This Road

Today is Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent. If you grew up in a protestant background similar to mine, Lent might be an unfamiliar season for you. It was only eight years ago that I began to look into what the season of Lent really means. In short, Lent is a time for repentance. As the theologian, Robert Webber puts it, “Lent calls us back to God, back to basics, back to the spiritual realities of life. It calls us to put to death the sin and the indifference we have in our hearts toward God and our fellow persons. And it beckons us to enter once again into the joy of the Lord–the joy of a new life born out of death to the old life.”

Notes:

Daily Readings

Ancient-Future Time, by Robert E. Webber

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Music:

It's Always Darkest Before Dawn by Hill

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Today is Transfiguration Sunday. A time when we embrace the mysterious moment when Jesus was changed before the eyes of Peter, James, and John. Changed into what exactly? We don’t know, but something about Jesus changed so dramatically that the church has been trying to properly explain it ever since.

Notes:

Daily Readings

Ancient-Future Time, by Robert E. Webber

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Music:

Wandering About by Be Still the Earth

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How often do you actively think about servanthood? Is it something you actively pursue?

As we continue reading through Mark’s Gospel, we come across a brief encounter that Jesus has with Simon’s Mother-in-Law. Upon entering Simon’s house, we find that his mother-in-law is sick and in bed. Without mentioning much to anyone, Mark tells us that Jesus walked to her side, took her by the hand, lifted her up, and immediately she was healed.

Notes:

Daily Readings

Ancient-Future Time, by Robert E. Webber

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Music:

Eggshell Skyline by Pete Cody Martin

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Today, each of us has the opportunity to follow this Messiah. The one who speaks with authority and acts with love and justice. When I read the man's story with the unclean spirit, I can't help but imagine myself in his shoes. Just as Christ changed his life and purified it of this evil, he is doing the same in my life. Since the day I decided to become a disciple of Jesus, my life has been renewing and eliminating evil in my soul.

Notes:

Daily Readings

Ancient-Future Time, by Robert E. Webber

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Music:

Wings on Butterflies by Pete Stewart

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How do we use our words today? Only a few words can make a difference. The frightening thing to me is how I may be completely unaware of what kind of difference my words might make to someone. It is a consequential responsibility, especially for anyone who would claim to be a follower of Jesus.

Notes:

Daily Readings

Ancient-Future Time, by Robert E. Webber

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Music:

Azure by Alice in Winter

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In the first chapter of John’s Gospel, we find the calling of Nathanael. In John 1:43-46, we read, “The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Nathanael has an opinion of where Jesus grew up. “How could anything good come from Nazareth?” Why did Nathanael respond to Phillip this way? Truthfully, we don’t know. For me, though, it is hard to read his response without putting it into the context of our current world. When I read Nathanael’s reaction to Phillip, I cannot help but wonder how often I have looked down on someone because of where they came from or what their education or social status might be. Truthfully, it is way too easy to judge a book by its cover.

Notes:

Daily Readings

Ancient-Future Time, by Robert E. Webber

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Music:

Mondays by Simple Thieves

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For many of the Christian faith, today marks the observance of the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River. In Mark, chapter one, “In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you, I am well pleased.”

Place yourself in the river with John the Baptist and Jesus. The river is flowing downstream, time passing from here to eternity. As John dunks Jesus below the surface, suddenly the divide between heaven and earth is eliminated. God anoints his son as just that: the Son of God. As John and the other witnesses observed, this was not only a man born under unique circumstances; he was truly divine.

Why was Jesus baptized? He was baptized to fulfill the prophecies of the Lamb, who would come to take away the sins of the world. From the waters of the Jordan to the cross, Jesus' path is now set in motion.

But, this story is not only about Jesus. It is also about us.

Notes:

Daily Readings

Ancient-Future Time, by Robert E. Webber

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Music:

Anything but Ordinary by Acreage

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Today is the Second Sunday After Christmas, but I would like to observe a day that will happen later this week, on January 6. Traditionally, January 6 marks the end of Christmas and the beginning of Epiphany. This is a Christian holiday commemorating the first manifestation of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, represented by the Magi, and his divinity.

Notes:

Daily Readings

Ancient-Future Time, by Robert E. Webber

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Full Show Notes

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Music:

Lavender by Acreage

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Merry Christmas, everyone. That’s right; it is still Christmas according to the church calendar. Today is the first Sunday after Christmas and the third day of Christmastide. Christmastide is the celebration set aside for the church, beginning on Christmas Day and ending with Epiphany. 

A traditional reading for the first Sunday after Christmas is Simeon and Anna encountering the baby Jesus at the temple. In Luke 2, verses 22-40, we read that Simeon was a devout man who received word from the Holy Spirit that he would see the prophesied Messiah with his own eyes. Anna was a widow who spent night and day in the temple, praying and fasting. Her commitment was unceasing.

Notes:

Daily Readings

Ancient-Future Time, by Robert E. Webber

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Music:

Auld Lang Syne by The Seasons

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Today, on Christmas, may I encourage you to take heart. Salvation has come. A light shines in the darkness, and the world will not overcome it.

Notes:

Daily Readings

Ancient-Future Time, by Robert E. Webber

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Music:

In Your Eyes by Great Oaks

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