Gospel for March 13, 2022

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Luke 13:31-35
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

Sometimes we find it easy to forget the human nature of Jesus because we are so focused on his divine nature.  Jesus, we must remember, was born into a particular time with its own cultural and political context.  He was fully God, but he was also fully man, and was a man of his own time though he transcends time.

And in this passage, we see a range of emotional nuance and reaction that reveals his personality in ways we may easily overlook.

The first thing that happens is somewhat extraordinary — a group from the Pharisees come to warn Jesus of a plot against him!  This is unusual because ordinarily throughout the Gospels, the Pharisees are hostile to Jesus.  In fact, members of the Pharisees themselves plot against Jesus!

Of course, this wasn’t universally the case.  Nicodemus was a Pharisee, and he not only seeks an audience with Jesus (John 3), but later defends Jesus in a public forum (John 7:45-52), and also assists Joseph of Arimathea in burying Jesus after the crucifixion (John 19:38-40).

It is important to remember that though the majority of Pharisees may have opposed Jesus, there were certainly a few who became convinced he was the Messiah.  Ironically, Jesus was closer in doctrine and practice to the Pharisees than he was to the Sadducees or the Herodians.

Like the Pharisees, Jesus accepted the authority of the entire Hebrew Bible — the Law, the Prophets and the Writings.  He believed in angels and the resurrection from the dead.  Where he differed from them was in their reliance on the “oral law” that had developed as a kind of external authority second only to the Scriptures themselves in the opinion of the Pharisees.

In this passage, we catch a glimpse of Jesus’ sense of humor.  He is not naive.  He says of the suspected plot of Herod:

“Go and tell that fox for me, ‘Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work.”

Although it may be hard to imagine, Jesus’ comment about that fox is a somewhat light moment.  He isn’t being disrespectful.  He is simply pointing out the political craftiness, cynicism and shrewdness of Herod, which is confirmed as we read of the House of Herod from sources such as the ancient historian Josephus.  Herod’s father, Herod “the Great” (so called), was more than willing to ruthlessly murder prominent members of the community and even his own family members for his own ends.  Herod Antipas, his son, was no doubt capable of the same.

But what Jesus emphasizes is that the political manipulations and threats of Herod will not keep Jesus from his ministry:

“I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work.”

The third day of course is an unmistakable reference to his own resurrection in Jerusalem.

He underscores this reference by what he says next:

Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.

Jesus is very clearly aware that he is going to Jerusalem to die, in fulfillment of the prophecies.  Following the Transfiguration, the Gospel of Luke tells us that Jesus’:

face was set toward Jerusalem (Luke 9:53).

And in Luke 13:22, just prior to our current passage, we are told:

Jesus went through one town and village after another, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem.

We have seen a flash of Jesus’ sense of ironic humor; now we see an example of his pathos:

Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! 

We get a sense of his deep compassion for this holy city, the home of the temple of the Lord.  His imagery of the hen and her brood, so down-to-earth, suggests a deep love for his people.  But there is also a deep sadness here, as he resigns himself to the fact that he will be rejected in Jerusalem.

And with this sense of resignation comes the prophecy:

“See, your house is left to you. And I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.’”

The question I have about this last statement is about the time frame.  What are the events that Jesus is anticipating? Obviously, Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem where he will be greeted by cheering crowds who will shout:

“Blessed is the king
who comes in the name of the Lord!
Peace in heaven,
and glory in the highest heaven!” (Luke 19:38).

This seems the most logical interpretation of these words, that he is referring to his imminent arrival in Jerusalem.  But there also seems to be a tone here that suggests events that will happen after his crucifixion and resurrection.

He will elaborate on the fate of Jerusalem when he arrives on the heights overlooking Jerusalem, and we are told:

he wept over it, saying, “If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. Indeed, the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up ramparts around you and surround you, and hem you in on every side. They will crush you to the ground, you and your children within you, and they will not leave within you one stone upon another; because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God.” (Luke 19:41-44).

Jesus foresees the horrific destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman legions under Titus in 70 A.D, almost forty years in the future.

