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Morning Devotion for Monday in Holy Week
April 14, 2025
Reading: Philippians 3:1-4b, 7-9
Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is not irksome to me, and is safe for you.
Look out for the dogs, look out for the evil-workers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. For we are the true circumcision, who worship God in spirit, and glory in Christ Jesus, and put no confidence in the flesh. Though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If any other man thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more… But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as refuse, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own, based on law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith;
Meditation - Peter Vanderveen
In 1988, the physicist Stephen Hawking published a short book entitled A Brief History of Time. It made him world-famous and was a bestseller for many years. Tens of millions of copies were sold. No small feat. What was perhaps most notable about the book, simplified as it was, was that it was still relatively incomprehensible. No one really wanted to admit this, but there were a number of brave reviewers who gathered up enough courage to concede that, after several readings of the book, they themselves had no idea what Hawking was talking about. At some point, usually sooner rather than later, they realized that they could no longer understand Hawking’s methodical exposition no matter how hard they tried. It was beyond them. Nonetheless, they read on. But their focus shifted. They no longer hoped to gain for themselves a deeper sense of what time is. Hawking’s argument meant nothing to them. But they read on because they trusted that Hawking himself understood what he had written, which increased their admiration for him.
One reviewer wondered out loud why so many people flocked to buy the book. His conclusion was that A Brief History of Time was much like The Bible: people had no intention of reading either book for their own edification, they simply thought that they ought to have both volumes on their bookshelf – because both books reflect a certain seriousness about life, even if they are never cracked open.
I have long appreciated that reviewer’s remark because I believe that reading The Bible is no less difficult and no less perplexing than trying to read advanced physics. God, after all, is greater than time; and, in ways even more mystifying, God is more intimate to us than is time. And I often feel right at home with those reviewer’s who could admit their befuddlement. We should not shrink God to the constrained dimensions of our own meager desires or imagination. This is idolatry. God is beyond us.
And in this respect, I admire Paul’s own straining to truly represent who God is to the church in Philippi. His effort, more than all else, brings him to a sense of loss, of being insufficient to the task. God isn’t something we can carry around in our pockets and make use of whenever it’s to our advantage. God exceeds words, definition, divisions and all the false claims we may make of simply having God on our side. Paul recognized this.
And, in turn, I read the Bible now, not so much to know God; my focus has shifted. I read on because I am fascinated by the vast drama of creation and redemption that God is working out – well beyond my comprehension – that, nonetheless, includes me. Life is cheaper without faith. There’s more to rejoice in with it.
Prayer
Heavenly Father:
Hold not our sins up against us,
but hold us up against our sins,
so that the thought of Thee when it wakens in our soul,
should not remind us of what we have committed,
but of what Thou hast forgiven,
not of how we went astray,
but of how Thou didst save us.
Amen.
Kierkegaard
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