George Love, Pastor of Hebron Presbyterian Church, continues sharing his thoughts on the Daily Lectionary Series of Bible readings. You will find his most recent comments at the top, with earlier ones below. See earlier ones in previous months by following this link.
We have also added daily links to Presbyterian Church (USA) website where you will find the Scripture readings for that day. We hope you will find this a helpful way to join us in seeking God's message for our daily lives.
June 30
First Reading: Numbers 22:22-38
Psalm: Psalm 28
Second Reading: Romans 7:1-12
Gospel: Matthew 21:23-32
"He answered, 'I will not,' but later he changed his mind and went." - Matthew 21:29
This story of a man and his two sons is a hopeful story. It has to do with intentions and actions. The man instructs both of his sons to go and work in his vineyard. The first says no, but later, after giving it some thought, he goes and works. The second agrees to go and then does not go and does not work. A very clear message about words and actions.
Jesus is not interested in proper language as window dressing. Back in Matthew 5, Jesus had taught that yes should mean yes and no should mean no. This parable runs hand in hand with the logic of that teaching. It feels as though Jesus would have rather the second son simply say no if his intention was not to work. At least his answer would have had some integrity. There is grace and room for improvement illustrated though in the response and action of the first son. When our first impulse is to say no to God's direction, the story illustrates space to reconsider and take aim at obedience.
June 29
First Reading: Numbers 22:1-21
Psalm: Psalm 54
Second Reading: Romans 6:12-23
Gospel: Matthew 21:12-22
"Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive." - Matthew 21:22
Our Tuesday Prayer Group at church went on a field trip today to a place in Louisville called the Hildegard House. The mission of the Hildegard House is to provide end of life care to people who would otherwise have difficulty accessing such care. The person showing us around explained that the founder had been a nurse and had seen people checked out of the hospital with no options for where they might go, even when facing their last days. Her vision for the Hildegard House was born. They now have two houses that can accommodate up to six people at a time, and have recently acquired another building for training. They have served more than three hundred people since they opened their doors in 2018. Much of their staff is composed of volunteers. It is an impressive and inspiring place. And it began with one person's vision of what could be.
I believe this is the kind of thing Jesus is talking about when he says "Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive." The vision that the founder of Hildegard House had for serving people was a big vision, but it was one that has been blessed by God, and which in turn has been a blessing to many.
Lifting out just the sentence about asking and receiving it could be interpreted as asking for whatever thing we can think of and then expecting it to appear somehow through an act of God. That does not sound like Jesus to me. Dreaming a dream that seems too big to be possible for a way to impact the world in a positive way that provides love and care for people - that sounds to me like Jesus. And that sounds to me like the life that Jesus desires for us.
June 28
First Reading:
Numbers 21:4-9, 21-35
Psalm: Psalm 93
Second Reading: Acts 17:12-24
Gospel: Luke 13:10-17
"There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured and not on the Sabbath day." - Luke 13:14
There are times when the best thing we can do is to recognize that it is time to stop. The problem is that it can also be a difficult thing to do, as it requires humility and a capacity to admit we are wrong. In the abstract we might hope that if something is obviously not right, we would be able to step away from a course that is wrong and happily move towards a course that is right.
The religious leaders are, once again, not happy with Jesus. In this instance he has been preaching in a synagogue, has seen a woman in need of healing, and has healed her - on the Sabbath. Jesus sees that she has been long suffering - eighteen years - and in his own words sets her free from her ailment. A happy day at the Synagogue, right? Not for the folks in leadership. It's not the right day of the week to set someone free from eighteen years of bondage to a physical ailment.
It can be hard to understand the stubborn nature of some of the religious leaders that Jesus deals with throughout his ministry. Hard to understand until we consider our own capacity for digging in and refusing to move, even when it would obviously be in our best interest and the best interest of all involved. If we become exasperated with the Synagogue's higher ups in this story, it's worth considering our own intransigence and inability to change course and consider how we can learn to more humbly, and faithfully, follow Jesus.
June 27
First Reading: Numbers 20:14-29
Psalm: Psalm 111
Second Reading: Romans 6:1-11
Gospel: Matthew 21:1-11
"So you must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus." - Romans 6:11
I have experienced several moves in my lifetime. One time I was in Ohio and passed through my hometown of Xenia. It was a bit of a detour, but I had the time and I wanted to see the house I grew up in. It's still very much there, but the surroundings have changed quite a bit. Also, I noted, it seemed to have gotten smaller. I had never thought of it as especially large, but visiting after not having seen it for several years, it truly looked like it had shrunk a bit.
The Romans passage had me thinking about the various places I have lived from boyhood, through college, seminary and three pastorates. One thing is for certain. Each place was unique and life in each new location was different from what had gone before it. That, I believe, is Paul's point in this Romans' passage. "Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life." (6:4). Our post-baptism lives are lived in a new place and in a new way. We've moved.
Much of the activity of spiritual formation is learning to live in this new place. There are things that it is appropriate and necessary to leave behind. There are aspects of the new life that we need to explore and grow into. The good news is that bondage to sin can be left in our past. We are invited to celebrate our new accommodations, to embrace God's gifts and "walk in newness of life."
June 26
First Reading: Numbers 20:1-13
Psalm: Psalm 32
Second Reading: Romans 5:12-21
Gospel: Matthew 20:17-28
"These are the waters of Meribeth, where the Israelites quarreled with the Lord and through which he showed himself to be holy." - Numbers 20:13
"Do not be like a horse or a mule, without understanding, whose temper must be curbed with bit and bridle, else it will not stay near you." - Psalm 32:9
I have too often been like a horse or a mule, to borrow language from the Psalmist. I have behaved willfully without understanding, and have needed God to act in ways that helped me to find my way to a better place. I love that God is always at work to aid us in our journey. I am disappointed at times with how often I act in ways that do not demonstrate gratitude, but instead indicate how much I still need to listen and learn.
