Tag: christian faith

Consider Carefully How You Listen (Luke 8:16-21)

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

“No one lights a lamp and hides it in a clay jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, they put it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light. For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open. Therefore consider carefully how you listen. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they think they have will be taken from them.”

Now Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see him, but they were not able to get near him because of the crowd. Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.”

He replied, “My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice.” (New International Version)

In this chapter of Luke’s Gospel, Jesus had just finished offering his parable of the sower. Central to that parable is the message of true hearing. To really hear the word of God is to believe it, and put it into practice.

The verses for today are arranged by the Evangelist Luke to emphasize this very important need for listening well, and integrating the Word of God into every facet of our daily lives.

Listening and the Light

Christ communicated to his disciples that persons with a noble and good heart are the ones who truly hear the Word of God, retain it, and persevere in following through and doing what they have heard. This is how one produces a spiritual harvest of righteousness and peace.

The good listeners who receive the Word are the ones who have the Light of the World in their daily life. They allow their own little light within them to be seen. The Light is meant to bring illumination for others.

Jesus exhorts his disciples to share the light of revelation given to them – because the world needs to continually hear and see that God’s benevolent and gracious kingdom is breaking into their communities and neighborhoods, into their institutions and their families.

For the sake of the church’s life, individual believers, and even the life of the world, it is imperative that we continually hear that God’s victorious reign of justice, goodness, and righteousness is truly and presently entering this realm we inhabit.

Therefore, it is quite needful that we learn to listen well. To hear the Word of God, respond obediently to it, and then openly proclaim what we have heard and seen, is how the mighty works of God are spread across the world.

Throughout the history of Christianity, whenever the church devoted themselves to hearing the Word, it resulted in doing things which bring light to the world. Here are just a few examples of how believers have let their light shine into the darkest times of history:

  • Taking-in and adopting unwanted children who would otherwise be victims of infanticide, even though the believers own resources were limited
  • Moving toward the sick and dying and ministering to them during periods of plague and disease, while the rest moved away in order to avoid becoming sick themselves
  • Caring for prisoners who had no family to provide them with necessary food and clothing, as if those persons were their own kin
  • Giving benevolence and kindness to the poor – especially to immigrants, widows, and orphans

Listening and the Family

Jesus states that those who hear and do the Word of God are his family – a new family oriented around the spiritual, and not just biological bloodlines.

Many people today are uprooted from one’s family of origin. And there are a great many older persons who either live alone as widows or widowers, or are not geographically (nor relationally) close to their own biological children and/or grandchildren.

For a host of reasons, millions of persons around the world are estranged from family members.

Sometimes, religious beliefs and spiritual commitments lie at the heart of family estrangement. This is one significant reason why the church is important; it serves as the community of the redeemed, a group of people with like-minded values who support one another, much like a family is supposed to do.

One of the many metaphors of the church in the New Testament is of “the family of God.”

Now about your love for one another we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. And in fact, you do love all of God’s family…. Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more…

1 Thessalonians 4:9-10, NIV

The church is made up of a conglomeration of families who are meant to strengthen one another in faith, and are present with each other in times of change and loss.

We must continually keep in mind (and heart) that the church is not designed to be a mere collection of individuals or families; but rather to be a new family, brought together by the providence of God; to be a community of redeemed persons, living and loving Jesus together through supporting each other’s faith, and practicing love one to another.

The church is indeed the family of God.

And within any family – whether spiritual or biological – listening must be at the heart of relational dynamics with each other as members. Without truly hearing what each person is saying, as well as what the Word of God is saying to us collectively, it is difficult to experience unity, harmony, and love.

We listen, and then we act on what we hear – for the benefit of the family – both biological and spiritual. So, consider carefully how you listen and hear.

Generous and loving God, I come to you in thanksgiving, knowing that all I am and all that I have is a gift from you.

In faith and love, help me to do your good and benevolent will. Speak Lord, for I am listening. Let me hear your words in the depth of my soul, and let me hear them clearly.

I offer to you today every aspect of my life – no matter what is, or where I am. I seek to be patient, merciful, generous, and holy in all I say and do. Give me wisdom and insight to understand your will, and the energy to carry out my good intentions.

I offer to you my time, abilities, possessions – and even the lack thereof of them – to you as a true act of faith, to reflect my love for you and for my neighbor. Help me to reach out to others as you have reached out to me; through Jesus Christ my Lord, in the strength of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

The Holy Name of Jesus (Luke 2:15-21)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
Orthodox depiction of the circumcision and naming of Jesus

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them, and Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told them.

