Tag: abundant life

The Singular Voice of Jesus (John 10:1-10)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment

“Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.” Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.

So again Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and bandits, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. (New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition)

“A bee does not waste its energy trying to convince a fly that honey is better than s**t.” ancient Japanese saying

The voice of Jesus goes out into the world and calls persons by name. He spends no time twisting arms or putting the squeeze on people to get them into his sheep pen. Christ simply opens the gate, letting in people who come in response to his voice.

Jesus trusts that those who will come, will come. There’s no anxious hand-wringing on his part concerning whether anyone is going to show up, or not.

We certainly live in an anxious age – tending toward worrying incessantly about things out of our control. Many people spend an inordinate amount of time trying to influence things which belong to the realm of Jesus and the Spirit.

In addition, there is an over-abundance of putting unnecessary pressure upon ourselves to ensure we live some sort of perfect life. There is a hyper-developed sense of responsibility by some to never ever make any mistakes in this life.

I am speaking as much or more to myself. I have a nasty tendency of trying to be Atlas, picking up the world and carrying it on my shoulders. It’s all done in the erroneous notion that everything is up to me, that the earth spins on the Pastor Tim axis. After all, what will happen if I’m not there? I can’t be sidelined; people need me! O, what hubris there is in such notions.

In the Gospel text for today, Jesus makes no mention of our anxieties about entrance into the divine sheepfold. That’s because he has no expectations that we are to do his work. It isn’t our voices that are raised here; it is the voice of Jesus. We can trust that his voice and naming of persons is sufficient.

The responsibility and onus of salvation has always been on the side of God, not us. We redeem no one, including ourselves.

Sheep don’t shepherd the flock; the shepherd handles the flock of sheep. Another’s deliverance from sin, death, and hell comes neither from our hand nor our well-articulated words. No, it is the voice of Jesus that makes the difference. Hearing him is what creates response.

The voice of Christ is so powerful and effective that it doesn’t need to be heard audibly by the physical ear; it can more easily be heard with our spiritual ears and discerned by the soul.

Wisdom cries out in the street;
    in the squares she raises her voice.
At the busiest corner she cries out;
    at the entrance of the city gates she speaks:
“How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple?
How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing
    and fools hate knowledge?
Give heed to my reproof;
I will pour out my thoughts to you;
    I will make my words known to you. (Proverbs 1:20-23, NRSVUE)

It is our responsibility to listen and respond for ourselves, and not for anyone else. The gate will open for us.

We are to equally refuse listening to other competing voices of Trumpian-type charlatans. Such persons make grandiose promises which they never intend on keeping.

Those other voices only use the sheep by fleecing them of what little they have. However, if we enter the divine sheep pen, we need no longer be subject to the alternative voices which are full of foolish contradictory words that do nothing to help.

As the very gate by which the sheep enter, Jesus provides verdant green pastures; protects from bandits and predators; and gives life to the full. Christ calls folks together, guards, and sustains his flock. The shepherd can be trusted to take care of his own.

Open to me the gates of righteousness,
    that I may enter through them
    and give thanks to the Lord.

This is the gate of the Lord;
    the righteous shall enter through it.

I thank you that you have answered me
    and have become my salvation. (Psalm 118:19-21, NRSVUE)

Because Jesus gives abundant life, he can be contrasted with outlaws who come to create chaos among the sheep and ultimately destroy them.

Thieves do not come for the benefit of others; only themselves. They’re continually watching for how they can take advantage of situations, gaslight unsuspecting victims, and then dispense with them after having fleeced them of their resources, and even their very lives.

Whatever does not lead to life, leads to death and destruction. The hallmark of a contemporary charlatan-leader is that he creates division, disharmony, and disunity, rather than fostering loving connections and life-giving relationships.

If abundance is in the hands of a few, and not the many, then you can be sure that the outlaw is in charge of the flock. To have people languish, while others ignore them or even demonize them, is to have a charlatan thief calling the shots and trying to suffocate the voice of Jesus.

But the voice of Jesus will not be silenced. Christ’s voice will be heard. And it is being heard. Many are listening to the life that he offers. Jesus has the singular voice of deliverance.

