Salt and light: Being countercultural in a good way

"You are the salt of the earth ... you are the light of the world." -- Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught us plenty of ways to be salt and light in the world: from reconciling with our neighbors, to not insulting them, to blessing those who curse us and praying for those who persecute us, to greeting people regardless of whether there is an expectation of return. 

In our current culture, reverence and respect are also counter-cultural. When someone calls humor "irreverent", it is meant as a compliment. There is an entire genre of comedy devoted to insults and put-downs. Public dialog is often mean-spirited and rude. There are some easy opportunities for us to be light in a dark time by simply not participating in the casual cruelty of our age. 

"Do not judge, lest you be judged" - We are often rushed to approve or condemn based on slim amounts of questionable information. May I not take the bait. 

"Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us" - Our current culture seems to delight in finding fault. I would have so few friends if people treated me in the same way. 

These are just some private ponderings on how to follow through on what we have been taught. Thanks for your patience in reading!

The Sabbath - beyond "should I or shouldn't I?"

When we Christians discuss the Sabbath, the conversations usually follow predictable paths. Does it apply to Gentiles? Does it apply to Christians? Does it apply under the New Covenant? Does our observance (or non-observance) come from faith and from honest conviction? Are we fully persuaded in our own minds, with a clean conscience? Those are all good and useful questions. They also share a certain focus: Are we doing what God requires? Again, no objection to the question whether we're doing what God requires. There's just more to the picture that tends not to be considered in the conversation. 

A good command is not arbitrary. It is part of a bigger picture. There is a spirit of the law in addition to the letter of the law. This post is not written with the intent to persuade anyone to change their mind on whether or not to keep the letter of the law. It is to expand the focus, to re-introduce the spirit of the law. 

For instance, there are laws such as "You shall not steal" and "You shall not murder" and "You shall not commit adultery" and "You shall not covet anything that belongs to your neighbor." The spirit of these laws can be summed up as "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you," or "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." The spirit of the law is higher and deeper and more resonant than the letter of the law, and is the motivating force that shapes the letter of the law. The spirit of the law of course includes the specific ways we do not take advantage of our neighbor; rightly done it also moves us to love our neighbor. 

The Sabbath holds a unique place among the commandments given at Sinai. It is the only one of the ten commandments given about how we use our time. It is the only one of the ten commandments given about ensuring that workers and even working animals are not over-worked. Jesus taught that "the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath." The book of Exodus refers to the time of creation, that on the seventh day God rested: it is the day in which God is said to have delighted in the world, remarking that all of creation is very good in every way. It is made for us as a blessing and a gift. 

Consider too how often the Old Testament uses numbers symbolically. In that symbolism the number 7 is associated with an appointed time for blessing, rest, and celebration. Each week the seventh day is blessed with rest and holiness. Each year, the seventh month is blessed with the Day of Atonement,. As time continues, the seventh year is a sabbath rest for the land which is not cultivated during the year. Further, after the 7 x 7th year, the next year is a Jubilee year associated with forgiveness of debts and with restoration of property that has been lost to the larger family over the years: whether the family loss was through misfortune or mismanagement, the loss is restored in God's appointed time. In the book of Daniel, 70 x 7 years is the designated time of waiting for the Messiah, with days of restoration. 

When we remember the Sabbath by keeping it holy, we often think in terms of refraining from mundane work. And sometimes I'll see a bumper sticker that tells us, if we like weekends, to thank labor unions. If we like weekends, I'd rather thank organized religion. Yet the non-work that generally fills weekends isn't necessarily remembering the Sabbath or keeping it holy. Holiness, in Scripture, is more than mere separation. It has to do with what is designated for the beauty and holiness of God, for the presence of God which is accompanied by blessing and restoration and renewal. 

How could a loving God ... ?

Today in Bible class someone was discussing a child who had died in a plane crash; those following current events this week will be familiar with it. While we may grieve less over the loss of someone who is old, the death of a child is always seen as a tragedy. And someone in class had been faced with the question, "How can God let that happen?" 

To be clear, the questioner was not directly affected by the loss of the unknown child, but was affected by the fact that we live in a broken world. I don't think we go wrong there to express confidence in God's goodness, in God's love. God raises the dead. 

When we speak to those directly affected: we mourn with those who mourn. When we speak to those not directly affected but who are troubled by the tragedy -- and when we too are naturally troubled by tragedy -- the time may come sooner to remember God's faithfulness to the world he made. 

Making all things new

In this new year, I wanted to ponder the Scriptures that talk about new things. While the book of Ecclesiastes may mention "There is nothing new under the sun," the Bible's overarching theme is about renewal, as the Bible's finale is the promise of a new beginning with a new heaven, a new earth, and God making all things new. Here is a quick look at the main "new" things that are discussed in scripture: 

• a new house is dedicated to God
• with the new moon there would be feasts
• new wine was a cause for rejoicing, and needed special handling
• a new covenant, with a new heart and a new commandment
• singing to the Lord a new song
• a new heaven and a new earth
• in which we are given a new name

Here is a word cloud of verses discussing "new": 

appointed (7) away (9) behold (12) blood (6) bring (6) burnt (11) burst (5) cart (6) commandment (9) covenant (9) create (5) days (5) declares (5) destroyed (5) drink (9) earth (9) feasts (15) flesh (6) forth (6) garment (6) gate (5) give (11) god (20) grain (15) heart (7) heaven (9) holy (5) house (22) israel (10) king (6) lord (35) man (8) moon (28) name (8) offerings (37) opened (6) pass (5) people (6) regular (5) sabbath (16) saying (7) sing (8) skins (5) son (5) song (11) spirit (8) things (9) wine (20) wineskins (8) writing (5)

created at TagCrowd.com

Forgiveness in the sacraments: How it relates to Christ's ministry

One thing that happens often in controversies is that people of different views don't understand each others' positions. There are a certain number of Protestants who become angry at any mention of sacraments, and particularly at the mention of being forgiven at the Lord's table or that baptism now saves us. If someone believes that sacraments are human works, the reaction is understandable. But here is what they look like from a Lutheran point-of-view: 