I recognize myself also amongst the people at the waters of Meribah. They were done. Done with Moses and Aaron, done with the wilderness, done with this promise of a land flowing with milk and honey; generally, they were done with each other. They were the definition of quarrelsome. Who hasn't had that experience of one irritation piling on top of another? It's not unlike the itch you know you should not scratch - the scratching will only make things worse - and yet, you scratch. A lot.
The journey of faith, the journey of following Jesus, is one that invites us to listen for God and to aim to be obedient. Listening and obedience quite often are a challenge for us. The good news of scripture is that the people did indeed make it to the promised land, God does not depart from the Psalmist, and, even when we stumble and fall short, God's love and grace abound.
June 25
First Reading: Numbers 17:1-11
Psalm: Psalm 80
Second Reading: Romans 5:1-11
Gospel: Matthew 20:17-28
"But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us." - Romans 5:8
"What a friend we have in Jesus" goes the hymn. Exactly right. Imagine a friend who anticipates our deepest need. A need we could not have named and could never have solved. What is the greatest love? To give one's life for another. Jesus did this for us, teaches Paul, "while we still were sinners." Meaning, before we had any way of recognizing our plight.
Our response is to hear the good news of what Christ has done and to be drawn to him. The two blind men in today's Matthew passage know they are blind. As Jesus is passing by, they don't know how he can do it - if they knew how they would do it for themselves - but there is something within them that tells them Jesus can heal them. They call out. They will not be silenced. Jesus restores their sight. And afterwards, after they received their sight, they still could not say exactly how it was accomplished, only that Jesus was the means by which it occurred.
That is the love of Jesus. That is the beauty of the cross of Christ. We could not name what would save us. We could not know what to ask for. But there is something about Jesus that inspires us to believe that he knows and both can and will supply what we need. What good news to know that, in Christ, God was actively answering questions we did not know we needed to ask.
June 24
First Reading:
Numbers 16:36-50
Psalm: Psalm 48
Second Reading :
Romans 4:13-25
Gospel: Matthew 20:1-16
"Hoping against hope, he believed that he would become 'the father of many nations' according to what was said, 'So shall your descendants be.'" - Romans 4:18
God made a promise to Abraham that he and Sarah would be the parents of a great nation. We are told that Abraham believed the promise and "it was reckoned to him as righteousness." (v.3) Paul latches on to this to make a larger point. He argues that when God made the promise to Abraham it was before there was a law for him to follow. That does not mean that Abraham was not a decent person. It means that there was not formally a Jewish law at that point in history.
Why is that important? In Paul's eyes it makes the case that God acts in the lives of people and people can have faith in God's action independent of any necessity of adopting all of the laws that had developed over the centuries in Judaism. Paul is not campaigning for lawlessness; rather he's simply saying that God's good gifts are not contingent upon or rewards for our obedience. They are purely gifts of God, freely given.
If this is the case, Paul's ongoing point is that the Gentiles need not follow all of the laws of Judaism in order to experience God's grace. Abraham, a revered giant of the Jewish tradition, experienced God's grace independent of the law, and so too could the Gentiles. Again, this is not to say that it's fine to do whatever one wants whenever one wants and expect no consequences. It is to say, however, that God's love, grace, and gifts are not won by our good behavior, but are freely given by our Creator.
June 23
First Reading: Numbers 16:20-25
Psalm: Psalm 86
Second Reading: Romans 4:1-12
Gospel : Matthew 19:23-30
"But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first." - Matthew 19:30
Following Jesus will lead to a complete reorientation as to how the world is put together. Following up the story of the young man attached to his possessions, Jesus and the disciples have a conversation about the perils of wealth and what is of ultimate value in the kingdom of heaven. Jesus teaches, "…it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven." (v.23) The disciples are unsure how to understand this. They likely imagined that those who were well off were blessed by God, the wealth being a manifestation of that blessing. How could it be hard for them?
Peter, poignantly - and accurately - responds, "Look, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?" (v.27) Jesus' answer is consistent with his response to the young man. It's about having the right priority. The twelve, in walking away from what had been their lives to make Jesus the priority of their lives, would find their ultimate reward not in things, but in fulfillment.
If we imagine that following Jesus is a ticket to the front of the line, we are not listening. Jesus is constantly aiming to help us to understand that we will live our best life, our most faithful life, when we give up on the idea of the line. The point is not to battle our way to the top of the hill. The aim is not to maintain our focus on getting to the first spot in line. The first will be last. The last will be first. Jesus is turning everything upside down. The goal is to always follow Jesus, and to let our faithfulness in that task, not our place in the line, be the guiding principle in our lives.
June 22
First Reading: Numbers 16:1-19
Psalm: Psalm 135
Second Reading: Romans 3:21-31
Gospel: Matthew 19:13-22
"When the young man heard this word, he went away grieving, for he had many possessions." - Matthew 19:22
It's the grieving that's the problem. It's not the possessions, it's the grieving of the potential loss of the possessions. A young man comes to Jesus with a question about what he needs to do to have eternal life. Jesus lists the commandments that the young man expects. He's happy as he considers all that Jesus has mentioned as he believes he's in good shape on all of it. Eventually he asks if that's everything. "I have kept all these; what do I still lack?" (v.20)
If he was hoping to hear Jesus congratulate him on what he had accomplished and assure him that there was nothing else, his hopes were disappointed. Jesus replied, "If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." Clearly it's a lot. At the same time, the young man did ask if there was anything more, as though he really wanted to be certain he was being as faithful as possible. So, Jesus gave him the answer.
