death
Created for Fellowship
By Linda Rex
April 7, 2024, 2nd Sunday in Easter—Have you ever wished that you could move away to a remote island away from all the people in the world, and be by yourself? The thought of not having to cope with and sort through the tangled web of relational issues is an attractive one, though in reality, running away in this manner will not guarantee freedom from stress and difficulty.
The reason is that we cannot escape from ourselves. Often our issues with coping and sorting through our difficult circumstances and relationships are grounded in our own faulty and flawed ways of relating, thinking, responding, and acting. We often do not realize the impact we have on those around us, and don’t see how we are influencing or affecting the people closest to us.
In our New Testament reading for this Sunday, 1 John 1:1–2:2, the apostle John explains that there are two ways in which we walk as human beings—in the light or in the darkness, in the truth or in a lie, in life or in death. The reality is that everyone of us is fully capable of both at any moment in our lives, even after we have come to faith in Jesus Christ. Coming to faith in Christ enables us to begin to live into the truth of who we are in him, in his resurrected glory in face-to-face fellowship with his Father in the Spirit. But it does not guarantee that in this life we will never sin, or miss the mark of our true humanity or design.
John is clear about who the Source of our life, our truth, our fellowship with God and one another is—Jesus Christ. This is because we find in Jesus what it means to be truly human. We find that this is the One who eternally existed in the Godhead, and yet, took on our human flesh with all of its inherent weaknesses, frailties, and propensity to sin, in order to cleanse it and to turn it back into right relationship with God. The eternal life we long for—to know the Father and him whom he sent—is found only in Jesus Christ, for he took our flesh through death into the grave, and from there brought us up into new life.
We need to readjust our thinking when it comes to God, and quit focusing on getting everything right according to a particular standard we have come up with. Rather, our humanity and our way of existing finds its definition in the person of Jesus Christ. We quit being self-focused, even in seeing our faults and failures, and turn to Jesus and keep our eyes on him. Jesus Christ defines us—and he has made us right with God, bringing us up in to face-to-face union and communion with his Father in the Spirit. Trust in this reality—put your faith in him and not in anything else. And begin to participate in this reality in a real way—through fellowship with God and with others in the Spirit.
To walk in any other way than in the way Jesus walks is to walk in darkness or to live a lie. This is because there is no other way to live other than that which Jesus lives even now in the presence of his Father in the Spirit—he is the perfected human, worshiping his Father in Spirit and in truth. The One through whom and by whom all was created, has taken on our human flesh, lived our life, died our death, and risen again—bringing our glorified, resurrected human flesh into union and communion with his Father in the Spirit. It is Jesus who offers our worship and prayer to his Father, and who gives us all the Father has for us in the Spirit.
There is only one way to live, and that is, to live “in Christ”. The reality is that every one of us, whether a believer in Christ or not, is going to fall short, to fail to live into the truth of who we are in Christ. That’s why it’s all up to Jesus and not up to us, to make sure we are growing and becoming all that God has created us to be. It is Jesus, the Judge and the One judged on the cross, who will ultimately decide our eternal fate. The issue now is fellowship—participating in the face-to-face union and communion with God through Christ in the Spirit right now and on into eternity. Will we live in the truth of this union and communion, and fully participate in Christ, in our new life in him? Or will we keep on living in denial of this reality, in a stubborn refusal to live in the Light, to walk in the truth of our existence? Will we insist on our own way, our own will, in spite of all Jesus has done to include us in God’s life and love?
Lord, we are so often clueless when it comes to relationship and living in healthy ways with other human beings. And we certainly have no ability to live in right relationship with you, God. Thank you for all you have done for us, Jesus, and all you are doing now, and will do to transform, heal, and restore us. Grant us the grace to die in your death that we might live in your eternal life, now and forever, as our heavenly Father’s beloved children in the Spirit. Amen.
“What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life—and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us—what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete. This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us. My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.” 1 John 1:1–2:2 NASB
“… But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples were saying to him, ‘We have seen the Lord!’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.’ After eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Then He said to Thomas, ‘Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing.’ Thomas answered and said to Him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.’ Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.” John 20:19–31 NASB
“And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them. And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all. For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales and lay them at the apostles’ feet, and they would be distributed to each as any had need.” Acts 4:32–35 NASB
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Witnesses Chosen by God
By Linda Rex
March 31, 2024, Resurrection Day or Easter Sunday—We have reached the end of Holy Week, and are facing with a mixture of amazement and joy the empty tomb of Jesus Christ. Peter and John, when they hear the news, run to see if what they are told is true, and only John sees the graveclothes and believes. Peter is a little more reticent (John 20:1–18).
