Welcome to this week’s episode, a special rerun from our Speaking of Life archive. We hope you find its timeless message as meaningful today as it was when it was first shared.
Watch video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECelLdH3Zzw
Program Transcript
Speaking Of Life 3037 | Under the Broom Tree
Greg Williams
This is a broom tree. Solitary shrubs like this grew all over the desert in biblical times—rugged, resourceful plants that shot their roots deep into the unforgiving dry soil. 1 King 19 tells the story of Elijah, who—after defeating the prophets of Baal and prophesying rain after a drought—had his life threatened by the corrupt queen Jezebel.
Exhausted and on the run, Elijah collapses under a broom tree to rest.
Broom trees or similar desert shrubs show up at pivotal moments throughout the Old Testament. Job describes the broom tree as a place of desolation and ruin. The psalmist connects the broom tree with punishment. Hagar leaves her son under a shrub to die in Genesis 21— after being exiled by Abraham.
The broom tree, like the desert where it’s found, is associated with loss, emptiness, and being exhausted of our resources, and… with hearing the voice of God
Elijah slept on the uncomfortable rocks and woke up to the smell of bread cooking. Notice the passage:
And he lay down and slept under a broom tree. And behold, an angel touched him and said to him, “Arise and eat.” And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water. And he ate and drank and lay down again. And the angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him and said, “Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.”
1 Kings 19:5-7 (ESV)
Under the broom tree—a place associated with waste and desolation, when he was at the end of his rope—Elijah gets the sustenance he needs.
How often has God met you at the end of your rope? How often has God met us in the shade of the broom tree?
Sometimes it is when we’re stripped of the strength of our defense mechanisms, that God leads and guides us the most clearly. It was when Elijah had virtually given up that God spoke to him with a “still, small voice?” He often speaks to us in a similar fashion. We expect the booming voice, but he often comes with that still small voice—that often sounds like the voice of a spouse, friend, or confidante.
Are you in the desert today? Are you taking shade wherever you can, even under a scrubby rough broom tree because that’s all that’s there?
Look for the messengers of God who bring you sustenance in this time. God fed Elijah with ravens and angels. Who are your angels and ravens today?
Maybe that old friend who calls you out of nowhere. Maybe kids or grandkids who bring their own oblivious joy. Maybe a verse from scripture that reminds you of God’s love and plan.
God is sending you sustenance. He knows what you need. And he sees you, even under the broom tree.
I’m Greg Williams, Speaking of Life.
Program Transcript
Speaking Of Life 3037 | Under the Broom Tree
Greg Williams
This is a broom tree. Solitary shrubs like this grew all over the desert in biblical times—rugged, resourceful plants that shot their roots deep into the unforgiving dry soil. 1 King 19 tells the story of Elijah, who—after defeating the prophets of Baal and prophesying rain after a drought—had his life threatened by the corrupt queen Jezebel.
Exhausted and on the run, Elijah collapses under a broom tree to rest.
Broom trees or similar desert shrubs show up at pivotal moments throughout the Old Testament. Job describes the broom tree as a place of desolation and ruin. The psalmist connects the broom tree with punishment. Hagar leaves her son under a shrub to die in Genesis 21— after being exiled by Abraham.
The broom tree, like the desert where it’s found, is associated with loss, emptiness, and being exhausted of our resources, and… with hearing the voice of God
Elijah slept on the uncomfortable rocks and woke up to the smell of bread cooking. Notice the passage:
And he lay down and slept under a broom tree. And behold, an angel touched him and said to him, “Arise and eat.” And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water. And he ate and drank and lay down again. And the angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him and said, “Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.”
1 Kings 19:5-7 (ESV)
Under the broom tree—a place associated with waste and desolation, when he was at the end of his rope—Elijah gets the sustenance he needs.
How often has God met you at the end of your rope? How often has God met us in the shade of the broom tree?
Sometimes it is when we’re stripped of the strength of our defense mechanisms, that God leads and guides us the most clearly. It was when Elijah had virtually given up that God spoke to him with a “still, small voice?” He often speaks to us in a similar fashion. We expect the booming voice, but he often comes with that still small voice—that often sounds like the voice of a spouse, friend, or confidante.
