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03
Mar '25
March 2025 Pastor’s Corner – How Has He Loved Us?
03
Mar '25
“I have loved you,” says the LORD. But you say, “How have you loved us?” — Malachi 1:2
It’s a conversation that happens with all too much regularity in a marriage. A husband tells his wife, “I love you,” to which she replies, “How have you loved me?” As the 90s rock band Extreme famously crooned, it takes more than words in order for someone else to know they are loved and valued. Words matter, but just as much are the actions and symbols of love. Every relationship goes through periods of complacency, where we take the love and presence of the other person for granted and just assume they know they are loved. Sometimes, though, the husband might be doing everything right, but the wife has stopped paying attention. It isn’t just our relationships with other people that go through these seasons, we also experience it in our relationship with God — perhaps even moreso.
In our Bibles, the book of Malachi is the last book in the Old Testament. It’s one of the shortest books in the entire Bible and is unique in that it is basically a series of six disputations. “God lays a charge against his people concerning some failure in covenant, to which the people respond by asking how they have failed. The response always begins with “But you say” (which was perhaps not stated verbally—Malachi may be exposing only half-conscious resentment and resistance to God). The third step in this pattern shows God answering his people’s question; the fourth closes each section with the Lord applying this answer, with warnings and promises for the future.” (ESV Expositor’s Commentary)
We don’t know exactly when Malachi delivered his prophecies, but we do know it was after the exiles had returned to Jerusalem and the temple rebuilt — at least partially. And yet, the Messiah had yet to return. It had been hundreds of years since the Israelites had received God’s promises of restoration and redemption, and even longer since they had last seen the miraculous works of the Lord. It would still be yet another 300-400 years before Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah, finally came, bringing with him miraculous works and fulfilling all of the promises of God. But over the course of hundreds of years of waiting, the Israelites began wondering if God still loved, let alone cared, for them. No word from the prophets, no miraculous signs and wonders, no change in their circumstances. At best, the people and the priests started taking God’s love for granted; at worst, they began to treat God with disdain and disrespect — going through the motions of love but without any feeling or intent.
In the big-picture sense, like the Israelites we’ve been waiting a really, really long time for Jesus to return and come through on His promises. How close we are to that moment depends on who you ask, but it’s probably pretty safe to say it’s not going to be tomorrow. But that’s not the only way we’re waiting on God or wondering if He still loves us. We’re all waiting on God for something. Maybe it’s deliverance from a particular sin we’ve been struggling with for a long time, or fractured relationships in our family, or a job situation that is… less than desirable, or a medical diagnosis we didn’t see coming and don’t know how to endure. Maybe it’s something else entirely. When God goes silent, it becomes really hard to continue to trust Him and we begin to wonder if He still loves us.
Lent is the season in the Christian calendar that provides us with an opportunity to sit in the silence of God and raise our broken-hearted plea to the Lord, “How have you loved me?” Lent is an old English word that means “springtime.” Spring is the season when the blossoms break forth and new growth appears, but before that the dross and refuse left over from winter needs to be cleared away. In the earliest days and weeks of spring, it doesn’t look like anything is happening. It looks as if winter succeeded in killing everything off. But appearances are deceiving. Through the long, cold, dark weeks of winter, a lot has been happening underground and out of sight. Necessary work without which the blooms and blossoms of spring will not thrive, if they sprout at all. It might seem like God has forgotten His love for you and that He is no longer at work, but the truth is the exact opposite. He has never stopped loving you, nor has He stopped working for and on you. Hold fast. Pay attention and look for the evidence of God’s presence and His love. Be patient. Easter is coming, and the Son of Righteousness has come and will come again for you.
But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. – Malachi 4:2
Blessings,
Rev. David Garrison
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03
Mar '25
March 2025 Mills’ Musings – Rediscovering Rhythms
03
Mar '25
I’m teaching a music appreciation course at CVCC this semester. In the opening unit, I covered major elements of music including melody, harmony, and rhythm.
When we think about a piece of music, the melody is usually the first thing that comes to mind. Melody is defined as “a succession of single pitches, perceived by the mind as a unit.” When you look at the bulletin on Sunday morning and see “Amazing Grace” listed as the opening hymn, you probably hear the melody in your mind.
Harmony is the result of three or more pitches sounding at the same time instead of one after another. The way chords are constructed and how they follow each other fall under the heading of harmony. By the end of the course, I expect my students to listen to the harmony of a musical example and identify the musical era in which it was written.
