Who is Called?

Photo Credit:  S. Grant Matthews
Location:  Methodist Theological School in Ohio

The following devotional was my submission to the Annual Conference Lenten Devotional.

Scripture: Mark 2:13-17

Mark 2:13-14:  Jesus went out again beside the lake; the whole crowd gathered around him, and he taught them. As he was walking along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he got up and followed him.

Can you imagine it?  Jesus is walking near Levi, the tax collector and calls him into discipleship.  In Jesus’ time, tax collectors were seen as corrupt symbols of Roman occupation.  As we walk with Jesus in our imagination, we can hear the whispers of not only the Pharisees and scribes, but also of Jesus’ disciples.  Why would Jesus call this man into service?  Why would he call a tax collector?  Perhaps one of those in Jesus’ inner circle said, “I don’t want to follow Jesus if it means I have to work with that man – that tax collector.”

Who does God call into discipleship?  Surely God invites you and me, but who else?  Does God call the person who has lied to us?  Does God invite the one who votes for the “wrong” candidate?  Does God invite the homeless person, the teenager we will never understand, and the neighbor who loves jazz music and plays it all night long?  God certainly calls the alto who sings with us in the choir, but does God want the person who has never been to church to become a disciple?  Does God even call the one who has ridiculed us and our habit of speaking about Christ?

Who does God call into discipleship?  I believe we can safely answer that God calls everyone.  If that is the case, how will they be called?  Who will invite them?  Who is the next person we will invite to follow Christ?  It can’t just be the person who is exactly like us; it has to also be the person we would never invite on our own.  God chooses; not us.

Go out today and find the person who God loves so much that God would call him or her into discipleship.  Go out today and offer God’s invitation.

Prayer:  Creator God, help me to fish for people, and help me to cast your net in the direction of your choice, not mine.  Amen.

A Life-transforming Decision

What difference has Jesus made in the lives of women?  In the way women are seen?  Treated?  These questions came to my mind as I read the next chapter of Orberg's book, Who is this man?.

Consider the story of Mary and Martha in the Gospel.  Martha was doing all of the work while Mary sat at Jesus' feet, listening.  Martha gets upset, but Jesus tells her that Mary has chosen the better way.

We read this story and make it about busyness versus learning from Jesus.  We make it a comparison of a woman who is doing housework versus one who is stretching her faith, and we nod wisely and say, "Yes, one must take time to sit at Jesus' feet."  In our interpretation, we see it as some kind of balancing act, certain that when Mary is finished with her daily devotions, she'll go back in the kitchen and cook.  We don't see Mary's choice as life changing; instead we see it as wise time management.

But that's not what it's about.  Mary's decision was radical.  Mary decides to not be who she was and to be someone else -- to be a disciple, sitting at Jesus' feet and learning from him.  Ortberg writes, "Marthda did what the culture valued in women: cleaned the house and cooked the food.  Mary did what the culture valued in men: became a disciple".

It's a life transforming decision.  And Jesus approved.

Ministry with love

Another question from Disciple last Sunday:

The 12th and 13th chapters of I Corinthians speak of spiritual gifts and the "more excellent way" of love. Sometimes we miss that link just because they are in different chapters. What does it mean to exercise a ministry with love?

Sometimes we get so involved in carrying out our mission -- our ministry -- our calling -- that we ignore the Greatest Commandment -- love God and love each other. To exercise a ministry with love, to me, means that the person in front of us is more important than the ministry. The person in front of us is more important than the rules, than the organization, than the schedule. It means carrying out God's mission in a way that is kind and generous, loving and compassionate. it means that whatever you are doing, when you are finished, the person in front of you has been loved. The person in front of you should see God's love for him or her through you and through your acts of ministry.

Faith without works

Rather a long scripture (relatively) today:

What good is it, my brothers and sisters,* if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill’, and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.

But someone will say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’ Show me your faith without works, and I by my works will show you my faith. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder. Do you want to be shown, you senseless person, that faith without works is barren? Was not our ancestor Abraham justified by works when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was brought to completion by the works. Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness’, and he was called the friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. Likewise, was not Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by another road? For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead. James 2:14-26

This was one of the scriptures we were asked to read for our Disciple class last night. We were then to consider the question, "What does it mean that faith without works is dead?"

