Lectionary for 8/31/09

Today's readings are 1 Kings 16.29-17.24 and 2 Corinthians 9.1-15.

We reap what we sow.  Paul reminds us of this in 2 Corinthians 9.6.  What is the Christian's attitude toward giving?  It's clear that we are not expected to be able to give at all times with no warning.  Paul sends a message about some needs in advance of messengers who will collect an offering.  It's good and appropriate to plan our giving in advance, being sensitive to needs we hear about.  Yet as God has blessed us, we are to give, cheerfully and abundantly.  This is the picture of God who has given us all things abundantly in Christ.  As we pray that God's kingdom will come on earth, that his will may be done, that he will give us our daily bread, we also see that we we are part of Christ's kingdom on earth, part of the people who do his will, part of his provision for daily bread.

Lectionary for 8/30/09

Today's readings are 1 kings 12.20-13.5, 13.33-34, and 2 Corinthians 8.1-24.

What is it about Jeroboam that makes us want to criticize him?  He stood up for the rights of Israelites in the face of the despotic king Rehoboam.  He set up opportunities for the people of Israel to worship.  What did he do wrong, that caused Israel to sin?

Often we become fixated on the golden calves.  So Jeroboam inspired idolatry.  Is that all he did?  Let's keep looking.  Maybe some of what Jeroboam does fits problems we have in our modern Christian organizations.

First, Jeroboam was concerned that the people would leave their loyalty to him and turn it to Rehoboam if they followed the patterns of worship which God had ordained, which their parents and grandparents had followed, in going to Jerusalem to make sacrifice.  Out of a concern that he would lose his popularity, Jeroboam set up an alternative system of worship.  How often have we heard of people who don't want to "do church" in an old-fashioned way, that they want to hold people's interest in their particular location and group?  They set up patterns of worship which are self-consciously different from those which people have experienced throughout history, just like Jeroboam.

Second, Jeroboam made the golden calves.  He wanted to make some symbol of prosperity and provision which the people would understand.  Do we attempt to make worship more comprehensible, approachable, and "relevant" rather than teaching our people what God has ordained?

Third, Jeroboam selected new places to worship.  In placing the temple at Jerusalem God was ordaining a particular place and manner of worship.  Jeroboam had no right to set up an alternative.  God ordains worship according to his own patterns.  He is specially present for his people when they worship according to the pattern he has established.  This change of venue was tantamount to a change of God's appointed manner of worship.  It's like someone today deciding that we would use the Koran for our readings, baptize people in bubbles, and drink coffee and eat cookies as communion.  That's setting something up that God has not appointed.  It denies what our Lord has given us.

Fourth, Jeroboam appointed priests from people who were not authorized to be priests.  God gave the Aaronic priesthood for a specific prophetic purpose. Again, Jeroboam was acting in his own interest and was putting aside God's command to favor his own.  This is similar to the practice in the modern church of having women serve as elders.  God has appointed men to be elders.  No explanation necessary.  It's what God appointed.  We don't have permission to change God's commands.

Fifth, Jeroboam appointed new feasts and times for sacrifices.  Again, God appointed the feasts and times he desired.  It all fits into a prophetic framework.  What Jeroboam did does not fit into that pattern.

May we not be like Jeroboam.  May we ever follow what God has appointed.

Lectionary for 8/29/09

Today's readings are 1 Kings 11.42-12.19 and 2 Corinthians 7.1-16.

What is the result of this overbearing government that Rehoboam establishes over Israel?  By his attempts to subdue the people by oppression, threats, and violence he in fact loses the people.  They fragment and leave him with only a small part of the kingdom which was left to him originally.  God's declaration that having a king would be a bad thing for Israel is proven to be true.  Within four generations the nation has splintered.

What can we take from this?  On the surface we may see this passage in 1 Kings as instructive in the art of government.  But more importantly we see it as a stark reminder that we need to remember and obey what God has commanded.  He is, after all, the one who is always right.  If he says we should not have a king, we should not have a king.  Likewise in the ways he tells us to live, we are to live and receive his promised blessing and reward.

Even when it goes against our intuition, we who are called by God's name need to trust what he has said.

Lectionary for 8/28/09

Today's readings are 1 Kings 11.1-26 and 2 Corinthians 6.1-18.

In 2 Corinthians 6 Paul declares a litany of the endurance of the apostles.  See the trials they go through?  And Paul asserts that these trials are for the sake of those who believe.

We see willful disregard of Christians, among others, today.  It seems to be very difficult to get a hearing based on the facts.  Instead,, people like to take the worst representatives of Christian thought, make a caricature, and point to the whole of Christianity as irrelevant, stupid, possibly even dangerous.  What is a biblical response when we see this?  It is to rejoice in Christ, continue trying to represent Christ accurately, and to reach out to those who may believe.  We fight back, but with the weapons of the Spirit, which in fact don't make sense to the world around us.  We realize that the battle is spiritual, not earthly.