Yet, many in this old world still seek political saviors. Only too late do these people realize that the would-be-savior makes a mockery of all that is good, just, and true.

In this current climate of Trumpism and a world which is attempting to resurrect authoritarianism in the name of Christianity, utopian dreams from twisted politicians will turn (and are turning) into nightmares.

Only Jesus is the gate; no one else can make the claim to providing an abundant life.

These current times are yet another temptation toward sinking into a debilitating anxiety. However, if we come back to listening to the singular voice of Jesus, then we can allow faith, hope, and love to take their rightful place in our lives. We can say along with the psalmist:

Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
    I fear no evil,
for you are with me;
    your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
    my whole life long. (Psalm 23:4-6, NRSVUE)

Holy Shepherd, you know your sheep by name and lead us to safety through the valleys of death. Guide us by your voice, so that we may walk in certainty and security to the joyous feast prepared in your house, where we celebrate with you forever. Amen.

The Power of Emptiness (Mark 7:24-37)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year B1 Comment

From there Jesus set out and went away to the region of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice, but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 

Jesus said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” But she answered him, “Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” Then he said to her, “For saying that, you may go—the demon has left your daughter.” And when she went home, she found the child lying on the bed and the demon gone.

Then Jesus returned from the region of Tyre and went by way of Sidon toward the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech, and they begged him to lay his hand on him. 

Jesus took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue. Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. 

Then Jesus ordered them to tell no one, but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. They were astounded beyond measure, saying, “He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.” (New Revised Standard Version)

Two stories. Two suffering people, because of their infirmities. A mother and a community suffering along with them, not knowing how to help them.

Lo and behold, Jesus, of all people, was the last person they expected to hear was in the area. He a Jew. They Gentiles. Yet, what if….

Maybe there is a ray of hope. After all, where there is emptiness, there is potential. And Jesus is the expert on that!

Christ had the rare ability to give the necessary gift of envisioning potential in another’s life, of seeing how the empty space could be filled with life and joy. Indeed, with Jesus there is possibility.

It is important to not only look at what is there, but also on what is not there. Because that’s where we find the quality, opportunity, and potential in another, and in ourselves.

The daughter in the narrative was vexed and incapacitated by an unclean spirit, a demon. The man in the story was deaf and mute, unable to hear and speak, lacking capacity for effective interaction in a society which relied so heavily on the ears and the mouth.

We may imagine their emptiness, feeling bereft of ever experiencing abundant life in their respective circumstances. However, they had those around them who cared, and interceded on their behalf.

Just realizing that Jesus was amongst them seemed to inspire a spark of possibility. Their thinking began to move in a slightly different direction with Christ in the neighborhood.

500 years before Christ’s encounters with these folks, the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu crafted this poem:

A wheel may have thirty spokes,

but its usefulness lies in the empty hub.

A jar is formed from clay,

but its usefulness lies in the empty center.

A room is made from four walls,

but its usefulness lies in the space between.

Matter is necessary to give form,

but the value of reality lies in its immateriality.

Everything that lives has a physical body,

but the value of a life is measured by the soul.

The immaterial is the real substance. The material is only the form we see around it. It isn’t the material which effects the immaterial; it is the immaterial which has the power to transform the material.

Yet, change is never easy, even the necessary changes we long to see realized. It was not easy for any Gentile living in a Jewish world, and vice versa. Both Jews and Gentiles find out how hard things really can be.

Exorcising the Canaanite Woman’s Daughter, by Peter Gorban, 1990

The word got around that Jesus was in town. Nobody knew where he was. But desperate people discover ways to find the people they believe can help. The mother of the daughter with an unclean spirit found where Jesus was staying.

Furthermore, desperate persons are resilient; they rarely give up. The woman was used to tension in the room. She was unfazed by the Jew and Gentile disparity. I happen to think that the response of Jesus was probably expected by the woman. It certainly didn’t discourage her.

The woman asked for help. Jesus rebuffed her. Perhaps this seems incongruent with your understanding of Christ. It may even shock you. It was anything but Midwest nice.

One of the realities, it seems to me, that we need to understand and grapple with, is that Jesus was a real bona fide human being. He was born, grew up, had to learn things and become mature, in every sense of the word.

