Sarah Christmyer's Blog, page 5

October 16, 2021

C.R.O.S.S.—”O” is for “One nation”

God didn’t just set Israel free from Egypt, he freed them for a life with him. He does the same for us!

“Cross” is a short word of only five letters, but break it apart and it contains the whole story of the Bible. C.R.O.S.S .— C reation, R edemption, O ne nation, S eparation, S alvation. The story of the Bible is our story, too, and each of these stages helps us get the “big picture” of our life in Christ.

Read the previous post here.

My husband stood at the foot of my bed in the hospital room, cradling our two-day-old daughter as we prepared to take her home. I watched as the joy and wonder evident on his face fought with unease that bordered on panic. Finally he asked the question that bothered both of us: “Where’s the instruction manual?”

Babies don’t spring from the womb ready to face life. In a similar way, Israel didn’t spring out of Egypt ready for life in the Promised Land. Redeemed from slavery through the Red Sea as though through a birth canal, the children of Israel had to learn how to be who they now were: the free children of God.

God had special plans for this new people. If they would obey the Lord, God promised that they would be his “treasured possession among all peoples … a kingdom of priests, a holy nation” (Exodus 19:5). Their relationship is reflected in the names Israel is called in the Old Testament: sometimes “son” or “child;” at other times, “bride.” For them God is both “father” and “husband.”[1] Theirs is the intimate, exclusive relationship that springs from strong family ties bound by love.

Bound together in love

Their relationship is sealed in a solemn, binding ceremony at Mt. Sinai. Israel meets God there and hears his voice and becomes his people. And there, God gives them:

The Ten Commandments. These are rules to help them live in freedom, but there’s also a sense in which they’re like wedding vows. Israel enters an exclusive relationship with God, and in the process agrees to stay away from other “loves”: the false gods of pride, power, and pleasure. This initiates them into a life that’s ordered around rest and worship and love.The Tabernacle. This portable “tent of meeting” is a kind of home where God will live with them! Not since the Garden of Eden has there been such a place on earth. In the tabernacle and through the liturgy surrounding it, the invisible God will be tangibly present with them wherever they go.

At Mt. Sinai, the people give their solemn “I do.” But they are fickle. When Moses is getting instructions from God for the tabernacle, the people get tired of waiting. They build a golden calf to be their “god” and dance around it. Moses intercedes and God reveals his mercy. Later they grumble when they are hungry and they panic when water runs out and enemies threaten. But God comes through again and again, with food, water, healing, direction, and protection. When they don’t trust him to take them into the Promised Land, they wander another 40 years in the desert. But still, God fights their battles, feeds and clothes them, gives direction. The desert’s like a boot camp where they learn to trust God.

Looking for a leader

At last God takes them into the promised land. Led by Joshua, they conquer most of Canaan but they don’t pass on their faith. The next generation doesn’t know the Lord—and they begin to intermarry with the locals and worship their gods. They abandon God and fall prey to their enemies. At last they cry out to God and repent. He raises a judge to save them, but when that person dies, the cycle begins again. And again. And again. Finally they demand a king so they can be like the other nations (1 Sam 8:20). God gives them Saul, who unites the fractured tribes into a single kingdom. He disobeys God, who has David—“a man after his own heart” (1 Sam 13:14)—anointed king in his place.

Building a house for God

David’s chief desire is to build a temple for God—a permanent “house” to replace the Tabernacle. God says that instead, he will build a “house” for David: a dynasty that will last forever.

That dynasty begins with David’s son Solomon. Known for his wisdom and wealth, Solomon builds a magnificent Temple in Jerusalem. On its dedication, the Lord’s presence visibly fills the Temple. The promised “kingdom of priests” is poised to draw other nations to God.

Notice thay God freed Israel not simply as individuals but to be his family, united under him: the original “one nation under God,” if you will. That “one nation” became, by God’s design, a kingdom that set the pattern for the Kingdom of God we know as the Church. As we continue the story, we’ll see how that came about.

Where are you in the Story?

The children of Israel found that liberation from slavery through the Red Sea was just the beginning of learning to live as the free children of God. In a similar way, being freed from the power of sin at Baptism is just the starting point for Christians. The life of Christians on the way to heaven, like the life of Israel on its way to the Promised Land, is a day-by-day process of learning how to trust God and how to live in true freedom by the power of the Spirit.

Spend a few minutes in God’s word, meditating on these passages about freedom. Which speaks most to you? How?

