Philippians 3: 4b-9

“Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ.” vs. 7

Paul was a proud man! He loved his tribal roots and his religious heritage. He loved his knowledge and his blameless life. Some of us know what that feels like. We’re proud of our ethnic purity and the quality of our education. We hang our advanced degrees on the wall and love the old stories of our immigrant forebears. We love our liturgies and theological traditions and hold fast to the deep meaning we find in our rituals of passage. And then comes the day when some of us, like Paul, realize that none of those things that we’ve held so dear even matter, not even our membership in the Sons of Norway! Who cares if we know the Small Catechism by heart or never miss Sunday worship? It’s not that those things aren’t good…it’s just that we’ve discovered that Christ is everything…and being in Christ is all that really matters. That realization doesn’t make us better than anyone else…in fact it only means that we’re no better than anyone else. It’s the great equalizer! In Christ there are no denominations, no races, no ethnicities, no insiders or outsiders…in Christ we are one with all creation. No more “isms,” no more political parties, no more creeds! What a blessing it is to see every person as our brother or sister…for in Christ we are all a single family!

Thought for the Day: Why don’t some people know that they are in Christ?

Psalm 126:4-6

“Those who go out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, carrying their sheaves.” vs. 6

There’s an old saying that packs a lot of truth into a few words: “What goes around, comes around.” It’s an affirmation of the cyclical nature of life on the journey and finds its roots in what we read in Ecclesiastes, “For everything there is a season…a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to pluck up what is planted…” The psalmist picks up on that theme and uses the familiar rhythms of farming to make his point. He says that our tears will be replaced by joy, just as surely as sowing is following by reaping. In fact he seems to indicate that weeping prepares the soil for the harvest…as the seeds are watered by tears they find the water they need to sprout and bear fruit. Many of us are familiar with that cycle. We know all too well the season of weeping…sometimes it even seems that the tears will never stop flowing. But they do, and one day we find ourselves smiling…and the joy is more intense than we ever dreamed possible. Even if that knowledge does not give comfort in the moments of deep darkness, it is a blessing to know that we aren’t going to be trapped there, that one day the sun will dawn again, and the pain will be at an end!

Thought for the Day: Why do some people get trapped in the season of tears?

Psalm 126:1-3

“When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream.” vs. 1

For the people of Israel life with the Lord was like a roller coaster ride, and most of the time when they’d completed a terrifying section of the track, a even scarier portion loomed ahead. But not all the time! Occasionally there would be a time of prosperity and blessing…and they were stunned. They hadn’t imagined that life could be so good…and their joy was unrestrained. That happens to us too. Goodness comes our way.  Life takes a turn and everything is right with our little part of the world. Most of the time those moments take us by surprise…they can’t be planned or engineered…but what a delight they are! It’s as though all the stars of the universe have unexpectedly aligned and we are the beneficiaries. Usually the people we love are close and our hearts fairly explode with a sense of well-being. We wish we could make time stand still, that these minutes would last and last and last. Because we know all of this is temporary there are some who refuse to rejoice. They say, “Ah yah, today is good but you know bad days are coming.” Their pessimism casts a pall for family and friends. How much better it is to rejoice and be glad, abandoning our hearts to grateful celebration! And if we can extend the dream for another day…well, that’s all the better!

Thought for the Day: How’s life for me right now?

Isaiah 43:16-21

“I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” vs. 19

Pessimists abound in the mainline denominations. They point to declining worship numbers, pastoral shortages and closing congregations as signs that the end of Christianity is at hand. They’re caught up in nostalgia and yearn for a return to the decades of greatness when churches were packed and congregations were prospering. Like Israel in exile they imagine that the glory years are over. The prophet had a word for the pessimists in Babylon. God wasn’t done with them…a new day was dawning and if their eyes were open they could catch a glimpse of the Way forward. Those same forces are at work now. The future is not dismal! A new Church awaits, already we can see it springing forth in the most unlikely places…and to those with eyes to see, the prospects are exhilarating! Soon and very soon we’ll be done with our obsession with numbers and the notion that Christianity is about filling pews on Sunday morning. We’ll forget about the Church Growth Movement and Entertainment Evangelism and re-embrace the dynamic message of death and resurrection that is the core of the gospel. Old creeds and doctrinal statements, all the relics of ancient Christendom, will be set aside to make room for the renewing presence of the Universal Christ. It really is a great time to be a follower of Jesus! The best is yet to come!

Thought for the Day: What signs of hope do I see in the Church?

Luke 15:18-32

“But he answered his father, ‘Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends.’” vs. 29

Sinners, wandering sons and daughters, people eating with pigs…all love Jesus’ story of the waiting, loving, ever-merciful father. They rightly understand it to be a picture of our gracious God and relish the promise of being included in the singing and dancing that is at the core of kingdom living. Sadly it’s the righteous folks, the Pharisees and scribes, people who have always walked the straight and narrow, who are offended. That’s the way it is with the privileged…they just don’t like it when the so-called “undeserving” are included in the distribution of our society’s goodies. So many of us fall into that category. We’ve reaped the benefits of following the rules and have lapped up riches our system provides, and it galls us to see folks who’ve squandered their livelihood being rewarded with gold rings, fine clothes, and government benefits. Of course it’s easy to understand such feelings. From the righteous side of the equation it really is a struggle to have empathy for those who we think have lived carelessly. What a blessing it is when we can recognize that all of us are beggars and decide to come in and join the party!

