We had better get used to sharing our good things

Morning: Psalms 40, 54; Wisdom 6:12-23; Colossians 3:1-11

Evening: Psalm 51; Luke 7:1-17

Some religious leaders think they have a corner on God’s favour, but Jesus still heals the son of a foreigner, a Roman centurion who demonstrates great faith. Even today, some pious church folk think God’s grace is just for them ... But Jesus ushers in the renewal of humanity. In that renewal, there are no distinctions of race, religion, or rank ... Paul writes: “Christ is all and in all.” People may not like this idea but ... if we want to be whole someday, we had better get used to sharing good things instead of keeping them to ourselves.

 

Find a reliable guide

Morning: Psalm 50; Wisdom 5:9-23; Colossians 2:8-23

Evening: Psalms 114, 115; Luke 6:39-49

In its rush to publish and devour the next best-seller ‘How to’ guidebook, our culture risks being guided by the ‘blind’. By ‘blind guides’, Jesus means those who lack true wisdom or understanding. Without wisdom, which takes time, it is foolish to presume you can guide others into life ... you cannot know its pitfalls. Jesus invites us to dedicate ourselves to wisdom and goodness and to build on solid rock. For many, he is that rock. They trust him; he is a reliable guide. Find a reliable guide, then you will see where the pot-holes are, too.

 

Where will Jesus’s teaching lead me?

Morning: Psalm 119:49-72; Wisdom 4:16-5:8; Colossians 1:24-2:7

Evening: Psalm 49; Luke 6:27-38

Jesus’s teaching is strange, yes, and exciting. Who has truly plumbed its depths? “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you ... Give to everyone who begs from you ... Do to others as you would have them do to you ... lend, expecting nothing in return ... Be merciful ... Do not judge ... do not condemn ... Forgive ... give ... the measure you give will be the measure you get back.” Exciting, amazing, astounding. Where will such teaching lead me, when I live it?

 

Listen carefully to Jesus’s strange teachings

Morning: Psalm 45; Wisdom 3:1-9; Colossians 1:15-23

Evening: Psalms 47, 48; Luke 6:12-26

Some describe faith as if it consisted of boring platitudes, but that is religion. Listen carefully, instead, to Jesus’s strange teachings: Poverty is a blessing, and hunger, or tears, or when people mistreat you for your faith. And it is woeful to be rich, or well-fed, or to laugh, or have people speak well of you. Why? Perhaps Jesus wants us to question our assumptions about all these states? Something else is going on here. The truly holy lies beyond either pain or pleasure. The poor are often the happiest of people and the rich are still subject to discontent.

 

With the utmost patience ... it cuts both ways

Morning: Psalm 145; Sirach 2:1-11; Acts 12:25 – 13:3

Evening: Psalms 67, 96; Isaiah 62:6-12; 2 Timothy 4:1-11

What happens in you when someone tries to convince you about what you think is their whacky idea? What do you do when they are annoyingly persistent and patient with you? Today is St. Mark’s Day. He probably was used to people being impatient with his whacky ideas about a man called Jesus. Paul, with whom Mark sometimes travelled, taught: “Be persistent whether the time is favourable or unfavourable; convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience ...” I need most that last part - utmost patience, whether listening to whacky ideas or speaking them! Because patience cuts both ways.

 

Beware of falsehood and ravening wolves

Morning: Psalms 63:1-8, 98; Wisdom 1:1-15; I Peter 5:1-11

Evening: Psalm 103; Matthew 7:15-29

Have you asked someone for directions, and they led you astray? Some give directions whether they know the way or not. Jesus is blunt ... On life’s way, you will meet those who are dangerous, like wolves. Be discerning about whom you trust; you can usually tell. Do they have integrity? Bluster and certainty may be covers for ignorance or self-serving deceit. Choose a guide who knows the way, its twists and turns. Wise travellers choose wise guides, who are not themselves dangerous, but they know a wolf when they meet one, and how not to be devoured by it.

