January 30, 2009

Psalm 40

1 I waited patiently for the Lord;
he inclined to me and heard my cry.
2 He drew me up from the pit of destruction,
out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
making my steps secure.
3 He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
and put their trust in the Lord.

4 Blessed is the man who makes
the Lord his trust,
who does not turn to the proud,
to those who go astray after a lie!


Mark 6

53 When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored to the shore. 54 And when they got out of the boat, the people immediately recognized him 55 and ran about the whole region and began to bring the sick people on their beds to wherever they heard he was. 56 And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well.

the promise, through faith

January 29, 2009

Daily Office readings, ESV

3:1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. 2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 4 Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? 5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— 6 just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”?

There's a lot hear about the Holy Spirit, as well as faith. Again we see over and over that it is faith / trust / belief that brings one into or connects one in right relationship with God. And this life is a life in and by the Spirit.

11 Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” 12 But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— 14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

We'll see more about what that is like in a couple of days. But for now (I have to run to Thad Barnum's morning Bible Study now), let us trust in God, and live in the Spirit. Peace.

justified by faith

January 28, 2009

Daily Office readings, ESV

we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.
(Galatians 2:16)

To be justified or righteous is not so much a legal standing, or a standing of moral purity, but simply God saying "we're in right relationship," or "you have fulfilled the 'demands' of being rightly related to me." And what is that? What is God looking for? What is God's will?

That we trust him, believe him, stake the whole weight of our existence upon him, his love and faithfulness.

Peace and joy.

families and offenses

January 27, 2009

Daily Office readings, ESV

You know, some days nothing in your devotions particularly grabs you, or speaks to you - it is kind of hard work, or a discipline. Today's like that for me. I may be distracted, getting ready to leave for Atlanta today to see my son, Mark, and his beautiful wife and daughter, Monica and Lily. Then tomorrow I'll be going on to the Anglican Mission in the Americas (AMiA) Winter Conference in Greensboro, NC. I have a little anxiety about being at the conference due to being disconnected after resigning from my AMiA church 4 years ago, due to having concerns about what is emphasized and what seems neglected especially at these big gatherings, and just due to my own frustration, failure, anger, bitterness and cynicism that is all mixed in with my relationship to this "family" or "tribe ."

The thought I have as I let these Scriptures sit with me, as I let them mull around inside, exploring thoughts and feelings (even as I'm honest about why I may not be getting anything from them...), has to do with the themes of families, tribes, communities uniting or dividing around the good news of the kingdom, and of our freedom in Christ. Paul is absolutely alienated from his true family because of his past and his reputation. And even amidst the reconciliation there are those seeking to infiltrate and undermine their freedom in Christ. They were able to see and embrace a couple of different paths they'd be taking and honor each other in two different expressions and applications of the gospel (to the Gentiles and to the Jews).

Jesus, on the other hand, comes to his hometown, his own people who knew him and watched him grow up, and is teaching and doing some mighty works (though that may just be a report they are mulling over - "How are such mighty works done by his hand?"). And they take offense. For some reason they can't get past their natural, familial connection with Jesus enough to be awed or even to fear him, let alone humble themselves and repent and follow him.

One group moves from offense to unity and fellowship in Christ, the other from being fellow Nazarenes to taking offense. As I visit with Mark and Monica and Lily, and much moreso as I go to fellowship with my AMiA "tribe" - I pray that I will seek and find those places to be united in our freedom in Christ (it is for freedom Christ has set us free), and be tenacious in watching out for my heart taking offense at things not central to our unity and fellowship in Christ (my bent toward arrogance and being right is of concern here).

Even more dangerous to watch out for, I think, is taking offense (like those in Nazareth) over what and who is central to this life and freedom in the kingdom; that is, over the presence of the king himself working freedom in his children, advancing his upside -down kingdom, turning the tables and exposing my value systems and the honor & power structures of my heart. I choose you, Lord Jesus, today. I honor you for your humility, and poverty, and emptiness, and submission, and graciousness, and generosity. Be formed a little bit more in me today.

more on fear and faith

Monday, January 26, 2009

Daily Office, ESV

Mark 5:21-43

"Do not fear, only believe."
(Mark 5:36)

This could be my daily word, probably for the rest of my life. Interesting how this theme keeps coming up in this section of Mark's gospel...

