Alex Kirk means Nurtures the Church

Moving Sale

2010-06-27T08:39:00.001-04:00

In fact, we're not quite ready for a moving sale yet. But I'm going to move the venue for lectionary posts to my other blog at http://capnsaltyslongvoyage.blogspot.com rather than here. It makes more sense to maintain just one blog.

--
Dave Spotts
blogging at http://capnsaltyslongvoyage.blogspot.com and http://alex-kirk.blogspot.com

Blog Hiatus

2010-06-03T07:42:00.001-04:00

I'll be away from the computer for most of the month of June so will put this blog on hiatus. May the Lord use us daily to search the Scriptures and see what they say.

Ecclesiastes 11.1-10, John 10.22-42 - Lectionary for 6/3/10

2010-06-03T07:40:00.001-04:00

Today's readings are Ecclesiastes 11.1-10 and john 10.22-42.

In Ecclesiastes 11.6 we have a vivid metaphor. At least for me it is a vivid metaphor. We sow our seed, we do our work. We do not know what the outcome will be. All we do is what the Lord has given us. In my work as a teacher I see the truth in this verse. Day after day, year after year, I teach my classes. I don't know what will come of them. I don't know what will sink in and what won't. I have a distinct impression that thirty years from now very few of my students will remember much of the specific data I feed them in class and test them over. But I know thirty years from now many of my students will be daily using lessons they learned about perseverance, attention to detail, follow-through, and looking at written messages carefully. Maybe a few of them will be able to construe all the grammar in a Latin sentence. Maybe not. But I'll keep sowing my seed. The Lord will give the increase, and He will bring forth what he wants to bring forth.

May the Lord bless us that we can go around today, doing what he has given us, delighting in the Giver.

Ecclesiastes 10.1-20, John 10.1-21 - Lectionary for 6/2/10

2010-06-02T08:16:00.001-04:00

Today's readings are Ecclesiastes 10.1-20 and John 10.1-21.

Ecclesiastes 10.1 (ESV) "Dead flies make the perfumer's ointment give off a stench; so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor." How much folly do we need? Not much. Yet notice how often we try to do a balancing act - a little folly, a little wisdom, a little evil, a little good - let's see if we can make the equation work out. What we see today is that the world doesn't work that way. A little folly, a little evil, is plenty to ruin a lot. It makes great mischief. So what do we do? First off, we forget about trying to earn our own merit. I know that i have plenty of folly, plenty of evil, to cause harm to a great number of people. I probably have plenty for the whole world, especially if I trust my heart and act on my own inclinations. No, that won't work, will it. What does our Lord say? He says he has appointed an order and that we live within that order. And what is that order? The world is evil but Christ has overcome that evil on our behalf. We live, not by trust in ourselves, but by trust in him. That's the good order we need. And in accordance with that good grade, we can live in God's wisdom, God's righteousness, the only wisdom and righteousness that ultimately matter.

May the Lord give us his wisdom and honor.

Ecclesiastes 9.1-17, John 9.24-41 - Lectionary for 6/1/10

2010-06-01T07:20:00.001-04:00

Today's readings are Ecclesiastes 9.1-17 and John 9.24-41.

As we read in Ecclesiastes today we see a persuasive argument for the doctrine of vocation. What is our calling? It is the situation in which we find ourselves. Every believer is serving within a divine calling to bring glory to God by loving and serving his neighbor right where he is.

What of all this talk in Ecclesiastes 9 about life and death? I'll counter that with another question. In what way do we love and serve our neighbor if we are dead? Should we not pour ourselves out in service during this life? Should we not seek to be a benefit during this life rather than wishing it away to look to eternity? Should we not dress ourselves, eat, drink, and enjoy the work the Lord has given us right now? Otherwise we are busy denying that the Lord is the Lord of now. We relegate him to being only the Lord of the future.

Our Lord is the one who lovingly cares for us right now. Let us rejoice in him this very day.

Ecclesiastes 8.1-17, John 9.1-23 - Lectionary for 5/31/10

2010-05-31T07:00:00.001-04:00

Today's readings are Ecclesiastes 8.1-17 and John 9.1-23.

In today's reading we are confronted with our Lord's sovereign grace. We do not understand God's commands, the way he has brought his commands into this world through people and circumstances, or the way that good and evil happens in this world. We don't understand the way God saves people by grace through faith (Ecclesiastes 8.12-13). Deep down we prefer the idea of salvation by works. But that isn't what our Lord has given us.

In the final analysis we are left with nothing to do but to trust our Lord to use the means he chooses to use as he accomplishes his will. Does he give us the foolishness of preaching? Then that is what we have. Does he say to repent and be baptized in order to be saved? This is God's command. Does he tell his disciples to baptize and teach all nations? That's our duty. Does he say he is with us always even though we can't see him? Then he is with us always. It is vanity for us to decide we know better. It is vanity for us to say we fully understand. No, we don't understand, but we do believe. Let God be true and every man a liar!

Numbers 35.9-30, Luke 24.28-53 - Lectionary for 5/30/10 - Trinity Sunday

2010-05-30T09:09:00.001-04:00

Today's readings are Numbers 35.9-30 and Luke 24.28-53.

This is the last of the readings in the lectionary based on position relative to Ash Wednesday. From here until Ash Wednesday 2011 the readings are based on calendar dates.

In our passage from Numbers today we see God appointing the cities of refuge for those who have committed crimes and need to escape punishment. Though the people who flee to the city of refuge are not free to leave without peril, as long as the high priest lives, they are safe from harm, having been accepted into the city of refuge.

I'm reminded today that Jesus, our risen and ascended Lord, is the high priest and that the Church is that city of refuge to which penitent sinners flee. How long are we protected? As long as we remain under the care of the Church in our penitence and as long as our High Priest lives. The good news? Jesus has built the Church upon Himself, He is the eternal high priest, and nothing can come against the Church He has established.

I think that's quite enough to reflect upon this day.

Numbers 32.1-6, 16-27, Luke 24.1-27 - Lectionary for 5/29/10 - Saturday after Pentecost

2010-05-29T09:06:00.001-04:00

Today's readings are Numbers 32.1-6, 16-27 and Luke 24.1-27.

The people of Gad are easy to misunderstand. In today's reading we see that they request an alternative inheritance, not the promise the Lord has made within Canaan. Their request initially seems like foolishness, cowardice. But this is not the case at all. They see that the land where they are is suitable. It fits their purposes. Because of their livestock they are best off in an area with wide open spaces. They are not departing from their loyalty to Israel. On the contrary, they wish to set up their cities and homes, then go to fight for Israel's entrance into the land of promise, not returning to their homes and comfort until all which has been said is done.

Likewise in our New Testament reading today we see someone who has gone to settle in a far away place butis fighting for his people who are in battle as they enter their promise. Jesus who has triumphed over sin and death continues to work in this world which is full of sin. He knows the battle is not done for us. And even when he sits down to rest at the right hand of the Father in heaven he will continue working on our behalf.

Numbers 27.12-23, Luke 23.26-56 - Lectionary for 5/28/10 - Friday after Pentecost

2010-05-28T07:51:00.001-04:00

Today's readings are Numbers 27.12-23 and Luke 23.26-56.

We read today about Moses' commissioning of Joshua. We recall that Moses is aware he is to die for his sin rather than enter the promised land. He has continued to lead God's people, yet he will ultimately not receive the promise toward which he is leading them. To avoid any confusion, God has Moses appoint his successor publicly, clearly, charging him in what he should do and to whom he should turn for help and counsel. Our Lord is not the God of confusion, as some would have him be. Likewise, see how clear it is that Joshua is not going to take on priestly authority. In fact, he is not going to take on all the authority of Moses. This is not a kingdom that our Lord is setting up. It is a theocracy. God intends to rule his people, using some of his people to provide guidance for others.

Likewise in this age of the Church, we see that our Lord has given us his Word to direct us, the Holy Spirit to convict us, point us to Christ, and exhort us in every way, and then has appointed Christian leaders to serve as his hands in our society. They are not self-appointed but are appointed or often recognized by other believers. They do not emerge from some secret mystical cocoon, but they are publicly recognized and held accountable publicly. Our God is a God of order, not chaos.

Let us rejoice in his care for us, ordering our affairs with his love, not leaving us abandoned but caring for us in every way.

Numbers 24.1-25, Luke 23.1-25 - Lectionary for 5/27/10 - Thursday after Pentecost

2010-05-27T06:20:00.001-04:00

Today's readings are Numbers 24.1-25 and Luke 23.1-25.

As we read the end of the narrative of Balaam, we are reminded once again of the majesty of our Lord. He has appointed his people for blessing, not for cursing. He has gathered them for his purposes. Who are we to stand against the purposes of the Lord? And likewise, as God's people, redeemed in Christ, we realize our Lord has appointed us to receive his blessing and comfort. Who will stand between God and us to thwart that plan of our Lord? Nobody is able to do so.

There's a very strong tie-in between this concept and our New Testament reading today. How does the Lord put his blessing on us? It is by taking the curse of our unbelief upon himself in the person of God the Son, Jesus. The one who bears no guilt becomes all our guilt and sin. He releases us who are insurrectionists and murderers.

May the Lord grant that we may look upon him and both see and proclaim his blessing faithfully.

Numbers 23.4-28, Luke 22.47-71 - Lectionary for 5/26/10 - Wednesday after Pentecost

2010-05-26T07:43:00.001-04:00

Today's readings are Numbers 23.4-28 and Luke 22.47-71.

I remember a conversation with someone several years ago. He wanted to know what my opinion was concerning how a local church should order its affairs. Actually, he wanted me to agree with him that our church should have "contemporary" music, a praise band, a youth group, and other organizational elements typical in the church growth movement. This brother introduced his comments with a statement to the effect that "the church is dying." I think my response startled this man. I agreed with him wholeheartedly that the church was dying and that it had been dying since at least the mid nineteenth century (over a hundred years before our local church was founded) when Christians in this country started proclaiming a self-mediated Christianity, a religion which strikes me as being profoundly man-centered rather than God-centered. Thus, I told him, if we wanted to show ourselves to the community as a life-changing relevant fellowship we should self-consciously avoid all the bells and whistles he was looking for. We should rather be radically distinctive in our dedication to and proclamation of God's all-sufficient Word, Jesus Christ, who cut through all of our silly felt needs and died at the hands of sinful man to resolve our real problem, sin.

What does this have to do with our reading in Numbers today? See what Balaam, the pagan who is visited by God, says and does. When confronted by the Lord he has no recourse except to proclaim what is good and right, the blessing of God upon His people. Likewise, even we who are driven and tossed by our culture, hearing all sorts of messages about what is relevant, what is the best business model for our church to follow, what will really reach people for Christ and bring them into a vital relationship with their personal Lord, even we, in a moment of obedience, may just manage to proclaim the Word of God in all its power. May the Lord use us to bring the words of life, the words of healing and redemption, the words of forgiveness to those around us. May we say what our Lord has told us, not what we were enticed to do by those in our world.

Numbers 22.21-23.3, Luke 22.24-46 - Lectionary for 5/25/10 - Tuesday after Pentecost

2010-05-25T07:14:00.001-04:00

Today's readings are Numbers 22.21-23.3 and Luke 22.24-46.

The tension in the story of Balaam continues to build. Today Balaam has been tempted by the riches brought to him. He capitulates, at least in part, and decides he can, in fact, go to the Moabites and see what he will say. He still says he will only say what the Lord tells him. Yet there seems to be some doubt. Notice that Balaam has blinded himself to the appearance of the Lord. His donkey sees the Lord's angel ready to kill him. Yet Balaam himself does not see this vision until after the Lord opens his eyes. The Lord then uses Balaam's donkey to rebuke him. Balaam, moved to repentance, says he will not go. But the Lord sends him to speak to the king of Moab, but only to say what the Lord will tell him.

As we think about our relationship to this passage we see that we also blind ourselves to the truth. We decide to do things our own way and to do it claiming the name and authority of our Lord. We do it in little ways every day. Sometimes people do it in bigger ways (may the Lord protect us from ourselves). Yet whether it is a little thing or a big thing, our sin is the same. We assume the Lord put us in the situation we are in so we use that situation to gratify our sinful desires. In every instance it is offensive to the Lord and it reflects badly on him and on us in our society.

Lord, protect us from ourselves. Keep us faithful to you and your callings.

Numbers 22.1-20, Luke 22.1-23 - Lectionary for 5/24/10 - Monday after Pentecost

2010-05-24T07:52:00.001-04:00

Today's readings are Numbers 22.1-20 and Luke 22.1-23.

Balaam is a difficult character to deal with. We see him as a prophet of some sort. He has some sort of relationship with God, but he is not a prophet of Israel. The author of Numbers clearly presents Balaam as hearing from God, quite directly. He is also, at least at this point, presented as someone who has a genuine interest in obedience to the true God. He would refuse a whole palace full of gold rather than go against what the Lord says.

For the moment, though it is an incomplete picture, I'd like to compare Balaam to the rest of us. When asked a question he has a firm resolve to do what is right. I think this is like most Christians. We are confronted with a question and, at least as long as we are in the comfort and safety of our home environment, we will affirm what is right. When I sit in my office, at my desk, comfortable, well fed, well rested, and not in any apparent danger I am ready to endure all sorts of threats and privations for the sake of the Gospel. I expect almost all believers are. But what will we do when we are put to the test? I don't know. I can't speak definitively for myself or for anyone else.

We will see later that Balaam will ultimately sin against God in the way he deals with the Moabites. But that is not for today. For today, we leave him holding firm to the Lord's calling.

Lord, may we so hold firm to your calling that we become accustomed to a life of faithfulness to you.

Numbers 21.10-35, Luke 21.20-38 - Lectionary for 5/23/10 - Pentecost Sunday

2010-05-23T08:23:00.001-04:00

Today's readings are Numbers 21.10-35 and Luke 21.20-38.

In Numbers today we read about the Lord gathering his people, consolidating their power, and beginning to defeat the enemies of both God and his people. On this day of Pentecost we do well to think about the way the Lord has taken his people where they have been scattered and mobilizes them to proclaim his kingdom on earth, wherever he brings us. Even we evil people, as evil as the faithless Israelites, are used by our Lord as his hands, reaching into our surroundings, bringing his justice, his righteousness, and the message of reconciliation. For in his death on the cross, in his victory over death and the grave, in his resurrection, in his pouring out of the Holy Spirit, he has surely broken down the wall of separation which our sins have erected between man and God. God's righteous wrath against sin has been poured out on Jesus and is remembered no more. Thus has our Lord broken down the wall of separation which our sins have erected between God and man. Now we work, carrying his word with us, loving our neighbors, even if that love for our neighbors involves condemning those who would bring destruction on this world.

Let us look to our Lord, who has brought us together to serve him in every nation.

Numbers 20.22-21.9, Luke 20.45-21.19 - Lectionary for 5/22/10 - Saturday, Easter 7

2010-05-22T10:26:00.001-04:00

Today's readings are Numbers 20.22-21.9 and Luke 20.45-21.19.

As we read in Numbers today we remember the sin that Aaron and Moses committed against God's command at Meribah. Though the Lord sent them on about the work he had appointed to them he did not forget their sin. Aaron, at the end of his life, was stripped of his priesthood, his office, and his opportunity to enter the promised land. We see in this incident, and in the incident from Numbers 21.4-9, that the Lord does in fact bring justice against sin. Those who doubt and despise his commands will perish.

In the plague of the serpents, see how the Lord both administers justice and mercy. He has one like the deadly one raised up for everyone to see. Yet looking upon this serpent brings life. Rather than biting and bringing death, this serpent who is lifted up brings life. How does it accomplish this? Not by any apparent activity, but by the belief of the person who trusts God's word. Our Lord has said that to look upon this deadly creature lifted up in public people will live. So they do. This is not by any power or righteousness of their own, but only by God's word and promise.

Likewise we see in the New Testament that Christ, lifted up for us, raised up on a pole, the one like us except in our sin, the one who has become sin for us, this Jesus brings life. He does not bring life because of our righteousness. It is due to no good work on our behalf, but due to his becoming sin, becoming death, for us. How do we receive this? We receive it just like the Israelites did. We receive life by believing that what God has said about the Son is true. We receive life by trusting that Jesus gives us life.

Thanks be to our Lord, who has taken the sin of the world on himself and has himself been raised up in death on our behalf, so we may look upon him and live.

Numbers 20.1-21, Luke 20.19-44 - Lectionary for 5/21/10 - Friday, Easter 7

2010-05-21T07:51:00.001-04:00

Today's readings are Numbers 20.1-21 and Luke 20.19-44.

In our Numbers reading today we see the people of Israel complaining - again! God's people are full of doubts. They don't have a steadfast confidence that their Lord is going to supply all their needs. There's this nagging thought that they have been brought out into the wilderness so as to die. It doesn't matter to them that God has proven himself again and again. It doesn't matter to them that the Lord has given his promises in the past. It doesn't matter to them that the Lord has shown an ability to provide for their physical needs again and again. The people still doubt. I can imagine this seems familiar. God's people are doubting to this very day. We doubt our Lord's good will toward us. We doubt his ability to care for us into eternity. Even more so, we doubt his ability to provide our daily needs. We doubt his wisdom in calling us to the tasks he has given us. We doubt his word where he says he will be with us. We doubt his concern for our communities as we try to find a new and different message to bring to our culture. We're a huge bundle of doubts.

Let's cap that rehearsal of sin off with what Moses does. He has the audacity to as if he needed to supply water, then he beats on the rock to which the Lord had told him to speak. Here's a serious grab for authority.

It's time now to look at God's very serious lovingkindness. See how he not only keeps Moses working for him and serving him until the time he is ready to take the people into Canaan, but he also provides the water the nation needs. Despite all the sin which has been raised up before him, our Lord still cares for his people. He has pity on us. He provides what we need. How much greater a gift is that provision when it comes from the God whom we have just insulted and offended! What wonderful mercy we find in our Lord.

Lord, we pray you would grant us repentance of all the times we have sinned against you. Show us the forgiveness you have provided, like the water which was overabundant for your people, your forgiveness overflows, exceeding the weight of our sin. Let us rejoice in your forgiveness. Grant us a changed heart that we may be grieved by our sin and ever seek the forgiveness you grant.

