Category: Year C

Luke 20:45-21:4

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
While everyone was listening to Jesus, he said to his disciples:
Guard against the teachers of the Law of Moses! They love to walk around in long robes, and they like to be greeted in the market. They want the front seats in the meeting places and the best seats at banquets.  But they cheat widows out of their homes and then pray long prayers just to show off. These teachers will be punished most of all.
Jesus looked up and saw some rich people tossing their gifts into the offering box.  He also saw a poor widow putting in two pennies.  And he said, “I tell you that this poor woman has put in more than all the others.  Everyone else gave what they didn’t need. But she is very poor and gave everything she had.”
 
            You often cannot tell a fake by the external appearance.  A pious religious person on the outside may not necessarily be a genuine Christ follower on the inside.  The teachers of the law and the Pharisees in Christ’s day liked to do things for a show, for the attention.  They were important and respected people, desiring and enjoying the accolades of others.  They lived to be noticed.  But it was really all just a façade, a carnival sideshow.  The outside and the inside were not synced together.
 
            There is a marked contrast between the rich Pharisee and the poor widow.  Whereas the rich religious man put a wad of money in the temple offering for everyone to see, the impoverished widow put barely anything in, but it was everything she had to give.  The widow’s outward giving and inward disposition were perfectly matched.  She gave everything out of the abundance of her heart.
 
            The kingdom of God is not a matter of outward eating and drinking and ostentatious displays of spirituality, but is a matter of inner righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.  Aim for the heart, and the hands will follow.
 

 

            Loving God, my heart longs to worship you with everything I possess.  Transform me from the inside-out so that all my thoughts and motives may humbly express my words and actions.  May Jesus be praised.  Amen.

1 Corinthians 9:19-23

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
19 I am not anyone’s slave. But I have become a slave to everyone, so that I can win as many people as possible. 20 When I am with the Jews, I live like a Jew to win Jews. They are ruled by the Law of Moses, and I am not. But I live by the Law to win them. 21 And when I am with people who are not ruled by the Law, I forget about the Law to win them. Of course, I never really forget about the law of God. In fact, I am ruled by the law of Christ. 22 When I am with people whose faith is weak, I live as they do to win them. I do everything I can to win everyone I possibly can. 23 I do all this for the good news, because I want to share in its blessings.
 
            What will it take?  What will it take to win the world for Jesus Christ?  What will it take to win your neighbor?  What will it take to win your relative, co-worker, or friend?  It will take becoming a slave.  That is, winning others to see the glorious and incredible good news of forgiveness and new life in Jesus takes giving up our rights and our freedoms in order to have a ministry of presence.  We have to be around other people in order to win them.  That’s why winning the party-crowd takes going to the bar.  It’s why winning young moms takes sitting with them at the park while the kids play.  It is why it takes being present among people in the community in order to reach them, instead of wishing that people will magically show up at church in order to experience our friendliness.
 
            The turn of thought that we need is this:  Other people do not need to show up on our turf and become like us.  Instead, we need to show up on their turf and become like them.  If it weren’t in the Bible we would think it blasphemous to say such a thing.  But there it is, and we must wrestle with its implications for our lives.  So, what needs to change?
 

 

            Merciful God, you want to cut me into the action of what you are doing in the world.  Help me live wisely among those who don’t yet know you, so that they can see the light of Christ in me, hear the words of Christ from me, and experience the salvation of Christ.  Amen.

Acts 4:1-12

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
            What is your motivation in life?  The answer to that question tells a lot about the person.  People are motivated by a lot of things:  to prove someone else wrong; to make a lot of money; to become famous; or, to help underprivileged kids in the inner city; to take on the problem of the world’s sex trade; to quietly make God known in everything.  As you well know, our motivations can be rather selfish, or quite altruistic.
 
            In today’s New Testament lesson, the Apostle Peter offered to the nation’s leaders his motivation for having a ministry of proclaiming Jesus and healing in his name.  Whereas the ruling religious authorities thought Jesus just another man, Peter’s conviction was that “only Jesus has the power to save!  His name is the only one in all the world that can save anyone.”
 
            What we actually do in life comes from our deepest motivations.  Peter’s actions of proclaiming the gospel through word and deed came from his deep wellspring of knowing and being motivated by the reality that only Jesus can deliver on life’s most pressing problem:  sin.
 
            Proper motivation comes from knowing Jesus.  If we lack pure motives, or a general lack of motivation, then the person to run to is Jesus.  When our deepest needs are met in Christ the supernatural by-product is a motivation to make Jesus known in every sphere of life.  May it be so, to the glory of God!
 

 

            Saving God, you have made your glory and grace known to me through your Son, the Lord Jesus.  May I know him better and better so that the motivations that impel me in life are pure, holy, righteous, and, above all, gracious.  Amen.

Psalm 79:1-9

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year C1 Comment
            I’m the youngest of four kids in my family of origin.  It’s interesting to me that older siblings always seem to think that the youngest got spoiled growing up.  Um, let me set the record straight.  In addition to continually being the smallest and getting pounded on by the others; getting blamed for every broken thing in the house; and, being left behind on all the good stuff taking place – at school was probably the worst.  You see, the youngest constantly gets compared to his/her older siblings.  I, in particular, had the distinction of having a sister who was valedictorian of her class, and a brother who was probably the best well-behaved kid in the entire school.  Oh, great.  The expectations for me were pretty high.
 
            The psalmist in today’s psalm did not want to be associated with what his ancestors did or did not do.  He wanted to be judged by God on his own merits.  He cries to God, “Have pity and come quickly!  We are completely helpless.  Our God, you keep us safe.  Now help us!  Rescue us.  Forgive our sins and bring honor to yourself.”
 
            Not only would that make an apropos prayer for a youngest kid, it is a real and raw expression that all of us can utter when we are in times of distress – where what others have done or not done in the past are impacting your life today.  In any kind of situation, the psalms are the church’s prayer book – for any kind of sibling.
 

 

            God of justice, you do what is right and just in all things.  Look upon your servant today and help me according to your grace and steadfast love.  Forgive all my sin and lead me in the way of your righteousness, through Jesus Christ my Savior.  Amen.