We are saved by grace -- that is, God's forgiving love toward us through Christ. We know that Christ cleanses us and sends us the Spirit by which we call God our Father. So non-sacramental types are surprised to hear that's exactly what we believe happens in baptism. In baptism, the Spirit came on Christ like a dove, and the Father acknowledged Christ as a dear son. In baptism, God sends his Spirit to us too. Scripture calls it a "baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins." And here in baptism we are joined to Christ's death and resurrection. So baptism is not "another way besides Christ" that we receive forgiveness and new life. It is exactly through Christ that we receive forgiveness and new life in baptism. Baptism is the good news of Christ in a form we can touch and see. 

We know that Christ's death and resurrection save us. His sacrifice was for us, his blood a new covenant for the forgiveness of sins. Again, the Lord's Supper is not "another way besides Christ" that we receive forgiveness through his death and resurrection. It is exactly in Christ's death and resurrection that we receive new life at the Lord's Supper, in the new covenant in his blood shed for us for the forgiveness of sins. Again, the Lord's Supper is the good news of Christ in a form we can touch and see. 

There are people who honestly, earnestly believe that when we speak of "the means of grace" (Word and Sacrament, to a Lutheran), that we mean grace comes outside of Christ. In fact, we mean more simply that Christ himself, and the good news of our forgiveness, is received when we are baptized and when we receive the Lord's Supper. 

Best of the Blogroll 2024

Each year on this blog, I like to welcome the New Year by recognizing blog neighbors whose work enriched my spiritual life during the year. Here are the best-loved posts of 2024:  

• Common Denominator - Ken Schenck is a prolific blogger and YouTuber, and that's just in his spare time. For a sample, see his 2024 year in review. 
• Conciliar Post is on my reading list because of its work in Christian reconciliation, a longstanding interest of mine. This year they reached their 10-year anniversary and announced the publication of selected conversations from the first 10 years of their blog.  
• Dr Claude Mariottini has gone to a lighter posting schedule this year. He posted about Moses and YHWH's interaction face-to-face. 
• Forward Progress - Michael Kelley is a prolific poster of edifying content. Hiss post about The Surest Way to Resist the Devil was both insightful and humbling. I was blessed by his fellowship-centric post on Three Reasons Why 2 Are Better Than 1. I was grateful for his Biblical faithfulness and clarity about temptation when focusing on the original temptation, "has God really said?" His post on "Three Promises You Woke Up To This Morning" are a welcome breath of good news in a sometimes dark world. 
• Glory To God For All Things - Father Freeman's post showed me unexplored depths on the view of sin as "missing the mark" with his ponderings on purpose, direction, the identity of the target as God, and the identity of the arrow as ourselves. 
• Hyperekperissou keeps up a steady and faithful stream of book reviews, such as a recent book about contemporary monasticism. 
• Meta's Blog - Joe Hinman contributes to the field of answering atheist objections. One persistent area of focus is explaining atonement, in which he advocates for understanding atonement as God's solidarity with humanity.  
• The Pocket Scroll - One of his posts that I loved best this year was on spiritual self-control and tools in the post Join the battle, for you are already in it. In another particularly edifying one, he explored how knowing God informs preaching, and included the gem "Theology is good because it helps us know and love God more."
• Reading Acts often posts on current academic literature in the field of Biblical Studies, and takes it in turn to host the Biblical Studies Carnival such as this recent one (November 2024). 
• Roger Pearse is a standout in the field of ancient manuscripts and related fields. I actually had a chatbot use his site as a reference within the last month, and for an area I hadn't realized he'd covered. Some of his thought-provoking posts this year include The Megiddo Mosaic, and a book review of Saints of Ethiopia, which touches on an interest of mine in the under-remembered heritage of Christianity in many places in the world. 
• Sun and Shield - Martin LaBar posted an intriguing collection of hymns and spiritual songs with imagery of rocks and stones, and a related post on rocks and stones in Biblical imagery. There is a lot of depth in Scripture which God reveals through imagery, and it needs someone who follows the deeper themes and motifs of Scripture and God's self-revelation. There lies some of the "treasure hidden in a field" for those who take the time to look for it. 
• Thinking Christian - Tom Gilson contributes a reality-check about serving in the mission field right here at home. 
• Undivided Looking - Aron Wall continued his in-depth series on comparative religion with a piece on the moral depth of religions. 

Thank you to all Christian bloggers in 2024 for posting informative, uplifting, and edifying content, both the ones I'm aware of and the ones I'm not. Best wishes and blessings for 2025!

A moment for beauty

In this peaceful weekend between Christmas and New Year's, I'd like to share some artwork. In this case I am not the artist; these are AI-generated images. Neither is the inspiration mine by way of the prompt, which was based (loosely) on the description of the lampstand in the Tabernacle of the ancient Hebrews. My only involvement was coaching the AI through prompts until it had something approximating the golden lampstand resembling an almond tree, with the flames in the place of the almond blossoms, as the master-craftsmen built thousands of years ago. 

Light has a unique beauty. It is said to be the first of God's creations, and an image of God himself. 

Take care & God bless