Readings

Mark 14:17-31

Devotion

Peace be with you!

Saying goodbye to close friends is always so hard. My last year in semester at Luther Seminary was a time when friends and I were constantly doing the things that had brought us together, like baseball games, girls’ nights out, and Friday lunches in the café. Some Fridays, we prolonged our lunches, laughing together long into the afternoon. We knew as soon as we graduated that we would all be moving in a dozen different directions.

Jesus knows this Passover dinner with his disciples will be his last meal with them until his resurrection. He has a lot to do before his crucifixion, death, and resurrection, including giving them ways to honor God. Jesus also understands the coming days will be confusing for his disciples as they watch him suffer. In addition, the days will come when his disciples will face similar fates due to their belief in and loyalty to the Triune God – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Somehow Jesus needs to give his disciples the strength, courage, and hope to make it through difficult times so they can dare to spread the good news.

During supper, Jesus takes bread, blesses it, breaks it, and gives it to his disciples saying, “Take; this is body.” (Mark 14:22 NRSV). Then he takes the cup, gives thanks, and gives it to his disciples to drink saying, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly I tell you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God” (Mark 14:23-25 NRSV).

Taking and eating bread and wine seem like such simple acts. But it is what Jesus does with the bread and the wine which makes them special. Jesus blesses the bread and the wine before giving it to his disciples. The bread and the wine become symbols of Jesus’ body and blood and become holy to us as Christians. When Jesus says that his blood will be poured out for many, he is saying his blood will seal a new covenant between God and his people. Jesus will become the sacrifice which will repair our relationship with God the Father. Through Jesus’ body and blood, we are given forgiveness and freedom

When Jesus says he will not drink again until he is once again in the kingdom of God, he alluding to his resurrection. Jesus will be alive again when he goes to heaven where there will be a grand banquet, and there will be a new covenant between God and his people. We are made new through Jesus’ crucifixion, death, and resurrection. Our relationship with God the Father is made new with the new covenant. The Last Supper is important, because it gave us as Christians a reason to keep going. In the face of the darkness, we have something tangible to remind us of God’s love and forgiveness.

But Jesus does not stop with the bread and the wine. He makes three predictions about his disciples. The first prediction is that one of his disciples will betray him (Mark 14:18b). We already know from yesterday’s reading that Judas is planning on betraying Jesus by leading the chief priests to arrest him. It is hard news for the eleven disciples to hear. How could one of them betray Jesus?

Then Jesus says they will desert him because it is written, “I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.” (Mark 14:27; Zechariah 13:7). Jesus is our shepherd, and we are his sheep. Jesus endures crucifixion and death on our behalf. We and the disciples run away, because we are scared of the unknown, of what people will think, and of the uncertainty life gives us. Running is easier than standing around waiting for the next punch.

Finally, when Peter says he would never desert him, Jesus tells him he will deny him three times before midnight (Mark 14:30). Peter argues he would never deny Jesus, even if he had die with him (Mark 14:31). In a perfect world as perfect individuals, we would never deny Jesus, even in the face of death. But let’s face it: dying is a little scarier than we would like to admit. When faced with the decision between life and death, we prefer life.

These predictions are hard to accept, let alone accept that they have to happen. Judas has to betray Jesus so that Scripture is fulfilled and Jesus is led to the cross and to resurrection for us. The disciples have to desert Jesus in accordance with the scriptures. Even as we hate this part of the story, it has to take place to carry out God’s plan to save us from the darkness. God’s path is not the easiest to accept, but even in the darkest hour we can see the light.

Continue to follow the light. The story is just unfolding. Thanks be to God!

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for coming into the world to experience our personal suffering. Help us to accept the parts of your plan that we do not like, knowing that your plan continues to unfold according to your will. Thank you for unfolding your plan through us as your children. Thank you for the forgiveness and hope you offer us in the Lord’s Supper. Amen.

Works Cited

Thanks to the Triune God – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Reflective Questions

Please answer the following reflective questions in the comments below.  Please agree to disagree and be respectful to each other. (If you have not already done so, please also take a moment, to sign the comment covenant.)  You can answer as many questions as you would like. 

1. How has God used you to unfold his plan?

2. Which of the troubling events in the last week of Jesus’ earthly life do you find the hardest to grapple with?

Readings

Mark 14:1-16

Devotion

Peace be with you!

The characters in today’s gospel reading all have a role in setting up Jesus’ betrayal, arrest, and ultimately his crucifixion, death, and resurrection. But their roles seem odd to us: a woman pouring ointment on his head, the chief priests plotting against Jesus, and Judas making a deal with the chief priests. What is the significance of the woman pouring ointment on Jesus’ head? What do the chief priests have against Jesus? Why would Judas betray his faithful leader? Why does this all have to take place?

The disciples object when the woman pours ointment on Jesus’ head, because it could have been sold and the money given to the poor (Mark 14:4-5). To the disciples, the woman is wasting money that could have been used to help those in need. However, Jesus stops the disciples in their tracks and explains the importance behind the woman pouring ointment on his head. Jesus states that the poor will always be with us but that he will not (Mark 14:7). For us today, this makes sense. We do see the poor all the time, but we have never seen Jesus in the flesh.

