Devotion.al

Tag: tradition

  • Same Change, Different Day

    Galatians 1:21–2:10 (read online ⧉)

    The church often states that the message from God has never changed. That’s not entirely accurate. God’s amazing grace was before all and in all. God’s expression of grace was certainly in multiple forms from Adam to Jacob’s (Israel’s) sons. Through Moses, the message changed from a family group to a (we often miss this change). The nation and Law was not something we see as grace, yet it took a nation of slaves and transformed them into God’s chosen people. From there grace transformed them into a powerful nation. From there grace kept their identity as God’s people intact, even when they abandoned God, and ended up in other nations. The message always changed. The did not.

    We Christians look at and the as the message that never changed. It is possibly more accurate to say that through Jesus and the Gospel that the message was expressed to its fullest. Yes, that is a nuance. However, that nuance is not small in any way, , or form. If it was small, Paul wouldn’t have gone to Jerusalem.

    Jesus’ first followers, and his core followers, were Jews. Everything was from a Jewish . For them, therefore, this was a Jewish thing. It makes perfect sense that many would not be able to Jewish practices from their Messiah. Hence we ourselves need to be more grace-filled towards those we read about in the New Testament. Remember, they were learning just what all this meant. Paul was pretty sure what it all meant. He just had to convince others.

    This is a long preface to a new and old truth. Mode and method do not equal message. Not too long ago, we had church splits over worship music. Mostly, that’s over, though some still complain about one sort of music or the other. There is the comparisons between contemporary format (which all Generations Sunday services have) and “traditional” liturgical services. It seems so obvious to many now that these are merely different ways to still share the Gospel and gather . Now there are digital churches. Then there are microexpression churches. This form of church caters to a specific interest group or demographic. Is it bad? In many respects, yes, for it continues the “one hour on Sunday is the most segregated hour of the week.” Granted, it is often no longer over . It does reach people who would not otherwise be reached by “normal” church.

    The church has long needed to reinvent itself, perhaps not so much to reach new people (though that really does help), but to reinvigorate itself. The church seems to have entered a period of stagnation. Either the stagnation needs to be flushed out, or the church can suffocate. It seems harsh, yet in many respects that is exactly what Paul had to deal with. The church that was forming had to reinvent itself. It had to separate itself from the ways that kept in mired in the past. Once it broke free, the freeing message of the Gospel got wings.

    1) Why do people hold onto traditions? How do you know when a tradition is stagnate, and when it is life-giving?

    2) What “how church is done” thing do you hold onto? Why? How does it you life?

    3) What is one “new” church thing that you enjoyed and/or found life-giving once you actually started doing it?

    Action: Take your “church thing” and explain not only what it is, but also how it builds up the church and fellow Christians.

  • Anointed, Ordained, and Consecrated

    Exodus 28:39–43, 1 Peter 2:4–5, 1 Corinthians 12:27–30, Revelation 5:9–10 (read online ⧉)

    In the Protestant , of which we are a part*, there has long been a stance about the Priesthood of All Believers. The primary principle is that Jesus is the ultimate and eternal priest, so there is no longer a need for a mediator between humanity and God. In theology and on paper it sounds great, but in general, we don’t seem to do well with it. There are some Christian traditions that have managed it through the years, but they are few and far between.

    Most of this has to do with the need for organization and administration. Contrary to many people’s thinking, that isn’t a bad thing. If you were to read the Creation account in Genesis, you would see an organized and hierarchal pattern (and that isn’t just humanity’s place).

    Despite a long-standing tradition of the Priesthood of All Believers in almost all Protestant traditions (yes, there is an exception), theologically and organizationally we don’t believe or function wholly that way. We read in 1 Corinthians that organizational roles were essentially spiritualized, so we certainly are not outside of the .

    Without question, there is a tension, and it is a tension well worth thinking on. We on pastors to teach and guide us. The role of elder in our church is more part of a decision-making body than spiritual leadership (Note: this is observation, not a commentary. They do hard work.). These aren’t the only roles in the church. Each of us has a role to play. The big issue is when we pawn our role onto another since they have a “role” and we don’t. Except we do.

