Author Archives: WOJ@deborahsdescendants.com

Updating our Covenant

Christmastide

December 30, 2021

Scripture Reading: Ephesians 1:3-14

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. –Ephesians 1:3-10

English is a complicated language with the same word sometimes having several usages. For example, the term “bless” is a verb the word “blessed” can be either an adjective or noun. When I read the above scripture, a weird question popped into my mind: who could bless God? So, I checked dictionaries and got way in over my head. However, I was pleased to read in Merriam-Webster, when used as an adjective, blessed could mean worthy of adoration. God certainly is. The first word of the scripture quoted above, translated as “Blessed,” is derived from the Greek word eulogētós, and this is its only use in Bible.

2128 /eulogētós (“blessed”) is only used of God the Father and Christ (God the Son), showing the Godhead is worthy of all our commitment. Indeed, only God is inherently praiseworthy, deserving every “good acknowledgment“!

We are a blessing to God when we fulfill our commitments to God to the very best of our ability. We attain that by first making a commitment to God. In our world, we might think of that as a contract. In such instances, one entity agrees to do this if the other does something in return. God, however, prefers to work in covenant with people.

Covenant: the promises of God as revealed in the Scriptures conditioned on certain terms on the part of humanity (as obedience, repentance, and faith): such as

a: an agreement regarded as having been made between God and Israel whereby Israel was to be faithful to God and God was to protect and bless his faithful people

b: a promise regarded as having been enacted by God and granting redemption and salvation to humanity through the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ***

With Jesus Christ, we entered into a New Covenant, a promise of redemption by God to people as individuals rather than as a nation and on the basis of God’s grace rather than a person’s adherence to the law***.

As we prepare for a new year, let us take the time to make and review our commitments to God, map out our way to meet those commitments, and follow through with the plan while maintaining a close relationship with the Holy Spirit to guide and direct us through the whole process.

Prayer: Lord, here am I send me. Amen.

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

**https://biblehub.com/greek/2128.htm

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

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.

Oneness not Sameness

Christmastide

December 29, 2021

Scripture Reading:
Psalm 147:12-20

Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem!
   Praise your God, O Zion!
For he strengthens the bars of your gates;
   he blesses your children within you.
He grants peace within your borders;
   he fills you with the finest of wheat.
He sends out his command to the Earth;
   his word runs swiftly.
He gives snow like wool;
   he scatters frost like ashes.
He hurls down hail like crumbs—
   who can stand before his cold?
He sends out his word, and melts them;
   he makes his wind blow, and the waters flow.
He declares his word to Jacob,
   his statutes and ordinances to Israel.
He has not dealt thus with any other nation;
   they do not know his ordinances.
Praise the Lord!

I learned the word ethnocentric in my first semester of college Sociology 103 course. The Greek word ethnos means “nation” or “people.” So, ethnocentricity shows itself in a lack of respect for other ways of life, and an ethnocentric person feels that his or her own nation or group is the cultural center of the world*. The above Psalm reeks with ethnocentricity from gated communities to expecting all who enter our nation must know and follow our laws. The challenge for those of us who live in the United States is that we are an amalgamation of every nation in the world to lesser and greater degrees. I was amazed the first year I lived in Colorado. I went to buy black-eyed peas for New Year’s dinner only to find out, I thought, they were sold out. When I inquired if there were any in the back, they assured me they did not stock them at all. What kind of year do they have if they do not eat black-eyed peas on New Year’s day?

I know that this is heresy for some, but I do not accept either the Doctrine of Discovery or Manifest Destiny as carried out in our country. God may well have allowed us to develop to demonstrate for the world that people can live together in diversity, even learn from each other’s traditions and values. Sameness is not Christ’s Oneness. The people of the United States need to take this role very seriously, for it is a fundamental value of God’s Kingdom on Earth.

Prayer: Gracious God, forgive us when we presume superiority, shine your light on our relationships with others so we can see how your Oneness works and strive to follow it. Amen.

* https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ethnocentric

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.