Jesus goes on to tell the disciples that the woman was anointing his body for burial before his death. The woman gives Jesus the honor and dignity that he deserves before he suffers crucifixion and death. The woman gives up money to give honor to Jesus. Anointing before burial was often reserved for important individuals, such as kings. The woman bestows honor upon Jesus as a way of giving him what he deserves before he undergoes the unthinkable for us.

Then we come to Judas Iscariot and the chief priests, who set the events into actions. Chief priests plot to arrest and kill Jesus (Mark 14:1), though it could not be during the Passover, because the arrest would cause a riot (Mark 14:2). When Judas comes forward willing to betray Jesus (Mark 14:10), the chief priests are able to carry out their plans.

Now, Judas does not care why the chief priests want to arrest Jesus. Judas’ only concern is himself, and the chief priests are willing to pay him money for giving them Jesus (Mark 14:11). Because of his greediness, Judas is willing to hand Jesus over to be arrested for his personal gain.

Readers cannot help but compare the woman who poured ointment on Jesus’ head with Judas. When Judas plans to betray Jesus for money, the woman who poured ointment on Jesus’ head sacrifices expensive nard to show him respect and dignity. The woman gives up money for Jesus, whereas Judas takes money for himself. The woman prepares Jesus for his burial by anointing him; Judas puts the events leading up to his death into motion.

It would be easy to mark the woman who poured ointment on Jesus’ head as a saint and Judas Iscariot and the chief priests as sinners. Each of these characters play an important role in the Passion story. As I stated above, the woman who poured ointment on his head gives Jesus the honor and dignity he deserves before he fulfills the scriptures. In the same way, Judas and the chief priests play an important role in allowing Jesus to fulfill the scriptures, even though that is not their goal. Ultimately, Jesus has to die on cross for our sins and resurrect so that he can overcome death. The woman who poured ointment on his head, Judas Iscariot, and the chief priests help Jesus to carry out God’s plan, even without their knowledge.

Thanks be to God!

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for the woman, Judas, and chief priests who played important roles in carrying out your plan. Help us to recognize the way in which you use both those of us who are Christians and those who do not believe to further your plan, even unknowingly. Thank you for using us as you continue to unfold your plan. Amen.

Works Cited

Perkins, Pheme. “The Gospel of Mark: Introductions, Commentary, and Reflections.” In The New Interpreter’s Bible, by Leander E Kirk. Nashville: Abringdon Press, 1995.

Reflective Questions

Please answer the following reflective questions in the comments below.  Please agree to disagree and be respectful to each other. (If you have not already done so, please also take a moment, to sign the comment covenant.)  You can answer as many questions as you would like. 

1. How has God used a tough situation in your life to continue to unfold his plan?

2. Have you ever “wasted” something extravagantly for Jesus?

3. In this time when Jesus is not physically present with you, how do you reach out to the poor? How can doing so make Jesus’ presence known in the world?

Readings

Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29

Mark 11:1-11

Devotion

Peace be with you!

Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem for the final time before his crucifixion took a bit of preparation, but Jesus had it planned out to a tee. While still in the outskirts of Jerusalem, Jesus sends two disciples to a village to get a colt and to bring it back to him. Roman officials commonly requisitioned animals and human labor. The fact that Jesus instructs the two disciples to say, “The Lord needs it” (Mark 11:3), tells the owners that a powerful man needs the colt. However, Jesus’ promise to return the colt immediately sets him apart from other rulers.

Now the colt is significant for a few reasons: First, the colt has never been ridden before, making Jesus the first one to ride it., which would have been an honor to an important Roman official. Jesus enters Jerusalem on a young colt as a king. Second, Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a colt fulfills Zechariah 9:9:

Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion!

Shout, daughter of Jerusalem!

Look! Your king is coming to you:

he is legitimate and victorious,

humble and riding on a donkey –

on a young donkey, the foal of a female donkey.

Jesus presents himself as the long-awaited king of Israel, the Messiah. Even though the disciples and the crowd may have missed the significance, Jesus has made it known to all that he is the Messiah. The crowd and his disciples may have acknowledged Jesus as the Messiah but as the one who will conquer the Romans as a military hero, not as the Son of God who will die for their sins and redeem them to be in a relationship with God the Father.

As we celebrate Palm Sunday, we cannot help but get caught up in the excitement of welcoming Jesus into Jerusalem. We have missed the fact that it was a small crowd that surrounds Jesus in Jerusalem, rather than the large crowd that we imagine. Either Jesus is still a bit unknown in Jerusalem, or his followers are afraid to come out in fear of the Pharisees. Plus since Jesus is entering Jerusalem during the Passover, many of the people in town are at the temple preparing to make their sacrifices.

Whatever the case, Jesus is welcomed by a small crowd with a lot of energy to cover his path with their cloaks and palm branches. The small crowd yells, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” (Mark 11:9-10 NRSV). Although these phrases became common to say in the Jewish culture, one cannot deny the excitement of the crowd, which Jesus would rescue them from the Romans.

