Month: November 2015

Psalm 90

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
            Sometimes we might forget that the Bible is first and foremost a collection of books about God.  There are times when we get too focused on ourselves – our fears, inadequacies, weaknesses, failures – and lose sight of the hugeness of God.  This psalm is the kind that helps reorient our lives back toward the grand Sovereign of the universe.  There is a decidedly theistic worldview espoused and embedded in the psalm.  It is a cosmology dominated by the immensity and largeness of a God who is pictured as completely in control of his creation.
 
            Let’s face it:  our lives are this weird and complex concoction of fear and joy that can combust at any time.  We swing from high to low, and low to high.  If we are on an even keel it is only because we are currently in the middle of swaying to one extreme or the other.  Even introverts know this – it just happens to all take place inside their vast inner world instead of on the outside for all to see.
 
            So, every one of us needs the grand vision of God in this psalm to anchor us through all the vicissitudes of life.  “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.”  The transcendent God, however, is not at all aloof from his creatures; he is also closely imminent.  “You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence.”  Nothing gets by God.  He always knows the score.
 
            Our appropriate response to such a God is this:  “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.”  When we appropriate a biblical worldview, we learn to measure our days and live consistently moral lives with wholeness and integrity.  This is why a regular regimen of the psalms is important to us, so that we will have before us the nature and character of God.  As we do so, we cannot help but reflect his glory and contribute to human flourishing.
 

 

            Mighty God, satisfy me in the morning with your steadfast love so that I might rejoice and be glad all day, every day.  Let your favor be upon me, and establish the work of my hands for the glory of Jesus.  Amen.

Nehemiah 9:26-31

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
            Much of the Old Testament is a rhythm of God’s judgment and grace.  The storyline often goes something like this:  God makes promises.  God commands.  People get stubborn.  People disobey.  People refuse to listen.  God responds with judgment.  God gives grace and fulfills his promises.  People enjoy.  People get stubborn.  The cycle begins again….  The promise of God always involves judgment and grace.  Proclaiming only a message of judgment without grace brings despair, death, and hell; there is no hope.  Only speaking of grace apart from judgment is oxymoronic – it doesn’t exist because there is no need for grace if there is no judgment; grace is an undeserved mercy given freely by God in the face of our sinful selves.
 
            Nehemiah chapter nine is a beautiful prayer of confession.  Having heard the Word of God proclaimed, the people did not remain obstinate; they realized exile occurred because of their own stubborn refusal to listen to God, and they repented.  The Jews acknowledged their checkered past of ignoring the prophets God sent, and they bellied-up and took ownership of their own sin.  And God was faithful.  Even though the city of Jerusalem had been overtaken and the people sent into exile, God brought them back and the broken wall was rebuilt.
 
            It is never too late to turn from a past filled with poor decisions, broken relationships, and spiritual disobedience.  The time of confession is available, and the time is now.  God’s grace always trumps our dubious past.  The appropriate response to today’s lectionary is to spend some time in confession to God.  This chapter, along with Nehemiah chapter one, are good places to begin with understanding just what to say to God.  Confession ought always to conclude with accepting the grace available to us in Christ.  Today is a new day.  Let it be a new life with the love of Jesus implanted in your heart.
 

 

            Holy and loving God, your grace is measureless and free.  Today I turn from my stubborn refusal to walk in your ways, and receive the wonderful gift of new life through Jesus Christ, who loved me and gave himself for me.  Amen.

Advent

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Exploring Church Ministry BlogLeave a comment
 
 
             I did not begin my ministry as a Pastor decades ago observing Advent. I needed to learn for myself that Advent is a special season anticipating the arrival of the Lord Jesus.  I have come to completely embrace the season.  Here’s why:  I found in Advent a solution to the problem of secular Christmas vs. spiritual Christmas. We as Christians recognize that Christmas is a time to celebrate the birth of Jesus. It’s a holiday that focuses on the meaning of the Incarnation. Yet, given the secular traditions of Christmas, we spend much of our time preparing, not for a celebration of the birth of Jesus, but for fulfilling the demands of the holidays. We buy lots of presents for lots of people and make sure they are all wrapped and delivered. We attend and host holiday parties. We have relatives who come to visit, and/or we are the relatives who go elsewhere to visit.  Christmas cards need to get out, and the annual Christmas letter often turns into a project for next year.  Our holiday season requires lots of planning and energy, and it can end up being downright exhausting. If we have younger children, we may very well spend hours trying to assemble gifts on Christmas Day that come with sketchy instructions written by someone for whom English is, at best, a third language….
 