Then there’s rhythm, from a Greek word that means “flow.” Music takes place in time. When we hear a melody or a chord, each pitch lasts for a specific number of seconds or fractions of a second. Rhythm helps us perceive the order inherent in music.
But rhythm isn’t confined to music. One author writes:
The ancients discerned in rhythm the creative principle of the universe, manifested alike in the regular movement of planets, the cycle of seasons and tides, of night and day, desire and appeasement, life and death. … This universe was art, and its controlling principle was rhythm. The symmetrical proportions of architecture, the balanced groupings of painting and sculpture, the patterns of the dance, the regular meters of poetry – each in its own sphere represents man’s deep-seated need for rhythmical arrangement.
Christians long have felt those needs, and the Church has responded in a variety of ways. One is through its music. For the first millennium of Christian history, almost all Christian music was written in triple meter. That is, each beat was divided into three equal parts, an intentional expression of the doctrine of the Trinity.
Another way the Church acknowledges the value of rhythm in our lives is through our observation of the Christian year. We start with the season of Advent, a time of preparation for the celebration of Jesus’s coming. We move through the seasons of Christmas and Epiphany. Then, this month, we enter the season of Lent, a time of self-examination as we prepare to celebrate Jesus resurrection. After the season of Easter comes Ordinary Time, which leads back to Advent and the repetition of the rhythm of our life as the people of God.
This year, as I was teaching about melody, harmony, and rhythm, I came across the following quote: “In our global digital age, many Christians are rediscovering the importance of community, the value of rhythms and routines amid chaotic circumstances, and the need for deeper commitment to spiritual formation.”
For many of us the past year or two has seemed especially chaotic. As together we continue our journey through this still fairly new civic year, may we also share the joy and peace that can result as we rediscover the value of rhythms and routines amid chaotic circumstances.
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29
Jan '25
February 2025 Mills’ Musings — Happy Birthday, Nicene Creed!
29
Jan '25
If someone does make a cake for the occasion, I’d like to be there when the candles are lit. The occasion is the 1700th birthday of the Nicene Creed. While I doubt anyone will make a cake, at least not one with 1,700 candles, I believe the event is certainly worth celebrating. Here is a short look at why.
Early Creeds
Our English word “creed” comes from the Latin credo, which means, “I believe.” A creed, broadly defined, is a statement of what it is that I believe. More technically, in the Christian tradition a creed is a concise, formal, and authorized statement of essential Christian doctrine.
The earliest Christian creed was spoken by Peter and recorded in Mark 8:29. At Caesarea Philippi, in response to Jesus’ question, “But who do you say that I am,” Peter, inspired by the Holy Spirit, replied, “You are the Christ.” Writing to the Philippians some three decades later, Paul concluded his marvelous Hymn to Christ with what remains the foundational creed of Christianity, “Jesus Christ is Lord” (Phil. 2:11).
But after the last apostle had died, after the canon of Scripture had been closed, Christians began to sense a need for clear and succinct summaries of the basic doctrines of their faith. So they drew on the language of Scripture to formulate brief statements of their core beliefs. The most prominent of these – the Apostles’, Nicene, and Athanasian Creeds, are still accepted (with some variations) by the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and most Protestant denominations.
Creeds Today
Today, many congregations still make use of these creeds along with their longer, younger cousins, confessions. For example, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, to which Northminster belongs, uses the Westminster Confession of Faith and its catechisms as our doctrinal standards. In Sunday morning worship, we often recite in unison sections of this Confession. Other Sundays we say the Nicene or Apostles’ Creed. These public affirmations of our faith remind us of what we believe about the nature and work of God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, and the Church.
Creeds also have uses outside Christian worship. In his book This You Can Believe, John Brokhoff describes three purposes these historic creeds and confessions continue to serve in the Church today. The three purposes are: definition, defense and declaration.
Definition, The first purpose of creeds, Brokhoff writes, “is to define the Christian faith. What does a Christian believe? Are your beliefs in harmony with the Scriptures and the Church’s teachings?” Once we have learned Nicene Creed, we will always have an answer to fundamental questions about our faith.
Defense is the second purpose of creeds. Even before the last apostle had died, some in the Church were attempting to redefine the Christian faith. By 325, a young pastor named Arius was causing divisions in the Church by denying the Church’s historic teaching that Jesus was both fully God and fully human. Crafting language we still use today, the authors of the Nicene Creed decisively refuted that false teaching.
