March 29, 2017
Lenten Devotions – John Lightfoot Theologian and Hebrew Scholar

“John Lightfoot was born on this day, March 29, 1602 in an England which was only just regaining the knowledge of Hebrew. Four hundred years before, King Edward I had kicked the Jews out of his nation. Many left manuscripts behind, which allowed scholars such as Roger Bacon to understand the ancient tongue. However, Hebrew studies were frowned upon by the church. Bacon himself was accused of using Hebrew to communicate with the devil. Even as a youngster, John (Lightfoot) proved to be a natural-born scholar, especially good with Greek and Latin. However, he had only the minimum acquaintance with Hebrew. That changed after the twenty-year-old became a Church of England curate (a minister in charge of a parish) in Shropshire, England.” (John Lightfoot Theologian and Hebrew Scholar, Dan Graves, Christianity.com)

John Lightfoot was another Cambridge-educated man. He had a reputation for oratory. His early career was chiefly scholarly and pastoral in several assignments. In his later career he wrote numerous commentaries on the Bible and became something of a Hebrew scholar. Studying Jewish writings, he showed from rabbinic teachings that Jesus was clearly identifiable as the Messiah. “Even the Lord’s prayer is derived from expressions that had long been familiar in the schools and synagogues of Judea.” His book Horae Hebraicae explained the New testament in light of knowledge he had gleaned from the writings of rabbis. Many later commentators consulted it. John was also prominent in the formulation of the Westminster Confession of Faith.” (monergism.com website)

“Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” He answered, “Here I am, Lord.” The Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul. At this moment he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.” But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints in Jerusalem; and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who invoke your name.” But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is an instrument whom I have chosen to bring my name before Gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel; I myself will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” So Ananias went and entered the house. He laid his hands on Saul and said, “Brother Saul, 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.” And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and his sight was restored. Then he got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength. For several days he was with the disciples in Damascus, and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” Acts 9:10-20

“Go, for he is an instrument whom I have chosen to bring my name before Gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel; I myself will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my (Jesus) name.” Jesus tells Ananias to go, even though he is afraid, for the Lord has chosen Saul for a purpose. Sometimes the Lord chooses the most unexpected person for a purpose. Saul of course is the perfect example, for being a persecutor of those who are following “The Way” of Jesus, choosing him would have gone against logical thinking. John Lightfoot may not be as much an enigma in the Lord’s choosing, still he needed to take his learning in a new direction. And in doing so, he became as much a witness for Jesus as Paul – but not as well known.

We do not need to be famous to be a witness for Jesus, nor do we need to be the most educated. We just need to have a willingness to follow when the Lord says “I have chosen you”.

This week please collect a tube of toothpaste each day for Trinity’s Table and bring them into church on Sunday April 2.

Pastor Dave

March 28, 2017
Lenten Devotions – Swimming Against Cultural Impulses

“Then God spoke all these words: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant, or his maidservant, or his ox, or his ass, or anything that is your neighbor’s.” Now when all the people perceived the thunderings and the lightnings and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled; and they stood afar off, and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will hear; but let not God speak to us, lest we die.” And Moses said to the people, “Do not fear; for God has come to prove you, and that the fear of him may be before your eyes, that you may not sin.” Exodus 20:1-2, 16-20

“We Americans are people who spend money we don’t have to buy things we don’t need to impress people we don’t like.”

We have built our whole Western economy upon this and similar principles, and it is out of this culture of conspicuous consumption that Christian stewards must function. We must swim against the stream of every cultural impulse in our society if we are to function as Christian stewards today. The Ten Commandments provide a clear and understandable way to define relationships between people and between people and God. Moreover, the first verse places the commandments within the narrative story of Israel and its liberation from oppression. The context speaks of liberation from Egypt, but it gestures toward liberation from the other things as well – including our culture of conspicuous consumption. To covet simply means to lust after that which belongs to another. Moses is explicit about possessions that tempt: “your neighbor’s house …; your neighbor’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” If God reveals a higher purpose in life than our having more and getting more, then Christian stewards apprehend a revelation of authentic life. Clearly this is no easy task. A step toward bona fide Christian stewardship concedes that our battle to obtain more and more material possessions is little worth the struggle.” (Lenten Devotional Stewardship Principles, We walk together as stewards in God’s church, ELCA, 2012, March 11)

“A step toward bona fide Christian stewardship concedes that our battle to obtain more and more material possessions is little worth the struggle.” I couldn’t have said it any better. It takes swimming against the cultural impulse to gather, hoard and covet if we are to live the Christ-like life. When Moses received the Ten Commandments, it was clear that G-d knew human nature so well –which is no surprise since G-d created us. So G-d laid out some difficult rules – do not lie, do not murder, do not steal, and do not covet, just to mention a few. We don’t have to look too far to see these being lived out in our communities, our neighborhoods, and our churches. That is why G-d didn’t just suggest these rules, G-d commanded us to live by these rules, suggesting that if we did, we would be better off as a people of faith. Of course, we also know that “keeping the commandments” becomes an impossible task – but remains a sure guide for our lives. And so while we know that material possessions will eventually be worthless to us, yet we still wish to have them. And there is the rub. We covet, but we wish we were happy with what we already have. We hoard, but we wish we didn’t. The only way to change our ways is to know our weaknesses – and to seek the Holy Spirit’s power to help us live differently – in the name of Jesus.

This week please collect a tube of toothpaste each day for Trinity’s Table and bring them into church on Sunday April 2.

Pastor Dave