Mysterious Faith

Hebrews 11:23-28 (NRSV)

By faith Moses was hidden by his parents for three months after his birth, because they saw that the child was beautiful; and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called a son of Pharaoh’s daughter,choosing rather to share ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered abuse suffered for the Christ to be greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, unafraid of the king’s anger; for he persevered as though he saw him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.

The author (likely not Paul) of the letter to the Hebrews wrote with a complex Christology (Christ as both High Priest and sacrifice) and knew how to turn a phrase.  The image of "The great cloud of witnesses" comes from the letter to the Hebrews, and here, with the repetition of Moses' acts of faith, the words embolden and exhort the original readers and us to persevere.  

How does faith do this?  I think perhaps that faith itself is as mysterious as the author's Christology.  One of the least helpful phrases I've ever heard from someone is "have more faith" as if rationally we can decide to do so.

We don't need to have more faith.  Faith, even the "size of a mustard seed "Jesus tells us, is capable of amazing things.  I've seen folks wracked with doubt persevere under terrible conditions.

I think the point IS that faith is mysterious.  Faith is not reason.  It isn't logical.  It is nebulous.  It moves the mountains in our lives and is what gets us up in the morning when everything in us wants to stay in bed and pull the covers over our head because the day isn't one we want to face. 

Good and gracious God, thank you for the gift of faith.  Help that faith pull me forward when everything in my reason tells me that I should stay put!  Amen.

What's in a Name?

Exodus 6:2-9 (NRSV)

 God also spoke to Moses and said to him: ‘I am the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name “The Lord”I did not make myself known to them. I also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they resided as aliens. I have also heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are holding as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant. Say therefore to the Israelites, “I am the Lord, and I will free you from the burdens of the Egyptians and deliver you from slavery to them. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgement. I will take you as my people, and I will be your God. You shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has freed you from the burdens of the Egyptians. I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; I will give it to you for a possession. I am theLord.” ’ Moses told this to the Israelites; but they would not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and their cruel slavery.

The great covenant of God - of The Lord - started with Abraham, but here Moses learns that he is being given something that none of his forbearers had: he has learned God's name.  It's as if time had been building to this moment.

What's in a name?  It's a question Shakespeare pondered and it's one that all publicists and agents and celebrities ask when they set up to promote their product or themselves.  Care and thought went into turning Norma Jean into Marilyn, or Frances Gumm into Judy Garland, or Paul Hewson into Bono, or Stefani Germanotta into Lady Gaga.

And here God has carefully withheld that name until the right moment.  Even those who followed him most closely did not know it.  God was more than a name, and even with the name that was new to them - "The Lord" (or YHWH for the Hebrews), they dared not speak it.  

How dearly do we hold names now?  What's in a name to us?  How many ways are names misused, turned into something else - a scorn, a joke?  

For God names were so important that they were protected.  Not only does God protect God's own name, but God protects ours.  Part of the eighth commandment - not bearing false witness against our neighbor - is the protection of our identity.  

For God, the name of God becomes part and parcel with the promise.  It was so sacred to the Hebrew people that they did not speak it.  

Our names our sacred to God as well.  How can we make those names sacred to each other?  How can our own names be connected to our promise to be God's people?

God of time and space, let your name be a prayer on my lips and guide my to always treat each person, whether I know their name or not, as sacred to you. Amen.

Not like him

Luke 18:18-30 (NRSV)

 A certain ruler asked him, ‘Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: “You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; Honour your father and mother.” ’ He replied, ‘I have kept all these since my youth.’ When Jesus heard this, he said to him, ‘There is still one thing lacking. Sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’But when he heard this, he became sad; for he was very rich. Jesus looked at him and said, ‘How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.’

Those who heard it said, ‘Then who can be saved?’ He replied, ‘What is impossible for mortals is possible for God.’

 Then Peter said, ‘Look, we have left our homes and followed you.’ And he said to them, ‘Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not get back very much more in this age, and in the age to come eternal life.’ 

So much has been written and said about this text that it's become difficult to look for something new to say.  And yet, the last couple of times I've read it, something new did strike me.  Or rather something that in years of identifying with and wondering about the ruler, I'd failed to notice. 

If you were to be describing this scene to someone, most likely it would occur to you to mention to two main characters - Jesus and the ruler (or rich young man depending on your gospel).

But there's another figure there lurking about.  It's Peter.  Peter who looks on this dialogue and when it's over basically says, "Hey...can't say we didn't follow you.  We left everything bro...here we are!"

