pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: omission


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Non-Linear Faith

Reading: 1st Peter 2:2-3

1st Peter 2:2 – “Instead, like a newborn baby, desire the pure spiritual milk of the word. Nourished by it, you will grow into salvation.”

Peter was a great leader in the early church. His faith was bold and strong. Peter had walked with Jesus himself for three years, slowly building his faith. He walked on water – not early in his walk with Jesus and not for very long. Peter was willing to fight for Jesus, drawing his sword in the garden – only to be rebuked by the Prince of Peace. And although he denied knowing Jesus after his arrest, Peter’s faith had been fully restored by the risen Christ. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, Peter became one of the faces of this new movement of faith that would become known as Christianity.

As we turn to 1st Peter 2 today and tomorrow, we do so with a key understanding: most folks in the early “church” were new to Jesus and to the faith. Can you remember those days? Doubt was frequent. A return to your old ways was not uncommon. This is Peter’s audience. In verse 2 he writes, “Instead, like a newborn baby, desire the pure spiritual milk of the word. Nourished by it, you will grow into salvation.” Instead of relying on yourselves, turn to God. Recognize the newness of your faith and invest in its growth. Delve into the practices that will help your faith to grow. These disciplines would include prayer and meditation, worship and fellowship, studying God’s word, service, and even fasting. These things grow our faith.

The reality we experience when growing our faith reveals that it is non-linear. The progress is unsteady. We often fail early on. As we grow in our faith, though, we start to take more steps forward than backward. We realize again and again that the thing we’ve always done, well, it is sin. We confess it and strive to repent and grow. We start to see things undone or unspoken as sins of omission and we begin to live more faithfully, more boldly. Yet we never “arrive.” We can always be a little closer to Jesus than we were yesterday. Day by day may we strive to be more like Jesus in all ways. Yes, O God, may it be so.

Prayer: Lord God, open our eyes, hearts, and minds to the ways that you seek to draw us deeper into faith. Guide and strengthen us as we continue to work out our salvation. Amen.


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Healing Brokenness

Reading: John 9:1-17

John 9:2 – “Rabbi, who sinned so that he was born blind, this man or his parents?”

Photo credit: Kelly Sikkema

Today’s gospel reading begins with an important question and an even more important answer. The disciples ask Jesus about the root causes of a man’s blindness. It is a question wrapped in that culture’s understanding of disease and illness. Because medicine had not yet provided explanations for blindness, skin disease… the assumption was that sin or some other brokenness in the community caused the illness, disease, plague… To be healed or cured was to be restored to community or for the community to return to wholeness.

In answer to their question, Jesus responds that neither the man nor his parents sinned. It was not a grandparent or great grandparent either. The blindness (and its healing) are an opportunity for “God’s mighty works” to be displayed. Being light to the world and to this particular man, Jesus makes some mud, puts it on the man’s eyes, and sends him to wash in the pool of Siloam (which means “sent.”) The man is healed – he can see. There is some disagreement over the healing. There is concern over when the healing happened. We delve into all of this tomorrow as we press on in John 9.

But today, within the context of the community’s wholeness, we wrestle with the brokenness of our world today. In a world that produces enough food to feed itself many times over, why do many go hungry? What sins cause this? In a nation with the best possible medical care, why do many go untreated? What sin causes this? In a place where there are abundant resources and space, why do we refuse to welcome some in? What sins cause this?

Prayer: Lord God, heal our hearts, heal our nation, heal our world. The sins of some cause many to suffer or to live in scarcity. The desire for the pleasures and riches of this world lead some to turn their backs on the sufferings and injustices of our time. Our own sins of omission result in silence and inaction, allowing evil and darkness to reign. Lord, pour your healing love into our hearts. Use us to engage in healing the brokenness of our world, of our communities, and of our lives. Amen.