Monthly Archives: October 2017

Politics and Practices

Living in the Spirit
October 21, 2017

Scripture Reading: Matthew 22:15-22

Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap him in what he said. So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, ‘Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?’ –Matthew 22:15-17

Political leaders in Washington DC and Oklahoma are under the delusion that cutting taxes will put more money back into the economy. The fact they seem to miss is that we invest the vast majority of tax money quickly back into our economy.  Roads are built and maintained by people who work. In Oklahoma, last year 12 rule hospitals filed for bankruptcy, and three closed primarily from cuts in federal health care spending robbing entire communities of readily accessible health care not to mention jobs lost.

Civil government has played an important role in the development of our world since families grew to tribes and tribes needed to interact to provide for the Common Good. We may all want to gripe about paying taxes, but government serves a necessary purpose. Yes, governments need to operate efficiently and effectively and yes, governments need to handle our tax dollars wisely. The protection of the Common Good is the foundation for our otherwise thriving.

Pitting the church against the government as the Pharisees were trying to do in our scripture today is trying to catch Jesus in the politics of the day. Living under the Roman rule where its subjects were not a part of the decision-making process dictated a choice between following the rules or facing serious consequences. Rome’s religious tolerance ended at the tax collectors’ tables. Protections against such practices are in our Constitution, not to limit religion but to protect all citizens from having someone else’s religion imposed on them.

We, too, get caught up in the politics of the day, and it colors our decision-making practices as citizens in a democratic society where we do have responsibilities for assuring quality governance in the provision of the Common Good. We cannot and should not force our religious beliefs through laws on others. We can, and we must live our faith through our participation as citizens. Walking that tightrope takes courage and trust that Jesus taught us what was important. The thing is the Common Good fits nicely with Jesus’ teachings like feeding the hungry.

Prayer: Lord, give us the vision we need to see past politics and find the way to the Common Good. 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.

Living the Word

Living in the Spirit
October 20, 2017

Scripture Reading: 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

…you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place where your faith in God has become known, so that we have no need to speak about it. For the people of those regions report about us what kind of welcome we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols, to serve a living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath that is coming. –1 Thessalonians 1:7-10

The first Christians waited with great expectations for the bodily return of Jesus. He had promised he would come back and they anticipated it would be in their lifetime if not very soon. I wonder when the bodily return became unessential for their everyday work as they experienced his presence in the Holy Spirit.

The church at Thessalonica was a charter church. Its members seemed to come from similar cultures to the other first century churches, but they somehow moved more readily from idol worship to accepting God as monotheistic. They also were apparently able immediately to be doers of the Word and not just believers.

We, today, tend to get hung up on living the Word because of our differences in interpreting the Word. It is no wonder that Congress and state legislatures are unable to get much done. They are mirroring their constituents’ (that is us) lack of ability to live the Word rather than investing our energies in expounding our understanding of what it says. Negotiating solutions is not necessarily compromising our values. One value, for example, is that every child should be raised in a loving home with adequate resources to meet his or her basic needs.  There are many ways to reach that goal that have nothing to do with abortion, welfare, or other divisive issues. Assuring that everyone who works full time earns a living wage would help meet the basic needs requirement. Quality public education where children learn self-respect and respect for one another and gain hope for their futures is known to reduce unwanted pregnancies which reduce abortions. I fear the sad truth is we do not share the common value of quality lives for our children. Wanting to be right in our beliefs drives our values rather than caring about the people impacted by our divisions.  Also, the cynical part of me thinks our values are driven by who has the most financial gain to make from policies. The result is we live in a world of stagnation and stalemate.

There is nothing new here. Amos railed about the same problems in 750 BCE. His answer remains valuable still. We must repent of our greed and use our faith to bring us together in love to make a better world rather than making our faith a stumbling block.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us for getting caught up in divisions and stalemate. Show us how we can learn from each other to live your Word in our world today. 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.

