New Life, New Mission - Feed my Sheep

Week Eight - Day 7

Today's Reading

Gospel according to John 18:16b to 21:25

Today we come to the end of our 8-Week New Testament Journey.  What began on Sunday, July 14, 2013, with the Gospel according to Matthew, now comes to an end with the conclusion of the Gospel according to John.  Along the way we also read through Luke, the Acts of the Apostles, and Paul's letters to the churches.  The story of Jesus and the spread of the Gospel told in the New Testament covered a period of about 30 years.

We now come back around to finish up with John, who was writing perhaps 30 more years after that. By that time much has happened within Judaism and much has happened to the Christian community.  The division between the two was complete, and John's gospel reflects that division and hostility.  But John also provides an account that shows Jesus as completely in command.  His purpose is set, and he is willing to accept role in the salvation drama that is unfolding according to the Father's plan.  The plan will, however, rely upon the faith and witness of Jesus' disciples, the ones who now know the Father because they have come to know Jesus as his Son.

And John wastes no time in having the disciples equipped for mission.  Unlike the Acts of the Apostles, which does not portray the giving of the Holy Spirit (Pentecost) until fifty days after the Resurrection, John has Jesus personally "breathing" the Holy Spirit upon them on the evening of the same day he arose from the tomb (20:19-22).  They are to offer the forgiven of sins, to continue to dwell in the love of Christ, and to care for those whom Jesus "my sheep".  To tend and feed God's sheep is the sacred mission of all who call themselves followers of Jesus Christ.  How are we to do this?  In all the ways that we respond to the needs of others, respect their dignity as children of God, and seek to be reconciled with God and one another.

So, there it is; the end of the journey.  Of course, it is truly only the beginning . . .

To Become Completely One

Week Eight - Day 6

Today's Reading

Gospel according to John 16:25 to 18:16a

It is almost the annual Passover celebration, the remembrance of God's mighty act of deliverance of the Hebrews from slavery and the beginning of the journey towards the Promised Land.  In writing his gospel account, John has placed Jesus in Jerusalem for a total of three Passovers, a point used by some to argue that the earthly ministry of Jesus occurred over a period of three years.  The other gospel writers only mention Jesus attending one Passover during the period of his ministry.  So did Jesus witness to God's love, preach the Kingdom of God, and perform his healings and miracles over a period of three years or one year or so other length of time?  Well, there's no way for us to really know. What we do get the sense of, however, is that it was not over an extended number of years.  He gathered his disciples and drew the attention of the people and the authorities in rather short order.

The impact of his life and teachings must have seemed like a bit of a whirlwind that swept people up in its movement.  It all was coming to an end too quickly, and Jesus needed to wrap up his time with the disciples.  He has completed a long period of instruction, and now he enters into an extended period of prayer to the Father (chapter 17) on the very night that he is to be betrayed.  Although his prayer is long, his point is simple: "Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one" (17:11).  This unity is not just for the disciples whom he has chosen and who have followed him during his ministry, but for "those who will believe in me through their word" (17:20.  But more than that, Jesus prays that it is"so that the world may know"he has been sent so that people will know God has "loved them" even as God has loved him (17:23).

It is now time for the next step to play out in this cosmic drama.  Jesus is betrayed.  The leaders of his  religious opponents have had him arrested in the middle of the night and in a place away from the adoring crowds.  Jesus is taken to the high priest's house to await questioning, and Peter and another of Jesus' disciples follow along, probably at some distance.  Jesus is taken into the courtyard of the high priest, but Peter stakes out a place outside the gate.  Best not to get too close, even for a disciple who has pledged to stand with Jesus, even unto death (see 13:36-38).

Commandments and Promises

Week Eight - Day 5

Today's Reading

Gospel according to John 13:1 to 16:24

The setting for today's reading is the Last Supper, although for John the focus is not Jesus' blessing and offering of the bread and wine as his body and blood, but rather the washing of the disciples feet as a sign of their call to servanthood to one another.  John's interest is for Christians to follow the new commandment that Jesus gives his followers, and that we "love one another" (13:34a).  This is not a sentimental love, but a love that drops us to our knees in humility and service to others as we offer the fullness of our lives to God.  This is why Jesus washed the disciples feet, as a sign that "Just as I have love you, you also should love one another" (13:34b).  The idea of servanthood and love are repeated often by Jesus in today's passages, a point that John doesn't want us to miss.

As Jesus knows that his hours are limited (John never lets us forget that Jesus is totally aware of what is occurring around him as well as what lies ahead, and accepts it as what must happen).  In these hours he makes a number of promises to his disciples.  He says that his Father's house has many dwelling places, and he goes to prepare a place for them (14:1-3).  He says that he will do for the disciples whatever they ask in his name (14:13-14).  He promises that he will ask the Father to give them another Advocate (the Holy Spirit) who will be with them forever (14:16).  And finally, that he will not leave them orphaned (something that only happens upon death), but that he will return again (14:18-19).  

And how does Jesus wrap this all up? "Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them" (14:23).  It is the Trinity trifecta in love!  The Holy Spirit (Advocate) will be given forever, and the Father and Son will come and dwell with us.  What more, you might ask, do we need?

