Monthly Archives: May 2017

Higher Ground

Eastertide
May 12, 2017

Scripture Reading: 1 Peter 2:2-10

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.Once you were not a people,
   but now you are God’s people;
once you had not received mercy,
   but now you have received mercy. –1 Peter 2:9-10

The word translated here as race is from the Greek word, genos*, and, yes, it stems from the same Greek word ginomai as our English word gene. Do you think the ancients were saying that being made in the image of God is saying God is in our DNA? Probably not what we imagine when we read “a chosen race”.  The English word race does relate to heredity or tribe and that is most likely what our ancestors in faith were referencing. Other countries may do it too, but we in the USA have no trouble appropriating this language applying it to ourselves: a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people. I think 1 Peter is speaking to all of God’s people but it is not talking about being more worthy or better than others. Being chosen by God entails taking responsibility for doing the work of God. Now that we know God’s love, we are compelled to share it with all God’s other people.

Classifying and ranking people by race, income, ethnicity, etc. seems to be on the increase. Perhaps it just feels more comfortable in public now. My dad remembered the KKK marching in parades in the 1920’s when he was a child, just before the Great Depression following a period of Anything Goes**. Why do you suppose it is necessary for some to feel that they are better than other humans? Perhaps it was needed to justify greed that enslaved people. Much of the science of racial differences arose in the 18th and 19th centuries. Greed is rampant in our world today as a chasm grows between the haves and the have nots and the middle-class shrinks.

God’s love for all his offspring is unconditional. What more proof of anyone’s worth is needed?

Lord, lift me up, and let me stand
By faith on Canaan’s tableland;
A higher plane than I have found,
  Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.***

Prayer: Lord, heal my soul so that I understand your love is enough for my self esteem. Amen.

*http://biblehub.com/greek/1096.htm**Anything Goes is a musical about the 1920‘s. Learn more at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anything_Goes***Chorus from hymn, Higher Ground see at https://www.hymnal.net/en/hymn/h/396

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 America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

 

Grow into Salvation

Eastertide
May 11, 2017

Scripture Reading: 1 Peter 2:2-10

Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation— if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.

  Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. –1 Peter 2:2-5

I do wish we had an English verb for the word “faith” because much of the work of faith described in the Bible is active and engaging not a thing, a noun. Do you remember buying shoes as a child and having the store clerk press thumb and finger to the toe to test whether there was an adequate space to accommodate the speed with which children grow. Our scripture today recognizes our growth into salvation, which is a process or, I like to call it, a journey.

1 Peter goes on with the interesting imagine of letting ourselves be built into a spiritual house, a place where God dwells. What kind of living accommodations does God need? If we accept that we are a dwelling place for God, perhaps we might start by outlining what we need to live and move and have our being* in relationship with God. I have not accomplished much toward my two-year-old goal of declutterizing (if you will allow me to coin a word) my home but I am making progress one closet or drawer at a time. It is also important to declutterize our souls making room for God. Most of the descriptions of the temple of God in the Bible include the use of only pure gold. ‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. (Matthew 5:8)

There is never a good time to paint a house in Oklahoma. It is too hot in the summer, two stormy in the spring, too cold in the winter, and I am too busy in the fall. One day I turn into my driveway and see the faded sadness of my soffit and eaves and realize I waited too long. Like maintaining a house, it is crucial that we refresh and nurture our souls. The Lord’s Supper nurtures our souls. Feeding our minds with study nurtures our souls.

What would you add to this list of ideas for growing into salvation and letting God build us into spiritual houses?

Prayer: Help us, O Lord, keep a place cleared for your presence in our lives that we might see you more clearly, love you more dearly, and follow you more nearly**. Amen.

*See Acts 17:28
** Derived from Prayer of Saint Richard of Chichester Learn more at http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bio/139.html

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 America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Changing Times

Eastertide
May 10, 2017

Scripture Reading: Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16

My times are in your hand;
   deliver me from the hand of my enemies and persecutors.
Let your face shine upon your servant;
   save me in your steadfast love. –Psalm 31:15-16

In 1964 Bob Dylan released the song, The Times They are a Changin*, and indeed they were. The final words of the song derive from scripture:
And the first one now will later be last
Cause the times they are a-changing

We find ourselves again on the precipice of change with people of faith having markedly opposing ideas regarding how our world should function. I wonder how God deals with pleas differing. What does it mean to pray My times are in your hands?