Privileged or Persecuted

Living in the Spirit
October 19, 2017

Scripture Reading: 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in our prayers, constantly remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. For we know, brothers and sisters beloved by God, that he has chosen you, because our message of the gospel came to you not in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of people we proved to be among you for your sake. And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for in spite of persecution you received the word with joy inspired by the Holy Spirit, –1 Thessalonians 1:2-6

Having chosen to follow Christ, we enlisted in letting God choose us for whatever mission is needed. Opening ourselves to the guidance of the Holy Spirit to discern our calling is a challenging prospect. I love Gideon’s* experience in hearing his call to leave his regular job and lead the army. He asked for a sign and got it and then asked for a reversal of that sign as further proof and got that too. He was a very successful general even though he doubted his skills at carrying out the assignment. Brother Lawrence, a 17th-century monk, was called to do the dishes in his monastery. From that experience, we were gifted with his book The Practice of the Presence of God teaching us the importance of remaining in communion with God in all we do.,

History tells us that the Thessalonians faced serious persecution because of their faith and they remained steadfast in following the example of Christ. In our attempts to follow the path of the early Christians, I am concerned today that we may view the loss of privilege as persecution. The two are not related. Our call is to lift the persecuted from oppression not work to maintain our privilege that enables oppression. Loving God and loving one another requires us to want the very best for all, which includes both equity of opportunity and equality of participation in society.

Prayer: Lord, open our hearts to your call to do justice for all not just for a few. Amen.

*See Judges 6-8

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.

Trembling Before God

Living in the Spirit
October 18, 2017

Scripture Reading: Psalm 99

The Lord is king; let the peoples tremble!
   He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earthquake!
The Lord is great in Zion;
   he is exalted over all the peoples.
Let them praise your great and awesome name.
   Holy is he!
Mighty King, lover of justice,
   you have established equity;
you have executed justice
   and righteousness in Jacob.
Extol the Lord our God;
   worship at his footstool.
   Holy is he! –Psalm 99:1-5

The time is ripe for us to re-acquaint ourselves with the All-Powerful God. The God we learned to cherish as a child, the loving Father, still cares about our every need but we do not consider trembling before that God. I worked with foster parents who lived on a farm and often had as many as five small children in their charge. They had a huge Doberman. The children rode him he was so big. He was as much their caretaker as the humans. I think he sensed their life challenges. I also knew never to get out of the car when I drove into their driveway if the children were playing in the yard until one of the adults came out to welcome me. The Doberman was the children’s guardian angel. Similarly, God calls us to partnership in assuring and protecting justice for all.

Many children of our Mighty King, lover of justice, establisher of equity are living without justice and equity. We should be very concerned about that.

  • People are dying for lack of clean water,
  • Refugees are escaping certain death with no one willing to receive them
  • Vast discrepancies exists among children of color in school advancement
  • The working poor have little or no healthcare
  • Children are being left in unsafe child care settings because their parents cannot afford to pay for quality care
  • An epidemic of opioid drug use exists because companies make huge profits from the sale of prescription drugs.

I compiled this list from one night’s news.

While we can rest comfortably in the love of God, we must answer God’s call to create a world where all experience justice. Evil thrives in inequality. As it grows, it smothers that which is good resulting in more and more injustice. We must get educated and get involved to let the principalities and powers of our world know where we stand on these and other similar issues. We serve a mighty God who has our backs as we do the Lord’s justice. I somehow do not like the idea of standing before God and explaining why I did nothing. God does not expect each of us to do everything; God does expect all of us to do justice.

Prayer: Almighty God, empower us as we do your justice on our world today. 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.

Intercessory Prayer

Living in the Spirit
October 17, 2017

Scripture Reading: Exodus 33:12-23

The Lord said to Moses, ‘I will do the very thing that you have asked; for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.’ Moses said, ‘Show me your glory, I pray.’ And he said, ‘I will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim before you the name, “The Lord”; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But’, he said, ‘you cannot see my face; for no one shall see me and live.’ And the Lord continued, ‘See, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock; and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by; then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back; but my face shall not be seen.’ –Exodus 33:17-23

Does routine contact with God make a difference? Made in the image of God, some part of each of us mirrors God. Think about our interactions with people. Are we more apt to respond to the needs of people with whom we have regular contact? I think we all are. When Moses approached God on behalf of his people, he relied on his previously established relationship, and God responded.

