Day 31: Exodus 28-30; Psalm 26; Matthew 27

 "Then Jesus cried again with a loud voice and breathed his last.  At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom."

This is the curtain that is explained with so much detail and care in Exodus 26.  In Exodus we are in the midst of reading about all the care that is taken to prepare the tent of meeting---where the people go to experience and meet God---where God dwells.  And we see some of these same details and items in our practice rituals: the vestments, the offerings placed on the altar, the incense and anointed oil.

Many of these practices and the vestments and the "smells and bells" bring great beauty to our acts of worship.  But, we must be careful to remember that none of these things make "God happen."  God does not come among us because we do all these things exactly as stipulated.  God does not show up because we say the right words or have on the right vestments or have the most beautiful sanctuary.   Worship isn't about us doing all the right things to make God present.  It's about presenting ourselves.....opening ourselves through the senses of sight, sound, and smell....exposing ourselves to the the transformation presence of God through prayer.....recognizing God in the faces of the gathered....bringing the best of our selves, our souls and bodies to place on the altar in the offering.

The curtain is torn....God is very present.....God dwells among us.  Come, now is the time to worship.

Day 30: Exodus 25-27; Psalm 25; Matthew 26

Even in today's story of betrayal and vengeance in Matthew, the Good News shines.  Maybe especially in this story of the Passion.  Amidst the details of fear and running away, among the examples of betrayal and disloyalty, right there in the middle of this tale of human brokenness shines our glorious gift of Good News:  "...yet not what I want but what you want..." (Matthew 26:39) "...your will be done." (26:41)  Humanity takes its proper posture and position in life----God at the center, God as our Navigator and Compass.

In Jesus, we see our Way.  In Matthew's gospel we have seen our Way in acts of beautiful and loving compassion, healing, forgiveness, acceptance, and hospitality.  We have seen our Way in Jesus in the generous giving of self for others.  And here, here in the painful, messy, dark story of the Passion (which certainly echoes the painful, messy, dark moments of our own lives), we see our Way in obedience, submission, and dependence.  For many of us, the hardest part of the Way is to recognize that we are not in control, God is.  Not only to recognize it, but to live that Truth by taking ourselves out of the center and putting God back in God's rightful place--the center.

"...yet not what I want but what you want..." "...your will be done."

Day 29: Exodus 22-24; Psalm 24; Matthew 25

You shall not oppress a resident alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.  This message is repeated over and over---not just in Old Testament but throughout Scripture---Love your neighbor; treat others as you wish to be treated; whatever you do to the least of these.  Being in right relationship with God means being in right relationship with others----all others---even those foreigners and strangers we might consider as alien.  What does this command mean for us today?  Whom do we oppress?  Who falls in the circle of "foreigner" or "other" for you?  Remember, just like us, the foreigner and other are the Lord's as well: "The earth is the LORD's and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it;" (Psalm 24:1)

Day 28: Exodus 19-21; Psalm 23; Matthew 24

God meets the community directly in Exodus.  A wonderful and dramatic scene.  In this part of our story, God asks Moses to consecrate---to set apart, to make holy---the people.  We are a people set apart from the rest of the world.  How?  We are to live differently---to live the 10 best ways.  These commandments, these non-negotiables of our faith, they are actions which set us in right relationship with God and with others.  They are how to love God with all our heart, mind, and soul and how to love our neighbors.

And the Chapter in Matthew is also dramatic--the end times; the Apocalypse was very much a part of this culture's beliefs and understanding.  But notice that this chapter is really about looking for signs.  Signs in our own life---do we see and notice signs of the world reigning in us or of God reigning within us.  Who is our master?  What do we do when the signs indicate that we are not living with God as our center?  We turn, and return---making our way back to a life where the Lord is our shepherd---living in right relationship with God---living in divine protection---when God is the One on whom we are utterly and completely dependent.  God is God; there shall be no other.

Day 27: Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read at worship

Day 26: Exodus 16-18; Psalm 22; Matthew 23

Matthew 23 is a scathing blast against the Pharisees and the Scribes (and so quickly we think: good thing I am not one of them!)  "Woe to....." Woe to the one who proclaims God's Kingdom but doesn't attempt to live it.  Woe to those who keep seekers out instead of drawing them in.  Woe to these ones because this life is a choice: live as the beloved child of God or not.  Live in right relationship with God or not.  Choose heaven (living with God) or hell (living without God).  Blessed are you or Woe to you. It is a choice.

