Tag: creation

Pridefully Divine
Psalm 29; Isaiah 5:15–24; John 15:18–20, 15:26–27

When we read about “divine beings” we, understandably, think about angels. What, however, makes a divine being…divine? Apart from God, there is no divine being that isn’t of God. Which becomes a little daunting theologically when we recognize we have the Imago Dei in us.

To be clear, we are not gods (except, perhaps in our deluded fallen minds). We a created beings with the spark of divinity inside of us. It may be a fine line to some. It is a line as large as Creation itself to others. Yet, part of the divine spark responds to God, and God completes us. So, it’s not wrong (totally) to think in terms of the divine beings in Psalm 29:1. Just like those divine beings, we are called and made to glorify God.

This seems contrary, in some ways, to the initial verses of Isaiah. Humanity will be brought low. Yet, it is often the arrogance of humanity that results in wars, animosity, and the general inability of getting along. It is also that particular thing, that when brought low, places humanity in the position of accepting God. One cannot truly accept God through arrogance.

Even as we read further, the arrogance continues with demanding that God hurry up and accomplish God’s work. This all merely so humanity can understand it. Perhaps arrogance is the wrong word. Self-absorbed is probably closer, while arrogance remains part of it.

There there is a lot of doom.

The last of today’s verses in Isaiah though starts with purifying. If you catch the wording, “tongues of fire”, might it remind you of Pentecost when tongues of fire appeared? In this case, the tongues of fire are more of purification rather than empowerment. But that God and the “holy one” are tied into the same verse as “tongues of fire” really do seem to be somehow tied to Pentecost. Then again, that very well be reading too much into it (but it’s fun).

And, while it doesn’t seem to be related when we understand the pride and arrogance of humanity as observed in Isaiah, Jesus’ words to his disciples (and thus to us) make more sense. The fallen nature of humanity has striven against God. For far too many, it evolved into hate. To be, once again, more along the lines of a divine being rather than fallen creation would indeed cause striving fallen humanity to hate and lash out at those who have been touched by God in such a way.

If we take all of today’s Scriptures into the picture, it makes perfect sense why Jesus warns the disciples that no matter how much they now have (or will have after Pentecost), they are still not greater than God. A good warning, as not too long after Pentecost, Peter performed his first miracle. The Companion (Comforter, Counselor) would come, and they would be tempted to think more of themselves, and even be called gods (Paul and Barnabas).

※Reflection※
- When has your pride hampered your relationships with others?
- When has your pride hampered your relationship with God?
※Prayer※

Lord, guard our hearts against the pride of the world. Let our pride be that you save us and that you work through us recognizing that it is for you and for ourselves that we move about the world. Amen.
2021-05-29
Utopia Maybe
Psalm 29; Isaiah 2:1–5; Romans 8:9–11

The statistics don’t seem promising. The percentage of regular church-goers has been falling generation by generation for the last four generations. While the percentage of Americans that say they are Christian is high (relatively), a very high percentage of them say religion isn’t that important to them, and all religions are the same.

The usual accusation is that it is a significant cultural shift that is at fault. There is truth in that. There is also a denial of reality. Culture is always shifting. Sometimes it is slow. Sometimes it is fast. As we look around the world in places like China and India, there are fast and slow cultural shifts. The problem with this accusation is that it ignores the self. Without introspection and honest self-evaluation, the church will see the number decline.

This sounds depressing. It is, and it should be. We are called to be the light to the world as ambassadors of Jesus Christ. In many, perhaps even most, respects, the church has been (culture) warrior first and ambassador a distant last.

The good news is that God isn’t done—not with the world and not with us.

The triumph and joy of the passage of Isaiah is palpable. All nations would (willingly, longingly) submit to God. God would judge between nations echoes how the Israelite priests were to judge between the Israelite tribes and members. It foreshadows that all of humanity, not just the Israelites, would be equal before God.