Jesus carries out a well-thought plan to reveal himself as the Messiah – the one sent by God to free them from their sins. As readers, we can identify Jesus’ entrances into Jerusalem as a Messianic action. We understand the significance behind it all. Jesus is beginning to prepare for the events of Holy Week.

As we begin the Holy Week journey, put yourself in the different characters’ mindsets. Feel their fear and joy as they watch the unfolding of Jesus’ crucifixion. Ask yourself where you are in the story.

Go out into the world and shout, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” (Mark 11:9-10 NRSV). Welcome Jesus into your town and into your home. Celebrate Jesus’ Messianic claim. Jesus may not be a king in quite the way we expect, but he is still King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Thanks be to God!

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for how Jesus entered Jerusalem as king, giving us a reason to celebrate his Messianic claim. Help us to claim Jesus as our Messiah in a world where it is easier to deny him or reject what his kingship means for us. Remind us of your glory this coming Holy Week as we walk beside Jesus and watch him be the ultimate sacrifice for our sin. Thank you for your glory. Amen.

Reflective Questions

Please answer the following reflective questions in the comments below.  Please agree to disagree and be respectful to each other. (If you have not already done so, please also take a moment, to sign the comment covenant.)  You can answer as many questions as you would like. 

1. Where are you in the story of Palm Sunday? Are you with the crowd shouting “Hosanna”? Or are you hiding in fear of the Pharisees?

2. How would your congregation welcome Jesus into your church?

Readings

Jeremiah 31:31-34

Psalm 51:1-12

Hebrews 5:5-10

John 12:20-44

Devotion

Peace be with you!

Before the contractor could start building our house, Jerry and I had to secure a construction loan from the bank. We had to prove we had the money to make the monthly payments; we also had to prove the house was worth the two hundred and fifty thousand dollars we were asking from the bank. The application process was slow and drawn out. We eventually got the loan and signed our lives away, so the builder could begin his work.

Once the house was built, we had to get another appraisal, a building inspection, and a water test done before we could convert the construction loan into a normal mortgage with a lower interest rate. However, since the pool was not complete when Jerry and I moved in, we could not turn the construction loan into a mortgage until it was finished. After a few months of headaches, we finally passed all of the necessary inspections and signed our lives away again. Despite all of the complexities, the change was needed so that Jerry and I could move into something more permanent than my parents’ home where we had been staying.

The Israelites have a strict covenant with God that was set up in the wilderness. The prophet Jeremiah has the unenviable task of publicly declaring the covenant failures and sin of the Israelites. Jeremiah’s prophetic ministry was to a nation who had become involved with idol worship for decades under the rule of Manasseh. Since the sins of the Israelites ran deep and there was no forthcoming repentance, Judah and Jerusalem were facing destruction.

The covenant God gave the Israelites provided a road map to live by and to be in a relationship with him. The covenant was a strict set of rules for the Israelites to follow to remain holy in the Lord. However, the Israelites lived in the world where they faced temptations by Satan every day. Since they were not perfect like God, the Israelites fell short of his expectations and became unholy. This separated the Israelites from God and broke their relationship with him.

It is in this environment that Israelites begin to understand the covenant that they made with the Lord in the wilderness is impossible to keep. Imperfect, fallen people who live in the world where Satan reigns can never keep the covenant. The Lord made this covenant to show the Israelites that they could not be holy without his divine intervention. The Israelites struggle everyday to uphold the Ten Commandments and to beat Satan at his deceptive ways. Darkness surrounds the Israelites as they try to live in the world according to the covenant.

God makes plans to create a new covenant (Jeremiah 31:32) to reclaim his relationship with the Israelites. The new covenant will reclaim the Israelites as his people (Jeremiah 31:33) and bring them back into a relationship with the Lord. The Lord promises to their God, and the Israelites will be his people (Jeremiah 31:33). The Lord desperately wants to be their God by being in a relationship with them. However, God knows the current covenant will never allow this to happen. A change needs to occur to allow this to happen.

Instead of having the laws written on tablets, God wants to write them on the Israelites’ hearts (Jeremiah 31:33). Although in Western culture, the heart connotes emotional feeling, in the world of the Old Testament, the heart signified cognitive reaction. In other words, this writing of the Law on hearts means that the Israelites will know and understand the Law and be able to follow them to their best ability.

And there is more: God promises to forgive the Israelites’ shortcomings. God will no longer remember the Israelites’ sins or hold their sins against them (Jeremiah 31:34). The Israelites (and we) will be freed from out sinful pasts through God’s forgiveness.

These changes allow us to be in a more permanent relationship with God the Father. Forgiveness gives us the opportunity to really know God and to be able to carry out his plan.

Allow God to create a clean heart in you, to make a new and right spirit within you (Psalm 51:10). We need God’s cleansing in order to know the Triune God.

This is the beginning to the ending: Jesus came to walk on earth beside us in order to feel our pain and joy. Then he did something incredible: he became God’s living sacrifice on the cross for the forgiveness of sins. Jesus died on the cross for our sins, went to hell for three days, rose again and ascended into heaven.

