Word of God, Word of Life; Thanks be to God

Scripture:

2 Timothy 3:16-17
16 All scripture is inspired by God and is [a] useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.

Observation:

I often hear verse 16, above, dealt with on its own. It has become somewhat of a proof text for those who want to argue for scripture as inerrant and exhaustive in its revelation of God's definitive will with respect to every possible circumstance.
What stands out for me today is how verse 17 qualifies very 16. It seems to say that teaching and training in righteousness is not an end in itself (to be reached by the proper use and understanding of scripture which functions as the answer key for all life's questions), but a means to an end. The end is not that we would be set apart from the world for righteousness sake (getting a perfect score), but that we will receive continually the capacity and the character to participate with God in the world in goodly ways. In this way, scripture becomes less an answer key and more an ongoing conversation with the Teacher.

Application:

Someone said to me yesterday, "Pastor, I believe that we are saved by grace alone, but what is grace, and how do we know we have it?"

Good question, right!?

My first (and only completely honest) answer is that God's grace is not a thing that can be possessed, but an epically deep and wide place in which we stand. We are promised by God that we have been put into this grace place not through any action of our own, but through God's sacrificial and faithful love. But we are invited to explore the grace place. The work of faith is not achieving or possessing grace, but exploring its depth and breadth. It is worthy work and can never be completed in this lifetime.

Grace is God's gift to us, freely offered. 

As a gift, grace cannot be possessed or had. 

Grace is far more able and likely to take hold of us than we of it. 

This gift is meant to animate our activity in the world 

while enriching our relationships with God and neighbour. 

Grace does not paralyze us, but gets us going and keeps us moving.

I wonder how you would answer those questions put to you:

i) What is grace?

ii) How do you know you have it?

Prayer:

Creator, your providential love brings forth everything we need to grow and flourish under Your continuous care. Today I am thankful for the holy scriptures and for Your standing promise to meet us there anytime so that we might converse with your Living Word. Thank you for the big space of Your grace! Grant us good courage to explore boldly and to invite outsiders in. Amen.

Jars of Clay

Jars containing scrolls of the Hebrew scriptures (what Christians refer to as the Old Testament) were discovered in 1947.  The scrolls they preserved have been dated to 68 AD and even earlier.

Scripture:

Jeremiah 32:14-15

14 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Take these deeds, both this sealed deed of purchase and this open deed, and put them in an earthenware jar, in order that they may last for a long time. 15 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.

Observation:

Here's the scene - Jerusalem is under siege by the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar. Jeremiah has been jailed by King Zedekiah because of his stubborn refusal to prophesy anything but defeat and doom for Judah - the city will be sacked, the kingdom overthrown and much of the people exiled. Just then, a shady relative of Jeremiah's offers to sell him some land. At the Lord's instruction, Jeremiah goes through with this ridiculous real estate deal, buying land that he himself predicts will soon be attacked, plundered and seized by the King of Babylon.

Once the paper work is all drawn up and witnessed, Jeremiah makes provision for them to be stored in the closest equivalent to a safe-deposit box in his day - an earthenware jar. Such a vessel could protect documents made of primitive paper, papyrus, or even prepared animal skin from the elements over the long term.

(For an idea as to just how effective this approach could be, try looking up the Dead Sea Scrolls.)

In his role as prophet, Jeremiah resolutely refuses to speak falsely in the name of the LORD. As such, he proclaims only the warnings, verdicts and promises he receives. In today's passage he offers a word of hope. This word is neither naive nor trite. Jeremiah rejects the prosperity prophets of his day who promise that no defeat or harm can ever come to God's chosen people. So too, he avoids patting us on our heads in the midst of our suffering saying,

"God never gives us more than we can handle, dear."

I imagine that most of Jeremiah's contemporaries thought he was crazy. Maybe that's even why so many of his prophesies were recorded - for entertainment sake. Eventually though, because he faithfully heard and responded to what the LORD said to him, those who were indeed exiled began to see him as a true prophet. At that point, I can almost hear them asking each other, "Well, if he got all the bad stuff right, couldn't he be right about the good stuff too?" And in the midst of their waiting and longing, someone finally made the connection that they were not the first generation of God's people to be conquered, enslaved or exiled ... nor would they be the first generation to have their pleas heard by God ... nor would they be the last to be claimed, set free, and returned home.

