Daily Devotion for Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Scripture Reading for Today: John 13:21-32


Key verse for today: John 13:26, "Jesus answered, 'It’s the one to whom I will give this piece of bread once I have dipped into the bowl.' Then he dipped the piece of bread and gave it to Judas, Simon Iscariot’s son." 


Judas is the disciple whose very name is a synonym for betrayal.

The Judas Kiss by Gustave Dore' 1866

Recent treatment of Judas has been varied.  Mel Gibson's The Passion takes the harshest view.  In the film, after Judas betrays Jesus, he begins a descent into madness.  He sees the local children as demons who are tormenting him until he hangs himself.


Matthew's Gospel records the hanging but the demonic visions are the embellishment of Gibson.  


The Acts of the Apostles also tells about the death of Judas and the details are a little different if not more grisly.


The 1988 Martin Scorsese film, "The Last Temptation of Christ" was controversial for many reasons - one of which was his portrayal of Judas as a faithful disciple who only betrays Jesus because he is instructed by him to do so.  

Interestingly enough, this was essentially the portrayal of Judas in the 2006 rediscovery of a lost text entitled, The Gospel of Judas.  This is a Gnostic text considered heretical by the church.  It focuses on the spiritual nature being good while the earthly body is considered evil.  Within this text, Jesus seeks to escape the earthly bonds and Judas is the one to help him with this through his turning Jesus over to the authorities.


Both of these views of Judas stray from the New Testament's teaching.


I wonder if this is out of some sense of empathy for Judas.  Is is because we can't imagine someone who studied with Jesus - who spent so much time with Jesus - being able to turn against him for mere money?


We would like to invent a back story that helps to explain it.


Maybe we can see ourselves in Judas when we really look.  Are there ways in which we betray Jesus through our actions today?  A tough question but this is the Lenten season.  We may wonder if there is really any redemption for Judas because we are actually wondering if there is redemption for ourselves.


In actuality, the Gospel of Matthew mentions that Judas repents (reread the above Matthew link).  Did Jesus forgive Judas along with his other tormentors when he prayed, "Forgive them Father, for they don't know what they're doing" (Luke 23:34)?


I like to hold out hope for Judas because I hold out hope for all of us. And it says something about the nature and mercy of God.  After all, Jesus did teach us to pray, "Forgive us our trespasses just as we forgive those who trespass against us."


Breath Prayer: O Lamb of God, have mercy upon me.

Daily Devotion for Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Today's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 49:1-7

Key Verse from today's reading: Isaiah 49:7, "The LORD, redeemer of Israel and its holy one, says to one despised, rejected by nations, to the slave of rulers: Kings will see and stand up; commanders will bow down on account of the LORD, who is faithful, the holy one of Israel, who has chosen you."


Rejection is one human emotion that will make just about everyone cringe.


You can always put yourself in the person's place.





This is embarrassing for many reasons - I would hate to be that guy but on the other hand, I wouldn't like to be his girlfriend either.  The announcers seem at a loss for words as well. How would you like to be consoled by the Rockets' mascot on national television?

When we are rejected and have misread a situation (blind-sided), it seems worse somehow.  I was blind-sided twice in long-term relationships before I met Sheryl and these experiences can affect your ability to trust.

Isaiah writes about a role-reversal for the suffering servant.  The rejected becomes the acclaimed.  This could be seen as Israel who may have felt rejected by God during the period of exile in Babylon.  Later, Christian interpretation sees how it also describes what Jesus went through from the priestly and Roman authorities.  He is crucified but then exalted.

As we consider the rejection of Jesus and how he even felt rejected by God, any attempt at comparison (see video above) will really be found lacking.  And yet when we experience pain - especially by those we love, it is extremely real to us at the time.

As we remember our doctrine of the Trinity, we understand that God also experienced this rejection.  Our faith reminds us that God remains with us even when we don't sense God's presence.

One thing that is also true for humanity: shared pain is easier to endure.

When you are hurting, it is good to remind yourself that God hurts with you.

Breath Prayer:

Holy Spirit, stay with me.

or

Holy Spirit, heal through me.

