......
The theme seems to be God's triumph back-to-back with His people's rough
times. God is victorious, while on earth we merely survive under difficult
circumstances. Only God can turn our sufferings on earth into final triumph. In
the meantime, our difficulties toughen us. What an appropriate theme for the
Easter season. Psalm 66:1-11. God's enemies cringe before Him. However, Israel
merely escapes its enemies. God tries Israel like silver, to see if it is
genuine. Yet God holds our souls in life, and will not let our feet slip. People
who are suffering and not understanding why may decide, "We are both being
tested, and being held securely." Acts 17:1-15 "Jason" in v. 5. A popular name
nowadays, though I know of no popular devotion to this particular early
Christian, who we might suppose is St. Jason; he might be patron of
bail-bondsmen (v. 9). The talk about "another king besides Caesar" indicates
that Pontius Pilate's misunderstanding had continued, and that Christians were
accused of planning to set up a secular government. Despite Jesus's "My kingdom
is not like the ones in this world", we have to wonder whether some of the early
Christians may have hoped for a political kingdom. The seventy who were sent out
may have been a seventy-member Sanhedrin; the twelve may have been the twelve
tribes or something. We can't settle this here; I will ask Simon Zelotes when I
get to heaven. Evangelicals hold "Berea" retreats, where they examine the
scriptures (v. 11), i.e., proof-texting sessions. Deut. 6:20-25 continues the
Psalmist's story about Israel escaping from Pharaoh's oppression. The
commandments of God commemorate this. The human authors-editors of Deuteronomy
are writing in the late Judaean monarchy, when remembering was especially
important. We might have wished they had remembered better, and been more
grateful. 1 Peter 2:1-10 Living stone, a nice choice by "Rocky" ("Cephas",
"Peter", Jesus's nickname for Simon bar Zebedee). Christ is a living stone,
lithon zOnta (LITH-awn ZONE-tah). We are living stones, lithoi zOntes, LITH-oy
ZONE-tess. ZOE, the root for "Life", reappears in the Gospel ("way, truth,
life"). Following the psalmist, Peter sees Christ the Rock as having been
rejected, and now triumphing. In the past, we had not received mercy, but now
have done so. John 14:1-14 Christ is the "way", i.e., the road, hodos,
haw-DAWSS, like the odometer on your car. The Way: The church's first name for
herself. So much for the idea of a political movement, unless we're to take the
"Shining Path" as a modern counterpart. "I walk the King's Highway", hymn.
Philip asks to see Jesus's father. The reply reminds me that, when I think of
God, I'd do best to think, not of the picture on the ceiling of the Sistine
chapel, or of the character in the Cecil B. DeMille "Ten Commandments", or the
guy with the spiders in the Jonathan Edwards sermon, but of Jesus Christ. If you
love Jesus, keep His commandments (15), just as we've been asked to do in
Deuteronomy. Whose commandments are tougher, Moses's ritual law and holiness
code, or Jesus's commendments to love your enemies, to do good without regard to
race, nation, or creed, to forgive others, to repent your sins, to live a decent
life and help others to do the same, to keep quiet about your virtues? I say
it's easier to keep Jesus's commandments -- for the reason that He gives, i.e.,
we LOVE Him. Back to Ed's
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