3 His divine power has given us everything needed for life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
4 Thus he has given us, through these things, his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of lust, and may become participants of the divine nature.
5 For this very reason, you must make every effort to support your faith with goodness, and goodness with knowledge,
6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with endurance, and endurance with godliness,
7 and godliness with mutual affection, and mutual affection with love.
8 For if these things are yours and are increasing among you, they keep you from being ineffective and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 For anyone who lacks these things is nearsighted and blind, and is forgetful of the cleansing of past sins.
10 Therefore, brothers and sisters, be all the more eager to confirm your call and election, for if you do this, you will never stumble.
11 For in this way, entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly provided for you.
12 Therefore I intend to keep on reminding you of these things, though you know them already and are established in the truth that has come to you.
13 I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to refresh your memory,
14 since I know that my death will come soon, as indeed our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me.
15 And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.

We agree that faith in God’s grace is the means of justification – of being in right relationship with God.  Salvation is a gift of God and it is through God’s grace, not through our own works, that we are saved.  This is central to not only our understanding of God’s covenantal love for his creation, but of the very reason for the incarnation, the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Then we read a passage such as today’s lesson scripture or James 2:14-17 and we wonder, “Is faith alone sufficient?”

The other question goes to the heart of our beliefs as well.  It came up in the context of living a life of good works, of doing justice to the command to love our neighbors as ourselves.  In discussing the “divine nature”, we talked of examples such as Mother Teresa and other saints.  Some mentioned the example of a soldier being willing to give up his life for his comrades.  Some brought up Gandhi and others wondered about the peasant who has never heard of the Gospel, but lives its essence every day.  So, who is saved?   Those who have faith in Christ and Christ alone?  Those whose faith is backed up by works?  Those who are participants in the “divine nature” by whatever means and by whatever path?

My belief is that we are saved by God’s grace through faith in Christ alone.  This should manifest itself in good works – in those virtues listed in verses 5-7 of today’s lesson scripture, but this is a personal matter between each repentant and God.  What is manifest for one person, may not be manifest for another.  My concern is for my own works, my own struggle to particpate in God’s divine nature and, in doing so, to serve my fellow beings.  As for those who are not Christians, I only know this: that the Good News is that Christ came, lived as God in human form, died and returned from the dead and will come again.  That God did this out of love for all of humankind, so that everyone should have access to eternal life.  This is what I know through faith.  This is what I am instructed to share with all the world at all times – when necessary using words.

Danny pointed me toward Karen Sudduth’s wonderful site today. If you subscribe to our church’s daily devotional, you’re familiar with some of Karen’s writing. When I read the devotional that our church emailed us today, I knew who the author was within the first few sentences. There’s not many people that I can recognize through their writing that quickly – but she’s that good (and her artwork is too).  I could share more with you about Karen’s journey, but I’ll let others who know her comment here.  Better yet, take a trip to her site and learn for yourself.

Anyway, thanks to Danny for pointing us to Karen’s site.  It is a blessing.

Moses didn’t bother with the “why” – he simply stated that God had chosen Israel and then answered the question, “What does being chosen require of you?”  The answer, echoed by Micah some centuries later, is simple. 

10 I stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights, as I had done the first time. And once again the Lord listened to me. The Lord was unwilling to destroy you.
11 The Lord said to me, “Get up, go on your journey at the head of the people, that they may go in and occupy the land that I swore to their ancestors to give them.”

12 So now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you? Only to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul,
13 and to keep the commandments of the Lord your God and his decrees that I am commanding you today, for your own well-being.
14 Although heaven and the heaven of heavens belong to the Lord your God, the earth with all that is in it,
15 yet the Lord set his heart in love on your ancestors alone and chose you, their descendants after them, out of all the peoples, as it is today.  Deut 10:10-15 (NRSV)

God doesn’t choose us for what we’ve done – he chooses us out of love and we can repay that love by what we do.

So, I’ve missed some blogging about some of my favorite passages during the past couple of weeks.  Probably just as well, because I don’t know that I was up to doing them justice with trying to do everything else.  It seemed appropriate to blog on the passages this week, including today’s passage, given the discussion we had in our Wright study this week on the chapter on Israel.  We sometimes forget that we are the inheritors of a tradition rooted in Judaism and the Old Testament.  Rejoicing in God’s gift of grace, we sometimes forget the gift of God’s law.  This is one of the things we discussed this week – the blessing that God’s law was for Israel – and through Israel, the world.  The law is all about relationships – with God and with one another.   I’m also reading a book by James Reston, Jr., Dogs of God: Columbus, the Inquisition, and the Defeat of the Moors, that deals in part with the shameful way that Christians treated Jews in Spain (a failing that, unfortunately, is not limited either geographically or in time).  How easy it is to forget that Israel, the “Suffering Servant” is meant, as was foretold to Abraham, a blessing to all the nations.

18 For I know their works and their thoughts, and I am coming to gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come and shall see my glory,
19 and I will set a sign among them. From them I will send survivors to the nations, to Tarshish, Put, and Lud—which draw the bow—to Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands far away that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the nations.
20 They shall bring all your kindred from all the nations as an offering to the Lord, on horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and on mules, and on dromedaries, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, says the Lord, just as the Israelites bring a grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of the Lord.  Isaiah 66:18-20 (NRSV)

We need to remember that we are a part of this heritage – that we are to be a blessing to all the nations – that we have our part to play in fulfilling the words of the prophet.