Intercessory prayer is a bit of a mystery to me, yet my gut tells me it is important. I often do not know what or how to pray for another. I distinctly remember one instance of prayer asking God to forgive the sins of another for which I received a clear revelation that that was not mine to ask.  There are also the instances of praying for healing with no idea of what the best outcome might be. We do not see the breadth and depth of life as God does. Am I faithful or namby-pamby by attaching the phrase “let your will be done” to every intercessory prayer? I have concluded the important aspect of intercessory prayer is following Moses’ example by just being ourselves before God and trusting God who knows us completely to respond in love.

My interest in intercessory prayer comes at a time when my country seems to be falling apart as a house divided. Moses was dealing with a house that gave up on God and turned to idols not being willing to follow God’s lead but deciding to shape a god in the image that best suited their selfish ambitions. Their idol worship did not work then and will not work now. Let us all keep praying and keep listening for the guidance of that still small voice, for God is working God’s purpose out.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for letting us deluge you with our fears, doubts, and uncertainties in how to deal with all that is confronting us. Help us to learn to be still and know that you are God and listen as much as or more than we talk to 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.

Known by Our Actions

Living in the Spirit
October 16, 2017

Scripture Reading: Exodus 33:12-23

Moses said to the Lord, ‘See, you have said to me, “Bring up this people”; but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, “I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.” Now if I have found favor in your sight, show me your ways, so that I may know you and find favor in your sight. Consider too that this nation is your people.’ He said, ‘My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.’ And he said to him, ‘If your presence will not go, do not carry us up from here. For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people, unless you go with us? In this way, we shall be distinct, I and your people, from every people on the face of the earth.’ –                                                                                                                                                      Exodus 33:12-16

I do not know how many times I have sung the words They’ll Know We are Christians by Our Love*. I believe that sentiment to be true. What frightens me is the many ways love seems to be defined by Christians. In some instances, we exclude people by what we consider to be their sins. Does that reflect God’s love?  Other times we set people apart because of the color of their skin, their religion, or their place of origin? Does that reflect God’s love?

In all the devastation we viewed on TV over the past few months, stories of people who risk their lives for others abound. I certainly saw Christ in each of these people,  though I do not know anything about their religious affiliations. Perhaps if we wish to reflect God with us, we need to turn our attention to being in sync with God rather than projecting what we have gleaned from a world that does not know God.

We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord
We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord
And we pray that our unity will one day be restored
And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
Yeah they’ll know we are Christians by our love 

We will work with each other, we will work side by side
We will work with each other, we will work side by side
And we’ll guard each man’s dignity and save each man’s pride
And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
Yeah, they’ll know we are Christians by our love.*

Prayer: Lord, enable our lives to reflect your love, filtering out the world’s ways we claim as yours. Amen.

*Taken from the song We are One in the Spirit  by Peter Scholtes, see at https://hymnary.org/text/we_are_one_in_the_spirit

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.

Being the Body of Christ

Living in the Spirit
October 15, 2017

Scripture Reading: Matthew 22:1-14

Then he said to his slaves, “The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.” Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad; so the wedding hall was filled with guests.

 ‘But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, and he said to him, “Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?” And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, “Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” For many are called, but few are chosen.’ –Matthew 22:8-14

Yesterday we dealt with not accepting God’s invitation. Today, we see the other side of the story—accepting the invitation but not the responsibility that goes with it.  The commitment to God is all or nothing. A sports team fully committed to winning with each player doing his or her part can often beat a team with better players who rely on their native talents.

Christ called his followers to be his Body from the time of his Ascension to today. Our primary tasks are first to love God and love one another as we go into all the world spreading that love and doing justice until the whole world in one in God’s love. While this is a full-time job, carrying out these tasks are best accomplished and most successful when we weave them through our everyday experiences of work and play, being a family, and being a community.

Prayer: Lord, walk with us each step of the way so that being the Body of Christ is second nature in everything we do. 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.

