Context

Luke 13:18-30
There are passages of scripture that I have become so familiar with and so comfortable using that I forget to consider them in their broader context. Today we have encountered one such passage, a verse often used during the sacrament of communion. "There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrown out. Then people will come from east and west, from north and south, and will eat in the kingdom of God. Indeed, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last" (Luke 13:28-30). The description of those who will gather at table in the coming reign of God, the folks coming from every direction, is bracketed by words of judgment and of warning. Can we really speak of the table of the Lord as a place of universal inclusion when just a verse before Jesus has excluded some from that very table?

Even when God’s word contains judgment, it nonetheless remains a source of grace. God is aware of who we are and what we do and there are consequences to our actions. We are called to a higher standard as God’s people and we are made aware of our responsibilities as disciples. And lest we feel like we are the only people God could possibly draw together into the coming reign, here come people from every direction imaginable, all at God’s request, and turning the whole order of things upside down. Why is this a message of grace? Because this is the message that we have been given to share. These are our words given to us by our Lord and Savior. Jesus continues to cast a wide net and to send us out as well to fish for men and women. As such, we have become instruments of God’s inclusivity.

These verses, taken in context, are an invitation to live more fully into our calling, not in order to win God’s affection, but because in Jesus Christ God’s love has already been poured out lavishly upon us. There is a contrast––a stark one––between the wailing and gnashing on the one hand, and the feast on the other. As faithful disciples we are challenged to live so that others may know the way to the feast and away from the darkness. Grace is serious business, but then God’s love is serious as well, and we are to be serious in our efforts to share it.

Prayer: Lord, you have embraced your people with love and mercy. Help us to live into your calling so that others may know this good news. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

It Depends On Your Perspective

Numbers 16:20-35

Psalm 146

Clearly not all the stories of the Bible are pleasant ones. There are some that we generally do not read to children, and that even adults prefer to skip over. Our reading from Numbers today is one of those uncomfortable passages for many people. “As soon as [Moses] finished speaking all these words, the ground under them was split apart. The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, along with their households - everyone who belonged to Korah and all their goods. So they with all that belonged to them went down alive into Sheol; the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly” (Numbers 16:31-33). How could God do such a thing? How could the source of all love and light cause the earth to open up and swallow entire families? And Numbers is not our only reading today that speaks of God’s judgment. The psalmist speaks in similar terms, saying “The Lord watches over the strangers; he upholds the orphan and the widow, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin” (Psalm 146:9).

But what does God’s judgment mean if there are no consequences to it? How do we take God seriously if there are no ramifications otherwise? To be in relationship with God is to trust God’s guidance, God’s care, God’s providence. We seek God’s active presence in our midst. But God is not a good luck charm or a mascot. God is real and as such has real demands of us. So we could focus on God’s anger, on the acts of retribution that God performs, or we could recognize the grace that plays a far greater role in what God is doing. God had warned Adam and Eve that they would die on the day they ate of the fruit of a particular tree, but when they ate it they did not die; indeed God helped them prepare for life outside the garden. Because of human sinfulness God was determined to destroy all of creation, but then God remembered Noah and relented. Abraham asked God to spare the lives of some who lived in Sodom and Gomorrah and God did. More than once God had the inclination to destroy the Hebrew people in the wilderness but in each case Moses convinced God to let the people live. Finally, when God might have put an end to human life, God instead sent Jesus Christ to die for us. Time after time God has shown more mercy than we deserve, yet God’s judgment remains very real.

So in terms of God’s love we could see the glass as half empty––with lives brought to a sudden end––or we could see it as half full, with even sinners such as you and me given the opportunity to find forgiveness and be restored in our relationship with God and with one another. Personally, I rejoice in the good news of God’s grace.

Prayer: Lord, help us to embrace your love and to recognize your grace in our lives. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Ouch!

