James 3:1-5

James 3:1-5
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

  Lately, I've been reading Dead Wake, Erik Larson's account of the last voyage of the Lusitania.  Fascinating book, and it's amazing to think about the rudders on these big ships.  The Lusitania's rudder was 56 tons, which sounds big until you consider the overall displacement of the ship was nearly 45,000 tons!  (Thanks Wikipedia)  That's about one-tenth of one percent of the ship controlling where the ship goes.
  Similarly, think of your car.  The average curb weight for a Honda Accord is around 3,200 pounds.  How do you control it?  You use a steering wheel that weighs hardly anything, and we take it for granted.
  So James is wise to say our tongues deserve our attention -- though they are a small part of our body, they have great control over how people perceive us, over how we act in the world.  If we speak rudely or impetuously, we will be perceived poorly, and our actions may not be able to overcome that.  If we are prone to losing our tempers or disregarding those struggling with difficulties in life, our words will paint a picture of what kind of person we are.
  It's amazing to read the words of Jesus.  Even when gripped by passion and opposed by the Pharisees, he could still speak kindly, respectfully, with words of love that encouraged the listener to pursue God.  He spoke from a place of love, not malice, even toward his enemies.
  May we have the courage to speak wisely, recognizing the influence our words have on our lives and those around us.  May we speak words of love and tell of the wonders of Christ.

James 2:20-26

James 2:20-26
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

 What if Usain Bolt never ran a race?  Would he still be the world's fastest man, even though he never demonstrated it to anyone?
  What if Noah never built the ark, or Paul never dedicated his life to spreading the Gospel?  Would we still speak of their faith, even though we never saw the deeds attached to it?
  What if Jesus hadn't performed miracles?  Would we know who he was?
  We learn of what is on the inside of people through their actions, just as we demonstrate who we are through our actions.  James has harsh words for faith that doesn't guide actions.  If I tell everyone I am a nice person but treat others poorly, we could debate how nice I really am.  In the same vein, if we proclaim to be a people of faith but live selfishly, others will debate our faith.
  The Prayer of Examen is a great way to pause at the end of the day and reflect on the day's events.  We look back and see how our faith is guiding us and we pray for God to forgive where we failed and to guide us into tomorrow.  It's a simple prayer, yet can help us live with intention, offering up our lives to God and praying for our faith to lead us.

James 2:14-19

James 2:14-19
Contemporary English Version (CEV) 

 Here, James illustrates the difference between knowledge and faith.  Knowledge means that you are not ignorant of something, that you possess an idea of it, but it may not change anything that you do.  It's like when I know that it's cold outside and still don't wear a jacket.  My knowledge of the weather doesn't translate into actions, because I don't believe the cold will bother me, or I don't believe it's really that cold outside.  Later on, I often realize how unwise it is not to put my knowledge into action.
  So James is calling Christians to pay attention and not get caught in the same trap.  Our knowledge of Christ and his resurrection should lead to transformation in our lives -- we should be different because of our faith in the risen Christ.  The way we treat one another should be transformed by the power of Christ working in and through us.  Since Christ selflessly died for us, we should be willing to selflessly serve others.
 

James 2:8-13

James 2:8-13
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

 Here is the Gospel, presented in a somewhat different form.  In order to have a full relationship with God, we must be sinless -- we cannot violate a single aspect of the entire law.  Keeping most of it doesn't count.  And since we break even a small part of it every day, we should be judged by the Law, which means there would be no pity for us.
  Except, God is merciful, because in Jesus Christ he has entered into creation and set us free from the demands of the Law.  In his perfect life and substitutionary death on the cross, he has atoned for our sins and given us the ability to receive his rewards, rather than our own, when we come to judgment.  We are judged on our faith in him, not on our own acts.
  So are we free to live however we please?  No, for we should live out of gratitude, which means that we love all people as much as we love ourselves.  We don't get to pick and choose our favorites, and then spoil ourselves most of all -- we love all people as though they were Christ, and we serve with gratitude while honoring the God who has made us and redeemed us.