And still God’s promise is not fully fulfilled. Jesus is coming back for us – those who believe in the Triune God – to take us to heaven to be with God the Father. So as we look towards Holy Week – and Easter – remember this is not the end; it is just the beginning.

Thanks be to God!

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for the new covenant which extends forgiveness to us and renews our relationship with you. Help us to understand that this is just a beginning to the end. You have greater plans for us than we can imagine. You have claimed, are claiming, and will continue to claim us as your children by redeeming us from our sins. Thank you for creating a clean heart in us. Amen.

Works Cited

Thanks to the Triune God – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Reflective Questions

Please answer the following reflective questions in the comments below.  Please agree to disagree and be respectful to each other. (If you have not already done so, please also take a moment, to sign the comment covenant.)  You can answer as many questions as you would like. 

1. Where do you find God? How does God find you?

2. How does God continue to redeem you?

Readings

Jeremiah 31:31-34

Psalm 51:1-12

Hebrews 5:5-10

John 12:20-44

Devotion

Peace be with you!

On Private Practice a week ago (season 5, episode 17, “The Letting Go”), Erica Warner (AJ Langer) finds out that the cancer has come back and has spread throughout her body. Charlotte King (KaDee Strickland) and Amelia Shepherd (Caterina Scorsone) have the unfortunate news that Erica only has a week to live, even though Amelia with the help of her brother, Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey from Grey’s Anatomy), got the brain tumor that was initially suppose to kill her.

The new is hard to accept since Erica has a son, Mason (Griffin Gluck), and it was a miracle Amelia and Derek got her brain tumor. Every other doctor said it was inoperable. Cooper, Mason’s father and Charlotte’s husband, was hopeful Mason would have his mother for a long time. Now it seems the miracle just prolonged Erica’s pain.

Erica has undying love for Mason, her son, who she refuses to allow to watch her die. All Erica wants is to have Mason remember her healthy and vibrate. The episode ends with Mason saying his final goodbye to his mother.

Like Erica, Jesus knows he has to die, and the news disturbs the disciples then and us now – or I am disturbed. The Son of God has to die. Why? He’s God for goodness sake! It just does not make sense.

However, Jesus explains why he must die to the Greeks – a group outside the Jewish tradition, which symbolizes that he came for the whole world (John 3:16). Evil is in the world, which separates us from God the Father. Evil is responsible for the deception in the world. Satan acts in the world to bring an end by forcing us to do his destruction. By doing this, he brings death into the world in an attempt to destroy God’s creation. Satan wants to bring an end to God’s goodness.

By sending Jesus, God is working to reverse Satan’s hold in the world, so we can enjoy fullness of life. Jesus brings truth, divine love, and life into the world, but it comes with a price: his crucifixion. Through his crucifixion, Jesus gives us the truth about Satan and God. God loves us without a second thought, because we are his creation; on the other hand, Satan works to deceive us and forces us to work against God. Jesus’ crucifixion is an expression of God’s divine love and liberates us from Satan’s deception. God’s divine love is self-giving as he sends Jesus to walk besides us to feel our pain, joy, and confusion. The crucifixion liberates us from the rare emotions Satan puts on our minds and frees us from his deception. Jesus wants us to join God, and God wants us to see him as a human, which allows us to feel his closeness to him. Jesus had to die for our liberation.

God has a greater purpose behind Jesus’ crucifixion than we could ever image. It is just part of God’s plan to liberate us from Satan. In order to liberate us, Jesus must die, but that is not the end of the story: Jesus will resurrect from the dead to overcome Satan’s end for us. Jesus gives us a new life in him to be in a relationship with God the Father.

We are called to follow God the Father and Jesus Christ through our liberation. With Jesus in our hearts, we bear much fruit for God through our actions and words. We give comfort to those still in Satan’s grip of deception, to those still fighting the darkness and cannot see the light, and to those still fighting death in the face of life. Satan has a powerful force, but Jesus knocks him down through his crucifixion, death, resurrection, and ascension to heaven. Jesus overcomes death to free us from the darkness.

God accomplishes our liberation through Jesus’ crucifixion, death, resurrection, and ascension to claim us as his children. He brings us back into a relationship with him. We could not do it on our own because of Satan’s power of deception and his will to bring an end to God’s creation. Therefore, God has to conquer death by sending his son, Jesus Christ into the world to die for us. Even in death, God’s plan is not done, because there is life after death.

Just as Erica will live on through Mason on Private Practice, Jesus lives on with the Holy Spirit and in us – drawing us to God the Father. We bear the fruits of Jesus Christ when we carry out God’s plan, but it requires us to first force Satan to give up his hold on us and second to walk along side Jesus. We must let our old selves under Satan’s deception die before we can live our new lives with Jesus. When our old selves die, the light can shine in and give us a new life with Jesus Christ.

Thanks be to God!

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for coming into the world to fight against Satan’s deception. Help us to die in order to bear your fruit and to live along side you. Remind us that death is no longer the final say. Thank you for using us to bear your fruit. Amen.

