To Whom Can We Turn?
Times are tough, aren’t they? In the blink of an eye, the world has been thrown upside down such that we can hardly believe that the “sure” things can be sure anymore. The great grey cloud of impending doom is moving in our direction like an oncoming atmospheric river. Who will help us? To which direction should we turn? Who can we trust? We are like deer caught in the headlights, when any action appears likely to worsen the situation. Fear and depression ensue; and all for good reason.
Today’s reading offers shining hope by reminding us who we are and whose we are. God’s love for us and His world is unwavering and it extends from the highest of heights to the deepest of depths. In our troubled times, we can take refuge in the shadow of his wings, just as Aaron Anderson noted in his reflection on Psalm 63. In God’s love there is abundance and delight, for with him is the fountain of life. When the world appears dark, in His light, we see light. I can feel that in the light, everything looks more hopeful.
I found that the last verse struck a clear bell for me, given our present secular situation. God’s steadfast love is a promise that we honour and his salvation is a blessing that we seek. From what do we need refuge? From the arrogant and the wicked. Well, that couldn’t be clearer!
Lord God, our God. We thank you for the light of Your day and Your promises of refuge and abundance. Make us steadfast in our love of You and let us give thanks for all that You provide. In the name of Your son, who stands with us in the darkness, Amen
Amen
Eric Hall
A Life in Full Pursuit
Too often my prayers look like laundry lists of things that I want to change, or am stressing over. I list people that I am worried about and ask God to take care of them, I name the problems I'm having at work and hope that God will make them easier, I say out loud something I enjoyed that day that I'm grateful for.
But in this passage, Paul writes about God as the cure for all of his woes - not just the ones bothering him that day. This letter reads like a love letter, not a romantic love but something more enduring and unexplainable. "I want to know Christ" he writes, "I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things". Reading Paul's words makes me feel the same longing, a hope and an ache deep in my chest. An overwhelming reminder of how much I love God, which necessarily pales in comparison to how much God loves all of us. Suddenly, all my lists of anxiety seems so silly and childish.
I know that no problem is too small for God. Like any good parent, I'm positive that he patiently listens to and cares deeply about all my personal problems - that embarrassing thing I said, the fight with my mom, worries about being 'good enough' at work. I find this passage so comforting because Paul reminds us that discipleship to God doesn't make our small issues go away or matter less, it simply puts them into perspective. We don't need to worry about prestige, titles, wealth, or all of the 'things we did right' in life (which are simply irrelevant "garbage" to God) - what a relief!
As I studied this passage this week, I found hope in the humility that Paul writes with. He reminds us that he has not achieved his goal, but that he continues to press on towards a world that God wants. He leaves us with simple instructions: forget the past that we can't change and push on diligently towards Christ.
What would it look like to live our lives knowing with all certainty and at every moment that we are already cherished, loved, and redeemed? To root our confidence not in what the world thinks or us, but from a life in full pursuit of God? Paul reminds us that we are all living a life in pursuit of Jesus, and the beautiful thing about not being done is that we can still learn!
God, we love you. Every part of our being knows you as God, and we long for your constant presence and Grace. As we strive to have your faith, we carry that enduring love with us in every small and large aspect of our lives. Give us patience and guidance to focus on the things that matter - Your love for us and our love for You. As your disciples, we are blessed to be continually trying, failing, and continually pressing on towards the world that You want. Our worth is rooted in your surpassing grace and love and for that we say thank you, thank you, thank you. Amen.
Hannah Stevenson
Open Our Eyes
How much of our lives are controlled by God? This is a question that has bounced around in my mind for as long as I can remember. I often wonder when something goes in my favour if it’s just a stroke of luck that should statistically happen eventually, or if it really is God working his way into my everyday life. Even more often than that, I forget to wonder about it, and take my many blessings for granted.
