15
Mar
2025

All God’s children have a voice

Each soul speaks in their own way

Today is the 11th anniversary of The Electric Gospel blog. (I hadn’t been paying attention last year, and missed marking the 10th anniversary.) This project started March 15, 2014, with a post from one of the ministry school students I was instructing. Allow me to share the origin story with you, which tells you something about this blog’s purpose.

In my classes, I encouraged students to compose devotional writings in their own voice and style. Much of the ministry training they received gave them templates and formulas they were told to follow. Their writings tended to be formulaic and stilted as a result. I wanted them to take in spiritual truths and express them in their own way, writing from their hearts. When they did, their expressions of faith spoke with grace and strength. I sent some of the most poignant pieces to the editors of the national church organization’s monthly magazine, and several students’ articles were published there.

One such student, Mariah, had dated someone who was controlling and overbearing. He maintained that male dominance in relationships was the biblically-commanded way. Mariah had a different perspective. She wrote about how this man had made her feel worthless and her gifts and talents unappreciated. When I sent Mariah’s article to be considered for publication by the national magazine, the assistant editors (both of them women) greatly appreciated her words. They put the article onto their schedule for an upcoming month’s issue. When it came time for the article to proceed to publication, I received communication from the magazine’s lead editor (a man). He had decided Mariah’s personal story needed editing. He provided his heavily altered rewrite of the article. He said that if the author agreed to the rewritten version, he would allow it in the magazine in that form. If she did not consent to the edited version, then the article would not be published. His version robbed Mariah’s original writing of her unique voice. It now sounded like it was composed by a staid, formal, traditional, clergy-trained man. It had become very much his writing, not hers—coming from his frame of reference, not hers. Mariah was hurt. She would not allow the magazine to run the editor’s version with her name listed as “author”—and I wholeheartedly supported her. I conveyed Mariah’s decision to the magazine editor, along with my own objections to how he had handled the matter. 

As Mariah and I talked, I said I’d start a place of my own online to feature selections of spiritual writing from students. I wanted Mariah’s article to be the first to be featured. She embraced the idea (not just for herself, but also for her fellow student writers). Thus, The Electric Gospel blogsite was born. 

You can read Mariah’s original piece here (just as she wrote it): “I Will Respect You.”

In those years of posting students’ work to the blog pages, I sought to give a forum to those who pressed against rigid expectations and situations that made them feel devalued.

There was a pre-seminary student who felt he wasn’t enough. He struggled to keep up with the college’s curriculum and to fit in with his classmates. When he stopped trying to compose something according to formulas dictated to him and wrote what he was feeling in his heart, his words sang with deep intensity.  (His article: “A Cry from the Depths of One’s Heart.”)

There was a devout woman from a Caribbean nation who came to the college, older than the typical college students around her. She experienced implicit bias and ageism and cliquishness on the campus, which kept her feeling like she didn’t belong (in a place where everyone should have felt embraced and welcomed). I urge you to read her impassioned plea: “Do We Really Love Each Other in the Church?”

In the years since I stopped teaching, I’ve used this blog as a place for some of my own writing. I’ve tried to highlight our imperative to value every individual, to listen to each person’s voice.  I’ll offer a couple of examples of past posts of mine here that might be worth your time to go back and read:

All of God’s children have a voice. Each soul speaks in their own special way. Hopefully this blog over the past 10+ years has been a place where the perspectives of Christ’s people from many walks of life have been honored and valued. 

****************

Do not think of yourself more highly than you should. Instead, be modest in your thinking, and judge yourself according to the amount of faith that God has given you. We have many parts in the one body, and all these parts have different functions. In the same way, though we are many, we are one body in union with Christ, and we are all joined to each other as different parts of one body. So we are to use our different gifts in accordance with the grace that God has given us. If our gift is to speak God’s message, we should do it according to the faith that we have (Romans 12:3-6—Good News Translation).

Posted by David Sellnow, 0 comments
05
Mar
2025

An examination of our spiritual health

Thoughts for the season of Lent

David Sellnow


A health care worker expressed frustration with her patients. “That’s the second time this week I’ve had to use the warning, ‘You could die!’ … and again it didn’t work.’” A diabetic man with blood sugar numbers off the charts keeps neglecting to take his insulin.  A woman whose EKG shows she’s in the process of having a heart attack says she doesn’t feel that bad and refuses to be admitted to the hospital.

When it comes to spiritual diagnosis and treatment, are we much different? We think, “Meh, my sins are not that bad. I’ll be okay.” We’re not eager to deal with our problems, our failures, our chronic iniquities because we’ve become accustomed to living our lives with those issues.

Jeremiah once lamented, “Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then has the health of my poor people not been restored?” (Jeremiah 8:22)  Plenty of balm and balm-applying physicians did exist in Gilead. And plenty of gospel healing was available to God’s people in Israel—but they did not avail themselves of it. They suffered as a result.

Lent is a time for us to give attention to what ails our hearts—spiritually. We are directed to our need for a physician that can heal our souls. Jesus is that physician. In his ministry, Jesus showed us our sinfulness and offered balm for healing through his redemptive work. Jesus said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick” (Luke 5:31). Every one of us remains continuously in need of treatment for sin-sickness. The path to health and life for our souls is in Jesus.

Let’s not get lost in superficial approaches to Lent. Giving up this or that food or this or that habit during Lent doesn’t do something redemptive for us. The season’s intent is for us to be honest about our spiritual need and look to Jesus for wholeness and holiness. It’s not about beating ourselves up with guilt over all that Jesus suffered on our behalf. He gave himself for us to set us free from guilt and shame. As Scripture says, “We have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us …. Since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience” (Hebrews 10:19-22). In the midst of Lent, let’s not lose sight of the path of life and fullness of joy that we have in Christ (cf. Psalm 16:11).

As a kid, I couldn’t figure out why people referred to the “40 Days of Lent.” If you count the days from Ash Wednesday through the Saturday of Easter weekend, there are 46 days. Did we mess up the math? Later I learned the reason for the mathematical discrepancy. There are 46 days between Ash Wednesday and Easter, but six of those days are Sundays. The Sundays are not really part of Lent. Every Sunday is a celebration of Jesus’ resurrection. Even in the midst of a Lenten focus on Jesus’ passion (his sufferings and death), we never forget our ultimate hope. We have “a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3). And we “hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering” (Hebrews 10:23). We meet together and encourage each other all the more as we see the Day approaching (Hebrews 10:25). Jesus’ resurrection gives us constant and certain hope. The life of a Christian—including days when we dedicate time to thinking about our sins and Christ’s suffering—is a life filled with hope because Jesus’ life did not end in the grave but in glory.

The 40 days of Lent go back to an old tradition of fasting for 40 days prior to the celebration of Christ’s resurrection, reminiscent of Jesus’ own 40 days of fasting in the desert as he worked out our salvation for us. But even in the most somber days of the church’s history, those days of fasting were interrupted each Sunday. Sunday is the Lord’s Day, the day of his resurrection. Knowing Christ is resurrected, all somberness and shame are chased away, and our hearts rise up to where our home is with our Lord in heaven.


For additional Lenten thoughts, see previous posts:

 

Scripture quotations, except where otherwise indicated, are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

 

Posted by David Sellnow
22
Feb
2025

Called to be caregivers

A lesson in caring

by David Sellnow

There is a saying (stemming from a 1989 animated film): All dogs go to heaven. Or, all pets go to heaven (from a popular author’s 2009 book). Martin Luther once wrote a letter to his young son in which he described heaven as a “beautiful garden, where children sing, jump, and rejoice all day long” and “have pretty ponies with golden reins and silver saddles.” I’d like to think the life beyond will be blessed with many beloved creatures … but I don’t try to answer complicated questions about the afterlife. I trust the good Lord will reveal what the life after this is like when he brings us there. The realities of what lies beyond are things we could not fully understand here and now. “Now we see only a dim likeness of things. It is as if we were seeing them in a foggy mirror. But someday we will see clearly” (1 Corinthians 13:12 NIrV).

