Author Archives: WOJ@deborahsdescendants.com

Restoring our Souls, Restoring our World

Ordinary Time

February 9, 2022

Scripture Reading: Psalm 1
Happy are those
   who do not follow the advice of the wicked,
or take the path that sinners tread,
   or sit in the seat of scoffers;
but their delight is in the law of the Lord,
   and on his law they meditate day and night.
They are like trees
   planted by streams of water,
which yield their fruit in its season,
   and their leaves do not wither.
In all that they do, they prosper.

The wicked are not so,
   but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
   nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
for the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
   but the way of the wicked will perish.

The wicked are hard to discern in our world today. They very craftily reshape reality to meet their ideology, through partial truths or outright lies. If they repeat it enough, people start to believe it. We definitely have a good supply of scoffers, at times leading to violence. The Psalmist above assures us that the wicked will perish in the judgment. My question is what do we do in the meantime?

While it feels like we are in dangerous times, and, indeed, I think we could travel down wrong paths long enough, as the nation of Israel did, that we might find ourselves in exile. I have a greater sense that we have entered a time in history when a major move toward the good is opening if we seek and take advantage of the opportunities that lie within it. God sent Jesus to challenge us to work together in oneness to actualize, make real throughout the world, God’s vision of all operating on the power of love and doing great and wonderful things, together. We all think we are not the wicked when to some degree as we foster divisiveness and self-righteousness, we all become wicked. Clearing out the cobwebs of our souls is a great place to start, fostered by a closer relationship with God.

Prayer: Drop thy still dews of quietness,
till all our strivings cease;
take from our souls the strain and stress,
and let our ordered lives confess
the beauty of thy peace.

 Breathe through the heats of our desire
thy coolness and thy balm;
let sense be dumb, let flesh retire;
speak through the earthquake, wind, and fire,
O still, small voice of calm*! Amen.

*Fourth and fifth verses of Dear Lord and Father of Mankind by John Greenleaf Whittier  see at https://hymnary.org/text/dear_lord_and_father_of_mankind

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.

Who Do You Trust?

Ordinary Time

February 8, 2022

Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 17:5-10

Blessed are those who trust in the Lord,
   whose trust is the Lord.
They shall be like a tree planted by water,
   sending out its roots by the stream.
It shall not fear when heat comes,
   and its leaves shall stay green;
in the year of drought it is not anxious,
   and it does not cease to bear fruit. –Jeremiah 17:7-8

In the 1950s there was a game show on TV. Who do you trust? It required a couple to decide which one would answer the next question, the man or the woman, based on the question’s subject. Indeed, we each must make the decision whether we trust in the Lord, but we also gain trust in the Lord by sharing our personal experiences with others.

I love my Sunday School class for that reason, it includes business owners, schoolteachers, government workers, lawyers, engineers, nurses, each with a slightly different take on life. As I wrote this, I was reminded that that group of people are mostly well-educated middle class or above people. Reminding me I also value highly my experience in high school and college working as a waitress and nurses’ aide. Working with women in minimum wage jobs who were the sole support of their families was eye-opening. Some were young mother’s others were older women who were working outside the home for the first time in their lives because their spouse had died or become disabled. It certainly is not the same as living in their shoes but at least I knew they existed. When I worked in those jobs the minimum wage was about the same as the poverty level. Today the federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour and $2.13 an hour for persons receiving tips. The poverty wage for 1 person in Oklahoma is $6.13 and a living wage is $13.53. In all families with more than one person, the minimum wage is below the federal poverty level*.

During Jesus’s ministry, he went out of his way to open his disciples’ eyes to the needs of all people. Rich or poor and called us to love them all. I am sure you can trust that remains his goal for all his disciples today in a world where trust is in short supply.

Prayer: Lord, renew and restore our trust in following your example as we work to renew and restore the love we need for one another and all others.  Amen.

*https://livingwage.mit.edu/states/40

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.

Heart or Mind or Both

Ordinary Time

Heart vs Mind

February 7, 2022

Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 17:5-10

Thus says the Lord:
Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals
   and make mere flesh their strength,
   whose hearts turn away from the Lord.
They shall be like a shrub in the desert,
   and shall not see when relief comes.
They shall live in the parched places of the wilderness,
   in an uninhabited salt land.

