February is a time to breathe in the midst of cold and storms. Yet, we continue to glean concepts in scripture which bear fresh fruit for the soul.
The “fruit” of our walk with Christ is . . . faith, hope, love . . . and the greatest of these is love. This is a perfect month, the ‘love’ month, to dwell upon our greatest Love, God’s only begotten Son.
The “fruit” of our walk with Christ is . . . faith, hope, love . . . and the greatest of these is love. This is a perfect month, the ‘love’ month, to dwell upon our greatest Love, God’s only begotten Son.
And so we continue with some quotes before we pick ‘fruit’ for the soul.
"What does love look like? It has the hands to help others. It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men. That is what love looks like." Augustine
“Gratitude as a discipline involves a conscious choice . . . It is amazing how many occasions present themselves in which I can choose gratitude instead of a complaint.” Henry J.M. Nouwen
February 1 Genesis 18:1-16; Psalm 55,138,139; Hebrews 10:26-39; John 6:16-27
John 6:18-21 “The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were terrified. But he said to them, ‘It is I, do not be afraid.’ Then they wanted to take him into the boat and immediately the boat reached the land tower which they were going.”
Late in the day Jesus took a time out to regroup and commune with the Father. When He finished, He sought to reconnect with his disciples. Under their own steam, without Jesus present, the disciples fought rough seas for several miles yet seemed to be getting nowhere. Of course, they were terrified when they saw a vague image of someone walking on water toward them.
“I AM!, don’t be afraid!” is a better translation for the words Jesus used here and throughout the Gospel of John.
“I AM,” introduced the presence of God in the old
covenant as well as the new.
These ‘myopic sheep, flailing about without their Shepherd, knew His voice.
Once they recognized Jesus, they brought Him aboard.
Immediately, the stormy seas became calm.
Immediately they arrived at Capernaum which was still a great distance away.
Jesus calmed the storm, eased their load and directed their path in what seemed an instant. The disciples may have been surprised by the power of Jesus to bring order to chaos but they had become use to seeing ‘divine’ miracles. Without Jesus the disciples experienced chaos and seemed to be getting nowhere.
This is only half the story in today’s reading of the Gospel. If you read further, the people who had just experienced the miracle of the feeding of the 5000 figured out where Jesus had gone and walked around the top of the Sea of Galilee to meet Him in Capernaum, which is in Tiberius.
They wanted more. Another free meal?
Jesus fed them food for the soul but most could only think of food for their body. They also seemed to be getting nowhere regarding their journey in Christ.
Think about it: Sometimes our journey with Jesus can
be like rowing our boat with little progress in the dark of the night.
The waves of chaos smash against us, hindering our progress forward.
It’s like we use every muscle in our body to move but seem to stay in the same place.
Too often the chaos of the world around us does hinder our movement.
It’s almost like we are slogging through thick mud.
We get tired.
We want to give up.
Yet, all too often that is just about the time we give our journey to Jesus. In our spirit we might say, “OK, Lord, I give up. You take over. I’m done rowing my own boat.”
It’s almost like we are slogging through thick mud.
We get tired.
We want to give up.
Yet, all too often that is just about the time we give our journey to Jesus. In our spirit we might say, “OK, Lord, I give up. You take over. I’m done rowing my own boat.”
That’s our invitation to Jesus to let Him take the oars of our life and do the rowing.
“Instantly,” we may feel calm.
We can breathe more easily.
“Instantly,” we may feel calm.
We can breathe more easily.
No longer does the world seem like it is spinning out of control (although it may well be).
Whenever we call upon the Lord we seem to move from darkness to light, from chaos to calm, from effort to ease.
Whenever we call upon the Lord we seem to move from darkness to light, from chaos to calm, from effort to ease.
So, why don’t we call on our Lord to help us every single day before we even get out of bed?
Before we jump into the day, we may choose to say just one of these phrases:
“Good morning, Jesus,”
“Come Holy Spirit, awaken in me as I begin a new day!”
“Father, in heaven, hallowed be Thy name!”
Take a deep breath.
Now go about your business knowing that the Lord is with you, directing your path through the chaotic sea of today.
2-2 Malachi 3:1-4; Psalm 84 or Psalm 24:7-10; Hebrews 2:14-18; Luke 2:22 - 40
Presentation of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Temple
Malachi 3:1-4 “And the Lord, who you seek will suddenly come to His temple . . . the messenger of the covenant is coming . . . For He is like refiner’s fire and fuller’s soap. He will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver until they present offerings to the Lord in righteousness. :4 Then the offering of Jerusalem and Judah will be pleasing to the Lord. . .”
