Gideon

The Pearls We Are

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By Linda Rex

June 2, 2024, Proper 4 | After Pentecost—In the New Testament passage for this Sunday, 2 Corinthians 4:5–12, the apostle Paul shows how God the Light-Giver, is the One who shone in our hearts, enabling us to see God’s glory in the face of Jesus Christ. It is Christ in us by the Spirit, who enables us to live despite the death we constantly experience day by day as those who serve Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul inevitably experienced some sort of suffering or death for the sake of the gospel. But it was amid this and through this that the life of Jesus was made manifest to those around him. Indeed, as Jesus taught us, when we die to ourselves, to the things of our flesh, that is when we truly live. It is when we are broken as followers of Christ and are living in union and communion with our Triune God, that the light of God shines most brightly in and through us.

Paul describes the indwelling presence of God through Jesus by the Spirit as “treasure in earthen vessels” (NASB) or “treasure in jars of clay” (NIV, ESV) or “treasure in earthen vessels” (NKJV). These translators used a picture of a treasure being placed in a clay pot or earthen vessel which was fragile and could be easily broken. Word Studies in the New Testament points us to the story in Judges 7, where one night, Gideon took his army out against a massive Midianite army. Gideon’s army had been reduced by God down to only three hundred men, and they were facing an army which the writer of Judges described as numerous as locusts, without number.

According to this story, at the critical moment, they surrounded their camp on all sides. Note—there were only three hundred men who had clay pitchers with torches in one hand and a sword in the other. When signaled, these soldiers broke their clay pitchers, allowing the light to shine through, and they shouted, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” As the story goes, the enemy was put into disarray and the enemy soldiers turned against one another, so that in the end, they destroyed themselves. Gideon’s army needed only pick off the stragglers. As you can see in this story, the broken vessels provided the light by which the enemy was defeated, even without Gideon’s army needing to raise their swords in battle.

There is something powerful about light penetrating a dark space. Indeed, it can be almost blinding when breaking in unexpectedly. God has poured out his Spirit, inviting us to open ourselves up to his indwelling presence, allowing the bright light of his divine presence to penetrate the inner darkness of our false selves, to illuminate us with the reality of our true selves, hidden with Christ in God. The Spirit’s presence and power at work in and through our broken, flawed human flesh is a beautiful reflection of God’s glory revealed in Jesus Christ. When we allow this light to shine into us and out through us, Jesus Christ becomes manifest to those around us. The darkness of this world is penetrated by the light of Jesus through us as broken, fragile vessels in whom the Spirit dwells.

The Mirror Bible gives another nuance to this picture. Where the other translations focus on vessels or jars of clay, the Mirror Bible indicates this particular Greek word ostrakinos has its root in the word ostracon, meaning “oyster”. In other words, the original Greek gives the sense of treasure in a shell or oyster, which gives us an entirely different picture to consider. When an oyster has a piece of sand or sediment enter its shell, it can be destructive or damaging to the creature. But it slowly wraps the errant item in a special substance, and over time, the oyster forms it into a glorious pearl. What is meant for death becomes a new creation, one that is beautiful and of great value.

As human beings, we often avoid pain, suffering, and seek to avoid death at all costs. We especially do our best to avoid dying to our sin, our self, and our own will. But Paul uses these pictures to show us that God is always at work in and through us by his Spirit. What is meant for our death and destruction God redeems and transforms into that which is glorious and beautiful and which will last forever. It’s all in realizing and receiving the magnificent gift God has given us in Christ and his heavenly Spirit. When we daily allow God to wrap up our death to self and dying to sin and self-will in the life of his Son by the Spirit, we become a light to the world around us, a gift as precious as a pearl to those whom God draws himself through Christ in the Spirit. This gives a whole new direction and meaning to our daily “deaths” we must die for Christ’s sake. For suddenly, we as broken, fragile humans, find ourselves as valuable and treasured participants in God’s redeeming work as he restores, renews, and transforms his world. And all we can do is give thanks.

Dear Father, Jesus, Spirit, thank you for including us in what you are doing in this world. Grant us the grace to die each day to self that you may live more fully in and through us, for the sake of others. Enable us to glow brightly with the glory of Christ our Lord, that your light may more fully penetrate and illumine this darkened world, through Jesus and by your Spirit. Amen.

“For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, ‘Light shall shine out of darkness,’ is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves; we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death works in us, but life in you.”      2 Corinthians 4:5–12 NASB

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Indeed, The Lord is With You

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Christmas Day
By Linda Rex

During Christmas we often read or hear quoted the prophecy of Isaiah regarding the Messiah. We are caught by the foretelling of the birth of One who would be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace. Into Israel’s darkness, Isaiah said, would come a great light. This prophecy was meant to comfort the nation Isaiah was warning to repent of their sins.

