Readings: Psalm 56 (NRSV, The Message); 1 Kings 17:8-16 (NRSV, The Message); 1 Corinthians 2:6-16 (NRSV, The Message)

You’ve kept track of my every toss and turn
through the sleepless nights,
Each tear entered in your ledger,
each ache written in your book.      Psalm 56:8 (The Message)

And she went right off and did it, did just as Elijah asked. And it turned out as he said—daily food for her and her family. The jar of meal didn’t run out and the bottle of oil didn’t become empty: God’s promise fulfilled to the letter, exactly as Elijah had delivered it!       1 Kings 17:15-16 (The Message)

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 doomed to perish. But we speak God’s wisdom, secret and hidden, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written,
‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
   nor the human heart conceived,
what God has prepared for those who love him’…     2 Corinthians 2:6-9 (NRSV)

It is easy to see themes from yesterday’s lectionary passages echoed in today’s scripture. The story of Elijah and the widow is the story Jesus referenced as he was speaking at the synagogue in Nazareth.

The passage from Corinthians speaks to the wisdom of God. Paul describes it as secret. I don’t know how secret it is. It lays near the top of so much of the scripture passages we read. I think ignored might be a better term. Why can we not accept that “eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived” what God has prepared for us? What keeps us from emptying ourselves so that our oil jar never empties?

Readings: Psalm 71:1-6 (NRSV, The Message); 2 Chronicles 35:20-27 (NRSV, The Message);  Acts 19:1-10 (NRSV, The Message)

Be a guest room where I can retreat;
            you said your door was always open!         Psalm 71:3 (The Message)

The archers shot King Josiah; and the king said to his servants, ‘Take me away, for I am badly wounded.’                   2 Chronicles 35:23 (NRSV)

…you’re ready now for the real thing, for Jesus.        Acts 19:4b (The Message)

The story of Josiah is still sinking in with me. It was s story with which I was unfamiliar. In yesterday’s reading, Josiah was ridding Judah of its idols and shrines. Today, he is opposing an army sent by God and dies. I went back and read the scripture in between yesterday and today, looking for how Josiah must have screwed up because that’s how the stories of the kings usually go  - king follows God, king is blessed; king turns back on God, king gruesomely slaughtered in battle.

But that isn’t what happens in Josiah’s story. Josiah continues to follow God, continues to reinstitute the religious traditions of Israel. He reads the scripture, he celebrates Passover.

God tells him, “You have done well Josiah, I am pleased with you, but your nation is wicked I will punish them.” God’s only consolation to Josiah is that he will die and won’t be around to see the worst of it.

So it troubles me this passage. Did Josiah fail? His “ministry” certainly wasn’t “successful.” The people he led were destroyed. I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

While I ponder the story today, I will also rest in the image of God as “a guest room where I can retreat” from the Psalm.

Prayer

God, I don’t always understand or like the stories told about you. Yet, I trust you. Where else do I have to turn?

Readings: Psalm 71:1-6 (NRSV, The Message); 2 Chronicles 34:1-7 (NRSV, The Message);  Acts 10:44-48 (NRSV, The Message)

Be to me a rock of refuge,
   a strong fortress, to save me,
   for you are my rock and my fortress.        Psalm 71:3 (NRSV)

For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was still a boy, he began to seek the God of his ancestor David, and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the sacred poles, and the carved and the cast images.                                              2 Chronicles 34:3 (NRSV)

Then Peter said, “Do I hear any objections to baptizing these friends with water? They’ve received the Holy Spirit exactly as we did.” Hearing no objections, he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.                                                         Acts 10:47-48 (The Message)

Josiah became king at 8. At 16, he purged the nation of all religious objects and practices besides the worship of the one, true God. There are times in our lives, spiritual or otherwise, where we have to clean house and focus. It is easy for things to accumulate and for us to forget who we are and where we are going. It becomes important for us to get rid of the idols and trinkets and extraneous altars, and go back to worshipping the one true God.