We find Peter, a little later on, going fishing in the Sea of Galilee with some of the disciples. Soon he is facing another futile night of fishing, only to catch more fish than they can handle when this mysterious person on the shore suggests they throw their nets off the other side of the boat. Peter, when he realizes this is Jesus, jumps out of the boat to meet him on the beach.
Little did Peter realize that Jesus’ affirmation of his call to ministry would involve such a transformational encounter as he had later on at Simon the Tanner’s house. In our passage for today, Acts 10:34–43, we find ourselves in the midst of a story where Peter is preaching the gospel to a group of people in Cornelius’ home. Cornelius is a centurion of the Italian cohort, and for Peter to be in his home meant that he was violating every Jewish restriction regarding table fellowship with Gentiles.
But Peter was recalling his vision he had at Simon’s house, when the Lord had explicitly told him to go with the men Cornelius had sent. It was the first time that Peter began to understand that table fellowship with Gentiles did not require that they become Jews first. No, Peter saw that God did not show partiality to anyone. Indeed, people from every nation could have a relationship with God simply because of Jesus.
Peter saw that he and his fellow disciples had been chosen for the purpose of being witnesses to all Jesus had done while he was on earth. Jesus Christ was Lord of all, Peter proclaimed, and was anointed by God (i.e. was the Messiah) and empowered to heal people and deliver them from demonic oppression. When Peter recalled the many ways in which Jesus reached out to heal and deliver people, he surely must have remembered the healing of the Canaanite woman’s daughter, the healing of the centurion’s child, and the many other occasions where Jesus showed kindness to those who were non-Jews or Gentiles, as well as eating and drinking with those whom the religious leaders believed were the untouchables.
How excited Cornelius and his household must have been when Peter began to preach that day, to tell of the impartiality of God and his heart of compassion for those who were seeking his face! As Peter spoke, the Spirit of God came upon those who were listening, confirming what he knew in his heart was true—that a person did not need to become a Jew before being accepted and forgiven by God. No, indeed, it is all of grace. It is a gift from God through Jesus our Lord.
Our table fellowship is based in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and we participate by faith. Our baptism and our sharing in communion acknowledge what the Spirit does in uniting us with Christ, enabling us to sharing in Jesus’ own face-to-face relationship with the Father in the Spirit.
The question for us today is whether there are any persons we exclude from the table of fellowship because they don’t measure up to our personal standards of inclusion. Is Jesus Christ the sole and central meeting place in all our relationships? Are we recognizing and acknowledging, and sharing with others our heavenly Father’s presence through Jesus by the Spirit in us and with us and through us? What are some ways we can participate with Jesus in his ongoing ministry of healing and deliverance as we go about our everyday lives? What are some ways we can include others we normally would not include in our table fellowship or spiritual community?
The empty tomb has implications for our spiritual life and our life in community. The empty tomb means that things aren’t the way they used to be. The empty tomb means a paradigm shift in which we may need to change the way we see ourselves and see others, and the way we treat those around us. Are we open to what God might want us to do differently?
Heavenly Father, forgive us for all the ways we create divisions between ourselves and others. Forgive us for how, so often, we place ourselves above others or try to push them down so we can rise. Forgive us, too, Lord, for all the ways we have hurt people by our prejudices, our criticisms, our condemnations, and our judgmental attitudes. We receive in humble gratitude, the grace that is ours in Jesus, and ask that we might ever offer it to others in love and service, empowered by your heavenly Spirit. Amen.
“Opening his mouth, Peter said: ‘I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him. The word which He sent to the sons of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ (He is Lord of all)—you yourselves know the thing which took place throughout all Judea, starting from Galilee, after the baptism which John proclaimed. You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. We are witnesses of all the things He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They also put Him to death by hanging Him on a cross. God raised Him up on the third day and granted that He become visible, not to all the people, but to witnesses who were chosen beforehand by God, that is, to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. And He ordered us to preach to the people, and solemnly to testify that this is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead. Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.” Acts 10:34–43 NASB
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The Wisdom of Christ’s Cross
By Linda Rex
March 3, 2024, 3rd Sunday in Preparation for Easter or Lent—Do you believe that people are able to change? I don’t mean just losing ten pounds or learning to drive a car. What I mean is, are people truly able to experience a significant life-changing transformation such as that of Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles Dicken’s story, A Christmas Carol?
One of the things I have heard over the years is people saying to me, “That’s just the way he is. He’ll always be like that.” Once a person is put in a particular box, some people refuse to consider the possibility that perhaps, this person may at some point in their life experience an epiphany or a revelation that so transforms their outlook and way of being, that they begin to form new values, new behaviors, and new goals and ambitions. The person begins to change significantly, much to the surprise of those around them. Sometimes people don’t like this change and begin to oppose it, resisting even good changes because the person is leaving behind their personal “normal,” and this makes those around the person feel uncomfortable.