Numbers 16.41-17.13, Luke 20.1-18 - Lectionary for 5/20/10 - Thursday, Easter 7

2010-05-20T07:42:00.001-04:00

Today's readings are Numbers 16.41-17.13 and Luke 20.1-18.

"Are we all to perish?" (Numbers 17.13b, ESV). When we see the power of the Lord as the people of Israel did in Numbers 16 and 17 we also should be moved to ask this question. The fire of God's wrath burns against unbelief. He rages against those who despise him, who do not believe his commands are true, who do not acknowledge his mighty power, even those who look down upon those he has appointed. Yet we realize we are doubters. Every last one of us enters into unbelief. We don't really accept the Lord's rulership of all. We reject him, like the wicked tenants in Luke 20. So are we all to perish? Fact is, the answer to that question is that we are. We do not have the wherewithal to live of our own accord. We all need atonement to be made for us.

Unlike the people of Israel who perished before Aaron was able to make atonement for their sin of unbelief, we find that our Lord has himself died in our place, that he has made atonement for us, once for all time, giving himself into death so we could live. So it is not that we are able to live, but that he has lived and died for us. We see this clearly in Jesus' statements in Luke 20.18. He himself, the rejected one, is the one who is ultimately invulnerable.

This is a profound mystery. Yes, we are all to perish. Yes, we become immortal through the death of the immortal one who perishes in our place. Rejoice! Full atonement has been made on your behalf!

Numbers 16.23-40, Luke 19.29-48 - Lectionary for 5/19/10 - Wednesday, Easter 7

2010-05-19T07:54:00.001-04:00

Today's readings are Numbers 16.23-40 and Luke 19.29-48.

In our reading from Numbers today we see that God's anger is a consuming fire. He does not accept substitutes. He does demand that his people take him at his word. All too often we decide to go our own way. We decide what would seem like a good idea, what might enable our church to reach out in a more meaningful way to the community, what would enable people within the church in their ministry, what seems to be a culturally conditioned mandate as opposed to something the Lord has said will not change. We need to approach these ideas with great caution. Our Lord distinguishes ever so clearly between what he has ordained and what he has not ordained. He can take sin and make it a sign to everyone. He can and does destroy both the sin and sinner in hell.

May the Lord grant that we who trust in Jesus should realize again and again that our Lord and Savior has borne he penalty for our sin. May his goodness ever move us to repentance for the times when we have thought we knew better than he does. May we seek his face with repentance, rejoicing in his forgiveness. May we be those who trust him, who accept his finished work of atonement on our behalf to be just that - complete, finished, and on our behalf. May we ever remember that our Lord is a consuming fire.

Numbers 16.1-22, Luke 19.11-28 - Lectionary for 5/18/10 - Tuesday, Easter 7

2010-05-18T07:44:00.001-04:00

Today's readings are Numbers 16.1-22 and Luke 19.11-28.

There are two issues that I think are of primary importance in our reading from Numbers today. First, we see that the Lord has made a distinction between different people in their service before him. Not all of the tribe of Levi are among the priesthood. Not everyone has the same role. There are some who have been called to serve before the Lord in sacrifices. There are others who have different privileges. The role in which God has put us is a good role. It is one which we can and should use diligently for his service. It is not a wasted role. Do we then avoid seeking any change in our position? Not necessarily. But we need to learn contentment in the position the Lord has given us. That will never disappoint.

A second important issue we see in our Old Testament reading today is that God's anger would fall on the people of Israel for the sin of the Korahites except that Moses and Aaron, not of the people of Korah, begged God's mercy Are we ever in such positions? Thanks be to God that we have Jesus Christ, the risen and ascended Lord, at the right hand of the Father making intercession for us. Thanks be to God that we have been recreated in his image and can pray for our enemies, and bless those who curse us. May the Lord make us so grateful for the protective care he has lavished upon us that we also lavish that care on others.

Let us go, rejoicing, using the state in which our Lord has put us to bring his blessing to those we encounter today..

Numbers 11.1-23, 31-35; Luke 17.1-19 - Lectionary for 5/13/10 - Ascension Day

2010-05-13T11:16:00.001-04:00

Today's readings are Numbers 11.1-23, 31-35 and Luke 17.1-19.

See two important features of today's reading. First, we notice that the Lord visits his people in his anger. The people of Israel are not able to withstand either. All to often today we try to sanitize God. We take away his teeth. We say that he never has really been angry with sin or that he is no longer angry with sin. This is an unbiblical view. Our Lord, God the Father, is indeed angry about sin and remains angry about sin to this day. The difference is solely that he has poured out his anger on Jesus, God the Son, who died in place of all sinful humans, all who deserve to die, all of us. God's righteous wrath against sin consumes the sin and the sinner alike. Second, we see that the Lord, though dreadfully angry against sin, visits his people with provision. How much do they need to eat? He knows exactly how much they need, and he provides that. But in their sin the people doubt his goodness or his ability to provide. the Lord provides for his people, more than they can imagine, more than they can endure. How much has the Lord provided salvation for his people? He has in fact, saved us more than we can imagine. He has saved us more than we could endure to think about. If we were to realize how terrible sin is and how great salvation in Christ is we would surely drop dead right there on the spot. Our Lord provides so greatly that we cannot even start to imagine it.

The next few days' posts may be very brief or nonexistent as I will be in and out of Internet and computer access. We'll see what happens!

Numbers 10.11-36, Luke 16.19-31 - Lectionary for 5/12/10 - Wednesday, Easter 6

2010-05-12T09:28:00.001-04:00

Today's readings are Numbers 10.11-36 and Luke 16.19-31.

Yesterday we looked briefly at the idea of God providing an "alternative" opportunity for the Passover. I hope to get more input on te thought-provoking question posted in the comments.

Today we see God moving his people from here to there. His purpose isn't too clear for them, they don't seem to be on a direct path, but to be moving here and there in the wilderness. God is clearly gathering his people and preparing them for the entry into the promised land. Yet it will be according to his timing and plan.

I'm more interested today in looking at the relationship between Moses' father-in-law and the people of Israel. See how Moses urges him to continue with them. He will be good for the people because he knows more about the area than they do. But more importantly, the people of Israel will be good for Hobab. After all, God is directing his people with the cloud of his presence. They aren't going to be lost. And these people are quite able to find whatever provisions are present wherever they encamp. Yet fellowship with the people of God is good for this foreigner, Hobab. He seems open, at least on some level, to what God has revealed through Moses. Yet he is not someone who is fiercely loyal to the people of Israel. Is he cast out? Not at all. He is welcomed.

How many times do we in the body of Christ engage in litmus tests to see if someone is worthy to have fellowship with us, to partake of the blessings of God? Do we invite only the people who are serious believers to participate in Bible study, to be prayed for, to hear God's Word? What barriers do we put up against people who might otherwise hear the Word of God, be brought to repentance, and believe like we do? Let's rather see if we can be more like Moses. "Here, Hobab. God's presence is good for you. Won't you stay and receive what God has for you?"

Numbers 9.1-23, Luke 16.1-18 - Lectionary for 5/11/10 - Tuesday, Easter 6

2010-05-11T07:38:00.001-04:00

Today's readings are Numbers 9.1-23 and Luke 16.1-18.

I've noticed a recurring theme in our Old Testament readings. In a nutshell, the theme is that God works things out according to his will. He tells his people how life is best. He gives them laws which are for their good. And he gives his people mercy when they see they are not able to keep God's law. Here, for example, when people are not able to celebrate the Passover due to being unclean through no fault of their own, they have an alternative date, by which time they can expect to be in a state to partake of Passover. The rule is the same for the Israelites and for their guests and sojourners. God has provided a way of cleansing. If people desire to participate in it they are welcome. If they don't conduct themselves in a way that says they do wish to participate then they are responsible for that failure.

Likewise in the New Testament time and again we see that the Lord does what is necessary to convert people, to redeem them to himself. When his people, those he has died for and who he promises to raise again in newness of life, disregard his actions, his mercy, his grace, they bring their own condemnation upon themselves.

Lord, may we be joyful partakers of what you have provided for us, valuing your desires.

Numbers 3.1-16, 39-48, Luke 14.25-15.10 - Lectionary for 5/9/10 - Sixth Sunday of Easter

2010-05-09T07:19:00.001-04:00

Today's readings are Numbers 3.1-16, 39-48 and Luke 14.25-15.10.

One of the hot-button issues in the modern Western Church in recent decades has been the involvement of women in pastoral ministry. I'd like to make a few brief observations today based on our reading in Numbers 3. Maybe his is timely as well because it happens to be Mother's Day.

Look at the account of the Levites which we read today. Notice that the tribe of Levi, those who are not included in the Aaronic priesthood, have a special function before the Lord. They are not offering sacrifices or serving in the temple in the manner of priests, but they have their own unique calling. They are of great use in God's kingdom. They are, in fact, indispensable. These descendants of Levi, a great host of people, are specially appointed to a particular type of service. They are given gifts in accordance with the use to which the Lord will put them. They are absolutely serving the Lord in what they do, despite not being priests.

Do we overvalue or perhaps undervalue the pastoral office? We seem to wish to make it an office that doesn't have any distinctives. And when this office, which is biblically given to those identified as elders or bishops, is considered an office which should include those people who don't meet that qualification, the office is simultaneously devalued and elevated. It is elevated in that it is considered the most worthy and important work of the Christian. It is devalued in that it is considered the service that everyone should be able to do, regardless of any biblical qualifications. This should not be. As in the case of Numbers chapter 3, let us realize that all sorts of service before the Lord is noble. Let us remember that some have one type of service and others have another service, and that the Lord has appointed the qualifications for those roles. Let us rejoice in seeing some people in roles that we ourselves never hold. Let us never think too highly or too poorly of ourselves due to the role our Lord has given us. It is all of his grace.

Leviticus 26.21-33, 39-44, Luke 14.1-24 - Lectionary for 5/8/10 - Saturday, Easter 5

2010-05-08T10:38:00.001-04:00

Today's readings are Leviticus 26.21-33, 39-44 and Luke 14.1-24.

Today's Old Testament reading focuses on the importance of heeding our Lord's commands, which are for our good. Look at the way he lovingly and incrementally brings circumstances against his people to act as a corrective for their unbelief. First he brings natural events against us, then disease and enemies. If we don't fear those things, which, observe, we are powerless to combat effectively, God will come against us himself. In other words, if delivering us into the hands of nature and our enemies does not remind us of our frailty and need for repentance, God himself will visit us with his wrath and will turn his back upon us.

What's the good news in all this? What is our response? Is it perfect obedience to God's Law? That's exactly what we would expect, especially after reading all the things our Lord says we are to do. But we find quite the opposite. Not that we are to ignore God's decrees, but in verse 40 our Lord calls us to confession. That's what God desires of his people. He wants us to see and acknowledge that we aren't able to take care of ourselves. He wants us to see that in fact we are not him. We are his creation, he is the creator. We are to fear, love and trust in him above all things. That's what the Lord calls his people to do. That is what preserves God's covenant, not our obedience, but our confession of our disobedience.

Let us turn to our Lord in repentance, realizing and confessing the many times we have tried to run the show ourselves, trusting in our own power. Let us trust rather in the mercy and lovingkindness of our Lord.

Leviticus 26.1-20, Luke 13.18-35 - Lectionary for 5/7/10 - Friday, Easter 5

2010-05-07T07:30:00.001-04:00

Today's readings are Leviticus 26.1-20 and Luke 13.18-35.

I've seen a little talk around the Web about suggestions for people who are feeling bogged down by Leviticus. Frankly, my suggestion for people feeling bogged down with Leviticus is to take a really close look at reading like that for today. Today's reading divides quite neatly into two segments: 1-13 and 14-20. Counter to a typical Reformational pattern, this gives us God's blessings first, then God's judgment. You might question whether there is any Gospel at all in the passage. Yet I want to observe that in the first thirteen verses God is describing the blessings of his people among whom he dwells. In Christ we see the fullness of the Godhead dwelling with us. He is, in fact, God with us, Emmanuel. With Jesus our savior we see that he has recreated us into the kind of people who walk confidently in the land. No matter what the enemies, we know the Lord has faced sin, death, and hell. Even more than that, we know our Lord has risen victorious over them. We find there is no reason to fear. God is daily confirming his covenant with us. He is the one who delivered us from sin and death. He is the one who has proclaimed us free. Here are words of great encouragement. So far from being bogged down in our Leviticus readings, let's look at the Scripture with joyful hearts as we see it proclaiming the wonderful provision of our Lord and Savior.

Leviticus 24.1-23, Luke 12.54-13.17 - Lectionary for 5/6/10 - Thursday, Easter 5

2010-05-06T11:26:00.001-04:00

Today's readings are Leviticus 24.1-23 and Luke 12.54-13.17

In today's Old Testament reading we see the passage which is frequently cited against Christians. In Leviticus 24.20 we see the idea that punishment will be inflicted "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth." This is often used by the unbelieving community as an evidence of God's being mean and vengeful. On the contrary, if we look at the context, these penalties are imposed on those who carelessly or intentionally cause harm. They are intended to protect people. They are to discourage people from causing harm to their neighbors.

May the Lord likewise remind us that we are to love and care for our neighbors, striving to keep them from harm. Harming our neighbor is just like harming ourselves.

Leviticus 23.23-44, Luke 12.35-53 - Lectionary for 5/5/10 - Wednesday, Easter 5

2010-05-05T07:55:00.001-04:00

Today's readings are Leviticus 23.23-44 and Luke 12.35-53.

As we read in Leviticus today we see that God appoints a routine of festivals for the people of Israel. Of course, they are centered around the Sabbath worship which he has instituted. Yet on certain Sabbaths there are special emphases which the Lord has commanded. Each one has a special focus - trumpets to show God's self-proclamation, a Day of Atonement for forgiveness, a time in booths to remember the pilgrim nature of God's people.

It's a good thing to remember what God has done in the past. It's a good thing to have special days when we focus on important events. In past years I spent time in several different church congregations which took little or no notice of the historic Church calendar. One of them went so far as to have a special evening service near Christmas but otherwise made no official mention of even Christmas or Easter. While I can understand the convictions that might lead toward this - a desire to emphasize the systematic preaching and teaching of the Scripture in its context through extended passages of the Bible (why let Easter interrupt your series on Isaiah?), I don't think this is well advised. God has worked in very distinctive ways at different times in history. There's a sort of rhythm in the Church year. It provides a framework on which to hang many aspects of our Christian belief, simply through noting the seasons believers throughout history have acknowledged.

Our Lord has made the times and the seasons. He has appointed them for reasons. And though the Christian calendar is not specifically commanded by the Lord, as were these feasts in Leviticus, we can use that calendar to the benefit of God's people, reaching out to our world, pointing them to what our Lord Jesus Christ has done.

Leviticus 21.1-24, Luke 12.1-12 - Lectionary for 5/3/10 - Monday, Easter 5

2010-05-03T07:42:00.001-04:00

Today's readings are Leviticus 21.1-24 and Luke 12.1-12.

Today we read about the severe dedication required of the Aaronic riests. Even in the most touching instances, the death of a family member, they are not always to attend and bring comfort to their family members. This is to prevent them from defiling themselves and preventing themselves from ministering before the Lord. The job of a priest is to provide access to worship for the people. Without this work of the priest the people are unable to worship according to God's requirements. The Lord has prescribed particular ways in which worship is to be carried on. If his priests are not available, the people have no access to God. It is a holy obligation, one which is to be taken very seriously.

While we may think it is all a burden, notice also that those descendants of Aaron who are somehow not qualified as priests due to physical disabilities are provided for anyway. They are to engage in as normal a life as they can, but are not allowed to offer the sacrifices. The person who brings an offering to God is to be free from the defects God lists for us in Leviticus 21. Yet those priests who are disqualified receive the same living as the priests who are working with the sacrifices.

The callings of the Lord are not according to our desires. They are not according to our abilities. They are not according to our popularity. They follow his distinctive pattern. Let us rejoice as we see our Lord working out his plan in this world, a plan which we would not have devised, a plan which is different from our plan.

Leviticus 20.1-16, 20-27; Luke 11.37-54 - Lectionary for 5/2/10 - Fifth Sunday of Easter

2010-05-02T09:12:00.001-04:00

Today's readings are Leviticus 20.1-16, 20-27 and Luke 11.37-54.

In Leviticus today we continue the theme we began yesterday. God's people are warned against child sacrifice, various types of sexual immorality, and various ways they could choose to look just like their neighbors in the land God is giving them. In every instance, God points out that He is the holy Lord who makes his people holy. He is the one who sanctifies the people of Israel. Without his work in their midst they are, in fact, just like their neighbors.

As believers in Christ, let us recall that we are not the ones doing this work. We are not the ones who make ourselves holy. It is the Lord working in us, the Lord our righteousness, the Lord Jesus who has broken the bonds of sin, the Holy Spirit who sanctifies us. May we look not to our own works for righteousness but only ever trust in the Lord.

Leviticus 19.9-18, 26-37; Luke 11.14-36 - Lectionary for 5/1/10 - Saturday, Easter 4

2010-05-01T09:58:00.001-04:00

Today's readings are Leviticus 19.9-18, 26-37 and Luke 11.14-36.

We often take a purposeful glance at the Law/Gospel distinctions in a passage. At first glance, today's reading in Leviticus seems to be entirely Law. It tells us, again and again, what we are to do. We are given commands, and here they are commands that we might even think we can keep. In general it's relatively easy to deal with most of the commands we see in this passage, all but one. We see over and over again that we are to fear God, honor his name, trust in the Lord. This, we ultimately confess, we will not be able to do very well. It's one thing to leave grapes in the vineyard for scavengers. We can do that. It's another thing to honor God's name in all we say and do. We stand condemned by this passage of the Law.

