Vision Or No Vision?

John 9:1-17

According to John’s gospel Jesus healed a bind man one sabbath day. Ironically, this gracious act of restoring sight for one man caused quite a bit of confusion for others. According to John, “They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. Now it was a sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. Then the Pharisees also began to ask him how he had received his sight. He said to them, ‘He put mud on my eyes. Then I washed, and now I see.’ Some of the Pharisees said, ‘This man is not from God, for he does not observe the sabbath.’ But others said, ‘How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?’ And they were divided” (John 9:13-16).

The religious leaders were in a quandary. How were they to explain what Jesus had done? Yes, he had performed a miracle, but he had done so in defiance of the first commandment. Was this a good thing or not? As John tells us, “they were divided.” Despite their status as teachers of the law, the Pharisees lacked vision. They had the facts in front of them but they could not “see” what they meant. God was at work reconciling the people to God’s self, but the Pharisees could not even be reconciled to one another, and none of them trusted Jesus.

There is a word of warning for the church in this account. The Christian community may be caught up in wrangling over details, may be divided by a misunderstanding of God’s intent while God goes right on helping others to see and to live lives of wholeness and grace. Do we have vision to live as disciples, or are we blind to the work of God?

Prayer: Lord, open our eyes that we may see! In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Who Are You?

Jeremiah 23:1-8

Romans 8:29-39

John 6:52-59

From a Christian perspective each of our readings for today offers insight into the identity of Jesus Christ, who he is in relation to the world and to the people of God. The prophet Jeremiah tells us, “The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch… And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The LORD is our righteousness’” (Jeremiah 23:5,6). As an ancestor of David and a king of the Davidic line, Jesus embodies the righteousness that God wills. To meet the need of Israel for a good shepherd, one who cares for the flock, God will produce one who lays down his life for others.

Paul adds to this picture of Christ’s nature. “Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ?” (Romans 8:33-35). In Paul’s terms it is Jesus who has bridged the chasm between humanity and God. The one who is willing to die for us is also the one who holds us close and does not let go. How can we be condemned if we are loved by the one who judges?

But more than dieing for us, and more than saving us from condemnation, Jesus promises those who believe in him a share in his resurrection. Comparing what he offers to the manna God provided in the wilderness, Jesus says, “This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live for ever” (John 6:58).

Scripture gives us many, many more ways to characterize Jesus. But these three are significant. Jesus Christ is the embodiment of God’s righteousness who holds God’s people close and who offers himself to them along with a place in the coming reign of God. Thus we are blessed by the presence of God’s word in our midst.

Prayer: God, we thank you for your Son Jesus Christ and for the love and grace that he shares with us. Amen.

The Floor Plan of God

Jeremiah 22:13-23

“Unless the Lord builds the house, they who build it labor in vain” (Psalm 127:1). “See, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel; I will never again pass them by…” (Amos 7:8). Those are the verses I thought of when as I read through today’s passage from Jeremiah. “Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness, and his upper rooms by injustice…” (Jeremiah 22:13). When we take these verses together it is clear that God has a “floor plan” for our world, for our society, for our lives. We may try to create a legacy for ourselves, but unless we pay attention to God’s will and God’s judgment, we build in vain. If our building materials include unrighteousness and injustice then the structure will be insecure and morally out of plumb.

So who would ever knowingly build such a faulty structure? We know the answer to that question because we ourselves are guilty of the practice. A half-truth here, a blind eye there, a choice made according to expediency and not according to what is just, and pretty soon our lives are leaning precariously away from God’s intentions. The same is true of communities and nations. Taking advantage of others, overlooking the needs of the weak and oppressed, focusing too much on our desires and not enough on what God wants can leave us tottering on the brink of a spiritual collapse. We must work to shore up the structures with justice, to support the walls with righteousness. We must allow God to build through us and not ignore God’s instructions. After all, the floor plan of God is the only design guaranteed to provide for our needs and those of others.

Prayer: Gracious God, help to build lives of righteousness and justice and to reach out to those in need. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Hunger and Thirst No More

John 6:27-40

“Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty’” (John 6:35). This is meaningful verse, one which assures God’s people of eternal wellbeing. But I think we all recognize the spiritual nature of these words. They couldn’t be literally true, right? Jesus must be speaking metaphorically.