Psalm 126 demonstrates the complete opposite of this, however. From the first line down to the very end, the piece is full of elation, grace, and pure gratitude for the wonders of God’s work. The fortunes of Zion, the fresh water of newly restored stream, the hope that is brought with the abundance of crops, are all met by praise and overflowing joy for our creator. There is nothing in the life and the lives around the writer of this psalm that isn’t assumed to be anything less than the miraculous work of the Lord. And how can you blame them? In a context where a dried river means the downfall of a people, how could you not praise God for restoring the streams in the Negev? In a context where agriculture is the center of everything, how could you look at a bountiful harvest and credit to anything other than God’s fortune? Meanwhile in our lives, where things such as fresh water and food production are often glossed over, it’s rare to encounter gifts so stunning as those in the less fortunate places or times of our world.
I wonder what would happen if we took every small thing as a gift from the divine instead. I wonder if how much God controls our life is up to how much we are willing to look.
Heavenly father, I ask that you may open our eyes to see the blessings you offer us, and to provide more blessings for those who need it most. Do not let us forget the restored streams and bountiful harvests of our own lives, and refresh the many droughts that are ever-present in your kingdom. Amen.
Jude Miller
From Forgiveness to Forward Movement
Isaiah 43 and the chapters that surround it feel like a roller coaster ride. All of these are from the perspective of God in the first person.
I love you quietly, even when you don't know it.
I'm really powerful!
You really screwed up.
I'm still in your corner even when you screw up -- I love you so much I forgive everything!
Verses 16-21 are in the vein of I'm really powerful and I'm in your corner.
The book of Isaiah is the word of God as communicated to the prophet Isaiah, and from what we know of Isaiah's time, the Kingdom of Israel was in a period of corruption where the poor were oppressed and idols were worshipped, but Isaiah nevertheless brought a message of hope. Interesting how something so old can still feel relevant.
Understanding this context, it seems clear to me that the message was intense and bombastic to spur on a people who had become complacent and were heading in a very bad direction. How do we, now, in the present, know when we are headed in the wrong direction? How can we find strength in God to do the right thing? Isaiah's hope is grounded in forgiveness, and the knowledge that as God's people we will make mistakes, and that we should carry forward in grace.
Blessed creator,
Give us the humility to reflect on right and wrong,
Even when the truth is complicated,
Even when the path forward is unclear.
Give us the strength to reflect on the most loving and Godly course of action
Help us find strength in you to continue.
Ryan Taylor
Grace Beyond Fairness
As the oldest of all my siblings, I often find myself relating to the older son in the story of the prodigal son. I understand his frustration—he had been faithful and hardworking, yet his younger brother, who had made mistakes, was the one being celebrated upon his return. It seems only fair that the older son would feel upset.
But as I reflect on the father’s words, “You’re with me all the time, and everything that is mine is yours,” I start to see another perspective. The father wasn’t dismissing the older son’s feelings; instead, he was reminding him that he had never been without love, security, and belonging. The younger son had to lose everything before he realized what truly mattered, but the older son had always been at the father’s side.
This story challenges me to think about both justice and mercy. The older son had a right to be upset, but he also had an opportunity to embrace his brother’s return and welcome him back into the family. Sometimes, it’s easy to focus on what feels fair, but this story reminds me that grace is not about fairness—it’s about love. Just as the father welcomed back his lost son, we are all called to offer forgiveness, even when it’s hard.
God
Help us to see the ways of your words and guide us in the way that we are supposed to go. Bless us to see that your love is the real thing that is to be celebrated.
Amen
Prairie Andersen
Through a Glass (a little less darkly?)
In this passage, Paul urges us to anchor ourselves in spirit and live our lives on Christ’s behalf, serving a ministry of reconciliation. I’m having a hard time writing this devotional! What does it mean to live in Christ? To be an ambassador for reconciliation? Life is thorny and tangled; such a thing so simple in theory rarely works out in reality (for me at least). Only “through a glass, darkly” do I glimpse Paul’s meaning.
