Not Waiting to Share Love for Others

Mary Washing Jesus' Feet With Nard

4th Lectionary Verse

John 12:1-8 (New International Version)

John 12

Jesus Anointed at Bethany

¹Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. ²Here a dinner was given in Jesus' honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. ³Then Mary took about a pint^a]">[a] of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

⁴But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, ⁵"Why wasn't this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year's wages.^b]">[b]" ⁶He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.

⁷"Leave her alone," Jesus replied. " It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. ⁸You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me."

Analysis- Have you ever wanted to tell someone how you feel about them but didn't because of embarrassment, or busyness, or pride, etc.? Time goes by and then the person we care for passes on and we wish we'd had one last moment to tell them what they meant to us or that we'd loved them. I don't believe we should live in regret, but I'm also sure that this happens more often then we'd like to admit and it can leave a sour taste in our mouths.
In the lectionary passage I'm covering in this post, Mary does the opposite of the situation I've just mentioned. Not only does she do the opposite, but she takes it to the extreme. Giving some depth to the story, we can see that earlier in John that Jesus had raised her brother Lazarus from the dead. Her family was hosting a dinner in Jesus' honor and she takes the opportunity to take a bottle of nard (expensive perfume; see link: http://www.biblefragrances.net/nard.html) and wash Jesus' feet with it using her hair!
Judas Iscariot (the disciple who will betray Jesus) was seemingly disgusted by this gesture. He objects in the guise of righteousness, claiming that the perfume could be sold and the money given to the poor. The text says Judas doesn't object out of any concern for the poor, but because he was keeper of the money bag and would help himself to money that was put into the bag. This was likely money that would otherwise be used to help the poor.
Jesus sees right through this and says something interesting: "Leave her alone.....It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me."

Two things stick out to me in that statement:

1) Without comparing anyone to Jesus, doesn't this make a statement that we shouldn't wait for the funeral to honor someone? I'm not saying we shouldn't respect people as we remember their lives, but should we say something at a funeral about someone that we didn't tell them while they were still living?

2) There are poor people all around us. Not just materially poor, but spiritually poor as well. This passage is a statement about serving others, and not just in charitable ways. In fact, one could argue that Jesus is speaking about honoring the poor as equals. Charity seems to always be about those with helping those without, and often times those offering the charity are unable to see how the poor have as much to give as those who seemingly have more.
Sometimes we give only to reassert our own state of well being and a for a sense of pride and entitlement. Other times we do it to make ourselves look better in front of others. What would the world think if Bill Gates entered a soup kitchen, not to help serve the homeless, but to be served and to eat at the same table as the homeless? I think many would be caught off guard and in fact be speechless.

Charity isn't all bad, but as we go into our different places of worship tomorrow or as we just go about our day, let's remember that serving others doesn't always mean what we think it does. Let's do the best we can to see those with less than we may have as equals and realize that we can be served by them as much as we serve them.

Hope that makes sense and remember to be free to ask questions or comment.

God bless and tune in for next week,

Jason

Happy Birthday Dad!

My Dad, my son and me (left to right)

I'd like to give my dad a little tribute in the form of some space on my blog since it's his birthday. I wouldn't be the person I am today without his and my mom's support through the years. I've gone through many tribulations and my dad has only been a phone call away. I was not the easiest child to deal with, especially in my teenage years, but my dad never quit on me. In a world where so many sons don't have the guidance of their fathers, I have never had to worry about who or where to turn to for guidance.

Thanks dad, and I hope that God blesses you fully in the coming year as you have blessed my family and me.

Happy Birthday

Jason

Trusting Jesus

St. Paul

3rd Lectionary Verse

Philippians 3:4b-14

If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: ⁵circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; ⁶as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.

