Sharing the Word
“Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.” Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1803-1882
I ran across this quote this morning. I’m not sure where it is recorded, but it’s good advice for us in such a contentious time as this.
As we go about sharing God’s Word with those around us, I appreciate St. Paul’s advice to Timothy. Granted, it’s aimed at the pastoral office, but are we not all witnesses to grace of God in the suffering, death, and resurrection of Christ Jesus to forgive the sins of the world?
2 Timothy 4: I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. 3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions,4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. 5 As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
Still, I must remember that there will be persecution in these latter days. Jesus forewarned His disciples about this. John 15: 18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” The book of Revelation, too, tries to strengthen us before persecution falls upon us.
Until that time is abundantly clear, I’ll go with Emerson’s sage reminder. Contradiction does not equal persecution. With respect to God’s Word, it merely means there is an opportunity for the Holy Spirit to change someone’s eternal well-being!
Feeling a certain pull, today.
One of the people I follow on Instagram starts a daily installment with the words “Hey, everybody, it’s (day of the week). I hope you’re getting outside and getting some of that fresh air.” He posts other reels, but this is an almost daily routine and it started something, today.
I opened my study window at the church to get some of that “fresh air.” What also floats through the window this morning are the sounds of one of the grades of Concordia Lutheran School. They are making use of Redeemer’s pavilion, fire pit, and woodland walking trails for a day of outdoor education. Those are some great and joyous sounds wafting in on that fresh air!
What was started by Instagram and bolstered by the school kids is a gradual acknowledgment of how much I enjoy the out of doors. One of my favorite parts of the day, running from mid-May well into September, is getting outside and watering Jami’s beautifully chosen flowers. This year, we added some lemon basil, parsley, squash, bell pepper, and tomato plants in our three raised plant beds.
Every Labor Day I look forward to getting back into the Rocky Mountains on horseback. This year, lamentably, the Roof Top Riders are not able to have a ride. Guess I’ll make do with a few more treks on the above-mentioned woodland walking trails!
“For you shall go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and the hills before you
shall break forth into singing,
and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.” (Isiah 55:12)
Get out there and get yourself some of that God-given fresh air and enjoy His glorious creation, today!
Sharing the Word
As one of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod (LCMS) pastors affiliated with a parochial school it’s been my honor to begin the year by teaching the 8th grade religion class at the start of the day at Concordia Lutheran School. Today, I was also relieved to find that our drill this week was for tornadoes and other foul weather and not a fire drill – we didn’t have to go outside (high today of 101 degrees with heat index of 115) but got to stay in the building! But I digress…
It’s also been nice to start the year with new curricula. All of the grade levels are on the same Biblical lesson each week. This orients our weeks and helps anchor the chapel homilies on Wednesdays.
The first week we started, of course, with Genesis. By the time for chapel in week two we were in Genesis chapter three. This is a chapter rich in theology! We have Satan lying and tempting Adam and Eve to sin. We have Martin Luther’s assertion that the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was the first altar in the world – where Adam and Eve would sacrifice their desires to determine good and evil and simply rely on God to teach them.
Alas, they fell into sin with their disobedience. But then, along with the listing of the consequences we have the promise of a Savior Who, though His heal would be crushed, would crush the head of Satan (Genesis 3:15). This Jesus does in delivering the mortal blow through His crucifixion and resurrection to forgive the sins of the world!
One last blessing of the start of the school year is the theme chosen for the year. It’s a good theme for all of us, regardless of the time of year. Joshua 1: 9 “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”