 

The old and the new ... as with wine, so with life

Morning: Psalms 30, 32; Daniel 6:16-28; 3 John 1:1-15

Evening: Psalms 42, 43; Luke 5:27-39

‘New wine’, for Jesus, signifies new life. New wine must be put in ‘new wineskins’; in the same way, renewed life is embodied in new customs. I once thought Jesus was teaching that new is best. I had not noticed that he also says: “No one after drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good.’” Wines are most enjoyable when allowed to mature. Old, good, mature wine was once new. You cannot have quality wines without new wine. While the new matures, you savour the old. As with wine, so with life.

 

Prepare to be seized by amazement

Morning: Psalm 105:1-22; Daniel 6:1-15; 2 John 1:1-13

Evening: Psalm 105:23-45; Luke 5:12-26

‘Amazement seized them’ ... Did Jesus plan to amaze people or was he teaching them to be open to things that lie beyond our understanding? When were you last seized by amazement? Now, we are able to explain lots of astounding things in the world. But, in the face of mystery, we cannot always say: ‘One day we will understand.’ Perhaps not. Better to be prepared for another possibility ... that some things truly are beyond our comprehension. In the presence of such things, the proper stance is just to be amazed. Prepare to be seized by amazement; yes, today.

 

Be ready to ‘pivot’ & try something new

Morning: Psalm 37:1-18; Daniel 5:13-30; I John 5:13-20

Evening: Psalm 37:19-42; Luke 5:1-11

A few months ago, they were talking on the radio about what was the ‘new word’ for 2020. I believe they chose ‘pandemic’ - for obvious reasons - but I disagree; I think the real ‘new word’ for 2020, which is being used these days in just about every circumstance you can imagine, is ‘pivot’. It’s exactly what Jesus urged his fishermen followers to do ... cast your nets over the other side of the boat. Was he calling them to do the same with their lives? Sometimes, life and love compel you to ‘pivot’ and try something completely different.

 

After the night, daybreak, and perhaps rest

Morning: Psalm 38; Daniel 5:1-12; I John 5:1-12

Evening: Psalm 119:25-48; Luke 4:38-44

Have you passed the night at the bedside of a loved one, or one of your patients, or a friend? This sacred, yet arduous, task is a labour of love. Luke writes: “At daybreak Jesus departed and went to a deserted place.” He likely needed to find a place to rest. It sounds as if, at Simon’s house, he had attended to sick people all night. From the very beginning, Jesus was immersed in the hard and holy reality of human life. If you have cared for the sick through the night, you understand. But daybreak comes, and perhaps rest.

 

In spite of obstacles, you carry on doing what is right

Morning: Psalms 26, 28; Daniel 4:28-37; I John 4:7-21

Evening: Psalms 36, 39; Luke 4:31-37

Soon after being thrown out of Nazareth, Jesus taught, to great acclaim, in Capernaum (30 miles away). His reputation as a healer and authoritative teacher grew, as did opposition to him. There is conflict in any public life ... Jesus, after years of study and preparation, stepped into the public arena to advocate for justice and right relationships and against religious and political abuses. He faced suffering and death at the hands of political and religious powers-that-be. Faithfulness always requires a resilient stance before unrighteous power ... In spite of obstacles, you carry on doing what is right.

 

The sharing of good things is more beneficial for us all

Morning: Psalm 25; Daniel 4:19-27; I John 3:19-4:6

Evening: Psalms 9, 15; Luke 4:14-30

COVAX seeks to ensure that all the world’s peoples get equal access to Covid-19 vaccines. Interestingly, Jesus was thrown out of his hometown for reminding people that they should be prepared to share good things with the poor and oppressed of all nations. In the so-called First World, we are often quick to believe that privileges ought to flow first to us. In the New World that Jesus promises, good things are shared. This pandemic is teaching us that such equitable sharing of good things is not only more just; it is actually more beneficial for everyone, in the end.

