Lectionary for 6/21/09

Today's readings are Proverbs 24.1-22 and John 19.1-22.

We have recently seen the Lord caring for others regardless of the harm it will bring him.  We have also seen that we are called upon to watch out for those who are in need, suffering, oppressed.  In today's reading we see these two themes come together again, as Jesus himself is essentially oppressed by those who are oppressed.  He is harmed by those who rightly should be harmed themselves.  He is tried in a foolish and blind way by those who are foolish and blinded due to their reliance on themselves rather than on God.  

A question - would we treat Jesus any differently, were he on trial today?  Would we give him a fair trial, decide he was indeed the Son of God, and turn him loose, even worship him?  Doubtless we would like to say that we would.  Yet in reality we cannot expect that we would be any different from those who brought him to trial and death.  We ourselves are foolish.  We are blinded.  We do not know what is good and right.  We, in short, are exactly those people for whom the Lord suffered and died, people who are not able to care for ourselves, who need God's protective custody.

Let us thank the Lord that he in fact did come to suffer and die in our place that we may have life.

Lectionary for 6/20/09

Today's readings are Proverbs 22.22-23.12 and John 18.15-40.

Yesterday we saw how Jesus is actively protecting his people.  In today's reading from Proverbs we see some of the way Jesus is protecting people.  He does it through his people.  Who is supposed to care for the poor?  Who seeks to make peace among people?  Who is called to govern finances with care and integrity?  Who is to honor private property and borders?  Who is to work diligently and skillfully, control his appetites, and seek God's kingdom above possessions?  The believer who has been called by God to faith is to watch over all this.  Are we our brothers' keepers?  Yes.  And we are our brothers' keepers in order to honor and serve our Lord in this world.  We care for our society because God cares for our society.  We treat people with dignity and value because our Lord and Savior has treated people with dignity and value.  This is the work of God.

What ministry is the Lord putting before us today?  Is there something we can take care of and thus be good stewards of what our Lord has given us?  Is there someone we can care for and show our Savior's care for that person?  This is a precious ministry in the sight of the Lord.

  

Lectionary for 6/19/09

Today's readings are Proverbs 22.1-21 and John 18.1-14.

Fear not!  The Lord is here!  Our Lord and Savior is present to watch over his people for their protection.  As this band of soldiers (the Greek word indicates a force that would typically consist of several hundred) approached Jesus came forward to meet them.  He made sure they knew that he, and nobody else, was the target of their pursuit.  Without their making any move to take the disciples captive, Jesus told them to leave the disciples alone.  Then when one of the disciples impulsively attacked a servant Jesus not only guarded the disciple but he healed the servant.  We see Jesus standing in between harm and his people.  We even see Jesus standing between his people and those they would harm!

What a savior we see in the Scripture.  Jesus' act of guarding his people from all harm is not limited to the approximately three year period between his baptism and his crucifixion.  He continues guarding his people in the resurrection, providing for them by Word and Sacraments, showing them through the Scripture what kind of provision he has made for them, giving the Holy Spirit to draw people to faith, creating new hearts, new minds, new lives.  Our Lord has promised that he will never leave us or forsake us.  He will always be there, guarding us from his enemies, guarding his enemies from us, and taking our place in condemnation and death, just as he does in John 18.

Lectionary for 6/18/09

Today's readings are Proverbs 20.5-25 and John 17.1-26.

Sometimes I read two different passages of Scripture and it seems the lighting changes in between them.  The entire tone is quite different.  Look at the different scene today between Proverbs 20 and John 17.  In Proverbs 20 we are reading about what is good and pleasing to God, how we will know righteous people and unrighteous people, what we need to do to act wisely in this world.  Cut to John 17 and we see Jesus praying for his people, talking with the Father about how the Father is glorified on earth in and through the Son.  The landscape couldn't be more different.

What great care our Lord has for us his people.  He has prayed for us.  We are under divine protection.  We have received the Word of God which gives us all we need.  He has made peace between God and man.  He has committed his followers to eternity.  He will make them one in him even as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are inseparable.  May we have grace to live as our Lord has prayed we may live.

Lectionary for 6/17/09

Today's readings are Proverbs 17.1-28 and John 16.17-33.