Greener Grass

Living in the Spirit
October 14, 2017

Scripture Reading: Matthew 22:1-14

Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying: ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come. Again he sent other slaves, saying, “Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.” But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his slaves, maltreated them, and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. –Matthew 22:1-7

I had agreed to accompany a girlfriend on a canoe float trip down the Illinois river with a larger group when a guy I liked called with what I considered a better offer. I told my friend at the last minute; I would not be going. The thing is in a canoe two rowers are important. She went anyway, and a young teenager with his family was excited to get the chance to row. Fast forward 40 years, my girlfriend and I are still good friends in spite of my fickle behavior. I do not have a clue where the guy is or what he is doing.

To our peril, humans tend to seek greener grass in all aspects of our lives. Christ calls us to an eternal commitment. In our parable today some invited to a banquet put work first, others pursued criminal behavior. What appears to have the greatest short-term value may not be good for us at all.

In our world today, we seem to be blind to the long-term consequences of our actions until we are brought up short by some disaster. Loving others takes priority over selfish gain. Family is more important than a house. Our parable suggests that when we get our priorities straight in alignment with God from the start, we will grasp the abundant life to which Christ calls us.

Prayer: Lord, turn our dissatisfaction in life into energy to seek and find the life you provide, if we only respond to your invitation. 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.

Becoming One

Living in the Spirit
October 13, 2017

Scripture Reading: Philippians 4:1-9

 Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you. –Philippians 4:8-9

I sat at the symphony recently and listened to an exquisite Violin Concerto by Samuel Barber that just made me feel good all over. The scripture above elicits in me a similar feeling of peace and wellbeing. I think that is what Paul intended to do. In the face of all the world aims at us we have the confidence of faith that the God of peace is with us. One of my favorite scriptures is John 16:33, I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world!’

Our challenge is not getting dragged into the chaos that surrounds us and still doing all we can to carry out our calling. The advantage of working as the Body of Christ is the synergy that derives from working one with the other. None of us has all the answers. The problems we face demands all the skills and efforts we can muster with the sure and certain knowledge that Christ is with us even when the occasion arises that we mess up. God created lemons and the person who figured out how to make lemonade.

Part of our task is to be inclusive of those who might do us harm for they are God’s children too. Pray for your enemies is not an empty command. Seeking to understand others and offering them opportunities for positive output exploring common ground may be our greatest work.

 Prayer: God of Might and Miracles move among us and make us one as you are one. 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.

Be of the Same Mind

Living in the Spirit
October 12, 2017

Scripture Reading: Philippians 4:1-9

I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you also, my loyal companion, help these women, for they have struggled beside me in the work of the gospel, together with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life. –Philippians 2-3

Apparently, Euodia and Syntyche were not of the same mind. There is a lot of that going around today. I mused to a friend recently that I could not understand how people could interpret the same behavior so very differently. It makes one wonder if evil spirits like Screwtape and Wormwood from C. S. Lewis’ Screwtape Letters exists. There seems to be some evil trying desperately to separate God’s children from forming the world that God envisioned for us all. Who benefits from a dearth of love in the world? Warmongers might be one group as they make a lot of money from the carnage of battlefields. I suppose anyone who values money more than love benefit. What about all the folks who are missing out on an abundant life because others are reaping benefits they did not sow. Refocusing the disenfranchised on blaming each other for their situations contributes to the mayhem.  Carefully making minority groups of all kinds scapegoats keeps the wheels of fortune moving. History tells us over and over again that such behavior comes to a bad end. Israel fell to Assyria, Judah fell to Babylon, Rome just fell apart failing to hold a workable government together. Sound familiar?

I must confess I want to run away from all the disarray, but God calls us to create a world of love, to be a part of the solution. The starting point is finding the things on which we can become of the same mind and making them work. It also requires us to see beyond our lives and gain perspective from the ways others must face the world. We must be able to set aside the things that distract us that in the grand scheme of things matter only to those interested in causing division.

Do you not know that in a race the runners all compete, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win it. Athletes exercise self-control in all things; they do it to receive a perishable garland, but we an imperishable one. So I do not run aimlessly, nor do I box as though beating the air; but I punish my body and enslave it, so that after proclaiming to others I myself should not be disqualified. –1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Prayer: Lord, train us in the way we should go. Help us find the same mind and not be distracted from attaining your vision. 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.