A PRAYER TO START
John Ballie offers a prayer to help us find our footing along the path already started for us. Pray with him and the great cloud of witnesses which surround us…
God of our ancestors, I cry out to you. You have been the refuge of good and wise people in every generation. When history began you were the first to enlighten the minds of men and women, and your Spirit was the first to lead them to realize their full humanity. Throughout the ages you have been the Lord and giver of life, the source of all knowledge, and the fountain of all goodness.
- The patriarchs like Abraham, trusted you and were not put to shame;
- The prophets like Isaiah, sought you and you put your words on their lips;
- The pslamists like David, rejoiced in you and you were present in their songs;
- The apostles, like Peter, waited for you and were filled with your Holy Spirit;
- The martyrs, like Steven, called upon you and you were with them in the flames;
- This poor soul called, and was heard by the Lord, and was saved from every trouble.
O God, you have always been there, you are with us now, and you endure forever; I thank you for this well-worn Christian path, a road beaten hard by the footsteps of saints, apostles, prophets, and martyrs. Thank you for the signposts and warning signals which are there at every corner and which I can understand through the study of the Bible, and history, and all the great literature of the world. Above all, I give you sincere and humble thanks for the great gift of Jesus Christ, the pioneer of our faith. I praise you that I have been born in an age and in a land that have known the name, and that I am not called to face any temptation or trial which he did not first endure.
Holy Lord, help me to profit from these great memories of the ages gone by, and help me to enter into the glorious inheritance which you have prepared for me; through Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen.
TAKING A LOOK AHEAD
On any journey, whether a hike in the mountains or a trek to the grocery store, it is important to be aware of your surroundings, to be present. It’s also important to know where you are going! To look up, and take a peek at what is ahead.
This week our expedition’s path begins to take shape. Jesus described for us the road less traveled, the way of God’s kingdom in “The Beatitudes” (Matt 5:3-12). A path that is unique in not just attitudes and actions but in its very nature. Now, Jesus begins to show us that this way is not such a new way after all; though it will certainly challenge our way of seeing the path that came before us.
Read Matthew 5:13-19. As you are reading take notice and note of the following:
Who are the characters in the story? Explicitly named and those assumed.
Where does the story take place? Physically, & how is it connected to what proceeds it?
What repeats? Words, characters, actions/events, sayings, descriptions, etc.
What surprised you?
What might have surprised the people Matthew was writing to?
What questions does the story raise so far?
CONNECTING THE DOTS
Jesus wants those who follow him to know that they are following someone who did not just appear out of the blue. He wants them to see themselves caught up in God’s salvation story, with their own part to play as the story continues to unfold. He begins by reminding them who they are: “You are the salt of the earth”, “You are the light of the world”.
Read Exodus 30:35-36, Leviticus 2:13, and Numbers 18:19. Salt has a special place in the religious system of Israel. It is this subtle seasoning that marks, or witnesses, the covenant relationship between God and his people. So, what then does Jesus mean when he calls those of us who follow him “the salt of the earth”?
Why do you think Jesus would call his followers salt, then add the description of useless salt? What might they have been doing or not doing to lose their “saltiness”?
Read Isaiah 2:2-3 & 49:6. Jesus calls those of us who follow him, “the light of the world”. What is Jesus saying will be the result of the lives of those who follow him?
In what ways might those listening to Jesus, as well as you and I, hide our light?
Consider that Jesus says “let your light shine before others”. Could this imply that there might be other “lights” trying to shine in the world? What might those lights be?
Read Deuteronomy 4:2 & 18:20. Since Jesus says that he did “not come to abolish [the Law or the Prophets] but to fulfill them”, what does that say about the nature and heart of the Old Testament?
The concept of “fulfill” implies not only completion but transcendence. In what ways might Jesus surpass what has come before him?
Considering Jesus’ insistence on both his and our connection to the path walked before us, how well do you know our faith heritage?
A THOUGHT TO PONDER
Baron Friedrich von Hugel, offers this thought concerning our part in God’s story as salt and light,
“…I will try and give you—not exterior things, but interior things—things that cost one a lot to get, a lot to keep. They are things, indeed, that also cost one a good deal to give…”