    There is a lot of creative liberty in the following, yet sometimes it’s necessary to breakdown our thought processes.
    Moses is the “true” mediator in this story, yet he will leave (die) and the practice will remain.

    Step 1: Anoint
    We generally practice this in times of healing. However, if we look at it in more general terms, could be a form of anointing. Yes, it’s different. On the other hand, it too is a physical sign of something that a person is participating in and allowing. You have been baptized (if not, talk to someone about that) into the of God.

    Step 2: Ordain
    This is a little trickier, as we have a certain traditional understanding of “ordain”. In Hebrew, מָלֵא (maleʾ, malaʾ /maw·lay/) is more often translated as fill or fulfill. Sounds a bit like the filling up the disciples on , and what is supposed to be inside every person who claims Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

    Step 3: Consecrate
    This is the easiest, as it means set apart. Sounds similar to the list in 1 Corinthians. We each have been set apart for our role to fulfill the Great Commission as a member of the body of Christ, the Church.

    1) Everyone has a role in the Priesthood of All Believers. What is yours? If you believe you don’t have one, seek the guidance of other believers, friends, and family. Everyone has a role, and spectator isn’t one of them.

    2) People often believe they have no place to belong (whether at home, church, work, school, etc.). When we fulfill our roles, we often find our place to belong. Why do people, then, seem to want to put their role onto others?

    3) Why might it be important to think of yourself as anointed, ordained, and consecrated?

    *as Generations Church, part of the Church of the Nazarene

  • To Flourish

    Psalm 52, Colossians 1:3–14, 2 Peter 1:3–15 (read online ⧉)

    “But I am like a flourishing olive tree in the house of God…” Psalm 52:8 (CSB)

    Being and becoming a flourishing olive tree should be our goal. We, of course, are not trees. We are, however, treasured creations of God that God helps to nurture into Christ-like human beings. There is that tension, though, about what God to us. The Wesleyan holds that God does not force us, yet without the working in us, we are doomed to be the same. How it works is a mystery. The theologians of many traditions (not just the Wesleyan) continue to robustly discuss this. This is not bad. It is often distracting though.

    The tree…

    …is in the house of God.
    …quests for water
    …strains against the wind, and grows stronger.
    …reaches for the sun.
    …produces fruit.

    It seems obvious what the house of God is. It’s church. Except that is an incomplete understanding. We often think of house as a building. בַּיִת [bayith /bah·yith/] is also used to describe household, home, family, within, descendants. What if instead of “flourishing in the house of God” we were to read it as “flourishing in the family of God?” If we were to do so, that would mean praying , life groups, worship, and other related activities that we do together are covered, as long as that draws us closer to God.

    Water is always life (especially from a wilderness and livestock point of view). With referring to himself as the Water of Life it takes on an important change, and it is one that we should take very seriously. Pursuing the Water of Life means that we follow Jesus, and do our best to cast off the world to become more like Jesus, and less like the world. Pursuing the Water (another title) would also cover reading the and praying.

    The wind aspect is a little different. The wind is both the world trying to knock us down and the Holy . We couldn’t escape some tension here. That would be too easy. The storms (the wind) of the world seek to uproot us from the solid ground that is God. The Holy Spirit pushes and shapes us to be stronger so that we can stand firmer against the world.

    Reaching for the sun would seem to be automatically related to the Son, yet the sun provides warmth (like ) and nourishment (trees need the sun to breathe and produce energy). The sun and its attributes can be found in things like families and friends.

    Lastly, though, the tree produces fruit which can take many forms (the list is far too long).

    All of this falls under the huge umbrella of spiritual growth. The two passages from ‘s letter to the Colossians and the second letter Peter are deeply concerned about spiritual growth. Spiritual growth is not optional. In fact, to be a Christ-follower, we are (by definition) seeking to spiritually to be closer and closer to Christ. If you are not pursuing spiritual growth the question of being a Christ-followers rears its head.

    1) Looking at the list in Colossians 1:9–12 of spiritual growth, what pops out for you? Which area are you growing in? Which one are you weakest in?

    2) 2 Peter 1:5–7 is a list often used as a list of spiritual fruit. Where do you fall within the list? Do you think the list is exhaustive? Why do you think Peter ties the “fruit” together?

