Daily Devotion for Lent 2021 - Day 33

Scripture Reading: 2 Corinthians 6

Paul is pushing on toward salvation in Christ for the Corinthians.  He quotes from Isaiah 49:8 which reads in its entirety:

Thus says the Lord: In a time of favor I have answered you, on a day of salvation I have helped you; I have kept you and given you as a covenant to the people, to establish the land, to apportion the desolate heritages;

The idea of God giving Israel as a covenant to the people is a strong theme in Isaiah and also becomes the narrative for the people following Christ.

I've always found going uphill 
is easier with friends.

Paul holds onto this mission as he lists all of the things he has endured through verses 4 and 5.  Many of that day might look at all of these things and ask, "Are you sure that you are doing God's will?"  

Paul's faith is an optimism that allows for suffering in the world and may even expect it.  But Paul's faith transforms suffering.  Paul sees hardships through the lens of faith in Christ as opportunities to show others how they too can overcome suffering.  

The challenge for us comes when Paul speaks of his love being wide open without restriction for the Corinthians.  But he also acknowledges that this affection may not be reciprocated.  

Have you ever loved a child that was angry with you?  In our most immature moments, we may yell back if they have hurt our feelings with a particularly effective barb.   But at our finest, we don't regress to that level and continue to remain calm and offer love and guidance.  Paul references this image as he states, "I speak as to children" and implores them to "open wide your hearts also."

It is important for us to remain open hearted to those who may not be at the same place.  This is a characteristic of Christians and our interactions may give us our own list of hardships and endurances!  

Paul's letter takes a turn here to speak of marriage with a non-Christian through 7:1.  Then it picks back up where verse 13 left off in 7:2.  Some scholars think that this was a fragment from another letter that was inserted here.  It seems to refute what he said to them earlier in 1 Corinthians 7:14: 

For the unbelieving husband is made holy through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy through her husband.

Paul finishes with words from the Hebrew Bible.  The material seems to be a mashup of Leviticus 26:12, Ezekiel 37:27, Isaiah 52:11 and 2 Samuel 7:14.  

Why the seeming switch in thought?  Possibly, the community during his earlier letter was not large enough for marrying within the congregation.  As the church began to branch out, it also might be difficult for a fledgling faith to hold onto its identity if there was a lot of pagan thought influencing the church through multiple spouses that believed otherwise.

Today, we do not prohibit marriage with non-Christians.  For this we tend to rely on the earlier thought of Paul rather than the latter!  Maybe this is the way that we are opening wide our hearts today!

Prayer for the day:

Blessed God, we give thanks that you live in us and walk among us.  You are our God and we are your people.  Help us to remain faithful to you no matter the hardship.  May our suffering be transformed so as to remove any obstacles that would cause someone to stumble.  Amen.

Photo by Gordon Bell via Flickr.com.  Used under the Creative Commons license.

All scripture quoted is from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Wrestling with Reality

Ninth Sunday after Pentecost, Year A

Lectionary Reading: Genesis 32:22-31 (NRSV)

I've always liked the story about Jacob wrestling with God.  It has an earthiness to it with two men trying to dominate one another physically.  It also has a fantastical feel to it - as if it is almost dreamlike.  It can be allegorical in that we all wrestle with difficulties in the dead of night.

How many times have you ever had trouble sleeping because you were struggling with something?

It is interesting that Jacob asks for the wrestler's name but doesn't get it.  There was the notion from antiquity that said that if you knew the true name of a supernatural being, you would have power over that being.  We see that God doesn't comply with this request but God does bless Jacob.

There is also the strongly held belief that mortals are extinguished when they experience the fullness of God - see the face of God.  Bowing in prayer today still comes out of the idea of respect and deference to the divine - something greater than ourselves of which we should be somewhat wary.

Jacob is pleasantly surprised that he has not only survived the encounter, but he actually received God's blessing.  However, it should be noted that the encounter wasn't totally without cost as he walks away from it limping.

This reminds us that growth and maturity often come at a price.  To think that we can get through life unscathed may be somewhat naive.  

What does our wrestling look like today?  It may be that we are wrestling with all of reality as we seek to adjust to a present that is so different from what we knew just six months ago.  We wrestle with one another as we make these adjustments.  Sometimes we walk away with respect for one another but I think that a lot of the time the wrestling just leads to greater division between us.

