Each photo below corresponds to a chapter-a-day post for the book of Matthew published by Tom Vander Well in March and April 2025. Click on the photo linked to each chapter to read the post.
Matthew (Mar-May 2025)
Tag Archives: Matthew
The Deeper Need
The Deeper Need (CaD Lk 5) – Wayfarer
When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”
Luke 5:20 (NIV)
I have a sticker on my iPad cover of Caravaggio’s The Calling of Matthew. It’s one of my favorite works of art both because no artist has brought the dramatic moment to life than then the troubled Italian. And, it’s one of my favorite stories in all of the Great Story because of what it represents.
In today’s chapter, Jesus continues his Miracle Ministry Tour as the crowds of followers continue to grow. Twice, again, in today’s chapter Luke mentions the swelling and astonished crowds as Jesus prompts a miraculous catch of fish, heals a leper and then a man with paralysis.
But underneath the obvious miracles and the public spectacle, Jesus begins to hint at something deeper.
When the paralytic man is lowered through the roof to reach Jesus, Jesus initiates the encounter, not by healing his physical paralysis, but by forgiving his sins and healing what sin had done to his soul. For the first time, the religious leaders get bent out of shape, because they know only God can forgive sins. Jesus uses the conflict as a teaching moment, healing the man’s physical paralysis as well.
In the very next episode Luke shares, Jesus calls the local tax collector to be one of his disciples. Remember that Jesus’ base of operations in Capernaum is a diverse population of both Jews and non-Jewish (aka Gentile) residents who were Greek an/or Roman pagans. Levi was considered a traitor by his fellow Jews because he worked for Rome and got rich off the taxes he charged and collected. I’ll bet Levi made sure Peter made a hefty tax payment on that miraculous catch from earlier in the chapter. Jesus’ choice of Levi (aka Matthew) could not have been popular with his growing crowd of Jewish followers.
Jesus, however, ignores His Jewish critics and visits Levi’s house for a dinner party. Being a tax collector Levi rubbed shoulders with other tax collectors as well as prominent Romans and Greeks who were pagans who also lived in Capernaum. Jesus’ own people considered these people dirty and socially unacceptable. Simon, James, and John would never have crossed the threshold of Levi’s doors so as to show consideration for the Roman traitor or to be contaminated by the Gentile “dogs” he considered friends.
But Jesus did. I think The Chosen captures the moment well:
Once again, the good Jewish religious leaders are appalled by this Miracle Man. He certainly does miraculous things, but He refuses to stay in the well established and accepted Jewish lane.
Jesus response? “The healthy (God’s people) don’t need a doctor, but the lost sheep (Levi) and sinners (Levi’s Gentile friends) do.” Jesus’ choice to dine with Levi and his Gentile friends would have made Him a pariah to his Jewish followers, but would have won a lot of friends among their Gentile neighbors who were typically treated with contempt by the Jewish residents.
In both the forgiving of the paralytic, the calling of Levi, and his attendance at Levi’s dinner party, Jesus is firing a shot across the bow of the religious establishment. He can heal people all day long, but a paralytic who now walks makes just another walking sinner in need of a remedy for his spiritual affliction. Jesus’ mission is to bring spiritual freedom and healing to every tribe and nation and people and language.
In the quiet this morning, I confess that for many years I ran in certain Christian circles, and the religious establishment among those Christian circles were no different than the Jewish establishment of Jesus’ day. I was told to avoid modern-day Levis and their non-Christian ilk, just like Jesus. The further I got in my journey as a disciple of Jesus, the further away I was led from those religious establishments.
I love that Jesus was so bold in crossing religious and cultural boundaries right out of the gate. I love God’s heart, that all the way back in Genesis looked at everything that He created and loved it. Being a disciple of Jesus has led me to believe that any human religion that does not reflect the love of God for all of His creation does not reflect the heart of God.
If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.
