Christ is risen!

Good morning brothers and sisters,
Happy Easter! We had two wonderful worship services yesterday, one at the lake at sunrise and the other in our sanctuary. It's so good to be together to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord. Today's reading tells the story of Christ's resurrection from Luke's Gospel. The women go to the tomb early Easter morning to anoint Jesus' body. We are still bearers of that good news today. How will you live the resurrection?

God bless,
Sam

Luke 24:1-12

But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. ²They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, ³but when they went in, they did not find the body. ⁴While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. ⁵The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. ⁶Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, ⁷that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.” 

⁸Then they remembered his words, ⁹and returning from the tomb, they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. ¹⁰Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles. ¹¹But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. ¹²But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened.

women in Acts

Good morning brothers and sisters,
Today's reading takes us to the Book of Acts, to a passage telling a story of one of Paul's missionary journeys. This is one of a few "we" sections in Acts where the third person narration of most of the book becomes first person. The best explanation is that these sections may have been the parts of the story Luke was actually present for, while the rest is an account he has woven together from research and listening to other people's stories.

This passage highlights the important and varied role of women in spreading the gospel. In the first paragraph the apostles preach to a group of women, one of whom becomes their host for their stay. The second paragraph is an odd one. Paul's healing seems to be a strange one. It reminds me a bit of how evil spirits always recognized Jesus too, but Jesus didn't want them to speak.

Blessings on your day,
Sam


Acts 16:11-18
¹¹We set sail from Troas and took a straight course to Samothrace, the following day to Neapolis, ¹²and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city for some days. ¹³On the sabbath day we went outside the gate by the river, where we supposed there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and spoke to the women who had gathered there. ¹⁴A certain woman named Lydia, a worshiper of God, was listening to us; she was from the city of Thyatira and a dealer in purple cloth. The Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul. ¹⁵When she and her household were baptized, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my home.” And she prevailed upon us.


¹⁶One day, as we were going to the place of prayer, we met a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners a great deal of money by fortune-telling. ¹⁷While she followed Paul and us, she would cry out, “These men are slaves of the Most High God, who proclaim to you a way of salvation.” ¹⁸She kept doing this for many days. But Paul, very much annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I order you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour.

the elect lady

Good morning sisters and brothers,
Today's reading is a reminder that even though men usually get the spotlight in the Bible, women were important in the early Christian community. The Apostle John writes this letter to someone he refers to as "The elect Lady." We don't know who she was, but we can imagine that she was a leader in the community in some way. Women hosted churches in their homes, they hosted and assisted traveling Christian teachers, they prayed and taught and strengthened the community. Some traveled to share the gospel.


In this letter John repeats some of his common themes about trusting in Jesus and thus connecting with the Father. John's community seems to have been threatened with opposing teachings, so sometimes his writing seems very defensive or even aggressive. On the other hand, the story goes that John lived into very old age and always preached about love. In his last years they say the only message he had was love.

blessings on your day,
Sam

3 John 1:1-13

The elder to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth, and not only I but also all who know the truth, ²because of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever: ³Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, in truth and love. ⁴I was overjoyed to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as we have been commanded by the Father.

⁵But now, dear lady, I ask you, not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but one we have had from the beginning, let us love one another. ⁶And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment just as you have heard it from the beginning—you must walk in it.

⁷Many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh; any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist! ⁸Be on your guard, so that you do not lose what we have worked for, but may receive a full reward. ⁹Everyone who does not abide in the teaching of Christ, but goes beyond it, does not have God; whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.

¹⁰Do not receive into the house or welcome anyone who comes to you and does not bring this teaching; ¹¹for to welcome is to participate in the evil deeds of such a person.

¹²Although I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink; instead I hope to come to you and talk with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete. ¹³The children of your elect sister send you their greetings.

healing on the Sabbath

Good morning sisters and brothers,
One of the ways women often appear in the New Testament is as people Jesus heals. In this story, Jesus takes the initiative, by noticing the need for healing and performing the miracle. The religious leaders get upset because Jesus heals on the Sabbath, but Jesus explains that the Sabbath is a day for untying burdens so all can rest. The passage asks us when we have used tradition or religious teaching to limit people or ourselves in unhealthy ways. Faithfulness isn't about blindly following rules, but about looking for God's intention and following that. It's not as simple as following a checklist, but it is the better way Christ calls us to. Most of all, the rule of love for God and love for others leads us in the right direction. At the same time, notice that Jesus doesn't say we shouldn't follow the Sabbath commandment, only that we need to understand it more fully.

God bless,
Sam

Luke 13:10-17

¹⁰Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. ¹¹And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. ¹²When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Woman, you are set free from your ailment.” ¹³When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God.

¹⁴But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, “There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day.” 