⁷But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. ⁸What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ ⁹and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. ¹⁰I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Pressing on Toward the Goal

¹²Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. ¹³Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Analysis- In this lectionary passage out of Philippians we are able to get a glimpse of what it was like in the time Paul was writing this. People were making salvation about the law and also about timeless Jewish customs (namely circumcision). Paul explains how faultlessly he adhered to these laws and also how he persecuted the church. In fact, he says that all he gained or profited from the law is considered a loss for the sake of Christ. As we see in reading this, Paul thinks true righteousness comes from God and wishes to know Christ and the power of resurrection, moving forward and not looking back.
When reading this passage as well as Paul's other writings it brings a couple thoughts to mind:

1) Nothing we do to ourselves or in ceremony matters much in terms of our salvation, but these things are often emphasized. Not only are these things emphasized, but they are constantly being argued about. Each denomination has their own way of doing things, but I believe those things have their place.
Now, please don't mishear me; Ceremonies and sacraments are important as an outward expression of what's inside. I'm just saying that these things shouldn't be placed over the priority of loving God and loving people or working for the betterment of the community, etc. We shouldn't judge others for how they express their inner faith in ways different than we may express the same faith.

2) Though what we do may not impact our salvation, our salvation compels us to keep doing God's work. Ultimately our relationship with Christ is work. Many people have pointed out to me throughout my life that we're saved by grace, not works. While there is truth in this, I have never felt God's grace more than when I'm doing what I would consider to be God's work. No matter where we are spiritually, we can all contribute to the greater good within the body of Christ and there is no better way to put your trust in Christ than by "putting your money where your mouth is."

I may have gotten a bit off topic with those thoughts, but Paul brings that out of me. Nothing drains me more or rubs me the wrong way more than when petty ceremonial things get in the way of the communal relationship with Christ. In Paul's day it was Jewish Christians emphasizing circumcision among other things to newly converted Gentiles. Today, the list could be endless:

Arrangement of the sanctuary, music, order of worship, baptism, scriptural translation, preaching style, etc., etc., etc.

Is it wrong for certain things to prick our individual hearts? No. Is it wrong to prefer a certain worship style? No. These things only become barriers when they are the standard we hold everyone to, and in doing so we limit the endless ways God speaks to people. When something happens that we don't prefer in a worship setting, let's take comfort that God can use the same thing that may irk us to speak profoundly to someone else.

That's all for today. I'll try to post the last lectionary analysis tomorrow. As always, I appreciate any feedback or questions you might have.

God bless,

Jason

Blog Title Explanation and General Scriptural Perspective

N.T. Wright

Hello all. I apologize for not posting yesterday as I had intended to but I got caught up in March Madness. I'm feeling a bit under the weather today but I plan to post my analysis on the last two lectionary verses later this afternoon.
First though, I'd like to offer up a brief explanation of the title of my blog as well as give the readers (however few they might be) some background as to how I look at the Bible. Feel free to ask questions if you want a deeper explanation either via comments (below), e-mail (jsquiggles23@hotmail.com), or facebook (if I'm not your friend already just request Jason Squires to be your friend. I should gladly accept.).

Now that the generalities are out of the way.......

My Blog Title-When I decided to name my blog Taking Jesus Out of the Box, I knew some people may wonder what I meant by that. I should have probably offered an explanation in my Greetings post but I didn't think about it. The intended meaning is pretty simple: As Christians, or Christ followers, I believe we are called to be formed by scripture and our relationship with Christ (which can mean different things to different people). I believe, however, that many of us put Jesus "in a box" when we express our faith in a limited way. I want to make one thing clear about that last statement though: At some point, we ALL are guilty of allowing our biases to dictate our outlook on the Bible and our relationship with Christ.
Simply put this blog is a way for me to get a lot of my thoughts out as well as remain faithful to a study of the scriptures. I'm doing this in blog form because I want to invite any readers to join me on my journey to be more like clay and less like a potter, if that makes any sense. I have already invited a few others to share their thoughts on my blog, and if any readers I haven't invited are inspired to share their thoughts, they can feel free to contact me and I am willing to give those of you who are willing the space they need. I am also planning on writing thematically to go along with my lectionary analysis, but I don't know when that will necessarily happen.

