Tag: new life

The Gospel Is For Everyone (Acts 11:1-18)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
The Preaching of St. Peter In Jerusalem, by Charles Poërson, 1642

The apostles and the believers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him and said, “You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.”

Starting from the beginning, Peter told them the whole story:“I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. I saw something like a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to where I was. I looked into it and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles and birds. Then I heard a voice telling me, ‘Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.’

“I replied, ‘Surely not, Lord! Nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’

“The voice spoke from heaven a second time, ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.’ This happened three times, and then it was all pulled up to heaven again.

“Right then three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea stopped at the house where I was staying. The Spirit told me to have no hesitation about going with them. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man’s house. He told us how he had seen an angel appear in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. He will bring you a message through which you and all your household will be saved.’

“As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning. Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ So if God gave them the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could stand in God’s way?”

When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life.” (New International Version)

In this Advent season, the Revised Common Lectionary Daily Readings for Year C direct us toward the good news that Christ’s incarnation is not only for Jewish people; it is also for everyone.

But Peter needed some remedial teaching about this gospel. He had to get the reality that God grants repentance leading to new life for Gentiles, firmly into his Jewish head and heart.

The first advent of Jesus Christ – his incarnation as the God-Man on this earth – was meant for the world, and not exclusively for the Jewish people. Sometimes, however, it takes a vision or a dream to really get the message across.

And God is gracious to do whatever it takes in order to gain our attention and bring us to a point of changing our minds about things we are in error about.

The Gospel is for everyone.

The Gospel is Jews and Gentiles. The Gospel is for you and for me. It’s for your grumpy neighbor and your crazy uncle. It’s for that obnoxious co-worker and the persnickety church lady. It’s for the Grinches and Scrooges of this world, as well as for the already convinced.

Yes, indeed, the good news of Jesus Christ is for everyone, without exception.

I do so hope that you don’t have to learn that truth the hard way. I do rather hope that you have a wonderful experience of discovering a Cornelius of whom you had no idea even existed, until the mercy of God led you otherwise.

It is my prayer that you have (or will have) a story to tell, much like Peter’s, in which you found that the grace of God has no limits, that there is plenty of Christ to go around for everyone.

There is no need to stand in God’s way, because no one can stop God’s grace. When the mercy of God starts moving, it becomes a giant snowball gaining speed and strength and size going downhill. And when it hits, you’re going to feel it!

Grace overcomes and overwhelms everything. 

One of the most scandalous truths of Christianity is that God graces common ordinary people who seem as dead as a bowling ball with the Holy Spirit and gives them life. 

The Apostle Peter had to learn this with some difficulty, but he embraced the work of God among the non-Jewish Gentiles. “The Holy Spirit fell on them just as on us at the beginning” was Peter’s plain account and confession of the reality that God grants repentance that leads to life for all kinds of people no matter what their race, ethnicity, gender, class, or background. 

It is a wondrous and astounding spiritual truth that God’s gracious concern is not limited to a certain type of person.

Along with Peter and the other believers so long ago, let us rejoice in the work of God that brings deliverance and transformation. 

Grace is and ought to be the guiding factor in how we interact with people. 

Losing sight of grace leads to being critical and defensive. Whereas, embracing grace leads to the humility of seeing the image of God in people very different from ourselves. 

Grace tears down barriers and causes us to do away with unnecessary distinctions between others. Our appropriate response to such a grace is to glorify God for his marvelous and amazing work. 

The Gospel is not only a gift to receive; it is also a wonderful gift to give.

Gracious God, just as you brought deliverance and salvation that leads to life for people from ancient times, and gifted them with your Holy Spirit, so today continue your mighty work of transformation in the hearts of people that I share the good news of Jesus with. Amen.

From Adversaries to Allies (Isaiah 19:18-25)

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

In that day five cities in Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the Lord Almighty. One of them will be called the City of the Sun.

In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the heart of Egypt, and a monument to the Lord at its border. It will be a sign and witness to the Lord Almighty in the land of Egypt. When they cry out to the Lord because of their oppressors, he will send them a savior and defender, and he will rescue them. 

So the Lord will make himself known to the Egyptians, and in that day they will acknowledge the Lord. They will worship with sacrifices and grain offerings; they will make vows to the Lord and keep them. The Lord will strike Egypt with a plague; he will strike them and heal them. They will turn to the Lord, and he will respond to their pleas and heal them.