Where then do we find the Gospel, God's statement of what he does on our behalf? It is all through today's reading. Look at the reason God gives for us to do what he commands. Leave food for scavengers. I am the Lord. Tell the truth. I am the Lord. Don't rob or cause harm to anyone. I am the Lord. Pursue justice. I am the Lord. Love your neighbor. I am the Lord. On and on we see God commands us something and then proclaims himself the Lord. All these things our Lord commands us are his own characteristics. Has our Lord given us food? Is God the god of all truth? Isn't God the one who heals rather than harms? Is God the God of all justice? Is God love embodied? What has the Lord done? We could keep enumerating his grace and mercy forever.

Lord, You are the Lord. Amen.

Leviticus 17.1-16, Luke 10.23-42 - Lectionary for 4/29/10 - Thursday, Easter 4

2010-04-29T07:14:00.001-04:00

Today's readings are Leviticus 17.1-16 and Luke 10.23-42.

As I look at today's reading from Leviticus I make three observations in particular. First we see that sacrifice is to have extremely high importance among the people of Israel. They are not to make sacrifices according to their desire, the location they happen to be in, the customs of their surrounding culture, or any such thing. Sacrificial offerings have a specific revealed pattern. Second, the people are not to eat or drink blood like the pagans do. There is to be a distinction, a reverence for life. The blood is to be disposed of by returning it to the earth or through use in sacramental ways, such as sprinkling it on the altar. Finally, the people of Israel are free to eat of food they catch. It is animals for sacrifice which require special treatment. As long as the Israelites abstain from blood they are welcome to eat what clean animals they have hunted.

Our Lord does want his people to have adequate food. At the same time, he has set aside life, blood, sacrifice. He guards these essentials while allowing considerable freedom in what and where we eat. May we eat and drink in loving dependence on the Lord, the Son of God, the true Lamb of God, who has poured out his life, his blood, for us.

Leviticus 16.1-24, Luke 10.1-22 - Lectionary for 4/28/10 - Wednesday, Easter 4

2010-04-28T06:55:00.001-04:00

Today's readings are Leviticus 16.1-24 and Luke 10.1-22.

In our Leviticus reading today we see that the Lord loves his people and provides a means for their forgiveness. Through the very detailed sacrificial rites the high priest makes sacrifice for himself, for the people, even for the tabernacle itself. He ceremonially cleanses the entire place from the guilt of the people. Finally he confesses the sins of all the people over a goat and sends the goat out into the wilderness, from where it will never return alive. By the sacrifices, by the anointing with the blood of an offering, by the confession of sins, the sin of the people of Israel is taken away from them.

It is the fashion in some parts of evangelicalism today to say that the people of Israel are not forgiven their sins on the day of atonement. This is not so. God has appointed this means of approach to his holiness. He says that the sins of the people are atoned for. He says the transgressions of the people are imputed to the goat which dies in the wilderness. There is no reason to dispute this. What does not happen in the Old Testament is a permanent forgiveness of sin. We do not see the once for all sacrifice for sin which is accomplished in Jesus. We see a sacrifice which, though it atones for sin, must be repeated again and again.

Let us rejoice then that in these last days we are made participants in the atonement of Christ. Our sins have been confessed and placed on him. He, unlike the goat in Leviticus 16, is like us, a human. He is able to bear our sins and die as our substitute. This is a sacrifice for sin, once for all. This is a sacrifice by which our sin is taken care of in the person of Christ and by which Jesus' righteousness is given to us in place of our sin. This is the true atonement.

Leviticus 10.1-20, Luke 9.37-62 - Lectionary for 4/27/10 - Tuesday, Easter 4

2010-04-27T07:55:00.001-04:00

Today's readings are Leviticus 10.1-20 and Luke 9.37-62.

Very quickly after the anointing of the Aaronic priesthood we see their downfall. Nadab and Abihu are killed by the fire of God when they make an offering according to their own plan and purpose. They chose to express their delight or earn their favor or some such object. Whatever they were trying to accomplish, whether something good or bad, they were doing it in a manner which the Lord had not appointed. Our God, who is a consuming fire, has created access to himself, on his own terms, through the means he has spelled out. Nobody should have known those terms better than the priests themselves. Yet they insisted on trying to do things their own way.

I had a conversation with someone not too many months ago, talking about the traditional liturgy. He said he loved that traditional type of service but would be uncomfortable having it in the church where he is a pastor. His reason? He'd like to have more of himself invested in the service. I know this man meant that he wants to create a Sunday service that ministers to the congregation in the ways he specifically knows they need to be served. He genuinely wants to pick what is most appropriate to the actual needs of his congregation. Yet in seeking to do this with his own pattern he finds he cannot do something which is historically tried and true, which works out the important themes of Scripture Sunday after Sunday. I'm not saying my brother here is like Nadab and Abihu. But I would consider this incident to be cautionary to us. Do we think we need to make sure things work according to our own preferences, according to our own plan? Why do we think that? Is not the God of all creation able to make access to him according to his own plan?

In these last days our Lord has revealed himself in the person and work of God the Son. We have access to the throne of God through Jesus' blood and righteousness, not our own. We can stand confidently. The presence of God is a consuming fire, destroying all sin. And this judgment of God has been poured out on Jesus Christ, who became sin on our behalf. Nadab and Abihu died for themselves. Jesus died for us. There's the plan. That's what we want to see invested in the service. That's access to God according to his plan and purpose.

Leviticus 9.1-24, Luke 9.18-36 - Lectionary for 4/26/10 - Monday, Easter 4

2010-04-26T07:48:00.001-04:00

Today's readings are Leviticus 9.1-24 and Luke 9.18-36.

As we read an account of an offering from Leviticus we realize that on the surface the offering doesn't look much different from those offerings made in paganism. There is death of one or more animals. There's a particular place to engage in the offering. The person making the offering has a special garment. It's not unusual to do something special with blood or with other parts of the sacrifician animals. What sets this offering apart?

First, counter to paganism, the offerings in the Bible are made according to a specific revealed will of God. The people making the offerings, certainly by this time period, didn't have to guess what to do. There was a very clear revelation of God. One of the joys of the Christian faith is that we have a faith which is clearly revealed by God. It is not the kind of faith that we would make up on our own. It is not something based on our own impressions, but is something extra nos, outside us.

Second, we see that God very clearly and definitively accepts the offering. He gives his fire and burns the offering up himself. This is quite unexpected, resulting in the people shouting and falling down in worship. I wonder if we think seriously enough about the fact that God does things of his own accord, working supernaturally according to his plan? If we did, would we conduct ourselves differently when dealing with the mysteries of God? How about when he is creating faith in hearts through the proclamation of his Word? How about when he is forgiving sins we have confessed? How about when he is giving us spiritual food in communion? How about when he is cleansing from sin and taking someone "into" his name through baptism? Shouldn't we wake up and notice?

Lord, work according to your word. Open our eyes to see it is in fact you doing what you have promised.

Leviticus 8.1-13, 30-36, Luke 9.1-17 - Lectionary for 4/25/10 - Fourth Sunday of Easter

2010-04-25T07:47:00.001-04:00

Today's readings are Leviticus 8.1-13, 30-36 and Luke 9.1-17.

We see today how Aaron and his sons are consecrated to serve as priests. In brief, observe two things. First, they do not consecrate themselves, but are consecrated by Moses, God's servant. Likewise, we do not set ourselves apart for service, but God sets us apart for service. The calling is not merely our interest, but it is God's interest. He is the one who calls and appoints people to their tasks, whether serving in a pastoral ministry or serving in some other vocation. Second, we see that Aaron , his sons, and the very place of ministry, the tabernacle, are set apart for their service in a very particular and definitive manner. It is obvious to everyone that Aaron and his sons are to be doing something different. They look different, they wear special clothes, they are publicly anointed. They have special rules for their behavior. They are not to blend in with everyone else.

As a side note, observe the anointing happens with a ceremonial sprinkling. Many commentators will compare the New Testament baptism to this anointing for service as a direct offshoot, a ceremonial washing. This would tend to inform our understanding of baptism as something which does not necessarily involve an immersion in water, as well as a rite in which God is really present and actually sets the recipient apart for a life of consecrated service.

Exodus 40.17-38, Luke 8.40-56 - Lectionary for 4/24/10 - Saturday, Easter 3

2010-04-24T08:44:00.001-04:00

Today's readings are Exodus 40.17-38 and Luke 8.40-56.

In today's reading from Exodus we see that God's presence comes into the holy place. Despite the ark and mercy seat being placed behind a screen, when God's presence is upon the mercy seat, the tabernacle is so full of God that the people cannot approach his presence.

God shows his mercy and love for his people by filling the tabernacle with his presence. He also guards and directs his people in their journeys. The presence of the Lord is visible to the people. They are able to follow the cloud and the fire of God's presence.

In all this we see that our Lord enables his people to know his presence. He hides some of his glory from his people. We simply wouldn't be able to bear meeting God face to face. Yet through the means God has appointed we are able to receive forgiveness and grace. We are able to see his actions in the world and follow him. In these last days he has revealed himself in Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us. We can approach his throne boldly as we are under the protection of God the Son. We see that even though the tabernacle is full of God's presence, yet the tabernacle, Jesus Christ himself, brings us to himself to be with him.

Exodus 39.32-40.16, Luke 8.22-39 - Lectionary for 4/23/10 - Friday, Easter 3

2010-04-23T07:44:00.000-04:00

Today's readings are Exodus 39.32-40.16 and Luke 8.22-39.

In the briefest of terms today, we see that the tabernacle God gives his people is full of different signs of his presence. We notice especially his mercy, bread showing his presence, light, an altar at the entrance, then a place for cleansing with water. We see that all is accomplished according to God's plan, including those details which don't seem to be details a person would normally dream up. The plan of God is to be executed carefully and seriously. It is not child's play. Preparing the way for people to meet with God is a very serious business. Finally we see that the priests are clearly set apart. They are appointed and it is obvious who is a priest and who is not. This appointment does not have to do with the individual priest's holiness or natural abilities. He is not selected for that at all. Yet when the priest is selected he is dressed in a particular garment which indicates that he is the priest who may serve in this special role before God and for the people.

Exodus 38.21-39.8, 22-23, 27-31, Luke 8.1-21 - Lectionary for 4/22/10 - Thursday, Easter 3

2010-04-22T07:17:00.001-04:00

Today's readings are Exodus 38.21-39.8, 22-23, 27-31 and Luke 8.1-21.

In our Exodus reading today we see that as the people of God give generously God's work is done. The generous giving is not the result of Moses' pleading but of the Spirit of God working in and through the people. And what is this work? It is not the work planned by the early church growth people. It's a work which is according to a plan our Lord has given. It is a work of setting God's servants apart for service. It is a work of providing access to the Lord's gifts of forgiveness and life. It is a work which brings people safely to the God of glory in accordance with his command.

I have belonged to six different congregations in my life. Every one of them has, at one time or another, usually frequently, made urgent appeals for funding. We need to enlarge our parking lot. We need to build an additional wing onto the building. We need to decorate the building in this way or that way. I've also heard that we need to bring freewill offerings to meet the outreach obligations our budget specifies, so everyone needs to bring something extra. While I suppose we do need to be a little bit pragmatic - it was kind of bad when visitors to the church got stuck in the mud in the parking lot - we want to remember a few important issues from this passage.

1) God moves people by the Holy Spirit to provide for the genuine needs in His earthly kingdom. We may be instruments he uses to announce and publicize the need but there is no need to twist people's emotions and bind them to give.

2) God's priority as shown throughout Scripture is to provide people with access to Him, coming in repentance and receiving forgiveness.

3) Access to the Lord comes through the means He has appointed in Scripture, the living and present resurrected Lord Jesus Christ.

Exodus 34.29-35.21, Luke 7.36-50 - Lectionary for 4/21/10 - Wednesday, Easter 3

2010-04-21T07:38:00.001-04:00

Today's readings are Exodus 34.29-35.21 and Luke 7.36-50.

As Moses stands in the presence of God receiving the commandments, God's radiance covers his messenger. We see that Moses returns to the people with his face glowing as a result of God's radiance. This radiance from God continued in Moses. Interestingly enough, Moses veils his God-glow due to the fear of the people of Israel. They were afraid to see the presence of God in his servant.

As we continue in our reading for this day we see that God continues to show his glory but it is in a veiled form. He gives the people gifts - the Sabbath, the ability to provide for God's work, the skills to serve in building the tabernacle - all gifts which present God to the people, but in a veiled form. We are not able to endure the glory of our Creator, so he shows himself to us through other means, humble means.

Lord, as we look to you, we see you have given yourself in the humility of God the Son. You have given your presence in common elements - water, bread, wine, a spoken word. Grant that we may rejoice in these humble means by which you have revealed yourself, the Lord of all glory.

Exodus 34.1-28, Luke 7.18-35 - Lectionary for 4/20/10 - Tuesday, Easter 3

2010-04-20T07:49:00.001-04:00

Today's readings are Exodus 34.1-28 and Luke 7.18-35.

How great is the Lord's care for his people! When they have departed from the faith, when they have rejected God and made idols for themselves, when God has withdrawn from the community because of their sin, yet the Lord calls Moses to himself. Our Lord restates the covenant with Moses. He will show himself to be the God of all mercy. He will place his people safely in the land he promised to Abraham. he will remove the current inhabitants before them. He will caution his people Israel against alliances with these people who will tempt them into unfaithfulness. Through the holidays God has proclaimed the Lord will show his provision to his people.

Our Lord has visited his people. He has given them his covenant. And in these last days he has shown himself through Jesus, making a new covenant in the blood of the perfect sacrificial Lamb, God the Son himself. All this salvation has been accomplished by God in Christ. It is not of our own works. It is not of our own imagination. We can surely look to our Lord and Savior knowing that he has shown his steadfast love for all generations.

Exodus 33.1-23, Luke 7.1-17 - Lectionary for 4/19/10 - Monday, Easter 3

2010-04-19T07:33:00.001-04:00

Today's readings are Exodus 33.1-23 and Luke 7.1-17.

The people of Israel are rightly timid after their encounters with God. They realize that he is the mighty one. This we also can see even through our observation of nature. The complexity of our world, the intricacy of all creation cries out to us and illustrates God's power. Yet through our own observations we are unable to see God's love.

God's chosen people, Israel, likewise hide themselves from God's presence. Some of this is at the suggestion of God himself. If he is among them he will surely kill them. They are stubborn and faithless. Contrary to popular wisdom, God doesn't love the sinner and hate the sin. No, it's sinner and sin together consigned to death and hell. So out of his infinite mercy God has masked his glory. He has revealed himself to Moses and Joshua, outside the camp, protecting the bulk of the nation from his consuming presence. Even at a distance we see that the people are moved to worship.

In these last days God has revealed his glory to the world through the person and work of Jesus. We no longer have to look at God from a distance, in a pillar of cloud at the tent where just a couple of people go to meet with God. We have seen, heard, and touched Jesus (1 John 1). God has shown his glory in these last days in his Son (Hebrews 1). He is the one who brings life to all who believe (John 1). Our God has visited us and we can stand before him by faith in Christ.

Exodus 32.15-35, Luke 6.39-49 - Lectionary for 4/18/10 - Third Sunday in Easter

2010-04-18T08:18:00.001-04:00

Today's readings are Exodus 32.15-35 and Luke 6.39-49.

Our Old Testament passage today truly tempts me to write about the New Testament reading. But my goal is to write about the Old Testament readings this year. It doesn't take a very close reading of the passage in Exodus 32 to see why I might want to avoid trying to find Law and Gospel in the passage. All in all it is pretty much doom and gloom. Yet we do see Gospel, and we see it in a very unexpected place.

Moses brings the tablets of God down from the mountain to find the people of Israel involved in idolatry. He gathers those who will pledge to be faithful to God, the tribe of Levi, and commands them to begin killing those who have departed from the faith. That day the Levites kill about three thousand men. Where's the gospel? Didn't the whole nation engage in idolatry? Don't all the people who have not followed God's commands wholeheartedly and constantly deserve to die? Has not God proclaimed clearly that he is the righteous God who requires perfect righteousness from his people?

We see that God does not leave everyone to die in sin. He provides salvation. He calls us to our senses. He lets us see that our sin deserves death. He then points us to the forgiving mercy which he has shown in Jesus Christ. Indeed our Lord will come in judgment, but he says he will do it in his own time. In these last days he has come in judgment and has poured out that judgment on Jesus. Christ has died for our sin. Here is the Gospel the Lord gives us. Though God's people depart from their faith, though we are quick to forget and to go our own way, our Lord has taken the matter of atonement and forgiveness into his own hands for us.

Exodus 32.1-14, Luke 6.20-38 - Lectionary for 4/17/10 - Saturday, Easter 2

2010-04-17T08:12:00.001-04:00

Today's readings are Exodus 32.1-14 and Luke 6.20-38.

Today we see that God's ways are not our ways and our ways are not God's ways. While God is giving Moses the commandments on the mountain the people of Israel fear for their well being and make other gods. This is all the more amazing because the Lord had appeared to the elders of Israel in glory shortly before. He had taken them personally out of Egypt, parted the Red Sea, destroyed Egypt's army, and guided the people of Israel with a pillar of cloud and a pillar of fire. This same God was providing the entire nation with food on a daily basis. But now they turn their back on what they have seen with their own eyes. They prefer their own solutions, their own guidance, to God's rule.

We are too often like this. We see what our Lord has provided and we choose to follow our own way. Not content with God's revelation in Scripture we seek our own philosophy. Not content with the way God has worked in history through his church we try to build a new and different church. Not content with the proclamation of Christ's atonement on our behalf and his satisfaction for our sins we try to invent a new Jesus, a Jesus according to our own character.

This ought not to be. While the Bible never gives us warrant to run our lives counter to society just for the sake of being different from society, the Bible does tell us that God's ways are not our ways, his thoughts are not our thoughts. We see remarkable contrasts in what Christians value in Scripture when compared to their larger culture. We see people who give of themselves and their resources in order to bring Christ's healing love to fruition in this world. We see people who are at the forefront of science, medicine, invention, and education. These are people who know the Lord has given them gifts to serve their neighbors. We see Christian people who do even menial tasks cheerfully, knowing that those very tasks are means of God ministering to the world. The Bible paints a different picture than the picture of society we would create for ourselves.

Lord, let us be conformed to your image. Create in us a desire to live according to your values. Use us as you nurture and care for this world.

