2 Corinthians 4 Jars of Clay

God often blows me away with how he does things. He uses ordinary people who struggle with sin, depression, doubt, fear, lack of faith and more. Even how Jesus saves us is upside down to many of us; Jesus takes our sin and punishment to the cross where he beats Satan. Think about that, Jesus wins by dying in a horrible way! In the cross we see how much Jesus loves us; there he brings us forgiveness and eternal life. Jesus calls us to follow and trust in him alone, to obey him in response to his love. Jesus knows that we’ll mess up again and again, and still he chooses us to build the kingdom of heaven here. Salvation’s not about getting to heaven; it’s about joining Jesus in his work in building the kingdom of heaven here.

Paul’s writing to the church in Corinth, a church he’s had fights with when they stopped listening to him and honoured richer and more popular teachers instead. Paul worked while he preached, he was poor and they were mostly rich, so they preferred preachers more like themselves. They didn’t understand that it’s through who we are as regular ordinary people that Jesus shines light and hope into the world. Jesus uses plain ordinary people like us to carry out his plans and build his kingdom here.

Question: why would Jesus use regular people like us to build his kingdom

Paul shows us how that works; describing us as clay jars and God is the potter who creates and shapes us. He talks about not losing heart because Jesus is the treasure; God’s glory that lives in us. That doesn’t mean that life’s always easy. As Paul says, the world is filled with darkness. We hear of people going on shooting sprees, or living in abusive relationships, of people living with depression, mental illness, deep poverty and more. Paul writes, “For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” Jesus is shining hope into the world and uses us because regular people connect with regular people. Each of us has a ministry of hope here!

Clay jars are common, ordinary and useful for storing almost anything, including treasure. Some were beautiful, most were plain. Just like life, when you’re working with pottery, things don’t always turn out as expected, but even the mess-ups can be used to create beauty when they’re broken up and used in mosaic tiles or art pieces. Even the pieces that are left over can be broken up and placed in the bottom of planting pots to help with drainage or placed on pathways to create variety. This means that the light of Jesus has opportunities everywhere to shine.

Clay jars are durable, but also vulnerable to cracking and breaking. That means most of us are probably cracked pots in one way or another. Paul acknowledges that we can feel hard pressed, perplexed, persecuted and even struck down at times, creating cracks, sometimes painful cracks in our lives. Paul wants us to understand that Jesus gives us strength and that whatever we accomplish comes from him and not ourselves. When we wonder how to go on because of loss, hurt, struggle, betrayal, and sin, we find strength because of Jesus, we’re not crushed, not consumed or in complete despair because he never abandons us nor allows us to be destroyed.

Question: are there cracks in your clay jar and how did/does Jesus give you strength

The picture of God as a potter is common in the Bible. Jeremiah 18 says, “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. Then the word of the Lord came to me. He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel.” God’s the creator, an artist who takes pots that are misshapen and reworks them into new jars to be used to store his treasure of grace, the treasure of Jesus’ Spirit and the glory of the kingdom of heaven. Paul reminds us of this in Ephesians 2:10, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

The events of our lives shape us, and when brokenness cracks us badly, Jesus offers healing and hope; the potter reforming the clay, echoing Isaiah 64:8 “Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay; you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.” A couple of my cracks are anger and depression. So, God brought people into my life who helped me learn to control my anger by focusing on Jesus. He’s able to give me the ability to change my perspective on things so that my anger is more manageable. They taught me to recognize and focus on the blessings all around me and to live out of a spirit of gratitude. My cracks allow me to understand those who wrestle with anger, and those who experience dark times of the soul.

Our struggles in life shape us, making us different from each other. Because of differences, Jesus is able to use these differences to be a blessing to different people around us. Our cracks are how Jesus uses us to reach others to provide hope and guide them to Jesus. As Paul writes at the beginning of his letter, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”

Question: how can your life history help you to give hope to others

My sister died in a car accident at 18. After the funeral a woman in the church came up to mom and simply hugged her. Her daughter died in a car accident when we were 18 years old. She understood my mom’s suffering and could comfort her in a way that no one else could. Our nicks and cracks help us comfort others with similar cracks because we’ve experienced Jesus’ comfort during our suffering and can now offer Jesus’ comfort to others. Someone who’s divorced can walk alongside someone going through a divorce better than I can. I can walk alongside someone whose child is cutting or has attempted suicide because Joyce and I walked that pain with a couple of our children and we understand the fear, guilt, and horror of getting the call from the police to get to the hospital fast.

We’re all cracked pots and Jesus uses our cracks to bless others by allowing him to shine through us; bringing healing by using us as his hands, voice and arms. You can be how God reshapes someone else’s soul and heart when you open your life and allow Jesus to use you. Through mentoring, you can change another person’s life. You can change a community through the power of Jesus. How many lives can you touch with Jesus by starting a support group; perhaps a parent support group, a divorce or marriage support group, a grief support group, a life or addictions support group; something to think about as we look to reach our community for Jesus. Our light shines brightly by walking with each other and our community and offering Jesus.