Biblical Perspective (How I Interpret Scripture)- Much of how I look at scripture and absorb it is influenced by the gentleman pictured above. His name is N.T. Wright. He is an Anglican bishop and the denomination I'm a part of (United Methodist) has roots in the Church of England. If you haven't read any of Wright's many books, I would strongly suggest it.
I basically break the Bible down into three parts, one of which is foretold of and which I can't speak to: The Old Testament (early Judaism as well as the time of the Old Covenant), The New Testament (the New Covenant as established by Christ and the covenant that defines us as Christian which is still relevant today) and the New Creation (either the afterlife or this world's future or the rapture; needless to say I don't think we're called to spend a lot of time on this).
I'm quite surprised at how many fellow Christians I've talked to don't realize that more than half of the Bible is also the base scripture of the Jewish faith (known to followers of Judaism as The Torah). Some acknowledge this but in their Biblical interpretations also remove the Jewish context from their understanding. I was amazed to find out that the Ku Klux Klan believe themselves to be a Christian organization.
Regarding the Jewish faith, the obvious difference we have as Christians is that while we recognize Christ as fulfillment of the law, or Old Testament prophecies, the followers of Judaism do not (aside from messianic Jews, but in my mind I would describe them as Jewish Christians). I believe there are distinct differences between the Old Covenant between God and the nation of Israel in Old Testament times and the New Covenant established by Christ as a call to welcome Jews and Gentiles (non-Jews) as well as a call to all nations to invite them into the faith.
I could probably go line by line and share the specific differences in what we should adhere to now and what we shouldn't adhere to, but I think it would not only be a waste of time, but more importantly I don't think people live or think that way. I'd be fooling myself if I didn't think that the Bible contradicts itself, but I think my high school Bible teacher had an excellent take on the Bible: The Bible is perfect in its purpose. In other words, if you are trying to make decisions about things the Bible wasn't intended to decide, you may either find yourself frustrated or find yourself guilty of putting your own agenda in place of God's on certain issues.
I could probably write on and on about this, but I have a hierarchy I use when giving authority to certain types of scripture (sort of a who trumps who):

Jesus Christ
Paul
The Old Testament

If I come across something in The Old Testament that was law then, I don't have to look past Jesus or Paul to at least try honestly to see what we're called to now in the New Covenant. I could type about that all day, too.

Anyways, I hope that gives you all a better picture of where I'm coming from. I would never claim to be unbiased or have a "no spin zone," because I think it's absolutely impossible to not be influenced by our environments and our conclusions based on our life experiences. Anyone who claims to be unbiased is someone who I believe is a liar as well as being a dangerous influence in many cases.
Finally, another lens I look at life in general through with how I look at scriptures is the Wesleyan Quadrilateral (intimidating title):

Scripture
Tradition
Reason
Experience (Anglicans like N.T. Wright think experience is an unnecessary leg to the quadrilateral table)

Hope you enjoyed and please ask questions if you want me to expand on anything I've shared. I'm often guilty of either moving from a topic to quickly or explaining things in too much detail.

God bless,

Jason

Lectionary Psalm

Psalm 126

A song of ascents.

¹ When the LORD brought back the captives to ^a]">[a] Zion,
we were like men who dreamed. ^b]">[b]

² Our mouths were filled with laughter,
our tongues with songs of joy.
Then it was said among the nations,
"The LORD has done great things for them."

³ The LORD has done great things for us,
and we are filled with joy.

⁴ Restore our fortunes, ^c]">[c] O LORD,
like streams in the Negev.

⁵ Those who sow in tears
will reap with songs of joy.

⁶ He who goes out weeping,
carrying seed to sow,
will return with songs of joy,
carrying sheaves with him.

That's it for today. I won't do analysis for Psalms or Proverbs but feel free to meditate on these types of verses. Tomorrow I'll try to better explain my general view on the scriptures and expound on my blog title as well as move on to the next lectionary verse with analysis.

Good night and God's peace.

God Provides (And So Should We)

1st Lectionary Verse (the other three verses will follow; the Psalm verse later tonight and the next two on Thursday and Friday FYI)

Isaiah 43: 16-21 (NIV)

¹⁶ This is what the LORD says—
he who made a way through the sea,
a path through the mighty waters,

¹⁷ who drew out the chariots and horses,
the army and reinforcements together,
and they lay there, never to rise again,
extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:

¹⁸ "Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.