Become Children of Light

Week Eight - Day 4

Today's Reading

Gospel according to John 10:22 to 12:50

Jesus is once more in Jerusalem, this time for the festival of the Dedication of the temple by Judas Maccabeus, which is known today as Hanukkah, the feast of lights.  When he is challenged by "the Jews" he once again appeals to his relationship as the Son of God.  Jesus continually refers to God as 'my Father', raising the wrath of his opponents to the point that he want to kill him for blasphemy. Once again, however, Jesus escapes from their hands.

There then occurs a pivotal event in John's gospel, and that is the raising of Lazarus from the dead.  He and his sisters are friends of Jesus, and upon his death Jesus sees the opportunity to offer a further sign of his divine connection with God.  It also provides the chance for Martha declare about her brother Lazarus, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day" (11:24).  Four full days after Lazarus died, Jesus appealed to God the Father to allow Lazarus to live again so that the crowds "may believe that you sent me" (11:42).  When Lazarus comes out of the tomb, the final movement towards Jerusalem and the crucifixion is set in motion.  Jesus is seen as a threat to the religious and national existence of Israel, and the leaders were more determined than ever to have Jesus put to death.

Jesus then makes his third and final appearance at the annual Passover festival in Jerusalem.  Word about him has spread, and his raising of Lazarus has gained him some additional followers from among the Jews.  As Jesus enters Jerusalem, he comes as light to a city and nation that is dwelling in darkness. Jesus then said to the crowds, "The light is with you for a little longer.  Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you.  If you walk in the darkness, you, you do not know where you are going.  While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light." (12:35-36).

Though I was Blind, Now I See

Week Eight - Day 3

Today's Reading

Gospel according to John 8:12 to 10:21

One feature I've noticed in John is that there are extended dialogues and/or teaching moments that Jesus engages in with either his religious opponents or with people on the margins. He has had one with Nicodemus, with the woman of Samaria, and today he has two with "the Jews" (8:12-59 and 10:1-21).  At times Jesus' words are neither comforting or inviting, but rather confrontational and inflammatory.  Twice he says he knows that they want to see him dead (8:37 and 8:40), and then goes on to call them children of the devil (8:44) and liars (8:55).  It's no surprise that they want to stone him, and so Jesus slips away from the temple and heads off to a destination unknown.

As he goes his way, however, he has an encounter with the man born blind, whose story encompasses the entirety of chapter 10.  Jesus puts a healing in motion by rubbing mud on the man's eyes and telling him to go wash in the pool of Siloam.  The man comes back able to see for the first time in his life, and nobody can believe it's the same person.  His neighbors are confused and bring the man to the Pharisees to see if they could figure it out.  They seemed more concerned that the healing had occurred on the Sabbath, resulting in their denounce of Jesus as a sinner.  The more the man tries to explain what happened, the more the Pharisees deny that it could have happened.  They drag the poor man's parents into it, but they beg off saying that their son is an adult and can speak for himself (John also want us to know that "the Jews" were to be feared by anyone who expressed belief in Jesus as the Messiah).  Further interrogation of the man is made by the Pharisees.  When, however, the man finally says that Jesus must be from God or else he could not perform such a healing, he is driven out by the Pharisees.  Jesus then finds the man, and the man openly confesses his belief in Jesus.

The final dialogue/teaching of the day is the second of the two he has this day with "the Jews."  Jesus, in another series of "I am" statements says that he is the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep.  His words are accepted by some and rejected by others, so that "the Jews were divided" because of Jesus' words.  It was certainly the situation that existed in John's day, and he reflects it once again in his gospel account.

Jesus' Opponents

Week Eight - Day 2

Today's Reading

Gospel according to John 6:16 to 8:11

The Jesus of John's gospel is a commanding figure performing wondrous signs and confounding his opponents.  In this section of our reading, John begins to show the separation of Jesus from "the Jews" who are often named as his challengers.  With regards to Jesus they "complain about him" (6:41), "dispute among themselves" (6:52), "were looking for an opportunity to kill him" (7:1), and they wonder "How does this man have such learning when he has never been taught?" (7:15).  The scholarly speculation is that John was writing his gospel account sometime late in the first century (90 A.D.?).  By this time the temple in Jerusalem had been destroyed by the Romans and the early Christians had been expelled from any participation in the synagogues.  No longer connected with the Jewish religious traditions, "the Jews" became a term for the main opponents of the Christian community of which John was a member.

While John's account has provided centuries of believers with an inspired narrative, it has also been misused by individual Christians as well as the Church as a justification for persecution of the Jewish people.  We must not allow John's reactions to the events of his day be misinterpreted as license to 'blame' any group of people for what happened to Jesus.  To do so is not only wrong, but to miss another part of the narrative that John has provided.  For Jesus, all that is happening around him is a part of his Father's plan, it is God's will so that all the world might be saved.  John sprinkles in statements that foretell what is to happen or to interpret the things that Jesus is saying (see 6:64, 6:71, and 7:39 for examples from today's reading).

When we think of Jesus' opponents, we must not be so proud as to overlook ourselves as possibly being in that category.  We are saved not by our membership in an organization or a particular race or nationality of people, but by faith given by a loving God who chooses not to exclude anyone from grace and salvation.  Perhaps the true opponents of God are those who deny this grace and salvation in others.