“All things are become new […] and all things are of God.” Bridging verses 17 and 18 are these lines. All things are of God, reconciliation allows their true nature.
“Even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.” (Psalm 139:12) This is how I understand Christ sees shame, sin, suffering - reconciling us to God. They fall away under his gaze, leaving God who was, is, will be.
Another quote, not biblical. “Anything will give up its secrets if you love it enough.” (George Washington Carver - agricultural scientist on all things from peanuts to people!)
So these are what I try to hang onto here, and have faith that it is something. Maybe one day the darkness occluding the glass will fade and we will find it was our vision that was flawed all along.
May we see the world as Christ does. With wisdom and great compassion, knowing that his love is transformative and real in the truest sense of the word.
Lord, let me see with your eyes. Where there is love and where there is pain, let me see You always. You are all. Let us see the world with your loving gaze and in doing so bring light to darkness. Amen.
Zabrina Ng
We Can Be at Peace
So, I don’t know about you, but often when I read or hear scripture passages like this one, I tend to unintentionally gloss over the finer details of what’s being said. The Bible has a lot of readings that follow a pretty similar line of “God’s so great, and so’s everyone who’s following him, sing praise, etc.,” and while that’s certainly not a bad thing, and it’s an important message to repeat across the text, the volume of it can make it easy to not pay too close attention. Perhaps this comes as a result of my being raised in the church, having had this message talked about around me for my entire life, and a little bit of my own inherent attentive challenges, but I don’t believe it’s an uncommon sentiment. We know God is loving and righteous and forgiving, and we know that happy are we who believe in Them. We can boil it down to an almost formulaic principle—God loves you, follow God, all’s good, happily ever after. Yet that summary misses the point.
I think it’s easy to get caught up in the idea that, to make the best out of that formula, we ought to somehow impress God, or prove ourselves to Them with our good deeds and all. Even if we know we’ll be forgiven for our human mistakes, we think, well, we might as well do the best possible. Everyone will be forgiven, but we can be the less sinful folks in the bunch when The Judgement Days™ come. Then, when we inevitably fall short of our own standards, we criticize ourselves. Sure, we’ll be forgiven, but we still could’ve done better. We know all the rules, we know how to live well in Christ, so we should be able to just... do it.
But an interesting point that we see a lot in the Bible suggests something to the contrary, one echoed in this passage: “I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.”
We forget that God is our guide, a parent and teacher to us, and any good parent or teacher doesn’t just tell their kids or students what to do and then get disappointed in them when we mess up with no further assistance. (Some of them might, but not the good ones.) They talk to them honestly, point out their mistakes, forgive them for them, and then show them what to do next. Life as a disciple is more than life based on a one-size-fits-all dos-and-don'ts list, it’s an active, adaptive life personally guided by God. We’re following Jesus, not just rules. We are not expected to get everything right, right away. Or ever, for that matter. This is a journey, one that will have its fair share of challenges and misfortunes, but it doesn’t matter, because we are still learning, and we are still growing.
God is walking alongside us, not just ahead of us. We can be at peace.
God, we remain near you. When we keep silent in our self-disappointment, when we waste away in shame, you keep watch over us. When we acknowledge our mistakes, you serve as our shelter, and you surround us with the reassurance of your love. You protect us from the rushing waters of our lives, and preserve us from the doubts and judgements of our own minds. So, we are glad in you and rejoice, for you will not let us be lost in our mistakes. Praise be to you, now and always.
In your many names,
Amen.
Levi Miller
The Suffering Servant
This text is one of four passages in the Book of Isaiah traditionally known as the “Songs of the Suffering Servant.” They date from a time in Israel’s history when they had lost their independence and were now an occupied vassal state, dominated by a foreign superpower. Some believed that God would reverse their humiliation by restoring Israel to political and military glory – Making Israel Great Again. Isaiah received a different message about a servant of the Lord who would not work through the exercise of worldly power but through humility and self-sacrifice.
