Category Archives: lectionary

March 5, 2023 · 12:00 am

Second Sunday in Lent

Born from Above

The Gospel of John is unique. It contains whole dialogues of Jesus that do not appear in Matthew, Mark,, or Luke. Today we have, perhaps, the most profound one of these dialogues:

There was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.” Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’ The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?”    ()

In this one dialogue, we have the essence of the Gospel. Jesus tells Nicodemus that to enter the kingdom of God we must be born from above. Jesus was referring to rebirth through baptism by the Spirit of God.

This confuses Nicodemus. How can someone be born again he asked? Jesus responded with a question:

Jesus answered him, “Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?   (John 3:10)

This question may seem surprising to ask Nicodemus. “Being born from above” was not a familiar concept being discussed among the Jewish leaders of the day. Nonetheless, it was not foreign to Messianic prophecy in the Old Testament:

I will give them one heart and put a new spirit within them; I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, so that they may follow my statutes and keep my ordinances and obey them. Then they shall be my people, and I will be their God.   (Ezekiel 11:19-20)

 A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you, and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit within you and make you follow my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances.   (Ezekiel 36:26-27

But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.   (Jeremiah 31:33)

These prophecies foretold a new covenant that God would be making with Israel. The covenant was not entirely new because it was contained within the old covenant. Abraham’s faith established the old covenant and foretold the new one. Reading from Genesis:

The Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him.   (Genesis 12:1-4)

Abraham obeyed God, not knowing where he was going. How difficult would it be for most of us to leave the comfort of our homes and set out to parts unknown? Moreover, for Abraham to become a great nation he needed an heir. This required great faith and trust in God. God promised him a son but Abraham and his wife were too old for this to happen naturally. It could only happen by a supernatural act of God.

The covenant God made with Israel was based on the faith of Abraham. His faith was further tested by God when God asked him to sacrifice his only son Isaac. This was an ultimate test of faith that Abraham was prepared to follow. As we know, God provided, at the last minute, a sacrificial lamb to replace Isaac. We wonder how Abraham managed such a test of faith.

This extraordinary faith foretold the new covenant that God would make with Israel. Abraham believed that Isaac would be his heir because God promised it. He, therefore, believed that God would produce a lamb:

Isaac said to his father Abraham, “Father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” Abraham said, “God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them walked on together.   (Genesis 22:7-8)

God did not nullify the old covenant. The old covenant required a sacrifice for sin. God fulfilled that requirement himself by sending Jesus, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, to take our place. He did what we could not do. We could not live sinlessly.

Jesus said a curious thing:

“Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist, yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

John the Baptist was greater than Moses or even Elijah. How could he be considered the least? That is because Jesus had not yet gone to the cross. The new covenant was established at the cross. Only then could the lamb of God take away the sins of the world.

We begin our new birth at the cross. That is just the beginning. We must lay down our old sinful self there.

Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. Our baptism is important, but so is the Holy Spirit working in our lives. The Apostle Paul wrote:

Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life.   (Romans 6:4)

We must put ourselves in God’s hands. Only be can perform the birth from above. How he does that must be entirely left up to him. Jesus told Nicodemus:

The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.   (John 3:8)

Are we willing to allow God to perfect us as only he can do? Then we must be willing to die to our will and follow his will for our lives. Jesus said:

If any wish to come after me, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it.   (Luke 9:23-24)

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February 26, 2023 · 12:00 am

First Sunday in Lent

Dialogue with the Devil

As we prepare for the Season of Lent. let us go back to the origins of sin. Reading from Genesis:

The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.” (Genesis 2:15-17)

God created us in his image which meant that we could also create. This allowed for infinite possibilities. Some of those possibilities could be dangerous. We needed God’s guidance to properly tend the garden.

We remember the serpent. He took the form of a serpent, but he was a fallen angel who rebelled against God. Simply put, he disapproved of the creation of humankind. Unable to create himself, his. the goal was to pervert and distort the creations of God:

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.’“ But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die; for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.   (Genesis 3:1-7)

What wisdom is Satan talking about? We have this explanation from the Apostle Paul:

My speech and my proclamation were made not with persuasive words of wisdom but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.