    3) How important do you view your spiritual growth? How about the spiritual growth of others? Why is that your view?

  • Speaking of Children

    Psalm 131, Matthew 18:1–9, Matthew 19:13–15 (read online ⧉)

    As adults, many of us look at the carefree nature of many kids and wish we had that now (especially if it was taken from us). Our general society has increasingly put barriers of protection around children, while at the same time put more burdens on them. It’s rather strange when you think about it. Then the prioritization of those burdens can also be unhealthy. Teenagers are limited to a certain number of hours (and a certain number of days per week) to work and earn a wage. On the other hand, if a teenager is playing a sport, they can spend as much (and often more) time supporting a sport than earning a wage. By and large, most of those children will not play sports professionally or even collegiately, yet there is a preference for certain play versus work. This is not to say sports dedication is necessarily bad, just that there seems to be a level of hypocrisy.

    Part of that is our understanding of children and childhood. We can see some of this very tension within the . Depending on how one defines weened, a weened child was anywhere from 2 to 4 years old. However, as the child aged, we start to see an odd tension. Around the age of 13, a male went through the Bar Mitzvah and females the Bat Mitzvah. We see an allusion to this in Luke 2:41–52 (though was 12). At that point, a child became responsible in regards to the Law and theoretically had attained majority status. Yet, “men” were not counted in the Old Testament until they were 20. As Judaism (and the Law, and Israelite custom) are the ancestor of Christianity, these ages are important to consider when we look at the Scriptures when children are involved, as these are the background of the writers of both New and Old Testaments.

    From a Greek , a child is anyone prior to puberty (or that what the general use of the ). While the Greek was the language used to write Matthew, Jewish and thinking would still deeply affect the intent of and influence the writer.

    This is a very long way of saying, no one knows how old the child in question was, but likely it was up to 5 or 6. In other words, weened but not “there” yet insofar as being a teenager.

    When Jesus presents the child as a perspective example, it is likely that the perspective (if not the words) of Psalm 131 were in play, and would certainly fit a pre-adolescent person. The child, as defined by Psalm 131, does “…not get involved with things too great or too wondrous…” What could that mean? It could mean many things. However, if we look at (for example) the English language, some counts put its vocabulary at over 1 million words, but when the King James Bible was the estimate was 20-40 thousand. The reason this is brought up is that our language, just in words, is complicated, and only growing more so. We add words in an attempt to provide nuance. Not a particular surprise as written language does not succinctly communicate emotion, background, and overtone well.

    In other words, we are making our language seemingly “great and wondrous”, and really making a mess of it. The Great Commandments (summarized: God; love ) is simple. We make it so complicated.

    1) Do you think complicated thinking is why Jesus presented a child as an example? Do you think it might be another reason?

    2) Why does complicated thinking make it hard to the about Jesus?

    3) What do you think of the 2 versions of adult presented above? Can you think of similar examples in our society? Why do you think these differences in “adult” are trying to achieve?

  • Gratitude Not Spending

    Psalm 19, Romans 13:11–14, Jude 12–19 (read online ⧉)

    An attitude of should be one of the characteristics of a maturing Christian. This is not for the Christian or for most people. Capitalism has been a great catalyst for and improvements. However, it comes with significant and very serious dark sides. For example, part of the cultural meme for January is the shock and grieving that comes with the credit card bills from Christmas celebrations (whether activities or presents). There is even one that is currently going around about people being thankful for finally paying off the bills from last Christmas, right before Thanksgiving.

    A number of years ago, there was a strong “underground” Christian movement called the Conspiracy. It sought to disrupt the Christian buy-in of spending for Christmas or at least spending on self. There have been other attempts at doing the same limiting Christmas to a single family present, or following the (i.e., not in the Bible) of the gifts of the 3 (another traditional number, rather than in the Bible) wise men (i.e., ): gold (garb), frankincense (fun), and myrrh (mental). All of these seek to “limit” the excesses of cultural Christmas celebrations. However, “limiting” the excesses becomes a new rule, and rules aren’t supposed to be the point.

