sins
All Are Reconciled—Be Reconciled
By Linda Rex
March 30, 2025, 4th Sunday in Preparation for Easter or Lent—As we gather on this Sunday during the season of preparation for Easter, we are given the opportunity to consider more deeply our response to the work God is doing in this world through his Son, Jesus Christ. During the time the Son of God was here on earth, he spent time with people from all walks of life, showing care and concern for the suffering, provision for the hungry, and deliverance for those held captive by evil.
Unfortunately, the religious leaders of his day objected to him spending large amounts of time with people they thought he should avoid—tax collectors, prostitutes, and other “sinners”. Jesus responded on one occasion, by telling a story about a son who demanded his inheritance, and who, when he received it, went into a far land, and squandered it on riotous living. When the money ran out, he was left feeding slop to pigs. It was at this point that he came to his senses, and returned home to his father, who had been anxiously awaiting his return. Many of us know and love the story of the prodigal son, and the father who ran to meet him and showered him with a celebration when he returned home. But we often forget that there was another son who was involved in the story (Luke 15:1–3, 11b–32).
The older son is the one who, year after year, faithfully served at home, diligently doing the chores and bearing up under all the burdens of caring for the estate and the animals. When the prodigal returns home, he doesn’t bother to attend the party—he is too upset and angry with his brother and his father. When asked, he reminds his father of how hard he has worked, and that he has never had a party thrown for him. Resentment and bitterness oozes from his words. His father reminds him that, in truth, the older son had received his inheritance as well, and everything already belonged to him. It was only fitting that they rejoice over the one who had lost everything, and had humbly returned to the family fold.
In Jesus’ story, we never hear the end of the parable, whether or not the older son finally gave in and attended the party. In the case of the religious leaders of his day, to whom the parable was directed, they never admitted their error nor came to their senses. They were too busy pointing their fingers at people they believed unworthy of their time and attention. Instead of repenting and turning away from their own errors and sins, they participated, in the end, in the crucifixion of the One who came for their salvation.
In our New Testament reading for this Sunday, 2 Corinthians 5:16–21, the apostle Paul reminds us of how we are to view those we encounter day by day in our lives. In one of the most beautiful expressions of God’s grace to us in Christ, Paul writes that we no longer view people through the lens of their broken, sinful humanity. No, that is all gone now, in our crucified and risen Christ. In Christ, each and every person is a new creation, a new creature. All of the ways in which we categorize people, all the ways we sort people into piles, are all gone in Jesus. He has made all things new, is making all things new, and will one day complete what he has begun when all is made new in the new heaven and earth.
Our God, who is Father, Son, and Spirit, has reconciled the world to himself, and has given to his Church, the ministry of reconciliation. As the Body of Christ, the Church has a calling to voice Jesus’ message to the world—“you are reconciled to God, therefore, be reconciled to God.” God has done all that is needed to make you right with him. Trust him now, and receive and live within that reconciliation, through Jesus in the Spirit. Jesus has gone into the far country, joined us in our pig slop, and brought us home to his Father.
This being the case, we don’t want to be like the older son, the party pooper, who refuses to join in the celebration. There is rejoicing in heaven every time a new person turns to Jesus Christ in faith. Instead of being like the grumpy religious leaders of Jesus’ day or the resentful older son in Jesus’ story, we want to be on the dance floor, line dancing with the music. We want to be sampling the hors d’oeuvres and the cold drinks, and laughing with our friends. We want to be listening to the stories, and reminding the prodigal how far he has come, and how blessed he is. We want to celebrate the wonderful miracle of divine resurrection God has done in our lives and the life of the prodigal, who is forgiven, accepted, and beloved, just as we are, through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen and amen.
Dear Father, forgive us when we forget all you have done for us, and become unforgiving and critical of others. Remind us, Lord, to be as forgiving and generous to others, as you have been so generously forgiving to us. Awaken us to the spiritual renewal you are actively bringing about by your Spirit in each person we see. May we celebrate this miracle with you each day. Amen.
“Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer. Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” 2 Corinthians 5:16–21 NASB
“How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered! How blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit! When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. Selah. I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord’; and You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah. Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You in a time when You may be found; surely in a flood of great waters they will not reach him. You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah. ‘I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you. Do not be as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding, whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check, otherwise they will not come near to you.’ Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but he who trusts in the Lord, lovingkindness shall surround him. Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous ones; and shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart.” Psalm 32 NASB
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A New and Living Way
By Linda Rex
November 17, 2024, Proper 28 | After Pentecost—This year as we have walked through the Revised Common Lectionary passages, I have been mostly focusing on the New Testament passage, while drawing upon the other passages where they have been appropriate. Today, though, in the light of tomorrow being the 2024 election day here in America, I will begin with the Gospel passage, Mark 13:1–8. I will bring in the New Testament passage from Hebrews later in this blog.
In the gospel for this Sunday, Jesus was leaving the temple when one of his disciples began pointing out the architectural merits and wonders of the building. Jesus was not impressed. He immediately remarked that a time was coming when every stone would be leveled, a statement of hyperbole prophetically pointing to what would happen in 70 AD when Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed by the Romans.
Since the disciples, as usual, did not seem to get the point, they began asking about what the sign would be when all that was predicted would come to pass. Jesus turned their attention instead to what their motives were. They were looking for someone to save them from their Roman oppressors. They were looking for a messiah who would rescue them and make them an independent nation using violent means. But Jesus told them not to seek rescue and salvation from human saviors, for they will always end up misleading the people who follow them, using evil means to defeat evil. And Jesus told the disciples that wars, famines, international disputes were all part of the birth pangs leading up to the establishment of God’s new heaven and earth. They were not to be distressed by any of these things, but to understand that they were all part of the process of God’s redemption of his creation.