I do know that in our lives now, the animals who keep us company are dear blessings. In my household we’re missing our dear Zazu, our pet poodle, who passed away on Christmas Day. Zazu was my officemate in the home office. The rhythms of my remote workday tended to be arranged according to his schedule as much as mine. Morning break, lunch break, and afternoon break were times to go for a walk. Or they were, until walking became harder and harder for him. Then winter came, and his days became harder still. Anti-inflammatory medications, blood pressure medications, and pain medications helped some. As his strength waned, Zazu became increasingly anxious, and wanted to be close by my side at all times. It was hard to lose him—as it was to say goodbye to the dear dogs we had in years past (like Mowgli, who had been Zazu’s close companion until a couple years ago).

Zazu taught me much about life as the ailments of age caught up with him. He needed more attention, more care, more patience and love. We all have those needs as we get older and more frail. An ethicist once said, “When a dog has served his master faithfully for a long time, I must give the appropriate reward, and look after the dog, when he is incapable of serving me any longer, until he ends his days. In so doing, I further my duty toward humanity” (Kant, Lectures on Ethics, in Western Philosophy: An Anthology [J.Cottingham, ed.], 1996).

There is a lesson for us in the analogy of loving and caring for pets and loving and caring for people. As author Jonathan Safran Foer has said, “People who care about animals tend to care about people. They don’t care about animals to the exclusion of people. Caring is not a finite resource and, even more than that, it’s like a muscle: the more you exercise it, the stronger it gets.”

We have an obligation to each other in this world. We are called to a lifetime of caring. We can’t claim to be Christian people and ignore the needs of those around us. We care for one another within our households, knowing that “whoever does not provide for relatives, and especially for family members, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” (1 Timothy 5:8). We care for neighbors in need, heeding Scripture’s admonition: “If  someone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but refuses to help—how can the love of God dwell in a person like that” (1 John 3:17 CEB)?  We pray for ourselves, “O Lord, do not cast me off in the time of old age; do not forsake me when my strength is spent” (Psalm 71:9). We will be dependent on others to care for us when we can’t care for ourselves.

Take good care of the pets in your life; they depend entirely on you. And let us be good caregivers to the people in our lives too, who need our love and attention. We are not in this life just for ourselves, to fend for ourselves. Consider these scriptures on our call to consistently care for one another:

  • “Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience”(Colossians 3:12)
  • “In humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:3,4).
  • “Hold fast to what is good; Love one another with mutual affection” (Romans 12:9,10).
  • “Maintain constant love for one another. … Be hospitable to one another. … Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received” (1 Peter 4:8-10).
  • “Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2).

Scripture quotations, except where otherwise indicated, are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Additional quotations from:

  • New International Reader’s Version (NIrV) Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.
  • The Common English Bible (CEB), copyright © 2011
Posted by David Sellnow
20
Jan
2025

Living in hope, loving our neighbors

Thoughts for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, 2025

It doesn’t happen often that a president is inaugurated on the day dedicated to honoring civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. The only two previous occasions were 1997 and 2013. The next time the inauguration and King’s birthday observance coincide will be 2053. 

I’ll admit I have mixed feelings about the overlap of events this year. The incoming president has invited many billionaires to his inauguration events and plans from day one to begin mass deportations of many immigrants. Martin Luther King, Jr. was known for the Poor People’s Campaign and his efforts on behalf of the disenfranchised and those discriminated against in society.  

It seems the country currently has mixed feelings about where we’re heading. CivicScience data shows that 46% of U.S. adults report feeling at least somewhat optimistic about the future (compared to 38% saying so a year ago). The positive outlook, though, depends on who you ask. 63% of Republicans are feeling optimistic right now, while only 32% of Democrats feel that way—and 28% of them are strongly pessimistic. (Cf. CivicScience, 12/2/2024).

Maybe we need something more than optimism and politics to shape our outlook on life. We would do well to commit ourselves to what the apostle Paul called the three things that “will last forever—faith, hope, and love” (1 Corinthians 13:13 NLT). Rather than harboring suspicions about persons who look different than us or have different beliefs than our own, as people of faith we are called to love every neighbor and bring hope to our communities.

Hope is not the same thing as optimism. Hope can look at a situation that is bleak and commit to actions that will build up what is good. When things aren’t the way they should be in our world, with faith we “will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope,” as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., said (I Have a Dream, 8/28/1963). Hope is resilient. Hope keeps going. Pointing to Dr. King’s example, a psychology professor from Hope College and her research team define “‘virtuous hope’ as striving toward a purposeful vision of the common good—a hope often shaped by hardship and strengthened through relationships” (The Conversation, 4/2/2024).

A book recommended to me recently emphasizes this same point. In Embracing Diversity: Faith, Vocation, and the Promise of America, authors Darrell Jodock and William Nelsen assert: “Hope can exist even when there is no evidence of progress, even when the storm clouds are dark. Hope is built on the confidence that God is present—that God is at work behind the scenes opening new possibilities and bringing good gifts to humans. Hope includes the confidence that God is fostering shalom, even when we are discouraged and confused” (Fortress Press, 2021, p.124).

Let’s move away from “glass half full” and “glass half empty” estimations of whether it’s a time for optimism or pessimism. As God’s people in this world, we are called to make the most of all our time, even when the times may be hard or evil (cf. Ephesians 5:16). In any and every circumstance, we will devote ourselves to hope and the common good in relation with our fellow human beings. Our “vocation knows no boundaries,” as Jodock and Nelsen remind us. “A sense of vocation involves the realization that, as a human being, I am not an isolated unit but am nested in a larger community and that my highest moral responsibility is so to act in all areas of my life as to benefit that community and the individuals in it” (p.105).

As a new administration takes over in Washington, may our main concern not be primarily with what’s happening in politics on the national level. [Although we acknowledge, along with Dr. King, that “the habits if not the hearts of people have been and are being altered every day by legislative acts, judicial decisions and executive orders from the President.”] Let’s focus on what we can do ourselves to live in love and hope toward our neighbors—of every race and creed—and how we can live in community beneficially together. 

Let us listen to the words of Martin Luther King, Jr. on this subject. In his draft notes for a sermon on Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan entitled “On Being a Good Neighbor,” King wrote:

  • The good Samaritan will always remain the conscience of mankind because he was obedient to that which could not be enforced. No law in the world could have made him do what he did. No man-made code could have produced such unalloyed compassion, such efflorescent love, such thorough altruism. The ultimate test of a man’s goodness is whether he is obedient to the unenforceable. …
  • Today more than ever before men of all races and men of all nations are challenged to be neighborly. …We cannot long survive living spiritually apart in a world that is geographically one. … My friends, go out with the conviction that all men are brothers, tied in a single garment of destiny. In the final analysis I must not ignore the wounded man on life’s Jericho Road, because he is a part of me and I am a part of him. His agony diminishes me and his salvation enlarges me.
  • In our quest to make neighborly love a reality in our lives, we have not only the inspiring example of the good Samaritan, but we have the magnanimous life of our Christ to guide us. … He lived his days in a persistent concern for the welfare of others. His altruism was universal in that he saw all men as brothers. He was a neighbor to the publicans and the sinners. When he addressed God in the Lord’s Prayer he said “Our Father” which immediately lifted God above the category of a tribal deity concerned only about one race of people. Christ’s altruism was willing to travel dangerous roads in that he was willing to relinquish fame, fortune, and even life itself for a cause he knew was right. … His death on Calvary will always stand as history’s  most magnificent expression of obedience to the unenforceable.

[See draft version of “On Being a Good Neighbor”
at Stanford University’s Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute.]

