Luke 1:46-55 The Veil of Time, and Magnifying God

 

Observation: Mary announces God's justice before it is even born. She speaks in the past tense about things that she anticipates happening, but haven't happened yet. Jesus hasn't even been born, but she already declares, "The Mighty One has done great things for me...he has scattered the proud...he has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly." In Mary's consciousness, steeped in the Holy Spirit, all of this has already taken place. 

Application: I think when our soul is magnifying the Lord, our sense of time is different from when we are magnifying other things. If we take a magnifying glass to our own problems, or much more so to the world's problems, it seems utterly impossible that anyone, even God, could do anything to help. But if we are magnifying the Lord, we see patterns in salvation history. As we dig into the story of God with God's people, it makes sense to be so confident that God will take action in big, liberating ways, because that's what God has done so many times before. To magnify God is to stand at every point in God's story, all at once. Our feet are in the dry soil at the bottom of the Red Sea. Our hair is blowing with the wind of the great chariots that caught Elijah up into the heavens. Our fingertips feel the coldness of the stone, newly rolled from Jesus' empty tomb. Our eyes look up to see him returning, riding on the clouds. And we are also fully present in our own lives, realizing that all this has happened, is happening, will happen to us. Nobody can magnify God in every minute of every day. But we can dwell in the Word, we can lift each other in prayer, and we can take time for silent pondering, like Mary did. When we do that, the veil of time grows very thin indeed. Jesus will come to us, is coming to us, and already has, all at once. 

Prayer: With the creation and your faithful people, we cry out, Amen, Come Lord Jesus!   

 

Psalm 125 (NRSV)

​¹Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion,
which cannot be moved, but abides forever.
²As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
so the LORD surrounds his people,
from this time on and forevermore.
³For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest
on the land allotted to the righteous,
so that the righteous might not stretch out
their hands to do wrong.
⁴Do good, O LORD, to those who are good,
and to those who are upright in their hearts.
⁵But those who turn aside to their own crooked ways
the LORD will lead away with evildoers.
Peace be upon Israel!

Observation: What I hear in this text is something we desperately need: stability. Comfort. Protection. Love. God protects God's people just like the mountains that surround Jerusalem. (They're not big snow-caps like the one in the photo, but they are majestic nonetheless!) Any earthly form of security can be shaken, but God will not.

Application: In a time of so much turmoil, God is our foundation. A theology professor in seminary used to correct us when we talked about God as a "being" or an "entity". He said, "It's not just that: God is the ground for ALL being!" If the whole universe is a mountainside, God isn't just one boulder among many, or the most majestic peak. God is the bedrock holding up the whole mountain! God is so much bigger, more ancient and more unshakable than any of our fears. There's no comparison! That doesn't mean the problems of our lives, or of our world today, aren't important and worth our attention. But at the end of the day, the mountain remains. And that mountain is love.

Prayer: God you are our rock, our foundation, our mountain range, even amid the storms of our lives. Protect us, Lord, in mind, body and spirit, that we may continue to walk your way and share your love. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Philippians 3:7-11 "I Love Trash"

 

Observation: Paul has just laid out a long list of religious credentials. He's from a good religious family, he's been through all the right rituals at all the right times, he's gotten the best religious education and followed religious laws to a T. Yet compared to knowing Jesus as Lord, and trusting in him, it's all trash. Indeed, the Greek word translated in NRSV as "rubbish", in fact means an even more unattractive waste product...but I digress. 

Application: It's kind of weird to have a religious career. We use a fancy word for it: "call". Though I do believe God has called me to be a pastor, and I also have a fancy letter that confirms the people of Advent Lutheran Church have called me, the fact remains, a professional call is also a job. A career. Just as Christians of any career should view their career as part of God's call for their lives, I recognize that my calling is also my job. 

Where I'm going with this is: when your religious calling is also your job, sometimes you tend to do your job "religiously," as in assigning spiritual value to how good a job you do, how many hours you work, how many tasks you get done, and how well your church is doing by various measurable metrics. That, to quote the distinguished Apostle Paul, is "trash." And yet we love to do it. We feel a deep need to do it, to establish our value, for God's kingdom. Not just we. I. I catch myself a hundred times a day judging and assessing my worth based on what I can or can't do for God. I love trash. And it makes me grouchy.  

I came to a very hard-won realization a couple years back, and it has stuck with me, even though I need to continually be called back to it. I am a child of God first. Other stuff comes after that. My job is important, and I've done it almost all my adult life, but it's not who I am. My church is important to this community, but how well people are reflecting Christ's love in the world, how many lives we are touching, is not who I am. The value of my job or our religious institution, compared to the surpassing value of just knowing Christ, who is a thousand times better at loving this world than I'll ever be, is trash. And it's time to crawl on out of the dumpster and accept some love and grace.

Prayer: Jesus, help me fall out of love with the trash of this life, and the trashy way I treat myself. Help me prize knowing you above all things. Amen.     

Psalm 27 One Thing I Ask of the Lord

The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?

When evildoers assail me
to devour my flesh—
my adversaries and foes—
they shall stumble and fall.

Though an army encamp against me,
my heart shall not fear;
though war rise up against me,
yet I will be confident.

One thing I asked of the Lord,
that will I seek after:
to live in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to behold the beauty of the Lord,
and to inquire in his temple.

For he will hide me in his shelter
in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
he will set me high on a rock.

Now my head is lifted up
above my enemies all around me,
and I will offer in his tent
sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make melody to the Lord.

Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud,
be gracious to me and answer me!
‘Come,’ my heart says, ‘seek his face!’
Your face, Lord, do I seek.
Do not hide your face from me.

Do not turn your servant away in anger,
you who have been my help.
Do not cast me off, do not forsake me,
O God of my salvation!
If my father and mother forsake me,
the Lord will take me up.

Teach me your way, O Lord,
and lead me on a level path
because of my enemies.
Do not give me up to the will of my adversaries,
for false witnesses have risen against me,
and they are breathing out violence.

I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord;
be strong, and let your heart take courage;
wait for the Lord!

