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It’s a Mystery
By Linda Rex
December 24, 2023, 4th Sunday in Advent, Christmas Eve—I don’t know about you, but I love a good mystery, the old-fashioned kind, like in an Agatha Christie novel. As you read the text, you try to pay attention to the clues and guess who the villain is before the author unveils the truth at the end of the story. A good author throws about lots of red herrings to distract us or divert us from the truth, and sends us down rabbit trails which keep us from seeing the true perpetrator of the crime.
I wonder if the reason we love mysteries so much is because God loves a good mystery. Indeed, God is the One who set us all in the middle of life’s greatest mystery, and the apostle Paul refers to this mystery in his letters. In our passage for this last Sunday in Advent, Romans 16:25–27, Paul refers to this mystery at the end of his letter to the church in Rome, as he closes with a doxology of praise to God.
Paul says that “the mystery which has been kept secret for long ages past” has been revealed. The prophetic word gave us many clues about this mystery, but it was not fully disclosed until the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. In Eph. 3:3–9, Paul calls it the “mystery of Christ” which the Spirit revealed to the prophets and apostles, and that it was for many generations, he says in Col. 1:26, hidden in God but was now made manifest to his holy people.
What is this mystery? In Colossians 1:26, Paul puts it this way: “this mystery among the Gentiles [non-Jews], which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” This is why in Ephesians, he calls it “the mystery of Christ.” The “revelation of the mystery” was the fulfillment of the promise God made over and over, beginning in the garden and on through many centuries to his people ancient Israel, that the Messiah would come and save them.
Even though his people believed this salvation had something to do with land and an earthly kingdom, the Scriptures pointed to a Messiah who would usher in the age of the Spirit, when God would free his people from their proclivity to sin and turning away from him. What was overlooked as well was the many passages which pointed to the redemption and salvation of the nations—people from all nations would be saved and come to worship the Lord.
The mystery revealed to us in Christ is that Father, Son, and Spirit, before time began, determined that all humans God created would be able to share in the divine life and love, and that this would require the self-giving of the Son of God through incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection. This free gift of love and grace was always in God’s plan for every human being, and even though we as human beings did not know this gift was planned for us, God gave us lots of clues along the way, and when the time was right, fulfilled his plan in and through Jesus Christ. Looking again at our passage in Romans, we see that the ability to see this mystery is given to us as a gift. It requires a revelation that only God can give us, and he does this through Christ by his Holy Spirit. We receive it through repentance and faith in Christ.
What you believe about who Jesus Christ is, is important. To see and acknowledge Jesus Christ for who he is as both Lord and Savior opens the way for us to comprehend the mysteries of the kingdom of God, and enables us to grasp this greatest mystery: God has come to us in Christ, joined us in our human flesh, shared an authentic human existence with us, died the death we all die, and rose again, bringing our human flesh into the divine life and love, and sending the Spirit so we all can individually begin to participate in God’s life and love by faith in Christ. As we come to faith in Christ, which is a gift God gives us by his Spirit, we begin to see more clearly all the clues that led to the revelation of this mystery, and we grow in our understanding of the mysteries of the kingdom.
This Christmas season, my prayer is that you experience in a way you never have before, this mystery of Christ in you, the hope of glory. May you have a profound personal revelation of this mystery and begin to share this good news with others. Merry Christmas!
Our Father, thank you for the gift of your Son and you Spirit by whom we may come to share life with you now and forever in your love and grace. Grant that we may see in a way we never have before that Christ is in us, and we are in Christ, and Christ is in you, by your heavenly Spirit. Amen.
“Now to God who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but is now disclosed, and through the prophetic writings is made known to all the Gentiles, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith—to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever! Amen.” Romans 16:25–27 NRSV
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The Grace of Joy
By Linda Rex
December 17, 2023, 3rd Sunday in Advent | Joy—Sometimes this time of year, we have a hard time coming up with any sense of Christmas cheer. It doesn’t help that our budgets are tight and we’re concerned about possibly catching one of the viruses going around at school, work, and the supermarket. This season may bring to mind significant losses or changes in our lives, and we may sense hovering over us a raincloud of grief, sorrow, pain, or even anxiety at having to cope with family issues as we gather with others.
On this Sunday of Joy in the season of Advent, we look at what the apostle Paul has to say about this in 1 Thessalonians 5:16–24. He tells the believers at Thessalonica to “Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks” and goes on to say that this is God’s will for each of us who are in Christ Jesus. If we are in the midst of a snowstorm of grief and loss, it can be really hard to rejoice, much less give thanks. We may even find it next to impossible to pray—the words get stuck in our mind and heart, and nothing comes out. We can only weep.