Jesus is able to read his own times and the future with equally deft and accurate awareness.   

APPLY:  

We all know about I.Q., but there are other dimensions to our lives that may be more difficult to measure.  There is also Emotional Intelligence, sometimes called E.Q.

E.Q. is the ability to read relationships and situations and empathize with others with self-awareness and sensitivity.

Jesus demonstrates his high E.Q. as he encounters the threat from Herod.  He is able to shrug off the danger with a joke.  At the same time, Jesus expresses his deep compassion and grief as he considers the disastrous future that awaits the city of Jerusalem.

How will we respond to the compassionate love of Jesus?

RESPOND: 

This seems to me to be one of those passages that clearly teaches the doctrine of free will.

Jerusalem will be given the opportunity to receive Jesus as Messiah.  Some there will do so. But most of the citizens of Jerusalem will either be indifferent to his sufferings, or will actively seek his execution.

We are reminded that we also have a choice about how we are to respond to Jesus.  He longs to welcome us to himself. Will we be gathered to him, as a brood is gathered under the wings of their mother hen? Or will we reject Jesus?

He waits with open arms.  What shall we do?

Lord, as I consider our world today, and my own country, I sense the same pathos that you expressed about Jerusalem.  How you wish to gather us all to yourself, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings! And yet how many of us are rejecting your love through scornful disbelief, crass consumerism, or narcissistic self-indulgence?  May I be one who finds refuge under your wings, and somehow turn others toward you as well.  Amen. 

PHOTO:

"How often would I have gathered you together..." by Matt Gullett is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic license.

Epistle for March 13, 2022

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Philippians 3:17-4:1
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

This passage is a good example of what is called paranesis. This is simply a fancy way of describing a passage that is full of moral exhortation — “live like this, and not like that.”

Curiously, Paul doesn’t invite the Philippian church members to imitate Christ, but to imitate himself! This cannot be coming from a place of arrogance and pride on Paul’s part.  He has preceded this passage by pointing out his own shortcomings.  He has said that he places his faith only in the righteousness that comes by faith in Christ.

What he seeks, he says, is this:

I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death (Philippians 3:10).

But he also points out,

Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own (Philippians 3:12).

So, what is he inviting the Philippians to imitate?  I believe he is urging them to follow his example in striving toward the:

goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:14).

However, there is also a contrasting lifestyle that Paul wishes them to avoid:

For many live as enemies of the cross of Christ; I have often told you of them, and now I tell you even with tears. Their end is destruction; their god is the belly; and their glory is in their shame; their minds are set on earthly things.

This is a stern, solemn warning about the consequences of rejecting Christ.  The kinds of sins he describes that lead to destruction are the fruit of false spiritual priorities.  If their god is the belly, food and consumption have become an obsession; to glory in their shame suggests a perverse pride in calling evil good, and good evil; and setting their minds on earthly things suggests the kind of idolatry that Paul also describes in Romans 1:25:

they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

Instead, Paul says of Christians:

our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

This passage makes it clear where the Christian’s ultimate loyalty lies — within the realm that Jesus calls the kingdom of God.  As Jesus says in his prayer in the Gospel of John:

I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world . . . They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world (John 17:14,16).

Paul also makes clear to the Philippians what will happen when they avidly pursue Christ, in imitation of Paul’s own quest:

He will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself.

Seeking to be identified with Christ by faith means being transformed by the resurrection power that is manifested in Christ.

Finally, Paul exhorts the church with great affection, urging them to imitate this example:

Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved.

APPLY:  

It has been said that imitation is the highest form of flattery.  Here, Paul is inviting us to imitate him; but his reason for doing so isn’t egotism or narcissism.

He hopes that we will imitate his passion and zeal to be more closely identified with Christ:

this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,  I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:13-14).

The sober reality is that we have a choice to make.  We can seek Christ and become citizens of his kingdom by faith; or we can pledge our loyalty to this world, which Scripture tells us is transient:

for all that is in the world—the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, the pride in riches—comes not from the Father but from the world.  And the world and its desire are passing away, but those who do the will of God live forever (1 John 2:16-17).