Observation: Psalm 27 is a cry for God's help from enemies, but it's also an announcement of confidence in victory with God's help. What strikes me most today, though, is the longing, "to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life."

Application: Like everyone else in the midst of this health crisis, I have good and bad days, spiritually speaking. Some days I feel God's presence strongly, and other days I feel a little empty. I know it's not because God is any less present on the bad days, it's just my own inability to notice and celebrate God's presence that gets in the way. 

On the hard days, a text like this hits extra hard: the longing to dwell in God's house, the promise of gathering together in worship and offering "shouts of joy." Those days will come again. But in the meantime, the advice I glean from this text is in verse 8, "Come, my heart says, seek his face! Your face O Lord do I seek." And in verse 14, "wait for the Lord, be strong and let your heart take courage." It's easier said than done, of course, but what I do know is: when I least feel like praying, or turning to God's Word, or reflecting on ways God has shown God's face to me in recent days, that's when I most need to do it. 

Prayer: God, today is a day when I need to seek your face. Help me find you in the faces of others. Amen. 

Luke 21:34-38 Alert at All Times

 

Observation: Jesus teaches his disciples about the need to be alert at all times and ready for his return. I notice that he lists three distractions together: "dissipation, drunkenness, and the worries of this life." 

Application: "High alert" is a difficult state of mind to maintain. The way our brains work, adrenaline will only get us so far, and then something has to give. We start out in "fight or flight" and then, over time, we get exhausted and complacent. Nine months into a deadly pandemic, I'm not the first one to make the observation that fatigue is setting in. How then does Jesus expect us to "be alert at all times" for his return? 

How this shakes out for me is there's a big difference between "alert" and "worried." In fact, in this very passage Jesus compares "the worries of this life" with being drunk, as an obstacle to alertness. We tend to think that worrying about something that might happen prepares us for it. Usually, it doesn't. It's just a waste of precious mental space and spiritual energy. These days, due to gathering restrictions,  we may have a less cluttered calendar, but our minds are as cluttered as ever, if not more so, with worry, and it's not helping us actually be prepared for the future. So, what if alertness looked less like dwelling on bad things that may or may not happen, and more like intentional time of clearing our minds, sitting with God's Word, letting it sink deep into our hearts, and letting tomorrow's worries take care of themselves? That would sober us up real quick, and in the best possible way. 

Prayer: God, sit with me until I sober up. Let worries fall away. Let me fix my eyes and my heart on you, not in anxiety but in full trust in your presence. Amen.    

Micah 4:6-13

 

Observation: God promises to take a remnant of those in Israel who were cast off and driven away, and make a strong nation of them. God continually reaches out to those on the margins of society, who are excluded or ignored by human systems of power. 

Application: It's too easy to immediately identify with the "good guys," the "chosen", or at least the people getting the good news in any Bible passage. If God promises to make a remnant of "the lame," and those who are "cast off", my mind starts to go to my own obstacles, my own perceived limitations, ways I don't fit "the norm", or ways I've felt pushed out or cast off in the past. That's too quick and easy of a way to read passages like this. What if I'm not actually part of this special "remnant"? What if my job is to look for ways God welcomes in people not like me? What if it's time for me to step back, and share the voices of those whose experience has been all but ignored up to now? 

Prayer: God, you gather remnants, and make strong communities and nations by lifting up those we reject. Remove from my heart any barriers to accepting people who are different from me. If I am part of their "casting out," help me repent and welcome them as I would welcome you. Amen. 

Psalm 7: Judgment or Consequences?

 

Observation: One thing I notice about Psalm 7 is that David asks God to save him from pursuers, but also to judge him fairly and without partiality. "If I have plundered my foe without cause, let the enemy pursue and overtake me."

Another thing I notice is that David announces God's judgment, but the judgment he warns of sounds like the natural consequences of his enemies' actions. They fall into the hole they dug for him. Their violence falls on their own heads. 

Application: An expression I keep coming back to is "Everything happens for a reason. Sometimes the reason is you made dumb choices." 

We often attribute bad things that happen to others as God's judgment, but when bad things happen to us it seems totally random and inexplicable. I'm not someone who believes that God directly intervenes in our daily lives to make crappy things happen. I really don't believe that's how God works. We live in a world where sin and rebellion have run amok. This is not the world God dreamed for us in the beginning, nor is it the world toward which God is pulling us in the end. Right now, random bad things happen, and it's not our fault. 

That said, we also live in a world of cause and effect. Consequences are a real thing. I've seen plenty of people fall into the pit they dug for someone else, and from time to time, it's been me. When Jesus tells Peter "anyone who lives by the sword dies by the sword," he doesn't mean God will come down and smite a violent person. He's speaking a truth we all know: that violence begets more violence, begets more violence.   

But I also believe that God can take the bad things that happen and bring healing and hope from them. The theology of the cross is that there is no situation, no matter how awful, that God cannot enter into, for the sake of new life. 

Prayer: God, save me from my enemies, most of whom are me. Help me learn from my mistakes. Amen. 

 

Observation: The prophet Joel describes a terrible locust plague, that has ravaged both the crops of farmers in Judah, and the natural landscape. Everything is destroyed. Joel sees this infestation as a sign of God's judgment on the people. They are called to repent: but first, to lament. 

Application: Lament is not the first language of American Christians. We tend to be "positive thinkers." We are incurably optimistic, and that has both positives and negatives. On the positive side, it can give us energy and enthusiasm, truly believing that we can achieve our goals if we work hard enough. On the negative side, it can sometimes give us a tenuous relationship with reality, when that reality is tragic, or simply doesn't fit our narrative. It can create situations where we don't talk about sad things, and sometimes even pressure others not to. This is where we can learn a lot from the Hebrew Bible. The words of the prophets and psalmists are sometimes words of pure lament. No silver linings, no positive spin-doctoring, just the ragged cry of the soul, acknowledging a terrible loss. Maybe in our optimism we feel the temptation to skate over these texts; maybe we were taught that being a Christian means being joyful and happy, and if we're not there's something wrong with us. But there was nothing wrong with the prophet Joel, when he prescribed sackcloth and ashes, wailing and solemn assemblies. When we are feeling despair, we aren't alone. We have conversation partners with the Biblical writers, who don't pressure us to "look on the bright side." There is a time for lament. To observe that season, when it comes, is not a sign of unfaith, but rather deep faith, because you go into that space expecting that God will sit with you there. 