The thing is, that Jesus came to us for this very reason. He came to facilitate our transformation and renewal, as those who were meant to be image-bearers of Christ who live in right relationship with God and others. In the New Testament reading for this Sunday, 1 Corinthians 1:18–25, the apostle Paul explains that apart from God’s self-revelation in Jesus Christ, no human being can ever come to know God and have a right relationship with him. Humans have for millennia attempted to seek God out, to understand and worship him, but they all failed to grasp the depths of God’s love and grace. Humans have often relied upon do-it-yourself methods of salvation, and have tended to worship the things of our own hands rather than loving the God who loves us so much, he did not want to be God without us, and so came to us to bring us home to himself.
The apostle Paul shows us that human philosophy and reason do not enable us to truly know God for who he really is. This is something God reveals himself in his own way, through Jesus in his life, death and resurrection. The wisdom and power of God is found in a crucified Christ, a Suffering Servant Messiah, a humble God in weak human flesh, through whom Jesus died and rose again, rather than in a powerful human sovereign over a temporary human kingdom. The wisdom and power of God is found in our crucified Christ—in death there is new life, because of Jesus! What we view as foolish, God views as wise. What we view as weak, God views as dynamic and powerful.
As the New Testament reading for this Sunday, John 2:13–22, shows, God’s great wisdom was that he would take on human flesh and in the process of doing so, drive out (as he drove out the animals and cleansed the temple) all of that which gets in the way of our face-to-face relationship with his Father in the Spirit. As human beings, we often clutter up our inner selves, as well as our outer lives, with a transactional mentality, a user and abuser method of relationship, and tend toward a self-absorbed and self-centered way of being. It is significant that in John’s gospel, Jesus forms a type of “scourge” as he empties out the temple, for before his crucifixion, he would experience an even more painful and dramatic scourging of his own flesh by the Roman soldiers. But his pre-crucifixion scourging, his death and resurrection were all apart of the process necessary to our salvation.
It is instructive that just as the Corinthians were focused on either receiving signs and miracles, or on the other hand, human wisdom and success, the ancient Jewish leaders in the temple wanted a sign from Jesus as proof that he had the authority to decide who could be in the temple and who couldn’t. Jesus didn’t give these leaders the satisfaction of a straight answer, but pointed them to his upcoming death and resurrection. He indicated that the place of worship, the center of our human encounters with God, would no longer be a building or a particular worship system, but would be centered in Jesus Christ.
Christ is now our place of worship, and he has forged within our human flesh through his life, death, and resurrection, the capacity for face-to-face union and communion with his Father in the Spirit. He has created, in our human flesh, a naos, or sanctuary, where we may through him, worship God in Spirit and in truth. As we trust in and participate in this spiritual reality, we experience renewal and transformation. As long as we are in this human flesh, we will still struggle and fall short of our true identity in Christ, but God’s love for us and his grace toward us is not altered by our failures and shortcomings. Rather, he reaches out compassionately, and continues to draw us to himself through Jesus and in his Spirit. And that is the good, good news!
Heavenly Father, thank you for drawing us to yourself, and for doing all that is needed through your Son and in the Spirit so we might live now and forever in right relationship with you and one another. Thank you, Jesus, for so powerfully driving out evil, sin, and death through your humility and sacrificial self-offering. Lord, grant us the grace to allow you to do whatever is necessary by your Spirit to cleanse us, fill us with your presence and your love, so we may be poured out in loving service and giving to others, just as you were for us. In your name, amen.
“For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the cleverness of the clever I will set aside.’ Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” 1 Corinthians 1:18–25 NASB
“The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And He found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables; and to those who were selling the doves He said, ‘Take these things away; stop making My Father’s house a place of business.’ His disciples remembered that it was written, ‘zeal for Your house will consume me.’ The Jews then said to Him, ‘What sign do You show us as your authority for doing these things?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’ The Jews then said, ‘It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?’ But He was speaking of the temple of His body. So when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He said this; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken.” John 2:13–22 NASB
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Bringing Life to the Dead
By Linda Rex
February 25, 2024, 2nd Sunday in Preparation for Easter or Lent—In my current studies with Grace Communion Seminary, one of my assignments was to read and write a reaction paper on the book Transformed by Truth by Joe Tkach. Having read this book years ago, it was interesting to see all the little nuances I had missed in the first reading, and to realize anew how profound the change has been in my life since the events of the 1990’s in my denomination.
