Welcome to the January 2024 Archive. You are welcome to read the entire archive, or find a topic on the list below that is of interest to you. Just click the link, and you will be taken directly to the day it was written. Enjoy, and may you know God's peace as you read His Word.
You are welcome to use these writings or pass them on. All we ask is that in all things you remember the Author and give Him the glory, and remember this vessel which He has used to bring them to you. Peggy Hoppes
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Scripture on this page taken from the World English Bible which belongs to the public domain.
A WORD FOR TODAY, January 2024
January 1, 2024
“Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-14, ESV
The end of the year is a time for remembering the stories of the previous year. We do this to learn from our failures and celebrate our successes. We also look toward the future. What will the new year hold? Many people are thinking about the changes they want to make. Have you made any resolutions?
No matter how much we want to change, moving from one year to another does not make us a new person. A clean calendar does not indicate a new life. It takes work and commitment to meet our goals. The truth is that many resolutions that are made at the end of one year rarely make it past the first month of the new year. We should still try, taking just one step at a time, always moving forward even when we fail. Our resolutions can be worthy goals for the new year.
It helps if we join others in their resolutions. Do you have a friend who is also trying to get healthy? Perhaps you can walk together on a regular basis. There are people who can help you organize your finances. You may find encouragement if you keep your friends posted on your progress. Join a group or a class to keep you accountable and learn how to do the things that will move you in the right direction. We’ll get advice we don’t want to hear, but sometimes we need to be pushed, to hear where we are going wrong, so that we can accomplish our goals. We prefer positive feedback, but negative comments given kindly are more valuable than baseless praise. Find a partner who will be honest with you and listen. And remember to take one day at a time.
They say that yesterday is the past, tomorrow is the future, but today is a gift, that’s why it is called the present. We can remember the past and look to the future, but now is all we have. So, as we begin this new year, remember what really matters. Our life is lived now. There are opportunities for growth and change right in front of our noses. We can find the right path by seeking God with our whole hearts. He knows exactly what is in store for us, and promises peace, love, and joy in our Lord Jesus Christ as we become who He created and redeemed us to be.
Our memories and hopes are great, but the present is truly a gift. We only need what we have right now to move from yesterday to tomorrow. So instead of wallowing in the memories or wishing for something new, let’s take today for what it is, embrace the opportunities, and do what we can to make our lives better, remembering that Jesus Christ is with us always. Embrace the now and praise God for His grace that helps us daily to glorify Him with our lives, which is just what our resolutions are meant to do, right?
January 2, 2024
“In that hour the disciples came to Jesus, saying, ‘Who then is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?’ Jesus called a little child to himself, and set him in the middle of them and said, ‘Most certainly I tell you, unless you turn and become as little children, you will in no way enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Whoever therefore humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.’” Matthew 18:1-4, WEB
Some once suggested that all of us who made New Year’s resolutions should reconsider. “DON'T MAKE NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS. At this time of year your body is in low gear for the winter, and you have little willpower. You likely won't be able to keep your resolutions and you will feel like a failure. Instead, wait until Spring Equinox (March 20) to make your resolutions, when the natural cycle will increase your energy and willpower and help you achieve your goals.” There is definitely wisdom in the words. I don’t personally have new resolutions except to continue on the path I began a few months ago. I have to admit, though, that despite my motivation to get healthy, the holidays played havoc with my body. I joked with my health care provider that it wasn’t fair to make me take bloodwork in December.
While I’m well on my way to a healthier life, there are always other things we can do to make ourselves better. We think about changing our lives in these days after Christmas because, well, we’ve all overindulged a bit during the past month or so. We know we need to eat better after eating so many sweets and treats since Thanksgiving (or perhaps even since Halloween!) We know we need to exercise, do better with our money, and take care of our relationships. Many have even slacked on our devotional and study time, our work and hobbies. None of us come out of the holidays unscathed and we think that we can immediately change ourselves in a way that will make all things right in the world.
But the wisdom in the above post is true. Because we are tired and weak in flesh and spirit, it is unlikely that we’ll keep those resolutions. We give ourselves much, too much, credit. We need time to heal and to strengthen. If we are to make any resolutions, it should be to return our lives to some sense of normalcy, and then we can pursue the life changes that will make our world a better place. We have to pay all our debts before we start putting extra money away. We have to get rid of the holiday cookies before we can begin a diet of leafy greens. See, we go into the holidays and lose all control, and then on January 1st we try not only to return to the status quo but to go twice as far! That’s like thinking we can run a mile in the wrong direction and yet go back two miles in the right direction in a smaller amount of time.
We think very highly of ourselves, even while we are suffering from the aftereffects of New Year’s Eve, and so we make commitments that we are rarely able to complete. Perhaps instead of reaching toward impossible expectations, we should humble ourselves, first admitting that we are weak and tired and in need of forgiveness. The greatest in the kingdom of heaven is not the one who can resolve to become better, but rather the one who will be like a little child, willing to receive the grace of the Father who can transform our lives. We can’t expect God to remove pounds of fat or fill our bank accounts, we need to do the work to make it happen, but we can trust that He will give us what we need to do what we need to do. And then, as we live in His forgiveness and by His strength, we’ll be able to make the changes that will make things right in our little corner of the world.
January 3, 2024
Lectionary Scriptures for January 7, 2024, Baptism of our Lord or First Sunday after the Epiphany: Genesis 1:1-5; Psalm 29; Romans 6:1-11; Mark 1:4-11
“Thus consider yourselves also to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:11, WEB
I was going through old videos a few months ago and found my son’s baptism. The pastor took advantage of the event by making it a teaching moment. He invited all the children to gather around the font with us and he talked to them about what it means to be baptized.
The baptism liturgy differs from church to church, but here are the words that we hear in mine. “Holy God, mighty Lord, gracious Father: We give you thanks, for in the beginning your Spirit moved over the waters and you created heaven and earth. By the gift of water you nourish and sustain us and all living things. By the waters of the flood you condemned the wicked and saved those whom you had chosen, Noah and his family. You led Israel by the pillar of cloud and fire through the sea, out of slavery into the freedom of the Promised Land. In the waters of the Jordan your Son was baptized by John and anointed with the Spirit. By the baptism of his own death and resurrection your beloved Son has set us free from the bondage to sin and death, and has opened the way to the joy and freedom of everlasting life. He made water a sign of the kingdom and of cleansing and rebirth. In obedience to his command, we make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Pour out your Holy Spirit, so that those who are here baptized may be given new life. Wash away the sin of all those who are cleansed by this water and bring them forth as inheritors of your glorious kingdom. To you be given praise and honor and worship through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, now and forever.” (Prayer at Baptism from the Lutheran Book of Worship.)
I love the way the pastor proclaims God’s use of water in this prayer so that we see the connection of our baptism to the creation, to our sinfulness, to see God’s grace. “He made water a sign of the kingdom and of cleansing and rebirth.” We are called to be instruments of His grace by using water and His Word to make disciples of all nations. This is an act of worship; it is an act of trust and obedience. We believe that God’s voice can put order to the chaos of our world; it can free us from the bondage of sin and death and grants us new life.
There is an Italian artist who has lived in the United States since 1965, developing his style in Florida and Arkansas until he landed in Texas. Like all artists, Benini’s style has changed over the decades, but I love his more recent work. He uses an application process that combines hand blended backgrounds and selectively dropped acrylics in controlled patterns. These paintings are very geometric and often monochrome, with clean lines while still being almost chaotic. One series is called “The Face of God.” He used large canvases, 4ft x 6ft, and acrylic paints to create seventeen paintings that are all similar and yet very different. Each painting has an irregular oval in the center of the canvas and is surrounded by splotches of color; each canvas has a different color focus.
Benini said about this series, “The God I was portraying had nothing to do with religious icons or established beliefs - identities man has created from the beginning of man time. It was more a quest for an abstract essence: universal in spirit. I used color, my lifetime ally, with all its powers and varieties.” While I might not agree with Benini’s understanding of God, the paintings are incredibly beautiful, and they draw you into the light at the heart of the painting which his surrounded by a frame of colorful chaos. Many artists have tried to portray those first moments of order in the midst of the chaos at the creation of everything. One artist named Kathryn Davis did a series of paintings called “The Seven Days of Creation.” She represented each day with color, shape and texture using watercolor, pastel, metallic paint, and collage medium.
As I look at these visions of the creation, I wonder how I might represent the seven days with my own point of view and gifts. It isn’t easy, especially the day when God spoke light into the darkness and order into the chaos. How do you capture a formless void and day and night on canvas? How do you take common earthly elements to portray the incredible thing God did on that first day?
I am creative. I have piles of canvas, paints, and brushes around my studio just waiting for images of something. I have piles of craft supplies for other projects. I have paper, pencil, and a computer for creating something in writing. I have lots of ideas in my head, but those ideas are invisible to the world until I reveal them; the only way the world will experience my creativity is to make them tangible. I speak with paint and canvas or with other supplies. I speak with words on the computer. When I speak in words, arts and crafts, my ideas are made concrete and are shared with others. The same is true with God. He had a plan, but He had to put voice to the plan for everything to come into being.
We have new life because God had a plan. In the beginning, the earth was formless and empty. Darkness was on the surface of the deep. We often think of the world before creation as being nothing, and yet the formless void which the scriptures talk about was not empty but filled with dark, deep waters. The wind, or Spirit, of God blew over the face of those waters. This was chaos, a world without light or order. The world was not empty, but it was overwhelmed by darkness, out of control, and hopeless.
The image of that chaos is as frightening as a churning, dark, and stormy sea might be, because there is no order and no light. But God had a vision for the formless void: earth. The text from Genesis says, “God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.” It took only a word and everything changed. The chaotic formless void now had light. Even with nothing else, there is peace in knowing that something, or someone, has dominion over the chaos.
The first day of the is probably one of the hardest things about the creation story for us to wrap our minds around. In the beginning there was nothing. The scriptures call the earth a formless void. What is that? If there was an “earth”, how could it be formless? How could it be void? And how can you recreate something so outside our limited earthly experience? I’ve tried to imagine what my painting would look like and I’m not sure I can even ‘see’ this with my creative eye. A black canvas would not even do well, because it isn’t formless, and it isn’t void.
Yet, as I think about the story of the first day of creation, it seems to me that the formless void is much like an empty canvas. The point of these words is not that God had nothing to work with, but that God had a vision; that vision came to life when He spoke. It took only a word from the mouth of God for the formless void to become light and dark. By His word the light and the dark were divided, and He gave them names. We should not be confused at this point by the use of these names. The celestial bodies have not yet been created. The light and dark, Day and Night, are not as we know them. This aspect of the first day is as difficult to put to canvas as the formless void. The light, the Day, is Christ: love, mercy, hope, grace, joy, generosity, justice, and all things good. The dark, the Night, is the absence of those good things.
The formless void in the creation story is like an empty canvas to God the master painter. His vision of what would be is not limited as ours. We may not be able to find a truly fitting way to put it on canvas, but God spoke all of creation into existence, beginning with the spiritual foundation of all that there is. We don’t hear about Jesus until later, much later, in the history of mankind. Yet, Christ was there, at that moment, and it is through Him all things were created. On the first day God brought to life His imagination, everything He desired for that formless void was started with just a word, His Word.
Art is one way to communicate, music is another, but we all rely on words on a daily basis. We talk to one another, tell stories, share ideas, speak good and bad. I tend to smile at people I’m passing during the day, which is another form of communication. But sometimes a smile is not enough. I was walking into a busy building this morning, smiling at those who were leaving. It was a medical facility, and at least a few of those who passed were dealing with hard news. I don’t know if my smile was appreciated by all, but some responded with words. “Good morning.” “Hello.” “Have a nice day.” I responded kindly. These may seem insignificant, but those small words made each person, including myself, feel seen and valued. Words make a difference, and in the case of God’s Word, it gave life in so many ways.
When someone in my church wants to get the attention of the crowd, they will loudly speak the words, “Peace be with you.” They usually aren’t heard the first time, so they say it again a little louder. A few people hear and mumble, “And also with you.” The person says “Peace be with you” again, and by now most of the crowd is paying attention. They will say “And also with you” a little louder. Finally, the person will say it one last time and everyone will join in the response. These words bring us together.
There’s a comedic scene that is often used in television shows or movies. The scene shows two people trying to talk in the middle of a noisy crowd. One wants to tell the other something important and very personal, but it is nearly impossible for the other person to hear. The person speaks close to the other person’s ear, but it is still unheard. Finally, the person gets so frustrated that he or she screams the words. The scene makes us laugh because a split second before the words leave the person’s mouth, something happens to stop the noise and everyone in the silent room hears. The shout is much louder than anyone might expect, making it doubly humorous to those of us watching. It is usually followed by the comment, “You don’t have to shout.”
Public speakers learn how to talk so that they will be heard, especially if they are facing a room that has uncontrollable noise. In most cases, it is best to speak with a normal voice: not too loud or too soft. Sometimes it is helpful to use a soft voice, making it necessary for the listeners to focus on hearing the words. This is especially true in groups with young children. Teachers learn quickly that raising their voice only raises the noise level in the room. It is sometimes better to talk in a whisper because the children realize that the words being said might be important and the only way to hear them is to be quiet.
One of my favorite passages of scripture is the story of Elijah in 1 Kings 19 when he was running away from Jezebel. He made it to a cave on a mountain to wait for a word from the Lord. He heard a great and powerful wind that tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks, but God was not in the wind. Then there was an earthquake, but God was not in the earthquake. Then came a fire, but God was not in the fire. Finally, there was a gentle whisper. Then Elijah knew the Lord had come to speak with him.
We hear God in the still small voice, the gentle whisper. There are other ways that God speaks to us that are quiet and subtle like through the creation and the love of other believers. How often do we miss that small voice because we are so busy listening to the chaos in our lives? The psalmist reminds us, however, that God also talks with a powerful voice, fully of majesty. His voice breaks the cedars and shakes the wilderness. A quiet voice does not rattle the world, a thunderous voice does. Sometimes God speaks in a way that will get our attention. As I have dealt with my health issues over the past few months, I’ve realized that God used His powerful voice to get my attention. He spoke and I’ve responded.
The psalmist wrote, “Yahweh’s voice is on the waters.” This brings us back to the image of God at the beginning of creation, speaking order into the chaos and something out of that formless void. He has not stopped speaking into the world He has created. His voice still makes the world tremble. But, even more so, He gives strength to His people. We have nothing about which to be afraid. God is King and He will bless us with peace. It is His voice we hear during the baptismal liturgy.
It begins with the Spirit moving over the waters when God created heaven and earth. Water nourishes and sustains us. The liturgy tells of the flood that condemned the world and the grace that saved Noah and his family. It goes on to talk about the Red Sea that parted to allow Israel to escape slavery. It reminds us that Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan. In baptism we join Jesus in His death and resurrection, saved from sin and death by Jesus who set us free. Water is a sign of the kingdom and of cleansing and rebirth. We join the church historic in obedience to His command to make disciples of all nations by baptizing, asking God to pour out His Spirit so that by baptism we will have new life. We ask God to wash away our sin so that we can be brought forth as inheritors of your glorious kingdom. We praise God for His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom all this is possible.
In the conversation at the font, the pastor asks the person being baptized or those who were presenting that person, whether they renounce the devil and all the forces that defy God, the powers of this world that rebel against God, and the ways of sin that draw each person from God. It is sad that this has to be a part of such a life-changing moment in that person’s life, but the reality is that evil exists. We know this to be true. The Bible tells us that evil is in the world, and we’ve seen it with our own eyes. We have suffered from the sins of others, and we have suffered the consequences of our own sin. We die because of sin, even though that was not God’s intent.
Evil exists because some of God’s creation rejected the light. Evil exists outside the Light; it is the lack of God. Some of God’s creation rejected God, and thus we are left with evil. It did not take very long for the evil ways of those who reject God to draw others away from the light. Even in the Garden of Eden, Paradise, Adam and Eve were swayed to turn from God and to leave the Light. Since that moment, sin has been a part of our world. We can’t fix it. We can’t defeat it. We can’t overcome sin by our own power because it has overpowered us. It was human sin that brought chaos back into the perfect world God created. And yet, in the beginning, God spoke and our salvation was revealed.
With a word, God made the chaos orderly, the darkness light. With just a Word, He changed a formless void into the beginning of His vision for the world. Though it seems like darkness and evil still rule and that the world is still chaotic and void, today’s scriptures remind us in a very real, tangible way that God did not stop speaking. God had a plan to bring order to this world that was filled with sin. The voice of God ripped through the fabric of creation and God incarnate was born.
The Word He spoke on Christmas Day was His Son, Jesus Christ. In today’s Gospel lesson, we meet that Son as He enters fully into the lives of His people through the ministry of John the Baptist. John is the voice crying out in the wilderness, calling God’s people to repentance, making the way for the Lord. The people flock to John no matter who they are: young and old, rich and poor. Those who believed John’s message were baptized in the river Jordan, but even as he did this baptism, he told them that another would come. The one to come would be greater than John, so great that John would not even be worthy of being His slave.
