Yesterday I asked the question, ”Is the measure of human faithfulness really the fullness of our stomachs?” Jesus was not unaware of this problem with the behavior of human beings. He spoke about it, as a matter of fact. But just what does his reply mean? What do his words mean in our lives? Meditate on the words of Jesus and see if you can discern their meaning for your life. Hear the word of the Lord:
So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus. When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, "Rabbi, when did you come here?"
Jesus answered them, "Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal."
Then they said to him, "What must we do to perform the works of God?"
Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent."
So they said to him, "What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'"
Then Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."
They said to him, "Sir, give us this bread always."
Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
Blessings,
Ron
John 6:24-35
Showing posts with label providence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label providence. Show all posts
Friday, August 7, 2009
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Complaints about the menu ...
Hear the word of the Lord:
The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. The Israelites said to them, "If only we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger."
God hears our cries for help, sends a leader to bring us salvation, exerts his power to break the bonds of our oppression, delivers us from the house of slavery, changes the obstacles that confront us into a pathway, and protects us from the backlash of others who resent and resist our attempt to be a holy people. Then, when we sit at his table, we complain about the menu.
Is the measure of human faithfulness really the fullness of our stomachs?
I wonder if God ever thinks, “I had this wonderful plan to take care of you, but because you’ve complained, just forget it.” Evidently he resists that temptation.
Then the LORD said to Moses, "I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day. In that way I will test them, whether they will follow my instruction or not.
Then Moses said to Aaron, "Say to the whole congregation of the Israelites, 'Draw near to the LORD, for he has heard your complaining.'" And as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the Israelites, they looked toward the wilderness, and the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud.
The LORD spoke to Moses and said, "I have heard the complaining of the Israelites; say to them, 'At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread; then you shall know that I am the LORD your God.'"
In the evening quails came up and covered the camp; and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground.
When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was.
Moses said to them, "It is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat.”
We may not understand what it is that God is giving us, nor may we comprehend exactly how what he gives us provides for our futures. Yet we can know this; the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. He will keep his promises, he will walk with his people, he will care for their needs.
May we have faith in his just-in-time providence.
Blessings,
Ron
Exodus 16:2-4, 9-15
The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. The Israelites said to them, "If only we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger."
God hears our cries for help, sends a leader to bring us salvation, exerts his power to break the bonds of our oppression, delivers us from the house of slavery, changes the obstacles that confront us into a pathway, and protects us from the backlash of others who resent and resist our attempt to be a holy people. Then, when we sit at his table, we complain about the menu.
Is the measure of human faithfulness really the fullness of our stomachs?
I wonder if God ever thinks, “I had this wonderful plan to take care of you, but because you’ve complained, just forget it.” Evidently he resists that temptation.
Then the LORD said to Moses, "I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day. In that way I will test them, whether they will follow my instruction or not.
Then Moses said to Aaron, "Say to the whole congregation of the Israelites, 'Draw near to the LORD, for he has heard your complaining.'" And as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the Israelites, they looked toward the wilderness, and the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud.
The LORD spoke to Moses and said, "I have heard the complaining of the Israelites; say to them, 'At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread; then you shall know that I am the LORD your God.'"
In the evening quails came up and covered the camp; and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground.
When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was.
Moses said to them, "It is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat.”
We may not understand what it is that God is giving us, nor may we comprehend exactly how what he gives us provides for our futures. Yet we can know this; the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. He will keep his promises, he will walk with his people, he will care for their needs.
May we have faith in his just-in-time providence.
Blessings,
Ron
Exodus 16:2-4, 9-15
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Opening the doors of heaven ...
Hear the word of the Lord:
Yet he commanded the skies above,
and opened the doors of heaven;
he rained down on them manna to eat,
and gave them the grain of heaven.
Mortals ate of the bread of angels;
he sent them food in abundance.
He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens,
and by his power he led out the south wind;
he rained flesh upon them like dust,
winged birds like the sand of the seas;
he let them fall within their camp,
all around their dwellings.