The last piece always catches my attention in this passage. When I was a child, my mom had a button that said, “swords into plowshares.” She had joined (?) an arms reduction organization of some sort and explained weapons (tools of death) being transformed into agricultural tools (tools of life). Regardless of one feels about war (just war or not) or policing (or its abolishment), the concept of sword into plowshare is powerful. Humanity would no longer feel the need for war, for their deepest needs were being filled by God.

The selflessness that Paul alludes to comes from this same basic concept…the fallen nature of humanity to strive upon the backs of others is contrary to God’s desire for his creation. It isn’t merely weapons of war. This can include anything from cars to homes, to stuff, to power. It covers that which we seek to fill needs that ultimately will be filled by God.

While we can look at Isaiah’s passage as a human utopia, that isn’t it. We can look at Paul’s compliments of the Romans as sanctification, it isn’t that (it is, but it isn’t). What we see in both passages is that being fulfilled by God leads to us being fulfilled by others and seeking to fulfill others. Sounds pretty nice.

※Reflection※
- Where do you see the vision of Isaiah being fulfilled in your life?
- Where do you see the vision of Paul being fulfilled in your life?
※Prayer※

Lord, help us to bring “your Kingdom come” in the one area we can with your help…ourselves. Amen.
2021-05-28
Little Pieces Together

Psalm 104:24–35; Joel 2:18–29; 1 Corinthians 12:4–11

Before churches had stained glass, there were two ways the church would decorate and—more importantly—tell the stories of the Bible (and the church) in pictures. The first was primarily on the wall and ceilings, and that was paintings. The second was primarily on the floor, but also sometimes on walls, and was mosaics.

Many ancient sites were discovered to be churches often because of the mosaics. As they were made of stone and/or ceramic, they would withstand dirt, mud, and being buried. If you have the chance to check out YouTube, you should be able to find videos where you can watch archaeologists unbury and then restore the beautiful mosaics to their former glory (in time-lapse, of course). Symbolic of we humans restored by the blood of Christ from messy and dirty (and buried in death and sin) to the beauty of God’s child.

As an art form, mosaics are often made from broken pottery and put into a larger picture. Whether it is the church, humanity as a whole, or Creation as a whole, they are made up of smaller pieces that are often broken or damaged and are a beautiful bigger picture. One could even say that each is greater than the sum of its pieces.

Within the respective circles of church, humanity, and Creation, there is a cycle of death, birth, and growth. The psalmist says that God makes the face of the earth new again (Psalm 104:30). The cycle of life is both renewal and change. Nothing is ever quite the same.

Through Joel, God tells the people that things will be good again in regard to land, crops, security. Even so, underlying that is the reality that things will never be exactly the same. Things certainly won’t be as they were in David’s and Solomon’s time (especially as David and Solomon’s time would have grown into mythic proportions).

The relationship between the people and God would be restored. The Promised Land would be restored. The people’s place in the Promised Land would be restored. Still, things would not be exactly the same. Other prophets also told the people that they would be restored, but it would be different and in a good way.

Jesus’ advent was even more so a new way of things that the world needed to adjust to (and is still adjusting to). With Jesus’ departure, the coming Holy Spirit would change things all the more. People had had their roles to play. Some were moved by the Holy Spirit. This new coming, however, was different. Roles were one thing (still are), but gifts were a new thing.

Now everyone had a gift. Each of those gifts had a purpose and place in the kingdom of God here on earth. All the gifts together (the mosaic) make Jesus’ beautiful bride, the church.

※Reflection※

What makes a gift “spiritual” versus “natural” or “trained”? Do you know which spiritual gifts you have? If so, what are they, and what are they doing? If not, ask God to guide you in searching, that you may have a greater effect for the kingdom (Don’t worry. It can take time.)

※Prayer※

Lord, may we be renewed and empowered to do your will. Amen.

2021-05-24
Divided Unity
Psalm 33:12–22; Job 37:1–13; 1 Corinthians 15:50–57

God’s might and power cannot be denied. God’s glory is present in Creation. A majority of people surveyed stated that they are closest (or most aware of) God when they are in “nature” (or non-humanity altered environments). As Elihu says (the person speaking in Job), God’s power is everywhere. God’s handiwork is present in all things. God has set the world in motion, while we try to keep our balance.