The third purpose of creeds is Declaration. Knowing the Nicene Creed helps us fulfill Jesus’ command to be his witnesses. The Creed is a positive, fearless declaration of the essentials of our faith. It is not just for church on Sunday mornings. We can use it to declare our faith in our everyday lives.
Happy Birthday, Nicene Creed. And someone please let me know about the cake. It would give a lot of light.
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29
Jan '25
February 2025 Pastor’s Corner — Your Happy Place?
29
Jan '25
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. — Phil. 4:4-7
We all have somewhere we call our “happy place.” It might be at the beach, perhaps on a mountain, or maybe beside a lake or river. It might be in an easy chair in front of the fireplace with a good book, or perhaps with a game or movie on the TV. Your happy place might be standing (or sitting) at a workbench working on your favorite hobby or craft. I’ve been told that there are some strange people who say the gym or dance studio is their happy place. For some, their happy place is wherever and whenever the family is gathered together. Exactly what our happy place is can vary, but what they all have in common is that our happy place is, well, the place that makes us happy. It’s a place where we are at peace, content, relaxed, and feel safe and secure.
There’s something else all of these “happy places” have in common: they are externally defined. We “go” to our happy place, and if we are not there, then we must not be happy. Not only that, but how often do we find the peace and comfort of our happy places shattered? Yes, our happy places do indeed make us happy, but that happiness is fragile, and it is fleeting. There’s certainly nothing wrong with wanting to have a happy place, but what’s important is to recognize what that desire is pointing us toward.
In The Weight of Glory CS Lewis writes,
Our commonest expedient is to call it beauty and behave as if that had settled the matter.…The books or the music in which we thought the beauty was located will betray us if we trust to them; it was not in them, it only came through them, and what came through them was longing. These things—the beauty, the memory of our own past—are good images of what we really desire; but if they are mistaken for the thing itself, they turn into dumb idols, breaking the hearts of their worshippers. For they are not the thing itself; they are only the scent of a flower we have not found, the echo of a tune we have not heard, news from a country we have never yet visited.
The Apostle Paul in Colossians 2:17 and the writer of Hebrews in 8:5 and 10:1 talk about the things of earth being shadows of the true substance of Christ and of Heaven. The feelings of peace and contentment we get in our happy places are gifts from God, in order to point us to what will truly satisfy the longings of our soul — Jesus Christ. That’s why Paul is able to talk about the “peace that surpasses understanding” in Philippians 4. The church in Philippi was dealing with internal strife and conflict and external persecution. Paul wrote this letter while sitting in prison. And yet, he tells us to, “Rejoice in the Lord always, again I will say, rejoice.” There is a peace and a joy that is available to us no matter where we are or what we are going through. It’s a peace that comes from the Holy Spirit and a joy that springs from a soul that is at rest in Christ. The happy places of this world are meant to remind us of the happy place for which our soul yearns: being in the presence of God.
When it all comes down to it, that is what Heaven is. Whether Heaven is some ethereal place in the clouds, or the remade earth at the end of history, or the glorious City of God, what those places all have in common is the presence of God. The longings of this life are meant to remind us that in Christ the deepest desires of our souls are met, and that one day, we will long no more for we will see God face to face and exult in the joy and delight of being His children with Him forever.
When we set our eyes on Jesus Christ and allow Him to be our peace and joy, then we discover our “happy place” is wherever He is, doing whatever He has called us to do. Then, even the most unlikely situations or circumstances become our “happy place.” Our true happy place is Jesus. Instead of trying to satisfy your longing for a happy place by going to somewhere particular, go to Jesus, and rest in the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding.
Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. — Phil. 4:11-12
Blessings,
Rev. David Garrison
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08
Jan '25
January 2025 Mills’ Musings – Do You See What I See?
08
Jan '25
Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” (Matthew 2:1-2)
I’ve been interested in astronomy ever since I was a child. That may in part be an accident of timing: I had just turned six when President Kennedy said America would put a man on the moon by the end of the decade. I was a rising 8th-grader when I watched Neil Armstrong make one giant leap for mankind.
Through the years, the intensity of my interest in things beyond our planet has varied. But it never disappeared. In 1986, I saw Halley’s Comet make its only swing by earth in my lifetime. Earlier this year I went to Indiana to observe a total solar eclipse. (As I wrote in the May newsletter, it was spectacular.) And in 2020, I looked through my son Tim’s telescope to see Jupiter and Saturn appear closer together than they had at any time in the last 800 years. Indeed, they came so close that the naked eye might have mistaken them for a single, new object.