In Exodus 16, look at the details of God's plan to provide.  Everyone is to have what is needed for that day.  No hoarding or overabundance...no lacking.  Even the Sabbath is provided for.  Each one has enough.  Give us this day our daily bread.

Another interesting note for chapter 18: Jethro is not a Hebrew; he is a Midianite.  And yet he recognizes God's greatness.  He sits down to eat with Aaron and the elders (sharing fellowship while breaking bread is a sign of peaceful communion...of honor and respect).  What does this mean for us who break bread together each week?

Day 25: Exodus 13-15; Psalm 21; Matthew 22

Some interesting things to think about in Exodus:

Here we have God hardening Pharaoh's heart again (still):  Purpose?  So that God's power and glory will shine forth for people to believe and know that Israel's God is THE God, not Pharaoh.  But, hardening the heart still sounds a lot like "rigging" the outcome in God's favor; it still feels not quite right, like Pharaoh is some dupe that is forced to do the wrong thing.  Consider this as you read and think about Exodus: In this chapter, a different verb is used for the phrase that continues to be translated "harden Pharaoh's heart".  The verb here is to strengthen.  And the noun that is translated heart also means "will" or "mind."  So the sentence can be translated: I will strengthen Pharaoh's will.  What does that do to your understanding as you read this?  And how does God "strengthen Pharaoh's will" or "harden Pharaoh's heart?"  By being God.  God being God shows others (and Pharaoh) that Pharaoh is not God.

Also, when the people become fearful while following God's plan, notice that Moses' words to them echo the sentiment we find in Psalm 46:10--Be still and know that I am God.  Good advice for all of us when the world seems to be turning upside down or we feel lost or frightened.  It seems to be our greatest challenge: knowing and living the Truth that God is God and we are not.

Matthew presents the greatest commandment as love: love the Lord your God with all your heart (will), all your soul, and all your mind---your "lev" in Hebrew.  Love God with everything you have and love your neighbor.  Loving with everything we have indicates that this is no mushy, gushy feeling....this is action.....this is palpable....this is life-changing.  The greatest commandment is love; this is the lens through which we must understand Scripture (on this hangs all the Law and the Prophets) and the lens through which we are to make choices and take action.  Love.

Day 24: Exodus 10-12; Psalm 20; Matthew 21

"That was for the LORD a night of vigil, to bring them out of the land of Egypt.  That same night is a vigil to be kept for the LORD by all the Israelites throughout their generations."

Vigils---keeping watch with and for the LORD--- seem to be part of our release, part of our redemption.  Here it is part of the Israelites' exodus from their bondage in Egypt.  During Holy Week, it was part of Jesus' preparation for the Crucifixion.  As we experience Holy Week in our parishes, it is a practice we keep on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday---to keep watch with and for our LORD.  Setting aside time to be in God's presence---with our whole selves.  Keeping vigil.  This, my friends, is part of our pathway to release and redemption.  It has always been so.

Matthew 21 challenges us to consider what it means to be truly obedient.  What does it look like--in a person's everyday life---to be obedient to God?  Is there any evidence of one's obedience and steadfast loyalty that can be known, shown, experienced and pointed to by others?  What does the harvest yield?  What does it look like---in an individual's life, but also in the life of community?

Day 23: Exodus 7-9; Psalm 19; Matthew 20

"I shall harden the heart of Pharaoh."  This seems so harsh of God, doesn't it?  Why would God harden someone's heart, especially someone God is trying to convince?  Ah, perhaps, here is the rub.  This sentence reads: "And I, I will harden heart of Pharaoh and I am increasing signs of me and miracles of me in land of Egypt."  And, and, and....these are all connected.  Perhaps, God is declaring the effect that his actions will make.  By increasing God's signs and miracles, God is declaring that God is God and no man, not even Pharaoh, is greater than God.

When we are told we've got it wrong (remember, Pharoah claims to be a god-king), or our plan is not right, or there's someone greater.....how often do our hearts harden?  Or when, like the laborers in the vineyard, we see those we consider to be "less worthy" than ourselves receive exactly the same as we have been given---don't our hearts harden?

Greed, jealousy, vengeance, anger, having no mercy, arrogance.....all signs of a hardened heart.

We are called to be servant leaders (the first shall be last, and the last shall be first)---this requires us to be vulnerable to the Holy Spirit that our hearts may be softened and widened.  God will be God and do what God does.  When God's actions work in our favor and shine light into our darkness, we rejoice.  But, when God's actions and God's light reveal a shadow within us...how do we respond then?  Will we harden our hearts or offer them up for transformation?

