Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16

Psalm 22:23-31

Romans 4:13-25

Mark 8:31-38

Have you ever said something and wished you could take it back? For me, it is too many times to count. Like our words, our sin is like a cat out of the bag: once out, it is impossible to get it back in. If we try to make a bad situation better, we seem to mess it up. Paul says in Romans that the law cannot make us righteous. Once the cat of sin is out, no amount of effort can correct the situation. We keep messing it up.

Into this mess that we created, God comes through Jesus and offers a gift of righteousness by faith. How does faith appropriate righteousness? What does faith change? How does it clean up our mess? I can come up with endless anecdotes of people of faith changing the world through good deeds. But the mechanism of faith being our righteousness is harder to describe.

Into this difficult description, Paul proposes a simple, yet profound, answer: Jesus. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus, we can regain the righteousness and wholeness that was intended for humanity. Somehow in the acceptance of what Jesus did, we come back to life. In some ways life is not what we put into it but what we receive from God. True humanity is found in receiving. Living in faith and gratitude releases the power of heaven to change our mess.

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2 Kings 2:1-12

2 Corinthians 4:3-6

Mark 9:2-9

I have not seen Jesus Christ Superstar but if there was an event that made Jesus look like a superstar, this was it. His disciples have come to understand some of the greatness of Jesus. They had seen miracles, heard incredible teaching and lived with His compassionate life.

But nothing in their experience would prepare the disciples for this moment. In a moment of transcendence, Jesus is transformed into something of His glory with His Father. What a statement of Christ’s superiority and worthiness of worship!

Why does Jesus want them to wait? Why is transfiguration secondary to resurrection? Perhaps it would be too much for others to hear.  They wouldn’t understand. Perhaps our focus would be too much on a supernatural figure who isn’t human. Perhaps if others knew about the Transfiguration, they would resist the Crucifixion. perhaps Jesus is to be known in His scars than in His transcendence.

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Isaiah 60:1-6

Ephesians 3:1-12

Matthew 2:1-12

I failed to mention last week that I will be posting some thoughts on the Lectionary texts for the upcoming week. My hope is to spur thought and comment that will be helpful to pastors (myself included). For years I have wanted some forum to discuss the text: Let’s start here. Also, as I begin this, I start with an exception: I will be using the Epiphany texts from January 6 instead of the Baptism of Jesus texts.

Why are the Magi mentioned in the Gospel story? There were other visitors to Jesus – shepherds. Sure they serve to explain the circumstances of the Slaughter of the Innocents. But that could have been done with a simple sentence: “Herod heard that the Messiah was born in Bethlehem and so he went and killed all the babies”. Matthew found it important to mention these astrologers and their story about worshipping Jesus.

First, the Magi show that all humans are welcome to join in worshipping Jesus: not just Jews, not just the poor, not just the theologically correct. This story begins the scandal of Jesus. All are welcome to come.

Second, I wonder if this story has a connection to Jesus later speaking of being a door or the way to God. Could it be that all can come to Jesus from wherever they originate?  God uses astrology to lead these men to worship Jesus. God will use any part of who we are to lead us to Jesus. All paths lead to Jesus but only Jesus leads to the Father.

Third, once we worship/ experience Jesus, we cannot remain the same. The Magi return home a different way. An experience with Jesus will change your life forever. Somehow home is no longer home and your life is impacted by the encounter with Jesus.

Lastly, I wonder what happened to the Magi after they returned to their homeland. Did they remain astrologers? How would they tell the story to their family? Did they adopt the Jewish faith? I wish I knew. Perhaps we are not supposed to know or we are to assume the ending to this story. Is this more important to me because of my interpretation of the story?

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emerging toward something redeeming has a couple of quotes by Martin Luther King, Jr. and Kaj Munk. The quotes are quite challenging about our relationship to a bigger idea – do we live for something that we are willing to die for? Are we willing to live recklessly for God?

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The Anchoress has a great post about Penn Jillette of Penn and Teller fame. Penn had an encounter with a Christian man who gave him a Gideon’s Bible. Penn seems to be moved by the gesture especially since he believes that Christians (and probably all religions) should proselytize if they believe they have the truth. Penn is an atheist.