Application:

I wonder if Paul had this section of Jeremiah in mind when he wrote to the church in Corinth:

7 But we have this treasure [the gospel of Jesus Christ] in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. 8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed...[2Cor 4:7-9, ESV]

Holding on to faith in the midst of trials and tragedies is difficult. Encouraging others in the midst of such struggles can sound hollow unless they know that we have passed through similar difficulties and learned to see God's presence and activity all along the way. This is exactly the context of Jeremiah. God know's the people are in for a rough ride, so God sends them words of hope meant to remind them of the many and various ways their God has worked through the ages to preserve and redeem their ancestors. In this way, Jeremiah 32:15 is revealed to be more than a cliche. It is a promise from God who has proven time and time again to be faithful.

All this begs a few questions:

1) What tangible signs of God's faithfulness have I been given to share and preserve?

2) What am I doing to share these signs now and to preserve them to be shared with future generations?

How about you?  

What is the best way you know of to make sure your loved ones will have access to signs that God's power and will to save are real when they need such signs most?

Prayer:

Holy Spirit, I give thanks that I know your calming, correcting, inspiring touch. You are the fulfillment of Jeremiah's prophecied new covenant living within us, written upon our hearts. Thank you for your presence in good times and bad. Work within me to embolden my imperfect faith, so that others might be aided by my sharing what you have so freely given. Amen.

"I am God - and I approve this messenger."

Scripture:

2 Timothy 2:12-15

12 if we endure, we will also reign with him;

if we deny him, he will also deny us;

13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful—

for he cannot deny himself. 14 Remind them of this, and warn them before God that they are to avoid wrangling over words, which does no good but only ruins those who are listening.15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved by him, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly explaining the word of truth.

Observation:

Verse 15 jumps out at me today. The mentor's encouraging instruction to his protege is, "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved by him, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly explaining the word of truth." This verse is the obvious next step from 12-13: 

God's faithfulness is not limited by or a response to our faithfulness to God. Rather, our capacity for being faithful towards God and neighbour is set free and super-charged by the unshakeable foundation of God's grace.

This word comes to me today as both invitation and challenge. I am learning to listen carefully when the word sounds both unconditionally affirming and risky at the same time as it is often the mark of a call from the LORD (a kairos, if you will).

Application:

Sometimes, in the name of being relatable or humble, I play small. I play up my weaknesses, failures, and sins in the hopes that others will see that none of us are perfect and that perfection is not a requirement for walking with the LORD. Experience shows this can be a useful strategy for engaging people who don't see themselves as particularly "godly". That said, experience also reveals that it is too easy to get stuck in this mode of playing small and so avoid the scary and awesome work of following where God is leading.

...

I have just spent 30 mins trying to put into words the sense of leading and correction I am experiencing today in this "kairos".

I'd like to have this post polished and complete for my sake and yours; but, sometimes discerning a word from the LORD isn't as tidy as I'd like. I can hear God saying clearly, "I approve of you."

I know this unconditional promise is as true for me as it is for each of you reading this.

The question remains: what would God have me/you/us do in response?

It is a question worthy of chewing on today. Care to join me?

Prayer:

God, the noise of our lives is too often a distraction from hearing your call clearly. Today, I lift up especially the "back-ground noise" of past failures and enduring character flaws that make it so difficult to believe I am worthy in your sight. Grant respite from this unholy din, and new ears to hear, so that I might say with the faithful throughout the ages: "speak, Lord, your servant is listening!" Amen.

Shining Through.

Scripture:

Exodus 34:10

[The LORD] said [to Moses]: I hereby make a covenant. Before all your people I will perform marvels, such as have not been performed in all the earth or in any nation; and all the people among whom you live shall see the work of the Lord; for it is an awesome thing that I will do with you.

Observation:

Moses receives this promise - a promise for all those who have been brought out of slavery in Egypt - from God after the original tablets of the law had been shattered. They were shattered as a sign of how immediately the Israelites had failed to uphold their part of the covenant with God - bowing before golden idols even before Moses could make it all the way down the mountain.