For previous Martin Luther King Jr. Day posts on The Electric Gospel, see this tag:

Posted by David Sellnow
05
Jan
2025

The secret of life is found in Christ

Readings for Epiphany festival, January 6th

Isaiah 60:1-6, Ephesians 3: 1-12, Matthew 2:1-12

In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising,and have come to pay him homage” (Matthew 2:1-2).


God works in mysterious ways – leading us to his grace

How did Eastern magi know to go to Jerusalem when they saw something unusual in their stargazing (Matthew 2:1,2)? What we call the Star of Bethlehem may have been miraculous in its appearance. It may have been a manifestation of the glory of the LORD—such as when the LORD led the Israelites through the wilderness, going “in front of them in a pillar of cloud by day, to lead them along the way, and in a pillar of fire by night, to give them light” (Exodus 13:21). Perhaps the wise men were led by the same glory of the LORD that shone around the angels who appeared above the fields near Bethlehem heralding Jesus’ birth (Luke 2:9).

However, many of God’s miraculous dealings with us are in and under and through things we tend to see as normal occurrences. We apply water to a person in God’s name, by Christ’s instruction, and that person is connected to Christ and made a child of God. We receive bread and wine by Christ’s instruction, and we are connected to his sufferings and death and filled with God’s grace. God’s most profound miracles often are hidden under things that seem ordinary. What the wise men saw may have been viewed by others as something natural, as no big deal. A modern astronomer who gives credence to the Bible’s story suggested that the bright object in the sky could have been a special alignment between planets and stars—a conjunction occurring when celestial bodies appear to meet in the night sky from our vantage point on earth. Astronomer Michael Molnar pointed to an alignment of Jupiter, Saturn, the moon and the sun in the constellation of Aries that occurred around the time when Jesus was born. “This conjunction happened in the early morning hours, which aligns with the Gospel’s description of the Star of Bethlehem as a rising morning star” (Space.com, 12/22/24).

Magi were scholars and advisors to the rulers in ancient Babylon and Persia. They were astronomers and astrologers who studied the skies diligently. These particular magi likely studied the Hebrew scriptures too. The magi were a class of intellectuals that once had included the brightest minds among the Jewish people taken captive by the Babylonians. In 605 BC, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, Azariah and others were among Israelites of noble rank, “versed in every branch of wisdom, endowed with knowledge and insight,” who were deemed “competent to serve in the king’s palace” (Daniel 1:3,4).  Daniel’s name as a member of the magi in Babylon was Belteshazzar. Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were given the names Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego (Daniel 1:7). It seems that Daniel’s wisdom and writings—and other Jewish prophets’ writings—were things these magi, 600 years later, had in mind along with whatever they saw in the skies. Daniel’s prophecy had included a cryptic timeline about how long it would be between “the time that the word went out [for the Israelites] to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the time of an anointed prince”—-when the “anointed one” or Messiah would come (cf. Daniel 9:24-27 and ReasonForHopeJesus.com). 

Because of the testimony Daniel gave centuries before, the wise men who traveled to find Jesus may have been searching the skies for a sign around the very time Jesus was born. We don’t know exactly what they saw. They may have seen an unusual alignment of planets and stars and understood it as an indication of the Messiah’s arrival, in keeping with prophecies about the brightness of the dawn at his coming into the world (Isaiah 60:1-3). And they may have seen a supernatural manifestation of the glory of the LORD in the skies—pointing them to the specific house where Jesus was when they went to look for him in Bethlehem. 

We don’t need to belabor ourselves trying to explain exactly what the phenomenon of the Star of Bethlehem was. It’s okay to confess it as a mystery. Our faith is grounded in confessing that the workings of our God are full of mystery and wonder. As the heavens are higher than the earth, God’s ways are higher than our ways and his thoughts higher than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:9). As a hymn writer famously described, “God moves in a mysterious way, his wonders to perform.”

We don’t always like that. We want things to be obvious. We want to see signs that point directly to us and point us in a specific direction. I’ve known people who looked for signs from God to determine if they should accept a new job or stay in their current position. Others interpreted everything they saw as a message from above—such as seeing every little coincidence as a sign that the person they just met was their soulmate, destined to be the love of their life. In doing so, they rushed the relationship, not building deep connections. They ignored or downplayed frictions, convincing themselves they were meant to be together … and then they fell apart. They had seen only what they wanted to see and missed the many red flags that kept popping up all along the way.

I knew a woman who struggled over even the smallest daily decisions. She constantly wanted a sign from God to show her what to do. She asked our church’s lay minister for help knowing what God’s will was. As they talked, she put two pens on the table in front of her and asked, “Like right now, how do I know which pen God wants me to use?” We needed to encourage her to walk each day’s path with confidence that whichever thoughtful decisions she made, God would be with her.

In the daily course of our lives, God leads us in everyday ways more so than by spectacular signs or miraculous moments. He leads us by reminders of what his word has taught us. He leads us by the Christ-like actions of others who help us when we need help. We don’t want to miss those clear messages from God while we’re looking all about for some elusive supernatural signal.

We wish we could know how our story will unfold, seeing clearly what lies ahead. God asks us to trust him, confident that he knows our needs and will be blessing our futures. The apostles and prophets spoke of God’s doings and dealings with us as a mystery. Paul described how the mystery of Christ was made known to him by revelation. “In former generations,” he said, “this mystery was not made known to humankind, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.” A part of that mystery was that God’s promise was not limited to just some people. All people, Jews and Gentiles alike, were to be “fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.” Those of us who have come to know “the boundless riches of Christ” have a role in helping others “see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things,” so that through us, the church, “the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known” and we and others may have boldness and confidence through faith in Christ (Ephesians 3: 1-12).

Maintaining faith in God continues to confront us with mystery, as much of what we experience in life seems at odds with the goodness and peace we want to have. Mary and Joseph’s early days with Jesus had bright moments. Shepherds came to the stable where the child was born, telling of a visit by angels. Later, wise men came to worship and brought expensive gifts. But Jesus’ family had been uprooted from their home in Nazareth by a government order requiring that they be in Bethlehem for census and taxation purposes. Immediately after the visit by the magi, Joseph and Mary needed to use value from their gifts to flee for their lives. The regional ruler, Herod, felt threatened when court officials from far away inquired where to find the child who had been born king of the Jews (Matthew 2:2) When the magi did not report back to him the child’s location, Herod ordered all baby boys in and around Bethlehem be killed, determined to get rid of any supposed new king by butchery (Matthew 2:16). By God’s intervention, Joseph and Mary and Jesus escaped to Egypt, remaining there until Herod’s death (around a year or so later). Things were not easy for them.

Our lives have bright moments, but also many fears and tragedies and turmoils. It is good for us to confess, “God works in mysterious ways,” rather than looking only for immediate and obvious signs of blessings. We get that phrase about God’s mysterious ways from the hymn I mentioned earlier. The hymn writer, William Cowper, had bright moments in his life but also dire struggles of heart and soul. After William was born (in 1731), his mother lost five other children in their infancy. Then, when William was six years old, his mother died while giving birth to his younger brother John—the only sibling that survived. William was traumatized by losing his mother. He was sent to boarding school, where he was severely bullied. He managed to go on to become a successful student and writer. When he was 31 years old, he was offered a prestigious position as Keeper of the Journals in the House of Lords. But his appointment was challenged and he was to undergo a public examination at the Bar of the House. His fragile psyche could not handle that, and he had a breakdown. He made attempts at suicide. He went to be treated for two years at a mental health asylum. He was befriended by faithful people and became connected to evangelical churches. In reflection on his life’s journey—including especially his bouts with suicidal thoughts and depression—William Cowper wrote these lines in a poem he originally entitled, Conflict: Light Shining out of Darkness:

God moves in a mysterious way,
    His wonders to perform;
He plants his footsteps in the sea,
    And rides upon the storm.  …

Ye fearful saints fresh courage take,
    The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy, and shall break
    In blessings on your head.*

When you are struggling to see hope in your life, bear in mind the experience of Mary and Joseph. They lived in a world where they had to make difficult journeys from Nazareth to Bethlehem and then from Bethlehem to Egypt. But God made his blessings known by visits from shepherds and wise men. Keep in mind the life of Jesus, which culminated in suffering and scorn and pain and death. But God made his victory known in Jesus’ resurrection and ascension as King of kings and Lord of lords. Keep in mind the experience of God’s people throughout the course of history who have battled stresses and strains—such as the life of William Cowper—and yet can confess that God works in mysterious ways and is with us through the storms. 

