Tag: mercy

Already Justified and Accepted (Romans 5:1-8)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
Crucifixion, by Natalya Rusetska

Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand, and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. (New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition)

Perhaps we have so many people filled with shame and regret today over their past poor decisions and the trajectory their lives, because there is such a profound lack of hope in the world.

Becoming confident in both the unseen realities and the stated promises of God can melt away both personal and corporate shame.

Long ago, the Apostle Paul reminded the Roman Church of their true standing before the God of all. Paul knew that if the people were secure in their identity, then resilience would arise; and if resilience rises, then a robust Christian character and identity will take root. Hope then becomes a central part of life.

Notice that the Apostle made it clear what is true of believers: They are justified, possessing the justification of God. In other words, the Christians have no reason to try and justify themselves to others (or to God) because they already have been justified by God.

There is great freedom in feeling no compunction whatsoever to prove oneself. Followers of Jesus Christ need not prove themselves, spending all sorts of social capital attempting to please others, out of some perceived need to demonstrate who they are.

If you want others to know who you are and what kind of God you serve, then know thyself, instead of constantly putting your finger to the wind in order to gauge which way the prevailing winds of society are blowing so that you can follow it.

In truth, all you need is the wind of the Spirit to carry you on into doing God’s will from a merciful, pure, and peaceful heart.

Since we are already justified, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Things are good between us and God. Not only do we have no need to prove ourselves to the world, but we especially have also absolutely no reason to try and prove ourselves to God.

The Lord already knows the score of everyone’s life. It is a silly venture to put on airs before the Sovereign of the universe, as if God must be convinced to love us and have our backs.

The grace of God is abundant and ever-present; grace is continually available. And there are no exceptions to this. One is never too far from God or too estranged from the good in order to receive the mercy of God.

God’s love has been already poured into our hearts. God is with us; divine love is intimately close to us. Rather than wondering or vacillating between whether God loves me or God loves me not, the objective spiritual reality of the moment is that you and I are surrounded by the God who rejoices over us.

The Lord your God is with you.
He is a hero who saves you.
He happily rejoices over you,
renews you with his love,
and celebrates over you with shouts of joy. (Zechariah 3:17, GW)

What’s more, God does not wait for anyone to get their lives straightened out before paying gracious attention to them. No, while we were still stuck in the darkness of our bad and misguided ways, Christ died for us. Jesus Christ died for the ungodly while they were still going on in their own selfish and oppressive way.

That, my friend, is the extent to which God’s love reaches. There is no pit too deep, no meanness too great, nor any unrighteous life too bad that God cannot reach the long divine arm of mercy and love into the muck, and snatch us out of a depressing existence.

And the world is not too filthy rotten that God is unable to cut through the filth. As far as the Lord is concerned, the earth is presently just a compost pile that will eventually become transformed from garbage to fertilizer for new life, in which love can grow, thrive, and flourish across this world.

Unhindered access to God has been granted to us.

Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:16, NIV)

We now have the hope and the freedom to be active spiritual farmers who carefully and pastorally care for all creation by spreading the seeds of God’s love to the world.

Everything we have and all that we are, comes from the grace, mercy, and love of God. Therefore, we have no reason to boast in and of ourselves, but to boast extravagantly in what Christ has done for us. He has bought and brought  deliverance from all which hindered us from living a loving and hopeful life.

So then, the path to true self-acceptance comes from knowing that we are already accepted by God.

The very core of our identity is in the Creator, Savior, and Sustainer. Since we possess God’s love and acceptance, there is never a need for subjective feelings of trying to gin-up a sense of self-acceptance. You and I already have it. You are profoundly loved.

This, then, is the basis for peace and rest. Please understand that it is quite possible that later today or tomorrow or next week you will again feel unworthy of God’s love, unaccepted by God and others, and nervous to the point of peace becoming a bygone wish.

None of this, however, erases what is already real and true of you, or changes your identity in any way. You are still in the hollow of God’s hand; still the apple of God’s eye; and still in a place where there is no need to justify yourself. What there is, however, is abundant grace.

No matter how we are doing, feeling, or believing, there is always open access to God because of Jesus Christ.