A new poll taken by the Cato Institute shows that greater number of Americans are reticent to share their political opinions today than even three years ago.  This occurs across the political spectrum with only the extremely liberal as non-anxious about their expression.  This shows that our society as a whole may be growing more polarized and divided as tolerance for political variance wanes.

While on vacation last week, I listened to a podcast on reality.  It spoke about how people see things differently and their ideas shape their responses and actions.  They focused on a town in Minnesota where some people began feeding black bears.  These animal enthusiasts believed that when we lead with respect and carefulness, the black bears will peacefully coexist with us.  Some of the other residents believed that if the handouts were to dry up, the tenuous peace might end in humans being attacked.  Both groups became pretty adamant about their beliefs.  How do these differing groups shape the town response to wildlife control in their immediate urban setting?  Someone isn't going to be happy.

It made me wonder if we have become more entrenched in our views than we were before.  Today, we can set up an echo chamber through selected news media whether by cable television or internet.  We only hear the viewpoints with which we agree.  We only hear the other side cast in a negative light.  We don't stop and ask the question, "Why does my friend believe so differently?"  In other words, what do they get out of it?

Sometimes the reasons are supplied by the outlets.  

I don't think liberals hate America or freedom.

I don't think conservatives are malicious racists who want to keep others unlike them from succeeding.

But if we listen to voices that declare this, we do have difficulty then respecting the differing beliefs.  

You may want to stay in your 
weight class when wrestling.

If we believe the worst about others, it is easier to shut them out of our lives.  When this happens, we strengthen the echo chamber in which we live.  We can then visit with one another but very little wrestling will occur.  If it does, it is mostly harmless and we don't get much out of it.

But if we can wrestle with those who are different with a sense of respect for them, we might find that we are blessed by the encounter.  Yes, you might go off limping but the wider worldview is likely worth it.

I'll continue to wrestle with this text and these ideas in our worship on Sunday.  I'll try not to strike you in the hip.

In Christ,

Sam

Photo by Robert Bejil via Flickr.com.  Used under the Creative Commons license.

Daily Devotion for Lent 2020 - Easter Sunday

Scripture Reading: Acts 28:23-31 (NRSV)

And here we see the journey complete.  We started out in the first chapter of Acts with the disciples receiving the mission to be witnesses of the resurrection of Jesus "to the ends of the earth."  As I mentioned yesterday, the establishment of the church in Rome becomes a launching place for the entirety of the Roman empire which was their known world at that time.

Paul was not one of those who initially receives this instruction but he discovers it as the story of the church unfolds.  We are reminded of the exponential nature of the Christian witness.  At some point, it is likely that one of the original apostles baptized Ananias who initially received Paul and baptized him. 

We see Paul continue with his witness to both Jews and Gentiles.  Even though he has continually found opposition (sometimes violent) within the Jewish populations, enough have evidently been convinced that he continues to pursue conversations with them. 

We do see his frustration as he quotes from Isaiah 6:9-10 as does Jesus in Matthew in 13:14-15.  But we find that this applies to all people.  There will always be people whether Jew or Christian that do not follow through with the teachings that are laid out before them.

It is fitting that we see Luke describing that Paul shares the gospel boldly and without hindrance.  We don't see anything about Paul's martyrdom in Rome.  There's not even any hint of it.  While some scholars think that there was a sequel in the works by Luke, I'm not sure that Luke doesn't end the story here as a nod to the resurrection.  All of us eventually die be that by violence such as Paul or by old age which is how we would prefer.  But Paul is never more alive here than when he is sharing the gospel in the capital city of the world in which he lived!

And on Easter Sunday, we remember that the resurrection does give us life!  It reminds us to look past our current troubles and to remember that all things renew.  We see God at work in bold as well as subtle ways that lift our spirits and restore our souls. 

As you are a beneficiary of the early work of the apostles, what witness will you bear to the resurrection faith?  How will your story be a part of the larger story of God in the world?  What lives will you touch in a positive way that will look back to you with thankfulness that your paths crossed?