It makes me wonder how Peter witnesses that scene and what really was going on in his head at that moment.  He wants, it seems, for it to be perfectly clear that he and the disciples are not like that young man who became sad at the prospect of losing his wealth.

Was he worried that Jesus had forgotten everything they'd done in following him? Was he just looking for reassurance?

Was he worried Jesus didn't think anyone could do it?

Did he want to make sure Jesus knew how special they were?

Was it simply a case of wanting to be clear that "we" aren't like "him."

I honestly don't know.  But I know that there are probably more times in my life I've felt like Peter than I wish. "I did this Jesus, just like you asked.  Did you notice?" 

Times when I've thought "I'm not like him or her or them..."

Of course, truth is I probably am.  And because of that, I'm grateful that in the end what is impossible for mortals is possible for God.

God of the impossible, you know my heart and my ways.  With you all things are possible.  Thank you!  Remind me always, and forgive me when I seem to crave just a bit more reassurance than I should.  Amen.

The Law

Psalm 119:57-64 (NRSV) The LORD is my portion; I promise to keep your words. I implore your favor with all my heart; be gracious to me according to your promise. When I think of your ways, I turn my feet to your decrees; I hurry and do not delay to keep your commandments. Though the cords of the wicked ensnare me, I do not forget your law. At midnight I rise to praise you, because of your righteous ordinances. I am a companion of all who fear you, of those who keep your precepts. The earth, O LORD, is full of your steadfast love; teach me your statutes.  I am a big fan of television.  Back in the day, when reruns of "I Love Lucy," "Gilligan's Island," and the "Dick van Dyke" show were on in the afternoon, I'd happily plop myself in front of the TV after school and watch them as if they were the best, brand new shiny things around.  So it's been increasingly sad for me to notice how depressingly nihilistic much of TV has become.  I can't lie and say I haven't watched or even enjoyed some of the post-modern dramas on TV, but I am starting to feel the weight of them.  They are beginning to be overwhelming.  And sadly I think the world they paint is a world I think a lot of people are believing in. Yet everything I know shouts at me that the earth IS full of God's steadfast love.  I see it all the time.   People putting meals together to be shipped to areas of the world that need it most.  People bringing food to the homeless on Thanksgiving.  People sheltering those who have been impacted by nature's force or fleeing an homeland that is falling apart.  People reaching out in relationship to those who are alone, abused, frightened, outcast.  People standing up for the rights of their neighbor. God's steadfast love is everywhere regardless of how it seems to be portrayed in film, TV, and even in the news. When you see the law as something that was given to keep us together, to build relationship, to foster community, then suddenly you don't see the law as something to box us in, but instead as freedom to love as deeply and profoundly as God loves us.  The law keeps us "companions" on the journey and show us what life can richly offer when we jump into relationship and share this life together in love. God of law and grace, write your will on my heart so that I can see your steadfast love everywhere and always, regardless of how the world is portrayed.  Help me to proclaim that love from the top of my lungs and with the depth of my being.  Amen.

Tantrum

Romans 12:9-21

 Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honour. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.

 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’ No, ‘if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

I'm returning to my devotional after over a week of feeling like my enemy - the flu - was definitely getting the upper hand by heaping hot coals on my head! (although hot coals also would have come in handy during our big power outage here in PA!)

Actually, I've always loved that imagery.  Maybe that seems odd to love it, but it's just so visceral, that I know exactly what Paul is describing here.  He's actually quoting Proverbs as well - they also talk of heaping hot coals on an enemies head by giving them water to drink when they are thirsty.

I mean, I've felt that heat of "burning coals heaped" on my head.  Has there ever been a time when you knew you were in the wrong and someone shows you grace and mercy and in that moment you just know exactly what Paul is talking about.  I know have a tendency to flush bright red from my neck to my chest - as if hot from those coals! - when I've been embarrassed or my wrong has been put on display.

There is however, a different kind of heat that is felt when you are the one showing grace and mercy.  When you repay a wrong with a right.  When you quench the thirst of the enemy.

That heat radiates from the heart.  It's the kind of heat that heals.  It's the kind of heat that can heal even the pain of feeling like burning coals have been heaped on you.  The thing about the mortification of feeling mercy being given to you when you've done your worst is that after it's over, that mortification gives way to the grace and takes away the power of the anger.  The healing heat of heart-given mercy spreads and cools your anger and wounds.

What do you do with a toddler throwing a tantrum - a wild, whirling dervish of a tantrum?  You pull them into your arms and let the mercy and grace flow until slowly the tears give way to peace.

