Evening: Psalm 37:19-42; Matthew 4:1-11
Do
you have cell-phone or computer? Do you, even occasionally, use social
media? Netflix? YouTube? I answer ‘Yes’ to all these. More and more
these media invite us into options offered by the media themselves ...
Are we and our choices being shaped by the owners of the media? ‘The
devil’ who tempts Jesus is the same force that in our own lives tempts
us to sacrifice the freedom of our humanity to become servants of
another (perhaps corporate) master. There is but one master I want to
serve, but I must be vigilant ... Other ‘lords’ seek my allegiance.
Thursday, April 30, 2020
Wednesday, April 29, 2020
Humility ... the essence of our humanity
Morning: Psalm 38; Exodus 19:16-25; Colossians 1:15-23
Humility is a rare human quality, so rare that when you see it truly expressed in two outstanding people working together, you know you are in the presence of greatness. No jockeying for power, no exaggerated displays of deference, just the simple acknowledgement of the essential qualities and being of the other person. This is so striking and so endearing; it brings a smile to the faces of those who recognize what is happening and the heart of the universe laughs with true pleasure. Here - in these two souls - is the essence of our humanity!
Evening: Psalm 119:25-48; Matthew 3:13-17
Humility is a rare human quality, so rare that when you see it truly expressed in two outstanding people working together, you know you are in the presence of greatness. No jockeying for power, no exaggerated displays of deference, just the simple acknowledgement of the essential qualities and being of the other person. This is so striking and so endearing; it brings a smile to the faces of those who recognize what is happening and the heart of the universe laughs with true pleasure. Here - in these two souls - is the essence of our humanity!
Tuesday, April 28, 2020
Full life is when the real you always shows up
Morning: Psalms 26, 28; Exodus 19:1-16; Colossians 1:1-14
Sometimes
you mistake outward accomplishments - coming out ‘on top’ or ‘getting
the certificate’ - for progress. While such successes may satisfy
cultural expectations, fulfillment depends on much more. It depends on
becoming yourself, not satisfying someone else’s ideals or jumping
through hoops, which you can do without being yourself. But if you allow
it, a ‘winnowing’ can happen. It may be difficult, but in the end what
is left is the essential ‘grain’ of who you are, the pure ‘you’. This is
fullness of life ... when the real you shows up every time.
Evening: Psalms 36, 39; Matthew 3:7-12
Monday, April 27, 2020
You’re going the wrong way; it’s the other way!
Morning: Psalm 25; Exodus 18:13-27; I Peter 5:1-14
Do you recall turning the wrong way down a One-Way street? And someone shouted, “Turn around, wrong way!”? That about sums up the message of all who ever called humanity to change direction and base our way of life on principles that serve the well-being of Earth and her inhabitants. This call echoes and repeats itself down the centuries. It is especially strong now: we are serving values and creating an environment that threatens our very existence. We are on a collision course with destiny. Our appetites are ruining Mother Earth. Time to heed the call: “Turn around!”
Evening: Psalms 9, 15; Matthew 3:1-6
Do you recall turning the wrong way down a One-Way street? And someone shouted, “Turn around, wrong way!”? That about sums up the message of all who ever called humanity to change direction and base our way of life on principles that serve the well-being of Earth and her inhabitants. This call echoes and repeats itself down the centuries. It is especially strong now: we are serving values and creating an environment that threatens our very existence. We are on a collision course with destiny. Our appetites are ruining Mother Earth. Time to heed the call: “Turn around!”
Sunday, April 26, 2020
“Only believe.” Only!?
Morning; Psalms 148, 149, 150; Exodus 18:1-12; I John 2:7-17
Jesus said to Jairus, “Only believe.” (Mark 5:36) That’s a big ‘only’! His disciples spent 3 years with him and heard him say he would be killed and rise again. Yet, they did not believe when their trusted companions (Mary Magdalene and 2 others) told them they had seen the risen Jesus. Only when they saw him themselves did they accept it. By then it was not belief; they knew. What of us, who have never seen him? We must trust and point people to other signs of Love’s power over death ... “Only believe” was really addressed to us.
