Today's readings: Ps 5, 147:1-11; Gen 37:25-36; 1 Cor 2:1-13; Mk 1:29-45
A few days ago, we entertained the idea of Christ as the ambassador of God’s realm in this world. No embassy is a one-person operation. Usually the ambassador is supported by a staff of cultural, legal, press, military and other diplomatic attachés. If we are citizens of heaven traveling in a foreign land, we need to determine whether we are tourists or representatives of a higher authority. If we are public about our faith, we have chosen to serve as representatives. Is that thought intimidating? It doesn’t need to be, if we are observant of those who have served successfully before us.
One of the most important diplomatic skills – arguably the most important – is the ability to listen. When Paul first visited the Corinthians, he did not pretend to have all the answers to their problems. Instead he “decided to know nothing among [them] except Jesus Christ, and him crucified” (1 Cor 2:2). Paul knew that the mission of diplomacy is not to dominate and to impose, but to understand and relate. He didn’t even attempt to impress the Corinthians, but approached them “in weakness and in fear and in much trembling.” This may not sound like an auspicious beginning, but in the end he delivered his message successfully and established the church in Corinth.
Paul succeeded because he lived his core mission with integrity. People perceived no difference between his words and his life. Because Paul’s message was one of salvation through redemption rather than perfection, his flaws did not undermine that message. As Christian “attachés”, we should find two important lessons here. First, we should never present ourselves as perfected or somehow better than non-Christians. Otherwise, the first time we cut someone off in traffic while sporting a Jesus-fish bumper sticker, our message becomes one of hypocrisy. Second, we need to be serious about living lives that reflect the Spirit within us. Again this doesn’t mean unattainable perfection, but a heart full of the love, peace, mercy and humility of Christ. An humble example is worth more than a million lofty instructions.
Comfort: Perfection is the enemy of progress.
Challenge: Each day, reflect on how your example could be better.
Prayer: God of the journey, give me ears to hear and words of love.
Evening readings: Ps 27, 51
Discussion question:
How have you been successful sharing your faith?
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
The Lenten Journey: Avoiding the Primrose Path
Today's readings: Ps 34, 146; Gen 37:12-24; 1 Cor 1:20-31; Mark 1:14-28
We spend a lot of time and effort training children not to trust strangers, especially ones promising treats. That training endures well into adulthood. We don’t believe offers that sound “too good to be true.” Most of us don’t hitchhike or pick up hitchhikers. We lock up our homes, cars and birth certificates. Given the nature of the world, all these precautions are wise.
On the other hand, we are a people who like quick fixes and easy assurances. Proof lies in the bank accounts and hypocrisy of televangelists, politicians, Wall Street executives, and home shopping gurus. Headline after headline tells us we entrust them with far too much of our faith and money.
Then what are we to make of fishermen who “immediately” dropped what they were doing to follow Jesus, as Mark tell us, simply because he asked them to? In hindsight we support the decision, but what about someone who abandoned her or his life today to follow someone promising to make them “day traders of men?” Would the words “cult” or “deprogram” come to mind? Were the first disciples wise people or lucky fools?
The difference between wisdom and foolishness is a tough call. Because God’s values are upside down compared to the world’s values, we are constantly called to evaluate our decisions, and sometimes to act in ways others would consider foolish. For example, how many of use are willing to decrease our standard of living – move into a smaller house, drive a cheaper car, or take a lower paying job – to spend more money or time on the poor? Very few, and they are often judged with humor at best and suspicion at worst. The world tells us this is foolishness, yet it is freedom.
In 1 Corinthians, Paul tells us God makes the foolish wise and the wise foolish. Let’s not get cocky about which side of that equation we land on. Determining whether a path is right or merely attractive can take serious discernment. We want to follow Jesus quickly, but we want to be sure the path we choose truly leads to him. Let’s choose our guides with Godly wisdom and worldly foolishness.
Comfort: Your choices are between you and God.
Challenge: “Foolishly” critique your own opinion on a controversial issue.
Prayer: God of the journey, make your paths clear to me.
Evening readings: Ps 25, 91
We spend a lot of time and effort training children not to trust strangers, especially ones promising treats. That training endures well into adulthood. We don’t believe offers that sound “too good to be true.” Most of us don’t hitchhike or pick up hitchhikers. We lock up our homes, cars and birth certificates. Given the nature of the world, all these precautions are wise.
On the other hand, we are a people who like quick fixes and easy assurances. Proof lies in the bank accounts and hypocrisy of televangelists, politicians, Wall Street executives, and home shopping gurus. Headline after headline tells us we entrust them with far too much of our faith and money.
Then what are we to make of fishermen who “immediately” dropped what they were doing to follow Jesus, as Mark tell us, simply because he asked them to? In hindsight we support the decision, but what about someone who abandoned her or his life today to follow someone promising to make them “day traders of men?” Would the words “cult” or “deprogram” come to mind? Were the first disciples wise people or lucky fools?