Then Jesus came to the River Jordan and was baptized by John. At that moment, God spoke again; with His voice He divided light and dark. He spoke hope into the world. Mark writes, “Immediately coming up from the water, he saw the heavens parting, and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. A voice came out of the sky, ‘You are my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’” The plan came to fruition when God named Jesus His beloved Son.
The voice of God continues to be heard today and when He speaks, things still happen. The Holy Spirit still hovers over that which is formless and void and brings life, light and peace. We hear God’s voice and believe through the beloved Son who came into the world to be just like you and me. Though He is different, though He is the incarnate Word of God, He came to be one of us, to live as we live, and to die as we die, so that we might become like Him. His voice gives us light and peace. His voice gives us life.
The voice of God continues to be heard today and when He speaks, things still happen. The Holy Spirit still hovers over that which is formless and void and brings life, light and peace. We hear God’s voice and believe through the beloved Son who came into the world to be just like you and me. Though He is different, though He is the incarnate Word of God, He came to be one of us, to live as we live, and to die as we die, so that we might become like Him. His voice gives us light and peace. His voice gives us life.
We have eternal life through our baptisms, but we still face the temptations of the world. Our Father knows how difficult it is for us to walk away from those things that are harmful to our spiritual life. Jesus Christ came in flesh and was tempted so that He could truly identify with the failures of our flesh. However, Jesus did not fall to temptation; He remained perfect and true to the Word of God no matter what Satan offered Him. His understanding of the grace and mercy of God was so perfect, that He was able to keep from sin. By His death and resurrection, we are forgiven our failures and given the freedom to live in His grace and mercy.
We join in His death and resurrection through our baptism. Cleansed by the waters and the Word, we are made new creatures, no longer under the hold of sin and death, but embraced by the God who knew what we needed long before we needed it. We still dwell in a world filled with chaos and darkness, and we still need God’s grace because we continue to fall. Paul tells us that faith changes things. We walk in newness of life, and though forgiveness continues to be ours, we are reminded not to live as if we have never been baptized. We are no longer lost in the chaos and darkness; we dwell in the Light. We are dead to sin, called to trust and obey His Word as inheritors of His glorious Kingdom.
Though we are not Jesus the Beloved, we are beloved children of God. The Light shines in, with and through our lives when God speaks our name. On this Sunday as we remember the baptism of Jesus, we are called to remember our own baptisms. And yet, we should not simply recall the experience of getting wet in church one day.
Martin Luther said, “Remember your baptism.” He was not calling us to remember the event or the day. He was reminding us to remember God’s Word that came to us at that day. In the words “You are my beloved child,” we have the assurance of God’s grace we need to get through each day. We will struggle because we live in a fallen world. We will face difficult times. The Gospel is no more acceptable now than it was to Jesus’ contemporaries. Yet we know, as we remember our baptism that we can live the words of the psalmist who said, “Yahweh will give strength to his people. Yahweh will bless his people with peace.” In that peace we can go out and make disciples of all nations, sharing His grace so that others will see the Light that overcomes the chaos and darkness of this world.
When Martin Luther said the simple statement, “Remember your baptism,” he was telling us to daily remember God’s voice and the Word that came to us at the font. At your baptism God said, “You are my beloved child.” He named you His own and sealed our life with His Holy Spirit. He spoke and your world was changed. The Light from the first day of creation has entered into your life and though the chaos continues, you can dwell in His peace because by His grace you are made dead to sin and darkness forever through the forgiveness and reconciliation that was part of His plan from the beginning.
January 4, 2024
“For you formed my inmost being. You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful. My soul knows that very well. My frame wasn’t hidden from you, when I was made in secret, woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my body. In your book they were all written, the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there were none of them.” Psalm 139:13-16, WEB
I have been purging our “stuff” over the past few years. Like many households, the cleaning began in earnest during the pandemic when I was stuck at home. We did some remodeling to move my husband to his own office since he was working from home. I had to clean the desk he would use because it was full of miscellaneous things we hadn’t even looked at for years. Once that job was done, I emptied every other drawer, then worked in closest. As a military family that moved often, we never really accumulated “stuff” because we purged every few years. We’d been in this house nearly a decade and I definitely had clutter.
I’m still working on our “stuff”. My husband built some shelves to display some of his collection, and in the process we discovered boxes of our son’s childhood memories. We’ve saved them for the day when he will have children of his own. However, among his possessions was a box of Beanie Babies. He wanted to keep a few things but absolutely did not want those. This caused me to look at my own Beanie Babies, which filled a trunk in a closet. Most of us who collected Beanie Babies thirty years ago did so because they were going to be collectable. Most of them aren’t worth much now. I put aside a few I wanted and gave my daughter the opportunity to choose a few. I will give the rest to charity.
It is hard to give any of them away because despite their relative worthlessness, I have still have that mindset I had when I was collecting them decades ago. I have the one they created when Princess Diana died, which has apparently sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Of course, mine looks a bit worse for wear and it is missing its tag, but people are still trying to sell similar ones for thousands. Imagine what I could buy!
The reality is that collectibles are only worth as much as someone is willing to pay, not what people think they should be worth. I read an article that suggested that many of the prices received on online selling sites are fake. The writer suggested comparing all the sales of a particular bear; if forty-nine sold for $10 and one sold for $1000, it is unlikely that the bear is worth more than $10. Some people will insist that their bear is special because there are errors on the tags making it “rare.” Unfortunately, the things that people claim are “rare” are rarely rare because the company produced thousands of the exact same thing before fixing the error.
Some of my Beanie Babies may be worth more than $10, even some that I’ve put in the box for charity, but I value the ones I’ve kept for other reasons. I’m keeping the Princess Beanie Baby not because it could be worth thousands, but because we were there in England when Diana died. I’m keeping the flamingo because I love flamingos. I’m keeping others because they are just too darn cute to give away. The box they are in is much smaller than the one they had been in, but I wondered last night if I could find room on a shelf to finally put them on display. After all, if I find them of value, should I keep them hidden away in a closet?
We are like Beanie Babies. We are relatively worthless. Some of us might seem to have more value than others, but the reality is that we are only worth what others think we are worth. This is not good news for most of us, because quite frankly most of us put unrealistic value on our lives and the lives of others. Sometimes we think ourselves greater than we are and at other times we do not think we are of any value compared to others. That’s because we are sinners; it is our humanness that sees ourselves and others with skewed vision. Thankfully, God is not human.
Though we might be a Princess Beanie Baby or an untagged common bear, God sees us all with eyes of grace. We are valuable to Him. He loves us because He created us in His image. He has plans for our lives. He saw us as worthy to experience His mercy through His Son who came to live and die for our sake. He has given us all we need to be the people He has called us to be. He has selected us to be His witnesses in this world because He knows the gifts and opportunities that He has planned for us. God values us so much that He dwells within us by His Spirit, walking with us daily. May the words of the Psalmist be ever on our lips as we remember that God values us in ways we could never imagine.
January 5, 2024
“For Yahweh says, ‘Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout for the chief of the nations. Publish, praise, and say, “Yahweh, save your people, the remnant of Israel!” Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the uttermost parts of the earth, along with the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her who travails with child together. They will return as a great company. They will come with weeping. I will lead them with petitions. I will cause them to walk by rivers of waters, in a straight way in which they won’t stumble; for I am a father to Israel. Ephraim is my firstborn.” Jeremiah 31:7-9, WEB
I love to visit those stores that sell lawn statuary like fountains, birdbaths, figurines, park benches and many other things made of rock or cement to decorate a yard. We passed one repeatedly when we lived in Arkansas. I had one particular piece that I wanted. It was a three-piece bench that looked like a razorback. It was painted bright red and was a must have for any University of Arkansas fan. I joked about needing it for our yard every time we passed the store, which was even funnier when we got orders to move to Texas. The Universities of Texas and Arkansas were longtime rivals on the football field. We decided it probably would not be a good idea to get one of those benches for our new house in Texas.
Fan loyalty is strong. I remember having a discussion with a friend shortly after the Super bowl a long time ago. My favorite team was playing his favorite team, and my team won. This was the Super Bowl, the national championship. No matter how many times I made him aware of the situation - that his team had lost - he refused to accept that his team was anything but the greatest. “They are number ONE!” he kept insisting. Greatness is in the eye of the beholder.
It is hard to imagine the nation of Israel as the greatest nation in the world. There was a time when she was prosperous, having fame and wealth that was known around the world, for most of her existence she was nothing more than a people, often oppressed by nations much greater, destroyed by their weapons and controlled by their authorities. She had little to offer the world, but she had the greatest gift to give: the one true and living God. Her greatness had nothing to do with money or power. She was great in the eyes of God.
A football team might have a moment of greatness, but they will eventually lose to another. Yet, those who love the team will cry out in joy, praising their accomplishments until the end of the age. No matter what they do - win or lose - some fans will always consider them the greatest team. The loyalty can even go too far, in that someone from another team will be a source of anxiety and unease. It makes the diehard fan willing to argue the point whether they have good reason or not.
Israel is not considered the greatest anything especially by many in our world today, but she is called the chief of nations in the scriptures. Her greatness is in the eyes of one beholder, the Lord God Almighty. He promised to do great things for His chosen nation, and He has done so. He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, through the weak and powerless so that the weak and powerless would become great. In Christ we who are nothing become heirs to the kingdom of God. When the world looks at Christianity, they see a bunch of sinners in need of a Savior and wonder what is so great about a religion where the main character dies. How can such a religion be great? It is great, not because Christians are perfect or special or powerful, but because God is a loyal fan. He brings us our greatness in Jesus Christ our Lord.
January 8, 2024
“But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, ‘Arise and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel, for those who sought the young child’s life are dead.’ He arose and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in the place of his father, Herod, he was afraid to go there. Being warned in a dream, he withdrew into the region of Galilee, and came and lived in a city called Nazareth; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophets that he will be called a Nazarene. Matthew 2:19-23, WEB
Where do celebrities come from? Their stories are often filled with exciting events, exciting places, and exciting people. It is hard to believe that anyone with fame or talent could come out of some backwoods hick town. It almost seems as if they come out of nowhere into stardom. If you do a search of celebrities, you’ll find that many have been born in California or New York. Yet, there are some who were born and raised in small towns.
Jesus grew up in Nazareth, which was a rather insignificant town. It was not located on any major thoroughfare and was virtually unheard of before Jesus’ time. It may have been a place with a bad reputation because the name Nazareth was synonymous with the word despised. When Jesus was calling His first disciples, Phillip referred to him as “Jesus of Nazareth.” Nathanael responded, “What good can come out of Nazareth?” We all know a town like that, and celebrities often rewrite their stories because they don’t want to admit that they are from a place like that.
How did Jesus come to be from such a small, insignificant town? It was in the plan of God. After the magi finished visiting the home where Joseph, Mary and Jesus were staying, they took a different route to avoid giving Herod the information he sought about the new king. This disturbed Herod, who ordered the murder of all male children under the age of two years old in Bethlehem. The slaughter of these innocent children was meant to destroy his rival.
The Lord warned Joseph and the family fled to Egypt. God planned every aspect of Jesus’ birth and early life so that the prophecies from ages past would be fulfilled. Matthew references the words of Hosea when he says, “Out of Egypt I called my son.” How could a carpenter and his small family make such a journey? God had provided the means for this journey with the gifts of the magi. Then the day came for them to return.
The Old Testament prophecies do not specifically mention the town of Nazareth or say the Messiah would come from there, they do say He would be despised. Bethlehem was the City of David, the place where the Messiah was expected to live and grow. Nazareth was a small insignificant place where nothing good was expected to come. Jesus’ life on this earth was not created to be one of fame or glory. He was sent here by His Father to take upon Himself the suffering and sin of this world. Those to whom He was sent rejected him because they did not expect the Messiah to come out of such humble circumstances.
God does amazing work with the things of this world that are usually looked down upon. The story of Jesus’ early years is filled with people and places that are not what we’d expect. Mary was a young girl, Joseph a humble carpenter. The shepherds were the outcasts of society, and the magi were pagans from a foreign country. The birth took place in a stable. The family moved to Egypt and then to Nazareth, both despised by the Jews. In all these things, God wove the incredible story of Jesus’ life, love, and the fulfillment of the Word of God.
January 9, 2024
“But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first, and said, ‘Son, go work today in my vineyard.’ He answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind, and went. He came to the second, and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I’m going, sir,’ but he didn’t go. Which of the two did the will of his father?” Matthew 21:28-31, WEB
Soren Kierkegaard wrote, “It is easy to think that by making a promise you have at least done part of what you promised to do, as if the promise itself were something of value. Not at all! In fact, when you do not do what you promise, it is a long way back to the truth.” We are cautioned to be careful that we do not say “Yes” too quickly, because it is too easy to break those promises we make. But we are also called to discern the work that needs to be done so that we do not miss out on the opportunities we’ve been given to live as God has called us to live.
When I was a retail manager, I had several different types of employees. This is true in all areas of life, such as among students in a classroom and believers in a community of faith. There were employees with whom it was a joy to work. They were anxious to get to work. They looked for work to do and they completed all their tasks with enthusiasm and enjoyment. The work was well done; the employee had gone above and beyond the ‘call of duty.’
I also had employees that accepted assignments with enthusiasm, but they never finished the work. They were easily distracted by other things and though they might have started a task, they never managed to finish anything. They had plenty of excuses for not getting work done. For example, I had one employee whose job was to take care of the stationary department of the store. This department (pens, notebooks, office supplies) was definitely hard to deal with because there were so many small items on the shelves. This employee was also often called to serve as a cashier during busy times, but she was always given plenty of time to do the work in her department. She was even given help, but she still managed to waste time. She made her brief stints at the register became lengthy time away from her regular duties. She lingered around the check-out station, stopped to chat with other employees, and excused herself to the break room.
I think the greatest number of employees were the third type. They were the grumblers and complainers. They were the ones who were vocal about those tasks they hated to do. They often found work on the floor quickly so that they would not be assigned the hated work. They never said “Yes” with or without enthusiasm. They said “No, I have other work to do.” Yet, I often found them doing the work later, having realized how important it was to get it done. It was those employees that often took over the tasks of the one who said “Yes,” but never accomplished anything. Despite the grumbling, I would rather have these employees because at least I knew the work would get done.
What type of worker are you? Are you the one who does the work with enthusiasm, going the extra mile? Do you say “Yes,” while finding excuses to set it aside. Do you grumble but manage to get the work done? When it comes to the Christian life, which type are you? I suspect most of us would like to think that we are disciples who will enthusiastically obey everything God has called us to do, but I’m sure there are times when we fall into the other types. We have all experienced opportunities that seem doable, but life gets in our way. We have also grumbled about the work that we know we should do, but eventually get around to it.
We who believe have made a promise to God. We’ve said “Yes” to living in faith, but are we living in the obedience we’ve seen and learned from our Lord Jesus Christ? Those tasks that seem impossible because we are so busy or the ones that we just don’t want to do, are far easier than the great thing Jesus did for us. He was obedient, even unto death. Did He want to do so? He cried out in the garden and asked God to take away the cup, but He never said “No.” He went to the cross without argument, the Righteous One willingly receiving the punishment for the rest of us so that we can be obedient when God calls us to His work.
January 10, 2024
Lectionary Scriptures for January 14, 2024, Second Sunday after the Epiphany: 1 Samuel 3:1-10 [11-20]; Psalm 139:1-10; 1 Corinthians 6:12-20; John 1:43-51
“‘All things are lawful for me,’ but not all things are expedient. ‘All things are lawful for me,’ but I will not be brought under the power of anything.” 1 Corinthians 6:12, WEB
A million dollars is a lot of money, and yet a million dollars is not so much that it would last forever. Many lottery winners learn that lesson quickly. For those who work so hard for ever dollar, a win is like a dream come true. It is like a gift. And they receive it with the attitude that their life will be changed so dramatically that they can change their lifestyle. They quit their jobs; they buy bigger and better homes and cars. They purchase everything they have ever wanted without fear of what might happen tomorrow. Many become extremely generous, not necessarily with charity but with their friends. They share their newfound wealth in frivolous gifts and extravagant parties designed to buy everyone’s love. Then, suddenly, often within eighteen months of winning the prize, they realize it is all gone.
How is it possible to spend a million dollars in such a short period of time? After all, it would take a person with an average salary twenty years to earn, and spend, that much. But we don’t purchase the types of things that a lottery winner thinks are acceptable. We don’t throw parties that might cost a whole year’s salary. We take care not to waste our pennies, knowing that tomorrow we might face a difficult financial situation.