In this case, it is spoken to Jairus, one of the rulers of the synagogue, who came to Jesus asking him to come lay his hand on his daughter and heal her because she was sick and at the point of death. Jesus doesn't say a word, but does go with Jairus - presumably to do exactly what Jairus requested.

While they are on the way to Jairus' house, word comes that his daughter has died, no need to trouble the teacher (interesting reference in this context) any further. It is here that Jesus says, "Do not fear, only believe."

Of course, on one level this word is spoken with regard to the dead little girl and that Jesus can still make her well and live. But I hear a couple of other things here also. Not only is Jesus saying "believe that I can raise her up," but "believe that I am willing to lay my hand on her (as ritually unclean and wrong for a "Teacher," or any observant Jew, as being touched by a bleeding woman...) and restore her to life." "Believe that you and your daughter (cf. v. 34) are not untouchables, not out of reach, not hopeless cases cut off from community and from life;" and further, "believe that I do not consider it further trouble (cf. "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?" 4:38). Believe that I'm in this with you, that I will not leave or forsake you, that there is no limit to the trouble to which I will endure for you to rescue and restore you."

There is so much, once again, to explore regarding what we fear, and how that drives unbelief. It is as common to all people, I think, as it is unique to each individual: from our dear friend, and his family, who has been faithfully fighting cancer and recently learned it has appeared in his brain, to another friend who has a child struggling with loss and coping with drugs, to those whose income, or even job, has been cut due to the recession, to those young people trying to find meaningful jobs in this economy, to the deep questions of "Am I loved?" "Am I significant?" "Am I secure?"

It is good to keep reflecting and praying and being radically honest with our fears and distrust / unbelief. It is also good to recognize that passages like this are not absolute promises of physical healing this side of the "kingdom come," but signs of that restoration begun, of where it is all moving if we believe in Jesus, and again, that we must not fear that our condition or situation (or possible condition or situation, for after all many of our fears are not of a present problem but a future possibility) is beyond his reach, beyond his concern, too much trouble.

We have blazing evidence to the contrary - not only in his incarnation, but in his passion and cross and resurrection and ascension. Thanks be to God.

P.S. Isn't the whole epistle of Galatians which we begin reading today, another way of God saying "do not fear, only believe"?

week of January 25

Prayer for Third Sunday of Epiphany

Give us grace, O Lord, to answer readily the call of our Savior Jesus Christ and proclaim to all people the Good News of his salvation, that we and the whole world may perceive the glory of his marvelous works; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Sunday Lectionary

Jeremiah 3:21-4:2; Psalm 130; 1 Cor. 7:17-23; Mark 1:14-20

Daily Office Readings, week of January 25

Monday Ps. 41, 52 (AM) + 44 (PM)

Isa. 48:1-11; Gal. 1:1-17; Mark 5:21-43

Tuesday Ps. 45 + 47, 48

Isa. 48:12-21; Gal. 1:18-2:10; Mark 6:1-13

Wednesday Ps. 119:49-72 + 49, [53]

Isa. 49:1-12; Gal. 2:11-21; Mark 6:13-29

Thursday Ps. 50 + [59, 60] or 118

Isa. 49:13-23; Gal. 3:1-14; Mark 6:30-46

Friday Ps. 40, 54 + 51

Isa. 50:1-11; Gal. 3:15-22; Mark 6:47-56

Saturday Ps. 55 + 138, 139:1-17(18-23)

Isa. 51:1-8; Gal. 3:23-29; Mark 7:1-23

power

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Daily Office ESV

And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid.
(Mark 5:15)

We have a second story where Jesus displays his power over what humans are normally powerless over, and the response is fear. True, later people marveled at the man's testimony (from a distance), but up close in the drama, as with the disciples in the boat in calm water, the immediate reaction is to be terrified.

And again, why? Maybe because here is One we cannot control. We are in the presence of him who can calm wind and wave, and command demons and pigs, and restore a man to sanity and wholeness. And perhaps part of us would rather have a god we can control in some degree and so (think we can) protect ourselves from any arbitrary outbursts of power.

