Galatians 1:11-24 A Change of Heart

 

Observation: Paul's ministry is based on a big claim. He retells the story here in his letter to the Galatian church, that he is the only person besides Jesus' original followers to whom the risen Lord personally appeared. According to Paul, this changed his heart and his life, turning him from violently persecuting Christians to enthusiastically sharing their message.

Application: I had a good conversation with our confirmation class via Zoom this past Sunday. We discussed times in our lives when someone really changed our minds. I can only think of a handful of times when one single conversation or moment really made me do a 180 degree turn, as Paul appears to do. But even those big moments didn't arise out of nothing. Looking back, for every moment of major change in my life, there were half a dozen smaller seeds planted along the way, sometimes years before, that led me to that point. It's very rare to have as dramatic of a moment as Paul has with Jesus. Much more often, we change because God has been preparing us for it for a long time. This is helpful for me to remember when I'm dealing with people or systems that seem to be stuck in their ways, and of course for the many times when I'm feeling a little to stuck in my ways. Change is a little at a time, then all at once, and it's Jesus who does it. 

Prayer: Jesus, change my heart today in the way that I need to change. Help me see you in the way that I need to, even if it's not dramatic, and help me remember to look back on my story and give thanks for your faithfulness. Amen. 

Matthew 16:15-19 A Truth that Allows For Change

 

Observation: Today, January 18, commemorates the "Confession of Peter," a crucial moment in the Gospels in which Jesus asks his disciples, "Who do you say that I am?" and Simon Peter speaks up to say, "You are the Messiah." Jesus tells Peter that it is none other than God who has revealed this to him, and on the "rock" of Peter's witness Jesus will build a church. Jesus then promises Peter "the keys to the kingdom of heaven," saying whatever he binds or looses on earth will be bound or loosed in heaven.

Application: A couple of years ago (In those storied pre-pandemic times) I read a book called Canoeing the Mountains, on the subject of adaptive leadership. The principle of adaptive leadership is if you know your own personal values and the values of your community well enough, it makes it easier to change quickly in an unpredictable future. If you don't know what truths are central for you, then it's hard to change anything for fear of losing everything. But if you DO know it, then almost everything can change and you'll still be right at home. 

God has revealed a central truth to Peter--and to us--that Jesus is the Messiah, Son of the Living God. Once Peter gets this right, Jesus actually gives him permission, in the context of his community, to change almost everything else as the situation dictates. If Peter holds fast to the truth of Jesus as Messiah, "whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." 

This is both liberating and terrifying at the same time. As long as we confess Jesus as Lord and Messiah together, literally anything else can and will change, and sometimes it will need to change. What grounds me is the promise that this confession is what makes Peter "a rock". It was strong enough to keep him centered, and it can keep us centered too. As the world changes, the church can change too, with prayer and conversation, if we know the rock on which we stand. 

Prayer: Jesus, thank you for the witness of Peter, and the rock on which he stood: the truth, that you are Lord. Help me to stand firm, too, when I need to, and also to be flexible and change when I need to. I pray this in your name, Messiah, Son of the Living God. Amen.   

Isaiah 6:1-5 God's House

 

Observation: In Isaiah's call story, he is pulled up into God's house: the throne room of the heavenly temple. The hem of God's robe fills the temple, and God is attended by other-worldly beings: Seraphs, with six wings. It is truly an alien environment. Isaiah feels defeated, because there is no way he can be worthy to be in such a holy place. 

Application: It's almost the end of the Christmas season, and in case I was in danger of getting too "cozy" with the Child in the manger, this is a reminder of who I've been hanging out with. The same one whose temple fills with smoke to shield mortal eyes; the same one to whom the seraphim sing "Holy, Holy, Holy," all the time, through eternity, even when mortal ears can't hear; this is the one who took on flesh to be with us. 

