The Ins and Outs of the Gospel

Acts 2:36-47
By grace, God has formed a new community of faith in Jesus Christ. This reality is central to Peter’s message on Pentecost as recorded in the book of Acts. Indeed, it is because of this divine initiative that Peter can point to an ever widening circle of fellowship beginning in Jerusalem. “Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him’” (Acts 2:38-39).

There’s a song by musician Peter Gabriel that speaks to the natural human tendency to seek out distinctions between people and to shape society along those sometimes artificial barriers. He says:

There's safety in numbers
When you learn to divide.
How can we be in
If there is no outside?

Speaking in terms of the gospel, the apostle Peter refuses to make any such distinctions, recognizing instead that all authority rests with God and God alone. He and the others who had followed Jesus from the beginning sought shelter in the days immediately following the ascension, but now the Holy Spirit had sent them out into the streets to share the good news to all people. There had been relative safety for them in the isolation of the upper room, in the ability to control those who came and went from their midst. But that safety would now be lost to the hubbub of the marketplaces and the roadsides. There no longer would be an “inside” established by the community of faith because whatever “outside” there might be would exist only at God’s will.

The contemporary church serves God best when it embraces this reality, that God’s promise is for whoever God determines. There is safety to be found in small rooms and in closed communities, but as the crucifixion makes so vibrantly clear, the gospel has never been about safety. It is a message infused with risk which sometimes leads to discomfort and even death, but which also leads to the gift of eternal life. By God’s grace the question becomes: can anyone be “out” if there is no “inside?”

Prayer: Almighty God, help us to open our hearts to your message of grace and peace and our lives to the work you would have us do. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Busy Work On The Mountain Top

Mark 9:2-13
The story of the Transfiguration of Jesus as recounted in Mark’s gospel gives us quit a bit to ponder. There is the lofty yet lonely location in which the events take place and the isolation of the characters involved who are eventually even shrouded by clouds. The setting of this event seems very intentional and important. There are also the various voices that speak in the passage, actually or by inference. Jesus, God, Peter, Moses, and Elijah are each quoted to the reader or are seen by others to be speaking. Words obviously play a major role in this story which is appropriate as Jesus Christ is the Word of God made flesh. But today I’m struck by this section of the text: “And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus, ‘Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’ He did not know what to say, for they were terrified” (Mark 9:4-6). All that Peter could think about at the appearance of Moses and Elijah was a building project of sorts, essentially busy work.

Peter’s fear is understandable, but there was really no reason for the three disciples to build tents or booths for Jesus and the other. In fact, Peter’s offer reminds me of the old cliché of sending someone to boil water just as a women goes into labor. It’s the sort of thing you send someone to do so that they will be out of the way. But Peter’s offer also raises an interesting question for us to consider. Are there times when our involvement in the life and work of the church amounts to no more than “busy work,” meaningless actions carried out for no real purpose? How often do we offer to build booths when we should pay attention to what is going on, to events we’ve been blessed to witness, opportunities we’ve been given to see the word of God unfolding in our midst? Are there times when we would rather tend to the day to day stuff of organization or institution when what we should be doing is touching lives by sharing ourselves? I know how easy it is to let myself get lost behind a pile of work. I also know how easy it is to miss out on real opportunities to minister.

Peter was frightened, and there is much to frighten us today as well. Peter wanted to do something – anything – rather than absorb what he was seeing. Finally the voice of God called him and the others back to the need to listen and to be involved in what Jesus was saying and doing. Day to day the voice of God calls us as well. Our response must be to stop with the busy work, and to get busy doing the real work of the coming reign.

Prayer: Lord God, guide us in our living that we may set aside that which would distract us from your will. Help us instead to serve you and to respond to your call in all we do. In Jesus’ name that we pray. Amen.

The Meaning of Cloth

John 11:30-44

The story of the raising of Lazarus reaches its crescendo in the final verses of today’s reading. “When [Jesus] had said this, he cried with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’ The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, ‘Unbind him, and let him go’” (John 11:43-44). Here is what I find most interesting in these verses: Jesus has just healed his friend Lazarus from death—so to speak—by raising him and releasing him from his tomb. But Lazarus is still “bound with strips of cloth” and his face is still “wrapped in a cloth.” So Jesus tells those who were there to “Unbind him, and let him go.” Why is it necessary for John to mention the cloth that binds Lazarus? Is it really important to the story?

