Tuesday Devotion - November 5

Today's devotion is from Pastor Bob Bryne, St. Paul's Lutheran, Aiken, SC.

Freedom to Share

Matthew 13:1-9

All three of the Gospel accounts that share a likeness; Matthew, Mark and Luke contain the parable known as the Parable of the Sower.  All three also give us the meaning of the parable in terms of the type of soil upon which a seed may fall as being determinate to the germination and flourishing of the Word of God in the human heart.  It is a classic parable that seems to call on us to provide in ourselves good soil in which the Word of God may grow. In a parable we may put ourselves into the story as different and less than obvious characters.  As this happens meaning changes.  Today  try putting yourself into the character not of soil but of sower.  As the sower the parable changes from yet another demand on our lives and our conduct; to a freeing gift for our lives as disciples of the living Word.  The role of the sower is simply to sow the seed.  The seed is cast far and wide; carried by the wind and energized by the sower to wherever and whomever it falls.  The responsibility of the sower is simply the activity of casting out seed. Daily as one of God’s sowers each of us is energized to share our story of how the Word has been sown in us, has grown, bloomed and is enriching our lives.  This is our act of sowing; our sharing of the story of the Word growing in us. We share without a burden or responsibility to make sure of the growth.  This is God’s work and the work that will be done in God’s time. We sowers simply  thank God for and respond to the opportunity to sow the seed; to share the Word that frees us.  AMEN

Devotion - Monday, November 4

In my cycle of readings, I am currently starting on the Revelation of St. John.  It is also referred to as "The Apocalypse", or simply "Revelation."  (Sometimes, in error, it is referred to in the plural - as if it contained many revelations.  There is only one thing revealed in this book - God's care for us demonstrated by His victory over all that would oppose us.)

 

The opening chapters of Revelation address the seven churches.  These were actual, real churches.  In the words John writes to them, he exposes his understanding of what life was like in these congregations.

 

Too often, we allow the words of scripture to become a philosophy or a doctrine or a collect of abstract truths.  It is a collection of letters sent by real people to actual persons.  The events in the lives of those who send and those who receive affect the content.  They reveal a God who interacts with us, rather than send directives to us.

 

In preaching class we learned that if we prepare a sermon intended for everyone, no one will hear what we say.  If we prepare a sermon with 3 or 4 persons in mind, the majority of those in attendance will leave thinking the message was directed at them.

 

God speaks through scripture to us, to the real life situations we face, and to the very real challenges which come our way.

Devotion - Thursday, October 31

We observed Reformation Sunday this past week; today is Reformation Day.  Reformation is not an opportunity to gloat, as members of the church which bear the name of Martin Luther.  Rather, it is an opportunity to return to the mood and spirit which moved Luther to ask his questions and to seek reform of the institution charged with sharing the good news.

Luther wrote of "two kingdoms."  One is visible and known; the other is known only to God.  The visible kingdom is the one we are charged to keep in good order.  The visible kingdom does the good in the world that God would have us do.  When she visited us last month, Pastor Aebischer repeated the poem of Teresa of Avila, which reminds us that "God had no body but our body..."  In this visible kingdom we strive to do all we can to form the world into the kind of world in which God would delight.

That kind of a kingdom does exists.  But it is the kingdom known only to God and seen only by him.  It isn't that God desires to keep this other Kingdom hidden from us; rather we are unable to see it because of our deep immersion in the kingdom(s) in which we do have some level of input.  Our deep commitment to making LCM-C and University Lutheran the kind of place in which God's favor is shown limits our ability to lift our eyes and see what God is doing down the street or across the river.

Luther wanted to reform the kingdom(s) of his day which had become so focused on what was immediately before them that they had lost the ability to see that which was larger than themselves.  But he maintained a tremendous appreciation for the kingdom which God has established and will continue to establish.

We spend our days working on the projects which are close at hand; but we remember that the kingdom we strive to build must be lost in the larger kingdom which God is calling forth.

Devotion - Wednesday, October 30

Our Tuesday evening Bible Study discussed atonement last evening.  As part of the discussion, we wrote on pieces of paper something of which we are ashamed, embarrassed - some sin that we need to confess.  I assured everyone that no one was going to read the slips, but several insisted on folding the pieces of paper numerous times - making a tight little knot.

 

We placed the slips in a paper bowl, proceeded outside and set fire to the slips of paper.  All this was to symbolize God's eagerness to forgive us.

