perseverance

No Time Like The Present

/ JJS / Leave a comment

honor and glory

Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 135; 145, Proverbs 10:1-12, 1 Timothy 1:1-17, Matthew 12:22-32

Paul did not start out sympathetic to Christians. He was born to  Jewish parents with Roman citizenship, an unusual status. As a devout Jew he considered followers of Jesus a threat both to both the faith and to the relatively secure status of Jews under Roman occupation. For years he persecuted Christians, literally hunting them down and delivering men and women for imprisonment and execution. As he wrote to Timothy: “I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because he judged me faithful and appointed me to his service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence.”

Yet he was the greatest evangelist in the history of the church.

Can you imagine the resistance Paul faced from other Christians as he began his ministry? He was the embodied scourge of Rome across the backs of those who followed Christ. Why would anyone believe him when he said he was reformed? When people claim to change their minds or begin to behave differently, we suspect insincerity and our suspicions are often confirmed. But Paul persevered despite his critics, who included such important Christian figures as Peter. The zeal which had once driven him as “a man of violence” had been redirected.

If God could reform a villain like Paul, the rest of us should have great hope indeed.

When we try to change for the better, people will inevitably bring up our pasts and question our credibility. We may be embarrassed when that happens, but like Paul we can use that opportunity to testify to God’s grace. Whether we’ve decided to improve in a small way, like declining to indulge in office gossip, or in a more significant way, like seeking reconciliation with an estranged family member, our past does not need to be a source of shame.

Rather, by humbly acknowledging our past sins – not excusing them  or getting “holier than thou” – we can speak a powerful truth about how God’s grace has transformed our present. Paul was humble, but not ashamed. Persistent, but not defensive. His faith eventually became undeniably obvious to all. Whatever your sin or past, God can do the same for you.

Comfort: God wants to free you from the prison of your past.

Challenge: Forgiving your own past is an important step in forgiving others.

Prayer: Merciful God, thank you for your gift of grace. May my life be a testimony to the power of your saving love. Amen.

Discussion: What parts of your own past have you not been able to forgive? Do you think you need to forgive yourself before you can believe God forgives you?

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.

The Staircase

/ JJS / 2 Comments

1456888961544

Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 5; 147:1-11, Genesis 45:16-28, 1 Corinthians 8:1-13, Mark 6:13-29

The French have an expression: l’esprit d’escalier. Its translation is “staircase wit.” It describes that moment someone thinks of the perfect retort – but too late, such as when we’re out the door and down the stairs after a confrontation. If such a confrontation catches us unawares, we can easily find ourselves dumbfounded.

Herod, the ruler of Jerusalem, was a target of John the Baptist’s criticism because Herod had married his brother’s wife Herodias. Herod imprisoned John to silence him, but was afraid to have him killed because the people considered him righteous and holy. Shortly after, a drunk Herod had his step-daughter dance for his court. He was so pleased, he promised her anything she wanted. After a quick consultation with her mother, she demanded John’s head on a platter. Herod was stuck.

Afterward, Herod probably had a lot of staircase moments. Perhaps he wavered between wondering how he didn’t see it coming and how he could ever have anticipated it. What could he have done?

Evil, when it emerges, bewilders us. Maybe that’s why it so often seems to have the upper hand. It goes places and does things we could never dream of. Stunned, we look up from the bottom of the stairs and it is still laughing at us.  As followers of Christ, our loving response can seem inadequate and even pitiful. Though what else can we do but love? Friedrich Nietzsche, while not a man of faith, wisely said: “Beware that, when fighting monsters, you yourself do not become a monster.” Our uncertainty and delay in responding to evil isn’t always a weakness; rather it is evidence we have not yet learned to think like monsters.

The beauty of stairs is that they travel both directions. We are not trapped at the bottom in a state of regret. Meeting evil with more evil is quick and easy. Instead, we need to gather our breath and wits before ascending to confront it again. With God and Christ on our side, we can afford to play the long game. In the end, no matter how slowly, God assures us love wins.

Comfort: Though evil in the world may seem overwhelming, goodness and justice persevere.

Challenge: Resist – or at least seriously evaluate – the urge to combat hate and violence with more hate and violence, even if it feels good or justified. Pay attention even to the language you use: does it approach conflict with an attitude of conquest or of reconciliation?

Prayer: Merciful God, please grant me strength and wisdom to confront evil where I find it. Bless me with the confidence to persevere when discouraged. Thank you for your faithfulness in all times and places. Amen.

Discussion: Jesus tells his disciples to be “wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.” How do we learn to anticipate evil without damaging our souls?

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!

Feeling Crumby?

/ JJS / Leave a comment

plate-1365542_1920

Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 123; 146, Nehemiah 9:26-38, Revelation 18:9-20, Matthew 15:21-28

Have you ever felt like God just wasn’t paying any attention to you? Not a malicious or deliberate snub; more a disinterested neglect. A whole lot of people around you seem to be having mountaintop moments, a clear line of sight to their calling, or an unwavering awareness of the divine presence … while your heart harbors unanswered questions, serious doubts, and perhaps a little resentment. Maybe you’ve previously experienced the joy everyone else seems to be finding in the Lord, but over time that joy of that relationship has faded into a bit of a “meh.” If God is saying anything, it seems to be “maybe we should see other people.”

A Canaanite woman from the region of Tyre and Sidon might have felt that way when Jesus ignored her and her request to heal her daughter, who was tormented by a demon. He told his disciples he “was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” When she knelt before him and asked “Lord, help me” he told her “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” When she reminded him even the dogs get the crumbs that fall from the table, he rewarded her great faith by healing her daughter.