And they ate and were well filled,
for he gave them what they craved.
Psalm 78:23-29
This is beautiful Hebrew poetry,
parallel line answering and expanding its partner.
“Raining down on them manna” and
“Gave them the grain of heaven.”
This language is both powerful and beautiful,
while emphasizing the power and beauty of God.
Yet this psalm is more than beautiful language about God;
it is a description of God’s power for God’s people.
It is not just that God meets his people’s needs,
nor that he fills them, even with the bread of heaven.
It is that God delivers these blessings to our doorstep,
close enough to nearly make us stumble over them.
Not just in mere adequacy does he provide,
but his blessings are like “the sand of the seas.”
Surely a God like this deserves this beautiful psalm;
certainly our God is worthy of our most powerful praise.
May we see his blessings for us,
and not have to stumble over them.
May we praise him for those blessings today,
and not make him wait for our thankfulness.
Grace and peace,
Ron
Yet he commanded the skies above,
and opened the doors of heaven;
he rained down on them manna to eat,
and gave them the grain of heaven.
Mortals ate of the bread of angels;
he sent them food in abundance.
He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens,
and by his power he led out the south wind;
he rained flesh upon them like dust,
winged birds like the sand of the seas;
he let them fall within their camp,
all around their dwellings.
And they ate and were well filled,
for he gave them what they craved.
Psalm 78:23-29
This is beautiful Hebrew poetry,
parallel line answering and expanding its partner.
“Raining down on them manna” and
“Gave them the grain of heaven.”
This language is both powerful and beautiful,
while emphasizing the power and beauty of God.
Yet this psalm is more than beautiful language about God;
it is a description of God’s power for God’s people.
It is not just that God meets his people’s needs,
nor that he fills them, even with the bread of heaven.
It is that God delivers these blessings to our doorstep,
close enough to nearly make us stumble over them.
Not just in mere adequacy does he provide,
but his blessings are like “the sand of the seas.”
Surely a God like this deserves this beautiful psalm;
certainly our God is worthy of our most powerful praise.
May we see his blessings for us,
and not have to stumble over them.
May we praise him for those blessings today,
and not make him wait for our thankfulness.
Grace and peace,
Ron
Thursday, July 23, 2009
I shall dwell ...
God is our divine host; he makes room for us
and provides for us, even in the midst of difficulty.
Read and meditate on this old, familiar psalm, but
see it this time from the perspective of God’s hospitality.
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters;
he restores my soul.
He leads me in right paths
for his name's sake.
Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
I fear no evil;
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff —
they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
my whole life long.
Blessings,
Ron
Psalm 23 – NRSV
and provides for us, even in the midst of difficulty.
Read and meditate on this old, familiar psalm, but
see it this time from the perspective of God’s hospitality.
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters;
he restores my soul.
He leads me in right paths
for his name's sake.
Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
I fear no evil;
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff —
they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
my whole life long.
Blessings,
Ron
Psalm 23 – NRSV
Monday, July 20, 2009
Taking into giving ...
Today, a prayer from Walter Brueggemann:
We Are Takers
You are the giver of all good things.
All good things are sent from heaven above,
rain and sun,
day and night,
justice and righteousness,
bread to the eater and
seed to the sower,
peace to the old,
energy to the young,
joy to the babes.
We are takers, who take from you,
day by day, daily bread,
taking all we need as you supply,
taking in gratitude and wonder and joy.
And then taking more,
taking more than we need,
taking more than you give us,
taking from our sisters and brothers,
taking from the poor and the weak,
taking because we are frightened, and so greedy,
taking because we are anxious, and so fearful,
taking because we are so driven, and so uncaring.
Give us peace beyond our fear, and so end our greed.
Give us well-being beyond our anxiety, and so end our fear.
Give us abundance beyond our drivenness,
and so end our uncaring.
