Author Archives: WOJ@deborahsdescendants.com

Proactive Love

Living in the Spirit

August 28, 2021

Scripture Reading:
Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him, they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them. (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands, thus observing the g tradition of the elders; and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash it; and there are also many other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles.) So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, ‘Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?’ He said to them, ‘Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written,
“This people honors me with their lips,
   but their hearts are far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
   teaching human precepts as doctrines.”
You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.’ –Mark 7:1-8

The experts recommend washing hands and using hand sanitizer as a response to the COVID pandemic. The use of social distancing, mask-wearing, and hand washing has proved to be a boon in preventing other contagious diseases. I have bad sinuses, and sometime in March, when they are at their worst responding to allergens, I had few problems at all. I attributed that to the COVID precautions and will be wearing my masks this fall to protect from allergens. Many of the religious rituals like hand washing became standard practice probably because observant people recognized that disease was reduced when hands were washed. And that was a good thing. I have always thought the rules about not eating pork grew out of recognizing that eating pork killed people. We now know that it was not the pork but the worms, Trichinosis, inhabiting the pigs that were the deadly culprit. Changing cooking methods killed the worms and made pork safer to eat.

When we read this, most of us think we should wash our hands before we handle food. That is not Jesus’ point. Jesus wants us to be healthy but being precautious about germs or worms is not a substitute for the commandment of God. Jesus told us the overriding commandment of all is loving God and loving one’s neighbor as oneself. Indeed, one way we can love our neighbors is not to expose them to deadly diseases. God expects more out of us than obeying healthy habits or not, especially when it involves protecting our neighbors and ourselves from harm’s way.

Prayer: Lord, help us make your priorities our priorities. 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.

Being Doers of the Word

Living in the Spirit

August 27, 2021

Scripture Reading:
James 1:17-27

But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; for they look at themselves and, ongoing away, immediately forget what they were like. But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act—they will be blessed in their doing.

If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. –James 1:22-27

The great thing about God is God created each of us with diverse skills and talents. These many attributes allow us to complement each other’s gifts as doers of the word resulting in wholeness, oneness, and justice for all God’s children. Diversity is sometimes messy. It requires us to love one another enough to recognize, enable, and celebrate our varied ways of serving God. Micah’s instruction, perhaps admonition, provides good guidance.  

He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
   and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
   and to walk humbly with your God? –Micah 6:8

I do not think one can intentionally be humble. Humility is a state of being that exists when one is truly at home with being the person God created them to be while fully appreciating the role of others in God’s scheme of life.

Prayer: Help us look for and appreciate the gifts of all people as we work together doing your word.  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.

Lights Removing the Shadows

Living in the Spirit

August 26, 2021

Scripture Reading:
James 1:17-27

Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. In fulfilment of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures.

You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; for your anger does not produce God’s righteousness. Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls. –James 1:17-21

The scripture above is the only one I could find in the NRSV version of the Bible that calls God the Father of lights. Genesis tells us that God was the creator of light. The book of John describes and emphasizes Jesus as the Light of the World. God’s lights allow for no shadows—no gray areas.

We often find ourselves hiding in the shadows of our world. We do not want to acknowledge what we see but do not want to see. Isaiah 6:9 records God instructing Isiah to ‘Go and say to this people:

“Keep listening, but do not comprehend; keep looking, but do not understand.” Matthew 13 reports Jesus quoting Isaiah’s message and then saying to his disciples,  But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. Truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.

Perhaps it is human nature to hide in the shadows. However, in times like we live in today, we must not only see what God is calling us to see, but we must also respond as conduits of God’s light to the world.

Prayer: Help us, O Lord, let our light shine as a reflection of your light. 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.

Mirroring Christ

Living in the Spirit

August 25, 2021

Scripture Reading: Psalm 15
O Lord, who may abide in your tent?
   Who may dwell on your holy hill?
Those who walk blamelessly, and do what is right,
   and speak the truth from their heart;
who do not slander with their tongue,
   and do no evil to their friends,
   nor take up a reproach against their neighbors;
in whose eyes the wicked are despised,
   but who honor those who fear the Lord;
who stand by their oath even to their hurt;
who do not lend money at interest,
   and do not take a bribe against the innocent.
Those who do these things shall never be moved.

There is only one Kingdom of God. While we have many understandings of God’s Kingdom, in the final analysis, all of God’s followers will be there together. I wonder why we do not invest more time and energy in learning to live together now in God’s Shalom?

The above Psalm is attributed to David. He outlines what God expects of us. Few of us can claim to walk blamelessly. I fear truth has lost its luster as we no longer know what to believe or who to believe.  Slander is commonplace. And the love of money still holds precedence in our world.

1 Peter 2:9 describes Christ-followers as being readily recognizable by our actions.

 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

We need to remember that every action we take when we proclaim our alliance to Christ is perceived by others as reflections of Christ. Therefore, we must be very sure when we look at ourselves; we see Christ in our words and deeds.

Prayer: Clear our vision, O Lord, so that we see you in our behavior. 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.

