Tag Archives: Acceptance

Help us Accept Each Other

ZikaLent
February 20, 2016

Scripture Reading: Luke 9:28-43

On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him. Just then a man from the crowd shouted, ‘Teacher, I beg you to look at my son; he is my only child. Suddenly a spirit seizes him, and all at once he shrieks. It throws him into convulsions until he foams at the mouth; it mauls him and will scarcely leave him. I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.’ Jesus answered, ‘You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.’ While he was coming, the demon dashed him to the ground in convulsions. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. And all were astounded at the greatness of God.

 There are many stories of Jesus’ healing people. Children, like the boy described here, may have been outcast in their communities because many believed that such illness, or all illness for that matter, were caused by evil spirits that had taken over the person. This child apparently had epilepsy, which probably is still fraught with society’s judgment even though we now have a clearer picture of causes and much better treatments.

Currently we are seeing an increase in babies born with microcephaly, a birth defect that results in a small head as its main identifier but includes other challenges. Its cause has been traced to a mosquito bite carrying a virus the mother experienced during pregnancy. She may never have had any symptoms. Yet the children will live with the stigma of a small head forever.

Jesus loved them all no questions asked. He is a tough model to emulate unless we can let go of all those fears and prejudgments that cause us to identify people as something lesser than we are. All of us suffer from some traits deemed to be imperfection by someone. Jesus calls us to see each persons as a child of God made perfect by God’s love that is our goal for life also.

Help us accept each other As Christ accepted us;
Teach us as sister, brother, Each person to embrace.
Be present, Lord, among us And bring us to believe
We are ourselves accepted And meant to love and live.*

Prayer: God erase the fears and prejudices from our hearts and minds that cause us to be unwelcoming to anyone. Let your love for all be ours in our times of weakness. Amen.

First verse of hymn Help Us Accept Each Other words by Fred Kaan see at http://www.hymnary.org/text/help_us_accept_each_other

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized 
Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council 
of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.

Worship Practices Differing

Sister%20Barbara%20Lum%203%20(1000x615)Epiphany
February 2, 2016

Scripture Reading: Exodus 34:29-35

When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face; but whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he would take the veil off, until he came out; and when he came out, and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, the Israelites would see the face of Moses, that the skin of his face was shining; and Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with him. –Exodus 34:33-35

The wearing of veils in our day and time is a controversial issued tied up in our ability to accept differing religious and cultural practices. I was hospitalized around the age of five for a short time in our local hospital which at that time was operated by a Catholic order of nuns. I had never seen a nun before, at least not one clad in a habit from head to toe. I remember not knowing what to make of them. My mother explained that they were nurses and all nurses, like the ones in my doctor’s office, wore uniforms. These nurses just wore a different kind of uniform because of their faith. It is a rare sight to see a nun in a habit anymore.

When I worked for the state, I did job interviews to fill an economist vacancy in my division. Two of the applicants were Muslim. One presented in an attractive business suit with a colorful blouse and had no head covering, the other wore a black scarf and an all-black pant suit including a black blouse. This is emblematic of the world in which we now live where cultures and religions intersect in all facets of life.

The story about Moses’ worship practices as they continued following his descent from the mountain does not say whether he chose to continue to cover his face because he felt that was best for the Israelites or because it was meaningful to him personally and his relationship with God. I believe this scripture suggest the latter and I believe it gives us guidance on how we should respect the practices people of all religions follow as they honor God. What is meaningful for one may not be meaningful to me and what is meaningful to me may not have any significance for another.

Prayer: Lord may all your followers worship you in spirit and in truth as they feel compelled through their relationship with you and grant us the peace we need to love them for their love of you as demonstrated in their practices. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized 
Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council 
of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.

Turn Around

turn aroundAdvent
November 26, 2014

Scripture Reading: Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19

Restore us, O God;
   let your face shine, that we may be saved. 

O Lord God of hosts,
   how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers?
You have fed them with the bread of tears,
   and given them tears to drink in full measure.
You make us the scorn of our neighbors;
   our enemies laugh among themselves.

 Restore us, O God of hosts;
   let your face shine, that we may be saved. — Psalm 80:1-7

Our Psalm today indicates that the people of God have reached the point of recognizing their transgressions and realize they are in need of a Savior. Recognition and confession of a problem is step one in any recovery program, but saying it and internalizing it may be two different things.  Old habits are really hard to break. We know what we need to do but knowing and doing are two entirely different things.

The saddest thing is that we may wallow in our own castigation, we may be shamed by the reaction of others to our lives, but we don’t take the one step that is necessary to initiate the help that has been there all along. We do not turn around. When we sense that God has turned God’s back on us, the truth is most likely the other way around. We have turned our back to God. To be restored we must turn back to God.

God can and will cleanse us of whatever it is that is keeping us from being the person God created us to be. The closer we get to being that person the closer we will get to being whole.

Prayer: Create in me a clean heart, O God,
                   and put a new and right spirit within me.
             Do not cast me away from your presence,
                   and do not take your holy spirit from me.
            Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
                  and sustain in me a willing spirit. (Psalm 51:10-12). Amen.