pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

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Mercy and Justice

Reading: Psalm 123

Verse 3: “Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us.”

This week’s Psalm is a song of ascents. It would’ve most often been sung as people made their way up to the temple. As they walked and as they prepared themselves for worship, the opening verse would set the tone: “I lift my eyes to you, to you whose throne is in heaven.” Read today, these words feel like words spoken to a benevolent God who reigned from a distant place. Christ has not yet come to bring God’s presence among and within us.

Verse 2 can be difficult. Slaves and masters, maids and mistresses – these terms have negative connotations. We cannot dismiss them as “then” and skip on to verse 3. These relationships were common for a long time in our world and even in “Christian” circles. This is a sad truth of our common history. Here in the Psalm the writer parallels these relationships with their traditional relationship with God. It speaks to a dependence on the one with power, to a trust in their good care and benevolence. The psalmist looks to this God to show mercy to the people.

Verses 3 and 4 reveal the unfortunate reality of many power dynamics. The faithful in the Psalm are not the ones with power. They are enduring contempt and ridicule. Those with power are prideful and arrogant. The faithful call on a good God to have mercy, to end this injustice. At times we are in this position, calling in God to intervene on our behalf. In these times we too lift our eyes to heaven. But sometimes we are in an observers role – we are not the one with all the power but we do have some power to act. We see or become aware of an abuse of power. In these cases we cannot remain silent. Our good God calls on us to intercede on behalf of the oppressed, bringing justice and mercy to the situation. Stepping out in faith, the God of mercy will be with us.

Prayer: Lord God, walk with us day by day. In your presence, encourage us in those times of suffering. Be our defender, be our redeemer. And in your presence, O Lord, spur us to action when injustice and oppression are evident in our worlds. Empower us to work for justice and good. Walk with us day by day, O God. Amen.


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Eyes, Heart, Hands and Feet

Reading: Genesis 29:15-30

Verse 27: “Finish this daughter’s bridal week; then we will give you the younger one also, in return for another seven years of work.”

Photo credit: Nick Fewings

As we continue in Genesis, we continue with the story of Jacob, the trickster and deceiver. If this story were just about Jacob perhaps we would feel bad for him because of how Laban tricked and deceived him. But Leah and Rachel are also part of this unfolding story that will continue. This week’s theme is about what is hidden and mixed in. It is about those God moments that we can miss if we’re not paying attention and if we’re not looking past the surface.

In Laban and Jacob’s day, treating women like property was the cultural norm. It was a male-dominated and male-focused world. Just reading verse 27, given above, is enough to paint the picture, to turn our stomachs a bit. But if we just shake our heads and leave the story here, we would be missing what God might want us to consider and ponder. Instead of treating them as property, what if we considered Leah and Rachel as people? In this whole story, how did they feel? How did being treated this way affect them, their relationship with one another, their relationships with Jacob, with Laban, and with God? So much to ponder.

As I think about this, I think about people today who are hidden and mixed in. I think about those in Ukraine, about those in limbo along our southern border, about those caught up in sex trafficking, about those living in poverty on the streets, about those living without hope on our reservations and inner cities. It is dangerous and maybe a little bit uncomfortable when we seek out and think about what can easily be hidden and mixed in. May the Lord indeed give us eyes to see, hearts to feel, hands and feet to move.

Prayer: Lord God, thank you for leading me here today, for opening my mind and heart and eyes to the continuing realities in our world. Use me today to see the Leah’s and Rachel’s in our world. Use me today to hear their stories, to be love and grace and hope in action today. May it be so. Amen.


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May We Too Seek

Reading: John 9:24-41

Verse 36: “‘Who is he, sir?’ the man asked. ‘Tell me so that I may believe in him.’”

Photo credit: Diego Gennaro

As our passage in John 9 continues today, the formerly blind man is once again brought before the Pharisees. He reveals great insight and understanding about what has happened to him and about the one who healed him. The man states that God does not listen to sinners, so Jesus cannot be a sinner. He adds, “If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” The Pharisees refuse to see or understand. In anger they drive the man out.

