Epiphany 4
Devotional
Streams of Living Water
Lectionary Devotional for Cycle B
Object:
Deuteronomy 18:15-20
The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people....
-- Deuteronomy 18:15
In this final speech of Moses before the people cross over to the promised land, Moses is addressing a primary anxiety among the people. For two generations Moses has led them. He spoke to them on behalf of God and to God on their behalf, and he makes the critical promise that God will not leave them alone after he is gone.
We use the label of prophet easily in our society to speak of people who challenge our society, particularly in an ethical sense. The Bible, however, had a very specific role in mind for the prophet. A prophet was a person who stood between God and the people and spoke to each on behalf of the other. When speaking to the people, the prophet speaks with the authority of one who has been given the words by God. Because the prophet is speaking God's judgment, the words may be harsh at times, but they are always spoken toward God's ultimate purpose of redemption.
Later, the New Testament would find this promise fulfilled in the person of Jesus who spoke with authority bringing the presence of God to bear on the people's lives and being an advocate to God on behalf of the people. As is evident in our own society, this passage recognizes that there will always be those who presume to bring a prophetic message, but their words will be from their own ego and not words that God has placed in their mouths. The validity of the prophetic message, however disturbing it is to our way of life, is whether it brings the presence of God to bear on how we are living. Since God promises to always raise up a prophet among us, it is important to ask where the prophetic voice is in our lives at this moment.
Psalm 111
Praise the Lord! I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart....
-- Psalm 111:1
Psalm 111 focuses the praise of God in recalling within the company of believers what God has done (vv. 1-2). Memory and corporate worship become the two legs of praise. It is by recalling what God does in the company of other believers that we are struck with awe at the nature of God (v. 3). God is the one who causes us to remember what God has done that reflects grace and mercy (v. 11). God provides the food, manna, to his people (v. 5) and with great signs and wonders leads them to a promised land (v. 6). God provides them laws that can guide them and that are the mirror image of God's own faithfulness and justice (vv. 7-8).
God's whole relationship with this people is one of redemption because God will not give up on his covenant (v. 9). It is in recalling this constant faithfulness, most clearly visible in that first exodus, that we begin to experience the awe of the Lord that is the beginning of wisdom. As we begin to respond to such faithfulness with our faithfulness, we deepen our understanding of God, which again evokes our praise (v. 10). It is the corporate rehearsing of the nature of God as seen in what God has done that fills our mouths with praise. To reflect on what God has done in your own life to bring you to this moment in time is a good preparation for worship.
1 Corinthians 8:1-13
But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.
-- 1 Corinthians 8:9
As a church -- the body of Christ -- we exist through Christ. Our reason for existence is Christ. "While we still were sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). God, through Christ, took note of us in our weakness. Jesus often stepped beyond the boundaries of the community to draw one who had been excluded back into the community of God's love. To know that we are saved through Christ is not the end but the beginning of our journey. Now we are to take note of and be responsive to our neighbor who is weak. Paul uses the example of eating meat that has been sacrificed to idols. It was not the eating of this meat that was wrong but the possibility that a neighbor who is weak in the faith would see us doing so and be tempted to participate in idol worship.
In a contemporary setting, we must ask what we do that might drive people away from the very community that could nurture them in the faith. The church, in an attempt to reach out to those outside the faith, will often stretch the comfort zone of their own members. In doing so, they are assuming that the one who should be most flexible in the faith is not the one who is outside but the one who is already part of the community. Sensitivity to those outside the church would suggest that, while we are free in Christ, we must be careful that the exercise of that freedom does not mislead a person who is still struggling to understand the faith. People will see Christ through what they see the church doing. The question is: Will they be welcomed or discouraged by what they see?
Mark 1:21-28
What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?
-- Mark 1:24
It was a shocking, bizarre, disruptive, offensive incident that took place in the midst of our worship in the synagogue. We were listening to a quite wonderful sermon about the nearness of God in our lives when we heard it. This man suddenly stood up and screamed, "That is a bunch of bull. I have people clawing at me all day long like a pack of wild dogs, demanding this, asking that, until my head is about to explode. I can't stand it anymore. You come here talking about the nearness of God. I say bull. God isn't near. The demons are in control. Get out of here, Jesus of Nazareth. Your holiness is useless. Leave me alone. I don't want your holiness crap."
He was crazy, of course, but as I looked around at your faces, as I felt deep in my heart, I could hear the silent scream of many of us joining like a chorus. "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? We know who you are, the holy one of God, but what has that to do with us?" There are days when we want to scream as well. It is as if the pressures of life have crowded out any possibility of hearing the holy in our lives.
That day, Jesus listened unafraid to the demons that screamed from deep within that man. Then he spoke with a quiet intensity that I had never heard before. "Be quiet, come out of him," and the man was suddenly convulsed on the floor as the demons spewed forth. Then he was calm as if his life had been cleansed of all the horror that had possessed him. I want to hear that voice again speaking to me, quieting the demons in me. Yet, I am afraid. I don't want to be convulsed. I want to experience that deep peace that wards off the pressures, but I am afraid of the holy. What is this voice of Christ? What is this authority that can command the evil spirits, and they will obey? I see the craziness around me, and I am afraid; but I am also afraid of this Jesus.