Prayer: God, give us true seasons of lament in our lives, and the ability to accept them and invite you into our midst when they come. Amen.   

1 John 3:1-3 We Don't Want to Be Like Him

 

Observation: I hear a double meaning in this reading from 1 John (both this letter and the Gospel of John are full of double entendre). The literal meaning is that when Jesus is visibly revealed, at the end of time, we will be "like him," meaning we will share in his resurrection life. The figurative meaning, I think, is that anytime Jesus' character is revealed, meaning any time we share stories about him or his teachings, those who really believe in him will be "like him" in terms of personality traits, goals, and self identity as children of God first and foremost. 

Application: There are so many reasons Christians either delay or deny the need to 'be like Jesus.' 

He's sinless; we're not. Why try?

He died for my sins; I can't do that. Why try? 

But then we move from the theological to the practical. 

It doesn't 'work'. 

Meaning, of course, that we have concrete goals that require behavior that is very different from Jesus' behavior.

We have aspirations to a different kind of power than what Jesus had. 

We believe in our hearts that we can be temporarily unlike Jesus, in service to a greater good. 

We believe once that good is accomplished, a goal which is always right around the corner, then we can go back to being like him.

That doesn't work. It never has. 

If we are pursuing goals unlike those of Jesus, then we need to reexamine our goals. If our goals require us to stop trying to imitate his way of being in the world, then they aren't worth having.

You see, to 'believe' in Jesus doesn't just mean believing a story about what he did with regard to our sins. To 'believe' in him means believing that just being like him is a worthy goal that will make the world better. And, granted. That's sometimes just as hard to believe as the empty tomb. But it's part of who we are. We are sinners, no way around it. We will fail miserably every time we try to be like him. But the believing is in the trying. And that trying can seed belief in others. Maybe if there really are people out there like him, he will be revealed to those who couldn't see him before. Best to start now. Not tomorrow, not Wednesday. Right now. 

Prayer: Jesus, help me believe. Help me be like you. Reveal yourself. To me, through others, and to others through me. Amen.  

Psalm 119 I Shall Walk at Liberty

 

Observation: Psalm 119 is the longest psalm by far (and the longest book of the Bible). Depending on how many essays and footnotes you've got in your Bible, there's a good chance if you open it smack in the middle, you'll find yourself somewhere in Psalm 119. And the whole thing is a love song devoted to God's law. The verse today that really has grabbed me and won't let me go is: "I shall walk at liberty, for I have sought your precepts." We tend to think of liberty as the absence of rules and regulations. But the psalm  writer insists that there is a deeper freedom in choosing to seek God's way, intentionally, each day. 

Application: Free will is a blessing and a curse. It's nice on paper to know we can make choices, but then there's the whole part where we have to take responsibility for them. It's cool, at first, to know that our actions have an impact on the world around us. But then, there's the part where our actions do actually, you know, have an impact. On the world around us. This gets intimidating. You can go down the rabbit hole of the "butterfly effect," where a butterfly flapping its wings on one side of world, by a chain of cause and effect, can create a tsunami elsewhere. If a butterfly can do that, then what consequences, intended and unintended, might my choices have? Like I said, freedom is a blessing and a curse. That's why I resonate with Psalm 119:45, where the psalmist finds liberty in seeking God's commandments. To have a guide, even if we don't always follow perfectly, is so much better than being adrift. To have Jesus' greatest commandment in mind, loving God above all and loving my neighbor as myself, sets me free from the constant worry and doubt about the impact I'm having. Sure, I will often fall short. And even more often, there will be unintended consequences of what I think of as love for my neighbor. But those consequences can bring lessons in themselves. And in the meantime, there is grace. 

Prayer: God, thank you for your law, which shows me the way to go, and reminds me I can never do it perfectly. Help me to treasure it, for it continually drives me back to you. Amen.  

Psalm 98 Make a Joyful Noise

 

Observation: One of my favorite psalms of praise to God. Sing God a new song. Make a joyful noise. Join the whole world, even the creation itself, in the praise of God's victory. 

Application: I miss being able to sing in church. Being a pastor, I have had to be the one to break many pieces of bad news to members of my congregation this year, but one of the hardest has been that singing together indoors just is not safe. I'm not sure where people get the idea that church leaders, because we are the face of hard decisions, somehow relish making them. That's silly. It is the nature of being an adult to make decisions you aren't fond of and stick to them because they're the right thing to do. I miss singing as much as anyone. I can't wait to get back to it. I am pretty sure every song we sing will sound like a "new song" when we are able to start congregational singing again. 

But the "new song" for me today comes in the closing verses of Psalm 98: "let the sea roar and all that fills it; the world and those who live in it. Let the floods clap their hands; let the hills sing together for joy..." The new song is the song we can tune into when human voices keep their peace for once, and understand that God's creation gives God praise nonstop, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Jesus proclaimed that if his followers fell silent, the very rocks would cry out. This verse began to hold special meaning for me when Michi-Lu-Ca, the camp where I met and married my wife, closed for good. We who had known it as a special place remembered that the rocks on that land would take the watch from here, and continue to lift up praises. 

If you miss singing as much as I do, drive on down to the sleeping bear dunes. Listen to the waves. Hear the wind whipping through the last few autumn leaves. Tune into the song of the birds as they prepare for a long trek south. Then maybe sing a bar or two in the fresh air, and give thanks that we are part of a larger song than any of us cares to notice most of the time. 

Prayer: God, we praise you and adore you. Not just us humans. All of us. Help us to listen to one another's voices in the quieter moments. Amen. 

