reading for: 13 JANUARY

John 1:43-51

The God who Calls Us out of Skepticism into Surrender

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The people Jesus encounters are always provoked to make a judgment about him. They must decide for him or against him. In this passage, we see in this meeting between Jesus and Nathanael, the challenge of accepting or rejecting Jesus and the movement of his heart towards faith in Jesus and Jesus’ amazing response to him. 

The story opens with the calling of Philip, followed by Philip’s invitation to Nathanael, the conversation between Philip and Nathanael, and finally the longer conversation between Jesus and Nathanael.  

Jesus’ call to Philip to follow him, takes us back to the previous scene where Andrew and Simon Peter are called. Philip’s identification of Jesus in v. 45 reminds us of Andrew’s claim about Jesus in v. 41. However, in this story, Philip’s proclamation of Jesus’ identity is at first greeted with skepticism. Nathanael’s reply, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” points back to John 1:10–11 where “(Jesus’) own people did not accept him”. In the passage, Nathanael does not at first respond to the proclamation about Jesus (v46). 

When Jesus finally meets Nathanael, he calls him “an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” Jesus looks right into his heart and sees the authenticity of Nathanael. What Nathanael had asked aloud on his lips was truly what he questioned in his heart. He didn’t hide his unbelief or skepticism. In the same way, when faith finally enters his heart and Nathanael declares, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Jesus could see words and heart are one, and that Nathanael really means it with his whole heart. 

And upon seeing this real change of heart, Jesus responds to Nathanael with a promise that he “will see greater things than these”, meaning that he will witness the fullness of the Father’s confirmation of his declaration and receive the full revelation of Jesus, the glory of the Son of God, the King of Israel (vs. 50–51).

• REFLECT

  Nathanael’s heart moved from skeptical rejection to affirmation of faith. There is no middle ground. In Rev Dowdy’s sermon last Sunday, she taught us that ‘God either has ALL of us or He has NONE’. Do you want to know God as He knows you? Are you willing to let him have your whole heart? And is the confession of your lips consistent with the faith in your heart, the decisions of your mind and work of your hands? Ask the Lord to help you ‘decompartmentalise’ your life and love Him as an integrated and whole human being. 

reading for: 14 JANUARY

1 Samuel 3:1–10 (11–20) 

 The God who Calls and Acts for Our Sake

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  It’s best to read this famous story from 3:1-20. Then you will see the story is much more than about a boy who can hear God’s voice. It is about God’s overthrow of the old order because of the failure of the priestly family, which has been greedy and disobedient and the rise of the boy Samuel into an adult figure, central to the life and politics of Israel. Through the story, we see the persistence of God, the dullness of Eli, and the pure and innocent responsiveness of Samuel. 

  The opening verse (vs1), matched by the conclusion (vs. 19–21), concerns the “Word of the LORD,” - God’s concrete will and specific purpose voiced by chosen human agents (prophets). In vs. 2–9, this narrative we find an old feeble priest Eli, who represents a failed priesthood that has lost its authority and its credibility, and the young boy Samuel, his young apprentice who turns out to be more discerning and more responsive to God than is the family of Eli. The third character in this narrative is The Lord (God), who appears as a voice who is imposing, intruding, and very much involved and orchestrating things. 

  In v. 4, God addresses Samuel directly, and Samuel answers. Samuel, however, is undiscerning in this first occasion as to who it is who is speaking to him and intruding upon his sleep. A second time God addresses Samuel directly. Again Samuel doesn’t recognise God’s voice (v. 6). A third time God addresses Samuel, and yet a third time Samuel misunderstands (v. 8). In this third case, finally, Eli sorts out the confusion and rightly interprets for the boy what is in fact happening. Eli is not so old or so distracted that he cannot recognise the holy voice that intrudes where least expected. It comes as no great surprise to Eli that God speaks. A fourth time God calls; Samuel, instructed by Eli, is now ready to listen (v. 10). So God makes a long speech (vs. 11–12). Samuel is warned that God is about to issue a terrible verdict that will be deeply disturbing, causing the tingling of ears. Verses 12–13 points to the sentence against the priestly house of Eli, promising that it will be destroyed because of Eli’s disobedient sons (see 2:12–17). 