Sometimes it is hard to see things in a new way or to wrap our heads around the way that the Holy Spirit might be working. As individuals and as churches we can get stuck in our way of doing things. We can cling to the old traditions that we have even though they are worn thin. We can hold fast to our way of reading and understanding the scriptures. In these situations and more we too could sometimes be called ‘blind.’ Young people or older people with new ideas can feel rejected, unheard, or unwanted by us and by our churches. It is the Pharisees’ refusal to consider or see or understand the new thing that God is doing in and through Jesus that drives what he says in verses 39-41.

Jesus seeks out the man who was insulted and then thrown out by the Pharisees. We might not be that blatant about it, but there are lessons here for us and our churches: be aware of how we can do this, be willing to hear or see or understand the new or different, AND be sure to seek out and offer words of reconciliation when necessary. The man welcomes Jesus’ invitation to know the Son of Man. He says to Jesus, “Lord I believe” and he worships Jesus. May we too seek those who are blind or lost or rejected, for they too are dearly beloved by God.

Prayer: Lord God, open my eyes fully so that I may really see you are your workings in the world. Open my eyes to see all people clearly as your beloved – those inside the church and those outside the church. Open my heart to truly love, value, and serve all people – those inside the church and those outside the church. Use my life to draw others to Jesus Christ, our hope and our redeemer. Amen.


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Eyes on Christ

Reading: Romans 5:1-11

Verse 1: “Since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Photo credit: Josh Calabrese

Today in Romans 5 Paul writes of the peace and joy that we come to know as we walk with Jesus Christ. This journey begins as God goes to work in our hearts. As we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, we are justified or made right with God. This, however, is not a once-and-done process. We need to be made right again and again because by nature we are sinful. But we are justified by grace – the unending, undeserved free gift of God that loves us back into right relationship again and again. As God pours out love through the Holy Spirit, filling our hearts, we receive joy upon joy. Being loved so deeply and unconditionally, we experience reconciliation with God every time we repent and turn back to God. What a merciful and loving and graceful God we serve!

Now, if only we lived with this joy and hope and confidence all of the time. If we could only set our eyes on Christ and walk steadily and without falter each moment of each day. We can and do at times. But I find myself glancing sideways now and then as a bright shiny object or a scary dangerous threat nears me. If it draws enough of my attention, my gaze can linger. Maybe you too take a glance now and then. Maybe once in a while your gaze lingers. And sometimes I look back over my shoulder, looking to see who is catching up or sneaking up. I do this when I fall into the doing or achieving mode. Maybe you fall to these temptations once in a while too. If only we could fix our eyes…

When we falter, when our gaze is drawn off the path that leads to life abundant, may we always remember that while we were in that sinful state, Christ died for us. He died so that we can always be reconciled. Thanks be to God.

Prayer: Lord God, my life is so much better when my eyes and heart are focused on you. Even in the trials, there is hope and joy and peace in you. Train me more and more to focus on your love and grace and mercy – day by day helping me to walk more and more with Christ. Amen.


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Preach and Testify

Reading: Acts 10:34-43

Verse 42: “God commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one.”

Today we join Peter as he is witnessing to Jesus Christ. He begins with a realization: God accepts all people who do right and fear the Lord. Peter is stepping outside of his previous belief that God was just for the Jews. The vision he has and his experience with Cornelius and family has opened his eyes and heart to understand just how big God’s love is. Peter then shifts to telling of Jesus – the one who brought “the good news of peace,” the one who was “anointed by the Holy Spirit” following his baptism, the one who was raised from the dead, the one who appeared to many of his followers, the one who “commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one.” All of these things were eye and heart opening for so many people.

Jesus continues to open eyes today. He is the good news that transforms people’s lives, coming to live within us in Spirit once we learn to do right and fear the Lord. Jesus continues to offer restoration and redemption, giving life where there was none. He still calls us to preach the good news and to testify to how Jesus has changed our lives. Just as Peter and the other disciples were an integral part of opening eyes and hearts to the power of Jesus Christ, so too are we each vital to the ongoing building of the kingdom of God here on earth. Day by day may we preach and testify to the good news of Jesus Christ, living as an extension of Christ himself.