Perhaps the answer lies in the fact that, even though he’s been raised, Lazarus must return to living his earthly life. Yes, Jesus has freed him from the tomb, but Lazarus must now go back to the day-to-day circumstances that challenge all of us, and to do so he’s going to need his hands and his feet and his head to be unwrapped. Even after Jesus has raised him Lazarus will still face death and the resurrection that will follow because Lazarus is still human. There is another place in John’s gospel where cloth is used at the time of death. After Jesus’ resurrection John tells us that Peter “went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself” (20:6-7). This is a subtle signal to us. The resurrected Jesus did not need to be unbound or let go in the manner that a healed Lazarus did. The cloth, set aside as it was, tells us that something entirely different has happened here. Jesus is now beyond death and is no longer constrained by human life as we know it. Indeed, he is our hope and our confidence for all that awaits us.

So there is meaning to be found in the presence of cloth in John’s gospel. Those who believe can look forward to a new sense of freedom in the resurrection, a new life unbound, one no longer hindered by all that faces us in this life.

Prayer: O God, we offer our thanks and praise to you this day for all that you promise to us in Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.

Crazy Good News

Acts 12:1-17

James, one of the twelve, had been put to death. Peter had been arrested and placed in prison. Things were looking bleak for the early church. But then an angel from the Lord led Peter from the jail and set him on his way in freedom. What follows, according to our reading from the book of Acts, is a rather comical scene. "When (Peter) knocked at the outer gate, a maid named Rhoda came to answer. On recognizing Peter's voice, she was so overjoyed that, instead of opening the gate, she ran in and announced that Peter was standing at the gate. They said to her, 'You are out of your mind!' But she insisted that it was so. They said, 'It is his angel.' Meanwhile Peter continued knocking; and when they opened the gate, they saw him and were amazed" (Acts 12:13-16).

This isn't the first time in the New Testament that a woman has tried to share good news only to be doubted. The women who carried the joyous news of the resurrection were scoffed at, too, until Jesus appeared and authenticated their story. Here a maid named Rhoda announces the presence of Peter, but the others think she is crazy. I understand. Sometimes the news is so good that we can hardly believe it so instead we take a cynical approach. When will we ever learn? This is the gospel we are dealing with, the good news of Jesus Christ. Are not all things possible in and through him? Is God not capable of raising the dead and of freeing the prisoner? What else might God be doing in our world that cries out for our trust? What messages of grace do we miss simply because we don't believe?

Rhoda the maid is one of my favorite minor characters in scripture partly because she adds levity at a very serious moment by being so real and authentic. But she is also a favorite of mine because she believes, and in believing she allows herself to experience great joy. Today I want to believe! Today I want to experience the joy that comes from faith in what God is doing! Today I want to go beyond the cynicism and doubt of the world, it's institutions and it's agents, and to embrace the goodness of what God's work in Jesus Christ as best I can. Who's with me?

Prayer: Lord, open my heart to your good news and help me to receive it with joy, for it is in Jesus' name that I pray. Amen.

Let’s Work Together

Acts 10:17-33

In 1969 blues artist Wilbert Harrison released his song, “Let’s Work Together.” It has since been covered by others, most notably the group Canned Heat. In it Harrison sings:

Together we will stand divided we'll fall

Come on now people let's get on the ball

And work together, come on, come on let's work together, now, now people

Say now together we will stand, every boy, girl, woman, and man...

Based on our reading from Acts today I have this mental image of Peter singing these words to those gathered in the home of Cornelius. “…And (Peter) said to them, ‘You yourselves know that it is unlawful for a Jew to associate with or to visit a Gentile; but God has shown me that I should not call anyone profane or unclean. So when I was sent for, I came without objection’" (Acts 10:28-29).

