Saturday, May 30, 2009

Treasure in Clay Jars

Good morning! Gosh, when I took the dog out this morning, I could kinda see my breath! But it looks to be a lovely spring Saturday in western PA. I hope you're having good weather too, wherever you are!

We've got a vacation bible school meeting in a little bit and I need to fix up my Pentecost decorations. . . . they look like something a five year old would do, not a thirty year old! Not sure how they can be redeemed, so I'll just add more streamers. You can never have too many streamers, right?!

Here's the question and answer from yesterday:
What does Paul compare Christians to in 2 Corinthians 3?
2 Corinthians 3:2-3 2 You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. 3 You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

And here's the question of the day:
What did Elisha do to the ax head which fell into the water? (2 Kings 6)

And here's the reflection of the day:
I've read 2 Corinthians 4 through at least three times. And each time I pick a little passage to write about, my eyes wander down the computer screen and I get distracted by another couple of verses. This is a chapter rich with gems, pearls of wisdom, bits and pieces I have memorized and other I know from songs.

So, instead of just picking one, I'll ask you to do the work this time. The following are some of the questions I ask myself before I start blogging on the passage. In fact, these are some of the questions I ask myself any time I read the Bible!

1. Of all these verses, which ones stick out the most to you?
2. Why do you think they capture your attention?
3. Is it because you like the verses or because you don't or because you don't understand them?
4. What do you think God is saying to you through these verses?
5. How can you use these verses to write a prayer?
6. Now, write the prayer!!

Have a good day!
Allison

Friday, May 29, 2009

You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts. . .

Hello! Checking in a little late today. I can't believe how much I have to do between now and Sunday! It's nice to have Memorial Day off, but that leaves me with one less day to get my work done. Plus I have to make time for the Penguin game too. . . *Sigh* Well, we might as well get down to business!

Here's the question and answer from yesterday:
Who was Paul looking for when he came to Troas? Where did he go after that? (2 Cor 2)
2 Corinthians 2:12-13 12 Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and found that the Lord had opened a door for me, 13 I still had no peace of mind, because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said good-by to them and went on to Macedonia.

And here's the question of the day:
What does Paul compare Christians to in 2 Corinthians 3?

And here's the reflection of the day:
When I was in high school, I remember agonizing over who I should ask to write me a letter of recommendation for college. And when I was in college, I agonized again over who to ask to write a letter of recommendation for Seminary.

They are tricky things, letters of recommendation. You want someone who will be positive, but you don't want to sound like Jesus reincarnated. You want someone who will be honest about your faults, but you don't want to sound like Judas reincarnated.

A letter of recommendation should be something that represents you--honestly and openly. It should be a sign of your true character and integrity.

In 2 Corinthians, Paul is telling the believers in Corinth that they are his living letters of recommendation: "You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts" (vv 2-3).

What a great image! Christians are meant to be letters from Christ, written to our neighbors. We are meant to live as letters from Christ--honestly and openly, as a sign of God's character and integrity--to the world around us.

Pentecost is coming up on Sunday: consider the Holy Spirit to be the stamp on you, a letter from Christ, to the world around you. God is sending you out--go in peace, to love and serve the Lord!

Thursday, May 28, 2009

The Aroma of Christ

Good morning! I'm glad you stopped by today!


Here's the question and answer from yesterday:
Psalm 61 is a prayer. Who is the prayer for?
Psalm 61:6-7 6 Increase the days of the king's life, his years for many generations. 7 May he be enthroned in God's presence forever; appoint your love and faithfulness to protect him.

And here's the question of the day:
Who was Paul looking for when he came to Troas? Where did he go after that? (2 Cor 13)


And here's the reflection of the day:
I am presiding over a wedding next month. The groom went to our church when he was younger--apparently he was a holy terror during VBS!

The church has changed a lot since he was there--not only has time passed, but we've been through the fire and rebuilt. So, it was kind of odd that, when I was meeting with them at the church, he walked into the sanctuary and said, "It's smells just the same!"



Now, I don't know about YOUR sanctuary, but I never noticed any distinctive smells coming from ours. (We don't usually have many flowers or smelly candles or incense or anything.) Fora while, it did smell like new wood, new carpet, and new paint for a while, but that "new" smell is pretty much gone now.

But to this groom, and his fresh nose unaccustomed to the church, it still smelled the same. He didn't say it in a negative way; he was nostalgic and sentimental, two words I would NOT normally use to describe him generally!

To him, it was "the fragrance of life" (2 Cor 2.16). To him, it was the smell of childhood and of home.

This particular young man hasn't been to church since he was a kid, and I don't expect he will start coming after he is married, but I hope, while I have a chance to interact with this soon-to-be-married couple, that I can be the "aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing" (2 Cor 2.15).

I hope that I can be that reminder of Home and be an invitation on behalf of a Father who wants to welcome all His children Home.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled

I just write a little note of encouragement. I know that many of you are behind in your Year of the Bible reading. Take heart and do not be discouraged.

You have taken on a mighty goal. It is a difficult task, and difficult tasks are never easy.

Psalm 61 says, "Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer. From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I."

If you are frustrated or lack motivation or are overwhelmed, pray! Use the words of this psalm to ask God for refreshment and energy and a new passion and desire for His Word.

Hang in there--you're almost 50% of the way there!!

This is It For Now

Hello! I only have time to post the questions for right now. I'll be back to reflect later on!

Here's the question and answer from yesterday:
What happens to Naboth at the day of fasting? (1 Kings 21)
1 Kings 21:13 13 Then two scoundrels came and sat opposite him and brought charges against Naboth before the people, saying, "Naboth has cursed both God and the king." So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death.

And here's the question of the day:
Psalm 61 is a prayer. Who is the prayer for?


Like the Terminator, I'll be back!

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

A Christian in Community

Well, it's back to business again. Hope you had a good Memorial Day!

Here's the question and answer from yesterday:
What did Obadiah do when Jezebel was killing off the Lord’s prophets? (1 Kings 18)
1 Kings 18:3-4 (Obadiah was a devout believer in the LORD. 4 While Jezebel was killing off the LORD's prophets, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them in two caves, fifty in each, and had supplied them with food and water.)

And here's the question of the day:
What happens to Naboth at the day of fasting? (1 Kings 21)


And here's the reflection of the day:
You don't have to read too far in 2 Corinthians to note Paul's warm tone when writing to the church at Corinth. Clearly, he has a strong bond with them. And 2 Corinthians begins with Paul's attempt to reconcile with those particular believers after a little hiccup in their relationship and to reassure them that he is truly trustworthy as a leader.

