Welcome to the August 2024 Archive. You are welcome to read the entire archive, or find a topic on the list below that is of interest to you. Just click the link, and you will be taken directly to the day it was written. Enjoy, and may you know God's peace as you read His Word.
You are welcome to use these writings or pass them on. All we ask is that in all things you remember the Author and give Him the glory, and remember this vessel which He has used to bring them to you. Peggy Hoppes
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Scripture on this page taken from the American Standard Version of the Holy Bible which belongs to the public domain.
A WORD FOR TODAY, August 2024
August 1, 2024
“I thank my God whenever I remember you, always in every request of mine on behalf of you all, making my requests with joy, for your partnership in furtherance of the Good News from the first day until now; being confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. It is even right for me to think this way on behalf of all of you, because I have you in my heart, because both in my bonds and in the defense and confirmation of the Good News, you all are partakers with me of grace. For God is my witness, how I long after all of you in the tender mercies of Christ Jesus. This I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense to the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” Philippians 1:3-11, WEB
Twenty-five years ago, I was living in England. I was part of an email discussion group (this was before social media!) We were a diverse group and tended to talk about many different things, including matters of faith. I think we met in a Christian chat room, though we often did not agree. I had been a lifelong Christian, but I was really just beginning to study the scriptures seriously. I learned a lot from the people on that list, not just from their differing perspectives, but also from our disagreements. They caused me to dig more deeply, to discover for myself what I believed to be true. I also learned how to disagree. It was a lesson that would come in handy once social media became more prominent. I sometimes miss that group, those discussions.
We had a moderator who made sure we had something interesting in our email boxes every day. It wasn’t a problem some days, especially when we were in the middle of an interesting discussion. Other days, however, the moderator sent out something fun, sometime to inspire, something to make us laugh. She loved to use graphics. She asked me to take over for her while she was on vacation so that we’d still have that daily connection. I wasn’t interested in doing what she did, so I began to write a very short devotional each day. It was a two-week commitment. At the end of the first week, I wondered how I would ever make it through to the end. By the end of the second week, I had more ideas. So, I just kept writing. Today, by God’s grace, we are celebrating twenty-five years of my A WORD FOR TODAY devotional.
Things have changed over these twenty-five years. I used to write seven days a week, but was encouraged to take a weekly Sabbath rest, so I started to do just five days. I added MIDWEEK OASIS, the devotional I post on Wednesday that looks at the lectionary for the week. My writing has changed. I’ve used different versions of the Bible. I’ve grown in my faith. I’ve developed into a theologian and teacher, so my focus has shifted from lighter inspiration to lessons of faith. I have matured as a Christian, so my perspective and understanding has changed. I’ve taken classes and studied under some fantastic teachers. I even took a year of Greek so I can understand the language. I’ve even been published.
My writing has not been perfect. I’m humble enough to admit that I make a lot of mistakes. There is some typo or grammatical error almost every day. I often forget to change the date on the heading. My process includes a number of steps because it is posted on multiple lists and websites. I try very hard to follow every step carefully, but it is not unusual for me to miss something. There are sometimes reasons to admit my mistakes, and I hope that you’ll always forgive my imperfections.
That’s what Christian life is all about: forgiving one another for our mistakes. We all do it. We forget to do the things we should do, we say the wrong things, and we repeat these mistakes over and over again. Sometimes we learn from our mistakes, but I know that even when I’ve learned my lessons I still manage to mess up. It would be nice if we became perfect as we overcome our failures, but we don’t. While we are being perfected, we won’t be perfect in this life. Day by day we move past our failures, knowing that forgiveness encourages us to try again and again until the day when we will be perfect in God’s presence.
I have taken a few vacations, but I estimate that I’ve written about six thousand five hundred devotions. I’ve experienced writer’s block over the years. I confess that after so many years, I have posted a few re-runs. Copy and paste is my friend. I write several other devotions and Bible studies, so I often become overwhelmed. And confused. Sometimes I can’t even remember if a thought was from this work or from one of the others! I’ve recently thought about getting a job, yet I’m always hesitant because I know it will affect the writing of this devotional. I have struggled with the idea of quitting, but I am often amazed that God has called me to this ministry. I love that I’ve been given the privilege to share God’s Word with you, to encourage you in your faith, to inspire you to a life of active discipleship in the Kingdom of God in this world.
What I have always found amazing is that just when I feel like it is time to set this ministry aside so I can do some other sort of work, God grants me a glimmer of the impact of my writing. I’ve been blessed to meet people who have enjoyed reading my posts. I’ve received emails and comments about a devotion, telling me that the words were just what that person needed to hear that day. I experience God’s grace myself in the messages each day. And like the end of that first week twenty-four years ago, God has continued to put on my heart words He would have me say.
Today’s scripture is one of my favorites. As a matter of fact, I’ve used it many times over the years. I’ve even quoted verses 9-11 on the business card I use when sharing my website with others. In these words, we see the deep love Paul had for the Christians in his care. He was unconcerned about the persecution that was happening to him as long as his brothers and sisters were growing in grace and love. The simple grace of Jesus Christ is the very thing that got him and them through the difficult times. They were constantly, as we still are, moving toward the Day of the Lord, and knowing that God is always near will help us persevere until He fulfills all His promises.
Though many of you are strangers, we are one in Christ, joined together in Spirit and truth. Sharing our faith is never easy; it is fraught with the dangers of persecution and spiritual warfare, which I have experienced at times. However, I know I am never alone. I am confident that God has brought us together for mutual edification and that together we will continue to bless the world through our witness. May God continue to bless each of us so to shine the light of Christ into the world for many more years!
August 2, 2024
“Therefore Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written, that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.” John 20:30-31, WEB
I have to admit that I have never read the Bible cover to cover. I have read every book, every word, several times, and studied much of it in depth, but I have never actually read it from the first word of Genesis to last word of Revelation. I once read Walter Wangerin’s book “The Book of God” which is the Bible in novel form. I’ve heard the stories many times through the lectionary readings in church. I know several people who have read the Bible cover to cover (some more than once!) and they were greatly blessed by the experience.
I suppose the reason I haven’t done it is that most read through the Bible programs set up unrealistic expectations. They are designed to get it done in a year, meaning it is necessary to read about three chapters a day. This is easy on some days, when we our schedules aren’t filled with too many activities, but it gets harder when we are busy. It becomes almost impossible to catch up when we get behind. I have bought books to follow, and even given myself the grace to read when I have the chance, I haven’t managed to finish. I have given up on those programs after just a few weeks, often because I am overwhelmed by the long stretches of non-narrative texts.
Lynn Bowen Walker in her book “Queen of the Castle,” admitted to having a similar problem. She decided not to try to follow one of those unrealistic programs and read as she was able. It took her seven years. I think her encouragement will help others try to read it at a pace that leaves room for those busy days. If something happens and I can’t read one day, it isn’t too hard to recover. That’s all well and good, but I could do it with the book I used, and I still failed. I like a program that looks at a different genre each day of the week: epistles, the law, history, Psalms, poetry, prophecy, and Gospels. I have done that plan several times; there’s something about the variety that makes it manageable for me. (https://www.ligonier.org/posts/bible-reading-plans, it is the first one on the page).
This year I am using a book that goes through the one hundred and fifty Psalms in thirty days. It also includes prayers, confessions, canticles, and other scripture quotes. The daily readings are divided into three sections: morning, afternoon, and night. I just began my eighth month and plan to do it for the whole year. I’ve enjoyed getting to know the psalms more deeply. I hope that I will be more familiar with them, although I know I won’t have them memorized by the end of the year. (https://www.amazon.com/Psalms-30-Days-Trevin-Wax/dp/1087749026)
I suppose one day I should try to do the Bible from cover to cover, but I’m not sure it matters. It is an honorable accomplishment, but the Bible is not necessarily meant to be read as you would read a novel. It is a library of many different books. Nobody goes to the library with the goal of reading every book on the shelves in the order they are displayed. We don’t have to accomplish our reading of the scriptures in a certain amount of time. It is best to commit to daily reading, hearing God’s Word and learning to apply it to our lives.
The Bibles most of us use are not in chronological order, although some versions have tried to organize it in that manner. This is difficult to do because some of the books tell parallel stories. Other books are hard to place in history. The Psalms skip all over the timeline. The Jewish scriptures place the books in a different order. Different genres are peppered throughout the canon. There are many writers with many different perspectives.
The books of the Bible have a common purpose, but each book also has a unique purpose. Some show us what God has done. Others tell us who God is. Yet others help us to see what God is doing. The books reach out to different audiences, and though the entire book is meant for all, the books speak to us in particular ways at specific times. I think sometimes we assume that reading the Bible from cover to cover will make us know and understand everything there is to know about God. It will certainly help us to grow. Every moment we devote to reading and studying God’s Word helps us to grow in faith and in knowledge of God. However, we will never fully know Him.
Those who have read the Bible from cover to cover have accomplished something great and honorable. They have a heart for God’s Word and their reading has helped to write it on their hearts. Many can quote verses and quickly find references because they know it so well. Some people have even memorized whole books. But even though the Bible is the most accessible revelation of God to His people, there is much more to know about Him than could have been written in any book, even the Bible. Imagine what it would be like if everything about God could be written! However, we are called to keep the Bible near to us, to open it daily, to read as much as we can. God speaks to us in many ways, but it is through the words of the authors who were inspired by the Holy Spirit to write His story that He has revealed Himself to our hearts and our minds so that we will know His grace and apply it to our lives.
August 5, 2024
“Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man. For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; thus it is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer. Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are priests who offer gifts according to the law. They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, ‘See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.’ But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second. For he finds fault with them when he says: ‘Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. For they did not continue in my covenant, and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, “Know the Lord,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.” Hebrews 8, WEB
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, San Antonio was the fastest growing metropolitan area in the United States in 2023. The constant influx of new residents has put a strain on our infrastructure. Our roads are not big enough to carry all the people to their destinations. Every road, or at least it seems every road, is under construction. A major project lies between us and the church we attend, and the roads are often jammed or even closed as they build unbelievable ramps from one highway to another. We have used an alternate road, but one day they closed that down, too, for another road project. I have to check my GPS whenever I leave the house to decide which direction I want to go to accomplish my errands for the day.
I get frustrated, but I am amazed at the work they are doing. These flyovers are ramps located high above the ground; they will help drivers avoid some of the merging that is necessary. Every major city, at least those here in Texas, has some junction of roads that looks like an octopus or a bowl full of spaghetti, with a dozen different dozen roadways going in a dozen different directions. It seems impossible to know which road is which when you are beneath this jumble of bridges. We have watched the growth of our latest octopus, and I’ve wondered at the pillars holding up the bridges. What will future people think about the ruins of our society, the crumbled buildings that are ruins in a few thousand years. Some of those pillars reach for the sky. They won’t be there forever. Will future generations know that they were part of a highway junction? Or will they see it from another perspective? Will they think it is some sort of ceremonial or religious site?
You might laugh at that last question, but how often do archeologists argue over some new discovery as they try to determine what it was in its heyday. Take Stonehenge, for example. I’ve watched the documentaries, and I’ve visited the site. There is something fascinating about the mystery behind it all. Why did the ancient people go to so much trouble? How did they manage to move those big rocks onto the plain from so far away and place them so precisely in the circle? What did the people do with the site when it was built?
Everyone has a theory, and many of them make sense. The most obvious is that it was a religious site, but there is much disagreement about the type of religion that occurred there. Others look at it as more a scientific site, a calendar-clock to judge the seasons and the days. One of my visits was very special because we purchased special entry into the site after hours by ourselves for an hour to wander anywhere we wanted to go. During regular business hours the visitors are limited to a pathway behind a railing, far from the stones making it impossible to really enjoy the full experience.
We could touch the rocks and stand in the middle of the circle. The rocks are big, but they are huge when you stand in the shadow. We were lucky to have a knowledgeable security guard on duty that evening. He loved his job and was very knowledgeable about the site. He gave us a private tour of the circle, showing us some of the more interesting aspects and sharing his answers to some of the questions. The documentaries give many different opinions since everyone seems to disagree about the who, where, when, why, and how of these ancient sites. The viewer must listen and come to his or her own opinion. The truth is, we may never fully understand, especially since some of the information that many people hear is inaccurate. For example, many people think that the people of Stonehenge practiced human sacrifice, yet there is no evidence for it. And of course, most of those “documentaries” include someone who credits ancient aliens with the site.
It is likely that they won’t understand our modern road systems in a few thousand years. I’m not sure that it matters much to us today. We are generally more interested in leaving future generations with a legacy of our individual lives. We want people to remember us after we die, and we hope that the memories we leave behind are good. However, our sin also leaves a legacy. The things we do wrong affect the lives of others. Sometimes the memories left behind are painful or destructive. It would be quite understandable if we spent eternity in hell for the things we have done.
Archaeologists and scholars disagree about the purpose of Stonehenge, but even if it was not a place for sacrifices, it is likely that it was a religious site of some sort. All religion, in one way or another, seeks reconciliation between some divine entity and the human soul. The Old Covenant of Israel did so through the Law and a complicated sacrificial system. Lambs, bulls and other animals stood in the stead of the sinner. Their blood brought temporary relief from sin. However, the memory of sin remained, and the affects memorialized sin.
We don't know what people will remember about us in a few thousand years when they will look at the ruins of everything we have built, if it still exists. We don't even know what memories will live on after we have passed away. We will probably be remembered for many good things we accomplished as individuals in this world, but the footprint of our sin will also remain. Thankfully, our God sees our life through our Lord Jesus Christ. In the New Covenant, sealed with the blood of Christ and given by His grace, He forgets our sin forever and welcomes us into the kingdom of heaven for eternity.
August 6, 2024
“The proverbs of Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel: to know wisdom and instruction; to discern the words of understanding; to receive instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice, and equity; to give prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the young man: that the wise man may hear, and increase in learning; that the man of understanding may attain to sound counsel: to understand a proverb, and parables, the words and riddles of the wise. The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge; but the foolish despise wisdom and instruction.” Proverbs 1:1-7, WEB
The Transfiguration is celebrated at different times during the year, although the Revised Common Lectionary devotes the last Sunday of Epiphany to remembering the event. It makes sense because the Transfiguration is a story of Light and from that mountain top experience Jesus returns to the valley to begin His final journey to the cross. Ash Wednesday comes after Transfiguration Sunday and on that day we begin the season of Lent during which we recall Jesus’ forty days of temptation in the wilderness as we consider our need for a Savior before Jesus finally arrives at the cross on Good Friday.
The universal date for the Feast of the Transfiguration is on August 6th. There is no certain explanation for the choosing of this date, but it seems appropriate in the middle of the season of Pentecost to be reminded that Jesus has been glorified, to worship Him and to listen to Him as God has commanded.
Peter, James, and John experienced a glimpse of heaven that day on the top of the mountain. They witnessed a miraculous event as Jesus was transfigured into a divinely shining being: the Light shined with heaven’s glorious light. He was standing among the great men of their faith. Moses was the father of the Law and Elijah was the father of the prophets; they stood for everything on which their faith was built. Peter wanted to capture the moment, to build a temple on the spot to honor Jesus and hold on to the glory. While Peter was speaking, a cloud came over the scene and a voice commanded the disciples to listen to Jesus. Peter’s confidence was overpowered by fear. Peter, James, and John fell on their faces when they heard the voice.
Peter reacted to the transfiguration as we all might have done. Peter was trying to seat Jesus as king over an earthly kingdom. God interrupted, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to him.” God commanded them to listen to Jesus, the Word incarnate. He is the Word made flesh and sent to dwell among God’s people. Jesus is the place where heaven and earth meet.
Later, in his second letter, Peter wrote, “For we did not follow cunningly devised fables, when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.” Peter was there with Jesus as He ministered to the world, on the mountaintop when Jesus was transfigured, at the cross when Jesus died, and then he saw the risen Lord. He heard Jesus speak. He listened to Him. He learned firsthand that Jesus was who He said He was. He is the Light. He is the Truth. He is the Word incarnate. He is Wisdom. On this day when we celebrate the Feast of the Transfiguration, we are reminded to listen to Jesus, to hear what He has to say, and to believe His words. We don’t need to be on the top of a mountain and see something miraculous to trust this command from God. It is by listening to Jesus that we will gain wisdom and understanding; it is in Him we will discover what it truly means to be righteous in God’s eyes.
