WELCOME

Hello! I am Pastor Pat Harris of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Claremont NH. I welcome you to join with me in musings about the church year season, daily texts or meditations. I will share my thoughts and invite you to share yours with me as well. I look forward to sharing internet time with you, and if you are ever in the Claremont NH area, please feel free to drop in and visit in person. Our regular worship service times are Sundays at 9:30 AM

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Prince of Peace Evangelical Lutheran Church

Friday, February 26, 2010

Reflections on God's Gift of Law--Lent Day 10 (Week 2)

You may notice that I am posting both Friday's and Saturday's meditations on Friday. I am doing this ahead, as we have no electrical power at home. I am taking advantage of the opportunity to use the internet to do this posting.

Lent Day 10: Saturday February 27

Theme for the Week: God’s Gift of the Ten Commandments

Passage for the Day:

Exodus 20:1-4

1Then God spoke all these words: 2 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; 3 you shall have no other gods before me.

4 You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

Reflection: This passage from Exodus, which is the basis for the First Commandment, and an underpinning of all the Commandments reminds us both of God’s graciousness, and God’s demand that we honor God as our only God. The command part of this passage demands that we have no god other than “the Lord your God”. We often think that this is an easy commandment. Surely, we don’t make idols of wood, stone, or gold, which we worship. We wouldn’t do anything that foolish! Or would we??? Martin Luther defined a god as anything in which you “trust and believe…with your whole heart” and “that in which find refuge in all need” What do we really trust, and where do we seek refuge? Do we trust our own skill or ambition? Do we trust our savings and our assets? Do we value our home as the place of greatest refuge? In the lives of privilege and abundance which so many of us enjoy, it is easy to slip into depending on our own skills, assets and securities rather than placing our trust and dependence on God.

In the promise part of this passage, we are reminded that God brought the Israelites “out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” God heard the cry of God’s people and freed them from oppression and slavery. These words have brought hope to many peoples throughout the ages who have been wrongly oppressed and enslaved. As 21st century Americans, we are proud of our freedom and heritage. However, we are still slaves. Even though we have political freedom, we are, as St. Paul writes, slaves to sin. In these words of promise, we hear a foreshadowing of how God frees us from the oppression that comes from being weighed down with wrong doing. God has brought us, who are “free” Americans, out of the house of slavery, a mental state in which we could be trapped by the weight of all the ways in which we have alienated ourselves from God. Even though we sin by having other gods, other things which we put our trust in, the Lord our God forgives our sin because Jesus died to free us.

Prayer Themes: Thank God for releasing us from being slaves to sin. Pray that God would strengthen you in your resolve to depend on God rather than yourself or things you possess. Pray that you may learn to trust and believe in God with your whole heart.

Reflections on God's Gift of Law--Lent Day 9 (Week 2)

Lent Day 9: Friday February 26

Theme for the Week: God’s Gift of the Ten Commandments

Passage for the Day:

Nehemiah 8:8-9

8 So they read from the book, from the law of God, with interpretation. They gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading. 9 And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people wept when they heard the words of the law.

Reflection: The book of Nehemiah chronicles the experience of God’s people after they returned to Jerusalem after having been exiled to Babylon for nearly 75 years. Several generations of God’s people were born and raised outside of their homeland. The children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren the original exiles have now returned to a destroyed city to try to rebuild their lives. During the years in Babylon, the people have fallen away from their religious traditions, and their faith in the God, who chose them, has been weakened. Their governor and their priest pull them all together into the town square to teach them about God and God’s Word for them. These people, most of whom could not read, have been so out of touch with their religious traditions that many of them are unfamiliar with the gift of the Ten Commandments. The priests read to them from the sacred Scriptures and re-acquaint them with God’s gift of the Law or Ten Commandments. When the people hear God’s Word, they are overcome with a variety of emotions. The Word brings a kind of collective remembrance and a recognition of the ways in which they have fallen away from God. They cry tears that are a combination of mourning for what has been lost, joy that they can again hear God’s Word, and sorrow for all the things they have been doing wrong. The priests tell them not to cry, because the day is holy and because God is delighted that they have returned.