In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will go to Egypt and the Egyptians to Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together. In that day Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing on the earth. The Lord Almighty will bless them, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance.” (New International Version)

Yahweh is so much more than an ancient local Israelite deity. This is the Lord God almighty, creator of heaven and earth. God is the Lord of the universe, and Israel is not just a sliver of land in the Middle East.

As such, all peoples belong to God. And God is concerned for all the nations. In the ancient world, the Lord was even concerned for places like Egypt and Assyria – two nations which historically treated Israel with contempt and oppression.

The Lord God, Yahweh, as the prophet Isaiah stated, will be revealed to the Egyptians, so that they, too, will worship the Lord with sacrifices and offerings. They will revere God with a monument to Yahweh’s saving power.

The Egyptians will make religious vows and fulfill them. And there will also be relations with Assyria. Israel will exist alongside – and literally geographically in the middle – the powers of Egypt and Assyria. And Israel will serve as a blessing between them.

In other words, God will choose to bless, bringing both religious and political balance and peace. It is rather extraordinary that the Lord speaks of Egypt as “my people” and Assyria as “my handiwork.” God’s vision is always much larger than our own puny human sight or imagination.

In a biblical book filled with sad visions of judgment and God’s wrath, today’s Old Testament lesson is a beautiful vision of hope and peace. This, my friends, is what can be! It doesn’t have to be a pipe dream that various peoples who are historical enemies of one another can walk together in the peace and wholeness of God’s blessing. This is no impossible, although it appears highly improbable.

It takes little effort to hold onto hate and enmity; but it takes a great deal of energy to work on peacemaking, and loving those who have harmed others so terribly.

The fact of the matter is that Yahweh responds to every people who cry out in their oppression – even those who were once oppressors themselves.

That is called “grace,” and it is why grace is so scandalous, because a lot of folks don’t want to see grace extended to those they dislike, hate, and even want dead.

God will do for other nations what God did for Israel, in delivering them from their harsh slavery. The Lord’s ears hear everyone on the earth, and not just some people.

All of the hard-hearted resistance of the past, personified so stubbornly in the Pharaoh who would not let go of Israel, is remarkably overcome and reversed.

This is how it always seems to operate throughout history, including today. People cry out and are delivered, then worship the God who granted them grace and freedom. We very often come to believe because we were in some sort of awful trouble, which caused us to cry out and acknowledge the God who saves.

God both strikes and heals, attacks and helps. God moves people from rancorous relationships to robust reconciliation.

People, however, are not passive in any of this process. Those who are already blessed and enjoy God must relinquish any sort of exclusive thoughts or practices and be willing to share their identity and privilege with others who were once enemies.

Unity, harmony, wholeness, and a true ecumenical spirit and vision will bring people together. The benefits are wonderful, yet let it also be acknowledged that reconciliation and relationships require giving up any sense of being better than the other, or holding on to primacy of positions and power.

Stated positively, it means that we embrace a diversity of people, including them in every way possible, because we discern them as being equals, and not so different from me.

God has other chosen people besides me and you. Can you accept that?

“Egypt comes home to its true self only as Israel opens its sense of privilege to its adversaries.”

Walter Brueggemann

The Lord opposes the arrogant and proud, but gives grace to the humble. God will gladly deliver and welcome all peoples.

If we have the spiritual eyes to see, we will notice and observe that the world is God’s chosen people.

O God, hear our humble prayer, so that we may serve you in holiness and faith, giving voice to your divine presence among us until the coming of your Son, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen.          

Second Sunday of Advent – Prepare the Way (Luke 3:1-6)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
The Call from John the Baptist to Repent, by Renier de Huy, 12th century

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah,

“The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
    make his paths straight.
Every valley shall be filled,
    and every mountain and hill shall be made low,
and the crooked shall be made straight,
    and the rough ways made smooth,
and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’ ” (New Revised Standard Bible)

In this Christian season of Advent, we are reminded that God is not only high above us, transcendent, far away; God is also close to us, immanent, and with us.

We remember at this time of year that God does not remain distant, but entered our time and space at a particular moment in history, for a distinct purpose.

The Roman Empire was powerful, large, and very much in control of every place where it existed. The litany of imperial rulers and authorities which the Gospel writer Luke listed is meant to give us a feel of the Roman weight, and how much Roman might was ensconced in Judea.

The world at the turn of the common era was under the dominion of powerful people with lots of influence. But God did not come to any of them. Instead, God came to a loner – a man who spent his time out in the wilderness. His name was John, the son of Zechariah. We know him as John the Baptist.