Psalm 119:44–45 (what we can do to walk freely)Romans 6:20–23 (the reward of freedom)Galatians 5:13 (how to use freedom)Hebrews 2:14–15 (Jesus sets us free from the fear of death)1 Peter 2:16 (how to live in freedom)

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Coming next: C.R.O.S.S.— “S” is for “Separation”

October 1, 2021

C.R.O.S.S.—”R” is for “Redemption”

Who doesn’t want to be free? If your life is not your own … look to the God who freed Egypt from slavery in Egypt, as recalled in this post.

“Cross” is a short word of only five letters, but break it apart and it contains the whole story of the Bible. C.R.O.S.S.—Creation, Redemption, One nation, Separation, Salvation. The story of the Bible is our story, too, and each of these stages helps us get the “big picture” of our life in Christ.

Read the previous post here.

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There are many kinds of slavery in this world. You don’t have to be held physically captive and worked to death; you can be “owned” by someone who knows your past or who got you out of trouble. You can be a slave to drugs, to money, to sex or work, even to social media. Ever since the Garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve chose to go their own way instead of God’s way, people have been held captive to their own desires and, often, to those of others. The fallout of their choices can be seen in the descendants of Abraham: Isaac and Jacob and his children, who became fathers of the 12 tribes of Israel, try to go their own way as often as they follow God.

At the close of Genesis, the children of Israel move to Egypt to escape famine. They flourish there. But as Exodus opens, a ruler has come into power who presses them into slavery. The people groan under their bondage.

In the second stage in the story of the CROSS, God sets Israel free. The “R” in “CROSS” stands for Redemption. It stands today as a picture of what the Lord has done for us.

God hears the people’s cry

Four hundred years have passed since God promised Abraham countless descendants, their own land to live in, and a legacy of blessing for the world (Genesis 12:1-3). But now they are slaves in a foreign land. What happened to the promises of God? Does he still care?

One day, Moses is out minding his sheep when God appears in a blaze of fire that burns but does not consume a desert bush. He not only is the God who made those promises, he is the LORD, the great “I AM.” And yes: this God is paying attention, and yes, he cares.

Moses and the Burning Bush; mosaic in St. Catherine’s Monastery, Sinai

Hear what he says to Moses in Exodus 3:7–8. Linger on each phrase and consider what it says of God’s personal attention and faithful love:

“I have seen” the people’s misery.I “have heard” their cry in slavery.“I know their sufferings”, and“I have come down” to rescue them and take them to the land that I promised.

Help is on the way! With Moses as spokesman, God challenges Pharaoh’s control, asking that they be released for a three-day journey to worship:

“‘Israel is my first-born son […] Let my son go that he may serve me’” (Exodus 4:22).

Pharaoh practically laughs. “Why do you take the people away from their work? Get to your burdens” (Exodus 5:4).

It all comes down to work: who do they serve?

And that is the crux of the conflict. Will God’s people “serve” the God of their fathers, the creator of heaven and earth . . . or will they “work” for Pharaoh?

In Hebrew, “serve” and “work” are the same word: avad. Read those chapters and notice how often those words are used, and how. God makes work fruitful and asks for service that is worship in return. Meanwhile, Pharaoh cuts off life and requires work without a break.

Who will the people serve?

In a series of plagues, the Lord shows Pharoah who is really God. First the Nile, considered the source of life, is filled with blood. Frogs and insects overwhelm the land at a word from Moses. Plagues and boils strike cattle and people. Hail destroys plants and animals. Locusts ruin crops. God pulls a thick darkness over the land of Egypt, while bathing Goshen, the home of the Hebrews, in light. But none of these signs softens the heart or changes the mind of Pharaoh. He refuses to let the people serve the Lord.

Moses announces a final judgment: if Pharaoh will not let God’s first-born go to worship, then God will slay the first-born sons of Egypt.

God’s people are given instructions for what will be called the “Passover”—the night the angel of the Lord would “pass over” those who obey, while destroying the first-born sons of everyone else. The children of Israel sacrifice unblemished male lambs and mark their doors with the blood. They roast the lamb and eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs, dressed to flee.

And flee they do, amid the wailing of stricken Egyptians.

It doesn’t take long for Pharaoh to muster an army and back them up against the Red Sea. Moses stretches his rod over the water and the Lord divides the sea, allowing the people to cross on dry land while the pursuing army is drowned. “Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods?” sing the people on the other side. “The Lord will reign for ever and ever.”

