DAY 232

TRANSCENDENT IMMANENCE

Psalm 103 & 104 and 1 Corinthians 2

Transcendent-Immanence: two rather fancy religious words that try and describe God. Transcendent: that which lies beyond the limits of ordinary understanding, beyond comprehension. Immanent: an indwelling and inherent experience.

Both words try and describe our ideas and experience of God.

The Psalms today seek to describe the magnificent indescribable majesty and power of God. Verse after verse present a dimension or phase of God’s greatness: the Lord has set his throne in heaven…Bless the Lord, you angels of his…Bless the Lord, all you his host…You have set the earth upon its foundations…you water the mountains from your dwelling on high…Certainly our scientific minds can appreciate how the Psalmist, through his prose, is seeking to describe that which is beyond the limits of our ordinary understanding.

The Psalms also seek to describe the intimacy with which God interacts with His creation. Within each verse is a very human experience of God: He…heals your infirmities…He satisfies you with good things…As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our sins from us…healing – satisfaction – forgiveness…the list of human experiences goes on. And these experiences flow from, and are shared with us, by God.

In Jesus Christ the transcendence and immanence of God is on display for all to know. God Incarnate – come to earth in flesh – is certainly God Immanent. How might Jesus display God’s transcendence? We have hints of transcendence as he walks on water, as he creates food, as he raises the dead to life…these are all “beyond the limits of our ordinary understanding.” People throughout the years, because these events are beyond the ordinary, have talked themselves out of them, and in fact dismissed them. Then Jesus shatters everything ordinary through His Cross and Resurrection…it is why this is what Paul proclaims, “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.”

Jesus, this ordinary man, this man who so quickly connects with us, this man who, we all have a nagging sense is more than a man…allows us in. He allows us to experience Him. He is immanently present to us. But then He is so much more, so beyond, so willing to stand silent before Pilate, so forgiving of Peter, so other that His life witnesses transcendence to us…we stand in awe and in the presence of a Person who is there, but somehow beyond.

Finally God plants Himself in us. This transcendent God indwells our hearts and through this miracle of the Holy Spirit, allows us to be swept away beyond our knowing in God’s love…and yet know, deeply, that God does love us…Bless the Lord, O my soul. Hallelujah! (Psalm 104:37)

DAY 231

MAKE A JOYFUL NOISE?

Psalm 100, 101 & 102 and 1 Corinthians 1

“Make a joyful noise unto the Lord…” Psalm 100:1 – “I will sing of mercy and justice…” Psalm 101:1. These Psalms encourage us to praise God. Sometimes Psalm 100:1 is used when a few people become a little over excited, singing too loudly, and maybe even poorly…but the point of these Psalms is praise.

One of the things pastors and priests know is that people like good music in church…and that people often have strong opinions. What one group defines as “good” another might define as “noise.” There was a time when the organ was the modern and unwelcome instrument in the church. Then there was the night the organ broke and Silent Night was first played on a guitar. Funny how things change, yet really stay the same. Through these innovations some people would resist and only chant Psalms. Even today there are traditions where there are no instruments!

I personally enjoy a rather wide range of music both in church, and out. My attitude towards music is a little bit like what we read in the first letter of Corinthians today…that being “don’t let it divide you.” I won’t go through Corinthians with the rigor I went through Romans. Rather I will simply blog about what seems to catch my eye and heart. Today, what catches my eye is Paul encouraging people not to be divided over things…I would agree, especially about music.

I am not saying go to a service where you dislike the music, I am saying, please don’t feel like you are somehow superior. For God searches the heart (cf. Jeremiah 17:10, Psalm 139:23 and Romans 8:27). If people are worshipping God with their hearts, and they are doing it with a style of music that is like “nails on a chalkboard for you,” then I say, just practice grace and give thanks that there are people giving God praise.

As you read this today, I pray you have been to church, and yes, that you “made a joyful noise!”

DAY 230

THE OTHERNESS OF GOD

Psalm 97, 98 & 99 and Romans 16

A comment or two about Romans 16 before I share my main thought of the day. First I love that Paul literally says, “they risked their necks for my life” in verse 4. I am also struck by how relational Paul is. Here is this amazing theologian. We have just read some dizzying thoughts, and in the end he rattles off a long list of fellow brothers and sisters…that should give us a bit of different perspective on him.

My main thought for the day is prompted by the Psalms. The Psalms today push me to think about how beyond everything God is. “Clouds and thick darkness are round about him, righteousness and justice are the foundations of his throne…His lightning’s light up the world…Psalm 97.

What is it that gets you thinking about the amazing world we live in? Is it those Hubble Telescope photographs? Is it the birth of a child? Is it that you have experienced love, or had your breath taken away by a sunset? God is the creator of all those things and more. For me, it is when I look at pictures of deep space and then I think about the world of atoms, I am struck by the range of our world…and yet God is greater. God stands outside it…God is other.   

