Tag Archives: Mercy

Chapter-a-Day

Big Brother Mentality

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Big Brother Mentality (CaD Rom 11) – Wayfarer

And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.
Romans 11:6 (NIV)

Last week, I gave a message to our local gathering of Jesus’ followers. I kicked off the message by stating that I’ve long had the idea for a book about the things that Christians always get wrong. In that message, I talked about God’s presence. My entire life I’ve listened to people pray for God to “be present” or to “Come to us.” If we really believe what we say we believe, that is the most illogical thing to pray for. If you want to know why, I encourage you to listen to the message because that’s not the subject of today’s post.

One of the other chapters of my proposed book is the subject of today’s post. Along my life journey, I’ve observed that while Christians say we believe that salvation is “by grace through faith,” we still act as if there’s a bit of meritocracy mixed in. I like to think of this kind of thinking as “Grace Plus.” “Yes salvation is by grace through faith, plus if you were really “saved” you wouldn’t [fill in the blank with a behavior that, in your mind, a real Christian wouldn’t exhibit].

In today’s chapter, Paul addresses an implied question in his letter’s argument about salvation being for both the non-Jewish Gentiles as well as the Jewish people: “Has God rejected His people?” I am always amazed at how given we human beings are to binary, either-or, thinking. The Jewish people of Paul’s day were so proud of being “God’s chosen people” that they wanted to maintain exclusivity. Rather than perceiving the inclusion of Gentiles as followers of Jesus as God’s merciful generosity flowing from its Jewish roots, they concluded that God’s love of Gentiles must mean rejection of Israel. This attitude, by the way, is the same as the older brother in the parable of Prodigal Son. Like the father in that parable, Paul explains that God loving the “prodigal” Gentiles and celebrating their homecoming into salvation does not negate His love and purposes for “big brother” Israel. It is not an “either-or” but a “yes-and.”

The “Big Brother” thinking that Paul is addressing with his Jewish brothers and sisters is a form of the same problem that exists with those I observe with “Grace Plus” thinking. It’s a form of self-righteousness that mentally assents to God’s love as gracious and merciful, but at the heart of it still clings to the notion that our good works have some merit in making us more worthy than the dirty sinner.

In the quiet this morning, I find myself thinking of the fruits of the Spirit that Paul lists in his letter to the believers in Galatia. I thought through Big Brother’s reaction to his father’s grace and mercy toward the sinful little brother:

“The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’“

Then I tried to determine which of the Fruits of the Spirit he displayed in his reaction:

  • Love
  • Joy
  • Peace
  • Patience
  • Kindness
  • Goodness
  • Faithfulness
  • Gentleness
  • Self-Control

How about the Prodigal’s father? Yeah, Pops was exemplifying them all.

As a child of God, I want to have my Father’s heart which is gracious, merciful, generous, and truly loving. This means, however, that I have to surrender all of my meritocratic notions. God’s generous and gracious love for others does not diminish His love for me, it just means there’s more love to go around than I ever thought possible.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

“In the course of time…”

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In the course of time…
1 Chronicles 18:1a (NIV)

"In the course of time…" (CaD 1 Chr 18) – Wayfarer

Yesterday was Father’s Day here in the States. I was honored to be asked to deliver the message among a local gathering of Jesus’ followers near Des Moines, so Wendy and I took off first thing in the morning. We have friends among the gathering there and were joined by other friends who accompanied us for a wonderful lunch. We headed over to spend the rest of the afternoon with our kids and grandkids. Last night, we had other friends who joined us for a semi-regular Sunday evening visit which usually turns into a debrief on our respective lives. It was a really lovely day.

As Wendy and I made the drive home, I sat holding Wendy’s hand and found myself thinking about our lives together. We are so blessed. Life is so good.

Not that our lives have been perfect. In fact, they have been far from it. Wendy and I both have dots on our respective timelines in which we made major mistakes in life. We both have had seasons of life marked by serious moral lapses. The skeletons aren’t in the closet, either. We have been open about these things. Why? They are part of our respective stories.