This is the central formative event of the people of Israel. It sets the stage for the rest of the story: for they are not simply freed from slavery; they are freed for life as the redeemed children of God. From work, for worship.

What that will look like is the subject of the next stage in the story of the Cross: “O” for “One Nation.”

Where are you in the story?

[image error]The miraculous crossing through the Red Sea foreshadows the way Christians die to sin and rise to new life in the waters of Baptism. This is our story too!

Just like Israel was freed from crushing service to Pharaoh, Jesus frees us from our burdens and anxieties for an easy “yoke” of his service, which is rooted in worship. Who do you serve?

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:28–30)

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Coming next: C.R.O.S.S.— “O” is for “One Nation”

September 22, 2021

C.R.O.S.S.—“C” is for “Creation”

Read the first post in the series here.

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The little boy couldn’t take his eyes off the crucifix on the nun’s habit. He’d never seen anything like it before. Finally, he just had to ask: “Sister,” he said, “that’s a nice necklace you have there. But what’s that man doing hanging on that stick?”

There was a day when “dying for your sins, Johnny” would have been a fine answer, but that’s no longer enough. “What sins?” would likely be the next question, followed by “why would someone have to die for them?” The best way to make sense of the cross is to go back to the beginning where it all began.

The first chapter in the story of the CROSS in the Bible begins with a “C”: Creation. The word itself presumes someone else is present, a Creator—and sure enough, “In the beginning, God …” God’s person and actions permeate the start of the story. In the beginning, God creates a place; God creates people; and God creates a plan to save them.

Michelangelo, Creation

God creates a place

God started everything by creating the world as a place of beauty and order and goodness. The ancients saw the earth as a cosmic temple, and that is how it is described in Genesis: as a temple complete with a sanctuary for worship (the Garden of Eden). Everything had its place, and everything in it glorified God by being and doing what it was created to be and do.

God creates people

Creation wasn’t complete without someone to enjoy and take care of it. In fact, its whole purpose was to be a dwelling for the people God created next, making them in his very own image—to be like himself. He makes Adam and Eve, male and female. They are “in God’s image” in who they are—they can reason and they have wills and can love—and in what they are charged to do—be fruitful and multiply and share God’s dominion and rule. God also gives them rules so they will know how to live and be blessed.

But a serpent (the devil) enters Eden and insinuates that God does not have their best interests at heart. It tempts them to go their own way and decide for themselves what is right. Even though God told them this will mean death, they believe and follow the serpent instead. They lose their trust in God as a Father who loves them.

Michelangelo, The Fall of Man

With this, mankind steps out of relationship with God. Adam and Eve’s decision has consequences. Their reason is darkened, their will is weakened, and their love turns in on themselves. Suffering and death enter the world—for all humanity.

The serpent is a formidable enemy. God announces an ongoing war between their offspring: the “seed of the serpent” will hurt the “seed of the woman”, God says, but the woman’s descendant will ultimately crush the serpent’s head (Genesis 3:15). Theologians have called this the protoevangelium – literally, the “first gospel.” It is the first “good news” in the Bible.

The results of Adam and Eve’s fall from grace are obvious in the next generations. As the earth is populated, two sorts of people emerge: those who worship God and follow him, and those who go the way of the serpent. Guess which way most of them choose? (You can read it in Genesis 4 –11. Especially see 6:5-6 and 11:1-9!)

God creates a plan to save them

Only divine intervention could bring people back into a right relationship with God, and God did intervene. He called one man, Abraham, to leave his own pursuits and follow to a new place where God promised to create from him a new people who would be fruitful and multiply and share in God’s rule and blessing (Genesis 12:1-3). When Abraham proved his faith in God by being willing even to sacrifice the son God promised him, God saved that son and made a solemn covenant oath to do as he promised (Genesis 22:1-19). The story of the Bible will now focus on the story of Abraham and his family, through whom God will bring blessing to the entire world.

Where are you in the story?

The Almighty God lovingly created you in his image.

Even though you may have chosen to go your own way instead of God’s, he calls you like he called Abraham to the obedience of faith (Romans 1:5; 16:26). God has a plan to restore you to himself that you might be fruitful, blessed, and a blessing to others.

You did not choose me [Jesus said], but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide. (John 15:16a)

Do you ever hear the voice of the serpent in your life, tempting you to lose your trust in God’s fatherly goodness? Do you recognize that voice, when you hear it? Spend some time in Genesis 1-3. What does it tell you about the voice of God (his word)? About the voice of the serpent? Ask the Lord to help you know the difference. Which will you listen to today?

