Devotional

Welcome to the Disreputable Brood

/ JJS / 4 Comments

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Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 119:49-72, Job 30:1–31, Acts 14:19-28. John 11:1-16

While describing his miserable lot, Job says the children of men he “would have disdained to set with the dogs” of his flock are now mocking him. He calls them a “senseless, disreputable brood” and offers as evidence the difficult lives they have led since being “driven out from society.” However, despite his own struggles, he does not seem to empathize with them. He claims to have “wept for those in trouble” and “grieved for the poor,” but his sympathies have definite limits. If irony were money his wealth would have been restored.

We can be a lot like Job. When bad things happen to us, we call it unfair. When bad things happen to other people, especially because of their own choices, part of us wants to believe things would have been different for us. Job’s friends insist he must be guilty of something partly because they are terrified to contemplate a world where they might suffer the same lot. In a less obvious way even young Elihu, who does not find Job guilty of anything, separates himself from Job by claiming Job’s suffering must be meant to instruct him in some special way. Not one of them accepts that fortune and misfortune are blind to virtue.

We don’t like to admit virtue is largely a matter of circumstance. While there are a few people of extraordinary character who rise above terrible experiences, and a few who are evil despite almost ideal upbringings, most of us are in large part who we were raised to be. We can’t honestly claim we are good (or better) in and of ourselves. A universe that favored the virtuous would actually be a universe that favored the lucky. God loves us all equally – lucky and unlucky, righteous and unrighteous – whether we are Job or the disreputable brood.

Why strive to be virtuous at all then? Because we seek a right relationship with God at all times. Not to earn God’s love or grace which are given freely, but to experience the eternal life – even in times of suffering – promised to us by Jesus.

Comfort: God understands and loves us all.

Challenge: Share a meal or cup of coffee with someone who is going through a bad time. Do not pity or advise them – just be there.

Prayer: God of earth and seed, plant empathy in my heart. Amen.

Discussion: Have you ever gotten into a debate that generated a lot of heat and little or no light?

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Right Thinking / Wrong Headed

/ JJS / Leave a comment

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Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 42; 146, Job 29:1-20, Acts 14:1-18, John 10:31-42

Jesus replied, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these are you going to stone me?” The Jews answered, “It is not a good work for which we are going to stone you, but for blasphemy.”
– John 10:32-33

No matter what power Jesus displayed, it was his words the Jewish leaders feared most. Maybe this was because their own power depended on strict adherence to the letter of the law, and not its spirit. They could handle transgressions against the specific rules, but a revolution in thinking was a serious threat to their power. Unfortunately, this attitude survives in some of our churches even today.

While the two great commandments are simply to love God and our neighbors, some churches more strongly emphasize specific beliefs, or right thinking. An insistence on right thinking is another form of legalism which betrays God’s command to love. Over the centuries Christians have been forced to accepted certain creeds or face rejection by the church. Many schisms – and denominations – are directly attributable to differences in theological opinions that have little if anything to do with loving God and our neighbors. Trinitarian vs. Unitarian; transubstantiation vs. consubstantiation; predestination vs. election; the list goes on and on. Christianity might be easier if we all thought alike, but we don’t – and aren’t required to!

Schisms are less common today – as we have already been divided along some pretty fine lines – but we still struggle with problems caused by an insistence on right thinking. When we don’t like the way another church thinks, we can be quick to dismiss the good it may do. We may withhold support from worthwhile projects because we don’t like a church’s liberal or conservative stance. This temptation is understandable, but who really pays the price for our stand, no matter how principled we believe it to be? Even when differences in thought result in persecution and enmity, we must remember we are called to love our enemies. We all naturally believe our own thinking is right, but none of us is as right as Christ.

Comfort: Grace doesn’t depend on being right.

Challenge: Consider what types of thinking keep you from loving.

Prayer: God of sky and waters, wash away divisions among your people. Amen.

Discussion: What creeds or doctrines have you questioned or challenged?

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Shaking the Dust

/ JJS / 1 Comment

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Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 5; 145,Job 32:1-10, 32:19-33:1, 33:19-28, Acts 13:44-52, John 10:19-30

One of the toughest parts of being a Christian is knowing when to quit. Not quitting Christianity of course, but quitting the things we think Good Christians™ are supposed to do.

