Epistle for March 19, 2023

Note from Celeste:

Before we look at today’s lectionary reading, I’d like to draw your attention to my Holy Week Bible Study book.

Go and Find a Donkey is the latest installment of the Choose This Day Multiple Choice Bible Studies series.

The daily devotionals take 10-15 minutes and include:

• Scripture passage (World English Bible)
• Fun, entertaining multiple choice questions focused directly on the Scripture passage
• Short meditation that can be used as a discussion starter.

Use them on the suggested dates, or skip around.  Designed to be used during Holy Week, this nine-day Bible study takes you from Palm Sunday through Easter Monday.

Use this book personally during a coffee break or with the family in the car or at the breakfast table.

Order Go and Find a Donkey  today to prepare your family for this year’s Easter season!
CLICK HERE for Amazon’s Kindle book of Go and Find a Donkey.
CLICK HERE for Amazon’s Paperback of Go and Find a Donkey.

AND NOW, BACK TO TODAY’S LECTIONARY READING:

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Ephesians 5:8-14
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

The Apostle Paul’s words in Ephesians are a reminder to those who have received a “wake up call” from God.  They had been in the dark sleep of sin. Now they are to:

Walk as children of light.

This is an apt metaphor, contrasting the darkness of sin with the light of God’s goodness and righteousness.

Earlier in this passage, Paul has defined some of the darkness to which his readers had been susceptible:

sexual immorality, and all uncleanness, or covetousness… filthiness… foolish talking… jesting, which are not appropriate… (Ephesians 5:3,4).

And he makes a clear statement of warning:

Know this for sure, that no sexually immoral person, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ and God (Ephesians 5:5).

But now, in this passage, we get a picture of the fruit of the Spirit, not unlike the more detailed fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23.  Here in Ephesians, Paul says:

for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth, proving what is well pleasing to the Lord.

These three qualities (goodness, righteousness, truth) are near the pinnacle of the highest good (summum bonum) of the ethical life of the Christian.  The use of the word proving used by Paul may carry metaphorical weight.  The Greek word dokimazo is a term used to describe the testing of metals to determine their purity.  The goodness, righteousness and truth produced by the Spirit certainly pass that test!

Paul returns to the metaphorical contrast of darkness and light.  He urges his readers to:

Have no fellowship with the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but rather even reprove them.  For the things which are done by them in secret, it is a shame even to speak of.

Not only are they to avoid the deeds of darkness, they are to reprove them and not even speak of those things.  There is a distinction between those who do these things and the deeds that are done.  Paul is not advising the Ephesians to reprove the doers, but reprove their deeds.  That may seem like a fine distinction until we remember that even his readers were once guilty of these deeds of darkness.

We are reminded of his words to the Corinthian church:

Don’t be deceived. Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor male prostitutes, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor slanderers, nor extortionists, will inherit God’s Kingdom.  Such were [emphasis mine] some of you, but you were washed. But you were sanctified. But you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and in the Spirit of our God (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).

Note the “before and after” effect.  That was then; this is now, because they are now children of light.

This may be a classic case of “hate the sin, love the sinner.”  And we might add a phrase:  “hate the sin because of what it does to the sinner.”

Paul asserts that when these things are reproved, they are brought to the surface:

 But all things, when they are reproved, are revealed by the light, for everything that reveals is light.

Finally, Paul exhorts his readers:

Therefore he says, “Awake, you who sleep, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

Based on the grammar of this passage, Paul is quoting God himself as the speaker.  God himself is exhorting the people.  Although there is no exact quote with these words from the Old Testament, there is some opinion that these words convey the same sense as the words of Isaiah 26:19 or Isaiah 60:1-3.  Still others suggest that this was a verse from a Christian hymn that may have been sung in the early church.  Or it may have been that Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, was speaking these words on behalf of God.

The point is clear — those who were dead in the darkness of sin are urged to awaken to new life and bask in the light of Christ.  This is nothing less than a spiritual resurrection.

APPLY:  

There is clearly a “before and after” in the Christian life.  Back in the days of the Jesus Movement and the Jesus Freaks in the early 1970’s, a Christian might describe their lives as “B.C.” and “A.C.” — Before Christ and After Christ.

Paul skillfully uses the metaphor of darkness/death contrasted to light/life.  The person who once lived in darkness has “awakened” to the light of Christ. The deeds of darkness are overcome by the light.

The light is a powerful symbol for us of the spiritual life.  Jesus, the incarnate Word, has come into the world to bring the light:

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness hasn’t overcome it (John 1:5).

Like Paul, the Apostle John urges Christians to walk in the light:

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7).

To walk with Christ is to walk in his light, and to walk in the paths of his truth, love and holiness.

RESPOND: 

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis once said:

Publicity is justly commended as a remedy for social and industrial diseases. Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants; electric light the most efficient policeman.

This is consistent with Paul’s contention:

But all things, when they are reproved, are revealed by the light, for everything that reveals is light.