Revelation 18:21-24 When It All Breaks Down

 

Observation: Revelation 18 is a vision of God's destruction of the great city of Babylon. In Revelation, Babylon is a symbol of coercive power. In particular, in chapter 18, John talks about economic power. In an economy where human lives are traded like goods, and people weep more over losing wealth than losing lives, God brings the whole system to a grinding halt, turning Babylon into a ghost town. 

Application: I'm not sure if there's a non-confrontational way to say this, so I'm just going to say it. I see aspects of the Babylon of Revelation in our economic system today. I see the dominant spiritual struggle in our time to be valuing human lives more than we value income and wealth. We're in an economy that's more globalized than it's ever been, but we're also more disconnected from each other than ever before, such that we can buy a piece of clothing for a deep discount, and not give a second thought to the fact that the person who made it may be living on less than a dollar a day, and the person who sold it to us may be working full time and still living on food stamps. This to me is the heart of what Jesus was revealing to John of Patmos as "Babylon." 

That said, I do not read Revelation as saying there's only ever one "Babylon" in history, and its end signals the end of the world. Babylon is a mindset that we have fallen prey to time after time. Time after time, God's Spirit has told us to "come out of Babylon", so that we don't take part in the natural consequences that happen when a dehumanizing system grinds to a halt. Just as John's listeners were urged to take a critical eye at the Roman system, we are urged to take a critical eye at our own system. For me, this simply means taking a step back, and examining how I spend my time and money. Do I feel at home in Babylon? Or am I feeling the call to "come out", and find better ways to love my neighbor with every dime I spend (or don't spend)? 

Prayer: Jesus, call us out of Babylon. Help us remember our true citizenship is in your reign of love and justice. Amen.   

John 6:25-35 The Works of God

 

Observation: Jesus just fed five thousand people by multiplying loaves and fishes. They want him to do it again. They want him to teach them to "do the works of God." Why? Because they're hungry. Jesus spiritualizes the moment and tells them the "real" food is his presence and his teachings, and the real work of God is to believe in him. 

Application: It's very typical of Jesus in John's Gospel to do a miracle that gives material help to someone, like healing or feeding, and then use it as a teaching moment to point to a deeper spiritual truth. Honestly, sometimes that rubs me the wrong way. If I were a first century peasant, with no guarantee that I knew where my next meal was coming from, and Jesus just demonstrated the ability to feed five thousand people with five loaves and two fish, I'd be a little let down by a lecture that "spiritual food" is more important. But I'm not a first century peasant. I'm a middle class white American Christian, living in a world that has known for a full generation that we could eliminate hunger if we wanted to...but we don't. For me, and probably for you, the existence of physical hunger is actually a spiritual problem. Put another way, if every person of faith in every wealthy nation was getting proper spiritual nourishment--if we prioritized being fed by Jesus, who is the Bread of Life--I honestly think extreme poverty in this world would become a thing of the past. If we were getting the spiritual nourishment we need from Jesus, who blessed the poor, we would become the blessing that they so sorely need. The obscene inequalities we see growing deeper and deeper by the day, the fact that many people of faith are totally okay with that, means we are delirious with spiritual hunger. And Jesus wants to feed us. It's time to come to the table, so all may eat. 

Prayer: Jesus, may those who lack food have it, and may those who have enough food hunger for justice. Amen. 

Philippians 3:13-4:1 Our Citizenship

 

Observation: Paul has just listed all the ways in which he ought to be proud of his own cultural and religious credentials. he has done everything right, followed every rule, attained every outward reward from his religious system. yet he counts it all as rubbish compared to knowing Jesus Christ. Now, he invites his readers to imitate his behavior and attitude, and put the quest to know and connect with Jesus above any other human endeavor. 

Application: Our citizenship is in heaven. Our first loyalty and allegiance is to Jesus Christ. Many Christians would say this, but to really live it out the way St. Paul and others have is harder. It's one thing to intellectually say, "I put Jesus first," but when Jesus has things to say about how we should spend our money, how we should relate to our family, what our priorities should be in the workplace, or the ballot box, a certain kind of cognitive dissonance sets in. We do lots of mental gymnastics to explain and justify why Jesus would think like we do. Surely Jesus would want us to put our own creature comforts first, or keep our money in our pockets instead of using it to help others. Surely he would admire who we admire, and hate who we hate. Surely he would want us to place loyalty to a nation or a political party so high that it borders upon worship. 

To be a citizen of heaven is to stop making excuses, and stop assuming Jesus wants us to conform to the attitudes we see around us. It means forgetting what lies behind: trying to shed a lifetime of cultural assumptions about what a good person is. It means straining forward to what lies ahead: asking Jesus each new morning, who do you want me to be?

Prayer: Jesus, renew my citizenship in your Reign. Help me to be your subject, an ambassador for your way in the world. Amen.  

1 Peter 5:1-5 Celebrating Elders

 

Observation: This passage seems to be directed at young leaders in the church. Tend the flock, do not lord your authority over others, and accept the authority of elders.

Application: Pastoral authority is something that every leader deals with, when to stand firm and when to go with the flow, when to provide comfort and when to hold others to account. I was ordained at twenty six. I have struggled mightily over the years with feeling truly accepted as a leader. Still, my experience pales in comparison with stories I hear from pastors who are women (regardless of age) and people of color. The reality is you can do and say everything exactly right and some folks still will not respect you. The measure of your leadership has to be from the true Shepherd, not just from how people are treating you. That said, I will always support the authority and leadership if colleagues because we need to have each other's back. This is a tough calling. 

Thirteen years in ministry has also transformed my attitude when it comes to "accepting the authority of elders." It's no secret that most churches are older in average age than the surrounding population. While I still think churches should set a goal of doing every kind of ministry they can with young people, at this point I celebrate that our church has many members who have lived long lives. I learn every day from seniors in church. Over the years they have taught me about faith, humility, priorities, pain, grief, and how to grapple with our own mortality. There is no other place but a religious community where I could have learned these lessons in such depth. And I dare say, I'd recommend it to anyone, even if your faith is a little shaky now.  Sharing life together with folks further down the road than you is a treasure. 

