Jonah 3:10-4:1

“When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it. But this was very displeasing to Jonah, and he became angry.” vss.10-4:1

Jonah was called the reluctant prophet for good reason. He had no love for Assyria, the fierce enemy of Israel, and when God told him to go to Nineveh, the capital, and call on them to repent, he refused to go. One great fish encounter later, he reluctantly obeyed, went to Nineveh, and preached. To his great surprise the people responded, and everyone, from the king to the cattle of the field, covered themselves in sackcloth and ashes, and repented. So God did not punish them! And Jonah was bummed. He became very angry. Jonah had the same gene as many of us, the one that resents the mercy that God showers on people who do not deserve it. We become conscious of that gene’s presence whenever there is a proposal to increase welfare benefits or expand some social program. Some of the angriest protesters are people of faith, folks who have received countless blessings from God, but are angry at the possibility that  these benefit recipients might be undeserving. Like Jonah, even though they know that God is gracious and merciful, they would prefer that there be limits on God’s compassion–and that they are the ones who should set the standards.

Thought for the Day: What social programs are most controversial?

Matthew 18:23-34

“And in anger his lord handed him over to be tortured until he would pay his entire debt. So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart.” vss. 34-35

Unlike some of Jesus’ other parables the story of the unmerciful slave is pretty straightforward and easy to understand. What the slave did was despicable and the anger of his master was justified. The parable was likely told as Jesus observed the reluctance of his disciples to practice forgiveness in their daily encounters and in their relationships. It’s like he couldn’t comprehend how people who had experienced the complete and total forgiveness of their sins from God could be so stingy in forgiving those who had sinned against them. Of all the people in the world, followers of Jesus should be leading the way in extending grace and mercy to others. And this isn’t the only time Jesus pointed this out. Just think about the Lord’s Prayer, “Forgive us our sins as we forgive the sins of others.” We say those words regularly, but few seem to take them seriously. Forgiveness has become almost an anomaly in our culture. We’re astounded when we hear that victims are offering forgiveness to their abusers when it should be the most natural thing in the world for those who are in Christ. How good it is that God does not operate according to the standards of the world! 

Thought for the Day: What happens when we don’t forgive?

Matthew 18:21-22

“Then Peter came and said to him, ‘Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.’” vss. 21-22

When things get broken in our lives, and we begin to realize that we’ve made a mess of our relationships, the burden can become overwhelming. Our bumbling around and careless regard for truth causes real pain for those we’re called to love, and their displeasure is obvious. Often they put us in our place with harsh and biting words and we really have no defense. And this is always the way it’s been for the children of God. From the beginning sin has been our nemesis and has ruined countless lives. And while we regularly try to make amends for our hurtful words and actions, we can seldom come close to making things right. Jesus taught that only forgiveness can bring restoration, not in the sense of evening the score, but by offering pardon instead of penalty. Through his example and influence forgiveness has become a central tenet of the Christian faith. Not only do we need it in abundance but he calls on us to be prolific in our forgiving. That’s easier said than done. But if we really want to enjoy the beautiful life God has for us in this world, we should remember that it all starts with having a forgiving spirit. Everything else follows from that!

Thought for the Day: What is a forgiving spirit?

Romans 14:7-12

“Why do you pass judgment on your brother or sister? Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.” vs. 15

Most folks don’t seem to fear standing before the judgment seat of God. They either don’t care or they’ve come to understand the transition from life to death in a different way. Perhaps they now believe that in death they’ll be welcomed home by a loving Savior and not be subject to judgment. But that doesn’t mean we’ve stopped believing in passing judgment on each other. For one reason or another even people of faith have made judging a way of life. We’ve been trained by our culture and voracious media to openly offer opinions and judgments about others at the click of a button. And we seem to enjoy doing it! We feast on half-baked rumors and outright lies, and take delight in passing along the most salacious stories we can find. What’s particularly sad about all this is that all these things that we’re bent out of shape about will be gone at the end of the next news cycle. In the long run most of the things we get so hot and bothered about won’t make any difference at all. Of course some things do matter. When the poor are being discounted and the environment threatened we have an obligation to pass judgment. In the wisdom of God perhaps we will learn when to keep silent and when to speak!

Thought for the Day: What sparks judgment in my heart?

Romans 14:1-6

“Welcome those who are weak in faith, but not for the purpose of quarreling over opinions.” vs. 1

Some of the early followers of Jesus had become vegetarians because the meat available in the markets came from animal sacrifices at pagan temples. So as a matter of conscience they abstained from eating meat, and felt that others should do the same. Paul, who liked his steak medium rare, disagreed, but he was appalled that such a thing had become a separating controversy among believers. Sadly, many communities of faith have been experiencing similar divisions in recent years over matters related to sexual identity, national politics, immigration, and race. Followers of Jesus holding opposite convictions have made their positions a matter of faith and some have felt compelled to leave their congregations. It’s sad when people who have been life-long friends decide that they can no longer live together as brothers and sisters in Christ. It need not be so! Paul encouraged mutual respect in those early communities. It’s true that welcoming transexuals is not quite the same as welcoming vegetarians, but the principle is the same. Our mutual trust in Christ Jesus should override any kind of differences, even when our convictions burn hot within us. When we finally learn to celebrate diversity within our God-given unity, blessings abound, and we can even learn to embrace the other! Sometimes we can even end up surprising ourselves!

Thought for the Day: What current issues push my buttons?