Works Cited

Thanks to the Triune God – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Reflective Questions

Please answer the following reflective questions in the comments below.  Please agree to disagree and be respectful to each other. (If you have not already done so, please also take a moment, to sign the comment covenant.)  You can answer as many questions as you would like. 

1. What does it mean to see God as human?

2. How do you force Satan out of your life?

3. How do you lift Jesus up? How are you lifted up?

Readings

Numbers 21:4-9

Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22

Ephesians 2:1-10

John 3:14-21

Devotion

Peace be with you!

Some days it feels like the world–and maybe even God–is out to get you. God has called you to be [whatever “it” is], and yet nothing seems to go your way. You applied to finally get your masters in [whatever “it” is], were accepted, and then health issues within the family push back your start date. Or you complete all of your classes but cannot find an internship to fit your family schedule. And when you finally graduate, you struggle to find a job that can work around your family. It is just not fair. For me, the struggle was finding people to help me eat three times a day and shower in the morning. I actually had personal caregivers call me a hour before my morning shift and ask if I still needed them. Or half the time the personal caregivers would not bother to show up at all. Several times during my first semester at Luther Seminary I debated if I should move back home since I could not rely on the caregivers to show up. I had to eat to keep up my strength. It seemed impossible.

For the Israelites, the days never seem to get any better. God has led the Israelites out of Egypt and into the wilderness for forty years. God promised to lead the Israelites to the Promise Land, yet they are still wandering in the wilderness for what seems like an eternity. The Israelites have nothing exciting to eat or drink – just manna and water – in the wilderness. If they knew there would be such monotonous food and drink for forty years before entering the Promised Land, the Israelites might have thought twice about leaving Egypt. Although the Pharaoh made them work as slaves and do hard labor, the Israelites always had plenty of food and drink (or at least that’s how they remember it). They could eat and drink anything they wanted – especially leeks and onions! But–in the wilderness?– all the Israelites have is manna and water. What were they thinking?

During my time in seminary, I often asked myself what I was thinking to follow God’s call there. The first year, the professors break you down–which seems cruel at the time. After all, you come to seminary with a strong faith. Why else would you offer your life to God in fulltime service? But then the second year rolls around and things start making sense … and your professors laugh about it. You start to be built back up, stronger than ever. Forty years in the wilderness must have felt like an eternity to the Israelites, though we must remember it was all part of God’s plan. The Israelites are living between two realities: being promised and having the promise fulfilled. The original generation that left Egypt is not allowed in the Promised Land, because they went against God by breaking their covenants with him. The first generation had to die off before the next one could enter the Promised Land.

For four years (or so…), I saw so many friends stand between being given the okay by their call committee to start seminary and ordination. They had to go through multiple interviews with your call committee; they wrote a dozen essays why they would make a good pastor; they did CPE and the cultural experience. Yet there is no guarantee that they would be called a pastor. The time between being called and ordination is like forty years in the wilderness.

And even if you went to school for something else, such as a nurse or a teacher, your schooling is a lot being in the wilderness. The times it takes to apply school and pass any pre-entry tests, attend the classes and do the work, and take any post-graduation exams to obtain licenses can wear on a person.

As a MA student, I was required to write a 50-80 page thesis with something to do with the New Testament. I had no idea what to write since everything seemed to be written on before me. What could I possibly add to the New Testament field? I was no scholar.

When the Israelites complain about only having manna and water, God becomes angry and sends poisonous snakes to bite them. As a result, many of the Israelites die from the bites. Although this seems cruel, when that first generation dies, it does move the Israelites closer to the Promised Land. However, Moses pleads with God not to kill off the first generation all at one time (Numbers 14:13-19). Moses elegantly says in Numbers 14:19, “In accordance with your great love, forgive the sins if these people, just as you have pardoned them from the time they left Egypt until now.” (NIV). God is responsive to Moses’ intercession and tells Moses to make the image of a poisonous snake on a rod. He tells Moses to have anyone bitten by a snake look at it. By this act of obedient faith, the sick person would be healed from the snakebite. God provides a way for the Israelites to be healed, despite his anger.

Although we do not always follow God’s plan in seminary, we eventually end up where he wants us to be. For me, seminary started off rocky as I figured out who would help me with personal care, especially with eating my three meals a day. Thankfully, Jerry moved up before my second semester to provide my care so that I could focus on my class work. Another issue I struggled with throughout seminary was questioning my calling since I was not becoming a pastor.

Like the obedient faith that focused on the snake on the rod, I had to take many quiet mornings of reflection in chapel to understand what I was doing in seminary. I sought God for guidance and waited to be given direction.

Finally, by the end of my second year, I felt the call to educate people on what it means to be healed and spent the next year writing my thesis on John 9(the healing of the blind man). And, yes, it took another year after graduation to figure out how I am supposed to answer the calling.

Whatever calling you have, it has probably taken a journey to get you to hear it and answer it. Between resistance, denial, and just life happening, answering God’s call can seem a lot like the Israelites’ forty years in the wilderness. We are excited to begin answering God’s call, but we become weary when things do not work out the first few attempts. The word of encouragement to us today is this: Don’t give up. Hang on to Jesus and act in obedient faith, even when you don’t understand, even when you can’t figure out what God is doing. He is faithful. Trust him.