Exodus 31.1-18, Luke 6.1-19 - Lectionary for 4/16/10 - Friday, Easter 2

2010-04-16T07:34:00.001-04:00

Today's readings are Exodus 31.1-18 and Luke 6.1-19.

In our theological categories we are often used to the idea of circumcision as the sign of the covenant. It is part of the covenant God makes with Abraham, no doubt. But here in Exodus 31 we see that the Sabbath is proclaimed as the sign of the covenant. Let's look briefly at the similarities and distinctions between circumcision and the Sabbath.

Both are outward and visible signs. Circumcision changes a man's appearance. Observance of the Sabbath changes visible behavior. Both are appropriated truly by faith. Neither would seem to accomplish anything productive. Both are commanded by God. But there is a significant difference. While circumcision is something that man does as a sign of his obedience, the Sabbath is something that God does. It is God who provides the additional food needed by people who are not going to work one day of the week, or one year of seven years. It is God who shows himself to be the living God who sustains his people. They are to keep his Sabbath and he promises they will live through it.

Jesus shows himself to be the Lord of the Sabbath. He himself becomes our Sabbath-day's rest, giving us rest from the toils with sin. He himself promises to sustain us and bring us into his rest. He takes this sign, a day of rest, and one of seven years spent in rest, and fulfills it, giving his people an eternity of rest. May we have the grace to rest in our Lord and Savior.

Exodus 25.1-22, Luke 5.17-39 - Lectionary for 4/15/10 - Thursday, Easter 2

2010-04-15T07:11:00.001-04:00

Today's readings are Exodus 25.1-22 and Luke 5.17-39.

Today we continue to see God meeting with his people according to his command and according to his revelation. I'll make just a few brief observations.

God has a special place appointed to meet with his people. Though he is the God who is present everywhere it is appropriate for us to seek out a special place of worship. The church building is a visible place for God's assembled people, the true Church, to gather. In that special place we can dedicate ourselves particularly to worship, minimizing the distractions which call our attention to more ephemeral things.

God has given special furnishings for this house of worship. These furnishings are symbolic of his presence. They are decorated according to designs he has given. They are appointed to be filled with his real presence. Likewise in the local church it is appropriate to have furnishings which point to the unity of God's people and the finished work of Christ on the cross.

We see in the tabernacle the centrality of the mercy seat, the place where God sits to show his mercy. It is on top of a box, raised up like an altar. He shows mercy between the cherubim, in the midst of his holy angels. Inside the box are the commandments, above which God sits to show mercy. Later the ark will also contain signs of God's provision, namely Aaron's rod that budded, signifying a special priesthood; and a jar of manna, signifying the food that God gives for his people.

Lord, may we see in our places of meeting the signs of your presence. May we rejoice that indeed, though invisible, you are present with us, providing the grace and mercy we need.

Exodus 24.1-18, Luke 5.1-16 - Lectionary for 4/14/10 - Wednesday, Easter 2

2010-04-14T07:36:00.001-04:00

Today's readings are Exodus 24.1-18 and Luke 5.1-16.

As the people approach God with sacrifices according to his command, ehty see the Lord renewing his covenant. We look to this as an example of how God allows himself to be approached according to his plan, according to his revelation, in the times, places, and means which he has designed. We can recall here also the covenant God made with Abraham. Recall how God bound himself to a sacred covenant as he walked between the parts of the slain animals, yet he prevented Abraham from doing so. God has bound himself to a covenant never to abandon his promise or his people. Here with the blood on the altar our Lord renews his covenant with his people, but now with all Israel, not just with Abraham.

Our Lord promises to reveal himself in glory. In these last days he has revealed himself in the glory of Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of the Father, in whom is grace and truth. In our Exodus passage today we see how the leaders of Israel gather in the presence of God. They are presented with his glory and respond in fear and trembling. Yet they eat and drink, and do not die. Likewise, when we are partakers of the Lord's supper we eat and drink in the very real presence of the Lord who has revealed himself in glory. As partakers of God's promise we eat and drink to our benefit, not to our condemnation. We do not die, for we have a real participation in the resurrection of our Lord.

Let us look to the promises of our risen Lord who has appeared to us in glory. Let us be joyful partakers of him as we eat and drink. Let us see this eternal life which he has prepared for us.

Exodus 23.14-33, Luke 4.31-44 - Lectionary for 4/13/10 - Tuesday, Easter 2

2010-04-13T08:00:00.001-04:00

Today's readings are Exodus 23.14-33 and Luke 4.31-44.

Our Old Testament reading today points out the sharp distinction between the people of Israel and the nations that are to surround them in Canaan. While this passage is often criticized as giving license to believers to practice violence, even genocide, I would take issue with that idea. The pagan Canaanites and other surrounding people were engaged in practices such as human sacrifice, ritual prostitution, self-harm to try to appease gods, and the like. They were following the kind of religious practices which not only contradicted everything the Lord shows about his character, but which also would prove deadly to his chosen people. These surrounding people could (and did) flee for self-preservation. Those who saw Israel from a distance and came to them individually, expressing repentance for their sins and a desire to live as people of God's covenant community were able to do so.

What we see in this passage is that God sets his people apart from the practices and lifestyle of the culture at large. He gives them means of approach to his holiness by which they show themselves to be dedicated to him rather than to their own opinions. The true religion of the Bible is not characterized by our own wisdom. It is not a religion dedicated to our own shows of righteousness. It is characterized by God's people approaching him on his terms, not on their own terms. We do not work out our way of righteousness We accept the provision of righteousness that our Lord has made us. This ultimately looks radically different from anything we could devise.

How do we work out our salvation? By trust in Christ's finished work. How do we know our Lord is with us? We know because he has promised to be with us. We can't see it with our eyes. We believe, teach, and confess things which seem like foolishness. Yet they are what our Lord has given us. They are the means by which we approach his holiness. They are the means by which he has promised to come to us and visit us with his presence. They are the means by which he builds us up in the faith. They are our safe haven. Let us then receive the proclamation of God's forgiveness, the provision of new life in baptism, the nurturing or our faith in communion, and the knowledge that he has indeed promised to be with us forever.

Exodus 22.20-23.13, Luke 4.16-30 - Lectionary for 4/12/10 - Monday, Easter 2

2010-04-12T07:30:00.001-04:00

Today's readings are Exodus 22.20-23.13 and Luke 4.16-30.

We see today a continued description of the character qualities God has prescribed for those who trust in him. Once again we have to realize that we are guilty. Though we may try we are always guilty when we compare our lives to God's righteous standard. Either we have to lower the standard of God by explaining it away in some way or we have to realize that we are in fact sinners. Even the most socially conscious of us, the most culturally sensitive, the most honest, the most generous, the most just one of us is going to fail in some respect. We don't pay attention to everything the Lord has said to us. We are not like the righteous people the Lord describes.

What do we see in Exodus 22.27? The person who cries to God is heard by God. Our Lord is the compassionate God. He is the very one who provides for the needs of his people. He is the one who reaps vengeance on mistreatment, including the mistreatment we inflict, even the mistreatment we receive. When we call out to our Lord in repentance we know he is the compassionate and mercivul God. He is the one who can provide food for his people even though they rest one of seven days, even though they give their land a rest from cultivation every seventh year. He gives us what we need according to his power and plan, not according to our wisdom or diligence.

Does this mean we should all quit our jobs for a year every seven years? No, it really doesn't mean that. It does mean that we are to be characterized by a radical dependence on the Lord rather than on ourselves. And we see as we confess on a daily basis that our Lord is the one who gives us what we need and that he gives it because he is good and kind. Do we look for proof of this? Let us look no farther than the fact that our Lord has given himself for us, his real life for our life, his real death for our redemption, his real bodily resurrection as the firstfruits of the resurrection of the dead, his real presence among his people as the fulfillment of his promise never to leave us or forsake us. Surely we can trust that he will provide our every need.

Exodus 20.1-24, Luke 4.1-15 - Lectionary for 4/11/10 - Second Sunday of Easter

2010-04-11T08:42:00.001-04:00

Today's readings are Exodus 20.1-24 and Luke 4.1-15.

A few years ago (I probably blogged about it, in fact), I saw a church sign which said, "Feeling bad? Take two tablets, the 10 Commandments!" My sudden application of the brakes to make sure I read correctly could have caused an accident if there had been more traffic. Normally I don't have to read beyond Exodus 20.3 to feel a burden of conviction. After all, how many times every day do I elevate something else before God? How many times to I prefer my comfort? How many times do I doubt God's real presence with me? How many times do I take things into my own hands? How many times do I decide that when worst comes to worst at least I can pray in case that will accomplish something? I doubt I need to recount any more ways that I fall short of that first commandment, do I? Yet I take comfort in knowing that we are all that way to one extent or another. We all fail at the various commandments of God. We don't do them willingly and with our whole hearts, with pure motives, all the time, as God minimally demands. Maybe the church sign should have said, "Feeling good about yourself? Take two tablets, the 10 Commandments!" Indeed, our Lord convicts us of sin through his law.

See in verses 18-21 how the people fear God's presence? When the living God announces his presence and tells what his demands are we should fear and tremble. We who are sinful wish to escape from the presence and glory of God. He is a consuming fire.

Notice here, though, that while God is making himself plain to his people, he is also describing the characteristics of his people. I've heard it stated that in Hebrew these are actually indicative mood statements, descriptions, rather than imperative mood commands. Unfortunately, the Lutheran Study Bible on my desk doesn't corroborate that, I have no significant understanding of Hebrew, and a comparison of the Septuagint would be worthless as the second person plural imperative and indicative are identical forms. Yet, whether these commandments are phrased as commands or descriptors, they say something important about God's people. As our Lord has redeemed us from other gods, he has given us a desire to come to him. He invites us into his presence through Word and Sacraments, promising hat he is here to show his love to his people. He gives his name to us, placing it upon us in baptism, promising that he will defend that which is called by his name. He has given a time of rest, particularly a Sabbath day's rest from the toils of sin, effective today and every day in Jesus Christ. He has shown the value of parents who guide us and care for us, the very flawed picture of God's care for us. He has valued our lives and has shown us how to value the lives of others. He has called us into an exclusive relationship with himself, pictured in our exclusive relationships with our husbands or wives. He has shown that we are his prize possession which he will guard, teaching us that we should honor that which belongs to someone. He himself is the truth, thus removing falsehood from the lips of those who are called by his name. He is the one who has provided all we need, showing us that we need no desire of that which belongs to our neighbor. Our Lord has called us by his name and has given us what we need. We are thus free to show that in all our actions and attitudes. He describes his character, the character he has placed upon us, in these commandments.

Do we fear? We fear rightly. We dare not approach our Lord in his glory trusting in our own works. We dare not approach our Lord in our righteousness. But he has purchased us, we are his possession, we are called by his name, we are created in his image, we stand before our Lord not in our own righteousness but in the righteousness of Jesus, his Son. We have been called to approach him through the means he has given us, and we are perfectly safe in that. We have been called to come to our Lord. He makes his name be remembered. He comes to his people. He blesses his people. This is our great and mighty Lord.

Returning to the blogosphere

2010-04-10T21:17:00.001-04:00

Thanks for the kind statements and prayers. After being migraine free for about a week it's time to return to the blogosphere tomorrow.

--
Dave Spotts
blogging at http://capnsaltyslongvoyage.blogspot.com and http://alex-kirk.blogspot.com

Blog Takes a Break

2010-03-31T20:15:00.001-04:00

I'm going to take a bit of a break from posting on this blog, probably for a week or so. I have a long history of migraine headaches and am hitting a bad cycle of them. Time to back off from as many time-critical demands as I can so as to concentrate on those which are genuine obligations. Desperate for some lectionary posts? Check the archives. While you do, pray for me to get back onto an even keel.

Exodus 10.21-11.10, Hebrews 4.1-16 - Lectionary for 3/31/10 - Wednesday in Holy Week

2010-03-31T07:52:00.001-04:00

Today's readings are Exodus 10.21-11.10 and Hebrews 4.1-16.

In today's reading we see that our Lord threatens destruction against unbelieving Egypt. As if the plagues they had sustained thus far were not enough, they are now threatened with the death of every firstborn of the nation. Egypt has already been plunged into various hardships which threatened their water supply, their food supply, their sanitation, and all their physical comfort. Now, after enduring a night that lasted three days, they are threatened with the loss of their future leaders, an overturn of all the customs of inheritance, a tremendous social upheaval. All they need to do is release Israel from bondage.

Why does Pharaoh refuse to grant God's demand given through Moses? This ongoing refusal angers Moses. It is very provocative. Yet God has told us many times that Pharaoh's refusal results in God's showing his wonders and his majesty. Notice in Exodus 11.3 that the people of Egypt understood that the Israelites had God's favor and they did not. They were willing to give what they had to the people of Israel. Doubtless many of them would even ask to join with Israel, becoming members of the covenant community as well. In this way the offspring of Abraham can become a blessing to another nation.

As with the people of Israel, our society looks at us. We proclaim God's wonders. Do we exhibit them? We suggest that our Lord is mighty. Do we live as if he is mighty? We say that the Lord is forgiving. Do we confess our sins and seek his forgiveness? We say that the Lord gave himself for our sins. Do we realize that we are without hope except for this forgiveness? May the Lord display his wonders in our society, showing through us his nature, a nature that convicts of sin, brings people to repentance, grants them forgiveness, and makes them walk in new life through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

Exodus 9.29-10.20, Hebrews 3.1-19 - Lectionary for 3/30/10 - Tuesday in Holy Week

2010-03-30T09:03:00.001-04:00

Today's readings are Exodus 9.29-10.20 and Hebrews 3.1-19.

As we continue to follow the conflict between God and Pharaoh we see that Pharaoh continues to harden his heart against God's calling. He knows he is wrong. He admits he is wrong. He makes promises to let Israel go and he goes back on those promises. He confesses he is wrong, asks forgiveness, then sins against God and Moses yet again. His heart seems to soften then harden again.

We find it easy to condemn Pharaoh, but we are really very much like he is. We know what our Lord has revealed to us in Scripture yet we secretly think there are some things that we would do differently. We have the audacity to think we are right and God is wrong. We know God's calling but we question his wisdom. We confess our sin and then we go sin again. We harden our hearts again and again.

Let us not be fooled! Our Lord will accomplish his will, his good and perfect will. Just as he delivers Israel out of the bondage they endure in Egypt, he will also deliver his people out of their bondage to sin. He has done what is necessary. Through Christ's death and resurrection the burden of sin has been released. We simply continue to live in it, taking it upon ourselves, hardening our hearts over and over. Yet Jesus has broken the bonds of sin. He has cancelled the debt that we owed. He has taken our sin upon himself. He has risen victorious over death, hell and the grave. He has done all that is necessary to complete his perfect will. All that remains is for him to gather his people to himself.

Lord, we confess we live in a state of contradiction. Though you have forgiven our sin yet we live as though we are slaves to sin. Grant us your forgiveness and remind us of your promise that you will never leave us or forsake us. Accomplish your good will in and through us.

Exodus 9.1-28, Hebrews 2.1-18 - Lectionary for 3/29/10 - Monday in Holy Week

2010-03-29T08:24:00.001-04:00

Today's readings are Exodus 9.1-28 and Hebrews 2.1-18.

Today we read that the Lord continues to pour out plagues on Egypt. Now he makes it very clear that he is distinguishing between his people, the Hebrews, and the Egyptians. He spares the livestock and crops of the Hebrews from the plagues which destroy livestock and growing plants. Pharaoh's confession in Exodus 9.27-28 is telling. "This time I have sinned; the LORD is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong. Plead with the LORD, for there has been enough of God's thunder and hail. I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer" (ESV).

How many times do we see God's displeasure against sin? We know what our Lord has commanded, at least certainly enough to know we are repeat offenders. We know he calls for perfect righteousness. We know he has defined that righteousness. We need only to read the Ten Commandments to realize that we fail. For that matter, we need only to read the first commandment to realize that. Really? Do we love and trust God only, with our whole heart, all the time, no matter what? Or do we daily erect other false gods?

What has our Lord shown us in this passage? He makes a distinction between those who are united by their calling and their faith in him, those who have held to his promises and continued with God's covenant community, and those who are not his people. We can even see in our modern society that there are some situations which are much worse for those who are not involved in a local church, for those who are not placing their hope in God, for those who are trusting in themselves and nothing but themselves. Our Lord shows us daily that it is by his grace we live.

In closing, let's simply observe that Pharaoh seemed persuaded, as we seem persuaded. Did he let the people of Israel go? Not this time. When we are persuaded, when we confess our sin, when we promise to go and sin no more, we are equally liable to go back on our promise. We are equally likely to forsake our commitments. But we'll see in a subsequent reading that God delivers his people anyway. He will accomplish his will and desire regardless of the weakness of our faith. In Christ, sinners are saved, period. In Christ, sin is atoned for, period. In Christ we can look forward to the resurrection of the body, period. Jesus himself is the resurrection and the life. This is not dependent on the quality of my faith. It is not dependent on my perseverance. It is not dependent on me at all. It is dependent on the validity of God's promise. Let us then look to our Lord, the one who makes his mighty promises and who keeps them.

Exodus 8.1-32, Hebrews 1.1-14 - Lectionary for 3/28/10 - Palm Sunday

2010-03-28T08:23:00.001-04:00

Today's readings are Exodus 8.1-32 and Hebrews 1.1-14.

Our Lord continues pouring out plagues on Egypt. Notice just a few things. First, both frogs and flies had some sacred significance to Egyptians. God is turning something that is significant to the local culture into a curse against that culture. He is showing that what they honor is something which he can use to inflict judgment on them. Also notice that beginning with the plague of flies God makes a distinction between Egypt and the Hebrews. He brings no plague of flies on the Hebrews but he does on the Egyptians.

Pharaoh and his advisers start to recognize that this is God's hand and that they cannot either cause these things to happen or control them. Moses can pray that the Lord will remove a plague and it will be removed. But Pharaoh and his wise men are unable to do anything about the situations.

