God
Giving Homage
by Linda Rex
May 21, 2023, Ascension Sunday—As I was listening to the Archbishop of Canterbury give his sermon during the recent coronation service for King Charles III and Queen Camilla, I was struck by his reminder that our leadership must always be grounded in a spirit of service, specifically, the Spirit of Christ. He pointed his listeners to the humble servant leadership of Jesus Christ, who willingly wore a royal robe of suffering rather than the rich robes of a kingly wardrobe. He noted our Lord’s attention to the widows, orphans, and captives of the world.
Whether or not the oaths the king and queen took during the coronation ceremony penetrated deeply and set the course of their service we cannot know. In any case, the reality is that they answer to the Supreme Sovereign, Jesus Christ, who reigns forever as Lord of all. How they respond to his lordship in the Spirit will determine the outcome of their leadership going forward. And indeed, they and every other leader in this world must answer to King Jesus Christ, who reigns over our cosmos as King of kings and Lord of lords.
As the king and queen walked out of the church to sit in their royal carriage, I noticed how few people gave them the customary nod or curtsy due to royalty. In the Conmmonwealth, the king and queen are more figurehead than actual rulers, so it is understandable that people no longer strictly attend to the customs of bowing to them. But this made me think of our own response to our divine King Jesus.
The Lord of all, Creator and Sustainer of all, took on our human flesh to live our life and die our death at the hands of sinful people. Jesus Christ rose from the grave and ascended to our heavenly Father’s right hand. There in the Spirit Jesus reigns supreme, bearing our glorified human flesh in the presence of the divine Majesty.
Even though the resurrected Christ has been crowned Lord of all, how many of us live indifferent to Jesus’ sovereignty? How many of us refuse to bow the knee or acknowledge that Jesus has the right to dictate our actions and behaviors, our decisions and choices? Are we willing to offer Jesus the customary nod or curtsy at church and then live our life as we please the rest of the week?
It is instructive that even our modern approach to the acknowledgment of royal position reflects our common human attitude towards the Divine One. Perhaps what we need most of all in our world today is the true humility of submitting ourselves completely to Jesus Christ, to the sovereign will of his Holy Spirit. Perhaps we need to commit ourselves to obeying his instructions as the living Word, following him by the Spirit through death of self into new life in service to others. It is possible that our struggles today on every level of society are simply because we have refused to submit to Jesus Christ as our Lord, the King of kings. May God by his Spirit restore to our hearts a humble submission to Jesus Christ.
In truth, just as there were those who pledged their allegiance to the king and queen and offered them homage, there are many today who faithfully seek to honor and obey our Lord Jesus. Leaders who approach their role in such a spirit of humility and service are an inspiration to all of us who seek to follow Christ. We follow such leaders as they follow Christ and serve others. May God provide us with many such leaders in every walk of life. And in this way, may God’s kingdom begin to transform our world in a real way even today.
Heavenly Father, forgive our irreverence and pride. Lord Jesus, forgive our rebellion and disrespect towards you. Heavenly Spirit, grant us the grace to bow our hearts and submit our lives every moment to our Living Lord Jesus Christ. May your kingdom, Father, Son, Spirit, be realized even now here on earth as it is in heaven. 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
[Printable copy: https://newhope4me.files.wordpress.com/2023/05/olitgiving-homage.pdf ]
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Keeping a Resurrection Perspective
By Linda Rex
April 16, 2023, 2nd Sunday | Resurrection or Easter—These past two weeks I have felt as though those of us who live in the Nashville area have been hit over and over with a ton of bricks. And not only us, but I think also of Mississippi, Iowa, Alabama, and other places around the world which have been torn apart by catastrophic events.
When we’re in this place of suffering, it is easy to lose our resurrection perspective. When all we can see and all we are experiencing is the brokenness of humankind and our planet, to keep our attention on things above seems pie-in-the-sky and unrealistic. Give us answers to our suffering and our problems—not sympathy!
Having a resurrection perspective, though, is not about ignoring the suffering and evil in this world. No, it is about empathy—about entering into that suffering and evil to the point that Jesus was willing to allow himself to be crucified, buried, and left for dead. It is about being willing to meet you and me at the place of our worst, to become sin for us, to bring us up to be with Jesus in his best—the resurrection and ascension.
Think of Peter, who bragged that he would be with Jesus until the end. But then, in the moment of crisis, he denied Jesus three times, even to the point of heated cursing and swearing, saying that he didn’t even know Christ. In one gospel, we see Jesus at that very point looking across the courtyard to catch Peter’s eye. Jesus knew exactly what he had done, and Peter was devastated.
Can you understand the difficulty Peter faced as he coped with Jesus’ death? If Jesus was gone forever, he had no way of making right the horrendous thing he had done. If Jesus was truly dead after his crucifixion, then how would Peter be able to live with himself. But he had seen Jesus on the mountain when he was transfigured. On Sunday morning as he and John heard the news “Jesus is risen” and ran to the tomb, he saw that the graveclothes were laying where they had been left as Jesus arose. What hope must have burned in Peter’s heart!
