Tag: spiritual life

The Lord of Life (John 6:56-69)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
Bread of Life, by Kennedy Paizs

“Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which the ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.” Jesus said these things while he was teaching in a synagogue at Capernaum.

When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?” But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining about it, said to them, “Does this offend you? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But among you there are some who do not believe.”

For Jesus knew from the beginning who were the ones who did not believe and who was the one who would betray him. And he said, “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father.”

Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. So Jesus asked the twelve, “Do you also wish to go away?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.” (New Revised Standard Version)

This is a hard teaching – which is why a fair number of Christ’s disciples unfollowed him, literally, and not just socially and virtually.

Perhaps they believed they were following a great moral teacher, only to find Jesus prattling-on about being bread from heaven and divinely related to God.

The late great C.S. Lewis commented on Jesus, saying this:

“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.” C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

It seems Jesus cares little about whether we think of him as a moral teacher or some monstrosity. But he does care about moving people to a spirit-filled confession, a settled claim of faith, and a bold proclamation of his person and work.

Indeed, Jesus Christ, Son of Humanity, Son of God, leads us to hear his own confession, claim, and proclamation: “I Am.”

The crowd of people listening to Jesus were having a hard time wrapping their heads around his message. There were simply no existing categories of thought to which they could put Jesus neatly into. Everyone was rather puzzled with Christ’s words.

Jesus was in the Capernaum synagogue, a village on the Sea of Galilee, 30 miles from where he grew up in Nazareth. Any talk of eating and drinking and religion within any faith community is likely to be a charged discussion. Typically the politics of faith is not for the faint of heart.

We are to abide in Christ, to be in vital union with him. To have Jesus close, to have his words and ways within us, is akin to eating a satisfying meal that goes throughout our entire body and effects our being. Connecting and remaining with Jesus is true living and abundant life.

But the synagogue crowd wasn’t having any of this crazy talk of eating flesh and drinking blood. The lines between meat and metaphor were severely blurred for them. They did not accept the wedding of the spiritual and the material, of word and flesh, of God and Jesus together as Father and Son.

Jesus was causing the men to fold their arms in disgust, and the ladies to squirm in their pews with agitation. They looked upon this Jesus in front of them as causing a religious scandal of the first degree.

Rather than back off the scandalous words, Jesus stuck with them. Furthermore, he intensified what he was saying. At the heart of it was a claim to be the ladder between heaven and earth, the one who is manna from above, given for the life of the people.

His flesh is bread, and his blood is drink. He is life itself. He is even spirit, the one who breathes new life into people. At this point, Jesus was being as scandalous as it gets for his audience in the synagogue.

All of Christ’s talk is meant to bring people to consider him, to contemplate God, and to come to a point of response. Because nobody encountered Jesus without deciding if he is a liar, a lunatic, or the Lord who is life itself.

Many of Christ’s own disciples bailed on him. The scandal was too much. They didn’t sign up for this. To stay with Jesus means to really stay, to abide, to believe and know who he is.

Throughout the New Testament Gospels, Jesus honors people with questions and choices – and does not simply bypass human dignity and worth. He asked his closest twelve disciples if they also wanted to retreat from the scandalous message and messenger they’d been following.

Peter, of course, still had to learn this lesson of respect; he answered for the entire group. Jesus is where, and in whom, he found life, along with the rest of them. They didn’t know how all of the scandalous talk was going to shake-out specifically, although I think each of them had a pretty good idea.

But it didn’t matter. The twelve disciples were stuck on Jesus. Or, to be more accurate, the eleven disciples. Perhaps it was at this point that Judas Iscariot no longer had to wonder what was going to happen, and what exactly Jesus was up to.

Abiding in a movement that did not include a Roman takeover and a glorious wealthy kingdom was something Judas was unwilling to invest in. Maybe it was here that he began considering his exit plan.

Recognizing Jesus as Son of Humanity, Son of God, and the Word made flesh for us, requires both belief and knowledge – because you must have the one to have the other. C.S. Lewis discovered this. So did I. And may you, as well, my friend. For Jesus is the Lord of life.

