Hearing the Message

Today's readings: Psalms 96; 149; Isaiah 12:1-6; Revelation 1:1-8; John 7:37-52 

When we receive a message, we evaluate it from different angles. We consider the source, the delivery style and the content. We may ask ourselves: Is the source reliable? Is the delivery sincere, sarcastic or something else entirely? Is the content believable? Communication is a complicated endeavor, but because it happens constantly we tend to take for granted that we handle this complexity efficiently. In most cases this may be true, but if we're not paying attention we can be manipulated - or unwittingly manipulate the message ourselves.

In John 7 Jesus delivers a message meant for both the uneducated crowds and the highly educated Pharisees, to varying effects. The crowd loves him; the pharisees want to find a reason to arrest him. At the very least they want to dismiss him because he comes from the backwater town of Galilee. When Nicodemus points out that Jewish "law does not judge people without first giving them a hearing to find out what they are doing" (v 51), they suggest Nicodemus must be from Galilee if he wants to defend Jesus. While the Pharisees fume and fuss, at this point they have no legitimate reason to discredit the message other than "I don't like it."

How do we react to messages we don't like? Does that reaction depend on the source? If we are told at work we have performed poorly, does our reaction depend on whether it comes from a co-worker, superior or subordinate? Should it? Certainly we need to be critical of messages we hear, but first we need to be willing to hear the content, regardless of the source. If our first response to a negative message or criticism is "Who do you think you are?" ... there's a good chance we are unfairly negating a source to avoid unpleasant content. It is a human and understandable reaction, but leaving it unexamined diminishes our integrity.

This effect pervades all levels of society - families, businesses, government, religion etc. Like Nicodemus when faced with it we should challenge it. In a just society, valid content is considered fairly regardless of the source. Let's welcome truth wherever it is found.

Evening readings: Psalms 132; 97

The Needs of the One are The Needs of the Many

Today's readings: Psalms 2, 148; Isaiah 49:13-23;  Isaiah 54:1-13; Matthew 18:1-14

“The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. Or the one.”

 - Mr. Spock, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

"Imagine that you are creating a fabric of human destiny with the object of making men happy in the end... but that it was essential and inevitable to torture to death only one tiny creature ... And to found that edifice on its unavenged tears: would you consent to be the architect on those conditions? Tell me, and tell me the truth!"

- Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov

“The needs of the one … outweighed the needs of the many.”

- Captain Kirk, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

Humankind has always struggled to balance individual need against the need of the greater community. One modern tool to achieve this balance is our choice of economic system: capitalism, socialism, communism, etc. These models lie on a continuum from individualism to collectivism, and all have achieved various levels of success – if measured economically. Measured spiritually, all fall short because they are not ends, but means. How do we approach this struggle of knowing what and when to sacrifice?

Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice of his life, but sacrificial living need not be so extreme. In the parable of the lost sheep, the shepherd leaves behind ninety-nine sheep to find one. That’s great if we are the one, but most of the time we are among the ninety-nine left on the mountain. Do we pray for the shepherd and the lost one and hope to celebrate their return? Or do we grumble about being temporarily inconvenienced and blame the one’s misfortune on its own failure to keep up? Are we willing to sacrifice a little so the one may survive? Often our answer depends on whether we’ve made the choice freely or been coerced … but the shepherd doesn’t survey the sheep about whether he should go.

In our society, sacrifice is valued mostly via lip service. We “sacrifice” trips to the movies or Starbucks to keep our debt down or to pay for our children’s college. Rarely are we called on to make true sacrifices in the sacred sense, which benefit us not at all. Or maybe those opportunities only seem rare because we are more apt to find reasons people have failed themselves than reasons to help. Does the shepherd seem concerned with whether he is giving the lost sheep “a hand up or a handout?” Are we prepared to make the real sacrifices necessary to save the lost in our society? Because in the end, the hands up are more costly in time, money and comfort than are the handouts. If Jesus is our example, we should be willing to sacrifice ourselves, but unwilling to make excuses to sacrifice others for the sake of convenience.

