DAILY BYTE
I have always been fascinated by baptisms, especially as a child. I would watch my mother, who was one of our church’s ministers, go through the ritual with the water and prayer, but that wasn’t the end of it. At every baptism, there was a time, when I – we, as a congregation – also had words to speak!
We acknowledged yesterday that baptism is about being named a beloved child of God, and that this is a mysterious gift that God gives to each one of us, personally.
And yet, baptism is not only about being an individual child of God. Baptism is actually about being children of God in community. When we baptize someone into the community of faith, in the Methodist Church we commit all together to these promises: with God’s help members of the body of Christ will so maintain the common life of worship and service that all children among us may grow in grace and in the knowledge and love of God and of his son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. This is anything but a selfish and individualistic act.
In baptism, we understand ourselves to be beloved, but we also affirm the belovedness of others around us – even when we don’t feel like it or we’ve been hurt by others. Just as no one is prevented from being baptized, God affirms all of our belovedness and uses all of us in this family to transform one another gracefully and walk with each other through times of being in the desert wilderness.
We are all called to different things – but no matter what our specific gifts or vocations, each one of us has the ability to accept and extend grace, following the example of John the Baptist and preparing the way for Christ to do his great work of forgiving and redeeming.
And so, if you have already been baptized, think today about what that really means. How does your baptism change the way that you relate to others? Do you allow yourself to receive grace from God and from other people?
If you have not been baptized, think and pray about whether or not this is the time to accept God’s grace and become a part of a community that shares grace and love with one another. If you desire to be baptized, do not be afraid to speak with a minister!
PRAY AS YOU GO
Gracious God, we thank you for giving us your grace in baptism. Thank you for that sweet mystery and for the way it draws us together as a community – as a family. Together we die to ourselves and our own selfishness and desires, and together we rise to be born again and named as your beloved children. Help us to accept your grace and love, as it overflows in us, so that we learn to share it with others. Amen.
Friday, 24 September 2010
Thursday, 23 September 2010
Who Baptizes?
DAILY BYTE
What makes us unworthy of a calling, whether we’re ministers or teachers or auto-mechanics or prophets or prayers - one minute and seemingly worthy the next?? What makes us un-baptized one minute and baptized the next? Crazy people struggling in the wilderness one minute and holy people the next? For a response to that, we have to return to our friend John the Baptist. But John the Baptist is a bit deceivingly named. Because he may have dunked Jesus in the water of the Jordan River, but it was someone else who made that water holy.
John couldn’t - We cannot - be the people we are called to be, struggling through the wilderness and doing what we’re called to do, without recognizing that before anything else, our first calling in life is to accept the grace offered to us as beloved children of God. Before anything that we do on our own, we must see that the Holy Spirit has been working beforehand in ways that we can’t fathom. We must acknowledge the one who does the real work baptizing Jesus, calling out from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”
In the Gospel of Mark, the Holy Spirit descends soaring down like a dove to let us, the hearers of this story, in on a sweet mystery – that Christ is the beloved child of God. This is how the whole Gospel story of Mark begins. The fact that Jesus is a beloved child of God is the key to understanding everything else. The disciples in Mark trip up over their problems and imperfections constantly. But, even though they fail - even though we often fail today and feel unworthy of the callings we have in our lives and the opportunities to be a part of holy times like baptism - we are made worthy and given strength to do these things purely by the grace of God and the constant workings of the Holy Spirit around us and within us. Being in that water with that power of God is where we hear our true identity. Just as Christ was, we, too, are named beloved children of God. If you have not been baptized, God still loves you! God is simply still anticipating a time when you will accept the grace offered to you.
I performed my very first baptism a while ago, and it was a very special time. This was the moment, when so much of my training for ministry and learning about the theology of baptism would come to fruition – I would finally get to be “Anna the Baptist!” But then I dipped my hand into the water and found it to be surprisingly warm and enveloping, and I held a squirming baby who felt like he was trying to leap into the baptismal font on his own volition. I splashed some water on his head and signed him with a cross and prayed for him, and I could not have been more aware of the fact that this baptism had very little to do with me and my own strength and power and training – and it had everything to do with the power of God and the presence of the Holy Spirit, making that water and those rituals and that child anything but ordinary. God made him worthy of receiving grace – God named him a child of God, and there was nothing I, or he, could have done to earn it, deserve it, or change it.
GUIDING SCRIPTURE
Acts 19:1-7
While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul passed through the interior regions and came to Ephesus, where he found some disciples. He said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?” They replied, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” Then he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They answered, “Into John’s baptism.” Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus.” On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied – altogether there were about twelve of them.
IF YOU ARE FEELING BRAVE...
Ask yourself: How is the Holy Spirit working in my life? How do I understand my identity, as a beloved child of God?
What makes us unworthy of a calling, whether we’re ministers or teachers or auto-mechanics or prophets or prayers - one minute and seemingly worthy the next?? What makes us un-baptized one minute and baptized the next? Crazy people struggling in the wilderness one minute and holy people the next? For a response to that, we have to return to our friend John the Baptist. But John the Baptist is a bit deceivingly named. Because he may have dunked Jesus in the water of the Jordan River, but it was someone else who made that water holy.
John couldn’t - We cannot - be the people we are called to be, struggling through the wilderness and doing what we’re called to do, without recognizing that before anything else, our first calling in life is to accept the grace offered to us as beloved children of God. Before anything that we do on our own, we must see that the Holy Spirit has been working beforehand in ways that we can’t fathom. We must acknowledge the one who does the real work baptizing Jesus, calling out from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”
In the Gospel of Mark, the Holy Spirit descends soaring down like a dove to let us, the hearers of this story, in on a sweet mystery – that Christ is the beloved child of God. This is how the whole Gospel story of Mark begins. The fact that Jesus is a beloved child of God is the key to understanding everything else. The disciples in Mark trip up over their problems and imperfections constantly. But, even though they fail - even though we often fail today and feel unworthy of the callings we have in our lives and the opportunities to be a part of holy times like baptism - we are made worthy and given strength to do these things purely by the grace of God and the constant workings of the Holy Spirit around us and within us. Being in that water with that power of God is where we hear our true identity. Just as Christ was, we, too, are named beloved children of God. If you have not been baptized, God still loves you! God is simply still anticipating a time when you will accept the grace offered to you.
I performed my very first baptism a while ago, and it was a very special time. This was the moment, when so much of my training for ministry and learning about the theology of baptism would come to fruition – I would finally get to be “Anna the Baptist!” But then I dipped my hand into the water and found it to be surprisingly warm and enveloping, and I held a squirming baby who felt like he was trying to leap into the baptismal font on his own volition. I splashed some water on his head and signed him with a cross and prayed for him, and I could not have been more aware of the fact that this baptism had very little to do with me and my own strength and power and training – and it had everything to do with the power of God and the presence of the Holy Spirit, making that water and those rituals and that child anything but ordinary. God made him worthy of receiving grace – God named him a child of God, and there was nothing I, or he, could have done to earn it, deserve it, or change it.
GUIDING SCRIPTURE
Acts 19:1-7
While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul passed through the interior regions and came to Ephesus, where he found some disciples. He said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?” They replied, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” Then he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They answered, “Into John’s baptism.” Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus.” On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied – altogether there were about twelve of them.
IF YOU ARE FEELING BRAVE...
Ask yourself: How is the Holy Spirit working in my life? How do I understand my identity, as a beloved child of God?
Wednesday, 22 September 2010
Beloved Rain
DAILY BYTE
I’ve seen that we can have quite hectic rainstorms here in Durban. So, think today about the last rainstorm that you experienced. A significant one for me occurred while during the spring term of my last year at varsity in Minnesota in the United States. I was really struggling and had recently learned that the most precious person in the world to me was diagnosed with terminal cancer. I didn’t care about school anymore – I was tired of life – tired of searching for purpose in a world that seemed clouded by death. I was angry – that God would allow such horrible things to happen to the people I loved and frustrated that my faith couldn’t seem to cure. And, I was too proud to admit that under my façade of togetherness, I was falling to pieces under the stress and pressure to survive and perform – to show my friends, my mentors, and my family that I could make it on my own and was good enough and strong enough.
Well, winter in Minnesota – a time when it snows virtually every day – was fading into spring, and the snow was melting and giving way to some warmth. I sat at my desk one night, feeling pretty sorry for myself and trying to do some work when a friend knocked on my door. She was a sweet, Christian woman but also struggled with family problems and feelings of being defeated. It was not unusual for her to knock on my door just to sit and talk. But on this night, she banged on my door and said, “Come, Anna, see! It’s thundering and raining and hailing outside!” Now, under ordinary circumstances, it’s no one’s first choice to go stand outside and get pelted with ice, but I cared about my friend, and this was clearly important to her, so before I knew it we were standing together outside in the dark, our clothes dripping, in the rainy cold, and ice was stinging my face and arms, but it started to mix with tears from my eyes. I looked over and I could see my friend’s face glowing, smiling through the rain and the hail. From out of my chest, laughter and crying erupted all at once, as water soaked my feet and hair stuck to my face.
In that moment, it seemed God was saying, this is it – this is life. You may feel like you are alone, subject to the rain and hail of life, but I am here, all around you, stronger than you are, and yet, your tears are my tears. Your joy is my joy. You were forgiven and accepted into my family with everyone else, as a child of God in the waters of baptism, and you are accepted and loved again today and for all eternity. I heard God saying, I am the giver of the water of life, even in the midst of a world that seems to be drowning in death. Let me surround you with that life. Let me embrace you with it – let me say, you are forgiven and loved! Let you put down your bundle of pride and believe it, and let you live in peace.
Since we are not good enough and strong enough to tackle life on our own, in what ways is God raining his grace and love down on you? When you feel the rain this week, allow it to remind you of the waters of baptism, whether you have been baptized, or not. Picture grace for you in that rain from heaven, and be at peace.
PRAY AS YOU GO
O God, our heavenly Father, you who by your Son Jesus Christ promised to all those who seek your kingdom, and its righteousness, all things necessary for their sustenance: Send us, we pray, in our great need, such moderate rain and showers, that we may have water to drink, for our homes, gardens and fields, and also receive the fruits of the earth to our comfort, and your glory. May these rains remind us of the grace that washes over us in baptism and remains with us our whole life long, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
- Adapted from the Book of Common Prayer
I’ve seen that we can have quite hectic rainstorms here in Durban. So, think today about the last rainstorm that you experienced. A significant one for me occurred while during the spring term of my last year at varsity in Minnesota in the United States. I was really struggling and had recently learned that the most precious person in the world to me was diagnosed with terminal cancer. I didn’t care about school anymore – I was tired of life – tired of searching for purpose in a world that seemed clouded by death. I was angry – that God would allow such horrible things to happen to the people I loved and frustrated that my faith couldn’t seem to cure. And, I was too proud to admit that under my façade of togetherness, I was falling to pieces under the stress and pressure to survive and perform – to show my friends, my mentors, and my family that I could make it on my own and was good enough and strong enough.
Well, winter in Minnesota – a time when it snows virtually every day – was fading into spring, and the snow was melting and giving way to some warmth. I sat at my desk one night, feeling pretty sorry for myself and trying to do some work when a friend knocked on my door. She was a sweet, Christian woman but also struggled with family problems and feelings of being defeated. It was not unusual for her to knock on my door just to sit and talk. But on this night, she banged on my door and said, “Come, Anna, see! It’s thundering and raining and hailing outside!” Now, under ordinary circumstances, it’s no one’s first choice to go stand outside and get pelted with ice, but I cared about my friend, and this was clearly important to her, so before I knew it we were standing together outside in the dark, our clothes dripping, in the rainy cold, and ice was stinging my face and arms, but it started to mix with tears from my eyes. I looked over and I could see my friend’s face glowing, smiling through the rain and the hail. From out of my chest, laughter and crying erupted all at once, as water soaked my feet and hair stuck to my face.