What is problematic though, again, is not not the many possessions, but the attachment the man has to them. Their prioritization. The way he understands who he is and how he has constructed his life is in large part defined by what he owns. If he walks away from that, who is he? Jesus' call is to set everything behind our primary allegiance to God. In this letting go we are set free from our anxiety over our stuff, freed to put all that we are and all that we have to work in the service of following Christ.
June 21
First Reading: Numbers 14:26-45
Psalm: Psalm 81
Second Reading: Acts 15:1-12
Gospel: Luke 12:49-56
"Do you think I have come to bring peace to the earth?" - Luke 12:51
Jesus poses the question, "Do you think I have come to bring peace to the earth?" The answer, Jesus says, is he actually came to bring division. This is an instance where I think Jesus is talking about a particular kind of peace, which in fact is not peace at all. Did Jesus come to bring peace? I think the answer is yes. But I also think it's a peace that does not come easily. Jesus is not looking for a peace that really is not peace. That is to say he is not seeking to paper over differences and try to make it seem as though all is well, specifically when all is not well.
In this sense, Jesus is very much in the prophetic tradition. There were plenty of folks in the times of the Old Testament prophets, who wished that the prophets would pipe down and leave things as they were so that peace could preside. The problem was that the peace, the status quo, they were trying to maintain was peace for some, and difficulties and challenges for many. So Jesus is aiming to bring a peace that is much deeper than a surface calm. The peace Jesus is speaking of means turbulence before there can ever be a true and lasting peace.
This passage calls us to consider what peace means to us. Is peace related simply to ease in our personal lives? If we are experiencing peace, can we ignore the lack of peace in the lives of others, be they neighbors or folks far away? What sort of division might Jesus be speaking of when he indicates that there will be division before we can arrive at God's coming kingdom? Jesus challenges us to consider what it means to make God's vision for the future our priority. When we pray for peace, we are being asked to consider what we are willing to do to participate in making that peace a reality.
June 20
First Reading:
Numbers 13:31-14:25
Psalm: Psalm 104
Second Reading: Romans 3:9-20
Gospel: Matthew 19:1-12
"Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate." - Matthew 20:2
The Pharisees are angling to get Jesus caught up in a debate over the fine points of laws related to marriage and divorce. Over in Romans, Paul is continuing to try to differentiate between the law and the purpose of the law. In both instances, the danger that presents itself is becoming so enamored of the law, that the law becomes the point.
In response to a question about divorce, Jesus is working to move the conversation from the level of letter of the law to the intent of the law to provide guidance for our lives. As a pastor I've officiated at a number of weddings over the years. One of the things that often comes up in the conversations with the couple prior to the wedding is the choice they are making to be married in a worship service rather than in a courthouse. Either is possible. To go to a Justice of the Peace and have a civil ceremony satisfies the requirements to be legally married. To invite a minister to lead the service is to say that something more is desired by the couple. They are looking for more than the satisfaction of a legal requirement; they are seeking to make their promises in a service of worship, and inviting God to be present and to participate in the covenant they are making.
Jesus' interest is not so much in the legal avenues for exiting the relationship. His interest is in the intent of what a couple is setting out to do when they decide to enter the covenant in the first place. If a relationship was breaking down, if divorce was being considered, I don't think Jesus' answer would be about application of a law. I think he would look at every single situation on an individual basis through the eyes of grace, love, and mercy. I believe what Jesus gave, and what Paul embraced and taught, was grace. The law has its purpose when it is aimed at the functioning of society and the greater good of the community, but the goal is not for the law to flourish, but for grace to abound.
June 19
First Reading: Numbers 13:1-30
Psalm: Psalm 51
Second Reading:
Romans 2:25-3:8
Gospel: Matthew 18:21-35
"Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin." - Psalm 51:1-2
"O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise." - Psalm 51:15
Psalm 51:15 is one way of stating the purpose of our lives as followers of Jesus. If our mouths are speaking, may it be offering praise to God. What a beautiful goal. That everything we say would point with adoration towards our God. No words that are hurtful, deceptive, or self-important. Everything spoken in a spirit of love, humility, and truth, pointing with praise towards our Creator.
That is a beautiful aim that I fall short of regularly. But still, that is the aim. And I do believe we can move towards it day by day on our faith journey. The beginning of Psalm 51 teaches us how it is possible. Regular, honest assessments of our lives, our sinfulness, and our need of forgiveness. The Psalmist is ultimately not confessing, because he enjoys feeling bad. Instead the confession comes because he knows the only way he is going to ever feel better is through honest contrition. I am never going to change and grow if I think all is well, just as it is.
If we seek God's forgiveness, are open and honest about our need for what we can only receive from God, praise will come. Scripture teaches us again and again that God is merciful and forgiving. Honesty about our need for that mercy and forgiveness leads us to experience it in abundance; and in that experience we will find ourselves filled with gratitude. God's praise will be in our hearts and on our lips.
June 18
First Reading : Numbers 12:1-16
Psalm: Psalm 97
Second Reading: Romans 2:12-24
Gospel: Matthew 18:10-20
"What do you think? If a shepherd has a hundred sheep and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray?" - Matthew 18:12
We have been helping my daughter move this week. The nuts and bolts of it making sure that everything made its way onto the moving truck, mostly in boxes, and getting it to the new place. A complicating factor in a move is that when you are packing, you reach a point where the ultimate goal is just to get everything into a box. This is great for getting everything packed. It can be something of a challenge when you unpack and are interested in finding a particular item. Like, say, a tape measure. You know it's here, but your memory of where you put it isn't exact. And if you are looking for something that belongs in the kitchen, you can reasonably hope it's in a box marked "Kitchen." It's just that there are a lot of boxes marked "Kitchen." There's a strong possibility that your item is going to be in the last box. The question becomes, are you that interested in finding it, or do you just keep unpacking and anticipate that sooner or later, everything will show up?