Evening: Psalms 114, 115; Mark 16:9-20
Jesus said to Jairus, “Only believe.” (Mark 5:36) That’s a big ‘only’! His disciples spent 3 years with him and heard him say he would be killed and rise again. Yet, they did not believe when their trusted companions (Mary Magdalene and 2 others) told them they had seen the risen Jesus. Only when they saw him themselves did they accept it. By then it was not belief; they knew. What of us, who have never seen him? We must trust and point people to other signs of Love’s power over death ... “Only believe” was really addressed to us.
Saturday, April 25, 2020
Gospel truth or myth? Keep speaking the truth
Morning: Psalm 145; Sirach 2:1-11; Acts 12:25-13:3
One companion of Barnabas and Paul on their missionary journeys around the Mediterranean was Mark, the Gospel writer, whose day it is today. ‘Gospel’, for Mark, means ‘truth’. Likely, he was inspired by Paul to persist with the truth; Paul said people can be gullible. We go after ‘teachers’ who tell us what we want to hear. Many say the Gospels are ‘myths’. For Paul and Mark, Jesus’s opponents were the real purveyors of myths that sought to discredit him. People must choose whether to trust the Gospel or the myths. To help them, Paul said: Keep speaking the truth.
One companion of Barnabas and Paul on their missionary journeys around the Mediterranean was Mark, the Gospel writer, whose day it is today. ‘Gospel’, for Mark, means ‘truth’. Likely, he was inspired by Paul to persist with the truth; Paul said people can be gullible. We go after ‘teachers’ who tell us what we want to hear. Many say the Gospels are ‘myths’. For Paul and Mark, Jesus’s opponents were the real purveyors of myths that sought to discredit him. People must choose whether to trust the Gospel or the myths. To help them, Paul said: Keep speaking the truth.
Friday, April 24, 2020
Oh to be guided into the truth of an authentic life
Morning: Psalms 16, 17; Exodus 16:23-36; I Peter 3:13-4:6
Most of us are taught to tell the truth. This is fairly simple to understand, though harder to put into practice. Soon, life’s complexity teaches you how elusive the true path can be. Jesus promises that the Spirit of God will guide his followers into all the truth. This may sound very attractive or it may seem like nonsense. For me, however, Jesus has such a ring of truth about him that, most of the time anyway, I trust his Way and long to be guided by his Spirit along the true path ... towards an authentic life.
Evening: Psalms 134, 135; John 16:1-15
Most of us are taught to tell the truth. This is fairly simple to understand, though harder to put into practice. Soon, life’s complexity teaches you how elusive the true path can be. Jesus promises that the Spirit of God will guide his followers into all the truth. This may sound very attractive or it may seem like nonsense. For me, however, Jesus has such a ring of truth about him that, most of the time anyway, I trust his Way and long to be guided by his Spirit along the true path ... towards an authentic life.
Thursday, April 23, 2020
No greater love ... to lay down your life for others
Morning: Psalm 18:1-20; Exodus 16:10-22; I Peter 2:11-25
Countless people of faith down the ages have died for love - of a child, a spouse, their nation, an ideal. Lately, people have been willing to risk death for love of their fellow human beings. Today we remember and are grateful for them. St. George, whose day it is, was one of them, who embodied Jesus’s words: “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” Here is a song that speaks this truth: https://youtu.be/KCUYfhBhCks?list=PL7NOb65E0Zvq_LWuwCRRlLlNIBUeaGYnB
Evening: Psalm 18:21-50; John 15:12-27
Countless people of faith down the ages have died for love - of a child, a spouse, their nation, an ideal. Lately, people have been willing to risk death for love of their fellow human beings. Today we remember and are grateful for them. St. George, whose day it is, was one of them, who embodied Jesus’s words: “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” Here is a song that speaks this truth: https://youtu.be/KCUYfhBhCks?list=PL7NOb65E0Zvq_LWuwCRRlLlNIBUeaGYnB
Wednesday, April 22, 2020
Choose to stay connected to the source of love
Morning: Psalm 119:1-24; Exodus 15:22-16:10; I Peter 2:1-10
You can carry a metaphor too far. Branches cannot literally cut themselves off. So, when Jesus talks about branches not remaining in the vine, you might think someone else cut them off. However, Jesus says no more than this: branches detached from their vines wither and die. Like branches, when we remain connected to the source of love and life, we flourish, bear fruit and embody love. If we decide to cut ourselves off from love - branches can’t do that, but we can - we wither and die. Better to choose to stay connected.