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Coming next: C.R.O.S.S.— “R” is for “Redemption”

September 15, 2021

The CROSS Tells the Story of the Bible

When my Great Uncle Hubert Mitchell shared the gospel with native people in the jungles of Sumatra back in 1940, he got stuck at the most important part. They had no idea what a cross was, so he cut down two trees and tied them together. He stretched himself out on that cross and described how the soldiers pounded nails into Jesus’s hands.

“Toean [Mister],” someone said. “What’s a nail?”

Hubert was stumped. He had brought no nails with him into the jungle. There were plenty of large thorns, but a thorn cannot pierce a man’s limb — let alone hold his weight so he can suffer the tortures of crucifixion.

The meeting broke for lunch, and Hubert prayed. He emptied a can of mandarin oranges into his tin cup … and out dropped a nail! Everyone stared and the men who were with him started to weep. “God must want these people to know how much Jesus suffered for them,” they said.

Because of that nail, nearly the whole tribe came to receive Christ.

Photo by Fausto Marqués on Unsplash

I think of that today as I try to share the gospel. Too often, I’m met with blank stares by people who don’t know enough to grasp what Jesus did for them. But while it was the ignorance of a single detail that stumped my uncle, it’s the ignorance of the big picture that gets in my way. Many people don’t believe in sin or hell. They doubt God’s goodness or don’t think he cares. They think truth is relative. They see no greater purpose or plan for their lives. But the answer is in the story. The whole story, God’s story as it is told in the Bible.

Sometimes, we have to step back and get the big picture. When we do that, one of the first things we see is that history is not random. The start is anchored in the beginning of time while the end is fixed in eternity. God is in control. Everything is created good and with purpose. God’s arms reach from one end of history to the other, inviting us in through the center point, which is the Cross. And just as a simple nail made Jesus’s love come alive in 1940, the cross itself can illustrate the story today.

C.R.O.S.S. tells the story

Here’s how to tell God’s story—the whole story of the Bible, in fact—by using the acronym C.R.O.S.S. The letters spell the stages of the journey, which we’ll take step by step over the coming weeks:

CREATION

In the beginning, God creates everything in beauty and order and peace. But Adam and Eve rebel and their sin leads to suffering and death for everyone to come. God doesn’t give up on people, who he loves. He calls one man—Abraham—to follow him in obedient faith. He promises him countless descendants, a land, and a kingdom through which he will bless the whole world.

REDEMPTION

Abraham’s descendants move to Egypt and fall into slavery. Through Moses, God sends plagues on Egypt and makes a path through the Red Sea, bringing his people to safety while destroying the enemy.

ONE NATION

Now they must learn to trust the God who saved them. God forms a covenant with Israel, making them a nation—his nation. He lives among them. He brings them to the Promised Land and blesses them as promised, but repeatedly they sin and turn to other gods. When they turn to him, God saves them. They ask for a king and in David, God promises a throne that will last forever.

SEPARATION

After David’s son Solomon dies, the kingdom splits in two. The people continue to spend their love on other gods and put their trust in other nations. They ignore God’s prophets. He allows first one kingdom, then the other, to fall into the hands of the nations. Israel is conquered by Assyria and scattered; Judah is exiled to Babylon. Jerusalem and the Temple are destroyed. Generations later, some do return—but they continue under foreign rule.

SALVATION

In the fullness of time, God creates everything new. He begins again with a couple—but instead of a man and wife, it’s a mother and son: Mary, the new Eve, and Jesus, the Second Adam. Jesus takes sin to the cross and dies, then rises to defeat death and the devil. All because he loves us! He sends his Spirit and gives us his Church to help us prepare for the new creation that is to come, when his victory will be complete and death will be no more.

In the end: His-story is our story. Read it and discover God’s faithful love. Learn how he rescues us from trouble; guides us when we we’re lost; teaches us when we don’t have a clue. Read it to know that you can trust him even when the world seems to be falling apart and it looks as though evil has the upper hand. The war has been won; the end is sure. The cross is the door to blessing.

© 2016, 2021 Sarah Christmyer. This series on finding the “big picture” of the Bible is based originally appeared on the American Bible Society’s leadership blog. Some editorial changes have been made.

Coming next: C.R.O.S.S.—”C” is for “Creation”

Get the “big picture” before you study the Bible with The Great Adventure Catholic Bible Study program.

