THE SENSE

January 27, 2013

Epiphany 3

Nehemiah 8:1-10

Luke 4:14-21

(prayer)

You may have noticed that both of today’s scripture readings were about scripture reading. 

Whoa!  It’s like a “riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma”.

//

For seventy years (that’s three and a half generations) the people of Judah had been forced to live in exile across the desert from their homeland.  When the powers that be allowed for a return, only the very oldest of the Hebrew people returned to a land they had known (and then known only from when they were young children).  For most of the people, Judah was a story: a memory that had been passed on from ages past.

They had heard about the time when Abraham and his family had settled in the land and how only two generations later, drought forced them to move to Egypt, where they prospered ... too much, apparently, because their descendants were eventually enslaved, until a great prophet of God, Moses, gained their freedom and led the people back to the land to which Abraham had journeyed.  Along the way, they had discerned the laws of God (The Torah) that would govern them as a nation.

//

They knew the story of how the people settled and controlled that land and grew from twelve nomadic great tribes into a mighty kingdom.  They had heard how eventually that story saw the building of Jerusalem and a Temple of Stone where God was honoured and worshipped for centuries.

//

They were in for a reality shock upon the return after exile.  Jerusalem was a shadow of its former self and the once great temple stones lay in ruin and all of its riches and treasures were long gone.  This was not the story they had heard.

Under the leadership of Nehemiah and Ezra (and others), the people were encouraged to reclaim important parts of their past.  A new temple was being built, but as importantly, the faith and history of the people needed to be reclaimed.

So (as we read) Ezra held these daily Bible study sessions for the people.  They would all give up their mornings to hear the Torah read out loud (what we call the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy): the Books of the Law were read.  It must have taken weeks.  Maybe months...

because it was not simply a straight reading of the texts – the priests and the scribes also offered interpretations and insights on what was being read.  It was not just about hearing, but also about understanding. 

And we can not ignore the significance of a fact mentioned in the book of Nehemiah:  that both Men and Women took part in this study.  That is remarkably inclusive, given the patriarchal nature of the culture of the day.  This tells us that the desire was not simply to train scholars, but to create a people founded in their words of scripture.  The women in that culture needed to know, because they would be the first ones to pass it on to the next generation.  The whole of the people (of all ages and gendres and stations of life) were to be founded in their words of scripture.

As it said in the passage we heard today: the priests and scribes “gave a sense [of the readings], so that the people understood”.

The goal was consistent with what was said by the prophet Jeremiah in the months just before the exile had begun: “God says: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts” (Jer31:¹).  Ezra and the others wanted the words of God to become part of the people: to have it written on their hearts, so to speak.

//

//

Fast forward to the first century of our era, when Jesus reads from the scroll of Isaiah in his local synagogue: 

(Let’s set aside the unlikelihood that a labourer-peasant like Jesus could read or write, and just assume that (at the very least) he knew the passage well - words we label as Isaiah 61:^1-2)

[sing – Strathdee]

The spirit of the lord is upon me

Because God has anointed me

To preach good news to the poor

God has sent me to proclaim release to the captives

And recover of sight to the blind

To set at liberty those who are oppress`ed

To proclaim the acceptable year of the lord.

[repeat – rap battle]

“Yo, ‘I’ make this true.  To...day.”

[drop mic]

“That’s how I roll.”

What Jesus had to say sounded about as odd as a 49 year old preacher trying to rap.

//

It was the role of the local rabbi (or one of the local elders) to offer the interpretation of the scriptures during the synagogue on a given Sabbath.  Maybe Jesus was such an elder - As I noted two weeks ago, 30 was actually considered ‘old’.

I don’t want to walk all over next week’s service (when we will keep reading from this part of Luke), but I will say that Jesus’ interpretation seems to have caught some people by surprise: these words have been fulfilled as you hear them - what did that mean?

//  //

It is a powerful message from our scripture-readings-about-scripture-readings that the role of ‘the faithful’ is not simply to hear the words, but also to understand their impact:

ÿ    An impact in their original context (or as Dom Crossan said at the event I was at last weekend: their original matrix) - An impact in their original context; and,

ÿ    An impact on our lives today.

Scripture is relevant Then and Now!

