Epiphany 8
Devotional
Streams of Living Water
Lectionary Devotional for Cycle B
Object:
Hosea 2:14-20
Therefore, I will now allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her.
-- Hosea 2:14
Whether it be in war-torn and continually threatened Judah or the fractured and divided Christian church, there is a longing for a renewed intimacy with God in which the promises of faith will be fulfilled. Hosea speaks of the step toward that promise being a withdrawal to the wilderness where God can once again speak tenderly to the people's hearts. The imagery is one of courtship leading to the intimacy of marriage. This is not a hierarchical marriage where the wife is subservient but a marriage of intimacy and equality. "On that day, says the Lord, you will call me, 'My husband,' and no longer will you call me, 'My Baal' " (v. 16), which means "my master."
Later Jesus would speak of this same transition of relationship (John 15:15). There will be an ecological peace with nature and a political peace with neighbor (v. 18) and a new intimacy with God. "I will take you for my wife in faithfulness; and you shall know the Lord" (v. 20). It may be instructive for all Christians who yearn for that day to recognize that the peace for which we long begins by a withdrawal from the daily battles and a renewed courtship with God. While God takes the initiative, we still are responsible for responding to the invitation to come aside into the wilderness. It is possible that the noise of our lives is shutting God out and causing us to overlook what God invites us to recognize.
Psalm 103:1-13, 22
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
-- Psalm 103:1
Psalm 103 is a call to praise based on God's faithfulness to forgive, heal, redeem, and benefit you with a constant love and mercy (vv. 1-5). The focus of the psalm is on how God redeems us from our own condition. Because of what God did through Moses for the people of Israel, we know God works to save the oppressed (vv. 6-7). God's very character is revealed as one slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love (v. 8). By God's patience with Israel as he redeemed them in the wilderness, we know how God responds to our transgressions and understands our limitations (vv. 9-11).
The entire psalm calls us to an act of memory. The reason why we continually read scripture in worship and recall the stories of Israel and the acts of God through Jesus' life is to provide us a language of remembrance so that we can recognize God's redemptive activity in our own lives. We are called to recall how God has acted in the past and use that memory to reinforce our trust in the faithfulness of God to redeem us in our present condition. God's sovereignty is reflected in how even God's response to our sins demonstrates God's purpose (v. 22).
2 Corinthians 3:1-6
You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all; and you show that you are a letter of Christ, prepared by us.
-- 2 Corinthians 3:2-3a
It was customary for people visiting a new community to bring a letter of recommendation from a trusted figure in another community in order to establish the visitor's credentials. Paul suggests that the Christian community is his letter of recommendation. Further, he claims that the Christian community is a "letter of Christ." It is humbling to suggest that a minister's reputation rests on the congregation with which he or she works and further that the reputation of Christ rests upon how they represent Christ through their lives.
Yet, whether we like it or not, is that not the way that the outer world reads us? When a minister is considering another call, what the inquiring church wants to know is what happened in the previous church. When a nonbeliever is considering the possibility of accepting Christ, is it not the impact of the faith on the people's lives in the inviting congregation that has the major impact? Paul is quick to state that the real result is not based on his skills but on the power of God working through him (vv. 5-6). He trusts that the Spirit of God is working through him and through the Corinthian church to send the message of Christ to others. If what Paul says is true for our churches as well, it may be that we need to expend more energy in recognizing the way that Christ is at work among us. If, according to Paul, the letter is written, then our task may be to read what is written of Christ in our own congregation.
Mark 2:13-22
As he was walking along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, "Follow me." And he got up and followed him.
-- Mark 2:14
The gospels are frustratingly sparse in their details with respect to the call of the twelve disciples. We get almost no background on them in order to know why Jesus called them. They seem to respond instantly, and we never know why. In Levi's case, what background we are given would seem to suggest that he was an unlikely candidate. As a tax collector, he would have been considered a traitor to his people. His work was on behalf of the Romans, and his income was normally considered to be from charging an additional sum to the tax that the Romans required. Jesus calls this unlikely candidate, and he, in turn, gives up a lucrative career in order to follow an itinerant preacher.
The mystery of faith is like that. How can you explain why certain very good people are never attracted to the faith or why others will suddenly make dramatic shifts in their life and become very active Christians? What is it that happened in your life that caused you to respond as you did? Sometimes when we continue in our journey of faith, we forget how much of a gift we have been given and begin to assume that somehow it was all due to our morally superior willpower. Since the call is not just a one-time event but can be reshaped by the further working of the Spirit in our lives, it is worth reflecting on the dramatic change in Levi's life. All the evidence would suggest that Levi was not the type of person to expect God's call, but the Spirit of God evoked in him a completely unexpected response. What might the Spirit be doing in your life at this time?