Explore the Resources tab on my website to learn more about reading the Bible, or check out some of these posts on Bible Reading and Study:

God’s Word is Forever! 12 Reasons that Matters The 3 “P’s” of Fruitful Bible Reading 3 Steps to a Bible Reading Habit The ABCs of Reading St. Paul Which Catholic Bible Should I Use?

The post The CROSS Tells the Story of the Bible appeared first on Come Into The Word with Sarah Christmyer | Bible Study | Lectio Divina | Journals | Retreat.

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Published on September 15, 2021 08:23

August 28, 2021

OUR GOD IS A ROCK!

My summer was full of mountains. Rocky mountains, Sandia mountains, Sangre de Cristos and Jemez mountains. Tall, craggy mountains, steep mountains shrouded in clouds. Painted mountains lolling by a brown, lazy river.

Chama River Canyon Wilderness. Photo by Sarah Christmyer.

I love Colorado and New Mexico. We stayed 8,000 ft up and there were still 3,000 feet to go, to the top of the Brazos cliffs that loomed behind us. The sun and clouds painted a different picture on them every day. It’s impossible to get tired of them.

As I stood looking up at those cliffs, part of Psalm 61 echoed through my mind: Lead me to the rock that is higher than I!

God is a rock

Lead me to the Rock that is God. Steadfast, immovable, even more so than the Brazos. More than the Rockies or Everest itself. Unchanging even though the circumstances of my life, like weather on those cliffs, might paint a different picture and tempt me to think otherwise.

Circumstances might make God seem distant, or fiery, or cloudy or covered in frost. But he’s not.

Our God never changes. And even if mountains might crumble, God will not. God is God yesterday, today, and forever will be the same.

Sit with Psalm 61 awhile…

Hear my cry, O God,
     listen to my prayer;
2 from the end of the earth I call to you
     when my heart is faint.
Lead me to the rock
     that is higher than I,
3 for you have been my refuge,
     a strong tower against the enemy.

4 Let me dwell in your tent forever!
     Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings! Selah

Lead me to the mountain that is higher than I.

God is a rock, a fortress, an immovable mountain. His is a place of meeting high above the earth, above our troubles. In him is rest and sanctuary away from the fray. Take refuge in him.

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Published on August 28, 2021 09:39

August 20, 2021

YOU HAVE FREEDOM TO CHOOSE: BE CAREFUL!

We were born with freedom to choose: a God-given freedom to cast our lot with life, on the one hand, or death, on the other. Even our small choices lead, inevitably, in one direction or the other. The story in the book of Judges of Jephthah, the judge whose rash vow led him to sacrifice his daughter, stands as a chilling reminder that freedom to choose what to do does not make us free to choose consequences—and that choosing both ways is no answer.

Judges is flanked by two books—Joshua and Ruth—that highlight this truth and bring hope. As Joshua prepared to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land, he reminded them: the Lord has freed you from slavery and has given you this new land. Will you continue to serve pagan gods? Or will you cast them out and serve the Lord? You can’t do both: “So choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15)

Choose life!

Moses had said it even more starkly in his day: before you are life and death, good and evil, he told them. Choose life! Follow the Lord and his commands, and you’ll live and find blessing! (See Deuteronomy 30:11-19)

The tragedy of those early years in the Promised Land is that although the children of Israel choose God and pledge their lives to follow him, they worship the Canaanite gods as well. In the process, they become less and less like children of their Father and more and more like the pagans whose ways they prefer.

Jephthah fails to choose

Jephthah provides a case study of the effects of trying to do both. On one hand, he makes a vow to God and trusts him to deliver them from their enemies. On the other hand, the substance of his vow—human sacrifice—is a Canaanite practice. We watch, horrified, as Jephthah “thanks” God for victory by sacrificing his daughter: it is radically against the good laws God gave them. The narrative lets the tragic outcome speak for itself: when you fail to cast out evil and choose the good, you lose the things most precious to you. Choose death and you will get it.

From the time of Jephthah, Judges spirals into chaos as Israel continues to choose to have it both ways: God when they need him, pagan gods when they want them. Read the end of the book, particularly chapters 19–21. This time when “every man did what was right in his own eyes” (17:6, 21:25), instead of choosing the way laid out for them by God, shows the horrifying consequence of their choice. God, we cry at the book’s end; how can these be your people?

Ruth chooses God

And then we turn the page — and meet Ruth.