Question: what has God put on your heart to bless our city: share it on Bethel’s Facebook page

We carry the life of Jesus in us because of the resurrection, this is the hope we offer: new life and a changed reality because of Jesus’ love. “Therefore, we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.”

1 John 3:1-3 Loved

Proverbs 19:22 tells us, “What a person desires is unfailing love.” The word for love here is ‘hesed,’ a special word in Hebrew that speaks to loyal unfailing faithful love and grace. The En-Gedi Resource Center describes this Hebrew word as, “the gracious forgiveness that comes from love that is so enduring that it persists beyond any sin, always seeking to forgive.” The GEMS girls club theme this past year was “Loved;” discovering that they are loved. We have been created to be loved. You might wonder where I find that thought in the Bible, and I believe we find it already in the creation account where God says, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness.” We are made in God’s image to be loved, to be cherished, made precious, as Paul later says, “We are God’s masterpieces.” We were created to be in relationship with God, which to me means God made us to love us.

John points us to just how much God loves us, “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!” For those of us who have adopted children in our families, or are adopted ourselves, we know the power and blessing in this simple sentence. God, our Father has chosen us to be his children, he didn’t have to make us his children, he chose to, and he chose to knowing how messed up we are, knowing how often we will hurt him, turn our backs on him, reject him even, and still he has chosen each one of you listening here this morning to be his daughter or son, to be princesses and princes in the greatest kingdom ever, the kingdom of heaven! Talk about love!

There’s just one problem though. If we miss the amazing truth that God loves us, loves us so deeply that he gave his own son Jesus to die on the cross for our sins so that we can be called children of God, then our hearts go looking for love in all the wrong places, as the old song goes. If we don’t experience healthy safe love at home from our parents and family, we will go looking for it. We see this happen in some families where a child may not feel loved, or there are issues of abuse or neglect, and the child will go looking for love from someone else. Even when you’re doing your best as a parent, the power of our culture is pervasive, especially through social media.

As a youth pastor, I saw this played out way too many times. Bullying and abuse are way too common. We live in a society that is especially hard on young girls. The GEMS organization has done a study on the impacts of our culture on young girls, and girls in churches and Christian schools are just as vulnerable to these influences as other girls. Our culture encourages girls to look for love and acceptance through their appearance, performance, popularity, experiences, or social media and it can be brutal on them emotionally and spiritually and even physically.

Little Big Town, a country music group, recently released a song called The Daughters that speaks about expectations on girls and young women today, here are some of the lyrics:

Oh girl, wash your face before you come to the table
Girl, know your place, be willing and able
Take it on the chin, let the best man win
Girl, shoulders back and stand up straight
Girl, watch your mouth and watch your weight
Mind your manners, smile for the camera

Girl, don't be weak but don't be strong
Say what you want, just as long
As you nod your head with your lipstick on

I wash the dishes, feed the kids, and clean up all this mess
Do my best, forgive myself, and look good in this dress

And pose like a trophy on a shelf
I'll dream for everyone, but not myself

This has had a huge impact on our girls. Girls as young as 5 are worried about their weight and looks, 50% of girls aged 12-16 have experienced some form of depression, and 70% of girls feel like they don’t “measure up.” I have seen this in my own family and it’s a tragedy. This will often carry over into adulthood, I’m often amazed at how many adults are insecure and unhappy because they constantly compare themselves and their lives to what they see on social media.

Mother Teresa said that the worst poverty of all is loneliness, the absence of love. When you are searching for love, you are more vulnerable to being lied to and willing to do almost anything to experience love. Some of the hardest times I’ve experienced as a pastor is walking alongside women who have experienced abuse and rejection and who keep returning to their partners because they’re afraid not to return because they believe that no one else will love them, that they’re damaged goods.

Pastor Miles McPherson writes, “If your love can see the pain and hopelessness in someone’s heart, there is a good chance your love will speak to them; there is a good chance your love will encourage them.” Knowing that you are a beloved child of God will not prevent you from never getting hurt, but it can help make sure that the hurt doesn’t overwhelm you. Reading the story of the Apostle Paul taught me the importance of knowing deep in your heart that you belong to God and that he loves you and has not forgotten you; seeing your times of pain as times where God is drawing close to you to help you rely more on him, leading you to trust more in him.

In the times of hurt, God can and will use you to encourage others, showing others that there is a way forward, that you can find healing, hope and love in Jesus and that Jesus will bring people into your life to walk with you. This is Paul’s point in 2 Corinthians 1:3–7, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.” Even Jesus walked through pain and suffering to bring us the forgiveness and renewal that we need in order to be called children of God. Pain is often one of the ways God uses to help us connect with one another and give us opportunities to show love.

John reminds us that we know what love looks like in verse 16, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.” This is the Good Friday message: love drove Jesus to the cross, love brought him to the grave and love rose him from the grave to wash us clean from our sin and heal us from our brokenness. But this is also a call for us to be willing to love like Jesus. John goes on in verse 16, “And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?”