Yet, many people think found money is meant to be spent, even if that person was struggling to make ends meet before the windfall. They see money from a lottery win or a gift as free money, meant to be enjoyed. Sadly, free money is not as life changing as we think it might be. Often, the effects are negative rather than positive. Too many lottery winners spend before they realize how much they really have, forgetting that they will be required to give a percentage to the government in taxes. They often quit their jobs in a way that severs any relationship to the people and places that have supported them in the past, leaving nowhere to go when times get tough. They are more vulnerable to salesmen and conmen, spending beyond their means with the expectation that they’ll get lucky again. They often find themselves at the end of the free money with dire circumstances and unexpected debts. They think they are above it all, protected somehow by their newfound wealth. They even consider themselves better than the people that really matter and destroy those relationships with foolish and selfish behaviors.
Eli was father to two sons who were wicked in the eyes of the Lord. It wasn’t free money, but Eli’s sons were given their positions in the Temple by inheritance. They were given all they had, and they did not value it. They took advantage of their position, abused their power, and lived sinful lives. They did nothing for God’s people; they did not serve the Lord. Eli knew his sons were evil, and tried to stop them, but he did not succeed. They continued to be wicked, so the Lord decided to put them to death and end the house of Eli. They lived under a promise made to Eli’s father that they would minister before the Lord forever, but since Eli chose to honor his sons more than God, God chose to end that promise.
Samuel did not inherit his place at the Temple. His mother Hannah was barren but was loved deeply by her husband Elkanah. He treated Hannah with love and grace to the point of making his other wife jealous. Whenever he went to Shiloh to worship the Lord God Almighty, Peninnah treated Hannah so poorly that she wept and refused to eat. Elkanah asked, “Hannah, why do you weep? Why don’t you eat? Why is your heart grieved? Am I not better to you than ten sons?” She ate and then went into the temple to pray. Her ache was so deep and her tears so bitter that her prayers came from the very depths of her heart even while her lips moved soundlessly. Eli the priest thought she was drunk. He rebuked her, but she told him that she was pouring out her soul to the Lord. He said, “Go in peace; and may the God of Israel grant your petition that you have asked of him.”
During her prayers, Hannah made a vow, “Yahweh of Armies, if you will indeed look at the affliction of your servant and remember me, and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a boy, then I will give him to Yahweh all the days of his life, and no razor shall come on his head.” She became pregnant and gave birth to Samuel. As soon as he was weaned, Hannah took Samuel to the temple and gave him to Eli to serve the Lord for his whole life. Her faithfulness was rewarded as she was blessed with more children. Samuel was very young, far from his family, alone except for his mentor Eli who was aging, blind and incompetent. He couldn’t even raise his sons to do well at the work they inherited.
Samuel’s job was to serve Eli, so his senses would have been heightened to hear and respond to Eli’s voice. He didn’t even know he could hear the voice of God. Do we know we can hear it? Do we know that He might talk to us? If He does, will we be able to recognize it over the noise of the world? Samuel was keeping the lamp in the temple burning when he heard a voice calling to him. God’s voice was rare at that time, so it is not surprising that he thought it was Eli. It even took Eli three times to realize what was happening. A boy simply would not know. He ran to his mentor’s side. “You called?” Samuel asked. Eli answered, “No.” Samuel went back to the lamp and heard the voice a second time. He ran to Eli. “You called?” Eli said, “No.” This happened a third time. This time Eli understood that the Lord was calling Samuel. “Go back and when He calls, answer, ‘Speak; for your servant hears.’”
Samuel obeyed. When the Lord called Samuel’s name, Samuel answered as Eli told him. Did he understand what was happening? I am not so sure; even at this point Samuel was obedient to Eli, the one he knows and has served for so long. It must have been a frightening thing since his experience of the Lord had been so mundane.
Imagine what it was like to be Samuel. He heard the voice and responded to God. The message he received was not good news. Eli was like a father to Samuel. How could he tell Eli the bad news that his house would be punished forever? What would you do if the Lord told you that He was going to do this horrible thing to someone that you loved? The words made Samuel afraid. The first thing God laid on Samuel’s young shoulders as His prophet was a harsh word. Eli warned Samuel to be honest with him, and that God would punish him if he hid anything. Samuel told Eli what he heard. Eli answered, “It is Yahweh. Let him do what seems good to him.”
Talk about baptism by fire! This was a hard way to begin a career serving the Lord, but this harsh word verified to Eli that Samuel was a chosen prophet. The word to Eli was not new, he had already heard God’s warning and now he knew without a doubt it was true. But Eli also knew that God was not leaving the people desolate. Samuel was a ray of hope in a hopeless situation. Samuel grew and ministered to the Lord; the people heard God’s Word through him. God was no longer silent.
His life was never easy, but He was obedient and did what God called and sent him to do. The people of Israel were, as are all of us, imperfect. They believed God but often fell away. The history of God’s people is a constant circle of faith, apathy, sinfulness, repentance, and faith. God had to remind His people of their failure, their needs, and His grace over and over again. They suffered the consequences of their apathy and sinfulness but were always given a word of hope from the God who remained faithful to His promises.
Today’s psalm reminds me of the Christmas song, “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.” The lyrics speak of an omniscient being who watches our every move and judges our worthiness based on the good and bad things we do. “You better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout I’m telling you way, Santa Claus is coming to town.” It goes on, “He sees you when you’re sleeping, he knows when you’re awake. He knows if you’ve been bad or good, so be good for goodness’ sake.” This idea of someone seeing and knowing the intimate details of our lives is frightening to many people. Santa is not equal to God, but the idea of an omnipotent being is especially disturbing to many. We are often not willing to share our deepest secrets those closest to us. The idea of anyone knowing us totally is hard to accept. I guess that’s because we think of omniscience in terms of Santa Claus; we fear that if they really know us, then we won’t receive any blessings from the relationship. If we’ve done something bad, Santa won’t bring us our gifts and we worry that if God knows our hearts, we won’t experience His grace.
But God is more than a spouse or a best friend. He knows everything and loves us anyway. This is very comforting to me. I have used this psalm in my devotional many times. I even used it twice in one week while I was dealing with my ailing father. In the midst of the trauma and decisions, I must have found comfort in these words to be drawn to it twice in such a short period of time. But it is good to know that when everything else is falling apart, God is with us. He is there to care for us. He has a plan for us. His grace will win out even when it seems like nothing will ever be right in our world again, because He is faithful, and He is present. As we consider the depth of the promise that He knows us and loves us, we can go forth in faith to do whatever it is to which He is calling us to do, knowing we are never alone.
We are part of something much bigger than ourselves. We enjoy many things that we should avoid, like that lottery winner who spends the funds without thinking about the consequences. We are reminded that our life is a gift from God and our body is His temple. As I have dealt with my recent health issues, I’ve said that I’m not dieting, I’m “renovating my temple.” I’ve seen the reality of how I was abusing my body in a way that did not glorify God. Sin often seems harmless, after all, who is harmed if I ignore the reality of my health?
Paul talks about the use, and abuse, of the body in today’s lesson. He was addressing the issue of the Corinthian attitude about the Law. They thought that nothing they did in the flesh had any bearing on their spiritual life. Paul agreed that all things are lawful, that the rules of the past are no longer binding to the person who has been saved by God’s grace. But he went on to say that not all things are beneficial. It was fine for a Christian to eat meat that had been given as an offering to a foreign god because it had no meaning to the spirit of the believer. However, was it beneficial? No. Some things are harmful to the body, to the soul, and to the fellowship of believers.
Paul used fornication with the prostitutes of the foreign gods as an example. Would a believer lose his eternal soul if he fornicated with those priestesses? God’s grace is always bigger than our failures. He has overcome our sin and defeated death despite our inability to stand firm in His promises. However, sin is very powerful. Eli’s sons abused the gift they had been given as priests of God, and ultimately their actions led to the loss of the blessings that came with God’s promises. They’d harmed God’s people, and in the end suffered the consequences of leading a life far from God.
It is good for us to ask the same question as Paul: is what we are doing beneficial? Should we buy that lottery ticket? If we win, how should we spend that money? Are we being good stewards of the gifts we have been given? Should we eat the things that might hurt our bodies? It might be lawful, but we can live a life that is not under the power of the things that are not beneficial. This is not only for the sake of one person’s flesh, but for the entire body of Christ. We should always keep away from those things that might bring harm to ourselves or others so that we will glorify God always even as the world tempts us to glorify ourselves.
There was a scene in a movie (actually, many movies) where a woman heard a piece of incredible news and wanted to shout it out to the whole world, but first she wanted to tell someone special. “I wanted you to be the first to know,” she said. I know how she felt. I’m always happy when my daughter calls me with something exciting that has happened. I used to love calling my mom, too, when I had happy news. She was one of the first people I thought of when I had something to share. Throughout the years I’ve had family and friends who have been my confidants, the first to hear my good news. Some things are just too good to keep to yourself.
Philip was excited about what was happening in his town. John the Baptist was preaching a good word about God and baptizing people in the Jordan. John told his followers that someone greater was going to come along. They were expecting a Messiah because Moses and the prophets had written about him. So, when Philip met Jesus, he knew this was something that he could not keep to himself. He found Nathaniel and told him about Jesus. Nathaniel didn’t believe Philip right away because the news did not match his expectations. “What good can come out of Nazareth?” he asked.
Nazareth in Jesus’ day was a dirty small town with average folk and even a few shady characters. It wasn’t the type of place you would expect to bring forth someone as important as the Messiah. Nathaniel was not necessarily putting the town down, but there were certain expectations. How could the Messiah possibly live in a place like Nazareth? There was no power, no prestige, no position available in that town. Nazareth was not even mentioned in the Old Testament promises. How can this man Jesus overcome his lack of credentials to become the promised Savior? How could this man, a carpenter’s son, become a warrior king of Israel and lead them into a new Golden age?
Philip didn’t argue, he just said, “Come and see” and in doing so gave Nathaniel the chance to believe that his news was true. Jesus showed Nathaniel His credentials, power, and authority. But these things were just the beginning. Jesus promised that they would see incredible things. This news of the coming Messiah was the start of something really new in the world.
Sometimes God seems quiet, as He was in the days of Eli and Samuel, but we know God still talks to His people today through the scriptures and through His Son. He also talks to us through others. Yet, there are many contradictory voices out there. A woman recently killed her daughter because she claimed God told her to do so. We know this could not be true, but how do we discern when the choices are less evident? What church is right? Which theologian has the best understanding of God’s Word? Is God calling us to do this thing or not? We are affected by so many voices in this world that it can be very confusing. When two Christians disagree vehemently about an issue, who is right? What is truth? Who is speaking God’s Word? It is no wonder that we doubt what we hear because the world is chaotic.
There was a time when I was questioning. My faith was strong, but I was bombarded with voices of other Christians who were trying to convince me that I had to do something. It didn’t seem right to me, but I listened, and I prayed. I asked God if I should do this thing. “Is this necessary?” I asked, since the voices were insisting it is. “What could it hurt?” they said. To do this thing would be to doubt God’s Word in my life. Nothing would have been changed if I did or didn’t do it, but I knew in my heart that I needed to trust that God had provided all I needed. During my prayer I heard the words “My grace is sufficient for you.” God answered and I did not do the thing that others insisted I should do.
Sometimes we make the wrong choice. We believe the wrong word. We’ll speak the wrong word because it makes the most sense to us in our understanding of God’s love and grace and Word. We say and believe that God told us to do this thing, but we fail because we do not always listen to the voices around us through the lens of God’s Word. I was so glad that when God did speak to me, He did so in words that I knew were His. “My grace is sufficient for you,” was truer than all the other words being spoken to me by the voices who truly believed that they were speaking for God.
Thankfully, God’s grace is always bigger than our failures. He has overcome our sin and defeated death despite our inability to stand firm in His promises. When we are confused by the voices we hear, when we listen and believe what they say, we can trust that God will keep calling us until we hear what He is really saying. We may be led down a wrong path, but God will find a way to turn us around.
God still speaks and He calls us into a relationship. It is difficult in this world because even Christians wonder if we are really hearing the voice of God. We want to be accepted, to be respected, to be happy. We want to fit in. We want what we want even when it is not beneficial to our lives or to the glory of God. But God’s grace is sufficient. To believe otherwise is to doubt God.
On this second Sunday of Epiphany, we are reminded that God has invited us into a new life, a life following Him. It doesn’t matter if others think we are crazy because we have met the Messiah in an unexpected place or way. What matters is that we live the life that glorifies Him, trusting that He has done something we might never fully understand. God knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows what we are meant to do. He knows what purpose our life holds. And He has promised that we will see extraordinary things happen. When we hear His voice, and we will, we need only say, “Speak; for your servant hears.” Unfortunately, sometimes God calls us to speak words that are uncomfortable and unpopular.
God knows our hearts. It might be uncomfortable to think about God reading our hearts, knowing our fears and doubts, but we can find comfort in the knowledge that God knows what we need and that He is faithful. We are just like the Israelites who repeatedly turned from Him. We still experience that constant circle of faith, apathy, sinfulness, repentance, and faith, but God is quick with mercy and forgiveness. He knew that we’d never be able to be truly faithful, so He sent Jesus to be faithful for us. Now He is the Word God speaks into the world and we are called to hear His voice and answer.
We are made new when are baptized into Christ Jesus, but there is more to that gift than just receiving His grace. We are also called to be partners with God in the work of His Kingdom. We are His and we are to glorify Him in body and spirit. When we remember that our bodies are God’s temple, and that we are blessed by our position within God’s world, we listen for His word, act upon it, and are blessed even more by the glory He receives. We do not take advantage of the position He has given us, but we use it to share His grace with others, no matter how foolish they think we might be. We can trust that He will let none of our words fall to the ground, and like Samuel will use us to grow His kingdom. Like Philip we can change the lives we touch with the ministry to which we have been called by pointing to Jesus.
We called into a relationship with Christ. It is difficult in this world to live as part of a community that asks us to set aside our own desires and needs for the sake of the entire body. We want to be happy, healthy, and satisfied, no matter the cost. However, we are reminded that though all things are lawful, not all things are beneficial. Satisfying our needs might just cause harm to another and it will certainly dishonor the Lord. But just like Nathanael, we can see that God knows us to the very depths of our hearts. He knows what is best for us and for the body of Christ.
In Christ it is no longer about Me. We were bought with a price: the blood of Christ. So, as we go through our day, let us trust in the God who loves us so much that He speaks to us in voices that call us to lives of grace. The world is chaotic with noise, but God is patient and will keep calling until we hear and respond according to His Word. Sometimes we’ll be confused by the many voices we hear, tempted to be poor stewards of what God has given to us, but as we grow closer to God and more mature in our faith, we’ll learn to recognize His voice above all the others. Then we’ll know what is beneficial to ourselves and to others. Then we’ll do what will glorify Him.
January 11, 2024
“The third day, there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there. Jesus also was invited, with his disciples, to the wedding. 3 When the wine ran out, Jesus’ mother said to him, ‘They have no wine.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, what does that have to do with you and me? My hour has not yet come.’ His mother said to the servants, ‘Whatever he says to you, do it.’ Now there were six water pots of stone set there after the Jews’ way of purifying, containing two or three metretes apiece. Jesus said to them, ‘Fill the water pots with water.’ So they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, ‘Now draw some out, and take it to the ruler of the feast.’ So they took it. When the ruler of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and didn’t know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the ruler of the feast called the bridegroom and said to him, ‘Everyone serves the good wine first, and when the guests have drunk freely, then that which is worse. You have kept the good wine until now!’ This beginning of his signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.” John 2:1-11, WEB
Sometimes we do not even realize where our money is going. A man asked the owner of a restaurant why his BLT sandwich was so expensive, $16! “After all, it is just bacon, lettuce, tomato, and bread.” The restaurant owner then listed the money that goes into making that BLT. Sure, the ingredients only cost $5.00, but salary, rent, utilities, and other everyday costs add up to $9.00, leaving less than $2.00 profit. Some might say that the restaurant should eat their profit so people can afford the meal, but the owner answered this complaint with the reality that the profit is saved for emergencies. If the restaurant doesn’t make any money, how will they pay for a new air conditioner or freezer when it breaks? How will they invest in the community with charitable giving or special events? How will the owner live if there is nothing left for him? We are all struggling. Our paychecks don’t go quite as far. It is no wonder we complain about paying so much for what seems like so little.
The Gospel lesson seems so frivolous, the gift so outrageous. Why would God care that the host of a wedding ran out of wine, and why would He create so much of such a fine wine? For us, the last drop of wine means it is time for the party to end, that it is time for the guests to go home. But Jesus created hundreds of gallons of wine that could last for days, a wine so fine it should have been served when the guests could still appreciate the taste. What might have been disastrous turned out to be an incredible blessing.
This was a sign of God’s abundant love for His people. He does care about the mundane needs of those who believe in Him. He cares about our financial problems. He cares about our reputation. He cares about what the world thinks of us. God delights in us, and He has promised that the world will see His abundant love and mercy and grace through our lives.