August 7, 2024
Lectionary Scriptures for August 11, 2024, Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost: 1 Kings 19:1-8; Psalm 34:1-8; Ephesians 4:17-5:2; John 6:35-51
“Walk in love, even as Christ also loved us and gave himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling fragrance.” Ephesians 5:2, WEB
I like to watch some of the shows that investigate paranormal experiences. I like to watch the ones that approach these unusual occurrences from a scientific point of view. They use gizmos and gadgets, some created by the investigators, to “catch” evidence of the events. Even so, some of the evidence is questionable. Do the gadgets really work? How do we know, especially with the homemade ones, that they are really doing what they claim they are doing? They use equipment based on scientific theories, but sometimes those theories and the gadgets are unproven. Sometimes, however, their evidence seems to prove the anecdotal stories and experiences that led them to the investigation.
What I like most about some of the shows is that they approach their investigation from the point of view that nothing is paranormal. They try to debunk the stories, to give natural reasons for what has happened to those who experienced the unusual occurrence. The creators of one of the original shows were plumbers by trade, so they search for mechanical explanations for the seemingly unnatural experiences. Water that turns on by itself might indicate old plumbing. High electromagnetic fields can cause hallucinations and weird feelings. Loose pipes in the basement can make strange noises in the night. A neighbor’s remote control or wireless equipment can sometimes turn on televisions or change channels in other people’s houses. It is amazing how many homeowners have chemicals stored right next to the heating system, which blows dangerous fumes into the living areas. It is a relief for most of the clients to find out that they can stop the weird things happening in their homes or buildings just by fixing these mechanical and technological projects, but sometimes the evidence seems to overwhelmingly support that the experiences really are paranormal.
There is a term called “matrixing” that is used to describe the human mind’s natural tendency to find familiar shapes in complex shapes or colors. It is our brain trying to make something out of nothing, to explain what we see but don’t understand. Paranormal investigators are often shown pictures from people who have experienced something unusual who insist that they have caught something. “See the face?” they ask, but the investigator can point out how the face is simply the patterns, shadows, and shapes on the wall. Our personal experiences and the explanations can be self-caused because we go into a situation with a particular state of mind. We have heard there is something unusual happening, so our mind sees and hears unusual things. We see faces because we expect to see faces. We hear noises because we are listening for noises. This is why their scientific equipment is so important. The investigators will often see and hear the same thing as those who have asked them to investigate, but when those sights and noises are recorded and studied, they can see that their immediate response was a matrix of some sort.
In one episode, one investigator was taking photos from a balcony in a room as two other investigators were wandering in the room below. A white mist seemed to appear in the photos, occasionally moving around the investigators in the room. As the photographer mentioned this mist, the others said they could feel something move around them. They didn’t comment on feeling anything until the other investigator suggested there was something around them. Would they have felt if the photographer had never mentioned the mist seen in the photos? Or did they feel something because psychologically they were convinced by some supposed evidence that something was there? The team never used that experience as proof of activity in the building because it was never verified as paranormal.
We can easily convince ourselves that something is real even though it isn’t. How many people hear television commercials for pharmaceuticals that suddenly believe they are suffering from the disease that will be fixed by that drug? Hypochondria is a mental state that believes the body is ill when it really is not. The victim hears the symptoms of a disease and then seems to experience those same symptoms, convinced that they must be suffering from it. Paranoia is a thought process characterized by fear or anxiety and is necessarily always based on reality. This is rampant in our world today as we listen to news and social media.
Our eyes can see shadows just outside our line of vision which are not actually shadows but are really created by our minds. Our minds can play tricks on us, causing us to see things that aren’t there. We often hear things and think we are hearing one thing, but those sounds might actually have a completely different explanation. Some of the paranormal experiences are very real, but I question some of the feelings. The human imagination is too creative and since we do not completely understand our brains, we can often mistake our feelings for reality.
Elijah was afraid. He might have had very good reason to be afraid, but his fear affected his judgment. He ran away, wishing for God to end his life (take his life-breath) so that he would not die at the hand of Jezebel. He let his feelings take over and he stopped trusting in God’s protection and provision. He went to the desert to die, but God would not let him. God fed him and sent him on a journey that would remind him about God’s goodness. At the end of the journey, Elijah was ready to see his circumstances from God’s reality rather than through the impressions and feelings from his brain.
Our brains are incredible, but they can also be undependable. I am good at remembering memories from my childhood, but I can’t remember why I walked into the kitchen. I can never find my cell phone or car keys when I need them. I make lists for the grocery store and then forget to carry the list. I can usually remember some of the things, but I almost always end up forgetting to get something I need. I went to a specific store the other day because I needed something I could find there and not at another grocery store. I didn’t remember it until I had already loaded most of my objects on the conveyer belt. The girl hadn’t started my order, so I put everything back in my cart and went to get the item.
Sadly, one of the things that we often forget is God’s faithfulness. We lift up Elijah as a great prophet of God; and rightly so because he was. However, his story is a good reminder for us. We aren’t much different. We are willing to do God’s will, but we also get frightened by the threats of our enemies. As they joke, they say we are paranoid, but that doesn’t mean the threat is not real. Yet, God has promised to be with us, to guide and protect us. We fail. We run and hide. We forget that we are called to trust in His faithfulness. That’s what is so great about this story. God didn’t give up on Elijah. The life of a prophet is not easy; Elijah’s life was no exception. He had to do hard things. He had to face evil and destroy it. He had to go against the rulers of the day, to speak God's truth at a time when the people were following false gods and accepting false religion. The people of Israel, including King Ahab, were worshipping Baal. They, like so many before and after, thought it best to cover all their bases because they didn’t trust God. They worshipped both God and false gods. Elijah called the prophets and the people together. He asked them how long they would divide their loyalties. See, we can't worship both God and the false gods. We have to choose.
Elijah suggested that they hold a competition. There were four hundred and fifty prophets for the false gods and Elijah was the only one for the true God. Surely so many prophets could make a miracle happen, right? The prophets of Baal made their sacrifice first, but when they called on their gods there was no response. Elijah prepared his bull, placed it on the altar, and surrounded the altar with wood, as expected. Then he covered the wood with so much water that it would be impossible to burn. He called on God who sent a fire from heaven that not only roasted the bull but burned everything from the wood to the rocks and soil and every drop of water. It was obvious that God was real.
It wasn’t so obvious to Jezebel, Ahab’s wife. Well, it probably was, but it didn’t matter to her. She was willing to follow false worship because it suited her. Those prophets served her needs and desires, while Elijah did not. To her, the one speaking the truth was wrong because he wasn’t willing to cater to her whims. She became extremely angry with Elijah because he ordered the people to kill the false prophets. This caused Jezebel to threaten Elijah. He ran away in fear.
Despite the positive response from the people, Elijah knew that their hearts were fickle. They might believe that the LORD is God, but how long would it last, particularly if Jezebel succeeded? The prophets of Baal were defeated, but it would not be long before they people turned away from God. They would see or hear something that would seem good to their minds. Elijah thought he failed. He thought he was no better than all the other prophets of God. He just wanted to die. God would not let him. Though Elijah fled to the wilderness, God provide for him and led him on the right path. He gave Elijah a second chance.
God does more than give us second chances. He has patience with us when we are afraid or think we failed or run and hide. He encourages us and gives us all we need to do the work He is calling us to do. He knew what Elijah was feeling; He doesn’t ignore our fears or doubts. He knows what we see and hear, but like those paranormal investigators, He shows us the truth. He doesn’t assume that we are lazy or rebellious. He takes us by the hand and patiently leads us to the place He wants us to go. It would be much easier for Him to abandon us, to get someone else to do the work or to simply do it Himself. He doesn’t. He helps us to be faithful to our calling.
One of my favorite scripture passages is the story that follows today’s verses. Elijah went to where God commanded him and met Him on the mountain. In that story we learn that God does not always scream and shout, but that He comes to us as a whisper. Today’s passage is equally important because we see that He gives us all we need as we journey through this world on our way to do His Work. Elijah wanted to die, but God still had work for him to do, so He provided the strength and then whispered His grace into Elijah’s life. Elijah went on to do what God was calling him to do. God gave Elijah food for the journey and rest. He does so for us, too.
That’s where Jesus has been leading us over the past few Sundays in the Gospel lessons. First Jesus gave the people food to eat as a sign of His authority, and then He told them that the work of God is to believe in Him. They asked for a sign, refusing to accept the one He had already given. They pointed to Moses, but Jesus reminded them that the manna that they ate was not given to the by Moses, but by God Himself, and that they ate that bread and died anyway. He told them to eat the real bread from heaven. When they asked for it always, He said, “I am the Bread of Life.” If we eat this bread, we will never die.
In today’s passage Jesus points to their unbelief. “I have told you all this but you don’t believe. I AM who I say I AM.” Jesus was clearly identifying Himself with God. This upset the Jews because they recognized the words and considered it blasphemous. The conversation didn’t get any better, because Jesus told them that He is the Bread that comes down from heaven and if they eat of it, they will live forever. The final words were so far out of their comfort zone that it turned many away from following Jesus. “I am the living bread which came down out of heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever: yea and the bread which I will give is my flesh, for the life of the world.” Jesus words in next week’s text will be even worse. We have made God fit into a box of our own creation. In other words, we have decided what God likes and what God doesn’t like, what God means when He says what He says. We have made Him into our image. I don’t just mean you and me; I mean all human beings. We have always defined God according to our own biases and cultural preferences. We think God loves the things that we love. We think God hates the things we hate. We are certain that God is fighting all our battles for us, and that God is on our side of every debate.
We do not realize how we spin the words to mean what we want them to mean. We don’t realize that God has a wider view of the world than we do and so we expect that He will do what He does from our point of view. The box in which we have captured God might be beautiful. It might be good. It might be right. It might be biblical. But the box in which others have put their version of the God of heaven and earth might just be beautiful, good, right, and biblical. How can this be, we wonder? Can it really be both ways? We won’t fully understand the God who is our Creator, our Provider and our Redeemer. They have a purpose just as we have a purpose. We cannot fully comprehend the love God has not only for us and those like us, but also for the others, even our enemies.
It is interesting to watch the comment sections on the social media of paranormal investigators. There is always someone who disagrees about the natural or scientific outcome of their investigator. “Of course that was a ghost. I can see it, can’t you?” This inevitably leads to arguments and Our faith doesn’t stand on pretty and popular things. It stands on the truth of God which is hard for us to accept. The idea of eating the flesh and drinking the blood of Christ is, quite frankly, not very pleasant to consider. Yet this gift, this sacrament of Holy Communion is the bread God gives us to strengthen us for the journey. It is to this meal that we should run when we are feeling frightened and frustrated, when we think we have failed, when we simply want to die. It is through the body and blood of Christ that God helps us to be faithful to our calling.
This is too hard for the world to accept. The world does not want to experience God as He has revealed Himself, they would rather experience a god of their choosing. That’s why we so easily turn to the false gods and believe the false prophets. Elijah had just done a most incredible thing. Through Him God revealed His power and defeated the prophets of Baal. Jezebel threatened revenge and Elijah was tired of it all. He ran away and asked God to let him die. He knew that the people would turn away eventually and thought he was a failure.
But God did not give Elijah what he wanted; He fed Elijah and then sent Him on a journey. He sent Elijah to a place where He revealed Himself more fully and through that encounter Elijah had the strength to continue God’s work in this world. He does the same for us in the Eucharist. It is hard to accept, but it is at the Table that God assures us of His faithfulness. He will do what He has promised He will do, and we can know this each time we eat of the bread and drink from the cup that is the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. In this strength we can live as God wants us to live.
That’s what Paul was talking about in today’s Epistle lesson. In this week’s passage, Paul seems to be making a list of things we have to do. At the very least, it is a list of things we should not do. We should not lie, but we should tell the truth. If we are angry, we should not sin, or we will give the devil a foothold. We should not steal but should work hard for our living. We should not speak with a wicked tongue but should speak in a way that will edify and build up the body of Christ. Yet, this is not a passage about works. It is a passage about our response to the work of Christ.
Paul’s call to the Christian is not about doing good works, but rather living the life that God has called us to live. “Be imitators of God and walk in love.” This is eternal life in this world, living in the presence of God daily. We are called to become more than just a copy, but to be part of the kingdom of God that has extended over time and space. Our relationship with God is not some disconnected affiliation, but we are joined together by the living bread of heaven. Paul gives us some direction to help us live in our relationships with God and each other. These are not commands of how we should act to gain the kingdom; the Jews tried it that way and they never saw God. They saw what they wanted to see and missed the truth of Jesus.
Paul encourages us to share the bread of heaven by living as God would have us live: free from falsehood and anger, gaining good things in a right way and speaking encouraging words. We are to rid ourselves of negative feelings that grow into unhealthy action. Paul shows the difference, “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, outcry, and slander be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving each other, just as God also in Christ forgave you.” In this way God perpetuates the bread of heaven, as He reveals Himself through our lives so that others might know Him and be saved.
Paul writes that we should not give place to the devil. This means seeing the world as it is, seeing God as He is, seeing Jesus as the great I AM. Paul shows us how one thing can be made into something that it is not. It is alright to be angry, and sometimes it is justified. Anger helps us to deal with aspects of our life, spurring us to action when things are not just and right and true. Jesus got angry and He dealt with it. But Paul reminds us not to let the sun go down on our anger. This means not looking at the situation with our undependable minds and hearts. By doing so, we open the door to allow the devil into our anger which will cause us to make bad judgments.
The bottom line is this: we aren’t any different than those who have passed through this world from the beginning of time. We aren’t any different than Elijah who wanted to control the end of his life because he did not know how to deal with those who threatened his ministry and his life. We are just like the Ephesians who let disagreements disrupt the Christian unity of the fellowship of believers. The Jews in this week’s Gospel lesson wanted to make Jesus king, to make Him an earthly ruler without any spiritual consequences. They would be as fickle as the people in Elijah’s day.
They were not willing to hear the things that Jesus had to say to them. They were shocked by His teaching. They, and we, are just like Jezebel, looking for our wants and desires to be satisfied. It was fine when Jesus was willing to give them everything they thought they needed, but they could not accept the shocking and radical idea that Jesus is the bread of life. After all, He was asking them to eat the bread, and then He told them He was the bread. We react to His words in much the same way. We see what we want to see and hear what we want to hear. We want Jesus to be what we want Him to be and interpret His words to say what we want Him to say.
What does Jesus say that we don’t want to hear? What is Jesus calling us to hear and believe that doesn’t fit into our tidy idea about God and His Kingdom? How is He prodding us to look beyond what we know and understand? Where is He showing us mercy and grace and asking us to be His hands and His heart? To whom is He sending us to love as He loved us? He didn’t come to fit into our box. He came to show us what it is like to live in God’s kingdom and to die so that we can do so. It is a shocking image of God that Jesus gave to us. Even though we have the benefit of the Holy Spirit and the faith He gives, we still try to make Jesus into the Messiah we want rather than the Messiah He is.
August 8, 2024
“But when the kindness of God our Savior and his love toward mankind appeared, not by works of righteousness which we did ourselves, but according to his mercy, he saved us through the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly, through Jesus Christ our Savior; that being justified by his grace, we might be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” Titus 3:4-7, WEB
One of my favorite ways to waste time is to watch rug cleaner videos. They take dirty, disgusting, impossible to clean rugs and make them like new again. Some of the rugs even have grass growing or insects living in the pile. The videos usually last about ten minutes as the cleaner uses a dozen different products and processes to remove the dirt and restore the fibers. Though it seems to take so little time, the reality is that the process takes hours, sometimes days.