Evening: Psalms 12, 13, 14; John 15:1-11
You can carry a metaphor too far. Branches cannot literally cut themselves off. So, when Jesus talks about branches not remaining in the vine, you might think someone else cut them off. However, Jesus says no more than this: branches detached from their vines wither and die. Like branches, when we remain connected to the source of love and life, we flourish, bear fruit and embody love. If we decide to cut ourselves off from love - branches can’t do that, but we can - we wither and die. Better to choose to stay connected.
Tuesday, April 21, 2020
We will not simply survive; we will live
Morning: Psalms 5,6; Exodus 15:1-21; I Peter 1:13-25
Tragedy strikes - mass murder in Nova Scotia - in the midst of an already tragic, global pandemic! You may be excused for wondering where to find hope, until ... Sparks of human resilience, courage and faith help you to realize that God’s Spirit is alive and active here. Ordinary lives turned extraordinary express the fruits of the Spirit ... in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. May these signs of God’s faithfulness be found in us, too. Then, life will find a way ... Because of love, we will not simply survive; we will live.
Evening: Psalms 10, 11; John 14:18-31
Tragedy strikes - mass murder in Nova Scotia - in the midst of an already tragic, global pandemic! You may be excused for wondering where to find hope, until ... Sparks of human resilience, courage and faith help you to realize that God’s Spirit is alive and active here. Ordinary lives turned extraordinary express the fruits of the Spirit ... in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. May these signs of God’s faithfulness be found in us, too. Then, life will find a way ... Because of love, we will not simply survive; we will live.
Monday, April 20, 2020
Love: the origin of goodness not a reward for it
Morning: Psalms 1, 2, 3; Exodus 14:21-31; I Peter 1:1-12
According to Jesus, to love him is to love God. He says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments,” i.e. we will love God and our neighbour. But that does not mean God loves us in return for keeping the commandments. That gets things backwards. Love is what enables us to love. Love is not conditional, not withheld as a punishment. Love is purposeful and creative. God’s love, revealed in Jesus, is the origin of our love ... If our love for one another is conditional, it does not yet spring from the Source of Love.
Evening: Psalms 4, 7; John 14:8-17
According to Jesus, to love him is to love God. He says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments,” i.e. we will love God and our neighbour. But that does not mean God loves us in return for keeping the commandments. That gets things backwards. Love is what enables us to love. Love is not conditional, not withheld as a punishment. Love is purposeful and creative. God’s love, revealed in Jesus, is the origin of our love ... If our love for one another is conditional, it does not yet spring from the Source of Love.
Sunday, April 19, 2020
It’s not all about what happens when we die
Morning: Psalms 146, 147; Exodus 14:5-22; I John 1:1-7
John 14:2 - “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places” - is often connected with what happens when we die. ‘My father’s house’ is associated with death because Jesus says he is going there ‘to prepare a place’ for his disciples. We assume he is talking about his death and ours. But his words are for our lives as much as for our deaths ... and God’s ‘house’ is wherever God dwells, perhaps especially here. If you want to know God in this life, look to Jesus. He is the Way to God ... to God’s ‘house’.
Evening: Psalm 111, 112, 113; John 14:1-7
John 14:2 - “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places” - is often connected with what happens when we die. ‘My father’s house’ is associated with death because Jesus says he is going there ‘to prepare a place’ for his disciples. We assume he is talking about his death and ours. But his words are for our lives as much as for our deaths ... and God’s ‘house’ is wherever God dwells, perhaps especially here. If you want to know God in this life, look to Jesus. He is the Way to God ... to God’s ‘house’.