It is not that God wants to gift us with a bunch of material possessions to ensure our reputation, finances, or happiness. He doesn’t do it to make us appear prosperous. A lack of material possessions is not a sign that someone has fallen out of God’s grace, for there is mercy in our suffering and hope in our troubles. The scriptures tell us that God knows us so deeply that He blesses us with an extravagant generosity. He doesn’t give us what we think we want but fills our desires with good things. He is so intimately bonded with us that He reaches our very spirits with His love and manifests it in the most miraculous and ordinary ways. He does this for the sake of the world, that they might see His grace and believe.
God has this way of doing things in His own way and in His own time. We might be facing struggles in our daily lives, whether it is trying to pay for an expensive sandwich or facing the hassle of our neighbors who think we are trying to scam them. Sometimes it even seems like God doesn’t care. The day comes, however, when we discover that He has done something even more spectacular than we can ever imagine. He doesn’t just answer our prayers, sometimes He gives us wine out of water when we don’t even realize it. Our life does not seem to go exactly as we hope or expect, we will face disappointments, but we can always count on God. He knows the right time and He cares about even the most frivolous things in our lives. He will bless us in ways that we will never expect! We might just find that He has changed our water into wine.
January 12, 2024
“Then I commended mirth, because a man has no better thing under the sun than to eat, to drink, and to be joyful: for that will accompany him in his labor all the days of his life which God has given him under the sun.” Ecclesiastes 8:15, WEB
I play several word games every morning. One is a word puzzle with a honeycomb filled with letters that make hidden words that solve clues. There are no letters left when you solve the puzzle. Sometimes the letters line up in a way that several words or phrases could be made, but only the right answer will work. One day I was playing and the clue was something like “things you take to a football game.” The first letter of both words was “f”. As I looked through the choices, I found “fart finger.” The answer, of course, was “foam finger.” My mistake made me laugh. Then I told Bruce about it made a joke about how dads make farting noises when they tell kids to pull their finger. This made Bruce laugh. Not just chuckling, but belly aching, eyes watering laughter, as if it was the funniest thing in the world. His laughter made me laugh and for a few minutes we were out of control with mirth.
It felt good, quite frankly. We have been under a lot of stress recently. My health issues have had my family concerned (I am doing great.) The holidays are fun, but they are always busy and demanding. We’ve been dealing with a difficult contractor. They say laughter is the best medicine, and I have to admit that the silliness of that moment made both of us feel better (except Bruce’s belly!) I know several people who dealt with difficult times in their lives by binge watching sit-coms. The healing of laughter doesn’t last forever, but it does make that moment a little lighter.
Hysterical laughter is also a way to build relationships. I remember a time when I was a youth; a group of us traveled to an international assembly of an organization to which we belonged. I was sharing a room with my mom and my friend. I can’t tell you what set us off, but we started laughing about something and could not stop. Well, we would stop briefly but every time we looked at one another, we started laughing again. On another occasion, I was at a movie with another friend and something happened to make us laugh, to the point we disturbed a fellow movie-goer. Again, we would settle down for a moment, but something always set us off again.
Laughter is not always acceptable in the scriptures. Unfortunately, laughter can be hurtful when it is directed at someone. Laughter is sometimes associated with sin, although it is not a sin in itself. Laughter is not prohibited, and joy is often mentioned. I can’t see how David could have danced in front of the Ark of the Covenant without laughter on his lips. Jesus surely laughed; some of His stories were humorous, particularly to the people listening. The writer of Ecclesiastes tells us that there is a time to laugh (Ecclesiastes 3:4).
Laughter heals. It changes our perspective. It gives us a break from our worries. Laughter, happiness, joy, even silliness, is a sign of trust that everything will be ok. For a Christian, this means trusting that God will make everything right in the end. Despite our struggles, we can see the humor of a moment, whether it is a silly joke or a funny television show and laugh. We might not be constantly joyful, but those moments when we let ourselves go relieve us from the stress of our troubles. The writer of Ecclesiastes reminds us that a little mirth is good for us, so find a reason to laugh today. Find a reason for a belly aching, eyes watering laugh. Your laughter may just bring joy to a neighbor and ease their stress for a moment.
January 15, 2024
“I wish that you would bear with me in a little foolishness, but indeed you do bear with me. For I am jealous over you with a godly jealousy. For I married you to one husband, that I might present you as a pure virgin to Christ. But I am afraid that somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve in his craftiness, so your minds might be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he who comes preaches another Jesus, whom we didn’t preach, or if you receive a different spirit, which you didn’t receive, or a different ‘good news’, which you didn’t accept, you put up with that well enough.” 2 Corinthians 11:1-4, WEB
I am an artist, and though I have not had formal training I did take art as a minor in college. It gave me a good foundation for the self-learning I’ve done over the years. The internet is a great place to find videos or tutorials if I find myself stuck. I meet with a group of artists who share ideas and give demonstrations that help us understand different techniques and materials. Mostly I play. I love to work with colors, to see how the colors interact with each other. Sometimes you get an effect you would never expect. Sometimes my experiments work, and sometimes they don’t.
During one class in college, we were required to use only five colors of paint - red, yellow, blue, white and black - to create an entire color wheel and tone graphs. To make the color wheel, we mixed red and yellow to make orange, yellow and blue to make green and so on. For the tone graphs, we simply began with white and made varying degrees of a color, such as black, until we had pure black.
These exercises helped us to understand how paint works together. In physical paint, we learn that white is the absence of all other color, and black is a dense mixture of all color. Optical color is much different, because we are dealing with light. Light has much different properties than paint. In light, white is a mixture of all colors; you can divide the light using a prism to see all the colors. A rainbow is the refraction of white light through raindrops. The colors of light are divided and create the bow we see in the sky. In optical color, black is the absence of all colors, the absence of light. The difference between these two aspects of color, physical and optical, is like night and day.
The same is true with the world. That which we see in the physical realm is much different than God’s realm. We must be careful not to be deceived. I once saw a story about a marathon that was run in China; the runners were given a gift bag at the end of the race. One of the items in the bag looked like a candy bar. It was long and flat, wrapped in colorful paper and the words on the label were written in English, which the runners did not understand. It turned out that the bar was not chocolate, it was soap. Most of them were found littering the road with just one bite out of the corner.
The difference between white and black, light and darkness, chocolate and soap, is like the difference between the heavenly realm and that which is led by Satan. Satan takes God’s Word and twists it, he is a great deceiver. His illusions appear so true to reality that many people are deceived. Jesus is the light of the world, yet there are many who are preaching a Jesus that is like mixed paint. Be careful that you do not listen to false teachers. Ignore the paint on the wall and see the light, which is Christ. Do not try to eat the soap, but feast on God’s Word will always stand up against the falsehoods of this world with the truth that will last unto eternal life.
January 16, 2024
“‘For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God didn’t send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through him. He who believes in him is not judged. He who doesn’t believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God. This is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their works were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the light, and doesn’t come to the light, lest his works would be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his works may be revealed, that they have been done in God.’ After these things, Jesus came with his disciples into the land of Judea. He stayed there with them and baptized. John also was baptizing in Enon near Salim, because there was much water there. They came, and were baptized; for John was not yet thrown into prison.” John 3:16-24, WEB
A police officer was giving a speech at an award ceremony. He told a story about a woman he met on the job. She had just stabbed her husband with a knife and asked the officer if she could have the knife back. He asked her why. She answered, “It was part of a set I got as a wedding present.” Something must have been wrong in the marriage for her to stab her husband, but this answer seemed as if she valued the item she received as a gift was more important than the union that was created at the wedding. We do not know the circumstances of the stabbing, perhaps her husband had become abusive and she used the knife for self-defense, but we can still wonder about her priorities if keeping the knife was so important.
The woman’s situation was extraordinary, but we aren’t so different. We have things that mean more to us than the people we should value. We work too many hours to pay for things we can’t afford, taking time away from our families. We live lifestyles that are beyond our financial ability and then grumble that we have to work overtime to pay the bills. Life circumstances sometimes change, and many people are a paycheck away from homelessness, but most of us get into trouble because we have skewed priorities. Everyone is at risk of financial difficulties; all it takes is one crisis. The question is how we deal with our struggles. Our choices can lead to broken relationships and worse. The woman in the story dealt with whatever problem the couple faced with violence, but for some reason wanted to keep the symbol of the relationship.
It is not bad to have pretty things or nice houses. Material blessings are a gift from God as much as that which satisfies our physical and spiritual needs. The trouble comes when things become the priorities of our lives and when the keeping of those things becomes the most important center of all we do. Our needs are not just physical, we need love, companionship, mercy, grace, and forgiveness.
The woman with the knife wanted to keep it because it was important to her. It was a wedding present, and yet the marriage itself seems to have meant little because she used the symbol in the destruction of the relationship. We tell our children, our spouses, our neighbors, and others how much we love them, yet we spend so much time keeping up with unsustainable lifestyles that we lose touch with those we love. We can say we love someone a thousand times, but they are empty words when we spend more time gathering material possessions than we do with those we claim to love. Let us never focus so heavily on material gifts that we want them more than the relationships God has given to meet our deeper needs.
January 17, 2024
Lectionary Scriptures for January 21, 2024, Third Sunday after the Epiphany: Jonah 3:1-5, 10; Psalm 62; 1 Corinthians 7:29-31 (32-35); Mark 1:14-20
“Immediately they left their nets, and followed him.” Mark 1:18, WEB
Simon (Peter) and Andrew, James and John were fishermen. Most scholars will tell you that they were not educated beyond the schooling they received as children. They were surely familiar with the scriptures, learned at the feet of their mothers. They may have had enough knowledge in the common languages of the day so that they could conduct their business. It is likely, however, that they were strong, dirty and rough, mouths filled with foul language. Though they could have recited the psalms, they were probably more likely to tell an off-color joke. They were surely not prepared to follow Jesus. They were men of the sea, hardworking, patient and willing to endure hardship, but the life of wandering the wilderness or hanging with crowds in the villages was beyond their experience. Worst of all, they were not preachers or teachers. How could God possibly call these guys to this life?
I think most of us, at some time or another, ask the same question of our own lives. “How could God possibly call me to this life?” I don’t mind following Jesus, although I’d much rather if He led me in the direction I want to go.
Jonah had to go to Nineveh. Over and over again Jonah tried to find ways to avoid the work God has called him to do, but God kept calling. Jonah struggled with the assignment because he knew it meant his enemy would benefit. He fought God’s grace. God drew him into the mission, not forcing him to do something he didn’t want to do but convincing him that it was right and good and true. Jonah gave in and went to give the Ninevites the message from God.
The scriptures for this week teach us that faith means changing our point of view. It means seeing the world from a whole new perspective. Jesus turned our world upside down, calling us to live in the world even though we are no longer of the world. Faith means that we are called to take God into our neighborhoods, to share a word of hope that comes from the reality of God’s grace. It means trusting in God, leaving our burdens at His feet, and letting Him bring about the change that will truly make a difference. It means looking at those parts of our life that matter to us, like our marriages, from a new point of view, remembering that God is not only a part of our individual lives, but that He’s in the midst of our relationships, making them new as well. Faith means doing a whole new thing. “Let go and let God” seems almost cliche, but it is the best word for those who are in the midst of uncertainty and transition. Trust in Him. He is there, taking care of everything. We make it harder for Him to accomplish His good purpose for our lives when we try so desperately to stay in control. Jonah fought God all along, but God knew that Jonah’s heart was right. He kept offering Jonah the chance to change the world, calling him over and over to help the Ninevites to get back to Him.
I used to watch those reality television “nanny” shows. Those shows featured a family in desperate need of help in caring for and controlling their children. Many of the children were violent, nasty, rude, and extremely willful. They wanted what they wanted and they wanted it immediately. The most common problem with the parents was their lack of consistency. Though they told the children “no,” over and over again, they always gave in. They didn’t stand firm in the right answer. They gave up too easily because they didn’t want to fight with their children. It always seems easier to let them have their way than to be a disciplinarian.
Some parents don’t know how to discipline. Others are so busy with their lives and work that they do not have the time to be a good parent. Many parents do not listen to their children and are completely blind to their needs. Some just want to be their kids’ friends, and so think they need to be more permissive as if they are scheming together, getting away with something together. They think the children will then do what they want to do, and don’t understand why they do not reciprocate when the parents need cooperation.
The nannies taught the parents different techniques that would help them overcome their problems. The nannies were very honest in their assessment of the situation. If the parents were wimps, they said so. If they were lazy, they told them. The parents were usually offended by the evaluation and they complained about the work that needed to be done, but they eventually they saw the difference in their children when they used the nanny’s suggestions and worked hard at better parenting.
The nannies often focused on consistency. It does no good to threaten a child over and over and over again if the child never experiences the consequences of their disobedience. The parents learned how to give a warning and then follow up on it. In this way, the children realized that the parents meant what they said and said what they meant. Children learn how to act appropriately when parents are consistent.
I confess that I liked to watch those nanny shows because it helped me appreciate my own children. They were not perfect. They misbehaved. They were sometimes disobedient. They had moments when they were rude, self-centered, and demanding. They even uttered the dreaded “I hate you.” But I have wonderful children and I am proud of the people they have become. Despite those moments when they drove me crazy, I am blessed to be their mom.
It is easy to watch those nanny shows and believe when people say that my children are great because we were great parents. I suppose that’s true, but we have been far from perfect parents. No one is perfect, except Jesus. We are, as Martin Luther liked to say, “simul justus et peccator,” which means, “We are at the same time saint and sinner.” We made mistakes. Sometimes, in the heat of battle, we made threats that were too harsh for the offense. Since we knew the importance of consistency, we often stood firm on our warning even when it would have been best to have mercy.
That’s the lesson we can learn from God in today’s lesson. Sometimes it is right to repent. God had disobedient children who needed to experience the consequences of their actions. In this case, it was the destruction of the wicked city of Nineveh. God is consistent, but He’s also merciful. There is a place for a loving parent to change their mind. Sometimes the punishment is too big for the crime, and in God’s grace, complete destruction was too big. So, He sent Jonah to warn them. They repented, changed their ways, and mourned their failure to be all they could be.
God had mercy on Jonah, too. He sent Jonah to Nineveh, but over and over again Jonah tried to find ways to avoid the work God had called him to do. God kept calling. Jonah struggled with the assignment because he knew it meant his enemy would benefit. He fought God’s grace. God drew him into the mission, not forcing him to do something he didn’t want to do but convincing him that it was right and good and true. Jonah gave in and went to give the Ninevites the message from God.
Jonah was a Jew and the Ninevites were the mortal enemies of his people. Border skirmishes between the nations caused too much suffering; Jonah could not forgive. That’s why he ran away when God called him to preach to Nineveh. Jonah did not want them to repent; he wanted them to experience God’s pain so that they might suffer, too. But God had plans for them, so he sent his reluctant prophet into the city of sin to warn them to repent or die. Jonah’s hope was that it wouldn’t work, that they would just go on sinning. Yet, the word of God had an awesome effect on the people of Nineveh. The people of Nineveh believed the prophet, they repented, and God spared them His wrath for a time.
Sometimes we would rather hang on to anger and bitterness rather than love our enemies. I once heard someone ask, “Is it ok to wish someone were dead?” She was upset by someone who had hurt her family and she just wanted them out of her life. We can all identify people in our lives, either past or present, that were like enemies to us.
I know what it is like to harbor bad feelings, to withhold the words “I forgive you” from someone who has done me harm. I also know what it is like to say the words in a meaningless way. It is fairly easy to say “I forgive you” but it is a lot harder to show forgiveness. I’ve said the words, I’ve written them on my heart, I’ve tried to return the relationship as it had been, but sometimes I can’t. My heart aches when they say something that reminds me of the pain; I lie sleepless, writing letters in my head to remind them of the wrong. Even if I say, “I forgive you,” those are just words if the relationship remains broken.
Rev. Walter Everett was the father of a young man who was murdered. When he heard the news, he became very angry at the murderer. His anger began to destroy his life. At the hearing, the young man who had done this horrible act stood before the court and said he was truly sorry. A few weeks later, Rev. Everett wrote to the young man, confessed his anger, and asked some questions. Then he wrote that he was glad to hear what he had said in court and though it was hard, he wrote, “I forgive you.” Those three words brought the young man to his knees in his cell, and he prayed for forgiveness from God. Rev. Everett and the young man continued to write and visit, sharing their faith journeys together. Rev. Everett then testified at the young man’s parole hearing. He was released early, and they remained friends. They both learned about the true freedom found in forgiveness. It was also a lesson in mercy.