Thanks be to God!

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for leading us even when we don’t understand your purposes. Help us to turn to you in obedient faith. Thank you for forgiving us when we come to you in repentance and faith. Amen.

Works Cited

Thanks to the Triune God – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Reflective Questions

Please answer the following reflective questions in the comments below.  Please agree to disagree and be respectful to each other. (If you have not already done so, please also take a moment, to sign the comment covenant.)  You can answer as many questions as you would like. 

1. Where are you in answering God’s call?

2. Where has the journey taken you as you work to answer God’s call?

Readings

Numbers 21:4-9

Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22

Ephesians 2:1-10

John 3:14-21

Devotion

Peace be with you!

As we sat there on edge with Cristina last Thursday during Grey’s Anatomy, Owen admits to having an affair because it is painful to love her. For a minute, we see a light as Owen professes his love for Cristina, though the light disappears quickly as he clarifies the pain he feels when loving her. The floor fell out from Cristina as the one thing she has been fretting about came reality: he has been sleeping with someone else. Part of us can sympathize with Owen, because Cristina had an abortion when he desperately wants to have children and be a family. Cristina also has challenged his authority as chief at the hospital when she did surgeries without his consent. We can sympathize with Owen, because we all know a Cristina who challenges our love on a regular basis.

The light shines through, and the truth – reality, the ugliness along with the beautiful – is revealed. Owen shines the light on his relationship with Cristina: loving her causes him pain. We are all Cristina’s in God’s eyes; we are difficult to love, because we go against his will on a daily basis; we even deny being in a relationship with God at times.

But God still sends a light into the world to be lifted up. The light reveals a loving God who will die on the cross for our sake. With the evil and the good, God enters the world as a human through Jesus Christ, his only begotten son. And the light gives us a choice to be in a relationship with God or to walk away from him. Do we accept the truth? Or do we deny it? Do you walk in the light? Or do you hide in the darkness?

OR do you live in the grey? Do you fight the confrontations daily? As Christians, we proudly profess our faith, go regularly to church, and pray with our whole hearts. We hold on to our faith tightly as we go through our day. But then a crisis happens and you are left with a mix of emotions. Again the light presents us with the choice: to allow God into our painful lives or to all the pain to take over. There is always a moment during a crisis when I want to melt down – to cry until the pain “goes away”. Where is God in all of this? A boy just shot brunch of his classmates at school. The rains washed away the crops. A little boy was born too soon and fights for his life. A husband chooses the bottle over his family. Where is God?

Then God taps me on my shoulder to remind me he is standing beside me. God became human to feel our pain, our emotions, and our confusion. He understands the battles we go through daily in the world where there is robberies, murders, misery, fights within families and among friends, wars, illness, depression, physical flaws, and so on. It is so easy to get lost in the negative the world presents us.

God is in the midst of it all – in the grey; he meets us in our pain and walks through us. God enters the world through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit…and through us. The light enters the world to confront the darkness for our sake. Jesus has felt our pain, our emotions, and our confusion, and he comes to offer a way to overcome the darkness. Jesus invites us to lay out all off our pain, our emotions, and our confusion, and he will provide the way. Jesus promises to walk beside us and to help us through any crisis that comes along. When we acknowledge God’s presence in our grey lives, we choose light over darkness – life over death.

Through his resurrection from the death, Jesus is exalted on high. And when we choose to be in a relationship with God, we are exalted through Jesus Christ who lifts us up with us on the cross and resurrects us each time we turn away from the darkness. Jesus presented us forgiveness of all of our sins, and when we accept his forgiveness we are exalted through his resurrection. What a glorious thing to be resurrected through Jesus. We are counted as God’s children!

Thanks be to God!

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for coming into the world to experience our pain. Help us to walk besides you as we experience crisis. Remind us to look forward to your resurrection, even when we are suffering. Thank you for Jesus’ resurrection and exalting us with Jesus on high. Amen.

Works Cited

Thanks to the Triune God – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Reflective Questions

Please answer the following reflective questions in the comments below.  Please agree to disagree and be respectful to each other. (If you have not already done so, please also take a moment, to sign the comment covenant.)  You can answer as many questions as you would like. 

1. How do you exalt Jesus Christ in your life?

2. How do you experience being exalted with Jesus?

3. How do you experience God’s love?

Readings

Exodus 20:1-17

Psalm 19

1 Corinthians 1:18-25

John 2:13-23

Devotion

Peace be with you!

To re-read our discussion on the Ten Commandments, click here.

The Ten Commandments seem like a harsh set of laws that are impossible for us to follow as we discussed the last time. However, tonight I would like to propose an idea: the Ten Commandments are laid out for us to be in a relationship with God the Father and those we come into contact.

The first four of the Ten Commandments gives us ways to worship God: having one God, not making our own gods, not using God’s name in vain, and resting on the Sabbath. These four commandments give us ways to honor God, so we can be in a relationship with him. Just like any other relationship, we need boundaries to have a healthy and solid relationship. With these four commandments, God wants you to honor him as your God only and have no other gods. No other god will be able to draw us away from the Lord. These are the boundaries God sets for our relationship with him, so we do not wonder off.

