Receiving October 4, 2008, worship scriptures

Scriptures for October 4, 2008
Exodus 20:1-20
Psalm 19
Philippians 3:4b-14
Matthew 21:33-46

Part I - Receiving the Word as spirit and life for yourself
In art class one year we drew a plant. It took several days to finish. I sat in the same place each class period, and the plant did too. But, the plant didn't remain the same. I was so focused on my drawing that it came as a kind of puzzle or even surprise when my carefully lined-up drawing didn't stay lined up. The plant didn't stay the same each session. Right in front of my eyes the plant was moving! I guess I thought it took longer for a living plant to move. Perhaps I thought it'd "stay put" like a good model so I could finish my drawing! But the plant kept growing all the time I was trying to draw it. It was alive. And my drawing wasn't alive, however good my drawing was. That experience occurs to me as I consider again today that the Word of God is life and spirit. We interact differently with living things than we do with objects that are not alive.
This blog encourages you to receive the Word as spirit and life for yourself, and also to compare notes with others who are doing the same. If you are fortunate enough to worship weekly where the scriptures are an integrated part of the service, you will be all the more prepared for worship because you have first received the Word as spirit and life for yourself.
At http://charistis.blogspot.com/2008/03/receiving-word-as-spirit-and-life.html there are some simple suggestions to help you receive the Word as spirit and life for yourself.

Part II - Reflections on this week's scriptures (one place for you to compare notes)
Prayer for Receptivity
I pray for receptivity.
The kind you, God, want me to have.
Receptivity in my heart of hearts and from there in my whole being.
Enable me to receive your Word into a heart that is open, soft and strong--vibrantly alive in You.

Exodus 20:1-20
"God spoke all these words..." (vs. 1)
This morning my husband showed me some splendid NASA photos of space. I'm so feeble at "taking in" what I'm looking at in those fabulous displays of light, color, shapes--breathtaking cosmic art. It's overwhelming grandeur to love and also to stand back from in awe.
It occurs to me that these words from God in Exodus 20 are like that. They are overwhelming glimpses into incomprehensible space also--the space where the light and color and shapes and dynamics of love are born to be splashed in glory through the whole universe. These are words to love and also to stand back from in wonder, reverence and awe.
These words are simple enough to accept and walk in--like I accept and walk in the sunlight. But I can't comprehend or exhaust their beauty and significance and affect any more than I can comprehend and exhaust the beauty of those NASA space pictures I was looking at this morning.

"Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off." (vs. 18)
"And Moses said to the people, 'Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin.'" (vs. 20)
Actual encounter with the fear-inspiring size and power of the Words combines with the fact that they are measured, compassionate and available Words.
"...that His fear may be before you" reminds me again that I need to let go of fear that is negative, fear that is born of a divided and distant heart, and receive in its place a holy, life-giving fear of God. Doing this puts me in touch with life and Love like nothing else can.

Psalm 19
"The heavens declare the glory of God;
And the firmament shows His handiwork." (vs. 1)
See how the Psalmist sets the perfect law of the LORD in the context of the heavens, the firmament! I have never seen the connection between verses 1-6 and 7-11 like I do today. Those NASA pictures were timed just right this morning! To love the Law is huge, like taking in the wonders of the heavens and firmament, and the law and the love of it are to us like the daily, life-giving path of the sun (vss. 5-6).

converting the soul
making wise the simple
rejoicing the heart
enlightening the eyes (vss. 7-8)
When this is happening, we can know we're receiving the Law as the grace and power of divine Love that it is.

Philippians 3:4b-14
"...that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith."
(vs. 9)
To gain or "take in" Christ. Is Christ small enough for me to take in? Space is beyond my comprehension; I can't take in space. The Law is beyond my comprehension; I can't take in the Law. Can I take in Jesus Christ? In Christ is God finally small enough for me to manage? Actually, in Christ God is humble and holy beyond my imagination, farther even beyond my comprehension than space or the Law. In Christ God is available, yet never, never less grand or less of a cause for holy fear than are space and Sinai. Christ is a telescope into glory not a tradeoff for it.