Who is this servant? That’s the perennial question. The scholarly consensus is that Isaiah intended it to refer not to an individual but to the people of Israel collectively. These songs also have a future trajectory, giving rise to the association of the servant with the promised Messiah.
Not surprisingly, the first Christians believed that Jesus fulfilled Isaiah’s Servant Songs. And, as we believe that Christ continues to be present and active in the world through his Body, the Church, they are a description of what faithful discipleship looks like. Therefore, they are also refer to us.
Matthew, in his Gospel, explicitly views Jesus’ ministry of healing and mercy as the fulfillment of God’s Word in Isaiah 42. But the way he employs the text is interesting. Jesus is under attack from the Pharisees for, among other things, healing on the Sabbath. But rather than disputing with his critics, Matthew tells us that “Jesus withdrew from that place” (Matthew 12:15, NIV). He turned away from polemic and turned towards single-minded focus on the needs of the sick and the hurting. With this detail, Matthew shines a bright light on Isaiah 42:2: “He will not cry out or lift up his voice or make it heard in the street.”
This seems an especially pertinent word for us in present our time of hyper-charged outrage, when words are used not simply to express honest disagreement but to denigrate, demean and dehumanize those who oppose us.
Most Christians would agree that we should emulate Christ’s compassion and self-giving love. That’s a no-brainer. Sure, we could be more committed and effective; but we all know we shouldn’t “break a bruised reed” or “quench a smouldering wick.” So, perhaps the really trenchant challenge of the Servant Song for us today is that, with Jesus, we should “withdraw” from a place of self-righteous fury and indignation; that we should refrain from crying out in the streets and channel our energy into the healing work of the Suffering Servant.
Holy and gracious God, you have called us to follow Jesus in his way of compassion and justice, a way that led him to the Cross. May we have the courage to follow where he leads. During Lent, shine your light into our hearts so that we do not confuse indignation over the actions of others with honouring you. May our motive always be care for your children who are hurting, lost and oppressed. We pray in the name of your Suffering Servant, Jesus the Christ. Amen.
Paul Miller
The God of Fourth Chances
The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. What can the parable of the barren fig tree teach us about the blessings of these gifts from God?
This was no ordinary fig tree growing by the side of the road. It was planted in a vineyard, with far better growing conditions than its counterparts by the wayside. In such a situation, its owner had certain expectations – he faithfully came to see the tree each year and had every good reason to believe that he would find fruit.
The disappointment of his expectation is profound. He did not find any fruit at all. He had not expected a bounty, but only a good showing. He had waited patiently season after season for three long years only to have this result. The long wait only served to increase his disappointment.
The fruit tree even took the valuable place of another more fruitful tree that could have grown in its place. Why should it have a place in the vineyard at all when it cannot fulfill its purpose? It seems that the only recourse would be to cut it down.
However the worker asks for a reprieve for this tree. He does not request that it never be cut down. Instead he pleads “not now – not yet”. The worker understands his role is to redouble his efforts and provide special loving care for the tree. This is for a limited time – a trial for one more year – in the hope and promise of long-awaited fruit.
The saving grace of God and the faithful efforts of the worker make all things possible. Yet in the end, the worker relinquishes the outcome to God – “if it must be done at last, thou shalt cut it down – let not my hand be upon it.”
O Holy One……be with us as we seek the fruit of the spirit – may we receive your grace and mercy throughout the seasons of our lives……Amen.
Karen Truscott
God’s Good News
I am usually the type of person who builds to a conclusion. I think that this is a result of my science training in inductive thinking. This year’s passage of scripture, however, entices me to work the other way around. The good news that I want to be sure to share is at the end of the passage, and I need to start with it. The good news is that although humans throughout history, including us, mess up, there are three things we can rely on,
God will never let us down,
God will never let us be pushed past our limit, and
God will always be there to help us get through the difficult times.
As we deal with the painful news of the world that surrounds us each day, that message is critically important to my/our health, both mentally and emotionally.