Good Friday

Genesis 2:2-3
Contemporary English Version (CEV)
 The Seventh Day

  2 By the seventh day God had finished his work, and so he rested. 3 God blessed the seventh day and made it special because on that day he rested from his work.

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  John 19:28-30
Contemporary English Version (CEV)
 The Death of Jesus

  28 Jesus knew that he had now finished his work. And in order to make the Scriptures come true, he said, “I am thirsty!” 29 A jar of cheap wine was there. Someone then soaked a sponge with the wine and held it up to Jesus' mouth on the stem of a hyssop plant. 30 After Jesus drank the wine, he said, “Everything is done!” He bowed his head and died.

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  Revelation 21:5-7
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

  5 Then the one sitting on the throne said: I am making everything new. Write down what I have said. My words are true and can be trusted. 6 Everything is finished! I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will freely give water from the life-giving fountain to everyone who is thirsty. 7 All who win the victory will be given these blessings. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

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  What God begins, only God can finish.  The God who spoke the world into being, only he could finish his good work.  We could not have come along and finished it for him.
  The same God who enters creation as Jesus Christ, taking on our sins and ascending the cross for us -- only God could complete this work of atonement.  Note, however, what Jesus says before he gives up his life -- "It is finished."
  In other words, Christ has done all that needs to be done to atone for human sin.  Our work now is to accept this free gift of salvation with grateful hearts and to share the Good News.  We do not have to spend our lives trying to atone for our sins, trying to impress God by our words or deeds.  No, our task is to be amazed at the love that held God to the cross, to weep at the human violence that put him there, and to share the amazing & selfless love of God with others.  Trust that God has finished the work of atonement in the work and person of Jesus Christ, and let gratitude and awe guide you.
  For one day, God will bring creation to an end.  Only God can do this, and when he does, a new creation shall take its place.  What God has started, only God can conclude, and all things will be made new in the end.  We will receive new life, and the blessings of God will be of a greater magnitude than the sharpest human mind can imagine.  All this is made possible by what God has done and gives freely to you.

James 2:1-7

James 2:1-7
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

 It's pretty easy to read this and agree with everything James is saying and then go out into the world and live the opposite.  Reading it in a peaceful setting, the thought doesn't demand much of us, but when we go out and are confronted with a choice of who we want to sit by at lunch, often we turn to what is comfortable, relegating these challenging words of Scripture to another time and place.
  God makes us uncomfortable because he wants us to grow -- he's teaching us to love as he loves, which is not conditional upon outward appearance, but rather is unconditional, based on a love more pure than we can imagine.  We forget that we can be hard to love sometimes.  We forget that, without Christ's grace covering us, we would not be able to approach the throne of grace.  It would be wise for us to remember how much grace we have received, and how God loves us freely, without merit.
  May we root ourselves in God's unconditional love, and may we look upon others as people of enormous worth, created in the image of God, loved immensely by the one who hung the stars in the sky.  Perhaps in remembering our own unworthiness and looking at others through the lens of grace, we can share unconditional love not based on appearances.

James 1:19-27

James 1:19-27
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

  Do you ever spend hours staring at yourself in a mirror, only to forget what you've seen once you leave?  No?  I'm the only one?
  What James refers to is the sensation of going to church, listening intently, then forgetting everything you heard as soon as you leave.  If the Word of God makes no impact in our lives beyond the moments we're actually reading it, then we need to reconsider our efforts and ensure that when we hear, we obey, so that our lives are transformed by the Holy Spirit working in and through us.
  If we are obeying, we won't react in anger, lashing out at others when we feel wronged.  We will model Christ, reacting with love and kindness.
  If we are obeying, we will speak from a place of wisdom and peace, rather than spouting frivolous and hurtful things when we speak.
  If we are obeying, we will serve others, particularly orphans and widows.  Here, James makes it clear how we can be faithful to our call.  We can serve the vulnerable, not allowing the hardness of the world to spill into our hearts and change us.  Rather, we allow God to change us from the inside out, so that the love and grace God pours into us overflows into the world.

