Year 8, Day 286: Psalms 149-150

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It’s only fitting that the book of psalms ends with two psalms of praise.  If the book of psalms are the Lord’s Greatest Hits book, then it should end with words that bring glory to His name.  Life, our very human existence, is best lived when our very being brings Him glory.

We’ve grown accustomed to psalmists speaking about the various things that give God praise.  In this set of psalms we have a focus on musical instruments.  We hear about trumpets and cymbals and lutes and harps and tambourines.  I can only imagine the symphony of sound the psalmist imagines as he pens these words.  The words, though, make sense.  These instruments would all be useful in bringing praise to the Lord.

Naturally, we also have the human element in the praise.  The humans play the instruments.  The humans give their bodies up in dance.  The very breath of the humans is spent in giving praise to the Lord.

In all of these images that make sense, there is a unique image to be found.  Psalm 149:6 call for more than just psalms of praise to be in the throats of the faithful.  This psalm calls for double-edged swords to be in the hands of the faithful to execute judgment upon the nations.  It’s an interesting concept to pair psalm and sword.

How do these ideas fit together?  Remember that the subject of the praise is a perfect and righteous God.  He is a perfect and righteous God who executes justice upon the nations.  He is the only one righteous enough to be the judge!  It makes sense, then, that the faithful would be the hands and feet of such judgment.  This brings out a neat point.  We are not the righteous judge.  We are the servants who praise the righteous judge.  He is the judge, not us.  We praise Him.  We act upon His desires.  In all this we remember that we are ourselves not the judge.

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Year 8, Day 285: Psalm 148

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Clearly, Psalm 148 is about praising the Lord.  I didn’t count how many times the words “praise the Lord” are in the psalm, but it is a good many times!  It’s rather difficult to miss the point of this psalm.

This year, as I read through it today, I noticed something remarkable.  The order of this psalm is very reminiscent of Genesis 1:1.  The heavenly beings praise God.  The stars praise God.  The waters below and the heavens praise God.  The see creatures praise God.  The mountains and the dry land praise God.  The plants praise God.  The creatures praise God.

Only as we approach the end of the psalm do we hear about humanity giving praise to God.  This is quite reminiscent to the creation account, where the human beings come very close to the end of the story.  Where we are in the psalm, though, is irrelevant.  What matters is that humanity is called to praise God.  We are a part of creation as we give glory to our creator.

When the psalm talks about humanity, I love what it says.  Common and lordly people alike are called to praise God.  Young and old are called to praise God.  The call to give glory to God goes out to all creation, and all humanity within that.

As with most psalms of praise, it is important to remember the purpose of the psalm.  We are to praise God.  He is the one worthy of our praise.  He is the one who lifts us up.  He is the one who calls us out of the ways of the world.  We, the creation, gives praise to Him, our creator.

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Year 8, Day 284: Psalm 147

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Psalm 147 is another psalm of praise.  I was listening to a speaker today, and he was commenting on favorite songs.  He made a comment that Psalms might be considered as God’s favorites playlist.  With as many psalms of praise as can be found, I’m inclined to agree with him.

Why shouldn’t God be praised?  He is our provider.  He gathers the outcasts.  He binds up our wounds.  He is the creator.  He blesses us with future generations.  He controls the weather.  Is there anything that God cannot do?  Is there any reason He should not be praised?

What I love most about this psalm, though, is the description about what the Lord loves most.  The Bible clearly says that He isn’t impressed by animalistic or even human strength.  What He loves is someone who fears Him.  He takes pleasure in those who put their hope in Him.

That’s powerful for me.  I’m not the most flamboyant person.  It’s easy for me to get lost in the crowd – except for my height.  I don’t do well in large crowds.  I’m not the most athletic of people.  There are better theologians out there – and better mathematicians, too.  It’s easy to feel rather unnoteworthy on a daily basis.  But then I hear what God loves.  It’s within my grasp to fear Him.  It’s within my grasp to put my hope in Him.  I might not be remarkable, but I can put my hope in Him and bring pleasure to my God in doing so.

Thanks be to God!

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Year 8, Day 283: Psalm 146

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Psalm 146 gives an interesting point to ponder.  We should put our trust in God and not in other people.  On the surface, this makes sense.  I find the challenge, though, when I look a little deeper and actually ponder if it is true in my life.

Please don’t misunderstand me.  I genuinely do believe that salvation comes only from God.  Eternal life is a gift received only through His hand and purchased by His blood.  There is no doubt in my mind from where eternal life comes.