From my musing --

Our faith in God calls us to action. Faith without works is faith without obedience. We are called by God to a particular rule of life -- called to live a life that shows forth love in action. We are motivated to that life by our awareness of being loved by God and by our willingness to be obedient and to be transformed by God so that we can do what he calls us to do. We do not earn grace and love through our works; we give evidence of love and grace through our actions.

Light

In Disciple last night, we talked about Revelation.

I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. Its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. (Revelation 21:22-25)

This picture was taken standing on our balcony of our ship -- at 9:53 PM. PM -- as in night time. On the same day, the sun came up at 4:15AM. Night-time was very short.

What would it mean for there to be no night?

• For me, problems are bigger at night. I'll wake up and worry when it's dark. Once morning comes, the problem seems much more managable. Worries are always smaller in the daylight.
• If I'm up at night, I'm usually by myself. Night can be a lonely time. (I don't mind the quiet at night; I can see, thought, how it could be lonely.
• Night -- darkness -- can be frightening. If I'm home and Steve is on the road, I usually keep the television on during the night. The sound covers all the strange, frightening noises that I want to ignore (and don't hear if he is here).
• We might not be able to see at night. We can lose our way, not know our direction.

God's presence doesn't mean that it is daylight. He is the light.

Image: Taken from the back of the ship (our stateroom was at the back) at 9:53AM on Wednesday. We had left Skagway and were on our way to Glacier Bay.

Galatians

Galatians 5:1-6:10

For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

We took a look at this passage in Disciple class, asking the questions -- What does this passage tell us about God, about humans and about the relationship between God and humans?

About God:
He saves us by faith, working through love (isn't that a great phrase -- faith working through love)
Calls people to freedom
Calls us to bear each others' burdens
Calls us to eternal life

About people:
Likely to be consumed by one another when we bite at each other -- we can be destructive
We cannot reach the "fruits" without God.
Prone to self-deception (Not me; maybe you, but not me!)
We reap what we sow.
Cannot be self-indulgent and live by the spirit at the same time.

About the Relationship between God and people:
We are cut off from God if we try to justify ourselves by works or law.
When we are led by the spirit, we are not subject to the law.
Relationship yields fruits of the spirit -- doing or being good is a gift of grace.

Ephesians Study

In class light night, we took a look at Ephesians 1:3-2:10. We were to listen to it and then explore what it told us about God, about ourselves and about our relationship with God.

About God

Worthy to be praised
Lavish in love
Gives us hope
Powerful
Redeeming
Timeless
Rich in mercy
Loving
Immeasurably grace-full

About ourselves

In need of grace
Sinful
Redeemed and sanctified by God
We were dead
Saved by grace
We are what he has made us
Created for good works

About our relationship with God

We are loved by God
God gives us grace, freely
Chased by prevenient grace
God gives us life
God justifies us --
even as we were sinful
We are part of the body of Christ

Let is Shine

If you have some time, go read the Bishop's Blog post, This Little Light of Mine. And then come back.

Hey, thanks for coming back!

What is my light? How do I let it shine?

We talked in Disciple this evening about what we can use to witness to God in the world.

Those might be kind of the same question. We live in a world of darkness in which the light of Christ is necessary in order to chase away the darkness. We have been given light, and we are to allow it to shine -- to be a witness to and for God in the world.

Have you ever seen the the scene in one of the Harry Potter movies where everyone is on the grounds, holding up their wands, with just the tip of the wand illuminated? I can't really remember which movie it is, but the action starts with just one person holding up one tiny light. It can barely be seen. But then another person adds his light, and another, until the entire crowd is holding up a light. The evil is held at bay; night is turned into day, almost, in the power of these lights.

God's light is like that. We hold up our lights, shine them forth, and the darkness is transformed.

What is your light? How do you let it shine?