So how do we respond to this imperative or command given to us in God’s Word? When reading the commands or imperatives in Scripture, we must always first look for the indicatives or foundational spiritual realities on which those imperatives are based. In this case, notice the phrase, “in Christ Jesus.” This is important to pay attention to. Also, when we look a little further on, we see, “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.” Notice who is doing the sanctifying and who is bringing to pass our being without blame. Our wholeness is grounded in the God of peace who sanctifies us in and through his Son Jesus Christ.
Our joy isn’t in the circumstances we are experiencing, though at times we may have joyful and happy experiences with family and friends doing things we enjoy. No, the source of our joy is our faithful God of peace, who has given us his Son and his Spirit. As we come to faith in Christ, trusting in God’s grace and love, we are united with Christ and receive from him the Spirit. The Spirit of God pours into us Christ’s own love, joy, peace, gentleness, goodness, and other fruits of the Spirit.
This means we are able to receive and experience Christ’s own joy, even though at times our circumstances and experiences may be less than joyful. We are also able to be thankful in less than blessed circumstances, because we have already received the greatest gift possible, the gift of Christ in us by the Spirit, who enables us to be thankful in all circumstances.
Going even farther, being in union with Christ by the Spirit means that we share in Jesus’ own life of joy and thanksgiving in his face-to-face fellowship with his Father in the Spirit. Our life of prayer is grounded in Jesus’ own life of prayer with his Father so that he offers the things of the Father to us in the Spirit, and offers our prayers to the Father in the Spirit. When we cannot pray, for our hearts are too broken, Jesus prays for us and the Spirit intercedes for us, already knowing what is in our hearts which so yearns to be spoken.
This offers us great comfort in times when we find it hard to rejoice, pray, or give thanks, even though we know this is God’s will for us. Our faith isn’t in our ability to hang in there and do what is needed in our relationship with God. Rather our faith is in the One who is faithful and will do all that is needed to sanctify us and keep us blameless before God. We can rest in him and trust in his perfect love and grace. What a precious gift!
Dear Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, thank you for holding us in the center of your love and grace. As we go through this Advent season, remind us anew of your compassion and tender love, and fill our hearts with joy and gratitude so we may do your will. Blessed Jesus and Holy Spirit, let your prayers fill our hearts, not just for ourselves, but for all those you bring to our minds, that we may fellowship with you and one another as a communion of faith throughout this sacred Advent season. For our Father’s glory, through Jesus and by your Spirit. Amen.
“Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophetic utterances. But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil. Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16–24 NASB
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Confirming the Testimony of Christ
By Linda Rex
December 3, 2023, 1st Sunday in Advent—I was reminded this morning of the blessing and gift we have been given of fellowship in our Lord Jesus Christ. Last Tuesday when I woke up, I was greatly challenged with being able to write and post this blog and to provide Sunday’s sermon on video, because I was very sick and my head was filled more with congestion that it was with any coherent thought.
I put out a prayer request for those who participate with me in Our Life in the Trinity, and was so blessed to have the Lord’s mercies in clearing up by noon almost completely the congestion and fuzziness of brain I had been experiencing. I was able to post both the blog and the video by evening, and I can give no credit anywhere but to the Lord Jesus Christ, and my gratitude to the believers for their faithful prayers on my behalf.
I believe this is what the apostle Paul was describing in his passage for this week, 1 Corinthians 1:3–9. I do give thanks to God concerning every one of you who support me in this ministry, for the grace of God has not been without effect, and the testimony of Jesus has been confirmed over and over in all of you. As Paul reminds us, this is the work of our God, who is faithful, and who has called us together into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ.
Paul was wise enough to realize that whatever gifts he had been given of speech and knowledge were gifts of the Spirit from our Lord Jesus Christ. He knew that the believers in Corinth valued skills of human rhetoric or speech and knowledge, but what Paul focused on in his letter was fellowship with our Lord. The Spirit generously showers spiritual gifts upon us, but it is Jesus who confirms in us the grace of God by his Spirit, making us blameless. Our identity is in Jesus Christ and as we trust in him, dying in his death and rising in his resurrection and ascension, we participate in his own face-to-face intimate fellowship with his Father in the Spirit.
This is meant to be most evident within the context of spiritual community, where those who trust in Christ are joined together in the fellowship of the Spirit, sharing in their common faith in our Lord Jesus. The gifts of the Spirit showered upon the Body of Christ are not meant for personal glory or aggrandizement, but for the equipping of the saints, to aid in our growing up into the fulness of Christ. Together, we live as those who trust in Christ, reflecting the divine perichoresis or koinonia in our relationships with one another. This is evident testimony to the reality of our living Lord Jesus Christ by his Spirit at work in and through us.
