final prayer

Good morning brothers and sisters,

We continue Jesus’ prayer today. There’s a lot going on in this section of Jesus’ prayer: even with a couple of times through it I still haven’t taken it all in. Some of the major ideas to look out for are the fact that following Jesus, and speaking his word separates us from the rest of the world and often exposes us to hostility. Knowing that, Jesus prays that God will protect the disciples since Jesus won’t be with them anymore. “Protection” in this case doesn’t mean making life easy or safe, but keeping the disciples from falling away from faith, so that no matter what the world does to them, they will know that ultimately they are safe in God’s hands.

The other major idea I’d like you to notice is the theme of unity. Jesus prays that his followers would be one with each other and with God. As divided as the church sometimes seems, there are signs of unity. We are one in Christ, and one day the church’s full unity will be visible to everyone.

God bless,

Sam

John 17:11-26

¹¹And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. ¹²While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled. ¹³But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves. ¹⁴I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. ¹⁵I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one. ¹⁶They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.

¹⁷Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. ¹⁸As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. ¹⁹And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth. ²⁰”I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, ²¹that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. ²²The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, ²³I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

²⁴Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. ²⁵“Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you; and these know that you have sent me. ²⁶I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

putting on Christ

Good evening friends,
Today's reading reminds us that when we become Christian it means finding our identity in Jesus and rejecting those parts of our old identity that are opposed to God's kingdom. That means taking off the prejudice, selfishness and consumer identity the world encourages us to wear and putting on the love, openness and justice Jesus stood for. It also means putting forgiveness at the heart of our relationships with others. Jesus forgave us, so we forgive others; seeking love in all that we do. Letting our faith transform us can be hard because the world keeps bombarding us with contrary messages, but if we allow God to do so, the Spirit will work inside us to make us new in Christ.

God bless,
Sam

Colossians 3:8-17

⁸But now you must get rid of all such things—anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language from your mouth. ⁹Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices ¹⁰and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator. ¹¹In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all!

¹²As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. ¹³Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. ¹⁴Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. ¹⁵And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. ¹⁶Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. ¹⁷And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

reflecting on our limits

Good morning brothers and sisters,
The next two days we're reading from Ecclesiastes to help us reflect on the passing of one year and the beginning of another. Ecclesiastes is a book full of reflections on life. It sometimes feels pessimistic, but on balance it is realistic about the hardships and frustrations of life. At the same time, the conclusion the writer eventually comes to is that, while humans are limited in what we can do, and life is often frustrating, we can still find joy in following our calling and worshiping God. So for the morning reading, follow the Teacher's reflection, but take it with a grain of salt and more than a hint of joy.

God bless,
Sam

Ecclesiastes 1:1-9

The words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. ²Vanity of vanities, says the Teacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity. ³What do people gain from all the toil at which they toil under the sun?

⁴A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever. ⁵The sun rises and the sun goes down, and hurries to the place where it rises. ⁶The wind blows to the south, and goes around to the north; round and round goes the wind, and on its circuits the wind returns. ⁷All streams run to the sea, but the sea is not full; to the place where the streams flow, there they continue to flow. ⁸All things are wearisome; more than one can express; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, or the ear filled with hearing.

⁹What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing new under the sun.

God versus the world

Good morning friends,
Today Jesus warns his disciples that the world will hate them just like it has hated him. They will not fit in because of their calling to follow Jesus. He also says that the world will be guilty of rejecting his word because he showed God's power so clearly but was still rejected. In the midst of that divide between God and the world, Jesus will send the Holy Spirit to the disciples. The Spirit will continue to witness to Christ's word, and in the Spirit's power the disciples are called to be witnesses also. That's still our calling, to bear witness to God's amazing love with our words and our actions. It is a challenging calling that can sometimes get us in trouble, but it is also where we find rewarding life.

God bless,
Sam

John 15:18-27

18”If the world hates you, be aware that it hated me before it hated you. 19If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own. Because you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world—therefore the world hates you. 20Remember the word that I said to you, ‘Servants are not greater than their master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you; if they kept my word, they will keep yours also. 21But they will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me.


22If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23Whoever hates me hates my Father also. 24If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not have sin. But now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. 25It was to fulfill the word that is written in their law, ‘They hated me without a cause.’


26”When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf. 27You also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning.

work and expectation

Good morning sisters and brothers,
More than in some letters, 2 Thessalonians talks about the last days of the world. Early Christians expected the end very soon, which created a powerful sense of urgency to reach as many people with the good news as possible in the time remaining. It seems that some Christians took that expectation in the wrong direction by quitting their jobs. Paul writes that this is the wrong thing to do. Yes, the end is coming and the most important thing is faith and evangelism, but that doesn't mean we can abandon our other responsibilities.

The line: "Anyone unwilling to work should not eat..." might be the best known line in the letter and has been used by Christians in opposition to helping the poor or unemployed. That teaching is meant to discourage Christians from being lazy, and indeed Paul warns Christians even to stay away from those in the community who are lazy so they'll see that they are wrong and change their ways. That in no way means that Christians shouldn't help those in need; that responsibility is assumed. The challenge in the Christian life is striking the right balance between active work and ministry in the world and expectation of God's kingdom. We work and we hope for Christ's return, and because we live in expectation work and the world don't dominate our lives; they are part of a bigger picture.

Blessings,
Sam


2 Thessalonians 3:6-17

6Now we command you, beloved, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from believers who are living in idleness and not according to the tradition that they received from us. 7For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us; we were not idle when we were with you, 8and we did not eat anyone’s bread without paying for it; but with toil and labor we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you. 9This was not because we do not have that right, but in order to give you an example to imitate.

10For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: Anyone unwilling to work should not eat. 11For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work. 12Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living. 13Brothers and sisters, do not be weary in doing what is right. 14Take note of those who do not obey what we say in this letter; have nothing to do with them, so that they may be ashamed. 15Do not regard them as enemies, but warn them as believers.

16Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in all ways. The Lord be with all of you. 17I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. This is the mark in every letter of mine; it is the way I write. 18The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you.