God's chosen people are flawed and fail, but God persists in 

choosing to shine through them in a way that will eventually 

draw all nations into right relations with the Divine.

Chapter 34 ends with the story of Moses spending so much time in God's presence that his face literally begins to shine with such brightness he has to wear a veil so the others can bear to look at him. We are meant to shine like that. I am meant to shine like that. But, make no mistake, it is not the glory of this world - of self-aggrandizement and simulated perfection - that we are to shine with.  

God's promise is:

I will shine through you - despite your failures and flaws.  

God is the light.  

You are the veil allowing others to see what they can't otherwise bear.

Application:

This weekend I was at a family wedding. I was asked to say grace at the reception - probably because I am a pastor and that's kinda in my wheel house. I pray in public often, and I was happy to accept this invitation. But, as I prepared, something happened. God spoke to me. I was reminded of what God has been teaching me over the last several years about being a disciple that shines in a way that others can observe, endure and imitate. So, instead of just staying in my comfort zone and "doing my thing", I asked Tessa, Zephyra and Josiah to help me. (Solomon was off the hook because he still only speaks in tongues.) It was a bit of a risk. It took more time and practise than if I had just done it alone. Still, they were game, so we made a plan. Tessa would read a Psalm verse, the kids would help me lead everyone in a "fun" grace to the tune of the Jaws theme, and I would close with an "adult" grace.

Later that night, a friend of Tessa's parents made a point of coming over to talk to me. She mentioned that her date for the evening, who is not much interested in anything to do with church, said to her (upon her mention that I am a pastor), 

"I can see why people would want to go to his church."

Neat.

But, let's be clear: that was the result of God shining through my stumbling. You see, when the time came for grace, our little plan began to collapse almost immediately. Tessa was nursing Solomon, so she stayed at the table while I went to the mic with Josiah and Zephyra. The mic at the podium failed, so we were moved to the floor where no one could see or hear the kids. I quickly stood them up on a couple of chairs and prayed silently they wouldn't fall off while I read the psalm verse. After the "shark grace" (which actually went over very well) I moved quickly to get the children off their chairs before saying the actual and official blessing over the banquet. Just then the mc jumped in and started meal service.

We weaved back through the crowd to our table, having barely executed 1/3 of our plan for modelling a family in mission together. We blinked dimly, but somehow, God shone. I saw God's light shining in the faces of Z and J at having been invited to help with something so important. I saw the light of God within my introverted wife as she considered and then accepted the invitation to pray in this public way. I saw a halo appear around an assembly of banquet revellers as they blessed the LORD with their hands clasped atop their heads in the shape of shark fins. I saw God's light in the face of a woman excited that her loved one had gotten a taste of what life with God can be like if we are willing to set down our pretensions and baggage for but a moment.

Prayer: 

(to the Jaws theme. Don't forget to put your fin on!)

God is ...

good and ...

God is ... great so ... let us ... thank God for this food.

(clap your hands together and say, CHOMP!)

Shine, Lord? Who, me?!? Okay!?!  

Sounds scary and amazingly fun.  

I'm not sure where to start. What's that? Start with where I'm 

at and what we're already doing and You'll use that?  

Shine, Lord! Wow! amen.

Lame Bumper Sticker; or, Life Changing Promise!

Scripture:

Jeremiah 29:10-11

10 For thus says the Lord: Only when Babylon’s seventy years are completed will I visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. 11 For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.

Observation:

Verse eleven above is often quoted on bookmarks and other paraphernalia. Taken on its own it is saccharine and innocuous to the point of being almost meaningless for anyone who finds themselves in the midst of any life stage other than "smooth sailing".

Its worth remembering this verse comes on the heals of God's word to those who had been uprooted from their homes in and around Jerusalem and forcibly relocated to Babylon by occupying armies. Not only that, but they have also heard this will be no fleeting trial. Thus says the Lord, only after 70 years of exile shall I hear your cry and answer once more to bring you home. In the meantime, hunker down. Don't defer living. Build a house and plant a garden.

Back in Exodus, part of the rationale for having Israel wonder in the desert for 40 years before gaining entry into the promised land was so that an entire generation would pass with only the next generation actually entering the promised land. Here, God sends word to folk who are already adults informing them that no return from exile will be granted until 70 years have passed.