James 1:12-18

James 1:12-18
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

 Evil is a real force in the world.  We awake to news of terror attacks in Brussels, and my first response is fear -- I am afraid for the people in Brussels, and I am afraid for what these may mean for the future, for my future.  I wonder where God is in this midst of this.
  What Scripture tells me is that throughout the centuries, God responds to evil and calls his followers to respond to evil with love.  This is a hard call, but God is continuously reminding me that he will triumph in the end, that the vile hatred of evil shall not defeat joy and hope.  Evil is a dead end street -- when we choose it, we find darkness and shadows and boarded up windows ushering us deeper, reinforcing our fear and blinding our eyes to the light that can lead us out of it.
  I don't believe it is easy to choose hope and love in this world, but I do believe that God calls us to endure the struggle against evil and choose to display a spirit of hope and love, so that we can be in community and remind one another to remember the good gifts in our lives and to look to God, the perfect giver of such gifts, with gratitude in our hearts for the new birth we have in Christ, looking always to the reality that our life in Christ will one day transcend death and enter eternity.

James 1:9-11

James 1:9-11
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

  I saw a tip this morning on Facebook from Car & Driver -- it said to be sure to include your helicopter in the background when you photograph your Bentley, proven with a well-arranged photo demonstrating the proper way to do this.
  Money is a powerful force in the world.  We often organize our own goals around striving for more of it, or protecting it, or just making sure we have enough of it.  If we're running short of money, that will often effect so much of our life, from our mood to our physical stress.  We're often caught dreaming about what we would do if we had a lot of money, to the point that it can become on obsession.
  In the divine economy, however, our money can't buy us more of God's love.  God doesn't love us more or less depending on our bank account, and the grace and peace God offers to us cannot be purchased by even the most exclusive credit card.  When we approach God in the finality of death, our worth is not determined by the amount of money we have saved, but rather by the sacrifice of a innocent man made thousands of years before we lived.
  So let us be grateful for the reminders in our lives that give us the chance to reflect on the fact that our ultimate worth before God is not about money, and may this reminder help us not hold so tightly to our money.  May we recognize that it is a gift, however much we have, and that we are charged to use it wisely, glorifying God in all we do.

James 1:1-8

James 1:1-8
Contemporary English Version (CEV) 

  We're going to take a little break from Genesis and turn to James, a book packed with wisdom.  It starts out pretty tough, telling us to be glad if we have trouble, because that means we're learning to endure.
  I certainly don't look at my struggles that way.  I see them as obstacles poured into my life, making it harder for me to achieve my goals.  They are stumbling blocks, difficulties.  Here, though, we're called to think about what those goals are.  Are we striving for material things, or are we striving to build character that can honor God in all times?  Are we trying to become more like Christ, who endured suffering so that others might benefit, thus learning about the selfless love of God?  Is that our first goal?
  Our hearts often get so confused and led astray.  We end up pursuing material stuff and forgetting about our heart's true desires.  Suffering can reveal this, and it can teach us about what truly matters.  So may we pray and ask God for wise perspective, that we may endure with joy, focusing our vision on our vertical relationship with God and our horizontal relationship with others.

Genesis 22:1-19

Genesis 22:1-19
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

  I understand this story theologically -- I know that God is demonstrating how everything ultimately belongs to him, and how he keeps Abraham from doing the very thing God does later on in the New Testament, sacrificing his innocent son.  From that perspective, I get this story.
  But I still can't wrap my head around this.  It just makes my heart ache to think about it.  What does Abraham think of this?  What of Isaac -- how can he make peace with these events?  How can they continue to worship God as though this little test didn't happen, or didn't change the relationship?  Could they still trust God?
  I can't make sense of it, and I think it's okay for me to not understand it.  The important thing is that I keep returning to it, keep asking God why -- surely there is a reason, a purpose.  I know many of the explanations, but it still doesn't sit well with me.  I trust God, but I don't always understand God.
  Regardless of whether I can grasp how God is working, I will continue to come back, to ask questions, to lean into what God is doing so that I might come to a deeper understanding of how God is at work in the world, that I may join in.
 