Now, let’s look back to the context in which this good news is set. The writer of 1 Corinthians, Paul, is writing to the church in Corinth. He starts with five warnings from the history of the Jewish people. Despite having been led through the wilderness by a fiery cloud, having been led through the Red Sea ahead of the Pharaoh and his soldiers, and having been fed manna and been provided with water in the wilderness, that wasn’t enough, and the people had turned against the wonderful gifts of God. Doesn’t that sound like us? Or, at least, it certainly sounds like me at times.
The Israelites engaged in activities that were not good for them, and those activities were not faithful responses to God’s goodness. As the Message describes it, “The same thing could happen to us. We must be on guard so that we never get caught up in wanting our own way as they did. And we must not turn our religion into a circus as they did- ‘First the people partied, then they threw a dance.’ We must not be sexually promiscuous—they paid for that, remember, with 23,000 deaths in one day! We must never try to get Christ to serve us instead of us serving him; they tried it, and God launched an epidemic of poisonous snakes. We must be careful not to stir up discontent; discontent destroyed them. (1 Corinthians 10: 6 – 10).” Those are easy traps for us to get caught in even today.
Going back to the biblical version that we use most often at University Hill, the New Revised Standard Version, Paul writes, “12 So if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall. 13 No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.” Sometimes I wonder about God not letting us be tested beyond our strength, especially in light of horrors like the Holocaust, but overall, what wonderful news we have in our fantastic Creator God as we face the difficulties of each day.
Supportive God, we ask you to walk with us as we stumble through our lives. We pray that you never let us down, that you never let us be pushed past our limit, and that you always be with us to help us get through the difficult times. We pray this in the name of Jesus, your Son, who died that we may be saved.
Barbara Fraser Tilley
A Love Poem for God
Longing for God. Yearning for God. Practically pleading for God.
Few passages in the Bible hold such intimacy in describing man’s relationship with God. Reading it for the first time, one nearly blushes at the detailed description and language. The images are vivid and come alive on the page.
“A dry, worn-out, and waterless land”
“Raising hands in prayer”
“In the shadow of your wings I sing for joy”
It is a true love poem—right up there with a sonnet from Shakespeare, Coleridge, or Browning. And just like those great love poems, this psalm strikes us with all the classic poetic devices we learned in high school. Full of metaphors, similes, and hyperbole. And yet, beyond all the literary analysis, what lingers is the feeling this poetic psalm brings. Alongside the deep emotions of love and adoration, like any intense love story, there is a hint of desperation. Is this, in fact, a story of unrequited love?
Thinking of someone all night long, using words like “I cling to you,” and declaring that love is better than life itself. Can we throw our whole selves into this love and trust that we will feel love in return? This is a love poem for God, and how often have we felt this same relationship—yearning, longing, and pleading?
At times, it can be hard to know if love is returned. Yet He is there, steady and unwavering. The love we thirst for is not withheld; it is poured out. Not always in ways we expect, but in ways that sustain. And so we cling, not in desperation, but in trust.
Lord, you are the one our souls thirst for. In our longing, meet us. In our searching, reveal yourself. When we feel lost or uncertain, remind us that your love is constant, your presence unwavering. Help us to cling to you not in fear, but in trust. May we rest in the shadow of your wings and sing for joy. Amen.
Aaron Andersen
Thirst and Mystery
I focused on the first and last verse of this passage. Water is such a great image to think of many things, including that feeling when you are thirsty, and you can’t think of anything else except water. I have offered a water you can’t drink but always reminds me of God’s love when I see it. It is a painting of the sun setting into the ocean. It’s an image that reminds me of God every time I see it.
“Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters.”
To end the passage, I have painted something that always reminds me of how intricate God’s creation is, we may never understand it, but we also feel like God knows some things we don’t. Look at how a forest is woven together. We can walk through it and feel its beauty without understanding how it all works together to sustain life. It is a mystery to us but we enjoy it ever the same.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
God,
Let us remember to come to you when we are thirsty and to trust the mystery of you when we are unsure.