Are you in the desert today? Are you taking shade wherever you can, even under a scrubby rough broom tree because that’s all that’s there?
Look for the messengers of God who bring you sustenance in this time. God fed Elijah with ravens and angels. Who are your angels and ravens today?
Maybe that old friend who calls you out of nowhere. Maybe kids or grandkids who bring their own oblivious joy. Maybe a verse from scripture that reminds you of God’s love and plan.
God is sending you sustenance. He knows what you need. And he sees you, even under the broom tree.
I’m Greg Williams, Speaking of Life.
Psalm 130:1-8 · 2 Samuel 18:5-9, 15, 31-33 · Ephesians 4:25-5:2 · John 6:35, 41-51
This week’s theme is the attentiveness of our Savior. In our call to worship Psalm, the psalmist proclaims that our hope in God will not fail. In 2 Samuel, King David is brought the good news that God has delivered him from the hands of his enemies. In Ephesians, Paul writes that Christ loved us and freely offered up himself as a sacrifice for us. And in the book of John, Jesus declares that all who hunger, or thirst will be filled by him.
The Call to Walk in Love
Ephesians 4:25-5:2 (ESV)
The year was 1967 and we were near the height of the war in Vietnam. At that time, a rock group known as The Youngbloods released a song called “Get Together,” which catapulted to #5 on the Billboard charts in 1968. While the song was a protest to the war, its message of love is equally applicable for the church. The chorus goes like this:
“Come on people now, smile on your brother, everybody get together, try to love one another right now.”1
In his letter to believers in Ephesus, the apostle Paul pens something similar to this embattled church. In the pericope that we will be reading today, Paul addresses some rather poor behavior taking place among the members of that congregation.
Paul was burdened by the way church members were treating each other. His answer to this was to appeal to their new natures in Christ. It was in this manner that he sought to correct the problems that were occurring in Ephesus before things got out of hand.
Unfortunately, we still see this kind of behavior happening in the church two thousand years later. Let us hear these words penned back then as if they were speaking to us directly. Let us keep our hearts and ears open today for ways that we may participate in working towards a healthier church.
Read, or have someone read Ephesians 4:25-5:2.
At the beginning of our pericope, we started off with a “therefore.” So, of course, we are forced to ask what it is “there” for. In chapter 4:22-23, Paul admonishes the Ephesian church to put off their corrupted desires — desires that belonged to who they once were but are no longer.
Paul’s contention was that they were made new. They were new people created after the image of Christ. The old was done away with, and as such, a new quality of life is supposed to emerge — a life that would resemble our Savior’s life.
After Paul finishes establishing the truth of the believer’s new life and identity, he begins to specifically address how our behaviors are to be different. In verses 25-27, we see Paul’s encouragement to speak the truth in love.
Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. (Ephesians 4:25-27 ESV)
Any kind of relationship can be difficult. Whether it be a spousal relationship, parent to child, employer to employee, neighbors, friends, and yes, even relationships with those in our churches. We all come from different backgrounds and experiences. We have different sets of beliefs, ideologies, and personalities. If this wasn’t difficult enough, throw in different generations, cultures, socioeconomics, and whatever baggage we might be dragging along with us.
Everyone interprets the world differently. It’s a miracle that any of us can even relate to another person. And yet, we have this imperative to love one another. Look at your neighbor next to you and say, “You’re stuck with me!”
It’s one thing to tolerate someone, but to truly love that person, that’s a whole other level. So, how do we get there? Our words are a good place to start. When we have something to say to one another, we are to consider that we are a part of each other. Whatever we say must be done in a spirit of love and humility. We are joined by the Spirit of Christ, which dwells in us.
Paul is under no illusions that we will never get angry with anyone. We may even have justifications for that anger, but that does not give us the right to harbor bitterness in our hearts towards anyone. Forgiveness is the appropriate response. Where it says that we are not to let the sun go down on our anger in verse 26, it simply means to be reconciled to that person as soon as possible. By letting the days turn into weeks, weeks into months, and months into years, we are allowing the enemy of our souls to set up camp in our midst. And this enemy wants nothing more than to steal, kill, and destroy.