The Search for Wholeness

Living in the Spirit

August 24, 2021

Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-9

So now, Israel, give heed to the statutes and ordinances that I am teaching you to observe, so that you may live to enter and occupy the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. You must neither add anything to what I command you nor take away anything from it, but keep the commandments of the Lord your God with which I am charging you. You must observe them diligently, for this will show your wisdom and discernment to the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and discerning people!’ For what other great nation has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is whenever we call to him? And what other great nation has statutes and ordinances as just as this entire law that I am setting before you today?

But take care and watch yourselves closely, so as neither to forget the things that your eyes have seen nor to let them slip from your mind all the days of your life; make them known to your children and your children’s children—

I wonder if Moses ever dreamed that the laws he introduced to the Israelites could be interpreted in many ways. Indeed, progress over time has required a new understanding of the fundamentals of original rules. I remember reading somewhere, sorry I cannot document it, that in the strictest interpretation of work on the Sabbath, producing light and heat before electricity constituted work and therefore could not be done on the Sabbath. When electricity became available, it was necessary to determine if flipping a switch was work. Beyond progress, humans tend to bend laws to their desires and not their needs. We often do not recognize what we need because we focus so much on what we want.

Jesus came along centuries later and attempted to help us understand that ‘The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath; so the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.’ (Mark 2:27–28) In our hectic world today, God is probably shocked when we take the time to withdraw from the clutter of our lives to be still and know that God is God. (See Psalm 46:10)

I just finished reading Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin, the story of how Abraham Lincoln dealt with his intentionally selected diverse cabinet. It is an excellent book, by the way. I read it at an interesting time in our history where every move of the president and other leaders is scrutinized, criticized, and polled. The same thing was happening during the Civil War. The only difference was it took longer to spread the news via printed newspapers and telegraphed information. Truth than as now was bent to support differing political advantage.

The Deuteronomic warning above is apt: to take care and watch yourselves closely so as neither to forget the things that your eyes have seen nor to let them slip from your mind all the days of your life. Jesus set as the foundation of the law to love God and love our neighbors as ourselves as the overriding rules.  

We need to remember that the Pharisees who led the charge against Jesus that led to his crucifixion felt sure they acted according to the law as they perceived it. Some would respond that Jesus had to die for our sins because they were so egregious. I cannot help wondering had we followed his way from the start, would not that have ushered in the Kingdom of God right then?

Prayer: Create in us clean hearts, O God, and put a new and right spirit within us. (See Psalm 51:10) 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.

The Importance of Hope

Living in the Spirit

August 23, 2021

Scripture Reading: Song of Solomon 2:8-13  
The voice of my beloved!
   Look, he comes,
leaping upon the mountains,
   bounding over the hills.
My beloved is like a gazelle
   or a young stag.
Look, there he stands
   behind our wall,
gazing in at the windows,
   looking through the lattice.

My beloved speaks and says to me:
‘Arise, my love, my fair one,
   and come away;

for now the winter is past,
   the rain is over and gone.
The flowers appear on the earth;
   the time of singing has come,
and the voice of the turtle-dove
   is heard in our land.
The fig tree puts forth its figs,

   and the vines are in blossom;
   they give forth fragrance.
Arise, my love, my fair one,
   and come away.

While reading this scripture, I was reminded of the works of Victor Frankl, a survivor of Auschwitz who taught us how to find the meaning of life drawn from his experience in the very depths of desperation.  He longed for the end of the winter in which he found himself. Two of his thoughts particularly struck me as relevant for a people striving to deal with loving our neighbors as we love ourselves amid a pandemic that does not discriminate who it attacks.

Each man is questioned by life; and he can only answer to life by answering for his own life; to life he can only respond by being responsible.

We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread.

We face nothing as atrocious as the Holocaust. Yet, we serve the same God that Frankl and many others turned to from the hell of the camps. We can learn from their knowledge and recognize that our calling is to be responsible and love our neighbors as we love ourselves.

Prayer: 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.

Simply Love

Living in the Spirit

August 22, 2021

Scripture Reading: John 6:56-69

Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. So Jesus asked the twelve, ‘Do you also wish to go away?’ Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.‘ –John 6:66-69

The parable of the Sower* comes to mind when I read the above scripture. In it Jesus quotes Isaiah, saying
 “You will indeed listen, but never understand,
   and you will indeed look, but never perceive. For this people’s heart has grown dull,
   and their ears are hard of hearing,
     and they have shut their eyes;
     so that they might not look with their eyes,
   and listen with their ears,
and understand with their heart and turn—
   and I would heal them.” –Matthew 13:14b-15 (Isaiah 6:9)

Some things never change. People believed what they wanted to believe in the 8th Century BCE, the 1st Century CE, and today. The only difference is our modern means of communication provide a stressful abundance of opinions and interpretations through which we must wade. When people claim to follow the Bible, we now must discern whose understanding is correct.