Jesus tells this story about a shepherd who has one hundred sheep. After keeping track of them throughout the day, when it comes time to put them away for the night, there are just ninety-nine. Jesus asks the question, if such a thing were to happen, wouldn't the shepherd immediately go searching for the one lost sheep? Truthfully, I'm not sure. I don't know the code of ethics of shepherds at the time of Christ. But, as a person who has been doing the moving thing the past few days, I think if someone was to ask if I could find ninety-nine out of one hundred things that we packed and brought to the new place, would I stop everything and look for the one thing…I might not.
God does not settle. God's love, which is for everyone, does not accept one unaccounted for sheep. This is a story of the boundless love that God has for us and also the boundless love we are called to live out as followers of Jesus. Our call is ever before us as long as there are people in need of compassion, care, and love.
June 17
First Reading:
Numbers 11:24-35
Psalm: Psalm 1
Second Reading:
Romans 1:28-2:11
Gospel: Matthew 18:1-9
"For God shows no partiality." - Romans 2:11
"At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, 'Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?'" - Matthew 18:1
Paul is touching on a recurring theme in many of his letters. In the Romans passage he makes the point a couple of times that what he is saying applies to everyone who follows Jesus. To the Jews and to the Greeks (the gentiles). God doesn't have a favorite, God doesn't play favorites, God's love is boundless for everyone. God shows no partiality.
It's impossible to know what was on the disciples minds when they decided to ask Jesus who the greatest is in the kingdom of heaven. Maybe they were just curious. Jesus' answer seems to indicate that he thought their question was a good time for a lesson in humility. They were likely surprised when Jesus points out a nearby child and says, "Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." (18:4)
The two messages, Jesus' and Paul's, make points that agree with one another. God's love is for everyone. God is not interested in how we might want to rank those who God should love. In choosing a child to set before them, Jesus teaches the disciples, and us, of God's love for each and every one of us.
Faith is not about advancing to the next level of God's preference the way we might advance through levels of a video game. We will not find the way to so impress God that God's love for us will grow. God's love for us is constant, overwhelming, and beyond our imagination, right now. And while we may show partiality - we may have ways we value people based on certain behaviors or other ways of differentiating folks from one another - God does not. When God looks at us, I believe what God sees first and foremost is one of his beloved children. And that is good news.
June 16
First Reading: Numbers 11:1-23
Psalm: Psalm 42
Second Reading: Romans 1:16-25
Gospel: Matthew 17:22-27
"For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is God's saving power for everyone who believes." - Romans 1:16
Romans 1:16 is a verse to hold onto as we make our way through Paul's letter to the Romans. A fundamental belief in the power of the gospel to change lives. Saving power for everyone who believes. All that follows, especially all that immediately follows, needs to be run through the filter of this foundational idea.
What does follow immediately is a bit of a seeming contradiction if we don't hold on to this verse. The last of chapter one is a litany of things Paul seems to be lifting up as problematic behaviors. But this is where it becomes important to keep reading. The letter is a complete letter - if you happen to actually write a letter in our day of texting, you want the recipient to read more than the first couple of paragraphs. You want them to read the whole thing. So after writing a somewhat judgmental sounding end of chapter one, Paul will start chapter two with an admonition to not judge others, when our best practice is to pay attention to our own actions and choices.
It's as though Paul is inviting us to see how easy it is to judge, for the purpose of strengthening his argument against not judging. In the language of Jesus, it's comfortable to get all fired up about the speck in our neighbors eye while ignoring the log in our own. Again, this is why the beginning idea is so important. The good news is good news for everyone. My call is less to figure out where everyone else needs to apply it and change their hearts and minds, and more to listen for what God is asking of me, all the while being grateful for God's grace and mercy.
June 15
First Reading:
Numbers 9:15-23; 10:29-36
Psalm : Psalm 5
Second Reading: Romans 1:1-15
Gospel: Matthew 17:14-21
"For God whom I serve with my spirit by announcing the gospel of his Son, is my witness that without ceasing I remember you always in my prayers, asking that by God's will I may somehow at last succeed in coming to you." - Romans 1:9
"For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move and nothing will be impossible for you." - Matthew 17:26
Paul had faith that exceeded the size of a mustard seed. In his ministry he moved more than one mountain as he travelled, preached, and endured much persecution along the way. As the book of Romans opens you can feel the vitality of Paul's faith. One could argue that in Paul's mind Rome was the end of the earth. Not the most remote place on earth, but the exact opposite, the place where, as the saying goes, all roads led. Jesus had given the disciples the instruction to take the good news to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Paul had picked up nearly literally at the beyond Samaria point of that instruction.
One has to believe that as Paul was going about his missionary journeys Rome was always out there beckoning. Now as he is about to finish up his third missionary journey, he writes to the churches in Rome and shares his desire to come to them. He writes this letter from Corinth. I was reminded of this by our guide on a trip to the ruins of Corinth when we were traveling in Greece last fall. As she pointed out places, public buildings at the excavated ancient site, she connected some to biblical stories of Paul and reiterated that it was from here that he wrote his letter to Rome. The moment took my breath away.
Romans is an amazing book of the Bible. The arguments Paul makes are quite intricate and the force of the writing so compelling and powerful. Several summers back I preached through the entirety of Romans. It was one of the most rewarding summers I've experienced as a pastor, walking closely through this amazing letter from beginning to end. Standing there in Corinth that day put a landscape to the somewhat abstract style of Romans. Paul wasn't just in a room somewhere, unbothered by the world, writing theological truths to the folks in Rome. He was in the midst of his work, in a real place, with beautiful geography, and no small amount of challenge to his safety, security, and freedom. I always knew where the letter to Rome wound up, obviously. What I'd never taken to heart is where the letter to Rome began. Paul, however, though he'd never been to Rome, could picture it, taste it, see it, knew he'd get there eventually. And with a faith that should have made mountains nervous, Paul would both send them this letter and one day, make it to the Eternal City.