The heart is devious above all else;
   it is perverse—
   who can understand it?
I the Lord test the mind
   and search the heart,
to give to all according to their ways,
   according to the fruit of their doings. –Jeremiah 17:5-6, 9-10

We need to remember that the authors of the Bible did not share the same knowledge base about human bodies that we understand today. For us, the heart is a pump that sends blood flowing through the body. in ancient times it was the word that represented the inner man, mind, will, with specific reference to moral character* We do continue some of that meaning when we celebrate Valentine’s Day with “heart” shaped cards that are not shaped like the heart at all. The Hebrew word translated mind here is the word for kidney. I have no idea how to consider that.

The question being considered is: are we ruled by our feelings or by facts? And the answer is both. Jeremiah quotes the Lord as saying that the Lord tests the mind and searches the heart and that is wise advice for us particularly in our world today. I find myself checking sources I trust when I read a statement of fact that does not seem reliable. At the least, I have found the information to be misleading or taken out of context. And sometimes it is just not true. Other language is loaded with wording designed to steer us away from facts and see from an emotional level. In these instances, we must indeed search our hearts to see if we can determine what triggered our emotional response and whether that response is valid for the situation at this time in this place. We carry a lot of baggage from past experiences that might make us wiser but also that could trigger a response that does not fit the current situation.

I also try to put decisions and actions to the test of love. Is my response to this statement, this issue, this event based on loving God and loving my neighbor as myself?

Prayer: Lord, enable me to clothe myself in the habit of seeking first your guidance and example when making decisions. Amen.

*https://biblehub.com/hebrew/3820.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.

Innovations

Ordinary Time

February 6, 2022

Scripture Reading: Luke 5:1-11

Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.’ Simon answered, ‘Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.’ When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!’ For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.’ When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.

“If You Always Do What You’ve Always Done, You’ll Always Get What You’ve Always Got.” ~ Henry Ford.

I thought of this quote when I heard on the news recently that the Ford Motor Company was making a major shift to electric vehicles. Henry would probably be proud that the company he founded remained innovative.

Jesus came to show us a better way that requires us to review our ways of following God to address the wellbeing of the entire world through love. God’s rules of living, many of us learned in childhood, are valid and still provide good guidance for all but they are not the final purpose. Following those rules possibly fostered the attitude of self-righteousness as epitomized by the Pharisees in Jesus’s time who worked hard at being better than others and even each other. They spun commonsense laws into rituals with other rules of their own making from how to wash feet to how to get out of caring for your parents if you donate to the Temple*. That made sense to the faith leaders because they were the ones who benefited from those donations. We have some folks like that today.

Jesus called us back to God’s first law, you shall have no other gods before me. (Exodus 20:3) To adhere to that law, we must invest a lifetime of learning about God and learning how to love like God. God even sent Jesus to model that behavior. It also means we must learn to identify and avoid the temptations of all those other gods that work hard to distract us from the ways of God.

Of course, loving God and working toward God’s goals did not end with the resurrection, we continue to receive guidance from the Holy Spirit and we carry on with finding new and better ways to build a world ruled by God’s love. The miracle in the story above wasn’t the huge catch of fish, it was the Simons and James that caught the fire of Jesus’s message and went on to change the world.  We stand in their boat today.

Prayer: Lord, the world is very discouraging today as we deal with a pandemic, climate control issues, and world discontent. Show us the innovations we need to make and give us the courage to initiate them. Amen.

*See Mark7:10-12

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.

Whatever It Takes

Ordinary Time

February 5, 2022

Scripture Reading: Luke 5:1-11

Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.’ Simon answered, ‘Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.’ When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!’ For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.’ When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.

How closely linked are our efforts, our good intentions to Christ’s plan? I am sure that Simon and the others with him were fishing according to accepted customs. While this event may be listed with miracles of Jesus or just a metaphor for entering the mission field, it also relates to the need to be in sync with God in all aspects of our lives. It may also suggest that the way we have always done something is not the only or best way to complete the task. I once worked with a computer programmer who hated to do the mundane tasks of transferring massive amounts of routine data to our data warehouse. It apparently was not hard to do, it was tedious and boring, but it had to be done on a routine basis for the people accessing the data warehouse to use the most current data. He preferred to create new programs that enhanced data use. They were generally all good ideas, but worthless if there was no data to access in the system.