When we realize that we are in trouble, when we realize that we are unable to help ourselves, when we see that the things our culture values are not all we would like them to be, may we also look to the Lord who uses those things in our lives. May the Lord show us the distinction between his blessing and his curse. May the Lord show us how he has come to bring life, hope, blessing, all embodied in God the Son, Jesus Christ, who gave his life to redeem this world to himself.

Exodus 7.1-25, Mark 16.1-20 - Lectionary for 3/27/10 - Saturday, Lent 5

2010-03-27T07:24:00.001-04:00

Today's readings are Exodus 7.1-25 and Mark 16.120.

At God's command Moses goes to Pharaoh with the demand that Pharaoh should let his people go. Pharaoh, again, as we would expect, denies the request. He does not want to release his slave population. He knows that if they leave the Egyptians will be without a valuable labor force. He may also fear their rebellion spreading to other segments of the population. Notice how God has prepared Moses for this. He has warned Moses that he should not expect a positive response but instead that God will deliver his people from Egypt through supernatural signs and by bringing trouble on Egypt.

This is exactly what God does in this world. He overturns our judgment, our wisdom, our plans through his supernatural signs. He works counter to our expectations. We plan out how our lives should go. We take steps, wise steps, well reasoned steps toward furthering our lives, our careers, raising our children, any number of other things. We think we are well reasoned. Yet our Lord overturns reason again and again. He shows himself to be the supernatural Lord who works in ways we would not expect.

Two of the ways God works in counterintuitive ways are pictured in this reading. First, a serpent is something which would be dangerous. Yet the serpent God creates not only does no harm to its master, Aaron, but it also overcomes many other serpents. The serpent God creates provokes the magicians of Egypt to do something quite dangerous, in creating dangerous serpents of their own. God takes what would normally be an accursed animal and shows his glory through it. Second, he shows through turning the water of Egypt to blood temporarily that he is the master of life and death. He is able to bring terrible destruction on the people of Egypt, just as he brings good on them, good which they never even noticed because it was so plentiful and seemed so permanent.

We realize that we take God's provision for granted. We often act as though this world is all there is. We act as though we will never have a shortage of common materials, all of which are ultimately provided by our Lord. We act as though God does not matter. Yet in this time of Lent we are brought face to face with the fact that the Lord is real, that he is acting in the world, and that his ultimate goal is to redeem us from the death we cannot avoid by dying that death on our behalf. We see that this world is on the brink of eternity. It is not our permanent resting place. Our Lord has gone before us in resurrection to eternal life. He likewise calls us to join with him by faith. We need not fear the serpents or the water which we cannot drink. He gives us life forever.

Exodus 5.1-6.1, Mark 15.33-47 - Lectionary for 3/26/10 - Friday, Lent 5

2010-03-26T08:25:00.001-04:00

Today's readings are Exodus 5.1-6.1 and Mark 15.33-47.

In our Old Testament reading we see the people of Israel, who have been suffering from oppression, suffering still more. When Pharaoh hears of their plan to leave he increases their workload, imposing a demand on them which they cannot fulfill. The people of Israel receive penalties and cry out even more to the Lord for deliverance. Pharaoh gloats that the people have not been delivered from their labors.

How often are we like Pharaoh? When someone wants something that we don't want to grant we increase that person's labors. The teenager wants some special privilege so we parents impose burdensome tasks on the child. An employee is dealing with a situation away from work which would be made much easier if he were to leave a little early. We say it would be fine as long as all the day's work is done and then we find extra work. Someone who has offended us wishes to be reconciled and we make it more difficult because, quite frankly, we want to hurt that person. We pile heavy burdens on those we disagree with, burdens we would not be willing or able to move no matter how hard we tried.

What is God's promise? He repeats his promise in Exodus 6.1. He will deliver his people. In fact, he will deliver them in such a way that Pharaoh, who did not want them to leave, will drive them out himself. Our Lord fulfills his promises. He fulfills them in ways that we can't imagine. He fulfills them in such a way that the very people who try to hinder his will are left speechless. Consider the crucifixion of Christ. The one who did no wrong is convicted as a criminal. The one who is a king is stripped of all his authority. The deathless one is put to a cruel death. The sinless one receives the burden of the sin of the world. The plans of sinful humans and of the devil seem to be complete as they have put the Lord of life to death. But God has promised a savior and that's exactly what he delivers, counter to expectation, counter to reason, counter to all our plans against him. In the resurrection of Christ we see God's triumph over death, hell and the grave. Indeed our Lord's promises in Christ are fulfilled.

Exodus 4.19-31, Mark 15.16-32 - Lectionary for 3/25/10 - Thursday, Lent 5

2010-03-25T07:21:00.000-04:00

Today's readings are Exodus 4.19-31 and Mark 15.16-32.

In Exodus today we see that Moses is returned to Egypt. The Lord has prepared him to face Pharaoh. The Lord has also prepared the circumstances of Moses' return. He has observed that the people who were going to kill Moses were all dead and gone. He has visited Aaron to arrange a meeting, since Aaron is going to act as Moses' spokesman.

Observe the mirror image in verses 21-26. Pharaoh will be punished by the loss of his firstborn son if he does not allow Israel to go serve God. Yet because of the Moses' failure to keep the covenant of circumcision God threatens to punish Moses on behalf of his child. So doing, our Lord teaches us that the disobedience of his covenant people is very serious. As we harm our children by our failure, so the Lord allows the blame to be on our heads. Yet at the same time, through the shedding of blood, our Lord has appointed forgiveness. He has called out a special people to himself, through the shedding of his own blood, received by faith.

As the Israelites could do, so also we can believe. We, like them, hear that the Lord visits his people. We know our Lord has seen our affliction. May we, like the Israelites, bow down and worship our Lord and Savior, who has come to us to redeem us through the shedding of his own blood.

Exodus 4.1-18, Mark 15.1-15 - Lectionary for 3/24/10 - Wednesday, Lent 5

2010-03-24T06:48:00.000-04:00

Today's readings are Exodus 4.1-18 and Mark 15.1-15.

Our Lord has promised mighty signs to Moses. He has appeared to Moses in the burning bush which is not consumed. He has shown that he can adjust the way nature works to bring about his will. Yet Moses has trouble believing that God's power is in him and will work through him to deliver the people of Israel from their bondage. The Lord gives multiple signs for Moses to perform. Yet Moses still doubts, he still does not wish to speak out for God. Therefore the Lord sends Aaron to convey the message he has given Moses to the Pharaoh, the people of Egypt, and the children of Israel.

Do we face fears and doubts? We certainly do. Look what we proclaim as a Christian gospel, after all. We proclaim that sin is real, that it is an offense against God, who is invisible. We proclaim that there is one God who is eternally existent in three persons. Yet we maintain this is one God. We proclaim that sin brings death and that only the death of a perfect sinless human in our place can deliver us from sin. We proclaim that all humans are sinful, therefore to deliver us from sin we need a perfect human who must be specially provided by God. We proclaim that the sin of one person somehow puts sin onto all people and that the death of the perfect human will pay the penalty of sin for all humans, including those who have already died. We proclaim that the perfect one who died for human sin was raised from the dead and ascended to heaven. We proclaim a bodily resurrection, a resurrection to life in blessing for all who believe and a resurrection to life in condemnation for all who do not believe. We say that this eternal blessed life is procured not by our good works but by the good work of Jesus on our behalf. Is this enough to make us doubt? We Christians proclaim lots of things which seem utterly insane. Yet we have reason to believe they are absolutely true.

Just how supernatural is our Lord? Just how able to create, sustain, and adjust this natural world is he? Has he ever changed in this regard? While we fear that we are wrong, let us also look to our Lord in faith, knowing that he is the one who has done mighty signs in the world before and that he can continue to work in just the same way in the future. He has promised never to leave us. He has promised that he will be with us to the end. Resting in this promise of Matthew 28, let us then trust that he will be just as good as his word.

Exodus 2.23-3.22, Mark 14.53-72 - Lectionary for 3/23/10 - Tuesday, Lent 5

2010-03-23T07:27:00.001-04:00

Today's readings are Exodus 2.23-3.22 and Mark 14.53-72.

In our reading today from Exodus we see one of the most powerful revelations of God in the Old Testament. God has heard the cry of his people. Their woes come before him (as always) and he remembers his covenant (just like he always does). The people have become aware that they are oppressed. They have seen that they cannot deliver themselves from their situation. At long last the people of Israel see that they are unable to work salvation for themselves by themselves. What is God's promise? He promises to deliver the people from Egypt with his mighty hand. He shows himself through a miraculous appearance. He speaks directly to his messengers who will carry his word of promise to others. He himself will provide the physical means by which the people will receive deliverance from their bondage.

This passage mightily proclaims the Gospel. We see that we all are bound in sin. We are unable to escape. No matter how much piety we try, no matter how many programs we follow, no matter how hard we work at it, we are unable to deliver ourselves from these besetting sins. We run here and there finding no rest, no comfort. We may escape from some of the situations where others sin against us, but we are quite able to sin all on our own and enjoy the fruits of it. And our sin does have consequences. We can see it. We can feel it. We can taste it. We live with the strife, the dissatisfaction, the physical consequences of our sin. We fear to speak with someone we have offended. We have to work extra hard because we have debts to pay. We weigh ourselves realizing that we have less self-control than we'd like. We have topics that we just don't talk about. We shudder to realize that God really can see inside our hearts. We hide behind vague corporate confession and we're really glad when the pastor doesn't announce that we'll confess our sins before God and then shut up for fifteen or twenty minutes so we can really get started. We cannot break this power of sin. We need someone else to do it, just as the Israelites could not break the binding power of Egypt.

Who is it that breaks sin? God himself comes down with mighty signs, with miraculous power, in the person of Jesus Christ, living a sinless life on our behalf, not to show us the way to our own perfection, but to actually be perfection for us. When we sin we sin against our Lord. When we think and do things that bring the fruit of sin upon ourselves, we pour the penalty for that sin on our Lord and Savior. He comes and subjects himself to the power and pain of sin, not entering into it, but destroying its power. With his mighty hand he delivers us from sin. How does he do this? He does it by his death and resurrection. He reveals it through his proclaimed Word, through his enacted Word in the Sacraments, through the work of his messengers. As he sent Moses and Aaron, so he sends countless Christian pastors and other Christian workers who bring the good news of Christ to our world.

Our Lord has raised himself up as a deliverer, the deliverer we need, to rescue us from the bondage in Egypt, the bondage of sin.

Exodus 2.1-22, Mark 14.32-52 - Lectionary for 3/22/10 - Monday, Lent 5

2010-03-22T07:35:00.001-04:00

Today's readings are Exodus 2.1-22 and Mark 14.32-52.

In Exodus chapter 2 we are introduced to Moses. Born of humble parentage, from the house of Levi, Moses originally was under a death sentence. The standing orders were to execute Hebrew male children. Yet Moses' mother hid him as long as possible then took what seemed like desperate measures to try preserving his life. With Moses' sister watching, Moses was picked up by the daughter of Pharaoh. The baby needed a nurse, so Moses' sister was able to bring his mother. Moses was therefore able to be brought up by his own mother, doubtless learning about God's covenant with His people.

Because Moses was adopted by Pharaoh's daughter he ended up being instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians. He was elevated to royal rank. It appears that Moses was known as an Egyptian, though he seemed to be known to the Hebrews in verse 13 as a Hebrew, not a genuine Egyptian. Yet there is no doubt that Moses had rank and privilege. But rank and privilege aren't all they are cut out to be. They may not be helpful to us at times. See that just as anyone would, Moses was under threat of death after he had killed an Egyptian and tried to hide his actions. Just like anyone else could, Moses became a fugitive from the law.

Is God's hand on us when we are elevated to authority? Is his hand on us when we become fugitives? We would do better to ask when God's hand stops guiding us and protecting us. In fact, we understand with Paul that nothing can separate us from God's love (Romans 8). We are truly God's sons by adoption (John 1). And unlike Pharaoh's sons, who must flee from him when they sin, God's sons come to him in faith to receive forgiveness for their sin (1 John 1). Moses' interaction with Pharaoh, his sin of murder, changed his life forever. He was driven to the next step in his life of service to God. We likewise see our circumstances as ways the Lord directs us. Even our sins and their consequences have an influence on the way we will progress in our life and work. May the Lord grant that we ever look to him and his provision, confessing our sins, seeing the love our Father has lavished upon us, walking in faith, knowing that he has provided for us in the past and will continue to provide for us forever.

Exodus 1.1-22, Mark 14.12-31 - Lectionary for 3/21/10 - Fifth Sunday in Lent

2010-03-20T22:04:00.001-04:00

Today's readings are Exodus 1.1-22 and Mark 14.12-31.

As we read the beginning of Exodus today we move quickly through a long period of Israel's history. The children of Jacob have lived in Egypt for close to 500 years by Exodus chapter 1. Coming across this reading gives us an opportunity to think how things have changed for our people over the past half a millennium. How different they are today than they were in the early 1500s. We can look ahead and wonder what our descendants will find in their world around the year 2500. It will, no doubt, be a much different world in some ways than it is today. Yet we always want to consider what we will learn from our passage of Scripture. What predictions can we safely make for future generations?

The children of Israel have had the blessing of God. They have increased in the land. They have grown strong. We see this pattern that God's people tend to increase, not decrease. They tend to be less likely to engage in destructive behaviors. Christ's people tend to take care of one another as well as taking care of the people around them. We value life so we are more likely to delight in bringing children into this world. God blesses his people in many ways. We can assume in the future we will continue to see that our Lord and Savior increases his flock.

The children of Israel here find themselves in a time of persecution. We likewise should realize that there are times of freedom and times of bondage. There are times of rejoicing and times of mourning. There are times when societies delight in and embrace Christians and there are times when societies persecute Christians. The twentieth century was probably the most dangerous century in which to be a Christian to date. It will not always be that way, but we can assume there will be times and places that cause serious physical danger to believers, just as the Egyptian society described in Exodus 1 is dangerous to the Hebrews.

What do we see of God's provision? We see that even in the dangerous time there are people living, working, having children, fearing God, and raising their families. Our Lord will continue to care for and provide for his people even when they are in physical danger.

When we think about persecution we are faced with two important issues. First, we are faced with our own mortality. Though we have eternal confidence in the Lord who has promised that he will never leave us or forsake us, that he is with us to the end of the age (Matthew 28), we realize that there are enemies who can kill our bodies. We also realize that there are some people in this world who would like to take the opportunity to destroy every living Christian's life. This has happened in every age and will continue to be one of the signs of this fallen world. Ultimately we also realize that even the redeemed are still sinners. We realize that temporal death and eternal punishment are what we deserve. We frankly deserve nothing better than to be dragged out into the street and to die a painful death. The soul who sins must die. We confess that we are sinners. Go ahead, do the math.

Yet there is a second issue this passage brings before us. We realize that though our bodies are mortal, though we are steeped in sin, though we deserve God's eternal punishment, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has taken that penalty on himself. He, the perfect Lamb of God, came to live in our stead, to die in our place, to give his life a ransom for many, for all who believe, in fact. So when we see people struggling with the persecution that comes upon them, we simultaneously see people raising their eyes in faith, looking to Jesus, realizing that while they may bear the scorn of people in their society, he has borne the pain of scorn. He has borne the penalty for sin, and that while they deserve that penalty, while we deserve that penalty, he deserves none of it. Willingly he gave himself to die a sinner's death in order that we who are sinners by nature may live the life of the Second Adam.

Lord, may we have eyes to see your grace, a heart to desire your mercy poured out upon your people, and steadfast trust in your completed work of salvation.

Genesis 49.29-50.7, 14-26, Mark 14.1-11 - Lectionary for 3/20/10 - Saturday, Lent 4

2010-03-20T08:31:00.001-04:00

Today's readings are Genesis 49.29-50.7, 14-26 and Mark 14.1-11.

We see at long last that Joseph's brothers ask his forgiveness. They have long realized that they sinned against their brother. Yet they don't seem to ask his forgiveness until after their father's death, when they begin to worry about their safety. We don't know when it happened, but Joseph had forgiven them and he expressed his forgiveness to them.

Some counselors talk about two types of forgiveness, attitudinal forgiveness and transactional forgiveness. Attitudinal forgiveness is what happens when you decide that you can forgive the sin someone committed against you, whether or not that person has confessed and whether or not you will ever have the opportunity to express it. Think about the situation if someone thoughtlessly does something that has a negative impact on your life, even a brief one. Someone cuts you off in traffic or makes a rude gesture, someone unknown to you vandalizes your property, etc. Attitudinal forgiveness allows you not to carry a grudge around. It's an important step to make. Somewhere along the line, Joseph had developed an attitude of forgiving his brothers. Transactional forgiveness is what we see here in Genesis 50. The brothers apologize and Joseph expresses forgiveness.

We can find comfort in looking to our Lord and Savior. He had an attitude of forgiveness which impelled him to take on human form and come to us. He transacted that forgiveness when he died, receiving in his body the penalty for our sin. Our lives have been transformed by forgiveness. May they also be used to transform those around us as we receive and grant forgiveness.

"Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who have trespassed against us."

"Freely you have received, freely give."

Lord, may you make your people a people characterized by your loving forgiveness.

Genesis 47.1-31, Mark 13.24-37 - Lectionary for 3/19/10 - Friday, Lent 4

2010-03-19T07:40:00.001-04:00

Today's readings are Genesis 47.1-31 and Mark 13.24-37.

I happen to live in a country in which government control and taxation seem to be increasing every year. Sometimes it's difficult to know how to deal with this situation biblically. The people of Egypt had a problem similar to this in the time of Joseph. During the famine the people spent all their money to buy food from their government, food they themselves had raised. When the money was gone they had to sell their livestock to the government in order to buy food. They were effectively decapitalized. Finally they sold themselves into slavery. It isn't clear how the people were released from their slavery at the end of the famine, yet they were released. Afterward they had a 20% tax on what they were able to produce.

We see the outcome. After many years it does not seem to have had an overall ill effect on Egypt. For centuries afterward they remained the major stable food producer in their region. They had an asset that they could exploit freely.