These introductory verses (vv1-2) provide a salutation for Paul's letter, similar to the salutation in 1 Corinthians. And they introduce one of Paul's themes: Christians are never isolated from each other: "to the church of God in Corinth, together with all the saints throughout Achaia."

A Christian life is always lived in connections with those around them. Think of the Apostles' Creed line: "I believe in the communion of saints. . . " Paul believes that the "saints--that is, those who believe--are given to one other, to provide mutual support and encouragement.

We are to be concerned with what happens to all Christians, all over the world. To be a Christian is to belong to a global community where no one should be left out or forgotten. But too often we tend to be too focused on the individual, blind to the concerns and welfare of others. We do leave people out. This is an area we could all use a little more repenting.

How can you do a better job of being a Christian in community?

Have a great day!
Allison

Monday, May 25, 2009

Thank a Vet

Here's the question and answer from yesterday:
What animal did God tell Elijah would provide food for him while he was hiding in the Kerith Ravine? What person provides food for him next? (I Kings 17)
1 Kings 17:6 6 The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.
1 Kings 17:9 9 "Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food."

And here's the question of the day:
What did Obadiah do when Jezebel was killing off the Lord’s prophets? (1 Kings 18)

Today's a day off so no reflecting for me! Hope you have a good Memorial Day--thank a vet!
Allison

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Fun with Augustine: Hair cuts and Fingernails. . . What does a resurrected body look like?

And here is the sermon I'll be preaching. . .

SERMON: INTRODUCTION
Last week we talked about Augustine and his fascination with the body, particularly the strange things that some people can DO with their bodies. His fascination with the body fills this whole big book.

And I thought it was rather providential that 1 Corinthians 15 was on our “Year of the Bible” reading schedule this week because that is Paul’s masterpiece about the body, specifically what our bodies might be like in heaven or what Augustine would call our “resurrected bodies.”

I wish I could read to you the whole chapter, but it’s too long. So I’m going to break it down into three parts. Hear this first reading from God’s holy word:

#1
1 Corinthians 15:35-40 35 But someone may ask, "How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?" 36 How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37 When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. 38 But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. 39 All flesh is not the same: Men have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. 40 There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another.

Some things never change. During time that Paul and Augustine were writing, people wondered what our bodies will look like in heaven. And today, people are still fixated on that very same thing.

Jesus said that not one hair on our heads would perish when we die. And Augustine took that literally when it came to our heavenly bodies: if you were someone who had lost a hand or a foot, Augustine was sure you would be re-united with it. Your heavenly body would have all its limbs intact. If you were blind on earth, you would have sight in heaven. So that led him to wonder about haircuts and fingernails. Would we be re-united with each strand of hair we ever cut off or every fingernail we ever trimmed?

Eventually, Augustine realized we would all look pretty funky so he decided that probably wasn’t right. So he decided that he hoped, because we can’t know for sure, our resurrected bodies would be a snapshot of ourselves in our prime—when we looked our best and when we felt our best. So everyone will be as thin as we once were, and we’ll all have good hair days for eternity, according to Augustine.

#2
But there was a big problem with this whole resurrection of the body idea. Some of the Christians in Paul and Augustine’s time—remember they lived just a couple hundred years from each other—didn’t believe in the resurrection of the body. They thought the body was bad. The flesh was weak and prone to sin; but the soul was good and didn’t want to sin. So they believed that the soul would go to heaven but that the body would stay dead in the ground. Paul points out the flaws in their thinking in the second reading from 1 Corinthians 15:

1 Corinthians 15:13-17
13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 15 More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.


Remember all those people Jesus appears to after his resurrection? They see his body, they touch his wounds, and they watch him eat. They see his soul AND his body which have been made whole again together. Paul says, if people do not believe in the resurrection of the body—not just Jesus’ body but for ALL bodies—then Jesus is still dead in the ground. If Jesus is still dead in the ground, then those who proclaim his resurrection are liars. . . our faith is futile and we are still in our sins.

Paul and Augustine tell their readers “you can’t have your cake and eat it too.” Either the body and the soul are resurrected together, or there’s no resurrection at all. Needless to say, this was not a terribly popular position for either of them to take. It was a hard line stance about something no one had ever experienced before. And because no one had experienced resurrection, except those who saw Jesus after he had been resurrected, the resurrection of the dead remained a rather mysterious idea which Paul addresses in our final reading from1 Corinthians:

#3
1 Corinthians 15:51-57 51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed-- 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory." 55 "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

“We will all be changed. . . in the twinkle of an eye.” Paul says that these physical bodies we have now will pass away and we will inherit a spiritual, imperishable, immortal body but it will still be a body. But you can see that Paul’s main point isn’t so much about what our bodies will look like. It’s that we will HAVE bodies.

And more than that, Paul is saying that we will have LIFE—that we also can say, “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” God has given us victory over death in Jesus Christ—we will be resurrected to new life just like Jesus was, body AND soul. For Christian believers, death is not just an end, but it is the beginning of something wonderful—eternal life.

CONCLUSION
We all have our own ideas of what heaven will be like. And we probably all a particular picture in mind of what we hope our resurrected body looks like. But we don’t know for sure; we can’t know for sure.

Resurrection and heaven are part of God’s mysteries. I’m glad we don’t know what heaven will be like because I like to think about it—I like to read what other people think about it too. Imagine, Augustine would have only had a couple of pages of stuff to write instead of 1000s if he knew what the answers were.

But I have a theory about what heaven is going to be like, and I’m not sure you’re going to like my picture of heaven, but I’m going to give you my two cents anyway.

Augustine tells us that God created us to want the very best for ourselves—goodness and happiness and peace. And God is what’s best for us. And since we will be changed and restored to the way God originally created us to be, I think that heaven will be filled with God, which is perhaps rather obvious. But that means it’s not about finding long lost loved ones, it’s not about having dinner with famous people, and it’s not about asking God our long list of questions we want answers to.

I can only imagine that heaven is about worshiping God forever. That seems to be the picture that Revelation paints—the angels and archangels gathered around the Lamb of God who is sitting on the throne, singing and worshiping with the saints of the church from every age.
Revelation tells us this: "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." 5 He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" (Rev 21:3-5).

