I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles. – 2 Peter 3:2

Today's Scripture Reading (May 7, 2021): 2 Peter 3

It is hard to imagine that there was a time when the Bible as we know it simply didn't exist. The Tanakh or Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) only existed as a collection of scrolls that were circulated independently of each other. The Septuagint was one of the first attempts to gather all of the texts into one place, but that wasn't accomplished unto the one or two hundred years before the birth of Christ. And the influential Masoretic text of the Hebrew Bible wouldn't appear until around a thousand years after the Septuagint.

The Christian text existed as various letters and documents passed around between the Christian congregations. A definitive list of the Christian books that should be included in a Christian Testament didn't appear until 367 C.E. and the writing of the 39^th Festal Letter (Easter Letter) of Bishop Athanasius of Alexander. In the letter, Athanasius lists all of the books of the Jewish Tanakh as writings that Christians should accept, but added to the Jewish Canon the "Book of Baruch" and the "Letter of Jeremiah." More importantly, this letter includes the list of proposed books for the Christian Testament. For the first time in history, Athanasius lists the familiar twenty-seven that we have in our Bibles today, with no additions. Finally, Christianity had its canon, although Western tradition would eventually lose the "Book of Baruch" and the "Letter of Jeremiah," leaving our "Old Testament" identical with the accepted canon of the Jewish Tanakh that Jewish believers read.

But as Peter writes these words, these developments are still just over three centuries in the future. But even though the Jewish canon is still fresh, and the Christian Canon is not yet set, Peter instructs his readers to value both equally. They are to give attention to the words of the prophets, written in times past. The instructions of the Tanakh were instructive for how we got to where we are.

The words of the past are tempered by the instructions for life given by Jesus and the apostles. It is important to note that if Peter wrote this near the end of his life, likely late in 64 C.E. or early in 65 C.E., it is possible that none of the Gospels had yet been written. The only Gospel that could have been written was Mark. The instructions that Peter talks about are the instructions that were being passed down through letters written by the apostles, such as Paul, James, the leader of the church in Rome and the brother of Jesus, and of course, the letters that Peter had written himself. There were probably other letters and authors which have been lost in the fog of time. As Peter writes about "the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles," John's letters were still waiting to be written, as well as, at minimum, the gospels of Matthew, Luke, and John, and the history presented in Acts, and John's Revelation. It is not that these aren't valuable, just that they hadn't yet been written.

Still, there was enough that had been written. Peter felt that the instructions of Jesus were well represented in the letters that existed from the Apostles. He believed that the people could gather their education for life from what had been written in history about God, augmented by the recent letters written by the very people who had walked with Jesus and listened to his teachings.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Hebrews 1

Personal Note: Happy Birthday to my son, Craig.

But he was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey—an animal without speech—who spoke with a human voice and restrained the Prophet's madness. – 2 Peter 2:16

Today's Scripture Reading (May 6, 2021): 2 Peter 2

We are used to our movies, and especially children's stories, asking us to believe in the impossible. We know that snowmen can't talk, notwithstanding watching Frosty sing and dance every Christmas and listening to Olaf say that he "likes warm hugs" in "Frozen." Dr. Doolittle speaks with the animals, a talent he picked up in Polynesia, where he learned that various animal species talk to each other. It was then that he decided to study animal languages. But we know that it is just a story. Animals don't speak, not really. Some domesticated animals can learn to understand portions of our language, but we don't really understand theirs.

Sometimes we treat the Bible in the same way. Some of the language in the Bible is ancient and is immersed in old superstitions. Other passages are strictly poetic. As God talks to Job, he asks the Prophet, "Have you entered the storehouses of the snow or seen the storehouses of the hail" (Job 38:22)? Whether the author of the story understood it or not, we know that those storehouses don't exist. Snow and hail are natural phenomenons, and no storehouses are involved. But the description of the storehouses in the sky is an excellent example of poetic descriptions of our experienced reality.

We know what the ancients didn't; that whales or any other known fish cannot swallow a person, let alone eat them and then cough them up on shore, alive, three days later. And regardless of what the author of Numbers might argue, donkeys are incapable of speech. Often, we treat these passages with a healthy dose of skepticism as if they were just another snowman named Olaf, sliding through the snow wishing for the onset of summer and a warm hug. Maybe the ancients really believed that this was possible, but we know that it isn't.