It doesn't take large actions but rather a sense of transformation.  One that bids us to pay attention to those things that build up rather than tear down.  And in this, Christ is alive - in you, in me and in the world.

Prayer for the day:

Gracious God, through the cross, you recognize the frailty of humanity.
In raising Christ from the dead, you move past any limits of frailty and finality.
May we too be raised with Christ.
Free us from the hindrance of sin.
Move us in the Holy Spirit to the freedom of love,
that our very being would be born anew,
and that our witness would emerge from our identification with this marvelous resurrection faith!
Amen.

Photo by Peter Roome via Flickr.com.  Used under the Creative Commons license.

Daily Devotion for Lent 2020 - Day 30

Scripture Reading: Acts 21:37-22:16 (NRSV)

We see that Paul is misunderstood not only by the Jews who seek to do him harm but also the Roman officials who are trying to keep the peace in Jerusalem.  The tribune thinks he is an Egyptian who was a false messiah who was seeking revolution in Jerusalem.  The historian Josephus tells about him in his fifth point of the thirteenth chapter of his "Of the War - Book II."

He gives Paul permission to speak to the crowd and Paul addresses them in Hebrew.  This would begin to soothe their notion that he's a foreigner trying to bring Gentiles into the temple.    Paul also makes reference to studying under Gamaliel who was earlier referenced by Luke in chapter 5 when Gamaliel saves Peter and the apostles by saying that if they weren't from God, then they would fail.  Gamaliel is known by writings outside of the Bible and was famous at the time.

This gives Paul even more credit among those who are listening.  He then tells them about how he did essentially what they were doing except under the authority of the religious elite.  So we can imagine Paul's irony in his addressing them.  He can't really blame them or feel enmity for them for beating him and wanting him dead.  He can't help but see a younger version of himself in them.

Paul can do nothing but relay his experience of the risen Jesus and how he was healed by Ananias.  Note that Paul doesn't relay Ananias's vision from Jesus or that he is a Christian (as contained in Acts 9:1-22).  Rather, he describes him (truthfully but maybe leaving out some details) as a "devout man according to the law and well spoken of by all the Jews living there."  Note that Ananias calls upon Paul to be baptized for a repentance of sin and doesn't mention the Holy Spirit.  This would sound similar to the baptism of John which would have still been familiar to those in Jerusalem.

Sometimes to understand where we are going,
we have to understand where we've been.

Paul is establishing common ground with them.  He is trying to get them to come along with him so that maybe they will be willing to take a similar journey for themselves.

Sometimes when we grow in faith, we deconstruct ideas that we had earlier in life.  Some people deepen their understanding to where they see a broader understanding of God in the world.  For others, they stay locked into a fairly simple cosmology.  Things are more black and white as they were for Paul earlier in his life.  The risen Christ has deconstructed his earlier understandings that would make him want to participate in persecutions. 

Think about your own journey of faith.  Are there things that you believed earlier in your life that you see differently today?  Has your interpretation of certain scriptures changed?  How did you think of God when you were a child?  A teenager?  Today?

Prayer for the day:

Let the healing grace of your love, O Lord,
so transform me that I may play my part
in the transfiguration of the world from a place
of suffering, death and corruption to a realm
of infinite light, joy and love.
Make me so obedient to your Spirit that my life
may become a living prayer,
and a witness to your unfailing presence.
Amen.

Prayer by Martin Israel, Anglican Priest, South Africa, 20th century

Photo by Lawrence OP via Flickr.com.  Used under the Creative Commons license.

All scripture quoted is from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
  

Daily Devotion for Lent 2020 - Third Sunday in Lent

Scripture Reading: Acts 11:1-18 (NRSV)

Is this little outsider how Peter saw
Cornelius and the other Gentiles?

Peter has some explaining to do.

Notice that his fellow apostles aren't immediately enthused about the success Peter has had in spreading the faith.  Rather, they criticized him for interacting and eating with Gentiles.

The fact that Luke retells the story that he just shared in the previous chapter should give us a clue as to how controversial this remained in Luke's church.

Leviticus 11 gives a long outline on which animals are considered clean and unclean.  It summarizes the discourse by ending with this idea in verses 46-47:

This is the law pertaining to land animal and bird and every living creature that moves through the waters and every creature that swarms upon the earth, to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean, and between the living creature that may be eaten and the living creature that may not be eaten.