So much of my early years were focused on trying to get everything exactly right so I could receive God’s blessing and his love. There was a realization that when I sinned (which seemed to be very often, especially with all the rules I thought I needed to keep) that I was under God’s wrath, due to be corrected, punished, or worse. Every little thing came under scrutiny—what I wore on Sabbath, what I did or did not do on Sabbath or holy days, what I ate or did not eat, what I read or didn’t read—to the point that I was crushed under the realization of how awful a person I was. I believed I was a failure and only worthy of rejection and condemnation.
I am so grateful that in God’s mercy, he brought me to grace, to the Lord Jesus Christ, into a saving relationship which has transformed and healed me and my life. I am still dealing with the consequences of so many years lived in a legalistic, life-draining environment, but now I have a closer walk with the Lord where every moment can be a life-giving conversation with him through the Spirit and an ongoing experience of love and grace.
In our New Testament reading for today, Romans 4:13–25, the apostle Paul explains that the law brings wrath. Due to having given ourselves over to sin and evil, we as human beings were returning to the nothingness out of which we had been created. Death was our future, but Jesus Christ brought us up into life. It is so essential for us to understand who God is as the One who spoke into nothingness and created all things. Apart from God’s merciful intervention in our circumstances through the incarnation, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ, and his giving of his own Spirit, all God had created would have returned to the nothingness from which it came. This same God is the One who by his Son entered into this place, our death, and brought us eternal life. It is God who gives life, and this is a gift given to us, which we receive and participate in by faith in Christ.
The apostle Paul uses the story of Abraham and Sarah to illustrate this in another way. Abram and Sarai were well beyond the ability to have children. Abram’s body was as good as dead and Sarai’s womb was essentially dead and unable to bear children. There is no way, from a human standpoint, that conceiving and bearing a child was possible for them. But God came to them and said that he was changing Abram’s name to Abraham and Sarai’s name to Sarah—both new names pointing to the reality that one day they would be the father and mother of nations and peoples. In the place that was dead, God spoke life. And thereafter, as they addressed each other by their new names, they spoke that promise to one another (see Mirror Bible).
It took time, and a failed attempt through human means (Hagar and Ishmael), for Abraham and Sarah’s faith to grow. In time, they did have a son named Isaac, through whose lineage the Messiah eventually came. And from our Lord Jesus Christ have come many children of God, for he laid down his life for all, not just for his own people.
And this was the point Paul was making. It was not the law or the keeping of the law which saved the ancient Jewish people. And it is not the law or the keeping of the law which saves us. It is the Messiah who saves. He, as a descendant of Abraham and Sarah, is a fulfillment of all of the promises made to Abraham and Sarah. And, as the Son of God, he is the only one who could, and did, bring all of humanity back home into right relationship with God. It is Jesus’ own right relationship with his Father in the Spirit that every human being participates in, and we do that by faith, not by lawkeeping or works. We trust in Jesus’ perfect work, not our own perfect work. We allow his Spirit to live in and through us, and we find that we begin living life the way we were meant to live it—in righteousness, in right relationship with God and one another. We do not trust in our own righteousness, but in Jesus’ perfect righteousness, in his death and resurrection, and in his gift of the Spirit. It is his life in us that is life-changing, transformational, and healing. And in the end, God gets all the glory. Amen and hallelujah!
Thank you, Father, for all you have done to make us right with you through your Son and in your Spirit. Grant us the grace to turn away from our own futile human efforts to earn your love and acceptance, and instead, to simply trust in your love, to trust in your Son Jesus Christ and in his work in our place on our behalf. Enable us then to live the life you created us to live in the way you have determined—through Jesus Christ our Lord and by your Spirit. Amen.
“For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if those who are of the Law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise is nullified; for the Law brings about wrath, but where there is no law, there also is no violation. For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, (as it is written, ‘a father of many nations have I made you’) in the presence of Him whom he believed, even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist. In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, ‘so shall your descendants be.’ Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb; yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform. Therefore ‘it was also credited to him as righteousness.’ Now not for his sake only was it written that it was credited to him, but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, He who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.” Romans 4:13–25 NASB
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Made Alive in the Spirit
By Linda Rex
February 18, 2024, 1st Sunday in Preparation for Easter | Lent—There are ways in which every generation resembles that which existed before the flood story which we read in about in Genesis 6-9 and in other ancient records. Whatever we may believe about how and if the flood occurred, the important thing to remember is that all of this is part of God’s story, and is fulfilled in the life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ. In other words, when looking at these texts, we need to observe it through this lens—Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
When we do that, we see a glimpse of what Peter meant when he indicated that the event of the flood was in many ways a baptism, and that it teaches us about what it means to leave our old life behind and be immersed in Christ, as those who die with Christ and rise with Christ, and live new lives centered in Jesus’ own life with his Father in the Spirit.