In that moment, it seemed God was saying, this is it – this is life. You may feel like you are alone, subject to the rain and hail of life, but I am here, all around you, stronger than you are, and yet, your tears are my tears. Your joy is my joy. You were forgiven and accepted into my family with everyone else, as a child of God in the waters of baptism, and you are accepted and loved again today and for all eternity. I heard God saying, I am the giver of the water of life, even in the midst of a world that seems to be drowning in death. Let me surround you with that life. Let me embrace you with it – let me say, you are forgiven and loved! Let you put down your bundle of pride and believe it, and let you live in peace.
Since we are not good enough and strong enough to tackle life on our own, in what ways is God raining his grace and love down on you? When you feel the rain this week, allow it to remind you of the waters of baptism, whether you have been baptized, or not. Picture grace for you in that rain from heaven, and be at peace.
PRAY AS YOU GO
O God, our heavenly Father, you who by your Son Jesus Christ promised to all those who seek your kingdom, and its righteousness, all things necessary for their sustenance: Send us, we pray, in our great need, such moderate rain and showers, that we may have water to drink, for our homes, gardens and fields, and also receive the fruits of the earth to our comfort, and your glory. May these rains remind us of the grace that washes over us in baptism and remains with us our whole life long, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
- Adapted from the Book of Common Prayer
Tuesday, 21 September 2010
The Problem Child
DAILY BYTE
I once assisted with the baptism of a kid who was approximately six years old. He was a pretty ordinary kid – a bit rough around the edges with a cheeky sort of grin. But what I remember most about this child was that as he faced the baptismal font and turned his back toward me, I saw scrawled across his black t-shirt in menacing, lightning bolt-like font, “Beware – I’m a Problem Child!” I thought, what is going on in the life and family of this child that he would wear such a label, especially to his baptismal service?
We read today in the holy scriptures of a man who seems to be a bit of a problem child – maybe even crazy and doing some very strange things. Picture for yourself someone wandering around in the desert wilderness, wearing only the hide of a hairy animal, eating nothing but bugs and honey. This man clearly is not perfect – he doesn’t look perfect. I’m sure he doesn’t smell like honey, and he may seem a little bit crazy preaching not in the normal temple but out in the wilderness. Life seems a bit confusing for this guy, and life is problematic for us too, isn’t it?
Sometimes, we spend a lot of time wandering around in the desert wilderness feeling parched and confused. As we come into this new year, some of us are coming out of times of wilderness, some of us are smack dab in the middle of them, and some of us are about to enter some pretty tough times where we feel like our lives are full of craziness and confusion, our priorities need some serious re-evaluating, and we feel like our identity is consumed by our problems.
But you see, when John’s in the wilderness, he’s not just sitting by a cactus bemoaning his fate. He may be doing some very strange things, but his identity is not that of a person who has nowhere to turn for help in the wilderness and water in the desert. The Gospel of Mark doesn’t portray John as just an ordinary man with problems. John heads out into the wilderness knowing that even there, he has a specific calling – pointing to “the one who is more powerful than [he].” Even there, the waters of baptism are waiting for him to plunge in.
We don’t call this man, “John the Problem Child.” We call this man a prophet – someone who struggles through the scariness of life to use the gifts and callings they have been given to point the way to the Lord, the Holy One.
How do you identify yourself? As a problem child? As you think about specific wilderness problems or issues in your life today, where are you receiving water and in the desert and strength for the journey? In what ways might you also be a prophet?
GUIDING SCRIPTURE:
Mark 1:4-8
John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
I once assisted with the baptism of a kid who was approximately six years old. He was a pretty ordinary kid – a bit rough around the edges with a cheeky sort of grin. But what I remember most about this child was that as he faced the baptismal font and turned his back toward me, I saw scrawled across his black t-shirt in menacing, lightning bolt-like font, “Beware – I’m a Problem Child!” I thought, what is going on in the life and family of this child that he would wear such a label, especially to his baptismal service?
We read today in the holy scriptures of a man who seems to be a bit of a problem child – maybe even crazy and doing some very strange things. Picture for yourself someone wandering around in the desert wilderness, wearing only the hide of a hairy animal, eating nothing but bugs and honey. This man clearly is not perfect – he doesn’t look perfect. I’m sure he doesn’t smell like honey, and he may seem a little bit crazy preaching not in the normal temple but out in the wilderness. Life seems a bit confusing for this guy, and life is problematic for us too, isn’t it?
Sometimes, we spend a lot of time wandering around in the desert wilderness feeling parched and confused. As we come into this new year, some of us are coming out of times of wilderness, some of us are smack dab in the middle of them, and some of us are about to enter some pretty tough times where we feel like our lives are full of craziness and confusion, our priorities need some serious re-evaluating, and we feel like our identity is consumed by our problems.
But you see, when John’s in the wilderness, he’s not just sitting by a cactus bemoaning his fate. He may be doing some very strange things, but his identity is not that of a person who has nowhere to turn for help in the wilderness and water in the desert. The Gospel of Mark doesn’t portray John as just an ordinary man with problems. John heads out into the wilderness knowing that even there, he has a specific calling – pointing to “the one who is more powerful than [he].” Even there, the waters of baptism are waiting for him to plunge in.
We don’t call this man, “John the Problem Child.” We call this man a prophet – someone who struggles through the scariness of life to use the gifts and callings they have been given to point the way to the Lord, the Holy One.
How do you identify yourself? As a problem child? As you think about specific wilderness problems or issues in your life today, where are you receiving water and in the desert and strength for the journey? In what ways might you also be a prophet?
GUIDING SCRIPTURE:
Mark 1:4-8
John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
Monday, 20 September 2010
The question of baptism
DAILY BYTE
A while back, for the first time in my life, I was privileged with the task of baptizing a baby. This was an extremely exciting day for me, and I knew the parents of this child were also anticipating this momentous time.
Everything went well, as we went through the service and began the baptismal prayers. And then, it was time. I said something to the effect of, “And now we will baptize this child...” Only to be interrupted mid-prayer, as the baby, not even a year old, piped up with a clearly stated, “NO.”
No. The whole congregation had a good chuckle, as I did I, as I quickly interjected, “Yes!” But, I have thought often of this moment ever since. What is it that makes us say “no” to baptism? Or, if we are already baptized, what prevents us from living into that baptism and continuing on the baptismal journey of discovering more about the covenant that either we, or our parents, have made with God?
Are we afraid of the commitment? Do we think ourselves unworthy? Do we struggle to understand what the point of baptism really is?
And if we were baptized as children, do we lack a clear understanding of what took place in our baptism and why our parents or guardians made the decision they did on our behalf? Do we feel like our baptism has less meaning because we didn’t make the decision ourselves?
Are we struggling with the difficult questions that are asked at baptisms? Do we feel like we have slipped back and are no longer worthy of the vows we made? Have we simply forgotten or lost sight of the power behind this act?
Do you desire to say yes to the life-long journey of baptism, or do you feel yourself proclaiming a loud, ‘NO’?
CHALLENGE
This week we will be exploring the meaning of being baptized into the family of Christ. Take this opportunity to think back to your baptism. If you were too young and cannot remember it, take time to ask someone who might remember if they could tell you about it. If there is no one to tell you the story, or if you have not been baptized, spend time in prayer this week, asking God to reveal to you greater understandings of baptism in the name of Jesus Christ.
GUIDING SCRIPTURE
Acts 19:1-7
While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul passed through the interior regions and came to Ephesus, where he found some disciples. He said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?” They replied, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” Then he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They answered, “Into John’s baptism.” Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus.” On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied – altogether there were about twelve of them.
A while back, for the first time in my life, I was privileged with the task of baptizing a baby. This was an extremely exciting day for me, and I knew the parents of this child were also anticipating this momentous time.
Everything went well, as we went through the service and began the baptismal prayers. And then, it was time. I said something to the effect of, “And now we will baptize this child...” Only to be interrupted mid-prayer, as the baby, not even a year old, piped up with a clearly stated, “NO.”
No. The whole congregation had a good chuckle, as I did I, as I quickly interjected, “Yes!” But, I have thought often of this moment ever since. What is it that makes us say “no” to baptism? Or, if we are already baptized, what prevents us from living into that baptism and continuing on the baptismal journey of discovering more about the covenant that either we, or our parents, have made with God?
Are we afraid of the commitment? Do we think ourselves unworthy? Do we struggle to understand what the point of baptism really is?
And if we were baptized as children, do we lack a clear understanding of what took place in our baptism and why our parents or guardians made the decision they did on our behalf? Do we feel like our baptism has less meaning because we didn’t make the decision ourselves?
Are we struggling with the difficult questions that are asked at baptisms? Do we feel like we have slipped back and are no longer worthy of the vows we made? Have we simply forgotten or lost sight of the power behind this act?
Do you desire to say yes to the life-long journey of baptism, or do you feel yourself proclaiming a loud, ‘NO’?
CHALLENGE
This week we will be exploring the meaning of being baptized into the family of Christ. Take this opportunity to think back to your baptism. If you were too young and cannot remember it, take time to ask someone who might remember if they could tell you about it. If there is no one to tell you the story, or if you have not been baptized, spend time in prayer this week, asking God to reveal to you greater understandings of baptism in the name of Jesus Christ.
GUIDING SCRIPTURE
Acts 19:1-7
While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul passed through the interior regions and came to Ephesus, where he found some disciples. He said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?” They replied, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” Then he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They answered, “Into John’s baptism.” Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus.” On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied – altogether there were about twelve of them.
Camouflaged Sheep
DAILY BYTE
You’ve heard this week a story of sin and a story of mercy, but doesn’t God’s patience for us run a bit thin sometimes? Isn’t that why we have so many destructive ‘acts of God’ on our planet that seem inexplicable but for the fact that God is simply running out of patience with us?
Well, we read today a scripture from Luke about a lost sheep, which reminds me of a recent road trip I took through the Transkei and Southern Free State. This is a part of South Africa, which I have since discovered is quite dry this time of year and quite full of sheep.
I have never seen so many sheep in my life, and I have also never noticed how easily sheep blend into a landscape. As we drove along, I appointed myself official sheep-spotter, spotting one, no, two, no three, no – about a thousand sheep all scattered across the bush.
And I realized for the first time how hard it may actually be – to find a sheep when you’ve lost it. I had before always pictured the shepherd in this parable simply poking around the other side of a hill and voila! There lay the offending lost sheep! Easily done.
But after my adventure in sheep country, I have developed a much greater appreciation for the patience that may be required to seek out that sheep that is lost. But no matter how long it takes, no matter how hot the sun or how sharp the brambles, the parable tells us that God does not give up.
God wants to protect us from the brambly sin that entangles us, and God will stop at nothing to reach our deepest darkest parts and warm them and remould them with his flame of love for us.
We think that we can hide the ugly and strange parts of ourselves from God, but God made all parts of us and wants all parts of us – no matter how many times we seem to fail God and fail ourselves.
So, where is your sin?
It’s ok to admit it to yourself because you see - God already knows about it.
In 1 Timothy 1:17, Paul calls God, “King eternal, immortal, invisible…God who is wise…,” and even before you were born, that wise God was covering over you with grace. God will continue unceasingly, and sometimes in invisible ways, to seek out the parts of you that are lost and draw them to himself, transforming them into something that won’t cause you or others pain but something that will bring great joy.
Do you believe God has the patience to look for you and find you?
This is God’s desire – so be free to stop chastising yourself, stop dwelling on past sins and cycles that you think can’t be changed, and open yourself to the possibility that God can surround you with his reshaping fire.
God does forgive us, as we forgive each other.
So, will you let God’s grace find you today so that you may still be a sinner, but you may be a sinner whose life can be changed in the hands of a merciful God…?
FOCUS READING
Luke 15:3-7 (NRSV)
So he told them this parable: ‘Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbours, saying to them, “Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.” Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who need no repentance.
IF YOU’RE FEELING BRAVE
Confess any sins that are weighing on your heart to God or to someone else who can assure you of God’s forgiveness in your life and uphold you in prayer.
You’ve heard this week a story of sin and a story of mercy, but doesn’t God’s patience for us run a bit thin sometimes? Isn’t that why we have so many destructive ‘acts of God’ on our planet that seem inexplicable but for the fact that God is simply running out of patience with us?