Famine hits the Promised Land and a family flees to Moab. It says a lot about the time of the Judges, that enemy territory could be a haven! A decade later, the men of the family have died and Naomi is left with two foreign daughters-in-law. Hearing there is once again food at home, she determines to return alone. But Ruth clings to her. Don’t ask me to forsake you! she pleads. Wherever you go, I’ll go. Wherever you live, I’ll live. Your people and your God will be mine.

In effect: I choose you! I choose your land, your home, your God.

Ruth’s choice brings blessing

This Moabite woman knows better than most of Israel, what it means to choose rightly. She chooses God and does not look back. Ruth enters the Promised Land at the start of the barley harvest and then harvests all the riches God promised those who follow him and walk in his ways. She marries into Israel and from her line comes the great king David and, ultimately, the Messiah.

It’s time to choose

We live in an age like that of the Judges, when many pay lip service to the Christian faith or cling just to the parts that suit them—all the while playing up to the gods of our time; to “politically correct” ideals and values and ways of life.

We want the approval of both God and the world, to go to heaven when the time comes but to live as though we’re in heaven while on earth, whatever that takes. It’s tempting to choose both and think we can determine the outcome. But can we?

Read Judges and Ruth, and learn from those who’ve gone before us. Put Joshua’s words where you can see them:

“Choose this day whom you will serve, whether … the gods of [those] in whose land you dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15)

Will you choose like Ruth … or like Jephthah, straddle the line?

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Read more about Ruth and how she put her choice into practice in this blog post: Always Look Out For Number One (Who’s Number One?) — or in my book: Becoming Women of the Word: How to Answer God’s Call with Purpose and Joy! The book tells why you can always trust God, even when the future’s uncertain, when you feel inadequate, when you’re alone, or your world’s falling apart. Becoming Women of the Word explores the lives of women in the Bible and today to discover how they followed God in tough times. Read it and learn how you, too, can answer God’s call in your life “with purpose and joy.” (Download the contents and a sample chapter free.)

I would like to recommend Sarah’s book, “Becoming Women of the Word”. When you finish reading a book and realize all the passages you underlined and put stars in the margins and turned down the corner of the page, you know you have found a treasure to keep and refer back to often. From each chapter I learned new things and gleaned fresh inspiration. This book is a wonderful gift for friends and family.Thank you, Sarah, for all the work that went into writing it. —Toni L.

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Published on August 20, 2021 10:57

May 30, 2021

THE GIFT OF PRESENCE

Every third Thursday, like clockwork, a card arrives. It’s been four years since Mark started the day-long treatments, and there is always a card waiting when he gets home. How do they do it? His sisters. One’s in California, two are in Ohio, and still they figure out how to time a fresh message of love and encouragement to land in a Pennsylvania mailbox on the days Mark needs it most.

Every third Thursday. Sounds like a good title for a book! Something like Tuesdays with Morrie, perhaps. For now, it’s giving me food for reflection on the words of Jesus: “I was sick and you visited me” (see Matthew 25:31-40).

By visiting the sick—even when “visits” have to be from far away, through cards or texts or zoom calls—we visit Christ, he says. It’s the kind of thing that separates the righteous “sheep” who are blessed by God from the cursed “goats.” Along with other works of mercy, it’s the kind of behavior that marks the ones who go to heaven.

Wow. It’s not healing that gets the kudos, but visiting. “Just” visiting. Why such praise for such a little thing? Because as much as it means to the sick person, it’s hard for us to do. It requires time and thought and presence. It interrupts our day. Maybe we have “better” things to do, or more urgent things, or things we can actually accomplish. We feel inadequate, or we get tired. We put in our time and move on. Meanwhile, loneliness can feel worse than the illness, to the sick.

We forget that even our presence is a gift.

James says that “religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction …” (1:27). There it is again: that little word “visit.” The importance of presence, of being there for others. Of going out of our way on behalf of someone else, even if we can’t make a material difference in their situation.

JUST BE THERE.

I think of Mary and the beloved disciple and the women who stood by the Cross as Jesus suffered and died. Unable to do a thing to change things, but being there for him. Every time we visit someone who’s sick or suffering, we’re standing there by the Cross, offering our comfort and presence to Jesus even as we draw strength from him to comfort others.

Do you know someone who is sick? Can you visit them? How can you give them the gift of your presence, even if they’re far away?

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Published on May 30, 2021 10:02

May 23, 2021

TAKE THE BIBLE TO THE BEACH THIS SUMMER: Ideas for your reading list

What are your plans for the summer?

