Monthly Archives: October 2016

Clean Hearts Lined with Love

boys-will-be-boysLiving in the Spirit
October 11, 2016

Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 31:27-34

The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, ‘Know the Lord’, for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more. –Jeremiah 31:31-34

I recently heard a male TV commentator express frustration at trying to understand why self-identified Christian women could turn blind eyes to gender discrimination in a political campaign. What the commentator did not understand is themes of “boys will be boys” and the unspoken reality “girls just have to deal with it” have been stressed in faith training for generations. Culture colors the interpretation of scripture.

Jesus spoke a radical message of inclusion and equality among all God’s children. Paul picked up the idea when he spoke of there being neither male nor female (Galatians 3:28). Even before the canonization of the Bible, commentators on Paul’s writings attempted to correct the “error” of his understanding.

Boys (and girls) do mature particularly under the influence of healthy male and female role models. Men and women are both capable of extreme weakness and strength. God does forgive. The Kingdom of God will never come to fruition until all its citizens are fully actualized.

Having heard many of those faith lessons taught throughout my life, I can testify that they cannot be corrected until they are recognized. That is also true of all the “isms.” Recognizing them is scary. Letting them go is even scarier, particularly when done in isolation.

Prayer: Create in us clean hearts and line them with your love so that our hearts become fertile environments for knowing you and becoming more like you both as individuals and in communities of faith. 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.

Sour Grapes

child-driving-carLiving in the Spirit
October 10, 2016

Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 31:27-34

The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of humans and the seed of animals. And just as I have watched over them to pluck up and break down, to overthrow, destroy, and bring evil, so I will watch over them to build and to plant, says the Lord. In those days they shall no longer say:
‘The parents have eaten sour grapes,
   and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’
But all shall die for their own sins; the teeth of everyone who eats sour grapes shall be set on edge. —Jeremiah 31:27-30

God promised restoration to Israel even in the midst of exile. The comment about sour grapes refers to a proverb of the ages also quoted in Ezekiel 18:2. In reality, the sins of parents impact their children in one way or another. In some instances, children follow the parent’s example. Sometimes children learn from the mistakes of their parents and work hard not to replicate them. Once, the juvenile court called me to give my opinion on whether a 14-year-old should be tried as an adult for grand-theft auto. At that young age, he had been caught and found guilty of the crime several times. He was following in the family business. Probably had accompanied his father on similar adventures from his earliest years. One time the police stopped him, because they thought they were following a driverless car. He was so short they could not see his head from the back.

No parent is perfect; adults do all miss the mark from time to time. Hopefully, we learn from our own mistakes and children see us rectifying them as we attempt to change. Learning how to seek God’s forgiveness and guidance also must be modeled by parents.

The admonition in our scripture targets society too. We wrap children and adults in packages of prejudice that do not relate to who a person is or what he or she might be able to accomplish given a chance. If God chooses not to leave the taste of sour grapes in a child’s mouth neither should we.

Prayer: Lord, make us seers and developers of positive potential, not judges chaining our children in their negative histories. 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

God’s Privilege

health-careLiving in the Spirit
October 9, 2016

Scripture Reading: Luke 17:11-19

Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus asked, ‘Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?’ Then he said to him, ‘Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.’ –Luke 17:15-19

What do we take for granted? Much, I fear. The availability of health care is one thing we probably should not be taking for granted. In rural Oklahoma, the actual accessibility of health care is threatened. Three major rural hospitals have closed in the last year because of lack of funding. The debate of whether health care is a right or a privilege ends at the doors of a closed hospital forcing families to travels many more miles to have a baby or an appendectomy. Whether people can afford the health care they need is another issue to consider.

There are good, selfish reasons for assuring health care for all. Preventing people from dying in the streets of communicable disease would be one. Jesus modeled a different vision. The model includes wholeness for all of God’s children. Such wholeness is a necessity to the attainment of the kingdom Jesus champions.

Our scripture today illustrates the wisdom of seeing the world through objective eyes. A Samaritan was the one leper who knew his healing was a privilege and returned to give thanks for it. What we must understand is that God’s privileges are for everyone and we are not to take them for granted for ourselves at the expense of others.

Prayer: God of Justice, we confess it is very hard to see the world from your vantage. Help us to understand our role in making your model of life our reality. 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.

Letting Fear Lead to Knowledge

mosesbush_gifLiving in the Spirit
October 8, 2016

Scripture Reading: Luke 17:11-19

On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, they called out, saying, ‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!’ When he saw them, he said to them, ‘Go and show yourselves to the priests.’ And as they went, they were made clean. –Luke 17:11-14

Leprosy was a very scary disease in the first century. Considered contagious, leprosy drove people to be leery of loved ones even to the point of shunning them. People avoided strangers with leprosy altogether. Thus in our scripture today, the lepers kept their distance even from the one they hoped would cure them. The lepers recognized the perception that they were a danger to others. We know a lot more about leprosy today and even have ways of treating it. We have not yet defeated the disease of fear.