The Chronicler begins today’s chapter with the words, “In the course of time.” This is his way of telling us as readers that he is being loose with the chronology, and he has been. The Chronicler has chosen to present David’s story in a certain way. He begins by presenting David as the “priest-king” who “was a man after God’s own heart.” He wants us to see that David put God first as David brings the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem and restores the tent temple of worship and the sacrificial system as prescribed by the Law of Moses.

Now, the Chronicler shifts to telling us about the victorious warrior-king who defeated the surrounding kingdoms. He’s also sure to point out that it was through these victories that David collected the gold, silver, and bronze that would eventually be used to furnish and decorate Solomon’s Temple.

It’s a perfectly lovely big-picture description of David. He put God first and was blessed and victorious…in the course of time.

The Chronicler leaves out some of the details. David wasn’t perfect. He had dots on his own personal timeline marked by mistakes. He had seasons of serious moral lapses. The Chronicler, however, is looking back through the lens of history and presenting the larger story of David that he sees. He’s presenting the big-picture view of what God was doing in the larger context of the Great Story that God is telling from Genesis to Revelation.

In our cynical, tabloid-driven culture of tell-all scandals and true-crime podcasts and documentaries, the Chronicler’s version of events might strike one as dishonest. In the quiet this morning, I find it to be an honest view of God’s grace and mercy.

The most beautiful and gracious thing that Jesus offers is forgiveness. God through the prophet Isaiah said, “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.”

Thank God that I am not defined in His eyes by the mistakes I’ve made, many many failures, or the seasons of my moral lapses. When God “remembers them no more” all that is left of the story is the person God has been growing, cultivating, pruning, and transforming me to be “in the course of time.”

I am so blessed. Life is so good.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

Boiling it Down to Bullet Points

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Dear Reader,

I am on my third trip through the Bible on this chapter-a-day journey and my fourth or fifth trip through the New Testament. The truth is that I rarely remember what I’ve written each day. In fact, Wendy often comments that she just read my post from a day or two before and I have to ask her what it was about because I’ve already forgotten it. Thus, in the quiet this morning, when I vividly remembered what I’d written about Micah 6 in July of 2015, I figured maybe there was something there that should be dusted off for those of you who were not on the journey back then. And for those of you who were, I hope it is as good a reminder for you as it was for me in my dusting it off.

Have a great day!
Tom

Boiling it Down to Bullet Points (CaD Mi 6) – Wayfarer

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
    And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
    and to walk humbly with your God.
Micah 6:8 (NIV)

I am on the road training this week. When our group analyzes a company’s phone calls, we methodically tear it down into a ton of behavioral and analytical data points. When sharing the data with Customer Service Representatives and translating it into actionable training points I find that the sheer volume of data and the machinations of our analytical process can easily overwhelm them. As I walk through the information, I sometimes see my client’s eyes glaze over and I know that I’ve lost them.

Over time, I’ve learned that many individuals simply need things boiled down for them. They don’t want lengthy explanations or an exhaustive review of all the data. They just want the Cliff Notes, the Reader’s Digest condensed version, the bullet points, or the crux of the matter. The client I’m working this week has well over 50 different data elements that we measure in their phone calls, but in my training this year I’m only talking about the five things that matter most.

Life and faith can sometimes be like that. God’s Message is a lengthy tome assembled over centuries in different languages. The contents are arranged categorically rather than chronologically. Some of it is history, while other parts are poetry and song lyrics. Other parts are letters and some of the stranger bits are prophetic messages in poetic form. It can be confusing to find and grasp the larger storyline. Sometimes we just want things boiled down into a bullet list.