Psalm 103:11-13

“As a father has compassion for his children, so the Lord has compassion for those who fear him.” vs. 13

Even though God is beyond description and it’s really impossible for our puny minds to understand or comprehend the Divine Presence, we still have a need to use words in our conversation about God. As a result humans have always used metaphors to try to communicate that which we sense is true about God. We lift them from our human experience and one of the favorites has been that of father. In fact, here the psalmist uses the image of a father’s compassion for his children to describe God’s compassion. Obviously this isn’t a helpful comparison for some. We’ve had fathers who didn’t show much compassion and who may have actually been pretty nasty, or even absent. But we will have a sense of what the psalmist means. We perhaps have had friends with compassionate fathers, or maybe we’ve heard of such parents. At any rate, we get what the psalmist is trying to say, that God at the core is slow to anger and is abounding with steadfast love and mercy. So even if our dad was a jerk, we know that God, who is neither male nor female, is the essence of self-giving love and sacrifice. And if the father metaphor doesn’t work for us in our God-talk, we are perfectly free to find one that does!

Thought for the Day: How does the father metaphor work for me?

Psalm 103:8-10

“He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.” vs. 10

Women’s gymnastics has become one of the favorite Olympic events and the semis and finals always show up on primetime television. We enjoy the grace and incredible athleticism of the gymnasts, and anxiously watch the performance of our favorites. There are always missteps and falls, sometimes there is paralyzing anxiety, and in the end only a few end up on the podium with medals around their necks. It’s possible to see in gymnastics a kind of metaphor for life. All of us are involved in a dizzying number of events and sometimes we can be overwhelmed by the difficulty. We regularly fall on our faces and suffer embarrassing setbacks. And some of us just aren’t very good at living–we seek shortcuts and hate the disciplines it involves. And of course the anxiety being provoked by a hypervigilant media provides an everywhere present sense of tension at every step of the way. We might even come to believe, based on our lifetime performance, that there’s no way we’re ever going to make it to the podium. Our salvation of course is that life is not like gymnastics in one important way. God is not our judge. Oh we get judged plenty in the course of living, but God doesn’t do it. Our falls and slips are not counted against us. Instead, we are set on our feet, encouraged and loved, and treated like winners every step of the way!

Thought for the Day: What’s it like to be judged?

Genesis 50:15-20

“Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today.” vs. 20

The date September 11, or more familiarly, 9/11, has an iconic quality to it, and, like December 7, 1941 for a prior generation, quickly brings back a whole flood of memories. Many can easily recount what they were doing on that Tuesday morning and can remember what it was like to see a sky completely void of planes in the days that followed. That attack shocked our country and for a few weeks brought about a kind of spiritual revival as people headed for churches to pray and try to make sense of it all. In those moments Americans were inclined to put aside differences and draw together in our grieving. Sometimes that’s what happens when evil comes near. Genesis, in describing the reunion of Joseph and his brothers, says that God’s good intentions can trump the evil intentions of humans. Of course there’s truth in that. We can find the seeds of good in the rubble of evil, and often they grow and flourish. Some good things have happened in the wake of 9/11, and we can be grateful for that. But sometimes it takes humans a long time to learn lessons, and too much hate and terror still remains in our world. Ultimately goodness will triumph…we just wish it wouldn’t take so long!

Thought for the Day: What did 9/11 mean for me?

Matthew 18: 18-20

“Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.” vs. 19

There are some folks who believe that when they pray in agreeance with another person for anything that is in accord with God’s will, their prayer will be answered. Whatever they have prayed for will be done for them! Accordingly, whenever they have a need, they will find a person who will join them in a prayer of perfect harmony. In their estimation this multiplies the power of the prayer and virtually guarantees that it will be answered. Now it’s always wonderful to join others in prayer, but it’s also important to remember context as we interpret scripture. This saying of Jesus shows up as he’s talking about forgiveness in our faith communities. In that context what we have here is a promise that when we forgive a brother or a sister, that forgiveness is from God. The same is true in our worship when we participate in a ritual of confession and forgiveness. Those aren’t just words, they’re words with power! The forgiveness is real and from God. Likewise, the words of the confessional are power-packed–with the absolution comes God’s forgiveness. How do we know that the forgiveness is from God? It’s easy. Whenever we are gathered,  to celebrate God’s mercy and grace, even two or three are enough, Christ is present, and our words of absolution are the words of Christ.

Thought for the Day: Why do some like to have prayer partners?

Matthew 18:15-17

“If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one.” vs. 15

Because life in our world is both good and broken, humans have had to deal with the matter of forgiveness from the beginning. Certainly it was at the center of Jesus’ ministry and he regularly offered unconditional forgiveness to the sinners that crowded around him. Through the centuries people have grown accustomed to hearing forgiveness announced in worship–in general we know that God’s forgiveness is a central part of the good news. A problem arises however in our

interactions with others. What we gladly receive from God we are more reluctant to extend to others, especially if the wounds are fresh and deep. This happens again and again in our relationships with family and friends, and very often in our congregations. Often the damage is done unintentionally and sometimes we won’t even know what we’ve done. Jesus told his disciples that the first step in healing must be taken by the one who has been hurt. We don’t gossip or report the offense to others, but engage the offending party directly. This is never easy, but it’s really the best way to achieve reconciliation. Done properly, without a lot of drama, it gives opportunity for pardon and forgiveness…and relationships are restored. And it’s a must for healthy marriages!

Thought for the Day: How well has this process worked for me?