To have a resurrection perspective is to see beyond the suffering, to see beyond the grave. To have a resurrection perspective is to believe that we are not abandoned or left to fend for ourselves. To have a resurrection perspective is to understand that this life is not all there is—we are created for life in relationship with Father, Son, and Spirit—even now, and in the new heavens and earth which are to come.
To have a resurrection perspective means that we realize life is painful and difficult, but God is taking it and using it to form us into the image of Christ, as we respond to the gentle presence of his Spirit. And to have a resurrection perspective is to realize that we are never alone. God is with us through Christ in the Spirit, active in our lives and in our world, as we participate with him in his redemption and restoration of all things.
This is why we are called by God to be witnesses—to testify to the reality of the risen Lord. If our focus is on our suffering or on everything that is going wrong, we will find our lives and this world a very dark place in which to live. We will be burdened by and battered by the brokenness and darkness of the world in which we live. But as we encounter this brokenness and darkness, we are reminded to turn to Jesus, to bring our concerns to him, and to invite the Spirit to show us ways in which we can participate with Christ in his redemptive work. We can keep our resurrection perspective, allowing it to inform how we approach our suffering and our response to evil and darkness, rather than being overcome by it.
Thank you, Father, for being in Christ as he suffered and died for us. Thank you, Jesus, for not leaving us orphans, but rising from the grave and coming to us in your Spirit, so we need never be alone. Grant us the grace to keep a resurrection perspective in the midst of all this life throws at us, remembering you are a risen Lord! Amen.
“But Peter, taking his stand with the eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: ‘Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give heed to my words.’ … ‘This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses.” Acts 2:14, 32 NASB
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.” 1 Peter 1:3–9 NASB
[Printable copy: https://newhope4me.files.wordpress.com/2023/04/olitkeeping-a-resurrection-perspective.pdf ]
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While We Were Yet Sinners
by Linda Rex
March 12, 2023, 3rd Sunday in Preparation for Easter or Lent—One of the things I think we overlook when reading the gospel stories is Jesus’ intentionality with regards to building relationships with people in a variety of circumstances. One example is the woman he met at a well in Samaria, the story we read about in John 4:5–42.
In normal circumstances, the two of them would not have had any conversation at all, had they conformed to the cultural standards of the day. Back then, a good rabbi would never be seen in public talking with a woman, and most certainly not if she was a Samaritan. These two peoples, the ancient Jews and Samaritans, were passionate about the historical, religious, and cultural rifts which stood between them, and this divide was large enough that this simple conversation would never have happened if Jesus hadn’t been led by the Spirit to obey his Father’s command to seek this woman out and speak to her.
The assumption of many of the ancient Jews was that these Samaritans were the worst of sinners, apostates, in fact. There was no room for them in God’s kingdom, they believed, so they were dismissed and rejected, forbidden to enter the temple in Jerusalem and worship with the Jews. Jesus, though, goes out of his way to stop at this well and invite this Samaritan woman into a conversation. He offers her a relationship with God which is centered in himself rather than in a particular mountain or temple. He offers her grace—inviting her into a grace place where she can live reconciled with and in right relationship with God.
Relationships can be difficult and painful. The Samaritan woman had been through relationship after relationship, hoping that somehow, she might find the life she was looking for. All she had ever found was more pain, more abuse, and more suffering. How much different would her life have been if she had been drinking from the correct well all along—drinking from the living water of life in relationship with the Father through Christ in the Spirit? How would it have been different if the people in her life had been offering her a space of grace instead of condemnation, rejection, and humiliation?
The good news is that this woman drank from the well of living water Jesus offered her. She believed Jesus when he told her he was the Messiah, the Christ. And then she went and told many others this good news, inviting them into this grace space as well.
The apostle Paul, in the New Testament passage for this Sunday, Romans 5:1–11, talks about this incredible gift of grace God offers every one of us. He tells us that even while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Jesus demonstrated the love of God in a tangible way, by reconciling us to God even when we had made ourselves enemies of God. Paul was reminding his readers that they needed to offer one another the same grace God offers each of us in Christ. Are we willing to lay our own life down as Jesus did his by inviting another person into the grace space we have come to dwell in by faith?
Father, thank you for loving us so much that you did not allow us to be estranged from you forever, but sent your Son to bring us all home again. By your Spirit, grant us the grace to turn to Jesus in faith, trusting in your abundant love, which you have shed abroad in our hearts. And move us to invite others into this grace space you’ve created for us all, through Jesus our Lord. Amen.
“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.” Romans 5:1–11 NASB
[Printable copy: https://newhope4me.files.wordpress.com/2023/02/olitwhile-we-were-yet-sinners.pdf ]
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The Father of Our Faith
by Linda Rex
March 5, 2023, 2nd Sunday in Preparation for Easter or Lent—During my studies with Grace Communion Seminary I have learned about the different times in history when God by the Spirit brought about a spiritual awakening which led to the transformation and renewal of communities and churches. Many people here in America have been asking God for such a spiritual awakening, and have been encouraged and comforted by the recent movement of the Holy Spirit at Asbury University.