The astronomical term for such unusual proximity is “conjunction.” Conjunctions are not rare. But they are sufficiently uncommon that those who study the night sky tend to take note of them. That’s why some today believe it was a conjunction of planets that the wise men saw and followed to Bethlehem, looking to worship the newborn king of the Jews.
Their theory does have some scientific support There was a rare triple conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in 7 B.C. This “new star” could have been interpreted as a sign of a royal birth, with Jupiter symbolizing kingship. Less likely astronomical theories sometimes used to explain the celestial phenomenon that led the wise men to Bethlehem include the appearance of a comet and the explosion of a star.
As Scripture regularly reminds us, God is quite capable of using natural phenomena – storms, floods, earthquakes, fire – to reveal his will to his human creation. But the appearance of a previously unknown celestial entity, what many now call the Star of Bethlehem, does not require a naturalistic explanation. The Maker of heaven and earth is certainly capable of putting a new star in the sky, allowing only those he chooses to see it, and then having them let us know what they saw.
For example, think about the army of angels that was initially invisible to Elisha’s servant (II Kings 6:15-17). The servant, constrained by the physics of human vision, thought he and Elisha were hopelessly outnumbered by the army of the King of Aram,. But Elisha had been given the gift of seeing what God saw. And when God answered Elisha’s prayer, the servant saw not only the chariots of fire but also the truth of Elisha’s words, “those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
Perhaps more so than in years past, it is understandably easy for you and me to look out our windows as this new year begins and see only the forces arrayed against God and those who do his will. Each time we look, their numbers seem to have grown. In such moments, may we be strengthened by the example of the wise men, who saw for a sign then followed it to Jesus. And may we be comforted by the knowledge that, today and always, “those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
Blessings,
Rev. Bob Mills
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24
Nov '24
December 2024 Pastor’s Corner — Through Time and Space
24
Nov '24
And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems. His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it. She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne, and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days. — Revelation 12:3-6
There is something in us that loves fantastic stories about the supernatural, “fantasy” in its truest, literary sense. We love epic tales of good versus evil, of supernatural beings and superhuman people. Stories that stir our imagination, encouraging us to see the larger, cosmic story unfolding when we look past the merely physical world we live in and interact with on a daily basis. Whether we call those stories fantasies, myths, science fiction, or something else, we find them speaking to something intrinsic in our experience that knows there is more to this life than the physical world we see and touch.
I am willing to bet that when you go to read the Christmas story with your family, the verses above are not the ones that first come to mind. When we think of the Christmas story, we usually turn to the opening chapters of Matthew or Luke. If you’re wanting a more existential version, then John is the gospel for you. The last thing we think about when we it comes to the Christmas stories are dragons and cosmic battles. The incarnation of God the Son in the form of Jesus Christ is the first miracle of Christmas, a truly fantastic moment when the heavens came to earth, the spiritual took on the physical. It is the heart of what we celebrate at Christmas. But even in the midst of this epically mythical occasion, our focus centers on the stuff of earth — a pregnant teenager, a messy barnyard, a baby taking its first breath. The birth of Jesus Christ is so exceptionally visceral, it’s easy to forget how the incarnation transcends time and space.
In Revelation 12-14, John recounts human history from heaven’s perspective. It’s a truly cosmic and fantastic story that involves dragons and beasts, angels and people. It’s so different from the rest of Scripture, its hard to understand, let alone know who is who. Here’s your cast of characters: The dragon is Satan. The woman is Mary (at least in these verses – the woman changes throughout the chapter from Eve, to Israel, to Mary, to the Church… it’s complicated). The baby is the easiest one to figure out – he’s Jesus, clearly identified by the reference to Psalm 2:8-9 (“the one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron”). In the verses above, we have not only the story of Christmas, but Jesus’ entire life and ministry consolidated into one short sentence. Chapter 12 captures all of human history in 17 verses. What’s been eons for us is but the blink of an eye in heaven (2 Peter 3:8). Quite a different version of the story we all know so well.