In between these descriptions of the Messiah is a reference to the battle of Midian. I thought this seemed so out of context to the rest of the passage—what does the battle of Midian have to do with the Messiah?

So I went and read about this famous battle in Judges 6 and 7. Typically, the people of Israel had been “doing what is right in their own eyes” and ended up being overrun with armies from other nations. These armies from Midian and other nations would come at harvest time and strip the land of all the food and animals. So the Israelites were starving and had to hide anything they wanted to keep.

Eventually the nation of Israel cried out to God and he sent an angel to Gideon. This man was hiding in a winepress, trying to thresh his wheat while hiding it from the invading armies. He, like the other Israelites, was fearful and just trying to find a way to survive.

I was struck by the conversation Gideon had with the angel, because the first thing the angel said was, “The Lord is with you, O valiant warrior!” Obviously, valiant wasn’t probably the first thought anyone would have about Gideon. The youngest son of his family, he was hiding in a winepress, hoping no one would find him and his wheat.

His reply to the angel is so classic: “If the Lord is with us, then why has all this happened to us?” It is so like us as humans to blame God when things don’t go well in our lives. Even when the angel told him he would lead Israel to victory over the invading armies, Gideon demanded sign after sign from God—he didn’t believe that God really was with him.

In this story, we see God allowing Gideon to participate with him in his deliverance of Israel. But when he first called the people to battle, God had him whittle the 32,000 volunteers down to only 300. And when those 300 men went down into battle that fateful night, they merely blew trumpets and broke jars covering torches, and shouted “For the Lord and for Gideon!” And God did all the rest. It was only after the enemy was on the run that Gideon called for others to help in the mop-up process.

This story really fits in with the Christmas story because we believe the lie that God is not with us and doesn’t care about the oppression and suffering in our lives. We believe that we are weak and cowardly and without favor in God’s eyes. We deny that our struggles are as a result of our resistance against God and not living in agreement with the truth of who we are as God’s beloved, redeemed children.

But God comes and speaks truth into our lives—he even sends angels. And we still don’t hear him. We question the truth of who God is, if he even exists and if he really cares. God’s Word to us is “I am with you” but we believe he is not. We believe we are all alone and masters of our own fate.

But the zeal of the Lord is to accomplish the coming of his Word to show us once and for all who he is: He is a supernatural counselor, a mighty God, an everlasting loving fatherly ruler, a prince of never-ending peace and prosperity—and he is God with us, Immanuel.

The Word of God to humanity came to Mary (Luke 1:28-38) first through an angel, then through a tiny baby. The angel said to Mary, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you!” God spoke the truth into Mary’s heart—she was favored by God and God was with her. And through Mary, God’s Word has come in human flesh—Immanuel—God with us—sharing every part of our human existence.

God cared enough about the suffering and oppression in our lives even when sometimes we deserve it to share it with us by sharing our humanity.

God cared enough about our failure to live according to the truth of who we are that he became one of us and lived the life we are to live perfectly so that we are all accepted in him—the beloved Son of the Father.

God cared enough about us being able to live in union and communion with him as the Triune God that he became one of us, lived our life, died for our sins at our hands and rose the third day, and ascended to heaven, carrying us with him into the presence of the Father.

And that wasn’t enough—he sent us the Holy Spirit so we could share in his abundant life, and have the living, indwelling Presence of the Holy Father and Son right now through the Spirit. God who is Light entered our darkness, the darkness of this world and the darkness of our souls—He shines on us, in us and through us.

He calls us to be heralds of his deliverance—to blow the trumpet and break the jars of our humanity that hide his light, to call others to join us in the battle—and to watch God do the deliverance.

God will finish what he has begun in sending his Son into human flesh and sending his Spirit into the world. He is zealous to bring many sons and daughters into glory—and he will finish this when Jesus returns in glory. One day we will be like him for we will see him as he is. Maranatha! May he come soon!

Hallelujah! You are an awesome and great God, full of all glory and Majesty. Thank you, Father, for sending us your Son and your Spirit—so that you, God, might be with us forever! Amen.

“The people who walk in darkness
Will see a great light;
Those who live in a dark land,
The light will shine on them.
You shall multiply the nation,
You shall increase their gladness;
They will be glad in Your presence
As with the gladness of harvest,
As men rejoice when they divide the spoil.
For You shall break the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders,
The rod of their oppressor, as at the battle of Midian.
For every boot of the booted warrior in the battle tumult,
And cloak rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire.
For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
And the government will rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace,
On the throne of David and over his kingdom,
To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness
From then on and forevermore.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.” Isaiah 9:2–7 NASB

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