Day 22: Exodus 4-6; Psalm 18:21-50; Matthew 19

Like Moses, we are afraid of failing.  Even when the LORD speaks directly to us---we ponder failure.  This is part of our brokenness.  We question and do not trust God's plan for us--the plan of reconciliation, justice, grace, mercy and love.

This passage dealing with divorce in Matthew makes us uncomfortable.  Most of us are touched by divorce in one way or another.  Jesus is lifting up for us a vision of the Kingdom of God---what marriage looks like in God's realm.  And Jesus acknowledges the brokenness, the hardness of heart, in this realm that makes divorce an unhappy reality.  Our uncomfortableness comes from the fact that Jesus has so accurately put his finger on our sin---a hardness of heart.  A hardness of heart that leads to all kinds of division and separation.

May we today, this day, may we trust in God's plan for us---a plan to soften and widen our hearts---turning our hearts of stone into hearts of flesh.  Expect the Holy Spirit.

Day 21: Exodus 1-2; Psalm 18:1-20; Matthew 18

Many things to remember when one reads Exodus:  "Exodus is best understood as a composite of traditions shaped over many centures by an unknown number of storytellers and writers" (Carol Meyers, The New Oxford Annotated Bible, NRSV)

We see clues of this editing from different sources right away.  Moses' father has two names: Reuel and Jethro (and a third name, Hobab, in the book of Judges).  The mountain of God is called both Horeb and Sinai.

We also hear echoes of Genesis in Chapter two (which also serves to continue the story that has already unfolded).  At the beginning of Chapter two, the mother sees that her baby is very fine: he is "good, very good"---just like Creation in Genesis.  And then, the word used for "basket"--which baby Moses is placed inside in order to be saved---is the same word that is used for "ark" in Noah's story.  And this basket/ark also uses bitumen and pitch, just like Noah's ark.  Both this story of salvation for Moses, and Noah's during the Great Flood, have people saved through the waters.  Being saved through water is our story, isn't it?  Exodus' great theme is a people's escape from oppression through the intervention of God.  Take note of this happening over and over.

Women play a large role in salvation of the Hebrews.  First, the midwives, the mother of Moses, Miriam (Moses' sister), and the daughter of Pharaoh, not to mention Moses' wife, Zipporah.

We hear the affirmation of God's saving intervention in Psalm 18:1-20.  God frees us from our oppression.

In Matthew, we have the fourth discourse, or teaching, and it's all about Living Together--the community, the church.  Read this teaching carefully; pay attention to Jesus' commands of how we are responsible for one another.  We leave no sheep lost; we forgive (here Jesus reverses Lamech's ratcheting up of vengeance that we read in Genesis 4 by ratcheting up the requirements to forgive one another as often as it takes).  We release one another from debts and encourage and support each other---including those with no power or status (children in this society).  This is how we live together in community---with love---love that is action.

Day 20: Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read at Worship

Day 19: Genesis 49-50; Psalm 17; Matthew 17

Congratulations!  You have finished reading the book of Genesis!  Were there surprises?  Did you learn or hear new things?

In Genesis 50:20--"Even though you [devised/planned/meant]to do harm to me, God [devised/planned/meant] it for good...."Abraham says this to his brothers about their plan to get rid of him.  Abraham forgives them; he knows God is in control.  God is in control, even when others devise evil or perpetrate evil upon us.  God doesn't plan or calculate or cause the evil to happen in our lives.  God doesn't intend for our suffering.  But, as broken humanity, suffering is a reality that we bring into our own lives and the lives of others.  God's power, God's grace, is to turn a human plan that creates suffering into a plan of redemption, reconciliation, and restoration.  God doesn't cause the suffering; God redeems the suffering.

Psalm 17:8--a well-known verse: Keep [guard] me as the apple of the eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings.  The Hebrew here is a bit tricky: Keep [guard] me as the pupil of eye, daughter of eye---not quite the "apple" we are used to.  And the verb, shamar, is to keep or to guard--like a shepherd keeps and guards sheep.  This verse is certainly about shelter, but it's also about our context---we belong in the very center of God (and God in us)---this is from where we are to live and move and have our being.  Our home base is in the pupil of God's eye, underneath the sheltering wings of the Divine.

Matthew 15:24-26:  In this text, the evangelist has Jesus say that just as the King's children are tax-exempt, so are we as God's children.  This begs the question: how are we free?  In the Gospel of John, Jesus also claims that the Truth shall set us free.  How does being a disciple (one who follows a rule) of Jesus make one free?  What does our tax exempt status mean?