To be a Christian is to imitate Christ — and the only way this is at all feasible is through the grace of God working in us and through us and for us.

RESPOND: 

I have a friend with whom I went to seminary who is one of the best preachers I’ve ever heard.  We were actually in preaching class together long ago.

I tried to figure out what it was that set him apart from the other preachers. And I was able to put my finger on it.  When he preached about sin and sinners, I realized, “he preaches with tears in his eyes.”

He doesn’t talk about sin and sinners from a judgmental perspective.  He literally cares about them, and prays that they might repent!

This reminds me of that phrase from Paul’s letter:

For many live as enemies of the cross of Christ; I have often told you of them, and now I tell you even with tears. Their end is destruction; their god is the belly; and their glory is in their shame; their minds are set on earthly things.

I have the impression that Paul isn’t gloating about the destruction of the sinner.  He is deeply grieved that they have rejected the power of the cross of Christ.

Only when we preach the truth in love will those who have turned away from God truly see that we care for them.  The secret is not to pretend that sin isn’t a reality.  The secret is to love the sinner enough to tell them the truth!

If I go to a doctor and he detects a malignancy, it would be malpractice — both moral and medical — for him not to inform me. The most loving thing he could possibly do is to tell me the truth and then advise me to have the surgery that will save my life.

In the same way, when the Holy Spirit convicts me of sin, that is a sign of God’s love for me, for it drives me to repentance and to reconciliation with God.

Lord, thank you for men and women who are examples of Godliness, and who seek you with all their heart. By your grace, empower me to be shaped into the likeness of your Son.  Amen. 

PHOTO:
“Do Something Wonderful. People May Imitate It.” 

Psalm Reading for March 13, 2022

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Psalm 27
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

This Psalm of David is the kind of prayer that a deeply devout warrior might pray in times of adversity.

He begins with a declaration of faith in the face of danger:

The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?

These are metaphors and descriptions of the Lord as the clear source of guidance (light), salvation, and as the fortress in whom David, the man of war, finds refuge.

He is convinced that his enemies, whom he describes as ravenous beasts, will stumble and fall; he is not fearful even in the face of a mighty army, or when war arises.

Like his descendant, Jesus, David has learned to focus his priorities like a spear point:

One thing I asked of the Lord,
that will I seek after:
to live in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to behold the beauty of the Lord,
and to inquire in his temple.

He seems to be saying metaphorically the same thing that Jesus says in his Sermon on the Mount:

 But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well (Matthew 6:33).

Presumably, the terms for temple and tent are interchangeable.  Of course the temple wasn’t built until Solomon’s reign in the 10th century B.C.  Worship was centered in the tent (or, tabernacle) that the Lord had instructed Moses to construct.

And for David this is a powerful metaphor.  The temple becomes not merely the physical place, but his own heart where he seeks the presence of the Lord:

“Come,” my heart says, “seek his face!”
Your face, Lord, do I seek.

The Lord’s face is the Hebrew word panayim, which is also interchangeable with presence.  To seek God’s face is to seek his presence.

Not only may the Psalmist search for the Lord in the exterior temple, but also in the interior temple.

There is a change in tone that begins in verse 9. David has previously affirmed his confidence in God but now he pleads with the Lord to abide with him:

Do not hide your face from me.
Do not turn your servant away in anger,
you who have been my help.
Do not cast me off, do not forsake me,
O God of my salvation!

There is a kind of pathos in this plea, that even if he begins to feel forsaken by those closest to him, he remains hopeful that the Lord will remain faithful to him:

If my father and mother forsake me,
the Lord will take me up.

David asks to be taught God’s ways, and to be led along a level path.  This is a metaphor common to Scripture.

And David returns to the theme of deliverance, asking to be saved from his adversaries, and to his supreme confidence that he:

shall see the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living.