Psalm 24:7 Lift up your hands . . . that the King of
glory may come in.
Hebrew 2:17 “He had to be made like his brethren in all things so that He might become a merciful and faithful
high priest in things pertaining to God to make propitiation for the sins of His people.
Luke 2:22 “When the time came for the purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. :24 And they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord . . . “ :25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name is Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel and the HolySpirit rested on him. :27 Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law, Simeon took him in his arms and prayed to God saying, :29-:32 ”Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.” :34Then Simeon blessed Jesus and prophesied over him. :36 There was also a prophet, Anna, age 84, who remained in the temple worshipping, fasting, praying day and night since the death of her husband, seven years after they married. :38 At that moment she came, and began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.”
This is an important moment in salvation history. Prophecy of Malachi, the Psalm, Hebrews and Luke point
to Judah, Jerusalem, sacrifice in the Temple and the 'King of Glory' the ultimate sacrifice for us all.
Malachi promises God’s people that there will be refining like that of fuller’s soap. We who were born
decades ago, in the era of Fuller’s Soap, take note. It was advertised as purified, with no fillers. The term came from this scripture which translates, ‘metal rubbing metal’, honed and fired like gold and silver. It’s a multi-level process that takes time and fortitude, in the same way as cleansing through sacrifice and offerings to the Lord. Malachi did not know of Jesus but knew to prophecy regarding the generations of Levites, those who serve at the altar, whom God will purify in order for sacrifice to be pleasing to the Lord. Then would come the ultimate sacrifice whose blood would purify all who come to Him, Jesus Christ.
These scriptures point to preparation and purification in order to welcome the ‘King of glory.” Jesus came to humanity as a helpless mortal who, although he was without sin and did not need to be ‘redeemed’ at the temple, was presented in the same way as any Jewish baby. He was no more or less in stature than any other child according to ritual. Yet, others such as Simeon and Anna knew immediately when they saw Jesus being taken into the temple for the presentation, that he was the One to become the purification for all. Circumcision, naming and presentation at the temple was the normal sequence of events for every first born male and dedicated to the Lord to live a holy life devoted to God.
God picked the perfect time and place for Simeon to be present as Jesus was brought into the temple. There were dozens of access points one can walk through in this 35 acres where the temple and all its courts stood. The odds of Simeon being at just the right place at the perfect time to see and know that this babe is to be blessed is beyond amazing, it's a miracle.
Simeon, devout, surrounded and guided by the Holy Spirit, waited at the temple for this moment. God promised he would not see death before he saw Christ.
Simeon saw, knew and took Jesus in his arms and blessed him. Mary and Joseph prayed at Simeon’s words and Simeon blessed Mary and said, “This will pierce even your own soul” Then Anna, 84 years old, came up and gave thanks to God and continued speaking of Jesus to all those seeking redemption of Israel. Simeon and Anna, well known for their piety, gave affirmation to Joseph, Mary and all present that this was the King of glory, spoken of in Psalms.
Think about it: Mary and Joseph were obedient to the sacrificial rituals, to the law, because they were devout Jews. Even if they knew their child was a miraculous blessing from God, they still followed through with the ceremony of redemption according to law. Simeon, by giving his blessing, affirmed what Mary knew in her spirit. Anna affirmed Simeon’s blessing by sharing this encounter with others, thus affirming God’s mighty work.
Where are you in this scene? Are you there with Simeon as he gives the blessing and prophecy over Jesus? Are you the one hearing the voice of Anna who is proclaiming that this ‘blessed one’ will become the ‘King of Glory’? Perhaps you are part of the crowd milling around Mary and Joseph wondering what all this
hoopla is all about. Are you one of the Levites, the temple priest, who is simply going about his daily duty receiving redemption for every first-born male child?
We are blessed to know the story, to know that Simeon’s
blessing propelled Jesus into his path of redemption for all. Blessing transforms. The words “He broke the bread and blessed it,” drew power into that bread and transformed it into a banquet for thousands.
Jesus, the bread of life, broken on the cross for us, is the BLESSING that gives power to those who believe to transformed the world. Jesus, the broken one who she His blood on the Cross for us, became our blessing so that we might be miraculously changed, given new life in Him.
May we all receive blessing.
It transforms.
“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance unto you and give you peace.”