Day 18: Genesis 46-48; Psalm 16; Matthew 16

My apologies.  I drafted yesterday's post.  It did not get "published" until today.

Like the disciples in Matthew, it is so hard for us to rely on God's grace.  We struggle to believe that God does provide for our needs.  Not because bread falls out of the sky, but because answers and solutions are presented---often through those around us.  Like the disciples, often we have to open our eyes and ears to hear the answers that are around us instead of insisting that the only way forward is what is already in our minds.  We often hang on so strongly to our understanding, our perceived solution, that we fail to hear and see the solution and plan that is floating right in front of us.

There is a pivotal point in Chapter 16: they are turning toward Jerusalem.  Moving toward the crucifixion.  We move from healing and miracles to understanding what discipleship means, and what it costs.  Jesus took humanity's brokenness with him on that cross.  If we want to be followers of Jesus, we too must recognize that we bear humanity's brokenness on our shoulders.  Like Judah in yesterday's story of Joseph in Genesis, are we willing to give ourselves---what we have and who we are---for the good of others?  The restoration and redemption of Creation comes through sacrifice.

In Genesis 48, again we have the younger who will be greater than the older--an echo of Jacob and Esau.  One thing we notice in Scripture, when we read it like this in larger sections and in entirety, is that these stories and truths echo over and over.  Just like when God tells Israel: do not be afraid.  God is always telling God's people: Do not fear; take heart; do not be afraid.  I am with you.

Let us live today like we believe it.

Day 17: Genesis 43-45; Psalm 15; Matthew 15

Today in Genesis we have family making sacrifices for family.  The giving of oneself for the betterment of the common good.  We have reconciliation and restoration.  We have the recognition of God's movement within our lives.  Glimpses of the Kingdom.

In Matthew we see a growth of understanding in Jesus.  He begins the move from "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel" to his great command at the end fo the Gospel: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations..." (Matthew 28:19)  Did Jesus understand this from the beginning and only say these words for the benefit of the disciples, that they too must understand the universality of God's plan?  Did Jesus really hold the Hebrew belief that God's saving grace was only for the "chosen" Israel and it is only through his lifetime that he comes to understand God's universality?  I don't know.  It doesn't matter.  What matter is that God's plan of grace and salvation is for everyone.  Everyone.

And again, a glimpse of the Kingdom: where there seems to be sparsity (not enough food for so great a crowd)---there is actually abundance.  How?  Take what is given, bless it, break it and share it.  More than enough.  More than enough.

Day 16: Genesis 40-42; Psalm 14; Matthew 14

"The LORD looks down from heaven on humankind to see if there are any who are wise, who seek after God." (Psalm 14:2)

God is active in the world---knowing this, trusting this, acting on this---this is wisdom.

Like Herod, we often choose and react to situations based on the powers, preferences and demands of the world---as if God is not present--instead of choosing and reacting based on God's preferences and demands of us.  We know what we should do, according to our identity as God's beloved, but we choose to do what pleases/satisfies the world instead.

In Matthew 14: we have a vision of the Kingdom of God:  a feast of abundance.  A feast where all are fed because Jesus offers what is at hand to God.  God blesses it.  It is shared.  It is more than enough.  "Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven."

Day 15: Genesis 37-39; Psalm 13; Matthew 13

Matthew 13 is the third "discourse", the third teaching of Jesus, in this book meant for a new church learning how to be the church.  Here, in parables, Jesus unfolds for his listeners and readers (including us!) many images and pictures of what the Kingdom of God is like.  What does it look like, what happens, where God dwells and moves?
First of all, there's choice: will we be the rocky path, or will we allow the cares of the world to overwhelm us, or will we let the Word be planted in good soil that is fertilized, watered and cared for?  God loves us enough to leave the choice up to us.
The Kingdom of God is about growth and expansion....but not without our involvement and effort; we are to be agents of the Kingdom, working toward its breaking into the world.
There's abundance.  Of course, we can choose to go a different path and have nothing, but God provides abundance.
This choosing by us, God's people, does lead to different outcomes in life (weeds or wheat?), but notice that it is not humanity who does the reaping or the separating.  That's God's work.  "Let both of them grow together until the harvest;"(Matthew 13:28)

Today's Psalm is one most of us can totally relate to: How long, God, how long until I see and know Your goodness?  Consider me, Lord, consider me.  A wonderful thing about the Psalms is that we can hear our voices in the voices of those who have gone before.  Their words become our words as we pray to God.  Humanity's relationship with the divine is a river that winds throughout time, and we have been called to dive in and immerse ourselves in that life-giving water.