When life is shrouded in mystery and difficulty, we may cry out to God like Job did long ago, “Why? Why? Why?” (Cf. Job chapter 3). We may not see obvious signs that God is still with us, watching over us. But we know that our Redeemer lives, “and that at the last he will stand upon the earth,” and we will “in our own flesh see God on our side” (Job 19:25-27). We will have a home with him. 

Our hearts yearn within us for the final revealing of all God’s mysteries, “Now we know only in part; then [we] will know fully, even as [we] have been fully known” (1 Corinthians 13:12).  In the meantime, we confess: “Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am” (Philippians 4:13 The Message). Our God “will fully satisfy every need according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). That is our confidence in Jesus, born at Bethlehem, crucified at Calvary, raised to life and ascended on high. He has promised, “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:3). That is the culmination of the mystery of Christ, in which we have our hope. 

Life’s greatest mystery has been revealed to us in the gospel—the good news of God’s grace in Jesus. That news, the revealing of that mystery, is the truth we hold dear in our hearts and the grace we share with others.

Scripture quotations, except where otherwise indicated, are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

* Sources: Cowper & Newton Museum, Poetry Foundation,  Wikipedia biography and poem page

Posted by David Sellnow
18
Nov
2024

Very Important People

In connection with thoughts I posted last Sunday (for the 25th Sunday after Pentecost), I’d also prepared a children’s message to go with that meditation. Quite often in my ministry career, adults would say they got as much (or more) out of the children’s sermons than the regular sermons. So, perhaps you’ll appreciate the brief message I’ll share this week. I’ve adapted this for the blog from the children’s talk I had prepared in connection with readings from 1 Kings 17:8-16 and Mark 12:38-44.

Who is important?

I’m going to give you a list of several people and want you to tell me which of them is the most important.

  • Xi Jinping — the President of the People’s Republic of China, which has 1.4 billion people.
  • Elon Musk — the richest person in the world, who currently has a net worth of $304 billion.
  • Patrick Mahomes —  all-pro, Super Bowl champion NFL player.
  • Christiano Renaldo / Lionel Messi — the best-known, most popular soccer players in the world. 
  • Dwayne (the Rock) Johnson — currently the most successful movie star in the world 
  • Taylor Swift  —  the biggest-selling global recording artist of the year for the past two years in a row.
  • And the last person on my list — you. 

So, of these people, which is the most important? 

Ok, that’s a trick question. Are you thinking of importance in the eyes of the world? Or importance according to God? Certainly, some people seem more important in this world. But no one is unimportant to God.

You may think of yourself as the last person on a list here on planet earth, but remember that Jesus said, “Many who are first will be last, and the last will be first” (Matthew 19:30).  Jesus also said that those who are considered the “least of these” here on earth – the hungry, the thirsty, those who have nothing, those who are lonely and strangers, even those who are in prison – still are people he considers to be members of his family (Matthew 25:40). Jesus said that the ways of God our Father are often hidden from the highest people, from the most wise and learned people, but are revealed to little children (Matthew 11:25).  

The truth is, every person is equal as far as God is concerned. If people get too puffed up with their own importance and think they’re great, God is not impressed.  God’s Word tells us: “Not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong…  so that no one might boast in the presence of God.  (1 Corinthians 1:26-29).

Don’t ever think you are unimportant. No matter who you are, no matter how small you are, no matter how invisible you might feel some days, you are of eternal importance to God. You have a friend forever in Jesus, no matter what situation you find yourself in.  So, whenever you’re feeling small or unimportant or troubled about anything in life, trust in Jesus. He says, “Come to me, all of you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:28,29).

Scripture quotations, except where otherwise indicated, are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Posted by David Sellnow
10
Nov
2024

Widows, weakness, and walking in faith

God is with those who are suffering – he has suffered with us and for us

Readings for the 25th Sunday after Pentecost:

When I lived in the South, I had an acquaintance in our neighborhood who was an airplane pilot. He was working for a large televised ministry, piloting the private plane used by the ministry’s leadership. His mother watched the televangelist’s broadcasts. She was a devout believer in God, and felt that the ministry was doing God’s work. She was on a fixed income. Her Social Security benefits were not large. Nevertheless, she regularly sent in large portions of her income as gifts to the ministry—more than she could afford. She had been doing that for years, since before her son started as private pilot for the ministry. The longer her son was working for the organization, the more her habit of donations bothered him. He was fine with supporting her from his own income with anything she needed. But from the inside of the ministry, he was seeing how the mail-handling staff was tasked to go through bags and bags of mail quickly and pull out the checks. The checks were directed for deposit to the ministry’s accounts. The letters sent with them mostly were ignored. A handful of prayer requests were plucked at random from the hundreds of letters, so the preacher could feature those on air. The rest of the letters and prayer requests were thrown away without being read by anyone. 

The pilot’s mother had a heart devoted to Christ, and surely the Lord was with her and loved her—whether or not she was sending in donations to the TV ministry. The duplicitous  ministry, on the other hand, was veering away from truth and integrity and love. As the Book of Proverbs advises, “The Lord hates it when people cheat others” (Proverbs 11:1 NIrV).  “Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who act faithfully are his delight” (Proverbs 12:22). 

Eventually, the pilot walked away from his job with that ministry organization, because the arrogance and affluence of the top people—and their dishonesty—was so at odds with the trust and hopes of the people they were supposed to be serving. It’s not unlike the situation that existed when Jesus observed the way things were at the temple in Jerusalem many years ago. Jesus pointed out the contrast between the high and mighty religious leaders and the ordinary folks who came to express their faith. In that temple environment, Jesus publicly said to watch out for those who make themselves the center of attention in matters of religion. Beware of those, he said, “who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces” (Mark 12:38-39) and yet devour widows’ houses—taking their property from them, “exploiting the weak and helpless” (Mark 12:40 The Message). Jesus focused his attention on a poor widow who came and put into the temple offering two small copper coins, worth the equivalent of a penny. “Truly I tell you,” Jesus said, “this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury” with amounts they could afford from the abundance of their wealth. Out of her poverty, this faith-filled widow was putting in “everything she had, all she had to live on” (Mark 12:42-44).

The people who looked like they were the most important in the goings-on at the temple in Jerusalem were really only self-important. They were proud. They were puffed up. As Scripture has said in another context: “Their spirit wasn’t right in them. … Wealth is treacherous; the arrogant do not endure” (Habakkuk 2:4,5). “But the righteous will live by their faith” (Habakkuk 2:4).

Let’s take another example, going back about 900 years before Jesus’ ministry in Judea and Galilee. A king named Ahab had come to reign over Israel, with fortresses/palaces in the cities of Jezreel and Samaria.  King Ahab enhanced his power by marriage to a Phoenician princess named Jezebel. Jezebel made her country’s worship of Baal and Asherah (fertility deities) a prominent part of her reign with Ahab (cf. 1 Kings 16:31-34). Ahab and Jezebel sat in the power positions and seemed like the important ones in Israel.