When we feel persecuted, it is important that we consider first, our worst enemy may be ourselves. Most humans do not like change and change has become a constant in our lives. We rarely know from where the attitudes and beliefs we tenaciously claim come. I was talking with a group recently about traditions related to who eats first at a dinner. I grew up on a farm where for my mother, sister, and I our mornings were spent in the garden and preparing food for my dad, brother, and other hands who would soon arrive from the fields at noon for our largest meal of the day. Our job was to feed them and get them back to work ASAP. We ate at a round table where there really was no first and last but there was reason for such ritual had we eaten buffet style. Functional realities sometimes morph into cultural norms that no one takes the time to analyze until and unless they become harmful. Some norms were harmful when they began.

Privilege comes with a long list of norms that those on the inside take for granted. Seeing ourselves through the eyes of Christ is illuminating. Sometimes he may use others to help our vision. We would be wise to listen and learn from them.

Prayer: God forgive me when the impact of the ignorance of my own behavior is hurtful to others. Help me to see my actions through your eyes. Amen

*See The Times They are a Changin lyrics at https://www.google.com/search?q=the+times+they+are+a+changin&rlz=1C1PQHB_enUS651US663&oq=the+times+they+&aqs=chrome.0.0l2j69i57j0l3.5971j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

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 America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

I Was Wrong

Eastertide
May 9, 2017

Scripture Reading: Acts 7:54-60

Then they dragged him out of the city and began to stone him; and the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. While they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ Then he knelt down and cried out in a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them.’ When he had said this, he died. –Acts 7:58-60

One older deacon spoke out strongly against allowing women to serve as deacons in the church I attend in the early 1980’s. We had passed the threshold of a woman becoming and elder the year before. I was in the second class of women elected to serve as deacons. The man made a point of coming to me and asking for forgiveness for his strong stance against female deacons saying, “I was wrong.”

Fast forward 30 + years, a different man who had left a church because it chose to welcome persons who identified as LGBTQ became a part of the church I attend. I do not think he knew that the only basis for membership we recognize is belief in Jesus Christ. To my knowledge, we have always practiced an open table. He was a consummate student of the Bible; I imagine him reading and re-reading some scripture as a light shone brightly on ancient words that were there all along. I do not know the circumstances of his epiphany, but in a Bible study class, he said those same three words, “I was wrong.”

I wonder when and to whom, Saul, now Paul, who watched in support as Stephan was stoned, said, “I was wrong.” Surely, he said it to God. More importantly, he said it with his life dedicating every fiber of his being to throwing open the doors of the church to the whole world. I am certain we all can identify one or more moments in our lives when one of our absolutes crashed to the ground upon encountering the love of God through Jesus Christ. It is what we do from that point on that matters most.

Prayer: Lord, open our eyes to our bigotry of any kind, forgive us for not seeing you in each person we encounter, let our lives speak to the forgiveness we receive. 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 America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Law and Culture

Eastertide
May 8, 2017

Scripture Reading: Acts 7:54-60

When they heard these things, they became enraged and ground their teeth at Stephen. But filled with the Holy Spirit, he gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. ‘Look,’ he said, ‘I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!’ But they covered their ears, and with a loud shout all rushed together against him. –Acts 7:54-57

I am currently reading Will Willimon’s book Who Lynched Willie Earle? In general, it delves into how the church deals with racism in our world today. It specifically develops the story of a local minister in 1947 preaching about the killing of a black man by a mob. Willie Earle was in jail accused of robbery and murder. Before any trial, he was dragged from his cell and killed. All accused of participating in his murder were acquitted.

Reading this book might have impacted the way I reacted to reading the lectionary scripture from Acts this week. It does not include the whole story. If you need a refresher course on the stoning of Stephen, you will want to read all of Acts 7. Most of the chapter is essentially a sermon Stephen preached to his faith brothers and sisters, which they deemed to be blasphemy.