God’s message through the prophet Micah does it nicely in today’s chapter:

  • Act justly (e.g. do the right thing by God, others, and yourself)
  • Love mercy (e.g. love tangibly, forgive continually, give sacrificially)
  • Walk humbly (e.g. be considerate of others; put their needs ahead of your own)

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

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Hidden in Plain Sight

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Hidden in Plain Sight (CaD Lk 18) – Wayfarer

Those who led the way rebuked [the blind man] and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Luke 18:39 (NIV)

Happy New Year!

One of the things I can expect every New Year in the media is the so-called experts’ picks of the “best” and “worst” things from the previous year. I’ve come to learn that my agreement with such lists is highly dependent on how aligned the “expert” and I am in the determination of what makes a good movie, song, or book.

When I was in college, there was quite a bit of consensus among movie critics and experts that Orson Welles’ classic Citizen Kane was the greatest movie ever made. If you’ve never seen it, it’s worth watching. The tale of a man who gains the whole world and loses his soul along the way is truly a masterpiece.

One of the things I love about both great movies and great books is the way that stories are crafted. The entire story of Charles Foster Kane is presented to us in the opening scene of Citizen Kane. As viewers, we simply don’t know it yet. I can watch great movies countless times because I can perpetually find things I’ve never seen before. The writers and directors placed things into scenes and dialogue that are hidden from me in plain sight.

In the same way, as I make my way over and over again through the Great Story, I perpetually see things that have been hiding in plain sight. I long ago realized that one of the mistakes I made for years was allowing myself to focus too intently on one word, one verse, or one passage a time that I missed the larger picture that the Author of Creation has connected throughout the Great Story. Today’s chapter is a great example.

In most modern Bibles, the text is broken up into chapters. Within each chapter, there are sections and verses. In today’s chapter, there are six different episodes or sections that the editors have called out for me with titles. This very paradigm of layout causes me to mentally compartmentalize as I’m reading and thinking. Yet, I’ve learned on this chapter-a-day journey that the meaning is often in the connection between the episodes just as there are connections between the books in the larger Great Story. I’ve had to train my brain to look at the larger story, books, chapters, and episodes for the connections between them.

Today’s chapter begins with a parable about a poor widow who pesters a Judge begging for justice. He ignores her at first, but her persistence leads to him taking her case just to shut her up. Jesus says prayer works like this. Keep praying, He says. Don’t give up.

In the very next episode, Jesus tells a parable contrasting a self-righteous religious leader who thinks he’s all that and a bag of chips with a poor wretch of a tax collector who knows the depth of his own sins and failures. The latter simply prays for the same thing over and over again (just like the persistent widow), “Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

Later in the chapter, Jesus once again tells The Twelve that He’s been a dead man walking on this trip to Jerusalem that they’ve been on since chapter nine. He’s going to Jerusalem to be betrayed, arrested, and executed, before rising from the dead. Luke then makes the observation that The Twelve did not get what Jesus was talking about even though this is the third time He has said it plainly. “Its meaning was hidden from them,” Luke writes.

In the final episode of the chapter, Jesus has a huge crowd around Him as He approaches the city of Jericho. Jericho is eighteen miles from Jerusalem, so Jesus is getting close to His destination. There is a blind man who is told that the commotion he’s hearing is because Jesus the Nazarene preacher everyone has been talking about is passing by. The blind man immediately begins shouting, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!“

Let’s connect the dots.

The blind man begins shouting the same thing over and over, just like the persistent widow, so that everyone around him is annoyed just like the judge in Jesus’ parable.

What this poor blind wretch shouts is “Have mercy on me” just like the tax collector in Jesus’ parable.

In his repeated cries, the blind man calls Jesus “Son of David.” In Jesus’ day, this was a term people used to refer to the coming Messiah because the prophets had declared the Messiah would come through the line of David (which Jesus did, btw, Luke established that in the genealogy he put into chapter three, yet another connection. In recognizing Jesus as the Messiah, the “Son of David,” this blind man on the side of the road saw what others couldn’t see just as we learned that things were “hidden” in plain sight from Jesus’ closest followers.