Thanks be to the God who is making everything new, who gives us new bodies, and who raises us to new life, in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Lots of Qs & As

Hmm, I fell a little behind. Again. Did lots of visiting last week and that really wears me out. I'll try to do better this week!

Here's the question and answer from Tuesday:
Which came first: the palace or the temple? (I Kings 6-7)
1 Kings 6:1 In the four hundred and eightieth year after the Israelites had come out of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, the second month, he began to build the temple of the LORD. 1 Kings 7:1 It took Solomon thirteen years, however, to complete the construction of his palace.

And here's the question and answer from Wednesday:
What tune is Psalm 56 supposed to be sung to?
Psalm 56:1 For the director of music. To the tune of "A Dove on Distant Oaks." Of David. A miktam.

And here's the question and answer from Friday:
Why did Jeroboam flee to Egypt? Why did he come back (I Kings 12)
1 Kings 12:1-4 Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all the Israelites had gone there to make him king. 2 When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard this (he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), he returned from Egypt. 3 So they sent for Jeroboam, and he and the whole assembly of Israel went to Rehoboam and said to him: 4 "Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but now lighten the harsh labor and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you."

And here's the question and answer from Saturday:
Fill in the blanks: 1 Corinthians 15:13-14 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even ___________ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, ____________________ is useless and so is your __________.
1 Corinthians 15:13-14 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.

And here's today's question of the day:
What animal did God tell Elijah would provide food for him while he was hiding in the Kerith Ravine? What person provides food for him next? (I Kings 17)

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Sleeping with the Enemy

Good morning! Boy, I'm glad I turned the furnace back on last night--it was chilly. For those of you who are gardeners, I hope your plants survived the cold! Let's get down to business.


Here's the question and answer from yesterday:
Monday: Why did Hiram, King of Tyre, send envoys to Solomon? (I Kings 5)
1 Kings 5:1 When Hiram king of Tyre heard that Solomon had been anointed king to succeed his father David, he sent his envoys to Solomon, because he had always been on friendly terms with David.

And here's the question of the day:
Tuesday: Which came first: the palace or the temple? (I Kings 6-7)


And here's the reflection of the day:
Today's readings from 1 Kings 6-7 provide us with a few interesting little tidbits of information.

For example, check out verse 1 in 1 Kings 6: "In the four hundred and eightieth year after the Israelites had come out of Egypt . . . " It is common for passages of Scripture to start with some "sign posts" to help clue people in on the time and place of the story. And Israel's history always dates back to their liberation from Egypt by the hand of God. Even though Solomon is king 10-12 generations AFTER the exodus, it is still fresh in the mind of the authors of 1 Kings. After all this time, they still "remember" what their ancestors went through at the hands of Pharaoh in Egypt.

Now, look at verse 8 in 1 Kings 7: "And the palace in which he was to live, set farther back, was similar in design. Solomon also made a palace like this hall for Pharaoh's daughter, whom he had married." It's just a little narrative detail in the midst of two grand chapters describing the temple and the palace, but it's an important detail: THE KING OF ISRAEL MARRIED THE DAUGHTER OF EGYPT'S PHARAOH!

It doesn't get more shocking than that does it? One might try to justify this as a diplomatic marriage, but come on . . . really? (said like Amy Pohler and Seth Myers on SNL!) Does this seem like a wise move, o great and wise Solomon??

Never has God been a fan of Israel "marrying outside the faith." The Israelites was always forbidden from marrying foreigners not because they're foreigners, but because they do not worship Yahweh, Israel's God. God wants to preserve Israel's faith and way of life as a community, which is no easy task . . . a task made all the more difficult when Israel's leader is literally sleeping with the enemy.

In the midst of all these grand details of the palace and the temple (don't these 2 chapters sounds like someone describing what a museum looks like?), God interrupts, like God so often does. In 1 Kings 6:11ff, "The word of the LORD came to Solomon: 12 "As for this temple you are building, if you follow my decrees, carry out my regulations and keep all my commands and obey them, I will fulfill through you the promise I gave to David your father. 13 And I will live among the Israelites and will not abandon my people Israel." 14 So Solomon built the temple and completed it.

In other words, God says, "Using this temple, if you will follow my decrees. . . I will live among the Israelites and will not abandon my people Israel." Everything hinges on the temple and Solomon's wise obedience to God's decrees. It's that important; hence all the description and detail that goes along with it.

This "little" disobedience I mentioned earlier may be a foreshadowing of things to come for Solomon and the Israelites. You'll just have to keep reading to find out what happens next!!

Have a splendid day!
Allison

Monday, May 18, 2009

Of All the Things to Ask For

Hello! Glad you stopped by again today.

Here's the question and answer from yesterday:
Sunday: Who declares himself king when David becomes old and feeble? Who was supposed to be the next king? (1 Kings 1)
1 Kings 1:5 5 Now Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith, put himself forward and said, "I will be king." So he got chariots and horses ready, with fifty men to run ahead of him.
1 Kings 1:17 17 She said to him, "My lord, you yourself swore to me your servant by the LORD your God: 'Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he will sit on my throne.'


And here's the question of the day:
Monday: Why did Hiram, King of Tyre, send envoys to Solomon? (I Kings 5)

And here's the reflection of the day:
Of all the things to ask for, Solomon could have picked anything in this world (I Kings 3). He COULD have asked for a long life or great wealth or the death of all of his enemies (v11). He COULD have asked for great fame or many children or a mighty empire. But what he asks for is a discerning heart.

I would venture to say that Solomon already possessed a somewhat discerning heart, brimming full of wisdom, before God offered the world to Solomon. God offered him the world and Solomon chose wisdom. And since he chose wisdom, God saw fit to give him "what you have not asked for--both riches and honor--so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings" (v 13).

Solomon becomes a legendary leader in the history of history! He was seen as a fair and effective ruler in the eyes of his people; he lived a long life, was wealthy, and achieved many victories over his enemies. He loved the Lord and tried hard to follow in the footsteps of his father, approaching God with humility and devotion.

But he also made his fair share of mistakes: under his reign, Israel became allies with their enemy Egypt when he marries a foreign princess; he was slow in building the Temple; and he sometimes incorrectly worshiped at the "high places." Solomon was a good man, but he had his flaws and faults as well.

I think the point of this story is that God took the initiative with Solomon, just like He takes with all of us. God decides Solomon will become the king, even though he aligned his family with foreigners, against God's desires; God comes to Solomon in a dream and offers to give anything he asks for, even though Solomon is greedy, more often than not.