Where's the biblical application of all this? God, in his providence, has supplied us with what we need. In times of hardship and in times of plenty we know that our Lord is the sovereign ruler of all creation. He has cared for his people. We can look confidently at his finished work on the cross and know that our deepest problem, sin, has been atoned for. Our God feeds the wild birds. How much more will he care for and cherish his chosen people?

Genesis 45.1-20, 24-28, Mark 13.1-23 - Lectionary for 3/18/10 - Thursday, Lent 4

2010-03-18T09:55:00.001-04:00

Today's readings are Genesis 45.1-20, 24-28 and Mark 13.1-23.

What is Jacob's response when he finds that Joseph is alive? He is astonished. "His heart became numb" (Gen. 45.26b, ESV) so that he couldn't speak. I'd like us to observe that Jacob is moved in this great way to find that his son whom he thought dead was alive. Yet we are not moved in such a way when we look to Jesus who was reported as dead and showed himself to be alive. We are not moved in this way when we find that someone is believing on Christ, seeking to walk in faith and obedience to his calling. We are not moved this way when we contemplate that our Lord has given us life from death, ransoming us by his faithfulness. What kind of ingrates are we? Our Lord has given us eternal life and we complain about the weather, the condition of the roads, the person who cut us off in traffic. Our Lord has risen with healing in his wings and we complain because we are suffering from some of the pains of this mortal life. Let it not be so! Let us rather turn to our Lord, seeing how bad death and privation is. Let us rejoice in what he has given us. Let us look to him in hope. Let us eagerly anticipate our heavenly home, by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with the Father and the Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Genesis 44.1-18, 32-34, Mark 12.28-44 - Lectonary for 3/17/10 - Wednesday, Lent 4

2010-03-17T07:16:00.001-04:00

Today's readings are Genesis 44.1-18, 32-34 and Mark 12.28-44.

As we read in Genesis today we should realize that we still do not know exactly why Joseph is tormenting his brothers as he is. I want to keep my thesis on the table still, that Joseph is sinning against them because he has been angered by them. What we do see is that Joseph's brothers are moved to despair. They realize their sin against their brother and how depriving their father of his beloved son was a really cruel thing to do. They have probably realized that before, but here and now they are forced to confront the issue. Instead of relieving themselves of an annoying brother for their own convenience, they are being relieved of a non-annoying brother at someone else's whim. The tables have been turned on them. They are being sinned against in a way rather similar to the way they sinned against their father by selling Joseph and allowing him to think Joseph was dead.

Is any of us above such sin? Is any one of us above doing something that will harm another person in order to make for our convenience or comfort? Though we may try not to do much harm, we are nonetheless engaged in the very same kind of sin Joseph was practicing, the very same sin his brothers practiced. We want our way and when we don't get our way we make life difficult for others. That's the way we are. What do we deserve? We deserve exactly the kind of punishment Joseph and his brothers all deserved. In the words of Draco, the lawgiver of Athens, the reason the death penalty was imposed so freely was that lots of crimes deserved death. He was only sorry there wasn't a more severe penalty for the more severe crimes. In the bible, the soul who sins dies. It's as simple as that. We all deserve exactly that.

What is the hope here? See again the typology of Joseph, our picture of Jesus. Joseph "died" in the place of is brothers. He went ahead of them and provided a means by which they could live. He gave them what they needed and gave it to them without demanding money. Likewise, we who believe have hope in Jesus, who has endured suffering and death for our sin. We have hope in Jesus, who lives again as the firstfruits of the resurrection. We look to our Lord who has demonstrated himself to be the savior adequate for the whole world's sin. We look to Christ.

Genesis 43.1-28, Mark 12.13-27 - Lectionary for 3/16/10 - Tuesday, Lent 4

2010-03-16T06:33:00.001-04:00

Today's readings are Genesis 43.1-28 and Mark 12.13-27.

Joseph's steward told Joseph's brothers that they had great treasure in their sacks. No doubt he was right. The children of Israel bore great treasure with them, not because they had money to pay for their food, not because they had been given food freely by Joseph, but because they were the people bearing God's promise. They were the people from whom the Savior would come to bring a blessing not only to their family but to all the nations. They were the people who could look to God in hope, knowing that they were partakers of the promise. Yes, Joseph's brothers bear great treasure.

As God was providing for the people of Israel, giving them what they needed in terms of food and physical safety, so also he provides for his people, the children of Abraham by faith, who look to him as the fulfiller of his promise. We look to Jesus, the savior of the world, who gave himself for us. We look to Jesus, the one who gives us his body and his blood that we may eat and drink by faith and receive nourishment for our souls. We look to the living Word of God, who has also given a written word that we can read and study. We bear great treasure as we bear the Gospel of Christ to this suffering and dying world.

Yet how often we also live as Joseph's brothers lived. They knew there was food for purchase. They did not know that the provision for their needs was being made by the one whom they had killed and who lived to give them life. Likewise we, when we eat ungratefully, when we take the Word of God for granted, when we trust in ourselves rather than in our Lord, we bring shame on God. We act as though he is irrelevant, as though he doesn't care, even as though he doesn't exist. We, like Joseph's brothers, are blind to the reality of God's provision for us in Christ.

May the Lord open our eyes to see the great treasure he has given us. May the Lord grant us repentance and forgiveness as we see the enormity of our folly and look to him in faith.

Genesis 42.1-34, 38, Mark 12.1-12 - Lectionary for 3/15/10 - Monday, Lent 4

2010-03-15T07:34:00.000-04:00

Today's readings are Genesis 42.1-34, 38 and Mark 12.1-12.

Many times when we consider the interactions between Joseph and his brothers who came to buy food from Egypt we try to explain away Joseph's roughness. We make countless excuses for Joseph. We try to compare him to God, who shows us many difficult providences. We try to guard him from all blame. After all, he's a hero in the Scriptures, right?

I want to propose something a little bit radical today. Joseph is sinning against his brothers. They sinned against him in selling him into slavery and in holding animosity against him before that. Now, some twenty years later, he is sinning right back at them. He's angry. He's upset that he has been taken away from his family and his home. He doesn't want them to recognize him. He may even be thinking of doing them harm. He sells them grain and then puts their money back in the bags. This allows him to prosecute them if he wants to. He makes their interactions difficult.

Are we holding things against others who have hurt us in the past? Are we, like Joseph, in need of repentance? Are we causing people to bear the sins that their Lord and Savior has already died for? Let us then repent and see the depth of the forgiveness our Lord purchased for us, the same forgiveness the Lord purchased for those who sin against us. Let us not repay sin with more sin, but let us be used by our Lord to repay sin with the forgiveness our Lord has given us.

Genesis 41.28-57, Mark 11.20-33 - Lectionary for 3/14/10 - Fourth Sunday in Lent

2010-03-14T08:52:00.001-04:00

Today's readings are Genesis 41.28-57 and Mark 11.20-33.

Joseph has shown that God is able to provide the Egyptians with a prediction of future events. As Joseph is raised to high position in Egypt let's notice what he does. He readily accepts the exaltation of the Egyptians. He behaves like a mighty prince in Egypt. He taxes the people then allows them to spend their assets buying back what he took from them in the years of plenty. While this action served to protect people in some measure from famine, it did not stop the people from becoming impoverished.

Do we take God's blessings and use them as an opportunity to profit? On one level we certainly should. God makes rich people as well as poor people. Do we accept authority? It is not a bad thing. It can be used to bless people. The question is how we use that authority, how we use that profit. Do we use it to deprive people of what they have worked for? Or do we use it to serve our neighbor and help him to protect and improve his income and assets? Let us remember that where we use what our Lord has given us to tread upon our neighbor we are acting in opposition to his mercy and grace. Has he blessed us? We are to bless those around us. After all, who is it that makes us blessed? Who is it who provides us with our daily bread? Who is it who gave himself to become a curse for us so we could be blessed in the resurrection?

Our God and Father, who is ever merciful and exalted on high, and who exalts whom you wish, we pray that you may work in and through us to bring blessing to the least of these our brothers, as you have also poured out your blessings without measure on us, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Genesis 41.1-27, Mark 11.1-19 - Lectionary for 3/13/10 - Saturday, Lent 3

2010-03-13T13:02:00.001-05:00

Today's readings are Genesis 41.1-27 and Mark 11.1-19.

Today Joseph is released from prison and brought before Pharaoh to do what none of the Egyptian magicians were able to do. Pharaoh had a dream which Joseph told him represented seven years of plenty to be followed by seven years of famine.

In some parts of Western Christianity these days there is a big interest in miraculous signs, interpretation of dreams, and other spiritual gifts. Joseph's ability to tell what the dreams meant is often cited as an authority for all of God's people to expect similar understanding and to find authoritative words of God in dreams and natural phenomena. But something we should realize is that in Joseph's time God had not provided his people with a definitive written word which could be studied and pondered. We can therefore expect that he would have been more likely to reveal principles and events to people by means of natural revelation and supernatural dreams, visions, and utterances.

This brings us to a second important point about natural revelation and the kind of revelation we receive in dreams and visions. Christians universally confess with the Scripture that God has revealed himself in nature. We can see his power, his intricate workmanship, his provision, all around us. No doubt people sometimes have dreams that are downright prophetic in nature. Yet interpretation of all these matters is dependent on how the interpreter understands them. As Pharaoh's magicians didn't know what the dream was about but Joseph did, so also we may expect that we would understand sometimes but sometimes not. We certainly tend to filter all we see through our own experience, which is not necessarily a reliable filter. Add a slightly vague revelation to an unreliable filter and you can see that the recipient of God's revelation will want to be very cautious indeed.

The Scripture, God's revealed and definitive word about himself and his creation, gives us a much more clear revelation. Should we discount dreams altogether? Certainly not. But we are far better advised to spend our time seeking understanding of our world through good understanding of the Scripture. Let us look to the Word of God and see what God has done. Knowing this we are very well prepared to understand what he is doing in our world right now.

Genesis 40.1-23, Mark 10.32-52 - Lectionary for 3/12/10 - Friday, Lent 3

2010-03-12T07:20:00.001-05:00

Today's readings are Genesis 40.1-23 and Mark 10.32-52.

There's a real truth gap in our society today. People are willing to tell some of the truth, some of the time. This is a very serious problem. Consider, for instance, what we see in Joseph as we read Genesis 40. What if Joseph were like so many of our pastors of churches today? He might give the positive, rosy interpretation of the dream to both the cupbearer and the baker. After all, the Lord wants to redeem you. He wants to restore you to prosperity. He will restore you to political favor. This is the time of God's favor. This is your day, the day you move forward in victory.

Now I must shake myself and get the Joel Osteen out of my voice. All right, that worked. Ahem. That's all very good and well, but it is not true for everyone. The Lord has sovereignly appointed that the cupbearer will be restored to his position but the baker will not. While we proclaim Gospel and point out the favor of God in Christ, we also must point out the deadly, crushing weight of the Law. The soul who sins must die. The wages of sin is death. If we try to earn God's favor through our good works, no matter how hard we work, we will surely fail.

In our society there's altogether too much one-sided preaching. Either it's all Gospel with no contrasting Law or, worse yet, there's Law posing as Gospel. Joseph didn't fall into those traps. He told the truth. There's condemnation and there's blessing. We all earn the condemnation. God's good pleasure has been to bless all who believe on him despite that condemnation we have earned. Law and Gospel.

Genesis 39.1-23, Mark 10.13-31 - Lectionary for 3/11/10 - Thursday, Lent 3

2010-03-11T07:33:00.001-05:00

Today's readings are Genesis 39.1-23 and Mark 10.13-31.

We rejoin the story of Joseph when we find him in Egypt, serving in the household to which he was sold. There's something about adversity that matures a person. In yesterday's reading Joseph was quite certain he would be the ruler of his family. We have to wonder if he still thought that in today's reading. Some time in slavery could make us doubt our destiny. Yet as Joseph served his Lord and his owner faithfully he saw God's blessing fall on the household. Things looked pretty good again until the incident with his owner's wife. Joseph goes to prison, falsely accused of misconduct. It looks bad. Yet even in prison, Joseph is elevated again.

What are we to make of this? It would be nice to say that if we are faithful to the Lord everything will be fine and we will be elevated in rank. Then again, we could say that if we are faithful to the Lord we will likely be sold into slavery and imprisoned on false pretenses. What we can say for a fact is that the Lord knows his people and will accomplish his good pleasure through them. He has taken Joseph to Egypt and put him into situations that develop Joseph's character and abilities. He has put Joseph into position to be elevated and guard the food supply of the country. He has taken Joseph and started preparing him to serve faithfully no matter the circumstances.

May the Lord use us as well. May he also bless us to see some of the good he is accomplishing in and through us.

Genesis 37.1-36, Mark 10.1-12 - Lectionary for 3/10/10 - Wednesday, Lent 3

2010-03-10T06:40:00.001-05:00

Today's readings are Genesis 37.1-36 and Mark 10.1-12.

In some varieties of American Fundamentalism there is (or at least was when I was involved in it) an intense interest in what is called "typology." Typology has nothing to do with using a typewriter. In Greek, the word τυπος (typos) means a pattern or image. This is where we get words like "archetype" and "prototype" as well as "typewriter." When we speak of typology in biblical interpretation we are looking at a character or situation which is emblematic of another, later character or situation. That other character or situation is the "antitype," essentially the fulfillment.

In today's reading from Genesis we see Joseph realizing he will rule over his family. We see him being betrayed by his brothers and reported as dead. We see that he is actually alive. In this character of Joseph we can see a type of Christ. Jesus, who proclaims himself to be the Son of God, is given over to death by his own brothers, the Jews, just like Joseph is sold by Judah, his brother, the ancestor of Jesus. Joseph is stripped of his garments and reported as dead. We see that Jesus was pronounced dead by a centurion, someone whose training and experience led him to identify "dead" quite adequately. Joseph was sent into a foreign country from which he was later to show himself as the one upon whom the lives of his brothers depended. Likewise, Jesus will show himself in his return as the one upon whom all our lives depend.

What else do you see? I left some out on purpose.

Lord, may we rejoice as we see you, the sin-bearer, the savior of the world, the one who ever lives to make intercession for us.

Genesis 35.1-29, Mark 9.33-50 - Lectionary for 3/9/10 - Tuesday, Lent 3

2010-03-09T07:55:00.001-05:00

Today's readings are Genesis 35.1-29 and Mark 9.33-50.

Our Genesis reading today reminds us that we don't always perceive things as they are. I'd like to give just a brief sample of what I saw in the passage.

Isaac who was dying before Jacob left finally dies now after many years.

Jacob and Esau seem to be reconciled though they would never be able to get along.

The wife Jacob would love forever is the first to die.

Faithful Jacob's family had to destroy their idols.

What other unexpected things do we see in this passage? How about in our own lives? How do those unexpected things point us to theological truths that seem altogether too odd to be true?

Genesis 29.1-30, Mark 9.14-32 - Lectionary for 3/8/10 - Monday, Lent 3

2010-03-08T08:34:00.001-05:00

Today's readings are Genesis 29.1-30 and Mark 9.14-32.

We continue in today's reading to see the fruit of sin and deceit. Jacob thinks he has found true love. He works for seven years to gain his bride. Apparently he trusts Laban. Laban seems to esteem Jacob. Yet when it comes time to marry Rachel, Jacob the deceiver is himself the deceived.

This is a fact of life. We are sinned against. The critical question is how we respond when we are sinned against. Do we respond with anger, indignation, sorrow, envy, maybe a desire for revenge? Some of these responses may be appropriate in some limited circumstances. Yet if we look at ourselves carefully, our response to sin is almost always to sin right back. Do we start out with righteous anger at someone's sin? Good. But then we become angry not because that person has sinned against God but because the person has sinned against us. We start to want retribution and to think how God's vengeance for sin isn't timely enough. Or maybe we start to feel self-righteous, saying we would never do what that person did. Our response to sin is almost always sin. We are just as capable of sin as those who sin against us.

When we are sinned against we have an opportunity to see that we have need of repentance, just as the person who sinned against us does. And the good news is that we have a savior, the kind of savior we need, Christ the Lord, who became sin for us. He became sin not only for those who sin against us, but also for us as we sin right back. Our Lord has become sin, taking our sin upon himself, the undefiled becoming that which is defilement. Our Lord has received the full measure of justice at the hand of the Father. The soul who sins must die, and so God the Son clothes himself in mortality, becomes sin for us, and dies in our place. Our savior shows us the power of resurrection. Though sin kills, we are brought to life in Christ. When we are sinned against, let us look to our mighty savior.

Genesis 27.30-45; 28.10-22, Mark 9.1-13 - Lectionary for 3/7/10 - Third Sunday in Lent

2010-03-07T09:48:00.001-05:00

Today's readings are Genesis 27.30-45 and 28.10-22 and Mark 9.1-13.

We see in our Genesis reading today that Jacob is blessed indeed but Esau's "blessing" is a bit more like a curse. Esau will become a great nation, but he will suffer under the yoke of his brother's rule. He will strive to break that domination.

As we think about the kind of life situations we have, sometimes we see that we have difficulties because of general human weakness. We didn't know something that would possibly have affected one of our decisions, we made the wrong decision and things don't work out well. Sometimes we have difficulties because of other people's sin. The decisions others make have a profound influence on our situations. Sometimes God gives us hard things as a result of our own folly.

Let's consider the situation of Isaac's family in that regard. Esau sold his birthright. He continues to go without it. He has no claim to primacy because he yielded that claim. Jacob acted deceitfully in obtaining Esau's blessing. He has to leave home from fear of retribution. He leaves behind an alienated family. Isaac favored Esau in his relationships and thus nurtured strife within his family. Rebekah favored Jacob in her relationships and thus nurtured strife within the family. We all are likewise guilty of holding wrong priorities, making foolish decisions, and harming ourselves and our families. Maybe our sins aren't as obvious as those of Isaac's family, at least not to us, but they are present nonetheless.

Even people who are God's chosen ones, heirs of the promises of God, bring difficulties on themselves and on others. We all sin. When we see the fruit of sin, may our Lord drive us to look all the more to Jesus, who has reversed the curse of sin, becoming sin for us, satisfying God's righteous judgment upon sin.