As the psalmist says, apart from what God has done, is doing, and will do through our Lord Jesus Christ and by his Spirit, we are at the mercy of our sins and brokenness (Psalm 80:1–7, 17–19). The prophet Isaiah reminds us that apart from the mercy and compassionate intervention of God, we are not able to live out the covenant life God has called us into (Isaiah 64:1–9). But God is, by nature, merciful and compassionate, so he did not leave any of us in the state of bondage to evil, sin, and death. No, in Christ, he has set us free, and invites us to participate in that freedom by faith in Jesus.
The good news is that, as God in human flesh, Jesus lives in face-to-face relationship with our Father in the Spirit, and he enables us to share in this union and communion by faith in Christ. It’s not all up to us, thankfully, but all up to him, even though he honors our personhood and allows us to say ‘No’ to his ‘Yes’ in Christ. Our Triune God’s ‘Yes’ to us stands in spite of our ‘No’, but if we insist, in spite of and in the face of the consuming fire of his love, we will experience the results of that resistance to God’s love. It is hard for me to imagine someone so forcibly resisting God’s love, but we are persons who at times can be quite stubborn in our resistance against what is beautiful, loving and good. I am grateful, as ever, that it’s not up to me to decide any of this, but up to our loving, gracious Lord Jesus, who is both the judged and the Judge. May his Name be praised evermore!
Our loving, heavenly Father, thank you for your faithfulness by which we are saved and brought, in your Son, into face-to-face fellowship with you in the Spirit. Grant us the grace to allow you to finish what you have begun in us, by fully participating in your saving work, through Jesus our Lord. Amen.
“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, that in everything you were enriched in Him, in all speech and all knowledge, even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you, so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” 1 Corinthians 1:3–9 NASB
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Power Clothed in Humility
By Linda Rex
November 26, 2023, Christ the King or Reign of Christ | After Pentecost—It seems as though a common thread in our political sphere today wherever we may live, is a thirst for power. To control the assets, policy, and people of a country or a company drives many to seek out positions of power, often with little regard for such virtues as integrity, compassion, courtesy or generosity. Very often, the code followed is that the ends justify the means, and for that reason, anything that works is what is done, even if it is at the expense of others. If you don’t move out of the way of such persons, you will be stepped on and crushed as they pursue the position of power they seek.
This pursuit of power is in huge contrast with the way in which God manifests his power. Daily, we experience the divine power at work as in hushed tones, the planets rotate on their axis in common orbit around their stars. The earth rotates continually from night into day, and the life manifest on the planet continues through each season of spring, summer, fall, and winter. We experience a sunrise or sunset that is clouded or glorious, without giving any thought as to how these even came about. We don’t hear God saying, “Look what I did today!” He just does it—one more time.
When we read the biblical story, we find a God who relentlessly pursues a relationship with creatures who resist and reject him. At any point God could have allowed the humans he created to fall back into the nothingness out of which he created them, but he hasn’t. Instead, God does the unthinkable, and in the person of a tiny infant, enters into our world to become an infant, birthed in humble circumstances, and laid in a manger.
We find God’s humility written all over the human existence of Jesus Christ. The angels didn’t keep silent when Jesus was born—they celebrated with a glorious announcement. But it wasn’t too long, and Jesus’ birth was smeared with blood as the babes in Bethlehem were slain by a power-hungry king, who feared for his throne. So Jesus, true and divine heir to the Judean throne, went into exile in Egypt, and then spent his childhood growing up in the backwater nowhere town of Nazareth. Called bastard by the locals and rejected by the religious leaders, Jesus was still the most powerful man on the planet. As God in human flesh, he would speak the word and people were healed, the blind could see, the deaf could hear, and the dead awakened.
Even so, the power manifest in Jesus Christ, which Paul describes in Ephesians 1:15–23, was not revealed until our Savior went all the way into the depths of an ignominious death on the cross. This was a death that the Jewish people of his day called accursed, and the Romans considered foolishness. This undeserved end to Jesus’ life, he fully embraced, even intentionally sought out, for the sole reason of exposing the depths of human depravity, sickness, and death to the light of his divine love.
How many people today would be willing to go to this extreme in their positions of power in order to lay down their lives for others? Who would be willing to give up completely, even to the point of death, their ability to control, manage, direct, or change things? Who would be willing to take this position of humility and shame for the sake of others?
The apostle Paul prays that the members in Ephesus would have the ability to comprehend the surpassing greatness of the power Jesus had for those of us who believe. When Jesus talks about the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25:31–46, he is describing what he was about to do on behalf of all creation. Jesus gave himself as the Bread of Life for the spiritually hungry; he gave himself as the Water of Life for the spiritually thirsty; we were strangers to God, but Jesus invited us into the Triune life and love; we were spiritually naked and full of sin—Jesus covered us with his garments of salvation and his righteousness; we were sin-sick and ravaged by evil—Jesus healed us; we were imprisoned by sin, self, and Satan—Jesus set us free!
