Jan. 3 – Thoughts on Gen. 7-9 & Matt. 3

An interesting convergence of texts today, with the story of Noah and John the Baptist’s warning to “flee the coming wrath”.  This is not an uncommon message for John in his public speaking career.  He preached “Repent!” to the crowds that came to see him in the desert where he preached.  He preached “Brood of vipers!” to the Pharisees and Sadducees who came to test him for orthodoxy, warning them that they would “burn with unquenchable fire”.  Today, we call this “speaking truth to power”, and John both did it himself even to his own death (Matt. 14) and proclaimed Jesus coming to do the same.

The message of God’s wrath is always welcome when it is those on the other side of the issue who will face it.  When it is spoken to us, we get angry, look for theological loopholes, and blame the messenger.  Often it is a reason for people to leave a church, seeking a more “positive and encouraging” message.  But from both of our readings today, we are forced to deal with the fact that God brings His wrath to bear on this world.  How that wrath is manifested is different all the time, and identifying every “bad” thing that happens to us as God’s wrath isn’t helpful or correct.  Sometimes God’s wrath is to leave us to our own decisions, and sometimes bad things that happen draw us closer to God and so aren’t “bad” things at all.

The consistent message in these two texts is that God will not stand for godless behavior especially among those who claim to be godly but aren’t.  From the salvation of the righteous Noah (this is a story about salvation at its core) to the promise of punishment for the unrighteous Pharisees, John’s message is that all must repent (lit. “turn away”) from their sinfulness.  Following Jesus doesn’t mean we are free from sinfulness but that we acknowledge that we cannot free ourselves and need someone to free us.  From those who just ignore the message of repentance altogether to those who believe they can save themselves, God’s wrath is real and to be feared for those who ignore Jesus’ call to grow in righteousness by following Him with our whole lives.

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Jan. 2 – Thoughts on Gen. 4-6 & Matt. 2

As a child, our visit to the local graveyards wasn’t the highlight of my vacation.

When your father is a high school history teacher, a family vacation on the east coast is more than a vacation, it’s a time to learn.  So as a child, when we visited Philadelphia, Boston and Washington D.C., we saw and learned a lot.  One of our memorable visits was to the local graveyards.  Here we saw gravestones marking the final resting place of histories great people.  And as we strolled through the tombstones, we recounted some of the stories of their role in our history.  It is similar when I go to a graveside service in a small town.  As we head to the headstone, we pass the graves of friends and mentors from town that the people know, and as we congregate, we share stories and memories of these lives from years past.

Yesterday in Matt. and today in Gen., we read a few of those “boring genealogies” that seem to be interspersed throughout the bible.  The bane of “Bible in a Year” readers, I admit that like most folk I talk with, I used to skip through them, and wondered why there are whole chapters dedicated to lists of names that don’t mean anything to people today.  But then someone pointed out to me that these genealogies are just like the graveyards I visited as a child.  Filled with names representing stories and histories, these chapters are slow, meditative walks through our collective history, for their cultural history is our spiritual history.  It is the reminder of people like Enoch who is remembered as one of a handful of people in history to have never died (the different wording at the end of his generation (Gen. 5:24) compared to all the others leads theologians to this conclusion) and of Boaz, a co-star in the story of Ruth and ancestor of Jesus.

Today as you continue to prepare for a new year, take some time to think and pray about your spiritual genealogy.   What names are part of your history?  They might be family or friends, mentors or pastors, authors or preachers.  What stories of the faith come to mind as you wander this beautiful graveyard in your mind?

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Jan. 2 – Thoughts on Gen. 4-6 & Matt. 2

As a child, our visit to the local graveyards wasn’t the highlight of my vacation.

When your father is a high school history teacher, a family vacation on the east coast is more than a vacation, it’s a time to learn.  So as a child, when we visited Philadelphia, Boston and Washington D.C., we saw and learned a lot.  One of our memorable visits was to the local graveyards.  Here we saw gravestones marking the final resting place of histories great people.  And as we strolled through the tombstones, we recounted some of the stories of their role in our history.  It is similar when I go to a graveside service in a small town.  As we head to the headstone, we pass the graves of friends and mentors from town that the people know, and as we congregate, we share stories and memories of these lives from years past.

