relationship
Hope Fulfilled
By Linda Rex
January 5, 2025, 2nd Sunday in Christmas—As we enter this new year of 2025, we face many challenges. We look forward with optimism as we see opportunities for growth or anticipate achieving certain goals we set for ourselves. We may dread the outcome of long-term illnesses. Or we may look forward with hopeful joy as we expect the coming of a new child.
No matter what our future may hold for us, we have learned during our Advent and Christmas seasons, that we can have hope. We can have hope, not because we know how things will turn out, but because amid every circumstance of life, we are not alone. We do not do any of these things on our own, but in relationship with our heavenly triune God through Jesus in the Spirit.
In our Old Testament passage for this Sunday, Jeremiah 31:7–14, the prophet inserts in the middle of his prophetic warning to ancient Israel, a word of hope. This hope is not based upon the nation’s willingness and ability to live rightly or to bring it about, but solely in who God is as their covenant partner. God declared they were his people and he was their God. For that reason alone, he would ensure their return and their blessing.
However, we find that the blessing God intended for his people went far beyond what they expected. God had much more in mind than simply returning this people to a location here on earth and giving them a lot of earthly blessings. God was more concerned about their eternal destiny and their spiritual renewal. What God had in mind is what he had in mind for all humans everywhere in all time—the restoration of our relationship with him through our Lord Jesus Christ, and the unity we would one day have with God in the Holy Spirit in the new heaven and earth.
We read about God’s heart in the New Testament reading for this Sunday, Ephesians 1:3–14. In this passage, the apostle Paul celebrates the loving heart of our heavenly Father, who, from before time, intended us to be “holy and blameless before him.” It was always on God’s mind that we be adopted as his beloved children through our Lord Jesus Christ. Everything we have celebrated during this Christmas season points to the important event of the incarnation, where God’s Son entered into our human existence and joined us here on earth. This was always God’s intention, and he worked towards this end in spite of our human fall into evil, sin, and death.
When we read the prophecy of Jeremiah, we hear the echoes of the future fulfillment of this prophetic word in Jesus Christ. For example, he writes that the Lord says, “… I will make them walk by streams of waters, on a straight path in which they will not stumble; for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is My firstborn.” In looking back through the lens of Jesus Christ, we see this word differently than we would see it through the lens of the Mosaic covenant.
We see that the ancient nation of Israel is wrapped up in the person of Jesus, who fulfilled all that was required of them in their covenant with God. We see the “father” talked about in this passage revealed by Jesus to be his own heavenly Father, and the “streams of waters” to be the Helper, the blessed gift of the Holy Spirit. We see that in Jesus, the Son of the Father, who in our human flesh, walked the road we are to walk in relationship with his Father, we have a path to live in and follow which will prevent us from stumbling. As we walk in the Spirit, and not in our flesh, we walk in Jesus, and in doing so, we will not stumble, for he upholds us.
We see that God’s heart toward us desires our blessing and our joy. He worked for millennia to keep his promise to heal and restore our relationship with him. Jesus, when he came, was diligent to fulfill the promises given in the Old Testament to his people, and to the nations. What we celebrate during this Christmas season reminds us that God is faithful, and that we can place our trust in him, because of who he is as our faithful Lord. We are filled with hope, peace, joy, and love, as we reflect on all he has done for us, is doing for us today as he is present in this world by his Spirit, and what he will do one day when Jesus comes in glory to establish the new heaven and earth. In all these things, we have every reason to celebrate. Merry Christmas!
Heavenly Trinity, thank you for your faithfulness and your love expressed to us in the gift of Jesus Christ. Open our hearts and minds and enable us to receive this precious gift, and respond to all have done, are doing, and will do, in faith, putting our faith completely in you and not in ourselves. We thank you for keeping your word, and giving us every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus. Amen.
“For thus says the LORD, ‘Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations; proclaim, give praise and say, “O LORD, save Your people, the remnant of Israel.” Behold, I am bringing them from the north country, and I will gather them from the remote parts of the earth, among them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and she who is in labor with child, together; a great company, they will return here. With weeping they will come, and by supplication I will lead them; I will make them walk by streams of waters, on a straight path in which they will not stumble; for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is My firstborn.’ Hear the word of the LORD, O nations, and declare in the coastlands afar off, and say, ‘He who scattered Israel will gather him and keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock.’ For the LORD has ransomed Jacob and redeemed him from the hand of him who was stronger than he. They will come and shout for joy on the height of Zion, and they will be radiant over the bounty of the LORD—over the grain and the new wine and the oil, and over the young of the flock and the herd; and their life will be like a watered garden, and they will never languish again. Then the virgin will rejoice in the dance, and the young men and the old, together, for I will turn their mourning into joy and will comfort them and give them joy for their sorrow. I will fill the soul of the priests with abundance, and My people will be satisfied with My goodness,” declares the LORD.” Jeremiah 31:7–14 NASB
See also Ephesians 1:3–14; John 1:10–18.
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Growing Up With Jesus
By Linda Rex
December 29, 2024, 1st Sunday in Christmas | Holy Family—On this first day in the twelve days of Christmas, we pause to consider Jesus’ human family. Often, during Christmas, we focus on the incarnation of Jesus Christ—the coming of the Son of God to take on human flesh. But Christmas begins with Christmas Eve and lasts twelve days. And on this Sunday, we consider Jesus’ incarnational life here on earth, and what it means for us that Jesus took on our human flesh, living a genuine human life here on earth before he died, rose again, and ascended into glory.
