It is almost time to enter the time of Lent – the season leading up to Easter. For me, it is a special time. It is an opportunity to evaluate myself and see where I am failing. Where is it that I am not doing as God would have me to do? What am I missing? One of the most powerful parts of this time is this isn’t a time to evaluate others. This is a time of deep searching within.
During lent, I am reminded of Psalm 139, verses 23-24, “23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. 24 See if there is any wickedway in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” These verses call for God to search us. We are asking God to test us, to know what we are thinking. We are seeking God to take a deep, long look at us. In doing this, we surely will find where we are missing it. We will find where we are doing well. And we will find where God is working in us to make us more like him.
This is a challenging opportunity to spend time with God and have him lead us. It can be exciting, painful, beautiful and difficult all at the same time. But if we are willing, we can come out of this reflecting his glory and shining bright for him. In the end, we may find we are the light shining in the darkness. Are you ready to have God search you and seek to become more like him? Let it begin.
When we think of rules, we think of something strict. They are hard and fast rules that tell us what we are to do and if we don’t do it correctly, we have broken the rule. I will take one we probably heard in school and plenty of people also didn’t follow. There was a rule to not talk in class unless you are called upon. This is simple. If you are given permission, you talk. If you don’t have permission, you don’t talk. It keeps order in the class and facilitates learning. But there are always folks who whisper or try to get away with just a little talking. There are those who write notes and pass them because technically they aren’t talking but still not following the rule per se. But the rule is clear – don’t talk unless the teacher calls on you and you have been given permission. It’s simple.
In the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5), Jesus is taking what many consider as rules and getting to the root of them. He is trying to help the disciples and followers of God understand the core of the rule so they can apply it in a different way. It isn’t just simply not talking, it is about being considerate to the other classmates, helping others concentrate on their work, and keeping the teacher from losing his or her mind with all the chatter. There’s more to it. And Jesus wants them to understand more than what they have gotten in the past. He wants to take it to the next level.
The other thing to remember is Jesus clearly states he is not there to abolish the law. He has come to fulfill it. That means the commands given by God don’t go away with Jesus. The Old Testament doesn’t become obsolete or invalid. In fact, he is bringing life to the commands of God, he is bringing light to the Old Testament and it is even more important to understand who God is and what he is doing. This is not doing away, but fulfilling. And this is just one way of fulfillment.
Given these two things, read what is recorded in Matthew 5:21-30. This just takes into account 2 of the examples, but will get us to start thinking the way Jesus is teaching rather than simply reading the rules.
In the first example, Jesus uses the command of you shall not murder. This seems pretty clear cut. Do not murder. If you murder, there are consequences. So it would seem that those who have not murdered anyone would be fine just checking the box and knowing they had fulfilled this commandment. But Jesus tells his disciples, and also us, not to draw that conclusion so fast. He wants to get to the core of the problem. What is the core of the command of murder? Jesus says it is anger.
The problem Jesus is addressing with this command is our issue of anger. If we allow anger to take over our lives, we have essentially broken this commandment. If anger drives us or causes us to do things we wouldn’t normally do or wouldn’t do if we weren’t angry, we have broken the commandment. Anger has to be addressed and dealt with. Jesus is asking us to take a really deep look at ourselves, our motives, and our heart. He wants us to understand what drives us. Is what drives us love or is it anger and hate?
Anger causes us to say and do things we often later regret. Anger can be maddening and take us places we never intended to go. That’s why Jesus is challenging us to check our anger and deal with it before this happens. If we deal with our anger, we essentially won’t break the commandment. And so dealing with the anger looks like seeking reconciliation. It looks like setting things right. This means apologies and asking for forgiveness. It means humbling oneself to realize when we are wrong or when we allowed our anger to lead us to places we should not have gone. It means making amends where possible.