One with God

Christmastide

December 28, 2021

Scripture Reading:
Jeremiah 31:10-14

Hear the word of the Lord, O nations,
   and declare it in the coastlands far away;
say, ‘He who scattered Israel will gather him,
   and will keep him as a shepherd a flock.’
For the Lord has ransomed Jacob,
   and has redeemed him from hands too strong for him.
They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion,
   and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the Lord,
over the grain, the wine, and the oil,
   and over the young of the flock and the herd;
their life shall become like a watered garden,
   and they shall never languish again.
Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance,

   and the young men and the old shall be merry.
I will turn their mourning into joy,
   I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.
I will give the priests their fill of fatness,
   and my people shall be satisfied with my bounty,

says the Lord.

Israel fell to the pandemics of greed and lust for power, ending in exile. Jeremiah tried to assure them that God remained with them even in their folly and would return them to wholeness if they turned back to the Lord. This is one of the sadist things I have ever written, particularly immediately following the celebration of the birth of Christ. Although Jeremiah’s Israel had only the promise of the Messiah’s coming, we were blessed to be the recipients of his teaching and modeling love and his gift of grace and love in his life, death, and resurrection.  We follow the wrong paths as our ancestors in faith did. They should have known better because God sent prophets to warn them. We definitely should know better since we have a living Savior to guide and direct us if we can just turn away from that which distracts and isolates us from the ways of God’s love.

We will never fully address pandemics like COVID or stubborn problems like poverty and climate change if we do not seek the cure for the pandemics of greed and lust for power in our world today. Many of our elected officials have been bought by wealthy donors, but we seem to admire them for it and envy their wealth. The entrepreneurs of greed and power work hard at dividing and conquering us to our detriment. Paul addressed such divisions in Galatians 3:28. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. That oneness in Christ Jesus was in his prayer before his crucifixion as recorded in John 17:22-23 as he talks to God, The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

We can blame the politicians and others for our plight, but we must remember we elected them or allowed them to be elected because we did not bother to vote. Therefore, they no longer need us to support them and are doing everything in their power to take voters that do not help them out of the elections. If we do not reclaim our democracy by voting, we will find ourselves in an exile of our own making. To do that, we need to restore our faith in God and learn to be one with all of God’s children.

Prayer: God, forgive us for being tricked by people who use us for their aggrandizement. Please lead us to your oneness and heal the prejudices that divide us.  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.

Blessings

Christmastide

December 27, 2021

Scripture Reading:

Numbers 6:22-27

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the Israelites: you shall say to them,
The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.
So they shall put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.

I was introduced to this beautiful blessing early in life. It tells us that we are always God’s children. To bless means to make sacred, and keep means to retain forever. The light of God shines on us so that we can see our way forward. For example, I had to get a new thermostat some months ago, and the one installed had a more prominent face. During the day, it is hardly noticeable, but at night it illuminates the whole room well enough for me to find my way when darkness is all around me. The face of God provides such light on all we do. God being gracious to us indicates God’s gift of grace filling in the blank space between where we are and where we should be related to kindness and courtesy.

As a child, I most likely did not understand the word countenance. It means one’s mood, emotions, or character. For God to project those traits on us is an interesting circumstance to consider. When God is pleased with us, we will welcome his countenance. I am reminded of the scene when Jesus drove the money lenders out of the temple, which was undoubtedly an expression of God’s countenance. That took courage on the part of Jesus. Would we have the tenacity to do such a thing? And how would we have felt had we been one of the money traders?

The blessing follows the countenance challenge with the promise of peace or shalom where we are granted completeness, soundness, wellbeing.

Prayer: Lord, we thank you for your blessings and dedication to our wellbeing. 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.

Communicating

Christmastide

December 26, 2021

Scripture Reading: Luke 2:41-52

Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival. When the festival was ended and they started to return, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. Assuming that he was in the group of travelers, they went a day’s journey. Then they started to look for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished; and his mother said to him, ‘Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety.’ He said to them, ‘Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?’ But they did not understand what he said to them. Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart.

And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favor.

I have a grandnephew who has never met a stranger. I walked down the nursing home hall where my mother lived with him once when he was eight. An elderly lady dressed in a nightgown using a cane walked toward us. She saw him and cried out, “It’s my grandson,” and headed straight for him. He hugged her around the waist and said, “How are you?” She was delighted. He indicated he had to leave and see someone else, and we continued to my mom’s room. I asked him who the lady was; he said he had never seen her before but thought she needed a hug from her grandson. Since he was not there, my grandnephew hugged her. I was not surprised at his behavior; I had a dad who had never met a stranger. His brother married a woman while stationed on the east coast during World War II. When he was called up to go overseas, he arranged for his wife to live with his mother. My mother picked her up at the train station and took her to my grandmother’s house, where the three women had a cordial, polite conversation for several hours but did not learn much about her each other. Later, when my dad joined them, my mother reported that Dad knew his new sister-in-law’s life story within the hour. Gregarious is probably the best word to describe this behavior, and I believe Jesus was gregarious from birth.

