Hi First Presbyterian Church,
It’s time for our Mid-Week Meet-Up! This Sunday is the fourth and final Sunday of Advent, which means you have one more opportunity to complete the attached crossword puzzle, bring a copy of it with you to worship, put it in our crossword puzzle basket, and possibly have yours selected to win a lot of chocolate. Congratulations to Abby Schmitt and Kathy Blezard who won this past Sunday! Your hint this week is to look closely at our reading from Psalm 84:1-12. You won’t find all the answers there, but it will help!
Today is Day 101 of our one-year Bible reading journey. Yesterday, we finished the book of Deuteronomy and began reading the book of Joshua. Here’s a little context for you on the book of Joshua.
Book of Joshua
The Book of Deuteronomy ends with the people of Israel poised to enter the land of Canaan. Naturally, the Book of Joshua is a continuation of the narrative of the Pentateuch (i.e., Genesis-Deuteronomy). Everything since the time of Abraham (whom God promised to give the Promised Land) has been leading to this moment. The focus of the Book of Joshua is about showing what the Israelites must do in order to realize the fulfillment of God’s promise. As you read the Book of Joshua, ask yourself: How are the people of Israel being asked to trust God so that they don’t stand in the way of God’s attempts to give them what was promised?
I want to reflect on our reading of the Gospel texts this week. In Luke 11:24-26, Jesus says this really peculiar thing about an unclean spirit coming back with seven more unclean spirits after it has been exorcised from a person. After years of coming back to this passage again and again, I honestly am perplexed by what Jesus might mean here. Some people have speculated if Jesus might be referring to the “seven deadly sins” when he refers to the seven unclean spirits. I highly doubt that’s the case, but I do see why people might see a connection.
Do you know about the seven deadly sins? They are anger, pride, envy, greed, gluttony, lust and sloth. You won’t find a list of these vices in the Bible calling them the “deadly sins,” but it certainly rings true that people tend to struggle with one or more of them. For centuries Christians have identified these vices as major temptations people face. In fact, this list of vices used to include nine deadly sins. As early as the fourth century AD, people such as Evagrius Ponticus included vainglory and fear with the now ubiquitous seven sins. It wasn’t until the sixth century AD that Pope Gregory I reduced the list to seven. Evagrius and others believed that, while people are susceptible to any of these sins, they tend to struggle most with one, and their personalities, hopes, and fears are shaped by that struggle. I don’t know about you, but I certainly know which of the nine vices I struggle with most.
The path of Christian discipleship is to learn how to trust God to help us pursue freedom from these vices. Those who struggle with anger must learn to accept their own failures and the failures of others. Those who struggle with pride must learn to love themselves and others with humility. Those who struggle with vainglory must learn to be honest about themselves and their deepest struggles. Those who struggle with envy must learn to truly be themselves and live with authenticity. Those who struggle with greed must learn to use what they have for others and to live with contentment. Those who struggle with fear must learn to live with courage by trusting that God will provide for their needs. Those who struggle with gluttony must learn to orient their desires toward God. Those who struggle with lust must move away from shamelessness and trust in the mercy of God. Those who struggle with sloth must learn to allow the Holy Spirit to empower them to take decisive actions for themselves.
The Bible is an endless mine of precious wisdom. I'm glad to be reading it with you this year, and I pray you draw closer to God as we do.
Advent blessings,
Pastor Aaron