Christians have a bad theological habit of reading the entire Old Testament--especially the parts of it where God is "high and lofty", holy, untouchable and apart from human experience--and categorizing it all as "God the Father." Anytime we see God as "larger than life," that must be that "Father" guy. Certainly it can't be our buddy Jesus who took naps on boats, and made fish breakfasts, and was born in a lowly manger. But if we make that hard, fast separation, we're actually emptying the incarnation of its miracle. 

The Christian witness is that God is Triune--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit--and always has been. We can't divide up the Old Testament and try to figure out which "person" showed up for Moses in a burning bush, and which one appeared to Isaiah. The Lord did all those things. And The Lord is Father, Holy Spirit...and Son. The Son of God was there all along. Even in the lofty temple. 

Hate to be the one to remind you: children are born into "mangers", into impermanent housing, into less-than-ideal situations, every single day. The wonder of Christmas is that this happened to God, who dwelt in glory in the heavenly temple, whose praise shook the foundations of the house. This is the one who freely chose solidarity with us. This is the one who makes human life holy with his presence. 

Prayer: Son of God, I am not worthy to have you share the same planet, to inhabit the same type of body and be the same type of creature as you. Yet here you are: God with Us. Pull me deeper into the mystery, not that I might understand it, but that I might continue to live in awe and humility. In your name I pray. Amen. 

Matthew 2:13-18 Holy Innocents

 

Observation: Just a few days into the joyful celebration of Christmas, here is a terribly shocking reminder of the world into which Christ is born. Echoing the cruelty of Pharaoh in the story of Moses' birth, Herod has all the infants and toddlers of Bethlehem murdered, just to be sure this newborn king does not ascend to take his throne. For the second time in Matthew's Gospel, angels come to the rescue by tipping off Joseph ahead of time. The holy family escapes. Not so for dozens or hundreds of children--an entire generation of Jesus' cousins and relatives--who remain. 

Application: There's a part of me that feels talking about the Holy Innocents--a senseless avoidable mass murder--during Christmas, is totally wrong. Yet there's another part of me that understands why it could be, and has to be, now. For the joy of Christmas to really mean something, Jesus has to be born into the real world, in all its ugliness. He has to be born among families of Sandy Hook students, who should be starting high school, or for families of students in Oxford, Michigan, facing their first Christmas without a child. If the good news of his presence is only for those untouched by tragedy, it must be good news for some other world; surely not our own. There is no part of Jesus' life, not even the story of his birth, which is untouched by the truth of his cross. If he isn't with us on our darkest day, he's not with us at all. That is the meaning of "Emmanuel." 

Prayer: God, be with parents who cry out like Rachel for her children, who refuse to be consoled. Help us to be your presence among them, not just standing there, but in solidarity with them, recognizing their pain, and working with them to rescue other families from it.    

December 21: Luke 23 the Light in the Darkness

 

Observation: I've never read the end of Luke's Gospel so close to Christmas before, and it brings up some interesting parallels. The same Spirit which overshadowed Mary is the one Jesus commends to his Father from the cross. Just as an angel shone with God's glory in the middle of the night for the shepherds, now we see darkness in the middle of the day as Jesus breathes his last. 

Application: Today is the winter solstice, the darkest day of the year. We know from past experience that the days will get brighter from here. They do every year. Yet it's faith that keeps us going on to those brighter days. If you are dealing with dark days, whether it's today or later on in the winter, or even after light and warmth returns to this part of the earth, know that you are not alone in the darkness. That's the promise of the cross. In fact, really, it's the fullness of the promise of the incarnation. Jesus did not take on flesh only to share our fun, joyful moments. Jesus is not a fairweather friend. He doesn't only show up to the bright holiday parties, or in the lives of the relentlessly positive, or those who manage to mask or numb their pain. If the "spirit of the season" just isn't there for you this year, if you're in a dark place, I have better news for you than candles and blinking lights can provide. The light of the world--Jesus--is here with you, in your darkest hour. 

Prayer: Jesus, thank you for being with us on the hardest days as well as the easiest. Amen.  

