The Empty Bowl - This grassroots effort to demonstrate the power of one to alleviate world hunger was begun by local artists, Bob and Lisa Hartom, who now live in our hometown of Burnsville. Local churches or organizations provide homemade soups and bread, and local artists handcraft bowls for the event. The purchaser of the meal takes home the bowl as a reminder that we can each make a difference in helping/serving others. This nonprofit is now at global venues and has raised millions of dollars for relief of hunger locally and worldwide.
The Chosen / The Mission / The Warning / The Requirement: OT-(Deuteronomy 9 and 10) Moses is still preparing the Israelites, God's chosen people, for their mission. They are to go in and possess the land - with cities that are "great and fortified" and with people that are "great and tall" - of legendary strength. But God (those 2 great words of the Bible)... has promised... He will go before them, He will destroy and bring the enemy down so that they will be able to drive the people out of the Promised Land. God reminds the Israelites that He, the LORD their God, has chosen them out of all the people of the earth - not because of their righteousness or uprightness but because of the wickedness of the people in the land. God tells the Israelites they have been rebellious, have not believed Him, nor obeyed Him, have turned aside quickly to idolatry and sin, and have been a stubborn, stiff-necked people whom He would have destroyed many times had Moses not stood in the gap to pray for them. So God warns them..."understand this...do not say because of my righteousness the LORD has brought me in to possess the land." Not so...anything but. God tells His people that this is what He requires of them in the Promised Land (10:12-14): 1) Fear the Lord your God; 2) Walk in all His ways; 3) Love Him;
4) Serve the LORD with all your heart and with all your soul; 5) Keep the commandments of the LORD and His statutes which I commanded you today for your good."
Fast Forward to Last Prophet and Prophecy: The sinful, disobedient history of the nation Israel continues in the Promised Land. A remnant, as always, remains. Malachi prophesies of a future hope (Malachi 3: 1): "Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight. Behold, He is coming," says the LORD of hosts. He also sounds a dire warning (Malachi 4): "For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, and all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. But to you who fear My name, The Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings...Remember the Law of Moses, My servant...Behold, I will send you Elijah the Prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD."
SILENCE FOR 400 YEARS - The Intertestamental Period
The Chosen / The Messenger / The Mission: NT-(Luke 1:57-80) "Righteous" Elizabeth and Zacharias (Luke 1:6) - of the priestly tribe of Levi - are awaiting the birth of their promised son. The angel Gabriel had told them to call the son, John. This time Zacharias, who was struck mute for not believing the angel about the birth, now stands against the people who want to call the son after his father. His belief and obedience release him from his months-long speechlessness, and he begins to prophesy about his own son and praise God. He quotes the prophet Malachi and God's miraculous intervention on behalf of His people once again - despite our continuing disobedience: "Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people and has raised up a horn of salvation for us...as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets...and you, child (the chosen), will be called the prophet of the Highest (the messenger)...for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, to give knowledge of salvation to His people by the remission of their sins" (the mission)...John the Baptist has been born.
My Lesson and Reflection: Will I, will we - the church - continue the pattern of sin and disobedience throughout human history despite all of these interventions by God on our behalf? Will we, are we, part of the believing remnant impacting the world for God and His kingdom? How has God's ultimate intervention - sending His Beloved Son to die for our sins (the New Covenant sealed by His blood) - transformed my life, the life of the church?
From today's Sunday School Lesson: 'A missionary went to China to evangelize the people, told them of this Man who cared more for others than Himself. They said, "Yes, we know. He used to live here." Thinking they misunderstood, the missionary continued telling how this Man healed many people and even died for them. Once again, the natives said, "Yes, we know that too. He used to live here." They then took the missionary to a grave at the edge of the village where a medical missionary who had lived among them and brought the good news of salvation to them was buried. He had loved them and healed their diseases; but in so doing, he had contracted one of those diseases and died while showing God's love to them."' Reflection Am I "so embodying the life and ministry of Jesus that when Christ's life is described, people will think of me because of my love and the selfless service I perform in the name of Jesus?"'
Napoleon once said this about Christ: "Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I myself, have founded great empires. But upon what did these creations of our genius depend? Upon force. Jesus alone founded His empire upon love, and to this day millions will die for Him."' (Bible Expositor and Illuminator: "The Privilege of Serving" (Luke 22:14-30) for March 24, 2013, pgs. 54,55)
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