Patient and loving Lord, throw your arms of grace around us when we throw our tantrums large and small.  And help us to do the same, stopping conflict always with love and mercy.  Amen

Agape

1 John 2:7-17 (NRSV)

Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word that you have heard. Yet I am writing you a new commandment that is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. Whoever says, “I am in the light,” while hating a brother or sister, is still in the darkness.Whoever loves a brother or sister lives in the light, and in such a person there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates another believer is in the darkness, walks in the darkness, and does not know the way to go, because the darkness has brought on blindness.

I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven on account of his name. I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young people, because you have conquered the evil one. I write to you, children, because you know the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young people, because you are strong and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.Do not love the world or the things in the world. The love of the Father is not in those who love the world; for all that is in the world—the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, the pride in riches—comes not from the Father but from the world. And the world and its desire are passing away, but those who do the will of God live forever.

It's really quite simple.  The song makes it pretty clear: "they will know we are Christians by our love."  Loving isn't something we do to become right with God.  Loving is something we do just like breathing.  Because it is part of who we are in God.

Can't you tell it or feel it when you are "walking in darkness" because you are "hating" someone and not living in the love you were designed for?  I can.  There's a reason being angry feels so rotten.  It isn't the state we are meant for.

I wish the English language had as many words for love as the Greek.  Agape, the full, selfless love that Christ calls us to, isn't the same as the "eros" love we celebrate today on Valentine's Day.  It's more also that the "philo" love of friendship or the "storge" or loving affection that parent's feel for a child.

It's the love that is complete.  It's the love of neighbor.  Of the other.  Of those in need.  Of the lonely.  Of the alien.  Of our enemy.

Oh, yeah.  And it's hard.  Hard because even though we are designed for it, we've got a lot of things that get in the way of it.  Including the ways in which anger, mistrust, and fear slip in and mess things up.

But the good news is that God abides in us and loves us first. Forgives us first.  Frees us first to love as completely as God can.

It's who we are meant to be.  Free in perfect love.

Loving God, help us strip away the things that keep us from the perfect love you call us to so that we can walk in confidence of that love, extending it to all. Amen.

Alien

Genesis 26:1-5 (NRSV) Now there was a famine in the land, besides the former famine that had occurred in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Gerar, to King Abimelech of the Philistines. The LORD appeared to Isaac and said, "Do not go down to Egypt; settle in the land that I shall show you. Reside in this land as an alien, and I will be with you, and will bless you; for to you and to your descendants I will give all these lands, and I will fulfill the oath that I swore to your father Abraham. I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven, and will give to your offspring all these lands; and all the nations of the earth shall gain blessing for themselves through your offspring, because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws." Reside in this land as an alien.   Reside in this land as an alien. I think it might need to sink in a little bit.  God blessed Abraham.  And Isaac.  And as part of that blessing?  He told Isaac to go be an alien. There is a consistent theme in God's story.  We are used to Jesus talking in the Gospels about the "least of these."  But that wasn't anything new.  God was always looking out for the outcast.  The widows.  The orphans.  The alien. And here...being an alien is actually part of the blessing. Who is the alien in my life?  Who is the alien in your life?  Who are the groups of aliens in our country? What does that God call us to do for them?  How are we meant to care for them? You can't read the news most days without some story about immigration in our country.  Aliens.  We've labeled them "legal" or "illegal."  Do those labels mean anything to God?   Or is the proper label for them "blessed." God of the stranger, the outcast and the discarded, move me to love my neighbors - all of them, especially those who have come from far away seeking a home and safety.  Help me to be a blessing to them.  Amen.