The way God uses power is humble, self-sacrificing and serving. God’s greatest power was manifest in Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, for in it, he brought our human flesh out of death into new life, seating us face-to-face with our Father in the Spirit. In sending the Spirit, Jesus invites every human being to participate in his own life, and draws together people from all nations into union and communion as his Body, the Church. As the Body of Christ, we manifest the risen King’s divine resurrection power to a broken, hungry, and hurting world through faith, hope, and love—as we serve, love, and care for others. This is true power clothed in humility—Christ in us by the Spirit—expressing his love for all he has created.
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we stand amazed. In true humility, you have invited us to share in your glory and your goodness. Thank you, Jesus, for manifesting so marvelously the majesty of true power, through your humility and sacrifice on our behalf. Open the eyes of our hearts that we may know the hope of your calling, the riches of the glory of your inheritance in the saints and the surpassing greatness of your power toward us who believe. Give us your Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of you, Jesus, as King of kings, who reigns over all, now and forever. Amen.
“For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints, do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” Ephesians 1:15–23 NASB
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The Heart of a Leader
By Linda Rex
November 5, 2023, Proper 26 | After Pentecost—In last week’s message we took a look at the heart of a shepherd, which is meant to be formed after and by the heart of the Great Shepherd, Jesus Christ. The heart of a shepherd was likened by the apostle Paul with that of a nursing mother tenderly caring for her child.
Moving into the passage for this Sunday, 1 Thessalonians 2:9–13, we find that the apostle Paul is still feeling the need to defend his ministry from the criticisms of those who opposed it. The apostle explained that he cared for the members of the church as a father would train and teach his children, encouraging and exhorting them to grow up in Christ. At the same time, Paul and his co-workers worked day and night doing hard labor in order to provide for themselves, so that the believers in Thessalonica would not have to support them. Any preaching or teaching had to be done while they were working or in the late afternoons and evenings when their other work was done.
This pattern of physical labor, self-support, and pastoral ministry was an important mark of Paul’s love and concern for the believers he ministered to and cared for. Additionally, Paul and his co-workers were diligent to live in such a manner that it was obvious to the believers, as it was to God, that they were behaving “devoutly and uprightly and blamelessly” toward the believers in everything they said and did. And it was also clear to the members of the church at Thessalonica that Paul and his co-workers weren’t just preaching the Word—they were living it out in their lives, doing their best to model self-sacrificial service and love just as Jesus, the living Word, had done while here on earth.
This is a profound contrast with the spiritual leaders Jesus confronted in the Gospel reading for this Sunday, Matthew 23:1–12. Jesus told the crowds and his disciples to beware of the spiritual leaders of his day who were more concerned about the adulation of the crowds and stuffing their pouches full of money than they were the needs and concerns of the people they cared for. They wanted to be elevated to positions of prominence at events, to be called “rabbi” or “teacher”, and to be greeted respectfully in the public square. While demanding strict legal obedience from their followers, their own hearts were filled with greed, selfishness, and pride. No wonder Jesus told his listeners not to follow their example.
What struck me when reading these two passages together was that, apart from Christ’s intervention in Paul’s life, he would have been one of those people Jesus described. In fact, he had been very much like those spiritual leaders Jesus said not to follow, for he had, as a law-abiding Pharisee, persecuted the early church and had sought the death and imprisonment of the believers.
But the miracle was, by the time the apostle was writing this letter to the church at Thessalonica, Paul had become a gift from God to the church at Thessalonica and the other churches of his day. Christ, by the Spirit, had done a transformational work in Paul’s mind and heart. This knowledge did not make Paul proud. Rather, it humbled him and gave him a powerful gospel message, one of salvation, redemption, faith, and patience for those to whom he ministered.
Our best witness for the God of Jesus Christ is the work the Spirit is doing and has done, in our own hearts and lives as God’s children. Authenticity, transparency, humility, and service are a hallmark of a follower of Jesus Christ.
Many pastors today are bi-vocational pastors who work a full or part time job while pastoring their churches. In many ways, they are following the model of Paul and the early church leaders. As they and the members they serve live out an authentic Christ-centered life within their community, each person has many opportunities to share the good news with others just as Paul did. As believers follow Christ and open their hearts and minds to the Spirit, growing in their own personal relationship with Jesus Christ, they are able to share the good news of Jesus Christ with those they meet just as Paul and his co-workers shared it with the people of their day.