Acts Superlatives

For Disciple this week, we read the first part of Acts. Remember in high school or junior high, when the class elected "superlatives"? Here are some superlatives from the first part of Acts:

• Most inspiring person -- Stephen. He was led by the Holy Spirit, filled with grace, performed signs and wonders even though Ministry of the Word wasn't his "job." He stood up for what he believed, even though it cost him his life. He spoke to that group about a vision of God and Jesus -- an action that, as Steve phrased it, was probably the straw that broke the camel's back and led to his death. As he died, he forgave them. Stephen had the "whole package."
• Most intense -- Paul. No one could accuse Paul of less than passion for what he believed. His conversion was intense, his life before and after was intense. He was committed.
• Most confusing -- Ananias and Sapphira. They just dropped dead in the most confusing passage in the first half of Acts.
• Most persevering -- Mary, mother of Jesus. Even here, in Acts, after her son is killed, she is on the scene.
• Most sad -- James. It was sad to hear of the death of James, son of Zebedee.
• Most Scary -- Death of Herod. He was eaten by worms and died. Horror movie stuff.
• Most willing to follow God -- Well, there are many of these, but I love the story of Ananias (the other one). God told him to go find Paul, and he did, even though he knew all about Paul. He trusted God and obeyed.
• Most hard to convince -- Peter. Maybe not, really, but it took Peter three times to be convinced by Jesus on the seashore, and then three times with a sheet dropping from the sky to believe that God was serious about nothing be unclean that God declares unclean.
• Most excited about following God -- the Ethiopian Eunuch. "What's to keep me from being baptized right now?" Enough said. Excited.
• Most Happy -- the Antioch church. Wouldn't you be happy to receive the news that you didn't have to be circumcised?

Image: Easton Shopping Area, view of Courtyard Hotel

Grace on the Shore

I've always liked the scene at the end of John where Jesus cooks breakfast for the Disciples on the shore of the sea. What's not to like? Breakfast. Outside. On the beach. What could be better?

There are so many things about the scene that remind me of the life of Jesus and the Disciples. I imagine that was comforting to the Disciples, even as they were seeing that their rabbi was resurrected. It had to be a strange morning otherwise!

• He came to them again as they were fishing, as he had done before.
• Bread and fish -- remember the feeding of the 5000?
• I wonder how many meals that had shared together in this way?
• I wonder how many conversations with Peter Jesus had had like the one on this morning?

The grace and forgiveness are palpable in this scene. There is comfort in that. Peter had betrayed Jesus, and yet he was forgiven and given a mission. Even as I know of my own failings, I find grace in the scene. Grace for Peter; grace for me.

Trusting God

Why do I trust God?

We were talking about that question in Disciple class tonight. Several answers were listed:

• The more I experience the presence of God and his action in my life, the more I am convinced that he is present and active in my life. My faith in him increases through experience.
• The more I learn about God and his nature through Bible study, discussions with other Christians, prayer, meditation and life experiences, the more I am convinced that his nature is trustworthy. His character and nature invite trust; his actions confirm his trustworthiness.
• The more I experience the love of God in my life, the more I am convinced that I am loved by God. I can trust a God who loves me -- that his intentions for my life are good, and that his will for me is loving.

Grace and Love

I was reading part of Luke this week for Disciple Bible class. According to the notes, Luke is written as a message for the redemption of Israel through Christ -- a message for everyone. The notes pointed out a few things about the first and second chapters that I thought were interesting.

• Jesus is referred to by the same title as Caesar -- Lord and Savior. It's quite a contrast -- infant and king.
• The message is told to shepherds instead of to the elite (this one I've noticed before).
• There is a contrast between the stories of Jesus and John. John is born to a priest and his wife -- people of advanced status and honor. Mary is a young, poor girl -- no status and honor. God favor extends to her only to extend compassion. Sound familiar? It's grace -- unearned and only given out of love.
• The angels come to a farm, and meet together with humans. God and humanity meet in this lowly place, instead of in the Temple.

Jesus is born to all, out of grace and love.

Envious of Generosity?

We were talking in Disciple class this evening about the parable of the Workers in the Vineyard. It's the one when the people who were hired at the beginning of the day were paid the same wage as the ones who starting working an hour prior to the end of the day.

It's unfair. We certainly wouldn't run our own businesses that way. We wouldn't pay employees that way. I know if I told my boss that I wanted to work only on Fridays and be paid the same salary that I earn now, he would (rightly) tell me no.

That's life the way it is. Life the way it will be, the way it can be, is a life of grace. We don't earn our salvation, so to expect those who are found late in life to get less salvation than we do is illogical.

I really like the line from that parable that says, "Are you envious of my generosity." (or something like that.)

God's love is infinite. We don't get less because he loves more people. His generosity is applied to us as well as to everyone else. What is there to be envious about?