            Christ can, ironically, get pushed out of Christmas, not by unchurched non-Christians, but by us.  But Advent helps us come back to God and put our focus and our delight where it rightly belongs:  in Jesus Christ, our Savior.
 
            Embedded within the season of Advent are a message and a mission.  The Gospel of John begins with the great proclamation: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.”  God has entered into human history in the person of Jesus.  It is a message of grace and hope, completely centering round Christ.  It is a story – the greatest ever told – of God loving his creatures so much as to become one of them.  This redemption narrative gives shape to our own witness.  We simply tell the story of God’s love to humanity through the sending of the Son, Jesus, to deliver us from sin, death, and hell and bring us into a kingdom full of grace, joy, wholeness, and love.
 
            So, how, then, do we keep our focus where it needs to be during the month of December and observe the Advent season?  First of all, attend Advent services.  Pay attention to the Advent Wreath and candles, the special readings, and all the heightened awareness of Christ’s coming.  Another way to focus on Jesus is by enjoying Advent music.  This sounds easy, but really is not. There are hundreds of popular Christmas songs and carols, played everywhere during Advent, from churches, to gas stations and shopping malls. There are comparatively few Advent songs, though many songs and carols do touch upon Advent themes of waiting, hoping, and yearning for God.  Other ideas for Advent can include:  putting together an Advent Wreath at home; and, using a Nativity scene with lots of pieces as an Advent Calendar, adding one character to the scene every day.
 
            A practical way I discovered in remembering Advent is standing in the long lines of stores during the holidays.  A few years back I was going nuts waiting in a crazy long line with a cashier who was clearly seasonal help.  As my frustration mounted, God did what God often does with me.  He asked a question. “Tim, why are you so upset?” “Duh, God! This stupid line and slow cashier!” “Tim, what is my Advent really all about?”  I was busted. As a Pastor I tell others about the time of waiting and anticipation, but here I was selfishly impatient.
 

 

            Go ahead and try it out this season.  Let the inevitable standing in line be a reminder that Advent is really about waiting and patiently anticipating the coming of the Lord Jesus.  Let’s be honest.  You are going to wait whether you like it or not.  If by God’s grace you don’t stand in a line, you will instead wait in the heavy holiday traffic that moves at a snail’s pace.  But you and I have a choice.  Either the wait will form us for naught or for good.  Let’s allow the time of waiting to bring a fresh Advent spirit into our lives this season so that our Christmas will be a glorious one.

1 Thessalonians 5:12-22

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year B2 Comments


            According to the secular calendar it is Black Friday.  The worship of consumerism is in full swing at the cathedral mall with accompanying liturgies of parking, finding great deals, and standing in long lines waiting to confess to larger credit card debt.  Yep, I know that sounds cynical.  There is nothing wrong with a crazy good bargain and thinking of gifting others, but, at the same time, we need to acknowledge that the whole shopping experience mirrors religious movements much more than we might want to admit.
             The Christian Year, with its annual rhythm centered round the life of Christ, offers an alternative way of keeping time and living life.  Today is the last Friday in the Church Calendar.  Sunday is a new year, beginning with Advent, and we again journey with Jesus throughout the seasons.  Today’s New Testament lesson contains several staccato-like exhortations from the Apostle Paul at the end of his letter.  Just as Paul wanted to get some quick instruction before the end, so we need to hear these biblical imperatives at the end of the Christian Year, as well as keeping them in mind in order to avoid the orgy of shopping within this next month.
             The compact list of commands is almost overwhelming:  admonish the idle; encourage the fainthearted; help the weak; be patient with everyone; do not repay evil for evil; seek to do good to everyone; rejoice always; pray without ceasing; give thanks in all circumstances; do not quench the Spirit; don’t despise prophecies (exhortation of other believers); test everything; hold fast to what is good; abstain from every form of evil.  
             Rather than having our eyes glaze over wondering how we can hold all these imperatives together in our lives, let’s focus on one.  It is better to begin with one command and be diligent with it than it is to walk away and do none of them at all.  One suggestion is to list all these exhortations and ask the Spirit to show you which one to work on in this holiday season.  Keep in mind that one command in each decision you make and every conversation you have with others in the next several weeks.  See if it becomes a habit for you.  Observe how it changes your life and those around you, especially at the mall….
             Patient God, your steadfast love sticks with me day in and day out.  Help me to weave your commands so thoroughly into the fabric of my life that it transforms the way I interact with others.  In Jesus’ name I pray.  Amen.