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God: "I looked for someone to take a stand for me, and stand in the gap" (Ezekiel 22:30)

In 2008, in defending his current position against same-sex marriage but for civil unions, [President Obama] said concerning people who might find his position controversial, “I would just refer them to the Sermon on the Mount, which I think is, in my mind, for my faith, more central than an obscure passage in Romans.” Two things strike me about this. First, he's not consistent about his application of the golden rule; he's pro-abortion-but of course he doesn't want to be hacked to pieces without anesthesia, which is precisely what certain abortion procedures entail. Second, choosing the golden rule over “an obscure passage in Romans” shows he doesn’t understand that “the entirety of [God's] word is truth” (Ps. 119:160). Both the Golden Rule and the Romans 1 passage are true; it's not a choice between the two. Since he used to give lectures on Constitutional law at the University of Chicago, I doubt that he would ever use the term “an obscure phrase in the Constitution,” because obscurity is about one’s perception of importance, not the actual importance of a matter. To a Constitutional lawyer who respects the document, every phrase of the document is important. To a serious [true] Christ-follower, every word of His scriptures is important.
Sue Bohlin

Since we believe in the resurrection of the body, we do not see a corpse as garbage. From the time of our earliest ancestors in the faith, we have buried our dead, committing them to the earth from which they came with the conviction that they will one day be summoned from it once more. The image of sleep is useful—not because the dead are unconscious but because they will one day be awakened. God deems as faith Joseph committing his bones to his brothers for future transport into the land of promise. In the same way the act of burial is a testimony of the entire community to the resurrection of the body. Cremation is a horrifying testimony of the burning up of the flesh and bones, a testimony that is decidedly pagan in both origin and in practice. Of course, God can resurrect a cremated Christian (or a Christian torn to pieces by lions, etc.), but how we deal with the body of a Christian teaches us - and the watching world - what we really believe about the gospel. Cremation ought then to be shunned by those who hope in Christ.
Russell Moore

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    This entry is part 7 of 9 in the series JOHANNINE HOURS - from the Taize Community

    JOHANNINE HOURS - from the Taize Community

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    Document: pub/resources/text/taize/johannine: johannine.94.03.TXT

    March 1994 JOHANNINE HOURS – EXODUS 3,1-15

    Moses, exiled from Egypt after an abortive attempt to establish justice, is in the wilderness far off the beaten track when he encounters God. A bush is on fire but is not consumed. God thus becomes present in a way that reconciles poverty and splendour, the commonplace and the mysterious. Similarly, the encounter with the Lord both fascinates and frightens, because it draws human beings far from their securities and their routines.

    The God who speaks “from the middle of the bush” is no unknown deity, but the God of Moses’ ancestors who reveals himself in a new guise. Because of the sufferings of his people, he comes to them to liberate them and offer them a new life. To accomplish this, God seeks the help of Moses. But Moses, aware of his limitations, hesitates and asks for a guarantee, a name behind which he can hide and whose power he can make use of.

    The Lord replies by revealing his Name above all names (v.14). An inexhaustible Name, that resists facile interpretations. A Name that emphasizes the sovereign freedom of God, who never allows himself to be trapped in human categories, as well as God’s compassionate solidarity (cf. v.12: “I AM” with you). Thus in revealing himself as the Wholly Other, God shows himself to be infinitely close to human beings in their need. And Moses is called to return to Egypt, not as the possessor of a powerful Name, but as someone led forward by the assurance of a presence.

    According to this story, what is God’s response to human beings who have doubts about their abilities?

    In what ways am I tempted to create a god to my measure, in order either to believe in or to reject such a god? What can help me remember that God is always beyond my understanding of him?

    To which men and women in need, whose dignity has been wounded, is God sending me? Can I show by the way I live the face of a God who opens a way toward freedom and life?

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