Bernardo Strozzi, Elijah & The Widow of Zerephath, 17th century

But that’s not how our Lord saw things. Through Elijah, the LORD announced that the opposite of fertile harvests and abundant blessings would be happening for them. Elijah prophesied, “As the Lord the God of Israel lives …there shall be neither dew nor rain these years” (1 Kings 17:1). Elijah became public enemy #1 of the Ahab and Jezebel regime. During those years, Elijah took refuge at the home of a widow in the coastal city of Zarephath, which was actually located in Jezebel’s home territory. It wasn’t where you’d expect to find an ally for the LORD’s prophet, but the LORD told Elijah, “I have commanded a widow there to feed you” (1 Kings 17:9). And indeed she did. She had almost nothing left when Elijah encountered her. She was gathering a few sticks for a fire. She planned to use her last little bit of flour and oil to make one last meal for herself and her son before they succumbed to starvation. Elijah offered her a promise from the LORD: “The jar of meal will not be emptied and the jug of oil will not fail until the day that the LORD sends rain on the earth.” (Cf. 1 Kings 17:10-16.)  Later in their time together, the widow’s son became severely ill and died. Elijah prayed, “‘O Lord my God, let this child’s life come into him again.’ The Lord listened to the voice of Elijah; the life of the child came into him again, and he revived” (1 Kings 17:21-22). The widow’s faith was strengthened further in the LORD God of Israel (1 Kings 17:24). Life was not easy for them, but the LORD was with them.

Where was God in Elijah’s day? Was he with the rich and powerful, the high and mighty? No. Those at the top may have thought they had it all—but it was not by God’s blessing. An unassuming widow found favor with God. A faithful prophet found favor with God. They were the ones actually experiencing God’s blessing.

Where was God in Jesus’ day? With society’s policy makers and self-satisfied religious leaders? No. A worshipful widow, trusting God to meet her needs, was noticed by Jesus and held up as an example. 

Where is God today? Do we look for God’s presence and signs of God’s blessing in the wrong places? Do we revere the wrong people or look in the wrong direction for what it means to have a blessed life? We give TV coverage to a billionaire doing the first-ever civilian spacewalk (in a flight he paid for on another billionaire’s rocket ship) and think, “Wouldn’t that be so cool if I could do that?” (See BBC story, 9/12/24.) We heap our adoration on rock stars and pop stars and country stars and sports stars and movie stars and dream of living a life like theirs. 

But where does God truly show up and make his presence known in our world? “This is where God shows up: in the confessing of our sins, and the bearing of one another’s burdens, and being there in solidarity with those who are bearing crosses. That’s where God shows up” (Tripp Fuller, Faith-Lead, 2024). Another insightful writer has said, “God is more likely to be found in the lives of people at the bottom of the ladder where life is messy, than at the top where life is comfortable and secure. These hurting places are the arenas where Jesus lived, worked, and taught, and this is the arena to which his followers are called” (Kurt Struckmeyer, FollowingJesus.org, 7/1/2018). 

Think of what it was like when Jesus himself was on this earth. Who seemed important then? At the time of Jesus’ death, who seemed like the winners and who seemed like the losers? Didn’t it seem like the Roman empire and the Roman governor and the mobs who screamed against Jesus had all the power? That Jesus and his followers were nobodies, rejects, worthless? Where was God when Jesus was suffering? You could even hear Jesus cry out in anguish and abandonment, “My God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46)  But his Father was not abandoning Jesus forever. The divine Spirit would invigorate him again. Jesus was doing what he was doing—suffering and dying—for us, to redeem us. He came to us in our world because our world is full of misery and death. As human beings, we have flesh and blood and are subject to death. So Jesus came and “shared the same things, so that through his death he might destroy the one who has the power of death … and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death” (Hebrews 2:14, 15).  Christ offered himself once, for all time, to bear the sins of all humanity. And the resurrected Jesus, having dealt with human sin and misery by his own suffering, promises us that he “will appear a second time … to save those who are eagerly waiting for him” (Hebrews 9:28).

Pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, while he was imprisoned by the Nazi government that later would put him to death, wrote in a letter from prison:

  • God allows himself to be edged out of the world and onto the cross. God is weak and powerless in the world, and that is exactly the way, the only way, in which God can be with us and help us. Matthew 8:17 (He took up our infirmities, and bore the burden of our sins) makes it crystal clear that it is not by his omnipotence that Christ helps us, but by his weakness and suffering.
    This is the decisive difference between Christianity and all religions. Man’s religiosity makes him look in his distress to the power of God in the world [wanting God to show up with some miraculous, immediate solution.] … The Bible, however, directs us to the powerlessness and suffering of God; only a suffering God can help. … The God of the Bible conquers power and space in the world by his weakness. …
    Humans are challenged to participate in the sufferings of God at the hands of a godless world. … It is not some religious act which makes a Christian what he is, but participation in the suffering of God in the life of the world. … One must abandon every attempt to make something of oneself … [and take] life in stride, with all its duties and problems, its successes and failures, its experiences and helplessness. It is in such a life that we throw ourselves utterly in the arms of God and participate in his sufferings in the world and watch with Christ in Gethsemane. That is faith, and that is what makes a human and a Christian.

(Letter from 1944—see D.Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison, 1997)

Let me close by saying this:
You might be a widow struggling with loneliness and limited resources.
You might be a common laborer, figuring out how to make a living and make ends meet.
You might be a farmer, navigating the uncertainties of unpredictable weather and an unpredictable economy.
You might be a parent, at wits’ end trying to manage family life and all its worries and difficulties.
You might be a child, not sure yet where or how you fit in or where life is going for you.
You might be a neighbor or friend, seeing other neighbors and friends who are hurting and wanting to help them—even though you may be hurting too and wondering why life is so hard.
You might be anybody, facing shortages, facing sickness, facing loss, experiencing all manner of the things that go wrong in this world. But you have one certainty: Jesus has experienced all these things and more, and he sees you. He knows you. He is with you. We do not have a Savior who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, our troubles, our struggles, our feelings of unimportance and helplessness.  “We  have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:15-16).

As people of God, we carry one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2), and together we all carry our burdens to Christ, who indeed does give rest to our souls (Matthew 11:29). 

Scripture quotations, except where otherwise indicated, are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Posted by David Sellnow
11
Sep
2024

Responding to evil and trouble in this world

Thoughts in remembrance of 9/11

public domain image from picryl.com

This past weekend, CBS news program “60 Minutes” rebroadcast their 2011 special, “9/11: The FDNY,” recalling the efforts and sacrifices made by firefighters responding to the attacks on the Twin Towers in New York City. 

9/11 made us ponder also theological questions about horrors and tragedies that occur in this world. I’ll share here devotional thoughts that originally were The Electric Gospel message in September 2001. (At that time, The Electric Gospel was in email form, sent to an electronic mailing list of college students as part of a national campus ministry program.)

*******************

Responding to evil and trouble in this world

Planes hijacked. Skyscrapers plummeted to the ground. The seat of strength of our military might—the Pentagon—ruptured, fractured, broken, burning. What are we to think?

Why would God let such things happen? Why would God let planes crash and buildings collapse? Is America so sinful that God decided to punish us? Were the people aboard the hijacked jets under a sentence of God’s judgment? Were the people in the World Trade Center less godly than others, so God was okay with letting them die? Those thoughts surely are a misinterpretation, for this is the God who said he would have spared Sodom and Gomorrah had there been ten righteous people living there (Genesis 18:32).

Why would God let terrorists succeed? Why has he let evil people have their way? Is he approving of their evil? Is he unable to put a stop to evil? Neither thought is acceptable. We believe the word that the LORD is not a God who takes pleasure in evil (Psalm 5:4) and cannot be tempted by evil (James 1:13). We believe the promise that nothing is impossible with God (Luke 1:37), that the Lord has all authority in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18).

So then, what are we to say when evil and trouble occur? How do we respond to tragedies in this world?

Let’s ask someone who can give us an answer. Here is what Jesus himself had to say on the subject:

  • There were some who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. He asked them, “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them—do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did” (Luke 13:1–5).

We don’t know all the details about the incidents mentioned in Jesus’ comments. Clearly, they were well-known current events in Jerusalem at that time. One was an example of brutal, terrorist-type activity. Pontius Pilate ordered the massacre of certain Galileans in the temple courts where sacrifices were brought. They may have been suspected as revolutionaries. Roman methods for dealing with such suspects were typically swift and severe. They kept people in line by engendering fear. The other event was not one of malicious intent, but simple structural failure. A tower toppled and eighteen people were crushed underneath it.

