In the Wilderness … hope!

Morning: Psalm 78:1-39; Judges 7:1-18; Acts 3:1-11

Evening: Psalm 78:40-72; John 1:19-28

John the Baptist said he was: “the voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord.’”  Our present-day world can feel like a bewildering wilderness … What values to follow?  How to live well?  Yet if you remain connected to One who is a Source of hope for the world, you will not be overwhelmed or give up.  John invested all he had in Jesus, and believed that people would find hope in him. We who hope as John did still trust that the Way of Jesus holds the key to the world’s healing.

We do not lose heart; there is a light Source

Morning: Psalms 2, 24; Exodus 24:12-18; 2 Corinthians 4:1-6

Evening: Psalm 72; Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14; John 12:27-36a

There are many reasons to lose heart, to throw up your hands and withdraw.  From the spread of disruption and disinformation to the sheer volume of information in the media; it can feel overwhelming.  How to sift through it all?  Phew! But St. Paul insists … “We do not lose heart.”  There is still Light to challenge darkness; it burns within us.  So, as the old proverb says: ‘Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.’  To not lose heart, though, you must spend at least a little time each day plugged in to the light Source.

Sharing, sharing, sharing

Morning: Psalms 93, 96; Judges 6:1-24; 2 Corinthians 9:6-15

Evening: Psalm 84; 2 Corinthians 3:1-9, 18

The relatively new “share” option on Facebook echoes the time-honoured practice of generosity, encouraged by St. Paul – and taught to Canadian Beaver Scouts!  Paul says Christians are themselves “a letter” written on hearts of flesh … they share not just ideas (like FB memes), but their very selves.  Generosity – a reflection of God’s generosity in Creation and in life itself – is sharing that multiplies opportunities for kindness.  One act of generosity may trigger a domino effect of generosity on a massive scale – millions of “shares”!! Imagine! The Good News is that the indescribable gift of life’s goodness is for sharing.

Faith tells the story of Love; believe it or not

Morning: Psalms 75, 76; Judges 5:19-31; Acts 2:22-36

Evening: Psalms 23, 27; Matthew 28:11-20

Denial doesn’t want to believe.  Denialism denies truth – climate change, the Holocaust – creating another ‘truth’.  The chief priests pay the soldiers to say Jesus’ resurrection is a hoax – that’s denialism.  But the disciples see Jesus, who tells them to spread his Way of Love.  Faith trusts experience – love, relationship, and story.  Believers are not in denial any more than unbelievers.  Faith just responds to a different kind of truth.  No-one can prove that love, relationship, or story, are untrue; Faith cannot prove they are.  Faith can only tell about the experience of Love.  You believe that or you don’t.

Stephen, courageous witness to a new truth

Morning: Psalms 28, 30; 2 Chronicles 24:17-22; Acts 6:1-7

Evening: Psalm 118; Acts 7:59-8:8

Stephen serves tables to free the apostles for their important work of prayer and the Word.  Stephen is an exemplary servant. He also becomes a powerful teacher about the truth he finds in Jesus, and that brings him into confrontation with the religious authorities.  The evil foibles and failings of religious authorities are nowhere more evident than in the stoning and martyrdom of Stephen.  They respond to Stephen with arrogance, judgement and murder.  People of faith now, however, must open hearts and minds to strangers who speak truth in unexpected ways.  Uncomfortable truth – but truth – often springs from unlikely sources.

Do you want to know the truth? We can help

Morning: Psalm 71; Judges 4:4-23; Acts 1:15-26

Evening: Psalm 74; Matthew 27:55-66

Michiko Kakutani’s recent book, The Death of Truth, describes tellingly how truth is endangered in our times. Some deliberately obscure truth ... about climate change, poverty or injustice.  After Jesus’ death, the power elite lied, calling him an impostor, because he challenged their power by seeking justice.  They said: ‘make (the tomb) as secure as you can’. Ultimately, we believe that you cannot shore up the truth against those who seek to twist it or manipulate it.  But isn’t that because we also know that the truth needs our help, and we are ready to give it?

You may feel alone; but you are never forsaken

Morning: Psalm 72; Judges 3:12-30; Acts 1:1-14

Evening: Psalm 119:73-96; Matthew 27:45-54

After a fabulous, restful summer holiday, the story of Jesus’ crucifixion brings me down to earth again with a bump! Jesus makes this human journey with us. And his cry from the Cross echoes our own cry when, in distress, we find ourselves alone: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”  Some human experiences are earth-shattering; the earth moves under our feet.  Yet the earthquake and the voice that follow Jesus’ cry may be God’s answer … When everything has been shaken, what remains is that we are children of God; never entirely alone, not forsaken … ever.