Rather, Jesus calls us to repent and trust and believe the good news of the kingdom, that his power is for good and not for evil, that he has come to restore and unite, and only to subdue and conquer and drive out and destroy that which opposes him and works against his purposes of righteousness peace and joy. He also calls us to join him in his kingdom work; to work for peace and healing, to pray and proclaim and demonstrate in live consistent with the message, and to:

be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm...
(Ephesians 6:10-13)

This, of course, we do "in Christ" - hidden in his love and grace and care, and in the way of Christ, the very way he went about engaging and overcoming the "powers" - trusting completely in the Father, speaking the truth in love, and laying down our lives. This is not power against power, but trusting the Father to be the only one who can (1) overcome the powers, and (2) do it in righteousness and not become like them in the engagement...

fear and faith

January 23, 2008

Daily Office, ESV

Isaiah 45:18-25; Eph. 6:1-9; Mark 4:35-41

40 He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?”
41 And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
(Mark 4:40-41)

They, we, fear the storm and perishing in it's fury,
and they, we, fear God who is more powerful than the storm
(this not necessarily the good "fear of the Lord," though perhaps it is).

So many questions in this short passage. Do you not care? Why still afraid? Have you not faith? Who is this??
Whatever "storm" is blowing us about, buffeting us, stirring up, whipping up our hearts, we tend to be anxious or fearful that we will lose something - our life, our dream, our identity, our comfort. We will be diminished, or lose the control (which we never had), or experience pain. All is in question.

And yet, Jesus promises to be with us always, and to never leave or forsake us. He indeed is with us in the storm.

I guess the question at the bottom of it all, the question that may reveal the presence of faith in the midst of the fear is "Do you not care that we are perishing?" Do we fear a storm, and/or a god, who does not care? Who randomly displays power, sometimes for good, sometimes for ill? Or do we fear a God, manifest in Jesus the Christ, who is both more powerful than the storm, and who tenderly cares that we not perish? Who came and gave up his life precisely because God loves us so much that, believing and trusting in him, we should not perish?

Yes, it's important and helpful to identify the source of anxiety or fear I'm experiencing, but not to dwell on it or submit to, but bring it face to face with the One who is Lord and Lover of all. And to choose what/who I will fear - Jesus who cares so much that he faced this fear of perishing, entered into the eye of the storm, and went down, dead and buried, and who in his rising and in his reigning says,

"Peace, be still. I care. I care that you live, fully, freely, forever
in me"

+ + + + +

“Great is the Lord, who delights in the welfare of his servant!”
(Psalm 35:27)

21 And there is no other god besides me,
a righteous God and a Savior;
there is none besides me.
22 “Turn to me and be saved,
all the ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other.
23 By myself I have sworn;
from my mouth has gone out in righteousness
a word that shall not return:
‘To me every knee shall bow,
every tongue shall swear allegiance.’
(Isaiah 45:21-23)

automatically

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Daily Office Readings (ESV)
(I will put this link in most days. It is all the readings for each day. You can navigate to different days, or use the search / browse tab to look up any passage. You can also listen to the passage being read and read along.)

Ps 37; Isaiah 45:5-17; Eph. 5:15-33; Mark 4:21-34

"the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. The earth produces by itself..."
(Mark 4:27-28)

Another translation of the above could be "the earth (land) brings forth fruit automatically." Of course, only if the seed has been scattered on it - but we know not how. It is "by itself," or "without evident cause," or "automatically," that is, without the help of me or you or any other human or human invention. That is we can, and must, let it go and trust in the God of life, and the king of the kingdom. There's power and life in the seed.

There's no formula, no program, no class that will bring true, godly growth in me or our church and community, unless God is in it. There are no hoops to jump through, no "A+B=C" that automatically will bear kingdom fruit. Only absolute, hands-off gospel, good news.

Isaiah prophesies that one day the nations will plead with Israel, "Surely God is in you, and there is no other, no god besides him." Wow. God so evidently in the midst of his people. Let it be so, Lord. If God is in us, and among us, we will grow, we will bear fruit - as we trust in him, love him and yes, even fear him who so graciously, so generously, so amazingly, so mysteriously has come to us in Emmanuel - and who "automatically" works in us and in our midst as we break bread together, break open the gospel word together, break open our hearts and lives with one another, and are broken with him for the life of the world...