Looking past eternal life, though, I wonder if I do give off any indications of looking to somewhere other than God.  For example, I am currently staring a hurricane in the face.  It’s easy for me to pay lip service to trusting God, but I can’t help but wonder just how much trust I am actually putting in my house.  Yes, God provides my house for me.  But, I think that’s the trick.  I need to remember that my house is simply God’s provision.  My house won’t keep me safe during the hurricane, God will.  God may use my house in the process, but it is still God.

As another example, take my job.  I use my paychecks to buy things like food, clothing, insurance, gasoline, transportation, utilities, etc.  It is easy to think of my job as being the source of my life.  Again, though, is it not God who provided my job for me?  Is my job the source of my life or is it God?

In the end, I need to be diligent about not confusing God with the person or thing God is using in my life.  There is nothing wrong with having a mentor.  There is nothing wrong with someone helping out another person when they are in a rough spot in life.  There is nothing wrong with getting a paycheck and using it to buy things in life.  But in all of these things, it is important to note that God is the true source of each of these things.  God provides.  God gives love we can share with one another.  God is the source of our life.

As the psalmist says, He is the one who rescues.  He is the one who saves.  He is the one who provides.  He loves.  He watches over us.  It is God who deserves our praise.

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Year 8, Day 282: Psalm 145

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I’m reminded today of a great truth.  God is the power behind the workings of the world.  His mercy is all over creation, as the psalm says.  He is gracious and slow to anger.  He is faithful, upholding those who have fallen.  He provides our daily needs.  He preserves those who love Him.

In this, God invites us to work with Him.  While there are many ways to do the work of the Lord, there is one thing that is greater than all the rest.  As this psalm says, one generation proclaims the works of the Lord to the next.  While we are His hands and feet, the reality is that God can move mountains on His own should He desire.  What we can do well is to be a living testimony for the works of the Lord.  We can make sure that people are given the opportunity to see God’s hand in the events around them.

Don’t get me wrong.  Jesus Himself teaches that if God’s people keep silent that God can make the rocks cry out on His behalf.  God doesn’t need us to be His testimony.  It is, however, the greatest part we can play in His work.  We lift up the greatness of the Lord to the world around us.

It is right for us to join David’s sentiment in the end of this psalm.  We should praise the Lord.  We should be a part of our generation’s participation in blessing the name of the Lord forever.

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Year 8, Day 281: Psalm 144

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I love the way that David starts this psalm.  The Lord is David’s rock.  It is the Lord who trains David.  It is the Lord who gives him strength.  It is the Lord who rescues David and provides a fortress about him.  David places his faith completely in the Lord.

I also love the introspectiveness that this brings about.  Look at where this leads David.  “What is man that you are mindful of him?”  Human beings are here and then gone.  We live for a short time and then we hand life over to the next generation.

This is unlike God.  God was here for all the generations before us.  He is still here.  He will be there for all the generations after us.  He is consistent and true.

This brings me back to where I started – well, David, really.  What are human beings that God thinks about us?  Why would an infinite God care for such a temporal being?  Why does God give us His attention and His care?

The reality is that God does all of this because He desires relationship.  He knows that we are flawed.  He knows that our lifespans are measured in such short lengths.  He knows that He has to continually start over generation after generation.  He also knows that His perspective is better than ours.  While we wonder why He does it – because we can’t see what’s in it for Him – He already knows the value.  His priorities are different.  He is holy, meaning that He finds value in things differently than we do.

There is another dimension at work, too.  While we only know the temporal life, God knows the eternal.  He has a plan for us to know the eternal, too.  God desires to bring us into eternal life with Him.  This is why He wants relationship.  His perspective allows Him to find value in something that is completely unlike Him.  Rather than look down on creation, God tries to lift us up to His level.  Rather than see us as minions to be used and forgotten, He invites us into His work.  Rather than see us as we view ants or cattle, God desires to call us His sons and daughters.  What an inspiring reality to which we have been invited!

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Year 8, Day 280: Psalm 143

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Psalm 143, like most psalms of David, give us a great glimpse into the life of the human being.  David is a great case study because he seldom felt the need to have a façade.  His life is borne out – for the good and the bad – in his psalms.  There are several great points to highlight.

First, look at where David is.  He begins and ends with his humanity.  He is in a rough spot in life.  He is being persecuted.  He feels like there are traps all around him.  He has been crushed and has been made to feel like he is dead.  There is no shame in admitting one’s place in life.  In fact, the road to healing usually begins with admitting one’s reality.