We are reminded anew that the beauty of God’s creative spiritual work in human hearts and lives does not come about by human effort and striving. Spiritual renewal and transformation is something only God can do, and is something that he chooses to do and orchestrates, not because we get everything exactly right and because we deserve it, but simply due to God’s love for us, and his desire to restore, reconcile, and renew us.
In the gospel reading for this Sunday, John 3:1–17, Jesus tells the Pharisee Nicodemus that the only way a person can see or participate in the kingdom of God is if they are born from above. Then he begins to describe how the Spirit moves in unseen and unbidden ways that can only be recognized by their resulting effect on those who have been touched by the divine wind. Our part in this whole process is trust, allowing God to be who he is in every situation, placing ourselves fully at his disposal, allowing him to be who he is as our Savior, Healer, and Redeemer.
The kingdom of God, as the reign of our sovereign King in our hearts and lives, is real and active even today, and we participate in God’s kingdom right now as we yield to and obey the Spirit, following Jesus as he leads us to do our Father’s will. We are reminded that Jesus’ attention was often drawn to the widow’s small gift, the thief’s last cry on the cross, the tax collectors and sinners who didn’t deserve any attention at all. We fall in love with God when we experience the profound reality of his love for us, and his love fills our hearts as the Spirit pours into us, enabling us to know and be assured that, yes, indeed, we are God’s beloved children.
In the New Testament passage for this Sunday, Romans 4:13–17, the apostle Paul takes this even further as he shows that God is the true Source, the Father of all, from whom we receive grace and salvation by faith. Abraham and Sarah were beyond the ability to have children when God promised them a son—and he kept his promise to them. And this son, Isaac, was a descendant through whom our Savior, Jesus Christ, came. Our God calls as real and substantial those things which do not yet exist, and in the speaking of his Word, they become real and substantial.
In the same way, God has called everyone of us his very own, the promised descendants of Abraham millennia ago—and here we are, children of the Father, through Jesus Christ his Son, by his heavenly Spirit. Abraham, our forefather, “the father of us all,” is a reflection or picture of our divine Father, the One who made us and sustains us all—the same Father, who, even when we fell captive to evil sin, and death, drew us all to himself, bringing us back into right relationship with himself, giving us his righteousness, through his Son Jesus. The Spirit calls us even today to embrace this true reality by faith, and to experience the wonder of it through prayer, contemplation, and worship. The Spirit reminds us to place our faith in Jesus Christ, who laid everything down so we could know our Father’s embrace in the fellowship of the Spirit, now and forever, as his beloved children.
Father, thank you for loving us so very much. Thank you, Jesus, for bringing us back home to the Father, to be held in his loving embrace. Thank you, heavenly Spirit, for enabling us to experience and know God’s love. Show us even now how much we are loved and cared for, through Jesus our Lord. Amen.
“What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to Him as righteousness.’ Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness, 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.” Romans 4:13–17 NASB
[Printable copy: https://newhope4me.files.wordpress.com/2023/02/olitthe-father-of-our-faith.pdf ]
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Do Not Be Afraid
by Linda Rex
February 19, 2023, Transfiguration Sunday—What might God do if you were willing to let him take you somewhere you don’t want to go or ask you to do something don’t believe you were able to do? Is it possible that God might do more than you could ever ask or imagine? (See Eph. 3:20.)
Think of how Jesus was thrust into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. In the midst of that dramatic confrontation, Jesus was pushed beyond human limits. But in the end, he stayed true to his heavenly Father in the Spirit, and all of us as those who share his flesh. And he experienced an amazing victory—a victory we all participate in today by the Spirit. (See Matt. 4:1-11.)
I don’t know about you, but I tend to choose things that I’m certain I can do or can at least figure out and do. When I’m asked to do more than I am capable of doing, the “fear of failure” monster creeps in and removes any confidence I may have that I can accomplish what God is asking of me. The problem with this way of living is that there is minimal room for the Spirit to work great things in and through me, and life ends up often being about me walking in the flesh rather than in the Spirit. And it also means that I am walking by sight rather than by faith.
What about that “fear of failure” monster? I’m caught by the lyrics of the song by Zach Williams which came out a while back called “Fear is a Liar.” Here’s a part of the refrain:
Fear, he is a liar
He will take your breath
Stop you in your steps
Fear he is a liar
He will rob your rest
Steal your happiness
Cast your fear in the fire
‘Cause fear he is a liar
“Fear is a Liar” by Zach Williams
How often do we refuse to follow Jesus simply because we’re afraid—afraid of failure, afraid of looking different, afraid of what people might think, and so on? We may even discover that we are afraid of God—of what he might do or not do, and believe that our heavenly Father doesn’t really love us (though Jesus seems to). How often do we let fear get in the way of seeing things as they really are?