At one of his concerts, Christian musician, Larry Norman, asked his audience if they knew what they were supposed to do if you found out that one of your friends has a problem. He then indicated that you are supposed to call up all your other friends and tell them what’s wrong with that friend … ”so, you can all pray for him.”2 Hopefully, you were able to detect the sarcasm in his answer. Let’s continue:
Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. (Ephesians 4:28 ESV)
Here, Paul talks about how a thief should no longer steal but do something useful so that he can contribute to the body of believers. Paul is once again making an appeal to the truth that we have been made new. As such, we are to throw off the old lives that we once lived.
At the foundational level of our being, we have been changed by the very life of Christ. When we realize who we are, and whose we are, we become empowered in our conduct towards each other in ways that reflect that God is love.
Paul would write in chapter 5 verse 8 that we were once darkness, but now we are light in the Lord. We were one thing, but now we are quite different. We don’t try to become something that we aren’t yet. We live into what is already true about us. We live out of our true identity established in Christ. However, God’s grace is extended to us as he knows that our behaviors sometimes take a while to catch up to that reality.
In these verses, Paul reminds his readers that both moral action and moral speech are to be guided by the principle of doing what strengthens the community. The good news is that we are not the ones who create the bond of our unity. Rather, the Spirit of God is our seal. He is what binds us all together. This is what makes us the body and temple of Christ.
Through these scriptures we are urged to consider the needs of our congregation. What do people need? How are we to speak to one another? How are we to treat each other? We are asked to address the core issues that tear down the body of Christ. Are our hearts in sync with that of our Savior’s? How are we exhibiting the same kindness and compassion towards each other?
Paul’s words to the church are sobering and they pull no punches. He does not want us to fail to understand the severity of our words, our attitudes, and actions towards the members of this body — the body of Christ. We are God’s dearly loved children, his own possession. As such, we must learn to live in step with his Spirit which continually seeks to express grace, compassion, and kindness through us. This is walking according to our calling. This is walking in love.
As we keep company with God, we learn his loving ways. We observe Christ’s love and can see how it is manifested in our lives, and we see that his love is extravagant! Since we have been found in Christ, we possess everything needed for life and godliness.
Let us then consider these scriptures as an invitation of grace, not an imperative to try harder or as a threat or a form of coercion. As we listen to these instructions, let us ponder and acknowledge if we ourselves are being drawn into the same behavior as that of the Ephesians.
Let us not stop there though. Let us consider how Christ is drawing us to “get together,” and as he smiles upon us, may we smile on our brothers and sisters as well. May we walk according to our new natures. And may we walk according to our calling to love one another right now.
- The Youngbloods – Get Together Lyrics | Genius Lyrics
- Stop This Flight | Larry Norman (bandcamp.com)
John MacMurray—Year B Proper 14
Listen to audio: https://cloud.gci.org/dl/GReverb/GR051-MacMurray-YearB-Propers14.mp3
August 11, 2024
Proper 14 in Ordinary Time
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Program Transcript
John MacMurray—Year B Propers 14
Anthony: Hey, we’ve got a transition to our next pericope for the month. It is Ephesians 4:25 – 5:2. It is a Revised Common Lectionary passage for Proper 14 in Ordinary Time on August 11.
John, I’d be grateful if you’d read it, please.
John: Absolutely.
So then, putting away falsehood, let each of you speak the truth with your neighbor, for we are members of one another. 26 Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and do not make room for the devil. 28 Those who steal must give up stealing; rather, let them labor, doing good work with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy. 29 Let no evil talk come out of your mouths but only what is good for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. 31 Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. 1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, 2 and walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Anthony: John, you’re a preacher teacher, and I want to give you a chance to preach. If you were focusing on this gospel declaration, what would you zoom in on? And let’s go ahead and add that second question that I wanted to share and ask with you about grieving the Holy Spirit.
What would you talk about with the congregation?
John: Yeah. Great congregation. Great another great text. In fact, the second half of Ephesians that we’re reading is awesome. Thanks for giving me this passage. This is awesome.
