Day 21 (Friday, March 29, 2019)

Read

John 11:17-27


17 When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. 18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, 19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. 21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.”

Reflect

It is said that there are two certainties in life: death and taxes. We are happy to talk about the latter, but not discuss the former. Imagine asking a hostess at a dinner party if she had thought about her death recently…! It is the one remaining subject that is simply taboo. Yet it is the one ultimate certainty we all face. And there is only one person who claims he can do anything about it.

John has been telling us that life had been heating up for Jesus in Jerusalem. The Jewish leaders had attempted to stone him (John 10:31) for his apparent blasphemy. So Jesus left the city and went to the region east of the Jordan River. There he learned that his friend Lazarus, brother of Martha and Mary, was dying in the village of Bethany near Jerusalem. Hearing that Lazarus had died, and against the advice of his disciples who feared the Jewish leaders, Jesus returned to Bethany, where he was first met by Martha.

In the course of talking with her he made the amazing assertion: “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.” He didn’t say, ‘I promise resurrection and life;’ or ‘I procure,’ or, ‘I bring’ but ‘I am.’ Unless he is one with God his words are nothing but blasphemy.

C.S. Lewis commented that Jesus was a liar or a lunatic, or he was telling the truth. The witness of the New Testament, the evidence of history, the existence of the Christian church, all point to the conclusion that Jesus’ words are the truth. As he asked Martha that day, so he asks us today, “Do you believe this?” If you do believe this, how will it effect your conversations with people you meet?

Prayer

Almighty God, you have conquered death through your dearly beloved Son Jesus Christ and have opened to us the gate of everlasting life: grant us by your grace to set our mind on things above, so that by your continual help our whole life may be transformed; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit in everlasting glory. Amen. (BCP, Easter Day)

Daily Reading Plan

Read John 11:1-27

Day 20 (Thursday, March 28, 2019)

Read

John 10:16-18, 27-30

16 “…I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. 17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father…”

27 My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father’s hand. 30 The Father and I are one.”

Reflect

We often forget that Jesus’ first followers were ordinary people from Galilee. They were not well known, highly educated or widely respected. They were no one in particular. Yet Jesus, the celebrity teacher or rabbi who was commanding everyone’s attention through his extraordinary miracles and powerful, controversial teaching, had invited them into his team. In turn, he had awakened in them increasing respect, awe and ultimately, devotion. They came to see him not just as a prophet, but as more than a prophet. They saw that he was the good shepherd, God in human form. We have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth, John testified (1:14).

Jesus took his first followers into his confidence, taught them, and gave them the privilege of being his emissaries to the world. For Jesus has a big mission: to reach the world. And from the first he intended to involve his people in this task. His plan is a reflection of the nature of the relationship he has with God the Father and a relationship he wants us to enjoy and participate in. He did everything necessary to lay the foundation for this work. He announced who he was and what he had come to do; he gave plenty of evidence (signs) that he was who he said he was; he even laid down his life so that he could give them eternal life (10:28).

In John 20 and 21 we will see that Jesus commissioned his first followers (the Twelve) to introduce people from all races and nations to him as the one true Lord and God, to know and love him as the true shepherd, the giver of eternal life.

Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ, at your first coming you sent your messenger to prepare the way before you: grant that the ministers and stewards of your mysteries may likewise make ready your way, by turning the hearts of the disobedient to the ways of the righteous, so that at your second coming to judge the world, we may be found an acceptable people in your sight; for you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and for ever. Amen. (BCP, Advent 3)

Daily Reading Plan

Read John 10:22-42

Day 18 (Tuesday, March 26, 2019)

Read

John 9:35-41


35 Jesus heard that they had driven him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36 He answered, “And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him.” 37 Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he.” 38 He said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshiped him. 39 Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind.” 40 Some of the Pharisees near him heard this and said to him, “Surely we are not blind, are we?” 41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.

Reflect

As John’s Gospel progresses he increasingly pushes us towards making a decision about Jesus. In chapter 9 four conversations unfold following the healing of the blind beggar. The final one (9:36-37) is possibly the most beautiful in the whole of the Gospel. The man who had been ejected from the synagogue by the religious leaders, was now sought out by Jesus. ‘Do you believe in the Son of Man?’ Jesus asked. The man’s response was candid: ‘Who is he that I may believe?’

‘You have seen him,’ Jesus said. ‘The one who is speaking to you is he.’

We can only begin to imagine the awesome implications of what Jesus said that day. And the man responded: ‘Lord, I believe.’ John tells us that he worshiped Jesus as though he were God. There are few mountain peaks higher than this in John’s Gospel. The man had progressed from the first conversation where he called Jesus, the man (9:11), to the second where he spoke of Jesus as a prophet (9:17), to the third where he could say, This man must be from God (9:33). Now he worshiped him as Lord.

It’s a picture of the road many of us travel as our understanding of Jesus is awakened. We come to agree that Jesus was a man – he did live; then we see that he’s more than a man – he’s a prophet; then, that he’s much more than a prophet – he must be from God. He is God. He is my Lord.

Prayer

Almighty God, you wonderfully created men and women in your own image and have now more wonderfully rescued and restored them. Grant us, we pray, that as your Son our Lord Jesus Christ was made in our likeness, so may we share his divine nature; we ask this through Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (1978 AAPB, Second Sunday after Christmas – adapted)

Daily Reading Plan

Read John 9:24-41

Day 17 (Monday, March 25, 2019)

Read

John 9:1-7


1 As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him. 4 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” 6 When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man’s eyes, 7 saying to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see.

Reflect

A blind man begging on the side of the road was a familiar sight in ancient Palestine. But this man wasn’t blind because of the dusty roads and disease-laden air. He had been born blind. In answer to the disciples’ question about who was to blame, Jesus responded by pointing to the purpose of this man’s blindness; it was so that God’s power through Jesus to give sight to the blind might be revealed. Here and elsewhere Jesus implies that physical blindness is an outcome of living in a fallen world.

Jesus’ stunning miracle is told simply. It is another occasion when he didn’t look for any expression of faith: he just took the initiative and acted. When the man obeyed Jesus’ instructions, he came back seeing. Imagine how this narrative would be reported today. ‘How did you feel?’ would be the question. But John wants us to focus on Jesus’ action, not the man’s feelings.

 As the chapter unfolds, it becomes increasingly apparent that the man had not only been physically blind, he was also spiritually blind. In a conversation with the neighbors (9:8-12) immediately following his healing we get the sense that when he’d gone home everyone was talking at once – some saying it was the blind beggar while others were saying it couldn’t be. ‘How can you see?’ was their question when he affirmed that he was the former blind beggar. His response is simple and direct: ‘The man Jesus healed me.’ It’s a moving, straightforward testimony, one that we who call ourselves God’s people might emulate.

Prayer

Merciful Lord, let your glory shine upon your Church; so that, enlightened by the teaching of your blessed apostle and evangelist Saint John, we may walk in the light of your truth and come at last to the splendor of eternal life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP, St. John the Evangelist)

Daily Reading Plan

Read John 9:1-23