Gracious God, although we once were strangers, you receive us as friends and draw us home to you. Set your living bread before us so that, feasting around your table, we may be strengthened to continue the work to which your Son commissioned us. Amen.

Skilled Work (1 Kings 5:1-12)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
King Solomon and King Hiram, by Unknown artist

Because King Hiram of Tyre was loyal to David throughout his rule, Hiram sent his servants to Solomon when he heard that Solomon had become king after his father. Solomon sent the following message to Hiram: 

“You know that my father David wasn’t able to build a temple for the name of the Lord my God. This was because of the enemies that fought him on all sides until the Lord put them under the soles of his feet. Now the Lord my God has given me peace on every side, without enemies or misfortune. So I’m planning to build a temple for the name of the Lord my God, just as the Lord indicated to my father David, ‘I will give you a son to follow you on your throne. He will build the temple for my name.’ Now give the order and have the cedars of Lebanon cut down for me. My servants will work with your servants. I’ll pay your servants whatever price you set, because you know we have no one here who is skilled in cutting wood like the Sidonians.”

Hiram was thrilled when he heard Solomon’s message. He said, “Today the Lord is blessed because he has given David a wise son who is in charge of this great people.” Hiram sent word back to Solomon:

“I have heard your message to me. I will do as you wish with the cedar and pinewood. My servants will bring the wood down the Lebanon Mountains to the sea. I’ll make rafts out of them and float them on the sea to the place you specify. There I’ll dismantle them, and you can carry them away. Now, as for what you must do for me in return, I ask you to provide for my royal house.”

So Hiram gave Solomon all the cedar and pinewood that he wanted. In return, Solomon gave an annual gift to Hiram of twenty thousand kors [2,000 tons] of wheat to eat, and twenty thousand kors [4,000 liters] of pure oil for his palace use. Now the Lord made Solomon wise, just as he had promised. Solomon and Hiram made a covenant and had peace. (Common English Bible)

King Solomon was granted by God all the wisdom necessary to rule over Israel and Judah (1 Kings 3:1-15). Early in his reign, he began the construction of a permanent Temple in Jerusalem – a task that was originally in the heart of his father King David.

Today’s Old Testament lesson is the beginning of the account of Solomon’s grand building project. It focuses on the assistance offered by King Hiram of Tyre.

Skilled Leaders

The city of Tyre was a major port in Lebanon. The cedar trees of Lebanon were renowned in the ancient world as being large and strong. Solomon – always the savvy one in knowing where to find the best of the best – looked to King Hiram for the cedar logs needed for building the Temple.

What’s more, Solomon asked Hiram for the builders to help in construction of God’s Temple. King Solomon not only had a broad knowledge of just about everything in creation, but he also understood human nature. He named the reality that the Sidonians were the best at handling their exceptional lumber.

Furthermore, Solomon was clear about the reason for the ambitious building project of the Temple. He believed that the task of erecting the Temple was divinely given to him. Solomon therefore trusted God to help him complete the job.

As a result, the two kings negotiated a treaty in which Hiram provided the lumber and the lumbermen, with Solomon providing grain and olive oil for Hiram’s court. In recounting this, the editor of Kings emphasized Solomon’s wisdom, and the peaceful relations that Jerusalem and Tyre enjoyed.

Perhaps all of this rehashing of an old agreement between a couple of ancient kings seems irrelevant to the modern and post-modern person. Yet, it is a classic example of the realities concerning communication and theology.

Skilled Communication

Hiram had the resources for building, and the skilled builders; Solomon had the money, goods, and administrative knowledge to make their relationship a mutually beneficial one.

Each king negotiated successfully, namely because there was no disadvantage in their treaty relationship. The two nations balanced one another by offering it’s advantages to the other.

Solomon and Hiram came to a genuine win-win agreement. Each of them stated exactly what they wanted and what they would provide, without apology. Both kings promoted their own interests while showing concern for the other’s interests, as well.

The success of their deal was based on mutual trust, which began years earlier with King David.

Skilled Theology

Today’s narrative is more than an example of how to negotiate a deal. It fits into a larger narrative of what God was doing with the nation of Israel. Central to every biblical story is God, who is both object and subject of Holy Scripture.