Imagine a situation where you have been away from home or perhaps away from the church for a prolonged period of time. You return to worship, perhaps in the church in which you were raised. You hear God’s Word and it stirs in you a cauldron of emotions. You remember hearing similar words standing by you grandmother’s side. You remember what it was like to share Holy Communion standing next to your parents. You realize how much you have missed being in church, and you realize how far you have strayed. If tears flow from your eyes, they are tears of remembrance, tears of joy that you have returned and tears that reflect your realization that you have made a lot of mistakes. Hearing God’s Word creates a kind of catharsis in you. God’s Word in the Law assumes the role of helping you realize where you have slipped and how much you have missed. God’s Law is no longer a noose around your neck, but a liberating agent.

Prayer Themes: Pray that I can hear God’s Word and realize how far I have strayed. Pray that I can hear God’s Word in the Law as a gift to me. Pray that God’s Word would call me both to remembrance and call me back into the community of faith.



Thursday, February 25, 2010

Reflections on God's Gift of Law--Lent Day 8 (Week 2)

Lent Day 8: Thursday February 25

Theme for the Week: God’s Gift of the Ten Commandments

Passage for the Day:

Romans 3:19-20

19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 20 For “no human being will be justified in his sight” by deeds prescribed by the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin.

Reflection:

In this passage we hear of what Martin Luther would later refer to as the second use of the Law. As Saint Paul writes, “through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.” What this means is that God’s Law helps us to see and understand the ways in which we have abused our relationship with God, the ways in which we have hurt ourselves or others, and the ways in which we have failed to help other people. God’s Law is a such gift to us because is shows us the ways in which we have missed the mark. The Law helps us to recognize that we are sinners and that by ourselves we are unable to stop sinning. This recognition of our sinfulness is what drives us to need and want the Gospel--the Good News that Jesus died for us. Before we can really appreciate this Good News, we need the Law to hold a mirror to our faces and show us how we have done things we should not have done and failed to do things that we should have.

Prayer Themes: Pray that God would help me to realize that, on my own, I will never be able to be the person God wants me to be. Thank God for the gift of Jesus, who willing died to save me from my own failings. Thank God that Jesus died so that I can be reconciled to God in spite of all of the things that I have done wrong.


Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Reflections on God's Gift of Law--Lent Day 7 (Week 2)

God' Law: What is it and what does it mean for our lives?

This morning we begin the second week in Lent, and we will begin daily reflections on a new topic. This week we will be thinking about the role of the Ten Commandments in our lives. Descriptions of the Ten Commandments can be found in two places in the Bible: Exodus 20:1-17 and 5:6-21. There are also numerous references to Law (of which the Ten Commandments are a core part) in both the Old and New Testaments. During the next week, we will be reflecting on different Biblical passages which describe the Law and the role of the Law in our lives.

Week 2 Lenten Devotions

Lent Day 7: Wednesday February 24

Theme for the Week: God’s Gift of the Ten Commandments

Passage for the Day:

Psalm 19: 7-10

7 The law of the Lord is perfect,

reviving the soul;

the decrees of the Lord are sure,

making wise the simple;

8 the precepts of the Lord are right,

rejoicing the heart;

the commandment of the Lord is clear,

enlightening the eyes;

9 the fear of the Lord is pure,

enduring forever;

the ordinances of the Lord are true

and righteous altogether.

10 More to be desired are they than gold,

even much fine gold;

sweeter also than honey,

and drippings of the honeycomb.

Reflection:

God gave the gift of the Law in the form of the Ten Commandments to God’s people, after they had been freed from slavery in Egypt and while they were wandering in the desert. This gift from God marked the people as God’s very own. God gave the Law to help people order their lives and to help them live as God’s people. The first three commandments described how the people were to live in relation to God and the last seven, how they were to live in relation to other people. In a world not marred by sin, life under God’s Law would be perfect. The Law as gift orders our lives and shows us how to live as God’s people. As the psalmist, envisioning a perfect world, says: God’s Law is more desirable than fine gold and sweeter than honey.

Thinking of the Law as a gift that marks us as God’s people, rather than as a set of burdensome regulations, re-frames the role of the Ten Commandments in our lives.