 

Carried by Love ... where you do not want to go

Morning: Psalms 148, 149, 150; Daniel 4:1-18; I Peter 4:7-11

Evening: Psalms 114, 115; John 21:15-25

Our society is rights-conscious ... I will not do what I choose not to do. While this is a valuable human principle, it ignores the fact that many desirable human paths are ones we might prefer not to take. It is our right to resist, right? But Jesus says to Peter: “When you were young, you used to ... walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, ... another will ... carry you where you do not want to go.” Young or old, can I allow myself to be carried by Love beyond my need to assert my rights?

For what will I live ... and for whom?

Morning: Psalms 20, 212:1-14; Daniel 3:19-30; I John 3:11-18

Evening: Psalms 110:1-5, 116, 117; Luke 4:1-13

Jesus’s temptations are ours, too: 1. Serving things instead of serving others; 2. Choosing physical satisfaction over inner fulfilment; 3. Wanting or trying to be like God, all-powerful, having everything. The rite of Baptism calls these temptations: “the world, the flesh, and the devil.” I suppose they embody the wilderness struggle each of us must undergo, with its central question: For what will I live ... and for whom? Will it be for others, the world and God, or only for myself? It is vaguely reassuring to hear that Jesus had to figure out the answers to these questions, too.

 

People will come together as one

Morning: Psalms 16, 17; Daniel 3:1-18; I John 3:1-10

Evening: Psalms 134, 135; Luke 3:15-22

Yesterday, CBC re-aired a hope-filled interview with Maria Campbell, who writes about her experience as a Métis woman. Her book, Halfbreed ends: “I believe that one day, very soon, people will set aside their differences and come together as one ... Then together we will fight our common enemies. Change will come because this time we won’t give up.” Hope like hers rings in every great human story ... hope for a better time, or for a powerful One who will help set things right. In the story of Jesus, the time is now, and he is the powerful One.

 

A change is gonna come, oh yes it will

Morning: Psalm 18:1-20; Daniel 2:31-49; I John 2:18-29

Evening: Psalm 18:21-50; Luke 3:1-14

One Night in Miami depicts a meeting between Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown and Sam Cooke. It embodies the spirit that produced Cooke’s A Change is Gonna Come ( https://youtu.be/wEBlaMOmKV4 ), inspired by Dylan’s Blowin’ in the Wind ( https://youtu.be/vWwgrjjIMXA ). John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus, quoting Isaiah: “Every valley shall be filled, every mountain and hill shall be made low, the crooked straight, and the rough places level ways, and all flesh see the salvation of God.” It may be a long time comin’, but that change is gonna come, oh yes it will.

 

Agree to agree about things that matter

Morning: Psalm 119:1-24; Daniel 2:17-30; I John 2:12-17

Evening: Psalms 12, 13, 14; John 17:20-26

Jesus prays fervently for his followers before he leaves them to get on with their work. He does not pray that they be excellent or righteous but ... “that they may all be one.” Surely this does not mean that we are to lose our identities and become insipid and unrecognizable as ourselves. The uniqueness of each soul makes the whole human community immeasurably rich. Doesn’t Jesus mean, instead, that each of us must give a little, bend, sacrifice some of our own preferences and privileges, and agree to agree about things that matter?

 

Sent into a world to which you do not belong

Morning: Psalms 5, 6; Daniel 2:1-16; I John 2:1-11

Evening: Psalms 10, 11; John 17:12-19

Remember Star Trek? You are carried into an encounter between different worlds; people are transported into places where they do not belong. They go, with purpose and curiosity, sometimes uncertainty, fear, even love. The positive dimension of human experience is re-imagined in cosmic terms. It’s wonderful, right!? Jesus says, ‘I do not belong to the world’. He also sends his followers where they ‘do not belong’. The disciple’s calling is... boldly go with a word of truth that the world may consider alien, strange, even threatening. Love is that strange and wonderful truth which makes unfamiliar and hostile worlds friends.

