God is not against us....

Romans 8:31  What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? 32  He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? 33  Who will bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. 34  Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. 35  Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36  As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered." 37  No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38  For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39  nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

This passage is written against a backdrop of a Jewish Christ-following community that believed God rewarded righteous people with long life, wealth, and children. Conversely, God withdraws from the unrighteous, and lets hardship, suffering, poverty and even death become their punishment.  Paul writes to correct this:  he poses the question “Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?”  The answer is emphatic: nothing that has traditionally been called God’s punishment “will be able to separate us from the love of God”.

When tough times come along, they are not a sign of God’s displeasure. Instead God accompanies us through every moment of the hardships of life. And because of the Divine presence “in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Romans 8:37).

 

 

Ordinary 18 / Pentecost +11

40 God’s Abundant Provision
The Scripture passage for the day is drawn from Reuben Job and Norman Shawchuck, A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and other Servants, (Nashville, The Upper Room 1983), 249.
This reflection is from my own devotional exercises for the day.

 

God's Abundant Provision

Exodus 16:1  The whole congregation of the Israelites set out from Elim; and Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt. 2  The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. 3  The Israelites said to them, "If only we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger." 4  Then the LORD said to Moses, "I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day. In that way I will test them, whether they will follow my instruction or not. 5  On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather on other days." 6  So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, "In the evening you shall know that it was the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt, 7  and in the morning you shall see the glory of the LORD, because he has heard your complaining against the LORD. For what are we, that you complain against us?" 8  And Moses said, "When the LORD gives you meat to eat in the evening and your fill of bread in the morning, because the LORD has heard the complaining that you utter against him--what are we? Your complaining is not against us but against the LORD." 9  Then Moses said to Aaron, "Say to the whole congregation of the Israelites, 'Draw near to the LORD, for he has heard your complaining.'" 10  And as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the Israelites, they looked toward the wilderness, and the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud. 11  The LORD spoke to Moses and said, 12  "I have heard the complaining of the Israelites; say to them, 'At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread; then you shall know that I am the LORD your God.'" 13  In the evening quails came up and covered the camp; and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. 14  When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground. 15  When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, "It is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat. 16  This is what the LORD has commanded: 'Gather as much of it as each of you needs, an omer to a person according to the number of persons, all providing for those in their own tents.'" 17  The Israelites did so, some gathering more, some less. 18  But when they measured it with an omer, those who gathered much had nothing over, and those who gathered little had no shortage; they gathered as much as each of them needed. 19  And Moses said to them, "Let no one leave any of it over until morning." 20  But they did not listen to Moses; some left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and became foul. And Moses was angry with them. 21  Morning by morning they gathered it, as much as each needed; but when the sun grew hot, it melted.

 

This story of God’s gracious provision has been told, and re-told, through many generations of people of faith. Those who follow the God of Abraham, of Moses, and of Jesus, return to this story to find courage in times of difficulty and struggle. The people complained about being rescued from slavery (remarkably short memories); they complained about Moses’ leadership; and they complained that they did not understand the food given them (vs 15).  Yet despite all this, God faithfully cared for them and continued to love them!

This story can become a source of strength for our own lives: Let us not cling so fearfully to life. Instead let us learn from a history of God’s abundant provision, and trust in the Divine provision for our future.

 

“Great is Thy faithfulness!” “Great is Thy faithfulness!“
  Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided—
    “Great is Thy faithfulness,” Lord, unto me
Thomas Obediah Chisholm (1866-1960)

 

 

Ordinary 18 / Pentecost +11

40 God’s Abundant Provision
The Scripture passage for the day is drawn from Reuben Job and Norman Shawchuck, A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and other Servants, (Nashville, The Upper Room 1983), 249.
This reflection is from my own devotional exercises for the day.

