Inner and Outward Circumcision

  • January 16, 2023
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  • John Tillman

Scripture Focus: Genesis 17.23-27
23 On that very day Abraham took his son Ishmael and all those born in his household or bought with his money, every male in his household, and circumcised them, as God told him. 24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised, 25 and his son Ishmael was thirteen; 26 Abraham and his son Ishmael were both circumcised on that very day. 27 And every male in Abraham’s household, including those born in his household or bought from a foreigner, was circumcised with him. 

John 16.1-4
1 “All this I have told you so that you will not fall away. 2 They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God. 3 They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. 4 I have told you this, so that when their time comes you will remember that I warned you about them.

Acts 7.51
51 “You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit!

From John: Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The purpose of this day is to encourage service to one’s community. Along with that purpose, we also acknowledge that many have wrongly thought that they were doing “a service for God” (John 16.2) when they committed acts of violence. May our service bring about a loving community on Earth that mirrors that above and may we redouble our efforts to counter violence and the normalization of violent language and threats in our world.

Reflection: Inner and Outward Circumcision
By John Tillman

Every male in Abraham’s household was circumcised. Not just his offspring. Not just his blood relatives. Not just those of his race or country. Everyone. Abraham did not yet have the son God promised, but all those with him were marked as children of this promise.

Even though it set Abraham apart from the rest of the world, from the very beginning circumcision made one people from diverse peoples. It was intended as an external physical marker of an internal spiritual reality. 

Eventually, circumcision, and other distinguishing marks of faith, went from being about inclusion to being about exclusion. “Holiness” became just another kind of sinful show.

Jesus warned his disciples of what they would face in the immediate future from the religious elite. Paul and Stephen would soon live out Jesus’ words. (Acts 7.51-60) Stephen called out “uncircumcised” hearts and ears of those deaf and blind to God’s Word and his work. Their inner spirituality did not match their outward ritual purity.

With any religious practice, it is easy for the ritual to become a replacement for the spiritual. Our legalistic holiness can become a sinfully prideful show. If we are not careful, we can lose our love for the Lord, and other humans, amidst our liturgies. 

But without ritual or liturgy or law our “spirituality” is just a mush of feelings—ecstatic highs and depressive lows. Liturgy, law, and the rhythmic rituals of worship are tools to remind us that we are included. They are intended to set us apart from the world and, at the same time, hold out an invitation to the world. We, like the foreigners in Abraham’s household, can be marked as children of the promise alongside Christ, Abraham’s true son.

Faith can start outwardly. Nonbelievers may begin reading the Bible, coming to church, singing worship songs, or changing outward behaviors of their lives. This can be a path to inward faith.

Faith can start inwardly. People may have sudden or life-altering conversions of heart. These may lead to disciplines such as Bible reading, worship, and lifestyle changes.

Wherever faith starts, may every part, inward and outward, be changed. By God’s grace, may our ears, hearts, and every part of our lives bear the mark of a “circumcision” that is more than skin deep. May our inner spirituality and outward reality match.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Greeting
Be exalted, O Lord, in your might; we will sing and praise your power. — Psalm 21.14

Today’s Readings
Genesis 17 (Listen 4:02) 
John 16 (Listen 4:14)

Read more about The Necessity of The Spirit
Othniel and Stephen are two men touched and led by the Spirit of God to very different outcomes.

The Necessity of The Spirit

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The Landless Wanderer

  • January 11, 2023
  • /
  • Erin Newton

Scripture Focus: Genesis 12:1
The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.”

Reflection: The Landless Wanderer
By Erin Newton

Nomad. Vagabond. Roamer. We have many words for those who travel, often without a permanent home. Gordon Wenham refers to Abraham as a “landless wanderer” to our human eyes.

The story of Abraham’s call marks a pivotal moment in Genesis. From creation to the Tower of Babel, humanity has encountered a series of judgments: the banishment from the Garden, the curse of Cain, the Flood, and the disruption of easy communication. God now calls out to one person, granting a message of peace and blessing to him.

From the text, we know that Abraham was 75 with a wife, extended family, but no children. He had servants (whether they were slaves or willing employees, it is unclear in this chapter) and many possessions.

In short, he was well established, self-sufficient. He was a man of means that quickly caught the attention of the Egyptian Pharaoh later in the chapter. The stability that Abraham enjoyed was self-made and self-secured.

Suddenly, God calls him to walk an unknown path with an unknown future, leave all he ever knew. Everything hinged upon the promise that God would bless his family and through him, the world. The details were vague, only a promise. By faith, Abraham responded and followed.