Oh, but don't worry: "For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope."

Application:

In order for God's word to endow the hope it offers in this case - and I believe it most certainly does - we have to come to grips with the challenging reality that God's plans for us:

1) Always take individuals into account, but very rarely obsess about individuality (least of all individual salvation) to the extent that we are trained to do by modernity; and,

2) Often allow for no small amount of hardship and trial in order to disabuse us of our nasty habits of adultery and idolatry.

In the first case, the hope God's promise offers is not that everything will be alright for each of us sooner or later; rather, we are part of something (the Whole People of God) much bigger than individual trials and victories. As such, we have a communal claim on a portion of the divine redemption of all things.

In the second case, God's offers hope untethered from the slings and arrows of weekly or generational eventualities. This is not to say that our suffering is unimportant to God. Just the opposite, God is so intent upon delivering us (collectively) finally from evil that the Divine willed to suffer and die alongside us in firm solidarity so that we could become possessed of the hope that passes all understanding.  

Exile is never permanent - even if we die in its grip!

This powerful - and, admittedly difficult - teaching turns us upside down and inside out. It gave the exiled Jerusalem remnant in Babylon the courage and endurance to look to the life and welfare of the foreign lands they were in. It gives me the hope to stop obsessing about my own difficulties and bear them more lightly while I work for justice and mercy today where I am.

Prayer:

God of exiles and wonderers, you are my hope and my future. I give you thanks for the many blessings in my life and pray for the grace of ever-increasing gratitude. I confess that I am also caught up in troubles beyond my control or understanding. I trust you to bring deliverance and liberation in your time. In the meantime, I pray for all those who are forced from home today by forces of warfare, economic wrangling or natural disasters - especially indigenous peoples. Amen.

Matristics 101

Scripture:

2 Timothy 1:5-6
5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you. 6 For this reason I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands;

Observation:

"Patristics" is the word we use for the study of the earliest church fathers. Their theology, scriptural interpretation, and counsel is held up throughout many Christian traditions as a source of authority and wisdom second only to scripture itself. 

Google "patristics" and you will come across some famous and familiar names: 
Ignatius of Antioch, Pope Clement 1, Justin Martyr, Tertullian, Origen, Athanasius, Jerome, Augustine of Hippo ...
They are giants and heroes of the faith, to be sure. They follow in the steps of the first Apostles in that they taught and acted with the privileged voices of acknowledged authority. This is the same authority we glimpse above when Timothy is said to have been consecrated/ordained by the laying on of Paul's own hands (an ancient tradition that symbolizes the transfer of power and authority from an elder to a novice). 

You know what you won't return in your Google search of "patristics"?

Women. Not one. For whatever reason, the voices and authority of women were stricken from the record of the early church histories and failed to be celebrated throughout much of the last two millennia. 

That makes our passage (and the numerous others like it enshrined in scripture itself) worth their weight in gold. For here we are told of two other giantesses of the faith, whose work in passing on the ways of the Lord to Timothy preceded and enabled Paul's work with him. 

Lois and Eunice. I love that these names have stood the test of time. I wonder if they have been preserved in part by women of faith throughout the ages who refused to let official censorship and patriarchy silence them completely. 

Application:

I like to think of myself as a pretty fair person. I avoid making judgements on individuals character or competency based on gender (or race or...) but today I am reminded of systems of bias much bigger than any fair individual. These structures of sin and domination were seemingly strong enough and slick enough to catch up even Giants like Origen, Tertullian, and Augustine. I would be foolhardy to pretend I am not subject to them. 

Today I am convicted to do two things: 1) celebrate the strong and faithful elders who have so ably passed the faith on to me through word and deed - especially the women; 2) spend some silent time with the LORD that divine presence might point out to me the biases and darkness that hide within my heart and hold systemic sway over me. 

Prayer:

God, male and female you have created all humans in your image. And yet, too often individuals are privileged or marginalized because of gender or sex. From all forms of oppression and injustice, deliver us o Lord!
And for those women in my life whose strong, faithful examples and mentorship opened my eyes to the lie of sexism I give you thanks. 
Thank you, Lord, for Grandmas Lucille and Audrey; for Reta and Bonnie and Rita; For Barbara and Jan and Lisa and so many more. Amen.