Author Archives: WOJ@deborahsdescendants.com

Here Am I Send Me

Ordinary Time

January 30, 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.

What do we put first in our lives? What are our priorities? Where does God fall in our plan for our lives? How invested are we in sharing the love of God to the ends of the earth? How hard do we work to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God*? If Jesus called us from our work, would we leave everything and follow him?

We are not all called to be full-time pastors, God does call us to be full-time Christ-followers. In fact, being in the world, working, going to school, volunteering gives us opportunities to answer that call in very meaningful ways. We do not have to do everything, but we do need to do something as well as possible to share the love of God with others and to create a world ruled by love.

Prayer: Lord, open our eyes to see where you need us most and guide us in following you wherever you call us.  Amen.

*Derived from Micah 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.

Called to Serve

January 29, 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.

Jesus understood he needed a diversity of disciples to carry out God’s plan for God’s people.  Paul put it this way in Romans 12:1-5, For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another.

I once worked in a hospital that was being rebuilt while conducting its mission. That resulted in the main parking lot’s closure requiring much of the staff to walk several blocks from a temporary lot located in a high crime area at all hours of the day. Most of the janitorial staff were women over 50, many did not have the appropriate clothing for the weather. The elite parking places near the entrance of the building were reserved for doctors, residents, and interns, most, at that time, were males in the prime of their lives. In a staff meeting, the issue of the long, unsafe walk arose. The leaders said the doctors are the most important staff in the hospital. Lives depended on their presence. To which one in attendance replied, “if the surgical theater was not spotlessly clean, the work of a surgeon could be meaningless.” There was silence and finally the comment “we will look into it.” That same week two vans began picking up and returning employees to the distant parking lot on a regular schedule.

God created an interdependent world where everyone has a purpose and is needed to fulfill God’s vision of God’s kingdom here on earth.

Prayer: Lord, enable us each to serve you as you have called us and enable us to work together in shalom. 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.

Learning from Mistakes

Ordinary Time

cycle to reach success: try, fail, try again, success

January 28, 2022

Scripture Reading: Hebrews 2:14-18

Since, therefore, the children share flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared the same things, so that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death. For it is clear that he did not come to help angels, but the descendants of Abraham. Therefore he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself was tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested.

It took guts for God to create humans and grant them free will. God could have basked in a Garden-of-Eden world where all things were bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small, all things wise and wonderful, the Lord God made them all*. Why do we suppose God created humans? Did God long for pardners in God’s quest to create a more dynamic world with beings who could also create along with God and spread love and be loved in return? Was God so perplexed by human’s inability to escape the temptations of the world that God needed to understand being human? Through Jesus God experienced being human and learned the test of temptation and God gave us a reboot? With the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, the Christ, we gained salvation and grace. We have a loving Creator God who recognized the need for humans to have second chances which we must choose to take and not remain in the cycle of Groundhogs Day**.

They say there’s a universal plan
For every woman, for every man
I do believe there’s a higher power
But in our darkest hour it’s hard to understand
So we start to question, start to doubt
We lose faith in what life’s all about
Why did the right road take the wrong turn
Why did our heart break, why’d we get burned
Just like the seasons there are reasons for the path we take
There are no mistakes
Just lessons to be learned***

Prayer: Lord, give us the guts to learn from our mistakes and take advantage of your second changes until we do not need them anymore. Amen.

*First verse of All Things Bright and Beautiful by Cecil Frances Alexander see at https://hymnary.org/text/each_little_flower_that_opens#Author

**https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groundhog_Day_(film)

***First verse and chorus to song Lessons to be Learned by Gazeley / Malamet / Rich see at https://www.google.com/search?q=lessons+to+be+learned+barbra+streisand+lyrics&rlz=1C1VDKB_enUS987US987&sxsrf=APq-WBvmA1VgseLRLx3vKIfKQuCbR4hQLg%3A1643381883802&ei=ewT0YcWtMPyoqtsP2bq7uA4&oq=Lessons+to+be+learned&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAEYADIHCCMQsAMQJzIHCCMQsAMQJzIHCAAQRxCwAzIHCAAQRxCwAzIHCAAQRxCwAzIHCAAQRxCwAzIHCAAQRxCwAzIHCAAQRxCwAzIHCAAQRxCwAzIMCC4QyAMQsAMQQxgAMgwILhDIAxCwAxBDGABKBQg8EgExSgQIQRgASgQIRhgAUABYAGC-G2gBcAJ4AIABAIgBAJIBAJgBAMgBC8ABAdoBBAgAGAg&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.

God’s Abundance

Ordinary Time

January 27, 2022

Scripture Reading: Hebrews 2:14-18

Since, therefore, the children share flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared the same things, so that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death. For it is clear that he did not come to help angels, but the descendants of Abraham. Therefore he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself was tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested.

