Good Morning Friends,
Today’s reading suggests to us that, before Christ, the laws required the regular sacrificing of animals to atone for our sins. It all seems rather foreign to us today and frankly how this was practiced 2000 years ago I doubt was pleasing to God even way back then. And I think this was so because the practice, though obedient to the law, had become more of a ritual and as a result failed in a spiritual sense to really cleanse the minds of the sinner. If the sacrifice had meant total forgiveness and cleansing, it would seem likely to have resulted in a change in lifestyle and behavior. But that was not happening. Now we might say the same thing about the sacrifice of Jesus, for we still have free will to reject even that which is good for us. But there is a fundamental difference here that we must understand. God the Father would never be pleased with any ritual that did not realize at least some of the potential of our sanctification. And animal sacrifice only gave a shadow of the potential to come. That is why God provided, in the great mystery of it all, His son Jesus to exact for us a new covenant. Now for carrying this plan out, people, even some of his own community, thought Jesus was crazy. If we had been there, we might have come to the same conclusion for few today grasp the potential of the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross in turning around the thinking of humans to a new way. And so today we contemplate a reboot of sorts and a clearing of our memory, so we might understand properly even as we ask. Can We Unlearn The Things That Keep Us From God’s Peace In The Mind Of Christ?
Scripture: Since the law has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered year after year, make perfect those who approach. Otherwise, would they not have ceased being offered, since the worshipers, cleansed once for all, would no longer have any consciousness of sin? But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sin year after year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body you have prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure. Then I said, ‘See, God, I have come to do your will, O God’ (in the scroll of the book it is written of me).” When he said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law), then he added, “See, I have come to do your will.” He abolishes the first in order to establish the second. And it is by God’s will that we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for al
Hebrews 10:1-10 (NRSV)
Then his mother and his brothers came; and standing outside, they sent to him and called him. A crowd was sitting around him; and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers and sisters are outside, asking for you.” And he replied, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” And looking at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”
Mark 3:31-35 (NRSV)
The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. He said to them, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves. Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.
Mark 6:30-34 (NRSV)
It was told King David, “The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.” So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom to the city of David with rejoicing; and when those who bore the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fatling. David danced before the Lord with all his might; David was girded with a linen ephod. So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet. They brought in the ark of the Lord, and set it in its place, inside the tent that David had pitched for it; and David offered burnt offerings and offerings of well-being before the Lord. When David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the offerings of well-being, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts, and distributed food among all the people, the whole multitude of Israel, both men and women, to each a cake of bread, a portion of meat, and a cake of raisins. Then all the people went back to their homes.
2 Samuel 6:12b-15, 17-19 (NRSV)
“For who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
1 Corinthians 2:16 (NRSV)
Message: Friends, we have much to unlearn about our bias toward others and the ritual habits that have become part of our behavior that no longer or perhaps never did really serve a divine purpose save serving as a bridge. Part of our spiritual training in this regard may have been neglected. The teaching we typically receive is inadequate without the Holy Spirit drawing out from us what must be unlearned. We have cognitive retraining and thinking on the right thoughts to alter our behavior, but the most difficult part of spiritual training is typically not to put the right thing into a person but to get the wrong thing out of them. And here is the rub. When the Holy Spirit comes into our hearts, God must be embarrassed for us, and therefore convicts us, for we think we know so much already of what it would be good to leave unknown for it is unknowable. We are a self-conceited lot. We are puffed up. We have learned lessons of worldly wisdom and carnal policy, and these we need to unlearn and deny before we can be fit to be called children of God. And so, I am writing about this because today’s readings magnify the will of God and the mission of His only Son on the cross in this regard. That Jesus came into the world, from the very beginning of time to die for our sins and be resurrected is difficult to fathom. The magnitude of this event’s depth and breadth should blow our minds to embrace a new path to holiness instead of the lies of the world we hold on to. It all comes down to this…. Jesus was born to die so that we might be sanctified. He abolished the first covenant so that a second covenant of love could be established. But the religious leaders and even Jesus’ own relatives had been carefully taught to hate and fear anyone who would change the balance of power and alter the laws. It had been drummed into their heads. So, think for a moment about what you have been taught. Maybe you and I need to rethink our desire for riches and our view of community and who we consider family and who we reject and accept and how we serve in healing and bringing wholeness and love to others. This I believe is what God is calling us to be and do. So, we must let go of the past and its bad habits so that we can move into the future where love rules. The world may even call us crazy for this but if we are privileged to serve and are called to this purpose of renewing our minds then it is the sanest action we can take if we are willing to risk acceptance of God’s love. We are to have the mind of Christ.