Yet among the mature we do speak wisdom, though it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are being destroyed. But we speak God’s wisdom, a hidden mystery, which God decreed before the ages for our glory and which none of the rulers of this age understood, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.   (1 Corinthians 2:4-8)

With Satan’s so-called wisdom, he crucified Jesus. In his wisdom, God knew this was possible when he created us. Thus Jesus offered himself as a sacrificial lamb before our world even began. Reading from 1 Peter:

You know that you were ransomed from the futile conduct inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish. He was destined before the foundation of the world but was revealed at the end of the ages for your sake.   (1 Peter 1:18-20)

Though Satan lost at the cross, that had not stopped him from tempting us with his lies and half-truths. Satan tried his powers of temptation upon Jesus during his wilderness experience. Let us see how this might apply to us today:

Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written,

‘One does not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”   (Matthew 4:1-11)

Jesus had been in the wilderness. without eating, for a very long time. He realized that he needed spiritual food as well as bread. The Prophet Jeremiah wrote:

Your words were found, and I ate them,
    and your words became to me a joy
    and the delight of my heart,
for I am called by your name,
    O Lord, God of hosts.   (Jeremiah 15:16)

How often does Satan try to distract us, with food, from meditating on the word of God? This is why fasting can be beneficial. It helps us to focus on God’s word. That is the last thing our flesh (carnal self) wants us to do.

Satan’s next temptation of Jesus is a big one for all of us:

Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written,

‘He will command his angels concerning you,’
and ‘On their hands they will bear you up,

so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’”

Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”   (Matthew 4:1-11)

This temptation has to do with a sign. Satan asks Jesus for a sign to prove himself. Satan asks Christian for a sign. Many fall into this trap. Satan wants us to believe that we are not connected to God unless he has given us a vision or miracle. We may look for God to validate us. God has validated us on the cross.

Some Christians brag about the signs they have received. This is what Jesus said about signs:

An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.   (Matthew 16:4)

The sign of Jonah prefigured Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. That is all we should need to believe that God loves us and is with us. That is all the proof we need from God. Jesus rises.

Signs are not insignificant. In Mark’s Gospel, we read:

And these signs will accompany those who believe: by using my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”   (Mark 16:17)

The Apostle Paul wrote:

Tongues, then, are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers, while prophecy is not for unbelievers but for believers.   (1 Corinthians 14:22)

Paul referred to the sign of tongues on the Day of Pentecost, which attracted the masses to Peter’s preaching.

Now let us look at the last temptation of Jesus while he was in the wilderness:

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written,

‘Worship the Lord your God,
and serve only him.’”

Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.   (Matthew 4:1-11)

This temptation is perhaps Satan’s greatest deception. Life is often looked upon as a climb up the ladder of success. That ladder has many rungs. Reading from Isaiah:

Whom will he teach knowledge,
    and to whom will he explain the message?
Those who are weaned from milk,
    those taken from the breast?
For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept,
    line upon line, line upon line,
    here a little, there a little.   (Isaiah 28:9-10)

Satan tells us that we can take some short. We will not have to suffer a cross. Unfortunately, Satan can reward those willing to take shortcuts, and he does. That is why many go his route. If we do so, we will hurt others along the way. We will ultimately hurt ourselves.

Jesus said:

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.   (Matthew 5:5-8)

How do we resist the temptations of Satan? We do not do it through a dialogue with him. We will not defeat him with worldly wisdom. He invented worldly wisdom. Eve made the mistake of entering into dialogue with Satan. Jesus would not enter into dialogue with him. Instead, he quoted scripture, which Satan cannot nullify or dismiss. He used the word of God against Satan. The whole universe was established by the word of God.

Let us use the method that Jesus used against Satan. The Apostle Paul wrote:

Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on the evil day and, having prevailed against everything, to stand firm. Stand, therefore, and belt your waist with truth and put on the breastplate of righteousness and lace up your sandals in preparation for the gospel of peace. With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.   (Ephesians 6:13-17)

The last one on the list is our offensive weapon against Satan. This is our best way to keep a Holy Lent and Holy life. God is with us and for us. We must be willing to use the weapon he has given us. We are in a battle. Jesus has won that battle. Let us follow in his footsteps.