Christ teaches us to turn the other cheek, forgive someone seventy-times-seven times, loan money without expectation of repayment, and give away our extra coat to someone in need. How tempting it is to rationalize away these instructions, and quit them too soon for “her own good” or “holding him accountable.” This attitude puts a burden of worthiness on the recipient of our mercies, and mercies that cost us nothing – neither pride nor wealth – are no real mercy.

Or we can become Good Christian™ doormats and allow others to exploit our intention to follow Christ. We quit too late, and what we thought was mercy is revealed to be enabling behavior, or perhaps someone’s insistence we be kind (“I thought you were a Christian”) shames us into being dupes.

Being “wise as serpents and innocent as doves” is a difficult balancing act.

Paul and Barnabas provide a solid example of establishing proper boundaries. When the Jews in Antioch rejected them, the Apostles left town and shook the dust from their shoes – a symbolic gesture for giving up on a place and its people. They’d done as Christ asked, but weren’t about to waste time banging their heads (or feet) against a wall.

We are called to be servants to one another, but not the kind of servants who hand the master a glass of milk they know has gone sour just because he insists on it. Rather, we are called to be servants who know when to tell the truth even if it’s difficult, and when to put the needs of others ahead of our own. Sacrificial love is not self-destructive love: we give away the extra coat no matter how much we want it, but Christ did not ask us to give away our only coat and freeze to death. When we lay down our lives for our friends, we do not die for them, but live for them.

Comfort: Do what you can, not what you can’t.

Challenge: Few of us are social workers, so it can sometimes be hard to determine how much help is the right amount. Develop a list of trusted people you can call on to help you through such times.

Prayer: God of mercy, may my heart and actions be a reflection of your love. Amen.

Discussion: When have you felt good about serving someone?

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Plea Bargain

/ JJS / 3 Comments

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Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 103; 150, Job 25:1-6, Job 27:1-6, Revelation 14:1-7, 13, Matthew 5:13-20

Plea bargaining is a common but controversial practice. On one hand, it increases efficiency in an overburdened criminal justice system, and results in convictions that otherwise might not happen. On the other, many people believe plea bargaining results in unfair sentencing, an erosion of constitutional rights, and coerced confessions of (sometimes innocent) people who are too frightened and/or poor to demand a fair trial with adequate representation. Plea bargaining is a balance between getting things done, and getting things right. It forces us to ask whether an increased conviction rate is worth a decrease in fairness – or the right measure at all.

Job’s friend Bildad wanted him to plea bargain with God. Essentially he said: “Everybody’s guilty of something. Just admit your wrongdoing and this will all go away.” Job, rightly convinced of his own innocence, wasn’t having it: “[M]y lips will not speak falsehood, and my tongue will not utter deceit. Far be it from me to say that you are right; until I die I will not put away my integrity from me.” In the end, Job is justified; he is badly abused, but his righteousness remains unblemished.

When Jesus said he came not to abolish the law, but to fulfill it, he was preparing for the ultimate plea bargain. Guilty of nothing, he knowingly and willingly took our sin to the cross. Not just some of our sin – all of it. If we are willing to yoke our fate to his, to follow him through both destruction and glory, and to recognize our freedom is not of our own doing, the law no longer has power over us.

Very often God’s justice is an upside-down reflection of human justice. Rather than increasing the conviction rate, Christ’s sacrificial plea bargain reduced it to zero. Efficiency was measured not in condemnations, but in salvation. Unlike Job, we are all guilty of something. Let’s honor Christ’s sacrifice by admitting to every bit of it, by wringing out every drop of forgiveness and new life he offers. Let us beat our swords into plowshares, and prison bars into gates of welcome.

(for additional thoughts on today’s text from Matthew 5, see Lightly Salted)

Comfort: Jesus has already paid the price for your freedom.

Challenge: Forgiveness and freedom are meant to be passed along. Take some action to help address injustices in your own community.

Prayer: Lord of Heaven and Earth, I love you with all my heart, mind, and soul. Give me strength to love my neighbor as myself, and to love myself well. Amen.

Discussion: Watch this video on plea bargaining. What are your thoughts?

