Thought for Today
1 Samuel 21:4 The priest answered David, "I have no ordinary bread at hand, only holy bread-- provided that the young men have kept themselves from women."
Ezekiel 48:15 The remainder, five thousand cubits in width and twenty-five thousand in length, shall be for ordinary use for the city, for dwellings and for open country. In the middle of it shall be the city;
Romans 9:21 Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one object for special use and another for ordinary use?
2 Timothy 2:20 In a large house there are utensils not only of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for special use, some for ordinary.
Tomorrow is the First Sunday in Lent. From now until Easter, we will talk about and think about the events leading up to Holy Week, the Crucifixion and the Resurrection. For Christians these are among the truly defining events of our faith. They are in every sense extraordinary events.
This morning, however, I’m thinking about all of the ordinary events that went on during Jesus’ life and during the period we remember during Lent. I was surprised to find that the word ordinary appears fewer than a dozen times in the Bible. On reflection, that is probably understandable since the Bible focuses on the extraordinary. Ironically, the word extraordinary appears even fewer times.
Last Sunday, in my sermon I remarked on a phrase many of us have probably heard, “Mountaintops are for revelations. Ordinary life occurs in the valleys.” That is certainly true in the Bible. Moses received the commandments and the laws on Mt. Sinai. In Matthew’s gospel, the Beatitudes are delivered as part of what we often refer to as the Sermon on the Mount, “5:1 When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain . . . “
Yet, in one of the most comforting passages in the Old Testament, we read those reassuring words, “Psalm 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” (KJV) Even if we are not currently walking “through the valley of the shadow of death,” we do spend most of our lives in the valleys.
Have you ever wondered about what was going on in the lives of Jesus and/or the disciples immediately before the Last Supper? We do have that interesting story about obtaining the colt upon which Jesus rode on Palm Sunday, "Mark 11:2 Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden; untie it and bring it. 3 If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?' just say this, 'The Lord needs it and will send it back here immediately.'" Have you ever wondered whether or not the colt was returned? If so, by whom? If not, did the owner of the colt just suffer a financial loss?
Jesus told his disciples, "Luke 22:10 Listen," he said to them, ‘when you have entered the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow him into the house he enters 11 and say to the owner of the house, “The teacher asks you, ‘Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?"' 12 He will show you a large room upstairs, already furnished. Make preparations for us there.” Who arranged for the room reservation in advance? Who owned the house? Was he paid for the room reservation?
During these seminal events of our faith we remember during Lent, it is easy and tempting to become lost in the reverence and focus on ‘special’ events. It is easy for us to lose sight of the reality that our faith is equally important and equally necessary during the ordinary times in our lives. Whether in the “valley of the shadow of death” or in the ‘valley of the mundane,’ God’s “rod and . . . staff they comfort me.”
"’God of the gaps’ is a theological concept that emerged in the 19th century, and revolves around the idea that gaps in scientific understanding are regarded as indications of the existence of God.” (en.wikipedia.org) I like to think of that phrase, “God of the gaps” as a reminder that God is always God. Whether on the mountaintops or the valleys, in extraordinary times and in ordinary times, God is always God. In all times, in all places, in all circumstances, God’s “rod and . . . staff they comfort me.”
This Lent and throughout the year, remember, someone arranged for the room, someone ordered and delivered the wine, someone baked the bread. Jesus is the Son of God and our Savior all the time.
Stay safe, always walk with God, trust God,
Pastor Ray