It’s Not About Us

Romans 6:1-11
Paul offers us words of great hope this morning in his letter to the Romans. “For if we have been united with [Christ Jesus] in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.…The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Romans 6:5, 10-11). In the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, we have been freed from the power of sin that once overshadowed our present and our future and are now able to live toward the will of God and what God is doing in the world. When we embrace this truth, when we accept it as reality, we find it to be a colossal shift in the meaning of life. No longer is it all about us. Our failings, our shortcomings, our faults are not what define us. We are now defined by the will of God and what God is doing in and through us. We are freed to move beyond our fears and regrets and to walk in the light of a new hope and a new future.

It isn’t easy, of course. We still feel the tug of our former lives clutching at us to draw us back to what we once were. But now, since we have new life in Christ, we also have ample reason to make the effort and to face the challenges. There is reason to hope; it is the certain knowledge that we live by the grace of God who claims us as God’s own and who experienced death for our sake and for the sake of the world. If we have a share in the death of Christ Jesus (and Paul assures us we do), then we most certainly have a share in his resurrection from the dead. So not only does life have renewed meaning—freed as it is from the darkness of sin—but death is no longer to be feared, for with it comes our final restoration in the life eternal, when, by grace, it still won’t be about us, but about God and God’s majestic glory. Our lives, then, belong to God, now and forever.

Prayer: God of all time and space, by your grace you have freed us from the power of sin and death and allowed us to live in and through your will. Bless us today in all that we do, that we may serve you with joy and be a blessing to others. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

All In This Together

Jeremiah 5:1-9
Living as we do in an age of divisiveness, perhaps it is helpful to be reminded by the prophet that sometimes we are more united than we realize, and that it isn’t always a good thing. “Then I said, ‘These are only the poor, they have no sense; for they do not know the way of the Lord, the law of their God. Let me go to the rich and speak to them; surely they know the way of the Lord, the law of their God.’ But they all alike had broken the yoke, they had burst the bonds” (Jeremiah 5:4-5). Sin is sin. Disregard for the Lord is a problem no matter where it happens or by whom it is perpetrated. Jeremiah surveyed the people of his day and found that no matter their place in the social spectrum, no matter their level of achievement, no matter how well-educated or politically connected they might be, they still fell short of God’s intentions. Interestingly, the fact that Jeremiah assumes that the poor might be less righteous based on their place in society is unusual in scripture where God continually shows great compassion for the oppressed and impoverished. Of course, the prophet quickly finds that there is no status in life where God’s will is followed consistently.

Finger pointing, it would seem, will get us nowhere. What we need is not more accusations against others, but a thorough self-examination to remind us that we, too, have fallen short of God’s will for our lives and that we, too, whoever we may be, whatever our station in life, must allow God to work in and through us to bring us to righteousness. As Paul reminds us in our epistle lesson today, “There is no one who is righteous, not even one” (Romans 3:10). Driving in the car earlier today I experienced a modern interpretation of Paul’s words as I passed cars festooned with stickers in support of one cause or another. I applaud these folks for standing up for their beliefs, but I also hope that in their zeal for a particular cause they do not lose sight of the fact that they, too, need the mercy and forgiveness of God as found in Jesus Christ if they are to walk in paths of faithful obedience and true discipleship.

Perhaps with the realization that sin is a part of every life we may discover a sense of unity and fellowship with others. There is no one who is without sin. No one. And here, if nowhere else, we stand united. It isn’t much, but at least it’s something.

Prayer: Forgive us when we sin against you and against one another, and help us to recognize our need for the entire community of faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

No Exchange Policy

Jeremiah 2:1-13, 29-32
Romans 1:16-25
Portions of two of today’s readings intersect to offer a word of warning for those whose attention is not on God and the divine will. “Cross to the coasts of Cyprus and look,” we read in Jeremiah, “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…” (Jeremiah 2:10-12). In his letter to the Romans, Paul makes the same point clear, saying, “they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed for ever!” (Romans 1:25). In each case, the issue is one of idolatry, the placing of anything – any aspect of life, any activity, any idea or concept – between ourselves and God. The people of Israel had “changed gods,” according to the prophet, had chosen to serve “the creature rather than the Creator,” in the words of Paul. As a result, the heavens should be “appalled… shocked… (and) utterly desolate,” according to Jeremiah.