We know the incarnation is a wondrous and miraculous event. Even with that, it’s so easy to miss just how truly wondrous and miraculous it was. It’s so much more than nativity sets and advent wreaths. It’s a true story that is so much more and better than anything we’ve ever dreamed or imagined. The incarnation is a miracle of cosmic degree and impact, breaking through heaven and earth, shattering the boundaries that separate the spiritual from the physical, bringing together the divine and the human in a way that had never happened before, and will never happen again. Through Jesus Christ, Satan (the dragon) has been barred from heaven (Rev. 12:8) and thwarted at every turn (Rev. 12:13-17) until his ultimate defeat when Christ returns (Rev. 14:1-6).
The Christmas season is one of the most tangible and tactile seasons we celebrate. It carries with it so many unique sights and sounds, textures, aromas and tastes. It is very much an imminent celebration. But Christmas is also a transcendent season extending through time and space. In the midst of your Christmas celebrations this year, allow time for your imagination to take hold of the cosmic dimensions that are very much a part of the Christmas story. Jesus has come. God is with us. And evil has lost. Joy to the world, indeed!
The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. — John 1:9-14
Blessings,
Rev. David Garrison
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31
Oct '24
November 2024 Pastor’s Corner — The Father of Delights
31
Oct '24
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. — James 1:17
I had a wonderful time while away on study leave last month. I attended a conference called “Hutchmoot” just outside Nashville. Hutchmoot was started 15 years ago by Andrew and Pete Peterson. Andrew describes it this way: “Hutchmoot is a three-day feast where we gather to celebrate the way the Lord makes himself known through his creation. This includes stories, music, and art of all kinds, but it’s also broader than that. He also makes himself known through Scripture, of course, and through nature, and food, and even each other—through the flawed and glorious humans you’ll be rubbing elbows with all weekend.”
Something I’ve noticed about myself is that when life gets hard and stressful, when anxiety and worry threaten to take over, it often seems as if God has stopped moving and working. Prayers seem to be answered with silence. The “joy of my salvation” seems like a distant memory. The world, and my life, seem to be running on autopilot rather than guided by the hands of a loving God. He no longer seems interested in making Himself known in any fashion, so much so that sometimes during these seasons I find myself wondering if He’s there at all.
One of the sessions I attended was led by Andrew Peterson and called “The Father of Delights.” Riffing off James 1:17 above (“…the Father of {de}lights…”), Andrew emphasized that God is always moving and working in, through, and around us, whether we are aware of it or not. He is constantly working to make Himself known to us and others, and seeking to delight us and fill us with wonder. To delight in God, in His works and His creation, is to glorify God. C.S. Lewis writes, “The Scotch catechism says that man’s chief end is ‘to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.’ But we shall then know that these are the same thing. Fully to enjoy is to glorify. In commanding us to glorify Him, God is inviting us to enjoy Him.” The question isn’t whether God is or isn’t making himself known and giving us reason to delight in Him, it’s whether we’re paying attention and looking for the delights God is throwing our way.
Every once in a while, God does something stunning that makes us take notice. Consider the awe we’ve all experienced the last couple of months with the displays of the Aurora Borealis here in central Virginia. That just doesn’t happen here. But it did, and it was wondrous and delightful. You couldn’t look at the sky and not delight in the God that made the colors dance across the heavens. But there are countless ways God is making Himself known to us every day. The question is, are we taking the time to look for it? Delight is something that we cultivate. If you are looking to be delighted by God, then you will find delight in God. Cultivating delight requires slowing down, being patient, and paying attention to what is going on around us. Think about all that is happening every time you take a simple breath. Muscles flex, lungs expand and contract, air moves in and out, blood flows, oxygen and carbon dioxide trade places, and much more. Something we do tens of thousands of times a day is a delightful and wonderful act. An act we take for granted with every breath. Delighting in God takes intentionality and needs to be cultivated.
As we cultivate our delight in God, we learn to see all the different ways we are invited to delight in God. Delight teaches us to see delight. Have you ever noticed how many yellow cars there are? Probably not, but now you’re going to start seeing yellow cars everywhere. We find that for which we are looking. As we cultivate an awareness of the myriad delightful ways God is moving and working, we will start seeing even more ways to delight in Him. When you find or discover something delightful, take the time to savor and delight in it, and tell God about your delight. When we express our delights, it delights the Giver of delight. Think about the times you’ve done something special for your children or your spouse, and they delighted in it. Their delight delights us, and it’s the same with our Father in Heaven.
