Good Morning Friends,
Today we explore the problems of not obeying in the story of the Hebrews in the wilderness and not feeling in the story Jesus’ healing of a leper. They combine to help us meet the challenge of turning away from rebellion and to listening to the Holy Spirit. And we find that both not hearing and not feeling can cause serious and even life-threatening problems. Friends when we are out of touch with God the results can be disastrous. So, with these conditions in mind we ask with discernment today’s question. Will Our Love Be Obedient And If So, Just What Kind Of Rest Are We Looking Forward To?
Scripture: Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, as on the day of testing in the wilderness, where your ancestors put me to the test, though they had seen my works for forty years. Therefore I was angry with that generation, and I said, ‘They always go astray in their hearts, and they have not known my ways.’ As in my anger I swore, ‘They will not enter my rest.'” Take care, brothers and sisters, that none of you may have an evil, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” so that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partners of Christ, if only we hold our first confidence firm to the end.
Hebrews 3:7-14 (NRSV)
A leper came to him begging him, and kneeling he said to him, “If you choose, you can make me clean.” Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, “I do choose. Be made clean!” Immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. After sternly warning him he sent him away at once, saying to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” But he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the word, so that Jesus could no longer go into a town openly, but stayed out in the country; and people came to him from every quarter.
Mark 1:40-45 (NRSV)
Jesus answered him, “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me.
John 14:23-24 (NRSV)
O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. O that today you would listen to his voice! Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness, when your ancestors tested me, and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work. For forty years I loathed that generation and said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they do not regard my ways.” Therefore in my anger I swore, “They shall not enter my rest.”
Psalm 95: 6-11 (NRSV)
Message: The author of the letter to the Hebrews reminds us today of the journey of the Hebrew peoples in the desert. In doing so, he is calling to mind an ancient teaching from God. The Lord molded His people in the desert of Sinai, that barren region between Palestine proper and the land of Egypt. It was a difficult time for them. But there, God fed them with manna and gave water for them and their cattle right out of a rock. They were being cared for by their God and all He asked of them was obedience. But they rebelled, and so that first generation of liberated slaves did not receive the gift God wanted to give them. Likewise, every generation of Christians is challenged to seek some sort of goal and sometimes we reach what we think is a destination only to discover we are not home yet. Friends, just because we are chosen by God, and baptized into Christ by the Spirit, does not mean that we are infallibly going to attain all of God’s promises. We are always tempted, as Christ was, to follow the allurements of the world and the way of sin. So, we must hold fast to our confidence in our Lord and follow His commandments. We need to be like the leper, cleansed by Christ, and remain clean. We also need to obey. Friends, not having the sensation of touch is a very serious physical problem but it is also a serious spiritual problem as well. You see, not feeling is perhaps one of the most challenging of sins. Yes, leprosy is a metaphor for sin, one of the worst of all human diseases that separates sufferers from society, in part because they have an ailment that makes one numb. It should not surprise us that healing a leper was a sign of the Messiah. Add not hearing to the condition of the leper and it is a recipe for disaster. The story is generally positive and yet the reality is that the person healed failed to obey and the result was that Jesus could no longer go into town. He took on the sins of the leper he healed. To feel again is not enough. Being healed is not enough. We must hear and obey. The Bible warns us and teaches us a very valuable lesson on the consequences of sin and disobedience. We are to stay in touch with God, so we might obey. God wants us to learn from the horrible mistakes that people had made in the past when they do not hear and listen for God’s voice…and when they are not compassionate. Friends, God’s heart desires obedience. The role of humility, perseverance and faith are attributes that play a vital role in the Christian life, but the best way to express love, honor and reverence for God is though trust and obedience. This is the key to God’s continuing heart and favor. And brings a great blessing of the Trinity dwelling in us with wisdom, love, and forgiveness. If we are not obedient our love is empty.
And So, today’s psalm though troubling sets the tone. It starts out cheerful but ends on a dismal prediction of no rest for the disobedient. It is relevant to note that for the Hebrew reader of the first century, The Promised Land, is connected with the Land of Rest as we see in today’s passage in the Book of Hebrews as well. So, one might think that Israel had already entered into a rest. But the psalm’s ending implies, of course, that there is something greater associated with rest than entrance into earthly Canaan. The earthly Canaan did not provide rest, or else there would have been no need for the 95th Psalm. There is a rest coming for us, but we must first labor to enter it. The Sabbath comes at the end of the week, not the beginning. The rest is Jesus. And today’s scripture makes it clear that if we want rest, we are not just to hear the Lord but to obey too. The wilderness generation began well but ended poorly. The rest they were seeking was the wrong rest. Modern psychologists present seven types of rest for us to consider.
There are the mental, emotional, social, sensory, creative, physical, and spiritual types of rest. All have a time and place. The mental rest is the ability to quiet the mental chatter and focus on things that matter. Emotional rest is not to be devoid of feelings but to have the freedom to express our honest feelings and minimize people pleasing behaviors. Social rest is the ability to recognize relationships that fuel and drain us, with the courage to avoid those people who sap our energy. Sensory rest is the reduction of constant sensory input received especially from the media, smells and background noise in our lives. Creative rest is interesting for it is not the reduction of activity but the addition of strategic experiences that allow beauty to inspire and spark us to express ourselves. Physical rest is the chance to use our body in restorative ways to decrease the aches and pains and stress symptoms of life in order to promote health. All these have a place, but it is spiritual rest that fuels them all for it is the capacity to experience God in all things and stretch our minds and bodies in the knowledge of the Holy. It is about taking the time to connect to the world around us in a way that honors God. The rest that Jesus gives is not first and foremost a rest from work, though that may come. It is not a physical rest when the body is weary though this too is made possible by God. It is a rest for the soul when the heart and the mind are troubled and without peace. It is a refreshing of the soul by a mind focused on God and His words and a heart softened, warmed, and established in the love of Jesus.
Pray we trust and obey. Pray that our hearts are opened to hear God speaking and revealing his will to us. Pray we have the faith to believe in Jesus the Messiah and the timing of God. Pray we accept God’s healing so we might also become a means of healing for others. Pray we begin to feel the compassion in our gut…those butterflies of metamorphous. Pray we are shaped in the pain and puzzlement of the world so that the crucified love of God in Christ may be brought to bear healing upon us. Pray we are willing to see grace at work in the lives of others. Pray we have a holy respect for the power of love and a willingness to share it alongside the powerless. Pray we have compassion for those in need.
Pray we clearly hear God’s directions and obey them. Pray we have faith in Jesus to heal us. Pray we learn to obey the law of love. Pray we realize that we must expect some inner struggles. Pray we learn to leave all the consequences of our obedience to God. Pray our Christian identity influences us to live in eternal love in the tension of life. Pray we find a rest in Jesus.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 