John 18:37

“Pilate asked him, ‘So you are a king?’ Jesus answered, ‘You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.’” vs. 37

John’s testimony about Jesus is consistent from the beginning to the end of his gospel. Jesus, the incarnate word of God, was full of grace and truth! Anyone who wished to know the truth would continue in his word. When Jesus told this to Pilate however, he got a familiar response. As John puts it, “Pilate replied, ‘What is truth?’” and that was the end of the conversation. Like Pilate we struggle with truth. We live in a world in which truth has been abused, distorted, devalued, and almost rendered obsolete. Liars have taken possession of it and use it to label whatever they say. We have become so jaundiced about truth that we wonder if there is anything left to believe in! Yet Jesus is insistent. “I am the truth,” he says, and bids us to walk in his way. And what is that truth? We know it has nothing to do with doctrines, dogmas, or even confessions of faith. Those religiously contrived statements, all sounding so good and pious, have instead been used to obscure the truth that is Jesus. The truth is none other than Jesus himself, the incarnation of God’s unconditional love and never-ending mercy. And in loving others, especially our enemies, that truth becomes incarnate in us!

Thought for the Day: When did I become a truth-teller?

John 18:33-36

“Jesus answered, ‘My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.’” vs. 36

John’s gospel spells the truth out so clearly it’s hard to imagine that anyone could misunderstand. Jesus’ kingdom is not from this world! Yet even followers of Jesus found it impossible to resist when the Emperor Constantine made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire. That’s the point at which armies began marching into battle under the banner of Jesus Christ, and we still haven’t stopped. Even today wherever wars are waged Christians routinely write bible verses on bombs and priests offer blessings to ensure that these weapons will rain death and destruction on enemies, even if they’re other Christians. Christian nationalism began with Constantine and it still hasn’t stopped flexing its unholy muscles. Its promises are rooted in the false premise that the kingdom of God can be established by the rule of law and the posting of commandments. “If only Christians ran the government,” they say. “Immorality could be rooted out and purity restored.” It’s a tempting thought, but it’s not even close to the kingdom in which Jesus is the ruler. In that peaceable kingdom unconditional love is the currency and the only weapon is sacrificial service. And the best news yet! That kingdom is already here, and in it Christ will reign forever.

Thought for the Day: What can the government do to eliminate immorality?

Psalm 93

“The Lord is king, he is robed in majesty; the Lord is robed, he is girded with strength. He has established the world; it shall never be moved; your throne is established from of old; you are from everlasting.” vss. 1-2

This psalm is known as an enthronement psalm, a hymn that was sung as part of the temple worship at one of the fall festivals to give glory to God as the Sovereign King. We know from scripture that the Jews followed an annual calendar that included several important religious festivals like Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot. Each holiday gave opportunity for different forms of worship and ritual, and was an important part of each believer’s annual spiritual journey. As the Church began to develop after the first century it wasn’t long before a new liturgical calendar was established, one that continues to shape worship practices in our faith communities. This week we are celebrating the last of the holy days for this liturgical year, one known as Christ the King Sunday. It’s another of the ways in which we acknowledge our connections to our ancient Hebrew ancestors in the faith. Like them we believe in the Eternal Rule of the Divine Presence. More particularly we focus our attention on the Kingdom of God as proclaimed by our Lord Jesus. We see signs of that divine rule each day and trust that one day in Christ all things will be made new.

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

Revelation 1:7-8

“‘I am the Alpha and the Omega’, says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” vs. 8

This amazing verse sums up everything that we need to know about the Divine Presence. God is the A and the Z of all existence, the beginning and the end. The old familiar hymn “Holy, Holy, Holy” put it well, “…which wert, and art, and evermore shall be.” Those old words have a rhythmic quality, a mysterious trip through the past, present, and future of the verb “to be,” probably the truest way we have of describing the Indescribable. This is one of the hardest things for us to “get” about God. We love to have an image that we can conjure up in our prayers, some concrete manifestation with substance and body. But that’s not God! The ancient Hebrews knew that and resisted any form of idolatry, referring to God as the great “I AM,” the Ground of All Being. That difficulty in picturing God is one of the reasons so many of us are drawn to Jesus. Because he is God Incarnate, we often address our prayers to him, and speak of our endings as our being drawn into his loving arms. It’s in Jesus that we get the best sense of God’s unconditional and sacrificial love–and it’s good to know that that love has been there in our beginning and will be there as we draw our final breath. God is the Alpha and the Omega!

Thought for the Day: What’s my favorite old hymn?

Revelation 1:4b-8

“To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” vss. 5b-6

While it’s unlikely that the writer of Revelation was the apostle John, it did come from a church leader bearing that name and living in the mid to late first century at a time of intense persecution. The book is styled after the form of Jewish apocalypticism and reminds us of the writings in Daniel in the Hebrew scriptures. In his opening doxology John makes clear that he belongs to the kingdom of the living Lord Jesus Christ, the One in whom he has found both love and forgiveness. It was the existence of this shadow kingdom within the Roman Empire that gave the emperors such heartache. They rightly saw that this kingdom, which stretched across national borders, was claiming the loyalty of Romans from every class and background. Ultimately the Emperor Constantine tried to subvert the Church by making it the religion of the Roman Empire, but that was never her destiny. As a kingdom of priests, those mediating the presence of the Divine, we have only one Lord, and we serve best when we are the leaven within the state and not the spiritual arm of the state. Our loyalties are to Christ the King and not some political lackeys.

