Tag Archives: Savior

Who is This?

Lent
Palm Sunday
April 9, 2017

Scripture Reading:
Matthew 21:1-11

The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting,
‘Hosanna to the Son of David!
   Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!’

When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, ‘Who is this?’ The crowds were saying, ‘This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.’ –Matthew 21:6-11

As we enter Holy Week, who are we looking for? The people who celebrated Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem apparently hoped in him what they saw in King David. David was first and foremost a military leader, a general with great success. He grew from that roll into a great King setting the stage for the nation of Israel to prosper in peace. Peace than as now coexisted with war for battles continued even after David became king.

What was it then that the people saw in Jesus making them relate him to King David? He was not a soldier but a traveling Rabbi. He emboldened loving not only neighbors but even enemies. He taught ways of being that were mutually beneficial. He fed the hungry and healed the sick. He restored wholeness and encouraged oneness among his followers. He championed distributive justice in God’s Kingdom of love. He called on followers to become coworkers with him in actualizing this Kingdom ruled by God’s love. David was a dedicated lover of God and the spirit of God rested with him. While those spreading their cloaks before Jesus may not have fully understood who he was, they surely saw that he was a man of God too, identifying him as the prophet. It would take the events that happened later in the week to solidify who he was.

In ancient Israel as well as first century Jerusalem, the people hungered for righteousness and longed for a savior to make it a reality. The peace that David’s military prowess provided was gone one generation after his death. Jesus taught a new way of being and trained his disciples to spread it throughout the world. The rule of God’s love through Jesus Christ is designed to last not only through generations but through eternity.

Prayer: Lord, journey with us during this Holy Week. Broaden our understanding of your way, your truth, and your life. Embolden our loving all your children. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the new Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

What’s a King?

Palm treeLent
March 19, 2016

Scripture Reading: Luke 19:28-40

As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen, saying,
‘Blessed is the king
   who comes in the name of the Lord!
Peace in heaven,
   and glory in the highest heaven!’ –Luke 19:37-38

Luke once again takes us back to Psalm 118 as he describes the adoration of Jesus entering Jerusalem with the words of celebration from the enthronement of a king in Hebrew history. In this 21st century the role of King has changed markedly in those countries that still use the title. They are more often ambassadors of goodwill or heads of state who oversee the work of an elected legislative body or what we now call a dictator. Because of this paradigm shift in the roles of leadership over the centuries, we are left somewhat befuddled trying to make sense of Jesus as King. I think we are much more comfortable with the term Savior for that is what the people wanted in a world held in oppression by the Roman conquerors.

At some point in time there was another shift, one that personalized the Savior aspect of Jesus’ work to the individual. While there is no more important relationship in my life than my relationship with God through Jesus Christ and I am sure that is true of all of his followers, we limit his purpose markedly when we limit him to our personal salvation. Jesus’ incarnation relates to justice for everyone. Such justice can build from each of Jesus’ followers truly doing justice as partners in the creation of a world where all are freed from both personal and societal oppression.

Prayer: Lord, hone us as tools for planting and growing your justice throughout the world. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized 
Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council 
of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.

Truth is Coming

black-friday-macysAdvent
November 30, 2015

Scripture Reading: Malachi 3:1-4

See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight—indeed, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? –Malachi 3:1-2

The prophets look forward to the coming of the promised one, but they almost always met it with a warning: Do you think you can handle the promised one when he comes? The people had plead for a savior, a way out of the oppression they were experiencing. The prophets say a savior is coming but with a strong implication he was coming as a partner. To be saved we must do our part too. Truth arrives with the savior. While the truth might set us free, it is sometimes painful.

When oppression is all we know, learning to be responsible for ourselves and each other is hard. It means making choices that require us to think and feel when we have no one to blame but ourselves. The prophets were speaking to a people whose ancestors had gotten caught up in the ways of the world, which had resulted in their being taken into literal slavery. Getting out of slavery does not happen with the wave of a magic savior’s wand. Getting out of slavery results in wandering in a wilderness of our own confusion until we are ready to be the people God wants us to be.

