Tag: god’s grace

Lessons From a Genealogy (Ruth 4:18-22)

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

Now these are the descendants of Perez: Perez became the father of Hezron, Hezron of Ram, Ram of Amminadab, Amminadab of Nahshon, Nahshon of Salmon, Salmon of Boaz, Boaz of Obed, Obed of Jesse, and Jesse of David. (New Revised Standard Version)

No, I didn’t make a mistake about what the verses are for today from the Revised Common Lectionary. Yes, the Old Testament lesson is a brief genealogy. And yes, there is something to learn from this.

The Bible contains a lot of genealogies. Although they may be boring, with names we have difficulty pronouncing, every genealogy serves the same purpose that it does for your own family history.

Genealogies remind us of our connection with past generations. And this interconnectedness has influenced us in profound ways. You and I are the result of what history has produced. We are who we are, to a significant degree, because of the people who came before us.

By listing someone’s descendants in writing, it indicates an ongoing developing story which has happened, and continues to develop up to the present time, and even into the future.

One aspect about biblical genealogies that must be noted: Ancient compilers of genealogical lists did not often include every single person in the genealogy. They typically listed the more significant persons, and left out persons who barely dented history.

That’s because the biblical writer’s purpose in giving a genealogy was not necessarily to be exact and precise about each individual past actor. Rather, the writer usually has a moral and/or theological reason for providing the list.

For the writer of the Book of Ruth, the reason for this genealogy was to establish the bloodline and pedigree of King David. Perez was a son of the patriarch Judah (and Tamar). Boaz was a descendant of Judah. Boaz married Ruth, and they had a son, Obed, who was the grandfather of David.

I hope that you see the grace in every biblical genealogy. Including in our genealogy for today, we have two women, Tamar and Ruth. Both of them were unlikely candidates for producing a king. And even more unlikely to be included in greatest Christian genealogy of them all, the lineage of Jesus (Matthew 1:1-17)

The Gospel writer Matthew included in his genealogical list a note about Boaz. He was the son of Rahab. Yes, the same Rahab who was the prostitute in Jericho, and became a faithful woman included in God’s covenant community. (Matthew 1:5-6)

Ruth was a “heathen” woman from Moab, a nation which historically was hostile to Judah. Yet, through her own pious actions, Ruth became a worthy member of Judah, and listed as a great mother of the Jewish people.

The brief genealogy we have here is a part of an historical continuity in God’s covenant community. From Abraham to Judah to David to Jesus, and to the Christian Church, this both literal and spiritual heritage is brought about through a daughter-in-law of Naomi the Jew, Ruth.

None of us are truly alone. We are all connected as people. And Christians are spiritually linked to the covenant as God’s people, by faith.

Just as Abraham “believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” so, you see, those who believe are the descendants of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would reckon as righteous the gentiles by faith, declared the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “All the gentiles shall be blessed in you.” For this reason, those who believe are blessed with Abraham who believed. (Galatians 3:6-9, NRSV)

This connection to the past, prevents us from having an over-individualistic faith in God and relationship to the Lord. We belong to the historical and worldwide communion of saints. We, both personally and communally, belong to God.

For the writer of the Book of Ruth, history is important. Genealogy is significant. God’s covenant matters. The Church’s life is bound up in the person of Christ, in King Jesus, Son of David, Son of Boaz and Ruth, Son of Abraham.

Not only do we belong to God, but we also belong to one another. We belong to ordinary people who showed extraordinary faith.

And it is through ordinary people that God works out divine purposes on this earth for the common good of all people.

We have many grandparents in the faith. We are linked to them by faith. There is a mystical spiritual connection that we enjoy with them. And that connection is shared with others of the faith, as well.

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. (Romans 12:3-5, NRSV)

Blessed Christ, you do not call us servants, but friends—companions on this mission to see love, peace, and hope made known. You do not leave us to fend for ourselves, but invite us into community with you and others. Draw us closer to you and one another, and help us to become companions and confidants in our collective journey of faith and perseverance. Amen.