Turn our taking into giving … since we are in your giving image:
make us giving like you,
giving gladly and not taking,
giving in abundance, not taking,
giving in joy, not taking,
giving as he gave himself up for us all,
giving, never taking.
Amen.
Blessings,
Ron
We Are Takers
You are the giver of all good things.
All good things are sent from heaven above,
rain and sun,
day and night,
justice and righteousness,
bread to the eater and
seed to the sower,
peace to the old,
energy to the young,
joy to the babes.
We are takers, who take from you,
day by day, daily bread,
taking all we need as you supply,
taking in gratitude and wonder and joy.
And then taking more,
taking more than we need,
taking more than you give us,
taking from our sisters and brothers,
taking from the poor and the weak,
taking because we are frightened, and so greedy,
taking because we are anxious, and so fearful,
taking because we are so driven, and so uncaring.
Give us peace beyond our fear, and so end our greed.
Give us well-being beyond our anxiety, and so end our fear.
Give us abundance beyond our drivenness,
and so end our uncaring.
Turn our taking into giving … since we are in your giving image:
make us giving like you,
giving gladly and not taking,
giving in abundance, not taking,
giving in joy, not taking,
giving as he gave himself up for us all,
giving, never taking.
Amen.
Blessings,
Ron
Saturday, July 18, 2009
In the vine ...
Hear the word of God:
"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
(John 15:1-8, NIV)
You are the vine, I am a branch
Life flows from the vine out through the branches. When Jesus calls himself the true vine, he describes our relationship with him as one of dependence. We cannot bear fruit without remaining connected to the vine. A branch by itself is nothing; the only thing to do is cut it off. A vine has a special connection with its branches, though. As long as the branches are connected to the vine, the vine sends out life to the branches
You are the vine, I am a branch
"Remain in me and I will remain in you," Jesus says, indicating the scope of that connection. The fullest realization of who Jesus is comes when we are so fully consumed and subsumed in him that we are unable to distinguish who we are apart from who he is. When we remain in Jesus and he remains in us, we know who he is at a gut-level. We have become so saturated with who he is that we know his identity deep down, in the pits of our stomachs.
You are the vine, I am a branch
This call means letting go of the pride and self-sufficiency that suffocate us. Holding to the true vine means acknowledging that he is the vine and we are branches. We cannot do anything on our own, so we must learn to abide in the vine. We cannot produce fruit without him, without the power that always flow from vine out to branches, never the other way around.
You are the vine, I am a branch
Our fruitfulness brings glory to God, and so he prunes us to make us even more fruitful. Here is yet another dimension of Jesus' metaphor - as branches, we are the agents of God's work in the world, the hands through which he touches the world. We are the fruit-bearers of the true vine, receiving life and power from the vine and bearing fruit that is visible to all. A vine does not simply bear fruit itself, it breathes life into its branches so that they can bear fruit.
You are the vine, I am a branch
Blessings,
Greg
"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
(John 15:1-8, NIV)
You are the vine, I am a branch
Life flows from the vine out through the branches. When Jesus calls himself the true vine, he describes our relationship with him as one of dependence. We cannot bear fruit without remaining connected to the vine. A branch by itself is nothing; the only thing to do is cut it off. A vine has a special connection with its branches, though. As long as the branches are connected to the vine, the vine sends out life to the branches
You are the vine, I am a branch
"Remain in me and I will remain in you," Jesus says, indicating the scope of that connection. The fullest realization of who Jesus is comes when we are so fully consumed and subsumed in him that we are unable to distinguish who we are apart from who he is. When we remain in Jesus and he remains in us, we know who he is at a gut-level. We have become so saturated with who he is that we know his identity deep down, in the pits of our stomachs.
You are the vine, I am a branch
This call means letting go of the pride and self-sufficiency that suffocate us. Holding to the true vine means acknowledging that he is the vine and we are branches. We cannot do anything on our own, so we must learn to abide in the vine. We cannot produce fruit without him, without the power that always flow from vine out to branches, never the other way around.