Prayer: God, thank you for elders. Thank you for their experience, their joy, their wisdom. Help us to honor them. Amen. 

Psalm 144 Praying For, Not Against

 Observation: This is a psalm attributed to King David, and it's a truly interesting one. It begins by humbly admitting human frailty: "what are human beings that you are mindful of them?" So far, so good. But then it makes a bizarre leap of logic. "Since we humans are so frail and transient, it would be that much easier for you to smite my enemies with fire and lightning, so please do that." Well, that didn't go as I expected. But once that chunk is over, David begins to pray for prosperity and abundance in Israel.  

Application: Is it okay to pray against an adversary? Despite Jesus' command to "pray for those who persecute you," we see many prayers in psalms like this one, where God's people seem to be doing just that. In our increasingly divided nation, I have heard Christians jokingly use Psalm 109:8 to "pray for" a president with whom they disagree. "may his days be few; may another seize his position." (I have heard this "prayer" aimed both at president Obama and President Trump). But as one of those pesky pastors who insist on reading things in context, I need to remind folks that verse 9 goes on, "may his children be orphans, and his wife a widow." It is a prayer for an adversary's death. 

Even though Psalm 109 is in the Bible, I  can't justify any prayer for death for any individual, no matter how much suffering they have caused. But what I appreciate in Psalm 144, despite its call for divine smiting, is that it eventually comes around to the result David hopes for. Yes, he's a human king, and wants his enemies dead. But what he wants more is health and prosperity for his nation. Healthy children, barns full of produce, plentiful livestock, peaceful streets. That's David's goal. Maybe with God's help, in that time and place, David can get as far as loving his people more than he hates his enemies. Maybe in our own time and place, with the guidance of Jesus, who prayed for his own enemies even as they were crucifying him, we can get farther.

The last thing I want to do is shame people for feeling how they feel in these intensely traumatic times. Maybe what we can manage right now is, "Your Kingdom come, Your will be done." And we know from the life of Jesus that God's kingdom includes better healing, more inclusive community, and a deeper kind of prosperity and justice than we humans could have envisioned on our own anyway. If you are struggling in your prayers, I'm going to pray for you today. 

Prayer: Jesus, help me to act like you, and especially pray like you. I pray it in your name. Amen.      

Matthew 9:2-8 Easier Said Than Done

 

Observation: In the first century mindset, sin and sickness were connected. So were forgiveness and healing. But in the second-temple religious system, the only way to be "sure" God has forgiven your sins was to go to Jerusalem and have a priest offer a sacrifice for you in the temple. For Jesus to just forgive a man his sins in someone's house would have been seen as totally illegitimate and blasphemous. But Jesus doesn't back down. To show this paralyzed man his sins are forgiven, he commands him to stand and walk. Therein lies the proof of Jesus' authority. 

Application: Christians (especially Lutherans) talk a whole lot about grace. We talk a lot about forgiveness. I know I do. But we talk a lot less about how that grace should change us. How should I think and speak differently, now that I've been relieved of an unbearable burden of sin? How should I move differently through this world? I may not be like the man in the story, with one single dramatic moment of coming into contact with God's grace, and going from paralysis to movement. Not many of us are like that. But I have moments every day, and certainly every week, where I encounter Jesus. And if I don't act any different at all before and after--if not even one little part of my soul starts to "get up and walk"--then maybe it's time to head back to Jesus and try it again. That's what a real encounter with forgiveness is all about. 

Prayer: Jesus, forgive me. Forgive me for not making full use of my forgiveness. For not getting up and walking freely, using my voice and my mind freely to praise you and to be your hands and feet in the world. The next time you say my sins are forgiven, help me to be more ready to get up. Amen.   

Daniel 10:10-14, 12:1-3 Our Better Angels

Observation: The prophet Daniel, an Israelite in exile in Babylon, receives a vision from a man clothed in linen, wearing a golden belt, with eyes like flaming fire and legs like burnished bronze. It's no accident that, centuries later, John of Patmos meets a man with that exact description, who reveals himself to be the Risen Jesus. To Daniel, this man reveals a word of comfort. He has nothing to fear. His prayers have been answered, and he is going to receive a message about the end times. The vision revealed to Daniel is of clashing kingdoms and arrogant kings who raise themselves above any ruler, or even above God. But at the right time, Michael, an angel of the Lord, will rise up. The dead will rise, and those who are wise will "shine like the brightness of the sky." Through all the chaos and suffering, God is in control. 

Application: Today is the only "saint day" I know of which celebrates one who is not human. It is the festival of Saint Michael and all angels. Michael is known as a protector of God's people. Most angels are simply tasked with relaying messages from God, but in the few times we encounter Michael, he is one who actively fights against evil on our behalf. 

It's a beautiful thought, to believe that God's power is manifest in real, palpable spiritual forces who fight in our defense. It's a helpful way of envisioning God's care for us. But also, I have to admit, I have to wonder where Michael has been, or why he has chosen to sit on the sidelines, at a time like this. Today, we have officially passed one million global deaths to COVID-19. It certainly feels like the "time of anguish" Daniel foresaw, and yet we do not see bright angels taking up fortifications just yet. At a time like this, I wonder if God's angels are here among us, less as burly soldiers bearing flaming swords, but more as a whisper deep within our hearts, with the same words that came to Daniel: "Greatly beloved, pay attention. Do not fear. your words have been heard." Maybe those angels are the "better angels of our nature" that Abraham Lincoln described in his first inaugural address. The angels who gently (and maybe less gently at times) steer us in the direction of love and unity, of placing others' interests before our own, to grieve with the grieving, to hold out hope for those just beginning their journey, and to do the next right thing, in our own lives, today, that together across the world will defend them from evil as well as any archangel ever could.

Prayer: God, thank you for the protection of your angels. Into your hands, today, I commend myself: my body, my soul, and all that is mine. May your holy angel protect me and guide my thoughts today, so that the wicked foe would have no power over me. Amen.    