Genesis 27.1-29, Mark 8.22-38 - Lectionary for 3/6/10 - Saturday, Lent 2

2010-03-06T09:54:00.001-05:00

Today's readings are Genesis 27.1-29 and Mark 8.22-38.

Our Lord directs his blessing in unexpected ways. See today how Jacob, the second son of Isaac, the child of the promise, though not literally the first born of Abraham, receives the blessing from his father, blessing him to be the one his brothers will serve. Jacob, the one whose name means "deceiver" is becoming a channel of blessing to all nations. He is given this blessing which is so solemn it cannot be revoked by his father. He is given this birthright which he had earlier deceived his brother into yielding. He is given promised blessing of God's favor.

Whom do we seek to bless? Do we always seek the one who seems the most worthy? Do we seek the one who seems to need it the most? Do we shy away from some and favor others? Let us rather ask whom God would bless through us. May he Lord give us the courage to act as his channel of blessing to whatever person he wishes to bless through us.

Genesis 24.32-52, 61-67, Mark 8.1-21 - Lectionary for 3/5/10 - Friday, Lent 2

2010-03-05T07:32:00.001-05:00

Today's readings are Genesis 24.32-52 and 61-67 and Mark 8.1-21.

We see today that Abraham's servant completes his mission. The Lord has indeed gone before him. The bride he has selected from Abraham's ancestral household is given to him and to Isaac by her father. She herself is quite willing to go. They return and Isaac joins with Rebekah in marriage.

Scripture often compares the marriage to Christ and the Church. The Church is the bride of Christ. If we may be so bold as to make an allegory here, let's observe that Rebekah is given over to her husband. She doesn't spend time toying with him or toying with the idea of whether or not marriage would be a good idea. When the meet, they marry. I fear that many people in our modern society have the idea they would like to try out the Christian faith. Is this not like taking marriage for a "test drive" - what the Bible clearly paints as sexual immorality? This ought not to be, particularly in matters of the faith. Certainly Rebekah had familiarity with what marriage was, what would be expected of her, what the blessings would be and what the demands would be. Likewise it is right that people should be exposed to what life in the Christian Church will be like. But let's not be so hesitant to expect that people will dedicate themselves to a wholehearted life in the body of Christ. These are matters of eternal life. They are not to be toyed with.

Lord, as you prepared Isaac to care for Rebekah, so you yourself care for your body, the Church. May we see the loving care you exhibit for your people. May we devote ourselves to you in love and trust.

Genesis 24.1-31, Mark 7.24-37 - Lectionary for 3/4/10 - Thursday, Lent 2

2010-03-04T07:35:00.001-05:00

Today's readings are Genesis 24.1-31 and Mark 7.24-37.

As we read in Genesis today we may get the idea that Isaac was not very active in pursuit of a wife. That's actually a bit of a misnomer. We should realize that it was really Abraham's job to secure a wife for Isaac. That's exactly what Abraham sets out to do here.

Much is made today of the kind of search people carry on for a husband or wife. We often want just the right person. In fact, many people have such a tendency to want just the right person, to "marry up" and secure a spouse who is good looking, smart, funny, and preferably wealthier than we are, we see a growing population of adults who have not married. They just haven't been able to find someone good enough. As they age, marriage becomes more difficult.

What kind of person does Abraham desire for his son, the child of promise? He desires a woman who is from his clan and who is willing to come and marry Isaac. That's all? That's all. He wants Isaac to have a wife who will be faithful, who understands that Isaac will be her husband, her guard, her guide. He wants Isaac to have a wife who will be a companion to him and will join with him in bringing God's promised blessing to all people. Looks are optional. Wealth is optional. In the final analysis, Abraham is interested in seeing his son married to someone who will leave home and family and follow Isaac.

Consider the adventure the servant goes on. He enters into unknown territory. He doesn't know anyone there. He is to go and bring back a bride. Armed with a fleet of camels, presumably a number of other servants, and a bunch of golden gifts, he goes, entrusts himself to the mercy of God, and finds a distant cousin of Abraham on the first try. God proves to the servant that he will in fact work to enable the servant to accomplish his task.

What has our Lord placed before us today? What task has he given us? Are we ready to look past the cultural hangups we have? Are we ready to look for the task to be accomplished in God's timing, using our Lord's resources, taking us along for a wild ride? Are we ready to trudge around town looking for the person who will offer to water our camels for us? Are we ready to face a task which may bring us defeat and send us home without success, as this servant of Abraham was? Are we ready to give God the glory for whatever situation he brings us into and whatever outcome he brings about? Let us rejoice in his provision, in the tasks he has given us, in the opportunities we have to love and serve our neighbors, and in the fact that he actually understands the task truly at hand.

Genesis 22.1-19, Mark 7.1-23 - Lectionary for 3/3/10 - Wednesday, Lent 2

2010-03-03T07:09:00.001-05:00

Today's readings are Genesis 22.1-19 and Mark 7.1-23.

We have made a bit of a chronological jump in our reading in Genesis. When we last saw Isaac he was a newborn. It is now some fourteen years later. Abraham, a very old man now, receives another directive from God. This time he is to believe that the child of promise God has given him, Isaac, is to be sacrificed as a burnt offering. He is to be an offering to God, given by the hand of his father. Abraham is to take this child for whom he waited and waited, the child of promise, and give him over to God in a way that runs counter to everything he understands about righteousness. Human sacrifice wasn't anywhere in Abraham's playbook. In fact, there are lots of things in this episode which weren't in Abraham's playbook. Isaac is the child of promise through whom Abraham will have countless offspring. This was God's promise. Now God is saying he should kill Isaac, which ends that hope. Earlier Abraham was as good as dead. Now he would be again. God values life. Abraham values life. If Abraham kills Isaac at God's command what does this say about their commitment to life? If God intends to raise up another child of promise, how long is he going to keep Abraham waiting this time? He's hardly a young man anymore, and his wife is now over a hundred years old.

What is Abraham's action? We know he takes his son, his only son, to offer him a sacrifice to God. He realizes that the same Lord who gives promises and fulfills those promises can and will govern everything rightly. Though he doesn't understand what is happening he is willing to accept God's plan.

At the right moment, just when it was a critical situation, God provided a ram for the burnt offering. He provided the ram in the thicket to replace Isaac. And he provided Jesus Christ, his son, his only son, as the perfect sacrifice for sin. In this, all the nations of the earth are blessed.

Genesis 21.1-21, Mark 6.35-56 - Lectionary for 3/2/10 - Tuesday, Lent 2

2010-03-02T07:19:00.001-05:00

Today's readings are Genesis 21.1-21 and Mark 6.35-56.

Today we see two children who receive promises from God. The child of promise is Isaac, the promised child of Abraham and Sarah, delivered in their extreme old age. Yet we also see another promise here. We see God promising to make a great nation from the child Ishmael. Counter to Sarah's desire, our Lord cares for even the child who is not the child of promise. Through the offspring of Abraham all the nations of the world will be blessed, including the Ishmaelites.

We see here the love and mercy of our Lord and Savior. Though he could have restricted his death only for the sins of some, only for the children of Abraham, only for those who would believe, he instead gave his life as an atonement not only for our sins, but for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2). Jesus, the promised son of Abraham, blesses all nations, including those who were specifically not included among the descendants of Abraham according to the promise.

Salvation really is by grace. It is not a matter of law. It is not a matter of human lineage. It is not a matter of anything but God's grace and the completed work of Jesus on the cross. How do I know I am a Christian? Not because I believe well enough, but because I believe Jesus Christ gave his life as a ransom for sinners, and I know that I am a sinner. Here is God's grace and mercy. Here is the work of the child of promise who blesses all nations.

Genesis 18.1-15, Mark 6.14-34 - Lectionary for 3/1/10 - Monday, Lent 2

2010-02-28T16:27:00.001-05:00

(posting a bit early but on purpose)

Today's readings are Genesis 18.1-15 and Mark 6.14-34.

Today we see God's promises coming in unexpected, even unbelievable ways. God appears to Abraham, though it doesn't seem that Abraham recognizes God specifically. He gives Abraham and Sarah the promise of a child to be born, counter to any human expectation. The Scripture says clearly that Sarah is beyond childbearing age. There is no human way we could expect that she would have a child. Yet the Lord makes a very specific promise. Nothing is too difficult for our God.

What unbelievable promises has the Lord made in Scripture? He promises that salvation is by grace through faith. Is that a shocking enough promise? He promises eternal life in a state of bodily resurrection. Is that shocking enough? How about nourishing faith by his body and blood? How about engaging in a washing of regeneration in baptism? How about removing our sins from us regardless of our conduct? How about changing our attitudes toward sins? God makes a lot of unbelievable promises. And he fulfills those promises in and through the person of Jesus Christ, God the Son. Let us look, as did Abraham and Sarah, to the Lord who gives the promises, the Lord who will bring those promises to pass.

Genesis 16.1-9, 15-17.22, Mark 6.1-13 - Lectionary for 2/28/10 - Second Sunday in Lent

2010-02-28T08:25:00.001-05:00

Today's readings are Genesis 16.1-9, Genesis 16.15-17.22, and Mark 6.1-13.

We have previously seen how Abraham, though he trusts God, tries to take matters into his own hands. Here he does so again. With no heir, Abraham is aware that his household will come to an end. By his plan, he fathers a potential heir, Ishmael, with Sarah's maid. Thirteen years later, God comes to Abraham and makes a covenant of circumcision with him. He and his offspring will be circumcised on the eighth day, as a sign of God's covenant to bless all the world through Abraham's offspring. God gives Abraham a new name (he was called Abram before). He also promises quite definitely that the son of promise will be born of Sarah.

Indeed our Lord has blessed all nations through the offspring of Abraham, Jesus the Christ. He has brought countless people from every nation into his covenant of love and care. He not only showers his people with physical riches but with spiritual blessings which he promises to be eternal. This is blessing indeed.

Genesis 15.1-21, Mark 5.21-43 - Lectionary for 2/27/10 - Saturday, Lent 1

2010-02-27T10:07:00.001-05:00

Today's readings are Genesis 15.1-21 and Mark 5.21-43.

Today again we see that Abraham realizes his family is of tremendous importance. When Lot, who has already taken the best of the land away from Abraham, is captured and is being carried away (probably into slavery), Abraham with some of his household, pursues the forces which captured Lot, takes them in a night raid, and rescues Lot.

We should expect that the original military action was not particularly aimed at Lot. Lot was probably simply one of many people who were involved in the action. He was apparently not under intense guard as a king would be, since Abraham captured him back with only about three hundred people. Yet we can easily imagine a baggage train with a number of prisoners, a night raid, a release of some prisoners, and a situation where the baggage train would not risk all to recover the prisoners.

In this action Abraham would have been able to capture significant amounts of plunder. See his meeting with Melchizedek, who serves, according to Hebrews, as a type of Christ. See how Abraham, the one who would be assumed to be greater, gave riches to Melchizedek, who would culturally have been the lesser. Abraham was recognizing the glory of God in this man. He was consciously pointing to the idea that all riches come from the Lord. He was testifying to the recovery of Lot as adequate riches.

Are we content? Do we realize that all our riches lie in Christ? Do we trust in the care of the one who laid down his life for us, rescued us from bondage, delivered us safely to our eternal home? Let us look to God as Abraham did.

Genesis 13.1-18, Mark 5.1-20 - Lectionary for 2/26/10 - Friday, Lent 1

2010-02-26T06:56:00.001-05:00

Today's readings are Genesis 13.1-18 and Mark 5.1-20.

As Abraham's riches continued to increase he did not find adequate grazing land as long as he was with Lot, his nephew. Areas that are able to sustain one rich man's household may not be able to sustain the households of two. As Lot's uncle and guardian, Abraham could certainly have commanded Lot to take to worse territory. He could have sent Lot away entirely. Yet in his desire to be pleasing to God, he chose to prefer Lot over himself. There's a lesson to be learned in this. At the essence of living in a family is the idea of preferring others above yourself. Denying your own desires to see to the good of others is central to leading a family well. And when we compare our family relationships to the relationship of Christ to the Church, we see that Christ, the head of the Church, laid down his own life for the good of his people.

Abraham's actions in blessing Lot are instructive to husbands. We can see a fine example of the kind of love we ought to have for our families. His actions are also instructive to all Christians. Do we love our neighbor as ourselves? Do we consider the other's needs as more important than our own? In fact, we don't. We may often come close and do noble things, but ultimately we fail. So this lesson, while it urges us on to good works, simultaneously urges us to repentance, to trust in Christ who did give himself for our life. Let us rejoice then in the care of our Lord and savior. Let us also turn and strive to serve our neighbors according to their need, God's instruments for their good.

Genesis 11.27-12.20, Mark 4.21-41 - Lectionary for 2/25/10 - Thursday, Lent 1

2010-02-25T07:19:00.001-05:00

Today's readings are Genesis 11.27-12.20 and mark 4.21-41.

Abraham is well known as a giant of the faith. He believed God and the Lord accounted it to him as righteousness. He left his homeland with his wife, his nephew, and his household, armed with a promise that he would be told where to go. He walked from a position of riches, an apparently wealthy man, into the unknown. Are we like this Abraham?

We read on and see that Abraham was quite capable of acting like someone who is not believing God. He is quite capable of acting like someone whose highest goal is to save his own neck. Abraham goes to Egypt to escape a famine but he arranges for Sarah to deny being his wife. He is afraid he will be killed by someone who wants to marry Sarah. Are we like this Abraham?

In most instances most of us can probably say we are very much like Abraham - both Abrahams. We will courageously agree with our Lord. We will seek to do his will, no matter the cost. But then when we are confronted with the cost we falter, flinch, fall back. What hope is there?

See how our Lord cared for Abraham despite his failure. God protected Sarah. He afflicted the Egyptians. He restored Sarah to Abraham, unharmed. Is there anything the Lord cannot do? What does he promise and not accomplish? He is indeed the Lord who is able to do all things according to his great mercy and grace. We can trust that he will bring to pass all his promises in us.

Genesis 8.13-9.17, Mark 4.1-20 - Lectionary for 2/24/10 - Wednesday, Lent 1

2010-02-24T07:58:00.001-05:00

Today's readings are Genesis 8.13-9.17 and Mark 4.1-20.

What is God's assessment of the earth after the flood? He clearly says that all humans are evil. Though they deserve to be struck down, he will not do it in the way he did before (Gen. 8.21). On the contrary, the sign of destruction is to remain on this planet and in human memory. Cultures around the world look back to a great flood, not surprisingly. After all, a worldwide flood in which only your family survived is something you do tell your great-grandchildren about. Yet more importantly we see the promise that our Lord grants in this passage. He will continue to care for his creation, though his creation is given to sin. He will not leave everyone to perish in sin. As he protected Noah, he will protect countless others in all generations. Though he will not use flood as his instrument of wrath, he will still pour out his wrath, this time, on all the sin of the human race, poured out on Jesus, the perfect Son of Man, who came to give his life as an atonement for us.

Has our Lord given us a sign? He has given us many signs of his love for us. Do we see the sign? Let us look to the sky for God's sign, let us look to the turning of the seasons for God's sign, let us look to the Scripture for God's interpretation of his signs. This earth goes through cycles, but our Lord endures forever, his love remains unbroken, his covenant with his people is something he will never fracture.

Genesis 7.11-8.12, Mark 3.20-35 - Lectionary for 2/23/10 - Tuesday, Lent 1

2010-02-23T07:41:00.001-05:00

Today's readings are Genesis 7.11-8.12 and Mark 3.20-35.

Here in Genesis we see a scene of great destruction. God has come to judge the world, and he does it through the waters of a flood. Without delving into the passage sentence by sentence, we can make several important overriding observations.

First, we see that God does come to judge sin. He does not hate sin and love the sinner. He condemns sin and destroys the sinner. Both sinner and sin are drowned in this mighty flood.

Second, we see that God rescues sinners from destruction. The seven who are left behind are delivered through God's mercy, by God's appointed means, sealed in by God in the way he prepared beforehand. Noah, his children and their wives are sinners. They show this in subsequent readings. Yet God does save sinners from destruction.

Third, we can compare New Testament passages and see that God appoints means of grace to save people, namely delivering them through water according to God's word. The water is not reserved for those who have no sin, for then it would be useless. Rather, the water is used for those who bear sin. The only person ever to be baptized and not bear sin at that baptism was Jesus. He got to bear the sin later.

Fourth, we observe that this great flood is not happening without God's oversight and care. He has provided for the family on the ark all that they need. Likewise, for those of us who have fled to the ark of God's mercy in the Church find our Lord has provided all we need.

Have we indeed been left behind like Noah and his family? Have we been delivered from destruction by the mighty hand of God? Have we been saved from a watery grave as we were drawn from the waters of baptism? Do we see God's deliverance of his people through Jesus, who bore our sin and died our death? Let us then rejoice as we see the provision our Lord has made for every aspect of our lives.

Genesis 6.1-7.5, Mark 3.1-19 - Lectionary for 2/22/10 - Monday, Lent 1

2010-02-22T07:32:00.001-05:00

Today's readings are Genesis 6.1-7.5 and Mark 3.1-19.

We read today about God's sorrow that he created mankind. This passage in Genesis 6 causes difficulty for many. How could the all-knowing, perfect God be sorry about anything he did? Does man's evil take God by surprise? Maybe God isn't all-knowing after all?

This is not the case. Our Lord does know all. He knew from before the creation of the earth that man would enter into sin and that God the Son would be giving himself to death on the behalf of mankind to break the curse of God upon sin. Jesus is in fact the Lamb of God slain from the foundation of the earth. Our Lord knows all who he calls to himself, and has known them since before they were conceived. The situation on which God reflects in Genesis 6.7 is no surprise to God, but it may be a surprise to us. Through the narrative in verse 7 we are told that our Lord is in fact grieved by sin.

What is amazing, or rather what should be amazing in this passage is that God has mercy on mankind. He is not finished with the human race. Though all are heirs of Adam's sin, he does not consign all to destruction. He chooses some and protects them. He rescues not only the people but also the different animals. God shows his love for his creation by delivering some from death.