Saturday, April 18, 2020
Getting the story straight
Morning: Psalm 145; Exodus 13:17-14:4; 2 Corinthians 4:16-5:10
Jesus’s is a life and death story. However, don’t waste your life, he teaches, guessing what death will be like. Jesus’s Good News is of re-birth here and now - life in this moment, not some unknown future ... Past and future are beyond us. We may be tempted, but Jesus says bluntly, we are quite wrong to worry about what is not in the story. Messengers need to get their story straight ... Jesus’s story is to help you with this life, this moment, not to distract you from it. Beyond this life, you trust God.
Evening: Psalm 104; Mark 12:18-27
Jesus’s is a life and death story. However, don’t waste your life, he teaches, guessing what death will be like. Jesus’s Good News is of re-birth here and now - life in this moment, not some unknown future ... Past and future are beyond us. We may be tempted, but Jesus says bluntly, we are quite wrong to worry about what is not in the story. Messengers need to get their story straight ... Jesus’s story is to help you with this life, this moment, not to distract you from it. Beyond this life, you trust God.
Friday, April 17, 2020
The testimony of women
Morning: Psalm 136; Exodus 13:1-2, 11-16; I Corinthians 15:51-58
A striking aspect of the stories of the Last Days, Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus is the testimony of women. The role of women is central ... they recognize the truth about Jesus; they have compassion and care for him (defying cultural constraints); and, they testify to the truth of his life, death and resurrection. The (male) disciples’ do not believe the women’s testimony until Peter discovers, amazed, that it is true. The Way of Jesus has no place for a one-sided, male-dominated perspective on the world. Strange how slow we are to accept Jesus’ Way.
Evening: Psalm 118; Luke 24:1-12
A striking aspect of the stories of the Last Days, Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus is the testimony of women. The role of women is central ... they recognize the truth about Jesus; they have compassion and care for him (defying cultural constraints); and, they testify to the truth of his life, death and resurrection. The (male) disciples’ do not believe the women’s testimony until Peter discovers, amazed, that it is true. The Way of Jesus has no place for a one-sided, male-dominated perspective on the world. Strange how slow we are to accept Jesus’ Way.
Thursday, April 16, 2020
The Great Commission for the healing of the earth
Morning: Psalms 146, 147; Exodus 13:3-10; I Corinthians 15:41-50
After rejecting various purported political solutions for the world’s ills, I decided to be a disciple of Jesus, and Jesus’s commission settled on my soul: “Go and make disciples of all nations.” That’s it, I thought, so off I went, with stints in Papua New Guinea and Brazil along the way!! But I have been what you would call a ‘soft evangelist’, not one given to twisting people’s arms or threatening them with condemnation (heaven forbid ... quite the opposite!), but certainly believing that Jesus’s Way of suffering Love is the Way to heal the earth. I still believe that.
Evening: Psalms 148, 149; Matthew 28:16-20
After rejecting various purported political solutions for the world’s ills, I decided to be a disciple of Jesus, and Jesus’s commission settled on my soul: “Go and make disciples of all nations.” That’s it, I thought, so off I went, with stints in Papua New Guinea and Brazil along the way!! But I have been what you would call a ‘soft evangelist’, not one given to twisting people’s arms or threatening them with condemnation (heaven forbid ... quite the opposite!), but certainly believing that Jesus’s Way of suffering Love is the Way to heal the earth. I still believe that.
Wednesday, April 15, 2020
What a great mystery story
Morning: Psalms 97, 99; Exodus 12:40-51; I Corinthians 15:29-41
I love mysteries; the story of the Resurrection truly is a mystery ... A body is missing, with various astonishing accounts of what happened to it. Excitement shapes the variety of people’s perceptions about what they saw. Some are willing to bribe others to hide the truth. Others wonder at what had happened, want to believe, but seek proof ... they go to Galilee in search of reassurance. Some accept the testimony of the witnesses. Many - because astonishment is the way they experience the world, since the world is fully of astonishing mystery - many simply believe it.