Second, I love what David does with this knowledge.  David admits that his circumstance hasn’t exactly made him into the best representative of God’s ways.  David specifically asks not to be judged.  He doesn’t want to be judged because he knows what the verdict would be!  I love that David is willing to admit the connection between his circumstances and his attitude.  Bad circumstances typically make for a bad attitude.

Third, David takes this realization and goes forward into a place of health.  If He his circumstances are making it hard to be in God’s ways, He needs to be retaught.  He asks God to teach him again.  He asks God to lead him.  He does not allow the depth of his current situation to stop him from seeing what his reality could be.

Finally, I love that in the end the focus is upon God.  Life is for the Lord’s sake.  Life is a demonstration of the Lord’s love.  We are ultimately His servants, not the other way around.

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Year 8, Day 279: Psalms 141-142

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Psalm 141 contains a very memorable image for me.  “Let my prayers rise up as incense before you.”  Part of why it is memorable is because I am highly allergic to incense.  If a person lights incense in my presence, I need to leave the room as soon as possible or my chest tightens and it becomes quite hard to breathe.  Fortunately, it’s never been life threatening; but it is an experience.

That being said, it is still not a negative image for me.  I know that incense fills the room.  It seeps into every nook and cranny.  The scent lingers upon those who are in the room.  There is no escape from incense.  It is very comforting to think of my prayers as incense, lingering before God and filling His presence.  It is an image that is very helpful in times when I feel alone and cast aside.  If my prayers are like incense before God, then I am in His presence as He promises I will be.

Before leaving the psalm, there is a challenge in verse 5 that should not be overlooked.  The psalmist says that it is a kindness to be struck by a righteous man and his rebuke is like oil upon the head.  While it certainly makes sense to consider righteous the correction of the righteous, I wonder how often we do actually feel that way.  Correction is hard to take.  Rebuke seldom feels good in the morning.  Yet it is good for us.  We should welcome the rebuke of the righteous.

Turning to Psalm 142 gives another psalm of David.  Once more we hear David crying out to the Lord because he is being persecuted and he does not want to be forgotten or abandoned.  It would seem like David would have benefitted from hearing His own words in Psalm 141.  Here he feels forgotten, in the last psalm he prayed that his prayers would be like incense.

I love the contrast in these psalms.  It is so good to see humanity.  In one moment, David is close to God.  In another moment a later, David feels forgotten and overlooked.  Human beings are emotional beings who change with our surroundings and our circumstances.  We have highs and lows.  It is simply what it means to be human.

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Year 8, Day 278: Psalms 139-140

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Reading these two psalms for todays give multiple perspectives on confidence.  There are things about which we can be sure.  A famous saying says that “the only guarantee in life is death and taxes,” but these particular psalms seems to argue the point.  There are guarantees beyond death and taxes.

For example, there is the guarantee that we cannot reach a place that God cannot find us.  He’s in the light.  He’s in the darkness.  He can be found in both heaven and the place of the dead!  He’s in the deepest places in the earth.  God can reach us wherever we are.  That’s a wonderful promise!

Furthermore, there is the guarantee that God knows us better than we know ourselves.  Before we speak, He knows the words upon our lips.  He knitted us together in the womb; He knows our entire person.  He knows our days even before we live them.  There is nothing about us the God does not already know.

Another guarantee in life is that there will be people who oppose us.  There will be those who continually speak our name with venom on their lips.  There will be people with evil intent towards us upon their hearts.  There will be those who desire our downfall.  Evil is all around.

This guarantee is countered by a fourth great guarantee.  The Lord can oppose the wicked.  He will maintain the cause of the afflicted.  He knows justice and can see that it happens.  He is the strength of our salvation.  He knows our pleas for mercy.  We can count on His name.

The truth is that there are many things that we can know will happen.  The greatest of these guarantees in life is that God is there for us.  He will know us, walk with us, and place His shield over us when we walk with Him and in His ways.

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Year 8, Day 277: Psalms 137-138

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Psalm 138 sings the praises of the Lord.  He is gracious to us.  He is our provision.  He is our shelter.  He answers us when we call to Him.  He gives us purpose.  He and His love endures.

We have reason to praise Him.  He does all of these things for us, especially when we are undeserving.  He is exalted above all other things.  There is a reason that we gather to praise Him instead of other things.  He is most deserving of our attention, our praise, and our focus.