Finally, there is a kind of “self-talk” that David speaks to his own heart which suggests his inner attitude of dependence on God:

Wait for the Lord;
be strong, and let your heart take courage;
wait for the Lord!

Ultimately, his response to adversity and his yearning to dwell constantly in God’s presence is expressed by his complete trust in God.

APPLY:  

All of us will likely feel “besieged” at times in our lives by stress, crisis, difficult relationships.  We may even feel that we are at war. This Psalm is a source of comfort and strength as we, like the Psalmist, look to God for help.

The key point here is to seek to dwell in the presence of God in the temple of our hearts.  We obviously can’t spend all day every day in church — we’d never get our work done or our families cared for — but we can spend time with God constantly in the interior temple of the heart.

Paul helps us to make that connection:

 Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?
(1 Corinthians 3:16).

RESPOND: 

This Psalm has personal meaning for me.  When I was very young in the ministry, I was extremely lacking in self-confidence, and very fearful.

Almost every day, when I approached the door of the church office,  and every Sunday morning, I recited the opening words of this Psalm in my heart:

The Lord is my light and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?

But even now, in my more “mature” years, I find this Psalm to be a comfort and a challenge.  I continue to seek the presence and the beauty of the Lord, every day, always.  And I also know that the “day of trouble” can come at any time. I’ve been around life and ministry enough to have seen plenty of trouble.

The only strength that I have found is in the Lord.  And my prayer is that I may dwell in his presence every day, and that my very heart may become his dwelling place!

I also recognize that there is risk, just as the Psalmist does.   I am not so much afraid that the Lord will turn his face away from me in anger, but that I will turn my face away from him in doubt.  So, I find it necessary to pray as the Psalmist does, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord, and that he may dwell in my house; and that I may seek his face constantly.

May the prayer of the Psalmist be mine, Lord!  May I dwell in your presence, seek your face, and may you fill my heart!  May I never turn away from you, which would cause you to turn away from me.  Cleanse the temple of my heart so that it may be a suitable dwelling place for you. Amen.

PHOTOS:
"Psalm 27-1-2" by New Life Church Collingwood is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Old Testament for March 13, 2022

Abraham believed God

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

This is the third of Abram’s direct encounters with the Lord.  The first was his initial encounter when the Lord directed Abram to leave his father’s home in Haran in Mesopotamia and embark for a new land of promise where he would become a great nation (Genesis 12:1-3).  The second encounter occurred when Abram and his nephew Lot parted ways and the Lord assured Abram that he would possess the land that he had been promised (Genesis 13:14-17).

Immediately preceding today’s passage, Abram has experienced some challenges.  Pharaoh attempted to take Sarai into the royal harem.  And Abram has had to rescue his nephew Lot from an abduction by a coalition of five kings.

After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, “Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.”

God seems to be reassuring Abram that he is not alone — God himself is with him and will bless him.

But Abram seems to be experiencing some doubts about the promises he has received.

The tone of Abram’s response suggests that he is beginning to question God’s promises (Genesis 15:2-3). He complains that he is childless — the promises God made in the first encounter are not yet fulfilled.

In the ancient world, a man’s immortality hinged on his family and descendants.  Since Abram still has no biological children, all the wealth he has amassed and all the livestock he owns would be inherited by his slave, Eliezer.  And Abram may also be mindful of the fact that he is not a young man.  He was seventy-five when the initial call from God came.  He’s not getting any younger!

None of the promises that God initially made have really been fulfilled yet:

• Abram is not a great nation.
• He isn’t a great name yet.
• He has no offspring.
• He is still a nomadic sheepherder — he doesn’t yet own even one parcel of the land that he has been promised in Canaan.

God’s answer is decisive.  First, the Lord assures Abram that he will have an heir. Second, he provides Abram with a kind of “celestial vision.”  God takes Abram outside his tent:

He brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”

God uses the heavenly skies to provide a concrete reminder of his faithfulness.  The numberless, glittering stars are proof of what God can do; and God will multiply the descendants of Abram.

Abram’s response is crucial.  At this point he firmly confirms his faith:

And he believed the Lord; and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness.