 

May we be one

Morning: Psalms 1, 2, 3; Daniel 1:1-21; I John 1:1-10

Evening: Psalms 4, 7; John 17:1-11

Conflict about religion and faith saddens me. Jesus dreams that those who trust in God (by whatever name) will be one. In faith, we all need a spiritual home ... Just so long as we do not think that our spiritual family has the whole truth and those who see things differently are wrong. The Anglican Church is my spiritual home, but I still dream of finding deep unity and harmony with people who choose different spiritual paths.  Believing the same things does not necessarily serve truth. Being one, though, is life-giving, lasting truth. May we be one.

 

Once you were not a people, but now ...

Morning: Psalms 146, 147; Isaiah 43:8-13; I Peter 2:2-10

Evening: Psalms 111, 112, 113; John 14:1-7

Peter points out one significant change for individuals who find faith ... they become a people, through solidarity of experience and purpose, compassion and love. If persons of faith offer anything to this fragmented world, it is their being united in common cause for the common good. Mona and I received many compassionate messages yesterday about the loss of our dear pet dog. Others understand loss. Commonality of experience leads to mutual understanding. May we find deep compassion for one another in myriad such ways. Then, as one people, let us build up both one another and the wider community.

 

I had not realized until now ...

Morning: Psalm 145; Isaiah 25:1-9; 2 Corinthians 4:16-5:10

Evening: Psalm 104; John 16:16-33

For almost 11 years, we have shared our lives with a lovely Australian Shepherd we called Sophie. A few hours ago, we had to say goodbye to her and let her go. We have smiled as we recall her unique ways; we have cried many tears. I had not realized until now ... how this beloved animal enlarged my heart and opened up a perspective on life I had not seen before. Thanks to her, I can say that life still promises many more as yet unseen joys ... for ‘we walk by faith and not by sight’. Farewell Sophie!

 

Why do human beings fight about religion?

Morning: Psalm 136; Daniel 12:1-4, 13; I Corinthians 15:51-58

Evening: Psalm 118; John 16:1-15

In John Steinbeck’s novel, To a God Unknown, is a line I always remember: “Oh, how the prayers of the millions fight and destroy one another on their way to the throne of God!” Our religious ideas and convictions have precipitated so much human conflict. Just last night, Catholic and Protestant youths were again turning to violence on the streets of Belfast. We fight because we do not listen to one another nor to the Spirit who speaks through every human life. If we presume that our enemies can hear neither us nor the Spirit, we are all lost. Listen!

 

 

Can these dry bones live?

Morning: Psalms 146, 147; Ezekiel 37:1-14; I Corinthians 15:41-50

Evening: Psalms 148, 149; John 15:12-27

Many valuable aspects of human life dried up long before this pandemic. Community became hard to find. Public dialogue grew increasingly rare. Our sense of the common good retreated into greater individualism and self-concern. I long for old-fashioned community spirit and engagement in common cause. The world of the future will depend on this. Ezekiel, during a time of social disintegration, and finding himself in a valley of scattered dry bones, was asked: “Can these bones live?” Ezekiel discovered that, by the action of the Spirit, dry bones may have life breathed into them again. This is my prayer.

 

 

Where does Love come from?

 

Morning: Psalms 97, 99; Micah 7:7-15; Acts 3:1-10

Evening: Psalm 115; John 15:1-11

Where does Love come from? Isn’t it built into the Cosmos? What do you think? Isn’t Love the strongest of all the messages from the Creator? Love overflows in human story, in Mother Nature, in the faithfulness of the days and seasons. Love is in them all. No surprise that Jesus calls himself ‘the Vine’, an image from nature, as the source of Love for us. Just as he draws Love from the Creator, so we learn Love from him. Given this, his commands follow naturally too ... Love the Creator with all your heart and your neighbour as yourself.