Lord, may we trust you, follow you, and nurture others around us with your love and mercy.

Lectionary for 8/27/09

Today's readings are 1 Kings 9.1-9; 10.1-13, and 2 Corinthians 5.1-21.

Paul says something intriguing in 2 Corinthians 5.4.  He says that our desire is not for death to "unclothe" us but that we may "be further clothed."  In our confessions we confess that we are looking forward to a bodily resurrection.  We confess Jesus' bodily resurrection.  We consider the resurrection of Christ absolutely indispensable in the Christian faith.  But why is this?  It's because we are looking forward to a time when the death and sin in us is dead and when we as individuals will be partakers of the resurrection of Christ.  We don't look to death as the time to get rid of physicality.  We look to death as the time to put on the glorified physicality of the bodily resurrection.

Sadly, we often think like the pagans, who want to escape physicality through death.  Let us rather take a Christian point of view and look forward to attaining true physicality, the physicality of the original creation, body and spirit working in true harmony, which God created in Eden.

Lectionary for 8/26/09

Today's readings are 1 kings 8.22-30, 46-63 and 2 Corinthians 4.1-18.

In verse 1 of 2 Corinthians 4 Paul says that believers don't lose heart.  Do we face affliction?  Certainly.  Is there persecution?  In this day as there was in Paul's day, yes, believers are persecuted for their faith.  Is there temptation to deny God's goodness?  Certainly.  Is there temptation to lose heart in the face of the evil we see around us?  Yes.  We are tempted every day.  We are tempted to look to our own provision, our own plan, our own idea of justice and mercy.  We are tempted daily to deny God and to give up the hope we have in eternity.  But we do not lose heart.  

What is God's provision today?  He has given us all we need for every situation we will find ourselves in.  He gives us grace for today's challenges.  He provides for all of our needs.  What more do we need?  Not a thing.  We do not lose heart.  We do not give up hope.

Lectionary for 8/25/09

Today's readings (sorry so late) are 1 Kings 7.51-8.21 and 2 Corinthians 3.1-18.

One of the big picture concepts in today's reading is the idea of Jerusalem as the location of God's presence.  It seems very odd to most of us to talk about God's presence being at the temple or in Jerusalem.  What do we make of this?  The Bible, both Old and New Testament, is very clear that God is omnipresent.  I recently read an article that indicated Luther's understanding of the issue is that when the Bible refers to a place of God's presence, it is referring to that place or condition which God has specifically ordained for worship.  In today's readings, that is Jerusalem.  In the New Testament we see that it is any place where Word and Sacraments are rightly administered.  So when we consider God's presence, yes, God is with me sitting on my porch or driving my car.  But his presence is somehow specially present when I am assembled with other believers in the context of a divine worship service.

Kick the idea around a little.  Does it fit?

Lectionary for 8/24/09

Today's readings are 1 kings 5.1-18 and 2 Corinthians 1.23-2.17.

Once again, God's promises are coming true.  Remember when the people of Israel wanted a king?  Samuel promised higher taxes, kings who made alliances with other people to the detriment of their own people, conscription of labor, and royalty living in opulent luxury.  Now we see it.  Solomon is even drafting the people in droves to force them into his own service.  Look at the proliferation of bureaucracy!  Leaders of leaders who then lead other people!

May the Lord deliver us from the kind of madness that goes against God's stated will.  May we ever heed his warning and fulfill his desire.

Lectionary for 8/23/09

Today's readings are 1 Kings 3.1-15 and 2 Corinthians 1.1-22.

Counseling situations, therapy groups are full of this kind of talk.  "You can't give me any comfort because you haven't experienced what I have experienced."  "You can't possibly understand."  Paul's response to this, based on 2 Corinthians 1.4-6 is, "Ridiculous!"  Has our Lord brought comfort to me in forgiveness of sins, in granting eternal life?  Has our Lord proclaimed deliverance from death?  Has he removed the burden of guilt for all our sin?  Talk about comfort!   And what comfort can I bring to someone who is dealing with a different set of sins than the sins I tend to deal with?  I can bring the same comfort.  We are able to comfort those in any afflictions.

It's time that we stopped limiting the work of Christ in our lives to our specific sinful deeds.  Time to look to the Lord our Redeemer who has delivered us from the curse of sin.  Are we dealing with adversity?  So did our Lord.  Are we assaulted by the consequences of our sin?  Our Lord has also borne the consequences of our sin.  Are we misunderstood?  So was our Lord, and he remains misunderstood to this very day.  The bottom line is that we have all failed to love and trust God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.  We stand condemned, regardless of the other things we may do, both socially acceptable and unacceptable.  We all stand equally condemned.  Christ died for all our sins equally.  Christ redeems us all from the curse of sin as we believe he has paid the penalty for sin.  There is comfort indeed.

Lectionary for 8/22/09

Today's readings are 1 Kings 2.1-27 and 1 Corinthians 13.1-13.

