by Pastor Tim Klein
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Read Genesis 29:1–20
In yesterday’s devotion, in Genesis 28:2,3, Jacob’s father Isaac sends him on his way with instructions and a blessing:
Arise, go to Paddan-aram to the house of Bethuel your mother’s father, and take as your wife from there one of the daughters of Laban your mother’s brother. God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may become a company of peoples.
So much for ‘the best-laid plans of mice and men’ (thank you, Robert Burns). Those plans soon went astray. With some significant manipulation (dare we say ‘skullduggery and trickery’) by Laban, not one, but two wives – both the daughters of Laban – were married to Jacob. But God’s plan was still at work. Fulfilment of the blessing took more than one wife; it took both wives and two maidservants, Bilhah and Zilpah (whom Jacob also married), to produce Jacob’s 12 sons, the founding fathers of the tribes of Israel.
It is amazing how God persists with his plan. It’s the big salvation plan. One of the sons is Judah – and his house is the house of Israel from which Jesus came.
If you are interested in the story, keep reading Genesis for the extraordinary roll-out of God’s saving plan all those generations ago.
Is there some encouragement in this for you and me? If you read on, you will discover the characters of the 12 leaders of the tribes of Israel. They were many and varied, and God had something to say and do through each of their lives.
You may find a direct comparison to your life among them. However, in general terms, you will see the miracle of how the Lord works through different people, in good and bad situations, always working for the good of his people and the sake of his kingdom.
By all means, we lay our plans. But most of all, we trust the Lord to guide us through them all.
Lord: you must laugh sometimes at the plans we make. Yet despite us, you remain working in and through us. Please continue to give us the confidence to boldly step ahead in faith, trusting in you, knowing that you are there with us, working your good for the sake of your kingdom. Amen.
Tim has served as a pastor for more than 30 years in Australia and New Zealand. He plans to retire on 12 January in 2025. Husband to his wife Joy, father of three and grandfather of more than 10, Tim says he is living in hope. He enjoys gardening (especially his orchard of more than 60 trees, succulents and flowering plants), making music (he loves to sing), beekeeping and taking photos.
Kua rite katoa; haere mai (Everything is ready; come)
by Mark Whitfield
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Look, I have prepared my dinner … and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet (Matthew 22:4b).
Read Matthew 22:1–14
Our family is preparing for our daughter’s wedding early next year. There is something wonderful about getting ready for such a celebration – the invitations, the planning, the food, the service order and all the little details that need to be prepared. Then comes the moment when all the preparations are complete, and the guests are invited: ‘Come!’
That is the invitation Jesus places before you today.
It’s easy to imagine that before God can welcome you, you need to get your life in order. Perhaps you think you need to become a better Christian, overcome your failures, pray more, believe more strongly or somehow make yourself worthy of God.
But listen again to Jesus: ‘Everything is ready; come.’
The invitation begins not with what you have done, but with what God has done for you.
God has prepared the feast. In Jesus, he has dealt with your sin, carried your guilt and opened the way for you to live in his grace. You don’t have to make yourself worthy before you come. You don’t have to arrive with your life neatly sorted out.
You simply come.
In Māori, we hear the invitation: ‘Kua rite katoa; haere mai’, which means in English, ‘Everything is ready; come.’
Perhaps you need to hear those words personally today. Whatever you are carrying – your regrets, disappointments, doubts, weariness or sense that you have not done enough – Jesus invites you.
The invitation is not a demand to become someone different before God will love you. It’s an invitation to receive the love and grace God has already prepared for you in Christ.
So, come. Come as you are. Receive his forgiveness. Rest in his grace and rejoice in his love.
And having received this gracious invitation yourself, become someone who gladly says to others: ‘Everything is ready; come.’
Lord Jesus, thank you that everything is ready, not because I have earned it, but because you have prepared it for me. Help me to receive your grace, trust your promise, and rejoice in your invitation today. Amen.
