Monthly Archives: April 2019

Mentoring

Eastertide

April 30, 2019

Scripture Reading: Acts 9:1-20

Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, ‘Ananias.’ He answered, ‘Here I am, Lord.’ The Lord said to him, ‘Get up and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul. At this moment he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.’ But Ananias answered, ‘Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints in Jerusalem; and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who invoke your name.’ But the Lord said to him, ‘Go, for he is an instrument whom I have chosen to bring my name before Gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel; I myself will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.’ So Ananias went and entered the house. He laid his hands on Saul and said, ‘Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.’ And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and his sight was restored. Then he got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength. –Acts 9:10-19

Mentors have been very important in my life. I doubt that the ones with the most influence would realize how much their guidance has meant to me. Teachers, of course, stand out both school and Sunday school, pastors, too. I, like Saul, learned much from co-workers. I worked with some amazing people who dedicated their lives to protecting children and adults, making sure the hungry were fed, helping people learn how to work and finding them jobs, finding health care when none was readily available. People who did not think twice about doing what was right when the powers that be were pushing hard in the opposite direction. People who followed the law to the letter and made it work for the betterment of those they served. And people who worked tirelessly to change bad laws.

Ananias was a mentor in faith for Saul as his transformation from persecuting Christ followers to being one occurred. Oneness is a mutual agreement to mentor each other as members of the Body of Christ.

Prayer: Lord, if we are called to mentor guide our work. When we are being mentored, guide our awareness. 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’ Guidance

Eastertide

April 29, 2019

Scripture Reading: Acts 9:1-20

Meanwhile Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’ He asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ The reply came, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.’ The men who were travelling with him stood speechless because they heard the voice but saw no one. Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. For three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.  –Acts 9:1-9

I am usually confident about what I think is right. I try to always check my facts, if I have any question about what I and saying or writing and make corrections as indicated. I get in trouble on the gray areas of life, what I think someone’s intentions are, not understanding the long history behind someone’s behavior that sort of thing. I have made some mistakes in my life for which I had to make apologies or amends. Some wrongs I committed had no rectification. I pray that if I am guilty of wrongs that not only affect the lives of others directly but also have consequences that could impact the whole world, God would bring me up short and show me the errors of my ways. That is exactly what he did with Paul.

The closest I have come to immediate correction was once when I prayed that someone, I knew who was committing adultery be forgiven for his behavior. In my mind I received an immediate message that asking for forgiveness for someone else was not my purview.

I have spent restless nights, like Jacob wrestling with the angel*, dealing with some action I had taken or more often wanted to take that was not the right thing to do. I think the Holy Spirit had something to do with my coming to a better decision by morning.

The positive conclusion I can make about Saul’s experience described in the above scripture is that God loved him enough to confront him and set him on a better way of serving God.

Prayer: Holy One, guide me to your righteousness, protect me from being so distracted by the things of the world that I do not perceive your communion with me. Amen.

*See Genesis 32:22-31

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.

Finding Time to Love Our Neighbors

Eastertide

April 28, 2019

Scripture Reading: John 20:19-31

But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.’

 A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.’ Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.’ –John 20:24-29

We are a part of those who have not seen and yet have come to believe. At least we have not seen the wounds in his side and hand. Do we see Jesus in the work that we do? Do we see the Risen Christ in small and great changes in people’s lives? Do we still cling to the hope of the coming of a Kingdom ruled by God?

I must admit I have my ups and downs. I can get discouraged and need to be refueled by the Spirit of God. I am so glad that Paul included these words in his letter to the Romans (8:26-27):  Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. I think he wrote them just for me.

There are so many problems in our world for which there seems to be no answer and yet they need to be addressed. People invest most of their time in just doing the daily acts of living. It takes extraordinary steps at times to deal with issues that are beyond our limited scope. Yet I believe God calls us to oneness which, of necessity, requires us to move beyond our comfort zones to love like Jesus loves.

Prayer: Lord, slow our lives down to a speed that allows us to complete our routine life works while finding the time to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. 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.