The Lord revealed a slow and unfolding drama of redemption for people. The construction of the Temple was a prominent way of God revealing divine mercy to the people. It’s central place at the highest point in Jerusalem communicated that the Lord is in the middle of everything, and high above it all.

And the way in which Solomon went about constructing the Jewish Temple included non-Jewish builders. God, through divine sovereignty and grace, led Gentiles to hob-nob with Jews who worship Yahweh, and to thus experience a glimpse of the Lord through the people and the place.

Indeed, all things work together for good to those who love God. (Romans 8:28)

Gracious God, I ask that your love and goodness will have its way for all those who seek to live according to justice and righteousness. You are full of steadfast in love and abounding in mercy. Help me accept your love and mercy. May it flow powerfully in me, and through me, to your glory and honor. Amen.

Wisdom (1 Kings 4:29-34)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
King Solomon, by Helen Zarin

God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore. Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the East, and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt. 

He was wiser than anyone else, including Ethan the Ezrahite—wiser than Heman, Kalkol and Darda, the sons of Mahol. And his fame spread to all the surrounding nations. 

He spoke three thousand proverbs and his songs numbered a thousand and five. He spoke about plant life, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of walls.

He also spoke about animals and birds, reptiles and fish. From all nations people came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, sent by all the kings of the world, who had heard of his wisdom. (New International Version)

Talking about King Solomon of old is, in many ways, like talking about any human being. That’s because Solomon was an odd combination of extremely gifted, and yet, deeply flawed.

Solomon’s reign was the greatest that Israel and Judah ever had; and perhaps the wealthiest and most impressive reign that there ever was in the world. Here we are, talking about it nearly 3,000 years later.

Yet, for all the accomplishments of Solomon, he failed to maintain faithfulness to God throughout his lifetime. His wealth and power were so vast that it was his downfall.

Although he died a great king, at his death there were many who were not sorry to see him go. And Jerusalem, the capitol, was occupied with other gods, and not the exclusive worship of Yahweh, as God’s law was so careful to warn against.

However, in today’s Old Testament lesson, we remember the unparalleled wisdom of Solomon. In this regard, there is no one like him in history.

The text of Scripture makes it plain as to where Solomon got his supreme wisdom: God gave it to him (1 Kings 3:1-15). Indeed, God is the source of wisdom, and the fount of knowledge.

Solomon was the son of King David and Bathsheba. He became king of Judah and Israel in 967 BCE, at age twenty, and reigned until his death in 928 BCE. King Solomon’s wisdom was both broad and deep. He was given to wise parables and poetry; sage insights into human nature; and a keen sense to political, social, and economic administration.

The editor of the books of the Kings compares Solomon to the eastern Babylonian sages who were famous in the ancient world; and to the sages of Egypt. Specifically, he is compared to four men: Ethan, Heman, Kalkol, and Darda – the wisest in Israel before Solomon.

Israel had its sages, well before Solomon came along, and possessed a body of wisdom for the people to learn from. The editor tells us that King Solomon surpassed them all in his wisdom, knowledge, understanding, and insight.

Even though there are sages and wise persons, wisdom is for everyone, all humans, without exception. From wisdom we learn to pay attention and observe. This is why Solomon was so wise – his powers of observation were second to none.

He took the time to pay attention to plants, animals, and all creation. He dedicated himself to looking into all the differing affairs of what humanity does. As a result of his efforts at observing humanity, we have the biblical wisdom books of Proverbs (short pithy sayings of experiential truth), Ecclesiastes (issues of ultimate meaning), and Song of Songs (an ode to Love).

King Solomon, by William Pajaub (1925-2015)

In short, Solomon’s wisdom teaches us that those who take the time to learn, listen, and mature have a happy life; and those who don’t, injure themselves and have a sad life.

Through wisdom, we discover the importance of respecting the poor, the value of creative and fulfilling work, helpful speech, handling money well, and virtuous friends. Each person’s wise conduct benefits the wellbeing of the community, whereas foolish conduct destroys a people.