Today is Transfiguration Sunday on the Christian calendar. Our reading in the gospel, Matt. 17:1–9, reminds us of and moves us to reflect on when Jesus took Peter, James, and John up on the mountain, and was transfigured before them. In that moment, Jesus’ external form began to reflect the true essence of who he was on the inside—God in human flesh. As eyewitnesses of this fantastic event, these men could not forget the powerful experience of seeing Jesus in this way, and remember the fear and awe which overwhelmed them and drove them face down to the ground in response.
Jesus was not appalled by, nor was he put off by their response. No, he tenderly touched them and told them not to be afraid. He had specifically chosen them to be eyewitnesses of his glory in this moment. It was never his intention to frighten them or to overwhelm them. Rather, he believed this experience was an essential part of their spiritual development and preparation for what they each were going to face in the years ahead when he was no longer present on earth in his human flesh.
Peter was deeply touched by the words of our heavenly Father, who spoke of the belovedness of his Son. Not only was Jesus beloved of his Father, but his Father was well-pleased with him. In that great pleasure of our Father in his Son, we find ourselves swept up, for Jesus was bearing in that moment our human flesh in his person. How is it that our heavenly Father could be well-pleased with his Son, when his Son was bearing our human flesh?
I believe this says something about who we are as those who are meant to reflect the image of God in our persons. We have a divine dignity given to us by God, which was marred by our turning away from God to ourselves and this world. Blinded by the lies we believe about God and ourselves, we struggle to see the truth that God loves us, is committed to our best interests, and desires to live in face-to-face relationship with us now and forever.
It is Christ, coming and taking on our human flesh, to live our life, die our death, and rise again, who brings us into the midst of the fellowship of Father and Son in the Spirit. We can take comfort in the reality that God isn’t opposed to us, but is opposed to evil, sin, and death, and has taken and will take every step needed to once and for all eradicate them from us and from our world. He will not stop until he had finished what he has begun in us—this is our comfort and peace.
What about our fears, especially our “fear of failure?” God’s perfect love expressed to us in Jesus Christ reminds us we have nothing to fear. Jesus, who is God in human flesh, has personally come to us and has touched us, telling us, “Do not be afraid.” Jesus has done, and will do all that is needed in this moment and in the next, as we turn to him in faith and trust him, allowing his Spirit free reign in our hearts and lives. May we trust in God’s perfect love and allow him to do what only he can do—save and redeem us, through Jesus our Lord and by his heavenly Spirit.
Dear Father, thank you for your faithfulness and love, expressed to us in the gift of your Son and your Spirit. Grant us the grace to turn to you in faith, to trust in your love and grace. May your perfect love cast our all our fear, through Jesus and by your Spirit. Amen.
“For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, ‘This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased’—and we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” 2 Peter 1:16–21 NASB
[Printable copy: https://newhope4me.files.wordpress.com/2023/02/olitdo-not-be-afraid-edited.pdf ]
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Much Deeper Than the Body
by Linda Rex
February 12, 2023, 6th Sunday in Epiphany—One of the readings for my recent coursework at Grace Communion Seminary talks about the way in which God does who God is. What I mean by that is, who God is in his being is what he does in his actions. God is a Redeemer, and so he redeems us. God is Savior, and so he saves us. When Jesus says to his disciples, if you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the Father, he is saying that the love and grace of his Father was in that moment being expressed in the person and life of his Son Jesus. And it was fully expressed in Jesus’ self-offering on the cross.
The reason I am bringing this up is because of how the gospel reading for today, Matthew 5:21–37, resonates with this. Jesus pointed out that our human way of doing things just will not work in the economy of the Triune life or kingdom of God. Jesus calls us to go much deeper than just putting on an outer show of religiosity. He was “meddling”—telling people that going through the motions was not enough. The way we live and act needs to go much deeper than just the externals—it must involve the heart and soul of a person. And it has to do with our passions, desires, impulses, and motivations.
But there is even more going on here than just that. Who we are drives what we do. In this passage, we can see that Jesus is so much more than just the words he was speaking. In his life, death, and resurrection Jesus was in many ways all of these things in action. Who he was as God in human flesh was an expression of these very things in a real and tangible way as a human, fleshly person led by and filled with the Holy Spirit.
For example, when we think of God, we often think of a being who is mad at us for being such awful sinners, to the point that he had to kill his Son for us. But consider the way God in Christ really does approach our evil and sin, and our broken relationship with himself. He doesn’t despise us for our failure to measure up to our obligations to him and one another. Rather, he recognizes our inadequacy and lack of even desiring to do what is right at times. Because he knows this about us, he comes, takes on our human flesh, and forges within us a new away of being—giving us his own desire to do what is right and holy. And then he dies and rises, and sends the Spirit so we can live in right relationship with him now and forever.
Going further, consider how Jesus deals with the reality of our offenses against him. In his own self-offering, the Son of God set aside his need for revenge or self-gratification when we became his opponents, and instead, laid down his own life. He came to us in our human flesh, to live our life and die our death, for our salvation and redemption. We had something in our hearts against God, and Jesus came to us and made things right, reconciling us to God in himself and calling us to be reconciled in that same way to God and each other.