Evening: Psalm 115; Matthew 28:1-16
I love mysteries; the story of the Resurrection truly is a mystery ... A body is missing, with various astonishing accounts of what happened to it. Excitement shapes the variety of people’s perceptions about what they saw. Some are willing to bribe others to hide the truth. Others wonder at what had happened, want to believe, but seek proof ... they go to Galilee in search of reassurance. Some accept the testimony of the witnesses. Many - because astonishment is the way they experience the world, since the world is fully of astonishing mystery - many simply believe it.
Tuesday, April 14, 2020
An extraordinary new reality
Morning: Psalm 103; Exodus 12:28-39; I Corinthians 15:12-28
Some people imagine that Jesus’s disciples - those who believe in him - should have extraordinary powers of healing or special protection. On Easter Day, some Christians thought they could gather, assured of immunity from coronavirus. Those who believe this way engage in wishful thinking. Most scholars say this last part of Mark’s Gospel is wishful thinking ... added later by a writer who imagined it should end like this . Jesus, however, is about reality not magic. The real good news, rather than hocus-pocus, is, amazingly, that, as Love conquers death, an extraordinary new reality is born.
Evening: Psalms 111, 114; Mark 16:9-20
Some people imagine that Jesus’s disciples - those who believe in him - should have extraordinary powers of healing or special protection. On Easter Day, some Christians thought they could gather, assured of immunity from coronavirus. Those who believe this way engage in wishful thinking. Most scholars say this last part of Mark’s Gospel is wishful thinking ... added later by a writer who imagined it should end like this . Jesus, however, is about reality not magic. The real good news, rather than hocus-pocus, is, amazingly, that, as Love conquers death, an extraordinary new reality is born.
Monday, April 13, 2020
He has been raised; he is not here. Be amazed!
Morning: Psalms 93, 98; Exodus 12:14-27; I Corinthians 15:1-11
What if Mary, Mary and Salome had come to the tomb and found Jesus’s body? There would be no Easter, no Church, no saints, no Vatican, no Canterbury, no year 2020, no world as we know it, nothing of all that has arisen from what is described by the young man in the white robe: “He has been raised; he is not here.” We still know so little about what this event means. It is a mystery beyond our comprehension, but we have built a world on it. Both the event and its consequences are astounding. Be amazed!
Evening: Psalm 66; Mark 16:1-8
What if Mary, Mary and Salome had come to the tomb and found Jesus’s body? There would be no Easter, no Church, no saints, no Vatican, no Canterbury, no year 2020, no world as we know it, nothing of all that has arisen from what is described by the young man in the white robe: “He has been raised; he is not here.” We still know so little about what this event means. It is a mystery beyond our comprehension, but we have built a world on it. Both the event and its consequences are astounding. Be amazed!
Sunday, April 12, 2020
Easter Day ... sent to forgive
Morning: Psalms 148, 149, 150; Exodus 12:1-14; John 1:1-18
On the very night of Easter Day (the women had found the empty tomb just that morning, so the story goes), Jesus wasted no time ... He had finished his work; now it was time for his followers to begin theirs. Imagine Jesus showing up tonight after Easter dinner and saying to us all: “Have I got a job for you! I had a mission - to proclaim and to embody forgiveness. Now the mission of forgiveness and reconciliation is yours. So, get to it!” Sent to forgive and to make peace ... that’s us, you and me!
Evening: Psalms 113, 114; Isaiah 51:9-11; John 20:19-23
On the very night of Easter Day (the women had found the empty tomb just that morning, so the story goes), Jesus wasted no time ... He had finished his work; now it was time for his followers to begin theirs. Imagine Jesus showing up tonight after Easter dinner and saying to us all: “Have I got a job for you! I had a mission - to proclaim and to embody forgiveness. Now the mission of forgiveness and reconciliation is yours. So, get to it!” Sent to forgive and to make peace ... that’s us, you and me!