Our Old Testament passage for this Sunday is 1 Samuel 2:18–20, 26. The back story for this passage is that after the ancient nation of Israel had finally had crossed over the Jordan River into the Promised Land, and had settled there, they fell back into idolatry and immorality, and other sins, thereby violating their covenant agreement with their God. God would allow a nation to take them captive and eventually the Israelites would turn back to God, repenting of their sinful ways. God would send a deliverer, a judge, to rescue them. They would follow God as long as the judge led them, but eventually the judge would die, and they would go back to doing what was in violation of their covenant with God. And they would again end up enslaved.
As this reached its climax, the priest at the time, Eli, had two sons who served at the tabernacle as priests. They stole the sacrificial offerings and slept with the women who served at the tabernacle—both acts were a grave offense to God. The Lord warned Eli that he needed to deal with his sons, but he would not. In the middle of this circumstance, a man named Elkanah came to present his yearly sacrifice to the Lord. Elkanah had married two woman (a local custom God didn’t approve of), one of which he loved most, Hannah. The other woman, Peninnah, may not have had Elkanah’s favor, but she had several children, and mocked Hannah for her childlessness. This situation came to a crisis during their visit to offer sacrifice, and Hannah ran to the tabernacle to pour out her heart to the Lord. The priest Eli saw her there and thought she was drunk. But when he heard her story, he gave her God’s blessing.
When Elkanah and his family returned home, Hannah became pregnant. She offered her firstborn son, Samuel, in service to the Lord. Samuel began to serve under Eli the priest, and wore a linen ephod—even as a boy, Samual served the Lord. In contrast to Eli’s sons who were so disobedient and evil, Samuel was faithful and obedient in his service to God.
The picture here is of a youth and a young man serving in God’s tabernacle. As the firstborn son, he was devoted to God, to faithfully serve God all his life. As Samuel matured, and continued to serve the Lord faithfully, he grew “in stature and in favor both with the Lord and with men.” When we consider the circumstances around Samuel’s life of service, and how he came to be in that place, serving the Lord, we are reminded this time of year about another young man devoted to the service of the Lord—Jesus Christ.
Samuel is a good signpost to our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus was also born under divinely ordained circumstances, being born of the virgin Mary, conceived of the Holy Spirit. As a young man, we see Jesus in the temple, talking with the elders of the nation, asking questions, and giving profound answers which shocked them. When his parents missed him and finally found him in the temple, Jesus asked them, “Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?” Even at age twelve, the age of accountability, Jesus was actively serving in his Father’s house, and growing in his relationship with his heavenly Father. He returned and submitted himself to his parents’ authority until he was older, and like Samuel, he “kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men” (Luke 2:41–52). Even as a youth and young man, Jesus took seriously his relationship with his heavenly Father, and began to seek his face and serve him when he was young.
Both these stories provide a guiding star by which we can direct our lives as young people and as youth. We do not need to wait to grow up to begin our relationship with God. We can participate even now in Jesus’ life with his Father by the Holy Spirit. We can seek God’s face, ask great questions, and be inspired by the Spirit with great answers. We can grow in God’s wisdom, maturity, and in favor with God and those about us, as we are devoted to him, and seek to serve him. Amid a chaotic, sin-laden world, which pulls us into unhealthy ways of living and being, we can turn to Christ and determine to live a better way—the way we were designed to live—in loving relationship with God and one another, as God always intended. Jesus Christ has made this possible, so we turn to him in faith and follow where he leads us by the power of his Holy Spirit. As we live according to his Word, in faithful devotion to God and humble love and service to others, we will grow and mature as God intends. May God bless you as you grow up in Christ. Merry Christmas!
Heavenly Father, thank you for loving us even when we are young and immature, just enjoying play and learning the basics of life. Grant us the grace to grow up in Christ, to choose the better way, rather than just going along with what everyone else is doing. Grant us the courage to resist the pulls of this world, and to choose a relationship with you, and to serve you all our lives, through Jesus our Lord and by your Spirit. Amen.
“Now Samuel was ministering before the Lord, as a boy wearing a linen ephod. And his mother would make him a little robe and bring it to him from year to year when she would come up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. Then Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife and say, ‘May the Lord give you children from this woman in place of the one she dedicated to the Lord.’ And they went to their own home. Now the boy Samuel was growing in stature and in favor both with the Lord and with men.” 1 Samuel 2:18–20, 26
“Now His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. And when He became twelve, they went up there according to the custom of the Feast; and as they were returning, after spending the full number of days, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. But His parents were unaware of it, but supposed Him to be in the caravan, and went a day’s journey; and they began looking for Him among their relatives and acquaintances. When they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem looking for Him. Then, after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers. When they saw Him, they were astonished; and His mother said to Him, ‘Son, why have You treated us this way? Behold, Your father and I have been anxiously looking for You.’ And He said to them, ‘Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?’ But they did not understand the statement which He had made to them. And He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and He continued in subjection to them; and His mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” Luke 2:41–52 NASB
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The God Who Will
By Linda Rex
December 1, 2024, 1st Sunday in Advent | Hope—As we move into Year C in the Revised Common Lectionary, we are once again in the season of Advent. This year, as we go through Advent, I thought I would consider the Old Testament passages in the RCL and how they apply to the themes of the season.
I remember a season in my life when I felt like there was no hope. I felt like my significant relationships had failed me, my life was full of very difficult challenges, and it seemed like I had no options left. I could have turned to many things or people to try to solve this dilemma, but they would all have left me worst off than when I began. I knew that my only solution was to turn to God.
