Standing Before God 17th Day in Lent (Monday) Read: Romans 5:1-11 “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.” Romans 5:1-2a (NIV) ‘Grace is the basis for our standing before God’. What does it mean to ‘stand before a King’? I enjoy reading the historical fiction books by Philippa Gregory. It is obvious in these books that there was a hierarchy in society in the Middle Ages. There was the upper class consisting of the kings/monarchs, nobles, knights, and clergy. Then the middle class tended to be the merchants, doctors, and those with important jobs; and then there was the lower class – the peasants and serfs who performed all the menial tasks and jobs. Firstly, to see the king you had to get through all the secretaries and make an appointment – only if you had an important issue. If it wasn’t important or considered necessary or beneficial to the kingship, there would be no way to stand in the king’s presence. Through the saving action of God in His Son Jesus Christ, God has allowed us to come directly into His presence and talk to Him freely. Back in the Old Testament times, the common people had to talk to God through the priests and offer sacrifices to make themselves worthy. Now we are reconciled with God. Reconciliation is talked about quite freely in society and between cultures and nations, but the essence of reconciliation is to bring people together with differences or conflicts and help them understand each other. Being reconciled with God means that He has come to us directly and made us clean through the act of Jesus on the cross. He opened Himself up for us to understand more of the nature of God. So, we can stand in His presence – the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. We don’t have to ask for an audience from a priest or secretary. Through the grace of God, we can stand in His presence and ask Him for whatever is on our minds. We can understand and accept the grace and love that He offers us every day. Jesus’ act of suffering allowed us to stand before God. Prayer: Dear Lord God, thank you for your reconciling love and act of grace toward me. Being able to stand in your presence is humbling, helps me always to be appreciative. Amen. 2
Pruning season
by Kathy Matuschka
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He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit (John 15:2).
Read John 15:1–16
Yesterday, we finished our reflection imagining ourselves as fig trees in need of digging and fertilising so that we might bear more fruit. You don’t mind if we continue that train of thought, do you? (Ouch!)
Today, we zoom in to consider one plant in a vineyard. Jesus describes himself as the vine, and those who follow him as its branches. (Paul does something similar in Romans 11:17, when he refers to us Gentiles as wild olive branches grafted into a cultivated olive tree through Jesus Christ.)
The verse above has been very important at different times of my life. I first encountered its power as a young adult, when I wondered why serving God was not bringing me greater joy and satisfaction. I thought I was following Jesus, but I continued to struggle with depression, shame and self-doubt. What was going on?
One day, as I was reading this passage, I noticed that God cuts off branches that bear no fruit (I remembered that bit), but there was more! The branches that bear fruit are pruned so that they can bear more fruit. With the help of God’s Spirit, I saw I was being lovingly pruned so that I could bear more fruit. It still didn’t feel great, but what a comfort it was to know my loving Lord cared enough about me to personally intervene in ways that would enable me to become more fruitful!
This passage continually comforts me when pruning time comes around. I’m learning that pruning time is a time to be still. It’s not time to concern myself with how fruitful I am or where this is leading, but to rest in God’s wise and loving care.
Dear Jesus, thank you for coming to live with us and doing all the work so we can be connected to you forever. Thank you, Holy Spirit, for empowering us to grow in fruitfulness. 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.
This isn’t smelling great!
by Kathy Matuschka
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
He replied, ‘Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it’ (Luke 13:8).
Read Luke 13:6–9
So far this week, a vineyard has featured in every Bible reading. The vineyard has had a versatile role, covering the thriller (bad vineyard tenants), romance (Song of Solomon) and historical (return of the exiles from captivity) genres. Today, the vineyard plays a supporting role, with a fig tree taking centre stage in a parable.
The fig tree is planted in a vineyard. While it offers shade for the workers, it fails to produce fruit for the owner, who instructs his worker to cut it down. The worker begs for one more chance: he will dig around it and apply fertiliser. Then, if it still doesn’t fruit, they’ll cut it down.
The story’s context is that Jesus has just been teaching about the end times. Reflecting on recent tragedies, he assures his listeners that the people who died were not worse sinners than anyone else. Jesus challenges them to remember that death comes to everyone, and so they should repent (learn to see things God’s way) while they still can.
Like the vineyard worker, God is patient and merciful, but there is a hard deadline for them – and for us. The deadline is our common humanity: we all die.
Life and death are unpredictable. Death often comes suddenly. The drama of the fig tree is left in suspense: Will the tree bear fruit, or is it in its final year?
As Christians, we live with this suspense. We are not always confident about our fruitfulness. Sometimes God digs around our base, which leads us to feel wobbly and uncertain. Sometimes God allows something in our lives that doesn’t smell like it would be good for us (like fertiliser)!
Jesus urges us to repent. As individuals and communities, God’s Spirit calls us to see things in a way we haven’t before. So that we can produce fruit that we never imagined we could.
Dear God, thank you for your patience and mercy. Thank you for what you are doing in my heart right now. Please help me to bear good fruit. 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.
Settled
by Kathy Matuschka
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I will plant them upon their land, and they shall never again be plucked up out of the land that I have given them, says the Lord your God (Amos 9:15).
Read Amos 9:13–15
Some of my ancestors settled in South Australia’s Barossa Valley – which is known for vineyards and winemaking – after they emigrated from what is now Germany. Unfortunately, the place they chose to settle, Hoffnungsthal (Valley of Hope), flooded, and so they moved elsewhere and started again. Generations later, my parents moved into the Barossa, so I grew up back where our families began their time in Australia.
The vineyards in today’s texts are described as fruitful, just as in the readings we heard yesterday and the day before. After all, a vineyard’s purpose is to produce grapes.
Today’s vineyards are so productive that the reapers are said to overtake the sowers – obviously an exaggeration intended to highlight the vineyards’ fruitfulness and the delight this brings.
But ultimately, there is something more wondrous than the vineyard’s productivity: its location. This vineyard is back home, in Israel! It fulfils Yahweh’s promise through the prophet Amos that although the Hebrew people will be taken into exile in a foreign land, they will later return. Both the people and their vineyards will be planted in their own land again.
Settled.
I grew up in a time of rich harvest for my denomination. As the daughter of Lutheran teachers, I witnessed the growth of Lutheran schools and the effort it took to achieve this growth! I viewed the mission harvest God gave us as normal because I had never known anything different. I felt settled.
Things have changed in more recent decades, and I have felt unsettled; I’m not sure where we are as a church now, and what the future might hold. My questions are being answered in the increasing number of stories of congregation members turning up to share God’s love in practical ways with new generations. Have you noticed it, too?
Loving Creator, because your dear Son Jesus rose from death, I am settled in you – forever. Through the power of your Spirit, I praise and thank you – forever. 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.