PENTECOST • 32

How Great is Our God?

This week’s passage invites us to consider God’s wisdom and power against ours.

TO ACCOMPANY YOUR LECTIONARY READINGS, LISTEN TO THIS SONGS WHILE YOU MEDITATE ON THE WORD:

How Great is Our God (Chris Tomlin, Ed Cash, Jesse Reeves) - https://youtu.be/XAtsDQ3z-9o

Goodness of God (Ben Fielding, Brian Johnson, Ed Cash, Jason Ingram, Jenn Johnson) - https://youtu.be/s1BK6CxGBNw

Way Maker (Osinachi Kalu Okoro Egbu) - https://youtu.be/Vb9b6P5QduY

Still (Reuben Morgan) - https://youtu.be/p0B-yfgmezM

reading for: 16 June

Mark 4:35-41

Who is able to lead us right into a storm and then calm it?

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The early part of Mark’s Gospel relates in dramatic ways the in-breaking of God’s reign in the life and actions of Jesus. Jesus’ statement in Mark 1:14–15 where he says, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near” sets the agenda for the incidents of his ministry that follow in the narrative. Today’s reading (Mark 4:35-41) is actually the first act out of four amazing deeds that of and continues through 6:6 (the calming of the storm, the healings of the Gerasene demoniac and the woman with a flow of blood, and the raising of Jairus’ daughter). These four deeds are followed by a response of unbelief by the citizens in Jesus’ hometown. In today’s reading, we begin to get a sense of what it means that “the kingdom of God has come near.”

The amazing event of the stilling of the winds and sea takes on added meaning when we recognize that throughout the Old Testament, the sea often symbolizes chaos, confusion, turmoil or a great disorder. Repeatedly in the psalms God is praised as the One who “divided the sea by your might” and “broke the heads of the dragons in the waters” (Ps. 74:13; see Job 38:8–11). God’s power at the time of the exodus from Egypt is described as a rebuke of the sea and a control of the waters (Pss. 106:9; 114). Thus, when Jesus calms the storm it is not merely a demonstration of his power over nature, but a redemptive act in which the chaotic forces of the sea, like the demons, are “rebuked” (Mark 4:39). The miracle has a purpose in the rescue of disciples from fear and disorder.

There are four interesting things to note in the story. Firstly, the suggestion to go across the sea at night came from Jesus himself (v35). Did he not know that a storm was going to happen? Wasn’t it then Jesus’ to blame for the crisis when the weather changed? After all, the journey was his idea.

Secondly, the storm was frightful. The boat was in great distress, “already being swamped.” (v37). The disciples, were not overreacting when they woke Jesus with the frantic cry, “Do you not care that we are perishing?” Their situation was desperate, and they turned to the one who brought them on this trip in the first place.

Thirdly, Jesus’ sleep reveals his own trust in God that brought him remarkable peace, even in the face of the storm and contrasts dramatically with the panic of the disciples at the chaos of the sea.

Fourthly, the disciples’ panic shows that they have not yet reached a point of profound trust in Jesus. Though they have received special instructions from Jesus himself (v. 34), they are still asking, “Who is this?” At the same time, they are awe-struck & trembling with fear by what Jesus has done.

From the narrative, we can conclude that those times in the life of the church when it is threatened by the forces of chaos and confusion, they are forces that turn out to be no match for the reign of God present in the person of Jesus.

But the stories present us not merely with the presence of Jesus, who shares our predicament amid the storms of life, but with the power of Jesus, who can do something about the storms. Here we have not so much with a strategy for coping, as with a promise of God’s Presence with us.

  • REFLECT

The Covid-19 pandemic has overturned many norms in our lives and brought upon many us great uncertainty and fear of the future. The recent Phase 2 heightened alert may give many a greater awareness of the realities of life we may have to continue to struggle through. But how aware are you of Jesus’ power and presence in your life? What might be his purpose for us if he leads us right smack into a storm? Spend time praying and seeking a revelation of His presence, not just an answer.

reading for: 17 June

Job 38:1-11

Who possessed the wisdom to create the heavens and the earth?

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    This passage contains God’s great response to Job regarding his questions about suffering. It occurs after Job has engaged his friends in a series of disputes about the nature of God, the meaning of human suffering, and a host of other issues (Job 3–31), and after Elihu has expressed his frustration with all the parties and delivers his own views (chap 32–37). Today’s text represents the core and thrust of all that God has to say. It is his final word on the matter.