Ridiculous

I'm reading the story of Esther for Disciple. I've just started it, and already a few interesting plot elements struck me.

Queen Vashti refuses to come when King Ahasuerus calls her into his presence. So what does the king do?

First, he has to consult with his advisors. What does the law say?

Secondly, he is advised, after much conversation, to issue an law that the Queen is never to come into his presence again. Does it strike anyone as odd that he forbids her from doing what she refused to do? Hmmm.

And I really laughed at the last verse in chapter 1:

...he sent letters to all the royal provinces, to every province in its own script and to every people in its own language, declaring that every man should be master in his own house."

Just strikes me as funny. And ridiculous.

The whole first chapter is ridiculous. He has to consult advisors to determine how to deal with his wife? And everyone is so afraid that Vashti's act of defiance will encourage other women to defy their husbands. So worried that they forbid her from doing what she has refused to do, and then declare that men shall be master in their own houses.

Right.

Relationship

I read the following line in my Disciple readings last week (Isaiah 65:24):

Before they call I will answer, while they are yet speaking I will hear.

And then today in Matthew (6:7-8):

‘When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. 8Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

Think of relationship you are in, where you have known the person for a very long time. Can't you almost predict what the other person will say before he/she says it? That is what these verses remind me of.

God loves us with a grace so strong that it chances us. It is a love that knows what we need before we can articulate it. And it is a relationship so close that we can predict each others words and needs before they are expressed.

God loves us.

Spring is Coming

I am tired of snow. I am tired of winter. I am sick of worrying about whether we need to park at the bottom of the our hill because we can't drive down it when the roads are horrifically slick -- or up it. I'm more than ready to stop walking up the hill after we park at the bottom. I'm ready for the kids to go to school everyday, instead of two days out of the week.

I am ready ready READY for spring to come.

Sometimes, on a snowy day, when I look outside, and all I can see is the snow and the necessity of shoveling and the covered roads, it seems as if spring will NEVER come.

Tonight in Disciple class, we talked about apocalyptic writing in Daniel and Revelation -- both writings meant for an audience that was experiencing persecution. The apocalyptic writing was meant to encourage the hearers, assuring them that God was in control and that better times were coming.

It's a strange analogy, I know, but I wonder if apocalyptic writing serves the purpose of reminding us that spring is coming -- I wonder if the purpose was to remind those who could not see the possibility of justice and an end of persecution that "spring was coming" -- God is in control, and these terrible times will pass away.

Random Thoughts

Random thoughts tonight:

• We had a lesson in Sunday school this week about prayer. I worry that my comments might have made light of people's disappointments in prayer. I don't think prayer is a request/answer kind of transaction, and I hope my comments weren't perceived as a "everything goes as God has planned it to go." I don't think that at all. I think life sometimes goes in a way God wouldn't have planned it. I do think, however, that God invites us into relationship and that prayer is one way he gets close.
• I went to a meeting at my son's Middle School tonight. It's the same building where I attended Junior High. I never get over the weirdness of that kind of experience.
• Our dog practically glues herself to me in the winter. I think she gets cold. I get cold, too, if I had go outside in the snow to go to the bathroom.
• I'm working toward certification as a Certified Lay Minister. I think I'm making it too complicated.
• Last week we read through much of the book of Proverbs in Disciple class. The Proverbs are very hard to read straight through. I think it might be the only book of the Bible that might be easier to read out of context.
• This week in Disciple in the book of Job. I haven't started it yet, but I imagine I'll still fuss about the first couple of chapters.

Image: Pine tree in snow as we walked off the hill Sunday morning to get to the car. I'm ready for spring.

The Signs

We were traveling last week around the northern part of the state. The visit began a little bit off when the place we had planned to eat didn't serve lunch. No problem; we just went back down the interstate to another restaurant.

It was the beginning of two days of backtracking.

We went down dead end roads, ignoring the signs. Often, we could see where we needed to be, but couldn't get there -- it would be across the valley, on the other side of the interstate, or across a bridge that wasn't there. We passed by where we needed to be, missing it.

Eventually, we turned on the GPS, asked for directions, or just found various destinations with luck.

How often do we do that in our lives? Do we wander around, seeing where we need to be, but not knowing how to get there? Do we ignore the warning signs? Are we often separated from where we need to be by obstacles that we cannot cross?