Peeps and Projections
Peeps and Projections (CaD Job 23) – Wayfarer
“If only I knew where to find him;
if only I could go to his dwelling!”
Job 23:3 (NIV)
It’s been a lovely and lazy Labor Day weekend for Wendy and me. For years, we’ve had a standing date with some of our favorite peeps at the lake. After years of doing it together, it’s has become an annual waypoint to mark both the change of seasons and as well as another year on this life journey. It’s always a joy.
As I had kind of switched off from my normal routine, one of the things I allowed myself to do was to explore a little more deeply into social media. I read things people were posting and tweeting, and then read replies. I read things from “influencers” on both sides of the political spectrum. It didn’t take long for me to back out and walk away. I was appalled at what I read. All of it.
One of the things that stood out to me on my brief sojourn into the medium was the projections individuals make about those with whom they disagree. It’s not just the name calling, the demonizing, and what is ass-u-med about others that struck me (though that’s bad enough). It was also the simplistic projection of motives that amazed me. How easily we follow media into reducing complex issues and individuals into simple binaries in which we feel justified judging, hating, and dismissing.
One of the things that I’ve always loved about Jesus’ choice of The Twelve was the fact that He chose both a liberal Roman sympathizer (Matthew) and a militant ultra-conservative (Simon the Zealot). There’s a brilliant scene in The Chosen in which Jesus sends out The Twelve on assignment. The whole scene is brilliant and worth 15 minutes of your time, but around the 11:30 mark in the clip Jesus pairs Matthew and Simon together for the journey. It’s classic:
This all came to mind this morning as I read Job’s response to his friend, Eli’s, latest discourse. What struck me about Job’s commentary were the projections Job was casting on God. The most stark projection was that God was somehow in hiding from Job:
“But if I go to the east, he is not there;
if I go to the west, I do not find him.
When he is at work in the north, I do not see him;
when he turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of him.”
This is such a stark contrast to the lyrics of David’s psalm 139:
Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
All of the Great Story sides with David on this one. In his letter to Jesus’ followers in Colossae, Paul reveals Jesus as the force that holds all matter in the universe together (Col 1:17). In short, there is no where that one can hide from God. God is omnipresent. Asking for God to be present is sort of like asking oxygen to be present. The very request ignores an obvious reality.
ln view of this, it seems that Job’s suffering and his tragic circumstances have created in him a case of acute spiritual myopia. I can see the symptoms throughout the chapter. Not only does Job project that God is somehow in hiding, but he also projects that God has it out for him (vs. 14), that God wants to cause more bad things to happen to him (vs. 14).
Not that I blame Job for this. The Great Story also reveals that trials and sufferings are part of the process of spiritual formation and maturation. Job’s acute spiritual myopia is simply a symptom of this process. Struggle is a natural part of the growth process.
In the quiet this morning, I think back to this weekend with our peeps. Ten years ago our friends were struggling through pregnancies, babies, and young children. The establishing of careers and settling of homes. They are now struggling through the parenting of teenagers and preteens, mid-course career choices, and the impending realities of kids in college and aging parents. What I observed, however, was just how much each of our friends have grown, matured, and changed in that time. Each is more self-aware. Wisdom has been gained. Perseverance, patience, faith, and hope are present in each of them in greater measure. Perhaps most important, love is present in greater measure. I observe that we more intimately know both one another’s strengths and weaknesses. In this knowledge, we are able to serve one another out of our strengths, and shore up one another in their weaknesses.
I contrast this with Job and his three amigos. When it comes to my struggles in life, I’m glad we have great friends. Instead of pointing fingers, casting blame, and projecting assumptions, they reach out with gracious and generous helping hands.
If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.
July Fun at the Lake
Wendy and I got to spend some time at the lake in late June and early July. We were joined by our friends Kev & Beck and their kids for the weekend before the 4th of July. We enjoyed all of the normal summer fun with trips to Bear Bottom and the Red Head. We also enjoyed visiting friends David and Lola who have a place on the lake, as well. Kev, Beck and the kids had to take off on the afternoon of the 4th, but we were able to enjoy fireworks from Captain Ron’s together on the evening of the 3rd. Always lots of fun with that crew.