This is a pivotal moment in Abram’s life.  He has transitioned from doubt to faith.

Perhaps, though, there is still just a smidgen of doubt left.  God assures Abram,

 “I am the Lord who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess.”

Still, Abram seems to want some kind of evidence that this will be so:

 But he said, “O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?”

The Lord’s response is to invite Abram to offer a sacrifice of a heifer, a female goat, a ram, a turtledove and a young pigeon.  This is an act of worship which is accompanied by some unusual phenomena.

Abram must first protect his sacrificial animals from birds of prey.  And then he falls into a deep sleep and seems to have a kind of nightmare:

As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and a deep and terrifying darkness descended upon him.

We should remember that any real encounter with the Lord in Scripture is frequently accompanied with great fear and awe — simply think of Moses and Isaiah.  And dream-visions are also a means of communication from God — think of Jacob, Joseph and Daniel.

The Lord confirms his promises to Abram not with outward signs, but deep within in his spirit.

It is difficult to know for sure what Abram saw, and how much of it was waking or dreaming. What we do know is that he is given a sign:

When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces.

And the Lord prescribes the boundaries of the land that will be given to Abram’s descendants:

On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates.

The nation of Israel in Scripture achieves its greatest geographical extent during the reign of Kings David (1010-970 B.C.) and Solomon (970-931 B.C.), which included not only the areas of the twelve tribes but also the vassal states conquered by David, and those lands under the influence of Israel, from the Nile to the Euphrates.

However, Moses received a conditional promise from the Lord around 1230 B.C.:

If the Lord your God enlarges your territory, as he promised on oath to your ancestors, and gives you the whole land he promised them,  because you carefully follow all these laws I command you today—to love the Lord your God and to walk always in obedience to him—then you are to set aside three more cities (Deuteronomy 19:8-9).

The full extent of the inheritance is contingent on the faithfulness of Israel.

APPLY:  

It is often said that Abraham is the father of three great world religions — Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

From the Christian perspective, our spiritual inheritance from Abraham derives from this one great verse:

And he believed the Lord; and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness.

Our heritage from Abraham is not based on genetics, but on faith.  This verse becomes an important pillar of Paul’s doctrine of justification by faith:

 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.  For what does the scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.” (Romans 4:2-3)

And in Galatians, Paul makes clear that those who have come to faith in Christ receive their righteousness from Christ alone, and are the true descendants of Abraham:

Just as Abraham “believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,”  so, you see, those who believe are the descendants of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, declared the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “All the Gentiles shall be blessed in you.” For this reason, those who believe are blessed with Abraham who believed (Galatians 3:6-9).

All who believe in Christ are reckoned as righteous, and are regarded as the spiritual descendants of Abraham by their faith.

RESPOND: 

I must confess that there are times that my faith wavers.  Like the father whose son was afflicted with a demonic spirit, I sometimes have to admit to Jesus,

“I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24)

And then I consider Abram — who was renamed Abraham later by God (Genesis 17:5).  He was called to leave his homeland and his father when he was seventy-five, and go to a land he had never visited.  He was told that his aging wife would be the mother of his heir. He was told that he would possess the land.

By the time he was almost one hundred years old, none of these things had come to pass!  And yet, he affirmed his faith that God would fulfill his promises, despite setbacks and uncertainties!

That is a reproach to me when doubts begin to arise in my mind about difficult circumstances in the world, or uncertainties in my own life.

From time to time, I remember God’s promises to Abraham, and I go outside and look at the stars and reclaim this simple truth:

And he believed the Lord; and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness.

Lord, your Word is full of promises that can only be claimed by faith. I do believe.  Help my unbelief!  Amen. 

PHOTOS: “Abraham believed God” by Ted is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic license.

Epistle for March 13, 2016

START WITH SCRIPTURE:

Philippians 3:4b-14

CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

Paul focuses on his own autobiography as a witness to the Gospel of grace that he proclaims.  In this passage we see through Paul’s  eyes his own transition from a self-righteous overachiever to a man completely dependent upon Christ.