Christ also needed to develop and live into his own ministry. He had to learn how to establish personal boundaries, apply wisdom to particular situations, and deal with being hungry and tired with a world of human need around him.

I believe that is what we see in this interaction with the woman. And it in no way diminishes Christ’s divinity. We need to be able to hold all of Jesus – both his divinity and his humanity – at the same time, all the time.

Undeterred, the woman bent the words of Jesus to her advantage. That’s what desperate people do. So, Christ, recognizing true desperation and the faith behind her persistence, then immediately exercised his divinity by expelling the unclean spirit from the daughter and bringing her to full capacity.

I’m glad the Gospel writer Mark recorded the narrative as he did. I see a Messiah who deeply desires to do his Father’s will, and has to struggle with how to accomplish it.

I see Jesus in the story as actively growing in his understanding and ability, learning to break into the world with grace and truth; yet at the same time, not conforming to the world’s status quo.

Methinks that not much of this had anything to do with Christ’s sense of ethnicity and gender, but with everyone else’s understanding of the terms. Jesus, along with all of us who desire to follow the ways of God, must struggle with how to bring God’s kingdom values to people.

Jesus, to his credit, is a quick study. Being oriented to love, mercy, and obedience will do that for you. The woman was an outside voice. Christ was willing to listen and banter with her. He was not threatened when she spoke her truth to his power.

I will suggest to you that perhaps the reason for Christ’s willingness and ability to have effective ministry with the woman and her daughter (as well as everyone else) is that he had his own sacred emptiness.

Whenever we are full of ourselves, full of all our thoughts of how things ought to go, and full of all our settled beliefs, then there is no room to see and listen to another person.

Jesus was empty so that the woman could add to him with her own story and struggle. And when that happened, a miracle occurred.

The same sort of sacred emptiness happened with the deaf and mute man who was healed of his infirmity. Jesus was able to receive and be filled with the people who brought the man to him.

They begged Christ to help the man. Jesus saw them and heard them, because he was not so full of himself. And if anyone ever had a right to be full and tell others what to do, it is Jesus.

But he didn’t. In his empty humility, he had room for others. Since Christ emptied himself, he could empty others of all the stuff that gets in the way of living a peaceful life. (Philippians 2:5-8)

That is precisely why I am here. Because Jesus had room for me. Christ has a very large inner space, big enough to accommodate an untold amount of people. He has room for you, too. He sees you, and is able to listen to you.

So, go ahead; speak your own truth to Christ’s power.

Abundant Life (1 Kings 8:1-21)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
Solomon dedicates the Temple at Jerusalem, by James Tissot (1836-1902)

Solomon then summoned to Jerusalem the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes—the leaders of the ancestral families of the Israelites. They were to bring the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant to the Temple from its location in the City of David, also known as Zion. So all the men of Israel assembled before King Solomon at the annual Festival of Shelters, which is held in early autumn in the month of Ethanim.

When all the elders of Israel arrived, the priests picked up the Ark. The priests and Levites brought up the Ark of the Lord along with the special tent and all the sacred items that had been in it. There, before the Ark, King Solomon and the entire community of Israel sacrificed so many sheep, goats, and cattle that no one could keep count!

Then the priests carried the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant into the inner sanctuary of the Temple—the Most Holy Place—and placed it beneath the wings of the cherubim. The cherubim spread their wings over the Ark, forming a canopy over the Ark and its carrying poles. These poles were so long that their ends could be seen from the Holy Place, which is in front of the Most Holy Place, but not from the outside. They are still there to this day. Nothing was in the Ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had placed in it at Mount Sinai, where the Lord made a covenant with the people of Israel when they left the land of Egypt.

When the priests came out of the Holy Place, a thick cloud filled the Temple of the Lord. The priests could not continue their service because of the cloud, for the glorious presence of the Lord filled the Temple of the Lord.

Then Solomon prayed, “O Lord, you have said that you would live in a thick cloud of darkness. Now I have built a glorious Temple for you, a place where you can live forever!”