Heavenly Father, thank you for those you have called and gifted to serve as pastors and spiritual mentors. By your Spirit, make us humble servant-hearted believers who care for others, and enable us to live out and share the life of Christ you are forming within us with others. Grant us the grace to be transparent, authentic, humble and ever willing to serve, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
“For you recall, brethren, our labor and hardship, how working night and day so as not to be a burden to any of you, we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. You are witnesses, and so is God, how devoutly and uprightly and blamelessly we behaved toward you believers; just as you know how we were exhorting and encouraging and imploring each one of you as a father would his own children, so that you would walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory. For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe.” 1 Thessalonians 2:9–13 NASB
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The Word is Ringing Out
By Linda Rex
October 22, 2023, Proper 24 | After Pentecost—Many years ago, I made some difficult lifetime decisions which affected a lot of people in my life, including close family and friends. It was difficult at the time to know which was the best path to take, but at the time, through prayer, fasting, and counsel, I took the path I believed would follow God’s lead and would be best for my family.
It wasn’t until many years later that I began to see and experience the full implications of the decisions I made at that time. Often, we don’t realize until much after the fact how things we say and do will leave a lasting imprint on those around us. In the New Testament passage for this week, 1 Thessalonians 1:1–10, we learn how our Christ-centered, obedient choices and decisions as followers of Christ can have a lasting, positive affect on those around us, as we respond faithfully to the lead and instruction of the Holy Spirit.
As I was pondering this passage, a question came to mind I would like to share with you: If someone used your life as an example to follow, would they begin, over time, to develop a closer relationship with Jesus, and begin, over time, to look more and more like him? I wonder how well we, as followers of Christ, model a Christ-like life and personal relationship with God. I must admit, in my own life and even within my family, I find that I live at times in such a way that the impact I am having on those close to me or those with whom I am interacting each day is not necessarily what I would prefer.
The apostle Paul points out in our passage that the Thessalonica believers were a powerful presentation of the gospel or good news of Jesus Christ just by how they lived their lives. Filled with and led by the Spirit, they reflected God’s love and turned away from the idols in their lives to serve the Father-Son-Spirit God in whom they found their existence as a gathering of believers, even though this caused persecution and suffering. Paul affirmed their work of faith, labor of love, and steadfastness of hope in Christ, in the presence of the Father. Having been chosen by God in Christ, they chose to respond in faith, hope, and love by following this pathway toward a healthy life together in Christ.
Sharing the good news of Jesus Christ—of all he has done in his life, death, resurrection and ascension, and in the gift of the Spirit—isn’t done just with words, but also is lived out in our everyday lives. What does it look like when God’s adopted child lives a life filled with God’s power, the Spirit, and full conviction? Our faith begins to be reflected in actions that are a reflection of Jesus’ own ministry and mission in this world. Our actions become an expression of God’s love, empowered by the Holy Spirit, for all those around us. Our hope in the coming-and-presence or parousia of Jesus Christ becomes evident for it keeps us centered, focused by the Spirit on the heavenly realities, but also forward-looking, watching for the new heaven and earth promised to us, as we live even now in the present-day reality of God’s reign in our hearts and lives.
What we learn from the believers in Thessalonica is that we live right now in this moment in the reality of God’s kingdom come to earth in Jesus Christ by his Spirit. We live each moment of each day in surrender and willing submission to the King of kings and Lord of lords, Jesus Christ, and our lives begin to reflect this reality. We may not imagine that we may be idolators, but if we are honest with ourselves, we each have things and people in our lives who are for us, an idol—something or someone we depend upon or rely upon to help us deal with and cope with the stresses and difficulties in our lives instead of simply trusting in Christ. We have people or things who occupy our attention, energy, and financial resources to the neglect of any kind of ongoing relationship with Jesus or our Father in the Spirit.
However we look at it, when we come to faith in Christ, there is a point in which we must come to terms with the reality of who Jesus is as Lord of all and King of the kingdom. Who has the final say in our hearts and minds and lives? Is it Jesus Christ? And is this evident to those around us? Our focus mustn’t be on what others may think or say, but on our God—Father, Son, and Spirit—in whom we have our existence, and by whom we are saved. He is the One by whom, for whom, and to whom all things are, and our lives belong to him. May our everyday conversation and conduct be a resounding witness to the love and grace of God, in whom we live and move and have our being.
Father, Jesus, Spirit—thank you for loving us and caring for us so faithfully. Grant us the grace to live and walk in a way, each and every day, that is a resounding witness to your goodness and love, expressed to us in Jesus and by your Spirit. Amen.
