Jeremiah 1:8-10

“Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the Lord said to me, ‘Now I have put my words in your mouth.’”

Jeremiah’s call experience was so vivid…he could literally feel the touch of the Lord’s hand on his mouth. The vision changed his life and from that point on he proclaimed the word of the Lord to all who would listen and even to those who wouldn’t. It wasn’t a joyful experience. From the testimony of scripture we learn that he was maligned and abused at every turn…the people did everything but take his life. Humiliation was a daily occurrence…he was even thrown in jail. That’s how it is with true prophets, men and women who have had an encounter with the Divine Presence and have been given a mission. There is nothing that can dissuade them. They will remain faithful until the end. Their testimony through the ages has been an inspiration to the people of God. From them we learn that there are values and principles worth dying for…we are encouraged to take a stand for the God of steadfast love and mercy. Followers of Jesus recognize the legacy that we have from the prophets and even take to the streets to stand with the broken and the abused. We have been blessed with so many prophetic voices even in our time and because of their influence, bit by bit the Kingdom of God is becoming visible in our world.

Thought for the Day: Who are some contemporary prophets?

Jeremiah 1:4-7

“But the Lord said to me, ‘Do not say, “I am only a boy”; for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and you shall speak whatever I command you.’” vs. 7

The story of Jeremiah’s call gives a perfect example of the special connection that some people of faith have to God. According to his own testimony Jeremiah knew from his youth that God wanted to use him to speak for fidelity and justice in Judah. This isn’t a call that he sought…he would have avoided it had he been able. But he had no doubt that God had a mission for him, a work that he had been gifted to undertake, and in the end he had no choice but to accept. This is the way God has continued to work in our world through the ages. When there is injustice of any kind, when people are being abused by deceptive rulers and dominating powers, God sends a person with special authority to speak the truth. Such people are a gift to the world…often times they have had a transforming effect on society and great good has come from their work. It may even be that we will hear such a call in the course of our daily living. We’ll become involved in a situation that cries out for intervention and we feel convicted to act or speak. We shouldn’t be surprised if such times come to us…and what a blessing it is to the world when we obey!

Thought for the Day: How might I react to a divine call to speak?

Luke 4:17b-21

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free,” vs. 18

After his encounter with the Spirit in his baptism Jesus had gone into the wilderness for 40 days of meditation while he wrestled with his call. There were so many possibilities and alternatives…and all sounded tempting. Finally clarity emerged and he came out of the desert with a clear vision for mission that came straight from the prophet Isaiah. Jesus didn’t invent a new religion but found in the scriptures the core values that would guide his life until the end. We too face conflicting possibilities for life in this world and many sound really good. There are so many things we can do to gain wealth and privilege for ourselves, and we don’t even have to break the law! In our culture we are free to accumulate to our heart’s content and no one bats an eye. But if we’re at all interested in walking the Jesus way those choices only lead us off the path. The old truths still apply: the Spirit-filled followers of Jesus will spend their lives in bringing good news to the poor and offering hope to those who are oppressed. The announced mission of Jesus certainly did not end with his death. Indeed, it was only getting started!

Thought for the Day: Where am I seeing Jesus’ work being done?

Luke 4:14-17a

“Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country.” vs. 14

When the Spirit connected with Jesus in a divine epiphany on the day of his baptism it wasn’t just a momentary experience. This dove had come to hang around! The power of the Spirit remained and continued to give support during the time in the wilderness. What could have been a devastating encounter with the Evil One turned out to be a blessing. In those forty days Jesus was able to sort out priorities and figure out his calling. He emerged with passion in his heart and a determination to carry out his messianic mission. Not surprisingly, he headed back to his home territory. He knew the grinding poverty there and the way the poor were being exploited by the rich. He’d seen first hand the heavy hand of the occupying Roman armies and had heard the cries of the hungry. He came with good news…the Kingdom of God was at hand…and he received a hearty welcome throughout the surrounding country. People were ready for liberation and they heard in Jesus’ voice a compassion that came straight from the heart of God. Jesus preached in synagogues and healed the sick, and daily the crowds grew larger. The least and the lost flocked to him…and he didn’t let them down. The Spirit was his guide and his strength.

Thought for the Day: How does the Spirit strengthen me?

1 Corinthians 12: 20-31a

“If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it.” vs. 26

Contemporary culture, particularly in the Western World, is marked by a strong preference for rugged individualism, an attitude that has crept into the way we articulate our faith. Often we hear talk of personal relationships with Jesus and the resulting individual salvation that is ours. It’s a perspective that seems natural to us but it’s relatively rare in our scriptures. In the Old Testament the emphasis is on the nation of Israel and its liberation from the bondage of Egypt. There’s virtual no conversation about the salvation of individuals. The New Testament picks up that theme with its language about the Body of Christ and our participation in it. Paul tells us that individuals are inextricably bound together in the Church and what affects one member affects all. When one suffers, all suffer; when one is honored, all rejoice. It’s been hard to hang on to this concept in a culture that is obsessed with individual rights and that minimizes collective responsibility. We’ve been taught from our youth that we are to take care of ourselves and look out for number one. Paul’s use of the body metaphor is meant to negate some of that thinking. We are at our best as the people of God when we lay aside our obsession with personal salvation and begin to value the needs of others as much as our own. Individually we are weak and needy…together we are strong!

Thought for the Day: If I don’t look out for myself, who will?