The difference between wisdom and foolishness is a tough call. Because God’s values are upside down compared to the world’s values, we are constantly called to evaluate our decisions, and sometimes to act in ways others would consider foolish. For example, how many of use are willing to decrease our standard of living – move into a smaller house, drive a cheaper car, or take a lower paying job – to spend more money or time on the poor? Very few, and they are often judged with humor at best and suspicion at worst. The world tells us this is foolishness, yet it is freedom.
In 1 Corinthians, Paul tells us God makes the foolish wise and the wise foolish. Let’s not get cocky about which side of that equation we land on. Determining whether a path is right or merely attractive can take serious discernment. We want to follow Jesus quickly, but we want to be sure the path we choose truly leads to him. Let’s choose our guides with Godly wisdom and worldly foolishness.
Comfort: Your choices are between you and God.
Challenge: “Foolishly” critique your own opinion on a controversial issue.
Prayer: God of the journey, make your paths clear to me.
Evening readings: Ps 25, 91
Discussion Question:
Have you ever thought you were doing something right and it turned out wrong?
Monday, February 27, 2012
The Lenten Journey: A Well Lit Path
Today's readings: Ps 119:73-80, 145; Gen 37:1-11; 1 Cor 1:1-19; Mark 1:1-13
I remember watching a television documentary about newly discovered caves in Russia. The only entrance to them was deep underwater. The narrator made great fanfare of how the divers we watched would be the first humans to ever see the sights within. I couldn’t help thinking: “Except for the lighting and camera crew that set up this shot...”
When we plumb the depths of faith, there’s a good chance someone has prepared the way ahead of us. The “spontaneous” civil disobedience of Rosa Parks was no accident, but is no less important for being deliberate. The latest “overnight sensation” in the entertainment industry almost always has a hero or mentor. Even Jesus had John the Baptist to “make his paths straight” (Mark 1:3) and warm up the crowds.
So who has prepared our way? Christ has. As the incarnation of the divine (whatever that may mean to you), Christ lived out the full human experience, full of love and pain and death and triumph, without straying from the path God had laid out for him. Our path is never exactly his, but Christ has gone before us and set the lights and markers for us to follow. Because of Christ’s example, we have faith the journey of a human life is more than the thorny path of mere existence.
Like the lighting crew in the caves, it is Christ who has done the truly dangerous work, stepping into the darkness without certainty about what lay ahead. Because he was fully human, he was susceptible to doubt and fear. As his death approached, even he felt God had forsaken him (Mk 15:34, Matt 27:46). But because he has gone before us, we can trust God’s light will be present to greet us in the darkest places.
Are we preparing the way for anyone? Do we know who might be searching for a light we could provide or a bridge we could build? Every so often, as we progress on our Lenten and life journeys, let’s take a look behind us to see whether we add to or extinguish the light in our wake.
Comfort: Wherever you go, Christ was there first.
Challenge: Thank someone whose has helped guide you, especially if they may not be aware of it..
Prayer: God of the journey, you are my light in dark places.
Evening readings: Ps 121, 6
Discussion Question:
Other than Jesus, who has been a light on your faith journey?
I remember watching a television documentary about newly discovered caves in Russia. The only entrance to them was deep underwater. The narrator made great fanfare of how the divers we watched would be the first humans to ever see the sights within. I couldn’t help thinking: “Except for the lighting and camera crew that set up this shot...”
When we plumb the depths of faith, there’s a good chance someone has prepared the way ahead of us. The “spontaneous” civil disobedience of Rosa Parks was no accident, but is no less important for being deliberate. The latest “overnight sensation” in the entertainment industry almost always has a hero or mentor. Even Jesus had John the Baptist to “make his paths straight” (Mark 1:3) and warm up the crowds.
So who has prepared our way? Christ has. As the incarnation of the divine (whatever that may mean to you), Christ lived out the full human experience, full of love and pain and death and triumph, without straying from the path God had laid out for him. Our path is never exactly his, but Christ has gone before us and set the lights and markers for us to follow. Because of Christ’s example, we have faith the journey of a human life is more than the thorny path of mere existence.
Like the lighting crew in the caves, it is Christ who has done the truly dangerous work, stepping into the darkness without certainty about what lay ahead. Because he was fully human, he was susceptible to doubt and fear. As his death approached, even he felt God had forsaken him (Mk 15:34, Matt 27:46). But because he has gone before us, we can trust God’s light will be present to greet us in the darkest places.
Are we preparing the way for anyone? Do we know who might be searching for a light we could provide or a bridge we could build? Every so often, as we progress on our Lenten and life journeys, let’s take a look behind us to see whether we add to or extinguish the light in our wake.
Comfort: Wherever you go, Christ was there first.
Challenge: Thank someone whose has helped guide you, especially if they may not be aware of it..
Prayer: God of the journey, you are my light in dark places.
Evening readings: Ps 121, 6
Discussion Question:
Other than Jesus, who has been a light on your faith journey?
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