And So, some people and certainly the devil is a killjoy and despises us when we experience true freedom…true peace…true love. The beauty is that God can be our peace in the middle of disaster, flood, loss of loved ones and even in our everyday challenges when malice wells up inside us. The amazing thing is that we can learn to live in peace with ourselves and others no matter what struggles and difficulties we face. But first we must make peace with God.We can do our happy dance like David and still seek righteousness. Sure, others might want us to get angry or feel ashamed, so we look at ourselves in the mirror. We can change the things we can. We can be more inviting, more welcoming. We can be more inclusive. We can fight suffering, injustice, prejudice, inequality, and discrimination. We can stand up for justice in the marketplace of the world. We can help take care of others. But the real starting place is finding inward peace with oneself once we have made peace with God. And part of that is finding a peace in praising God with a God given dignity that comforts and confronts others with a purpose that glorifies God. Until we have this inward peace fueled by the Holy Spirit, I doubt we will ever have long term spiritual and emotional health. In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells his disciples to do something unusual. He tells them to chill out and take a rest…. And as it turns out, the day becomes a busy time of joy more so than what we might consider a peaceful picnic. But such is the journey with Jesus. No one could deny that Jesus was different. The words He spoke rang true and upset His opponents. His enemies, the Jewish leaders of the day, tried to trip Him up and discredit Him by showing He was a lawbreaker, but none of it stuck. What we make of this man who says and does such outlandish things as healing the poor makes all the difference. Either we are attracted to Him, or we are repulsed by Jesus thinking him as crazy or possessed. But for me, Jesus, like David in today’s text, would have been one fun guy to be around if you could keep up with him. He really gets immersed in what he does and seems to have such natural freedom. He loses all sense of self-consciousness. Of course, not everyone likes this in another person, and some hate it. Jesus alerted us to the possibility that people would hate some of the things we do as Christians. However, with the help of Jesus, we can take steps to establish a peace that overflows in the busyness of life. We can share a meal together as a witness to the unity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We can find rest in the unity of Christ being both all human and all divine. If we are truly in Christ and Christ is in us, we must let go of the past so that we can move into the future reborn in a love that lasts and a peace that passes understanding. Friends, it is God’s perfect love that casts out all fear. We all need to be emptied and refilled in the Spirit of Christ.
Pray we realize that God has placed the resources within our reach for our success in unlearning as well as learning. Pray we find peace with ourselves. Pray that we find outward peace with others. Pray that we realize that peacemakers are promise keepers and purpose fulfillers. Pray that we realize that to be peaceful is to be purposeful. Pray we find rest in a belief in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Pray even in our active praise of God that our spirit and soul reflect an inward place of calm, quiet and rest. Pray that we have a mental space where we ignore all outside interruptions. Pray we clear our minds of all anxiety so we might not only find peace and purpose, but help others become peacemakers…children of God. Pray we beseech God’s blessings and help in honoring God by the way we live. Pray that we embrace the opportunities given to love and to serve each other. Pray that we realize that we do not always have to please other people. Pray that we are not afraid to show our weakness. Pray that we let go of what is no longer working. Pray that we realize that we do not have to postpone joy. Pray that we realize that fitting in does not always help in belonging to something valuable. Pray we make peace with God.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 