The comments under these videos are what you might expect: people wonder why. Why do they bother? Why did the owner let it get so bad? Why don’t they just throw it away and buy a new one? These are good questions because it seems like the cost to restore a rug is not beneficial. They use an excessive amount of water, even though they do what they can to conserve. For those of us in drought ridden Texas cringe at the loss of every drop of water. People also wonder where they find these rugs. I have heard that they often search landfills to find rugs they can use for their videos, and that they donate those rugs. The cynical suggest that the cleaner is just doing it for “clicks.” Perhaps that’s true. However, as I watch these videos, I realize that if they could make something so disgusting look so beautiful, then they could make my own well used and well-loved rugs like new again.
There might be self-benefit for the cleaner. They do get more clicks and show their ability to potential clients. But they also remove garbage from the landfill and provide a beautiful, sometimes expensive rug for someone who can’t afford it. There are some rugs that come from clients that have been through a flood or a fire. Can you imagine how you would feel if someone put so much time, product, and energy into restoring a family heirloom after a natural disaster? The thing that impresses me most is that just when I think they are finished, they put more time into the process, and it is so much better after they do. I might have stopped and said, “Good enough,” but they don’t. They keep going until it is truly as clean as possible, even to the point of getting on their knees to hand scrub stains until they disappear.
Isn’t that what God does for us? The process of cleansing us takes Him a lifetime. Just when we think we are good enough, God pours more soap because He knows there is still dirt in the fibers. He scrubs the stains until they disappear. He doesn’t give up on us. He doesn’t leave us in the landfill. He not only cleanses us, but He also gives us new life. It won’t take a few minutes. It won’t take a few hours. It will take a lifetime, and then we will receive the promise of eternal life in His kingdom, beautiful and loved forever.
August 9, 2024
“Now thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and reveals through us the sweet aroma of his knowledge in every place. For we are a sweet aroma of Christ to God, in those who are saved and in those who perish: to the one a stench from death to death, to the other a sweet aroma from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? For we are not as so many, peddling the word of God. But as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God, we speak in Christ.” 2 Corinthians 2:14-17, WEB
The changes I’ve undergone over the past few months have altered my appearance enough to make a few people say, “I didn’t realize it was you.” I don’t think I could ever go incognito among people I know, most of my friends have watched as I have been transformed. Even so, people have been surprised that it was me when they saw me from a distance or under certain lighting. There is something different about the air of my presence that makes people look twice.
Have you ever experienced this when you have seen someone in a crowd? There are many stories of people claiming to see celebrities at the grocery store or on the street. People don’t always believe them because celebrities just don’t do the things we do. Yet, I’ve seen pictures of famous people that have been caught by paparazzi or people with cell phones that make you think twice whether or not that is really who you think it is. They are disheveled, without make-up or grubby from doing hard work.
Of course, celebrities will often try to be incognito, by wearing some type of disguise. It doesn’t always work. There is something about them that draws people’s attention. A person can’t hide incredible beauty or an awesome body by going natural or wearing dumpy clothes. Some people have an unusual voice or mannerisms that are easily recognizable. The crowds immediately know them as soon as they are spotted in public. Many people think that a pair of sunglasses will help them hide, but that doesn’t work for many. It is said that Marie Antoinette tried to go to balls and parties incognito, but her gait was so unique that it was impossible. No matter how she presented herself or what clothes she wore, she still had the walk of a queen.
One day St. Francis of Assisi asked a young monk to walk with him into town. Brother Francis said, “Let us go preach to the people!” The young monk was so excited to be the one chosen to go with him to perform such a wonderful ministry. They walked around town, up and down the streets and alleys and finally ended up back at the monastery. The young monk was confused because they had never spoken a word. Francis answered, “We have preached. We were preaching while we were walking. We have been seen by many; our behavior has been closely watched; it was thus that we preached our morning sermon. It is of no use, my son, to walk anywhere to preach unless we preach everywhere we walk.
Is our faith so apparent in our lives that we don’t have to say a word and they know we are Christian? Or do the masks we wear in the world, such as our identities at work, home, church, easily hide our faith from those who need to see it most? I think St. Francis is the one credited with an oft used saying, “You are the only Bible some people will ever read.” Sometimes it takes nothing more than a walk around the block for people to see Christ and desire to know Him. While it is important that we speak the Gospel in words because they won’t know if they don’t hear, they won’t listen if they don’t see that Jesus Christ is the foundation of your life.
There are very few people who need to disguise themselves so that they won’t be recognized on the streets. We aren’t like Marie Antoinette who needed to pretend to be someone else so that she wouldn’t be the center of attention at a party. Yet, we should have one thing that stands out in our lives so well that it is impossible to hide it: Jesus. When we walk on the streets of our own towns, does the sweet smell of Christ manifest in our wake? Do we speak the Gospel through lives, drawing people into Christ?
It is God in you that will bring peace and joy to the world. He lives in and through your life for the sake of those who are still lost and lonely in this world. When we walk in faith, He makes something about us impossible to hide. The sweet smell of salvation emanates from our lives to those who are saved by His mercy and grace. This is a most incredible thing: God can speak through us to bring joy and peace to the world, even when we do not speak a word, opening a door to a relationship in which you can speak God’s grace in a more personal way. May we always preach to the people wherever we go, not hide our faith under masks.
August 12, 2024
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we won’t be afraid, though the earth changes, though the mountains are shaken into the heart of the seas; though its waters roar and are troubled, though the mountains tremble with their swelling. Selah. There is a river, the streams of which make the city of God glad, the holy place of the tents of the Most High. God is within her. She shall not be moved. God will help her at dawn. The nations raged. The kingdoms were moved. He lifted his voice and the earth melted. Yahweh of Armies is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah. Come, see Yahweh’s works, what desolations he has made in the earth. He makes wars cease to the end of the earth. He breaks the bow, and shatters the spear. He burns the chariots in the fire. ‘Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth.’ Yahweh of Armies is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.” Psalm 46, WEB
My daily devotion time has included the reading of a book that works through the one hundred and fifty psalms in thirty days. The psalms are divided into three readings a day (morning, afternoon, and night) and include historic prayers, confessions, creeds, and canticles. I just began my eighth month. You might think that I would have these texts committed to heart after reading and rereading them so many times. I haven’t quite, but they are becoming more familiar every month. Even so, there have been moments that have surprised me. This week I saw Psalm 46 with a new perspective.
As many people are aware, Psalm 46 was the foundation of Martin Luther’s greatest legacies, the hymn “A Mighty Fortress is our God.” It has been estimated that he wrote the words and music between 1527 and 1529. Some suggest that it was written to honor his friend Leonard Kaiser who was sentenced to death and burned for following the “Lutheran heresy.” There are other theories around Luther’s writing of the hymn, including the times he was condemned for his Protestant views. Luther was not the only person who sought change in the Church, some of whom were his friends that were martyred for their ideas. While many think Luther was writing about the persecution that the reformers were experiencing, including his friends. Luther lived at a time of great upheaval, not just religious. The Peasant’s Revolt was in 1524, which caused political upheaval. There was an outbreak of the plague in 1527. The Luther’s daughter Elizabeth died at about eight months old in August 1518. Luther carried the weight of the world on his shoulders which frequently led to debilitating illness. He suffered many heartbreaks in such a short period of time. It is no wonder that he turned to the psalms for comfort.
So, while his religious ideas may have been on his mind while he wrote the hymn, it was also a time when he was learning to rely more and more on God’s grace. Perhaps he was looking back on the time he stayed in the Wartburg, where he translated the New Testament as he was protected from the edict against him. The deeper he understood God’s grace, the more confident he became in his faith. He knew it wasn’t his own power that got him through his struggles.
I tend to use many different versions of the Bible. I use World English Bible to post on this devotional because it is a modern version that is in the Public Domain. I do most of my study with English Standard Version. I often read the New Living Translation. I have used a dozen other versions to better understand the language and to see the text in a new light. The book on the psalms is in the Christian Standard Bible. This is why I saw Psalm 46 in a whole new way.
One of my favorite verses in all of scripture is Psalm 46:10a, “Be still, and know that I am God.” I once made a meme with a photo of a beautiful field of bluebonnets and the words “Be still...” The verse reminds me to be calm, to listen, to pray. It is about trusting God, but I never really thought about trusting God to fight my battles. In the Christian Standard Bible, that line says, “Stop fighting, and know I am God.”
Stop fighting.
There is a lot of fighting in our world today. Our troubles are different than Martin Luther’s, but they are much the same. There is fighting about matters of faith, matters of politics, matters of health and home. There is great upheaval in our time. And this week, God reminded me to stop fighting.
Another thing struck me in the reading of this Psalm. In many familiar versions of the Bible, the LORD is described in this Psalm as the “Lord of hosts.” This name reminds us of the heavenly host that we see at Christmas, a choir of angels announcing the birth of the Savior. This is also a comforting image. Yet, “Yahweh Sabaoth” is better translated with more powerful language. It is often seen “Lord Almighty,” but also, as you see in the World English Bible, “Yahweh of Armies.” God is not just the leader of a choir. He doesn’t just give us a safe place to hide. Yahweh of Armies fights for us. He has an army of angels. He guards us and promises to make everything right.
This is the God whom Martin Luther trusted during the time upheaval that brought forth one of the greatest hymns of all time. He knew it was not his own strength that would bring him through. In the second verse, Luther wrote, “Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing, were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God's own choosing. You ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is he; Lord Sabaoth his name, from age to age the same; and he must win the battle.”
Whatever our struggles in the world today, we can trust that Yahweh Sabaoth will fight for us. We can be still and know that He is God. He is our refuge and strength. He has a plan. Let us stop fighting because Jesus Christ has already won, and He will be with us always, until the end of the age when we will join Him in heaven and sing God’s praise forever.
August 13, 2024
“Then Samuel said to the people, ‘Come! Let’s go to Gilgal, and renew the kingdom there.’ All the people went to Gilgal; and there they made Saul king before Yahweh in Gilgal. There they offered sacrifices of peace offerings before Yahweh; and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly. Samuel said to all Israel, ‘Behold, I have listened to your voice in all that you said to me, and have made a king over you. Now, behold, the king walks before you. I am old and gray-headed. Behold, my sons are with you. I have walked before you from my youth to this day. Here I am. Witness against me before Yahweh and before his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed? Of whose hand have I taken a bribe to make me blind my eyes? I will restore it to you.’ They said, ‘You have not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither have you taken anything from anyone’s hand. He said to them, ‘Yahweh is witness against you, and his anointed is witness today, that you have not found anything in my hand.’ They said, ‘He is witness.’ Samuel said to the people, ‘It is Yahweh who appointed Moses and Aaron, and that brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt. Now therefore stand still, that I may plead with you before Yahweh concerning all the righteous acts of Yahweh, which he did to you and to your fathers.” Samuel 11:14-12:7, WEB
People always find ways to justify doing things that are not right, but sometimes it seems like more people try to get away with something these days. It is so much easier to take a term paper right off the Internet than to do research and write a paper on your own. Marital infidelity is incredibly high. People cheat on their taxes. Why is cheating such a common practice? We justify our cheating because it is obvious that if we do not do it, we will get left behind. A student who doesn’t cheat will get a “B” while all those who do will get “A’s” on their papers.
We live in a world where it is acceptable for people to do whatever is necessary to get ahead. Media makes marital infidelity seem less objectionable. I’ve even heard people suggest that an affair can save a marriage. There are similar justifications for other types of cheating. We shouldn’t accept them as true, but they sound good and following the crowd helps us to fit in. People are often willing to be only as righteous as the lowest common denominator, figuring that if their neighbor is cheating, why shouldn’t they? Is it really good to get the “A” by any means or is it better to earn the “B” even if it means we won’t be accepted in our society where fulfilling every desire is the goal. Unfortunately, those who do not cheat are mistreated for their virtue.
Samuel had it rough. He did God’s will, speaking His word to His people. They did not appreciate the things Samuel had to say or the leadership he provided. They wanted to be like everyone else and have a king. Samuel took this rejection personally, though it was really a rejection of God as their true King. Samuel warned them that their choice would cause them great heartache. A human king would tax them; he would take their sons for soldiers and their daughters for perfumers. He would oppress the people and lead them from God. Samuel was right. Though there were kings who were righteous and walked with God, none were really what the people expected or hoped for.
Throughout history there have always been aspects of society that have developed because something that was once unacceptable became acceptable. Sometimes these changes in culture were good. Certain laws have been made or removed over time because the general consensus was that the changes were necessary. Even Christianity was once very small, unacceptable to most of the people until it became more tolerable and eventually it was the norm for most people.
It took time for the people to demand that Samuel give them a king. It was not that they had the power, but they had the numbers. Eventually there were so many who accepted the idea that Samuel, and ultimately God, gave them what they wanted. The king they desired was not what they really needed, but God allowed them to have it to learn that He was their only true King. Samuel was hurt that they would treat him so poorly, but he showed them what they were missing. He finished his farewell speech with a list of God’s great works for His people, miraculous deliverances that would never happen under a human king.
It is easy to get caught up in the ways of the world, to find our own justification for the things we do, good and bad. We are all tempted to do things that are not right in the eyes of God but are right in the ways of the world. The Israelites wanted a king, just like the rest of the nations. Most students want an “A” just like their peers. Israel didn’t think they were rejecting God by asking for a king; they just wanted to be like the rest of the world. How often do we do the same thing? How often to we accept or justify doing things because others are doing those same things? We are reminded by today’s text that God is our King, and doing what is right in His eyes is the best way to live, even if it goes against everything that the rest of the world deems as success?
August 14, 2024
Lectionary Scriptures for August 18, 2024, Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost: Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18; Psalm 34:12-22; Ephesians 5:6-21; John 6:51-69
“Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’” John 6:68-69, WEB
One of the neat things we were able to do while we lived in England was to have a company trace our family roots to find our family coats of arms. We bought the plaque with the coats of arms they found for our family names even though I questioned the reality of those hereditary devices because I always thought they were used only by kings, princes, knights. and other major power holders throughout western Europe. Our families were not people of power, but by the mid-13th century, coats of arms had been adopted by priests, cities, town commoners, burghers (privileged citizens of medieval towns in early modern Europe), and even peasants.
One symbol often found on coats of arms is the lion, which symbolizes strength, power, courage and nobility. The lion is called “the king of the jungle” and is found at the top of the food chain in most habitats. It is interesting how a pride works. The male, or males, are the dominant animal, but the females do most of the hunting. A male will protect his pride and their territory, a family of five to ten females and their cubs. Though some prides have more than one male, they tend to be brothers. Outsiders are not welcome. The male eats first and he eats as much as he desires until he is satisfied. Then the females and then the cubs get to eat.
When a male cub reaches the age of three, he is either kicked out of the pride or he leaves on his own. He wanders alone until he is strong and powerful, then he fights for a pride. Lions begin to weaken when they are about eight years old, so a powerful, younger male is able to defeat the dominant male and win the pride. Until that time, however, the young male lion is alone. He lives a nomadic life following the herds, which is a very difficult time. Some young males never grow strong enough, so they suffer hunger and even die.
Lions are an appropriate symbol for people to use because they are strong, powerful, courageous and noble, particularly if you want to compete in this world. Those in positions of authority prefer to have their subjects and their enemies recognize their superiority, so they establish the image of a lion-like existence. This is an image that says, "I'm number one. I'm independent. I do not need anyone." In modern business or politics lion is someone who is in control. They have gained control by taking control, as a lion would take over a pride in the wild.
In verse 10 of today’s Psalm, the psalmist wrote, “The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger.” For too many people, a lion’s life is the way they exist and seek success. They wander in the wilderness of the corporate or political world finding “food” until they can defeat the dominant leader and take over.
But this is not the life we are called to live as Christians. “Oh fear Yahweh, you his saints, for there is no lack with those who fear him.” Will we be hungry? Perhaps. Will we wander? Perhaps. However, there is no want in those that fear God; we are content. As the psalmist wrote, “Those who seek Yahweh shall not lack any good thing.” We trust that God will provide all that we need, both spiritually and physically. The psalmist tells us how to live a good life: Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking lies. Depart from evil and do good. Seek peace and pursue it. God will hear and provide for the righteous, but the wicked shall die.