We read about the supremacy of love in 1 Corinthians 13.  All around us in today's society we see the idea of love being the thing that justifies, that makes everything all right.  We can have deep differences but if we just love each other it will be fine.  We can disagree but if we love each other we'll put our disagreements down and  decide the other person is right.  All you need is love, after all.

This is decidedly not so!  Love is the great gift of God, to be used for building his kingdom and serving our neighbors.  But it is not that which justifies, at least not the love we have.  God's love justifies us by compelling him to provide salvation for us.  As God's love has chosen and justified us we can also love.  But we can't justify ourselves or anyone else.  We can only act in response to the love our Lord has given us.

Beloved, let us love one another - with the love that God has given us in Christ.

Lectionary for 8/21/09

Today's readings are 1 Kings 1.1-4, 15-35 and 1 Corinthians 12.14-31.

In today's reading, as in today's society, we see different individuals who have different roles given them by God.  Each one is an important part of the whole picture.  We need one another, and we need each other to function in the role God has given.  What kind of problems arise in Israel when there are two kings?  What kind of problems arise in our families when there are two heads of the household?  What happens when both government and family decide they are responsible to raise children as they see fit?  What happens, in short, when we have role confusion?  It creates societal upheaval.  It takes structures which are ordained of God and makes what God has ordered into a disorderly humble-jumble.

Each member of the body is important.  But they do not all have the same function.  Let us seek out the role our Lord has given us.  That is an important vocation.  There's no need to seek someone else's vocation.  The one the Lord has provided is adequate.  It's just right, in fact.

Lectionary for 8/20/09

Today's readings are 2 Samuel 12.1-25 and 1 Corinthians 12.1-13.

Nathan's confrontation of David reminds us of the way the Lord confronts all of us with our sin.  Our Lord has come to us in the guise of people who proclaim the Scripture.  He has come to us in this book the Bible.  He has come to us even by reminding us of his revealed will when we observe people who are not even aware we are observing them.  The Lord brings sin to our attention.  Yet he does not bring that sin to us in order that he can cast us out and destroy us.  We are crushed by the weight of sin, yet we see the forgiveness of God in Christ.  David confesses that he is a sinner and God uses Nathan to proclaim forgiveness.  Is there a consequence of sin?  Yes, but God does not define us by the consequence.  He defines us by his forgiveness and restoration.

See today how David grieves over his sin and its consequences.  But see also how he rises, washes himself, dresses, and goes to worship God.  He continues with his life.   He will always remember his sin.  Likewise, he will always remember that he has repented and been forgiven.

May we ever look to the forgiveness in Christ when we see our sin.

Lectionary for 8/19/09

Today's readings are 2 Samuel 11.1-27 and 1 Corinthians 11.17-34.

What is communion all about?  I've found it interesting to do considerable reading and prayerful thought and discussion about the topic in the past few years.  One of my first conclusions about communion was that it is appropriate to celebrate what we call "close" or "closed" communion.  That means that it is limited to those people who are recognized by the celebrant as being Christians.  Communion expresses the fellowship God has given us with him in Christ, the participation we have in Christ through his real presence, and the fellowship we have making a unified confession about what we believe.

We come together to celebrate communion.  We have a participation in the body and blood of the Lord.  Do we all believe the same thing about it?  If not, we don't have communion with one another.  Do we believe different things about what the eating and drinking are?  When we consider verse 29 we have to confess that we are told to agree about what the "body" is.  If we do not discern the body appropriately, we eat and drink condemnation on ourselves.  This is serious business.  It's good that someone would try to prevent members of the congregation from such error.  And there's the second conclusion I came to in my study of communion.  When Jesus says, "This is my body" he is claiming to be physically present in communion.  Accepting this is "discerning the body" in verse 29.  Hence I choose not to celebrate communion with those who do not particularly confess Christ's real bodily presence in communion.

I'll just throw a third conclusion out.  That is that communion is actually sacramental.  There is a miracle going on when we consecrate the elements in the way that Jesus did, the way Paul was taught, and the way that has been delivered to believers throughout the generations.  Jesus comes to be physically present with us.  The wine and bread don't disappear.  But Jesus is really there, physically present.  He has transformed earthly elements and gives them, now supernatural, to us people who are also earthly elements transformed supernaturally by rebirth.  This mortal takes on immortality.  

It's a lot more than a taste of stale bread and just enough wine to make you realize you are thirsty.  Let's find real communion!

Lectionary for 8/18/09

Today's readings are 2 Samuel 7.18-29 and 1 Corinthians 10.23-11.16.

When we pray the Lord's Prayer we ask our Lord for a lot of different things.  We affirm that we are trusting him to provide for all our needs.  How often we rush on and take no thought to how we can give thanks to our Lord who has provided all our needs!  We pray that God's kingdom will come but we don't thank him that he has established his kingdom.  We pray that God's will may be done but we don't thank him for doing his will in our life.  We pray for our daily bread but we forget to thank him for all his care.  We pray for forgiveness but are not moved by the enormity of the forgiveness our Lord has given us.  We pray to be protected from evil but we neglect to thank God for deliverance from all the bad things that could have happened.