In today's readings from Genesis, we are reminded that these texts--which are so nicely bound and polished in our hands--have already passed through many hands and editors.  Look at chapter 37--do the brothers sell Joseph to the Ishmaelites?  Because the Midianites draw him out of the pit (vs. 28) and they sell him to Ishmaelites, but then at end of chapter it's the Midianites, not the Ishmaelites, who sell Joseph to Potiphar.  Yet in Chapter 39, it's the Ishmaelites who brought Joseph to Egypt.  What!  All these discrepencies reveal the editing and redacting that has been done, but also, that this is not an important detail to get right.  What is?  Joseph's brothers' pride and jealousy prodded them to sell their younger brother out and strip him (the coat) of his favoritism.  Unfortunately, here is a reality we can understand....even today.

And Chapter 38 is a story that you will not hear read on a Sunday morning; it doesn't make the lectionary.  And it's an interruption to the Joseph story...so it must have some truth that we are to notice.  What do you hear in the story of Tamar and Perez, two women who show up in Jesus' genealogy?

Day 14: Genesis 34-36; Psalm 12; Matthew 12

And here we have the humanity we know:  Somehow we have come to believe that if we are wronged, it is perfectly acceptable to react and retaliate with violence.  Make no mistake: what Simeon and Levi do is wrong in God's eyes.  We know humanity is, once again, going down the wrong path because when God has Jacob leave the area, Jacob has to tell his household to "Put away the foreign gods that are among you."  Idolatry.  Worshipping false gods.  Unfortunately, this seems to be the story of humanity and it never ends well; it always alienates us from God. So, they start anew---Jacob is even renamed Israel--which means "He has striven with God" or "he has been saved by God" (depending on how one translates the verb).  And with this new start, God reminds Israel of who they are in relationship with: God Almighty.  And God restates the covenantal promise.  This is a trait of God we should remember---God allows us, encourages us, and supports us so that we can start over.  When we mess up, God's gracious love provides for a new beginning.  "The promises of the LORD are promises that are pure." (Psalm 12:6)--God keeps God's promises.

"...something greater than the temple is here." (Matthew 12:6)--Something greater than the rituals and ceremonies we keep.  Something greater than keeping the exact letter of the Law.  God is not looking for us to keep the Law without mistake.  God is not looking that we do liturgy with perfection.  God is not interested in how low we bow or how often we kneel.  These things: the Law, our liturgies, our worship, our rituals, our bodily actions in prayer----these are all here in order to aid our transformation...our sanctification.  If we worship and pray, if we follow the Law to the last little detail, and yet our hearts are not changed......then we make idle sacrifices.  God desires mercy, not empty actions.  God desires changed hearts and minds and spirits, not rituals without love, forgiveness and grace.

Day 13: enjoy the Scriptures being read at worship

Day 12: Genesis 31-33; Psalm 11; Matthew 11

Today's good news in Genesis is that we are a people of reconciliation---this is part of the Way.  Jacob has run from what he has done to his brother, Esau.  He runs from the contention and struggles he has with his father-in-law, Laban.  And yet, today, in these three chapters, he must come face to face with his past, his errors, the pain he has caused, and the division which he has been a part of in his family.

Some oft-repeated words in chapter 31: "The LORD watch between you and me, when we are absent one from the other."  These words are often expressed as words between spouses; however, in their true context, they are between two men who struggle to reconcile.  Two men recognizing that their reconciliation requires the participation of the Divine. "God is witness between you and me." (31:50)

And, as Jacob prepares to meet the brother he has greatly wronged, he is apprehensive and afraid---afraid enough to prepare wonderful gifts in order to appease his brother Esau.  And in the darkness as he awaits what will happen, Jacob wrestles with God.  Just like us, as we wrestle with the reality and consequences of our actions, we too must wrestle with God.  Esau's response to Jacob's return calls to the mind the father in the Prodigal Son parable: he runs to meet Jacob, embracing and kissing him as he welcomes him home.  Jacob says, "to see your face is like seeing the face of God."  These words are echoed in the Finale of Les Miserables: To love another person/ Is to see the face of God.

Then in Matthew 11,  we are reminded of how easily we miss this truth---that we can see the face of God.  Even in the midst of Jesus' healing power and love, John the Baptist must still ask: Are you the One?  Sometimes, we hold on so tightly to our narrow version of what God and God's love look like that we miss God right in front of us----in the face of the other.  And in loving the other.  Even the others, as Esau and Jacob and Laban show us, even the others who pain us and wrong us.