Numbers 6: 24-26
Numbers 6: 24-26
2-3 Genesis 19:1-17 (18-23)24-29; Psalm 56,57,[58], 64,65;
Hebrews 11:1=12; John 6:27-40
Psalm 56:3 When I am afraid I will put my trust in You.
Psalm 57:7 My heart is steadfast, O God.
Psalm 64:10 The righteous will be glad in the Lord and will take refuge in Him.
Psalm 65:11 You have crowned the year with your bounty.
I need to b r e a t h e deep, read the Psalms and simply ‘be’ as I digest God’s words of praise. The Psalms, songs to God, are meant to be breathing points that enhance our daily scripture readings. That’s why, at many worship services, psalms are said or sung between readings. In fact, many contemporary worship songs are actually taken from the Psalms.
Notice that today’s psalms give praise to God. Other psalms cry out to God for help or confess to God some deep sin. Psalms are songs that pour out deep feelings from our very soul. They affirm our reality of life. “When I fear I know to trust in my Lord.” “My heart is firmly focused on my God.” “Those who seek righteousness are glad that we can find refuge in our Lord.” And best of all, “Our God has crowned our entire year with bounteous blessings.”
Think about it: You may have heard that if you read three Psalms each day, you will have read all of them in a month. There is a catch to that. Psalm 119. It would take you three days just to read through this because of its length. This psalm follows each letter of the Hebrew alphabet for at least two stanzas if not more. Often in
our readings you will notice that we read only a snippet of many very long Psalms.
Each day you read scripture with the suggested Psalm, read it out loud even if it is in a low whisper. Say the words slowly. Let them penetrate your soul.
B r e a t h e deeply as you read.
Do you feel a renewed strength within?
Just read a couple stanzas and see how you feel.
Each day you read out loud, allow your whispers to become a full, bold voice to the Lord. Keep breathing slowly.
Another amazing gift from reading any scripture out loud: the evil one hates to hear glorious words from God and will scatter. Reading out loud clears the air.
Tuck a psalm or part of it into your heart for those days when the world takes too many bites out of you.
B r e a t h e out those words.
You’ll feel so much better.
2-4 Genesis 21:1-21; Psalm 61,62,68; Hebrews 11:13-22; John 6:41-51
Hebrews 11:21 By faith Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph.
For instance, Jacob, son of Isaac, “son” of Abraham, extended covenant relationship with God through his many sons. Jacob was slow to catch on to covenant relationship. Only when he battled with the ‘Angel of the Lord’ did he truly see the ‘light’, at dawn, when he reconciled with God. He finally understood that his offspring would be ‘Israel’ the new name given to Jacob, bore the twelve tribes, who would eventually live in covenant relationship with God after much struggle. In fact, “Is-ra-el” means “struggle with God.”
Therefore, blessing his sons as he was dying was imperative. Blessing is a way of passing down to his sons all that was given to Jacob. Blessing is like a mantle of leadership, authority, given from father to son. Blessing is passing covenant-relationship to the next generation. Throughout scripture, we find that ‘blessing’ changed the lives of those blessed.
Words of blessing are power-full.
Think about it: Have you been given a blessing by another?
In some denominations the clergy presiding at the worship service gives the people a blessing at the end of the service.
In doing so, it is like the person in authority, the leader of the day, ‘seals’ the worship experience, the full presence of God in Christ, in our soul.
Just as anointing in baptism ‘seals’ the Holy Spirit within us forever, a blessing after absorbing songs and prayers and scripture that point to God, seals our worship experience in our soul so that we might remain steadfast in our faith.
Like receiving a ‘blessing’ from parents before marriage to ‘cement’ a new beginning with our spouse, continued blessing ‘cements’ our love-relationship with Jesus.
Blessing affirms God’s presence in us.
Blessing is God’s stamp of approval through those who are given authority over us.
Blessing from one whom we revere may change our lives.
Bless you!
Once again, read Aaron’s blessing, b r e a t h e and deep, tuck it into your heart.
“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance unto you and give you peace.”
Numbers 6: 24-26
2-5 Genesis 22:1-18; Psalm 72, 119:73-96; Hebrews 11:23-31; John 6:52-59
John shows us the Bread of Life, the I Am, throughout chapter 6. He fed the 5000 and many of them hungered for more. They walked the rim of the Sea of Galilee to meet Jesus in Capernaum but where were their hearts? Did they want to feed the body or their soul?
