Tag: new life

Jesus Shows Up (John 20:19-31)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
Jesus shows himself to Thomas, by Rowan and Irene LeCompte

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (New International Version)

When Jesus shows up, there is peace. Wherever Jesus goes, the Spirit of God is there. When Jesus appears, people believe.

The Meeting

After the crucifixion of Christ, the disciples were huddled together, mostly in fear of being found out and put out by the religious authorities. Out of nowhere, Jesus showed up, smack in the middle of the anxious group of men.

Christ in the center makes all the difference. From this central place, Jesus bestowed to the disciples his peace. The very first word the risen Christ spoke to his disciples was neither a command to stop being afraid, nor a rebuke for sitting around and doing nothing, or disappointment that they all ran away in the final hour of need at the crucifixion; instead, the first word of Christ was a gift of peace.

The presence and peace of Christ melted the disciples’ fear. Christ-centered peace is graciously given; so let us gratefully receive it.

The Reality

Jesus showed up, then showed off his hands and his side. He was not fabricated out of the disciples’ imagination; he was not some ghostly apparition. Rather, Christ was standing in the middle of them, very real, very physical, and very alive.

Christ gave his disciples real truth: actual wounded hands and side on a real body. Christ is risen and alive – not just spiritually, but physically. Since the resurrection of Jesus really happened, then nothing else matters; our joy is complete. We have what we need.

The Mission

As Jesus was sent by the Father, so Jesus sent his disciples; and is still sending us out into the world. And as Jesus came not to condemn the world but to save it, so we go out with words of grace and peace. The church exists for the life of the world – to bless it with the presence and peace of Christ.

“Whoever believes in me does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. The one who looks at me is seeing the one who sent me. I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.” (John 12:44-46, NIV)

Our spiritual DNA makes us little Christ’s walking around, doing the will of God, for the benefit of a world in darkness. We bear the name of Christ: Christians, proclaiming a message of life, delighting in God and creation; and not destroying the earth and its inhabitants.

The Gift

Right now, we are not alone. The Holy Spirit has been graciously given to us by Jesus. Although our mission is a big one, our resource for accomplishing it is even bigger. Jesus gives the Spirit in the same way he gives himself – as a sheer gift with no strings attached. Just as God breathed life into the very first people on earth, so Jesus breathes on the disciples and gives them new life and a new heart.

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws… and you will be my people, and I will be your God. (Ezekiel 36:26-28, NIV)

The Privilege

Christ has redeemed us, forgave us of our guilt and shame. Now, we have the privilege of passing the forgiveness to others. The special mission of the Church is giving Jesus to others with grace and peace, so that they may believe he is truly the risen Lord; and so, receive Jesus, the Spirit, forgiveness, and purpose in life, with Christ at the center of all things.

For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit. The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.” (John 3:34-36, NIV)

The Risen Lord, by He Qi

The Appearance

When Jesus appears, its good if we also show up to see him. It seems Thomas was late for church and missed the beginning of the service. He wasn’t with the other gathered disciples. Nobody knows where he was or what he was doing. But the important thing is that he did eventually show up, because showing up is the beginning of a changed life.

The Witness

After Jesus showed up, the disciples bore witness to what they saw and heard to Thomas. Yet Thomas, bless his doubting heart, wasn’t having it. He’s a realist. He wants proof, some actual physical evidence. Thomas was clearly a tactile learner because he needs some touch to believe any of this crazy talk of his disciple brothers.

Sometimes Thomas gets a bad rap, but he is really our Everyman. Doubt and skepticism are an important part of a full-orbed and honest faith. Jesus gave Thomas some space, time, and respect to begin wrapping his head and heart around this new reality of resurrection. I wonder if we all can do the same with others.

The Middle

A second time, Jesus shows up in the middle of the disciples. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us – and didn’t become a ghost and hang out in secret places. Once again, peace is given by Jesus to his followers.

Both appearances happen on a Sunday (which is why Christians have always worshiped on Sundays); and both meetings are literally Christ-centered (which every Christian meeting is supposed to be). Every Sunday. Christ always in the middle. Keep those two, and keep them together, and you can’t go wrong.

