Tuesday, May 9, 2023

Tuesday, May 9, 2023


Psalm 89:38-52

Exodus 32:1-14

John 12:34-43


They loved human glory more than the glory that comes from God.


There is a gag about priorities, and it comments that “no-one lies on their deathbed and regrets not spending more time in the office”. Sensible chuckle aside, it is true that we only get one shot at this life, and that there are eternal implications for everything we do.


Christ has manifested Himself truly and sufficiently as the Messiah, as the Lord God. He has called every human being to repentance and discipleship. How much of that information can we honestly ignore? How much of our response to that claim can we relegate off into the “too hard” basket; as something to worry about some other time?


There is also the dangerous temptation for us to keep on doing the same thing we always have; following a certain career, or advocating for a certain cause. It may seem noble and just and very Christian; and if we squint hard enough, we can just about make out a justification for ourselves, retroactively applying our new life in Christ to our old ways of the world. But if we were to lie on our death bed tomorrow, would we be able to think to ourselves “I have no regrets for how I spent my time: all of it was spent giving my utmost effort to the Lord”?


A golden calf, cast from smelted jewellery, sitting out the middle of the desert, is a funny thing to think about. But it is a very dark humour. It embarrasses us because of our own sad desperation to receive honour from anyone other than God. Let us all renew again today our baptismal vows; that we desire only the glory that comes from God: more than desire, we love it.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Monday, September 12, 2022

  Monday, September 12, 2022 Psalm 33 Habakkuk 1:1-11 Ephesians 1:1-14 In Christ we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us. The lectionary has taken us from the beloved disciple to one of the most beloved of Paul's epistles: Ephesians. Paul must have loved this church very much: we get a sense of his fondness for them and their shared sense of purpose and worship just from the introduction. In what is likely just an introduction to a letter in the style of the ancient Roman world, Paul has managed to squeeze in the entire, wondrous story of God's work of redemption. Paul has framed it the way it ought to be framed: in a pastoral, encouraging tone. He has three main points here (remember, Paul proceeds logically to build up an argument, unlike John who circles around his main point). First: God intended to save us before the world was formed. Think back to the first l
Read more

“Short time or long – I pray to God not only you but all who are listening become like I am, except for these chains.”

  Monday, September 11, 2023 Psalms 28; 29 1 Kings 7:51-8:21 Acts 26:19-32 Observance: Deiniol, bishop (d. 384) “ Short time or long – I pray to God not only you but all who are listening become like I am, except for these chains.” The great many blessings of being under the protection of the blood of the Lamb fill our hearts with joy and peace. To have the Almighty Creator of the universe, the One who sits above the flood, filling the temple of our being with the cloud of His presence is what it truly means to be human. Every day is filled with adventure; every night turns to the rest of the victor. Certainly there are chains: sometimes they are physical chains, the suffering of being a Christian among people who do not love the Lord. Sometimes they are spiritual; the attacks of the powers of the air who try to distract us from the One we love. But they always fall away. Our Rock of Ages always frees us; always brings us out of the pit of despair. A won
Read more

Monday, September 19

  Monday, September 19 Psalm 45 Nahum 1:15-2:9 Ephesians 4:17-28 ...be renewed in the spirit of your minds... It is far too easy to read some of these Pauline lists of virtues and vices and feel like we have gone back to the dark days before the Reformation. The idea that if we behave ourselves then we can call ourselves “good people” is pagan, not Christian. Paul feels very strongly about how Christians behave, he “affirms and insists” upon it. But it is because of what has already happened that we should mind our step, not because of where we are going. Christ's resurrection is many things, but one aspect relevant for Paul's teaching this morning is that it demonstrates to us the radical new reality in which we now live. We too have passed (spiritually) from death to life; therefore, we experience a “renewal of our minds”. Instead of treading water until we die, we live lives. Everything now makes sense: God has spoken, so we have logic. God made us in His im
Read more