Feet

And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” But not all have obeyed the good news, for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?” So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ. But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have: “Their voice has gone out to all the earth and their words to the ends of the world.” Again I ask, did Israel not understand? First Moses says, “I will use those who are not a nation to make you jealous; with a foolish nation I will provoke you.” Then Isaiah is so bold as to say, “I have been found by those who did not seek me; I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me.” But of Israel he says, “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.” (Romans 10:15b-21, NRSVue)

“How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

Most of us do not want others to see our feet; they are smelly, dirty, and weird-looking, and we do not want people to see them or touch them or anything.

We go over the foot washing because we do not want people touching our feet.

But the scripture says our feet are beautiful when we bring the good news in a way.

Your feet are beautiful when you are a messenger of hope!

Have beautiful feet and love like Jesus.

building you up

I have been a fool! You forced me to it. Indeed you should have been the ones commending me, for I am not at all inferior to these super-apostles, even though I am nothing. The signs of an apostle were performed among you with utmost patience, signs and wonders and mighty works. How have you been worse off than the other churches, except that I myself did not burden you? Forgive me this wrong! Here I am, ready to come to you this third time, and I will not be a burden because I do not want what is yours but you, for children ought not to save up for their parents but parents for their children. I will most gladly spend and be spent for you. If I love you more, am I to be loved less? Be that as it may, I did not burden you. But, crafty person that I am, did I take you in by deceit? Did I take advantage of you through any of those whom I sent to you? I urged Titus to go and sent the brother with him. Titus did not take advantage of you, did he? Did we not conduct ourselves with the same spirit? Did we not walk in the same footsteps? Have you been thinking all along that we have been defending ourselves before you? We are speaking in Christ before God. Everything we do, beloved, is for the sake of building you up. For I fear that when I come I may find you not as I wish and that you may find me not as you wish; I fear that there may perhaps be quarreling, jealousy, anger, selfishness, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder. I fear that when I come again my God may humble me before you and that I may have to mourn over many who previously sinned and have not repented of the impurity, sexual immorality, and debauchery that they have practiced. (2 Corinthians 12:11-21, NRSVue)

“Everything we do, beloved, is for the sake of building you up.”

I try to live my life as a person who says what he means and does what he says. I am as far as I try to compose myself a person of integrity. I do what I say I will, and I am who I say I am in person, online, and all other times. I walk the walk and talk the talk.

This is how we all should live. When we are always honest, we do not have to have a good memory. Only those who twist the truth have to remember everything verbatim.

So be a person of integrity and work on the mutual building up of the body of Christ.

house divided

Then they brought to him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and he cured him, so that the one who had been mute could speak and see. All the crowds were amazed and were saying, “Can this be the Son of David?” But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons, that this man casts out the demons.” He knew what they were thinking and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how, then, will his kingdom stand? If I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own exorcists cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man? Then indeed the house can be plundered. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. Therefore I tell you, people will be forgiven for every sin and blasphemy, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come. (Matthew 12:22-32, NRSVue)

How can Satan cast out Satan?

You can not do this. Whoever chooses the role of judge to decide who is in and who is out is not with God but is someone who divides and scatters the people and is not with Jesus.

And here we have the unforgivable sin, blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. What does that mean? I always thought it meant saying that God is not able to do as God pleases and has to do things my way, which we would never say out loud but always would believe. Do not think you are smarter than God or know how to do things better than God. Live how God has called you to live and do what God has called you to do.

Do not divide but unite.

Do not judge but love.

Do not separate but bring together.

Love like Jesus.

kept my word

“And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:
These are the words of the Holy One, the True One, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens:
“I know your works. Look, I have set before you an open door that no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not but are lying—I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you. Because you have kept my word of endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth. I am coming soon; hold fast to what you have, so that no one takes away your crown. If you conquer, I will make you a pillar in the temple of my God; you will never go out of it. I will write on you the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem that comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name. Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches. (Revelation 3:7-13, NRSVue)

Because you have kept my word and have not denied my name, I will keep you from the trial.

It honestly is that easy. Keep the word of the Lord and do as we were told. Love as Christ loves. Love all and do not be selective of who is in or out because you are not that powerful, and that is way above your pay grade. You need to love.

Love in all things and keep the word of the Lord, and know this will keep you from trial.

Love like Jesus and feel the love!

you are dead

“And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars:
“I know your works; you have a name of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up and strengthen what remains and is on the point of death, for I have not found your works perfect in the sight of my God. Remember, then, what you received and heard; obey it and repent. If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you. Yet you have still a few persons in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes; they will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. If you conquer, you will be clothed like them in white robes, and I will not erase your name from the book of life; I will confess your name before my Father and before his angels. Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches. (Revelation 3:1-6, NRSVue)

You have a name and seem alive, but you are actually a zombie. A walking dead.