Have we lost the art of empathy and compassion? Are we trading it for self-rightlessness and greed as we are encouraged on every side to think we are better than others, and that others are people we should fear? Franklin Roosevelt cautioned the people caught in the snares of deep depression and drought that the only thing we have to fear is…fear itself.

The Hebrews scripture above tells us that Christ did not come to help angels but flesh and blood people—that is us. Why did we need help? The people of God had training from the beginning in how to live a life that would serve the tests of time. God sent prophets to remind our ancestors in the faith of God’s formula for an abundant life. Yet, many longed for the world’s definition of abundance rather than God’s, and each time, too late, they learned the error of their way.

I suppose we have always had some element of such distractions but today we are surely caught in not only a viral pandemic but also a pandemic of the soul. God’s ways are still out there for us to follow, Christ’s messages are readily available, but are we willing to seek God’s higher ground?

Prayer: Lord, open our lives to living in your abundance. 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.

Restore Our Souls

Ordinary Time

January 26, 2022

Scripture Reading: Psalm 84

For a day in your courts is better
   than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
   than live in the tents of wickedness.
For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
   he bestows favor and honor.
No good thing does the Lord withhold
   from those who walk uprightly.
O Lord of hosts,
   happy is everyone who trusts in you. –Psalm 84:10-12

The Lord is brighter than the sun and more protective than the strongest shield. Envision a group of people waiting on a hillside for the sun to come over the horizon. A wonderful explosion of color surrounds it until it rises high enough and becomes so bright one cannot look at it without the help of sunglasses.

 The title of J. B. Phillips’s book, Your God Is Too Small, flashes through my mind when I read scriptures like this one. Scriptures like this give me great hope that God will restore us to wholeness from our wandering ways. I have become very cynical during the COVID pandemic because of our response to it. We seem caught in a web of total denial unable to deal with the reality that is around us. Our self-righteousness may be catching up with us. We have lived in a favored state for so long we forget the blood, sweat, and tears our ancestors experienced creating the privilege we now see as normal. Indeed, to whom much is given, much will be required (Luke 12:48)  We have millions of fellow citizens who do not have enough of the basic needs of life and we have a world full of starving people longing for the people of God to relieve their suffering so that they might too enjoy setting under a rising sun with the protection of God’s love.

Prayer: O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
   give ear, O God of Jacob!
Behold our shield, O God;
  look on the face of your anointed*. 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.

Rebuilding

Ordinary Time

January 25, 2022

Scripture Reading:

Jeremiah 1:4-10
‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.’
Then I said, ‘Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.’ But the Lord said to me,
‘Do not say, “I am only a boy”;
for you shall go to all to whom I send you,
and you shall speak whatever I command you.
Do not be afraid of them,
for I am with you to deliver you
says the Lord.’
Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the Lord said to me,
‘Now I have put my words in your mouth.
See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms,
to pluck up and to pull down,
to destroy and to overthrow,
to build and to plant.’

What in our lives do we need to pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow? Those are harsh words of action.  Pluck means to take hold of something and quickly move it from its place. The word pluck reminds me of the unpleasant task of removing the feathers from a dead chicken before it could be cooked. Pulling down probably refers to tearing down a building, destroying means to turn something like a building into ashes, and overthrowing means removing and replacing one in control. However, I do not think these are the concerns of Jeremiah. He is using symbolism to suggest how people need to change and change drastically if they are going to get out of the mess in which they find themselves. We are in such a situation today. We each need to consider what is holding us back from creating the Kingdom God envisioned for us when God sent Jesus, the Christ, to us for the purpose of remolding us to be the people we are totally capable of being. We have moved a long way from that standard, and it will take serious intentional change to live into that vision.

The final phrase, to build and to plant, is our source of hope. Once we clear out the rubble, we can rebuild and plant needs seeds of love.

Prayer: Lord, help us examine ourselves and our communities of faith to find your path and follow it as we rebuild and renew our love and act within it. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Let Your Light Shine

Ordinary Time

January 24, 2022

Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 1:4-10
 ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.’
Then I said, ‘Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.’ But the Lord said to me,
‘Do not say, “I am only a boy”;
for you shall go to all to whom I send you,
and you shall speak whatever I command you.
Do not be afraid of them,
for I am with you to deliver you,
says the Lord.’
Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the Lord said to me,
‘Now I have put my words in your mouth.
See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms,
to pluck up and to pull down,
to destroy and to overthrow,
to build and to plant.’

One of the few bright spots in our world today is the actions of youth and young adults to make the world we live in a better place. From world-renowned advocates for peace, Malala Yousaf and for climate change, Greta Thunberg, to Amanda Gorman who recited her poem, The Hill We Clime, at the Biden inauguration, young adults are taking responsibility for making the world a better place. There are also those who show up and take charge of the small, community-related issues. I saw a teenager filling holes in the streets in front of his home on TV a few months ago, and youth through their own initiative trying to end school shootings. Jeremiah was one such young adult who accepted the call to warn his nation of its folly. We can learn a lot from the study of the book of Jeremiah, and we can learn a lot from the example of the young people in our world today setting the example for us adults.