You are the vine, I am a branch
Our fruitfulness brings glory to God, and so he prunes us to make us even more fruitful. Here is yet another dimension of Jesus' metaphor - as branches, we are the agents of God's work in the world, the hands through which he touches the world. We are the fruit-bearers of the true vine, receiving life and power from the vine and bearing fruit that is visible to all. A vine does not simply bear fruit itself, it breathes life into its branches so that they can bear fruit.
You are the vine, I am a branch
Blessings,
Greg
Friday, June 19, 2009
Someone would scatter seed ...
Hear the words of Jesus:
"The kingdom of God is as if
someone would scatter seed on the ground,
and would sleep and rise night and day,
and the seed would sprout and grow,
he does not know how.
The earth produces of itself, first the stalk,
then the head, then the full grain in the head.
But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle,
because the harvest has come."
God is the just-in-time God.
He watches us sow ideas and possibilities and real seeds, too.
He encourages us to do this very thing.
The seeds take root and grow in ways that we don’t understand,
but which we marvel to watch.
Our part was only to plant the seed; it’s not like we really
did anything powerful ourselves.
God does the real, and sometimes mysterious, work.
Yet, even though we don’t understand how it happens,
when the time of need comes, the time of harvest comes.
Then we find that God has transformed the seed into a harvest
that provides just what we need.
God is the just-in-time God.
He also said,
"With what can we compare the kingdom of God,
or what parable will we use for it?
It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground,
is the smallest of all the seeds on earth;
yet when it is sown it grows up
and becomes the greatest of all shrubs,
and puts forth large branches,
so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade."
Remember, when earlier this week we spoke of the cedar tree
which God would form from the sprig of an old tree?
Doesn’t this language about the mustard bush sound familiar?
Is Jesus taking an idea that is literally king-sized and making it
more the size that a real person could understand and feel
comfortable with?
Jesus compares the kingdom to something that
doesn’t seem significant to world, does it?
Does the kingdom of God seem significant to our world today?
Feminists scoff at the power structures that the word kingdom
even implies as being irrelevant now.
The rugged American individualist laughs at the need for
a community or kingdom, because doesn’t everyone know
that the existence of the individual is all that is truly significant?
Atheists ridicule the idea of God, much less that a group of people
should think that they are being gathered together as a people.
Yet this seemingly insignificant thing has a strange power,
and even attraction. Mustard adds a spice to life,
a unique scent and flavor not found elsewhere.
This bush provides sustenance, too.
The leaves of the mustard plant were used to prepare
delicious meals, even in the time of Jesus.
And in this plant, there is again the hope of peace
in the natural order: the differing birds finding a place to nest.
The kingdom brings all of these things.
With many such parables he spoke the word to them,
as they were able to hear it;
he did not speak to them except in parables,
but he explained everything in private to his disciples.
May we spend time with God’s word in meditation and prayer
so that God may reveal to us how his word can shape us
as it shaped his first disciples.
Grace and peace,
Ron
Mark 4:26-34 – NRSV
"The kingdom of God is as if
someone would scatter seed on the ground,
and would sleep and rise night and day,
and the seed would sprout and grow,
he does not know how.
The earth produces of itself, first the stalk,
then the head, then the full grain in the head.
But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle,
because the harvest has come."
God is the just-in-time God.
He watches us sow ideas and possibilities and real seeds, too.
He encourages us to do this very thing.
The seeds take root and grow in ways that we don’t understand,
but which we marvel to watch.
Our part was only to plant the seed; it’s not like we really
did anything powerful ourselves.
God does the real, and sometimes mysterious, work.
Yet, even though we don’t understand how it happens,
when the time of need comes, the time of harvest comes.
Then we find that God has transformed the seed into a harvest
that provides just what we need.
God is the just-in-time God.
He also said,
"With what can we compare the kingdom of God,
or what parable will we use for it?
It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground,
is the smallest of all the seeds on earth;
yet when it is sown it grows up
and becomes the greatest of all shrubs,
and puts forth large branches,
so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade."