Thought for the Day: How is loyalty to Christ different from loyalty to the nation?

Daniel 7:13-14

“To him was given dominion and glory and kingship, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away, and his kingship is one that shall never be destroyed.” vs. 14

One of the consolations that the losers have in our elections is that the winners aren’t going to be around forever. Even while we’re appalled at the policies and regulations that come with a change in regime, we know that nothing in our politics or government is permanent. We can rejoice or endure but in a few years things will be different. But not so with our Lord Jesus Christ! Early believers took these words from Daniel as a confirmation of what they already believed about the kingdom of God. And to a large extent this is what we continue to trust is true. We are citizens of different nations, but our first allegiance is to Christ, the One who is the head of the Body. This loyalty transcends party spirits and has no connections to Christian nationalism. Membership in the Body is spread around the world, and in that Body the Spirit of Jesus continues the work of reconciliation and sanctification. And one day, we have come to believe, there will be an Omega Point, a coming together of all that exists, and our final resting place will be in the Divine Presence, completely free from the brokenness of our beautiful world.

Thought for the Day: Where do I see evidence of Christ’s lordship?

Daniel 7:9-10

“As I watched, thrones were set in place,  and an Ancient One took his throne;

his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames, and its wheels were burning fire.” vs. 9

These images are a part of the apocalyptic vision recorded in the book of Daniel to give hope to people living in the midst of a crisis. They’re vivid and imaginative and were intended to convince the readers that God was in control. Unfortunately, even though apocalyptic images were never meant to be understood literally, this description of an “Ancient One” with white hair sitting on a throne has become the picture of God for too many people. And even if they don’t use these precise terms, when they speak of God they’re imagining a solitary bearded old man off in the clouds on his heavenly throne. Naturally such an image will often be discarded as folks move through adolescence, but all too often no effort is made to reimagine the image of God. As a result, for too many people, when the crises of life come near, all they have in their God reservoir are those old discorded memories, and spiritual strength eludes them. What a blessing it is when we can take the time through study, prayer, and meditation to develop an image of God that rings true and that is adequate for every season of life.

Thought for the Day: What is my image of God?

Mark 13:3-8

“Then Jesus began to say to them, ‘Beware that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my name and say, “I am he!” and they will lead many astray.’” vss. 5-6

We would do well to heed the warning that Jesus gave to his disciples, “Beware that no one leads you astray,” but it’s so hard to tell who the deceivers are. We live in a time when truth itself has been called into question, and people have become adept at misleading others. It’s really hard to tell who the truth-tellers are. Sometimes people we have learned to trust reveal themselves as holding contrary opinions. And what’s even worse are those times when we discover that we’ve been the deceivers all along, and that the people we’ve been disagreeing with are actually right! Because deception has become so commonplace it’s important for believers to sort out those things which are beyond doubt. These are the truths that we hold most dear and that we will use as the guiding principles of our lives. They could be basics like “Jesus is the source of unconditional sacrificial love and in him I find forgiveness and life,” or “The world is both good and broken.” It just might be that things get a lot worse in the decades to come, and that there will be wars and insurrections even in our own country. We just can’t foretell the future–but we can prepare ourselves for anything by holding fast to those things we know to be true.

Thought for the Day: What do I know to be true, beyond a doubt?

Mark 13:1-2

“As he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!’” vs. 1

It’s not surprising that the disciples were impressed by the temple. King Herod, in an effort to impress the Jews, had spared no expense in its construction, and modeled it after the magnificent temples he’d seen in Rome. It was considered a wonder of the world! And for the more rustic Galilean disciples, it was almost beyond belief. Some of the foundation stones they marveled at can still be seen today, and people still wonder how they could lift and maneuver such massive blocks of limestone. But Jesus wasn’t the least bit influenced by the grandeur. It seems he just shrugged his shoulders and told them it wouldn’t be long before those beautiful stones would come crashing to the ground. That’s pretty much still how it is with our construction projects, especially those that congregations have attempted in recent years to house their burgeoning numbers of members. Before long, all their energy and money is spent in taking care of their buildings, and they find themselves cutting back on mission and ministry. Sometimes, after a time, the congregation even disappears–all that remains are the bricks and mortar. It’s such a delicate balance. The church does need an external presence, but its real foundation is nothing less than Jesus Christ, and his Body is a people, and not a building!

Thought for the Day: When do church buildings become holy space?

Hebrews 10:19-25

“And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another…”  vss. 24-25a

As far as the writer is concerned the community of believers is in a position to live long and prosper. Their faith has brought them into the Divine Presence and they can live without fear, both cleansed and forgiven. Everything had been taken care of, which is precisely the position that we are in. And then he pointed to one of the basic truths of existence, life is communal! It’s in community that we are at our best and our first challenge there is to provoke one another to love and good deeds. But even as he wrote this the writer hinted that there was a problem in that early Christian community. His exhortation wasn’t going to work unless people were willing to meet together regularly, and some weren’t showing up! We know what that’s like. It’s one of the biggest challenges of our transient and mobile population. In most of our faith communities people just aren’t showing up! It seems like only a few believers have any interest in coming together for regular worship. There are a myriad of excuses. Sometimes it’s the preacher, occasionally the music, but most often it’s because they’ve found something better to do with their time. The problem is that when folks don’t show up, the whole community suffers, and the loving and good works can grind to a halt.

Thought from the Day: Why are most believers occasional worshipers?