One event a horrific crime, the other an accidental catastrophe. Regardless of the circumstances of the deadly incidents, Jesus says our response should be the same. Repent, or we also will perish.

Jesus’ words at first strike our ears as harsh. When people are murdered, our immediate reaction is outrage. When tragedies take lives, our main inclination is to mourn. But Jesus urges us also toward repentance. Why?

It comes down to an understanding of the shortness of this life and the necessity of clinging to God. We live in a world where death happens every day. We speak of many deaths occurring from natural causes, but there is nothing truly natural about death. Death entered the world through sin (Romans 5:12). The violation of God‘s commands is the reason that human beings die. Death has been a curse to us since sin entered into our world, with sin damaging us all along the way. Sin rears its ugly head in every ugly form it can find. Death takes its toll whenever and however it can—through crime, through disaster, through disease, through the decline of old age. We sin and we die. That is the story of human life and human history.

If we think we can make humanity immune to sin and death by self-help programs, we are mistaken. If we think we can make the world more secure by our own human efforts, we are mistaken. We are caught up in a world where there is sin, and we do die.

That is why Jesus said, “Unless you repent, you too will all perish.” Everybody in this world does perish, and one way or another. Whether it comes by the blade of a soldier’s sword or the bricks of a buckling building, whether by the bullets of a drive-by shooter or the winds of a tropical storm, whether by the hatefulness of an international terrorist or just that your heart stops beating while you sleep in your bed at night … the fact is that you and I and everyone else will face death. Whether we die of what are deemed natural causes or die in tragic ways, death is a reality we cannot avoid. We are not the solution to our own problem. We are people in need of a restored link to life with God. That is why Jesus urges us to repentance. He wants us to understand our need, our helplessness … and the hope that we have in him.

The meaning of repentance is not just recognizing our sin and weakness. It also means recognizing where help is to be found and turning to the one in whom there is help. We need trust. We need strength. We don’t get those things on our own. We are brought from death to life by the living God.

Jesus followed his words about crimes and disasters by telling a parable. He spoke of a fruitless fig tree that was wasting the soil in which it stood. By all rights, the orchard owner could hack such a tree down right away. But that is not God’s gardening method. Dig around It, fertilize it, nurture it, give it more time (Luke 13:6-9). That is what God does. In spiritual terms, what does that mean? It means God is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). We call our time on this earth a time of grace. If God were to wipe out all evil before it ever occurred, he would have to stop each of us human beings in our tracks. Not a single person could continue acting if God were to eradicate all evil by force, by wiping it off the face of the planet. We all have tendencies toward evil and weakness and sin. We are all stained with guilt. God did not choose to deal with evil by destroying sinners. He chose to answer the problem of evil by sending the solution in Christ.

Rather than launching destruction against every evildoer, the LORD laid on his own Son the guilt of all the world (Isaiah 53:6). Christ himself became the object and sufferer of every imaginable human evil. He was mocked and spit upon. He was slapped, punched, clubbed. He was whipped with ripping shards of metal tied to leather, tearing his flesh, bloodying his back. He was nailed hand and foot to hunks of wood, and hung up to die as a victim of mob rage and governmental violence. He was made the scourge of all the world. More than that, he was made the target of God’s own justice, carrying on himself the penalty of all sins. “It was the will of the Lord to crush him with pain” (Isaiah 53:10). That is how God answered evil and death. He gave all us life by the death of his one eternal Son.

So, when we see horrors happen in our world, how will we respond? Let us meet those events with humility and repentance. We know that all of us—along with all the rest of the world—need redemption. We also meet those horrors and tragedies with faith. We set our hopes not in this world or anything of this world, but in Christ, He suffered all things and satisfied all justice on our behalf. In him, we are saved.

We do not know what will happen tomorrow. We do not know what will be the outcome of any present or future war. We do not know if the USA will endure for centuries to come or not … or whether Judgment Day itself may be just around the corner.  What we do know is that Jesus is our Savior. He has purchased and won us from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil with his holy precious blood, and with his innocent sufferings and death (Luther’s Small Catechism). That is the basis of our hope on the best of days in this world. That is the basis of our hope on the worst of days also.

Scripture quotations, except where otherwise indicated, are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Posted by David Sellnow
26
Aug
2024

Reexamining our trust in the Lord

A meditation concerning Psalm 34

by David Sellnow

Martin Luther said we treasure the Psalms because they lay bare the hearts and souls of the psalm writers—and our hearts along with them: “The human heart is like a ship on a stormy sea driven about by winds blowing from every corner of the earth. … These tempests of the heart” caused the psalm writers to wrestle with their faith. Their words induce us to examine the inner recesses of our own souls too. 

Psalm 34 is a powerful example of reexamination of one’s own life and soul, of the need to trust in God rather than ourselves. David wrote Psalm 34 when looking back at a difficult time in his life—a time when he relied on his own ideas and cleverness rather than truly trusting the Lord. 

The heading in the Hebrew Scriptures atop Psalm 34 says: A psalm “of David, when he feigned madness before Abimelech, so that he drove him out, and he went away.” Let’s explore that context to better understand the lessons David learned and, later, expressed in this psalm. 

You remember that David, while still a pre-teen, had been chosen by the Lord and anointed by the Prophet Samuel to be Israel’s future king (1 Samuel 16). While still a teenager, David began to serve when needed as a court musician for the reigning king, Saul, who was troubled by an evil spirit. Whenever the evil spirit came upon Saul, David would come and play his lyre, “and Saul would be relieved and feel better, and the evil spirit would depart from him” (1 Samuel 16:23). Meanwhile, David continued to serve his own family, shepherding their sheep. During that time, David was sent by his father to see how his older brothers were doing at the battlefront of a standoff between the armies of Israel and the Philistines. David stepped into the foreground on that occasion, trusting implicitly in the Lord’s integrity and strength. He went out with just a slingshot and defeated the Philistines’ gigantic hero, Goliath, in a duel to the death. Following that, jealousy grew in King Saul’s heart against David. One day while David was playing music, Saul hurled a spear at him, trying to kill him, but David twice eluded the hurled weapons (1 Samuel 18:10,11). Saul then banished David from his presence, but sent him off as a main commander in Israel’s army (1 Samuel 18:13). Saul hoped David would die in battle. “Let the Philistines deal with him,” as he later said (1 Samuel 18:17). But David continued to have success. So. Saul brought David back to the palace and offered him the hand of one of his daughters in marriage.  He offered his daughter Michal, who loved David, thinking to himself, “Let me give her to him so that she may be a snare for him”, distracting David’s focus so that the hand of the Philistines might prevail against him (1 Samuel 18:21). But the more Saul realized that the Lord was with David and that his daughter Michal loved David, the more Saul’s jealousy and fury grew. “So Saul was David’s enemy from that time forward” (1 Samuel 18:29). Again “Saul sought to pin David to the wall with a spear, but David eluded Saul and the spear landed in the wall (1 Samuel 19:10). David fled for his life, and Saul began actively making more concerted efforts to have David killed (cf. 1 Samuel 19:11 – 20:33). 