Remember, when earlier this week we spoke of the cedar tree
which God would form from the sprig of an old tree?
Doesn’t this language about the mustard bush sound familiar?
Is Jesus taking an idea that is literally king-sized and making it
more the size that a real person could understand and feel
comfortable with?
Jesus compares the kingdom to something that
doesn’t seem significant to world, does it?
Does the kingdom of God seem significant to our world today?
Feminists scoff at the power structures that the word kingdom
even implies as being irrelevant now.
The rugged American individualist laughs at the need for
a community or kingdom, because doesn’t everyone know
that the existence of the individual is all that is truly significant?
Atheists ridicule the idea of God, much less that a group of people
should think that they are being gathered together as a people.
Yet this seemingly insignificant thing has a strange power,
and even attraction. Mustard adds a spice to life,
a unique scent and flavor not found elsewhere.
This bush provides sustenance, too.
The leaves of the mustard plant were used to prepare
delicious meals, even in the time of Jesus.
And in this plant, there is again the hope of peace
in the natural order: the differing birds finding a place to nest.
The kingdom brings all of these things.
With many such parables he spoke the word to them,
as they were able to hear it;
he did not speak to them except in parables,
but he explained everything in private to his disciples.
May we spend time with God’s word in meditation and prayer
so that God may reveal to us how his word can shape us
as it shaped his first disciples.
Grace and peace,
Ron
Mark 4:26-34 – NRSV
Friday, April 3, 2009
What do you seek?
Hear the word of God:
That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn't life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don't plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren't you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?
And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don't work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?
So don't worry about these things, saying, 'What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?' These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
So don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today.
Matthew 6:25-34
How well have you been seeking lately? Has that been where your main passions and heart have been focused? For many of us, we may not be able to say that. We may say that we have been too busy with the day to day. We have had so many things to catch up on. We have had so many people demanding our time. Could you imagine living a life with no concerns like the lilies of the field? Could you imagine just getting up and going out like the birds and collecting just what you needed for that moment? These animals and plants and nature all allow God to be their supply.
What would this look like for a Christian? We don’t plan our lives around how much money or how many things that we have. We just live for the day and try our best to be our best for God. We try our best to influence as many as possible that day. We try our best to be there for our families first. We try our best to Seek God above all else! This comes through study, prayer, silence and solitude with God, worship, and just being with our maker. Some days the simple life sounds so beautiful and some days it seems like something that would be so hard to obtain. I guess none of us will ever find out unless we start out on that journey and seek!
Jason
That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn't life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don't plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren't you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?
And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don't work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?
So don't worry about these things, saying, 'What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?' These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
So don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today.
Matthew 6:25-34
How well have you been seeking lately? Has that been where your main passions and heart have been focused? For many of us, we may not be able to say that. We may say that we have been too busy with the day to day. We have had so many things to catch up on. We have had so many people demanding our time. Could you imagine living a life with no concerns like the lilies of the field? Could you imagine just getting up and going out like the birds and collecting just what you needed for that moment? These animals and plants and nature all allow God to be their supply.
What would this look like for a Christian? We don’t plan our lives around how much money or how many things that we have. We just live for the day and try our best to be our best for God. We try our best to influence as many as possible that day. We try our best to be there for our families first. We try our best to Seek God above all else! This comes through study, prayer, silence and solitude with God, worship, and just being with our maker. Some days the simple life sounds so beautiful and some days it seems like something that would be so hard to obtain. I guess none of us will ever find out unless we start out on that journey and seek!
Jason
Monday, December 1, 2008
Mighty fine wine ...
Jesus easily proves that he is the kind of guest that any hospitable host would want:
On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, "They have no wine."
And Jesus said to her, "Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come."
His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you."
Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to them, "Fill the jars with water." And they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, "Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward." So they took it.
When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom and said to him, "Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now."
Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.