June 14
First Reading: Ecclesiastes 6:1-12
Psalm: Psalm 108
Second Reading: Acts 10:9-23
Gospel: Luke 12:32-40
"…Peter went up to the roof to pray." - Acts 10:9
The Acts passage is the story of Peter seeing visions of food. He's hungry and the vision is lowered to him and he is told to eat. He sees that it is food that is largely identified as unclean in his Jewish faith tradition and which he has avoided all his life. The vision repeats three times and finally Peter is told that what God has made clean cannot be considered unclean, and that he should eat. The vision is followed by a visit from representatives for a man named Cornelius, a Roman centurion, who has sent for Peter. Interpreting the vision to mean that God has extended the ability to follow Jesus to Gentiles, Peter goes to the home of Cornelius and ultimately baptized Cornelius and his whole household.
Look how this all gets underway. Before Peter goes to Cornelius, he has to receive the request and be favorable to the request. Before that can happen he has to see and understand the vision about the clean and/or unclean food. Before that can happen he has to be in a position to receive that vision. Which means that Peter, at the very outset of this series of events, makes a decision that completely leads to all of this, but which he makes without having any sense that any of it is coming.
Peter went up to the roof to pray. For three years Peter had watched Jesus go off by himself to pray. Peter was taking notes. Now engaged in his own ministry on behalf of the good news of Jesus, Peter is following Jesus' example, taking time to pray. So off to the roof he goes to pray. To make himself available to God; to listen for God's guidance. And you'll notice the guidance just seems like a slightly odd dietary message until, the very next thing, the representatives of Cornelius show up at the door, and the message Peter had received finds its application.
June 13
First Reading:
Numbers 3:1-13
Psalm: Psalm 63
Second Reading:
Galatians 6:11-18
Gospel: Matthew 17:1-13
"For neither circumcision or uncircumcision is anything, but a new creation is everything." - Galatians 6:15
As Paul wraps up his letter to the Galatians you can almost feel the inner turmoil he feels between the details of debate over the law and the big picture joy he wants to focus on as he shares that "a new creation is everything!" He knows that the back and forth over circumcision is going to continue and he has strong feelings on the subject and feels compelled to address them one last time in his farewell. He mentions that he is writing this section in his own hand, this is not dictated to someone serving as his secretary, this is Paul taking the writing instrument and making one more appeal not to get bogged down in rules that don't fit the current circumstance.
He mentions how large his handwriting is - what a particularly human detail. I do most of my writing on the computer now. There was a point where I would write things out by hand, and then type what I had written. What I notice, especially now, when I do write something by hand is how my handwriting does indeed grow, the longer I write and the more interested I am in the topic. I will begin trying to be neat and as legible as possible and within a few paragraphs the letters have grown to twice the size and occasionally entire lines begin to bend.
Paul is excited. That's important I think to always keep in front of us when considering Paul. Paul is not some academic theologian who sets out to write books of systematic theology. He's a follower of Jesus who is constantly thinking back to his past, to his conversion, and to his new life in Christ. He wants that experience for everyone. He wants it for the Galatian church. Paul, in his own hand, is communicating his passion - don't get so caught up in the details that we lose sight of the wonder of God's new creation.
June 12
First Reading:
Ecclesiastes 11:9-12:14
Psalm: Psalm 84
Second Reading:
Galatians 5:25-6:10
Gospel: Matthew 16:21-28
"The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God, and keep his commandments for that is the whole duty of everyone." - Ecclesiastes 12:13
"For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life?" - Matthew 16:26
The world is about to have its first trillionaire. If the news accounts are accurate, a combination of rocket ships and Wall Street IPO will move one of the world's billionaires into the exclusive category, trillionaire. To be honest, I can't think in that many zeros. Some might look at the idea of being a trillionaire and imagine that having that sort of valuation must result in a happy person. The world's first trillionaire may or may not be happy, but the Bible argues that their happiness and our happiness are not the result of our financial net worth.
The Ecclesiastes passage brings the book to a close with the summary that the important task before us is to "fear God and keep his commandments." Jesus teaches that there is no profit in gaining the world and forfeiting our life. When he speaks of forfeiting our life he speaks of squandering our opportunity to live the life that God envisioned for us. Living the life abundant, which is rich in obedience and finds fulfillment in walking in the path to which God has called us.
The point is not that billionaires can't be happy. The point is they won't find happiness in their billions. For those of us without billions, there is still the temptation to rest our happiness on things that are not God. The beautiful thing is that happiness is there for us if we keep our life in Christ the priority. There we will find a happiness that is not fleeting and a joy that is eternal.
June 11
First Reading:
Ecclesiastes 11:1-8
Psalm: Psalm 116
Second Reading:
Galatians 5:16-24
Gospel: Matthew 16:13-20
"Just as you do not know how the breath comes to the bones in the mother's womb, so you do not know the work of God, who makes everything. In the morning sow your seed, and at evening do not let your hand be idle, for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good." - Ecclesiastes 11:5-6
"Stay in your lane." There's a phrase that gets tossed around a bit now when someone begins to act as though they are an expert in things in which they are not experts. For instance, when I get to far off into the weeds of critiquing the performance of my favorite soccer team, it would be fair to tell me to stay in my lane - there's a one hundred percent chance the coach who is actually an experienced expert in the sport, knows more than I will ever know about the technical and strategic aspects of soccer.