Heart

Proverbs 6:6-23 (NRSV) Go to the ant, you lazybones; consider its ways, and be wise. Without having any chief or officer or ruler, it prepares its food in summer, and gathers its sustenance in harvest. How long will you lie there, O lazybones? When will you rise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want, like an armed warrior. A scoundrel and a villain goes around with crooked speech, winking the eyes, shuffling the feet, pointing the fingers, with perverted mind devising evil, continually sowing discord; on such a one calamity will descend suddenly; in a moment, damage beyond repair. There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that hurry to run to evil, a lying witness who testifies falsely, and one who sows discord in a family. My child, keep your father's commandment, and do not forsake your mother's teaching. Bind them upon your heart always; tie them around your neck. When you walk, they will lead you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; and when you awake, they will talk with you. For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life,  Who knew the word "lazybones" was in the Bible?  That's a hard word to read right now I think for some in the Northeast.  After the last ice storm and another storm coming, I don't know many who have been lazy.  In fact, I rather feel like an ant today - knowing it's time to make preparations and be busy as I get ready for what's coming. In all of this though is really the familiar theme we see over and over again in the Hebrew Scriptures:  keep your father's commandment...bind them on your heart always. Bind them on your heart. It always comes back to the heart for God.  Where is our heart?  Who owns it?  Who has control of it?  Who do we entrust it to?  God knows where it should be. Again we see that the commandment and God's ways - and scripture - are light to guide us.  Light that shines to show our heart the way home. God's looking for our hearts.  Not just our minds - believing the right thing or saying or doing the right thing.  Not just the words from our lips.  But our whole hearts.  Our selves. God of love, change our hearts so that they may always yearn for home.  For you.  Amen.

Scripture

Psalm 119:105-112 (NRSV) Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. I have sworn an oath and confirmed it, to observe your righteous ordinances. I am severely afflicted; give me life, O LORD, according to your word. Accept my offerings of praise, O LORD, and teach me your ordinances. I hold my life in my hand continually, but I do not forget your law. The wicked have laid a snare for me, but I do not stray from your precepts. Your decrees are my heritage forever; they are the joy of my heart. I incline my heart to perform your statutes forever, to the end.  There are many ways we read scripture.  These days there are even many arguments about how we read scripture. Here we see it is a light to our path.  It is through scripture that we are able to see things in a way that is clarifying or edifying.  It is a lens through which we see life. That's different than being a rule book we take off the shelf to answer our questions or problems.  A lens is the thing we see through that guides us to the answer. That isn't to say the Bible doesn't have answers.  But as a Book of Faith the Bible clarifies and instructs.  It also provides comfort and joy.  And poetry and love.  And history and caution.  And hope. It does that by pointing us to the true Light.  Christ, the Light of the World.  The word shows us the Word. Luther called the Bible the cradle for Christ.  It leads us to the heart of the matter.  To the saving work of God through Christ. It lights our way and leads us to the Light. Jesus - light our path and open up scripture to us so we can find you always.  Amen.

A Stumbling Block

Romans 11:2-10 (NRSV) God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel? Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars; I alone am left, and they are seeking my life. But what is the divine reply to him? "I have kept for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal." So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace would no longer be grace. What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, as it is written, "God gave them a sluggish spirit, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear, down to this very day." And David says, "Let their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them; let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and keep their backs forever bent."  In describing a stumbling block here, I think Paul presents us with our own possible stumbling block.  It's a trap that has snared many: trying to decide who is and who is not among the "elect."  Who grace does or does not work for.  Who does or does not have a sluggish spirit.  I'm not sure about you, but the moment I begin to try to do that - setting myself apart from someone or assuming I'm in but they are out, then I begin to feel that it is myself who is out. We do it all the time.  We don't agree with someone's religion or theology.    We don't think they act like a good Christian.  We see them as sinful or arrogant or mean or just plain bad.  It's a slippery slope then to assuming God's grace doesn't apply to them. Sometimes it happens only in an instant and is gone.  They cut us off in a moment of road rage.  They told us they don't like us.  They acted in a way that we don't believe is Christ-like.  We had an argument with them.   Sometimes it is a longer term stumbling block for us.  They are Muslim.  They are an atheist.  They are gay.  They are another race.  They are an illegal immigrant.  They are another gender.  They are a criminal. This text can itself become a snare or a trap if we become caught up in Paul's use of the word "elect."  If we forget this text has context.  If we forget that Paul is instead describing the active and amazing nature of grace: "it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace would no longer be grace." Michael W. Smith sings: "Your mercy flows like a river wide...I could search for all eternity and find there is none like you."  Imagining ourself as elect, but others not, shows a forgetfulness that God's grace works beyond our imaginings.  It flows wider than we can envision.  When we do begin to envision it - when we allow for the awesome mystery of God's expansive grace, we ourselves begin to fully live into the promise of that grace and begin to truly experience its life giving nature. God of grace and mercy, forgive me when I try to decide who is in and who is out.  Who is elect and who is judged.  Help me to expand my own mercy and forgiveness so that I can be an instrument of your love and grace.  Amen.