In addition to giving thanks to the Father of Delights, share your delight with someone else. Delight shared is delight enhanced and magnified. So often, it’s easy for me to miss all the delightful things God is doing in my life. When you delight in God and share that with me, it helps me to cultivate delight myself and encourages me to look around for all the delightful ways God is at work. In a world that is so filled with anger and rage, stress and worry, fear and anxiety, cultivating delight in God and sharing those delights with others shines as bright as a candle unexpectedly lit in the deep darkness of night.
“Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” — Matthew 6:28-30
Blessings,
Rev. David Garrison
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26
Sep '24
October 2024 Pastor’s Corner — Falling Like A Seed
26
Sep '24
“The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.” — John 12:23-26 ESV
As I’ve been contemplating and praying through this passage recently, something particular stood out to me. This teaching from Jesus is given on Palm Sunday, shortly after the Triumphant Entry. Having seen the festive procession as Jesus entered Jerusalem and the Temple Mount, some Greeks “came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, ‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus.’ Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.” (John 12:21-22 ESV) The passage above is Jesus’ response to their request. If you pause for just a moment and think about it, it’s a really, really weird answer. They ask to see Jesus, and Jesus says, “Unless a seed die, it can not bear much fruit.” Ok. Right. Good to know. But can you have a chat with these folks or not?
The entirety of his answer comes in John 12:23-36, with verse 32 explaining and expanding verse 24: “24Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit… 32And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” What was surely confusing to the disciples and the Greeks who wanted to see Jesus is crystal clear to us: In order for the Greeks, or anyone actually, to see see Jesus truly, He first needed to die and rise from the dead. Through the death of the one seed, Jesus Christ, the fruit of the Gospel exploded throughout the world.
There’s a lot to unpack in these short verses, and maybe we’ll do that over the next few months, but for now, consider this. Autumn, for all of its beauty, is a season of dying. The leaves change color because they’ve stopped producing chlorophyll; they’ve started to die. The seeds the trees have been growing all year long fall to the ground. The crops have finished their season of growth and are starting to ripen. The harvest is being gathered in. And yet none of that is an end. All of that is used to begin the process of new life and growth. That new life and growth won’t be evident until months of gestation have passed, but life, and life abundant, will burst forth. Watching the leaves fall it seems like the promise of that new life is an eternity away, but once spring comes ‘round it will be as if a mere moment has passed.
God created the natural world to work the way it does because it illustrates His truth (Psalm 19:1-4). In God’s great redemptive work, nothing is wasted. Even death, that which seems like the ultimate and permanent ending, becomes the seed and soil that nurtures exponentially more life. There is great comfort in knowing that when we die there will be a double blessing: We will be blessed by rising to eternal life with Jesus (1 Cor. 15:52-54) and the Kingdom of God will be blessed as God takes our dying and uses it to glorify Himself and bring forth abundant new life (John 12:27-28).
The future is always scary, because from our finite perspective it’s so uncertain. But it isn’t, really. God is not just God of the past and present, He is God of the future as well. What seems uncertain and constantly changing for us is sure and certain for God. It is because God holds the future in His hands that we can know with absolute certainty nothing that happens will go to waste, not even death. Leaves die and fall and decompose to provide the nutrients that the seeds that fell need in order to give life to much new fruit. What is true in nature is true in us. And what is true in us is true in the Church as well.
For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. — Rom. 8:22-25 ESV
Blessings,
Rev. David Garrison
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29
Aug '24
September 2024 Pastor’s Corner — Did He Really Mean That?
29
Aug '24
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” — Matthew 5:17-20 ESV
Arguably the greatest sermon of all time is also the most famous, Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, recorded in Matthew 5-7. It is an incredible message that outlines the nature and character of the Kingdom of God, and just how different it is from the powers and kingdoms of the world. It is a fairly straightforward and simple message, but it has generated enormous controversy in terms of how to interpret and apply it.
There are those who believe that the Sermon on the Mount is meant to show just how impossible it is for a person to live up to the standards of God’s Law. As Jesus says in Matthew 5:20, “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Perfect perfection is what it takes to make it into heaven, and the only perfectly perfect person was Jesus Christ. Our salvation is by faith in him alone, not through our works, and just in case you think you can work your way into heaven, Jesus makes it clear in this sermon that we never can. It’s not just the act of murder that’s wrong, it’s even calling someone an idiot. It’s not enough to love your neighbor, you have to love your enemy also. According to this view, the purpose of the sermon is to illustrate our depravity and need for a Savior.