I want to point out something with all of these teachings. This is not about the other person. This is about us. What are we doing? What is the source of our actions? What is in our heart? This isn’t about thinking of those who have done us wrong and pushing them to fix it. This is about us seeking what we have done wrong and seeking to right our wrongs. This is about discovering what is in us. And when anger is in us, it fuels a fire which can burn out of control. So we have to deal with that when it is a spark.
The second example is adultery. Do not commit adultery is the commandment. This seems simple. We either have or haven’t. But Jesus tells us not to draw that conclusion so fast. He asks us to dig a little deeper. What is the source of what causes us to commit adultery? He points out a wondering eye, an unfaithful heart, and an unruly mind. In other words, the adultery started long before the act. It began with checking out other people. It began with allowing thoughts to enter our minds which then led to actions later. It began with entertaining ideas which should never have been allowed before. It began with the heart.
Do you notice a trend developing here? The heart is the source of the problem. Long before any actions took place, there was an issue with our heart. We began getting off track when our heart was not in check. We lost focus on what was important before we actually made any mistakes.
Jesus, in a parable type of way, tells us to keep that in check right from the beginning. In a very direct teaching, Jesus is having us to stop this before it starts. He doesn’t literally mean to pluck out our eye. But he means to get our eyes in check. He doesn’t mean to cut off anything, but to keep our hands to ourselves by searching the heart first.
We all make mistakes. That is a given. But when we keep our hearts and minds in check, when we focus on following God, we are much less likely to be lead down roads which cause us to break the commandments. It starts early. It starts with having checks along the way so we don’t get too far without realizing there is a problem.
This goes beyond anger and lust, by the way. These are teachings for all of our life. These are guides for us as we seek to live for God. This helps us to keep ourselves on track. Jesus was teaching us how to live, truly live.
It begins with us, you and me. We begin with this exploration of what is in our hearts. Where are our intentions? Is our main focus on loving God with our everything? Do we keep coming back to loving God first? Do we have guards along the way which bring us back to him? Maybe it is time to check on ourselves. Maybe we do some cleaning of our own houses. Maybe it begins today.
1 I love you, O Lord, my strength. 2 The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my rock in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
Who is the Lord to you? In Psalm 18, the Psalmist is praising God because of being rescued. The rescue was huge and so he experienced God’s mighty hand at work personally. He not only saw, but actually felt the strength of God working. And it changed him. He proclaims his love for the Lord, the ultimate strength.
God is so much bigger than our words. He is so much more powerful than we can describe. Our language fails us when it comes to describing the Creator and Sustainer of life. But it is often when we are most in distress that we begin to see God at work. It is when we need him most we see him most. When God shows up to rescue us, it is life changing. And to feel his power is not only incredible, but something we never forget.
The more we spend time with God, the more we can begin to have words to describe who he is to us and how much he really means to us. The closer we follow, we begin to love him more and more. We don’t really understand this until we truly dedicate ourselves to following him, wherever he may lead. Sometimes following is into the most difficult places. But these are the times we see him, truly see him.
May God show up for us today in a mighty way, reminding us he is our strength, deliverer and our refuge. May we follow like never before. And may we echo the Psalmist in proclaiming to God, “I love you.”
7 I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. 8 I keep the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices; my body also rests secure.
When we are looking for advice, where do we turn? We look for people who have life experiences, those who display wisdom, and those we can trust. We look for people who will hear us and be truthful with us. We look for those who understand us and want to help us. These are all good traits. And there is nothing wrong with seeking wise counsel from those who are wise, trustworthy, truthful, and compassionate.
Let us not forget to also seek counsel from God. We usually think of those around us who we can turn to for answers. But do we turn to God? Do we actually seek out his counsel? Do we really want to hear what he has for us? Are we willing to spend the time exploring what God has for us? It is easier to just ask those around us, especially if they may tell us what we want to hear. But it is more valuable to seek counsel in the One who knows us better than we know ourselves and still loves us.