He begins by demonstrating to the Philippians that he has a great personal resume, in purely human terms.  He has every reason to be

confident in the flesh,

if the goal is to be reached through human achievement.

The list he offers highlights his accomplishments as a highly committed, deeply  religious person:

circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee;  as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.

His place in the Judaism of his day, regarded as the true faith of the Chosen People, was absolutely secure.  Not only had he received all the normal marks of an observant Jew — circumcision, a place in the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews — he was a member of the most exclusive religious “fraternity” of his day: the Pharisees.

To be a Pharisee was to be a part of a highly scrupulous group.  The word Pharisee means those who are set apart. They were renowned for their strict observance not only of the Law of Moses, but also of the Oral Law, that body of interpretations and applications that had been passed down by generations of rabbis.

Moreover, Paul’s zeal for his faith was so intense that he sought to root out those whom he regarded as heretics, this new Jewish sect that were called Christians.  His quest to rid the world of this threat led him to Damascus — and conversion!

Yet, Paul could honestly say that his devotion to the law of Moses was so impeccable that he was blameless.

However, compared to the glory and grace that Paul had come to know in Christ, his own accomplishments are meaningless to him:

 Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ . . .

Note the three-fold reference to loss, which illustrates that Paul has given up all  of the achievements and credentials of his former life.  In comparison to knowing Christ, his long list of merits are mere trash.

Paul reiterates the core of his message of grace when he outlines his new aim, to be found in Christ,

not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith.

Throughout his epistles, Paul has made it clear that it is impossible to establish one’s own righteousness by obedience to the law.  While the law is holy and just and good, the human capacity to fulfill the law invariably falls short.  Only by complete surrender through faith in Christ does the believer receive the

righteousness from God based on faith.

Paul states clearly his own personal mission statement:

I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death,  if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

This highlights an important aspect of Paul’s spirituality — that faith in Christ means identification with Christ’s cross and his resurrection.  We can see that very clearly in Galatians 2:19-20.

I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Nevertheless, Paul confesses his own deep humility, acknowledging that he is still in the process of growing when it comes to following Christ:

 Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.

There are two key points that seem striking here.

First, there is the paradox that Christ has already made Paul his own, yet there is a response still required in order for Paul to continue to make Christ his own.  Christ’s grace has already accepted Paul as he is.  But Paul is aware that identifying with Christ’s crucified and resurrected life requires that he press on to make it his own.

There  are several analogies that spring to mind — we are embraced by someone who loves us, but we also must embrace them in return if we are to experience the completion of affection.

But Paul’s own analogy brings us to the second point:  Paul uses an athletic analogy to describe himself:

forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.

One can almost see the stadium and the runners as they are being cheered on by the crowds.  Paul runs his race so that he may cross the finish line and receive the ultimate prize.

So, the analogy prevails.  He has been selected for the “team” by the grace of Christ. It is time to forget those previous efforts of achievement that fell short of victory, without looking back.  And now he strives to perform in the spiritual contest with his utmost effort so that he may fulfill the high calling of Christ.

APPLY:  

Ours is an achievement-oriented society.  From our first report cards that our moms put on the refrigerator to the lists of awards and honors and degrees that follow our names in our resumes, we are hungry for recognition.

While this may be admirable and desirable from a human point of view for our resume building, this is not how we experience the glory of Christ.

Christ’s grace is available to all, from the president of the United States to the homeless woman pushing a shopping cart filled with her only possessions.

As Paul tells us, Christ has taken hold of us by grace.  He has already offered himself to us completely and without reserve.  He emptied himself of all but love, and offered his life on the cross so that he might raise us up with him.

What response should this elicit from us?  If we fully grasp what Christ has done for us, it inspires us to give all that we have and all that we are to follow him.  This is the path to sanctification.

We remember, however,  that even this striving

toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus

is still not our accomplishment.  It is not something that we achieve, but rather something that we receive by grace.