Living Water and Bread for the World

Week Eight - Day 1

Today's Reading

Gospel according to John 4:1 to 6:15

It is still very early in John's gospel account, and Jesus has already performed his first sign by changing water into wine at the Wedding in Cana of Galilee, attended the Passover celebration in Jerusalem where he threw the merchants and money changers out of the temple, and had a theological discussion with a leader of the Jews named Nicodemus about being born again.  Jesus is certainly off to a fast start.    While the other gospel writers begin with Jesus drawing the attention of the people out in the hinterlands with his teaching and works of healing, in John he is right in the thick of things, even in and around Jerusalem.  The Jesus that John portrays is not spending time in his hometown synagogue, he is clearly stating his divine connections with God the Father.  

Today Jesus is heading north to the region of Galilee which necessitates his passing through the region of Samaria.  The Samaritans had long been looked down on by the Jews as a descendants of foreigners and lower-class Jews who had settled in the land during an earlier period of exile.  The religious beliefs of the Samaritans was based on the Torah, but in a form that was considered polluted by the Jews who had resettled in the southern part of the former kingdom.  Jesus breaks both social custom and laws of religious purity by speaking with the Samaritan woman at the well.  The episode results in confusion and misunderstanding, first on the part of the woman and then on the part of the disciples.  This Jesus is anything but predictable.

It is not too long before Jesus is once again headed back to Jerusalem for a religious festival that is not identified (chapter 5).  Once there he performs healings and makes yet another extended claim that his Father is God.  We are then told that he then "went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee" (6:1), which is quite a ways north from Jerusalem.  We are told that the "Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near" (6:4).  This is now the second Passover that John has mentioned.  Jesus seems to have run into a large crowd heading towards Jerusalem (as many as 100,000 pilgrims would go to Jerusalem for the annual Passover celebration), and asks his disciples to help feed the people.  After a little scrounging around they take a little boy's lunch (6:9) and bring it to Jesus, who is always good at multiplication through faith.  'Five loaves and two fish for five thousand people?  No problem!  Wait, they want me to be their king?  Ok, everyone, it's time to move on.'  There is more to be done throughout the land.

Taking it to Another Level

Week Seven - Day 7

Today's Reading

Gospel according to John 1:1 to 3:36

Today, we begin the final leg of our journey with the reading of the Gospel according to John. Like the other Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke), John tells the story of the ministry of Jesus but in his own distinctive style and with a variety of differences.  The stories and parables that are shared among the other Gospels are missing from John, and a number of people are heard from who were previously silent or unknown to us.  As D. Moody Smith points out, "Disciples such as Thomas and Philip, who are only names in the other Gospels, ask questions or make comments in John."  Jesus has significant conversations with people like Nicodemus and the woman of Samaria, the former a complete insider to Judaism and the latter an shunned outsider.

Other differences include the issue of time, and overall theology.  John mentions Jesus as being present in Jerusalem for three annual Passover festivals indicating that his ministry spanned at least three years, while the other Gospels keep Jesus outside of Jerusalem until the Passover right before his crucifixion.  John does not refer to Jesus' as performing "miracles" but rather his acts are "signs" of his divine authority, origin or mission.  There is no open question in John as to who Jesus is, and his "I am" statements leave no doubt (when Moses asked to know God's name in case the Israelites challenged him as to who had sent him, God replied to tell them "I AM has sent me to you", Exodus 3:13-14).

One last comment for today:  While the other Gospels all have Jesus facing opposition from various religious parties, he is seen as firmly acting within Judaism and his actions not as a denial of the Law but a more generous and liberal interpretation rooted in love and compassion.  In John, Jesus seems to identify with a group of disciples who have separated themselves from Judaism to follow him.  He often uses the term "your Law" when answering his opponents and is not so interested in placing his actions within the Law but as a response to the will of God.

So, let us begin the spiritual journey with John: "In the beginning was the Word . . ."

Seek the Things that are Above

Week Seven - Day 6

Today's Reading

Letter to the Colossians

Writing sometime around 61-62 A.D. during his imprisonment in Rome, Paul reaches out to a the Christian community in Colossae, a city in southwest Asia Minor.  It is not a community that Paul had evangelized during his journeys.  That was apparently done by a man named Epaphras (1:7-8), someone who has told Paul about the faith and existence of the Colossians.  Never one to miss an opportunity to encourage or correct converts, Paul writes of the supremacy of Christ, "the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation" (1:15).  He also tells him that his own present struggles are for them and others, even though they have not met "face to face" (2:1).

While scholars tend to dismiss Paul as the actual author of this letter, I find it enriching to hear it as Paul calling out from his confinement with concern for the lives that others are finding and living in Christ.  Nothing caused Paul to withdraw into himself, and while his words at times might be cutting, they are always offered in love.  They are always urging believers to reach for a new level: "So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory." (3:1-4).

And so, our time with Paul during our 8-Week New Testament Journey comes to the end.  Tomorrow, we begin the final leg of our journey with the reading of the Gospel according to John.  It may seem like a chronological step back in time, but it is filled with the thoughts and concerns of a Christian community that existed well after Paul's lifetime.  But more on that tomorrow . . .