With God coming to John at a precise point of time in a particular place, that made John a prophet with a singular message. John was born for this. (Luke 1:76)

It is fitting that a man hanging out on the fringes of society all by himself would be the one to prepare the way for Messiah.

After all, Messiah’s message would be one of bringing good news to the poor, proclaiming release to prisoners, and freeing those who are oppressed. (Luke 4:18-19; Isaiah 61:1-2)

God’s prophetic calling for John was one of preparation. John was to prepare the way of the Lord. He was to get the people ready to receive Messiah.

John went about his ministry of preparation by calling folks to repent, to change their minds and amend their ways, so that there might be forgiveness.

In a reference from the prophet Isaiah, Luke alluded to Jewish exiles returning from their Babylonian captivity. The actual physical road from Babylon to Jerusalem was a hard journey due to the distance and topography.

The “road” or the “way” in Holy Scripture is also a metaphor for the spiritual journey we take in this life. And that road has a lot of challenges to it. The very act of walking as a pilgrim over a long arduous journey changes a person.

It is rarely the destination that makes a person; it’s the journey itself which leads one to a changed life of thinking differently, and seeing things from a perspective we’ve never seen before.

The smoothing out of the road is a way of saying God is making it easier for people to return to the Lord, to get them ready for a new life with promises fulfilled and unexpected joy.

In other words, valleys raised and mountains flattened represent God’s efforts at helping us experience a complete transformation of life. The Lord will do everything possible to make renewal and restoration happen for us.

The Lord will set things right. In our contemporary world that is now largely controlled by powerful oligarchs and the super-rich, God will turn it upside-down. All of the world’s current powerful people will find themselves looking up, not down.

It would be nice and reassuring if I could give you certainty about the journey ahead. But I cannot do that. Yet, what I can do is assure us of what is at the end of the road. Look beyond the current days of self-centered leadership and popular ignorance, and understand that all flesh shall see the salvation of God.

Prepare the way of the Lord. We do that by how we go about walking the road. Each step we take every day is important and makes a difference. And when we stumble, there is plenty of grace to help get us back on our feet and moving forward.

We are all collectively journeying together to Bethlehem. And as we daily move and walk, at the end of our journey, Jesus is there.

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. (Galatians 4:4, NRSV)

And nothing can stop us or separate us from the love of God that is in Jesus Christ our Lord.

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39, NRSV)

The journey may be arduous. You might feel like giving up. But Jesus is our Immanuel, God with us. In him, is our hope and our joy.

O Holy One of Israel, out of the embrace of mercy and righteousness, you have brought forth joy and dignity for your people. Remember now your ancient promise; make straight the paths that lead to you, and smooth the rough ways, so that in our day we might bring forth your compassion for all humanity. Amen.

I Am Responsible and Accountable (Ezekiel 18:1-32)

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

The word of the Lord came to me: “What do you people mean by quoting this proverb about the land of Israel:

“‘The parents eat sour grapes,
    and the children’s teeth are set on edge’?

“As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, you will no longer quote this proverb in Israel. For everyone belongs to me, the parent as well as the child—both alike belong to me. The one who sins is the one who will die.

“Suppose there is a righteous man
    who does what is just and right.
He does not eat at the mountain shrines
    or look to the idols of Israel.
He does not defile his neighbor’s wife
    or have sexual relations with a woman during her period.
He does not oppress anyone,
    but returns what he took in pledge for a loan.
He does not commit robbery
    but gives his food to the hungry
    and provides clothing for the naked.
He does not lend to them at interest
    or take a profit from them.
He withholds his hand from doing wrong
    and judges fairly between two parties.
He follows my decrees
    and faithfully keeps my laws.
That man is righteous;
    he will surely live,
declares the Sovereign Lord.

“Suppose he has a violent son, who sheds blood or does any of these other things (though the father has done none of them):

“He eats at the mountain shrines.
He defiles his neighbor’s wife.
He oppresses the poor and needy.
He commits robbery.
He does not return what he took in pledge.
He looks to the idols.
He does detestable things.
He lends at interest and takes a profit.

Will such a man live? He will not! Because he has done all these detestable things, he is to be put to death; his blood will be on his own head.

