Category: Year C

Matthew 10:5-15

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
            The compassion of Jesus is what caused him to send out his disciples into the world.  He told them to minister specifically to Jews.  Israel’s house needed to be put in order first before they could ever think of going to the Gentiles.  There were a host of lost Jewish people all around them, so Jesus made it a priority to go after them.  Our own backyard needs attention, to be reached, before the world can be tackled.
 
            Jesus told his disciples to do exactly what he had been doing:  preach, heal, and proclaim that the kingdom of God is near.  Furthermore, Jesus told them to leave all their baggage behind; don’t take anything with you.  The disciples were to be stripped of everything so that they could see people and be moved with compassion as Jesus was moved.
 
            If we take all of our pre-packaged stuff with us into relationships, we already assume we know what they need.  But if we have nothing with us, then we are able to see people for who they are, and listen to what they are saying.  People are not objects for our missional purposes; they are persons created in God’s image who have been profoundly touched by the world’s brokenness and desperately need the compassion of Jesus.
 
            Followers of Jesus have freely received compassion from God; therefore they are to freely give it away.  May you courageously rearrange your life so that compassion toward others can be your defining characteristic.
 

 

            Compassionate God, you have graciously saved me by your sheer mercy.  May I freely and compassionately give as generously as you have given to me so that Jesus is glorified, your church is encouraged, and your world is loved.  Amen.

Luke 5:12-16

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
            A question I like to occasionally ask fellow minister colleagues is:  Was Jesus an introvert, or an extrovert?  First off, let’s just make clear that extroversion and introversion are neither sinful nor blessed – they just are personality traits that cannot be changed any more than tiger stripes.  So, setting aside the anti-reality kooky answers to my question, I’ve found that extroverted pastors almost without fail will tell me Jesus was an extrovert.  And they make a solid case for it.  Also, with solid consistency, introverted pastors tell me Jesus was an introvert.  And they give compelling reasons for it.  They are all correct.  Jesus, as the perfect human displays the best of both extroversion and introversion.  His personality comes through wonderfully in today’s Gospel text.
 
            The short story of healing begins with Jesus fully engaged in walking the city, a part of the people, interacting with the crowd, and attentive to even the most marginal of them.  His extroverted nature is on full display.  Jesus, as the perfect Son of God, is willing and ready to heal the man with leprosy.  As the word of Jesus spread, more and more people flock to Jesus.  An exclusively extroverted person would bask in the situation of having more people to connect with.  But the story ends with the note that, instead of engaging the mass of people, Jesus would withdraw to quiet and deserted places in order to pray.  No better description of an introvert could be said.
 
            Jesus operated on this earth in a way that modeled and demonstrated how humanity was meant to live.  Our Lord had consistent rhythms of human and divine engagement.  That is, he spent time with people – lots of them.  He talked and taught and healed and moved from one person to next with all the seeming random activity of the extrovert.  But he also consistently withdrew and spent healthy amounts of extended time alone with his heavenly Father, deeply connected with him.  We, too, need a good healthy rhythm of being with others in effective interaction, but also must spend time alone with God often and deeply.
 
            Perhaps we would encounter more of the miraculous in our lives if we emulated the healthy rhythm of Jesus.  For the Spirit works in and through us to continue the words and ways of Jesus on this earth to a mass of humanity that desperately needs him.
 

 

            Loving Lord Jesus, I am in awe of your capacity to engage all kinds of people, as well as the Father.  Let me be like you in the ability to move freely and effectively between human interaction and divine prayer so that the world is blessed.  Amen.

Jeremiah 25:1-14

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
            An ancient rabbi once said that we have two ears and one mouth so that we will listen twice as much as we talk.  That’s sage advice.  The ability to listen well is almost a lost art in Western society.  Slick marketing, political rants, and over-the-top speech all scream into the culture because there is such a dearth of listening.  It seems that many people are more concerned to make their opinions known than do any kind of deep listening to another in order to discover their true needs and thoughts.
 
            It is really quite tragic that we do not listen to one another.  It is downright terrible when we do not listen to God.  The Old Testament prophets existed because of a failure to listen.  Not only did the people for whom the prophets spoke not hear, but they refused to listen.  They put their fingers in their ears and just stood there saying “la-la-la-la-la.”  This was not just an inability to listen because they were overworked or too tired.  Here is the problem:  “For twenty-three years now, ever since the thirteenth year that Josiah was king, I have been telling you what the LORD has told me.  But you have not listened.  The LORD has sent prophets to you time after time, but you refused to listen.” 
 
            God wanted the people to change their evil ways, but they didn’t want to hear it.  So, after not only years but centuries of unfaithfulness, after God’s patience was drawn out to its limit, tragic consequences happened.  If there is no deep listening to God’s Word, there will be deep repercussions.  None of us can do the will of God if we don’t know what God wants.  It takes listening.  Without genuine listening with the intent to understand and alter actions accordingly, there will be no peace, no love, no grace, but only suspicion, fear, and continued rants with anger.  Instead, the beginning of wisdom and human flourishing begins with listening well.
 

 

            Holy God, your speech goes out into all the earth.  Your Word is there for us to hear, if we will only listen.  Lord Jesus, let your words and your teaching penetrate so deeply into my soul that your loving ways come out of me in all I say and do.  Amen.

Lamentations 5:1-22

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
            Prayer is not about getting the right words strung together in a correct formula in a perfect disposition of the heart.  Prayer is conversation.  Prayer is communication with God.  Sometimes it looks a lot more like a triage unit than a steeple, and like desperation more than ebullient praise.  God is someone we tell the truth about what is really going on in our lives.  Prayer is not prayer when we just tell God what we think he wants to hear.
 
            Jeremiah prayed, and much of it was lament, complaint, and raw feeling.  We hear his cry to God, not worrying about whether it is appropriate language or not.  So, we get prayer phrases like:  “We are worn out and can find no rest.”  “Our hearts are sad.”  “We are doomed.”  “We feel sick all over and can’t even see straight.”  “Why have you forgotten us for so long?”  “Do you despise us so much that you don’t want us?”  Jeremiah was not concerned about how he sounded, and not afraid to express his real thoughts.
 
            Every thought or feeling is a valid entry into prayer.  It is of utmost importance that we pray what is actually inside of us and not what we believe God would like to see in us.  God doesn’t like pretense and posturing; he wants the real us.  Plastic words and phony speeches are an affront to him.  We need to pray precisely what is on our minds and hearts – unfiltered if need be.  It’s okay.  God is most certainly big enough to handle it.  No matter the headache or the heartache, we only need to pray without concern for perfection.
 

 

            Gracious God, sometimes I feel like I have to have it all together to even speak to you.  But you already know my heart better than I know it myself.  Forgive my constant hiding from you, and accept my heartfelt prayer to you for grace and help!  Amen.