I was quite uncertain—and somewhat conflicted—about where to go with this all-too familiar passage. But then it struck me that Jesus, even though He obviously cared about and was concerned about people’s physical well-being, He did not allow Himself to be defined by it or limited by it. And likewise, though He could well have taken up any number of worthy causes or issues—there were plenty of them in His world and time period--and run with them, He did not do that either. To me, that is a real problem with today’s church, especially the mainline ones: we can get so caught up, so preoccupied, with the latest cause or issue—usually ones of a generally physical or social nature—that we forget or at least lessen the priority of people’s spiritual needs. Jesus did not allow that to happen with Himself, and neither should we.

Obedience: it is a rather tricky question, especially when it comes to obeying God. It is tricky, because as Mary and Joseph of Nazareth discovered early on, and as the apostle Paul discovered later, God is free to disrupt our well-laid, carefully constructed plans for our lives. And, even when God's plans and agenda aren't quite so disruptive, are we so ready to change our plans at His bidding. If you are like me at all, you have probably resisted this, at least a wee bit, and sometimes delayed obeying, somehow hoping that He would change His mind. But God, being God, doesn't change His mind. So, the question remains: can we be like Mary and Joseph and Paul and do what God says--when He says it. It is a good question, and a faith-challenging question at that.

In today's passage the apostle Paul relates something of his call to ministry--though not the explicit details, see Acts 9 for that--and something of his concern that he be 'on track' in terms of his message and duly be recognized by the wider church. I think that both concerns are highly relevant to our world today. There are many versions out there of what is purported to be the Gospel, especially on the internet and social media, and there are many people, some of which are quite dubious and even flaky, who are coming out as supposedly authentic and truthful teachers and preachers of the word.

However, let me suggest that anything that is 'new and improved' or is given out as a 'new' understanding, should be treated with great care and caution--and certainly, to be examined and compared with the written word of God, the Scriptures, and with the wisdom of the church as received over the ages, and if deviating from either, to be seen as definitely suspect. And as for pastors and teachers, anyone who doesn't fall under the authority of a church body and submit to it, be accountable to it, is likewise to be treated with caution. As the apostle Paul once said, there are many gospels and many preachers, but only one gospel that can be trusted.

Perhaps it is easy, or normal, to bask in God's loving kindness, and trust in it, when everything is going well and we are encountering no issues or trying problems. But what about things are not going our way, when our troubles or difficulties seem overwhelming, and God seems to be nowhere to be found? That is when trusting in God can be a bit more difficult. But this is exactly when we should trust in God, as today's psalm relates. I hope you can trust Him no matter what.

It is interesting, and highly instructive, to see how and where Jesus began His ministry. It was a relatively remote area, distant from the centres of power, and uniformly stigmatized by those in power as being uneducated and uncouth and backwater. But it was also a place that was open to new ideas and resistant to being controlled or 'set upon' by others. And who did Jesus chose? Only some local hicks, some ordinary and common place fishermen.

It makes me wonder about our mission fields, and about the unlikely people--including you and me--that Jesus might choose to be His ministry partners. In reality, I think that He already has done just that, chosen you and me. The trick is to discover just what that is, how it is to be done, and then to do it.

If you are at all like me, sometimes you wonder what is 'up' with the world and wonder where it is going. Sometimes the news seems so bad and so ongoing, and the 'players' so evil or bizarre that we can wonder whether there is some sort of deliberate plan or strategy behind it all. Actually, there is, and it isn't human. There is an opposition force at work which is far more pervasive, deadly and powerful than any human one. It is orchestrated by the devil and involves a myriad of spiritual forces--and yes, sometimes human 'agents' (pawns) as well. This can come across as terribly unsettling news, but the good news is that God is fully aware of it and has, indeed, come up with a strategy and resources for us to repel these attacks. And, so we are not to be subject to doom and gloom, but to be confident in what God has and is doing in our world, and confident in the strategy He has devised for us and the resources He has provided. That is what today's Scripture passage is all about.

A presence in times of trouble: just how welcome that is to us. I still remember the first time that I went to a barber to have my hair cut. I was somewhat older by then as my parents loved my blond locks and shied away from having them cut for the longest time. So I was old enough to know that any time one's body is cut, there normally is some pain involved. However, to alleviate any hesitation or fear I might have anticipated, my dad came and stood alongside the barber's chair for the whole time. Somehow that seemed to make it better.