I can remember visiting the parsonage of an unmarried pastor with my wife many years ago.  He walked ahead of us into the kitchen, and turned on the light.  He said, “Wait just a minute before you come in.”   We stood with him in the doorway, and we immediately saw why he was warning us.

The counters, the kitchen table, and the floor, were covered with thousands of tiny cockroaches that scurried away from the light, back into the dark nooks and crannies of the kitchen!  My wife found it very difficult to enter the parsonage at all, let alone sit on the furniture!

I think of that incident when I think of the effect that the light of Christ has on sin.  Sin is sent scurrying away when the light of Christ comes near.

Perhaps another word about reproof is called for.  Paul tells us to reprove the deeds of darkness.  In our era of tolerance and pluralism, we may find it very difficult to follow these instructions.  We are taught to “mind our own business;” to “live and let live.”  Sometimes the only Scripture that people quote is when they are justifying their own sinful behavior — “Judge not, lest ye be judged!”

What a difficult dilemma.  Is a Christian to reprove those who are doing wrong?  Obviously, we are not in a position to judge anyone.  That is God’s prerogative alone.

However, we are able to assess the damage that sin does to people whom we love.  That becomes the fundamental question — do we love someone enough to warn them that the behavior in which they are engaged is spiritually, morally, and even existentially lethal?

We may all know the familiar cliche, Love the sinner, but hate the sin.  I have learned to add a phrase — because of what the sin does to the sinner.

Lord, I know the darkness in which I once walked, and I thank you for the light into which you have awakened me.  Empower me to walk in the light, and also to show others that same light.  Amen. 

PHOTOS:

"Ephesians 5:11" by WestonStudioLLC is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic license.

Old Testament for January 22, 2023

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Isaiah 9:1-4
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

Isaiah is writing this oracle in a time of deep gloom, probably between 732 and 715 B.C. or so. A massive Assyrian invasion had likely penetrated and perhaps subdued the northernmost tribes of the Northern Kingdom of Israel — Zebulun, Naphtali and the land beyond the Jordan.   We remember that Isaiah is prophesying to the Southern Kingdom of Judah, and he is offering them hope that the dark shadow of invasion that is falling over the land will be overcome with God’s light.

Although there has been war, this is not an oracle of doom.  The battle is over, and joy has returned.

Isaiah uses images that evoke a sense of celebration.  The nation rejoices:

they rejoice before thee
as with joy at the harvest,
as men rejoice when they divide the spoil.

This is an interesting contrast of images. The first is the peaceful agricultural celebration of plenty; the latter the martial cry of victory in war.

Isaiah predicts that Judah will triumph just like Gideon did over Midian (in Judges 7:22-25) centuries earlier:

For the yoke of his burden,
and the staff for his shoulder,
the rod of his oppressor,
thou hast broken as on the day of Mid′ian.

Have they been delivered from the Assyrian yoke and rod of oppression?  We do know that though the Assyrians invaded Judah, and even besieged Jerusalem, they did not conquer. In fact, most of the Assyrian army that besieged Jerusalem died of a strange plague in 701 B.C., outside the city wall. That confirms one of Isaiah’s firm convictions in Isaiah chapters 1 through 40 — Jerusalem will be protected by God.  And it was protected from the Assyrians.

APPLY:  

Every age, every nation, every family, every person experiences times of deep darkness.  No doubt, merely reading those words puts you in mind of times of darkness in your country, or in your lives.

The promise of Isaiah is a timeless promise — that those who walk in darkness have seen a great light if they have turned toward the light of Christ.

And there is also the promise of light to come, abundant harvest, and triumph.

So, as we walk toward Christ we walk toward Light and toward his kingdom of justice and righteousness that will last forever.

RESPOND: 

My wife and I have become avid hikers in the past several years, sometimes hiking for hours in the hills and woods of our state parks.  Early in our hiking “career,” however, we had a rather unpleasant experience.  I got us lost.

I wasn’t too worried, though, because I knew the trails well.  I had been hiking them for some months earlier with my dog.  I knew that eventually, I would find the right trail that led to the parking lot and our van.

Except that the sun went down.  And we were hiking at least the last hour in complete darkness.  It was more than a little scary.  And it didn’t do much to inspire my wife’s confidence in me as a pathfinder.

How relieved I was when I finally saw the streetlight near where we had parked the van!  It was a great light to me!

I so often am inclined in my own pessimistic, narcissistic and cynical nature to walk in darkness; even to wallow in it.  But I am invited to walk in the light of God that has dawned!

Our Lord, may your light dawn in my life and in the lives of all of us forever and ever. In your light I see light.  Amen. 

PHOTOS:
“Isaiah 9 verse 2” uses the following photo:
“Light on door at the end of tunnel” by Dusan Bicanski is in the Public Domain.

Old Testament for January 1, 2023 Epiphany Sunday

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Isaiah 60:1-6
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

This passage, like so many in Isaiah, assumes a kind of “dual-citizenship.”

Obviously there is the meaning intended for Isaiah’s time; but then, there is the interpretation that Christian readers cannot help but make.