In some Eastern traditions, there is a concept that this world being a training ground for the next one. In some ways, we can see truth in that, but not the whole Truth.

This is a training ground of sorts, or perhaps a sifting place, or (to pull from the Old Testament) a threshing floor. There is a way of separating that this world is very good at.

We can see separation in regards to skin color, nationality, “race”, language, state, political-leaning, religion, computer operating system, game console, truck brand, and so many other things. In fact, sometimes we can be so overwhelmed by separation that any similarity is completely and utterly lost.

Before we say, as some would, that God would never divide, that also isn’t true. The very story of Creation separates night from day, land from water, and waters from waters. The multitude of creatures and plants are created. Multitudes of kinds (even of life) is division. The last one though maybe the greatest division of them all…humanity.

A number of commentators interpret that the original Adam was not male, per se. Adam, to their understanding, was without gender. Genderless is often used to describe this Adam, yet even that is misleading, for this Adam existed prior to human gender existing. It’s a nuance, but it makes the division of humanity into male and female even more divisive, for it is a form of re-creation. And that is the point.

Division is not merely a form of destruction or alienation, as we are being confronted with daily, it is also an act of Creation. You find that at the genetic level, through division new creations and new beings are formed.

There is, from a human perspective, an ultimate division…those that know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior…and those that don’t. Those that do known will be unified with God, each other, and in some not fully understood but divine body. Those that do not know will be forever separated, one way or the other.

※Reflection※
- What are some other areas where you see division that helps?
- What are some areas where you see helpful unity?• Where might unity be unhelpful?
※Prayer※

Lord, guide us to what you want us to divide and what you want us unite. Amen.
2021-05-21
Enter In
Psalm 80; Isaiah 65:17–25: John 14:18–31

I might be a nerd (okay, “might” should be replaced by “am”). When I was young I was fascinated by the stories of elves. In particular, I grew up with the Pinis’ Elf Quest. As I got older, I learned about the “real” elves of The Silmarillion (Tolkien’s Elves). I was fascinated by their mythic slowness. Life, death, marriage, war, and all those things that define much of human life changed in such strange ways.

This came to mind as I read the passage of Isaiah. A person who dies at a hundred will be as if cursed. These days, we celebrate those who live beyond one hundred, trying to learn their secret (there doesn’t seem to be one).

As Isaiah continues, he shares how God will provide the life essentials to everyone. God will provide a way where everyone need not fear for their well-being. The implication of no orphans or widows (the weakest and most vulnerable) is there too.

How these verses end is also interesting. The serpent is definitely an allusion to the serpent in the Garden of Eden, whose food continues to be dust. On the other hand, the life and death (and the taking of life to live) of Creation and its creatures ends, too. It indeed would be a new creation, or perhaps Creation as intended before the Fall.

The totality of this promise of warmth and belonging won’t be experienced on this side of life. The Father does still love us, however, and that is ours to hold onto.

Remaining “in” the Father and “in” Jesus though is a little more than just sitting. It is an active pursuit of a relationship with God, through the gift of the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit that remains to teach and guide us, even today.

Yet, just because the Holy Spirit is here and present, does not mean that we do nothing. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would teach us. Teaching, though, requires students. Until we die (and maybe even after), we are all, to be constantly learning about God.

※Reflection※
- How can the finite (us) not continue to learn more about God (infinite) day-by-day?
- What are you doing to learn more about God?
- Who are you bringing with you as you learn?
- Is anyone bring you along with them as they learn?
※Prayer※

Holy Spirit, nudge our hearts and minds to pursue relationship with you that we know God better than we did yesterday. Amen.
2021-05-05
Blessing of Blessings
Psalm 23; Genesis 30:25–43; Acts 3:17–26

“You’ve been such a blessing in my life!”

Hopefully, you have said that to at least one person in your life. Even more so, would be for someone to say that to you. In both cases…and mean it.