This is what makes Psalm 138 a neat psalm.  Clearly this psalm is written in the time that the Hebrew people are in exile under Babylon.  Here the people have been puled away from their promise because of their lack of faithfulness.  They understand consequences perhaps like no other generation of Hebrew people before or after them.  They are living through the time of their punishment.

In spite of this, the psalmist does not reject God.  In fact, the psalmist begins by giving praise to God.  There is incredible maturity in this sentiment.

How easy it would be to harbor anger against God, especially in the midst of punishment.  How many people grow bitter and angry while being chastised!  Not this psalmist.  He mourns for what is not.  He mourns for what could be.  Yet he gives praise for what is.  God has not abandoned them; He is simply chastising them!

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Year 8, Day 276: Psalms 135-136

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Psalm 135 is clearly a psalm of praise.  How many times does the psalmist say “praise the Lord” or “bless the Lord?”  The psalmist is encouraging us to recognize the Lord’s greatness.

The question is, “why is the Lord great?”  I love the line in this psalm that says, “The Lord does what He wants.”  In humanity, this trait is a bad thing.  Among human beings, this would lead to self-centered behavior.  The Lord, however, can do whatever He wants because His nature is righteousness.  When the Lord does what He desires, the result is good.  It is good for Him and for us.

He makes the sun rise.  He makes the rain fall.  He makes the wind blow.  He chastises the nations.  He causes other nations to excel.  He gives us our true heritage.

He is God, and He is good.  He does what He desires because what He desires is inherently righteous.  He isn’t being self-centered, He is making sure that the world can see Him and His ways.

In the following psalm, we have nearly a mirror image of psalm 135.  Over and over again we are reminded to give thanks to the Lord.  We see the same references to the Lord’s greatness because of the Exodus and conquest of the Promised Land.  The psalmist’s point is clear.  We need to remember to give thanks to the Lord because of His work over us.

While we might not all have been a part of the Exodus, who among us has God not rescued?  While we might not all have been saved in the Red Sea from the Egyptians, who among us has not been saved from his enemies?  While we might not all have been fed manna from heaven, who among us has not participated in God’s provision?

Our stories may not be lifted up in scripture for all to remember, but we have all been touched by God.  His fingerprints are on us all.  We should give thanks, for His steadfast loves endures forever. 

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Year 8, Day 275: Psalms 133-134

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Psalm 133 gives us a great truth.  How wonderful it is when people dwell in peace!  There are some profound consequences of this statement.

• People who dwell in peace tend to laugh and enjoy one another’s company.  Isn’t it far better to laugh and look forward to one another’s company than to argue and loathe on another?
• People who dwell in peace tend to share resources and look out for one another.  Isn’t it better to look out for one another than to always look over one’s shoulder to make sure that one’s stuff is protected?
• People at peace tend to celebrate with one another.  Isn’t it better to celebrate with one another than to look on with envy?

There are good reasons to remain at peace.  There are great reasons to celebrate when we are at peace.  Peace is something that should be sought after and treasured, much like the psalmist is doing here.

In Psalm 134, we hear a generic call to bless the Lord.  One of the things that I love about this psalm is that although it is short it shows us a great relationship between ourselves and the Lord.  We bless the Lord.  We lift up our hands and praise His name.

We are not alone in our blessing, though.  The Lord blesses us from heaven.  It is easy to see this as the Lord blessing us in return because the words of the Lord blessing us follow the call for us to come and bless Him.  However, this is not usually the case.  The Lord blesses us.  He grants us His peace, grace, and mercy all the time.  His blessing surrounds us and envelops us.  The truth is that when we lift our hands and bless His name, we are doing so in the midst of His blessing that He is pouring out upon us.

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Year 8, Day 274: Psalms 131-132

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These two psalms are spoken both from a stance of grief.  In the first psalm, we have a psalmist who is downcast.  The psalmist is trying to not seem haughty or proud.  He is trying to set attainable goals for himself.  He is trying to have reasonable aspirations.  In all things, this psalmist seems to be trying to be rational in life.  He has quieted His soul. 

What is the benefit of this?  The psalmist is in a place of understanding that salvation comes from the Lord.  He is our hope when we look at life through rational eyes.

In the second psalm, we have a psalm in which the psalmist seems to be trying to rouse the Lord.  The psalmist attempts to remind the Lord about His covenant.  The psalmist is attempting to bring the Lord out of His hiding and lift up His priests in glory as He comes forth.  The psalmist desires to remind the Lord about His promise of provision.  The psalmist wants to remind the Lord about His promise for a king of Judah to remain upon the throne.