Prayer Themes: Pray that I am may be able to see God’s Law in the Ten Commandments as a gift that marks me as one of God’s Chosen ones, rather than as a restriction or impediment to how I live my life. Pray that God would use God’s Law to help to order my life and help me to act as God’s hands in the world.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Reflections on Peace and Forgiveness--Lent Day 6

Reflection for Lent Day 6 (Tuesday February 23)

Theme for the Week: Confession, Forgiveness and Reconciliation

Passage for the Day: John 20:21-23

21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 22 When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

Reflection:

In the church that I serve, we read this passage from the Gospel of John during our Ash Wednesday Service as we began our Lenten Journey last week. These are powerful words in several ways.

First, Jesus tells his disciples of every time and place that his own peace is poured into them. This is the peace that will sustain them as they go about their work. Jesus is sending his original disciples out into the world in the same way that God sent him. But these words are not intended just for Jesus’ historic disciples in the First Century. Jesus calls to all of his followers, in any age, to continue his work in the world. Secondly, Jesus gives to all who continue his work, the gift of the Holy Spirit to strengthen them and lead them. Have you ever felt the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life? How does the Spirit guide and lead you? Have you ever been called on to forgive someone’s sins? Have you felt the guidance of the Holy Spirit in granting this forgiveness?

Prayer Themes: Pray for the Holy Spirit to guide and lead you. Pray for the peace of Christ in your life and the lives of those around you. Pray for those who request forgiveness of sins.

Monday, February 22, 2010

Praying for One Another--Lent Day 5

Reflection for Lent Day 5 (Monday February 22)

(If you are counting you may have noticed that Saturday was Day 4 of Lent and Monday is Day 5 of Lent. In counting the 40 days of Lent, the Christian Church does not count Sundays as a day in Lent because each Sunday is a “mini-resurrection,” a day in which we celebrate Christ’s resurrection from the dead!)

Theme for the Week: Confession, Forgiveness and Reconciliation

Passage for the Day: James 5:15-16

15 The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.

Reflection:

In James’ letter, he writes about confessing sins to another person and then praying for each other. Sometimes when we have done something wrong, we just want to keep it to ourselves. This wrong-doing then seems to grow larger and larger within our minds and souls. We think about it; we worry about it, and often it will keep us awake at night. Taken to extremes, this act of wrong doing can take control of our lives. Have you ever had a situation where you have done something you have regretted and then that wrong-doing seems to take over your life?

James says that we are to confess our wrong doing to another person and then we are to pray for each other. To whom might you confess a wrong doing? Is there someone you are close to and in whom you trust? Is there a close friend, spouse, or pastor with whom you could share your distress and with whom you could pray? The praying part is important because you are asking for God to intervene, heal the emotional wounds caused by the wrong doing and give forgiveness.

The person with whom you are sharing your problem or distress is not the one who can provide healing or forgiveness. However, he or she can pray to God on your behalf. Hearing someone pray for you can give a great sense of relief, particularly at a time when we feel so out of control that we do not know how to pray for ourselves. Can you think of a time when you knew someone else was praying for you? Is there something going on in your life now, that you would want to talk to someone about and ask for their prayers?

Prayer Themes for the Day:

Pray for someone whom you know is in trouble or who is suffering. Pray that God would guide you to a prayer buddy or someone to whom you could confess your wrong doing and who would pray for you. Pray for all those who are so isolated that they have no one to pray for them.

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Christ releases you from burdens--Lent Day 4

Reflection for Lent Day 4 (Saturday February 20)

Theme for the Week: Confession, Forgiveness and Reconciliation

Passage for the Day:

1 John 1:8-10

8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

Reflection:

If you worship in a church with a liturgical tradition, you may recognize these words, or words similar to these as being used in worship during the “Confession of Sins.” We use these words to admit to God that there are so many ways we have not done what God would want us to do. And we also admit that, by ourselves, we are simply unable to stop doing stuff that is wrong.

The writer of John’s first letter says that if we claim that we aren’t sinning, we just aren’t facing reality. Each and every day, somehow we manage to do something which either alienates us from God, from someone we love, or from someone who plays a role in our lives. Can you think of some way in which you have done something wrong in the past day?