Many scholars believe that Isaiah 60 was written in the post-exilic period, after the Jews had been permitted to return to Jerusalem.  Some even attribute this passage to the author they call “Third Isaiah.”  This Isaiah would have been inspired by Isaiah, but not identical with the original Isaiah of the time of Uzziah, Ahaz and Hezekiah.

Whether we accept this view of historical criticism or not is not really the point.  This passage is celebrating the triumph of God’s light over darkness, and the glory that will bring “all nations” to the brightness of God’s light.

Those who see this passage as a celebration of the return of the Jews from exile in Babylon/Persia in 538 B.C. have a good case when Isaiah describes how:

…our sons will come from far away,
    and your daughters will be carried in arms.
Then you shall see and be radiant,
    and your heart will thrill and be enlarged. . .

And then there is the promised tribute that will come from the many nations as Jerusalem and its temple are rebuilt, long after their destruction in 587 B.C. by the Babylonians.

But what catches the Christian eye is the reference to:

A multitude of camels will cover you,
    the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah.
All from Sheba will come.
    They will bring gold and frankincense,
    and will proclaim the praises of Yahweh.

It’s hard for us not to see a parallel with Matthew 2, and the coming of the Magi, who are Gentiles (from the nations) bringing their gold, frankincense and myrrh.  From the Christian point of view, the light and the glory that has dawned is the light and glory that is fulfilled in Christ!

APPLY:  

Whether we are Jewish or Christian, this is a passage of hope and promise.  Whatever darkness we may experience — and there is more than enough darkness in the world and in our lives — God’s light and glory will dawn with radiant beams.

Then our children will be brought into the presence of God, and there will be the sense of abundance that comes when God is in our midst.

RESPOND: 

There has been, in my experience, no substitute for the “light” of God’s presence in the midst of my own darkness.  Then my heart does thrill and rejoice.  As I have felt exiled from God by my own faults and failures, so I have felt that I was able to return home to God illumined by his light.

Lord, may your light dawn again and again on your benighted people of all the world.  We dwell in darkness without you.  But when your glory radiates in our lives, we rejoice and experience a sense of abundance in you.  Amen. 

PHOTOS:
“respond-to-gods-light” is in the public domain.
The background photo: “Light on door at the end of tunnel” by Dusan Bicanski is in the Public Domain.

 

Old Testament for January 2, 2022 Epiphany Sunday

A NOTE FROM CELESTE LETCHWORTH:

As most of you know, Tom went to be with the Lord in June, 2018.

Since the lectionary cycles every 3 years, I am able to copy Tom’s SOAR studies from the archives and post them each week with our current year’s dates.

Unfortunately — the lectionary passages selected for January 2, 2022 are different this year — they’re using the Scriptures associated with “The 2nd Sunday after Christmas” instead of using the Scriptures for “the 1st Sunday in January.”

I’m sorry I can’t find anything in the archives that Tom wrote about Jeremiah 31:7-14. On the 1st Sunday in January, he always chose to go with the “Epiphany Sunday” Scriptures (which used to be selected for the Sunday immediately preceding January 6). He loved Epiphany! It was one of his favorite holidays — right up there with Trinity Sunday.

So here’s his SOAR for the Epiphany Old Testament selection for the 1st Sunday in January.

I pray that the Light of Christ will shatter whatever darkness you encounter this year. And that God will use each of us to shine the Light of Christ as a beacon to the lost and the least.

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Isaiah 60:1-6
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

This passage, like so many in Isaiah, assumes a kind of “dual-citizenship.”

Obviously there is the meaning intended for Isaiah’s time; but then, there is the interpretation that Christian readers cannot help but make.

Many scholars believe that Isaiah 60 was written in the post-exilic period, after the Jews had been permitted to return to Jerusalem.  Some even attribute this passage to the author they call “Third Isaiah.”  This Isaiah would have been inspired by Isaiah, but not identical with the original Isaiah of the time of Uzziah, Ahaz and Hezekiah.

Whether we accept this view of historical criticism or not is not really the point.  This passage is celebrating the triumph of God’s light over darkness, and the glory that will bring “all nations” to the brightness of God’s light.

Those who see this passage as a celebration of the return of the Jews from exile in Babylon/Persia in 538 B.C. have a good case when Isaiah describes how:

…our sons will come from far away,
    and your daughters will be carried in arms.
Then you shall see and be radiant,
    and your heart will thrill and be enlarged. . .

And then there is the promised tribute that will come from the many nations as Jerusalem and its temple are rebuilt, long after their destruction in 587 B.C. by the Babylonians.

But what catches the Christian eye is the reference to:

A multitude of camels will cover you,
    the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah.
All from Sheba will come.
    They will bring gold and frankincense,
    and will proclaim the praises of Yahweh.

It’s hard for us not to see a parallel with Matthew 2, and the coming of the Magi, who are Gentiles (from the nations) bringing their gold, frankincense and myrrh.  From the Christian point of view, the light and the glory that has dawned is the light and glory that is fulfilled in Christ!