The problem was that the only God I knew was the God of my youth—a very condemning, critical being who was quick to punish when you messed up and only blessed you if you were being good and doing what was right. As I walked through this season of darkness, and sought the Lord as I only knew how, God led me down a new path, opening himself to me in a new way. I had to learn that the source of my hope in life was in him alone.
God revealed himself to me as the God of hope, who had given himself to me—to all of us—in Jesus Christ, and who pours that gift of hope into us by the power of his Holy Spirit. I had to come to know God in a new way, as the Triune God of love, who ever lives in self-giving, self-sacrificial love, and offers himself to us in the gift of Jesus Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit.
On this first Sunday of Advent, we consider the theme of Hope. A verse on hope which I recently memorized is Romans 15:13. It goes like this: “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (NIV). What the apostle Paul shares with us is an overwhelmingly beautiful vision of who God is—our God of hope. As we trust in him, he fills us to overflowing with his Holy Spirit, who pours into us God’s very own hope, given to us in Jesus Christ.
This God of hope is also a faithful God. In our Old Testament reading for this Sunday, Jeremiah 33:14–16, the prophet interrupts his prophetic warning to his people, the covenant people of God, to give them a vision of hope—telling them what God was going to do in spite of what they deserved. They had broken their covenant of love relationship with God, and were suffering acutely because of it. Their land was being overrun by invaders, their capital was being destroyed and their temple torn down. This was the consequence of their rebellion and disobedience. But there would come a time when God would restore them, giving them a leader who would be both a righteous king and a holy priest. God would make a new covenant with them and enable them to obey and live in right relationship with him. God would keep his promise to have a ruler from the tribe of Judah who would reign forever—his promise to King David; and he would keep his promise to have a priest who would intercede for the people forever—his promise to Aaron, who was from the tribe of Levi.
But God’s faithfulness to his promises looked a lot different than what was expected by his covenant people. God fulfilled both promises in the same person—a person who was both from the ruling tribe of Judah and a priest forever after the manner of Melchizedek. This person was born in a manger—the child of a teenage unwed mother from a small, insignificant town in Galilee, who was impregnated by the power of the Holy Spirit. This tiny baby, who grew up as a craftsman’s adopted son, was both fully God and fully man. Because of who he was as the Son of God, he lived a truly righteous life here on earth, in right relationship with his heavenly Father in the Spirit. Because of who he was as the Son of Man, he experienced a truly human life and he interceded on behalf of all who have ever lived, living our life, dying our death, and rising again, ascending to his Father’s throne, to intercede forever on our behalf. This person is Jesus Christ, who is the fulfillment of God’s will which had been set since before time began—to have adopted children with whom to share his divine life and love.
God set his will to do all of this long before anything was even created—and he finished what he began when the time came for his promise to be fulfilled in Jesus. We have a God who will—and who did—and who does. And this gives us great hope. We can trust our God to finish what he has begun in us and in our world, for he is our God of hope. Jesus will one day return in glory and establish his new heaven and earth, where God will dwell with man forever. We look forward to that day with great hope, as we live today in hope given to us through Jesus by the Holy Spirit.
Father, thank you for giving us great hope through your Son Jesus and in your gift of your Holy Spirit. Grant us the grace to trust in you, to depend on you in every moment. Please fill us with hope, especially when our world seems so bleak. In your name, Jesus, we pray. Amen.
“ ‘Behold, days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will fulfill the good word which I have spoken concerning the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch of David to spring forth; and He shall execute justice and righteousness on the earth. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will dwell in safety; and this is the name by which she will be called: the Lord is our righteousness.’ ” Jeremiah 33:14–16 NASB
“For what thanks can we render to God for you in return for all the joy with which we rejoice before our God on your account, as we night and day keep praying most earnestly that we may see your face, and may complete what is lacking in your faith? Now may our God and Father Himself and Jesus our Lord direct our way to you;and may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another, and for all people, just as we also do for you; so that He may establish your hearts without blame in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.” 1 Thessalonians 3:9–13 NASB
“Remember, O Lord, Your compassion and Your lovingkindnesses, for they have been from of old. Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to Your lovingkindness remember me, for Your goodness’ sake, O Lord. Good and upright is the Lord; therefore He instructs sinners in the way. He leads the humble in justice, and He teaches the humble His way. All the paths of the Lord are lovingkindness and truth to those who keep His covenant and His testimonies.” Psalm 25: (1–5) 6–10 NASB
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The Perfect Atonement
By Linda Rex
November 3, 2024, Proper 26—This year on October 11, 2024, many observed a special day called Yom Kippur. On this important day of the year, the holiest on the Jewish calendar, many fast and pray, cease from all labor, and gather together for a special service. In Leviticus 16, we learn there were specific sacrifices that the ancient nation of Israel observed on this day, which is often known as the Day of Atonement.
Two goats would be offered, and each would have a specific role to play—one would be offered to God in sacrifice for the sins of the people. Blood from the goat offered to God would be taken by the high priest into the most holy place (never entered except by the high priest on this day, once a year), and the high priest would sprinkle it on the mercy seat and in the tent of meeting, purifying them. And then there would be a bull offered as well, for the high priest’s cleansing, and its blood would be offered with that of the goat, and the great altar would be cleansed. Then the other goat would have the sins of the people laid on it, and as Azazel’s goat, it would be sent out into the desert to carry away the sins of the people. There were many more offerings than just this (Lev. 23:26-32; Num. 29:7-11), but what I’ve shared so far enables us to begin to see the significance of our New Testament passage for this Sunday, Hebrews 9:11-14.
