Images in the Readings
John writes about the name of God. When we say, “Stop in the name of the law,” we mean that our very invoking of “the law” brings with it the authority behind the law, the power of the law. So the name of God conveys divine mercy and might. Jews still today, careful not to misuse God’s name, invoke Hashem, “the Name,” as a circumlocution for God. Christians can call upon the name of the Lord by invoking Jesus Christ. Baptism lays upon us the name of the triune God.
Both the fourth evangelist and the author of 1 John see their writings as essential testimony to the truth of belief in Christ. A testimony is a sworn statement about the facts and meaning of a situation.
Many ancient societies, including biblical Israel, made “allotments” and chose leaders by casting lots, in the belief that the result was divinely ordered. Amish communities still today choose their annual leader by a method of casting lots: whichever man picks up the hymnal that includes the piece of paper marked with a black spot is the preacher for the next year. Some Protestants find the language of “God’s plan” helpful, while others find Job’s baffled silence a more truthful way to think about our inability to know the will of God.
In Christ,
Rev. Kenneth Saurman
Copyright © 2024 St Andrew Lutheran Church - All Rights Reserved.