Well, we read today a scripture from Luke about a lost sheep, which reminds me of a recent road trip I took through the Transkei and Southern Free State. This is a part of South Africa, which I have since discovered is quite dry this time of year and quite full of sheep.
I have never seen so many sheep in my life, and I have also never noticed how easily sheep blend into a landscape. As we drove along, I appointed myself official sheep-spotter, spotting one, no, two, no three, no – about a thousand sheep all scattered across the bush.
And I realized for the first time how hard it may actually be – to find a sheep when you’ve lost it. I had before always pictured the shepherd in this parable simply poking around the other side of a hill and voila! There lay the offending lost sheep! Easily done.
But after my adventure in sheep country, I have developed a much greater appreciation for the patience that may be required to seek out that sheep that is lost. But no matter how long it takes, no matter how hot the sun or how sharp the brambles, the parable tells us that God does not give up.
God wants to protect us from the brambly sin that entangles us, and God will stop at nothing to reach our deepest darkest parts and warm them and remould them with his flame of love for us.
We think that we can hide the ugly and strange parts of ourselves from God, but God made all parts of us and wants all parts of us – no matter how many times we seem to fail God and fail ourselves.
So, where is your sin?
It’s ok to admit it to yourself because you see - God already knows about it.
In 1 Timothy 1:17, Paul calls God, “King eternal, immortal, invisible…God who is wise…,” and even before you were born, that wise God was covering over you with grace. God will continue unceasingly, and sometimes in invisible ways, to seek out the parts of you that are lost and draw them to himself, transforming them into something that won’t cause you or others pain but something that will bring great joy.
Do you believe God has the patience to look for you and find you?
This is God’s desire – so be free to stop chastising yourself, stop dwelling on past sins and cycles that you think can’t be changed, and open yourself to the possibility that God can surround you with his reshaping fire.
God does forgive us, as we forgive each other.
So, will you let God’s grace find you today so that you may still be a sinner, but you may be a sinner whose life can be changed in the hands of a merciful God…?
FOCUS READING
Luke 15:3-7 (NRSV)
So he told them this parable: ‘Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbours, saying to them, “Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.” Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who need no repentance.
IF YOU’RE FEELING BRAVE
Confess any sins that are weighing on your heart to God or to someone else who can assure you of God’s forgiveness in your life and uphold you in prayer.
Thursday, 16 September 2010
Mercy
DAILY BYTE
“What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory...” Romans 9:22-23 (NAU).
This week, we’ve been looking often at 1 Timothy, but this passage comes from another writing of Paul’s – from the Book of Romans.
What if God, although able to show his wrath and hammering power, endures with us, patiently firing us into vessels of mercy so that we would see how awesome he is?
We hear Paul again in the letter to Timothy saying that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners – of whom I am the foremost. But for that very reason I received mercy, so that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display the utmost patience, making me an example to those who would come to believe in him...”
In other words – Paul is the worst of the worst of sinners. He spent most of his life as a persecutor of Christians – a zealously violent, destructive man – on top of all of his other corporate and silent sins that probably weren’t as obvious.
And he, of all people, has been given God’s grace...
So that when we look at Paul and see his life and the way God has been patient with him on a long journey, we might see ourselves on that same journey. We might realize that we, too, could be wrapped up in the flame of God’s patient and persistent love gradually seeking out every part of us that is destructive and sinful and filling those holes with grace instead.
Now, if you’re thinking, well – this is great! Getting free grace is a pretty good deal! Then, you’re right – it is! It is the Good News of the Gospel!
But hey...then I can pretty much do whatever I want...right?
Let’s be clear, God does get angry. There are piles of scriptures describing God’s anger about sin.
Earlier this week, I told a story about babysitting a little girl who uttered a shocking profanity at a random moment. When I heard her say that terrible word, I was a bit upset! But I was not upset because I hated Annie. Not because I wanted to shout back profanities at her in anger over her insolence. No, my concern was that she would utter such words again in front of the wrong people (perhaps her parents) and end up in even bigger trouble. My anger existed because I wanted to protect her from herself. I wanted her to stop speaking in a destructive way because it would only cause more destruction and harm to come to her – and potentially others. And I loved her, and I wanted to see her have the best life possible.
Perhaps, that is the kind of response Paul is talking about when he speaks of mercy. Mercy is not full license for us to behave however we like, despite the cost to ourselves and others.
Mercy – is compassionate recognition that God made us with free will to make choices. That was God’s choice. And so, as we learn to exercise that will, God knows and sees that we will make some wrong choices – and for our struggle in that learning process – God gives us mercy.
Are you in need of this kind of mercy? Do you feel like Paul – the foremost of sinners – in some aspect of your life? Do you think you may be able to receive Christ’s mercy for you today?
FOCUS READING
1 Timothy 1:15-16 (NRSV)
The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the foremost. But for that very reason I received mercy, so that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display the utmost patience, making me an example to those who would come to believe in him for eternal life.
PRAY AS YOU GO
Pray this traditional Eastern Orthodox prayer, ‘The Jesus Prayer,’ over and over as it becomes the true cry of your heart:
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.
“What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory...” Romans 9:22-23 (NAU).
This week, we’ve been looking often at 1 Timothy, but this passage comes from another writing of Paul’s – from the Book of Romans.
What if God, although able to show his wrath and hammering power, endures with us, patiently firing us into vessels of mercy so that we would see how awesome he is?
We hear Paul again in the letter to Timothy saying that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners – of whom I am the foremost. But for that very reason I received mercy, so that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display the utmost patience, making me an example to those who would come to believe in him...”
In other words – Paul is the worst of the worst of sinners. He spent most of his life as a persecutor of Christians – a zealously violent, destructive man – on top of all of his other corporate and silent sins that probably weren’t as obvious.
And he, of all people, has been given God’s grace...
So that when we look at Paul and see his life and the way God has been patient with him on a long journey, we might see ourselves on that same journey. We might realize that we, too, could be wrapped up in the flame of God’s patient and persistent love gradually seeking out every part of us that is destructive and sinful and filling those holes with grace instead.
Now, if you’re thinking, well – this is great! Getting free grace is a pretty good deal! Then, you’re right – it is! It is the Good News of the Gospel!
But hey...then I can pretty much do whatever I want...right?
Let’s be clear, God does get angry. There are piles of scriptures describing God’s anger about sin.
Earlier this week, I told a story about babysitting a little girl who uttered a shocking profanity at a random moment. When I heard her say that terrible word, I was a bit upset! But I was not upset because I hated Annie. Not because I wanted to shout back profanities at her in anger over her insolence. No, my concern was that she would utter such words again in front of the wrong people (perhaps her parents) and end up in even bigger trouble. My anger existed because I wanted to protect her from herself. I wanted her to stop speaking in a destructive way because it would only cause more destruction and harm to come to her – and potentially others. And I loved her, and I wanted to see her have the best life possible.
Perhaps, that is the kind of response Paul is talking about when he speaks of mercy. Mercy is not full license for us to behave however we like, despite the cost to ourselves and others.
Mercy – is compassionate recognition that God made us with free will to make choices. That was God’s choice. And so, as we learn to exercise that will, God knows and sees that we will make some wrong choices – and for our struggle in that learning process – God gives us mercy.
Are you in need of this kind of mercy? Do you feel like Paul – the foremost of sinners – in some aspect of your life? Do you think you may be able to receive Christ’s mercy for you today?
FOCUS READING
1 Timothy 1:15-16 (NRSV)
The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the foremost. But for that very reason I received mercy, so that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display the utmost patience, making me an example to those who would come to believe in him for eternal life.
PRAY AS YOU GO
Pray this traditional Eastern Orthodox prayer, ‘The Jesus Prayer,’ over and over as it becomes the true cry of your heart:
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.
Wednesday, 15 September 2010
Sinners in the hands of an angry God?
DAILY BYTE
The word, “sinner,” is a useful and undoubtedly truthful word. But it also feels antiquated to me. It reminds me of the 18th century Jonathan Edwards sermon that was actually entitled, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” – where a wrathful God reigns down vengeance upon a people who have succumbed to evil.
And I think I resent the word “sinner” – because it sounds like an immovable label to me, placed on me by people who dwell on that wrathful God.
It sounds like something I can’t shake – being a sinner. Such that I keep hammering away at God through my sins – making God angry, chipping away at God’s love and God’s ability to do good through me such that I’m pretty much doomed to live a life not necessarily filled with God’s wrath – but even just a life doomed to the death of mediocrity.
As though God’s displeasure means I’m stuck in a life that feels blunt and stunted – not passionately powerful.
Do you ever feel like this about your sin? Maybe not all the time, but if you’re honest with yourself, do such thoughts ever cross your mind?
Well, consider this:
Once upon a time, there was a piece of iron that was very strong. One after another, the axe, the saw, the hammer and the flame tried to break it. ‘I’ll master it,’ said the axe. Its blows fell heavily on the iron, but every blow made its edge more blunt, until it ceased to strike.
‘Leave it to me,’ said the saw, and it worked backwards and forwards on the iron’s surface until its jagged teeth were all worn and broken. Then it fell aside.
‘Ah!’ said the hammer. ‘I knew you wouldn’t succeed. I’ll show you the way.’ But at the first blow, off flew its head and the iron remained as before.
‘Shall I try?’ asked the small, soft flame. ‘Forget it,’ all replied. ‘What can you do?’
But the flame curled around the iron, embraced it and never left it until the iron melted under the flame’s irresistible influence.
(An Aesop’s Fable out of One Hundred Wisdom Stories from Around the World by Margaret Silf)
I am convinced through my own experience and through the witness of the scriptures that God is not angrily bashing away at us, peeved that we can’t seem to get things right.
God is not furiously sawing off our offending limbs, although there are parts of us that need to be pruned sometimes...
Does it ever occur to us that God is like that flame curled around the iron, embracing it and never leaving until the iron melts under the flame’s irresistible influence?
Has it ever occurred to us that even if we’re not, God is patient with us, as we struggle with our sin?
GUIDING SCRIPTURE
Psalm 32:5 (NRSV)
Then I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not hide my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the guilt of my sin.
PRAY AS YOU GO
Lord, sometimes we are stubbornly hard and immovable, as iron. We are hardened and full of guilt because of our sin. But teach us to dare to believe that you are more patient with us than we are with ourselves. Allow us to be fired and remolded by your tender persistence without being afraid. Amen.
The word, “sinner,” is a useful and undoubtedly truthful word. But it also feels antiquated to me. It reminds me of the 18th century Jonathan Edwards sermon that was actually entitled, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” – where a wrathful God reigns down vengeance upon a people who have succumbed to evil.
And I think I resent the word “sinner” – because it sounds like an immovable label to me, placed on me by people who dwell on that wrathful God.
It sounds like something I can’t shake – being a sinner. Such that I keep hammering away at God through my sins – making God angry, chipping away at God’s love and God’s ability to do good through me such that I’m pretty much doomed to live a life not necessarily filled with God’s wrath – but even just a life doomed to the death of mediocrity.
As though God’s displeasure means I’m stuck in a life that feels blunt and stunted – not passionately powerful.
Do you ever feel like this about your sin? Maybe not all the time, but if you’re honest with yourself, do such thoughts ever cross your mind?
Well, consider this:
Once upon a time, there was a piece of iron that was very strong. One after another, the axe, the saw, the hammer and the flame tried to break it. ‘I’ll master it,’ said the axe. Its blows fell heavily on the iron, but every blow made its edge more blunt, until it ceased to strike.
‘Leave it to me,’ said the saw, and it worked backwards and forwards on the iron’s surface until its jagged teeth were all worn and broken. Then it fell aside.
‘Ah!’ said the hammer. ‘I knew you wouldn’t succeed. I’ll show you the way.’ But at the first blow, off flew its head and the iron remained as before.
‘Shall I try?’ asked the small, soft flame. ‘Forget it,’ all replied. ‘What can you do?’
But the flame curled around the iron, embraced it and never left it until the iron melted under the flame’s irresistible influence.
