Sunday, June 8, 2008

“But when he heard this, he said, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.’” Matthew 9:12

Like most people, I don’t relish going to the doctor. I like my doctor and enjoy visiting with him, but I don’t like acknowledging that there just might be something wrong with me. Regardless of whether or not I like it, I am forced to admit that there have been quite a few times in my life when I’ve needed a doctor, from diagnosing allergies to resetting a dislocated hip. At times like that, my feelings on whether or not I’ve wanted a doctor were irrelevant; it wasn’t about wanting a doctor, it was about needing a doctor. Our relationship with Jesus is similar. Matthew tells the story of Jesus eating with sinners and tax collectors, and the “holy” people just can’t believe it. Why would a teacher and healer spend time with the morally bankrupt? Because these people were so far gone that it wasn’t a choice about wanting Jesus, it was about needing Jesus. They were sick and only Jesus could save them. Of course, the same is true for the scribes and the Pharisees; the only difference was that these were still able to fool themselves with over-the-counter spiritual remedies. But eventually our spiritual sickness – our sin – reveals itself to all of us. When it does, we know we need Jesus. God’s grace is in the fact that Jesus is already there with us, not only diagnosing the problem but granting the healing; not only inviting us to the banquet but bringing take-out grace right to our dinner table.

Monday, June 9, 2008

“For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self.” Romans 7:22

Today the church commemorates the lives and contributions of three British monks who kept alive the light of learning and faith during the Middle Ages. St. Columba founded three monasteries, including one on the island of Iona, off the coast of Scotland, one that remains one of the most visited monasteries in the world. St. Aidan was known for his pastoral manner and his gift for stirring people of faith to works of charity and love. But my favorite of these is St. Bede. Bede was a Bible translator and a noted scriptural scholar during the seventh and 8th centuries. I was first introduced to Bede in my Old English class in college. We were given the assignment of reading his Ecclesiastical History of the English People. Fortunately for me, we read it in a modern English translation. This book was a history of the church in England, and is one of the finest pieces of church history ever written. Bede gives us a glimpse of what life was like, both within and beyond the church, during a time of which we would otherwise be largely ignorant. To top it off, Bede was the first historian to date events “anno Domini” (in the year of our Lord), the common means by which all years are now denoted in the West. Bede, like Columba and Aidan, reminds us of the great delight we find when we immerse ourselves in the life-giving Word of God, and that there is great power in passing that Word on to those who come after us.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

“The living, the living, they thank you, as I do this day; fathers make known to children your faithfulness.” Isaiah 38:19

Our verse today comes from a song of praise composed by Hezekiah, king of Judah in 8th and 7th centuries B.C. Even though Hezekiah was a rich and powerful king (and a righteous man, which distinguishes him from quite a few of the kings of Israel and Judah) he still became gravely sick. Isaiah was sent to tell the king that he was going to die and had no chance of recovery. He was, for all intents and purposes, already dead. And yet the Lord spared him for another 15 years of full and healthy life! Even in today’s medical world, such a recovery probably would be called a miracle. The only explanation for Hezekiah’s recovery was supernatural. Because Hezekiah was a good man, he did what every mother hopes their son will do as an adult: He said thank you. He wrote a song of praise to God as one of the living, for only the living can thank God. He promised to make the deeds of the Lord known to his children and encouraged all parents to do the same. King Hezekiah’s story of illness and recovery is perhaps more dramatic than anything we will experience, yet the miracles of God abound in our lives, too. And we, too, are called to give thanks as only the living can do.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

“The whole assembly kept silence, and listened to Barnabas and Paul as they told of all the signs and wonders that God had done through them among the Gentiles.” Acts 15:12