It is hard to imagine someone of great means leaving it all. The idea is so mystifying that we are enamored by stories with such plotlines. Royals leaving the monarchy. Billionaires donating their wealth. Pastors leaving their megachurch. The security in each case is established through wealth, power, prestige, or popularity. Give that up? Preposterous!

In these cases, the reason could be righteous or not. In the case of Abraham, it is a righteous response that is expressed in his immediate worship. Abraham would follow, perhaps looking like a fool to his peers.

It is a call we see repeated throughout the Bible. Jesus, a landless wanderer himself with no place to lay his head, leaves the glory of the right hand of God to fulfill his call on Earth. The disciples, busy with their work, are called to leave it all and follow Jesus. We are called to do the same.

Each journey is not without trials and tribulations. Abraham was not exempt. Jesus was not exempt. We will not be exempt. 

What has God called you to do? Where has he called you to go? Where will you be a blessing?

Divine Hours Prayer: A Reading
Jesus taught us, saying: “Do not worry; do not say, ‘What are we to eat? What are we to drink? What are we to wear?’ It is the gentiles who set their hearts on all these things. Your heavenly Father knows you need them all. Set your hearts on his kingdom first, and on God’s saving justice, and all these other things will be given you as well.” — Matthew 6.31-33

Today’s Readings
Genesis 12 (Listen 2:51)
John 11 (Listen 6:37)

Read more about Faith Honors God
To believe in God as Abraham did is to be right with God because faith honors God. Faith says to God: “I believe what you say.”

Faith Honors God :: Throwback Thursday

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We are Socially Responsible

  • January 4, 2023
  • /
  • Erin Newton

Scripture Focus: Genesis 4:9
Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”
“I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

Reflection: We are Socially Responsible
By Erin Newton

As swiftly as sin breaks the peace between God and Adam, sin devours the hearts of his children. The story of Cain and Abel is an infamous tale of sibling rivalry, jealousy, and the first recorded murder in the Bible.

The quarrel between Cain and Abel is one-sided. Abel has done nothing wrong. He is a bystander in the story. He is, obviously, the victim.

When God looks favorably upon Abel’s sacrifice and not on Cain’s, anger brews in Cain’s heart. Why? Well, scholars are not entirely sure. It could be that he was prone to anger. It could be jealousy of his brother. It could be from a sense of entitlement and not being recognized for his efforts.

The text is not entirely clear about why God rejected the sacrifice either. All the characters seem to be aware of the religious protocol and Cain must have cut some corners.

Sin grows from anger in his heart to murder by his hands. Sin magnifies where self-control diminishes.

Cain kills his brother and, when confronted, he pulls an Adam-like response: deflecting blame. Cain deflects responsibility. Am I my brother’s keeper?

Cain knew Abel’s location. It was right where he left his body. Cain only cared about Cain.

Our world is built around individualism. Prosperity is only for those who help themselves. No hand-outs.

But what is our social responsibility to one another? Is it merely refraining from physical harm? Would Cain have been ok if he had just let Abel live?

God warned Cain that he needed to act rightly. Sin was prowling, looking for a victim, someone who could take the blame or become an outlet for hate.

The story of Cain is usually read as a warning about murder. The story is reduced to its most obvious features. Don’t murder. Sin is crouching. Cain bad. Abel good.

This simplistic idea misses the social impact of the text. Humanity has been created to be social. That social feature of our being is not for individual happiness or individual success. We are made to help one another, support one another, and truly be our “brother’s keeper.”

Not murdering one another is the lowest possible bar we could set for ourselves. As the Bible continues to unfold, we will see how God intended for us to care for each other in sickness and health, for better or worse, from womb to tomb.

Divine Hours Prayer: A Reading
Jesus taught the people, saying: “I tell you most solemnly, everyone who commits sin is a slave. Now a slave has no permanent standing in the household, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the son sets you free, you will indeed be free. — John 8.34-36

Today’s Readings
Genesis 4 (Listen 3:54) 
John 4 (Listen 6:37)

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From Your Nothing…Something Beautiful

  • January 2, 2023
  • /
  • John Tillman

Scripture Focus: John 2.6-11
6 Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. 

7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim. 

8 Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.” 

They did so, 9 and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside 10 and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.” 

11 What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him. 

Genesis 1.1-2
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 

Reflection: From Your Nothing…Something Beautiful
By John Tillman

I recently came across a video by Dr. Darrell Johnson. In it, Dr. Johnson explains why turning the water into wine is, in his opinion, the most miraculous thing done by Jesus that is surpassed only by his resurrection.