Wisdom is attuned to morality and consequences (and not to moralism and judgmentalism). Our words and actions bring either connection and encouragement, or separation and duress. Good choices bring life and peace; bad decisions lead to death and division.

One might assume that wisdom is a moral code – but it is not. Rather, wisdom is a dynamic force which brings satisfaction and fulfillment to the world. Being a wise person means that one’s conduct and way of life is in sync with unity, harmony, integrity, and peace.

Foolishness, on the other hand, goes against the grain of a moral life. A fool assumes they can do what they want, whenever they want, without restraint. They think they are an autonomous being who answers to no one. A fool lives as if God is non-existent, and other people are no more valuable than insects on a sidewalk.

Solomon became king in Israel and Judah without a vote, and ruled without democracy. Yet, he recognized that wisdom was needed in order to rule. In reality, wisdom is still needed for any and every sort of leadership.

Our present American political campaign has all the markings of a foolishness that mocks wisdom. That’s why we get so much careless, unhelpful, and downright harmful speech. There is indifference to people in debt, and an overlooking of the poor. We have words and actions without any thought to others, and policies based in greed. Most of all, there is no moral coherence at all, even with cheap religious talk.

It appears that a large chunk of Americans have never taken the time to observe, listen, and pay attention. Their faith – if there is any faith at all – is shallow and disconnected from their fellow citizens. They fail to discern that society cannot be divided into classes of rich and poor.

Wisdom is about being connected, not divided. It has an understanding of all creatures, and that we are ethically and morally bound to the rest of creation. The wise person thus builds bridges, not walls; and does everything possible to turn away from violence, both physical and verbal.

There is no political party, no neighborhood association, no corporate board, and no church council who is all wise and immune to being foolish. We must not throw our ultimate allegiance to anything or anyone other than our all-wise Creator God. And we also must keep in mind that human institutions really can be brought into line with wisdom.

Unfortunately, foolishness is alive and well – not only in the United States of America, but also around the world. Foolish political candidates and leaders of all kinds promise us short-term selfish solutions to large communal and national issues.

Yet, the fool will not prevail. Sadly, King Solomon gave into some foolishness toward the end of his life. Yet, even despite that, Solomon could tell you that wisdom has always existed, and pre-dates foolishness.

Lady Wisdom calls to us, and we have the ability and the faculties to respond and learn from her. Please do so, hopefully, before election day.

Teach me to listen, O God, to those nearest me, my family, my friends, my co-workers. Help me to be aware of the inherent dignity and worth of every person I encounter, and to listen to their voice.

Teach me to listen, O God, to the despair of the hopeless, the plea of the forgotten, and the cry of the anguished.

Teach me to listen, O God, to myself. Help me to be less afraid to trust the voice inside — in the deepest part of me.

Teach me to listen, Holy Spirit, for your voice — in busyness and in boredom, in certainty and doubt, in noise and in silence.

Teach me, Lord, to listen.  Amen.

Abundant Life (1 Kings 8:1-21)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
Solomon dedicates the Temple at Jerusalem, by James Tissot (1836-1902)

Solomon then summoned to Jerusalem the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes—the leaders of the ancestral families of the Israelites. They were to bring the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant to the Temple from its location in the City of David, also known as Zion. So all the men of Israel assembled before King Solomon at the annual Festival of Shelters, which is held in early autumn in the month of Ethanim.

When all the elders of Israel arrived, the priests picked up the Ark. The priests and Levites brought up the Ark of the Lord along with the special tent and all the sacred items that had been in it. There, before the Ark, King Solomon and the entire community of Israel sacrificed so many sheep, goats, and cattle that no one could keep count!

Then the priests carried the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant into the inner sanctuary of the Temple—the Most Holy Place—and placed it beneath the wings of the cherubim. The cherubim spread their wings over the Ark, forming a canopy over the Ark and its carrying poles. These poles were so long that their ends could be seen from the Holy Place, which is in front of the Most Holy Place, but not from the outside. They are still there to this day. Nothing was in the Ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had placed in it at Mount Sinai, where the Lord made a covenant with the people of Israel when they left the land of Egypt.

