Wednesday was a dark and dreary day. I love a good cold front as much as anyone else, but the drab darkness of the grey winter sky was a little too much for me. As soon as I got home, I turned on all the lights in the house. The light comforted me and changed the tone of the atmosphere. I could see better, and I began to feel better.
In this our second week in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, we’ll hear him teaching his disciples and the multitudes, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be easily hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to the whole house” (Matt 5:14).
We take light for granted in our day. Just like I flipped a few switches and lit up the whole house, so might you be rather nonchalant about the miracle of light. But light in the ancient world was quite different. The rhythm of towns, villages, and whole cultures was centered around the sun’s rising and setting and the seasons that followed from the sun’s courses. So much so, that one of our oldest extant hymns in the church, Phos hilaron (“O Gladdening Light”), praises God for the light of the day and for the Supreme Light of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. So, for Jesus to tell these people that they were the light of the world was quite a startling revelation.
We’ll ponder this saying of Jesus in more depth Sunday night. See you then !
Jay+
Service is at 4pm this Sunday, 02/02/20
Just your friendly neighborhood reminder that church this Sunday (2/2) will start at 4pm due to the Super Bowl. Go team!
See you then!
The Good Life
Who is really living the good life? Who is truly well-off? Dallas Willard answers these questions in his masterful work The Divine Conspiracy where he focuses on Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount found in Matthew (chapters 5-7). And, our scriptures for this Sunday focus on this question as well. So, I want to frame your expectation in that regard for our worship together.
We can read Micah and the Psalm in that regard. In Micah the wealthy of Israel have devised evil schemes to profit off the most vulnerable and poor in the land. Maybe this behavior was a way to be well off? Perhaps for these malicious Israelites material wealth and power were their measures for being well off.
Similarly, Psalm 37 addresses this question: “Do not be envious of those who do evil, nor be jealous of this who work lawlessness.” It’s as if the psalmist has the predatory class of Israelites in mind, and he urges his readers - don’t be anxious about them, don’t worry. Why? “For like the grass they shall be quickly dried up.” So instead of worrying about them, we are told to “Hope in the Lord and work goodness; dwell in the land and you shall be nurtured by its riches. Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the requests of your heart…” (Ps 37). In other words, if you want to be truly well-ff, trust God; hope in him; delight in him. “Do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8).
Jesus will crown these teachings with an eloquent sermon of his own that begins with a section known as the beatitudes - the “blesseds.” Who is blessed? Who is well off? Jesus answers those questions for us, and we’ll meditate on his answers together this Sunday.
Delighting in the Lord with you -
Jay+
Bright Lights Deep Shadows
Last Sunday Jay invited us to reflect on our mission statement, Behold and Become, in the context of the calling of Jesus’ first disciples. Jay encouraged us to see the invitation to first behold Christ then to follow him in order to become more like him as the path of discipleship.
I want to continue exploring the same theme this Sunday as we look at another passage where Jesus calls his disciples and ask, “What does repentance have to do with discipleship?”
In our gospel passage this Sunday, Matthew quotes the prophet Isaiah to say to his readers that Jesus is the great light that has come into the world so that we might not walk in darkness.
But what does light have to do with repentance? To see ourselves truly in the light of Christ is to be called to repentance, which is really to change our minds about ourselves, to follow his path rather than our own.The brighter the light, the deeper, the darker the shadow, and so repentance is always part of beholding and becoming. We behold Christ, yes, but we also behold ourselves in light of Christ. In his light we can rightly see the depth of the shadows that we cast. So then, to behold Christ in order to become like him is also to behold ourselves truly.
Our weekly “Collect for Purity” reminds us of this. It is a prayer that says, “I am not here to hide.” It is a prayer that says, “I have come to behold the one who already and always beholds me.” The promise of the gospel is that the one who sees us fully, also calls us to repentance, calls us to follow him. The call to repentance is an invitation to flee the shadow of ourselves and to pursue the light of Christ. Jesus says, Repent, but he also says, Follow me, and I will take what you are now and make you so much more.
End of Year Giving
Dear St. Bart’s Family,
Thank you for the ways you participated in our end of year giving in 2019. As I said in December, end of year giving is important for most churches, and ours is no exception. And yet we know that God always provides for his people - we see it all throughout the Scriptures and joyfully remember it in our own experience. And, truly, through your generous, sacrificial giving, God has provided for St. Bart’s. We finished the month of December with a great surplus of gifts so that our operating deficit was erased. And we have extra cash on hand.
Don’t forget to continue to participate in God’s work of generosity as this new year takes flight. Thanks be to God! Thanks be to you, his People!
Blessings -
Jay+
Behold the Lamb of God!
Those are the words that John the Baptist exclaims as he sees Jesus walking by in the Jordan wilderness. Soon John’s own disciples will begin following Jesus as John’s ministry decreases and Jesus’ increases.
Last week we saw Jesus revealed to the nations as the Magi visited the child and his family. This week we will see Jesus revealed as the Lamb of God and the Son of God because John the Baptist sees the Spirit of God descending on him like a dove.
Moreover, the Exodus reading will remind us of the Passover and how the blood of the Passover lamb stayed the hand of the death angel as it passed through Egypt to strike down every first born. The only protection from death was the blood of the lamb.
I look forward to seeing you this Sunday as the season after Epiphany continues, and we all seek to behold the glory of God in the face of Christ.
Jay+
Happy Epiphany!
I want to invite each of you to our first ever Public Theology event on Monday, January 20th.
The idea for Public Theology is to enjoy good food, good beer, and good conversation around issues related to theology and culture. Each meeting we will use a short book or article as a starting point for our conversation.
For our first meeting, we will be looking at The Apostle’s Creed: A Guide to the Ancient Catechism by Ben Myers. With the help of this book, we will talk about the Apostle’s Creed, what it means, why it matters, and how it can shape our own understanding of the Christian faith.
If you plan to come, go ahead and order the book.
For future events, the plan is to meet the third Monday of every month for Public Theology, and I would love to hear your ideas for books, articles, and topics you would enjoy discussing.
We will meet at 7pm, and we will have the venue secured soon, so stay tuned for that!
Chris+
Grateful for Your Generosity
Dear People of St. Bart’s,
I hope this Christmas season has been marked by God’s deep work of grace in you, that you’ve remembered Christ’s birth as the event we’re celebrating, and that the Newborn King has been your peace amidst all the noise.
Together we have seen God do some beautiful things in St. Bart’s in 2019 not the least of which has been your generous giving. Thank you for believing God’s Vision at St. Bart’s, for living into the Values you all have articulated, and for being part of the growth of this people and place rooted in East Dallas.
As we look forward to a new year with big expectations of God’s continued work in our midst, I hope you’ll remember St. Bart’s in your end of year giving. Like any other church or non-profit, St. Bart’s relies on the continued generous giving of her members especially in the month of December.
You can use the link above to give online, or send a check via mail postmarked by December 31, to our PO Box: St. Bart’s, PO Box 180005, Dallas, TX 75218.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!