The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people....
-- Deuteronomy 18:15
In this final speech of Moses before the people cross over to the promised land, Moses is addressing a primary anxiety among the people. For two generations Moses has led them. He spoke to them on behalf of God and to God on their behalf, and he makes the critical promise that God will not leave them alone after he is gone.
We use the label of prophet easily in our society to speak of people who challenge our society, particularly in an ethical sense. The Bible, however, had a very specific role in mind for the prophet. A prophet was a person who stood between God and the people and spoke to each on behalf of the other. When speaking to the people, the prophet speaks with the authority of one who has been given the words by God. Because the prophet is speaking God's judgment, the words may be harsh at times, but they are always spoken toward God's ultimate purpose of redemption.
Later, the New Testament would find this promise fulfilled in the person of Jesus who spoke with authority bringing the presence of God to bear on the people's lives and being an advocate to God on behalf of the people. As is evident in our own society, this passage recognizes that there will always be those who presume to bring a prophetic message, but their words will be from their own ego and not words that God has placed in their mouths. The validity of the prophetic message, however disturbing it is to our way of life, is whether it brings the presence of God to bear on how we are living. Since God promises to always raise up a prophet among us, it is important to ask where the prophetic voice is in our lives at this moment.
Psalm 111
Praise the Lord! I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart....
-- Psalm 111:1
Psalm 111 focuses the praise of God in recalling within the company of believers what God has done (vv. 1-2). Memory and corporate worship become the two legs of praise. It is by recalling what God does in the company of other believers that we are struck with awe at the nature of God (v. 3). God is the one who causes us to remember what God has done that reflects grace and mercy (v. 11). God provides the food, manna, to his people (v. 5) and with great signs and wonders leads them to a promised land (v. 6). God provides them laws that can guide them and that are the mirror image of God's own faithfulness and justice (vv. 7-8).
God's whole relationship with this people is one of redemption because God will not give up on his covenant (v. 9). It is in recalling this constant faithfulness, most clearly visible in that first exodus, that we begin to experience the awe of the Lord that is the beginning of wisdom. As we begin to respond to such faithfulness with our faithfulness, we deepen our understanding of God, which again evokes our praise (v. 10). It is the corporate rehearsing of the nature of God as seen in what God has done that fills our mouths with praise. To reflect on what God has done in your own life to bring you to this moment in time is a good preparation for worship.
1 Corinthians 8:1-13
But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.
-- 1 Corinthians 8:9
As a church -- the body of Christ -- we exist through Christ. Our reason for existence is Christ. "While we still were sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). God, through Christ, took note of us in our weakness. Jesus often stepped beyond the boundaries of the community to draw one who had been excluded back into the community of God's love. To know that we are saved through Christ is not the end but the beginning of our journey. Now we are to take note of and be responsive to our neighbor who is weak. Paul uses the example of eating meat that has been sacrificed to idols. It was not the eating of this meat that was wrong but the possibility that a neighbor who is weak in the faith would see us doing so and be tempted to participate in idol worship.
In a contemporary setting, we must ask what we do that might drive people away from the very community that could nurture them in the faith. The church, in an attempt to reach out to those outside the faith, will often stretch the comfort zone of their own members. In doing so, they are assuming that the one who should be most flexible in the faith is not the one who is outside but the one who is already part of the community. Sensitivity to those outside the church would suggest that, while we are free in Christ, we must be careful that the exercise of that freedom does not mislead a person who is still struggling to understand the faith. People will see Christ through what they see the church doing. The question is: Will they be welcomed or discouraged by what they see?
Mark 1:21-28
What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?
-- Mark 1:24
It was a shocking, bizarre, disruptive, offensive incident that took place in the midst of our worship in the synagogue. We were listening to a quite wonderful sermon about the nearness of God in our lives when we heard it. This man suddenly stood up and screamed, "That is a bunch of bull. I have people clawing at me all day long like a pack of wild dogs, demanding this, asking that, until my head is about to explode. I can't stand it anymore. You come here talking about the nearness of God. I say bull. God isn't near. The demons are in control. Get out of here, Jesus of Nazareth. Your holiness is useless. Leave me alone. I don't want your holiness crap."
He was crazy, of course, but as I looked around at your faces, as I felt deep in my heart, I could hear the silent scream of many of us joining like a chorus. "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? We know who you are, the holy one of God, but what has that to do with us?" There are days when we want to scream as well. It is as if the pressures of life have crowded out any possibility of hearing the holy in our lives.
That day, Jesus listened unafraid to the demons that screamed from deep within that man. Then he spoke with a quiet intensity that I had never heard before. "Be quiet, come out of him," and the man was suddenly convulsed on the floor as the demons spewed forth. Then he was calm as if his life had been cleansed of all the horror that had possessed him. I want to hear that voice again speaking to me, quieting the demons in me. Yet, I am afraid. I don't want to be convulsed. I want to experience that deep peace that wards off the pressures, but I am afraid of the holy. What is this voice of Christ? What is this authority that can command the evil spirits, and they will obey? I see the craziness around me, and I am afraid; but I am also afraid of this Jesus.