In this writing, the Psalmist seeks counsel from the Lord and invites his heart to be instructed. Because he does this, he knows God is with him, leading him, and keep his footing firm. With God at his right hand, his heart is glad, his soul rejoice and his body finds rest. This is even the case when God doesn’t tell us what we want or give us the answers we seek. Sometimes his wise counsel is simply to trust him. And that’s often most difficult.
What might it look like for us to seek the Lord’s counsel, to feel his presence and to have a glad heart through it all?
3 O send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling. 4 Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy; and I will praise you with the harp, O God, my God.
What is your guiding light? What provides guidance for how you act, your actions in daily life, and why you do what you do? What is it that is guiding you? For some of us, we seem to go through life aimlessly. It’s almost as if we just “go with the flow” in life. The guide is simply what we want to do at the time. For others, the guide is the expectations set upon us. We are led by those around us, who are telling us what we should do. Some people are led by the media and the current trends. If everyone else is doing it, it must be okay.
All of these guides will ultimately lead to an unfulfilling life. The aimless pursuits and following of others won’t help us to truly find the way we were created to go. We only find our way when we are guided by the light of God. The Psalmist in Psalm 43 is asking God to send out his light and truth, so these might be what he follows. It is in following God that he understands there is exceeding joy and praise. This is the fulfilling life, even if it isn’t the materially abundant one.
A life led by God is one which has a focus on the teachings of the scripture. This life is full of love because God is love. The life led by God’s light will cast through the darkness. Through God’s light, we may not have all the path illuminated, but we have enough to continue to step forward, knowing God is guiding. This is a path of peace, a path of joy, and a path of steadfast love.
What is your guiding light? May we be led by the light of God, step by step, day by day.
1 I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry. 2 He drew me up from the desolate pit,[a] out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. 3 He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord.
Trudging through the snow this past week reminded of how difficult it is to walk when every step has to be high and strategic. It takes much more work to travel a short distance when the snow is as high as it was. It is also difficult to walk when you are sinking in mud. Mud seems to have this suction and picking up your shoes could result in losing one or both along the way. It can make for a frustrating and almost defeating journey to travel through either.
The Psalmist in Psalm 40 has felt this frustration and defeat. He has had his feet sink way down deep, maybe up to his knees. He can’t see what’s in front of him. He knows what it is to fall so far that it becomes almost impossible to move forward. It was during these times he cried out to God. And, just like God always does, he heard his cry. What did God do with the cries of his child? God brought him out of the pit and set him high upon a rock. In other words, he gave him firm footing. He gave him a new start. He offered him the possibility of moving forward when he felt most defeated. He was rescued.
What do we do when we feel up to our knees in difficulties? Where do we turn when we can’t see a way forward? What happens when we feel so defeated that every single step is almost too much? Instead of trying to fight the mud, maybe we cry out to God for his rescue. His firm footing is exactly what we need when we can’t seem to move. All too often, I find myself just sitting in the mud, still trying to figure it out on my own. Psalm 40 is my reminder there is no reason to do this. God provides just what we need when we turn to him. And what we may need is to be lifted up.
May you be lifted up today, set high upon a rock, and guided forward in following God.
4 ‘Lord, let me know my end, and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is. 5 You have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing in your sight. Surely everyone stands as a mere breath. Selah
We know we only have a limited days on this earth. When we are young, we feel like the days are so long and we have so much time. The end feels like so far away. Even when we are middle aged, we still tend to “waste” time. I don’t mean waste in the sense of not being serious. I mean waste in the way of not appreciating the days we are given. We do not always pay attention to the gift that is today. We don’t spend time savoring the days or treasuring the moments. Those thoughts almost sound cliché.
The reason they sound like that is because we have work to do, meetings to attend, children to take care of, phone calls to make, and meals to prepare. We have a full agenda and we can barely keep up. Who has the time to think about savoring the day or treasuring a moment. But, that’s exactly the problem. We get so caught up in the “to-do” list of the day we forget how incredibly good today really is. We can get so wrapped up in our day-to-day lives we don’t really see how beautiful life is around us. We miss it. And we don’t realize it until it’s the end. Then, we wish we had paid more attention.