(An Aesop’s Fable out of One Hundred Wisdom Stories from Around the World by Margaret Silf)
I am convinced through my own experience and through the witness of the scriptures that God is not angrily bashing away at us, peeved that we can’t seem to get things right.
God is not furiously sawing off our offending limbs, although there are parts of us that need to be pruned sometimes...
Does it ever occur to us that God is like that flame curled around the iron, embracing it and never leaving until the iron melts under the flame’s irresistible influence?
Has it ever occurred to us that even if we’re not, God is patient with us, as we struggle with our sin?
GUIDING SCRIPTURE
Psalm 32:5 (NRSV)
Then I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not hide my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the guilt of my sin.
PRAY AS YOU GO
Lord, sometimes we are stubbornly hard and immovable, as iron. We are hardened and full of guilt because of our sin. But teach us to dare to believe that you are more patient with us than we are with ourselves. Allow us to be fired and remolded by your tender persistence without being afraid. Amen.
Tuesday, 14 September 2010
A Blasphemer and an Apostle
DAILY BYTE
Yesterday, we talked about the reality of silent sin. But as we well know, our lives hold many other types of more obvious sin...
Sometimes we commit a sin that is a once and done thing – we may not even feel really guilty about it – like telling a white lie or crossing a boundary a little too far that probably shouldn’t have been crossed, but you know, these things happen – and anyway – it’s not like we’ve committed murder or something... So, we ask for forgiveness, and the slate’s wiped clean. It doesn’t usually feel like enough to label us as sinners.
And then there are the sins that seem to be cyclical – we commit them, we ask forgiveness, and then we can’t seem to keep ourselves from committing the exact same sin over and over again. You know this kind of sin - like lying, watching pornography, pushing the same boundary with our partner over and over, and of course, swearing...
These sins are frustrating to us, and the more we commit them, the more we find it hard to believe that God would forgive the exact same sin over and over and over again so that sometimes we get to a point where we’re not sure that God actually does?
And we feel the weight of the title, sinner, bearing down on our shoulders. It’s the weight of accumulated guilt.
And then there are the sins that are simply too big. They feel unforgivable. The lie that tears apart a family. The violence that injures the person you should love most. Even an action that seems small but insidiously and destructively festers inside of us and those we have hurt. These sins are full of condemnation from the outside world, and full of condemnation from within ourselves. We don’t know how to forgive ourselves, and if we can’t forgive ourselves, we can’t let others forgive us either. We are sinners in the hands of an angry God.
In the scripture from 1 Timothy for today, we see Paul writing about his own sin. He is bold enough to admit in writing some of the many things he has done wrong…. He says he was a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a violent man – put bluntly, he says in verse 15, he was a sinner. And not just a sinner but the foremost of sinners – the worst – the prototype – the example we can all measure ourselves by. Paul - he’s done it all.
What does it say about our God and about us, as sinners and God’s people, that the person God chose to be the foremost apostle and establisher of the early church was such a blatant sinner? This week, as we continue to discuss how sin is handled in the scriptures and in our own lives, do we think that God’s choice and use of Paul might give us hope and possibility for transformation in our own lives? Do you recognize sin in your life? Do you think God might have a plan still for you?
FOCUS READING
1 Timothy 1:12-13a (NRSV)
I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because he judged me faithful and appointed me to his service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence.
Yesterday, we talked about the reality of silent sin. But as we well know, our lives hold many other types of more obvious sin...
Sometimes we commit a sin that is a once and done thing – we may not even feel really guilty about it – like telling a white lie or crossing a boundary a little too far that probably shouldn’t have been crossed, but you know, these things happen – and anyway – it’s not like we’ve committed murder or something... So, we ask for forgiveness, and the slate’s wiped clean. It doesn’t usually feel like enough to label us as sinners.
And then there are the sins that seem to be cyclical – we commit them, we ask forgiveness, and then we can’t seem to keep ourselves from committing the exact same sin over and over again. You know this kind of sin - like lying, watching pornography, pushing the same boundary with our partner over and over, and of course, swearing...
These sins are frustrating to us, and the more we commit them, the more we find it hard to believe that God would forgive the exact same sin over and over and over again so that sometimes we get to a point where we’re not sure that God actually does?
And we feel the weight of the title, sinner, bearing down on our shoulders. It’s the weight of accumulated guilt.
And then there are the sins that are simply too big. They feel unforgivable. The lie that tears apart a family. The violence that injures the person you should love most. Even an action that seems small but insidiously and destructively festers inside of us and those we have hurt. These sins are full of condemnation from the outside world, and full of condemnation from within ourselves. We don’t know how to forgive ourselves, and if we can’t forgive ourselves, we can’t let others forgive us either. We are sinners in the hands of an angry God.
In the scripture from 1 Timothy for today, we see Paul writing about his own sin. He is bold enough to admit in writing some of the many things he has done wrong…. He says he was a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a violent man – put bluntly, he says in verse 15, he was a sinner. And not just a sinner but the foremost of sinners – the worst – the prototype – the example we can all measure ourselves by. Paul - he’s done it all.
What does it say about our God and about us, as sinners and God’s people, that the person God chose to be the foremost apostle and establisher of the early church was such a blatant sinner? This week, as we continue to discuss how sin is handled in the scriptures and in our own lives, do we think that God’s choice and use of Paul might give us hope and possibility for transformation in our own lives? Do you recognize sin in your life? Do you think God might have a plan still for you?
FOCUS READING
1 Timothy 1:12-13a (NRSV)
I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because he judged me faithful and appointed me to his service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence.
Monday, 13 September 2010
Fallen Playdough
DAILY BYTE
I used to baby-sit a little girl named Annie. She was the adorable four-year-old daughter of a very nice friend of the family. One day, as I often did, I went over and spent the afternoon with her, spending hours on the kitchen floor, putting together a playdough city. I bent down to mould a new building, when I heard a chunk of playdough – splat!... And before I could even look up, out of Annie’s sweet little mouth flew a shocking expletive!
I snapped my head up with horror, but she had bent down to pick up the playdough, as if nothing had happened. I asked her – where did you hear that word? But she just looked at me confusedly like I had a gecko stuck to my forehead and refused to answer. And while I told her sternly that she was not to say that word again, it was clear that she still had no idea she’d done anything wrong, and she certainly wouldn’t have understood her speech as a ‘sin!’
But we all have a history of sin that we’ll explore this week. And sin most probably begins in situations like those – where we don’t realize the implications of what we’ve done, but we are, nonetheless, sinners.
Over time, It seems people come to think of sinning in several ways, just one of which we’ll explore a little today.
And that is, that in general, we think we’re pretty good people! We care about others, we pay our taxes, we at least try to obey traffic laws, we help old people across the street, and we donate money to worthy causes. We’ve got a pretty good life sorted out for ourselves, and the idea that we could be involved in something called ‘corporate’ or ‘silent’ sin is generally off our radar screen.
The wasted fossil fuels we pump into the air when we’re not carpooling, the fertilizing pollutants we dump into the soil through the green beans that we buy at Spar... Certainly these sins are on someone else’s conscience, as we couldn’t be expected to keep track of so many huge things that are out of our control! Certainly not. And when accused of such sins, we look back at the accuser confusedly, and we, undisrupted, return to our playdough...
Do we need to be more aware of the ways we are implicated in sins that are bigger than ourselves? It seems if we were all-knowing, we might feel buried under a mountain of guilt that is far too big for us to carry.
This is why we’re not asked to live guilt-ridden, heavy lives, weighed down by this sin. But we are asked not to close our eyes to it and to live in a way that seeks to bring more of God’s life and less of our destructive sin into the world.
Is there corporate or silent sin that you feel the need to confess? If so, try praying the traditional Anglican prayer below, which helps us acknowledge and release the sins that we know and the sins that we don’t so that we can allow Christ to bear them and free us to continue searching for how we can be a part of living and transforming the world!
FOCUS READING
1 Timothy 13b-15 (NRSV)
But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners - of whom I am the foremost.
PRAY AS YOU GO
Most merciful God,
we confess that we have sinned against you
in thought, word, and deed,
by what we have done,
and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you with our whole heart;
we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
have mercy on us and forgive us;
that we may delight in your will,
and walk in your ways,
to the glory of your Name. Amen.
I used to baby-sit a little girl named Annie. She was the adorable four-year-old daughter of a very nice friend of the family. One day, as I often did, I went over and spent the afternoon with her, spending hours on the kitchen floor, putting together a playdough city. I bent down to mould a new building, when I heard a chunk of playdough – splat!... And before I could even look up, out of Annie’s sweet little mouth flew a shocking expletive!
I snapped my head up with horror, but she had bent down to pick up the playdough, as if nothing had happened. I asked her – where did you hear that word? But she just looked at me confusedly like I had a gecko stuck to my forehead and refused to answer. And while I told her sternly that she was not to say that word again, it was clear that she still had no idea she’d done anything wrong, and she certainly wouldn’t have understood her speech as a ‘sin!’
But we all have a history of sin that we’ll explore this week. And sin most probably begins in situations like those – where we don’t realize the implications of what we’ve done, but we are, nonetheless, sinners.
Over time, It seems people come to think of sinning in several ways, just one of which we’ll explore a little today.
And that is, that in general, we think we’re pretty good people! We care about others, we pay our taxes, we at least try to obey traffic laws, we help old people across the street, and we donate money to worthy causes. We’ve got a pretty good life sorted out for ourselves, and the idea that we could be involved in something called ‘corporate’ or ‘silent’ sin is generally off our radar screen.
The wasted fossil fuels we pump into the air when we’re not carpooling, the fertilizing pollutants we dump into the soil through the green beans that we buy at Spar... Certainly these sins are on someone else’s conscience, as we couldn’t be expected to keep track of so many huge things that are out of our control! Certainly not. And when accused of such sins, we look back at the accuser confusedly, and we, undisrupted, return to our playdough...
Do we need to be more aware of the ways we are implicated in sins that are bigger than ourselves? It seems if we were all-knowing, we might feel buried under a mountain of guilt that is far too big for us to carry.
This is why we’re not asked to live guilt-ridden, heavy lives, weighed down by this sin. But we are asked not to close our eyes to it and to live in a way that seeks to bring more of God’s life and less of our destructive sin into the world.
Is there corporate or silent sin that you feel the need to confess? If so, try praying the traditional Anglican prayer below, which helps us acknowledge and release the sins that we know and the sins that we don’t so that we can allow Christ to bear them and free us to continue searching for how we can be a part of living and transforming the world!
FOCUS READING
1 Timothy 13b-15 (NRSV)
But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners - of whom I am the foremost.
PRAY AS YOU GO
Most merciful God,
we confess that we have sinned against you
in thought, word, and deed,
by what we have done,
and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you with our whole heart;
we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
have mercy on us and forgive us;
that we may delight in your will,
and walk in your ways,
to the glory of your Name. Amen.
Friday, 10 September 2010
For lepers who can’t change their spots
DAILY BYTE
In the bible, 'leprosy' was an umbrella term that was used to refer to a whole host of skin infections and diseases. It was a dreaded condition because the social consequences that it carried were severe. Leviticus 13 -14 deals with the regulations regarding leprosy, and the consequences of contracting the disease:
“The person who has the leprous disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head be dishevelled; and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out, "Unclean! Unclean!" He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease; he is unclean. He shall live alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp.” (Leviticus 13:45-46)
The bottom line was that leprosy carried with it a sentence of alienation and isolation. In a society that was far more communal in its orientation than what our modern Western society is, this was a living-death sentence. Lepers were outcasts, unable to interact with the rest of society, unable to be economically productive and so unable to provide for themselves, forced to eke out an existence like that of scavenging dogs living on the fringes and outskirts of society.
What is more, because of their 'uncleanness' lepers were barred from worship. Encountering God through any of the recognised religious structures of the day was an impossibility. They were regarded as cursed by God.
The severe socio-religious stigma attached to leprosy is an essential dimension of a faithful interpretation of the encounter between Jesus and the man with leprosy in Mark 1:40-45. For this is far more than a common-old-garden healing of someone who was sick. Jesus' response signifies far more than his compassion towards someone in need. A closer reading reveals that Jesus is in fact attacking the religious system, the so-called 'purity code', that could isolate people within society, and attempt to alienate them from God.