Jesus’ message is just as appropriate today as it was back then. Even to this day, there have been leaders who claimed that they would bring about a new world, a new government, and the salvation of their people. Some of these even led a military revolt, or the establishment of a new government. Many looked real good at the beginning, because they knew what things to tell people in order to get a following. But when they eventually began to run things their way, it soon became apparent that they were no savior or messiah—they were merely another faulty human who was leading everyone astray.
In the light of this reality, we are reminded of our New Testament passage, Hebrews 10:11–14, 19–25. In this the author contrasts the daily efforts of the Old Testament Aaronic priest, who, in spite of his diligent efforts, was never able to take away the sins of the people. In contrast, Jesus offered himself, once for all. By this self-offering, Jesus “perfected for all time those who are sanctified.”
There is only one Person who is able to take away our sins and perfect us before God. There is only one Person who delivers us and frees us from the tyrannies of this world. There is only one Person who enables us, “by a new and living way,” through his flesh, to enter into God’s presence. Because of who Jesus Christ is and what he has done, we draw near to God in faith, cleansed and purified, and made whole.
We are reminded that though human kingdoms rise and fall, human leaders rise and fall, and the world seems to be falling into chaotic disarray at times, Jesus Christ does not change. He does not fail us. He is present now by his Spirit, and is interceding for us with his Father on our behalf. There is nothing that cannot be brought to Jesus, and through him to his Father in the Spirit. Whatever is happening in this world, no matter how the election turns out, we have hope that God is still at work bringing to pass his ends and purposes. He will, in time, defeat all his enemies, and they are as good as defeated even now, for he is taking all that is meant for evil and turning it to accomplish his perfect, good will in this world.
As we make our way to the voting booth, and as we work our way through this transition of government, there is one thing we can be sure of: When we go to God with humble hearts and ask him to rescue and save us, and to work all things for our good, he will hear us and respond. May we have the humility and grace to pray to God about all that is going on, and trust in the faithful love and grace of Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.
Heavenly Father, as we face significant changes in our world and our nation, we turn to you and ask you to take all things into your loving hands and to work them out for our good. Thank you, Jesus, that we can come to you in faith, and know you are interceding on our behalf. We are in need of your rescue and salvation in every moment. May your Spirit move in us, in our lives, and in our circumstances, to accomplish your perfect will, in Jesus name. Amen.
“Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, ‘sat down at the right hand of God,’ waiting from that time onward ‘until His enemies be made a footstool for His feet.’ For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. … Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” Hebrews 10:11–14 (15–18) 19–25 NASB
“As He was going out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, ‘Teacher, behold what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left upon another which will not be torn down.’ As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and 1James and John and Andrew were questioning Him privately, ‘Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are going to be fulfilled?’ And Jesus began to say to them, ‘See to it that no one misleads you. Many will come in My name, saying, “I am He!” and will mislead many. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be frightened; those things must take place; but that is not yet the end. For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will also be famines. These things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.” Mark 13:1–8 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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Because He’s Been There
by Linda Rex
October 20, 2024, Proper 24 | After Pentecost—In my last blog I looked at what our passage in Hebrews said about who Jesus is, and how that impacts our understanding of who we are as the beloved children of God. In this week’s lectionary passage from the New Testament, Hebrews 5:1–10, the author begins to make a case for how Jesus Christ, as the Son of God who came to take on human flesh, steps in and takes on the role of high priest for us. The role of high priest was originally filled by someone from the tribe of Levi, the branch of the ancient nation of Israel which had been given the responsibility of the priesthood.
The responsibility of the high priest was to represent the people of ancient Israel in their covenant relationship with God, offering gifts and sacrifices at the alter as commanded by God, and offering the Word of God and God’s grace to the people. This ministry of intercession via the priesthood was a gift of grace from God, providing a way in which a sinful, broken people could be reconciled with their Redeemer—the One who had rescued their nation from slavery at the hands of the Egyptians and made them his very own people.
The author of Hebrews brings up an important point—that the priest was selected from among the people—a brother of those who came to worship at the tabernacle or temple. Because this priest was one of them, he was just as broken and weak and disobedient as they were. And this enabled him to minister to them with compassion and understanding. This is a reminder to those of us who are called into pastoral ministry, or any other type of ministry in this world, to be well-acquainted with our own shortcomings, to face and deal with them honestly and humbly, and to allow this truth to temper our care of others with compassion, understanding, and mercy.
In Jesus’ case, he understood our frame as human beings because he, as the Son of God, took on a truly human existence. But he did so without ever allowing the many temptations he experienced to draw him into sin. Unlike us, he did not sin, though his genuine human experience covered a wide range of our human existence.
Jesus hammered out, so to speak, a truly human life lived out in obedience to his heavenly Father in the face of temptation and suffering and death, and he conquered evil, sin, and death in the process. As Jesus lives now in face-to-face union and communion with his Father in the Spirit, he intercedes on our behalf, knowing full well all that we go through and struggle with on a daily basis. And he intercedes on our behalf with great compassion and understanding.
The obedience Jesus perfected was that of bringing our human flesh, in all its rebellion and disobedience back to God, back into humble obedience and dependency upon his Father in the Spirit. Jesus forged within us the capacity for us to receive the indwelling Spirit who writes on our hearts and minds all that God commanded his people to obey. Jesus lived a perfect human life of obedience to his Father in the Spirit, bore our human flesh through death into resurrection, ascending into glory, bearing our glorified humanness into his Father’s presence to remain there forever in right relationship with God in the Spirit. In the gift of the Spirit, each of us individually can begin to participate in what Jesus made possible in his life, death, resurrection, and ascension.