Wendy and I worked remotely from the lake that week and then enjoyed a weekend visit from Matthew and Sarah. We packed our two days together with dinner at Captain Ron’s, laying out on the chill raft, steaks on the grill, a trip to Bear Bottom, lots of conversation, and a movie night watching The Shack.
The Latest 09-13-2015
Wendy and I have spent less time at the lake this summer than ever since buying my folks’ place back in 2008. There are a number of reasons for the reduction in lake-time including our increased involvement in Tulip Time, our trip to Scotland to see Taylor, Taylor’s move back home, a new house that still requires a number of projects to get settled and finished, my parents transitioning into a retirement community, three weddings in August, and Suzanna’s final summer home and launch to college. As summer wanes, we figured we’d better get in some time down south before it’s too late.
We headed to Missouri on Tuesday, Sep 1st. Wendy and I worked from the lake and did some much needed cleaning up before our friends Matthew and Sarah joined us for Labor Day weekend. Matthew and Sarah were celebrating their three week anniversary (one of the weddings in August) and since they didn’t take a honeymoon after the ceremony this provided them with a much needed getaway for the two of them.
As soon as Matthew and Sarah arrived we jumped in the boat and headed to Bear Bottom for an afternoon of sun and fun in the pool. It was a gorgeous weekend and Saturday was also spent in the sun, this time off the dock. We had a fabulous grilled steak dinner on Saturday evening followed by watching the movie A Little Chaos (highly recommend). Sunday morning was spent in some amazing conversation before our friends headed home.
Wendy and I stayed behind and enjoyed some time to ourselves, though we continued to work while we were there. We were hoping for more sun on Labor Day, but the weather didn’t cooperate. We laid out on the dock with our books under overcast skies until it finally began to rain. Later that day we both had an “Awww” moment when we got a text from Taylor saying, “You can come home now!”
The lake gets so amazingly quiet after Labor Day when all the summer revelers have left for the season and only the residents are left. We enjoyed breakfast at local greasy spoon, Chances R, on Tuesday morning. On Wednesday morning we took a nice cruise on the lake (we were the only boat out there) before grabbing pizza at Captain Ron’s for lunch and heading home where we found new sidewalks out front of Vander Well Manor thanks to G&B Concrete.
We got settled back in at home, and Wednesday evening was spent doing handyman duty as we had a couple of nightstands and a desk for Wendy’s office for which there was “some assembly required.” The nightstands were a cinch, but the term “some assembly required” was a bit of an understatement for Wendy’s desk which game in about a half-million pieces. Got ‘er done, however.
Suzanna came home from college for the first time on Friday. It was great to see her. She’s enjoying her freshman year at Hawkeye CC while living on the UNI campus. One of her friends from USP had a birthday party on Friday night and Suzanna came home to surprise her. Wendy and I enjoyed a date night at Kaldera with our friends Dan and Anna on Friday. As always, good food, good friends, and good conversation were a winning combination. We were among the first to arrive and the last to leave our favorite Pella eatery.
Taylor has been house-sitting again this weekend but came home for our routine family breakfast on Saturday morning. Wendy wasn’t up yet so Taylor and I sat out on the patio in the gorgeous early fall sunshine for coffee and conversation. So excited that Taylor has an interview for a job on Wednesday. More on that at a later date.
The one last major project at VW Manor is our lawn. We missed the window for planting grass in the spring. The result has been a muddy, weed infested, wasteland of a yard which I’ve told people was landscaped by the four horsemen of the apocalypse. We’re finally getting that remedied and on Saturday morning Hackert’s had the black dirt delivered and grading began for what will eventually be an actual yard. Seeding should take place early next week.