Love is experienced in relationship, but it may not always be felt right away by the person you’re loving on. Joyce and I were foster parents for many years and blessed by having a number of the children that came into our home truly become part of our family, but that didn’t happen overnight, and it took some of our children years to really experience the love we were trying to pour into them. Sometimes hurt runs really deep, but we also know that Jesus’ love is able to bring healing to even the most broken of hearts and lives and he uses us to bring that love.

If you are struggling, we’re here to walk with you and help you experience Jesus’ love and strength, if you’re doing well, keep reaching out to the people around you to keep reminding them of your love, a love that comes from our God who calls us his children!

Matthew 28:1-10 He is Risen, Just as He Said!

It’s Easter! Christ is risen, he is risen indeed is how the church has greeted each other for thousands of years each Easter. The world has never been the same since Jesus rose from the grave and left his tomb. That first Easter was a crazy kind of day after a crazy bad weekend. Everyone’s waiting to see what’s going to happen, both enemies and friends. No one’s really expecting a resurrection, but there is a sense of uneasiness. Jesus’ enemies are actually more prepared for something unusual happening. The religious leaders ask Pilate for guards to be placed at Jesus’ tomb and a seal placed on the rock to prevent anyone from coming to steal Jesus’ body and then claiming he’s still alive, while most of the followers of Jesus are hiding away in a locked room, mourning and afraid.

Morning has arrived, the sun is peeking above the horizon and Mary Magdalen and the other Mary head off to look at Jesus’ tomb. They know where Jesus’ body is because they followed Joseph of Arimathea Friday when he had taken Jesus’ body down to place it in his own tomb. The unusual now begins, “There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightening, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.” The angel’s now guarding the tomb as an honour guard, while the soldiers guarding the tomb are lying there like dead men; so much for the religious leaders’ plan.

The first words out of the angel’s mouth are, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said,” powerful words at any time, but especially powerful to the women, and to us in a time like this when many of our plans and hopes are up in the air. How do you live with the hope and comfort of the resurrection in such unsettled times, when even going to the grocery store can cause you to catch this nasty virus? God recognizes the power of fear, this is why the first thing most heavenly visitors say is, “Do not be afraid.”

With Easter, we discover the power Jesus has; power even over death, power over viruses and economies, over all things. This doesn’t mean there aren’t difficult times and that we won’t get sick, lose a job, business or even life, but we know that in all things, God is in control and that Jesus is with us; nothing can separate us from the love of God, Paul tells us in Romans, and Jesus tells us that he will send his Spirit to be with us always, something we’ll celebrate at Pentecost!

And yet, the surprise of everyone in the resurrection story is somewhat surprising. Jesus told his followers many times that he would die and then rise again in three days; check out Mark’s Gospel where Jesus tells everyone in chapters 8, 9 and 10, and still they don’t really believe it. Jesus tells Martha at the death of her brother Lazarus in John 11, “I am the resurrection and the life.” I wonder if they just spiritualized it, and if we often do the same thing, not really seeing how the things Jesus teaches us fit in real life, but we simply put it off until heaven. Why should we be surprised that even today, many people have a hard time believing that Jesus really rose from the dead, that he’s alive right now and is with God in heaven, a real place, not just some make-belief place in the clouds when even those closest to him had a hard time accepting it.

The angel goes on and tells the women, “Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.” The women are still afraid, but can’t help feeling joy with the astonishing news, joy in hearing that Jesus’ enemies haven’t succeeded, that death isn’t the end of the story, instead resurrection and life is. But it’s still hard to believe and so as the women hurry from the tomb, there’s still fear mixed with the joy. I believe this is why Jesus appears to them with a word of greeting and the familiar, “Do not be afraid.” Seeing Jesus, touching him, hearing his voice, makes it finally, completely real and true! Now they go forward with confidence to do as Jesus told them, “Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”

It can be hard to believe in the resurrection, even Jesus’ disciple Thomas had a hard time believing, even though the other 10 disciples told him they had seen and talked to Jesus while he was gone. Thomas needed to see and touch Jesus before he could believe. Even the 10 disciples had a hard time believing Jesus was alive at first, as Luke writes, “They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their presence.”  

Jesus tells Thomas, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” This is us, and yet, even though we haven’t seen Jesus in the flesh, that doesn’t mean that our faith is based on thin air. We have a faith based on an empty tomb, even the chief priests acknowledged the empty tomb, creating a story that is still told today, that the disciples came during the night and stole the body while the soldiers slept. The soldiers were paid a large sum of money, because they were confessing to failing to do their job as soldiers; something they would be punished for.

There is the testimony of eyewitnesses, especially the women’s testimony. We may wonder, what’s the big deal about the women’s testimony, but at a time when women were often marginalized, the only reason to include the women’s testimony would be because they were really there and reported what they saw and experienced. They weren’t the only witnesses, Paul states in 1 Corinthians 15, “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas,  and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.”

