From thirdway.com, biblegateway.com, asimpledesire.wordpress.com and emu.edu:
A Sip of Scripture
Daily Scripture:
Receive
Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit."
Reference: John 20:21-22
John 20:21-22 (New King James Version)
21 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” 22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
Glimpses of God's Hand
Carol Honderich invites you to study the lives of women of the Bible with her in a twice-monthly column.
A Sip of Scripture
Glimpses of God's Hand
Reflections on God's hand at work in the lives of women of the Bible
Living in the Garden With Eve
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When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. (Genesis 3:6)
Eve … beautiful God-created Eve, living in her perfect, God-created garden; being provided for by God’s caring hand and with God’s abundance. Life must have been so good.
Imagine the peace and harmony, the joy of daily communion with God, and, by the way, no rainy days! The troubles and problems of our daily world weren’t found in Eve’s garden. No wars, no poverty, no unemployment and no illness. There were no relationship problems, Eve had the perfect mate, created by God’s own hand and chosen just for her. And consider how “connected” Adam and Eve must have been to each other.
In the Garden of Eden there were no worries about groceries, the mortgage, utilities bills, no car payments, no kids – no college tuition. Adam and Eve didn’t need to be concerned about punching a time clock, about calendars, or schedules. What kind of apprehension or anxieties could these two have had? Any questions or concerns could be taken directly to God in their daily walks with their creator in the garden. God would have already known and understood any burdens they might have carried.
So in Eve’s perfect world, in her perfect life, how could it be that she longed for something more, something outside of God’s plan for her? It seems that the moment the idea was presented to her, Eve found herself wanting more than God had provided: When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. (Genesis 3:6)
We struggle with Eve’s actions and are baffled at how she ruined her life with her impulsive behavior. In Eve’s defense, we can imagine how difficult it would be to value that which has always been part of our life, to recognize what we have when we’ve always had it. Having never been without the abundance and the perfection of the Garden of Eden, how could Eve have realized the richness of her surroundings, the lavishness of this life God had provided? Was Eve’s real sin her desire for more when God had already provided her with everything she needed?
When I try to imagine Eve, I see her with her hand on the apple, having made the decision to take what she thought she lacked. Her act of disobedience already part of her history. Adam waits, ready for his bite of the fruit that Eve desired, and has now acquired.
I am troubled by the fact that my mind focuses so quickly on Eve at the moment of her sin, that it is this moment that has become her story, her legacy for many of us. Indeed it requires an intentional study of her entire story to remind me that God created her first as a perfect and sin-free being, and that for some time she lived in this state of perfection. She was created bearing the image of her creator. Eve’s disobedience and Adam’s complicity resulted in their banishment from the Garden of Eden and God’s promise that their lives would be painful (with childbirth and in toiling for their food), but I tend to forget that even after this God continued to love and care for both Adam and Eve, and in time for their family. God’s first act of love and care after Eve’s sin was to cloth her because she now saw herself as being naked (Genesis 3:21).
Eve experienced this love and care and was quick to acknowledge God;s help in her life when she gave birth to her son Abel: She said, “With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man.” (Genesis 4:1) And again when her son Seth was born, Genesis 4:25 says: "Eve gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, 'God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.'”
Eve learned to praise God and give thanks for God’s gifts to her, even on the heels of the tragic loss of her son. We know that God promised Adam and Eve a difficult life after removing them from the garden.
There is a lesson for me in the story of each women of the Bible. In Eve’s story I am reminded today of the importance of developing an attitude of praise to God and thankfulness for the abundance he provides in my life. I want to thank God for his care and provision, for protection and guidance, for my opportunity to walk with him in my garden daily. Before I look beyond God for wisdom and knowledge, I need to thank God for meaningful work, for loving relationships, for having brought me to the perfect spot for myself, to be able to grow in my relationship with others and in ministry to God. I have my own Garden of Eden, a place created for me where I can learn to know my creator and know that God created me perfectly, as an image bearer, created me in my mother’s womb, a unique, whole person, with a heart set to seek and know God as my creator. How is my situation so different from Eve’s?
For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and … God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts. Romans 1:20-24
Posted 1/8/2011 7:00:00 AM
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“Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”
(John 20:21-22 )
When you read this missional reader it will be Sunday. A day of peace and rest to take the time to refresh yourself by spending time considering and appreciating God.
The church is the heart and home of mission, and the church family is the first group who does mission and to whom mission is done to. Through songs and words, praise and silent meditation, we receive the encouragement and inspiration to live out the rest of the week. In is within our faith community that we share the stories of hope, compassion, forgiveness, and mercy. The skills of mission are honed here, and from this base missionaries are sent out to places distant and places next store. All places are places where mission can take place.
It is my hope and prayer this day you do receive the Holy Spirit. And that you would share with one another stories that encourage and nurture faith, and that support the mission of God. Selah!
Written by Carole
January 16, 2011 at 12:56 am
Related Website
Soul Space
You are invited to take some time each day for "Soul Space," written by Wendy Miller and posted on the Eastern Mennonite University website. Each day's guidance centers around a theme for reflection and prayer drawn from the lectionary readings for the week.
