kcjim

In some cultures, church leaders are seen as "conciliators" or "moderators," bringing resolution of problems in consensus-building ways, so often pastors avoid confrontation until absolutely necessary, or even avoid it completely, seeing confrontation as a sign that they failed. Confrontation can make everyone sit up and notice, can make people see that not everything can be compromised away, can teach that there are some absolutes (a song in the 90's says, "there is a line I will not cross"). When we (leaders) refuse to confront when we should, some followers will become discouraged, and God's will may not be done.

Moses blamed God because he had done God's bidding and it had turned out badly. I don't think Aaron and Moses are stubborn, just discouraged and distrustful after their initial defeat. That is why God had to command the second confrontation with Pharoah.

We are afraid to obey God because we are not sure what is in our hearts is truly from God, especially if it is something that will put us in danger or discomfort. We can deal with this by testing our urges against scripture and the counsel of those in our faith circle. Courage is action in the face of fear. Without action nothing gets done, so no leader is without courage.

Jesus' message is harsh in part because it is out of context, in part because the gospel writer wanted to make a strong point, and in part because he needs all the strong followers he can get to continue his message after his death. The call is urgent because a person can never know when his time will come and needs to be ready at any time. Our excuses would seem trivial if Jesus were standing in front of us in person.

The parable announces that the only requirement is to believe - that no matter how bad your circumstances, no matter how heinous your sins, you can be saved. The parable clearly talks about servants (us Christians) being sent out to gather people in, to bring them to Christ. The parable points to the rapture.