this time, nor just as a parish, nor as a Lutheran denomination, but with angels, archangels, and the whole company of heaven as we are faithfully gathered by the Holy Spirit to “chew the fat” of God’s word, and his Word made flesh in the body and blood of Jesus Christ.

This is a mystery that takes Holy Spirit‑given faith to grasp, and it also takes Holy Spirit‑given faith to pass on to others so they too can “chew the fat” of this faith mystery and receive salvation.

Paul also reminds Timothy of this, since he is a minister of these mysteries at Ephesus. In his first letter to Timothy, Paul lists what is required of Timothy and others who serve, saying: “if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth. (1 Timothy 3:15 ESV)

Then Paul calls Timothy to chew over the following trustworthy saying: “Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.” (1 Timothy 3: 16 ESV)

Now in his second letter he gives Timothy another piece of truth to chew over as he says: The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself.” (2 Timothy 2:11–13 ESV)

On hearing this saying at first you might hear the law of God, as Paul says, “if we deny Jesus, Jesus also will deny us.” This certainly is a dire place to be! I imagine none of us want to be denied by Jesus Christ. Chewing the reality of being Christless is more hopeless than an Anzac assault from the trenches of Gallipoli.

However, I want us to hear the inclusive language of Paul to Timothy: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself.” (2 Timothy 2:11–13 ESV)

One might think the last statement, “he remains faithful — for he cannot deny himself”, is not inclusive. However, Paul wants Timothy to chew over the richness that has been given to all: to him, Timothy, the congregation at Ephesus, and to us as well. Even though Jesus can deny us when we deny him, and leave us to our own devices, to discipline us, he will always be faithful to us, because the Holy Spirit has been planted in us in baptism. The Holy Spirit reminds us to remember and endure — or remain — in Jesus Christ, and to chew over the truth that allows us to reign with Jesus. Although it is hidden and only seen by faith this side of our physical death and resurrection.

Where Paul calls Timothy to remember Jesus, his works of denying and being faithful, now he encourages Timothy to continue being faithful to his call as pastor at Ephesus, saying: “Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers. Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:14–15 ESV)

Paul calls Timothy to rightly handle the word of truth, by remembering and reminding. Like a cow chewing its cud, Paul remembers and reminds as he “chews the fat of the faith”. He calls Timothy to do so too. And Paul does this so the church can continue to be gathered and pass on the faith, chewing the fat of God’s richness in Jesus Christ, given and shed for the salvation of souls, so people might participate in the reception of God’s peace. To “chew the fat”, to receive the peace of God.

As we hear Paul speak to Pastor Timothy too, we’re called to chew the fat of faith for our eternal peace as well. We’re called to remember and remind others of God’s faithfulness to us. To gather with our friends and family, our colleagues and neighbours, to chew the fat of our faith and peace. Be it sitting round a campfire, at the bar with a beer, or at the meal table — killing time, talking, demonstrating our desire to glorify God, as we discuss the day’s events in the light of our salvation from sin as we patiently wait for Jesus’ return.

Amen.