A Life Worthy

Tag: Matthew

  • One-a-Day Monday, 1/5/15

    number 1When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples to ask him, “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?”  Jesus replied, “Go back and tell John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured …” (Matthew 11:2-5).

    Unclean!

    OK, that would be a pretty unsettling thing to hear, back in the day.  You’re walking down the street, talking to your friends, maybe enjoying a tasty kosher snack, when you hear that word yelled out.

    Unclean!

    The call would have a certain edge to it—disgust, shock, a touch of panic.  It meant that somewhere nearby there was a person with leprosy or some other skin ickiness, and you were gonna want to clear out of the way pronto.  This person was blemished, damaged, unacceptable,

    Unclean

    and if you came into contact with them, you would be, too.

    Now imagine that you are the unclean one.  You are diseased, and there’s nothing you can do about it.  You walk through life knowing that your very self is filthy, inside and out.  No matter how hard you scrub, you just can’t get rid of it.  No matter what clothes or makeup or mask you wear, you just can’t hide the fact that you are blemished, damaged, unacceptable,

    Unclean.

    Oh yeah…that was you.

    And me.

    Until Jesus.

    But that is no longer you.

    Now you are cured.

    Now you are whole.

    Now you are clean.

    Now you are Beloved.

    Take that into your Monday.

  • One-a-Day Monday, 12/29/14

    number 1When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples to ask him, “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?”  (Mathew 11:2-3)

    Kinda startling, when you think about it.

    I mean, he’s John the Baptist.  He has served Jesus since the womb.  He baptized Jesus—hence the title.  He has seen the heavens open and the Spirit of God descend upon Jesus.

    And now he’s asking, “Am I right?  Are you the guy?”

    How could he ask that?

    Maybe, you know, because he’s in prison.

    Maybe John was having a hard time seeing God’s hand in his present circumstances.  Maybe he had the same picture of Messiah in his head that most Jews had—a King who would come and free them from their bondage.  I know he called Jesus, “The Lamb of God,” but did he fully get what he was saying?

    Here he sits, in prison, waiting for the whim of Herod to decide his fate.

    And Jesus doesn’t seem to be doing much.

    Now, I know you’ve never experienced this, but John was in need of a little reassurance here.  He needed to know that what he had been preaching, what he had been living, what he was preparing to die for was really true.

    Not a nifty little life philosophy.

    True.

    And so he asked.

    Have you asked, Beloved?

    Because, there is an answer.  We’ll look at it tomorrow.

    Spoiler alert—it’s pretty awesome.

  • One-a-Day Thursday, 12/11/14

    number 1Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one (Matthew 6:9-13).

    God makes it clear through James (James 1:13) that he does not tempt us.  But this prayer takes it a step further.  Jesus asks God not even to take us to the place where we may be tempted by, as James says, “Our own evil desires.”

    Of which we have so many.

    I can’t help but notice the difference between the two verbs.  Lead us not into temptation.  The word lead is passive—it requires us to follow.  We’re not being dragged by a chain, after all.

    Yet

    Jesus knows, however, that we will not always follow the Father’s lead.  We will wander off on our own, and end up in the places where, according to James, we will be “dragged away and enticed.”

    Which requires the second verb.

    Deliver.

    There is nothing passive about deliver.  It’s about as active as you get.  When we are “dragged away…” we are unable to free ourselves.  Our enemy is stronger than we are.  But thanks be to God.  He is our deliverer.  He—and only he—is strong enough, brave enough, and merciful enough to come and rescue us from the danger we knowingly put ourselves in.

    Because he loves us.

    Whaddaya say we try to minimize the number of rescues required today, eh Beloved?

    Let’s play Follow the Leader.

  • One-a-Day Tuesday, 7/1/14

    number 1Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28).

    Some mornings I look at a verse and I think, “This is so clear, so simple, that trying to ‘explain’ it would only complicate matters.”

    Today would be one of those mornings.

    Let’s not discuss this verse, Beloved.

    Let’s not analyze it.

    Let’s just embrace it.

    Jesus is inviting you to take the worry, the stress, the anxiety that plagues you today and lay it all at his feet.

    He’s waiting…

    I’ll meet you there, Beloved.