Jesus appears to Thomas with the Latin words, “See my hands,” in Notre-Dame-du-Rosaire Church, Saint-Ouen, France 

The Invitation

There’s no beating around the bush with Jesus. He immediately engaged Thomas and invited him to touch the wounds on his very real body. Christ knew Thomas’ hang-up, and went right to it. Thomas wanted evidence; Jesus offered it. If we get anything out of this encounter, it is that risen Christ honors honest doubt.

The evidence is here. Now believe it, and stop disbelieving. We have documentary evidence of the Old and New Testaments; the Church’s witness in Creeds, Confessions, and contemporary narratives of changed lives; and the internal testimony of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, look into them carefully and draw a sound conclusion.

The Confession

“My Lord and my God!” That’s the confession and the conclusion Thomas drew from the evidence – not only that Jesus is real, alive, existed, a good teacher; or other people’s Lord and God – but that he is my Lord and my God.

Jesus cared enough for Thomas to specifically meet him personally at his point of need. The grace of God keeps coming and never runs out. Jesus is filled up to the full in both grace and truth.

The Believer

Thomas had the physical evidence. But it doesn’t take that to truly believe. God blesses those who’ve never seen nor touched, but still believe. Jesus was thinking of you and me, and not only the people in front of him at the time. The Lord Jesus blesses us with the gift of peace, grace, and faith.

Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls. (1 Peter 1:8-9, NIV)

The Conclusion

All this is for our benefit, so that we, too, may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Since Jesus is alive, he continues to bless us with his presence, power, and peace.

Jesus is with us:

  • through the Word of God, giving us his peace, showing up and meeting needs people.
  • at the Table in the sacrament of communion, bringing grace and forgiveness
  • in the person of the Holy Spirit, enabling and energizing us for mission and ministry to the world

It’s a life worth living, a Christ-centered life, full of God’s blessing.

O God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, in whom we receive the legacy of a living hope, born again not only from his death but also from his resurrection. May we who have received forgiveness of sins, set others free, until we enter the inheritance that is imperishable and unfading, where Christ lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Come Away with Me (Song of Songs 2:8-15)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
Song of Songs No. 19, by Egon Tschirch, 1923

Ah, I hear my lover coming!
    He is leaping over the mountains,
    bounding over the hills.
My lover is like a swift gazelle
    or a young stag.
Look, there he is behind the wall,
    looking through the window,
    peering into the room.

My lover said to me,
    “Rise up, my darling!
    Come away with me, my fair one!
Look, the winter is past,
    and the rains are over and gone.
The flowers are springing up,
    the season of singing birds has come,
    and the cooing of turtledoves fills the air.
The fig trees are forming young fruit,
    and the fragrant grapevines are blossoming.
Rise up, my darling!
    Come away with me, my fair one!”

My dove is hiding behind the rocks,
    behind an outcrop on the cliff.
Let me see your face;
    let me hear your voice.
For your voice is pleasant,
    and your face is lovely.

Catch all the foxes,
    those little foxes,
before they ruin the vineyard of love,
    for the grapevines are blossoming! (New Living Translation)

Spring is the season of love, the time of coming together and enjoying one another’s presence.

God is love. God is calling us. God wants to be with you.

There is a reason why so many people in this cruel and calloused world are unloving and unkind: They are unaware that God loves them, desires to be with them, and is calling out to them. 

If we neither believe nor know God’s infinite love and desire for us, then our words and our actions will reflect more of hate than love. God really truly does want to be with you and me. This is crucial. Do not forget this. Believe it. Live it. Enjoy it. Know it. Tell it to yourself until you are thoroughly bathed in it, because it is more wonderful than any ‘70’s sappy love song could ever describe it.

I believe the small Old Testament book of Solomon’s Song of Songs too often gets a weird hermeneutical spin of literalism from modern-minded simpletons. For nearly all of history, this poetic ode to love was understood as an allegory of divine love for humanity – and the believer’s reciprocal response.

Song of Songs No. 8, by Egon Tschirch, 1923

When Scripture says I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine, and that his desire is for me, it is a wonderful way of communicating that God’s love for us is not abstract, distant, or detached. (Song of Songs 6:3, 7:10) 

The truth is: We belong to God. The Lord’s desire is for you and me. God has an intense and overpowering longing for you. Let the deep desire of God for you shape and form your thoughts so that fear is replaced with faith; loneliness with enjoyment; the fickle nature of others with satisfaction; praying as duty with praying because I want to be with the God who loves me so much.