The ground of our confidence allows us to view tribulations as opportunities for spiritual growth; and patient waiting as the privilege to hope in what is yet to come. I will yet see the glory of God face to face.

God in Christ has done for us what we could not do for ourselves. The Lord has granted us faith, and gifted us with a fresh new allegiance. Through recognition of our helpless state, and our distance from God (including a nasty tendency to ignore God) we discover that the love of God is with us. So, we may rely completely on the divine initiative of the love which never wavers.

In this state, guilt, shame, and regret is left in the dust – replaced by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.

Loving God, open our ears to hear your Word, and draw us closer to You, so that the whole world may be one with you as you are one with us in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Waiting Patiently For God (Psalm 40:1-11)

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

I waited patiently for the Lord;
    he inclined to me and heard my cry.
He drew me up from the desolate pit,
    out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
    making my steps secure.
He put a new song in my mouth,
    a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear
    and put their trust in the Lord.

Happy are those who make
    the Lord their trust,
who do not turn to the proud,
    to those who go astray after false gods.
You have multiplied, O Lord my God,
    your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us;
    none can compare with you.
Were I to proclaim and tell of them,
    they would be more than can be counted.

Sacrifice and offering you do not desire,
    but you have given me an open ear.
Burnt offering and sin offering
    you have not required.
Then I said, “Here I am;
    in the scroll of the book it is written of me.
I delight to do your will, O my God;
    your law is within my heart.”

I have told the glad news of deliverance
    in the great congregation;
see, I have not restrained my lips,
    as you know, O Lord.
I have not hidden your saving help within my heart;
    I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;
I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness
    from the great congregation.

Do not, O Lord, withhold
    your mercy from me;
let your steadfast love and your faithfulness
    keep me safe forever. (New Revised Standard Version)

Some of the greatest gifts any of us could ever receive are God’s steadfast love, faithfulness, and mercy. These are no problem for the Lord to bestow, because they are all a part of God’s very character.

Since, according to Holy Scripture, people are created in the image and likeness of God, every single one of us contains a divine reflection of faith, love, and mercy inside our very souls.

So, why aren’t these gifts and character virtues more evident in humanity?

Why does it seem to so many that love, faith, and mercy are in short supply today?

I believe today’s psalm gives us a clue to the answer. Virtuous character only really arises out of us through the practices of patience and gratitude. Another way of looking at this is: Our waiting and our thanksgiving help us become aware and in-touch with love, faith, and mercy.

Waiting Patiently

The Psalter is replete with encouragements to wait. The ability to be patient is connected to our character’s integrity.

May integrity and uprightness preserve me,
    for I wait for you. (Psalm 25:21, NRSV)

Our patience is an expression of our trust and reliance upon God.

Wait for the Lord;
    be strong, and let your heart take courage;
    wait for the Lord! (Psalm 27:14, NRSV)

Throughout the psalms, faithful and patient waiting leads to God’s deliverance.

Wait for the Lord and keep to his way,
    and he will exalt you to inherit the land;
    you will look on the destruction of the wicked. (Psalm 37:34, NRSV)

We can wait because we have the hope that God is good for promises given.

And now, O Lord, what do I wait for?
    My hope is in you. (Psalm 39:7, NRSV)

It would be great if love and mercy were always right there, embedded clearly within every human community, family, group of people, and nation. But, as you well know, virtuous character is not always there for us.

This is why there are times in life in which we must wait for others’ love and faithfulness. We can do that through active patience, that is, by purposely loving others and being committed to them despite their unloving and uncommitted behaviors.

I’m not saying this is easy. In fact, it is downright hard. Yet, our persevering patience, expressed in mercy, will eventually win the day. What’s more, the Lord Jesus made it plain that we are to love others whether they are nice to us, or mean to us. (Matthew 5:43-48)

Giving Praise and Thanks

When God gives us deliverance from whatever or whomever is oppressing us, a new song arises in our hearts. The song declares and testifies to God’s goodness toward us. A song provides witness to our experience of God’s steadfast love, faithfulness, and divine mercy. Through singing, we show others the path toward deliverance.