These verses from Ecclesiastes are something of a "stay in your lane" message. The message is for humans and it is addressed to us when we begin to imagine we have a better plan for the future than God. Succinctly in two verses, the reminder is delivered. First, there is the illustration of God's gift of life. It is just that - God's gift. We may understand aspects of the process, but we did not create or design the process. We did not call forth life. Second, we don't know with any certainty in the morning what the evening will be like. The suggestion is to do our best work and understand that we control our effort, not the results, because, again, we are not God.
It is good to be reminded that we are playing a part in the totality of God's vision. It is good to be curious about what God is up to and to seek to participate as fully as we can by doing what we believe God is calling us to do. Where we can perhaps save ourselves some anxiety is in understanding we will spend this life as the Apostle Paul said, viewing things through a mirror dimly. We trust and place our hope in God, accepting our call to sow seeds in the morning and to continuously give our best as we believe God is directing.
June 10
First Reading:
Ecclesiastes 9:11-18
Psalm: Psalm 96
Second Reading:
Galatians 5:1-15
Gospel: Matthew 16:1-12
"…the only thing that counts is faith working through love." - Galatians 5:6
Paul is writing here, at least in part, about the seemingly never ending conversation around the law and freedom from the law. Specifically, he's been addressing, not for the first or only time, the question of circumcision. Where he winds up is in a moment of clarity - "the only thing counts is faith working through love." Paul spends a lot of time in a lot of letters addressing issues around faith and works. And there is a lot about what the law has meant within the Jewish tradition, and what it will mean in the then brand new Christian tradition. So those things clearly do count and are important. If for no other reason than people are trying to make sense of them and understand how to deal with them. So when he says "the only thing that counts is faith working through love," it's not actually the only thing that counts.
However, it is what matters most and it is what matters when you arrive at the end of the conversation. All the things can't be the bottom line. Faith working through love is a bottom line consideration. Not, how am I doing on the scorecard, or how am I doing checking off boxes in the rule book; but how am I doing in being a person who lives my faith, guided by love?
Love is not something you can really keep score on. You can't love to a point where you will be able to say, "There, that's enough love." Love is not a commodity. It's a guiding principle. It's an orientation. It's an intentional approach to living our life. Note, Paul didn't say the only thing that counts is determining when faith has worked through love enough. There is no enough, there is no end; the call is not to be perfect at rules, or love till the requirement has been satisfied. It is simply to live a life guided by God's love.
June 9
First Reading:
Ecclesiastes 8:14-9:10
Psalm: Psalm 12
Second Reading:
Galatians 4:21-31
Gospel: Matthew 15:29-39
"Great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the maimed, the mute, and many others. They put them at his feet and he cured them…." - Matthew 15:30
People knew about Jesus. Some probably had an awareness of his teaching and sought him out to hear him talk about the kingdom of God. It is likely that the larger number of folks seeking Jesus were doing so because they had heard of his power to heal and they or someone they know of was in need of healing. Where the door of hope had been closed it cracks open again and grows with each new story of someone who has encountered Jesus.
It is powerful to think of people working together to bring those who are in need. They bring them, assisting them, carrying them, seeing to it that their friend or family member who is in need of healing is placed at Jesus' feet. It's a moving story of real people doing the physical work necessary to help hurting people reach the ultimate healer.
What is happening in this story reminds me of how Ruth Haley Barton, an expert in spirituality and spiritual formation, describes intercessory prayer. I heard her on a podcast describe how she visualizes the people she is praying for. She knows they are in need and she knows that Jesus is the great physician. In her prayer she imagines that she is carrying them into the presence of God, figuratively laying them at Jesus' feet. The people in the Matthew story didn't know how Jesus was going to heal their friends and family - they just knew they needed to get them to him. As we pray, Barton reminds us, we don't need to know how a person will be healed, or how an intractable circumstance can be resolved - our act of faith is trusting that, in Christ, we know someone who does.
June 8
First Reading:
Ecclesiastes 7:1-14
Psalm: Psalm 62
Second Reading :
Galatians 4:12-20
Gospel: Matthew 15:21-28
"I wish I were present with you now and could change my tone, for I am perplexed about you." - Galatians 4:20
Sometimes a letter isn't enough. Sometimes a text, or an email, or even a good old fashioned phone call are not enough. Sometimes what we most want is to be present with someone. To be able to look them in the eye. Maybe be able to give a hug. Or perhaps simply be able to convey something in person, because we are convinced that we are not going to be able to make our point fully independent of being physically in the same space with someone. That's Paul in today's passage from Galatians.
Paul remembers when he first came to the Galatians. Something was happening with him at the time - "a physical infirmity" - that he imagines could have been off-putting - but they had looked past that to him and his message and received him warmly and embraced the good news of Jesus. Now, however, from a distance, he feels that something has changed. Throughout the letter he has done what he typically did, making a careful argument to them about what he believes they need to know and understand, but in this small section he simply yearns to be able to stand before them and speak to them in person.
From our distance, it is a very human moment for the Apostle. We can feel his frustration. I suspect it felt a bit jarring to the people in the Galatian church as well. If they had not been fully attending to the reading of the letter from Paul, they likely leaned in when he slowed down on the theology and stepped up the personal appeal. Sharing faith is never simply a transaction, a passing of information from one person to another. It is built on relationship. The relationship between God and us, and then the relationship between us and other people. Paul's feelings show through in this passage. He isn't speaking to the Galatians out of obligation. He is speaking to them out of love.
June 7
First Reading: Numbers 6:22-27
Psalm: Psalm 150
Second Reading: Acts 13:1-12
Gospel: Luke 12:41-48
"Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon, who called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen, a childhood friend of Herod the ruler, and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, 'Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.'" - Acts 13:1-2
We know the key partnership that emerges from this group of folks. Barnabas and Paul will work effectively together and the stories of the journey will be read by Christians throughout history. They were front and center in my Sunday School days, I've been familiar with the names of Paul and Barnabas for a long time. Not so much Simeon, Lucius, and Manaen. I find myself curious about them.
