Devotional 11-22-13

A question I heard this morning:  have you ever considered how difficult it would be to explain that Jesus is the Lamb of God to someone who is very familiar with a walrus, but has never seen a sheep?

There is a truth in the phrase "Jesus is the Lamb of God" that those who heard it understood -- because they could understand what the metaphor means.  They knew sheep.  They knew Jewish sacrifice.  They got it.

How does that metaphor play in a different world?

How do we understand the same metaphors that a person in 1st century Israel would?  Many people say they take the Bible as the literal truth of God, but it isn't written as literal truth.  Jesus is not literally a lamb.  The phrase is a metaphor that we seek to understand, even though we are living 2000 years later.

If I only know walruses (is that the plural of walrus?), then I might not understand everything about the lamb metaphor.

We need to be careful when we say that the way you or I interpret the Word of God is the one and only way to understand the truth of what is written. We are as distant from the original setting and hearers of the word as a Walrus caretaker is from shepherds.  That doesn't mean we can't understand the truth - it means we have to work harder, listen to each other, read more than just one verse, and listen to more than just one voice of interpretation.  We have to listen for God speaking.

And we have to admit that we only know the walrus.

Kim Matthews

Devotional 11-15-13

           A Conversation With A Fav’rite Psalm:
           The Twenty-seventh One, To Be Precise

My light and my salvation is the Lord.
With God beside me, there are none to fear.
I have no cause to shrink or be afraid
Because my stronghold guardian is the Lord.

          Is God’s protective care for me alone?
          Or does the Lord look after others, too?
          While others fear, is that for me to care?
          Is God’s protection from the likes of me?

Though hosts of armies camp against my wall,
I have no fear; my heart in safety rests.
When evil ones and adversaries rise,
They stumble, fall; and I am safe, secure.

          But what if I the adversary be?
          Against the Lord am I an enemy?
          Are they my words and deeds that proffer harm
          To God’s own people?  Is it I that sin?

I seek to live within the house of God
For all the days of my eternal life.
I dream the beauties of the Lord’s abode.
I long to learn within the courts of God.

          But wait!  I learn what God reveals to me:
          That those whom I distrust are also there
          Within the house I thought was saved for me
          Alone!  What dreadful comedy is this?

I feel the hand of God who raises me
Above my enemies who wish me harm.
I sing the song of triumph!  Hear me, Lord?
Be gracious unto me and answer me.

          But there, in other hands of God, I see
          The ones who cause me great distress and fear.
          Is this some kind of joke?  Malevolence?
          That others in the hands of God sing praise?

When I the sinner am, forgive me, Lord.
Allay my fear and use my strength to serve
You all my days while waiting patiently
To see the fullness of your love and grace.

Devotional 11-8-13

Then Eli answered, ‘Go in peace; the God of Israel grant the petition you have made to him.’ 1 Samuel 1:17

 The night was still thick and heavy
 across the land.
 The sun was only a hoped for light.
 Hannah couldn't sleep.
 She traveled with her husband.
 They were returning home.

 In the darkness, she touched flame
 to kindling,
 encouraging the fire to burn again
 in the dark.

 Her life had been hopeless, empty,
 but now, the spark of Eli's words
 burned small and tiny in her mind.
 "Go in peace,
 God will grant your petition."

 She blew gently on the flame
 to keep it alive,
 as she prayed for the hope within her
 to continue to burn.

 Was it better, to wait now in the midst of hope,
 fearful that the hope would die within her?
 Or was the security of hopelessness better,
 without the fear of loss?
 She blew the gentle breath of prayer on the flame within her.
 "Please, God..."

 To wait.  To hope. To fear.
 To fear even to believe.

Kim Matthews