When the eighth day came, it was time to circumcise the child, and he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. (New Revised Standard Version)

“The Holy Name of Jesus” is a celebration, observed by some Christian traditions, each year on January 1 – which is the eighth day after the birth of Jesus, when he was named and circumcised at the temple in Jerusalem.

An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:20-21, NRSV)

In the Law of Moses, all male infants are to be circumcised on the eighth day after their birth (Leviticus 12:3). Throughout most of the history of the Christian Church, January 1 has been celebrated as a feast day devoted to the naming of Jesus.

The name “Jesus” comes from the Hebrew Yeshuah (Joshua) which means “Yahweh will save.” It is a name fitting for the person and work of Christ.

Therefore God exalted him even more highly
    and gave him the name
    that is above every other name,
so that at the name given to Jesus
    every knee should bend,
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue should confess
    that Jesus Christ is Lord,
    to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11, NRSV)

Faith is always followed by obedience. So, the faith of Joseph and Mary in believing the words of the angel Gabriel, translated into the obedient naming of their son as “Jesus.” (Luke 1:31-32)

Jesus, bearing the name of savior, is holy in every way. Not only does the name of Jesus point to his divinity – because of his miraculous conception by the Holy Spirit – but it also directs us toward the special mission for which he entered this world.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and Son of Humanity, is God’s agent of deliverance for both Israel and the whole world.

“Do not be afraid, for see, I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord….” (Luke 2:10-11, NRSV)

The Gospel writer Luke provides us with a birth narrative “pregnant” with theological information and importance:

  • Jesus has divine sonship, and possesses the status of king (Luke 1:31-35)
  • Jesus comes from the city of David, which is Bethlehem, not Jerusalem (Luke 2:4, 11)
  • Jesus is described by the angel Gabriel as Son of the Most High, Son of God, Savior, Messiah, and Lord; each of these titles direct us to his identity and mission (Luke 1:32, 35; 2:11)

I like the collective response of the shepherds, after they received heavenly good news from a group of angels.

They could have dismissed the entire thing as having drunk too much brandy on a brisk winter night. They could have kept the whole affair to themselves, reasoning that nobody would believe a bunch of stinky shepherds.

Instead, much like Mary who hurried off to Elizabeth after receiving the angelic message, the shepherds dropped everything to go and see the feeding trough with a newborn baby wrapped in swaddling cloth.

In other words, the shepherds belief in what they heard and experienced, quickly translated into action. It was only appropriate that it was shepherds who discovered the newborn king, the Son of David, himself a shepherd who was anointed by God.

The shepherds went and followed the signs given to them by the angel. And they believed. A motley group of shepherds returned to their fields, kicking up their heels, praising and glorifying God. They knew that things would never be the same again.

The name of Jesus is holy, simply because the Lord Jesus Christ is the Holy One. Christians recognize Jesus as Savior, the fulfillment of all God’s promises. His singular birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension is exactly, I believe, what this old fallen world is most in need of.

It is never too late to resolve knowing Jesus. At the beginning of this year, there is perhaps no better resolution to make, again and again, of knowing Jesus Christ and honoring his holy name.

Eternal Father, you gave to your incarnate Son the holy name of Jesus to be the sign of our salvation. Plant in our hearts the love of Jesus, truly God and truly human, and grant that we may praise and bless your Holy Name with our whole mind, heart, body, and spirit, that we may know your boundless compassion and mercy. In Christ’s name, we pray. Amen.

First Sunday after Christmas Day – Where Is Jesus? (Luke 2:41-52)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
The Boy Jesus In the Temple, by He Qi

Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival. When the festival was ended and they started to return, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents were unaware of this. Assuming that he was in the group of travelers, they went a day’s journey.

Then they started to look for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. 

When his parents saw him they were astonished, and his mother said to him, “Child, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously looking for you.” 

He said to them, “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he said to them. 

Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was obedient to them, and his mother treasured all these things in her heart.

And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years and in divine and human favor. (New Revised Standard Version)

Luke is the only New Testament Evangelist who included a story of Jesus’s childhood. It provides us some interesting biographical information. Yet, more importantly, the story gives us a sense of Christ’s destiny, of why Jesus grew up to  engage in his unique earthly ministry.

In many ways, Jesus was a typical Jewish boy, in a non-descript pious Jewish family. The family was careful to be observant, and annually made their pilgrimage to Jerusalem for Passover.

Joseph and his family traveled in a large caravan of people, which was common for that day. They were on their camels an entire day before they discovered Jesus was missing.