The greatest proof for me though is how Jesus’ resurrection changes, transforms people. Jesus’ resurrection has had a long-term impact on the lives of Jesus followers for thousands of years. The original disciples were cowering and afraid in a locked room, filled with fear and grief, unable to move forward and they were changed almost instantly into bold joy-filled witnesses of Jesus’ resurrection. These disciples then went out into the world and preached the joy filled gospel that Jesus came as one of us and he died for our sins and was raised after three days as a sign that God accepted his sacrifice on our behalf. Many of the disciples gave their lives for the gospel. Why would they give their lives for a lie; it’s only for something they believed in with their entire being that would compel them to offer up their lives for Jesus: a living Jesus. Many of you have your own times of experiencing Jesus’ presence, his closeness in your own lives.

This is the great message still today; that Jesus is risen, death is not the end, and that the sorrow, grief and fear many of us are living in this Easter is not the end of the story. Jesus comes to change the world, to renew it and restore it. God goes before us and is with us always, as we are reminded in Deuteronomy 31; nothing can separate us from Jesus’ love as Paul reminds us in Romans 8. Celebrate today that Jesus is risen, just as he said and he is still at work today, renewing and restoring the world for his return.

Leviticus 23:33-44; John 7:37-43 Feast of Tabernacles

Can you imagine camping for 40 years? That’s what happened to the Israelites after getting scared when they saw how hard it was going to be to conquer the Promised Land. This is why God gives his people the Feast of Tabernacles where each family builds a temporary hut called a sukkot to live in it for a week to help them remember that God took care of them after bringing them into freedom and while they wandered in the wilderness.

God tells Moses, "On the first day you shall take the branches or fruit of luxuriant trees, branches of palm trees, boughs of leafy trees, and willows" and "You shall live in booths seven days; all citizens in Israel shall live in booths, in order that future generations may know that I made the Israelite people live in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt." It’s to make sure the people remember that God saved them and to trust him for all our needs: physically, emotionally and spiritually. This is why the cry “Hosanna,” which means “Save us,” from Psalm 118, became one of the cries of joy in this feast. It helps us understand why the people were shouting “Hosanna” to Jesus as he rode into Jerusalem. They saw Jesus as a Messiah who has come to save them from their oppressors.

As Jesus rode into Jerusalem, the spirit of celebration in this feast moves the people to cry out “Hosanna” to Jesus, the descendant of the great King David. Their dream is of a Messiah to come free them and put their own king on the throne in Jerusalem. The Feast of Tabernacles gets connected to the coming Messiah that all the nations would come and worship. Zechariah picks up on this when he writes, "And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of Hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles."

During the feast, priests draw water from the Pool of Siloam and offer it on the altar with a prayer, asking God to provide rain for the land in the year ahead. On the last day of the feast, Jesus, seeing the priests pouring the water on the altar, tells the people, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scriptures has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” Jesus is referring here to the coming of the Holy Spirit. The living water of the Holy Spirit is what flows out of us looks like grace, mercy, compassion for others and more. Jesus takes all the different parts of this feast and applies them to himself and the coming of the Holy Spirit. The next morning, looking at the burning torches, Jesus says, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life."

Jesus uses the images of the feast to tell us that we can trust him, find hope in him. He’s asking us, are you dry inside, are you beginning to wonder about what’s really important and what’s not? Do you go from worrying about one thing straight into worrying about something else? Is life a little dark right now and you’re looking for something to bring some light and hope? At a time like this, when we cannot get together in person and are staying home so much more, it’s easy to develop unhealthy routines and ways of thinking that focus on what we don’t have and aren’t able to do, leading to feelings of frustration, boredom, or anxiety. That’s why I think this feast today is so important, Jesus calls us to look to him, reminding us that we can experience Jesus in the everyday things of life like water, or a tree branch, or a simple light.

Jesus provides life for our souls and spirits. Jesus’ offer to fill us with his living water is to help us feel life and freedom and hope. He does it by taking our sin, sorrow and suffering to the cross and leaving it in the grave as he rises from the grave. Jesus says, “Trust me, come to me, meet with me and I will help you discover the purpose and meaning that brings shape to your lives.”

Sitting down with an older man a few years ago, he shared that while he was really successful, and he made sure I knew how successful he has been, he couldn’t figure out why he wasn’t happier. He felt as if there was something missing in his life. He figured that since I was a pastor, I should be able to help him enjoy his success more. I have to admit that I laughed out loud, probably not the most pastoral response, but I couldn’t help it. I asked him why he thought I would have an answer for him when he hasn’t been a serious part of the church for quite a while and God has never really been part of his life. He looked offended and so I asked him what he was using his wealth and stuff for and he said he was simply enjoying life now.

I told him that his sense of something missing came from believing his life was his, that he was completely in control and that he deserved everything his has. I told him that he had no sense of gratitude or thankfulness in his life because he earned what he has. I told him that once he could see that what he has is a gift, that he doesn’t deserve what he has, that there are many people who have worked way harder than he ever has and have so much less, and yet are happier because they are thankful. Those who see what they have as a gift are more likely to be generous and to bless others, bringing happiness and a sense of meaning as they help others to succeed. He thought I was spouting off a lot of nonsense and he left, but he was no happier. Pride and a lack of humility made him deaf to what I had said. This is why God told Israel to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles, to help them remember that it’s God who gives them what they have.

