pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: Jesus


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A Plan Unfolding

Reading: Luke 1:68-75

Luke 1:69-70 – “He [God] has raised up a mighty savior… just as he said through the mouths of his holy prophets long ago.”

By nature we are social beings. We were created by God to be in community. While each of us enjoys some solitude from time to time, we crave human interaction. A large part of this involves expressing ourselves, our thoughts, our emotions. The average person does this mainly through speaking about 10,000 words a day. Imagine being silent for a few days. For me that would soon begin to feel like a heavy weight. What would that feel like for you? Now, imagine being silent for nine months.

As we turn to Luke 1:68 today, Zechariah begins to speak for the first time in nine months. He had been struck mute by God about 840,000 words ago. Zechariah did not believe the angel Gabriel when he told the old priest that was having a son. The angel told him that his son would “bring many Israelites back to the Lord.” What news to share! But he cannot. After all of this silence, what are Zechariah’s first words?

Zechariah first announces that the words of the prophets from long ago have been fulfilled. A Savior has been born! The priest turned prophet tells the people that God has remembered the covenant and will rescue Israel “from the power of our enemies.” Recalling the times in exile and in the wilderness, those enemies were mostly within – selfishness, greed, idolatry. As we continue tomorrow, Zechariah will next speak of the role that his son, John the baptizer, will play in God’s unfolding plan. The unfolding plan continues today. You and I are a part of that plan.

Prayer: Lord God, thank you for remembering your covenant and setting in motion the redemption of all of creation. Thank you for sending the one filled with the spirit of Elijah to prepare hearts to receive your son, the Savior. Lord, fill us with the Spirit’s power, using us today to call people to change hearts and lives. Use us to call people to the Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.


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Worthy with Christ

Reading: Colossians 1:10-14

Colossians 1:10-12 – “We’re praying this so that… being strengthened through his glorious might… you endure everything and have patience, and by giving thanks with joy.”

Photo credit: Diego Gennaro

We back up a bit in Colossians 1 today, looking at the prayer that leads into yesterday’s hymn of praise. The prayer begins with Paul asking God to help those in these churches to “live lives worthy of the Lord.” This is an expression that Paul and other New Testament writers used frequently. It was a call to live like and act like and speak like and treat others like Jesus did. While there was and is an understanding that one could never be exactly like Jesus because he was perfect, the charge was and is to get as close as possible. This idea reminds me of the 90’s, when many aspiring basketball players wanted to play and be like Michael Jordan. Athletes worked hard at emulating the six time NBA champ’s moves, style… Although no one is or was exactly like Christ (or MJ) many have and do walk faithfully in his footsteps, bearing fruit and growing in faith.

Daily faithful living creates a connection with Jesus that becoming sustaining, yielding what Paul prays for. Through the Spirit of Christ within us, we receive strength from Jesus. This strength empowers us to endure and to have patience. When our faith places us in a difficult spot or leads us into a hard situation, we do have to endure at times. In these times, this strength brings us a patience to endure, trusting as God leads and guided according to God’s plans and purposes. When we are faithful, striving to live a life worthy of Jesus’ example and teachings, then his strength helps us through. Often, from the other side of the trial or suffering or…, we can look back and see how God in Christ was at work in our lives. This usually leads to joyfully giving thanks to the one who is faithful and true. May it be so for you and for me.

Prayer: Lord God, in our day we don’t face the same persecution and threats that Jesus’ first disciples faced. But our culture, with its focus on power over and on personal gain, creates at least as great of a challenge to faithful living. So Lord we ask for strength and endurance and patience. Help us to be faithful in this secular, selfish world. Amen.


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Christ Reigns!

Reading: Colossians 1:15-20

Colossians 1:18 – “He is the head of the body, the church… firstborn from among the dead so that he might occupy first place in everything.”

In today’s hymn of praise Paul elevates Jesus to his rightful place: the one who is supreme over all of creation – past, present, and future. Paul begins by identifying who Jesus is: “the image of the invisible God.” In the flesh, dwelling here on earth, Jesus revealed fully who and what God is. Then Paul connects Jesus to the very beginning, to Genesis 1, stating that “all things were created by him.” Paul unpacks “all” a bit to help us understand the totality of Christ’s reign. “All” includes things visible and invisible, including all powers and rulers. Paul doubles down, declaring that Jesus existed before all things and that in Christ, “all things are held together.” Christ reigns over all of creation! Hallelujah!