And yet these words do speak of real life, of real hunger and thirst, of real bread, and real sustenance. To center our lives on Jesus is to free ourselves from many of the things the world tells us we should worry about. When we are frightened or unsettled we become easier to manage. But if we truly trust in God through Jesus Christ we can let go of fear and live to God. Ultimately all is well. What we eat and drink, the people we interact with, the clothes we wear, and the work we do all become relative to the joy of God’s reign. Life is not easier, perhaps, but it needn’t cause as much anxiety.

What we hunger and thirst for should be the grace we find in Jesus Christ and the opportunity to live as disciples of the gospel. When this becomes our focus life becomes a journey toward fulfillment and away from what we thought we needed.

Prayer: Lord, give us the bread of life that we may life in faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Believer's Cry

Romans 7:13-25

There are passages of scripture that I find particularly poignant due to their truthful display of human frailty. Peter’s realization that he has indeed betrayed Jesus is one of them (Mark 14:72); Jeremiah, weeping for the people of Judah (Jeremiah 8:18-9:1) is, too; and the father who cries out in anguish, “I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24) is another. Paul is also capable of honest emotion. “Wretched man that I am!” he writes. “Who will rescue me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:24).

I once heard a minister lament, “It isn’t as if I didn’t want to believe what I say…” He left the comment hanging, but those of us who heard him knew what he meant. There are times when we simply do not have it within us to believe, to live in faith, to trust in God. At the bedside of a dying friend, in the wake of a natural catastrophe, at the end of a long and frustrating day we may find ourselves cloaked in doubt and despair. Who will rescue us from these circumstances?

If nothing else, we must recognize that the journey of God’s people has passed this way before. Peter, Jeremiah, the unnamed father, Paul, all of them have cried out in pain, and all of them have been heard. They and countless others have reached a limit in what they could do only to find God’s grace waiting for them. I know that when I am most challenged it is my own strength that fails me. But I also know that God remains active in my life and in yours. The honesty of scripture gives me the hope that soon I will join Paul in affirming, “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:25a). And then I will continue my journey by God’s grace.

Prayer: Lord, I believe; help my unbelief. Amen.

Simple Compassion

Jeremiah 16:(1-9)10-21

John 6:1-15

In the reading from Jeremiah for today we find words of judgment and of warning. Because of their sinfulness, following after other gods, the Lord will banish the people from the land (Jeremiah 16:9). The details are gruesome as to what will happen, but tucked in Jeremiah’s account, just after the mention of unburied bodies and unshaven heads, we read, “No one shall break bread for the mourner, to offer comfort for the dead; nor shall anyone give them the cup of consolation to drink for their fathers or their mothers” (vs. 8). Even simple gestures of compassion will cease, says the Lord.

The feeding of the five thousand is one of a few accounts contained in all four gospels. But each gospel writer has a particular insight into the event. John alone provides us with this detail: “One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, ‘There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?’” (John 6:8-9). We have no way of knowing whether the bread and fish had been offered freely by the boy, or if Andrew had asked if he could take it. But no matter. This remains a simple gesture of compassion in the midst of a teeming crowd. I’m not sure what I find more important to the story, Jesus’ miraculous ability to feed the multitude, or the offering of fish and loaves by an unnamed boy.

The warning of the prophet was valid, and his word was true. But in the end, when God is at work, acts of generosity abound. Gifts are shared, wounds are healed, lives are changed for the better. In a moment of need someone steps forward and offers what they have, and by God’s grace it becomes enough. It is easy to condemn the church for its hypocrisy, for its divisiveness and its ugliness. But let us never forget the Spirit-filled acts of love that also spring from God’s people. The acts, like the people themselves, are imperfect, but in God’s hand they become limitless expressions of grace. There are those who will break bread for the mourner, who will give a cup of consolation to the one in distress. May we, too, share in this blessed activity, giving what we have to the work of God.

Prayer: Lord, help us to care for those who mourn and to offer what we have to those in need. 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.