Jesus meets us in our wilderness times when life is hard and the future is uncertain, as it is today with so many not working and wondering when we can be with friends and family again, when we can worship together in church again, and return to work and some semblance of normal. Jesus meets us; invites us to, “Come, drink from me and I will fill you with life again, follow me and I will bring light back into your world so that you can see life more clearly. Take some time and spend it with me, take a look at the stars and trust in me, the creator of the stars and know that this time too will pass and I am with you through it all.”

Jesus invites us to experience his presence. He asks us to think about how he can use us to bring light, hope and life to someone who is lonely, or afraid, or who needs a little help at this time. How can we create a healthy grace-filled community where everyone is taken care of during this time and moving forward? We know God provides for all our needs and calls us to make sure that everyone is cared for: body, heart and souls. At a time like this, Jesus provides for those who are lonely, those who are struggling with anxiety, worry and fear through us as we reach out by phone, email, text, messenger and other creative ways. For those who might find themselves in tense and even unsafe situations because of the stress, Jesus sees and cares for you; we are here to walk with you and more if you need us. We ask that you leave a message, give us a call and we will respond.

Like Israel we are on a journey and our homes in this world are not permanent, but only temporary tents, as Paul mentions. The Feast of Tabernacles invites us to trust Jesus to lead us, to trust that Jesus loves us and knows what we need and provides us with a way that leads to health and wholeness in life. Jesus not only teaches us how to live, he gives us an example of how to live and sends his Spirit to guide us, shine his light into our hearts and lives, and fills us with his comfort, peace, and hope during this unusual time.

Leviticus 23:23-25 The Feast of Trumpets

The Feasts we’ve been looking at so far during Lent have mostly been about celebration and freedom; looking back to God’s saving work in Egypt and through Jesus. Now, with the Feast of Trumpets, the feasts start taking on a different, more solemn feel. It’s also known as Rosh Hoshanah, the festival of the Jewish New Year. It’s like a spiritual new year, a time for new beginnings with the Lord. It comes after the harvests are all in, 10 days after the Feast of Weeks, when the people are able to slow down and take time to do some reconnecting with God. During the busy harvest season, the focus is on the work of getting the crops in, now it’s time to enjoy the harvest and family and those around you. In this Feast, the trumpets, or shofars, are blown to call the people to experience God’s presence again. In a time like this, filled with worry and fear, it’s important to remember that God is present all the time and the trumpet sound reminds us of this.

The trumpet used in the feast is called a shofar, made from a ram’s horn. They’re quite common and everyone could easily make one. The first time we hear the shofar blown is when the Jews are at Mount Sinai and Moses meets with God and receives the Law. Joshua uses shofars at the fall of Jericho when the city walls collapse at the sound of the trumpets. Gideon’s unarmed army uses three hundred shofars to create confusion against a larger army who turn against each other and end up killing each other.

The Feast of Trumpets reminds us that God’s here, he’s our king. They call us to pay attention again to God. We all have times in our lives where we need someone to tell us to wake up and pay attention again to God, that he’s the one in charge. I have often wondered these past couple of weeks if this isn’t such a time. We’re so often busy with work and family and chasing our desires and now we suddenly find ourselves surrounded by feelings of anxiety and slowly getting more and more isolated from each other because of this health crisis. Some of you now have family members who’ve caught the virus and now have isolated themselves, just at the time we need to feel each other’s presence. Maybe now’s a good time to sound the trumpets and remind ourselves that God is in control and he’s here with us through it all.

Over time, blowing the trumpet becomes a call for the people to confess their sins and to repent. We’re all sinners and depend on God’s grace since there’s nothing we can do to make ourselves right with God again. God’s holiness leads him to judge our sin. Isaiah is told to, "Cry aloud, spare not, lift up your voice like a shofar; declare to my people their transgression, to the house of Jacob their sins.” This image runs through all the prophets. In Daniel 7, the heavenly court is made up of the Ancient of Days who is surrounded by ten thousand times ten thousand angels. They "sat in judgment and the books were opened." The imagery of books being opened in the heavenly court is associated in the Jewish faith with the Feast of Trumpets when the heavenly books are opened to learn the destiny of each person. The books are the Book of the Righteous, the Book of the Wicked, and the Book of Remembrance. The third book that’s opened is the book of remembrance, or the Book of Life. In Montreal, our Jewish neighbours would greet us during Rosh Hashanah, ‘May you be inscribed in the Book of Life’.

We have to careful though with connecting what’s happening right now with this virus as a result of our sin. There are preachers who are saying this virus is because we’re so sinful and it’s God’s punishment. What’s happening is the result of a fallen world where things are not the way they are supposed to be. But God’s love is revealed in Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and his resurrection, to show that we have been made clean by Jesus’ sacrifice. We are called to confess our sin and commit ourselves to changing our lives to fit who God calls us to be, we remember that God is holy and when he comes close to us, his presence changes us, makes us holy through Jesus’ sacrifice!