Today we see Jesus telling about his future death, burial, resurrection and ascension.  It seems to us that this should all make perfect sense to the disciples.  After all, they have been with Jesus.  He has talked about being given over to sinful men to die.  He has talked about the fact that he is in fact God incarnate.  He really has not made any secret of his identity or plans around his disciples.  Now he tells them quite plainly what he is going to do.  What's the result?  The disciples are first confused but afraid to ask for clarification.  Jesus clarifies anyway.  Now the disciples say they understand everything.  Our Lord and Savior disputes that claim.  As we will read later, he is quite right.  

How many times have we failed to understand what our Lord is doing, even though he has told us?  How many times have we wondered whether his will is really for our good?  How many times have we questioned his providence on our account?  How many times have we said, as the people of Israel complained to Moses, that surely God is leading us out into a wilderness to abandon or kill us?  The Lord is so very clear about what he is doing.  He leaves us with no reason to doubt.  Yet our nature is to doubt.  Is that also something Jesus died for and lives to forgive?  It most certainly is.  No matter what our fear, no matter what our doubt, no matter how we are scattered, we can have confidence that it is no surprise to our Lord.  We are not scattered out of his loving sight or care.  And he is quite able to care for us, protect us, gather us, forgive us, and bring us to be with him.

Lectionary for 6/16/09

Today's readings are Proverbs 16.1-24 and John 16.1-16.

As we look at the first four verses of Proverbs 16 we see a classic picture of Law and Gospel at work.  What is it we do?  We make our plans, we judge our ways to be pure, we try to accomplish our purpose.  Taking a moment to consider our desires and purposes in light of God's word we see that we consistently fall short.  What do we desire?  When we consider the commandments, which of us does love and trust in God with all his heart, soul, mind and strength?  Which of us truly loves his neighbor as himself?  No, our genuine heartfelt desire, even in our acts of charity and kindness, boils down to self-aggrandizement.  

What is God's perspective as revealed in these same four verses?  God has made "the wicked for the day of trouble" (ESV), He establishes the plans that are committed to him, He knows our plans and purposes, He tells us the answer, though we ignore it.  We are confronted in this passage with a God who is quite unlike us.  He works things out according to a different plan than the one we came up with.  It isn't our world.  It is God's world.

How will we be reconciled in this dispute?  God's plan from the foundation of the world has been to redeem a people to himself in Christ, through our Lord's death on behalf of sinners.  This is God's plan.  And we see it accomplished in our New Testament reading.  Looking at John 16.12-15 we see that our Lord has promised the Holy Spirit to declare what the disciples need.  He has done so, revealing Jesus the living Word of God through the inspired Scriptures.  He does so, drawing our attention to what the Bible says about Jesus.  He does so, opening our eyes to God's final revelation.  We are not alone.  Again, it is God's world and He is quite able to accomplish in the world what He has purposed.  His plans come to pass.

Lectionary for 6/15/09

Today's readings are Proverbs 15.1-29 and John 15.12-27.

Today let's look at some of the commands Jesus gives to his disciples.  What are the disciples to do?  Love one another, do Jesus' commands, bear fruit, ask the Father for things in faith.  What provision does our Lord promise? He promises that he understands exactly what they will be going through when they are persecuted.  He promises the Holy Spirit who will bear witness of Christ.  This is the provision our Lord has given us.  Does it seem like a small provision?  Would we rather that he promised us wealth, earthly protection, strength of arms, physical defense against persecution?  That is not what he promises.  Instead, he makes eternal promises, encouraging us to realize that our time on this earth is brief.  All this will pass away, but our Lord abides forever.

Lectionary for 6/14/09

Today's readings are Proverbs 14.1-27 and John 15.1-11.

We have recently looked at the distinction between Christ's commands for believers and his descriptions of believers.  This distinction between the imperative (command) and indicative (description) mood is an important one for understanding the Scripture.  Look at the reading from Proverbs today, flagging verses as imperative or indicative (It's so sad that the letter "i" won't serve as an adequate abbreviation.  Sometimes in notes I'll use "m" or "n" to indicate iMperative or iNdicative.).

