pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

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Who Will Rescue?

Reading: Romans 7:15-25

Verse 21: “So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me.”

Photo credit: Mahdi Bafande

Today’s “do” and “don’t” phrases are a lot to work through. There is great honesty, though, as Paul reflects on the state of his soul. Even though we are created in the image of God, and even though we have the spark of the divine in us, and even though we, like Paul, “have the desire to do good,” we too “cannot carry it out.” We are prone to sin. It is our human nature.

In verse 21 Paul honestly writes, “So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me.” This too is our unfortunate reality. Temptation and sin are never far off. There is an almost constant battle that rages in us between good and evil. In our hearts we too “delight in God’s law.” And we also “have another law” that is at work within us, always trying to separate us from God. This can range from a simple snide comment or judging others in our mind to lust and greed to theft or adultery or worse. In verse 24 Paul candidly admits, “What a wretched man I am.”

Before we feel that it’s impossible or that all is lost, Paul reminds us of the truth and promise that we find in Christ. He asks, “Who will rescue me?” And in response he writes, “Thanks be to God – through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Jesus can and will rescue him. Jesus can and will rescue us. Thanks be to God indeed!

Prayer: Lord God, strengthen my inner being. Attune my ears and heart better to your Spirit. Build up the good and encourage me as I seek to resist evil. Day by day root me in Christ. Help me to grow more and more each day into who you made me to be. Amen.


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In Word and Deed

Reading: Matthew 9:35-38 and 10:1-15

Verse 38: “Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

Our passage for today and tomorrow begins with Jesus doing what Jesus did: teaching, preaching, and healing. His love of and compassion for the “sheep without a shepherd” is what drives his ministry. The 12 disciples spent day after day with Jesus, soaking up this model for ministry. In verse 37 Jesus shares this observation with the disciples: “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.” One could easily argue that this is as true today as it was the day it first rolled off Jesus’ lips. We all know lots of souls that are without a shepherd and are therefore in need of meeting the Lord of the harvest.

And so we turn to verse 38: “Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” This is Jesus’ instruction to the disciples. Jesus is inviting the disciples to ask God to send out folks to have love for and compassion upon the lost sheep. If there is any question as to who these workers are, let’s turn next to verse 1. Jesus calls the disciples to this task. He gives them authority to minister just as they have witnessed him ministering. Jesus instructs them to preach that “the kingdom of heaven is near” and then to demonstrate this by healing the sick and freeing the captives. In word and deed the disciples are to bring the kingdom near.

News flash: you are a disciple who carries the authority of Jesus Christ in your heart. You are a disciple charged with following and living out Jesus’ example of love and compassion. You are a disciple who is equipped by the Holy Spirit to bring the kingdom of God near through word and deed. May we enter into the harvest field, seeking the lost.

Prayer: O Lord of the harvest, send me out. With an open heart guide me to those who need to hear and experience the good news of Jesus Christ. Put the words in my mouth or the actions in my hands and feet – whatever is needed to bring the kingdom near. Use me as thou will. Amen.


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Seeks Out, Brings Back

Reading: John 10:1-10

Verse 3: “The sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.”

Photo credit: Wylly Suhendra

In this week’s John 10 passage Jesus uses the shepherd-sheep analogy. In verse 3 the shepherd tells us, “The sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.” Sheep learn the voice of their shepherd. They follow that voice because they trust their shepherd. As a group – that’s the natural tendency for sheep – they go where the shepherd leads. This is a good analogy for us too. If we trust Jesus, then we try and follow his voice, whether that is his words and example in the gospels or if it is the nudge and whisper of the Holy Spirit. Luke sheep we too tend towards community and connection with one another. But not always.

In both Matthew’s and Luke’s gospel they tell the story of the lost sheep. Yes, at times a sheep can wander. There are a number of reasons that this can happen. We wander too. We can be hurt so isolation or withdrawal seems safest. We can pursue or get caught up in worldly things. Then we create distance to avoid being held accountable or because we feel guilty. We meander off. Yet the Good Shepherd still seeks us out, still tries to bring us back into the fold.