Judged by Our Love

Eastertide

April 27, 2019

Scripture Reading: John 20:19-31

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’ –John 20:19-23

When we think of sin what is the first thing that comes to mind? Doing right or wrong? Obeying laws? Sin is the translation of the Greek word Hamartia, which is defined as missing the mark, a failure, an ethical failure*. The NIB Commentary explains it this way: To have sin is to be blind to the revelation of God in Jesus. Jesus brings people to judgment by his revealing work and presence in the world**. Matthew 25 is explicit in describing this judgment when it talks about taking care of the least of these. Christ judgment is based on how well we love our neighbors as we love ourselves, how well we carry on Jesus’ work throughout the world, how well we let his gift of the Spirit work within us. Any ultimate judgment is reserved for Jesus according to John 5:22, The Father judges no one but has given all judgement to the Son

So, what is Jesus saying in the above scripture about forgiving the sins of others and retaining the sins of others? He is not saying that we are sent into the world to judge the behavior of others. Such judgments are often based on cultural norms even as they apply to the laws set forth in the Hebrew Bible. For example, we now have fact checkers assigning degrees of lying. Since lying is so common place, it seems not to matter anymore at least to humans. Some laws like the Ten Commandments stand the test of time and, if followed, can contribute to the development of the Kingdom of God.

Other laws and rules are needed to add order to our world. They change as society progresses. New laws were needed when horse and buggies were replaced by cars and they will change again as car no longer require a driver.

Here John is saying that our judgment of others is based on their acceptance of a role in being the Body of Christ fed by the Holy Spirit in the world today. As the conduits of love to reach all the peoples of the world, we have a grave responsibility to fulfill, before we could ever decide to retain the sins of anyone.

Prayer: Lord, strengthen us in letting he Holy Spirit work through us toward building a better world. Amen.

*https://biblehub.com/greek/266.htm

**The New Interpreter’s Bible, A Commentary in Twelve Volume’s Volume IX, Abingdon Press,  1995, Page 847

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 with Us

Eastertide

April 26, 2019

Scripture Reading: Revelation 1:4-8

Look! He is coming with the clouds;
   every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him;
   and on his account all the tribes of the earth will wail.
So it is to be. Amen.

 ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega’, says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. –Revelation 1:7-8

Is God here with us right now or not? When I hear people talk about the second coming, this question comes to my mind. There are even some that seem to think they can hasten God’s arrival by causing a war in the Middle East. Some seem to forget that the gift of the Holy Spirit was given whether as John reports (John 20:22) immediately or as Acts 2 describes during Pentecost or perhaps both. I tend to lean toward both. I stood with my mother in the hospital waiting room when the doctor came to report that my dad had had a massive heart attack severely injuring his heart. If he survived the heart attack, he would be an invalid. He had the second heart attack one week later and died. My mother does not remember being in the meeting with the doctor after the first attack. Shock and grief play strange games on all of us. A later dramatic reminder of the promise of the gift of the Spirit as described in Acts is fitting in dealing with the human state.

My, perhaps fanciful interpretation, of Christ’s return in a cloud is that he will rejoin us as the Omega when and if we ever become the people of love and peace, he taught us to be and do. Not war but shalom will usher in the returning Christ who through the Spirit guides us in the direction of love and peace, if we allow it.

Prayer:
Spirit, Spirit of gentleness,
blow through the wilderness calling and free,
Spirit, Spirit of restlessness,
stir me from placidness,
wind, wind on the sea.

You call from tomorrow,
you break ancient schemes.
From the bondage of sorrow
all the captives dream dreams;
our women see visions,
our men clear their eyes.
With bold new decisions
your people arise*. Amen.

*Chorus and Fourth verse of Spirit by James K. Manley https://digitalsongsandhymns.com/songs/3373

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 is Working His Purpose Out

Eastertide

April 25, 2019

Scripture Reading: Revelation 1:4-8

John to the seven churches that are in Asia:

Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. –Revelation 1:4-6

Revelation and I have an interesting relationship. I grew up in a dispensational household, I later attended a seminary class on Revelation and learned to appreciate its literary characteristics while delving into theology that felt truer to my idea of God than that which I had know earlier in my life. The class did teach me to appreciate that there is more than one way to understand scripture and continued study and a willingness to openness is important. I also discovered that how we are taught something may be as important or more important than what we are taught. My personality does not meld well with proclaimed absolutes. I need to search out meaning for myself. Thus, I suggest you take what you want and add it to your understanding when you read anything I write.