Notice how Jesus used hyperbole to express our need to get rid of those parts of ourselves which cause us to sin. Truth be told, he never meant us to actually physically cut off or remove these parts of our body. What he did demonstrate to us in his life and death was that he was willing to do for us what we could not do in this regard. None of us is capable of eliminating those parts of us that cause us to sin—which is why Jesus took our human flesh to the cross and allowed us to crucify it so that our human flesh would die once and for all to evil, sin, and death. And in the resurrection, Jesus gave our human flesh new life—a new way of being grounded within himself. As Paul wrote, we don’t look at people through the lens of their sinful human flesh any longer because in Christ they are new creations (2 Cor. 5:16-17).
Going on, even when Jesus is talking about the topic of divorce and adultery, he takes us into the realm of committed or covenant relationship. The religious leaders of his day had added and subtracted so much to the law that it was possible to divorce for any reason, and women were being left without anyone to care for them because of the selfish choices of the men who had give them a promise of fidelity and then had broken it.
When we look at the history of the ancient nation of Israel, God’s covenant people, we see that the prophets often spoke of this nation’s relationship with God as a marriage or covenant relationship. Even though this nation was repeatedly unfaithful to God, he was always faithful to her. The prophet Hosea, in a living parable, showed God’s willingness to go the extra mile by faithfully loving and caring for his unfaithful spouse. Jesus, in his person, was the fulfillment of this beautiful picture, coming to his people in God’s faithfulness to them, so that he could bring home to his Father his beloved bride, his covenant people, which in his life, death, resurrection, and the giving of the Spirit, were the newly forged, redeemed and restored body of Christ, the church.
And in this way, we see that God is what God does. He is a God of his word. When he says “yes”, that is what he means. And when he says “no”, he means no. When he said that he would crush the serpent’s head (Gen. 3:15), he did so, as God in human flesh in the person of Jesus Christ, dying on the cross for our salvation. When God said he would send the Suffering Servant Messiah to his people to redeem not only them, but the whole world—that is what he did. God has kept his word to us and will keep his word to us. He is trustworthy, faithful, and true.
This is why we can rest in the reality that God will finish what he has begun in us. In the New Testament reading, 1 Corinthians 3:1–9, the apostle Paul points out that there is a difference between living in the truth of what Christ has done in our place on our behalf or living in our unredeemed flesh. Are we walking as mere human beings, or are we walking as spiritual people, those who are filled with and led by God’s Spirit, Christ in us? Our belief isn’t what makes us different people. Cutting off parts of our body or trying to make radical changes to our behavior doesn’t change us. What is life-transforming is Christ—the indwelling presence of God by the Holy Spirit. We are God’s field, God’s building, and he is at work in us, as we respond to him in faith. And we participate in his work in this world as we are led by the Spirit to love and serve others as we are gifted and called by God. It is a comfort to know it is all up to him, not all up to us—we just get to be a part of what he is doing!
Thank you, Abba, for allowing us to be a part of what you are doing in this world. Thank you, Jesus, for giving yourself so freely to us and for including us in your own relationship with the Father in the Spirit. Grant us the grace to live and walk so that all that we do is a true expression of who we are in you, through Jesus our Lord and by your Spirit. Amen.
“And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men? For when one says, ‘I am of Paul,’ and another, ‘I am of Apollos,’ are you not mere men? What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one. I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.” 1 Corinthians 3:1–9 NASB
[Printable copy: https://newhope4me.files.wordpress.com/2023/01/olitmuch-deeper-than-the-body.pdf ]
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Blessed Are You…
by Linda Rex
January 29, 2023, 4th Sunday in Epiphany—What is the value of knowing Jesus Christ? What is the big deal? Is he just part of a story or myth people tell during the Christmas and Easter holidays, but is irrelevant the rest of the time? It can appear from first glance that there really isn’t anything worth delving into when it comes to Jesus, but the reality is that in Jesus there is a deep story each of us is a part of, whether we embrace it or not.
Nowadays, it doesn’t seem reasonable to believe in a real, personal, tangible God. So much of life can be lived apart from any need for God. And many of the problems we face, no matter how difficult, can be solved or at least coped with without the need of calling upon a deity. What our age of reason has taught us is that we can use our minds and aptitudes and skills to run our world and deal with whatever comes our way. I imagine that it is possible to go through life and never believe in a power or presence beyond ourselves.
But it is significant, from what I’ve seen, that the first step in any recovery program is for a person to come to see that apart from a “higher power” or a power beyond themselves, they will never be free from their addiction. An addict will struggle and struggle to conquer their addiction until they “hit bottom” and realize their desperate need for a power beyond themselves to save them.
It is often in this encounter with a real and personal God that their life turns around and they begin to heal. But as long as they insist on doing it on their own, they remain enslaved to the substance or activity or behavior which holds them in prison. There is something real and substantial which happens in an addict’s life when they surrender to that “higher power.”