The religious regulations pertaining to leprosy were built on two essential convictions. Firstly, the disease was communicable. That is to say, its effect (ritually speaking) could be handed on simply by touching. That is why lepers were separated from the rest of society as the 'untouchables'. Secondly, it was the priest who was responsible for determining the leprous status of a person.
Jesus challenges both of these convictions. He touches the man, and he says, "Be clean!" He subverts the religious system that could pronounce a person untouchable and unfit for the presence of God.
According to most English versions he then issues the man a strong warning not to tell anyone, but to fulfil the ritual requirements for cleansing as a testimony to the priests. This is actually a fairly feeble translation, as the Greek is much stronger. The word rendered 'strong warning' actually has the sense to 'snort with indignation or rage'. This suggests that Jesus, angered by the legalistic lovelessness of the religious system and its purity code, recognises that it is not the man's testimony of what has happened to him, but the ritual fulfilment of the religious requirements, that will convince the priests and change his status in their eyes.
But then a glorious twist happens. The man disregards the correct procedure as he bypasses the priests and their ritual requirements. Instead, he boldly goes to the very people and places from which he had been barred, no longer shouting out "Unclean! Unclean!" But proclaiming freely the news, the good news of what Jesus had done for him. The touch and word of cleansing that came from Jesus had liberated him from the oppressive religious system of which he had been a victim, and ushered him into the glorious freedom of life in God's Kingdom.
PRAY AS YOU GO
Lord, the Scriptures declare that NOTHING can separate us from your love. Thank you that there is no condition of ours that makes us untouchable to you. Amen.
SCRIPTURE READING
Mark 1:40
Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the leprous man.
In the bible, 'leprosy' was an umbrella term that was used to refer to a whole host of skin infections and diseases. It was a dreaded condition because the social consequences that it carried were severe. Leviticus 13 -14 deals with the regulations regarding leprosy, and the consequences of contracting the disease:
“The person who has the leprous disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head be dishevelled; and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out, "Unclean! Unclean!" He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease; he is unclean. He shall live alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp.” (Leviticus 13:45-46)
The bottom line was that leprosy carried with it a sentence of alienation and isolation. In a society that was far more communal in its orientation than what our modern Western society is, this was a living-death sentence. Lepers were outcasts, unable to interact with the rest of society, unable to be economically productive and so unable to provide for themselves, forced to eke out an existence like that of scavenging dogs living on the fringes and outskirts of society.
What is more, because of their 'uncleanness' lepers were barred from worship. Encountering God through any of the recognised religious structures of the day was an impossibility. They were regarded as cursed by God.
The severe socio-religious stigma attached to leprosy is an essential dimension of a faithful interpretation of the encounter between Jesus and the man with leprosy in Mark 1:40-45. For this is far more than a common-old-garden healing of someone who was sick. Jesus' response signifies far more than his compassion towards someone in need. A closer reading reveals that Jesus is in fact attacking the religious system, the so-called 'purity code', that could isolate people within society, and attempt to alienate them from God.
The religious regulations pertaining to leprosy were built on two essential convictions. Firstly, the disease was communicable. That is to say, its effect (ritually speaking) could be handed on simply by touching. That is why lepers were separated from the rest of society as the 'untouchables'. Secondly, it was the priest who was responsible for determining the leprous status of a person.
Jesus challenges both of these convictions. He touches the man, and he says, "Be clean!" He subverts the religious system that could pronounce a person untouchable and unfit for the presence of God.
According to most English versions he then issues the man a strong warning not to tell anyone, but to fulfil the ritual requirements for cleansing as a testimony to the priests. This is actually a fairly feeble translation, as the Greek is much stronger. The word rendered 'strong warning' actually has the sense to 'snort with indignation or rage'. This suggests that Jesus, angered by the legalistic lovelessness of the religious system and its purity code, recognises that it is not the man's testimony of what has happened to him, but the ritual fulfilment of the religious requirements, that will convince the priests and change his status in their eyes.
But then a glorious twist happens. The man disregards the correct procedure as he bypasses the priests and their ritual requirements. Instead, he boldly goes to the very people and places from which he had been barred, no longer shouting out "Unclean! Unclean!" But proclaiming freely the news, the good news of what Jesus had done for him. The touch and word of cleansing that came from Jesus had liberated him from the oppressive religious system of which he had been a victim, and ushered him into the glorious freedom of life in God's Kingdom.
PRAY AS YOU GO
Lord, the Scriptures declare that NOTHING can separate us from your love. Thank you that there is no condition of ours that makes us untouchable to you. Amen.
SCRIPTURE READING
Mark 1:40
Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the leprous man.
Thursday, 9 September 2010
A tale of two daughters – Part 2
DAILY BYTE
Today we continue our reflections on the two healing stories found in Mark 5:21-43.
Jairus comes to Jesus, pleading on behalf of his daughter who is dying. He is a distraught father who is oblivious to any others around him. His concern for his daughter is such that he falls on his knees before Jesus and begs for his help. His reputation, his dignity, his social standing in the community are irrelevant. All that matters to him is his little girl.
It is at this point that the bleeding woman enters the scene, and interrupts the journey of Jesus to Jairus' house. Imagine Jairus' frustration. His daughter was on the point of death. Every second was crucial. Hers was a critically urgent situation. And now this unknown woman who was ritually impure was delaying Jesus. Did she not know that he was the ruler of the synagogue? Whatever her need, surely Jesus would realise that it could not possibly be more important, or urgent, than his.
Yet, Jesus stops. Notice that the interruption was Jesus' doing, not the woman's. She would have been happy to snatch a healing touch and slip away unnoticed. It is Jesus who stops. Who turns. Who asks.
Jesus was intentional about engaging the woman - for her sake and for Jairus'. The healing that he offered was interested in far more than cure. Jesus' healing was about reconnection, validation, acceptance and assurance. Had this woman been allowed to slip away unnoticed into the crowds, she would never have had the opportunity to declare publicly the whole truth of who she was, what she had suffered, what she had done. She would never have been given the opportunity to hear the words of peace and blessing that Jesus spoke to her.
Maybe for Jairus these things didn't matter - she was after all an unnamed, marginalised woman. But to Jesus they mattered. To Jesus this woman mattered. Unlike Jairus' daughter, she had no father to plead her cause, no one to look out for her, no one to make her feel special. Quite beautifully, Jesus addresses this 'fatherless' one as 'Daughter.' An acknowledgement of her intrinsic worth that he couldn't bear for her not to hear.
All the while Jairus was witnessing this entire episode. How would Jesus' use of the word "Daughter" have rung in his ears? Could he see a reflection of his own daughter in the face of this poor woman? Did he recognise their shared humanity when she, like he had just done, fell at the feet of Jesus? Did her healing give him hope for that of his own child? Maybe so, but then it was quickly dashed as the awful news that he had been dreading arrived. They were too late. It was all over. His daughter was dead.
But then Jesus speaks. "Don't be afraid, just believe," he tells Jairus. The words sound simple and trite. How could a father who had just heard news of his daughter's death not be afraid? How could he 'just believe'? Maybe then it would have dawned on Jairus. That he had just been shown how. For he had just witnessed this very thing. How a simple woman's belief had overcome her fear, as she risked seeking out Christ and took hold for herself that which she needed, which she (rightly) believed Jesus could give.
Suddenly everything was changed. Nameless, nuisance of a woman no more. Here was another daughter, a companion, a partner, a helpmate in faith. Indeed, the Good News that she had received was the same Good News that Jairus would know that very day, as the other daughter in the story felt the life-giving touch of Christ also.
PRAY AS YOU GO
Thank you Lord that in our sufferings we are not alone. Thank you that your healing work always seeks to connect us with others. Amen.
SCRIPTURE READING
Mark 5:30,33-34
Aware that power had gone out from him, Jesus turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”...the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell at his feet and told him the whole truth. Jesus said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”
Today we continue our reflections on the two healing stories found in Mark 5:21-43.
Jairus comes to Jesus, pleading on behalf of his daughter who is dying. He is a distraught father who is oblivious to any others around him. His concern for his daughter is such that he falls on his knees before Jesus and begs for his help. His reputation, his dignity, his social standing in the community are irrelevant. All that matters to him is his little girl.
It is at this point that the bleeding woman enters the scene, and interrupts the journey of Jesus to Jairus' house. Imagine Jairus' frustration. His daughter was on the point of death. Every second was crucial. Hers was a critically urgent situation. And now this unknown woman who was ritually impure was delaying Jesus. Did she not know that he was the ruler of the synagogue? Whatever her need, surely Jesus would realise that it could not possibly be more important, or urgent, than his.
Yet, Jesus stops. Notice that the interruption was Jesus' doing, not the woman's. She would have been happy to snatch a healing touch and slip away unnoticed. It is Jesus who stops. Who turns. Who asks.
Jesus was intentional about engaging the woman - for her sake and for Jairus'. The healing that he offered was interested in far more than cure. Jesus' healing was about reconnection, validation, acceptance and assurance. Had this woman been allowed to slip away unnoticed into the crowds, she would never have had the opportunity to declare publicly the whole truth of who she was, what she had suffered, what she had done. She would never have been given the opportunity to hear the words of peace and blessing that Jesus spoke to her.
Maybe for Jairus these things didn't matter - she was after all an unnamed, marginalised woman. But to Jesus they mattered. To Jesus this woman mattered. Unlike Jairus' daughter, she had no father to plead her cause, no one to look out for her, no one to make her feel special. Quite beautifully, Jesus addresses this 'fatherless' one as 'Daughter.' An acknowledgement of her intrinsic worth that he couldn't bear for her not to hear.
All the while Jairus was witnessing this entire episode. How would Jesus' use of the word "Daughter" have rung in his ears? Could he see a reflection of his own daughter in the face of this poor woman? Did he recognise their shared humanity when she, like he had just done, fell at the feet of Jesus? Did her healing give him hope for that of his own child? Maybe so, but then it was quickly dashed as the awful news that he had been dreading arrived. They were too late. It was all over. His daughter was dead.
But then Jesus speaks. "Don't be afraid, just believe," he tells Jairus. The words sound simple and trite. How could a father who had just heard news of his daughter's death not be afraid? How could he 'just believe'? Maybe then it would have dawned on Jairus. That he had just been shown how. For he had just witnessed this very thing. How a simple woman's belief had overcome her fear, as she risked seeking out Christ and took hold for herself that which she needed, which she (rightly) believed Jesus could give.
Suddenly everything was changed. Nameless, nuisance of a woman no more. Here was another daughter, a companion, a partner, a helpmate in faith. Indeed, the Good News that she had received was the same Good News that Jairus would know that very day, as the other daughter in the story felt the life-giving touch of Christ also.
PRAY AS YOU GO
Thank you Lord that in our sufferings we are not alone. Thank you that your healing work always seeks to connect us with others. Amen.
SCRIPTURE READING
Mark 5:30,33-34
Aware that power had gone out from him, Jesus turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”...the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell at his feet and told him the whole truth. Jesus said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”
Wednesday, 8 September 2010
A tale of two daughters – Part 1
DAILY BYTE
Over the next two days we will explore that wonderful passage from Mark 5:21-43. The passage recounts two healing miracles of Jesus - the reviving from the dead of the daughter of Jairus, one of the synagogue rulers; and the healing of a nameless woman who had suffered from a bleeding condition for twelve years.
The contrast in social status between these two needy people could not be more stark. On the one hand there was Jairus, a man, known and respected as a leader in the religious life of the community. On the other hand there was this nameless woman whose condition rendered her ritually unclean, and was thus barred from participating in the corporate life of worship. Two needy people, from opposite ends of the social and religious spectrum. Yet both of them, in their need, recognise something special in Jesus. Both of them find themselves at Jesus' feet.
It's a great leveling place, the feet of Jesus. What other place would be shared by a respected ruler of the synagogue, and a nameless, marginalised woman? But these two individuals share far more than simply the ground before Jesus' feet on which they kneel. The story, as told by Mark, reveals a deep connectedness between these two unlikely associates. Herein lies the heart of the passage, but it is something we easily overlook.