And then Peter pulls us back into reality. He admits that's donkeys don't talk, except that with Balaam, one did. Balaam was rebuked by his donkey because Balaam wasn't listening to anyone else. God had designed a unique way to get Balaam's attention; he made the donkey talk. If that happened to us, it would grab our attention too.

Peter puts his finger on the thing that we sometimes miss. It is not that ancient cultures didn't know any better. With some things, like storehouses filled with snow, they spoke with poetic emphasis. But sometimes they knew how "fairy tale-like" their stories might sound, but the problem is that these things happened. Balaam knew that donkeys don't talk with a human's voice. And yet, his donkey spoke. Big fish don't swallow people only to cough them up three days later, alive on the shore. Yet, that is precisely what happened to Jonah. Sometimes God steps into our reality and does something unbelievable just to get our attention. And regardless of the fairy-tale nature, Peter assures us that these events really happen.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Peter 3

… because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. – 2 Peter 1:14

Today's Scripture Reading (May 5, 2021): 2 Peter 1

It happened on the Sea of Galilee. It was in the days after Jesus's resurrection. The Rabbi had appeared on the shore as Peter and a few other disciples were fishing. They didn't catch any fish, at least not until Jesus showed up. And then they did catch some fish, 153 to be exact. Jesus cooked breakfast that morning. And then he went for a walk with Peter. Peter had denied Jesus, and now the leader of the Apostles was an outcast, or at least, Peter felt that he was. But Jesus made it clear on that day that he was still calling Peter to follow him.

But Jesus also made it clear that following him was not going to be an easy path.

Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go." Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, "Follow me" (John 21:18-19)!

Later in his second letter, Peter would write, "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9). We often wonder if maybe Peter thought that Jesus had delayed his return so that more could be saved. Yet, it seems that Peter already knew that he was not going to get to see Jesus's return because, on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, Jesus had told him how he was going to die.

Peter interpreted Jesus's words on the shores of Galilee literally. He felt in that conversation, almost thirty-five years earlier, that Jesus had made Peter's ending clear. And for the past thirty-five years, Peter had been ministering and waiting for the moment that Jesus had described. Now he felt it was getting close to the moment when he would be led where he did not want to go. 

Now, as Peter waits for what comes next in Nero's Rome, he recognizes that his time is short. He understood that his body was just a tent, and soon the tent would lose its purpose. But as far as Peter was concerned, that was okay. Soon, he would trade in his tent for something much more permanent.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Peter 2

Personal Note: Happy Birthday to my daughter, Alyssa.

 

Do your best to get here before winter. Eubulus greets you, and so do Pudens, Linus, Claudia and all the brothers and sisters. – 2 Timothy 4:21

Today's Scripture Reading (May 4, 2021): 2 Timothy 4

On July 19, 64 C.E., a fire started in the shops surrounding the Circus Maximus, the stadium that hosted Rome's chariot races. The fire burned out of control for six days before it was finally brought under control. But before the Romans could secure the area, the fire reignited and burned for another three days. By the time the fire was finally extinguished, two-thirds of the city had been burned.

The cause of the fire is officially unknown. Rumors have circulated since the fire that operatives purposefully set it under Nero's guidance in an attempt to clear away part of the city so that he could build his new palace. But the veracity of that claim remains unconfirmed. The modern myth that Nero played his fiddle while the city burned is just an urban tale. A fiddle was an unknown instrument, so it would have more likely a lyre that Emperor would have played. In opposition to this myth are some reports that Nero may not have even been in the city at the time of the fire.

The cause of the fire is officially unknown, but Nero blamed the Christians. In the aftermath of the fire, both Paul and Peter, along with several other Christians, were arrested and placed in prison, awaiting their trial and sentencing. It is at this time that Paul writes Timothy once more from within his prison walls. This time, Paul, along with Peter, found themselves in the cells of the Mamertine Prison, a jail located on the northeastern slope of the Capitoline Hill that was used for short-term, VIP prisoners. And as Paul closes his letter to Timothy, he issues a plea for his friend to come to Rome to see him before winter. It is possible that Paul sensed that this was possibly the end of his ministry and his life.