Evening readings: Psalms 110, 111

The Details Are in the Devil

Today's readings: Psalms 34, 147:12-20; Proverbs 8:22-30; 1 John 5:1-12, John 13:20-35

In John's account of the last supper, after Jesus handed Judas a piece of bread, "Satan entered into [Judas]" and Jesus sent him on his way to advance his act of betrayal (John 13:27). What do we think of this idea of Satan entering him? Do we think Judas was set up? Not in control? A co-conspirator with the Devil himself? All these ideas and more have been proposed by theologians across the centuries. One of the reasons they appeal to some of us is that they suggest Judas was not wholly responsible for his actions, and the next logical step down that path of thinking is that perhaps we are not wholly responsible for our own wrongdoings. Even if we don't blame Satan directly, we are prone to pin our failings on others: parents who were too strict (or not strict enough), peers who pressure us into poor choices, employers who don't treat us fairly, spouses who disappoint us. The simple truth is we are responsible for our own actions. Period.


An earlier chapter in John tells us Judas, as treasurer of the group, stole from the money bag (John 12:6). Satan doesn't get the blame for that one, which implies something about Judas’ character. It may seem like a big leap from stealing petty cash to betraying the savior of the world, but is it really? Certainly we all fail and sin in ways big and small, so what’s the difference between us and Judas?

Nothing, that’s what. And admitting that unpleasant truth can keep us from falling into the same spiritual trap as Judas. Just as we let God into our lives a little at a time by opening a door in our hearts through acts and attitudes of love and charity, we let in evil – whatever we name it – through acts and attitudes of selfishness and betrayal. Evil didn’t force its way into Judas: it stepped through an opening pushed wide over time. The good news is we can control which doorway is wide and which is narrow. Facing up to that control may involve the difficult task of honestly reevaluating our accountability for our own choices, but doing so prepares us to make better ones that let Christ in further. And in Christ there are no victims, only victors.

Evening readings: Psalms 19, 121

To Serve and Respect

Today's readings: Psalms 116, 147:1-11; 2 Chronicles 24:17-22; Acts 6:1-7; Acts 7:59-8:8

Since the first Disiples tok to the road, Christians have maintained a long tradition of carrying the Gospel to cultures and peoples different from themselves. The earliest Jewish Christians were challenged when building community with people who did not observe the same spiritual practices. They wrestled with the question of whether non-Jews could even be Christians. In the end, inspired by Christ and the Spirit, they became more open and inclusive and did not require the Hellenists (those of Greek tradition) to declare allegiance to anything but Christ alone. Over the next two thousand plus years, Christians have continued to deliver the Good News to diverse people around the globe, with varying degrees of success and failure on the inclusion front.

For just as long, Christian communities have struggled with more mundane matters as well. When the Hellenists complained their widows were not receiving food like the Jewish widows, it was a practical, not religious need. Rather than "wait tables" the Apostles continued to focus on evangelism but appointed six people to see to the matter. These new servants were not second stringers - they were the next equally important piece of the puzzle. To this day churches work to balance the spiritual and practical concerns of Christian community. Many of us also struggle to keep them in perspective. If we are called to serve in mission work, we can be discouraged when others prioritize lawn maintenance or potlucks. And if we are called to serve by keeping the church in order, we may feel unappreciated when the worship team can't seem to put the hymnals away properly. Let's try to remember each calling is equally valuable and takes priority at different times.

When it's hard to do so, let's remember Stephen. In Acts 6 he is one of the newly appointed "waiters." Just one chapter later he becomes a martyr - the first Christian martyr, before any of the Apostles. In Stephen we see the mundane is inseparable from the spiritual. No matter our call, or the calls of others, let's be content the faithful are serving where needed.

Evening Psalms: 119:1-24; 27