Yesterday in Matt. and today in Gen., we read a few of those “boring genealogies” that seem to be interspersed throughout the bible.  The bane of “Bible in a Year” readers, I admit that like most folk I talk with, I used to skip through them, and wondered why there are whole chapters dedicated to lists of names that don’t mean anything to people today.  But then someone pointed out to me that these genealogies are just like the graveyards I visited as a child.  Filled with names representing stories and histories, these chapters are slow, meditative walks through our collective history, for their cultural history is our spiritual history.  It is the reminder of people like Enoch who is remembered as one of a handful of people in history to have never died (the different wording at the end of his generation (Gen. 5:24) compared to all the others leads theologians to this conclusion) and of Boaz, a co-star in the story of Ruth and ancestor of Jesus.

Today as you continue to prepare for a new year, take some time to think and pray about your spiritual genealogy.   What names are part of your history?  They might be family or friends, mentors or pastors, authors or preachers.  What stories of the faith come to mind as you wander this beautiful graveyard in your mind?

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Jan. 1 – Thoughts on Gen. 1-3 & Matt. 1

God creates everything with intention.  Nothing God creates is accidental, meaningless, or purposeless.  As God creates the universe, He first creates the Setting and then the Players.  Day 1 (Light and darkness) parallels Day 4 (sun, moon, stars).  Day 2 (waters and sky) parallels Day 5 (fish and birds).  Day 3 (land) parallels Day 6 (animals).  Only Day 7 (Sabbath rest) is unparalleled, for the participant in Sabbath here is God, the Uncreated.  This gift of Sabbath will be offered to us later, but as of now, it is God’s.  And after every act of creation, “God saw that it was good”.  Ordered, intentional, good… these are the ways of God’s creation.

God created every one of us.  And your creation, and mine, and that of those around you, was ordered, intentional, and good.  But more than that, God created every one of us “in His image”.  Technically, God says, “in Our image”, evoking the relational part of His existence and highlighting its importance for us – we were created for relationship.  But God’s image also involves “reigning over” the rest of creation.  This is different than using or worshiping or ignoring God’s created works – it means being a caretaker, a custodian, even a steward of all that God has created.  And God’s image also involves the ability to choose, our Free Will.  We can choose to value and care for others (this is Love) and we can choose to follow our own plans instead of God’s (this is Sin).  Imago Dei – God’s Image – and we are unique in bearing it on the earth.

God created every person you’ve ever met, seen, or even heard of, and that creation was ordered, intentional, and good.  Every person bears God’s image and is created for relationship, reign, and free will.  So a few questions as we begin the new year together:  Do we look for God’s Image and all that it entails in others?  in every other person we deal with?  Do we see it in those different than us and treat them accordingly?  Can we bear God’s image better in our relationships, our reign over created things, and the use of our free will?

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Jan. 1 – Thoughts on Gen. 1-3 & Matt. 1

God creates everything with intention.  Nothing God creates is accidental, meaningless, or purposeless.  As God creates the universe, He first creates the Setting and then the Players.  Day 1 (Light and darkness) parallels Day 4 (sun, moon, stars).  Day 2 (waters and sky) parallels Day 5 (fish and birds).  Day 3 (land) parallels Day 6 (animals).  Only Day 7 (Sabbath rest) is unparalleled, for the participant in Sabbath here is God, the Uncreated.  This gift of Sabbath will be offered to us later, but as of now, it is God’s.  And after every act of creation, “God saw that it was good”.  Ordered, intentional, good… these are the ways of God’s creation.

God created every one of us.  And your creation, and mine, and that of those around you, was ordered, intentional, and good.  But more than that, God created every one of us “in His image”.  Technically, God says, “in Our image”, evoking the relational part of His existence and highlighting its importance for us – we were created for relationship.  But God’s image also involves “reigning over” the rest of creation.  This is different than using or worshiping or ignoring God’s created works – it means being a caretaker, a custodian, even a steward of all that God has created.  And God’s image also involves the ability to choose, our Free Will.  We can choose to value and care for others (this is Love) and we can choose to follow our own plans instead of God’s (this is Sin).  Imago Dei – God’s Image – and we are unique in bearing it on the earth.

God created every person you’ve ever met, seen, or even heard of, and that creation was ordered, intentional, and good.  Every person bears God’s image and is created for relationship, reign, and free will.  So a few questions as we begin the new year together:  Do we look for God’s Image and all that it entails in others?  in every other person we deal with?  Do we see it in those different than us and treat them accordingly?  Can we bear God’s image better in our relationships, our reign over created things, and the use of our free will?

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