Today’s Readings: Psalm 83; Numbers 17:1-11; Matthew 5:21-26; Ephesians 6:10-17; Psalm 92
As I made the transition from a lay person to a clergy person, my perspective on several things changed. One change that was a dramatic one for me was my relationship with scripture. You see there were several pieces of scripture I had a hard time connecting with as a lay person. As someone who doesn’t have a poetic bone in is body, for instance, I struggled to appreciate the Psalms for in many cases their language and imagery went right over my head. As a clergy person, however, I’ve developed a deep appreciation for the Psalms because I have seen the raw emotion contained in them connect with lay people in crises dozens of times in powerful and transformative ways. As a lay person I also had a hard time appreciating many of the letters to local churches. I saw the letters as dated expressions that had little to offer us as we faced the complexities of modern life. As a clergy person, however, I appreciate the letters’ ability to identify the timeless challenges we face (both individually and collectively) in our attempts to live out our faith. Today’s reading from Ephesians is an especially good example of that. I suppose it’s always been easy for communities of faith to focus on non-essential elements of their life together in order to try to strengthen or grow their community. Today, for instance, we would talk about growing our churches by developing glossy new brochures, fancy new websites, or trendy new music for our worship services. Back then, they too probably had their own painless solutions to the challenges of living together. Paul’s words cut right through these solutions and got to the real heart of the problem. He says the things we need to focus on to strengthen our lives are things like “truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation”. He then goes on to identify two spiritual disciplines that are foundational to lasting health and vitality: God’s word and prayer. Perhaps there are areas in your life where you have been looking for an easy fix – areas where you would like to settle for mass-marketed, user-friendly approaches that can make things better over night. If that’s the case, remember Paul’s timely words that remind us the road to health and vitality isn’t about catchy slogans or trendy gimmicks – it’s about timeless principles. The road to health and vitality isn’t about simply finding our own voice either; it’s about following spiritual disciplines that can help us hear God’s voice. While the approach outlined for us today in Ephesians might require a little more attention that we would like, it’s an approach that will prove well worth the effort. Til next time…
As I made the transition from a lay person to a clergy person, my perspective on several things changed. One change that was a dramatic one for me was my relationship with scripture. You see there were several pieces of scripture I had a hard time connecting with as a lay person. As someone who doesn’t have a poetic bone in is body, for instance, I struggled to appreciate the Psalms for in many cases their language and imagery went right over my head. As a clergy person, however, I’ve developed a deep appreciation for the Psalms because I have seen the raw emotion contained in them connect with lay people in crises dozens of times in powerful and transformative ways. As a lay person I also had a hard time appreciating many of the letters to local churches. I saw the letters as dated expressions that had little to offer us as we faced the complexities of modern life. As a clergy person, however, I appreciate the letters’ ability to identify the timeless challenges we face (both individually and collectively) in our attempts to live out our faith. Today’s reading from Ephesians is an especially good example of that. I suppose it’s always been easy for communities of faith to focus on non-essential elements of their life together in order to try to strengthen or grow their community. Today, for instance, we would talk about growing our churches by developing glossy new brochures, fancy new websites, or trendy new music for our worship services. Back then, they too probably had their own painless solutions to the challenges of living together. Paul’s words cut right through these solutions and got to the real heart of the problem. He says the things we need to focus on to strengthen our lives are things like “truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation”. He then goes on to identify two spiritual disciplines that are foundational to lasting health and vitality: God’s word and prayer. Perhaps there are areas in your life where you have been looking for an easy fix – areas where you would like to settle for mass-marketed, user-friendly approaches that can make things better over night. If that’s the case, remember Paul’s timely words that remind us the road to health and vitality isn’t about catchy slogans or trendy gimmicks – it’s about timeless principles. The road to health and vitality isn’t about simply finding our own voice either; it’s about following spiritual disciplines that can help us hear God’s voice. While the approach outlined for us today in Ephesians might require a little more attention that we would like, it’s an approach that will prove well worth the effort. Til next time…
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