We have no idea if Timothy made it to visit Paul one more time, but we can be sure that Timothy would have done his best to reach the apostle before winter. Later, in the same year as the "Great Fire of Rome," both Paul and Peter were executed, possibly on the same day. Peter was crucified, and legend holds that he was crucified upside down because he did not want to suffer the same fate as his Savior. Paul was a Roman citizen, and as a result, could not be crucified; that would have been against the law. Instead, Paul was beheaded.

Since the Middle Ages, Mamertine prison has been used as a Christian place of worship and today houses two congregations, one in an upper area and one in a lower chapel. And the cross in the lower Chapel is upside down in acknowledging that this was the place where Peter and Paul spent the last days of their lives.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Peter 1

… having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people. – 2 Timothy 3:5

Today's Scripture Reading (May 3, 2021): 2 Timothy 3

John Nelson Canning was a Pentecostal Minister in Maine. He was accused of embezzlement in Maine and decided to move to Florida, where he once again took up a position as a pastor in a small, interdenominational church. At his church in Florida in 1988, he had the opportunity to perform the wedding of two octogenarians who attended his church, Leo and Hazel Gleese. In 1988,  the couple was in relatively good health, but by 1994, now in their 90s, both Leo and Hazel were experiencing significant health struggles.

At this time, Canning promised to care for the couple, and they gave him their "Power of Attorney" over their affairs. Soon after Canning took over the couple's finances, Hazel noticed that thousands of dollars were missing from their accounts. The couple then confronted Rev. Canning with their accusations. As a result of that confrontation, on January 2, 1995, Rev. Canning entered the couple's home and proceeded to beat and choke Leo and Hazel Gleese to death.

At the couple's funeral, Canning gave the eulogy, saying that the Gleese's were like parents to him. Soon after the funeral, Rev. John Canning was arrested and then convicted for the murder of the Gleese's. Phil Ramer, a Law Enforcement agent in Florida, remarked, "it's the most despicable thing I've ever heard of. Of all people in the world you should be able to trust, it's your pastor. They couldn't do it in this case, and he wound up killing them."

Paul warns that "in the last days" that there will be people who have the form of godliness, but not the power. It seems like Paul was describing people like John Nelson Canning. He held a position of trust and was clothed with the faith, but it was all just window dressing. He went through the motions, pretending to be "in Christ" and a teacher of Christian values, but the reality was that his faith had made no difference in his life. His sinful inclinations still gripped him, and the power of Christ was not in him.

The story of John Nelson Canning is a cautionary tale. His is an extreme form of a condition that exists in many churches in our world. People often come into our churches dressed in their "Sunday best" and spouting Christian belief, but it is still just window-dressing. They maintain the form of Christianity, but not the power of God in their lives.

Paul cautions Timothy to have nothing to do with these people. And the reason is two-fold. First, as the Gleese's discovered, these people can gain our trust only to cause significant harm to both us and our ministries. But association with these people can also often produce the idea that all we have to do is pretend to be Christian to be saved. This pretense is the danger of a theology that purports that we should "fake it until we make it." In the end, we come to believe that faking it is all that we need to do, and in fact, is all that everyone else around us in the Christian community is doing.  In the aftermath of our pretending, authentic Christianity dies.

Our world does not need more pretend Christians. They need the real thing. And real Christians have both the form and the power of Christ in their lives. And as a result, they are world changers.   

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Timothy 4

Personal Note: Today is my Grandmother's birthday. She is an extraordinary lady who turns 106 on this day. 

You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. – 2 Timothy 2:1

Today's Scripture Reading (May 2, 2021): 2 Timothy 2

Motivational speaker and author, Jim George, argues that "Forgiveness is most Christlike when it is given to the undeserving." Too often, the first question we encounter when someone apologizes is to ask ourselves if they deserve to be forgiven? Are they sorry enough? Has enough time passed to ensure that the apology is sincere? We often forget that there have been times in our life when we have stood in the place of the one who needed to receive forgiveness. Or, maybe, we remember the discomfort of those moments too well, and we want to make sure that the one we need to forgive feels that kind of discomfort. In our forgiveness, grace is often the last thing about which we think.

But grace is central to every act of forgiveness. And while God is the original author of grace, as Christians, we are both the recipients of grace and the ones who are commanded to give grace away. Jim George is right, in those moments when we give the grace we have received away to someone else, those times when we forgive even though we are not convinced that our forgiveness is deserved, it is then that we are reflecting the actions of Christ; then we are "Christlike."