6 He said to me, ‘It is your son Solomon who shall build my house and my courts, for I have chosen him to be a son to me, and I will be a father to him.
7 I will establish his kingdom forever if he continues resolute in keeping my commandments and my ordinances, as he is today.’
8 Now therefore in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of the Lord, and in the hearing of our God, observe and search out all the commandments of the Lord your God; that you may possess this good land, and leave it for an inheritance to your children after you forever.
9 ”And you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve him with single mind and willing heart; for the Lord searches every mind, and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will abandon you forever.
10 Take heed now, for the Lord has chosen you to build a house as the sanctuary; be strong, and act.”  1 Chron 28:6-10 (NRSV)

Sometimes when scripture doesn’t speak to me right off the bat I try using a form of Lectio Divina.  I tried that today and what struck me about this passage was the phrase at the very end: “Be strong, and act.”  I understand from a rational perspective that the editors want us to concentrate on that part of the scripture that talks about seeking and keeping God’s commandments, but I remain drawn to those closing words – “be strong, and act”!

I think about Tevye in the musical Fiddler on the Roof.  Remember the final verse of “If I were a Rich Man”?  Tevye longs for the time to spend studying scripture and debating with the rabbis near the Eastern Wall of the synagogue.  I can really identify with that desire – to read and read books on theology and biblical wisdom, and then to debate them with others.  But at heart I know that that doesn’t advance God’s kingdom – it is through acting in the strength of faith that we will ultimately accomplish God’s purpose: to creat a good and just world through the efforts of his creations: humankind.

17 I know, my God, that you search the heart, and take pleasure in uprightness; in the uprightness of my heart I have freely offered all these things, and now I have seen your people, who are present here, offering freely and joyously to you.
18 O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our ancestors, keep forever such purposes and thoughts in the hearts of your people, and direct their hearts toward you.
19 Grant to my son Solomon that with single mind he may keep your commandments, your decrees, and your statutes, performing all of them, and that he may build the temple for which I have made provision.”  1 Chron 29:17-19 (NRSV)

We’ve never been able to do this on our own.  The first step to a lasting relationship is to prayer for his help.

8 Oh give thanks to the Lord, call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples.
9 Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; Speak of all His wonders .
10 Glory in His holy name; Let the heart of those who seek the Lord be glad.
11 Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek His face continually.
12 Remember His wonderful deeds which He has done, His marvels and the judgments from His mouth,
13 O seed of Israel His servant, Sons of Jacob, His chosen ones!
14 He is the Lord our God; His judgments are in all the earth.
15 Remember His covenant forever, The word which He commanded to a thousand generations,
16 The covenant which He made with Abraham, And His oath to Isaac.  1 Chron 16:8-16 (NASB)

Our work isn’t perfect – only God’s work is so.  But that doesn’t let us off the hook.  We are to constantly seek to know his will.  This isn’t always easy as we let other things take precedence.  God grant that we have the strength to seek his will and his presence constantly.  If we can only discern his purpose for us each day, then we can lend our help in building the New Creation – there is no better way to please him than to help him in whatever small way we are able.

11 For thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out.
12 ”As a shepherd cares for his herd in the day when he is among his scattered sheep , so I will care for My sheep and will deliver them from all the places to which they were scattered on a cloudy and gloomy day.
13 ”I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries and bring them to their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the streams, and in all the inhabited places of the land.
14 ”I will feed them in a good pasture, and their grazing ground will be on the mountain heights of Israel. There they will lie down on good grazing ground and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel.
15 ”I will feed My flock and I will lead them to rest,” declares the Lord God.
16 ”I will seek the lost, bring back the scattered, bind up the broken and strengthen the sick; but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with judgment. Ezekiel  34:11-16 (NASB)

I wonder if Ezekiel had in mind a shepherd who would lay down his life for the sheep.  Perhaps he did – but did he realize that God himself would come into this world to save his flock.  Do we understand what God intends to do to save this world?  I don’t think any of us fully realize what he intends to do, but we are guided by his words.  To love one another, even the least and the lost, as he loved.  That is the task he has set us.

5 Then I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor with you, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my ancestors’ graves, so that I may rebuild it.” 
11 So I came to Jerusalem and was there for three days.
12 Then I got up during the night, I and a few men with me; I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem. The only animal I took was the animal I rode.
13 I went out by night by the Valley Gate past the Dragon’s Spring and to the Dung Gate, and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem that had been broken down and its gates that had been destroyed by fire.
14 Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and to the King’s Pool; but there was no place for the animal I was riding to continue.
15 So I went up by way of the valley by night and inspected the wall. Then I turned back and entered by the Valley Gate, and so returned.
16 The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing; I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, and the rest that were to do the work.
17 Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, so that we may no longer suffer disgrace.”
18 I told them that the hand of my God had been gracious upon me, and also the words that the king had spoken to me. Then they said, “Let us start building!” So they committed themselves to the common good.
19 But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they mocked and ridiculed us, saying, “What is this that you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?”
20 Then I replied to them, “The God of heaven is the one who will give us success, and we his servants are going to start building; but you have no share or claim or historic right in Jerusalem.”  Neh 2:5, 11-20 (NRSV)

Of course, the problem isn’t the ultimate goal – it’s how we get there.  Nehemiah shows us that careful measurement and contemplation of the task, together with prayer for God’s guidance, is necessary before we commence to rally support.  There is a lesson in the reaction of the people as well.  We must also be mindful of keeping open minds toward the leadership of others.  We could scoff with the Sanballats, Tobiahs and Geshems of the world, but it is better to lay our hand to the work; to say “Let us start building!”