How should we respond to this? Those of us who are living by faith in Christ should rejoice. God has not abandoned his people, but has provided for their rescue, despite the fact that they are sinful and deserve to die in their sins. Not only has he not abandoned his people, but he has promised to be with them, never leaving them, until they reach their heavenly home. May the Lord use this to encourage us in every way.

Genesis 4.1-26, Mark 2.18-28 - Lectionary for 2/21/10 - First Sunday in Lent

2010-02-21T07:59:00.001-05:00

Today's readings are Genesis 4.1-26 and mark 2.18-28.

Where does evil come from? The answer of pietists throughout the ages has been that we become evil by doing bad things. If we can just prevent people from engaging in evil activities we will see that people are really good. If we can prevent children from playing violent video games they will not be violent themselves. This point of view is backwards. Take Cain as our example. How many video games did he play before he killed his brother? None. He was engaged in crop-raising activity, so, for that matter, he probably engaged in less violent behavior, such as killing animals, than did his brother Abel, who worked with sheep. Yet in their dispute, Cain killed Abel.

How do we become evil? Not by doing bad things, but by being born as heirs to Adam's sin. Can we desensitize ourselves to evil? Certainly we can. We should try not to do that, rather attuning ourselves to goodness and kindness. Yet this kind of sensitivity does not make us more or less evil. It simply makes the evil in us more or less obvious. There's an important distinction in this. We do evil things because we are evil. We sin because we are sinners. This is the opposite of the view held in pietism.

What is God's attitude toward our evil? First, we are entirely responsible for that evil. In Genesis 4.6 God confronts Cain very clearly with his evil. He is responsible to overcome evil. Yet what is God's attitude toward the weakness of our sinful humanity? He knows we are not able to combat and overcome evil. As he puts a seal of protection on Cain, so in Christ he puts a seal of protection on all who believe him. We are not immune from the attempts of our fellow humans to find us and kill us. But in Christ we are not held liable for our sin, which we also cannot escape. In Christ we are delivered from the curse of sin, taking on the righteousness of our Lord and Savior instead. This is God's ultimate protection for his people.

Genesis 3.1-24, Mark 2.1-17 - Lectionary for 2/20/10 - Saturday after Ash Wednesday

2010-02-20T08:36:00.001-05:00

Today's readings are Genesis 3.1-24 and Mark 2.1-17.

There are so very many ways we can go in talking about Genesis 3. This is one of the fuller chapters of the Bible. We'll leave it at this.

Recall that the man and the woman were together, naked, and unashamed? Now with their entrance into sin by disobeying God they are ashamed. They may not know where their shame comes from at first, but they feel this terrible desire to hide. We likewise have need to hide. We can look at our lives and see that behind even the most apparently upright one of us there is reason to hide. We have much to be ashamed of, principally tha twe have inherited Adam's sin. We have shame because our lives bear the sin of Adam, that sin of mistrust in God's promises, commands, and perfect provision.

Do we fail to trust our Lord? Every day. Do we think and even act as if God is not lovingly caring for all our world? Every day. Do we take matters into our own hands and do what seems best to us, particularly if we have trouble believing that God really said what he said? Every day. Is there reason for us to try hiding? Though we cannot hide from God we are daily tempted to do so. Our sins separate us from our Creator. We are afraid that he will notice.

What's the good news in all this? It is exactly what we dread. God does notice. He sees us in our sin and shame. He sees us trying to hide under a rock. Though this is exactly what we fear it is the best good news we can receive, for our Lord himself cares for us. He knows what we need. He knows how to guard us. It is he who clothes us in the righteousness of the second Adam, Jesus. It is he who grants us protection from ourselves by his Church, administering means of grace to point us to Christ rather than to ourselves and our sinful patterns. It is he who has provided the cure for sin.

Thanks be to God that we cannot hide from him.

Genesis 2.4-25, Mark 1.29-45 - Lectionary for 2/19/10 - Friday after Ash Wednesday

2010-02-19T09:19:00.001-05:00

Today's readings are Genesis 2.4-25 and Mark 1.29-45.

We read of the dilemma of man. In the creation Adam had his duty, caring for the garden. Yet as he was caring for the garden he saw that he was one of a kind in a world where all the other living beings were reproducing and filling the earth. Adam's realization of this loneliness is something the Lord knew and stated in advance.

What do we see about husband and wife in this passage? First that the man and woman are compatible. This is a match which is good and right. We are made to be in community, including the community of marriage between a man and a woman.

Second we see that the man leaves his parents and holds to his wife. There is a separation from the parental authority. There is distinction. Even in a culture such as we commonly see in the Bible where families don't move far away, we see the idea of the young man taking authority for his family.

Third we see that the man's loyalty is to his wife. God clearly intends monogamy. He does not intend us to involve ourselves with multiple partners or to engage in any of the "alternatives" our culture urges upon us. He intends marriage to be between one man and one woman, that it should be a faithful and fulfilling relationship, and that it should show unity, not chaos.

Finally we see that the man and wife were not ashamed. They had no need to hide from one another. There was nothing furtive about their relationship. They were to remain unashamed before one another for the rest of their lives. There is no need for husband and wife to hide from one another. Theirs is a relationship of disclosure.

Our Lord, through the apostle Paul, compares the relationship of a husband and wife to the relationship of Christ and the Church. May he work in us, teaching husbands to lay down their lives as Christ laid down his life for the Church. May he work in us, teaching wifes to submit to the loving leadership of their husbands as the Church submits to the loving leadership of her Lord.

Genesis 1.20-2.3, Mark 1.14-28 - Lectionary for 2/18/10 - Thursday after Ash Wednesday

2010-02-18T09:26:00.001-05:00

Today's readings are Genesis 1.20-2.3 and Mark 1.14-28.

Look today at the abundance of God's blessing on his people. When he fills the earth with creatures they really fill the earth. See how the waters swarm, the birds fill the sky, and all the land animals fill the earth. Counter to the "animal rights" movement of today we see that humans are a creation of a special nature, for we are the only ones created in God's image. We also are to have dominion over the rest of creation. This does not mean we are to exploit it, rather we are to care for it. This is the rightful order, created by our Lord. We have responsibilities to the animals but they don't have responsibilities to one another or to us. We are free to use the created world for our pleasure, but we are not to neglect the ongoing good of the created world.

God's final proclamation in this passage from Genesis is that everything is very good. Seeing his good creation, God rests from his work. The day of God's rest is a holy time. We are reminded in the New Testament that believers in Christ who are waiting for his return will be blessed and told to enter into God's rest. We who are toiling on this earth will find the rest of God, provided through the creative Word of God, who has proclaimed us once again to be very good, living by faith in his promises.

Genesis 1.1-19, Mark 1.1-13 - Lectionary for 2/17/10 - Ash Wednesday

2010-02-17T08:54:00.001-05:00

Today's readings are Genesis 1.1-19 and Mark 1.1-13.

As we enter the Lenten season with ash Wednesday we are reminded especially of the life of repentance we live in Christ. So what are we seeing as we turn our attention to the two beginnings - Genesis and Mark? We see the beginning of creation and the beginning of the Gospel. Yet even in Genesis 1 we see the beginning of a gospel account. Look at the care that God lavishes on his creation. Look how he makes everything in a very specific manner, all with rder and reason. Our Lord is in no way random. This contrasts sharply with the writings of the pagans who describe the creation of the world in terms of rather chaotic natural procreative processes. Over against those accounts we see God working in a methodical and precise manner. He is counting days, separating one kind of creation from another, drawing very clear boundaries.

Our Lord has drawn very clear boundaries in this world, including the delineations he has made concerning sin and salvation, despair and hope, lostness and foundness. His desire, stated and demonstrated, is always for a creation that is orderly and pleasing. It is the sin which entered the world later that marred it, made it unpleasing to our Lord, made it clear that this world would need the Savior, God the Son, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. This very good and pleasing creation of our Lord should make us aware of our need for a savior.

Lord of light, creator, redeemer and sustainer of all, may we look to you today as the one who has ordered all creation. Order our day. Guide us in the paths you have appointed. Let us see the way you would have us walk today, in obedience to your perfect creative and restorative will, for you reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Job 10.1-22, John 5.1-18 - Lectionary for 2/14/10

2010-02-14T08:28:00.001-05:00

Today's readings are job 10.1-22 and John 5.1-18

Job continues his lament to God. See how he pleads with the Lord. His basic plea seems to be centered around the fact that he is powerless. In all his suffering there is nothing he can do to show himself righteous, to identify where he has sinned, or to make things right. He wonders at this state. It is fine when God is blessing him but when he starts to endure the kind of trials he endures now it doesn't seem right. Or at least if it is right it most certainly isn't what he likes. Wouldn't it be better for God to either bless him or destroy him?

Thankfully I have not been in a situation like Job's. I dare say few of us have. Yet we have had periods of challenge, periods of trial. Without the revelation of Christ crucified for our sin, acting as the mediator between God and man, proving himself to be our healer and our righteousness, we would be as weary of trials as Job. Yet we see in Scripture that through Jesus' perfect righteousness on our behalf he does show us righeous. He identifies our sin and he bears the penalty for our sin to become our righteousness.

I'm going to depart from commenting just on the Old Testatment reading today, as our reaeding in John deals with one of the questions that remains unanswered in Job. Why isn't everyone healed? The fact is, everyone who believes is healed, though not necessarily in this earthly life. As I was looking at my copy of the _Treasury of Daily Prayer_ today, I saw a commentary by St. Augustine on the John reading in which he observes that Jesus does heal the believiing sick on the last day. He makes an interesting application of the five porches to the Mosaic Law. Nobody on the porches, trusting in the Law of Moses, will be saved. They will all see their need for a savior. And on the last day, Jesus will be revealed to all flesh. What if, unlike Job, we are not relieved of our suffering during this life? By faith we see that we will be recipients of eternal healing and blessing in Christ on the last day. We do have a hope, a firm and sure hope, despite all the troubles of this world.

Job 9.1-35, John 4.46-54 - Lectionary for 2/13/10

2010-02-13T07:23:00.001-05:00

Today's readings are Job 9.1-35 and John 4.46-54.

Job has been confronted by Bildad, who has explained to him that he is a sinner and needs to repent, completely, totally, immediately, and that he needs to go and sin no more. As we have seen with the statements of Eliphaz, this is the unvarnished demand of God's Law. The soul who sins must die. We are commanded to repent. We must ask for forgiveness and puge all sin from ourselves. Job rightly asks whether anyone is able to do this. He knows God's requirements. He knows that he is ultimately a sinner. And he knows, as do we, that he will remain a sinner the rest of his life, no matter how hard he prays, no matter how well he repents, no matter how many sacrifices he makes, no matter how many acts of charity he does. Ultimately all of Job's good works are the works of a sinner. They all have a self-centered element. And his repentance will not be complete. He is unable to confess all his wrong, for as he is confessing he will certainly confess out of evil motives. He will confess his sin because he wants to be rescued, not because sin is bad. He will forget some sin. He will seek to gloss over some sin. Like our confession, Job's confession will be inadequate. Like our belief which we can muster, Job's belief will be imperfect. Like our faith, which wavers, Job's faith will waver. He knows this. If he has to come to God in his own righteousness he is undone.

What does Job need? He needs a mediator. He needs someone to hear his plea. He needs someone who is able to make his plea before the throne of God. In short, he needs Jesus, perfect man and perfect God, two natures in one person, who is able to live a perfect life of righteousness and faith on his behalf, die in his place, and rise to new life as the firstfruits of the resurrection. Job needs Jesus, just like we do. In Christ, life, repentance, and forgiveness is not our work. It is the result of the work of Jesus. Let us turn to Jesus, our Mediator, looking at his faithfulness, not our own.

Job 8.1-22, John 4.27-45 - Lectionary for 2/12/10

2010-02-12T07:55:00.001-05:00

Today's readings are Job 8.1-22 and John 4.27-45.

Eliphaz has spoken, calling Job someone with secret sin or some sort of a fool. Job has answered, showing that he is troubled by the unfounded accusations and that he wishes God would give him a sense of purpose. Now Bildad speaks. Let's try to follow what Bildad has to say. He first says that Job is a blustering fool. Job has accused God of wrongdoing. Job's children were sinners and have received the reward for their sinful life. Job is also clearly receiving the reward for his sinful life. If he repents well enough God will restore Job, but he'd better hurry. We don't have much time, so we need to do our repenting really well and really fast. If we have struggles in this life it is obviously because we have failed to trust in God. If we trust in God we will flourish on the earth.

It seems that the "prosperity gospel" people have taken a page out of Bildad's book. They immediately assign our lack of faith as the cause of all struggles we might have. There's a seed of truth in there, which is what makes it dangerous. Is all suffering a result of sin? On one level, yes. If it were not for Adam's sin, passed on through the generations, we would have no suffering. Ultimately, all suffering is a result of sin. But all suffering is not a result of personal sin which we individually committed. All suffering is not relieved by our repentance. All suffering is not a penalty from God against us. There are a lot of reasons for suffering. Some of it even comes upon us for the simple purpose of guarding us from entering into sin or to redirect us Godward. We should not be too quick to assign a cause for all our suffering.

So what do we do? Do we decide we have no need for repentance? No, that would be to assume our righteousness, flying in the face of passages such as Romans 3, where we are shown that we all sin. Rather, let us live a life of repentance, but let it be repentance that bears fruit in trust in God. As we live a life of repentance for the sin we are aware of we will see that our Lord is trustworthy to care for us, in hardship and in comfort. He remains the faithful Lord who is working all things out in his people for their ultimate good.

Job 7.1-21, John 4.7-26 - Lectionary for 2/11/10

2010-02-11T10:49:00.001-05:00

Today's readings are Job 7.1-21 and John 4.7-26.

We see Job at a very low point in his life today. He is experiencing the crushing weight of God's Law. He has suffered loss, serious loss, and has been told by Eliphaz that he is harboring sin or is a fool. He has been presented with no relief but by the quality of his own life, his own repentance, his own obedience. He has already worked as hard as he can. He knows he cannot earn God's favor. Presented with no Gospel, he is left to work out his own salvation. This is a dreadful situation to be in. Job knows perfectly well that he cannot withstand these claims. His very existence is forfeit. His days are numbered and he has no definite hope in the future.

In this day and age the Church, at least in the West, seems plagued with two primary abuses in its teaching. Both of them rob people of true hope. There are some congregations where nothing but the Law is proclaimed. People are left needing to work out their salvation. They are true Christians if they believe and obey. A couple of years ago I almost caused an auto accident when driving past a local church with a sign that read, "Faith alone doesn't save, you have to obey God's commands." Yes, I was seriously tempted to call the pastor and explain the Gospel to him. If we think obedience is the Gospel we are condemning people. They will not be able to obey perfectly any more than Job is. The other primary abuse is when nothing but the Gospel is proclaimed. Without an awareness of God's demands we find nothing compelling about God's love in Christ. There is no place for repentance. There is no place for faith that changes our life. There is no reason for Christ to be crucified for sinners because sin really isn't a significant issue. This also robs people of their hope. They see there is nothing but Gospel so there is no compelling reason for them to cling to Christ in hope. Jesus becomes just another piece of window-dressing in a beautiful world.

Like Job, we need both the Law and the Gospel. May the Lord remind us of his demands and how his demands are met in Christ on a daily basis.

Job 6.14-30, John 3.22-4.6 - Lectionary for 2/10/10

2010-02-10T08:30:00.000-05:00

Today's readings are Job 6.14-30 and John 3.22-4.6.

Today Job continues his lament. He has a lot to lament, after all. But what is bothering him at this stage of his lament? He is troubled by the way his friends treat him. He compares his friends to seasonal streams which are of no use to people who expect them to be present. What has Job asked of his friends? He knows they cannot deliver him from his pain. He knows they cannot restore his family and his possessions to him. He asks only their friendship and comfort. He asks that which they specifically do not do.

We, like Job's friends, are often quick to jump into a situation with explanations for suffering or with ways the suffering person could have avoided his situation. This is not helpful. All it does is remind our suffering friends of their situation. It serves to drag people down rather than to build them up. How can we comfort the afflicted? If we are able, we can bring something to the situation that will ease their affliction. The family which suffered loss of all their possessions in a house fire will genuinely benefit from a gift of clothes, food, and a place to stay. They will not benefit from an explanation that outdated electrical wiring is hazardous. They already know that and our mentioning it will not help them in any way. They may benefit from a chance to talk with someone about their interests or the way they have always been involved in community affairs. This is helpful. It moves their attention from their suffering to the rest of life.

In all our comfort, let us also remember that our Lord is the Lord of life. It is he who involves us in our community. It is he who provides for all our needs. It is he who appoints us our daily occupation, rather, our vocation. In our comfort of our friends, may we lead them to look in hope to the Lord.

Job 6.1-13, John 3.1-21 - Lectionary for 2/9/10

2010-02-09T09:11:00.001-05:00

Today's readings are Job 6.1-13 and John 3.1-21.

After a round of "comfort" from two of his friends, Job answers their suggestions. As we recall, the friends have suggested that either he is involved in some sort of sin that he has hidden or he is some sort of fool. In either case Job has been told he is reaping his just deserts, the natural result of his actions. Here Job maintains his integrity. He has lived a life of repentance. He has spent his life faithfully making offerings for his children in case they have sinned. How much more would we expect he has spent his life making offerings for himself, knowing his sin? Job stands in his integrity. If he has been hiding sin or being a fool he would like God to go ahead and cut him off now, rather than let him endure suffering as he is doing. Job says he would have no complaints if he had denied God's word, but that he does not know where he has gone wrong.

Again we see that Job does not know about the dealings of chapters one and two. Nor do we know the whole context of the struggles we face. We do know, as Romans 8 says, that all things work together for good for those who love the Lord and are called according to his purpose. Yet we do not always know what our good is or whether we may endure hardship to spare someone else from greater hardship. What we do know is that our Lord and Savior, Jesus has endured all manner of hardship on our account. It is he who sustains us through our difficulties. It is he who is our eternal reward. It is he who understands our weakness. It is he who will redeem us, both body and soul, forever.

Like Job, we don't understand what is happening. Like Job, may we look to our Lord and know that he in fact does understand what is happening. May we look in hope and trust.