In other words, basic to their cultural identity was to be discriminating.  In fact, you had stories such as Daniel who lived in the royal palace in Babylon but refused to eat anything but vegetables so that he wouldn't defile himself. 

Is it any wonder that Peter would receive some hostile feedback on his missionary journey?

After Peter relates everything that happened, I like how Luke records that "they were silenced."  Then they praised God but I wonder if "praised" fully encompassed all that they felt in that moment.

Experience reminds us that it is one thing to be transformed by the people we encounter but it is distancing to hear about it from someone else.  Doubts are more likely to creep in, especially when something fundamental to our identity is being dismissed.

Within my lifetime, one cultural change that seems minor today (in comparison to what Peter was trying to do) is eating and drinking in the sanctuary.  It was considered at one time the height of disrespect to even bring any drinking cup or glass into the sanctuary.  This still bothers some Christians and there seems a direct correlation between the age of the person to the amount of irritation it causes.  When I was appointed at Piedmont, we built the sanctuary to also double as a fellowship hall.  Chairs could be rearranged and tables brought in to provide meals for the congregation and community.  Many older members were disturbed by this multipurpose use of the sanctuary.

While no one came to blows over this, it wasn't near as ingrained as the dietary laws were in Peter's time.  His story today reminds us to reassess our own resistance to change.  Where is the next generation of Christians moving us that seems uncomfortable?  What do we hear that silences us?

Prayer for the Day:

Psalm 67

May God be gracious to us and bless us
    and make his face to shine upon us,
that your way may be known upon earth,
    your saving power among all nations.
Let the peoples praise you, O God;
    let all the peoples praise you.

Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
    for you judge the peoples with equity
    and guide the nations upon earth.
Let the peoples praise you, O God;
    let all the peoples praise you.

The earth has yielded its increase;
    God, our God, has blessed us.
May God continue to bless us;
    let all the ends of the earth revere him.


Photo by charamelody via Flickr.com.  Used under the Creative Commons license.

All scripture quoted is from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Daily Devotion for Lent 2020 - Day 16

Scripture Reading: Acts 10:24-48 (NRSV)

Peter meets up with Cornelius in today's reading and I find it interesting that he begins to worship Peter.  If he really thought he was divine, it seems a bit presumptuous to have those under you to fetch him to you rather than go to him.  This makes me re-evaluate how I treat God on a daily basis.

It may be surprising to see how Jews really thought of Gentiles.  The sense of separation that they were supposed to have was from one school of thought within Judaism.  That was the sense that they were set aside as a holy people.  To interact with Gentiles would profane them and thus their ability to be God's covenant people.

Deuteronomy 7:1-6 lines this out quite clearly with lines that stand out when interacting with outside tribes like, "you must utterly destroy them", "show them no mercy", and "do not intermarry with them".  Of course, this reads differently if you are a minority, persecuted people.

Another school of thought was the idea that God's people were to be a light to the nations.  This occurs within the Suffering Servant passages in Isaiah that many Christians reinterpret to represent Jesus.  So it is no surprise that Christianity tends to fall more along the lines of this philosophy.  We see it as we are to witness to the ends of the earth.

Isaiah 42:6-7 reads:

I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness,
    I have taken you by the hand and kept you;
I have given you as a covenant to the people,
    a light to the nations,
       to open the eyes that are blind,
to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,
    from the prison those who sit in darkness.

Of course, this sounds like the ministry of Jesus.  Would it be that much of a stretch to see the Gentiles as a people imprisoned "who sit in darkness"?

So when you have two schools of thought that sometimes clash, something has to give.  For Peter, it is their separation from Gentiles.  When he states that "God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him" in verses 34-35 of chapter 10 of Acts, we see him putting the controversy over God-fearers to bed.  There must have been some who would have questioned whether God would even hear the prayers of a Gentile in that day.  There always seems to be this limiting of God as we have had prominent Christian pastors question whether God receives the prayers of Jews today.

This understanding that God is universal is a part of the theology of prevenient or preceding grace.  It is a generosity of spirit and allows for God to be present in places that may be foreign to you. 