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Our Shepherd’s Voice

/ JJS / 4 Comments

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Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 63; 149, Job 22:1-4, 22:21-23:7, Acts 13:26-43, John 10:1-18

In his book Imaginary Jesus, author Matt Mikalatos provides many humorous examples of our tendency to re-create Jesus in our own image. From Liberal Social Services Jesus, to Truth Telling Conservative Jesus, we populate our spiritual lives with images of Jesus that reinforce our own inclinations. The apostles walked, spoke, and broke bread with Jesus every day, yet even they could misunderstand him; let’s not be too hasty to be sure we’ve got it right.

Jesus said: “I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and my own know me.” Sheep are safest when they stay within shouting distance, where the familiar voice of their shepherd can call them away from danger. Sheep are not especially bright however, and can be lured away by thieves and distractions. In our modern world, we must discern among the many competing voices claiming to speak for our shepherd. Jesus-peddlers who promise prosperity, bigots who preach hate of the “other,” legalists who reduce faith to a simple formula of do’s and don’ts – these types and more falsely appeal to our baser nature in the name of Jesus. Are we listening for our true shepherd, or are we listening for voices that tell us what we want to hear? A voice that never tells us we’re going the wrong way, that never causes us discomfort or inconvenience, that disapproves of all the people we do, is not the voice of a loving shepherd.

Through prayer and study we become familiar with our shepherd’s voice. We learn to trust him when he calls us away from pastures that seem lush but are prowled by wolves, and when he calls us down paths that seem treacherous but lead to abundance. Abraham followed the voice of his shepherd God even when it asked him to do the incomprehensible. Jacob recognized the voice of his shepherd even though it spoke to him in a dream. If they hadn’t been attuned to listening for their true shepherd, they could have missed these important messages. The voice of Jesus speaks words of both safety and challenge, of love and correction.

Comfort: Our shepherd is always calling us home.

Challenge: Many voices – sometimes even our own – falsely or mistakenly claim to speak for Jesus. Listen carefully.

Prayer: Creator and Shepherd, thank you for the safety of your fold. I will listen for your voice and yours alone. Amen.

Discussion: Have you ever realized the voice you were following was the wrong one? How did the true voice call you back home?

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Blind Faith

/ JJS / 4 Comments

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Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 84; 148, Job 19:1-7, 14-27, Acts 13:13-25, John 9:18-41

Author G.K. Chesterton asked why anyone would attempt to defend Christianity, since to defend a thing is to discredit it. What might he have made of the hundreds of books dedicated to apologetics which fill the shelves of almost any Christian bookstore? Of course we want to be able to talk intelligently about our faith, but is the truth of our faith ever adequately expressed in argument, no matter how well-reasoned?

When the man cured of blindness testified to the Pharisees about the impact Jesus had on his life, he didn’t construct a theological argument. He stated the simple truth: “I was blind, now I see.” Not much arguing with that statement, is there? The obvious changes faith has produced in our lives communicate the Good News more effectively than any appeal to reason or logic. Each of us has a different spin on the blind man’s truth. Maybe it’s “I was addicted, now I am recovering.” Or “I was in despair, now I am full of hope.” Or “I was angry, now I am at peace.” The reality of our story is its own defense.

A history professor once told me history shows us rationalism is not the only way of knowing about the world. In a culture demanding we reason our way to faith, this thought frees us from the need to understand everything in terms of pure intellect. This doesn’t mean science is out the window and superstition rules, but it does help us accept the untestable truth that putting our faith in God forever alters our lives.

Just as a strong faith doesn’t depend on a steady supply of supernatural signs, it also doesn’t rely on an unshakable foundation of logical proofs. They are two sides of the same coin. A lack of either should not derail our faith journey. The signposts that best help us find our way are the changes we experience in our own lives and see in the lives of others.

Perhaps another thought from Chesterton best summarizes today’s reflection: “Let your religion be less of a theory and more of a love affair.”

Comfort: Reason is compatible with faith, but faith does not depend on it.

Challenge: When you discuss the Christian faith, have confidence your own experience is a powerful testimony for the Gospel.

Prayer: God of life, thank you for the mysteries and realities of faith. Amen.

Discussion: Have you struggled to reconcile reason and faith?

