Today’s Lectionary Readings: Psalm 2; Ezekiel 3:4-11; John 10:19-42; 2 Corinthians 12:7-11; Psalm 92
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Thursday, March 13
Wednesday, March 12
Today’s Lectionary Readings: Psalm 23; Daniel 12:1-13; John 10:1-18; 2 Corinthians 11:30-12:6; Psalm 100
The imagery used within today’s passage from John’s Gospel is rich indeed. I particularly connected with the language of the first nine verses. In that section of today’s passage, Jesus talks about how an individual goes about relating to the sheep in the pen. In The Message paraphrasing of the text, Jesus contrasts the approaches as the sheep rustler approach vs. the shepherd approach. In speaking of the two, Jesus notes: “The shepherd walks right up to the gate. The gatekeeper opens the gate to him and the sheep recognize his voice” (John 10:2-3 – The Message). This metaphor sounds great within the context of the sheep and shepherd, but how does it work out there in the real world – when we (the sheep) are inundated with numerous competing voices? Can we really pick out the voice of our shepherd? I’ve been wrestling with this challenge in relation to our church’s attempt to establish an emerging worship community. We have so many voices out their suggesting how we should do this (i.e. establish a target demographic, market to the target demographic, spend X amount of dollars to incorporate trendy new elements of worship, establish benchmarks for growth, etc.). Sadly, these voices to me sound little like the voice of the shepherd. It has been an individual and collective challenge to quiet some of these voices and create an intimate worshipping community based upon the voice of the shepherd and not another voice. Perhaps there are areas in your life where competing voices seem to be clamoring for your attention – an area of your life such as a relationship, a job, or a family matter. I would encourage you to spend time listening - not for just any old voice, but the calming, peaceful, and purposeful voice of the shepherd - as you seek to negotiate the challenges before you. Perhaps you’ll find that the closer you listen, the easier your decision making process might become. Til next time…
The imagery used within today’s passage from John’s Gospel is rich indeed. I particularly connected with the language of the first nine verses. In that section of today’s passage, Jesus talks about how an individual goes about relating to the sheep in the pen. In The Message paraphrasing of the text, Jesus contrasts the approaches as the sheep rustler approach vs. the shepherd approach. In speaking of the two, Jesus notes: “The shepherd walks right up to the gate. The gatekeeper opens the gate to him and the sheep recognize his voice” (John 10:2-3 – The Message). This metaphor sounds great within the context of the sheep and shepherd, but how does it work out there in the real world – when we (the sheep) are inundated with numerous competing voices? Can we really pick out the voice of our shepherd? I’ve been wrestling with this challenge in relation to our church’s attempt to establish an emerging worship community. We have so many voices out their suggesting how we should do this (i.e. establish a target demographic, market to the target demographic, spend X amount of dollars to incorporate trendy new elements of worship, establish benchmarks for growth, etc.). Sadly, these voices to me sound little like the voice of the shepherd. It has been an individual and collective challenge to quiet some of these voices and create an intimate worshipping community based upon the voice of the shepherd and not another voice. Perhaps there are areas in your life where competing voices seem to be clamoring for your attention – an area of your life such as a relationship, a job, or a family matter. I would encourage you to spend time listening - not for just any old voice, but the calming, peaceful, and purposeful voice of the shepherd - as you seek to negotiate the challenges before you. Perhaps you’ll find that the closer you listen, the easier your decision making process might become. Til next time…
Tuesday, March 11
Today’s Lectionary Readings: Psalm 103; Ezekiel 47:1-12; John 9:18-41; 2 Corinthians 11:16-29; Psalm 46
From the time I was in my early teens, I was a political activist. I had very clear ideas about how the world should be, and I felt the best use of my time and energy would be to take action myself to make the world conform to my vision. It took me about 18 years of living like this before I was humbled by two learnings: first, I learned that I didn’t have all the time and energy myself to effect these changes; and second, I learned that my vision for the world wasn’t the best. These discoveries followed a period of complete burn out at the ripe old age of 31. So I started a period of soul-searching to discover who might have a better vision for the world and where I might find the strength and energy to sustain me over the long haul in my attempts to bring healing to the world. And wouldn’t you know I found the answer to both questions in the same place: God. Today’s reading from Ezekiel lays out a beautiful vision of the work of the Spirit: “This water flows east, descends to the Arabah and then into the sea, the sea of stagnant waters. When it empties into those waters, the sea will become fresh. Wherever the river flows, life will flourish” (Ezekiel 47:8-9 – The Message). So much for worry about manufacturing the energy and motivation myself! J The passage then went on to address my second question about transformation as well. “The river itself, on both banks, will grow fruit trees of all kinds. Their leaves won’t wither and the fruit won’t fail. Every month they’ll bear fresh fruit because the river from the Sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing” (Ezekiel 47:12 – The Message). Perhaps you too have had experiences of exhaustion and burn out in your attempts to help create a world filled with peace and justice. If so, turn back to the words and spirit contained in today’s passage from Ezekiel and draw strength from the fact that we have been provided with all of the resources we need to transform the world (both inner and outer!). My prayer is that we will NEVER forget to draw from the waters of the River that provides us with all we need. Til next time…
