January 9, 2024

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE READING:

“As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” (Ephesians 4.1-6)

TODAY’S REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

Okay, I have to do it…but only because the numbering of the daily reflections in the chosen format presents it as “007.” We are “Bond- Bond servants of Christ.” The more “captivating” understanding of being a bondservant would be “bound-servant.” In our confession of sin and profession of faith, we bind ourselves to Jesus Christ as Lord, Savior, Messiah, Son of God, Prince of Peace and the only fulfilled example of abiding with our Heavenly Father by which we ourselves may gain entrance into “the Father’s House.” When an arborist grafts a branch into a tree (the biblical equivalent is grafting a branch into a vine) cuts are made into the limb of the tree. The branch is then inserted into the cut and bound by a wrapping so that the “wound” may heal and the branch becomes a part of the tree. The tree serves the branch and gives it life and sustenance from its own rootedness. The branch begins to grow by the very nature of the heart of the wood united. It sprouts leaves and bears fruit. The two become as one. Now if that verbiage sounds familiar to you, it should. It comes from scripture in the outpouring of the creation of Adam and Eve, man and woman, male and female. After God had created Adam (see Genesis 2, the “second” creation story) and established His covenant with Him and saw Adam at work in the Garden, He declared “It is not right for Adam to be alone. I must create a helpmate for him so that he may serve his purpose well.” God recognized from His own experience of relationship with Himself, Father-Son-Holy Spirit, that being alone or singular was not an optimal reality. In today’s evangelical faith expression we hear of the dialectic between “religion and relationship” as if they were mutually exclusive and even antithetical. The reflections I offered on “The Sermon on the Mount” found in Matthew were to highlight the word from James 1.27 as the results of pursuing the “pure religion.” It started with relationships in James’ description as “the care for widows and orphans.” It was not limited to such care but expressed an awareness for those who did not have that “father/husband” figure in their lives. They were, in essence, out of relationship with the wholeness of community in their personal lives. The religion of old spoke of giving offerings to the widows and orphans but it was more like gleaning from the edges of the fields. It did not proffer a true relationship but more of a symbiotic relationship.

If there is any confusion of gender roles and identity today, I suggest it comes from the simple fact that the Church, the faith of our ancient fathers, began to move more into a “casting away” religion of relationships instead of a “drawing near” religion of relationships. It was the very purpose of Jesus to draw all people to God. He may have been the candle flame as the light of the world which drew the moth like a city set on a hill that could not be hidden. He did not intend for the people to come to Him as if He alone was God. He taught of the unity of the spirit of God the Father, Son, Holy Spirit and humanity. In the Seder discourse, Jesus challenged the disciples to embrace “Just as the Father and I are one, so shall you and I become one.” The consequence of that re-union was that Creator and creation would become one again as well. So, God anesthetized Adam and performed a separating opportunity of “one into two” so that the two could become as one. Their “grafting,” being bound by love to each other in spiritual, psychological and physical intimacy, was to bring their awareness to the fore of how they should relate to God. In Christ, we become “grafted” into the body of faith. The rootedness of Jesus as the Christ of God into God’s nature and character then flows in us. We are nourished by Him as our “hearts” become as one. His “humility and gentleness” should be ours as well. We should understand them not as the world understands them but as Jesus Himself displayed them, demonstrated them, taught them and allowed them to become “the way, the truth and the life” which leads all eyes and lives to God.

Tomorrow, I want to reflect on what I mean by His understanding of “humility and gentleness” with the hope that we can share that life and truth with others. The intention is not merely to be like Christ but to show others the power of life that is available to them so that we practice faithfully what James called “pure religion,” and what I see as “the religion of right relationships.” Until then, shalom, y’all.

TODAY’S PRAYER IN RESPONSE TO GOD’S WORD:

Father, before we were conceived in the womb, You had already formed us in Your love and by Your Spirit spoke us into being. Each one of us is blessed with the opportunity of doing right, being good and producing the fruit of the Spirit so that others may be fed the truth of that same love so that the two will become one. It is our soul’s sincere desire to embrace the oneness You have in mind that we would know that we are Your people and that You are our God. Lead us in that discovery of the truth and the manifestation of that love for us all. In Jesus’ name, we pray. AMEN.