Unity is a beautiful thing, and God desires it for humanity. It begins when we allow ourselves to be instruments of reconciliation. It begins when we are willing to let others talk while we listen. It begins when we look for similarities and commonalities instead of bashing each other over perceived––and often petty––differences. And even when the differences are significant and seemingly overwhelming God calls us to love and care for one another anyway. “Now together we will stand, every boy, girl, woman, and man.” My hope for the world this day is that somewhere someone will lay aside his or her assumptions and biases and reach out to another person just long enough to recognize a shared humanity with common needs and aspirations because in that moment God will be glorified. “Together we will stand divided we'll fall/Come on now people let's get on the ball…”

Prayer: Almighty God, help us to find a common purpose in your will and to share the joy that you seek with others. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Who Will Go For Us?

Acts 10:1-16

According to Acts 10, a certain centurion named Cornelius was visited by an angel from God. The angel told him look for a man named Simon Peter. “When the angel who spoke to him had left,” we read, “(Cornelius) called two of his slaves and a devout soldier from the ranks of those who served him, and after telling them everything, he sent them to Joppa” (Acts 10:7-8). Clearly neither the angel, nor the slaves, nor the soldier are central to this story, and yet without them there is no story. They are the ones who carry the message and who seek to convey the word from one place to another. To a degree, this is what it means to be missionaries or evangelists.

Few if any of us will be remembered as significant in the life of the Church. For every Mother Theresa there are hundreds of millions of people who go unnoted by the world despite their faithfulness. No matter. All of us have a role to play, and quite often that role is to carry the message of the gospel from one place to another, or to share in the search for the truth that is Jesus Christ. When we play our part, when we carry the message or convey the word, we bring the story to life. Cornelius and Peter might never have met were it not for the angel, the slaves, and the soldier. Whose life might we touch today with the good news? Who might we help in their search for the truth? How might we further the spread of the gospel? These are questions worth asking, for while Cornelius and Peter are the ones we remember, there were others who had to play a part if the story was to move ahead. We, too, need to play our part. We, too, need to move the story along.

Prayer: Gracious God, help us to serve you by serving others, and give us the courage we need to share the good news. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

An Idle Tale?

Luke 24:1-12

How did the disciples react when on Easter morning the women gave them the joyous news of the resurrection? According to Luke’s gospel, “…these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them” (Luke 24:11). How is it possible that the followers of Jesus so easily dismissed as foolishness what they were told? That’s a question we should all ponder, because day in and day out we are faced with good news of great joy but time after time we set it aside as nonsense. The starving are fed in impoverished parts of the world, houses are built for the homeless, justice is found for the oppressed, the sick are comforted, all in the name of Jesus Christ. Do these sound like idle tales? Why, then, do we seem most focused on dissension and schism? Why do we gage the validity of someone’s faith by worldly ideals? Why do we insist on sitting in doubt when given the chance to join Peter in a dash to discovery?

In these days following the celebration of Easter I, like many other church professionals and volunteers, face physical, emotional, and spiritual fatigue. I need a chance to recharge my batteries so that I can resume my efforts. But this is no time to dismiss the news that the women bring, no time to shutter the windows and put out the lights. Jesus Christ is risen! The truth is all around us. Thanks be to God.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we dismiss the gospel in order to follow our own whims. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

What If...?

Matthew 17:22-27

Matthew tells a quirky story about Peter catching a fish and taking a coin from its mouth. This is what Jesus told him to do. The coin was intended for paying the temple tax for both Jesus and Peter. But the story ends before Peter actually pays the tax. In fact, the story ends before Peter even goes fishing. Normally we think of this account as one of Jesus’ miracles. But what if…? What if Jesus was being intentionally ironic? What if Jesus’ instructions to Peter were intended as a joke of sorts. “If you think we should pay the tax, Peter, go take a coin from a fish’s mouth and use that.”

Since Matthew never tells us that Peter caught the fish or paid the tax maybe we should consider the context more carefully. Peter tells the authorities that Jesus pays the tax, but according to Matthew, “(Jesus said,) ’What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tribute? From their children or from others?’ When Peter said, ‘From others,’ Jesus said to him, ‘Then the children are free’” (Matthew 17:25-26). If Jesus is the Son of God (and he is!) he has no need to pay the tax. Peter, who has still not managed to put all of the pieces together, does not understand what it means to say that Jesus is the Messiah. So Jesus says, with tongue firmly in cheek, “go catch a fish, Peter.”