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There’s none so blind as they that won’t see…

/ JJS / 1 Comment

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Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 116; 147:12-20, Job 16:16-22, 17:1, 17:13-16, Acts 13:1-12, John 9:1-17

Every summer we take our nephews camping. The campground’s many roads loop back on one another, so there are multiple ways to get places. One afternoon the younger nephew insisted we were taking the long way back to camp and kept trying to pull me down another road. I pointed toward our site: “Look, Jack, our tent is right there.” He said: “I don’t see it.” We did this twice more until I looked down and saw he’d shut his eyes tight.

Sight and blindness are important metaphors in the Bible. In today’s passage from John, we encounter a blind man who prompts Jesus to break Mosaic law and perform a healing on the Sabbath – a reminder that faith binds us to mercy, not legalism. In Acts, Saul and Barnabas meet Bar-Jesus, a Jewish magician and false prophet in the city of Paphos. Saul condemns Bar-Jesus for “making crooked the straight paths of the Lord” and the Spirit strikes the magician temporarily blind. His refusal to see the truth – and his attempt to lead others down the wrong road – put him in a debilitated state. If this seems harsh, remember Saul himself was struck blind by the Spirit before he accepted Christ, so what seems like a curse may have been a cure.

We’re all blind to something, especially our own shortcomings. Like the disciples asking whose sin caused the man’s blindness – his own or his parents – we want to point fingers. Certainly neither the man nor his parents were without sin (who is?) but Jesus focused on how God could transform the present situation. Jesus used spit and dirt to begin the healing process, but the man had to walk himself to a pool to wash the mud off. When we want to make ourselves whole, we need to have faith God does not limit us to the darkness of the past, but guides us to a brighter future. We may have to get our hands dirty with therapy, soul-searching, and hard decisions, but as the old hymn promises, the lost will be found and the blind will see.

(for another take on today’s reading from John, see Spit, Mud, and Healing)

Comfort: God is waiting to make you whole.

Challenge: You’re going to have to do some of the work.

Prayer: God of healing, granter of mercies, I seek the wholeness you offer. Amen.

Discussion: The title of today’s post is from Jonathan Swift’s Polite Conversation. What are some things you’ve tried not to see?

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Timing is Everything

/ JJS / 3 Comments

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Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 96; 147:1-11, Job 12:1, 14:1-22, Acts 12:18-25, John 8:47-59

One of the things people find annoying about Christians is that we just won’t shut up about it.

Years ago I was at a funeral for an infant. Such a tragically short life is difficult to eulogize, so it was no surprise the presiding pastor’s words were very general. What was surprising, at least to me, was how quickly he turned the service into an altar call. What exactly was he thinking? “You’re a captive, vulnerable audience focused on mortality … what better time to remind you about the dangers of hell!” Had this tactic ever paid off in a meaningful way? The approach felt less evangelistic than predatory.

We should always be willing to share the gospel, but we should be sensitive to when people are ready to receive it. After an angel freed Peter from Herod’s prison, he left Judea for Caesarea and stayed there. When the Jewish religious leaders were ready to stone Jesus because they did not want to believe his teachings, he hid and fled the temple. If the founder and the rock of the church know when to get out of Dodge, so should we.

Sharing our faith in a time and place where Christianity is not a new movement but the default expectation requires some discernment. To many non-Christians, and to many wounded faithful, we are perceived not as the new Apostles caring for the poor, but as the old hypocrites failing to embrace our own standards. Nobody in Rome 40 A.D. had been cut off in traffic by a van with a Jesus-fish sticker.

The message of Christ is always counter-cultural, even when Christianity is the culture. We don’t just have to share the Gospel, we have to contend with two thousand years of crusades, witch hunts, discrimination, and other baggage which have distorted it. To share our message of hope with people in their most vulnerable moments, we have to be vulnerable. To share it with people who are angry at Christianity, we have to first hear their complaints. We can best know when to speak by learning how to listen.

Comfort: You don’t have to evangelize every moment.

Challenge: It’s important to recognize the moments where you should.

Prayer: God of life, may my actions be a constant testimony, and may my words show people your love. Amen.

Discussion: What are your greatest challenges when sharing the Gospel?

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Addicted to Answers

/ JJS / 1 Comment

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Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 12; 146, Job 12:1, 13:3-17, 21-27, Acts 12:1-17, John 8:33-47

Are you addicted to answers?