 

Acts 13:32-41 Not Raised to Power, Raised to Life

 Acts 13:32-41 (NRSV)

³²And we bring you the good news that what God promised to our ancestors ³³he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising Jesus; as also it is written in the second psalm,
'You are my Son;
today I have begotten you.'

³⁴As to his raising him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, he has spoken in this way,
'I will give you the holy promises made to David.'
³⁵Therefore he has also said in another psalm,
'You will not let your Holy One experience corruption.'

³⁶For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, died, was laid beside his ancestors, and experienced corruption; ³⁷but he whom God raised up experienced no corruption. ³⁸Let it be known to you therefore, my brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you; ³⁹by this Jesus everyone who believes is set free from all those sins from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses. ⁴⁰Beware, therefore, that what the prophets said does not happen to you:
⁴¹'Look, you scoffers!
Be amazed and perish,
for in your days I am doing a work,
a work that you will never believe, even if someone tells you.'"

Observation: This is the second half of a sermon Paul preaches to a synagogue in Perga, a city in Pamphylia (modern Turkey). Using verses from the Hebrew Bible, Paul compares and contrasts the story of King David with the story of Jesus. Though David had a great deal of political power and served God's purpose for him in his time, like all human beings, he eventually died. But Paul's point is that though Jesus may not have had the same kind of political clout that David had, he had done something David could never do. He was raised from the dead.

Application: Resurrection is a whole other kind of power. It is an affirmation of life. God loves us, not just as spirits, but as human beings with bodies. It is an affirmation of Jesus' way of life. Jesus never commanded an army, stormed an enemy outpost, or sat on a throne in Jerusalem, the way his ancestor, King David, had. His followers kept waiting for that--that was what they thought the word "Messiah," anointed ruler of Israel, meant--but that day never came. Instead, Jesus spoke unflinching truth to those who had that kind of power, and paid for it with his life. But he was raised. This is God's check mate to death, and by extension, to any Empire that wields death as a weapon. This lays low the hollowness of any ruler, no matter how just or unjust they may be: if the worst they can do is kill you, resurrection renders them powerless. If their own rule is brought to a close at the mouth of the grave, then there is only one conclusion: Jesus is Lord, because his grave is empty.

I guess I haven't really "applied" the text yet. Sorry. Here it is. If Jesus is Risen, he is Lord. Not just today but forever. No person in power, and no way of thinking about power, no ideology, no policy, no army of lobbyists or legislators or pundits, is worth even a fraction of an inch of my soul's territory, because they are all going to crumble and decompose with the passage of time. If Jesus is Lord, it makes zero sense for me to walk any other way than Jesus' way of love, mercy and justice, and let the chips fall where they may. If Jesus is Lord, that doesn't mean what I do, what I say, and how I conduct myself in this world doesn't matter. It means it matters even more, because I don't have to waste my time trying to play some sort of temporary game. Blessing the meek, the mourners, the peacemakers, actually works. Forgiving seventy times seven actually works. Preaching liberty to captives and good news to the poor actually works. It doesn't matter what it looks like to system of power that are rotting from the inside out. If resurrection is on our side, I want to be on the side of Jesus, no matter what.

Prayer: Jesus, help me be on your side, come what may. Amen.

James 4:11-16 "If You Don't Have Anything Nice to Say..."

 

Observation: Although the letter of James only says to be from "James, servant of God", Christian tradition claims it was from the hand of Jesus' younger brother, who led the church in Jerusalem for almost thirty years before being martyred. Maybe it's my imagination, but in his discussion about judgment in this passage, I can see the "family resemblance" in its similarity to Jesus' sermon on the mount. James' letter makes the interesting claim that if you speak evil against anyone, you are speaking evil against God's law and judging the law.   

Application: There's a very important theological reason why Jesus, James and others caution against judging others. To judge another person is to put ourselves in the place of God, which is to break the First Commandment, "You shall have no other gods before me." It's an important reminder to be humble. I'm not God. I'm a mortal. My perspective is limited, and my own "rap sheet" with regard to sin is far from clean. 

Still, at the risk of complicating things (I am great at that!), we sometimes reduce these weighty commands into simple and strict rules of etiquette. We've all heard "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." This can cause us to clam up and never speak out, never hold fellow believers accountable when their behavior is harmful to us and others. "Well, I'm not one to judge..."

There's a difference between judging someone, and holding them to account to live what they believe. Especially when we are in close enough of a relationship with them where we think they will listen, sometimes it is our duty to say, "Hey, have you thought about how what you said/did back there may have affected others? Have you prayed about how that squares with your faith?" This is more an art than a science, of course, and it's never a comfortable conversation. But to grow in faith, sometimes we have to leave the black and white world of "never ever say anything negative", into the gray world of mutual accountability, especially among people who profess to follow Jesus. 

Prayer: God, forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. Keep me humble and grounded. And help me humbly speak the truth to those who need to hear it, even when they don't want to. Amen.   

Psalm 106:1-12 It's Nothing Personal

 

Observation: Psalm 106 is a historical psalm that uses poetry to retell the story of Israel's deliverance at the Red Sea. This feels like home, because I've spent all summer preaching on this story. But what grabs me is the introduction, "Who can utter the mighty deeds of the Lord, or declare all his praise? / Happy are those who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times." 

Application: I'll bet one of the top words you would hear from people in a Western country when you ask them about their faith is, "it's personal." We know that talking about faith with people you don't know well, or even some people you do, can lead to big problems. Best to keep it private. Between you and God. It's become so highly individualized that even some Lutherans, who may have never heard this phrase in a sermon (nor read it in their Bibles because it's not there) believe the thing they should value more than anything is "a personal relationship with Jesus." 

Don't get me wrong. I don't think it's bad to have a relationship with Jesus, or with God as you understand God to be, that's all your own, based on your individual experience and spirituality. That's fine. But when we get to a psalm like 106, that says you really shouldn't be "uttering the mighty deeds of the Lord" until you "observe justice" and "do righteousness at all times," you may realize that faith was never meant to be a total secret or even private. Faith should lead to justice on behalf of others, and justice is not a private phenomenon. Dr. Cornel West famously said, "Justice is what love looks like in public." If we want to speak about God, we should also be willing to speak on behalf of our most vulnerable neighbors. Some aspects of faith should be personal, but if it all is, then we've got a problem. 

