Back during Jesus’ earthly ministry, a crowd of onlookers, after observing Him in action, commented, “He does all things well.”  And so, He did, during His earthly ministry.  And do we not believe the same to be true today?  (Maybe, or maybe not).  But if we do believe this to be true, why don’t we put Him to the test and go to Him in prayer more often?  I suspect that most of us are reluctant to do so, or, at very least, negligent in doing this.  Why don’t we give Him a try?

Today’s Scripture and meditation asks us a very important question, namely what is the most important thing in our lives?  For the Pharisees of Jesus’ day, it was position, possessions, and outward appearances of religiosity.  So, what is most important to us?  In a society that promotes acquisition--especially in this pre-Christmas season--achievement and appearance, this can be a rather challenging question.  Something to think about.

Our psalm and meditation for today remind us that it is never too late, or too extreme a situation, for prayer.  Our psalmist was in a thoroughly dismal situation--much of which he felt was God’s fault--and still he felt that it was important to pray.  And, here’s where it is especially important and noteworthy, still felt that it was important to let God know of his feelings and frustrations.  You’d assume that God already knew of these, but even so, our psalmist felt that it was important to share these with God.

Without any sense of hesitation, I think that I can confidently say that all of us--or at least, most of us--have feelings of frustration over something taking place in our world today, be it personal, local, national or international.  Things are not always the way we’d like them to be.  And, so picking up on the example of today’s psalmist, maybe it would be a good idea to take these things to God.  In fact, wouldn’t that be a good exercise to practice during the few weeks’ leading up to Christmas--to be intentional, and deliberate, in daily bringing to God those things that we are concerned about?  Will you be willing to join with me in this?  Thanks.

Many years ago I read a book by Henri Nouwen entitled, The Return of the Prodigal Son, which profoundly challenged me, and changed my life.  It forced me to re-evaluate my life.  I, being an elder brother, and a very conscientious, ‘law-abiding’ and scrupulous person to boot, saw myself in pretty exalted terms.  After all, I had worked hard and made something of my life.  But then, by virtue of this book, I began also to see myself as a younger brother, a brother with gifts and advantages who squandered them and who saw little value in the splendid life he had enjoyed there at home with the Father.  I realized that, as with both brothers, I needed the grace, acceptance, and welcome of a loving God.  And so it is with all of us.

Are you ever tempted to ‘write’ someone off?  I know that I am, at least on occasion: someone that is unduly nasty or discourteous, for instance, or someone with a ‘well-developed’ sense of entitlement, or those who belligerently or arrogantly insists on their own way or their own opinion without considering the needs and opinions of anyone else.  However, I am somewhat chastened when I realize that our Lord ‘writes’ no one off.  He loves everyone, regardless of their actions, and wants to win them and include them in His kingdom.  So, I (we) should try to do the same.  And so I have to pray, “Lord, help me!”

Thanks be to God that we are not accepted and included in the Kingdom of God based on our own merits or achievement.  In today’s Gospel reading we see something of what Jesus expects of us, and if truth be told, probably none of us ever measure up to this very well.  Thanks be to God that we can always be forgiven and be given another chance.  That doesn’t stop us from trying but certainly removes from us the burden of failure and never quite ‘making it.’  Thanks be to God for such grace.

Something I have found from time to time that is that all sorts of folks have never thought that they’d be welcome in church, much less be part of God’s kingdom.  They have the misconception that they have to be ‘the right kind of person’, or have ‘the right kind of background’, or be particularly good or righteous or ‘proper’.  They figure that with their supposedly seamy or unsavoury background they’d never be welcome or fit in.  But then, just look at who Jesus included as His closest followers: a quisling & collaborator (Matthew), a terrorist (Simon the Zealot), a doubter or questioner (Thomas), a bunch of uncouth fishermen, and two men with foul tempers (James and John, so called the Sons of Thunder because of their outbursts).  And then there was the persecutor of the church, a man with blood on his hands, Paul of Tarsus.  With such a crowd, who can doubt that he or she is not also welcome.  So, our job is to let them know and invite them.

Today’s story of Elijah and the widow of Zarephath sets before us one of the more difficult tasks or questions concerning Scripture, namely whether we should apply it to ourselves right now in our present situation, or not.  Some people, of the so-called Health & Wealth, prosperity, school would say, ‘yes, we should definitely apply it to ourselves, for God’s will for us as Christians is always health and prosperity.’  I have some very real problems with this notion, for many of God’s servants were neither wealthy nor prosperous, for instance, Job, Jeremiah, Paul and, of course, Jesus.  (Job, of course, did have prosperous times but also great afflictions and loss.)

And so, as I have indicated in my meditation, I would see it more as a question of our giving over to God whatever we are or have, and letting God work through these things as He wills.  Anyway, there is something for you to wrestle with.

