Today's readings: Ps 96, 148; Jer 31:1-14; Col 2:8-23; Luke 7:1-17
Today in Luke we read two short healing stories. Luke offers us many healing stories, but these two have particular lessons for us. Unlike the stories where a faithful woman touches Jesus’ garment (8:40-47), or a blind beggar calls out to him (18:25-42), the characters in today’s story are healed because of Jesus’ work through others
A Roman centurion who was too humbled to petition Jesus directly on behalf of a beloved servant. Instead, he sent Jewish elders and then friends to tell Jesus he had faith that if Jesus willed it, the servant would be healed; he didn’t need to impose a face-to-face meeting. When we pray or intercede for others, are we as wise and humble as the centurion? When we see an ailing co-worker, or a friend in a bad marriage, are we tempted to “fix” things? If so, we may think we need to pray or work hard enough to “convince” God to act. The truth is none of us can fix anyone else, and God will act as God will. Like the centurion and his friends, often the best we can do is to stand ready to let God use us. This is not a passive state – it is a decision to trust and to be open to possibility.
Jesus encountered a widow grieving her only son. His heart went out to the woman, and he commanded the son to rise from his funeral bier. Compassion is a powerful tool for God to use in the world. We may be unlikely to witness someone raised from the dead, but even in our greatest grief, God’s presence can spark new life. Consider John and Reve Walsh who, after the murder of their son Adam, founded the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Compassion both for the Walshes and from them made such an endeavor possible.
So are we to jump from cause to cause and expect miraculous results from every prayer dashed off on our way to the next one? Of course not. Such a life would be shallow and ultimately frustrating. But we learn from the centurion and the widow that we may knowingly or unknowingly become God’s instruments for someone else’s healing. Our faith life does not unfold in just our own lives, but in the lives of those around us. Let’s be alert and open to the time God chooses us to bring others to new life.
Comfort: God’s compassion is boundless.
Challenge: Pray for God to open your eyes to needs you might address.
Prayer: God of Freedom, thank you for the opportunity to serve.
Evening readings: Ps 49, 138
Discussion Question: When do you feel has God used you in someone's life, or used someone else in yours? (please comment)
Friday, May 20, 2011
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Is God speaking your language?
Today's readings: Ps 47, 14712-20; Jer 31:1-14; Col 2:8-23; Luke 6:39-49
The United Church of Christ (UCC) offers a promotional campaign featuring the slogan: “God is still speaking.” This campaign is controversial, because many Christians who identify themselves as “Bible-believing” are not comfortable with the idea that the Bible is not the complete and solitary source of God’s truth. But what if God is not saying new things, but old things in new ways?
For many people, the King James Bible – deliberately written in language archaic even for its time – has associated Biblical language with “smite,” “begat” and “yea, verily.” Biblical imagery is replete with ancient animal husbandry practices, arcane measurements (“What’s a cubit?” Bill Cosby asks in his famous Noah routine) and cultures which simply no longer exist. But Biblical texts were written to be understood. The Hebrew texts were transmitted orally, which meant the language needed to be memorable and accessible. And what good could a prophet do if his listeners couldn’t identify with his language? Biblical authors did not let language get in the way of understanding, and neither should we.
When Jeremiah tells the Israelites they will once again plant vineyards on the hills of Samaria (v. 5), he is telling people God restores them to wholeness. A contemporary example might be the end of apartheid and reparations in South Africa. When Paul wrote of the “uncircumcision of the flesh” (v. 13) he didn’t need to explain the meaning to his audience. Today we typically use more gender-inclusive imagery about the faithful. When Jesus told his listeners “People don’t pick figs from thorn bushes” (v. 44) he was speaking to people who actually picked figs. If he spoke to U.S. citizens today, maybe he would speak of raspberries and poison ivy.
The point is, God wants to be heard, in whatever ways we might be open to hearing. If we are really to see Christ in others, our vision can’t be limited to a book. If we want to speak Christ to others, we can’t do it with words we wouldn’t use ourselves. We don’t want to study or create poor translations that betray the spirit of the Gospel just to be modern or politically correct, but we don’t want to reflexively reject the modern either. The living God speaks to us through living languages – and living people.
Comfort: Anyone can hear God.
Challenge: Read a scripture translation you haven’t read before.
Prayer: God of freedom, thanks for the many ways you can be heard.
Evening readings: Ps 68, 113
Discussion question: How do you feel God speaks to you? (Please comment)
The United Church of Christ (UCC) offers a promotional campaign featuring the slogan: “God is still speaking.” This campaign is controversial, because many Christians who identify themselves as “Bible-believing” are not comfortable with the idea that the Bible is not the complete and solitary source of God’s truth. But what if God is not saying new things, but old things in new ways?
For many people, the King James Bible – deliberately written in language archaic even for its time – has associated Biblical language with “smite,” “begat” and “yea, verily.” Biblical imagery is replete with ancient animal husbandry practices, arcane measurements (“What’s a cubit?” Bill Cosby asks in his famous Noah routine) and cultures which simply no longer exist. But Biblical texts were written to be understood. The Hebrew texts were transmitted orally, which meant the language needed to be memorable and accessible. And what good could a prophet do if his listeners couldn’t identify with his language? Biblical authors did not let language get in the way of understanding, and neither should we.