As Paul reminds us in his paradoxical statement earlier in this letter to the Philippians:

work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;  for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure (Philippians 2:12-13).

No matter how intense our effort, how earnestly we press toward the goal, we are enabled to do so only by God who is at work in us.  That is why we are truly humble before God, who is the author and finisher of our salvation.

RESPOND: 

Years ago, I was seeing a Christian counselor about my depression.  He recommended a book that helped me to apply all of my theological training to my personal problems.

The book was The Search for Significance by Robert McGee.  I can sum up the message very simply:  we are taught in our culture to base our self-worth on our performance and the opinions of others.  Our accomplishments and the opinion of others become the mirror in which we measure ourselves.

Unfortunately, even the most accomplished and most popular persons in the world, in their most honest moments, must accept that they fall short of perfection. The Gospel of Jesus Christ has nothing to say to those who do not accept that they are sinners.

The Gospel of grace tells us that we are already accepted for Christ’s sake.  We are loved.  There is nothing more that we need do in order to be more acceptable to God. Our acceptance by God is not based on our performance or the opinion of others. Christ has performed all that needs to be done for us to be reconciled to God. And Christ’s opinion of each of us is that we are worth dying for!

When I read McGee’s book, and began to apply its message in my own life, it liberated me from the effort to establish my own righteousness or to “prove” myself.

And, when I could accept that I was already accepted by Christ, I was free to give my very best effort to press on toward the life that he envisioned for me.

I had “made the team” already.  But now I didn’t want to simply sit on the bench.  I wanted to excel and perform at the highest level possible – not for my own sake but for Christ’s sake.  My motivation for obedience and excellence was no longer to bolster my ego or my resume, but gratitude for what Christ has done for me.

Our Lord, whatever I have accomplished is rubbish in comparison to the glory of knowing you through your death and resurrection.  I receive your grace with humble gratitude, and press on toward the goal of your high calling.  Amen. 

PHOTO:
“Philippians 3:13-14” by Brett Jordan is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license. This image is designed to be wallpaper for an iphone.

Psalm Reading for March 13, 2016

START WITH SCRIPTURE:

Psalm 126

CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

A Psalm of Ascent was typically sung by worshippers as they approached and climbed the hill and/or stairs at the temple in Jerusalem. The tone of this particular Psalm suggests a great sense of joy.

What’s interesting about this Psalm is that the language speaks of restoration and joy after a period of tears and grief.  It seems very likely, even on a superficial reading, that this Psalm reflects a post-exilic context.

Those who wept and mourned now laugh and sing; they are restored to the temple from which they had been exiled; moreover, they return with songs of joy.

Even the “nations” take note that

The Lord has done great things for them.

Remember that the nations in Hebrew is goyim, also known as Gentiles.  The Jews had been exiles in Babylon, which became the Persian Empire, for more than 50 years. So the Gentile nations under which they had been oppressed, as well as other nations, took notice of their liberation!

The reference to streams in the Negev may be an historical allusion to the wandering of the Israelites nearly a thousand years earlier.  The Negev is the dry desert in the southern regions of Israel.  Streams in the desert would be welcome indeed!

They carry their sheaves with them because it is a festive day. It was quite common on feast days like the feast of Tabernacles, etc., to cut off palm branches or willows and wave them as a sign of celebration.  Note that this is how the crowds in Jerusalem heralded Jesus when he rode into Jerusalem at the beginning of Passover week.

APPLY:  

Only those who have been in bondage can fully appreciate the transformation from grief and tears to joy and laughter.

I think of accounts I’ve read of the masses of slaves who followed the Union armies during the Civil War, or who greeted Abraham Lincoln when he visited Richmond, Virginia after the surrender of the Confederacy.  Or of film I’ve seen of Holocaust survivors as their camps were liberated by American G.I.’s.  Those folks could certainly have understood Psalm 126!

Can we?  Certainly.  As a friend of mine pointed out years ago when someone spoke derogatorily of the wealthy members of a mega church, “Even rich people are in bondage without Jesus.”