    In its entirety (38:1–40:2) God’s first reply to Job is an artfully crafted wisdom poem that concerns both His power and wisdom. In fact, it is God’s special wisdom skills that are celebrated in this passage, and when these are compared to Job’s own lack of wisdom, they are seen to be all the more remarkable. Job, who dares to confront God, is characterised as one who “darkens counsel by words without knowledge” (v. 2). Here we begin to see the great gap that lies between Job and God, especially when God replies and challenges him, “Stand up and answer the questions I will put to you” (see v. 3).  Here, like other Old Testament passages, we see the asking of questions as a test of character as well as of intelligence (Judg. 14:10–20; 1 Kings 10:1).

    The basic question that God puts to Job, although it is expressed in a number of variations, is: “Who possessed the wisdom to create the heavens and the earth?” And the obvious answer is: Only God!

    The answer is so obvious, in fact, that it is never directly stated. Yet no one could possibly be in any confusion over the matter. (Note especially vs. 35–36, with their play on the words “wisdom” and “understanding.”) In fact, in a variation on the usual wisdom formulation, there is no apparent progression in this entire poem from questions whose answers are easily evident to those whose answers are uncertain. All Yahweh’s questions are equally self- assertive: God and only God owns the craft (“wisdom,” “understanding,” “knowledge”) to have created the heavens and the earth and to govern them day by day.

    Job’s sufferings are now seen as part of a vast scheme of things which is far too transcendent for any mere mortal to comprehend.

  • REFLECT

    When mankind in our pride and arrogance chose to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil (characterised by the figures of Adam & Eve in Genesis 3),  we chose to be like God, without God. We chose to get wisdom, knowledge and understanding of Creation and of life from a source apart from God Himself and apart from his timing to grown us in wisdom in relationship with Him.

    A Christian on the other hand, is one who repents and turns back to God as his/her Source and wisdom for life, by embracing the Gospel and following Jesus (1 Cor 1:18-2:16). What is the condition of your heart? Is it humble and teachable before God? Is it desirous and seeking true wisdom and understanding from Him?

reading for: 18 June

2 Corinthians 6:1-13

What’s God’s great concern for our relationship with Him and others?

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    Addressing all the believers in the church, in this portion of his letter, Paul reveals something about the way in which the gospel works in the world. At the heart of that address in this particular text is a plea for the Corinthians’ reconciliation with God, through reconciliation with Paul and his fellow Gospel ambassadors.

    A continuation of Paul’s argument that starts in Chapter 5:11 and centering on Chapter 5:20, Paul argues that reconciliation with God works out, and demands reconciliation with fellow men and therefore he writes forcefully and assertively about their need to be reconciled with Paul and with his fellow workers (Chap 6:11–13) otherwise the grace of reconciliation they have received from God is meaningless.

    In this passage, Paul first takes great pain to remind the Corinthians of his own “credentials” in the form of the hardships he and his colleagues have endured for the sake of the Gospel and the virtues they have exercised in their ministry. Such apparent self-justification is important because they must remember his Gospel calling and authority over them as their spiritual father (v13).

    So we see the opening lines of Chapter 6 continuing Paul’s earlier exhortation in 5:20: “Be reconciled to God.” God has initiated reconciliation (vs. 18–19), God has sent ambassadors on behalf of that reconciliation, and it is human beings who need only to respond to God’s reconciling act. Our attention is drawn to the urgency of the matter in verses 1–2. The Corinthians should not allow God’s grace to be “in vain,” but should accept the reconciliation offered them. The “now” and the “day of salvation” of v. 2 places Paul’s appeal in its eschatological context. Accepting God’s reconciliation is crucial, not because God may withdraw the offer or change the terms, but because the Corinthians themselves need to understand the greatness of God’s gift.

    This passage is not only about a relationship between God and the Corinthians, however. In 6:3 the subject becomes the nature of Paul’s apostleship. Paul lists first the difficulties the apostles have faced (vs. 4–5), then their exemplary behaviour (vs. 6–7), and finally the Spirit/flesh divide created by the conflict between the way they are perceived by the world and the way they really are (vs. 8–10). He reminds the Corinthians of all this in order to demonstrate that he and his colleagues have indeed behaved in a way that deserves commendation.