Starting a book about wars, famines, and end of time prognostications with the formula words Grace to you and peace seems a little out of place but then it does not. The ultimate message of Revelation is that despite all the terrors of our world, God is still in charge and all is well. At the end Revelation says God will pitch God’s tent among us.

So, from start to finish when reading Revelation, we know the book ends well.

God is working his purpose out,
as year succeeds to year,
God is working his purpose out,
and the time is drawing near;
nearer and nearer draws the time,
the time that shall surely be,
when the earth shall be filled with the glory of God
as the waters cover the sea. *

Prayer: Lord, teach me your ways and open my mind and heart to the understanding of scriptures. Amen

*First verse of the hymn God is Working His Purpose Out by Arthur Campbell Ainger see at https://hymnary.org/text/god_is_working_his_purpose_out#Author

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.

Let Your Light Shine

Eastertide

April 24, 2019

Scripture Reading: Psalm 150

Praise the Lord!
Praise God in his sanctuary;
   praise him in his mighty firmament!
Praise him for his mighty deeds;
   praise him according to his surpassing greatness!

Praise him with trumpet sound;
   praise him with lute and harp!
Praise him with tambourine and dance;
   praise him with strings and pipe!
Praise him with clanging cymbals;
   praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord!

The Hebrew word halal* translated praise in this Psalm means to shine. Discovering that just gave new meaning to the song, This Little Light of Mine. What does it mean to worship God? What does it mean to be made in the image of God? Do those two intersect? I wonder how many people like me envision bowing their heads, perhaps kneeling before God? I do think humbling ourselves before God is key to our relationship with God. When this psalm calls us to shine, the implication is that our shining will be visible to God as well as others. We are called to reflect God in all that we are and do.

When I search Google for pictures to use with these writings, I often run into very appropriate quotes by Mother Teresa. Some are familiar but many I have never heard before. Most are succinct and usually hit the mark of what I need to hear. She still shines through her words. Rumi is another person whose quotes usually hit the spot. I had never heard of him until I started searching for illustration to use with my writings. He was a 13th-century Persian poet, jurist, Islamic scholar, theologian, and Sufi mystic. He too continues to send forth a shining light.

Part of praise is recognizing that God is greater than anything we can image. God’s light shines so brightly that Moses had to cover his face when he came down from the mountain top experience with God. I am sure God enjoys beauty and music and dance or he would not have created them. The same goes for God enjoying us. God experiences joy when our light is shining forth as a true reflection of God’s love whether it is in a sanctuary, a hospital, a prison, a school, or a coffee shop.

Prayer: Lord, let you love flow through me so that what I do is an accurate reflection of your love. Amen.

*https://biblehub.com/hebrew/1984.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.

Stepping Out of Our Comfort Zones

Eastertide

April 23, 2019

Scripture Reading: Acts 5:27-32

When they had brought them, they had them stand before the council. The high priest questioned them, saying, ‘We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and you are determined to bring this man’s blood on us.’ But Peter and the apostles answered, ‘We must obey God rather than any human authority. The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus, whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, so that he might give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.’

What have we witnessed and who have we told? Our scripture today is set in an ecclesial court. Having been a child protective services worker, I have sat in the witness box more times than I would like to count and tried to honestly describe what I had observed. I was also asked to make recommendations regarding the outcomes of the court hearings. Is that the calling Acts is saying we have regarding sharing the good news of Jesus Christ? Are we to truthfully share our observations, our own stories perhaps, of what a relationship with the living Christ has meant to us and if asked, to make recommendations regarding how others can form a relationship with God through Christ?

If we are to witness, we must record, at least in our memories, our observations for future reference. When, where, how, and regarding who have we seen the love of God in action and what difference did it make? Our witness will not be before an ecclesial council. It will most likely be having coffee with a co-worker, chatting with someone at the gym, or mowing the yard while a neighbor prunes a nearby tree.