The saints of God are those whose lives are a good example of what it means to be a Christian. They are often people who have sacrificed for the sake of Christ Jesus, even to death. In today’s psalm the saints are not the dead but the living, those living in the kingdom of God in this world. It is for those that the call to seek God is given. Though Christ has found us, it is by His grace that we can find God. A life lived well is the life that seeks God always, in prayer and study, faithful living and giving, in fellowship with other believers and through the sacraments that Christ has given to His Church. The world might think that it is good to be a lion, seeking dominance, pursuing power. But we are called to seek God, and there we will find true life.
This truth causes us to ask the question, “How do we spend our time”? Do we spend our time well, producing good things or do we waste our time with petty grievances and unproductive chatter? I have to admit I spend way too much time grumbling. I am better at complaining about the sins of my neighbor than I am in recognizing my own sin. If someone is lazy at work, I’m quick to point it out to someone else. If someone has wronged me, I am adamant about making sure that someone knows. I can’t even guess how much time I’ve spent complaining about the words and actions of others, especially when I am driving in my car!
Matthew Henry wrote one understanding of Ephesians 5:15, “If you are to reprove others for their sins, and would be faithful to your duty in this particular, you must look well to yourselves, and to your own behavior and conduct.” He also suggested that this passage could provide us with a remedy or preservative from sinful behavior. Paul is encouraging the Ephesians to walk carefully, wisely and circumspectly.
Paul makes a list of actions that are beneficial, not only to the world, but also to individuals. The world will benefit because right living means that we will care for our neighbors and not do them harm. Martin Luther, in his small catechism, always gives both the negative and positive perspectives of the Law. For example, Luther wrote, “We are to fear and love God, so that we neither endanger nor harm the lives of our neighbors, but instead help and support them in all life’s needs.
This right living, or walking carefully, is also beneficial to the individual. When we waste our time unwisely, acting as fools, drunken and unthankful, we neither accomplish anything for ourselves or for the world. We fall into sin, turning away from the loving embrace of God and suffering the consequences. However, when we walk wisely, taking advantage of the opportunities presented to us, following the will of God and rejoicing in God’s grace, we will find that life that He has promised to those who seek Him.
Sadly, I grumble too much against even my brothers and sisters in Christ. We have a bond that is unknown and misunderstood by unbelievers, but it is a bond that connects people who are often very different because of age, gender, race, cultural upbringing and heritage, geography, educational background or financial circumstances. We see the way others walk, and we don’t like what we see, so we complain. Yet all the while we do not recognize how our own walk causes others to grumble.
This is why we are encouraged to walk wisely, knowing our own faults before we grumble about the faults of others. We are called to live out our faith with our whole hearts, filled with the Spirit of God, which leaves no room for foolish ways. We are called to use our time wisely, speaking words that will edify and inspire our neighbors rather than beat them down. We are not only to live without hurting others, but to also live in a way that will raise them up. This is the life of thanksgiving, the life that takes God’s grace and passes it on.
In the Old Testament passage, God spoke through Joshua, reminding the people that before Abraham they had served other gods, but they were called to a new life with God. They were to put away the old gods, to serve Him only.
Joshua said, “Choose today who you will serve.”
This is a much more difficult command than we realize. Joshua spoke to the people as they were beginning their new life in the Promised Land. It had been a rough trip out of Egypt. They managed to get to Sinai in just a few months, but their unfaithfulness at the foot of the mountain sent them into forty years of wandering. A whole generation died before God allowed them to settle in their new home.
They were unfaithful because they became impatient while Moses was on the mountain with the God of their forefathers. They built a golden calf and worshipped it, just like the Egyptians. In today’s passage, Joshua reached even farther back, back to the gods that Abraham’s ancestors worshipped. These are the gods of Abraham’s childhood and youth, before he met the LORD. Who were those gods? Terah’s family would have worshipped the moon god called Nanna or Sin. They also worshipped Ishtar, the goddess of love, fertility, war and sex. They are represented in the symbols of the ancient lands with the crescent moon and star.
Israel had a long history of living among peoples who worshiped different gods, making it easier to turn away from the LORD. The worship of the gods of Egypt, those of Ur, and the gods in their new home, was much more exciting than the worship of God. Those gods were also easier to understand from a human perspective. Those gods had specific names, character traits, and purposes. They were gods that the people could see and touch. A woman would be much more comfortable praying something as personal as fertility to a goddess who understood the problems of a woman. The farmers sought the blessings of a god that brought rain. Instead of worshipping God who claimed everything as His, those foreign gods gave those who prayed a place to focus. How could God who is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent really care about my mere human problems?
The people of Israel followed Moses to the Promised Land, but they weren’t completely convinced. They grumbled and complained. I probably would have done the same if I had been wandering in a desert for weeks. They turned away from God while Moses was gone for just forty days. Many of them had carried their household gods with them on this journey, never really letting them go.
That’s why Joshua said, “Put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River, in Egypt; and serve Yahweh.” It was time to let go of the moon god and sun goddess. It was time to stop turning to a golden calf. It was time to put their trust completely in the LORD because they would always dwell in the presence of people who worshipped gods that were easier to trust. The Promised Land was theirs, but they would always be near the temptation of those false promises that seem very real.
Joshua said, “Choose today who you will serve.”
God, through Joshua, demanded a commitment from them; he called them to the life that will constantly reject other gods while living in trust, serving the Living God. Joshua answered, “As for me and my house, we will serve Yahweh.” The people willingly answered with bold and confident acceptance. They confessed the good things God had done. They spoke words that have been remembered for generations, even until today. The people in Jesus’ day certainly believed they were true. Yet, Israel did not always remain true to the God who was so faithful to them. They continued to turn to the gods of their neighbors, conforming to the world in which they lived. They forgot the LORD who was their Savior.
We might not worship those ancient gods like Nanna or Ishtar or the Roman and Greek gods, but we need to realize that we face the real danger of worshipping something, or someone, other than the LORD. Many Christians have an imperfect or incomplete understanding of God, even while they have a love for Jesus Christ. But we are tempted by things in this world. We make inanimate objects, even intangible things, the focus of our lives. We may not think we are worshipping our homes, jobs, children, spouses, sports, diets, games, passions, or bodies, but when we set anything above the Lord our God, we make them our gods.
The Gospel lessons for the past few weeks have focused on Jesus as the bread of life. This doesn’t seem too far-fetched, after all, the scriptures often use symbolic language to refer to eating things that would not normally be eaten. Take Ezekiel, for instance. He was commanded to eat a scroll which tasted like honey in the mouth but became sour in the stomach. Did he really eat a scroll? No, the image of the scroll appeared to him in a vision. He was commanded to take God’s Word internally - in his heart - so that it became part of his being. Only then could he preach to the people with passion and integrity.
So, the people might have thought it strange that Jesus was comparing Himself with bread, but even though they did not quite understand what He was saying, they could accept His words as being simply symbolic.
His language became stronger and stranger with each passage. He miraculously fed the five thousand and answered their quest for more with a command to seek food that endures. Then He compared Himself to Moses. Actually, He was offering them something that was greater than anything Moses gave to the people. Though they did not worship Moses in the strict sense of the word, they had made him so great that they refused to see that the Word made flesh, God Himself, stood in their midst. By calling Himself the bread from heaven, He set Himself above even the manna that Moses gave them, forgetting that it wasn’t Moses, but God Himself who gave it to them. As we’ve followed this story, we can see that Jesus drew us deeper and deeper into the heart of what He was trying to tell the crowds, but His words made them more confused and disturbed.
He told them that the work that God requires is that they believe, but then He went a step too far. He told them to eat His flesh and drink His blood. His words were clear. He bluntly told them that His flesh is meat and His blood is drink. It was no longer simply symbolism. It was a stretch for them to believe His earlier statements, but they could get around their doubts and explain away His meaning. However, in today’s text there is no question. Jesus told the people that eternal life was guaranteed through this seemingly cannibalistic practice of eating His flesh and drinking His blood.
What does this mean? How can we believe this? We live in the post-resurrection world, but this is still too difficult to understand. We still ask the question, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” We know, of course, that this Gospel passage is foretelling of the gift of the Eucharist, the Lord’s Supper, Communion. Yet, we still can’t quite grasp the depth of the command. For two thousand years people have argued about the meaning of this sacrament. Is it symbolic? Is it literal? What happens to the bread and wine when God’s Word is spoken over them? The answers to these questions continue to cause division and discord among those who believe in Jesus. And the whole issue causes many without faith to reject Christianity completely.
These passages about the bread of life make us uncomfortable because Jesus has asked us to believe in something that is beyond our understanding. He used a very tangible gift of a few loaves of bread and a few fish that people were able to touch and see (and eat) and made it into something mysterious. The promise in this passage could not be fulfilled until Jesus died and was raised.
We are blessed because we live in that post-resurrection world where we can now receive Jesus in Eucharist that reminds us that we have the promise of eternal life that Jesus Christ won for us on the cross whenever we eat and drink at the throne of grace where we receive His body and blood.
Will we ever really understand? No, but do we need to have a logical explanation for such a gift? The Eucharist is a meal of thanksgiving that needs no explanation. It is taken outside of time and space by the body of Christ as we all kneel before Him and share the bread and the wine He has so graciously given. In that meal Jesus continues to show us that He is greater than the bread they eat, greater than Moses, greater than the manna, greater than any of the false gods we worship, because even after two thousand years, He continues to feed His people with the same bread: His flesh and blood.
This week we get the full picture of what Jesus is trying to teach them about the Bread of Life. His words are shocking, disgusting and against the Law. This man they had followed, to whom they looked for healing and provision, was giving Himself as food to eat. They aren’t cannibals. They couldn’t drink human blood. It must have been frightening for them to hear these words. The man they looked to as their Messiah was turning the world upside down.
He answered their questions with an oath, “Most certainly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you don’t have life in yourselves.” To the Jews who heard these words, the eating of human flesh and drinking of human blood was not life-giving. As a matter of fact, it was cause for death! This was too much for them to bear and many stopped following Him. They were afraid, but not of the God who offers eternal life; they were afraid of the consequences of the things they did not understand.
We think of fear in the negative context, and yet we are told constantly that we should fear the Lord. What does this mean, especially for those of us who have grown up in a world that rejects the wrathful, frightening God of the Old Testament? God is love, we are told, and while that is true, we must also remember that God is jealous and demanding. He can, and has, done great things for His people, but He has also given His people over to their sinfulness. When the Israelites turned from Him to worship other gods, He allowed their enemies to destroy their homes and take them into exile. Yet, through all that, He never abandoned them. He forgave them. He saved them. He restored them.
We aren’t much different than those Israelites. We still turn from God and chase after our own gods. While ours do not have names like Nanna or Ishtar, I think it is interesting that the other name for the moon god is Sin. Isn’t that ultimately what keeps us from worshipping fully the God who is our Creator and Redeemer? Isn’t that why Jesus came in the first place?
See, Jesus was not simply telling the people that they should have a feast on His body, which is an image that I suspect was going through their heads. “Does He mean that instead of lamb at Passover, we should roast up a little Jesus?” In the text, Jesus connects this idea of the Bread of Life with the Word of God. “The words that I speak to you are spirit, and are life.”
“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God” during His own wilderness experience. The people were still thinking with their bellies, and not with their hearts and spirits. They wanted gods they could see and touch, gods that would meet their every need and satisfy their every desire. They wanted to be saved how they wanted to be saved, but Jesus came to save them from more than hunger, disease and Roman oppression.
Human beings have needed to be saved from ourselves from the very beginning. We need to be saved by our natural inclination to follow what feels good, to satisfy our flesh, to search after that which makes our lives as we want them to be. We easily turn from the God who saves us to follow the gods that serve us. No one would choose the life of a disciple, with its demands of sacrifice and suffering! No one would choose to follow a Lord who calls us to see our own failures more than that of our neighbors. We’d much rather have gods of our own making than the God who made us.
The Psalmist and Paul both tell us ways to live out our fear of the Lord. We are to speak rightly and turn from evil. We are to take advantage of the time we have to do what is good. We are to avoid drunkenness. We are called to turn away from our evil lives and our false gods, so that we can trust in the God who fills us with His Spirit. He calls us to worship Him in community with others who believe, encouraging one another in faith and service to the Lord. He calls us to live thankful lives, praising God for all He has done and experiencing the life-giving presence of Jesus Christ, the Bread of Heaven. When Jesus says, “Eat my flesh and drink my blood,” He is telling us to stop grumbling, to dwell continually in Him and His Word so that we will not be led astray.
The crowds walked away from the conversation with Jesus dazed and confused, and then Jesus asked the twelve, “You don’t also want to go away, do you?” In one of his brief and inspired moments, Peter answered, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Peter confessed faith in the One who gives life as no other., the only God worthy of our worship.
Choose today who you will serve. I suspect that we all would answer as the Israelites, “Far be it from us that we should forsake Yahweh, to serve other gods.” or as Peter, “Lord, to whom shall we go?” It is easy to say the words, but it is much more difficult to live the life. The key for us is to continuously nourish ourselves with the Word of God - Jesus - in every way we can: prayer, worship, study and the sacraments. “Eat and drink,” He commanded so that we will remain constantly a part of His own body, so close that we would never want to turn away. By His body and blood, He will help us to live out the truly faithful answer, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” By His grace we no longer have to chase after food that does not give us what we really need: eternal life.
August 15, 2024
“Mary said, ‘My soul magnifies the Lord. My spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior, for he has looked at the humble state of his servant. For behold, from now on, all generations will call me blessed. For he who is mighty has done great things for me. Holy is his name. His mercy is for generations and generations on those who fear him. He has shown strength with his arm. He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has put down princes from their thrones, and has exalted the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things. He has sent the rich away empty. He has given help to Israel, his servant, that he might remember mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and his offspring forever.’” Luke 1:46-55, WEB
The Magnificat is a song of faith. The singer knows who she is, whose she is, and what He has done for her. She rejoices in serving Him with all she is, to the very depths of her soul and spirit. This is the song of Mary, the mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, a simple teenage girl facing an incredible situation. August 15th is identified with the day that Mary passed through death to eternal life in peace knowing that her Son guaranteed her salvation.
God promised to send a deliverer to save His people. Over time they had been scattered and many lived away from Jerusalem; they had been conquered by enemies and taken far away. By the time Jesus was born, the Israelites were living under the thumb of the Romans who had established puppet rulers in Israel. These were local people who had been trained by the Romans to rule for Rome’s best interest. They were incentivized to make Rome’s interests their own, and so did the bidding of their masters even when it went against God’s intention for His people. The tax collectors were cheating the people. The rulers were basking in wealth while the people starved. The priests put heavy burdens on the people. The common men were poor and frustrated. They cried out to God, “Save us!” When the time was right, God answered their prayers.
Sometime around the year 4 BC, God sent the angel Gabriel to a young woman named Mary who was betrothed to a man named Joseph, a carpenter in the small town of Nazareth. Mary was probably no more than fifteen years old. The angel came with an incredible message, saying: “Don’t be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 Behold, you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and shall name him ‘Jesus.’ 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.” (Luke 1:31-32, WEB) Upon hearing the news of her miraculous pregnancy, Mary went to visit her older cousin Elizabeth, who the angel had told her was also with child (Luke 1:36). Greeted with joy, Mary burst into poetic praise. This was certainly a promise. But would it be a blessing? Only time would tell.
Mary was a young girl living in a very strict society facing this incredible blessing from God. When she was found to be pregnant, her fiancee wanted to cancel the marriage. The community would look down on her as a fallen woman, even as a prostitute. They were praying for the Messiah, but they did not believe her story. The news from the angel was not good news. Yet, Mary did not complain. In Luke 1:38 she answered, “Behold, the servant of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word.”