The passage is a classic example of the literary technique of interpolation. That is to say, the one story (that of the bleeding woman) is inserted, or interpolated, into the other story (that of Jairus). Jairus' story is interrupted by the story of the bleeding woman. By writing it this way, Mark's clear intention is for these two stories to be read together. Indeed, the story of Jairus and his daughter cannot be fully understood by skipping over verses 25 - 34, which are about the nameless, bleeding woman. Reading the passage with this intention in mind, a few significant things emerge.
Notice that Jairus' request to Jesus in v23 concerning his own daughter articulates with startling accuracy the need of the bleeding woman. Jairus tells Jesus that his daughter is dying, that the life is gradually flowing out of her. But if Jesus could touch her, she would be made well and would live. This expresses exactly the need of the woman. We read that she had suffered from a bleeding disorder for twelve years.
Now in Jewish thought the blood contained the life, and so her condition signified that her life had been draining out of her for all that time. This is made all the more poignant if her flow of blood is understood as being a menstrual discharge, for menstrual blood has even closer associations with life, in that it feeds and nurtures and gives life to the child in the womb. A touch from Jesus was what she needed for healing and life.
We will continue our reflections on this passage tomorrow, but for today maybe you would like to reflect on this question: “In what ways has life been draining out of you, maybe for a very long time?”
Maybe you’re in an abusive relationship. Maybe you’re having an affair. Maybe you’ve been compromising your integrity at work. Maybe you’re addicted to gambling, or pornography, or alcohol, or shopping, or exercise, or drugs. Maybe you’ve been living a great big lie, or there’s something bad you’ve done that you’ve never taken responsibility for.
In whatever ways life has been draining out of you, a touch from Jesus is what you need. What might this entail for you right now?
PRAY AS YOU GO
Lord, I bring to you that part of my life that is draining the very life out of me. I know Lord that this cannot carry on. I need your touch. Please help me. Amen.
SCRIPTURE READING
Mark 5:22-24
One of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus, came there. Seeing Jesus, he fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.” So Jesus went with him.
Over the next two days we will explore that wonderful passage from Mark 5:21-43. The passage recounts two healing miracles of Jesus - the reviving from the dead of the daughter of Jairus, one of the synagogue rulers; and the healing of a nameless woman who had suffered from a bleeding condition for twelve years.
The contrast in social status between these two needy people could not be more stark. On the one hand there was Jairus, a man, known and respected as a leader in the religious life of the community. On the other hand there was this nameless woman whose condition rendered her ritually unclean, and was thus barred from participating in the corporate life of worship. Two needy people, from opposite ends of the social and religious spectrum. Yet both of them, in their need, recognise something special in Jesus. Both of them find themselves at Jesus' feet.
It's a great leveling place, the feet of Jesus. What other place would be shared by a respected ruler of the synagogue, and a nameless, marginalised woman? But these two individuals share far more than simply the ground before Jesus' feet on which they kneel. The story, as told by Mark, reveals a deep connectedness between these two unlikely associates. Herein lies the heart of the passage, but it is something we easily overlook.
The passage is a classic example of the literary technique of interpolation. That is to say, the one story (that of the bleeding woman) is inserted, or interpolated, into the other story (that of Jairus). Jairus' story is interrupted by the story of the bleeding woman. By writing it this way, Mark's clear intention is for these two stories to be read together. Indeed, the story of Jairus and his daughter cannot be fully understood by skipping over verses 25 - 34, which are about the nameless, bleeding woman. Reading the passage with this intention in mind, a few significant things emerge.
Notice that Jairus' request to Jesus in v23 concerning his own daughter articulates with startling accuracy the need of the bleeding woman. Jairus tells Jesus that his daughter is dying, that the life is gradually flowing out of her. But if Jesus could touch her, she would be made well and would live. This expresses exactly the need of the woman. We read that she had suffered from a bleeding disorder for twelve years.
Now in Jewish thought the blood contained the life, and so her condition signified that her life had been draining out of her for all that time. This is made all the more poignant if her flow of blood is understood as being a menstrual discharge, for menstrual blood has even closer associations with life, in that it feeds and nurtures and gives life to the child in the womb. A touch from Jesus was what she needed for healing and life.
We will continue our reflections on this passage tomorrow, but for today maybe you would like to reflect on this question: “In what ways has life been draining out of you, maybe for a very long time?”
Maybe you’re in an abusive relationship. Maybe you’re having an affair. Maybe you’ve been compromising your integrity at work. Maybe you’re addicted to gambling, or pornography, or alcohol, or shopping, or exercise, or drugs. Maybe you’ve been living a great big lie, or there’s something bad you’ve done that you’ve never taken responsibility for.
In whatever ways life has been draining out of you, a touch from Jesus is what you need. What might this entail for you right now?
PRAY AS YOU GO
Lord, I bring to you that part of my life that is draining the very life out of me. I know Lord that this cannot carry on. I need your touch. Please help me. Amen.
SCRIPTURE READING
Mark 5:22-24
One of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus, came there. Seeing Jesus, he fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.” So Jesus went with him.
Tuesday, 7 September 2010
Dealing with Cholesterol
DAILY BYTE
Some time back a friend of mine suddenly felt a sharp pain in his arm which then moved to his chest. Turned out he was having a heart attack. Fortunately it wasn’t fatal and he survived, but it was certainly a pretty rude wake-up call. The cardiologist told him that he had a cholesterol problem, caused mostly by unlucky genetics but made worse through poor lifestyle choices. He had to start watching what he ate and start seeing regular exercise not as an optional extra to his life, but a vital non-negotiable necessity.
The medics tell us that cholesterol is a steroid alcohol that promotes arteriosclerosis. For the rest of us, it's those naughty little globules of "stuff" that clog up the arteries and can take a lot of the fun out of eating certain foods. The problem of cholesterol is a real one, and if allowed to proceed unchecked, can be life-threatening. There is often a genetic basis to this condition, but it can always be made better or worse by the healthy lifestyle choices we do or do not make.
There is a parallel here with the spiritual life. For there are things that can clog up our spiritual arteries, much like cholesterol, inhibiting the free and steady flow of the life of God within us. What are these things, and how do we cope with them? Much can be said in this regard, especially about the "cholesterol" raising effects of sinful and selfish living. Our sinful human nature is a bit like a genetic predisposition that makes us particularly vulnerable to making choices that can block the life of God flowing through us.
But it is interesting to note that even the good and noble things we do for God carry the danger of being "cholesterol" inducing. Especially when the life of faithful ministry leads to a sense of self-sufficiency, or fatigue, or a loss of perspective or vision. This was a danger which Jesus clearly recognised. And so we see him, right at the start of his ministry, establishing a rhythm between the high, extroverted times of teaching, healing and exorcism, and the private, solitary moments of silence and prayer. As Karl Rahner has written, "Prayer relieves the hardening of the spiritual arteries."
Maybe you have a sense that something is clogging up your spiritual arteries right now, and you're not experiencing the life of God freely coursing through your veins. If there’s some sinful behaviour that you are aware of that is causing this, then I urge you to confess that to God, repent, and by God’s grace start living in a new way.
But if the hardening of your spiritual arteries arises out of a sense of fatigue, disillusionment, cynicism or despair – then get down on your knees, and pray, and pray, and pray.
It’s the best anti-dote to spiritual cholesterol you’ll ever find.
PRAY AS YOU GO
Gracious God, I know that there are so many things that can block your life-giving grace from flowing freely in me and through me. Thank you for the example of Jesus, who recognized the need to keep the channels between himself and you wide open every day, and how he did so through regular times of solitude and prayer. Help me to follow his example more and more. Amen
SCRIPTURE READING
Mark 1:32-35
That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. The whole town gathered at the door, and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.
Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.
Some time back a friend of mine suddenly felt a sharp pain in his arm which then moved to his chest. Turned out he was having a heart attack. Fortunately it wasn’t fatal and he survived, but it was certainly a pretty rude wake-up call. The cardiologist told him that he had a cholesterol problem, caused mostly by unlucky genetics but made worse through poor lifestyle choices. He had to start watching what he ate and start seeing regular exercise not as an optional extra to his life, but a vital non-negotiable necessity.
The medics tell us that cholesterol is a steroid alcohol that promotes arteriosclerosis. For the rest of us, it's those naughty little globules of "stuff" that clog up the arteries and can take a lot of the fun out of eating certain foods. The problem of cholesterol is a real one, and if allowed to proceed unchecked, can be life-threatening. There is often a genetic basis to this condition, but it can always be made better or worse by the healthy lifestyle choices we do or do not make.
There is a parallel here with the spiritual life. For there are things that can clog up our spiritual arteries, much like cholesterol, inhibiting the free and steady flow of the life of God within us. What are these things, and how do we cope with them? Much can be said in this regard, especially about the "cholesterol" raising effects of sinful and selfish living. Our sinful human nature is a bit like a genetic predisposition that makes us particularly vulnerable to making choices that can block the life of God flowing through us.
But it is interesting to note that even the good and noble things we do for God carry the danger of being "cholesterol" inducing. Especially when the life of faithful ministry leads to a sense of self-sufficiency, or fatigue, or a loss of perspective or vision. This was a danger which Jesus clearly recognised. And so we see him, right at the start of his ministry, establishing a rhythm between the high, extroverted times of teaching, healing and exorcism, and the private, solitary moments of silence and prayer. As Karl Rahner has written, "Prayer relieves the hardening of the spiritual arteries."
Maybe you have a sense that something is clogging up your spiritual arteries right now, and you're not experiencing the life of God freely coursing through your veins. If there’s some sinful behaviour that you are aware of that is causing this, then I urge you to confess that to God, repent, and by God’s grace start living in a new way.
But if the hardening of your spiritual arteries arises out of a sense of fatigue, disillusionment, cynicism or despair – then get down on your knees, and pray, and pray, and pray.
It’s the best anti-dote to spiritual cholesterol you’ll ever find.
PRAY AS YOU GO
Gracious God, I know that there are so many things that can block your life-giving grace from flowing freely in me and through me. Thank you for the example of Jesus, who recognized the need to keep the channels between himself and you wide open every day, and how he did so through regular times of solitude and prayer. Help me to follow his example more and more. Amen
SCRIPTURE READING
Mark 1:32-35
That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. The whole town gathered at the door, and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.
Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.
Monday, 6 September 2010
Do you want to get well?
DAILY BYTE
The devotions this week will centre on the broad theme of healing. They are being written, appropriately enough, in a hospital ward. Interesting places – hospitals. Here the full-spectrum of the human condition seems to get played out every day. From the rich promise & joyful delight of a new baby entering the world, to the tragedy of life cut cruelly short by injury or disease, or indeed the beauty of a final breath releasing a long earthly life into the wider life that awaits us all beyond this one.
Here the frailty of the human condition is so clearly evident, as is the remarkable capacity of the human spirit for great courage in the face of sometimes incomprehensible suffering.
Here the very heights of intellectual achievement get expressed through the brilliance and expertise of medical doctors, as well as the hubris, the arrogance, the pride that can arise when these same doctors forget the common humanity they share with their patients.
Here compassion and care are seen in those who have devoted their lives to serving the sick, as well as the sometimes cruel and callous indifference of a system that is driven by the profit motive.
Here people either turn to God in desperation, or hope, or trusting faith; or turn away from God in disillusionment, despair or debilitating fear.
Here life and death happens, and everything inbetween.
We don’t have to watch TV shows like Grey’s Anatomy or ER to understand what I’m talking about. Pretty much all of us have some kind of hospital experience of our own to reflect on.
I have a hunch that if there were hospitals in Jesus’ day, he would have been a regular visitor. He cared about the sick, and he also cared about how people treated the sick. He also understood the true nature of healing – healing that isn’t limited by an excessive focus on just physical cure, but recognizes that healing is an ongoing journey into wholeness of body, mind and spirit. It’s not for nothing that he is known as the Great Physician.