 

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February 24, 2023 · 12:00 am

Saint Matthias

rubens_apostel_mattias_grtA High Calling of God

Today we read about an apostolic calling of God that could almost seem like an accident, but it was not:

Saint Matthias was chosen to be an apostle under unusual circumstances. Following the ascension of Jesus, the disciples (who numbered about one hundred and twenty) assembled to elect a replacement for Judas. They nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas and Matthias. Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.” Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias. (Acts 1:23-26)

Obviously, Jesus did not directly call Matthias as he did his other disciples. Matthias must have been one of the one hundred and twenty disciples waiting in Jerusalem as Jesus had commanded before his ascension. Matthias was waiting on God. A servant of God waits on God. Waiting could mean anticipating, but it could also mean serving. Perhaps for a Christian disciple, the word has both meanings.

In God’s timing, Matthias was called. He was in a position to receive a high calling. We may be in a position of service in our church or community. Then suddenly, God may call us into a higher place of service. Will we be ready?

A calling from God is a high honor. Jesus reminds us that we did not choose Him. He chose us:

You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name.   (John 15:16)

His calling is not about a place of privilege. It is about a place of service. First, he must teach and train us. When we submit ourselves to him he will also cleanse us. Only then are we able to exercise our authority in Christ? The Apostle Paul makes this very clear:

This one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us then who are mature be of the same mind; and if you think differently about anything, this too God will reveal to you. Only let us hold fast to what we have attained.   (Philippians 3:13-16)

Are we ready for our heavenly call from God?

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February 22, 2023 · 12:01 am

Ash Wednesday

Remember That You Are Dust

Ash Wednesday is traditionally a day of fasting and repentance. In many liturgical churches, ashes are placed on the foreheads of each participant. Ashes were a sign of penitence in the Ancient Near East, particularly in Judaism.

Recall this example from the Old Testament. Jonah preached to Nineveh that God was going to destroy the city and the people listened:

So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water: But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands.  (Jonah 3:5-8)

Notice that the King of Nineveh decreed that the people must turn from evil. God is never impressed with meaningless rituals.

Jesus said, “Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.   (Matthew 6:1)

As a campus minister, I remember a particular Ash Wednesday service when a school official who wanted to know at what precise time I would be doing the “imposition of ashes” (making the customary sign of the cross in ashes on a person’s forehead). She did not want to sit through the scripture readings, homily, or prayers. The mere sign of the cross on her forehead would prove that she had done her religious duty.

Let us consider these instructive words of Jesus?

And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. (Matthew 6:16-18)

We cannot impress God with our rituals or our piety. Why should we try to impress others who must also stand before His throne, as required? God is calling us to a holy fast – one in which we come before Him in true repentance.

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, and abounding in steadfast love,
and relents from punishing.  (Joel 2:12-13)

The Ash Wednesday service serves as a reminder of who we are and whose we are. Man was created out of the dust by the hand of God. Our lives are sustained by His very breath. One day His breath will be taken away and we will have to give an accounting to Him of how we live our lives.

Ash Wednesday is a check to the triumphant Christians who have arrived and no longer need to acknowledge their sins before God. It questions the “once saved, always saved” mentality.

Ash Wednesday, meaningless ritual? It might be for some. The act of fasting and repentance was not meaningless to the King of Nineveh. Jesus did not say that we should not fast and repent. He said that we should not make a show of it. If we do, we may receive approval from some, but not from God. God looks at the heart.

What is the fasting part? That can be done in many ways. Some may have trouble giving up eating food due to a medical condition. Fasting is taking our minds off the world and its comforts so that we might focus on God, seeking his comfort and presence in our lives. Setting aside time for extended prayer and meditation upon God’s Word. This, too, is fasting. It may be difficult to find time to do this. Our flesh or carnal nature never wants us to do it. It continually makes demands on us. The Apostle Paul wrote:

I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. But in fact it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me.   (Romans 7:15-20)

Can we imagine the Apostle Paul had such a struggle? It is a common struggle that we all face. Paul goes on to write:

Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!   (Romans 7:24-25)

We will discover a new victory in Christ if we deny the flesh for a season. Jesus will do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. Soon, we will discover the joys of fasting. The Lord Jesus is so much more exciting and refreshing than anything in the flesh.

What about repentance? If we say that we do not need any formal type of confession because our sins are washed in the blood of Jesus, we may be missing the point of confession. From the First Epistle of John:

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.   (1 John 1:8-9)

If we say that we have given our heart to Jesus and yet deliberately sin, how should our God judge our act of contrition? The Book of Hebrews has the answer:

For if we willfully persist in sin after having received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful prospect of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.   (Hebrews 10:26-27)

Ash Wednesday offers us an opportunity for fasting and repentance. Perhaps we should take it?

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