Jesus reminds us, "I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold."

So when Peter asks the question, "Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?" it reminds us of the similarly loaded question that the Ethiopian eunuch asked of Philip.  Luke includes these questions in Acts because they are still being worked out practically in the churches of that day.  Some people would say "No, of course not" but others would undoubtedly say, "Yes, they are heathens and undeserving of baptism."

This would have us ponder the entire idea of grace.  Who does deserve baptism?

I do like the wonderful reminder as a United Methodist within our doctrinal document, By Water and the Spirit, which states, "There are no conditions of human life that exclude persons from the sacrament of baptism." 

While this may be aspirational for us today, I do think it is good to lift up what we're striving for and see that it comes from our very beginnings as a church.

Prayer for the day:

Gracious God, 
it is through the Sacrament of Baptism
that you initiate us into Christ's holy Church.
We are incorporated into your mighty acts of salvation
and given new birth through water and the Spirit.
All this is your gift, offered to us without price.
May we reaffirm our faith and renew the covenant declared at our baptism,
acknowledging what you are doing for us,
and affirming our commitment to Christ's holy Church.
Amen.

Prayer adapted from The United Methodist Church's Introduction to the Baptismal Service.

Photo by Jeff Ashton via Flickr.com.  Used under the Creative Commons license.

All scripture quoted is from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Daily Devotion for Lent 2020 - Day 13

Scripture Reading: Acts 9:1-22 (NRSV)

The apostle Paul (known as Saul in the text) is ready to round up those with whom he disagrees - namely, those who claim Jesus to be the Messiah.

Paul becomes the poster boy for those who play out their dogmatism with violence.

He discovers that these followers of The Way may be more than misguided blasphemers.

This is the first of three accounts of his conversion experience that Luke relates through Acts.  In his own words, Paul confirms in Galatians 1:13 that "I was violently persecuting the church of God and was trying to destroy it."

This first account is my favorite because it focuses on the story through the eyes of the disciple, Ananias.  He first finds out about his enemy's condition through a vision from Jesus.  I like how he responds by telling Jesus who Saul really is.  You can almost hear him saying, "Well, Jesus, you may not know this about Saul, but let me tell you a few things..."

Sometimes we feel that we need to set God straight as if our viewpoint is so much clearer.

If God only knew what I know, we could avoid this whole trip to the house of Judas.  Just let him rot!

But Jesus has a different Way for his disciples than the way of the world.

Ananias gets a living reminder of the teachings of Jesus contained in Luke 6:27-28:

“But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you." 

and then we continue to see it play out in Luke 6:32-33:

“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." 

and finally, we hear these words which seem so applicable to Ananias and Saul in Luke 6:39:

 “Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit?

The perspective of Ananias concerning Saul is colored by the hurt he has received from his hands.  It is likely that he knows or is even related to people that had been arrested or persecuted under Saul's hands.  How quick would you be to offer healing if this were the case today?

And yet, God's knowledge of how grace is transforming will become reality if we can but trust.

It takes not only trust but a vulnerability on the part of Ananias.  He must show mercy in a way that transcends common sense!

But he actually succeeds in doing so.

And Saul turns 180 degrees from where he was.  His repentance takes hold!

His story of redemption truly is amazing just as the people who heard him acknowledged.

Is there a place in your life where you draw a line in the sand?  For me, I think it comes when I see my behavior or another's committing harm in the world.  I try to look at this story and don't want to later regret my behavior like Saul.  But the other question that this story has me asking is a little harder.  Where do I find it difficult to trust in how Jesus is leading me to forgive my enemy?

Do I really believe that God's grace is transforming?  Enough to offer it through my own sense of mercy to another?

Prayer for the day:

O Prince of Peace, who, when you were reviled, did not likewise revile, and on the cross did pray for your murderers, implant in our hearts the virtues of gentleness and patience.  In this may we overcome evil with good, and for your sake, love our enemies, and as children of our heavenly Father, seek your peace, and evermore rejoice in your love; through Jesus Christ our Savior.  Amen.


Prayer adapted from Treasury of Devotion, 1869.

Photo by CJ Sorg via Flickr.com.  Used under the Creative Commons license.

All scripture quoted is from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.