John 21:15-19 Loving is Feeding

 

Observation: After Jesus' Resurrection, he sits by the sea of Galilee for one last heart-to-heart with Simon Peter. Jesus asks Peter three times, "Do you love me?" Although Peter is confused and a little hurt by Jesus' repeated question, it gives him the opportunity to declare his love for Jesus three times--just as he denied knowing Jesus three times the night before his crucifixion. Each time Peter declares his love, Jesus basically tells Peter to do the same thing: tend and feed his sheep. 

Application: Today is the festival of Sts. Peter and Paul, Apostles. Both the text from John 21 and the appointed prayer today focus in on martyrdom, or the fact that Peter and Paul both died for publicly professing their faith. According to Christian tradition, Paul was beheaded in Rome, and Peter asked to be crucified upside down, because he saw himself as unworthy of dying the same type of death as his Lord. Often when a saint's life comes to a dramatic or violent end, the death takes the focus and the life takes a backseat. But really, it's the life of a saint that can teach us a lot more. God willing, it's very unlikely that Christians today in the western world will be beheaded or crucified upside down for our faith. But we will be asked, on a daily basis, to do the work of Peter, and feed Jesus' flock. It doesn't have the dramatic flare of a public martyrdom, but it's what needs to be done. Every day, we will be surrounded by people who need to hear good news: that they are loved, that their lives are precious in God's sight, and that God cares about their needs, both spiritual and physical. It may not go down in history, and we may not even remember or notice by the end of today the ways we built up Jesus' flock. But Jesus will.  

Prayer: Jesus, I love you. Help me show it by feeding and tending your flock today. In your name I pray, Amen. 

Revelation 22:1-5 One Light, One Tree, Many Kinds of Fruit

Observation: God shows John a vision of God's ultimate plan for the creation. One great river flowing from God's throne, one tree on either side of it, lit neither by the sun nor by the moon, but by the glory of the One God. But the tree bears more than just one kind of fruit. In fact, it bears twelve; a different fruit each month. Twelve is a number of completeness in the Bible, and it's often associated with the twelve tribes of Israel. But the fruits of this tree will be "for the healing of the nations", which often means the nations other than Israel. From one central source will come healing for each and every nation, unique to its need. 

Application: I like the symbolism of this heavenly "fruit of the month club." It reminds me that every nation, and indeed every person, needs a different kind of healing. It also reminds me that the healing does not happen all at once: in God's Reign we are comfortable centering and healing the pain of others, even if our hurts may have to wait until next month, or the month after that. God knows who needs what kind of fruit, and when, and it comes in due season. In God's Reign, there is abundance. We can clearly see there's fruit enough for the needs of all. I can wait quietly until December and support the healing of my siblings in June. In fact, my healing takes a different form as I celebrate others' healing, each month with the dawning realization that all our healing, unique though it is, is bound up together. Like much of John's heavenly vision (and pretty much any heavenly vision in the Bible) my approach is: "it will happen then, but why can't it happen now?" So, as I pray "your kingdom come" today, I pray for fruits of healing in due season for all the nations--all my neighbors across this world--and I give my attention to bearing the fruit they need. 

Prayer: God, your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as in heaven. Tree of life, bear me as fruit to the nations, for the healing they need. Amen. 

 

  
 

Revelation 20:7-10 Fire From Heaven

Observation: In a mystic vision, John of Patmos sees a final battle taking place. Satan gathers a vast evil army "as numerous as the sands of the sea," and they surround the camp of the saints (holy people of God). But as quickly as they gather, they are destroyed by fire from heaven. Not a single sword is lifted, and not a single bullet or missile is fired. God wins the day. 

Application: Revelation can be a confusing and terrifying book for modern readers, but the take-away for believers is so very simple: God is in control. When things look dire and evil seems to surround and overpower us, it is not by brute force or military might that the forces of good will triumph. It is by faithfulness to God. The fire that does the devil in does not come from the camp of the saints. It comes from heaven. 

It is tempting to go down a deep rabbit hole of interpretation in the Book of Revelation, so we can be ready to combat evil when "the Beast" rears its ugly head. But even though the imagery in Revelation is colorful, at every step of the journey it is God who takes action, and it is the people's job to continue to be faithful, trusting God and loving our neighbor as ourselves. At no point do our standing orders change, no matter what we may suspect will or will not happen at the end. The battle belongs to God. The victory is already ours. 

Prayer: God, help us to be faithful. When times are frightening, help us double down on being peacemakers, in the name of the one whose peace passes all understanding, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.    

 

Numbers 6:22-27 Put My Name On Them

 

Observation: The Lord gives this beautiful blessing for Aaron and his family, who will be Israel's priests. God promises "I shall put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them." God's name is holy. By receiving this blessing, the people of Israel are also made holy. 

Application: File this under "Bible passages Lutherans have memorized but don't know it." This beautiful priestly blessing has been offered at the conclusion of Lutheran worship services going back generations, if not centuries. (I'd be interested to learn if it's also common in the worship of other Christian denominations. I don't have that information on hand, but I suspect so.) Through our connection to Jesus, we believe that we have been "grafted onto the tree" of God's chosen people, and can be included in offering this holy blessing to one another. It's not a thing to be taken lightly, but a gift to be received with great humility. This is how God puts God's name on us. 

Prayer: God, you are holy. Thank you for blessing us and making us holy as well.

BONUS TRIVIA: Watch this interview Leonard Nimoy, in which he tells how he developed Mr. Spock's Vulcan greeting, "Live Long and Prosper." It is adapted from the Aaronic blessing as offered in his childhood synagogue! now you know :-)

1 Corinthians 2:1-10 But What Do I Know?

 

Observation: Paul is writing to Christians in Corinth about  the beginnings of their relationship, when he first gathered this community together in Christ. Although Paul is a very gifted speaker and writer, he did not use "lofty words or wisdom" to share Christ with them, but "to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified." Instead of fancy speeches, Paul chose to preach Jesus' story, and let the Spirit take over. 

Application: I've said it before that I am a professional over-thinker. It's what I do, and I dare say I've gotten pretty good at it. There's no lily I can't gild; no molehill I can't make a mountain of; no simple, straight-forward truth I can't expand upon and make more complicated than it needs to be.

I say that ironically, but the truth is sometimes I really do get wrapped up in language and ideas about God when I preach, and forget to tell the simple story of Jesus Christ, the crucified one. There's a lot more to say about our faith than "Jesus died for us," but it is the foundation of any authentic statement we can make about God, about love, and about our understanding of the nature of the universe. There's plenty I know, plenty I think I know, and much, much more that I don't, but sometimes "Jesus died for us" is enough. So that's where I'll leave it for today.

Prayer: Jesus, thank you for giving your life for me and for all. Help me to trust that your way of self-giving love is indeed the way, the truth and the life. Amen.