  Finally in v. 14 God utters a climactic “therefore,” indicating that the house of Eli is lost beyond any rescue. This is a moment of deep dread in the story, because God has taken away the priesthood and rituals that Israel has relied heavily upon. Because God has revealed his terrible plan to the young boy Samuel, Samuel is afraid to tell Eli because he knows that Israel’s power arrangements are about to be drastically changed (v15). But finally when pressed by Eli, Samuel tells everything (16-18). The old priest is told directly to his face that his order and his house are to be ended and he is to be expelled from the priesthood. Eli recognises that “It is the Lord” who is behind all this (v. 18). Eli is immediately submissive and accepting, in no way questioning or resisting the verdict given by the boy, which he accepts as the truth. The last verses (vs. 19–24) look back to v. 1 and focus on the larger issue of Samuel’s rise to power and authority. As in v. 1, these verses concern the “word of the LORD,” which is carried by the boy, who by now has become a powerful voice of God. 

• REFLECT

  The chapter begins with and ends with Samuel and the Word. In between, how the Word effects a change in power and the removal of Eli and his house. We also see that young Samuel is a model for us of someone who is completely responsive and obedient to the Word. It is God’s word and purpose that stands outside every human strategy, which causes the rise and fall of those in power.

  Reflect on world events and governments, bosses and leaders in the workplace, the local community or at home. Do you only see humans in power or can you discern God’s redemptive proposes working through both the good and bad? Ask the Lord for His Will to be done (on earth as it is in Heaven) ask also for a humble pure heart that is able to hear His voice and desire and strength to respond in obedience. Pray for God’s blessing over those whom God has placed over you. 

reading for: 15 january

1 Corinthians 6:12–20 

The God who calls and forms as living stones of His Temple

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  The ‘Body’ is an important picture that the Apostle Paul uses in his letters to encourage the Corinthian congregation toward unity, urging them to “be united in the same mind and same purpose” (1:10). Here in 1 Corinthians 6:12-20, Paul takes another approach to the unified body metaphor by instructing the Corinthians about how their individual actions may be negatively affecting the whole of the congregation. 

  For Paul, the ‘body’ is used as both an individual entity and a metaphor for the whole of the congregation. That’s why harm to one individual’s body is a harm done to the whole of the congregation. Thus, the individual body is important not only because of its relationship to Christ himself but also because of the ways in which individuals are joined together in the church.

  Paul starts by addressing their claim that “all things are lawful.” And immediately counters it with insisting that not all things are helpful, suggesting that their belief is wrong both in terms of the corporate body of believers in the Corinthian church and in the individual’s physical body. 

  Paul’s deep concern with the physical body arises from the close relationship that he understands existing between the body and Christ. In verse 13, Paul makes an analogy suggesting that the relationship between stomachs and food is comparable to the relationship between the Lord and the body. That is, the intimate, in-dwelling relationship of food to the stomach points to a similar relationship between the Lord and human bodies. 

  This idea of an intimate relationship between the believer’s body and the Lord continues in verses 16-17 as Paul develops an analogy to marriage to describe how the Corinthians should understand their relationship to Christ. Paraphrasing Genesis 2:24, Paul reminds his readers that marriage unites two individuals into one flesh (vs 16). In verse 17, the union between the believer and Christ is of an even deeper and more important significance: it is not simply the union of flesh but the union of spirit. So, just as a person becomes one flesh with their spouse (6:16) and thus gives authority to the spouse over that flesh (7:4). In the same way, one becomes one spirit with Christ (1:17) and so gives authority to Christ over both flesh and spirit alike. 