Mary likely assumed Jesus was riding on the other camel with Uncle Zechariah and his cousin John. 

But Jesus was neither with them nor with Aunt Elizabeth. So, the second day, Joseph and Mary backtracked to Jerusalem, hoping and praying they wouldn’t find Jesus in the ditch, like in the story of the Good Samaritan.

Having not found their son along the road, Joseph and Mary spent the third day scouring Jerusalem in search of Jesus. 

It seems to me that far too many people go about their daily lives without realizing Jesus is even missing. They simply assume he’s here. But he isn’t.

So, let’s search for him. And in finding him, may we see Jesus as we have never seen him before, so that our faith in God might be strengthened, and so that we do not end up losing him yet again.

Turns out, the entire time, Jesus was at the temple. As a parent and grandparent myself, I’m not a bit surprised that a twelve-year-old stayed behind and thought nothing of it. 

Jesus was curious and inquisitive with the rabbis at the temple. Those ancient teachers taught in a different way than Christians preachers today. They gave instruction more like a modern day counselor or therapist.

The rabbis didn’t just impart information; they asked questions to help people discover truth for themselves. And the rabbis were amazed at Jesus’s ability to discover truth.

Keep in mind that Jesus was not a thirty-year-old adult in a twelve-year-old body. Christ was sinless, indeed; but still immature.

The human experience involves growth and maturation. Jesus shared fully in our humanity, not partially. When Christ was born, he was not a fully aware adult looking through the eyes of a baby.

Because Jesus is fully human, he had to grow up just like us and learn in every way, just like us. (Hebrews 4:15; 5:8)

Staying in Jerusalem was not a rebellious act by Jesus. It was typical. Twelve-year-old’s do all kinds of things without saying anything to their parents.

There’s a world of difference between defiant rebellion, and just plain old garden variety immaturity. It’s unwise for adults to expect adult behavior from adolescent kids.

Jesus felt a deep need to stay and talk with the rabbis. As a human boy, he had to go through the process of self-discovery… of finding out that he was the Son of God… of reading the scriptures for himself and learning… and finding that he was reading about himself! 

To say that Jesus simply knew everything because he was God is to fall into a heresy the early church condemned at the Council of Nicaea called Docetism – a belief that Jesus is fully God and only appeared to be human.

No, the Nicaean Council said, Jesus is really a human being and did not simply appear to be one. He is like us, in every way, except sin.

Well, of course, Joseph and Mary finally found Jesus. And Jesus got the third degree from his mother: “What do you mean putting your father and I through this? I gave you birth, and you treat us like this?  What were you thinking?  What part of meeting at the two-humped camel at 9:00 don’t you understand!?”

Since Jesus grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and others, how much more do we need to put ourselves in a position to grow and learn and develop and mature? 

There is no spiritual machine in which God miraculously zaps into our brains all the wisdom and knowledge we need.

Rather, emulating our Lord, we must learn, grow, read, pray, ask questions, struggle, and dialogue about the good news of Jesus Christ with each other. In short, we must discover the truth of God.

Perhaps Jesus is asking us, as he did to Mary and Joseph, “Why were you searching for me?  Didn’t you know that I had to be in my Father’s house?” 

The answer of Jesus to his parents’ anxious searching of him points to Christ’s growing self-awareness about his messianic mission. The story centers around Jesus, as all stories do in the Gospel narratives, and not so much around the others.

Since Christ is the proper middle to everything for the Christian, we will, like Joseph and Mary, struggle to know where in the heck Jesus is, and why he is where he is, whenever we find him.

But it isn’t really all that hard to find Jesus, at least, once you know where to look, and where he typically hangs out.

When looking for Jesus, he will be doing the things of his Father. In the Gospel of Luke, those things are clearly connected to the prophet Isaiah’s description:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
    because he has anointed me
        to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
    and recovery of sight to the blind,
        to set free those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18-19, NRSV; cf. Isaiah 61:1-2)

The ones rejoicing at Christ’s birth, and why they were filled with such joy, is very much connected to the messianic mission of Jesus. They understood that freedom and deliverance had just been born.

O God, from our mother’s womb you have known us. You call us to follow you every single day of our lives. And you seek us out whenever we wander from you. As we grow up and grow older, clothe us with your love, so that we may mature in grace and find favor in your sight; through Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord. Amen.

What Should We Do? (Acts 2:37-42)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
Apostle Peter Preaching, by Lorenzo Veneziano, c.1370

When the crowd heard this, they were deeply troubled. They said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?”