David gives thanks to God for delivering him from the hands of Saul and from his other enemies.  He thanks God for revealing his pleasure to David, even for God's refusal that David should build him a temple.  He thanks God for his enduring kingdom and prays that the Lord will govern his kingdom through the ages.  He gives thanks to the Lord for his care.

Lord, may we take your word and live in it, rejoicing in what you have given us, acknowledging that you are the great and mighty God who has granted us life and forgiveness in Christ Jesus.

Lectionary for 8/17/09

Today's readings are 2 Samuel 7.1-17 and 1 Corinthians 9.24-10.22.

1 Corinthians 10:13 (ESV) says, "No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man.  God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it."

It's very easy to try to govern affairs in our own way.  We see this in 2 Samuel 7, where David wants to build a temple and God, through Nathan, refuses it.  We see this in the cautions Paul gives at the beginning of 1 Corinthians 10, where he reminds us that people who take their spiritual lives into their own hands routinely go astray.  With this in mind, why do we misinterpret 1 Corinthians 10.13?  You don't have to be a Christian long to hear someone tell you that when you are tempted you need to trust God's faithfulness and look for the way of escape that he has provided.  This well-meaning individual then follows that counsel up with his own ways of trying to govern the situation.  

Time for a reality check.  It won't work.  We've been there, done that.  We've ended up in temptation and tried to resolve it with our own plans, our own steadfastness, our own willpower, our own self-control.  Somehow this all seems to be correlated with times we have failed.  Are God's promises ineffective?  We could certainly come to that conclusion, couldn't we?

Let's look again.  God has provided a way of escape.  What is that way of escape?  It is that Jesus Christ, the perfect Man, has endured all manner of temptation, in our stead, on our behalf, and has done it without sin.  It is that Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, has died for our sin, knowing that in this way we will not die for our own sin.  It is that Jesus has atoned for the sinful condition of mankind and for our individual sins, even before we were born and able to commit any of them.  Are we going to be tempted?  Certainly.  Are we going to sin?  Without a doubt.  Our knowledge of that fact doesn't excuse our sin.  Nor does God excuse our sin.  It's greater than that.  Rather than wink at sin and excuse it, Christ died for sin.  He died for your sin, he died for my sin, and he did it so we would have a way to endure temptation.  He did it to provide us a way of escape.

Have we sinned today?  You bet.  If there's any doubt, as Luther says, "Pinch yourself.  See if you still have flesh and blood."  As long as we are in this earthly tent, we are sinning.  And Christ has provided a way of escape.  Thanks be to God.  We needed that forgiveness, ever so much more than we realized.

Lectionary for 8/16/09

Today's readings are 2 Samuel 6.1-19 and 1 Corinthians 9.1-23.

In our New Testament passage for the day, Paul asserts the rights of an apostle.  What kind of rights are those?  The apostle should have the same rights as anyone else.  He should be able to marry, to have a family, and to be supported by the work that God has called him to do.  This is the same kind of right that a librarian, a teacher, a baker, a blacksmith, or a carpenter has.  It differs in nothing.  What is the work to which an apostle has been called?  He should be free to do that work and be supported by it.  What is the work to which a street sweeper has been called? He should be free to do that work and be supported by it.

Paul states something unusual about himself and Barnabas, that they engage in employment to earn money so as to avoid burdening Christ's people with their support.  But this is unusual, Paul says, and it is something that should not be expected.

How do we do at caring for our pastors?  How about those who care for our pastors in leadership positions that are not within the local church?  How about those training to become pastors?  I wonder how many churches that think they could probably use a part-time or even full-time additional member of the pastoral staff have decided they will continue as they are and fund a scholarship at a seminary?  I wonder how many churches expect a pastor with many years of expensive collegiate training to labor tirelessly for them and to receive less in pay and benefits than they would expect in a job requiring half the training and which can be left behind at the office or the worksite?  

May the Lord bless us to care for those who serve us.

Lectionary for 8/15/09

Today's readings are 2 Samuel 5.1-25 and 1 Corinthians 8.1-13.

It's difficult sometimes to know how to apply the teachings in the Bible about food offered to idols.  In most cultures of the world this is not a problem.  The cultures which offer food to idols make the offering and only that part which is offered is considered special in any way.  Not so with the Greek and Roman religion.  The whole animal would be considered special, even though they may only need some of the entrails or a little of the blood, meat, or fat to make the offering.  Because there were lots and lots of offerings made there was a lot of meat left over, much more than the people making the offering could consume.  What do you do?  You sell the meat.  But it is meat that has been consecrated to a false god.