Then the king turned around to the entire community of Israel standing before him and gave this blessing: “Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, who has kept the promise he made to my father, David. For he told my father, ‘From the day I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I have never chosen a city among any of the tribes of Israel as the place where a Temple should be built to honor my name. But I have chosen David to be king over my people Israel.’”

Then Solomon said, “My father, David, wanted to build this Temple to honor the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. But the Lord told him, ‘You wanted to build the Temple to honor my name. Your intention is good, but you are not the one to do it. One of your own sons will build the Temple to honor me.’

“And now the Lord has fulfilled the promise he made, for I have become king in my father’s place, and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the Lord promised. I have built this Temple to honor the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. And I have prepared a place there for the Ark, which contains the covenant that the Lord made with our ancestors when he brought them out of Egypt.” (New Living Translation)

Dedication of Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem, by Johann Georg Platzer (1704-1761)

I admit, at many times, that I am prone to melancholy. I tend to be quick at accepting blame, and rather slow at owning my good work. Another way of putting this is that it is easier to give than to receive.

Those who have endured a lot of hard circumstances, and persevered through many adversities, can sometimes be reticent to accept the good, the abundant, and the beautiful, whenever it comes to us in this life.

Waiting for the other shoe to drop, far too many people hold back themselves from receiving and enjoying the really good things in life. They worry that the goodness will disappear, or be taken away; and so, they withhold gratitude and blessing, whenever they are in the presence of great abundance.

Just so you know, in case there are those of you who need to hear it spelled out plainly: That’s messed up.

People are meant to be abundantly generous, as well as wildly receptive. It’s likely why there are so many spiritually unhealthy persons in the world.

Bless their hearts, they give a lot, without receiving much, and then their spiritual diarrhea makes it so they can’t give anymore. And they oftentimes give to those who are in such a habit of receiving (and not giving) that the receiver’s spiritual constipation becomes a terrible problem.

Let’s avoid both extremes by letting ourselves both give and receive with equal abandon. No one can be spiritually growing, healthy, and mature without the dynamic of giving and receiving.

Solomon knew how to do both. King Solomon was the king of abundance. He accepted and received big; and he gave and blessed big. Nobody before him or after him received and gave more.

The Temple, in all of its glory and grandeur, with the Ark of the Covenant encrusted with gold as the central object in the building, was all for a God who doesn’t live in houses, a God who is invisible.

In Solomon’s dedication of the Temple, he made it clear that the God of Israel is not, and cannot, be restricted to, or located within, a single place. Thus, the Lord is limitless, and not subject to any human manipulation.

God is free to give with great abandon. And God is also free to take away. Blessed be the name of the Lord God. If we continually try and anticipate or predict what God will do, we will likely be a nervous ball of anxiety all of the time, wondering when the unexpected and/or unwanted will visit us.

It is much better to receive the good things the Lord gives us, and enjoy them while we have them.

“I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

Jesus (John 10:10)

Nothing is permanent, with the exception of relationships and love. So, if we can connect the temporal material things of this life in service to the immaterial realities of this universe, then we are in a position to experience peace, joy, and satisfaction.

If and when the material disappears, or is taken away, then it shall neither defeat us, nor destroy us. For our relational connections with God and others exist, and are free flowing, with the energy of gracious receiving and giving as the conduit of abundant life.

Melancholy is important and has its place for us in this present life; yet, so do things like celebration, dedication, joy, exuberance, emotional commitment, and open love. Indeed, to have these in abundance is a reflection of the God of abundance, in whose name we are bold to pray:

God of abundance, you have fed us with the bread of life and cup of salvation; you have united us with Christ and one another; and you have made us one with all your people in heaven and on earth. Now send us forth in the power of your Spirit, that we may proclaim your redeeming love to the world and continue forever in the risen life of Christ our Savior. Amen.

Living Bread from Heaven (John 6:51-58)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
Art by Nigel Wynter (1957-2024)

I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever, and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 

So Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day, for my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which the ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.” (New Revised Standard Version)

To the religious leaders of Christ’s day, Jesus was making more noise than a couple of skeletons dancing on a tin roof. And they neither liked it, nor appreciated him drawing so much attention to himself.