Press on Toward the Goal

Week Seven - Day 5

Today's Reading

Letter to the Philippians

Paul is most likely under house arrest in Rome as he writes this letter to the Philippians, and it is a joy to read toady as I am sure it was a joy for the Philippians to receive around the year 61 AD.  He has a special place in his heart for this Christian community, not only because he had first brought them the gospel, but because they had been so supportive of him as he made further missionary journeys.  They knew that he was imprisoned in Rome and had sent their support and prayers to him, which had brought him much comfort.  His letter to them is filled with encouragement and personal well-wishes, as well as some reminders to keep the faith.

It is hard for me to pick out one or two favorite verses in the Letter to the Philippians, for even though it is short in length it is packed with words and phrases that lift the heart and strengthen the soul.  When Paul says to "make my joy complete" (2:2), or "Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus" (2:5), or "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling" (2:12), or "I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus" (3:14), or "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say Rejoice" (4:4), it is only a sampling of what this letter has to offer to us today.

Read this letter slowly.  Read it more than once.  Mark those passages that make your heart sing.  And then think of Paul in prison and the peace that his faith brought into his life.  May we share that peace, now, and for evermore.

One Body and One Spirit

Week Seven - Day 4

Today's Reading

Letter to the Ephesians

I have to say that the approach of placing Paul's letters to the churches within the context of the events and chronology of the Acts of the Apostles has really allowed the letters to have an impact on me that I have not previously experienced.  Where that has really come to the fore is in the acceptance of the Gentiles as worthy to receive the gospel along with the Jews.  Centuries of division, of protecting against any contacts with Gentiles, has tumbled as many have readily received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

In writing to the Ephesians, Paul is reaching out to a Christian community in a city that Paul had to leave because of the hostility towards him and his companions.  Paul's letter, while celebrating the unity of all who accept Christ, has a new feel for me as I can so strongly perceive Paul's instructions and admonitions to the Gentile converts to the faith.  He is eager for them to set aside their previous ways and is in some manner welcoming them into the fold of the tradition that extends back through God's covenant with the Jews and their Hebrew heritage.  He is also eager for peace and unity within families and within the community, and gives them rules for living the new life they have in Christ.  They are to renounce their old ways, order their households and relationships, and put on the whole armor of God: truth, righteousness, faith, salvation, and the word of God.  His final instruction is to pray in the Spirit, and to pray for him during his captivity.

To the Ends of the Earth

Week Seven - Day 3

Today's Reading

Acts 26:1 to Acts 28:31

It is around the year 60 A.D., and Paul has been held in prison in Caesarea Maritima for two years because of the charges brought against him by the Jewish religious authorities.  However, the Roman authorities holding Paul can't seem to decide if he is guilty of any crime.   Now, however, Festus, the newly installed Roman governor, is determined to get to the bottom of this matter with the help of King Herod Agrippa who is versed in Jewish customs and religious law.  Paul is brought in, and he is glad for the opportunity to make his case to Agrippa.  After hearing Paul speak, and engaging is a little back and forth dialogue, Agrippa tells Festus that as far as he is concerned Paul has done "nothing to deserve death or imprisonment" (26:31).  At every level of authority Paul has been seen as innocent, but even now he cannot be set free due to his earlier appeal to have his case hear before the Emperor in Rome.

The voyage to Italy is not an easy one as they fight against the winds, the weather, and the onset of winter.  It takes from the late summer of 60 A.D. to the spring of 61 A.D. to make it all the way to Rome.  At this point, the Acts of the Apostles tells us Paul spent two years under house arrest.  He is able to receive visitors and spend his time proclaiming the gospel of Jesus.  It is during this time that he also wrote letter (which we will read over the next three days) to the churches in Ephesus, Philippi, and Colossae.  What we don't know from Acts or any other biblical record is what happened to Paul after the two years mentioned in Acts.

Piecing together clues from several letters said to have been written by Paul, some scholars surmise that Paul was eventually freed, perhaps after having stood trial in Rome.  There is also speculation that he made further journeys, perhaps finally getting to Spain as he had planned, as well as revisiting some of the places he had already been such as Corinth and Philippi.  Now of this can be known with any certainty, and the writer of Acts leaves us in the dark.  As to Paul's ultimate destiny, tradition holds that he was beheaded near Rome sometime around 67 A.D., a kinder fate than the one met by the apostle Peter, who as a non-Roman citizen, suffered the more gruesome death of being crucified upside down.  As tragic as their deaths were, they bear witness to the irrepressibility of the gospel message, which continues to be preached nearly two thousand years later.

Awaiting a Fair Hearing

Week Seven - Day 2

Today's Reading

Acts 23:1 to Acts 25:27

We last left Paul as he was about to speak to the council of Jewish religious leaders in Jerusalem.  It had been years since he was in Jerusalem, and had only been back a little over a week to bring offerings of financial relief to the Christians in that city.  Although Paul had been careful to observe all the Jewish customs, he was charged with defiling the temple and causing unrest.  As he stands before the council, the first words out of his mouth are: "Brothers, up to this day I have lived my life with a clear conscience before God" (23:1), meaning he had lived in fidelity to the Law.  The high priest doesn't like Paul's remark, obviously taking it as an insult, and orders those standing by Paul to strike him on the mouth.  There are some similarities in this scene with the questioning of Jesus when he was arrested, for Jesus was also struck on the face for his answer to the high priest.