It sounds like this group was somewhat well known in the church at Antioch and perhaps in the broader church at this time. They were all probably in the leadership group. It's intriguing to wonder about Manaen, who we are told is a "childhood friend of Herod the ruler." Scholars suggest that the Herod in question is the person who saw that John the Baptist was beheaded and did not stand in the way of the execution of Christ. And here is his friend, Manaen, a prophet and teacher in the Antioch church. At first blush it seems unlikely for a person who was shaped in the same circles that shaped Herod - at best someone who was no friend to Jesus and the things he worked for - to wind up a respected leader in the early church. But consider further the insight this gives us into this group. God chose Paul, a persecutor of Christians. God chose Manaen, a friend of Herod. God clearly sees possibilities in what we might believe to be unlikely places.
What trust the early followers of Jesus had in the work of the Holy Spirit. How interesting it would be to know the full history of the church in Antioch. To know the complete background of each of the individuals named in Acts 13:1-2. All of them, Paul, Barnabas, Manaen, Simeon, and Lucius, are a part of the great cloud of witnesses who were faithful to Jesus and who passed the faith on to the next generation - the faith that ultimately finds its way to us. And they are simply examples of the names we know. Today I am thankful for the saints of the church, those named and unnamed for the legacy they leave for us. I'm thankful that God has a capacity to see possibility and utilize gifts that is constantly surprising (Paul? Manaen?) and inspiring. And I'm thankful for the gift of God's invitation to be a part of what God is doing in our world now, so that we can be a part of the work today and help in sending the church forward into tomorrow.
June 6
First Reading:
Ecclesiastes 5:8-20
Psalm: Psalm 122
Second Reading:
Galatians 3:23-4:11
Gospel: Matthew 15:1-20
"The lover of money will not be satisfied with money, nor the lover of wealth with gain." - Ecclesiastes 5:10
This sounds like the sort of thing Jesus said. The Jewish tradition of which Jesus was a part had a long history of support for those marginalized by society - widows, orphans, immigrants. Additionally there are many examples of the prophets speaking on behalf of the poor and in judgment of those with wealth. Much of what Jesus said followed that trajectory.
Note that this passage doesn't say that money in and of itself is bad, or that wealth is not without its uses. It says the great danger is that these things become the priority, they become the controlling force, they become the idol that is worshipped. Ecclesiastes is asserting this truth: if money becomes your idol, you will never be happy where you are – there will be an insatiable need for more and a fear that there will not be enough. Jesus taught a similar thing in the parable of the man who had the great harvest and determined that it meant he needed more buildings with which to hoard his wealth. You may recall that the parable ended poorly for that man as that night his life was required of him, and his wealth meant little to him in the absence of his life.
When we hear stories, particularly Old Testament stories of idol worship, and perhaps it feels distant to us and unlikely that we would place our faith in some sort of golden object, let passages like this remind us that idols do not have to be objects. Idols are simply anything that takes the position of top priority in our lives. Chasing after things that are not God, attaching our happiness and affection to money, wealth, or again, anything which is not God, will lead to unhappiness and emptiness. Our hope is in God, who created us, loves us, and desires the life abundant for us.
June 5
First Reading:
Ecclesiastes 5:1-7
Psalm: Psalm 88
Second Reading:
Galatians 3:15-22
Gospel: Matthew 14:22-36
"And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea." - Matthew 15:24
The story of Jesus walking on the water and Peter wanting to walk out on the water to him is one that I have known since I was very young. This is a Sunday School flannel board classic and those images are still a part of my conceptualization of that story. I thought about it a lot. What it was like to be the disciples in the boat and to see Jesus walking to them. It said they were terrified and I felt like I would have been equally terrified. If you are out in a boat in the middle of the night, you aren't watching for pedestrians.
This story is so real, I still remember expecting Peter to sink immediately. I'm always a little surprised when he gets out of the boat and actually does walk on the water at first. I think my reaction as a child was along the lines of questioning what on earth was Peter thinking about, which I suspect was what the others in the boat were thinking as well. My first reaction after being terrified would not be to ask to go and be the second person I'd ever known who had walked on water. But Peter has faith. Right up until he doesn't.
This story, in a way, works some of the same terrain as the feeding of the five thousand story. People don't walk on water, it's impossible. But there is Jesus doing it, which means it must be possible. So Peter, the impetuous Peter, feels his faith swell and decides he will also. And he also does the impossible until he realizes he's doing the impossible.
Jesus' pointed question is, "Why did you doubt?" There are moments on our faith journey where our faith does swell and we do have some sense of the larger possibilities of following Jesus. But there are also moments when we sink into the seas of doubt and despair. Thankfully Jesus is there to give us a hand. And I can very much imagine him asking us the same question he put to Peter, "Why did you doubt?
June 4
First Reading:
Ecclesiastes 3:16:4:3
Psalm: Psalm 143
Second Reading :
Galatians 3:1-14
Gospel: Matthew 14:13-21
"Jesus said to them, 'They need not go away. You give them something to eat.'" - Matthew 14:16
How often in life do we not do something because we are sure we can't? How often do we consider a thing we feel called to and begin immediately to make an inventory of the reasons that we are unable to answer that call? This story, as demonstrated by the countless number of sermons that have been preached on it, is a rich well of meaning; one of the clearest teachings I experience when reading it, is the conviction of how often, in practical terms, I sell Jesus short.
Selling Jesus short is a way we could describe what the disciples do on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. They did not intend to. They were simply being practical. There were too many people and too little food. Everyone could do the math. Or thought they could. Jesus was the teacher saying, "Go back and try it one more time, I'm not sure those numbers come out where you think they do."