December 14: Luke 16 Two Masters

 Text: Luke 16 

http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=506489393

Observation: This is another teaching section in Luke's Gospel. The first parable is the parable of the "shrewd manager," who on getting news that he's being fired, proceeds to reduce the debts of all his master's clients. 

Then we have a couple of teachings about the Law, and the chapter finishes with the parable of the rich man and Lazarus: Lazarus, who is destitute and sits at the rich man's door, dies and goes to paradise. The rich man dies and goes to suffer in Hades. The rich man learns it is too late to cross over. 

Application: the theme I see in this chapter is verse 13. No slave can serve two masters. You cannot serve both God and wealth (in Greek, Mammon). 

It is tough to make sense of the "shrewd manager" parable. It just seems like he's cheating. But one possible take is that he would rather "cheat" in a graceful and generous way, with Mammon (unjust wealth) than diligently guard and serve the wealth of a ruthless man. In the same way, the rich man seems to have served Mammon all his life, which widened the chasm between himself and his neighbors in poverty. By the end, he even expects them to serve him in Hades. The chasm is in his heart, and it began to form long ago. 

It's hard to know how to fully serve God in a world that's captive to Mammon. Maybe it will look a little crazy at times. Maybe it will lead us down paths that others don't understand. But it's better to be misunderstood than to forge a chasm between ourselves and our neighbors, either now or in the life to come.

Prayer: Jesus, I need help today. Help me serve you, and forsake Mammon, the God of wealth. In your name I pray.

Amen. 

Luke 7, 8, 9 Healing, Sending, Explaining

 I'm behind by a couple of days, so I'll do a VERY brief overview of these three long chapters and mainly focus on 9. 

Luke 7: Jesus heals a Roman centurion's servant. Jesus raises a widow's only son from the dead. Jesus answers questions from John the Baptizer's disciples, and criticisms from Pharisees. At a dinner in a Pharisee's house, he publicly forgives the sins of a notoriously sinful woman, who anoints his feet with oil and kisses them. 

Luke 8: The Evangelist reveals the names of some women disciples and financial benefactors of Jesus: Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Susanna. Jesus tells parables to the crowds. Jesus stills a storm on the sea of Galilee, to the amazement of his disciples. Jesus casts unclean spirits out of a man, into a herd of swine, which runs into the sea. Jesus heals a young girl who has died, and a woman who has suffered from a hemorrhage for twelve years. 

Luke 9: Jesus sends out his apostles or "sent ones" out for the first time, to announce God's Reign, and to heal in his name. As Jesus' reputation increases, Herod begins asking questions about him and his relationship to John the Baptizer, whom he has killed. Jesus feeds over 5,000 people on a hill. Jesus asks his disciples "who do you say that I am?" to which Peter responds "the Messiah of God." then, for the first time, Jesus begins to tell them his destiny: that he will be rejected and die, and rise again. He explains to his disciples that those who follow him must likewise "take up their cross," and offer up their lives for his sake. Then, Jesus takes Peter, James and John up on a high mountain, and is transfigured before them, clothed in dazzling white and talking with Moses and Elijah. The voice of God from a cloud says, "This is my son, the Chosen, listen to him!" Jesus heals a demon his disciples could not, and begins to set his face toward Jerusalem, where the story will end...and begin again...

Application: Wow, so much going on here. The two biggest points I take from these chapters are: 

1) The presence of the Messiah is the presence of healing, forgiveness, and deliverance from evil. 

2) Jesus sends us out to BE his presence in the world. 

This does not necessarily mean we will have the power to do supernatural things. But it does mean that if we see ourselves as disciples (those who follow) then we are also called to be apostles (those sent out in his name). We don't learn from Jesus, or even worship him, for our own personal benefit, but in order that we can go out and do the things he does in the world. In short, when we follow Jesus, we act like Jesus and make the world a better place. It's a tall order, of course, and the results of our efforts are God's things, not ours. But each day we wake up, we are people with a purpose. 

Prayer: Jesus, thank you for your healing presence which enriches my life. Send me out to be that presence for others. In your name I pray. Amen.