It’s not just addicts who go through this process of coming to see their need for something or someone beyond themselves. Every person comes to places during their lives when they are faced with the reality that they cannot and will not get to where they need to be without help beyond themselves. At times we turn to another person, hoping they will do what is needed or give what is required—and for a time, they may be able to do that. But there are limits to what we can give each other as humans, and if we are honest with ourselves, we must admit that no human being can play the role of God in another person’s life without there being some very destructive and painful fallout as a result.
So why do we have such an issue with Jesus? I wonder sometimes if it is because we see in him what we know we were always meant to be, as well as our own capacity for evil and betrayal as it was demonstrated during his crucifixion. We see in Jesus and in his story both the heights and depths of our humanity. We realize, in looking at him, that we are not what we should be, that God doesn’t do things as we expect him to, and that the way God does things is the exact opposite of how we believe they should be done.
The New Testament passage for this particular Sunday is 1 Corinthians 1:18-23, in which the apostle Paul contrasts our human wisdom with God’s wisdom. In that congregation were many believers who were poor people from the lower classes, but also wealthy people from the upper classes. Roman society venerated nobility, wealth, and status, as well as intellectual learning and wisdom. What Paul was faced with was helping these believers see that in Christ, none of this was essential or significant in the long run, since every one of them stood at the same place—at the foot of the cross.
I’ve personally experienced the positive and negative cultural expectations that come with wealth, status, and higher education. I’ve been close to people on the bottom rung as well as the top rung, and I don’t really care for either place. The reason is that neither place is where Jesus lives. Where he lives is in the space where each person’s uniqueness comes together in equality and unity—and other-centered love dwells.
At some point we need to come to terms with the reality that we find our true identity, not in the wealth, status, intellect, giftedness, or position (or lack thereof) in this world, but in Jesus Christ alone. He is our true identity, for in him we find our worth, our value, our connection with one another and with God.
It is significant that God’s way of handling things is often the opposite of the way we prefer to handle them. One of the passages for this Sunday is Matthew 5:1-12, which is often called The Beatitudes. What Jesus put out there was an impossible agenda as the means for our participation in his kingdom life. For example, if you want to see God, you must be pure in heart—that’s usually how we read it. Actually what Jesus said is the pure in heart are blessed, for they will see God. Yet I read in the Old Testament that the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked. How will I ever see God, if my heart is so awful?
Remember that I said Jesus is our true identity. Why? We learn in the Scriptures that all things were made through him, by him, and for him. He holds all things together by the word of his power. We find that the God who is our Creator is also the one who took on our sinful human flesh and was not stained or dirtied by it—rather, he purified it, restoring back to its original design. The original human person walked and talked with God—we see this in the story of Eden. And this was what we were created for. And this is what Jesus forged within our human flesh—our pure heart was restored in his perfect work, and offered to us in the gift of his Spirit.
There is a beauty and wonder in a life that is restored, transformed by the indwelling Spirit. Most of the time we live oblivious to the reality of God’s life in us and with us. If we are content in our life as it is, we may see the cross and all that pertains to it as being foolishness and some clever man-made story. But the moment of crisis will come and does come to each of us. Are we willing to open ourselves to the possibility that there is so much more going on than this?
I cannot explain effectively what happens when I come to the place with regards to a struggle I am having and admit to myself, to God, and to another that I am not enough and I need help. When I experience a strength beyond myself, a capacity to love that is not my own, and an ability to say or do what is needed when on my own, I could never do or say it—this is the power of Christ in me. I cannot boast in myself at all. No, there is something wonderful which happens in and through me when I fully surrender to the Lord and allow his Spirit to work in and through me.
So often, we take credit for what, in reality, is God’s presence and power at work in us through Jesus by the Spirit. What makes us able to love our children when they are absolute pills to be around? What makes us able to offer help to someone who most certainly doesn’t deserve our help? What moves us to get up and go to work each day, to pay our bills on time, and kiss our spouse goodbye? Does that simply come from our brain cells firing a certain way? Or is it possible that along with healthy brain cells is the movement, inspiration, and power of the one who created us with the desire and capacity for other-centered love?
We are incredibly blessed, for Christ has given us himself in the Spirit, enabling us to live the perichoretic life we were always meant to live with God and each other. Perhaps it is worth our while to start each day in quiet, asking Jesus, “Are you in me?” and have received his assurance, asking him, “What would you have me do today?” We may be astonished to discover that what may be considered foolishness by many is a beautiful reality for us.
Dear Jesus, are you truly in me and with me? Free me from every lying voice, false belief and evil spirit which keeps me from seeing you as you truly are, living in me and at work in this world. How may I participate in what you are doing right now, as you live in me by your Spirit? 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. For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God. But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, ‘Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.’ ” 1 Corinthians 1:18–31 NASB
[Printable copy: https://newhope4me.files.wordpress.com/2023/01/olitblessed-are-you.pdf ]
[More devotionals may be found at https://lifeinthetrinity.blog ]
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Come, and You Will See
by Linda Rex
January 15, 2023, 2nd Sunday in Epiphany—This morning as I write this blog for Epiphany, I find myself still in the season of Christmas. One of the songs running through my head is a hymn called O Come, All Ye Faithful. Part of the hymn goes like this:
“Yea, Lord, we greet Thee, born this happy morning
(John Francis Wade; trans. Frederick Oakeley)
Jesus to Thee be all glory giv’n
Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing!