That was when David, fearful of Saul, fled to Gath, the hometown of Goliath, the Philistine champion whom David had slain some years earlier. The city of Gath was also the seat of power for the Philistine king known as Achish or Abimelech, the very king who was at war with Saul and the kingdom of Israel. David had led armies in battle against the Philistines. He even was carrying the sword of Goliath with him when he went to Gath (1 Samuel 20:8-9). Did David think he could hide out in enemy territory and Saul wouldn’t come looking there? If he was hiding, that didn’t work. David was recognized, seized, and held under arrest (cf. Psalm 56, heading). Or maybe David was thinking, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend,” hoping the Philistines would protect him against Saul if he came over to their side. But David’s attempts to rescue himself went awry quickly. The officers of King Achish asked, “Isn’t David a king back in his own country? Don’t the Israelites dance and sing, ‘Saul has killed a thousand enemies; David has killed ten thousand’?” (1 Kings 21:11 CEV)  David then became very much afraid of King Achish and his men. “So he changed his behavior before them; he pretended to be mad when in their presence. He scratched marks on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle run down his beard. Achish said to his servants, ‘You see the man is mad; why then have you brought him to me? Do I lack madmen, that you have brought this fellow to act like a madman in my presence” (1 Samuel 21:13-15)? The Philistines drove David out of their lands, back into Israelite territory. And Saul kept pursuing David, seeking to kill him. 

So, that’s a bit of a story, isn’t it? That’s the context when the heading atop Psalm 34 in your Bible says: A psalm of David, when he feigned madness before Abimelech (also known as Achish), so that Achish drove David out, and he went away. At some point later in his life, David wrote two psalms (Psalm 56 and Psalm 34), with headings showing he was thinking about those days when he was on the run and ran to Gath. Looking back on his life, David recognized he had tried to save himself by his own ingenuity, resorting to desperate means, often failing to maintain his integrity as a man of God. In Psalm 56, written after the fact, David prayed to God: “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. … This I know, that God is for me … the Lord, whose word I praise. … In God I trust; I am not afraid. What can a mere mortal do to me?” (Psalm 56:3,4,9,11). That’s the lesson David learned, the faith he confessed in retrospect. At the time, however, David was caught up in all sorts of fear and uncertainty and did not trust God would get him through it. Mere mortals like Saul and the Philistines scared him plenty. He tried to scheme his way out of trouble—to the point of slobbering on himself and acting as if he had lost all mental faculties. The great future king of Israel, the anointed of the Lord, acting as though his only hope was to pretend he was hopeless and witless, a nobody that was of no use to the Philistines or Israel.

We’ve seen it before in the lives of other great persons of faith—losing track of God’s promises, losing trust in God’s promises, and resorting to their own solutions to their dilemmas in life. Consider Abram and Sarai. They had been promised they would have a child in their old age. But what the Lord promised seemed too slow in happening, seemed not to be happening. So, they decided Abram should sleep with Sarai’s handmaiden, Hagar, and have a son with her. That was not what God intended. Or consider Moses. Born to an Israelite slave, Moses was raised in the Egyptian palace as a grandson of a pharaoh. When he grew up, Moses initially took it upon himself to do something about Egyptian abuse of Israelite slaves. One day, Moses “went out to his people and saw their forced labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his kinsfolk. He looked this way and that, and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid his body in the sand” (Exodus 20:11-12). But what he did became known. Moses had to flee Egypt and was gone for forty years.

Too often in life, all of us as God’s people forget to trust God. We neglect to keep his steadfastness and truth in mind. We resort to our own solutions. We scratch and claw and act without integrity. We fail to believe if we follow the ways of God, if we wait on God, that we will be safe, we will be secure, we will stay alive.

David learned from what he went through. He had been flailing away trying to protect himself. But running in the wrong direction and engaging in lies and deceptions only made his situation worse, not better. Coming out of those experiences, David recognized that the Lord his God had protected him and rescued him, despite himself. The Lord had been with him through every day of trouble, and remained with him by grace even when David had made a bigger mess of things. That’s when David penned the words of Psalm 34, saying:

Magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together. …
Those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. …
Which of you desires life, and covets many days to enjoy good?
Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit.
Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it. …
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and will save those whose spirits are crushed.
Many are the troubles of the righteous, but the Lord rescues them from them all. …
The Lord redeems the life of his servants;
none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned. 
(Psalm 34:2,3,10,12-14,17-20,22)

God help us to learn the same lesson David did. As the apostle Paul urged us: Let us be careful how we live, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of the time we have. Yes, often the days in this life are evil and troubles surround us, but we seek to understand what the will of the Lord is. We want to sing and make music to the Lord in our hearts always—no matter the circumstances of life in which we find ourselves. We give thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Cf. Ephesians 5:15-20.)  No matter what happens in this life, we maintain our trust in Jesus Christ, the living bread that came down from heaven. Partaking in the life that is in Christ, we know we will live forever. (Cf. John 6:51.) As another worship hymn from the Psalms says:

With the Lord on my side I do not fear.
What can mortals do to me?
It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to put confidence in mortals.
It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to put confidence in princes.
O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
(Psalm 118:7-9, 29).

So, let us “revere the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness” (Joshua 24:14). Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods or come up with our own schemes and strategies for getting through life or escaping harm. For when we look back on our lives, it has been the Lord who has stayed with us through thick and thin (cf. Joshua 24:16-18).  Even in those moments when we did stupid things, acted like we maybe had lost our minds, or fell into dreadful sins, God still did not abandon us. Think of David later in his life as king, when he forgot what he expressed in this psalm. He let power go to his head and let lust overtake his will. He engaged in adultery and murder and a cover-up. Yet again, God did not abandon him, but sent the prophet Nathan to confront David in his sin and call him back to the Lord’s mercy and back to faith. (Cf. 2 Samuel 11 & 12.) 

This life is full of challenges to our faith and decency and all that is good. As the apostle Paul said, “Our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh” (Ephesians 6:1200.  We are up against “the evil rulers of the unseen world … and huge numbers of wicked spirits in the spirit world” (Ephesians 6:12 TLB). So, we need to arm ourselves not with the tools or devices of this world, not even with the mighty sword of a Goliath (which ultimately did David no good). We take up the whole armor of God—the sword of the Spirit, the shield of faith, the breastplate of righteousness, the helmet of salvation—so that we may be able to withstand evil. We stand firm when we stand in the righteousness God has given us in Christ and cling always to the words that Jesus has spoken to us—words that are spirit and life (John 6:63). There’s really nowhere else we can run for safety, nowhere else we can go to have hope and peace and goodness in our lives, no one else who can hold onto us for eternity. 

May we daily say, as Jesus’ disciples said, “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68).

Scripture quotations, except where otherwise indicated, are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Posted by David Sellnow
22
Jul
2024

Called to be alongside of others

A message for the 9th Sunday after Pentecost

Sharing peace in Christ, leaving no one out 

by David Sellnow

Image credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Texas_Tech_University,_Student_Union.jpg

In my early years of ministry, I led weekly Bible studies on campus for a student group at a large public university in Texas. Anybody was welcome to attend. One who began coming regularly was Linda, who was somewhat older than the traditional college-age students in the group. After attending for a couple of months, asking many questions herself and listening to the discussions I led with the group, Linda approached me after one of the evening sessions. She told me, “I’ve decided you’re not a cult leader.” “I’m glad to hear that!” I said. Linda explained she had spent over ten years of her life stuck in a thought-controlling cult. After getting out and getting reoriented, she became a cult interventionist, helping extricate others from similar situations. The religious body that was the parent church for our student organization had a reputation for fixed doctrines that everyone agreed to. That had been a red flag for Linda, and she had decided to investigate our group. Thankfully, I had passed the test and was not a cult leader. I wasn’t mind-controlling anyone or causing spiritual damage. We were digging in Scripture together and sharing thoughts openly and equally.

Sadly, there are religious leaders and religious organizations that dominate in ways that are abusive and harmful. Much research has been done into complex post-traumatic stress disorder, including religious trauma, when religious systems harm rather than help. It happens when individuals are made to feel fearful and trapped and depressed and lose who they are. They experience an erosion of their individual personality. They are compelled to conform themselves to the dictates and decisions and rules of the group (CPTSD Foundation). 

Not all stern, unbending churches are inflicting religious trauma in the formal sense of the term. But they may be ignoring the hurts and hopes and needs of many who are looking for good news and instead find mostly restrictions and legalisms.