Amen
Scotia Andersen
Transformed by the Light
A few things stand out to me in this passage. First, Moses and Elijah appear with Jesus, speaking of his departure and the fulfillment he brings. Jesus replaces the old Law and the need for prophet, the long-awaited prophecy has been fulfilled! The good news of Jesus fulfilling the Law and the Prophets confirms that he is indeed the one we have been waiting for, connecting us to God for all eternity. Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection show that we have everything we need in our Triune God. During Lent, we remember that Jesus is the fulfillment of all God’s promises, and through him, we receive grace and new life. Just as Jesus was transfigured before his friends, we too are transformed when we enter into this story.
Next, I am reminded of when Jesus was first baptized and God said, “This is my Son, whom I love.” Over and over, we are reminded of how much love God has for his Son, and through Jesus, for us as well. We are deeply loved, and because of this, we can stop chasing things that define our worth by worldly standards, things that ultimately pull us away from God. During Lent, we reflect on what these things might be and strive to live in a new way, drawing ever closer to God and setting aside the distractions that keep us from him.
Finally, this passage begins on a cliffhanger! What did Jesus say right before this? He said, "Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.” On this day, John, Peter, and James caught a glimpse of the kingdom with Elijah the prophet, Moses the lawmaker, and Jesus the Savior of the world reconciled for a brief moment. And Jesus turned into pure light. Let us follow the light; light that illuminates all truth, light that can never be quenched.
Loving God,
We ask that you transform us during this Lenten season. We come to you, hoping to see a glimpse of your kingdom. And we do see it! We see the light as Jesus illuminates all and chases away the darkness. Let this light radiate from us as well as we live to glorify God.
In loving thanksgiving,
Amen
Robin Anderson
Stand Firm
Let us join together in the word of the Lord. We stand with joined hands and seek to bring light and joy into the world. And yet, our world contains multitudes, and many perspectives run in opposition to our own. There are many who use their fear of what they do not understand to destroy the lives and freedoms of others, and to tear down the fabric holding our society together. We weep over the darkness in their hearts and mourn the pain wrought by their hands. But we will rise, and they will falter. Their end is destruction, their glory is in their shame. There is no way for them to win, only new ways for them to fail. Stand firm, my beloveds, stand firm in the Lord and He will lend us His strength. The battle may be long but will not be lost. Love and joy and freedom will endure, so long as we claim them wholeheartedly. So long as we stand together and love the Lord our God with all our hearts and with all our souls and with all our minds and all our strengths, we will not break. Indeed, we will flourish.
Oh Lord, our God. Walk with us through these frightening and uncertain times. Help us to remember that we are not alone, that we live in your world. Remind us of our calling to celebrate your presence, to live with respect in creation, to love and serve others, to seek justice and resist evil, and to proclaim Jesus as our judge and our hope. Help us to stand firm with courage against those who seek to tear us down. Lead us not into despair, but into righteous resistance. For yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory. Amen.
Court Reynolds
Like a Mother Hen
This is a picture I drew of a hen protecting her little chicks. I like that Jesus has a mission and that he wants to gather and protect his people and is sad when his people turn him away.
Here are some things I learned about mother hens:
Fierce Defenders- A mother hen (also called a broody hen) will puff up her feathers, spread her wings, and even peck or attack if she feels her chicks are threatened.
Hiding Spot- When faced with danger, a hen will gather her chicks under her wings to hide them, keeping them warm and safe from predators.
Nighttime Protection- At night, she gathers her chicks under her body to keep them warm and shield them from cold temperatures and nighttime predators.
Fighting Off Larger Threats- Even though hens are small, they have been known to chase off snakes, hawks, and even dogs to protect their chicks.
Constant Watchfulness- A mother hen is always on alert. She rarely sleeps deeply when her chicks are young, staying ready to defend them at any moment.