All are not born with that talent, and some people are not open to sharing so informally with others. The stories of Jesus indicate that from an early age, he read people well, was gregarious with those who welcomed it, and was more reserved with those who did not. In either case, he was a good listener and radared in his behavior that he cared about the people whose lives he touched. That included his parents when he realized at the age of 12 that he had caused them much distress, so he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them

We are called to develop good communications habits based on who we are and find the best ways to reach out to others using our God-given skills, sharing the love of God with them through our love.

Prayer: Lord, Help us develop the skills you have provided us and use them in your service. 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.

Perfect Love

Christmas

December 25, 2021

Scripture Reading: John 1:10-14

[Christ] was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.

The Bible is our primary source of human observation of the history of God, including the coming of the Christ child. Yet John is trying to tell us there is much more to the story recorded in the Bible or anything written since that shares human experiences with God. John describes Christ as the Word we are to follow. The measure of God’s message is determined by whether it passes the test of love. We, indeed, must immerse ourselves in the stories of God, Jesus’s teachings and example, his death, and resurrection that has been passed to us over the years. But, even with those, we must seek love’s path. Such study requires us to call on God to guide us and help us understand the meaning of “love” as Christ lived it as what John describes as the Word.

Today we celebrate the coming of the Word into the world. Let this be a time to recommit our lives to expanding our understanding of the Word and molding our lives to follow the Word more closely.

In the bleak midwinter
Frosty wind made moan
Earth stood hard as iron
Water like a stone
Snow had fallen
Snow on snow on snow
In the bleak midwinter
Long, long ago
Angels and Arc Angels
May have traveled there
Cherubim and Seraphim
Thronged the air
But only his Mother
In her maiden bliss
Worshiped the beloved
With a kiss
What can I give him?
Poor as I am
If I were a shepherd
I would give a lamb
If I were a wise man
I would do my part
But what I can I give him
Give him my heart
Give him my heart*

Prayer: Thank you, God, for sending your Son the greatest gift we will ever receive. Amen.

*Hymn In the Bleak Midwinter  by Christina Rossetti and Gustav Holst

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.

Love Came Down at Christmas

Advent

December 24, 2021

Scripture Reading: John 1:1-5

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

What would life be like without God? We exalt God as being omnipotent—all-powerful, omniscient—all-knowing, and omnipresent—always with us. However, the overriding character that makes these descriptors meaningful is that God is love. We have seen examples of leaders who momentarily ruled as if they were greater than anyone else throughout history. Most turned their power into authoritarianism, using the people to enhance their wealth and power. God created the world based on the premise that it works best when God’s love for us is accepted, returned, and reflected outward toward all of God’s creation.

We get into trouble when we seek to possess the powers of God without that foundation of love. In everything we do, we must make a habit of considering whether our actions pass the test of love. Jesus, the Christ, was sent not only to teach us about love but to demonstrate it in all that he did. Understanding Jesus’s ways give us the tools we need to live and love as he does.

Love came down at Christmas,
love all lovely, Love divine;
Love was born at Christmas;
star and angels gave the sign.
Worship we the Godhead,
Love incarnate, Love divine;
worship we our Jesus,
but wherewith for sacred sign?

Love shall be our token;
love be yours and love be mine;
love to God and others,
love for plea and gift and sign*.

Prayer: Lord, help me develop the habit of testing my actions and words against the example of love Jesus set for all. Amen.

*Poem Love Came Down at Christmas by Christina Georgina Rossetti

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.

Blessed

Advent

Scripture Reading: Hebrews 1:1-4, (5-12)

Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds. He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. –Hebrews 1:1-4

On the evening sports, I watched Tiger Woods hugging his son after coming in second in some father/son golf tournament and saw the love from both as they walked off the green together. Earlier in the year, Tiger was nearly killed in a terrible car accident and faced the possibility of losing one of his legs. That event changed them both. Both recalculated what is most valuable in life.