If I’m going to preach this — and I’m not a preacher — but if I were to preach it, I’d call my sermon, “Be imitators of God.” Because that’s like the end but then he describes what he means by that. And that’s what’s been going on is this description of what it means to imitate God, to walk worthy of your calling.
And in a phrase for me, Anthony, it’s walk in love as Christ loved us. But I walk in love because I am a beloved child. In other words, the love doesn’t initiate with me. It initiates with him. It’s like what John said. We love him because he first loved us. So, because I’m a beloved child, live this way, live in love.
And what does that look like? It looks like kindness, tenderness, and gentleness and forgiveness, not just forgiveness, but forgiveness like God has forgiven, which means I don’t bring it back. I don’t I don’t step on your throat again when it comes back up.
That’s where I would want to spend time. I’d want to talk about what does it look like to live a life of love? Love, it’s an overworked word, and it’s used with such, I think, commonness that we don’t really think about how powerful it is. You mentioned Brian Zahn said beauty will save the world. And Brian and I have had this discussion and I always go, beauty slash love, because we talk about that a lot.
So that’s where I would go. I’m not going to preach it. That’s where I would go if I were to preach it.
As far as grieving the Holy Spirit, and again, for me, contextually, immediately, the immediate phrases around it have to do with what’s coming out of our mouth, with the way that we speak and talk and relate to one another.
And if we do this with bitterness and wrath and anger and slander and malice, this grieves the Spirit of God. God doesn’t do things like that. Also notice it doesn’t say this makes the Spirit of God want to punish you. It doesn’t say that, although that’s the theology I grew up with. It says it grieves him, it breaks his heart, and I’ve had my heart broken, I’m sure you have too, and I don’t ever want to experience that again.
And so, when I think about things that I say or do, if I’m living in a life that’s not loving toward others, it’s breaking his heart. And that actually says something to me. It moves me. I don’t want to break his heart. I don’t. And when I realize that it does — and again, I realize I’m, like you said, using popular vernacular here, but that’s how I think of it. It helps me avoid and pay attention to the exhortation to live in love. And forgive as he forgave me.
Anthony: I appreciate you putting it in its context because as we like to say a biblical text without a context is a pretext to a proof text, right? And I’ve done it; I’ve proof texted before. And the entire context is Jesus.
And you’re talking about grieving the Holy Spirit and avoiding speaking with bitterness, wrath, anger, wrangling, and so on, immediately what came to my mind was our Lord on the cross. And if anyone had the divine right, so to speak, to speak with bitterness, it would have been Jesus in that moment. But his words, “Our Father, forgive them.” And all our wrongheadedness being brought to bear in that moment, and yet he speaks such words of tenderness and love and forgiveness.
And this is why even when we come to the Scriptures, yes, we speak of theology, but it starts with Christology. Who is this Christ and what has he said? And that’s what he says. And I think that’s our way forward, that we do the same, even in the face of a world that wants to speak bitterness and wrath, right?
John: Absolutely. Just think about the movies you watch and how much vengeance is the key motive in the plot.
Anthony: That’s right. We’re so punitive. Yeah.
John: Yeah. And what you were saying, I agree with so much, Anthony. And all of that is in the first half of this letter; we’re not reading that, but he’s already laid that down for us. This is all about Jesus. He’s the foundation. And yeah, I would just encourage people that if you’re listening to what we’re saying, go back and read the first couple chapters of the letter, what we call chapters. And you’ll see what Anthony’s talking about the Christology.
Anthony: Oh my gosh, just sweeping text, sweeping!
Program Transcript
John MacMurray—Year B Propers 14
Anthony: Hey, we’ve got a transition to our next pericope for the month. It is Ephesians 4:25 – 5:2. It is a Revised Common Lectionary passage for Proper 14 in Ordinary Time on August 11.
John, I’d be grateful if you’d read it, please.
John: Absolutely.
So then, putting away falsehood, let each of you speak the truth with your neighbor, for we are members of one another. 26 Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and do not make room for the devil. 28 Those who steal must give up stealing; rather, let them labor, doing good work with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy. 29 Let no evil talk come out of your mouths but only what is good for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. 31 Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. 1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, 2 and walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Anthony: John, you’re a preacher teacher, and I want to give you a chance to preach. If you were focusing on this gospel declaration, what would you zoom in on? And let’s go ahead and add that second question that I wanted to share and ask with you about grieving the Holy Spirit.