Today the church commemorates the life and ministry of Barnabas, a companion of Paul that Luke describes as a man of faith filled with the Holy Spirit. The Eastern Church remembers Barnabas as one of the 70 commissioned by Jesus, but in Scripture, he arrives on the scene in Acts. His name means “son of encouragement” or “son of consolation.” It was Barnabas who helped encourage Paul after his conversion. When Paul arrived in Jerusalem, Barnabas took him in and presented him to the other apostles, vouching for him in spite of his own memories of Paul’s persecution of the Christians. Later, Barnabas would accompany Paul on several of his missionary journeys, bringing God’s good news to new, fertile ground. In the heated debates surrounding the issue of whether or not the gospel was for the Gentiles, Barnabas provided a powerful support for inclusivity on the basis of the gospel, and not on the basis of Mosaic Law. The work of Barnabas – his concern for preaching God and welcoming others – continues to inspire the church today, as we, too, are sent out to be sons and daughters of God to a world in need of encouragement and consolation.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

“The natives showed us unusual kindness. Since it had begun to rain and was cold, they kindled a fire and welcomed all of us around it.” Acts 28:2

In the west, we have long been aware of the dangers of Christian triumphalism and imperialism. The old image of spreading the gospel usually involved the sword, or at least the condescension of Christian civilization. Yet this was not how the earliest missionaries conducted business, and it’s not how I’ve experienced the life of a servant of Jesus Christ. When Paul and his companions reached the island of Malta, they arrived with the good news of Jesus in hand. They also arrived with physical needs and the common desire all humans have for fellowship. Paul announced the gospel, but he did not denounce the ways of those he encountered. In fact, he welcomed their assistance and their “unusual kindness.” In my life I’ve wandered onto Indian lands and the hills of Appalachia and the cities of Europe. I’ve found people who need Jesus, but I’ve also found people of unusual kindness who have much to offer me. We live in a world that is getting smaller by the minute. We can no longer afford to pretend that the kind people of the world have nothing to offer us, nor can we pretend that the people of the world have no need of Jesus. Both statements are true, just as they have been since St. Paul started hopping off boats onto strange islands.

Friday, June 13, 2008

“Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.” James 5:16

In my work with couples preparing for marriage I try to highlight the fundamental importance of confession and forgiveness between husbands and wives. There are several reasons for this. First, husbands and wives are continually doing things that demand confession. At any rate, I’m always doing things that demand confession! Even more, we are a people in constant need of forgiveness. I don’t mean that diagnostically, although that’s certainly true. I mean it functionally. To clarify, we don’t simply need forgiveness because of the sin we commit, however true that may be; we need forgiveness because through forgiveness comes the gracious and life-giving words of the gospel. Wives and husbands are given to one another to be the primary gospel proclaimers in the life of their spouse. When couples confess and absolve together, when they pray together, they find the daily peace of hearing God’s word. In hearing it together, they draw closer to God as his children and to one another as wife and husband.

Saturday, June 14, 2008

“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Philippians 1:2

Today the church remembers three of the most important thinkers from the whole of Christian history: Basil the Great, bishop of Caesarea; Gregory of Nazianzus, bishop of Constantinople; and Gregory of Nyssa, who served as bishop of Nyssa. Following the conversion of the Emperor Constantine in the early fourth century, Christendom moved from a mode of survival to the need to consolidate doctrine for an expanding, missional church. Debate centered on chistological doctrine (who is Jesus?), and trinitarian doctrine (who is God?). All three of these men, known as the Cappadocian fathers, were influential in helping to determine the limits of orthodox theology regarding christology and trinitarianism. Basil was an influential monk, penning his Longer Rule and Shorter Rule for monastic life that still serve as the basis for Easter monasticism to this day. It is Basil who came out strongest for a communal, rather than a personal, monastic life. Gregory of Nazianzus preached the Orthodox faith against the Arians in Constantinople, those who did not believe that Jesus was fully God. His preaching won over the city for the true faith. Gregory of Nyssa was the younger brother of Basil the Great, and is remembered as a writer on spiritual life and the contemplation of God in worship and sacraments. It is easy in our time to think of church doctrine as a staid, static thing, but nothing could be further from the truth. Men such as these three dedicated their lives to opening the mysteries of God to believers, and have passed the faith down to us as the greatest treasure we will ever receive.

Devotions – Year Five – Week Twenty-three

Pastor Dave Lyle