God forgives, but He’s also merciful. It is fairly easy to say “I forgive you” but it is a lot harder to show forgiveness. Rev. Everett not only spoke the words but became a traveling companion through the journey of faith in Jesus Christ with the man who killed his son. He shared the Gospel, encouraged the young man’s faith, and helped him become free in both spirit and flesh. That’s mercy. That’s what God did for Jonah and for the Ninevites. And it is what God wanted Jonah to do for his enemy.
The young man was an enemy to the Reverend. It does us no good to hold on to our anger; it is harmful to our spiritual and physical health. However, when we forgive, we open a world of new possibilities. Perhaps, such as in the story of the preacher and his son’s murderer, we may lose an enemy and gain a brother in Christ. I’m not sure I could do the things Jonah or Rev. Everett did, but I hope that God can give me the grace to do so.
The call of God is never easy. We’d rather focus on the benefits of being a child of God, the promise of eternity and His provision in our lives. God blesses those who trust in Him, although we must be careful about what we consider blessedness. Some will tell you that God has promised big cars, big houses, and rose gardens. They will insist that if you love God enough, that He will ensure your health and wealth. They tell you that you will have nothing to fear because God will put a hedge around you and will protect you from all harm.
We know, however, that faith in Jesus does not guarantee warm fuzzies. The Saints from throughout the ages will tell you that it means persecution, and possibly even martyrdom. It means rejection, especially when we begin living a new and different life under God’s Word. We will still get sick, and we will die. We will still experience the troubles of life like lost jobs, broken relationships, natural disasters, and human sin (both the harm of others’ sin and the consequences of our own.) God will call us to do things that we just don’t want to do. Like Peter, Andrew, James, and John, we may wonder if we are really able to do what God is calling us to do, but we the life of faith is a life of confident trust in God, even when He is sending us to a place or giving us work we don’t want to do. His promise is that He will be with us through it all and in the end we will spend eternity with Him.
Mark often uses the word “immediately,” indicating a sense of urgency to the mission throughout his Gospel. The kingdom of God was at hand and Jesus knew He would not have very long to teach the disciples. Jesus never forced faith on anyone. He was received and believed through the grace of God. “Now” was the time to act; there was no time to wait or think or consider the cost.
Peter, Andrew, James, and John left their fishing boats “immediately” and followed Jesus. This has always struck me as amazing. Even with the Holy Spirit urging them toward faith and obedience, I find it difficult to identify with someone who would leave everything without thought or consideration for the cost. I’d want a few answers, first. Where are we going? What will we do? How will we survive without nets, or jobs, or our families? Can we go home and get a change of clothes and hiking boots?
It seems to us that they heard the call of a stranger and just left everything for him. Yet, as we look at the whole story, we realize that the four fishermen were familiar with Jesus and the work He was doing. As a matter of fact, this story does not happen until chapter four in Matthew. In Luke, Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law before He called the fishermen to follow Him. We don’t know how long it was between the wilderness temptation and the calling of these disciples. It could have been months or even a year. We do know from Mark that the time was right; John the Baptist was arrested, decreasing so Jesus could increase. These fishermen didn’t drop everything at the call of a stranger. Andrew was a follower of John and heard John tell the crowds that Jesus was the One for whom they were waiting. He told Peter that they had found the Messiah.
The fact that these guys had time to think about it doesn’t make it any less amazing. As a matter of fact, thinking about it might have been the worst thing they could do. Who really walks away from a good living without considering the cost? Here’s the most amazing thing: Jesus could have chosen far more capable people to be His disciples. What made him pick this rag-tag group of men? Why would He choose fishermen? Why would He pick men that have no experience with ministry?
He chose them because they were clay that He could mold. He chose people who weren’t afraid, who could learn, whose hearts were open to the Holy Spirit’s guidance. They weren’t perfect; even after traveling with Jesus and spending all their time with Him for three or so years, they did not understand. Even to the cross, the disciples thought that they were picked for a different purpose. They wanted to follow the Messiah. Would any of them have really followed immediately if they thought Jesus would end up on the cross?
The psalmist wrote, “Trust in him at all times.” David wrote this psalm in the midst of his own troubles. He knew that the best way to deal with trouble was to trust in God. David had so many enemies. His enemies wanted him dead or at least off the throne. His life and his honor were at stake. However, he knew that he could not defeat his enemies on his own. He waited on God because God’s plan is always right and good. He wrote that God is a rock and a fortress. He is the foundation on which our life is built and He is the refuge to which we can flee to be safe. He is our strength and our hiding place. In Him we can find rest and restoration. We need not carry our burdens because He will carry them for us.
Trust in Him, for He will take care of those who rely on Him alone. This is especially important to remember as we face the new things to which God is calling us in this world. We may not always like the assignment. We may have to face our enemies. We can respond to the calling like Jonah by trying to find ways to avoid it. Or we can let God turn our world upside down and realize that He is drawing us into His presence by offering us a chance to share His grace with the world.
God changed His mind and spared Ninevah. I think in this world where consistency is so important, many are bothered by the idea that the omniscient God who knows everything from the past into the future could, and would, change His mind. Was He wrong when He threatened destruction? No, He wasn’t wrong, He had hope that they would change. We, as parents and as His children, can learn from this that it is OK sometimes to change our mind. We can be merciful and should be merciful because we know that we often fail. If God, who is perfect, can change His mind, we can be like Him and change ours, too. Even when we try to put off God’s plan, He has a way of turning us back onto the right path in His time and way.
Faith means focusing our lives on God and what God wants. God wanted the Ninevites to be spared. God wanted the disciples to follow Jesus. Despite the fears and doubts, Jonah and the disciples went forth in faith to do what God called them to do. It could not have been easy to change the direction of their lives. For Jonah, even entering Nineveh was frightening because the Ninevites were his enemy. The disciples knew how to fish, how did Jesus ever expect that they would know how to teach people about God? Who would listen to them? Who would listen to Jonah and the disciples? Who will listen to us?
Does it matter? The call to faithful living is about turning our attitudes around, trusting God and letting Him guide us into a new life. Paul knew what it was like to have his world turned upside down. He met Jesus on the road to Emmaus; he was traveling there to destroy those who believed in Jesus. After a brief, unexplainable encounter, Paul became a new man. Instead of destroying the Church, he embraced it. Instead of hurting Christians, he spoke God’s Word into the lives of many, many more people so that they, too, would believe.
Today’s epistle lesson is written in the context of marriage. Paul believed that it was best for Christians to stay single because there are far fewer distractions than those who have chosen the married life. However, Paul does not believe that everyone can or should choose to remain single. Instead of reading this text as a call to celibacy, we should read it as a call to change our mind, to turn our attention to God. In the text, Paul is adamant about keeping oneself from distraction. The time had grown short, and Christians needed to keep their eyes on Jesus. In this passage it meant even living as though one did not have a spouse. It meant turning away from family and friends, ignoring the things we love most. It meant giving up all their stuff. It meant giving up all dealings with the world.
Paul honored marriage, but in today’s epistle lesson he talks about a reality that we do not often consider. Paul wrote that the time had grown short and that Christians should keep their eyes on Jesus, even living as though one did not have a spouse. It meant turning away from family in their greatest time of need. It meant ignoring the joyous times of life. It meant giving up all their stuff. It meant giving up all dealings with the world. This seems rather extreme to us, after all Jesus was not against marriage.
Paul is not telling us to reject earthly things. Paul is more concerned about sparing the Christian from the trials that occur when distracted from their calling from God. A spouse, the responsibilities of work and children, the care of a house and property keeps us from time that might be devoted to Christ. It is not only a matter of time. It is also a matter of the emotions that come with relationships and responsibilities. Our hearts are torn every time we have to choose between a family need and the calling of God.
I can’t imagine what it must have been like to be those first disciples. Did they know what they were getting themselves into? Jonah knew that God would have mercy on his enemy, so he tried to run away. Did they know that Jesus would be taking them on a long and dangerous journey? David was constantly harassed by enemies both foreign and family. Did they know they’d have to speak God’s Word into the lives of people who would not listen or believe? Paul spoke hard words to his churches through his letters. Did they know they would face demons and persecution? I find it hard to believe that they knew what they were getting themselves into when they left their nets by the sea. And yet, they heard the Word and believed. They followed Jesus. Immediately.
The texts remind us that God should be first in our lives. His calling is urgent, and He expects our obedience to be immediate. Can God accomplish the work without us? Yes, He can. Can we accomplish anything without Him? No, absolutely not. When God calls us to join Him it is because He has chosen us to the task. He does not need us, but He wants us to follow. We may want to make excuses, try to follow later, but we should not be encumbered by the cares of the world. Though we might want to focus on other things, He should be first in everything. The things of this world do not offer us anything but vain hope. Through it all, we can trust that when God calls, there is power in His Word. God alone is our salvation; He calls us to see the world through His eyes. Jesus calls us to change direction, to respond to His Word, and to follow Him immediately wherever He might lead.
January 18, 2024
“Now when Jesus came into the parts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, ‘Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?’ They said, ‘Some say John the Baptizer, some, Elijah, and others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.’” Matthew 16:13-17, WEB
The transcontinental railroad was built in the mid nineteenth century to bring the east and the west of the United States together. It was a difficult project. A great deal of money, time, and labor were used to make this extraordinary achievement. The builders started two sets of workers, one in the east working toward the west and another in the west working toward the east. Golden Spike National Historic Park celebrates this great achievement at the place where it was completed, Promontory Point, Utah. There, on May 10th, 1969, Leland Stanford had the honor of placing the ceremonial spike, a golden nail with the engraving “May God continue the unity of our Country as this Railroad unites the two great Oceans of the world.”
Unfortunately, we no longer seem to have any real sense of unity. Too many people disagree about too many things. We disagree in our homes, neighborhoods, cities, and even our churches. I read an article that talked about the difference between now and past conversations. There are definite differences between people who are on both ends of any spectrum. It used to be that those who stood on principle could concede to exceptions and those who stood on exceptions could agree that there are core principles, dwelling in one “big tent.” Now it seems like there are two tents, and the two shall never meet. Neither can concede, or even understand, the opinion of the other.
We used to try to come together, discussing the issues that divide, sharing our opinions, and trying to find common ground. Now we can’t even seem to discuss the issues without attacking one another. Unfortunately, we tend to hold on to our ideology like it is a treasure. We refuse to compromise because it is seen as weakness. We can’t find the middle ground. I can’t help but wonder what would have happened with the railroad if one side or the other deviated even a few feet from the planned route. The two sides might not have ever met in the middle and the whole project would have been a failure.
Though the work began in the east and the west, both sides knew where they were headed. They may not have known the exact place where they would meet, but they had a line on which both had to travel to be whole.
I think one of the difficulties with the church is that we are trying very hard to find a common agreement between two ideas, but we do not come at our disagreements from our true common bond. We don’t start at the cross, where our unity is truly found, we don’t begin at our confession of faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God where we are bound by the Holy Spirit. It is like we are each beginning at one side or another and we discuss ways in which we might find unity. Yet, as we move toward one another, we never really are on the same line. There is only one way to be united, it is to begin at the foundation of our faith and move out from there.
The transcontinental railroad certainly changed the way America was able to do things. Since the coasts were connected by a much easier form of travel, communication was quicker, and goods were transferred more easily. It connected the people in the east with the people in the west in a way that was not possible without the trains.
The ways of God work much differently than the ways of men. God does not ask us to come together from different sides to find our common bond. Rather, He has given us our common bond and He sends us forth together to live out our confession in faith. We don’t start at different ends of an issue to find where we might meet in the middle. We start at our foundation, at our Lord Jesus Christ, and together we live out His mission and purpose in the world. If only we would start at Christ, we would stop working so hard to find a way to get along, and we would work at what He has called us to do.
This day is the day we remember the confession of St. Peter. In today’s text, Jesus commends Peter for making a bold confession of faith in Jesus who is who He is. The disciples had just shared how the rest of the world sees Him, but Peter saw Him through a different lens. Jesus reminded the disciples that the confession could only be made by God’s grace. God put the words into Peter’s mouth. If we are ever to truly have unity, we have to see our fellow Christians through this confession, which should always be the starting place for everything we do.
Jesus answered Peter’s confession, “On this rock I will build my church.” Centuries of argument revolve around the meaning of this statement. Who, or what, is the rock? Is it Peter? Or is it the confession that he made. “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Peter is important, but the foundation of God’s church is something much firmer than an imperfect human being. Peter, just moments later, rebuked Jesus for doing what He had to do, but the Word God gave to Peter that day in Jesus is the fullness of the humanity He came to save as well as the fullness of the God who would accomplish the task. It is in the confession that comes not by our will but by the Spirit of God that we will find unity in the fellowship of believers, from everywhere on the spectrum, so that we can do God’s word and share God’s Word with the world.
January 19, 2024
“Only, as the Lord has distributed to each man, as God has called each, so let him walk. So I command in all the assemblies. Was anyone called having been circumcised? Let him not become uncircumcised. Has anyone been called in uncircumcision? Let him not be circumcised. Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God. Let each man stay in that calling in which he was called. Were you called being a bondservant? Don’t let that bother you, but if you get an opportunity to become free, use it. For he who was called in the Lord being a bondservant is the Lord’s free man. Likewise he who was called being free is Christ’s bondservant. You were bought with a price. Don’t become bondservants of men. Brothers, let each man, in whatever condition he was called, stay in that condition with God.” 1 Corinthians 7:17-24, WEB
I make banana bread whenever we have bananas that are a little past fresh. The bread is always better when you use very ripe bananas for the base. Banana bread takes a few other ingredients like flour, sugar, eggs, salt, baking soda and butter. Home cooks rarely know the science behind the recipes we make, unlike professional chefs we do not normally concern ourselves with understanding the reasons why we use those specific ingredients. Sometimes we learn from experience, like the time I forgot the sugar in a batch of cookies. The cookies tasted terrible! I had to throw the whole batch away and begin again. I know that yeast won’t rise without sugar and warm water. Even knowing this, I haven’t studied yeast enough to fully understand what happens to make it grow. It isn’t important for me to know everything about it; I just need to know the right process so that it will work.
When someone gets a job working in a professional kitchen, the head chef will teach certain aspects of the business, but it is likely that the worker will be given a task with little explanation as to why. The line cook can easily do his or her part without knowing what happens in the rest of the kitchen. If he is to make the salad, he does not need to know the ingredients for the soup. He needs to know only his part of the task for the food to get to the customer.
Most people like to know how things work. We want to have our hands in the middle of the project, perhaps even to get some of the credit. We need to know more if we want to move beyond line prep in the kitchen, but there is a right time and place to learn. When the chef is busy preparing food for a restaurant full of customers, he cannot spend the time teaching the line help how to turn on the oven. Knowledge can rightfully be limited by the boss so that the task will be completed in good time. The boss needs to know everything, so that he can keep the work in all parts of the kitchen flowing properly. When there is a problem, he needs to identify the situation, search out the conflict and find a way to justly solve it. If there is a quarrel among staff, he needs to know both sides of the story. If something is not being prepared in proper time, he needs to know what is being done wrong. it is necessary for him to know both sides of the story. If the equipment is not working, he must find a repairman to deal with the situation.
The difference between God and man is like the difference between the chef and a cook on the food prep line. The chef knows everything that goes on in the kitchen, but the worker needs to know only as much as is necessary to complete his job. There are many things about God which we will never know or fully understand. We ask these questions daily. Why? How? Who? What next? We demand from God answers or seek them in all the wrong places to get some sort of understanding. Yet, God is so big that it is impossible for our human minds to fully grasp all that He is and all that He does. We need only know what He has revealed to us and is calling us to do. He gives us all we need.
The head chef seeks to understand everything that is going on in his kitchen. He deals with conflict, ensures quality, and fixes what is wrong. His glory is a working kitchen that produces delicious food Though we will never fully understand God, we can know that He will provide us all we need to follow the vocations in which He is calling us to live. Our quest for God begins with the knowledge that God need not tell us everything for some things are best left as a mystery.
January 22, 2024
“Now may the God of peace, who brought again from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep with the blood of an eternal covenant, our Lord Jesus, make you complete in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.” Hebrews 13:20-21, WEB
Edgar Allan Poe was an American writer, poet, author, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is widely regarded as a central figure of Romanticism and Gothic fiction in the United States, and of American literature.” (This brief biography is found in Wikipedia.) I don’t know much about Poe beyond this, although I can name a few of his works. A little research reveals that he was just 40 years old when he died and that our first impression of the man is not quite true. Despite the Gothic nature of some of his writing, and his focus on themes of death, he was highly intelligent and was known to be considerate and funny, a loving husband and good friend.