Daily Devotion for Monday, April 2, 2012

Scripture Reading for Today: Isaiah 42:1-9

Key Verse for Today: Isaiah 42:6, "I, the LORD, have called you for a good reason.  I will grasp your hand and guard you, and give you as a covenant to the people, as a light to the nations,"

I was appalled to discover that my daughter Kyla was dealing with conflict with another girl saying mean things about her at school.  The appalling thing was that she was in first grade!

Our (mine and Sheryl's) first instinct was to swoop in and rescue her.  But putting someone else's child in her place is really not in the best interest for continuing to be a somewhat respected adult in the community. So we agreed that it would be best if Kyla worked this out on her own.  We told her that she just needed to talk it out with this girl.

I was so proud to hear that she did just that! She went right up to her on the playground and asked to speak with her.  Some of the girl's other friends were present and so Kyla told them that they need to talk in private (basically to buzz off but in a tactful way).  At this point, the girl was uncomfortably squirming.  Kyla asked her point-blank why she had been saying the mean things about her.

Now the squirming led to back-tracking and denial.  Kyla kept after her and finally got her to commit to not talking about her anymore.  As far as we knew, she never said mean things about Kyla anymore.  There were probably easier marks to pick on that wouldn't be quite so confrontational.  Or maybe she learned a lesson about saying rumors and untruths.

I would hope for the latter.

God was grasping Kyla's hand and guarding her through this process but was also working through her as a covenant to the people - a light to the nations so to speak.  Even if those nations were just first graders.

It may be odd to consider yourself as a covenant to other people.  But that is how God works in the world.  So the next time you are in a tough situation, imagine God grasping your hand.  And then using you as a kind of cosmic flashlight - shining light to a dark situation.

As we begin Holy Week, we realize that this is a part of our calling in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Breath Prayer: Blessed God, hold my hand.

Daily Devotion for Sunday, April 1, 2012

Today's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 50:4-9a


Key verse for today: Isaiah 50:6a, "I didn't hide my face from insults and spitting."


This is the third passage of the Suffering Servant theme contained in what scholars refer to as Second Isaiah.  As Christians re-read these suffering servant passages, we often do so through the lens of the cross.  They make sense in light of the passion of Jesus.


They also seem to give us insight into the very real suffering that Jesus went through on the cross.  One of the first heresies was docetism which claimed that Jesus only seemed to suffer on the cross.  They believed that he was spirit and didn't actually suffer.  


Both the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed declare that Jesus suffered.  They refute docetic ideas and take seriously his suffering.


The notion that not hiding from insults or spitting would portray weakness is false.  Isaiah's suffering servant (and later Jesus) portray strength through nonviolent resistance.  This nonviolent resistance was adopted in the 20th century by Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.  Dr. King talks about love and nonviolent resistance here:   




As we move into Holy Week, we must see the strength that was portrayed by Jesus Christ.  


How does his suffering help us to endure our own?


Breath Prayer: Blessed Jesus, give me strength.

Daily Devotion for Saturday, March 31, 2012

Today's Scripture Reading: Mark 10:32-34, 46-52

Key Verse for Today: Mark 10:50, "Throwing his coat to the side, he jumped up and came to Jesus."


What does it mean to trust?  Bartimaeus certainly trusted Jesus.  Today's verse stood out to me because this blind man threw his coat to the side.  This seems like kind of reckless behavior for someone who is blind.

Healing of a Blind Man by Brian Jekel
brianjekelfineart.com

Wouldn't you keep your possessions about you so that you could find them again?  I certainly don't think you would throw them to the side.

Unless you expected to see again.

That's some pretty bold trust going on in this story.  I wonder, "when have I ever trusted like that?"

When I wrote about my own mystical experience of God a couple of days ago, it was certainly profound.  It made a major impact upon my life. But as wonderful as it was, doubt still sometimes creeps in.

Did it really happen like that?

Was it God or was it my own longing for God that effected my senses like that?

These kinds of questions are fairly natural for anyone raised in the latter part of the 20th century.  We are taught to question which is helpful for scientific inquiry.  But it may get in the way when it comes to trust.

There were times when I sought out a similar experience.  I would hike and pray and meditate at Camp Egan in the years to come.  Once, while I was sitting under a small overhang, my prayers were cut short by some baby armadillos that were sniffing at me as their heads bobbed up and down.  I grinned at them and they eventually went back into their den.

Armadillos don't see very well.  Kind of like Bartimaeus.