Laban and Jacob were the perfect foils for one another. Both seemed to have issues with straightforwardness (Jacob has been nicknamed the usurper and trickster, with some justification). It’s hard to believe that the first issue pops up more than 7 years into their relationship when Laban deceives Jacob into marrying Leah instead of Rachel. If personality issues such as this only show up every seven years, then that’s not too bad (though, really, over marriage?). It seems unlikely.

Through a parable, Jesus said that a person who could be trusted with a small task could be trusted with a larger one. There are people who can be trusted with big things but need a lot of people around them to keep from failing with all the little things. There was just something (okay, a lot of things) wrong in this family.

Throughout this, Laban seemed to care little for his daughters, other than how to tie Jacob to him. It is not unreasonable that if it hadn’t have been Jacob, Laban would have tried to hoodwink someone else. The only time Laban appeared to care for his daughters was when Jacob left (Genesis 31), but as Jacob may have been the sharer of the story, he may have left out the positive sides of Laban. Maybe.

The reason Laban’s care (or lack thereof) for his daughters is important is that this was his justification to chase after Jacob when he left after the events of today’s passage in Genesis. However, If we look at Laban’s words, was Laban really worried about his daughters, or was he concerned about the lost blessing.

That Laban felt this so powerfully indicates that the blessing was huge, and Laban knew it. It would just like someone who bought Apple stock during its first IPO ($22) and then threw it in the shredder (valued at more than $15,000) today. Laban wanted to seize the blessing, and it makes sense.

Except the purpose of true blessing isn’t to be seized or owned by one person. True blessing is to be shared with others, so that they may be blessed.

When Peter talks about Abraham’s blessing there is a difference. The Jews didn’t really try to hold onto the blessing, per se, they merely thought that their bloodline along with the Law was the blessing. Some scholars point to Israel’s physical location in ancient times. Much of the commerce of that part of the world went through it. They had the opportunity to be a blessing to others by sharing God’s blessings.

One of the easiest ways to think of blessings and blessing is to think of water in a cup and in a pipe. A cup is a fixed point with a fixed volume. A pipe carries the water to others. A cup of water either evaporates or stagnates.

※Reflection※
- What does it mean to be a blessing?
- What qualifies something or someone as a blessing?
- Why do people seize blessings and not let go?
- Why might a blessing be greater when it is given away rather than held?
※Prayer※

With the blessings we have received we bless the Lord.
With the gifts in our hands we praise his name;
with our hearts and hands and voices we give thanks to the Lord,
calling on all his creation to bless and praise his holy name. Amen.
Clowes, David. 500 More Prayers for All Occasions. Colorado Springs, CO: David C Cook, 2015. Print.
2021-04-22
Look Alive
Psalm 118:1–2, 14–24; Genesis 1:1–19; 1 Corinthians 15:35–49

One of the biggest struggles that Christianity has in sharing about Jesus Christ the Resurrected Lord and Savior is…the Resurrection. Our entire Enlightenment and scientific basis struggles with this concept. If we are honest with ourselves, we too struggle with it. If someone told us that a buried person rose from the dead, we’d question their sanity.

That is one of the conflicts that we ourselves have with our faith. We take it as Truth (not just faith) that Jesus Christ rose from the dead. On the other hand, were it anyone else we’d question it. We do, of course, justify this conflict by calling Jesus (rightly) the Son of the God Most High.

When we read the story of Lazarus (John 11:1-44) we may be overwhelmed with the story and the miracle (understandably). Our experience in life, however, tells us that this is something we can never experience at least in the same way. How the whole resurrection thing works is a mystery, which frustrates us when we try to be so logical.

Lazarus, it would seem, was not a true resurrection, “merely” coming back to life (similar to medical techniques and equipment that we have). Jesus’ resurrection was something yet different still.

Then there is Paul’s understanding of each of our resurrection. Earthly bodies would be similar to the ones that were part of the Creation glory (perhaps) of Genesis. Heavenly bodies are those of the resurrection. They are different according to Paul, but perhaps it really is beyond our understanding.