Jesus confronted them and told them of the ‘Bread of life’ that is everlasting. In fact, these particular verses are the tenth reference to “bread from heaven” so far.
Matthew, Mark and Luke refer to the Last Supper as the first Holy Eucharist, or holy thanksgiving with bread and wine. John sees not a particular moment that the ‘Bread of life’ was instituted but Jesus’ whole life as the institution of thanksgiving or ‘eucharisteo’.
Jesus is the I Am.
Jesus is the Bread and the Blood that gives life.
As we ‘chew’ on Jesus and ‘drink in’ His Word, His presence, we imbibe in the fullness of Jesus humanity and divinity, His divine flesh, His divine blood.. . . all of Jesus.
Jesus’ ‘flesh and blood’ is Jesus’ presence.
When we say Jesus is ‘with’ us, do you see Him?
Can you touch Him?
Does Jesus sit in a corner of your house waiting for you to speak with Him?
Of course not.
Jesus is ‘one’ with God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Our Triune God is with us always, in Spirit and in Truth. By faith, we have said ‘yes’ and have promised to allow the Presence of God to envelope us.
Every time we say, “yes Lord, I know you are with me,” we invite the ‘flesh and blood’ of Jesus into your lives.
Every time we digest words of Jesus, His flesh and blood is being processed into our soul.
In the same way, when we ‘commune’ with the Lord through Holy Communion, we receive Jesus’ presence, Jesus’ whole being, through the power of the Holy Spirit.
A piece of bread and a little wine are transformed, through the power of the Holy Spirit, into the full presence of God. As we digest them, His ‘food’ transforms us.
Think about it: Sometimes we must step beyond the here and now, beyond the parameters we have assigned to time and space, and allow the transforming power of God to envelope us.
When we let go of our own understanding and let God
work in and through us we can be transported beyond ourselves into another realm, the realm of the Almighty.
Let go.
Let God transform you.
Receive Jesus’ presence in all forms.
Through prayer, praise, worship, by digesting of His Word and through Holy Thanksgiving, the Eucharist, Holy Communion, receive the full presence of our Lord.
When we say “yes” to God’s many ways of transforming us, we are renewed.
We become a new person, filled with new insights and grow in our ability to give our blessings away to others.
Think about how the Lord is transforming you the next time you receive Holy Communion.
You might be surprised!
John 6:63-64 “It is the spirit who gives life; . . . The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But among you there are some who do not believe.” :66-:68 Because of this, many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. So Jesus asked the twelve, “Do you also wish to go away?” Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life.’”
Think about it: Are we for or against Jesus?
Let your “yes” be YES!
Then we begin to learn the ‘disciplines’ of becoming the Christ-centered person we choose to become. This, we learn, is not instantaneous. Suddenly we see all our bad habits before us, those pesky flaws that get in the way of true freedom in Christ. Learning how to live for Christ means setting our focus on our Lord’s best path for us. Each of us is different. Each of us has a different path to follow. As we learn the ‘disciplines’ of living a godly life, those bad habits will slowly slip away.
Fasting from social media may be huge for a ‘millennial’ but easy for a ‘boomer’ who barely knows what this is. Fasting from talking on the telephone may be a challenge to a boomer but super easy for the younger generations who ‘text.’ In fact, the generations beyond ‘boomers’ must learn the new discipline of connecting with others in personal conversation, eye meeting eye, and learn how facial expression is part of communication.
2-6 Genesis 23:1-20; Psalm 71,74; Hebrews 11:32—12:2; John 6:60-71
John 6:63-64 “It is the spirit who gives life; . . . The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But among you there are some who do not believe.” :66-:68 Because of this, many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. So Jesus asked the twelve, “Do you also wish to go away?” Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life.’”
Peter is so right. Once we connect with and ‘live’ with Jesus, how can we refuse Him and His words? Jesus has just told the crowd, his followers, all called disciples, about eating his flesh and blood.
“Too much,” some might have said. “I’m out of here.”
Having received miraculous words and exponential blessing as part of the feeding of the 5000, some could not embrace more than their tiny minds and world experience could handle. I don’t blame them.
Jesus is expecting the average person, much like the twelve, to believe some pretty hefty concepts. Peter and the others of the twelve, who were hand-chosen by God, spent far more time with Jesus than many in this crowd. They saw miracle after miracle and still had difficulty digesting all Jesus’ concepts. Yet, in this case, they were steadfast. No one left . . . yet. We know Judas was just waiting for the perfect time to reject Jesus but Jesus knew this.