Home

Psalm 112

Praise the Lord!
   Happy are those who fear the Lord,
   who greatly delight in his commandments. 
Their descendants will be mighty in the land;
   the generation of the upright will be blessed. 
Wealth and riches are in their houses,
   and their righteousness endures for ever. 
They rise in the darkness as a light for the upright;
   they are gracious, merciful, and righteous. 
It is well with those who deal generously and lend,
   who conduct their affairs with justice. 
For the righteous will never be moved;
   they will be remembered for ever. 
They are not afraid of evil tidings;
   their hearts are firm, secure in the Lord. 
Their hearts are steady, they will not be afraid;
   in the end they will look in triumph on their foes. 
They have distributed freely, they have given to the poor;
   their righteousness endures for ever;
   their horn is exalted in honour. 
The wicked see it and are angry;
   they gnash their teeth and melt away;
   the desire of the wicked comes to nothing.

Everything starts and ends for me today with the opening line of this Psalm.  "Praise the Lord!"  

I'm in my house after being away from it for nearly two days after the "ice event" that hit us in Southeastern PA.  Already this has been the worst winter in my memory, but the last couple days really took the cake.  Others are still without power, water and heat, which tempers my own happiness at being able to be home again.

We are so fortunate that we have friends who were willing to take us in for the last couple of days, especially as I think of those who weathered the situation in their freezing cold houses.

And I am reminded of those who always struggle for heat, water, and any form of comfort and I am humbled.

Isaiah describes the righteous here as those who are gracious and merciful; who deal generously; who conduct their affairs with justice and who distribute freely to the poor.  As one who has just been only a little bit homeless with a safe place to lay my head at night, my thoughts go to those who aren't and wonder what justice is available for them and how I can delight in the commandment to show them mercy myself.

God of home and family, you will all your children to have a warm place to lay their head at night, yet so many do not.  Remind me always of your call to be of service to them.  Amen.

Memory

Deuteronomy 4:1-14 (NRSV)

So now, Israel, give heed to the statutes and ordinances that I am teaching you to observe, so that you may live to enter and occupy the land that the LORD, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. You must neither add anything to what I command you nor take away anything from it, but keep the commandments of the LORD your God with which I am charging you. You have seen for yourselves what the LORD did with regard to the Baal of Peor - how the LORD your God destroyed from among you everyone who followed the Baal of Peor, while those of you who held fast to the LORD your God are all alive today.

See, just as the LORD my God has charged me, I now teach you statutes and ordinances for you to observe in the land that you are about to enter and occupy. You must observe them diligently, for this will show your wisdom and discernment to the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, "Surely this great nation is a wise and discerning people!" For what other great nation has a god so near to it as the LORD our God is whenever we call to him? And what other great nation has statutes and ordinances as just as this entire law that I am setting before you today?

But take care and watch yourselves closely, so as neither to forget the things that your eyes have seen nor to let them slip from your mind all the days of your life; make them known to your children and your children's children - how you once stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, when the LORD said to me, "Assemble the people for me, and I will let them hear my words, so that they may learn to fear me as long as they live on the earth, and may teach their children so"; you approached and stood at the foot of the mountain while the mountain was blazing up to the very heavens, shrouded in dark clouds. Then the LORD spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of words but saw no form; there was only a voice. He declared to you his covenant, which he charged you to observe, that is, the ten commandments; and he wrote them on two stone tablets. And the LORD charged me at that time to teach you statutes and ordinances for you to observe in the land that you are about to cross into and occupy. 

"But take care and watch yourselves closely, so as neither to forget the things that your eyes have seen nor to let them slip from your mind all the days of your life; make them known to your children and your children's children"

Moses is preaching to the Israelites before they enter the Promised Land.  It's a speech of both remembrance and one of preparation for the new.

We've all gotten speeches like that in our life.  At times in life where we are transitioning to something new:  college, a new job, moving to a new place.

And there was a time when at church that was how we learned.  We passed our faith to our children through lessons, and stories, and Confirmation, and Sunday School, and they took that faith and made it their own, and when the time came to embark on their adult life of faith, they stayed close to their denominational home.

But now increasingly, those remembrances are not part of the faith life of many.  More and more are coming to church for the first time - seeking, hoping.  Coming without the grounding of a denominational faith life.  Or perhaps coming after being hurt or turned off by a denomination and looking for something new.

The promises of hope however remain.  Whether we come from a life grounded in a belief passed down by our parents, or whether we are searching because our memories of faith are new or perhaps cloudy, God is still waiting to show us the Promise of hope and life.

For those of us who have been grounded in the faith for our whole lives, we are the ones who are there to help those who are new find their way into the unfamiliar land they have entered.  We are there to be hope for them as they find their own memories in the promise.