Prayer: God, help me take my faith public in support of justice. Amen.       

Nahum 2:3-13 More Harsh Words for Nineveh

 

Observation: More harsh, violent words from the Lord about the overthrow of Nineveh. This seat of an ancient and powerful empire is bound for destruction. 

Application: If you spend any amount of time digging into the Bible, especially outside the bounds of the short snippets often picked for worship services, you will find some pretty violent content. I sometimes worry as I'm handing off Bibles to parents of new readers, "Are they aware of what all is in here? This thing does not come with parental controls." There are a lot of reasons you can give for the violent imagery, depending on where it comes from. Ancient times were violent times in general, and some of the language of the Bible reflects that historical context. In fact, some of the things God says and does in the Old Testament are tame compared to what tribal chieftans, kings and emperors were up to. 

But the book of Nahum specifically reminds me of a theme you find throughout the Bible. Often God's fiercest anger and harshest threats are leveled at empires who exalt themselves as divine, and oppress their neighbors. To the conquerors, the plunderers, the bullies, who see themselves as the apex of all power, God warns: you are going down, and it's going to be bad. This is an important wake-up call to all of us who live in nations with a lot of power and wealth. The power we have now is fleeting, and it's insignificant compared to the power of God. We may think that our own nation is special, and divinely ordained to rule forever. Guess what? So did the Assyrians. the Babylonians. The Persians. The Greeks. The Romans. and a hundred empires since. If we behave like the empires of old, I don't see why God would treat us any differently. But what is different today about any other time in history is that each and every citizen has the power to use our voice for the cause of justice. The Ninevites had no such right. So how shall we use our voices today? 

Prayer: God, for those in the seats of power, I pray for guidance and wisdom today. May their choices benefit all your children. May all our voices together stand under your word, and advocate for your will. Amen.       

Nahum 1:1, 14-2:2 "Oh Here They Come"

 

Observation: The prophet Nahum encourages the people to celebrate the fall of Nineveh, a capital city of the oppressive Assyrian Empire, which has been dominating the region. What jumps out at me is the joyful greeting of "the one who brings good tidings, who proclaims peace." 

Application:  Would you try a thought experiment with me? I'm going to write a declarative statement, with no punctuation and no indication of a tone of voice, and you tell me how you hear it. Here goes: 

Oh here come the Christians

First, what context were you picturing? The site of a natural disaster? A local food pantry? A protest on a hot-button issue? Your favorite brunch restaurant? The comments section of a local news story? Does it sound different depending on the context you imagine, or about the same? Let's try it again...

Oh here come the Christians

This time, let me ask the pointed question: in the context you imagine, is this statement good news? And hearing this statement, would you expect the words and actions of those Christians to be good news? Would you expect the environment to become more peaceful? More loving? Would you expect those held captive to experience freedom? Would you expect those who are sick in some way to experience healing? Would you expect whatever is said or done at that point to be good news to the poor? 

Yes? Terrific, I would love to meet your friends. 

No? Then I think we've got a problem. 

And it's not a skin-deep PR type problem. I think it's a discipleship problem. Because Christians are good news people, and we follow a Lord who announced everything I just wrote to be fulfilled in his presence. As I read in Nahum about "the one who brings good tidings, who proclaims peace," I think, "that should be us, because of who we follow." And if not, that's not a Jesus problem. And it's not a "those Christians over there who we disagree with" problem. It's an us problem. 

Prayer: Change my heart, oh God. Help me tp turn to you in faith, and let your good news soak into my life, my heart, my behavior, my words, so that my arrival actually is good news for the world. Amen.  

  

Mark 11:20-25 Figs, Faith and Forgiveness

 

Observation: Jesus and his disciples are walking into Jerusalem for the day and they pass a fig tree that Jesus cursed the previous day. It has withered. Jesus uses this as an object lesson, that if you ask for something in prayer, and believe you have received it, God will grant it to you. As Jesus continues to talk about prayer, he also includes forgiveness alongside faith as an essential ingredient. God forgives us when we are able to forgive. 

Application: Whew, there's a lot to unpack here. What troubles me about this passage is not so much the bold assertion about the power of faith, but the object lesson Jesus uses. In the previous passage, the fig tree was not in the wrong...Jesus was hungry, and wanted figs, but it wasn't fig season! The tree was living the natural course of its life, and Jesus struck it down! Even though the words about forgiveness seem to be tacked onto the end of this passage about prayer and faith, maybe they're more connected than I realized. Maybe Jesus' action, which is shocking and hard to understand for me, is a lesson about forgiveness. I will never understand exactly why others do what they do. If I had to understand them to forgive them, I wouldn't forgive often. It's strange, and a little uncomfortable, to think that I would have to "forgive" Jesus, who has forgiven me of so much. But in the short term, while his behavior is a mystery, that's where I have to start. I may have to let go of this story for a while, to speak to me some other day. 

Prayer: Jesus, I don't get it. I don't know why you cursed that poor tree, and it makes me mad. It sounds presumptuous to say "I forgive you," but if I don't say it, this will just bounce around in my brain for too long. So let me just say it. I forgive you. I want to let go of this story until you show me what it means. Help me, Lord. Amen.  

Psalm 133: Living Together

 

Observation: Psalm 133 is one of the shortest and simplest. It compares the unity and love of a family living together to the holiest and most precious substance known to ancient Israel: the oil of anointing, which consecrated Moses' brother Aaron as a priest of the Lord. 