When the priests came out of the Holy Place, a thick cloud filled the Temple of the Lord. The priests could not continue their service because of the cloud, for the glorious presence of the Lord filled the Temple of the Lord.

Then Solomon prayed, “O Lord, you have said that you would live in a thick cloud of darkness. Now I have built a glorious Temple for you, a place where you can live forever!”

Then the king turned around to the entire community of Israel standing before him and gave this blessing: “Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, who has kept the promise he made to my father, David. For he told my father, ‘From the day I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I have never chosen a city among any of the tribes of Israel as the place where a Temple should be built to honor my name. But I have chosen David to be king over my people Israel.’”

Then Solomon said, “My father, David, wanted to build this Temple to honor the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. But the Lord told him, ‘You wanted to build the Temple to honor my name. Your intention is good, but you are not the one to do it. One of your own sons will build the Temple to honor me.’

“And now the Lord has fulfilled the promise he made, for I have become king in my father’s place, and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the Lord promised. I have built this Temple to honor the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. And I have prepared a place there for the Ark, which contains the covenant that the Lord made with our ancestors when he brought them out of Egypt.” (New Living Translation)

Dedication of Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem, by Johann Georg Platzer (1704-1761)

I admit, at many times, that I am prone to melancholy. I tend to be quick at accepting blame, and rather slow at owning my good work. Another way of putting this is that it is easier to give than to receive.

Those who have endured a lot of hard circumstances, and persevered through many adversities, can sometimes be reticent to accept the good, the abundant, and the beautiful, whenever it comes to us in this life.

Waiting for the other shoe to drop, far too many people hold back themselves from receiving and enjoying the really good things in life. They worry that the goodness will disappear, or be taken away; and so, they withhold gratitude and blessing, whenever they are in the presence of great abundance.

Just so you know, in case there are those of you who need to hear it spelled out plainly: That’s messed up.

People are meant to be abundantly generous, as well as wildly receptive. It’s likely why there are so many spiritually unhealthy persons in the world.

Bless their hearts, they give a lot, without receiving much, and then their spiritual diarrhea makes it so they can’t give anymore. And they oftentimes give to those who are in such a habit of receiving (and not giving) that the receiver’s spiritual constipation becomes a terrible problem.

Let’s avoid both extremes by letting ourselves both give and receive with equal abandon. No one can be spiritually growing, healthy, and mature without the dynamic of giving and receiving.

Solomon knew how to do both. King Solomon was the king of abundance. He accepted and received big; and he gave and blessed big. Nobody before him or after him received and gave more.

The Temple, in all of its glory and grandeur, with the Ark of the Covenant encrusted with gold as the central object in the building, was all for a God who doesn’t live in houses, a God who is invisible.

In Solomon’s dedication of the Temple, he made it clear that the God of Israel is not, and cannot, be restricted to, or located within, a single place. Thus, the Lord is limitless, and not subject to any human manipulation.

God is free to give with great abandon. And God is also free to take away. Blessed be the name of the Lord God. If we continually try and anticipate or predict what God will do, we will likely be a nervous ball of anxiety all of the time, wondering when the unexpected and/or unwanted will visit us.

It is much better to receive the good things the Lord gives us, and enjoy them while we have them.

“I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

Jesus (John 10:10)

Nothing is permanent, with the exception of relationships and love. So, if we can connect the temporal material things of this life in service to the immaterial realities of this universe, then we are in a position to experience peace, joy, and satisfaction.

If and when the material disappears, or is taken away, then it shall neither defeat us, nor destroy us. For our relational connections with God and others exist, and are free flowing, with the energy of gracious receiving and giving as the conduit of abundant life.

Melancholy is important and has its place for us in this present life; yet, so do things like celebration, dedication, joy, exuberance, emotional commitment, and open love. Indeed, to have these in abundance is a reflection of the God of abundance, in whose name we are bold to pray:

God of abundance, you have fed us with the bread of life and cup of salvation; you have united us with Christ and one another; and you have made us one with all your people in heaven and on earth. Now send us forth in the power of your Spirit, that we may proclaim your redeeming love to the world and continue forever in the risen life of Christ our Savior. Amen.