¹⁹ See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert
and streams in the wasteland.

²⁰ The wild animals honor me,
the jackals and the owls,
because I provide water in the desert
and streams in the wasteland,
to give drink to my people, my chosen,

²¹ the people I formed for myself
that they may proclaim my praise.

Analysis- This passage of the Bible is taken from the book of Isaiah, which is a book rooted in prophecy, both pointing to and fulfilled in Christ. That is, at least in my opinion, how scripture from this book should be looked at within the grand context. On a more specific look into what this passage means, we can look at chapter 43 and see at the beginning of the chapter focusing on the emphasis of importance in the formation of Israel (with Old Covenant realities in mind; I will give a general outlook of my scriptural perspective in a later post soon) and what God has done for Israel.

Verse 14 begins a different section of the chapter entitled "God's Mercy and Israel's Unfaithfulness." This weeks Old Testament lectionary passage focuses on God's mercy, but the verses following show how even the people of Israel (God's chosen people) have been unfaithful despite God's mercy. This leads to the prophecy of Israel's undoing which is embodied in what I believe is ultimately a bigger statement of mercy for all in the embodiment of Christ.

With that bit of context out of the way, we can look more closely at what the specific text says within verses 16-21 and how we can respond to it with full knowledge of the fulfillment of the prophecy and as followers of Christ or even those who aren't but can embrace the truth in the theme/moral of the verses. Verses 16 and 17 allude to the time when Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt across the Red Sea which was parted and which closed over the following Egyptians once the Israelites were safely on the other side.

Immediately following is a commandment to forget the past and look ahead to what the Lord will provide along with what he is providing. This section of verses closes with what I think is God's intention: That we give God our praises, not just because of what he has done, but what he is still doing and what he will do for us. I especially appreciate the imagery of water in the desert, which I take as a symbolic (and perhaps literal so long ago) expression for how God takes care of us in tough times.

With all that said, I must say that this passage still leaves the question of how we give God our praises, and that question has many answers. It would be easy to just praise God in private for what he has done for us as individuals, but I think that those of us who have made a commitment to follow Christ can (and should in my opinion) take this further. Matthew 25:40 popped into my mind as I read this: "....I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." (NIV)

I'm sure we can all point out times in our lives where we had an opportunity to serve someone and took care of ourselves instead. I'm not saying this to make anyone feel guilty as I have done this more often than I would like to admit (my wife is pointing out my hypocrisy as I type this). We can provide for others in many ways, and this doesn't mean we have to bear the weight of the world on our shoulders. Quite the contrary; We can join with others to help each other. On an individual level, those of you with children or families probably serve someone in a small but significant way multiple times everyday.

I guess to sum it all up, we should be Christ to others because of what continues to be done in us and as best as we can we shouldn't prevent ourselves from helping those who we might not normally see fit to deserve our mercy. God showed mercy to Israel IN SPITE of Israel's unfaithfulness. Wouldn't it be beneficial for us to care for those on the margins of society? Let's keep in mind that as we serve others we find ourselves being served as we open ourselves up to God working in us.

Greetings Earthlings!

Hello all!
This is my second foray into blogging. My first blog was two years ago and lasted two posts. Hopefully this will be more productive. If you're reading this, you probably know me, but if you came across this blog looking for kittens I had better share some basic info about me and my future intent for this blog (and if you came across this in a kittens search, please explain how you did in the comments or read "Computers For Idiots.")
My name is Jason and I have a wife and a son and we are expecting another child. I am a member of a United Methodist Church and am going SLOWLY through the candidacy process. I intend to use this blog to begin an open observation on scripture and its relevance in the areas we live in. I will probably post on the liturgical scriptures for the week but will also react to what goes on in the world surrounding me. It's pretty open ended and I hope everyone who follows will feel comfortable responding either via comment section or e-mail or facebook, etc.

That's all for now. Let me know what you'd like covered in the comments or more personally if you know me.

God's peace,

Jason