It is interesting that Advent begins immediately after black Friday. Today is actually the so called cyber Monday. Both are opportunities to shop and spend and accumulate stuff that doesn’t mean a thing. The sells tell us we are virtually getting rich off savings received from buying something we most likely do not need. In reality they enslave us to a way of being that just requires more spending and more accumulation and more dissatisfaction because they do not meet the real hungers of our hearts to love and to be loved. Advent is the time we prepare ourselves for the real Savior who came into the world and is coming into the world to bring us hope and peace. To show us the way of love.

Prayer: Lord, focus me this Advent toward the freedom of your chains of love. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

People are People

SheepLiving in the Spirit
November 18, 2014

Scripture Reading: Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24

Therefore, thus says the Lord God to them: I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. Because you pushed with flank and shoulder, and butted at all the weak animals with your horns until you scattered them far and wide, I will save my flock, and they shall no longer be ravaged; and I will judge between sheep and sheep.

 I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them; I, the Lord, have spoken. — Ezekiel 34: 20-24

One of the hardest lessons we learn in life, if we ever learn it, is that we are all just people, one like the other. All are created in the image of God, none more, none less. Ezekiel likens us to sheep. Some are fat some are thin. Some are bullies some are bullied. And ultimately we will all be judged by God, not by how we compare with others, but how we have grown into that image of God, or not.

The prophets of old foretold the coming of one like David, a great leader, yet a servant of God. One who cared about his people and fulfilled the kingly role of assuring the needs of his people like a shepherd caring for his or her flock. The prophets were speaking out of the oppression of the failure of Israel and Judah including exile. We, Christians, in hindsight see Jesus written all through these great writings. Both perspectives bring hope to weary people who long for a Savior.

In a week or so we will once again begin the journey of Advent. A time of waiting for such a Savior. I like Advent, we need to be reminded again and again that our Savior has come and with him came a new day. A day when we are called to live into our being children of God and becoming a vital and living expression of the gift of that Savior to the whole world.

In Jesus’ darkest hours, the time preceding his crucifixion, he ended words of consolation given to his disciples with these words, I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world!’ (John 16:33) I take great heart in these words. I encourage all to own this statement and in every way possible to live into expressing that reality in our world today.

Prayer: O God, enable me to see Your image in each and all people with whom I have contact. Free me from any need to judge another and help me be a conduit of your love in fulfilling my call to be a part of the Body of Christ in our world today. Amen.

 All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

 

The Rock

ChangeLiving in the Spirit
October 29, 2014

Scripture Reading: Psalm 107:1-7, 33-37

Some wandered in desert wastes,
   finding no way to an inhabited town;
  hungry and thirsty,
  their soul fainted within them.
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
  and he delivered them from their distress;
  he led them by a straight way,
  until they reached an inhabited town. — 107:4-7

Have you ever driven into an unfamiliar area and, become hungry while watching the gas needle edge ever so much closer to that big “E” and begun to wonder if you will ever find a restaurant or service station? The first time I drove from Oklahoma to the east coast down I-40, I had never encountered so many trees blocking the view beyond the road. Oklahoma has a lot of wide open spaces in its landscape. The trees were beautiful but I could not tell where there were places to get gas or food. It was the first time that I had seen highway signs that gave some indication that there were actually places to eat, get gas, or spend the night up ahead. They were needed because I sure could not tell just from scanning the horizon. Now I think I might be lost if I forget my cell phone and do not have access to GPS coordinates that will guide me quickly to exactly what I need, most of the time.

Is that how Moses felt while wondering in the wilderness; how it feels to totally trust in God’s guidance? While we today may think we have the earth well mapped with locational directions a few clicks away, entering the territories of cultures and religions, differing systems of government and economies, and differing socio-economic neighborhoods can be just as daunting as being lost in the wilderness. All kinds of fears crop up: Fears of inadequacy to meet the challenges, fears for safety, fears for loss of self-esteem, and fears of change. We are living in a time of change that is probably more pronounced than the reformation or the industrial revolution. Technology and communications has advanced so quickly that we now can get a nightly report of how many new Ebola cases have occurred in what area of Africa since yesterday.

I am reminded of an old hymn, In Times Like These by Ruth Caye Jones
In times like these, we need a Savior
  In times like these, we need an anchor
  Be very sure, be very sure
 Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock

The Good News is that we have just such a Savior.