John 8:33-47

The words of Jesus that we find in our gospel reading today make for what we could call a stinging rebuke of Jesus’ listeners. “Why do you not understand what I say?” Jesus asks. “It is because you cannot accept my word. You are from your father the devil, and you choose to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me” (John 8:43-45). This is from the same man of whom it was said, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life” (3:16). How do we deal with such harsh words and the apparent contradiction?

The key to understanding these passages is faith. In what do we believe? To whom do we listen? By what message are we guided in our living? Jesus leaves no room for ambiguity. In a manner of speaking it is all or nothing. Either we seek God and what God is doing in our midst, or we fall into the snare of evil to be overcome by lies and deceit. Jesus is the focal point of God’s work and in Jesus all come to know God and God’s love. Anything else is suspect.

There is an important point to add, however. The words of condemnation in this passage are spoken by Jesus alone and it is to Jesus that such judgment belongs. Too often the church has taken upon itself the role of condemning others for any number of reasons while not allowing God’s will to unfold. And this is where we must return to the words of John 3:16. God loves the world. God calls to the world. God undertakes suffering for the world in the person of Jesus. We who would live according to God’s will must do the same. We must offer witness to what we believe and trust in God to work through us, often in ways that we do not expect or cannot understand. The judgment of God is balanced by the love and grace of God. As people of faith we must be aware of our own shortcomings while seeking to share the grace we have received.

Prayer: God, make us messengers of your love to the world even as we seek to focus our lives on your Son, in whose name we pray. Amen.

Who Is Expecting Whom?

Amos 7:1-9

According to our Old Testament reading for today God gave the prophet Amos a clear image of judgment.

“This is what he showed me: the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. And the Lord said to me, ‘Amos, what do you see?’ And I said, ‘A plumb line.’ Then the Lord said, ‘See, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel; I will never again pass them by; the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste, and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword’" (Amos 7:7-9).

In order for a wall to be its strongest it must be built with precision. The wall next to which Amos saw the Lord standing had been built with a plumb line, meaning it had been well constructed. This, then, was the expectation that God was setting for the people. Everything they did was to be as straight and true as a well built wall. If all was not as God wished it God’s judgment would come to bear.

That may not sound like a cheery message for Advent, but the truth is unmistakable. To be in relationship with another or to be bound in covenant means that each party expects the other to abide by the terms of the contract. We, then, are not the only ones with expectations these days. As we await the coming reign of God we must strive to live in truth, to “measure up” to the expectations that God has for us. The good news is that by grace God offers a plumb line for us to use. If we allow God to guide us the lives we construct will be all they should be, a blessing to us and to others.

Prayer: Lord, may our lives we straight and true, built according to your will. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

God's Guardrail

Ezekiel 18:1-4, 19-32

If we believe that the God of the Old Testament is a vengeful, wrath-filled God meting out condemnation and offering no love or compassion, then we should pay closer attention to passages like this one from Ezekiel. Yes, God has expectations of the people, but no, God does not delight in smiting or otherwise dispensing with them when they fail. “Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, says the Lord God, and not rather that they should turn from their ways and live?… For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, says the Lord God. Turn, then, and live” (Ezekiel 18:23, 32). These verses, set side by side, are reminiscent of the cliché, “This is going to hurt me more than it hurts you.” Only in the case of God it is far from cliché. Judgment, punishment of the wicked; these are not the things God wishes for.

Then why would God threaten death to the wicked? Mostly, I think, because it is true. Evil is, in and of itself, a kind of death, a willing separation from God. When we choose to go against God’s will we have stepped away from the life that is possible, the joyful life of hope and promise. “You will die,” is as much a threat from God as it is a warning which God offers the people, like a guardrail on a dangerous stretch of road. Ultimately God is the one willing to die for our transgressions, allowing us to move beyond the limitations of sin and death and to embrace life as an eternal reality. God does not kill for sport or out of spite. Indeed, the God of whom we read in both the Old and New Testaments yearns for us to know life abundantly. Anything less is a tragedy to God.