Peter replied, “Change your hearts and lives. Each of you must be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This promise is for you, your children, and for all who are far away—as many as the Lord our God invites.” With many other words he testified to them and encouraged them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.” Those who accepted Peter’s message were baptized. God brought about three thousand people into the community on that day.

The believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the community, to their shared meals, and to their prayers. (Common English Bible)

The Apostle Peter, follower of Jesus, had a fire in his belly and fresh wind in his lungs.

Pentecost will do that to a person.

The promised Holy Spirit came – the Spirit of fire and wind – and the result was an impassioned, reasoned, and convicting message from Peter.

The crowd of people listening to Peter understood clearly that he was saying the person and work of Jesus was the activity of God.

And Christ was killed because of his presence and ministry. But three days later, he was raised from death. And then, ascended to heaven, promising the Spirit’s continual involvement.

The people listening to Peter were cut to the heart, convicted in the depths of their soul, and beside themselves as to their culpability in Christ’s situation. They cried out to Peter and asked him what they should do, how they could possibly be a part of what God is doing in the world.

Peter’s response to the crowd was to change – to repent and be baptized, receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Apostle was telling them to turn away from the old way, and turn toward the new coming kingdom of God.

Baptism assures people that God has received their repentance, and has forgiven them. It initiates the believer into the new community of the redeemed, the church.

This was not only for Jewish people, but also for Gentiles; and for everyone, both far and near.

Celebration, by John August Swanson (1938-2021)

The four qualities which characterized the earliest church were these:

  1. The new community followed apostolic teaching (the story of Jesus)
  2. The church continually engaged in fellowship (mutual encouragement and working together in unity)
  3. The believers broke bread together (kept meeting together in shared meals to remember the person and work of Jesus)
  4. They prayed (as the Lord had taught them to pray – for God’s gracious and benevolent kingdom to come, and God’s ethical and moral will to be done, right now on this earth, as it is always done in God’s heaven)

For those who are established in the faith of Christianity, all of this material raises several questions to reflect upon in how our life together as Christians is going:

How do Christians understand the word “repentance?”

Because this determines a great deal of how we live as believers. If we discern repentance as following the rules – both written and unwritten – then we are likely behaving more in the old ways that the earliest believers were to repent of.

But if we see repentance as a way of life, of continually offering prayers of confession to God, and seeking to align our life with the words and ways of Jesus, then we are living more into the spirit of Peter’s original exhortation to the people.

Is the Church living as the baptized community of the redeemed?

Again, how do we understand the word “baptism?” If baptism is nothing more than a personal decision to outwardly show one’s faith, then we have severely truncated Peter’s meaning of the word.

Baptism is the outward sign that we belong to God. And belonging to God is something God does, not us.

One good way of understanding the whole of the Christian life is that we are to ‘live into our baptism,’ that is, we are to daily live our lives cognizant that our life is not our own.

We belong to God. Long before we happened to choose God, God chose us. And we must always remember that.

Are believers in Jesus living in the Spirit?

The Spirit has been given as the continuing presence of Jesus on this earth. The Spirit reminds us of Christ’s words and ways, his person and work. To live in the Spirit is to be continually reminded that what is important to Jesus, needs to be important to us.

“You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.

“You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.

“You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are—no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.

“You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat.

“You’re blessed when you care. At the moment of being ‘care-full,’ you find yourselves cared for.

“You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.

“You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of competing or fighting. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family.

“You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom. (Matthew 5:3-10, MSG)

Are individual Christians and the Church communicating the promise to those who are far away? In other words, are we seeking to include others in the community?

Too many churches are closed groups who have a lot of extraneous rules and ancillary beliefs in order to truly be a part of their local church.

This does not mean we are to have no rules or guidelines or any teaching about our particular Christian tradition. However, it does mean that make sure we are proclaiming good news (which is what the word “gospel” means) because the gospel is radically inclusive, not exclusive.

Therefore, to have a community of people who genuinely love one another by spiritually changing and growing, serving and helping, sharing and encouraging, praying and opening up, is to have a group of redeemed persons who give a compelling proclamation of good news through both their gracious words and their loving actions.

If we have little Christ’s walking about this world and living according to his words and ways, and being full of the Spirit, then we give other people a big reason for faith, hope, and love in a world that is too often characterized by being overwhelmed, jaded, and hopeless.

One can never go wrong with living a blessed life as Jesus has defined it; and as the early apostles and believers lived it.

May it be so, to the glory of God, and for the blessing of the church and the world. Amen.