In our New Testament reading for this Sunday, 1 Peter 3:18–22, the apostle Peter reminds his readers that Jesus “died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust” (NASB). In other translations, we read “the righteous for the unrighteous” (ESV, NRSV, NIV), which helps us to understand that Jesus, the only One in right relationship with his Father in the Spirit, died for every one of us, for we all have turned away from this face-to-face relationship with our God. The whole purpose for Jesus’ incarnational life—of becoming God in human flesh, living our life, dying our death, and rising again—was so that “He might bring us to God”. How beautiful is that?
When we read the flood story, then, we see a world drowning in sin, evil, and death, which desperately needs to be brought home to God. The Father’s heart is breaking at the sight of such destruction and ruin of all the glory he had given his creation, and he knows he has to do whatever it takes to free the world from its slavery to evil, sin, and death. So God immerses that world in water, to wash it and cleanse it, and bring it to a place where new life could emerge and once again fill the earth.
The only reason Noah and his family escaped this merciful inundation of the world was because Noah believed and obeyed God. He trusted in God’s word, that if he built the ark (large boat), filled it with animals as directed, and entered into it, he would be saved. It was not Noah’s efforts which saved him—imagine how difficult it would have been to build that large boat and save all those animals! No, it was God’s grace which saved Noah and his family. It was God’s love which enabled him to endure the floodwaters and emerge safely on the other side, to enter into the new, clean world.
In the same way, our human flesh has given itself over to evil, sin, and death, even though what God created was “very good”. Lost in our darkness, we are enslaved when we have been created for true freedom based in the love of God. No matter how hard we try, no matter what efforts we make, we cannot save ourselves. But God will not leave us in this place, for this was never his plan for us. We were created for relationship, for oneness with God and each other, to live in other-centered, self-giving love both now and forever.
So the Word of God, the Son of God, came and took on our human flesh, living the life we were meant to live, in right relationship with God and others. He was the truly righteous One, the Just One, living in our human flesh, so that he might bring us home to his Father. In Jesus, our human flesh was immersed in the divine life and love in such a way that he purified, cleansed and renewed all that we are. In living our life, dying our death, and rising again, Jesus made and is making all things new, and in his ascension, Jesus sent the Spirit so each and every person might participate in his new life. What Jesus did for all, by the Spirit we each can experience personally as we trust in his finished work.
Like Noah, we need to trust the Word of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, and do as he asks in order to fully experience the healing, cleansing flood of his Spirit, without it destroying us in the process. “Trust me,” he says. “Leave your old life behind. Turn, and get into the boat. The flood is coming.” Repent, and believe. Be baptized by the Spirit. Jesus, in his resurrected and glorified human flesh, now reigns over all, and is our intercessor and advocate with his Father in the Spirit. He prays for us and with us, and offers our worship, prayer, and praise to his Father on our behalf. He is our Lord and Savior. Trust him to rescue you from the flood of evil, sin, and death, and to immerse you the cleansing flood of his heavenly Spirit, receiving the gift of new life in him. And as a testimony to this amazing, glorious spiritual renewal, be baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Heavenly Father, we so desperately need the forgiveness you offer us in your Son Jesus Christ. Grant us the grace to turn away from all we have given ourselves over to which leads to evil, sin, and death. Grant us repentance and faith, and cleanse us by your Spirit. Immerse us the loving, living waters of your Holy Spirit, through Jesus our Lord. Amen.
“For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison, who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water. Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him.” 1 Peter 3:18–22 NASB
“[From Adam till Noah to Now.] Christ died once and for all, in order to conclusively separate you from a distorted identity. Thus, restored righteousness [shared likeness] triumphed beyond the reach of any identity that is not in sync with innocence and oneness, [righteousness bringing closure to unrighteousness]—in order that he might lead you-manity to be face to face with God; his body was murdered, but he was made alive in spirit. Thus, through the doorway of death, his spirit entered the very domain where those who died before were imprisoned. There, he announced his message. His audience included all who died in unbelief, in the days of Noah when he built the Ark. Jesus is the extension of the patience of God, who waited for mankind at a time when only 8 survived the flood. There is a new baptism. Immersed in his death and co-quickened in his resurrection, mankind once dead and drowned are now made alive and crowned. Jesus emptied whatever definition we have of hell, and came back with the trophies [humanity] and the keys [Isaiah 22:22]. Oh, what an insult it is to the entire gospel, to continue to preach a defeated devil and an empty hell, back into business.” 1 Peter 3:18–22 Mirror Bible
“In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. Immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opening, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him; and a voice came out of the heavens: ‘You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.’ Immediately the Spirit impelled Him to go out into the wilderness. And He was in the wilderness forty days being tempted by Satan; and He was with the wild beasts, and the angels were ministering to Him. Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’ ” Mark 1:9–15 NASB
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Power Clothed in Humility
By Linda Rex
November 26, 2023, Christ the King or Reign of Christ | After Pentecost—It seems as though a common thread in our political sphere today wherever we may live, is a thirst for power. To control the assets, policy, and people of a country or a company drives many to seek out positions of power, often with little regard for such virtues as integrity, compassion, courtesy or generosity. Very often, the code followed is that the ends justify the means, and for that reason, anything that works is what is done, even if it is at the expense of others. If you don’t move out of the way of such persons, you will be stepped on and crushed as they pursue the position of power they seek.