Genesis 21:1-8

Genesis 21:1-8
Contemporary English Version (CEV) 

  What's your limitation?
  There are dreams we have that we don't pursue because we don't have enough time/money/energy/etc.  Some of these things we admit and let them drift off on their own, while others we hold onto for years, hoping against hope, knowing deep inside that we may never pursue that.
  I think we do the same thing with spiritual disciplines.  We know deep within that we want to pursue a relationship with God at a deeper level, but we make excuses and accept limitations that may not be real.  We believe we don't have the time or energy or discipline to commit to something, so we accept the status quo and let our relationship suffer because of it.  We don't choose to wonder what might be if we looked at things in a different light, or tried something, no matter how impossible it might seem.
  God surprises us.  God can do things in our lives we might never have expected, if only we are willing to trust him and allow ourselves to be changed by his constant grace and relentless love.

Genesis 18:16-33

Genesis 18:16-33
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

 I love this passage because it reveals so much about the character of God.
  This passage tells me how deeply sin grieves the heart of God.  Sin isn't something to be taken lightly, something to be laughed off or trifled with..  Sin is serious business, something to flee from and take great pains to defeat.  I don't think we take sin seriously enough -- we flirt with it, ignoring its power or believing that it's not that important.  Sin is hugely serious, and if we are to strive for faithful lives, we are to flee from sin as we turn ourselves to God.
  Also, this passage reveals how eager God is to forgive, to redeem, to save.  Abraham boldly bargains with God, hoping to save Sodom, and God is a willing participant.  God doesn't want to destroy the town, and is willing to spare it for ten good people.  Sadly, there aren't ten good people, but God is eager and willing to relent, if only a few people are willing to turn to God.
  May we trust the God who is eager to forgive, eager to save, willing to redeem us.

Genesis 18:1-15

Genesis 18:1-15
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

  Just imagine that you reacted to visitors with the same attitude that Abraham did.
  Now, hospitality rules were different back then, and society was different, but still -- Abraham carries with him an urgency to serve, an attitude that insists on being deferential, a heart that is clearly focused on the needs of his guests, rather than thinking about what he might receive from this arrangement.  He isn't seeking honor for himself, but rather is seeking to serve these visitors.
  I don't have a heart like this.  I'm often so focused on whether or not someone else's needs might be an imposition on me.  I wonder what I might get out of such a visit.  I'm focused on me, and if I serve someone else in the meantime, that's great.
  It's a different mindset Abraham carries, to think of the other first.  I pray for a softer heart, one not so focused on myself, so that I might begin to see others with the same selfless love.

Genesis 15:1-6

Genesis 15:1-6
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

 Faith often requires us to believe something that seems at odds with the evidence in the world around us.  For example, our faith calls us to love selflessly, which would seem like a very strange thing to do, considering that being selfish could make us better off financially, as well as keeping us from having too many other people make demands of us that could be emotionally costly.  Also, faith calls us to love deeply, which requires vulnerability, which could lead us to being hurt later on.  Faith calls for us to not put ourselves first, instead seeking to think of others before ourselves.
  Faith asks all this of us and more.  The promises we get in return are vastly more than we give up, but many of them cannot be seen, touched or heard.  Some of them come beyond the veil of death, a barrier around which we cannot peer.  God makes promises, and his track record of keeping promises is perfect, but we can look around and find conflicts that might make us wonder about God's reliability.
  Abraham believed, and the short-term sacrifices he made led him to a place where he realized the blessings of God and was astounded at all that God was doing.
  May we share the same belief, trusting in God to lead us forward into the abundant life.