How should a Christian deal with such a situation?  Many of the Christians in Paul's time had previously taken such meat very seriously.  It was special.  It was consecrated to whatever god was the object of the offering.  It would be purchased and eaten with a particular reverence.  Now knowing that the offering was nothing, that the false god was really just an idol, and that the meat was perfectly normal meat, often available at a low price because of its abundance, the believer would certainly be free to purchase the meat and eat it, even in the temple to the false god.  "I just come here to eat."  But what about the person who was still bound in his conscience?  What of the person who might try doing that but would find he had a special reverence for a false god?  He would then find he was trying to worship two gods at once, the true God and the idol.  This is a terrible sin to bind upon someone.

Notice that Paul does not address this passage to the person who will be bound in his conscience.  That is the weaker brother.  Paul addresses the person who would be able to exercise his freedom and thus bind someone's conscience.  He tells the stronger brother to abstain from what would cause a problem to the weaker brother.

How do we apply this in our modern Western culture?  There is a fairly substantial group of Christians who say there are certain types of entertainment no believer should partake of - no movies, no drama productions, no dancing, no alcohol, no tobacco.  Would my exercising my freedom to go to a movie, go dancing, then have a beer and a smoke cause those believers to decide to do likewise and thus bind their conscience?  That's pretty unlikely.  I don't think this is a good parallel situation.  I wonder what is?

Maybe one of the two or three people who look at this blog will notice and propose a current parallel.  That way we will have a clue about what freedom we would be wise to abstain from, especially around weaker brothers.

Lectionary for 8/14/09

Today's readings are 2 Samuel 1.1-27 and 1 Corinthians 7.25-40.

Do we marry?  Do we remain unmarried?  Paul discusses these ideas in the second half of 1 Corinthians 7.  I have heard many people say that Paul here essentially says we should desire not to marry, that marriage is God's second best situation.  But that is not what Paul is saying at all.  He is saying that marriage adds a layer of concern, a covenantal obligation into our lives.  If we wish to be relatively free from care, particularly in a society where persecution is rampant, we may wish to avoid that layer of concern.  Yet marriage is a good thing.  It is blessed of God.  In marriage we have a picture of Christ and the Church.  We are uniquely able to do some of what God commands of humanity within the bonds of marriage.  What Paul is saying is that we want to consider the nature of the covenants we enter into.  We do not want to look for marriage, singleness, freedom from slavery, or anything but Christ to be that which fulfills us and allows us to live as the people God has made us to be.

Lectionary for 8/13/09

Today's readings are 1 Samuel 31.1-13 and 1 Corinthians 7.1-24.

The topic of 1 Corinthians 7 has come up numerous times recently in my life.  My daughter married last weekend.  A journal I was reading had a series of four articles about marriage.  A friend asked me a question about 1 Corinthians 7.  And I've been watching some discussion about early marriage, which is interesting to me since my daughter is on the young side.

How do we lay out these ideas from 1 Corinthians 7, particularly verses 1-16?  Let's look for the big pictures Paul sketches.  That will suffice for today's post.

1) The desire toward sexual activity is very powerful.  While some are not overly influenced by it, most are.  We're made that way.  Before man sinned, the husband and wife were put together to join as one flesh.

2)  Marriage is the appropriate place for sexual bonding.  Those who are strongly influenced by those desires should marry.  Marriage is a good thing.

3)  Married couples give themselves to each other and should not deprive one another of their presence and affection.

4)  If a Christian is married to an unbeliever, if the unbeliever is willing to remain married, they should remain married.  We never know the influence our life and godly behavior can have on someone else.

Lectionary for 8/12/09

Today's readings are 1 Samuel 28.3-25 and 1 Corinthians 6.1-20.

How quick are believers to turn to the civil authorities for help?  It seems today we are very quick to assume that our government or others outside the Church will take care of whatever ails us.  Paul cautions the Corinthians against turning to the civil courts to resolve disputes.  The whole idea of looking outside the body of Christ for help when in trouble is something we should treat with distrust.  Of course, as we read yesterday, we couldn't stop having dealings with the world or we would have to leave the world altogether.  But why do we think the judge can decide how to resolve a dispute over property, behavior, inheritance, or custody with greater impartiality and concern for the good of those involved than a godly, experienced man could?  Why do we think our government can do a better job of feeding people who are hungry than those who are around the hungry people?  Why do we think our government is the place to look for assistance when unemployed, when we end up in debt and need assistance, when we have any number of issues to deal with?  This should not be so.  Let us rather turn to one another for help, wisdom, and comfort, knowing that those who know God's deliverance from sin and death are those who are best able to help, those who are wisest, and those who can comfort the best.

Lectionary for 8/11/09

Today's readings are 1 Samuel 26.1-25 and 1 Corinthians 5.1-13.