Therefore, I will now allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her.
-- Hosea 2:14
Whether it be in war-torn and continually threatened Judah or the fractured and divided Christian church, there is a longing for a renewed intimacy with God in which the promises of faith will be fulfilled. Hosea speaks of the step toward that promise being a withdrawal to the wilderness where God can once again speak tenderly to the people's hearts. The imagery is one of courtship leading to the intimacy of marriage. This is not a hierarchical marriage where the wife is subservient but a marriage of intimacy and equality. "On that day, says the Lord, you will call me, 'My husband,' and no longer will you call me, 'My Baal' " (v. 16), which means "my master."
Later Jesus would speak of this same transition of relationship (John 15:15). There will be an ecological peace with nature and a political peace with neighbor (v. 18) and a new intimacy with God. "I will take you for my wife in faithfulness; and you shall know the Lord" (v. 20). It may be instructive for all Christians who yearn for that day to recognize that the peace for which we long begins by a withdrawal from the daily battles and a renewed courtship with God. While God takes the initiative, we still are responsible for responding to the invitation to come aside into the wilderness. It is possible that the noise of our lives is shutting God out and causing us to overlook what God invites us to recognize.
Psalm 103:1-13, 22
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
-- Psalm 103:1
Psalm 103 is a call to praise based on God's faithfulness to forgive, heal, redeem, and benefit you with a constant love and mercy (vv. 1-5). The focus of the psalm is on how God redeems us from our own condition. Because of what God did through Moses for the people of Israel, we know God works to save the oppressed (vv. 6-7). God's very character is revealed as one slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love (v. 8). By God's patience with Israel as he redeemed them in the wilderness, we know how God responds to our transgressions and understands our limitations (vv. 9-11).
The entire psalm calls us to an act of memory. The reason why we continually read scripture in worship and recall the stories of Israel and the acts of God through Jesus' life is to provide us a language of remembrance so that we can recognize God's redemptive activity in our own lives. We are called to recall how God has acted in the past and use that memory to reinforce our trust in the faithfulness of God to redeem us in our present condition. God's sovereignty is reflected in how even God's response to our sins demonstrates God's purpose (v. 22).
2 Corinthians 3:1-6
You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all; and you show that you are a letter of Christ, prepared by us.
-- 2 Corinthians 3:2-3a
It was customary for people visiting a new community to bring a letter of recommendation from a trusted figure in another community in order to establish the visitor's credentials. Paul suggests that the Christian community is his letter of recommendation. Further, he claims that the Christian community is a "letter of Christ." It is humbling to suggest that a minister's reputation rests on the congregation with which he or she works and further that the reputation of Christ rests upon how they represent Christ through their lives.
Yet, whether we like it or not, is that not the way that the outer world reads us? When a minister is considering another call, what the inquiring church wants to know is what happened in the previous church. When a nonbeliever is considering the possibility of accepting Christ, is it not the impact of the faith on the people's lives in the inviting congregation that has the major impact? Paul is quick to state that the real result is not based on his skills but on the power of God working through him (vv. 5-6). He trusts that the Spirit of God is working through him and through the Corinthian church to send the message of Christ to others. If what Paul says is true for our churches as well, it may be that we need to expend more energy in recognizing the way that Christ is at work among us. If, according to Paul, the letter is written, then our task may be to read what is written of Christ in our own congregation.
Mark 2:13-22
As he was walking along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, "Follow me." And he got up and followed him.
-- Mark 2:14
The gospels are frustratingly sparse in their details with respect to the call of the twelve disciples. We get almost no background on them in order to know why Jesus called them. They seem to respond instantly, and we never know why. In Levi's case, what background we are given would seem to suggest that he was an unlikely candidate. As a tax collector, he would have been considered a traitor to his people. His work was on behalf of the Romans, and his income was normally considered to be from charging an additional sum to the tax that the Romans required. Jesus calls this unlikely candidate, and he, in turn, gives up a lucrative career in order to follow an itinerant preacher.
The mystery of faith is like that. How can you explain why certain very good people are never attracted to the faith or why others will suddenly make dramatic shifts in their life and become very active Christians? What is it that happened in your life that caused you to respond as you did? Sometimes when we continue in our journey of faith, we forget how much of a gift we have been given and begin to assume that somehow it was all due to our morally superior willpower. Since the call is not just a one-time event but can be reshaped by the further working of the Spirit in our lives, it is worth reflecting on the dramatic change in Levi's life. All the evidence would suggest that Levi was not the type of person to expect God's call, but the Spirit of God evoked in him a completely unexpected response. What might the Spirit be doing in your life at this time?