John 2:1-11 – NRSV
All of us have been to a wedding where there was not enough to eat or to drink; it’s an uncomfortable moment, isn’t it? The lack of food or drink hovers over the party as an unspoken critique of the hospitality of the host. Yet the society in which Jesus lived put much more pressure on the host – the wedding meal was supposed to be a feast that indicated the unbridled joy of the groom and his new wife; there was no other meal for the guests that evening. Yet at the precise moment that the host is most likely to be embarrassed by a failure to provide properly for his guests, Jesus intervenes. He does not wave his hand over one more pint of punch. Jesus makes about 150 gallons of the very finest wine, a commodity in a quantity that could easily cost $15,000 in today’s economy. Evidently it was quite a wedding! How grand did this host and his bride appear to be!
As John tells us the story, the host remains oblivious to the blessing given by his guest. He may very well have been surrounded by the presents of so many other guests: promptly delivered in person, carefully listed by a servant, and lavishly thanked by the couple. Yet the grandest gift of them all, one of immense monetary value, one of immeasurable social value, was given with no “From: Jesus” card attached. Only the servants and the disciples of Jesus knew.
How many times is Jesus the silent guest at our table? How often does his power provide the embarrassment of riches that we serve? The blessings which prevent our embarrassment before our guests? I don’t suppose that we could count the ways that he enriches our hospitality, could we? Because in truth, all blessings come from God.
We might easily respond, “I’ve never had Jesus physically at my table.” Yet since Jesus challenged us to be hospitable to even “the least of these,” because in doing so we minister to Jesus, we ought to believe that in feeding, clothing, or sheltering an outcast soul, and thus comforting Jesus, that this outcast soul may very well be able to bless us as Jesus is able to bless us. Not as compensation or appreciation, but in some other category of blessing altogether.
Think about it. Pray about it. Try practicing it with these wonderful blessings of outcast children in our care today.
Blessings,
Ron
On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, "They have no wine."
And Jesus said to her, "Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come."
His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you."
Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to them, "Fill the jars with water." And they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, "Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward." So they took it.
When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom and said to him, "Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now."
Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.
John 2:1-11 – NRSV
All of us have been to a wedding where there was not enough to eat or to drink; it’s an uncomfortable moment, isn’t it? The lack of food or drink hovers over the party as an unspoken critique of the hospitality of the host. Yet the society in which Jesus lived put much more pressure on the host – the wedding meal was supposed to be a feast that indicated the unbridled joy of the groom and his new wife; there was no other meal for the guests that evening. Yet at the precise moment that the host is most likely to be embarrassed by a failure to provide properly for his guests, Jesus intervenes. He does not wave his hand over one more pint of punch. Jesus makes about 150 gallons of the very finest wine, a commodity in a quantity that could easily cost $15,000 in today’s economy. Evidently it was quite a wedding! How grand did this host and his bride appear to be!
As John tells us the story, the host remains oblivious to the blessing given by his guest. He may very well have been surrounded by the presents of so many other guests: promptly delivered in person, carefully listed by a servant, and lavishly thanked by the couple. Yet the grandest gift of them all, one of immense monetary value, one of immeasurable social value, was given with no “From: Jesus” card attached. Only the servants and the disciples of Jesus knew.
How many times is Jesus the silent guest at our table? How often does his power provide the embarrassment of riches that we serve? The blessings which prevent our embarrassment before our guests? I don’t suppose that we could count the ways that he enriches our hospitality, could we? Because in truth, all blessings come from God.
We might easily respond, “I’ve never had Jesus physically at my table.” Yet since Jesus challenged us to be hospitable to even “the least of these,” because in doing so we minister to Jesus, we ought to believe that in feeding, clothing, or sheltering an outcast soul, and thus comforting Jesus, that this outcast soul may very well be able to bless us as Jesus is able to bless us. Not as compensation or appreciation, but in some other category of blessing altogether.
Think about it. Pray about it. Try practicing it with these wonderful blessings of outcast children in our care today.
Blessings,
Ron
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Make a small biscuit ...
Mark Hamilton thinks that God is an unusual travel agent.