¹⁵But the Lord answered him and said, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water? ¹⁶And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?” ¹⁷When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing.

not the best hiding place

Good morning brothers and sisters,
The last two evenings we read about how Deborah and Barak led Israel against the Canaanite army of King Jabin who was oppressing them. Last night we read how Barak defeated Jabin's army, led by Sisera and how Sisera ran from the battle on foot. Today we see what happens when he looks for a hiding place. Remember that Deborah told Barak that he would win the victory but not the glory, because God was going to give Sisera into the hands of a women.


May you be strong in righteousness today.
God bless,
Sam


Judges 4:17-24
¹⁷Now Sisera had fled away on foot to the tent of Jael wife of Heber the Kenite; for there was peace between King Jabin of Hazor and the clan of Heber the Kenite. ¹⁸Jael came out to meet Sisera, and said to him, “Turn aside, my lord, turn aside to me; have no fear.” So he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug. ¹⁹Then he said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink; for I am thirsty.” So she opened a skin of milk and gave him a drink and covered him. ²⁰He said to her, “Stand at the entrance of the tent, and if anybody comes and asks you, ‘Is anyone here?’ say, ‘No.’”


²¹But Jael wife of Heber took a tent peg, and took a hammer in her hand, and went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple, until it went down into the ground—he was lying fast asleep from weariness—and he died. ²²Then, as Barak came in pursuit of Sisera, Jael went out to meet him, and said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking.” So he went into her tent; and there was Sisera lying dead, with the tent peg in his temple. ²³So on that day God subdued King Jabin of Canaan before the Israelites. ²⁴Then the hand of the Israelites bore harder and harder on King Jabin of Canaan, until they destroyed King Jabin of Canaan.

God saves

Good evening friends,
Tonight's reading picks up where we left off yesterday. God is leading Israel to victory through the leadership of Deborah and Barak. At the close of yesterday's reading Deborah invited Barak to lead the army and Barak responded that he would only go if Deborah went as well. Deborah agreed to go, but said the glory of the victory wouldn't go to Barak, but instead, God would defeat the enemy leader, Sisera, through a woman. In today's story we see the military side of the story. It doesn't matter that Barak is outnumbered; God is with him, so victory follows.

God bless,
Sam

Judges 4:10-16
¹⁰Barak summoned Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; and ten thousand warriors went up behind him; and Deborah went up with him. ¹¹Now Heber the Kenite had separated from the other Kenites, that is, the descendants of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, and had encamped as far away as Elon-bezaanannim, which is near Kedesh. ¹²When Sisera was told that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor, ¹³Sisera called out all his chariots, nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the troops who were with him, from Harosheth-ha-goiim to the Wadi Kishon.

¹⁴Then Deborah said to Barak, “Up! For this is the day on which the Lord has given Sisera into your hand. The Lord is indeed going out before you.” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand warriors following him. ¹⁵And the Lord threw Sisera and all his chariots and all his army into a panic before Barak; Sisera got down from his chariot and fled away on foot, ¹⁶while Barak pursued the chariots and the army to Harosheth-ha-goiim. All the army of Sisera fell by the sword; no one was left.

oppression and resistance

Good morning brothers and sisters,
We fast forward again several generations. Joseph has led his family into Egypt to escape a major famine. They have been honored guests given choice land in Egypt. Years later, Egypt's king has forgotten where they came from and sees only that they are not Egyptian. Difference becomes fear, and fear becomes oppression. Not only do the Israelites become slaves, Pharaoh even seeks to kill the male babies to reduce their population. Even in this situation God acts for Israel through the courage of two women who are midwives. This is the first act of non-violent resistance in the Bible and a great example of living faith. May that courage inspire us today.

God bless,
Sam

Exodus 1:8-22

⁸Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. ⁹He said to his people, “Look, the Israelite people are more numerous and more powerful than we. ¹⁰Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, or they will increase and, in the event of war, join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.” ¹¹Therefore they set taskmasters over them to oppress them with forced labor. They built supply cities, Pithom and Rameses, for Pharaoh. ¹²But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread, so that the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites. ¹³The Egyptians became ruthless in imposing tasks on the Israelites, ¹⁴and made their lives bitter with hard service in mortar and brick and in every kind of field labor. They were ruthless in all the tasks that they imposed on them.

¹⁵The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, ¹⁶“When you act as midwives to the Hebrew women, and see them on the birthstool, if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, she shall live.” ¹⁷But the midwives feared God; they did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but they let the boys live. ¹⁸So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this, and allowed the boys to live?” ¹⁹The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.” ²⁰So God dealt well with the midwives; and the people multiplied and became very strong. ²¹And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families. ²²Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, “Every boy that is born to the Hebrews you shall throw into the Nile, but you shall let every girl live.”