photo #6617801

The Bible Study – Our readings for Monday, June 3 are Ecclesiastes 11:1-10 and John 10:22-42. Today’s Old Testament passage calls us to generosity, to “cast our bread upon the waters,” the immensity of human need. We do not know how long we’ll have to be charitable in this life or have the means to help those in need. We also don’t know the deep mysteries of how God creates life and the work of God. Verse 5 tell us: “As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything.” The Preacher of Ecclesiastes encourages us to engage in and enjoy life while we can, and to be productive. Sin will remain with us in this broken world, but our Saviour awaits after the darkness of death to bring believers to glorious light. Our Gospel text shows us Jesus, walking in the Temple during the Feast of Dedication, the Festival of Lights, what we know today as Hanukkah. People gather round Him, perhaps Pharisees, and ask our Lord to tell them if He is the Christ. Jesus responds saying He has already told them, and they do not believe. His teaching and miracles (called “signs” in John) have spoken clearly. God desires all people to be saved, and to come to a knowledge of the truth (1st Timothy 2:4). Those who refuse to hear His Word, who refuse the Lord’s gracious gift of salvation, have no one to blame but themselves for eternal condemnation. In verse 30, Christ says, “I and the Father are one.” In the Greek, Jesus uses a plural verb, “are,” that presupposes the distinction of persons in the Trinity. The Greek word for “one’ is neuter, one thing, not one person. Christ and the Father are one in essence or nature, but they are not identical persons. We have a Triune God, one God in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Jesus says in verse 38, “the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” Through faith worked within by the Holy Spirit using God’s Word and Sacraments, we are in Christ, our Lord and Saviour. Pastor Tom Steers Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church, Toronto http://christlutherantoronto.org/beliefs