Wake up and see what is happening around you and live in the love that God has given you. Do not just float through life and go through the motions, but live.

Be alive in Christ and share God’s love in all you do.

ὀπίσω μου

From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.” But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me, for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.” Then Jesus told his disciples, “If any wish to come after me, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life? “For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done. Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.” (Matthew 16:21-28, NRSVue)

Jesus turned and said to Peter, “ὕπαγε ὀπίσω μου, σατανᾶ.” Which translates to “Get behind me, Satan.” I always find this interesting because Jesus uses the phrase “ὀπίσω μου” earlier in the gospel of Matthew. In Matthew 4, Jesus was walking along the shoreline and saw Peter and Andrew and James and John, and he said to them, “ὀπίσω μου,” Follow me.

Peter here thinks he knows what is best and what needs to happen with Jesus. He does not understand what will happen and wants it to play out the way he thinks it should.

Peter does not get it like we so often do not get it.

When we follow Jesus, we need to know our place and not think of it as walking with a friend; not that Jesus is not our friend, but that Jesus is our lord and God. We are following where he leads and doing what he tells us to do, and when that happens and we are in our proper place, we will see the back of his head. He is the leader, and we go where he leads, not the other way around.

Know your place and look for the back of Jesus’ head.

restored to community

When Jesus entered Peter’s house, he saw his mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever; he touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she got up and began to serve him. That evening they brought to him many who were possessed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and cured all who were sick. This was to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah, “He took our infirmities and bore our diseases.” (Matthew 8:14-17, NRSVue)

I have a love-hate relationship with this text because Jesus saw Peter’s mother-in-law sick in bed, and Jesus healed her, and immediately she got up and served them. She served them because in a patriarchal society, that was what was proper for women to be doing. She was restored to her place in community, but she did not have to serve them.

Jesus, in healing people, not only took away the physical infirmities, but he restored people to community.

What can you do to restore people to community?

mystery of lawlessness

For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work, but only until the one who now restrains it is removed. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will destroy with the breath of his mouth, annihilating him by the manifestation of his coming. The coming of the lawless one is apparent in the working of Satan, who uses all power, signs, lying wonders, and every kind of wicked deception for those who are perishing because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion, leading them to believe what is false, so that all who have not believed the truth but took pleasure in unrighteousness will be condemned. (2 Thessalonians 2:7-12, NRSVue)

What is the mystery of lawlessness? It is the working of evil in our midst. One who is restrained will be reveled and Jesus will destroy them. Jesus will do this through his breath, which brings life, and through his coming. When this happens, all lawlessness will be done with, and the kindom of God will be fully at hand.

This lawlessness comes through Satan, who uses deception to make people live for themselves and not for the truth.

Do not be part of lawlessness but love like Jesus.

walk in love

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. But sexual immorality and impurity of any kind or greed must not even be mentioned among you, as is proper among saints. Entirely out of place is obscene, silly, and vulgar talk; but instead, let there be thanksgiving. Be sure of this, that no sexually immoral or impure person or one who is greedy (that is, an idolater) has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes on those who are disobedient. (Ephesians 5:1-6, NRSVue)

Be imitators of God and walk in love.

Love as Christ loved. Give your life in love of the creation God made.

Do not be greedy or an idolater, but love God and do not hoard for yourself.

Walk in love.

Who was upset?

Now while Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very costly ointment, and she poured it on his head as he sat at the table. But when the disciples saw it, they were angry and said, “Why this waste? For this ointment could have been sold for a large sum and the money given to the poor.” But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? She has performed a good service for me. For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me. By pouring this ointment on my body she has prepared me for burial. Truly I tell you, wherever this good news is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in remembrance of her.” (Matthew 26:6-13, NRSVue)

As I read this story to write this devotional, a story I have read once every three years, and I have been ordained as a pastor for 20 years, so that is at least 6, if not 7, times I have read this story, something new popped out at me.

While Jesus was at the home of Simon, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very costly ointment, and she poured it on his head as he sat at the table, and the disciples saw it and became angry. I have always remembered this story as Judas got upset because he was stealing from the purse and knew this was money he would have had. But that is a different gospel, and maybe a different story altogether. We take these stories that sound the same and morph them into one. You might also be thinking about this woman as the one who wipes Jesus’ feet with her hair, but here the ointment is put on his head, and not his feet, and the woman who washes Jesus’ feet is in Luke.

But the disciples, all of them, were upset. And Jesus said, she will always be remembered because of her gift to me. But we do not know her name or anything about her. She prepared Jesus for burial and is always remembered. While the disciples are upset.

What upsets you about Jesus? Or this story? Or the good news for all people?

How would you have used the ointment?