While it is easy to place such comments in the past tense and therefore to see them as historic failings, we ourselves must continually be aware of our own focus, that in which we place our ultimate allegiance. The problem, even within the Christian community, is that we find the idolatries of others to be so much worse than those we carry. We easily remove the speck from the eye of fellow believers while the log remains firmly lodged in our own. Why is that? Why is it that people of faith have so much trouble finding common cause on this issue? If nothing else, we Christians should be able to pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit in our day to day lives and God’s help in our effort to cast aside whatever it is that blocks our view of God’s will. We all fall short of God’s intentions. We all have “changed gods” at some point in our lives. We all have been bedazzled by the creature and lost sight of the Creator, if only for a season or for a moment. We all stand in humble need of God’s forgiveness and grace, and it seems to me that prayers of confession should replace words of accusation and acrimony on all levels.

Then, perhaps, once we have recognized our common plight as sinners in need of redemption, we can pray for one another, humbly and honestly seeking what is best even for those with whom we disagree strongly, for God’s glory is certainly not served in our willful disregard for the hurts and needs of others any more than by our inability to remain focused on the one by whose grace we all live.

Prayer: Lord of light and life, we confess that we have not always followed you and your will for our lives. Forgive us when we allow anything to distract our attention from your glory, and restore us in our faithful obedience to our Lord Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.

Of Darkness and Light (and Of Shadows, Too)

John 3:16-21
According to the gospel of John from which we have read this morning, the world is divided into two types of people, those who do evil and therefore shun God’s light in Jesus Christ for fear of being revealed, and those who do what is true and therefore accept the light and what it makes clear. John puts it this way, “For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God” (John 3:20-21). John seems to suggest that the world is made up of clearly defined areas with sharp lines of contrast in between. You either do what is wrong or you do what is true and right; you either sin against God, or you don’t. And depending on your actions you either cower in the blackness of anonymity or you stand confidently in the sunshine of righteousness. I wish I thought it was that clear in real life. It’s not that I want to do what it evil, or that I don’t do what is true, it’s just that all too often I get muddled up somewhere between the two and the results are not what they should be. I love the light, I just can’t always seem to get there. Is there no place for me? Is there no grey area, no area of shadow or shade, maybe not completely in the light, but certainly not completely in the dark either?

Actually, I think that taken as a whole the gospel of John has quite a bit to say about living in those grey areas between sin and righteousness. “Indeed,” says John, “God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (v. 17). It is true that the light of God in Jesus Christ is a source of judgment as well as grace, but Jesus has been sent, first and foremost, to offer salvation to the world, which I take as a word of hope for those of us standing in the space between light and dark. Jesus is our hope. Jesus is the means by which we strive to leave our sinful ways behind and step into the glow of the coming reign of God. The light of God will defeat the darkness of the world. And by grace, we will find ourselves bathed in the glow of the righteousness of God.

Prayer: God of light, help us as we strive to step out of the darkness and to embrace your will for our lives. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Aren’t We All?

Luke 7:36-50
"If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him - that she is a sinner" (Luke 7:39). According to Luke’s gospel this is what Jesus’ host was thinking to himself as a certain woman of the city tended to Jesus during dinner. Jesus, of course, knew the thoughts of his host and responded with a parable about forgiveness. But both Luke and the Pharisee of Luke’s story refer to the woman as “a sinner.” Aren’t we all sinners? Couldn’t this be said of anyone who touched Jesus?

Luke and the Pharisee in the account are using the term “sinner” in a very particular way. Whatever this woman was known for—prostitution?—it was significant enough to set her apart from the rest of her community, like the large “A” that Hester Prynne is forced to wear in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter. That much is never questioned in Luke’s story. The woman tending to Jesus is guilty of something that her society does not accept as appropriate. Yet, in reflecting the grace of God Jesus is willing to offer forgiveness to this particular woman anyway, to claim her as one of God’s children, and to lift up her actions as commendable compared to the sparse hospitality shown Jesus by his host.

The point seems clear. We may wish to judge one another, to point out the faults of those around us, to call others to account for their misdeeds, but if Jesus was willing to forgive a woman of her sin—a woman who was without question guilty—then perhaps we should not be in too big a hurry to condemn or judge others. Jesus will always have the final word anyway, and in grace that final word may come as a real surprise to us.