Time after time, the Scripture uses indicatives while many preachers will use those indicatives as if they are imperatives.  I'll just illustrate one instance.  Try Proverbs 14.16.  In the ESV it says, "One who is wise is cautious and turns away from evil, but a fool is reckless and careless."  What will we say about this?  Does it indicate that if we are to be wise we must be cautious and turn away from evil?  Not at all.  It describes wise people in that way.  Do you want to know if you are wise?  If you tend to be cautious and if you avoid evil you are probably wise.  How about the fool?  Does being reckless and careless make the person a fool?  Not at all.  Those are attributes which characterize a fool.  We can recognize ourselves as fools when we are reckless and careless.  

These indicatives help us see what our state is.  They help us see our need for repentance and forgiveness.  They clarify to us who we are, just as the indicatives we read about God clarify to use who He is.  May we receive God's blessing today as we see ourselves rightly as the branches which abide in Christ, bearing fruit.

Lectionary for 6/13/09

Today's readings are Proverbs 13.1-25 and John 14.18-31.

It's very easy to fall into the pattern of thinking the Bible is God's instruction book, the place where God gives the rules we should live by.  Look in today's readings at the commands God gives.  But also look at the promises God gives.  Our Lord makes commands, indeed.  But he makes tremendous provision.  Jesus promises that he will be with us.  He also promises the ongoing fellowship of the Holy Spirit.  Our Lord does not leave us without his personal presence to enable us to do all that is necessary.  As you read, you might have noticed the number of descriptive statements, especially in John 14, where Jesus tells what his disciples are.  Recall the difference between being told what we are and being told what we are to do.

Lord, may we live before you, fulfilling your descriptions of what we really are in you.  As we live in you, may we be blessed sometimes to see ourselves doing what you have commanded, simply because of what we are in you.

Lectionary for 6/12/09

Today's readings are Proverbs 10.1-23 and John 14.1-17.

Sometimes being truly Trinitarian seems a little clumsy.  Have you ever thought of the way we tend to pray to the Father or maybe to the Son (rarely the Holy Spirit), then we tack one or more of the other persons of the Godhead on?  The fact is, it seems a little clumsy because it is clumsy.  We are finite humans who exist only in one person.  But here we are, addressing one God who exists in three persons.  It's bound to leave us a little confused.

In John's Gospel we see Jesus completely at home with the concept of the Trinity.  The Father and the Son are one.  And when the Son goes to the Father, the Father will send the "other" - here the Greek word indicating another of the same type - the Holy Spirit.  God is clearly one God in three Persons.  And the great news here is that we will not be left without the real presence of God!  The Son leaves and the Spirit comes.  We are always cared for.  God is always watching over His people.

Lord, may we rejoice in Your presence today, for You have promised never to leave or forsake us.  We know that we can pray confidently, for You ever live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end.

Lectionary for 6/11/09

Today's readings are Proverbs 9.1-18 and John 13.21-38.

Who is welcomed by the Gospel?  We see in Proverbs 9 that Wisdom is calling out to everyone, wise and foolish.  How many times in the modern Church are we guilty of limiting the call of the Gospel to those who have adequate intelligence, a strong knowledge base, or a tendency toward or away from a certain type of cultural value?  Current practice within church growth circles includes having churches with particular target audiences, generally with targets such as college age people, young adults, or people in their thirties with small children.  Some churches have a particular desire to minister to homeless people.  What will they do when a fifty-something CPA comes to Bible study?  What would the hip young church a block from my house do if I walked in?  Yes, sometimes I think of doing it just to see.  The list goes on and on. Is it a white church?  A black church?  An Asian church?  A church of intellectuals?  Why don't we ever see ads for a church specially geared toward people with an IQ in the eighties?  How about a church for bald people?  A church for those with corrective eyewear?  A church for people who wear hats backward?

Maybe we'd better get back to the call of the Gospel.  Wisdom calls out.  "You can come too."

Lectionary for 6/10/09

Today's readings are Proverbs 8.22-36 and John 13.1-20.