Living Without Answers (Job 41:12-34)

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

“I will not keep silent concerning its limbs
    or its mighty strength or its splendid frame.
Who can strip off its outer garment?
    Who can penetrate its double coat of mail?
Who can open the doors of its face?
    There is terror all around its teeth.
Its back is made of shields in rows,
    shut up closely as with a seal.
One is so near to another
    that no air can come between them.
They are joined one to another;
    they clasp each other and cannot be separated.
Its sneezes flash forth light,
    and its eyes are like the eyelids of the dawn.
From its mouth go flaming torches;
    sparks of fire leap out.
Out of its nostrils comes smoke,
    as from a boiling pot and burning rushes.
Its breath kindles coals,
    and a flame comes out of its mouth.
In its neck abides strength,
    and terror dances before it.
The folds of its flesh cling together;
    it is firmly cast and immovable.
Its heart is as hard as stone,
    as hard as the lower millstone.
When it raises itself up the gods are afraid;
    at the crashing they are beside themselves.
Though the sword reaches it, it does not avail,
    nor does the spear, the dart, or the javelin.
It counts iron as straw
    and bronze as rotten wood.
The arrow cannot make it flee;
    slingstones, for it, are turned to chaff.
Clubs are counted as chaff;
    it laughs at the rattle of javelins.
Its underparts are like sharp potsherds;
    it spreads itself like a threshing sledge on the mire.
It makes the deep boil like a pot;
    it makes the sea like a pot of ointment.
It leaves a shining wake behind it;
    one would think the deep to be white-haired.
On earth it has no equal,
    a creature without fear.
It surveys everything that is lofty;
    it is king over all that are proud.” (New Revised Standard Version)

In a long anticipated response, God finally spoke to Job with his companions present. And it was nothing like anyone expected.

Today’s Old Testament lesson continues God’s questioning of Job, and talking of the great Leviathan – a large and uncontrollable creature.

Trying to figure out exactly what Leviathan is or was (e.g. a dragon, a dinosaur, or some dang demon) is not the point of having this chapter in Holy Scripture.

We can become obsessed with having our questions answered, everything neatly categorized and understood, every problem and mystery solved to our satisfaction.

If the Book of Job teaches us anything, it is that there are questions for which there are no answers this side of heaven. There are problems which we humans cannot logically and scientifically solve.

Ironically, we discover the presence of God through God’s absence; and hear the voice of God through God’s silence.

Any encounter we may have with God will typically shatter any preconceived notions about divinity. Any experience with God shall prevent us from packaging up an answer with some nice pretty paper and bows, as if we were enjoying a delightful Christmas at home.

Facing God is much more like coming face to face with who you really are, and what motivations and intentions are really in your heart. It’s more like Halloween than Christmas. It’s staring at a scary monstrous Leviathan, and not a bright jolly Santa Claus.

Coming to grips with our fears and anxieties, struggles and weaknesses, mortality and vulnerability, is the real sort of encounter people have with God. It’s not so much that God is scary; it’s we who are scary.

It’s scary what people will sometimes do in order to try and get answers to their questions. And it is equally scary what we will do to avoid the questions asked of us.

We don’t like hearing there are some things which are unanswerable. Yet, the mystery of God is real, which means that we are never going to know about everything we want to understand.

And we also don’t like being questioned. But what can you do, whenever you cannot move, and God begins peppering you with his own questions?

We would like to justify and vindicate ourselves – even rationalize our words and actions, if that’s what it takes. Yet, it is God alone who has the power to absolve and exonerate, to bring justice while in the teeth of injustice.

Furthermore, such justification comes in God’s own timing, not ours. Again, this is one of those realities which is far above us, for which we have only a very limited perspective on.

As we move ever closer to the end of the Book of Job, Job’s quest for answers and vindication hasn’t come, at least yet. We, along with Job, must handover the entire affair thoroughly to God in complete trust – without insisting that God say or do what I want God to say or do.

Living by faith is the only real option we have. All other options leave us in an existential angst, sliding toward nihilism.

Anyone who believes they can govern the world better than God, better brace themselves for some serious questioning.

There is not a person on this earth, including myself, that I would trust to run it for ten minutes. Because within ten seconds the world would be burning.

I don’t want that world.

I want a world with God – because I wholeheartedly believe that grace is the real and true operative force on this earth.