The blind man saw who Jesus was while the fullness of Jesus and His mission were hidden from those with 20-20 vision. Jesus heals the annoying man who was shouting his repeated prayer for mercy, showing mercy just as the Judge had done for the poor widow in His parable.

By the way, how fascinating that this happens in Jericho, where God once miraculously caused the walls to come a tumblin’ down. I find something prescient in this connection.

In the quiet this morning, I’m once again blown away by how the Great Story connects. I’m humbled to think that I am not persistent enough in my prayers, and for all my knowledge I acknowledge just how many spiritual realities of God’s kingdom are hiding from me in plain site just like the story of Charles Foster Kane is hidden in a falling snow globe and the cryptic whisper, “Rosebud.”

As I enter a new year, a new work week, a new day – the echo of my heart is set on a persistent, repeating prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me.”

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

Directed to Me

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Directed to Me (CaD Lk 6) – Wayfarer

“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you.”
Luke 6:37-38a (NIV)

Jesus’ teaching was entirely personal. He didn’t talk about international policy. He didn’t talk about business. He barely touched on family. In today’s chapter, Luke records pieces of Jesus’ core teachings. Much of it is from Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount” found in Matthew’s account.

As I read through the words multiple times this morning, I recognized two key things, make that three. First, I realized that it is directed to every individual. Second, the teaching is entirely about how I, as an individual, should act with every other individual treating each person, without exception, with mercy, grace, generosity, kindness, and forgiveness. Third, the motivating factor is that God, our creator and ultimately our judge, has already treated me with mercy, grace, generosity, kindness, and forgiveness.

Jesus makes no exemptions.

Jesus offers no caveats.

Jesus provides no exceptions for ethnicity, nationality, political affiliation, worldview, sexual orientation, religion, socioeconomic status, criminal behavior, past offenses, morality, or personal suffering.

Jesus makes it clear that there is a divine reciprocity in the eternal scheme of things. My behavior toward others matters, and the further I progress as a disciple of Jesus the more inescapable I find this simple truth. In fact, I find it fascinating that the institutional churches I’ve attended throughout my lifetime have been quick to preach morality while largely ignoring the prevalence of meanness, lack of generosity, condemnation, holding of grudges, prejudice, or contempt of others.

But how easy it is to start talking about larger human systems when Jesus’ teaching was directed to me. The only person I ultimately control is myself. So, I enter another day of the journey mindful of how Jesus expects me to behave in relationship to every person with whom I interact without exemption, caveat, or exception:

“But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.

“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”

I’m listening, Lord. Help me to increasingly act like it.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

The Inflection Point of Kindness

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The Inflection Point of Kindness (CaD Gen 8) – Wayfarer

But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark…
Genesis 8:1 (NIV)

Every spring, our small town has a Tulip Festival that attracts huge crowds that wander our quaint public square. The crowds bring out a certain brand of street preachers who will stand in crowded areas and loudly proclaim their brand of hellfire, condemnation, and judgment on all of us sinners.

The modern-day, would-be prophets always bring out a mixture of anger and sadness in me. The anger comes from the fact that they give individuals who aren’t followers of Jesus a skewed mental picture of who Jesus is and what His Message is all about. The sadness is for the hearts of these misguided prophets themselves who, judging by their hatred and vitriol, have truly not come to grips with their own sinfulness nor have they experienced God’s amazing grace themselves.

In yesterday’s post/podcast, I observed the parallel between the destructive flood of Noah and the redemptive metaphor of baptism. Because we’re in the beginning of the Great Story, the journey through Genesis is chock full of the first appearances of themes that foreshadow the chapters yet to come. Today’s chapter is an inflection point in the story of Noah which shifts the narrative from destruction to redemption. It begins with the very first verse of today’s chapter that I highlighted at the top of the post.