Saturday, April 11, 2020
In Jesus’ Way, led by the Spirit, free to live well
Morning: Psalms 95, 88; Lamentations 3:37-58; Hebrews 4:1-16
Paul describes ‘sin’ like this - ‘the good I want to do, I don’t do; the evil I don’t want is what I do.’ Most humans carry guilty burdens from sometimes behaving badly in life without intending to. This is part of the story of our humanity. But, says Paul, on the Cross Jesus bore the guilt of those who choose his Way (those who are ‘in Christ’). This was not to relieve their burdens so they could continue behaving unconsciously and badly, but to free them to live well, not by their own strength but guided by the Spirit.
Evening: Psalm 27; Romans 8:1-11
Paul describes ‘sin’ like this - ‘the good I want to do, I don’t do; the evil I don’t want is what I do.’ Most humans carry guilty burdens from sometimes behaving badly in life without intending to. This is part of the story of our humanity. But, says Paul, on the Cross Jesus bore the guilt of those who choose his Way (those who are ‘in Christ’). This was not to relieve their burdens so they could continue behaving unconsciously and badly, but to free them to live well, not by their own strength but guided by the Spirit.
Friday, April 10, 2020
Good Friday - You never know who’s listening
Morning: Psalms 95, 22; Lamentations 3:1-9, 19-33; I Peter 1:10-20
Jesus is buried by secret disciples - Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, who are both afraid their allegiance will become public. I’m finding it intriguing that, in the present pandemic, unexpected people show an interest in Jesus ... are they today’s secret disciples, perhaps? Could this be because all of our temples, which may often obscure or misrepresent Jesus, are closed? Perhaps Jesus’s story is more fully heard in the present suffering of our world? It’s complicated, isn’t it? Except for this ... When the Good News of Jesus sounds in the world, you never know who is listening.
Evening: Psalms 40:1-14, 54; John 19:38-42
Jesus is buried by secret disciples - Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, who are both afraid their allegiance will become public. I’m finding it intriguing that, in the present pandemic, unexpected people show an interest in Jesus ... are they today’s secret disciples, perhaps? Could this be because all of our temples, which may often obscure or misrepresent Jesus, are closed? Perhaps Jesus’s story is more fully heard in the present suffering of our world? It’s complicated, isn’t it? Except for this ... When the Good News of Jesus sounds in the world, you never know who is listening.
Thursday, April 9, 2020
Maundy Thursday - Love in Action
Morning: Psalm 102; Lamentations 2:10-18; I Cor 10:14-17; 11:27-32
In John’s Gospel account of the Last Supper (John 13), Jesus washes his disciples’ feet, then gives them a “New Commandment ... Love one another as I have loved you.” Today, Maundy Thursday, is the day when Christians remember that loving service is the highest good. ‘Maundy’ is from the Latin word for commandment (‘Mandatum’). Jesus gives this New Commandment, and he also embodies it - in loving service to his friends, and, by confronting the unjust powers that oppress his people. That confrontation leads to his execution. When Jesus’s disciples follow his command, they put Love into Action.
Evening: Psalms 142, 143; Mark 14:12-25
In John’s Gospel account of the Last Supper (John 13), Jesus washes his disciples’ feet, then gives them a “New Commandment ... Love one another as I have loved you.” Today, Maundy Thursday, is the day when Christians remember that loving service is the highest good. ‘Maundy’ is from the Latin word for commandment (‘Mandatum’). Jesus gives this New Commandment, and he also embodies it - in loving service to his friends, and, by confronting the unjust powers that oppress his people. That confrontation leads to his execution. When Jesus’s disciples follow his command, they put Love into Action.
Wednesday, April 8, 2020
Restoring the ‘vineyard’ of the earth
Morning: Psalm 55; Lamentations 2:1-9; 2 Corinthians 1:23-2:11
In Mark’s Gospel, ‘the vineyard’ is a metaphor for the nation. We may also understand it as a metaphor for the earth. Like the biblical vineyard, the earth has been plundered for the benefit of a few and to the detriment of many. Some speak out about this and may suffer for their efforts (just as Jesus suffered and died for the well-being of the earth). Is the earth itself now crying out for the restoration of balance? Once we get beyond our present troubles, God grant we choose to restore the vineyard of the earth to its former health.