In all those years of animals being offered in sacrifice, the Levite high priest offered up the means of grace given them by God for the annual renewal of the covenant for the ancient Jewish people. The sins of the people were cleansed, the covenant renewed, but only an external cleansing or purification occurred. Nothing was done for the inward work of transformation which was actually needed.
Now, though, because Jesus is the perfect offering, the person who had no sin, who lived a genuine human existence as the Son of God in human flesh, we have a greater, more perfect sacrifice. He willingly walked the road to the cross, allowed himself to be crucified, because he knew he was fulfilling every one of these sacred events in the life of his people. He would be both the goat who was offered and the goat who took away our sins once and for all. He would be the bull who would cleanse us of our own personal sins. He would be both the great High Priest and the perfect Atonement, for us.
The author of Hebrews explains how the Son of God came in human flesh and took on the role of our high priest through his own sacrificial self-offering. In this particular passage, the author explains that Jesus Christ entered into “the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands…not of this creation.” The tabernacle being described is actually heaven itself, for the Son of God, having taken on human flesh, lived a genuine human existence, was crucified and died, and was resurrected. Like the high priest who “ascended” into the holy of holies to offer the sacred sacrifice once a year, Jesus ascended into glory, still bearing our humanity, and offered himself in our place on our behalf. Today he continues to act as our divine Mediator and High Priest. Jesus has become our place of perfect rest in relationship with God, for he offers our prayers up to the Father in the Spirit, and offers us the high priest blessing of peace in return. Because he is without blemish, perfect in every aspect, he fulfills the sacred aspects of this day in his own person. As Thomas F. Torrance says, “Christ Jesus IS the atonement” (TFT, Atonement, 94).
Unlike the human high priest who had to offer a bull for his own personal cleansing, Jesus did not need any special offering for himself. As God in human flesh, Jesus was the perfect Lamb of God, as John the Baptizer described him, who was offered for the sins of all. Jesus was filled with the Spirit from conception, received the anointing of the Spirit for ministry, and lived and walked by the Spirit throughout his life and ministry. He lived in perfect unity with his Father in the Spirit each day, and was ever faithful in the Word of God and prayer.
Not only is Jesus the One who intercedes for us, but he is also the One who is sacrificed for us. What is cleansed is not just the outer person, but the inward person. For Jesus, in his perfect life and death and resurrection, writes God’s law on our inward parts, and then sends us the Spirit after his ascension so we can begin to live as new persons, in right relationship with his Father in the Spirit as we trust in him and walk in the Spirit. As the author of Hebrews says, “how much more” will Christ’s blood cleanse our inner mind and heart, enabling us to serve God as he always intended? This was always God’s plan, and in Jesus Christ, he accomplished it! And this sounds to me like some very, very good news!
Dear Trinity, thank you for the marvelous work you have done to bring us into relationship with yourself through Jesus in the Spirit. Thank you, dear Jesus, for your perfect self-offering, and for standing as our High Priest, interceding for us and mediating for us in the Spirit at all times. Thank you, heavenly Spirit, for growing us up into the maturity that is Christ. We are simply grateful for all you have done and are doing. Amen.
“But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He centered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” Hebrews 9:11–14 NASB
“But now Christ has made his public appearance as High Priest of a perfect tabernacle. The good things that were predicted have arrived. This new tabernacle does not derive from its shadow type, the previous man-made one. It is the reality. As High Priest, his permission to enter the Holy Place was not secured by the blood of beasts. By his own blood he obtained access on behalf of the human race. Only one act was needed for him to enter the most sacred place of grace and there to institute a ransom of perpetual consequence. The blood of beasts and the ashes of the burnt sacrifice of a heifer could only achieve a very temporal and surface cleansing by being sprinkled on the guilty. How much more effective was the blood of Christ, when he presented his own flawless life through the eternal Spirit before God, in order to purge your conscience from its frustration under the cul-de-sac rituals of the law. There is no comparison between a guilt- and duty-driven, dead religious system, and the vibrancy of living your life free from a sin-consciousness! This is what the new testament priesthood is all about!” Hebrews 9:11–14 Mirror Bible
“Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” Deuteronomy 6:4–9 NASB
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Offered Once For All
By Linda Rex
October 27, 2024, Proper 25—As we have been touching down here and there in the book of Hebrews, we have been learning about Jesus Christ serving as our high priest now that that he has risen from the grave and ascended into heaven. We’ve looked at Jesus and his intercessory role in our lives, and how he ever offers our worship and praise to our Father, and offers the Father’s gifts, his Word, and his love and grace to us in the Spirit.
Perhaps you’ve heard that old phrase, “There’s nothing so certain as death and taxes.” In our New Testament passage for this Sunday, Hebrews 7:23–28, this book’s author notes that in the original tabernacle which we read about in the book of Exodus and Leviticus, the high priest was appointed according to the law. This high priest would eventually die, and another would be appointed in his place. This meant that as time went by, the role of high priest was continually being filled by different people. Death limited the ministry of those who offered this service of high priesthood to God and the people of ancient Israel.
Jesus Christ, on the other hand, while in his human flesh did die, but then he, being the Son of God, rose from the grave. Because he remains both God and human, Jesus lives forever and will never die. Jesus has been appointed our high priest according to the Father’s promise, which will never be broken. We can take comfort that nothing, not even death, can separate us from Jesus and his love for us (Rom. 8:38–39). There is continuity in Jesus’ ministry to us in the Spirit, and we can rest assured that he will always be there for us, offering us grace in our time of need, as we draw near to him.