And as our ascended Lord, Jesus reigns as the King of Righteousness (the meaning of Melchizedek), the High Priest appointed by his Father to offer the ultimate sacrifice—himself. As the One who judges, Jesus was judged on the cross, allowing himself to be crucified on our behalf. We have no reason to be afraid in coming to God with our sins, faults, weaknesses, and failures. We have Jesus Christ to intercede for us, to stand in our place, to offer himself as the perfect sacrifice in our place on our behalf. He pleads our case, and does so with great mercy and compassion, because he’s been there—he knows what it’s like to be us in the midst of this broken, messed up world. He prays our prayers to his Father, perfected and acceptable in God’s sight. And he offers the things of God to us in the Spirit, so we can share in his own right relationship with his Father in the Spirit. And Jesus loves us—so much so, that he laid down his life for us. Jesus has forged for us a life in right relationship with his Father and offers this to us in the gift of his Spirit, so we can live in God’s life and love, now and for eternity. What could be more wonderful than that?
Heavenly Father, thank you so much for giving your Son to us for our salvation and redemption. Thank you for giving us your Spirit so we can begin to participate in your own divine fellowship as Father, Son, and Spirit. We are so grateful, Jesus, that you understand us, care about us, and are always interceding for us on our behalf. Grant us the grace to ever live in grateful obedience. Amen.
“For every high priest taken from among men is appointed on behalf of men in things pertaining to God, in order to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins; he can deal gently with the ignorant and misguided, since he himself also is beset with weakness; and because of it he is obligated to offer sacrifices for sins, as for the people, so also for himself. And no one takes the honor to himself, but receives it when he is called by God, even as Aaron was. So also Christ did not glorify Himself so as to become a high priest, but He who said to Him, ‘You are my son, today I have begotten you’; just as He says also in another passage, ‘You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.’ In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety. Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation, being designated by God as aa high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.” Hebrews 5:1–10 NASB
“Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; like a lamb that is led to slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, so He did not open His mouth. By oppression and judgment He was taken away; and as for His generation, who considered that He was cut off out of the land of the living for the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due? His grave was assigned with wicked men, yet He was with a rich man in His death, because He had done no violence, nor was there any deceit in His mouth. But the LORD was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief; if He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand. As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; by His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, and He will divide the booty with the strong; because He poured out Himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet He Himself bore the sin of many, and interceded for the transgressors.” Isaiah 53:4–12
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By Grace Through Faith
By Linda Rex
March 10, 2024, 4th Sunday in Preparation for Easter or Lent—During this season as we prepare to celebrate the events of Holy Week, it seems at times as though I am experiencing afflictions and temptations similar to those Jesus experienced during his forty-day wilderness experience. Even though we know that Jesus arose triumphant from all that afflicted and crucified him, we often face events, circumstances, and sorrows in this life which challenge us, grieve us, and tempt us.
It is good to take some time to reflect on the spiritual realities which are true in Jesus Christ, as well as our deep need for all he has done, is doing, and will do in us and for us by the Holy Spirit. What a blessing that we have hope in him!
This is what the apostle Paul points out in our New Testament reading for this Sunday, Ephesians 2:1–10. There is incredibly good news in this passage, for Paul reminds his readers that every one of them, whether a Jew like himself or a non-Jew, had at one time, like each and every one of us, been dead in trespasses and sins, having fallen short of the mark of those who were meant to reflect the image of God we see in Jesus Christ. As a result, every human being was facing the consequence of God’s immeasurable love poured out in redemptive correction and restoration. Then he uses those two beautiful words which change everything: “But God…”
Here the apostle Paul reminds us of the nature and character of God. God is rich in mercy. God has great love towards humankind. God is gracious. And because this is who he is, he reaches down into the death in which we found ourselves to bring us up in his Son Jesus Christ, seating us with and in him in the heavenly places where our Lord now sits in face-to-face union and communion with his Father in the Spirit. Because of who God is, we have been saved by faith, are being saved, and will experience our full salvation when Jesus returns in glory.
We are reminded too that our efforts to do the right thing, our actions of service or helping, do not save us. We are only saved by grace through faith. And we discover in Jesus Christ that we as human beings have a way of being we were created to live into—the way of other-centered, self-sacrificial, giving love, the same kind of love that is essential to God’s being as Father, Son, and Spirit, three Persons in one Being. As his beloved, adopted children, we were meant to be loved by God, to love him in response, and to love one another. There is a way of being which is ours, which we were created to live out, which Jesus recreated in his incarnational, cruciform self-offering, resurrection and ascension. Our new life is in Christ, and reflects his own way of being, as he lives in us and through us by his Holy Spirit.
As God’s beautiful masterpieces, we daily bear witness to the transformational healing work of Jesus Christ as we live out the kingdom life given to us in him. This can be challenging in a world that is given over to the ways of God’s adversary and to the lusts and desires of our human flesh. And it can be difficult, for we are each easily tempted, distracted, and overwhelmed by what we face day by day as we go through life. What struggles are you facing right now? Is there something pulling you down? Are you finding yourself caught up in unbearable circumstances? Do you see everything that is wrong with the world, yourself, and/or others and wonder how anything will ever be any different?
Here it is important to humbly go before the throne of grace to find help in time of need (Heb. 4:16). We need to be reminded of who God is—the God who loves us so much that he gave us his Son. In the Gospel reading for this Sunday, John 3:14–21, we are reminded that God’s Son did not come into this world to condemn the world, but to save the world. God’s intention, his motivation, his driving force is love and grace. So, to go before Jesus in our humble need is the best possible thing we can do, for there is where God meets us to draw us to himself, to give us by his Spirit his healing, renewal and restoration. What is keeping you away? Why not stop right now and open yourself up to your heavenly Father’s love and grace, and simply trust in Christ. Let God be who God is—your Savior, your Redeemer, your Lord—the One who loves you, forgives and accepts you, and welcomes you back home.