Fear is a natural response in most animals. It heightens our sense of self-preservation, which is not a bad thing. The problem with fear arises when those natural instincts make us irrational in our reactions. Proverbs 9:10 states that The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. When fear pushes us to take off our shoes and approach the burning bushes* that await us, our knowledge of God increases and our irrational fears, drawn from the world, decrease.

Identifying all humans in our world as neighbors leads us to take the steps necessary to move from fear of the unknown to understanding and knowing. Community policing is an excellent example of this idea. We cannot limit the scope of understanding and knowing to the police. We must each take off our shoes and approach the burning bushes illuminating our prejudices so that God can cleanse us and free us from the irrational fears that are deterring the realizations of God’s love ruling the earth.

Prayer: God of Justice and Mercy, enable us to confront our prejudices opening the door to the healing of our nation, world. Amen.

*See Exodus 3

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.

Wrangling Over Words

headlam-stalemate-2709Living in the Spirit
October 7, 2016

Scripture Reading: 2 Timothy 2:8-15

Remind them of this, and warn them before God that they are to avoid wrangling over words, which does no good but only ruins those who are listening. Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved by him, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly explaining the word of truth. –2 Timothy 2:14-15

People of faith are very good at wrangling over words. As we have seen illustrated in Congress and our state legislature so is the government. The only thing gained through wrangling over words is stalemate. We are not responsible for anything if we cannot get those “other” people to do things our way.

Paul dealt with this a lot in forging the formation of the church. He had to find compromises on everything from wearing hats to eating meat offered to idols. We read over these segment of scripture with glazed eyes because we feel we are so far past such discussions. Are we? The issues of the first century were just as important to them as the issues of the 21st century are to us. Paul worked toward finding common sense answers even to agreeing to disagree about some things. He did that by continually reminding people the overriding purpose of their call, recognizing that Jesus Christ is Lord. What do you think the people of the 41st century would think of our discord? Will they still be recognizing that Jesus Christ is Lord?

A new model for helping the homeless emerged in recent years that seems to be working. It involves providing housing first and then dealing with the problems that may have resulted in the homelessness in the first place. Implementing such a program requires an amazing amount of dedication, coordination, and cooperation among a broad spectrum of organizations. These folks do not have time to wrangle over words. They are living and doing justice.

Prayer: Lord, bless us with common sense to see that justice can be attained in many ways if we want it enough. Help us blend our gifts to address the challenges of our times. 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.

The Word Dwells Among Us

diversityLiving in the Spirit
October 6, 2016

Scripture Reading: 2 Timothy 2:8-15

Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David—that is my gospel, for which I suffer hardship, even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But the word of God is not chained. Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, so that they may also obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. –2 Timothy 2:8-10

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. . .. And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. (John 1:1, 14)

In our digital world during an election year, we parse words to leech out truth while the writers or speakers shun absolutes directing their positions toward saying what they think we want to hear. If it were not so important, it might be a fun game. The proof, of course, is in the resulting actions that occur too late to change course. It is ironic that a whole system of fact checking has developed where lying is ranked by flagrancy.

We followers of Christ have been parsing Biblical words going all the way back to its compilation. Multiple sects of Christianity resulted grouped around words and their significance to the group’s members. Honestly, portraying the acts of an infinite and sovereign being lends itself to a diversity of descriptors particularly in relation to God who is unique to each of us and common to all.

How do we attain oneness in diversity? How does our love of God through Jesus Christ, the Word, direct and define our oneness? How do we answer the call of the Word to include all in our oneness while celebrating our diversity? How do we love as Jesus loves?

Prayer: God of Mercy, flood us with your love to enable our loving each other just as each of us is. Help us grow together in becoming the individuals you created us to be working together toward making your vision of wholeness our reality. 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.

God’s Presence

 psalm-8915-geeky-and-sassyLiving in the Spirit
October 5, 2016

Scripture Reading: Psalm 66:1-12

Come and see what God has done:
   he is awesome in his deeds among mortals.
He turned the sea into dry land;
   they passed through the river on foot.
There we rejoiced in him,
who rules by his might for ever,
whose eyes keep watch on the nations—
   let the rebellious not exalt themselves. –Psalm 66:1-12

How often do we stop to take inventory of what God has done in our lives? We are blessed to have the Psalms to remind us of God’s presence. The Hebrew Bible most often focuses on the Exodus as the seminal event in the lives of the Israelites when they clearly experienced the life-giving and saving nature of God. As the Israelites ran from the Egyptians, the path opened for them to walk across the waters on dry ground and escape from harm’s way. Such life changing events stay with us. For Christians, the Incarnation and the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior forever rewrote our history.