“Paul and Silvanus and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace. We give thanks to God always for all of you, making mention of you in our prayers; constantly bearing in mind your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and Father, knowing, brethren beloved by God, His choice of you; for our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith toward God has gone forth, so that we have no need to say anything. For they themselves report about us what kind of a reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come.” 1 Thessalonians 1:1–10 NASB
“For the sake of Jacob My servant, and Israel My chosen one, I have also called you by your name; I have given you a title of honor though you have not known Me. I am the LORD, and there is no other; besides Me there is no God. I will gird you, though you have not known Me; That men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun that there is no one besides Me. I am the LORD, and there is no other, the One forming light and creating darkness, causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the LORD who does all these.” Isaiah 45:4–7 NASB
“ ‘Tell us then, what do You think? Is it lawful to give a poll-tax to Caesar, or not?’ But Jesus perceived their malice, and said, ‘Why are you testing Me, you hypocrites? Show Me the coin used for the poll-tax.’ And they brought Him a denarius. And He said to them, ‘Whose likeness and inscription is this?’ They said to Him, ‘Caesar’s.’ Then He said to them, ‘Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s.’ ” Matthew 22:17–21 NASB
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Practicing Kingdom Realities
by Linda Rex
October 15, 2023, Proper 23 | After Pentecost—Over the years, I have come to see the kingdom of God and the second coming of Christ through a new lens and that is the incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, ascension, and reign of Jesus Christ. When examined through this new lens, these concepts take on a more paradoxical form and require that I live in a place where I must daily walk by faith, trusting in the near and faithful presence of Jesus in the Spirit.
The biblical concept of the kingdom of God revolves around the Trinity. God reigns over all, yet not all of us acknowledge nor submit to his reign in our hearts and lives. God gave humans the stewardship of his creation here on earth, but so often, we have lived as though we were self-sustaining, self-directed lords rather than simply stewards and creatures whose dependency and livelihood are utterly contingent and dependent upon the God who made us and who sustains us.
We find that our Triune God resolved this issue (as he had always intended to) by coming in the Son of God, the Word of God, into our cosmos as God in human flesh. His coming-and-presence, or parousia, was by the incarnation, and he preached the coming and presence of the kingdom of God in his person. In Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, and ascension and in the sending of the Holy Spirit, we as human beings begin to participate by faith in the kingdom of God, right now through the Lord Jesus Christ by his Holy Spirit. We find ourselves today in the already-not-yet of the kingdom of God, which is present by the Spirit today but will come in its fullness when Jesus establishes the new heaven and earth.
When the apostle Paul talked about living in unity, bearing the fruits of the Spirit, and rejoicing in every circumstance in Philippians 4:1-9, he used the expression “in the Lord” or “in Christ Jesus.” Fundamental to our ability to walk in love or gentleness is Christ’s indwelling each of us by his Spirit. We participate by his Spirit in Jesus’ own love and life, living and working together in unity by helping one another and praying for one another. But even our prayers are merely a participation in the ongoing face-to-face conversation between the Father and Son in the Spirit. Jesus offers the things of God to us by the Spirit and offers our response to the Father in the Spirit. By the Spirit, the God of peace is in us and with us in the midst of whatever circumstances we find ourselves, so there is no need for anxiety or distress. We give thanks and rejoice instead, because Christ’s own gratitude and joy is ours to experience and share with others.
Paul says, “Let your gentle spirit be known to all.” This is the same language he uses elsewhere that seems to be a passive statement: “Be filled with the Holy Spirit.” There is a sense of receptivity, of being open to what is happening rather than ignoring, resisting or pushing back. We are given God’s Spirit freely, but if we are so busy doing everything ourselves and refuse to allow God room to work, we may not experience the wonderful blessings of God’s indwelling presence, our union with God in Christ, and his transforming work. And as we close ourselves to what God may want to do, then others will not see the beauty of Christ living in us and shining through us.
Lately, I’ve been pondering the journey I have experienced over the years in my own walk with Christ. How often it has been about getting the rules right or trying to earn the love and favor of God and others! How sad that I could not simply receive the love and grace of God and allow him to do all the heavy lifting, and focus on enjoying life in relationship with God and others in the Spirit by participating in all Jesus has done, is doing, and will do in bringing his kingdom into reality here on earth as it is in heaven.
Paul reminds us that our life is intimately bound up in Christ’s life with the Father in the Spirit. As he said in Galatians 2:20: “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (NASB). We live even now in the reality of God’s kingdom being realized in us and in our world by Jesus in the Spirit, and we participate as we practice these kingdom realities in our lives, keeping our minds on what is excellent and worthy of praise, rejoicing in all situations, and gratefully offering our requests to God, day by day. And we diligently practice loving God and one another as we wait in joyful expectancy for the fullness of God’s kingdom in all its glory.
Lord, thank you for your abundant gifts, most especially your indwelling presence by the Spirit, who enables us to participate in your own face-to-face relationship with your Father. I open myself up to the warmth and healing of your love and life, and welcome you here. Clear out anew the cobwebs and filth that may be gathering that you, my dear Father, may feel at home and welcome always, through Jesus your Son in the Spirit. Amen.