The grace of God allows us to see the divine without having to have our puny questions answered. Grace reassures us that we are not lost, that God sees and knows what is happening, and will do something about it.

So therefore, I can rest assured that everything is held in the sinewy strong arms of God. And no person, no monster, no Leviathan, is outside of God’s ability to effect justice and righteousness in the world.

It may take some time to realize complete and total justice, but God has given me enough faith to rest in mystery, and to live with uncertainty.

May it be so, to the glory of God.

Creator of the world, we pray

That you, with steadfast love, would keep

Your watch around us while we sleep.

From evil dreams defend our sight,

From fears and terrors of the night;

Tread underfoot our deadly foe

That we no sinful thought may know.

O Father, we ask your will to be done

Through Jesus Christ, your only Son;

And Holy Spirit, by whose breath

Our souls are raised to life from death. Amen.

Live with Integrity (Psalm 26)

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

Vindicate me, O Lord,
    for I have walked in my integrity,
    and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering.
Prove me, O Lord, and try me;
    test my heart and mind.
For your steadfast love is before my eyes,
    and I walk in faithfulness to you.

I do not sit with the worthless,
    nor do I consort with hypocrites;
I hate the company of evildoers
    and will not sit with the wicked.

I wash my hands in innocence
    and go around your altar, O Lord,
singing aloud a song of thanksgiving
    and telling all your wondrous deeds.

O Lord, I love the house in which you dwell
    and the place where your glory abides.
Do not sweep me away with sinners
    nor my life with the bloodthirsty,
those in whose hands are evil devices
    and whose right hands are full of bribes.

But as for me, I walk in my integrity;
    redeem me and be gracious to me.
My foot stands on level ground;
    in the great congregation I will bless the Lord. (New Revised Standard Version)

Those with integrity long for, and pray for, justice and righteousness. They despise evil and desire the community of faith to be full of love.

Today’s psalm, as well as all of the psalms, are solid prayers which are meant to be prayed by any individual person, at any time, in any era. Those desiring the right, the just, and the good, will especially gravitate toward the psalter and prayer.

The faithful seek to live a morally upright life of integrity, peace, and wholeness. Yet, the psalm is also for those who find themselves unfaithful. They can pray and ask God to search their hearts and bring them to innocence. So, no matter who you are, this psalm is for anyone who wants to connect with the Lord

We have the ability to come before God because God encourages it, and makes it possible for us to approach. The Lord isn’t looking for perfection; God wants some honesty and vulnerability, and for us to realize how utterly dependent creatures we are.

The steadfast love of God is everywhere, and the psalmist recognized this. No matter the situation or circumstance, no matter the place or time, God’s love is present. The reason why we can wrap our faith and commitment around God is that God is consistently and constantly loving in everything.

And whenever we discern and know that this world spins on the axis of love, then we have no desire whatsoever to hang out with those who practice wickedness; we want nothing to do with worthless conversations and actions.

When one has been touched by divine love, not only is there a desire to avoid all evil, but there is also a longing to remain in that love, and to have love be the dominant operative force in all things on this earth.

Once we receive love, we want to give love. And having given love, we desire for the entire world to know this love, which is the true ballast and support of the world.

Without love, there is nothing. With love, all things are possible.

The one who loves does not consort with liars or hypocrites, because such persons indulge deception and selfishness, not openness and respect for others. The lover of God and of righteousness is not found in the company of evildoers.

The lovers amongst us are much too busy providing justice and goodness. The haters amongst us just sit around and curmudgeon on about everything that is messed up in this world, and make fun of all the do-gooders who are so enamored with love.

Which group of people would you rather be around? The lovers or the curmudgeons? Would you like to be in the group who acts like they have everything together? Or would you instead like to be in the group who knows how much they are dependent on the force of love, and of the originator of love, the one who is Love incarnate?

I, personally, would rather be in the community of the redeemed, who know they have been rescued by grace and could fall into wickedness if not for God’s sustaining grace. I have no desire to be in community with people who talk one way and live another.

I would like to be in the place characterized by integrity and love, the sort of place described by the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Romans:

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you….

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. (Romans 12:1-3, 9-18, NIV)

The only thing better than blessing the Lord, is blessing the Lord with an entire congregation of redeemed people who possess integrity, righteousness, and sincere love.