Prayer: Help us, O God, to live in the light of truth and righteousness, that we may know life the way you intend it. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Can We Handle the Truth?

Note: This was actually the post from Thursday, May 12 that seems to have disappeared in the recent Blogger glitch. I'm reposting it for today and will resume posting on Monday, May 16. Thanks for your support and your readership. I feel very blessed to have the opportunity to share God's word with people from over 65 countries around the world. As always, feel free to comment on any post.

1 John 5:13-20 (21)

There is a climactic moment in the film “A Few Good Men” when the character played by Jack Nicholson nearly screams at the one played by Tom Cruise, “You want the truth? You can’t handle the truth!” That’s one of my favorite moments in all of film. Our reading from 1 John is not filled with screaming, but it is a profound declaration of what it means to be God’s people. “And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know him who is true” (1 John 5:20a).

Of course the one “who is true” is God and it is in the ministry of Jesus Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit that we are given the opportunity to recognize that truth and what it means for us. We cannot fully understand it, cannot grasp it completely, but we can move in the right direction and can allow it to affect who we are. This is not for the weak of spirit. For once we have gazed into the truth, into who God is, we will know things about ourselves that we probably would rather not know. This is a part of the balance that we find in God, the tension between judgment and grace. Part of God’s truth is bound up in condemning us for our failures, holding us accountable for where we have gone astray. But a part of God’s truth is also to be found in the forgiveness we receive from the very same God in whose Son we find our hope.

Can we handle this truth? That’s a good question. There may be times when we must look away lest we become overwhelmed by God’s majesty. But at other times I believe we are able to see and feel the truth like the hug of a loved one or the stirring of compassion deep in the heart, leading us to share what we have encountered. So yes, I believe we can handle it, indeed are called to stand before it and to carry it with us and to be motivated by it. God’s truth is that which endures, and when we wrestle with it we are blessed by the endeavor.

Prayer: Lord, help us to see and to know your truth and to live according to your will. Amen.

The Good, the Bad, and the Sheep

Jeremiah 25:30-38

John 10:1-18

“Wail, you shepherds, and cry out; roll in ashes, you lords of the flock, for the days of your slaughter have come –– and your dispersions, and you shall fall like a choice vessel. Flight shall fail the shepherds, and there shall be no escape for the lords of the flock. Hark! the cry of the shepherds, and the wail of the lords of the flock!” (Jeremiah 25:34-36).

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep….I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me…And I lay down my life for the sheep” (John 10:11, 14-15).

It’s hard to believe that each of these passages is talking about shepherds. How different the descriptions are! According to Jeremiah judgment is about to befall those leaders who have done wrong in God’s sight. Indeed, they will wail and cry but flight will not help them. Their slaughter is about to fall upon them. But John speaks in radically divergent terms. There we read Jesus’ claim to be the “good shepherd” who will “lay down (his) life for the sheep.” The mark of Jesus’ righteousness is that he will give his life for the flock while the leaders of Jeremiah’s day were unwilling to lead the people in the paths that God desired.

When Jesus takes on the title “good shepherd” he is speaking with intentionality. What went on before was not God’s will. But now, in the person of God’s Son, all will be set right. Those who seek God will need only to hear the voice of Jesus to know that he is the Way. As a part of God’s flock we should rejoice for the good shepherd has come to lead us in right paths.

Prayer: Lord, help us to follow the good shepherd who lays down his life for us, and may we live as righteous people all our days. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

A Fire That Consumes

Jeremiah 11:1-8, 14-17

I talk a lot about Moses’s experience with the burning bush, one that burned yet was not consumed. It was the call of Moses and thus the beginning of the Exodus from Egypt. Yet, in today's reading from Jeremiah the people are threatened with a far different image. Says Jeremiah, “The Lord once called you, ‘A green olive tree, fair with goodly fruit’; but with the roar of a great tempest he will set fire to it, and its branches will be consumed” (Jeremiah 11:16). The sinfulness of the people had transformed God’s presence from a sign of grace—indeed, a miracle––into an image of judgment. The flame by which God had promised salvation was now a portent of God’s coming wrath.