Oh come, let us adore him
Oh come, let us adore him
Oh come, let us adore him
Christ, the Lord!”
As you can see, the emphasis of this hymn is on the incarnation, on the coming of the Word of God, the Son of the Father, as God in human flesh.
What struck me this morning as the song rolled through my head is that this hymn calls us once again to come to the side of the manger, to gaze anew upon the wonder of the Christ child–God’s gift to humankind—and calls us to worship. Once again, we kneel in adoration as we look upon this precious and wondrous gift to all of us.
Our Old Testament reading for today is full of prophetic pointers to the coming of this child: “The Lord called Me from the womb; from the body of My mother He named Me”; “…the Lord, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, to bring Jacob back to him…”; “…I will also make You a light of the nations so that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth” (Isa. 49:1b, 5a, 6b NASB). When we take the time to prayerfully and reverently observe this holy child, to contemplate what God has done in coming to us in this way, we are moved to worship in gratitude for God’s faithfulness and goodness.
Who is this marvelous child which sparks such celebration and wonder? Who is Jesus? Epiphany, then, is an expression of this wonderful sense of “Eureka” we get when we discover the amazing treasure of God in human flesh. God comes to us in a real and personal way, to join us in our mess, to raise us up into a new existence with him in the Spirit and one day in glory. What a good and compassionate and gracious God we have!
The apostle Paul calls us to a deep appreciation of God’s gift to us in the New Testament reading for this Sunday. He reminds us of “the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, that in everything you were enriched in Him, in all speech and all knowledge, even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you, so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor.1:4b-8 NASB). Jesus, in his incarnation, came to live a truly human life, to forge within our human flesh our capacity to live in right relationship with God (and others). When Jesus is fully revealed in glory, we will be found blameless, because of what he has done. We lack nothing—because of him.
In our gospel reading, John 1:29–42, John the Baptizer saw Jesus approaching and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” The first word is “Behold.” To behold something is to gaze upon it with intense attention. Here, in the Greek, it is used to point to what is being said next—that this man is the Lamb of God, the one who takes away the sin of the world. We need to pay attention to this reality about who Jesus is. Jesus is this one—the one who takes away the sin of the world. Not just the sin of a few special people. Not just the sin of the people who get their acts together. But the sin of the world.
This is a eureka moment—a moment when we pay attention to a revelation about who Jesus is—the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Jesus is the one unique Son of God, the One who left the benefits of divinity for a time to join us in our humanity, in order to do what only he could do—free us from sin, from all that stands in the way of being rightly related to God.
There were a couple of John the Baptizer’s disciples who were profoundly affected by the prophet’s words regarding Jesus. They heard that this man, Jesus, was the one who baptizes in the Spirit. And they heard John say that Jesus Christ was the Son of God. So they did what each of us needs to do—they followed Jesus. As they did, Jesus asked them what they were seeking. They asked where Jesus was staying, perhaps in hopes of having a deeper conversation with him. So Jesus said to them, “Come and you will see.”
If we never take the time to come and see, to stop long enough to listen and learn more about who Jesus is and why he came, we will continue upon our life’s path, never any wiser regarding what really matters. But if we slow down and come to Jesus and sit at his feet awhile, gazing upon him and pondering all he has done, is doing, and will do, we will begin to see the truth about who he is and why he came. As we take time in his presence to converse with him, to dialogue with Christ through prayer, study of his Word, meditation, and the other spiritual disciplines, the Spirit will enable us to see more clearly who Jesus is. And the Spirit will even enable us to begin to see more clearly who we are, and how much we need Christ to transform, heal, and renew us. We will begin to see we are beloved of the Father, and are included in Jesus’ own relationship with his Father in the Spirit. And we will have even more reason to celebrate and worship the Lord.
Thank you, Father, for sending your Son to us, to bring everyone of us salvation. May we turn away again from all the things in this life which distract us and draw us away from focused attention on our Lord Jesus. Throughout this new year, may your Spirit enable us to have many eureka moments when we see anew and embrace again the wonder of your most perfect and precious gift—Jesus our Lord. Amen.
“The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is He on behalf of whom I said, “After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.” I did not recognize Him, but so that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water.’ John testified saying, ‘I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, “He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.” I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.’ Again the next day John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God!’ The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. And Jesus turned and saw them following, and said to them, ‘What do you seek?’ They said to Him, ‘Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are You staying?’ He said to them, ‘Come, and you will see.’ So they came and saw where He was staying; and they stayed with Him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. One of the two who heard John speak and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He found first his own brother Simon and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (which translated means Christ). He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, ‘You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas’ (which is translated Peter).” John 1:29–42 NASB
[Printable copy: https://newhope4me.files.wordpress.com/2023/01/olitcome-and-you-will-see.pdf ]
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Because God Smiled
by Linda Rex
December 18, 2022, 4th Sunday in ADVENT | Love—We’ve come to the fourth Sunday in Advent already, and while contemplating the topic of love, it occurred to me that Joseph is a hidden gem in the Advent story.