As our high priest, Jesus offered up the perfect sacrifice—himself. He does not need to continually offer up new animal sacrifices like the ancient high priests were required to. No, he simply offered himself, in our place on our behalf, just once, and offers himself continually on our behalf, in every moment, on into eternity. Jesus has no sin in himself that needs to be dealt with through sacrifice as the ancient high priests constantly had to concern themselves with. Rather, Jesus is without sin, holy in character, and flawless and undefiled. So what he offers—himself—is the perfect sacrifice. Not only did his self-offering only have to be done once, it also was an offering that includes all people, and all that God has made in and through Jesus, and it lasts forever.
Because of who Jesus is as the Creator and Redeemer of all things, his sacrifice has tremendous power to redeem, restore, and renew. We celebrate the wonderful gift of new life that Jesus gives us, and we rest in his faithful intercession in our place on our behalf before his Father in the Spirit. Jesus is constantly at work making all things new—this is his word to us through the apostle John (Rev. 21:5; 2 Cor. 5:17). And we look forward to when Jesus will return in glory and renew all things as he ushers in the new heaven and earth. What a glorious hope we have in Jesus!
Now, if you thought that is good news, just consider how wonderful it is that we do not have to try and work things out with a distant, uninvolved, uncaring God. This Jesus Christ who we trust in is the Son of our heavenly Father, with whom he lives in close relationship in the heavenly Spirit. There is an eternal relationship of love and grace that Jesus brought humanity right up into. And within that relationship of love and grace, we get to share by the Spirit in Jesus’ own sonship, in face-to-face oneness with his Father. We are not left trying to figure out some way to make ourselves right with God, or trying to make ourselves good enough or acceptable enough to be worthy of God’s love, attention, or grace. Instead, we are simply able to rest in and revel in the joy of participating in Jesus’ own oneness with his Father in the Spirit, as we trust in Jesus’ finished work. This motivates us to live a life of gratitude and obedient service to the Lord who both created us and redeems us. Praise God!
Dear Jesus, thank you for the amazing gift you have given, in giving yourself so generously and freely in our place on our behalf. Thank you for ever interceding for us and for bringing us home to our Father to be with him forever in the Spirit. We praise you for your glorious work! Amen.
“The former priests, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers because they were prevented by death from continuing, but Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently. Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of the oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, made perfect forever.” Hebrews 7:23–28 NASB
“The fact that there were so many priests shows how frequently they died and had to be replaced. But there will be no successor to the Priesthood of Jesus because he remains forever. Through him mankind’s approach to God is forever secured; he continues to communicate the full accomplishment of their salvation. As our High Priest he towers far above every other priestly system in conspicuous prominence and in holy character. His guileless, flawless life on earth was never compromised by sin, and he himself was exalted above the heavens where he occupies the highest rank of authority in the eternal realm. Unlike the previous high priests whose system of daily sacrifices was a constant reminder of their own failures, he had no need to sacrifice on his own behalf. The sacrifice he offered was himself for all; a sacrifice never to be repeated. Under the law, men were appointed as high priests regardless of their weaknesses. The word of the oath, which succeeded the law, appointed the son in perpetual perfection.” Hebrews 7:23–28 Mirror Bible
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The One Who Understands
By Linda Rex
October 13, 2024, Proper 23 | After Pentecost—In the message last week, we were reminded of who God is and who we are as his beloved children. We approach our relationship with God from the vantage point of beloved children, who are dependent upon our loving parent, the one who directs us, provides for us, cares for us, and seeks our best.
As we continue our journey through the book of Hebrews, we come to this Sunday’s passage in which we see Jesus at God’s right hand, interceding for us as our high priest. In Hebrews 4:12–16, the author shows us how Jesus, as the One who took on our human form and fully experienced our human existence, is able to intercede on our behalf with deep compassion and understanding. He did not yield to sin, even though he experienced the same temptations we do.
Today, many of us may not even know what someone is talking about when they talk about a high priest. But this is an important biblical concept, especially in regards to God’s covenant of love which he forged with his people, the ancient nation of Israel. The role of the high priest was that of a representative who ministered the word of God to the people, and offered the sacrifices and prayers of the people to God. This was all done according to God’s instructions, and was a way in which the nation could live in right relationship with God even though they were a flawed and faulty people. This relationship with God was a gift, made possible by God’s mercy and grace, simply because of God’s way of being, which is self-giving, other-centered love.
We as human beings do not live our lives in a vacuum, nor do we live our lives unseen by God. No, he knows us down to the core of our being, with all our flaws, all our glories, and all our weaknesses. What is interesting about this passage is that when the author says, “all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do,” it is using an expression commonly used to describe the neck of a creature being exposed so that it can be cut with a blade for sacrifice. In Jesus’ sacrifice, we as human beings are laid open, completely exposed, but in such a way that he stands in our place, interceding on our behalf. As the living Word of God in human flesh, who allowed himself to be crucified for our sake, Jesus Christ wrote the word of God on our minds and hearts. He turned us back to his Father in the Spirit, bringing us into his own face-to-face relationship.
And in that complete openness to the gaze of God, we are held within Jesus’ own life of faith in relationship with his Father in the Spirit. Jesus’ presence with his Father in the Spirit means that we can approach God with confidence and courage, trusting in Jesus’ complete sympathetic understanding of our weaknesses and temptations. In the humble recognition of our need for grace and mercy, we find ourselves welcomed and accepted, since Jesus is interceding on our behalf.