There is an interesting quote in the middle of this psalm.  The psalmist remembers the condition of the covenant.  So long as the people remember the Lord and walk in His ways, God promised to adhere to all of these things.  This is the rub of the psalm.  Are the people walking in the ways of the Lord?  Are the people remembering the Lord?

There are many answers to this.  The people could be rebelling and the psalmist may be speaking in sorrow.  The people could be repenting and the psalmist is reminding the Lord of His promise.  The psalmist could be teaching and reminding the people the importance of staying in the Lord.

In the end, the lesson here is important to learn.  God has promised us many things.  He has promised us life.  He has promised us provision.  He has promised us protection.  In return, He desires that we listen to Him and abide in His ways.  He will walk with us, but He desires that we also walk with Him.

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Year 8, Day 273: Psalms 129-130

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This pair of psalms for today give us insight into the relationship between God and His followers.  In each psalmist we hear about their position and the current position of God.  In each case, there is a plea for response.

In the first case, we have a victim.  The psalmist feels persecuted and asks God to intervene.  The psalmist longs for when it will be said that the Lord has cut the strings of the oppressors.  The psalmist knows that his salvation resides in the Lord.

The psalmist goes further, though.  He asks that the wicked be put to shame.  He longs for the time when they will wither up and die.  I can really understand the psalmist here and know what it is like to long for the destruction of those who persecute me.  I give the psalmist credit, too.  The psalmist knows that such a judgment is best handed out by a righteous God and not an emotional human being.  That’s an important lesson to learn.

In the second psalm, we have a psalmist who gives us the feeling of knowing some guilt.  I love the phrase in Psalm 130:3.  If the Lord should mark our iniquities, who could stand?  If the Lord only cared for punishing our guilt, we would all feel the weight of such judgment.  Who among us is not guilty?

Our hope is in the fact that God cares about forgiveness more than He cares about judgment.  He knows that we must be held responsible, but He also realizes that we should be given the option of not being crushed under the weight of such judgment.  Our hope, as the psalmist says, in in the forgiveness of the Lord.

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Year 8, Day 272: Psalms 126-128

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These three psalms form an interesting trio.  The first psalm speaks about when the Lord restored the fortunes of the nation.  The people were happy for obvious reasons.  They went from a life of misery and anxiousness to a life of certainly and stability.  It is good to live in the provision of the Lord.

What’s important to note about this psalm is that it truly is about the greatness of God.  When people se the fortunes of Zion restored, they know that the credit goes to the Lord.  This is significant.  While it is certainly good to go from misfortune to good fortune, it is more significant that such a change comes from the Lord.  When the circumstances of our life are good, the Lord deserves the praise.

Psalm 127 gives us the reason for this.  Unless the Lord builds the house and watches over the city, the building and watching is done in vain.  We can build our own thing.  Usually, however, such building is either done for the wrong reasons or the happiness that comes from it is fleeting.  The best way to live is when the Lord is the source of the life.  Then the life is fulfilling.  This is why the Lord deserves the credit.  The best life comes from Him anyways.

Psalm 128 comes in with a great conclusion to the thought of the earlier two psalms.  This psalm gives us the result of such life.  When the Lord is the source of life, we are blessed.  Our families are focused and able to support one another.  Our children learn to live life with a good ethic and morality.  Our communities are stronger and more united. 

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Year 8, Day 271: Psalms 124-125

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The Lord is good.  That clearly is the theme of these two chapters for this day.  In fact, that likely understates the theme of the chapters.  The Lord is more than Good.  He is our salvation, in more ways than one.

After all, if the Lord is not on our side, would not the world devour us?  How many of us in the world are capable of keeping ourselves from being devoured?  Could not the powerful and influential destroy any of us on a whim if they so desired?  The truth of life is that most of us could be undone and the majority of the world would not bat an eye.

There is someone who would care, though.  The Lord would care.  The Lord does care.  He watches over us.  He puts us in the vicinity of those who would protect us.  He leads us to those who can mentor us and guide us.  He leads us in His ways and teaches us to abide in His protection.  Our help is in the Lord, because He has made the earth and understands His creation perfectly.

I love the image offered up to us in Psalm 125.  As mountains surround Jerusalem, so does God’s protection surround us.  It’s well known that Jerusalem’s greatest defense was its geography.  It is nigh impossible to assault without building massive ramps to alleviate the geography.  This is a tremendous image to consider when thinking about God’s protection over us.  God’s protection is insurmountable.  God’s protection is through.  God’s protection is profound.

