2 Corinthians 3:12-16

“Indeed, to this very day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their minds; but when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.” vss. 15-16

Paul had a scholar’s familiarity with the Hebrew scriptures and believed that the little story from Exodus about the time Moses put a veil over his face explained why the Jews didn’t “get” Jesus. In his estimation their minds had continued to be veiled to the truth. He’s obviously not right in that assessment–many Jews had become believers and had welcomed the good news of Jesus. But it is true that occasionally we will meet folks who have what seems to be an inherent inclination to doubt anything we say that’s related to faith. The moment we mention anything about God or church we can almost see the glaze of disinterest beginning to cover their eyes. They have absolutely zero interest in hearing anything about spiritual matters and will quickly change the subject or shift their attention to something else. But there are also times when the people we encounter seem to have an intense attraction to what we’re saying. We see it in the directness of their gaze, the questions they have, and their willingness to share the story of their own spiritual journey. Shakespeare may not have ever written the phrase often attributed to him, “the eyes are the window to the soul,” but the sentiment of the words is most certainly true.

Thought for the Day: What do people see in my eyes?

Psalm 99

“Mighty King, lover of justice, you have established equity; you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.” vs. 3

In recent months the notion of DEI, diversity, equity, and inclusivity, has become a synonym for whatever is wrong with our country. The government has completely shut down any of its DEI programs, and companies are being urged by their stockholders to shelve their DEi practices. Some might find it surprising then that the psalmist believed that it was the Lord who had established equity, and that it was a part of the divine plan for Israel. Equity is a term that is connected to justice and fairness, and should be distinguished from equality. Equity recognizes that people do not all start from the same place and that those differences should be accommodated by a caring community. While we can readily accept that this is how God deals with humanity, it’s difficult for us to treat the people around us in the same way. If we sense that someone is receiving special accommodation for a position or a job, we’re quick to claim that they’re getting an unfair advantage. But what a blessing it is to know that God doesn’t operate by our standards and instead offers healing and restoration to the broken. It would be even a greater blessing if we could learn to treat our hurting brothers and sisters with the same kind of compassion.

Thought for the Day: What’s the difference between equality and equity?

Exodus 34:32-35

“When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face; but whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he would take the veil off, until he came out…” vss. 33-34a

Sometimes the stories in scripture that we have from our faith ancestors are beautiful and life-changing, but at other times they’re just bizarre, and we have no idea what they’re about. This little excerpt from Exodus is like that. The neat thing about such texts is that occasionally they contain real gems! In this story about the shining face of Moses we’re told that he had to veil his face to keep from frightening the people. In other words they couldn’t handle the pure glory of God that they saw reflected there. They had to be careful and take precautions, kind of like the ones we take when we want to view an eclipse of the sun. It may be that Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 13:12 are getting at the same truth, “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.” There are so many things we can’t possibly know about God–our little puny minds can’t even imagine the glory of God’s presence. A glimpse of God’s essence would simply explode our brains! And so we wait. For now God is veiled to our view, but one day, we will see face to face!

Thought for the Day: What’s the purpose of a veil?

Exodus 34:29-31

“Moses came down from Mount Sinai. As he came down from the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant in his hand, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God.” vs. 29

According to Hebrew tradition, not only was Moses the one who had led them out of slavery, he was also the great law-giver. When the Israelites had encamped at Mt. Sinai, Moses had repeatedly climbed the mountain to consult with the Lord and to receive the commandments by which Israel was to live. Finally, after a brief episode of idolatry involving a golden calf, Moses brings them the final version of the law. It’s a spectacular moment for Moses and it was reported that the experience of talking with the Lord had caused his face to shine. While we don’t know exactly what that was like for Moses, we do know that close encounters with the divine can have discernible effects on a person’s appearance and demeanor. We could even describe such persons as having shining faces! It’s the sort of thing that can be seen and experienced among believers in moments of deep spiritual connection. Like Moses these believers will be so moved by the Spirit that they won’t even be aware that they’ve been changed, and that it’s visible to those around them. Those are amazing, almost scary moments, and we’re almost grateful when the intensity dissipates and the shining fades away, and life returns to normal. 

Thought for the Day: What causes faces to shine?

Luke 6:37-38a

“Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you.” vss. 37-38a

We’ve become familiar with television preachers over the last decades who delight in using this saying of Jesus to increase donations to their expensive and growing ministries. “Give, and it will be given to you,” they say, as they encourage viewers to send offerings to them. And then they will tell stories of how people have grown rich because of their tithing practices. Because greed is so widespread, their strategy works, and they’ve raised millions of dollars from financially strapped people looking for an easy way to become wealthy. Of course that isn’t anything close to what Jesus had in mind when he was encouraging his disciples to live counter-cultural lives. He wanted his followers to be at peace with the world around them, not judging or condemning, and to give generously to the poor and the needy. The life he described is beautiful! And what a blessing it is to simply love all of our neighbors, even the provocative fools who regularly dominate the daily news cycle. Of course that’s not easy, but some have learned to pull it off, and the serenity with which they live is the envy of all.

Thought for the Day: Why am I so quick to judge and condemn?