//

Although, we bind the words of Scripture into books and read-only digital files, we are wise to be open to the possibility that the ‘Word of God’ is dynamic and ever evolving.  This serves to remind us that God Word is relevant in our place and time as much as it was for the former exiles in Jerusalem and the people in the Nazareth synagogue.

//

Maybe I could best say it this way: 

//

Think of Scripture as a Divine Art Form.  And we have to admit that, at times, scripture is nothing short of ‘abstract art’ – a little hard to ‘get’. 

One of the most wonderful things about abstract art is that it forces you to think and imagine what meaning might exist on that canvas.

All art (whether lifelike or abstract) is nothing without the interpretations of the viewer.

Consider the art of scripture: when you read or hear those ancient words of faith, how do they speak to you? Do you find yourself wondering about different interpretations over time and different interpretations between different people in this time? 

Those are good things to wonder about.  Scripture deserves attention.

//

We are not merely ‘the keepers of the tradition’ (although that is part of who we are), we are also wonderful and wonder-filled people of God today.  We believe that God did not just speak to people of ages past (only before Jesus, only through Jesus in his lifetime and again only to a few thousand people in the first decades after Jesus), but...

the Holy Mystery (we call God) is a living presence in our lives today. 

//

God is a living presence in our lives today!

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So, in the broadest sense of Jesus’ interpretation of Isaiah’s words: the Word of God is fulfilled in us... in our midst... all of the time!  Now that’s a work of art!

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The call in Isaiah to respond to an embodiment of the Spirit, by proclaiming good news to those on the margins is not an action that is intended to end with Jesus.  As Christians, we may believe that those words were fulfilled in Jesus, but that doesn’t mean they ended with Jesus - they are also living words for all of us.

We are called to feel the nudging of the Spirit to ensure that all people know the love and care of God in their lives.  That no one is on the margins, because the margins are part of God’s canvas.

You have to imagine that God’s canvas is so vast that we can’t see the frame at the edge.  Kind of like we might imagine that there is a leading edge to this expanding universe, but we will never be able to experience it.  For all intents and purposes, we might as well call it infinite.  The reach of God’s love and compassion (that we come to know in scripture) is like ‘that’ – infinite, eternal.

//

Today, we proclaimed that we believe that God continues to be active in the lives of all – from the youngest... to the most mature – from smallest and innocent... to the greatest and wisest - and everyone in between.  Good News!  Gospel!  Good News!

We made that promise to Troy and his family and... we made that promise to each other, God being our helper.

//

So, when today’s ‘hearing of scripture’ and ‘my interpretations’ are ended, let us pledge that this is not the end -  that ‘the evolving Word of God’ still has edges waiting to be discovered and wrestled with.

//

The work of the person of faith is never ended.

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And that is a wonder and a beauty to behold.

//

Let is pray...

We are thankful, Gracious God, that we are not alone in a changing world.  We are accompanied by the words of ancient prophets and poets.  And we are enveloped by the living Spirit of our Christ.  Amen.

#343VU  “I Love to Tell the Story”

YOUR MONEY'S NO GOOD HERE

January 13, 2013

Epiphany 1

Luke 3:15-17,21-22

Acts 8:14-20

(prayer)

It was just a week ago that we were finishing up on the Christmas narratives as we reflected in the gifts of the Magi.

Now, fast forward three decades and Jesus is ready for a change in careers.  The very next verse (if we had continued reading from Luke chapter three this morning) would have told us that “²³Jesus was about thirty years old when he began his work.”  Given that most people of that era did not live as long as we do today, we have to consider this a career change in Jesus’ autumn years.  So, if you think thirty is young, you’ll have to set that notion aside when it comes to Jesus.  In the roman empire of the first century, the average life span was less than 25 years.  That stat is skewed low due to a high infant mortality rate and deaths of mother in childbirth, not to mention the fact that the empire was built on military strength and active soldiers tend to have shorter lives.  So, for the upper classes that had the best access to good food and medicines, life could span above 60 years; for peasants (like Jesus and his companions), at best they’d live into their 40s.  2010 stats say that the average life expectancy in Canada was almost 81 years.  So, if Jesus could have reasonably lived to be about 40, moving from carpentry to ministry at age thirty is analogous to an average Canadian taking on a new career at age 60.