Heavenly Father, thank you for loving us and for being so gracious toward us. No matter how hard we try, we cannot get it right. No, indeed, it seems that all we can offer you is our brokenness, sinfulness and falling short. Grant us anew your grace, and form Christ in us that we may effectively bear witness to your glory, love, and grace through Jesus by your Spirit. Amen.
“And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” Ephesians 2:1–10 NASB
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All Sins Forgiven
By Linda Rex
June 6, 2021, PROPER 5—There are times when we wrestle with the reality that we have fallen short of what it means to be image-bearers of the God who is Father, Son and Spirit. If we are honest with ourselves, we have to admit that the way we act, the things we say and do, and especially our thoughts, are a far cry from what God intends. None of us love God or love others in the way we were originally designed to, though there are moments when we may experience a little bit of the bliss of us being in sync with the heavenly realities.
Even so, we discover in the person of Jesus Christ that God is still present. In Christ we see that God is immeasurably patient and gracious, though he does at times hold our feet to the fire so we will repent and turn back to him. The ultimate spiritual reality is that all our sins are forgiven in Jesus, and we have an incredible hope because of what he has done in our place and on our behalf. The One who is our Judge is also the One who is the perfect Lamb offered on our behalf for our sin and the High Priest or Mediator who intercedes for us with the Father.
As we move from the season where we walked with Jesus through the crucifixion into the tomb, and from there rose with Jesus in the resurrection and ascension to the Father’s side, receiving from God the promised Holy Spirit, we find ourselves in a whole new place. As those who trust in Christ, we live in God’s presence even now as we by faith are empowered by his Spirit to follow Jesus and participate in his mission in this world. In Christ, God has defeated Satan and is making all things new.
But when we look around us and within ourselves, we often see only brokenness, evil, and sin. We experience the consequences of ourselves and others living in ways which God never intended—pain, sickness, broken relationships, and death fill our world and touch our lives. Where is God in all this? It’s hard to see that Jesus is present by his Spirit and at work in this world when our tangible experience tells us otherwise. The evil one is quick to point out to us all the ways in which he is still in control and we are left abandoned, orphans in this broken world.
We need to own up to the reality that what we experience in this way is a result of human choice and the work of God’s adversary. One of the passages for this Sunday, (1 Samuel 8:4–20; 11:14–15) tells the story of the elders of ancient Israel coming to Samuel the judge and asking him to install a king in his place. Up to that point, God had been their king and he had worked through judges to provide shepherding for his people. But the people didn’t like how Samuel’s sons were leading and Samuel was getting old, so they felt it was time for a change in leadership. Samuel was very upset about this, but the Lord told him that whoever rejected him was rejecting the Lord. The reality was that even in this rejection of God and his kingship, the people of Israel would still be God’s people, and the Lord would be faithful to his covenant with them. On God’s side, the relationship was secure in spite of, on the nation’s side, their rejection of their Redeemer, and God would still accomplish through them, the coming of the Messiah.
This echoes the story of beginnings in another passage for this Sunday, Genesis 3:8–15. Here Adam and Eve hear the Lord walking in the garden of Eden in the cool of the day. This was a time when God would walk and talk with his creatures, sharing the pleasant and joyful fellowship of God with man we were created for. But on this day, because of their sin in eating the forbidden fruit, Adam and Eve heard God coming, became afraid and hid. Instead of rejecting them because of their sin (for God already knew what they had done), God sought them out, calling them out of hiding back into relationship. Yes, they had to answer for what they had done, but God did what was needed to bring them back, covering them with skins through the shedding of blood, prophetically pointing the day when Christ would shed his blood on the behalf of all humanity to restore our relationship with our Maker.
As the Lord spoke to Adam and Eve, it became evident who the real culprit was—the serpent. In the Bible, we see a progression of understanding regarding this being—this is God’s adversary, the one who is ever at work in this world in opposition to God’s will and purposes. Jesus himself called Satan the father of lies, the one who was a murderer from the beginning, who constantly works to deceive humanity and turn them away from God (John 8:44). His favorite deception of all is convincing us that God doesn’t really love us or want what is best for us—that God is holding out on us, keeping us from having everything we deserve or desire.
What we believe matters! If we believe God doesn’t exist, or that if he does, he doesn’t care, we will live in ways that demonstrate this. If we believe God doesn’t want what is best for us, then we will decide for ourselves what is best for us, and reap heavy and painful consequences which come from such choices. Since the beginning, humans have not trusted God to know what is best for them or to genuinely love them and care for them. What Israel did in rejecting God as king is not an unusual incident. This is just a manifestation of the nature of humanity throughout the ages—we turn away from God—we do things our own way. In Christ, God is calling every human being back to himself, asking, “Why are you hiding?” We have all been covered by the blood of Christ and clothed with his righteousness—why reject this gift and the Giver who went to such lengths to provide it?
As the psalmist said, “Lord, if you kept a record of our sins, who, O Lord, could ever survive? But you offer forgiveness… (Psalm 138:3).” We have God’s assurance that he will do and has done all that is needed to make us right with himself. The evil one is defeated by Christ, who entered the strong man’s (Satan’s) house and plundered his goods, releasing humanity from the clutches of the devil as well as evil, death, and sin (Mark 3:27). On God’s side, Satan is a defeated foe. Those of us who trust in Christ can rest in his finished work, knowing that the gates of Hades will not prevail against the Church, the body of Christ. When all is said and done, God’s kingdom will stand and Satan and his minions will be removed, unable any longer to affect or harm God’s new heavens and earth.