We have previously seen that the Corinthians were blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ.  They had everything they needed.  That means they should all be living in godliness and peace, right?  While that should be what we see of them, there's one element we forget all too easily.  That element is sin.  Since the fall of Adam we have all had this nature which likes sin, which gravitates toward sin, which takes a perverse delight in doing things to others or enjoying it when bad things happen to other people.  Different people show this in different ways, but we all have it.  It's no different among the Corinthians.

Fact is, it doesn't really matter what the sin might be.  The situation Paul mentions in 1 Corinthians 5 is one which is rather obvious and which, as Paul says, wouldn't be tolerated in any civilized culture.What's the response to sin?  There are really only a couple of acceptable responses.  First, when confronted with sin we are to repent of it.  We admit it is sin, confess that we actually were intimately involved in it, approach it with sorrow, ask God's forgiveness, and seek the forgiveness of others in the situation.  We try not to be repeat offenders.  That's the right answer.  Sometimes we make it to that right answer.  It helps if we have been practicing it with what we consider "little" sins.  What about the right answer for a situation where someone is confronted with sin and does not repent?  Paul says ultimately we aren't to associate with those people.   This doesn't mean that we have absolutely nothing to do with them.  But it does mean there is a place within churchly life  for deciding that someone's sin has risen to a level where he will not be involved in the life of the Church like he would if he were repentant.  This is for the good of the sinner, who may find a confrontation on that level provokes him to repentance and restoration.

These are some of the foundational tools of the Christian life in community.  We often forget them.  We often deny that we are sinful people.  We choose to avoid being openly repentant of our sin.  We tolerate sin which is not repented of and confessed in our midst.  We fail to realize that one of the hallmarks of the identity as a Christian is that we are a people who understand sin and forgiveness.  This short-circuits the entire Christian walk.

Let's try to recover the life of repentance and forgiveness that has historically set Christians apart from other cultures.

Lectionary for 8/10/09

Today's readings are 1 Samuel 25.23-44 and 1 Corinthians 4.1-21.

Look today at the role of the apostles.  It isn't uncommon to hear some of the outspoken liberal fringe talk about early Christian theology being forced on people by domineering wealthy and powerful leaders who wanted to keep all the power to themselves.  Yet this is a completely different scenario than we see in Scripture or in early history.  The real picture as early history shows it lines up with this reading from 1 Corinthians 4.  The apostles were servants.  They stuck their necks out on the behalf of the people they were serving.  They tried to live an exemplary life for Christ.  With the exception of John, they died as martyrs at the hands of those who would persecute them.  These were not power grabbers.  They were saints who would lay down their lives for the body of Christ just as their Savior laid down his life for them.

What should we look for in Christian leaders?  Should we be a little suspicious of those who seem to have everything together, who are widely accepted by their culture, who emerge as cultural and political elites?  Should we wonder about the Christian leader who becomes very wealthy and uses it all on himself?  Should we question those who stand for Christ and find no opposition anywhere?  While we want to be careful - - poverty is no more a sign of God's grace than riches - - in general the biblical pattern is that the believers, including those who are leaders in the Church, are people who consider themselves as servants, not masters.

May we serve as Christ served.

Lectionary for 8/9/09

Today's readings are 1 Samuel 25.1-22 and 1 Corinthians 3.1-23.

Paul turns to the metaphor of building materials with the Corinthians.  He shows Christ as the perfect foundation, the various Christian leaders as the builders, and those they are leading as the building materials.  What kind of materials are they?  Apparently in Paul's metaphor they are building materials which are largely determined by the builder.  The builder makes the materials by the teaching of the Gospel.  The question is whether the builder is making the right material.  Is he building believers who are as imperishable as Christ the foundation?  Is he building believers who are undiscerning and will last only for a short time, then burst into flame and destroy the whole building?  

Paul does not deride Apollos or other faithful servants of Christ.  He affirms that the others are doing the work of the Gospel to create this living temple of God.  Likewise, today there are many leaders in the Church who are building well, rightly applying the true Gospel day in and day out.  This passage is an exhortation to those people.  Each one of us, as we have opportunities to build others up in the Gospel, are called to be careful how we build.  What kind of effect are we having on the people we interact with?  Are we making gold, silver, precious stones, solid straight wood planks?  Are we making hay and straw, hazards for fire, infestation, and rot?  Let us strive to nourish God's people with the pure Gospel.  In this way those Christ has brought together will fit well into their places in God's temple.  

Lectionary for 8/8/09

Today's readings are 1 Samuel 24.1-22 and 1 Corinthians 1.26-2.16.

The Lord has promised David that some day he would have Saul in his power to do what seemed right.  This time doubtless came in 1 Samuel 24.  Saul in the cave was in David's power.  How is it we deal with our enemies?  Hopefully we don't have people who are intent on killing us, though it does happen to some people.  How would we deal with those people?  What desires do we have for them?  Is it our dream to stand up to those who despise us and reap vengeance on them?  Is it our desire to seek their harm?  Do we wish for an opportunity to taunt those who would terrorize us?  Do we want an opportunity to mock those who would mock us?  When we see someone who is more wealthy than we are, do we wish we were wealthy and that person were poor?  We can ask the same kind of questions about physical appearance, health, intelligence, happiness, you name it.  Fact is, we are not very contented people.  If we have the power to be "better" in some way than someone else, we will normally take that opportunity, even to the detriment of the other person.  Frankly, if Saul were trying to kill me and I were in David's position, Saul would have come out of the cave wrapped up in his cloak, quite possibly separated from his head.

