Excuses, Excuses, Excuses - Rev. David Pileggi

When the apostles ask Jesus to increase their faith, what are they requesting? A related passage in Habbakuk reads, “The just shall live by his faith (Heb.emunah). This word has a cluster of meanings: trust, belief, persistence, fidelity or faithfulness. By examining the times in which Habbakuk lived (not much different from ours) we can come to a better understanding of what it means for us to live by His faithfulness.

The Feast of Michael and All Angels draws our attention to the nature of spiritual warfare and the battle that intensified with satan’s rage at Jesus’ enthronement. This Feast Day highlights an aspect of the gospel which is more than receiving our great salvation by faith. It gives us our marching orders as agents of King Jesus, calling us to advance His influence and authority over the enemy. Although we’re caught up in the hostilities, the Book of Revelation assures us that despite any causalities along the way, our resilience and testimony will overcome.

The story of Abraham, especially the binding of Isaac, has become closely associated with the Feast of Trumpets/Rosh Hashanah. Abraham was promised great blessing, yet his life was full of challenges and hardships from start to finish. At the beginning, God asked him to give up his past and go to a foreign land … somewhere. Even towards the end of his life the testing wasn’t over. Abraham was asked to give up his future–his beloved son, Isaac. After undergoing so much why did God continue to test him? Why does the Lord continue to test us? And what’s the connection with the blowing of the shofar?

As we approach the season of repentance and intercession in the biblical/Jewish calendar, we turn our focus to mercy and justice and to God who is both. In the discourse on Mt. Sinai, Moses did not relent from interceding before God for a sinful people revealing some essential truths about the cost and the power of intercession.

We often find ourselves in messy entanglements in our families, work, and more, that seem to be beyond our control. These situations often confuse and immobilize us from living the way that God desires. Today’s readings (highlighting Moses, Jesus, and Paul) shed light on how we can live faithfully in the midst of life’s complications.

In our readings today, the message of Jeremiah could not be more timely. Too often we ignore His refreshing, flowing water and build our own leaky cisterns. So in repentance we are called to reject these forms of idolatry (anything we treasure and depend upon more than Him) and return to a joyful relationship with our Father, our Sustainer. Let us pray that He will bring to light those things, even the most subtle, that keep us from drawing near to be forgiven, cleansed and transformed by His Holy Spirit.

When we read about Jesus confronting a rural, unlearned synagogue official over Sabbath observance we can easily misunderstand Jesus’ teaching about the 7th day of the week and also His teaching on the Torah in general. This incident raises questions on how we Christians should approach the Sabbath. Does it have more value for us than simply a day of rest? Our communities can gain invaluable insights from some of the great Jewish theologians of the past. These insights are not only biblical but point to a deeper understanding that can take us beyond the usual Sabbath controversies.

Jesus warns us that judgment will come. We cannot expect peace when we continue to run from God's peace. Declaring that we have peace where there is none will never bring us closer to peace. But in the warning of judgment, there is hope for peace.

Jesus commands us, “Do not be afraid!” and He gives the very best reason – the Father has given us the Kingdom. This reality enables us to deal with our fears that grow out of past experiences and a worry that God or others are keeping something good from us. Yet the teaching of Jesus is not a naive irresponsibility but a transformation of these fears. Using examples from the lives of Jewish scholar David Flusser and Pope John Paul II, we illustrate how to deal with fear – both big and small.

The latest round of wars in the Middle East (Gaza, Lebanon, Iran, Yemin and Syria) has produced international outrage and has led to a dangerous rise in anti-Semitism around the world. Many in the Church are largely indifferent, while in other parts of the Christian community a huge amount of energy is being expended either criticizing or supporting Israel. Yet one thing seems to be lacking. There is little genuine lament as modeled for us by the Psalms and other books in the Bible. On this very day that Israel mourns the destruction of the two temples, we ask what the Book of Lamentations can teach us today.