Despite Solomon's sinfulness, God extends to him the open invitation to be a part of His plan. Solomon loves God with an imperfect love--sometimes with a wandering eye and heart--and yet God responds to that imperfect love with His own perfect love, granting Solomon (and us) undeserved blessing and a second chance to love and obey.

Have a splendid day!
Allison

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Fun with Augustine: Lust, Food & Gossip. . . When Our Appetites Get the Best of Us

Hello, friends! It's good to be back after several days away. It's been a whirlwind of a weekend (sorry for not posting yesterday!) with a wedding to do, and today promises to be no different. So before this day gets away from me, here are some Qs&As and the Sunday sermon.


Here's the question and answer from Friday:
What did David do when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul? (2 Sam 21)
2 Samuel 22:1 David sang to the LORD the words of this song when the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.

And here's the question and answer from Saturday:
Will God allow you to be tempted beyond what you can bear? (1 Cor 10)
1 Corinthians 10:13 13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

And here's the question for today:
Who declares himself king when David becomes old and feeble? Who was supposed to be the next king? (1 Kings 1)


And here's today's sermon:
"Fun with Augustine: Sex, Food, & Gossip. . .
When Our Appetites Get the Best of Us”


PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION
Let us pray: Gracious God, shine the light of your Spirit upon us as we hear these words of Scripture read and proclaimed. Reveal your saving presence in these words, and lead us further down the path of faith. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

SERMON: INTRODUCTION
Last week, I spent several days with some other alums from my Seminary. Once a year, we get a big book list, we read the books (or rather most of the books!), and then we gather to discuss the things we’ve read. This year, we chose to study a theologian from the fourth century named Augustine. And I wanted to share a brief passage from one of the books we read. It’s called City of God. (Book 14, chapter 12)

Augustine—despite the silly passage I just read—is actually a MAJOR figure in the development of Christianity in the West, and he is, to say the least, an interesting guy. He was a rather lusty young man, and he took a mistress at the tender age of 18 and they lived together for 15 years and had one son together. Later on, he left this woman and his child to marry an heiress. He never saw them again.

Augustine sort of drifted from one philosophy to another, though his mom desperately wanted him to be a Christian. Eventually he converted to Christianity in his 30s. From then on, he used all of his energy that had led him astray in his youth, if you get my drift, and put it into his faith. Shortly after becoming ordained, he was made a bishop in the Roman Catholic Church.

So, I thought we’d have a little fun with Augustine this morning, as I indicate in my sermon title. And if you think the sermon title is a little risqué, just wait ‘til you hear the Scripture passage I picked for today!

SCRIPTURE PASSAGE: 1 Corinthians 6:15-20
15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never!
16 Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, "The two will become one flesh." 17 But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit. 18 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body.

19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

The grass withers and the flower fades but the Word of the Lord endures forever.

#1

Augustine was really interested in bodies AND he was very fond of Paul’s writings. So it seems natural that while we’re in 1 Corinthians, we can listen to what Augustine might have to say about what it means to honor God with our bodies which are the temple of the Holy Spirit.

Augustine would say that we are made up of three parts—that inside our bodies, we have 3 parts: our intellect, our will, and our appetites. Part #1 is our intellect: our heart, mind, and soul; it is our ability to reason. And our reason tells us what is right and what is wrong. Part #2 inside us is our will, which is our ability to do what our intellect tells us to do. And Part #3 is our appetites or our desires—the urges and yearnings we feel.

God created our bodies with each of these parts—intellect, will, and appetite—and he created each part to want what’s best for us. Because we are made in God’s image, we are wired to want goodness, happiness, and peace. In other words, God created us to want God, who IS goodness, happiness, and peace. God is what’s best for us. And our bodies become temples for the Holy Spirit, so we should want what’s best for our bodies. And our intellect, will, and appetite all work together to do what’s best for us.

Let me give you an example: part of taking care of our temples is to eat things that are good for us. Our physical appetite tells our intellect that our bodies are hungry, our intellect thinks about whether it is time to eat or not and what is best for our bodies, and our wills choose to eat a good meal, with lots of fruits and veggies, instead of having ice cream and birthday cake for breakfast. That’s the way it works for you, right? [:0)

#2
I think you’ve noticed there’s a flaw in this system. And it’s called sin. Sin has entered the world and messed up the image of God He put inside us when He first created us. Because of sin, our appetites and our desires sometimes tell us that it’s OK to want a second dessert or to indulge in sexual immorality or to want to gamble on another hand of poker or to want to crack open another beer or to want to pass along a good piece of gossip or whatever it is that you have a strong desire for and a strong appetite for.

Sin tells our appetites that it’s OK to indulge. Sin tells us it’s OK to do things, to desire things, to be hungry for things that are NOT good for our bodies, which are supposed to be the temple of the Holy Spirit. Sin tells us it’s OK to want what’s NOT best for us.

And suddenly our wills are obeying our appetites instead of our intellects. We become impulsive, and we begin to want the things that are not what’s best for us.

Instead of wanting God, we want to BE God—just like Adam and Eve and that darn fruit tree in the Garden of Eden. When we let our appetites get the best of us, we want TO BE the god of our own lives. We begin to want all the wrong things. And this leads to a decided LACK of goodness and happiness and peace. When we want the wrong things, it leads to chaos, like the chaos that existed before Creation.

But God did not create us to live in chaos. God created us to live in Him, so that we might find the goodness and happiness and peace that He created us to want and to desire.

CONCLUSION
God has blessed us with intellects in order to guide our hearts and our decisions. God has created us to want what is best for us, if we can just manage to listen to our intellects rather than our appetites.

God has created us to desire goodness and happiness and peace. God has created us to desire Him.

Augustine's most famous quote is this: “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you."[1]

Until our hearts find rest in God, our appetites and our desires for the wrong thing will always win. And even once we find rest in God, our appetites can still get the best of us. But, as 1 Corinthians 6 says, we were bought with a price. We belong to God. And God has given us the ability to resist . . . we are the temple of the Holy Spirit who lives inside of us. God has given us the ability to follow our intellect rather than our appetites. We CAN do it, with God’s help.

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

[1] http://www.crossroadsinitiative.com/library_article/621/Our_Heart_is_Restless_St_Augustine.html

Friday, May 15, 2009

Fri, May 15

Last day off for Continuing Education! I'll be back, reflecting and blogging, tomorrow!


Here's the question and answer from yesterday:
Thur, May 14: Fill in the blanks: “Be careful, however, that the exercise of your _______________ does not become a _____________ ______________ to the weak.” (1 Cor 8).
1 Corinthians 8:9 9 Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak.

And here's the question of the day:
Fri, May 15: What did David do when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul? (2 Sam 21)

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Thurs, May 14

Still away for Con Ed. Still more questions and answers for you!


Here's the question and answer from yesterday:
Wed, May 13: Where did Jonathan and Ahimaaz hide? (2 Sam 17)
2 Samuel 17:18-19 So the two of them left quickly and went to the house of a man in Bahurim. He had a well in his courtyard, and they climbed down into it. 19 His wife took a covering and spread it out over the opening of the well and scattered grain over it. No one knew anything about it.

And here's the question of the day:
Thur, May 14: Fill in the blanks: “Be careful, however, that the exercise of your _______________ does not become a _____________ ______________ to the weak.” (1 Cor 8).

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Weds, May 13

Day #3 of Continuing Education. More reading and talking for me; more questions and answers for you!


Here's the question and answer from yesterday:
Tues, May 12: 1 Corinthians 7 is a VERY interesting chapter. What do you think about Paul’s command to those who are married? Single? Why do you think he said all these things?
This is mainly an opinion question. Paul speaks with great urgency because he lives expecting Christ to come again immediately. That being the case, he urges people to remain single so that they might have more time to focus on spreading the Good News.

And here's the question of the day:
Wed, May 13: Where did Jonathan and Ahimaaz hide? (2 Sam 17)

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Tues, May 12

Day #2 of my Continuing Education work. Here are more questions and answers for you.


Here's the question and answer from yesterday:
Mon, May 11: Who did Absalom have killed? Why? (2 Sam 13)
Samuel 13:28-29 28 Absalom ordered his men, "Listen! When Amnon is in high spirits from drinking wine and I say to you, 'Strike Amnon down,' then kill him. Don't be afraid. Have not I given you this order? Be strong and brave." 29 So Absalom's men did to Amnon what Absalom had ordered.2 Samuel 13:32 This has been Absalom's expressed intention ever since the day Amnon raped his sister Tamar.

And here's the question of the day:
Tues, May 12: 1 Corinthians 7 is a VERY interesting chapter. What do you think about Paul’s command to those who are married? Single? Why do you think he said all these things?

Monday, May 11, 2009

Mon, May 11

Hello, friends!

I'm off for a few days of Continuing Education this week. I'm meeting with a group of fellow Alums from Pittsburgh Seminary where I did my Master of Divinity degree. Our assignment for the week is to discuss the hundreds of pages of reading we did about Augustine of Hippo. I'm really looking forward to it, though I do have some reading left to finish. Shh--let's keep that as our little secret, OK?

So, Monday through Friday I'll be posting just the questions that accompany our readings but taking a sabbath from reflecting.

Hang in there with the reading! If you're any where close to being on schedule with the readings, you're doing a GREAT job! Stick with it.


Here's the question and answer from yesterday:
Sun, May 10: Nathan tells David that the punishment for his sin will not be his death. What is the punishment? (2 Sam 12)
2 Samuel 12:13-14 3 Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." Nathan replied, "The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. 14 But because by doing this you have made the enemies of the LORD show utter contempt, the son born to you will die."

And here's the question of the day:
Mon, May 11: Who did Absalom have killed? Why? (2 Sam 13)

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Sun, May 10

Happy Mother's Day to all those moms, moms-to-be, moms who aren't moms yet, and all those "spiritual moms" how nurtured us in the faith!

Here are some Qs&As and the Sunday sermon.

Here's the question and answer from yesterday:
Sat, May 9: Who is it that Paul cautions the Corinthians NOT to associate with? (I Cor 5)
1 Corinthians 5:9-11 9 I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people-- 10 not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. 11 But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat.


And here's the question of the day:
Sun, May 10: Nathan tells David that the punishment for his sin will not be his death. What is the punishment? (2 Sam 12)

And the sermon of the day:
PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION
Let us pray: Gracious God, shine the light of your Spirit upon us as we hear these words of Scripture read and proclaimed. Reveal your saving presence in these words, and lead us further down the path of faith. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

SCRIPTURE PASSAGE: 1 Corinthians 2:6-16
6 We . . . speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 7 No, we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began.

8 None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"-- 10 but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.

11 For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.

13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. 14 The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.

15 The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment: 16 "For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ.

The grass withers and the flower fades but the Word of the Lord endures forever, Amen.


INTRODUCTION
I want to start out this morning with a little experiment. I’m going to say a word. And when I say that word, I want you to think of someone that word describes. Get it? OK. The first word is “SMART.” Think of the smartest person you know or the smartest person you can think of. Someone with the biggest brain and who always seems to know the right answer. Who is the smartest person you know?

OK, now I’m going to say another word and I want you to do the same thing: think of someone that word describes. OK? This time, the word is “WISDOM.” Wisdom. Who is the wisest person you know? Who is the person you go to when you need some wise counsel? Who is the wisest person you know.

Now, I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that the smartest person and the wisest person you thought about were probably NOT the same person. The smartest person you thought of probably had a good job, a nice house and a nice car. He or she is someone whose appearance is always clean and neat and precise. We would refer him or her as “successful.”

But the wise person you thought of is probably an altogether different sort of person. The wise person doesn’t put too much stock in dressing to impress other people. The wise person probably has more salt than paper in his or her hair and has his or her fair share of wrinkles. And the wise person would probably qualify for the “senior citizen” discount. Instead of telltale marks of “success” like the smart person, the wise person is marked by peace and contentment.

#1
Now, Paul—the author of the passage from 1 Corinthians I just read—would say that being SMART is to have “the wisdom of this world” and to be WISE is to have “the wisdom of God” (v 6).

These are the two categories Paul used to sort the people who attended the church in Corinth. Some of those people were “smart” people, on the fringe of things, immature in their faith, and not able to understand the ways of God. In fact, the wisdom of God is foolishness to a smart person. It is utter nonsense, because a smart person can’t understand it.

Paul would say that the smart people—who have the wisdom of this world—do not truly know “God’s secret wisdom—which no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has conceived” (v 9). You see, there are things about God which we cannot know unless He reveals them. These are what Paul calls the “deep things of God” (v 10).

And God will not reveal “the deep things of God” to someone until he or she is wise enough to understand them. Smart people don’t know God’s secret wisdom because they have “the spirit of this world” (v 12), and they speak with human wisdom. Smart people don’t know God--yet.
I think we all start out as smart people—spiritually immature and on the outside looking in. But somewhere along the way, something happens. Something happens to open our eyes to God. And suddenly we find ourselves transformed into wise people.

And wise people know the deep things of God because they have “the Spirit who is from God” (v 12). Wise people speak with words taught by the spirit—“spiritual truths” spoken with “spiritual words” (v 13). Wise people become wise people because, as Paul says, they “have the mind of Christ,” which is a pretty incredible thought.

#2
Actually, that’s not what Paul says. Paul says, “We have the mind of Christ.” And THAT is an even MORE incredible thought! Such a simple little phrase, right? “We have the mind of Christ.” But I’m not sure I’ve ever heard a more intimidating and daunting sentence.

For a minute there, I thought maybe we were off the hook because sometimes, when Paul says "we," he really means him and him alone. But other times, he says "we" and he really does mean the royal "we" that includes all those who are reading his letters. I’m afraid, he really does mean the royal we in this case. And, if he really does mean “we” when he says "we" here in 1 Corinthians, then to this I say, "Lord have mercy."

I’m probably not alone in wanting to say to Paul, “Me? The mind of Christ? Do you know the mean and hurtful things I have thought about already this morning?! How could possibly want to include me in your ‘we’? How could I have the mind of Christ?”

The believers in Corinth to whom Paul was writing this letter certainly were not angelic in their behavior, just like we do not always act like “wise people” who live by the Spirit. And yet Paul invites them to be a part of the "we" who have the mind of Christ. Paul is trying to encourage those who are timidly living out their faith to become bold with confidence, knowing they have the mind of Christ.

This whole chapter is Paul's invitation to his readers to go from being smart people to wise people. It is an invitation to those who are uncertain believers to begin to consider themselves as mature Christians who have the mind of Christ and who really can know the deep things of God.

CONCLUSION
We are each on a journey of faith, and it takes a lifetime to get to our destination. Some of us are just starting on our journey and are still a little too smart for our own good; some of us are on our way to becoming wise; and some have become wise along the way.

All through this journey, God is calling us to come closer to Him. God offers us the Spirit to guide us along the way. And God will reveal to us “the deep things of God.”
To have the mind of Christ is to be wise, to know what matters, to be guided by the Spirit, and to be enabled to live according to God’s purposes.

Consider for yourselves where you are on your journey and whether or not you are willing to live your faith out boldly with the mind of Christ.

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Happy Saturday!

I'm off to celebrate Mother's Day a day early with my family. But before I go, here are the questions/answers and a reflection to get your day started!

Here's the question and answer from yesterday:
Fri, May 8: What is David’s reaction when Nathan tells him that God said, “I will be his father and he will be my son. . . . But my love will never be taken away from him. . .” (2 Sam 7) DISBELIEF: 2 Samuel 7:18-19 18 Then King David went in and sat before the LORD, and he said: "Who am I, O Sovereign LORD, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? 19 And as if this were not enough in your sight, O Sovereign LORD, you have also spoken about the future of the house of your servant. Is this your usual way of dealing with man, O Sovereign LORD?

And here's the question of the day:
Sat, May 9: Who is it that Paul cautions the Corinthians NOT to associate with? (I Cor 5)

And here's the reflection of the day:
This passage of 1 Corinthians 10 is one of those that could have been written for us today, instead of written for the church at Corinth centuries ago.

At Bible Study this week, we were lamenting how things never change--how we still do the same bad and sinful things that our ancestors in the faith did. 1 Cor 10 tells us how our ancestors were "baptized into Moses in the cloud and the sea. They all ate from the same spiritual food and drank from the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.

NEVERTHELESS, God was not pleased with most of them" (vv 2-5). He writes that their bodies were scattered over the desert as a punishment for their sins (v 6). Paul goes on to say, "Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did" (v 6).

Now, we may think we're doing OK. We haven't killed anyone lately; we have plans to honor our mothers today or tomorrow. We're pretty good at keeping most of the 10 Commandments. But Paul warns us, "So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall" (v 12). Don't deceive yourself when it comes to your sinfulness. It's tempting to look around and compare your sinfulness to the sinfulness of others because you may think you'll come out squeaky clean.

It's tempting to look at the history of civilization and think we've made great strides when it comes to holiness. But the very act of comparing yourself to someone else is a sin and will only lead to further sinfulness.

Instead, heed Paul's caution: 1 Corinthians 10:13 13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

Friday, May 8, 2009

"Celebrating with All Their Might"

Hello! Glad you stopped by. I'm getting back into my blogging rhythm. I find it particularly interesting how the OT and NT readings echo each other. Read on below to see what I'm talking about!


Here's the question and answer from yesterday:
Thursday: Fill in the blanks: “For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s ________, God’s _____________.” (I Cor 3)

And here's the question of the day:
Friday: What is David’s reaction when Nathan tells him that God said, “I will be his father and he will be my son. . . . But my love will never be taken away from him. . .” (2 Sam 7)


And here's the reflection of the day:
David is generally accepted to be the epitome of leadership, primarily because he was chosen by and protected by the Lord Almighty. And in today's reading from 2 Samuel 6, we see another aspect of his kingship, which is appealing to some but a turn off to others.

As David "and the whole house of Israel" bring the Ark of the Covenant out of Judah into the City of David, they were "celebrating with all their might before the Lord, with songs and with harps, lyres, tambourines, sistrums and cymbals" (v 5).

What a great turn of phrase--"celebrating with all their might." This isn't just the dance scene from the Peanuts' Christmas movie; this is the Irish "Riverdance" show and the Broadway musical "Stomp" and the TV show "So You Think You Can Dance" all rolled into one! This is a serious celebration. It is full of wild abandon and passion and devotion to God. It is an expression of the overwhelming gratitude David and Israel are feeling because they have regained the ark of God.

But Michal, one of David's wives, is not pleased. I'm not sure if she's more embarrassed that her husband would behave in such an undignified way OR if she is embarrassed that her king would behave in such an unseemly manner. Either way, "she despised him in her heart" (6:16). She expressed her contempt to David. David kept his cool and tried to explain to her why he did what he did: "It was before the Lord, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the Lord's people Israel--I will celebrate before the Lord" (6:21). He will be even more undignified, he tells Michal, in order to give God glory.