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Year 8, Day 270: Psalms 122-123

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At first these psalms seem to be at odds with one another.  Psalm 122 seems to be a psalm of joy and excitement about coming to God.  Psalm 123 seems to be a psalm of desperation as the psalmist pleads with God to do something about their circumstance.  On the surface, these psalms are opposite in tone.

However, look more closely at the point of these psalms.  Psalm 122 ends with a plea to pray.  We are to pray for peace.  We are to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.  We are to pray for peace among our spiritual brothers and sisters.  We are to pray for peace within God’s Holy city.  We are to pray for the house of the Lord and its peace.

An interesting question is raised when we look at these words.  Why would psalmist encourage us to pray for peace?  The psalmist encourages us to pray for peace because he knows what the alternative is.  If we don’t have peace, we have strife.  If we don’t have peace, we are in turmoil.  If we don’t have peace we have neighbors fighting with neighbors, brothers fighting with sisters, and nations fighting within themselves.  We pray for peace, because the alternative is not a place in which we want to dwell.

That brings us to Psalm 123.  There is a line in psalm 123 that haunts me every time I read it.  “Have mercy upon us, Lord, because we have had more than enough of contempt.”  Psalm 123 is the embodiment of that which Psalm 122 is asking us to pray against!  Psalm 122 asks us to pray for peace because the psalmist knows that the people who wrote psalm 123 are not enjoying life at all!

It is difficult to live in a life of contempt.  It is difficult to always feel like you need to be looking over your shoulder.  It is difficult to live feeling like you are under scrutiny or attack.  It is difficult to not know peace.

We should take the advice of Psalm 122 serious.  Pray for peace.  Pray for people to get along.  Pray for people to not want to harm one another.  Pray hard, people of God, because it is far to easy to get more than our fair share of contempt.

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Year 8, Day 269: John 21

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Today we have another reaction to the resurrection.  The disciples go to fish.  Here is another completely normal reaction.  They don’t know what else to do, so they go fishing.  It’s possible to be critical of them.  I’ve even been critical of them in the past!  But in truth, they still didn’t understand.  Not knowing what to do, they go fishing.

Regardless of the opinion of the disciple’s choice to go fishing, there is something that is for sure.  When they recognize Jesus at work, they react.  Peter throws himself into the lake, attempting to get to Jesus.  He leaves the rest of the disciples to deal with the fish, but they manage.  Soon they are having a breakfast of fish with the Lord.

There’s an interesting point here.  The disciples go about life, waiting to see the Lord at work.  When they see it, they leap at the chance to be with Jesus.  The disciples don’t force God’s hand, the wait about patiently for the door to open.  They have the patience to wait for the Lord to lead.  They are content to go fishing while they figure it out.

This is a neat point to ponder.  How often do we force the Lord’s hand?  How often are we afraid to spend a season – or even a day – just fishing while we wait upon the Lord?  How many times do we go out and do our own will and call it the Lord’s will because we feel that we should be doing something?  Perhaps the Lord wants us simply to go fishing until He calls us to work in His wisdom.

This is how the Gospel of John ends.  Jesus tells Peter to feed His sheep.  He also tells Peter to not worry about the plans He has for the other disciple.  In other words, Jesus is telling Peter to just tend to His life and wait for the Lord to invite him into ministry.  Invite He will, too.  In the book of Acts we hear just what God will ask of Peter.  But for the time being, it’s a simple life of fishing and tending the flock for Peter.

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Year 8, Day 268: John 20

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I find people’s reactions to the resurrection very interesting.  Some are predictable. Others are emotionally driven.  Some are rather ordinary.  What’s neat is that nobody is the same.

Mary comes to the tomb first.  Look at her reaction.  She runs away and goes and gets help.  Specifically, she turns to Peter.  She doesn’t understand, so she turns to someone else to help try and make sense of the situation.

Peter, and the disciple that Jesus loved – who I think is Lazarus, runs to the tomb.  Peter arrives second, but he goes into the tomb first.  The two disciples see the linen clothes and assess the situation.  They don’t understand.  At the same time, everything seems to be in order.  They head off to their homes, content in their seeing but not perceiving.

Mary now turns to the garden and starts to cry.  She ran for help, but the help she got wasn’t much help at all.  She stands, weeping.  She spots more people near where she is crying and begins to ask.  In all of her emotion, Mary is at least still trying to seek the truth.  Jesus meets her and tells her to go back to the disciples – who, mind you, are still headed back home – and give them further instruction.