//

One of the things I am most curious about in our Christian story is the mystery of those first three decades of Jesus’ life.  From the Biblical birth stories, we’d expect that Jesus would show God’s glory from day one.  All our bibles tell us is that when he was twelve, Jesus got lost on a family pilgrimage to Jerusalem, only to be found three days later by his parents in the temple talking with the priests and scribes: ‘Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?’

We are also told that (as Jesus matured) he lived a righteous and respected life.  But we are left to assume that Jesus worked in the trade of his father (carpentry) for most of his life.  He continued to live in Nazareth where his parents raised him.  And the townsfolk didn’t seem to see him as anything special.  In three weeks, we will read a passage where Jesus begins to speak as an authoritative teacher and it caught people by surprise: ‘Is this not Mary and Joseph’s son?’

//

We don’t know why Jesus chose this late stage of his life to begin a ministry.  Perhaps he was motivated from watching his cousin, John, who had recently embarked on an eccentric preaching career in his own right.  Luke’s gospel tells us that John began preaching in the 15^th year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius (29CE).  John and Jesus were the same age (born six months apart).  Late starts seem to run in the family.

John set up camp by the Jordan River: probably a bit east of where he grew up in the Judean hillside.  When people gathered he could call on them to recommit themselves to living in God’s way.  John was a fire-and-brimstone preacher:  ⁷…’Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ⁸Bear fruits worthy of repentance.’

He called on people to live honest, humble lives focusing on the needs of others.  He preached against lives of complacent faith.  We can imagine, John giving the crowd a rousing sermon inviting people to turn toward a more faithful life and then inviting people to take action …  “Come join me in the river to wash away your old life and be refreshed with renewed life in God.”

As we heard this morning people were excited and encouraged by John’s words and actions.  He seemed so confident, so close to God, they wondered if he might be the Messiah.

When the rumours hit John’s ears, he quickly dispelled them: ‘I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with^* the Holy Spirit and fire.’

John the Baptist’s reputation grew.  More and more people came for his baptism of repentance.  Word even caught the attention of King Herod (who would eventually arrest, imprison and execute John).

But before that, one day, Jesus made his way out to John’s riverbank church and answered the altar call with the others and was baptized.  There are some of the gospel narratives that quote John, at first, refusing to baptize Jesus, but Luke’s version is less detailed.  Luke tells us what happened to Jesus.  He has a mystic experience, where he envisions the embodiment of God’s Holy Spirit coming to Jesus and a holy voice proclaiming:

‘You are my Son, the Beloved;^* with you I am well pleased.’^*

//

What a gift! 

Jesus left those waters a new man, with a new purpose.  Most of what we know about Jesus happens over the next few years that followed the curiosity that brought Jesus down to the river to check out his odd cousin.

The gift is… that Jesus moves forward from a point of confidence that God’s love and encouragement was enveloping the old carpenter from Nazareth.

God’s love and support was all that was needed to change directions (as John would have said) and begin to share this same love of God to a spiritually hungry world.

//

//

Fast forward again a decade or so, and the followers of Jesus continued to share this gospel of love in the name of Jesus, who although he was crucified, was known to be the Risen Messiah.

Two of Jesus’ closest disciples had heard that people of the region of Samaria had responded positively to the good news of God’s love in Jesus.  Samaria was a region southwest of Galilee and northwest of Judea.  Samaritans worshipped the same God as the Hebrews but rejected the centrality of the Judean temple.  In Jesus’ time, these two sister-faith-and-cultural-groups saw no value in associating with the other.  A Judean would not expect anything good to come from a Samaritan and vice versa (you may recall the shocking parable that Jesus once told or how he surprised a woman at Jacob’s well by simply talking to her).

I can imagine the conversation among the early Christians in Jerusalem:  “We’ve got this report back from one of the mission trips and apparently, there were some Samaritans who actually accepted the word of God that was offered.  Samaritans!  Really?  Peter and John, you’d better go check this out.”

These disciples are able to help these faith-seekers to the next level.  They had heard the words of promise and hope; now could they make it part of who they were?  Could they see God’s spirit as an active force in their lives?

With hands-on prayer and support, these two close disciples of the flesh-and-blood-Jesus, were able to get people connected to the Risen Christ.  The change in their lives was obvious to others in the crowd.  People were astonished.