Matthew 21:33-46
"Then last of all he sent his son to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.' But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, 'This is the heir, Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.' So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him." (vss. 37-39)
He is cast out and dies to me unless He is both the compassionate available One AND ALSO the infinitely incomprehensible One who surpasses the glory revealed in space and at Sinai.

Receiving September 27, 2008, worship scriptures

Scriptures for September 27, 2008
Exodus 17:1-7
Psalm 78:1-4, 12-16
Philippians 2:1-13
Matthew 21:23-32

Part I - Receiving the Word as spirit and life for yourself
As you "take in" the Word, prepare to enjoy it and savor it, and if you don't, prepare to benefit from it anyway. It's life and spirit you are taking in as you receive the Word. There are some simple suggestions for how to do this at http://charistis.blogspot.com/2008/03/receiving-word-as-spirit-and-life.html


Part II - Reflections on this week's scriptures (one place for you to compare notes)

Prayer for Receptivity
Your Word as spirit and life is something for my heart to take in. God, You know I've been taught more, a lot more, about thinking things through than about hearting things through. Give me a receptive heart, please. Show me how to cooperate so my heart will be more and more receptive.

Exodus 17:1-7
"...there was no water for the people to drink." (vs. 1)

"Why is it you have brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?" (vs 3)

"So Moses cried out to the LORD, saying, 'What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me!'" (vs. 4)

Consider the words and tone of what the children of Israel said (vs. 3).
Then consider the words and tone of what Moses said (vs. 4).
A why question full of judgment and blame, and coming from the head, is so much different than a cry of distress and expression of need.
What might the people have said to God instead of what they said to Moses?
How might their words have sounded if they were being "obedient to the point of death" (see this week's Philippians passage)?

Psalm 78:1-4, 12-16
"He split the rocks in the wilderness,
And gave them drink in abundance like the depths.
He also brought streams out of the rock,
And caused waters to run down like rivers." (vss. 15, 16)
Fearing death by thirst and then having abundant streams of water flow from the rock--this is very different than having plenty of water the whole time.

Philippians 2:1-13
Consolation in Christ
comfort of love
fellowship of the Spirit
affection and mercy (vs. 1)
These are words associated with feelings. Then the following verses connect these words with the mind. Verses 5-8 show that the ultimate in humility and obedience are the focus. Having the mind (Greek nous) of Christ is about something more than intellectual functioning. This passage invites a lot of growth in wholeness, a lot of appreciation of every aspect of being.

Matthew 21:23-32

Receiving September 20, 2008, worship scriptures

Scriptures for September 20, 2008
Exodus 16:2-15
Psalm 105:1-6, 37-45
Philippians 1:21-30
Matthew 20:1-16

Part I - Receiving the Word as spirit and life for yourself

Study it. Analyze it. Discuss it. Whatever you do with the Word, don't fail to receive it as spirit and life. Receiving God's Word as spirit and life is what this blog is about. Part I of each post encourages you, the reader, to first of all receive the week's worship scriptures as spirit and life for yourself. There are suggestions for how to do this at: http://charistis.blogspot.com/2008/03/receiving-word-as-spirit-and-life.html

Part II - Reflections on this week's scriptures (one place for you to compare notes)
Exodus 16:2-15
"But what are we, that you complain against us?" (vss. 7, 8)
What are we? Are we strong enough to have brought you here? Are we able to keep you from hunger? What are we? You need to understand what your leaders are, and what your leaders are not and can never be.

"...I will rain bread from heaven for you." (vs. 4)
"...At evening you shall know that the LORD has brought you out..." (vs. 6)
"And in the the morning you shall see the glory of the LORD..." (vs. 7)
Knowing the LORD's deliverance. Seeing the LORD's glory. These connect with receiving physical food. Consider how meal time and spiritual nurture time--continually increased capacity for knowing and seeing God--how these can be integrated more meaningfully for you and those you love.

Psalm 105:1-6, 37-45

Life and vitality flow from the Psalms, and doing what the Psalms invite draws us into life and vitality. In connection with this week's other scriptures, this becomes an invitation to more fully, deeply, and exuberantly enter into knowing and seeing the LORD.

Philippians 1:21-30

"For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain." (vs. 21)

This is powerful freedom and hope to love and assimilate more every day!