The prophets used the shofar to call the people to repentance, not only confessing their sin, but to embrace change in their lives and hearts to reflect God’s holiness. The prophet Joel called for blasts of the shofar in Zion, "Blow the shofar in Zion; sanctify a fast; call a solemn assembly" Joel is referring to the Feast of the Trumpet, mentioning its three major parts: shofar, fast, and solemn assembly. During the religious reformation of King Asa, the Israelites "entered into a covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, with all their hearts and all their souls" and they sealed their oath "with trumpets, and with shofars.” There’s this need to get together to seek out God again, needing to be reassured that he’s still around and that he cares, that he hears our cries, knows our worries and fears. It’s a call to embrace God’s will for our lives and allow his Spirit to fill us with his peace.

The blowing of the trumpets reminds God of the needs of his people. We see God then stepping in and working on behalf of his people. In the book of Numbers, God promises, “When you go into battle in your own land against an enemy, who is oppressing you, sound a blast on the trumpets. Then you will be remembered by the Lord your God and rescued from your enemies.” When I read this passage from Numbers, my first thought was, “We should all make our own trumpets and stand on our front porches and blast them. We certainly need God’s help to deal with the anxiety, stress and worry that many people are dealing with right now.” Yet I also know that God doesn’t want us to be afraid, to worry, that he does remember us because his Spirit is with us always. Sometimes we need to blow the trumpet for our own sense of peace to help us remember that God always remembers us. I love the image in Isaiah where he says that our names are written on the palms of God’s hands, meaning God can’t forget us.

Through Jesus, God remembers his people and saves us. Jesus comes as a baby, lives with us, experiencing life with all its wonder and messiness. He lives a typical life, growing up in a family and community, knowing loss and joy, experiencing loneliness and friendship, rejection and love. Jesus knows fear in the Garden of Gethsemane; knowing how hard the cross was going to be, but trusting that God’s way is the best way and so Jesus takes all our sin and sorrow to the cross, all our fear and worry and he dies with it, taking it to the grave. In three days, he rises again into new life, giving us the solid hope that no matter, not even death can separate us from God and his love. God saves us, watches over us, and equips us to be a blessing, looking ahead to Jesus’ return.

The shofar is also blown to begin the Jubilee year when God calls Israel to restore freedom and land to those who had lost either one in the past 49 years. Slaves and those who lost their properties eagerly listened for the sound of the shofar that signaled their freedom! The land itself welcomed the sound of the shofar because the land was allowed it to rest for a year. It’s about mercy and grace, pointing us to Jesus who brings new life and freedom to his people. I think that when this health crisis is over, that we should all gather outdoors and sound our horns and trumpets as a sign of new life and new beginnings! Already this crisis has changed who we are as a fellowship of Jesus and we’re entering into a new age of possibilities for ministry and sharing our faith.

In the Bible, the sound of the shofar announces the first coming of the Messiah, but also the return of Jesus. "The sound of the trumpet" will be heard when Jesus comes back to establish his forever kingdom, as Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 4. Paul calls this the last trumpet in 1 Corinthians, "Lo! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.” It’s a sign we’re completely freed from our slavery to sin when Jesus returns. Until then, we go through our days with the peace and hope of knowing that God is with us, always remembering us, his children.

Leviticus 23:15-22 Feast of Pentecost/Shavuot

The Feast of Pentecost, also called the Feast of Weeks and Shavuot is a harvest festival held 50 days after the Feast of First Fruits when the first of the crops were presented to God, which is why it’s called Pentecost, which means 50. Pentecost is the big harvest festival after the wheat has been brought in, something like our Thanksgiving Day. For this feast, the people bring a new grain offering and 2 loaves of leavened bread to the priest as a wave offering to the Lord. The bread with yeast is a sign that the people now have time to enjoy the harvest and the Lord’s blessings. Families read the story of Ruth together because her story happens during the wheat harvest and we see how this festival works out in real life. This might be something for you to do this afternoon as a family devotion, to read the story of Ruth out loud together.

The people have worked hard during the harvest, and now it’s time to enjoy the Lord’s blessings. It’s a time to be generous and remember the poor and foreigners among them, giving them an opportunity to provide for their families even though they don’t own any land themselves. Because of sin’s effect in the world, there’s poverty, injustice, oppression, family breakups, and illness which causes a certain number of people to find themselves in hard times and unable to provide for themselves. This is why the farmers are told to leave the corners of the field uncut and any wheat or grain not harvested on the first pass through the fields was to be left for the poor and foreigner to harvest for their families.

The Festival of Pentecost teaches us to have compassion on others, to realise that what we have been blessed with carries a responsibility to make sure the whole community is provided for. Worshipping God is done through how we live with each other, not simply the time we spend here in church on Sunday mornings, or like today when you’re all worshipping today at home with your families. This is why the story of Ruth became a part of this festival as we see these laws lived out in the story of Ruth and Boaz. It’s a reminder that what we have all belongs to God and is given to us to be a blessing for all people. There are so many people on the margins, struggling to get by and not wanting a handout, but also needing some help to provide for their families. How can we leave the corners of our fields uncut to bless those in our city and make it possible for them to harvest? How can we invite them to be part of God’s generosity when people are afraid of losing everything that they’ve worked so hard for, or who have been on the margins so long they now fear even more hunger and uncertainty?