Penn brings out a powerful point: if you have the truth and it is critical to make a decision for Christ, you should be sharing with others. Again, room for self-examination. How strongly do we believe the gospel? How sincerely and honestly do we interact with others? Penn is adamant about the goodness and honesty of the man. Integrity must come before witness.

Note: the reference to Flannery O’Connor’s short story, A Good Man is Hard to Find, is intentional. It is not meant to reflect on the man who gave the Bible or Mr. Jillette. Neither is the killer or the grandmother, though I feel that lesser men (myself included) would have been. In fact, we may have two good men in this story…

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Reuters is reporting that Franciscan archaeologists in Magdala have uncovered vials of perfume that may be similar to the perfume to anoint Jesus’ feet. They will be conducting tests to see what the compositions of the ointments are.

I wonder what the perfumes smell like? I wonder how long until someone markets the “Biblical Perfume”?

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Makoto Fujimura writes beautiful and insightful posts. Mr. Fujimura is an artist whose work blends traditional Japanese methods and materials with modern sensibilities to create work that to me is timeless and powerfully emotive. His latest post is about fly fishing, the stock market and business ethics. I love his subtle and profound ways of describing things and arriving in a deep conversation.

I really appreciate the conversation about business ethics. I, too, believe that love can be the guiding principle of business, more than the bottom line. We are surrounded with the world of business and immerse our lives in the thought that the purpose of our lives is to make money. But greater than this is our call to love and business can be an expression of love to our employees, customers, suppliers and communities.

I work for an Amish construction company and I have seen first hand the ways a loving business can be conducted. Business is conducted more for the benefit of the employees and there is a wonderful network of relationships with the customers and suppliers. They hint at the possibilities of a church that lives the gospel.

Please take time to read Makoto Fujimura’s post – it is well worth the read.

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Eugene Cho at beauty and depravity tells of a man who lost his wife, 2 small children and mother-in-law due to a plane crash in San Diego. I cannot fathom that kind of loss. I often consider (worry about) what it would be like to loose my wife and daughters. It would rip my heart out.

Yet through all of this, Dong Yun Yoon, is able to see with the eyes of faith. He spoke of grace to the pilot who ejected from the plane before the crash. He spoke of hope as he knew of his family’s salvation and reception into heaven.

May God grant Dong Yun Yoon grace and healing through this difficult time. May he find strength in his Savior and his community of faith.

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Yesterday I posted about the message of Jesus based upon a post at Reimagining Church. Christicrux suggested looking at any side to the question: What is the message of the church? Is it the same as the message of Jesus or is it somehow different?

Here is how my mind tries to grasp it:

Message same: Like Jesus, we share the good news of restoration of humanity through the forgiveness of sin.

Message different: Yet there is a quality that we don’t bring to the table. We point to Jesus; we are not Jesus. Jesus is our redemption.

Message same: Yet we participate in the work of Jesus. We are the body of Jesus and we are called to continue in His work.

Message different: Yet any work is that we do is only accomplished in Jesus. It is only through the power of the Holy Spirit that we are able to participate in the life and ministry of Christ.

Frank Viola at Reimagining Church has a thoughtful question to ponder: What is the message of Jesus?

As I try to answer that question for myself, I have to start with the question: Is the message of Jesus different than the person of Jesus? Fundamentally, I would answer “No.” Jesus was true to His character and personhood thus His message would be the same, though perhaps spoken differently.

The personhood, work and words of Jesus together form His message. Healing, befriending sinners, calling people to repentance all speak of restoration to a wholeness. But unlike others, Jesus says that all of life and its reality are found and mediated through Him. Through His forgiveness, He is the door to reality and wholeness. Through Him, wholeness can be pursued and ultimately experienced. Through Him, life is not fatalistic but grows in hope, joy and love. Life overcomes death, forgiveness defeats guilt, love triumphs over apathy. Sin does not stain goodness, but mercy transforms fallenness.

What do you think?

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