In verse 18 Paul then writes, “He is the head of the body, the church… firstborn from among the dead so that he might occupy first place in everything.” Here Paul enters the now and then. Jesus is the head of the church now and into the future, giving guidance, direction, strength… through his Spirit. And Jesus is the path to the next life, the way to eternity. Through the cross and his blood, Jesus made a way for all things to be reconciled to God, to be made right with God.

This act of surrender was not just at the cross. The fullness of God also surrendered, taking on flesh, experiencing suffering and sorrow, doubt and temptation. God chose this because God longs to be in relationship with us. God in the flesh walked as one of us so that we could become one with him. Hallelujah and amen!

Prayer: Lord God, alpha and omega, beginning and end, first and last, you are in all things and all things were created for your glory. We are created in your image, made to be your heart and hands and feet in this world, just as Jesus was. When we fail to honor you, reconcile us. Use us to reveal to the world what it is to live daily with you on the throne of our hearts. Amen.


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Wonderful Love

Reading: Luke 23:39-43

Luke 23:42 – “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

As we continue in the crucifixion scene, we read Jesus’ only real interaction with anyone since he spoke to the mourning women on the way to the cross. In our reading today one criminal joins in the mockery and adds a selfish request: “Save yourself and us!” It is then that another voice speaks, this time for Jesus. The second criminal asks the other, “Don’t you fear God?” This is a telling question. He recognizes that they’ll soon die and that he’ll soon stand before the next judge – the one who will pronounce a sentence of eternal light and love or one of eternal torment and darkness.

Turning to Jesus, the second criminal says, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” He wants to go where Jesus, the innocent one, is going. Jesus offers him words of assurance, of welcome, of love. Yes, “today you will be with me in paradise.” This is so interesting to me. Jesus does not require a confession of sin first. He doesn’t quiz the man about his past life. Jesus doesn’t wait for a pledge of repentance or for a request to be baptized. The man just wants to be with Jesus for whatever is next. He longs for a reality-changing relationship with the Lord. Jesus welcomes the man in love.

This remains who God is. We don’t have to be perfect to present ourselves to God. In fact, God does some of God’s best work when we come broken or hurting or humbled or vulnerable. It us then that we are most malleable, most ready to be made new again. This is love. Thanks be to God!

Prayer: Lord God, it is reassuring to know that your love never changes. At our very best and at our very worst, your love is the same. It is a wonderful love. Lord, help us to have this kind of love. Amen.


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Radical Love

Reading: Luke 23:33-38

Luke 23:34 – “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they’re doing.”

Our readings today and tomorrow focus on Jesus’ crucifixion. The way of Jesus stands in very sharp contrast to the ways of the world. This contrast begins in verse 33. The Romans crucify three people. Two crucifixions are just and one is unjust. All three accomplish the same goal: eliminating those who challenge your power. This remains the way of the world.

Those present at the crucifixion, all three groups named in today’s reading, they all equate power with strength, control, wealth, status. The religious leaders and the soldiers and the Roman governor sneer at and mock Jesus. They all want (or say they want) Jesus to exert some of his power to come down off the cross: “Save yourself.” That’s what we’d try to do. We’d try to save ourselves. Many there that day that utter these words have seen the miracles and heard the unearthly wisdom of Jesus’ teachings. Pilate’s sign above Jesus’ head mocks him too. A king? Surely he would save himself if that were true. Today we continue to mock and sneer at things and at people that do not meet our expectations and/or that we do not understand.

Jesus’ power runs counter to all of these ways of power and of the world. As he is physically being nailed to the cross – large spikes being driven through his palms and his feet – Jesus says, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they’re doing.” As John Wesley noted in a sermon, Jesus ignores this incredible pain because he is more worried about the salvation of all involved in the crucifixion. Forgiving others always, this is power. The way of love for God and neighbor triumphs over all things. Thanks be to God for this most excellent way of love.

Prayer: Lord God, what great power we see in your radical way of love. It was unaffected by the things of the world going on around you. It was an unconditional love that reached out to those harming you and taking your life. Lord, fill us with this powerful love. Filled, send us out as your radical love lived out in the world. Amen.


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All We Need

Reading: Jeremiah 23:1-6

Jeremiah 23:5 – “He will rule as a wise king. He will do what is just and right in the land.”

Photo credit: Hans Heiner Buhr

Chapter 23 of Jeremiah is titled “Promise of Restoration.” The promise begins with a warning and then adds God’s solution. In verse 1 the prophet declares, “Watch out, you shepherds…” Jeremiah is specifically referring to the kings of Judah but also to the religious leaders. While the king is ultimately responsible for the well-being of the people, the priests also had a prominent role to play in helping the people remain faithful to God. All of the shepherds, however, have become inwardly focused. Instead of tending to the needs of the flock, the selfish behaviors of the leaders has, in effect, “scattered my flock and driven them away.” God declares to these bad leaders, “revenge” is coming.