The Festival of Pentecost became a time to read the 10 Commandments and think about who God is and who he calls us to be as his people and children. The Law is a gift to shape us into the people God has created us to be. Yet it’s important to know that God calls us to focus on generosity, being a blessing to others, making the other person’s soul and life a priority. The Law is seen as a gift to the Jews because they know exactly what God expects and wants from them; they don’t have to try and guess. This makes them different from the nations around them who have to plead for their gods’ attention, bribing the gods with sacrifices, never sure if they’re pleasing their gods. The Law helps the Jews to be a blessing to the nations by revealing a gracious God who cares about how we live together and who commands us to care about each other as we follow God.

Pentecost is about the harvest. Because of Jesus and the Holy Spirit, Pentecost is about people. Jesus’ last words to us are found in Matthew 28, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

The head of Jews for Jesus, David Bricknall, taught me the entire spring religious season of Israel, from Passover to Pentecost points to God’s plan to harvest a holy people for himself. It all points to Jesus who dies as the perfect sinless sacrifice for our sins since we’re unable to make ourselves acceptable to God no matter how hard we work or how religious we get. Jesus rises from the dead as a promise that our sins stay buried and we’ll also be raised up to be with Jesus. Faith is more than just being saved from our sins, it’s also about our response to Jesus and this is where Pentecost comes in.   

Now, 7 weeks after Jesus’ resurrection, comes the greater harvest. It’s during the feast of Pentecost that Jesus sends the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit brings many people to put their faith in Jesus. The Holy Spirit comes and those who hear the disciples talk about Jesus receive the good news of salvation through Jesus. They take this gospel news home to their families and communities and the number of Jesus followers grows and grows including both Jew and Gentiles, insiders and outsiders. The church becomes a safe place for everyone.

This is an echo to the 2 loaves of bread of Pentecost made with yeast, pointing to Jews and Gentiles now being together as an offering to God. Yeast in the Bible usually points to the influence of sin, reminding us that the church is filled with people who mess up and things aren’t always the way they’re supposed to be. A mother of teenagers told me that she is a lot more aware of being a sinner now than she ever was. She had forgotten what it’s like to be a teenager and pushing the rules and wanting independence and she admitted to losing it on her kids a number of times and then repenting afterwards; but yeast is also about taking time, about enjoying the fruit of our labour, literally in the case of mothers!

Jesus gives us the Holy Spirit to go make disciples. We’re not trying to create perfect people, but passionate, compassionate, engaged followers of Jesus who care about the world around them. As Diane Cormer writes about teaching her kids, “The way of grace is not about following the rules perfectly, but about coming back to Jesus over and over again and saying, “Without You I can do nothing. I can’t even be honest.”

She goes on, “We need to introduce them to a Redeemer who can take the worst about us and turn us into people who are all about Him. Be alert to those moments of vulnerable brokenness and show your people the way of God’s amazing grace. Teach them the beautiful truth of Romans 8:1: “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” No condemnation! No more shame!... We’re not trying to disciple perfect people; we’re trying to raise godly people— people who love God with all their hearts and who are following hard after Jesus.”

Jesus calls us to go out with the power of the Holy Spirit to those who don’t know him, and to those who have heard about him all their lives but still don’t really know him. Our Pentecost harvest is about showing them who Jesus really is. During a time as this, we can walk in peace and hope because Jesus is with us, he knows our fear and worry and gives us his peace. Pentecost is about our neighbourhoods, our schools and workplaces, the places where we play and live life together, where the people are, inviting them to join us in finding out more about this Jesus. We build friendships by working for justice, living with compassion; living together in our communities to create a strong healthy vibrant society that reflects Jesus.  

In a time like this, it means staying in touch with each other, making sure each one is alright. We use our phones, email, text, messenger and all our social media platforms to encourage calmness and peace because we have a God who cares and protects. We look out for those who are hurting quietly because there’s no work or they feel overwhelmed. Social distance doesn’t mean emotional distance. We follow a generous God who wants us to be generous and caring, reaching out in love to those around us and helping where we can, and still loving them where we can’t. This is the heart of Pentecost.

Leviticus 23:9-14 Feast of First Fruits

We’re in unusual times and it’s often in times like this that fear is able to find way to worm its way into our hearts and minds. You are likely hearing or seeing this message on the computer rather than gathering with friends and family in church because of the COVID 19 health scare, and yet it’s in times like this especially that Jesus calls to trust in him and not worry or live in fear.

Israel is sitting at the foot of Mount Sinai; hearing God shape their lives as his people so they will be a blessing to the nations. These feasts are how God reminds them of who he is and who they are. The Feast of First Fruits is a harvest festival that calls on God’s people to trust him. They’ve seen God’s power in Egypt, felt his deliverance from their slave masters, and now God’s calling them to trust him and remember to be thankful for what they’re being given.

