2 Corinthians 4:13-16

“So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day.” vs. 16

Even as the apostle Paul grew older and became more aware of his physical limitations he never once told the Corinthians that he was staying away from carbs, counting his steps, or going to the gym for strength training. But he does tell them that his inner nature was being renewed day by day. There’s wisdom in his words that we could learn to take to heart. We live in a time when there is almost an obsession with the aging process and what it does to our bodies. There are even some who say that the physical decline that comes with the passing years can be reversed! The truth is that no matter how well we eat or exercise, our bodies are not going to last forever. This doesn’t mean that we should be careless about our eating or exercising. Those things do make a difference and can add quality to our golden years. But how much better it is to focus on renewing our spirits with regular prayer, contemplation, and worship. That way, even when our bodies fail us, we can live with joy and peace in our hearts, and as we draw our final breaths, we will be content. We will have lived well, and besides, with Paul, we know that the best is yet to come!

Thought for the Day: Am I living well?

Psalm 130

“If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with you, so that you may be revered.” vss. 3-4

If, by the grace of God, we have reached a point in life where we have given up on the folly of blaming others and are able to humbly confess our own sinfulness we are still left with the burden of our iniquities. We can even find ourselves so close to the bottom of the barrel that we despair of ever knowing joy in living again. That’s where the psalmist was, and out of those depths he cried out to the Lord, his only source of hope. He knew that God didn’t keep score, that God did not tally up a list of our sins to be used against us on Judgement Day. It’s interesting though, that even though he knows that God is gracious, he is not presumptuous, and his knowledge alone is not enough to lift him out of the depths. So he tells us that he’s waiting with hope until the day he will feel forgiveness. There’s great truth here, something that most of us know well. When we are in despair because of how we’ve lived, even knowledge of God’s love isn’t enough to lift us. And so we wait! The good news is that forgiveness will come, perhaps when we don’t expect it. On that day the words of absolution will not only be heard, they’ll be felt, and we will know for sure that the slate has been wiped clean.

Thought for the Day: When did forgiveness become more than words for me?

Genesis 3:11-15

“The man said, ‘The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate.’” vs. 12

From the very beginning, it has been important in difficult situations to know how to assess blame! In our ancient scriptures, the very first story about human interaction with God has the man blaming the woman for his act of disobedience, and more than that, the text implies that the real culprit is God! After all, it was God who had screwed up Eden by giving him the woman! And the woman catches on quickly, it wasn’t her fault, it was that silver-tongued serpent. And there we have it! Faced with the presence of sin humans have done everything in our power to pin the blame on someone else rather than humbly bowing our heads and admitting our guilt for making a mess of Paradise. What’s even more appalling is that this true story, when taken literally, has given males the pretext for diminishing the status of women for thousands of years. Women have been marginalized and abused in every generation for being the “weaker” sex, and they have been blamed for every kind of depravity that men have fallen into. It really is a sad story and it has proven remarkably resistant even in the current generation. We wonder if it’ll ever be possible for humans to deal imaginatively and lovingly with consequences of sin without first worrying ad nauseum about who is at fault. 

Thought for the Day: Who do I blame when my life gets messed up?

Genesis 3:8-10

“They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.” vs. 8

The second creation story in Genesis 2 paints a picture of an idyllic world in which humans lived in harmony with God and nature. Of course those who told this story knew that this wasn’t the way things were in the creation, and the account of our beginnings was not complete without Genesis 3, the story of paradise lost. The tale is brief and concise, and begins with the roots of our disharmony, the alienation of humans from their creator. It’s a tragic but real story. This is the way things are in the world. Where there should be perfect unity, there is division. We hide from our Maker, ashamed of who we are, and burdened with guilt. We see this loss of innocence as one generation succeeds another. Children are born, and parents rejoice. The little ones are so cute, and we can’t even imagine a time when they would be the bane of our existence. But they grow and begin to explore and somewhere along the line disharmony appears, and there’s sin and separation. And at the heart of our dis-ease secrets take root and paradise is only a distant memory. We try to hide ourselves from God’s presence and even begin to imagine that God is not! It’s a sad true story–but that’s not where it ends!

Thought for the Day: How do I hide from God?

Mark 3:1-6

“He looked around at them with anger; he was grieved at their hardness of heart and said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ He stretched it out, and his hand was restored.” vs. 5

Standing with a crippled man in front of the Pharisees in the synagogue, Jesus asked them a straightforward question, “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the sabbath, to save life or to kill?” And the Pharisees were silent. And Jesus became angry! He could not believe that they could be so callous. So he went ahead and healed the man, thereby sealing his fate. From that moment on, Mark tells us, the Pharisees were intent on destroying him. While we are familiar with the sabbath controversy that marked Jesus’ interactions with the Pharisees, Mark’s reference to Jesus’ anger surprises. Not only did Jesus have boundless compassion on those who were suffering, he had total contempt for the hard-hearted and the uncaring. Those who are followers of Jesus in this world would do well to remember this incident. Not only are we called to reach out to the hurting and the poor with loving hearts and caring hands, it is entirely appropriate for us to be angry in the face of benign neglect and callous indifference to human needs. There’s no doubt where Jesus stood with regard to the issues of his day–and if we’re wondering where we should stand, all we need to do is look to him.

Thought for the Day: When do I feel the most anger?