What would you talk about with the congregation?
John: Yeah. Great congregation. Great another great text. In fact, the second half of Ephesians that we’re reading is awesome. Thanks for giving me this passage. This is awesome.
If I’m going to preach this — and I’m not a preacher — but if I were to preach it, I’d call my sermon, “Be imitators of God.” Because that’s like the end but then he describes what he means by that. And that’s what’s been going on is this description of what it means to imitate God, to walk worthy of your calling.
And in a phrase for me, Anthony, it’s walk in love as Christ loved us. But I walk in love because I am a beloved child. In other words, the love doesn’t initiate with me. It initiates with him. It’s like what John said. We love him because he first loved us. So, because I’m a beloved child, live this way, live in love.
And what does that look like? It looks like kindness, tenderness, and gentleness and forgiveness, not just forgiveness, but forgiveness like God has forgiven, which means I don’t bring it back. I don’t I don’t step on your throat again when it comes back up.
That’s where I would want to spend time. I’d want to talk about what does it look like to live a life of love? Love, it’s an overworked word, and it’s used with such, I think, commonness that we don’t really think about how powerful it is. You mentioned Brian Zahn said beauty will save the world. And Brian and I have had this discussion and I always go, beauty slash love, because we talk about that a lot.
So that’s where I would go. I’m not going to preach it. That’s where I would go if I were to preach it.
As far as grieving the Holy Spirit, and again, for me, contextually, immediately, the immediate phrases around it have to do with what’s coming out of our mouth, with the way that we speak and talk and relate to one another.
And if we do this with bitterness and wrath and anger and slander and malice, this grieves the Spirit of God. God doesn’t do things like that. Also notice it doesn’t say this makes the Spirit of God want to punish you. It doesn’t say that, although that’s the theology I grew up with. It says it grieves him, it breaks his heart, and I’ve had my heart broken, I’m sure you have too, and I don’t ever want to experience that again.
And so, when I think about things that I say or do, if I’m living in a life that’s not loving toward others, it’s breaking his heart. And that actually says something to me. It moves me. I don’t want to break his heart. I don’t. And when I realize that it does — and again, I realize I’m, like you said, using popular vernacular here, but that’s how I think of it. It helps me avoid and pay attention to the exhortation to live in love. And forgive as he forgave me.
Anthony: I appreciate you putting it in its context because as we like to say a biblical text without a context is a pretext to a proof text, right? And I’ve done it; I’ve proof texted before. And the entire context is Jesus.
And you’re talking about grieving the Holy Spirit and avoiding speaking with bitterness, wrath, anger, wrangling, and so on, immediately what came to my mind was our Lord on the cross. And if anyone had the divine right, so to speak, to speak with bitterness, it would have been Jesus in that moment. But his words, “Our Father, forgive them.” And all our wrongheadedness being brought to bear in that moment, and yet he speaks such words of tenderness and love and forgiveness.
And this is why even when we come to the Scriptures, yes, we speak of theology, but it starts with Christology. Who is this Christ and what has he said? And that’s what he says. And I think that’s our way forward, that we do the same, even in the face of a world that wants to speak bitterness and wrath, right?
John: Absolutely. Just think about the movies you watch and how much vengeance is the key motive in the plot.
Anthony: That’s right. We’re so punitive. Yeah.
John: Yeah. And what you were saying, I agree with so much, Anthony. And all of that is in the first half of this letter; we’re not reading that, but he’s already laid that down for us. This is all about Jesus. He’s the foundation. And yeah, I would just encourage people that if you’re listening to what we’re saying, go back and read the first couple chapters of the letter, what we call chapters. And you’ll see what Anthony’s talking about the Christology.
Anthony: Oh my gosh, just sweeping text, sweeping!
Small Group Discussion Questions
- How do you think that gossip, slander and unforgiveness affect a congregation?
- How should you respond to someone that you know is speaking divisively about others?
- What characteristics do we possess in our new natures?
- What are some ways that we can resolve conflicts in our congregations?