“Therefore, my beloved brethren whom I along to see, my joy and crown, in this way stand firm in the Lord, my beloved. I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to live in harmony in the Lord. Indeed, true companion, I ask you also to help these women who have shared my struggle in the cause of the gospel, together with Clement also and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life. Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” Philippians 4:1–9 NASB
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Just Who Runs the Show?
by Linda Rex
August 20, 2023, Proper 15 | After Pentecost—I was watching a BibleProject video this week on the kingdom of God, and it struck me how we go about our everyday lives without realizing the significance of what it means to be real participants in God’s life and love. In fact, we often act as though we are in charge—in charge of our lives, our belongings, our communities, our world—but do not ever give much thought to the reality that none of it belongs to us. In the real scheme of things, all that we have and all that we are is a gift from God, a God who loves to share what he has with others, specifically with all of us.
Even a cursory glance at the cosmos in which we live and the earth on which we reside shows us the magnitude of what God made us responsible for when he created human beings and said to them, “Here, take care of this, flourish within it, and spread out in every direction to fill it.” This earth and this cosmos were never meant to be ours to use and abuse, but rather were a stewardship responsibility and gift, to be administered under the leadership and guidance of our heavenly Father through his Son and in the Spirit.
In other words, from the beginning, it was always about relationship. And when we stubbornly turned away from God, insisting on doing everything our way, according to our own determination of what was right or wrong, we found ourselves endlessly with our back against the wall, needing delivered by the Lord of all. God chose out a people through whom he would send his Son to take on our human flesh—the ancient Israelites. Through them came Jesus, the Savior of all and Lord of all, who was the way in which God once and for all established his rule and reign within our human sphere in the manner he always intended it to be expressed. In his Son, Jesus Christ, God’s will was, is and will be fulfilled here on earth as it is in heaven.
And that is the issue for us. We don’t want God dictating to us how to do things. And even if it is up to God, his kingdom and his will doesn’t seem to be being fulfilled right now. What we forget is that God always meant for his kingdom life to be expressed in and through us as human beings, those made in his image and after his likeness. And we stubbornly insist on doing it our way. We go about trying to figure it out on our own, when we were always meant to do everything in union and communion with the God who made us and gifted us with the responsibility to care for what he had made.
In Romans 11:1–2a, 29–32, our passage for this Sunday, the apostle Paul explains that even though his own people, the ancient Jews, had rejected God, God never rejected them. God had made a commitment to the ancient nation of Israel, and in spite of their constant rejection and disobedience to the covenant, God was faithful. And when Jesus came, he was rejected and crucified, even though it was evident that he was not guilty but was the Anointed One sent by God. In spite of Paul’s people rejecting Jesus in this way, the crucifixion of Jesus Christ made possible the acceptance and deliverance of every human being, Jew and non-Jew. The point Paul was making, and this is central to the book of Romans, was that every human being is guilty of sin and of turning away from God. But God, in Christ, has brought every one of us back to himself, and in the gift of the Spirit, unites us with himself in such a way that none of us can be separated from the love of God in Christ. It is a beautiful and glorious thing which God has done!
So, even though people from both sides of the aisle—Jews and non-Jews—have turned from God and are guilty of sin, both are set free in and through Jesus in his life, death, resurrection, and ascension, and by receiving the gift of the Spirit are included in the body of Christ. The body of Christ, the Church, is meant to be a pointer to or witness to the kingdom of God in this world today. In other words, when believers live out the truth of our inclusion in God’s love and life, living in other-centered love, they are a real expression of what it looks like to participate in the kingdom of God right now in the Spirit. We are citizens of this world in one sense, while we are even more so, citizens of the kingdom of God in another. As citizens of the kingdom of God, in right relationship with Father, Son, and Spirit, we live out our existence on this earth as stewards of all God has made, bearing witness to God and his love as his adopted, beloved children, living together in unity, equality, and those who uniquely bear the image and likeness of Jesus Christ, just as we were always meant to.
Heavenly God, thank you for never giving up on us, but always being good and being faithful. Thank you, Jesus, for coming to bring us home to the Father, and for sending the Spirit so even now we can share life with you. May we live even now in the true reality of your heavenly kingdom, through Jesus our Lord and by your Spirit. Amen.
“I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? May it never be! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew. … for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. For just as you once were disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy because of their disobedience, so these also now have been disobedient, that because of the mercy shown to you they also may now be shown mercy. For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all.” Romans 11:1–2a, 29–32 NASB
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The Word is Near/In You
by Linda Rex
August 13, 2023, Proper 14 | After Pentecost—Lately I’ve been realizing how blessed I was to have parents who insisted I learn to observe what the Bible teaches, however misguided their efforts might have been. Granted, there are things I wish I had not been forced to do, which I would not inflict on any child today. But there were some benefits to studying the book of Proverbs and learning texts such as the ten commandments and the sermon on the mount.