    We are to be transformed, not seeking after the desires of the flesh. For far too long, “the flesh” has been too tightly defined as lust or gluttony. In our days, “keeping up with the Jones’” is often the stronger desire of the flesh. People put themselves deeply into debt for instant gratification. Debt, of course, has become a chain around many, maybe you or your family.

    Black Friday is no spiritual holiday. It is a cultural event that celebrates and encourages excess and bad behavior. Now, this doesn’t mean don’t save , but more along the lines of don’t fall into the traps that the culture, envy, greed, and coveting. It wasn’t that long ago that unbridled spending was patriotic. However, as many costs (such as higher education and medical care) go higher and higher, people are having harder and harder times paying for things.

    As we “” our season of Thanksgiving (though it should be a way of , not a month a year), and enter Advent, let us that Christ should be sufficient and satisfy our desires.

    1) What do you do (or did you do) for Black Friday? Why?

    2) What do you think of attempts to restrain our spending with practices or challenges? Do they work?

    3) Why do you think excess has been such an issue with things like Black Friday or Christmas?

  • Season’s Traditions

    Mark 7:1–13, Galatians 1:13–17, 2 Thessalonians 3:3–15 (read online ⧉)

    We are rapidly coming (or for some already entered) into some of the heaviest time of in the calendar year. For many, it starts with October observations. For others, it starts with Thanksgiving. For others still, there is Christmas. The list of and non-Christian observations is pretty long. A “high-altitude list”: Yom Kippur, All Hallow’s Eve, Halloween, All Saints’ Day, All Souls’ Day, Day of the Dead, Reformation Day, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, sometimes Ramadan, and many others. Oh, then New Year’s.

    Sometimes observing one of these out of sequence (i.e., starting Christmas decorating and music on November 1st) creates a little bit of tension. This is actually a good thing. One of the problems that was confronting was how traditions had become disconnected from intent. Sometimes the tradition, such as washing 7 times, is a minor issue. Other times, such as when “dedicating” one’s wealth to the temple (corban) rather than taking care of one’s family, tradition becomes a problem.

    For many centuries, the “mainstream” has had a church year. The church year begins with the 1st Sunday of . Advent ends with Christmas. Christmas (the “season”) ends with (The visit of the Magi). Then we have some Ordinary (i.e., numbered weeks) time. Then , Holy Week, Good Friday, Easter, the Easter season, which ends in with Pentecost. Anyway, each of these is intended to provide some Christian and spiritual , which is why much of the church has maintained it. The more Evangelical molded church has begun adopting some of these “seasonal” periods. This is a good thing, for these are good traditions…as long as they are not disconnected from the why.

    Traditions do not have to be bad. In fact, we they are not. Yet, the tension of introducing, maintaining, and even abandoning traditions needs to always be there so that we don’t lose touch with the why.

    Paul notes that he was heavily invested in traditions. All of his traditions were an attempt to honor God, but God was often lost among the rules. Yet, that does not mean all the traditions were bad. In fact, many of the traditions (and rules) us guidance as to how to appropriately walk with God and others. Many of these traditions also teach us theology and about what God has revealed to us about God.

    As you begin your seasonal traditions (even the food choices for Thanksgiving), give some deeper thoughts as to the “whys” of your traditions. You may discover something far deeper than you expected.

    1) How do you keep the “whys” of your traditions alive?

    2) What are important aspects of traditions for and to you?

    3) Is it unreasonable to seek God in all our traditions?

  • Dressing the Part

    Matthew 6:25–34, Romans 13:11–14:1, Galatians 3:19–28 (read online)

    Have you ever put on clothes, whether someone else’s or at the store, and say, “that is not me?” There are a number of shows about clothes, and a lot of them are about what the clothes say about the person. The shows state a belief that the clothes say more about what the person thinks of themselves.

    If you wear really baggy clothes (skipping the supposed in fashion part), you could just want to be comfortable, or you are so uncomfortable with yourself that you use the clothes to hide. That’s silly, you might say. However, if you really think about it, what clothes we were do affect how we think about ourselves. You may not wear a tux or a ballgown often, but when you do, it affects you. This is part of the reason we do see so many struggles with clothes.

    One of the first things we judge a person we haven’t met before is their clothes. If you dress casually normally, and they’re dressed up, you may think they are too stiff or formal. If you normally dress up, you may think another person is too casual, and thus lazy or uncaring. These views often show up at , but they also show up in other social settings.

    “Dress the part,” is often the advice given to people applying for a new job, or seeking to up in an organization. If, for example, the president wears a suit, you wear a suit. There are, of course, exceptions when it comes to that as certain occupations require certain clothes. Even there, though, if you don’t take care of the clothes you’ll receive a different reaction.

    Jesus tells us not to worry about the clothes we wear. Yet, we do. In Jesus’ time, clothes are often a luxury. By and large, in the US, people can get fairly decent clothes for a relatively cheap price. However, obsessing about the latest fashion is probably not the most thing. On the other hand, lecturing for their expensive fashion is not our place either (the world does enough judging of its own there).

    While not included in today’s passages, there is a time when Jesus speaks about having food that others do not know about and being the living water. These words can help us reason with Jesus’ words, especially when we read ‘s words. While Jesus was concerned with people’s well-being on earth, His other concern was the to come. There the clothes and food we concern ourselves about today, will not even be a whisper of a thought.

    This leads us to Paul’s words. “Put on Jesus.” Is Jesus a coat or a robe that I just put on like clothes? This phrase often strikes people as odd. Unless you’re putting on an Edgar suit (see MIB), you don’t put on a person. If we’re honest with ourselves, putting on a Jesus suit seems pretentious, false, and, well…“not me”.

    Putting on the Jesus suit is awkward. It doesn’t feel like us. It isn’t. In religious/spiritual/psychological circles we talk about changing from the inside-out. In Christian-, we would say the transforms us from the inside-out. However, the Jesus suit puts that into question. It’s where borrowing from a different Christians tradition is helpful. In the Reform circles, there is an emphasis on imputed . In other words, we’re because God said so. They (and we) know that we still aren’t righteous. God is still working on us from the inside.

    Yet, when we became Christians, we were issued a Jesus suit.

    1) Assuming that your Jesus suit was white when given to you, what color do you think it is now?

    2) Think about a piece of white clothing that gets washed over and over (and especially with other colors of clothing). What color does it turn into? Do you think a Jesus suit would discolor (i.e., no longer be white) after lots of washing?

    3) How does a Jesus suit get washed?

    4) Why a Jesus suit, and not a costume?

  • The Mission Vocation

    Matthew 10:5–15, 1 Corinthians 15:1–8, Ephesians 3:8–14

    What is your ? What is your calling?

    In the world, these can be powerful questions. If we let ourselves get wrapped up in them, they can bring us down. However, if we don’t see, or choose not to see that we have a calling, then we have a different issue. There are two words that are almost used interchangeably: vocation and calling.

    Merriam-Webster defines them as:
    vocation: (1) a summons or strong inclination to a particular state or course of , especially a divine to the religious ; (2) the work in which a person is employed [occupation]
    calling: (1) a strong inner impulse toward a particular course of action especially when accompanied by conviction of divine influence; (2) the vocation or profession in which one customarily engages

    We can see that dividing them, by definition, is difficult. Part of it is, oddly, religious . Others will say that one receives (or discerns) a calling and then joins as a vocation.
    Perhaps (not to confuse the issue), we should think of the calling as God’s nudge in our life with certain parameters. Then vocation becomes the occupation by which we fulfill the calling. Defining vocation and calling this way allows us to recognize our giftings, while not (necessarily) defining how we use them.

    The 11 original Apostles were called. Some became religious/organization leaders (vocation), while others were…actually, we don’t know. The starting point of their vocation was to reach the descendants of Israel. They were not to go to the . It seemed, on the outset, that this was exclusionary.

    had a calling to teach and lead. His initial vocation was to harass the young . Then he had a transforming encounter with Christ, and his vocation was transformed. The call was the same.
    We are all called to be children of God. We are all called to be bearers of the light into the world of darkness. The vocation is ours to live the call out.

    1) We often confuse vocation with career. Why do you think that is?

    2) What do you think the difference is between career and vocation?

    3) Why is it important to separate call from vocation?

    4) Paul’s story shows that vocations can . Is it time for you to find or change your vocation?