My calendar’s filling fast with weekend trips and garden strolls and sitting (in the shade!) by the water. But work is lighter, and so are the days—leaving time for walks and books and doing nothing, if I want. Just seeing “Memorial Day” coming up next week makes my pulse slow down. I can’t wait for summer.

I have a to-do list for the next three months and at the top is getting more one-on-one, hang-out time with God. I need spiritual re-calibrating as much as I need a break from the grind. The best way I know to hear God speak to my heart is to read the Bible on a regular basis. I started doing that as a teenager when I saw my life going nowhere and needed help. I would pray, start reading, and look for God to speak. He always did. He helped me with so many things that first summer, and I got so much out of getting to know God better and his love for me, that I kept it up.

I’ve decided to take a slow trip through John’s gospel this summer, but you might want to do something else. Here are some ideas to consider:

IDEAS FOR SUMMER BIBLE READING

Immerse yourself in God’s loving plan. Four chapters a day with a few days off will take you through the entire story of the Bible by Labor Day. Use this downloadable checklist from The Great Adventure Bible Timeline — or read the same thing with the help of the guided journal I wrote to support that 90-day reading plan: The Bible Timeline Guided Journal. Pick a book, any book. Can’t decide? Start with a gospel. Read it like you’d read a novel, at whatever pace feels right. Pray before you start, ask the Lord to speak, then start to read. Linger as the Spirit guides, and talk to him about it. The next day, pick up where you left off. Looking for something quick and light? Try Proverbs. There are 31 chapters, so every day you read, go with the chapter that corresponds to the date (on July 7, read Proverbs 7). Every chapter’s packed with small bites of common sense and godly wisdom. Snack on whatever appeals to you . . . Then try to do what it says that day. Keep a list of your favorites and learn them by heart. Tweet them or share on Facebook—anything to help you remember. Want a good story? Read Jonah or Esther or Daniel or Genesis [all of Genesis is good, but it’s hard to beat the story of Joseph in chs. 37-50]. Just get to know the story. Watch God in action. Learn more about the One who loves you. Is summer your time to go deep? Read a book with the help of a good commentary. I highly recommend the very readable Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture , which explains what you’re reading, connects it to our Catholic faith, and gives you food for thought and prayer. Give Revelation a try, or Mark, or Ephesians (or anything that strikes your fancy). And prepare to be blessed! Another way to go deep , alone or with a group: use one of the books I wrote with Gayle Somers on Genesis to guide you through personal reading and meditating and discussing one of the most practical and informative books about our faith. Or read my reflections on women of the Old Testament in Becoming Women of the Word — then read the stories in your Bible, for further insight.

Photo by Robert Norton on Unsplash.

Once you’ve decided—take some iced tea out to your hammock and start to read! If you happen to fall asleep, consider what a lovely thing it is to fall asleep in the arms of the Father, his words the last thing you hear.

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I’d love to know what you decide to read! Comment below or email me: sarah@comeintotheword.com.

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Published on May 23, 2021 13:46

May 9, 2021

I CHOSE YOU TO BEAR FRUIT … THAT WILL LAST?

I wonder what Jesus meant when he said he appointed us “to go and bear fruit that will remain.” If there is one thing fruit does not do, that’s remain. Leave it out on the counter too long and the fruit flies come, and the rot, and pretty soon those apples and grapes are good for nothing but the trash.

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I love the image Jesus uses in John 15 of us “remaining” or “abiding” in him like branches connected to a grape vine. And the way he describes the Father tenderly caring for those branches, pruning them with the aim making them fruitful: all of it, for our good. But today I’m stuck on verse 16:

“It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain….”

Fruit, as I said, does not usually remain very long. Particularly in the hot climate Jesus lived in, where there was no refrigeration or AC to cool things down.

Maybe that’s the point.

Fruit is meant to be eaten

Sometimes we want to hoard the fruit that we bear, for ourselves. But fruit is meant to be eaten. Whether eaten fresh and right away, or dried and stored for later, it has one purpose: to provide nourishment, pleasure, sweetness—for someone else.

The fruit of the vine has another end, as well: to be crushed and fermented, made into wine that brings joy.

How can fruit remain?

I chose you to bear fruit that will remain.

When we abide in him, when his life flows through us, we become fruitful with works of kindness and charity and self-donating love. Sometimes we are stomped on, crushed and fermented. We are consumed as we pour ourselves out for others. But that fruit lives on—it remains—in the sweetness and joy it gives others.

It lives on in another way, as well: by scattering seeds that promise new life, more life, resurrected life from what appears dead.