Our story can be similar. We shout. We beg. We fall on our knees before the Lord. And we are rewarded with silence. Except our silence is drawn out over days, months, or years instead of the time it takes to walk down the road. Or maybe the road we’re on is longer.

It doesn’t seem like Jesus was simply holding out as a test of the Canaanite woman’s faith, but that her stubborn faith in the face of what seemed like rejection brought her to the place where she needed to be. That distinction may make little difference to how we feel in the moment, but it is an important one which may help us endure that “long dark night.”

When it seems like other people have more blessings thrown at them than they can catch, it’s not that their faith is greater than ours. We each have our own path to travel, and sometimes it’s through territory that other people may not even recognize as faith. And let’s remember that dogs and crumbs analogy is blessedly flawed: there’s only so much food to go on (and fall off) the table, but there’s enough grace for everyone to fill up on it.

Comfort: God hears you…

Challenge: … but you may still be figuring out what to say.

Prayer: To you I lift up my eyes, O you who are enthroned in the heavens! (Psalm 123:1)

Discussion: What’s the longest you’ve waited for something?

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!

Minority Report

/ JJS / Leave a comment

1499743114647

Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 62; 145, 1 Samuel 15:1-3, 7-23, Acts 9:19b-31, Luke 23:44-56a

When a Supreme Court decision is split, the justices in the minority may offer a dissenting opinion. While this opinion is not legally binding, it is more than protest or rebuke. It may be used persuasively in future arguments to limit or overturn the majority opinion.

Joseph of Arimathea offered his own form of dissenting opinion. A member of the council that accused and condemned Jesus, he “had not agreed to their plan and action.” Rather, he asked Pilate for Christ’s body for proper burial. This was a bold request, as victims of crucifixion – especially those accused of sedition as Jesus was – were usually left on the cross for several days as a warning to others.

After Joseph laid Jesus in the tomb, the women who’d been following Jesus since Galilee prepared the spices and ointments for his body, then finished their Sabbath preparations.

Imagine the feelings of loss. Of hopelessness. Yet in doing what needed to be done, they defied despair. Burying Jesus was at once unremarkable – Jewish people died and were buried every day – and extraordinary because their messiah was brutally taken from them.

Did they have any inkling how bold they were to carry on? In the face of death and oppression, their ordinary acts declared, “We still have faith. We are still God’s people. We still obey God’s ordinances. This was not what we hoped for, but you have not destroyed us.” They may have felt confused and crushed but they persisted. They remained present. Like dissenting justices, from defeat they wrung an investment in the future.

None of them fully understood that God was at work, unseen and unheard, turning death upside down and inside out. Also like justices, they had no idea when or if their commitment would pay off.

What defeats are you suffering? What tempts you to despair? Remember the Spirit moves in ways not yet known to you. Persevering in small acts of faith will sustain you until they are known. Today you may not be able to see past the tomb of defeat, but unimaginable resurrection is around the corner.

Additional Reading:
For thoughts on today’s passage from Acts, see If Paul could do it….

Comfort: God is not idle.

Challenge: Meditate on how your habits change when you are distressed. Do these changes help or hinder you?

Prayer: For God alone my soul waits in silence; from Him comes my salvation (Psalm 62:1)

Discussion: In hindsight are you able to see times God was delivering you without your being aware of it??

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!

Go climb a tree.

/ JJS / 1 Comment

Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
 Psalms 96; 147:1-11, Zechariah 12:1-10, Ephesians 1:3-14, Luke 19:1-10

Zacchaeus was a tax collector and a wealthy man. As a tax collector working for the Roman occupiers, he would have been considered a traitor by many (if not most) of his fellow Jews. As a wealthy person, he would have seemed like the enemy to many of the poor and oppressed followers of Christ. Nevertheless, he was determined to see Christ. Zacchaeus was also short in stature, so in order to see Christ, he climbed a sycamore tree to see over the crowd.

Seeing him in the tree, Jesus called to him, saying: “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.” Many people began to grumble: why would Jesus be going to spend time in the home of a sinner? Zacchaeus welcomed Christ into his home, and promised to compensate fourfold anyone he had cheated (a common exploitive practice of tax collectors) and to give generously to the poor. Christ celebrated with him, because a lost sheep had been returned to the fold.

We can all be a Zaccheus. Our desire to know Christ may encounter many obstacles. Perhaps we feel guilt about our sinful past – or present. Maybe others try to stand in judgment between us and Christ. Others, more out of ignorance than ill will, may not realize their language, traditions, and expectations create barriers we can’t see past. And maybe we have shortcomings we can’t change. Whether people are purposefully unwelcoming or just ignorant, we must work with what we’re given.

It may not seem fair, but fairness is not something Christ promised us. If you don’t feel like the church is welcoming you – and that may be equally true for lifelong members as well as those who have never stepped foot in the door – isn’t it better to forge a path than cry about being lost? Christ welcomes any effort to be closer to him – from climbing a tree to facing our critics – by inviting himself into our lives. He doesn’t care whether other people judge or ignore us, so neither should we.

Comfort: Jesus doesn’t need you to be worthy, just willing.

Challenge: If there are obstacles in your way, don’t waste time cursing them when you can be going through them.

Prayer: Loving God, I will make myself available to you. Amen.

Discussion: Describe an obstacle you have overcome.

Join the discussion! If you enjoyed this post, feel free to join an extended discussion as part of the C+C Facebook group or follow @comf_and_chall on Twitter. You’ll  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!