Tensions had been escalating between Jesus and the religious establishment. The atmosphere was thick with grumbling leaders, as they tried to make some sense of Christ’s words to them.

Jesus offering his body for people to eat was causing far too much noise for the Jewish leaders. What in the world is this guy talking about?

Rather than making the meaning clear for them, Jesus added drinking his blood to the discussion. What’s more, Christ got up in their grill and confronted them with a choice, instead of a straightforward explanation.

Using some good old double negative language, Jesus flatly stated that there’s no life without any eating of his flesh and drinking of his blood. Then conversely, stated positively, Jesus affirmed that eternal life is found in those who eat his flesh and drink his blood.

This was next level communication of Jesus to the religious leaders. Earlier, Christ let them know that they needed to make the choice of coming to himself, of engaging in a life-giving relationship with him.

Yet now, it’s a matter of outright participation in Jesus, of eating and drinking the body and blood of Christ. Both the choice of relationship and of participation are radical decisions, which requires ditching some old traditions, and beginning some new ones.

Christ’s words are difficult, because they demand a change in thinking and behavior. Indeed, his words demand a change in our very way of being.

Christian discipleship requires that we stop the false ways of being in this world, and start a different way of being, according to the true self. In other words, Jesus was insisting on repentance and faith.

We are all on the hook to not just talk some theology and take some communion elements. It’s a lot more involved than that. Jesus demands our very lives, and not simply to sign off on some doctrinal statement about him. It’s about life itself, the power of life and death.

By eating and drinking Christ, there is meaningful relational connection, and ongoing participation in his life and ministry.

None of this is about literal cannibalism, and not even about actual bread and wine. This is deep metaphorical stuff which is meant to convey to us who Jesus is and how we can be related to him.

When we ingest food and drink, it goes into us and throughout our entire body. You cannot get much closer to something than by eating it and having it inside you. Just as eating bread goes to our very core and helps sustain life, so ingestingJesus is about allowing him to be as close to us as possible, into the very depths of our soul.

And by taking Christ into us, we will truly live and connect; and not be separated and die.

Art by Soiche Watanabe

We can no more spiritually live without taking Jesus into us, as we could live without eating on a regular basis. Christ is our breakfast, lunch, and dinner; our midnight snack and our birthday cake. Jesus is all that, and more.

Perhaps you are wondering why Jesus didn’t just state plainly who he is, why he came, and what will happen. Because it’s too much to handle.

We don’t simply accept Jesus into our heart, and then go on our merry way. Jesus Christ is someone to search for and discover, as if we were looking for fresh water or for the best baguette in the world.

Anyone can affirm a few belief statements, or do some good deeds. But it takes real courage to go hard after the spiritual life and find out what it’s all about:

It requires some solid bravery to explore the depths of your own true self and face the internal crud that’s been hiding in the shadows of your soul.

It demands identifying the bogus ways we prop up a false self for others to see – wanting to control how people view us and treat us.

It takes some real chutzpah to pursue the God life without worrying about where it will take you or who it will upset.

Jesus is a force to contend with. He is the Son of God, sent from above, to provide the world with real spiritual food and drink. Christ is the one who sustains life, and makes abundance possible. He is the Lord who speaks, calls out, and draws us to himself.

Jesus Christ helps us fit, even though we come from the island of misfit toys.

Even more pertinent than the question of “Who is Jesus?” is the probing question, “And what will you do with him?”

Christ cannot fit into your neat theological system, your tidy doctrinal statements, and on your nicely cleaned coffee table within the attractive Bible. Sooner or later, we all must contend with the divine force which gives life to everything. We cannot get away from him.

So, go after Jesus. Find out who he is. Determine how to deal with a mercy so powerful that it melts away guilt and shame as if it were in a 500 degree oven. After all, it’s better to have a tasty loaf of bread than to become a hard slice of burnt toast.

But let’s not worry about how hot it is in here, but how noisy it’s getting.

Gracious Lord, move us, your people, to experience your love more deeply. Fill us with the energy that comes from a desire for service. Connect us with creation to care for your world. Engage us in the scriptures and increase our knowledge of you. Raise up your power and come among us. May your bountiful grace and mercy equip us. Amen.