Dear God,
You send us such good examples from nature so we can understand how much Jesus loves us. Amen
Alba Andersen
Faithful to His Promise
In Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18, we witness a powerful moment in the life of Abram as God makes a covenant with him, promising him descendants as numerous as the stars, even though Abram is childless and uncertain about how God's promise will be fulfilled. Abram's initial doubt and God's response remind us of the human tendency to question God's plans when they seem improbable or unclear. However, God's faithfulness is evident in the covenant He establishes with Abram, symbolized by the ritual of the sacrificed animals. This act demonstrates God's commitment to keeping His promises, even when the path forward is uncertain.
The passage invites reflection on God's faithfulness in our own lives. Just as Abram had to trust in God's promises when common sense suggested otherwise, we too are called to trust in God's timing and provision. God's covenant with Abram points forward to a deeper relationship between God and His people, ultimately fulfilled in Christ. This story encourages us to rely on God's word, even when we cannot see the full picture, trusting that He will always remain faithful to His promises.
Eternal and Living God, You are faithful beyond our understanding. Help us to rest in the knowing that Your promises to us will be fulfilled in Your time and Your way. Amen
Kirsten Bowles
Jesus and the Devil
The Gospel of Luke is a bit of a hodgepodge. We have the birth of Jesus, his baptism by John, all recounted in Matthew as well, and then, the Devil. Not a frequent character in the biblical narrative, but much described in Christian literature for centuries after.
Anyway, the Devil. After his baptism, Jesus is taken on a magic carpet ride. Just back from the Jordan river and his baptism, filled with the Holy Spirit, and before he begins his ministry, he’s starving in the desert. Forty days with no food. Probably pretty stressed, so when the Devil suggests turning a rock into bread, it had to have been a serious test. Why not just do the magic and get something to eat?
First of all, the story makes it clear to us uninitiated proto-Christians that Jesus is not a circus act. He is not here for tricks. He stands in for God the all-powerful, and when amazing things happen, no doubt we are intended to understand that these are just tiny slices of what Got can do.
The other question is all about the Devil. He obviously sees Jesus as the main event, the new manifestation of things that need to get knocked down quickly before this rabbi develops a following. Better to discredit Jesus immediately.
It didn’t work. The Devil offers Jesus the allegiance of all the kingdoms, and then a chance to show off by flying from the tower of the temple. As expected, Jesus has his mind elsewhere. The Devil is a distraction, not part of the plan. Jesus is set to begin his ministry in Galilee, and with the great benefit of hindsight, we all know where this will end. With death, certainly, a fate we all share, but also an extraordinary ministry that changed the world.
Holy one, your power is beyond description, and we ask your blessing as we share the knowledge and faith of Jesus our savior.
John Culter
Jesus is Loaf-Ward
Sometimes because of our experiences with people who misuse power and abuse their leadership, or because of the way the harm has been done by the church in Jesus’ name, or because our culture has been taught to question and distrust authority, confessing the Lordship of Christ is difficult. Even as scripture reveals Jesus as a gentle shepherd, a servant healer, a friend who weeps, attributing Lordship to him seems to invoke a characteristic of a distant ruler, controlling us to do his will against ours. We may not want to sing the word Lord in our hymns. We may rather imagine Jesus’ importance in other ways.
As some may know, Aaron and I were classmates studying English language and literature together in university. Our most challenging course was Anglo Saxon, not just learning the early history of the development of the English language, but attempting to understand Old English itself, a befuddling mixture of German and French with only a mere hint of the language we speak today. Twenty years on and two brains between us, we’ve retained barely anything worth mentioning, surely to the chagrin of our beloved professor who we credit with providing the opportunity of an 8:00 AM class to nurture our young love. But there is one Anglo Saxon word that long lingers in our fading vocabulary, which is the origin of the word Lord: hlāford, from hlāfweard, which means “bread-keeper.”