Unfortunately, much of our impression of Poe is based on an obituary written for the New York Times by R. W. Griswold under the name of “Ludwig.” Poe and Griswold had a long-standing feud, and Griswold’s biography undermined the truth about Poe. Poe was not perfect, he had a history of being a gambler and alcoholic, but Griswold claimed far worse, that he was a drug addict and a madman. It is easy to accept these ideas based on his writing, but those who knew Poe rejected that description. Griswold was attempting to destroy Poe’s reputation, but in the end his characterization added to the mystery and Poe became even more popular. Allan Poe had a great impact on his world and ours. He was not only a writer but was also a literary critic, so he is remembered for the impact he had on other writers. His detective stories established the groundwork for later authors such as Arthur Conan Doyle. He also influenced science fiction, having created worlds that H.G. Wells said could only be imagined by “a brilliant mind”. Poe did not consider his work scientific in nature, but wrote from his gut, imagining scientific explanations that may have seemed impossible in his day, but have since gained a foothold through real scientific research. He wrote about a big bang theory eighty years before science discovered the possibility. His work can’t be used for scientific study because it is also full of errors, but we can see how fact can sometimes be more fantastic than fiction.
I think one of the most interesting aspects of his life was his interest in cryptography. Cryptography is the study of hidden messages in text. It is about breaking codes. As a brilliant man, Poe was an expert at doing this, and made his gift known through a newspaper article. He asked the readers to send him puzzles to solve. His challenge made cryptography more popular with the public and even wrote a book using ciphers. One modern cryptologist, William Friedman, became interested in code deciphering as a child after reading Poe’s “The Gold Bug.” He went on to decipher Japanese code during World War II.
Poe had a tragic life. His parents were gone by the time he was three years old. He was raised by his godfather, who eventually stopped digging Poe out of the holes he dug for himself. He failed at many things: he was kicked out of several schools, was discharged early from the military, lost many jobs. His very young wife (a thirteen-year-old cousin at the time of their marriage) died from tuberculosis when they had been married just ten years. He died shortly before his second marriage to a childhood sweetheart, having been found early in the morning on the streets of Baltimore in desperate need of help. He was taken to a hospital where he died the next day. The medical records have disappeared and to this day no one knows what killed Edgar Allan Poe.
Someone, referred to as “the Poe Toaster,” began visiting Poe’s grave a hundred years after he died on his birthday. The unknown visitor did this for 60 years, honoring Poe with a drink of cognac and three red roses. Crowds of visitors were waiting in 2010 at the gravesite and the Poe house, but the Poe Toaster did not show. The crowds were disappointed that they did not get to see the visitor and his simple ritual. We may never know what happened. Local historians have recently restored the tradition.
No matter what we know about Edgar Allan Poe or think of his character, we should remember that no one is everything we think they are. First impressions are not always true. We only know or see a part. We have been told that we should not judge a book by its cover, and this is even truer when that cover is not real. We have based our understanding of Poe on the words of another, a man who wanted to destroy him. But even when the image we have of someone, whatever it is based upon, we are reminded that they can have an impact we might never expect. Their lives can impact the world in ways we would never anticipate.
So, too, our life might impact others in ways we’ll never know. Poe’s life seemed meant for death, but we too will eventually die. However, death is not the end for those of us in Christ. We will live on in the impact we have on our little corner of the world, but we have an even greater promise. We will live with Christ, sharing in His glory. If we follow His path in this life, our greatest impact will be in the lives who hear the Gospel message from us and see His love in our actions. As we share our faith in word and deed, we’ll reveal the forgiveness, redemption, and salvation that will transform their lives so that they too will be saved by His grace.
January 23, 2024
“We give thanks to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, having heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love which you have toward all the saints, because of the hope which is laid up for you in the heavens, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the Good News which has come to you, even as it is in all the world and is bearing fruit and growing, as it does in you also, since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth, even as you learned of Epaphras our beloved fellow servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on your behalf, who also declared to us your love in the Spirit.” Colossians 1:3-8, WEB
Melodye Jan was the daughter of Houston pastor Dr. John Bisango, who died in 2018, leaving behind a legacy of many books including “The Power of Positive Praying” which was published in 1970. In the book, Dr. Bisango told a story when he learned a powerful lesson from his daughter.
Dr. Bisango was busy reading a book, not paying attention to anything else that was happening. Melodye Jan asked if he would build her a dollhouse, to which he agreed, but he went back to his reading. Melodye Jan immediately began taking armfuls of playthings to the yard, laying them in a large pile. When he noticed his daughter’s actions, he asked his wife what she was doing. His wife replied, “Oh, you promised to build her a dollhouse and she believed you. She’s getting ready for it.” Dr. Bisango reported, “I threw aside that book, raced to the lumber yard for supplies, and quickly built that little girl a dollhouse. Now why did I respond? Because I wanted to? No. Because she deserved it? No. Her daddy had given his word, and she believed it and acted upon it. When I saw her faith, nothing could keep me from carrying out my word.”
Melodye Jan stepped out in the faith that her daddy would keep his promise. In the first chapter of Peter’s second letter, Peter wrote that God has given us everything we need to live as we are called to live. He reveals Himself to us, through our Lord Jesus Christ and His great and precious promises. He has given His word and through Him we may participate in His life in faith. Our faith bears fruit as the Gospel is shared with the world through our lives. Peter also tells us that to be fruitful we should, “make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.”
It is tempting to read today’s lesson from Paul’s letter to the Colossians and think that Paul is suggesting that we reject the world and look toward heaven. There are many Christians who think solely about those things above, rejecting the things of the flesh. Dr. Bisango was busy reading, probably doing research for a sermon or a book. Yet, Christ calls us to live in the world even while we are no longer of the world. In other words, in Christ we have been transformed into His image and we now belong to His Kingdom, and yet there is work to do in the here and now. He calls us to keep our promises, just as He kept His. So, we are joined with Him and as we grow in faith and mature in grace, God shines through our lives in every increasing glory. When Christ who is our life appears, the world sees the work of God in our flesh and in our works, particularly when we are active in the lives of those we have been called to serve. We become more and more like Him, and it is Him that the world sees when they see our life.
Melodye Jan did not sit around and bug her dad about the dollhouse; she stepped out in faith. The root of her action was her faith in her daddy. He knew that if she was to see him as a model of faith in the God whose promises are so much better than his, he’d have to do what he promised. The root of a productive Christian life is faith in our Father’s promises. God’s Word is the truth. In it we have the hope of the fulfillment to come. Let us be like Melodye Jan, believing in promises, and like her daddy who showed her that faith in God’s promises will always see their fulfillment.
January 24, 2024
Lectionary Scriptures for January 28, 2024, Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany: Deuteronomy 18:15-20; Psalm 111; 1 Corinthians 8:1-13; Mark 1:21-28
“I will raise them up a prophet from among their brothers, like you. I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I shall command him.” Deuteronomy 18:18, WEB
When two equally authoritative and trustworthy leaders speak prophetic words, the only way to know for sure which is from God is found a few verses after today’s lesson. “When a prophet speaks in Yahweh’s name, if the thing doesn’t follow, nor happen, that is the thing which Yahweh has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You shall not be afraid of him.” While this is helpful to know which words were from God eventually, it doesn’t help us make the decisions we need to make today.
Most of our decisions are not so lofty that we need prophetic words to do what is right. Yet, everything we do should be founded on God’s Word and glorify Him, so we are to live according to the words that God’s prophets speak to us, particularly those given to us from Jesus in the scriptures. Jesus was the prophet about which was written in Deuteronomy, and He dealt with the simplest and most personal issues. He spoke about pennies, not trillions of dollars. He talked about loaves of bread rather than worldwide famines. He dealt with people’s hearts and not the national policies of Rome.
Then He called us to continue speaking His prophetic word into the world. This is frightening, given the consequence of speaking presumptuously about God’s will. Perhaps this is why most people would rather keep their faith as a personal experience and stay out of the public, or even the religious, forum with their faith. They are afraid to talk for fear that they are not really hearing God’s voice, especially when that word is different or even contradicts the words given by people in positions of leadership, authority, and power.
Yet, we are called to speak God’s Word into the world, the word of hope and peace that comes only from God. Sometimes the things about which we argue, about which we differ, do not really matter. We fight for all the wrong things, often for very good reasons. Justice matters, but what happens when “justice” is defined differently by those of faith who differ? We are called to speak prophetically, but we must ensure that when we speak, we make it clear whose voice we are using. All too often we insert our voice and opinions, presumptuously, into God’s mouth.
We lived in England for four years and we attended a local village church for two of them. We became very active in the work of that church and the churches in the neighboring towns. Bruce sang with the choir. I joined a prayer ministry and worked with a committee that planned millennium events. Even the children, though they were young, we able to get involved by serving as acolytes and helping in other ways during church and community gatherings. We attended Bible study and potlucks, suffered through freezing temperatures in the seven-hundred-year-old unheated building where we worshipped. We became close friends with the people in and around that village. It was a wonderful experience.
Though it was not unusual for military members to occasionally visit the church for worship, few became as active as our family. This made it especially difficult when it was time for us to leave. The rest of the members of that church had been around for a very long time, sometimes for generations. They planned a farewell party to celebrate our life together and to wish us well in our new station. It was a sad by lovely party, with lots of food and fellowship. They also had a special worship service for us, during which they prayed for our safety and good fortunes in our new life. Our vicar asked me to give the message that day, a sort of testimony about our time in England and how God had touched us while we were there.
I had no problem answering this request because I knew it would be wonderful sharing our story with those friends who’d become so important to us. As we planned the service, however, it became apparent very quickly that Antony intended for my message to be more than a few brief words of thanks. He gave me the lectionary scriptures for the day and helped me work out some sermon ideas. I was nervous about this because it was the first time I ever preached. I had several weeks to think about my words, put some order to the chaos and to practice what I was going to say, but I was never able to put those words on to paper. I was honestly a little worried when I stood in front of the congregation. Could I really do this? But I spoke from my heart, and it was a powerful message of gratefulness to God for His many blessings.
When it was over, several of the members commented about how they wished I had done it sooner. They felt touched by God in the words and recognized God’s grace in the message. I was embarrassed by the comments, but I also recognized that something extraordinary had happened. God spoke to our hearts that day, through a woman who simply wanted to say thanks. That’s what happens when people preach God’s message of Good News to the nations: He touches them with His grace.
What does it mean to speak a prophetic word of God in the world? Over the past few weeks, we’ve seen the stories of some of God’s prophets: Samuel, Jonah, and John the Baptist. The words they spoke and the work they did were not always easy. They were not perfect; as a matter of fact, they were often afraid, uncertain, and unwilling to do what God asked of them. Even Moses argued with God. In the end, however, they did as God asked, spoke the word that He sent them to speak, and in doing so they called people to God and changed their lives. They did great things and are still remembered today for their gifts and their impact.
The prophetic word of God is a message sent through a chosen vessel for God’s people. The message is not always the lesson we want to hear. Samuel’s message to Eli was frightening because it meant death and an end to God’s promise. Jonah didn’t want to take that word to Nineveh because it meant mercy for his enemies. John’s message disturbed the status quo; the call to repentance required an acknowledgement of sin. Some prophetic words are messages of grace and hope; as a matter of fact, every warning comes with a word of promise. John did not just call the people to repent, he promised that they would see their salvation.
It is hard, though, to know for certain that the words we hear are from God. The prophets do not always fit our expectations. Samuel was young. Jonah was an enemy of the Ninevites. John was downright bizarre. Why would anyone listen to them? Yet, people listened and were changed by the Word. It wasn’t Samuel or Jonah or John who made the difference, it was God and His word. We know this because they spoke words that were fulfilled.
Today’s Old Testament lesson is believed by many to refer to the prophet Mohammed. As Christians, we believe that it refers to Jesus Christ. Muslim apologists present compelling reasons out of scripture for their point of view. So do Christian apologists. Who is right? What is true? It is no wonder that the world wonders which word is true.
There are many so-called prophets in the world that speak presumptuously, as if they were speaking for God. We wonder about the imperfections of the prophets we’ve studied during this Epiphany. Shouldn’t they be more confident if they are speaking for God? Shouldn’t they be better examples for the people to whom they were speaking, both in their day and ours? The prophets of God are humble enough to know that they can only speak according to God’s grace.
Since the questions we face are so great, it is up to us to remain prayerful and in the scriptures so that we will be familiar with His voice. We will know because the words will line up with the Word. We can trust that God is still speaking through His people, God uses the mouths He has chosen and filled to share His Good News, even if they or we are imperfect.
Perhaps that’s the key, isn’t it? We aren’t called to foretell the future or claim we know what God is doing; we are called to share the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ and the forgiveness that comes from faith in Jesus who died on the cross for our sake. We are prophets when we speak the Gospel, when we call people to repentance, when we invite people to trust God. The news of Jesus’ grace so good that we should never keep it to ourselves. It is our responsibility to speak the Good News to our neighbors. We are called to speak God’s word into their lives, as they are called to do the same for us, to point to Jesus and to share His Gospel so that all might know His truth. He brings healing and wholeness through His word spoken into broken lives. It is when we try to do God’s work our own way that we risk the consequences of false prophecy.
I used to belong to an email list that purported to send prophetic words to the world, especially to Christians. Many of these words were uplifting. They encouraged Christians to go forth in faith, to do whatever it is that God is calling us to do. I became disengaged with the group when I realized more than half of their messages were sales pitches for the speaker’s latest book or for a workshop on how to be a prophet in today’s world. The “prophets” were not humble; they took credit for the words they spoke, certain that they were speaking for God. There was always some truth in their “words,” they spoke because they believed that they loved God’s people and were sharing God’s grace.
However, some of their words were false. I recall a message that came through the list a few years ago about an incoming weather situation. The word was for the city that was supposed to experience a catastrophic storm. The prophecy suggested that the storm was a consequence of their sin. The storm veered off its path and completely missed the city they claimed was about to suffer God’s wrath. Their prophecy proved false. This is why we have to be careful about who we believe. I don’t know what kind of consequences they experienced, although I was probably not the only follower who unsubscribed that week.
We can rest in the promise that the false prophets will suffer the consequences of their presumption, but what do we do when we are between hearing the message and seeing its fulfillment or lack thereof? This is why it is important for us to know God’s Word through prayer and study.
Many of the so-called prophets talk about knowing God, knowing how to be a prophet, knowing what to say. Life in Christ is not about knowledge. As Paul writes, “Knowledge puffs up.” We have something even better than knowledge when we live in Christ. We find wisdom in His Word. The self-proclaimed prophet demonstrates that they don’t know God by usurping His authority. They are not humble. They speak their own words while claiming to speak for God. They might have knowledge, but they have no wisdom. In the end, they will be proven to be a false prophet.
A common characteristic of false prophets is their haughty attitude; they act “holier than thou.” They are like the Corinthians who took advantage of their Christian freedom by eating meat from the temples of the gods while ignoring the needs of the weaker believers who did not understand. They ate the meat without explaining what it means to have Christian freedom. Those watching often put their trust in the idol because they saw others eating the meat without understanding that this attitude meant that they were rejecting the true God. We know there was no consequence to the eating of that meat, since the idols are nothing, but it affected the faith of some. Paul reminds us that it is better to abstain from those things that might cause another to stumble or be destroyed.
Lots of people know about God. They have read the scriptures and have prayed. Many people go to church and hear God’s word read and preached. They sing hymns and are active in the church. They serve the community and live a moral and faithful life. Yet, knowledge is not the center of a relationship with God. Love is. And in this we all fail. We lose sight of God because we are easily distracted by the imposters. We do not recognize the real thing because we are caught up in our own knowledge of what we believe God should be.
It is sometimes difficult to identify with God’s work in the scriptures. Yes, we have the stories of the Exodus, but we were not there to cross the Red Sea with Moses and the rest of Israel. We can read about the miracles of Jesus and believe in His healing power, but we have not experienced His physical touch. The psalmist knew God’s mighty works among His people, but those works were merely a memory, handed down by generation after generation. Yet, these are still worth our songs of praise. God did these things, and in them we see His power, faithfulness, and grace. The more we study the scriptures, the more we realize that God is the Almighty who does great things in and through our lives.
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” is a hard saying for most of us. Fear in our world is a bad thing. We fear terrorism. We fear disease. We fear losing everything we own. We fear those things that can bring us harm. We fear believing the wrong words. We don’t want to fear God; He has been so good to us. His faithfulness and mercy are beyond comparison. Yet, He is fearsome. He has warned us to beware of what we say about Him, threatening death to those who claim to speak in His name that have not been called. This does not mean that we should be afraid of Him. Instead, we are to be in awe of Him. “Holy and awesome is His name.” If His name is awesome, how much more so is He? He is worthy of our praise and our obedience.
And so, we are called to praise Him, not just for the beauty of His creation and the goodness of His dealings with His people. We are called to praise Him because we fear Him. We know His power. We also know of His mercy and grace. He is faithful. Wisdom is seen in the lives of those who live according to His good and perfect Word. He calls us to speak that Word to the world without fear, trusting that He will fill our mouths with His truth.