And they did not. The disciples had not factored in Jesus. They followed Jesus here, there, and everywhere, and watched him do all manner of things they would previously have imagined impossible, but when Jesus says, "You feed them," they respond, "We have nothing." That's bad math. They have Jesus. As do we. When we are certain of what we can't do, when we begin that list of resources and capabilities that we are lacking, it is good to remember that we have Jesus with us, and go back and try the math one more time.
June 3
First Reading:
Ecclesiastes 3:1-15
Psalm: Psalm 65
Second Reading:
Galatians 2:11-21
Gospel: Matthew 14:1-12
"…he has put a sense of past and future into their minds." - Ecclesiastes 3:11
Ecclesiastes is a wonderful, thoughtful book. It asks questions that bring together philosophy and theology. Today's passage includes the refrain about there being a time for everything under heaven. People that may not know those words are scripture are familiar with them from the longtime popularity of Pete Seeger's "Turn! Turn! Turn!"
It is a good book to read slowly and to contemplate and engage the questions it asks as you go. Beyond that it throws out ideas and assertions that are worthy of pausing and considering, giving time to let them breathe and knock around in our minds a bit. In 3:11 the writer points out a hallmark of what makes us human. God has gifted us with a sense of the past and an awareness of the future. We know that this moment is not everything; it came from somewhere and it will lead somewhere.
Because of our awareness of our past, we have memories, and those memories hold a huge sway in our lives. They give us confidence or they fill us with regret. We arrive in the present moment with all of those memories inside of us, shaping us and impacting the way we respond to present circumstances that may or may not have anything to do with what has gone before.
Similarly, we know that there will be a next hour, minute, day, and year. We know that what we do now in this moment, we will have to live with in all of those subsequent moments. This knowledge can inspire us and it can make us anxious. We stand here in the present moment, but our minds are already exploring where our actions and choices may take us.
In the next part of this phrase, it goes on to say that all of this awareness, does nothing to help us know the totality of what God is doing. It puts into sharp relief the tension that exists between our limited awareness and the sweep of God's activity, beginning with creation and continuing to wherever it is headed. Scripture gives us guidance, but we can find ourselves frustrated knowing there is a tomorrow, knowing there are choices to be made and actions to be taken, and not knowing beforehand what the outcomes of those choices and actions will be. We arrive then, at the place of necessary faith, hope, and trust in the God who loves us and gave us these gifts, both of looking back and looking forward.
June 2
First Reading:
Ecclesiastes 2:16-26
Psalm: Psalm 54
Second Reading:
Galatians 1:18-2:10
Gospel: Matthew 13:53-58
"And he did not do many deeds of power there because of their unbelief." - Matthew 13:58
This is a very specific passage in terms of a thing happening in a particular place with a particular context and particular people. Jesus has gone home, has done some public speaking and the people just aren't sure they like what they've heard. They know who Jesus is and so they know who he cannot be. Who he cannot be is who his words are asserting he is. See, it feels very dialed into that specific circumstance. Until. Until we get to the sentence at the last that puts the bow on the story.
At that point it becomes a story in which any of us could make an appearance. It becomes a cautionary story for people of faith who are aiming to follow Jesus. It's about what we've decided is possible and what we've determined is impossible. Even if we believe all the things we say we believe about Jesus, we have to be aware there is a part of our mind that is thinking that there are things in our experience that are not possible. This story indicates that a big part of experiencing the possibility bending power of God at work is jettisoning our unbelief.
It's not that Jesus was incapable of deeds of power. It's that their "unbelief" put up a barrier to even allowing Jesus the space to show them otherwise. It is self-defeating to pray for something while at the same time thinking in our rational mind that the thing is impossible. The point of this passage is not for us to shake our heads at the unbelief of the people of Jesus' hometown. The point is to help us remove whatever boundaries we might be building around what we imagine God can do in our world. One example: it is easy to imagine that peace on earth is a pipe dream. We've demonstrated it's an impossibility. Still, we pray for it, and still scripture attests that it is God's will. God doesn't will impossible things. God wills the future. The call here is to believe it, expect it, work towards it.
June 1
First Reading: Ecclesiastes 2:1-15
Psalm: Psalm 57
Second Reading: Galatians 1:1-17
Gospel: Matthew 13:44-52
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it." - Matthew 13:45
In my hobby, comic books collecting, there exists the concept of a collector's "holy grail book." That is the book that person is most keen on having as a part of their collection. For me that book is Brave and the Bold #28, the first appearance of the Justice League of America, from February/March 1960.
So I might hear today's parable as, "the kingdom of heaven is like a comic book collector who finds one comic book of great value. Having found that book that has so captured his imagination, he sells everything he has and buys it."
I really wouldn't sell everything to buy one book, not even Brave and the Bold #28. My wife, who is not a comic book collector and therefore is able to offer input as an objective onlooker, might question that; but I do think I'd stop somewhere short of selling everything. The story is not about pearls or comic books however, it is about the kingdom of God. The pearl, and in my adaptation the comic book, are just there to illustrate things that we can know very well, so that we are able to recognize the best of the best when it comes along.
The kingdom of God is the best of the best. It is what we are all built for and it is what we are longing for. Life is often occupied with that thing which will fulfill us, make us whole, quiet our sense of unrest and longing. When we find faith and a relationship with Christ, we experience something unique that can not be matched in any other way or any other place. That is to discover the path - in following Jesus - to the kingdom of God.
This parable teaches us that the mark of true discipleship is that when we become followers of Jesus, everything else falls into line behind that one priority. Anything else that seemed to hold value, is put in perspective and found lacking. Our fulfillment in life will be found in placing that relationship with Christ as our first priority, and our joy will be in living into that relationship day by day through all the days, months, and years of our lives.