After the birth of baby Jesus, his parents took the child to the Temple. There they met two faithful people, Simeon and Anna who praised God for the birth of this child. They saw that Jesus was the answer to the prayers of Israel. Even from the beginning of His life, Jesus was in danger. Mary and Joseph were warned by angels to get away, so they ran to Egypt to protect Jesus from Herod, who feared that the promised Messiah would destroy his kingdom, even though it was nothing but a façade for the Roman rulers. They returned to Nazareth after Herod died and lived as a normal family for a time.
We last hear about Joseph when the family travels to Jerusalem when Jesus is twelve years old. They went for a festival, and Jesus found comfort and learning in the presence of the great teachers of Israel. He stayed among them, even as Mary and Joseph returned home with the rest of their family and friends. They didn’t realize Jesus was missing until they were a day’s walk from Jerusalem. They returned to find Him among the teachers, learning and impressing them with His own knowledge of God.
Mary remained a part of Jesus’s life. She loved Jesus in a way no other human being ever would: Mary had been chosen to be the mother of her Lord. It was never easy, but Mary did not complain. Mary stayed faithful to that first confession that she would be the Lord’s servant and accept His will in the matter. This doesn’t mean that she was perfect.
Mary didn’t always understand what Jesus was doing or why. She became angry with Jesus when He stayed at the Temple. She pushed Jesus to help the wedding family at Cana even though it might be too revealing too soon. (John 2:5) Mary and the rest of Jesus' family tried to stop Jesus because they thought He was out of His mind. (Mark 3:21, 31) Despite these moments, Mary trusted God’s Word and stayed with Jesus until the very end.
We honor the life and faithfulness of Mary not because she is extraordinary, but because she is just like you and I: a sinner who needed a Savior. She played a unique role in the life of Jesus that no other Christian can claim. She was His mother. In that role, she knew Jesus and the salvation He offered before anyone else. She knew it when He was in her womb. That knowledge did not make her perfect; she failed and doubted and feared. She grieved more than anyone over the death of Jesus; what mother would not? And yet, she remained faithful to the end because she trusted in God’s promises.
August 16, 2024
“I will bless Yahweh at all times. His praise will always be in my mouth. My soul shall boast in Yahweh. The humble shall hear of it, and be glad. Oh magnify Yahweh with me. Let us exalt his name together. I sought Yahweh, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears. They looked to him, and were radiant. Their faces shall never be covered with shame. This poor man cried, and Yahweh heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. Yahweh’s angel encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them. Oh taste and see that Yahweh is good. Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. Oh fear Yahweh, you his saints, for there is no lack with those who fear him. The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger, but those who seek Yahweh shall not lack any good thing.” Psalm 34:1-10, WEB
John Wesley was raised in a Christian home and joined his brother in a society of men at Oxford who committed to holy lives of prayer, worship, and study. He spent two years in Savannah, Georgia as a minister. The ship taking him to America encountered a fierce storm, so terrible that the wind split the mast and broke it in half. He was terrified.
There was a group of Moravians from Germany aboard the same ship. During the storm the Moravians showed no fear. Instead, they gathered together to sing hymns, singing so loud that they could be heard above the wind. Wesley later asked one of the Moravians if he was afraid. The man replied, “Thank God, no.” John’s fear made him lack confidence in his faith. Unfortunately, his ministry in Savannah failed, so returned to England. At first he struggled with his Christianity; he tried to be good, but found himself frustrated. “I was indeed fighting continually, but not conquering. I fell and rose and fell again.”
It was during a meeting that John was transformed. He wrote in his journal, “In the evening, I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading Luther’s preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation, and an assurance was given me that he had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.” He joined George Whitefield in ministry, and though they eventually went their own ways, John found his passion for the Gospel and became a great minister, his early days all but forgotten.
The Moravians on board that ship worshiped God in the midst of their trouble. This worship not only gave them comfort, but it was also a catalyst for change in the heart of John Wesley. It took a while, but he learned to trust God through their example and eventually found his place in the ministry of God’s kingdom. We are called to a life of worship and thanksgiving, a life in which we can sing praise to God in all our circumstances, good and bad. Our life of faith shines the grace of God and helps others see Him and hear His voice. You never know: your worship might just help someone find their own passion and ministry in God’s kingdom.
August 19, 2024
“By this we know love, because he laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But whoever has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, then closes his heart of compassion against him, how does God’s love remain in him? My little children, let’s not love in word only, or with the tongue only, but in deed and truth. And by this we know that we are of the truth, and persuade our hearts before him, because if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. Beloved, if our hearts don’t condemn us, we have boldness toward God; so whatever we ask, we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do the things that are pleasing in his sight. This is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, even as he commanded. He who keeps his commandments remains in him, and he in him. By this we know that he remains in us, by the Spirit which he gave us.” 1 John 3:16-24, WEB
Tom Hanks has proven to be an incredible and versatile actor. He has starred in everything from flops to successes, stage to television to movies. He writes, directs and produces. He can play comedy as well as drama and has appeared doing voiceovers in numerous animated films. He has been nominated and won dozens of awards from all over the world and the entertainment industry. He is one of only two actors to receive back-to-back Academy Awards for his appearances in “Philadelphia” in 1993 and “Forrest Gump” in 1994. He is one of the highest all-time box office stars with career earnings of billions of dollars. He even has an asteroid named after him.
He has become extremely successful, but it wasn’t easy. He began acting in High School and did some in college, but he often struggled to get roles. He worked in community theater. During an internship that was extended to three years, he learned most aspects of theater production, including lighting, set design, and stage management. He did a slasher movie, a made for TV movie and more stage before landing my first memory of Tom Hanks: as Kip Wilson in the television situation comedy “Bosom Buddies.” That role, as well as a guest appearance on “Happy Days” introduced Tom to Ron Howard, who was, at the time, working on a movie called “Splash.” It was a romantic comedy mermaid movie that was released in 1984.
Ron asked Tom to audition for a minor role in the movie. Tom often tells the story of how he bombed that audition, yet Ron saw something in Tom’s performance and decided to give him a chance, not for the minor role, but as the lead actor. Ron was under pressure to make his movie quickly and cheaply because another studio was also working on a mermaid movie, so his choice might have had financial considerations. Tom was chosen over other actors that were considered, including John Travolta, Michael Keaton, Chevy Chase, Jeff Bridges, Richard Gere, Kevin Kline, Burt Reynolds, Bill Murray and Dudley Moore. Some of them turned down the role, but this experience gave Tom a great story: he’s often said he was the 11th choice for the part.
The audition tape was included on the twentieth anniversary edition of the DVD which was released in 2004. When asked if he minded, Tom said it was fine to include the video, but he didn’t understand why anyone would want to see it. It was certainly not Tom Hanks at his best. By that time Tom had accomplished so much more in his career. We like to see those early videos, though, because it helps us to see their story.
“Splash” was life-changing for Tom. It turned out to be an incredible success and it led to many more jobs for him. He eventually played some more dramatic roles, but he is remembered fondly for his lighthearted romantic comedies. We love Tom Hanks because he is the average Joe, the boy next door, the widower whose love was so great that he couldn’t love again. Ron Howard knew that Tom had something to offer and hired him for the role even though his audition didn’t earn him the chance.
Isn’t that what God has done for us? We are sinners who fail our audition to be a child of God, but He has chosen us anyway. Have you ever really thought about how amazing it is that God did this for us? We were incapable of keeping His Law and constantly separating ourselves from His love, mercy, and grace. As we look at one another, and at ourselves in the mirror, we can’t help but wonder what made Him do such a thing. We don’t understand, but God saw something in His people: the potential to love Him and one another. He knew we were unable to accomplish this on our own, so He sent Jesus to live and die for our sake. On the cross, Jesus overcame all that separates us from God and reconciled our lives with His. Now that He has been raised from death into eternal life, we are given all we need to live in love according to His ways.
August 20, 2024
“But I tell you who hear: love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who mistreat you. To him who strikes you on the cheek, offer also the other; and from him who takes away your cloak, don’t withhold your coat also. Give to everyone who asks you, and don’t ask him who takes away your goods to give them back again. As you would like people to do to you, do exactly so to them. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive back as much. 35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing back; and your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind toward the unthankful and evil. ‘Therefore be merciful, even as your Father is also merciful.’” Luke 6:27-36, WEB
I have recently been thinking about getting a job. I don’t know if I will because it will definitely disrupt the lifestyle I have enjoyed; it will take away time from my writing, teaching, and art. It isn’t about having more money, but about doing something active and stimulating. I would look for something part time and I would want it to fit into working day hours. I’ve thought about retail, but most stores need employees to fill flexible hours, including nights and weekends.
I have worked in retail, and I really enjoyed my job. I went through a management training program after college. It was easy when I was single; I didn’t have family responsibilities, and it was long before I realized my spiritual gifts and calling. I didn’t always like the hours, which for management meant working long hours. We were required to do shifts from open to close several days a week. It was not unusual for me to have fourteen-to-fifteen-hour days. I never lived right around the corner, so I commuted as long as an hour to and from work.
My favorite part of the job was setting shelving and displays. The plan-o-grams were like puzzles (although sometimes the pieces didn’t fit!) I worked to help refurbish several stores over the years. There’s something satisfying about watching an empty building become a fully stocked store. I liked it so much that I spent a few weeks working both my full-time assistant manager hours and full-time as help at a remodel project. My paychecks were fantastic, but I was working two full time jobs at the same time. I went weeks without a day off, often went from one store to the other without a break. I didn’t mind, especially since I did not have anyone at home waiting for me. Of course, it meant I didn’t have a life outside my job, but at that point of my life, I enjoyed it.
Then came love and marriage. I knew that I did not want to sustain that type of professional career while establishing a marital relationship with my new husband. It would be even worse once we had children. Yet, we were young. My husband was active-duty military and worked long hours for not so much pay. I couldn’t sit at home and do nothing all day, and we could use the extra money. I wasn’t interested in a full-time job; I just wanted a part time job doing something that I enjoyed. I naturally looked in retail.
It didn’t take long for me to find a job. I went into a chain retail store not far from our home, filled out an application, and was interviewed in a matter of minutes. The department manager who did the interview me was impressed with my resume, and she asked several times whether or not I wanted to be in management. I assured her that I was a newlywed and interested in only part-time work. She was thrilled and grabbed me for her department before any of the other managers could try. I was happy: she was manager of the Home Fashions department, and I knew I would love to work there. Besides, it gave me a first peak at new merchandise that I might like to buy to furnish our new home. The discount was icing on the cake.
It didn’t take very long before I made an impression. We had a number of customers who owned bed and breakfasts, so they were often in the store buying large quantities of merchandise for their businesses. I loved helping them think through their latest project, helping them make color choices and finding the right sizes. I had a reputation at the store as friendly and helpful. Even the general director knew my name. Some of our customers sent thank you notes with glowing praise for my work. The only person who didn’t like having me in the store seemed to be my department manager.
Despite my insistence that I was only interested in part time work and the reasons for it, she was sure I wanted her job. She began to give me the worst schedules, ignoring requests for certain days off and forcing me to work behind the scenes in the stockroom as much as possible. She had no sympathy when I became ill during work one day. I don’t know why, but she treated me like an enemy. I tried to work with her and did everything I could to reassure her that I was not trying to steal her job. I finally decided it wasn’t worth the hassle. The last straw was the week that she refused to give me personal days I had requested a month earlier because I had family coming.
I could have taken my grievances to the general manager so that he could stop the harassment once and for all. I’m not sure what would have happened to her if I did, but I refused to be the reason she lost her position at the store. She seemed to get along with the other employees and I was pregnant and planning to leave when it was time for my child to be born. She saw me as an enemy, but I didn’t treat her as one; I just wanted to do the job I loved and serve my customers.
The truth is that we all know people we just don’t like. We may not call them enemies in the strictest sense of the word, but we often treat them heartlessly. There are people I’d rather avoid, but that is often not an option. We have to work with and live near people with whom we just don’t get along. It happens in our neighborhoods and our churches. We have differences and sometimes our differences are like oil and water: they do not mix. Unfortunately, we sometimes respond to those differences in hateful or violent ways. Like that manager, we do whatever we can to make life difficult for those we see as a threat. We don’t take care of them because we’d rather see them suffer.
That’s not the way we are called to be. Jesus tells us to love our enemies, to do whatever we can to make their lives better, to work even harder to make them look good even when they are doing anything to destroy us. It is hard to live this way, but day by day we are called to love our enemies, not just in word, but also in deed.
August 21, 2024
Lectionary Scriptures for August 25, 2024, Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost: Isaiah 29:11-19; Psalm 14; Ephesians 5:22-33; Mark 7:1-13
“Yahweh looked down from heaven on the children of men, to see if there were any who understood, who sought after God.” Psalm 14:2, WEB
We cannot imagine what it was like to face the suffering and persecution that the early Christians experienced. Our lifestyle is not always accepted by Western society, we are sometimes called “weird” or said to follow fairytales, we do not generally experience the fear of death for our faith. That is not true for Christians in places like China or the Middle East, where martyrs are still made every day. It is estimated that worldwide 13 Christians are killed a day, with millions experiencing high levels of persecution and discrimination.
Many people are suffering physical, spiritual, and emotional tragedy as the country of Sudan has been experiencing drought, famine, and civil war for several years, especially the Christian minority. Islamic government troops are invading villages throughout Sudan. The motivation is racial and religious hatred. These troops are murdering the people, raping the women, and putting those who survive into slavery. Those who enslaved are being starved to death with food that is not fit for human consumption. This is part of an Islamic jihad, a holy war, to expand the territory of the Islamic faith. Some Christians have even been crucified. The horrors in Sudan are beyond our comprehension, but we cannot ignore the truth of this world. Following Jesus can mean death because the world rejects His message and His salvation.
Though Christians in America or other western nations do not suffer the persecution of the early Christians, we need to know that there are Christians who do. We need to stand with them in prayer and do everything within our power to help these people to be freed from the slavery, poverty, and death. A group of children put their money where their hearts were a few years ago. They wept after hearing the plight of the people of Sudan, and collected funds from their allowances, fund-raisers, and yard sales. They held a letter writing campaign to seek the help of government leaders and celebrities. In just seventeen months, they collected $50,000 to free a thousand slaves. This happened more than twenty years ago, but the struggles continue today. Unfortunately, we have forgotten those who suffer and ignore their needs. It is easy to forget. After all, we have our own problems, right?
I read a book by a woman who was a child in Germany during World War II. She wrote a book about her experiences, which looks at what happened from the point of view of a non-religious Protestant family. Her descriptions of life in her early years sounded pretty normal, with birthdays and family, school and everyday activities. As time passed and she grew older, the world around her began to change in ways she did not like. Her family did not support Hitler, although they had to make concessions to the world that was developing around them, just like their neighbors. She became less and less comfortable with what was happening as she matured, not only because the changes were inconvenient but because they simply were not right.
Still, we wonder what their suffering has to do with our lives.
The girl knew the history of the First World War, and the thought of a second frightened her. She wasn’t interested in being involved with the organizations that rose around Hitler’s regime, but it became increasingly difficult to avoid it. She had teachers who devoutly taught the propaganda. It was everywhere: in the newspapers, on the radio, and on the newsreels at the movie theater. She experienced the growing apprehension that came with ration cards and rules that didn’t make any sense. While her thoughts and fears did not come from a strong and active faith, something within her knew that what was happening was not as God meant the world to be.
We often hear that Christianity, and quite frankly Lutheranism, should be blamed for what happened during the early part of the twentieth century in and around Germany. While it is true that Luther wrote negatively about the Jews late in his life, the use of his works by the Hitler regime was purely convenience, not conviction. No one who can murder millions of people is Christian. Hitler did not just target the Jews. He also killed the disabled, the sick, the old, the blacks, the homosexuals, the gypsies, the communists, and others who did not support him, including Christians who stood firm on what was right and good according to God’s Word. Hitler may have claimed to be a Christian, but he did not live the Christian life. He claimed faith by tongue, but not by action. Unfortunately, the same could be said about many other Christians around the world even today.