God is saying: “I’m bringing you into a really fertile land. I want you to acknowledge this. Each spring, when the first harvest is available, bring some to the temple and the priest will acknowledge your offering before me. Do this on the Sunday during the week of Unleavened Bread.” The priests take the offerings from the people and sprinkle incense on it, wave it before the Lord to show it comes from the Lord and is now being given back as a show of trust and gratitude. Part of the offering is thrown into the fire on the alter, which is why the incense is mixed in it to make it a sweet offering to God. The rest is used to feed the priests and their families. Paul reminds the people in his letter to the church in Rome, “If the part of the dough offered as first-fruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.” By bringing the first part of the harvest and giving it the Lord, the rest of the harvest is sacred. God then gives the rest of the harvest to the people for their families.

This takes trust and faith. It’s easy to be thankful to God for what he’s already given you; it takes faith to give him the first part of your harvest without knowing for sure how the rest of the harvest is going to go and thanking God for what he is going to give you before you actually get it. The First Fruits Festival is all about expressing your faith in God and his power, love and generosity; praising him before getting anything in return. It’s telling God, “We trust you that you will provide for us and send the rain and sun as needed so our crops can grow and be harvested and our people will be able to eat.” There’s no promise here that there won’t be hail storms, bug infestations, or crop failure; it’s all about being generous to God first, trusting that he will provide.

Jesus comes to save us because we are sinners. Jesus is slaughtered as the sacrificial lamb on Passover, buried on the Feast of Unleavened Bread and raised from the dead on the Feast of First Fruits. Because of Adam’s sin we all face death, but through Jesus, we’re made alive. Jesus is the sign of this, the first fruit, a promise that we too will be raised from death and the grave because we are washed clean from our sin, made pure and right again with God through Jesus.

First Fruits is about giving back to God in advance of what he’s going to give us; a gift of trust and faith from the gifts he has already given us. To help us see God’s gifts to us, one rabbi asked, “Who coloured the flowers, who has painted the sunrises and sunsets.” I enjoy watching the sun-rise in the morning as I walk Bellah through our neighbourhood, it’s a beautiful reminder every morning of our creator and father who’s also an artist and shares his art with us every day. Who made forests, the mountains and plains in such a way that we are able to live off the land through hunting, fishing, and harvesting? These are all gifts given to us before we offer anything to God. There are the gifts of family, friendships, love and more that shape our lives and give meaning and depth to our lives. God is generous to us and he makes it so that Israel enters the Promised Land at harvest time, able to eat of the fruit of the land without having to do the work of planting and caring for the fields as a sign that he will provide generously for his people. We trust that God will provide.

Do you really believe that you can trust God to provide for you, to give you what you need? Do you trust him enough to bring your offerings with thankfulness and gratitude and without worrying about what lies ahead if you do give him from your first fruits instead of your left overs? This is where faith kicks in, or doesn’t. Jesus talks about this in Matthew 6, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? …. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

These festivals call for action from the people. There are physical and spiritual responses called for by God. You have to work to harvest the first fruits and then physically bring them to the Lord. The offering is then physically presented to the Lord in a wave offering. This calls for trust in God to provide, but it’s also done with a spirit of excitement and anticipation of God providing. It can be scary at times, but there’s also freedom in trusting God. We see Jesus actively moving towards the cross, choosing to go to Jerusalem. He doesn’t fight against his sentence, he physically suffers and dies, and is physically risen from the grave. Our faith is an active faith and we see this in our youth and young adults.

For many of our youth, faith is about changing the world, about making a difference right here where we can see it. They’re willing to sacrifice in order to make things happen, trusting that this is what God wants and expects from us; faith in action. These feasts remind us that faith is an active thing. James reminds us, faith without works is dead. Jesus calls us to a life of renewal and hope; to live life with a spirit of gratitude, trust and generosity. Trust can be hard when the stock market crashes, when the price of oil which drives our economy nose dives because other nations are in a price war, or when a health scare arises. Trust can be hard when there’s more month than money, or if you can’t see a reason for hope. This is why the Feasts point us to Jesus and away from ourselves; to trust in the one who can save us, protect us and provide for us.

Paul points to Jesus as the first fruit of those who have died. In Jesus’ resurrection, all those who believe in him will be resurrected with him. 1 Corinthians 15, “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in turn: Christ, the first fruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.” John echoes this in Revelation 1, “Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.”

If Jesus is the First Fruit, then that means there is a second, third, and more fruit. Jesus celebrates First Fruits by giving his Father a first fruit offering. In Matthew 27, Matthew tells us that at the death of Jesus, graves opened up and people rose from the dead and walked through the town where everyone could see them. Jesus brought to his Father an early “crop” pointing ahead to the magnificent harvest that’s happening right now in every person who accepts Jesus as Lord.

First Fruits is about trust and grateful, faith motivated giving. The harvest for most of us is not about barley or grain, but about people coming to know Jesus. This week, reach out to one person you have been praying for to come to know Jesus. reach out through a phone call, an email, a text as there will be many lonely people afraid to go out. Trust that in reaching out, the Holy Spirit is working. At a time such as this, reaching out in love may be the best way to help us all stay healthy emotionally and spiritually. Trust that the Lord will work through you and in you, that he will provide for you and keep you safe in these unsettled times.