 

A Treasured Posession

Deuteronomy 7:6-14:  For you are a people holy to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on earth to be his people, his treasured possession. 7  It was not because you were more numerous than any other people that the LORD set his heart on you and chose you--for you were the fewest of all peoples. 8  It was because the LORD loved you and kept the oath that he swore to your ancestors, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9  Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who maintains covenant loyalty with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, 10  and who repays in their own person those who reject him. He does not delay but repays in their own person those who reject him. 11  Therefore, observe diligently the commandment--the statutes and the ordinances--that I am commanding you today. 12  If you heed these ordinances, by diligently observing them, the LORD your God will maintain with you the covenant loyalty that he swore to your ancestors; 13  he will love you, bless you, and multiply you; he will bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, your grain and your wine and your oil, the increase of your cattle and the issue of your flock, in the land that he swore to your ancestors to give you. 14  You shall be the most blessed of peoples, with neither sterility nor barrenness among you or your livestock.

 

The people are called a “treasured possession” of God. This is deeply affirming for people who were “the fewest of all the people” and redeemed “from the house of slavery”.  Sadly, what was an act of Divine magnanimous compassion in the Exodus, had become a badge of exclusive privilege by the time of Jesus.

Let those of us who have had an experience of Divine love be reminded that the love of God is given to share with other people, and not to cling to as a sign of spiritual superiority.  

 

Ordinary 18 / Pentecost +11

40 God’s Abundant Provision
The Scripture passage for the day is drawn from Reuben Job and Norman Shawchuck, A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and other Servants, (Nashville, The Upper Room 1983), 249.
This reflection is from my own devotional exercises for the day.

 

Holding Hope

Hebrews 6:13  When God made a promise to Abraham, because he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, 14  saying, "I will surely bless you and multiply you." 15  And thus Abraham, having patiently endured, obtained the promise. 16  Human beings, of course, swear by someone greater than themselves, and an oath given as confirmation puts an end to all dispute. 17  In the same way, when God desired to show even more clearly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it by an oath, 18  so that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible that God would prove false, we who have taken refuge might be strongly encouraged to seize the hope set before us. 19  We have this hope, a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters the inner shrine behind the curtain, 20  where Jesus, a forerunner on our behalf, has entered, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

The writer of this letter invites his readers to “seize the hope” set before them. This hope - “a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul”  - is rooted in Jesus. The writer uses the image of Jesus who leads his followers “behind the curtain” into the presence of God.  This is the only hope that can survive history, and culture and religious expression.

As you approach Sunday – give thanks to the God of Abraham for the gift of life. Then hold to the ways of Jesus as the anchor for the future.

 

 

Ordinary 17 / Pentecost +10

39 God, Our Source of Hope
The Scripture passage for the day is drawn from Reuben Job and Norman Shawchuck, A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and other Servants, (Nashville, The Upper Room 1983), 243.
This reflection is from my own devotional exercises for the day.

 

Memory Text.

1Co 1:9  God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

I grew up learning texts from the Bible. We were taught them at Sunday School, at Church youth camps and from slips of paper in boxes that contained daily texts. At the time this was an adventure in memorization, and useful for winning Bible quiz competitions.

It was only much later that I have discovered another dimension to learning texts. This has nothing to do with ‘being clever’, or knowing more than other people. Instead, this connects me to the many, many people of faith who have gone before me. Learning texts introduces me to the lives of those who wrote the Bible; texts remind me of those who have encountered these same words through thousands of years; texts move me into a larger faith community; and texts allow me to borrow courage from the “great cloud of witnesses” who have used them, and continue to use them.

If you have not done so before: begin by memorizing the above text.      

 

Ordinary 17 / Pentecost +10

39 God, Our Source of Hope
The Scripture passage for the day is drawn from Reuben Job and Norman Shawchuck, A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and other Servants, (Nashville, The Upper Room 1983), 243.
This reflection is from my own devotional exercises for the day.

 

Renewing Creation

Revelation 21:1  Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2  And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3  And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; 4  he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away." 5  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." 6  Then he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life. 7  Those who conquer will inherit these things, and I will be their God and they will be my children. 8  But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the polluted, the murderers, the fornicators, the sorcerers, the idolaters, and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death."