In the Gospel lesson, Jesus commanded the demon to be silent and to get out of the man whom he was possessing. The spirit obeyed Jesus, but it did not do so quietly. Jesus’ command for silence was so that the demon would not disrupt the holiness of the moment. They were in a synagogue. The people were there to worship God. This incident might have happened with little fanfare if only the spirit had been silent. The spirit knew Jesus was the Holy One of God, but it was not the right time for that revelation. The demon was the wrong voice. Though the demon would speak the truth, it would do so in a false way. Jesus silenced it, but it did not go down without a fight.
This incident was a foreshadowing of another battle Jesus would have to fight. The scribes and teachers of the law were, in essence, possessed by an understanding of God and the scriptures that was burdensome for themselves and the people to whom the ministered. They were leading the people like false prophets. Jesus came preaching something new, but it was true which the people recognized that He spoke with the authority of God. They knew He was right, but the leaders did not want to lose their authority. They, like the unclean spirit, wondered what Jesus wanted with them. “What are you doing here?” they asked. Jesus came to set them free, but only God’s Word, power, and grace would make that happen. All too often our words continue to hold us hostage, so we would do well to recognize the difference between when we should remain silent and those times when the good news is too good to be kept to ourselves.
God promised to give us prophets who would speak His word into our lives. Moses was the first among many. But Moses was followed by prophets, priests, and kings who lost sight of God. They spoke words for other gods or claimed to speak for the God they did not know. The people followed these false prophets, over and over again. They believed in the false gods and the false ideas about God. They did not, or could not, test the words for themselves.
They heard something very different when Jesus preached. They called it new, but it wasn’t. It was the authoritative Word of God. He wasn’t just a good spokesperson or a charismatic personality; He knew what He was talking about. The difference between Jesus and the scribes must have been shocking; after all, they had been listening to the scribes for so long that they didn’t recognize the falsehood. When they heard Jesus, they knew that He had something the scribes didn’t have; they knew He had the truth.
We may not be authorities or great speakers, but we are given the authority of Christ to be God’s voice in the world. We are blessed because we have something the people of the past did not have. We have the Holy Spirit. That doesn’t mean we should rely solely on our human hearts, minds, and spirits. We can be wrong. We have to test the words we hear against that which God has given us in Jesus and in the scriptures. We have to ask, “Is that word true?” Human beings don’t change; we are as likely to be led astray as the people in Moses’ and Jesus’ days.
We must approach God with fear and trembling, knowing without a doubt that false prophets who teach false gods will come to an end. But we need not fear God’s voice or His fire; by seeking Him we will see clearly. We will know Jesus, His life, and the work He has called us to do. We can’t rely only on the words of others; we must know God for ourselves. This is why we spend time in prayer and studying the scriptures. This is why we join with other Christians in worship, to praise Him and to seek Him in the company of His faithful. We are to abide in Jesus, to dwell in His authority, and experience His power in our lives.
What does it mean to speak a prophetic word of God in the world? It means glorifying God in a way that sets people on the right path, turns them to the only God who can be trusted and who will save them from themselves. We might be called to speak a word as did the prophets throughout the ages. It might not be easy because the messages of the prophets are often words of warning. However, every word that comes from God comes with a promise. Even when we are called to bring people to repentance, we know that God has something wonderful waiting for them on the other side. The word that is true is the one that rests in authority of God and is delivered by His power. That word is the word that will succeed because it will lead God’s people to praise Him.
January 25, 2024
“Restore to me the joy of your salvation. Uphold me with a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors your ways. Sinners will be converted to you. Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, the God of my salvation. My tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness. Lord, open my lips. My mouth will declare your praise. For you don’t delight in sacrifice, or else I would give it. You have no pleasure in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit. O God, you will not despise a broken and contrite heart.” Psalm 51:12-17, WEB
January 25th is the day we remember the conversion of St. Paul, which is an amazing story of a man who was against the Church in every way, his work was to harm the people who followed the way. One day as he was traveling to Damascus to destroy the church there, Jesus appeared to him on the road, and he was transformed into the greatest Christian apostle. Much of the book of Acts records his adventures, and thirteen of the epistles in the New Testament are attributed to him. He encouraged faith and helped the new Christians better understand how to live their faith in the world. They were confused and uncertain about what it meant to follow Jesus, but Paul taught them about the grace of God and the cruciform life we are to live. We are equally confused and uncertain, which is why we look to Paul for advice and understanding.
We often think of Paul as completely separate from Jesus until that day on the road to Damascus. Paul never directly says that he met Jesus, and the scriptures do not give us enough information to make a connection earlier in life, there is some evidence that Paul would have at least heard of, or even seen Jesus in person before the crucifixion. Even Paul said, “Therefore we know no one after the flesh from now on. Even though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now we know him so no more.” (2 Corinthians 5:16.) This is conjecture, of course, but there are many connections that make interaction, even passive, possible.
Paul was a contemporary of Jesus. The experts date Jesus’ birth in 4 B.C. and Paul was born in 5 A.D., so there was less than ten years difference in their ages, making Paul about twenty-one when Jesus began His ministry. It is reported that Paul had two advanced degrees by the time he was twenty-one. Paul arrived in Jerusalem when he was a teenager, probably about 20 A.D. Paul was well educated, first as a child in Tarsus in Hellenistic schools, and then in Jerusalem at the temple with Gamaliel (Acts 22:3). Gamaliel was a Pharisee, and Paul was an excellent student. He was an adult when Jesus began His ministry, and though he was probably not yet in leadership (which began when a man turned 30) he could have been in the crowds when Jesus was in Jerusalem, perhaps even among the Pharisees who questioned Jesus. Even if he did not hear Jesus personally, he would certainly have known about Jesus and heard conversations about Jesus’ response to the questions from the Pharisees with whom he studied and worked. Jerusalem in Jesus’ day was not New York City, and Paul ran with crowds that had encountered Jesus; it seems impossible that Paul had never been in His presence, although as a witness not a participant.
Gamaliel was the grandson of the great Jewish Rabbi Hillel who founded a school for rabbinic sages. There were two schools of thought at that time, Hillel and Shammai. The two teachers held distinct perspectives on Jewish Law. The two schools had vigorous debates on matters of ritual practice, ethics, and theology which were critical for the shaping of the Oral Law and Judaism as it is today. It is believed by some scholars that his father Simeon ben Hillel was the man who blessed Jesus in the Temple when He was circumcised. Gamaliel served as president of the Sanhedrin and was a highly respected doctor of Jewish Law. Some Christian traditions name Gamaliel as a Saint and claim that he embraced the Christian faith. Some early writings claim that he kept his conversion secret so that he could stay in the Sanhedrin to help his fellow Christians. Whether he became a Christian or not, Gamaliel approached the Way with caution and warned the Sanhedrin to deal with the sect with tolerance. He compared the Way with other “messianic” movements that died out when their leaders died. “If this is not from God, it won’t last, and if it is from God, you won’t defeat it.” (Acts 5:34)
Paul’s approach to the Way was much different than his teacher’s. He was often compared with Phinehas and Maccabaeus who were priests that used violence to keep the Jewish nation pure. Phinehas was a priest, the grandson of Aaron, and zealous against heresy in Israel. See Numbers 25:1-13, Psalm 106:28-31. Judas Maccabaeus led the revolt against the Seleucid Empire 167-160 B.C. See the apocryphal books of 1 and 2 Maccabees.
Paul’s name was Saul until Acts 13:9 when he began his ministry to the Gentiles; before then he persecuted Christians. He was zealous for the traditions of his fathers, doing everything he could to put a stop to the Way. He was successful, advancing quickly through the hierarchy of the religion of the Jews. He had Steven stoned and then went toward Damascus. He had letters giving him the authority to destroy the Church and any who were following the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. Paul had already been actively involved in the fight against the Way by the time he encountered Stephen. As a matter of fact, he was a leader in the movement (Acts 8:1). Saul was probably on his way to Damascus because many of the Christians fled to there from Jerusalem after the stoning of Stephen.
He was stopped on the road by a blinding light and the words of the Master, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” He heard the Word of God and was cut to the heart. “Who are you, Lord?” he asked, knowing any voice from heaven must be from God. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise up and enter into the city, then you will be told what you must do.” Saul did as he was told and fasted for three days until Ananias arrived to lay hands on him for healing and so that he would be filled with the Holy Spirit. Saul was baptized and immediately began preaching the truth about Jesus Christ. He became Paul, the apostle to the nations.
Paul saw the joy of God’s salvation in Jesus Christ. He willingly suffered for the sake of all those who came to know Christ through his preaching. The experience on the road to Damascus could have made Paul feel sorry for himself, after all it changed everything. Jesus turned his life upside down. The successful, even powerful, Pharisee became a man who was persecuted, hunted, rejected, ignored, beaten, imprisoned, and eventually martyred. He could not see, and he was being called to go against everything he knew to be right and true. Like the father on the television show, Paul saw the light of his own failure and was transformed by the grace of God. Paul certainly knew the words of the psalmist as a Pharisee, but after his conversion he began to sing it with a faith that only comes from God’s grace, a faith that we have received through the Word that has been spoken to us by witnesses of the Gospel like Paul.
January 26, 2024
“He came to Bethsaida. They brought a blind man to him, and begged him to touch him. He took hold of the blind man by the hand, and brought him out of the village. When he had spat on his eyes, and laid his hands on him, he asked him if he saw anything. He looked up, and said, ‘I see men; for I see them like trees walking.’ Then again he laid his hands on his eyes. He looked intently, and was restored, and saw everyone clearly. He sent him away to his house, saying, ‘Don’t enter into the village, nor tell anyone in the village.’” Mark 8:22-26, WEB
Jesus healed several blind men. Matthew recorded two incidents with two men each. Mark recorded the story in today’s passage and the story of Bartimaeus. Luke wrote about a blind man in Jericho. John told the lengthy story of the man born blind who was tried by the religious leaders. All four evangelists repeatedly talk about Jesus healing the blind among His other miracles. These stories are often accompanied by instruction about spiritual blindness.
That is certainly true with today’s passage. The Pharisees wanted a sign to know that Jesus was who He said He was, but they ignored the true signs. Jesus fed five thousand and four thousand people with small amounts of bread Earlier in chapter 8, Jesus was with the disciples in a boat. They were talking about the lack of bread. They’d just experienced the second feeding and were lamenting because they had only one loaf for them all. Jesus said, “Take heed: beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.” The disciples thought he was referring to their lack of bread in the boat. Jesus reminded them of the miracles they’d seen and asked, “Don’t you understand yet?”
They were spiritually blind. They knew Jesus personally, had heard Him speak and seen Him do so many incredible things, including healing the blind, yet they still did not see. In the verses following today’s passage, Jesus asked the disciples, “Who do men say that I am?” Then He asked who they said He was. Peter confessed faith in Jesus, but then rebuked Jesus for saying that He would die. They saw but did not see completely. Mark orders his telling of the story of Jesus so that we would see how the miracles authenticate His words, as we see in today’s passage.
Many people will read this text and ask, “Why did Jesus fail the first time?” Jesus didn’t fail; He was making a point. They could see, but they were not yet seeing clearly. They knew Jesus but didn’t understand Jesus as they would eventually. He asked, “Don’t you understand yet?” and then healed the blind man in Bethsaida in stages. One the surface, this story is disconcerting because it seems like Jesus failed, but we are comforted by the fact that Jesus is teaching us this lesson. We see, but we don’t see clearly. Paul wrote, “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, even as I was also fully known.” (1 Corinthians 13:12)
We will continue to grow in faith and in knowledge of God when we spend time with Jesus in prayer, in study, in worship, and in fellowship. We can’t see at all without the power of the Holy Spirit, which the disciples did not yet have. Even though we dwell in this grace, we still have much to learn. We are still, in some ways, spiritually blind and we’ll be so until we enter eternal life. Jesus asked, “Don’t you understand yet?” My answer is, “No, Jesus, I don’t understand many things. Give me faith to believe even when things don’t make sense.”
When I heard this text the other day, I found comfort in it in another way. The man was healed, but not completely at first. It was a process. Jesus made him well, and then made him better. I have prayed for God to heal my body, to make me well, to make me better. Some days I feel terrific, I know that I am getting better. I’ve seen such tremendous progress with the “renovation of my temple.” Yet, I have other days when I feel like I’ve taken three steps backward. We pray and we want immediate answers to our prayers, and when we don’t see them, we wonder if Jesus has failed. He hasn’t failed. He can’t fail. Jesus is doing more than healing my body. He is making me whole. It is comforting to know that Jesus doesn’t stop at the first step. He takes His time to transform us into the people He has created, redeemed, and called us to be physically and spiritually.
January 29, 2024
“Peter opened his mouth and said, ‘Truly I perceive that God doesn’t show favoritism; but in every nation he who fears him and works righteousness is acceptable to him. The word which he sent to the children of Israel, preaching good news of peace by Jesus Christ—he is Lord of all—you yourselves know what happened, which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached; even Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. We are witnesses of everything he did both in the country of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they also killed, hanging him on a tree. God raised him up the third day, and gave him to be revealed, not to all the people, but to witnesses who were chosen before by God, to us, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that this is he who is appointed by God as the Judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him, that through his name everyone who believes in him will receive remission of sins.’” Acts 10:34-43, WEB
Jonah was a prophet of God, called to speak God’s Word to the people. He willingly went forth with messages of love and mercy, as well as those of wrath, to his people. One day God asked Jonah to go to Nineveh and preach repentance to the people. The time of judgment would come quickly, but they had a chance to change. Now, if Nineveh were a town of Jonah’s people, if it were of Israel, Jonah would have gone without question. But Nineveh was an enemy to the people of Israel, had warred against them, and killed many. How could Jonah share God’s Word with them and give them a chance to repent?
He decided not to go and ran in the other direction. Unfortunately, you can’t run from God and Jonah found himself in the belly of a whale. He prayed to God and asked for forgiveness, and then promised to obey God’s command to go to Nineveh. He preached to the people that time was short and that they should repent of their evil ways. The people heard God’s Word and the Ninevites believed Him. They fasted, wore sackcloth, and gave up their evil ways. The LORD had mercy and kept His wrath from falling on them.
But Jonah got angry with God. He wanted his enemy to be punished for their evil ways. He asked God to take his life because he just couldn’t live with that kind of mercy. For Jonah, God’s mercy was only for the chosen ones and everyone else should suffer. Perhaps that sounds like an exaggeration, and I do not know very many people who would have such a pompous view of God. Yet, we are like Jonah, and we often show favoritism in some way.
The wisdom of heaven is impartial. Jesus Christ did not come to the world for only a few people; God’s mercy reaches far beyond our small corner of the world. His salvation is a very personal thing, He came for you and for me, but He also came for all nations. He came for our family and friends, our neighbors, and our enemies. He came for those people we like and for those who drive us crazy. Do we favor some people over others? When God calls us to go to Nineveh, do we act like Jonah and run the other way? Do we get angry when God has mercy on those who do us harm?
Peter realized that God’s mercy is not given just for those we want to receive it, but God desires all to turn to Him because He loves us all. Christ does not play favorites, nor should we as we live our lives of faith in Him. Rejoice when God has mercy on your enemy who turns to Him in faith, for in Christ you are then no longer enemies but rather you are brothers. The world would truly be a much better place if we all lived according to this wisdom and loved our enemies by sharing the Gospel of Christ with them so that they will become friends sharing the Kingdom of God.
January 30, 2024
“Trust in Yahweh with all your heart, and don’t lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Don’t be wise in your own eyes. Fear Yahweh, and depart from evil. It will be health to your body, and nourishment to your bones.” Proverbs 3:5-8, WEB
I’ve been following my doctor’s orders, and my health has significantly improved. I’m eating better, not just the type of food, but how I eat. I’m exercising more. I have been avoiding certain things that could interfere with the process. I have also been researching to find things I can do naturally that will help with my healing.
If you have ever done any online research, you know it can be a lengthy, difficult, and frustrating experience. One website gives you one piece of advice, another counters with completely different information. Sometimes one will tell you to do this and the other will tell you to do exactly the opposite. You have to discern who to trust, and quite frankly I often give up and reject all the advice. I have to confess that I’m so anxious to be healthy that I want the quick fix, but I’m learning that the quick fix isn’t always the best way to deal with our struggles. Sometimes we just have to be patient and work with our body let it do what it needs to do to be well.
The other thing we notice when we do online research is how quickly the algorithms try to provide answers to your questions with ads. I’ve been inundated with ads for eating and exercise programs. I repeatedly see ads for cloths and shoes, books and apps. Some sound interesting; I often wonder if perhaps that is just what I need. I have clicked into a few, but I always discover rather quickly that it is just another so called “expert” trying to make a buck. The latest technology or elixir will not really help me. These charlatans often tell half-truths to get your attention, to make you doubt and worry. Whenever someone suggests that they have a miracle cure, I turn the other way.