In the meantime, we live in the already-not yet of the kingdom of God. That means that we still experience trouble in this life. We don’t lose heart when the externals of our existence and our human flesh wear down or fall apart, because what is at work within us is eternal and will last forever (2 Corinthians 4:13–5:1). The truth is that followers of Christ will experience difficulties in this world. Added to the normal experience of the consequences of the fall, of humanity’s turning from God, we as believers also experience rejection and criticism from those who reject Christ. There will be people near and dear to us who may ridicule our faith in Christ or our efforts to live in obedience to God’s will. They may even accuse us of being out of our minds. But we can be assured that as we do the will of the Father, Christ will count us as his very own, his true family—the ones who share in the life and love of the Father and Son in the Spirit.
Life in the Spirit is what we have been given in Christ, and this is ours both now and forever. The Spirit who lives in us is forming Christ in us as we respond to Jesus in faith and obedience. The purpose of our struggles is to grow us up in Christlikeness, not to destroy or harm us, as Satan is prone to do. Now and forever, we have moment-by-moment fellowship with God in the Spirit, because God has restored the fellowship of God with man once experienced when Adam and Eve first walked with God in the garden. In Christ, all sins are forgiven and the Spirit has been given so we can participate in that new life which is ours in him right now and on into eternity.
.Dear Abba, thank you for making us your very own through the gift of your Son and your Spirit. Thank you for delivering us from Satan and his demons, for giving us new life, and enabling us to share in your life and love now and forever. Finish what you have begun, even as you have promised, through Jesus our Lord and by your Spirit. Amen.
“And He came home, and the crowd gathered again, to such an extent that they could not even eat a meal. When His own people heard of this, they went out to take custody of Him; for they were saying, ‘He has lost His senses.’ The scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, ‘He is possessed by Beelzebul,’ and ‘He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons.’ And He called them to Himself and began speaking to them in parables, ‘How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. If Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but he is finished! But no one can enter the strong man’s house and plunder his property unless he first binds the strong man, and then he will plunder his house. … Answering them, He said, ‘Who are My mother and My brothers?’ Looking about at those who were sitting around Him, He said, ‘Behold My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of God, he is My brother and sister and mother.’” Mark 3:20–35 NASB
Offering Light to the Blind
By Linda Rex
March 22, 2020, 4th SUNDAY IN EASTER PREPARATION OR LENT—Recently I spoke with someone who told me that the recent tornadoes and Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak were sent from God to wake people up and to turn them back to him. As a pastor, I am often offered this opportunity to blame God for the bad things which happen in this world, but I am reluctant to give him responsibility for what is not his and which has its roots in our own brokenness and this broken world we live in, and the evil which is always at work in it and in us.
Don’t get me wrong—there are consequences to our choices. We have made and do make decisions which affect the planet we live on and the people who live on it. In this day and age, we often prefer to believe we can control and limit the affect of most things, but truth is, there are many things we can’t contain or direct. We find ourselves often at the mercy of physical forces and natural occurrences, deadly diseases, and even just human willfulness and evil.
Our response to all this is critical. We can take the common and comfortable road to fear, and respond with a more diligent effort to control and manage our circumstances and our world. Or we can acknowledge our need for strength and wisdom beyond ourselves, drawing upon divine resources to find the faith, hope, and love we need to deal with what is beyond our capacity and power to handle.
When Jesus walked by a man who had congenital blindness, his disciples asked him who had sinned—him or his parents? In the Jewish teaching of the day, the man’s blindness was due to his parents’ sin or his own sin (though that seems far-fetched since it happened when he was in the womb). Jesus said that his blindness was not due to a specific sin or sins, but was simply providing an opportunity to demonstrate the glory of God.
Throughout the teachings of Jesus, we find that he is quite frank about the need for human beings to have their eyes opened to the light of who he was as their Lord and Savior. He had no illusions about the human condition. We are sinners, human beings with a proclivity toward rejecting God and living in fear and disobedience. The issue with our humanity goes down into the very core of our being—we walk in darkness instead of in the light of God’s grace and love.
Instead of tragedies and natural disasters, and even blindness, being some punishment poured out on people because of their sins, Jesus sees them simply as part of our broken human condition. And that broken human condition has only one way of being healed—mixing the DNA of the living Lord Jesus Christ with our human clay and washing us in the waters of his love and grace. We can only have light in our darkness if we will receive the light-bringing treatment of Jesus and be washed in the living water, the Holy Spirit.
Just as this man who was blind from birth had to receive the clay Jesus made from spit and dirt onto his eyes and had to walk to the pool of Siloam and wash himself, we need to receive Christ in his life, death, resurrection, and ascension, by allowing ourselves to be washed in the water of the living Spirit. We participate in Christ through the sacraments of baptism and communion because these are tangible ways we experience with gratitude the life-giving power and presence of the living Lord.
The man in this story who was born blind went through a process as he came to faith in Christ. At first, he was met by Jesus, who took the initiative in their relationship. Jesus offered him healing, but the man needed to participate in the healing process. The One who was sent by the Father, Jesus, sent this man to the pool of Siloam (some translate “sent”) where he was to wash and be healed. But at that point Jesus had not yet revealed himself as Messiah.
It is when this man was faced with explaining to the Pharisees what had happened that his faith in Jesus began to take form. When the miracle was brought to these leaders’ attention, they asked him what had happened, saying that since Jesus had made clay and healed someone on the Sabbath, he was a sinner, so he could not have done this miracle. The astute, formerly blind man saw the irony in the situation—he once was blind, now he could see, but the Pharisees were so set against believing Jesus was Messiah that they were willing to deny the reality of a genuine, incredible miracle of healing.
So the conversation went down the rabbit trails into the depths of the corrupt human heart, where these Pharisees, even when faced with the glorious truth of a blind man being given his sight, refused to believe, preferring instead to remain in the darkness of ignorance and unbelief. Sadly, Jesus had to tell the Pharisees that it was because they thought they saw that they were truly blind in the things which really matter, the spiritual realities. The man who was blind, however, came to see and believe who Jesus was as Messiah, and knelt down and worshiped him.