 

It is in our bones to wish for a world where things are better...The words used by Revelations are “A New heaven and a New earth”. The writer of the book of Revelation agrees: “Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more”

So here is my question: “Why does God put us through all this?” Why not just create us in the new heaven and the new earth... why the hardship / the sadness / the suffering / the death.... and then the new heaven and earth?

 
The short answer is that I really do not know....and I find it frustrating. The fact is that life is difficult, and it is difficult for everyone: rich and poor alike. So let me offer an opinion, and an invitation:  

Here is My Opinion:

I am convinced that life here on earth is part of God’s purpose. This is the preparation for eternal life with God. When we die we will not sit on clouds playing harps – we have work to do in the next life. And this life prepares us for it. This life is the “university for eternity”.  We have lessons to learn – and most of them are best learned in times of difficulty and struggle.

The Invitation:

To use every moment of life to the full:
-      Do not waste opportunities to learn as much as possible
-      Do not waste opportunities to put back into life..
Rev 21:5  And the one who was seated on the throne said, "See, I am making all things new."

This is not a future promise – this is the present reality: God’s renewal has already begun. And we can either miss the opportunity or be part of it. The essence of the invitation is to open our eyes and discover the new creation of God – within us, and in the relationships around us.

Rev 21:6  Then he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.

Creation is not over until God says so.

 

 

Ordinary 17 / Pentecost +10

39 God, Our Source of Hope
The Scripture passage for the day is drawn from Reuben Job and Norman Shawchuck, A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and other Servants, (Nashville, The Upper Room 1983), 243.
This reflection is from my own devotional exercises for the day.

 

Provoke one another…

Hebrews 10:19  Therefore, my friends, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, 20  by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain (that is, through his flesh), 21  and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22  let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23  Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. 24  And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, 25  not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Being “provocative” carries many connotations. If a woman is “provocative”, it suggests that she is leading someone into thoughts and actions that are less than appropriate. If someone is accused of “provoking” a situation, it meant that person is stirring dissent or is the cause of difficulties.  So it is refreshing to hear the writer of Hebrews using this word in a positive way: the invitation is to “provoke one another to love and good deeds”.  This is about encouraging each other in living good lives. Instead of provoking anger, rage, dissent or unhappiness – provoke people into actions of love.

The question for today asks if we can, like those who read the letter to the Hebrews, push each other into ‘love and good deeds’?

 

Ordinary 17 / Pentecost +10

39 God, Our Source of Hope
The Scripture passage for the day is drawn from Reuben Job and Norman Shawchuck, A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and other Servants, (Nashville, The Upper Room 1983), 243.
This reflection is from my own devotional exercises for the day.

 

Summoned to His Service

Isaiah 41:1  Listen to me in silence, O coastlands; let the peoples renew their strength; let them approach, then let them speak; let us together draw near for judgment. 2 Who has roused a victor from the east, summoned him to his service? He delivers up nations to him, and tramples kings under foot; he makes them like dust with his sword, like driven stubble with his bow. 3  He pursues them and passes on safely, scarcely touching the path with his feet. 4  Who has performed and done this, calling the generations from the beginning? I, the LORD, am first, and will be with the last. 5  The coastlands have seen and are afraid, the ends of the earth tremble; they have drawn near and come.6  Each one helps the other, saying to one another, "Take courage!" 7  The artisan encourages the goldsmith, and the one who smooths with the hammer encourages the one who strikes the anvil, saying of the soldering, "It is good"; and they fasten it with nails so that it cannot be moved. 8  But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend; 9  you whom I took from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, "You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off"; 10  do not fear, for I am with you, do not be afraid, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.

Isaiah’s words come at a time when the Persian King Cyrus is growing in political power. Shortly after 550 b.c., Cyrus was able to unify the Medes and the Persians and to defeat the powerful kingdom of Lydia in Asia Minor. Then in 539 he turned south to conquer Babylon. The Israelites are afraid, because “He delivers up nations to him, and tramples kings under foot; he makes them like dust with his sword, like driven stubble with his bow “. Some make plans to create a protective magical figure: “The artisan encourages the goldsmith, and the one who smooths with the hammer encourages the one who strikes the anvil, saying of the soldering, "It is good"; and they fasten it with nails so that it cannot be moved”.