There is a cool website that as you slide your cursor to the right or left you either zoom in or zoom out on the universe, here is the link: http://scaleofuniverse.com/

I have to remind myself that God is even greater and beyond all of this world and the story of Jesus of Nazareth is that He is God come to earth. He is the God who has done this amazing thing out of sheer love for us. This God who is the creator of all, the genius behind what we care barely figure out, makes is simple…He makes it about a relationship. This otherness of God can be and is known in Jesus Christ which might just be why Romans ends with: 25 Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages 26 but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith-- 27 to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.

DAY 229

YOU HAVE MADE IT!

Psalm 94, 95 & 96 and Romans 15:14-33

You have made it to the top! Chapter 16 will largely be Paul standing there, not relishing his achievement, but expressing his love for those who have taken the time to read his letter. As I did not comment yesterday on chapter 15, I do want to circle back a bit. We might label the first 11 chapters as “exposition.” Exposition is the process of putting forward a discussion to explain that which is often difficult to understand. You might feel like being sarcastic at this point, suggesting that the discussion itself was difficult. Yet in chapters 1-11 Paul was laying out his theology. Then in chapters 12 – 15:13 he was really exhorting us to “run the race;” to be followers of Jesus.

I do want to just give you one more tidbit. I noted that in chapters 13 and 14 we were reading about running the race of relationships. You might say from 14:1-15:13 this relationship is with respect to the weak: welcoming them, not judging or offending them. Who are the weak? People have a variety of opinions:

1.      They might be people who used to worship idols and they have great concern about eating meat that has been sacrificed to idols.

2.      They might be ascetics who used to abstain from wine and meat as a way of somehow showing they are serious.

3.      They might be legalists, who really are people who are weak in faith.

4.      They might be Jewish Christians whose conscientiousness compels them to continue to observe dietary laws.

The real point for us is not “who were they,” but rather “who are they in our day…and how are we acting around them?”

It is kind of interesting, we are standing at the summit of the mountain where we have scaled challenging concepts and spotted gems along the way. We have at times been so focused on a difficult situation in order to overcome it. All this and we find ourselves reading about how we are to treat the weaker brother or sister.

I am not sure how you process that point. It isn’t how I might at first think the letter should end, but as I reflect on it I think I understand. Is the point that now that “we have it all figured out,” we should not feel or behave as some superior group? I know you probably do not believe you have it all figured out, but I find it curious after all we have digested to find ourselves here.

DAY 228

INDELIBLY WRITTEN

Psalm 91, 92 & 93 and Romans 15:1-13

Some Scripture is burned into memory, not for the greatness of the Scripture itself, but for the day that it was proclaimed and preached. There are some days in our lives that are joyous, some that are sad, some that are traumatic…you get the point. On some of those days we find ourselves in church and the Scripture, and the exposition of the Scripture, write indelibly upon our hearts…such it is for me and Psalm 91; when I read it I cannot help but recall that day.

It was September 11^th, 2001, a horrid day. At the time my day job had me immersed in our nation’s response. I sat that day with co-workers whose children may or may not have been in one of the towers. I managed to speak a few times to my priest that day. I was his Warden, a label applied to a position a lay person holds in the Episcopal Church. A Warden is a person who works on the governing board of the Parish to help the priest in the needs of the parish, especially the building and financial aspects of parish life.

In my conversations with him that day he shared with me all the affected parishioners. He shared with me that there would be a service at 7 pm, “Would I come and help?” He asked. I was able to get off work and do some small part that I cannot remember. What I can remember is two things.

First, they came, they came in droves. I had rarely seen that many people in the church. I did not know who they were. He did. Our priest knew almost all of them. These were the ones he had visited in the hospital, the ones whose baby he had baptized never to see them again, or the ones he had done hours of pre-marriage counseling with and officiated at their wedding never to see them again…until that night. He knew them all.

Second, I remember the Scripture and Sermon. I cannot forget it. I remember praying before the service for our priest. What would he say? What could he say? How could we have comfort on such a night as this?

He began. “September 11^th, 9.11 and number that we call for emergencies, a number that we call when we need help…those who attacked today have sought to do much harm and even mock us…they want 911 not to mean help, but rather panic and despair. But God prevails: for by God the numbers 911 communicate something completely different, “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High, abides under the shadow of the Almighty.”

There we were, in a packed church with frazzled nerves, wondering what tomorrow would bring, and this man of God stood up and proclaimed one of the great psalms, one of the great prayers, a prayer of God’s absolute protection. “Dwell in the shelter of God.” His point was profound, "When all that we thought we were sure of is challenged and shaking, remember to go to Him who is unshakable." He simply and powerfully invited us to be people of faith...and on that day we needed to be reminded.