The Good News for us is that God has promised us that if we believe in Jesus, Jesus’ death releases us from sin. Wrong doing no longer controls our lives. Instead, if we believe that Jesus saves us, each morning as we wake up God frees us from our past sins and gives us a new start. If we know that God gives us new starts, our wrong doings and mistakes cannot take control of our lives. Is there something in your life from which you want God to free you and grant you a fresh start?

If, on the other hand, we assume that it is all up to us and that we can manage to do everything right and never sin, then the entire burden is on us. As humans, we are simply unable to do everything right, and we drive ourselves crazy trying to do so. When we try to be perfect by ourselves, we set ourselves up to become ever more disenchanted with ourselves and our failures. Do you ever get angry at yourself because you can’t do everything right? Do you feel the burden of trying to be perfect?

Think about it, if we think we can achieve perfection by ourselves, why did Jesus have to die?

Prayer Themes for the Day:

Pray for faith to believe that Jesus frees you from sin. Pray for forgiveness for the things you have done wrong and the things you have neglected to do. Pray for release from the tyranny of perfectionism. Thank God for the gift of Jesus.

Friday, February 19, 2010

Forgiveness and Release from Dispair--Lent Day 3

Lent Day 3: February 19

Theme for the Week: Confession, Forgiveness and Reconciliation

Passage for the Day:

Psalm 25:17-18

17Relieve the troubles of my heart,

and bring me out of my distress.

18Consider my affliction and my trouble,

and forgive all my sins.

Reflection:

The Book of Psalms is considered to be the prayer book of the Bible. Jesus, himself used psalms as prayers. The writer of this psalm seems to be entrapped in distress to the point that it is troubling the heart. The psalmist prays that God will free him or her from all the things are troubling and distressing. After praying for release, the psalmist also prays for forgiveness of sins.

Sometimes when we are in a bad situation, we are tempted to further sin. Being in trouble can cause us to despair, which can alienate us from God or the people around us. Other times we can think—I am already in “so deep” that I might as well keep on doing bad stuff. This can lead to a sense that you cannot get out of the hole into which you have fallen.

How are trouble and sin interrelated in your life? Does being in distress create further opportunities for sin in your life? How does being freed from the power of sin change your life? Does knowing that Christ frees you from sin allow for reconciliation in your life or a new start?

Prayer Themes for the Day:

Confess to God anything that is troubling you. Pray for release for anything that is bothering or distressing you. Pray for God’s forgiveness for things that are separating you from God, and pray that you may be able to forgive anyone with whom you are estranged.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Reconciliation in Christ--Lent Day 2

Reflection for Lent Day 2 (Thursday February 18):

Theme for the Week: Confession, Forgiveness and Reconciliation

Passage for the Day: 2 Corinthians 5:20b-21

We entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Reflection:

In the church that I serve, we read from Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians as part of our Ash Wednesday worship service last evening. We heard these words about Christ’s work of reconciling us to God before we confessed our sins collectively. How good it was to be reminded, in advance of our confession, that Christ has taken on our wrongdoings and failures so that they don’t stand in the way of our relationship to God.

Knowing in advance that I will be forgiven because of what Christ has done for me makes it much easier for me to admit that there are lots of things that I have done wrong and things that I should have done—the things that I just either didn’t want to do or just didn’t get around to doing.

As I begin my Lenten journey, the knowledge that Christ has released me from the power of my sins and reconciles me to God frees me to concentrate on how I might do things differently. I get to pray about how God might help me to find ways to help my neighbor rather than worrying about whether or not I have been saved. God has assured me that in Christ, I am freed.

Prayer Themes for the Day:

Thank God for Christ’s work of reconciling you to God. Pray that God will find ways to use you as God’s hands in the world.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Lent Begins!

Introduction:

Today is the first day of the forty day period we know as Lent. This day is known as Ash Wednesday. For the next 40 days (Sundays are not included), I will be posting a meditation. For the first week, the theme will be Confession, Forgiveness and Reconciliation. We will think and pray about what confession means to us, why it is a spiritual discipline and why confession is good for us. I look forward to sharing this Lenten time with you. I pray that these meditations may be a aid to your spiritual discipline during Lent.