How could it have happened. How did all those Germans allow the horror of the Hitler regime become the norm? I think this is why I was so interested in the perspective of this woman’s book. We know the stories of Bonhoeffer and others involved in the conspiracy to stop Hitler. We know about Schindler and his list. We know about the Jews who escaped and those who survived; we know the stories of those who died from the testimonies of those who did not. But we rarely see how life unfolded for the average German.
We wonder why they didn’t do something, but this makes us ask the question whether we are willing to fight a culture that is determined to make us conform. Why aren’t more people standing up for what we believe, like men such as Bonhoeffer? The woman’s story shows how subtly it happened. One day everything was normal, then one small thing after another changed until it became obvious that the culture was going down an irreversible path. Then it was too late, and none of those Germans felt there was anything they could do. I consider myself faithful and faith-filled, and yet I know that I am about as powerful as those average Germans.
They didn’t even try in the beginning because each change was presented in a way that made it seem like a good thing for Germany and her people. There was no harm to enlisting the children into organizations; as a matter of fact, it helped build them into better citizens! It was probably a good thing to limit the ability to bear children for those with deformities, for the sake of the child as well as the nation. The communists were bad, very bad, so they probably deserved to die. “We need the resources found in those territories and thank goodness someone is willing to stand up for Germany against the world that wants to keep us down!” It became uncomfortable when they were directly affected, like when there were food shortages, but they were still willing to sacrifice for their homeland. Besides, isn’t this exactly why we need to take back the land that was stolen from us in the previous war?
There is no exact comparison between then and now, especially since people on every side try to paint their “enemy” as the villain Hitler. Hitler had a broad range of ideologies that cross the boundaries that divide us today, making it impossible to truly label him as “one of them” or “one of us.” I read about some of his programs and ideas and think, “That’s what ‘they’ are trying to do,” but then read others and think, “My guy could have said that.” We have to be careful about how we deal with our own interpretation of what happened then and what is happening now. It was a different time, and even the language and definitions are different than the understanding a hundred years ago.
The starting point of living as a Christian in this world is to look deeply into our own hearts. Isaiah wrote, “The Lord said, ‘Because this people draws near with their mouth and honors me with their lips, but they have removed their heart far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment of men which has been taught; therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, even a marvelous work and a wonder; and the wisdom of their wise men will perish, and the understanding of their prudent men will be hidden.’” Do we say, ‘Lord, Lord’ with our mouths but live lives conformed to the world around us? Sometimes we try to conform our lives of faith to ideology that is a benefit to our lives rather than the Word of God. conform to the way we think is best, benefiting ourselves rather than living according to God’s Word?
That’s what was happening with the Pharisees in today’s Gospel lesson. They questioned Jesus about the way the disciples did not wash their hands according to the traditions of the elders. We all know that hand washing is a good thing. Thanks to people like Florence Nightingale, we have learned that it helps stop the spread of disease. They might not have fully understood the reason that hand washing works, but they saw a correlation that seemed to make a difference, so they made it a rule of faithful living.
Jesus answered their question with the quote from Isaiah, telling the Pharisees that they are more interested in the laws of men rather than the Law of God. Then he pointed out their hypocrisy. He said, “Full well do you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition. For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother;’ and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him be put to death.’ But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban , that is to say, given to God”;’ then you no longer allow him to do anything for his father or his mother, making void the word of God by your tradition, which you have handed down. You do many things like this.”
The idea of Corban seems good because it appears that they are committing their resources to God. However, the idea of Corban is to be much more loosely understood. See, they were committing the resources to God as a promise, but they continued to hold onto the money for their own use while they were living. They used the man-made law of promise as an excuse to not share their wealth with their parents in need while acting as if they were being faithful to God’s Law. Their legalistic attention to the laws they prescribed had nothing to do with faith in their God. It was a way of grasping power while rejecting and ignoring God’s grace.
God doesn’t need our promises. He blesses us to be a blessing. God wants us to use our extra resources to help others in need; who better to help than those who bore and raised us? Corban, a promise of money, does nothing to glorify God, but obeying the Law of honoring our mothers and fathers will also honor the God who is our Creator and Redeemer Father.
It is not easy to be a Christian in this world, and sometimes it is dangerous as people like Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Christians in Sudan have learned. We struggle with God’s Word because we have been taught ideas that sound good like those Germans, and we believe them until it is almost too late. The truth tugs at our hearts, but then we wonder if there’s anything we can even do to make a difference.
Obeying God is a difficult thing. He has extraordinary expectations for our lives. The world would have us follow our own path and do what we think is best. They promote self-righteousness and encourage conforming to what they think is good and right and true. God expects us to be humble and to rely on Him. The world looks at outer appearances; God sees our hearts. Isaiah was writing to the self-righteous of Israel whose hearts were not humble before God though they appeared to be doing everything right.
Foolishness is sometimes very obvious. It is not kind to say, but there are some people who are just fools. They do not have any common sense; they do not use their brains. There was a story about a man who decided to rob a home. He managed to get many valuable items out of the house, but as he was leaving he noticed an expensive bottle of wine open on the counter, which he decided to drink. Unfortunately for him, the family used the wine bottle to store their vinegar, and it made him very sick. He called 911.
Several Boeing employees decided to steal a life raft from a 747. They succeeded, until they took the raft on to the river. Shortly after beginning their ride, a rescue helicopter responding to the distress signal that was set off when they inflated the raft approached them. Another would be robber entered a liquor store and asked for all the cash in the drawer. He then decided to demand a bottle of scotch. The attendant refused, telling him that he did not look old enough for alcohol. The robber insisted he was, pulled out his driver s license. The cashier looked it over and agreed the man was old enough. As soon as the criminal left, the cashier called the police and reported the robbery, giving the man s name and address to the police. A guy tried to rob a liquor store by using a cinder block to break the window. Unfortunately, the pane was not glass, but was Plexiglas, so the block bounced right back and knocked him out when it hit him on the head. The entire scene was caught on videotape.
Most of us aren’t trying to steal, rob, or cheat people, but we all manage to do stupid things. We have moments of foolishness, perhaps bad enough to end up on the Idiot of the Year list, but there is one bit of foolishness that is greater than these funny stories, but there is no humor to it at all.
The criminals in these stories were caught because of their foolishness and they suffered the consequences. The foolishness of rejecting God has far more permanent consequences. We may appear to be good people, however when we conform to the world, our good works are no better that our foolish ones because we do not honor God. When we trust in God and obey His Word, even when we have to go against the expectations of the world, we will honor Him and experience a life filled with love, peace, and joy. God is our refuge and our strength.
There is a show that looks at theories about ancient aliens. According to their experts, there is nothing that can’t be credited to alien astronauts. I have laughed at their interpretations of art or explanations about incredible human accomplishments. I even laugh at their claims that angelic or spiritual appearances were actually from aliens. I cannot laugh at their claim that there is no such thing as a god, but that the gods were our misinterpretation of the ancient aliens that came to create and develop our world. One of the experts explained that we have religious beliefs because we are not intellectual enough to accept their “truth” that ancient made us what we are. Those of us with faith in God are stupid, foolish ones.
An archeologist who is known for his work in the field, although his work was always a challenge to the theories. He called the theories ridiculous in an interview. His interest began as a teenager when he had a conversation with a hairstylist who asked what he thought of a theory that aliens built the pyramids. He had not heard that theory and thought she must be mistaken. This happened about the time with Erich von Daniken’s book “The Chariots of the Gods” was very popular. He soon heard the theory again and realized that the hairdresser was referring to the theories in the book. He has spent his life refuting those claims.
He told the interviewers that he was asked to be an expert on a show about aliens. They didn’t realize that he would not conform to their ideas. Since he is associated with the topic, they assumed he must be a believer. He told them that he’d be happy to be on their show but that he would always be honest about his opinion, which is that he thinks the theories are execrable bull****. He never heard from them again. The Ancient Astronaut Society sent him a pile of information and an invitation to join the experts at a meeting.
The experts that appear on those shows seem to believe what they are saying, but I wonder if they believe it as pseudoscientists or if they believe it because the theories have lined their pockets. Does the narrator on those shows believe what he is scripted to say, or does he shake his head in disbelief and silently laugh when he says, “Ancient astronaut theorists believe...”
The experts on the shows have rejected the truth that is God our Creator. The rejection is obvious by their words, but it is less obvious to see the lack of faith of our neighbors. Some people, like atheists, speak blatantly about their denial. Others suggest that even if there ever was a god, then he is dead. Sadly, there are many in our world who claim to believe in God, but have replaced Him with their own interpretation or expectation of Him. We all have our own “gods” that we put ahead of the one true and living God of the scriptures. It is easier than we expect to conform to the ways the world defines Him, never realizing that they have twisted the reality of God. As the psalmist says, “They have all gone aside. They have together become corrupt. There is no one who does good, no, not one.” We are part of that “all”; we are sinners in need of a Savior. We ignore or forget our responsibility to stand firm on God’s Word, especially when the culture around us slowly transforms in ways that seem good, but ultimately dishonor God.
Paul referenced today’s Psalm in Romans 3, reminding us that we have all turned away. Thankfully God knows His people. We are saved by His grace; we are made righteous by faith in Jesus Christ. All have sinned and fallen short, but through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus we are justified by His grace. Without God we would all be fools, without God’s grace we would all reject Him. Through Jesus Christ, we are invited to believe in the God who is our Creator and Redeemer, even when the world thinks our faith is weird or reject the saving grace of Jesus as a fairytale.
The world calls us fools, especially when they read texts like today’s Epistle from Ephesians. The language even makes us uncomfortable. Many modern wives scoff at the suggestion that they should be subject to their husbands, or that they should fear him. These words seem foolish because we read them as if women are expected to be doormats, held by the power of someone deemed “greater.”
That’s not what Paul intended at all, as we can see in the context of the passage. Marriage is a complimentary relationship; both partners providing something to make the two become one. A woman is free based on God’s grace to be what God created her to be, to live in the relationship with her husband who is called to be like Christ to her.
Who has the harder task? Is it the wife who submits to the husband, or the husband who must be Christ-like and love his wife more than his own life?
Of course, there have been people who have claimed faith in Christ who have used passages like this to force compliance to a misplaced understanding of the relationship between husband and wife. It is no wonder that we cringe when we hear these words. Women have been abused throughout history, acts that were justified because these words have been interpreted that a man has that right according to the “biblical standard.” Like the question of Corban and caring for parents, those who interpret this text in this manner are ignoring the command that the husband is to treat his wife with a sacrificial love, to nourish her, and to treasure her as if her body was his own. He is to be Christ-like and the man who abuses a woman, especially his wife, is not being like Christ. He must be willing to give even his life for her sake.
Just as honoring one’s mother and father honors God, so does the marriage covenant stand as a witness to the relationship between Christ and His Church. The Father loves the Son, Jesus Christ. The Son loves the Church. In response to the love, the Son submits to the Father and the Church submits to the Son. The love provides, the submission accepts. In love and submission, the two become one body, in both marriage and in Christ.
Our Lord Jesus Christ gave His very life for our freedom from sin. We know that we will face persecution because of our faith. Though we may not personally be able to save the world, we must stand firm in our faith and walk boldly in the truth of Christ. The Lord God Almighty is your refuge, no matter what the world says or does against you. What are you going to do today?
I wish I could say without a doubt that I would stand firmly like Bonhoeffer and not conform to the world as it changes around me. I can’t. As a matter of fact, I am certain that I am more like that woman who conformed to the culture in Germany in the days leading to World War II. I am certain that I stand in the ranks of those who may find it is too late to make a difference when our culture goes in the wrong direction because I am a failing, sinful human being. I fear the wrong things, I seek my own benefit. I follow man-made laws because they sound much better than the ones that God has given to us. I can’t count on myself, but I can count on the God who has promised to forgive me.
The words from Isaiah sound hopeless, but there is hope. God can overcome our faithlessness. God can and does provide for us, even in our failure. God has set us free by the blood of Christ, and while we are imperfect as we live in that freedom, He will also save us from ourselves. We are called seek God so that we understand and obey, responding to God’s saving grace with fear and trembling. We may even see God turn our faithlessness into something good for His kingdom. In the end we will know true joy in the relationship He has made between Jesus Christ and His bride, the Church, between Jesus and you and me. We will fully know and experience that joy as we dwell in the Word of God rather than follow the traditions of men.
August 22, 2024
“This is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their works were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the light, and doesn’t come to the light, lest his works would be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his works may be revealed, that they have been done in God.” John 3:19-21, WEB
In his book “How to Be Born Again,” Billy Graham told a story about a time he was to appear on a well-known television show. They were planning to film the interview in his home, so his wife Ruth spent hours preparing the space. She cleaned every nook and cranny until it appeared to be spotless. When the film crew arrived and turned on the bright lights, they saw cobwebs and dust where they had never seen them before. Ruth said, “That room was festooned with dust and cobwebs which simply did not show up under ordinary light.” The lesson Billy Graham learned from this experience is that we are festooned with dust and cobwebs - sin - in our own lives that do not show up in ordinary light. It is when we see ourselves in light of God’s Word and His holiness that the cobwebs and the dust are visible.
Maybe we are. Most of us are clean, on the surface. We do good things and what is right according to worldly ideals. We define people’s eternal destiny based on what we see happening in their lives and in their actions. When referring to the lives of the dearly departed, it is natural for us to say that they are going to go to heaven based on the good things we saw them do. As for our own eternal destiny, we compare ourselves to others and think that we are certainly going to heaven. “If my neighbor is good enough, then I certainly am!”
However, when the light of God’s Word shines on our lives, we suddenly realize that our righteousness is like filthy rags and our goodness is stained by sin. We are not clean. The thoughts of our minds, the failure of our actions, and the hardness of our hearts can’t be seen on the surface in ordinary light. It is only by the light of Christ that we realize that we are unworthy for the blessedness of life eternal in the kingdom of God. The more we realize the hidden truth and the reality of our worthlessness, the more we’d rather walk in the darkness of this world. However, Christ has made it possible for us to live eternally with Him even though we are unworthy. He makes us clean by His blood and His word. By His grace, we embrace the light and let Him transform our dirt into something beautiful.
Ruth probably went for a brush to clean more when she saw the dust and the cobwebs all over her living room under the lights of the cameras. During our journeys of faith, we do the same thing. As God reveals our inner sins to us, He helps us to clean up our lives. Our homes will never be perfectly clean, and we won’t be perfectly pure while we live in our flesh. God reveals our dust and cobwebs so that we will see our need for His love and mercy as found in our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus. God shines His light to turn us toward Himself, to bring us to our knees in humility and confession.
August 23, 2024
“Where no oxen are, the crib is clean, but much increase is by the strength of the ox.” Proverbs 14:4, WEB
I joked with my husband the other day that I hoped he didn’t marry me for my housekeeping skills. If he did, he’s been disappointed for nearly thirty-six years. My house isn’t dirty, but it isn’t quite clean. There is always dust on the furniture and my carpet should be vacuumed more often. I don’t mind leaving a few dishes in the sink overnight. I am not a hoarder in any sense of the word, but I have clutter on my kitchen counters and the stand beside my bed. My office and studio are riddled with piles of projects.
I try to keep my desk organized, but there are always notepads with ideas and reminders. Pages that I’ve printed are still on the printer. Several notebooks are at my feet with research for Bible studies and an upcoming trip. One table is covered with supplies for my Christmas ornaments, and there are paintings on my art table and easel. There is a pile of books to be read on my bookshelf. Blank cards await encouraging notes I want to send to friends. I have a TV tray with everything I need as I research the book of Proverbs for my next Bible study.
I was doing research for that study when I read today’s passage. The author of one of the books I am using says that the proverbs are about relationships. In this case, a clean crib may seem to be a good thing, but what good is the crib if there are no oxen to use it? “There are better things than a clean manger,” she said. A clean crib is an indication that nothing is happening in the stable, and without an oxen there’s nothing happening outside the stable. A clean house is necessary for the health and safety of our families, however, sometimes there’s something more important to do than have a dust and clutter free house. Parents can be frustrated by piles of toys all over the living room, but that living room is filled with the laughter of children. A night out with friends might mean a few dishes stay in the sink, but relationship are more important than a spotless kitchen. I may have projects cluttering my office, but I’m working on ways to share my gifts with others. There are truly better things than a clean manger.
