Starting a New Season
Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Sunday, September 1
Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-9
The people of God have always lived on the threshold—the threshold between wilderness and the promised land, between exile and redemption, between the kingdom of earth and the kingdom of heaven. In Deuteronomy 4, Moses speaks to the Israelites as they are finally about to enter the land of promise. His parting words include instructions to listen to and obey God’s decrees, to never forget what they have seen, and to pass on God’s instructions to their children and grandchildren.
Moses knew his time on earth was coming to an end soon. He wanted to pass on what was most essential. As this fall season begins, do you find yourself at a threshold? What do you need to remember from the past that will carry you forward? What might God want you to pass on to another generation as you enter this new season?
Lord, you are indeed near to us. Help me to trust you and follow your leading for the next right step. Amen.
Hearts and Lips
Monday, September 2
Mark 7:1-13
I grew up in a home and a church where people regularly honored God with their lips. There was an abundance of God talk and the reverence for God was real. Yet it could devolve into the kind of religious boundary-keeping that Jesus’s religious community was guilty of. The Pharisees seriously questioned Jesus’s seeming disregard for ceremonial cleanliness. Jesus cut to the chase: “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me” (v. 6, NIV).
God is much more interested in our hearts than our lips. Or perhaps a better way to say it is that God desires that we live integrated lives that are wholehearted and fully embodied. As a pastor, I use a lot of God talk every day. I find that it requires ongoing discernment with God and others to know whether I’m just honoring God with my lips or if my heart is truly near to the One who desires my whole being.
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing to you. Amen.
Heart Check
Tuesday, September 3
Mark 7:14-23
In Jesus’s view, it wasn’t unwashed hands that defiled; neither was it the food that one ate. For those who defined holiness strictly by observing the law, Jesus’s teaching was unsettling!
In the Chinese Baptist church where I grew up, there were plenty of “holiness codes” by which we were expected to abide. Drinking, smoking, and worldly rock music were definite no-nos in the Chinese Baptist holiness code of the 80s. Outward conformity, however, didn’t make us more holy by Jesus’s definition.
Once again, Jesus draws attention to the heart, the inner world of our intentions and desires. Jesus challenges the notion that contamination comes from outside of ourselves. Instead, Jesus calls for an examination of the heart, which is where Jesus says evil desires are rooted. The good news is that Jesus alone is the physician who can diagnose, cleanse, and heal our hearts.
Lord, illuminate my heart. Cleanse me, heal me, and satisfy the deepest desires of my heart. Amen.
Prized Possessions
Wednesday, September 4
James 1:17-18
These familiar verses remind us of the heart of the Gift-giver. Every good and perfect gift comes from God our Father, the Creator of all. Our very life and breath come from God. And most astonishingly of all, verse 18 says that we are God’s prized possession! Take a moment to let that sink in: You are God’s prized possession.
It is one thing to give or to receive a compulsory gift, given out of expectation or routine. It’s a completely different dynamic when we give or receive a gift motivated by love and not by obligation. We are God’s prized possessions, and God delights in giving us good gifts!
Perhaps you have a practice of regular gratitude. I have benefited from the Ignatian practice known as Examen prayer. Examen invites us to reflect upon and notice the gifts of God throughout the previous day. This practice of gratitude helps me to recognize the greatest gift of all: God’s continual presence with me throughout each day.
Lord, help me notice your good gifts today. Amen.
Quick, Slow, Slow
Thursday, September 5
James 1:19-21
Today’s passage is direct and practical: “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry” (v. 19). In our culture, how rare and refreshing it is when a conversation partner is quick to listen, really listen. What a gift it is to talk with someone without anticipating interruption or an angry reaction. This kind of hospitality invites free and honest sharing. This non-reactive posture of listening invites us to bring our full selves into a relationship.
As a spiritual director, I am reminded of the gift of intentional hospitality that spiritual direction offers. It is a place where each person is listened to with compassion and without interruption. However, James’s instructions are given not just for spiritual directors, but for everyone as a practical way to build the kind of loving relationships God intends for us. As you interact with others today, watch for opportunities where you can offer this kind of presence to others and see what happens.
Gracious God, remind me to be quick to listen today. Amen.
Hearing and Doing
Friday, September 6
James 1:22-25
James was an action-oriented believer. As a pastor, he observed a troubling pattern in his community that can be equally concerning among us today—the tendency to hear God’s Word and not do what it says. God’s Word truly liberates us when it changes our thinking and changes our actions. Why do we have such a disconnect between hearing and doing?
Sometimes we can simply be stubborn and resist doing what we know we should do. Other times it’s not simply a matter of willpower. Transformation happens when we allow the Spirit to shine light on what’s underneath the surface. Often we need the support and prayer of others for lasting change to occur at a deeper level.
James says that God will bless us when we hear God’s Word and do it. Where do you notice disconnects in your life between hearing God’s Word and living it out?
Holy Spirit, you know the areas where I struggle to live out your Word, even when I know what it says. Empower me to hear and to do. Amen.
Religion that God Desires
Saturday, September 7
James 1:26-27
A recurring theme in this week’s passages is the encouragement to live integrated lives. Today’s Scripture continues on this theme. James calls out religion that is “worthless” (v. 26) versus religion that is pure and acceptable in God’s eyes. James says that religion is worthless when those who consider themselves religious can’t keep a tight rein on their tongues. How easy it is for a thoughtless comment to sabotage another person’s trust in us and our witness to the gospel.
On the flip side, James says that the religion God accepts as pure involves caring for vulnerable people in our communities, as well as resisting the messages of self-indulgence that are shouted from the culture around us or whispered by our own hearts.
How do we live out the life of Christ in all these ways? I am learning that the best way is to live in friendship with the Trinity, staying close to the God who knows me and loves me with an everlasting love.
Jesus, please live your life in me. Amen.