When Jeremiah tells the Israelites they will once again plant vineyards on the hills of Samaria (v. 5), he is telling people God restores them to wholeness. A contemporary example might be the end of apartheid and reparations in South Africa. When Paul wrote of the “uncircumcision of the flesh” (v. 13) he didn’t need to explain the meaning to his audience. Today we typically use more gender-inclusive imagery about the faithful. When Jesus told his listeners “People don’t pick figs from thorn bushes” (v. 44) he was speaking to people who actually picked figs. If he spoke to U.S. citizens today, maybe he would speak of raspberries and poison ivy.
The point is, God wants to be heard, in whatever ways we might be open to hearing. If we are really to see Christ in others, our vision can’t be limited to a book. If we want to speak Christ to others, we can’t do it with words we wouldn’t use ourselves. We don’t want to study or create poor translations that betray the spirit of the Gospel just to be modern or politically correct, but we don’t want to reflexively reject the modern either. The living God speaks to us through living languages – and living people.
Comfort: Anyone can hear God.
Challenge: Read a scripture translation you haven’t read before.
Prayer: God of freedom, thanks for the many ways you can be heard.
Evening readings: Ps 68, 113
Discussion question: How do you feel God speaks to you? (Please comment)
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Favor or failure?
Today's readings: Ps 98, 144; Jer 30:10-17; Col 1:15-23; Luke 6:12-26
Jeremiah is a complex book containing poems, history and prophecies from multiple authors. It does not tell a linear story, but describes the experience of a people whose faith in a protective God is strained to breaking when enemies defeat and enslave them. Jeremiah alternately claims Judah’s people have been wicked and lost God’s favor, and also that God loves and will save them. The end result, rather than painting a clear picture of their relationship with God, reflects their confusion and search for answers.
Today’s psalms also show us a God who both punishes and rescues the same people. For the Israelites, everything from harvests to the outcome of battle was assumed to be a result of God’s favor or displeasure. This view seems simplistic, but it complicates and even makes contradictory our relationship with God. Unless one is a prophet (and so few of us are!), such a belief structure makes it hard to determine whether we are in the middle of a punishment or a deliverance.
Yet many self-styled prophets are quick to blame personal and public disasters on God’s disfavor. Hurricane Katrina, tsunami’s in Haiti, an uncontrollable child: one doesn’t have to wait long or look hard for a preacher who blames specific “sinners.” And while the world is indeed broken in ways that need to be named and addressed, those who speak with eagerness and certitude about the people God is punishing never seem to consider their own sins might bring about such action. On the contrary, they often point to their own prosperity as a sign of favor.
Jesus’ words in Luke turn that notion upside down. He calls the blessed poor, hungry and mournful. The mirthful rich are the ones in trouble. So what are we to do? If the state of our pocketbooks and bellies doesn’t tell us whether we are living according to God’s plan, what does? Jesus calls us to be loving people no matter our external state. He assures us God always loves us, and is with us through both sorrows and joys. A godly life is constant in its humility and charity regardless of fortune. Living such a life renders the question of God’s favor pointless.
Comfort: God’s love for us is constant.
Challenge: Think of the times you’ve asked “Why me?”
Prayer: God of freedom, thank you for your constancy.
Evening reading: Ps 9, 118
Discussion question: At what moments in your life have you felt rewarded or punished by God? Has time changed your understanding of these moments? (Please comment)
Jeremiah is a complex book containing poems, history and prophecies from multiple authors. It does not tell a linear story, but describes the experience of a people whose faith in a protective God is strained to breaking when enemies defeat and enslave them. Jeremiah alternately claims Judah’s people have been wicked and lost God’s favor, and also that God loves and will save them. The end result, rather than painting a clear picture of their relationship with God, reflects their confusion and search for answers.
Today’s psalms also show us a God who both punishes and rescues the same people. For the Israelites, everything from harvests to the outcome of battle was assumed to be a result of God’s favor or displeasure. This view seems simplistic, but it complicates and even makes contradictory our relationship with God. Unless one is a prophet (and so few of us are!), such a belief structure makes it hard to determine whether we are in the middle of a punishment or a deliverance.
Yet many self-styled prophets are quick to blame personal and public disasters on God’s disfavor. Hurricane Katrina, tsunami’s in Haiti, an uncontrollable child: one doesn’t have to wait long or look hard for a preacher who blames specific “sinners.” And while the world is indeed broken in ways that need to be named and addressed, those who speak with eagerness and certitude about the people God is punishing never seem to consider their own sins might bring about such action. On the contrary, they often point to their own prosperity as a sign of favor.
Jesus’ words in Luke turn that notion upside down. He calls the blessed poor, hungry and mournful. The mirthful rich are the ones in trouble. So what are we to do? If the state of our pocketbooks and bellies doesn’t tell us whether we are living according to God’s plan, what does? Jesus calls us to be loving people no matter our external state. He assures us God always loves us, and is with us through both sorrows and joys. A godly life is constant in its humility and charity regardless of fortune. Living such a life renders the question of God’s favor pointless.
Comfort: God’s love for us is constant.
Challenge: Think of the times you’ve asked “Why me?”
Prayer: God of freedom, thank you for your constancy.
Evening reading: Ps 9, 118
Discussion question: At what moments in your life have you felt rewarded or punished by God? Has time changed your understanding of these moments? (Please comment)
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