Elijah needs a little time out of town because the stresses of being a prophet have become too much. God gives him directions, and tells him to hurry if he is going to make his connections. Once he has arrived at Kerith Canyon on the far side of the Jordan, he camps out there alongside the brook. The dining arrangements are unique, to say the least. At mealtime, birds bring Elijah’s breakfast, or supper, as he needs them and Elijah drinks from the brook. But, like some hotels that you and I have stayed at overseas, there are water problems so Elijah has to go.
God then gives Elijah the rest of his itinerary. Hear the story:
Then God spoke to him: "Get up and go to Zarephath in Sidon and live there. I've instructed a woman who lives there, a widow, to feed you."
So he got up and went to Zarephath. As he came to the entrance of the village he met a woman, a widow, gathering firewood. He asked her, "Please, would you bring me a little water in a jug? I need a drink." As she went to get it, he called out, "And while you're at it, would you bring me something to eat?"
She said, "I swear, as surely as your God lives, I don't have so much as a biscuit. I have a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a bottle; you found me scratching together just enough firewood to make a last meal for my son and me. After we eat it, we'll die."
Elijah said to her, "Don't worry about a thing. Go ahead and do what you've said. But first make a small biscuit for me and bring it back here. Then go ahead and make a meal from what's left for you and your son. This is the word of the God of Israel: 'The jar of flour will not run out and the bottle of oil will not become empty before God sends rain on the land and ends this drought.'"
And she went right off and did it, did just as Elijah asked. And it turned out as he said — daily food for her and her family. The jar of meal didn't run out and the bottle of oil didn't become empty: God's promise fulfilled to the letter, exactly as Elijah had delivered it!
Later on the woman's son became sick. The sickness took a turn for the worse — and then he stopped breathing.
The woman said to Elijah, "Why did you ever show up here in the first place — a holy man barging in, exposing my sins, and killing my son?"
Elijah said, "Hand me your son."
He then took him from her bosom, carried him up to the loft where he was staying, and laid him on his bed. Then he prayed, "O God, my God, why have you brought this terrible thing on this widow who has opened her home to me? Why have you killed her son?"
Three times he stretched himself out full-length on the boy, praying with all his might, "God, my God, put breath back into this boy's body!" God listened to Elijah's prayer and put breath back into his body — he was alive! Elijah picked the boy up, carried him downstairs from the loft, and gave him to his mother. "Here's your son," said Elijah, "alive!"
The woman said to Elijah, "I see it all now — you are a holy man. When you speak, God speaks — a true word!"
1 Kings 17:8-24 (from THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language © 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved.)
What are the issues that mark hospitality in this story?
First, we shouldn’t be quick to judge who is able to offer hospitality. Elijah was hosted by a flock of birds! And later, he is cared for by a widow trying to support her son at a time when there was no Social Security or welfare system as we know it. Yet hospitality provided everything that Elijah needed.
That is because, second, hospitality involves simplicity. It is not that the gifts of the host are necessarily lavish; that may not be possible. But the love and the care involved in hospitality are lavish because they go well beyond self-interest.
Third, the real provider of sustenance in hospitality is God. God provided the food for the birds to bring to Elijah, and he kept the jar and bottle full of flour and oil as well. Because of the widow’s willingness to share in hospitality, God provided even more for the host than she would have had otherwise.
Finally, we see once again that in true hospitality, the guest blesses the host at least as much as the host blesses the guest. Yes, Elijah is fed, but the wherewithal to do that is a blessing that God gives through Elijah. And what would the widow have done to heal her son if not for her extraordinary guest? The healing is hardly repayment in kind (Luke 14:12-14), but a blessing from God of another kind altogether.
Today, as we are about the ministry of hospitality, providing a safe place for needy children or the other important tasks of our day, let’s think about these four markers of hospitality and how we can be better hosts and guests. Even more, let us be thankful to God, the true provider, for the ways that he shows hospitality to us in this, his world.