This weekend there are genuine and serious concerns at stake. Not only do we have the recent devastation with the tornadoes here in metro Nashville and in Putnam County, we now have real concerns about the coronavirus, which is making its way slowly into every part of our nation. We do not have control of any of these things, so it is easy to lapse into fear, and other unhealthy and unloving human responses such as hoarding, stigmatizing, blaming, and fear-mongering. We are being brought to the edge where we must choose between being truly human by loving and trusting God and loving our neighbor as ourselves, or being inhumane, less than who we truly are as God’s created and redeemed children, made to reflect his likeness as the God who is love.
What if we began to look at this time of crisis as an opportunity to see the glory of God? What if, instead of putting people and events into boxes, we opened our eyes to the everyday miracles of healing, transformation, and renewal which are taking place all around us? What if, instead of self-protecting, self-seeking, and self-indulging, we turned outside ourselves to help, serve, heal, comfort, and pray?
Are we going to remain in our spiritual blindness or are we going to confess the reality of our need to see what is really going on? Will we allow ourselves to be anointed in the humanity of Jesus Christ, washed in the flowing waters of the Spirit, and healed by the living Word at work in our world? Perhaps it is time to have the grace and humility to meet Jesus where he first meets us, in the middle of our darkness, offering us the light of life, the blessed gift of himself in the midst of our struggles and suffering.
Holy Father, thank you that we are not alone, but you are always with us in every circumstance of life. Hold us in our suffering, in our fear, in our loss, and in our illness. Lift us anew into life and wholeness. Rebuild, restore, renew, heal. Empower us for what we must face and carry us through. You are our life and our hope—enable us to trust in you in every circumstance, through Jesus our Lord and by your Spirit. Amen.
“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” Psalm 23:4 NASB
“… for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light …” Ephesians 5:8 NASB
“Those of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things and said to Him, ‘We are not blind too, are we?’ Jesus said to them, ‘If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, “We see,” your sin remains.’” John 9:40-41. See also John 9:1–41.
Calling Us Home
By Linda Rex
SUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2020, ASH WEDNESDAY/1ST SUNDAY IN EASTER PREP—Recently, I was chatting with someone about current events and they were telling me about a program they heard on the radio. The person they were listening to was saying that the current issue with child abuse imagery has multiplied into millions of cases worldwide since the time of Clinton’s presidency. The implication was that his moral failure with Monica Lewinsky was the root of this alarming increase in the use of pornography. Personally, I would be more inclined to believe that this extreme numerical increase is more directly related to the use the internet as well as the ability to track the use of pornographic material on the internet. But that is not the point I feel led to make.
Over the decades our nation has been at certain times more concerned with particular sins than with others. I was reading a historical novel the other day which was set in the time of this nation when temperance and prohibition were promoted as the solution to all of the ills besetting the nation. I agree that the misuse and abuse of alcohol and/or drugs leads to many other sins, but there is so much more at stake. It is a greater issue that we can become so obsessed with a certain sin that we lose sight of our proclivity for living as though we are in charge and able to decide for ourselves what is good and what is evil.
The story of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden eating the forbidden fruit cuts down to the root of all human behavior from that time to today. We are all created for an intimate relationship with the God who made us and we can, at any time, walk and talk with God if we so desire. We may not experience this relationship with God in the same way they did, but it is what we were created for. However, we often trade this direct relationship with God we were given in Jesus Christ for a substitute relationship—dependency upon and reveling in the things of this human existence. Or as followers of Christ, we may even substitute church attendance, rule-keeping, moral purity, and community service for an intimate walk with our living Lord.
The truth is that we often are more concerned about repenting our mistakes or moral failures than we are repenting the bent we have toward rejecting God himself. What we need to do is to acknowledge the reality that we wish to live as though we are self-sustaining individuals, as little gods who run the universe the way we want it to be run. Let’s be honest with ourselves—we don’t want to have to answer to anyone for what we say or do—we want to create our own rules to live by and not have any consequences for our choices or behaviors.
So we come to the time on the Christian calendar called Lent (or Easter preparation) which begins on Ash Wednesday. This is the time when we honestly assess and confess our genuine and deep need for the Lord Jesus Christ. For, if he did not stand in our stead and on our behalf, we would have no interest in or desire for, nor the ability to have, a relationship with the God who made us and who cares for us. We don’t just draw up a list of sins and tell God about them. No, we go much deeper—down to the core of our being—down to the heart which turns away from God toward the things and people of this human existence.
God calls us to return to him. To return is to go back to the place where we started. We began at a place in which we were fully included in God’s life and love. And then we turned away. When God as the Word took on our humanity, he turned us back to his heavenly Father.
As Jesus stood in the waters of the Jordan River with the baptismal waters dripping off his frame, he heard the Father’s words of love—“This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased (Matt. 3:17 NASB).” On the mountain where he was transfigured, we again hear the affirmation of his heavenly Father—“This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him (Matt. 17:5 NASB)!” In Christ, we are beloved children. We are God’s pleasure and joy. God calls us to rend our hearts—to quit with all the religious externals and to get down to the core of our being: What drives us? What is the focus of our inner conversation? What directs our decisions and choices? Where does God fit in our lives? Does he even have a place in our heart?
The process of examining our hearts is not meant to be discouraging or depressing. Rather, as we take God’s hand and walk down the corridors of our inner sanctuary, we begin to see in a greater way our need for deliverance, redemption, and forgiveness. We see our need for a Savior. We begin to put God back in his rightful place as Lord of our existence. And most of all, the closer we get to the heart, we discover that waiting there all this time has been Christ himself by the Spirit.