The selection from Proverbs continues with Wisdom (personified) talking about the value of seeking wisdom.  The word "wisdom" is a feminine noun, thus we refer to wisdom as "she."  Yet something struck me as I was reading this.  Here Wisdom seems to be personified in terms we would be most comfortable ascribing to God the Son.  See how there seems to be a bringing forth of Wisdom before the foundation of the earth.  See the creation done with the active involvement of Wisdom.  See the presence of Wisdom with the Father, "daily his delight" (v. 30, ESV) and actively involved in the life of every living being.  See how the matter is concluded in verses 35-36 (ESV) "For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the LORD, but he who fails to find me injures himself; all who hate me love death."

I wonder if this is actually a Messianic passage?  I haven't looked it up in a wide variety of commentaries.  Maybe if anyone reading has an opinion, informed or otherwise, you could drop a comment.

After writing the brief paragraph above, I took a look at the various commentaries in e-Sword, which primarily represent Calvinistic and Dispensational viewpoints.  Most of them made comments which indicated a Messianic understanding of Wisdom.  Anybody know if this extends beyond that theological camp?

Lectionary for 6/9/09

Today's readings are Proverbs 8.1-21 and John 12.36b-50.

got wisdom?

The very wisdom which calls out to people, which pleads with them to seek her out, this very wisdom is embodied in the living God, revealed in Jesus Christ, brought to life in the saints by the Holy Spirit.  Our Lord is wisdom incarnate.  

It's very easy to desire wisdom and to decide, based on our culture, that we will gain wisdom by sitting on a mountaintop meditating quietly, or by emulating ancient philosophers - questioning everything like Socrates or outlining everything into syllogisms like Aristotle.  But this is not how the Bible defines gaining wisdom.  We gain wisdom by heeding the call of God.  And that call of God is to believe Jesus has come to redeem the world.  This is true wisdom.  And it is readily available to all, no matter the walk of life, no matter the proximity of mountaintops, no matter the intellectual level.  It's a matter of belief in the living Christ.

Lectionary for 6/8/09

Today's readings are Proverbs 5.1-23 and John 12.20-36a.

Since yesterday was Trinity Sunday we return to the calendar-based readings.  Those will continue until Ash Wednesday of 2010.

Today we have two calls to follow Christ in wholehearted obedience.  In Proverbs we are reminded that our ways are visible to the Lord, both the way of righteousness and the faithlessness we choose which leads to destruction.  In John we see that we win by losing, we live by dying.

As we work our way into the Time of the Church, let us realize that Christ has died so we can live, that our live is in Christ, and that our Lord does indeed remain forever.  Let us walk this year in belief in the true power of the resurrected Lord.

Lectionary for 6/7/09

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

Many people make a great deal of fuss over the cities of refuge, but they fuss about the concept in ignorance of the nature of the law.  The city of refuge was not a "get out of jail free" pass.  People would not be admitted into the city unless they were deemed to be guilty of accidental manslaughter.  They had to get to the city and receive the verdict before the family's avenger caught up with them.  And once in the city they had to stay there, often for a very long time, before they were free to return home.  The city of refuge was not a place where a genuine criminal could find safe haven, nor where someone would desire to go.

What did God in his mercy provide through the city of refuge?  He provided a place of protection for those who sinned accidentally.  What does this foreshadow?  Christ, in his death, burial and resurrection, has provided protection for us.  He has provided forgiveness for the sins we don't even realize we are committing. He promises that we will be covered by his mercy as we dwell in his place of protection until the death of our high priest - Christ, who will die no more.  What of those sins we have committed and are not aware of or that we forget to confess?  Christ has taken us into his protective custody.  We need not fear.

Rejoice today in the protective care of our Lord and Savior!

Lectionary for 6/6/09

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

Today we see Luke's account of the first post-resurrection appearances of Jesus.  It seems the true death, burial, and bodily resurrection of Jesus is a matter of debate and skepticism.  Let's notice just a few of the significant things Luke points out.

1) The early disciples don't seem to have expected a resurrection.  If this were fabricated by the early Church every believer would have remembered Jesus' words and expected his resurrection.

2) The first witnesses were women.  Again, this is not the kind of story someone who wanted people to believe it would invent.  The testimony of women was never given full credence.

3)  The grave clothes were left behind.  If someone had stolen the body, the wrappings would be gone.

Christ is risen, he is risen indeed.