I was the one who had planned this activity, so I knew what was coming.  What I had not anticipated (and what caught my attention) was the difficulty with which the pieces of paper folded tightly caught fire.  I commented on it last night.  It is as if the sins which we are so desperate that no one discover are also those which is it most difficult to know have been forgiven.

It is easy to talk about forgiveness.  We can even believe that God forgives the sins of those around us.  But when it comes to those things we have so deeply hidden from others that we seldom admit them to ourselves - realizing forgiveness is a difficult thing.

God's forgiveness is real.

Devotion - Tuesday, October 29

"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

I needed  these words.  The past two months have been way too busy; there have been too many trips and too much activity.  This morning I was shuffling from room to room, accomplishing my morning routines.  "What's wrong?" Laura asked me.

What a gift from God to open my bible and turn to Matthew 11:25ff and to hear Jesus' words "For I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."

It is my prayer that these words are a gift for you, too.  That in them you can hear the promise and the assurance that it is not the accomplished tasks which define us nor are we measured by the level of activity in our days.  We are the disciples of a God who seeks to calm our lives and bring tranquility to our spirits.

My day is no less busy than it was 45 minutes ago - but my day has now been framed by the acknowledgement that in the midst of all that is to come I have a resting spot.  I can turn to the Words of Jesus and in them rest assured.

Devotion - Monday, October 28

I don't often write about our resurrection.  This morning's reading from I Corinthians 15:30-41 is at least one of the reasons.  Paul speaks of the resurrection, but he is very careful not to allow his readers to understand it as more of the best of what we have here.  He writes, "what you sow is not the body which is to be."  It is a different body; the same way that the plant which grows is different from the seed that was planted.

It is important that I do not shake your confidence in what you have come to believe regarding the resurrection.  As a result, I tend to say little.  This can lead to the false impression that the resurrection is unimportant; or less meaningful.  This is not the case, but talk of resurrection should not be allowed to overshadow discussion of life in the world we now share.

More of the best of what we have now might contribute to the false notion that what we do now does not matter.  

More of the best of what we have now may reduce the lives we are living to a test or proving ground.

The two-session discussion at our Tuesday night bible study about incarnation was aimed at correcting such notions.  The Christian story is one in which God comes to share this life; not a story in which God finds some way to extract us from this world.

Quite honestly - I don't know what my existence will be like in the resurrection.  I like what Joseph Sittler said to us at the seminary, "The life that God has already given me is so good that I cannot imagine that the next life will be anything short of wonderful."  This affirmation acknowledges the beauty and wonder and excitement about the life I am living now.  It is in living this life fully that I begin to approximate what life might be like in the life to come.

Devotion - Thursday, October 24

In my reading of I Corinthians, I see so many ways in which the words which Paul writes also address the topics we discuss over coffee or sitting in the LCM Lounge.  Not often enough do I stop to remind you that what we look upon as "scared books of the Bible," began as personal letters between Paul and the members of his faith community.

"I Corinthians" is Paul's first letter to the church in Corinth.  Paul writes to real people about the real questions they ask and the real issues they face.

So long as the the community of faith consists of real people, they will have real questions and face real issues.  The community which we share is no different in that regard.  What does make our community different are the resources we have to answer the questions and address the issues.

We are a community which exists of those whom God has claimed.  Unlike voluntary associations (gatherings where folks share a common, external trait - such as liking to play ultimate Frisbee, or being talented musically, or preferring one NASCAR driver over another), we are a community defined by God's act of selection.  We came into this community because God invited us in.  Those already in the community did not take a vote on admission; God's vote is the only one needed and the only one that counts.  

The resource we have at our disposal is the confidence that God has chosen us (each of us) and that God sees in us (in all of us) those traits which are desirable and helpful.  We can have this confidence about ourselves; and we can interact with others with the confidence that this is also true about them.

I desperately wanted to play football.  I managed to secure a spot on the team when I was in 7th grade and 8th grade.  By 9th grade, I was too far behind in growth and muscle development to be allowed a uniform.  They cut me.  I am sure that over the years there have been various times when my fellow church members considered ways to separate me from themselves.  But that was not an option.  They were stuck with me - God is the only one who could cut.  And so they sat with me, and they lovingly told me which of my behavior patterns made living with me difficult.  And through an extended process of confession and forgiveness we learned to live together, in this community to which God had called both of us.

Real letters to real people with real issues.  And a REALLY wonderful gift in working through each of the curves along the way.