“But suppose this son has a son who sees all the sins his father commits, and though he sees them, he does not do such things:

“He does not eat at the mountain shrines
    or look to the idols of Israel.
He does not defile his neighbor’s wife.
He does not oppress anyone
    or require a pledge for a loan.
He does not commit robbery
    but gives his food to the hungry
    and provides clothing for the naked.
He withholds his hand from mistreating the poor
    and takes no interest or profit from them.
He keeps my laws and follows my decrees.

He will not die for his father’s sin; he will surely live. But his father will die for his own sin, because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother and did what was wrong among his people.

“Yet you ask, ‘Why does the son not share the guilt of his father?’ Since the son has done what is just and right and has been careful to keep all my decrees, he will surely live. The one who sins is the one who will die. The child will not share the guilt of the parent, nor will the parent share the guilt of the child. The righteousness of the righteous will be credited to them, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against them.

“But if a wicked person turns away from all the sins they have committed and keeps all my decrees and does what is just and right, that person will surely live; they will not die. None of the offenses they have committed will be remembered against them. Because of the righteous things they have done, they will live. Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign Lord. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?

“But if a righteous person turns from their righteousness and commits sin and does the same detestable things the wicked person does, will they live? None of the righteous things that person has done will be remembered. Because of the unfaithfulness they are guilty of and because of the sins they have committed, they will die.

“Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Hear, you Israelites: Is my way unjust? Is it not your ways that are unjust? If a righteous person turns from their righteousness and commits sin, they will die for it; because of the sin they have committed they will die. But if a wicked person turns away from the wickedness they have committed and does what is just, and right, they will save their life. Because they consider all the offenses they have committed and turn away from them, that person will surely live; they will not die. Yet the Israelites say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Are my ways unjust, people of Israel? Is it not your ways that are unjust?

“Therefore, you Israelites, I will judge each of you according to your own ways, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, people of Israel? For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live! (New International Version)

Every single one of us is accountable to one another for what we say and how we conduct ourselves. Above all, we are accountable to God for our motives, words, and actions in this life.

The flipside to stating that we are accountable, is saying that none of us are responsible for another person’s intentions, words, or actions.

Other people may influence us. We may be either participants in or victims of another’s actions. Some folks might take credit for something another person said or did. Yet, ultimately, we are responsible for our own life.

Whatever I think, say, or do is on me, period.

What’s more, one’s past actions do not replace our current actions. The prophet Ezekiel emphasized individual responsibility and accountability. All of the other Old Testament prophets addressed whole nations, and not individuals. They denounced the social, economic, and political systems and institutions, upholding communal ideals of justice.

Ezekiel communicated that children shall not be punished for their parent’s sins. Only the person who sins will face judgment.

A person ought only to pay for their own sins; punishment should not carry forward to future generations. The prophet also insisted that each individual person has the opportunity to change their behavior, and so, avoid their deserved penalty.

Every individual has the opportunity to change their personal ways of injustice or unrighteousness. For those who refuse, there is a and right and just Judge who knows how to dispense what is needed for each person – whether it is judgment to the arrogant, comfort to a victim, or justice for the underprivileged.

God cares that every person on earth receives what they need to thrive and flourish in this life. And to those who don’t give a wit about others, the Lord gives an opportunity to turn from arrogance and change.

Refusing to change, however, will end badly for the stubborn person.

The prophet Ezekiel calls on individuals to speak and act in ways that are helpful, not harmful. And whenever one harms another, that one must acknowledge the irresponsibility, because I am held accountable for what I say and do.

All words and actions come with consequences. It would do us a lot of good to consider how what we say and do (or fail to say and do) impacts the next generation of people. Everyone leaves a legacy of some sort – whether good or bad – so we need to be aware of how we live.

Each person must take up the mantle to do good, not evil; and to live righteously, not wickedly. Living selfishly with impunity leads to divine judgment. Yet, mercy is always there, if we seek to amend our ways.

Conversely, living righteously, and then resting on my laurels and living however I want, does not inoculate me from divine judgment.

You and I must live one day at a time, trusting God and seeking the welfare of others. And when I mess up, I am to keep a short account with God by admitting my fault and receiving grace.

We humans have quite enough responsibility in our lives without taking on the extra job of exacting judgment on another person. If we live a righteous life to begin with, then there is no need for a new heart and life.

Yet, if I need it, a new existence is there, through a change of direction which humility grants us.

Almighty God, help me to prioritize your values, and put my faith into action. Enable me to use the talents, resources, and time with which I have been blessed. Empower me to serve my community and my world. May I serve you always, and pray with a joyful spirit. Amen.