Prayer: Lord, may we who have been forgiven by you, find ways by which to forgive one another. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Sin Is Always a God Thing

Psalm 51

Today we learn of the horrific events that took place in Aurora, Colorado over night. The shock and anger that we feel in the wake of such violence leads naturally to questions about faith and the reality of God. While some questions cannot be dealt with easily, scripture offers comfort and insight at all times. One of the morning psalms for today makes a profound point: “Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight…” (Psalm 51:4). To believe in the God revealed to us in Jesus Christ is to accept God’s presence in our midst. The psalmist suggests that all sin is committed against God; when we wrong a neighbor or a stranger, when we damage our covenant relationships with others, when we fail to meet our obligations, when we disregard the needs of the poor or the hungry, in every case we are acting against God whose presence in the world makes God a target of all unrighteousness.

This puts God squarely on the side of the afflicted: with the friend who has been cheated, with the loved one who now faces a lack of trust, with those who needed our love and support but did not receive it, with those to whom we offered no care or compassion. But this means that God is also there in the midst of the gunfire, and in the loss of innocence, and in the death of loved ones, and in the chaos of a world that sometimes seems beyond hope. God is with us, so close in fact that God alone becomes the focus of our sinfulness even as God becomes a source of strength and hope.

Most of us will never commit such acts of violence as have taken place in Colorado (or Bulgaria, or Syria, or elsewhere), but we all sin and fall short of God’s will in a variety of ways. The good news is that God is steadfast in love and patience. Far from leaving us on our own to suffer, God stands with us in the hour of need. And now is one of those hours. Lord be with us!

Prayer: Lord God, be a comfort to those who suffer this day and especially those who have encountered violence firsthand, wherever they may be. For it is in Jesus’ name that we pray. Amen.

Playing Hide and Seek With Sin

Numbers 32:1-6, 16-27
It is interesting when certain phrases or expressions -- ones we use in our daily lives -- pop up in scripture reminding us how the Bible has permeated our language and our culture. We have a somewhat minor example today from the book of Numbers. Moses is speaking to the tribes who have sworn to help subdue the promised land even though they do not intend to occupy it. "But if you do not do this," Moses tells them, "you have sinned against the Lord; and be sure your sin will find you out" (Numbers 32:23). Your sin will find you out. This is an expression I have heard over the years, but I don't think I ever knew where it might have originated.

Note, by the way, that Moses does not say, "you have sinned against the Lord and the Lord will find you out." God would know of the transgression, but Moses indicates that the sin itself that carry its own punishment. There are consequences to our actions, Moses is saying, and in this case the failure to meet a commitment will not go without repercussions; the tribes in question will not be able to hide from what they have done because the deed itself will remain a part of who they are.

Frankly I'm not sure we ever know the full ramifications of our actions, the "what ifs" and "what could have beens" of what we have done or left undone. Sin catches up to us--finds us out--in a number of ways, some large and some small, even if only in the fact that we know we have fallen short of God's will. Ultimately, of course, it is God who stands as judge of our wrongdoing, but sin cannot be ignored, cannot be cast aside lightly. Our sins will find us out and when they do the will be consequences.

Prayer: Lord God, guide us in our living that we may not fail you, but when we sin, O God, grant us forgiveness, for it is in Jesus' name that we pray. Amen.

First Thing First

Exodus 20:1-21

“Then God spoke all these words: I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:1-3). It is fitting that the Ten Commandments should begin where they do, with God’s relationship to the people––and the implications of that relationship––made clear. Of all the commandments, however, it is this first one that remains the most difficult to keep.

What is it that motivates us? What is it that fills our lives with joy or purpose? What is the thing that we take most seriously? If our answer to these questions is anything other than God, we have violated the first commandment. Nothing shall come between us and the one true God. God, THE God, must remain first and foremost in our lives. Once this foundation is set the meaning of the other commandments becomes more apparent. For example when our central focus remains on God’s will we see there is no need for idols to serve as good luck charms or totems. If we are focused on God’s will we will be disinclined to substitute our own desires, our own biases and to claim them as the word of God. When we are focused on God we are better able to see the necessity of rest and wellbeing for ourselves and others and to forego the constant drive to achieve or to accumulate. When we are attentive first to God our relationships with others become more meaningful and we begin to better understand the blessings of community and the appropriate ways to live in it.

“You shall have no other gods before me.” As God’s people we are challenged to accept God’s role in our lives and to let go of anything that might stand in the way. This is not an easy task but it leads to a life filled with grace and abundance.

Prayer: Lord, help us to keep you first in our lives and to live in faithfulness and fidelity to you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

No Fair!

Ezekiel 18:1-4, 25-32

I said it as a kid. Something wouldn’t go my way, like a game of Chinese checkers or of hide and seek, and I’d say, “That’s not fair.” It was almost a reflex action: lose a game; yell, “No fair!” Well. apparently the people of Israel had the same tendency. “Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is unfair.’ Hear now, O house of Israel: Is my way unfair? Is it not your ways that are unfair?” (Ezekiel 18:25). The issue at hand was whether a wicked person should be able to turn from the ways of evil and receive God’s forgiveness. Shouldn’t such a person be punished for their transgressions? The same questions fill our lives as well. We find the world working a certain way; we see certain people getting ahead or doing well; we notice those whom we believe to be undeserving who are actually better off in one way or another than we are. How can God let this sort of thing happen? How can this possible be fair?

God’s answer is good news for all who have ears to hear. Those who renounce their wickedness, says the Lord, will find life. In other words, God’s grace abounds and though it may not seem fair to us, there’s no denying the mercy and love of God. God takes no pleasure in death; God seeks abundant life for all people. Is God fair? No, not in purely human terms. But let’s give thanks for if God were “fair” we’d certainly be without hope.

Prayer: Thanks be to you, O God, for your mercy and grace. Without them we surely would fall into the snares of our own wrongdoing. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

NOTE: Beginning tomorrow, I will be including blog posts each Saturday written by "guest bloggers" who will offer their insights on the readings for that particular day. I deeply appreciate the willingness of these folks to share their time and talents with us. Be sure to stop by on upcoming Saturdays to see what they have to say.

Faith Made Real

Hebrews 9:15-28

John 5:19-29

The Apostles’ Creed says of Jesus Christ that “he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.” The truth of this statement is woven throughout scripture, including our readings for today. Hebrews tells us that “Christ did not enter a sanctuary made by human hands, a mere copy of the true one, but he entered into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf” (Hebrews 9:24). The gospel reading for today adds to this understanding. There Jesus himself says, “For just as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself; and he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man” (John 5:26-27).

Jesus is no longer constrained to the human condition, and yet, because the Son of Man lived among us, he is able to relate to us. God’s judgment then, while real, is not arbitrary. Nor is it without mercy. In my own faith tradition—as in many others—the confession of sin is preceded by the reminder that God waits with eagerness to forgive our sins even as we confess them. This is the good news of the gospel, that in Jesus Christ–Son of God, Word made flesh–God was reconciling the world to God’s self.

Prayer: God of grace and mercy, continue to forgive our sins. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Like There's No Tomorrow

Hebrews 3:12-19

The Christian faith is a community faith, one that requires men and women, the young and the old to stand together as the body of Christ at work I the world. Only when we are in relationship with others may we fully live the relationship - the covenant - we have with God. But the Christian faith is also a 'right now' faith, one that looks forward to the coming of God's reign, but which lives out its witness in the present. The book of Hebrews helps us to put this aspect of our relationship with God and with one another into focus. "...Exhort one another every day, as long as it is called 'today,' so that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin" (Hebrew 3:13). For the writer of Hebrews there is no time like the present in which to do the work of God, in which to stand united with a common purpose, in which to act on the faith we confess. Yes, we have a sure and certain hope of what God will do in the time to come, but the call we receive is to be awake now and to exhort and care for one another on every day called "today."

Ours is a "right now" faith for in grace God entered world in the person of Jesus Christ, a real person who lived at a real time and place, but whose love continues to abound in our midst. As God's people may we live like there is no tomorrow, and may we do so with a unity of purpose.

Prayer: Gracious God, help us recognize today and everyday as a gift from you and a blessing to be cherished and shared. In Jesus' name. Amen.