Verse 3 shifts leadership back to God. God will act, gathering the sheep, making them fruitful and numerous again. God will “place over them shepherds who care.” Under good shepherds, there will be no fear or worry. Needs will be met. All will be well cared for. Jeremiah’s words get more specific in verses 5 and 6. These messianic words point to Jesus, the one who will rule as a “wise king.” Guided by the Spirit, the wisdom from on high, Jesus’ kingdom will be one of justice and righteousness. He will offer salvation to all people.

When Jesus arrived in Israel, they needed a Savior. The people longed for someone to save them from the Romans. Jesus longed to save them from their sins and lack of abiding faith. Jesus taught and healed, inviting the people back into an intimate, dependent relationship with their God. He then died, offering self as the sacrifice, offering salvation to the world. This Jesus, he continues to save us from self and to give us all that we truly need. Thanks be to God.

Prayer: Lord God, we can long for things we do not need. We can wish that you would wipe away our problems and our enemies. Remind us again and again that you love us so much. Remind us that you always provide just what we need. Help us to abide in you, trusting in your will and way. Open our eyes to see that your way is always the best way. Amen.


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Holding Fast

Reading: Luke 21:12-19

Luke 21:19 – “By holding fast, you will gain your lives.”

Photo credit: Shane Rounce

Shifting to the second half of this week’s gospel reading, Jesus gets real with the disciples. While these words still have meaning for us today, imagine how differently these words would be heard by readers meeting in secret, praying to avoid these things yet reassured by their Jesus’ words of hope and promise. Think about how these words would be heard in the Sudan, where a small group of Christians were recently arrested during a funeral.

As our passage begins, Jesus declares that “they” will arrest and harass believers, imprisoning some so that they can stand trial. “They” will be the Romans and the Jewish religious leaders. While chances of arrest are low in our nation, harassment and even mild persecution can come our way if we speak up for the vulnerable and the marginalized. People find themselves in these positions because of unjust systems that were created and are perpetuated by those who benefit from them: those in power and those with wealth.

In our time, Jesus’ advice about how to handle oneself if harassed, persecuted, arrested… feels counterintuitive to us. He advises his disciples not to “prepare a defense.” Instead Jesus calls us to faith and trust. He will give us “words and wisdom” so that in this opportunity to witness, “they” will be speechless. God will be glorified. Jesus also shares that these opportunities will not be easy to endure. Some will lose physical life. Yet hear the promise: “By holding fast, you will gain your lives.” Those with the power and means to kill the body (or to abuse or persecute or harass or marginalize) cannot kill the soul. We are God’s and God is with us. Thanks be to God.

Prayer: Lord God, give us the courage to stand tall and to be courageous in our faith. Grant us the assurance that you will give us the words to speak for and to defend the vulnerable and the marginalized and the powerless and the downtrodden. Placing self between such as these and those with power, we have an opportunity to transform the world and to change its unjust systems. Use us to shape a more just world. Make us willing to count and to pay the cost, all for your praise and glory. Amen.


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Ready, Ready?

Reading: Luke 21:5-11

Luke 21:6 – “As for the things you are admiring, the time is coming when not even one stone will be left upon another.”

As we begin two days in Luke 21, the scene is the temple in Jerusalem. Some people are talking about and admiring the brand new iPhone 17 Pros that were just issued to the Levite priests. Oops. That would be today. In Luke they were admiring the beauty of the temple. It was truly glorious. Speaking into this admiration, Jesus says, “As for the things you are admiring, the time is coming when not even one stone will be left upon another.” This monument to God will be utterly destroyed.

To the Jews, the temple was more than a pretty building. Yes, it would bring great sorrow to see it destroyed. Imagine waking up tomorrow and driving to church, only to find a pile of smoldering ruins. The Jews believed that God literally dwelled in the temple, in the Holy of Holies. Their communal identity was tied to the temple. Stunned by this thought, the people ask Jesus, “When…?” Instead of telling them when, Jesus begins to address how – how to be ready for when this happens. There will first be false prophets. Don’t listen to them. Then there will be signs: wars, earthquakes, famine, epidemics. These too will be signs warning that the end is near.

In our day, we can be just like the people in Luke 21. We can look longingly at another’s stuff – cars, homes, jobs, phones, status, wealth… And we can easily worry when any of our things are threatened by a stock market dip, by a health scare, by potential unemployment, by a change in our benefits… It has been a long, long time since anyone believed that God resided in a building. And it has been a long, long time that the faithful have believed that all we have really belongs to God. Yet we can easily get caught up in longing for the things of this world.