However, Peter reminds us there are also seasons where we are to reevaluate our narrowness. In the glorious Spirit-filled days of the early church, it was becoming obvious that God was beginning to move outside of the ways the early believers knew. The new movement wouldn’t be just for the “Jewish insiders,” but also for the “non-Jewish ‘outsiders’” (as Eugene Peterson paraphrases in The Message).

These two scriptures juxtaposed reminds me of the need to follow God with all my heart, but to hold my narrow beliefs loosely, always willing to question, always watching to see how God may move in ways I don’t expect.

Prayer

God, help me keep my eyes on You, valuing my relationship with you more than my beliefs about you.

Readings: Psalm 119:89-96 (NRSV, The Message);  Jeremiah 36:27-32 (NRSV, The Message); Luke 4:38-44 (NRSV, The Message)

And send this personal message to Jehoiakim king of Judah: ‘God says, You had the gall to burn this scroll…            Jeremiah 36:29 (The Message)

The Lord exists for ever;
your word is firmly fixed in heaven.   Psalm 119:89 (NRSV)

King Jehoiakim didn’t like Jeremiah’s prophecy so he threw the scroll on which it was written into the fire – as if that would make it go away! Jeremiah just dictated again, along with some pretty hefty consequences for the house of Jehoiakim.

We do not get to ignore the word of God. Here is why: the word of God, for us found in scripture, rightly interpreted contains spiritual principles, spiritual laws as real as physical laws such as gravity. They aren’t spiritual laws because they are in the Bible. They are in the Bible because they are observable spiritual laws. And just like the law of gravity, if one chooses to be break them, that one runs the risk of being broken upon them.

Prayer

Continue to teach me your ways, oh God. Continue to reveal you heaven-fixed word to me.

Readings: Psalm 119:89-96 (NRSV, The Message);  Jeremiah 36:11-26 (NRSV, The Message);  2 Corinthians 7:2-12 (NRSV, The Message)

And they said to him, ‘Sit down and read it to us.’ So Baruch read it to them.When they heard all the words, they turned to one another in alarm, and said to Baruch, ‘We certainly must report all these words to the king.’Then they questioned Baruch, ‘Tell us now, how did you write all these words? Was it at his dictation?’ Baruch answered them, ‘He dictated all these words to me, and I wrote them with ink on the scroll.’ Then the officials said to Baruch, ‘Go and hide, you and Jeremiah, and let no one know where you are.’               Jeremiah 36:15-19 (NRSV)

Distress that drives us to God does that. It turns us around. It gets us back in the way of salvation. We never regret that kind of pain. But those who let distress drive them away from God are full of regrets, end up on a deathbed of regrets.

And now, isn’t it wonderful all the ways in which this distress has goaded you closer to God? You’re more alive, more concerned, more sensitive, more reverent, more human, more passionate, more responsible. Looked at from any angle, you’ve come out of this with purity of heart. And that is what I was hoping for in the first place when I wrote the letter. My primary concern was not for the one who did the wrong or even the one wronged, but for you—that you would realize and act upon the deep, deep ties between us before God. That’s what happened—and we felt just great.                     2 Corinthians 7:2-12 (The Message)

The scripture from Jeremiah once again illuminates the power of scripture. The story is worth reading.

From 2 Corinthians we are given a wonderful lesson on distress. There are two kinds according to Paul, or maybe one kind and two responses. Is our distress driving us closer to God or away from God? If in my distress I am driven to God it can produce – wow, look at all this – concern, passion, vitality, reverence, responsibility. I almost, almost want to say, “Bring it on!”

Prayer

God, if I encounter distress today – wait, who am I kidding? - When I encounter distress today, may I be driven farther toward you, that I may continue to be purified and enlivened. Amen.