Either way, miracle or not, the truth of this passage is that Jesus is the Son of God, and for us as God’s people the temple tax has been replaced by a call for faithful obedience. If we understand we will give our full attention to Jesus. If we don’t, we may find ourselves “gone fishing.”

Prayer: Lord, help us to live to your glory with hearts attuned to you will. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

How Did He Know? Why Does It Matter?

Matthew 17:1-13

Matthew’s account of the transfiguration leaves us with an interesting question. “Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. Then Peter said to Jesus, ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah’” (Matthew 17:1-4). So, how exactly did Peter know who Jesus was talking to? How did he know it was Moses and Elijah? A couple of humorous answers have occurred to me over the years. One is that Moses and Elijah wore nametags: “Hello, My Name is Moses.” Another is that Peter has seen pictures of these men on their collectors’ cards. (Just imagine what Moses’s “rookie card” would have been worth!)

What I used to think was that Peter recognized the two prophets because he knew the history, the scriptures, the stories of Israel’s past. But I’ve changed my mind somewhat. Now I believe that it’s not so important how Peter recognized Jesus’ conversation partners, it is more important that he did recognize them, but that in the end he still didn’t get what was going on. In telling this story Matthew gives a clear signal to us as readers about Jesus’ identity, but Peter and the others are left in a fog, literally and figuratively.

The question then becomes more about what we do with the knowledge that we’ve been given. Do we “get it,” that Jesus is the Son of God to whom we are to listen? Or do we continue to wander in a haze of misunderstanding, failing to grasp the big picture? If Jesus is the Son of God, if Jesus is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:7a), then why are we living the way we live, doing the things we do, causing the sorts of problems that we seem determined to cause? Jesus is the Son of God; even Moses and Elijah know it. Now it’s time to live as though Jesus’ identity means something to us as well.

Prayer: Lord, help us to grasp the glory and the grace that is all around us and to live as redeemed people, not as those stuck in the past. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Built On The Rock

Matthew 16:13-20

“Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.’ And Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it’” (Matthew 16:16-18). Most of us are familiar with the pun Jesus uses in this conversation from Matthew. The name Peter is based on the Greek word for rock, so in English Simon might have been called Rocky.

“You are Rocky, and on this rock I will build my church.”

But is Peter really “The Rock”? Or does that term refer to anyone who comes to know Jesus as the “Son of the living God”? For me faith in Jesus Christ challenges each of us to become rock-like in our living, to stand firm in what we believe. We do not do the building–that job belongs to Jesus. But by grace we become the stones, the raw material with which God creates a new structure that will stand against the forces of sin and death. This is why the Christian faith can never be reduced purely to person terms. Faith is always a function of believers as a whole, joined together, accountable to one another, encouraging one another. We are all rocks together, and in our unity–as frail as it is–we display the good news of the gospel.

“On this rock I will build my church.”

Prayer: Lore, give us the strength to live lives of courage and unity, that your will may be done among us. In Jesus name. Amen.

A Total Lack of Courage

Mark 14:66-72

Peter had sworn that he would never deny Jesus, no matter what. But according to our reading from Mark this morning that’s exactly what Peter did. Bless Peter’s heart, though. The first two times he denied knowing Jesus were not to a person of power or authority, but to a servant girl (Mark 14:67-69). Apparently all of Peter’s courage was gone as was his promise to remain loyal to Jesus.

I’m not making light of Peter’s actions. I can’t honestly say I would have done any better—I don’t know because by God’s grace I’ve never been in that situation. And that’s the warning I take from this account. Words are easy, promises are cheap, but actions are sometimes very difficult. On the other hand, Jesus seems to have known Peter better than Peter knew himself because Jesus had predicted the denial. And ironically there is the good news that all of us need to hear: Jesus knows each of us better than we know ourselves and yet Jesus is willing to die for us, just as he was willing to die for Peter. The disciple may have lacked courage, but the teacher did not, and in the end God’s grace was made clear in the resurrection.

Spiritually we may each be lacking, but God’s love is powerful enough to call us, to claim us, to heal us, to hold us, to save us, and to send us. This we know because Jesus died for Peter…and for you and me.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when our courage fails or when we do not live up to our promises. In Jesus’ name. Amen.