But they trusted their smell to know that I wasn't a normal part of their world.

I realized that my desire for a repeat experience was simply a lack of trust.  The experiences we have may be varied and they don't have to be any less wonderful for being different.

Maybe coming to this understanding is a kind of trust.

I've thrown my need for an exact recurrence to the side like Bartimaeus threw his coat.

What is it that you need to cast aside before approaching Jesus?

Breath Prayer: Holy God, let me trust you.

The more we know about God's creation, the more we know about God.

Daily Devotion for Friday, March 30, 2012

Scripture Reading for today: Philippians 2:12-18


Key Verse for Today: Philippians 2:15b-16a, "Among these people (crooked and corrupt) you shine like stars in the world because you hold on to the word of life."


Paul wrote these words a long time ago.  The church grew and spread across the Mediterranean World largely because they were true.  What does it mean to shine like stars?  What does it mean to hold on to the word of life?


With the decline of Christianity in Europe and now the United States, will our faith shrink to a voice that has no power to shape our culture?  Some would argue that it already has.  I beg to differ.


There are many faithful Christians in the world today that hold on to the word of life.  And they do so in many different ways.


As a child, I remember our 5th grade Sunday school teacher.  He was a big guy who was there every week.  We were not the easiest class to teach.  We were on the 3rd floor and the windows opened to the parking lot. Many a paper airplane constructed from worship bulletins was launched from that window.  

1988 was the year
they began to use plastic
jars instead of glass.

Once before class, when we were having a food drive, we were inspecting all of the food that had been collected so far.  While holding onto a jar of peanut butter, I dropped it.  The glass jar shattered (yes, it was a long time ago) but the peanut butter held it together.  So we carefully placed it back in the boxes of food, thinking that if they were really hungry, they might go ahead and use it.


Our teacher came in and did discover it.  However, he didn't yell or call us idiots or irresponsible.  He seemed disappointed and said, "We can't give that" and promptly threw it away.  I felt like I let him down and I learned more about compassion for others than if he had raged at us.  I began to care about the hungry because he cared about them.  He shone like a star.  He held on to the word of life.


I think Earth Wind and Fire wrote Shining Star with this scripture in mind.  I don't have any proof but it fits for me: 


                 So if you find yourself in need
                 Why dontcha listen to these words of heed
                 Be a giant, or grain of sand
                 Words of wisdom - "Yes, I can"


Elijah once prayed to God how he was the only faithful person left.  God informed him that there were 7,000 left who were faithful.  In essence, God was saying, "There is the perfect number left for me to do what needs to be done."  


You are likely a part of the perfect number of faithful that God needs to work with to do what needs to be done today.  So hold on to the word of life.  You never know who will see you shining!


Breath prayer: Light of Christ, shine through me.
  

Daily Devotion for Thursday, March 29, 2012

Today's Scripture Reading: Philippians 2:1-11

Key verse for today: Philippians 2:5, "Adopt the attitude that was in Christ Jesus"

Notice that the expression is not a peaceful one.

Humility is a fruit of the spirit (often translated as gentleness) that may not be valued very highly in our culture.  When I was a young man in my college years, I had a propensity for profanity.  Not all the time but I didn't mind dropping some R rated language here or there.

I had come to the conclusion philosophically that language is just about ideas.  What some might consider inappropriate can easily be translated into an acceptable word or phrase.  For example, some parts of the reproductive organs of the human anatomy have plenty of potty synonyms.  But you can also look up the technical terms in the dictionary.  What makes one okay but another naughty?

I decided that desensitizing people wouldn't hurt them.

Except that it does.

With apologies to Jane's Addiction, being shocking for shockings' sake is not very humble.  It puts my own sense of moral certainty at the top of the heap and doesn't regard the feelings or sensitivities of others.

It took a while to learn this but I finally did.

This is one of the reasons I try to be politically correct when talking about other people.  I know this is a dirty phrase in and of itself in Oklahoma but it really means just treating people how they want to be treated.  

Paul asks us all to adopt the attitude that was in Christ Jesus.  This attitude was one of service to others.

There are lots of ways to serve.  Watching what we say in deference to the feelings of others is one way of humble service that brings us peace.

Which is not a bad thing at all.

When do you need to tame your tongue?

Breath prayer: Loving Christ, show me the way.