Raging Waters

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Isaiah 43:1-7

But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in exchange for you. Because you are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you, I give people in return for you, nations in exchange for your life. Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you; I will say to the north, “Give them up,” and to the south, “Do not withhold; bring my sons from far away and my daughters from the end of the earth— everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”

Philippians 2:19-24

I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I may be cheered by news of you. I have no one like him who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. All of them are seeking their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. But Timothy’s worth you know, how like a son with a father he has served with me in the work of the gospel. I hope therefore to send him as soon as I see how things go with me; and I trust in the Lord that I will also come soon.

Life is overwhelming.  Sometimes it feels like waters are raging around you and just keeping your head above water is a challenge.  Bills that you didn’t expect, debts that you wish would go away, deadlines at work, caring for ailing family, stresses with friends, the dog is limping, and the freak snowstorm cancelled all flights.  It is in times like these, that we all utter exasperated questions of “Dear God,…”  We just need to remember that God is not assaulting us, but is always there to guide us through.  God also wants us to breathe and remember that God is God.  We don’t have to have control of everything.  We should work hard and do our best.  We should use our brains and try to solve our problems.  We should also consider that God is with us.  Sometimes, also, the waters are not really flooding and things are not quite as bad as they seem at the moment.  Even when they are, let us be level-headed like Paul and consider who God is calling into the situation to best use their gifts.  We are not alone.  No, we are never alone.

I agree with Sam

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Numbers 13:17-27

Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said to them, “Go up there into the Negeb, and go up into the hill country, and see what the land is like, and whether the people who live in it are strong or weak, whether they are few or many, and whether the land they live in is good or bad, and whether the towns that they live in are unwalled or fortified, and whether the land is rich or poor, and whether there are trees in it or not. Be bold, and bring some of the fruit of the land.” Now it was the season of the first ripe grapes.

So they went up and spied out the land from the wilderness of Zin to Rehob, near Lebo-hamath. They went up into the Negeb, and came to Hebron; and Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the Anakites, were there. (Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) And they came to the Wadi Eshcol, and cut down from there a branch with a single cluster of grapes, and they carried it on a pole between two of them. They also brought some pomegranates and figs. That place was called the Wadi Eshcol, because of the cluster that the Israelites cut down from there. At the end of forty days they returned from spying out the land.

And they came to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the Israelites in the wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh; they brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. And they told him, “We came to the land to which you sent us; it flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit.

Luke 13:18-21

He said therefore, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what should I compare it? It is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in the garden; it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.” And again he said, “To what should I compare the kingdom of God? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.”

Sometimes I feel like a glutton when I am hungry by ten in the morning after already eating breakfast earlier.  I can readily identify with the practices of the Hobbits in the Lord of the Rings series of books (and movies) by J.R.R. Tolkien.  Frodo Baggin’s friend and traveling companion Samwise Gamgee (“Sam”) is shocked when they will have to ration out food.  He remembers fondly the regular times of first breakfast, second breakfast, brunch, lunch, after lunch, etc.  Frodo cuts him off before he can describe in detail all the delicious traditions of multiple snacks.  When we travel, my family knows that I am the first one to usually ask when and where we are eating or snacking.  I have been told that eating every three hours in reasonably small portions is quite healthy and has even helped some to lose weight.  To that end, I am not sure, but we Americans do like our obsession with food.  We like the abundance of food so much that I wonder if we can identify with the wander families of Israelites hoping upon hope that God’s promises will finally come true.  Will God finally give them “a land flowing with milk and honey”?  They rejoice as they seem to find a “yes” to the regular questioning of hunger and gathering for bits of sustenance.

Are we so constantly full that we cannot think of a time that we were hungry?  Are we so surrounded by flowing sweetness that we can not understand what it means to find a place where we can understand what it means to life in safety and security?  Surely there is more to life than eating and knowing that there is enough around us for our next meal.  What does God have in mind for us in terms of abundance?  Do you have enough to share and help and give?  Do you have enough to help insure the safety and security of God’s children around you (both near and far)?

About 870 million people are estimated to have been

undernourished in the period 2010–12. This represents

12.5 percent of the global population, or one in eight

people. The vast majority of these – 852 million – live in

developing countries, where the prevalence of

undernourishment is now estimated at 14.9 percent of the

population [Executive Summary from FAO.org].

A Riddle, A Tattoo, and a Pile of Manure

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Ezekiel 17:1-10Fig_tree

 

The word of the Lord came to me: O mortal, propound a riddle, and speak an allegory to the house of Israel. Say:

Thus says the Lord God: A great eagle, with great wings and long pinions, rich in plumage of many colors, came to the Lebanon.

He took the top of the cedar, broke off its topmost shoot; He carried it to a land of trade, set it in a city of merchants.

Then he took a seed from the land, placed it in fertile soil; A plant by abundant waters, he set it like a willow twig.

 It sprouted and became a vine spreading out, but low; Its branches turned toward him, its roots remained where it stood.

So it became a vine; it brought forth branches, put forth foliage.

There was another great eagle, with great wings and much plumage.

And see! This vine stretched out its roots toward him; It shot out its branches toward him, so that he might water it.

From the bed where it was planted it was transplanted to good soil by abundant waters, so that it might produce branches and bear fruit and become a noble vine.

Say: Thus says the Lord God: Will it prosper? Will he not pull up its roots, cause its fruit to rot and wither, its fresh sprouting leaves to fade? No strong arm or mighty army will be needed to pull it from its roots. When it is transplanted, will it thrive? When the east wind strikes it, will it not utterly wither, wither on the bed where it grew?

Romans 2:12-16

All who have sinned apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but the doers of the law who will be justified. When Gentiles, who do not possess the law, do instinctively what the law requires, these, though not having the law, are a law to themselves. They show that what the law requires is written on their hearts, to which their own conscience also bears witness; and their conflicting thoughts will accuse or perhaps excuse them on the day when, according to my gospel, God, through Jesus Christ, will judge the secret thoughts of all.

It strikes me that God’s Holy Law is so perfect that it works beyond those of in the churches and synagogues under it.  Paul’s words here are powerful–God works upon even those who ignore the source of goodness.  The Law, being tattooed upon our hearts, fights its way into our hands.  We should wonder not about what makes unbelievers do good things.  It is not the church who holds the patent on good things, but God.  God makes the children respond to God’s Holy will and wishes when we remain silent.  Just as the fig tree is warned that it is taking up space, so we are warned that we must make good on our little side of the covenant.  God provides and gives so much on his side and we are urged to do so little as simply follow a calling and a Law that is already in us.  We are warned that if there was some way that we could be silenced, God’s back up plan is to make even the rocks cry out in our place.

In this time I hear so many, even myself, whining that this is a tough time to be a church.  “So many things have changed,” we complain.  I sometimes wonder if I am a dry branch on a dry fruitless fig tree.  Am I the target of Jesus’ parable from Sunday’s Gospel (Lk 13:1-9)?  This is the question each of us must ask.  Along with similar questions, like:  Am I just relying upon God’s grace and cheapening it by knowing its power and goodness but choosing to live my life however I want?  Do others see my good works and glorify the Father in Heaven?  Am I afraid of failure, so I just don’t try?

The excuses and rationalizing answers must become the manure that fertilizes our future activity.

Good Change is Good

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Sitting in Family Pew

Things change.  We would like things to stay the same, but they don’t.  They really can’t.  We might recall with fondness the days when gas was…well, a lot less than it is.  Or we might reminisce about the days when everything was closed on Sundays and people would visit.  Some changes are good and some we quickly identify as bad.   In reality, telling the difference between good change and bad change is an art form that requires divine wisdom, discernment, courage, and usually a lot of hindsight.  Often, if we do not have the luxury to time travel or wait for hindsight to kick in, we prefer to just stay where we are.

In a congregation that I served, there was a senior couple that worshiped every Sunday, and I mean EVERY Sunday.  They were actually there more than the pastor.  I am not exaggerating.  They would come in at the same time every Sunday and sit in the same spot in the same pew.  The would follow the liturgy in the same way every Sunday.  They would have troubles if something deviated from the printed bulletin and would not remain for any special fellowships or healing services.  Their clock ticked precise timing.   Don’t misunderstand me, I knew them to be kind and loving people.  Their schedule permitted a certain amount of chatting and fellowship before worship.  They were always there quite early, so I never saw them lose their seat.  I suppose though, that they would be the type to simply sit at close as possible to their usual seat.

Change is not easy for us creatures of habit.  We like predictability in the face of an ocean of changes.  Sometimes, though, life demands that we change and change for the better.  A new normal becomes our way of living.  It is not bad or good, it is just new.  Since God is in the business of making all things new.  I wonder if it would help if we would stop trying to cling to old things and cling to the newness of God.

Peter and the early followers discovered that there were a lot of new rules and new things were happening all the time.  Even Gentiles (non-Jews) were part of the new normal.  Who could prevent welcoming them into the community and continuing in what God had started?  No one could come up with a reason to go against the newness of the Holy Spirit.

44 While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word. 45The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles, 46for they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter said, 47‘Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?’ 48So he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they invited him to stay for several days.  Acts 10

Pray for those who lives are uncomfortable and requiring lots of changes.

Pray for those considering Baptism or newly Baptized, that they would continue to know the warmth and love of a new family of God.

The Creeper

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When my daughter was younger, she loved to watch Scooby Doo.  Her favorite episode was the one that she identified as, “The Creeper.”  He was a zombie-like creepy villain that was scaring lots of townsfolk until the meddling kids from the Mystery Machine showed up.  “I am the Creeeeper” I would say with my arms out in front of me and pretend to chase her like the character.  She would squeal and run away in a giggle, returning quickly as I popped the video in (Yes, back in the VHS days).  I always thought it was a little comical that the little girl that didn’t like scary things liked to be scared by the “Creeper.”  The reality was, he really wasn’t that scary.  She knew it was a mask.  That made his zombie-like moaning, “I am the Creeeper, the Creeeeeper,” just plain funny sounding.

In one of the verses in today’s readings, however, I was just plain creeped out!

Demons also came out of many, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Messiah. [Luke 4:41]

It makes my skin crawl to think of shouting zombie-like voices saying something intelligent.  It is funny when they moan their supposedly scary name.  It is downright creepy when they acknowledge fearfully what so many refuse to see or ignore.  They were trying to expose the plan of the Incarnation before it was time, in hopes of ruining God’s design for salvation.  Their disobedience was temporary.  A direct command from the Messiah was undebatable. To be honest, this scares me a good bit too.  Such power and authority over all aspects of the created Universe is more than my little heart or mind can handle.

Pray today for those who hands and minds are gifted with healing abilities and for those who promote obedience in our society.

Readings:

Jeremiah 36:27-32

Luke 4:38-44

Psalm 119:89-96