Prayer: Lord, let our light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven*. Amen.

*Derived from Matthew 5:16

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.

Ministry of Justice

Ordinary Time

January 23, 2022

Scripture Reading: Luke 4:14-21

When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:
‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
   because he has anointed me
     to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
   and recovery of sight to the blind,
     to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to say to them, ‘Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’  –Luke 4:16-21

The text for Jesus’s first sermon was Isaiah 58:6, and 61:1-2 quoted above. They outline his ministry’s purpose—bringing justice to the poor, captives, blind, and to letting the oppressed go free. These remain our goals today. We have failed repeatedly to maintain justice.  We live in the richest nation in the world and yet $140 million people* live in poverty or are one crisis away from poverty. Former students remain in low-income situations because of interest rates making payback of loans a lifelong commitment. They are captives to a system designed to make the rich richer not to lift people out of poverty. It is interesting that Jesus chose the blind to highlight. Besides returning sight to the blind, It may mean he came to open all people’s eyes to disparities in our world and how we drift away from the core of God’s plan for all creation. Oppression continues in the USA, for example, Black male offenders continued to receive longer sentences than similarly situated White male offenders**.  According to Bureau of Labor Statistics data, in 2020, women’s annual earnings were 82.3% of men’s, and the gap is even wider for women of color.

I invite you to join me in a season of prayer for our nation and our world as we seek to discern what kind of world in which we want to live, during this election year.

Prayer: Lord, Open my eyes that I may see glimpses of truth thou hast for me, Spirit divine!*** Amen.

*For more information see https://wwSeew.poorpeoplescampaign.org/140-million-maps/

** see https://www.ussc.gov/research/research-reports/demographic-differences-sentencing

Derived from hymn Open My Eyes by Clara H. Scott see at https://hymnary.org/text/open_my_eyes_that_i_may_see

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.

What Is Truth?

Ordinary Time

January 22, 2022

Scripture Reading:
Luke 4:14-21

Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone. –Luke 4:14-15

This scripture describes how Jesus came back from wandering in the wilderness where he was tempted by the devil. He, applying the teachings of his faith and taking advantage of the gifts of the Spirit, was able to withstand the willy creature and returned to begin his ministry. That did not mean Jesus was never tempted again. However, he learned from experience where help was when he needed it. Those same sources of help are available to us today as we commune with God.

When I was in grade school my dad was committed to a popular radio minister who offered a correspondence course that dad received in the mail. We spent evenings, where I read the lessons aloud at his behest.  Each lesson was carefully written with what the author discerned as important presented in bold print. Even at the age of ten, I was cynical of these teachings and my greatest act of defiance was never to read the bolded sections with emphasis. Two good outcomes resulted. I developed skills at reading allowed and the drive to test everything I read or heard for its veracity– devotion to the truth. The older I get the more I understand the Spirit guides me toward finding and understanding truth.  For me, the most profound measure of truth is whether the situation being assessed passes the test of love.

We find ourselves in a world where truth is evasive and lying is treated like truth if one can get away with it. At times my mind flashes back to the scene in John 18 where Jesus says ‘You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.’  and Pilate says, ‘What is truth?’

Make no mistake truth is stronger than all the evil in the world and truth does exist.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for the gift of the Spirit and turning awkward situations into positive lessons learned. 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.

Make Me a Blessing

Ordinary Times

January 21, 2022

Scripture Reading:

Romans 12:9-21

Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’ No, ‘if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. –Romans 12:9-21

To bless means to confer what is beneficial*. Confer means 1) to hold conversation or conference now typically on important, difficult, or complex matters: to compare views: to take counsel,  2) to grant or bestow (something) from or as if from a position of authority, 3) to give or yield (a property, characteristic, or quality, especially an advantageous one) to someone or something**.

Bless the Lord, O my soul,
   and all that is within me,
   bless his holy name. (Psalm 103:1)

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them (Romans 12:14a)

While it may seem contradictory in terms, God calls us both to bless the Lord and bless those who persecute us. They are not contradictory. When we do what is beneficial for others, we benefit God. Behaving in such a manner is a habit we must cultivate requiring us to see others as Christ would see them through the pain and fears that are causing them to persecute. How can we turn a negative encounter with another into something that dispels their vulnerabilities and moves them a step closer to wholeness without damaging them further and without compromising what is just and merciful? Maintaining a close relationship with God and staying in tune with the Holy Spirit are the drivers of our ability to be a blessing to others. It is in God’s blessings including those sent through us and others, that the Kingdom of God will be realized.

Prayer: Lord, strengthen each of your servants to be a blessing especially when it is the very last thing we want to do. Amen.

*https://biblehub.com/greek/2127.htm

** https://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/confer

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.