Matthew 20:1-16

"Is your eye evil because I am good?" (vs. 15)

This is a question to spend some time with!

Receiving September 13, 2008, worship scriptures

Scriptures for September 13
Exodus 14:19-31
Psalm 114
Romans 14:1-12
Matthew 18:21-35

Part I - Receiving the Word as spirit and life for yourself

This blog is a weekly invitation for you to receive the week's scriptures as spirit and life. Words received as spirit and life are quite different than words received as, for one example, words to be puzzled over or debated. Best and most of all, the Word is spirit and life. We can choose to received it as the spirit and life it is. At http://charistis.blogspot.com/2008/03/receiving-word-as-spirit-and-life.html there are some simple suggestions for doing this.

After you receive for yourself, when the spirit and life of the Word are fresh in your own being, then you can compare with others who are also receiving the Word as spirit and life.

Part II - Reflections on this week's scriptures (one place to compare notes)

Prayer for receptivity
You, God, far beyond me;
You, God, within me, closer than my very breath.
You not ignored;
You received.
Receptivity that opens me to You and to Your Word as spirit and life,
this is my prayer right now.

Exodus 14:19-31
"And the Angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them. So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. Thus it was a cloud and darkness to the one, and it gave light by night to the other." (vss. 19, 20)
The same Angel of God is darkness and light. Other contrasts in this passage include:
divine and human
the sea into dry land
saving and destroying.

"So the LORD overthrew the Egyptians..." (vs. 27)
The Israelites and their leader were trusting the One who was defending them, not their own judgment or strategies or warfare. That doesn't mean the Israelites and Moses weren't fully involved! It must have stretched their endurance and faith immensely! But they did not overthrow the Egyptians.

Psalm 114
"Judah became His sanctuary,
And Israel His dominion." (vs. 2)
Endearing and comforting! Amazing also. The Psalmist frequently says God is our refuge. In this case Judah is His sanctuary. Imagine Judah as a place of refuge for God. Imagine!

"Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,
At the presence of the God of Jacob." (vs. 7)

Romans 14:1-12
"Receive one who is weak in the faith,
but not to disputes over doubtful things." (vs. 1)
Ah! What a keynote!

"For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself.
For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord." (vss. 7, 8)

There's something going on in this Romans passage that deserves our careful consideration (as all scripture does!).
This time a little picture may help. This passage is about a group, or "community" of people, who are held together by living to the Lord. They are to each faithfully focus on and account to the Lord. It is not by agreeing, or by having the same degree of faith, or by eating the same way, or by any other form of sameness that they show their love to each other and to God. It is by living to the Lord. Consider the arrows by the two triangles. At the left, the primary emphasis is on the interaction between the people at point A and the people at point B. In the second triangle the primary emphasis is on the interaction between A people and God, and between B people and God. Ponder the two ways. As I ponder the two ways, I see potential for beautiful, strong, endearing connections when the primary emphasis is on the interaction between A people and God, and between B people and God. And one of the wonderful outcomes of this way is that the A people and the B people help each other with their primary interaction with God, instead of trying to make each other think, act and be the same. It moves the whole dynamic out of "disputes over doubtful things" and into life-giving experience with God and each other. I'm hearing Paul say that individuals and groups within the Christian church are to live to the Lord and support others in doing the same. That's what needs to be worked out, or "faithed" out, not sameness.

"For it is written:
'As I live, says the LORD,
Every knee shall bow to Me,
And every tongue shall confess to God.'
So then each of us shall give account of himself to God." (vss. 11, 12)
The passage ends strongly emphasizing individual accountability to God. Keep each believer's union with God primary; and then life among believers falls into place. The essential priority of individual accountability to God becomes a stronger uniting power than sameness ever could be. In fact, accepting and entering into that essential priority is the secret of strong, lasting, loving community.

Matthew 18:21-35
"'Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?'" (vs. 33)
It occurs to me, especially after receiving the Romans passage, that the servant's response to the King is the essential starting, or pivotal, point. Had the King's servant gotten that right, he would have treated his own servant differently. The decisive interaction in this parable is between the servant and the King. This is what, in turn, shaped the interaction between the two servants.