Genesis 12:10-20

Genesis 12:10-20
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

  Sometimes, I really don't understand the Bible.  What was God doing, sending Abraham to Egypt to fool the king?  Was it only to enrich Abraham's wealth?  Was it to teach Abraham a further lesson about depending on God alone?
  I read a lot, and sometimes the unfurling of a plot is confusing.  There are times, especially in mysteries, when a paragraph or page or chapter seems designed to further cloud my mind.  I grow frustrated, wanting to understand everything, wishing I had some ability to see through the clouds so that I wouldn't have to wait to grasp the full meaning.
  The same is true in my life.  I often grow weary of not fully understanding the cause and effect of life's events.  What is the purpose of this, I wonder?  Why can I not fully grasp the meaning here?  (And what soon follows is my questioning God's goodness if I cannot understand the action!)  Where is God, and what is he doing?
  Patience and trust do not come easily to me, but God hasn't given up on me yet.  God is teaching me about slow trust, about taking life one day at a time, about the importance of understanding my role in our relationship -- God is God, and I am not.
  I don't see clearly yet, but someday, I shall, and in the meantime, I'm working to trust that it is enough.

Genesis 12:1-9

Genesis 12:1-9
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

  Think about the risk of starting over.  You have to leave behind almost everything you know in a time and place where tradition and family mean everything.  You leave this behind to enter a foreign land as an alien, with only a promise from an unseen God to lead your way.
  Do you trust enough to do this?
  Trust is a hard thing to measure -- it's easy to discuss, but we only really know when we trust someone when we're asked to do something hard, something difficult, and we're willing to do it.  It's easy to trust when there are no demands.  It's much harder when the world is asked of you.
  This is why it's critical to build a relationship with God throughout your whole life.  Trust is built in the day in and day out of a relationship.  It's built in small moments, over time, so that when the relationship is tested, when much is asked, we discover that trust is there.  Trust doesn't appear in a moment, but shows up over a lifetime, so that when God sends you to a new place, you go, trusting that the God who has always shown up will continue to do so.
  May we lean into God today, building that relationship, so that when storms come, we will discover that we have enough trust in God to continue to depend on him.

Genesis 11:1-9

Genesis 11:1-9
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

  What is the ultimate object of your life?
  Here in the story of Babel, we find a group of people who believed that glorifying themselves was the highest and best use of their lives.  Their energy and their intelligence was channeled to this one central objective:  making the most of themselves.  Surely there could be no one else worthy of such an effort that could consume a life.  Their tower would not only be a monument to their great wisdom and achievement, but it would stand to remind all those surrounding them of their superiority.
  This is folly, of course, but it doesn't stop us from pursuing the same path.  We invest our energy and our life in building temporary monuments to ourselves.  We place ourselves at the center of our life, thinking that we have to get everything we can out of this life, that all of our life should be directed toward bringing pleasure and enjoying to ourselves.  How many advertisements have you seen feed this, promising to help you wring every ounce out of life?
  It's good to enjoy this life, but we need to remember our place, too.  We are created beings with a Creator who loves us.  We owe our ultimate loyalty not to ourselves, but to God.  We exist because he has made us, and we exist to bring him glory.  We can do this through enjoying our life and expressing gratitude for our gifts by using them, but the ultimate goal is not to make much of us.  God promises that if we make much of him, we will share in the eternal glory of Christ forever.

  What is a better object than that?

Genesis 9:18-28

Genesis 9:18-28
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

  This story, more than many Biblical stories, reminds me of how broken we are as people.  Noah of all people should know the consequences of sin, and he should be driven to avoid it.  But some time after the flood, when things have grown comfortable and that memory of the flood has faded, he finds himself in his tent, drunk and naked...
  In short, Noah forgot.  He forgot about how near temptation is, and he forgot about how dangerous sin can be.
  I've done this.  I grow comfortable, and I think I can handle temptation.  I grow comfortable, and I forget about all that Christ has done for me.  I allow other things in life to interfere with my relationship with God, and my spiritual life loses its sense of urgency, of intimacy.  When this happens, I don't rush out and make hundreds of rash decisions, but when I make decisions, I often don't consider the full weight of it.  I stop wondering what God would have me do in that situation, and I just do what I want.
  So let us rise each morning and let God's grace wash over us, renewing us.  May we be amazed, each day, at the glories of God's love.  May we constantly give thanks for Christ's sacrifice for us, and may we strive in all our moments to choose the path that best brings glory to God.