For many of us, this has not always been our experience of God. Do we feel as though we have to get all ourselves all cleaned up and dusted off before we can venture to have any conversation with God whatsoever? If this is the case, we need to reconsider our understanding of who Jesus Christ is, and who he is for us as the One who knows us so completely that he can judge the thoughts and intents of our hearts, while at the same time intercede for us with compassionate mercy and grace.
Do we understand that God created us to live a certain way—the way of other-centered, self-giving love—yet understands our frailty and weakness that seems to always betray us and keep us from walking in that way? We need to have both the humility to allow God to determine how we live our lives, but also the humility to trust in his mercy and grace when we don’t live that way. This is the position of rest God calls us to in Jesus Christ. This rest, which is ours in Jesus, is experienced as we trust in him and all he has done in our place and on our behalf. Apart from his gracious work, we cannot live in the truth of who we are as God’s children, in right relationship with God and each other. So, we put our faith in Jesus alone, allowing him to be who he is—our Lord and our Savior, and our High Priest.
Dear Father, thank you for sending your Son for our salvation and for giving us your Spirit. We acknowledge our sin and our need for Christ’s gracious intercession on our behalf. Thank you, Jesus, for always interceding for us, for enabling us to receive mercy and grace. Enable us to rest fully in you. Amen.
“For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:12–16 NASB
“They were even more astonished and said to Him, ‘Then who can be saved?’ Looking at them, Jesus said, ‘With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.’” Mark 10:17–31 NASB
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Our Life of Fellowship
by Linda Rex
September 29, 2024, Proper 21 | After Pentecost—Back in 2013, I accomplished a huge goal in my life by completing my Master of Pastoral Studies degree at Grace Communion Seminary. As part of this project, I wrote a thesis on the New Testament passage which happens to be one of the RCL passages for this Sunday, James 5:13–20.
I had to do an extensive exegesis on the passage, and also examine it in the light of historic orthodox Christian teaching, as well as within the context of our theological journey within Grace Communion International. As I began to study this passage, I examined it in the light of Christ-centered Trinitarian theology, since Jesus needs to be the lens through which I look. Even though my thesis had to do with the importance role relationships play in experiencing health and wholeness, it brought forth some important nuances about our life of faith within the Body of Christ, and what our life of fellowship with one another should look like.
Here is a summary passage from that thesis:
God has called us all into relationship with himself in Christ by the Spirit. As believers we live in relationship with one another in Christ, as well as in union with the Father, Son and Spirit. Throughout all of life, we are to live in relationship with God, responding to him in prayer and in songs of praise in the good times and bad. As believers, we live as members of the Body of Christ in the Spirit, and as such we have a responsibility to one another. When a brother or sister is ill, they are encouraged to call for the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them so they may experience the care and concern of both God and their brothers and sisters. When a brother or sister is struggling with weaknesses, we minister God’s grace to them in prayer and/or in other ways. We are encouraged to confess our faults to one another and to pray for one another so we may be free. And we call erring brothers and sisters back to their center in Christ when they wander away. As we participate with Christ in his ministry of care for others, we share in the spiritual blessings that come from the harvest he seeks in the lives of his people as he conforms them to Christ.
As you can see, life in fellowship with others is vibrant, alive, and active. It is a life of sharing, caring, and serving one another. There is a responsibility to one another, and a deep sense of humility, joy, obedience, and reverence before God, as we walk in intimate relationship with him.
When we look at our Christian fellowships today, how many of them look like this? I don’t say that to be critical, but to show that the Holy Spirit does not change. When the Holy Spirit draws us together into spiritual fellowships—this is what it looks like. This is where Jesus Christ shows up—living in us, with us, and through us by his Spirit. This is where the Father’s presence rests, and we live in the joy of mutual indwelling through Jesus in the Spirit. In my mind, this looks a lot like what GCI calls healthy church.
The question is not whether our church is or is not following some guideline to be healthy church. The question is, are we in union and communion with our Triune God—Father, Son, and Spirit? Are we united with Christ? If so, then, how are we living that out in our relationships with one another? Living it out relationship with one another looks like getting into face-to-face relationships with people who may be like us or different than us. And relationships can be very messy, and difficult. In fact, some relationships may be even painful or distressing. And that may make us very uncomfortable.
But the point is—we never do any of this alone. There is one human being who has dealt with just about any kind of person that has ever existed—and he still lives as God in human flesh—the resurrected Jesus Christ. Our ability to live with others in warm fellowship is made possible by Jesus Christ living in and through us by the Holy Spirit. It is the life of Christ actively flowing in and through us which brings about this warm fellowship which characterizes the Body of Christ. Are we opening ourselves up to the Holy Spirit? Do we draw close to God through listening to his Word, praying, and practicing the many other spiritual disciplines such as silence, solitude, generosity, and service? These are things we do to open ourselves up to allow God to live his life of warm fellowship in and through us. And this is our life of fellowship as the Body of Christ.
Heavenly Father, Jesus, Spirit, thank you for including us in your life and love. Thank you, Jesus, for all you have done and are doing to make this possible. And thank you, heavenly Spirit, for always and forever working in and through us to enable us to live in fellowship with you, God, and one another, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
“Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises. Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. Elijah was aa man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit. My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.” James 5:13–20 NASB
[Printable copy: https://lifeinthetrinity.blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/olitour-life-of-fellowship.pdf ]
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Walking Wisely
By Linda Rex
August 18, 2024, Proper 15 | After Pentecost—Often, it is as we deal with the consequences of our choices that we begin to grow in wisdom, and learn the significant life lessons we need to learn as we grow up in Christ. One of the interesting characters from biblical history is King Solomon. In our Old Testament reading for this Sunday, we see how King Solomon is invited by God to ask for anything he wants. King Solomon chooses, instead of wealth, fame, or power, to ask God for wisdom in order to properly judge his people. In response, God promises King Solomon wisdom. But since that’s all he asked for, the Lord also promises him many of the things he did not ask for (1 Kings 2:10–12, 3:3–14).