We all can identify with the sense of joy that comes when we have been delivered from addictions, depression, disease, and guilt.

RESPOND: 

May I never lose the sense of joy that comes from the knowledge that I have been restored and returned to God through Jesus Christ.  May I never take that liberation for granted.

Our Lord, fill my heart with the joy of knowing that you have restored and returned me to your side.  May my worship and praise of your mighty deeds be unselfconscious and unrestrained!  Amen.

PHOTOS:
“Psalm 126:3″ by EvelynGiggles is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

 

Old Testament for March 13, 2016

Start with Scripture:

Isaiah 43:16-21

CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

This passage appears to have been written after the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians in 587 BC, when the Jews were transported by the Babylonians into exile.  Isaiah has made this clear in earlier verses:

Thus says the Lord,
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
For your sake I will send to Babylon
and break down all the bars,
and the shouting of the Chaldeans will be turned to lamentation (Isaiah 43:14).

The first section of this passage relates to the history of Israel, as Isaiah recalls the deliverance from Egypt some 600 to 700 years earlier:

Thus says the Lord,
who makes a way in the sea,
a path in the mighty waters,
who brings out chariot and horse,
army and warrior;
they lie down, they cannot rise,
they are extinguished, quenched like a wick:

The “Road Out” (the literal meaning of “Exodus”) was paved through the Red Sea, where the Egyptian army was drowned according to the great story of Jewish deliverance in Exodus 14.

As astonishing as this act of salvation history may be, Isaiah urges his people to look beyond that past event to the deliverance from exile that God is about to accomplish for Israel:

Do not remember the former things,
or consider the things of old.
I am about to do a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?

Isaiah assures the Jews who are in exile that God will do a “new thing,”  and bring them back from their latest bondage.  This time it will be from bondage in Babylon instead of Egypt, and their escape route will take them through the wilderness to the west of Babylon, not through the Red Sea.

Isaiah foresees that God will create a new highway that leads back from Babylon to Judah:

I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.
The wild animals will honor me,
the jackals and the ostriches;
for I give water in the wilderness,
rivers in the desert,
to give drink to my chosen people,
the people whom I formed for myself
so that they might declare my praise.

The language that Isaiah uses is a reminder of some of the events in Exodus.  For example, God provided water in the desert of Sinai (Exodus 15:22-25).  Now, God will not simply bring forth water from the rock, he will cause rivers to flow in the desert!

The Lord reminds the people that they belong to him, and their purpose is to worship and praise him.

APPLY:  

When we look back to what God has done in the past, we sometimes get “stuck” expecting that God will do the same thing exactly the same way again.  In fact, God is always doing a “new thing” in a new way.  We need to keep our eyes open for new insights, new guidance, and new opportunities as God reveals the plan to us.

RESPOND: 

In C.S. Lewis’s Christian allegorical novel Prince Caspian, the great Lion Aslan — the Christ figure of the book — says gently to Lucy:

Things never happen the same way twice.

We human beings tend to like to find patterns in life and in history.  We are taught to believe that history repeats itself.  In fact, the philosopher George Santayana is quoted as saying:

 Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

Can both of these views be true?  I believe there are events and behaviors that create patterns.  If we can’t learn from history in order to either avoid disaster or to make wise decisions, why study the past at all?

Perhaps the best way to understand this is to recognize that we human beings have a tendency to be boringly redundant.  Our essential character hasn’t really changed all that much since the Garden; the only changes have been in our fashions and our cultures. Like the cliche says,

The more things change, the more they remain the same.

But God is not limited by our boundaries of time and space.  God can and does act in surprising ways. Thus, John writes,

And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true” (Revelation 21:50).

When it comes to God’s plans for us, to quote an old Australian Army song from 1944:

You ain’t seen nothing yet!

Lord, thank you for reminding us of your miracles in the past.  But help me to be reminded that you are still very much alive, and there are still miracles all around me today. When I get stuck in redundant patterns, remind me that you will make all things new.  Amen.

PHOTOS:
The “New” graphic by Peggy Marco is licensed under a Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication license.