In the deepest core of my being, am I trusting? Is the weight of my existence resting on God in Christ, or am I still holding on to control some of it? Are my hopes and dreams, my security and significance, finally left to the majesty and mystery of a crucified and risen (a dead seed, planted in the ground, that springs up to new life) redeemer? Will I believe that this life and power and presence and dynamic is in me and among us to function "automatically"?

be filled with the Spirit (Eph. 5:18)

5 Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him, and he will act.
6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
and your justice as the noonday.
(Ps. 37)

a thorny issue

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Ps. 119:25-48; Isa. 44:24-45:7; Eph. 5:1-14; Mark 4:1-20

And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. (Mark 4:18-19)

Last night, while discussing the last sections of Matthew 10 (Jesus' "Discourse on Mission" where he sends out the 12 and tells them they will be handed over to courts, persecuted, killed... families will be divided...). Georgi brought up the fact that in our world Christians pretty much don't look any different than the world around us. That's a sad fact, and there's much to say about it - but not today.

I thought of that when I read the parable of the four soils. I think here we see one reason for Western christians' blending in with the world around us. The "cares of the world," the "deceitfulness of riches," and the "desires for other things" enter in and choke the word of the gospel, and so the good news does not bear fruit in our lives.

I am just beginning Walter Wink's second volume on "The Powers," titled Unmasking the Powers: The Invisible Forces That Determine Human Existence. In the forward he writes that "materialism itself is terminally ill, and, let us hope, in process of replacement by a worldview capable of honoring the lasting values of modern science without succumbing to its reductionism. In that emergent worldview, spirituality will be perceived as the interiority of material, organic, and social entities, as I have suggested in volume 1 of "The Powers" (Naming the Powers)."

Now, Wink is pointing to more than consumerism; he speaks of a whole worldview that perceives reduces reality to what can be touched, tasted, studied, disected, and finally controlled by us humans... But what the thorns represent in the third soil, falls in this category, I think. It is the air we have breathed, the water we have drunk, the whole matrix in which we have been raised.

Left to ourselves, it is inevitable. But the Father owns it all, let us pray for mercy - that he would till the soil, and pull those thornbushes (or at least give us discernment that we may "put them off", per Ephesians 4). Those thorns are insidious. In my yard, they may yield blackberries (O deceitful desire), but I just cannot get rid of them, they keep popping up even though I try to pull them up by the roots!

But my new nature is not essentially "thorny" (though that stuff keeps popping up in my old nature). Paul writes, "Once we were darkness, but now we are light in the Lord" - not "in" darkness, not "in" the light (Eph. 5:8-9) - our very nature has been transformed, penetrated and permeated by the seed and life of the good news. We are now children of a Father, not workers for a tyrant, or in a desperate win-lose battle with evil. So Paul says:
Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.

Lastly, I need my brothers and sisters. Me and the TV hidden away by ourselves are just not going to bear the fruit of light. I need be out in that field with all the other seedlings, not in my own private greenhouse trying to make it on my own. Part of looking different from the world around us, part of perceiving the seduction/deception of our culture of materialism, lies in the new community, the band of disciples, the family around the table. When a whole Christian community begins looking different that the community in which it lives and works and plays... then the fruit-bearing really can be more toward that one-hundredfold. We need each other.

practice, practice, practice

January 20, 2009

Psalm 36, 39; Isaiah 44:9-20; Ephesians 4:17-32; Mark 3:19-35


Eph 4:20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!— 21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

This, of course, is a big Christian life theme; an important theme for a "Director of Spiritual Formation" - putting off and putting on, the baptized life. Paul refers to this manner of living, of a disciplined, discipled life, as "the way you learned Christ."

Yesterday I went with the COTA youth group to serve lunch at the Waterfront Rescue Mission in Mobile. At one point, I tossed something from a distance into a trash can. One of our guys said something about my shot, and I thought and said, it took lots and lots of practice. Literally thousands and thousands and thousands of shots. (I also went to the driving range yesterday with a friend. I've hit thousands of golf balls too, but my shot is not as good... but seriously, I have not hit as many golf balls - with a good swing - as I have shot baskets with good form). The point is practice, practice, practice. Whether it's young Andy who went with us to the driving range who is already a good piano player, or Senior in High School Anna who is an amazing piano player, it takes practice, practice, practice - and our body, mind, spirit learns to do it "naturally."

Or whether it's the man in the Waterfront program who shared with me how he wasted four years of his life in prison because of cocaine, and thinking stupidly, thinking, if you will,

as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. (Eph. 4:17-18)

As he shared about his determination to live a new life, I shared with him it will be thinking right every day, a kind of practice, practice, practice. Day by day, working the program...