O sing to the Lord a new song;
    sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Sing to the Lord; bless his name;
    tell of his salvation from day to day.
Declare his glory among the nations,
    his marvelous works among all the peoples. (Psalm 96:1-3, NRSV)

I admit that there are many times I don’t feel like singing. Yet, even using my voice to sing a lament is a way of expressing thanks to God for being present with me in my grief, and for what God will do in my life.

For he will hide me in his shelter
    in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
    he will set me high on a rock.

Now my head is lifted up
    above my enemies all around me,
and I will offer in his tent
    sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make melody to the Lord.

Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud;
    be gracious to me and answer me! (Psalm 27:5-7, NRSV)

Monetary sacrificial giving and offering is needed, yet this is not so much what God truly desires from us. God delights in our delight to do God’s will. So then, our sacrifice can look more like the exhortation of the Apostle Paul in the New Testament:

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. (Romans 12:1-2, NIV)

Petitioning God For Mercy

In today’s psalm, the psalmist makes a shift from offering thanks to asking God for mercy. Mercy in the form of God’s steadfast love and faithfulness is what the psalmist needed. And it is likely what you and I need, as well.

Any sort of deliverance we experience in this mortal life seems to have a temporary element to it. There is really no final deliverance until Jesus returns to judge the living and the dead. In the meantime, we need a lot of mercy.

I don’t know if you have ever had that feeling of deliverance from a slimy pit, and having your feet set on firm solid ground. Thankfully, I have.

My own deliverance(s) were never experienced because of any superior character on my part. No, deliverance is realized through asking. And asking requires some humility which admits need, and knows how much we cannot simply save ourselves from trouble.

But we must brace ourselves for the reality that we might do a lot asking over a seemingly long period of time. It’s one thing to ask; it’s another to keep asking day in and day out, week after week, month after month, even year after year, or decade after decade.

Yet this is the nature of patient waiting. There is no deliverance apart from perseverance in prayer. I’m not talking about a vain repetition of trying to get God’s attention – that’s because you and I already have it. I’m talking about the reality that we ourselves are not in control of anything except ourselves. And even our own self-control doesn’t often go so well.

A song of thanksgiving to God always understands that there will be ongoing trouble in this old world; and a continual need for deliverance.

I humbly ask that you join me in getting on your knees every day and asking for deliverance from the injustice and unrighteousness of our current world and national troubles. They are legion.

It isn’t easy watching friends live in fear, and neighbors becoming victims of oppression and abuse. But here we are, all of us in need of seeing God’s kingdom come to earth and God’s will be done on this planet, as it is always done in God’s heaven.

Soli Deo Gloria

May it be so, to the glory of God.

Christ the King Sunday (Luke 23:33-43)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
The 118 feet high Christ the King statue in Świebodzin, Poland

When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots to divide his clothing. And the people stood by watching, but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!” The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.”

One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingdom.” He replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” (New Revised Standard Version)

I’m glad that the Gospel text on this Christ the King Sunday is the story of Christ on the cross with the two criminals on each side also crucified. Why?

Because our cultural contexts tend to associate power and authority with high level earthly positions. But, in reality, Christianity is a paradoxical religion full of truths which seem antithetical to each other; yet they are not.

Many people (including many Christians) believe that, in order to influence the culture, Christians must have prominent positions in society. This leaves the majority of Christians feeling as if they have nothing to offer the world. After all, they have no important title at their job, in the government, or within the church.

But nothing could be further from the truth. Christ, in the lowest earthly position possible by being nailed to a cross, was a king who had the highest heavenly position in the universe. One will never come to grips with Jesus apart from understanding that Christianity is an inherently paradoxical religion.

The Sanctuary of Christ the King in Almada, Portugal

One of the criminals crucified with Christ discerned this reality well; the other criminal did not understand at all. One demonstrated the reality that humility is the powerful key to all things, whereas the other criminal remained full of himself.

The scene portrayed for us on Golgotha’s hill shows us what the kingly reign of Jesus Christ truly looks like: It is characterized by the power of humility and sacrifice. It highlights Christ’s authority by giving mercy to those hanging on a cross alongside himself.