We must continually assess and modify our work toward being the Body of Christ in the world today and building the Kingdom of God to make sure our work is hitting the mark toward our purpose. That may include doing the tedious, boring stuff as well as the aspects of our work that provide immediately recognizable rewards. Although a few of those outcomes along the way, help.

Prayer: Lord, give us a song in our hearts when we find ourselves doing the tedious, boring stuff in working toward the Kingdom of God and the joy of seeing, on occasion, positive outcomes of our work.  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.

Grace is Amazing

Ordinary Time

February 4, 2022

Scripture Reading:
1 Corinthians 15:1-11

For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to someone untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace towards me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them—though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you have come to believe. —1  Corinthians 15 3-11

The story of John Newton, author of the hymn Amazing Grace came to mind as I read Paul’s acknowledgment by the grace of God, I am what I am. After his conversion, Paul had to live with his history of persecuting Christians. When he wrote this as the person he had become, he was the primary leader responsible for taking Christ’s love and message to the gentiles and welcoming them as Christ’s followers. John Newton worked for years on slave ships and made his wealth in the slave trade until he too had a conversion experience that introduced him to God’s grace.

As followers of Christ, we are called to introduce others to the grace of God. We may first need to revisit our own experiences with God’s grace. We most likely never persecuted Christians or sold slaves. I fear our sins fall in the area of ignoring justice undone and allowing atrocities to happen. I watched with interest everyone’s consternation that all our foreign-made Christmas gifts were setting on delivery ships in the ocean and would not arrive in time for Christmas. We allowed that to happen and wound up in this mess because for years we have prospered through the near slave labor of the people manufacturing the things we want in those foreign countries. At the same time, our manufacturing jobs slipped away forcing more and more people into service jobs that do not pay living wages.  Justice cries out for all people to earn at least a living wage.

I am sure Paul and John Newton did much soul-searching throughout their lives. We, too, need to be humbled by the gift of grace God grants us as we sometimes stumble through becoming the person God created us to be. When needed we must be willing to offer grace to others.

Prayer: Lord, help me to see when acts of grace are needed on my part and to follow your lead and offer them. 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.

Go-To Scripture

Ordinary Time

February 3, 2022

Scripture Reading:
1 Corinthians 15:1-11

For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to someone untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace towards me has not been in vain.–1 Corinthians 15:3-11

Do you have a go-to scripture that you turn to when you need to be reminded who you are or whose you are? Mine is Psalm 63:1-7. I memorized it years ago from The New English Bible, published in 1961. I now stumble over it when I read it in any other translations. Memorizing allows me to access it immediately, particularly helpful in the middle of the night when I do not want to reach for my phone. I think the first few sentences of the above scripture were Paul’s go-to scripture. It concisely states the story and the purpose of Jesus, the Christ that drew Paul to share Christ’s story and message. The change in Paul’s life was recognizing Jesus as the Messiah. Two thousand plus years later, we still profit from Paul’s mission. Indeed, God calls us to send it forth for generations to come.

If you do not have a go-to scripture, I encourage you to identify one. We can even have more than one. Hebrews 4:12 says, Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Prayer: Lord, be ever near us through our study of scripture. 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.

Bonds of Love

Ordinary Time

February 2, 2022

Scripture Reading:
Psalm 138:1-3, 7-8

I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart;
   before the gods I sing your praise;
I bow down towards your holy temple
   and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness;
   for you have exalted your name and your word
   above everything.
On the day I called, you answered me,
   you increased my strength of soul.


Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
   you preserve me against the wrath of my enemies;
you stretch out your hand,
   and your right hand delivers me.
The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me;
   Do not forsake the work of your hands. –Psalm 138:1-3, 7-8

God created all for a purpose, and according to the Psalm above the Lord will fulfill that purpose. I must say I do not envy God’s tasks in that regard. The world works hard at distracting us from our purposes and can even be very destructive. I have stood over the bed of abused children on life supports and tried to understand a mother who held her infant’s feet and bottom in boiling water for what reason I never knew. I cannot fathom that God created these children to suffer in such a manner. Such incidents as these, no doubt, planted the seed of advocacy in my being.

When I was a child we sang, He’s got the whole world in his hands*. Children may have a better grasp of that theology than we adults do. God created an interdependent world that only works well when each of the elements in it fulfills their purposes and do not hinder any other from fulfilling theirs. God tethered those elements together with love. When the bonds of love break, we are all called to restore them by whatever means possible.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when the world distracts and misdirects us, restore our souls and our commitment to love like you. Amen.