Morning-Week Two
Lord of the dawn –
You who bring morning light
to bless field and hill,
Roof and window;
Open my eye to see,
Beckon my ear to hear,
Waken my soul to follow you into this day.
Prayer for the day:
Bless to me, O God,
Each thing mine eye sees;
Each sound mine ear hears;
All that I taste;
Each word I speak;
Each note I sing;
Each ray of light that guides my way,
Each one I meet;
Bless to me, O God.
The Three that seek my heart,
The Three that make Your home in me
Bless to me, O God.
From a “Prayer at rising”, adapted.
Coming
Loving God,
Bringing light—epiphany–
Awaken my soul.
Open my eyes to see,
Help me to hear
Jesus among and within us.
Amen
Silence
Be still.
Open your awareness to God’s presence
Within and all around.
“Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10)
Being With-Epiphany Week 3
Season of Epiphany: Week Three
This side of Eden we are restless, seeking, hoping for something to satisfy us. If we are honest we admit that what we produce, and what we accumulate does bring some measure of satisfaction – but on a deeper level we seek for something more. Even within the church persons are saying, “We want to go deeper.” “Isn’t there something more?” The psalmist gives voice to this seeking, this longing (Psalm 27:4,7-10).
Even as we are looking for this deeper satisfaction—on a soul level—God comes to us. God comes looking for us. Not content to stay in the heavenly realm, looking from afar as we seek whatever it is to quench a deep, inner thirst, God shows up among us, in Jesus. In the Gospel narratives our lectionary guide takes us now to Capernaum, a fishing town nestled on the north reach of the Sea of Galilee. This is where Jesus settles and forms a hub for his work of coming to find us.
As you read Matthew 4:12-23 this week, I invite you to sit alongside this gospel writer and to notice how people are seen and described in this passage. Reflect on the state we are in, and then notice how this coming of Jesus is described.
This ‘great light’, this ‘dawning’ of a new day in God’s kingdom calendar, is described as ‘heaven coming near.’ What does this ‘great light’ look like? This ‘dawning’ of a new day, this ‘heaven coming near’—for those of us who are stuck in the darkness of the night of this world’s system, and who suffer the shadow of death this side of Eden?
Jesus now becomes the ‘voice’ in our wilderness, he shows up on the beach of our life — coming close and inviting us to turn our attention towards him, and to what he is offering: ‘heaven coming near.’ We may wonder what this has to do with going deeper, wanting something more, that deep inner, soul-level satisfaction. If we are looking for an immediate answer, we are given instead an invitation by Jesus: “Follow me . . .”
When Jesus calls us to follow him we are already beginning to turn from what and who we have been following. We all listen and give our lives and our love to something or somebody. Now Jesus is saying, “Listen to me, give your life and your love to me.”
It is in this turning and listening, this following and loving that the ‘good news’ of the gracious rule of God begins to break into the deep, inner regions of our being, shedding the light of God’s new day, transforming how we see, how we hear, how we live in the world—curing the disease and breaking the yoke and oppression of addiction to a multitude of things which can never satisfy Isaiah 9:1-4), and healing the painful sickness of being alienated from God, from the God-breathed center of who we are, from others, and from creation (I Corinthians 1:10-18).
The gospel writer calls us to enter into this great life adventure of noticing this Jesus who takes up residence on the shore of our life, and calls us to follow him. Matthew’s gospel will be our GPS as we listen and follow. This following, this listening, this new loving will change us. Jesus says, “I will make you . . .” No longer will we be “self-made” individuals, or “system-conformed” collectives. We will be transformed as Jesus reveals the beauty and wonder of God and God’s gracious new thing, and as we learn to wait for, and gaze on God (Psalm 27:4,13,14).
Prayer before reading:
Lord Jesus Christ,
You come to us.
Help me to see as you see,
To recognize your presence,
And your call
To follow you.
Guide me, us as I learn to walk in your way.
Read slowly. Listen deeply. Indwell the scripture.
Scripture Guide:
Season of Epiphany: Week Three
» 1/17 Monday: Matthew 4:12-17
» 1/18 Tuesday: Matthew 4:13-23
» 1/19 Wednesday: Psalm 27
» 1/20 Thursday: Isaiah 9:1-4
» 1/21 Friday: I Corinthians 1:10-18
» 1/22 Saturday: Matthew 4:12-17
» 1/23 Sunday: Matthew 4:18-23
Responding
The third movement within Soul Space is Responding. Here we shift our focus towards outward engagement.
Evening-Week Two
Come to me you who are tired, worn down from carrying heavy loads,
and I will give you rest. Learn my ways, for my ways are gentle, and I am humble at heart, and you will find rest for your soul.
Matthew 11:28-30 (paraphrased)
As I come to the end of this day, and turn towards you, Burden Bearer, Rest Giver,
What am I carrying?
What wears me down, makes me tired?
What do I bring to you . . . ?
For forgiveness . . .
For healing . . .
For help . . .
For holding.
Read the psalm for this week’s lectionary readings.
Silence
Closing Prayer
In you, O Lord, I have taken refuge:
Hear me as I come . . .
Be my resting place;
I will both lie me down and sleep in peace;
For you alone, O Lord, make me lie down in safety.
Into your hands I commend myself and those I love.
Psalms 4:8; 31:1-5 (paraphrased)
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