Sometimes it is helpful to look back in history to gives us the fortitude to look at our present and determine what we want to do about it regarding the future. Hindsight is often clearer than what we see right in front of us or perhaps what we do not choose to see. We could critique Stephen’s style. He might have lived a little longer had he not been so in their faces, but would they have even listened to him at all? I could write about his outraged neighbors who so quickly rendered justice through what was legal behavior at the time. The murder of Willie Earle was illegal according to the law books but that did not matter. Culture is often stronger than statute. Therein, lies the problem.

As we in the USA struggle to be a representative democracy, we must own what our government is doing in our name. It is time we struggled with what kind of a people we want to be, what kind of a country we want to have, and engage in the process of making our representatives accountable for both their actions and their inactions. To accomplish that we must account for our own responsibility as citizens charged with providing for the Common Good.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we turn away from our responsibilities as citizens. Open our hearts and minds to seeing ways to define the Common Good and then to find the means of providing it. 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 America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Abundance

Eastertide
May 7, 2017

Scripture Reading: John 10:1-10

So again Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. –John 10:7-10

The Greek word translated abundantly here is perissos and means properly all-around, “more than” (“abundantly”); beyond what is anticipated, exceeding expectation; “more abundant,” going past the expected limit (“more than enough . . . “) *

The word/thought of abundance takes me back to Psalm 23:
You prepare a table before me
   in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
   my cup overflows.

I fear many perceive an abundant life as being blessed with material wealth, good health perhaps, and happiness. Some go so far as to judge other’s relationship with God based on such earthly measures.  Somehow, I think Jesus is talking about overflowing love and joy not worldly riches and short term happiness as abundance. If God expects us to love God and others surely, God provides in excess the basic tools to do that. The human dilemma relates to the inability to receive or recognize the readily provided source gift of love because we are too caught up in seeking abundance in wrong places and always falling short of finding it.

An ageless retired couple, I am privileged to call friends, buys their clothing at thrift stores, and if they get a new TV for themselves they get one for someone else who needs one too. They just enjoy giving back from the abundance of love they have received from God over the decades of their lives. Their cup runs over all the time.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for your gift of abundant love. Remove the blinders from our eyes that stops us from basking in your love. Amen.

*http://biblehub.com/greek/4053.htm

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 America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Right Our Compass

Eastertide
May 6, 2017

Scripture Reading: John 10:1-10

‘Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.’ Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. –John 10:1-6

Beware the false prophet! Many Christians seem to be confounded if not lost in the maize of discord among peoples of faith and the political rhetoric resulting from it, perhaps causing it, or at the very least benefiting from it. Houses divided do fall. I believe a review of history will show that all the great nations that eventually failed dissolved first from within. Greed and lust for unlimited power seem to be the primary drivers in our society, both sins. Our compass appears to be drawn by the wrong magnet.

How do we regain our focus, right our compass? We listen for Jesus Christ’s voice gently leading us down the path of justice, what the Bible also calls righteousness. Jesus never railed at regular people along the byways. Certainly, he never tried to scare them to death. He saved his ranting for the religious leaders of the day whose compasses were not working well either.

Jesus fixed things. He healed the sick, including those mentally ill; fed the physically hungry; quenched spiritual thirsts; forgave criminals restoring them to wholeness even as they are being executed; and welcomed strangers in his midst. These activities would seem to be a great place for us to focus.

A lot of refocusing is letting go of wrong or outdated visions that block our ability to find those things on which we can agree and on which our combined efforts multiply greatly without the need to disagree.

Prayer: Lord, fix us too. Make us whole, guide our journey, enhance our ability to love like 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 America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Judgement

Eastertide
May 5, 2017

Scripture Reading: 1 Peter 2:19-25

Green leaves and sun light

‘He committed no sin,
   and no deceit was found in his mouth.’
When he was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were going astray like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls. –1 Peter 2:22-25

I believe in the need for judgement but I am not sure what that means. It is important for me to hold myself accountable for what I commit to do. It is also crucial that I identify correct priorities, actions, and behaviors. I wonder if people can be objective, or if it is even necessary to be objective, about the decisions we make regarding our call and our response. The test of time tells me that my instincts are usually right and I still shy away from following them. How does one get past oneself to attain the ability to entrust [oneself] to the one who judges justly? How did the disciples encounter and suffer from constant abuse and not take that as a sign to give up their mission?