Readings: Psalm 119:89-96 (NRSV, The Message);  Jeremiah 36:1-10 (NRSV, The Message); 1 Corinthians 14:1-12 (NRSV, The Message)

The wicked lie in ambush to destroy me,
but I’m only concerned with your plans for me.
I see the limits to everything human,
but the horizons can’t contain your commands!    Psalm 119:95-96 (The Message)

Go after a life of love as if your life depended on it—because it does. Give yourselves to the gifts God gives you. Most of all, try to proclaim his truth….Since you’re so eager to participate in what God is doing, why don’t you concentrate on doing what helps everyone in the church?   1 Corinthians 14:1,12 (The Message)

As a reminder, the daily Revised Common Lectionary readings are based on the Sunday lectionary. Thursday – Saturday’s readings help us prepare for Sunday while Monday – Wednesday’s readings help us reflect and digest what we experienced in worship on Sunday.

The themes from this Sunday are apparent in today’s readings. Two of the components of life lived as a follower of Jesus are on full display. First, the power of scripture in Psalm 119, which is a multi-stanza song in praise of God’s word, and in Jeremiah, which relates another instance from the prophetical writings where scripture is read to a community and the people respond.

In Corinthians, Paul continues to remind his readers that community is an essential element of the Jesus-following life (I have a temporary moratorium on using the word “Christian”). Here he is specifically referring to the practice of speaking in tongues, an ecstatic prayer language. He says the practice is fine and it is useful for building ourselves up and communing with God. However, he reminds the reader that what is at least equally important is using our gifts to encourage and build one another up, to “go after a life of love as if our lives depended on it.”

We don’t speak in tongues much in our tradition, but the same truth could be applied to any of our practices. Scripture interpretation, meditation, prayer life, etc. are all important, even necessary for spiritual life, but if I am practicing those to the exclusion or detriment of the practice of community, of loving others, then I may need to reevaluate.

Prayer

Thank you God, for placing me in a supportive church community, continue to strengthen me to do my part in loving them and speaking truth to them.

Readings: Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10 (NRSV, The Message); Psalm 19 (NRSV, The Message); 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a (NRSV, The Message); Luke 4:14-21 (NRSV, The Message)

So they read from the book, from the law of God, with interpretation. They gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.         Nehemiah 8:8 (NRSV)

You can easily enough see how this kind of thing works by looking no further than your own body. Your body has many parts—limbs, organs, cells—but no matter how many parts you can name, you’re still one body. It’s exactly the same with Christ. By means of his one Spirit, we all said good-bye to our partial and piecemeal lives. We each used to independently call our own shots, but then we entered into a large and integrated life in which he has the final say in everything. (This is what we proclaimed in word and action when we were baptized.) Each of us is now a part of his resurrection body, refreshed and sustained at one fountain—his Spirit—where we all come to drink. The old labels we once used to identify ourselves—labels like Jew or Greek, slave or free—are no longer useful. We need something larger, more comprehensive.            1 Corinthians 12:12-13 (The Message)

Then he began to say to them, ‘Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’              Luke 4:21 (NRSV)

My word (or actually God’s word, I suppose), we could spend all week in these rich passages of scripture. We will engage the Gospel reading (Luke) this morning in worship so we’ll set that aside for now (you can also read a great insight by Rev. Donna Schaper here.)

In the letter to the Corinthians, as he does in other places, Paul reminds the reader that  we are in this together. If I am following Christ, it isn’t about me – it is about us. I can’t explain it as well as Eugene Peterson paraphrases it in The Message so make sure your read it at the link above.

What captured me the most this morning is the passage from Nehemiah. The people of Israel are standing (from morning until midday!). Ezra blows the dust off the scroll and reads and explains and the people are moved to tears. Scripture is so powerful, so transformative. In the Gospel reading, Jesus takes a 700-year-old text and reads it and claims it. “This is real,” he seems to be saying, “it is fulfilled today in your hearing!” The power, the magic of scripture is that it is always fulfilled in our hearing. It isn’t a history book, it is the living word. What a privilege, what a joy to have it available to us!