The psalmist, along with the Apostle Paul, lets us know that each of us is responsible for our moral and spiritual integrity. We bear the responsibility to give and receive love. Prayer then becomes much easier and desirable whenever we can pray with a longing for God and God’s righteousness. We really can follow God’s ways and serve the common good of all people with some solid integrity.

Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. (Matthew 6:9-13, NKJV)

Sing a New Song (Psalm 98:1-5)

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

Oh, sing to the Lord a new song!
For He has done marvelous things;
His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory.
The Lord has made known His salvation;
His righteousness He has revealed in the sight of the nations.
He has remembered His mercy and His faithfulness to the house of Israel;
All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth;
Break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises.
Sing to the Lord with the harp,
With the harp and the sound of a psalm, (New King James Version)

I still remember, years ago when I was in college, a guy with a pony tail and wearing flip-flops, walking up with a guitar on his back in front of a gathering of fellow students who were Christians.

Yet, most evident, was his broad smile which seemed to engulf his entire face. He talked about his life before Christ – which was all of his life up until the week before – and what Jesus had done for him.

Then, he took his guitar and announced that he wrote a song to this very text, the first few verses of Psalm 98. I wish I had a recording of it, especially because of how he sang it with such volume and exuberance, as if the words had just been crafted yesterday.

Even though the psalm is ancient, the psalmist himself was inviting people to sing a song infused with a new perception of life on this earth.

There is always plenty of room to reflect on what God has done, and is doing, in this very big world. Not only can we consider the immensity and intricacy of the created order, but we can also declare all the things we cannot detect with our five senses.

And perhaps those are the things which impact us the most, when we sense and feel the reality of God’s work in the world, and in our lives. At least that’s what my pony-tailed smiling friend was so excited about.

The things which exist beyond our normal human experience are no less real than our daily mundane activities. This is the realm where the Lord makes the greatest impact of all. God hasn’t only done great things, but has done great things for me.

We have to use metaphors and personifications in order to even begin understanding the wonder and awe of God’s saving power in our very real here-and-now lives. God’s mighty right hand and holy arm of power speak to the incredible strength and authority which can reach into the thickest and nastiest of garbage dumpsters to pull out the pearl of great price, that is, you and me.

Consider God, the One who puts all things right, and is just and good in all things – paying attention to the least of us, and lifting up with divine deliverance from the most dire and awful of circumstances.

Indeed, the Lord has made God’s salvation known, and revealed God’s righteousness to the nations.

Sometimes it takes someone with a fresh new song to wake us up to the reality that we can discern the activity of God every day, in all the ordinary and myriad ways of our lives. Along with all of creation, and pony-tail guy, we join the chorus of those who are already singing with the unique voice God provided for us.

And those many songs all include, at their center, the reality that before I chose God, God chose me; that when I forget, God remembers; that with my waxing and waning of love, God is consistently steadfast and faithful with love; and that God provides salvation, and judges the people with equity, even when I show favoritism.

With each new testimony of God’s saving work, it becomes harder and harder for others to insist that God is absent, hidden, or negligent. God is there. God is here. God is everywhere.

We can get so wrapped up in our own small worlds, and our own little safe places, where everyone looks like me, acts like me, and thinks like me. But the world is much bigger than our contrived spaces in which we can set ourselves up as master and commander.

The Lord mercifully breaks through all of our puny posturing and petulance, and saves us from ourselves. God pushes and cajoles us to see beyond the end of our noses. We are moved to see a new perspective we haven’t noticed before.

And once we make out what God is doing, and does for me, then bursting into song with shouting and volume is the organic response to our experience. If you think about it, there is really no other way to respond, once you have gotten a glimpse of God’s activity, and discerned something that was previously undiscernible.

Even the rocks will cry out in the face of such love and grace.

It’s okay to open your mouth, once your eyes have been opened, and let a new song come tumbling out. Because joy is the response of being delivered from what once bound us.

Gracious and Loving God, you have filled the world with beauty: Open our eyes to behold your gracious hand in all these works; that, rejoicing in your whole creation, we may learn to serve you with gladness; for the sake of him through whom all things were made, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord.