Daily Liturgy and Scripture

Having an eternal perspective as believers is important, but not at the expense of seeing the world in front of us. Paul talks of both kinds of rewards, but in this passage especially about the practical side of clergy support. He takes the extra step of saying that he didn't ask for this support because he is so compelled to do so, but the obligation to care for ministers still remains.

Remember in this passage that Paul is not trying to return Christians to a legalistic state as he was in as a Pharisee. Not eating meat isn't some return to the hundreds of rules of Paul's Judaism, but is instead part of the bigger picture for creating a new kind of community among others. Not eating meat sacrificed to idols was also a particularly hard mandate for the poor among believers...

There is a LOT going on in this verse from 1 Corinthians, and a lot of it probably can't be fully decoded without the letter that was written to Paul, mentioned in the opening lines. It does seem, though, that Paul is trying to convince the Corinthians that they don't need to uproot their entire current life in order to follow Jesus, but rather to follow from where they are.

The spiritual is important, but not to the exclusion of the physical. Our bodies matter to God, or else Jesus wouldn't have been resurrected with his. If Jesus is the firstborn of the new creation which we have to look forward to, then we will be in that creation in our bodies.

Paul hasn't come to change the world, but to build a church. The church is not to try and live outside the world, but to become an outpost of the Kingdom within it. This is why behavior matters and discipline is important: the Church must remain different, or there is no point in its existence.

It is important to have spiritual mentors and to learn from them, this is how faith is passed on. This interwoven family of believers will be made of spiritual brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, helping one another find their way in the ways of the Kingdom of Jesus.

Celebrity pastors are a part of Christian culture today, and they were also a factor in Paul's time. Paul, of course, wants none of that. In the Kingdom of Christ, Christ is King. Celebrity pastors, small church pastors, Sunday School teachers, and someone who disciples one person are all serving one purpose and one Savior, and that Savior is the most important.

Paul may seem to be coming across as pretty anti-education in this passage, but Paul himself was certainly not uneducated. He sat at the feet of Gamaliel, one of the preeminent teachers of his day. His education was considerable. Instead of touting that education, though, he casts it aside as rubble in the light of the Spirit's work. That is what gave Paul his real authority, and connected him...

The message of the gospel isn't something everyone is ready to hear. What makes the difference? It isn't superior education or being more spiritual than anyone else, but it's the Spirit at work, and the Church working with the Spirit. This is the secret to making human hearts ready to receive what God has to offer.

The sharing of possessions among those in the early church would certainly have been a ripe environment for freeloaders, so Paul cuts that off at the root. The believers are to show kindness, but they are also to contribute back to the community. Otherwise, the flow of love is interrupted: all should both give and receive.

As we remember Peter and Paul, two great giants of the early church, also remember that their relationship was not automatic. There are records of their disagreements, of Peter being corrected by Paul, and of Peter later commending Paul. Being part of this Kingdom of Jesus isn't always about agreeing, sometimes it's about being humble enough to continue life with those not exactly of the s...

This passage from 2 Thessalonians might seem like it's full of vengeance, but of course vengeance isn't the point for a follower of Jesus. Suffering, on the other hand, can make it difficult for us to keep our eyes on Jesus. Paul has some comfort for that: don't worry about your own vengeance, keep following Jesus. The vengeance is in God's hands, just as we are.

Harmony is difficult, and even the people of God struggle with holding that together. In these closing passages from 1 Thessalonians, Paul gives some guidelines for achieving that: respect, peace, encouragement, patience, and mercy. All of these happen in the Spirit, who is among and in the body of believers.

This passage from 1 Thessalonians can be a little argumentative, because it is one of the foundations of end-time theologies. Without debating any of that, we do still have Paul assuring the believers that death would not separate them or other fellow believers who had already died from Christ, and that the resurrection of Jesus was a preview for all of us. That's a pretty hefty promise, and n...

Paul reminds the Thessalonians that purity and love should go together as citizens of the Kingdom of Jesus. This isn't a purity of laws like the Old Testament laid out, but a purity of life and a flow of love between God and among his church. One cannot go without the other: it is not enough to only love others, and it is not enough to watch our own lives. We must do both.

Remembering John the Baptist is remembering an important ally of Jesus. In this story of his death, we actually don't have a lot of that connection with Jesus, but rather his fiery prophetic side. Such was the life of a prophet: seeing a better world that is possible, they call to attention the things that stand in the way of that better world. The Kingdom of Jesus would be that world fully re...

The picture Paul paints of his relationship with the Thessalonians is a heartwarming one. These exceptional believers, choosing Jesus above the fashionable gods of their area, hold a special place for Paul. His personal connection is affirmed as he talks about sharing both gospel and life together, which is pretty much exactly what the Church should be for one another.

As Paul opens a letter to the church in Thessalonica, he commends their laying down of other gods and their adoption of the discipleship of the one true God. This was kind of a big deal. In the Greek lands, gods were everywhere, and having multiple gods was fashionable. To abandon that practice in favor of only one would have been notable, and was probably one reason why their "faith had beco...

To conclude this letter to the Galatians, Paul takes a step away from the "don't do this" conversation to reinforce the action that is correct: follow the law, but the law of Christ. This is a self-sacrificing, loving law that seeks the welfare of others over one's self. If we do this, we are proven as followers of Jesus far more than the keeping of the letter of the old law.

You were doing things right, why change? That's Paul's message to the churches in Galatia, who were suddenly being influenced by Jewish missionaries to add a pre-Jesus Jewish slant to their faith. Not needed, says Paul. Christ is enough. Keep running the race you started, and let the Spirit guide you, loving your neighbor, and showing the fruit that comes from the Spirit's influence.

Since Jewish missionaries are trying to undermine the message of Christ and are encouraging the Galatian churches to essentially return to pre-Christian Judaism, Paul makes an appeal using Jewish history. His appeal: we are now free in Christ, not slaves to the law. Who wants to be a slave anymore? Come enjoy that freedom fully by living in that new way.

Paul is covering some pretty important theological ground here. If Abraham was the root of the promise, isn’t the promise only to the children he bore, and his children’s children? Not the case, luckily. The promise comes to fruition in Christ, who is the seed of Abraham and the fullness of that promise. Because of that reality (and Paul certainly did his work studying this topic), we are all Abra...

Building a new church really takes some work, especially when you're mixing a ancient faith tradition with a group of brand-new believers. This was the case with the Jews and Gentiles, and Paul was critical to this process. Peter had already received a vision from God that the Gentiles should be included (Acts 10), but the full working out of that new kind of church took time to understand. Pa...

As we open the book of Galatians, Paul is talking about his Jewishness and the irony of his becoming a follower of Christ. Both of these things are going to become relevant as we read through this book. The Galatian churches were probably a mix of Jewish Christians (who had been the first focus of early missionaries, being the people of the promise) and Gentiles who were trying to worship with the...

The story of the walk to Emmaus is filled with a playful Jesus, pretending to know nothing about himself and then feigning walking on before being invited in. This is our Savior: he came to earth not just to do the important work of redemption, but also to show us a new way to be human. Sometimes, that requires a little fun.