As many of us prepare to enter into a community today to worship and praise, to be filled and renewed, let us not forget the lost. May we make efforts to include those outside the flock, for whatever reasons. May it be so.

Prayer: Lord God, I am grateful that I heard your voice. I am thankful that I have grown to know it more and more. Yet I too know that I have and still do wander. I’ve been hurt and withdrew. Thank you for never giving up on me, for always calling me back to you. Use me to do the same for others. Amen.


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A Solemn and Sad Day

Reading: Matthew 27:57-66

Verses 59-60: “Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb.”

Photo credit: Falaq Lazuardi

As evening approaches Joseph of Arimathea gains permission to bury Jesus’ body. Normally the crucified would be buried in a slowly growing mass grave alongside the road. The Romans believed that was all a crucified criminal deserved. But Joseph thought differently. We read, “Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb.” He cared for the body of the one he must’ve believed in. Joseph is not just some guy doing a random good deed.

In verse 61 we read that “Mary Magdalene and the other Mary” were present while Joseph prepared and laid Jesus’ body in the tomb. Joseph was a ‘secret’ follower of Jesus. Being a member of the Jewish ruling council, he has to keep this quiet. So Mary and Mary were the only two of Jesus’ regular followers to stick around through the whole gruesome event. No disciples came to care for Jesus’ body. No family members came.

On this solemn and sad Sabbath day, the followers and disciples of Jesus were surely overwhelmed with emotions: grief, shock, sadness, disbelief, doubt… Joseph cared for the body. Mary and Mary stayed present and grieved. They would prepare spices and perfumes to go early the next morning to finish caring for the body. No one expected the resurrection. Hope was lost. Love had died.

Prayer: Lord, help me to imagine what this day was like long ago. Let me feel the emptiness and loneliness and despair of the saddest of days. Temper the joy of the resurrection just this day so that I too can remain close to the one who died for me. Amen.


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Gather and Remember

Reading: Matthew 27:15-26

Verse 18: “For he knew it was out of self-interest that they had handed Jesus over to him.”

Today is known as both Palm and Passion Sunday. We celebrate the triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Jesus’ disciples and followers were joined by many others who cheered and praised God as Jesus entered the city, “gentle and riding on a donkey” – a symbol of peace. But the day does not end with a small, private party rejoicing in the day’s triumphal entry. No, it draws to a close with Jesus tipping over tables, declaring that the religious leaders have made the temple into a “den of robbers.” This sets the tone for the rest of the week. The tension rises and rises, culminating in what we read about today.

Pilate, like almost everyone else in power, knows that Jesus is innocent of any crime deserving even a flogging, nevermind a crucifixion. Pilate “knew it was out of self-interest that they had handed Jesus over to him.” So he tries to release Jesus. But the religious leaders are ready. They’ve assembled their crowd. Even though Pilate asks, “What crime has he committed?” the crowd continues to shout, “Crucify him!” Washing his hands of innocent blood, Pilate hands Jesus over to die.

From palms to the cross – what a journey! It is an eventful week, one with many connections. The longer journey also began with a connection. Old, dried palms became ashes that we wore on our hands or foreheads as we began Lent. Since then we’ve walked with Jesus as he ministered to the least and the lost. We’ve heard the call to live our faith inside out. And now we are called to this week, to gather and to remember the events of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, to be present and to soak up Jesus’ passion for all the world. It is not easy being present this week. Yet, may it be so.

Prayer: Lord God, strengthen me for the week ahead. Energize me today with the palms and the celebration. May the triumphal entry help me through the days ahead. Through it all, may I remember that Jesus is Lord. Amen.


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Who Is Our Woman at the Well?

Reading: John 4:5-26

Verses 13-14: “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst.”

Our passage in John 4 begins with Jesus alone at the well. A woman comes alone to the well to draw water in the heat of the day. There are a few cultural reasons that this encounter should not happen, but it does anyway. All that matters to Jesus is ministering to this woman, to this lost soul.