Saturday morning was clean-up day as Wendy and I prepared to host the VLs and JPs for an Iowa-Iowa State football extravaganza with dinner following. The crew arrived around game time and we set up in the V-Dub Pub downstairs. Wendy and I, Cyclone fans, were outnumbered by black and gold but it was a good natured crowd 😉 At least it was a good tight ball game which kept everyone interested until the final couple of minutes when the Hawkeyes took the lead and the Cyclones imploded. Ahhhh, as a long-time Cubs fan I’m reminded that there’s always next year.
We ordered take out from George’s for dinner and enjoyed ourselves late into the evening.
Speaking of the Chicago Cubs, Wendy and are still excited about baseball in mid-September for the first time in years as our beloved boys of summer make a run towards the post season. Go Cubs, go!
A Gorgeous and Enjoyable Two Weeks
Wendy and I enjoyed our two weeks at the lake, though I admit that I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed as I enter back into the fray. We will have been home less than two days before we take off for a three day business trip to the Twin Cities. So much to do. So little time.
Nevertheless, we can look back at two gorgeous weeks punctuated by wonderful visits from dear friends. In all the years I’ve been going down to the Lake of the Ozarks, I can’t remember a more beautiful two week stretch in August. Usually the temps are above 100 degrees fahrenheit, the lake feels like tepid bath water, and you feel like stepping out of the house is similar to stepping out in an oven. The past two weeks the temps rarely got above the mid-eighties. Cool overnight temps created a sea of mist over the lake, and Wendy even wore a sweatshirt one night on the deck.
During the week Wendy and I did worked to keep projects moving along. The nice thing about working from the lake is that we can take a few hours off in the afternoon, get out on the water, and enjoy the sun. We enjoyed the quiet and togetherness on our week days alone.
The first weekend we enjoyed a visit by our friends, Kevin and Linda. On the second weekend it was our friend Matthew and his daughter, Olivia. As a hobbit might say, “It rained food and drink” until we were “filling up the corners.” There was sweet laughter and great conversation, warm sunshine and cool water.
It’s hard to believe that the summer is almost over. In just ten days we’ll be heading back down for Labor Day weekend and the official end of the high season. Where does the time go?
The Playhouse Opens for the Summer!
Summers mean sun and fun on the water for Wendy and me. This is the time of year that we’re chomping at the bit for summer and the beginning of regular migration of family and friends to join us for time at the Playhouse on Lake of the Ozarks. Wendy and I have already made a couple of trips to get things out of storage, do spring cleaning, and prepare for the season. The weather in March and April was too cool and wet for our liking. And, while Memorial Day weekend is the official start to the summer season at the lake, we got an early start on the festivities when our friends Matthew and Sarah joined us last weekend.
Friday was overcast and drizzly with a cold north wind, but we still found our way down to the dock for snacks and chat while huddling in jackets and blankets. We headed to Cap’n Ron’s for pizza in the evening and then returned to watch Midnight in Paris. More conversation followed while Matthew melted into the couch. This is not surprising. We call it the “Lake Effect” when guests (as Grandma Jeanne puts it) melt into little puddles. I had to give Matthew a hard time because he’d been talking about looking forward to an early morning cup of coffee on the dock, but he slept far later than anticipated!
The sun came out Saturday. While there was a stiff, cold north wind the temps were in the low 70s and the sun was hot. We went out for a long, slow boat ride down to Bare Bottom and back, then ate lunch on the deck and chatted the afternoon away while getting nice and sunburned. We stoked the grill, opened a nice bottle of wine and had surf and turf for dinner: Prime Rib and smoked salmon. While we had discussed watching another movie, the dinner conversation kept us at the table until almost 11:00 p.m.!
As always, time flew too fast and the time to come home came too quickly. We got the place cleaned up and headed home on Mother’s Day. Wendy got calls from the girls and we arrived at home to find a nice card from Madison in the mail and gifts left at the house from Taylor and Clayton.
Let summer begin! The Playhouse is open!! 🙂