Hebrews 3:12-19 (NRSV)

Wednesday of the First Week in Lent - Reflections on the Letters during Lent

"Take care, brothers and sisters, that none of you may have an evil, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called "today," so that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partners of Christ, if only we hold our first confidence firm to the end. As it is said, "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion." Now who were they who heard and yet were rebellious? Was it not all those who left Egypt under the leadership of Moses? But with whom was he angry forty years? Was it not those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, if not to those who were disobedient? So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief."

Partners & Confidence! I understand that partnerships are close relationships working together for a common goal. Having confidence in something means that you trust. It's something that you can rely on. Put these two together (especially in the same sentence) and you've got something... a trusted close relationship at work!

The writer continues the encouragement from yesterday's reflection, explaining that we take caution that we care for one another in a way that encourages faith and belief. There is a sense of urgency implied when the writer days TODAY! Not tomorrow, not the next day, don't wait, do it today. Why? Because we are partners that are entrusted with the message of Good News. So we should listen for God and act! We are reminded of the whining that the Hebrews did in the wilderness. We remember the stories of those who did not trust God and complained. I have always heard it said that it didn't take 40 years to get the Hebrews out of Egypt... it took 40 years to get Egypt out of the Hebrews! :) Until they trusted God, they were unable to enter the promised land.

The call to action for me today is to listen... and then with faith and confidence that my partner, Jesus, has my back, to act boldly on what I hear God calling me to do. Like so much of the Christian life, this isn't for me alone it is for me to invite all others into this faithful living so that they too will gain confidence and faith and learn to trust in God.

Titus 1:1-16 (NRSV)

Thursday after Ash Wednesday - Reflections on the Letters during Lent.

"Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and the knowledge of the truth that is in accordance with godliness, in the hope of eternal life that God, who never lies, promised before the ages began — in due time he revealed his word through the proclamation with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Saviour, To Titus, my loyal child in the faith we share: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Saviour. I left you behind in Crete for this reason, that you should put in order what remained to be done, and should appoint elders in every town, as I directed you: someone who is blameless, married only once, whose children are believers, not accused of debauchery and not rebellious. For a bishop, as God’s steward, must be blameless; he must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or addicted to wine or violent or greedy for gain; but he must be hospitable, a lover of goodness, prudent, upright, devout, and self-controlled. He must have a firm grasp of the word that is trustworthy in accordance with the teaching, so that he may be able both to preach with sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict it. There are also many rebellious people, idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision; they must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for sordid gain what it is not right to teach. It was one of them, their very own prophet, who said, ‘Cretans are always liars, vicious brutes, lazy gluttons.’ That testimony is true. For this reason rebuke them sharply, so that they may become sound in the faith, not paying attention to Jewish myths or to commandments of those who reject the truth. To the pure all things are pure, but to the corrupt and unbelieving nothing is pure. Their very minds and consciences are corrupted. They profess to know God, but they deny him by their actions. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work."

The first word that catches my attention is the word trust. I feel that the whole first portion of the letter is about trustworthiness and trust building. Paul is trying to tell Titus who he can trust, who is trustworthy and who might not be able to be trusted.

Trust, who you trust, lack of trust, and broken trust are big issues in our Churches and Christian communities. Trust built up over years can be lost in a matter of seconds, sometimes over a simple misunderstanding. When trust is broken, it can take years to rebuild. It almost seems to me that Paul knows this. It seems that Paul is urging Titus to take his time and select the correct leader that will guide and direct people to the truth. 

We are right to spend enough time in discernment about who the proper candidate to lead our churches should be. We may like the person, they may have the proper training and credentials, they have even displayed the right skill set. But the question sometimes is, "can we trust them?" The call to action for me to be is to make sure we select people that we can trust. I would hope and pray that we are able to select trustworthy leaders. 

John 11:1-16 (NRSV)

Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.  Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill.  So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, "Lord, he whom you love is ill."  But when Jesus heard it, he said, "This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God's glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it."  Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

Then after this he said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again."  The disciples said to him, "Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again?"  Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours of daylight?  Those who walk during the day do not stumble, because they see the light of this world.  But those who walk at night stumble, because the light is not in them."  After saying this, he told them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him."  The disciples said to him, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right."  Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was referring merely to sleep.  Then Jesus told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead.  For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him."  Thomas, who was called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him."

Glorified.  God will be glorified through Jesus in the most unexpected of situations.  Lazarus becomes a vehicle for that glorification, and the opportunity for the disciples to fall into a deeper belief.

Lazarus is the brother of Mary & Martha, and he is sick.  Jesus and his disciples don’t seem to be in a hurry to get to them after they received the message, and stayed back for 2 days.  All of a sudden, Jesus is ready to go to Judea again.  The disciples are quick to remind him that the Jews were ready to stone him the last time he was there (see yesterday’s passage).  Jesus tells his disciples that Lazarus has died, and implies that he will use this death to help them believe.

Thomas still doesn’t understand, but appears to be thinking about Jews that are ready to stone Jesus.  He tells the other disciples, “let’s go and die with him.”  Thomas is ready to go, regardless of the consequences.

Jesus has spent the past few days of readings narrowly escaping the ones that want to kill him.  Today, Jesus is ready to go back into the danger zone for the chance to use the death of his friend to glorify God.  Jesus is ready to take the risk to help his followers believe.

I feel the call today is trust.  Be trusting, like Thomas.  Thomas acts like he would follow Jesus to the ends of the earth regardless of what they ran into.  This implies a deep trust of Jesus, and a belief that he is who he has proven himself to be.  If we were to trust like this, then we may see the Christ glorified in the world.

John 8:33-47 (NRSV)

They answered him, "We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone.  What do you mean by saying, 'You will be made free'?"  Jesus answered them, "Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.  The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there forever.  So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.  I know that you are descendants of Abraham; yet you look for an opportunity to kill me, because there is no place in you for my word.  I declare what I have seen in the Father's presence; as for you, you should do what you have heard from the Father."  They answered him, "Abraham is our father." Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would be doing what Abraham did, but now you are trying to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God.  This is not what Abraham did.  You are indeed doing what your father does." They said to him, "We are not illegitimate children; we have one father, God himself."  Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now I am here.  I did not come on my own, but he sent me.  Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot accept my word.  You are from your father the devil, and you choose to do your father's desires.  He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him.  When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.  But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me.  Which of you convicts me of sin?  If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me?  Whoever is from God hears the words of God.  The reason you do not hear them is that you are not from God."

My initial thought surrounds Jesus’ statement, “there is no place in you for my word.”  Jesus continues to banter with the Pharisees and scribes who don’t understand what he is trying to tell them.  They seem like they aren’t even trying to understand.

Jesus continues to explain his identity in this passage - and how his word is from God and contains truths that not everyone understands (especially the scribes and Pharisaic leaders).  This his because of who he is.  The leaders are quick to assert their Abrahamic heritage, claiming their inheritance of God’s favor as God’s chosen people.  Jesus is aware of the schemes to trap him and kill him and in turn points out that the leaders have no idea what it means to love God, because they do not love him.   He then compares them to children of the devil.  The lies about Jesus and deception has clouded their minds and made them unable to comprehend the truth that is right in front of them.

I feel that our call today is trust.  Trust in Jesus to lead the way; trust in his truth; trust in his leadership and his teaching.  Trust that he is God that came to reconcile the world.  If we are receivers of Jesus’ words with an open mind, and let them resonate in our soul, then we uncloud our minds and hear the word of God.