Likewise, knowing that Christ is with us simply from reading it in the Scriptures is likewise very powerful, and reassuring. I have just read something from the Canadian Bible Society relating how welcome the Scriptures are to Ukrainian soldiers serving on the front line of that terrible and unnecessary conflict. Knowing that God is with them, and understands, is a great help to them.

I'm praying that today won't be the kind of day that necessitates such a thing, but know this, that whatever you're going through, God in Christ Jesus is there with you.

Someone once said that worry is like a rocking chair: 'it gives you something to do but doesn't get you anywhere.' And yet, if you are like me, worries and concerns are your constant companions. So the advice of today's psalm--and Philippians as well--to simply give all our worries and concerns over to the Lord and trust Him to take care of them, is most needed, and helpful. Or as Peter (1 Peter 5:7) advises, "cast all your cares upon the Lord, for he cares for you.'

Wishing you a great and wonderful day, with Him watching over you and caring for you.

Something that I have never been quite able to put my finger upon is why so many of us--me included--are so hesitant, so reluctant about talking openly about our faith and about the Lord Jesus and what He has done in our lives. Perhaps it is because people--us included--have been turned off by the seemingly over effusive, gushy verbal witness or pushiness of door to door missionaries. Or perhaps because it is seen as too personal, too unseemly, to share such intimate things? Or perhaps because it is not seen as 'properly' inclusive, or as seemingly arrogant and 'better' than others who do not share that belief? I really don't know.

Anyway, Peter and John, in today's passage, had no such reluctance, and we are the better for it. In fact, if it had not been for the witness, verbal or otherwise, of numerous others in the past none of us today would have even heard of Jesus, much less moved to place our faith in Him.

So, maybe we need to 'pull up our socks' in this regard, and discover how we can share Jesus without being rude or obnoxious. Hope you get some answers. Please feel free to share them with me if you do, as I suspect that none of us are 'very good' at this sort of thing.

Today's Scripture passage begins with two misunderstandings, one from Jesus' family and one from His opponents. One of these misunderstandings clearly turned out to be unintentional, the other most definitely intentional. But, from both of these we learn one very important thing, namely that to be related to Jesus in a familial relationship of obedience, of submission to His will, or, put another way, of submission to the Holy Spirit, is what is crucial. And, as I would suggest, it is something that needs to be 'worked on', exercised, every single day by the decisions we make and the actions we take.

Sadly, disunity, disagreements and dysfunction have become so persistent, so common, in the Christian church that we have gotten quite accustomed to it, whether it be in the local church, within a denomination, or between churches or denominations. Over the years, I have witnessed some unholy rows at the floor of Synod, with people treating each other fall less than what Christ would have wanted. And, on the local level too, I have witnessed controlling, manipulating, bullying and many other kinds of abusive comments or behaviour. None of this, I feel, is what Christ came for. So, perhaps today's Scripture and meditation, and our annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, are most needed. Anyway, here is something to think about and work on.

Something that I continually find to be both enlightening and challenging, and that is how readily and unreservedly, people in Jesus' day were in being willing to become His disciples. Matthew/ Levi left his well-paying, stable government job as a tax collector, several of them left their family business as fishermen and in today's passage one of them, Peter, joins Jesus simply at his brother's say-so. And what is even more remarkable is that Andrew and an unnamed disciples (possibly John) come over to Jesus simply because John the Baptist referred to Him as 'the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.'

I find this astonishing because it is my experience that people today have trouble saying 'yes' to Jesus, and even those of us who count ourselves as His friends can have trouble following and obeying Him at times. And so I have two questions: 'why is it so difficult for us?' and 'what, if anything, makes us and our situation any different from theirs?'

I ask these questions for a good and very pertinent reason, namely because recent estimates peg such an enormous number of unbelievers in North America, 281 million unsaved persons out of a total of 374 million in Canada and the United States. With census figures recording a measly 18 million or so belonging to Islam, Judaism, Hinduism and Sikhism, that still leaves a whopping big number of persons whose faith is 'up for grabs'. Sure, the figures for those who are unsaved may be inflated a bit or subject to some sort of error, but it still leaves a tremendous gap--and lots of room for evangelism.

And so, I invite you to join with me in seeking some answers, answers in terms of what we might be doing wrong, and in terms of what we might do better (or instead).