I’m fairly certain that we didn’t learn what the role of the bread-keeper was in 8th century Britain, but surely it must be as it sounds –the one with the bread! How important! As the one revealed to us as the Bread of Life, as the one who we remember at the communion table when we eat and drink of Jesus’ offering, confessing Jesus as bread-keeper may not be a stretch! The righteousness that comes from faith that Paul encourages us to both express from our lips and experience in our hearts, is the Word that is as close as our bodies. The body of Christ, the bread-keeper who sustains us, is Jesus our Lord.
Generous God, we give you thanks for Jesus, the broken bread of heaven who nourishes us anew. Raised from the dead, we confess Christ as the keeper of what has returned us to You. In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.
Kate Miller
Part of what sustains God’s people, in every time and place, is the telling and retelling of the things God has done. Today’s reading outlines a liturgy for harvest offerings. But it’s so much more that fulfilling a religious responsibility. We can imagine children learning the refrain that goes with the offering, memorizing the words that create the framework for how they will understand the world, so that when it’s their time, they will be able to participate in the story. Think of the people coming, year after year, to offer their gifts and recite the same lines that roll off their tongues as naturally as breathing.
And as they do, they situate themselves, and everyone who hears, in a world where God is living and active, working through the most unlikely of people (“a wandering Aramean”), drawing near to those who are suffering, making a way through injustice, setting free and sustaining in power and grace. Whatever the harvest this year, whatever the circumstances this time around, they know themselves to be in the presence and under the care of the God who does marvellous things.
That’s what liturgy - “the work of the people” - does. The peculiar things we do when we come together in worship shape us, and teach us what it means to be a people caught up with the God who sets free and raises the dead. When we carry in the light and Word and water, when we stand to sing together, when we confess our sin and lift our prayers, when we hear that we are “loved, forgiven, and all part of God’s family,” when we meditate on Scripture and gather at the Table, when we give our offerings and sing our blessing, all of these things work to orient us to the ways and means of God in the world. And seeing that clearly, we are equipped to move into the rest of our lives, trusting in the One who has called and claimed us, living towards the world as it will be when God gets the world God wants.
Holy God, let us never get tired of telling Your story, and finding ourselves in it. When other stories overwhelm our senses, draw us back to Yourself, that we might celebrate all You are and all You do, in, with, and for us. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Transformative Action
Matt 6:1-6,16-21
“Be especially careful when you are trying to be good so that you don’t make a performance out of it. It might be good theater, but the God who made you won’t be applauding." The Message
Working in a school, I am no stranger to performative action. Sometimes, performative action feels like the only kind we see (Pink shirt day, anyone?), so much so that the day prior to (insert-the-color) shirt day, I sigh and give my students a lesson on the difference between performative and transformative action. It’s the latter this passage calls us to, and I think it’s more than just avoiding being seen doing good by others.
But first, a little segue into the educational world: working with children with exceptional needs, teachers are encouraged to use non-judgemental language to help students understand what is “expected” and “unexpected” for behaviour. It’s far kinder to say, “Gosh, that was unexpected,” than “Gross! Don’t pick your nose in public!” Both teach the correct behaviour.
Still, it’s teaching performance and compliance, and I think that messaging to children is very loud. Recently, I asked my youngest what the most important thing was about school. Her answer? “To behave.”
Ouch. Playacting. Pleasing others by “behaving.”
I like to remind myself that with Jesus, expected behaviour includes upending practice and tables in holy places. Centering the love of others and not behaviour. Not worrying about how it looks.
What a burden that is, the weight of behaving in the expected way. And what a gift that is, to be invited to drop that weight.
I think The Message phrases it well, telling us not to “be tempted to role-play before God,” but instead, to focus on his love and how he helps us, without play acting or fanfare.
Prayer:Dear God, let us feel your initiation to your love, to work and pray without concern for any performance for the world. May it be so. Amen.
Erin Tarbuck