True power is not found in the halls of earthly political power, but rather in the elevating power of God’s grace and Christ’s self-sacrifice. Therefore, Christians can best demonstrate their own power and authority by extending grace and mercy toward others, even when it’s hard to do.

It can be difficult to wrap both our heads and our hearts around this reality of possessing power without actually having positions and titles of authority in the world and the church.

Many a church pastor bemoans the fact that a number of their parishioners fail to be active servants in the wrongheaded notion that the clergy are supposed to do all the work. The laity may believe that the clergy are the ones with the educational, experiential, and positional power to influence culture and society.

What’s more, it can be even harder for those who once had positions of power to believe they themselves can no longer effectively work for the good, because they are now nobodies. They may ask, “Who would listen to me?”

The answer is: A lot of people. God uses all sorts of persons in all sorts of places and situations. What we all need, whether clergy or laity, is the willingness to be humble and to sacrifice one’s time or talent in showing mercy to another.

Christians must take their cues from the Lord Jesus. In the setting of the interaction between Christ and the other two crucified men in today’s story, Jesus is the innocent one sandwiched between two guilty persons. Christ’s humiliation is on full public display. The crowd of onlookers mock him, along with one of the criminals. Because of the apparent incongruence between being ‘King of the Jews’ yet not freeing himself from his awful situation.

Whereas most of us might avoid being humiliated in public at any cost, Jesus embraced the rejection and the suffering, knowing that he was offering a sacrifice for the benefit of the whole world.

Even though Jesus was extremely vulnerable, and in emotional, spiritual, and physical pain which we can only imagine, he nonetheless chose to use his kingly power and authority on behalf of others – including those who blatantly rejected and mocked him.

Grace and mercy were demonstrated by submitting to an ignominious death, and by willingly acting to be the bridge connecting others to God. Relationship is at the very heart of the divine will; God would do anything to restore broken relations with his fallen people. No one is beyond the reach of grace.

In a contemporary culture of polarized relations and angry vitriol toward one another, the ordinary Christian without earthly title or authority is in the best position to provide basic human kindness by extending mercy to “enemies” and demonstrating humility in all things.

Christ embodied love and forgiveness. He used his power for mercy, not judgment;  and for grace, not revenge.

Jesus demonstrated for us how grace is the greatest operative force in the universe.

To love and forgive another is the best demonstration of power and authority that anyone could ever show.

God’s action in Christ through the cross is what can move us to true acts of love and selflessness. We participate in Christ by giving grace through acts of mercy in comforting, encouraging, and helping others.

The only way we can give grace is to receive grace. It is God’s action in Christ through the Spirit that moves us to true acts of love and selflessness.

Personally, I am encouraged with the image of Christ as King – the One who is both sovereign over all creation, and yet is with me and knows my every need, giving grace and mercy and unconditional love.

For me, the idea of both God’s transcendence and God’s immanence is the perfect lead-in for the Advent season.

Earthly leaders can be capricious, petty, enamored with earthly power, and wield authority only in ways that serve themselves and not the common good of all. No wonder there is so much corruption and injustice in this old fallen world of ours.

Such hateful leadership has no problem leaving us beaten, bruised, and hanging on a cross. In our pain and our suffering, what will we do?

Hopefully, we will let Jesus transform our understanding of power and authority.

Ideally, in our worst situations of suffering and confusion, we will remember Jesus lifted-up on the cross, lifted-up as sovereign over all things. We will find our own true power in self-giving-love to a world which appears it has given itself to hate and selfish judgment of people they don’t like.

A participation in Christ’s rule and reign over all things means that his crucified power has given us grace and forgiveness, so that we might pass it on, pay it forward, and work for that which is just, right, and good.

May it be so, to the glory of God.

Almighty God, you rescue us from our enemies, so that we may serve you without fear. Strengthen us, that we might share in the inheritance of the saints in your kingdom of light. Amen.

Return To the Lord (Amos 4:6-13)

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

I gave you cleanness of teeth in all your cities
    and lack of bread in all your places;
yet you did not return to me,
            says the Lord.

And I also withheld the rain from you
    when there were still three months to the harvest;
I would send rain on one city
    and send no rain on another city;
one field would be rained upon,
    and the field on which it did not rain withered;
so two or three towns wandered to one town
    to drink water and were not satisfied;
yet you did not return to me,
            says the Lord.