In the light of this Isaiah asks the rhetorical question: Who has roused a victor from the east, summoned him to his service?”  Isaiah says that Cyrus’s ascendency is no accident “Who has performed and done this, calling the generations from the beginning? I, the LORD, am first, and will be with the last.”  God is behind all this – and will continue to be in world events until “the last”. We discover these words again in a much later period, when the writer of Revelation describes Jesus as the “first and the last” (Revelation 1:17 and 22:13).  

The Creator of our world does not stand outside of history watching humanity drive ourselves to destruction. Instead, God is active within history, using those people who would follow Godly ways. The choice we face is quite simple: either we complain about everything that is wrong – or we become part of God’s work of bringing light into the darkness. I choose to be part of the solution.

Prayer for today

Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Amen.

Ordinary 17 / Pentecost +10

39 God, Our Source of Hope

The Scripture passage for the day is drawn from Reuben Job and Norman Shawchuck, A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and other Servants, (Nashville, The Upper Room 1983), 243.
This reflection is from my own devotional exercises for the day.

Psalm 44

 

To the leader. Of the Korahites. A Maskil.

 

1 We have heard with our ears, O God, our ancestors have told us,

what deeds you performed in their days, in the days of old:

 

2  you with your own hand drove out the nations,

but them you planted; you afflicted the peoples, but them you set free;

 

3  for not by their own sword did they win the land, nor did their own arm give them victory;

but your right hand, and your arm, and the light of your countenance, for you delighted in them.

 

4  You are my King and my God;

you command victories for Jacob.

 

5  Through you we push down our foes;

through your name we tread down our assailants.

 

6  For not in my bow do I trust,

nor can my sword save me.

 

7  But you have saved us from our foes,

and have put to confusion those who hate us.

 

8  In God we have boasted continually,

and we will give thanks to your name forever. [Selah]

 

Ordinary 17 / Pentecost +10

39 God, Our Source of Hope
The Scripture passage for the day is drawn from Reuben Job and Norman Shawchuck, A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and other Servants, (Nashville, The Upper Room 1983), 243.
This reflection is from my own devotional exercises for the day.

 

Patience

 

James 5:7  Be patient, therefore, beloved, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. 8  You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. 9  Beloved, do not grumble against one another, so that you may not be judged. See, the Judge is standing at the doors! 10  As an example of suffering and patience, beloved, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11  Indeed we call blessed those who showed endurance. You have heard of the endurance of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

 

 

 

Ordinary 16 / Pentecost +9

38 Patience
The Scripture passage for the day is drawn from Reuben Job and Norman Shawchuck, A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and other Servants, (Nashville, The Upper Room 1983), 237.
This reflection is from my own devotional exercises for the day.

Patient Endurance

Luke 8:11  "Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12  The ones on the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. 13  The ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe only for a while and in a time of testing fall away. 14  As for what fell among the thorns, these are the ones who hear; but as they go on their way, they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. 15  But as for that in the good soil, these are the ones who, when they hear the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patient endurance.

This passage ends with words that are unfamiliar to our post-modern culture: “patient endurance”. Many of us experience an impatient world that expects things to be done immediately, traffic to clear out of the way NOW, and people to instantly change their behaviour. There is no room for the person who steadily chips away at the paint of life – we want the blowtorch that instantly strips off anything we do not like.

In the place of this relentless pursuit of instant gratification, Jesus suggests that our lives will bear good fruit when we learn the practice of “patient endurance”. This is the recognition that most positive change in human life is incremental, and as a result of daily application. The invitation for today is to choose one aspect of your life that you want to improve, and to choose to address it every day until it become a new habit.

 

An unfortunate thing about this world is that the good habits are much easier to give up than the bad ones.
W. Somerset Maugham

 

Ordinary 16 / Pentecost +9

38 Patience
The Scripture passage for the day is drawn from Reuben Job and Norman Shawchuck, A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and other Servants, (Nashville, The Upper Room 1983), 237.
This reflection is from my own devotional exercises for the day.

 

Get Dressed

Colossians 3:12  As God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. 13  Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14  Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15  And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. 16  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. 17  And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

 The governing verb in this passage is Ἐνδύσασθε – “put on” as in “get dressed”. This is an invitation to be clothed in the qualities of God’s chosen people. The instruction is to wear the garments of “compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience... forgiveness... love ... peace”.

Today is being celebrated as “Mandela day”. It is the birthday of Nelson Mandela , a great South African leader who “clothed” himself with the personal moral qualities of Grace necessary to lead our nation. Today we are challenged to do the same. May God grant us all the grace to be clothed with the qualities that enrich our life together.

Ordinary 16 / Pentecost +9

38 Patience
The Scripture passage for the day is drawn from Reuben Job and Norman Shawchuck, A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and other Servants, (Nashville, The Upper Room 1983), 237.
This reflection is from my own devotional exercises for the day.

An Unpopular Preacher

Micah 7:1  Woe is me! For I have become like one who, after the summer fruit has been gathered, after the vintage has been gleaned, finds no cluster to eat; there is no first-ripe fig for which I hunger. 2  The faithful have disappeared from the land, and there is no one left who is upright; they all lie in wait for blood, and they hunt each other with nets. 3  Their hands are skilled to do evil; the official and the judge ask for a bribe, and the powerful dictate what they desire; thus they pervert justice. 4  The best of them is like a brier, the most upright of them a thorn hedge. The day of their sentinels, of their punishment, has come; now their confusion is at hand. 5  Put no trust in a friend, have no confidence in a loved one; guard the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your embrace; 6  for the son treats the father with contempt, the daughter rises up against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; your enemies are members of your own household. 7  But as for me, I will look to the LORD, I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me. 8  Do not rejoice over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD will be a light to me. 9  I must bear the indignation of the LORD, because I have sinned against him, until he takes my side and executes judgment for me. He will bring me out to the light; I shall see his vindication. 10  Then my enemy will see, and shame will cover her who said to me, "Where is the LORD your God?" My eyes will see her downfall; now she will be trodden down like the mire of the streets. 11  A day for the building of your walls! In that day the boundary shall be far extended. 12  In that day they will come to you from Assyria to Egypt, and from Egypt to the River, from sea to sea and from mountain to mountain. 13  But the earth will be desolate because of its inhabitants, for the fruit of their doings. 14  Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock that belongs to you, which lives alone in a forest in the midst of a garden land; let them feed in Bashan and Gilead as in the days of old. 15  As in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt, show us marvelous things. 16  The nations shall see and be ashamed of all their might; they shall lay their hands on their mouths; their ears shall be deaf; 17  they shall lick dust like a snake, like the crawling things of the earth; they shall come trembling out of their fortresses; they shall turn in dread to the LORD our God, and they shall stand in fear of you. 18  Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of your possession? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in showing clemency. 19  He will again have compassion upon us; he will tread our iniquities under foot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. 20  You will show faithfulness to Jacob and unswerving loyalty to Abraham, as you have sworn to our ancestors from the days of old.

Micah lived during the time when Tiglath-pileser forced all small kingdoms, including Israel under Menahem to pay tribute (2 Kings 15:19) and Judah under “Azariah” (Uzziah). His contemporaries were Isaiah, Amos and Hosea. Micah, like Amos, travelled to Jerusalem as a ‘country’ prophet to warn the descendants of Abraham, Issac and Jacob of impending judgment because of their disloyalty to their covenant with God.

This was not a popular message, and he was not always well received by the people. Micah 7vs6 finds an echo in Matthew 10:35-36: “For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;  and one's foes will be members of one's own household.” Micah models one who is willing to stand firm for the truth – even when it is unpopular truth.

This is the tradition of faithful Christ-following preachers. Some years ago Arch Bishop emeritus Desmond Tutu was publically vilified by those politicians who had formerly hailed him as their pastor. His crime was that he had dared to speak an unpopular truth. This is the tradition we hold to. In my Methodist tradition I find the exhortation to speak the truth “both in season and out of season”.  

May God bless us with a faithful commitment to the truth.

 

 

 

Ordinary 16 / Pentecost +9

38 Patience
The Scripture passage for the day is drawn from Reuben Job and Norman Shawchuck, A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and other Servants, (Nashville, The Upper Room 1983), 237.
This reflection is from my own devotional exercises for the day.

 

 

 

Be Alert

Luke 12:35  "Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; 36  be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. 37  Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them. 38  If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves. 39  "But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. 40  You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour."

Luke tells us that Jesus urges his followers to “be dressed for action ... be like those who are waiting ... be alert ... be ready”.  This is the language of action; the language of one who expects a response; the language of command and obedience. Those who follow Jesus are not passive observers. They are obedient servants who stand ready to serve God whenever and wherever God commands us.

Our faith is not an academic concept, or a religious interest. Our faith is lived each day in response to a Divine call. Our task is to be ready for the call.

  

 

Ordinary 16 / Pentecost +9

38 Patience
The Scripture passage for the day is drawn from Reuben Job and Norman Shawchuck, A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and other Servants, (Nashville, The Upper Room 1983), 237.
This reflection is from my own devotional exercises for the day.

 

Psalm 25

Of David.

 

Not only are the Psalms the hymn book of the people of the Bible – but they have been the prayers of Christian people for the past two thousand years. Men and women have recited the Psalms daily – sometimes up to five times a day – as a prayer discipline. This is not a Bible Study, with critical analysis of the text and context. Instead, it is corporate prayer that connects the individual with all others who pray., This is prayer beyond critical analysis, or rational thought, or cognitive dexterity. Instead, this is a moment when the individual is lost in the “great cloud of witnesses” that brings praise and worship to God.   

Suggestion: do not read today’s reading alone – find a partner and read this responsively.

 

1 To you, O LORD,

I lift up my soul.

 

2  O my God, in you I trust; do not let me be put to shame;

do not let my enemies exult over me.

 

3  Do not let those who wait for you be put to shame;

let them be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.

 

4  Make me to know your ways, O LORD;

teach me your paths.

 

5  Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation;

for you I wait all day long.

 

6  Be mindful of your mercy, O LORD, and of your steadfast love,

for they have been from of old.

 

7  Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions;

according to your steadfast love remember me, for your goodness' sake, O LORD!

 

8  Good and upright is the LORD;

therefore he instructs sinners in the way.

 

9  He leads the humble in what is right,

and teaches the humble his way.

 

10  All the paths of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness,

for those who keep his covenant and his decrees.

 

11  For your name's sake, O LORD,

pardon my guilt, for it is great.

 

12  Who are they that fear the LORD?

He will teach them the way that they should choose.

 

13  They will abide in prosperity,

and their children shall possess the land.

 

14  The friendship of the LORD is for those who fear him,

 and he makes his covenant known to them.

 

15  My eyes are ever toward the LORD,

for he will pluck my feet out of the net.

 

16  Turn to me and be gracious to me,

for I am lonely and afflicted.

 

17  Relieve the troubles of my heart,

and bring me out of my distress.

 

18  Consider my affliction and my trouble,

and forgive all my sins.

 

19  Consider how many are my foes,

and with what violent hatred they hate me.

 

20  O guard my life, and deliver me;

do not let me be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.

 

21  May integrity and uprightness preserve me,

for I wait for you.

 

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son,

and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.

Amen

 

 

 

 

 

Ordinary 16 / Pentecost +9

38 Patience
The Scripture passage for the day is drawn from Reuben Job and Norman Shawchuck, A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and other Servants, (Nashville, The Upper Room 1983), 237.
This reflection is from my own devotional exercises for the day.