Eastertide

April 21, 2023

Scripture Reading: 1 Peter 1:17-23
If you invoke as Father the one who judges all people impartially according to their deeds, live in reverent fear during the time of your exile. You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish. He was destined before the foundation of the world, but was revealed at the end of the ages for your sake. Through him you have come to trust in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are set on God.

Now that you have purified your souls by your obedience to the truth so that you have genuine mutual love, love one another deeply from the heart. You have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God.

I am a member of the Poor People’s Campaign, A National Call for Moral Revival, working to build the Third Reconstruction.

Drawing on the transformational history of the First Reconstruction following the Civil War and the Second Reconstruction of the civil rights struggles of the 20th century, the Third Reconstruction is a revival of our constitutional commitment to establish justice, provide for the general welfare, end decades of austerity, and recognize that policies that center the 140 million poor and low-income people in the country are also good economic policies that can heal and transform the nation*.

The scripture above describes a similar call when it says we have been born anew, given a second chance to correct the moral failures of our lives. We humans tend to reshape that word moral , which simply means what is right or good to definitions that support our worldview, what is right for people like me not all of God’s people.

The Papal Bull “Inter Caetera,” issued by Pope Alexander VI on May 4, 1493, is an excellent example of that. The Bull stated that any land not inhabited by Christians was available to be “discovered,” claimed, and exploited by Christian rulers and declared that “the Catholic faith and the Christian religion be exalted and be everywhere increased and spread, that the health of souls be cared for and that barbarous nations be overthrown and brought to the faith itself**. On March 30, 2023, the Vatican responded to Indigenous demands and formally repudiated the “Doctrine of Discovery,” the theories backed by 15th-century “papal bulls” that legitimized the colonial-era seizure of Native lands and form the basis of some property laws today.

The scars from our human tendency to define morality to our benefit continue in many ways today. I fear evil temptations often define what we consider to be moral. It is only through our deepest desire guided by the Holy Spirit to follow what God describes as right will we ever be able to unchain ourselves from worldviews of greed that eventually always destroy us.

Prayer: Lord, guide us in living your righteousness and your goodness adapting them to be our own in all we do. Amen.

*See at https://www.poorpeoplescampaign.org/join-us-as-we-build-the-third-reconstruction/

** See at https://www.gilderlehrman.org/sites/default/files/inline-pdfs/04093_FPS.pdf

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.

Eastertide

April 20, 2023

Scripture Reading:

1 Peter 1:17-23
If you invoke as Father the one who judges all people impartially according to their deeds, live in reverent fear during the time of your exile. You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish. He was destined before the foundation of the world, but was revealed at the end of the ages for your sake. Through him you have come to trust in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are set on God.

Now that you have purified your souls by your obedience to the truth so that you have genuine mutual love, love one another deeply from the heart. You have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God.

The news is flooded at this writing with stories of questionable judgments. A man who has spent 19 years for a murder he did not commit, was freed by one court but the appeals court sent him back for what reason I could not understand except that someone did not cross all the t’s or dot all the I’s, hardly impartial judgment. Dominion Voting System sued Fox News because of lies Fox News kept repeating about the 2020 election that could have destroyed Dominion, but more than that permanently had a negative impact on our election and the candidates running for office. Money was the decisive factor in that case, not impartiality.

We are called to live our lives not as our culture judges us or our wealth, but as God’s impartial love judges us. When we examine ourselves in our daily communion with God, we have the opportunity to make vital corrections that can help us maintain the higher ground Christ called us to embrace in search of the Beloved Community God envisions for all.

Prayer: Lord, help me to differentiate what is your judgment criteria from that of the world and help me align with your guidance and love. 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.

Eastertide

April 19, 2023

Scripture Reading:

Psalm 116:1-4, 12-19

I love the Lord, because he has heard
   my voice and my supplications.
Because he inclined his ear to me,
   therefore I will call on him as long as I live.
The snares of death encompassed me;
   the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;
   I suffered distress and anguish.
Then I called on the name of the Lord:
   ‘O Lord, I pray, save my life!’

What shall I return to the Lord
   for all his bounty to me?
I will lift up the cup of salvation
   and call on the name of the Lord,
I will pay my vows to the Lord
   in the presence of all his people.
Precious in the sight of the Lord
   is the death of his faithful ones.
O Lord, I am your servant;
   I am your servant, the child of your serving-maid.
   You have loosed my bonds.
I will offer to you a thanksgiving sacrifice
   and call on the name of the Lord.
   will pay my vows to the Lord
   in the presence of all his people,
in the courts of the house of the Lord,
   in your midst, O Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord!

I appreciate the hymn Called as Partners in Christ’s Service*. It reminds us that our relationship with God is a two-way exchange. We are called to make the world a place ruled by love. We are called to follow God’s guidance in our own lives, but we are also expected to expand the ways of God in all aspects of life. The first segment of this Psalm thanks God for doing God’s part. The second part of the Psalm is the writer’s response to receiving the love of God.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for blessing us with your love. Open our hearts to ways we can further your love among all people. Amen.