God kept his word to King Solomon. He became well known for his wisdom and also became powerful, famous, and rich. We find, though, that throughout his life, Solomon failed to pay close attention to the one thing which would have given him true wisdom—walking in God’s way, the same way his father David had walked. And because he missed the mark in this, Solomon ended his life far afield from the humble dependence upon God with which he had started. Upon his death, his kingdom was divided and all he worked for came to naught.
In our New Testament reading for this Sunday, Ephesians 5:15-20, the apostle Paul admonishes the members in Ephesia to be careful how they walk. They are to walk wisely, not unwisely, realizing the evil times they find themselves living in. In order to walk wisely, they need to understand the will of God. Paul encourages them to be filled with the Spirit and to give thanks, no matter what they face, in the name of Jesus to our heavenly Father. In understanding the will of God, they are to live each day filled with the Spirit and with praise and gratitude in their hearts and on their lips. As we read Paul’s message, we discover that God’s wisdom looks a lot different than what we might immediately expect.
While it is good to have wisdom in dealing with the everyday issues of life, like King Solomon needed wisdom to deal with the everyday issues of reigning over Israel, the greater wisdom has to do with our relationship with our Father through Jesus in the Spirit. In our New Testament passage for this Sunday, Jesus tells his listeners that in order to have true life, they need to eat his flesh and drink his blood (John 6:51–58). Keeping in mind that the religious teaching of these people said that eating human flesh and drinking human blood was a sacrilegious practice, we can understand why Jesus’ listeners struggled with what he was saying. Wisdom, according to human understanding, said they were to avoid eating and drinking of Jesus. But true, divine wisdom said they were to partake of Christ in an ongoing way, if they wanted true life. Which was the truth?
We are reminded that Jesus said that he is “the way, the truth, and the life” (Jn. 14:6) He taught us that the Spirit of truth would lead us into all truth (Jn. 16:13). And that truth would set us free (Jn. 8:32). Where do we turn when we are uncertain as to how to walk wisely? We turn to Jesus Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God (1 Cor. 1:24). Jesus Christ, the Son of God in human flesh, who lived our life, died our death, and rose again, is the embodiment of true wisdom. He gives us himself in the Spirit so that we can, by the Spirit, participate in his perfect and complete wisdom.
When we struggle with choices, decisions, relationships, and so many other troubles, we find our rest in the One who has gone before us and who holds within himself the truth of our human experience and existence, glorified in the presence of our heavenly Father in the Spirit. This is why the apostle Paul tells us to “be filled with the Spirit.” This is a continuous event—we keep on being filled anew with God’s Spirit, the indwelling presence of our Lord Jesus Christ and his Father. As we open ourselves up to the heavenly Spirit of God, we participate in the wisdom of God, and find ourselves participating in Christ’s own life in relationship with his Father, and expressing our gratitude and praise in response. This is the life of faith, life in the Spirit, which we were designed and redeemed to live in, now and on into the new heaven and earth. What a gift God has given us! In Christ, we have been given true wisdom, as we continually open ourselves up to and receive his Spirit. As we live and walk in the Spirit rather than according to our human wisdom, we experience real life, life in the Spirit—and this is what we were created for.
Dear heavenly Father, we recognize that our human wisdom falls far short of what we need in order to truly live as you desire. Grant us the grace to turn to Jesus for the wisdom you offer. We open ourselves up anew to your Spirit, that we may be filled anew, in Jesus’ name, with your perfect wisdom. Amen.
“Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father;” Ephesians 5:15–20 NASB
“ ‘I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.’ Then the Jews began to argue with one another, saying, ‘How can this man give us His flesh to eat?’ So Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me. This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever.’ ” John 6:51–58 NASB
“In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream at night; and God said, ‘Ask what you wish me to give you.’ Then Solomon said, ‘You have shown great lovingkindness to Your servant David my father, according as he walked before You in truth and righteousness and uprightness of heart toward You; and You have reserved for him this great lovingkindness, that You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. Now, O LORD my God, You have made Your servant king in place of my father David, yet I am but a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. Your servant is in the midst of Your people which You have chosen, a great people who are too many to be numbered or counted. So give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?’ It was pleasing in the sight of the Lord that Solomon had asked this thing. God said to him, ‘Because you have asked this thing and have not asked for yourself long life, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have you asked for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself discernment to understand justice, behold, I have done according to your words. Behold, I have given you a wise and discerning heart, so that there has been no one like you before you, nor shall one like you arise after you. I have also given you what you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that there will not be any among the kings like you all your days. If you walk in My ways, keeping My statutes and commandments, as your father David walked, then I will prolong your days.’ ” 1 Kings (2:10–12), 3:(3–4), 5–14 NASB
[Printable copy: https://lifeinthetrinity.blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/olitwalk-wisely.pdf ]
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Pushing Away God’s Love
By Linda Rex
August 11, 2024, Proper 14—Last week I wrote about our role as members of the body of Christ, the Church (meaning the universal, all-encompassing, cross-denominational and cross-distinctives body of Christ). In our current culture, a group of people from all walks of life, backgrounds, and ways of being who live together in unity and other-centered love is in many ways a countercultural entity. People who have lived much of their lives in a very individualistic, self-absorbed manner may find it very challenging to be warmly embraced and invited into close relationship. In fact, it may feel invasive and even frightening to some people.
