Tag: Moses

The Radiant Brilliance of God in Us: Athanasius on Psalm 1

Matt EricksonLeave a comment

In my message, “The Planted Life,” at Eastbrook yesterday, I shared a quotation from St. Athanasius related to Psalm 1 and the invitation to meditate on the Word of God. Athanasius was a 4th century bishop in Egypt and advocate for orthodox faith reflected in what we now know as the Nicene Creed. He speaks of our meditation on God’s instruction in this way:

The splendid brilliance of God’s grace never suffers an eclipse. No, it is always at hand to enlighten the inner thoughts of those who really want it. Great good comes to people who, enlightened by the grace of God, make it their habit to apply the truths of holy Scripture to their lives. They receive just such a blessing as the psalmist describes….Those blessings come because the person who accepts God’s grace is not illumined by mere physical light from the sun, the moon or even the whole host of stars. Rather, he glows all over with the radiant brilliance of God. [1]

This image of light is so striking, bringing to mind Moses’ descent from Mount Sinai after he had met with God. We read about it in Exodus:

When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord. When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him. But Moses called to them; so Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him, and he spoke to them. Afterward all the Israelites came near him, and he gave them all the commands the Lord had given him on Mount Sinai. When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face. (Exodus 34:29-33)

May we delight ourselves in God’s way and instruction to such a degree that God’s glory might also radiate from our lives.

[1] Athanasius, “Festal Letters 5.1,” quoted in Craig A. Blaising and Carmen S. Hardin, eds., Psalms 1-50, ACC, OT VII (Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 2008), 7. 

Listen to Him!: The call to attention for disciples of Jesus

Matt EricksonLeave a comment

While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” (Matthew 17:5)

At the mount of transfiguration, Jesus’ glory is revealed before the eyes of Peter, James, and John. Overwhelmed by all they are beholding, Peter offers to build a set of shelters for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. Mark tells us “[Peter] did not know what to say, they were so frightened” (Mark 9:6).

It is a great relief, then, that before Peter can go any further with his plan, there is a divine interruption in with several accompanying physical signs. First, “a bright cloud covered them.” This cloud represents God’s presence and power, just as at the exodus God led the people with a cloud by day and pillar of fire by night. Second, there is a heavenly voice booming through the cloud to accompany the glorious transfiguration of Jesus. Third, there is the message carried by that voice, which rings with dramatic power: “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” (Matthew 17:5b).

The message here directly echoes the words spoken over Jesus at His baptism, with one significant addition. In Matthew 3, at His baptism, God’s voice speaks primarily for Jesus, affirming and commissioning Jesus into ministry. But here in Matthew 17, at the transfiguration, God speaks primarily for those who are with Jesus. The strong word, “Listen to Him!”, is for the disciples’ ears. They had listened to Him so well up to this point. Yet when Jesus begins to speak of going to Jerusalem to suffer, die, and rise again, they wonder if their idea that He is the Messiah might be wrong. But it is precisely here that they are to listen to Jesus. Even though some of the words He speaks may confuse them, particularly the part about messianic suffering and death, they must listen most attentively here.

For it is in the suffering and dying that the meaning of Jesus as Messiah will be most truly revealed. It is as if the Father says, “Listen, watch, attend to Him. What you will hear and see will shock you, but it will shock you right into abundant life.”

All Saints’ Day: A Celebration and Encouragement

Matt EricksonLeave a comment

fullsizeoutput_ae3.jpegToday, is the celebration of All Saints’ Day. What is All Saints’ Day and why should we celebrate it?

Since the 4th century, Christians have celebrated the lives of saints and martyrs. However, it was not until AD 609 that Pope Boniface IV dedicated one day of remembrance for all martyrs. Since that time, and after a broadening by Pope Gregory IV in 837 into a celebration of all past saints, All Saints’ Day has been a solemn holy day in the Roman Catholic Church, often connected with reverence for past Christians and relics.  While often criticized for idolatrous veneration of departed Christians, even after the Reformation, most Protestants continued to celebrate All Saints’ Day as a way to connect God’s faithfulness to His people in times past with God’s faithfulness to His people now.

In Hebrews, chapter 11, the writer takes us through what is sometimes called the “Hall of Faith.” We hear of Abraham and Sarah, Jacob and Joseph, Moses and Rahab — all of whom faithfully walked through their ups-and-downs with God. The first words of chapter 12 take a sudden turn to the present: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” The lives of great heroes of the faith are celebrated as an inspiration for the Christians listening in the present moment, that they too might live with God faithfully in their everyday lives.