By now, most of Jesus’ thousands of followers were what we now call ‘groupies.’ They came and heard and saw and experienced healing of body and soul whenever Jesus was within walking distance. Yet, they could not embrace that which gives ‘spirit and life,’ words of eternal life, the Living Word, all of Jesus.
We cannot be on the fence. Jesus is telling all of us, “Fish or cut bait.”
Jesus tells us, “Either you are all-in or you are not with Me.”
Only our faith can keep us moving more deeply into concepts, ideas, the full presence of God, the ‘mystery’ of faith.
Christ Jesus is our Mystery of faith.
God comes to us and invites us into eternal life.
We have the freedom to accept this gift of new life . . . or not.
One caveat: Let our ‘yes’ be “YES’,” that we are ‘all-in’ as we explore a life-time of the Mystery of Faith in our Lord.
Our job is to continue to walk forward in faith, at our individual pace, as we discover and embrace all the Presence of God available to us.
You choose.
Let your “yes” be YES!
Keep moving forward in your faith in God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Keep walking through the Mystery of Faith.
You will be so very blessed!
2-7 Genesis 24:1-27; Psalm 69:1-23(24-30)31-36, 73; Hebrews 12:3-11; John 7:1-13
Hebrews 12:11 “Now discipline always seems painful rather than pleasant at the time, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”
The writer seeks to teach those who may have lived by the disciplines of the Law of the old covenant as well as those who have never been exposed to the Law of Moses. We are speaking of Jews and Gentiles who are now living the Christian life. Becoming a Christian is a new experience for many. At first, when accepting Jesus as Lord of our lives, we feel the freedom of letting go of our burdens, of placing them at the foot of the cross to be covered by the blood of Jesus.
So what is ‘discipline’? Discipline can be a set of expectations that are required by any governing entity including the self, groups, classes, fields, industries, or societies. A “Discipline” might be ‘chemist’ in the vocation of science. Being a ‘disciple’ of Christ Jesus means that we choose to follow the ‘disciplines’ of Christ’s teachings.
To follow Christ as a disciple takes discipline, a honing of our sinful nature into conformity with the sinless nature of Christ. The only way to do this is to let go of ‘self’ desires and focus wholly on discipleship in Christ. In order to follow the path our Lord laid out for us, we must let go of the habits that take us away from this new path.
Learning the ‘discipline’ of living the grace-filled life is no picnic if, indeed, we continue to let go of our own desires. We have a natural inclination to self-interest.
We naturally want to protect ourselves and desire goodness in life. This is good. There is nothing wrong with the best for ourselves until we break it down into what we need and what we want.
For instance, it is important to maintain the discipline of a good sleep habit which averages eight hours each night. Too often we get involved in something that engages us past the time we should go to sleep, forgetting that we have to be up early the next day. ‘Suddenly’ we become un-disciplined in our sleep habits, and have a difficulty getting up early enough to spend time with the Lord.
Going to bed too late might interfere with our ‘new’ habit of gaining knowledge and understanding of who Jesus is and how we are to live a righteous life. This can only be done by study of scripture, prayer, reflection and many other daily disciplines. The disciplines involved in living a life focused on Christ are many and varied. Each of us is engaged in our own set of disciplines in order to live a well balanced life.
Fasting is a healthy discipline but we must understand the best fast for each of us as individuals. We might think fasting pertains to food but we are called to ‘fast’ from any habits that inhibit our time honing our disciplines.
Think about it: Assess your ‘discipleship’ habits.
What disciplines have you learned in your Christian walk?
What disciplines need a bit of work?
Remember, our walk in Christ takes a life-time.
In fact, our purpose for living on this earth is to “Love the Lord, they God with all our heart, soul, strength and mind.” As we do this using the disciplines of growth in Christ, we are then called to “Love our neighbor as ourselves.” Only when we learn the incredible love given to us by our Lord, can we give it away. As we slowly understand that depth of love that God wants for us, we begin to bubble up and overflow with a love for others. Once we learn to love ourselves as Christ loves us, then we can give it away.
Too often, we choose to ‘serve the Lord with
gladness’ and love our neighbor before being filled up with the ‘agape’ love, the dying-to-self love of Christ, that must be overflowing in us first. Then we get burned out. We might even step back from the disciplines that keep us growing in that same love.
The goal of disciplines that help us focus on Christ Jesus, is to share his holiness and to gain the peaceful fruit of righteousness.
Discipline. It’s a good thing.
No comments:
Post a Comment