From the time I was in my early teens, I was a political activist. I had very clear ideas about how the world should be, and I felt the best use of my time and energy would be to take action myself to make the world conform to my vision. It took me about 18 years of living like this before I was humbled by two learnings: first, I learned that I didn’t have all the time and energy myself to effect these changes; and second, I learned that my vision for the world wasn’t the best. These discoveries followed a period of complete burn out at the ripe old age of 31. So I started a period of soul-searching to discover who might have a better vision for the world and where I might find the strength and energy to sustain me over the long haul in my attempts to bring healing to the world. And wouldn’t you know I found the answer to both questions in the same place: God. Today’s reading from Ezekiel lays out a beautiful vision of the work of the Spirit: “This water flows east, descends to the Arabah and then into the sea, the sea of stagnant waters. When it empties into those waters, the sea will become fresh. Wherever the river flows, life will flourish” (Ezekiel 47:8-9 – The Message). So much for worry about manufacturing the energy and motivation myself! J The passage then went on to address my second question about transformation as well. “The river itself, on both banks, will grow fruit trees of all kinds. Their leaves won’t wither and the fruit won’t fail. Every month they’ll bear fresh fruit because the river from the Sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing” (Ezekiel 47:12 – The Message). Perhaps you too have had experiences of exhaustion and burn out in your attempts to help create a world filled with peace and justice. If so, turn back to the words and spirit contained in today’s passage from Ezekiel and draw strength from the fact that we have been provided with all of the resources we need to transform the world (both inner and outer!). My prayer is that we will NEVER forget to draw from the waters of the River that provides us with all we need. Til next time…
Monday, March 10
Today’s Lectionary Readings: Psalm 146; Ezekiel 43:1-12; John 9:1-17; 2 Corinthians 11:7-15; Psalm 47
There are lots of ways of talking about different kinds of churches. You can talk about churches based on their size (big church vs. small church), their theology (conservative vs. liberal) or their style of worship (traditional vs. contemporary). Today’s reading from 2 Corinthians reminded me of yet another way of thinking about churches. Some folks talk about churches as either being a high-demand or low-demand church. Let me explain the difference between the two. High-demand churches are churches that actually ask something of their members. For instance, they don’t just expect their members to just show up for worship on Sunday morning; they often have other things during the week (i.e. spiritual formation classes, missions projects, etc.) they expect their members to participate in that will help individuals grow their faith. Low-demand churches are different. Their goal is to make everything as easy as possible on their members. Over the last couple of decades many mainline churches have adopted a low-demand approach toward their members – fearing that if they asked much of their members they would scare them away. Ironically, the less they began asking of their members, the quicker their declines occured (both individually at the spiritual level and corporately at the membership levels). While some have interpreted these membership declines in this age of low-demand membership as proof that nothing we can try will work in terms of attracting new members, I have come to the opposite conclusion. I believe the declines show that folks are no longer interested in low-demand approaches toward ministry that make their faith as easy as possible. Instead, I believe folks are hungering for a mature faith that engages them and makes them grow – not just during the Sunday worship service but 7 days a week! Which kind of faith are you seeking? A low-demand approach like the folks in Corinth that is as easy and painless as possible, or a high-demand approach that spurs you on to new growth and intimacy with your Creator? Til next time…
There are lots of ways of talking about different kinds of churches. You can talk about churches based on their size (big church vs. small church), their theology (conservative vs. liberal) or their style of worship (traditional vs. contemporary). Today’s reading from 2 Corinthians reminded me of yet another way of thinking about churches. Some folks talk about churches as either being a high-demand or low-demand church. Let me explain the difference between the two. High-demand churches are churches that actually ask something of their members. For instance, they don’t just expect their members to just show up for worship on Sunday morning; they often have other things during the week (i.e. spiritual formation classes, missions projects, etc.) they expect their members to participate in that will help individuals grow their faith. Low-demand churches are different. Their goal is to make everything as easy as possible on their members. Over the last couple of decades many mainline churches have adopted a low-demand approach toward their members – fearing that if they asked much of their members they would scare them away. Ironically, the less they began asking of their members, the quicker their declines occured (both individually at the spiritual level and corporately at the membership levels). While some have interpreted these membership declines in this age of low-demand membership as proof that nothing we can try will work in terms of attracting new members, I have come to the opposite conclusion. I believe the declines show that folks are no longer interested in low-demand approaches toward ministry that make their faith as easy as possible. Instead, I believe folks are hungering for a mature faith that engages them and makes them grow – not just during the Sunday worship service but 7 days a week! Which kind of faith are you seeking? A low-demand approach like the folks in Corinth that is as easy and painless as possible, or a high-demand approach that spurs you on to new growth and intimacy with your Creator? Til next time…
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