This part of 2 Samuel reflects some of what we're reading in 1 Corinthians. 1 Cor. 4:10 says, "We are fools for Christ." That's what David was doing.

Paul was talking to people, who think like Michal, when he wrote in 1 Corinthians 3:18-19, "Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a 'fool' so that he may become wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight."

How foolish are you willing to be for Christ? How foolish are you willing to allow your church to be? How can you celebrate with all your might everything God has done for you?

Allison

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Be an Abner

Back now to reflect!

What a battle we have been reading about in 2 Samuel: "the house of Saul and the house of David" (3:1). The Spirit of the Lord descended upon Saul and he was anointed as king. He was disobedient and the Spirit departed from Saul. The Spirit of the Lord is now with David.

As the chapters roll by, we see Saul grow weaker and David grow stronger. Though David has his flaws (many of them, actually), he is a leader of integrity. More importantly, he is a man who was chosen by God and appointed by God.

It is important that our leaders have the character of David, both men and women. But just as important is that our Davids have many Abners to support them (and not Joabs!). Every leader needs a strong support network.

We can't all be Davids. But we can all be Abners. We can do our darnedest to hope and pray for great leaders for our churches, but unless we are willing to be supportive Abners, even the greatest David doesn't stand a chance.

Sheesh

Sheesh! I can't seem to keep myself on track with this blogging thing. I apologize.


Here's the question and answer from Tuesday:
How did Saul die? (I Sam 31—I know, I know, another gruesome question!)
1 Samuel 31:4 4 Saul said to his armor-bearer, "Draw your sword and run me through, or these uncircumcised fellows will come and run me through and abuse me." But his armor-bearer was terrified and would not do it; so Saul took his own sword and fell on it.

And here's the question and answer from Wednesday:
In Psalm 50, does God speak or is God silent?
Both! God does speak in the psalm but silent with Israel.

And here's the question for today:
Fill in the blanks: “For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s ________, God’s _____________.” (I Cor 3)


I'll be back to "reflect" later this evening!
Allison

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

The Deep Things of God

Good morning/afternoon/evening! I'm glad you stopped by today!

Here's the question and answer from Sunday:
What is Nabal’s response to David’s request? (I Sam 25)
1 Samuel 25:10-11 0 Nabal answered David's servants, "Who is this David? Who is this son of Jesse? Many servants are breaking away from their masters these days. 11 Why should I take my bread and water, and the meat I have slaughtered for my shearers, and give it to men coming from who knows where?"

Here's the question and answer from Monday:
Whose household informs Paul that there are quarrels among the Corinthians? (I Cor 1)
1 Corinthians 1:11 11 My brothers, some from Chloe's household have informed me that there are quarrels among you.

And here's the question of the day:
Tuesday: How did Saul die? (I Sam 31—I know, I know, another gruesome question!)


And here's the reflection of the day:
Paul gives his readers a little lesson in wisdom in today's reading from 1 Corinthians 2. At the time he was writing, the term "Christian" didn't exist. So he needed to create a way to distinguish between those who believed in Jesus and those who did not.

He talks about "speaking a message of wisdom among the mature" (v 6). And the particular kind of message he is talking about is "God's secret wisdom" (v 7), not "the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age" (v 6). This message is given to the "spiritual person" (v 15), which is a term that is synonymous with Christian in today's language.

A "spiritual person" has "not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God" at our baptisms so that we may be able to understand what God has revealed to us. This includes "even the deep things of God" (v 10). And so what "spiritual people" speak are not words of human wisdom which will pass away but instead speak "spiritual truths in spiritual words" (v 13).

"Spiritual people" like us (I'm going out on a limb and guessing that if you're reading this, you are probably a Christian/"spiritual person"), Paul says, "we have the mind of Christ" (v 16). Sometimes, when Paul says "we," he really means him and him alone. But other times, he says "we" and he really does mean "we." And, if he really does mean we when he says "we," then to this I say, "YIKES!!!"

Me? The mind of Christ? Do you know the mean and hurtful things I have thought about already this morning?! How could this be?

The "spiritual people" in Corinth were certainly not angelic in their behavior either, yet Paul invites them to be a part of the "we" who have the mind of Christ. This chapter is Paul's invitation to consider themselves as mature and having the mind of Christ, which probably means patterning one's life after Christ's example.

So, do you consider yourself to be part of Paul's royal "we"? Do you have the "mind of Christ" at work in you, guiding your thoughts and actions? What do you think are the "deep things of God?"

Have a splendid day!
Allison

Sunday, May 3, 2009

A Time to Clam Up and a Time to Open Up

Good morning! Here's a little Q&A to get you going this morning and the sermon I'm preaching.


Here's the question and answer from yesterday:
What signs will accompany those who believe? (Mark 16)
Mark 16:17-18 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well."

And here's the question of the day:
What is Nabal’s response to David’s request? (I Sam 25)


And here's today's sermon: "A Time to Clam Up and a Time to Open Up"

PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION
Let us pray: Gracious God, shine the light of your Spirit upon us as we hear these words of Scripture read and proclaimed. Reveal your saving presence in these words, and lead us further down the path of faith. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

SCRIPTURE PASSAGE:
Mark 13:9-11 9 "You must be on your guard. You will be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues. On account of me you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them. 10 And the gospel must first be preached to all nations. 11 Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.

Mark 13:33-37 33 Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. 34 It's like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch. 35 "Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back-- whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. 36 If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. 37 What I say to you, I say to everyone: 'Watch!'"

The grass withers and the flower fades but the Word of the Lord endures forever, Amen.


INTRODUCTION
I have had my fair share of awkward conversations with friends and family and, yes, even strangers. Some well-meaning person politely asks me a simple question which requires a simple answer in return—which I can normally do. Every once in a while, however, I suddenly find myself saying something terribly inappropriate or offensive. And once I realize that I’m saying something I shouldn’t, I can seem to stop. My brain is shouting, “Stop talking! Stop talking!” And yet my mouth thinks that if I can just keep talking, I can eventually talk myself out of the mess I’m in.

I suspect that I’m not the only one who’s found themselves in the middle of a conversation desperately hoping the floor really would open up and swallow me up. Sometimes, when things are going very wrong in a conversation, I desperately pray for the person with whom I’m talking to be stricken suddenly by some strange short-term memory loss in which the entire conversation we just had would be permanently erased from their memories.