What is right before God?  How do we treat those other people, the people who hate us, who would destroy our lives, or who we perceive as being merely annoying in some way?  How does God treat those who deride him, who claim he doesn't exist, who are arrogant and think they know better than he does?  In Christ, God died for us while we were exactly that way.  Our sin against God deserves death, eternal condemnation, eternal punishment and terror.  Before we even knew that, Christ took on the sin of the world and died for everybody's sin.  Everybody's sin?  Yes, Jesus is portrayed as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.  He died for the sin of everyone in the world, bar none.  His death is applied to all those who are believing recipients of the Word, proclaimed or administered in the Sacraments, which have both verbal and tactile applications of the Word.  How did God treat us?  He died to forgive our sins.  He lives to proclaim that forgiveness.  

So we are in God's power to do what seems good.  He gives himself for us so we can live.  What if the tables were reversed?  What do we do before God?  Do we reject and deny him, desiring our own way?  That's our natural desire.  That's the way that leads to condemnation.  Do we receive the Word by faith and live in it?  That's the way of life.  I pray we may receive the Word by faith.

Lectionary for 8/7/09

Today's readings are 1 Samuel 20.24-42 and 1 Corinthians 1.1-25.

The Lord has given the Corinthians every spiritual gift.  They are not lacking.  Nor is any true manifestation of the Church, where Word and Sacraments are used properly.  We are not lacking in any spiritual gift.  What is it that we need?  We have the riches of Christ.  Do we need healing?  We can look to Christ who bore our sin and by whose stripes we are healed.  Do we need forgiveness?  We find it in Christ as we confess our sins and hear God's word of absolution.  Do we need regeneration?  We have the washing of regeneration.  Do we need reconciliation?  Our Lord came to bring us to God.  We can live in harmony with one another because of the harmony we have in Christ.  Do we need assurance of eternal life?  We need look no farther than the resurrection of Christ, the firstfruits of the resurrection.  What do we need?  Our Lord has blessed us with every spiritual gift.  We need no more.

Lectionary for 8/6/09

Today's readings are 1 Samuel 20.1-23 and Acts 28.16-31.

At the end of Acts, Paul has been proclaiming the Gospel to the Jews in Rome, a large community.  While some believed, others would not.  Paul spent a whole day, morning to evening, explaining and trying to persuade the people of the claims of Christ.  When this was fruitless, he quoted Isaiah's statement that the people had closed their hearts and eyes.

We see the quotation in other places in the New Testament, most notably spoken by Jesus.  In the context of the parable of the sower, where Jesus uses this quotation, we realize that the seed of the Word of God does its work wherever it falls.  There's nothing powerless about the Word of God.  Yet some of the soils are unfruitful.  It would seem that Paul is thinking of this very thing as he addresses the Jews in Rome.  They have heard the Word, repeatedly.  They were brought up in Scripture and have now been hearing Paul explaining that Jesus is the Messiah.  There is power in this Gospel.  Many years ago, Paul had already written to some Christians in Rome, saying, among other things, that the Gospel is the power of God for salvation (Romans 1.16).  What have the people done?  They have, time and time again, forced their eyes and ears closed.  They have stubbornly refused the proclamation of the Gospel.  They have become unfruitful ground, though the Word of God is perfectly well.  

Lord, may we be confident in the power of your Word.  May we hear and receive it with joy, trusting in you day after day.  May we not try to shut our eyes and ears against what you say.  And may we be used by you to spread the knowledge of you, the living Word of God, throughout our world.

Lectionary for 8/5/09

Today's readings are 1 Samuel 19.1-24 and Acts 28.1-15.

When we see Paul and his company safely aground on Malta, we also get to see the response of the native people.  It appears that these people don't know much about the Christians or even about the Jews.  They make assumptions based on what they do know from natural revelation and from their religious sensibilities.  When the snake bites Paul they assume he must be a criminal deserving punishment.  When Paul is unharmed they decide it was a sign that Paul is actually a deity of some sort.  These are perfectly logical decisions to make based on the evidence. 

We don't know how Paul responded.  We know in the past he had pointed out to people that he was not a god and that they shouldn't make sacrifice to him.  But here he doesn't seem to make a big deal of it.  We can safely assume that he explained he was not a god.