Evening: Psalm 74; Mark 12:1-11
In Mark’s Gospel, ‘the vineyard’ is a metaphor for the nation. We may also understand it as a metaphor for the earth. Like the biblical vineyard, the earth has been plundered for the benefit of a few and to the detriment of many. Some speak out about this and may suffer for their efforts (just as Jesus suffered and died for the well-being of the earth). Is the earth itself now crying out for the restoration of balance? Once we get beyond our present troubles, God grant we choose to restore the vineyard of the earth to its former health.
Tuesday, April 7, 2020
“Authority issues”
Morning: Psalms 6, 12; Lamentations 1:17-22; 2 Corinthians 1:8-22
Questions reveal much about the questioner. Long before psychology described “authority issues”, religious leaders asked Jesus: By whose authority do you do these things? Without being defensive and with an apparently simple question, Jesus demonstrated again his authority to teach them. Many of us suffer our whole lives because someone who wielded power once treated us badly. We spend our lives fighting unconsciously against that person by projecting our anger onto other authority figures, even onto God. Jesus, though, wants us to own (without needing to prove it) both our own goodness and the infinite goodness of God.
Evening: Psalm 94; Mark 11:27-33
Questions reveal much about the questioner. Long before psychology described “authority issues”, religious leaders asked Jesus: By whose authority do you do these things? Without being defensive and with an apparently simple question, Jesus demonstrated again his authority to teach them. Many of us suffer our whole lives because someone who wielded power once treated us badly. We spend our lives fighting unconsciously against that person by projecting our anger onto other authority figures, even onto God. Jesus, though, wants us to own (without needing to prove it) both our own goodness and the infinite goodness of God.
Monday, April 6, 2020
Jesus: confronting the abuse of power
Monday April 6th - Jesus: confronting the abuse of power
Evening: Psalm 69:1-23; Mark 11:12-25
This is an odd story ... Jesus curses a fig tree for having no fruit even though it is not fig season. The tree withers. The story points, though, to Jesus’s judgement of the Jerusalem Temple, and any other institution that becomes an instrument of unjust power, exploiting those who seek its services - in the case of the Temple, forgiveness. Jesus confronts and makes redundant the sacrificial system but at what cost! - the sacrifice of his own life. From now on, forgiveness is found in the Way of Jesus. God desires not sacrifice but justice, compassion and humility.
Sunday, April 5, 2020
Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday
Morning: Psalms 24, 29; Zechariah 9:9-12; I Timothy 6:12-16
As Jesus rode into Jerusalem that day, God knew - Jesus knew - that he wielded all the power of the Universe, the whole power of Creation, and yet he chose to show us that the way to wield real power - which at its heart is not the power to show off your strength or to amass wealth or to Lord it over others; at its heart, real power is the power of Love - the only way to wield such power is with humility, with the readiness to sacrifice it all in Love for others and the Earth.
Evening: Psalm 103; Zechariah 12:9-11 & 13:1, 7-9; Luke 19:41-48
As Jesus rode into Jerusalem that day, God knew - Jesus knew - that he wielded all the power of the Universe, the whole power of Creation, and yet he chose to show us that the way to wield real power - which at its heart is not the power to show off your strength or to amass wealth or to Lord it over others; at its heart, real power is the power of Love - the only way to wield such power is with humility, with the readiness to sacrifice it all in Love for others and the Earth.
Saturday, April 4, 2020
Let me see again
Morning: Psalms 137:1-9, 144; Exodus 10:21-11:8; 2 Corinthians 4:13-18
Blind Bartimaeus asks Jesus, “Let me see again.” Once, he could see. You wonder whether this story is about humanity becoming blind? The shock of coronavirus is partly that a terrible disease can jump the species barrier from animals to humans. I just watched a video clip of Jane Goodall, famed gorilla researcher. She said our desire to commercialize everything has brought us too close to the wild animals of the Earth. We have lost sight of the appropriate separateness of species. As we move on from this crisis, we may also pray, “Let us see again.”