Thought for the Day: What keeps me from rejoicing when the undeserving prosper?

Luke 15:1-3, 11b-19

“But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger!’” vs. 17

The parable of the Prodigal Son is perhaps one of Jesus’ most loved and often preached upon stories, probably because it touches on universal themes that most of us can identify with. We know all about rebellious children and leaving home, and some know all too well what it’s like to get caught up in riotous living. Maybe we can even relate to that moment in life when insights pierce our brokenness and we “come to ourselves.” In Jesus’ story it’s memories that trigger the younger son’s journey home. He remembers what it was like under his father’s roof and how even the hired hands had plenty to eat and drink. We know what that yearning is like, and some of us would love to return to the “good old days” when life was simple and everyone was content. In one sense the prodigal was lucky. He was able to walk out of the pig pen and find the road back home. With us, it’s not so easy. As Thomas Wolfe so famously wrote, “You can’t go home again.” But even if we can’t go back to what we remember, the memories can at least be a reminder that we don’t have to keep eating with pigs. We can move forward to a richer life even if it isn’t what we remember. And who knows? It could even be better!

Thought for the Day: What were my “good old days” like?

2 Corinthians 5: 18-21

“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” vs. 21

Most of us have grown to maturity thinking that Jesus of Nazareth was sinless, that he never once did any of the things that we do regularly…never a cross word, never an impure thought, never an act of rebellion. We believe this because it’s what we’ve been told again and again…it’s a doctrine that was adopted as Jesus’ followers began to understand his death as a sacrifice for sin. If he was the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, it was argued, then he had to have been without spot or blemish…after all, only such a sacrifice would have been acceptable to God. Unfortunately this teaching has made it difficult for us to see Jesus as a model for living. How can we possibly be like Jesus if he really wasn’t like us? Paul tells us that God made Jesus to be sin and wants us to know that he was exactly like us. In other words he was totally human! And in him the Christ was made incarnate, and here’s the best news, in him we become the righteousness of God. That means that the Christ, present in creation and in Jesus, continues to be present in us. Through us the goodness of God is made manifest in wondrous and beautiful ways, and the entire world is blessed.

Thought for the Day: Why do we like to think of Jesus as being perfect?

2 Corinthians 5:16-21

“So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!” vs. 17

Being a disciple of Jesus is far more than believing in him and walking in his way. While those things are important Paul describes discipleship as more of a mystical union, an entering into Christ that allows us to experience the pulsating energy of God that is the heartbeat of the universe. We are recreated and made into the remarkable persons that God has intended from the very beginning. We actually become Christs to the world and in us is seen the awesome presence of God that was present in Jesus of Nazareth. In us the world sees love and forgiveness and experiences the gentle kindness that is the hope of humanity. It’s not a matter of doing what is right so that we can go to heaven some day. Rather, heaven comes to us and day by day there is a transformation of our hearts and minds. It would be nice if this happened all at once with a kind of explosive force, and that may happen with some. For most of us the change comes slowly, and sometimes years pass by before we can abandon the self-righteous judging style that plagues so many Christians. What a blessing it is to finally be embraced by the Christ, realize that we are loved, and accept the new life that is ours!

Thought for the Day: How can I know if I am in Christ?

Psalm 32:6-11

“Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.” vs. 11

The psalmist would have loved praise services. He couldn’t get enough of exultations and shouts of joy and wanted all the upright and the righteous to join in giving thanks to the Lord. Some who read these words might have the impression that they don’t have an invitation to the party. They don’t think of themselves as being either upright or righteous. Not to worry! These words were written by the same fellow who’d gotten physically ill while carrying his burden of sin and guilt. But because he’d confessed his sin he knew that the Lord didn’t see him as a sinner. Instead he was the returning son…and there was going to be a party full of joy and praise. And everyone was invited! As Martin Luther so joyfully put it, we are righteous because God has made us righteous. We don’t have to carry our trespasses one step further, all has been taken care of. We have been made righteous by grace and have every reason to be included in the celebration. That’s why hymns of praise and joy deserve a place in every worship service along with the prayers of confession. We’re forgiven sinners and that’s always a reason for thanksgiving…no matter how rotten we think we’ve been!

Thought for the Day: When am I most likely to think of myself as righteous?

Psalm 32:1-5

“Then I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not hide my iniquity; I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,’ and you forgave the guilt of my sin.” vs 5

The psalmist had been engaged in a great cover-up and his conscience had been nagging at him.  We don’t know what had happened but it doesn’t seem to have been a public matter. Only he knew what he had done or said and the memory had become a burden to his soul. Day after day he struggled and eventually his whole body began to waste away. We know about those sorts of things…all of us have had occasion to try to hide the truth. And unless we’re psychopaths there will be an effect. Our attempts to rationalize don’t work and the guilt continues to eat away at our insides like some sort of insidious wasting disease. The psalmist only found relief when he acknowledged his sin to the Lord. With confession came forgiveness and the burden of guilt was lifted. Followers of Jesus have discovered the truth of the psalmist’s experience and have incorporated a ritual of confession into nearly all worship services. It’s not so much that we are hopeless sinners…but it just feels good to hear the words of absolution again and again in the course of our lives. Sin is always at hand for the best of us…and the assurance of forgiveness never gets old.

Thought for the Day: How do I attempt to rationalize my sin?