Oh, how we need a vision of God singing over us with joy! Yes, God loves you that much! Grab a hold of what the prophet says:

The Lord will take delight in you with gladness.
    With his love, he will calm all your fears.
    He will rejoice over you with joyful songs. (Zephaniah 3:17, NLT)

Even the most unlovely of people are made lovely through God’s persistent and pursuing love for them. You are being wholly seen every single day by the infinite gaze and eternal compassion of God, who watches our every step with delight.

Christianity does not “happen” simply by knowing some beliefs about God, as if it is a mere contractual signing-off on a doctrinal statement. Rather, Christianity “happens” when individuals experience the white hot burning love of God in Jesus Christ. 

Jesus came not only for those who skip church and only occasionally read their Bibles. Christ came also for the hard-hearted prick, the immoral adulterer, the strung-out addict, the terrorist, the murderer, and for all those caught in bad choices and failed relationships. 

“I have not come to call respectable people, but outcasts.” (Matthew 9:13, GNT)

“Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life.” (Matthew 28:19, MSG)

“You will be witnesses for me.” (Acts 1:8, GNT)

“Love each other in the same way that I have loved you.” (John 13:34, GW)

All Christ’s words and actions are because of the Lord’s intense desire to love the world, and to love it through the divine beloved people of God.

God’s love is never based on our performance, or how good we look to others; it is never conditioned by our moods. The love of God only looks longingly at you and me with the potential of what we can become in Christ and cares for us as we are. It is a world-altering revolutionary thought that God loves me as I am and not as I should be. 

God has shown us how much he loves us—it was while we were still sinners that Christ died for us! (Romans 5:8, GNT)

Despite the erosion of church attendance, the majority of people still believe God exists. Conversely, however, many people do not believe God really loves them. We are in a crisis of love. People need to know the God who is pure Love. They need to hear and heed the call to come away with God.

Christianity never begins with what we do for God to make ourselves lovely. Christianity always starts with what God has done for us, the great and wonderful love that exists for us in Christ Jesus.

It wasn’t so long ago that we ourselves were stupid and stubborn, easy marks for sin, ordered every which way by our glands, going around with a chip on our shoulder, hated and hating back.

But when God, our kind and loving Savior God, stepped in, he saved us from all that. It was all his doing; we had nothing to do with it. He gave us a good bath, and we came out of it new people, washed inside and out by the Holy Spirit.

Our Savior Jesus poured out new life so generously. God’s gift has restored our relationship with him and given us back our lives. And there’s more life to come—an eternity of life! You can count on this. (Titus 3:3-8, MSG)

All the wrong turns in the past, the mistakes and the moral lapses, everything that is ugly or painful, all melts in the light of God’s acceptance and love for us.

If the consuming passion of Christ’s followers is not showing God’s love, then we have lost both our mission and our first love of Jesus. Perhaps we must let time evaporate, as we bow at the foot of the cross, and experientially know the great love of God in Christ for us and for the world.

May it be so, to the glory of God.

The Power of Deliverance (Exodus 14:10-31, 15:20-21)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
The Parting of the Sea, by Yoram Ranaan

As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and saw that the Egyptians were coming after them. Terrified, the Israelites cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses, “Did you bring us out into the desert to die because there were no graves in Egypt? Look what you’ve done by bringing us out of Egypt! Didn’t we tell you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone! Let us go on serving the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!”

Moses answered the people, “Don’t be afraid! Stand still, and see what the Lord will do to save you today. You will never see these Egyptians again. The Lord is fighting for you! So be still!”

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to start moving. Raise your staff, stretch out your hand over the sea, and divide the water. Then the Israelites will go through the sea on dry ground. I am making the Egyptians so stubborn that they will follow the Israelites. I will receive honor because of what I will do to Pharaoh, his entire army, his chariots, and cavalry. The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I am honored for what I did to Pharaoh, his chariots, and his cavalry.”

The Messenger of God, who had been in front of the Israelites, moved behind them. So the column of smoke moved from in front of the Israelites and stood behind them between the Egyptian camp and the Israelite camp. The column of smoke was there when darkness came, and it lit up the night. Neither side came near the other all night long.

Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. All that night the Lord pushed back the sea with a strong east wind and turned the sea into dry ground. The water divided, and the Israelites went through the middle of the sea on dry ground. The water stood like a wall on their right and on their left.

The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and cavalry followed them into the sea. Just before dawn, the Lord looked down from the column of fire and smoke and threw the Egyptian camp into a panic. He made the wheels of their chariots come off so that they could hardly move. Then the Egyptians shouted, “Let’s get out of here! The Lord is fighting for Israel! He’s against us!”

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the water will flow back over the Egyptians, their chariots, and their cavalry.”

Moses stretched his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the water returned to its usual place. The Egyptians tried to escape, but the Lord swept them into the sea. The water flowed back and covered Pharaoh’s entire army, as well as the chariots and the cavalry that had followed Israel into the sea. Not one of them survived.

Meanwhile, the Israelites had gone through the sea on dry ground while the water stood like a wall on their right and on their left. That day the Lord saved Israel from the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the seashore. When the Israelites saw the great power the Lord had used against the Egyptians, they feared the Lord and believed in him and in his servant Moses….

Then the prophet Miriam, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand. All the women, dancing with tambourines, followed her. Miriam sang to them:

“Sing to the Lord.
He has won a glorious victory.
He has thrown horses and their riders into the sea.” (God’s Word Translation)

Things can change quickly.

One day, you’re living in slavery, and the next, you’re free. One minute, you’re celebrating freedom, then the next minute, you’re backed into a corner, and it looks like the end – only to be dramatically delivered from calamity.

One day (Holy Saturday) the disciples were lower than a snake’s belly in a wagon wheel rut; the next day (Easter Sunday) they’re wondrously slack-jawed with hopes higher than the sky.

Today’s Old Testament reading impresses on us the necessity of trusting God one day at a time, one minute at a time. Circumstances will change; God’s basic character will not change. Therefore, we have the continual opportunity of exercising our faith, and practicing trust in the Lord, by living into a new reality.

In this Christian season of Eastertide (spanning the next 50 days until the Day of Pentecost) we discover resurrection power in putting to death old unhealthy practices and adopting new healthy life-giving habits. Eastertide’s intentional focus is to recognize and celebrate the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, and so, to exult in our own new life in him.

Revisiting both Christ’s resurrection, and the Red Sea deliverance, helps to remind us God’s invisible power to save is stronger and greater than any visible powers on this earth. Both of these deliverance stories keep us focused on the hope of individual renewal, corporate revitalization, and worldwide revival.

Eastertide is the season to engage in some renewal practices. The following are a few ideas for living into our deliverance from God:

  • Pray for revival of spirituality. Christ brings salvation and life, so praying to God for revival is a deliberate way of connecting with God.
  • Pay attention to words. Gossip, back-biting, slander, and other sins of the tongue kill people. Instead, consider how to use your speech for encouragement, love, mercy, forgiveness, and building up one another. This promotes growth, health, and life.
  • Proclaim resurrection. I believe the church is meant to be the hope of the world because Christ is the risen Lord. Graciously proclaim the resurrected Christ and how the spiritual life makes a difference in life.
  • Put yourself out there. Start the new ministry you always believed would make a difference. Take a risk. You’ve been given eternal life, so can you really fail?
  • Promote daily habits of spiritual health and life. Develop a realistic and workable plan for yourself when it comes to basic spiritual practices of Scripture reading, prayer, worship, etc. And stick to it by involving others.

There will always be people in our lives who try and pull us from what’s most important, even persons who want to keep the status quo to the point of seeking to destroy us. Be ready. Keep Eastertide in front of you; God has raised us to new life.

Allow Christ’s resurrection take root in your heart to such an extent that life itself informs all your thinking, speaking, feeling, and acting. The victory is won. So, sing to the Lord!

Bored To Death (Acts 20:7-12)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Exploring Church Ministry Blog, Year A2 Comments

On Sunday we met to break bread. Paul was discussing Scripture with the people. Since he intended to leave the next day, he kept talking until midnight. (Many lamps were lit in the upstairs room where we were meeting.)