Prayer: Lord God, may the hope I find in Christ be the light that guides me and may the change that he has wrought in me be the fuel that drives my witness. Use me each day to reveal the good news of Jesus Christ to all I meet. Amen.


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Tell Us Plainly

Reading: John 10:22-24

Verse 24: “How long will you keep us in suspense?”

In our passage from John 10, Jesus is walking in Solomon’s Colonnade. It is an enclosed area in the temple. Many Jews gather around Jesus, seeking to know more about him. I can imagine this question blurted out, part in curiosity, part in frustration, part in release: “How long will you keep us in suspense?” Do the Jews long to know better the mystery of who Jesus is? From the gospels, which are accounts of Jesus’ life and teachings, we get an excellent idea of who Jesus is. Taken together they paint a great picture of who and what Jesus was and is. Yet they pale in comparison to actually living with Jesus.

Jesus walked and talked and lived among these people. For 3 years. They had much greater access to Jesus and his teachings than we do. Yet they ask, “How long…?” Do they really want to know who and what Jesus is? Or do they want him to conform to their idea of a Messiah? Their statement, also in verse 24, reveals the answer to their question: “If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”

Jesus has told and told all with ears to hear that he is the Christ. He has shown and shown all with eyes to see that he is the Christ. Jesus has entered into relationship with all who have open hearts. And yet they do not believe.

So today I ask: In what ways have you come to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Savior of the world?

Prayer: Lord God, this day may you use me to open ears to hear, eyes to see, and hearts to receive. Doing so, may others come to believe in the only one who can save. Amen.


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Attentive

Reading: Psalm 130: 1-2

Verse 2: “Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications”.

Photo credit: Jon Tyson

The Psalm for today begins at a place of need, a place of hurting – “out of the depths”. This is a place that we’ve all prayer from. Whether death or illness or persecution or unwanted change or… we have felt alone and called out in desperation, “Lord, hear my voice”. And then we’ve longed for a response. At times it’s been immediate. God’s presence becomes tangible, the doorbell rings and God has sent someone heading our way, a song comes on the radio. At times we wait a bit. We do not feel abandoned yet we do not have an answer right then. So we keep on praying and then God answers one day – in a text or note or call, in a verse or devotional that we read, in something we hear at church. Most often in these moments we realize that God has been there all along. We just needed eyes to see or ears to hear.

Some of the time, though, it seems to become an extended period feeling alone, isolated, without love or support. We pray along the lines of the psalmist, crying out, “Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications”. Long enough, O God! Hear the words of my prayer, the need of my heart! We think, if you’ll but hear you’ll listen, you’ll respond God, you’ll be attentive to what I want or think I need. In these moments it is hard to trust, to wait on God. Just as God is faithful, so too must we be faithful. We must be diligent in our prayers, faithful in our daily walk with the Lord, attentive to our place within the relationship. In his time, God will respond, he will attend to our prayers. The Lord will not pass us by. Thanks be to God.

Prayer: Lord God, in my moments of desperation first lift up me trust in you. Remind me of your faithfulness that has come again and again so that I too may be faithful. I trust in you alone. Amen.


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Fix Our Eyes

Reading: 1st Corinthians 4:13 – 5:1

Verse 17: “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all”.

Paul and the Corinthians know each other well. Paul lived there for about eighteen months, teaching, guiding, forming a church. Paul is one who has suffered much for his faith. The people of Corinth know this well. When Paul writes of these “light and momentary troubles”, the people of the Corinthian church understand that Paul’s troubles were far from light and momentary. Yet he does not lose heart. He holds onto hope and trusts in God with all that he is.

Paul points them and us on toward the “eternal glory that far outweighs them all”. Knowing Jesus’ story and seeing firsthand the troubles endured by Stephen and others who followed Christ, Paul understands the cost associated with belief in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Many in the church in Corinth have undoubtedly experienced trials and sufferings for their faith. It is an understood part of the journey. Yet this life is but a small step, a light and momentary stop along our path to eternity. The glory we will experience there will be so wonderful and amazing. We can only begin to imagine how vastly that glory will outweigh this present reality.