How often do we forget to pray? To listen for God? How often do we ignore God's guidance? Wouldn't we reach our goals -- God's goals for us -- if we were to open our eyes? Open our hearts for God?

Edited to add: I was reading for Disciple this evening and found this verse: Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. (Proverbs 3:5). I think it applies.

Image: Window and pew at Suncrest UMC, Morgantown

Suffering Servant

Yesterday, I read chapters 51-53 of Isaiah for my Disciple class. The end of chapter 52 and the beginning of chapter 53 is one of the Servant Songs. There are four (I think) Servant Songs in Isaiah. This is the last and longest one.

The notes in my Bible say that this one is unusual because it is about vicarious suffering. There are other places in the prophetic writings where suffering is described, but in this passage, the description is about someone who suffers in place of someone else.

As Christians, that resonates with us. My Bible's notes cautioned against only reading the passage from the view of a Christian. Consider it from the perspective of the person to whom it was written -- the Jews in exile.

The notes suggested that God was telling Israel and Judah that their suffering in exile would lead to the redemption of the nations.

That aspect of Isaiah puts another dimension on the idea of punishment in exile that I discussed earlier this week.

Comments on Comments

While I am always grateful for comments, I don't usually mention them in posts -- for no reason really; it's just not a habit I've developed. I read them all, and think about them, though.

I thought today, though, since there were three comments on yesterday's post, I would mention them today.

bthomas said...
First of all recognize that one does not read poetry through a literal lens. Isaiah is using language to stress that the punishment of Israel's sin was complete and finished.

Also consider that punishment is the consequence of sin. It is not simply that sin produces negative consequences. It is that sin is judged and punished in the same way that faithfulness is rewarded.

I do, of course, realize that the poetry is not meant to be taken literally. I had just finished reading a week of Consequence scriptures for Disciple. The first few verses of this week's Comfort scriptures sent me over the edge with the double potion of punishment. I had been struggling with the idea of punishment last week, and here it was again. It wasn't the literally quantifying of the punishment; it was the whole of idea of it in the first place.

I don't have an image of a God who watches our behavior and then hands out rewards and punishments for it. My image of God is one who is holding out the graceful reward of salvation to all of us, crying out for us to accept it. We are hard-headed and stubborn, and we ignore him. The consequences and rewards are not really actions of God himself, but results of our own actions.

I do realize there is a difference between consequences and punishment. I think the consequences of our own sin are worse than any punishment God would offer. The bad things that happen to us are usually a result of what we have done to ourselves. God would not choose it for us.

John Meunier said...

Word studies may not help, but the etymology of the word "punishment" goes back to ideas of payment of fines or atonement for wrongs. Here is the etymoogy.

It may not have meant the same to us. Punishment was the price paid for wrongs done, not a form of suffering with only incidental connection to the error that leads to it.

I do like to look at etymology (and thanks for the link to the Online Etymology dictionary -- cool). Seeing punishment as price paid for wrongs done does help me to align it in my mind -- especially the word "atonement." I can then link it to the idea of Christ atoning for our sins.

bob said...

I believe the Jewish people would equate punishment with love (Spare the rod spoil the child). Therefore double the punishment equals double the love.

Thinking about my own kids, I don't that in the midst of punishment, they would see it as love. I do understand the link, though.

I think about raising children. I know, from reading about it, that there were very good outcomes to the exile. Monotheism, for example. Synagogue practices. God is good out that -- bringing forth blessings from pain. The best explanation I've heard for the idea of punishment in the Old Testament is that God removed his protection from the people for a time and allowed negative consequences to happen. It's not really biblical in the case of the exile, however.

I'm not sure this is a case of "spare the rod and spoil the child." I think in this period of time God is working to establish a seed -- a chosen people who would bless the rest of the world, recovering it from the sin of Eden. It had to succeed. In order for the plan to continue, the exile was necessary. It isn't what God would have chosen -- not his ultimate will. He would have chosen for his people to be faithful and obedient, but they were far from that. There were many times in the story of Judah that God delayed what was becoming inevitable. I wonder if he was hoping for his people to repent, to change direction, to make what had to happen unnecessary. I don't hear punishment in that, but a last ditch effort for redemption.

Well, maybe not last ditch. God made the ultimate sacrifice a few hundred years later.

Image: Trees on the way to Burlington, WV last month.