For Paul this is only the beginning of his ordeal as he stirs up the pot among two religious factions of the Jews, the Sadducces and the Pharisees, when he gives his own credentials as a Pharisee and says, "I am on trial concerning the hope of the resurrection of the dead" (23:6).  By making a connection the Pharisees' belief in resurrection, he is also making the connection back to what Paul is proclaiming about Jesus.  As a disturbance breaks out among the Jews over this theological point, the Roman authorities rush in to take Paul back into protective custody.  The Roman authorities keep trying to understand what crimes Paul has committed, but can only see this as a religious argument and find no crimes against the state with which to charge him.  When a plot to kill Paul is discovered he is shielded from the threat because of his Roman citizenship and taken to the Roman Governor's palace in Caesarea Maritima on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea.  

There, the governor Felix seems to enjoy Paul's company and holds repeated conversations with him even as Paul is kept locked up, although he is given certain privileges.  Two years pass without any official actions being taken against Paul, and when Felix is replaced by Festus there are steps taken to get to the bottom of the matter.  Was Paul guilty of crimes, and where should he be tried?  Festus offers Paul the choice of going back to Jerusalem to appear before the Jewish religious authorities, but Paul once again plays his citizenship card and appeals to be heard before the emperor's tribunal in Rome.  Festus replied, "You have appealed to the emperor; to the emperor you will go" (25:12).

Who should now appear on the scene but King Herod Agrippa, the king who Rome allowed to rule in the region.  He has come to welcome the Festus, the new imperial representative.  Festus hopes that Agrippa can help sort out this regional dispute, because Festus has no idea what to write in his report to the Emperor Nero in Rome.  What better way than to hear directly from Paul what he thinks this is all about.  So Paul is brought before them.  What will Paul say?  Will he help his case or hurt it?

Return to Jerusalem

Week Seven - Day 1

Today's Reading

Acts 20:3b to Acts 22:30

It is the spring of 58 A.D., and Paul has completed his writing of his letter to the Romans while staying in southern Greece, most probably in the city of Corinth.  Paul is anxious to return to Jerusalem and makes plans to leave accompanied by seven converts to the faith that Paul has picked up from the various places visited and preached the gospel.  Learning of a plot against him he travels by land to Philippi while the others sail across to Troas in Turkey.  When Paul catches up with them a week later it was "the first day of the week," a day for the Christians to meet and break break and to listen to preaching.  Paul, never one at a loss for words, preached well into the night until a young man, overcome with sleep, fell out a three-story window.  Presumed dead, Paul ministers to him and restores him to life.  Paul then went back upstairs and picked up where he left off and didn't stop talking until sunrise!

Paul then sets sail for Jerusalem, stopping in a number of port cities along the way, making his longest layover in Miletus which was close enough to Ephesus to ask the elders of the church in that city to come and meet with him.  Paul may not have wanted to go to Ephesus for two reasons: he left the city after a near riot against the Christians, and he didn't want to further delay his return to Jerusalem.  When the elders arrive he delivers a farewell speech seemingly knowing that he will never see them again.  They send him off with prayers and tears as Paul then sets sail for Syria, and then makes the final overland trip to Jerusalem.

Paul is a controversial figure because of his extended mission among the gentiles, and being in Jerusalem, a place of pilgrimage for Jews from all over the Roman Empire, it was certain that some of his opponents from other lands would spot him somewhere in the city, most probably at the Temple.  When some Jews from Asia make a charge against him of defiling the temple, a charge that is false, the city is aroused and the people seize Paul, drag him out of the Temple and begin to beat him.  Paul is saved by Roman guard and locked up.  Appealing to address the people because he is a Jew by birth, Paul gives an account of his conversion while on the road to Damascus, which only makes the crowd angry again.  When a centurion orders that he be flogged, Paul pulls out his credentials that he is also a Roman citizen by birth.  He has certain rights as a citizen that must be respected, and so he is freed by the Romans but must still answer to the religious authorities.

Tomorrow, we will hear what he had to say.

A Lasting Impact

Week Six - Day 7

Today's Reading

Romans 13:1 to 16:27

As Paul approaches the end of his letter to the Romans he offers some practical advice on living peaceably in society and within the community of believers.  He is not merely interested in maintaining the peace but in maintaining the faith.  The governing authorities, Paul writes, are only in their positions because God has set them their under his own authority.  His advice is to do no wrong, to obey the rulers under whom they live, and to pay their taxes.  One has to wonder if this is a purely theological stance Paul is taking, or a very practical one of survival as a minority within the Roman Empire.