    With verses 11–13 the appeal for reconciliation returns, this time, it is an appeal for reconciliation to Paul rather than to God. Yet somehow the two forms of reconciliation are interrelated. As becomes clear throughout 2 Corinthians, Paul understands the relationship between the apostle and the church to be one from which there is and can be no exit. As Paul will boast of the Corinthians on the “day of the Lord,” so will they boast of him (1:14); neither side can simply choose another partner.

    The relationship between the apostle and the church is important for the gospel message itself.  Their faith, their action, their manner of living the gospel reflects not only on the apostle through whom the gospel came to them, but on the gospel itself. In the relationship between Paul and the Corinthians, the Good News of Jesus is very much at stake.

  • REFLECT

    There is a close connection between reconciliation with others and our confession of faith. Can you see a need for reconciliation around you? How can you be a catalyst of reconciliation between LG members? How can you be a support and encouragement for reconciliation in the home and at the workplace? Pray for wisdom and discernment to play your part with the need God has revealed to you.

reading for: 19 June

Psalm 107:1-3, 23-32

How can we always remember His goodness and mercy?

  • READ

    Psalm 107, is a community hymn of praise. It was most likely used as part of a worship service where thanksgiving was offered by worshipers at a festival at the temple in Jerusalem. Four groups of people appear in its verses, together representing, perhaps, the four points of the compass and the “redeemed of the LORD” mentioned in verse 2. 

    Verses 4-9 tell of a group of wanderers, lost in the desert, who finally arrive at their destination. East of Palestine lays a vast desert which separates it from the eastern side of the Fertile Crescent, Mesopotamia. Few travelers in the ancient Near East dared any attempt to traverse this terrain. 

    Verses 10-16 tell the story of prisoners who are set free. The West is the place where the sun sets, the deathly place of darkness in which the sun dies every night as it makes its journey over the earthly realm. Like the ones wandering lost in the wilderness, the ones dwelling in darkness cry out to God, and God leads them out of darkness and the shadow of death and tears to pieces their bonds. 

    Verses 17-22 tell of “sick” persons who are healed. The word translated “sick” actually means “foolish ones.” The people of the ancient Near East associated sickness with foolishness or sin and understood it as God’s punishment for sin. In the books of the prophets, the North, the third direction mentioned in 107:3, was often depicted as the direction from which the punishment of God came to the ancient Israelites. 

    The fourth and last piece of Psalm 107, verses 23-32, tells the story of a group of sailors who are saved from shipwreck. It begins, in verse 23, “Some went down to the sea in ships, doing business on the mighty waters” and continues, in verse 26, “they mounted up to the heaven, they went down to the depths; their courage melted away in their calamity.”

    The sea represented another real threat to those who lived in the ancient Near East. Merchant ships sailing out of the Phoenician ports across the Mediterranean Sea often encountered difficulties in its unpredictable waters (recall the treacherous journeys of Paul in the book of Acts and the story of Jonah). Verses 25-29 depict God as the ruler of the sea, able to command its waters to do his bidding (see also Psalms 29:34; 65:7; 89:9-10; 95:5). A storm on the waters (verses 25-27) leads the sailors to cry out to God (verse 28). God then calms the waters and give the sailors rest “in the haven of their pleasure” (verse 30). 

  • REFLECT

    Each of the four portraits of Psalm 107 follows a precise format:

    1.      a description of the DISTRESS (verses 4-5, 10-12, 17-18, 23-27)

    2.      a prayer of PETITION to the Lord (verses 6, 13, 19, 28)

    3.      a description of the DELIVERY (verses 7, 14, 19-20, 29)

    4.      a prayer of THANKSGIVING (verses 8-9, 15-16, 21-22, 30-32)

     

    We are often very familiar with praying in times of distress (step 1) and petitioning the Lord for His intervention (step 2) and giving thanks (step 4). Step 3 (description of the delivery) however, might not be so familiar to us. It requires a certain attentiveness and remembrance which might be something we are not used to. How is this step important for us in our daily life? What creative and exciting ways can you think of to help develop a good memory of God’s miracles and deliverance within your own life? And within your LG/Kampung?

Season of PentecostCNL