Bryan Richardson

Steeped

Re:Verse passage – Luke 2:21-38 (day three)

“…as it is written in the Law of the Lord…”

Something here transcends the kind of law and grace dichotomy that understands “law” merely as a shackle broken by “grace.” The Law, as Jesus made clear, still exists as that which has proceeded from the mouth of God, its steadfastness likened to the steadfastness of the heavens and the earth. Jesus’s nativity, his childhood, his adolescence, his adult years, his customs, his relations, his disciplines, his observances, his activities of daily living – in short, the whole of his life – was steeped in the Law of God. He believed it, observed it, obeyed it, loved it. And he was accused of breaking it. These accusations were one more way of suffering for him: he who loved the law more deeply than any person on earth ever had was vilified as a blasphemer.

Utterance

Re:Verse passage – Luke 1:57-80 (day three)

And they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by that name.”

Like other births preceded by heavenly visitations in scripture, much mystery surrounded the prophecy of the boy’s life and work. But the parents were certain about the name. Clearly Zechariah and Elizabeth had discussed the angelic appearance and divine directive thoroughly (despite Zechariah’s temporary aphonia). The family, however, challenged their insistence on the name, and there arose a disagreement. Family turmoil generates distress like little else can (which is why holiday gatherings can sometimes feel so demoralizing and worrisome). The squabbling seems to have continued even after Zechariah backed Elizabeth in her determination to use the name John; astonishment was not a sign that all was well. Then came Zechariah’s holy utterance (the Benedictus). The human voice speaking heaven’s language will turn wrangling into wonder.

Alright

Re:Verse passage – Luke 1:26-38 (day three)

[Mary] was very perplexed at [the angel’s] statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was.

Of course Mary was disconcerted. In Mary’s world, no one used “highly favored” as a mere formality, a cliché. This was not “dearly beloved, we are gathered here” or “world’s best cup of coffee.” The angel referred to Mary as highly favored precisely because the God of heaven and earth felt deep approval towards her. Mary could sense that an experience of an otherworldly kind had enveloped her. She knew not what it meant, nor what was in store, but she discerned the profound presence of safety and goodwill around her. In other words, when the angel called her highly favored, she felt the high favor. She didn’t know what came next, but she understood that she was going to be alright because God favored her.

Ready

Re:Verse passage – Luke 1:5-17 (day three)

He will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit.

The description the angel gives of the boy’s future life and work appears congruent with the oath-taking, asceticism-valuing, solitude-pursuing men and women called Nazarites. Samson is perhaps the most sensational example of this religious class, famous (or infamous) as much for his lapses from his vows as for his status as a Nazarite in the first place. St. Paul also took a Nazarite oath, referencing his vows and the cutting of his long hair at the end of his oath period. But John would be a Nazarite among Nazarites. Jesus called him the greatest among those born of women. John experienced the full sound and fury and loneliness of holy living – believing, doubting, praying, preaching, wondering. His life’s message: get yourself ready to receive the Christ.

Formed

Re:Verse passage – 2 Peter 3:10-18 (day three)

…the untaught and unstable distort [St. Paul’s letters], as they do also the rest of the scriptures, to their own destruction.

Knowing a lot of Bible, memorizing large sections of Scripture, studying immense swaths of holy writ – this is all well and good, even desirable, but it does not follow that those with the most well-worn Bibles or oft-visited Bible passage websites will live the most saint-like lives. A Sunday school teacher can be a bully; a child in Vacation Bible School who knows only “Jesus went about doing good” can be a lighthouse to the lost. There is a difference between a life padded by scripture and a life formed by scripture.

Patience

Re:Verse passage – 2 Peter 3:8-9 (day three)

The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you…

Patience gets viewed through the lens of speed. In that sense, the definition becomes “waiting for the slow person who can’t keep up.” But it has nothing to do with the pace of life, and everything to do with knowing who people are and giving them space to live accordingly. Patience recognizes when certain things – fear, anger, destructive behavior, failure – are not the person. Patience looks on a person and sees deeply, through the shortcomings, weaknesses, and frailty to fathom who this person is at the core, at the place of creation in the image of God. Patience locks in on that true being and will not move on until that being emerges. God does this with you.

With

Re:Verse passage – 2 Peter 3:1-7 (day three)

Mockers will come with their mocking.

The Lord has not exempted himself from your pain. Wherever you are reviled, wherever you are regarded as a pariah, wherever you are rejected, wherever you are made a laughingstock, wherever you are vilified for your devotion to Christ, he himself bears the insults with you. He who was despised and rejected submits himself yet again to the slings and arrows right beside you. Peter knew this firsthand. You will not go under alone. Jesus and his followers will all go down together. And then, you will rise.

Destroy

Re:Verse passage – 2 Peter 2:17-22 (day three)

…the last state has become worse for them than the first.

Few things visit wreckage upon a soul more catastrophically than religion. (And to say that religion is not needed, only Jesus is needed, is to make enemies of two that are not enemies. Religion rightly experienced is that necessary involvement of persons of faith in a common life with one another. Jesus lived within a religion; his disciples dare not eschew it.) When religion is power, when religion is guilt, when religion is self-hatred, when religion is perfectionism, when religion is exclusivity, when religion is suspicion, when religion is contempt, when religion is judgmentalism, when religion is litmus test, when it is any of these things rather than a community wearing Jesus’s easy yoke and carrying his light burden together, it will destroy the person who would have otherwise come alive.

Numb

Re:Verse passage – 2 Peter 2:10-16 (day three)

“Daring, self-willed, they do not tremble…”

Peter speaks of people who have become numb to their feelings. Consider: trembling is the body’s response to danger detected by the nervous system. In such a case, the body is feeling and signaling the gravity of the situation. A person can over time shut down and numb that experience of the nervous system for a variety of reasons – sometimes because fear seems alien and threatening, and other things like riches or power or position can offer a distraction and an anesthetic to fear. But if a person becomes numb to feelings, he or she will try increasingly extreme behaviors in order just to feel something, anything – up to and including destructive and deceptive behavior. People who can’t feel revulsion in the presence of evil will burn themselves and others in their attempt to feel something.

If

Re:Verse passage – 2 Peter 2:4-9 (day three)

if he rescued…then the Lord knows how to rescue…

Peter references the reporting of God’s actions in scripture in order to provide a basis for his claim of God’s continued historical action. Peter’s argument would not have had much strength if he had said, “If a team of elite troops sworn to protect their people knows how to rescue them from an enemy, then God knows how to rescue people from temptation.” A team of special military operatives comes nowhere near God’s faithfulness and abilities. God can only be compared to God. Of course, if one doesn’t believe that God exists, then the point is moot. In such a case, one has nothing to appeal to for ultimate power and goodness and hope other than the created order. If that’s all there is, then no higher purpose exists. Humanity needs more.