In this life and especially in the trials, may we too “fix our eyes” on the eternal glory that awaits all who believe. The Lord is our hope for the life to come and our strength in the days of this present age. Thanks be to God for his love for you and for me!

Prayer: Lord God, your promises are the foundation of my hope and strength. As I walk day by day guide me in your ways. Keep my eyes and heart fixed on your glory and your kingdom. Amen.


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Marvelous

Reading: Psalm 118: 1-2 and 19-29

Verse 22: “The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone”.

Have you ever been driving down the road and, as you looked ahead, thought there was water or oil across the road? Or have you ever approached someone, thinking it was a friend, only to have them turn at the last second, revealing the face of a stranger?

Psalm 118 is a song of God’s love for Israel. The psalmist writes of God as helper, refuge, defender. The psalmist rejoices in God’s strength, righteousness, joy, salvation. The Psalm speaks of the blessings of the one who comes in God’s name and of the festive parade when the faithful process to the temple. Is that King David we see in our mind’s eye? Or is that Gideon returning after defeating the Midianites? Or is it Ezra welcoming the exiles back to a rebuilt city and temple? Perhaps that is Jesus coming up the hill on the colt.

In verse 22 we read, “The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone”. These words do not fit David or Gideon or Ezra or any other king or prophet that rode into Jerusalem. Only one’s “festal parade” would end with him being the sacrifice. The parade, the palms, the celebration of tomorrow is a bit of an illusion too. The cheering crowds of Palm Sunday will soon be the taunting and jeering crowds at week’s end. Many who shout “Hosanna”! and wave palm branches are caught up in the excitement. Soon enough many will reject Jesus Christ, enabling the religious leaders in their quest to be rid of Jesus. There is an illusion here too. They are not eliminating Jesus; they are an essential part of the glory that will be revealed on Easter, on resurrection day. There are many plot twist and turns in the week ahead. Much is not as it seems to appear. The tide rolls along, ever guided by the hand of God.

We begin tomorrow with the celebration, the palms, the joy of Jesus’ triumphal entry. Knowing the end of the story allows us to walk with Jesus, knowing the truth of verse 23: “The Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes”. Yes, Easter is coming. God is in control. Give thanks to the Lord! His love endures forever!

Prayer: God, you are the creator, the one who sets all things in motion. You sent Jesus knowing he’d be rejected and killed. You did so knowing he is the capstone of the kingdom you are building. You sent him to us, knowing what we’d do. Thank you for your great love, O God. Amen.


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The Only Forever

Reading: Isaiah 40: 21-26

Verse 26: “Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: who created all these”?

The section that we will focus on today and tomorrow is titled “Comfort for God’s People” in my Bible. The Israelites have experienced defeat and the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. Many have been taken into exile. Life feels chaotic and out of control. Many of the Israelites feel abandoned by God and they are questioning their faith. People today feel many of these things. Even though we cannot compare these events that happened 2,700 years ago to today, we can learn from them, we can grow in our faith because of our learning.

Our passage today begins with some questions: “Do you not know? Have you not heard”? Isaiah reminds us right away that since the beginning of time God has sat enthroned over the earth. The one who stretched out the heavens “brings princes to naught” and reducers leaders to “nothing”. The Babylonians, this four or eight year cycle – this too will pass. In the big picture, this ever remains the pattern. In God’s timeline rulers change “no sooner than they were planted”. Today our cycle are even short relative to our average lifespan. The forty or so years in exile was a long time to endure. One can understand why they were struggling with their faith, with their trust in God.

Encouraging the Israelites and us to see the bigger truth, in verse 26 Isaiah guides: “Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: who created all these”? In four, eight, or even forty years, the stars will still be shining. The one who created each and knows them all by name will still be enthroned over all the earth. God is the only forever. May we trust in our God.

Prayer: Eternal one, thank you for the reminder today. All this earthly stuff, really small potatoes. The bigger bumps in the road – much less noticable when walking closely with you. You who holds the whole world in the palm of your hand – you hold me too. Thank you. Amen.