Today's passage and meditation addresses something that for me at least is a very real and ongoing question, namely that of how we should view rules and regulations, regardless of whether they are formal or informal, whether written down or simply accepted as normative by common practice, or whether in the church or in wider society. It certainly is an issue that has come to be very prominent within the public discourse, and one that has focused on the tension between one's individual freedom and one's responsibility to the wider public, the wider good.

For me, this question has much to do with the church and its largely unwritten rules and regulations. For instance, in a former church it was brought to my attention that it was very difficult for anyone of limited means to take a meaningful part. The Sunday offering, it turned out, was just a small part of it. We also had potluck dinners, fund-raisers, church suppers, garage sales and auction sales, all of which had a financial or giving component.

And with a more recent development, namely Covid, we have been faced with another set of 'rules and regulations', namely the long-standing expectation that public worship will always be in person and that it would be on Sunday morning at something like 10 or 11.

But with these unwritten rules or practices, are they really what God wants? Are they the best way to go? Or does God have some other ideas? Do they really serve people and their needs? I say this, not with any answer, but simply to ask the question, just as Jesus asked the question about the Sabbath rules and regulations.

Sometimes it seems hard to believe that anything will ever change in our world--or, for that matter, in our own individual lives. Certainly that was the way that it felt to ancient Israel, sequestered as it was in exile in Babylon. Today's passage begins with God's promise of 'a new thing', a new thing inaugurated by God's anointed servant. But, of course, Isaiah's listeners could not help but wonder when or how this was going to happen. Surely they would have considered God's promises to be 'old hat', 'same old, same old.' So, to put things into perspective, Isaiah reminds them of two things. Firstly, he tells them that God, like a mighty warrior, has demonstrated His strength and His ability 'to get things done' many times in the past. This means, of course, that He can pull it off again. The other thing he tells them is that God's timing is not necessary theirs. He will act when the time is right, just like an expectant mother, as much as she might like to hurry on the pregnancy, must usually wait until 'the time is right.' So, Isaiah counsels them, just wait, and trust that God will work out everything in His good time.

We Christians in the western world can easily fall into the trap and error of thinking that we are the natural heirs, the first intended recipients, of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, when in actually, the Gospel first came to the Jews, not to us Gentiles. In fact, the apostle Paul likens us Gentiles to a branch of a 'wild' grape vine that had been grafted onto the stock and root of the original Jewish plant. In other words, everything that we have, perhaps even more than for the Jews, is a gift from God, and not something of our own merit or deserving. And, so all the more, everything that we do or say should be to the glory and praise of such a gracious and loving God.

Much attention has been drawn to Jesus' miracle working ministry, His incredible ministry of healing and physical restoration, but in some ways, as John's Gospel points out, these were merely signs, signs meant to point beyond themselves to something far, far greater, namely to Himself and to what He accomplished in His earthly career. What Jesus says in John 10:10b surely sums this up: "I have come that you may have life and life in all its fulness, all its completeness." This is life, not merely in a physical sense, but life in all its aspects, including, of course, the spiritual. To restrict it to just the physical, or to dwell on it alone, would be to miss out on the fulness of what Jesus has in store for us.

How incredibly wonderful and all-caring our God is! One of the things that God knows that we often need, and often need desperately, is a sense of hope. And in today's Scripture passage we learn how He provides hope, and how He provides it on two levels. Firstly, by means of the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, He reassures our hearts of just how loved, cared for and precious we are to Him. And then, secondly, by means of the objective, historical fact of Jesus' resurrection, He reminds us that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead is also available to us and at work in our lives and in our world. How utterly awesome that is.

Far too often, we can lapse into thinking both that we don't really matter in the overall scheme of things and that we are basically powerless to make any real difference, but both are manifestly untrue. And God, through the Holy Spirit and through the objective witness of the Holy Scriptures, wants us to know this.

As much as we love to sing great hymns praising God and lauding His many attributes and achievements, we are still inclined to be stubborn, wayward and rather independent creatures. From Adam and Eve deciding to usurp the role of God to a famous singer declaring 'I did it my way', we are habitually inclined to ignore God and try to run our lives basically without reference or help from Him. Thus it is that today's passage and meditation are a great reminder of how great and incomparable God is and of how we need to give Him His proper place in our lives.