*See at https://hymnary.org/text/hes_got_the_whole_world_in_his_hands

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

Ennui Leads to Destruction

Ordinary Times

February 1, 2022

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 6:9-13

And he said, ‘Go and say to this people:
“Keep listening, but do not comprehend;
keep looking, but do not understand.”
Make the mind of this people dull,
   and stop their ears,
   and shut their eyes,
so that they may not look with their eyes,
   and listen with their ears,
and comprehend with their minds,
   and turn and be healed.’
Then I said, ‘How long, O Lord?’ And he said:
‘Until cities lie waste
   without inhabitant,
and houses without people,
   and the land is utterly desolate
until the Lord sends everyone far away,
   and vast is the emptiness in the midst of the land.

Even if a tenth part remains in it,
   it will be burned again,
like a terebinth or an oak
   whose stump remains standing
   when it is felled.’

We are the cause of our own destruction. Fred Craddock, in a sermon I heard years ago, shared his thoughts about ennui—a French word incorporated into the American form of English. It means a feeling of weariness and dissatisfaction: languor or emptiness of spirit*. The essence of Craddock’s message was that God did not create us to live in such a state of being. God called us to lives of wholeness, fulness, and abundance. However, we choose to target our greatest talents and skills in all the wrong directions—greed instead of generosity, self-righteousness replacing justice. José Andrés is an outstanding chef and successful in business. Since starting his relief organization, World Central Kitchen, 10 years ago, Chef José Andrés has helped serve more than 50 million meals to people impacted by natural disasters around the globe, from hurricanes and earthquakes to wildfires and even a volcanic eruption**. We all have seen former president Jimmy Carter building Habitat for Humanity houses always with a smile on his face. Mother Teresa had the tenacity to soar to the top of politics, yet she chose to serve and advocate for the poor. None of these people wallowed in languor or emptiness of spirit. Neither should any of us.

Prayer: Lord, when we find ourselves in despair, open the windows of opportunity that show us the way to fullness of spirit.  Amen.

*https://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/en%C2%B7nui

**https://www.shondaland.com/act/a35618726/chef-jose-andres-serves-up-hope-and-a-helping-hand/#:~:text=Since%20starting%20his%20relief%20organization,and%20even%20a%20volcanic%20eruption.

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 Messengers

Ordinary Time

January 31, 2022

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 6:1-8

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. And one called to another and said:
‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory.’
The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke. And I said: ‘Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!’

Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: ‘Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I; send me!’

I stopped to imagine the Seraphs described above and wondered if any artists had attempted to draw it. Most pictures that I found dealt in abstraction, but a couple attempted a likeness. One such picture is featured above. We take for granted today’s flight without pilots having the ability to see where they were going. In the 7th century BC, the idea of sightless flying was most likely tied to the guidance of the Divine.

How does God speak to us today? The Man of La Mancha, musical addresses that question in the second verse of The Impossible Dream,

To right the unrightable wrong
And to love pure and chaste from afar
To try when your arms are to weary
To reach the unreachable star

Our calling is to identify the unrightable wrongs and seek God’s guidance and power to correct them. Isaiah tried to save Israel from its unrightable wrongs as did other prophets and the people stubbornly refused to turn to God’s ways. Time will tell if we follow God or face the consequences if we do not.

Prayer: Lord, let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. (Amos 5:24) Amen.

Second verse of The Impossible Dream by Leigh Mitch / Darion Joseph, The Impossible Dream lyrics © Helena Music Company, Andrew Scott Music, Helena Music Corp. See at https://www.google.com/search?q=the+impossible+dream+lyrics&rlz=1C1VDKB_enUS987US987&sxsrf=APq-WBvgCIb1irM5m3aM56we2YigDoqcEA%3A1643579189923&ei=NQf3YdTVN-amqtsPq9CXgAY&oq=right+an+unrightable+wrong&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAEYADIHCAAQRxCwAzIHCAAQRxCwAzIHCAAQRxCwAzIHCAAQsAMQHkoFCDwSATFKBAhBGABKBAhGGABQAFgAYPIZaAFwAXgAgAEAiAEAkgEAmAEAyAEEwAEB&sclient=gws-wiz

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.