APPLY:  

Whether we are Jewish or Christian, this is a passage of hope and promise.  Whatever darkness we may experience — and there is more than enough darkness in the world and in our lives — God’s light and glory will dawn with radiant beams.

Then our children will be brought into the presence of God, and there will be the sense of abundance that comes when God is in our midst.

RESPOND: 

There has been, in my experience, no substitute for the “light” of God’s presence in the midst of my own darkness.  Then my heart does thrill and rejoice.  As I have felt exiled from God by my own faults and failures, so I have felt that I was able to return home to God illumined by his light.

Lord, may your light dawn again and again on your benighted people of all the world.  We dwell in darkness without you.  But when your glory radiates in our lives, we rejoice and experience a sense of abundance in you.  Amen. 

PHOTOS:
“respond-to-gods-light” is in the public domain.
The background photo: “Light on door at the end of tunnel” by Dusan Bicanski is in the Public Domain.

 

Old Testament for January 3, 2021 Epiphany Sunday

A NOTE FROM CELESTE LETCHWORTH:

As most of you know, Tom went to be with the Lord in June, 2018.

Since the lectionary cycles every 3 years, I am able to copy Tom’s SOAR studies from the archives and post them each week with our current year’s dates.

Unfortunately — the lectionary passages selected for January 3, 2021 are different this year — they’re using the Scriptures associated with “The 2nd Sunday after Christmas” instead of using the Scriptures for “the 1st Sunday in January.”

I’m sorry I can’t find anything in the archives that Tom wrote about Jeremiah 31:7-14. On the 1st Sunday in January, he always chose to go with the “Epiphany Sunday” Scriptures (which used to be selected for the Sunday immediately preceding January 6). He loved Epiphany! It was one of his favorite holidays — right up there with Trinity Sunday.

So here’s his SOAR for the Epiphany Old Testament selection for the 1st Sunday in January.

I pray that the Light of Christ will shatter whatever darkness you encounter this year. And that God will use each of us to shine the Light of Christ as a beacon to the lost and the last.

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Isaiah 60:1-6
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

This passage, like so many in Isaiah, assumes a kind of “dual-citizenship.”

Obviously there is the meaning intended for Isaiah’s time; but then, there is the interpretation that Christian readers cannot help but make.

Many scholars believe that Isaiah 60 was written in the post-exilic period, after the Jews had been permitted to return to Jerusalem.  Some even attribute this passage to the author they call “Third Isaiah.”  This Isaiah would have been inspired by Isaiah, but not identical with the original Isaiah of the time of Uzziah, Ahaz and Hezekiah.

Whether we accept this view of historical criticism or not is not really the point.  This passage is celebrating the triumph of God’s light over darkness, and the glory that will bring “all nations” to the brightness of God’s light.

Those who see this passage as a celebration of the return of the Jews from exile in Babylon/Persia in 538 B.C. have a good case when Isaiah describes how:

…our sons will come from far away,
    and your daughters will be carried in arms.
Then you shall see and be radiant,
    and your heart will thrill and be enlarged. . .

And then there is the promised tribute that will come from the many nations as Jerusalem and its temple are rebuilt, long after their destruction in 587 B.C. by the Babylonians.

But what catches the Christian eye is the reference to:

A multitude of camels will cover you,
    the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah.
All from Sheba will come.
    They will bring gold and frankincense,
    and will proclaim the praises of Yahweh.

It’s hard for us not to see a parallel with Matthew 2, and the coming of the Magi, who are Gentiles (from the nations) bringing their gold, frankincense and myrrh.  From the Christian point of view, the light and the glory that has dawned is the light and glory that is fulfilled in Christ!

APPLY:  

Whether we are Jewish or Christian, this is a passage of hope and promise.  Whatever darkness we may experience — and there is more than enough darkness in the world and in our lives — God’s light and glory will dawn with radiant beams.

Then our children will be brought into the presence of God, and there will be the sense of abundance that comes when God is in our midst.

RESPOND: 

There has been, in my experience, no substitute for the “light” of God’s presence in the midst of my own darkness.  Then my heart does thrill and rejoice.  As I have felt exiled from God by my own faults and failures, so I have felt that I was able to return home to God illumined by his light.

Lord, may your light dawn again and again on your benighted people of all the world.  We dwell in darkness without you.  But when your glory radiates in our lives, we rejoice and experience a sense of abundance in you.  Amen. 

PHOTOS:
The background photo: “Light on door at the end of tunnel” by Dusan Bicanski is in the Public Domain.

 

Epistle for March 22, 2020

Note from Celeste:

Before we look at today’s lectionary reading, I’d like to draw your attention to my Holy Week Bible Study book.

Go and Find a Donkey is the latest installment of the Choose This Day Multiple Choice Bible Studies series.

The daily devotionals take 10-15 minutes and include:

• Scripture passage (World English Bible)
• Fun, entertaining multiple choice questions focused directly on the Scripture passage
• Short meditation that can be used as a discussion starter.