Blessings,
Ron
Elijah needs a little time out of town because the stresses of being a prophet have become too much. God gives him directions, and tells him to hurry if he is going to make his connections. Once he has arrived at Kerith Canyon on the far side of the Jordan, he camps out there alongside the brook. The dining arrangements are unique, to say the least. At mealtime, birds bring Elijah’s breakfast, or supper, as he needs them and Elijah drinks from the brook. But, like some hotels that you and I have stayed at overseas, there are water problems so Elijah has to go.
God then gives Elijah the rest of his itinerary. Hear the story:
Then God spoke to him: "Get up and go to Zarephath in Sidon and live there. I've instructed a woman who lives there, a widow, to feed you."
So he got up and went to Zarephath. As he came to the entrance of the village he met a woman, a widow, gathering firewood. He asked her, "Please, would you bring me a little water in a jug? I need a drink." As she went to get it, he called out, "And while you're at it, would you bring me something to eat?"
She said, "I swear, as surely as your God lives, I don't have so much as a biscuit. I have a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a bottle; you found me scratching together just enough firewood to make a last meal for my son and me. After we eat it, we'll die."
Elijah said to her, "Don't worry about a thing. Go ahead and do what you've said. But first make a small biscuit for me and bring it back here. Then go ahead and make a meal from what's left for you and your son. This is the word of the God of Israel: 'The jar of flour will not run out and the bottle of oil will not become empty before God sends rain on the land and ends this drought.'"
And she went right off and did it, did just as Elijah asked. And it turned out as he said — daily food for her and her family. The jar of meal didn't run out and the bottle of oil didn't become empty: God's promise fulfilled to the letter, exactly as Elijah had delivered it!
Later on the woman's son became sick. The sickness took a turn for the worse — and then he stopped breathing.
The woman said to Elijah, "Why did you ever show up here in the first place — a holy man barging in, exposing my sins, and killing my son?"
Elijah said, "Hand me your son."
He then took him from her bosom, carried him up to the loft where he was staying, and laid him on his bed. Then he prayed, "O God, my God, why have you brought this terrible thing on this widow who has opened her home to me? Why have you killed her son?"
Three times he stretched himself out full-length on the boy, praying with all his might, "God, my God, put breath back into this boy's body!" God listened to Elijah's prayer and put breath back into his body — he was alive! Elijah picked the boy up, carried him downstairs from the loft, and gave him to his mother. "Here's your son," said Elijah, "alive!"
The woman said to Elijah, "I see it all now — you are a holy man. When you speak, God speaks — a true word!"
1 Kings 17:8-24 (from THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language © 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved.)
What are the issues that mark hospitality in this story?
First, we shouldn’t be quick to judge who is able to offer hospitality. Elijah was hosted by a flock of birds! And later, he is cared for by a widow trying to support her son at a time when there was no Social Security or welfare system as we know it. Yet hospitality provided everything that Elijah needed.
That is because, second, hospitality involves simplicity. It is not that the gifts of the host are necessarily lavish; that may not be possible. But the love and the care involved in hospitality are lavish because they go well beyond self-interest.
Third, the real provider of sustenance in hospitality is God. God provided the food for the birds to bring to Elijah, and he kept the jar and bottle full of flour and oil as well. Because of the widow’s willingness to share in hospitality, God provided even more for the host than she would have had otherwise.
Finally, we see once again that in true hospitality, the guest blesses the host at least as much as the host blesses the guest. Yes, Elijah is fed, but the wherewithal to do that is a blessing that God gives through Elijah. And what would the widow have done to heal her son if not for her extraordinary guest? The healing is hardly repayment in kind (Luke 14:12-14), but a blessing from God of another kind altogether.
Today, as we are about the ministry of hospitality, providing a safe place for needy children or the other important tasks of our day, let’s think about these four markers of hospitality and how we can be better hosts and guests. Even more, let us be thankful to God, the true provider, for the ways that he shows hospitality to us in this, his world.
Blessings,
Ron
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