Jesus, gentle King

from today's Daily Office gospel reading:

15 Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. And many followed him, and he healed them all 16 and ordered them not to make him known. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah:

18 “Behold, my servant whom I have chosen,
my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased.
I will put my Spirit upon him,
and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.
19 He will not quarrel or cry aloud,
nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets;
20 a bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not quench,
until he brings justice to victory;
21 and in his name the Gentiles will hope.”

I read through the Psalms also (don't use the Daily Office appointed psalms). Today's was from Psalm 145 and had the following which to me goes really well with the gospel.

8 The Lord is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9 The Lord is good to all,
and his mercy is over all that he has made.

10 All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,
and all your saints shall bless you!
11 They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom
and tell of your power,
12 to make known to the children of man your [2] mighty deeds,
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures throughout all generations.

Lord, I thank you for who you are in your lovingkindness and your kingship, in your compassion and your justice. Give me grace to ever draw nearer to you, and become more like you.

not in vain

1 Corinthians 15

(56) The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. (57) But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

(58) Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

All of our lives can be spent as the work of the Lord, this is not a reference to my work as an ordained minister! If we relate to our families, work faithfully at our vocation, love our neighbors as ourselves (which includes taking care of our own bodies, minds and hearts), because of the love of God expressed in the life and victory of Jesus, and with a view to the never-ending, ever-increasing reign of Messiah Jesus, our labor is not in vain. It has purpose, it is important, it is critical to "thy kingdom come."

Be encouraged - death, decay, discouragement, disorder... does not have the final word.
Jesus is risen and Jesus is Lord!

The Lord bless you...

I read Psalm 133 this morning...

1 Behold, how good and pleasant it is
when brethren dwell together in unity!
2 It is like the precious oil on the head,
running down on the beard,
on the beard of Aaron,
running down on the collar of his robes!
3 It is like the dew of Hermon,
which falls on the mountains of Zion!
For there the Lord has commanded the blessing,
life forevermore.

It reminded me of our Psalm yesterday, 128, in which Andy led us in a beautiful refrain:

The Lord bless you from Zion
the Lord bless you from Zion
all the days of your life
all the days of your life...

I'm still singing it. I shared with Andy (but forgot to share it in my sermon) that I thought it was a perfect example of what our homes can be like in the Lord. This song ever being sung, husbands blessing wives, wives blessing husbands; parents blessing children, children blessing parents; the Lord blessing the family, and the family blessing the Lord.

This is what can be called the "economy of mutual blessing." The idea that the principle biblical narrative is God's desire to bless and be blessed - this was his original intention in creation, and the whole biblical story (including the exceedingly important, but technically subtheme of sin and redemption) is about God bringing about the consummation of what he began.

A cool, and also very difficult, part of the economy of mutual blessing is that it is designed to flow in relationships of "differentiation." That is, God and humans - different but blessing one another; men and women - different but blessing one another; one generation to the next - different but blessing one another... and a huge one in the biblical story, Jews and Gentiles - different but blessing one another (Genesis 12), pointing ultimately to Jesus the Jew of whom all people are called to bless: "blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord."

The Lord bless you from Zion all the days of your life.