This is the "way" we learn in Jesus to live. We cloth ourselves in him day by day; we take on thoughts worthy of him, inspired by him day by day; we center ourselves on the "new man" who indwells us, and draw our life from him, not from our old, self-centered way of living. And we do it intentionally, when the pressure is off (great book by Larry Crabb by the way, though slightly different theme), then the temptation is not pressing us, so that we learn more "naturally" to see, and to will, and to live in and for the new creation in Christ Jesus.

And so Paul spends the rest of this section describing what "putting off and putting on" looks like. In essence, put off these things and put on these things...

25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. 26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and give no opportunity to the devil. 28 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. 29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

"whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.” (Mark 4:35)

7 How precious is your steadfast love, O God!
The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
8 They feast on the abundance of your house,
and you give them drink from the river of your delights.
9 For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light do we see light.

10 Oh, continue your steadfast love to those who know you,
and your righteousness to the upright of heart!
(Psalm 36)

he fills all things

Monday, January 19, 2009

Ephesians 4:1-16

He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things. (Ephesians 4:10)

This section of Ephesians came up the other evening as we discussed Tim Keller's chapter "How can a loving God send people to hell?" (The Reason for God, chapter 5). Verses 8-10 is part of what, biblically, is behind the line in the Apostles Creed, "He descended into hell" or "He descended to the dead."

While we don't fully understand it, Tom was so right when he said "Jesus went there so I don't have to." And he's been here, and knows everything I struggle with...

I'm intrigued today with the phrase "that he might fill all things." What do you make of that? He ascended far above all the heavens in order that he might fill all things. We have just read in v. 6 that there is "one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all."

Jesus, Paul says in Philippians 2, emptied himself when he "descended" to become incarnate of the Virgin Mary, to take the form of a servant and to humble himself even unto death. He emptied himself of his power and glory, and in whatever sense he was, with the Father, over all and through all and in all. Somehow in his ascension to the right hand of the Father, he has come to fill "all in all" (1:23).

I don't really know what that means today, except that Jesus is not only Lord in power, but he is filling and upholding all things from that place right now (Col. 17; Heb. 1:3). I can trust him, rely on him, cast the weight of my existence this day upon him who loves me and died for me. I trust his wisdom, his grace, his understanding of my weakness and need; I trust he gave me that breath just now, and that heartbeat.

Fill me, fill my life, my world today - messy, messed-up, beloved me.

Second Sunday after Epiphany

Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ is the light of the world: Grant that your people, illumined by your Word and Sacraments, may shine with the radiance of Christ's glory, that he may be known, worshipped, and obeyed to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and for ever. Amen.


Daily Readings for the week
(Reminder: the psalms are divided into two parts, for morning and evening, and are on a seven-week, I think, rotation. We usually replace Sunday's with the Eucharistic lectionary so we can be prepared. Usually the Scriptures break for Sunday, though this week, for example the Isaiah readings continue.)

Sunday - Ps 148, 149, 150 + 114, 115
Isa. 43:14-44:5 Heb. 6:17-7:10 John 4:27-42

Monday - Ps 25 + 9, 15
Isa. 44:6-8, 21-23 Eph. 4:1-16 Mark 3:7-19a

Tuesday - Ps 26, 28 + 36, 39
Isa. 44:9-20 Eph. 4:17-32 Mark 3:19b-35

Wednesday - Ps 38 + 119:25-48
Isa. 44:24-45:7 Eph. 5:1-14 Mark 4:1-20

Thursday - Ps 37:1-18 + 37:19-42
Isa. 45:5-17 Eph. 5:15-33 Mark 4:21-34

Friday - Ps 31 + 35
Isa. 45:18-25 Eph. 6:1-9 Mark 4:35-41

Saturday - Ps 30, 32 + 42, 43
Isa. 46:1-13 Eph. 6:10-24 Mark 5:1-20

strength to receive love

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Psalm 116, 117; Isaiah 43:1-13; Ephesians 3:14-21; Matthew 2:23-3:6


you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you (Isaiah 43:4)

This whole section of Isaiah is wonderful, I just couldn't pass this verse up this week of "You are my beloved..."

(1) “Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine...
(3) For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior...
bring my sons from afar
and my daughters from the end of the earth,
(7) everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made.”