  The connection between flesh and spirit continues into verse 19 as Paul stresses that the Corinthians’ body is the temple of the Spirit. Because of the joining of body and Spirit, the physical body becomes an important channel whereby an individual gains access to the very presence of God, much in the same way that ancient temples did.

• REFLECT

  The Scriptures do not teach Christians to regard ‘spiritual’ matters as more important than bodily ones. Any abuse of the human body (physical, emotional or psychological) whether through over-eating, under-eating, poor nutrition, lack of exercise, lack of sleep, and any number of other ills, destroys both our own ‘small temples’ of the Holy Spirit but also ultimately destroys the church, our brothers and sisters in Christ – His Temple. In a time where the COVID-19 pandemic continues to make us aware of the fragility of our human bodies, Paul’s words serve as a timely reminder that in caring for our bodies, we honour our own spiritual union with Christ, yielding authority of spirit and body to Christ’s life-giving desires for both.

  Are you taking care of your body? As Rev Dowdy, stressed, we have been bought with a price. We belong to Christ. This means that our bodies also don’t belong to us. They belong to Christ we need to take care of ourselves as good stewards of the bodies we have been blessed with. Do a personal audit and go for a health check. Look after your fellow LG members too.

reading for: 16 january

Psalm 139:1–6, 13–18

The God who knows me intimately chooses me and calls me to Himself

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  This wonderful hymn sings not just of a God who cares, but of a God whose being is so intimately connected with our own that that being (and that Being) forms part of the fabric of the person each of us is. Like the other readings this week, Ps. 139 also describes a God who takes the initiative and how each individual belongs to God, so that our knowledge of God derives not from some superior skill of our own, but from God’s knowledge of and care for us. 

  Verses 1–6 describe how each of us stands completely naked before God, that there is no aspect of our lives—even of our most secret impulses—that is hidden from God. 

  At first, this may not appear to be good news, for a God who invades our deepest privacy may also intimidate and tyrannise us. However, the God who is portrayed here is not a tyrant who comes to condemn. Rather God is so intimately involved with creation that God engages it at its deepest levels. Yet the involvement is not just with creation in general, but with the human being, that part of creation with which God has a special relationship. And not just with any human being, but with me! 

  In v. 6, the consequence of the encounter with this God is not some kind of union with or mastery over God. God may know me more intimately than I know myself, but the reverse is not true. My posture before God is one of awe and wonder. This is a God who cannot be fully known or grasped by mere mortals. In a sense it is curious that there is no direct mention in the entire psalm of God’s love either for the individual or for God’s partner-in-the-covenant, Israel. 

  The amazing truth is that this God seeks us, or, more pointedly, this God seeks me! And in the act of God’s seeking me and finding me, I discover my own identity as God’s beloved creature. (If there exist in the mind of the reader of this psalm any doubts that God’s basic attitude is one of love, the tender lines of v. 10—which are not in the lection—should dispel them.) 

  Verses 13–18 constitute the second section, and they carry forward and amplify the themes laid out in vs. 1–6. The psalmist wishes to make clear that God’s involvement in the life of each person is not an ad hoc relationship or the result of an afterthought. “You knit me together in my mother’s womb” (v. 13) stresses God’s involvement in the creation of the individual, while v. 16 not only credits the person’s total life span to God, but speaks of God’s premeditation in bringing the individual into existence and in shaping his or her life. 

  And, as in the case of vs. 1–6, the result of all this is a sense of joyful astonishment on the part of the psalmist. Verses 17–18 declare the same wonder and awe as that projected by v. 6. The God who presided over my beginning stands present at my life’s fulfilment! This God whom I cannot understand understands me and loves me and provides for me.

• REFLECT

  Take time to consider your journey. Can you recall moments of God’s comforting presence in your life? Are you confident of his love and grace for you and your family? His choosing of you and calling you to Himself is not conditioned by your goodness or competence or gifting. It is entirely a work of His grace. What feelings towards God does this truth raise in you? Respond to God in prayer.