This pursuit of power is in huge contrast with the way in which God manifests his power. Daily, we experience the divine power at work as in hushed tones, the planets rotate on their axis in common orbit around their stars. The earth rotates continually from night into day, and the life manifest on the planet continues through each season of spring, summer, fall, and winter. We experience a sunrise or sunset that is clouded or glorious, without giving any thought as to how these even came about. We don’t hear God saying, “Look what I did today!” He just does it—one more time.
When we read the biblical story, we find a God who relentlessly pursues a relationship with creatures who resist and reject him. At any point God could have allowed the humans he created to fall back into the nothingness out of which he created them, but he hasn’t. Instead, God does the unthinkable, and in the person of a tiny infant, enters into our world to become an infant, birthed in humble circumstances, and laid in a manger.
We find God’s humility written all over the human existence of Jesus Christ. The angels didn’t keep silent when Jesus was born—they celebrated with a glorious announcement. But it wasn’t too long, and Jesus’ birth was smeared with blood as the babes in Bethlehem were slain by a power-hungry king, who feared for his throne. So Jesus, true and divine heir to the Judean throne, went into exile in Egypt, and then spent his childhood growing up in the backwater nowhere town of Nazareth. Called bastard by the locals and rejected by the religious leaders, Jesus was still the most powerful man on the planet. As God in human flesh, he would speak the word and people were healed, the blind could see, the deaf could hear, and the dead awakened.
Even so, the power manifest in Jesus Christ, which Paul describes in Ephesians 1:15–23, was not revealed until our Savior went all the way into the depths of an ignominious death on the cross. This was a death that the Jewish people of his day called accursed, and the Romans considered foolishness. This undeserved end to Jesus’ life, he fully embraced, even intentionally sought out, for the sole reason of exposing the depths of human depravity, sickness, and death to the light of his divine love.
How many people today would be willing to go to this extreme in their positions of power in order to lay down their lives for others? Who would be willing to give up completely, even to the point of death, their ability to control, manage, direct, or change things? Who would be willing to take this position of humility and shame for the sake of others?
The apostle Paul prays that the members in Ephesus would have the ability to comprehend the surpassing greatness of the power Jesus had for those of us who believe. When Jesus talks about the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25:31–46, he is describing what he was about to do on behalf of all creation. Jesus gave himself as the Bread of Life for the spiritually hungry; he gave himself as the Water of Life for the spiritually thirsty; we were strangers to God, but Jesus invited us into the Triune life and love; we were spiritually naked and full of sin—Jesus covered us with his garments of salvation and his righteousness; we were sin-sick and ravaged by evil—Jesus healed us; we were imprisoned by sin, self, and Satan—Jesus set us free!
The way God uses power is humble, self-sacrificing and serving. God’s greatest power was manifest in Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, for in it, he brought our human flesh out of death into new life, seating us face-to-face with our Father in the Spirit. In sending the Spirit, Jesus invites every human being to participate in his own life, and draws together people from all nations into union and communion as his Body, the Church. As the Body of Christ, we manifest the risen King’s divine resurrection power to a broken, hungry, and hurting world through faith, hope, and love—as we serve, love, and care for others. This is true power clothed in humility—Christ in us by the Spirit—expressing his love for all he has created.
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we stand amazed. In true humility, you have invited us to share in your glory and your goodness. Thank you, Jesus, for manifesting so marvelously the majesty of true power, through your humility and sacrifice on our behalf. Open the eyes of our hearts that we may know the hope of your calling, the riches of the glory of your inheritance in the saints and the surpassing greatness of your power toward us who believe. Give us your Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of you, Jesus, as King of kings, who reigns over all, now and forever. Amen.
“For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints, do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” Ephesians 1:15–23 NASB
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Destined for Salvation
By Linda Rex
November 19, 2023, Proper 28 | After Pentecost—As I was reading the New Testament passage for this Sunday, I recalled the automatic go-to response I used to have whenever I heard the phrase “day of the Lord.” This phrase brought up all types of references to dispensations and a great tribulation and many other end-times presuppositions, that may or may not have been grounded in well-studied theology.