Luke 6:27-36

“But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.” vs. 38

For those not familiar with the teachings of Jesus these words are shocking. And even many believers are surprised at his description of God. They have assumed that God wreaks vengeance on the ungrateful and the wicked, and to see that Jesus actually said that God is kind and merciful to them is a bit of a jolt. Some might even be a bit disappointed–they like the notion of a judgmental and unforgiving God. And when Jesus told his disciples that they should be merciful as God is merciful some might have wondered if they could actually do that. It is true that Jesus’ words here are challenging and difficult. We just don’t see them modeled in our culture or society. Instead we are taught that it’s just fine to attack our enemies and slander their names. And we certainly don’t see many folks out in the world who don’t expect anything in return for their generosity. In fact almost all benevolence is regularly considered to be self-serving–at the very least we’ve grown to expect a sizable deduction on our income tax returns. Now Jesus does assure those who live in his way that there will be blessings on the journey, but he’s not talking about financial gain. The reward he has in mind is far better than that!

Thought for the Day: How can I love people that I can’t stand?

1 Corinthians 15:42-50

“The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so are those who are of the dust; and as is the man of heaven, so are those who are of heaven.” vss. 47-50

Paul knew nothing of the work that astrophysicists are doing in their study of the universe, but we can be fairly confident that he would be intrigued by their widely publicized assertion that humans and all living things are made of stardust. That phrase fits very nicely with his belief that all humans were created from the dust of the earth. Certainly it’s a charming way to look at our common origin without denying the work of the Divine Presence who brought all things into existence. We are all stardust! All the elements making up our bodies originated in the stars! And then, to carry it a step further, we can say that in dying we return to the stars. “Dust we are, and to dust we shall return!” We came from God and we will one day return to God! This way of looking at the new life that waits for us beyond death emphasizes our unity with all of humanity and all distinctions fall away. We spend entirely too much time and energy talking about our differences, rather than affirming our basic unity with others, and celebrating the fact that one day we will all be One with Christ, our Maker and Redeemer.

Thought for the Day: What is stardust?

1 Corinthians 15:35-38

“But someone will ask, ‘How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?’ Fool! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.” vss. 35-36

Paul was not born with a “Minnesota Nice” gene, (if there really is such a thing!) In this instance, confronted with what he considered a dumb question, he gives a rather snarky reply, addressing the questioner as a fool. It’s not the sort of thing a pastor would say in an adult bible study class. But Paul really did think it was foolish to imagine that someone who died would have the same body in the resurrection. And to prove his point he went to the natural world. He believed that when a seed was planted it died, and it did not grow unless it disintegrated, and was given a new body. Obviously his conclusion was based solely on observation and not a deep knowledge of botanical science, but the metaphor is a good one. Essentially he’s saying that our resurrected bodies will be nothing like the ones we are now enjoying and using. The new life will be outside the realm of space and time in which we now exist, we don’t even have words that can adequately describe it. We are certainly welcome to come up with our own private notions about life after death, and there are plenty to choose among. But we should always remember that the reality will be much more wonderful than we can imagine–and that’s a very good thing!

Thought for the Day: What do I imagine about life after death?

Psalm 37:8-11, 39-40

“But the meek shall inherit the land, and delight themselves in abundant prosperity.” vs. 11

While we’re quite familiar with the beatitudes found in Matthew 5, one of them is likely to leave us puzzled. Just what did Jesus mean when he said, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth?” Obviously he was remembering this verse from the Psalms, but on the surface, his words could easily be called counterfactual. This isn’t how things happen! In this broken world it’s the powerful who get the land. Whatever they want they take, either by stealth and force, and the meek are generally left with nothing. For years Palestinian Christians have clung to this verse as a point of hope in their dismal circumstances. Perhaps one day the land they’d once owned would be restored! But now the West Bank is being colonized by Israel. Settlers have been coming in by the thousands and Palestinians are being displaced. Some Americans are saying that all of them should be removed from the land and resettled in other countries. But land is precious, and hope is persistent. The gentle and meek among the Palestinians continue to trust that one day their prayers and claims will be heard, and the words of Jesus and the psalmist will become a reality. Even if the turmoil over land ownership continues for generations, the faithful will continue to hope, and perhaps one day the meek will inherit the land.

Thought for the Day: What chance do gentle people have in this world?

Psalm 37:1-7

“Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him; do not fret over those who prosper in their way, over those who carry out evil devices.” vs. 7

Evidently the psalmist knew of folks in positions of power who, in spite of their supposed allegiance to the ways of the Lord, were prospering as they walked in the way of wealth. They were likely the talk of the marketplace and an irritant to those who were actually living in righteous ways. We know what it’s like to know of such people–if we don’t experience their practices personally, we’re regularly informed of what they’re up to via social media. Such knowledge is irritating! We can easily work ourselves into a fury of righteous indignation every day with just an hour or two of doom scrolling on our smartphones. The psalmist advised the people of his day to silence their iphones, wait patiently for the Lord, and not fret over those who grab the headlines with their shady behaviors. Of course that’s easier said than done. For some fretting has become second nature in these troubled times and it seems impossible to turn it off. Those who practice meditation say that it takes a certain discipline to be still before the Lord, but it can be done. There’s so much beauty in this world, it really is a pity to waste our precious time fretting when we could be rejoicing! 

Thought for the Day: What do I spend time fretting about?