I recently officiated the funeral of an adult child of a congregant. Her child grew up in the church, made a life, met a love, and succumbed to a rare cancer. The afternoon together was thick with love and support as family, friends, and church members gathered.
As is often the case, a funeral makes one think of life. Your life. Your ONE life. It's a gift and in the midst of that gift there are moments of grace, where we receive things we could never earn: forgiveness, love, acceptance, and more.
The question, for me, is What's my response going to be?
The person in Psalm 116 is asking themselves the same thing. They had been in real trouble. Duress in the day time and tears in the night. The image the psalmist reaches for is a rope tied around them, dragging them toward the grave. And in that extremity, they called out to God.
God answered!
Now they stand on the other side of it, asking how they are to respond to such an astonishing act of God. Not everyone gets that second chance.
The answer they give is the todah, which is the Thanksgiving Offering. This is not a private acknowledgement. The person who had been delivered would gather family and friends, make the journey to Jerusalem, offer the sacrifice, and then, over a shared meal, in the presence of everyone, they would stand and testify: This is what happened to me. This is what God did!
The idea is this: God you spared my life and I will spare nothing to thank you and to tell others of your power!
In Matthew 22, some are trying to test Jesus and put him at odds with either the Roman authorities or the religious elites. "Should we pay taxes to Caesar?"
Jesus cleverly points out that the coin bears Caesar's image. Caesar put that coin on earth and stamped it with his image. Therefore, pay to Caesar what bears his image.
Likewise to what belongs to God.
You and I are created in the image of God. Like a coin stamped with our Creator's image, we are put on this earth to be spent.
Thus, we see, our lives have value. I think part of life is learning the true weight of that. We can view ourselves as a coin in the hands of God determined to bring about justice, compassion, mercy, and beauty to this world.
You were made to be spent. Not depleted. Not hoarded. You were made to be spent. Now, to figure out what it means to be spent well.
Jesus: The Author & Perfecter of Our Faith
Dr. Douglas Bain was my New Testament Greek professor in my undergrad. He spent half a class period talking about the word "perfect." In Greek we can use the word telos for perfect.
This kind of perfection is not moral perfection. It means to bring to completion , to bring something to the end it was created for.
The image Dr. Bain gave was a pirate's unfolding telescope. It can collapse in on itself, but it wasn't designed for that. You pull each section of the telescope out and you see great distances.
That is the word the writer of Hebrews uses for Jesus.
He is not only the author of our faith (the one who originates it), he is also the perfecter (brings it out to completion). Section by section. Bit by bit. Focusing our eyes on the coming of the kingdom as we keep our eyes on Jesus
May we grow to become what God is calling us to be!
Read more about Jesus: The Author and Perfecter of Our Faith, which appears on my site in the Names for God library.
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For Your Sunday
This Sunday's readings share a common sound: the cry from an impossible place. Hagar in the wilderness, Jeremiah dejected, and the psalmist sinking in deep water.
Romans 6 names the cost of God saving us from the pit of sin and death: baptized into death, raised into life. Dead to sin. Alive to God.
The liturgy this week lives between the cry and the answer,Continue to Liturgy}
May this liturgy bless you and your congregation.
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