I learn life lessons in the most interesting ways. My hair dresser is my former next-door neighbor and we got to know each other largely over shared caring for pets. He has cats, I had a dog. A gregarious person, he knew everybody on the block. I the great introvert with a distinct need to avoid pollen am on a waving bases with some and am good for buying candy to help a school fund raiser but I am not the one to chat over the back fence. When I was in his shop recently, he asked about the new people who had moved into his old house and I said that they seemed very nice that they were a couple with a teenage son but that was about all I knew. He said, “Marilynn you have to go outside before will ever get to know them.” Of course, he is right and the same could be said about our witnessing to the love of God. We must be intentional about responding to the call, and we sometimes must step out of our comfort zones.

Prayer: Lord, open our eyes to see the opportunities to witness to others about your love even when it takes us out of our comfort zone. 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.

Finding Oneness

Eastertide

April 22, 2019

Scripture Reading: Acts 5:27-32

When they had brought them, they had them stand before the council. The high priest questioned them, saying, ‘We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and you are determined to bring this man’s blood on us.’ But Peter and the apostles answered, ‘We must obey God rather than any human authority. The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus, whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, so that he might give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.’

Where do we draw the line? Where do we say, ‘We must obey God rather than any human authority? I was in the state capitol recently attending a faith-based workshop on doing justice in the civic community, learning things like the current status of criminal justice reform, education, health care reform, and how to talk to our legislators about our positions. This group thinks our faith should inform our stances regarding state laws and we have a right to share our stances.

Our closing speaker was drowned out by the chanting of another group two floors down, also faith-based, who were taking the stance that their belief system should be incorporated into state law and be applied to everyone regardless of their faiths or if they have no faith at all.

Acts informs us well that we must obey God rather than any human authority, it does not say we are to force others to obey God and frankly, I think God prefers to be followed by people who choose to follow and love God.  We, indeed, as followers of Christ are called to take the good news of God’s love to the ends of the earth. We are never charged with forcing it on anyone. Obviously from the scenario described above followers of Christ themselves are not in agreement on many issues.

Yet God also calls us to oneness. How do we get to oneness from such divisiveness? It is imperative that all of Christ followers seek together those things upon which we can agree and find common ground for the Common Good.

Prayer: Lord of Might and Miracles, we so desperately need your loving arms to reach around all your followers and help use find and pursue those bits and pieces of common ground. 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.

Gift of Love

Easter April 1, 2019

Scripture Reading: Luke 24:1-12

But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in, they did not find the body. While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, ‘Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.’ Then they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb, they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles. But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened.

Idle tale is that the equivalent of emotional women’s gibberish? Why did Peter run to the tomb if, indeed, it was only an idle tale? Did he expect something more sinister? Perhaps he was just a nice guy who wanted to calm the women and went to check so he could reassure them? Or had snippets of Jesus’ words been replaying in his head, something about the third day, that sent him running? Hope is a great motivator.

After experiencing a great loss of any kind humans tend to rearrange the priorities of their lives. Jesus’ death and resurrection did just that for a relatively small group of dedicated followers who after returning from that tomb, after reconnecting with the risen Lord, after a normal period of shock and grief set out as instructed to take the ways of Jesus to the ends of the earth and in so doing changed the whole world. We celebrate these events each year to remind us that we are responding to the same calling. To do it well we too need to rearrange our priorities because there is nothing, we can do that is more important than making the love of God the standard for our whole world in all that we do individually and collectively.

In all the world around me I see His loving care
And though my heart grows weary I never will despair
I know that He is leading, through all the stormy blast
The day of His appearing will come at last

Rejoice, rejoice, O Christian Lift up your voice and sing
Eternal hallelujahs to Jesus Christ, the King
The Hope of all who seek Him, the Help of all who find
None other is so loving, so good and kind*

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for your wonderous love modeled for us by your son Jesus, the Christ. Amen.

*Verses two and three of He Lives by Alfred H. Ackley

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.