Pastor Mark is a Kiwi and loves being pastor of St Paul’s Lutheran Church in Ōtautahi (Christchurch) on New Zealand’s South Island. He is bishop emeritus of the Lutheran Church of New Zealand (LCNZ), has served on the LCA Commission on Worship and represents the LCNZ on the Roman Catholic–Lutheran Dialogue Commission. He is married to Leanne and is dad to Chelsea (and Tim), Brittany and Charlotte. A musician (organist, pianist, singer and composer), Mark also enjoys gardening, making people laugh and following sport, especially cricket and rugby. And when the opportunity arises, he loves eating rollmops on fresh bread with his father-in-law, Kevin.
Pursued by goodness and mercy
by Kathy Matuschka
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Sure goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long (Psalm 23:6).
Read Psalm 23
Sometimes (not always), my hospital chaplaincy conversations turn to matters of Christian faith, and the person I am visiting indicates they would like me to pray with them. It’s not unusual for the conversation to continue like this:
‘Shall I read from the Bible before we pray? Do you have a favourite text?’
‘Er ….’
‘How about Psalm 23 – The Lord is my Shepherd?’
‘(Big smile) Oh yes!’
I used to think that the frequent choice of Psalm 23 for funerals, as well as TV and movie depictions of church services, was a cliché. I imagined that people chose it because it was the only Scripture they knew.
But since I’ve been a hospital chaplain, I’ve become convinced that this choice comes from somewhere important and real. Maybe it comes from a connection with the faith of a loved parent or grandparent, or perhaps it expresses a faith that transcends organised religion for the person I’m sitting beside, or maybe they are a regular churchgoer. It doesn’t matter: Psalm 23 offers a map of real life and a statement of trust in God’s loving presence.
Psalm 23 levels the playing field: whether your faith is simple and earthy, or you have a PhD in theology, it’s like the manger: we come with nothing to give and everything to receive. I love the imagery in verse six above of goodness and mercy pursuing us. We like to think we can keep our eyes on the Shepherd ahead of us and simply follow, but in fact, we need training to stay on track. Like a sheepdog nipping at our heels, goodness and mercy chase us down again and again, drawing us to rest in God’s presence.
Dear loving Shepherd, you know what is on my heart and mind today. Please hem me in with your goodness and mercy, so that I can rest in your presence as I continue on my way. Amen.
Kathy is learning to give up her struggle to make sense of God and God’s world, and instead rest in the mystery of love that holds her each day.
Where is the vineyard?
by Kathy Matuschka
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But the residents of the city were divided: some sided with the Jews, and some with the apostles (Acts 14:4).
Read Acts 14:1–6
Every reading since Sunday has included (and even featured) a vineyard. Where is our vineyard today? The only organic elements seem to be people! And the people are in a muddle, to put it mildly. The community is not in a healthy way.
When Paul and Barnabas visited Pisidian Antioch during Paul’s first missionary journey, almost the entire city listened to them speak (Acts 13:44). While not all were converted, many Jews and Gentiles became followers of Jesus.
As they continued to Iconium in the same region, Paul and Barnabas were met with increasing opposition. While some locals were interested, others plotted to stone them. So they continued to Lystra, where they sadly were stoned!
As we read, we might wonder whether their mission to this region will bear fruit. But already in Acts 14:21,22, there is evidence of new shoots appearing: Paul and Barnabas returned to Iconium and encouraged those who had become followers of Jesus!
Later, Paul visited the region with Silas, and we read that one of the converts was Timothy, who joined them on their missionary journey. And so, the church grew.
It’s easy to judge the Jews who refused to recognise the coming of the Messiah and the fruit of God’s Spirit among them, resisting a new message from God to the point of violence.
But how often do we encounter division within Christian churches, between followers of Jesus? People feel passionately that either something needs to change or that it needs to remain unchanged. Each person believes themselves faithful to God’s word. Anxieties manifest themselves. Tensions increase as people choose sides. Judgements get made, and we hurt one another.
Dear God, thank you for planting me in the ‘vineyard’ where I am. Please forgive me for the times I judge my fellow believers harshly. Please help me to see the ways I inadvertently encourage misunderstanding or division in your church. Renew my heart and mind. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
Kathy is learning to give up her struggle to make sense of God and God’s world, and instead rest in the mystery of love that holds her each day.