I struck you with blight and mildew;
    I laid waste your gardens and your vineyards;
    the locust devoured your fig trees and your olive trees;
yet you did not return to me,
            says the Lord.

I sent among you a pestilence after the manner of Egypt;
    I killed your young men with the sword;
I carried away your horses;
    and I made the stench of your camp go up into your nostrils;
yet you did not return to me,
            says the Lord.

I overthrew some of you
    as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah,
    and you were like a brand snatched from the fire;
yet you did not return to me,
            says the Lord.

Therefore thus I will do to you, O Israel;
    because I will do this to you,
    prepare to meet your God, O Israel!

For the one who forms the mountains, creates the wind,
    reveals his thoughts to mortals,
makes the morning darkness,
    and treads on the heights of the earth—
    the Lord, the God of hosts, is his name! (New Revised Standard Version)

“Luxury often leads to forgetfulness. As for you, my beloved, if you sit at table, remember that from the table you must go to prayer. Fill your belly so moderately that you may not become too heavy to bend your knees and call upon your God.” St. John Chrysostom, On Wealth and Poverty 

Let us test and examine our ways and return to the Lord.

Lamentations 3:40, NRSV

Again and again, century after century, Israel’s God, Yahweh, sent prophets and calamities in order to shake God’s people from their wayward path.

It was expected that observance and faithfulness to God’s covenant would bring times of goodness and prosperity. Conversely, times of disobedience would elicit misfortune. It seems the people forgot that infidelity to the covenant leads to calamitous circumstances.

Through it all, Israel and Judah were unfaithful. All Yahweh ever wanted was for the people to return to their God, and enjoy all the blessings and benefits of being in a divine/human harmony. But the people weren’t having it.

Amos, throughout his prophecy, made it clear that personal transgressions, social injustice, religious infidelity, and national sins were at the heart of the trouble.

There was a tremendous wealth inequality which existed in ancient Israel. The people lost sight of the reality that everything belongs to God. Therefore, any resources they were blessed with should have been used to help the common good of all, especially the poor and needy.

It was from the prophets like Amos that the great early church preacher, St. John Chrysostom, developed his understanding of personal responsibility, church ministry, and national concern.

In sermon after sermon, Chrysostom argued and established that excessive wealth is dangerous to the soul. He continually warned his parishioners that those who accumulate exorbitant wealth are actually storing up a great retribution for themselves in the next life.

He insisted that the proper response to the extravagance of one’s possessions and money is to return to God and give liberally to others. One must understand, St. John argued, that all things belong to God. Thus, to acquire more and more is, in reality, a form of stealing from the poor.

Kindness and charity to the poor is imperative. Otherwise, a society cannot expect to realize ongoing blessing from God. Chrysostom constantly advocated for people to be generous in giving, not only to help the poor, but also to spur one’s spiritual growth and spiritual wealth. Building treasure in heaven, rather than on earth, was St. John’s basic orientation in life.

In today’s Old Testament lesson, after rehearsing seven different calamities which were meant as warnings, the eighth calamity would be to meet God face to face. We get the gist of the argument as a meeting that wouldn’t go so well for the filthy rich… that is, unless they willingly return to God and submit themselves and their stuff to the Lord of all.

Every one of us must ultimately come to grips with the fact that mercy and wrath are very real concepts that look one another in the eye. There is both hope and warning.

Will we return to the Lord, or will God effect a great visitation upon us?

Will God save us at the eleventh hour, or will the Lord bring devastation?

Either way, there is a meeting coming. Prepare to meet your God. It’s up to us how that meeting is going to shake out.

There is yet hope for those who are penitent, even and especially for those who finagled to obtain power and wealth for themselves. But if they are stubborn, they will find out what is the face opposite of mercy. This is the era of return, because it is still possible to change.

Yet even now, says the Lord,
    return to me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
    rend your hearts and not your clothing.
Return to the Lord your God,
    for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love,
    and relenting from punishment. (Joel 2:12-13, NRSV)

Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone.

We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.

For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer)