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Pastor's Reflection
Hebrews 9 describes Jesus as the high priest for all time and all people.
If you think back to our time earlier this year in the "Year of the Bible," you recognize what the first couple of verses of the chapter are describing: the Tabernacle . . . with the lampstand and the bread, the curtain and the altar, the ark of the covenant. The priests and Levites only entered the outer room. Only the high priest entered the inner room, and only then on the day of atonement.
Hebrews interprets this ritual of Judaism in the context of Christianity, in light of Christ. In the Jewish tabernacle, only one man is allowed to enter, once and for always. That never changes. But Hebrews is telling us that, in the light of Christ, there is a new way into the tabernacle, a way in for ANY person, not just the high priest.
Through the blood of Christ (not goats, bulls, or heifers), believers are cleansed from the acts that lead to death, and are led into acts that serve the living God.
So then Christ becomes the mediator of a new covenant, sealed in the blood of the perfect, unblemished Lamb of God. "Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him."
Showing posts with label covenant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label covenant. Show all posts
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Friday, March 20, 2009
"Friends, ROMANS, countrymen, lend me your ear"
Hello, Friday! I hope you had a great week and are looking forward to a nice weekend. Today we begin Romans so I'm including a little intro in this posting. I hope it helps.
Here's the question and answer from yesterday:
Thur, Mar 19: Why did the people on the island of Malta think Paul was a god? (Acts 28)
Acts 28:3-6 3 Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. 4 When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, "This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live." 5 But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects. 6 The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead, but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.
And here's the question of the day:
Fri, Mar 20: What will happen if the Israelites turn away and worship and bow down to other gods? (Dt 11)
And here's the reflection of the day:
NT Wright, a biblical scholar, calls the book of Romans Paul's "masterpiece." It is a masterpiece that no one can ever fully understand. And if one claims to, then one is a fool!
The best way to understand a whole book is to understand its parts and basic themes. The basic shape of Romans is this:
Section 1, chaps 1-4: The gospel unveils the fact that, in Jesus, Israel's God has been true to his covenant with Abraham and "has thereby brought saving order to the whole world" (Wright, NIB Commentary on Romans). In the face of rebellion, God has, "through the surrogate faithfulness of Jesus the Messiah, created a worldwide--that is, a Jewish and Gentile--family for Abraham, marked out by the covenant sign of faith" (Wright).
Section 2, chaps 5-8: God did what the covenant was meant to do: to address and solve the problem of sin. "All this is the result of God's astonishing, unchanging, self-giving covenant love expressed completely and finally in the death of Jesus" (Wright).
Section 3, chaps 9-11: Wrights writes that this section highlights the tragedy of God's righteousness, specifically that Israel fails to believe in the Messiah. In God's plan, the rejection of Jesus by Israel is still used for the good by the extension of salvation to the whole world. Paul hopes that his Jewish friends will see the blessing the Gentiles are enjoying and will come to share in covenant membership. Therefore, Gentile Christians are warned against anti-Jewish arrogance.
Section 4, chaps 12-16: The community that is created by this gospel "must live as the true, renewed humanity, in its internal and external life" (Wright). Paul seeks to bring together Jews and Gentiles into one worshiping body in Christ.
Wright identifies the major theme of Romans as God's righteousness. "God's gospel unveils God's righteousness"--Paul's own summary 1:16-17. Paul explores God's righteousness in the context of Judaism as well as Paul's own exploration of God's righteousness in the Gentile world.
As you begin to explore Romans in the upcoming weeks, I hope this post will be helpful.
Allison
Here's the question and answer from yesterday:
Thur, Mar 19: Why did the people on the island of Malta think Paul was a god? (Acts 28)
Acts 28:3-6 3 Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. 4 When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, "This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live." 5 But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects. 6 The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead, but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.
And here's the question of the day:
Fri, Mar 20: What will happen if the Israelites turn away and worship and bow down to other gods? (Dt 11)
And here's the reflection of the day:
NT Wright, a biblical scholar, calls the book of Romans Paul's "masterpiece." It is a masterpiece that no one can ever fully understand. And if one claims to, then one is a fool!