Day Eleven: Genesis:28-30; Psalm 10; Matthew 10

Being a disciple of Jesus is hard.  It requires our total commitment.  As followers of the Way, we have to lose our lives as we know---we have to willingly let them go---in order to be able to have this new life, this new way of being human, that we know in Jesus and through Jesus.  This is no light thing.  This is not something that is simply about a Sunday commitment to go to church.  Oh, that Sunday commitment is huge and important----being in community which transforms us; taking part in worship which transforms us; receiving the Sacrament and letting the Word analyze us which transforms us....but this new life certainly doesn't end on Sunday morning.  Each Sunday morning is a beginning, a check-in point, a refill station on this road we call discipleship.  So, let us not be like the ones who say to God, "Your rules are too lofty."  Let us not think that we'll never stumble; we'll never encounter resistance.  Let us make this choice to know God and be known by God out of love, through love, by love, and with love.  Just as God has chosen us.

Genesis:  So here's where the tithe begins!  And a tithe wasn't necessarily a cold, calculated one-tenth of his "earnings."  This was an offering of Jacob's firstfruits....right off the top, first thing done, is Jacob giving back a tenth to God---because Jacob recognizes that Jacob's gift to God  comes from "everything you [God] give me."  When we give, we give to God what is already God's. "All things come of thee, O Lord, and of thine own have we given thee."

Day 10: Genesis 25-27; Psalm 9; Matthew 9

Jacob, Jacob, Jacob.  And Rebekah?  These are our biblical heroes?  Yes, yes they are.  Difficult isn't it?  They are so human.  God uses broken and imperfect people to carry out God's mission.  On our worst days, let's remember that.  This story of Jacob and Esau is one of the many times in the Old Testament when we are shown that God's ways are not the ways of the world.  The customs of this culture is that the older is granted the authority, power, and possessions---the blessings of the father.  In this story, the older shall serve the younger---a reversal of the world's ways.

Matthew 9 reads like a "Great Hits of Jesus" list.  Miracle after miracle.  What truths can we take home from this list of wonders?  Jesus forgives; Jesus heals; Jesus includes the marginalized and outcast; Jesus restores us back to life; Jesus restores our sight and vision; Jesus casts out our demons; Jesus has compassion.

Other truths we should not miss:  When we choose to live in a new way---the way of Jesus--- we will have to change the rules we live by.  "Neither is new wine put into old wineskins;" (9:17).  God's mission and plan for restoration includes using our gifts, our talents, our efforts: "The harvest is plentiful, but the laboreres are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest." (9:37).

"The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you."
(Psalm 9:9-10)  AMEN!

Day 9: Genesis 22-24; Psalm 8; Matthew 8

I read Matthew first today.  Lots of healing in Matthew today.  Did you notice that those who seek healing from Jesus had a few things in common?  First of all, they believed that Jesus could heal them, but their belief wasn't passive.  Belief is active.  They all took action: "A man with a skin disease came....a centurion approached, pleading.....That evening people brought to Jesus..."  Our belief in the healing power of Jesus requires us to act.

But the disciples came to Jesus during the storm.  They acted too and turned to Jesus for help.  Why does Jesus say they have weak faith then? Of course, my thoughts are merely thoughts about this, but their asking for help is different than the others.  The others ask and expect Jesus to heal.  Here, the disciples ask, but then declare: "We're going to drown!"  Their faith seems to need shoring up.  They do know who to turn to, but they still hesitate to completely trust and believe that Jesus is the answer.

Genesis 22 is such a hard chapter, and there is a lot of commentary on it.  One thought I am having this go around with this difficult story is that Abraham questions God when God is going to wipe out Sodom, but no questions here from Abraham...no pleading with God.  I wonder why not.  Does Abraham not know that we can only give back to God what is ours...our own lives...not someone else's?  An interesting parallel between Isaac and Jesus: both are only sons, both carry the wood of their sacrifice, both are obedient, both are saved by the hand of God.  No answers today....merely thoughts and nuggets to contemplate.  What do you hear the Spirit saying to God's people?

Day Seven: Genesis 16-18; Psalm 6: Matthew 6

Isn't it interesting that Hagar is given parallel promises to Abram's promises from God? (16:10)  The name Ishmael means God will listen/God will hear.

Hagar is the first (and a foreign woman at that) who names God: El Roi.  And even though Ishmael is not the one through whom God's promise is to come to fruit, Ishmael is not abandoned.  God takes care of both.