A young man named Eutychus was sitting in a window. As Paul was talking on and on, Eutychus was gradually falling asleep. Finally, overcome by sleep, he fell from the third story and was dead when they picked him up. Paul went to him, took him into his arms, and said, “Don’t worry! He’s alive!” Then Eutychus went upstairs again, broke the bread, and ate. Paul talked with the people for a long time, until sunrise, and then left.

The people took the boy home. They were greatly relieved that he was alive. (God’s Word Translation)

I’m bored

When I was a kid, the church worship service on Sunday was the longest hour of my week. I wanted to play in the pew, but my mom wouldn’t let me. I asked to go the bathroom, but my dad wasn’t having it. I tried to draw in the hymnal, but my sister always took everything around me ought of sight. My only relief was to sleep and drool on whatever I could lay my head on.

I’ve come a long way since then. But my experience taught me something. God isn’t boring, so I’m not going to be boring, either. Maybe I could have taught the Apostle Paul a thing or two.

In our New Testament lesson for today, the lateness of the hour (past midnight) and the ambiance of the room (all those burning oil lamps, presumably to keep people awake without any coffee) clues a church-going person immediately that something bad is about to go down. A long-winded preacher only serves to make for a combustible situation.

Uh-oh

In all fairness to Paul, if the congregants were bored out of their minds, the text doesn’t tell us. My guess is that the author, Luke, doesn’t want to go there. Yet, we have evidence of a bored person in the form of none other than a young person, a kid named Eutychus.  

He’s over by the open window, propped up on the ledge, and can’t keep his eyes open. Heck, for all we know, everyone was starting to doze off. And, as every preacher has experienced, as somebody slips into sleep, we just talk even longer.

The young man’s precipitous position leads to disaster: he falls out the third floor window. And, as one might expect, he fell to his death. Now, instead of some slap-stick comedic set up, we have a genuine tragedy: a young person literally bored to death by preaching.

The Apostle Paul raises Eutychus to life, by Gerard Hoet, 1728

All of a sudden, the story is no laughing matter. So, what might we learn from the preacher who bored Eutychus to death?

He finally stops preaching

The sermon is interrupted (as it turns out, of course, only momentarily) in order to attend to the tragedy. Sometimes, the sermon has to stop. Everything has to stop. We have to take a good, hard look at what’s going on. There are questions to ask, things to notice, conversations to begin. We have to get particular about where we are, and what we’re doing, before we can keep going with anything.

Maybe, just maybe, if Eutychus was part of the communion service, he wouldn’t have been on the margins and at risk of falling. As for many churches today, it could be there’s no young people around because they all fell out the window. Never underestimate the power of participation. Most youth just need to be asked to help out. But most adults don’t ask. And most kids aren’t going to volunteer.

He threw himself on him

Paul went down to Eutychus, and bending over him, took him in his arms in an emotional embrace – similar to what the father did when the prodigal son came home. (Luke 15:11-32)

In both cases – the prodigal son and Eutychus – they each needed a new life. The prodigal fell asleep to who he was, in a living death, and woke to his condition and went home. Eutychus literally fell asleep to an actual death and was woke to a resurrected life – returning back to the congregation (and even more preaching! *sheesh* leave it alone, Paul).

Each was found. Each had someone care about them by throwing their arms around them and giving them new life. That’s what grace is. Grace is giving the gift of seeing another person and embracing them – no matter whether they’re worthy of it, or not.

He’s alive

“He’s alive” is a statement of fact, of reality. It puts all the attention on what is true, right now, in this moment – and deflects attention away from who’s around the living person. In other words, Paul doesn’t take credit for Eutychus coming to life or restoring breath to him.

Implicitly, we know where the power comes from to raise Eutychus to life. It doesn’t come from the preacher. However, there is an important task that every preacher can do: witness a new life and bring the announcement of that life to the community. Preaching can (and ought to) bear witness to the activity of God in raising the dead and granting life.

The preacher can encourage the congregation to celebrate life around the Lord’s Table, notice the people on the margins of the community, and stay awake to the possibilities of what God can do amongst us.

Turns out, neither the length of a sermon nor the level of boredom is the issue. What’s most important is proclaming the gospel of grace in word and sacrament. And that’s something we all can participate in together and celebrate.

God of life, may we learn how to live from the mercy which was brought to us through the mission of your Son – whose saving love extends to every person, whose presence reaches into every place, Jesus Christ, who makes all things new, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.