Use them on the suggested dates, or skip around.  Designed to be used during Holy Week, this nine-day Bible study takes you from Palm Sunday through Easter Monday.

Use this book personally during a coffee break or with the family in the car or at the breakfast table.

Order Go and Find a Donkey  today to prepare your family for this year’s Easter season!
CLICK HERE for Amazon’s Kindle book of Go and Find a Donkey.
CLICK HERE for Amazon’s Paperback of Go and Find a Donkey.

AND NOW, BACK TO TODAY’S LECTIONARY READING:

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Ephesians 5:8-14
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

The Apostle Paul’s words in Ephesians are a reminder to those who have received a “wake up call” from God.  They had been in the dark sleep of sin. Now they are to:

Walk as children of light.

This is an apt metaphor, contrasting the darkness of sin with the light of God’s goodness and righteousness.

Earlier in this passage, Paul has defined some of the darkness to which his readers had been susceptible:

sexual immorality, and all uncleanness, or covetousness…. filthiness…. foolish talking…. jesting, which are not appropriate…(Ephesians 5:3,4).

And he makes a clear statement of warning:

Know this for sure, that no sexually immoral person, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ and God (Ephesians 5:5).

But now, in this passage, we get a picture of the fruit of the Spirit, not unlike the more detailed fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23.  Here in Ephesians, Paul says:

for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth,  proving what is well pleasing to the Lord.

These three qualities (goodness, righteousness, truth) are near the pinnacle of the highest good (summum bonum) of the ethical life of the Christian.  The use of the word proving used by Paul may carry metaphorical weight.  The Greek word dokimazo is a term used to describe the testing of metals to determine their purity.  The goodness, righteousness and truth produced by the Spirit certainly pass that test!

Paul returns to the metaphorical contrast of darkness and light.  He urges his readers to:

Have no fellowship with the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but rather even reprove them.  For the things which are done by them in secret, it is a shame even to speak of.

Not only are they to avoid the deeds of darkness, they are to reprove them and not even speak of those things.  There is a distinction between those who do these things and the deeds that are done.  Paul is not advising the Ephesians to reprove the doers, but reprove their deeds.  That may seem like a fine distinction until we remember that even his readers were once guilty of these deeds of darkness.

We are reminded of his words to the Corinthian church:

Don’t be deceived. Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor male prostitutes, nor homosexuals,  nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor slanderers, nor extortionists, will inherit God’s Kingdom.  Such were [emphasis mine] some of you, but you were washed. But you were sanctified. But you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and in the Spirit of our God (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).

Note the “before and after” effect.  That was then; this is now, because they are now children of light.

This may be a classic case of “hate the sin, love the sinner.”  And we might add a phrase:  “hate the sin because of what it does to the sinner.”

Paul asserts that when these things are reproved, they are brought to the surface:

 But all things, when they are reproved, are revealed by the light, for everything that reveals is light.

Finally Paul exhorts his readers:

  Therefore he says, “Awake, you who sleep, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

Based on the grammar of this passage, Paul is quoting God himself as the speaker.  God himself is exhorting the people.  Although there is no exact quote with these words from the Old Testament, there is some opinion that these words convey the same sense as the words of Isaiah 26:19 or Isaiah 60:1-3.  Still others suggest that this was a verse from a Christian hymn that may have been sung in the early church.  Or it may have been that Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, was speaking these words on behalf of God.

The point is clear — those who were dead in the darkness of sin are urged to awaken to new life and bask in the light of Christ.  This is nothing less than a spiritual resurrection.

APPLY:  

There is clearly a “before and after” in the Christian life.  Back in the days of the Jesus Movement and the Jesus Freaks in the early 1970’s, a Christian might describe their lives as “B.C.” and “A.C.” — Before Christ and After Christ.

Paul skillfully uses the metaphor of darkness/death contrasted to light/life.  The person who once lived in darkness has “awakened” to the light of Christ. The deeds of darkness are overcome by the light.

The light is a powerful symbol for us of the spiritual life.  Jesus, the incarnate Word, has come into the world to bring the light:

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness hasn’t overcome it (John 1:5).

Like Paul, the Apostle John urges Christians to walk in the light:

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7).

To walk with Christ is to walk in his light, and to walk in the paths of his truth, love and holiness.

RESPOND: 

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis once said:

Publicity is justly commended as a remedy for social and industrial diseases. Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants; electric light the most efficient policeman.

This is consistent with Paul’s contention:

But all things, when they are reproved, are revealed by the light, for everything that reveals is light.

I can remember visiting the parsonage of an unmarried pastor with my wife many years ago.  He walked ahead of us into the kitchen, and turned on the light.  He said, “Wait just a minute before you come in.”   We stood with him in the doorway, and we immediately saw why he was warning us.

The counters, the kitchen table, and the floor, were covered with thousands of  tiny cockroaches that scurried away from the light, back into the dark nooks and crannies of the kitchen!  My wife found it very difficult to enter the parsonage at all, let alone sit on the furniture!

I think of that incident when I think of the effect that the light of Christ has on sin.  Sin is sent scurrying away when the light of Christ comes near.

Perhaps another word about reproof is called for.  Paul tells us to reprove the deeds of darkness.  In our era of tolerance and pluralism, we may find it very difficult to follow these instructions.  We are taught to “mind our own business;” to “live and let live.”  Sometimes the only Scripture that people quote is when they are justifying their own sinful behavior — “Judge not, lest ye be judged!”

What a difficult dilemma.  Is a Christian to reprove those who are doing wrong?  Obviously, we are not in a position to judge anyone.  That is God’s prerogative alone.

However, we are able to assess the damage that sin does to people whom we love.  That becomes the fundamental question — do we love someone enough to warn them that the behavior in which they are engaged is spiritually, morally, and even existentially lethal?

We may all know  the familiar cliche, Love the sinner, but hate the sin.  I have learned to add a phrase — because of what the sin does to the sinner.

Lord, I know the darkness in which I once walked, and I thank you for the light  into which you have awakened me.  Empower me to walk in the light, and also to show others  that same light.  Amen. 

PHOTOS:

"Ephesians 5:11" by WestonStudioLLC is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic license.

Old Testament for January 26, 2020

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Isaiah 9:1-4
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

Isaiah is writing this oracle in a time of deep gloom, probably between 732 and 715 B.C. or so. A massive Assyrian invasion had likely penetrated and perhaps subdued the northernmost tribes of the Northern Kingdom of Israel — Zebulun, Naphtali and the land beyond the Jordan.   We remember that Isaiah is prophesying to the Southern Kingdom of Judah, and he is offering them hope that the dark shadow of invasion that is falling over the land will be overcome with God’s light.

Although there has been war, this is not an oracle of doom.  The battle is over, and joy has returned.

Isaiah uses images that evoke a sense of celebration.  The nation rejoices:

they rejoice before thee
as with joy at the harvest,
as men rejoice when they divide the spoil.

This is an interesting contrast of images. The first is the peaceful agricultural celebration of plenty; the latter the martial cry of victory in war.

Isaiah predicts that Judah will triumph just like Gideon did over Midian in Judges 7:22-25 centuries earlier:

For the yoke of his burden,
and the staff for his shoulder,
the rod of his oppressor,
thou hast broken as on the day of Mid′ian.

Have they been delivered from the Assyrian yoke and rod of oppression?  We do know that though the Assyrians invaded Judah, and even besieged Jerusalem, they did not conquer. In fact, most of the Assyrian army that besieged Jerusalem died of a strange plague in 701 B.C. , outside the city wall. That confirms one of Isaiah’s firm convictions in Isaiah chapters 1 through 40 — Jerusalem will be protected by God.  And it was protected from the Assyrians.

APPLY:  

Every age, every nation, every family, every person experiences times of deep darkness.  No doubt, merely reading those words puts you in mind of times of darkness in your country, or in your lives.

The promise of Isaiah is a timeless promise — that those who walk in darkness have seen a great light if they have turned toward the light of Christ.

And there is also the promise of light to come, abundant harvest, and triumph.

So, as we walk toward Christ we walk toward Light and toward his kingdom of justice and righteousness that will last forever.

RESPOND: 

My wife and I have become avid hikers in the past several years, sometimes hiking for hours in the hills and woods of our state parks.  Early in our hiking “career,” however, we had a rather unpleasant experience.  I got us lost.

I wasn’t too worried, though, because I knew the trails well.  I had been hiking them for some months earlier with my dog.  I knew that eventually, I would find the right trail that led to the parking lot and our van.

Except that the sun went down.  And we were hiking at least the last hour in complete darkness.  It was more than a little scary.  And it didn’t do much to inspire my wife’s confidence in me as a pathfinder.

How relieved I was when I finally saw the streetlight near where we had parked the van!  It was a great light to me!

I so often am inclined in my own pessimistic, narcissistic and cynical nature to walk in darkness; even to wallow in it.  But I am invited to walk in the light of God that has dawned!

Our Lord,  may your light dawn in my life and in the lives of all of us forever and ever. In your light I see light.  Amen. 

PHOTOS:
The background photo: “Light on door at the end of tunnel” by Dusan Bicanski is in the Public Domain.

Old Testament for January 5, 2020 Epiphany Sunday

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Isaiah 60:1-6
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

This passage, like so many in Isaiah, assumes a kind of “dual-citizenship.”

Obviously there is the meaning intended for Isaiah’s time; but then, there is the interpretation that Christian readers cannot help but make.

Many scholars believe that Isaiah 60 was written in the post-exilic period, after the Jews had been permitted to return to Jerusalem.  Some even attribute this passage to the author they call “Third Isaiah.”  This Isaiah would have been inspired by Isaiah, but not identical with the original Isaiah of the time of Uzziah, Ahaz and Hezekiah.

Whether we accept this view of historical criticism or not is not really the point.  This passage is celebrating the triumph of God’s light over darkness, and the glory that will bring “all nations” to the brightness of God’s light.

Those who see this passage as a celebration of the return of the Jews from exile in Babylon/Persia in 538 B.C. have a good case when Isaiah describes how:

…our sons will come from far away,
    and your daughters will be carried in arms.
Then you shall see and be radiant,
    and your heart will thrill and be enlarged. . .

And then there is the promised tribute that will come from the many nations as Jerusalem and its temple are rebuilt, long after their destruction in 587 B.C. by the Babylonians.

But what catches the Christian eye is the reference to:

A multitude of camels will cover you,
    the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah.
All from Sheba will come.
    They will bring gold and frankincense,
    and will proclaim the praises of Yahweh.

It’s hard for us not to see a parallel with Matthew 2, and the coming of the Magi, who are Gentiles (from the nations) bringing their gold, frankincense and myrrh.  From the Christian point of view, the light and the glory that has dawned is the light and glory that is fulfilled in Christ!

APPLY:  

Whether we are Jewish or Christian, this is a passage of hope and promise.  Whatever darkness we may experience — and there is more than enough darkness in the world and in our lives — God’s light and glory will dawn with radiant beams.

Then our children will be brought into the presence of God, and there will be the sense of abundance that comes when God is in our midst.

RESPOND: 

There has been, in my experience, no substitute for the “light” of God’s presence in the midst of my own darkness.  Then my heart does thrill and rejoice.  As I have felt exiled from God by my own faults and failures, so I have felt that I was able to return home to God illumined by his light.

Lord, may your light dawn again and again on your benighted people of all the world.  We dwell in darkness without you.  But when your glory radiates in our lives, we rejoice and experience a sense of abundance in you.  Amen. 

PHOTOS:
The background photo: “Light on door at the end of tunnel” by Dusan Bicanski is in the Public Domain.

 

Old Testament for January 6, 2019 Epiphany Sunday

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Isaiah 60:1-6
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

This passage, like so many in Isaiah, assumes a kind of “dual-citizenship.”

Obviously there is the meaning intended for Isaiah’s time; but then, there is the interpretation that Christian readers cannot help but make.

Many scholars believe that Isaiah 60 was written in the post-exilic period, after the Jews had been permitted to return to Jerusalem.  Some even attribute this passage to the author they call “Third Isaiah.”  This Isaiah would have been inspired by Isaiah, but not identical with the original Isaiah of the time of Uzziah, Ahaz and Hezekiah.

Whether we accept this view of historical criticism or not is not really the point.  This passage is celebrating the triumph of God’s light over darkness, and the glory that will bring “all nations” to the brightness of God’s light.

Those who see this passage as a celebration of the return of the Jews from exile in Babylon/Persia in 538 B.C. have a good case when Isaiah describes how:

…our sons will come from far away,
    and your daughters will be carried in arms.
Then you shall see and be radiant,
    and your heart will thrill and be enlarged. . .

And then there is the promised tribute that will come from the many nations as Jerusalem and its temple are rebuilt, long after their destruction in 587 B.C. by the Babylonians.

But what catches the Christian eye is the reference to:

A multitude of camels will cover you,
    the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah.
All from Sheba will come.
    They will bring gold and frankincense,
    and will proclaim the praises of Yahweh.

It’s hard for us not to see a parallel with Matthew 2, and the coming of the Magi, who are Gentiles (from the nations) bringing their gold, frankincense and myrrh.  From the Christian point of view, the light and the glory that has dawned is the light and glory that is fulfilled in Christ!

APPLY:  

Whether we are Jewish or Christian, this is a passage of hope and promise.  Whatever darkness we may experience — and there is more than enough darkness in the world and in our lives — God’s light and glory will dawn with radiant beams.

Then our children will be brought into the presence of God, and there will be the sense of abundance that comes when God is in our midst.

RESPOND: 

There has been, in my experience, no substitute for the “light” of God’s presence in the midst of my own darkness.  Then my heart does thrill and rejoice.  As I have felt exiled from God by my own faults and failures, so I have felt that I was able to return home to God illumined by his light.

Lord, may your light dawn again and again on your benighted people of all the world.  We dwell in darkness without you.  But when your glory radiates in our lives, we rejoice and experience a sense of abundance in you.  Amen. 

PHOTOS:
The background photo: “Light on door at the end of tunnel” by Dusan Bicanski is in the Public Domain.

 

Epistle for March 26, 2017

START WITH SCRIPTURE:

Ephesians 5:8-14

CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

The Apostle Paul’s words in Ephesians are a reminder to those who have received a “wake up call” from God.  They had been in the dark sleep of sin. Now they are to:

Walk as children of light.

This is an apt metaphor, contrasting the darkness of sin with the light of God’s goodness and righteousness.

Earlier in this passage, Paul has defined some of the darkness to which his readers had been susceptible:

sexual immorality, and all uncleanness, or covetousness…. filthiness…. foolish talking…. jesting, which are not appropriate…(Ephesians 5:3,4).

And he makes a clear statement of warning:

Know this for sure, that no sexually immoral person, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ and God (Ephesians 5:5).