I tend to read the comments to see if there is any information that will help lead me in the right direction. You have to be careful here, too, because the comments are often posted by bots or by people who are paid to use multiple pseudonyms to raise the product in social media and search engines. Some businesses are making a fortune selling this service. This was never more obvious than a product I saw advertised on my Facebook page. The first four comments, made by “different” people, were identical. I laughed as I read down the list of a thousand comments when I saw how many said the same thing. A few even repeated the same typographical and grammar errors. Obviously the five-star rating was based not on real opinions. I didn’t even bother to click into that one to see if I could learn anything.
I’ve learned some helpful things when I have done my research, but I’ve also realized how careful we have to be when we are surfing the Internet. We can waste a lot of time getting lost in websites that do not help. Most of all, I’ve learned that I need to trust in God through this process. He has gifted many people with the knowledge to help do things the right way, the doctors and even some of those who advertise their products to help others find a healthier lifestyle. Yet, for every good guy, there are many who are just selling something for their own benefit. My healing may come in part because I’m doing what I can with the advice of professionals, but ultimately I am thankful to God who gives me the discernment to make good decisions. He is the one bringing me to good health.
January 31, 2024
Lectionary Scriptures for February 4, 2024, Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany: Isaiah 40:21-31; Psalm 147:1-11; 1 Corinthians 9:16-27; Mark 1:29-39
“Yahweh takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his loving kindness.” Psalm 147:11, WEB
We’ve been talking about Paul’s letter to the Romans in our Sunday school class. In our discussion about rejoicing in our suffering, I suggested that we are more likely to pay attention to God in our valleys than on our mountain tops, but realized that’s not quite true. We do pay attention to God when we are on the top of our mountain because it is there that our worship is often the most intense. We pay attention to God in the valleys because we need Him to walk with us through our valley, helping us. On the mountain top we praise; in the valley we pray. The trouble comes when we are caught in between. We become comfortable and self-satisfied on the side of the mountain. It is not that we reject God; He is just sidelined until it is time to praise or pray. God is God to us, but we don’t always see Him as the Holy One.
God is the “Holy One of Israel” for Isaiah. This title appears twenty-six times in his book. God’s people had become comfortable and complacent, God was sidelined as they lived life in their world. Their comfort and self-satisfaction led to sin that meant God had to deal with His people in a way they would not expect. How could God be the Holy One if He allowed them to face such a difficult time? They were defeated and exiled in a foreign land. It seemed that the nation of Israel would no longer exist. They brought on the troubles themselves. They were repeatedly warned by the prophets of God, but they did not see God as the Holy One. It is a vicious circle in which we get trapped when we sideline our God. Despite their struggles, Isaiah spoke a word of hope to God’s people.
So, in chapter 40, Isaiah asked a number of questions about God. “Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and marked off the sky with his span, and calculated the dust of the earth in a measuring basket, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? Who has directed Yahweh’s Spirit, or has taught him as his counselor? Who did he take counsel with, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding?” (Isaiah 40:12-14) And finally, “To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare to him?” (Isaiah 40:18)
When we are comfortable, we lose sight of God and forget the unmerited blessings of His grace. There were times when God’s people looked away from Him for hope and peace and strength. They allied with neighbors for protection, sought encouragement from foreigners, all the while forgetting the God who provided them all they would ever need. They turned from Him, and in doing so lost touch with the One who could and would bless them in every way.
So, just as the people thought there was no hope, Isaiah called them to remember their God. He offered a word of hope that the God they had forgotten has not forgotten them. They just had to see that the things and people to whom they had turned would not be able to provide them with all that they needed. Only God can measure the water or the heavens with His hand. Only God can weigh the mountains and hills. There is no one who has, or can, tell God how to be God. He did not ask for human advice in the creation of the world or learn from human teachers. There is no one like God. God is greater than their problems. He is above all creation. He can raise kings and bring them down again. God is their strength. He is their hope. He is their refuge. He is the everlasting God, creator of all things. In Him they will find their comfort and salvation.
We aren’t exiled, but we are facing our own problems. Have we forgotten, too? Had we become too comfortable, losing site of the God from whom all blessings flow? Have we lifted up false gods and put them as our priorities, turning our back on the only One who can provide all that we need? Isaiah calls out to us today, just as he called out to the Israelites so long ago, “Haven’t you known? Haven’t you heard? The everlasting God, Yahweh, the Creator of the ends of the earth, doesn’t faint. He isn’t weary. His understanding is unsearchable.” He is faithful and we will find our hope in Him.
God never forgot His promises, but He did allow them to suffer the consequences of their unfaithfulness. At just the moment when Israel had no hope, Isaiah called them to remember their God. He reminded them that the God they had forgotten had not forgotten them. They just had to see there was no hope in the things and people of this world.
Martin Luther spoke during one of his table talks about the difference in how God and Satan use fear. He said that the Lord first allows us to be afraid so that He might relieve our fears and comfort us. The devil first makes us feel secure in our pride and sins, that we might later be overwhelmed with our fear and despair. The devil uses our security to his benefit by threatening to destroy the things we love. So, we become afraid and do everything we can to protect our lives, our homes, our families, our jobs, and our things. We even willfully disobey the Word of God, living in anger, hatred, violence, and war, justifying our actions as a way to overcome the things that threaten our lives.
The fear of the Lord is much different. The Law provides insight into our own sinful nature. Through it we can see our inability to be obedient. We know of God’s power and justice, so we fear the wrath that we deserve. Yet, God comes to us through the Gospel, not with threats, but with love and mercy and grace. Jesus Christ relieves our fears, and the Holy Spirit comforts us. We hear the promises of God that He will not destroy us; He has promised us eternal life in His Kingdom. Rather than reason for alarm, we are given reason for hope and peace.
We live in a world where people use fear to get what they want. There was a story about a woman who disappeared one day, leaving her children in the custody of her abusive husband. The children did not see her for thirty years. The children never knew if they should worry about her safety or be angry that she left them to suffer. The truth eventually came out: the husband kidnapped the children when she left to get help. She tried for years through the legal system to get her children, but he threatened her until she believed that it was better to let them go. She knew that he was capable of incredible violence and thought it better not to risk his wrath.
Sometimes our fear gets the better of us. I think we have all probably been in situations when we have made irrational decisions because we let fear control our thoughts. I used to love horror movies. There was something about the adrenaline rush that comes from that sense of fear experienced in the theater, even though I know it was not real. Sometimes the films were more humorous than scary. Like the sappy holiday romances, horror films follow a formula. You can easily recognize the bad guy and when he will strike. The music gives you clues to when the hacking will begin. There’s always some barely clothed young lady running through the forest. It is the same plot over and over again. We would get scared, but not really. We usually left the auditorium in tears from laughing so hard at the absurdity of the movie and at our own reaction.
One of the last horror films I went to see was playing at the cheap theater in the rough side of town. My friend and I went because it was a movie we wanted to see, but it was already out of our regular theaters. Besides, who could pass up a movie for a buck? We were two young women in the bad part of town and we decided to go at night, but we felt safe.
We felt safe until we sat down in the movie theater. Perhaps it was just a shock to see how different the culture was of the other people attending, but we were frightened. Gangs of young people surrounded us. There was even a physical altercation. I don’t know whether they were just having fun, or if we had found ourselves in the middle of a turf war. All I know is that my friend and I did not enjoy the movie. Though we stayed through the whole thing, we spent most of the time trying to stay anonymous in the crowd. We made it safely to our car after the movie; there was probably no good reason for us to be afraid. That does not diminish the reality of how we felt that night. We were alone and vulnerable.
There are those who take a certain pleasure in fear. The man was an abuser who enjoyed making his wife and children tremble because it gave him a sense of power and control. Some people use your fear to manipulate you to do whatever they want you to do. You’ll give them information, possessions, or your service just to remain safe.
Fear can be a good thing in that it helps to protect us in times of trouble. Fight or flight is a powerful response to the things that put us in danger. Yet, we know that fear is not a positive emotion, and not an emotion we expect to be part of our relationship with God. We do not understand why the psalmist would write, “Yahweh takes pleasure in those who fear him...” God does not find pleasure in our fear the way an abuser or gang member does. We fear God not because we are afraid; fear of God does not make us cower and tremble. We fear God because we are in awe and respect everything God has done and what He can do. He is fearful, that much is true, but He is also gracious and merciful.
The psalmist completes the thought in verse 11 with, “…in those that hope in his loving kindness.” God takes pleasure in those who put their hope in His lovingkindness. This is a much different type of delight. It is a delight that will do what is best for those who fear, to guard and protect, provide, and bless. For this, He deserves our praise.
How do we praise God? We can join with other believers in hymns and songs glorifying God’s goodness and His good works. We can also be obedient to His Word, living the life He has created and called us to live. We can praise God by serving others, using the gifts He has given us to shine His light into the world, so that everyone will see our thanksgiving and join in the song.
We are like grasshoppers compared to God Almighty who created everything and whose hand drives it all. God can bring down princes and rulers and scatter them like a storm scatters stubble. He placed every star in the sky and He knows them all by name. There is none like God. And yet, we often try to be Him. We try to control the world in which we live, calling for God to serve us instead of bowing in worship to serve Him. Isaiah asked twice in today’s Old Testament passage why they were not hearing God’s Word.
Our problems may differ, but we are the same as Israel. Have we chosen to believe that we have the answers, that we know how to solve the problems? Have we become too comfortable and forgotten that it is His Word that truly makes a difference? Have we lifted up the false god of our own goodness and made it our priority, ignoring the real purpose of God’s grace? Isaiah calls out to us today, just as he called out to the Israelites so long ago to remind us that our God is the Holy One. “Haven’t you known? Haven’t you heard?” God is faithful and we will find our hope only in Him.
Jesus came with a purpose, but not everyone knew or heard what He had to say.
In today’s Gospel lesson, Jesus left the synagogue after healing the man with the demons and He went straight to Peter’s house. Peter’s mother-in-law was ill with fever and lying in bed. Like the man with the demons, Peter’s mother-in-law could not fulfill her purpose; though her dis-ease was not supernatural in nature, she was still not able to be who she was created to be. Instead, she was forced to lie in bed, unable to serve her family or enjoy their fellowship. Jesus took her hand and lifted her up. She was immediately cured and restored. This restoration was not just healing, but wholeness. She didn’t just stop being sick, she was able to care for her family as she was created and called to do.
Word spread about Jesus because of His miracles. People soon arrived at Peter’s door with the sick and the possessed. It seemed as if the entire city was gathered around the house. Jesus cured many of the diseases and cast out many demons. He took care of their needs and restored them to their roles in their society. This was very important in Jesus’ day. There were no laws which gave handicapped people help. There was no mobility between stations in life or the roles to which you were born. If you were sick, you were considered unclean. If you were a Jew or a Greek, you lived, worked, and ate with only your people. There were not only stumbling blocks, but there were also walls keeping people inside and outside.
Jesus broke down those walls. He brought healing, He cast out demons. He changed lives and restored people. But that’s not all He came to do. He also came to preach. Unfortunately, the people were so amazed by the miraculous things He was doing that they did not hear what He had to say. “Haven’t you known? Haven’t you heard?” No, they did not know, and they did not hear. They closed in on Him and expected Him to do what they wanted. They did not give Him the room to be who He came to be.
Jesus went to a lonely place to pray. When the disciples found Him, they told Him that everyone was looking for Him. He said to them, “Let’s go elsewhere into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because I came out for this reason.” He was not going to allow the people to dictate His work. The healing and casting out of demons were important because they proved Jesus’ authority and power, but they were not the reason He came. It was time to move on, to share the message with others who might hear. Sadly, we learn in Luke 10 that Capernaum never came to believe. Strange, isn’t it? They came to Jesus for healing, but never found wholeness because they didn’t listen to Him.
I was able to be a stay-at-home mom for my kids. I loved being a mom, but I have to admit that there were times when I wondered what I could have accomplished if I had followed a career path. How would you answer the question “If you could have done something differently in your life, what would it be?” I think I might have pursued a different degree at college. I love the life I’ve lived, but I think we all wonder what might have been if we walked a different path. Sadly, sometimes women who choose a life serving their family are not respected for their choice, as if they could or should have had a greater impact on the world, as if raising children is not a worthy accomplishment. Stay-at-home moms are often thought to be nobodies, but I was happy to live a life of service to my family.
Today’s story from Mark is comforting to those who are nobodies like me. First of all, we see Jesus ministering in a home. Last week Jesus was seen and heard by many who were amazed at His authority over the word and the spirit. He was just beginning to accomplish the great things that we still remember today: the miracles, the crowds who followed Him, the willingness to give himself wholly for the sake of the world. These are great acts. Yet, last week’s story is followed by a much smaller encounter. A friend’s mother was ill. Jesus touched her and she was made well. And we see in this story that she wasn’t healed for some great purpose. She was healed so that she could continue to live in her vocation: serving those she loves.
She was a nobody. She has no name and is only identified by her relationship to Peter. She had no great job, and yet Jesus restored her to her place in her community, to her place in her home. He gave her the gift of life again to do what she was meant to do. It was not a special day or a special place. This story shows us how Jesus did extraordinary things for ordinary people in ordinary places on ordinary days. Jesus can, and does, the same for us as we live our ordinary lives in this world. We need not wonder so much about whether or not we can accomplish something great. God is in the ordinary experiences of our life, too.
Jesus might never have left Simon’s home if He had waited for the crowds to stop coming. They would have been there day after day looking for Him. They wanted Jesus to focus on meeting their needs, but healing was not the focus of His ministry. Healing was just a part of it. Jesus would not allow the crowds to tell Him what He should do. He did what God sent Him to do: share the Word that heals hearts and sets people free. Jesus longed to be heard, for the true healing from God is in His Word. Jesus continued to heal and cast out demons, but He moved quickly from place to place to do what He was sent to do: preach the Good News.
So many things about today’s lessons seem out of whack to our modern way of thinking, but we are reminded that the Gospel is shocking and counter cultural. It is life changing. It is powerful. Most of all, it is for everyone. The power of the Gospel is for men and women, for those in worship and at home, for those in our small circles of friends and for our neighbors far away. That’s why Paul says that he has become all things to all people. He’s not wavering on the one thing that matters: the message.
This passage almost makes Paul seem wishy-washy, unwilling to commit. But that’s not what he’s saying. Paul stands on Christ, the foundation of everything he believes. However, the people he meets are diverse. The people we meet are diverse. Some people are in a time and a place of comfort, others are afraid. Some are happy; others are in mourning. Some are healthy and some are facing dis-ease. We meet people from different cultures, from different world views. Everyone has a different need. Paul is prepared to meet them where they are, to touch them in a way that will shine the light of Christ into their life. We are called to do the same, because God’s Word is the foundation of all healing, no matter what troubles us.
Paul’s message never changed; he always preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ. However, he shared that Gospel in a way that would be understood and relevant to the people who heard him speak. To the Greeks he spoke as a Greek, to the Jews he spoke as a Jew. He was weak so that those who were weak might find the courage to receive God’s word for themselves. He took the extraordinary Word of God to ordinary people in ordinary ways. God’s Word is meant for all, the Gospel was given for the salvation of the world.
Paul did not expect that all would be saved, but he was willing to see the world from someone else’s point of view to help them know and hear God’s Word in a life-changing and transforming way. He was willing to let God work through his life in a way that would heal and make people whole. This is frightening because it means we have to give up control. But it is only in letting God work through us that anyone will be saved.
The Gospel brings change. The change comes from the Spirit of Christ dwelling within, and it is in Him that we live. In Christ we are more alive than we have ever been, and the breath we breathe is from the Spirit of God Himself. This awesome reality leads us to a life of praise and thanksgiving, a life that can’t help but proclaim the message of grace to the world no matter how much we might be afraid. The Gospel gives us the power to take the Kingdom of God to those who will hear, for those who hear will be saved.
As we look at the stories in the scriptures, we see them through our own eyes. We see that poor women getting up to serve when she should be recuperating, missing the joy she has in her salvation. She didn’t have to go cook dinner for Jesus and the disciples; she gave herself and her gifts to those she loves. Jesus healed her and lifted her to new life, and she responded with joy and thanksgiving. Paul responded with his whole life to his call to ministry, willingly submitting himself to others for the sake of the Gospel.
Have we heard? Jesus Christ has made us whole with His healing and with His Word. We have no reason to boast because we are nothing more than grasshoppers. Yet, through faith in Christ by God’s grace, we are lifted up, given eagle’s wings and the strength to use our gifts to do what God has called and sent us to do in our homes, churches, cities and beyond.
God is faithful and He delights in those who find their hope and trust in Him. He calls us to live for the sake of others, following Jesus as He breaks down walls, heals the sick, casts out demons, and speaks the Gospel through us so that those who are still chasing the wrong gods will know and hear. This is our calling: to share the Word so that those who have side-lined God will know Him and hear Him. Then they can experience His delight and hope in His loving kindness, finding joy in His salvation.