He carries on his theme of peaceful living, however, as he addresses how they should live amidst the differences that exist among them in matters of faith.  Paul talks of those who are weak in the faith as opposed to those who are strong, and how this can play out in such things as what is acceptable to eat and which holy days should be observed.  Paul places the obligation on the strong to "put up with the failings of the weak" and to not please themselves (15:1).  The ultimate goal is to build up the faith and to live in harmony "so that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ" (15:6).  Paul's advise has something to say to us today, as we struggle through different social issues that threaten to tear at the fabric of our unity.

Paul ends his letter with talk of his hopes to someday come to Rome to spend some time with the believers there, and then to go on to Spain.  He has concluded that he has done all that he can in Macedonia and Achaia, and is eager to bring the gospel to new lands.  It was a hope that he was unable to fulfill in his lifetime, but this letter along with the others he wrote, have carried his message around the world for almost two thousand years.  A reminder, perhaps, that we can never know the impact of what we do today on the world of tomorrow.

Righteousness Through Faith

Week Six - Day 6

Today's Reading

Romans 9:1 to 12:21

In these four chapters of Romans, Paul brings together a variety of themes: righteous comes through faith and not through works; the special place of Israel in God's plan; the Gentiles reliance on the promises made to Israel; the mutual reliance on the various gifts given to individuals; and living humbly and at peace with one another.  If these four chapters could only be inwardly and spiritually digested by Christians, if we could truly live out the depth of their teachings, much of the division and dissension we create might be overcome.  Is it not the comparisons that we make between ourselves and others, is it not the judgments, the 'lines in the sand' that we ourselves draw, that are the cause of much our troubles?

We spend far too much energy in picking out a verse here or a verse there in the Hebrew and Christian scriptures so that we can beat another over the head with it.  We say, here is the rule, and you are in violation of it and therefore are unworthy.  But what does Paul, one who knows better than we, ultimately conclude?  "Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes" (10:4), and "if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved" (10:9).

Does this mean there is nothing to guide our choices and relationships?  How about we try try this: "Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor" (12:9-10).  Once we master these then perhaps we can move on to lesser things.

New Life in Christ

Week Six - Day 5

Today's Reading

Romans 5:1 to 8:39

Yesterday I wrote that "Paul spends much of his energy arguing that nothing is to be gained by following the Law, for God's promise of righteousness cannot be earned but is received through faith."  The context of my remark is more clearly understood in the light of the section of Romans that we read today.  Paul is writing as one who has lived by the Law, and is not saying that the Law was wrong or in some way ineffective in its purest sense.  On the contrary, Paul holds that "the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and just and good" (6:12).

The problem is that in human weakness, our "flesh",  our actions, when compared to the Law, are exposed as sin. Since we are bound in our unconverted lives to actions of the flesh, we also have no escape from our sinful lives. But as Christians, as those who have been received the Spirit of God at our baptisms, we are not under the Law but rather bound to the Spirit of Christ.  Our old lives of slavery to the Law have been put to death in the waters of baptism so that our new lives may be lived to God.  As Paul writes, "it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ" (8:16-17).

This does not mean, however, that we will live charmed, challenge-free lives.  We are still in the world are still subject to the weaknesses of our mortal nature.  What it does mean is that there is nothing in "all creation" that "will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord" (8:39).  The Christian assurance of salvation can meet any challenge or power that might come against it as we stay united to the Spirit to God.

Dreams of Rome

Week Six - Day 4

Today's Reading

Acts 20:2-3a, and Romans 1:1 to 4:25

Our few verses from Acts of the Apostles are meant to let us know where Paul is in his journeys.  He has been staying in Macedonia (northern Greece), possibly in Philippi, but now leaves to travel to Achaia (southern Greece) where he stays for a period of three months.  It is likely that he wrote his letter to the Romans during this period, and that is what we begin to read today.

Romans is the longest of the letters that Paul authored, and was written to a church that he had not founded.  In fact, Paul had never been to Rome but was hopeful to visit the believers in that city and to win more converts to the Christ.  His letter is an introduction of himself to that community and a way of establishing his credentials as an apostle.  It was not written to defend himself from personal attacks or because he was asked to intervene in any dispute.  He does hope to win their support for further missionary work in the western Mediterranean, including Spain, perhaps because he feels that he has done all he could do in the places he has visited and lived in the east.

The letter starts of gently and with words of praise for the Christians in Rome, but then immediately launches into a dissertation on God's wrath against sinful human behavior.  Much is often made of Paul's words regarding degrading passions and citing his words as condemnation of homosexuals.  What seems to be his target, however, is any lustful behavior that knows no bounds in the satisfying of erotic desires, of people who are "consumed with passion for one another" (1:27).  The resulting list of sins (1:29-31) are not about sex but about those behaviors that destroy meaningful relationships.

Further arguments are made regarding the inclusion of Jews and Greeks alike within the faith, and takes on the conflict over whether the Jewish Law must be followed or not.  This seems to have been a universal problem in the early churches and Paul spends much of his energy arguing that nothing is to be gained by following the Law, for God's promise of righteousness cannot be earned but is received through faith.

