These Syrian refugees make me think of the phrase,
"A wandering Aramean was my ancestor"
"A wandering Aramean was my ancestor"
Romans 10:8b-13
What Does It Say?
It seems to me Paul doesn’t say
That only those who say these words
Will see salvation come one day,
As if it’s something they deserve.
It’s clear he simply reassured
Those worried they’d not done enough
For blessings that are now ensured
By Christ, who all our fears rebuffs.
Is it enough to feed the poor,
Or must I do - or have - it all?
Is it enough God’s love endures,
Or must I all life’s ills forestall?
What does it say? Christ demonstrates
To need, and simply know you need
You never ought to underrate:
When knowing you’re no god, you’re freed.
Scott L. Barton
But what does it say? “The word is near you, on your lips
and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because if
you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that
God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the
heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved.
The scripture says, “No one who believes in him will be put to shame.”
For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same
Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. For, “Everyone who
calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
+ + +
Deuteronomy 26:1-11
Why Go to Church?
Our forebears knew how great their need
To say their thanks with such a creed
As this, reflecting whence they came.
They gave their ancestors a name:
Not smarter or more powerful
Than those who sheared them for their wool;
Not self-reliant, needing none,
When by themselves they'd been outdone;
Not conqu'ring heroes who were pure,
And strangers made them insecure;
Not brave, or strong, or hardy stock,
But "wandering!" - like some lost flock
Where someone had to show the way!
That someone was the LORD, portrayed
By how they thanked; and still it's true,
And still why we should sit in pews.
Scott L. Barton
(2016)
When you have come into the land that the Lord your God is
giving you as an inheritance to possess, and you possess it, and settle in it,
you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you
harvest from the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you shall put
it in a basket and go to the place that the Lord your God will choose as a
dwelling for his name. You shall go to the priest who is in office at that
time, and say to him, “Today I declare to the Lord your God that I have come
into the land that the Lord swore to our ancestors to give us.” When the priest
takes the basket from your hand and sets it down before the altar of the Lord
your God, you shall make this response before the Lordyour God: “A wandering
Aramean was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien,
few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous. When
the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, by imposing hard labor on
us, we cried to the Lord, the God of our ancestors; the Lord heard our voice
and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. The Lord brought us out
of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a terrifying display
of power, and with signs and wonders; and he brought us into this place and
gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. So now I bring the first
of the fruit of the ground that you, O Lord, have given me.” You shall set it
down before the Lord your God and bow down before the Lord your God. Then you,
together with the Levites and the aliens who reside among you, shall celebrate
with all the bounty that the Lord your God has given to you and to your house.
+ + +
Luke 4:1-13
Who’s That Knocking at My Door?
"He departed from him until an opportune time.”
What a strange line.
We assume Luke meant the Garden of Gethsemane;
But we only have the story's bare bones, after all.
What if the devil chose other times that we just don't know
about?
"Opportunity knocks," we say;
And maybe the devil does, too.
As maybe he did for Jesus.
But, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock," John
writes later.
So when I hear it, I say, "Who's that knocking at my
door?
"Is it the devil - or the Lord?"
Maybe Luke knew it's never an easy question,
Even for Jesus.
Certainly not for me.
Probably, I daresay, not for you.
Lenten Christians recognize this -
Thus, we have our seasonal temptations;
But not whether or not to eat that piece of chocolate,
Rather, whether or not to think we know it all.
So we go to the door.
And the only way to know if it's Jesus
Is if the choices offered aren't easy.
So he keeps reminding us,
Year after year (if we read between the lines), that
"Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven
and earth."
Scott L. Barton
(2013)
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and
was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by
the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he
was famished. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this
stone to become a loaf of bread.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does
not live by bread alone.’” Then the devil led him up and showed him in an
instant all the kingdoms of the world. And the devil said to him, “To you I
will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me,
and I give it to anyone I please. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be
yours.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and
serve only him.’” Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the
pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw
yourself down from here, for it is written, ‘He will command his angels
concerning you, to protect you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so
that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’” Jesus answered him, “It is
said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” When the devil had finished
every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.
No comments:
Post a Comment