Application: It's been a very intense time for "kindred living together." Half a year into the coronavirus crisis, I don't need to tell you that for many families, "unity" sometimes feels more like an aspirational goal than an everyday reality. I don't have any magic bullets from the Bible to make a stressed, snippy family into a happy and unified one. I would guess we all know a few tricks, like getting sleep and exercise, eating nutritious food, taking quiet time alone each day, giving hugs, etc... I think we know what we can do, even if we don't always do it. But from Psalm 133, one thing I get is that when the unity happens, when things are clicking, and your family is working well together as a team, you should stop and take a mental snapshot. How good and pleasant it is! Maybe it feels rare. But I promise you it will feel a lot less rare if you make a note of it when it does happen. A favorite weekly ritual for our family, which started as a Lenten discipline, is that Tuesday night is "screen free night". After dinner, we turn off the TV and computers, stow the phones, and play board games, ask trivia questions, take walks, and just unplug. It makes me feel a little more human after a day of being tied to machines. That's worked for us. How good and pleasant it is!

Prayer: God, help us remember the unity, the good and the pleasant, the times when it's working. Use those moments to sustain us when life is stressful and hard. Amen. 

   

Romans 10:15-21 Don't Know What You've Got Til It's Gone

 Observation: In this section of his letter to the Romans, Paul is trying to make sense of why his message about Jesus has been embraced by many Gentiles, but has not been universally embraced by his fellow Jews. His argument, based on his reading of the Hebrew scriptures, is that God must intend to make God's chosen people jealous by embracing people from other backgrounds, in order to win back the children of Israel. But later Paul makes clear his belief that, however long it takes, reconciliation will eventually happen.   

Application: Romans 10 hits home for me because, like many of Paul's Jewish readers, I grew up in a religiously devout household. Faith was kind of something I took for granted for much of my childhood. There were certainly bumps, twists and forks in the road for me as a teenager and as a young adult. I've been fortunate enough to learn about many other faiths and philosophies of life, but the ultimate result for me has been a return "home" to reclaim the faith I grew up with. I sometimes wonder if that doesn't make me a little complacent when it comes to really examining my assumptions about life. What would it take to force me to really change my perspective? What would a conversion experience look like for me? Sometimes, I'll admit, I get a bit envious when I talk with someone who became a Christian on their own, through some sort of dramatic conversion. I have noticed that often they make terrific evangelists, because they know what it's like to have God's love revealed to them for the very first time. Maybe it's a little bit of the 'grass is always greener' phenomenon. I'm not ashamed of my story, but hearing the stories of others definitely does help my perspective, and helps me appreciate my inherited and reclaimed faith more. 

Prayer: God, thank you for raising me in faith. Thank you for the gift of my baptism and for the many people who formed me in faith. Help me never to take any of it for granted. Help me use my unique story to witness to you.     

Matthew 12:22-32 If Satan Casts Out Satan

 ²²Then they brought to him a demoniac who was blind and mute; and he cured him, so that the one who had been mute could speak and see. ²³All the crowds were amazed and said, "Can this be the Son of David?" ²⁴But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, "It is only by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons, that this fellow casts out the demons." ²⁵He knew what they were thinking and said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. ²⁶If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand? ²⁷If I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own exorcists cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. ²⁸But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come to you. ²⁹Or how can one enter a strong man's house and plunder his property, without first tying up the strong man? Then indeed the house can be plundered. ³⁰Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. ³¹Therefore I tell you, people will be forgiven for every sin and blasphemy, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. ³²Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

Observation: Jesus' words here have always been a little confusing to me. Essentially, he is trying to argue that he is not casting out demons by a demonic power, but in the name of God, as a sign of God's Reign being near. For this reason, it is one of the worst sins a person can commit, to see God's work and attribute it to demonic forces.

But the tricky thing is Jesus' argument (famously quoted VERY out of context by Abe Lincoln) is, "A house divided against itself cannot stand." Jesus' point is that if he is casting out one demon in the name of another demon, then the realm of demons is divided against itself, and should be falling. But since the realm of demons is clearly very much alive and well, therefore it must still be unified. Therefore, Jesus must be on God's side.

Application: Evil is very much alive in our world today. I don't think there's any denying that. If Jesus' words hold true, that "a house divided against itself cannot stand," then it makes sense to see the evil in the world as very much united...maybe more united than Jesus' disciples. But it's easy to unite around a goal of dividing and destroying. It's much harder to unite around a goal of surrendering ourselves to the will of a loving God. What I take from this passage is less about fighting evil around me than fighting evil within me. Maybe I need to spend less time worrying about how well the spiritual house I built for myself is standing, and just let it fall, and let God rebuild what needs to be there.

Prayer: God, your will be done, not mine. Strengthen that in me which belongs to you. By your Spirit's power, help me build that up in others, too, rather than trying to knock it down out of envy. And anything in me that doesn't belong to you, Lord, let it fall.

Psalm 17: Avoiding the Ways of the Violent

Observation: Psalm 17 is a cry for help from God, attributed to King David. The writer lifts up his own virtue and faithfulness, saying "By your lips I have avoided the ways of the violent," but asks God to deliver him from deadly and violent enemies. If this psalm came from the pen of David, I have to admit some doubts about David's perspective here. Based on David's story in 1 and 2 Samuel, while he certainly had violent persecutors like King Saul, David himself was not totally free from any violence or deceit. 

Application: A major reason why I like the psalms is they are so human. They are unapologetically from a certain person's perspective at a certain time. From this person's perspective, they are being violently persecuted by an enemy and have done nothing wrong. Maybe they're not morally perfect, but whatever the crisis is, the writer didn't instigate it, and needs God's protection to get out of it. 

It's way too easy to divide the world into "good guys" and "bad guys." And people are capable of doing some pretty awful things. What I appreciate in the psalm's perspective is that the writer doesn't ask for the strength to take matters into his own hands, and slay the "bad guys." Consistent throughout scripture is the cry for God to execute justice. Even when we feel another party is very much in the wrong, the judgment is in God's hands, not our own. And it's a good thing too, because I have been in the wrong many times, and I'm grateful that, though what I say and do has consequences, God's grace and mercy are unswerving. 

Prayer:   God, deliver us from violent ways. Establish justice in our land, in our world, and in our own hearts. Amen.