Others see Jesus describing the ideal nature of the Kingdom of Heaven. It’s a Utopian vision of what could be and what will be when Jesus returns and consummates the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. It’s certainly not the way the world works right now, but it’s what we can aspire and hope to experience one day. After all, “For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” (Matt. 7:14 ESV) According to this view, the sermon was meant to inspire us to look forward to the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven… eventually.
But what if Jesus meant what he said? Not some of it, but all of it? Not eventually, but right now? Not to say what we have to do to earn our salvation, but to show how to live because of our salvation? What if, because of the salvation made possible by and given to us through Jesus Christ, we set aside anger and lust, forgiving others as we’ve been forgiven, loving our enemies as much as our neighbors, followed Jesus sincerely instead of ostentatiously, trusted in the provision of the Lord instead of what we gain by our own hands? What if we followed the narrow path into depths of living of which we can only dream, the path along which Jesus invites us to follow him?
After all, the key to “unlocking” the Sermon on the Mount is found in Matthew 7:24: “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” The solid rock that secures our faith isn’t just believing in Jesus, it comes in doing what he said, and what he said was the message of the Sermon on the Mount. If we truly want to change the world, it starts by taking Jesus seriously and doing what he said.
Join us this fall as we walk through the Sermon on the Mount and follow Jesus along the narrow path that leads to more and better life than we’ve ever dreamed of.
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” —Matt. 7:24-27 ESV
Blessings,
Rev. David Garrison
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31
Jul '24
August 2024 Pastor’s Corner — A Threat to Our Very Existence?
31
Jul '24
But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you. — 2 Cor. 4:7-12 ESV
In a few months we will have the opportunity to exercise our civic duty and vote for who serve as president of our country for the next four years, along with a slew of other national, state and local offices. Those who are running for office, regardless of party affiliation or anything else, have pretty much one message: My opponent is a threat to our very existence, so vote for me. Usually there’s a bit more nuance to that statement, but that’s the effect. However, there’s been little to no nuance about it of late. One candidate is painted as a threat to democracy, the other as a threat to your freedom. To elect the other is to choose the path of destruction of all that we hold dear. It all sounds pretty scary and dire, which is what it’s trying to do. Fear is a powerful motivator and very, very effective.
However, we are reminded in 2 Timothy 1:7 that “God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” Those who have placed their faith and trust in Jesus Christ no longer need to be afraid for several reasons. First, we don’t need to be afraid because God is fully in control of all things. In the book of Job, Satan has to ask permission in order to persecute Job. In the prophets, Israel’s enemies are only allowed to attack her when God permits it. In the book of Revelation, Satan and his evil forces are bound by the Lord in what they are allowed to do. On this side of glory, there’s much we don’t understand about why God allows the things He does, but we can trust that He knows what He’s doing and that He’s always in control.
Secondly, we don’t need to be afraid because “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Eph. 6:12) At first glance, that kind of actually seems scarier. But not when we remember two things: 1) that Jesus has already defeated the spiritual forces of evil on the cross and 2) when Jesus Christ comes back, all of the forces of evil and darkness will be eradicated completely. Evil might seem to have the advantage for a moment, but ultimately the victory has already been decided and won.
Finally, we don’t need to be afraid because the Christian exists in the ultimate win-win situation. That’s the point of the Scripture passages above and below. In the passage from 2 Corinthians, Paul reminds us that no matter how bad things might get, we will not be crushed, nor despairing, nor forsaken, nor destroyed because Jesus is with us, strengthening and encouraging us at all times. The passage below from Philippians reminds us that even if we die, we will then see Jesus face-to-face. So if we live, we become more like Jesus, and if we die we get to be with Jesus. I’m not saying it’s always going to be fun and smooth sailing, because that’s certainly not true. I am saying that we don’t need to be afraid of whatever comes our way, even if it’s suffering and especially if it’s death.
The politics of fear are powerful and effective. But when we step out of the fear cycle and live in the peace and security we have in Jesus Christ, we bear witness to something far greater and stronger than fear: the amazing grace and love of God the Father, made possible through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and made effective through the presence and ministry of the Holy Spirit. As we move through the next few months, may the grace of God comfort and strengthen all of us, reminding us that no matter the rhetoric, we don’t need to be afraid.
Yes, and I will rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. — Phil. 1:18-24 ESV
Blessings,
Rev. David Garrison
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