I love that phrase: “since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses.” Those witnesses are the believers in God that have gone before us. They bear witness to us that there is a way to live faithfully with God upon earth now even as they also bear witness that there is future hope with God beyond our earthly lives. Although it may sound strange to our ears, all past believers are ‘saints’ in that they are ‘holy ones’ (the literal translation of the Greek word hagioi) through Jesus Christ. All Saints’ Day brings to the foreground the spiritual bond that exists between believers from all times and in all places. More specifically, All Saints’ Day highlights the connection between the saints who have gone ahead of us into God’s presence (sometimes called “the Church triumphant”) and the saints still upon this earthly plane (sometimes called “the Church militant”). We celebrate those who have gone before us so that we might be encouraged to run the race before us with our eyes fixed on Jesus.

In a culture dominated by the ever-pressing latest and greatest that is new and now, All Saints’ Day is a powerful corrective. It reminds that we are an important part of God’s story, but we are not the only part of the story. When we celebrate the saints of previous times we realize that we would not be here were it not for Abraham, Jacob, Ruth, David, Esther, Isaiah, Mary, and so many more.

In a culture that is obsessed with our present opinions about our present matters, All Saints’ Day offers us perspective. It helps us grow beyond “the small and arrogant oligarchy of those who merely happen to be walking about,” to steal a phrase from G. K. Chesterton. We reconnect with Catherine of Siena and Augustine of Hippo, with Perpetua of Carthage and Janani Luwum of Uganda, with Sojourner Truth and Blaise Pascal. We need them; perhaps even more than we know.

In a culture that has forgotten how to think about the future, All Saints’ Day reminds us to have hope of a future day. Since there are saints who have gone before us, we can persevere now as saints upon earth. Jesus Himself told us that He is preparing a place for us and, as John testifies, there will be a great company there of saints from every tribe, tongue, and nation around God’s throne celebrating in God’s eternal kingdom.

By God’s grace, we, too, will join that great company. But until we do, we celebrate God’s faithfulness in their lives as a means to lean into God’s faithfulness in our own lives as persevering pilgrims in this land that is not our home.

God Works through Broken People

Matt EricksonLeave a comment

This past Sunday in my message, “Encountering a Broken World,” I mentioned how God works through broken people, referencing a list of examples from the Bible. A few people asked me to share that list with them, so here it is.

“For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven” (Nehemiah 1:4b). I guess you could say that when Nehemiah encountered a broken world, he turned toward it, and let himself be broken by that broken world. And being broken, Nehemiah turned toward God.

Thank God that again and again God uses broken people in His kingdom work. When you look through the Bible, you will see example after example:

  • Abraham seemed too old
  • Sarah was barren
  • Isaac was broken by fear
  • Jacob was a liar and a cheater
  • Joseph was abused and sold into slavery by his brothers
  • Job lost everything
  • Moses had a speech problem and felt unusable by God
  • Rahab was a prostitute
  • Gideon was afraid to obey God
  • Samson was an adulterer and a womanizer
  • Naomi felt broken by grief and was a widow
  • Boaz was alone and had no heir
  • Ruth was a poor foreigner
  • David was an adulterer and a murderer, and probably not that great of a father
  • Elijah felt suicidal
  • Jeremiah seemed too young
  • Jonah ran away from God
  • Martha worried too much
  • The Samaritan Woman was divorced more than once
  • Zacchaeus was too small and money hungry
  • The disciples fell asleep when Jesus needed them most to pray
  • Peter denied Christ three times
  • Paul was a legalist who persecuted Christians before becoming one

What about you and me? How might God want to work in and through us and our broken lives?

“I am the Gate”

Matt EricksonLeave a comment

This past weekend at Eastbrook, we continued our celebration of the resurrection of Jesus through our preaching series, “I AM: Seven Identity Markers of Jesus,” drawn from the Gospel of John. This week our dear friend and ministry partner from Kenya, Canon Francis Omondi, continued the series by exploring Jesus’ statement, “I am the gate” (John 10:7).

You can find the message video below. You can access the entire series here. Join us for weekend worship in-person or remotely via Eastbrook at Home.