The Hebrew word for “remembered” (as in, “God remembered Noah”) is zākar. It means more than just the “A ha!” remembering or bringing to mind that the word “remembered” conjures in English. Zākar is layered with the notions of fondness, honor, worthiness, and active consideration. It’s a loving-kindness type of remembrance that motivates action. This is a stark contrast to the judgment and regret that has described God’s mood to this point in the Noah story.

What follows is the account of the end of the flood, but what is lost on most modern readers is the hidden parallel to the original creation story in chapter 1. What’s more, there are seven parallels just as there were seven days in creation.

  • 8:2 mentions the waters above and below, just like 1:7.
  • 8.5 mentions the ground appearing, just like 1:9.
  • 8:7 mentions birds flying above, just like 1:20.
  • 8:17 mentions the animals, just like 1:25.
  • 9:1 says, “Be fruitful and multiply,” just like 1:28a.
  • 9:2 mentions humanity’s dominion over creation, just like 1:28b.
  • 9:3 mentions God’s giving of plants/animals for food, just like 1:30.

Now we have a new theme emerging which will be vitally important in the Great Story, all the way until the very end. It’s a variation on the theme of order>chaos>reorder introduced two chapters ago:

Creation —> Destruction —> Re-creation

We see this theme in Jesus’ proclamation “I’m going to destroy this Temple and rebuild it in three days!” We will see this theme at the very end of the Great Story in Revelation when the old heaven and earth pass away and a new heaven and earth are created. And, we see it in the lives of those who follow Jesus, as Paul describes in his letter to Jesus’ followers in the city of Corinth:

Because of this decision we don’t evaluate people by what they have or how they look. We looked at the Messiah that way once and got it all wrong, as you know. We certainly don’t look at him that way anymore. Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life emerges! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins.
2 Cor 5:16-18 (MSG)

From the very beginning of the Great Story, God introduces and foreshadows the grand theme in light of humanity’s sin: reorder, redemption, new creation.

In the quiet this morning, my mind wanders back to the street preachers spewing their condemnation at Tulip Time. I’m reminded of Romans 2:4 which says it is God’s kindness that leads to repentance, not hatred, anger, judgment, condemnation, or damnation. I’ve experienced my own spiritual inflection point when I realized that my sin was heinous as the worst of sinners but Jesus remembered (zākar) me and His loving-kindness extended grace, mercy, and forgiveness. That shifted my own story to one of redemption.

May I always “remember” others the same way.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

Justice Then and Now

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Justice Then and Now (CaD Jos 20) – Wayfarer

Then the Lord said to Joshua: “Tell the Israelites to designate the cities of refuge, as I instructed you through Moses, so that anyone who kills a person accidentally and unintentionally may flee there and find protection from the avenger of blood.
Joshua 20:1-3 (NIV)

Some of our most epic stories have ridiculously high body counts. I’ve had the joy of seeing many of Shakespeare’s plays produced on stage. His tragedies, in particular (e.g. Hamlet, Macbeth) end with seemingly everyone in the play dead. The same with the feuding Capulets and Montagues in Romeo and Juliet. The same is true in more modern epics like the Godfather trilogy in which warring families endlessly kill one another. Game of Thrones also found creative and nasty ways to rack up the body counts. Even the climactic final chapters of Harry Potter contained the death of some of my most beloved characters.

Throughout history, our epic stories are reflections of our humanity, complete with its deepest flaws and tragic ends. Ever since Abel’s blood cried out, murder, death, and vengeance have been a part of human tragedies.

In today’s chapter, God reminds Joshua of a rudimentary system of justice outlined in the law of Moses. Knowing that tragic deaths could often result in violent, systemic, and generational blood feuds between families, clans, and tribes, Cities of Refuge were designated. If a tragic death occurred unintentionally yet a person was accused of murder, the accused could flee to one of these cities of refuge. The town protected the accused from acts of vengeance until a trial could be held by the tribal assembly and a verdict rendered. It was rudimentary, but it provided a time-out so that hot tempers could cool off and vengeance could be stalled in order for justice to be carried out.

