Creating, collecting, and sharing thoughts and ideas. And learning along the way.
Red: For the Love of My Kitchen Table
EXODUS 30:11-31:18 | MATTHEW 26:47-68 | PSALM 32:1-11 | PROVERBS 8:27-32
Night and Day. Black and White. That is the difference between the expectations laid out by the God of Moses for the people of Israel, and the same God incarnate who appears to rise above all the rituals of the Judaic traditions and observes and advocates a life of the mind more than the body.
Where there was once the deepest detail observed to offer up sacrifices in the form of blood and money, and strict rules in the observing of the Sabbath, we have on the other hand this man called Jesus Christ who comes along and tells us that the greatest commandment is to love the Lord with all your heart and to love your neighbor as yourself. And what’s more, he says the Sabbath was made for man and not vice versa! A new day is dawning…
But continuing in our reading in Exodus, we find that it is in this passage that Moses receives the two tablets given to him directly by God that supposedly contained the Ten Commandments. Having received all the instructions on how to conduct themselves for worship–along with a host of rules and regulations on daily living–Moses descends from the mountain with the two tablets in hand. Let us see what might come of all this in the days to come…
Turning next to Matthew, we come to the chapter that contains the account of the arrest and trial of Jesus. This is a chilling account starting with Judas’ sign of betrayal with a kiss, Jesus’ willing surrender, the trial before the Sanhedrin (the group of high priests), the final charges of blasphemy on which Jesus is convicted, and the beginning of the gruesome ordeal that will lead up to the crucifixion.
This is the God of Heaven and Earth being reduced to a punching bag by a bunch of mere mortals! Jesus himself says, 53 Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? 54 But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?”
In our Psalm for the day, we find David offering up an intimate prayer of supplication and affirmation in God’s care. There is also instruction and admonition for the generations to come. He says:
9 Do not be like the horse or the mule,
which have no understanding
but must be controlled by bit and bridle
or they will not come to you.
10 Many are the woes of the wicked,
but the LORD’s unfailing love
surrounds the man who trusts in him.
Finally, the passage in Proverbs is one in which Solomon, son of David, and wise king of Israel serves as a mouthpiece of God himself in these words. This is the great majesty of the God of the universe who allowed himself to become one of his own creation.
The creator becomes the creation. And allows atrocities to be done unto him. Why? Because he loved me. And wanted to reconcile me to himself. Once and for all. But the choice is mine to accept him.
Imagine Jesus uttering these words, and then imagine him being struck and slapped by the crowds:
27 I was there when he set the heavens in place,
when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep,
28 when he established the clouds above
and fixed securely the fountains of the deep,
29 when he gave the sea its boundary
so the waters would not overstep his command,
and when he marked out the foundations of the earth.
30 Then I was the craftsman at his side.
I was filled with delight day after day,
rejoicing always in his presence,
31 rejoicing in his whole world
and delighting in mankind.
May God bless the reading and reflection of His Word. Amen.
EXODUS 30:11-31:18 | MATTHEW 26:47-68 | PSALM 32:1-11 | PROVERBS 8:27-32
Click on the link below to listen to an audio recording of this post:
Night and Day. Black and White. That is the difference between the expectations laid out by the God of Moses for the people of Israel, and the same God incarnate who appears to rise above all the rituals of the Judaic traditions and observes and advocates a life of the mind more than the body.
Where there was once the deepest detail observed to offer up sacrifices in the form of blood and money, and strict rules in the observing of the Sabbath, we have on the other hand this man called Jesus Christ who comes along and tells us that the greatest commandment is to love the Lord with all your heart and to love your neighbor as yourself. And what’s more, he says the Sabbath was made for man and not vice versa! A new day is dawning…
But continuing in our reading in Exodus, we find that it is in this passage that Moses receives the two tablets given to him directly by God that supposedly contained the Ten Commandments. Having received all the instructions on how to conduct themselves for worship–along with a host of rules and regulations on daily living–Moses descends from the mountain with the two tablets in hand. Let us see what might come of all this in the days to come…
Turning next to Matthew, we come to the chapter that contains the account of the arrest and trial of Jesus. This is a chilling account starting with Judas’ sign of betrayal with a kiss, Jesus’ willing surrender, the trial before the Sanhedrin (the group of high priests), the final charges of blasphemy on which Jesus is convicted, and the beginning of the gruesome ordeal that will lead up to the crucifixion.