Warning: Here I Come Again

Week Six - Day 3

Today's Reading

Acts 19:23--2 Corinthians 10:1 to 13:13

It seems that every time Paul is headed in a positive direction in his letter, he spins around to answer some challenge to his ministry or problem within the Corinthian community.  In today's reading he once again defends his ministry and responds to less than charitable comments that the Corinthians have made about his physical presence and speech: "His letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible" (10:10). This does not sit kindly with Paul and he launches into an attack on "false apostles" who "disguise themselves as ministers of righteousness" (11:15).  Their end, he remarks, will not be so glorious.

Paul is only warming up, however, and goes on to make the case for the legitimacy of his position as an apostle.  He has physically suffered for his calling and for them, but will not back down.  He is certain of his authority and the revelations that have been given to him, and concludes: "So I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.  Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong" (12:9b-10).

Finally, Paul says that he is planning on making a third trip to Corinth, and he is prepared to meet head on the personal criticisms and challenges to his teachings.  He warns them that while he does not wish to have to exert his authority as an apostle, he is willing to do whatever it takes.

New Creations for Reconciliation & Generosity

Week Six - Day 2

Today's Reading

Acts 19:23--2 Corinthians 4:16 to 9:15

This section of Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians contains some real scriptural gems:

• “So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation; everything old has passed away, see, everything has become new” (5:17).
• “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation” (5:18).
•  “So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God” (5:20).
• “The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows abundantly will also reap abundantly” (9:6).
• “Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (9:7).

The act of creation is a powerful event filled with all the energy and impulses of God.  It is not something that happens haphazardly; there is intention, wonderment and joy not only in the process but also in the completed work.  Such is the nature of our being when we are “in Christ,” and who could speak better of this than Paul whose own conversion experience on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1-31) re-created him from a persecutor of the church to an apostle proclaiming Jesus as the Messiah.  Paul, who once hunted down Christians breaking up families and communities, now sees reconciliation as a primary responsibility of all believers.  Unity of relationship then draws us to mutual caring for one another, with generosity as an outward sign of the spirit that binds us together.

From Ephesus to Macedonia

Week Six - Day 1

Today's Reading

Acts 19:23--20:1, and 2 Corinthians 1:1--4:15

Paul has spent three years in Ephesus (possibly from the fall of 54 AD to the fall of 57AD) and things have gone fairly well.  There have been a number of converts to Christianity, enough to concern some of the local artisans who make their money fashioning idols.  Before Paul arrived it was the goddess Artemis who held the hearts of the Ephesians, but fewer people are wanting the artisans creations to honor her.  The idol makers stir up the people of the city and a confrontation erupts and moves to the theater, an outdoors amphitheater used not only for performances but for public meetings of the citizens.  The town clerk, however, averts a riot by reminding the citizens that there are proper legal channels through which to pursue their complaints.  Paul seems to have had enough of Ephesus and makes plans to leave for Macedonia (northern Greece), where he ends up staying for three months.

Never one to waste a moment, Paul used some of his time in Macedonia, perhaps in the city of Philippi, to write his second letter the Corinthians.  He writes of the affliction he experienced in Asia, which may refer to the trouble he ran into in Ephesus.  He offers his thanks, however, for the prayers that have sustained him and his companions.  He then tells the Corinthians how he had wanted to visit them again but was afraid it might cause too much distress.  Paul does not want discord to exist among them and urges them to be reconciled with a person who has been corrected by the community.  He then turns to issues of his ministry of the new covenant, “written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts” (3:3).  Although this has had its challenges, Paul tells the Corinthians that “everything is for your sake, so that grace, as it extends to more and more people, may increase in thanksgiving, to the glory of God” (4:15).

Faith, Freedom, and Fidelity

Week Five - Day 7

Today's Reading

Galatians 3:19--6:18

Paul still has some harsh words for the Galatians as he moves through his arguments against what he sees as backsliding within their faith.  “I am afraid that my work for you may have been wasted” (4:11), and “I wish those who unsettle you would castrate themselves” (5:12).  One has to wonder how a congregation of today would react if it’s preacher said such things from the pulpit on Sunday morning?  I don’t think they would be shaking hands at the door saying “Nice sermon, pastor.”

On the other hand, there are the words of Paul’s words that have rung down through the ages: “As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.  There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” (3:27-28).  Paul may have chastised the Galatians regarding their turning to the rules of the Law rather than relying upon God’s grace, but he also reminds them of the eternal promise once given to Abraham and now available to all through Christ Jesus.  “For freedom Christ has set us free.  Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery” (5:1).

Concern for the Saints

Week Five - Day 6

Today's Reading

1 Corinthians 16:1-24, and Galatians 1:1--3:18

Paul ends his first letter to the Corinthians with a concern for the poor Christians in Jerusalem.  This was a major project for Paul during his ministry through this region of the Roman Empire.  Wherever he saw people who had enough to share he would urge their support.  He then tells them of his hopes for a future visit with them and sends them news and greetings from people whom they would have known from their ministering among the community in Corinth.

We then move on to Paul's Letter to the Galatians.  There is no clear scholarly conclusion as to when and from where Paul wrote this letter, but one of the possibilities was during his three-year stay in Ephesus.  So, that is where we will consider Paul is writing from as we listen to what he has to say to this church that he had personally planted during his travels.