As a student of history, I have often read about the historical implications that the Law of Moses had on humanity. It’s the recognized seminal code of law on which our own system of justice is built. No human system of justice is perfect, just as no human system of government is perfect. But in the story of the Hebrews, I see God prescribing a huge step forward toward a more just society.

So what does this have to do with me here in my 21st-century life journey? First of all, I’m grateful to have very little need for a justice system thus far on my life journey. I am blessed to have lived what amounts to a relatively peaceful life. I take that for granted sometimes, and so I whisper a prayer of gratitude in the quiet this morning.

I also recognize as I meditate on the chapter that justice is more pervasive in the human experience than the weighty matters of manslaughter and capital murder. Justice is a part of every human relationship and interaction. As a follower of Jesus, I can’t ignore that He calls me to be just, generous, loving, and merciful in every relationship. Jesus taught that In God’s kingdom:

  • Cursing another person is as serious as murder.
  • Lust is as serious as adultery.
  • I shouldn’t worship God if I’ve got an interpersonal human conflict that needs to be resolved.
  • I am to forgive, as I have been forgiven, and then keep forgiving, and forgiving, and forgiving, and forgiving, as and when necessary.
  • When cursed by others, I am to return blessings.
  • When asked for a favor, I am to go above and beyond what was asked.
  • As far as I am able, I am to live at peace with every person in my circles of community and influence.

And this is not an exhaustive list. It’s just a top-of-mind list that came to me in the quiet.

And so I enter another day in the journey, endeavoring to be a person of love, mercy, generosity, and justice in a world that has always desperately needed it at every level.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

The Context

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The Context (CaD Matt 22) – Wayfarer

“Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’
Matthew 22:8-9 (NIV)

Along my spiritual journey, I’ve observed that it’s easy to read with a mental microscope or magnifying glass to inspect every word, every verse, or every parable as if they exist as individual and/or exclusive works of divine wisdom. I’ve come to observe that there’s more to be gained by launching my mental drone to rise above the text and see the word, verse, and parable within the larger tapestry of the Great Story. Today’s chapter is a great example of this.

The entire chapter takes place at a very specific time and place. It’s the last week of Jesus’ earthly life. He is in Jerusalem and spending His day at Herod’s Temple, the seat and center of Hebrew religious power and worship. There is an escalating conflict emerging between Jesus and the religious leaders of His day. Public opinion is on Jesus’ side for the moment, and the religious leaders are working their fundamentalist political playbook. They keep sending different groups with questions in hope that Jesus will make a gaffe, say something stupid on the hot mic, or make a partisan comment which will offend His audience and give them political ammunition to publicly discredit Him. This is the same kind of political theater that plays out in press conferences and the media every single day.

They ask Jesus about paying taxes to Rome because it’s a hot-button issue. Most of Jesus’ audience hated the Romans, and they hated paying taxes. The religious leaders even make sure that Rome’s local political puppets, the Herodians, are there to witness the answer. They hoped Jesus’ answer would be treasonous enough to arrest Him.

A religious faction, the Sadducees, try a trick question on Jesus that was rooted in a hot-button theological debate about whether there was a resurrection or not. The motive was to trip Jesus up and make Him look like a fool. Jesus nailed the answer and discredited the questioners.

They tried another theological question, but Jesus nailed that one, too.

Then Jesus decided it was time for Him to ask the question. He asks about the popular term being used for the coming Messiah, the same one they were indignant about children applying to Jesus in yesterday’s chapter: Son of David. Jesus discredits the term (perhaps in response to their indignation the previous day?) based on David’s own lyrics.

