So I was doing yard work this afternoon and my eyes kept tearing up–I figured it was grass allergy. Anyway, something was missing and I realized while mowing the lawn that I wasn’t grousing as usual, “That dog is killing the grass” or “I’m sick and tired of picking up after her.” Sweeping the patio I almost expected Ginger to come bounding out of the doggie door because she always took a special delight in going to the lawn after I had beautified it and leaving one of her masterpieces on it. (If your eyes had seen what my eyes have seen, you would agree that she could be quite the sculptor at times.)

The realization comes gradually but with absolute certainty–I would be happy to go on cleaning up after Ginger and reseeding the dead patches in the lawn if I could somehow turn back the clock, take away Ginger’s cancer, and have her with us for twelve more years. Of course, this is mostly for Barbara’s sake. (Dang allergy–where’s the tissue?)

It occurred to me that every pet owner has an implicit agreement with their animal. It begins the day we bring it home from the rescue shelter, pet store, or wherever we are fortunate enough to encounter them for the first time. I admit that there are good dogs and bad dogs, good cats and bad cats, and so on and on, even as there are good humans and bad humans. But in all fairness to the animals, the bad ones have frequently become that way through the abuse of a bad human or the neglect of a clueless human. Continue reading →

Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.” John 8:12

INTRO: Last week we began exploring the question, What entered world at Christmas?

I said that we would look at four Christmas gifts related to “I am” statements made by Jesus and recorded in John’s gospel
– Last week our meditation was on his claim, “I am the Bread of Life”
– today we will consider his announcement, “I am the Light of the world”

We want to look at this carefully, because the passage is outrageous!
– in the Hebrew Scriptures, God has a name – Yahweh
In time, the people of Israel considered it to be so sacred that they stopped pronouncing it
– translated, Yahweh means: “I am who I am” or simply “I am” – What does this mean?

• God is the One who exists – absolute being (He. 11:6)
• the One whose existence transcends time! Eternal
  – never, “I was” or “I will be” or become
• therefore, the one who is always present
  – whatever exists, exists in him (Jn. 1:3; Acts 17:28) Continue reading →

And He said, “See to it that you are not misled; for many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not go after them. Luke 21:8 (read vv. 5-38)

INTRO: What’s your gut reaction when you hear, someone say, “We’re coming close to the end”?

Or, “These are the last days”?
– it seems that there is  always someone announcing the end of the world
– of course, not all of the the doomsday people are Christians

• Do we see more stability, less violence, or improved international ties in the Arab countries where dictatorships have recently been toppled?
• Do the current financial crises in Greece and Italy improve our outlook on the world economy?
• Does the fact that Iran has nuclear weapons capability help us sleep better at night?

We can agree with the “End Times” enthusiasts at least on one point: we face an uncertain future

In Luke 21, Jesus predicted the fall of Jerusalem and his coming “with power and great glory”
– as we enter the text, we immediately come to two challenges that need to be resolved:

1. To clearly understand as precisely as possible what Jesus is saying
2. To fit the teaching of this chapter into the rest of his teaching and ministry
   – in other words, into the context of the whole story

Continue reading →

He who has ears to hear, let him hear. Luke 14:35 (read entire chapter)

INTRO: Have you ever returned to a place where you grew up and thought, “It’s so much smaller than I remember”?

The physical environment did not shrink – your perspective is enlarged
– what we hold to be reality internally depends on our perspective of external reality

One of the factors that shape perspective is culture
– cultures define reality
– which is why the people in different cultures attribute illnesses either to spirits or bacteria

Cultures also manufacture reality
– for example, we are convinced that we live in the real world Continue reading →

Do you suppose that I came to grant peace on earth? I tell you, no, but rather division; for from now on five members in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three. Luke 12:51-52 (read verses 49-59)

INTRO: Does it bother you that the most influential leaders of our nation are so lacking in the skills necessary for cooperative projects that they cannot work together effectively?