Paul urges Timothy to "be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus." We are strong in grace because we know what it is like to be on the receiving end of grace. We know the strength of understanding that we have received God's forgiveness even though we didn't deserve it. We have never worked hard enough to do good or stand sorry enough for our sins to get God to relent and grudgingly give us his forgiveness. The reality of God's grace is that "God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). We didn't deserve God's grace, but he gave it to us anyway.

We sometimes forget that while we have received God's grace, we are also responsible for dispensing that grace and undeserved forgiveness to those around us. Many people in this world will never hear God's voice saying, "I forgive you. Receive my forgiveness and my grace." But they will listen to us, either forgive or condemn them and believe that however we treat them is an outgrowth of our beliefs and faith. If we serve a grace-giving God, then we will be a grace-giving community.

Nothing makes us stronger than knowing that we are the people of God, forgiven because God decided to forgive us and not because we have earned that forgiveness. And Paul asserts that God's grace is all that we need to face the circumstances of life. "My [God's] grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9). But in his instructions to Timothy, he takes it a step further. Not only is God's grace enough for Timothy, but Timothy's reflection of that grace is what Timothy's world needs. And it is what our world needs. Paul's instruction to "be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus" means that Timothy, as well as us, are to go and reflect Christ's grace to our world, knowing that we stand strong in the grace of Christ.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Timothy 3

You know that everyone in the province of Asia has deserted me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes. – 2 Timothy 1:15

Today's Scripture Reading (May 1, 2021): 2 Timothy 1

Billy Joel wrote, "I really wish I was less of a thinking man and more of a fool not afraid of rejection" (Sleeping with the Television On). I agree. I have suffered a lot of rejection, and it never gets easier. I still hurt from the memory of people that I feel have abandoned me, and I still miss some of those missing pieces, wishing that things could have ended differently. And I get to go through life believing that I could have avoided some of the mistakes and maybe preserved the relationships, but the truth is that we all suffer rejection in our lives, and often we learn lessons through that rejection.

But that is not the kind of rejection about which Joel is speaking. Sometimes, our fear of rejection is what stops us from doing what is right. Sometimes, it is easier not to enter into a debate than to suffer rejection from saying what you believe is right and moral. So we keep our silence and hope that those around us won't reject us for our unspoken beliefs.

As Paul approaches the end of his career, he does so alone. Many who had enthusiastically supported him earlier in his career had walked away from the apostle. I love the description that Pastor David Guzik gives to this era of Paul's life.

If there were Christian radio back then, no one would want to interview Paul. If there were Christian magazines back then, Paul would not have been on the cover. Paul would have had a hard time finding a publisher for the books he had written. For many Christians of that day, Paul seemed too extreme, too committed, not flashy or famous enough. Even the Christians of Asia – where Paul did a great work (Acts 19) – turned away from Paul (David Guzik).

It wasn't until after Paul's execution that the church started to realize again the value that the apostle represented to the emerging Christian Community. Sometimes, we forget that throughout Paul's ministry, there were no gospels and no historical record that was available to the various churches. In the early years of the church, all that existed concerning the life and teachings of Christ were the letters written by multiple apostles and church leaders. And the most prolific of those letter writers was Paul. As the church grew, before the existence of a Christian Bible or New Testament, the churches passed Paul's letters around to each other, often making copies that the teachings could stay with the Christian communities. The earliest written mention of Jesus's death, resurrection, and ascension are found in the letters of Paul. The earliest explanation that Jesus died for our sins is, again, found in Paul's letters.

But, maybe when Paul needed the Christian Community's support the most, he stood alone, rejected by the very church that he had given his life to support. We have no idea who Phygellus and Hermogenes might have been, but there is no doubt that they were Christians who Timothy knew well. And even they had left the apostle alone. If Paul took any comfort from his current situation, it was that he had been rejected for doing what was right, and because of that, Paul understood that his rejection couldn't have been avoided. But that didn't mean that it didn't hurt. Paul was in pain. Timothy had been one who had always stood by Paul's side, even when he wasn't physically with Paul. And at this moment, Paul needed a friend.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Timothy 2