Genesis 9:1-17

Genesis 9:1-17
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

  After the flood comes the blessing.
  We might expect God to spend time lecturing Noah on how to live.  It could be expected that God would have a big list of things for Noah immediately after he exits the ark in the hopes of preventing the world from turning sour again.  Instead, God pours forth blessings, telling Noah to go forth.
  However, the world has also changed.  Animals are now given for humans to control, and to eat.  Animals will fear humans.  The relationship is different.
  When we go through major trials in life, we come out different.  Our relationships are not the same.  Some are stronger and deeper, while others have faded away, and have revealed themselves not to be reliable.  Life changes as we go along.
  But through it all, the promise of God remains.  God is a promise keeper, and so we can trust in God to be reliable, to be trustworthy.  No matter what, we can lean into the promises of God, trusting that he will care for us, that he will abide with us, that he will never leave us or forsake us.  In the deepest challenges of life, God will be with us, and he will continue to bless us when they conclude.

Genesis 8:20-22

Genesis 8:20-22
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

  So God makes a promise that we will carry forward in spite of our sin.  The earth will continue to move in cycles, and we will make our home in it, not having to fear God's reprisal for sin falling down on us.
  Later on, God makes a way for us through sin.  This way is not through another flood, but through Christ.  This transitions us from a people living in sin to a people living in hope.  While Noah didn't have to fear God's destruction falling again, there wasn't a way forward through sin.  That comes in Christ, the faithful Son who makes a path forward, who creates a way back into right relationship with God.
  While we wish there would never have needed to be a flood, we can rejoice that God didn't stop at merely saving us from earthly destruction -- in Christ, God provides an eternal home for us.

Genesis 8:13-19

Genesis 8:13-19
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

  Not a bad adventure for a 600 year old, right?
  Whenever I see this depicted by artists, it usually is a beautiful, serene setting where the trees are blooming and the sun is shining and the animals peacefully wander off.
  These artists have clearly never seen the aftereffects of a flood.
  It's unlikely that everything would have been perfect, that the trees would have weathered the months of flooding well.  There would have been mud everywhere.  The animals would probably rush in a mad dash to get away from the ark (and the tigers and lions and other carnivorous creatures!).
  In short, the conclusion to this story may not have been as picturesque as we imagine it.
  But life is like that, isn't it?  Even when we endure a trial, it's usually tough to recover, and it takes time.  We wait.  We heal.  We remember what we have gone through, and we're grateful to have endured it, and the process to put our lives back together is long and complex, and it's often not easy.  To do this on our own is extra challenging.
  So we, as the community of believers who love one another, need to rally around those who are going through trials and think about how best to support them.  We care for one another, pray for one another, feed one another.  We think not of ourselves, but how our resources can best serve the community.  We humbly submit ourselves to serve, to wash one another's feet, to cheer and encourage one another.
  It's exhausting at times.  It is demanding.  But the Lord has charged us to care for one another in such a way that the early church community attracted believers through the radical, selfless love they demonstrated for one another.
  May we love as richly.

Genesis 8:1-12

Genesis 8:1-12
Contemporary English Version (CEV) 

  Can you imagine the elation in that boat when it was evident that this trial was over?  Surely there were long periods where Noah and his family wondered if there would be any reprieve from their watery journey.  Surely, they wondered if God had indeed forgotten about them.
  So often, when we look back on this time, we do so with stories intended for children that make it seem so simple.  In the midst of it, though, it must have been tremendously complex and difficult for the people involved.  We know now that God led them through it, but I wonder if they didn't doubt whether or not they would make it through.
  When we face our own trials, we surely doubt at times whether or not we will make it through.  We wonder whether God is still with us, whether God has forgotten about us, whether there is hope for us beyond the trial.  In the midst, it is sometimes hard to lift our eyes from the trial we are facing.
  God never forgets us, never abandons us.  Biblical characters before us have endured, and they have been able to look back and see how God was at work throughout their trials.  May we take comfort in the ever-present reality and nearness of God, and may we draw hope from the fact that in Christ, we shall always overcome.