However, as the years have passed, I have come to see that all of the Bible-learning in the world does no good whatsoever if it only goes skin deep or we turn what we learn into rigid rules and regulations to live by. Often, knowing the right thing to do is worthless when our flesh insists on doing it some other way. And when everything in our world is crying out to us to follow our flesh, doing the right thing is even harder to do. Even when do we want to do what is right it is a challenge to go down the path of living in right relationship with God and one another.
In our New Testament reading for this week, Romans 10:5–15, the apostle Paul contrasts a righteousness based on law with a righteousness based on faith. There were benefits to living according to the law Moses gave Israel—blessings rather than cursings, peace rather than being invaded by other nations, and a better life over all without the heartaches of painful consequences. Unfortunately though, so often, the people did what was right in their own eyes, as Joshua wrote, and paid the sorry consequences. What we come to see in what Moses wrote is that the issue was an internal one—a matter of the heart. All the legislation in the world is useless without a change of heart and mind—without an internal movement, ability, and desire to do what is right internally present within the person or people involved.
When we believe it is all up to us to get ourselves right with God and to live a good life (i.e., a righteousness based on law), then we are in a really unhappy, unhealthy place. The reason is that no matter how hard we try, we cannot get there from here, no matter how many laws or regulations we may impose upon ourselves from the outside. Nor did God intend us to. No, he knew from the beginning how it would be and planned before time began to enter into our physical flesh to reform it and make us what he always meant us to be—from the inside out. From the beginning we were formed to be creatures who were dependent upon him for his life and his love. He always intended us to be joined forever with him in union and communion—in right relationship.
Realizing that when Jesus, the Word of God, died, everything in this cosmos died with him, and everything rose with him when he came up from the grave, is essential to realizing that we were not and cannot be separated from God in any way, shape, or form. The Scriptures tell us that all things were created by God in and through Jesus in the Spirit. We are held in God, even though the blindness of our sinful flesh often makes us believe we are separated from God. How often I hear someone say they are all alone in a very dark place. What may be wrong is they simply cannot see the reality that below, or above, all that darkness is the light of Jesus—the very presence of God is near them and in them by the Spirit. What they have lost sight of is God holding them and loving them unconditionally, offering them acceptance and forgiveness.
Our experience of our connection with God is what is at stake when we turn away from Jesus and insist on going our own way. We can certainly act like we are self-existent deities if we wish, but it doesn’t at all make it true. And time will eventually make evident this reality as life’s experiences and eventually death will show how powerless we really are over this world and even ourselves. Our choices in this life and our rejection of God have consequences, and we certainly don’t like having to experience how tough life gets when we stubbornly go our own way. And we even tend to blame God or even others when the world gets to be impossible to live in. But none of this alters the reality that God took every possible precaution to ensure that we, everyone of us, would be included in his life and love.
When Jesus, the Word of God, the Son of God, took on our human flesh, lived our life, died our death and rose again, taking us home to the Father, he sent the Spirit so each and every person could participate in his own face-to-face relationship with his Father in the Spirit. In Jesus Christ—who is Lord of all, every one of us has the assurance of being included in the love and life of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit now and forever. Do we believe this is true? If we don’t, we will continue to struggle to make ourselves right with God, living out a righteousness based on law.
If we do believe it’s true, we will live accordingly—living out the reality of a personal relationship with our Father through Jesus in the Spirit (a righteousness based on faith). We will allow Jesus to live his life in and through us, participating in what he is actively doing in this world, which includes sharing this good news with others. We will act as if we are full participants in Jesus’ own life in face-to-face fellowship with his Father in the Spirit. What does that look like? Well, that’s where all those descriptions of the Christian life in the Bible come in handy—they give us a clue as to what it looks like to live as God’s very own beloved children, in right relationship with him and one another. And that’s where a little Bible-learning comes in handy.
Heavenly Father, thank you for including us in your life with your Son in the Spirit, through his incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection and ascension. By your Spirit, grant us the faith of Jesus, the One who trusts you completely and implicitly, that we may quit practicing the righteousness based on law and start practicing the righteousness based on faith, sharing this good news with others, as we confess with our mouths and believe in our hearts that Jesus our Lord is risen from the grave. Amen.
“For Moses writes that the man who practices the righteousness which is based on law shall live by that righteousness. But the righteousness based on faith speaks as follows: ‘Do not say in your heart, “Who will ascend into heaven?” (that is, to bring Christ down), or “Who will descend into the abyss?” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).’ But what does it say? ‘The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart’—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, ‘Whoever believes in him will not be disappointed.’ For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for ‘whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feed of those who bring good news of good things!’” Romans 10:5–15 NASB
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