John 4:5-15

“The Samaritan woman said to him, ‘How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?’ (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.)” vs. 9

Culture wars and ethnic divisions have been around from the beginning of human attempts to live in community. We love to identify ourselves by our differences, whether of skin color, religion, or gender. Always those identifications carry a sense of superiority, a conviction that the “other” is inferior or even less human. Jesus was aware of those prejudices and may even have absorbed then as he grew up in Nazareth. He was certainly aware of the pagans in parts of Galilee and the Samaritans who inhabited the towns and villages on the way to Jerusalem. But he also knew that the good news was bigger than any differences. All people, men and women, Jews and Samaritans, get thirsty and need water to survive. All people are first of all much-loved children of God and therefore our brothers and sisters. We live in a time when such notions are being challenged and we are being urged to restore walls and reestablish racial and religious boundaries. Such divisions do nothing to establish community and seemed aimed at nothing more than provoking conflict. Those who have a call to walk in the way of Jesus will see beyond differences and embrace our common humanity. Today we’ve even set aside a day for solidarity with the Irish…especially the thirsty ones!

Thought for the Day: Why is racist rhetoric so appealing to so many?

Romans 5:1-11

“And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,” vss. 3-4

Followers of Jesus are a peculiar bunch! In a world that values happiness and health, in which people will do most anything to avoid pain and distress, we have a reputation for welcoming suffering, and actually counting it as a blessing. On the surface such an attitude seems bizarre. Accordingly many Christians have adopted the world’s standard and count suffering as a curse. They complain when forced to endure it and openly question God’s love when it comes close. They seem to forget that Jesus endured persecution and rejection and promised his disciples that they would have the same experience. The apostle Paul went so far as to boast in his sufferings…as far as he was concerned, suffering was to be embraced and accepted. As he puts it in his letter to the Romans, “suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.” It’s not easy to buy what Paul says here…to embrace suffering seems masochistic and foolish, almost contrary to common sense. Yet believers who have suffered know the truth of what he writes. They know that painful times can bring them close to Jesus. They report being able to feel his presence in a deep and personal way. Of course there is no need for us to seek out suffering…it comes well enough on its own. But when it comes and we endure, ultimately we do experience hope in amazing and unexpected ways.

Thought for the Day: How has suffering been a blessing for me?

Psalm 95:6-11

“For forty years I loathed that generation and said, ‘They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they do not regard my ways.’” vs. 10

Human beings have been given memories for many reasons, two of which are recounted in this psalm. First, the psalmist encourages the worshipers to remember the wonderful creative works of their shepherding Lord and how good life as a sheep can be. But then we hear a word of warning, an admonition from the psalmist turned preacher, as he reminds the flock of how foolish sheep often are. The old story of the wilderness complaining is brought up and hearers are told never to forget that rebellion has consequences. That’s an important message for us too. Stories of past failures can have a positive influence on our decision making. Certainly we would be foolish to forget those times when we’ve wandered and made messes of our lives. That’s one of the values that comes from studying history. We can learn from the mistakes of our ancestors, and if we don’t learn we will be likely doomed to repeat their errors. Of course life is not that easy, and the sad truth is that instead of learning from the past we mostly keep on doing the same foolish things again and again. That’s why forgiveness is such a big deal for us. We will never escape our sin by our own effort. Our only hope is in a God who forgets, and who continually offers second chances.

Thought for the Day: The mistake that taught me the most.

Psalm 95:1-5

“O come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!” vs. 1

The Roman Catholic Church has lasted longer than any empire or country in the western world. For 2000 years it has been a source of strength and stability in a context of changes and challenges. Its leaders have at various times been vain and faithless, at others, strong, humble and bold. But through years of shame and embarrassment, glory and pride, the church itself has survived and even grown in numbers and influence. Some say it has persisted because it was built on a rock and they point to the apostle, Peter, as the source of that stability. Others would say that the strength was not that of Peter, a fickle disciple at best, but that Jesus himself was the Rock…and those folks are right. Oh how good it is to know that our salvation has a solid foundation, one that can never be taken away. We live among such transience in this fast-moving world…even our smart phones turn dumb and have to be replaced. We yearn for that which changes not, for unifying truths and eternal values that are the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. That stability comes only from God, that unchanging presence under-girding our existence from birth to death. And it is to that Lord that the psalmist invites us to sing songs of praise…even during the season of Lent!

Thought for the Day: What doesn’t change in my life?

Exodus 17:1-7

“He called the place Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarreled and tested the Lord, saying, ‘Is the Lord among us or not?’” vs. 7

The people of Israel had an amazing collection of stories passed on through the generations about their early days together as a community of faith. Things had not always gone smoothly as they’d wandered through the wilderness with their distorted memories of what it had been like as slaves in Egypt. Quite naturally they had questioned Moses’ judgment and were ready to rise in rebellion, but mostly they were wondering whether the God who had brought them out of slavery had abandoned them. Their question has been asked again and again through the centuries, and is being heard with particular intensity in our time. More and more people are concluding that God is not present among us and that we are pretty much on our own. Some have even taken God’s name out of the human story altogether and say that his existence has always been an illusion. As a result we see people pulled in a myriad of directions and engaging in every imaginable enslaving and fruitless behavior. In such an environment believers are thirsty for moments of refreshment, precious times when we can drink again of those waters which restore vitality and bring us relief from rancor and discord. How good it is to discover springs of living water and know that the Lord is among us! Thank God for those times and places when we can be renewed!

