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Morning Devotion for the Season of Epiphany
Monday, February 10, 2025
Invitatory
Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Galatians 6:11-18
See what large letters I make when I am writing in my own hand! It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh that try to compel you to be circumcised—only that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. Even the circumcised do not themselves obey the law, but they want you to be circumcised so that they may boast about your flesh. May I never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is anything; but a new creation is everything! As for those who will follow this rule—peace be upon them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.
From now on, let no one make trouble for me; for I carry the marks of Jesus branded on my body.
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen.
Meditation-Rebecca Northington
When the staff at Redeemer was asked to list their favorite Bible passages I immediately thought of Zipporah and Moses. Without an opportunity to explain this choice I am sure it was baffling to many. I was surprised in graduate school to find so many female heroines in the Bible, in particular around the life of Moses. We did not learn about many growing up, or really any, beyond the Virgin Mother Mary. Zipporah was Moses' Middanite wife whom he married after he fled Egypt the first time. She was not an Israelite, which should be noted. But she understood, inexplicably, the covenant with God as represented by circumcision.
Interestingly, Moses resists God’s call to deliver the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt. He has fears of inadequacy and doubts his own capabilities. As the ‘reluctant leader’ makes his way to Egypt he is met by the Lord, and as with Jacob who wrestled the night away with the Angel of God, the Lord seems to mean Moses harm. Zipporah acts swiftly, cutting off the foreskin of her son and tossing it at the Lord and Moses. The reader is left stunned. Why would the Lord want to kill Moses, whom he has just chosen and convinced to lead his people? Was this a test, and how did Zipporah know what to do and how to save her husband?
I believe Zipporah acted with genuine faith. That is the key to this passage. She understood who the Lord was, and what he needed from Moses, which was complete deference, a fulfillment of the covenant. A heart and disposition entirely oriented towards the will of God. This demonstration was for no other created being. It alone was for God. Zipporah acted to assure, not her Lord, but her husband’s. That is a unique faith indeed. It also signifies that her son was now within the covenant people, and Moses was left unharmed.
In Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians he warns the Galatians that there are those who care only for the performative aspect of circumcision, “but they want you to be circumcised so that they may boast about your flesh.” In fact they are terrified of the meaning behind the cross, but are more comfortable with the laws of Israel, and how to observe them. This is not unique to the people of Galatia in the first century. How many people do we ourselves see on a daily basis, in person, and in the news, who appear to be committed to the ‘law’ of the New Testament. They may go to Church, they may go to confession, put their hand on a bible, receive the Eucharist, observe the Holy days, call themselves good Christians; but are their hearts truly oriented towards God? Are they willing to be instruments of God’s will? Would they stand up to tyranny as Moses was asked to, or protect the downtrodden as Jesus asked us to? Perhaps we too are more comfortable with the outer signs of faith, and less committed to the comprehensive call to be a disciple. For the new law asks us to love one another as God loves us. It begs forgiveness and mercy. Do we love our neighbors as ourselves-all of them?
Paul is trying to point out that physically marking ourselves does not always represent that full conversion of heart. But indeed the suffering that may ensue, and the bodily harm done to those who completely follow Jesus Christ will identify a truer, more tested version of devotion than any following of Old Testament Law could possibly incur. “From now on, let no one make trouble for me; for I carry the marks of Jesus branded on my body.”; as have so many martyrs over the years who stood up for the good news of the New Testament. Jesus warns his disciples that it will cost them. It will cost all of us to be authentic believers.
I desperately want to bring in some conversation of the Eagles, though I do not know the outcome of the game as I write this. For many in my line of work, there is real confoundment around the role that the NFL plays in countless households across this country and beyond. As I listened to talk radio this morning I was reminded of the many aspects of our own religious tradition. Sundays, Sabbath days, football days: sacrifice, ritual, suffering, family, food, community, celebration, thanksgiving. But I think the one word that captures the most common territory is HOPE. As I listened to blue collar workers talk about their weeks, their 9-5, or overnight jobs, they talked about the Sunday ritual becoming all consuming. “You live for it.” The hope that we will win again is propelling, heartwarming, magical, mystical and all consuming! Something happens during those four quarters that no gambler or pundit can definitely predict. We are on the edge of our seats, tense with hope and heartbreak. We believe in something beyond ourselves.
This is not unlike what Paul is talking about in his letters. A faith in something that could pull us through this life with an understanding that the best is yet to come. For Christians each Sunday is a warm up for that Divine Kingdom-at Church, not at the stadium. It should/could pull us through our weeks into a Sabbath day of celebration and thanksgiving. And unlike the Eagles, Christ has won forever! And for all of us-not one team over and against another. It also means we are not spectators; we are all players in the fulfillment of this promise of reordering love, forgiveness and mercy as supreme. I am all for the celebration of community and hope, in a gritty city with a desire to prove itself. And so long as it doesn’t become idolatrous, and we understand that these are just men- playing a game, we are in good shape. What Christ offers us, and asks of us, is different. Also - Go Birds!
Prayer
The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God, and of his son Jesus Christ our Lord; and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, be amongst you, and remain with you always, Amen.
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