Alas, I have never been saved from an embarrassing conversation because the floor swallowed me whole or because of short-term memory loss. It seems the only way to avoid these kinds of awkward and embarrassing conversations is just to keep my mouth shut. That’s one sure-fire way to keep from making a fool of myself. I just wish I didn’t like to talk so much!

#1
In fact, I think we’ve all realize that the more we talk, the closer the ratio of embarrassing versus non-embarrassing conversations becomes. You know what I mean? The more we talk, the better chance we have of saying something really inappropriate or offensive. And we don’t want to cause any trouble.


So when the conversation starts to head down the path of gossip and slander, what do we do? We clam up. We don’t want to upset the people we are talking with, even when their conversation makes us uncomfortable. So, instead of trying to change the subject or telling our friends that gossiping is wrong, we keep our mouths shut.


You have probably been asked to do something you know is wrong. You may have even been ORDERED by your boss to do something that you know is wrong. So what do you do? You keep your mouth shut because you don’t want to get in trouble.


Or, when someone breaks down into tears or begins to talk about suicide or to talk about the grief that comes from missing a loved one, what do we do? We keep our mouths shut, because we don’t know what to say. And we’re afraid that we’ll say the wrong thing. So we say nothing. But surely saying nothing at all is the worst thing we could do in that situation.


I’m willing to bet that, more often than not, when the conversation gets serious, we shut our mouths. When the conversation starts to involve life or death or God, I bet we sometimes we clam up. These are important conversations, and we don’t want to mess things up by saying something stupid, right?


But this is the worst time to keep our mouths shut. When things get serious, this is exactly the time God wants us to open up, not shut up.

#2
In our Scripture reading today, Jesus is giving advice to his followers about when to clam up and when to open up. In Mark 13, Jesus is encouraging his followers that someday He will come again and he tells them about all the things that will lead up to His return. Some of those things include persecution and being dragged into court to testify about their faith.


In those days, the accused party in a court case didn’t get a lawyer, though the person bringing the charge against you did. So imagine standing in a court of law, representing yourself—which, if you’ve ever seen any episode of “LA Law,” “Matlock,” or “Law and Order” you know that’s the kiss of death. Everyone else around you is knowledgeable about the court and the law and the judicial process.


This is the situation the disciples found themselves in: standing alone, in a court of law, uneducated, and overwhelmed. If ever there was a time to shut up, surely this was it, right?

But that’s not what Jesus has mind. He tells them, in verse 11, “Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.”


We may never live to see Jesus return; we may never really suffer much persecution because of our faith; and we may never be dragged into a court of law to testify about God . . . but we will always and forever . . . from now until we ourselves enter Paradise . . . find ourselves in situations where we don’t know what to say. And that’s OK, because what happens in that moment of uncertainty is a chance for the Holy Spirit to speak through us.


That moment of uncertainty is our chance to be God’s vessel, God’s instrument of love or peace or rebuke or whatever is called for in that particular situation. We must put aside our fear of saying the “wrong thing” and instead pray that we might say the “godly thing.” The Holy Spirit is glad to give us the words and the wisdom to use them for every desperate situation. But we can’t be afraid to use that wisdom and those words.

CONCLUSION
Some day, Jesus will come again. It might be tomorrow; it might be 1000 years from now. We’ll never know. And really, it doesn’t matter that we don’t know, as long as each day we are trying to live in such a way that pleases God. And a big part of that is to take those moments of uncertainty during a conversation when we’re tempted to clam up because we’re afraid to say the wrong thing and instead to open up and say the godly thing.


I think you’ll find that the number of awkward or embarrassing you might say during a conversation will significantly decrease. I admit, it’s not a totally foolproof plan, but I think, if we are intentional about putting aside our fears and intentional about relying on the Holy Spirit to give us the words in whatever the situation might be, we’ll spend LESS time praying for the floor to swallow us up and MORE time praying for our friends and family, and maybe even some strangers.


And that, my friends, is how you get ready for Jesus to come again, spending more time thinking about others than you do thinking about yourself.


In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Saturday, May 2, 2009

Revenge

Hmm, this week sort of got away from me. That seems to be happening more and more these days. We're entering Month #5 of the Year of the Bible--can you believe it? I guess my initial enthusiasm is waning a bit.

I bet I'm not the only one either. Are you have trouble keeping up with your reading these days? Can you think of something the church could do to help pump people back up again? Let me know if you have a suggestion!!

In the meantime, I'll try to catch us up on the Qs&As. . . .

Here's the question and answer from Tuesday:
What did Saul do that grieved God and Samuel so much? (I Sam 15)What did Saul do that grieved God and Samuel so much? (I Sam 15)
1 Samuel 15:9 9 But Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs-- everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed.

And for Wednesday:
David wants to fight Goliath. When he tries to talk Saul into letting him fight, what are the reasons he thinks he can beat Goliath? (I Sam 17)
1 Samuel 17:36-37 36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. 37 The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." Saul said to David, "Go, and the LORD be with you."

And for Thursday:
Who says to Jesus, “Even if all fall away, I will not”? (Mark 14)
Mark 14:29-30 29 Peter declared, "Even if all fall away, I will not."

And for Friday:
What day was it when Jesus was crucified? (Mark 15)
Mark 15:42 42 It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath).

And here's the question of the day:
What signs will accompany those who believe? (Mark 16)


And here's a little reflection for today. . .
This is a fascinating little exchange between David and Saul in I Samuel 24, don't you think? A little graphic for some, I suppose, but wouldn't this be a wonderfully suspenseful scene in a movie?! Saul, needing to relieve himself, enters the very cave where David and his men and lying in wait to kill him. But rather than killing him, David simply cuts a corner off Saul's robe. Saul walks away, unaware and unscathed, thanks to David's compassion.

Revenge is a difficult thing to resist, wouldn't you agree? And yet, what a reward Saul gives to David out of gratitude for sparing his life!

I wonder what would happen if we resisted taking revenge. I wonder how those we perceive as our enemies might respond if they see us refrain from doing something that might injure them or their reputations. Might we be surprised, as David was, to receive grace from a foe? Would that perhaps start us down the road of reconciliation? And who knows where that road will lead us!!

Phew--I finished this just in time. Let's go PENS!
Allison