Jesus then appears to a gathering of His disciples.  We are told in other gospels that they were afraid, fearing that they were seeing a ghost.  In John’s gospel, we are simply told that Jesus shows them the wounds of the crucifixion.  They are pacified and accept the reality of the resurrection.  It all seems so humdrum and normal with the disciples.  Of course, they probably have already heard from Mary that she saw Jesus.

Unfortunately, Thomas is not with them.  Thomas’ reaction is interesting.  He stubbornly declares that unless he gets the same experience he will not believe.  I personally think that this has more to do with his stubbornness – or perhaps jealousy – than his actual faith.  After all, if the people you are closest to tell about a common experience, you tend to believe them.  But Thomas wants the experience for himself.  Rather than celebrate Jesus’ resurrection, he digs in his heels and puts on a great pout.  Naturally, though, Jesus meets him where he is and gives him the experience that he wants.

Look at these reactions.  We have people who take the events in stride.  We have emotional people.  We have pouters and disbelievers.  Humanity’s reaction to the resurrection is as varied as there are people to hear about it.  What I love, though, is that Jesus meets people where they are.

To Mary, He meets her amidst her tears.  To Peter and the other disciple, He sends Mary into their normalcy.  To Thomas, He gives him what he wants.  The death and resurrection changes our relationship with God.  While it also changes us, it does it far more incrementally and gradually.  Jesus meets us where we are before beginning the process of effecting change within.

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Year 8, Day 267: John 19

Theological Commentary: Click Here

This chapter is the crux of the story.  It is here that we find the moment for which Jesus came.  He was arrested in the last chapter.  He is tried and crucified in this chapter.  The death of God is the sacrifice that can redeem all of humanity.  I still find it odd that instead of God condemning humanity for killing His own Son that He would instead see it as forgiveness.  As odd as that sounds, I am immensely grateful.

There are more oddities in this story.  First, look at Pilate.  He has Jesus flogged, beaten, and dressed in purple.  The rest of the story he seeks to release Him because Pilate can find no fault in Jesus.  Why does Pilate behave this way?  There are a couple of reasons, and I don’t believe we can be certain which is the truest of them all.  First, power does corrupt.  Pilate might simply be making a statement about his power.  However, we know that the relationship between the Jews and the Romans was not good.  Pilate might see this as an opportunity to irritate the Jewish leaders.  Either way, Pilate acts oddly considering that he finds Jesus innocent of the charges.

Furthermore, look at the level to which the religious leaders must go in order to get Jesus crucified.  They yell that they have no king but Caesar.  The very irritant that they were looking for the Messiah to abolish is that which they must shout in order to kill the Son of God.  How odd it is that human beings will say anything to get what they  want.

Then we have the behavior of Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea.  Here are two extraordinarily upstanding Jews.  At the moment of Passover – the holiest of days in the Jewish calendar – they voluntarily go out and touch a dead body and in doing so make themselves unable to partake in Passover.  These two Jewish leaders would rather honor Jesus than partake in the Passover.  That’s an odd act that makes quite the clear point as to their true allegiances.

In the end, I think it is a fitting set of stories.  An encounter with Jesus brings about odd behavior.  Sensible people often act insensibly when they come in contact with God.  Some people lash out angrily.  Other people are overcome with thanksgiving and generosity.  Some turn in hatred.  Others reach out in inexplicable love.  When we meet God, our true self comes out.  Which will be my response?

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Year 8, Day 266: John 18

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Thematically speaking, this is an awesome chapter of the Bible.  We see example, counterexample, and even end with an enticing question to draw out an incredible theme.  What is the theme?  The will of the Father.

Look at Jesus.  He knew what Judas was doing.  To make the task easier, Jesus went to where He always goes.  Jesus makes Judas job as easy as possible, because He is focused on accomplishing the will of the Father.

Furthermore, we hear Jesus before the rulers.  He does not deny being Jesus.  He does not deny what He taught.  He concedes all of these points because He knows what truth is and that the Father is on the side of truth.  His eyes are on the will of the Father.  His strength comes through doing the work of the Lord.