For Jesus came, not to condemn, but to save us. He entered our human existence, not to destroy us, but to reconstruct us back into the image-bearers of God we were created to be. We do not look to Maundy Thursday or Good Friday with dread or to Holy Saturday with sorrow, but to Resurrection Sunday with anticipation and joy. What was meant for our evil, the destruction of our souls, God turned to good—the deliverance of all people. Jesus came to live our life, die our death, and rise so that the Spirit would be sent—so we would receive the very life of God within ourselves.
When we are called to return—to turn about, we are called back into the relationship which was ours from before time began. God has always meant to include us in his life and love, and even though we managed to turn away from this to the things of this world and ourselves, God has in Christ turned us back to himself. Receive the gift which has been given. Come to yourself, your true self. For Abba loves you dearly and is pacing on the porch, looking down the road, anticipating your return. Run to him!
Dearest Abba, thank you for not rejecting us because of our rejection of you, but giving us your Son in our place and on our behalf. Turn our hearts back to you again. Renew in us a desire for your will and your ways, but more importantly, for your very presence—to affectionately tend to your heart as you tend to ours. We praise you that this is all possible through Jesus and by your Spirit. Amen.
“‘Yet even now,’ declares the LORD, ‘Return to Me with all your heart, | And with fasting, weeping and mourning; | And rend your heart and not your garments.’ | Now return to the LORD your God, |For He is gracious and compassionate, | Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness | And relenting of evil.” Joel 2:12-13 NASB
“For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.” Romans 5:17-19 NASB
Wilderness Musings
By Linda Rex
PREPARATION FOR EASTER OR LENT—As we move into the season of Lent, I have been wrestling with the call Jesus has on my life right now to live in his grace and love in each moment. Letting go of old, incomplete, or inaccurate ways of thinking or believing regarding what has happened in the past is a struggle. The father of lies loves to blur the boundaries between what is true and what is false, so much so that it is hard to live and walk in the truth sometimes. Indeed, it is much easier to hold on to wrong and unhealthy ways of thinking about things than it is to embrace the reality that I may have misunderstood or may have (perish the thought!) been wrong.
Ooch! How much easier it is to wallow in my pride and self-defensive self-justification than it is to admit that I messed up and need a big dose of forgiveness! It is much easier to point the finger elsewhere or to blame someone else for what happened. But no, I must embrace the integrity and humility of Jesus which calls me to agree with the truth and to walk with him through his death and resurrection into the new life he bought for me and gave me in the Spirit.
Even though this season of Lent is an opportunity to reexamine the reality of our need for Christ, it is also an opportunity to see more clearly the spiritual reality of our inclusion in Christ. As we stand in front of the mirror, Jesus Christ, who is the exact representation of the Father, and see ourselves mirrored in him, we cannot help but see how far short we fall from being the perfect image-bearers of God. This can, at times, feel overwhelming and can lead to feelings of guilt and shame.
First, we need to ask ourselves—is this genuine guilt I feel? Or is it that imitation guilt and shame which the father of lies and his companions like to dish out to make us feel unworthy, unloved, and separated from God’s love and grace? Sometimes the events of our childhood or the way we’ve been treated by significant people in our lives create in us constant feelings of guilt and shame that aren’t in any way related to the truth of our actions or thoughts. When we tell the truth about these feelings, that their root is in a lie, we often find freedom and peace. But we may find ourselves wrestling with them for a time until that root is completely eradicated and replaced in our hearts and minds with the truth of our inclusion in Christ.
True guilt though is meant not to tear us down, but to bring us to the realization that we have moved away from our center in Christ. Because of Christ’s finished work, there really is no reason to wallow in guilt nor is there any reason to feel ashamed. Jesus has drawn us up into his intimate relationship with the Father, covered all our guilt with his righteousness, and given us a new life in himself by the Holy Spirit.
We need to view ourselves and those around us in accordance with the truth—we are included in Christ’s life, death, resurrection, and ascension. We have been given the greatest gift of all, Jesus Christ—in and through the gift of the Holy Spirit—in us and with us. We need to stay focused on the reality that our life in Christ is a life of grace. God already knows the sin we are capable of and has covered it all in his Son. There is nothing so bad that God has not, cannot, and will not redeem and restore us. Rather than continuing to muddle around in the pig slop, we might as well run on home into his waiting arms. There’s no point in waiting around thinking if we tried a little harder, we could clean ourselves up on our own.
What about these “messies” we carry around with us and never seem to be able to get free of? What about the dark places we don’t want anyone to see? We like to keep our dark places dark. Bringing them into the light, letting others into the closet with us, is something we avoid like the plague. We prefer the darkness to the light. But Jesus tells us to bring the darkness into the light since God already sees it anyway. There’s no point in hiding what God has already seen, taken up in Christ, and freed us from. (John 3:18-21) Embracing the truth, living in this painful but liberating honesty and transparency on an ongoing basis, is the healthiest place for us to be.
Really, this is all summed up in the realization that Christ is the center. We live in him, for him, and by him. As we are assaulted by the lies Satan and others speak into our souls, we need to turn to Christ who is the truth of our personhood and our existence. We will be tempted to resolve our failures on our own—we need to turn to Christ who already has resolved our failures in his finished work and in his very person. Satan will call out our shortcomings, sins, and weaknesses, but we need to listen instead to what the Father says to us through Jesus by the Spirit: “You are my beloved child. You are forgiven, accepted, and forever included in my perfect relationship with my Son in the Spirit.”
The season of Lent is an opportunity for us to embrace fully the reality that now and forever, we need Jesus. Daily we need the Spirit poured into us afresh so we can more fully live out the truth of who we were created to be—the image-bearers of God himself. Indeed, what Paul said is so true—in him we do live, and move, and have our being. Apart from Christ, we are a mess. We are preoccupied, indifferent, greedy, broken, hurting, self-absorbed, self-centered—you name it. We can live life pretty comfortably on our own for quite some time, but inevitably we will come face to face with the truth—we need Jesus.