After feeling each other out a bit, Jesus says to her, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst.” In the first part Jesus is saying that this water – the things of this world – they never truly satisfy. This connects into his statement about having had five husbands and now a boyfriend. Significant others are one way we can try and find satisfaction and happiness. Some collect cars or other forms of wealth. Some turn to alcohol, drugs, pornography, gambling, working out… None of these things satisfy our inner thirst for joy, peace, contentment…

Jesus continues, offering her the greatest gift ever: “whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst.” In Christ she can find something the world cannot offer: everlasting love, an eternal relationship, a place to always belong, to always have worth. These are the things that the woman needs at her core. These are things we all need. We try and fill our hearts and souls with many things. But only God in Christ can make us complete and whole. There we find the joy, the hope, the peace, the contentment, the meaning and purpose we all need.

The question that sticks with me today is this: Who is the woman at the well in your life, in my life? This was not a chance encounter in today’s passage. Jesus was at the well, waiting just for her. How will you and I make connection with that lost soul that we know?

Prayer: Lord God, by the power of your Holy Spirit, lead and guide me to the well, to connect, to enter into relationship, to draw another closer to you. Amen.


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Inviting Others Along

Reading: 2nd Corinthians 5:20-21 and 6:1-10

Verse 20: “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.”

On this first Sunday in Lent, as we take this mostly personal journey of faith, today’s reading brings this question to my mind: Who are we inviting along in this journey? In today’s passage, Paul describes his journey and this can serve as a model for us as we seek to share Christ with others. In the first verse Paul states: “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.” Friends, we are all Christ’s ambassadors.

In verses 2 Paul writes of the imperative nature of this role: “Now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.” For every lost soul that crossed paths with Paul and for every wayward person that crosses our path, this statement remains true. Today is the day to meet the Savior. In the rest of the passage Paul speaks mostly of his hardships, not as a way to brag or as a means to show how faithful he was, but as a way to show how God has always been with him. Paul is modeling how his faith was not a “stumbling block” to others but was instead what allowed him to live “having nothing, yet possessing everything.”

In each of these hardships Paul sought to and invites us to be servants who “commends ourselves in every way.” In other words, his faith and trust in Jesus is what he relied on and is what carried him through. In our lives, our actions usually speak louder than our words. So the question for us is this: In our times of hardship, how is the power of Jesus Christ revealed in and through us? That is how we invite others into relationship with Jesus Christ and onto this journey of faith.

Prayer: Lord God, in the good and in the bad, but especially in the hardships, may I reveal you in me to the world. Guide me to turn to you first and always, relying not on my own ability or efforts. Lead me to trust fully in you. Amen.


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Praise Lived Out

Reading: Psalm 148

Verse 13: “Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted; his splendor is above the earth and the heavens.”

The psalmist calls for praise. Following the order found in Genesis 1 in the creation story, the writer calls for praise from all parts of our existence. From the sun, moon, and stars, all the way to humanity, the call is to praise the Lord our God. In verse 13 we are provided with the ‘why’: “Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted; his splendor is above the earth and the heavens.” God alone is worthy of our praise. Yet praise is more than simply worshipping God.

Walter Brueggemann argues that our lives should be praise lived out. Yes, we are to worship and praise God for all that God has done and continues to do. But our praise cannot stop in the past or even reside just in the present. Our lives and our praise must also be a part of building God’s kingdom here on earth. Jesus – God with us – best personifies this idea. His life of praise was lived out in the ways he sought the lost and the least; in the ways he healed and cared for the orphan, the sick, the widow; and, in the ways he gave mercy and grace to the outcasts, the marginalized, the sinners. Jesus revealed a new way of being and living in the world. It was the way of love.

As we stand on the brink of a new year, we often think of and reflect back on the year that is ending. May one of our questions be to ask ourselves if we loved as Jesus loved. And then may we consider how we can love God and one another more deeply and more completely in 2023. As we prepare to enter a new year, may we commit to being praise lived out, all for the glory of God.