Sadly, at least one person focused on the old disciples, John and Peter, and not on the changes in the lives of the new disciples.  While Peter and John spoke about God’s grace, a Samaritan named Simon saw only power: a power he wanted to have for himself to use.

//

Sometimes it is assumed that egregious financial greed is a byproduct of modern capitalism: that belief that money can buy anything and that everything is for sale at the right price.  But greed has always existed; our modern economics have simply expanded the pool of the potentially greedy.

Simon the Samaritan saw power (which is assumed to always be for sale).  But he ran headstrong into grace - which has no price.

//

 Grace causes problems because it goes against some entrenched assumptions we make.  We have just come through a season of gift exchanges.  But we tend to give to a select group of worthy people (family, friends) and very often, the giving is reciprocal - we generally give to those who also give to us.  And of course, if we don't get what we really want - we have the option of going out and getting it for ourselves.

Grace is best described as "a gift".  But it is different, and therein lies the problem.  Grace is a gift without an expectation of reciprocity and it is not limited to a select group of 'worthy' recipients.  Grace cannot be bought.

Grace is God's love and compassion for all of creation, including us.  Why is God so generous?  Why is God not more selective?  The best answer I can come up with is (that in spite of the wishes of some groups of believers) it is God's nature to love, to care for creation - all of it.  All of us!

//

Grace is something we accept, not some we can purchase.

//

Case-in-point... This morning we all shared in Briella's baptism.  We proclaimed God's love for her. Did we give her that grace, no, we simply announced grace that already existed.  We celebrated God who is already present using ancient and wonderful ritual.

God's grace (in baptism) is not bought by water; it is symbolized by it.

Did Briella do anything to gain this grace?  She is too young to have any understanding of cost and value.  She accepts the world as it is. 

Did Briella do anything to gain this grace? 

Actually she did. 

She exists. 

She lives and moves and has her being in the shelter of God's compassion and care.

//

When Peter and John went to Samaria, Simon trusted his eyes only and saw that (with the disciples’ encouragement) others were able to experience faith in a deeper way.

Simon assumed that Peter and John had some power to make this happen.  And it may have appeared that way: they touched people’s head with their hands and they prayed.

//

The water we used for baptism this morning is not magical or any source of mystical power.  It is not the water that makes God love Briella.  The water provides a ritualistic symbol for us to celebrate that which already exists.  Perhaps taking part in this action means something to us as participants.  It is a powerful thing to acknowledge the ever-present love of God.

But God does not love Briella, because we prayed over this water or because I (as an Ordained Minister) sprinkled some of that water on her head.

God loves because it is God’s nature to love.  And God cannot be bought by anything we do.

We don’t need to try to acquire the power with money, or even prayer – God is already loving us, even before we form the first thought about God.

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Simon got it wrong – it was not Peter or John or the laying on of hands or the prayers – God was already part of the lives of the Samaritan believers.  Peter and John helped them respond to that fact.

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And that is where the rubber really hits the road when it comes to faith.

Grace cannot be bought.  God does not hold off love for us as creature of God’s universe until we do the right thing or say the right words.

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Faith is born out of a recognition that God loves us and how we respond to that revelation.

That’s the power that Simon noticed – the impact of recognition.

Believing that we are divinely loved is a powerful.  Powerful enough to change the way we value ourselves, how we see others and how we live as part of the entire world.

// end //

Grace is a gift – recognizing “that grace” is powerful enough to change the entire way we look at life.

Food for thought.

//

Let us pray;

We thank you, compassionate God, for the promise that we are your beloved, as was Jesus. We thank you for the evidence of your love we find in Jesus’ life, which helps us know how to reflect your blessings in our world. Amen.

#139MV True Faith Needs No Defense”

WHY, NOT HOW

January 6, 2013

Epiphany

Ephesians 3:1-6

Matthew 2:1-12

(prayer)

I suspect that a few of you (on entering the church this morning) may have thought: “Hey, they still have their Christmas Tree up.”

Well, it is not in honour of my spouse’s (and others) Ukranian heritage, it is not because we didn't have time to take them down... but because (as far as the church is concerned) the Christmas season does not end on December 25^th, but in fact, starts then.

The 12 days of Christmas (on Gregorian Calendars begins on December 25^th and continues for 12 days through January 5^th.

So, Christmas didn’t really end until yesterday.  Today (January 6^th) is the next special day for the church: Epiphany – the day we remember the story of the magi (the wisemen).

