It’s an uncharacteristically quiet moment in our home. The
kids are sleeping or watching movies. I can hear the clock ticking across
the room. I just finished a cup of my home-roasted organic Sumatran coffee (pour
over per the usual these days) and the caffeine is now kicking in. Bliss.
Yesterday was insane. Levi peed on the couch, got a time
out, came back, and peed on the couch again. He smashed a mason jar on the
stone outside and then smashed a lightbulb on the screen porch. He bit,
scratched, and pushed. He dragged the garden hose inside and decided to give
our bedroom a bath. He dumped a full canister of cake sprinkles on the floor. He
ripped off all his clothes and ran naked down the driveway. It was a rough day,
even for him. And he only represents half of our toddler population: Juniper is
developing her own special brand of “domestic terrorism”, though she usually
manages to be destructive in a slightly more adorable way.
In the midst of it all, quiet moments like this are rare and
treasured, though usually it’s all I can do to just close my eyes and let a
thousand scattered thoughts lope haphazardly across my brain... oh the things I
ought to do... the things which may never get done.
Before this crazy descended, I used to take some time each
morning to read a bit of scripture, journal, and pray. It was incredibly grounding and I often felt God’s presence and direction in those moments. But
lately when I get the opportunity, my self-directed bible-readings feel dry.
And worse, when I put pen to paper to express my thoughts, what comes out is
wearisome and sometimes toxic. In some ways, I’m sick of my own voice, my own
thoughts, my own faltering attempts at profundity. Spiritual, emotional, and intellectual originality is highly
overrated for me right now.
So I’ve been looking for new ways to relate to God that
don’t rely so heavily on my mood, my insight, or the wells of my personal
depth. My mentor suggested a life rhythm that has helped him in similar seasons:
the Lectionary.
Used in more liturgical churches, the Revised Common Lectionary provides
really small chunks of the Old and New Testament for churches to focus on each
week. It’s basically a long-term bible-reading plan with bite-sized passages
meant to be savored, not just consumed. The passages go together thematically
and the beauty of it is, I don’t get to pick them. So I gave it a shot this
morning... and I think I love it.
Here’s a snippet from that encouraged me today from Jeremiah
23...
I will raise up a righteous descendant
from King David’s line.
He will be a King who rules with wisdom.
He will do what is just and right throughout the land.
And this will be his name:
‘The Lord Is Our Righteousness.’
In that day Judah will be saved,
and Israel will live in safety.
from King David’s line.
He will be a King who rules with wisdom.
He will do what is just and right throughout the land.
And this will be his name:
‘The Lord Is Our Righteousness.’
In that day Judah will be saved,
and Israel will live in safety.
Just skimming the surface here... I see this passage as a
big fat neon finger pointing right to Jesus. The main reason I say that is the
identifier, “The Lord is our Righteousness”. I’m not saying that Old Testament
theologians wouldn’t identify God himself as the ultimate source of human
righteousness, but if anything distinguished the life and mission of Jesus, it
was stripping down the rabbinic formulations of human righteousness through
rule-keeping (how do YOU respond when someone says to you, “be perfect as your
heavenly Father is perfect”?) and a promotion of righteousness (“right-ness”
with God and others) through identification with the perfect righteousness of
Christ... a way made possible through his death and resurrection. Hundreds of
years before Christ was born, Jeremiah caught a glimpse of him and said, “the
trademark quality of this king is that through him we will see that God himself is our righteousness, and NOT
our busy rule-keeping.”
For me the whole idea of righteousness in Jesus is both refreshing and desperately
needed right now. Because in a really stressed and needy season (living closely
with other stressed and needy people), my track record for making “good
Christian” decisions, having a “good Christian” attitude, and doing all the things
“good Christians” are supposed to do... well let’s just say I won’t graduate
top of my class. In fact most days I feel like I’m flunking “Righteousness
101”. I’m not flagellating myself here. Just ask my wife! I am often bitter, judgmental, lazy, passive-aggressive, and downright mean.
But while I keenly feel the need to take appropriate responsibility for
my own behavior and make healthier choices, a very anchoring thought is that
nothing I do good or bad has any bearing on the righteousness I have before God. His total love and acceptance toward me is secure... because when he looks at me, what he
sees is Christ... his perfectly righteous son. That’s what Jesus is about: relieving the impossible standard of
“being good enough” and giving himself to become
goodness on our behalf, so that we can access the limitless grace and acceptance of God.
“It is because of
him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God--that
is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption” (1 Cor 1:30)
I'll take some of that please.