Mark 2:23-28

“One sabbath he was going through the grainfields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. The Pharisees said to him, ‘Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the sabbath?’” vss. 23-24

There was a time when faith communities encouraged believers to observe the sabbath by refraining from work on Sundays. Obviously there were some things that needed to be done, e.g. taking care of livestock and preparing meals, but in general the sabbath was honored. There was a totally different feel to the day. In recent years however there has been a significant shift in sabbath habits and practices. Since most businesses are open on Sundays, large numbers of people are required to work–and even when people have Sundays off, the day is used mostly for recreation or leisure. But not everyone goes golfing! There is still a significant number of people who choose to honor the sabbath with worship–even when they go on vacation! They do it not only to meet spiritual needs, but as a significant act of testimony in our mostly secular world. There really is no better way of bearing witness to our faith than by “going to church.” In Jesus’ day sabbath keeping was important for Jewish identity–that’s why they made such a big deal of it. To a large extent it has the same importance for followers of Jesus–especially when it has pretty much ceased to be practiced in our culture.

Thought for the Day: How do I keep the sabbath?

2 Corinthians 4: 8-13

“We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;” vss. 8-9

Paul and his friends did not have an easy time of it as they brought the good news of Jesus to the cities of Greece and Asia Minor. Their message seemed to always stir controversy and they endured beatings and arrests wherever they went. But they never lost heart. They were followers of Jesus and they would carry his cross until they too died. While most of us don’t face the adversity and persecution that Paul endured, there are times when it feels like we’re getting picked on for one reason or another. Some call those occasions their periods of testing, and while the testing may not appear to be severe when compared to what Paul endured, it can begin to undermine our faith. Paul reminds us that it’s in our suffering that our testimony gains credibility. Anyone can sing praises when all things in their lives are in order, but those who give glory to God during the times of perplexity and affliction are amazing witnesses in our faith communities. We know who these people are. They’re not the whiners, complaining about their lives to all who will listen, and even to those who don’t. They’re the men and women who bear on their faces the lines of tears and pain, and who still have smiles for all they encounter. They’ve been struck down, but certainly not destroyed.

Thought for the Day: Why do some whine while others endure?

2 Corinthians 4:5-7

“But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us” vs. 7

Blind auditions have become standard in symphony orchestras as they seek replacements for vacant chairs. Candidates play their instruments from behind a curtain and are hidden from those making the decisions. Presumably this eliminates bias in the selection process. Some might wonder if a similar method could be adopted by congregations when they are given an opportunity to choose a pastor. Sad to say, it’s unlikely something like that would work in this culture where appearance has crept to the top of the list when candidates for public office are considered. Even in our congregations we care deeply about external factors in picking our leaders. Those who are attractive, eloquent, and polished have a definite advantage. Paul knew about such things too, but he wrote to the Corinthians that the purity of the gospel message was all that counted. He knew he wasn’t much to look at, but he knew there was power in the Light that was present in his words. In fact he was grateful for his ordinariness–he believed God’s Light would shine more clearly if people weren’t distracted by his appearance. And that’s still how it is. When God’s Light shines within, it doesn’t make any difference if we’re plain or beautiful. A loving heart and a willingness to serve is really all that counts.

Thought for the Day: How would a blind audition work for pastors?

Psalm 81:6-10

“Hear, O my people, while I admonish you; O Israel, if you would but listen to me! There shall be no strange god among you; you shall not bow down to a foreign god.” vss. 8-9

When the people of Israel gathered for worship they were regularly admonished by their leaders to avoid worshiping foreign gods. This was a particular problem for the Hebrews because the Lord, their god, was invisible! There was no statue that could be erected, no drawing to be made. And since they were living among people who had every kind of physical representation for their gods, the Israelites were frequently drawn to their holy places. It’s just a lot easier to worship what you can see than what you can’t see! Those charged with passing on the faith among us, parents and teachers, have the same challenge. Our young are much more interested in attaching themselves to what they can see and experience than they are to a God whose very existence is subject to debate. We can teach our creeds and commandments until we are blue in the face, and as soon as they are on their own they migrate to one or another of the everywhere-present cultural gods and their attractive and seductive representations. But just as with Israel, not all fall away! Some love the God they experience in Jesus and know that true peace comes with humbly walking in his way! In them the faith will continue to be seen and heard.

Thought for the Day: What cultural gods do I find most appealing?

Psalm 81:1-5

“Blow the trumpet at the new moon, at the full moon, on our festal day. For it is a statute for Israel, an ordinance of the God of Jacob.” vss. 3-4

Each year the Israelites celebrated a number of festivals to mark the passing of the seasons and their special relationship to God. This psalm was likely used at Rosh Hashanah, a new year lunar holiday that included temple worship and that was marked by the blowing of a trumpet. It’s important for any faith tradition to have holy days, not only to mark the passing of the seasons, but to celebrate the continuing presence of God in the world. These holidays are sometimes marked by a sense of contemplation and repentance, but at other times they are a time for sheer exuberance and celebration. All believers enjoy those times when they can come together and sing praises to God, and hear the sound of musical instruments being played to God’s glory. These annual gatherings are memorials to what God has done and is doing, and often serve to revitalize our faith commitment. For some they are the only times for worship, and while many poke fun at Christmas and Easter Christians, perhaps we should be glad that they show up at all. After all, these are the days for celebrating the mighty acts of God as powerfully as we possibly can. Perhaps the wholehearted singing and praise will serve to melt even the coldest hearts!

Thought for the Day: What is my favorite festival?