To say that Paul's words are angry is not an understatement.  He cannot believe that they are "so quickly deserting the one who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel" (1:6).  He takes it as an affront to Christ, and certainly as an affront to his credentials.  He uses the occasion to launch into a recounting of his journey of faith, the power of his conversion to Christ, and his standing among the original apostles called by Jesus.  He even pits himself against Peter, claiming a consistency of witnessing to the faith that Paul claims failed the early apostle.  What most upsets Paul, however, is that the Galatians seem to be turning to relying upon the Law for their hope of salvation, and not putting their full trust in Christ alone.  You almost can feel the Galatians cringing as they hear Paul's words.  What more is he prepared to say to them in the second half of his letter?

Love, Prophecy, and Resurrection

Week Five - Day 5

Today's Reading

1 Corinthians 13:1--15:58

We start today's reading with the familiar "hymn of love" (chapter 13). It contains some of the themes that Paul writes about of his own experience of tongues and prophecies, of patience and kindness, of not being envious or boastful or rude.  Although it ties in to what Paul is saying, it seems somewhat foreign to the rest of this letter.  Rather than addressed directly to issues within the community, it is highly poetic and worshipful in nature and tone.  It has the feel of something that was inserted in the middle of his discussion of spiritual gifts that began in chapter 12 and which picks up again in chapter 14.

It is interesting that this "hymn of love," so strategically tied to spiritual gifts, is a popular choice for inclusion in many wedding ceremonies, where I doubt it is heard in the context of which it was intended.  The end of the hymn is the declaration that love is greater than faith and hope.  Isn't that what every bride and groom want to hear, that their love is above all else?  What they don't hear is the very next verse in Paul's letter (14:1) that says, "Pursue love and strive for the spiritual gifts, and especially that you may prophecy."  Love is not about whispering sweet-nothings in the ear of your beloved, it is about living more fully and proclaiming more boldly the ways of God.

And how is this done?  By seeking those spiritual gifts that build up the Body of Christ, that open up the good news to new believers, and by recognizing that those things that have their seed in the physical world are meant to blossom into that which is heavenly.  

The One Body

Week Five - Day 4

Today's Reading

1 Corinthians 9:1--12:31

Paul must have really been stung by the criticism and questioning of his authority and motives by the Corinthian church, for he returns for a third time in his letter to the defense his credentials and actions.  The fact that he has preached and worked among them for free has some of them perplexed.  Perhaps they felt Paul wasn't a "professional" since didn't accept any pay for his services.  Paul, however, is proud that he is not compensated by them - proof that he is not in it for anything other than the hope of winning some souls for Christ.

The list of issues that Paul had received regarding the church in Corinth seems to have been extensive as he moves to address a variety of concerns.  There are questions regarding the worship of idols, eating foods which were sacrificed to pagan gods, the proper role and conduct of women in church, the lack of concern for the poor within the community, the understanding of the sacredness of the celebration of the Lord's supper, and the proper role of spiritual gifts.  Through Paul's letter we get the picture of a community that is engaging and trying to make sense of the gospel of Jesus Christ and what it means for the various aspects of their daily lives.  They are to be commended for their faith, but are still in need of instruction as to how to put it into practice in ways that are truly reflective of the good news.

It is interesting to note how Paul tends to swing back and forth between what sounds to be rather harsh criticism and words that are uplifting and full of grace.  The entire chapter (12) on spiritual gifts and the body of Christ should be required weekly reading for all Christians.  It contains the essence of how we should appreciate the divergence of gifts within the church, as well as how we should celebrate our mutual dependance with all who are brothers and sisters in Christ.

To Judge or Not to Judge

Week Five - Day 3

Today's Reading

1 Corinthians 4:1--8:13

To continue from yesterday, the issues in Corinth are deeper than just who the believers are lining up behind, whether it be Paul or Apollos or Cephas.  Paul is reacting to an apparent challenge to his authority as an apostle, and warns the Corinthians about pronouncing "judgment before the time" and to leave such matters to the Lord.  This, of course, doesn't prohibit Paul from telling the community to clean up its act and to shun those within the community who are not measuring up to what Paul states are the standards of conduct for believers.

This section of Paul's letter points out not only the difficulty of trying to literally apply every verse of the Bible, but needs to be a reminder of the sources behind the writings.  These are the words and reflections of human beings who are attempting to make sense of the experiences they have had of God, and also the world in which they lived.  Sometimes those words can have unintended consequences.  For example, in Paul's concern for the purity of the Christian community against what he sees about him in the pagan Greco-Roman world (5:1-13), he says that the community should expel a person whom it judges to be immoral and "to hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of their flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord" (5:5).  As one commentator puts it: "Paul's reasoning for this excommunication had a disastrous effect in later centuries when the church had the power to sentence sinners, heretics, and witches to torture and death to save their souls" (Elizabeth Schussler Fiorenza, in Harper's Bible Commentary).

Power struggles, legal battles, the intimacy of marital relationships, human sexuality, you name it and somehow it could become a point of contention.  The underlying struggle, then as it is now, is to discern what it means to live a holy and faithful life with God and one another.  Two thousand years of history should have taught us that we, of any age, do not know as much as we think we do, and that a little humility goes a long way in forming and maintaing the bonds of love and respect that bind us together with Christ.