While such monumental events as these frame our faith systems, I believe the everyday encounters with God strengthen our souls just as much perhaps more. Granted we might never have entered into relationship with God without one of those Aha! Moments, we sustain faith by our daily journey with the Lord. Partaking in Holy Communion, the Eucharist, the Lord’s Supper, whatever we prefer to name it, is a point in time when we intentionally reconnect with God. It is a time to be still and know that God is God.

Just as important are those moments when the reality of a small but highly relevant event in our lives strikes us as being indicative of God’s working. Some of us describe them as God things, little events that in and of themselves seem innocent enough but make a big, unexpected difference. The recognition of such occurrences is our opportunity to both speak to God’s presence in our lives and to thank God for it.

Prayer: God of Grace and God of Glory, we thank you for the monumental impacts your love has on us, and we grow in faith as we recognize and thank you for the God things we encounter in our daily walk with you. 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.

Finding Welfare

homeless-man1Living in the Spirit
October 4, 2016

Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7

But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. –Jeremiah 29:7

While I began my career in human services in the midst of the war on poverty, it was not long until I understood the word “welfare” in the USA was considered a dirty word. So much so that in the early part of the 1970’s the state agency for which I worked changed its name from the Department of Public Welfare to The Department of Institutions, Social and Rehabilitative Services. Some years later the named changed to the Department of Human Services. The preamble to the US Constitution states:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. (Emphasis added)

The wellbeing of each contributes to the wellbeing of all. Levitical law provided for it: You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord. (Leviticus 19:18) Jeremiah understood it in the fifth century BCE. Jesus taught it in every aspect of his life. Nigerian author Chinua Achebe states it this way While we do our good works let us not forget that the real solution lies in a world in which charity will have become unnecessary.

Prayer: Lord help us to build a just world where charity has become unnecessary. 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.

Responsibility

Living in the Spirithunger-facts-carousel-62-percent
October 3, 2016

Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7

Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. –Jeremiah 29:4-6

What have you done for yourself, your family, your community, or your country lately? Even in exile, God expected the Israelites to take responsibility for their wellbeing. Taking responsibility was something they had failed to do before the exile.

Several years ago at a church meeting no less, the speaker asked probably a rhetorical question, “How many of you like to pay taxes?” Two of us raised our hands. As a government employee, many expected my response. The other positive response came from an accountant. He very logically explained to me later that each citizen has a responsibility to pay their fair share of taxes to provide for the infrastructure that only government can provide. Police; firefighters; military forces; roads, highways, and bridges. Oklahoma is a state that often is forced to call for federal help when the weather has destroyed whole neighborhoods. We become anxious when it appears the federal government is not responding as quickly as we need. We demonstrate as strong an aversion to paying taxes as anybody.

Responsibility is not just about taxes. As a part of the family of God, we must consider the needs of all our brothers and sisters. What do you know about your immediate community? My church adopted a nearby elementary school about ten years ago. I had no idea about the problems in this inner-city school. Our volunteers sack bags of food for about 10% of the students to take home over the weekend who most likely have no other source of food than that provided through the school lunch program. These are beautiful children from hard working families in many cases. Getting to know who our neighbors are, helps us understand the breadth and depths of our response to God’s call to do justice.

Prayer: Lord, you were once asked, “Who is my neighbor?” open our hearts to understand your answer. Amen.

Picture Source www.nokidhungry.org

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.

Living in the Spirit
October 2, 2016

Scripture Reading: Luke 17:5-10

‘Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from ploughing or tending sheep in the field, “Come here at once and take your place at the table”? Would you not rather say to him, “Prepare supper for me, put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and drink”? Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, “We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!”’ –Luke 17:7-10

Harsh words attributed to Jesus make me uncomfortable, particularly when read in a world trying to deal with the concept of privilege. Albeit, these are true words reported by an astute student of human interactions. While slavery still exists in some forms in our world today as in the sex trade phenomena, slavery is illegal in our country, and we are 150+ years from its being legal. Today classism is indirect in most cases, which makes it a different kind of insidious—gradually harmful, destructive.

I sometimes wonder how people see the world so very differently than I do. Working for 35+ years in human services systems leaves its impact. The US government essentially eliminated welfare with a check sent every month in the 1990’s. It morphed to thousands of people forced to work at one or more low-paying jobs with few if any benefits. Many of these workers receive SNAP (food stamps), Medicaid, and child care subsidies, which are supplements to the low wages not charity or a handout. The people caught in this system are very much the same as those described in our scripture today worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done. The people paying for these supplements are the poor through fees and finds and sales taxes, and the middle class who are not able to take advantage of the same tax deductions as the wealthy.

We are called to do justice by Jesus, called to create a world where all have3 the opportunity to have enough. For a start, we might try to see the people working in these low-wage jobs as our brothers and sisters in Christ held equal in God’s love.

Prayer: God of Justice, help us work to create a world of “haves” where no one is designated as worthless. 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.