Are We Illuminating The Way To An Abundant Life For Others?
Good Morning Friends,
There is a desire in physics for a unified theory and there has been a problem connecting how things work on the small particle level with how things work on the very scale like large like planets and black holes. And I think it is of interest to humans because we are midway between the two. But also, we have the same problem in discovering a continuous unity in our faith as Jesus prayed we might have in John 17. And then, a little over a century ago Emmy Noether came up with a simple theorem that has been shaping modern physics but has yet to shape our faith. She linked symmetry and conservation of energy and conservation of momentum and other laws of conservation in an elegant theorem that basically states that every continuous symmetry in nature has a corresponding conservation law and vice versa. The challenge is matching the symmetry with the law. Now the laws of conservation law refer to a physical quantity the remains fixed and does not fluctuate over time. Think for example of energy. But also, God’s love. And symmetry, in this context, refers to a process that can be done to an object or system that leaves it fundamentally unchanged. Rotate a square 90 degrees and you still have a square. Rotate it 45 degrees and you have a diamond. Have a circle though and you have a continuous symmetry. And that is the focus. And here we find that there is a sustained symmetry of Christ’s love in our lives that demonstrates the conservation law it is matched with. Now there is a strange symmetry to the Beatitudes that is not quite continuous but relevant for us when things are rotated around as they are in our world today. Perhaps the most difficult beatitude is believing the blessing in being persecuted for Christ’s sake. We do so want to avoid pain and to counterbalance the injustice of it, I think God just opens the flood gates of love and calls us into a safe place.
In the face of such challenges Peter has a vision of the extension of the Way to the Gentiles. The setting is in the gateway city of Joppa, the same city that Jonah sailed from and the place where Peter in the power of the Holy Spirit shared in the experience of the resurrection of Tabitha, AKA Dorcas, Gazelle… a widow of means. But the image is of leading the flock to greener pastures. It makes me wonder about the spread of the early church through relationship of people in the commerce of these port cities and its message for us today. It makes me ask about how well we seen the symmetry of life God intended. Are We Illuminating The Way To An Abundant Life For Others?
Scripture: Now the apostles and the believers who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also accepted the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him, saying, “Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?” Then Peter began to explain it to them, step by step, saying, “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. There was something like a large sheet coming down from heaven, being lowered by its four corners; and it came close to me. As I looked at it closely I saw four-footed animals, beasts of prey, reptiles, and birds of the air. I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter; kill and eat.’ But I replied, ‘By no means, Lord; for nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ But a second time the voice answered from heaven, ‘What God has made clean, you must not call profane.’ This happened three times; then everything was pulled up again to heaven. At that very moment three men, sent to me from Caesarea, arrived at the house where we were. The Spirit told me to go with them and not to make a distinction between them and us. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. He told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, ‘Send to Joppa and bring Simon, who is called Peter; he will give you a message by which you and your entire household will be saved.’ And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as it had upon us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?” When they heard this, they were silenced. And they praised God, saying, “Then God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life.”
Acts 11:1-18 (NRSV)
“Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.” Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. So again Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
John 10:1-10 (NRSV)
Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”
John 8:12 (NRSV)
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff— they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.
Psalm 23 (NRSV)
Message: John 10 is really a continuation of Jesus’ dialogue with the Pharisees that we have been reading in last week’s devotionals. And it is also the continuation of the “I Am” Statements of Jesus. If you ever wondered why they crucified Christ this should give you an understanding of how difficult Jesus was for those in power in Jerusalem. He is essentially calling them both thieves and robbers at the same time he is extending his case for being the Messiah. Jesus points out that instead of caring and feeding sheep they took advantage of them. The sheep are helpless without the shepherd, but it was worse yet with a resentful group eager to lead the sheep astray. But with no Shepherd, rather than going through the door, they creep I over the wall…the Way protecting the sheep. So, today’s text from John is really is not so much about those who would try to sneak into heaven by going over the wall but about those who would lead the sheep astray and even slaughter them for their own purpose. Against this difficult political situation, we get the story of Peter’s dream of offering another path that would include repentance and the possibility of an abundant life for Gentiles as well. And because of the setting in Joppa it brings to my mind the missionary sailing trips of Paul that would follow and of the merchants like Lydia that helped connect the forming of faith communities in other lands and gateway cities like Corinth and Ephesus and eventually to the gates of Rome. The strategy was revolutionary. Life in Jerusalem was about to change under pressure from Rome. The time was right for the light of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit to shine not just in the darkness but into the world to every nation as Jesus had commanded. Friends, sometimes the abundant life is easy and sometimes it is hard, so we will grow. If you are in Christ this life is waiting for you now. God will not require more of you than you can take. Ask and it will be given to you in ways that are better than you can envision. Know the real sign of spiritual maturity is looking to God not for comfort and convenience but for purpose and perspective. Here embrace the law of love and match it to the experiences of your life. Here we are to find symmetry with scripture and relationships that glorify God. Friends, we are to point others to the door.
And So, our world is filled with unhappy and dissatisfied people seeking answers to the eternal question of how to live a complete life. Many are spending a lot of energy on avoiding suffering when in fact the real issue is having a cause so that when the suffering comes it can be turned into a blessing. Most think that if it were easy it would not be worth doing and, in some ways, they are right. Daily we are guided by the world in what seems right, but in the end, produces death. We may well ask if the abundant life really exists. The Kingdom of continuous continuity. We hear message after message that we need to purchase the next thing to be happy, knowing even before we do that the joy of it will be short lived. It is here that we might just discover that there are some things we cannot buy…some things we cannot even steal. It is here when we discover that we are at the mercy of laws over which we have no control that we begin to see the gate though which we must follow Christ. The Kingdom can be ours if we listen to our heart, and believe with our mind that we are being called to possess the abundant life and all its wonderful qualities of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, compassion, purity, humility, modesty, faith, character, wisdom, enthusiasm, dignity, optimism, confidence, honesty, and foremost a relationship with God. Here we discover that the abundant life is full of all the things money cannot buy. This is no illusion….no delusion. It is a separation to God and from evil….it is freedom found only in Christ and is found nowhere else.
Pray we are inspired by those who have gone before. Pray the drips of our faith connect in a continuous flow. Pray the Keys of the Kingdom unlock a Gateway to the life abundant. Pray we fix our attention on the King…Jesus. Pray we keep on running the race that has been set before us. Pray we realize that if our cause is Christ, we can manage the suffering. Pray therefore, with praise and purpose that we pattern ourselves after Christ. Pray we share our love with others. Pray we accept the gift of the plentiful life and share in the enjoyment with others. Pray we take the next step with Jesus. Pray we realize that a life glorifying God is not a life of comfort and ease in a worldly view but a journey of refinement that brings us to recognize that our joy is not dependent on outside circumstances. Pray we recognize, confess, develop and use our God given physical, mental, and spiritual abilities to the glory of God and for the benefit of mankind. Pray we have a purpose, perspective and persistence that makes life full. Pray we be unified in our faith in the hope of a Kingdom where our relationship with God is manifested in a continuous symmetry matched with the law of love. Pray we have a relationship with God that opens doors to life. Pray we realize that the darkness cannot put out the light of Christ. Pray the valleys and voyages on of the journey of Christianity transform us into the image of Christ.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 