These are the people who urge corporations and citizens to join hands and work together for a better America
– but faced with a serious national issue, they stubbornly divide along party lines Continue reading →

And it happened that while He was praying alone, the disciples were with Him, and He questioned them, saying, “Who do the people say that I am?” They answered and said, “John the Baptist, and others say Elijah; but others, that one of the prophets of old has risen again.” And He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Luke 9:18-20 (read verses 1-27)

INTRO: A question keeps coming up in the story of Jesus

It has to do with his identity–who is he?
– it is asked by everyone who encounters him: the crowds, the disciples, the Pharisees, John the Baptist, King Herod
– in chapter 9, for the first time, God begins to make the answer clear to the disciples

The heart of this chapter is Jesus’ transfiguration (vv. 28-36)
– Jesus’ identity is not hidden here, but bursts forth in heavenly glory Continue reading →

And He said to them, “Where is your faith?” They were fearful and amazed, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him?” Luke 8:25 (Read Lk. 8:22-39)

INTRO: How should we read the Bible?

The way we read a school text-book? A novel? A love-letter? A newspaper–reading the headlines and then jumping to our favorite section and skipping the rest?

There are lots of different ways to read scripture
– books like Job and Psalms were meant to be read as poetry
– other parts of the Bible were meant to be read as history, stories, letters, and so on
The best way to get at its message and meaning is to read scripture as it was meant to be read Continue reading →

Although Jesus’ concerns were not political, there are always political consequences attached to beliefs that are strongly held and practiced–provided the beliefs are significant and life-changing. It is therefore necessary to look closely at the teaching of Jesus and ask how it could affect our participation in various social systems–e.g., political, corporate, and religious. It is a characteristic of social and economic systems to produce classes like those in verses 20-26; poor and rich, hungry and well-fed, ostracized and praised, etc.

Since this was not the theme of our Bible study, I thought it might be helpful to add a few thoughts for us to consider along these lines. I hope the following stimulates your own ideas and creativity. I have adapted these points from Helmut Thielicke’s, The Evangelical Faith, vol. 2.

• All human systems, no matter how compassionate or well-intentioned, will be corrupted by humans. This fact alone should prevent us from becoming politically or religiously fanatic.
• Programs that aim at changing a system or conditions within a system without changing the human heart are doomed. (Slave owners in the South found ways to continue to enslave African Americans after the Civil War without referring to it as slavery.) Greed and self-love can find ways to abuse others in any human system.
• The essence of the gospel is that nothing can “separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Ro. 8:38-39). This includes corrupt, human systems.
• We cannot be complacent about the ways in which systems abuse people. Within the systems surrounding our lives, we will find unguarded places where we are free to make our own decisions and in some way counteract the dehumanizing effects of the system.
• Some people are held more responsible than others for a system’s abuses–”there are levels of guilt. . . . Dependents and those on fixed incomes who are reduced to poverty are far less to blame than the powerful class of politicians and managers” (Thielicke).

First Light

Some mornings, I get so enthused over what emerges from my meditation in scripture
that I feel a need to share it with someone else. I really should know better, because
what looks terribly interesting to me in the predawn stillness may appear silly or
uninteresting to others in the glaring light of day. Regardless, I am naive enough
to think you will find something worthwhile in this morning’s contemplation.

When those hired first came, they thought that they would receive more; but each of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they grumbled at the landowner, saying, “These last men have worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the scorching heat of the day. Matthew 20:9-12 (If you are not familiar with this passage or the story of the wealthy young landowner, you will want to read Matthew 19-20 to get the context of this parable.)

The physics of the kingdom of heaven: A person can be brought into a workplace on the lowest rung, work the least amount of time, do the least work, suffer the least, and receive the same award (wages earned) as those who were first and had worked long and grueling hours (thereby relativizing the status of “first place”). Strange physics, that one percent of the labor on a project can produce the same benefits to the laborer as twenty, fifty and one hundred percent of the labor did for the others (Mt. 20:1-9). Continue reading →

Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:10-11 (read verses 1-20)

INTRO: Let me say this just once this year:

I do not like the direction that our culture herds us at Christmas time

For example, there is the television commercial that lists all the important things a husband should tell his wife
– then we’re told that the way to communicate these things is with a gift of diamonds
I not only resent being told how I am supposed to express myself (let alone the cost of diamonds), but also the idea that a thing given can substitute for the words we need to say to each other and the deeds we need to perform for each other
– I think that too frequently we are trying to buy with gifts the affection we are too lazy to earn through our undying devotion Continue reading →