The question for each of us is do we truly believe in the Resurrection? It is easy to get lost in the drama of Easter…the drama of Resurrection Sunday. It is easy to be drawn in the positive and hopeful message of Easter, especially after Good Friday (and the last year).

That is a great emotional lift. Emotions ebb and flow, however, and that is part of the problem. It is easy to believe in the Resurrection on Easter. That’s one day a year. We need to not just believe it. We need to live it out.

※Reflection※
- What does it mean to be a person of the Resurrection?
- Does the resurrection influence your daily life? If so, how?
※Prayer※

Grant, we pray, Almighty God, that we who celebrate with reverence the Paschal [Easter] feast may be made worthy to attain to everlasting joys; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. [Monday of Easter week collect, Book of Common Prayer 2019]
2021-04-05
Together Time
Exodus 12:1–4, 5–10, 11–14; Psalm 116:1–2, 12–19; 1 Corinthians 11:23–26; John 13:1–17, 31b–35

The tie between Passover and the Last Supper is obvious just based on the fact that the Last Supper was in the context of Passover. Part of the first Passover was the blood of the Lamb that was placed upon doorjambs in obedience to God so that the plague of the death of the firstborn male would Passover the Jewish people. The sacrifice for the firstborn remained part of the Law, insofar as a blood sacrifice being needed to atone for the firstborn son.

The road that ends on the cross tomorrow is the sacrifice of the firstborn of God, God’s only Son.

Just as it appears that the nation of Egypt was in the place of the sacrifice of the firstborn (many outweighing the few), so too was God (the infinite) in the place of his Creation (us).

Maundy Thursday (as this day is called) is, for me, the second hardest day of the Christian Year. Meals are special. Especially as my kids are at the point of being so busy working and with activities and at school, meals together are even more special. For Jesus, this special meal may well have been the most important of his life. I cannot imagine having this high holy day overshadowed by betrayal, torture, and death. Then knowing that all but one would run away.

Jesus still embraced the pain of that meal. Oddly, I think there was joy, too. Despite the human failings of the 11 that would remain, there is something comforting being with people that you care for deeply, especially when confronting the darkness head-on. The 11 would carry-on the mission that you and I have inherited.

Paul reminds the Corinthians that they were inheritors, too. The Last Supper was really the first supper. Just as I treasure the time around the table with my family, we should all treasure our time around the table of Communion (the Eucharist). This is the place where the boundaries of time and space are thinned that all of the people of the Body of Christ can be joined together in this fateful and binding meal of love.

※Reflection※
- What does Communion (the Eucharist) mean to you? If you missed it, would it bother you? Would you go without it? Why?
- What is your favorite meal experience? A restaurant? Thanksgiving? New Year’s? St. Patrick’s Day? Are any of these traditions for you and/or your family? Why?
※Prayer※

Almighty Father, whose most dear Son, on the night before he suffered, instituted the Sacrament of his Body and Blood: Mercifully grant that we may receive it in thankful remembrance of Jesus Christ our Savior, who in these holy mysteries gives us a pledge of eternal life; and who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. [Maundy Thursday Collect, Book of Common Prayer 2019]
2021-04-01
Depths of Lent

Psalm 119:9–16; Isaiah 44:1–8; Acts 2:14–24

Lent has various aspects. The first is our mortality (“from dust you came; to dust you return”). The second is sin. Mortality and sin are connected. Without the original sin, there would be no death. Sin brought death to Creation.

From there, to some degree, sin is broken into original sin (that which brought death into Creation), and personal sin. Personal sin is often what we confront when it comes to Lent. This that sin which personally maintains separation from ourselves and God. More importantly, it is us through our sin that maintains that gap. The known end of Lent is Good Friday, the commemoration of when God died to bridge the chasm of holiness between God and man. This makes our personal sin all the more tragic.

Lent will often include some sort of spiritual discipline that is usually a “giving up” of something. There was a time when it was primarily meat (still is in Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic communities). As that was in a time where meat was in short supply already, there is some question as to how “sacrificial” it was. Now we think in terms of news, social media, phones (that would nice), internet, alcohol (for those who drink), a meal (not just meat). All this with the intent, though rarely practices, to instead use that time to approach the throne of God.