What about feeding the 5,000? What about raising Lazarus? Well, as Dr. Johnson explains, when he fed the 5,000 he only multiplied what was there and when he raised the dead he only reanimated what was there. In the miracle of the water into wine, he demonstrated that he can create something from nothing.

I have, in the past, wondered why John, who only chose seven miraculous signs to testify to Jesus’ divinity, would spend one of his seven choices on the wine at the wedding. I thought perhaps John wanted to start small. But Dr. Johnson has made me reconsider that. 

John opened his gospel with a poetic description of Jesus, the Word, as a participant in the creation of the world—that “through him, all things were made.” (John 1.1-3) In Genesis, the “nothing” from which God created the world was “formless and empty” water. The Spirit of God hovered over this empty and formless deep sea and John testifies that Jesus was there.

The biblical authors, including John, didn’t have a concept of “nothing” that was formed, as ours has been, by space travel. To them, the vacuum of space was the open ocean, and “nothing” meant the formless, useless, shapeless, chaos of the deep waters.

Perhaps John remembered and related this story specifically because it places Jesus once again hovering over deep pools of “nothing” and turning them into something.

How has your past year gone? Are you, like the wedding host, staring down scarcity? Are you hovering over deep waters of disappointment? When you look for meaning or achievements, do you see only formless, useless, shapeless, chaos, like the shifting waves of the deep ocean?

Give your scarcity, your vacuum, your chaotic, shapeless, formless fears and failures of the past to Jesus. Sense him hovering over them with you. From your nothing, Jesus can make something beautiful.

The water became the finest wine that brought joy to the heart. What will your “nothing” become? What it will be can only be known by following him. Join us in following him. And bring someone with you.

Divine Hours Prayer:
Proclaim with me the greatness of the Lord; let us exalt his name together. — Psalm 34.3

Today’s Readings
Genesis 2 (Listen 3:42) 
John 2 (Listen 3:02)

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God In the Dark — Hope of Advent

  • November 29, 2021
  • /
  • John Tillman

Scripture Focus: 2 Peter 1.19
19 We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

Genesis 1.2-3
2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

Reflection: God In the Dark — Hope of Advent
By John Tillman

The darkness is a place of hope. Why? God seems to be attracted to darkness.

The first picture of God that the writers of scripture give to us is not on a lofty throne, set in shining heavens. On the very first page of scripture, two things are “over” the surface of the deep waters: darkness and the Spirit of God. God hovers over dark, chaotic waters. God enters creation’s darkness and sparks light and life.

God is often found in darkness. 

God shows up in slavery (Genesis 37.28), in deserts (Exodus 3.1-4), in winepresses (Judges 6.1-14), in cisterns (Jeremiah 38.6-13), in caves (1 Kings 19.3-9), in hiding (1 Samuel 24), in terrifying dreams (Daniel 4.4-5), in madness (Daniel 4.34), in the belly of a beast (Jonah 2), in the lions’ den (Daniel 6.19-23), in sickness (Matthew 9.27-33), in demonic attack (Luke 8.1-3), on death beds (Acts 9.40-42), in tombs (John 11.38-44), and even in the depths of hell (Psalm 139.7-12).

In the darkness of Ur, God called Abram out to look up at the stars and number the shining lights to know the number of his children. In the darkness of Saul’s fading kingdom, God promised David a son who would establish an eternal kingdom of light. 

In the darkness of Israel’s suffering under Rome, God set a star in the heavens announcing a son of David who would fulfill both the promise to Abraham and to David. But more than that, Jesus was the fulfillment of promises of light made to every human being from Eve to Mary. The birth of Jesus was God’s ultimate entrance into darkness.

When we find ourselves in dark places of the world or facing darkness within ourselves, we can remember that God enters the dark. No matter how dark our times,  our circumstances, or our mood we can trust that God will send his light.

God still raises our eyes to the heavens to ponder the Abrahamic promise.
God still causes light to dawn on lands in deep darkness.
God still says “let there be light” and causes the Morningstar to rise in our hearts.

Beyond the dark horizon
Out where the people are dying
The son of man will be rising
The glory of the lord will be shining

Shatter the dark horizon
Out where the people are crying
A Morningstar will be rising
Rising to show us the way

Music: “Morningstar” by Whiteheart.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Request for Presence
Your word is a lantern to my feet and a light upon my path. — Psalm 119.105

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Today’s Readings
1 Chronicles 26-27 (Listen – 7:01)
1 Peter 5 (Listen – 5:39)

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At the year’s darkest point, humanity waits until the light returns, like a second Easter.

The Gift of Hope :: Hope of Advent