Prayer: Lord God, as this 24 hours rolls into the next one, it is just another day. Yet it also is a significant change, a moment that calls me to reflection and introspection. Pause with me today, O God. Help me to consider how I can better praise you with my life in the coming year. Sit with me and show me how I can better live out my praise of you, my God, my Lord and Savior. Amen.


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Loved and Worthy

Reading: Luke 19:7-10

Verse 9: “Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house'”.

Continuing today with Jesus and Zacchaeus, we recall that Jesus called Zacchaeus to come down out of that tree. As Zacchaeus comes down, we read that all the people there “began to mutter.” They are all complaining because Jesus wants to go to the house of a known sinner, the hated and despised tax collector. We see in verse 8 that the invitation changes Zacchaeus. The same was true for you and for me. We began to change when Jesus asked us to open the door of our heart to him. It is true for all who hear Jesus knocking. Knowing that he wants to come to live in our heart begins the transformation process because then we, like Zacchaeus, begin to understand that we are loved and worthy of belonging in the family of God.

Zacchaeus’ first response is to begin to live right. Seeking righteousness he pledges to “give half of my possessions to the poor” and to repay anyone that he has wronged “four times the amount.” Caring for those in need and mending broken relationships are signs of a changed heart in Zacchaeus. He is no longer consumed by greed and selfishness. The overwhelming love of Jesus Christ has washed into his heart and has washed away these parts of Zacchaeus. Recognizing this, Jesus declares that “Today salvation has come to this house.” Zacchaeus has been redeemed from his sinful ways and has been made a child of Abraham through faith in the Lord.

Our passage closes with a phrase that really encapsulates Jesus’ life and ministry and purpose: “For the Son of man came to seek and to save what was lost.” Jesus came to call people like Zacchaeus back to true life, back to God, and back into community. He came to tell one and all that they were love and worthy. As we strive to follow Jesus, may we seek to do the same.

Prayer: Lord God, there is absolutely no one outside of the reach and touch of your love. Guide me to live each day guided by this belief. In turn may I seek and love just as Jesus did. Use me today to share your love and saving grace with others. Amen.


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At Least as Much?

Reading: Luke 15:1-10

Verse 7: “There will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous persons who do not need to repent.”

Photo credit: Stormseeker

Several weeks ago I got home from running errands and couldn’t find my cell phone. Instant panic. Now, if I was missing my shopping list – no worries. If I was missing my water bottle, then I’d probably check at ‘lost and found’ next time I was in those stores. But my cell phone?! I mentally retraced my steps and knew I had used my phone at our last stop – Sam’s Club. Our shopping list was on my phone. My wife called and there was a phone with a description that matched mine at the customer service counter. Huge sigh of relief. Yet I had to go right away to retrieve that which I had lost. Any similar experiences?

In our verses today Jesus tells two parables about things that were lost: a sheep and a coin. These stories are told in response to the religious leaders grumbling about the crowd that Jesus is hanging with. To them, the sinners weren’t worth anything. Yes, maybe they could come to the temple – once they cleaned themselves up and were following the Law. But to go out and engage them, to actually search for them while still in their sin, well, no way. To the religious leaders, these sinners were about as valuable as a used shopping list on a piece of scrap paper.

In these 2 parables, Jesus tells of a shepherd who leaves the 99 in an open field to go off and find one lost sheep and of a woman who hyper-cleans her home to find the one coun she’s lost from her pile of 10 that she had just counted. In both cases the lost are found and a celebration commences. Jesus declares, “There will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous persons who do not need to repent.”

It’s awesome that 99 are in church, but what about the 1 who isn’t? Do we search for them at least as much as you or I would search for our lost cell phone?

Prayer: Lord God, I rejoice again and again when you search for me and find me after I’ve wandered. Help me, in turn, to search for those who are lost and need to be found. Guide me to shepherd them home to you. Amen.