| p3. July 17-24 Tabernacle: July 17. Jesus said to him, �Away with you, Satan! For it is written, �Worship the Lord your God, and serve only God� (Matthew 4:10). The Devil (evil), took Jesus to a high mountain not unlike Mount Sinai and showed him �all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor� (4:8), promising them to Jesus if he would worship evil. Jesus refused. Tradition holds that Jesus later suffered betrayal at the hands of a disappointed Judas for not becoming a political messiah. Our own deprivation makes us hungry for political power. We may be tempted by both friends (Judas) and foe (evil) to achieve our goals by any means necessary, like terrorists. But what kind of people do we want to become? Do we want to be like the terrorists and worship evil? Jesus opted for spiritual power to announce God�s commonwealth, the persuasive rather than coercive power of love. July 18. The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness (Exodus 16:2). A primary cause for burnout among the leaders within our community is our failure to support them. They hear from us when we�re angry, or annoyed, or vaguely uncomfortable with their or their organizations work. They rarely hear from us when we�re happy, or grateful, or generally satisfied with their efforts. Often, we take the good for granted. This is a problem with our culture. Only watch television news to get the picture. But it is more pronounced in oppressed communities. The anger that should be directed at the opposition is leveled at one another. Poor communities reflect this in higher crime rates and more acts of violence. To you God, the great sustainer of all life, we pray for those working for our liberation, that they may be satisfied. July 19. �One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God (Mark 4:4). Tempted to turn stones to bread, Jesus quoted Deuteronomy�s reference to the hunger of the Israelites in the wilderness. Jesus reminded his tormentor that, though basis survival is a human instinct, it is not enough to satisfy us. We need the word of God to be satisfied. July 20. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And the crowds all ate and were filled (Matthew 14:19-20). The story began with Jesus withdrawing by boat �to a deserted place by himself� (14:13). It ended with him dismissing the crowds, and afterward, �he went up the mountain by himself to pray� (14:23). Dear Jesus, thank you for bringing the Word out to where I am, blessing me as I am. July 21. Yahweh said to Moses, �I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day� (Exodus 16:4). The Israelites were given bread enough for each day. If they did not trust that God would continuously provide bread they would gather more than they needed. God then turned the extra bread to worms. The moral of the story is that when God says he will do something, he will do it. And when God says he will give us what we need each day, he will give us what we need each day. Give us this day our daily bread. Thank you for the manna in our wilderness. July 22. The Israelites also wept again, and said, �If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we used to eat in Egypt for nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; but now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at� (Numbers 11:4-6). Well, we�d probably get tired of manna too. Those among us who have sacrificed a lot to come out may wonder if it was worth it. We may nostalgically remember the luxuries of the closet. The good thing that came out of the Israelites hardships was that Moses, exasperated, decided to share leadership with seventy others saying, �Would that all Yahweh�s people were prophets, and that Yahweh would put God�s spirit on them� (11:29). If we all became leaders, we might dwell less on the past and see the future more clearly. Not just our future, but the future of generations to come who need the Promised Land. Would that all of us were prophets, blessed with your Spirit. July 23. Jesus said to them, �I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty� (John 6:35). Feed us with your manna, that we might become bread for others, Holy Word. July 24. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it (Hebrews 12:2). Abraham and Sarah demonstrated hospitality to strangers, sojourners who turned out to be God and two angels, and to Lot, who protected two of the same strangers from gang rape when they visited Sodom. Hospitality is so important to God that God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah when the people there tried to gang rape the strangers that Lot protected. It�s true! God was not concerned with homosexuality in Sodom and Gomorrah. God was concerned about hospitality. Hospitality makes all the difference. Considered a mere courtesy in our culture, hospitality was a vital (in the sense of life-giving) virtue to ancient people tabernacling in a wilderness, as hospitality still is today in the Middle East. Inspire me to demonstrate the welcoming hospitality that I would wish to be offered. O Spirit who tabernacles with me. |
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