Jesus Christ is a just judge. His decisions are always fair. Christ’s judgement regarding our ways of doing and being is the only one that matters. When we examine ourselves in concert with Christ we can be assured that his justice is the right justice. Now granted, I have wrestled long and hard with Christ as I try to comprehend his way, his truth, and his life and as I try to emulate him. I have found over the years that it is better to deal with life’s challenges adjusting along the way trying to stay in sync with God as best I can. My hope is if I do that consistently, judgement, whatever that means, will take care of itself.

Prayer:
Search me, O God, and know my heart;
   test me and know my thoughts.
See if there is any wicked way in me,
   and lead me in the way everlasting. (Psalm 139:23-24)
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.

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 America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved

Love vs. Violence

Eastertide
May 4, 2017

Scripture Reading: 1 Peter 2:19-25

For it is to your credit if, being aware of God, you endure pain while suffering unjustly. If you endure when you are beaten for doing wrong, where is the credit in that? But if you endure when you do right and suffer for it, you have God’s approval. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps. –1 Peter 2:19-21

No one deserves to be beaten for anything. Beating for punishment just proves to the recipient of the thrashing that violence is a proper way to deal with discord. It tells the one being beaten that he or she just needs to be more violent the next time. A foster mother called me once frantic. Her recently placed two to three-year-old foster child kept scratching herself to the point of drawing blood. Clipping her nails did not help. She was finally outfitted with little mittens. The child’s psychologist thought she was missing her mother and she associated her mother with pain. It was the only way of love she had ever known.

It is sad to think that disciples faced grave danger as they traveled throughout a world where violence was the measure of success. Their audience was unaware of a God of love. Jesus’ parable of the sower planting seeds comes to mind. (Matthew 13:1-23, Mark 4:1-20, and Luke 8:1-15) Only some seed fell on fertile ground ready to receive it and nurture its growth. Violence seems to be more prevalent in our world today. The evening news is full of it. The message of God’s love is just as crucial today as it was 2000 years ago and there are those who have no idea what it means unless they see it in our actions.

By the way, I returned that little girl to her mother after a lot of hard work on the mother’s part recovering herself from a life of being abused. Her healing touch helped her daughter’s return to wholeness as did the love of a wonderful foster mother.

Prayer: Lord, make us doers of your love. Help us illuminate the world to recognize love wins over violence always. 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 America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

God’s Abiding Love

Eastertide
May 3, 2017

Scripture Reading: Psalm 23
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
   He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters;
   he restores my soul.
He leads me in right paths
   for his name’s sake.

 Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
   I fear no evil;
for you are with me;
   your rod and your staff—
   they comfort me. 

You prepare a table before me
   in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
   my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
   all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
   my whole life long.

I included the entire Psalm today because it just makes one feel good to read it. I live about half way between my church and another member’s home. She no longer drives and we were having a special service and wanted to go. The weather was horrid earlier that day. Torrential rains, winds gusting to 80 miles an hour, large hail. I was safely cocooned in my well heated and lit home while the storm ravaged about me. As I drove the six blocks south and two blocks east to pick my friend up, I saw large limbs broken from trees. The damage just got worse as I progressed. The stop lights were even off. My friend was awaiting me on her covered porch. She had no electricity. We turned back heading northwest toward the church passing through my relatively undamaged area to find limbs down on the other side. The electricity was now back on at the church.

I thought of the insulated lives many of us live amid discord and distress. The author, perhaps David, of Psalm 23 knew the transitory nature of life. The moments in green pastures by still waters must be cherished for we will at times walk through dark valleys and face enemies. God abides with us in it all. The street lights were working on our return trip.

Prayer: Thank you Lord for your loving presence in the good times and in the bad. 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 America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.