The last six of the Ten Commandments gives us ways to honor those around us: honor your mother and father, shall not murder, shall not commit adultery, shall not steal, shall not bear false witness against your neighbor, and shall not covet your neighbor’s personal belongings. These commandments give us ways to carry out our lives to honor God by tending to the needs of others around us. God gives us these commandments, so we are aware of people around us. For instance, the fifth commandment to honor your mother and father pertains to the elderly and tending to their needs. God wants us to care for each other. If we do not kill each other, steal, or lie, we are forced to care about the other person. God wants us to be community, not at odds, with each other.

Whether than looking at the Ten Commandments as laws, we should embrace them as guidelines to be in a relationship with God and in community with each other.

Thanks be to God!

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for the Ten Commandments as guidelines to live out our lives. Help us to live in community with each other as your children. Thank you for the opportunity to be in a relationship with you and in community with those around us. Amen.

Works Cited

Thanks to the Triune God – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Reflective Questions

Please answer the following reflective questions in the comments below.  Please agree to disagree and be respectful to each other. (If you have not already done so, please also take a moment, to sign the comment covenant.)  You can answer as many questions as you would like. 

1. How do you live by the Ten Commandments?

2. How do the Ten Commandments strengthen your relationship with God?

Readings

Exodus 20:1-17

Psalm 19

1 Corinthians 1:18-25

John 2:13-23 

Devotion

Peace be with you!

I loved my church as a child. We had a talented choir, caring people who looked past my Cerebral Palsy, and gifted pastors who reached out to all ages. Plus,  my church was fully handicap-accessible. As a youngster, I left my electric wheelchair at home because my parents could not easily transport it, so someone in the congregation donated a recliner for me to sit in during Sunday School since sitting in the normal chairs was too hard for me. Unlike my experience in other churches, the pastors included me during the children’s sermon. In fact, the congregation included me in all of their activities. I always looked forward to Sunday morning, because it meant going to church and seeing people who accepted me, despite my Cerebral Palsy.

As I became an adult and moved away, however, church became a building where I went when I had time. My new congregation welcomed me and found ways to include me, but it was not the same, because I did not have time to be involve in the community. Luckily, I found the Campus Ministry Center where I became a peer minister and led Bible studies and group activities. Worship was done outside of the church building. For the first time, I realized the church was just a building where we formally gathered to worship, but it was not the only place to worship.

In John 2:13-22, Jesus challenges the sacrificial system, which is centered around the temple.  A marketplace had grown up in the outer temple courts so travelers could buy animals to buy to sacrifice. Since the temple was the only place sacrifices could be made, people traveled from all over the country to offer sacrifices to God in order to demonstrate their repentance. The sacrificial system was the way individuals pleased God and were made right in his eyes.

When onlookers ask Jesus what gives him the authority to destroy the marketplace in the temple, Jesus tells them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days” (verse 19, NIV). This cryptic remark, John goes on to show, actually refers to the temple of Jesus’ body. When Jesus challenges the need for the marketplace in the temple, he also challenges the Jews to accept a new way to worship. For the Jews, the temple symbolized the presence of God; they went to the temple to encounter and see God.

Jesus is pointing to a deeper, more personal relationship people can have with God. Two chapters later in John 4, Jesus will say to the Samaritan woman, “a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem….a time is coming when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks” (4:21, 23, NIV).

Do you go to church to be close to God? We often forget the sermon once we leave building – or at least I do. We live in the world where Satan dwells, where corruption lives, where kids show up to school to shoot other kids, where people do not help their neighbors–and the list goes on. Where is God in all of this? Does he stay in the church building?

No! Jesus comes into the world as God to walk with us. He comes to feel our pain, to suffer alongside us, and to walk with us in the world. We have never been so close to God before; we can touch and feel God now. Jesus’ death on the cross became the last sacrifice and it was made by God so that we all might be forgiven. The promise of the resurrection gives us hope for the future.

You may be saying, “Well, that is all fine and dandy, but Jesus died two thousand years ago. We cannot see, feel, or hear him now.” And I say, “We can’t?” True, Jesus died two thousand years ago, but he continues to be with us through the Holy Spirit. Jesus feels our pain and draws us to him through the Holy Spirit. And there is no place the Holy Spirit cannot reach us.

Jesus invites us to be in a community with him and with other Christians. Paul even described all of us together as God’s Temple (I Corinthians 6:19, 12:12-14) We are able to worship as a community where the individuals share a connection with the Triune God – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. And with the community, the promise of being in a relationship with God now and in the future is shared and honored. The temple is no longer a physical location; instead, the community of two or more believers becomes the tangible way we can connect with God (Matthew 18:19-20). And so we can worship God wherever we are!