What we do see about Paul's activity is that he has opportunity to help people on Malta by praying that the Lord would heal their sicknesses.  God blessed these prayers and in return the people gave many blessings to Paul and all the others who were on the ship, over 250 people.  Here's an example of God exalting his servants by giving them a good public reputation.  Through that good public reputation of the believer God also blessed many who are not specifically addressed as believers - all the people from the ship and the people who were ill on Malta.  Did all believe?  We aren't told.  Were all blessed in some way?  Yes.

Lord, may we act in such as way as to love and serve our neighbors, whether they believe you or not.  May you give your people favor so they can care for this world with the love you showed, giving yourself for us while we were yet sinners.

Lectionary for 8/4/09

Today's readings are 1 Samuel 18.10-30 and Acts 27.27-44.

We have previously seen Saul's response to God's blessing.  He responded by setting his own timetable and offering sacrifices wrongly.  He responded by taking authority that was not his to take.  How does David respond to God's blessing?  He responds by stating his humility, acting on it, and continuing to trust God for all his provision.  

What kind of response does Saul have to God's blessing on David?  He fears David.  Acting on that fear, Saul tries to turn people against David, tries to make David his ally, and makes steps by giving his daughter in marriage to make David subordinate to him.

Can we see this in our world today?  Particularly we see people who prefer their own plans to God's plans tend to dislike and even fear God's people.  This is at the root of much of the persecution which happens worldwide.  If our deeds are good and theirs are evil, they will fear what would happen to them if our good deeds are found out.  If we act without self-interest and they act from self-interest, we will be an impediment to them.  

Let us, as God's people, resolve to serve our Lord in humility, doing what he has placed before us to do, trusting that he will provide for us in all we need.

Lectionary for 8/3/09

Today's readings are 1 Samuel 17.48-18.9 and Acts 27.9-26.

When pressed to the limit of his endurance, aboard a ship full of people who expect to die, Paul the prisoner receives supernatural comfort from the Lord.  What is his report?  An angel appeared to him giving him comfort and saying that he will have to make it to Rome.  Everyone aboard the ship is to survive.

Who of us would receive such a message from God today?  Maybe more to the point, who would receive such a message from God and actually tell people about it?  Has the Lord stopped speaking to his people now that the Bible is apparently complete?  Does the Lord still work in miraculous ways among us?  Though most believers would say the Lord works in miraculous ways to this day, some say he no longer speaks in visions or by using angels as messengers.  The Bible isn't completely conclusive in this.  But what we do know is that the Scripture claims to be inspired and to speak to all sorts of needs of God's people.  When we think it would be nice to have an angel come to speak with us, we are well advised to see what the Lord has already said to us in the Scripture.  We can trust that if the Lord wants to tell us something else he will let us know somehow, whether in advance or in retrospect when we realize that God's hand was on us in our difficult situation.

Our Lord is able to protect his people.  He has promised eternal protection.  Very often he provides us with temporal blessings as well.  We can know that as we love and trust the Lord he will care for all our needs.  Will he always keep us alive so we can go to Rome?  Not necessarily.  He hasn't promised that in Scripture.  But he has promised that he will care for all that we need.

Lectionary for 8/2/09

Today's readings are 1 Samuel 17.20-47 and Acts 26.24-27.8.

Today we see both David and Paul being fearless.  Why are they fearless?  Not because of their own strength.  They are fearless because of the mighty arm of the Lord.  Whether the dangers are giants with swords, political leaders with the power of execution, or journeys at sea, we know our Lord can protect his people. 

See how David and Paul both give bold-faced testimony to God's person and attributes.  We who serve the same Lord can give the same kind of testimony.  We know that the Lord is our reward, our inheritance, our protection.  There is nothing to fear.

Lectionary for 8/1/09

Today's readings are 1 Samuel 17.1-19 and Acts 26.1-23.

What hope does the believer have in this mortal life and in eternity?  Great hope.  In Christ we have assurance of God's love for us.  We have assurance that our Lord understands our frailty.  We know we are God's chosen people, elect in Christ before the foundation of the world.  We know that all our days, from beginning to end, have been lovingly numbered by our Lord.  We know that our Lord and Savior has triumphed over death, hell, and the grave on our behalf.  We know that because he rose from the dead we also shall arise when he calls.

What does all this have to do with Goliath scaring the Israelites?  David, the man after God's own heart, knew this trust.  He had a hope founded on God.  He was not trusting in his own ability or experience.  He was not trusting in his own strength.  He did not know what he would face when he was sent to bring some supplies to his brothers.  But he knew the Lord would sustain him on this earth for as many days as he wished.

Likewise, Paul faced governors and kings knowing that the Lord would sustain and protect him as long as he desired.  He was perfectly safe because of the presence of his risen Lord, Jesus.

How do we face life?  Do we know the promises of God?  Do we act as though we know the promises of God.  When we realize that we act as unbelievers, doubting the promises of our Lord, there's one more thing to remember.  The sin we confess to our Lord is forgiven.  He has carried our sins, died the death we deserve due to our unbelief, and ever lives to intercede on our behalf.