Consider as you read this blog the terrible days in your life, and then reread Psalm 91. Drink this Psalm in, memorize it, and remember, in the moments after you find yourself calling 911, open your Bible and read Psalm 91, “He shall deliver you from the snare of the hunter…He shall cover you with his pinions, and you shall find refuge under his wings…”

DAY 227

FOR I AM PERSUADED

Psalm 89 & 90 and Romans 14

“For I am persuaded that you love is established forever…” Psalm 89:2a.

Persuaded is an interesting word; somehow – someway, God has persuaded the Psalmist that His Love is everlasting…it is as I have said before hesed. To know this deeply in your mind, your heart, indeed in your bones is, what Paul has been driving at throughout Romans. Do you remember some of those “gem verses:” Verses such as “nothing can separate us from the love of God.”

It is this foundational idea, the foundation of God’s Love with Jesus as the Cornerstone, which is the basis of all we have read in Romans. It is this confidence in God’s love that allows chapter 14 to shine. I have before used the image of mountain climbing. We are almost to the top, and I find this chapter as a bit of a resting plateau. We can look down at all we have scaled, we can look up at the small bit that is left, and we can stand on this plateau, and with Paul say with great confidence that some of our behaviors are irrelevant when compared to our relationships with other followers of Jesus.

Chapter 14 is all about relationship. Paul writes,” I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself…” Another persuaded person and it is his persuasion, his confidence that tells others not to worry about “rituals” if those rituals will cause another to stumble. What is important is living in a way that communicates real confidence in God’s Everlasting Love found in Jesus Christ.

It actually is that simple, today’s reading is more than a bit of a rest, we are near the summit of all that Paul is driving at…full confidence in God. 

DAY 226

IT DEPENDS

Psalm 87 & 88 and Romans 13

Yesterday I suggested that Paul outlined four basic relationships: to God, to ourselves, to one another, and even to our enemies. Today in Romans 13 three other relationships are offered: to the state (the conscientious citizen), to the law (loving your neighbor being its fulfillment), and to the day of the Lord’s return (living in the ‘already’ and the ‘not yet’).

This chapter has, quite frankly, troubled people for centuries. Do we really need to obey the state, especially when the state is evil? That is so often the question. Some read Romans 13 as suggesting we passively submit to the state. Relations between church and state have been notoriously controversial since the birth of Christianity. John Stott describes four patterns:

1.      The Constantine method, where the state favors the church and the church accommodates the state in order to retain its favor.

2.      A Theocracy, where the church controls the state.

3.      The model where the state controls the church…think Nazi Germany

4.      The Partnership model where each, church and state, recognize each other’s God-given responsibilities.

The fourth sounds a lot like, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” Yet I want to push in a little on the question what is a Christian’s duty to the state? I would suggest that the answer to this is, “It depends!” One of the most powerful stories of the 20^th century is that of a man named Dietrich Bonheoffer. Bonheoffer was a brilliant theologian doing his post-doctoral work by age 24. As a pastor-theologian he returned to Germany after Hitler came to power and the German Church began to capitulate. Bonheoffer at first thought he would reform the church from within, then he set up a parallel effort, and finally he actively supported, even participated in, the failed assassination attempts of Hitler. He did not start out as in this position, but he ultimately concluded that the evil that Hitler was perpetrating warranted this drastic step.

If I return to the Romans 13, I think it has much more to do with how you can witness to the Gospel in the country and system of government you find yourself in. Paul comes from a context where the Jewish people wanted to literally overthrow the Roman authorities and set us a theocracy. He and his people spent a great deal of energy to this end. In fact, many Jewish people could not accept that Jesus was the Jewish Messiah because he was doing the exact opposite. He, Jesus, did not try and defeat them, He let them kill him.

So what is the answer to the question, “What is a Christian’s duty to the state?” As I said earlier, it depends. In the first century, when Christianity was not legal, we read that first century Christians took in widows (without a male provider they had few options – prostitution or slavery). In the first century, Christians took in babies left on the streets, orphans. In the Letter to James we read that “true religion is to care for widows and orphans.” My point in this example is quite simple; these Christians lived in a state where widows and orphans were viewed as less-than-human. Christians treated them otherwise. The result is that people were saved, and more people came to hear the story of God come to earth…and were saved…all because they “put on Christ.”

Is that always the answer, again, no because “it depends.” Many good Christians have challenged the state when it is acting ungodly. They just did not seek to become the state. And then I come back to the situation where a Christian, Bonheoffer, sought to overthrow the state.

The key, “put on Christ” and get engaged. The world is full of darkness, darkness that needs the light of Christ.