The best way to understand a whole book is to understand its parts and basic themes. The basic shape of Romans is this:
Section 1, chaps 1-4: The gospel unveils the fact that, in Jesus, Israel's God has been true to his covenant with Abraham and "has thereby brought saving order to the whole world" (Wright, NIB Commentary on Romans). In the face of rebellion, God has, "through the surrogate faithfulness of Jesus the Messiah, created a worldwide--that is, a Jewish and Gentile--family for Abraham, marked out by the covenant sign of faith" (Wright).
Section 2, chaps 5-8: God did what the covenant was meant to do: to address and solve the problem of sin. "All this is the result of God's astonishing, unchanging, self-giving covenant love expressed completely and finally in the death of Jesus" (Wright).
Section 3, chaps 9-11: Wrights writes that this section highlights the tragedy of God's righteousness, specifically that Israel fails to believe in the Messiah. In God's plan, the rejection of Jesus by Israel is still used for the good by the extension of salvation to the whole world. Paul hopes that his Jewish friends will see the blessing the Gentiles are enjoying and will come to share in covenant membership. Therefore, Gentile Christians are warned against anti-Jewish arrogance.
Section 4, chaps 12-16: The community that is created by this gospel "must live as the true, renewed humanity, in its internal and external life" (Wright). Paul seeks to bring together Jews and Gentiles into one worshiping body in Christ.
Wright identifies the major theme of Romans as God's righteousness. "God's gospel unveils God's righteousness"--Paul's own summary 1:16-17. Paul explores God's righteousness in the context of Judaism as well as Paul's own exploration of God's righteousness in the Gentile world.
As you begin to explore Romans in the upcoming weeks, I hope this post will be helpful.
Allison
Thursday, February 26, 2009
The Last Day!
Hello! Today is our last day with Leviticus. And today is the first day with Numbers. I thought maybe I could do a little intro to Numbers to get you started off right. But first, questions and answers.
Here's the question and answer from yesterday:
Weds, Feb. 25- How many years is the Year of Jubilee?
Leviticus 25:11, “The fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you.”
And here's the question of the day:
Thurs, Feb. 26- What happened to Paul in Lystra?
And here's the reflection of the day:
Here are some themes to look for as you read through Numbers:
1. COMMUNITY--The nation of Israel was formed at Sinai and they journey with God through the wilderness. This is intended "to be a continuing model of how the people of God live out their faith in this world" (Thomas Dozeman, Numbers, NIB Commentary).
2. WILDERNESS SETTING--This is the primary setting for Numbers, as the Israelites travel from Sinai to the promised land of Canaan (through Num 21). The wilderness is replaced by "the plains of Moab" in Numbers 22. The wilderness is the "birthplace" of Israel, a symbol of testing, a symbol of homelessness, and is a location for "God's continuing work in creation" (Brozeman).
3. CHARACTERS--The development of the characters in Numbers revolves around the problem of how to build a theocratic ("a form of government in which a god or deity is recognized as the state's supreme civil ruler"--God bless www.wikipedia.org) society in the wilderness. God is the central character in the story, and all the other characters are defined in relation to God. Brozeman says, "The goal is to devise a way in which a holy God can be brought into relationship with humans who do not share this quality, and, and hence, are at risk in the presence of God."
4. TENSION--There is an underlying tension in the book of Numbers. God, who is holy, separate, and other is also in covenant with humans and creation in spite of their sin. But how can a God who is holy continue to be in relationship with sinful humanity who repeatedly violate the covenant? Something to think about as you read!
The central question of these first group of chapters is "how Israel should organize itself around Yahweh, who dwells in the sanctuary?" (Brozeman). Chapter 1 talks about how Israel was organized into 12 tribes with 12 lay leaders representing them. Also in chapter 1 we see God designating the "Levites" ask keepers (priests) of the tabernacle (0r "Tent of Meeting). Chapter 2 talks about the arrangement of the camp: tribes are clustered in groups of three, surrounding the tabernacle from four directions. Each encampment represents a different theological significance.
Numbers 1:1 sets the stage for reflecting on the importance of order for the priests. It is important that the people are numbered precisely, hence the census here in Numbers 1. The nation is divided up into groups; each group needs a lay leader; the Levites are separated from the other groups to encircle the tabernacle. All things are done "decently and in order," a Presbyterian catchphrase.