Goodness is impossible without Love

Morning:

Morning: Psalm 103; Acts 2:36-41; I Corinthians 15:12-28

Evening: Psalms 111, 114; John 14:15-31

In different ways, Jesus repeats that if you love him, you will live by his Way. Your good actions do not win love; they are your duty. Rather, your love inspires your good actions. Love comes first; it is the source of the Creation, the fountain of goodness. You do not have to be good to be loved; but when you love, you cannot help doing all the good you wanted to do but could not. Goodness is impossible without love. Just being told to do the right thing does not ensure that you will. Love is the guarantee.

 

The way, the truth and the life ... a new future for all

Morning: Psalms 93, 98; Jonah 2:1-9; Acts 2:14, 22-32

Evening: Psalm 66; John 14:1-14

Pious followers of Jesus sometimes twist his words out of shape. Thinking they grasp the truth, they may miss it completely. When Jesus says, “No one comes to the Father except through me,” some think he is a sort of heavenly boarder guard, checking people’s visas! Instead, he is everyone’s guide towards their true place in the world. God’s dream is for everyone to find themselves ‘at home’ here. Those who have never even heard of Jesus are, of course, part of this dream too ... It is unimaginable that anyone might be excluded. His new future is for all.

 

 

He got up

Morning: Psalms 148, 149, 150; Exodus 12:1-14; John 1:1-18

Evening: Psalms 113, 114; Isaiah 51:9-11; John 20:19-23

This is the Easter story ... that after dying of suffocation on a criminal’s cross, after lying dead (not just sleeping, but dead) in a tomb for 36 hours … as surely as the sun rose today and flooded the world with light … Jesus got up, rose again with new life in him. He was seen by many, who ate with him, talked with him, touched him, and were so transformed by their experience that they spent their life’s energies spreading the word about the new thing God is doing in the world.

 

What will you live for?

Morning: Psalms 95, 88; Job 19:21-27a; Hebrews 4:1-16

Evening: Psalm 27; Romans 8:1-11

I listened to a CBC radio special yesterday, For God’s Sake. You can find it here: https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1721806915563 . It features an engaging set of interviews with adherents of various religious faiths. All shared a sense of living for a purpose beyond material or physical satisfaction alone ... If you set your mind only on these things, that is death, says St. Paul; there is more: ‘To set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.’ Today’s question, in this pause between Good Friday and Easter Day, seems to be: What will you live for?

 

Friends you can count on when the going get rough

Morning: Psalms 95, 22; Genesis 22:1-14; I Peter 1:10-20; John 13:36-38

Evening: Psalms 40:1-15, 54; John 19:38-42

You know, I suspect Jesus has a lot of friends who would rather not demonstrate their friendship publicly. But even such quiet friends, if they are true, come through when the going get rough. Joseph and Nicodemus kept their friendship with Jesus quiet, for fear that it would be misunderstood by others. But, in the end, Joseph and Nicodemus put friendship ahead of fear. When Jesus’s close friends shrank back in fear, these two came and buried him. You probably know a few quiet friends of Jesus - the ones you can count on when the going gets rough.

 

Love one another and break bread together

Morning: Psalm 102; Jeremiah 20:7-11; I Cor 10:14-17; 11:27-32

Evening: Psalms 142, 143; John 17:1-11

On Maundy Thursday, Jesus washed his disciples’ feet and gave them a new practice, a holy meal in the breaking of bread and sharing of wine. Maundy Thursday takes its name from the Latin ‘mandatum’ (command), referring to Jesus’s new commandment ... ‘love one another’. Humility was perhaps Jesus’s most powerful expression of love, shown when he washed his disciples’ feet. Humility thinks and speaks well of others. Humility regards others as equal companions - ‘companions’ are those you break bread with on the human journey. So, love one another and break bread together. This we can do.