Remain in the Word … and bear fruit

“Remain in” this Word by meditating on it today:

“It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you. This I command you: love one another.”

What do you hear it saying to you?

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Published on May 09, 2021 06:25

May 1, 2021

THE FRUIT THAT COMES FROM ABIDING IN CHRIST

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit. … By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples” (John 15:5,8)

John 15 is one of the best-loved of all the gospel readings, and with good reason. We all want to flourish! And here Jesus tells his disciples that if they stay “in him” – rooted in him through the Word and Sacraments – they will lead the kind of fruitful lives that marks his disciples.

Read John 15:1-17 here.

It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that we are responsible for our own fruit. We focus our energies on doing so there will be something to show for our efforts. But that’s exactly what happens when a grapevine grows wild: all the energy goes into ornamental leaves and branches. It looks impressive, beautiful even – but doesn’t bear much actual fruit.

“The branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in me,” Jesus says. The kind of fruit God chose you to bear is fruit that grows organically from his life flowing through you. They are the “fruits of the Spirit” as St. Paul calls them in Galatians 5:22-23; evidence of the indwelling presence of the Lord. What are they?

The Fruits of the Spirit Love or Charity – Not just feeling affection for something that pleases us, but selfless, sacrificial, unconditional love. Jesus said the greatest love is to lay down your life for a friend. It’s what he did for us, and when we abide in him and he lives through us, we start showing it for others. Joy — A supernatural joy that doesn’t depend on circumstances. Abiding in Christ opens a channel of grace to your heart. In him, even the things that seem to crush us can lead to joy. Think about the wine that comes from grapes that are crushed. The wine that is Christ to us, in the Eucharist. That wine is joy! Peace — Not the absence of conflict, but wholeness. Completeness and right balance. Anyone can be at peace when the world is quiet. It takes the life of Christ to give us inner peace that holds steady even through chaos. Patience — This fruit becomes evident when you’re willing to suffer trials; when you’re not vengeful; when you avoid fighting; when you choose to put up with annoyances. Patience helps you carry your cross. Kindness — When Jesus said his yoke is “easy,” he used this word (Matthew 11:30). His yoke doesn’t chafe, because it’s tailored to the one wearing it. It fits well. It is “kind.” The fruit of kindness extends that attitude through us. Kindness enables us to take into account the needs and foibles of others and help them instead of condemning them out of hand. Goodness — This is doing the right thing for others. It can mean encouraging or helping them but it also encompass a loving rebuke or what we call “tough love.” Faithfulness — Being trustworthy and reliable. When this fruit is active in your life, you are faithful to God even when you can’t see him or feel his presence. Faithfulness hangs onto what we know is true and acts accordingly. Gentleness — This is sometimes translated “meekness.” It’s not weakness, though – it’s power under control, like a horse that is trained to the bit. When Christ’s spirit lives in you, and you abide in him, that spirit flows through you and enables you to be gentle and considerate even in difficult situations. Self-control — This fruit shows mastery over desire and self-indulgence. When Jesus was tempted in the desert, he practiced self-control. He was helped in that battle by quoting Scripture; there’s a reason that “abiding in Christ” involves soaking in the Word. We can work at gaining self-control (and should), but the kind of self-control that comes from the Spirit passes what we can do on our own.– 12. There are three more: Generosity, in which the Spirit deepens our impulse to give abundantly from what God has given us; and two that are related to self-control, namely Modesty and Chastity. The Spirit doesn’t cause us to reject passion or other human gifts, but it gives us a moderation and proper way to use them to a good end and the greatest eternal fruit.Fruit is meant to be shared!

These are the fruits that should show up in our lives if we’re abiding in Christ. I think of a conversation I had once with a new acquaintance. When I told her what I do, she said “Oh – are you religious, then?” I said, “you could say that.” “Well, that explains it!” she said. “You have this peace, this stillness in you, even when things are hard. I couldn’t figure it out.”

That peace that she saw, was a fruit of the Spirit. I certainly didn’t manufacture it! And it opened the door to some fruit of a more tangible kind: it gave me an “in” to tell her how faith in God had helped me through tough times. I haven’t seen her since, to know what impact it had. And maybe I never will. But a seed was planted. Maybe someone else will water it, and God willing – perhaps someday she’ll be grafted into the Vine, herself.

Have you experienced the fruit of God’s work in your life? Share it in the comments below, or email me at sarah@comeintotheword.com. I’d love to hear from you.