{"id":1566,"date":"2022-12-22T17:52:56","date_gmt":"2022-12-22T23:52:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/nourishing-vocation\/?p=1566"},"modified":"2022-12-22T17:52:56","modified_gmt":"2022-12-22T23:52:56","slug":"engaging-the-living-word-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/nourishing-vocation\/2022\/12\/engaging-the-living-word-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Engaging the Living Word"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-modular-content-collection><h4 style=\"text-align: center;\">The Nourishing Vocation Project<\/h4>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\">Engaging the Living Word<\/h4>\n<h5 style=\"text-align: center;\"><i>Matthew 6:19-21\u00a0<\/i><\/h5>\n<p><b>What is this particular text?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Teaching\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Part of the Sermon on the Mount\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Metaphor <\/span>\n<ul>\n<li>Treasures = righteousness<\/li>\n<li>Rust, moth, thieves = unrighteousness<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Theology\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>How does the text function within the scriptural story? <\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Distinguishes between temporal and eternal values <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Distinguishes between human and divine righteousness\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b> <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Embedded among other teachings, it reveals what the reign of God is like\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b> <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A part of the summary of Jesus\u2019 teaching\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b> <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Illustrates Jesus preferential option for divine reversal\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b> <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ups the ante on the Law\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>How can this text function in the church today?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b> <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Invitation to consider and evaluate our values\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b> <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Call to ask ourselves what we value and why\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b> <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Call to ask how we might be moth, rust, and thieves for others\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b> <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A text both for personal devotion and reflection and corporate devotion and reflection\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>What does the text do to you? How do you react to the text? What feelings does this text engender in you?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Feels like a mirror\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Makes me uncomfortable\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Raises questions about my own values\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Helps me see how I need Jesus; I can\u2019t do this alone\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>What do you have to say to the text?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Help me, Jesus\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This isn\u2019t as easy as it sounds\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is easy to \u201csee this problem\u201d in others; not so easy to see it in myself\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My first response was \u201cbut <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2026<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It can be a challenge to be \u201cheavenly minded\u201d and still of \u201cearthly good\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>What do you see through this text from the story itself?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b> <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not all values are equal\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b> <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sometimes we need to shift our focus\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b> <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sometimes where we invest our time and energy is destructive<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>What do you see from within your church\/community\/world? (2022)\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b> <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We might be the moths, rust, and thieves in someone else\u2019s life\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b> <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is hard to honestly re-evaluate your values\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b> <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We can try to justify systemically bad practices by pretending that they are \u201cfor good\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Churches\/communities holding tightly to \u201ctreasures\u201d of the past\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b> <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Churches\/communities holding tightly to systems that harm others\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Crises of our current time <\/span>\n<ul>\n<li>Systemic injustice<\/li>\n<li>Systemic racism<\/li>\n<li>Creation\/climate justice<\/li>\n<li>Growing economic disparity<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>What do you see within yourself?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Personal treasures that are not worth treasuring\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Things that I value that are not life-giving for me or others\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cRusty and moth-eaten\u201d treasures\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>What is the context \u2013 textual and historical?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A part of the Sermon on the Mount <\/span>\n<ul>\n<li>After teaching on prayer and fasting<\/li>\n<li>Before teaching on the \u201ceye is the lamp,\u201d serving two masters, and not worrying <span>o <\/span><span>Near the end of the Sermon on the Mount\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Similar to themes in Luke 12:33-34\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>What questions does this text raise for you?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How do we store up treasures for ourselves?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What is moth?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What is rust?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Who\/what behavior is that of thieves?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How are heart and treasure practically connected?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>What words\/themes seem of particular import?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Store up\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Treasures\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Moth, rust, thieves\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Heaven\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Heart\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>What is the Gospel \/ transforming Good News within this text?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There is a treasure that will not be destroyed\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><i> <\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">God\u2019s righteousness is not the same as earthly righteousness\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><i> <\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">God\u2019s righteousness is eternal\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><i> <\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">God\u2019s righteousness leads to life\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>What is the as-over-againstness of this text?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b> <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Earthly righteousness is destructible<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We can be moth, rust, or thieves\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some things that we value are destructible\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Our hearts are easily captivated by what we think is treasure\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Who does this text say that Jesus is, or if not Jesus, then who does this text say that God is? What does this text say about God?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Treasure\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The heart\u2019s true treasure\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The One who calls us to treasure righteousness\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>What have others said about this text?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201c<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How does our faith matter for <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">how we use our money? And that\u2019s not just the money we give, but the money we spend, where we spend, how we spend, the attitude with which we spend and receive. How does our faith impact that part of our lives?\u201d \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.workingpreacher.org\/podcasts\/nl162-treasure-in-heaven\">Rolf Jacobson<\/a>, Professor of Old Testament and Alvin N. Rogness Chair in Scripture, Theology, and Ministry, Luther Seminary\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jesus \u201cturns his attention to our relationship with material things<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">,<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> instructing us that seeking treasure, in any form, will distract us from God. Our attention follows our treasure, and so we are to be careful what we store up<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2026<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. All of Jesus\u2019 instructions, including the Lord\u2019s Prayer, have to do with fixing our attention on God. We\u2019re not to get distracted by how other people see us, or the impression we\u2019re making. We\u2019re not to try to impress anyone with our spiritual lives, or our material goods. Jesus is calling us to a rare kind of focus on God, in all that we do.\u201d \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/revgalblogpals.org\/2015\/01\/27\/narrative-lectionary-humble-pie-matthew-67-21\/\">Mary Austin<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The order of the clauses in verse 21 often strike readers as backwards<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Wouldn\u2019t we rather say that our treasures are expressions of our hearts, rather than our hearts following our treasure? But Jesus expresses a more challenging truth for us \u2014 our hearts are easily swayed by treasure, and it therefore becomes all the more important that we seek and store the right treasure to begin with, for our hearts are sure to follow. \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.workingpreacher.org\/commentaries\/revised-common-lectionary\/ash-wednesday\/commentary-on-matthew-61-6-16-21\">Scott Schauf<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>What will I teach or proclaim?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jesus is the true treasure\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Heavenward attention changes earthbound behavior\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Our hearts follow our treasures\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Practice righteousness\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What do you treasure?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your treasure, treasures you. Now what?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/nourishing-vocation\/files\/2022\/09\/Matthew-6.19-21.docx-1.pdf\">Downloadable PDF Version<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Nourishing Vocation Project Engaging the Living Word Matthew 6:19-21\u00a0 What is this particular text?\u00a0 Teaching\u00a0 Part of the Sermon on the Mount\u00a0 Metaphor Treasures = righteousness Rust, moth, thieves [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8561,"featured_media":1212,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1566","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wp.stolaf.edu\/nourishing-vocation\/files\/2022\/11\/NurishingGraphicF-fullimage-e1692651216451.jpg?fit=500%2C375&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/nourishing-vocation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1566","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/nourishing-vocation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/nourishing-vocation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/nourishing-vocation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8561"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/nourishing-vocation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1566"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/nourishing-vocation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1566\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1568,"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/nourishing-vocation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1566\/revisions\/1568"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/nourishing-vocation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1212"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/nourishing-vocation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1566"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/nourishing-vocation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1566"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/nourishing-vocation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1566"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}