Jesus’ teachings were indeed hard for some to accept. Today though, I fear, those of us who claim to be Christians are turning new practitioners away because our faith has become a contest of who owns the royalty to God’s Word, and such division is not inviting to someone in search of God. While Jesus’ teachings are challenging, thus, we may not want to follow them, but they are simple: Love God and love our neighbor as we love ourselves.

Prayer: Lord, we see life as more complicated than you intended. Forgive us for not understanding your ways. Open our hearts and minds to follow Jesus’ example of love. Amen.

*See Matthew 13:1-23

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 Nurture

Living in the Spirit

August 21, 2021

Scripture Reading: John 6:56-69

Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.’ He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum.

When many of his disciples heard it, they said, ‘This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?’ But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining about it, said to them, ‘Does this offend you? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But among you there are some who do not believe.’ For Jesus knew from the first who were the ones that did not believe, and who was the one that would betray him. And he said, ‘For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father.’ –John 6:56-65

My first thought on reading this scripture was to wonder why I have to deal with it twice in the same month. I can usually follow the subject matter path of those who created the lectionary set for readers each week. Some are easier to perceive than others. My sense regarding the emphasis on eating Jesus’ flesh and drinking his blood is a call that, to follow him, we must be fully committed. All the New Testament was written after the crucifixion and the resurrection. Just as we relate our lives to extraordinary or traumatic events, so did the authors of the New Testament. Jesus’ followers had to accept that his death was necessary for their salvation and the realization of Christ’s Kingdom throughout the world. The flesh must die before it can be eaten, providing the nourishment for the consumers to fulfill their responsibilities.

During these days of trauma, we need to lean into God’s nourishment for our souls. We must cling to God’s love as we struggle to deal with the worst pandemic in our history, earthquakes and other climate-related events that are exceeding records, and the ending of a twenty-year war for which there are no good immediate answers or outcomes.

Prayer: Lord, surround all our world leaders and us with your love so we can fulfill our call to work toward a kingdom 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.

Life is Difficult

Living in the Spirit

August 20, 2021

Scripture Reading: Ephesians 6:10-20

Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints. Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it boldly, as I must speak. –Ephesians 6:18-20

In these times of social media, discerning when to respond and when to keep silent, when to forward and when to let something lay fallow, and when to initiate is difficult. Although I innocently posted a correction I thought was a typo, I was blasted for being out of touch with reality. Part of the problem is the wide variety of people with whom I share comments. Groups help, but I surely do not want to ever step on anyone’s feelings. I also read some of the comments others have received and am appalled at the malice in some responses. Of course, there is always the choice of not following any social media, but I think we are called to be in the world and not of the world.

The scripture above, written in the first century BCE, seems tailor-made for our world today. Keeping in sync with the Spirit is always a good idea, including using the Spirit as a sounding board to help guide our information exchanges. While we may feel alone, we are never alone. Not only is the Spirit with us, but also all of God’s saints are with us, those striving to stay in line with the Spirit that we know and ones we do not know. We are called to persevere with them. Prayers for our faith leaders are always appropriate.

This quote is applicable.

“Life is difficult. This is a great truth, one of the greatest truths. It is a great truth because once we truly see this truth, we transcend it. Once we truly know that life is difficult-once we truly understand and accept it-then life is no longer difficult. Because once it is accepted, the fact that life is difficult no longer matters.” ― M. Scott Peck, The Road Less Traveled: A New Psychology of Love, Traditional Values and Spiritual Growth

Prayer: Lord, teach me to love like Jesus, understand your expectations of us, and guide us in carrying them out. 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.

Study War No More

Living in the Spirit

August 19, 2021

Scripture Reading:

Ephesians 6:10-20
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. –Ephesians 6:10-17

We sang Onward Christian Soldiers recently at my church as the closing hymn. The song is no longer in our hymnal, and we were not provided a handout copy. I am not sure anyone under 40 had ever heard it, much less knew the words. I remembered the words to the chorus and the first verse. I had to hum through the following verses. I turned to the friend about my age with whom I exited the service and said, I think you had to be a post-WWII child to know that song. I looked it up and discovered it was written in 1865, at the end of the Civil War. My adult war was fought in Vietnam.  I do not recall any sacred anthem created for it, nor did we rediscover Onward Christian Soldiers. As sad as it was, some of us rejoiced when the USA pulled out. Others, however, saw it as a terrible loss for our nation. I long for the day we beat our swords into plowshares* as the ancient prophets foretold.

We have been steeped in the history of killing and maiming people for every imaginable reason primarily lust for power and greed. Christ-followers face the same foes. There is, however, a difference in fighting with truth rather than with weapons of mass destruction or working to bring about justice through peaceful means.

Prayer: Let there be peace on earth,
and let it begin with me;
let there be peace on earth,
the peace that was meant to be.

With God our creator,
family all are we.
Let us walk with each other
in perfect harmony**. Amen

*See Isaiah 2:4; Micah 4:3
**Let There Be Peace on Earth by Sy Miller and Jill Jackson-Miller see at https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-let-there-be-peace-on-earth

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.