1 Corinthians 12:12-19

“For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.” vs. 12

Paul uses the human body as a metaphor to help the Corinthians understand the nature of the church, which is in turn the Body of Christ. It’s a simple illustration, one easily understood by most readers. We know that our bodies have various parts: hands, arms, feet, legs, head, heart…the list goes on and on. All those parts are knitted together to make one body…and with the possible exception of the appendix, all the members are necessary. Likewise, in the Church every single person is important and has a distinctive role to play. And just as a body wouldn’t work well if arms and legs chose to act independently, the Church doesn’t function well when individuals act like they don’t need each other. Now a body can survive when parts are amputated or removed, but it loses a ton of maneuverability. The same thing is easily observable in the Church. When people drop out, the effects are chillingly apparent…what could be an active, vibrant organization is forced to limp along at a fraction of its capability. Worse than that, the mission of Christ in the world is limited…God’s work is left undone. On the other hand, a congregation with active and engaged members is bound to be a powerful force for good in the world.

Thought for the Day: What is my role in the Body of Christ?

Psalm 19

“The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork. There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard; yet their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.” vss. 1,3-4

Pastors, jealous of nature’s hold on our imagination, will often disparage those who would rather go to the mountains than sit in a closed space for droning sermons. The psalmist would have been puzzled by their diatribes. For him the finest homilies came from nature. He says, “The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.” There are no words…no discernible sounds, yet nature speaks more eloquently than any preacher of the wondrous majesty of our Lord. And it’s a language everyone can understand…there’s no translation necessary. We who have seen the vibrant colors of sunrises and sunsets know the truth of what the psalmist writes. Some days the beauty is so breathtaking we have to stop in our tracks or even pull off the road to take it all in. We can’t even find adequate words to describe what we’ve seen and experienced. It’s humbling for us to know that nature can surpass Van Gogh in painting a picture of resplendent beauty. All we can do is utter a “Wow” and bow our hearts in praise of the universe. Think of it, even if we’ve never read a bible we can see the glory of God every single day!

Thought for the Day: Where does nature speak to me most clearly?

Nehemiah 8:8-10

“So they read from the book, from the law of God, with interpretation. They gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.” vs. 8

The bible isn’t an easy read. Written by scribes in different languages, reflecting the culture and family systems of ancient times, it provides a real challenge to all who struggle to figure it out. In fact, with 66 different books, each the product of multiple authors and editors, it’s more like a library than a single book. In its pages we find oracles from prophets, ancient laws, dynastic histories, psalms and prayers, letters, parables, fables, and even a few ancient Hebrew myths. It was only after an amazingly complex history of redaction and compromise that our current version of scripture was declared authoritative almost 2000 years ago. So it’s no wonder that we struggle to understand its meaning. Even the folks in Ezra’s day needed some solid interpretation. In our time we not only have a multitude of commentaries and guidebooks to help us get a sense of context and meaning, many of us also have pastors who been trained by biblical scholars as part of their seminary education. With them as our guides we can begin to apply biblical truths to the situations of life that we face today. The bible is more than classical literature, it’s a living book that gives wisdom and understanding to the faithful of every time and place. Through it God speaks to our hearts!

Thought for the Day: Who has made the bible come alive for me?

Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6

“all the people gathered together into the square before the Water Gate. They told the scribe Ezra to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had given to Israel.” vs. 1

It was a big day for Israel. The exiles had brought with them from Babylon scrolls containing what was likely portions of the book of Deuteronomy, and Ezra the scribe arranged to have it read publicly in Jerusalem. The scene reminds us of the time during the reign of Josiah shortly before the fall of Judah when the king ordered what was likely the same material to be read before the people. These were the first times in Israel that the written word was given authority as a guide for holy living. Before this the word of the Lord came solely through the oracles of the prophets. In our day we’ve become accustomed to think of the bible as a holy book and many people read portions every day. Naturally we have our favorite sections. Some like the psalms while others are drawn to the gospels…not so many would turn first to the laws of the pentateuch. That kind of reading is important for all of us. The bible is our community’s book and in it we discover the values and teachings of our spiritual ancestors. Most importantly, it’s in the bible, the written word, that we are introduced to Jesus, the incarnate Word, the one in whom we find enlightenment and life.

Thought for the Day: What’s my favorite part of the bible?

John 2:5-11

“Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.” vs. 11

Oenophiles have long rejoiced in John’s assertion that God’s glory was first revealed in Jesus through the turning of water into wine. In their estimation it marks wine as the world’s most divine beverage and destroys whatever similar claims brewmasters might make for their products. Of course that’s not what John had in mind at all…he mentions the wedding at Cana only to show that belief is triggered by experience and not by theological claims. Jesus’ disciples believed because they saw God revealed in his actions…even the mundane act of supplying good wine for a wedding feast. That’s still the way faith is formed in followers of Jesus. We don’t believe because of what others tell us about Jesus, we come to believe because we see the Spirit of Jesus active in their lives. When we see water becoming wine, the ordinary made holy, love active in compassion, we see the glory of God and are drawn to make our mentor’s journey our own. During this season of Epiphany we’ll be keeping our eyes open wide to see such manifestations of glory in the lives of the saints. We’ll not be looking for magic tricks or psychic wizardry…no, we’ll be moved by the light we see in people’s eyes and the spirit-enhancing passion of their actions and smiles. In them we’ll experience the good life…and maybe even share a glass of wine.

Thought for the Day: Where have I seen God’s glory revealed?