*See at https://digitalsongsandhymns.com/songs/6113

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.

Eastertide

April 18, 2023

Scripture Reading: Acts 2:14a, 36-41
But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them: ‘Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say.

Therefore let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified.’

Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what should we do?’ Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him.’ And he testified with many other arguments and exhorted them, saying, ‘Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.’ So those who welcomed his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added.

I subscribe to a grammar and spell checker that is very helpful for one who was raised in the era of not teaching phonics and who has not been back in school to keep up primarily with the changes in the use of commas. I do not always agree with the recommendations, but they have been most helpful. It also checks the grammar in the scriptures I include daily, and I do not change them or any other direct quotes. I had to laugh, however, today because every line on the above scriptural quote has grammar corrections. Yesterday in Sunday School, I read a segment from the book of Acts, and one of the other participants asked what version I was reading from.  I said the NIV.  She was trying to follow along using the NRSV. It was markedly different, not in the meaning of the scripture but in how it was worded. I like to read from different translations because it makes me think about what I am reading. I also like to check out the meaning of words used in the Bible because Hebrew and Greek use words with multiple meanings that are sometimes hard to match in English.

We have been blessed with dedicated scholars who have diligently translated the words to help our understanding. That is all lost when we do not translate these same words into living them.

Prayer: Lord, guide us as we study the words passed down to us of your deeds and instruction, and open our minds to understanding them fully for our use in living your love 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.

Eastertide

April 17, 2023

Scripture Reading: Acts 2:14a, 36-41
But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them: ‘Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say.

Therefore let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified.’

Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what should we do?’ Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him.’ And he testified with many other arguments and exhorted them, saying, ‘Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.’ So those who welcomed his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added.

I do not think I have ever thought much about how those folks who shouted for Jesus’s crucifixion felt if and when they realized who he was and what they had done to him. Of course, we are told what Judas did. Committing suicide was a drastic response making me wonder if Judas ever realized who Jesus was, how Jesus loved him anyway, and would have forgiven him. Perhaps Jesus did forgive him and others when he said from the cross, “Forgive them for they know not what they do.”  (Luke 23:34).

The Disciples, in general, could reach out to those same people who called for Jesus’s crucifixion because they, too, had their moments of weakness. Peter denied Jesus three times. Thomas demanded proof of the resurrection.

We are Jesus’s disciples in the world today, called to build the Beloved Community, which he envisioned for us in his sojourn while on earth. Much work must be done, and we must lean heavily on God in all of God’s connections to strengthen our work.

Prayer: Lord, enable us to lift our drooping hands and strengthen our weak knees* as we work to build that Beloved Community. Amen.

*See Hebrews 12:12

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.

Eastertide

April 15, 2023

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 20:10-23

If someone has wronged me, as a Christ-follower, I have a responsibility to forgive the action and to deal with the residual feelings and attitudes that I must clear from my own slate, so I not only forgive but let it go. I also fully grasp that Jesus charged us to continue his work in developing the Kingdom of God on this earth with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. A large part of Jesus’s work was forgiving others. John 9:39: Jesus said, ‘I came into this world for judgment so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind.’

The above scripture, however, makes me uncomfortable. Somewhere along the way, I learned that only God could ultimately forgive sin. I think that stems from my understanding that God assigned Jesus Christ the role of judge. Forgiveness is the follow-up to judgment, and I do not feel qualified to judge anyone or, as the scriptures describe it, to know the heart of another. It also makes me uncomfortable because I see many people, leaders even, judging other people’s lives and creating laws to control their lives to meet their interpretation of what is right and what is just. Often such judgments seem to be drawn from cultural norms rather than the commandment of God to love one another and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.

Reading the scripture more intensely, we are not necessarily called to judge others; we are to open our own and others’ eyes so that all can see their shortcomings and self-correct, receiving forgiveness from the Holy Spirit. Walking the second mile* with others is a greater challenge than creating our own system of justice, which we can apply and rather self-righteously check off as one more task to raise our brownie points with God.  I do not think that is what God is calling us to do.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we develop our own definitions of what is right and just. Give us the courage to open our own eyes to your righteousness and work together to build a better world ruled by love.  Amen.

*See Matthew 5:41

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.

Eastertide

April 13, 2023

Scripture Reading: 1 Peter 1:3-9
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith—being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

A new birth into a living hope sounds good. It is ours for the taking. So why do we not take it? Why am I waking up each morning to learn where the most recent mass shooting occurred and how many were killed or injured? Why are 14.46% of Oklahoma people living in poverty, the fourth highest rate for a state in the USA?  Why is Oklahoma ranked among the states with the highest rates of incarceration? Why are we focusing on limiting the rights of individuals in what medicine they can take or even what books they can read rather than feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, caring for the sick, welcoming strangers, and restoring those wasting away in prison? The truth is that if we address with all our hearts and souls the issues Jesus commanded, these other issues with melt away.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us for looking for answers to problems in our society in all the wrong places. Instill in us the courage to grasp and live into your way of being ruled by love. 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.