The more I have gotten to know and grown to love the Lord Jesus Christ, the more I have come to see that we need to keep the phrase “day of the Lord” within the context of Jesus’ parousia, which is an already-not-yet event in which we currently participate right now by the Holy Spirit. Even though the “day of the Lord” is most often associated with the “second coming” of Jesus Christ, it actually can be applied to the whole of the parousia, that the Word of God came in the incarnation of Jesus Christ, is present now by the Spirit, and will one day return in glory.
The apostle Paul, in 1 Thessalonians 5:1–11, told the believers that they didn’t need to have anyone tell them how the “day of the Lord” will come “like a thief in the night.” The apostle Paul had personally experienced this when the glorified Jesus met him on the road to Damascus, illuminating his darkened life profoundly, setting him firmly in the present reality of kingdom of God as Jesus asked, “Why are you persecuting me?” Paul discovered suddenly that everything he trusted in, depended upon, and was allied with was worthless, useless, and valueless in comparison with knowing Jesus Christ his Lord (Phil. 3:4-11).
When we look at the Old Testament passage for this Sunday, Zephaniah 1:7, 12–18, we find a prophetic passage about the “day of the Lord”. Keeping in mind the lens through which we view the Old Testament, Jesus Christ, we see that in many ways, Jesus has fulfilled this prophecy in his incarnational life and ministry.
| Scripture Passage | My Reflections |
| 7“Be silent before the Lord GOD! For the day of the LORD is near, for the LORD has prepared a sacrifice, | For many centuries, God prepared his covenant people for the coming of Jesus, the Lamb of God. In Advent, we rehearse this time of preparation and expectation. |
| He has consecrated His guests. | In the fullness of time, God prepared his offering and invited his disciples, the ancient Jewish people and their leaders, etc. |
| 12‘It will come about at that time that I will search Jerusalem with lamps, And I will punish the men who are stagnant in spirit, who say in their hearts, ‘The LORD will not do good or evil! | The Light of the world, Jesus, came to his people, then to Jerusalem, where the chief priests, scribes, Pharisees and Saducees rejected him and moved to have him crucified, exposing the dark depravity and brokenness of our human flesh. |
| 13Moreover, their wealth will become plunder and their houses desolate; yes, they will build houses but not inhabit them, and plant vineyards but not drink their wine.’ | This consequence of ancient Israel’s rejection of their Messiah was tragically fulfilled in AD 70 when Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans. |
| 14Near is the great day of the LORD, near and coming very quickly; listen, the day of the LORD! In it the warrior cries out bitterly. 15A day of wrath is that day, | This day of wrath, the sacrifice of the Lamb of God, the pouring out of his blood, was filled with God’s passion against evil, sin and death. |
| A day of trouble and distress, a day of destruction and desolation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness, 6a day of trumpet and battle cry | As he hung on the cross and died, the earth shook and the sky grew dark. On the cross, Jesus Christ conquered over evil, sin, and death (and triumphed in the resurrection). |
| Against the fortified cities and the high corner towers. | Satan and his minions are defeated, his kingdom invaded—Jesus is triumphant! |
| 17I will bring distress on men so that they will walk like the blind, because they have sinned against the LORD; and their blood will be poured out like dust and their flesh like dung. 18Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them | Jesus’ blood, from his human flesh, was poured out, as he was beaten and torn by the humans he created, in our place and on our behalf. Judas tried to stop the results of his betrayal, but giving back the 30 pieces of silver didn’t stop the crucifixion. |
| On the day of the LORD’S wrath; and all the earth will be devoured in the fire of His jealousy, | Jesus’ baptism of fire included all human flesh—all are included in Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, and ascension. As Jesus said, “Behold, I make all things new.” |
| For He will make a complete end, | On the cross, Jesus said, “It is finished.” |
| Indeed a terrifying one, of all the inhabitants of the earth. | All are included, but not all will receive and participate in his grace. One day, Jesus will return in glory, and evil, sin, and death will be no more—how will we respond in that day? What will become of those who refuse to participate in all Christ has done or to allow Jesus to be their Lord and King? What about us today who have heard this good news? |
| Zephaniah 1:7, 12–18 | Already-not-yet fulfilled in Jesus Christ |
Indeed, there will be a day when Jesus returns in glory. Every human being will need to face the reality that from then on, how Jesus says things are to be done is how they will be done. There will be no place left for evil and death—for these are destined for the lake of fire. Keeping this in mind, then, we live our daily lives soberly, attentive to and open to the faith, hope, and love which is ours in Jesus Christ, in the gift of salvation. This was always God’s plan for each of us—that we live together with Him, now and forever. Let us begin to participate in that life right now, and encourage and build each other up, as we go along.