The story in John 5 of the healing that happened at the pool of Bethesda is perhaps the closest we get in the gospels to a ‘hospital’ story. We do not know exactly how it worked, but there seemed to be something in the water of this pool that had healing power. Certainly when the water was stirred up, and for whoever was lucky enough to be the first one in. And so a great number of disabled people used to lie there – the blind, the lame, the paralysed – in the hope that someday the miracle would happen for them. Some of them lay there for a very long time.
The man in the gospel passage had been there for 38 years. The tragedy of his story was not just that he was sick, but that he had no one to help him. But then came the wonderful day when he encountered Jesus. We read in the story that when Jesus saw the man and learned how long he had been lying there he asked him this question, “Do you want to get well?”
On the face of it the question seems ridiculous, maybe even rude or downright offensive. Of course the man wanted to get well. Who wouldn’t? And after all he was lying there wasn’t he?
But if we ponder the question a little, we’ll see the sharp insight of Jesus that penetrates to the very heart of this man’s situation, and indeed ours as we think about our own circumstances of sickness, brokenness, paralysis and pain.
Are we willing to allow our very identity to be redefined, not by the painful, broken circumstances that have befallen us, often so unjustly, but by something else? By Someone else? Someone who dares to say with us, with great authority and compassion, “Stand up...and walk!”
PRAY AS YOU GO
Thank you, Great Physician, that as you look at me you see beyond my brokenness & sickness, to the potential for wholeness that is in me. Help me to see myself in the same way, and so trust your healing words that speak newness into my life. Amen.
SCRIPTURE
John 5:6
When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been there a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”
The devotions this week will centre on the broad theme of healing. They are being written, appropriately enough, in a hospital ward. Interesting places – hospitals. Here the full-spectrum of the human condition seems to get played out every day. From the rich promise & joyful delight of a new baby entering the world, to the tragedy of life cut cruelly short by injury or disease, or indeed the beauty of a final breath releasing a long earthly life into the wider life that awaits us all beyond this one.
Here the frailty of the human condition is so clearly evident, as is the remarkable capacity of the human spirit for great courage in the face of sometimes incomprehensible suffering.
Here the very heights of intellectual achievement get expressed through the brilliance and expertise of medical doctors, as well as the hubris, the arrogance, the pride that can arise when these same doctors forget the common humanity they share with their patients.
Here compassion and care are seen in those who have devoted their lives to serving the sick, as well as the sometimes cruel and callous indifference of a system that is driven by the profit motive.
Here people either turn to God in desperation, or hope, or trusting faith; or turn away from God in disillusionment, despair or debilitating fear.
Here life and death happens, and everything inbetween.
We don’t have to watch TV shows like Grey’s Anatomy or ER to understand what I’m talking about. Pretty much all of us have some kind of hospital experience of our own to reflect on.
I have a hunch that if there were hospitals in Jesus’ day, he would have been a regular visitor. He cared about the sick, and he also cared about how people treated the sick. He also understood the true nature of healing – healing that isn’t limited by an excessive focus on just physical cure, but recognizes that healing is an ongoing journey into wholeness of body, mind and spirit. It’s not for nothing that he is known as the Great Physician.
The story in John 5 of the healing that happened at the pool of Bethesda is perhaps the closest we get in the gospels to a ‘hospital’ story. We do not know exactly how it worked, but there seemed to be something in the water of this pool that had healing power. Certainly when the water was stirred up, and for whoever was lucky enough to be the first one in. And so a great number of disabled people used to lie there – the blind, the lame, the paralysed – in the hope that someday the miracle would happen for them. Some of them lay there for a very long time.
The man in the gospel passage had been there for 38 years. The tragedy of his story was not just that he was sick, but that he had no one to help him. But then came the wonderful day when he encountered Jesus. We read in the story that when Jesus saw the man and learned how long he had been lying there he asked him this question, “Do you want to get well?”
On the face of it the question seems ridiculous, maybe even rude or downright offensive. Of course the man wanted to get well. Who wouldn’t? And after all he was lying there wasn’t he?
But if we ponder the question a little, we’ll see the sharp insight of Jesus that penetrates to the very heart of this man’s situation, and indeed ours as we think about our own circumstances of sickness, brokenness, paralysis and pain.
Are we willing to allow our very identity to be redefined, not by the painful, broken circumstances that have befallen us, often so unjustly, but by something else? By Someone else? Someone who dares to say with us, with great authority and compassion, “Stand up...and walk!”
PRAY AS YOU GO
Thank you, Great Physician, that as you look at me you see beyond my brokenness & sickness, to the potential for wholeness that is in me. Help me to see myself in the same way, and so trust your healing words that speak newness into my life. Amen.
SCRIPTURE
John 5:6
When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been there a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”
Friday, 3 September 2010
Do you take Jesus?
DAILY BYTE
The biblical scholar, R. Alan Culpepper says that “Humility is not to be feigned as a strategy for recognition.” In other words – do not abuse humility. “On the contrary, humility is a quality of life open to persons who know that their worth is not measured by recognition from their peers but by the certainty that God has accepted them.”
We’ve been talking this week about living humbly – living in the certainty that God has accepted us – no matter what. This is what Jesus can teach us, as he walks with us, and as we sometimes stumble alongside him.
But even if we stumble, Jesus says that if we live this way, humbly loving others and humbly receiving God’s love for us, we will be blessed! Another word for blessed is – happy! We’re on a constant search for “happiness” in this world, and we usually try to get it by wielding our power over others... But in the story from Luke we’ve read this week, we see that we can find happiness not by pompously pushing our own agendas but by realizing where our wounds and failings are, working together, sitting around the table, and helping one another find the best seat in our lives.
Imagine how different the world would look if people gave each other the best seats in the house at theatres. What would it be like, if we let others go first in the queue at the grocery store? If instead of moaning about the crazy things people do and how we could do them better, what would happen to us and to the world, if we took time to listen to the reasons for why people do the things they do?
That path might not lead us to a life with a lot of money where we make all the “right” connections. It might not lead us to traditional marriage, and it might not fix all of the things in our lives that are difficult, but it will lead to a path of true happiness. Humble happiness, whether that’s in marriage, or as a church community – living as the bride of Christ.
So, do you take Jesus in marriage today, in a human vow that borders on the miraculous?
FOCUS READING
Revelation 21:2-3 (NRSV)
And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them as their God; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them...”
PRAY AS YOU GO
Loving God, you came to earth as a humble baby, and you grew to become a humble man. Allow the way that you lived to shine through us in lives of humility and trust in your presence with and within us. Teach us to accept the faithful vows you have made to us, and help us to walk the journey of making our vows to you in return. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
The biblical scholar, R. Alan Culpepper says that “Humility is not to be feigned as a strategy for recognition.” In other words – do not abuse humility. “On the contrary, humility is a quality of life open to persons who know that their worth is not measured by recognition from their peers but by the certainty that God has accepted them.”
We’ve been talking this week about living humbly – living in the certainty that God has accepted us – no matter what. This is what Jesus can teach us, as he walks with us, and as we sometimes stumble alongside him.
But even if we stumble, Jesus says that if we live this way, humbly loving others and humbly receiving God’s love for us, we will be blessed! Another word for blessed is – happy! We’re on a constant search for “happiness” in this world, and we usually try to get it by wielding our power over others... But in the story from Luke we’ve read this week, we see that we can find happiness not by pompously pushing our own agendas but by realizing where our wounds and failings are, working together, sitting around the table, and helping one another find the best seat in our lives.
Imagine how different the world would look if people gave each other the best seats in the house at theatres. What would it be like, if we let others go first in the queue at the grocery store? If instead of moaning about the crazy things people do and how we could do them better, what would happen to us and to the world, if we took time to listen to the reasons for why people do the things they do?
That path might not lead us to a life with a lot of money where we make all the “right” connections. It might not lead us to traditional marriage, and it might not fix all of the things in our lives that are difficult, but it will lead to a path of true happiness. Humble happiness, whether that’s in marriage, or as a church community – living as the bride of Christ.
So, do you take Jesus in marriage today, in a human vow that borders on the miraculous?
FOCUS READING
Revelation 21:2-3 (NRSV)
And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them as their God; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them...”
PRAY AS YOU GO
Loving God, you came to earth as a humble baby, and you grew to become a humble man. Allow the way that you lived to shine through us in lives of humility and trust in your presence with and within us. Teach us to accept the faithful vows you have made to us, and help us to walk the journey of making our vows to you in return. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Thursday, 2 September 2010
The Bride
DAILY BYTE
Now, you might think, you’ve spent this whole week talking about marriage and promises - well, I’m not married – or I haven’t had a good experience with marriage, or I haven’t had very good experiences with kept promises in general... So, how am I supposed to be able to trust that I can be humble – that I can let my guard down?
Well, the bible describes the church as the Bride of Christ. So in effect, even if you’re not married or have had terrible experiences with marriages and promises, if you are reading this and seeking after Jesus, desiring to be in some way a part of the body of Christ – the church – here on this earth, you are married to Jesus.
Jesus has vowed never to leave you, no matter what’s going on in your life. And Jesus is the one who teaches us how to be humble to each other and how to accept those who are humbled.
Trust in these vows doesn’t just happen. Trust grows, as we learn more and more about the other person, as trust grows in any other relationship. It can take a lifetime for us to accept the vows Christ makes to us and to make our own in return.
The church is clearly not perfect at keeping promises or at accepting people for who they are, but this is the path that Jesus leads us on. It’s a journey that he continues to teach about in the passage from Luke for today. He tells the host of the banquet to invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. When you’re living and celebrating as a community, invite all of those people who cannot cover up the things that humble them. They wear humility on their sleeves without a choice. And so when we invite them, when we lift them up, we are doing what Jesus wishes we would do for everyone – see who people really are with all of their faults and insecurities – and choose to lift them up and encourage them because we love them, regardless.
Jesus wants us to walk with each other as God fills us with nourishing banquet food and surrounds us with love, encouraging us to be come better versions of ourselves. When we do this, we start to look more like Jesus, as individuals, and more like the body – the bride – of Christ, as a community.
Who do you want to look like and act like? You have a choice to spend your life learning to trust Jesus’ way and promises for you, or not. If you’ve been hurt by failed marriages, broken promises, and un-accepting communities, do think there may still be a God who vows to remain married, walking with you forever?
FOCUS READING
Luke 14:12-14 (NRSV)
He said also to the one who had invited him, ‘When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbours, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.’
IF YOU ARE FEELING BRAVE...
Write down a list of the vows you would hope Christ would make to you, and write down the vows you are striving to make to Christ for how you think he would want you to live your life. Pray over these vows, and ask God to help you trust him, as you walk together.
Now, you might think, you’ve spent this whole week talking about marriage and promises - well, I’m not married – or I haven’t had a good experience with marriage, or I haven’t had very good experiences with kept promises in general... So, how am I supposed to be able to trust that I can be humble – that I can let my guard down?
Well, the bible describes the church as the Bride of Christ. So in effect, even if you’re not married or have had terrible experiences with marriages and promises, if you are reading this and seeking after Jesus, desiring to be in some way a part of the body of Christ – the church – here on this earth, you are married to Jesus.
Jesus has vowed never to leave you, no matter what’s going on in your life. And Jesus is the one who teaches us how to be humble to each other and how to accept those who are humbled.
Trust in these vows doesn’t just happen. Trust grows, as we learn more and more about the other person, as trust grows in any other relationship. It can take a lifetime for us to accept the vows Christ makes to us and to make our own in return.
The church is clearly not perfect at keeping promises or at accepting people for who they are, but this is the path that Jesus leads us on. It’s a journey that he continues to teach about in the passage from Luke for today. He tells the host of the banquet to invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. When you’re living and celebrating as a community, invite all of those people who cannot cover up the things that humble them. They wear humility on their sleeves without a choice. And so when we invite them, when we lift them up, we are doing what Jesus wishes we would do for everyone – see who people really are with all of their faults and insecurities – and choose to lift them up and encourage them because we love them, regardless.
Jesus wants us to walk with each other as God fills us with nourishing banquet food and surrounds us with love, encouraging us to be come better versions of ourselves. When we do this, we start to look more like Jesus, as individuals, and more like the body – the bride – of Christ, as a community.