//

As a minister, a pastor, a preacher, I see it as one of my obligations to help fellow Followers of Jesus increase our Biblical understanding, our Biblical knowledge, our Biblical literacy.  And so, as I have done before, I must note that the Bible does not support the visual tableau of having the magi visit Jesus at the manger (in spite of the words to some of the hymns we're singing today).  Now, I know that is the way many of our Christmas card and manger scenes and crèches make it look (camels alongside sheep; three kings among the shepherds).  It is not a bad amalgam of the Bible birth stories, but we have no Biblical indication that it ever happened that way.

Truth be told, the manger version is only told in the book of Luke; the magi and their star are only mentioned in Matthew (there is no star over the manger in the Bible).  As we heard this morning, the Magi entered a house (not a stable) to see Jesus and Mary.  A couple more facts (or lack of facts):

• ÿ    The number of magi is never mentioned.  The word is plural, so more than one, but the Bible says nothing about ‘three wisemen’.  All it says is that there were gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.  Just because there were three different gifts doesn’t necessarily mean three wisemen.  Maybe there were three magi, but maybe not.  And,
• ÿ    There is no indication that Jesus was a newborn infant when the magi came.  In fact, when we read on in Matthew chapter 2 and hear about King Herod’s infanticide plans, he orders the death of all male children two years old or younger.  At the time of Magi’s visit, Herod thought Jesus could be as old as two.

Luke’s and Matthew’s Christmas stories have only one minor contradiction (did Joseph and Mary formally get married before or after Jesus was born), but that's the only place where their stories don't match up.  Our Christmas gospels are a bit different in their focus, but for the most part, these distinct versions can dovetail into each other:

•          Angels could have spoken separately to both Mary and Joseph,
•          Joseph could have considered calling off the wedding before that angel convinced him otherwise,
•          Mary could have gone to live with Elizabeth while she was pregnant, feeling at peace and blessed in her unexpected pregnancy,
•          Joseph and Mary could have traveled from Nazareth to Bethlehem for a census when she was very close to her due date,
•          Jesus could have been born in a necessary-manger and was visited by shepherds on the night of his birth,
•          The family could have gone back to Nazareth a month later after offering the required levitical sacrifice at the temple for a woman who had given birth,
•          For some unknown reason, the family could have ended up back in Bethlehem, living in a house, a couple of years later, where they were visited by generous magi,
•          After an angelic warning, they could have moved (in a panic) to Egypt to escape the king’s jealous wrath and lived there until after King Herod died,
•          Then they could have finally settled back in Nazareth, where Jesus grew in wisdom and stature gaining both God’s and people’s admiration.

It takes a little juggling, but Matthew and Luke don’t have to raise huge historicity questions as to the early events of Jesus’ life according to the Gospel tradition.

//

That’s all well and good and (to be honest kind of interesting), but for me, the question people of faith should be asking (as we look at our Bibles) is “Why?” … not “How?”.  Why, not how.

//

Matthew tells us about Jesus and the Magi, not simply to re-tell an interesting event in Jesus’ early life, but to set up his entire Gospel and its wider message of Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah whose message and actions led to his crucifixion, but also resulted in his resurrection which solidified him as the Son of God in the eyes of his followers.

Why does Matthew’s gospel tell us about Magi following a star and giving gifts of:

•            power (gold [wealth] was a means to have power),
•            worship (incense was commonly used in the temple to symbolize prayers lifted up to God) and 
•            even honour in death (myrrh was used by the ancient Egyptians, along with other compounds, for the embalming of mummies).  It also comes from a plant related to the one that is the source of the (so called) Balm of Giliad – a healing agent.

Matthew speaks of Magi and their gifts because he wants to go on to speak about Jesus being a powerful, prayerful and healing agent in our relationship with our God and that Jesus will be honoured in this way, even in death.

The Magi’s story are among the first words of the Gospel and they lead directly to the final words when the Risen Christ ^28:18… said to the [remaining disciples], ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’

Where did the star come from; how did it move so specifically to show where Jesus was; how many wisemen were there; was Jesus two hours old or two years old?

Those are all interesting and wonderful ‘how’ questions.  But they pale against the wonder-filled, spiritual searching that can result from an open-ended ‘why’!