Today in our media and literature, it is common to ridicule or demean men, especially fathers or men of faith. Granted, some of us have had fathers who utterly failed at their job of reflecting the nature of God and his love to their children. But I have met men who, though faulty and broken like the rest of us, took seriously their responsibility to serve, care for and honor the people in their lives, especially their wives and children.
Reflecting upon Mary’s story, it must have been so hard for the young woman after the angel told her she was going to become pregnant with a child who would be the Messiah. According to custom, she probably would not have had a single private conversation with Joseph at any time during their engagement. And though their engagement meant she was technically married to Joseph, they had to wait for a year to prove she was not expecting a baby by some other man. For her then, to end up pregnant meant disaster for her relationship with Joseph.
Joseph had every reason to divorce Mary, and was expected to. Thankfully, the custom of stoning unwed mothers was not as faithfully observed as divorce and public shaming was. It says something about Joseph’s heart and character that when he discovered Mary was pregnant, he sought to privately divorce Mary, not wanting to bring her to public shame. Considering the public humiliation of having a pregnant fiancée he himself was going to experience, Joseph also had to deal with all of the family and social consequences of what had occurred.
Then Joseph had a dream. In his dream, an angel told him to wed Mary, that the child she carried was conceived by the Holy Spirit and should be named Jesus, for he would save his people from their sins. Most of us don’t remember our dreams when we wake up in the morning. But Joseph was singularly moved by this dream, so much so that he broke all custom and immediately married Mary and brought her home. He honored her and her baby by caring for them and providing for them from then on.
Throughout Mary’s pregnancy, travels to Bethlehem, and subsequent travels to Egypt and Nazareth, Joseph listened to and obeyed the instructions he received from God through angels about taking care of the baby Jesus. Joseph was a father to Jesus, one who was led by the Spirit, so that Jesus could fulfill the mission his heavenly Father had given him while here on earth.
Whatever Joseph did, though, was merely a participation in God’s story. Israel for years had cried out, longing for redemption and deliverance. They would slide into slavery and sin, and then God would rescue them again, only to repeat the process. One of the readings for this Sunday is a beautiful psalm which reminds us that our only hope of being anything other than our broken, sinful selves, is for God to smile on us and to restore us into right relationship with himself. The psalmist says:
“Oh, give ear, Shepherd of Israel, You who lead Joseph like a flock; You who are enthroned above the cherubim, shine forth! Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, stir up Your power and come to save us! O God, restore us and cause Your face to shine upon us, and we will be saved. O LORD God of hosts, how long will You be angry with the prayer of Your people? You have fed them with the bread of tears, and You have made them to drink tears in large measure. You make us an object of contention to our neighbors, and our enemies laugh among themselves. O God of hosts, restore us and cause Your face to shine upon us, and we will be saved. … Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand, upon the son of man whom You made strong for Yourself. Then we shall not turn back from You; revive us, and we will call upon Your name. O Lord God of hosts, restore us; cause Your face to shine upon us, and we will be saved.”
(Psalm 80:1–7, 17–19 NASB)
Do you see the repetition of the request, “O God restore us…cause Your face to shine upon us”? The expression “cause your face to shine upon us” is another way of asking God to smile on us. This song hints at the coming of God’s Son, the Son of Man, who will be instrumental in our salvation—our only hope of being restored and revived. And only because God smiled on us.
Since our heavenly Father was so willing to smile on us that he would send his own unique Son for our salvation, we truly have great hope, no matter how difficult our struggles. Since our heavenly Father was so willing to smile on us that he made provision for our forgiveness and our reconciliation with himself, we truly have peace and joy no matter how far we have fallen or how miserably we have failed. And since our heavenly Father was willing to do whatever it took to turn us back to himself, even offering us his own Son to us, we are able to rest and find comfort in his everlasting love.
We are caught up in the midst of God’s story, and like Joseph, are participating in what God is doing to turn us all back to himself. Advent reminds us that even when we are at our worst, God has smiled on us. Christ has come, is coming even now by his Spirit in our everyday lives, and will return again in glory one day. We are reminded to look away from our problems, look away from ourselves, and to look up into the face of our loving Father, to see him smile on us. And right there—we discover, we are saved.
Heavenly Father, thank you for smiling on us and giving us the gift of your Son and your Spirit. Remind us anew to turn away from ourselves and our sorrows and to turn to you. Smile on us again, so that we might experience anew our salvation, through Jesus, your Son. Amen.
“Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.’ Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel,’ translated means, ‘God with us.’ And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.” Matthew 1:18–25 NASB
[Printable copy: https://newhope4me.files.wordpress.com/2022/12/olitbecause-god-smiled.pdf ]
[More devotionals may be found at https://lifeinthetrinity.blog ]
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