Tag Archives: Finding the right Path

40 Days of Wondering in the Wilderness

Lent

February 23, 2023

Scripture Reading:

2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10

So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. –2 Corinthians 5:20-21

The Greek word presbeuó, translated here as ambassador, means to act as an established statesman (diplomat) – a trusted, respected ambassador who is authorized to speak as God’s emissary (represent His kingdom).

This term is used in the ancient phrase, “I am on embassy to the Emperor, I am an ambassador” (Souter) – i.e. as someone respected as trustworthy (loyal, knowledgeable), especially in the opinion of those they know (belong to)*.

When I read this scripture, I thought of former President Jimmy Carter, having recently heard that he had chosen to stop all medical treatment and shift to hospice care. He embodies this scripture. He is the example we need to follow, and yet, I fear he is seen as a rarity that is viewed beyond our ability to emulate. Of course, his presbeuó is Jesus Christ. Christ-followers are called to be the example of God’s love for the world, and I fear we sometimes get off track. I fear we grow uncomfortable with loving without judging, which leads us to transition to creating God and God’s love in images in which we are more comfortable. There was a time when being left-handed was seen as being the mark of Satan, and toddlers had their arms tied to their sides until they had mastered using their right hand. Now we pick on sexual differences as being evil. Just exactly how that is supposed to be a danger to anyone else is beyond me. And racism is still alive and well in our worldview, although the very existence of different “human races” has been debunked by genetic science.  We do great harm to future generations when we fail to follow the example of Christ in living love.

Prayer: Lord, as we enter the time of Lent, when we relive your 40-day sojourn in the wilderness facing the temptations of Satan, guide us to wrestle with the temptations we face enticing us to take wrong paths and show us the right path.  Amen.

*https://biblehub.com/greek/4243.htmpre

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.

Finding the Right Path

Eastertide

April 25, 2022

Scripture Reading: Acts 9:1-20

Meanwhile Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’ He asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ The reply came, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.’ The men who were traveling with him stood speechless because they heard the voice but saw no one. Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. For three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank. —Acts 9:1-9

How does God prick our consciences to turn us around from being driven by external forces trying to foster their self-interest, not God’s ways? The conscience is the sense of right or wrong within the individual*. Saul received a strong dose of consciousness on that road to Damascus. He had been schooled by the best temple leaders, in the religious thoughts of the day and was following them diligently. Jesus, this son of a carpenter, had challenged them, indicating that those leaders had turned their backs on God’s ways. Jesus brought a message of loving one another, caring for the poor and the sick, not just totally investing themselves in following all the rituals laid out by those temple leaders. In the story of the Good Samaritan, Jesus described a priest and a Levite who chose not to help a seriously injured man they met on the road. While a Samaritan did stop and help the man and took him to shelter. Samaritans were considered religious outcasts by the Jews. Jesus shunned no one, while the temple leaders maintained a long list of people who were not worthy and should be avoided. Jesus was crucified for his challenges.

We, too, must struggle with the teachings that some people are better in God’s eyes than others, that some sins are far worse than others, and worse yet some assign themselves the right to judge which attitudes or actions are right and which are wrong. In many instances, such people judge only the actions they would never do as sin and ignore others in which they are involved.

Jesus is still challenging all of us to choose our path wisely.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference**.

Prayer: Lord, prick our consciousness to protect us from taking the wrong path. Guide us to your ways. Amen.

* https://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/conscience

**The last verse of The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost see at https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44272/the-road-not-taken

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.