I hope during this Lenten season we will come to that place in a new way. I hope we will see our need for the love of God and the redeeming grace we have in Jesus as well as how empty we are without the indwelling presence and Person of the Holy Spirit. We can be sober and realistic, but I believe we can also rejoice—for we know what happened after the cross. We know the end of the story, and we’re included in it. Spoiler alert! … We rose with Christ—and we are new in him. Praise God!
Our dear Abba, thank you. Thank you that we can run home to you because you are waiting. Thank you, Jesus, for doing all that is needed so we are welcome at home with Abba. Thank you, Holy Spirit, for making this real to each of us individually, for enabling us to know we are God’s beloved children, forgiven and beloved. Holy Spirit, enable us to see our need for Christ as well as the reality of our inclusion in Christ. Enable us to turn away from ourselves and to turn to Christ. Thank you, Holy Trinity, for your love and grace through Jesus our Lord. Amen.
“Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where he was tempted by the devil for forty days.” Luke 4:1-2a NLT
Blinded by the Light
By Linda Rex
I was watching a show the other night in which a crime took place within the walls of a building. Everything about the crime involved hiding—the murder of innocent people, hiding bodies in cement, and so on. The objective of the main characters of the show was to bring the truth to light, thereby exposing the guilty parties and bringing them to justice.
It put me in mind of the conversation at our small group the other night. We were talking about how those things we bury inside of us can drive us and control us. They tend to become or fuel our vices. And often it is not until we bring those truths to light, by opening them up to the scrutiny of safe people, that we experience freedom from the habits or addictions which control us.
Anyone who has walked the path of a twelve-step recovery program knows how important it is to speak the truth, to be transparent about one’s brokenness and failures. And they know it’s most helpful to speak this truth to someone who has already walked that path of recovery, since they are most likely to be compassionate and gracious, while at the same time refusing to allow dishonesty about one’s problem.
One of the things we learn to do as we grow up is how to hide. We hide our hurts, our shame, our guilt, and we often find ways to self-medicate so we don’t have to face up to or feel our brokenness. We create an image or mask so that we can continue to function in our world.
Brokenness is unacceptable, especially when we’ve adopted a religious viewpoint that demands moral perfection. Darkness is preferable to light in these situations, because there is great fear and dread in being exposed for who and what we really are.
The thing is that we forget that God is light and in him, the Scripture says, is no darkness (1 John 1:5). In Psalm 139, the psalmist poetically describes how there is no place where God is not present—even the darkness is as light to him (v. 7, 11-12). The apostle John wrote how the Word came into our cosmos and took on human flesh, and became the light of the world, which lightens every man. (John 1:4-5, 9) There really is no way to escape the Light of God in Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
We cannot escape the Light God is, not even when we bury things deep inside ourselves. No matter how deeply we bury them inside, we still cannot hide them from the One who already knows all about them and loves and forgives every one of us anyway.
We cannot hide anything from God because he was, is and will be present in every situation and circumstance, and offers us his grace. He is intimately connected with our humanity through Jesus and in the Spirit, so he shares in all that we go through. He does not condemn—we are the ones who condemn ourselves and others.
Don’t get me wrong—just because God is present doesn’t mean that he is obligated to do anything about what we are experiencing. Most of the time we live, act and speak as though he’s not even present. We blame him for stuff that for the most part, we or someone else are responsible for. He gives us a lot of freedom as human beings and does not violate this personal freedom. God often waits until he’s invited and until it is best for all involved before he acts in situations.
This may cause us to feel that God is a capricious God, or a God who doesn’t care. Our view of God, unfortunately, is twisted or bent by the behavior and words of the people in our lives who were supposed to be reflecting God accurately to us.
Our view of God, then, if it is of a capricious, uncaring, unloving, God of wrath, will motivate us to hide. We will seek out the darkness, and having gone there, we will run as far from the Light as we can go.
Being in the Light is painful for someone who is seeking to hide in the darkness. This is why when someone is close to healing for some hidden grief or sin, they often find ways to avoid exposing themselves so they don’t have to speak the truth or face up to the reality of what they’ve done or what was done to them.
People who habitually live transparently and openly, in contrast, don’t try to hide their brokenness and failures. Rather, they are open about them and are willing to expose them to the scrutiny of others. They speak and walk in the truth. And as they do so, they not only find healing but they also help others to heal.
And notice, the focus in John’s writing was not on moral perfection, but on truth. Jesus is our truth—we live and walk and speak in him by the Spirit. He is our Light, and he enlightens each and every one of us broken sinners. And he does this so that we can bring that light to others who are hiding in the darkness.
There is much in this world that seeks to keep us focused on the darkness. There is a strong pull on each of us to hide and bury our true selves away. But the Light of God is already shining and there is no place to hide. There will come a time when every dark deed and thought will be exposed. But in Christ and by the Spirit, God has already provided a way for us to open our true selves to his Light even now.
We don’t need to hide, nor do we need to live bound by chains of darkness. We are not left alone in a dark world. God, in Christ and by the Spirit, is the Light of the world. Even now we stand, as we will then, in the brilliance of the glory of God in Christ and by his Spirit and share in the glories of the world to come. May our hearts and lives ever be open to his Light!
Father, the first thing you created in our cosmos was light—light that is a reflection of your unchanging, faithful divine light. You are the Light of the cosmos, present in all things at every moment. Thank you for the grace you give us that we can be real, living and walking in truth in your presence without fear. Thank your for calling us out of darkness into your marvelous light. Bring to light the hidden things so we may find healing and wholeness. Inspire and empower us to share that light with others so they may enjoy its brilliance as well. Through Jesus and by your Spirit. Amen.
“This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.” John 3:19–21 NASB
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