In college, I was involved in the Lutheran Student Movement, which is a pan-Lutheran organization. Every New Year’s weekend, hundreds of college students gather in a different city each year to share their faith in Triune God – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. My favorite part of this gathering was a late-night open mic session. People would sing, read poetry, do a stand-up comedy routine, read from the Bible, etc. In those moments, we worshiped God as a community, even though we were not in a church building and hardly knew each other. However, our common faith in the Triune God quickly made us a community, and therefore, this community became a temple of worship to God!

Thanks be to God!

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for sending Jesus Christ. Help us to express our faith outwardly in order to share the blessing of your community with others. Guide us as we become your living temple. Thank you for making us your temple. Amen.

Works Cited

Thanks to the Triune God – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Reflective Questions

Please answer the following reflective questions in the comments below.  Please agree to disagree and be respectful to each other. (If you have not already done so, please also take a moment, to sign the comment covenant.)  You can answer as many questions as you would like. 

1. Where do you find God?

2. Where and when do you worship? Who do you gather with?

Readings

Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16

Psalm 22:23-31

Romans 4:13-25

Mark 8:31-38

Devotion

Peace be with you!

There are moments everyday where I just wish I could control my Cerebral Palsy muscles a little more than I can. Just the other day I filled my water bottle from the refrigerator, and my hand muscles started cramping up. My full water bottle went flying to the floor. What a mess!

My muscles flinch every time there is a loud noise. A “flinch” for an individual who has Cerebral Palsy is a six-inch jump, even with their seat belt on. Because my startle reflex is so sensitive, I am not able to drive either.

Then there is the fact that my reaction time is ten seconds behind the curve. Chester Jr., our newest puppy, could be messing the floor and it will take my mind ten seconds to tell my muscles to grab him and take him outside.

If only I had more control over my muscles, I could drive, fill my water bottle, open a soda can, feed myself, and just be more independent. It is the little, everyday things I wish I had the fine motor control to do.

In the Old Testament reading, both Abraham and Sarah are in their nineties (and Sarah has been barren all her life). They understand the impossibility of ever having a child of their own. They feel a lack of control over this most important part of their lives. So Sarah takes control by giving Abraham permission to have a child with Hagar, which he does. Sarah thinks she is smarter than God, because she understands the law of Mother Nature; she understands how impossible it is for her to ever conceive a child. She is in her nineties, for Pete’s sake! She is impatient; she shouldn’t have to be worrying about having a baby of her own. She should be onto grandchildren by now!

However, God promised Sarah she (not Hagar) would have a child, even though she is barren and old. God wanted to do a miracle and he wanted to do it through Sarah. He wanted to take a barren old lady and use her to create an entire nation. We often think the promise is for Abraham and Sarah when in reality it is just for Sarah. Just because Abraham has a child with Hagar does not mean God’s promise was fulfilled. Sarah could never expect such a blessing at her age; however, God had great plans for Sarah and her offspring. Sarah just had to trust God would use her for his plan.

For whatever reason, God does not grant me the kind of physical healing that would enable me to completely control my muscles. But as a result, I have come to realize that my inabilities are just as much blessings as my abilities. For one thing, I hardly ever have to eat alone. This has allowed me to get to know some wonderful personal caregivers who have become friends along the way. I have been able to share my faith with personal caregivers as well.  Since I need help with what I called “stupid stuff,” I have met some incredible individuals, especially during my travels, who have helped me without a second thought.

Last September I flew to Baltimore for a conference. I ended up having to sit in the airport for two hours until my personal caregiver flew in from Minneapolis. While waiting for my personal caregiver, I met a flight attendant who I ended having lunch with while we chatted about boys, school, etc. We now keep in touch via Facebook and keep each other’s spirits up.

Having a disability has also taught me there are a million different ways to meet a goal and to do activities. Over a decade ago, I did not think I could downhill ski. Now my brother and I go every winter to Utah to ski. Over the years, we have met individuals from all over the world who train with the National Ability Center and compete at the Paralympics. It is an incredible feeling to tell people who assume I am stuck in my electric wheelchair that I downhill ski. Their mouths just drop open.

I may not be able to control my Cerebral Palsied muscles, but God has kept his promise to include me, one of his children, in his plan. God has control over my direction in life. When the doctors told my mom and my dad that I would never sit up, talk, or walk, God must have laughed. God had and has big plans for me. When most people see me on the street, they see an individual in a wheelchair who is cognitively challenged – until I open my mouth and say I have my Masters in New Testament and run my own website. These individuals believe they have control over what I can do and be, but God has the real control. Only he knows where I am going and what I will be doing.

Thanks be to God!

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for always having control over our lives, even when we think it is impossible. Help us to let go of the control of our lives that we desperately hang on to; help us to give it up to you. Remind us that you have a plan and make what seems impossible possible. Thank you for taking control and using us for your plan. Amen.

Works Cited

Thanks to the Triune God – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Reflective Questions

Please answer the following reflective questions in the comments below.  Please agree to disagree and be respectful to each other. (If you have not already done so, please also take a moment, to sign the comment covenant.)  You can answer as many questions as you would like. 

1. Who tries to control your life?

2. How do you try to maintain control over your life?

3. How do you give up control to God? Or how do you plan to give up control to God?