Daily Liturgy and Scripture

Today is one of the most important days on the Christian calendar: Good Friday. This is the day that we remembered Jesus suffered and died, a perfect life offered in our place. This wasn't a cosmic tragedy or a divine blunder, it was God's plan, and Jesus was part of it. Redemption can come only from God, and Jesus is making it happen in this part of the story.

The important events of Holy Week are coming together, and today we remember the Last Supper. Jesus gave us this observance, something that his followers continue today. It's a time to remember his sacrifice, but it's also a complicated table on this first night. Jesus is there with both faithful apostles and a man about to betray him, but he serves the bread to both. I have heard it said, "when y...

Remember that the audience of this letter is Jewish believers, and this period of time may have been difficult to hold onto their newfound Christian faith. Before Christianity was familiar, it was new and it was probably very tempting to go back to an old set of beliefs, because it may have felt safer. The writer of Hebrews has already been doing the work of establishing who Jesus was and is, and...

The writer of Hebrews is certainly going to make much of Jesus, but first he brings Jesus down to earth, literally. We don't serve a God who is removed from our experience, because Jesus chose that very experience to enter into. Our sufferings, sorrows, and joys are all familiar to him. That is a great comfort when we think that this same Jesus is also our judge.

It is not known who the writer of Hebrews was, but it is a book rich in the place of Christ in God’s master plan. It was written to encourage Jewish converts to Christianity to continue in the new chapter in their faith, to remember that Jesus was part of the Jewish storyline, and to recognize fully who Jesus is.

You can almost hear the discouragement in Paul’s voice as he writes about those who have left or opposed him. How difficult it must be for him to say that he doesn’t hold that against them, because they were doing more than simply opposing him. They were also opposing Christ. This kind of hope for redemption was part of the grace that Paul preached, and must have been one of the most important thi...

Paul has been talking to Timothy about how to make the body of believers a different community, and now he draws the difference between them and that "easy" way from yesterday. Others may take that way, but we should not. We should keep one another accountable, and all of us are equally accountable to God.

Taking the easy route is not always (or usually?) the correct one. It is easy to teach the first idea that comes into our head, but we need the Spirit and the correction of one another to teach what God wants. It is easy to chase our own needs, but we should instead deny the short-term for the better things of eternity. This is the focus teachers must keep both for themselves and for those they in...

Paul’s second letter to Timothy has a lot of things going on. Notably, a few important friends have abandoned Paul. It was probably particularly important for him to build Timothy up during this time, but it must have been difficult. When things start going downhill for us, we might be tempted to feel sorry for ourselves, to give up and head home. Luckily, that wasn’t Paul’s style. When the diffic...

Paul finishes the letter to Titus by establishing that the body of believers is not to create a counter-culture that disrupts those around them, but that becomes good citizens and sows seeds of peace. With the wisdom that comes from the Spirit, we can do this far better. Certainly this is not of our own making, but because we have been remade in the image of Christ.

As Paul advises Titus further in how to build the foundation for a group of believers, he turns from the qualification of leaders to the behavior of those not in leadership. This is an important reminder for us today as well: the body of Christ is not defined only by those who lead us, although we are sometimes more quick to judge them than look at ourselves. What all of us do matters: it is all a...

Paul's letter to Titus is a glimpse in to building a church in the early stages. Titus is facing those who have some teachings contradictory to Christ, but it also needs to build his support group. Setting up elders means that the pastor won't be alone, he will be partnered with others who can support him. God never sent anyone out as a lone wolf. Jesus sent the apostles out two by two, and we tod...

As Paul closes his first letter to Timothy, he comes back to Timothy personally. To be a capable spiritual leader, it is important to me mindful of the source of our power, the gifts we have been given, and the faithfulness we should hold on to. God is certainly the author and perfecter of our faith, but we are participants in his work. He has chosen us for this purpose, so what we do is important...

It’s fortunate that today puts together Proverbs 31 with 1 Timothy 5, because the content is certainly related. Paul talked before about women not leading in church, because of the educational practices of the day. Women aren’t unimportant, however. It is still necessary for women to be of noble character (as outlined in Proverbs 31) and also to take care of others within the body of Christ. If th...

Paul continues to counsel Timothy in the way a pastor should conduct themselves, including particular advice to Timothy to have courage when leading those older than himself. Of course, anyone who puts themself through the rigor of spiritual leadership should be about the work, not worrying about whether or not they have some fatal flaw. God raises up those who he wants to serve him, and the body...

Pastors are not to do the work of the church alone. Timothy, to whom the letter is written, is a pastor. Paul doesn’t want him to be alone, though. He wants him to be surrounded with devoted men of God who love their wives (otherwise, how can they understand how Christ loves the Church?) and take the example of Christ they show to the world seriously. With a team like that, a pastor has the full b...

As Paul continues teaching his young pastor protege, he comes to the matter of how to manage his congregation. It wasn't customary for women to be educated in this time period, so for women to lead would have been somewhat reckless. While the Spirit can certainly speak through women, orderly worship would have been much more outside the experience of someone unfamiliar with classrooms.

Paul again! This time, he is writing a letter to his star pupil, a young man he is mentoring to be a pastor. In this section, Paul is modeling the humility that often defines his writing, and also casts a picture of what Timothy's job is going to look like. It's no pleasure cruise, he will definitely encounter opposition. There will also come others who try to make the Gospel about something other...

Paul ends with a well-known passage on the armor of God, and we must be careful not to think we are some kind of superhero because of this. The command repeated over and over is to “stand,” not to fight. Most of the things described here are defensive pieces, things that keep us intact. The only offensive weapon is the sword, and that’s the Spirit. Certainly, none of us are big enough to wield tha...

Paul extends his “loving and submitting” line of thought now to children, slaves and masters. While this verse has been used to justify slavery (conveniently leaving out the part about masters treating slaves well, I suppose), this is Paul’s attempt to say that there are many ways for the model of Christ and Church beyond husbands and wives. Anytime the opportunity comes to love someone and work f...

God has given us marriage as an example of what the relationship of Christ and the Church can but we don't always see it perfectly. To be fully like Christ and the Church, the husband must seek his wife's best, putting his effort into helping her be the best she can be. If husbands love their wives in this way, submission isn't about power, but about being folded into love. Jesus does this perfect...

It is important to keep Christ a top priority in our our life, and that means rearranging what our life looks like sometimes. We should have close acquaintances that help build up our faith, and we should keep as far away from sin as possible. Not because we can purify ourselves, but because following Jesus means keeping ourselves free of distractions.

When Paul talks about "Gentiles" in this verse, he doesn't just mean non-Jews. He means those who don't follow Christ. And of course, this makes sense. If we are following Jesus, our lives should look different. Not because we're better people, but because our hearts have been changed, our lives are realigned thanks to the moving of the Spirit.

It’s really something else, the way the Church comes together in God’s plan. Certainly, we are all under the rule of King Jesus, and that’s not a bad leader to follow at all. But the plan still includes us. Jesus on earth was teaching others, preparing the way for the Kingdom to come among us. Now, as we participate in the building of that Kingdom, we are equipped to be heirs to it.

Paul once again reminds his young church that in Christ they are one. This isn’t actually a new plan. It didn’t just happen because Jesus showed up and a new idea was born. This was God’s plan all along, to “bless all nations,” as he told Abraham. Of course, the blessing was made complete because God did it, and Jesus made the picture complete.