This is the God of Heaven and Earth being reduced to a punching bag by a bunch of mere mortals! Jesus himself says, 53 Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? 54 But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?”
In our Psalm for the day, we find David offering up an intimate prayer of supplication and affirmation in God’s care. There is also instruction and admonition for the generations to come. He says:
9 Do not be like the horse or the mule,
which have no understanding
but must be controlled by bit and bridle
or they will not come to you.
10 Many are the woes of the wicked,
but the LORD’s unfailing love
surrounds the man who trusts in him.
Finally, the passage in Proverbs is one in which Solomon, son of David, and wise king of Israel serves as a mouthpiece of God himself in these words. This is the great majesty of the God of the universe who allowed himself to become one of his own creation.
The creator becomes the creation. And allows atrocities to be done unto him. Why? Because he loved me. And wanted to reconcile me to himself. Once and for all. But the choice is mine to accept him. Imagine Jesus uttering these words, and then imagine him being struck and slapped by the crowds:
27 I was there when he set the heavens in place,
when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep,
28 when he established the clouds above
and fixed securely the fountains of the deep,
29 when he gave the sea its boundary
so the waters would not overstep his command,
and when he marked out the foundations of the earth.
30 Then I was the craftsman at his side.
I was filled with delight day after day,
rejoicing always in his presence,
31 rejoicing in his whole world
and delighting in mankind.
May God bless the reading and reflection of His Word. Amen.
Amaretto Cherry Cordial on Honey Pistachio: Because Pie is Unparalleled
Wrist-Flicking in a Skillet: Because Art is to Be Eaten
“Mommy, I’m so unhappy when you’re away!”
EXODUS 29:1-30:10 | MATTHEW 26:14-46 | PSALM 31:19-24 | PROVERBS 8:14-26
Click on the link below to listen to an audio recording of this post:
The information given to Moses on the consecration and ordination of the priesthood is excruciatingly detailed. The many blood offerings for a variety of purposes is carefully followed for generations to come. That’s how it was: a live sacrifice that bears the sins of the person or the occasion, and was good for that one time only.
Without the shedding of blood–the source of all life–there is no atonement of sin. And so, the animals served this purpose. As much as possible, those with the least blemishes, i.e., the most perfect ones were chosen to serve as a sacrificial offering. And it all happened in the most structured way administered by the priests in the Temple.
Several thousand years later, as documented in the Book of Matthew, another sacrifice is being readied for the altar. Only, this time it is God incarnate preparing to be the one to take on the sins of the entire world, and to become the perfect sacrifice. Once and for all. No more animals needed. And no priests necessary.
Jesus, the Son of God–God himself–has provided for a sacrifice that will be the ultimate one. He was the Messiah come unto his own, but his own received him not. In fact, they betrayed him. And so, the plan was revised to allow for the divinity of the Messiah to be made available to one and all– both Jew and Gentile could now boldly become the beneficiaries of this great atonement.
And so, Jesus prepares to become this sacrifice. He is God himself, and yet he is human. There is none other like him. Who is this man? How could he take upon himself all my sins and be my sacrifice so that I have no need to bring another sacrifice to the altar ever again? Why is he doing this for me? What do I pay him?
Ponder on these things, my friend. May it be that the awareness of your great need for a permanent atonement will begin to become a clear one. May it be that you would recognize this for what it is: an amazing gift.
Jesus, the sacrifice, tells his disciples: 26“Take and eat; this is my body.” 27 Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins”
And soon it will be time for the Son of God to bear the sins of the world. And it will be a final sacrifice. And it will be the perfect one.
Turning now to the Psalms, we find David affirming his faith in the God of his fathers and forefathers to whom he cries out every now again in the most plaintive way, not unlike our own cries:21 Praise be to the LORD,
for he showed his wonderful love to me when I was in a besieged city.
22 In my alarm I said, “I am cut off from your sight!”
Yet you heard my cry for mercy when I called to you for help.
Finally, the passage from Proverbs is one in which we hear God himself describe himself. This is the same God who is now preparing to give himself up as the ultimate sacrifice. The God from whom all things flow is now readying himself in all his humanity and his divinity to pay the ultimate price — his own blood. For me. So that I might never again need to atone for my sins with an animal sacrifice. And so that I might approach him forevermore directly.
I have no need for Aaron or his descendants. What a plan! What a gift!
May God bless the reading and reflection of His Word. Amen.
“Mommy, I love dividing my time between AA and L!”