Prayer

Living God, thank you for speaking to us in your word. Open our hearts to listen.

Readings:  Psalm 19 (NRSV, The Message);  Nehemiah 5:1-13 (NRSV, The Message);  Luke 2:39-52 (NRSV, The Message)

After thinking it over, I brought charges against the nobles and the officials; I said to them, ‘You are all taking interest from your own people.’ And I called a great assembly to deal with them, and said to them, ‘As far as we were able, we have bought back our Jewish kindred who had been sold to other nations; but now you are selling your own kin, who must then be bought back by us!’ They were silent, and could not find a word to say.            Nehemiah 5:8-7 (NRSV)

Luke 2:39-52 is the story of Jesus as a boy in the temple, the only story we are told of Jesus’ childhood that we are told in the canonical Gospels. It seem to be preparing us for tomorrow’s worship scripture where Jesus is in the synagogue teaching.

This story from Nehemiah was new to (or forgotten by) me. Nehemiah was the leader of a group of Israelites who returned to the city of Jerusalem to repair the walls of the city. In this story, Nehemiah is dealing with certain Israelites who were taking advantage of their own people.

Whether we take this as an example of people taken advantage of people in their own faith community or people taking advantage of their own compatriots (for Israelites it would have been both), I think is is a stunning reminder to all of us that our calling is to ease the journey of those around us, not make it more difficult.

As a nation, we need in many ways to “rebuild our walls.” We know that, yet we in so many ways unconsciously and consciously, take advantage of the person working next to us on the wall.

In what ways to we take advantage of our fellow builders? In what ways could we ease their burdens?

Prayer

God, give me a vision of what can be rebuilt and restored in our world, and allow me to work it with people who will lift me as I lift them.

Readings: Psalm 19 (NRSV, The Message);  Nehemiah 2:1-10 (NRSV, The Message); Romans 12:1-8 (NRSV, The Message)

And the king granted me what I asked, for the gracious hand of my God was upon me. Nehemiah 2:8b (NRSV)

So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.        Romans 12:1-2 (The Message)

I noticed in the passage from Nehemiah his confidence in asking the king for what he desired. Nehemiah was the Jewish cup bearer to the Persian king. Nehemiah was away from his homeland and wanted to return to rebuild his destroyed city. It was quite a brazen request, but Nehemiah made it, and the king said, “Yes.” Nehemiah interprets the affirmative response to the fact that “God’s hand was upon him.”

When we have the confidence of God’s hand upon us, when we “fix our attention on God” and when, as a result, “we are changed from the inside out” (to use Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase of Romans 12) there is an assurance that we are asking for the right things and that we will receive them.

Have you ever asked for something when you felt the hand of God was upon you? What was the result?

Prayer

God, I want to continue to be transformed from the inside out, continue to mature in you, so I can live in confidence, knowing what to ask for.

Readings: Psalm 19 (NRSV, The Message); Isaiah 61:1-7 (NRSV, The Message); Romans 7:1-6 (NRSV, The Message)

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
   be acceptable to you,
   O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.       Psalm 19:14 (NRSV)

But now that we’re no longer shackled to that domineering mate of sin, and out from under all those oppressive regulations and fine print, we’re free to live a new life in the freedom of God.            Romans 7:6 (The Message)

These are three great passages this morning. Psalm 19:14 will be prayed by thousands of pastors this Sunday, as it is every Sunday, before those pastors begin their sermons. How do we know our meditations are acceptable to God. I can (at least a good 90% of the time) control the words of my mouth, but the meditations of my heart?

For me, this is where spiritual practices come in. When I spend time in scripture, when I spend time in prayer, especially centering prayer, I sense God working in my heart, on my heart. I change from the inside out. That is the process that Paul is speaking of in Romans 7-8 (a bottomless theological well!) As I am changed from the inside, all the way to the level of the very meditations of my heart, I no longer am bound by the rules, by the law. I can live in the freedom of God.

Prayer

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you…