We can choose to live differently. We can focus on the things of God, readying ourselves for that final day. Living with God’s Spirit dwelling within us, holding loosely to the things of this world, we are on our way to being ready, whenever we come to meet Jesus face to face.

Prayer: Lord God, instead of admiring and chasing after the things of this world, may we love and pursue you and your will and way. Draw us to the present yet eternal, to joy and peace, to hope and trust, to love and faith. Amen.


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A Charge to Keep

Reading: Psalm 98:4-9

Psalm 98:9a – “He is coming to establish justice on earth!”

Continuing in Psalm 98 today, the new song kicks off. All the earth shouts triumphantly to the Lord. Humanity adds lyre, trumpet, and horn to their voices. The seas roar and humanity echoes. The mountains rejoice as the rivers clap along. There is a great rejoicing when all of creation joins together to praise God. Reading these five verses, one can sense the connection that God designed between humanity and the created world. If you’ve walked quietly in the woods or sat alone on the beach or looked peacefully out from the mountaintop, you’ve likely sensed this connection between self, creation, and God. In these moments, it is as God intended it to be.

Humanity has not always gotten this intention “right.” Often we tilt the relationship in our favor, exploiting creation and even one another for our own benefit. Even though we have gotten “better,” too often we fail to treat all of creation as an intimately connected part of who we are. God recognizes this. In verse 9 the psalmist declares, “He is coming to establish justice on earth!” Since the writing of this Psalm, the verb tense has changed. Jesus has come to establish justice. He walked among us, teaching humanity about living justly with one another and with creation.

Jesus’ dual purposes – to live amongst us to teach us how to love and to die for us to free us from the power of sin and death – these meant that he could not be here forever. So he left the task of establishing justice to his disciples. Eventually this charge fell to you and me. As I look at the world, it is far from a just place for all people and for all of creation. There is much work to do. The work must begin where we are – feeding the hungry family next door, comforting the grieving elder down the street, standing with the abused spouse and children who need protection, fighting for the just treatment of the vulnerable in our communities… A charge we have to keep. May it be so until all have justice.

Prayer: Lord God, one of us cannot fix all of the injustice in the world – or even in our smallest of communities. But together… Together with you, we are powerful and mighty. Lord, walk with us, using us to bring justice to creation and to one another. Amen.


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Alive and Connected

Reading: Luke 20:27-38

Luke 20:38 – “He [God] isn’t the God of the dead but of the living.”

The Sadducees come to Jesus with a question. The Sadducees were a group of religious scholars who were committed to a literal interpretation of the Law and to then applying this understanding to life. This group enjoyed challenging one another’s interpretation of the Law. What they are doing with Jesus was partly this practice. But it is also partly a power play. Because they interpret so literally, the Sadducees cannot make room for concepts like resurrection from the dead. In this interaction with Jesus, the Sadducees want to prove that their interpretation is correct, that their understanding is right. We too can be guilty of wanting scripture to fit our needs or to feel that our reading of this or that passage is the correct reading. We can, at times, want scripture to conform to our way instead of allowing scripture to conform us to God’s way.

In today’s interaction with Jesus, the Sadducees take a Mosaic Law and they run it out to the extreme. In Jewish culture, the oldest male in a family was privileged. For example, they received a double portion of the inheritance. They usually married first. If the oldest brother died without a male heir, the next brother would marry the widow to continue the oldest brother’s family name. So Jesus, in heaven, does the woman belong to the seventh brother or what? Well, Jesus tells them, in heaven there is no marriage. Like the angels, all who are worthy of this resurrection life are simply God’s children. That relationship will be all that we care about in the age to come.

As the interaction closes, Jesus brings the idea of being God’s children into this age too. He tells the Sadducees that God “isn’t the God of the dead but of the living.” This age matters. How we live in this age matters. Our relationship with God is paramount here too. Jesus adds, “To God they are all alive.” Living or dead as we see it is not how God sees us. Living or dead, our spirit, our connection to God, that is always alive. For this unchanging relationship, for this unending love, we say thanks be to God.

Prayer: Lord God, thank you for being our God, our Father, both in this age and in the age to come. Your love for us never changes. When we want to get a bit like the Sadducees, wanting our way to be the right way or the only way, remind us that your ways are far above our ways. Turning to the Spirit within, guide us to seek your voice, to discern your purposes. Help us to walk in faith each day in this life so that one day we can see you as you truly are. Amen.