Daily Liturgy and Scripture

God wants to do what only God can do; he doesn't want us to try and substitute lesser things in his place. Jesus also wanted his disciples to learn the way that only he could show, and in today's reading they miss the point a couple times. He still entrusted them with his mission, as is the church still. Certainly we still miss the point, but our creator has not made a plan B, nor does he need to.

Remember what God has done for you, remember the legacy you're a part of as a member of his Kingdom. In today's Psalm, the writer remembers. In Isaiah, the prophet pours out volumes of God's faithfulness through the generation to his people. And in Luke, Jesus is handing over the work of ministry -- a legacy his church continues today -- by sending them out two by two, without ample supplies. In a...

It's interesting how little threads run through the verses. In Psalms 75, speaking of justice, God says that we are to leave judgement with him, not even raising a fist. In Isaiah, God takes the initiative again in sending his servant. But then in Luke, there is a woman in need of healing that takes the initiative! She chases Jesus down just to touch him, and she is healed by him. Certainly, God d...

Today Jesus gives us a story of several types of seed growth, showing the different ways that the Kingdom impacts the lives of those who hear about it. Hearing these is a good opportunity for us to stop and consider whether we are receiving and growing.

The importance of hospitality shouldn't be understated. In Jesus' time, it was a cultural no-no to treat guests in your house badly, and yet that seems to be how Jesus was treated. Enter the penitent woman who makes an extravagant gesture, then humbles herself completely. Of course, we cannot always wipe our guests' feet with our hair, but we can certainly mirror the humility of the woman with the...

There are two interesting approaches to legacy between Isaiah and Luke. In Isaiah, Hezekiah sets the stage for the eventual downfall of his kingdom by bragging about his rich to Babylon. Eventually, Babylon would take all those riches for themselves. In Luke, the disciples of John the Baptist approach Jesus, who both affirms their belief that he is the Messiah and defends John to the critics. If w...

Today, the Psalmist and King Hezekiah are both crying out fervently to God. In Hezekiah's case, God answers. Years are added to Hezekiah's life not because of this one magic moment in prayer, but because Hezekiah's life had been defined by prayer. Knowing God well is the key to calling on God in your time of need. And then Jesus hears the cry of someone outside his Jewish circles to save someone c...

Today in Isaiah, King Hezekiah comes through. God says, "Trust me, not the powers," and he does. God delivers his people. In Luke, Jesus is doing a different sort of delivery: he is pronouncing the castoffs, the left-outs and the rejects blessed, but the rich and prosperous as suffering. Surely people thought Jesus was crazy as he said this. And maybe that's the common thread in today's verses: tw...

The connection between Sabbath and healing is no coincidence, they are deeply connected. Just as Jesus performed many healing miracles on the Sabbath, so are we still healed by it today. It is still a day to put ourselves in God's hands, allowing ourselves to be reformed and transformed.

It was a big deal for Jesus to claim to forgive sin. This raised the ire of the religious leaders; obviously this was something only God could do. But why wait to show that he was God? Why tell people so often to avoid revealing his divinity, and then choose to reveal it like this? Because Jesus chooses to be defined by making the broken whole again. This wasn't a God who showed up and started bar...

When a man with leprosy seeks Jesus to heal him, Jesus does so. And then Jesus tells him to go see the priest and make an offering. Why is that? Because the priest can decree the man ceremonially clean, which will allow him to be a full member of his community again. Jesus wants more for the man than just to make him well, he wants him to be connected. This is no different than the foundation of t...

As the Psalms show us how to cry out for God's mercy, Jesus shows us what it looks like. Casting demons out of people is about more than spiritual warfare, it's about wholeness for the people. That is what Jesus does when he shows mercy. He may not make us rich or powerful, but he can certainly make use whole.

Be careful if you're only listening to people who tell you how great things are. Jesus was a popular public speaker until he pointed out that God spread his blessings to outsiders as well, and then his countrymen were ready to throw him off a cliff. Literally. If we've learned anything from Isaiah in the past few weeks, it should be this: sometimes the one who preaches gloom and doom is just being...

Make no mistake: God wants to be the one to deliver his people, not the alliances they form with other nations. But how does he do it? The genealogy list in today's reading might seem like something we don't particularly take any great spiritual truth from, but consider this one: God really was made man. He didn't step away from man or make himself something else. He had grandmothers and great-gre...

Jesus is baptized, and we see the gathering of the Trinity for the first time. Jesus the Son descends into the water, the Father speaks, and the Spirit descends. It is the culmination of God's promise to deliver, coming true in the flesh.

Psalms speaks of a coronation, Isaiah of the coming of righteous rule, and Luke brings the ruler into his first showing as wisdom incarnate. Even in his childhood, this ruler begins to show the kind of king he will be.

Jesus is born in Luke's account to great fanfare. Why all the shouting? Of course, the incarnation of the Son of God is a big deal. But also, something new is happening. With the birth of this child, things are different for the world. As the Psalm tells us today: Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again - my Savior and my God!

For all the cries for redemption, Zechariah decrees today that the Kingdom is breaking through. Through Israel's trials, God looked to create a people to show his redemption to humanity. As the birth of John occurs, the plan of redemption begins to unfold.

This collection of scriptures works very well together, almost answering a question. In Psalms and Isaiah, we are assured that God will defend us, that he will take up a righteous cause. But how, you ask? And then Mary responds by reminding us that he is the defender of the weak as she carries the redeemer in her womb.

As we start a new gospel, we also encounter Isaiah breaking out in praise in the midst of judgement proclamations. This is important because it's hard to do. Hard words have been spoken, and more are coming. In the midst of hard times, it's difficult to remember to praise God. Hopefully we will do better with our words than Zechariah, who lost the ability to speak throughout his wife's pregnancy!...

Christ is risen! Next to other scriptures about God's judgment on the earth and the Psalmist singing songs of praise, today seems a little fragmented. But if it had been God's only intention to judge and destroy, Jesus would have taken a very different path. When we see Jesus, we see God. This gives us a glimpse into the way God really wanted the world to look.

Today we read about Christ's crucifixion from the Gospel of Mark. From the cowardice to Pilate to the rage of the mob, from the involuntary service of Simon to the compassionate request of Joseph of Arimathea: there is a character in this story we can all probably identify with at times. It is very much our story as much as it was theirs. Fun fact: the inclusion of Simon being the "father of Alexa...

Today is a picture of what it looks like to be distant from God: Israel in judgement, reminded of who God wanted them to be. Peter, in sorrow, choosing to abandon his Savior. What a fortunate thing that God's ultimate plan is redemption, or none of us could stand.

Israel wants to depend on other nations in Isaiah, but God tells Israel (and the nations) how they will wither. Putting faith in anything other than God himself is always a lesser undertaking. Even as our faith falters as Peter's we're continually called back. Let us never lose sight of our savior.

Between Psalms and Mark, today feels like a dialogue between two weary friends. Psalm 22 reflects how  many of us probably feel when we don't think God is coming through, and Mark recalls how Jesus sat at a table with his own betrayer. In both cases, the one making the indictment sits face-to-face with the other. It's important, in times where we feel like God may have let us down, to remembe...