//

//

This day in the calendar of our church year (January 6^th) – Epiphany – is dominated with the image of light.  The word Epiphany has Greek roots meaing “to appear” or “to show forth” [Phan (to show) Epi (forth)].  Epiphany means something has been revealed or realized – we could say a light has gone on.  A couple of dictionary definitions I read this week were:

a. A sudden manifestation of the essence (or meaning) of something.

b. A comprehension (or perception of reality) by means of a sudden intuitive realization.

A good synonym for Epiphany is… "Aha!"  or "I get it!"

This is the time within the cycle of our year when we are encouraged to appreciate the ‘Aha’ moments of our spiritual searches – to wonder about the movement of God in our lives; to marvel at the influence that Jesus Christ has on who we are… and who we can become.

//

When Paul of Tarsus wrote to the Christians in Ephesus, he was already under arrest for his anti-empire work as an Apostle of Christ Jesus.

Paul’s story is one of personal epiphany.  He was zealously opposed to the sect of people who followed Jesus after the crucifixion.  He saw them as teaching outside the traditions of Moses and the prophets (as blasphemers) – particularly because they seemed to revere this dead Jesus more than the live temple priests and leaders.  Paul was so incensed about this Jesus-Movement that he volunteered to travel around to find and arrest any followers of Jesus’ Way and bring them back before the Temple Council in Jerusalem.

And yet, a few short years later, this same Paul was facing execution at Roman hands over his zealous involvement as a leader in this same Jesus Movement.  What bridged that gap for Paul – he had an epiphany – a so-called conversion experience.

Paul never described the how or what happened to him; all we have from the Apostle himself is the reference to ‘mystery’ and ‘revelation’ in today’s letter passage.

About twenty years after Paul’s death, the author of the Gospel of Luke penned a second volume we have come to know as the Book of Acts.  In Acts, Paul’s epiphany begins with a literal flash of light that knocks him off his horse while he is on one of his Christian hunting exhibitions.  The light blinds him, but he hears a voice asking “I Am Jesus; why do you persecute me?”  Up to that point, Acts had described the ‘how’ of Paul’s mission (he was given a letter of authority from the Council; he travelled to different places where the Christians were rumoured to be), but now he was asked [that more important question] ‘why’.  The voice tells the now-blind Paul to find his way to a certain home in Damascus where a man said to him, ‘Brother, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.’

When Paul opens his eyes, he literally and figuratively saw things in a new light.

Is that how it happened?  What we know for sure is that this is what the story was twenty years after the fact.

For Paul in his lifetime, it was not the what and how of the experience that mattered but the impact of why whatever happened, happened.

As he wrote to the Ephesians, Paul, they ‘why’ had manifested itself to a ministry dedicated to sharing the story and experience of Jesus with the world beyond his own people (with gentiles).  It is Ironic that at first, Paul couldn’t envision a place within Judaism for the Christians and then later, saw a place for Jesus in the lives of people from countless backgrounds.  In our reading today, we read Paul’s realizations that Gentiles were fellow-heirs of God’s promise (originally revealed to the Hebrew people) – that all followers of Jesus, no matter how they came to that faith were members of the same body and sharers in the promises of Christ Jesus through the Good News.  If you read back in Ephesians chapter two, you can hear Paul’s theories about how and why Jesus makes this possible: ^2:14For [Christ-crucified] is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. ¹⁵He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, so that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace, ¹⁶and might reconcile both groups to God in one body^* through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it.^{* 17}So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near; ¹⁸for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father.

Paul even symbolized his mission in how he referred to himself.  His name is Saul, but after his conversion and his call to minister to the gentile (greek-speaking) world, he used the greek version of his name, Paul. That's a bit of the why behind how this Apostle was known.
//

I am a detail-guy.  I like the facts behind the facts – the trivia, the memorable moments along the way.  I know as well as anybody that one can get lost in the details – miss the forest for the trees, so to speak.

And so, I appreciate those moments of clarity, those flashes of insight, those epiphanies and Aha experiences where all that matters is the impact – and trying to understand why I am such a victim of God’s grace.

That is an important ‘why’ of our faith: that we are loved and cared for by our God not out of anything we have done or made happen, but out of the gift and honour of the source of all that is.

Grace is our why!

Grace is our why.

Let us pray:

ad lib

***offering***