Over the years, I discovered that one reason we may push away such a welcoming, inclusive experience is because we are afraid that if we let anyone get close, they may discover what we are really like and reject us. What God has called his Church to be is the place where people are fully known, yet fully loved and accepted. The body of Christ, the Church, is meant to be a safe place for all God’s children. Unfortunately, the Church too often has been the place where when someone opens up and begins to get real, they are condemned, criticized, and or rejected. We do this in our families and in our other relationships, but this is not the way God treats us—so we should not treat each other in this way either.
In the New Testament passage for this Sunday, Ephesians 4:25–5:2, the apostle Paul describes what it looks like when people live together in the union and communion of the Triune life and love. As they live in these ways, they imitate the being and inner life of our Father and his Son in the Spirit.
What does this way of living together look like? Paul says that people are honest with one another—they practice truth-telling in love. They do not allow anger or rage to rule, for they do not want the evil one to have a chance to cause harm or division. They work hard, rather than steal, so they can help others out. The words they say build each other up, and they avoid any kind of slander, malice, or bitterness. They are always forgiving and kind to one another, no matter what may be going on in their lives. Living and walking in this way does not grieve the Spirit, for it is a reflection of the very union and communion of the Father with his Son in the Spirit.
When we look at our relationships within the body of Christ, especially when we look cross-denominationally or across lines of distinctions, do they manifest this kind of unity and love? What about in our own marriages and families? And what about our relationships with people outside the Church—how do we relate to people who do not yet believe in Christ? When I am honest with myself, I have to admit that too often I have fallen far short from being a true imitation of the divine Being.
Thankfully, this is where grace through faith comes in. And this is where we are privileged through Jesus to offer grace to one another. The reality is that whatever our life is in Christ by the Spirit, it is grounded in the love of God in Christ and in the grace that is ours through what Jesus did in his life, death, resurrection, and ascension. We are so grateful that we are held in Christ in his own face-to-face fellowship with his Father in the Spirit, so that even when we miss the mark, our own fellowship with God is unshaken. The Lord ever draws us back into that place of union and communion, while by his Spirit, he works to form Christ in us.
Evil constantly seeks opportunities to separate, divide, disrupt, confuse, and destroy all that is good, holy, and unified. We are constantly pressed upon by people and circumstances whose sole purpose is to steal or ruin or kill anything in our lives that may reflect the divine Being of Father, Jesus, Spirit—Three Persons in One Being. Still, the Spirit ever works to bring unity and oneness, while, like a parasite on all that is good, the evil one ever works to bring division and discord. At times, we participate in either direction, and we reap the consequences of our choices in this regard. But Jesus continues to invite us to follow him wherever he leads, and by his Spirit, he always leads us down the path to unity, oneness, love, and grace. And he holds us, now and forever, in his own face-to-face union and communion with his Father in the Spirit. This is our comfort and our peace.
Like Jesus, our fellowships of faith are called by God to be places where the Spirit is not grieved, but joyfully shares with us the divine fellowship of union and communion which is ours in Christ. As we gather together to worship God in Spirit and in truth, may we mirror more and more accurately the life and love of our Father, Jesus, and Spirit, and may we welcome warmly, gently, and wisely those who enter in, seeking a safe place to participate in God’s life and love.
Heavenly Father, Jesus, Spirit, thank you for including us in your life and love. We are ever in need of your forgiveness, for we are so often poor reflections of you. But by your Spirit, you are ever working. We trust you to finish what you have begun, through Jesus in the Spirit. Amen.
“Therefore, laying aside falsehood, ‘speak truth each one’ of you ‘with his neighbor,’ for we are members of one another. ‘Be angry, and’ yet ‘do not sin’; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity. He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need. Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.” Ephesians 4:25–5:2 NASB
“Faking it and lying to one another was part of the old life; now truth remains the constant inspiration in your every conversation. We are related to one another like different parts in the same body. (Which means that cheating one another would be cheating yourself! …) Even if you think you have a valid excuse, do not let anger dominate your day! If you don’t deal with it immediately (in the light of the likeness of Christ in you) the sun sets for you and your day becomes one of lost opportunity where darkness employs anger to snare you into sin. Any sin that you tolerate is an open invitation to the devil. Do not give him a platform to operate from. If you were a thief before, you are one no more. Find an honest joy where the fruit of your labor can be a blessing to others! Instead of cheap talk, your mouth is now a fountain of grace, giving encouragement and inspiration to everyone within earshot. The Holy Spirit is your signet ring from God to confirm that you are redeemed to live your life in the light of day; any conduct that belongs to the night grieves him. Take up the strongest possible position against every form of distorted behavior in your own life. Do not allow yourself to be spiteful; outbursts of violent emotion and rage do not become you. You don’t have to shout in order to make your point. People must feel safe in your conversation; therefore, slander and hurtful words (blasphemy) are out! Be inspired by kindness and compassion; your forgiving one another when you might feel irritated and frustrated demonstrates the way God graciously treated us in Christ. Mirror God; you are his offspring. (2 Cor. 3:18.) This is how; let the love of Christ be your life; remember how he abandoned himself to us. His love is contagious, not reluctant but extravagant. Sacrificial love pleases God like the sweet aroma of worship.” Ephesians 4:25–5:2 Mirror Bible
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