Category: Year C

Luke 22:31-33, 54-62

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
            Peter denied Jesus three times.  It is an infamous story.  Jesus even predicted it would happen.  We might either relate with Peter, or think him a putz.  Whichever way we view him, there was a reason Peter ended up denying the Lord, even though he sincerely believed he would never do such a thing.  And therein belies the problem:  Whenever we are cocky and believe we are above falling into sin, we neither listen well nor trust well.  Pride goes before the fall.
 
            Our sins and failures stem ultimately from a lack of real faith and commitment in Jesus.  We think we can do it ourselves.  We got this.  Well, not so much.  We blew it again.  We keep trying to pull ourselves up by the bootstraps because we are just too anxious to follow Jesus.  To live life on Christ’s terms will mean a loss of autonomy and control.
 
            When Jesus was arrested the text says that Peter “followed at a distance.”  If we are honest, that too often describes our own mode of following.  We want to see how everything will shake-out before we commit.  But only until we let go of our own ideas and stubborn thinking will we discover what true discipleship is all about.  Only the grace of letting Jesus lead will bring us to the point of standing strong and not living in denial.
 

 

            Gracious Lord Jesus, I admit my pride and cockiness to think that I could follow you on my terms instead of yours.  In humility I come to you and confess my great need to follow you unconditionally.  Thank you for your forgiveness and your provision for my life.  Amen.

2 Peter 3:8-13

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
            Sometimes, from our puny human perspective on things, it seems as if God is doing nothing.  Evil consumes the world in all kinds of insidious forms:  human trafficking and the sex slave trade; corrupt governments with no concern for the welfare of its nation’s citizens; oppressive regimes that rule on the backs of the poor; terrorism with no regard to innocent life; Christians displaced from their homes and martyred for their faith; human rights violations in all kinds of sweat shops and dangerous working conditions – and that is just to name a few – not to mention what we personally might be facing in the hard circumstances of life.  We might wonder why God seems so silent in the face of such injustice.
 
            It is into such concerns that the Apostle Peter wrote to a group of struggling believers in Jesus who could not rectify their present difficult situation with the promise of God to act justly.  In fact, Jesus was supposed to return and make everything right.  Where is he?!  Peter’s response:  “Dear friends, don’t forget that for the Lord one day is the same as a thousand years, and a thousand years is the same as one day.  The Lord isn’t slow in keeping his promises, as some people think he is.  God is patient, because he wants everyone to turn from sin and no one to be lost.”
 
            The seeming inactivity of God is really him showing patience and forbearance, graciously and carefully reaching out in the darkness so that more and more people can be saved from their empty ways of life before it is too late.  Where, from our angle it seems like a lack of concern, from God’s perspective is a show of incredible grace.  The Lord will return.  Until then, we are participate with him in showing grace and love to those who need the light of Christ, even if it means we must endure some of the evil muck of this world.
 

 

            Patient God, you show steadfast love even when I am slow to recognize it.  Enable me to be patient and endure to the end.  Bring more and more people under your benevolent rule, and reach the unreachable with your massive mercy, through Jesus Christ.  Amen.

1 Timothy 1:18-20

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
            “Some people have made a mess of their faith because they didn’t listen to their consciences.”  Most people really know better.  They didn’t just wake up some morning and decide that being an alcoholic would be a good decision, or that spending more money than they possess would be just fine.  They didn’t make a snap decision that God wasn’t there or doesn’t really care.  Their consciences let them know well before they ended up in exorbitant debt or with a DUI that the daily choices being made were not wise.  Faith is either built up or torn down; there is no neutral ground to it.  And it doesn’t occur quickly.  Faith either slowly erodes over time or it is consistently built by listening well to the conscience and following its counsel.
 
            Listening to the conscience requires stopping long enough to hear it.  The conscience is malleable; it can be seared into impotence through constant busyness which presses on with no heed to substantive thought.  We don’t want to hear it.  We have things to do, and have no time for this conscience thing.  But in the end, if we ignore it, we will be ruined.  Our faith will be a mess.  Eventually, there will be no faith left to hold onto.
 
            But if, like Martin Luther facing the crucial decision about whether to please people or God, our consciences are held captive to the Word of God, we will speak and act with integrity and truth.  There will be peace, even if circumstances are difficult, because we have done the right thing.  The real test of character is doing what you know you should do, even if it is hard, inconvenient, or not what you really want to do.
 

 

            Faithful God, you stand at the nexus of my schizophrenic spirituality where I wander in and out of making wise and foolish decisions.  Help me to listen well to the conscience you gave me.  And let it be informed by your Holy Word in all things, through the power of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

John 10:11-21

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
            Jesus is the Good Shepherd.  I grew up on an Iowa farm.  Although we never had any sheep on our place, I had friends with sheep.  When I was a boy, I actually played a lot with the sheep.  I think sheep get a bum rap when it comes to smarts.  I’m not convinced sheep are near as dumb as people make them out to be.  I think the distinguishing character of sheep is that they very skittish.  They scare easily.  And when they become afraid they make really stupid decisions, like running at full speed head first into a brick barn wall and knocking themselves out.
 
            Jesus is the Good Shepherd.  When the sheep get scared, Jesus is committed to bringing them in and keeping them safe.  Hired hands are not near as devoted to the welfare of the sheep.  But Jesus is the Good Shepherd who owns the sheep and does whatever it takes to provide for them, protect them, and be present with them through leading them in green pastures and keeping wolves away from them.  Jesus gives his life for the sheep.
 
            We are such skittish frightened people.  Just look at your friends’ Facebook posts for today and see how many of them have some sort of fear at the core of it.  Go to church and observe how much discussion there is which is based in the fear and uncertainty of the future.  Notice how much your co-workers fret about their jobs and families.  Jesus is the Good Shepherd.  None of the stupid decisions we make out of fear freaks out our Lord because he gives his life for the sheep.  He will not abandon us.  And it is this most basic theology of the person of Christ that we all need in order to relax enough to make sound and wise decisions in our present circumstances.
 

 

            Jesus, you are the Good Shepherd.  I will follow you and will not run away out of fear because I know that you are caring for me every minute of the day, and watch over me every minute of the night.  Amen.