What if we did what the Psalmist mentions in Psalm 39? What if we asked God to give us a measure of our days and realize we have just a few breaths to appreciate? If we take a moment to realize just how fleeting it all is, would we wake up and take notice? Would we stop from our list and look up at the goodness all around? Would we realize just what a gift we actually have been given?
Maybe today is the day we begin to stop- if even for just a moment. Maybe we look around, breathe deep, and give thanks. Maybe we turn our busyness into gratitude. We just don’t have many of these days, so please do not miss a one. Today is the day to start.
In today’s scripture, Jesus has been teaching a group of eager listeners what it means to follow him. And following him is quite different than they had experienced before. Following Jesus did not mean following the Pharisees or the law givers. It also didn’t mean giving up following the law. Instead, Jesus is taking the people, and in essence, you and me, back to the original and core meaning. Jesus is taking us back to the meaning of it all when God first gave the commandments and what this looked like. And it doesn’t look that much like what it had become. Jesus is essentially wiping it all clean and starting again. And in the verses preceding this, he challenges what it means to be blessed and what God’s blessings actually may look like. Given these teachings, he challenges those before him with these words.
Matthew 5:13-20
This is a challenge for those listening. This is a challenge for us hearing and reading these words today. For me, I think these teachings begin by asking a question – where are we going? Where are we heading?
Many of you already know I am directionally challenged. It just isn’t part of the gifts in which I was given. I am not good with words such as north, south, east or west. I am much better with turn left, turn right, stay straight. And even those words must be very specific. So that means if I am traveling, I am usually either following someone else or I am using my GPS to guide me. I do not try to go rogue and figure it out on my own. I don’t have the time, gas, or money to do crazy things like that.
If I am following, I am following close. I do not want someone to get in between me and the person I am following. I do not want to lose my place or get to a point where I can’t see the person I am following. That leads to me getting lost, every single time. So I want to always keep them in my view. I trust the person who is leading to know where they are going. And if I am using my GPS, I am usually just fine until it begins to take me through areas which do not look right or it begins to cut out because there are not satellites around. Then, we have an issue.
Jesus is challenging those who are listening to lead. He is asking them to be salt and light. He is asking them to stand out and be seen, in a good way. He is asking them, as a community of believers, to be a city set upon a hill. They are to be seen. They are to be followed. But they are not to go their own way. And the light is not so they are seen in themselves. The light, the city is to be so that the way for others becomes clear and they see God! They are to give glory to God because of the light – not glory to the people who were shining the light.
So the light has to be God’s light you are shining. And if you are shining a light, if you are salt, if we are a city, what do people see? Where are they going if they follow us? What are they experiencing if they see our light? Where are we even going? What are we even doing? Do we know where we are heading? If we are leading others, are we leading them to Jesus? Or are we leading them down a path of destruction? Where are we leading?
These are pretty challenging thoughts and Jesus meant them to be. The community Jesus is speaking to has lost its way. They know the law and they think they are following it to the letter. But they have focused so much on the law, they have forgotten who gave the law and what it meant to follow God. They are following the law so intense they have forgotten the law was given so they would see God. They weren’t seeing God, but instead seeing their own works. And that was a problem. They weren’t leading people closer to God, but closer to their definition of perfection.
Jesus is calling them out. Jesus is calling us out. We have to reorient ourselves. He doesn’t say to throw the commandments and the law out the door. He says to follow them and to live into them. But in following them, two things should happen. They should become more like Jesus and they should lead people closer to him. If that isn’t happening, there is a problem. Being a light is a responsibility to bring people closer to Christ. We should be leading others to him.