Prayer: We trust in you, O Lord, help our lack of trust. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

‘Who Do You Say that I Am?’

Who do you say that I amLiving in the Spirit
August 23, 2014

 Scripture Reading: Matthew 16:13-20

 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’ And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ —Matthew 11:23

One of the reasons I write these daily devotions is that it makes me delve into scripture in ways I would not have considered without having to face the public scrutiny of my interpretation. It forces me to be honest with myself and makes me be as honest as I possibly can be with the reader. We intuitive-introverts aren’t particularly comfortable with such openness and sometimes find it challenging to explain what we feel in our guts. Doing something outside of our comfort zone is good for us though, right?

The disciples in our scripture today clearly recognized that Jesus was someone special. He is in really good company being compared to John the Baptist and Jeremiah, but especially Elijah. Elijah was taken up to heaven and did not die. He was projected as being the forerunner of the Messiah. The disciples probably were experiencing some of those gut level reactions that said, “This man is more than that.”

Today, who do we say that Jesus is? A great role model, he is put forth by many as the example of how we all should live. A great teacher, he helped all with whom he came into contact understand better what life was all about and still helps us today. The Savior, he came to free us from our chains of separation from God and be the link that would forever bind us to God. I believe that is all well and good and accurate. But Jesus the Christ is so much more than that. He is the one who has ushered in a whole new form of governance with a foundation of love that is the hope of the whole world.

Prayer: Thank you God for a great role model, a great teacher, a Savior and most of all we thank you for the One who is ushering in your Kingdom now and forevermore. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Guard My Tongue

Living in the Spirit
July 3, 2014

 Scripture Reading: Romans 7:15-25a 

I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. But in fact it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. — Romans 7:15-18

What is maddening to me is that I know that making the response that pops into my mind will not help the situation at all and will most likely make it worse. I know that, but the comment that has irritated me seems to develop a life of its own. I must volley my bullets of words back at it to what—Make me feel better, give me the upper hand, make me whole? It never works. I always feel worse afterward. God provides a scripture lesson for this experience it is in the first chapter of James chapter 1 verse 26: If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless.

We must work every day at staying in synch with God. Whether we spend time in prayer, meditation, study, worship, or solitude, we must make sure that our source of wholeness is God not the lesser gods of self-righteousness or self-control. Paul uses the analogy of an athlete to describe our life in Christ. Athletes work out on a planned schedule, intensively practice their sport, eat food that supports their bodies, and get appropriate rest. They do these things so that when on the field of play their bodies and their minds are so well tuned that their instinctive responses are most often right. Actually some highly skilled athletes mess up the most when they do not have faith in their preparation.

We do have a Savior and an Advocate who run the race with us every step of the way. We just have to get out of ourselves enough to notice that he is there.

Prayer: Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
              be acceptable to you,
             O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.(Psalm 19:14) Amen

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Trusting God

Living in the Spirit
June 25, 2014

 Scripture Reading: Psalm 13 

How long, O Lord? Will you forget me for ever?
   How long will you hide your face from me? 

But I trusted in your steadfast love;
   my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
 I will sing to the Lord,
   because he has dealt bountifully with me.—Psalm 13:1, 5-6

My alarm goes off at 6:00 am each morning, but I am always awake when that happens. I find the time between when I awake and my alarm goes off as a precious, quiet time to spend with God.  I go over my plans for the day, reshape then at times, remember the people or situations on my prayer list, and seek guidance on any response needed. Two mornings this week at a few minutes before 6:00 am, just before my alarm goes off and just before I close out my time with God, my whole house has been rattled by an earthquake.

We live in a tumultuous world. Yesterday tornadoes tore across the midlands, a terrorist army advanced into Iraq, and a young pregnant woman lost her baby in a domestic violence beating. It sure feels like the Lord has forgotten us. We long for control and we have none.

In times like these we need a Savior and the good news is that we have one. In the midst of storms and terror, we can cling to Jesus Christ and trust that God is working God’s purpose out.  God has not hidden God’s face from us. The question that we really need to consider is whether we are turning away from God?

Prayer: Dear Lord, help us to:
Turn [our] eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace*. Amen.

*Turn Your Eyes upon Jesus by Helen H. Lemmel

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.