What are you doing today? Are you so worried about having a clean manger that you don’t allow anything, even something helpful, to make it dirty? Are you so busy keeping your furniture dust free that you don’t have time to invite people over for tea? Are you so afraid of clutter that you don’t begin any projects? A crib that is healthy and safe is a good thing, but a little mess can be a sign of fun stuff that helps build happy and healthy relationships.
August 26, 2024
“His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’” Matthew 25:21, WEB
Byron White retired from the U.S. Supreme Court in 1993 after a long, exciting, diverse life in the limelight. He was born in 1917 in Fort Collins, Colorado. His fame started when he was an All-American football player at the University of Colorado. The thing that made Byron different from many of the other players was that he was also an extremely gifted scholar. He was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and graduated Valedictorian in 1938. He played professional football. Through it all, however, Bryon hated the attention and just tried to do the best he could.
He went to Oxford University as a Rhodes scholar and later graduated from Yale with a law degree. He served in the Navy during WWII. He then began his law career, first as a clerk for a supreme justice and then in corporate law in Colorado. President Kennedy appointed him deputy attorney general and later he was given a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court. Despite his fame, he tried to keep a low profile and do his job to the best of his ability.
There were many that were jealous of his success and the very thing that he despised: his fame. He would have preferred to be outside the limelight, though his talent and circumstances put him on center stage. It is hard for us to understand how one man can be so blessed, but he had success in life because he used his talents to the best of his ability and remained humble through it all.
Jesus told many parables to help His disciples understand the kingdom of God. Today’s text comes from a parable He told about a man who entrusted his servants with his property before going on a journey. To one servant the man gave five talents of money. The second servant received two talents. The third was given just one. The man left and the servants used the money to expand his kingdom. The man met with the servants to settle their accounts when he returned. The first and second servants doubled their money.
The third servant did not do so well. He was afraid that the man would take advantage of him, so he buried his coin in the ground, and it made nothing for the man. The servant wasted the time and the talent, so the man took it away and gave it to the first. The man knew that the servant was not trustworthy to have such resources, so it was given to one who would use it to the best of his ability.
It is easy to see that a man like Byron White was blessed because he did not bury his talents, he used them. He did not like the limelight, but he constantly worked to do the best he could in everything despite his discomfort. Do you have talents you are burying because of fear or selfishness? Are you using your talents to the best of your ability, giving joy, hope, peace, love, and service to your neighbors and the world? We are sometimes bothered that the number of talents given to each servant is different, but the first two servants used what they had to the best of their ability and were commended by the man for doing well. We need not be jealous of our neighbor because they seem to be more blessed. We are called to be humble and to embrace our own gifts, using them to the best of our ability for the glory of God. Then we will hear God commend us for our good work and will share in His joy forever.
August 27, 2024
“Being therefore justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ; through whom we also have our access by faith into this grace in which we stand. We rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only this, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope: and hope doesn’t disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” Romans 5:1-5, WEB
I posted on my Facebook page the other day that I wanted to go shopping but I did not want to leave the house. It was meant as a joke because it was very, very hot that day. A few people laughed, but many of my friends offered the advice that I could just do my shopping on the Internet. I had one store on my list because I wanted to wander around and see what they had that was new. The other store was a grocery store because I needed fruit, and I prefer to pick out my own. Shopping on the Internet was not a good option for me that day.
It was funny that so many suggested shopping online as if I didn’t know that was an option. I shop online. A lot. Probably too much. My husband laughed at me yesterday because I was expecting multiple shipments. Online shopping makes so many things so much easier, but I do like to still go to the physical store to look around. It is amazing what I find that I would never search for if I were just shopping online. Besides, I needed to get out of the house, despite the heat.
The Internet can be a great place to shop. It is amazing the deals you can find sometimes. A friend once recommended a book that I found for only a penny. Since many online stores do not have the overhead of an actual showroom, they can keep prices lower. I’ve purchased clearance items for almost nothing, and sometimes they even threw in the shipping costs. I’m rarely disappointed. I suppose my expectations are not very high when I am paying so little for an item, but I still want to get something out of the money I spend, and I’m usually happy with the purchase.
Unfortunately, online shopping is not always reliable. I’ve purchased things without really knowing what I might get. I ordered an ornament that was a remembrance of the solar eclipse in April. The picture was lovely, and I could wait to get it. They had more orders than they expected, and it took a long time for my ornament to arrive. It had the wrong state when it finally came. I had to argue online with their customer service, but eventually convinced them that the order was wrong. They sent another ornament, but the new one was nothing like what I had originally ordered. It had the right state, but it was made with different materials and was not nearly as pretty as the original. Similar things have happened to me with other online orders.
The trouble with the Internet is that you can’t really see what it is you are buying. I’ve read articles that show the pictures of what people expected verses what they actually got. In one, the picture showed a couch, the item was a couch for a dollhouse. Even if there is a picture, it is hard to see the quality of the item. You can’t see whether inferior materials are used. Color is impossible to know for sure because the settings for the monitor might be different. Weight and size are also variables that are difficult to know for sure by pictures on a computer. It is a gamble because you can never be completely sure what you are going to get, until it shows up at your door. Then you have to deal with customer service for returns and refunds.
We must have faith in the goodness of the Internet company when we make a purchase online. We have to trust that they will send us the item and that it will be everything they’ve claimed it will be. Of course, the faith we have in an earthly company is nothing like the faith we have in the Lord our God, and yet there is a certain amount of uncertainty possible even with that faith. Do we really know what we will receive for our faith? What is eternal life? What is heaven like? Many people even question whether there really is a God. For many people, faith is a gamble.
The suggestion to shop online wasn’t a bad one, it just wasn’t the right option for me that day. Those who recommended it really didn’t get the joke, or that the option was a gamble for me that day. There was no way for them to realize that online shopping would not accomplish what I needed that day. Fortunately, we do have ways of knowing that what we believe about God is true. We have the scriptures that tell us about God’s grace. We have the witness of those who also believe. We have the whole of creation that magnifies the glory of God. We might find that the Internet companies are unworthy of our faith and trust, but we’ll never find the same to be true of our Lord. Though we can’t fully understand everything about Him, or even about Jesus, we can know that He is faithful and that His promises are true. We are not going to be disappointed when we finally receive what He promised. As a matter of fact, we will be surprised by how much greater it is than we ever expected.
August 28, 2024
Lectionary Scriptures for September 1, 2024, Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost: Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-9; Psalm 119:129-136; Ephesians 6:10-20; Mark 7:14-23
“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” Ephesians 6:11, WEB
The first verse of today’s Old Testament passage uses two legal words to describe the Word of God. In this version, the World English Bible, the words are “statutes” and “ordinances.” If you read other versions, you will find words such as “rules,” “decrees,” “laws,” “regulations,” and “teachings.” We see the same phenomenon in Psalm 119, where so many of these law words seem to be used interchangeably. For example, NIV translates this passage from Deuteronomy translates it as “the decrees and laws.” The New Living Translation uses “these laws and regulations.” It seems, as we read, that the speaker is simply repeating himself for the sake of making a point. “Pay attention, I'm telling you something important.”
John Wesley wrote in his notes on this text: “The statutes - The laws which concern the worship and service of God. The judgments - The laws concerning your duties to men. So these two comprehend both tablets, and the whole law of God.” Wesley saw this repetition as not only an emphasis but also as defining the aspects of the rules we are to follow, rules that demonstrate love of God and love of man. We can find a similar division in the Ten Commandments; the two tables show laws that concern our relationship with God and our relationships with one another.
We are called to obedience to the whole Law, not just the parts that we want to obey. Obedience is not simply a knowledge of the laws, for many can recite the Commandments as they learned them in Sunday School. It is an active obedience in which one does what is right according to the intent of the Law. In Martin Luther’s Small Catechism, the explanation of the Ten Commandments contains not only the directive to not do the things that are wrong, but to also do what is right. Most of us can easily say we have not killed our neighbor, but have we done everything we can to ensure that he or she has life? We may not physically take our neighbors’ things, but do we do everything we can to help our neighbor keep what is theirs?
Why keep the statutes and ordinances of God? This passage suggests that if we keep the laws of God, the nations will see us as wise. God’s rules were not established as a way to keep the people down like so many human regulations. God’s Law was designed to lift His people and the nation. The statutes and ordinances were given to guard and protect the people of God, to make them and keep them whole. Our relationship with God and our relationships with one another are vital to our wholeness.
The laws are good, right and true. God’s Law, His Word, is complete just as it was given. There are no laws of any country that are more perfect, or more righteous, or more just than the laws of God. In these statutes and ordinances are found true wisdom. We should not think ourselves wiser than God to add to or take away from what He has given. All too many of us think that if we do all that is right according to the statutes, we can ignore a part of the ordinances. For example, we think that if we do all that is required to worship God, we can tell a little white lie or take something that is not ours. At other times, we add to His Word by justifying our actions that are against His ordinances. Yet, God calls us to live according to His Law completely, just as it was given.
I have a picture of my son when he was a little bit over a year old. We were living in California at the time, and we had some potted plants on our patio. He was outside playing; I was busy just inside the patio door. He decided it would be fun to play in the dirt. It was springtime and the plant had been recently potted with fresh potting soil. He didn’t have long; I was constantly checking on him while I worked nearby. Yet in minutes he’d managed to get himself covered in fresh dirt from head to toe. His face looked like he’d been eating Oreo cookies and most of the cookie missed his mouth. I don’t know how much he ingested, but he’s no worse for the wear. As some wise mother once said, “A little dirt never hurt anyone.”
I couldn’t help but laugh and I grabbed the camera. He was teething at the time, so every part of him was covered in drool. This made the dirt stick to his body even more. Every parent has a similar picture of their children from that age, though the child might be covered with the icing from the first birthday cake or a plate full of spaghetti. These pictures show that more food ended up on the child than in his or her mouth. Other photos come when they go a little overboard with the fingerpaints at school or egg dye at Easter.
I was a little annoyed to have to clean my son after his playtime in the dirt, or the many times he was covered with food. The problem is that the mess is rarely confined to the skin which can easily be cleaned, but the clothes, furniture, floor and sometimes even the walls are covered in the mess. Yet, despite my annoyance, I still giggle about that moment, remembering as we look at the photo how cute he looked covered in dirt. Every parent is happy those photos for those moments our children most wish to not be embarrassed, like when they bring that special friend home to meet the parents.
Sometimes we are able to get the stains out of the clothes, sometimes we can’t. What matters most, however, is that we are able to get their bodies clean. Of course, some stains take a little longer than others, like those left by markers or ink pads. Yet even then it only takes a day or so for the body to return to normal. Except for the pictures, the incident is forgotten as soon as all the mess is gone. Nothing is changed by a brief roll in the dirt or a few handfuls of birthday cake in the hair. Some things are worth remembering. Some things are worth forgetting. We need to remember some things for the sake of our future.
In 1905, George Santayana wrote, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” In a 1948 speech to the House of Commons, Churchill paraphrased Santayana when he said, “Those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it.” We’ve heard similar quotes from many others over time, but they weren’t the first. In today’s Old Testament lesson, Moses warned Israel to remember what they saw so that they would remain faithful to the God who saved them from slavery.
Unfortunately, we easily forget history. We certainly don’t learn from it. We’ve seen it happen over and over again. As we study the history of Israel, we can see that they forgot God’s grace. Though there were good kings over the ages, their sons and grandsons often turned to the gods of the world, ignoring the God who is their true King. Over and over again the chroniclers say, “He did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin with which he made Israel to sin.” Where the kings go, so go the people. And if the king forgets history, the people will follow him into folly.
Moses wrote, “Only be careful, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things which your eyes saw, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life; but make them known to your children and your children’s children.” We are to hold fast the knowledge we have about God and His laws, and we are to teach them to our children. It is not only the rules we should remember and hold dear to our hearts, but rather it is the story of God and His relationship with His people that will keep us well. God does not love us because we have obeyed His statutes and ordinances. God loved. He showed His love in many ways and then He called His people to live in that love. He gave the rules to keep His people in that love. We obey to stay in the gift, and we teach our children so that they too will remain in God’s loving care.
We are reminded by the history of God’s people that He disciplined His sons and daughters whenever they did not obey His Word. Though we live under a New Covenant, forgiven by grace and loved without condition, we are also disciplined by our Father. We suffer the consequences of our disobedience, but God loves us with mercy and faithfulness. He calls us to a life of obedience as His children, saved by grace to honor Him before the world.
Psalm 119 uses those same words as found in the text from Deuteronomy, along with six other words. It seems redundant as we read this text in English, and we struggle with the focus on the Law. Yet each of these words have a unique meaning. While statutes and ordinances give us a full range of laws about our relationships with God and mankind, the rest of the words fill out the idea of God’s Word, showing us that God’s Law is more than rules; it is also promise and justice and guidance.
In today’s stanza, the psalmist longs to obey God’s word because he is thankful for God’s faithfulness. Here is my own paraphrase of these eight verses. “The testimony of God is wonderful, so I treasure it in my soul. As your word is spoken, it brings light and helps us understand. I anxiously desire all God’s law. Have mercy on me according to your justice. Guide me according to your promise so that I won’t sin. Save me from oppression so I can live according to your appointed authority. Make your face shine on me, teach me how to worship you. I grieve that they do not know your teaching.”
I grieve because too many today do not know God. Many think they do, but they misunderstand the reality of God’s love. Love is not a free-for-all; love demands obedience because Love has given us the best path to walk for our own sakes and for His. To continue to sin means disrespecting the grace that has been gifted to us and we’ll find ourselves being disciplined. This discipline is not meant to punish, but our Father allows the consequences of our sin to bring us back to the way He would have us live.
Today’s Gospel text focuses on the laws as they were understood in the religious community during Jesus’ day. They expected the people to live according to a set of rules that were more about tradition than God’s Law. There are some communities that are closed to outsiders, which is what had happened to the Jews in that time. There were rules that went against the ways of their neighbors, rules designed to set them apart. Some came from God, not to separate them, but because they were what was best for them. There are still closed communities today, each with rules that set them apart. Some folk live in gated housing communities, others belong to fraternities. Some people work in businesses that are very tightly knit, which makes it hard for an outsider to get their foot in the door. Small towns can be closed communities. Churches can even be closed communities.
However, that’s not the way the Church is meant to exist. I recently heard someone say that Jesus made access to God available to all people, not just those who fit into the community established in the scriptures. He didn’t come to abolish the Law but opened the way for all of us to live according to His Word. He reminded the people that obedience to God’s law did not give them access to God. Faith gave access to God and that access gives us the freedom to live within the healthy boundaries He has established. Like all communities, especially the ones that are closed to outsiders, we like to create new rules, adding to those God gave us, to keep them out. We make it too difficult for people to be part of our community, just like those Pharisees who refused to eat with outsiders and who were offended by dirty hands.
There is no doubt that handwashing is a valuable practice for our health. We pass so many germs between one another when we shake hands, pass money, or handle food. Florence Nightingale changed the nature of health care with the simple practice of washing hands regularly, and the practice is continued today. Jesus wasn’t telling us in today’s lesson that we should not wash our hands.
I wonder what the conversation might have been like if the Pharisees had asked a slightly different question. They asked, “Why don’t your disciples walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with unwashed hands?” What if they had asked, “Why do your disciples eat their bread with defiled hands against the Word of God?” God gave the law about cleanliness for a purpose; it is healthy and sanitary to cleanse the hands before eating. However, the Pharisees were more concerned about the disciples obeying the traditions as they did, rather than keeping the Word of God.
Jesus answered their question with a statement about how they hold their tradition above the Law. Moses gave them the Law that says “Honor your mother and your father” but they were willing to accept a vow that would dishonor that authority. The vow, that everything belonged to God, was not lived out as if everything actually belonged to God, but rather was a convenient excuse not to take care of one’s mother and father. The tradition was held above the Law to honor parents and was abused and misused by justifying dishonorable and unfaithful practice. The Pharisees really did not care whether or not the hands were dirty, only that the people who claimed to be “holy” fit into their mold. Jesus turned the tables. He answered their questions with the intent of God’s Law and opened the door for more people to dwell in the presence of God.