Reflection for Lent Day 1: Ash Wednesday (February 17)

Theme for the Week: Confession, Forgiveness and Reconciliation

Passage for the Day: Daniel 9:3-4

3Then I turned to the Lord God, to seek an answer by prayer and supplication with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. 4 I prayed to the Lord my God and made confession.

Reflection:

Today, we enter Lent with Ash Wednesday. In my faith tradition, when we come to worship on Ash Wednesday, we are offered the opportunity to confess our sins and have ashes placed on our forehead. Among the various interpretations, ashes can be a sign of repentance, purification, mourning or even an acknowledgement of our mortality. In Old Testament times, people placed ashes on their foreheads as a sign of mourning and also as a sign of repentance. In the Scriptural passage which is the basis of this reflection, Daniel seeks God’s help by engaging in prayer and confession. As signs of his humble approach to God, he wears sackcloth, a dark, uncomfortable fabric made of goat hair, and he puts ashes on his body. When you have ashes placed on your forehead, what do they mean to you? For you, are the ashes a sign that you have been marked with the cross of Christ, the sign first placed on your forehead in baptism? Or are they a sign of your mortality, or a sign of your repentance?

Why do some faith traditions, such as the Lutheran Church, in which I serve, encourage worshippers to confess their sins, either with a group confession, personal reflection, or individual confession? In a confession of sins, we acknowledge before God that we have done things which have hurt ourselves or other people, or that we have failed to do things which would have helped someone else. We admit that we have not been able to live up to God’s full expectation for us. We don’t confess the things we have done wrong in order to make ourselves feel bad or to beat ourselves up. We confess so that God can restore us. God releases us from the torment of the things we have done wrong or neglected to do. God frees us from the power of wrong doing so that our lives can be turned around.

I like to think of the ashes on my forehead as a sign that God has purified and cleansed me. The words to a hymn that our choir is singing in worship tonight sum things up for me. (This song was written by Tony Alonso and produced by GIA Publications.) When I hear the choir sing “Sign us with ashes, merciful God. Sign us and make us your own,” I feel the ashes on my forehead and remember that that God loves me and forgives me. I remember that God has made me God's own in baptism. I look forward to the Lenten time as a way of reclaiming my identity as a baptized child of God.

Think about the ashes you might receive on your forehead and pray about what they could mean to you and what God’s action in your life means.

Prayer Themes for the Day

Pray for yourself that the Lenten season which begins today might be a time of reflection, repentance and reconciliation. Pray that you will be able to allow God to work in your life, releasing you from anything that is troubling or imprisoning you. Pray that in your confession and repentance, God will turn your life around.

Monday, February 15, 2010

Reflections on the trip from the Mountain to the Valley

As we journey the three short days from Transfiguration Sunday to Ash Wednesday, we make a journey that has much in common with the trip that Peter, James and John made down the mountain, after they saw a transformation in Jesus and heard God identify Jesus as God's son. The disciples had the spiritual "high" of being in the presence of God. Only too quickly, they were back down with the crowds in the valley, and reminded of their inability to cure a little boy and chastised by Jesus for their lack of faith. From a spiritual pinnacle they dropped back in to everyday life with all its problems, difficulties and failings. As if that were not enough, they kept hearing Jesus talk about his death. They didn't quite understand it, but they knew enough to be unsettled.

Now we, for the past six weeks, have been celebrating the Epiphany season: enjoying the Feast of Epiphany with its lights, singing and joy, hearing the stories of how Jesus came to be known early in his ministry, and savoring this time of his early miracles. With the disciples, we marveled at Jesus transfiguration. We have enjoyed this season of light that brightens the darkness of our winter season.

Now, only too quickly Lent approaches. Quickly we are moving from the joyous time of Epiphany into the time of reflection, prayer and spiritual preparation of Lent. For those of us who live in northern New England, this is still a dark time of year. Although the sun is brighter and higher than in December, it is still very much winter. We know that it will be weeks until we see the first crocus. This descent into Lent, in a northern winter climate, is sometimes very difficult both mentally and spiritually. We would like to transit quickly to spring, Easter and the resurrection. But just as Jesus lingered in the wilderness for 40 days, being prepared for his ministry, we are called to linger for 40 days in Lent. We linger for 40 days in the valley of Lent. While we are in this valley, we slow down, but are not idle. We slow down so that we can pray and reflect--so that we can linger and listen. God told the disciples to listen to God's Son. God tells us also to listen. In order to listen, we have to slow down and quiet all the voices that are demanding our attention.

It may be easier and more fruitful to think of Lent as a time of quiet and listening rather than fasting and deprivation. In our rushed, busy, frenetic culture, having a time to linger and listen may be a gift that calms our spirits and makes us even more ready to enjoy the celebration of the resurrection. May you approach Lent with a longing to listen and reflect and may you sense, ever more deeply, the presence of God in this time.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Reflections on a Mountain Top Experience

This Sunday, we will read Luke's story of the disciples experience with Jesus on a mountaintop, when they saw Jesus transformed in front of their eyes. (Luke 9:28-43). I often wonder what Peter, James and John went through in that trip up and down the mountain. Obviously, I can't walk in Peter's shoes, or crawl inside his mind to really understand his experience, but I like to speculate about what was going on for him. First off, I wonder if Peter questioned why they were following Jesus up a mountain. Was it a steep trail, did they linger looking at scenery, or did they just head for the top. They were obviously tired when they got to the top because the story tells us they were weighed down with sleep--maybe Jesus had chosen a really steep trail or had really set a quick pace to the top--kind of like they were at a workout camp.

In their sleepiness, they look up and see a sight that astounds them. Jesus is appearing dazzling white and absolutely glowing. You know the kind of glow that people have when something great is having—the kind of glow that a bride has at her wedding. As if Jesus’ glow is not enough, Moses and Elijah show up. What were Peter, James and John thinking. Did they pinch themselves to see if they were really awake. Did they wonder why Elijah and Moses were there to accompany Jesus? Did they hear the two great prophets giving advice to Jesus to guide him through his upcoming difficult days in Jerusalem.

Whatever was going through Peter’s mind when he told Jesus that he would build huts for Elijah, Moses and Jesus? Did he want to be of service; did he want to do something nice for these three great people; did he want them to stay, so he could prolong the experience? Did the experience so overwhelm him that he just wanted to do something practical?

Then I wonder what it felt like to hear a voice from the clouds. The story indicates that it was terrifying. Did Peter or James or John realize that the voice belonged to God? Did they think that perhaps they would see God face to face? Did they understand what was meant by the voice claiming Jesus as its own son? Did they wonder if they were going to be whisked off the earth like Elijah had been? Were they perhaps laying face down on the ground wondering what would happen next?

If their walk up the hill was rugged and exhausting, what was their trip downhill like? Were their heads still back on the mountain top puzzling out what had happened? While they were thinking about the experience, did their feet stumble or did they float back down the mountain after their other worldly experience? Did they have words to express what had happened to them?

Very few of us will ever hear God speak to us, but many of us may be moved God’s spirit. Have you ever felt the Holy Spirit’s presence guiding or coaching you? Have you been able to hold onto this experience in your mind? Have you followed the Spirit’s lead or have you ever wished that you had? As you puzzle through your daily life, struggle with decisions facing you, or work through a difficult situation may God’s Spirit walk alongside of you guiding and leading you.

Monday, February 8, 2010

What was it like to hang around Jesus?

It is easy, somehow, to think that the first disciples were special or in some way prepared for the encounters they had with Jesus. Yet if you read the stories of how Jesus called the disciples to follow him, it becomes clear that they were just ordinary folks, doing ordinary jobs. I especially like the stories of Jesus and Peter (or Simon Peter as he is sometimes known), particularly those from the beginning of Jesus' ministry. Peter seems like the kind of guy that you could hang out with. In fact, Peter's first recorded interaction with Jesus is at Peter's own home. In seems like Peter had invited the guys back to his house for dinner after worship at the Synagogue. When they got home, Peter's mother-in-law was sick in bed with a fever. Jesus healed her so quickly that she was able to help with dinner preparations. The speed of that healing must have made Peter sit up and take notice, realizing that Jesus had some kind of special power.