Who do you want to look like and act like? You have a choice to spend your life learning to trust Jesus’ way and promises for you, or not. If you’ve been hurt by failed marriages, broken promises, and un-accepting communities, do think there may still be a God who vows to remain married, walking with you forever?
FOCUS READING
Luke 14:12-14 (NRSV)
He said also to the one who had invited him, ‘When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbours, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.’
IF YOU ARE FEELING BRAVE...
Write down a list of the vows you would hope Christ would make to you, and write down the vows you are striving to make to Christ for how you think he would want you to live your life. Pray over these vows, and ask God to help you trust him, as you walk together.
Wednesday, 1 September 2010
Human Offerings that can Border on the Miraculous
DAILY BYTE
We’ve been talking about the challenge of living a humble life this week. And through looking at the Gospel of Luke, it seems the only way it’s possible for us to live truly humble lives is for us to live them in the context of community that promises to uplift us when we are in a position that is humble. When we’re broken. When we’re wrong. We don’t need to have our wrong thrown back in our faces – we need to be called friend. In the famous Eat, Pray, Love author Elizabeth Gilbert’s latest book, Committed: A Sceptic Makes Peace with Marriage, she says, “To be fully seen by somebody, then, and to be loved anyhow – this is a human offering that can border on the miraculous.”
The only reason that I let my spouse tell me what to do…sometimes – the reason he is able to critique the way I make the bed or argue – is because I know that he has vowed to stay by me – to uphold me – to walk with me in love – no matter what I say or do. And I can pretty confidently say that he knows the same to be true for me. These are human offerings that border on the miraculous. Seeing humility in one another, it seems, allows us to see the face of God.
The passage for today from Jeremiah sounds pretty harsh. God is “accusing” God’s people of changing “their glory for something that does not profit.” It says, “Be appalled, O heavens, at this, be shocked, be utterly desolate, says the LORD, for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and dug out cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns that can hold no water.”
That’s not easy on the ears! God is appalled – even angry. And we might think – why would we want to listen to a God who gets so angry and says such terrifying things?
Well, we can hear them because they are desolate, grief-stricken words that come not out of selfishness or intent to abuse, but out of deep love. God speaks so harshly because God so deeply wants us to remember our relationship with him – remember that when we turn away and decide our ways of doing things are better and that we are maybe even better than God. When we think that we don’t need him – God cries out – that he is faithful to his promises to us no matter what ridiculous, frustrating, and sometimes terrible things we say and do. He’s still waiting for us to remember the fountain of living water that God has promised will never run dry.
It’s okay to be humble in the presence of that God. It’s okay even to bow down. Because that God loves us and promises never to leave us. If it weren’t so, we would never be able to have a relationship with God because we would always be in a power struggle to see who was better. And we would always be wondering whether, or not, he was going to leave.
Bowing before God is not about humiliating ourselves – it’s about recognizing that our God is humble, and we must be humble, too, to be on his level.
Do you want to trust in that kind of a God? Do you want to be part of a community that can be humble and faithful like that?
GUIDING SCRIPTURE
Jeremiah 2:9-13 (NRSV)
Therefore once more I accuse you, says the LORD, and I accuse your children’s children. Cross to the coasts of Cyprus and look, send to Kedar and examine with care; see if there has ever been such a thing. Has a nation changed its gods, even though they are no gods? But my people have changed their glory
for something that does not profit.
Be appalled, O heavens, at this, be shocked, be utterly desolate, says the LORD, for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and dug out cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns that can hold no water.
PRAY AS YOU GO
Lord, remind us of the fountain of living water that you offer us today. Show us where to find it and how to drink from it, even if that means getting on our knees. Teach us to trust in your promises for us, and allow that faithfulness to strengthen us, so that we can live lives that look like yours – humble lives that reach out in loving commitment to others. Amen.
We’ve been talking about the challenge of living a humble life this week. And through looking at the Gospel of Luke, it seems the only way it’s possible for us to live truly humble lives is for us to live them in the context of community that promises to uplift us when we are in a position that is humble. When we’re broken. When we’re wrong. We don’t need to have our wrong thrown back in our faces – we need to be called friend. In the famous Eat, Pray, Love author Elizabeth Gilbert’s latest book, Committed: A Sceptic Makes Peace with Marriage, she says, “To be fully seen by somebody, then, and to be loved anyhow – this is a human offering that can border on the miraculous.”
The only reason that I let my spouse tell me what to do…sometimes – the reason he is able to critique the way I make the bed or argue – is because I know that he has vowed to stay by me – to uphold me – to walk with me in love – no matter what I say or do. And I can pretty confidently say that he knows the same to be true for me. These are human offerings that border on the miraculous. Seeing humility in one another, it seems, allows us to see the face of God.
The passage for today from Jeremiah sounds pretty harsh. God is “accusing” God’s people of changing “their glory for something that does not profit.” It says, “Be appalled, O heavens, at this, be shocked, be utterly desolate, says the LORD, for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and dug out cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns that can hold no water.”
That’s not easy on the ears! God is appalled – even angry. And we might think – why would we want to listen to a God who gets so angry and says such terrifying things?
Well, we can hear them because they are desolate, grief-stricken words that come not out of selfishness or intent to abuse, but out of deep love. God speaks so harshly because God so deeply wants us to remember our relationship with him – remember that when we turn away and decide our ways of doing things are better and that we are maybe even better than God. When we think that we don’t need him – God cries out – that he is faithful to his promises to us no matter what ridiculous, frustrating, and sometimes terrible things we say and do. He’s still waiting for us to remember the fountain of living water that God has promised will never run dry.
It’s okay to be humble in the presence of that God. It’s okay even to bow down. Because that God loves us and promises never to leave us. If it weren’t so, we would never be able to have a relationship with God because we would always be in a power struggle to see who was better. And we would always be wondering whether, or not, he was going to leave.
Bowing before God is not about humiliating ourselves – it’s about recognizing that our God is humble, and we must be humble, too, to be on his level.
Do you want to trust in that kind of a God? Do you want to be part of a community that can be humble and faithful like that?
GUIDING SCRIPTURE
Jeremiah 2:9-13 (NRSV)
Therefore once more I accuse you, says the LORD, and I accuse your children’s children. Cross to the coasts of Cyprus and look, send to Kedar and examine with care; see if there has ever been such a thing. Has a nation changed its gods, even though they are no gods? But my people have changed their glory
for something that does not profit.
Be appalled, O heavens, at this, be shocked, be utterly desolate, says the LORD, for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and dug out cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns that can hold no water.
PRAY AS YOU GO
Lord, remind us of the fountain of living water that you offer us today. Show us where to find it and how to drink from it, even if that means getting on our knees. Teach us to trust in your promises for us, and allow that faithfulness to strengthen us, so that we can live lives that look like yours – humble lives that reach out in loving commitment to others. Amen.
The Best Spot at the Table
DAILY BYTE
My fiancé and I learned in the wedding planning process that one of the most challenging tasks is the seating plan... It is a dreaded task, I hear, for many – I think because it presents the challenge of trying to find a place for everyone to sit where they will feel like the most important and valued guest at the wedding. Because of course, if everyone were given free reign to sit where they wanted, everyone would want to sit next to the bride and groom, which unfortunately, would lead to quite a messy pile-up.
We want to have seats of honour. We want to feel like we’re the most important people in a room. We want people to see our best sides – our most intelligent, beautiful, funny, creative, inspiring sides. And we want to be appreciated and recognized for those things.
Jesus tells the first parable in Luke 14:7 when he notices that the people at the dinner he’s attending are acting just like that. They are clamouring for the best seat - wanting to be seen and recognized. And conversely, they are not wanting others to see that they may not be the most on top of things with the best pedigree and best credentials and best party tricks.
We spend a lot of time in life pushing our resumes, trying to climb the social and economic ladders, arguing for our proposals and even plain exploiting the gifts that God has given us when we use them out of pride, knowing how good we are at things. Let’s face it – we don’t like to be humble.
And perhaps even more than we resist being humble – we don’t like to have other people humble us. I, of all people, can vouch for the fact that I don’t like people telling me what to do, and I don’t like my way of doing things to be criticized. Do you? Don’t think so...
But, I think there’s an important reason that we run from humility, and that’s because we’ve had bad experiences with it. We’ve experienced peoples’ unhelpfully harsh criticism. We’ve experienced being “put in our place” – which this scripture might seem to advocate, read incorrectly. We’ve heard others put us down simply to pump themselves up. In short, we’ve seen humility abused by power. And we’ve had circumstances like lost jobs and broken families and inconvenient deaths thrust upon us, humbling us in ways that feel terribly uncompassionate and unfair.
And if we read this parable of Jesus, as though the person being humbled is alone, simply being put in his or her place, then we would be reading it as the world often acts, but we would not be reading it as it is written. Because it’s not written in the lonely context of being singled out for failure. It’s written in the context of a wedding banquet – the gathering of a community to celebrate unity and vowed friendship. When the person in the parable is humble and asked to move to sit in a place of honour, he is not just some party-crasher – but he is called ‘friend’ by the host.
Are you feeling humbled at the moment? Has someone humbled you? Have you put someone else down, simply to pump up your own ego? How might you work on living a more humble life? Who might you learn to call friend? Do you need someone to call you, friend?
FOCUS READING
Luke 14:7-11 (NRSV)
When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honour, he told them a parable. ‘When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honour, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, “Give this person your place”, and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, “Friend, move up higher”; then you will be honoured in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.’
My fiancé and I learned in the wedding planning process that one of the most challenging tasks is the seating plan... It is a dreaded task, I hear, for many – I think because it presents the challenge of trying to find a place for everyone to sit where they will feel like the most important and valued guest at the wedding. Because of course, if everyone were given free reign to sit where they wanted, everyone would want to sit next to the bride and groom, which unfortunately, would lead to quite a messy pile-up.
We want to have seats of honour. We want to feel like we’re the most important people in a room. We want people to see our best sides – our most intelligent, beautiful, funny, creative, inspiring sides. And we want to be appreciated and recognized for those things.
Jesus tells the first parable in Luke 14:7 when he notices that the people at the dinner he’s attending are acting just like that. They are clamouring for the best seat - wanting to be seen and recognized. And conversely, they are not wanting others to see that they may not be the most on top of things with the best pedigree and best credentials and best party tricks.
We spend a lot of time in life pushing our resumes, trying to climb the social and economic ladders, arguing for our proposals and even plain exploiting the gifts that God has given us when we use them out of pride, knowing how good we are at things. Let’s face it – we don’t like to be humble.
And perhaps even more than we resist being humble – we don’t like to have other people humble us. I, of all people, can vouch for the fact that I don’t like people telling me what to do, and I don’t like my way of doing things to be criticized. Do you? Don’t think so...
But, I think there’s an important reason that we run from humility, and that’s because we’ve had bad experiences with it. We’ve experienced peoples’ unhelpfully harsh criticism. We’ve experienced being “put in our place” – which this scripture might seem to advocate, read incorrectly. We’ve heard others put us down simply to pump themselves up. In short, we’ve seen humility abused by power. And we’ve had circumstances like lost jobs and broken families and inconvenient deaths thrust upon us, humbling us in ways that feel terribly uncompassionate and unfair.
And if we read this parable of Jesus, as though the person being humbled is alone, simply being put in his or her place, then we would be reading it as the world often acts, but we would not be reading it as it is written. Because it’s not written in the lonely context of being singled out for failure. It’s written in the context of a wedding banquet – the gathering of a community to celebrate unity and vowed friendship. When the person in the parable is humble and asked to move to sit in a place of honour, he is not just some party-crasher – but he is called ‘friend’ by the host.
Are you feeling humbled at the moment? Has someone humbled you? Have you put someone else down, simply to pump up your own ego? How might you work on living a more humble life? Who might you learn to call friend? Do you need someone to call you, friend?
FOCUS READING
Luke 14:7-11 (NRSV)
When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honour, he told them a parable. ‘When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honour, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, “Give this person your place”, and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, “Friend, move up higher”; then you will be honoured in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.’
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