Hearing promises rather than threats

Morning: Psalm 97, 99, 100; Habakkuk 3:1-18; Revelation 21:1-8

Evening: Psalms 94, 95; Matthew 17:14-21

Once, I saw a 20 minute play with only two lines – “Take it”, and “I don’t want it” – repeated with every imaginable inflection, tone of voice and physical expression.  Sometimes I’d like to hear Jesus saying the Gospel words out loud.  What sounds harsh in print, I re-imagine as gentle, full of compassion and promise.  Or, alternatively, maybe the Gospel writers got Jesus wrong?  Jesus is full of promises, not threats.  Like, when John of Patmos, in Revelation, has a vision of a new heaven and a new earth … now there’s a promise made in the spirit of Jesus.

Peaks and valleys, darkness and light

Morning: Psalm 89:1-18; Habakkuk 2:1-4, 9-20; Revelation 20:7-15

Evening: Psalm 89:19-52; Matthew 17:1-13

I love mountaintops; I climb Mt. Snowdon in Wales when I visit my mother.  It’s exhilarating up there; things seem clearer, problems small.  The humdrum and mundane are a world away.  It’s hard to come down.  The disciples are with Jesus on the mountaintop when they realize how different he is – truth radiates from him.  He could accomplish anything!  But on the way down he tells them he must suffer.  They hadn’t counted on that – in the bright light of their enthusiasm and plans, shadowy realities remained hidden to them.  Later they learned that darkness cannot overwhelm the light.

Rich or poor, whom or what do I serve?

Morning: Psalm 66, 67; Habakkuk 1:1-2:1; Acts 28:14-23

Evening: Psalm 19, 46; Luke 16:1-13

All I am and have comes from beyond myself. To be devoted to my stuff – house, car, treasures – is to serve only myself.  Wealth is such an unsatisfying Master.  Yet lamentably, our culture teaches the poor that the pursuit of wealth is the highest value.  That devalues the little they have. Even the wealthy want more.  To live well, Jesus teaches, we must address crucial questions: Whom or what do I serve?  What am I living for?  Rich or poor, when I serve wealth, I am the poorest of men.  When I serve Love, I am rich indeed.

Peace will come; let it begin with me

Morning: Psalms 87, 90; Joel 3:9-17; Revelation 20:1-6

Evening: Psalm 136; Matthew 16:21-28

Some good friends of Jesus are surprisingly preoccupied with “being saved.” Jesus himself said: “those who want to save their life will lose it.”  Instead, lose your self-preoccupation in service to what is life-giving.  This may not mean an easy path … in the Book of Joel some still think truth will be served by making weapons out of ploughs, whereas Isaiah’s vision is to “beat swords into ploughshares”.  We must stand firm in the cause of a deeper peace, sometimes at risk of our own.  Tom Paxton sang: “Peace will come; let it begin with me.”  Have a listen:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9tIJEywB4g

Who do you say Jesus is?

Morning: Psalm 88; Joel 2:28-3:8; Revelation 19:11-16

Evening: Psalm 91, 92; Matthew 16:13-20

There is much that is edifying in Jesus’ stories and in those others tell about what he did and said. Today’s story, though, is about who Jesus is; that makes all the difference.  It took several years for Jesus himself to come to grips with his own identity.  But when his followers realized, 2000 years ago, that Jesus might be the one promised from of old to deliver his people from their troubles, there began a profound transformation in the world’s life.  And his question to the disciples is still valid and important today: Who do you say Jesus is?

Spoiler alert

Morning: Psalm 23,27; Joel 2:21-27; Revelation 19:1-10

Evening: Psalm 85, 86; Matthew 16:1-12

Yeast makes bread rise; it is a leavening agent.  The Bible, though, talks about leaven as a spoiling, evil influence – in relationships, in communities, and in religious life.  There are those who seek to undermine Jesus’ influence by putting him to the test; he poses a threat to their own power.  Leaders who exercise an influence for good learn to respond wisely: both to people’s immature or destructive challenges; and also, to their own temptation to undermine others when they themselves feel threatened.  Jesus is teaching us to ask ourselves: Am I an influence for good or for ill?

Receive, Give Thanks, Break Open, Share

Morning: Psalm 119:97-120; Nehemiah 7:73-8:3, 5-18; Revelations 18:21-24

Evening: Psalms 81, 82; Joel 2:12-19; Matthew 15:29-39

People know about Jesus’ feeding the 5,000, but not the 4,000, this time with “seven loaves and a few small fish.” These stories could be about the same event but the details changed as it was passed on orally.  Most important, though, is what is common to both stories – Jesus’ FOUR ACTIONS: he took bread, gave thanks, broke and shared it.  Jesus “had compassion” on the crowd … Compassion is literally “suffering with”. Compassion responds to human suffering by receiving all we have with thanks, breaking it open and sharing it with our companions. Companions are “together in bread”.