This is a political tennis match with Jesus volleying back and forth with the religious leaders. And it’s in the context of this rising conflict that I must understand Jesus’ parable of the Wedding Banquet. The guests invited to the feast who ignored the invitation are Jesus’ religious enemies. They’ve ignored the heart of God’s commandments to cling to their power, greed, and fundamentalism. The servants who get beat up and killed are the prophets. The King sending His army to destroy the murderers and raze the city is prophetic, as this is exactly what happened in AD 70 when the Romans razed Jerusalem and the Temple. The King’s decision to go to every corner and invite “anyone you can find” is equally prophetic. It is what happens in the book of Acts when the Jesus Movement breaks out of the shackles of Hebrew fundamentalism and embraces anyone, Jewish or not, who chooses to repent, believe, and follow.

In the quiet this morning, I find myself asking what this means for me today. My heart’s desire is to always follow Jesus, but I can look back on my journey and see ways in which I’ve been more like the religious leaders. I’ve been religious, but I confess that there’s hard evidence that my religion has at times been more about being right, condemning others, and holding appropriate political and doctrinal views instead of being about love, grace, and mercy. That makes me more like Jesus’ enemies.

Mea culpa.

Whenever personal faith intertwines with human institutions and systems, it’s hard for it not to get sucked into the same trap that the Hebrews fell into. And that’s as true for me as it is for anyone else.

So, for me, that’s the take-away. I want to be diligent in living out my “religion” in Jesus’ terms:

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. James 1:27 (NIV)

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

The Choice

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The Choice (CaD Gen 50) – Wayfarer

But Joseph said to [his brothers], “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.
Genesis 50:19-20 (NIV)

Over the years, Wendy and I have enjoyed hosting Godfather nights. We have a big Italian dinner with friends who have never seen the all-time classic movie, and we watch together over wine and cannoli. It’s so much fun.

[Spoiler Alert] In the final minutes of the film, the patriarch of the family dies, and his son, Michael, decides to make a move against all of the family’s enemies. This includes traitors within the family itself. As Michael stands in a Catholic church and becomes godfather to his sister’s baby at a baptism ceremony, the vengeance is mercilessly carried out. It all takes place as Michael is asked in the baptism ritual: “Do you renounce Satan?” and he responds, “I do renounce him.”

That scene came to mind this morning as I read the final chapter of Genesis. Jacob dies. He and his family are living in Egypt under Joseph’s protection. With the patriarch of the family dead, Joseph’s brothers realize that they are in a precarious position. Joseph has all the power of Pharaoh and Egypt at his beck and call. Should Joseph decide to “settle accounts” with his brothers for beating him with murderous intent and then selling him into slavery he could. All Joseph had to do was give the word and they would all be sleeping with the fishes.

The brothers send word to Joseph begging for his forgiveness. They bow down before him and offer to be his slaves.

Joseph’s response is classic:

“Am I in the place of God?” Joseph is foreshadowing the song of Moses after the defeat of the Egyptians at the Red Sea, along with the instruction in Paul’s letter to Jesus’ followers in Rome:

If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary:

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
    if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good…” Joseph makes a willing decision to allow God’s intentions to overshadow the ill-intent of his brothers. Once again, his thoughts and actions mirror the behavioral instructions given to Jesus’ followers:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” Matthew 5:43-44

Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. Romans 5:3-4

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. James 1:2-3

In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith… 1 Peter 1:6-7

“…to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” Joseph’s response foreshadows two important spiritual realities.

First, he understands that all that has happened to him has resulted in saving the lives of his family. When God leads the tribes out of slavery in Egypt, He will say to them: “This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live” (Deut 30:19) God is the God of Life. Joseph chooses not to go the Michael Corleone route down the path of death and vengeance. Joseph chooses life for his brothers.

Second, the promise given to Abraham was that through his descendants “all nations of the earth will be blessed.” Through Joseph’s trials, he was placed in a position to give life, not only to the Egyptians and his family but also to the other nations who came to Egypt to buy food in the famine. Had it not been for Joseph’s many trials, so many people from so many nations and peoples would have perished. Instead, they lived and were blessed through Abraham’s descendant.