Lectionary for 6/4/09

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

As we read Luke 23 today we can make a comparison between Jesus and Pilate.  Jesus goes toward his end, unflinching.  It does not matter what public opinion says.  It does not matter what the governmental officials say.  It doesn't matter how he is treated by the soldiers.  It doesn't matter to Jesus that he is guilty of no crime whatsoever.  He shows a steadfast determination to face death unflinching.

Pilate, on the other hand, is much more like we are.  He isn't sure what is going on.  He does release a prisoner to the people at this time of year, but doesn't think this is a fair prisoner exchange.  Yet he's pushed by tradition, by public opinion, by the very real threat of insurrection.  He is acting in the most pragmatic way he can to try to quell the disturbance which seems to center around Jesus.

How many times do we live out our Christian walk very much like Pilate lives?  How often are we moved by public opinion rather than by the Scripture?  How often are we intimidated by those immediately surrounding us when we could simply state our position and face those around us with a clear conscience?  How often do we try to make peace but end up simply brushing troubles under the carpet?

May we walk like Jesus walked today.

Lectionary for 6/3/09

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

So we see it.  Balaam, brought with the express purpose of cursing Israel, has proclaimed blessing on them.  Here's what always amazes me about this incident.  Balaam appears to be a pagan priest.  He later goes on to deceive the people of Israel into idolatry.  He does not like the Israelites.  Let us make no mistake about that.  He is not at all friendly to them.  But what does he do?  He proclaims blessing on the very people he hates.

Yesterday we looked for God to speak through means we didn't necessarily expect.  Today we look for God to proclaim truth through those who are opposed to him.  Does it happen?  It certainly does.  Even an unbeliever can administer a sacrament.  Even an unbeliever can read the Scripture so we can hear from God.  Even an unbeliever can say something insightful about the very moral principles God has laid out.

We don't want to look to those who are haters of God to find truth, of course.  But we don't want to discount all they say or do out of hand.  Sometimes the hater of God speaks at God's command.

Lectionary for 6/2/09

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

We see today that God's help is sometimes found in the places we would least suspect.  We see Balaam, who has been forbidden by God to curse Israel, going along his way, persuaded by large amounts of money and a number of influential people.  We see Balaam being warned by a donkey that he is not to curse Israel.  We will have to wait until tomorrow to see what happens when Balaam actually tries to curse Israel.

How many times do we look to the wrong places for confirmation of what we should do, for God's call on our lives, for confidence in the faith, for a sense that what we are doing is important to God?  Do we forget the simple promises of God in Christ?  As we look for the voice of the Spirit to tell us how we are to minister do we forget the words of Christ saying he will be with us and we are to make disciples baptizing and teaching?  When we are to minister in Christ's name to every nation do we forget that "every" includes those in our own household and within our neighborhood?  When we want to know what will accomplish Christ's work, do we forget that He has said the Gospel is the power of God?

I pray we may do better, looking to the promises and provision the Lord has already made, knowing that what He has promised, He is able to achieve.

Lectionary for 6/1/09

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

I notice a commonality between Numbers 22 and Luke 22, aside from the obvious one that each reading is a chapter 22.  The pagan prophet Balaam knows and acts on the same thing that Jesus does in Luke.  Both act upon an understanding that ultimately whatever God says will happen.  We dare not try to avoid or re-engineer what our Lord calls us to do.  If the Lord says to bless something, we bless it.  If the Lord curses something, it is accursed.

In today's news I heard of the murder of a public figure who has caused harm to countless families.  This man was acting within the bounds of human law, though not divine law.  Should he have stopped doing harm to families?  Certainly.  Was it appropriate to murder him?  Not at all.  Our Lord is able to end the life of anyone he pleases.  Our Lord is able to extend the life of anyone he pleases.  Maybe the Lord was using this individual to create indignation and outrage?  Maybe he was a pivotal person in changing public opinion.  Whatever his role, it was his role before the Lord, who is the ultimate judge of all our temporal wrongdoing.

What has the Lord directed for us today?  What has he withheld from us?  Whether it is proclaiming God's blessings on people, proclaiming God's cursing on people, preparing a place for others to celebrate, protecting others, serving others, celebrating the sacrifice of Christ, let us do it wholeheartedly before our Lord.