Father, Son, and Spirit, thank you for giving us such a profound destiny, of life in union and communion with you forever. Grant us the grace to respond in faith, opening ourselves up to receive and participate in this perfect gift. And inspire us to encourage and build each other up, as we travel this road of faith together, in Jesus by his Spirit. Amen.
“Now as to the times and the epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you. For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. While they are saying, ‘Peace and safety!’ then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief; for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; so then let us not asleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober. For those who sleep do their sleeping at night, and those who get drunk get drunk at night. But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him. Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:1–11 NASB
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The Heart of a Shepherd
By Linda Rex
October 29, 2023, Proper 25 | After Pentecost—As October comes to an end, we celebrate our pastors and elders, and all those who serve in pastoral ministry. Last week in this blog, I wrote about how we participate in the kingdom of God, growing in our close fellowship with God and one another, living right now by the Spirit in the reality of all God has done for us in Jesus. On our spiritual journey, we are often accompanied by those who God has called and gifted to be shepherds, who point us to Christ and offer the Word of God and prayer to us in some way.
In our New Testament passage for this Sunday, 1 Thessalonians 2:1–8, the apostle Paul makes pains to clarify his motives and efforts in his ministry to the believers in the church in Thessalonica. Apparently, there were people who were accusing Paul of greed, impurity, deceit, and using flattery to win people over. Paul felt he needed to defend his position, emphasizing that he wasn’t like the shady traveling philosophers who commonly preyed upon unsuspecting followers. Rather he had the heart of a nursing mother—one who tenderly cared for her own.
In explaining himself, Paul revealed how he had come to have God’s heart for the members in Thessalonica. He could have insisted on being paid money for his upkeep, but instead, he often labored to pay his own way. He could have thrown around his apostolic authority (whatever that might have been), but he didn’t. Instead, he was gentle, and at the same time, firm about the good news or gospel. He did not falter when it came to Jesus and his message of the kingdom of God, even if it meant he had to go through suffering and mistreatment (like he had in Philippi).
Paul was manifesting in his life and ministry the heart of Jesus, who had been willing to stoop to the lowest level—our sin, evil, and death—to bring us up with him into his intimate fellowship with his Father in the Spirit. This is the heart of the Great Shepherd, who did not think that it was beneath him to set aside the privileges of his divinity to join us in our humanity, so that we could be set free to love God and love others as was always intended.
Being a pastor or spiritual shepherd can be a very lonely experience. Pastors and elders often have to make difficult decisions, tell painful truths, hear agonizing and traumatic stories, and pray for people when it seems all hope is lost. There are at times the joys of new birth, of new converts, of weddings and family celebrations. But when things go wrong, it is often the pastor who becomes the scapegoat, and it is often the long-suffering elder who takes the midnight call simply because he or she has the heart of Jesus for those in distress or need.
I have known and met some amazing people over the years who are pastors. It used to be that I didn’t feel safe to even talk to a pastor—but that has changed. And now that I have been one, I understand more of the journey that a person goes on when they respond to the call to pastoral ministry. A pastor is a brother or sister who has been given a unique calling and gifting to care for others as a shepherd, in union and communion with our Great Shepherd, Jesus Christ. They are people who often are just as weak, broken, and sinful as the rest of us, only perhaps a little more seasoned and road-weary, and a bit wiser, with a gift from God that enables them to share what they’ve been given with others.
First, I would like to thank every one of the men and women over the years who have invested in my life and have spoken truth and hope and life into me. I am also grateful for all the sermons I have heard and the lessons I have learned at seminary, and all the other ways in which spiritual shepherds have spoken into my life. And I am grateful for all of the church members who have shown me affection, blessed me, and included me in their lives over the years while I was their pastor. They touched my lives in many ways—more than I can name—and I’m a different person because of it.
In the few days left here in October, is there someone you may wish to thank or encourage or bless? It may be good to show appreciation to your pastor or someone who has cared for you spiritually. And it’s always good to give thanks to the Great Shepherd who endlessly, and gently cares for his sheep—all of us.
Great Shepherd of the Sheep, thank you for loving us so much that you would lay everything down for us so that we might be made free, well, and brought home with you to the Father. By your Spirit, we celebrate you in all your glory and goodness. Amen.
“For you yourselves know, brethren, that our coming to you was not in vain, but after we had already suffered and been mistreated in Philippi, as you know, we had the boldness in our God to speak to you the gospel of God amid much opposition. For our exhortation does not come from error or impurity or by way of deceit; but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who examines our hearts. For we never came with flattering speech, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness— nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, even though as apostles of Christ we might have asserted our authority. But we proved to be gentle among you, as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children. Having so fond an affection for you, we were well-pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us.” 1 Thessalonians 2:1–8 NASB
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