Lent is really a time of pretend. That’s not mean in a bad way. In many respects, we blessed so much that it is hard to lament or mourn because we know what’s on the other side of Good Friday. Many of us have such a life of ease, that we don’t understand just how important God’s words are to the broken.

We are not just talking about the Christian-ese of the “lost” or the “wayward” or the “not-yet Christian” or the “cold to Christ”. We are talking about people abandoned and lost. As much as this may grate on you, this includes people fleeing to the US from their native country. While there are some who are truly not doing this to become a part of the US people, the majority are giving up (and gave up) everything for a sliver of a hope to become something new.

That hope, as small as it often is, is that same sort of redemptive hope and life change hope that God had promised to the Israelites for generations. That is the hope in the darkness that Lent exemplifies. Unless we have been in a dark place, any understanding of hope in the face of despair is an intellectual exercise lacking depth.

To not take this as dismissive. This is coming from the depths of my own heart’s darkness these last few weeks. Certainly, not the darkest, but only by a few shades. As I look at that, I understand even then how much I cannot comprehend the depth and breadth and length of the despair of Israel, that was answered by the depth and breadth and length of God’s redemptive love.

※Reflection※

What life experience can you use to relate to the hope in despair of Israel?

※Prayer※

Jesus, thank you for walking the road of the cross for us. May we pick up our cross and follow you. Amen.

2021-03-23
Given
Psalm 51:1–12; Exodus 30:1–10; Hebrews 4:14–5:4

Even if every single Israelite behaved completely within the bounds of Law, and thus no sin offerings were offered for an entire year…still Aaron would have to perform the ritual of reconciliation. No matter how perfect every Israelite was, reconciliation was still needed.

In the Church of the Nazarene (and similarly in other holiness denominations such as the Free Methodist, Wesleyan, Methodist, Church of God in Christ (Anderson), and others) we have a concept of Entire Sanctification. This is not as universal in understanding as it could be, yet it is (ultimately) being like Jesus Christ insofar as we have been enabled by the Holy Spirit (and, yes, this is far more complicated and much simpler). This is a high standard. Others have defined it as giving oneself wholly over to Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit (different ways of explaining it).

By the Law, even if every single human being were Entirely Sanctified, the purification offering for reconciliation would still be required. To many, Entire Sanctification is entirely impossible (and it is without the Holy Spirit). Yet, even were it possible to the many, the offering was still needed.

That is the weight of the Law. It isn’t all the offerings needed to cover our sin. It isn’t all the festivals to celebrate and recognize God’s miracles and saving works. The weight is the Truth that we can do nothing to save ourselves.

As the author of Hebrews is unknown (plenty of speculation), we don’t really have an idea of their perspective or history. Yet, it seems that he (assumption) was a Jew. It wouldn’t surprise me, based upon sections like this, that he was from some sort of priestly background. As such, the Law and the symbols of the Temple would be significant to him.

To the author of Hebrews, Jesus was the ultimate High Priest. Due to Jesus’ eternal nature, Jesus was always acting as the reconciling sacrifice. Though only a sacrifice once, that sacrifice resounds throughout Creation.

Like the earthly High Priest, Jesus was tempted and therefore understands our frailties. Unlike the High Priest, Jesus did not yield to the temptations, and thus does not need to offer sacrifices. Through Christ, then, the weight of the Law is removed, for the reconciliation is done and remains done for eternity.

※Reflection※
- Most of us (as non-Jews) do not understand the weight of the Law. With your understanding, what “weight” would you come up with to explain this to another?
- What is one thing you do every year that weighs you down or overwhelms you? How might that be similar to the “weight” of the Law and how might it be different?
※Prayer※

Lord, we are unable to fully grasp the chasm between your holiness and our fallenness. Thank you for crossing the chasm for us and aiding us in being reconciled to you. May our hearts and lives reflect it. Amen.
2021-03-19