Paul's prayer is that the Ephesians would be rooted and grounded in love, and have strength to comprehend the unknowable love of Christ. Isn't that interesting? We need strength to know God's love in Christ - to know that love roots and grounds a person securely. To know the enormity of it actually fills one with the fulness of God himself. But it takes a degree of courage and strength (and faith) that no human being naturally possesses. Is Paul saying that unless God helps us we can't even receive his love? Or maybe the very the receiving of the love is the strengthening itself? Or we need strength to admit we're weak, which definitely is not the human default position?

Even our gospel shows Jesus' treasuring people over the people's interpretations of his Father's Word. The Sabbath was not made for the withering , weakening, or malnourishment of God's beloved people, but for their flourishing, wholeness and beautification. Thanks be to God.

12 What shall I render to the Lord
for all his benefits to me?
13 I will lift up the cup of salvation
and call on the name of the Lord,
14 I will pay my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all his people.
(Psalm 116)

suffering for you

Friday, January 16, 2009

Ephesians 3:1-13
Mark 2:13-22

So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory. (Eph. 3:13)

Paul implies in this short verse that suffering not only has its place in a gospel-centered life, but is part of its very working out. This verse refers to the previous twelve verses specifically ("So..."), and perhaps much further. Paul's declaring the mystery, imparted by revelation, of the inclusion of all peoples in God's restoration project, gathering his family in his Son, has the double effect of displaying the mystery of God's plan which was to display His manifold wisdom through the church to principalities and powers in heavenly places.

My friend Dave was sharing with me recently about the "theology of the cross" and the "theology of glory." I think this understanding of Ephesians three would be articulated in the theology of the cross. Paul seems to locate his suffering as part of the proclamation, it is tangibly in his body what the message declares: God, through the weakness and humility of his Servant has brought new life and new creation; through unjust suffering, submitting to earthly powers (courts, soldiers, governors...) God has brought deliverance and freedom - and exposed those earthly and "heavenly" powers as wicked and idolatrous.

Newbigin (again) addresses this in that wonderful chapter, "Christ, the Clue to History," in his "The Gospel in a Pluralist Society." The church's ministry will be like Jesus' ministry: suffering, misunderstanding, humility, with signs of glory attending as it seeks to heal the hurting...

God uses our suffering for his glory, and ours - through the One who humbled himself, suffered and died on our behalf, who was vindicated in his victory, and is continuing to unite all things through his church as it walks in his footsteps -

one new man

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Ephesians 2:11-22
Mark 2:1-12

"that he might create in himself one new man... so making peace... through the cross" (Eph. 2:15)
"that you may know the the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins - he said to the paralytic - I say to you, rise, take up your pallet and go home." (Mark 2:10-11)

We see this truth in both the epistle and the gospel reading - one new man / one new humanity. Jesus came to put things back together, "to unite all things." This refers to broken bodies of individuals, as well as broken families, communities, races. His word and work of forgiveness and healing, authoritatively spoken to a lame man, and manifest on the cross - both in word ("Father, forgive them...") and sacrifice, is for this purpose.

For now, we don't see it clearly or fully but are part of that building project, learning to fit together, grow together into a holy temple (interesting mixed metaphor), even to walk together where previously we were paralyzed and unable - all in and through and because of and for the word of Jesus, the work of Jesus, the vision of Jesus, the very real presence of Jesus.

Thanks be to God.

showing our riches

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Ephesians 2:1-10
Mark 1:29-45

so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 1:7)

I wonder whether this verse means that God raised us up when we were dead in trespasses and sins, by his grace, to show to us in the coming ages the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness, or to show to some others his grace and kindness toward us. In other words, he has already shown it to us, we believe it, rejoice in, and live to the praise of his glory. Either we will continue to need the encouragement, for example, or perhaps, even our gracious redemption is a part of a bigger plan of God (eg., cf. 1:10 - to unite all things in Christ).

Paul goes on from here with the word "for" a couple of times: "for" by grace we have been saved... "for" we are his workmanship, (re)created in Christ Jesus for good works... This section can be understood to be saying that the good works for which we are created in Christ to walk in, not that we might boast..., are precisely to show in the coming ages God's grace and kindness.

In a world where conspicuous consumption is rampant, and worldly "riches" are displayed in so many different ways, some subtle, some ostentatious, some deceitful - we who are graced with eternal riches (1:18) are privileged to wear our riches graciously and confidently, in a way that lifts up, encourages and blesses those around us, and that finally boasts in our Father of infinite wealth and glory and goodness and grace.