In the quiet this morning, I find myself searching my heart to see if the seeds of vengeance are present. Stories like Joseph and The Godfather are so epic, yet the principles involved are intensely personal. Who has caused me harm? Who has made my life miserable? Who has wronged me, slandered me, or thrown me under the bus?

What seeds are taking root in my heart?

The seeds of resentment, hatred, and vengeance?

The seeds of grace, mercy, and forgiveness?

I’m reminded that the fruit of the former leads to death, while the fruit of the latter leads to life.

Spare the gun. Share the cannoli.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

Dysfunctional

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Dysfunctional (CaD Gen 27) – Wayfarer

Isaac asked his son, “How did you find it so quickly, my son?”
“The Lord your God gave me success,” he replied.
Genesis 27:20 (NIV)

Death and funerals tend to bring out all of the fun in family dysfunction. I remember officiating one funeral in which siblings and their families stayed in opposite rooms in their parents’ home and I had to bounce back and forth like a ping-pong ball to make the service arrangements because they wouldn’t speak to one another or be in the same room. I’ve done multiple funerals in which it was doubtful that a child or children would even show up. I’ve witnessed the fallout from parental favoritism, parental disfavor, deception, hatred, mishandled inheritance, and the relational scars of unreconciled issues or arguments that are decades old.

Family systems are mysterious and complex. Parents, children, personalities, power, favor, honor, and inheritance can make for highly dysfunctional systemic cocktails.

So, today’s chapter isn’t all that surprising to me. Isaac has always favored his son Esau, the firstborn twin. Esau is an alpha male with all the unchecked emotions that often go with it. He’s a rugged outdoorsman and skilled hunter. Jacob is a mirror image of this. A mama’s boy, quiet, quick-minded, and shrewd. Esau has married two Hittite women who have upset the system and have become the bane of Rebekah’s existence. Perhaps this is part of her motivation for urging Jacob’s deceptive theft of his older brother’s position as the head of the clan. Perhaps she believes that Esau will be a foolish, temperamental leader who will make life miserable for everyone. Whatever the motivation, Jacob lives up to his name (which means deceiver). He pretends to be his brother, deceives his father, and receives the blessing that rightfully belonged to Esau. Jacob will succeed his father as head of the family and administrate his inheritance.

What struck me as I read the chapter this morning is that Jacob, when addressing his father, refers to God as “the Lord your God.” At this point in the story, Jacob doesn’t appear to have a personal relationship with the God of his grandfather and father. He’s at arm’s length, and perhaps this helps explain his willingness to deceive his own father and dishonor his own brother.

Along my journey, I found that those who have not actually read or digested the Great Story often have the notion that the “biblical heroes” were righteous, upstanding examples of godliness to the point of not being human. Nothing could be further from the truth. I offer Jacob as Exhibit A. He was flawed human being in a dysfunctional family system and his faith journey and life journey are a struggle, a wrestling match with God and others. Even as he progresses in his own personal journey, he will forced to deal with the fallout of his own dysfunctional family choices. Jacob is a work-in-progress.

In the quiet this morning, I take some solace in this. I have my own issues and dysfunctional blind spots. Even after forty years as a Jesus follower, I’m still a work-in-progress. So is everyone else. Again, if you want to apply the rules of Cancel Culture to me, then go ahead and close the browser and don’t look back. I’m just glad that God shows Himself to be One who mercifully wraps His grace around my human failures and redeems my tragic flaws in transforming me throughout my own story.

Last night Wendy read me a post by a word artist we love and support. Her words feel like they were a divine appointment this morning. Here’s a partial:

“You do not have to be who you have been
You can think differently, feel differently —
Don’t let anyone nail you to
a selfhood that no longer belongs to you.”

She goes on to offer a breathing prayer:

“Inhale:
I am not who I once was.
Exhale:
I am known and forgiven.”

By Cole Arthur Riley. You can find her on Patreon and on Instagram @blackliturgies.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.