This is a tragic turn of events. But as theologians have pointed out, God’s grace is but another side of the same coin as God’s judgment. Without one, there is no reality to the other. God expects justice, and God will and does hold God’s people accountable for it. But God remains faithful to the promise as well. The fire that consumes will again be the fire that saves. How we respond to God’s call, God’s will, matters. But God remains active in the process.

Prayer: Lord, help us to accept your judgment, turn from our sins, and live according to your will and by your grace. Amen.

Playing Freeze Tag With God?

Jeremiah 7:1-15

There are games that I remember from my childhood with great fondness. At Freeman family reunions the cousins would often play kick the can in the back yard. With my mother's kin we would all play charades, kids and adults. One game that we often played in the schoolyard back home was some variation of freeze tag. If you were tagged by the person who was "it" you had to remain frozen until another player touched you. Of course there was always a "base" where a player would be safe from being tagged.

I thought of childhood games when I read the passage from Jeremiah for today. God is warning the people against their false assumptions. "Do not trust in these deceptive words: 'This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord...'. Here you are, trusting in deceptive words to no avail. Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, make offerings to Baal, and go after other gods that you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, 'We are safe!'" (Jeremiah 7:4, 8-9). It sounds very much like a childish game, with a singsong refrain and even a "base" where the people believe they will be safe from judgment.

But it doesn't work that way, does it? We may make all the assumptions we want, but God's will is not a game. God seeks justice and righteousness and does not accept insincere actions designed to "get God off of our back." So here is a question to ponder today: do we have faith mature enough to do what God intends, or is ours an immature faith that is happy just playing at justice? Yes, we are children of God. And yes, God wants us to live in joy and peace. But that does not give us license to ignore the claims that God makes on us or to make assumptions about God based on our own desires. Freeze tag is fun, but faith is hard work that requires us to pay attention.

Prayer: Gracious God, help us to develop mature faith and to live according to your will all the days of our lives. Amen.

The Search for Honesty

Jeremiah 5:1-9

Romans 2:25-3:18

In our reading from Jeremiah for today God has a challenge for the prophet. “Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem,” says the Lord, “look around and take note! Search its squares and see if you can find one person who acts justly and seeks truth — so that I may pardon Jerusalem” (Jeremiah 5:1).

Perhaps these words remind you of Diogenes, the ancient Greek, who was said to walk the streets of Athens by day, lit lantern in hand, “looking for an honest man.” Or maybe you are reminded of the conversation between God and Abraham in Genesis 18:22-33 where Abraham urges God to spare Sodom and Gomorrah if only ten righteous people can be found there. In either case, the search is in vain. Paul has his thoughts on the matter. Quoting Psalm 14 he tells his readers in Rome that “There is no one who is righteous, not even one; there is no one who has understanding, there is no one who seeks God” (Romans 3:10-11).

Not exactly cheerful stuff. But if we are honest with ourselves we will admit the truth. In all of God’s creation there are no sinless people, none. Not you, not me, not anyone. We all struggle with the will of God. We all fall short of God’s intentions for us. And God knows this and wants us to recognize it, too. After all, it is the season of Lent, a time of self-examination, of coming to terms with who we are and seeking God’s help in overcoming our deficiencies. Even though God loves us and wants what is best for us, God remains our judge, the one who holds us accountable. Only in the act of judgment does God’s grace make any difference to us. Not that we are to wallow in our sin, but when we confess to God—even knowing we will be forgiven—we do not take it lightly, either. All of us need God’s help, and in grace God gives it. Not in a meaningless way, but with the power to save us from ourselves. In all honesty we need God’s forgiveness.

Prayer: Lord, help us to see our sinfulness and to trust your forgiveness, that by your grace we may live as your people. In Jesus' name. Amen.