Perhaps there's a bit of that reflected in the gospel today. Jesus has been healing people - signs of the inbreaking kingdom which also draw people to inquire and wonder what these signs point to.

Mark 1:36 And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, 37 and they found him and said to him, “Everyone is looking for you.” 38 And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.”

Jesus insists on preaching, and will not simply flow with the crowds and do the "good works" alone - they are to show the immeasurable riches of the Father's grace in kindness toward us. And it is the proclamation, "the kingdom of God is at hand" and the rest of Jesus' teaching, that keeps the miracles in perspective.

God give us grace to so deeply receive and appreciate what you have done for us and in us through Jesus Christ that we display the grace and kindness in our good works today.

power and authority

Isaiah 40:25-31
Ephesians 1:15-23
Mark 1:14-28

Once again I'm intrigued by Mark's abundant use of "immediately" in presenting the gospel of Jesus Christ (1:1) and the gospel of God (1:14). But we'll explore that another day...

Another present theme for me is that of power and authority, and we see this theme in all the readings for today. Isaiah prophesies, "Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary, his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength... they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength..."

Paul concludes his prayer for the Ephesians with a petition that they know "the greatness of his power in us who believe, according to the greatness of his might which he accomplished in Christ when he raised him from the dead and made him sit at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come; and he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fulness of him who fills all in all."

And in the gospel we hear of people being amazed and astonished at Jesus' authority, in his teaching, and in commanding unclean spirits who obey him.

The power of God, given (Isaiah says) to the weak and faint who wait on the Lord, and displayed in the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, seated far above all rule, authority, power and dominion, is working in, albeit, in a hidden kind of way in Jesus of Nazareth. Our Tuesday night group has been reading portions of Newbigin's "The Gospel in a Pluralist Society" in which he has a beautiful section on this hidden kingdom in his chapter "Christ, the Clue to History."

For now, his reign continues to be hidden, that faith may continue to be operative - it is still possible to "repent and believe in the gospel"; it is still possible to hear his call and leave one's (pre)occupation and follow him wholehearted, as an act of the will, an act of obedience, and act of trust and faith. One day his reign in power will be manifest to all, then every knee will bow and every tongue confess out of the sheer overwhelming display of power - then faith will not be operative or an option...

God give us grace today to live as those who, though weak and faint, wait upon the Lord; as those who commune with him who does reign over all, and continues to have all authority in heaven and earth; and yet who live out our lives even as he did - in humility, in absolute trust in the Father, engaging the evil that destroys the creatures of God with the power of God, and yet not immune to suffering and even death in that engagement. This is at least part of what it means to follow him who calls us to leave everything and trust in him alone.

Beloved, 2

Monday, January 12, 2009

Psalm 1,2,3; 4,7
Isaiah 40:12-23
Ephesians 1:1-14
Mark 1:1-13

In love (5) he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, (6) to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.
(Ephesians 1:4b-6)

I'm fairly amazed at today's Daily Office readings. I preached on Mark 1:1-11 yesterday, and came close to including Ephesians 1 (which was the epistle reading from a week ago Sunday). This verse and those around it affirm that we were made to hear and live in the the truth that the Father is continually saying, "You are my beloved child, with whom I am well pleased."

He chose us before the foundation of the world, in love predestining us for adoption as his daughters and sons (this was his eternal will!), to the praise of his glorious grace with which has has blessed us in the Beloved (the One to whom He has been saying "I love you" forever, and in whom He delights and is well-pleased). In other words, he made us for this love relationship; through Jesus, God created us to hear and be healed by that voice; to resonate with and be perfectly in tune with that beautiful word which is under and through and ties all creation together: "I love you, I couldn't be happier with you."

The paragraph continues this thought, speaking of the forgiveness he lavished upon us (there can be no restoration to relationship without it), as an expression of the mystery of his will, his plan for the fulness of time: to unite all things in Christ...

This unity is in Christ, and through Christ, he holds it all together. But on the level of us human beings (horizontally so to speak), that unity can only happen when we know we are beloved. When I am safe and secure in being loved now and forever as I am and not as I should be, when I trust, as a beloved one, that all things will be well - I can love others, I can live in that unity without pulling away in fear, defensiveness, hurt, control, etc. Then I can begin to love as I have been loved. May God give us grace to trust and believe, and to give what we've been given.

"to the praise of his glory..."