Thought for the Day: What are signs of the Lord’s presence?

John 3:10-17

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” vs. 16

This often memorized, regularly quoted verse contains what many believe to be the core of the gospel message. It speaks clearly of God’s inclusive love and the revelation of that love in the person of Jesus. No one is left out of the picture…there are no “unlovables” mentioned or designated. What is described here is the wildly expansive love of God for the entire sinful world. And to make things even better, the gospel writer has attached a promise. Everyone who believes will have eternal life, a blessed relationship with God that begins now and continues beyond death. Now there may be some who wonder why belief would be necessary to get eternal life. Why not just everyone with no strings attached? It’s a good question, one not easily answered except to say that a connection to God in this life can never happen where there is no faith. After death we can hope that God will give life to all…that would seem to be consistent with unmerited, universal grace. But for life now there’s just no getting around the need for faith. It’s as we trust God in the here and now that we find the peace and serenity that we crave. Through faith in the risen Christ we gain access to all the gifts God has for us and all the treasure of the kingdom becomes ours.

Thought for the Day: Why do we need faith to connect with God?

 John 3:1-9

“Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?’” vs. 4

Nicodemus wonders about this “born again” thing that Jesus had alluded to and asks a further question to get some clarification. He likely knows that his literal response seemed foolish, but he seems sincere in his desire to know more. Ultimately it appears that the confusion continued as he departed and we don’t know if he finally figured things out. We do know that these verses have spawned a ton of conversation about being “born again” and some have decided that they are the key to having a closer relationship with God. Some even say that those who haven’t had a “born again” experience can’t have certainty of salvation. By that they mean a point in life at which one makes a conscious decision to accept Jesus as Savior. For some it’s a remarkable life-changing event and they do all they can to encourage others to do the same thing. Now it’s certainly not a bad thing to choose to follow Jesus, but sometimes we can be tricked into thinking that this human decision is what saves us, when really our salvation is totally a God thing. Our new life in Christ does indeed come from above as a new birth, but it’s a gift, and not related to our religious experiences. God’s decision about us is far more significant than our decision about God!

Thought for the Day: What is a “born again” experience like?

Romans 4:13-17

“For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith.” vs. 13

Paul’s words must have come as a jolt to those folks who believed that obedience to the law was their guarantee of salvation. Some of them had undoubtedly spent a lifetime laboring to follow every prescription and commandment that had come down to them. And now he was telling them that all those good works really weren’t the key to being in a solid relationship with God. All that was necessary was faith…and then the righteousness of God would be theirs. It was hard to believe for Paul’s hearers, and it’s hard for us too. Often our response is, “You mean, all I have to do is believe?” As if that was an easy thing to do! Faith is funny that way. It sounds so simple, as though it’s something we can conjure up at a moment’s notice. But in reality it’s not! In fact, faith isn’t something we can do at all. It’s not a work! Faith comes to us as God’s greatest gift of grace. We’re not sure how we got it or why we have it, we just do. We trust that God loves us even when we’re unlovable and in spite of our unworthiness. Why do some people have it while others don’t? It’s hard to say…trust is mysterious…a precious gift and a huge blessing!

Thought for the Day: If I don’t have faith, what should I do?

Romans 4:1-5

“But to one who without works trusts him who justifies the ungodly, such faith is reckoned as righteousness.” vs. 5

The truth of the gospel was readily apparent to those who began following Jesus in those early years following his resurrection. They knew that in him they had forgiveness and life. But knowing the truth wasn’t always enough at they began talking with others about faith matters. People responded to the good news with questions about mechanics: how does this happen, or more frequently, don’t I have to do something to get the gift? Paul did his best to explain, in this instance going all the way back to Abraham, and reminding his readers that Abraham was without works, and that faith was reckoned to him as righteousness. That’s still a good answer. It’s enough to trust God! We don’t have to prove that we are decent and pious…in fact, it’s better to have a strong sense of our own unworthiness. It’s when we think we’re deserving that we start getting in trouble and turning our backs on God. We don’t even have to understand the mechanics of salvation or be able to explain some complicated theory of the atonement. Those sorts of conversations only serve to confuse us and often cause division. It is enough to know that we are sinners and that God loves us. Such faith gives us release from the burdens of the past and frees us for the possibilities of the present.

Thought for the Day:  What are the mechanics of salvation?

Psalm 121:5-8

“The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time on and forevermore.” vs. 8

Every faithful Jew learns the words of the Shema at an early age and recites them daily, “Hear O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.” According to Deuteronomy 6 these words were to be written on the doorpost of the home and on all gates as a constant reminder of God’s commandments and blessings. As interpreted by rabbis, the parchment scroll with these words inscribed, termed a mezuzah,  was to be attached to the right door frame of the house or apartment, usually inside a decorative case. We often see them when we visit our Jewish friends or neighbors, a visual prod for them to pray the Shema in their going out and in their coming in. Sometimes we’ll even see them touch a finger to the mezuzah as they pass through the door. These kinds of faith practices have great value for believers and can be a daily reminder of God’s constant presence. As we observe the rituals and say the associated prayers we are entrusting our lives to the God who is our one source of strength and hope in our hurried and topsy-turvy world. If we don’t have a mezuzah perhaps we can find a similar physical reminder to pray…if not at our doors, maybe in our cars!

Thought for the Day: Where do I find reminders to pray?