That doesn’t mean we are perfect – not by any means. We will make mistakes. We will mess up. We will make bad decisions and wrong turns. But we do not lose our focus on where we are headed. We do not forget where we are going and who we are going for. We keep our eyes on Jesus, he is our ultimate guide. In other words, our light shows people Jesus, not us. It isn’t our light anyway, but his.
And I just don’t think we shine our light best by beating people down or telling them all the things they are doing wrong, or judging who we think they are. I think we shine a light by doing what Jesus taught as the greatest commandments – loving the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength and loving our neighbor. That’s where the difference begins to take place. That’s where we begin to see real change. That’s when our light is most bright – when we love.
Being salt and light for Jesus means we follow him, no matter the cost. We love like him, no matter who it is we are loving. We give like him, live like him, and show people who it is we are following. And because we are flawed, people will see it is not us that are the light, but the one who forgives us and loves us any who is the light. We point others to Jesus.
Where are we going? If others see our light, what or who do they see? How are we showing people the love of Christ?
21 Do not forsake me, O Lord; O my God, do not be far from me; 22 make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation.
In Psalm 38, the Psalmist is crying out to God. He realizes where he went wrong. He understands the punishment for his mistakes. He doesn’t want this to be his ruin. He doesn’t want this to be the end. And in the middle of the Psalm, he writes, “But it is for you, O Lord, that I wait; it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.”
While the pain and suffering can feel unbearable sometimes, he will wait because he knows God will answer. God will come through. He knows because God always has. He knows because God always will. God is faithful. He is trustworthy. And he hears the cries of his children.
But it can feel like he is so far away, especially when we have pushed him away by doing things our own way or doing what we wanted to do rather than following him. It can feel as though he does not hear or answer us, admittedly our own fault for this happening. Yet, God is still with us. He doesn’t forsake us, abandon us, or give up on us. He may seem absent because of what we have chosen. But he is always ready to hear. There is a prayer which reminds us he is more ready to hear than we are to pray. God is not the problem, we are.
When we cry out to him, truly come before him with all of us, he hears us and answers. He does help us. He is our salvation. So if you are feeling a little distant, maybe it’s time to spend a little time waiting, praying and listening. He is ready to hear.
Almighty and eternal God, you are always more ready to hear than we are to pray, and to give more than we ask or deserve. Pour down on us the abundance of your mercy, forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid, and giving us those good things which we are not worthy to ask; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Source: Gelasian Sacramentary, 8th Century, Historic Collect for the Eleventh Sunday after Trinity
7 Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him; do not fret over those who prosper in their way, over those who carry out evil devices.
8 Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath. Do not fret—it leads only to evil. 9 For the wicked shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.
We can spend way too much time and energy on comparing ourselves to other people. It happens so easily, without even taking notice. Social media provides us with endless opportunities to scroll through the highlights of other people. We see what others are doing or wearing or how they are living. We wonder why our lives aren’t like that. We wonder what we are doing wrong and why we can’t succeed like them. It’s an endless spiral which really takes us nowhere except down a deep, dark pit.
Today’s Psalm is about learning patience. But in this particular set of verses, I hear God redirecting us when we are comparing ourselves to other people. He has a plan and a purpose for us. When we stop comparing and instead begin evaluating the goodness right before us, our perspective changes. We see we have food on the table. We begin to see we have a family and friends who support us. Our vision becomes clearer on what we have. It doesn’t matter what someone else has. We don’t know their struggle or what they did to obtain those things. And it doesn’t matter.
I think the point is to do the right thing with what we have been given. What are we doing with the resources God has put in our lap? What are we doing with the skills and gifts God has given us? If we stop worrying about anyone else, how might we see the bounty in our own home? When we focus on ourselves, our relationship with God, doing the right thing and being who God has made us to be, our view completely changes.
Today, may we stop looking around at others and instead find ways to be grateful for what we have. May we use the resources and gifts God has given us for his glory today. May we find joy in what we have been given.
SEEING THE EXTRAORDINARY 
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