But now, in this passage, we get a picture of the fruit of the Spirit, not unlike the more detailed fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23.  Here in Ephesians, Paul says:

for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth,  proving what is well pleasing to the Lord.

These are three qualities (goodness, righteousness, truth) that are near the pinnacle of the highest good (summum bonum) of the ethical life of the Christian.  The use of the word proving used by Paul may carry metaphorical weight.  The Greek word dokimazo is a term used to describe the testing of metals to determine their purity.  The goodness, righteousness and truth produced by the Spirit certainly pass that test!

Paul returns to the metaphorical contrast of darkness and light.  He urges his readers to:

 Have no fellowship with the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but rather even reprove them.  For the things which are done by them in secret, it is a shame even to speak of.

Not only are they to avoid the deeds of darkness, they are to reprove them and not even speak of those things.  There is a distinction between those who do these things and the deeds that are done.  Paul is not advising the Ephesians to reprove the doers, but reprove their deeds.  That may seem a fine distinction until we remember that even his readers were once guilty of these deeds of darkness.

We are reminded of his words to the Corinthian church:

Don’t be deceived. Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor male prostitutes, nor homosexuals,  nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor slanderers, nor extortionists, will inherit God’s Kingdom.  Such were [emphasis mine] some of you, but you were washed. But you were sanctified. But you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and in the Spirit of our God (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).

Note the “before and after” effect.  That was then; this is now, because they are now children of light.

This may be a classic case of “hate the sin, love the sinner.”  And we might add a phrase:  “hate the sin because of what it does to the sinner.”

Paul asserts that when these things are reproved, they are brought to the surface:

 But all things, when they are reproved, are revealed by the light, for everything that reveals is light.

Finally Paul exhorts his readers:

  Therefore he says, “Awake, you who sleep, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

Based on the grammar of this passage, Paul is quoting God himself as the speaker.  God himself is exhorting the people.  Although there is no exact quote with these words from the Old Testament, there is some opinion that these words convey the same sense as the words of Isaiah 26:19 or Isaiah 60:1-3.  Still others suggest that this was a verse from a Christian hymn that may have been sung in the early church.  Or it may have been that Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, was speaking these words on behalf of God.

The point is clear — those who were dead in the darkness of sin are urged to awaken to new life and bask in the light of Christ.  This is nothing less than a spiritual resurrection.

APPLY:  

There is clearly a “before and after” in the Christian life.  Back in the days of the Jesus Movement and the Jesus Freaks in the early 1970’s, a Christian might describe their lives as “B.C.” and “A.C.” — Before Christ and After Christ.

Paul skillfully uses the metaphor of darkness/death contrasted to light/life.  The person who once lived in darkness has “awakened” to the light of Christ. The deeds of darkness are overcome by the light.

The light is a powerful symbol for us of the spiritual life.  Jesus, the incarnate Word, has come into the world to bring the light:

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness hasn’t overcome it (John 1:5).

Like Paul, the Apostle John urges Christians to walk in the light:

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7).

To walk with Christ is to walk in his light, and to walk in the paths of his truth, love and holiness.

RESPOND: 

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis once said:

Publicity is justly commended as a remedy for social and industrial diseases. Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants; electric light the most efficient policeman.

This is consistent with Paul’s contention:

But all things, when they are reproved, are revealed by the light, for everything that reveals is light.

I can remember visiting the parsonage of an unmarried pastor with my wife many years ago.  He walked ahead of us into the kitchen, and turned on the light.  He said, “Wait just a minute before you come in.”   We stood with him in the doorway, and we immediately saw why he was warning us.

The counters, the kitchen table, and the floor, were covered with thousands of  tiny cockroaches that scurried away from the darkness back into the dark nooks and crannies of the kitchen!  My wife found it very difficult to enter the parsonage at all, let alone sit on the furniture!

I think of that incident when I think of the effect that the light of Christ has on sin.  Sin is sent scurrying away when his light comes near.

Perhaps another word about reproof is called for.  Paul tells us to reprove the deeds of darkness.  In our era of tolerance and pluralism, we may find it very difficult to follow these instructions.  We are taught to “mind our own business;” to “live and let live.”  Sometimes the only Scripture that people quote is when they are justifying their own sinful behavior — “Judge not, lest ye be judged!”

What a difficult dilemma.  Is a Christian to reprove those who are doing wrong?  Obviously, we are not in a position to judge anyone.  That is God’s prerogative alone.

However, we are able to assess the damage that sin does to people whom we love.  That becomes the fundamental question — do we love someone enough to warn them that the behavior in which they are engaged is spiritually, morally, and even existentially lethal?

We may all know  the familiar cliche, Love the sinner, but hate the sin.  I have learned to add a phrase — because of what the sin does to the sinner.

Lord, I know the darkness in which I once walked, and I thank you for the light  into which you have awakened me.  Empower me to walk in the light, and also to show others  that same light.  Amen. 

PHOTOS:

"Ephesians 5:11" by WestonStudioLLC is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic license.