Today’s Scripture passage tells the story of a certain dinner engagement that Jesus was invited to, and highlights something that we rarely even think about, namely our motives in doing the things we do.  Those who favoured helping out their child or one of their livestock when in trouble never even gave it a thought.  Of course, we’d do the right thing by them.  But, in putting off helping someone else because the Sabbath supposedly forbid it: they never suspected that there might be a kind of double standard there.  And, as for wanting to look good etc. at the banquet, be closer to the action, so what?  Everyone does it!  I suspect that there are ‘tons’ of things that we do, without even thinking about it, that possibly have less than stellar motives behind them.  Certainly, it is something worth thinking about

Today’s Scripture passage and meditation speak of God’s incredible mercy and patience.  However, the problem is that they don’t last forever given the shortness and uncertainty of life.  Time has a way of running out for us, and as my years continue and play out, I am forcibly reminded continually of that fact.  And so, whether it is a matter of accepting God’s gift of salvation or of doing some good deed or speaking a kindly word, the time is now.  As the old commercial said, ‘Why wait for spring?’  Indeed, why wait for anything.

It seems to me that what Jesus is trying to get across to us is that small things, small actions, do make a difference.  And so, rather than despising them or shrugging them off, we should make the effort and carry out those things, even if they seem inconsequential or even silly.  A good deed, a friendly or encouraging word, a short time of prayer or Bible study, or a bit of courtesy when in traffic or at the store, can have large and totally unforeseen consequences.  And so, let us all make an effort to take care of those little things.  And as someone once said, ‘take care of the little things, and the big things take care of themselves.’

One of the most perplexing and troubling questions that have bedevilled me of late is how well-meaning people, Christians, can come to such divergent conclusions when they all claim to follow the same Lord and be guided by the same Scriptures.  We find something of this in today’s Scripture passage and meditation:

      The leader of the synagogue was seemingly fixed on adhering woodenly to the rules and regulations concerning work and the Sabbath,
      even at the expense of human need.  But, he was willing to overlook those stipulations when it came to his own finances and livelihood.
      In other words, self triumphed over the needs of others.  It is a good example of what can so easily happen to all of us, even when we are
      focusing on God’s word, the Holy Scriptures.

Here we need to be humble and very careful.  Our own personal agendas and personal agendas can get in the way of reading them properly (as happened with the leader of the synagogue), or it can be our own experiences, training and upbringing or our presuppositions.  For instance, the oppressed peoples of South and Central America, informed as they were by Marxist philosophy and their own deprivation, easily saw in the Scriptures God’s word for the oppressed and the marginalized, and we, in the West, can likewise see God’s stamp of approval on property rights and privileges.

Here, then, we need to be careful: to listen, to look at the immediate context and setting, and to appeal to the whole testimony of Scripture and the wisdom of the Church over the ages.  Sadly, unfortunately, we can get it wrong, as that fellow did that day, but, with our Lord’s help, and the discernment of each other, we can get it right--at least, somewhat.

(Interestingly, along this line, I would sometime like to present a course or teaching on how to approach and read the Scriptures for newcomers.  If interested, please let me know)

It is said that time waits for no one, and while God is incredibly ‘generous’ in His mercy and forbearance, there does come a point in time when it becomes too late.  Opportunities are like that, whether it is the opportunity to put our trust in Him or to do something for Him or for someone else.  Sometimes time is of the essence.

How easy, and natural, it is for us to put things off, to postpone dealing with certain things, especially if they are difficult or time-consuming or unpleasant.  And yet, the Scriptures continually remind us of the urgency of our times and the necessity to take certain actions right now.  That is what our Scripture passage and meditation for today remind us of.

I have often said that stubbornness doesn’t run in my family, no, it gallops.  One of my sons was often heard to say, when I tried to help him with something, ‘No Dad, me do it.’  In retrospect, I have to say that determination and self-reliance are good traits, but certainly can be overdone, especially when it comes to things that we simply can’t do on our own.  One of these things is salvation, and yet far too many of us, try to do it on our own instead of asking for God’s help.  That’s where the Summary of the Law does a great job of providing a goal, but not as a standard that we have to live up to on our own.  If nothing else, it tells us that we need help.

Here is something that I have never seriously considered, namely that there is the possibility of ‘rewards’ in heaven.  I sort of thought being there and being with Jesus was ‘reward enough’.  But Jesus speaks of ‘rewards in heaven’, so it certainly is something that bears consideration.  And most definitely, for me at least, thinking that we might be rewarded in some way for the good that we’ve done on earth seems altogether fair and just.  Not as a way of ‘earning’ salvation most assuredly, but as a reward for a job well done.  The whole idea sort of ‘warms my spirit’ and wants to make me try even harder.  Something to think about.

Often we believe it mentally, and even say it with our words, but do we really act upon when it comes down to practice, to our daily lives?  I mean our understanding, our conviction, that God can do anything.  Far too often, I suspect, we are like the two sisters in today’s account of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead.  We wistfully say, ‘if only’, whether in blaming (as they did) or in lamenting, grieving, a seemingly lost opportunity.  And, like them, we mutter, ‘yes, but not yet’ when it comes to God’s intervention, believing that He can indeed do it, but not now, not in our lives.  And, either way, we miss out on what God might want to do in our lives.