They lifted the traditions of the elders above the Word of God and created barriers that God never intended. They saw anyone who did not live up to their expectations as people who could not enter into the temple of God. However, Jesus ripped down those curtains and invited those who believe to enter into God’s presence. He enlarged the borders of God’s kingdom rather than building the walls of exclusivity. He gave us the freedom to live in obedience to the Law of God without being bound to the laws of men.
There is a lot of law talk in today’s passages. Deuteronomy is, of course, a book of laws. In it we see God teaching them to live in their new world. They were going to face tough times; the world would constantly try to turn them from Him. The rituals and practices were given as a way to stay focused on the life He meant for them in the Promised Land, to help them avoid falling into the traps of pagan worship. They were also given to make Israel stand out from the rest of the nations. They were set apart for a purpose, to be God’s people and through which God would send His salvation.
Non-believers like to trot out the old rules to prove that Christians are hypocrites and foolish. After all, some of the rules from the Old Testament seem ridiculous to those of us today and we don’t follow some of them. Take pork, for instance. We eat pork; most of us do, anyway. Bacon makes everything better, doesn’t it? We wear mixed blends of fabric. We cross breed animals. People get tattoos (and for some in ministry, it is even considered “cool.”) These are just a few examples of ways we no longer live by the laws according to the scriptures. Those non-believers point out our hypocrisy of ignoring these rules but demanding obedience from others.
We live in a New Testament perspective and understand that certain rules found in the scriptures that were culturally important. We also know that God gave those rules to help us live well. We don’t reject pork, mixed fabrics, mules, or tattoos, but we do respect the rules because we know God had our best interests in mind when He gave them. Pork can be dangerous because pigs are garbage collectors and eat foods that with disease that can ultimately harm our bodies. Modern refrigeration and production make those food stuffs not only delicious, but also safe to eat. We still must be careful because those meats improperly stored and cooked can make us sick, but we have the knowledge to do it well today. Mixing linen and wool is not recommended because the fabrics are so different that the garment would not last. Heavy wool can rip the much more delicate linen. While we have developed good production methods for mixing blends that last, we also know that pure cotton has a much better quality than that which is mixed.
The problem with the argument that we are hypocrites because we eat bacon and wear cotton/polyester blends is that there is a misunderstanding about the Law and the laws. It is, in a sense, like talking about apples and oranges: both are good for you, but they serve different purposes. The laws were given to protect God’s people; the Law was given so that God’s people would look to Him.
As Christians we know and understand that the Law has been fulfilled in Jesus Christ. In today’s Gospel, Jesus was teaching the people that they had become so caught up in following the rules that they lost the intent of God’s Word. Jesus told the crowds that it isn’t what goes into the mouth that makes a man unclean, but what comes out of the mouth. Faithfulness is not dependent on the menu, but on the thoughts, ideas, and practices of our hearts. When we are questioned about our bacon cheeseburgers, we can point to Jesus’ own words. Some manuscripts even include an explanation of what Jesus meant: “This he said, making all meats clean.” We should still be careful about the foods we eat, but we need not worry that what goes into our mouths will harm our relationship with God.
Does it matter if we eat bacon or wear cotton/polyester blends? Not really. We need not live in the past. What matters to our life in Christ is that we live according to the Word of God in a way that glorifies Him and shines His light to others. This is why it is important to remember Moses’ words in today’s Old Testament passage. God’s people repeatedly forgot their history and suffered the consequences of disobedience to His Word. We have been given the story of Israel to learn the lessons that keep us on the right path of life in God’s kingdom.
The Law is a gift. It was never meant to be a burden; God gave the Law for a purpose. He is glorified by our obedience because the world sees how much better life is when we live rightly. The Babylonians saw that Daniel and his friends were healthier than those who ate the food of the palace. Israel was a great nation not because they deserved fame and success, but because they were chosen to manifest God’s plan for the world.
Our obedience glorifies God.
God calls us to live our best life. If that means avoiding food that can harm us, then we should avoid those foods. If it means being good stewards of our resources by buying the best quality clothing, then we should do that. If it means avoiding situations that might cause us to sin, then we had best avoid those situations. As children of God, we are meant to be a light in the darkness and the voices that invite people to hear God’s Word of salvation.
God calls us to be obedient, but not in the manner of the Pharisees who lift man’s laws and traditions above His Word. He calls us to faith, that we might dwell in Christ who is the tabernacle of God that dwelt amongst His people. We are saved to be the kind of people who not only know the statutes and ordinances, but also live His Law fully. We are called to be people who do not add to the word or take away from it, who take care of those in need and who live a life that is good, right, and true according to God’s word.
What kind of world would it be if more people responded to God’s grace with lives by honoring Him with obedience? The psalmist encourages us to grieve for those that do not know God’s teaching and we are invited to go out into the world to speak Gods’ Word so that they might hear and believe.
It is good to remember our past so that we won’t repeat it. Israel was commanded to teach their children and their children’s children about all God did for them. We should study the rules that have been given in the scriptures, to make sure we are living the best life that God intends for us. Unfortunately, the world will constantly try to get us to turn from our God. Satan will even use God’s Word and the traditions of the elders to try to convince us that there is a better way. He’ll give us ways to justify our actions. He will make self-righteousness seem to be godly, but if we aren’t careful, he will twist God’s word in a way that will make us turn from God.
Paul helps us by teaching us how to keep our hearts and minds on Jesus. The armor of God provides us with everything we need to stand against that which aims to turn us against Him. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, Word, prayer, and perseverance are the guardians of our relationship with Him. As we dwell in those gifts, God’s blessings will flow out of our lives into the world, taking the salvation He promised to all those who hear so that they, too, might live the life God intends for them.
Jesus opened the door so that we can have a place in God’s Kingdom. It will be hard; we will be tempted to follow the rules of this world, ignoring the statutes and ordinances given that we might live our best life. The life of obedience was never meant to be a struggle; it gives us the freedom to be who God has created, redeemed, and called us to be. In this way we glorify Him, acting as witnesses to His grace, and through us God will make His Word known to all the world so that they, too, might be saved.
August 29, 2024
“At that time, Herod the tetrarch heard the report concerning Jesus, and said to his servants, ‘This is John the Baptizer. He is risen from the dead. That is why these powers work in him.’ For Herod had arrested John, and bound him, and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. For John said to him, ‘It is not lawful for you to have her.’ When he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet. But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced among them and pleased Herod. Therefore he promised with an oath to give her whatever she should ask. She, being prompted by her mother, said, ‘Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptizer.’ The king was grieved, but for the sake of his oaths and of those who sat at the table with him, he commanded it to be given, and he sent and beheaded John in the prison. His head was brought on a platter and given to the young lady; and she brought it to her mother. His disciples came, took the body, and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus. Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place apart. When the multitudes heard it, they followed him on foot from the cities.” Matthew 14:1-13, WEB
We like a bargain. That is certainly true for me these days as I’m trying to remake my wardrobe. I don’t want to spend too much money, but there is nothing in my closet that was there a year ago. It can be expensive, so I’m shopping cheap. Sale racks are filled with last year’s styles and discount stores have designer seconds that are as good as you would find in the expensive chains. My best day was when I found a store that had every clearance aisle marked down an extra 50%! The problem is, I don’t really like to shop for clothes, and I hate trying them on, so I’ve bought a few pieces because they were a real bargain that I should have left on the rack.
I once saw a report about people’s shopping habits. At that time, about forty percent of Americans have purchased something just because it was on sale. All too often the items were things they did not need and will never use. Closets are filled with clearance items that still carry the tags, dresses that have never been worn or shirts that could not be matched with a skirt or pair of pants. I can tell you that this is true because as I’ve cleaned out my old clothes, I have found too many items I never wore. People will justify purchasing a $1000 television that was originally $2000 that they can’t really afford at even the sale price but buy it anyway because it was half off.
They end up in debt, using credit cards to pay for their terrific deals. They convince themselves that they have saved so much money that it is like having money in the bank, even though they never would have spent that money and now they are out a thousand dollars. We are all guilty sometimes of shopping beyond our means, running after treasures “on sale” even though they end up costing even more because we have charged them on credit without being able to pay it off.
It is no wonder that many people think that Americans are only interested in material possessions. Our homes are filled with things we don’t need; our closets filled with outfits we’ll never wear. It is probably true throughout the western world. There is something about human nature that seeks having as much “stuff” as possible, and yet there is something that we seek even more. We chase after power. After all, when Salome was offered anything up to half the kingdom, she asked for the head of John the Baptist. It might not have been what she really wanted, but she was being obedient to her mother who sought power over John. Of course, she was being obedient to her mother who was seeking power over John.
John had a huge following until Jesus gained popularity. John the Baptist heralded the coming of the Christ, proclaiming the kingdom of God and calling for the repentance of the people. He was sent first to warn the Jews that they must turn back to God, or they would miss the Messiah for whom they were waiting. The Jews were longing for deliverance; they wanted to be freed from the Romans that bound and oppressed them in that age. Yet, they did not realize they were bound by an even harsher master: sin and death. It was not an earthly kingdom that was coming, but God’s kingdom and the salvation that was to be offered was not for the flesh. Jesus Christ brought eternal life to those who believe and John the Baptist prepared the way.
Yet, a time came when John had to decrease. It would have been much better if John could have just retired to the wilderness, but John’s life ended in a horrific and pointless way because one woman craved power and control. Few people really have the kind of power that was wielded by Herodias, Salome and Herod, but we aren’t much different than them. Our quest for money and stuff may be obvious, but we all find ways to take hold of the power we need. The boss wields power over the employees, parents wield power over children. The person with the most toys wins in our world. The person with the most money can control what happens. The person with the most money seems to be able to always get even more.
In most things, Mark’s Gospel is a rapid, almost journalistic accounting of the events surrounding the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, but the story of John is more extensive in his Gospel, as he flashes back to the story of the party. (Mark 6:14-29) It was not enough to imply Herod’s judgment against John; Mark wrote about the rumors that Jesus might be a prophet or Elijah, and that Herod feared Jesus was the beheaded John the Baptist raised from the dead, Jesus only became widely known after John was beheaded and He was doing things that no man could do. He came out of nowhere, so it seemed, and Herod worried that John came back to destroy him.
This is perhaps why Mark gives us a flashback to the story of John’s death. According to Mark, John preached against the unseemly relationship between Herod and Herodias, since she was his brother’s wife. Herodias wanted John dead. Herod willingly imprisoned John but refused to have him killed. Herod actually liked to listen to John and was afraid because John seemed to have power greater than his own. Herodias waited for a convenient moment to get the control she desired. It came when Herod was having a huge banquet with all the important people of his kingdom. Herodias’ daughter danced for them, and Herod was so besotted that he promised anything she desired. She asked her mother, and they demanded John’s head. Herod feared John but was more concerned about his image in the eyes of the great officials in his banqueting hall, so he had John beheaded and the head given to the girl on a platter.
I doubt the girl really appreciated the gift. She probably would have preferred jewels or dresses or a handsome husband. But she wanted to make her mother happy. Herodias’ hatred of John brought his life and ministry to an end. John decreased in the most dramatic way. As horrific as this story is, it was necessary for John to have a definitive end so that there would be no confusion as to who the disciples should follow, like the confusion we see in Herod. Some of John’s disciples were already moving toward Jesus, but without their leader, the rest could move on to the One who was the true Messiah. There were many who still did not believe, but John accomplished his purpose: to make the way of the Lord.
Today we remember the beheading of John the Baptist. This story reminds us that hatred leads to horrific and pointless acts; the quest for power destroys life. We are called to live differently. It might seem obvious to us that in our Christian faith we should not be wasting our resources on items we’ll never use. We are given wisdom that helps us to know that it is foolish to think that we are saving money by buying something on sale. However, we fail to realize that our quest for “stuff” comes from that deeper need for power. When given the opportunity to choose, our sinful nature would most likely respond like Herodias, seeking power over fortune because those with power also have control over other things like money. Yet, in Christ we have a greater power and an even greater fortune. We are made heirs to the kingdom of heaven, given the power of God to forgive and to heal. We won’t appear to be powerful or fortunate, we might even appear poor to the rest of the world because we don’t have it all, but we will have so much more because we will belong to God through the grace of Jesus Christ our Lord.
August 30, 2024
“Then he opened their minds, that they might understand the Scriptures. He said to them, ‘Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.’” Luke 24:45-48, WEB
As a writer, I respect the intellectual rights of other writers. I try to attribute quotes to those who first spoke them. It isn’t easy, many quotes that can be found on the Internet are not attributed to a specific person because the words are brief and the thoughts so common that they could have been said by anyone. Even famous quotes are often difficult to credit to a specific person. I have often found that multiple sites give different sources for the same phrases. Other sites show the differences between two authors who said the same thing in slightly different ways. In the process, one person, perhaps the more famous, gets the credit for the idea no matter the words, ignoring the true speaker even if he or she was the first to put forth the idea.
It gets particularly confusing when people take credit for work that is not theirs. When I first began my website, I included the text from several bible studies or workshops I had presented. One of those studies had to do with prayer. As part of the workshop, I used a skit I had heard several years earlier. The skit showed a conversation between God and someone praying. The person praying was in a rush, wanting to say the words and rush off to other things, but God had another idea. As the person prayed the Lord’s Prayer, God broke in and asked questions, teaching the meaning of the phrases. When I saw the skit originally, I asked the performers for a copy. I included the script on my website with the study and gave credit to the authors who were listed on the original email.
I received an email a few years later from a gentleman who claimed to be the author of the skit. The first email was polite, and he asked that I change the credit on my website. He told me that he wrote the skit in 2006, during a difficult time of his life. It helped him through the tough times. I responded with surprise that he could have written the story then, since I saw it, and used it in 1999. The email conversation went on for a while, and eventually included emails from the man’s daughter who threatened to sue me for using his work without permission. He insisted that my memory was faulty, that I could not possibly have used it seven years before he wrote it. I checked the Internet and found dozens of websites that had posted the story. I sent links to the websites that gave credit to the same authors as me, and other websites that had the text available without attribution but were dated well before 2006. I asked if he was going to sue all those groups for copyright infringement.
The conversation got nasty and a little bizarre. I tried to be patient, but the man was so insistent that he wrote the skit that he believed any proof I sent was either faked or mistaken. I have to admit that I was upset because the daughter repeatedly called me a liar. They insisted on physical proof for my dates, asking for the original script from the authors. I didn’t have any script; I didn’t even have the email any longer, since it had been so long since I had the original piece: about ten years, three houses, several email addresses and a couple computers. I solved the problem by removing the text from my website.
I got another email from the man sometime later. I don’t know what happened, or how it happened, but he realized his mistake and he apologized. He said he didn’t understand how he could have been so mistaken about writing the skit, but he knew that he was wrong. I wrote back, accepted his apology and offered some words of forgiveness and encouragement. I told him that I was not angry with him, but that I was very disappointed that his daughter’s responses were so nasty and unchristian. He apologized for her, but she never said a word. The worst part of this experience was that the woman made a big deal about her Christianity, boasted about her power and high position in a Christian publishing company and her intent to destroy my ministry. How does a Christian get to the point of treating a brother or sister in Christ with such contempt?
I know I am not perfect. I responded to this experience with anger and frustration. I tried to be gracious but failed miserably. I try to give proper attribution when I quote someone, but it can be so hard when there is so much misinformation on the Internet. I try to make amends when I make a mistake or when I act against the expectations of my God. Christianity is about reconciliation, and it is up to us to work toward making things right between on another. We will sin; we will fail one another. We will respond in unchristian ways. What matters in the end, however, is to manifest the love of God in confession and absolution, in the mercy and forgiveness shared between those who have been saved by the grace of Jesus Christ. That’s the unique witness we have to give the world.