The next encounter we hear about between Jesus and Peter is when Jesus asks to use Peter's boat as a pulpit. Peter was hanging around on the beach washing out his fishing nets when a whole bunch of people followed Jesus down to the water to hear him preach the Word of God. So that he wouldn't feel so crowded, Jesus asked Peter to let him preach from the boat, pushed out a bit from shore. I wonder what Peter heard in the words that Jesus preached. I wonder what Peter thought about all the crowds following Jesus. And then when Jesus finished preaching he gave Peter a very unusual command. He told Peter to go out and do so more fishing.

I really wonder about how Peter felt about that command from Jesus to "go fish". Peter, like any businessman, was probably proud of his fishing business and his own skills in fishing. He knew the ropes. He knew that in the Sea of Galilee you fished with nets at night. He knew the fishing had been terrible the night before. I would guess that he was ready to go home and catch a nap. I wonder what he thought about this carpenter/cum itinerant preacher telling him how and when to fish. Peter's response to Jesus reflects his dismay at Jesus' order. "We were out all night and didn't even catch a minnow. Now you want me to go back out in the daytime. If YOU command me to do it, I will." I wonder if Peter was questioning Jesus' sanity, or resenting the lost of sleep it would cost him, or thinking about having to get his clean nets all messed up again.

When Peter followed Jesus' command, he caught fish beyond belief--so many fish that his nets tore and his boat partially sank. He had all these fish to deal with, torn nets to repair and a water-logged boat to salvage. Yet when he came ashore, he followed Jesus immediately. Jesus' power must have really impressed this "down to earth" fisherman for Peter to leave his livelihood and wander off with Jesus. I wonder if he came back occasionally and kept his fishing business up. I wonder if his father and perhaps his brothers kept the business going. What was it like to be wandering around with Jesus as he preached, healed and engaged in confrontation with people in authority? Did Peter sense he was into something "big"? I don't think Peter had any idea of what he was getting into, when he decided to go hang around with Jesus. Yet he followed!!!

What would it be like if anyone of us, got so excited that we followed a call to do something that Jesus asked us to do? What would it feel like? How would our lives change? Would we feel content, challenged, or "in over our heads'?

Monday, February 1, 2010

Through a mirror dimly!!

One of the lines from the 13th Chapter of Corinthians has always caught my attention: "For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then we will see face to face." What does it mean to see in a mirror dimly? Does it mean that we see our own reflection dimly? Does it mean that we are looking through the mirror (perhaps with an imperfectly mirrored finish) and seeing only the bare outline of what is beyond the mirror? When Paul wrote these words, most mirrors were made from polished bronze, so I would imagine that images were fairly dim and without much resolution. Certainly not HDTV quality!

It seems somewhat contrary that we read this verse during the Epiphany season--a season when our usual focus is on light and the revelation of Jesus as the Messiah. This line from Scripture doesn't emphasize how clear things are to us now, rather it forces us to confront our inability to see or understand things completely. We might experience revelation, but by definition it will be an incomplete revelation! From a Biblical context standpoint, this line is set in the middle of a long passage on the attributes of love (1 Corinthians 13:1-13). Set in this context, the idea of seeing in a mirror dimly may help us to think about relationships both with other human beings and with God.

We are human, imperfect, and granted only incomplete or partial understanding. Even when we love another person deeply, we cannot fully understand that person or really "walk in his or her moccasins." In our relationship with God, we are granted even less understanding. We hear the Good News that God comes to us in Jesus and saves us, but we cannot really understand God or why God sent Jesus to save us. We are given glimpses of God through Scripture and the witness of Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh. But because we see in the mirror dimly, we are unable to take these glimpses and integrate them into a whole image of God. For us, God remains shrouded in mystery now. The revelation of God, when we will see God face to face, will come at some future time as yet undesignated.
For now, we have to be content with an understanding that is limited by the resolution of the mirror through which we view the world.

May you live in the future hope of a complete revelation and the time when you see God face to face.