I knew a young woman whose pastor preached that any and all forms of birth control were wrong. The young woman’s fiance had the same, unyielding view. As he and she talked about marriage, he insisted they should have as many babies as they could. Any attempts to limit that he saw as sin. The young woman was terrified, wondering if her body and mind and emotions could handle so much. Her pastor and her fiance were overemphasizing one thought in Scripture, that a man who has many children has been given a great blessing (cf. Psalm 127:3-5). They meanwhile were ignoring another Bible imperative, that husbands are to show consideration and concern for their wives and honor their needs of body, mind and spirit (cf. 1 Peter 3:7).

I knew young men and women who were training for roles in ministry in the church, who would not talk about internal struggles they had. If they had doubts or questions about any particular spiritual teachings, they were afraid to express them. If they experienced any mental health challenges, such as feeling anxious or depressed, they did not dare admit these things out loud. The church culture that surrounded them made them feel that any admission of weakness would disqualify them from ministry. They feared being dismissed from pre-ministry training because they weren’t good enough, weren’t strong enough, weren’t perfect enough to be pastors or teachers. Somehow they were forgetting the stories of all the human faith leaders we see in Scripture. Scripture openly shows the flaws and shortcomings of Abraham, Moses, David, Peter, Paul, and others whom God called into leadership. Good leaders lead through God’s strength, not their own (cf. Philippians 4:13). We don’t lead—and we are not disciples—because we are perfect people. 

Religious groups and religious leaders can lose that understanding and that humility. They can begin to view themselves as having a rightness that’s righter than others, a betterness that’s better than others. They overlook their own failings and inconsistencies and judge persons who don’t adhere to their rules as out of line, as less than, as falling short. 

These are the kinds of things that the LORD spoke against, through Jeremiah, saying, “Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! … You have scattered my flock, and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them” (Jeremiah 23:1,2).

In One Coin Found: How God’s Love Stretches to the Margins,” Emmy Kegler points us to Jesus’ parable of the lost coin (Luke 15:8-10). She says, “The thing about coins is that they can’t get lost by themselves. They can’t roll away on their own. Coins get lost because their owners aren’t careful; whoever was in charge was wasteful with them. Coins get lost because they lose their shine, because dirt and rust cling to them, and without careful attention, they turn a color indistinguishable from dust and mess.”  Lost and dismayed and scattered souls are often in that condition because persons charged with responsibility in faith and religion have not kept their focus on God’s grace, have not maintained mercy in their preaching and their practice. As a result, people are cast aside—or they pull away because they are afraid, because they feel shamed and judged, because they are not led forward in hope and joy.

Image credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/bob5d/16730007506

Do we do things in our own ministries and dealings with people that make others feel less than, as not properly in line? Are we more concerned about holding onto our own traditions than we are about welcoming others who have different backgrounds and different perspectives? Do we think of the church as our church, as if it belongs to us and anybody coming to us needs to fit in with our expectations and think the way we think? Do we put signs outside our churches and banners on our websites saying, “All are welcome,” but if folks come who aren’t the kind of people we were expecting to join us, make them feel unwelcome?

Back in the early days of the Christian church, the members who had been part of the Jewish traditions of faith did not easily adjust to having Gentiles joining the faith. The new Gentile Christians did not share the cultural context of Judaism, and often were made to feel like second-class citizens. The apostle Paul, who had described himself as the most enthusiastic proponent there could be of the Jewish faith (cf. Philippians 3:4-6), addressed that problem. In the church in Antioch (in Syria), he even confronted the Apostle Peter for going along with the standoffish behavior that Jewish Christians there were showing over against Gentile believers (cf. Galatians 2:11-21). In his letter to Gentile Christians in the Greek city of Ephesus, Paul reassured them that they were fully equal members of the church.  He wrote to them, “You were [once]  without Christ … aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise. … But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. He is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall between us. … You are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God” (Ephesians 2:12-14,19).  Paul also strongly made this point:  Christ “has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace …. Through Christ all of us have access in one Spirit to the Father” (Ephesians 2:15,17-18). Jesus had fulfilled God’s laws for all of us. So laws and rules of the Jewish community were not to create a barrier to Gentile persons finding a spiritual home in the church. The church was not to have rules that made people change who they were in order to belong.

Nearly two thousand years have gone by since Paul wrote those words to Gentile Christians in what was then primarily a Jewish church. Today, do we Gentile Christians, with a long history and tradition in our practices of faith, need to hear the lesson Paul was teaching to Jewish traditionalists back in his day? Have we become so used to the church fabric and makeup as it has been that we don’t (or won’t) open our eyes to new people and new possibilities for the church in our own time? Do we truly welcome everyone, as Jesus welcomed everyone? Or are we sometimes too focused on ourselves to be full of caring and compassion for others?

Think of the ministry of Jesus. He labored with all his energy to reach out to every soul in need. At one time, when he and his disciples were exhausted from their work and had not even had time to eat, he said to them, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while” (Mark 6:31). They decided to cross Lake Kinneret, but the crowds hurried on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them (Mark 6:32-33). What did Jesus do as he went ashore?  He saw the great crowd (over five thousand people),  “and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd” (Mark 6:34). Tired as he was, he took the time to teach them, delivering words of comfort and hope. And along with his teaching, Jesus then also did a miracle of mercy, providing a meal of bread and fish for that whole crowd, more than they could even eat (cf. Mark 6:35-44).  We’re told of the general pattern of Jesus’ ministry that “wherever he went, into villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed” (Mark 6:53-56). 

We are called by Jesus to carry on ministry in the same spirit as his ministry. Do you remember the woman who had been suffering for twelve years from hemorrhages, who said she just hoped to touch Jesus’ clothes and his power would heal her (Mark 5:25-34)? Do you remember the Syrophoenician woman, from outside of the children of Israel, who came to Jesus for help for her daughter, and said to him, “Even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs” (Mark 7:28). People of all sorts and all needs reach out for love and acceptance and hope and help. They may not even be consciously reaching out toward the church. But they may be reaching out to you, if you are in their circle of acquaintance. Don’t look down on them. Don’t turn away from them—any of them, no matter who they are or what they are. Reach out to take their hand. Reach out to put an arm around their shoulder. Reach out as an ally to them, as an advocate for them, as a friend and partner.  If I may use a Greek word, be a “paraclete” to them. That’s a word that Jesus used when he promised to send us his Holy Spirit. Jesus said, “ I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Paraclete [Παράκλeτοß], to be with you forever. …  You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you” (John 14:16,17). The Greek word parakletos, literally translated, means one who is called to the side of another. Jesus has been that for us. God’s Spirit has been that for us. We are called to be that for one another, for our neighbors, for our friends, for strangers, for enemies, for everyone. 

We are not a cult, trying to control others and make them follow us without question and without thinking. We will not be like the shepherds Jeremiah described, who scatter and drive souls away in fear and trauma, rather than attending to them with care. We hope to be the sort of shepherds the LORD said he would raise up, providing a witness to God’s love and an embodiment of his grace, so that those whom we reach “shall not fear any longer, or be dismayed, nor shall any be missing” (Jeremiah 23:4).  We will not demand people fabricate their own righteousness; rather we will point to the Savior God raised up in Jesus, whose very name by which he is called means: “The LORD is our righteousness” (Jeremiah 23:6).  We are the church, established by Jesus, being “built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God” (Ephesians 2:22)—and for all of his people.  Once we were not a people, but now we are God’s people; once we had not received mercy, but now we have received mercy (1 Peter 2:10). Christ, in his mercy, has called us alongside him that we might call others alongside us. We  proclaim the mighty acts of the one who called us out of darkness into his marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9). Let us be that light, in Christ, to all of our neighbors, near and far. 

For a related devotional thought, see this post on The Electric Gospel: https://theelectricgospel.com/the-house-of-disposable-souls/

Scripture quotations, except where otherwise indicated, are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

 

Posted by David Sellnow
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