But what may seem like OCD to us is actually a response to the presence of God in the community. Administration--numbers and order--are intended to foster a new community in the wilderness. God imposed order upon the chaos at Creation, just as the priest seek to order their new society. But the order of creation is vulnerable to disruptions, just as society is easily susceptible to descent into disorder.
We see that every day, don't we? How neatly ordered life is stretched thin and frequently disrupted by those who refuse to be rank and file members of society. Chaos breaks in at any given moment, and society seeks to patch the hole. We seek to impose order again in hopes of discouraging any other chaos.
So, next time you have to read a list of numbers of this and that (the book is called Numbers, remember!), consider it the priests' way of making the community a presentable place for God to dwell. A spring cleaning of sorts.
What kind of spring cleaning do you need to do in your own life, in your own heart?
Have a great day!
Allison
Here's the question and answer from yesterday:
Weds, Feb. 25- How many years is the Year of Jubilee?
Leviticus 25:11, “The fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you.”
And here's the question of the day:
Thurs, Feb. 26- What happened to Paul in Lystra?
And here's the reflection of the day:
Here are some themes to look for as you read through Numbers:
1. COMMUNITY--The nation of Israel was formed at Sinai and they journey with God through the wilderness. This is intended "to be a continuing model of how the people of God live out their faith in this world" (Thomas Dozeman, Numbers, NIB Commentary).
2. WILDERNESS SETTING--This is the primary setting for Numbers, as the Israelites travel from Sinai to the promised land of Canaan (through Num 21). The wilderness is replaced by "the plains of Moab" in Numbers 22. The wilderness is the "birthplace" of Israel, a symbol of testing, a symbol of homelessness, and is a location for "God's continuing work in creation" (Brozeman).
3. CHARACTERS--The development of the characters in Numbers revolves around the problem of how to build a theocratic ("a form of government in which a god or deity is recognized as the state's supreme civil ruler"--God bless www.wikipedia.org) society in the wilderness. God is the central character in the story, and all the other characters are defined in relation to God. Brozeman says, "The goal is to devise a way in which a holy God can be brought into relationship with humans who do not share this quality, and, and hence, are at risk in the presence of God."
4. TENSION--There is an underlying tension in the book of Numbers. God, who is holy, separate, and other is also in covenant with humans and creation in spite of their sin. But how can a God who is holy continue to be in relationship with sinful humanity who repeatedly violate the covenant? Something to think about as you read!
The central question of these first group of chapters is "how Israel should organize itself around Yahweh, who dwells in the sanctuary?" (Brozeman). Chapter 1 talks about how Israel was organized into 12 tribes with 12 lay leaders representing them. Also in chapter 1 we see God designating the "Levites" ask keepers (priests) of the tabernacle (0r "Tent of Meeting). Chapter 2 talks about the arrangement of the camp: tribes are clustered in groups of three, surrounding the tabernacle from four directions. Each encampment represents a different theological significance.
Numbers 1:1 sets the stage for reflecting on the importance of order for the priests. It is important that the people are numbered precisely, hence the census here in Numbers 1. The nation is divided up into groups; each group needs a lay leader; the Levites are separated from the other groups to encircle the tabernacle. All things are done "decently and in order," a Presbyterian catchphrase.
But what may seem like OCD to us is actually a response to the presence of God in the community. Administration--numbers and order--are intended to foster a new community in the wilderness. God imposed order upon the chaos at Creation, just as the priest seek to order their new society. But the order of creation is vulnerable to disruptions, just as society is easily susceptible to descent into disorder.
We see that every day, don't we? How neatly ordered life is stretched thin and frequently disrupted by those who refuse to be rank and file members of society. Chaos breaks in at any given moment, and society seeks to patch the hole. We seek to impose order again in hopes of discouraging any other chaos.
So, next time you have to read a list of numbers of this and that (the book is called Numbers, remember!), consider it the priests' way of making the community a presentable place for God to dwell. A spring cleaning of sorts.
What kind of spring cleaning do you need to do in your own life, in your own heart?
Have a great day!
Allison
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