As we look forward to celebrating the coming of God with Us in the form of the infant Jesus, let us envision the love God has for God’s Son and how much the Son loved God. God’s giving Jesus as the Christ is the greatest gift we will ever receive. Jesus willingly modeled the way of love in his life, death, and resurrection, is the greatest blessing of all.

Children have always been our future. Therefore, we must invest our better selves in providing them with the faith, hope, and love that will prepare them for whatever calamity they may meet and how to make the best of their skills and talents to create the world God envisioned for us at creation. I mentioned calamity first because we seem to be surrounded by it now with pandemics, violent storms and other challenges of climate change, violence on the streets, and poverty in all our communities. However, our commitment to using our skills and talents as partners in God’s Kingdom prepares us to deal well with calamity and blessings.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for your saving grace and the gift of your Son as a model of how we are to 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.

Sing a New Song

Advent

December 22, 2021

Scripture Reading: Psalm 98

O sing to the Lord a new song,
   for he has done marvelous things.
His right hand and his holy arm
   have gained him victory.
The Lord has made known his victory;
   he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations.
He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness
   to the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen
   the victory of our God.

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth;
   break forth into joyous song and sing praises.
Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre,
   with the lyre and the sound of melody.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
   make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord. –Psalm 98:1-6

I am ready to sing a new song or, for that matter, to sing at all. My church returned to in-person worship in September, and our choir was present in masks and socially distanced, but it was a joy to hear them sing. We are trying to be very diligent about following such precautions because we do not want to go back to our homes and computers. Yet we learned much from experience. We continue to live stream our services because those homebound enjoy the service. We have added hybrid Sunday School with people in the classroom and some on Zoom. Singing a new song has its challenges but is also rather refreshing. I attended a seminar on worship several years ago where the speaker said it was essential to maintain some routine in worship, or people would spend most of their time figuring out what was happening and forgetting to worship. It was equally necessary to insert one change somewhere in each service so people would not go through the motions and forget to worship.

As we move closer to Christmas Day, let us add something each day to our routine to remind us what we are celebrating and why.

Prayer: Lord, teach us a new song as all kinds of challenges overcome our lives. Help us meet each one with the knowledge that You are with us. 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.

Work of Love

Advent

December 21, 2021

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 52:7-10

How beautiful upon the mountains
   are the feet of the messenger who announces peace,
who brings good news,
   who announces salvation,
   who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns.’
Listen! Your sentinels lift up their voices,
   together they sing for joy;
for in plain sight they see
   the return of the Lord to Zion.
Break forth together into singing,
   you ruins of Jerusalem;
for the Lord has comforted his people,
   he has redeemed Jerusalem.
The Lord has bared his holy arm
   before the eyes of all the nations;
and all the ends of the earth shall see
   the salvation of our God.

A wood stove heated our home when I was a child. One of my first jobs on the farm was to carry an arm full of kindling to the house while my Dad had an armload of heavy wood cut to the size that would fit in the stove. I remember well my Dad unbuttoning the sleeves of his shirt and rolling them up his arm to give him more power to cut the long logs into stove-size fuel. He had muscular arms and raised the ax high above his head, bringing it down in a swift and powerful chop. The phrase to roll up one’s sleeves and get busy stems from such work. Isaiah may be using that analogy when he writes that The Lord has bared his holy arm, indicating he has done, is doing God’s work and perhaps raising the question, are we?

God did not send Jesus to save God’s people to sit on our laurels—to be satisfied with past success and do nothing to achieve further success. God had a definite plan when the world was created based on love and interdependence. When God’s people resist doing their part, God sent prophets to remind us who we are and what our purpose is. God finally sent God’s Son as the ultimate gift of grace and salvation.

I like the imagery of rolling up one’s sleeves and getting to work for those who want to rest on laurels. The Lord set the example for us when he bared his holy arm. Isaiah might not have known how prophetic he was when he wrote this poem, but one cannot help but envision Jesus’s bare arms stretched on a cross on our behalf. Jesus called us as disciples to continue the work that God expected for us. As we celebrate such a gift as this, let us roll up our sleeves and love the world into becoming the Kingdom God desired.

Prayer: Lord, help us see where love is needed and guide us in filling the gaps.  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.