At the start of Chapter 18, we see the importance of hospitality in this culture.  Abram shows how hospitality should take shape: watches for a stranger, runs out to meet them, washes their feet, and prepares a banquet.  This will be an important example for tomorrow's reading.

Matthew 6 is full of rich truths.  Not the least of which is that what we choose to do should glory God, and not ourselves.  And Jesus' prayer:  1.  Recognize that God alone is God.  2.  Seek God's Kingdom to be our reality.  3.  Seek that all have what is needed for the day.  4.  Seek reconciliation with one another, recognizing it is a two-way street.  5.  Seek to do good and to be kept from evil.  5 steps that we are to take each day.  What would this world look like if those of us who believe could keep, take, make these 5 steps each day?

Where does this chapter of Matthew speak to you today?

Day 8: Genesis 19-21: Psalm 7; Matthew 7

Genesis:  These are hard chapters, arent' they?  The story of Sodom and Gomorrah has led us down many paths.  Read it carefully.  The town's main "sins" are being inhospitable (not being good hosts to strangers as we see Abram and Lot being) and acts of "injustice" that cause God to hear the cries of "injustice."  Chapter 19 is difficult.  There are the men (young and old) who come to accost these strangers sexually, the father who offers up his virgin daughters, basically to gang rape, because culture says to protect the guests at all costs----hospitality and being a host was no light thing in this culture.  It's really difficult for us to understand.  Our culture is about protecting self and family at all cost; it's a different way of thinking and viewing the world.  The city of Sodom's sin, according to Jewish tradition (according to some scholars), is they did not take care of the poor, the sick, the stranger and were not good hosts.

The other two chapters do not get any easier to swallow.  We have Abraham offering up Sarah again as his sister.  And we have incest.  And we have Hagar and Ishmael being cast out due to Sarah's jealousy. Reading these Scriptures are not easy; we do need to do some extra reading and learn about the culture and what Jewish scholars might be able to tell us about what is going on here in these texts. Some good news here:  God keeps God's promise (and even expands it) to Hagar and Ishmael.  God watches over the outcast.

Psalm 7 talks about God as our refuge.  This is part of the reason we are to be good hosts---we are to take good care of the stranger.  As agents of God---as those who reveal and make God known---we are called to be their refuge.  We who are made in the image of God are to act as God would act--a refuge, a rescue, a shield.

Matthew 7: Do not judge (this is God's job).  Treat people as you wish to be treated.  This way of living is certainly the "narrow gate," isn't it?  Only possible by being "inspired"--that is filled with the Holy Spirit.  Come, Holy Spirit, infuse us with your grace so that we might flow from your love.

Day Six: Epiphany

Come to hear Our Story in God's Story---10 am or 5:30 pm.

Day Five: Genesis 13-15; Psalm 5: Matthew 5

So often when people read the Beatitudes, they read it something like this:  God gives special favor to the poor in spirit, and they are going to get God's kingdom.

But, that's not what the text says.  "Blessed are"  here means more along the lines of "Happy are they who...."  These sentences are more of a cause and effect kind of thing.  Jesus is teaching a new way of living....a way that is very opposite of what the culture of Jesus' time (and the culture of our time) proclaims.  Happiness, good living, and blessings do not come from riches, power, status, possessions and the like.  A blessed life comes from how we treat others....from what kind of relationship we have with God....from living the life God meant us to live---in right relationship with God and others.

When we live this kind of life, we become a light...a light that shines into the darkness.  Our own darkness, but the darkness that surrounds others as well.  Jesus' teaching is radical.  We have heard this Sermon on the Mount so many times and in so many ways that we often miss the incredible message Jesus is telling us. Take some time to "chew on it."  Gobble it in bits and really dive into how Jesus is asking us to live.  Make a list.  Write down these directives.  What might they mean in our lives, our everyday lives?  What will it mean as we live with our family, our neighbors, our friends, our co-workers, others at church, our community?  This is a radical, counter-cultural way of living.  How can we begin to transform and walk in this Way---the Way of our Lord?  How will our actions reveal: "I believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, our Lord."

Day Four: Genesis 10-12; Psalm 4; Matthew 4

A piece of advice: when you get to genealogies...feel free to skim.  But do look for unexpected names or numbers.