Plenty of answer-pushers are itching to sell them to you: evangelists promoting books and videos, self-help gurus offering weekend seminars, politicians telling you who to blame, and television doctors who just happen to own stock in the current miracle herb. Answers are tempting. They help us cope with life by providing a quick, if false, sense of security. Answers are different than truth, which is acquired through work, discernment, study, and a willingness to tackle the messy and often unanswerable questions of life.

Job’s friends were answer addicts. They clung to the answers which gave them comfort despite evidence before their very eyes (the ruination of a just man) even though in the long run these answers were doing them real theological and spiritual damage. Job’s mind, however, was clear. He would wrestle with the unpleasant truth, even if it meant taking on God:

I will take my flesh in my teeth, and put my life in my hand. See, he will kill me; I have no hope; but I will defend my ways to his face.

Such powerful words. Job tells his friends that in the end their flattery of God will not save but destroy them. He, on the other hand, will confront God with the truth even though it is harsh.

We want things to make sense. After all, we are genetically wired to detect patterns and impose order on the world. We want to blame vaccines for autism, foreigners for economic woes, and cartoons for real world violence. We want to understand the reasons behind people’s actions. But the truth is, the world is complex, confusing, and in many ways incomprehensible.

And that’s okay.

Our own relationship with God should be as personal and trusting as was Job’s. We don’t need answer-pushers mediating that relationship for us. Great spiritual teachers do not hand out answers, they teach us to how to seek truth. Sometimes that truth is: only God has the answers. Better to say: “I don’t know but I will trust God” than be made a liar by false comforts.

Comfort: It can be truly freeing to admit: “I don’t know.”

Challenge: This week meditate on some ideas that you take for granted.

Prayer: God of truth, I will trust you at all times and under all circumstances. Amen.

Discussion: Has anyone ever tried to sell you false answers?

Join the discussion! If you enjoyed this post, feel free to join an extended discussion as part of the C+C Facebook group. You’ll be notified of new posts through FB, and have the opportunity to share your thoughts with some lovely people. Or feel free to comment here on WordPress, or even re-blog – the more the merrier!

Lemonade

/ JJS / 5 Comments

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Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 62; 145, Job 12:1-6, 13-25, Acts 11:19-30, John 8:21-32

“When life hands you lemons, make lemonade.”

Doesn’t hearing that make us want – at least a little bit – to hurl the lemons at whoever said it? Ironically, the times we are most likely to hear such well-meaning but ill-considered platitudes are also the times we are least likely to appreciate them. They come across as trite and condescending. When the disciples scattered to distant cities after the death of Stephen, “making lemonade” was probably the last thing on their minds.

However, even in this period of fear and confusion, the Spirit moved. In Antioch, some disciples shared the Gospel with local Greeks and a great number became believers. The church in Antioch grew so large that the church in Jerusalem sent Barnabas – the first Gentile convert – to visit with and encourage them. No longer identified strictly with Judaism, the believers began to be known as Christians.

While this may seem like a classic lemons-to-lemonade situation, we should not to be glib about blessings springing from tragedy. No number of Greek converts diminished the loss and sorrow of Stephen’s death. To say God used Stephen’s death to achieve a greater good would have been cold comfort to his mother. While none of us can speak with authority on God’s motives, perhaps it would be better to say the faith of the disciples allowed the Spirit to transform the nature of the tragedy.

Lemons do not spontaneously turn into lemonade. Such a transformation takes effort. Likewise, recovering from tragedy is not a matter of inactivity, but of determination and openness to the possibilities of the Spirit. Consider the story of John Walsh, whose son Adam was murdered in 1981. John channeled his energy into helping missing and exploited children. He is most famous for his television show America’s Most Wanted, which aided in the capture of more than 1000 fugitives. To say God used the murder of a little boy to achieve a higher good is cruel and dismissive of the tragedy. To say God helped transform grief into justice is to speak of hope. The difference is subtle, but all important.

Comfort: God does not inflict tragedy, but helps us overcome it.

Challenge: Pray over a situation in your life that may be an opportunity for redemptive grace.

Prayer: God of life, out of my brokenness reveal new hope. Amen.

Discussion: What are the least and/or most helpful things people have said to you while you were grieving?

Join the discussion! If you enjoyed this post, feel free to join an extended discussion as part of the C+C Facebook group. You’ll be notified of new posts through FB, and have the opportunity to share your thoughts with some lovely people. Or feel free to comment here on WordPress, or even re-blog – the more the merrier!