As a counterexample, look at Peter.  In the middle of the arrest of Jesus, Peter incites violence by cutting off the ear of someone opposing Jesus.  When asked about His relationship with Jesus, he denies the truth.  Peter isn’t focused on the will of the Father, he’s focused on his own survival.  To be fair, I don’t truly believe that Peter even understands what God is up to, so I can’t really blame Peter for His actions.  For all I know, I would do the same thing in Peter’s shoes.  However, while I cannot blame Peter, I can illustrate that while the Son of God is focused on the will of the Father, the iconic representative of humanity is thinking about saving his own skin.

What is really neat about this chapter is how it ends.  Jesus goes before Pilate.  They have a discussion, largely beating around the bush.  Eventually we come to the great question.  There is no greater question to ask than what Pilate says.  “What is truth?”

Truth is that the Son of Man came to die so that the relationship between humanity and the Father can be restored.  Truth is that human beings talk a big talk, but often when pushed into a corner think only about themselves and saving their own skin.  Truth is that the beginning of the greatest journey we can ever have begins by turning to God and searching for truth by genuinely accepting the fact that we don’t have all the answers.

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Year 8, Day 265: John 17

Theological Commentary: Click Here

After the teachings of Jesus, He prays over His disciples.  Naturally, we would expect Jesus to pray for their protection.  We expect Jesus to ask the Father that none of His disciples would be lost to the world.  These are things that make sense in the prayer.

I am always caught by hearing Jesus make a point to state that He is not asking them to be taken out of the world.  Jesus knows that the world isn’t going to accept His disciples.  He knows that there will be persecution.  He knows that the disciples will feel rejection.  Knowing all of this, Jesus still asks that His disciples not be taken out of the world.

This is because Jesus has His priorities right.  He came to Earth focused on the Lord’s will.  He came to restore the relationship that humanity has with God.  He came to accomplish that through His death.  Jesus values humanity’s relationship with the Father more than He values His own life.  Why should we be surprised to hear Jesus extend that same sentiment over His disciples?

Jesus knows the truth.  The world will only know the Father through sacrifice.  When His followers bring God’s truth to the world, they will be persecuted.  They will be mocked.  They will be misunderstood.  It comes with the territory.

However, Jesus also knows that His disciples will make disciples.  The faith will be spread in spite of the persecution.  The faith will be spread through the sacrifice.  Jesus does not want His disciples to be taken out of the world because He knows how faith is transmitted.  He has His priorities right.  In the face of turmoil, Jesus has His eyes on the Father.

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Year 8, Day 264: John 16

Theological Commentary: Click Here

There is a great image in the Bible that most of us would rather not contemplate: the valley of the shadow of death.  It is a dark and scary place.  It is a place where we are convinced that life has come to its lowest point.  It is a place where we can see not hope.  We feel alone, abandoned, and helpless.  None of us like going there, much less thinking about it.

That being said, it is a prominent image in the teachings of the Bible.  Naturally, it is strongly spoken about in the 23^rd Psalm.  “Yea, though I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I will fear no evil…”  There are other places where the Valley of the Shadow of Death rears its head.  There is the barrenness of Sarai.  There is the Hebrew oppression in Egypt.  There is the 40 years in the wilderness.  There is the religious heresy of the Temple under the evil kings in Israel and often under the kings of Judah. There is the imprisonment of Jeremiah.  There is the Babylonian captivity.  There are many places of darkness in the Bible, even more than I have listed here.

In John 16, Jesus tells His disciples that another period of darkness is coming.  He hints at the coming crucifixion.  There is a time when they will be scattered.  There is a time when Jesus will be taken away and we will not be able to see Him face to face.  From this perspective, there are dark days ahead for His disciples.

However, Psalm 23 does not stop with the valley.  It continues that we will not fear because the Lord is with us and His rod and staff comfort us.  Jesus mirrors these exact words.  He tells the disciples that the dark times ahead are actually a good thing because If Jesus does not go away then the Spirit cannot come!  Remember the post a few days ago?  In the moment, Jesus is presently and physically with the disciples.  The disciples cannot know what it is like to have God dwell within them, though.  It is good to be in the presence of Jesus, but is it not better to dwell with His Spirit?

What is the natural conclusion to passing through the Valley of the Shadow of Death?  God will anoint us.  God will fill us with goodness and mercy.  We will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.  Doesn’t that sound like the coming of the Holy Spirit and eternal life?

Nobody like the Valley of the Shadow of Death.  I’m certain Jesus didn’t like being crucified and abandoned.  But, I know that it is worth it.  The anointing of the Spirit is phenomenal.  God’s grace and mercy are unlike anything else.  The promise of dwelling in the house of the Lord is immeasurable.

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