Did you notice humanity repeated the same mistake that we see from the Creation story?  Here we are, after the Flood with a Re-Created earth, and humanity AGAIN wants to "make a name for ourselves."  They want to build a tower "in the heavens."  Again, humanity attempts to move into God's arena....and again, God has to save us from ourselves by confusing our language.  (HINT: now re-read the story of Pentecost in Acts 2---how the Holy Spirit affects language and reverses what happens in this chapter of Genesis)

And hey, we might want to rethink of how we use the name, "nimrod," huh?

Another note on Genesis:  Abram doesn't treat Sarai well here.  He lies and has her say she's his sister to save his skin, but in the meantime, Sarai becomes a "property" who is then taken by Pharaoh for a wife.  It isn't necessarily presented as the way to treat women, but acknowledging that it is the way women were treated in this time and this place.  This treatment of women is something we see Jesus attend to during his lifetime as well---Jesus certainly doesn't condone it.

Jesus' temptations: Survival, power, riches.  Jesus says No to the easy path and displays his faith that God will, and does, provide.  Jesus' temptations are our temptations.

Day Three: Genesis 7-9; Psalm 3; Matthew 3

Did you notice the interweaving of the two stories of the Great Flood?  It is especially noticeable at 7:6-16.  Were there seven pairs of each animal, clean and unclean, or two of each kind?  Guess what!  It doesn't matter.  The Great Flood is a prominent story in several cultures.

Here's what struck me this morning.  The flood lasted 40 days.  Jesus is in the wilderness 40 days before he begins his ministry.  We spend 40 days in Lent, preparing to turn/return to God as our center.  There's something about cleansing, restoring, and renewing in a 40 day timeframe.

Also, in Chapter 8:1-2, the same steps used to create in Chapter 1 (the wind blew, the waters drew back) happen here when flood is finally over---God is a God of Creation and Re-Creation.  What a hope-filled Truth!  As the Psalmist says, "the Lord sustains me."  So often I need God's re-creation in my life to sustain me....to help me to endure, to help me to go on and keep trying.

In Matthew, we have water opening as well---when Jesus comes up from the water---and the Holy Spirit descending.  Spirit in Greek and Hebrew also means "wind" or "breath"...so the same word would be used to describe a wind blowing over the water as the Holy Spirit descending.  Same elements here.  Re-creation/repentance/re-turning requires water to cleanse and the Holy Spirit to move and descend.  Hmmm, I'm going to chew on that today.

Day Two: Genesis 4-6; Psalm 2; Matthew 2

First off, a reminder:  if you are reading only the Old Testament, don't forget to do the Psalm each day also.  The Book of Psalms is in the Old Testament, but is set apart as a separate reading for the Challenge!

So the contradictions in Genesis continue.  We get one listing of genealogy in Chapter 4 and a different one (with some similarities) in Chapter 5.  Which one is right?  It doesn't matter.  That isn't the important message in these chapters.

In Chapter 4, we have an interesting character, Lamech.  In verse 24 he boasts: "If Cain is avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy-sevenfold."  The emphasis here seems to be indicating that the writer wanted the listener/reader to understand what was happening in humanity was the excalating of violence and vengeance.  Interesting note:  Check out what Jesus does in Matthew 18:21-23.

In Chapter 6, we begin Noah's story.  Take note that what we have today is really an intertwining of two parallel stories (much like the Creation stories).  As you read, pay attention to the differences and similarities.  What does each version have to offer?  Can you tell when a thread of one version intertwines with another?  What can we learn about Scripture when we understand that there are two stories here, and not just one?

What is the Holy Spirit saying to you when you read these passages?

Day One: Genesis 1-3; Psalm 1: Matthew 1

Right away we are challenged.  Did you notice that there are two different Creation stories in the first three chapters of Genesis (the second one begins at Genesis 2: 4b)?  And there are differences in those two stories.  Right away we become aware that these are not historical, factual accounts.  They are accounts of TRUTH.  God creates.  God is the Creator of all.  God desires a relationship with human beings.  Even when we get to Matthew and we read the first chapter with the genealogy of Jesus, claiming to have 3 different groupings of 14.  The number 14 was significant for a reason (perhaps because it is the numerical value of the name of David in Hebrew), so some effort was put into having a symbolic repetition of it in the genealogy.  But, if you count them, the final set falls short. So, this is not necessarily factually accurate either.  But it is the TRUTH.  Jesus is the Messiah; the One we have been waiting for to save us from our "fall" in Genesis 1-3.  

So, question:  According to Genesis, God says that Adam and Eve will die if they eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (another way of saying of knowing everything, from A to Z).  But they eat of it and they don't die.....or do they?  What do you think God may have meant by that?