God of memory, remind me always to trust in your promises and to share those promises with others.  Amen

Light of the World

John 8:12-20

 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.’ Then the Pharisees said to him, ‘You are testifying on your own behalf; your testimony is not valid.’ Jesus answered, ‘Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid because I know where I have come from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. You judge by human standards; I judge no one. Yet even if I do judge, my judgement is valid; for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me. In your law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is valid. I testify on my own behalf, and the Father who sent me testifies on my behalf.’ Then they said to him, ‘Where is your Father?’ Jesus answered, ‘You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.’ He spoke these words while he was teaching in the treasury of the temple, but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus loves to talk in twisty, windy, puzzle-y ways. It's easy to get lost down in them.

Except it's really the first line that says it all, isn't it?  There isn't much puzzle-y about that.  Light I think is my favorite metaphor for Jesus.  It's the one that visually makes the most sense to me, and it is one that is made even stronger by it's multiple meanings.

It's also an image the Gospel of John starts using right at the beginning:  "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it."  When I think of Jesus as light I imagine the image of a a door or a window casting light into a blackened room.  When the door opens or the sun rises through the panes of the window and light streams in, which is it that is overcome?  The light doesn't fade by the darkness, but instead the darkness is illuminated.  

Darkness illuminated.  Jesus comes to cast it out.  To shed light on the darkness so that we can't hide in it.

And the other metaphor for light works too.  Jesus in Matthew tells us that his yoke is easy, and his burden is light.  He lightens our load.  He does the heavy lifting.

Of course that doesn't mean following Jesus is easy.  Even when things are illuminated or burdens are lifted, we find ways to pull the familiar darkness around us, of put the yoke of sin right back on our shoulders.  We try to creep back into the corners of our darkness, hiding in the shadows, trying not to see the truth.

Truth.  That's the other word for that Jesus claims for himself.  The way, the truth and the life.  That's what the light offers us.  Truth and life.  Casting out the darkness so that we can see ourselves plainly and know the way to abundant life.

Light of the world, shine on me and cast out the darkness that I stubbornly cling to. Amen

Family

Ruth 1:1-18 (NRSV)

In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to live in the country of Moab, he and his wife and two sons. The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion; they were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. These took Moabite wives; the name of one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. When they had lived there for about ten years, both Mahlon and Chilion also died, so that the woman was left without her two sons or her husband.

Then she started to return with her daughters-in-law from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the country of Moab that the Lord had had consideration for his people and given them food. So she set out from the place where she had been living, she and her two daughters-in-law, and they went on their way to go back to the land of Judah. But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, ‘Go back each of you to your mother’s house. May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. The Lord grant that you may find security, each of you in the house of your husband.’ Then she kissed them, and they wept aloud. They said to her, ‘No, we will return with you to your people.’ But Naomi said, ‘Turn back, my daughters, why will you go with me? Do I still have sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? Turn back, my daughters, go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. Even if I thought there was hope for me, even if I should have a husband tonight and bear sons, would you then wait until they were grown? Would you then refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, it has been far more bitter for me than for you, because the hand of the Lord has turned against me.’ Then they wept aloud again. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.

 So she said, ‘See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.’ But Ruth said,
‘Do not press me to leave you
or to turn back from following you!
Where you go, I will go;
where you lodge, I will lodge;
your people shall be my people,
   and your God my God. 
Where you die, I will die—there will I be buried.
 May the Lord do thus and so to me,
and more as well,
if even death parts me from you!’ 
When Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more to her.

What was going on in Ruth’s head I’ve always wondered?  It’s no small thing to leave your country – and family – and go with your mother-in-law to another land.  The women are left with literally nothing in a time where widows, especially widows without sons, had no future at all to look forward to and were for all intents and purposes, destitute.

Of course, it really seems that it isn’t Ruth’s head I should be wondering about.  It is her heart.  “Where you go, I will go…” She is already part of Naomi.  She is part of her family and her trust lies in that relationship. 

Why does God so earnestly desire our faith and our trust?  Because it is about relationship. 

Ruth’s prospects were grim whether she stayed or went with Naomi.  All she had was faith and courage.  A faithful and a courageous heart.

And a relationship with one who had become her family.

Families come in all types, and aren’t always by blood.  Where there is courage, and faith, and heart, a family is born, regardless of biology.

God of relationship, thank you for all the types of family you have given me: my family of origin, as well as those who have become my family through trust and heart.  Amen.