Evening: Psalms 42, 43; Mark 10:46-52
Blind Bartimaeus asks Jesus, “Let me see again.” Once, he could see. You wonder whether this story is about humanity becoming blind? The shock of coronavirus is partly that a terrible disease can jump the species barrier from animals to humans. I just watched a video clip of Jane Goodall, famed gorilla researcher. She said our desire to commercialize everything has brought us too close to the wild animals of the Earth. We have lost sight of the appropriate separateness of species. As we move on from this crisis, we may also pray, “Let us see again.”
Friday, April 3, 2020
The essential service of a servant church in these days
Morning: Psalms 95, 22; Exodus 9:13-35; 2 Corinthians 4:1-12
Yesterday I saw a sign thanking essential service workers. Then I heard that one State says churches should stay open - as essential service providers. It is indeed an essential service of churches these days to remain open, yes ... open-hearted. Servant communities care for those they serve by not gathering. Jesus showed that service requires us to make sacrifices for others. He sacrificed his life. Giving up meeting for a while is a small sacrifice for a servant community. Churches’ essential service right now is not to meet. Aren’t telephones wonderful, though!? Keep your distance, yes ... but call.
Evening: Psalms 141, 143:1-11; Mark 10:32-45
Yesterday I saw a sign thanking essential service workers. Then I heard that one State says churches should stay open - as essential service providers. It is indeed an essential service of churches these days to remain open, yes ... open-hearted. Servant communities care for those they serve by not gathering. Jesus showed that service requires us to make sacrifices for others. He sacrificed his life. Giving up meeting for a while is a small sacrifice for a servant community. Churches’ essential service right now is not to meet. Aren’t telephones wonderful, though!? Keep your distance, yes ... but call.
Thursday, April 2, 2020
Hats off to those who serve!
Morning: Psalms 131, 132; Exodus 7:25-8:19; 2 Corinthians 3:7-18
Jesus always addresses the common illusion that great accomplishments or wealth are indicators of success in life. It’s not like that, he says, but the ones you think are first will actually end up last and the last, first. Not that it’s about competition, only that Jesus explains it in terms that people who think that way will understand. For instance, the cheery, low-paid grocery store assistant who helped me and others today in the midst of these risk-filled days of the pandemic is first in my estimation. Hats off first to her and to all the other front-line workers!
Evening: Psalms 140, 142; Mark 10:17-31
Jesus always addresses the common illusion that great accomplishments or wealth are indicators of success in life. It’s not like that, he says, but the ones you think are first will actually end up last and the last, first. Not that it’s about competition, only that Jesus explains it in terms that people who think that way will understand. For instance, the cheery, low-paid grocery store assistant who helped me and others today in the midst of these risk-filled days of the pandemic is first in my estimation. Hats off first to her and to all the other front-line workers!
Wednesday, April 1, 2020
A spacious place of welcome
Morning: Psalm 119:145-176; Exodus 7:8-24; 2 Corinthians 14:3-6 (???)
When Jesus speaks about divorce, I feel the weight of my failures. I know (and this was revolutionary back then) Jesus was teaching men not to regard women as property, but his words still feel hard. Next, though, Jesus invites us to live with the simple trust of a child, open to a new world. My life is clearly imperfect, but that is not the end of my story. Jesus promises a spacious place (Psalm 18:19) of welcome in spite of my brokenness: “Come to me, you who carry heavy burdens ... my yoke is easy, my burden is light.”
Evening: Psalms 128, 129, 130; Mark 10:1-16
When Jesus speaks about divorce, I feel the weight of my failures. I know (and this was revolutionary back then) Jesus was teaching men not to regard women as property, but his words still feel hard. Next, though, Jesus invites us to live with the simple trust of a child, open to a new world. My life is clearly imperfect, but that is not the end of my story. Jesus promises a spacious place (Psalm 18:19) of welcome in spite of my brokenness: “Come to me, you who carry heavy burdens ... my yoke is easy, my burden is light.”
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